I don’t really know, but my fish SHOULD be. Their water is sparkling clean. They have nice decorations in the tank. New filter innards….
They have made it clear over the years that the only thing they really care about is getting fed twice a day. They see me coming, jam themselves into the corner of the tank, wriggle their bodies and blow bubbles at me until the flakes come raining down. Then I am forgotten.
Our aquarium is on the divider between our kitchen and our dining area. This is a high traffic area in our house, so it makes me happy when the aquarium is bright and shiny.
I have made lots of changes on how I take care of the tank and what I put into it, but the fish remain goldfish – and seem to take pride in their reputation as ‘messy fish and champion poopers.’ I used to have a 40 gallon tank with lots of fish. It stayed looking good with relatively little work. THOSE fish didn’t react to me at ALL, so I finally gave the fish and the equipment away. I’M not easy to live with, either, so this is a good match. :0)
“As A Single Dad, I Had To Put My Foot Down And Tell My Seven Year Old Daughter That There Was No Way She Was Getting A Dog For Chanukah, No Matter How Much She Asked. Anyway, Meet Waffle.”
THING ONE:FOOD-DIET-EXERCISE – I raked myself over the coals about stuffing too much food into my face and not exercising enough. My sister-in-law kindly told me to give myself a break and make little changes on a regular basis to get back to my better habits. My husband is determined wait to go back on our diet on the 6th – or maybe 7th – we haven’t completely hashed that out yet. I don’t know why we’re waiting. I guess it’s because we still have some wonderfully delicious bad stuff to eat our way through, though I am determined not to buy any MORE of it for myself. I got the makings of beef stew in the slow cooker this morning. We’ll have a bowl of that with a roll this evening. I will do my yoga stretches this afternoon.
THING TWO:WEATHER – Arkansas ran the gamut on weather this past week. We had sunshine and spring-like weather, as we’re having today, with sunshine and low 50’s. We had sleet and rain and gusty wind. We had drizzles and gloomy gray days. We had a PERFECT snow – with HUGE fluffy flakes coming down while we fixed lunch, making us feel we were in the middle of our own, private snow globe. (This was perfect because that gorgeous snow, though heavy, melted as it hit the ground and caused no trouble. :0) )
THING THREE: PLAYING IN MY ART ROOM – I discovered an art form that is new to me – bleeding tissue paper art. The effect is watercolor. The sky is the limit on what you can do with it. I found it on YouTube and watched some demonstrations, drooling. I found some people who do mouth-watering art with it, giving me some really high goals to try to reach as I practice. My sister-in-law sent me a package of large sheets of the special tissue paper to get me started. I ordered some pre-cut shapes in different sizes today that will be delivered in the coming week so I can concentrate on playing, saving the sheets for larger, more complicated shapes. I’m having a BLAST experimenting. :0)
Another thing for which I am setting up is painting some wooden fridge magnets. I can play with my Unicorn Spit paint for these. I can also see what happens with my alcohol inks, my new bleeding tissue paper, and more. I have the magnets, and my wooden circles should be delivered sometime next week.
THING FOUR:SUNDAY CHORES – I don’t have a lot to do today (translated to mean that I CHOOSE to do), but I WILL spend some time cleaning my aquarium so my fish can start the new year with sparkling clean water and some different decorations, just for giggles. I wish I knew what they THOUGHT about the decorations they have. I really wouldn’t mind it if the two of them held their noses when I started to put something in the aquarium they really don’t care for. They don’t say anything one way or the other. The only thing they DO that shows me they are really interested is both of them get into the corner of the tank, wriggling their bodies and opening and closing their mouths to HINT that they would like to be fed yet again. (Seems like they, too, are on a SPLURGE eating push until the 6th or 7th…. )
I don’t think it’s Pollyanna-ish to choose to focus on what is good, rather than bad, in your life. A positive attitude not only affects how you feel and act, it’s contagious. (A very small example of this is when you choose to smile at people. I have found that most people smile at you in return.) People who answer phones as part of their work are taught to smile when they are talking to people on the phone because you can HEAR a smile over the phone lines or through the air waves.
Of course, you can’t be happy ALL the time. People have been squashed like bugs because someone wants their SHOES – and the same can happen with people who are TOO perky – TOO Smiley – TOO optimistic….
