I've worked myself about a third of the way through my mother's recipe book, usually posting about ten per session in my recipe blog ( http://mamamouserecipes.blogspot.com/).
I'm somewhat bogged down with de-cluttering and going through old boxes, but I'm still making daily progress.
I'm keeping up with my writing projects; especially my books, but also my blogs (this blog and "Thank God It's Friday" at http://thxb2god.blogspot.com). I don't post every day, but I definately write something every day. Also, regarding my book projects, the research and organizational aspects are ongoing, and I've been making daily progress.
I've been feeling cheerful lately. Probably because I'm not stressing out over getting stuff done immediately or sooner. I just keep chipping away at everything. I try not to just sit doing absolutely nothing. Every now and then I take stock of things, so I know that my efforts are making a difference, because I can see gradual improvements all around me!
I have more and more elbow room and I'm spending less time looking for mislaid items. (Except my cell phone . . . danged if I know what I did with it.) I'm sleeping better, too. I feel great! But I feel sort of strange, too. I'm not used to things getting better and better instead of worse and worse!
Monday, August 28, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Digging Out from Under (Progress Report on De-Cluttering)
It sure didn't take me long to get frustrated with going through old paper. I've only done one box today. You know, sometimes I can see the light at the end of the tunnel . . . and sometimes I can't.
I started feeling a bit overwhelmed about everything this morning and went on a sort of tirade. My brother Nick was on the receiving end, but fortunately had a better grip on his temper than I did.
Once I calmed down, I started thinking that if I'm feeling overwhelmed, then maybe I should take a break from de-cluttering and just veg out for a couple days. But I realized almost right away that if I cave in now, I don't stand a chance of ever clearing it all out. The only reason I'm making progress in so many areas of my life right now, is that I am resolved to do something toward my goals every single day, no matter how small a thing, no matter what! And I know myself all too well. If I "take a day off," I won't actually get back to business after my "break", and in four or five months from now I will have accomplished nothing!
So I went right back to work and started feeling better about things right off! Someone must have flicked the light switch back on, down at the other end of the tunnel.
I started feeling a bit overwhelmed about everything this morning and went on a sort of tirade. My brother Nick was on the receiving end, but fortunately had a better grip on his temper than I did.
Once I calmed down, I started thinking that if I'm feeling overwhelmed, then maybe I should take a break from de-cluttering and just veg out for a couple days. But I realized almost right away that if I cave in now, I don't stand a chance of ever clearing it all out. The only reason I'm making progress in so many areas of my life right now, is that I am resolved to do something toward my goals every single day, no matter how small a thing, no matter what! And I know myself all too well. If I "take a day off," I won't actually get back to business after my "break", and in four or five months from now I will have accomplished nothing!
So I went right back to work and started feeling better about things right off! Someone must have flicked the light switch back on, down at the other end of the tunnel.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
From Mountain to Molehill
I'm going through boxes of junk (mostly old papers like magazine articles I tore out so that I could refer to them again . . . someday). They're all still stacked in my room from years ago; but before I could get to them, I had to clear out all the junk on top of them. I'm finding layers of dust on all the boxes, they've been there so long. And the longer the box has been sitting there, the thicker the "dust cover."
It used to take me a long time to go through a box. I had a hard time letting go of stuff that might come in handy down the road, when my life would magically turn into a fairy tale and I would live happily ever after. Nowadays, I've got a much better handle on reality. I'm not as tempted to bring home slick brochures or steal magazines from waiting rooms. I recycle magazines now, instead of ripping out half the articles. And instead of tearing out whole articles, I might clip a paragraph or a recipe . . . or I might leave it in the dang magazine. It's much easier to Google something up, even a recipe, than to dig through boxes trying to find an article.
So going through these old boxes, while not exactly a snap, at least takes a lot less time than it used to. I'm finding out that most of the junk I "collected" was a pointless waste of time and storage space. Most of it is going directly to the recycling bin. Very little of it is currently useful to me. Of the papers I had stuffed into the last box, I wound up with only a half-inch stack. Sheesh. Very soon, the filing system I have always wanted to establish won't seem like such a monumental task. I doubt it'll be much trouble at all to file a mere foot of papers instead of boxes and boxes and boxes.
It used to take me a long time to go through a box. I had a hard time letting go of stuff that might come in handy down the road, when my life would magically turn into a fairy tale and I would live happily ever after. Nowadays, I've got a much better handle on reality. I'm not as tempted to bring home slick brochures or steal magazines from waiting rooms. I recycle magazines now, instead of ripping out half the articles. And instead of tearing out whole articles, I might clip a paragraph or a recipe . . . or I might leave it in the dang magazine. It's much easier to Google something up, even a recipe, than to dig through boxes trying to find an article.
So going through these old boxes, while not exactly a snap, at least takes a lot less time than it used to. I'm finding out that most of the junk I "collected" was a pointless waste of time and storage space. Most of it is going directly to the recycling bin. Very little of it is currently useful to me. Of the papers I had stuffed into the last box, I wound up with only a half-inch stack. Sheesh. Very soon, the filing system I have always wanted to establish won't seem like such a monumental task. I doubt it'll be much trouble at all to file a mere foot of papers instead of boxes and boxes and boxes.
