Because it’s Friday AGAIN. And because traditions are important. In which I cover the good stuff and the hard stuff in my week, trying for the non-preachy, non-annoying side of self-reflection.
And you get to join in if you feel like it.
Oh, sneaky sneaky Friday.
Acting like it’s no big deal that it’s Wednesday and then zoom showing up uninvited.
I’m fairly certain that Thursday didn’t happen.
But either way. Sneakiness is afoot. Clearly.
The hard stuff
So tired.
Still.
This week was supposed to be about recovery from teaching at the Writer’s Retreat all last week.
Recovery and rest and reintegration and other transition-ey things that begin with R.
And that happened, yes. But I was just wiped out for all of it. Really low energy.
Combine that with high altitude, high heat and wanting to do things but not being able to, and you have one cranky mouse me.
In a funk..
The usual coming-off-of-retreat down.
Missing the fun. Missing being the amazonian goddess queen.
Just in the blahness of being uninteresting and uninterested.
Also, a sidenote for my personal edition of the Book of You: Knowing that this is normal? Doesn’t always help.
Wanting rest.
And realizing that even though all I want to do is rest, I don’t even really know how.
This is a rather depressing realization for someone who has been teaching yoga, destuckification, meditation, non-cheesy self-inquiry things for the last six years.
So I had to re-learn it.
The usual things (naps and shavasana and slowness) were not working.
So I had to talk to the me-who-knows-about-rest and learn things. And take a lot of baths. Which was actually kind of nice.
No Dance of Shiva.
After a week of using Shiva Nata (or what I call Shivanauttery) to solve all my problems …
Doing it on the roof, in the bedroom, outside, inside, everywhere …
It just didn’t happen this week. And that sucks.
Other things happened. Like baths and walks and scribblings.
But not Shiva-ing it up. And that makes everything more sluggish and slow. And I know that. And it still didn’t happen.
The good stuff
Bananas!
I do love them.
And I never get to eat bananas because my gentleman friend and I both have very passionate thoughts about eating local food. It’s one of those on-our-dammit-list things.
It’s something we’ve done for several years, our only exceptions being salt, a couple spices and (for him) coffee. And a very occasional indulgence in the form of Colorado whiskey. Mmmm.
Anyway, being on holiday somewhere warm and beautiful is like permission to loosen up (or maybe it’s just the wenn schon denn schon effect.
But bananas. So lovely. Thank you, bananas!
Green chile tempura.
The yummiest meal EVER at Hiro Hobo in Arroyo Seco. New Mexican Japanese! Green chile + cilantro tempura! Edamame hummus! Extreme deliciousness!
Thanks to David for the recommendation.
And, in order to not make the Friday Chicken just a report of me obsessing over foods, I will stop here.
And yes, I ate green chile stew seven days in a row. And yes, it was that great.
Getting out of my funk!
I’m pretty sure it was because of all the goo-slathering.
Or possibly the nap I took on Wednesday.
Goo-slathering. Finally.
It only took me three and a half days to get over my phone phobia (and yes, there is a hilarious and very wrong blog post in there) to set this up.
But I did it and set up an appointment for delicious, decadent goo-slathering* at a lovely spa.
* Goo-slathering = body treatment where they smear oils on you. See my Very Personal Ad where I asked for help with this.
And it was incredible.
After all that monster-talk about how it wasn’t really necessary and I really should be writing instead, the goo-slathering ended up being The Thing That Got Me Out of The Post-Retreat Funk of Doom.
Take that. And please remind me the next time I go into conniptions over whether or not to goo-slather. Goo-slathering can (sometimes, apparently) move me out of the Funk of Doom. Noted.
New Mexico.
I still love it.
So much pretty.
Being wrong.
Realizing that I miscalculated and had another whole day here when I thought it was time to go.
Great stuff I read.
Jenny the incomparable wonderful Bloggess, saying this:
“Popular blogger is an oxymoron. It’s like being the sexiest National Scrabble Champion or the best local Newt Gingrich impersonator.”
So true. And now I know what to say the next time someone calls me one.
And I don’t think you can call this “great stuff”, but this (warning: appalling language! insanity!) inappropriate, raunchy, crazed version of a pirate song that is originally from an Icelandic television show for kids! Wow.
I have watched it … well, more than three times. And yes, apparently everybody knows about this but me.
And … playing live at the meme beach house!
Yes, that’s a Stuism too.
My brother and I have this thing where we come up with ridiculous band names and then say in this really pretentious, knowing tone, “Oh, well, you know, it’s just one guy.”
This week’s band has a name that sounds a bit … um, shocking, but I assure you it isn’t. Because, well, because I have context. Which I will share with you. But first, the band!
Finish The Woo Bitch
And, as it turns out, it’s just one guy.
They’re playing in town all week. Except that it’s really just one guy.
