Vacation Observations

No matter how few actual plans I have for a day off, I will rarely complete everything I plan to complete.  Largely because I fall into a book or story, or sleep too late.

Bad weather really does depress me sometimes.  Especially if it keeps me in the house when I'd like to go out and walk.

I have gotten old in at least one way.  I am now afraid of falling.  Walking on wet sidewalks makes me nervous now..  Ever since I fell and damaged my hamstring this summer, I have been VERY circumspect about where and how fast I walk.

No matter how well paid you are for your work, if you, like me, are a poor financial planner, you will never have enough money when you think you should.

Cold weather makes sitting in one spot and reading all day even more attractive than hot weather makes it.

Cleaning the house always takes longer than I think it will because I always end up distracted by a job I didn't think of when I decided to clean.

Every year I expect New Year's Eve to be less of a drag, but it nearly always is a drag anyway.  (We just aren't the party sort.)

The sinus headache really doesn't care that it's your day off, or that it's a holiday.  It just shows up and makes you miserable no matter what.

Even with all the social media sites and news sites I follow, I STILL feel like I'm out of the loop on a lot of things...

It's odd that I can understand most Scottish people just fine, as long as they aren't actually speaking Gaelic or one of the far Northern dialects.  I only knew a couple of Scottish people from church growing up, and I have one Scottish friend now.  Other people need subtitles or something, and I just don't see why...

I have too many interests that I want to pursue,and no time to do more than dabble in any of them except singing.  (Lessons for that, so MUST work on it - I'm held accountable.) I have a  very nice bohdran, and I'd like to learn to play it, but no lessons.  I also have taken ten years of piano lessons in my mis-spent youth, and haven't practiced nearly enough EVER.  I need to get back to daily scales and chords and fingering drills.  (Gotta find the lesson books buried somewhere...)

I thought I had a few things saved up to add to this, but they have flown. 

My mind is like a steel trap.  One with a bad spring!

I have hope that perhaps the New Year can bring some positive changes, and a chance to pursue the things I need to pursue.

Joy, hope, peace and love to all of you in the year ahead!  Thanks so much for reading my blog!

Not Much Going On...

Pretty much into the "put your head down and slog" part of the New Year.  Still working out the kinks of the resolutions, working on other goals that need to be met, trying to avoid the flu that seems to be running all over the place. 

Had a very lazy weekend so far, and so tomorrow I have to play catch up.  Even the laundry has been allowed to languish a bit because the appliances (including washer and dryer) had their annual professional tune-up and maintenance checks yesterday. 

So far, the resolution to up the exercise is going pretty well.  Have done at least an hour of exercise most days, split between walking and the elliptical, or all on the elliptical, depending on weather.  One of the things I need to do tomorrow is figure out how to get my weight routine  back into the mix.  (Gotta tighten up these flabby arms!)

On the plus side, I must have looked really skinny on Friday, because at least four different patrons asked me if I'd lost weight.  That helps the motivation a LOT!  Friday was also good because I heard from some Twitter correspondents I don't always hear from, and it brightened up my day.  (Even if I DID get teased about my notorious typos.) 

Have to start watching the diet more closely, as the checkup with cholesterol checks is next month.  Guess I better plan now on low-fat, and more fruit and veggies.  Gotta cut back on the caffeine, too, so the BP won't be high.  (More sleep would also help this, but hey, I have a hard time turning the brain off any earlier.  Of course, less caffeine would probably help that, too...)

Speaking of turning the brain off earlier, it's working on midnight, so I guess I better cut this short and start trying to shut the ol' brain down for the night. 

I hope all who read this are finding success in this new year, and encouragement, and progress toward your goals. 
Never give up, never surrender!  (To quote a very good parody.)

