Putting my challenges all together

 One of the things I really need to start doing with my daily challenge is incorporating past challenges into my routine.  While I have enjoyed each month's challenge, I tend to let them fall by the wayside when the next month arrives.  I was just looking over my list of challenges this year and that has definitely been the case.  I am not sure how to do that exactly, but I think it would be good for me. Maybe another list is in order for me to check each day.  Not that I have to do every daily challenge every day because that would only result in me putting pressure on myself and then nothing would get done. I am talking more about a reminder to try and incorporate these things in my life as often as possible.  They have all been beneficial and I believe that the combination of these things, in different combinations day to day, would really make me feel better both physically and mentally. Some of the daily challenges have continued like my daily devotions.  Some like aerobic exercise and working in the garage have not.  Like I said, I do not necessarily need to do everything every day, but these challenges do need to become a part of my weekly canon.  One of the ironic things that I realized is that this month's challenge, self-care, is really about everything I have challenged myself with throughout the year.  It is such an important part of existence in order to maintain (or even achieve) a somewhat balanced life.  I can do this. Send good energy!

In the Wee Small Hours - Carly Simon

 I love the film Sleepless in Seattle and it has a wonderful soundtrack as well.  This is a cd that I love to sit down and listen to.  There are lots of covers of great standards including this one.  Before I saw the movie and heard the soundtrack, I was unfamiliar with this song.  Now, I know that it has been a popular tune that was first made famous by Frank Sinatra.  Carly Simon's take on it is beautiful.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Self-care is working

 

I have enjoyed this month of daily self-care and will definitely continue this going forward.  One of the things that I have noticed most of all is that I have not been down on myself nearly as much as I normally am.  I am not saying that I'm down on myself all of the time, but I do have my moments.  And this month, not so much.  Being good to myself each and every day has helped me to let go of things, process things and leave them in the past where they belong.  It has made me more appreciative of what I have and who I have in my life.  And that is a good thing. 

One of the things that I have done which has made a huge difference is how I go about my daily lists.  You all know that I love making lists.  I just cannot help it LOL  Still, each day I had a list of things to get done and I almost never got them all done on the day they had been assigned. I found myself getting upset because I was not doing all of the things I needed to do.  I was putting pressure on myself to get these things done when there was really no reason other than it was something to do.  Once I removed that pressure, I have found myself to be more relaxed and as a result, more productive.  Yes, I do still have a to-do list but I am handling it differently and it works for me.  It is now giving me the time to be good to myself each day.  That is a good feeling.

But I am finding that just taking this time every day for myself grounds me and gives me a better outlook on things.  It relaxes me and makes life more positive.  Sometimes it is listening to music, sometimes it is my daily devotions, some days it is letter writing.  But with each thing I do for myself, I feel more of who I truly am and can truly be.  That is a blessing to carry forward.  That is all. 

Some things I want to learn how to do

 Thinking about making the most out of life in this crazy world and looking at new things that I want to learn how to do.  Well, at least things that are new to me LOL I want to find some things that can occupy my time and give me some zen moments.  And some things that are productive but fun.  I don't know if I will ever get around to learning any of them, but hey, at least I can give it a try!

1. Gardening

I don't know the first thing about gardening and that is something that I regret not picking up from my parents.  Both Mom and Dad loved gardening.  Dad had an amazing vegetable garden that he did each year, and he was self-taught. He grew up on a tobacco farm but did not learn much about vegetable gardening, so he figured it out on his own and it was so beneficial to our household. Mom loved her flower beds.  She would get a stool and spend hours over the weekend planting and weeding.  Our backyard had several flower beds out there and she loved it.  I just do not know much about planting and tending to plants.  I want to learn because I think I would enjoy it. 

2. Make a Roux

I cannot make a good roux to save my life.  And believe me, I have tried. Part of me blames my stove top because it uses coil heat and it's hard to get a temperature going that's not blazingly hot.  But I have watched videos and read articles, and I still cannot master this technique.  I need to have someone show me in real time how to do this.  Any takers?

