Seabright's 2016 Battle Log of Awesomeness

[Seabright]

Wed, Sept 21

 

Yoga:

None so far. Had to get out early for an early am call.

 

Food:

Coffee and a bagel in the am. Now coughing.

 

Alonetime:

None.

 

Gratitude:

Too stressed to be grateful for anything. How ungrateful is that?

 

Goals for today:

• Rewrite screens for that new experience. Done!
• Rewrite destination screen for that other algo thingy. Done!
• GET THAT WRITING ASSIGNMENT DONE!!!!! (<-!!! PRIORITY!!!!) Really. It's okay if it's bad. Done!
• Have fun at gig tonight. ;-) Done!

[Seabright]

Monday, Sept 26

 

Getting ready for another interview today.

• Cute outfit being worn.
• Presentation done.
• Writing assignment done.
• Interviewers lurked on LinkedIn.
• Route mapped.
• Plan of escape implemented.

 

Guess ya gotta just keep on keepin' on until you land one.

 

Stay tuned.

 

[Seabright]

Wow. Just checked in to update things now that the dust has settled from the last couple of months.

 

But the date on my last really rocked me. Need to take a few breaths. Will be back in a bit.

[Seabright]

I was trying to decide how best to catch up. I think I'll try to do a day-by-day for posterity. This was so crazy...it might help others to know what's possible if you really need to make it happen. 

 

If I can do this, you can do anything! For the Rebellion!!!

 

 

 

Monday, Sept 26 - the rest of the story

• Nailed the interview. I mean, I freakin' killed it.
• Drove home thinking that I actually didn't really like them. Hoped I wouldn't have to take the job, and already looking ahead to the other big intimidating interview with the other glamorous company scheduled for Friday. Hoping that I would get an offer from today, because if Friday didn't work out I would be out of options.
• Pulled up in front of the house thinking that I was going to start on Friday's preso right away.
• Still taking off my interview shoes in the living room when the phone rang.
• My daddy. My little daddy on the phone. Crying the worst news of all. Can I come?
• Was on the road to Ashland 2 hours later. An 8-hour drive, with a side-trip to pick up my brother. Arrived at 4am. Fell asleep on the floor. 

 

Tuesday, Sept 27

• Tears.
• Email in my inbox from the Monday company that they liked me and wanted to talk.
• Confusion and papers and realizing, slowly realizing, that my dad was asking the same questions over and over again. His wife of 48 years had handled everything - all their finances, all their medical stuff, all arrangements for anything and everything. And she kept every single piece of paper imaginable. For years. 
• Dad didn't know what happened, there was no warning according to him.
• Visit to the funeral home, interspersed with calling my current manager to ask for bereavement leave. Still tried to work, though.
• Talked to Monday company and they want to make me an offer. Told them I was really really interested, but that I was also exploring an opportunity with another company. They were my first choice (gulp), but felt I really wanted to keep my appt with the Friday co, so that I wouldn't have any regrets.
• Found step-mom's notes - she had been to the emergency room a few days earlier, and they had wanted to admit her (she refused). She had had a follow-up that morning with her own doc, not 2 hours before she collapsed.
• Dad did not remember any of that. Starting to get scared.
• Communicated to Friday company what was happening. Told them I still wanted to keep the appointment, but just wanted them to be aware.

Wednesday, Sept 28

• More going through papers.
• Now clear something is very very wrong with Dad's cognitive ability. 
• He says he wants to live in Santa Cruz, and can't see staying alone in Ashland. 
• The enormity of everything hits me and my brother, as we both start to get concerned about our work.
• Monday company calls again to talk about offer details and what might be possible.
• I go heads-down on the back deck and start working on the Friday presentation.
• Boulder and Bozeman brothers say they will come tomorrow to help.

Thursday, Sept 29

• Left early to return to Santa Cruz.
• Presentation for Friday only about 1/2 way done.
• Stopped in a CVS parking lot off I-80 to finalize offer details from Monday company.
• Friday company calls to confirm that I'll be there. I will.
• Arrive home and immediately start working on preso. Finished around 1:00am when I realized that I didn't have any more in me. Sort of phoned in the last bit, but oh well.
• Boulder & Bozeman brothers arrived in Ashland. Everyone starts going through papers.

