Update on what is going on!

So, I have been sick this week. Not to bore you or give you all the icky details, but, I have been doing ALOT of sleeping and NOT alot of eating. Not alot of computer time either. So, I figured I would catch up quickly while I am feeling a tad bit better at the moment.   So, this post is a little of everything rolled into one!

My cats LOVE my new bed.  Emeralde (black one) lays with me all the time on it.  Anytime I am in it, so is she. Safire (grey one) actually has been sleeping with me too.  She used to only sleep with mom.  I have found that she likes a certain spot and if Emeralde is there, she will kick her off. Kinda funny actually.  Yes, I am becoming that cat lady!

I will be finishing my Ten Days to Mental Health before the month ends, I promise. :)

The pizza party for the acting group went well. Squishy was a great help in getting everything and all the kids loved it. I have a tendancy to do over board, but, Squishy was good about telling me to keep it simple.  Only thing that I would have done different is the type of pizza. More cheese & peperoni!  See, my daughter is weird and LOVES vegetables. So, I have just gone through all the kid years with that.  Well, in ordering pizza, I ordered how I would for her and her friends...but I should have just gotten cheese and pepperoni! Oh well.  I did get a very lovely email from the woman in charge thanking me. Which is nice. I look forward to helping out more with this group.

Squishy has a dance performance tonight. I love watching her do what she loves. And, this dance is something she has not done a whole lot of: pair dancing! I will make sure to let you know how it goes. Hopefully I will make it through it sitting up right!

I must say that I am happy and sound in my decision to change camps.  The people I am talking with in the new camp are wonderful. So inviting, full of information and caring. Some of my friends and family don't understand why I don't find a camp of people more local. But for me, this makes sense. Hard to explain, but it just does.  Deep down, I am a shy person and talking to these people online is easier for me.  Yes, there is a community of *burners* up here, but so far, I have not racked up the courage to go.  In time I will. Baby steps.

The raffle for my Burning Man camp is coming together quite nicely.  I am still looking for a grand prize, but, it will come.  We are going to have some awesome prizes! :)  We are also progressing on our water bottles! Stay Tuned!

I have started to think about what I should do with my hair while out on the playa.  I am trying to grow it out again since cutting it short.  But, short may be better with all the dust and wind. Unless I continue to let it grow out and then maybe put it in braids for BM.  I never have had braids, so it would be different, but hey, that is what it is all about, right!  So, right now, I am leaning towards mini braids with maybe some fabric in them for color.  But, I may change my mind. Who knows. I need to talk to Cindy, my hair lady to see what she thinks I suppose.  But, my hair is so thick, I don't want to have to deal with it out there!

That is it for now. I am going to post a story a friend of mine wrote here shortly, but I wanted that to be in a different post.

Day 7: Eat Well

Eat Well!? Ugh. This is a tough one. Especially as it fell on a day when I was responsible for a pizza party! I will say that I have always had a tough time with eating healthy, always. But, I am starting to get better. I love carbs, need carbs, embrace carbs.

But, I have been starting to get better. Including taking supplements and being more conscious of what I am eating. I will continue to work on this. It is something that does not change over night.

Day 4, 5 & 6

So, these last three days have kind of blended together.  Thanks to a LOVELY cold/illness I got my from daughter. I must say that normally I can do sick, but, when it gets in your inner ear and affects your vertigo, its NOT fun.  So, I am going to talk about these last three mental health days more as a lump sum than individual days.

Helping Others, Get Enough Sleep & Create Joy and Satisfaction

Sleep: check thanks to this cold!
Helping Others: I received an email and then a phone call asking if I wanted to volunteer to lead a new booster club type thing for the acting group that my daughter is in.  After thinking about it, I decided I wanted to go ahead and do it.  It will help raise funds, create events and spend more time with these kids.  It will be awesome. It is all volunteer, but will be totally worth it.

