Sleep habit

I am trying to get back into the habit of having 8 hours of sleep. Of course it would help if I actually went to bed on time. Instead I stay up late. Doing what you might ask? Reading. It's an addiction. Unfortunately it is one I need to break before I started getting bags under my eyes and end up looking 40. Fun fact I turned 30 on Dec. 30th. My brother keeps telling people I turned 40. They may very well start to believe him if I don't get the proper amount of rest. So I'm going to end this post and get at least 7 hours of sleep.

packing habit

In exactly one week yours truly will be sailing the high seas for a five-day cruise to the Western Caribbean. I'm leaving from Miami and heading to Key West and Mexico. The packing process has already started in anticipation of the event.

Once upon a time I used to be the person who packed at the very last moment. And by last moment I mean an hour or so before I was supposed to leave. Surprisingly I never forgot anything important. Granted there were a few occasions my last minute packing caught up with me and I had to break down and buy something I already had a gazillion of at home. I blame my parents. They pack hours before leaving. Needless to say I copied their example for many years.

It wasn't until August 2012 I started to get into the habit of packing in advance. My best friend and I were going on a cruise. It was my first cruise ever. I packed a couple of days in advance for fear of leaving something that I wouldn't be able to find on the seven seas. By the time my Europe Trip in 2013 rolled around in March I had packed almost two weeks in advance. Now at the very least  I pack a week in advance for a trip.

Packing for a major trip makes me excited. Sometimes it's so much excitement that I forget something. So it's a good thing I pack well enough in advance, complete with lists to check off, to make sure I have it all together. Heaven forbid I  end up ready to board a plane or the boat and realize my passport was left behind.

irritable habit

Folks I am one irritable individual. Or maybe I should say I am easily irritated. It seems like being irritable is a habit I just can't break. I even made up a disease - Irritable Personality Syndrome - because of how much it effects me.

I know irritable personality syndrome must be a real thing because I suffer from it on a regular basis. A PSA for IPS would probably read like this: Did you know 1 in 3 Americans suffer from Irritable Personality Syndrome?

 Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a cure or even a support group for IPS. So I am trying different coping mechanisms to deal with it. One of them is Jeremy.

Recently I decided to create Jeremy, my very own personal assistant. Jeremy is a composite of all the people who irk me. Instead of taking my irritation out on them or resorting to my bad habit of calling people imbeciles, Jeremy will now bear the burden of it alone. Surely this well help aid me in ending my irritable habit.

I'm not sure why I picked the name Jeremy. Probably because he's a cousin of Jeff, the invisible teammate. Have you ever wondered who your favorite QB was throwing to when the ball landed nowhere during a football game? It was Jeff, the world's worse teammate. But I digress.

Just like Jeff can do no right, neither can Jeremy. Right now all I can seem to yell at him is, "You only had one job Jeremy!" For some reason it makes me feel better and less likely to bite someone's head off. I keep threatening to get rid of Jeremy, but at least he serves a useful purpose for channeling my irritable energy.

cooking habit

You've surely noticed by now that I am following a writing theme this month. Each post has been about a habit I am working on. Habits are so much better to think about than goals for me. So seeing this as the topic for January NaBloPoMo was awesome. It's giving me an opportunity to really think about my habits. But I digress.

Today's habit is cooking. I hate to cook. I love to eat, but the effort of getting there annoys me. It is my heart's desire to one day be rich enough just so I can employ a personal chef. Cooking soothes some people. It causes stress in my life. I already have enough stress, and don't need to add on to it. Mainly it's because I'm not that great at cooking. I have no desire to be Betty Crocker and it reflects in my cooking. Sure there are some things I do really well - cranberry sauce, oven fried chicken, banana bread - but most of what I cook sucks. So I don't do it that often.

This year I am trying to change that and get into the habit of cooking at least a few times a week. It's healthier and cheaper than going out to eat all the time. Tonight I made pizza biscuits. It was fairly simply to throw together. I tend to look for recipes with less than five ingredients that can be made either in the crock pot, or in the oven in 30 minutes or less. The pizza biscuits fit the criteria perfectly.

Here's what I did: I baked the biscuits (yes, canned ones) for 10 minutes, opened them and put Alfredo sauce (about a 1/4 a cup to cover four), three turkey pepperoni and a piece of kale on one half and mozzarella  and two turkey pepperoni on the other. I returned them to the oven for another seven minutes and voila, dinner was served.

On Wednesday I'll make something in the crock pot. I think it will be my specialty - chicken and vegetable stew. My cooking habit is already off to a good start.

Bible habits

Reading the entire Bible is a habit I have attempted several times now. I have yet to read all the way through. I always start off strong at the beginning of the year, but then somehow it gets pushed to the side. Each year my dad reads the Bible all the way through via a different translation. One day I'll get like him.

I blame the devil. Well mainly it's due to laziness and a lack of dedication on my part. Sure some of the books are a lot drier than others as far as reading goes (I'm looking at you Corinthians). That's no excuse to just stop and let the reading fall by the wayside.

This year, I am determined to finish reading the entire Bible. I'm going to do it! I just bought The Message Bible for my Kindle. I used to read this translation online, but I felt like I needed to actually own it. The Message Bible is one of my favorite translations because it is easy to comprehend. Sometimes the wording cracks me up, because it really brings a verse alive. King James is just not for me. New King James isn't much better.

 Today is the day I kickoff the reading, mainly because my plan is based on days not dates. I'm starting where I left off last year (Jeremiah). Once I finish, I am going to try a different Bible Reading plan. The one I have is just straight through. I am motivated to form this habit.

Night life habit

Guess who is trying to increase her nightlife habit? This girl right here.

Normally I don't spend my evenings doing much of anything. Reading dominates my night life activities. This time I actually went out and about.

 I am hanging with my friends some old and some new. This has been a great way to end my Christmas break.

 Here's hoping I keep up this habit of actually doing something each week.

Reading habits

Tracking my reading has become somewhat of a habit over the last two years. An avid book lover, such as myself, needs someplace to record what she has read in a year. I use Goodreads because it allows you to set a yearly reading goal.

I started with a goal of reading 104 books in 2013. I actually exceeded that goal by more than 20 books. My list it was filled with fiction ranging from mysteries to romance novel. Adding the Kindle app to my phone and laptop is what really pushed me way over the goal. Getting an actual Kindle for Christmas was also a game changer. The Kindle is perhaps the best thing since sliced bread.

Sadly I didn't make my goal for 2014 - 140 books. Life happened, and I had a period of inactivity regarding reading (and apparently everything else in my life). I think I finished with a little more than 132 books. That wasn't too bad.

My goal for 2015 is to actually read 140 books. That averages out to about three books a week. Really that should be a cake walk for me. I don't watch TV that much, and love to spend my time reading.

Mainly I read historical romance novels, but this year I want to incorporate other genres. Woman can not live by romance alone. But I do so love reading a tale or two about a dashing duke, magnificent marquess or valiant viscount. Alas, I must make it a habit to expand my reading horizons.

Back in the habit

In 2014 I took a break from writing. I didn't write in my journal (the horror), on my much neglected blog or even on Facebook.
It's time to remedy my sabbatical from writing. At the very least, I plan on journaling again.
There wasn't just one thing that made me stop writing, but I don't plan on making excuses in 2015.
Let's just say last year was the worse ever. The absolute worse.
I am hopefully optimistic that this year will be the best ever.
For the next month I plan on posting regularly to help me get back into the habit of writing.
Who would have imagined I could lose my zeal for writing? Sadly  it happened, but out with the old in with the new.

crying foul

I forgive, but it takes a while to forget.

The other day my BFF cussed me out. Like literally cussed me out. I think I got called everything but a child of God. It hurt me too. I'm a sensitive soul, though I seem thick-skinned.

Perhaps had I done something particularly horrible to her (killed her dog, stole her husband, robbed her), I might have understood her foul display directed at me. But I didn't. A joke I made at her expense about lateness set her off, especially because she had a bad day. 

Character costumes

I would make a great Susie!

In just a few short days Halloween will be here. I plan on enjoying Fla-Ga festivities in Jacksonville instead of passing out candy to the kids this year. And right now I have no immediate plans for really dressing up.

Grief Etiquette 101

I took a break (again), but I’m back. Let Writing Wednesdays resume once more.

Unfortunately I’ve had to work through grief over the past few months due to the passing of my beloved grandma. This isn’t the first time a loved one has passed away, but quite naturally it hurts deeply to the core of my heart.  I’m finally coming to terms with my grief thanks to lots of prayer, grief counseling, and the support of family and friends. However, I cannot come to terms with the blatant ignorance of grief etiquette I’ve experienced. If my grandma was here, we would probably sit at her kitchen table and discuss the offending parties. Alas and alack she is not. Instead I must write about it. It’s almost as if the world needs an etiquette book on dealing with a bereaved family. If I wrote such a book, a few chapters would look something like this:

Chapter 1: Your maid doesn’t live here.

Don’t ask a member of the bereaved family to prepare your plate when you come to “comfort” them. At one point I was ready to snap on people visiting the family because they kept sending me to get something.  Apparently it didn’t matter my grandma just passed away. Most visitors were quite capable of getting their own plate. Yet I kept getting requests to make a to go plate or a to stay plate. I should have given them a plate in the face. And don’t even get me started on a visitor who was trying to get a slice of a cake someone made for my cousin, while she was crying to the side. No one cares about getting you cake, food, soda or anything else. Get it your own self. You should be making sure the family is served, not the other way around.

Chapter 2: Age ain’t nothing but a number.

I know people mean well, but so many statements are annoying for a grieving family, such as, “I know what you’re going through.” Actually you don’t. You can empathize, but you have no idea. Avoid saying that. Also there is another phrase to avoid. I hated the question, “How old was your grandma?” Often when I answered, “In her 80s,” the response was, “Well she lived a long life.” Is that supposed to make me feel better? That doesn’t make the pain easier. She lived for 80 + years, but I only had her for 29 of them. She could have lived to 100, and her passing would have still been too soon for me. Just strike the entire “lived a long life” phrase from your mind.

Chapter 3: It’s a shame what you say.

People get shamed for everything, but it doesn’t make it right. It’s even worse when someone is grieving. I wrote a good thousand words about my family getting “shamed” (grief shaming and fat shaming specifically). So I won’t linger too long on this point. The key thing to remember is you don’t shame a person for how they grieve. Grief is not specific to one person in the family. We all have pain. And commenting on a person’s weight gain (or weight loss) is the quickest way to get told off. Or in my case, to get an article written about you and posted on an online publication (the pen is mightier than the sword).

Chapter 4: Gimmee, gimmee, gimmee

Don’t try to take items of the deceased from family members. I have developed quite the attachment to my grandma’s dusters. Not only do they make me think of her, but they are absolutely comfortable and feel fantastic. It’s like naked hour with clothes on (much to my roommate’s relief). One visitor had the audacity to tell me I better give her some of my grandma’s dusters. She was on the quick track to getting told off. Those dusters are my inheritance. Grieving families are under no obligation to give any of their loved one’s possessions away. Demanding something from them is just downright rude.

I could go on and on. I’ve realized people can be stuck on stupid when you’re just trying to grieve. The Incredible Hulk side of me almost came out, more than once and rightly so. Perhaps my future book, “Grief Etiquette 101- How NOT to Get Stabbed by the Bereaved,” will make the world a better place for bereaved families everywhere.

What etiquette tips do you have to share? Or is your grief etiquette lacking?

Writing again

Many moons have passed since I last posted something. Honestly, I can't even blame it on my granny's passing because I had already started a sabbatical. I'll blame that on not having a laptop. Yes, poor Nettie went to her reward. Quite naturally it didn't help when Grandma Pearl went to her Heavenly home either.

For a while I wasn't writing anywhere - work, journal, online. It was as if the words just up and died within me. Depression had me only wanting to wear my grandma's duster and lay in the bed just looking at the walls. Reading wasn't even an activity I wanted to do.

Slowly but surely I have come out of my funk. I attribute it to grief counseling and my ever vigilant friends who made sure I didn't jump off a cliff (shout out to the fantastic Cee for "suicide watch). Let me state for the record Cee didn't think I was really going to commit suicide. But she did think I was going to just lay in the bed forever never to come out and play. It was certainly looking that way for awhile.

At any rate, I'm back. Granted, I still have my bad days, but they don't last for weeks on end. And I'm starting group therapy with grief counseling to help out too. Most of all I'm writing again. Grandma Pearl would want me to continue to do so. In her memory I will.

Reflections on my grandmother

Unfortunately my grandma passed away a few weeks ago. It was a shock to the family, and no one is really taking it well. She was my last living grandparent and the only one to see me reach almost every single milestone (graduating from high school, college, getting a first job, getting a better job, buying my first car). The only things she won't get to see is me getting married, having children or graduating with a master's. On the program I gave reflections as a grandchild. Though I spoke from the heart, there was actually a written draft which appears below:

True Confessions of a Goody Two-Shoes

Goody two-shoes was a nickname that followed me around for years as a child. But sometimes I wonder if the sobriquet was truly earned. It's not like I really had to work hard at it. Maybe I would feel a little better if my life was more like an after school special, or at the very least a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) scenario.

Back to School Pressures

Family members have been urging me to go back to school for a master’s degree since the day I graduated with a bachelor’s. It’s starting to get annoying. Whenever I mention an upcoming trip they find a way to turn the conversation to the fact that I could be using that money for school. Perhaps I could if it was a priority for me.

the call

One thing very important to me is my relationship with the Lord. Quite naturally I don’t take too kindly when someone mocks it. Such was the case the other day with a gentleman caller. I met him last Friday and a gas station. He was polite in his approach, so I gave him my number. Mistake one. Everyone who asks for your number doesn’t deserve it. Unfortunately I said in 2014 I would be less discriminating when it came to males. I graced him with the digits; despite the fact I could already tell he wasn’t my type. Sure he was attractive and didn’t sound like an idiot when speaking, but I still had the feeling I didn’t want to be bothered. I didn’t listen to that feeling. Mistake two.

Goodbye Green Machine



What the Green Machine looked like in its glory days.

The Green Machine is no more. It fought the good fight and finished its course. My beloved first car has gone on to the great car lot in the sky. Contrary to its appearance and lack of maintenance I did indeed love the Green Machine. How could I not love it? It was my favorite color, kept on chugging along with nary a complaint and got me from point A to point B. I can fondly tell you about every single dent, scratch or spray painted spot on that car.

The Gift

Why ask for something you'll never use?

Not so many years ago I was a poor, recent college grad. It was all I could do not to sell plasma. OK maybe I wasn't in such dire straits, but I was far from making millions. Regardless of my financial status, or lack thereof, I always tried to make sure that family and friends received decent Christmas gifts.

What's my age again?

Can someone please remind me of my age? I can’t seem to make it stick in my mind, and it’s starting to affect my goal setting.

No. 1 goal, finish my list.

How's my driving

Friends don't let me drive.

Riding with me while I’m driving will definitely make you feel closer to God. And it’s not just because I keep two Bibles in the car. I’m a horrible driver. Perhaps the world’s worse driver. There’s just no better way to put it.