Working my way into 2016

Happy New Year, ya’ll!  I would apologize for being late, but seeing as how I’m still getting out a few last Christmas gifts, this post is actually quite timely!

We spent New Year’s in Iowa with my family, and I spent the first few days of this week getting my head into 2016.

RD2Be
On the school front, I’m taking three classes this semester, two in-person (dietetics/nutrition content) and one online (business management).  My original schedule had me on campus three days a week (very similar to last semester), but my T/H class changed to one longer meeting time on Thursdays.

The new timing of the Thursday class has some downsides, but I’ll save time by reducing my commutes from three days to two, which will be especially nice in the colder weather/darker days when just gearing up (clothing and lights) for the bike ride takes a significant amount of time.

I’m most excited about my “Experimental Foods” class.  It involves a lab (i.e., cooking) component, and it should be perfect for me since most of my cooking is experimental.  Mostly good experiments, but it can be tricky when someone asks me for a recipe!

My online class is through St. Louis Community College, which means I’ll benefit from their new partnership with MetroBus/Link, which provides a semester-long U-PASS to all credit students (you qualify for the pass even if you’re only taking one credit hour!).  I’m excited to be able to take advantage of this partnership!  I don’t take transit a lot, but having a pass instead of having to think about fare may inspire some additional trips, especially in these next few months, when we’re likely to have some iffy road conditions.

Also somewhat school-related — I’m putting a few hours a week into an internship with Lighter, a cool start-up currently offering meal planning and food delivery services focused on plant-based eating.  I’m excited to be part of the work (doing nutrition analysis on their recipes) and to see what’s in store for the company going forward!

Tidying Up
My name finally rose to the top of the library’s wait list for The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  While I have yet to officially start the process (I haven’t even finished reading the book), it shows promise, as I found not one, but two, long-lost items while doing some cleaning within a day of bringing the book home.

I’m curious to see where this leads for our household overall.  I’m not sure if Marie Kondo addresses this later in the book, but one of my big questions is how to get everyone in the house on board!

Mindfulness
I dug out my mindfulness journal so I have a concrete way to track getting back on track with my practice, after a failed attempt a few weeks ago (I knew right before the holidays was not great timing, but figured I’d give it a shot — oh well, each day a new beginning!).

On with the year!
It took me a week, but with my old-school, hard copy yearly planner in hand, I’m feeling ready for 2016.  I anticipate having plenty of opportunities to practice living in the moment, taking things one day, one hour, one minute at a time in the coming year.