Friday Feel-good

Oh wow, that last post was #200. Sweet! And since November will mark my 2 year blogiversary, I'd have to say only posting 200 times in almost two years is kinda lame of me. I vow to do better. Ok, I promise to *try*. I think once I feel like I have some control over all the stuff happening around me it will be easier. (How often do we say *that* to ourselves?)

I'm having a really great Friday, and I hope you guys are too!

I've been doing some things in an effort to be more positive, and while having a new job, new house and living in the city we love really helps, sometimes you need to get rid of the cobwebs of the old ways of thinking. Being in a town we hated for two years was so emotionally hard that I'm just now coming around to who I was before we left. And we've been back for a year. It's almost like I forgot some big things that were very important to me, and I'm *just* remembering. Like waking up from a really strange, trippy nap.

Ya'll might think I'm a geek for this, but I'm a big proponent of self-help books. I have several on my nightstand and many more on my bookshelves. Depending on the topic, of course, I think they can be helpful to give us ideas about getting what we want from life and living it to the utmost potential. I think we're all here to learn as much as we can and evolve. I love that I'm not the same person I was in college. And I'm certainly not the same person I was a two years ago, or even one year ago. I used to be into meditation, kinesthetic (chakra) therapy, weight lifting, yoga...all these wonderful things that helped me to be centered, focused, strong, and calm. And I miss that. I want it back. I was so unhappy for those few years that instead of turning my attention to the things that could help, I went to gaming to avoid as much of the unpleasantness as possible. And it worked. Too well.

So I've started slowly welcoming those things back into my life, warmly, and remembering to take care of myself. It's taking some time to reestablish those habits, but they're beginning to take hold.

Some of the tools that are helping are:
Sparkpeople. I don't post, but I do read the motivational tools and look for healthy recipies.

Flylady. Don't get me started on the cheese factor, but the directives, habits, and encouragement are priceless. And free. My house is cleaner every day.

Conversations with God. I'm not really into religion, but this book puts into words many of my general spiritual thoughts, and helps remind me who I want to be. (Link goes to the author's website)

This Year I Will... I know. I'm the biggest geek on the planet. But this book has some really great tips about making changes in your life, and the author is funny and smart.

Bodybuilding Bible for Women. Since I've started lifting again, I basically had to start over since I can't lift anywhere close to what I could two years ago. This one is helping the inches find someone else to cling to.

Yoga Burn. This one is fairly obvious.


All this makes me exhale a big old 'ahhhhhh'. I'm already feeling so much better.


Are you guys doing anything new? Creating new habits? Changing your mind about something? Fill me in!


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Random aside: There's this dear sweet old lady who somehow has written down the phone number for a friend or relative incorrectly. She dials my number instead...on an almost daily basis. I used to answer the phone and politely tell her that she has the wrong number and that perhaps she should ask her friend for the correct one. She would say 'thank you,' hang up, and immediately call right back. So I stopped answering. Yet she still leaves me voice messages asking if I could get her some milk on the way to her house, and oh yeah she forgot to give me the leftovers and could I come right back and get them? I'm tempted to just play along and tell her oh yes, I'll be right there, but I fear the karmic retribution for messing with the nutty of the world. So instead, I've stored her in my phone as Crazy Old Lady with Gnarls Barkley's Crazy as her ring tone. Now I know who it is when it rings and I can have a good giggle. (ok, maybe i'm not so evolvy, hehe.)