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 boy! Friday!
Fridayfridayfridayfriday Fried-Egg Day Friday.
Maybe not an egg.
But that’s how it sounds in my head.
Anyway.
We made it.
The hard stuff
Waking up on Toozday.
And not wanting to get out of bed.
Not so good at the giving myself permission to have a crappy day thing yet.
Yet again, too much stuff going on.
It’s all kind of overwhelming.
Plus Marissa was on (extremely well-deserved) vacation, so the rest of the pirate crew and I were kind of running around like headless chickens.
Ah, yes.
Mix-ups, mistakes, things not going quite right.
Stupid little things.
Mostly.
And a couple big ones.
But it’s more that once stuff starts getting all tangled, it’s really hard not to stay in the tangle.
Discovering just how crappy my mattress really is.
Seriously.
Do not try the fabulous and shockingly expensive mattress because it will ruin your life by bringing your attention to the sad fact that your current bed is a horribly uncomfortable sack of boards.
Then you have to devote your life to explaining to your partner and your duck why you want to spend their retirement fund on this insane life-changing mattress instead of being sensible and maybe promising to take them to Paris or something.
See?
Moral of the story: don’t try stuff. You know, ever.
Okay. Good stuff?
The good stuff
I did a clean.
Spent all of Sunday afternoon cleaning and organizing the basement.
The sadly neglected Hoppy House basement.
It was messy and dirty and kind of a pain in the ass … and my shoulders were all sore the next day. But it was a great way to blow off steam.
Which I totally needed.
And now the room that was horrible and depressing is clean and neat and maybe even kind of charming. Kind of.
Almost no appointments this week.
Seriously.
That never happens. There was an entire day with nothing in iCal.
Just gorgeous, clear white space instead of enough colored lines to give someone an epileptic fit.
Wheeee! Freedom!
Marissa’s back! Marissa’s back!
The entire pirate crew is extremely happy and relieved, and we are all going to take a nap now.
Hurrah for our First Mate!
Some excellent Shivanautical epiphanies this week.
Lots of dancing it up.
Lots of writing down insights.
And recognizing all sorts of Useful Things. And then giggling.
Plus now I know what my two R&D projects of the year are. Verra nice!
My surprise day off.
When Selma and my gentleman friend rescued Toozday by making me take the day off.
Rain pants! Wanderings! Plus I ate a knish!
I ate a knish!
Which is really just the easiest way to make me happy.
Especially as I have not had a knish since working in a sometimes-Hungarian restaurant. It’s been a while.
ECSTATIC JOY! Oh yes.
Good things at the Kitchen Table.
Okay. I’d been the teensiest bit nervous about how the new Kitcheners would get on, and how the veterans would adjust too.
And am pleased to see that the new member mice are as awesome as they sounded in their applications, and that people are asking for what they need in the form they need it in.
Good stuff all around. *sigh of relief*
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.”
So this week, I am proud to present:
Knish Getaway Package
And yeah, they used to be called Emergency Lunch Situation. Remember their first album? It was called Sloppy Foes.
But really? It’s just one guy.*
* Thanks to Laura who is @lbelgray on the Twitters.
And … STUISMS of the week.
Stu is my paranoid McCarthy-ist voice-to-text software who delights in torturing me misunderstanding me. I can’t stand him.
- healer you no instead of “you already know”
- she might be Michelle go along for the record instead of “so you might as well go along for the ride”
- PSYCHIC hay instead of “PSYCH-K”
- it’s not the clams that are pad instead of “it’s not that plans are bad”
- light is a fig of wisteria instead of “life is a thing of mystery”
- but we need to up the herbal instead of “but we need a parable”
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 weekend. And a happy week to come.
Follow
The hard: Still figuring out all this blogging stuff. Not a fan of not knowing stuff. You know, learning. Yuck. I like knowing. Anyway, it’s a slow process and I’m trying to go against all these years of not liking the process.
Comitting to self care. Even when I don’t want to. If I wasn’t actually writing my blog about it, I would have already given it up.
Returning to work after the holidaze. The school breaks are needed and wonderful, but it’s hard to have so many returns.
The good: People are commenting on my blog! On MY blog! On Facebook and in REAL life! People are reading! I’ve had more readers already in January than I did in all of November. Woo-hoo!