Friday, Sept 30

• Got up at 5am and left for interview around 6:30am. Absolutely was not going to be late.
• Disaster! Had left all my makeup in Ashland! 
• Found some old samples lying around the bathroom and made do.
• Monday company emails me final offer details that will go into the official offer letter.
• Interview goes pretty well. I had fun, and I really liked them. Drove away hoping for the best.
• Brothers found a will! 
• Really, really tired when I get home.

 

Need a break. Will pick up the rest in a little bit.

[Seabright]

And more...

 

Saturday, Oct 1

• Woke up early to find a note from the Friday company. They liked me...
• ...but they want me to do another exercise.
• Hilariously, it has to do with the part that I just phoned in. Har har.
• Told them it would be my pleasure.
• Start looking for a place for Dad to live that's nearby. Craigslist for nearby 1-2 bedroom apartments. In Santa Cruz. Oy.
• Go to visit 2 places. Starting to think cooking might be a thing. 
• Also call a couple of 'retirement living' places.
• Start my writing exercise. 

 

Sunday, Oct 2

• Woke up early, realizing that the spousal unit and I had an early morning gig. Oy.
• Rush around, get to gig, finish up around 12:30pm, and then go eat. 'Cause we didn't have time for breakfast.
• Make some calls about apartments, go to visit a couple. 
• They are a little on the grim side.
• Finish working on the assignment late in the evening. Send it over to the Friday company around 1:00am.

 

Monday, Oct 3

• Still not realizing the extent of Dad's cognitive situation, but starting to think the right approach short-term would be a retirement community where they provide meals, just to get him in the area. Then, we can find a cottage or apartment later where he can just be independent.
• Got a note from the Friday company. They wonder if I could send over the PPT of my presentation, so they could really really read it. Oh, and do I have other writing samples I can send them.
• I receive an offer letter from the Sep 26 company. I tell them, gosh, thanks so much, and can I get back to them in a little bit.
• Spent the next 2 hours detaching screens from my preso and gathering the variety pack of stuff. Put it all on a drive and send the Friday company the link.
• Go to visit a retirement community that originally we weren't going to go to. Turns out, it was pretty awesome. And the most expensive. 
• Got home and called brothers with the housing report, suggesting the nicest retirement community as a temporary measure. Dad willing. 
• Go back to the retirement community and snag the apartment, gathering all the papers.
• Field an email from the Monday, Sep 26 company, asking for my status and intentions. I tell them to move forward with the offer letter. At this point, figure the Friday company has reservations, and I don't want to put this offer at risk.

Tuesday, Oct 4

• Get up early, get in car, and start driving to Ashland.
• Stopped to fill up and check email. Another note from the Friday company, asking for more time.
• I craft a message telling them, No, they can't have more time. I said it really nicely, but I said that it seemed clear they had reservations, given the many samples they've asked for. I said it was absolutely fair if they wanted to pursue other candidates, but that also tells me that I'm not the right fit, or that there is a quality out there that I don't have that they're hoping to find in someone else. I tell them I have an offer on the table from another company that really really wants me, and I'm inclined to take it. I ask them to define 'more time', but that I'd really like to get back to the Sep 26 company by the end of the day.
• About 75 miles down the road, I get a call from the Friday company recruiter.
• They want me. 
• We talk about the offer from the other company. 
• I send them a copy of the offer.
• And start driving.
• They call back and say they can match the salary and offer a couple of things above.
• I accept.
• I tell them that I can't decline the other company until I have a signed letter from them.
• They say they'll do their best to move it along.
• About 100 miles down the road, they call again. They have the offer approved, but they need me to fill out a bunch of paperwork before they can generate a letter.
• I pull off at a rest stop outside of Weed (<- real town name), haul out my laptop, and fill it out online. 
• Arrive in Ashland around 8pm.

 

I won't go on with the detail. At the end of the day, I negotiated a mid-November start date, they got me the real letter, I called the other company, and boom! Employed.

