Yesterday being the first day of Spring, I took stock of where I was at with respect to the intentions I set at the Winter Solstice. Seemed like an appropriate date, after all.
This is where I initially put them, on Ye Olde Blogge: here
So here is where I am at, as of this week:
- Blogging – 100% at posting at least once per week (Yay!). I am having slow but steady success at connecting with other like-minded bloggers/readers, which suits an introvert like me just fine. Quality over quantity, I say.
- Reading – Thanks in no small part to 2 glorious weeks reading on the beach in Barbados (A book a day, people. A. Book. A. Day.), I am already at 30 books. My goal for this year is 50 books. Should be a slam-dunk. (I’m WidowBadass on GoodReads, in case you want to connect there.)
- Mindfulness – I’m not meditating as much as I think I should be/could be doing. Since my winter holiday, I have fallen off the daily meditation wagon. This will be corrected!
- Financial Security – I have a goal for this year to pay down an additional 10% of my humongous demand loan, on top of my regularly scheduled payments towards it. As of this week, I am 27% of the way towards that 10% number! Which is right on track for this quarter – even a tick ahead! How am I achieving this money mastery, you may be asking? Well, let me tell ya! By logging all of my discretionary spending (to gain awareness and accountability), and by the old cowboy trick of doubling my money by folding it in half and sticking it back into my pocket instead of spending it. Oh ho ho. Also I gave up cable (I don’t watch enough TV to make it worthwhile) and I no longer go to the salon twice a month to get my (once acrylic) nails done. Yep. I am au naturel – a veritable woodland goddess. And I’m back to scrutinizing grocery store purchases instead of throwing whatever takes my fancy (looking at you, cherries in winter at $9.99 per pound!) into my cart. And I’m brown-bagging it almost daily. Like in the bad old days. Little savings that really add up. Every payday I go to the bank and make a lump sum payment on the demand loan – and that, my friends, is satisfying beyond belief because it goes directly against the principal.
- Intuitive Processes – become proficient at Tarot. Like Mindfulness, I’ve let this go a bit since coming back from Barbados. I was working with the cards daily but then I stopped and can’t figure out why. Something else to improve upon.
- Health – Oh boy, I have been doing a lot of thinking about this one. Also plenty of moving around (Yay!). I exceeded 10K steps most days despite all that
laying around like a beer drinking slugreading I did in Barbados. My blogger friend Karen, of Profound Journey, made an excellent post about Intuitive Eating a few weeks back. I remembered that I used to own a copy of that book when it first came out. Since dieting has not worked for me (*cough*anybody*cough*), and I’ve been exemplifying the definition of insanity for many years, by doing the same thing – dieting – over and over again, and expecting a different result, I was moved to repurchase this book AND the workbook. I’m working through the exercises in the book and allowing my body to tell me what to eat and when to eat it. I can’t fail at this any worse than I have failed at dieting, I figure.
I’m also still doing the mindful yoga and the Jessica Smith YouTube videos. I’ve recently added her workouts with free weights and also some balance work. This may sound a bit strange, but I’ve always loved working out with weights. And like most things I enjoy, I rarely make time for them. WTF? Why??? See also meditation, and tarot, and…
- Art – I have to mark myself as “needs improvement” for this intention, too. I even brought a small sketchbook and pencil with me to Barbados but never so much as doodled the whole 2 weeks I was on vacation. See “A. Book. A. Day.”, above.
So there it is. I’ve taken my inventory and given myself good marks for blogging, reading, financial security and physical activity. I need to step it up with respect to mindfulness, tarot and art. Health is a mixed bag. Good marks for exercising. Still weigh the same as I did at the Winter Solstice.
Next check-in: Summer Solstice.
Rock on,
The WB
SaveSave
Everything for me came together at “like most things I enjoy, I rarely make time for them”. That summed it up perfectly … WTF? Why?
We are so conditioned to do all the ‘shoulds’ and work our guilts that we don’t make time for the ‘wants’ … but my instinct tells me that if we took care of the ‘wants’ our lives would be so much richer. Again, WTF? What are we doing?!
I think you’re kicking ass, even if you want to give yourself a couple of fails and a needs improvement.
Thanks Joanne! Could be that damned Dutch Calvinist upbringing. Do all the “shoulds” first and only if they are done, can you consider anything enjoyable to yourself. Of course by then I am exhausted and just want to flop down on the nearest couch…The story of my life! Slowly, I am trying to turn this around. But that early conditioning is so ingrained and hard to get past.
Oh boy, did your post hit home (minus the Barbados part)! There’s a lot of shoulda’s in my to-do list I can identify with, but some of yours will go on my good idea list. Love your writing style – and the toe ring (another exactly like mine deal). Thanks for your reflections!
Thank you so much for your lovely comments! I’m going to check out your blog. Us toe ring gals gotta stick together…hehehe.
Omgosh. I had a whole comment written and then got the “invalid token” screen. Bleh. What I was saying was how much I loved this post and how much you’ve given me to think about, and wow, just wow that you’re tackling everything. I shake my pom poms when I get out of bed and make coffee. Woo hoo! I need to work on everything in this post. I think I need to go to Barbados to improve on my reading. I gave up Tarot cards and went with Angel cards a few years back. I need to get back to that.. But first, meditation. I really need to get on top of that. I do get my artsy stuff in. I sew and craft and crochet which is something I’ve found I must do every day. It just gives me a sense of peace when I’m in those creative moments. – Thanks SO much for this post. Clearly, I needed it!