EzyVectors.com
My point is that it is your decision – to a large extent – to be mainly happy with your life (growing, learning new things, embracing new ideas, finding fun ways to spend your time) or allowing your world to implode, (being interested in fewer and fewer things, being whiny, complaining, not trying to reach out and get help, etc.)
I have watched people I love folding into themselves, their worlds getting smaller and smaller, not bothering to try to keep up with what is happening in the world, giving up things that used to bring them joy, not taking care of themselves, becoming brittle in mind and body. It breaks my heart.
Each of us handles aging, changes, and outlook in our own way, and we should be free to do that.
I am choosing to embrace the good stuff – finding things that bring me joy and sharing them however I can. I love it when someone writes, telling me they love a picture I’ve posted, laughed at a joke, encouraged them to try something new. Each of us can try to take something positive and pass it on. Everyone is richer for it. Maybe ‘Pollyanna-ish-ness’ is a survival skill.
I am almost finished eating my way through a lot of the ‘goodies’ (baddies?) I received for Christmas. I put a good amount of things in the freezer yesterday – WAY down deep – under a lot of things – in my chest type freezer in the garage, which is right beside my elliptical trainer. Hopefully, this will give me the perspective I need to stay away from them for the foreseeable future, maybe to enjoy a bit as I reach major weight loss goals in the future.
Most people seem to have trouble staying away from sweets and sugar. I like those things, but my biggest problems are bread, starches, and salty things. I found a recipe for some low carb bread that is pretty good and I’ll make that again. I have riced cauliflower and zoodles in the freezer in individual serving packets, since my husband won’t even CONSIDER eating those as a substitute for rice, macaroni, spaghetti, or potatoes. I am preparing myself to fix HIM some starch and I will eat my meat and sauces over the substitutes. We have a nice variety of good-for-you individual frozen meals from Real Food and from Stu’s Clean Cookin’ in the freezer. In fact, we have been eating several of those each week. I have gathered and cut up some raw veggies to enjoy as snacks. I also have hard boiled eggs and some cheese.
The main sticking point is getting our MINDS set to quit indulging and start practicing adult choices. For some unknown reason, my husband wants to wait until January 6th to start. I really have trouble not eating something when he brings yet another French Toast Fritter into the living room to enjoy between meals.
This is my first piece with tissue paper and other mixed media. The possibilities are endless. There are people who are doing truly breathtaking things with this. It’s a lot of fun and the sky is the limit. :0)
My sister-in-law and I communicate every day. (Some ‘glorious somehow’ occurred and we became FRIENDS, rather than just relatives.) She said something this morning that really resonated and I wanted to share it with you –
“It seems like you’ve been sort of beating yourself up about enjoying fun foods during the holidays. I would encourage you to remember all the pounds you’ve lost and kept off as you head into 2021. So you enjoyed yourself for a few weeks? Eating better is always going to be around so enjoy and start to get back on track slowly so you don’t feel deprived. The healthy eating part is important but so is getting some exercise which I know you do with your machines now that working outside is more limited. ……Just saying!!!”
I’ve printed this and put it on my fridge.
If I could bottle my sister-in-law’s kindness and sell it, I would be the richest person on the planet. :0)
“May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires. May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words ………… May 2021 be the best year of your life!!!” Author Unknown
I told you that my wonderful sister-in-law read about my new interest in bleeding tissue paper art, and that she immediately sent me a large package of assorted colors. (I found out that BLEEDING tissue paper is different from regular, wrapping tissue paper. I have no idea HOW. I just found out that regular stuff doesn’t bleed – except for one sheet I had of blue…)
I decided that today was the day to get started. I have a drawing sketched out and just finished putting down the first layer of tissue paper pieces. I’m going to let that dry, remove the pieces, and decide what comes next. There is no real ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ about this – another thing I really like about it. You just do what you like and see what happens. Since I love watercolors, I like some of the effects you can get. I also really like mixing media, so it’s possible to get 3-D, textures, etc.
Anyway, I’m having a blast experimenting. :0) If I don’t end up with a COMPLETE mess, I’ll share it when it’s finished.
I just had the joy of chatting with our son. He lives in Thailand, and so is 12 hours ahead of us. He said the fireworks were starting there.
