Day 262: Reclaiming My Health, Dating Mad Proper Style & Celebrating Redwings Victory!

Wednesday, June 4

Thank God.  I got a good night’s sleep – 9.5 hours worth.  I still decided to work from home because I needed to get this sinus infection out of my system.

I immediately flushed out my sinuses with my neti pot and then I took 15 drop of Wellness supplement.  The antibiotic seemed to be working.  And my temperature was back to normal.

I ate a gluten-free raisin bagel with whipped cream cheese, a cage-free, organic egg scrambled with a trio of Italian cheeses, and a glass of light, organic orange juice.  I had a cup of hot Matcha green tea with orange blossom honey.  It’s like I have a regimen for reclaiming my health!

I opened my laptop and got to work, checking email and following up on requests, general communication, scheduling appointments, etc.

Meantime, I had the television on in the background.  The Tyra Banks show came on and featured a young, good-looking lifestyle coach from New York City, Jared Matthew Weiss, who’s company Mad Proper was created to help people reach their full potential.  The topic of the show was ‘get off your butt’, and Weiss gave women all kinds of helpful tips to a number of life situations.  This was a repeat program that was originally aired back in January.

Weiss addressed a woman who complained there were no single men in her hometown.  He told her that there were single men in her town, but she was holding herself back.  He explained you have to figure out for yourself what’s holding you back from meeting someone?  It’s usually something within.  He then gave some useful tips for women to meet men, beginning with his 3-step program.  He said when you see someone you find attractive (at a bookstore, in the grocery store, etc.) you should first find out if they are single, then find out if they like you, then ask them out.  Then, he demonstrated how you do this in a role reversal roleplay with Tyra.

Hottie Weiss (pretending to be Tyra):  Hey there.  I was wondering if you are single?
Lucky Tyra (pretending to be Weiss):   Uh, yeah??
Hottie Weiss:  Cool.  Because I think you’re really cute.  My name is Tyra.
Lucky Tyra:  Oh, hey.  I’m Jared.  You know, you’re pretty attractive, yourself.
Hottie Weiss:  Cool.  Well, maybe we could go grab a cup of coffee sometime.
Lucky Tyra:  Let’s skip the coffee and go right to dinner… (or something to that effect)

But the point was he told women out there to get over their fears or old-fashioned ideals and ask a guy out!  In fact, Weiss challenged all the single women in the audience to ask out three men every month.  That doesn’t seem too difficult…I think. 

I saw the cutest guy at Powell’s on Sunday and I just didn’t have the confidence to say or do anything.  I just stared at him while he was seated in the home improvement section, flipping through a book, looking so cute in his army green cadet/military style cap.  My first thought was, wow, that guy can fix things.  Then I told myself the dude must be married.  He’s too cute and he’s in the home improvement section.  Taken already. 

But I did exactly what Weiss said we need to stop doing!  Stop assuming the guy out there is married, or must have a girlfriend because he’s so cute, or wouldn’t be interested in you because you’re  too short.  Go introduce yourself!  I wish I had seen this episode before seeing this cutie in Powell’s.  The challenge for me will be to see if I can actually take Weiss’s advice and approach a cute guy in this kind of situation.  Not my comfort zone.  I am traditional, old school, I like to be courted.  But, whatever.  I can change.

Then the day seemed to fly by.  At 5:00 p.m. I tuned into the Stanley Cup game.  It was an exciting game.  Meantime, I was on the phone with my mom who for the past two days had been in and out of the basement closet with my dad and our dog, Cricket, during tornado warnings in the mid-Atlantic.   Crazy!

I made a Glutino brand gluten-free personal sized pizza with spinach, feta, ricotta and mozzarella.  I drizzed some olive oil on it before baking it on the top rack.  It wasn’t very good.  I think I needed to let it bake a little longer.

The Red Wings ended up winning the game and, thus, won the Stanley Cup.  

 

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Day 253: Memorial Day & Red Wings Win

Monday, May 26

First, I must acknowledge that it’s Memorial Day.  I spent some time this morning reflecting on those who had lost life during war.  I am grateful for our troops’ dedication and heroism when it comes to protecting and defending our country and our ideals.  I am proud to be the daugther of a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Army.  My dad served in Viet Nam and is a hero in my book – I am lucky that he made it back.  So, my thoughts and prayers are today with those who make the ultimate sacrifice to serve and protect.

I woke up with very painfully congested sinuses accompanied by a runny nose.  I had to take a Claritan-D.  I decided to go downstairs and before I’d do anything else, I did 10 yoga sun salutations which eased up the tension in my shoulders.  I exaggerated the positions to maximize the stretching and strength training.

I made an Italian style organic brown one-egg omelet with Italian cheeses, pinenuts, basil and tomato.  I toasted a piece of brown rice bread. 

I then got to work.  I washed the floors, vacuumed upstairs and downstairs, including the stairs, scrubbed the bathrooms, the kitchen and then dusted.  After, as if that wasn’t enough of a workout for one day, I went to the gym and jogged for 45 minutes.

