The Me Monthly - Volume 16

ME THIS MONTH
I have really enjoyed October! It's just felt way more chill than the past few months. I, and we as a couple, have been managing stressful times better as a whole and it's so awesome. I did have a very stressful and full week of optimizing photos every day/night, but I even got through that fairly in tact! There are a lot of things I want to touch on from this month, but I don't have a ton of time to write it all out in paragraphs and what-not. So I'm just going to write a bulleted list and get the best of both worlds - all the info, not as much writing. Enjoy :)

• Still doing AIP (5 months!) and I've even been trying to eat less desserts this month. I think the less-stress has been helping me the most with that last part because when I get stressed, I want desserts.
• We've been sticking to a budget for groceries and things, and it's been really nice. Although, I did spontaneously buy a like-new tv stand for $75 at a yard sale...I have serious FOMO when it comes to yard sale stuff I find on Facebook.
• Listened to Conference, enjoyed what I heard (the Daisy made it hard to hear most of it) and I'm excited to see what 2-hour church brings!
• Half-way through the month I did my version of a social media fast, with a few slip ups here and there. I still had lots of good impressions and ideas for myself and what I should do about my social media usage going forward. I feel like that was really the overarching, main goal anyway, so even with my slip-ups I think it was a success. It was good to do that for myself.
• I also started reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning and plan to finish by the end of the year. I'm also marking everywhere that mentions Christ, and it's been really cool to see how often he's referenced. I'm so focused on that aspect that I'm reading it way faster than I normally do. I'm already in the middle of 2 Nephi and I just have to read 7 pages a day to finish in that time frame. It works great with my goal to read it twice during the list! 
• Another great thing about this month is that I've been spending more time with one of my favorite people - Manda! We've been watching This is Us together on Tuesday nights, we started a little book club and are reading The Happiness Project together, and we share healthy recipes with each other on Pinterest. Jonathan and I also went to Manda and Myke's for their annual Dread and Breakfast this month where we watch a family-friendly scary movie and eat a yummy breakfast. Good times :)
• Finally - I need some serious business-naming help. I'm planning to start a legit LLC at the beginning of the year and offer graphic design as well as printing options to clients. I want to do stuff for non-business (invitations, banners?) and business clients (business cards, mailers, etc.). Do you think I should stick with Patchwork Design (maybe add in "and Printing" or something), or should I do something more "professional" or just less "cute". But other designers do cutesy stuff...do I want to be like them? Is it confusing because patchwork is an actual thing but not at all related to what I do? But I don't really want to do anything related to my name because it's so common...I don't know...I just want to have something that I can stand behind and be fully happy with. I just need some feedback. If anyone even reads this haha ;) 

That was WAY more writing than I initially intended, but I guess the bullets made me feel better because I didn't have to try to connect it all or something. If you made it through, wow. I just have one last thing to say! With the holidays coming up I'm not sure how many list items I'll be working on/finishing, but I'll keep recording stuff and doing updates anyway :) Aaaand I'll be done now. The holidays are on their ways! Woo!

Wearing: my go-to comfy pants now that it's cold...but they're basically too big! I want to find some new ones. DI here I come!
Anticipating: the holidays! We're going to St George for Thanksgiving and to Texas for Christmas! We have a lot to look forward to and it's coming up so quick! I just hope it doesn't snow while we're traveling :/
Drinking: water with salt! Gotta get them electrolytes. I don't add a ton, but I'm working up to it and I don't taste it much anymore.
Loving: crunching all the leaves with Daisy. It's our favorite activity right now!
Thinking: a lot about what truly makes me happy and what I define as happiness - been reading The Happiness Project :)

THE FOCUS GROUP
29. Learn some knife skills, especially for cutting onions
I know I just had this one up here, but I was cutting some stuff the other day and I know I've gotten better at using a knife. I really want to go a little further and try a few different cuts and stuff, so I'm going to be mindful of that when I chop veggies this month. With that being said, I will be considering this one done by the end of November almost either way. I don't feel stupid when using a knife anymore, and I think that was the main goal of this :)

53. Learn the health benefits of different fruits and vegetables
Still slow-going on this one, but I've already shared some of the knowledge I gained! That was cool :) Like I said last month, I'm excited to keep doing this one!