I also went ahead and started my 2021 calendar, needing the boost of another gorgeous Australian firefighter with sweet animal to start my day. I figure with the way the world is, YOU might need a boost, too –
So, here are Richard and Abigail to welcome us to January 1st tomorrow. :0)
Our weather sucks – it’s 33 degrees F. right now with heavy rain and local flooding forecast for this afternoon through tomorrow. It’s a very good day to have a warm, dry house on top of a ridge line.
I am enjoying watching YouTube video demonstrations of the bleeding tissue paper art technique. I’ve watched two very different techniques, both with stunning results. My wonderful sister-in-law sent me a big package of large bleeding tissue paper sheets in assorted colors, so I spent last night dreaming of things to try with it. I also received 1″ round magnets I ordered that I’m going to try to paint and sell at our local booth. I’ll spend some time watching a few more videos and then go up and start getting my act together to try some new art!
My husband has requested I make chili mac tonight for dinner. I’ll do that – kind of as a ‘last hurrah’ from our ‘hang-the-diet’ eating splurge of the last few weeks. I am talking to myself (I know) – trying to get ready for a new day, new year, ‘new-motivation-for-diet-and-exercise’ frame of mind for tomorrow.
Enjoy your New Year’s Eve celebrations wherever you are. I wish you the very best for 2021.
KryptoniteBlonde – Global HD – El Montagista via Tumblr – TellMeNothing
At this point I’m limping along, kidding myself about my efforts to get back to my diet and exercise regimen. Suffice to say, I’m not back yet, but HOPE to be soon. (We are still eating our way through delicious no-no’s. )
I am about to leave to do a bunch of errands. I’m leaving the trash for pickup at the bottom of our driveway, getting our mail, changing out the things I’m trying to sell in the booth at Rags & Roses in Greenwood, then stopping at Real Food on the way home to see if I can get more kielbasa frozen dinners.
We’ll eat a quick lunch and then head back out again for more errands and a couple of appointments.
Our weather is deteriorating, culminating with a cold front and LOTS of rain for tomorrow and Thursday, so getting our mail may be all we do until Friday. Since it’s a holiday, Lunch Bunch is called off for Friday, so we may just stay up here, hopefully safe and dry in our house on top of our ridge line, celebrating the new year by ourselves and getting ready to start 2021.
I am happy that we’re about to see the end of 2020. I have high hopes that 2021 will be a much better year for all of us.
AND a year where there will gradually be less and less of a more fit me! :0)
My husband and I are still enjoying our stuff-everything-in-your-face-that-tastes-good mode. We have agreed that we will miss it – and very soon – when we go back to our get-the-lard-off mode.
I have to tell you that the stuff-your-face mode has helped my general ‘downness’ of the past few weeks. The world is such an unhappy place right now, and I can’t see it getting better soon, so a handful of fritos is spirit-lifting – at least for a few minutes.
I will break out my adult pants – if I can still get in them – and deal with what IS soon enough.
I came upon an art form new to me a couple of days ago. It has me by the throat now. I was dreaming about it last night and ideas are rattling around in my head. I hope to be able to get up to my art room today to make a first pass.
I was looking at examples of things done by those who know what they’re doing and I’m again in awe of the talent some folks have. Their work makes my mouth water.
I’m going to go up and play, and then I’ll share some of the work that makes me proud to exist on the same planet as these creative people.
My husband and I are in the middle of a gigantic splurge that we hope will cure us of the ‘wanting-to-make-up-for-all-the-things-we’ve-been-missing feelings we’ve been harboring for about a year now. We accept that the scale is laughing at us – sometimes holding its nose in derision – but the feelings have been strong.
The dog helped us toward getting temptation out of the house last night. I had fixed fried chicken for the first time in a least two years of abstention. I overcooked it, so we were less than delighted with the meal, although the deviled eggs were wonderful. My husband took his plate to the kitchen giving our 95-pound yellow lab, Amber, the remaining bites of chicken on his plate.
The next thing I knew, I was hearing ‘noises’ from the kitchen area. Amber had not only taken care of the remaining bites of chicken on his plate, but the remaining two PIECES of chicken on a platter on the island, plus TWO packages of cookies we received – his and hers – from the counter. The only thing left was the containers and a mess on the floor. My HUSBAND was in the dog house for leaving Amber in the kitchen, rather than watching her eat the largess from his plate and then bringing her into the living room with the gate to the kitchen closed – a lesson we have learned before.
We are giving ourselves until the end of the month to cure our longings and find our intense motivation again to get the lard off…
creativeartworksblog 