 

Back in Ashland, and doing stuff, and taking Dad here and there, and he's asking over and over again where we're going. Also, what season it is. Also, where we're all living. A lot. Telling the same story several times in a row. He can't remember who that was on the phone. He doesn't remember what day it is. Scared. 

 

His memory just fell off a cliff. He wakes up in the middle of the night, looking for Jeanie, terrified, saying he heard her calling his name, just as plain as day. His face is lop-sided, one eye open and staring, the other scrunched closed, with that half of his face sagging. The next morning, he looked fine. 3 days later I find a poster with the signs of a stroke taped to the inside of a kitchen cupboard. #1 sign is a lop-sided face. Mini-stroke? I still don't know. But I think so.

 

Found his medical records, withe his doc's notation: "pleasantly demented." I google it. I call the director of the retirement place and explain what's going on. She says they don't 'do memory care', but let's see how it goes. Relieved. Still think everything will be okay.

 

Walk around with Dad to pick out the furniture he wants to bring. Next day he forgets everything. Spousal unit make scale drawing of new apartment floor plan, and scale footprints of all targeted furniture, and emails. We cut them out, tape them to pennies, and Dad arranges on the plan. I can tell he's visualizing the place. Feeling hopeful.

 

Next day, he doesn't remember we did that. 

 

And more.

 

 

 

[Seabright]

Thursday, Dec 1

 

We're here now. Dad is in his new apartment, I'm at my new job.

 

He can get to the dining room and back on his own. But he's lonely and sad. We go places together on the weekend, and the spousal unit drops by during the day. We've been to our family doctor, who did a blood test. Recommended sub-lingual B12 to help with that deficiency. And recommended a neurologist. Visit to neuro on earlier this week on Monday = dementia. Set up series of tests to determine what kind, since sometimes there is stuff you can do to slow things down. EEG the next day. MRI scheduled in a couple of weeks. Then we sit down. 

 

Have witnessed the seriousness of the memory stuff, and what that means socially. He can't make appointments, because he can't remember to go. It doesn't matter how many little notes and post-its are around. He doesn't see them. Spent time labeling the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen. He fiddles with the TV remote, and gets frustrated. He doesn't understand the message machine.

 

I'm watching my wonderful little daddy fade away before my eyes.  

[Seabright]

Thurs, Dec 1 - THE RESPAWN

 

Yoga:

10 minutes. The minimum, but felt good to return to this habit.

 

Food:

Terrible. I mean, pretty bad. Am really hungry right now. Had a sensible breakfast, an okay lunch, a sugary snack, and a Diet Coke. About to head out to forage for an apple. 

 

But for all of that, it feels good to log this again. I feel like I'm back on track.

 

Alonetime:

Loooooooong commute holy smokes sweet mother of God. 2 hours to get here, today. Did vocal exercises, facial exercises and sang a bunch. Need a plan for this. And for actual mindful alone time that doesn't involve driving. :-)

 

Gratitude:

You know what? I saw a red tailed hawk in the middle of all of this urban stuff. Yep, flew in to a redwood. I thought of how he was feeling, flying through the buildings, over the freeway, across the rooftops, and then, seeing that tree. How grateful he must have been for the rest. How happy he probably was to be able to land somewhere for a few minutes, on his way to hunting in the fields south of there. Grateful to the person who planted that tree. 

 

Goals for today:

Doing this toward the end of the day, so didn't really set any up. I've got this for this evening, though:

• Eat a nice dinner. DONE! Green thai curry veggies and rice.
• Skip the whiskey and have mint tea instead. DONE! Magic Mint while binge-watching 'Grey's Anatomy'.
• Play and sing ONE song with the guitar as soon as I get home. DONE! 'Dream of a Miner's Child', plus worked out the chords to 'Yeah, you guessed it, I'm blue.'

[Seabright]

Fri, Dec 2

 

Yoga:

25 minutes of twists and dogs and random bends.

 

Food:

Eggs, bacon and coffee. So far, so good. They gave me the wrong wrap at lunch, but I ate it anyway. Dinner good. Split a beer with my dad,though.

 

Alonetime:

None. Felt it, too.

