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Flat-Out Love just called to me so I picked it up and I must admit that I really really enjoyed the story. There are some twists and turns and I could guess some of them and not the others but even with that I really enjoyed reading it. I liked the characters, enjoyed the quirks and didn’t mind the writing style. If you’re looking for a quick, fun read this is definitely on the list. I will look for more from this author. (I’d never heard of her before.)
Many, many years ago, I did Weight Watchers. I will say that it worked like a charm and I lost quite a bit of weight which I kept off until I got pregnant. But Weight Watchers gave me a gift that I think is bigger than the weight loss. It created a number value for each food. For those of you who never did it, the way WW used to work (it’s slightly different now) was that you got a number of allotted points each day. Let’s say 18. And then each thing you eat or drink has a point, too. You can basically eat, drink and be merry until you reach the magic number. Of course, it has quite a few subtleties but that’s the gist of it. So, for a programmer, having a number value associated with food makes life so much easier. For me, the choices became much simpler. The first thing I eliminated was the stuff I like only a little bit but had huge points. For example, pizza. I know some people love pizza but I can take it or leave it. And now that I know how many points it is, I pretty much leave it. Same for muffins. I like them ok but they are so not worth the points. So my first lesson was to learn about how many things I eat that are just ridiculously bad for me. For things I adore, like chocolate, that might be worth it, but for things I could go either way on, it clearly wasn’t. I’ve pretty much eliminated those things permanently. This only works because I wasn’t crazy about them to begin with and so I never crave them. The second, and bigger in my opinion, lesson I learned from Weight Watchers was to make my points count. This is not about choosing a big, whole meal that’s 8 points over a piece of chocolate that might be the same number. (Though that was good to know too. And sometimes I chose the chocolate anyway but at least it was a conscious choice.) But what I learned was making sure that if I was going to eat the chocolate and get the 6 points, I better eat the BEST chocolate I could find. The one I was really, truly going to enjoy. So that every single one of those points counted. Ever since I did weight watchers, I never settle for my indulgences anymore. I get the best chocolate or the best dessert. I only eat the ice cream that I truly love. The other day, I was at Starbucks and I’ve been really addicted to their Cake Pops lately. But they were out of the one I like and so I picked another bite-sized dessert instead. It was terrible. Someone else might have loved it but I knew that it didn’t fulfill my chocolate need the way the cake pop did and thus I felt unsatisfied. And, worse, I’d just wasted my valuable points (not to mention money) on something that wasn’t delicious. I made a point to remember that next time my favorite item was out, I wouldn’t substitute. (Ahem, instead, I drove to another Starbucks and got my cake pop!) I think this idea can be applied to many areas of life. Not just calories but time and money, too. You have limited amounts of each. Make sure that you’re spending them on what matters most. Make every little bit count. Don’t settle for the crappy chocolate. If you’re going to do it, do it right. I want to be clear that I am talking about an apples to apples comparison. I am not saying eat a 32-point cake instead of a 6-point piece of chocolate. I am not saying go on a $5,000 vacation instead of the $200 one. I am saying all things being equal, pick the super-delicious (for you) 6-point chocolate over the mediocre 6-point one. I am grateful to Weight Watchers for the lesson it inadvertently taught me. So, now, I buy the best chocolate. I go to another store to find the item I really want. I don’t settle and waste my precious points. I only watch the TV shows I love. I only read books that fulfill me. I do art that I love. I commit to things I know will bring me joy. We all have obligations in life. Things that are out of our control and things that we wish we could do differently. Things we do that we wish we didn’t have to. Things we don’t do that we wish we got to. Much of life cannot be altered easily. But there are bits we do get to control. However small or big. The goal is to make the very best of those moments. To make sure that in the things we do get to control we are choosing to honor our bodies, souls, minds, hearts by making the choice that is truly aligned with who we are. With what makes us happy. That we’re making it count. Here are the sketches from last week: Sunday:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
that’s it for this week. I managed to do them even on vacation. I just love sketching so much. Daily Sketching is a weekly project for 2012. You can see a detailed post on my steps here.
