I Need New Lotions

For the non-regular readers: My New Years Resolutions became new years "restaurant lotions" when autocorrect took over.

And those lotions are getting stale.

It's time for new goals!

How funny that I never made new years resolutions until SparkPeople, because I knew they were usually discarded by the end of January. Now I understand them to be goals, and I'm grateful for whatever goal-setting skills I have.

Last year's year-long goal was too long. Maybe I need to re-work once a month? Who knows. I know I'm actively looking for that next 'hook', the next thing to keep me moving forward, fighting the good fight for health and well-being.

I need a goal to keep me active. After getting my 300 miles last year, I kind of went pffft with the regular walking. And this week my hips and legs have told me about it. Yesterday I walked .68 of a mile and runkeeper'ed it, just to get a shout out from Dee. Thank you, Dee.

In this transition to setting new goals, I usually 'see' if I can walk 30 continuous minutes. That's the baseline for beginning most running programs, and I still daydream about returning to some form of running (I was always an interval run-walk person). I think I was working on that in early 2020 before getting sick and I never quite got back to it. I'm likely an early OGcovid case without any medical proof. Loss of sense of smell is the biggest evidence. On the bright side, with the three pokes, I'm hearing recent rumblings about 'super-immunity'?!?  I'll take it.

But back to the new goals. Grateful every day is still a goal. That one is year long, likely to gasp its last breaths in July or August due to work pressures. We shall see. One day at a time. AND - yay, me - I DID write down gratitudes on the day I thought I missed. I found the slip of paper after I wrote my last blog. So, for January 19th:

Today, I am thankful for: beating the morning rush, a sister who is cold-weather-aversive, and my car still starting.  To catch up the rest of the days:

1-22 it felt warmer this morning

1-23 I didn't have to make the tight and somewhat treacherous turn into my parking spot because DH and DD were parked far enough to the west

1-24 Benji

1-25 librarians

1-26 dog training pads

1-27 DH walked Benji

1-28 a beloved niece's gift giving skills.

Below is a picture of the aforementioned gift, which I described to a co-worker as I grinned, who responded with a horrified look, "YOU LIKE THAT?!?"  Why yes, yes I do. 😂

It claims to be the world's most difficult jigsaw puzzle - two sided, repeating image, same image turned 90 degrees for the reverse. But it does have a central image and a straight edge border, so I may have a fighting chance. I used to work "Impossibles", which had no border and five extra pieces. But they weren't 2-sided.

So as I work toward finding a keep fit or keep active type of  'restaurant lotion' 😂, I'll also chip away to get the puzzle fitted together. Initial estimate was completion in July. But I'm happy and laughing at it. And I'm now telling people, "Never mention to a beloved niece that you are 'pandemic bored'." 💗

Goldilocks Goals

 I feel like my New Years Resolutions (aka restaurant lotions because of a hilarious autocorrect) are for Goldilocks - one is too hard, one is too easy, and one is just right.

Too hard: Eat sitting down. Okay, I can do this. But it takes a lot of work and effort, and so far, I'm getting a failing grade. It is serving its purpose by raising my awareness of what I am eating and when and why.  Many of my "stand-up" foods are unnecessary dietary additions, and the impulse to eat them standing up is driven by emotions. I literally need to sit with my emotions, and keep that self-care (of feeling the emotions and letting them run their course) at a distance from the work of fueling my body-of choosing what to consume and sitting to consume it.

Too easy: No vending machines. This feels like how I think changing any habit will always go, but never does. Not only were the vending machine purchases junky and "stand-up" kinds of eating (stuffing down emotions with food), they created extra personal bookkeeping work that was a nuisance.  Killed two birds with one stone here by making and keeping this restaurant lotion.

Just right: Grateful every day. I forgot to write down something for January 19th, but in retrospect, I'll say I'm grateful to have survived that work day. A record-breaking amount of  'walk-in' work came in (no postponing it), a co-worker was absent, and a big special project was hard-deadline due. Still, we got it all done. But we bear the battle scars to prove it. 💓 Shout out to our great commander who could see the whole picture to organize it.

 Speaking of gratitudes, let's catch up:

1-18:  Today I am thankful to wake up before the alarm.

1-19: (forgot. survived brutal work day)

1-20: paper towels, toilet paper, kleenex

1-21: Today I am thankful for water.

Experiments

Well, today I'm trying Instacart. They're supposed to deliver in about 2 hours. I have heard this service is capable of being misused (driver absconds with the groceries, no recourse), but I can handle that misfire if it happens. We are friends with a couple that lives less than a mile away, and they have had success, so with illness surging all around, I decided to give it a try.