 

Gratitude:

Grateful to be back here and posting again. Ready to finish the year strong!

 

Goals for today:

• Stay on track with good food and no sugar. DONE!
• Skip the whiskey tonight and have mint tea instead. ER...beer instead of whisky. Fail. 
• Play and sing ONE song with the guitar at the end of the day. ER...sang in the kitchen while making dinner. No guitar.
• Get together with Dad for lunch. DONE!

[Seabright]

Sat-Sun, Dec 3-4

 

Yoga:

Sat: 40 minutes - sun sals then standing poses.

Sun: 10 minutes - stretched feet while watching TV.

 

Food:

Cookie on Sunday, too much alcohol on Saturday night.

 

Alonetime:

Took a few sweet, long breaths driving to The Buttery. Cold and crisp outside, lovely morning.

 

Gratitude:

Scored some of those gigantic Christmas tree ornament at Rite Aid for 50% off! Woo hooooo!

 

Goals for the weekend:

• Finish making room in file cabinet for dad's files. DONE! 
• Go through Dad's files, file the keepers. DONE!
• Get trust docs notarized. DONE!
• Plan next steps. DONE!
• Play one song on guitar. DONE! 2-hour gig on Sunday morning. Then, took the dobro and guitar up to Dad's and
  played him a few in his living room.
• Mint tea instead of whiskey. Saturday - FAIL! Sunday - DONE!

[Seabright]

Mon, Dec 5

 

Yoga:

10 mins. Just barely squeeked it in, too.

 

Food:

Had 1/2 a croissant that was lying around in the break room. Had 3 little peppermint candies from the receptionist's desk. Looks like I'll have to stop wandering around the office. 

 

Alonetime:

Not sure if I should be counting commute time as alone time...but I'm starting to think that's what it really is. With the old job, I was in the car 30-45 minutes, now it's 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Anyway, yep, I was alone for a goodly chunk of time. It wasn't really 'mindful' though. 

 

Gratitude:

Hey! We went up to my dad's place to see him after work. We peeked into the dining room on the way to his apartment, and he was in there at a table with several other people, talking and smiling. We snuck out. ;-)

 

 

Goals for today:

• Make those calls about power of attorney. DONE!
• Keep my cool if nothing goes right. DONE! I did it...kept my cool, made some notes about following up, and moved on. Yay for me!
• Order birthday cake for spousal unit's b-day. DONE!
• Order Dad's Christmas present. DONE!

[Seabright]

Tues, Dec 6

 

Yoga:

One hour! Took the Noon class here at work. Kicked my butt. Felt great!

 

Food:

Pretty good overall. Had a nut and fruit bar mid-morning...the most harmless thing I could find at the building cafe. I'm eating breakfast at 6am now, and I'm STARVING by 10am. Have to iron this out a bit. More food in the morning? I can't make it 'til lunchtime.

 

Alonetime:

None. Need to figure this one out. Maybe I can designate, like, 15 minutes for myself mid-morning, duck into a small room to write a few journaling words or some such. 

 

Gratitude:

Tried a new, super-secret route through Los Gatos this morning. Cut about 20 minutes off the commute! Yay!

 

Goals for today:

• Decide where the qboa content should live. DONE!
• Start strategy outline. ER...not started.
• Send note to friend Mike. ER...not done. Not sure what my problem is with this one. 
• Get started on Vanguard paperwork tonight. ER...not done. Helped my dad order pants from LL Bean instead. :-)

[Seabright]

Wed, Dec 7

 

Yoga:

10 mins of just getting it done this morning. A tad sore from yesterday's yoga extravaganza. 

 

Food:

Ate a good breakfast and then destroyed it with a Michigan Cherry Bar on the way to work. Otherwise, pretty good.

 

Alonetime:

Sort of mindfully walked out to the car. Then, mindfully cleaned up the house when I got home, and then mindfully went to Sears to look for manly tool to give the spousal unit for his birthday.