[Okay. Context. I was writing a whiny complain-ey piece about how I dislike my work being referred to as woo, especially when the woo is referring to completely sensible things like talking to monsters about cookies.
But then I got busy with something else and forgot. So I wrote myself a reminder note.
And promptly forgot what the hell I was talking about. So the note was a big source of confusion this week: who is the Woo Bitch? And how am I supposed to finish her?
Luckily, I remembered what I was talking about. So that’s good. And really, it does kind of sound like a band.]
That’s it for me …
And yes yes yes, of course you can join in my Friday ritual right here in the comments bit if you feel like it.
Yeah? Anything hard and/or good happen in your week?
And, as always, have a glorrrrrrrrrrrrious day and a restful weekend-ing.
And a happy week to come. Shabbat shalom.
Follow
I could totally listen to Finish The Woo Bitch all day long.
This week was totally and completely equal.
The hard revealed the good. The good cleared up other stuff that could have been hard before I had the good revealed by the aforementioned hard.
This is the second week of this being equal and I am enjoying it for all it is worth as long as it is.
Yay for re-learning Rest and all those other R’s. Oh and it’s so awesome that you are now able to let the “go-slatherer, do the go-slathering”.
The hard refuses to move on.
– dear friend’s kitty crossed the rainbow bridge this week. Much pain as I remembered all the pain of last summer when we lost our kitty to kidney disease.
– whiney students. Not impressing us with their attempt to demonstrate that they have learned to apply 2 years of coursework to real-life situations.
– scope creep on the final assignment due for my current doctoral class.
– getting spam from someone affiliated with an organization that wants us to help them out. Being told to “chill out” when I complained about the excessive emails from this person. Duh! If you want me to help you out then don’t piss me off. Right now you have earned the very lowest spot on my priority list.
– workdays remain excessively long
not enough good:
+ kitties. My happy place
+ bff
+ walking outside with no electronic devices
+ getting back in sync with the department chair
That would be “goo-slatherer” and “goo-slathering” because go and goo are two very different things.
Go Chickeneers!
.-= LaShae´s last post … I will be so rejected =-.
Wow, I agree, Friday already?! Whoa. Totally.
The hard:
Waking up. I was really tired this week. Even if I got up ok in the morning, by 3pm it was naptime. Except I didn’t let myself have a nap. The one day I did, I woke up raring to go. Need to write this down.
Finding out my old doctor doesn’t take my new insurance. And there’s a wait list at the good dentist, until at least October.
The power going out all day yesterday, in 90F heat.
Not getting into the studio this week.
Finishing my last moleskine flexible journal and just not feeling the intimacy with my big grid ledger book from Staples. Being crabby and lost all week because I had no one to “talk to”.
Hard having to do with our current situation, even though we get things like insurance now. Moments of random despair.
The good:
The new doctor who does take my insurance was able to see me yesterday!
Because the power went out, we decided to take a roadtrip and I was able to replace my moleskine. Big sigh of relief.
Yoga, Shiva Nata and walking means my BP was only 114/68. A new record for at the doctor’s office! Yay!
I was able to get an e-book which has all kinds of links etc to help improve my art business. Being able to look at my Etsy shop and see what I can do to make it more attractive.
I painted shoes the one day I was able to get into the studio. 🙂
Good/hard because I get to have more tests based on what the doctor found yesterday, but it confirms that the pain I’ve been having does exist. And maybe now we can fix it.
.-= Andi´s last post … The Sketchbook Project- Week Two =-.
ahhhh Friday:
The hard: I’m up to two humans on ‘death watch’ and then the surprise, damnit, passing of a furry friend. I’d say that everything is crumbling around me and there is no solid ground but
The good: I understand cycles and I know this will pass. I know it somehow (and I’m trying not to look too closely at that for fear it will shatter.)
Good news on two other fronts. (Excellent happy validating good news. News that only happens once in a while despite months and months and months of steady persistent work. It’s what I live for.)
And also, Havi is good. On about Tuesday, I was ready for Friday. (I was feeling the ground crumble.) And I remembered to look for the good. Lovely ritual. Thank you.
Wow, this week.
The hard:
– I screwed up something fierce last month and now I’m paying for it. (In more ways than one. The rest of this year is going to be rough.)
– Tired. Five nights in a row with less than 5 hours’ sleep. Last night’s 7 hours felt like luxury.
– Because I’m tired, I’m snappish and easily frustrated.
– Unproductive. I can’t get my gears going this week and I don’t know why. (It may be related to the above two items, but I actually don’t think it is – there are some deeper issues that I’m not addressing.) I’m very close to just calling it a wash and starting over next week.
– My email inbox is scary. (Not because anyone’s saying bad things, just because I have Issues with email.)
