Inventory

As we continue to roll through 2013, it occurred to me that I should check on my goals for 2013, here's a re-cap:

New goals (gotta have them!):

1. Run the Shamrock Shuffle in Downtown Chicago. Haven't signed up yet! Thanks for the reminder blog!

2. Develop my photography skills. I am not currently taking classes, however I am toying around with different apps and editing functions.

3. Read more! Yes!! I have read 5 out of my goal of 20 for year... Thinking I may surpass this.

4. Improve my writing skills. I've been doing my damnedest to use their, there and they're properly!

5. Continue to grow as a teacher. I'm working on it... So far I can give myself kudos for learning how to utilize an I-Pad in my classroom and with individual students.

Another goal that I need to bump to the top of this list comes in the form of waking up earlier during the week.  I have been cutting it way to close to show-time at work these days and it has not gone unnoticed.  I discovered a wonderful app called "Sleep Cycle", that essentially tracks your movement while you sleep. Supposedly, when you are still, you are in REM sleep, when you move around, you are in Non-REM sleep. You put your charging phone next to your pillow under a mattress case and set your alarm for a given time. The app will wake you up within a half hour before your set time based on when you appear to be in light sleep. The theory is that if you wake up during light Non-REM, you will wake up more refreshed and less stressed.  You need 5 days of data to start gathering trends about what may affect your sleep, here's a snapshot of Night 1:

My goal is to not only get up earlier for work, but it is to get up earlier to provide some "me" time before the kids get up and to gather data and analyze what behaviors create the best climate for quality sleep. While I realize that having two children under the age of 3 will throw a wrench into this occasionally, I have two very good little sleepers, so unless illness arises, I'll be okay. 

I'm following a blog that created a 30 day sleep challenge. One of the suggestions was to try to be more aware of set-backs that will disrupt your day. My threshold for set-backs was much lower than it is now thanks to children and life experience in general. The advice is to anticipate disruptions and be pleasantly surprised when they don't occur. I am going to continue to work on this as to help keep a positive attitude through out my day. 

Here's a few snow day pics of the gals