Increasing my steps weekly and the prayer box

In the last week, I have focused on the two items mentioned in the title of this entry.

My fitbit.....

Since I started wearing my fitbit during the day, I have seen a big increase in the number of steps I take each day.  The notification that I still have steps to complete any given hour gets me moving.  I hate the fact that I take unrecorded steps during the night on trips to the bathroom. I am not willing to wear it at night since as I mentioned in an earlier post, I do not want to see my sleep patterns.

Each day, I push to hit a higher number of steps then the day before.  So far I have been successful.  I have been reaping the benefits of this new focus at my weekly weigh-ins.

The fact that it is waterproof also helps so I can wear it in the shower and the pool at the gym.

I am not great at tracking the water I consume each day.  I will have to try and focus on that this week.

The Prayer Box....

One of the gifts I received at Christmas was a small prayer box.  The small wood box is the place to put my prayer requests or worries.  By writing down my prayer requests or concern, I am passing it over to God to handle.

While I am religious, I refer to myself as a Christian.  I believe in God and that Jesus died for our sins.  I do believe very strongly in the power of prayer.....even when the answer is not what I had hoped for but do accept.

Following the formal aspects of religion......I am not so good.  Let's just say I am a work in progress. As I have stated before a priest once told me I was not a good Catholic but I was a good Christian.  I was OK with that comment when it was made to me over 30 years ago and am still OK with that comment now.

The prayer box does give me a chance to acknowledge that I am not in control of everything and some of my decisions are really made by a higher power.

Once I feel a prayer request has been answered or a worry/concern has faded, I move the slip of paper I wrote on from the box to a jar I keep about good things that happen to me during the year.

Sometimes that little slip of paper stays in the box a day and I have already had some in the box for weeks and may be there for months....I will know when it is time to move it.

A simple wood box, a few slips of paper and a tiny pen......that's all it takes right now to help me make decisions, find peace......and sleep a little better.  I am sure at the end of 2017, I will go through all the little slips of paper.  I will almost have to think back and try to remember what some were about and others will be things that caused changes in my life.

Not a bad gift .....right ???

See you next week......

So where am I three weeks into the New Year.......

I tend to think I know all the answers.  Then all of a sudden someone tells me something and it registers as something worth trying.

Reaching a point of frustration last week, one of my WW buddies made a suggestion. I mentioned my Fitbit vibrates at 10 of each hour.  It was suggested that instead of just thinking to myself  "it's 10:50 or 11:50".....I should get up and walk.  That's the whole point of having the Fitbit......to keep track of my movements. I decided I had nothing to lose so I gave it a try.  While it may not seem like a lot to some.....by the end of the week I had walked almost 9 miles.  Each day I took more steps than the day before. If you looked in my window you might have seen me taking laps inside my house to beat the previous days step count. I did do a couple of hours jogging in the pool at the gym too.  Jenn also increased my daily step goal for next week......oh joy......

Right now my knees are not happy with me.....in fact they are very mad at me.  I wake up to aches. Jenn showed me a Marine poster that says "Pain is weakness leaving the body." If that statement is true then I disposed of a lot of weakness in the last 7 days.

I am also purchasing stock in Aleve this week......

The other challenge I face is my asthma has been kicking my butt lately. I think it has to do with the crazy weather we have been experiencing.  Two weeks ago it was below freezing and yesterday near 80.  While I don't mind the warm weather, the change in the temp's and climate does a job on me.

I am back to drinking a lot of water and logging it in on my Fitbit.  I am tracking everything I eat.  I have tried to once again have a good variety of options in the fridge and pantry.

On other fronts, Chapter 3 is taking shape......slowly but steadily. 

I am more focused on not working late each night. 

I am trying to spend more time reading.  

I am spending more time writing.  

I am spending more time on me...... 

Having the holidays behind me makes looking ahead easier......my mind is not stuck with thoughts of the past once the holidays are over.....at least until next November rolls around.  Some of the sadness I was feeling has lifted.  As I look ahead I continue to worry about a million different things but that is just my nature and I doubt that part of me will ever change.

I have thought seriously about not going on FB as much, too.  The negativity of the recent political season has caused me to unfriend and unfollow some people.  I have tried really really hard to not state my opinion in order to avoid getting into verbal battles with others. 

