Brainstorm session

My intentions were good, and now I realize I was somewhat over zealous in my goals. This past week has reminded me that I am no longer in control of my time, my kids are. They have been in over drive and the consequence of this is me loosing the ability to even contribute one hour a day to myself and my quest.
So tonight, with my husband away at a golf tournament and my kids finally in bed, I am dedicating one full hour to myself and my quest for new knowledge.

Last week I was lucky enough to sneak away for dinner with my two best friends. I told them about my new adventure, and sure enough they were full of support, and fresh ideas! We grabbed a napkin and brainstormed some of the tasks I could challenge myself to complete, here is a short list;

- read a newspaper article (each day from a section of the newspaper you would never read
- read an article (each day) from a different foreign newspaper
- read a different blog everyday
- get a library card and read books on the librarians recommended lists
- listen to a new band a day and rate them
- listen to new genres of music
- find new baking recipes (I am not a baker at all)
- learn the alphabet and key words in sign language
- choose different countries and learn about their birthing practices
- organize a clothing/fundraising drive for a women's shelter
- oragami
- learn how to grow my own herbs, and find recipes to use them in
- photography
- photoshop
-learn about a different artist a day (painter, etc.)
- try a new sport (rock climbing, boxing, etc.)

And the list goes on...like I said, they obviously use their brains a lot more than I do and were able to think of a million things for me to try my hand at.

So this week, I learned how to do the basics of blogging (setting up an account, posting, designing backgrounds, etc.). I know there are a ton of other things to learn about blogging, but my time was limited, and my week is up. I will continue to learn slowly as i go through my challenges, hopefully adding links and pictures to make this more interesting. But i am on to my next challenge, one that seems to be less time consuming...reading articles from foreign newspapers. All in my quest for knowledge, and decent conversations.

The Rules...

Alright so I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how I can make my challenge a success. I mean I don't have a lot of time to contribute to my challenge, which means I need to think really carefully about which tasks I am going choose. Obviously the first one is easy, I am spending this week learning how to Blog, something I never thought I would do but became intrigued when my friend Clare started hers.
So the rules...First; I am allowing myself one hour of pure indulgence a day. This will usually happen during my kids designated nap time, that is if they both manage to nap together. I don't want to take time away from husband, we only have an hour or two each night after the kids go to bed, before we head in for the night ourselves. So these tasks must be met during the day.
Second; I must be realistic with myself, and not get stressed if I am unable to complete one of my tasks in the alloted week.
And the last rule, once the task is complete I must write about it on here.
I think that is it for my rules, now time to start learning more about this blog site, and how to customize my page!

Why am I here...blogging

Well where do I start. I have never blogged before, I have never even kept a journal before, this experience of writing down all of my thoughts is completely new to me and a little scary. But, this is the whole purpose of my blog. I am challenging myself to try one new thing a week. I am a mother of two, one 2.5 year old and one 3 months, and although I love my kids and family I feel I am getting a little lost in my "mommy" identity.
Having a second child was a lot more challenging than I ever expected, and all of my energy went in to this new adjustment. My daughter is wonderful, such a mild mannered and happy baby. She still sleeps most of the day and night, she is a dream. My son is and always has been full of energy and needs constant stimulation and support, he is such a sensitive little boy. I love them both and my husband is wonderful, a hands on dad, but this seems to be my world these days. I don't have a single other interest or hobby.
I find myself without a voice in conversations, I have nothing to contribute unless it is about the kids and how many poops they have had, how long was their nap, or about what they ate. I find myself searching for intelligent things to say, and to even find the right words is difficult and embarrassing at the least.
That is why I am here, my first challenge is to start a blog to record all of my thougths and my challenges. Hoping it will give me something to talk about.