Another way I helped others is to book hotel rooms for my family for my cousin's upcoming college graduation.  Thanks to an awesome friend, I was able to get everyone a discount.
Create Joy and Satisfaction: today we went to yard sales. How does this create joy and satisfaction you ask!? Well, joy because it is something we like to do and my mother, my daughter and I got to spend time together. Hunting for deals, things we need, presents for others and of course, stuff for Burning Man.  That is the joy part.  The satisfaction: knowing we are helping other clean out their clutter and/or make money for various things.

Day 3: Get Physically Active

I walked alot today. :) Enough to make my back hurt, so probably a little too much. I forgot I was doing baby steps.  But, that is okay.  If you look at other posts I made today you will see that we went to the fabric store, I scored a tent.  But, we also walked around the mall, as I had to exchange some things. (white sundress for a hot pink one that I originally wanted, but, the store up here didn't have it in my size. But, the store in Tacoma did!) I can feel the energy from my body being released and my muscles releasing lactic acid.  I need a massage or a hot tub! :)

Tomorrow: help others....

Day 2: Stay Positive

Today was Stay Positive day! When thoughts attempted to creep into my head that were negative, I thought about them in a positive light instead.  


Negative: "If I am offered that job, I will have to commute and be in the car driving!"
Positive: "When I get that job, I will finally get some more ME time to decompress before I spent time with the family."


Negative: (while going through my clothes) "My clothes don't fit."
Positive: "I will consign what I can, gift whats left to others. Wonder how many people I will be helping!"


Spoke with friends of mine, who helped as well.  Found some items on freecycle and craigslist for Burning Man that I will be picking up later in the week! Yippee!


Tomorrow....get physically active...UGH!

Today was a positive day. But I'm tired so not going to blog right now. Maybe later or for sure tomorrow! (from my cell)

Day 1 of 10 to Better Mental Health

Day #1: Connect with others.

I slept horrible last night. UGH. I really thought that I would just want to stay in bed today, but, I didn't. I got up and got ready for a job interview and drove up early and had time to relax a little before going in.  I remembered that today I was to connect with new people. So I made small talk with people while I was waiting, smiling, etc at them. GREAT!  My interview was with one member of management and we did get along well and great conversation.  Then, to my surprise, she told me she wanted me to meet with another member of management. GREAT! Another connection for the day! And, with that thought at the top of my head, it went great.  We shall see if I am the right fit for their team. Only the universe knows at this point :)

Came home and took a nap and really didn't do any more new connections.  I did have a great conversation with one of my cousins via facebook. More conversation than we have had before, which is awesome.

Baby steps.....

Tomorrow is Day #2: Stay Positive.....We will see what transpires tomorrow :)

May Is Mental Health Awareness Month: Life Your Life Well

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental Health America has created a website for the 2010 Theme: Live Your Life Well LINK HERE

They have listed 10 ways to Life Your Life Well.

These proven tools can help you feel stronger and more hopeful. Check out each page for specific, easy-to-follow tips.

1. Connect with others
2. Stay positive
3. Get physically active
4. Help others
5. Get enough sleep
6. Create joy and satisfaction
7. Eat well
8. Take care of your spirit
9. Deal better with hard times
10. Get professional help if you need it

So, I will start to focus on ONE of these things each day, starting today (Monday, May 10th).  In 10 days, I should be feeling better, thinking positive and being awesomely RAD :)

#1: Connect with others: hmmm need to think about how I am going to do that today. Stay tuned I suppose. :)  I connected with lots of people this weekend, but, according to my own rules, that does not count. So, I need to connect with people today or, make plans to do so sometime this week! Anyone want to do lunch? Does HugNation count? What about shopping or picking up free stuff from Craigslist or freecycle? Do my cats count (um NO! I will wind up the old spinster cat woman! hehe)   hmmm I may need to set some rules for myself.

Okay....today's task...connect with others.  I will post on what I did later!  Good night!