 

Gratitude:

Grateful that it is so easy to make my dad laugh. When he couldn't find his wallet. Me: "Maybe it's underneath one of those giant butt-tocks you're sitting on." Dad, giggling for the next 5 minutes: "Butt-tocks!" :-)

 

Goals for today:

• Create space in wiki for my stuff. ER.....what's wrong with me? Still not done. 
• Start strategy outline. Not done, either.
• Send note to friend Mike. It doesn't have to be a novel, just few lines to touch base is okay. Not done.
• Do Vanguard paperwork tonight. Not done.
• Play one song on the guitar tonight. Not done.

 

Whoa. Total fail on goals today. Doh!

 

Will do better tomorrow!

[Seabright]

Thur, Dec 8

 

Yoga:

Whoa. Back went out last night, probably brought on by the mega yoga'ing at the class on Tues. Muscle-spasms all over the joint. Needed help pulling up my pants.

 

Even with that, still did some light movement. Nothing big, just stuff to loosen things up. Not even 10 minutes.

 

Food:

Good breakfast. Apple for mid-morning snack. Vege wrap for lunch. Then destroyed it all with a Diet Coke and some weird little snack bar thingie.

 

Alonetime:

Strolled around for a few minutes and breathed some real air.

 

Gratitude:

Back super-stiff and painful, but I'm still upright and moving around. Yay for me!

 

Goals for today:

 

Same as yesterday. Part Deux.

• Create space in wiki for my stuff. DONE!
• Start strategy outline. DONE!
• Send note to friend Mike. DONE!
• Do Vanguard paperwork tonight. ER...not done. Why is this so hard?
• Play one song on the guitar tonight. ER..also not done. See above hardness-related comment?

 

[Seabright]

Mon, Dec 12

 

Yoga:

A little less than 10 minutes. Still still, but much much much better. Can walk around and pull on my own pants, so things are looking up.

 

Food:

• Breakfast - scrambled eggs with spinach, red bell peppers and onions. Stopped for coffee and a little packet of nuts and dried fruit on the way into work.
• The rest of the day was a complete holiday-party-related disaster. We shall not speak of it.

 

Alonetime:

Spousal unit stepped out to get dinner fixin's, and I spent a few minutes alone with my guitar. The singing might be getting better -- Dolly, our little feral, came in to the dining room and settled down on a pile of Christmas stockings while I worked out a few chords. Her ears swung this way and that, but she stayed!

 

Gratitude:

Grateful for the Internet. Keeps me connected, moving forward, and well-informed. Also, grateful that little Dolly is starting to understand that those little round crunchies are bribe food meant to be consumed, not tiny toys to be batted around the kitchen floor. 

 

Goals for today:

• Move forward on strategy outline. ER...no real progress. Thought about it for, like, 6 minutes.
• Finish marketing stuff. DONE! Need to re-work, but got a draft.
• Book one meeting from that list of people. ER...
• Send email to one person from old life. DONE! 
• Play one song on guitar tonight. DONE! 2 or 3 - bonus stars!
• Oregon house title - start research. DONE! I think we'll need to pull the lawyer in on this one.

[Seabright]

Tue, Dec 13

 

Yoga:

Moving much better today. About 15 minutes. Ran out of time but wanted more.

 

Food:

• Breakfast - scrambled eggs with spinach, red bell peppers and onions. 
• Lunch -  fish tacos and rice. And Diet Coke. Skipped the beer and margueritas that my co-workers were having, so win there.
• Dinner - turkey burger and lots o' broccoli

 

Alonetime:

Got some. Spent it talking to band members. Everything is now sorted. Our last gig is in January. :-(

 

Gratitude:

Grateful to have been able to have these last couple of years playing with these guys. It's been so much fun -- and I got to watch the band develop into a crowd-pleasin' fun-time group. We pulled 'em in, and they tipped big. Yay!

 

Goals for today:

• Move forward on strategy outline. Not done. Sheesh.
• Finalize marketing stuff. DONE!
• Draft SE stuff. DONE!
• Book one meeting from that list of people. Not done. Think I might skip this exercise entirely.
• Send email to one person from old life. DONE!
• Play one song on guitar tonight. Not done. Made band calls instead.
• Oregon house title - touch base w/brother before contacting lawyer. DONE! Never heard back from brother, though. 