1 YEAR - 12 PROJECTS - 30 DAYS

Project 5 - Doodling/Sketching/Lettering (October - Finished)
In honor of Inktober, October's 30 day project was:

• Sketch, doodle, or letter something every day, using the Inktober prompts

I absolutely LOVED this. I was surprised at how much fun I had doing this every day! It relaxed me AND energized me. I usually did it at night and it was a great way to avoid screens before I went to sleep. If I missed a day I just did two prompts the next day. I never had to do more than 2/day, and that only happened 2-3 times :) While I am not a very skilled artist and at my current rate it would take me a LONG time to become one, at the end of this project I felt way more confident drawing something I thought of or copying a picture - no matter how it turned out. I totally want to keep this up in some form and I would definitely check this project off as a success!

Project 6 - No Complaining (November - Started)
I just barely decided this one, so I'll be starting tomorrow (I've already complained a LOT today, one inspiration for this idea) and going until the first of December. Because November is Thanksgiving, I wanted to do something related to being thankful. But I've already been doing a gratitude journal for a few months, so I wanted to do something a little different. I feel like complaining is almost the opposite to being thankful and I figured this would be a good twist to it. Aaaaaaand I just feel like I complain a lot.

My ultimate goal for this 30-day project is to limit my complaining, to be more mindful about/address why I'm reacting negatively, and to find ways to be more positive about the situations I'm in. So for this month I'm going to:

• Not complain out loud to anyone.
• I specifically said "out loud" because I know negative thoughts WILL happen. And I don't want to totally keep in or shut down my grievances because I believe acknowledging those things is important. But for this project I plan to work through those thoughts/feelings on paper, in my mind, through prayer, etc.
• I know this will be hard, so I'm giving myself some "pardons" for the first week or two, because I know this is going to be one of my more challenging projects (5/day for the first week, 3/day for the second week, 1/day for the third week, none for the last week)
• When talking with others, use a "mixture of truth and positivity" (this blog)
• Address and be mindful of negative/complaining thoughts, reactions, and attitude
• Think through that "complaint". Is it something that can be controlled? (this other blog)
• If yes, then take measures to change it.
• If no, then determine how you can make the best of the situation.
• Write down, pray about, and/or think through feelings and thoughts related to the situation I'm in. Be honest. 

I think it's also important to note that complaining is "to express dissatisfaction, pain, uneasiness, censure, resentment, or grief; to find fault." I still want to personally think through the difference between complaining and stating a physical fact - if there is one! If there is, I think attitude is a big part of it as well as if and how it can be changed. Anyway! I'm excited to experience whatever self-reflection and change comes from this. Wish me luck!

KEEPING YOU POSTED
20. Read the Book of Mormon twice during the list
As I wrote about above, I have restarted and plan to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year! When I'm done, I plan to get a copy that doesn't have verses and read it again that way.


NUMBERED NEWS
49. Play 51 new games (at least 15 award-winning)
25. Tales of the Arabian Nights (10/10/18)

85. Watch 101 new movies (at least 20 award-winning)
37. Julie and Julia (10/11/18)
38. The 'Burbs (10/20/18)


DAISY'S BOOK OF THE MONTH
This month's book is one that I had never read before getting it from Daisy's Nana: We're Going on a Bear Hunt

I did eventually recognize it from other adaptions I've heard - so stop gasping at my lack of culture haha :) Daisy really likes this book. She can say the whole title, and even repeated the last part of their adventure (Tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe - WHAT'S THAT) while we were crossing the street the other day. And I actually like it more every time I read it. I especially love how all the sound-words actually sound like what they're supposed to be. So great :)