The struggle is real, y'all. I had so many intentions going into this summer. However, I've struggled to go so far as to put on pants each much less actually get any projects done. I feel like I am failing at life right now.
All I want to do is read, write, and game. That's it. That's all I want to do. Well ... that and lightly snack. Ok ... and occasionally drink. The point is, nothing I want to do is really all that productive. There are so many things that NEED to be done that are things that would improve our home, yet I can't get myself motivated enough to do it.
I need to paint in the living room. I need to clean out and paint the laundry room. I need to organize the clothes hanging in my closet. There's no organization and it's starting to drive me nuts!
You know - that's it. I'm going to start small and work up. I'm going to make Rooster go into that laundry room with me and do something meaningful. It's only 2:30 in the afternoon. We have all kinds of time to start and finish the clean-out part. We're not HOARDERS for crying it loud - it isn't THAT bad.
Awesome ... see? I'm starting to feel better. And now that I think about it ... I'm going to sit here and list the things I've done today - "meaningful" or not.
Took a shower
Took my car to get oil changed
Tidied the kitchen/loaded the dishwasher
Washed/dried one load of laundry
Talked to mom/made weekend plans
Finished Part Two/began Part Three of Fahrenheit 451
Took out trash
Published a blog post
That's not a wasted day! I feel way better now! Ok ... off to help my kid with a baking question, then I'm tackling the laundry room!
I'M WONDER WOMAN!
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Must ... Write ... Something
The struggle is real, y'all. I have so many things I wanted to get done this summer, and I'm finding that I'm really having to work hard at not zoning out into my computer games. PC games are the devil. They're so seductive and before I know it, I've been staring at a computer screen fighting off imaginary monsters for four hours. I have wasted so much LIFE on Steam's game hub!
But alas ... we all have our addictions, no?
The point is, I caught myself, logged off, and am now writing. Nevermind that it's 10:30 at night on a Sunday. It's summer and I'm a teacher, so this is my time to recharge my soul doing whatever it is I need to do in order to accomplish that, and while gaming is enjoyable, part of that "soul-feeding" includes writing. I need to start making it a habit to write more. Seriously.
I'm trying to think of an assignment to give myself. I don't know if I want to construct a poem, write a research paper or a critical essay. Maybe a short story? I DON'T KNOW! Anyone got any suggestions? Ideas? I need a prompt!
But alas ... we all have our addictions, no?
The point is, I caught myself, logged off, and am now writing. Nevermind that it's 10:30 at night on a Sunday. It's summer and I'm a teacher, so this is my time to recharge my soul doing whatever it is I need to do in order to accomplish that, and while gaming is enjoyable, part of that "soul-feeding" includes writing. I need to start making it a habit to write more. Seriously.
I'm trying to think of an assignment to give myself. I don't know if I want to construct a poem, write a research paper or a critical essay. Maybe a short story? I DON'T KNOW! Anyone got any suggestions? Ideas? I need a prompt!
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Food For Thought
On May 31st, my dude and I decided to embark on the Whole30 Challenge to see if it would help me get my blood sugar under control as I was recently diagnosed as being pre-diabetic. He didn't have to do it with me, but wanted to show support, and I can't thank him enough. On the days I was weak, he was strong, and vise versa and it's helped us get "over the hump" so that now we're both committed to changing our lifestyles to eating much cleaner going forward.
To date, I have lost 10 pounds, and all my oral allergies to certain types of nuts, raw vegetables, and all pitted fruits has gone away. I no longer eat any dairy, nor do I eat any grain-based foods like bread and pasta. While my husband still enjoys potatoes, I have also cut those from my diet, save the occasional plain sweet potato when we go to the steakhouse (as healthy sides are limited). I've learned to enjoy a salad with nothing but some vinegar, olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
Now we didn't impose this on our youngest daughter, as she is still growing and has no symptoms that come from years of bad eating, but I don't cook her unique dinners. She eats with us. However, she gets a little shredded cheese on her eggs, still drinks milk, and enjoys lemonade when she's hot. I have noticed though that she has started paying much more attention to what she eats on a regular basis. She's been cooking during the day, making treats and such, and is using her own "Eat Like a Dinosaur" cookbook which is a kids' Paleo book, and she's enjoying learning how to cook with healthier ingredients than usual, so I'm super proud. She is following our example without being made to and it's encouraging to see her becoming so aware of her own nutrition at such a young age.