[Seabright]

Wed, Dec 14

 

Yoga:

15 mins. Went straight to suns and skipped the warm-up, trying to get more in. This was a mistake that won't happen again. Oy.

 

Food:

• Breakfast - scrambled eggs with spinach, red bell peppers and onions. Had a scone when I got to work.
• Lunch - had the healthy-life option. Fish w/veggies and yukon golds. And a coke.
• Dinner - all sensible and good.

 

Alonetime:

A few minutes walking around the building. Not glamorous, but intentional and might be a nice way to do this.

 

Gratitude:

I know I was grateful at some point, but don't remember exactly why. ;-)

 

Goals for today:

• Get through council sessions today. DONE! Learned lots of good stuff.
• Send email to one person from old life. DONE! Heard back from him already. ;-)
• Play one song on guitar tonight. DONE! Learning 'Old Ned.'
• Oregon house title - give brother another day to reply. If nothing by this evening, prep to talk to lawyer. DONE! Agreed not to pursue right now.

[Seabright]

Thurs - Sun, Dec 14-17

 

Yoga:

Lots, all four days. 1 hour, 45 mins, 1/2 hour, then 45 mins. 

 

Food:

Just okay. Pretty good for the main meals, then flubbed with cookies and pie. The holidays...argh.

 

Alonetime:

Long way home from the store, a little me-strolling around Macy's, quiet time with the kitties. 

 

Gratitude:

It's cold out, for Santa Cruz. Our little house only has a fake wood-burning stove for heat. Grateful that it works well, starts right up, and that the kitties love to sit in front of it. It gives me a nice place to do my yoga on a cold morning.

 

Goals for the weekend:

• Laundry. DONE! Still have some folding to do, though.
• Christmas gifts. DONE! Getting closer. Still have a teenage niece outstanding...the hardest one. ;-)
• Figure out more of Dad's financial stuff. DONE! Stuff starting to fall into place. Forms organized, and ready to go next time brother is in town.

[Seabright]

Mon Dec 18

 

Yoga:

15 mins. Seated. Could hardly move. Thinking I need to go see someone about the ol' back.

 

Food:

Breakfast - all good.

Lunch - all good.

Snack - had an apple, then had a cookie after taking Dad to the neurologist. Oh well.

Dinner - all good.

 

Alonetime:

Waited for meds at the Walgreens for a little while, and cogitated on this and that.

 

Gratitude:

I guess I'm glad that the MRI found the probable root cause, and it's looking like we don't need to go down the ol' lumbar-puncture path. So that's good. I noticed I felt more content and at-peace in the evening, because of the news. So that's good, too. 

 

 

Goals for today:

• Move forward in any way, shape, or form on strategy doc. DONE! Setting up time w/V&T people.
• Arrange to do full review of that one project. DONE! Reached out to designer and he's setting up.
• Take Dad to doc and stay calm and upbeat the whole time. DONE! Except for a little baby crying jag in the morning, I think I did pretty well keeping it together. 

[Seabright]

Tues Dec 19

 

Yoga:

Overslept huuuugely!! Did facial yoga and hand stretches on the drive in. 

 

Food:

Breakfast - all good.

Lunch - terrible.

Dinner - terrible.

 

Alonetime:

Not sure how to get any these days. I don't want to count driving time, but with my new commute, that's taking up around 3 hours of my day. :-(

 

Gratitude:

Couldn't find Dolly, so eventually went to bed. After the light went out, I felt a verrrry light, tentative little paw on my ankle. She was so careful, I didn't even feel her get up on the bed. She slowly and very very carefully came up over my shins, and slowly slowly carefully walked up the length of me. And then slowly and carefully approached my shoulder. And then, with a sweet little chirrup, she fell over, turned upside down in my arms, and started purring. I love you, too, little happy-kins. 

 

 

Goals for today:

• Re-read V&T samples. Not done. Starting to feel like a loser.
• Send along names for Jan meeting. DONE!
• Call Dad to check in. Got side-tracked rushing to my gig and forgot. See above loser comment.

[Seabright]

Wed Dec 20

 

Yoga:

Had to force myself, but did 10 minutes. Felt much better.