– I just discovered that the strands of ivy crawling down the trellis on our porch are dying! The thunderstorm Wednesday night must have been too much for them. The bits at the top and bottom are fine, and one strand down the side is okay, but the rest are curled up and limp. Sad. 🙁
– One of the cats keeps crapping on my chair while I’m asleep. (I know which one it is. I don’t know why he’s doing it.)
The good:
+ The screwing-up has been, at least temporarily, fixed. That weight, at least, is off my shoulders.
+ I’m exercising every day, which is a major step up for me.
+ Havi and everyone else gave me such good thoughts about my New Thing that I’m really revitalized about it. Thank you again.
+ I have a nice dinner and a weekend off coming up, which is a nice thought.
+ There’ll be hot coffee in the robot in about ten minutes.
Happy Friday! ♥ to all!
.-= Chris Anthony´s last post … Everyday Delight 6 – 27 Colours Edition =-.
I’m interested in the Woo Bitch. Is it meant for the blog?
Was I here last week? I don’t remember. Well, I’m here now. Friday Chicken Woot!
Hard: Womanly trouble. Jitteriness. Distractiness. Sleepiness. Blah.
Not doing a lot of the stuff I thought I was going to do in July. Not sure how to plan for August (August starts next week for me).
Good: Not working on Monday and Tuesday. Doing many useful things on Monday and Tuesday, including drawing something for someone and getting paid the next day. *Surprised look*
Judge Walker declares Prop 8 unconstitutional! +1 to reason and justice! Party hats, yay! Even if it doesn’t immediately change anything, the decision is a great read. It’s nice to see someone work their way through the arguments and call good things good and bad things bad.
Also, I’m late by about a decade, but those Harry Potter books, they’re really quite good!
Chicken time!
Hard this week:
– Forest fires in our area left the sky a murky haze most of the week. There are trees burning somewhere, though I can’t see them from where I live.
– Tired, achey, sore for much of the week.
Good this week:
+ Sky is clearer today, so the fires must be out. Rain yesterday helped too.
+ A conversation with a brilliant friend opened up a wide horizon of possibilities I hadn’t considered. Exciting, a bit daunting, but I can see farther and more clearly. 🙂
+ Writing. Sovereignty Kindergarten. More writing.
Happy weekend, everyone. Hugs for the hard, and celebrating the good with you.
Love, Hiro
.-= Hiro Boga´s last post … There’s Wholeness in Holes =-.
Colorado whiskey, eh?
Try Balinese whiskey! It is soo buttery good.
🙂
~
.-= Amy Martin´s last post … The One Where I Talk About Thai Food- & The Temptation To Dilute Your Brand =-.
The challenging
* My tax return is being audited. I didn’t lie, but I do need to search for forms and receipts. Boo.
Good and bad
* I quit my fancy, good-paying, unionized, art educator job at the art gallery. There are only two jobs like this in the city — and I had one.
The good
* Accepted a job with the goofy title: “Climate Change Champion.” It is flexible, meaningful and I can bring my infant to work with me, hoorahs! Also, I get to do trial runs of my humane living workshops through the job. (sneaky sneaky).
* Got free clothes and vegetables from a good friend. (I have a thing for linen skirts — and I got two!)
* Cleared out junk by listing it on freecycle. Watched smiley people happily take it all away.
.-= kerri twigg´s last post … My education- grade five =-.
Chicken chicken chicken chicken! I love how this word feels in my mouth.
Hard stuff:
Not making the time to focus on my career goals (which of course are in no way related to the job I do for money)
Not really knowing how to make that time
Focusing on my lack of follow-through
Guilt about not being over my break-up (I am aware how that sounds)
Good stuff:
SO MUCH GOOD THIS WEEK!
Friend in from out of town – I was tingling with the happy to see him!
Birthdays of loved ones!
Celebrating all weekend long! With costumes!!!
Have a great weekend, all!
Cheers & fairy dust, Beth
Hugs to all, and especially those mourning pets and other friends.
Hard:
* the effing asthma
* emotional vampires
* to-deal-with list not getting any shorter
* my tendency to whine about feeling-stretched-thin-and-yet-people-keep-tugging. Martyrdom is not an attractive look on me.
* the fact that there are very good and compelling reasons for the tugging. (Hey, I think I just found the current codename of my secret alter superheroine: More Rubber!)
(Yes, I have a secret alter superheroine. She’s the one who vaults over Toyotas in high heels with devastating grace enroute to the next crisis and repeatedly, surreptitiously saves the world with her lethal combination of accurate markmanship and killer chess pies. But I digress.)
Good:
* Wrapped up work on a big, complicated project
* Wrote seven new pieces. All tiny, but they wouldn’t have gotten drafted at all if I hadn’t signed up for 24/7
* My friends spoil me so. One insisted on treating me to sushi and bluegrass a couple nights ago, and another just surprised me with inks and chocolate.
