7 good habbits

1) CleaningI wouldn't call myself a cleaning fanatic or anything, but ever since I got married my standards of cleaning skyrocketed. Maybe it was because I could finally control my environment without three roommates...I dunno. However, I also found cleaning keeps me very happy. I can be in the worst mood and I know if I go scrub my bathroom, that frown will be turned upside-down. As for the habitual part of it, I clean my house everyday; pick-up clutter, empty garbage, kitchen and bedrooms. I also have Saturday-morning chores every week (on Fridays if we're busy on Saturday). This includes deeper cleaning, scrubbing the bathroom, mopping floors, vacuuming, dusting and any other needed chores. The opposite also applies--if my house is dirty--I get VERY grumpy.

2) Eating an Apple a DayThis is something I have picked up recently. If there is an apple in the house, I will eat one, usually as part of my lunch or for a snack,when I really want left-over Halloween candy (usually I just end up eating both). However, it helps me get my needed fruit servings and the fiber doesn't hurt anything either.

3) Bedtime RoutineI also have a very detailed bedtime routine, that if not followed leads to severe consequences. It goes as follows: Remove contacts, wash my face with my Neutrogena soap bar, brush my teeth, put in my retainer, blow my nose, put on my glasses (which can be rather difficult if they weren't previously located before taking out my contacts) and prayers.

4) Smelly Good HouseAnyone who knows me well knows I have a thing with smells. Poor Phil, not only can he not smell (well, he can, but I have like this super-capacity smelling shnoz that usually leaves his smelling abilities by the wayside) but there has been more than one occasion I have called him at work because I couldn't pinpoint a weird/new smell. Basically it comes down to I LOVE good smells and completely disgust bad ones. What I find good and bad...well that sometimes surprises people...but having a smelly good house can be more difficult than it sounds. Every day it is my mission to make sure my house smells normal and clean and hopefully on most days, absolutely scrumptious. I put high-quality candles on our "Needs" list and can hunt down a bad smell like a dog.

5) ExerciseI don't know how long you have to be doing something for it to actually become a habit (I heard once it was like 21 times or maybe 11...I dunno) but I have gone running--scratch that-- jogging, every other day for almost three weeks. The first week was a little scattered, but I found a couple of gals in my ward who also just had babies and they're training for 200 mile run (between 12 people) next August and they're gracious enough to let me tag along. It's nice because they aren't totally in shape yet, but still ahead of me by quite a ways, so it's a great way to push myself. If you only knew how much I hate running and how bad of shape I'm in, you too would also consider this quite a feat for me, even if it's only been three weeks.

6) ScripturesI have this goal by like age 50 to be this awesome scriptorian. I say age 50, because if I start now and work hard, I'll be lucky to make that goal. I really try hard to be in my scriptures at least once every day. Sometimes that does mean staring at the same scripture for 10 minutes while my brain processes every thought not relating to what I just read, but I do try hard to spend quality time with my scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, on a daily basis. On a side note, I'm taking a Preach My Gospel class where we are color-coating certain scriptures in application to PMG...really fun.

7) FinancesI somewhere along the lines assigned myself with managing our finances. Anyhow, now that I'm able to stay at home I check and record our financial transactions daily along with adhering to a dedicated bill-paying schedule. Great habit? Yes. Whether I like it or not...all depends on the amount left when I'm done.