I’m starting to figure out what I writing about and making a schedule for myself and my readers. So excited!
Um, self-care. That wacky daily yoga feels good. Even when it doesn’t.
My class is finally mine! Every January I’m surprised, but every January it happens. It’s like we’re a family now. Yay!
.-= Tami´s last post … Yoga+Music365 (day7) – Here We Stand by The Fratellis =-.
Hello Chicken, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again…
You know, I probably do need to up the herbal.
And I definitely need to up the knishes, because I can’t even remember the last time I had a knish! Time to do some knishly hunter-gathering, for sure.
Anyway. Onward.
Hard stuff:
-Pockets of moodiness. (Mine, I meant, but come to think of it, people around me have been moody, too.)
-One of my partners has been struggling with scary and frustratingly mysterious health problems for many months now, and this week it’s been especially clear that things are not getting any better. His work has been suffering, and he’s beginning to consider applying for short-term disability. Scary on multiple levels.
-We were without propane for about three days. That meant no heat (in very cold weather) and no fuel for the stove and oven. It also undoubtedly contributed to the pockets of moodiness.
Good stuff:
+The few days we spent without heat had a bit of a silver lining: it gave us the opportunity to pull together and support each other, and to work together to resolve the problem ASAP.
*Which we did! Because we tackled the problem head-on, we were only without heat for a few days, when it could easily have been a week or more. So, yay us!
+I’m feeling creative this week — hearing little snatches of song ideas in my head, and making time to sit with my guitar and try to catch them. I’ve also been writing well, and have had some very rewarding moments with my music therapy clients.
+I have been very mindful about self-care this week. I’ve been mostly pretty nice to myself — able to hold my own hand even when I was feeling sad — able to comfort myself, and to take extra comfort in being able to do that.
+Along the same lines, I’ve been adding some new elements to my personal process, daily routines, and rituals, and that’s giving my spirits a lift. I’m having moments of Bing and moments of Hope! Is that Bing Crosby and Bob Hope?! I must be on the road to somewhere!
Thank you, Havi, for this space and this Chicken. I hope your weekend will be everything you need it to be!
.-= Kathleen Avins´s last post … Dramatis personae =-.
Havi, I hope you find the perfect new mattress very soon. One of the best things I ever did was buy the bed I now have. I love it, it supports my body perfectly. And since I spend at least eight hours in it every night, it’s more than repaid the money I spent on it.
This has been (mostly) a Very Good Week.
+ The 4-month program I’m teaching started on Wednesday. Our first class together was wonderfully rich, filled with explorations, insights and laughter. Great group of creative, powerful women–I feel blessed!
+ The outline for a book that’s been swirling around inside me for many years just showed up and landed on my shoulder. 🙂
+ My best friend is back from a month away in Argentina. We’ve talked on the phone every evening this week.
+ I booked my tickets to California for Havi’s retreat!
Hugs to you, Havi, and to everyone for the hard this week. And celebrating the good with you all. Wishing you a beautiful weekend!
Love, Hiro
.-= Hiro Boga´s last post … Traveling Teeth Follow Rumors of Home… =-.
Oh dear, my mattress has started making strange crunchy sounds when I sit on the edge. That’s not a good sign, is it?
Not much hard this week. Yay!
Good:
* Got lots of art-making done, thanks to my new accountability partner.
* Exercised every day. Every! Day! This is HUGE y’all.
* Did some extra pro-bono work on the homeless shelter’s website, just because I felt like it. I love being able to do that!
* Finished my 2010 plan book (which you can see on my blog).
.-= Barbara J Carter´s last post … Art Inspiration Booklet for 2010 =-.
Light is a Fig of Wisteria – A new release promoted on Oprah’s Book Club?
@havi seriously, spend the retirement fund on the mattress! Go to the Mattresses! You won’t regret it. We spent a massive amount of money on a good mattress – twice – so totally worth it and our guest bed always gets good reviews! (If you’re ever in the UK, you’re welcome to try it).
meanwhile – first week back from work.
The Hard
Our working week started on sunday afternoon when wife had to leave for London because of an early start in the capital on Monday morning.
I hoped that after a good rest I would have shed all the anxiety and bleurgh connected with work – I haven’t.