* Going dancing tonight!
Shabbat shalom, all y’all, and best wishes.
.-= Mechaieh´s last post … August Break- photos 8-11 =-.
Happy Friday. Hello, Friday. Let’s chicken.
The hard:
-Having so much trouble with the gift-giving. Because the recipient will not agree that it isn’t awesome. So hard not to keep thinking “I can do so much better than this and would prefer not to acknowledge or remember this.” Blech.
-Starting to get a little panicked about the Move. Three days to go. So much to pack. So much fear and stress over dumping myself in a new place with no safety net. Yikes!
-Feeling like the world does not want me in it and not finding very much objective evidence to the contrary. Bleah.
-Money worries and car breakdown. Ew.
The good:
-I get the keys to my apartment in a week. Excitement! Possibilities!
-I’m working on ways to make the Move more fun. Some packing is already done. My inner list-maker is having a field day with the stuff that isn’t packed yet.
-It’s sunny outside. It always helps.
Hugs for everybody’s hard and hopes for a fabulous weekend!
I so get the banana thing. We don’t buy them either, for the same reasons (though I suspect I’m not quite a rigourously local, though we do actually grow a big % of our own food).
And I wonder if they taste better now that we don’t get them all the time.
I sometimes have one at a friend’s house. Or I buy them as a treat. And they are a treat.
I think one of the things about mostly eating very local is that you can treat that other stuff as treats. Our society has so few of those any more.
.-= JoVE´s last post … Eyes wide open =-.
Oh, the wonderful effect of that goo-slathering thing sounds like a terrific addition to your Book of You!
Lots of good here this week:
– visiting my parents and coming back with baskets of fresh local blueberries and ground cherries – yum!
– having the pleasure to have the lovely Heidi here for a few days
– visiting the exhibition of Leonard Cohen’s drawings at our local Musée des Beaux-Arts
– getting an email from her just before she came asking if I would teach her Shiva Nata – uh, YES! – and then giving her four lessons in three days: awesome and… intense!
– plotting some fun stuff (involving teaching Shiva Nata, of course!) with friends
– feeling like a lot of progress is happening on my things, even though not much has happened in the hard – soon, though, soon!
Not much hard this week, except for the usual catching up that has to follow a few days of fun, and maybe being in a bit of a blue related to the fact that my gentleman friend is once again leaving soon…
Happy weekend everyone!
What a messed up week! Hopefully I can debrief over the weekend…
The Hard:
-Big meltdown one night. Full of grief over loss of parents many years ago.
-Feeling very isolated and alone. Just lost.
-Really freaking out over enoughness issue. Am I enough? Am I doing enough?
-Just existential angst all around.
-Getting pulled over by a cop for a minor infraction (moving to a different but contingent state with totally opposite policies is confusing).
The Good:
+Finally hearing back from a friend who had disappeared for a month.
+Taking a mental health day off from work yesterday.
+Realizing that I need to connect more to my community, be more – *gasp* – social.
+Starting to feel optimism that I can make positive changes so I’m less isolated and lonely.
.-= Dawn´s last post … Taking the Learning Out of the Classroom =-.
Chicken. Whew!
Hard:
-Working all week to get the first draft of my dissertation proposal finished by this Friday morning. Only sorta succeeding — it’s pretty sketchy. Biting my nails right now, waiting to see if the faculty I sent it to are going to scold me.
-Missed a client appointment that I didn’t know I had. Apparently, when they said they couldn’t afford my services after July, they didn’t mean they wanted to quit; they just meant that they couldn’t afford my services. Um. Okay. So, where does that leave us?
-The person with whom I’m sub-contracting my nursing home gig (who had the gig for about five years before I took over) dropped in today. Felt nervous and on the spot. Felt that everyone likes her better than me.
-One of my partners had his car break down Wednesday night. Hassles. Expense. I had to sacrifice some of my academic work time to drive out and pick him up, an hour each way, and by the time I got home I was too tired to do anything but go to bed.
Good:
+When I could let myself forget about the stupid deadline, I really enjoyed working on the dissertation proposal. I mean, really enjoyed. Yay! Flow!
+I’m happy at the prospect of not losing this client after all, provided that we can work out the financial issues.
+Super-supportive family who give me love and let me delegate my household chores when I’m battling a deadline.
+Journaling, blogging, Shivanauting, singing. All very important, all very good.
+Artist date scheduled after work today! Wahoo! I intend to treat myself very well indeed.
Wishing love and comfort for everyone this weekend. Happy Chickening!
.-= Kathleen Avins´s last post … It’s only Day 4… =-.
Oh gosh, I don’t like those weeks when you’re sooo tired, but you can’t quite fully rest. I’ve been having those lately. So hard.
But hooray for the goo!