Last night DH second-guessed his decision to retire. I had anxious feelings ebbing and flowing for the rest of the evening. One of the spark placards helped me through it:

Gratitude catch-up report:

1-12 collard greens and community efforts

1-13 losing weight I do not need

1-14 self-acceptance (I was feeling 'extra' 😀) and a kind, friendly co-worker

1-15 Whoz Ya People (children's book with contemporary Native characters)

1-16 I don't have young children during this pandemic

1-17 TikTok and Instacart. Weightgrapher. The internet.

Although today is a day off my work-for-pay job, I feel like I've been working since I got up. And on the computer so much! I never intended to 'live' on these machines like this. I tried to push back, but was bowled over by the tsunami wave of computerization of our world. When I'm done with the computing, I'm going to my jigsaw puzzle IRL and back to the familiar screen of TV after that.

The next internet chore is donations. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I'll contribute to a quality organization that pursues justice. In honor of Tu B'Shevat, the birthday of the trees, I'll send something to the Arbor Day Foundation. And In honor of Betty White's 100th birthday, I'll donate to our local animal shelter service - where we got Benji 💓💓💓

Have a good day everyone! Hugs and love, Ace

Is It Easier to Be Grateful When the Weather is Mild?

The question crosses my mind.

On those bitter cold days last week, I struggled to find and feel gratitude.

Today, I left the house without writing one down - not my usual habit - but I was not worried about finding and feeling grateful. And, sure enough, I felt and noted gratitude for computer programs that double check my data entry. I also was grateful for an annoying bit of food in my teeth. The fact that I can feel it reminds me I'm alive.

Let's go backwards, since I started with today:

1/10 - "Today I am grateful to wake up." Sorry, I don't remember the details surrounding that one. But it's what I wrote.

1/09 - Today I am thankful DH sent us to bed and we turned off the TV. Not his usual practice to declare our TV watching done, especially on a weekend! But I was less 'off schedule' to start the work week, with a better balance in the sleep account.

Tomorrow is supposed to be mild as well. We'll see where the gratitudes land!

How has it been 5 days already?

Catching up on the codified gratitudes:

 

Jan. 4 - I was grateful the google group daily check-in thread had not been recently refreshed. I was able to catch up with news of couples coping with medical situations. 💔 🙏 As I worry about the status of my own DH's health, I learn from others, and my heart goes out to them.

Jan. 5 - DD (dear daughter) 

Jan. 6 - thankful for the ebb and flow of life and the TV off switch

Jan. 7 - grateful for Starbucks, the humidifier, water, and maps

Jan. 8 - Today I am thankful for baths and showers. And spoons.

Well, those are the ones I wrote down in my little gratitude books.  And gave myself a star sticker 💥 for completing that new year's restaurant lotion 😂. Avoiding vending machines is going better than eating standing up. I noticed myself eating breakfast yesterday at our counter, trying to be nourished yet still propel myself out the door to work. I don't think I'm as committed to that 'lotion' as I wish I was.

"The kids" should be over soon to watch our Saturday night movie. I'm working on a sweater for DD and she'll need to help decide on cuffs and ribbing for it. I'll try to remember to get and post a picture later!

working like a 1950's housewife

 a real one, not one in the sitcoms 😀

Washing bedding, vacuuming carpet and heating vents - almost took myself out on that one, as I stumbled backward forgetting there was an open hole behind me. 😮 Yikes!

Dishes are up next, but I need a breather. So I'll catch you up on the codified gratitudes:

Jan. 1 - grateful for my space heater

Jan. 2 - thankful for the google group maintainers (and aspiring) daily check in thread

Jan. 3 - grateful for moisturizer

We're having rollercoaster weather here - negative temps over new years, high in the 40s (F) tomorrow, back to negative numbers for lows by the weekend.

After dishes, I may be able to get groceries - it kind of depends on where the bedding laundry is at. I really need to learn to go to a laundromat and get it all done quickly, rather than 4 loads through our small machines. But it's nice to be at home. And we still have snow on the back roads, including our alley access, which tends to turn into an ice rink because of plentiful traffic.

I gave myself credit yesterday for all three New Year's resolutions: grateful, eat sitting down, no vending machines. It is the first time I have 'achieved' the eating sitting down after 8 days of trying. And I had to forgive myself licking the honey knife standing up. Today I have spit out things 3 times while standing up so I can make that goal. Developing new habits can be challenging, but I know this one will be worth it.