A friend of mine posted something called "Little Victories" on her blog, and I really liked the idea, so I thought I would do the same thing here showcasing my own little victories. After all, it's the little things that keep us going, right?
As most of you know I no longer work, and staying home to recover has been, truly, a blessing. The bad days are certainly nothing to brag about, but I am grateful to be in the comfort of my own home to rest when I need to, cut myself off from the world, and just come to terms with how this whole thing has affected me. I've learned a lot about myself, and others, during this past year and I realize that focusing on the big things doesn't really get me anywhere. So! Here are my little victories of the past few weeks:
1. Despite feeling like dirt yesterday and having a bad night's sleep I decided to go to the gym anyway and work out on the elliptical machine that I love. I'm glad I did.
2. Even though my dad wasn't able to make it to the gym with me, I still went...by myself! That's a huge feat!
3. Made a new recipe called Salmon Spinach Bundles (super easy!). The result? Success, though James liked it much more than I did. I thought they were good, but I am envisioning many variations of the same thing. Next up: chicken and broccoli bundles or turkey and asparagus...the possibilities are endless.
4. I have slowly been able to organize parts of my home that I always wanted to, but never had a chance to before. I reorganized our entertainment center in the living room and have now begun to tackle the mess that is our study. This, my friends, will definitely take time.
Ok, well, it's still early this morning, so I am having a hard time thinking about anything else, but I will. Listing out my small victories help me feel better and realize that I have accomplished things despite not feeling so well. I think I'll do this again sometime with some more little victories.
Thursday, January 21
Saturday, January 16
Stupid Migraine
Today I had a migraine. It sucked. The end.
But I found this little cartoon by Migraine Chick that I found extremely funny. I hate migraines, but at least I have funny people like Migraine Chick to make me laugh a little.
But I found this little cartoon by Migraine Chick that I found extremely funny. I hate migraines, but at least I have funny people like Migraine Chick to make me laugh a little.
Sunday, January 10
Here's to a new week
This weekend has been pretty laid back, as all weekends should be I think. I woke up on Saturday morning still coming out of a dream I had that I thought would make a great book. I spent the next hour typing up a three page synopsis on what the book was about and now I can't wait to start writing it into a novel! (I feel so Stephenie Meyer-ish!) I read the synopsis to James and he thought it was great, so that made me feel good, too. I'm really excited about it. I like having projects to do. This week I will be working on character sketches and possibly writing some of the settings and back stories. I haven't given myself a deadline to complete the book because it's still early in the process. It's going to be fun though.
This week I surprisingly have a lot going on. My little brother is trying to earn some money to buy a laptop that is on sale. My dad told him that if he earns half of the money that he would pitch in the other half. I asked him if he wanted to come over and help me clear out the clutter that is our study and he said he would love to, so this week he'll be coming by for a couple hours each day to help me out with it. It will be fun to have him come and help me out, but even more fun to have his company. I'm looking forward to it.
I've also started going back to the gym...well, ok I went once last week, but I am trying to go twice a week with my dad. Tomorrow I plan on going to the gym with him and then again on either Wednesday OR Friday, or possibly both days, if I am feeling up to it and if he is as well. It's nice going to the gym with someone. Thursday I have a follow-up appointment with my surgeon and my dad is also going to come with me to that appointment because afterward we are going to go to the temple for our church down in Littleton. James has to work all week, or he would come with us, but James does get Saturday off so we plan on going down to the temple for our church again on Saturday. It will be nice to go twice this week. I'm really looking forward to that.
I wanted to make a trip to the library this week too to pick up some more books to read. I've been trying to do this for the past week or so, but haven't been feeling up to it. I hurt my leg somehow and it's been really giving me some trouble. I don't know what I did to it, but I may have to go into the doctor this week if it doesn't calm down. We'll see. I have plenty of other things I need to do as well, so I don't think I'll run out of things anytime soon. I am excited for this week, though. It's a new week with lots of things to do, but spaced out enough to where I don't feel overwhelmed. Good stuff!
This week I surprisingly have a lot going on. My little brother is trying to earn some money to buy a laptop that is on sale. My dad told him that if he earns half of the money that he would pitch in the other half. I asked him if he wanted to come over and help me clear out the clutter that is our study and he said he would love to, so this week he'll be coming by for a couple hours each day to help me out with it. It will be fun to have him come and help me out, but even more fun to have his company. I'm looking forward to it.