In fact I was reading Hiro’s chicken and I swear I thought she wrote: “Goo for this week.” And since the GOO was so GOOD for you this week, Havi, I will report on the hard and the Goo. 😉
The Hard
*So many reports done so quickly at work. Excel is an ingenius system for report-type things, but boy, my hands and forearms sure are achey now.
*Dance training that goes very late for an early riser = not much sleep for me. So tired.
*Logistics for travel. Blehhhh. Do not like.
*Errands. Driving in traffic to do errands. Spending money running errands. Clenching my jaw unconsciously while running errands. Oh there are so many other things I’d rather be doing than errands.
*Jaw pain and tension. Ouch.
The Goo!
*We’re going to Germany because my best friend’s getting married!
*Holy wow! My best friend’s getting married and I get to be all Maid of Honory!
*We’re couch surfing!
*VACATION. It’s been too long.
*My partner and I are getting massages at Dragontree spa at the airport *before* we get on the plane. Well, hello heaven.
*SO. MUCH. DANCING. Love it.
*Got an opportunity to do voice over work *at my cube farm job*. Incredibly awesome. Who would’ve thought?
Ahhhh… trying to stay in the gratitude as we get everything wrapped up for travel tomorrow. It’ll all get done.
I hope everyone has a Goo Weekend!
Mmmmm… goo… I might need some of that myself.
This week’s hard:
– Had to do a bit of rush-rush catchup and some long hours early in the week to get a project out on time. Stress.
– Lots of people needing things and not understanding that I can’t just drop everything for them on the spot.
– Cleaning out ancient files and finding stuff that reminds me of times when I didn’t have it much together. Bad juju.
This week’s good:
– Fantastic show last weekend, my best to date. Lots of older stock sold to make room for new, and the new displays worked fantastically.
– Cleared the deak of projects, and I have a few days to breathe before the next one is due in.
– All that icky stuff from the filing cabinet? Through the shredder and outta here. No more bad vibes hiding in there.
– A whole afternoon ahead to spend in the studio, cleaning up and clearing out and working on some special orders.
Happy Chicken, everyone!
.-= Lori Paximadis´s last post … This Song Has No Title =-.
Hugs to those grieving and slogging through the hard. Seems like there was just something weird this week.
The hard:
— A crucial check went missing… and consequently, missed paying rent for first time and bank accounts empty.
— Financial stress. Trying to talk to monsters re: why I can’t seem to get act together.
— Resentments.
— Creeping, peripheral realization that my writing is crap.
— Doubt.
The good:
— Working with Rachel, the lovely and wonderful and insightful Caffinated Elf, who has helped me keep moving despite crap-awareness.
— Dinner and much laughter with my writer friends
— Content outline for new thing.
— over halfway on lightning draft for old project that will not complete itself.
— serenity friends help me get grounded.
Thanks for being here, everybody. 🙂
Yay goo-slathering! Sign me up as well!
The hard:
-Construction. Still. Four weeks. And construction people not coming when they say they will. Or coming when they said they weren’t.
-I scratched the car. Total accident. Not even major. But it’s my boyfriend’s car. And I feel bad. Even though it can hardly be seen.
-We hit a cat. Well, my boyfriend was driving. And then it ran off. We don’t know where. In the dark. We weren’t speeding or anything. It.just.happened. And then sadness and feeling horrible. I’m so sorry little cat. (gosh, I feel horrible even admitting this in public!)
The good:
-I am officially a permanent resident. Which means I can open a bank account in MY OWN name. And other fun official stuff. Like an adult!
-My first Birthday chicken. Cuz it’s my birthday today!
-Construction’s almost done. And we have a front door again!
-I scratched the car and no one yelled at me or made me feel horrible. Acceptance and forgiveness. Is there a greater gift?
Happy weekend chickeneers! 🙂
I feel like I say this every week but chicken time again! Really?
Feeling much compassion for everyone’s hard this week.
The Hard
– oh, I am so sick of the sick. Still coughing, on antibiotics & yesterday I threw up, which I never do.
– apparently putting on 3.5 lbs in a single week due to comfort eating, although I suspect water retention was also involved as it seems to have vanished again.
– not being able to sleep because I kept coughing myself awake. As you can see, there is much body unhappiness right now and it’s been eating my entire life.
The Good
+ had a very relaxing reflexology appointment.
+ finding some nice clothes in a charity shop.
+ being able to help another person with a free consulting session. I enjoy doing these so much.
+ selling a piece of art – yay!
+ realising that the sickness is a message about needing more self-care in my life.
+ reading some good books.
+ discovering that my cat likes being brushed as long as she’s not on my lap.
+ lovely support from my family.
+ getting some gardening done with my teenage son.
+ having a good consulting session with Catherine Caine & getting some clarity over my ‘art for money’ issues.
+ hanging out with awesomely cool people on Twitter, which is always great but has been especially yummy this week.