 

Food:

Breakfast - all good. Wait. No. Forgot about that chocolate croissant. Sigh.

Lunch - all good but not enough food.

Snack - nature valley garbage bars.

Dinner - all good.

 

Alonetime:

Sat in a little room by myself and made a couple of calls. I was occupied the whole time, and not mindfully 'alone',

but I was surprised by how refreshed I felt by this.

 

Gratitude:

Saw a Red Tail on a power pole by the freeway! Brother to the one from my commute to my old job? Glad to see they're out in force!

 

Goals for today:

• Re-read V&T samples. DONE!
• Make appointment to take in car. DONE!
• Make a plan to get this all in. Kind of done. Met w/a teammate and we've got a sort-of plan. I'll take it.

[Seabright]

Thur Dec 22 - End o' the year

 

Yoga:

Sick for the last 2 weeks, but got some in when I was upright and sentient.

 

Food:

Ate tons o' cookies and other garbage. Drinking at a minimum, though. Lot's of tea.

 

Alonetime:

Some, here and there. Drove the back way home through Los Gatos several times, to look at the Christmas lights.

 

Gratitude:

Grateful to have a job!!! 

 

 

Okay! Sick since Christmas, as is the spousal unit and the Daddy-o. Hanging on by a thread. Ready to feel better!

[Seabright]

2016 GOALS RECAP!!

 

How'dya do how'dya do how'dya do?

 

2016: Get healthy by eating right, doing yoga, and taking time for myself.

 

1. Get healthy by eating right

• Detox through the month of February (no caffeine, sugar, alcohol, white flour or other crap).
• Strict food-combining until I fit into my ultimate goal pants.
• 80% Paleo diet afterwards.

Status:

I'm going to call this an utter fail. I did detox through February, but then dropped the ball all over the place. Ended the year by finishing off the gigantic box of cookies my cousin sent me. 

 

Grade:

F

 

 

2. Get healthy by doing yoga

• Commit to a daily practice, even if it's only 10-minutes worth of stretching.
• Take the free classes that are available when time permits (Sunday class at the local Patagonia store, yoga at work). 
• Participate in any reasonably-priced 1-day workshops that come my way.

Status:

Hey! I did okay with this one! Stayed pretty steady with yoga-ing every day, even if it was just 10 minutes of getting loosened up. Took a couple of 1-day workshops put on by friends. Picked up Yoga Journal and got inspired to try a few new things. Went to yoga class at work a couple of times. 

 

Grade:

A

 

 

3. Get healthy by taking time for myself

• Find a few minutes every day: solitary walk, cup of decaf in the early am in the backyard, journaling at lunchtime, stop at the beach on the way home to watch the waves, take the long way home, horseback riding -- these all count. This will make me a nicer person all around, and give me energy for other things.
• If the answer isn't "Hell Yeah!" then it's "Um, no." This will help protect my time and keep me from getting over-extended.
• Think of one thing I'm grateful for every day, and a couple of reasons why I'm grateful for it. 

Status:

This wasn't too bad, but was a little hit-or-miss. On the days I managed to find some mindful alone time, I definitely felt better and more balanced. I learned that these breathing moments don't have to be hours-long or involve special trips or hideaways - sometimes it's enough just to be the one who volunteers to go to the grocery store, and then takes the long way home. Finding things to be grateful for everyday helped me notice all the cool stuff going on around me all the time. When I got stressed out, this was pretty easy to throw out the window...just when I needed it the most. Har har. Still, I really liked this goal, as it was challenging for me to do, and made a real life difference when I did it. 

 

Grade:

B-

 

 

POWER WORD FOR 2016: Kindness

 

Status:

I'm glad I chose a power word for the year, and I'm glad it was this one. Kept me grounded, and kept me thinking about others and how they might be feeling. I had opportunities a-plenty to be kind throughout the year, even more so in the last couple of months. When you're kind, you feel your shoulders relax, and the muscles in your face let go a little bit. 

 

Grade:

A

 

 

Well, that was fun!

 

I'm going to cogitate a bit, then put some goals in place for 2017.

 

YEEE HAW!!!