The point of this blog is basically to just bring awareness to everyone regarding the importance of clean, healthy eating and how our children benefit from being led by example. They learn from us - how to live, how to treat others, and how to treat themselves. If we set a healthy example, and put that expectation on ourselves, then they'll do the same. Everyone benefits.
Food for thought. :)
To date, I have lost 10 pounds, and all my oral allergies to certain types of nuts, raw vegetables, and all pitted fruits has gone away. I no longer eat any dairy, nor do I eat any grain-based foods like bread and pasta. While my husband still enjoys potatoes, I have also cut those from my diet, save the occasional plain sweet potato when we go to the steakhouse (as healthy sides are limited). I've learned to enjoy a salad with nothing but some vinegar, olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
Now we didn't impose this on our youngest daughter, as she is still growing and has no symptoms that come from years of bad eating, but I don't cook her unique dinners. She eats with us. However, she gets a little shredded cheese on her eggs, still drinks milk, and enjoys lemonade when she's hot. I have noticed though that she has started paying much more attention to what she eats on a regular basis. She's been cooking during the day, making treats and such, and is using her own "Eat Like a Dinosaur" cookbook which is a kids' Paleo book, and she's enjoying learning how to cook with healthier ingredients than usual, so I'm super proud. She is following our example without being made to and it's encouraging to see her becoming so aware of her own nutrition at such a young age.
The point of this blog is basically to just bring awareness to everyone regarding the importance of clean, healthy eating and how our children benefit from being led by example. They learn from us - how to live, how to treat others, and how to treat themselves. If we set a healthy example, and put that expectation on ourselves, then they'll do the same. Everyone benefits.
Food for thought. :)
Thursday, June 16, 2016
News from 'Nam
I'm excited to share that I got news from the sponsor regarding my daughter's group in Vietnam!
Turns out they flew to Saigon and got to visit the Mekong Delta. There they went mud fishing, enjoyed some yummy food, and even got to see a floating market. I had to Google that - super cool stuff! They then went to a Vietnamese orphanage and interacted with the children there. They sang songs, played soccer, and other games with them. Knowing my girl the way I do, I'm sure that was probably her favorite part. Although I don't doubt she was a little sad to have to leave them there. They'll be there until Sunday - by which time I'm sure she'll have grown quite attached!
I can't wait to get another update, which I'll totally share as soon as I get it. I'm so proud and excited for her! She's been anticipating this trip for quite some time now and it's cool to see that she's finally getting to experience it. Her life is so cool.
As a mother, you always want better for your kids than what you had, and I feel like despite the fact that she and her sister have been raised by two parents who live on opposite sides of the planet, their lives have been pretty fabulous. I carried a lot of guilt around for many years over the fact that her dad and I didn't last, and that they've had to spend their childhoods missing one of us, but through many conversations with them - and their father - I've come to embrace that we made the best of the situation and in some ways, they've been able to live pretty interesting lives as a result.
Now my daughter is living in Switzerland, going to an international high school, and at this moment, is learning about Vietnam first hand. How cool is that?! I love hearing about her adventures. Maybe one of these days, I'll help her write her memoirs. I'm sure I'm not he only one who'd enjoy reading about her travels and experiences, living vicariously through her.
Turns out they flew to Saigon and got to visit the Mekong Delta. There they went mud fishing, enjoyed some yummy food, and even got to see a floating market. I had to Google that - super cool stuff! They then went to a Vietnamese orphanage and interacted with the children there. They sang songs, played soccer, and other games with them. Knowing my girl the way I do, I'm sure that was probably her favorite part. Although I don't doubt she was a little sad to have to leave them there. They'll be there until Sunday - by which time I'm sure she'll have grown quite attached!
I can't wait to get another update, which I'll totally share as soon as I get it. I'm so proud and excited for her! She's been anticipating this trip for quite some time now and it's cool to see that she's finally getting to experience it. Her life is so cool.
As a mother, you always want better for your kids than what you had, and I feel like despite the fact that she and her sister have been raised by two parents who live on opposite sides of the planet, their lives have been pretty fabulous. I carried a lot of guilt around for many years over the fact that her dad and I didn't last, and that they've had to spend their childhoods missing one of us, but through many conversations with them - and their father - I've come to embrace that we made the best of the situation and in some ways, they've been able to live pretty interesting lives as a result.