.-= Kirsty Hall´s last post … Money- business & how to avoid magic pill thinking =-.
Hello Chickeneers and Happy Birthday @Lindsay!
OMG, what a week, thank God it’s Friday. And @Havi, I am all for wenn schon denn schon.
The hard:
– Renovating our apartment, so much work, three days long days of dismantling furniture, emptying shelves and cupboards, painting the walls, cleaning, putting furniture and stuff back in place. Still one room to be done.
– Biggest clash in a long time with my husband during those three days because of my impatience vs. his meticulousness.
– PMS on top.
– Not enough sleep on top.
– My inability to make a decision about a certain thing, lots of agonizing about it.
– Zero time for the Sovereignty Kindergarten.
The good:
– Finished temporary job last Saturday, sent them my bill on Sunday, had the money in my bank account on Wednesday.
– Mostly done with the renovating. The walls do look a lot nicer with fresh paint. Chucked out a few things and a few books and everything is nice and dust-free right now.
– Getting taken out to a yummy Thai lunch by a friend today. Good chat with her.
– Cancelling a weekend away and looking forward to a pretty free weekend, just going to an exhibition with my cousin tomorrow which is great.
– Having coffee on our little balcony and smelling the scent of all the lavender and observing the bumble bees.
The hard.
– Sooo tired. Just want to sleep.
– Migraine from hell earlier this week. Migraines are never good, but often they’re just from heck. This one was from hell. Still recovering.
The good.
+ Lots of swallowtail and monarch butterflies in my garden.
+ I finally got my house clean.
+ Smoothies.
+ Gentleman friend is moving in! Happiness! And he’s a really good cook!
+ Now I’m going to take a nap.
.-= Riin´s last post … I survived! =-.
I never do this, but felt inspired to today!
The hard:
I so want to say “everything,” but it’s not really true.
Getting angry and fed up with filling out applications and talking to recruiters.
Knowing I screwed up with my money, and now I’m paying (heh) for it.
Phone fear. (I haven’t read your post yet; it’s on a tab, and I’m sneaking up on it.)
Money fear.
The good:
Realizing that the joy I’m finding in the non-job-hunting parts of my day are what people mean when they talk about fulfilling work. Unfortunately, none of it pays. As yet.
I love my space, and even when it’s a bit cluttered, as now, I’m not overwhelmed by it. I feel safe and productive and hopeful here, even though to a stranger’s eye, it’s just a small apartment with too many books and craft supplies. I find beauty in every corner.
Wait. It’s the Chicken? How can it be Friday? I mean, I knew it was Friday but not FRIDAY. So I’m with you, Havi. I’m sure there’s been some monkey business and Thursday (or at least part of it) went missing.
Ok, the Cluckery. Let’s see:
The Hard.
– OMG it’s been so freakin hot.
– Minor freakouts over nothing. Really, I have no idea what they’ve been about.
– On multiple nights, the cat inexplicably decided she wanted to be on my printer at 3am. Now, she’s rather.. portly, so this involves mostly a lot of leaping and missing and crashing. And much waking me up.
– Spouse’s work weirdness, again. This time it’s escalated to ex-CIA interrogator status. Seriously.
– Identifiable but absurd freakouts over “What if the CIA comes HERE?” Um. Yeah. Not happening. But still!
– Can’t find the desk through the mess.
– Out. of. Groceries. How’d that even happen?
The Good.
– OMG a new thing’s NAME. Naming it makes it real And I LOVE the name. Love love love hug it all night sort of love!
– The cat was convinced that sleeping with me was better than being on the printer. Win-Win!
– I finally convinced the spouse to let someone else mow the lawn. Incredibly good idea when it’s 106 outside.
– That rockin’ copymagic email group? Still rockin!
– The CIA has not shown up on my doorstep. Not even the ex-CIA.
All in all, not a bad week… even if I don’t know where it went!
I think this week might have taken some speed while my back was turned. Seriously.
The hard:
– tail end of down cycle
– going to a meditation class where I didn’t feel comfortable at all – very odd feeling to it
– winter weather
The good:
– having a reasonable week a work – laughter.
– energy and mood picking up
– going to an open mic night and actually reading my story and feeling supported and meeting new people
In all a quiet week – perhaps what I need at the moment.
@Beth, the world definately wants you in it. Don’t ask me how I know. It just does. xo
@Havi, please consider coming to Hawaii for your writing vacation. You and your GF can have lots of bananas (‘apple’ and ‘ice cream’ varieties!), mangos, papaya and lychee, etc.
PLUS, there are many, many goo dispensaries here.
Seriously. Think about it.
Now, for my Chicken–
The Hard:
-Not having enough time & resources to accomplish everything.
-Not having the PATIENCE to see that it’ll happen when it should.
-Missing my brother.