Monday, August 14, 2006
What's Ahead
A couple of years ago, I asked God for help losing weight, because I wasn't getting anywhere on my own.
I weigh 415 pounds now. I've lost 40 pounds since I was in the hospital in February, added to 10 pounds the whole previous year. So that's 50 pounds down from my top weight of 465 pounds. To tell you the truth, I never thought it would happen. I felt so helpless and hopeless about losing weight. I really struggled for that first 10 pounds! And yet the next 40 seemed effortless. I haven't completely re-vamped my diet or gone vegan either. All I really did was [1] paid attention and [2] absolutely refused to feel guilty on the numerous occasions when I didn't pay attention!
As a result of learning to manage my blood glucose levels (I was diagnosed with diabetes in February), I've gradually become more attentive to portion size; recommended servings of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; and the length of time between meals and snacks. And now that I've finally experienced the impossible--weight-loss success--I am no longer afraid that I'll never make it to a normal weight. I know now that it is doable . . . for me! And that I won't feel miserable or famished or scared or whatever while I'm losing.
I am already experiencing some rewards for dropping the first 50 pounds: I can stand longer than 15 minutes at the sink to do dishes (yes, they piled up). I can get up and down the basement stairs to do laundry (I had been hand-washing everything I wear). And instead of getting ready to buy 7X clothes, I'll be buying 5X this fall (my 6X waistbands are getting loose . . . hooray!).
My neice is getting married next February 10th, and I'd like to lose another 50 pounds between now and then . . . that's just short of 6 months. The great thing about it is, I know this next 50 pounds will probably come off just as easily as the last 40. Paying attention to just a handful of things has become routine. What's more, since I know that I will be making other changes for the better in my diet as well as in other areas of my life, the next 50 pounds may be even easier to drop!
Thank you, my Lord! I stand in awe!
I weigh 415 pounds now. I've lost 40 pounds since I was in the hospital in February, added to 10 pounds the whole previous year. So that's 50 pounds down from my top weight of 465 pounds. To tell you the truth, I never thought it would happen. I felt so helpless and hopeless about losing weight. I really struggled for that first 10 pounds! And yet the next 40 seemed effortless. I haven't completely re-vamped my diet or gone vegan either. All I really did was [1] paid attention and [2] absolutely refused to feel guilty on the numerous occasions when I didn't pay attention!
As a result of learning to manage my blood glucose levels (I was diagnosed with diabetes in February), I've gradually become more attentive to portion size; recommended servings of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; and the length of time between meals and snacks. And now that I've finally experienced the impossible--weight-loss success--I am no longer afraid that I'll never make it to a normal weight. I know now that it is doable . . . for me! And that I won't feel miserable or famished or scared or whatever while I'm losing.
I am already experiencing some rewards for dropping the first 50 pounds: I can stand longer than 15 minutes at the sink to do dishes (yes, they piled up). I can get up and down the basement stairs to do laundry (I had been hand-washing everything I wear). And instead of getting ready to buy 7X clothes, I'll be buying 5X this fall (my 6X waistbands are getting loose . . . hooray!).
My neice is getting married next February 10th, and I'd like to lose another 50 pounds between now and then . . . that's just short of 6 months. The great thing about it is, I know this next 50 pounds will probably come off just as easily as the last 40. Paying attention to just a handful of things has become routine. What's more, since I know that I will be making other changes for the better in my diet as well as in other areas of my life, the next 50 pounds may be even easier to drop!
Thank you, my Lord! I stand in awe!
Mama's Recipes
Today I started posting the recipes from Mama's notebook and recipe box to another blog, "Mama Mouse's Recipes" (at http://mamamouserecipes.blogspot.com/). Once they're all out there in the blog, all of her loved ones will have ready access to them. If I work at it steadily, it shouldn't take too long. I've already entered several, including her "Slow Boat to China!"
Friday, August 11, 2006
Getting Started
Well, here goes . . . my first blog post.
I'm working on a couple of book ideas which I hope will bring me the financial means to buy and outfit a rural property. I'd like to be ready to publish within two years, which will mean a lot of hours to put in on writing. That's fine, actually, since I would like writing (and maybe self-publishing) to be part of earning my livelihood. It's a big shift, since I've been a clerk my whole worklife so far, living in the city on a busline. I don't even have a driver's licence or car yet. And clerking wages are a mite meager, so I'll be building this dream frugally.
Yep. Here goes!
I'm working on a couple of book ideas which I hope will bring me the financial means to buy and outfit a rural property. I'd like to be ready to publish within two years, which will mean a lot of hours to put in on writing. That's fine, actually, since I would like writing (and maybe self-publishing) to be part of earning my livelihood. It's a big shift, since I've been a clerk my whole worklife so far, living in the city on a busline. I don't even have a driver's licence or car yet. And clerking wages are a mite meager, so I'll be building this dream frugally.
Yep. Here goes!
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