Now my daughter is living in Switzerland, going to an international high school, and at this moment, is learning about Vietnam first hand. How cool is that?! I love hearing about her adventures. Maybe one of these days, I'll help her write her memoirs. I'm sure I'm not he only one who'd enjoy reading about her travels and experiences, living vicariously through her.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
If You Can't Say Something Nice ...
There has been so much going on lately that makes me want to rant, I feel like I can't talk at all anymore because I don't want to feed into the negativity. Between this current joke of a presidential race that's going on, the things that have been happening in Florida this past week (when it rains it pours in Orlando!), and all the hate flying around all the time, I'm exhausted. I try to avoid it altogether, but it's nearly impossible.
To make matters worse, I'm teaching summer school in the district I teach in (which thankfully is not the one my children go to), and the culture in this district is so self-destructive and self-inhibiting, it's a wonder the kids have gotten as far as junior high. I've only been teaching one year, but I'm already fighting being discouraged. It's all just SO different from how I was raised. I look back and feel like a total slacker because I'm just now starting my career - and I still maintained A's and B's all through school! We have TONS of kids who fail multiple classes and it's as if they don't even care. I don't get it!
So every day, I am finding myself going home with my shoulders slumped, eagerly crawling onto my couch to disappear into some computer game or another episode of Game of Thrones (I'm playing catch up as I only just started watching it). I wish I had access to the Goblin King who could just take me away to some fancy masquerade ball in the clouds, and all this reality would fall away. It's too heavy and dark.
Or maybe I just need to change my perspective. I need to try harder to "raise my vibration" and be the change I want to see, I guess. It's just really difficult to maintain that day after day when it feels like everything else is fighting against it.
To make matters worse, I'm teaching summer school in the district I teach in (which thankfully is not the one my children go to), and the culture in this district is so self-destructive and self-inhibiting, it's a wonder the kids have gotten as far as junior high. I've only been teaching one year, but I'm already fighting being discouraged. It's all just SO different from how I was raised. I look back and feel like a total slacker because I'm just now starting my career - and I still maintained A's and B's all through school! We have TONS of kids who fail multiple classes and it's as if they don't even care. I don't get it!
So every day, I am finding myself going home with my shoulders slumped, eagerly crawling onto my couch to disappear into some computer game or another episode of Game of Thrones (I'm playing catch up as I only just started watching it). I wish I had access to the Goblin King who could just take me away to some fancy masquerade ball in the clouds, and all this reality would fall away. It's too heavy and dark.
Or maybe I just need to change my perspective. I need to try harder to "raise my vibration" and be the change I want to see, I guess. It's just really difficult to maintain that day after day when it feels like everything else is fighting against it.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
My Return to Writing
So I've decided to resume writing this blog, even if no one is reading it. Why? Because I need to write! I have a journal, but I never carry it with me and frankly, I don't write as much when I'm handwriting because I'm lazy. There it is. That's why I don't write more.
But typing? I'm a whiz at typing. I type way faster than I write and it's easier to read! Now I have to pick something to write about. I'll start with something I think about all the time - my daughters.
It's been a while since I really sat down and put to paper how crazy in love I am with being a mother - and especially to the incredibly awesome daughters I have. All three of them are so strong and unique and capable of ruling the world. I can't take credit because I honestly don't know what I'm doing when it comes to "adulting", but somehow they've managed to all be very interesting people with lots of promise in their futures. All three of them are A students. All three of them love to read. All three of them have dreams and goals and actually have plans as to how they're going to get there. It's insane!
Right this minute, my oldest daughter is in Vietnam with her international school on a world service project. Seriously! She got there yesterday and the group has a blog of their own set up, but they've only posted one thing and it was that they were at the gate at the airport. I don't care! What's going on in Nam??!! I can't wait for her to come home so I can hear all about what her adventure was like. She's such a cool kid. She's an example to everyone around her when it comes to self discipline, working hard and how to be a loving person. She's not perfect - she's also a teenager who's still learning how life works, but she's a very "put together" teenager who has accomplished much more in he 16 years than I had at that age!