Some UK context – we have had snow and are in the middle of the longest lasting deep cold period since 1981. The country has pretty much ground to a halt. So this has messed up a few travelling plans this week.
The Good
Back to work turned out not to be as bad as I thought it would.
Tuesday wife and I met up with an old friend of mine. Wifey has started working with him. Great to see him, a true creative soul.
Wednesday snow chaos! everyone stays home for the rest of the week – and we work!
The beautiful frozen scenery: night skies full of bright stars, half-lit half-moon, yellow-blue sunrises and twilight walks in the snow. gorgeous.
And now it’s Friday! have a great weekend everyone. and if it’s cold and pretty out there, get your thermals on and run around in the snow with a camera!
Lucy xx
I’m sorry but I have to ask: what happened to your daily schedule, Havi? You used to be a post-lunch treat, now a new post is up before I get out of bed! What happened? Is Hoppy House caught in a timewarp that has put it into a separate extra-dimensional timezone?
Did I have hard this week? Oh, yes, the backpain thing is bugging me and keeping me from being as productive as I’d like to be. Also, pain hurts.
I slipped and fell on my butt in the snow (see Lucy’s post, above) yesterday near a bus stop, and everyone looked, but no one said anything. Felt sucky, even though watching people slip in the snow is getting pretty normal around here, and they probably didn’t mean anything by it.
There was mostly good this week though.
Getting back into all my familiar habits is so nice! Morning tea! Lunchtime drawing! Cooking dinner! (Although yesterday the cooking thing went a bit wrong, and we ended up with a very minimalist, avant-garde kind of meal, but still, it’s fun, I love it!)
Even getting back to work (dayjob work) was kind of comforting.
I’m rockin’ the Shiva Nata again. Or possibly, it’s rocking me, because I’m starting to get the feeling I’m not in charge here. Anyway, making up a new pattern and then getting good at it was awesome. I’m thinking of posting a video so other Shivanauts can give it a try. I also feel better now at trying level 3 again. Someday soon.
I have been writing. I have happy now.
Have a good weekend everyone!
.-= Willie Hewes´s last post … New Year’s Good Intentions =-.
Knish? A what, now?
Chicken!
The hard:
–Another health appointment got cancelled because of the snow. Last snow it was my dentist; this time a hospital appointment. This means I go to the back of the queue and have to wait another gazillion years for an appointment. Good old NHS. (Though seriously, I do actually heart the NHS. We have may crappy waiting times but we have free health care. Suck on that, US.)
– Back to work. Didn’t want to. Haven’t been at my *most* productive this week.
The good:
– But I was quite chilled about my non-productivity. I seem to have managed to keep a little of the holiday spirit, and have not beaten myself up for arranging my day as I choose instead of just cramming in as much work as possible.
A shiny new venture with my bessie Em (@EmApocalyptic), which we are both far too excited about. *Bounce*
The hard:
-long, long days. I don’t do long days.
-Jury duty in buildings with no air (but yes to wi-fi!)
-days with no “windows” of time. AHH!
-having to push off shiva nata until 10 at night!!!!
-@willlie- so sorry for your hard of people not even helping you up from the snow. That is my hard too becasue I hate when people can’t exhibit simple kindnesses
The good:
-@Tammi has comments on her blog and so do I! Comments are good. Comments are real people and connection. YEAH!
-Meeting a ridiculoulsy impressive and kind, and smart group of people at the KT. There is hope for the world. Seriously.
-Having my son text me in the middle of the day about something good that happend. He is 16. We’re still tight! phew.
.-= Pearl Mattenson´s last post … 1.7.10 =-.
Yay for Marissa being back! Hope you enjoyed your holidays. Not having any appointments is brilliant. Just to be on your own pace for a day works wonders.
Chicken! Birthday chicken for me, since it’s my birdie today. The beginning of my personal new year.
The good:
– Finishing stuff for the dissertation, being in work-flow again after a loooooong time of procrastination stuck.
– New hair. It is now espresso colour and I love the way it makes the blue in my eyes pop out.
– Curtains. I’ve been living in my house for 3 years now and I finally put up some lovely blue curtains in the living room. Next: to paint the raspberry pink part of the wall something that matches the blue. I don’t like the pink anymore, it’s not my colour.