I will say I believe in the process....the electoral college allows my vote here in SC to matter as much as someone in NY.  Our founding fathers were brilliant in their thought process (although their fear was Boston, New York and Philadelphia would make the decision for all of the colonies).  I also love the fact that our transfer of power is handled in a way so differently than in so many other places around the world.

This has been a stretch for a blog entry....from my Fitbit to Inauguration Day......see how a mind can wander???

I need to sign off......I still have a couple of hundred steps to go today......I can't help but think of the lines "and miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep"....I am sure Robert Frost didn't have my laps around the house in mind when he wrote those words but they seem appropriate for what I am trying to accomplish......

See you next week........

Christmas Every Day and 2017......

I spent a lot of time this week thinking about leaving the Christmas tree up for the next 365 days.  I love the tree and the wonderful view I have while I work each day.  I thought I could write about what it's like to have the tree up at Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day and Halloween.

The idea seemed fun and like a challenge. I am seriously considering it for next year.  I do have a table top Christmas tree in my front window that I decorate for each month of the year.  My big tree, I was going to leave as it is decorated for Christmas.  I am sure people who saw it would ask "why". The great part about being a writer is the answer "it's for a story I am writing" suffices. Although, I might have people thinking...hhhhmmmmm.....I can still get a pass.

Why not leave the tree up?  Why not enjoy it's beauty? Who says it must go away? Look at the difference in my views.....which would you prefer.....

It's only another 10 months or so until it goes up again.  And watch out 2018.....that might be the year of Christmas Every Day.......

I wrote last week I started using my fitbit.  I like using it to track my steps and keep track of the water I drink. I DO NOT LIKE THE WAY IT TRACKS MY SLEEP PATTERNS!! I know I am a very restless sleeper. I do not need to look at the fitbit to see I slept 7 hours but was awake 4X and restless 5X.  All that ends up doing is stressing me out about how effectively I sleep.  I have started taking it off when I go to bed and putting it on in the morning. This works much better for me!!

I went back to WW today for the first time since 12/18.  WW was closed for my meetings since Christmas and New Year's Day were on Sundays.  I will admit I was apprehensive as I drove to my meeting.  I had really tried to watch what I ate and got in plenty of veggies.  Being away from the scale for 3 weeks is a long time!  This morning, I thought about not going back until next week.   I then thought  "you are just putting off the inevitable".  I am happy to report, I was down at the scale!! I was surprised  and pleased.  Last year had a lot of challenges and it was a roller coaster ride for much of it.  Starting the year with a loss was what I needed.  Now it is back to tracking and water and more veggies and fruit and and and.......I am going to spend sometime today looking for new recipes to keep me from getting bored. We received a new book with some very good food ideas.  I feel recharged and reading to get moving toward my personal goal.

Last week, I forgot to write about my experience with Story Corp. A few years ago CBS Sunday Morning did a piece about a group that was recording the personal histories of volunteers to store in the Folklore section of the Library Of Congress.  They have a few permanent locations where they do their interviews. In addition, also travel around the country in an Airstream RV conducting interviews.  They were here in Columbia for a few weeks.  Their first round of interview times filled up quickly and they started a waiting list.  They opened up some additional times.  I scheduled an appointment. They prefer you be interviewed by someone who knows you vs using one of their staff. This way the recording ends up being more like a conversation. A list of suggested questions is supplied.  Jenn printed the list and decided what questions she wanted to ask me.  Once again, I was somewhat nervous even though this had been my idea....LOL. When we arrived the staff went over the process and we were ready to go.  If the staff wanted additional information on one of my answers they would ask for clarification. The interview lasted 40 minutes and the time flew.

Some of Jenn's questions were:
1.  What kind of advice would you give yourself as a teenager knowing what you do now?  Answer: worry less and say yes to more opportunities.
2.  What have you learned in business? Answer: don't be afraid to admit your mistakes, try to be flexible and keep a sense of humor.
3. Any regrets? Answer: Not spending more time with family, not getting my financial house in order earlier and letting fear rule many decisions.
4.  What would you like God to say to you at the Pearly Gates?  Answer: God saying, "Not perfect but pretty good job.  You helped most of the time when you could. Maybe you could have done a little better in that dept......and I know about a few of those times we are not going to speak about....."

We were given a CD with a copy of the interview and another copy will be a permanent record in Washington, DC.  I was glad we did  it and so was Jenn.