My middle daughter is coming into her own when it comes to her grades and time management. She's like her mother when it comes to having the "lazy bone" and doesn't like early mornings or things that are difficult - but this past school year, she really hopped to and got it done. She managed straight A's throughout the school year while also participating in several extra-curricular activities including gymnastics, track and cross-country. She also worked really hard in theatre, which is something I think she's going to stick with when she gets to Europe for high school.
Then there's my youngest and she's just as Alpha as the first one. Today, she's actually going to setting up a lemonade stand with a friend of hers, and they're going to sell lemonade and water bottles by the neighborhood pool. She's been planning this since before school let out and used all her own money for the start-up costs. She loves math, so this was right up her alley. Only ten years old and already she's starting up her first business! I can't wait to see how it goes for them this afternoon. If she sells all her inventory, she'll have made almost $50. Not bad scratch for a soon-to-be fifth grader!
That's all I have for now. I look forward to getting back into the habit of writing a little bit every day. I'm trying to get in the right mindset for when I start back on my book I started last year, but was unable to finish due to my shift in career choices. I've been reading more and more now, and it's spurring me on to want to write again. I hope to gain more followers on here as time goes on. Feel free to leave questions you might have in the comments, and I'll answer them. It'll give me more to write about!
*GC*
But typing? I'm a whiz at typing. I type way faster than I write and it's easier to read! Now I have to pick something to write about. I'll start with something I think about all the time - my daughters.
It's been a while since I really sat down and put to paper how crazy in love I am with being a mother - and especially to the incredibly awesome daughters I have. All three of them are so strong and unique and capable of ruling the world. I can't take credit because I honestly don't know what I'm doing when it comes to "adulting", but somehow they've managed to all be very interesting people with lots of promise in their futures. All three of them are A students. All three of them love to read. All three of them have dreams and goals and actually have plans as to how they're going to get there. It's insane!
Right this minute, my oldest daughter is in Vietnam with her international school on a world service project. Seriously! She got there yesterday and the group has a blog of their own set up, but they've only posted one thing and it was that they were at the gate at the airport. I don't care! What's going on in Nam??!! I can't wait for her to come home so I can hear all about what her adventure was like. She's such a cool kid. She's an example to everyone around her when it comes to self discipline, working hard and how to be a loving person. She's not perfect - she's also a teenager who's still learning how life works, but she's a very "put together" teenager who has accomplished much more in he 16 years than I had at that age!
My middle daughter is coming into her own when it comes to her grades and time management. She's like her mother when it comes to having the "lazy bone" and doesn't like early mornings or things that are difficult - but this past school year, she really hopped to and got it done. She managed straight A's throughout the school year while also participating in several extra-curricular activities including gymnastics, track and cross-country. She also worked really hard in theatre, which is something I think she's going to stick with when she gets to Europe for high school.
Then there's my youngest and she's just as Alpha as the first one. Today, she's actually going to setting up a lemonade stand with a friend of hers, and they're going to sell lemonade and water bottles by the neighborhood pool. She's been planning this since before school let out and used all her own money for the start-up costs. She loves math, so this was right up her alley. Only ten years old and already she's starting up her first business! I can't wait to see how it goes for them this afternoon. If she sells all her inventory, she'll have made almost $50. Not bad scratch for a soon-to-be fifth grader!
That's all I have for now. I look forward to getting back into the habit of writing a little bit every day. I'm trying to get in the right mindset for when I start back on my book I started last year, but was unable to finish due to my shift in career choices. I've been reading more and more now, and it's spurring me on to want to write again. I hope to gain more followers on here as time goes on. Feel free to leave questions you might have in the comments, and I'll answer them. It'll give me more to write about!
*GC*
Friday, September 19, 2014
Cards on the Brain
Most of you know I'm a tarot card collector. I enjoy reading, but above all else, I'm a collector. I realized something today regarding my decks that sort of made me laugh ... and think. I happen to be a big fan of things that make me both laugh and think, so I thought maybe some of you would, too.
I realized today that my feelings about certain decks are very much tied to different states of mind or aspects of my personality that they appeal to. I guess I so often hear the phrase "being in tune with" your tarot decks and I never tied it back to that connection most people have to all sorts of meaningful inanimate objects in our lives. People get very attached to certain things for various reasons such as a 'charm' from someone who made it through a war and back. When I am going through and looking at my decks, each one influences or stimulates a different vibe in my brain.