When I got back I took an aromatherapy shower with rosemary, mint and sage.  I quickly dressed and then headed over to Claudia’s Sports Bar on 30th and Hawthorne for the Red Wings vs. Penguins game two of the Stanley Cup finals.  I met Shirley, two of her friends and Chris, from Upper Deck.  It was a shut-out game, Red Wings 3-0.

After, I went home and felt pretty bad from the cigarette smoke in Claudia’s.  I didn’t realize how sensitive I was.  I was very congested.  And my throat burned.  I tried to meditate so the congestion wouldn’t be so bad, a practice that I find helps, but not clears the problem.

I worked on my writing and then groomed my cats.  It was my intention to do soothing things that would keep my stress down and my congestion controlled.  I have been tense about my finances, as I am taking on some writing opportunities that aren’t free.  But, I believe this is a necessary step toward my literary goals.  This feeds me with great hope and happiness. 

 

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Day 246: Sacred Mornings, Redwings Victory & A Sign of Providence

Monday, May 19

When my alarm went of this morning, a cool breeze crept in.  It was glorious.  I got up slowly and stretched.  I decided it’s time to stop rushing through my mornings and to treat them as sacred.  So, I took the time to do a writer’s prompt – a 10-15 minute dedication to writing (no edits, just stream of consciousness writing) on the following topic: morning.

And this is what I wrote in my notebook:

In the quiet, dignified hours of my day, I try to create peace so that I can slowly, meditatively open up to morning.  I think of the song Silent Lucidity by Queensryche, a lovely sound that parallels the rhythm of my ideal morning.  Listening to this song is like watching the sun rise.  It is also the song that best illustrates my first love – a bittersweet reminder of tender, innocent, unconditional affection that blended with fumbling, inexperienced, immature adolescence.  The song is a metaphor for my climb into love – in those nascient moments of learning to be someone’s sweetheart, in the time where my fears foiled my heart.  I am now in the mid-day hour of my love life, still searching for the one to watch the sunset with, still somewhat afraid, but full of hope. 

I am not an early riser, as I like to sleep until 8:00 a.m.  That is an ideal time for me to gently wake up to the soothing sounds of my Tibetan gong alarm clock.

I like to stretch.  I wish I could afford the time and money for a morning yoga class – power vinyassa or ‘hot yoga’.    But, since that’s not an option for me now, I stretch.  I’d love to go for a walk, to just look around and observe the way poet Mary Oliver does, wandering and taking in each sacred view, each natural beauty with wonder.  But, I don’t have time for that…yet.

I like a light, healthy breakfast.  With summer fruits and vegetables soon in season, I can’t wait for the bounty.  I enjoy the process of making myself breakfast.  I don’t drink coffee, but by mid-morning I’ll have my cup of tea.

I used to say that I wasn’t a morning person, but that’s not true.  I just don’t like to start my day with work.  Rather, I wish to create sacred ‘me’ time from the moment I wake until the time I am ready to take on the day.  I need to ease into the work day. 

After I wrote this prompt, I made myself an egg, a piece of gluten-free brown rice toast with a fresh basil and yellow tomato garnish.  I consumed a nourishing glass of light orange juice.  I prepared my lunch and then hopped into the shower for a quick salt scrub. 

On my way to work I felt incredibly refreshed.  My arms were a little sore from shooting my basketball yesterday. 

I got to work and caught up on my regular morning check list of things to do to get organized.  During my lunch I called the director of Fishtrap in order to register for a summer workshop.  I have been advised to try to attend this.  I can’t afford the week-long writer’s workshop and gathering and hope to get a partial scholarship.  This would be an amazing opportunity to connect with other Oregon writers and will ultimately help me to get published in literary journals and magazines.  I felt really good about this.

I took some of my work and went to the Coffee Cottage to work without distraction – phone, computer, email.  I was able to work out the full first draft of our brochure.  I was very pleased with this progress, feeling one part an editor and one part the writer.

I left work just after five to meet Shirley at the Upper Deck to watch the Redwings game.  I didn’t get there until 5:45 p.m.  I sipped on a cider, which wasn’t great.  We nibbled on chips and salsa.  Our new Redwings friends, Mike from Michigan and Chris, the new guy, watched the game with us.  Shirley’ friend Molly showed up, along with Claudia, who actually missed the game.  The Redwings defeated Dallas 4-1, moving on to the finals in the Stanley Cup against Pittsburgh.  Go wings!

After, Claudia and I met Kerry at Susan at Veritable Quandary.  We sat outside on the patio and had burgers - mine without the bun.  It was fantastic.  Susan and I shared a glass of a Portuguese red blend.  Blame it on the full moon, but we were all very slapsticky.  We just giggled over goofy stuff.  It was nice to be light and to laugh.

When I got home I fixed a cup of ginger Yogi brand tea and began to write.  I noticed on my painting of Samson and Delilah (by my friend Erin) that there was a ladybug crawling along the top ridge of the canvas.  It eventually made its way up the wall.   I smiled.  According to the Victorians, a ladybug was good luck – the sign of providence.

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