3. Refinish furniture

This is a skill I would love to learn.  And this can be combined with restore furniture and repurpose furniture.  At work, I see so many pieces get tossed in our dumpster that, with a little love and elbow grease, could be brought back to life and put to use.  It's one of the downsides of today's society. I see pieces on Market Place all the time that just need a little love, but I have never attempted this before.  Does anyone teach these skills, or would this be a watch YouTube videos kind of project?  Hmmmm. 

4. Arrange Flowers

This goes beyond sticking flowers in a vase.  That I can do.  I would love to learn the art of flower arranging.  Of course, not to be a professional or anything because those people are so amazing, I just want to be able to create beautiful and simple arrangements for the house. Grandmother was very good at that.  It would be nice to know how to make a beautiful centerpiece for my dining room table.

5. Swim

I do not know how to swim.  I'm not even good at holding my breath under water.  When I was a child, it scared me so badly.  That was one of the reasons that I was never baptized.  There were other reasons but I will save those for another time.  I don't really know where this fear of going under water came from.  I have my theory on that, and it does not stem from anything that happened in this lifetime.  Yet again, fodder for another blog. But now I am finally to a point where I want to learn how to swim.  It would help me so much physically with my health goals.  I remember when I was applying to colleges, the first time, Dad asked me if they still had the swimming requirement.  Back when he and Mom were at ECU, you could not graduate from the UNC system unless you could swim.  Sometimes I wish they did have that when I was at UNCG years ago.  Anyway, it is time for me to learn.  Anyone have a pool? And patience? 

6. Bridge

I would love to learn how to play bridge.  Most of my family played when I was growing up.  I never learned.  I think they tried to teach me once but at that time it was way too complicated.  Mom and Dad belonged to a bridge club.  Grandmother belonged to a bridge club.  I don't have to be in a club but it might be fun.  Many Saturday nights at our house held bridge games with Goodsons from the across the street.  Or Grandmother and Isabel would come over to play with Mom and Dad.  I just think it would be something fun to learn how to play.  As an old soul, it seems appropriate LOL  I have inquired to several local teachers but nothing has worked out yet.

7. Mah Jong

Here is another game that I believe would be interesting to learn how to play.  I do not know much about it at all other than it involves tiles.  I had never heard of this game until I saw Driving Miss Daisy in the movie theater!  It has lingered in the back of my mind ever since.  And working in a retirement community, I have heard several of my residents talk about playing over the years.  I think it would be fun to play!

8. Weight lifting

Here is another exercise that I want to learn how to do correctly.  I have a membership to a gym which I rarely use yet still pay for, like so many people.  And one of the reasons I don't go is because I don't know what I'm doing.  And lifting weights is a very precise exercise with so many different things to factor into it like number of weights, reps, how to correctly do the lifts. These are just basic things that I have no idea about and, again, want to have someone in real time teach me and not watch videos about it.  Using exercise videos as teachers is kind of difficult because I have to continuously stop what I'm doing and go back and rewatch.  That is a motivation killer right there!  

9. Learn another language

When I was in high school, I did not have a good ear for foreign language.  Part of the problem that my first Spanish Teacher, Mr. Tyner who was one of the best teachers I ever had, passed away over Christmas break and I ended up having 4 different teachers over the next year and a half.  So, I would love to take a language course.  I'm not sure which one, but who knows.  I think it would be not only a fun skill to have but beneficial in the work place someday. 

10. Autoharp

I want to learn how to play the autoharp.  My memories of the autoharp go all the way back to children's choir at FBC in Monroe.  One was often used to accompany us.  We all loved to play with it and press the different buttons and strum.  We didn't know what we were doing and were more making noise than music, but it was still fun.  Years, decades later, after seeing the film A Mighty Wind and watching Catherine O'Hara play the autoharp, my interest was renewed.  Michael went as far as to get me one for Christmas but I have yet to learn how to play it. I think it needs to be restrung or something.  Anyway, I need to look into get that fixed so I can start taking some lessons somewhere!

So, these are a few of the things I would like to learn how to do.  What are some of the things on your list?  