I noticed it when I got my new Zombie Tarot. It's a very tongue in cheek deck and I love the sense of humor of the creator. It's the part of me that giggles and nudges the person next to me to join in. I guess of known on a certain level that I have this type of connection with my decks, but I never committed any structured thought to it. Now I'm sitting here pondering it and I feel like a little light bulb just stuttered and then lit up over my head!
For someone like me who has multiple decks, when reading for ourselves, our deck choice depends on our mood at the time. I have dark, shadowy decks and silly, whimsical decks. I have traditional, reproduction decks and I have themed decks for when I may just be in an "Alice" mood. My Zombie Tarot will definitely be for when I'm feeling silly ... and maybe a little mischievous.
I'd love to see my brain under a brain scan when I'm going through my decks. I'd just like to see in what ways it effects the energy flow in there. It's fascinating to me how colors, shapes and symbols influence our emotions, our thought patterns and our perspective on things. In truth, that's what makes tarot work ... those connections.
Here is where I would love to see the science on this. Sadly I'm not a neuro-anything, so I have no idea how to even approach that study. I hypothesize that when we lay down cards with the intention of understanding reality more clearly, our unconscious mind focuses on what we need to see with our conscious mind, enabling us to see beyond or in a more all-encompassing manner. There could be any number of combinations out there on the table, but the message - that "thing" we're supposed to be getting insight for - is going to be the same. The cards are a tool to tie the part of our brain we know about to the part of our brain that we don't.
I feel like I'm sucking the mysterious hoodoo-ness out of tarot, but this is my blog, so I write what I want. It always goes back to science for me and while I know not everything in the universe is explainable yet, I don't think that means it will stay that way. We are always discovering new things and disproving old thought systems. I love tarot because of it's (in my opinion) inexplicable ability to work the way I believe it does. I think there's definitely something metaphysical going on there, and I think it's worthy of some looking into.
Ok ... geek out ending ... now.
I realized today that my feelings about certain decks are very much tied to different states of mind or aspects of my personality that they appeal to. I guess I so often hear the phrase "being in tune with" your tarot decks and I never tied it back to that connection most people have to all sorts of meaningful inanimate objects in our lives. People get very attached to certain things for various reasons such as a 'charm' from someone who made it through a war and back. When I am going through and looking at my decks, each one influences or stimulates a different vibe in my brain.
I noticed it when I got my new Zombie Tarot. It's a very tongue in cheek deck and I love the sense of humor of the creator. It's the part of me that giggles and nudges the person next to me to join in. I guess of known on a certain level that I have this type of connection with my decks, but I never committed any structured thought to it. Now I'm sitting here pondering it and I feel like a little light bulb just stuttered and then lit up over my head!
For someone like me who has multiple decks, when reading for ourselves, our deck choice depends on our mood at the time. I have dark, shadowy decks and silly, whimsical decks. I have traditional, reproduction decks and I have themed decks for when I may just be in an "Alice" mood. My Zombie Tarot will definitely be for when I'm feeling silly ... and maybe a little mischievous.
I'd love to see my brain under a brain scan when I'm going through my decks. I'd just like to see in what ways it effects the energy flow in there. It's fascinating to me how colors, shapes and symbols influence our emotions, our thought patterns and our perspective on things. In truth, that's what makes tarot work ... those connections.
Here is where I would love to see the science on this. Sadly I'm not a neuro-anything, so I have no idea how to even approach that study. I hypothesize that when we lay down cards with the intention of understanding reality more clearly, our unconscious mind focuses on what we need to see with our conscious mind, enabling us to see beyond or in a more all-encompassing manner. There could be any number of combinations out there on the table, but the message - that "thing" we're supposed to be getting insight for - is going to be the same. The cards are a tool to tie the part of our brain we know about to the part of our brain that we don't.
I feel like I'm sucking the mysterious hoodoo-ness out of tarot, but this is my blog, so I write what I want. It always goes back to science for me and while I know not everything in the universe is explainable yet, I don't think that means it will stay that way. We are always discovering new things and disproving old thought systems. I love tarot because of it's (in my opinion) inexplicable ability to work the way I believe it does. I think there's definitely something metaphysical going on there, and I think it's worthy of some looking into.
Ok ... geek out ending ... now.
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