I've also started going back to the gym...well, ok I went once last week, but I am trying to go twice a week with my dad. Tomorrow I plan on going to the gym with him and then again on either Wednesday OR Friday, or possibly both days, if I am feeling up to it and if he is as well. It's nice going to the gym with someone. Thursday I have a follow-up appointment with my surgeon and my dad is also going to come with me to that appointment because afterward we are going to go to the temple for our church down in Littleton. James has to work all week, or he would come with us, but James does get Saturday off so we plan on going down to the temple for our church again on Saturday. It will be nice to go twice this week. I'm really looking forward to that.
I wanted to make a trip to the library this week too to pick up some more books to read. I've been trying to do this for the past week or so, but haven't been feeling up to it. I hurt my leg somehow and it's been really giving me some trouble. I don't know what I did to it, but I may have to go into the doctor this week if it doesn't calm down. We'll see. I have plenty of other things I need to do as well, so I don't think I'll run out of things anytime soon. I am excited for this week, though. It's a new week with lots of things to do, but spaced out enough to where I don't feel overwhelmed. Good stuff!
Thursday, January 7
Not What I Thought
When you're growing up you have these dreams or thoughts or expectations, call them what you may, about what your life is going to be like when you are older and on your own. You think about the successful career, or the handsome loving husband/beautiful perfect wife, the beautiful family, or the travels around the world. You factor in ages and places, people and things, money and wealth, possessions and spirituality. You take almost everything into consideration and think you have everything planned out so well. And then, the next thing you know, you are living a life that is completely opposite anything you ever imagined those many years ago. For some, it's better than they every thought it could be, and for others it's worse.
It's at moments like this that you think "I've done everything right. I've followed the plan I created for myself, I did all the right things at exactly the right time." But somehow it all goes an entirely different way. We don't factor in the heartache or the missed opportunities. We don't lie in our beds at night as kids dreaming about what we will do when our plan doesn't work out. We don't consider sickness or sorrow, sadness or pain. And that's a good thing because as kids it's in our nature to focus on the good and the positive. We are supposed to dream big and throw our souls open to the world with an invitation of "Come in world! Show me what you've got! I can take it! I can take anything you throw at me!" Our eyes are bright, our smiles wide and we run towards anything that looks like it might be hard or even dangerous simply because it's an adventure.
Then, in the quiet moments of a cold January morning, you reflect back on everything you have done and everything going on right now and you think "What happened?" Your mind is turned toward those who are the same age as you and their beautiful families, successful careers, handsome loving husbands/beautiful perfect wives, and travels they have taken. You remember their wide grins in the pictures and videos they have sent. You hear the happiness and excitement in their voices as they recount their adventures and you can't help but be a little jealous.
Your life has not turned out like what you thought it would....
But that doesn't mean it's been bad. It's just not what you had originally thought it would be like. It's different and new and sometimes overwhelming. But that's where the adventure comes in. Life begins at the edge of our comfort zones.
It's at moments like this that you think "I've done everything right. I've followed the plan I created for myself, I did all the right things at exactly the right time." But somehow it all goes an entirely different way. We don't factor in the heartache or the missed opportunities. We don't lie in our beds at night as kids dreaming about what we will do when our plan doesn't work out. We don't consider sickness or sorrow, sadness or pain. And that's a good thing because as kids it's in our nature to focus on the good and the positive. We are supposed to dream big and throw our souls open to the world with an invitation of "Come in world! Show me what you've got! I can take it! I can take anything you throw at me!" Our eyes are bright, our smiles wide and we run towards anything that looks like it might be hard or even dangerous simply because it's an adventure.
Then, in the quiet moments of a cold January morning, you reflect back on everything you have done and everything going on right now and you think "What happened?" Your mind is turned toward those who are the same age as you and their beautiful families, successful careers, handsome loving husbands/beautiful perfect wives, and travels they have taken. You remember their wide grins in the pictures and videos they have sent. You hear the happiness and excitement in their voices as they recount their adventures and you can't help but be a little jealous.
Your life has not turned out like what you thought it would....
...it's hard...
...and painful...
...and a little bit scary.
But that doesn't mean it's been bad. It's just not what you had originally thought it would be like. It's different and new and sometimes overwhelming. But that's where the adventure comes in. Life begins at the edge of our comfort zones.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)