Of New Beginnings and Old Issues

January first.  Now is the winter of our discontent begun.  The first week of keeping all our good resolutions to eat less junk food, exercise more, and just basically do a lot of things that are good for us, but decrease our sense of enjoyment, perhaps.  Unless we go about it the right way. 
My big problem is going to be the lack of chocolate.  I love chocolate, and having to cut back to the recommended ounce or two only a day is going to be rough. 
Cutting down on the number of calories consumed is going to be tough, as I tend to use food as a comfort.  Tough day?  Have some pie.  Bored? Chips and salsa!
Exercise, well, it feels good once you get finished.  Getting started is HARD.  Also, sticking with it.

I have found that if I remind myself of all the good things that come with behaving myself as regards my diet and exercise, it is lots easier to stick to my resolutions. 
When I exercise, I feel better overall, I have a better outlook on life, I have more energy.  (That is, when I am not calling myself twenty kinds of a fool for making all my muscles ache from activity they are not used to. That's why God made aspirin, though.)
I also look a whole lot better when I stick with the diet and exercise.  My skin is clearer and less wrinkly, also my color is healthy instead of pallid.  My hair shines whether or not I remember the conditioner. Also, I can fit into smaller, nicer fitting clothes. 
Biggest bonus:  I do NOT look like I am almost 55 years old.  (At least, I don't THINK I do, and I've had several people act surprised when they find out my age.  Maybe they thought I was older though, so you never know...)

On the flip side, the resolutions that mean the most are the ones that improve our character.  Like vowing to be less selfish and more concerned with the needs of others.  World needs a WHOLE lot more of that.  If even a few of us manage to do better on that, this year will be a LOT better than the last.
A  promise to oneself to learn at least one new thing every month, or to read more, things that keep your mind active and expand your horizons,those are resolutions that will pay even bigger dividends to society as a whole than improving health and/or appearance will.
I made myself a promise that I would try to finish more of the books I am reading. I have a bad habit of having four or five non-fiction books going at once, and at least two novels.  Right now, I am reading "I'm Your Man" a biography of Leonard Cohen.  I am also reading a book called "Geek Girls Unite by Leslie Simon. I have one of the "Ghost" series by Carolyn G. Hart going, and a couple of books about drinks and drink mixing that I am reading off and on.  Gotta finish all that stuff, and see what else I can get read off of the huge backlog of stuff on my Nook and on the Kindle app.

I already made a dent in one of my long-held resolutions.  I got all of the physical books in the house cataloged.  Now I need to finish verifying which ebooks I own have made it into the catalog.  In physical books alone, there are over 1,000 items in that catalog. 
One book I did finish last year, and in fact read at least 3 times, is Ron Perlman's autobiography, Easy Street: The Hard Way.   I read it over and over not just because I am a fan, but because there is quite a bit there to digest.  He tells his story in his own language, without pretense, and without holding back difficult truths.  There is much in that book to make you think about how things work, not just in Hollywood, but in life.  So grateful that I CAN count him as someone who is a friend, not a really close friend, but certainly not a stranger.  Glad for the friends I have made because of him, and very glad to know that my estimation of his character was accurate.  He is down to earth, loyal, kind, and loving.  A VERY class act.  Also a very talented actor, as shown by the many diverse roles he has performed and won accolades and awards for.

The process of deciding what to strive for in the year ahead is tempered and influenced by all that came in the year that has just passed.  Since I read Easy Street this last year, it has influenced my resolve to be more genuine, more true to myself, in my dealings with others.  I have usually been pretty much "what you see is what you get", I am not much of a poser.  I have decided though, that I need to pay more attention to making my behavior match what I claim to believe.  Never easy, but a worthwhile pursuit for a Christian.  It is what we are supposed to do, after all, to act on the things Jesus taught, to avoid the pitfalls He warned against.  Few of us meet with much success in this, but the fact that we are trying, really trying, will make the whole world a better place.  (In keeping with that goal, I will try very hard here not to rant about those who invoke religion in the service of their own prejudice and bad behavior... wouldn't want to fall victim to the pitfall of being judgmental...)

