on not, need, want and do...

I keep thinking about all the things I'm NOT doing, NEED to be doing, WANTing to do.

I ought to focus on what I AM doing.

I tell myself about NEEDs more often than I should, but I've been catching myself. I pick something up at Target, "ooooooh I need this!" then stop myself and ask about that need. Is it real? Perceived? How long have I gone without that thing? Could I reasonably go without it? Is there something we have that I could use as an alternative? Do I really even have the money to buy it, or the justification to ask Able-Bodied Boy to purchase it for me? 90% of the time, it goes back on the shelf.

We're in the middle of a heat wave and it makes going outside a miserable experience for me. For Bella too, so I've been trying to busy myself around the house.

Able-Bodied Boy voted that my next project should be labeling cleaning supplies with their alternative replacements. So as we run out of one thing, we can make up a batch of the new stuff. I'm excited that he's on board with that concept, so that will be the next thing I tackle. Maybe the next w/mo2h series...

I have been crunching those abs regularly. I have not, however been cycling. I'll update about why not here pretty soon.

Bella will soon be part of an awesome program that helps rescue owners who are struggling with behavioral issues. It's cheaper than normal one-on-one, in-home training, but with 3 hours of personal training and a ton of phone/email support. So maybe by July we can have friends over without worrying about how she's going to react.

Able-Bodied Boy has a ton of travel and vacations this summer. Having been with his company since they invented electricity, he gets more than double the vacation time I do, so off he goes for 3 weeks of camping. I have on occasion joined and enjoyed. This year is debatable. Bella wouldn't be allowed, I'd be out in the heat, and well... it's a lot of late nights and drinking and somehow that isn't as appealing as it was before. We'll see. I usually spend his time away working on a project; this year will be the cleaning supplies and the game room downstairs. It woefully needs a clean-out; it's more of a dungeon right now and while that makes for fun ambiance it also makes for a stale smell and big spiders that creep up on us while we're down there :-P

Gotta focus on the DO. Not on all the other stuff I'm not doing or wanting to do or convinced I need to do.

Just do it?

How do you block out all the things you think you ought to be doing? How do you get yourself satisfied, living in the moment?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


  

mid-week weigh in/check in

Well, I hopped on the scale this morning and I'm 9lbs down from where I started. So way to go me!

I've reduced my daily intake (to compensate for my woeful lack of cycling - due to rain and very occasional laziness and frequent time constraints) and have been watching my snacking. If I overeat, I fill my belly with ice cold water later when it claims to be hungry.

In short, I've been good about eating :)

What I have not been good about it posting. I have a lot of excuses for you... but you deserve better than that. I'm trying not to judge myself against other bloggers that give you something to chomp on nearly daily. But I've gotten such wonderful positive feedback from so many people that I feel encouraged to write again. "Again", meaning all those years I didn't write, or if I did it was whiney or personal or ranting and I didn't think about my audience, my purpose. You know, all those things an English major is trained to consider....

I have to remind myself that winter was a time of darkness, inner reflection, huddled against the warmth of hearth and home. Boring, basically. There's time to write. Time to plan. Time to share.

Spring? Not so much.

Summer? I hate the heat and Able-Bodied Boy has tons of travel. So I'll be home with dear sweet (when she's not attacking our friends... oh rescue woes) Bella , tending crops, processing foods, and writing more about all that. Plus chickens. Don't forget the chickens!

In the meantime, I'm eyeballing my Clean Hippie page for a new project (and feel free to comment there with list suggestions!)...

What do you want me to try next? Homemade deodorant? Replacing paper towels with cloth? Labeling current chemical cleaners with their future replacement (mixes of baking soda, vinegar, etc)? Or re-designing this damn blogger page :)?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl