All posts by rebekahjmarshall

Health, Writing

Time For Tea – (Day 24)

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Today’s assignment was to ask someone out for coffee and then write about it.

I’m not a coffee drinker, but tea is right up my alley.  I found myself with some free time in the middle of the day, a rarity.  I asked my best friend Erica if she would like to get together and suggested either Cheesecake Factory or The Steeping Room.  My only hesitation on The Steeping Room was the need for a reservation, which also meant committing to a time schedule (which could fall through depending on many factors – mostly her busy workday and dealing with twin three-year-olds.)  She preferred The Steeping Room due to dietary gluten-free concerns and made the reservation for us.  She also offered to drive.  Apparently, she always gets “glutened” as she calls it when she goes to the Cheesecake Factory, despite the fact that they have a gluten-free menu and gluten-free options.

We talked about my pain level, marriage to my sweet husband, photography (her passion right now), her boys, our exes, my kids, my granddaughter, and my writing course I was finishing up.  She ordered Mexican Hot Chocolate with some alternative milk and a gluten-free grilled cheese sandwich that she adores.  I got Hibiscus Iced Tea and the Buddha Bowl – a hodgepodge of sweet potato, beans, chicken, greens of the day, grains of the day, and a delicious cashew dressing.  I crave it in between chances to eat there.

We bemoaned our fatness, talked about what has worked lately to sate appetite and manage cravings, reminisced about the good ol’ days when it was easier to lose weight and move…

Mostly, we just caught up on life and enjoyed some stolen moments in the middle of the day without children, grandchildren, work, or obligations.  It was a lovely time and will hopefully be repeated many more times in the future.

Fiction, Writing

Backwards – (Day 23)

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Today’s assignment is to:

Backwards it write but books favorite your of one from passage a copy.

“Are we as – equal, feet God’s at stood we and, grave the through passed had both if as just; spirit your addresses the spirit my is it:  flesh mortal of even nor, conventionalities, custom of medium the through now you to talking not am I.  You leave to me for now is it as, me leave to you for hard as it made have should I, wealth much and beauty some w”ith me gifted had God if and!  Heart much as full and – you as soul much as have I – wrong! think you? Heartless and soulless am I, little and, plain, obscure, poor, am I because, think you do? Cup me fro,m dashed water living of drop my and, lips my from snatched bread of morsel my have to bear can and? feelings without machine a – automaton an am I think you do.”

This is from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

 

Health, Writing

Hoarding – (Day 22)

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Today’s topic is to consider what I might be hoarding that I need to get rid of or share with others:

  1. My writing – I need to get my poetry and books out there to share with others.
  2. Clothes, furniture, blankets, miscellaneous junk in my garage – All of that could go to a thrift store so someone else can enjoy it.
  3. Excess weight – It is not benefiting anyone in any way.
  4. Guilt, Shame, Worry – That is detrimental and needs to be managed or disposed of.
  5. Pain – It needs to be gone.

That is all I can think of right now that I may be hoarding.

Essays, Writing

Favorite Quote – (Day 21)

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Today’s assignment is to write a favorite quote, then try to rephrase it five different ways.

“The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.” – Rumi

  1.  When you find the right person, there is a knowing that has been there all along.
  2.   I have loved love stories since I was old enough to understand them.  My soul loves to love.
  3.   In order to love someone else, a person needs to love herself first.
  4.   I don’t believe in love at first sight.  I do believe in recognizing the other – two souls seeing each other again for the first time.
  5. Love is the point of everything and loving you is my soul’s desire.

Then I found these that I liked along the same theme:

“Don’t worry about finding your soul mate. Find yourself.”
― Jason Evert

“For some people, “the point of no return” begins at the very moment their souls become aware of each others’ existence.”
― C. JoyBell C.

“Before you find your soul mate, you must first discover your soul.”
― Charles F. Glassman

“A soul mate is not found. A soul mate is recognized.”
― Vironika Tugaleva

 

 

Essays, Writing

Creative Family Tree – (Day 20)

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Today’s assignment is to trace some of my creative influences and their creative influences as far back as I can.

I am most influenced by:

David Sedaris, Martha Beck, Oprah, Mema…

Who were influenced by:

Maya Angelou, Granny Great, Lao Tzu, Mrs. Duncan, Mr. Sedaris, Toni Morrison, Nelson Mandela…

Who were influenced by:

Bailey, Jr., Jesus, George and Ramah Wofford, Martin Luther King, Jr….

Who were influenced by Ghandi, GOD, Thomas Carlisle, John Donne, Washington Irving, Ralph Waldo Emerson…

That is as far back as I can find.

 

Fiction, Writing

Harry Potter Party

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potter party

I am having a Harry Potter Party right  this second.  We are near the end of the 2nd movie.  Only 6 to go.  I spent days preparing and am so happy with the results.  I made this cake and was quite proud of how it turned out.

potter party2

I am Molly Weasley.  My daughter decorated this mirror and made wands out of pretzels, chocolate, and sprinkles.

potter party3

My grandbaby is Dobby.  She was adorable.  That is a sock attached to her side there.

potter party4

My son drew this version of Dobby for my wall.

All in all, I am having a lovely time on Spring Break and looking forward to even more fun and relaxation after making it through all 8 Harry Potter movies.

Health, Writing

What is to be done? – (Day 19)

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Today’s assignment is the completion of yesterday’s complaints/grievances.  I was supposed to consider anything I could do to improve any of those areas.

Pain – I have been trying everything suggested to manage my pain.  I will continue to try different things until I find an answer.  At this moment, I do not have a satisfactory solution.  If I had one, I would quickly employ it.  I do not want to take medications that could become addictive or have other unhealthy side-affects.  I use chiropractic care currently and take some anti-inflammatories when I can barely cope.  Ice helps, as does rest.  Mostly, I cry, and moan, and shift positions until I can bear the discomfort temporarily.

