Ashley Samek

I really enjoyed this challenge because it helped to get me started on some things that I wanted to do but never found the time to do like taking a walk or making plans for a garden. I even plan on continuing most of the challenges I had been working on these past 22 days. 

I never realized how much the little things in a day can truly make an impact like seeing the sunshine for a little bit or speaking to a friend for even just a few short minutes. All the little things that we seem to take for granted are really the things that need to be focused on more instead of the big things we tend to use to determine whether it was a good day or a bad day. I've even noticed that something may happen and I find myself going 'I'm grateful for this or that,' or whatever it may have been, which is something I had never done before. So that challenge definitely helped me to become a little more mindful and to realize that happiness can be found in even the smallest of gestures. 

The one challenge I found to be the most difficult was the eating without distractions. I would eat lunch and would have my phone in my hand to scroll through Facebook or texting friends or checking emails. When we ate dinner, the television would be on in the background and several times it seemed like we were paying more attention to what the news was saying than making conversation at dinner. Once I started turning off the television, it seemed like there was more dinner conversation. By putting my phone aside at lunch, I felt like I did actually have a break once I came back to work. While this one may continue to be a struggle for a little while, I do want to keep at it and try to break that feeling of 'always being connected.' 

I hope that everyone who participated in the challenge was able to learn something or at least had fun with the different challenges they chose. And to my Justifacts team, Congrats on completing the challenge! You are all awesome! 

Happy First Day of Spring! 

I apologize for putting this song in your head. 

When I first started this challenge, I planned on just doing the 15 minute walks up until the challenge was over. The more I walk though, I'm thinking I may continue walking even after the challenge is over. Some days I just turn on the new Marianas Trench cd and go. I have noticed that the more upbeat the song is, the faster I seem to walk. If the song is a little slower, my walking seems to slow.

All in all, even though it is only a 15 minute walk it does still help me to reset and clear my mind for the afternoon. 

At Mass this evening, Father was giving everyone a little bit of gardening advice. If anyone is planning on planting onions this year, they say that you should have them in by March 19. I don't usually plant onions but I thought that was interesting, especially since I'm working on the tend a garden challenge.

tI