Setting Intentions

Today, my goal is simply to keep the TV turned off until suppertime. My intentions? I simply hope one act leads to the next, which leads to the next, and next and so on. 

I am showered up and clean after yesterday's battle against the weeds, grackles and nature in general. Today? I hope to sit on the back step with my second cup of coffee then move inside to see what battles I can wage within.

Nature is one tough cookie. I didn't even attempt to pick up pinecones. The wind keeps blowing them off the trees. If I was a rich person, I would hire someone who had a crane truck to pick all the pinecones off the forest which surrounds my home. 

I would collect the pinecones, mulch them into bits, then spread them around the perimeter of the house as a decorative mulch. I thought I read that pinecones repel insects and rodents. I'm all for that. They also help retain moisture and deter weeds. Hey, maybe I could spread my make believe pinecone mulch over the lawn like fertilizer. With all the above benefits, what could I lose?

I think I'm onto something here. Pinecone mulch. 

But for today? I hope for even a fraction of the forward momentum I had and held onto yesterday. If nothing else, I know what I'm cooking for supper - intentions have been set.

Ham & hashbrown casserole anyone?

The Best Part of Waking Up (is coffee in my cup)

It is my goal to wake up, grab a cup of coffee then come immediately to this spot to write. Instead, this is what happens:

• wake up
• realize its wash day
• change out of my pj's so I can wash them
• make and de-cat-hair my bed
• tuck the top sheet over my quilt to avoid cat gaining entry and sleeping in my sheets
• toss in a load of laundry
• top up our cat's water while I'm there
• turn on the kettle
• open blinds
• run the dry mop over the floors to tame the cat hair within
• get lost on Instagram as I (allegedly) check for signs of life from my son on vacation
• start a new post here
• get lost on Facebook as I (allegedly) search for an obituary
• toss laundry in the dryer
• clean cat litter while I'm there
• make a smoothie and second cup of coffee
• listen to a We Can Do Hard Things podcast while I...
• work on my daily word and number puzzles
• call our friendly neighborhood mechanic 
• run my car back to the shop (domino effect of problems after a repair three days ago)
• turn on my work computer and start morning routines
• put laundry away
• finish puzzles
• run out to buy milk since my day is already off to a bad start
• have an early lunch
• finish listening to podcast 
• back to work
• cat hair cleaning tool arrives in the mail - have to test it out!
• vacuum
• get lost in the day
• wake up to a new day and find an absolutely empty post from yesterday

Of all the morning goals I set for myself, I only seem to accomplish one of them. I have a cup of coffee. Every day. Amen to that.

I'm "this" far into the day ... 

Ahhh-some Moments

Reigniting the habit of writing has changed me. I'm seeing the world again. I live the day like I'm going to write a blog post about it. I'm spinning the tales I tell myself within my thoughts and it has changed my perspective in a positive way.

Living intentionally. Propelling myself into my days with a lightly formed agenda of that-which-I-want-to-do has put a new spin on an old life.

My days aren't long enough. Especially since I gave up mindless eating. The eating I did while staring at the TV, computer screen, my phone and most especially the eating I did simply to stay awake.

Mornings are precious to me so what I lose at night, I gain in the morning. Getting out of bed is so much easier than it had been. "How much can I squeeze into my pre-work hours?" has become my daily challenge.

When I work, I work better. More focus. More push. More drive. Then again, that could be because June brings a new set of deadlines to beat and I'm pretty good with deadlines.

The "woe is me" attitude is waning. It is becoming more of a "wow is me" mindset. Wow! I feel better when I do some morning stretches. Wow! It feels good to get out and walk. Wow! I have written a daily blog post ten days in a row. Wow! I am enjoying food so much more when I eat without distractions. Wow! Eating food without distractions is time consuming.

In the depth of winter and the despair I felt waking up to life as I know it, I woke up wishing the day away. I made my bed, longing for the moment I got to collapse back into it after a long, hard day. Work was hard. House and yard work were hard. Cooking was hard. Answering the phone was hard. Going through the paces of living my life felt so hard. My reprieve from the hard life was my escape to my little oasis on the prairie on weekends where life felt so much easier.

What I have discovered in my two week venture into leading an intentional life, is that I really don't have time to work. I'm ready for retirement now that I know how to spend my days intentionally.

Two weeks does not a habit make. But I have a very good feeling about this shift in perspective. It has added a sense of awe into the mundaneness of my Monday to Friday life. The "ahhhh" I write at the top of so many of my morning pages in my little oasis on the prairie is being supplemented by a little awe during the week. 

What are your "ahhh" moments? The moments when you sit still and simply feel awesome in the moment you are in? Revel in the "ahhh". Breathe it in. Hold it gently. See what you can do to add just a few more of those ahhh-some moments into your world. Small steps. Be quiet in those moments. Be still. Let your answers find you.

Oprah set the phrase "ah-ha moments" into action. I'm a little bit lazier than Oprah. I'll settle for the "ahhh-some moments". One moment at a time.

A few of my ahhh-some moments from my walk:

Setting Intentions

I sat down and had a good, stern talk with myself one morning a few days ago. I came up with a list of intentions. I may have set too many. But I tried to make each and every one of them attainable.

It sounds easy:

• Walk
• Water 
• Write
• Limit TV/Netflix
• MINDFUL eating only (cut out eating in front of the TV, while at the computer or reading)
• Read
• Putter
• Initiate (notes/letters/email; invitations; seek out something new/different)

NOTE: Absolutely NONE-OF-THE-ABOVE cost one penny!

So far, I have managed four out of the eight. Not bad but there is room for improvement.

Writing - that is a big one for me. I have been half-hazardly hand writing three, 8-1/2" X 11" morning pages in a semi sorta on-again-off-again manner. I can do better than that. So? Here I am. Back on my blog.

When I started this blog, my goal was to write once a day. Focus on the positive. Live my days so I had something to write about (i.e. NOTICE the little things daily). Little stories. Write purposefully and attempt to wind up each post with a succinct finish that made my words worth reading.

I have strayed far off the mark and recently simply stopped posting. 

I am back. I plan to stay. By blogging, I become accountable. Accountable to show up, live each day in the moment so I have something fresh to bring to the page, focus on positive and up-lifting moments and make an attempt to wind up my thoughts with a summary worth reading. 

Those are a lofty set of goals. I am rusty but I will give it my best shot. I can tell I'm already making some headway. I am noticing "nature" again. I am stopping to listen and watch the world like I did in my days of daycaring. I have picked up the phone and initiated contact with friends and family. I am getting my feet wet and initiating invitations &/or suggestions.

I have been lost. COVID restrictions kept me where I was comfortable. It is time to peek out of this protected little shell I've built around myself and step back into the world. Would you like to join me? Please do. I do believe a better way of living life is out there if we simply open our eyes, ears and door so we can meet life half way.