Grooving Mums & World Domination

As you may know by now, I try to take part in the #groovingmums blog-hop on a weekly basis. Since November I have been flagging a bit, but I have the pretty solid excuse of having given birth & then with the festive season straight after all has been a little bit hectic & I have been having a bit of a break from blogging in general.

Now, with a fresh new year, the schedule is cleared & I'm embracing normality & hoping to build a positive routine, as much for the children as for myself. 

Back to the Grooving Mums bit. Kate over at Kate on Thin Ice hosts this fabulous blog-hop & you can read all about this here. You may even want to get involved. I've found the ladies to be an amazing source of support & inspiration, particularly on the gloomy days. Each week Kate sets us some optional challenges. This week these are:-

1. Did you over-indulge over the festive season? What can you do to prepare for the life-changing journey ahead in terms of improving your health? 

2. What do you need to change your mind about? Have you written yourself off in some way? How can you shift negative thinking patterns?

3. This week, Christians celebrate the Epiphany. Here is one dictionary definition for the word epiphany "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience." What does this mean to you?

4. Are you aware of all the blogging networks you can get involved with? Is it worth you checking them out and promoting your efforts to sparkle to a wider audience?

Firstly, I did over-indulge this festive season. It was briliant! I have no regrets. I'm not particularly concerned about my figure as I am blessed (so far in my life) with a pretty good metabolism (smug), though I always notice that it does affect my skin. I get terrible oily & spotty skin when I partake in too much sugar. I've had many a night out whereby I wake the next morning not only to a stonking hangover but also to a face full of yuck (not in a rude way or anything. Or at least not always! Ahem...) & Christmas has certainly left my skin a little bit angry, so I shall be getting some yummy vegetables down me in order to appease it. As well as this I shall be taking up running again, so long as my Doctor okays it, again not so much for my figure but for my skin & more importantly my mind. I always feel so much more stable when I take regular exercise.

Secondly, if there is one thing I am bloody good at it is negative thinking - damn you irony! - but I am on the road to changing that. I think that I have got better in the past month or so but I'm hoping for a good round of CBT to combat any negatve thinking patterns that might crop up in future.

Thirdly, 'Epiphany' to me is not particularly something spiritual. I am an atheist with a love for logic & so epiphany in my mind is those spectacular moments of crystal clarity, whereby everything swirling around in the massive fog of my brain settle in a pattern that makes perfect sense & everything finally feels calm. This is usually, for me, relating to my emotions. The human mind is so complex, I find it is often so difficult to understand even your own thoughts & so when everything is alligned, for me that is a very precious experience.

Finally, with regards to my blog, I am generally useless at organising promotion. I tend to have about one day a month where I feel a frenzied urge to branch out & to discover new ways to find forums & networks. This is fine for me & so for now I am quite happy with all you lovely readers who have given me such lovely comments & offered your support, (& for that I thank you very much.) & to let my blog grow organically. In summary, I am a little too lazy to consider world domination just yet!

Here's hoping for a Grooving 2012! & maybe a tiny bit of world domination - or maybe not!

Lists are seriously frustrating to format.

I officially declare myself a Grooving Mum.

I know I’ve all ready written an intro but this post will be my list of goals (please note – list likely to be changed, removed, revised or set on fire at any time) that I’d like to achieve within the next 12 months or so.

Because I am currently 37+ weeks pregnant, I have decided that the most sensible thing to do is to set myself some short term aims – i.e. little things to do or change before the baby or when the baby first arrives – as well as a few bigger ambitions, & things about myself that I know will take longer to change.

I shall get straight to the point, as I have had a rather rough day – to my dismay after almost an entire week of feeling well – and I’d like to post about the Halloween activities Daughter & I got up to in the last few days when I’m in a better frame of mind!

So, here goes…

Short Term Goals:

1. Ensure that I have a safety-net should I end up suffering from PND when the baby arrives by:
   
   • Making a crisis plan, as suggested by Community MH Worker.
   • Ensuring I am as honest as I possibly can with my Man & my family if needs be – this is something I have struggled with recently & am still reluctant through fear of burdening others unnecessarily.
   • Taking steps to be healthy – eat well & keep my mind active so as to get into a better routine with a view to keeping this up once the baby arrives.
2. Sort out my ridiculously out of control finances in order to create stability for me & for my family – I dislike talking to people over the phone & therefore must man-up a bit & take charge of the situation instead of becoming a nervous wreck & avoiding these things.
3. Enjoy the final few weeks of my pregnancy, without feeling any guilt for outing my feet up & having things done for me.
4. Do more things I enjoy & stop worrying about others – take pleasure in making for Christmas, & share my achievements.
5. More face masks & chocolate.

Long Term Goals (Post-Baby & New Year):

1. Take care of my body – start running again, then possibly swimming when the hotter weather comes. Lovely endorphins, yes please!
2. Keeping up with the healthy eating routine that I will hopefully have established pre-baby. Not weighing myself but ensure I’m not too skinny for my clothes & feel well in myself.
3. Settle Daughter into a new nursery & set up a good routine for her, baby & myself.
4. Take time & research the possible careers I could have when the baby gets to nursery age. Work towards achieving something that will empower me, as well as fit around family commitments.
5. Hone my writing skills, so that all my blog-posts aren’t quite as dreary as this one seems so far! Seriously – take time to educate myself in writing & possibly other things that interest me. Get the cogs turning again.
   
   
   So, these are my goals thus far. As I say, I may revise them or (more likely) set fire to them. Currently my main focus is being well in every sense when the baby turns up. I’m truly terrified again this week. I can’t see many ways that I’ll keep sane, particularly after the New Year, but making this list today has certainly helped me. I’ve got good feeling about my Grooving Mums adventure & I certainly hope that I don’t bore you all to death in the weeks to come. I’m also totally looking forward to keeping up with everyone’s stories too.
   
   Ooh & I almost forgot - as requested by Kate this week I am including a pic of my in my Halloween glory, from this weekend. Looking totally un-pregnant (but trust me - it's all there) & I was actually feeling bloody brilliant too, though I am mostly always self-conscious of photos, hence the expression:
   
   

   
   
   
   Wish me luck!