– Visitor cat and me are getting along better, but I’m still happy that he will get back to his home on Sunday.
– Giving my dad a handmade present which he loved.
The somewhat hard:
– Feeling a bit like I’ve not done enough work during the 4 weeks of holidays that were also meant for writing the diss at home without other work distractions. On the other hand: I did do some serious refuelling so I can probably get to the end of the diss a bit more smoothly.
@Inge happy birthday!
@willie yes the ice is pretty bloody dangerous – no salt on the pavements.
xx
I think Stu’s problem is that he has way too large a vocabulary to choose from. Either that or he’s an horticulturist. Seriously. Wisteria? Wisteria?!
Chicken! Hurrah.
Seriously – what is a knish? It sounds… interesting.
And get the mattress – a good mattress makes bed even more awesome to be in. Or not as the case may be 🙂
Chicken then:
The Hard:
-The new job. Ooooooooof. On top of adjusting to hugely weird shifts and learning loads of new things, it’s crappy money and I have no idea what to do with the feelings inside that are coming up in regard to this.
-Loosing motivation. Seriously, I just want to be in bed and watch TV. All plans for doing my own thing seem pointless and meaningless at the moment and this scares me.
– Not seeing my friends – because of the shifts. Being alone in my time off because of the shift work. GAH! I’m not liking the stupid shift work.
– Feeling overwhelmed and powerless over the whole job/ needing money thing. I have no idea what to do basically.
The Good:
– Meeting some cool new people. The new job is at my local climbing centre which is filled with cool people. I am enjoying meeting them.
– Bed Days – and finding gorgeous, gorgeous bed linen on sale! Yay.
– using the hating of the new job to spur me on to look for new QS jobs.
.-= Wormy´s last post … Snow is just MAGICAL =-.
The hard: I don’t have my dog to keep me company (he died last week 🙁 ); it’s cold; I couldn’t go climbing yesterday because it’s icy enough that I’d likely fall off the bike en route; I have blocked sinuses which are starting to hurt.
The good: booked holiday to Spain with one of my partners (we don’t fly, but there are v easy overnight train options, hurrah); agreed that we’ll go back to the dog shelter after that to find another hound in need of a home; been doing loads of writing; finished off a craft project that’s been kicking around for ages.
Also I ordered the Shiva Nata package thingy. I maintain my customary scepticism at present, but the description of the brain-occupying that it does while you’re doing it sounded a lot like the experience I get when I go climbing (and which is why I go climbing), so that was enough to swing it. DVD is on its way, so we shall see! I’ve started trying the arm positions, anyway, which is interesting in itelf.
.-= Juliet´s last post … Repair, reuse… =-.
The hard stuff
My 85 year old mother (I love her to the moon and back) is coming to stay with us for about two weeks.
The good stuff
See the hard stuff.
xoxo
.-= Vicki´s last post … Winter Wonderland =-.
I totally get the mattress thing. I actually can’t sleep on my mattress because it hurts me too much. About half way through the night I wake up in horrible pain. Ouch!
Chicken!
The hard…
– Slower productivity. Lots to do and not getting it done as quickly as I want.
– Suffering a bit from post-holiday purchasing habits. I’m still buying like it is holiday time and I need to stop. I don’t need anything right now.
– A bit panicky about 2010. Need to calm down.
The good…
– Figured out something that was slowing me down.
– Added some good value to a customer this week, which made me feel happy.
– I do not appear to have gained any weight over the holidays. Yay!
.-= Avonelle Lovhaug´s last post … Ask the Programmer: Why can’t I “own” my code? =-.
I’ve been disappointed every time I’ve bought a new mattress. I spend a good 45 minutes lying on the test mattress in the store to make sure it’s comfortable, and then they deliver my new mattress, but it isn’t the actual mattress I tried in the store. It’s the same model, but it hasn’t had bunches of people lying on it to test it out, so it’s much harder. Boo.
The hard
-going back to my day job this week after two weeks of doing my thing.
-getting sick. No energy at all, plus sore throat and stomach ache. Ugh.
The good
+I wove a scarf on my new loom. Fun!
+The yarn for my next weaving project is drying.
+I found someone to drive me to the local spinning guild’s meeting tomorrow. Now I just have to feel good enough to leave the house.
.-= Riin´s last post … Happiness is Weaving =-.
What a week – UGH!
The Hard:
– The boss resigned, but is now threatening a lawsuit because he resigned rather than face an formal investigation. Can YOU follow the logic in this one? Combine this with the lawsuit HE is already facing in Federal court and you can see what a mess this is. Only the lawyers will come out ahead on this one.
– Having to deal with the boss regarding the sorting out of which equipment in our lab is his and which is university property. He did a LOT of creative accounting over the years. I had to have a campus police officer accompany me to keep things civil.
– A ton of hours spent getting a weight loss program started at work. Hours that I should have been spending finish the major project that is due tonight for my doctoral program.
The Good:
– Police officers. The officer assigned to me was terrific. Knew exactly how to handle the above mentioned situation and after some initial “push back” on the part of my boss, the rest of the time things were civil. It made a very uncomfortable situation much more bearable.
– Lawyers. We have a terrific general counsel at the university and his advice to me on how to handle the situation was invaluable.
– Havi’s meditations – listened to them a lot this week. “You are stronger than you realize” and “Not being blinded by emotion” were key phrases in dealing with this awfulness.
– My students – three stepped up to the plate for the weight loss/fitness contest and are doing a fantastic job interacting with the staff. A fourth stepped in to help keep things organized when the start of the contest conflicted with my need to be with the police in the lab. I have the BEST students!
– My professors – I set aside my pride and requested an extension since during the past 2 weeks much of my time has been diverted to dealing with the legal situation of my boss. They graciously gave me a 48 hour extension for my project.
– My friends – for their support, especially during this very difficult week.
Whew!
“but we need to up the herbal”
I think Stu is related to the guy who sits at the coffee shop and talks to anyone who sits by him and says “man” a lot. LOL
The hard:
The first Monday in January. Still. Thought I was over that, since it no longer means “back to school” but this year it kicked my butt hard.
DD#2 is having issues at her job that are partially related to the event that happened at the library in August. I feel partially responsible. And totally helpless.
Still having anxiety attacks at night.
The good:
I wanted to increase my blogging, but didn’t know how. I didn’t want to write about “This is what I’m working on” every day. I got a copy of Goddess Leonie’s 2010 planner/workbook, and after doing some of the exercises in it, came up with a schedule I can live with. Today is Etsy update Friday (which I still have to do, but I have posted M-Th this week).
Izzy and I had a great day out yesterday while Marty was in class. He’s quite the companion now, which I never saw coming those first years of constant nursing and sleeplessness.
I finished the first piece of 2010 on Tuesday.
Not having to go out in the snow. It is a lot more enjoyable that way sometimes (so sorry people didn’t help you @Willie, maybe they were afraid of falling too?)
Yeah, so I’m not going to go out in the snow again today (esp at 9F, good grief!) and maybe make some chai with the Almond Breeze I picked up at Kroger’s Wednesday night. And do that blog/Etsy update, Izzy has some great new sculptures and is raising funds for seeds for his garden. 🙂
Happy Chicken!
.-= Andi´s last post … Learning a New Language =-.
Chicken!
The hard
-A dear friend sent one of those I’m-processing-my-own-crap-and-somehow-I’ve-decided-I-need-to-tell-you-you-aren’t-loving-me-right-or-enough-or-whatever emails to me and the lovely wife. It has sucked up vast amounts of time and emotional energy I do not have.
-I am conflicted about where I’d like this relationship to go anyway.
-It’s really f-ing cold here. Temps below freezing with gale-force winds. And it’s snowed! And sleeted! Noticeably! Hello, DC, you are making it difficult to put up with you. If I put up with Southern-style summers, I expect Southern-style winters. Thank you, you have been warned.
-My energy level, while enormously better than it was in the depths of November and December, is still kind of … puny. Love is not a pie, but time is, and taking care of myself and re-energizing myself takes time directly away from working on my business, which is just about all I really want to be doing right now.
-Money blows. That is all.
The good
+Every day this week I got up at 5am, did counting-breath meditation, did some really basic yoga poses, did 5 minutes of Shiva Nata, and wrote in my journal. Even if today’s journaling was only a page and even if all I did yesterday was one downward dog and utenasana, I did all of these things for FIVE DAYS IN A ROW. Here’s going for 10!