If you’ve been reading here with any regularity, you’ll know that I live a relatively structured schedule. I’ve always thought that the structure allows me to get more things done. As it turns out there is a correlation between “willpower” and “structure.” The more things are scheduled, the less they require use of willpower. You don’t have to motivate yourself to do it. You do it cause it’s the next thing on the schedule. This is also why “every day” works better than “3 days a week.” Because if it’s every day, you can’t put it off to tomorrow. It has to get done today and tomorrow and every other day. I understand that structure doesn’t work for everyone. I respect that we’re different. But I also challenge you to give it a try. Pick one thing and create a schedule around it. Just for that one thing. It can work like magic. And getting to keep more of your willpower to then use on other things is just an added bonus. Having said that, I have had times where my own schedule stresses me out. Some days, a lot of unexpected things pile up and I find that my sketch (that I usually do at 8:30am) is still not done at 6pm and I am stressing. At that point, I have two choices: I can let it go or I can let the stress go and just tell myself it’s a choice I made and it will bring me joy to sit and work on it. Letting it go is the easy thing. Ok maybe not for me. But it still feels like the easy thing. At the end of those kinds of days, I feel wiped and frustrated and all I want is to lie on the couch and watch TV or surf the net. But here’s the thing…. On the days when I do let it go, I am always bummed when I go to bed. I feel a small feeling of self-disappointment and a big feeling of blahs. For me, TV or net-surfing is like cool-whip (in Melody’s terms): it’s an activity void of soul-lifting. I can do it for hours and I feel just as empty (if not more) afterwards. Whereas if I do the hard(er) thing and sit at my table and sketch, within 15 minutes, I am completely engrossed and by the end I feel more fulfilled and my soul is much happier. However, there are times when the activity I’ve put off on my schedule is not soul-restoring and/or I am truly wiped and I need to get sleep. So now we’re not talking soul-less web-surfing vs. sketching but sleep vs. something that doesn’t have to get done. It’s on the schedule cause I put it there. I would like to do it but the idea of doing it is causing me a large amount of stress or guilt when instead I really really need the sleep. In that case, I get sleep. As a side note, I have learned to prioritize sleep over pretty much anything. Sleep is important for my body and soul and brain. The idea here is threefold: 1. Structure is good for you. How much structure and what to put on the schedule is up to you and make sure to keep a good balance between encouraging and suffocating. Letting yourself off the hook for one day does not mean throwing the schedule out the door. Sleep, rest, and get back in the game tomorrow. We get a fresh start every day. And if this happens a lot, review your schedule. Change it. It’s yours. It’s there to serve you. If it’s not serving you, change it. I look at my schedule as a way to give myself permission to do the things I want to do. It’s not my chore-list. I don’t put the laundry or dishes on there. Ever. I put my own tasks. Sketching, exercising, journaling, etc. Things for my soul. In my opinion, even those things can require willpower. Putting them on the schedule gives me permission and allows me to do them without depleting my willpower. And each time I check something off, I lift my soul up just a little bit more. This is a layout I made for My Mind’s Eye for winter CHA.
And the journaling says: details:
Here are two more spreads from our book:
The left side of this spread is a map of Legoland and the right side is an id he got there on the driving course. He wanted to write all over the page so that’s what he got to do. He loves it and so do I. And the next spread:
The left side has his ribbon of when he moved from level 2 to 3 in swim class. I blurred the name of the school just in case. The right side has some index photos from a 2009 Project Life order I’d put in. Tons of little photos of David. There we go. That’s all for this week. More coming soon. David’s Book of Good Memories is a bi-weekly project for 2012 with my seven-year-old son David. You can read more about it here.
I am quite tired at the moment so I will keep this one short. It was another lovely week in the karenika household. David had no school all week so he was home playing, relaxing, and reading. Nathaniel had school only Wednesday and Friday but didn’t get to go Friday because we all left for a two-day vacation to Tiburon. The kids also went to the dentist this week and we ran errands and worked, of course. But the week ended with our vacation in Tiburon and 75degree weather. It was truly perfect and even though I feel wiped now, it was exactly what I needed to get the grouchiness out of my system. I am so thankful. And, here are some highlights from last week: David with his long hair.
Nathaniel watching a movie (with no sound).
The boys built a big “city” all over the living room.
The worked on it for two days straight.
It was really sweet to watch them build it.
here are the beginnings. the parking lot, construction, cars.
then there was a break to do some reading.
and then more city building. this special city has batmobiles.
and here it is finished, traffic jams and all.
here’s another point of view, also shows you the graffiti on the buildings and the helipad.
on his one school-day this week, Nathaniel made a crown and he loves it to bits.
the kids posed for some photos for me.
we took our family shots right before we left.
