Wednesday, February 17, 2016

7 Quick Takes - Take 1

7 Quick Takes

I haven't posted in almost 5 months! Where has the time gone? In an effort to cover a lot of ground quickly, I am going to try out this "7 Quick Takes" approach!

1.      Dreadlings. They are a little dread-full. I won’t lie. I knew I was getting in a little over my head (oh the puns) when I put them in. I had an idea that these suckers would require some attention, and I knew I was about to have a newborn and a toddler maxing out my time. I have to admit that I nearly cut them off. It has only been 6 months since I put the last ones in, and I KNOW it takes a solid year to really start to see them as dreads and not just a bunch of tangles. I almost didn’t have the staying power - and that was always my fear when I put them in - that I would be all, “yeah! Cool!” when I started followed quickly by, “I give up.” But at Christmas, some of the girls I am getting to know in my town were so enthusiastic about them that I had some renewed hope. And when I finally did sit down and put some effort into them, I got encouraging results. I still have a huge matted chunk or two on the back of my head. Conga dreads to the MAX. But if I take the time to snip them apart, and work them into themselves with my little crochet hook and wrap the bases of the ones I have completed with some elastics to try to keep things separate then I really like the way things are going! So I am going to persevere. It seems silly when I write it out. Who puts so much work into tangling their hair? Don’t I have something better to do with my life? Maybe I do. Maybe that’s why they are such a mess right now.


2.      Lent.  I wrote a big paragraph just now about what I was giving up and my strategy and my excuses for sucking so hard last year. Deleted.  I was reminded the sacrifices God wants are not the ones I boast about on my blog. Thanks H.S. for catching me before I put a huge foot in my mouth.  Dear Lord, help me to seek you this season, and every time I feel the twinge of my cravings be reminded of what real sacrifice is and then go live that.

3.       MY BOOK!!!! So I mentioned before that I havebeen writing with a group called “Family Secrets” and we are self-publishing a book!!!! And we are having a Gala Book Launch on March 7, 7-9 pm at the Kootenai Brown Museum in Pincher Creek. Come. There will be wine. And so many good stories to share. The book is officially titled, Family Secrets 27 Mostly True Stories by Southern Alberta Authors. I can’t believe I am going to have a legitimate publication. (Self published - but published nonetheless!)


4.       King Sized Bed. If you have a family - especially with little people, it is my opinion that you need a king sized bed. It is like having an office. Almost all of life can take place in this location. Right now, in my “office” I am working on my blog, hanging out with a three month old, folding laundry, changing diapers, working on my dreads, communicating via social networks, and reading. Ok. I am not doing all of those things this very second, but all of the elements for these activities surround me and I have done all of these things in this location in the past hour or two. MUST HAVE.

just a small view from the "office"

5.       New Year Goals. I have 5 goals this New Year - and not all of them have definitive end results, so I guess maybe they technically aren’t goals, but I hate the word “resolutions” so I am going with goals. Here they are and very briefly how I plan to accomplish them:

a.       Lose 30 pounds. It is kind of nerve racking for me to put that out there - but I DO need to lose some weight. Thirty pounds isn’t a crazy amount. But it isn’t a little amount either. I am cutting refined sugar from my diet and I have been exercising three times a week plus trying to go for daily walks. #losehatenotweight #loseweighttoo
I've been working on this goal since a few months after my first babe was born.
Time to get it wrapped up!

b.      Write more. I am motivated to write more because of the Family secrets compilation, so I am going to continue to follow this dream. I am going to try to journal five days a week, using writing posts sometimes, as well as try to post to my blog at least monthly - but hopefully more.
c.       Read more. I’d like to read 12 books this year. One a month. It shouldn’t be too challenging if I can learn to limit my social media time. Also reading improves writing. I’ll let you know what books I have finished. Another strategy will be to try to keep some reading material near where I do most of my nursing. Like here, in my “office.”
An old anthology of Grey Owl's writing. First published 1938.

d.      Simplify life. This basically means purge things out of my house/life. I’ve been through my clothes. I have a big closet that is next and a buffet/hutch to clean out and ship out. And toys. How could these two tiny people already have acquired so much STUFF? I constantly have a box on the go where I chuck stuff to go to the thrift store down the street.
e.      Get my dreads under control. See quick take #1.

6.       I feel like I have said enough. So consider this early dismissal. You may go outside and play now.



Peace.

No comments:

Post a Comment