Living deliberately

[Yppej]

This thread inspired me to eat breakfast today after skipping it yesterday.

[Chicken lady]

I kind of like him.

i mean, obviously it's annoying that he's not perfect when I'm so perfect....

but I kind of like him.

still working my system.....

[Zoe Girl]

I had a late night meeting tonight, and since my staff came from work to the meeting I was allowed to purchase food! I got 4 salads from the grocery store and not everyone wanted one. So that means I have 2 salads in the fridge for tomorrow. They did not put in very much lettuce so I will buy an extra bag of lettuce. It makes up for grabbing lunch at Taco Bell earlier.

[Chicken lady]

Score on the salads! But did your staff not want them because they don't like salads, or because they had other dinner?

An interesting side effect of my star system is that my house is getting very dirty. Generally I tend to take care of housekeeping by randomly cleaning up what is in front of me. Since there are a lot of starred items in the yard, barn, and studio this time if year, I just keep walking. Dh is off work today - I am not. It will be interesting to see if he cleans the kitchen floor or catches up with the dishes.

last night after an hour of him complaining that he couldn't go to sleep and me complaining that I couldn't either and he was the reason, he got up, tucked me in with the heavy blanket he hates and left to read somewhere else. I still got less than 7 hours of sleep, but I slept well.

Still hard to get going this morning.

[Zoe Girl]

My staff had already eaten, they like salads, I just promised no pizza! That is what we tend to always get. A couple staff work at different sites so I couldn't be sure if they needed dinner but one of my staff I work with every day, I told her I was picking up food and she still brought her own. No problem just funny.

SO one of my goals this week was not to waste food. I didn't buy enough bread or breakfast items and I am working very long hours. So I am glad my son had yogurt in the fridge I could eat along with my granola. I have to leave for work super early today so no time to go to the store. I need a really good list, my breakfast items totally change when the weather gets warm like it has been lately. I always have oatmeal but I can't eat that when it is hot.

[Chicken lady]

Crash and burn. Today was, as my dad would say "a day in the bucket". There was crying in two of my classes. (I did not cause the crying)

I bailed on exercising and dh and I went to the little local cafe for dinner - where I ate food I'm allergic to because I was too tired to navigate the menu. (So I will have eczema to look forward to). It was yummy at least.

chores, bed, reboot tomorrow.

[Chicken lady]

Yesterday was a recovery day. I slept late, I helped dh work on installing the vent for the kitchen, a friend stopped by, I did a little pottery, I worked in my garden and dh and I went to a concert downtown. We took the efficient car, but he did buy me a treat in a plastic bag and a drink in a plastic cup accompanied by a napkin, and all went in a trash can.

I decided to just enjoy the experience and not worry about the impact. The weather was really nice and I enjoyed the concert, the treat, and the short walk through the city from the farther, less crowded parking garage he chose (bonus, the ability to get out of the parking garage quickly after the concert reduced idle time for the car - I literally can't stop)

dd and her husband are coming out for dinner tonight. His mom is supposed to get them for the Christian holidays, but apparently last night she "cancelled Easter".

[Chicken lady]

Dinner was good. My week is slowly getting scrambled. I am relearning that I need to do things in the now. Because later changes.

my plan for today was housework/chores in the early morning, planting, and then pottery, insulation delivery and make dinner. - last night heart daughter called with a last minute request for me to fill in for her at work this morning (automatic yes, family and financial priorities) so housework is out, planting and pottery are shortened. (I can actually do some pottery stuff while subbing - the kids will be working independently for part of class and I can supervise and glaze a little at the same time, but I have to remember my stuff.)

I haven't talked about the hoarding issues much lately (I've been doing very well) but I had a big positive experience at the food bank yesterday. Last summer they had a book drive and gave books away to kids with the food. Apparently, ever since, people have been treating us as goodwill. And we now have a clothing rack and a free shelf.

A guy pulled in with a whole trunk full of stuff and we took it. After he was gone, the volunteer who also works at the free closet shop took most of the clothes and a variety of decorative items to her car. (And I learned that the philosophy is "we honor the spirit of the donation by making sure it gives back to the community" - the non clothing items will be sold at an annual sale I didn't even know about that helps non profits in the community pay for their utilities)

But we kept all the toys and kitchen stuff. Except one non-stick griddle that was coated with blackened oil as if someone had tried to "season" it. When Ruth threw that in the dumpster, my brain ran through the mandatory "couldn't I take that home and clean it" "is it recyclable?" Litany. But my limbic system stayed quiet and my brain quickly dismissed the waste of time. This is a really big deal for me.

also fun, one woman was very happy to get a big frying pan to go with the big bag of chicken pieces we handed out. And we gave away about 1/3 of the toys already.

[Yppej]

A fellow sangha member who also has a commute spoke at one of our services about driving meditation, and I am trying to be attentive and compassionate towards other drivers. They may not notice but it takes my stress levels down.

[catherine]

A fellow sangha member who also has a commute spoke at one of our services about driving meditation, and I am trying to be attentive and compassionate towards other drivers. They may not notice but it takes my stress levels down.

Wow, I was just practicing driving meditation today, driving in Atlanta, and I always think of Thich Nhat Hanh, who has, not an app, but a gatha for that

The car and I are one
When the car goes fast
I go fast

I recited that for DS once, and he thought it was ridiculous but I think it's great. Keeps me mindful and off my phone while driving!