Attitude

Positive Thinking Tips, a blog entry from Guideposts blogger Amy Wong's blog "The Upbeat" on Sept. 7, 2012.

My new word for 2013 is attitude. Not just any attitude, but a positive attitude.

Word for 2012

Last January I read a Debbie Macomber book called "Thursdays at Eight." I loved it & suggested in the Goodreads Debbie Macomber group we pick a word for 2011. I chose the word resolution. I wrote:

I'm thinking resolution as in a solution, settling of a problem, coming to terms with my life.

How did I do in using my word to help me in 2011? I  THINK the foreclosure is resolved. We are at least working at it. The second half of the year, the months I have spent here at Mother's, was a solution, of sorts. I did not want Mother in the nursing home, so my move was part of my solution. But it still isn't "resolved." We are not HOME.

I have spent a lot of time since I've been over here thinking of the purpose of life. The months trying to get my medications on an even keel made me feel like I was thrashing around in a wilderness. Benchmarks are good. This foray wasn't as bad as some in years past, but ... does it help when you are in the midst of the angst???

I haven't made a choice on a word to live by this year. I'm still thinking.

Last year, after having this "Scathingly Brilliant Idea!!!", I found from reading a cousin's daughter's blog, she, the daughter, does this every year. She chose nurture for 2010 and joy for 2011. I was curious as to what word she would choose this year. She has chosen strength.

I made it to Sacrament Meeting yesterday. Yes, it is noteworthy because I have a very hard time getting up early enough to go to Sacrament Meeting when our meeting schedule is at 9 a.m. Yesterday was the first day of our new schedule: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I got up at 10:15, chopped up some vegetables, threw them in the crockpot & made it to church.

Liz Child was the first speaker & she was amazing. She said she didn't have anything written, but she said we need to keep our priorities so the gospel is first, relationships (including family), education (learning) & then health. Shannon Knapp spoke also. She said as we set goals, they need to be measurable, written & checked often.

I wrote my word down, discussed it in January & then forgot it. It was a word that could be measured, it was written, but it wasn't checked often.

I just brought Mother home from the hospital today. She went in Friday, 12/30/11, & came home today, 1/2/12.

New Year's resolutions

I spent the day in bed today. I didn't even get dressed. I left the house once to go out to the car to see if I could find my Christmas book & to find the sack of meds I picked up from the pharmacy on Thursday. Even to do that I put on boots & a coat. Now, to most people that would be a no-brainer, but for me? That was a biggie. I've been known to run outside in the snow barefooted.

But if people die in bed, that's the best place to die. In your own bed. Why die in a hospital bed? I've had something sinus going on. Runny nose, that wouldn't stop. Dizziness, a cough, off & on. Headache. Aches & pains. Now Nick tells me he's had a sore shoulder for 2 weeks & I still haven't done anything about it. What do you do for a sore shoulder???

It's finally Saturday. I don't know what day it felt like, but it didn't feel like Saturday. Don had to work. They called Thursday or Friday & asked which day he wanted a no work for. It is, after all, January. And at RR Donnelly, January is just one big work-a-thon. They work every day. Since he had a choice, he took Sunday off.

I got up this evening & Don handed me a lawsuit that had just been served. We have five days from the receipt of this lawsuit to contact them & make payment arrangements. We've been served with 3 of them in the past few weeks, sigh. Merry Christmas!! Guess where Don's January overtime pay is going?

Well, on to happier things, new year's resolutions. These are my 2006 resolutions. Four years later & it doesn't look like things have changed.

1. I still need to lose 30 pounds
2. I really need to FACE our finances, argh! FACE is an acronym from FlyLady that means Financial Awareness Continuously Empowers
3. Declutter house, uh, ya!
4. Mother's affairs. I've been very poor steward of Mother's financial affairs, sigh.

Maybe I'll go back to bed. Sounds good to me.

So, in checking my email I found one from Guideposts Personal Change. When did I sign up for that newsletter? The subject was 6 Tips for Keeping Your New Year's Resolutions. Uh, ya, ok, let's see what I need to do to keep my resolutions.

This article is by Alex Ferreyra, sounds like Ferrari, but I don't think I'll try pronouncing Alex's last name.

1. Start early. Do you think 2006 is early enough??? I even started my 144 books in 2010 early too. "It's essential to make plans, not have good intentions."
2. Keep it real. Don't make "grandiose" plans. "Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint." Well, I know I can't lose 50 pounds by next week, nor can I get finances in order or read 144 books in a "nanosecond."
3. Be specific. "Vague resolutions beget vague attempts," University of Scranton psychology professor John C. Norcross, Ph.D. In other words I need to make a plan like I did for my 144 books, hmmm, food for thought.
4. Buddy up. It helps to have someone encourage you. Someone to keep you motivated. The reading group on Goodreads can help me with my reading goal. The weight loss forum on Parenting Bipolar Kids can help me with the weight & Clutterbugs can help me with my decluttering, as well as FlyLady on Facebook. Maybe, thinking aloud right now. I think Don & I had better buddy up on the finances.
5. Go for something new. If one way doesn't work, go a different route. Hmmmm, that's more food for thought.
   
6. Write what you sow. "Keep track of your highs and lows." As Norcross puts it, "Keeping a journal helps you measure what you're doing over time, which increases the success rate." So, my blog will become my "journal."

Hmmmmmmm,  OK!

Reading: Haven't even started, so 144 books to go.
Weight: 30 lb. to go
Declutter: The lawsuit just added another layer.
Finances: Sliding further down the hill
Mother's finances: No progress

A New Year's resolution (goal)

I just made a New Year's resolution. It's not even going to be a goal. It will be an ironclad rule. It's midnight. I was going to turn off the computer & was thinking about picking up a book.

I WILL NOT PICK UP A BOOK AT MIDNIGHT.

If the computer goes off at midnight, I go to bed. No books after 11:30 p.m. The other night I picked up a book & the next thing I knew it was 5 o'clock in the morning. Yes, that's right FIVE A.M.

I'm going to give the 144 books in 2010 challenge my best shot, but it will not be by reading all night.