Recipe of the Week - Butterbean Salad

 I seem to be on a roll with salads here lately, so just ride the wave with me!  One of the things I love about trying out new recipes is when I find a recipe of Mom's or Grandmother's that I absolutely do not ever remember her making.  I always imagine that it's either something she made well before I came along, or it is a recipe that intrigued her that she just never got around to making. This is one such recipe.  As I was going through the salad section of one of Mom's recipes boxes (one of my most valued treasures), I came across this recipe.  I was not exactly sure what to make of it because I had never heard of a butterbean salad.  I thought why not?  I would give it a try.  And I'm so glad that I did.  I have made this several times since and shared it with friends.  It's definitely a keeper.  Even though it sounds like something you would make during the warmer months of summer, this will be an all-year staple for me!  Enjoy!

Butterbean Salad

3 cans of butterbeans, drained

1 8 oz carton of sour cream

1 cup of mayonnaise

chopped onion and celery, to taste

salt and pepper

Combine ingredients in a bowl and chill for several hours before serving.  Delicious!!

Served in one of Mom's everyday china pattern bowls, appropriately!

Halloween

Halloween is coming up next week and it's the first big holiday of autumn.  I have always enjoyed Halloween, but I have never been fanatical with it like I am with Christmas. I always feel like I'm on the periphery of Halloween, always on the outside looking in.  And that is absolutely fine.  I love to see how much others love Halloween and go to all ends to make it special.  That makes it special for me.  For me, it comes in 4th in the list of big holidays:  Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and then Halloween.  I don't do much, but I do look forward to the half-priced candies on sale the next day LOL. 

I don't remember many of the Halloween costumes I wore over the years but I do remember a few.  When I was three or four, my cousin Margaret bought me and Bill some Star Wars costumes.  They were those heavy plastic masks with the kind of plastic body bag you wore over your clothes.  We all wore those kinds of costumes for years.  Mine was C3PO and his was Darth Vador.  There are pictures of us wearing them and even switching masks.  Later on in childhood, I went as The Purple Pie Man.  Again, one of those plastic costumes we got off of the rack at Rose's.  How I miss that store!  In 5th grade I went as Dracula.  I had been Dracula in our AG Halloween play and so I already had the stuff for it. I remember because the neighborhood kids went to the mall to trick or treat that year and we racked up.  Also, I remember watching the Halloween episode of The Cosby Show after I got home.  That was the last time I went trick-or-treating.  I have rarely dressed up for Halloween as an adult.  Several years ago, I went as a biker to work and won the costume contest.  I truly believe it is because I got a mohawk for the occasion and very few people recognized me at first glance.  That was fun!

We didn't have many Halloween decorations, especially not like people have today.  But we did always have a jack-o-lantern on the porch with a candle in it.  And Mom had some cut outs that hung on the front door.  I still have one of those which I hang up in the house during the season.  I need to add that to my list before Halloween has come and gone! 

There was a house down the street from us on Brookgreen Drive that had the greatest witch on their front door.  Even though witches scared me, thank you Wizard of Oz, I would always ask Mom to slow the car down while we passed that house so I could get a good look! When the big night came, it was always seeing streets full of kids in costumes.  I don't remember many specific experiences trick-or-treating, but I do remember the Purple Pie Man year when Monica, who lived next door, took me.  And back in those days we always went after dark.  Going trick-or-treating in daylight was not even an option.  I remember watching ET for the first time and wondering why they went while the sun was still out.  Oh well LOL  And we almost never gave away candy at our house.  Mom would pop popcorn and fill treat bags full.  Of course, back in those days popcorn was not really sold much in stores except in seed form, so this was a treat. 

Of course, no Halloween would have been complete without watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" which has been a staple of American Halloween viewing since 1966.  It is usually shown several nights before Halloween, and I watch it every year.  Now that I don't have regular tv, or whoever shows it these days, I just watch my faithful DVD. I did not watch a lot of scary movies as a kid because they would give me nightmares.  They still do sometimes!!  A Garfield Halloween, The Worst Witch, The Bugs Bunny Halloween Special and the Halloween episode of The Wonderful World of Disney were enough for me!

I imagine that if I had children I would do more for Halloween.  We don't have trick-or-treaters here on my street but a few streets over they come in by the van loads. I put a few things up around the house so that I can remember the good times of days gone by.  I still enjoy the holiday and am glad that I am around to see another one.  Happy Halloween!

TV Specials

Quote of the Week

This is what I'm working on with myself right now.  And I must admit it feels pretty damn good!