Another resolution is to strive to put more effort into translating my love of my library and my work there into positive actions to benefit this community and my library.  My goal for this year at work plays into that, by helping make our customers more aware of the services we offer.  It's a difficult goal for me, using technology I haven't used in quite that way before, making short videos to play on our lobby TV.  My boss is very excited about it, and is a lot of help, so maybe, just maybe I'll be successful.  (All I can do is my very best.)

There you have it, a brand new calendar to fill up, and some of the same old issues following me around, along with a few new ways to challenge myself.  Bet you are paddling a similar canoe.  All I can tell you is, THIS year, I intend to make my paddle out of a better quality of attitude, and a firmer bit of resolve.  These goals are worthy, and important to more than just me.  Bet yours are, too.
Happy New Year, and good luck and perseverance to us all!!

A New Year, The Same Old Me

Just some random ramblings about how the first week or so of the New Year is going. 
On New Year's Day, we noticed a bit of water standing in the front flower bed by my office window.  Kept an eye on it, and it hasn't gone away.  So, have called upon the Water Service Line insurance folks to send someone to look at it and figure out if it is the water supply line as we fear.  Just hope it's leaking OUTSIDE the slab,  and NOT under it!  I will probably lose a couple of rose bushes because of this. :(  The roses you see in this photo are the ones that may be lost.  They are dormant now, so if we can dig them up safely and cover the roots with dirt until everything is repaired, we should be able to replant them.  They need pruning back anyway.

Also on New Year's Day, I managed to keep a few resolutions.  I wrote in a poetry journal, and in one of my other journals, I exercised, I worked on the Bodhran lessons online, I did voice practice, and in general felt pretty pleased with myself.
Since then, I have failed to do any of those things except exercise. 

Tomorrow I have to go and insure my continued existence.  To do this, I must have my husband with me, and we must go to the Pass and ID  office on Tinker AFB to get my ID card renewed.  If it expires, so do I.  (At least as far as my base privileges and my medical care are concerned.) All this means I must get up the FIRST time the alarm clock goes off, and I must be more or less coherent before 10 am.  A VERY tall order.  I'm a night owl, and rarely fully mentally functional before 10:30 am at the earliest without massive infusions of caffeine. 

The weather in the last day or so has turned incredibly cold.  Bitter arctic air seems to be trying to push it's way all over this country right now.  I do not want to see our natural gas bill next month.  It's going to be ugly.  Very ugly indeed. 

Also hope it isn't too horribly cold on Tuesday.  On Tuesday the people are supposed to come and actually install drywall in our garage.  FINALLY.  (It's only been damaged since MAY.)  (Contractors and workers hard to come by around here in the aftermath of that tornado.  Our garage ceiling fell in the day BEFORE the big tornado.) 

 

This is what the garage looked like right after it happened. All the stuff is now moved out, and all the drywall is down.  The walls have ALL been insulated, new electrical wiring installed, and we're waiting on the drywall crew.

At least I have money put aside for that, and the service line coverage SHOULD cover the water issue.  Thanks be to God, because our budget can't take many unexpected expenses.  

Tomorrow is also the first voice lesson of the New Year.  Hope I can produce a halfway decent sound.  I did all right this morning, in spite of my sinuses.  Our anthem went very well.  

So, the New Year is acting a lot like the old one so far.  Hope things improve.  I am not giving up hope just yet.  

There are still good things to be done, and books to read, and songs to sing, and challenges to meet.  Guess I better get some sleep now so I can handle all that! 

The poem I wrote on New Year's:

Resolved Again 

By C.K. Armistead 1/1/14

To make the right choice

To practice piano, drum, 

And voice

To move my body more

To make it strong and sleek

For my love to adore.

To open my ears and eyes

To write my visions here to share

Hoping they won't be despised.

To love more, care and share

With those who cross my path

And those in need elsewhere.

To be myself, but more refined

More of what is best about me

And leave selfishness behind.

So my life is a light

And a guide to others

And not a blight.