Today begins my favorite and most stressful part of the Sports Season....the playoffs.  The NY Giants are in the post season.....yeah!! As I write this I am wearing my NYG jersey, I have a NY Giants wreath on my front door and a NY Giants flag is flying outside my house.  I am hoping I will be wearing the same shirt next weekend.  If we win today, the flag and wreath stay up.  Oh the stress of gameday....LOL.

Lastly,  one of my goals/resolutions this year is to do some random acts of kindness. I am not doing these random acts for praise.  I am doing them because it feels so darn good!!

Earlier this week, I stopped at McDonald's to purchase Jenn and I Egg White Delites for breakfast for 2 days. When I pulled up to the window to pay, the cashier said the person in front of me paid for me.  I was so surprised and it made me smile (oh ok and cry a little...anyone who knows me would have expected that). I then in turn paid for the person behind me.

Jenn and I have decided each month to bake something and bring it to the Oliver Gospel Mission. They are so appreciative every time we drop off some home baked goods.

Friday night, it was cold, windy and raining.  We had stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things (no not for our big impending snow storm...basically a few flurries).  When we were leaving, I noticed a young man collecting the shopping carts in the lousy weather. I looked in my change purse. I had a $5 bill.  I asked Jenn to give it to him. Jenn got out of the car, caught up with him and said" it's lousy weather and we appreciate you doing your job."  His response was "for me?   word.....".  LOL He was surprised and thankful that someone noticed what he was doing.  I wish I had a $10 bill in my wallet I would have given it to him.

Note to self: keep some extra $ in your wallet for these kinds of situations.

As many have shared, the New Year is a clean slate.....365 blank pages on which we control the entries......I plan on filling them with things that bring me joy!!

See you next week.......

I Am Back.........

For the first time since I started this blog several years ago, I took a few weeks off....

You might or might not wonder why??

The holidays while wonderful can also be a time when people struggle.  I was struggling.  The memories of the past were so strong that it made the time between Thanksgiving and the New Year a challenge. In retrospect, the time flew.

Here we are......Jan 1st and I made it!!

I didn't let the fact I needed car repairs upset me.

I didn't let the fact our fireplace was not functioning upset me.  I am grateful that Jenn noticed the flames were shooting where they shouldn't!

While we did a little Black Friday shopping, most of our shopping was done online.  There were some great sales too.

We baked cookies several weekends in a row.  They were shipped to family and donated to our local first responders and The Oliver Gospel Mission.

I watched "It's A Wonderful Life" on TV twice and once on the big screen.

Jenn and I attended our 8th annual pre-Christmas dinner at a local restaurant (each year we pick a different place to go).

Christmas Eve and Day were very quiet.  Jenn and I went to Mass on Christmas Eve.  The walls of the church did not vibrate when I walked in.  I was slightly embarrassed that some of the prayer responses had changed since my last visit but I think I did a pretty good job not being too obvious that I didn't know about the changes.

I don't know why the idea of going to Mass kept popping in my head.  Once I found a 4:00 service, I was in.  I loved hearing my favorite Christmas hymns and enjoyed the service.

And now the outside decorations are packed away for another year.  The inside will be packed away by next weekend.

I started 2017 by going to the gym this morning for a jog in the pool.  I used my fitbit and found it fascinating how it kept track of everything I did (including the fact I napped for 65 minutes this afternoon...LOL).

I spent some time writing.  Santa also knows about my love of writing. He made sure I had books with prompts to help me practice writing based on suggested themes and finishing stories, a book of my personal top ten lists and a book about my favorites things.

I am also able to once again focus without distractions on my weight loss journey.  The fridge is full of veggies and fruits.  I am tracking my water.  I am going to try and do my best to get to the gym regularly.  I already have a mental goal as far as what I would like the scale to read by next Christmas.

I did enjoy some treats I would not normally allow myself but my conscience kept me from losing control altogether.

I almost always feel great when I leave the gym...well in order to feel those endorphins I need to get my butt into the gym more often. As the sign at the gym reads, "half the battle is showing up".

In addition to my focus on weight and a healthier lifestyle......I have decided work/life balance is a priority. I should be filling my non-work hours doing things that I enjoy.  How can I ever get published if I don't finish one of the pieces I am working on???

Chapter 3 is happening even as I write this entry...... Jenn, who knows me just about better than anyone else nailed it with two Christmas gifts.  One is a collage of me and my family....great photo's.

And the other speaks for itself......

Here's to 2017......it is going to be a great year......

See you next week.....