-Caffeine withdrawal
The Good:
-Bananas, Mangos & Papayas (see above).
-Havi and Chris Anthony.
-My Dad (my Dad!) really liked my fledgling blog.
-Surviving caffeine withdrawal
.-= Rupa´s last post … The Snooze Button =-.
It seems to be all hard this week:
The HARD hard:
– The absence of energy and sparkle, the heaviness
– The (seemingly) never-ending procrastination marathon
– My husbands ex being such an asshat that 3 weeks into my marriage I now have the full-time responsibility of raising her 4yr old child. Goodbye honeymoon phase!
– Just generally feeling like an angry, resentful, lazy ball of doom
The GOOD hard:
– A moment of bing realization that I am not an angry, resentful, lazy ball of doom…nor am I the brave, adventure seeking, independent women people think I am…I am terrified of life and am so tightly cocooned on Safe Island that any interloping events require stealth defensive maneuvers . Sounds doomy – but it’s oddly comforting. Now I can stop being the brave-always-in-charge mouse and start learning some HSP skillz…that don’t require being secluded on my own island.
Hi everybody! This week is my first chicken!
The Hard —
-add me to the soooo tired this week list
-trying to declutter the house. right now the clutter seems to be winning. boo hiss.
-one person at Day Job has been a total pita.
-struggling to figure out a plan that will accomodate all the stuff I want to do
The Good —
-it’s friday, it’s friday!
-almost time for our vacation!
-pita person will be gone in a week!
-desk at Day Job is super cute now! (pics forthcoming on blog if you’d like a peek)
-finally found a stuffed lizard!
I’m adding my Twitter name as requested, but I should confess that I’ve never actually tweeted anything.
Friday? FRIDAY!? Where did the week go?
Goo slathering sounds good. Hmmm. I had a monster perk up when I typed that, too…. Maybe I’d better do some thinking.
The hard –
OVERWHELMED!!!the last two months finally caught up to me and I’ve been not sleeping, and so tense that I jump three feet when the EO (or a cat, for that matter) brushes against me.
Jumpy does not suit me, I don’ think.
The Good –
Realizations about my Real Self… and where I left her. Now to go collect her so I can keep going.
The plumbing upstairs is fixed.
I have the drafting table of my dreams. It’s just not set up yet. 🙂
Naps. Naps are good, contrary to the opinion of my “you can’t sleep during the day because you’re jut lazy” monster.
@Havi – totally love Woo Bitch! Definitely a band. 😛
@Mechaieh – Love your alter ego superheroine… but what is a killer chess pie? (Sound like a band to me {grin}).
.-= Romilly´s last post … CrewelWork ShowerCurtain…go! =-.
Friday, weren’t you just here?
Oh well… Friday it is and Chicken I will…
The hard:
Unfocused as all hell. Making everything else harder to do.
A hard fight with my sweetie. Followed by a lousy night’s sleep. Followed by a crappy unfocused day.
Less traction than I would like on my new thing… Why aren’t there millions (ok, I’d settle for dozens!) of new subscribers to my blog, my newsletter, etc.?
Leaving for 2 weeks and there’s so much to do before I go.
Worried about how I’m going to care for my thing while I’m gone.
The good:
The thing is out there. It is finding its right people.
I have utter faith in its usefulness and service to moms.
Retreat starts Sunday! 6 days just for me.
I decided that since this retreat was just for me, I was going to bring my laptop so I could continue to support my baby thing. I realized that I didn’t really want a retreat FROM work, I wanted a retreat TO work. So that’s what I’m doing. For me.
A haircut happened. Sorely needed!
My son entered 6 art pieces in the county fair and came away with 2 honorable mentions and 2 3rd place ribbons.
Waldorf education FTW!
My rock-star intuition around food-selection served me well when choosing dinner at the county fair. Indian tacos FTW!
Happy Friday Everyone!
.-= Liz´s last post … What Makes You Lose Your Cool =-.
Yay Friday! And you almost have me sold on the whole goo-slathering thing. Almost.
It’s been a good week!
The Hard:
– Weather. Too hot + humid = not much sleeping.
The Good:
– Productivity! Getting things done.
– Happy emails in my inbox – apparently I’m *actually helping people*
– Feeling sociable – enough to even chicken here
The Best:
– I survived a non-sucky networking event. Actually more than that…it was fun. Very glad I did it. Thanks, Havi for the tip about Biznik.
.-= Patty K´s last post … A glimpse into life without social anxiety =-.
The bad
+ a moment of existential isolation
+ never enough sleep
+ uncertainty of running towards or running away
+ still lots of loose ends to tie end
The good
+ kicking tires; always re-engages
+ close encounters with lobsters
+ fun teleclass
+ rediscovering kick ass fiction
+ a happy client connection
+ an old friend connection
+ back on the daily hula program
There most definitely was no Thursday.