Great, now I need to find some pom poms. 😉
Thank YOU for taking the time to comment TWICE!
Yes, whatever excuse works for you to get your butt to Barbados or some other tropical isle, I approve of!
I guess I am trying to tackle everything, but that is at least in part due to recovering from the many years where I had no time to tackle anything that I wanted to do. It was do, do, do for others all day long. Maybe I’ll calm down eventually, but probably not. 🙂
Deb
Awesome, way to go!!
I’ve been doing daily yoga for a month straight now being laid off made it easier to find the time, but I think it’s enough of a habit now it should carry through once I get a new job. I mostly do Yoga With Adriene but I’ll check out Jessica Smith now too. 👍
Like Joanne, the bit about rarely making time for things you enjoy hit a little close to home. I definitely had the same kind of workaholic conditioning – doing all the “have tos” before you can even think about the “want tos”, but by then you’re out of time, of course. 🤔
Thanks Caitlin!
I’ve heard of Yoga with Adrienne – I think I actually added her to my Feedly – but haven’t tried any of her stuff yet.
I’m beginning to think doing all the have-tos before getting to the want-tos is a bit like putting on other peoples’ oxygen masks before your own.
Sure, they’re happy and comfortable, but now you’re dead.
I think there are quite a few similarities between us even though we have radically different life circumstances. This post inspired me, made me laugh, made me admire your gradual steps toward your goals, and helped me realize that I feel an inner urge to have some similar goals. You go, WB!
Thank you Susan!
Deb
My thoughts and $2.50 will buy you a coffee but here goes:
Blogging – This is MOST IMPORTANT because if you weren’t blogging every week and sharing your life in such a witty and inspiring way, I would be really sad. I look forward to your email in my inbox.
Way to go on the books. I’ll connect with you on Goodreads. I wonder if we have similar tastes there too.
Mindfulness. Yeah, okay. I go in and out of that one too. Forgive yourself. When it feels like the right time to do it, you’ll do it. Enough said.
Financial Security: Gold star, awesome. And how satisfying to see that sucker pay down.
Tarot: You got Mary Greer’s book and it will give you a different way to look at the cards. All will be well.
Health: Thanks for the shout out, Deb. The exercises in the workbook are pretty revealing aren’t they. I’ll be talking about my first month of it in next week’s update post but let me leave this topic with one food – Laura Secord Easter Eggs. Tribole will call that play food. I’m good with that – those eggs are fun!
Can’t add anything about the physical activity and the art beyond what everyone else has said. You’ll erase those old ‘should’ tapes eventually. No hurry. Just take the next right step and keep going. You’re doing GREAT, Deb.
Karen
Thank you Karen! What a nice thing to say about my blogging!
Reading – like my blog, my tastes in books are all over the place. Or you could say eclectic, which sounds way classier. 😉
Health – someday I will write a post about my deep-seated anxieties over food/weight, created at a very early age. Now that my mom is no longer with us, I can do this without causing her pain. I peeked ahead in the workbook and see that I will be working through this – I’m pretty sure I’ve examined this thoroughly already, but only in my mind.
Your Laura Secord eggs sound like my Lotus cookies – let’s have some damn fun for a change, I say!
Love getting email notification of your posts as well…looking forward to reading even more from you in April!
Deb
I added you as a Goodreads friend (I actually did it before I finished the post, because I take any excuse to go to Goodreads).
Also, it sounds like you’re doing great on these intentions – congrats, and keep up the good work!
Thank you Sarah! I’ve accepted your Goodreads friend request already because I’ll take any excuse too 🙂
I, too, rarely make time for the things I actually enjoy. I am trying to work on balancing work and life. It’s a struggle.
Congrats on the debt pay down! That’s so exciting!
Thank you Akilah!
I’m impressed with your book-a-day reading marathon. I only manage one book a month these days. Beach reading is the best, though. What a great opportunity to relax.
Your whole taking stock of your life goals is impressive and I was shocked to get to the photo of the Lotus cookies. Those are my all-time favorite cookies. I’m also hooked on Starbucks and know if I wanted to cut expenses that’s where I’d start. In the first two years of my widowhood I worried about finances, worked like crazy to pay off my mortgage and boy did that feel good! Keep up the great work getting your finances in good shape. It’s worthy goal.
Hi Jean,
Thanks for commenting! I guess I should mention that I am an insanely fast reader.
Aren’t those Lotus cookies great? On the flight to Barbados, I asked for a tea and was given a packet of Lotus cookies with it, and I enjoyed that so much. I was reminded of my heritage and how, when I was growing up, my Mom and Oma always took a break from their chores to sit together and have a coffee, with a cookie of course! And I decided to reinstate that practice upon my return from vacation. And (cue angels singing) there they were, Lotus cookies at Costco!
In my first years of widowhood, I took on enormous debt to fix up the building I own, rent out, and live in. My late husband had (mainly because of his mental illness) let everything go so I had to make up for 20 years of neglect. Good investment opportunity, but scary too. I am maxing out my retirement savings every year already, and my place is fully furnished and renovated finally, so it’s time to accelerate the paying down of this debt. Yep, a worthy goal!
Deb