Better late than never!

I said I was going to post more this year and doggone it I meant it! So here we are, seven months later and I'm finally doing a second post for 2017. I think we're already on an upswing from last year! Let's see how we're coming along on the to-do list I put out at the beginning of this year:

Sheridan's To-Do List (posted 1-4-17)

- read ALL THE BOOKS

- raise $1000 for ACS and Team CMMD. You can help with thisHERE!

- be able to run 10 miles

- complete my yoga teaching certification! 

- plant a better garden than in years past (I'm not good at this)

- meditate every day (two days in a row so far!)

- keep my priorities straight

- look for volunteer opportunities in my community (any suggestions?)

- love life 

Well, to start off I haven't read ALL THE BOOKS. I know, I know. I've been working to make reading more of a priority, but it seems to never be as much as I want. I did recently finish reading a pretty great book called Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams. It was funny, insightful, educational and all about a place that is now near and dear to my heart, Peru! More about THAT later. Whether you've traveled to Peru or not, it's a good book. Check it out if you want a good, easy, fish-out-of-water-adventure-story. 

While I didn't read ALL the books, I DID manage to raise not just the thousand dollar goal, but a whole $1500 for the American Cancer Society and Team CMMD! I hit that one thousand faster than anticipated because I have awesome people in my life who were willing to support my goal and give to those that need it so desperately. In addition, I was able to run 10 miles! Not very fast, I essentially hit exactly the same time as I did in 2014 (and it wasn't fast then, either), but I made it across the finish line, only a little worse for the wear. 

At the finish line with my favorite running partner

At the BAR with my favorite badass, Erica

I did complete my yoga teacher certification! I am not actively teaching yet, because it's been a bit busy for me to pursue much over the last month or so, but I'm happy to say that my yoga studies are far from over. I'll be starting a Yoga Therapy Certification program this fall that I'm very excited about to be able to apply to my personal and professional life. 

I did NOT plant a better garden than last year. I didn't even plant a garden. On the bright side, I did finally get around to purchasing and applying Miracle Grow plant food to some of my indoor plants that desperately needed nutrients. So, that's something, right?

Meditating...yeah, I haven't been doing that. I need to do that. Let me add that back to my current to-do list.

But have I been keeping my priorities straight? I think so. I have a LOT of priorities, so I could probably do a better job of focusing myself, but all in all, I've been trying to practice compassion to myself when I don't get to everything on my to-do list. Because I have a lot of friends and family and goals and interests and hobbies and that's a great thing. Most of the time. Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed with everything I have going on, but for the most part my life feels very fulfilling right now. I've got some work to do to get everything settled in place as I've been going through a lot of changes recently, but I feel more or less on the right path. Hey, what's life but a work in progress, right?

Soup is a good food to remind you to slow down or you might get burnt.

And the million dollar question is, have I been loving life? Yes, without a doubt, I have. For all the little frustrations and lack of time and occasional feelings of inadequacy as I try to fit forty hours worth of stuff into a twenty-four hour day, my life is pretty awesome. As I said, I've got an abundance of friends and family and while it's hard to keep up with everyone, it's a great problem to have. I've got an incredibly happy home life with a husband and dog who are my favorite people in the whole world, who are supportive and loving and fun to be with. I've recently started a new job that I won't go into detail just yet on, but it's been a very exciting opportunity and I'm happy to see where it leads me. And while I do still take on too much, the projects and interests I've been pursuing are really amazing and I just need to make a LITTLE more time for some of them. But it's a privilege and a joy to be able to pursue these things at all.

Happy family

So am I a little behind on, well, everything? Yes. Definitely. Am I mad about it? Nah. Life's been busy, but life's been good. I'm happy, healthy, slowly figuring out what it's important in my life and what's just noise, and I know I can't do it all, but I can at least try, right? 

I know I dropped a lot of stuff in here that you might be wondering more about, but I'll get to all that later. Maybe. For now, let's see what's on the to-do list...

Sheridan's To-Do List:

- meditate. No, really, meditate! 

- dedicate more yoga study time (Let's shoot for two readings and two practices this weekend?) 

- run + circuits once this weekend (Tom, I'm counting on you for some help!)

- be present while enjoying time with others (instead of worrying about all the to-dos I might miss getting done)

- pick a new book to start

- sign up for half marathon (yes, you read that right!)

What does your to-do list look like lately? Any big to-dos you've been putting off that you can try to get to this weekend?