Oh my. First I just want to hug everyone and give you all some banana-coconut milk popsicles I made to try and beat the heat. Yum. My neighbors liked them, too.
I’m coming out of some unexpectedly hard months of getting crushed by layers and layers of grief from all my health challenges. They’re so much part of the air I’ve been breathing, I’ve good at letting them be as they are and even be a source of kindness and compassion. But something came up that shoved all the things I can’t do, can’t be, can’t can’t in my face and it was quite a lot to work with.
The good is I am moving through it, seeing things that are workable.
The GREAT is I had amazing breakthroughs regarding the conflict I feel when focused on self care. I’m so excited about these discoveries and looking forward to sharing them with others.
.-= Mahala Mazerov´s last post … Self Care Confessions =-.
woah. friday? woah.
the time is whizzing by with all these miles long to do lists… yikes.
I’m taking a guilt filled break to chicken and trying really really hard to not read everyone else’s right now. I will read them when I get in bed tonight instead. yes.
the hard:
my fiance back in Portland being very lonely and dealing with yucky work/non-work situation and also fear about his writing stuff. He is so talented but has big stuckness around it, don’t we all? I hate not being there to help and comfort. the waiting is hard.
seeing all the things around here (my parent’s home) that need to be done. They have been living in a half done, major remodel for 4 years now.(thanks to a bout with cancer uninsured) I feel half guilty for my wedding being the reason they are rushing to complete projects now, and half relieved that it is all FINALLY getting done. I mean, dammit, they deserve a kitchen sink and cabinets, and real dishes again. Oh and how about flooring… yeah, not plywood. I am helping as much as I can but its just hard.. there is so much I don’t know how to do or am not strong enough. My dad is a hero and working way too hard.. it is tough to watch.
food here. teeny tiny produce selection and nothing local. really really sad. It is SO hard to eat healthy and tasty here.
the good:
sweet times with mom doing wedding stuff. we are eating it up and having lots of fun.
making progress on the house, the wedding plans.. progress feels good and is a nice change from the rut I have been in in Portland.
the little random ‘i love you’ texts all day between me and my fiance. the excitement that builds and boils over as I imagine walking down the aisle and getting to be a wife and to have him as my husband. it is BIG stuff and it makes me giddy and happy and overflowing.
so, on that note, back to printing my invitations! wheeee!
happy weekend all 🙂
Hard
I like to play with flowers. Last weekend I did the flowers for a wedding. Everyone loved them and I got paid, like paid enough to cover a whole month of dog grooming income. Yay!. This is all good I know and it should be part of my good. However it drained me, I was useless on Sunday and have been feeling the tired throughout the week as well.
Saying goodbye to all my doggies and their moms and dads. It is sad, and people cry, and it is hard.
Money, going out so fast I almost can’t keep up. Fear of letting the dog grooming go and not having the funds I need to live which really should not be a problem but there it is.
Homework that made no sense and confused my brain.
My house is a disaster, and I don’t have any energy to clean it.
The good
My yoga clients keep coming back! And they like it, and they pay me, and I like working with them and it is awesome.
New ideas even though not knowing how to make them go is hard.
Feeling light and free after I let the doggies go and knowing that it is time and this is right.
Knowing that even though it is exhausting I have the option to do flowers once a month and make up for dog money. And having some people who believe in me.
The hard: Visiting where I grew up. Lots of unsolicited advice and comments that feel like judgments. Missing my girlfriend. Generally feeling a heavy sadness around my past here, and for the me of the past.
The good: The weather in Seattle is so deliciously cool and overcast. Seeing people I haven’t seen in many years. Really letting them talk, and listening to them intently. Several days of vacation in a row. Starting to get some clarity on some big things. Shiva nata, yoga and running yesterday.
.-= Kylie´s last post … belonging =-.
The hard: Not realizing it was Friday. 24 hours of travel. Jet lag weird sleep. Cat meowing for 24 straight hours. Slight headache every afternoon this week. No yoga. Not much writing. Not much reading.
The insanely great: Coming home from a 22 day vacay and my pets are still alive! Sleeping in my own bed! Wearing different clothes! Eating cereal in my underwear while catching up on my Google Reader! Seeing my absolute favorite band in my favorite city in the daylight for FREE! Seeing friends and talking about our trip. Still having 2 weeks before I have to return to work. Reading the Fluent Self while on vacation and thinking it was even better than I remembered.
.-= Tami´s last post … Saturday Senses =-.
@Romilly – “Killer Chess Pie” would be an awesome band name. They would slay everyone with the sweetness of their songs! 😀
(Made “Fox Hunter’s Pie” yesterday, which comes awfully close: chocolate, pecans, and bourbon.)
.-= Mechaieh´s last post … clippings and AB photos 12-13 =-.