Nathaniel wasn’t in the mood so daddy tried new tactics.
which seemed to work.
then we left for Tibruon. It was just over the water as I’d wished and the weather was absolutely perfect.
the kids snuggled in bed as we relaxed.
as we walked and sat to overlook the wonderful water, the kids ran.
Raced and laughed.
took a little break.
then some more racing.
which the seven-year-old won of course.
we walked around a lot, watched the birds, pelicans, seals, and had delicious meals.
our hotel was right next to a toy store and a candy store. There was a lot of window shopping.
and some fun coloring.
some last minute sightseeing and we were back on our way home.
and here we go. Another wonderful week gone. So grateful for my family. Here’s to a great week next week! Weekly Diary is a project for 2012. You can read more about it here. Page eight:
Ok here we go. This better count as a collage! Lots of tape and paper in the back, some doodling around the frame, a butterfly from the Body Restoration class, some more little doodads and the message. That’s it for this page. It says “Everything Changes. Let go of the need to control and just enjoy life.” details:
more next week. Journey into Collage is a project for 2012. You can read more about it here. Here are some pages I did during December:
The full text reads: We all feel alone in a crowd sometimes. And here’s the next page:
The full text reads: Listen to the voice of your soul above all others. And here’s the next page:
The full text reads: Do not underestimate the power of kindness. And here’s the next page:
The full text reads: Take time to celebrate your accomplishments. And here’s the next page:
The full text reads: Treat yourself like a start everyday, even if for a little while. Well here we go. More coming next week. I am creating multiple art journaling pages a week for now. You can read more about this project here. This set uses the Fabriano Roma papers.
For reasons that aren’t clear to me, I’ve been considerably grouchy lately. It’s been going on long enough that I am angry at myself for being grouchy, which, of course, makes me grouchier. It’s a stupid cycle because being grouchy makes me do things that aren’t good for me. I make bad choices and then I feel ashamed or frustrated or angry. But I am too grouchy to break the cycle so I keep making them and getting more upset. Letting myself down. It’s a vicious cycle and doesn’t serve me at all. One of the exercises I’ve done in several of the classes I took last year was to think about where my peace is. What brings me peace? This is not to be confused with joy or happiness. It’s not about what makes me proud of myself. It’s not about what makes me laugh. It’s just about peace. And, for me, that often means calm and quiet and a deep sense of belonging in the world. Being 100% content. For others, it might mean something completely different. So the first step is knowing what peace means for you. Then the next step is knowing what situations, people, times, things, places create that sense of peace for you. I discovered that there are a few things that put me in the peaceful mindset. One of them is looking at the sea. There’s something about endless water that calms me down immediately. The same effect is created by Redwood trees. Something about the expansiveness of nature. I also feel peaceful in the night or early morning hours when my kids are sleeping and I don’t have anything I have to do. Walking with loud music (or classical music) blaring in my ears. Hugging my kids. Holding hands with my husband. Curling up with coffee or tea and a good book. These are simple. But I don’t do them often enough. I think I need to make a list of twenty or so things that make me feel peaceful. This way, when I am grouchy, I can look at my list and hope that one or two will be appealing and possible at that moment. As for this week, tomorrow I get to do a few of the items on my list and I am already feeling grateful for the opportunity. I am hoping that at least one of them will work and I can finally shake off this grouchiness. And here’s the spread for week six. Still working on being simple and letting some stories spill over if needed:
so here’s the left side:
The first story here is how Nathaniel likes to have me fake-shoot him and then fake-die. He loves to act. The second one is the first set for David’s birthday. From the morning of his birthday. And here’s the right side:
Continuing on David’s birthday but this time from school. And the last story is about how much joy it brings me to watch them hug. As usual, the bottom has my art and our weekly family photo along the bottom. I put a photo of David’s cupcake with candles on and off to commemorate his birthday. So there we go. That’s week six. So far, so good. Loving getting to savor these memories again and again. Happy Savoring. The Savor Project was supposed to be a weekly project for 2012. You can read about my setup here.
After Shiver and Linger I moved right on to Forever because all I wanted was more of these characters. More of this story. I can’t remember enjoying a novel this much in a long time. I just felt completely sucked into their world and loved reading all the characters. I think this was likely my least favorite of the three, maybe cause it was the end. But I still loved it and wish there were more of them. I know the author has written other novels but I am not sure I will like them equally as much, however I think I have to try at least one now because if they’re half as good as these, I will love them. If you’re looking for a quick, wonderful read, this is the series for you. |
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