Excess Weight – I joined Weight Watchers and tried pretty hard for about a month.  Then I didn’t try very hard for about a month.  I suppose I should try again (I’m stuck for at least another month in order to get one of my months back free.)

Joint Problems – See pain…except that I know I need to get back to my stretching to improve my flexibility.

Too much Housekeeping – I need to streamline my chores, actually do them regularly, ask David to do more, and continue to declutter so there is less to clean.

David’s Dog – I try not to do much related to Aiko.  I need to encourage David to get her into obedience training, though.

Low Energy – Not sure on this one.  I’m getting enough sleep.  Maybe weight loss and less pain could improve the low energy.

Ungrateful Children – Not much I can do here, but I can let my kids know when they have hurt my feelings and set some boundaries when I feel taken advantage of.

Depression – Again, I don’t want to take medication.  In the past there have been too many side affects.  I think the weight, pain, joint problems, and energy are all connected to the depression.

Unpleasant Hurtful Ex-Husband – There is nothing I can do about this right now.  I just continue to take the high road.

Religious Discomfort – I think I need to recommit to prayer time.  I am doing some meditation and reading spiritual matters, but feel like prayer is lacking.  The discomfort related to my religion of origin may resolve itself someday, but for now, I think I just have to sit with it.

Tight Finances – I am working to try to publish.  I am hoping that will be my ticket to more finances so the tightness will disappear.

Taxes – I have set up a payment plan.  It will take time.

Unkind People Who Purposely Hurt Others – Nothing I can do there, except speak up when I see it happen.

Bedtime Schedules – I don’t think there is a solution to this.  David is a night owl.  I like to go to bed early and rise early whenever I can.  I need to talk to David and try to problem-solve.

Having to work too much – I am going to publish books.  That will be my supplementary income.  Then I can just teach and write.  I won’t need a second job.

Health, Writing

Complaints – (Day 19)

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Today’s assignment is to list complaints/grievances and determine if I can do anything about them.

I found the definition of grievance interesting – a real or imagined cause for complaint.  Some of mine are probably imaginary.

Complaints/Grievances:  pain, excess weight, joint problems, too much housekeeping, David’s dog, low energy, ungrateful children, depression, unpleasant hurtful ex-husband, religious discomfort, tight finances, taxes, unkind people who purposely hurt others, bedtime schedules (mine and David’s don’t match), having to work too much

It is too overwhelming right now to think of any ways that I can do anything about these complaints/grievances.  I’m irritated just listing them.  Perhaps tomorrow I’ll consider ways to fix things, but for now I’ll let them sit right where they are…

Health, Writing

Weight Watchers – (Day 18)

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My assignment for today was to turn to the person next to me and ask what I should write about.  That just so happens to be my husband David.  He suggested writing about my disappointment with my body lately via my Weight Watchers program.  Those weren’t his exact words, but that was the general gist.

So earlier he asked how my program was going.  That is just opening a whole can of worms.  Not only have I not been following my program, but tomorrow is weigh in day and I don’t even want to go.  I didn’t go last week because I was sick.  I had been doing well up until I got sick.  Then I couldn’t find anything that would sit well on my stomach for days afterwards.  I basically ate whatever tasted good and as much of that as I wanted.

Anyway, that was the beginning of a downward spiral as far as portion control, healthy eating, and tracking what I eat.  I have had over a week of eating everything in sight until I actually felt full.  Sigh…

I was doing really well for six weeks.  I lost seven pounds, was moving around a bit more, and felt like I was making better choices over all.  Honestly, though, I was still hungry often and not really satisfied.  I felt like I was always on guard, writing down every single thing that went into my mouth, belaboring how many points everything was, and debating the merits of each and every bite.  It felt a little neurotic, but at least I wasn’t gaining any more weight.

I am fairly certain that if I go to Weight Watchers tomorrow, I will have gained weight.  It will confirm that my natural state of feeling satisfied by food means getting fatter and fatter.  So I am sad and discouraged and have basically given up…

 

Essays, Writing

Dream World – (Day 17)

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Today’s assignment is to write down my most recent vivid dream that I can remember.

So I was driving my brand new candy apple red and silver chrome Harley Davidson Sportster style motorcycle.  My car was in the shop and I had no other plan for getting to work, so I somehow ended up buying the motorcycle.

bike

I had to stop at a local hardware store to pick something up and ended up leaving my bike there for an entire weekend.  I don’t know why I wasn’t able to take it home, but I figured I would pick it up the following Monday.

I showed up Monday to get my bike, but it was gone.  I went inside to talk to someone at the front desk to see if they knew where it might have been moved.  They suggested looking out in the back parking lots, but said it had probably been stolen.  I had the sinking suspicion that they might be right.

It was nowhere to be found.  I asked several guys who worked outside at the store, but they were tight-lipped.  One looked like he knew something, but was hesitant to tell me the truth.  I pulled him aside and begged him to tell me what he knew.  He looked around nervously before telling me that he saw someone from the local mob-run bike gang take it.  Instantly, I knew he was right.

I went to the police to see if they could help me, but as soon as they heard that it was the work of the middle-Eastern mobster (whose name I cannot remember) and who they were deathly afraid off, as well as possibly on the payroll of, I was sent away told they could be of no help to me.  I temporarily contemplated driving an hour out of town to his compound mansion and talking to him one to one, but then decided the better of it and just began to mourn the unfairness of a life where powerful evil people can just take your stuff and there are no consequences.

I awoke still sad that my beautiful bike was gone.