+I’m seeing patterns, patterns everywhere, especially In the Moment, so there’s more space for working on them.
+I can feel all kinds of movement happening subterraneanly.
+We’ve set Sundays aside as Time For Our Lives, which means family meeting, church, ART, house tidying, cooking. Yay, having boundaries!
.-= Julie´s last post … Should he go to graduate school? =-.
Gah! I knew that hay over there had been reading my mind all along.
May the allies, ancestors, angels and great energetic gods of all that is rain new mattresses down upon us all. Well, maybe not upon. Because that would hurt. But yes, I have to contort myself into strange sleeping shapes to avoid sticking-up springs. And the dog at the end of the bed who is a night-long-encroacher-on-space. And buying a new mattress is a BIG THING. I’m not good at BIG THINGS.
Can I get a mattress with this chicken? Anyway…
The hard:
-Work stuck. Not setting boundaries well and getting angry about it. Having to reset those boundaries. Being harder on myself than on anyone else, and allowing others to do it too.
-Too much being with other people and not enough time alone. And now my little retreat night (tonight) will include a husband, which I had NOT planned on. Would it be cruel of me to ask him to leave for the evening? Just need to be alone…there’s always tomorrow, I suppose.
-Not enough time to ski. Pout.
-Messy, messy house. I cannot catch up. Want to catch up. Must be gentle about it. A little at a time…
-Little Bird asked me yesterday morning, “Mama, what does ‘killing’ mean?” And I just wanted to cry. She’s 3. How to explain? So hard. Don’t want her to know bad things. Don’t want to lie either. But want to protect. The motherhood gut-energy strings pulling. Ouch. Ouch.
The good:
-Finished knitting my first thing, started knitting my second thing. Love knitting. Love Tara for being a catalyst to get me to start. Love.
-Finding out that there are all of these incredible people hanging around that are…incredible. And loving. And modeling communication. They’re real! And I’m learning so much. And I love that. Love.
-Good homemade food all week, thanks to either me or the husband, who’s a good cook even though he uses way more olive oil than I would, which makes me cringe, but I don’t say anything because I don’t want to criticize. But still, do you know how much it costs? Eeek! But still. The end result? Mouth-watering.
-New Little Bird thing: “Cheek Love” wherein we put our cheeks together and rub. Soft. Cuddly. Warm. Love.
-Talking nicely to myself. Learning to be OK with parts of my body I’ve avoided looking at for years. (That scar! Those wrinkled bits of stretched skin!) Being more loving to those bits. Not comparing. Just being OK with it. Which is hard. And not constant. But getting better.
.-= Emily´s last post … This Is Not a Resolution =-.
Go to the mattresses! Hee. My mattress has had a 70+ dog jumping on-and-on-and-on-and-off .. for almost seven years. The springs creak when I even touch it.
@Willie: so sorry that a) you fell and b) no one stopped to help you up.
@Inge: happy birthday!
@Juliet: I am so so sorry for the loss of your pup. 🙁
The hard:
: Work. Too much (a launch week) and one big problem that so should not have occurred – though it led to less work that day (even if more problems for me in the long run).
: Sleep. No idea where on earth it is or why I can’t find it and my equilibrium is going.
: Dog is obsessively licking a sore on his leg and the licking is driving me batty (see above lack of sleep). I am constantly running around trying to swaddle him in blankets so he can’t touch it. And, I am not sure the licking is good for his sore.
: Self-care is lacking (see lack of sleep), like eating and yoga and walks.
: Painful realizations.
The good:
: Realizations – useful, even if painful at the time.
: I think I have figured out a regular posting schedule for my non-photo blog that is doable. Yay.
: I have been doing Shiva Nata regularly so all is not lost.
: To-Do lists! I started doing them this week based on that Future Self post on Third Hand Works and they have been ever so useful. Also, Future Self kindly wanted me to order a pizza yesterday so she wouldn’t have to cook today. She’s such a dear.
: My sister called to say that she’s getting marred, and it will be the weekend before or after the ArtSoundYou retreat so the timing will work out perfectly for me (I think, anyway – really hate to miss the retreat).
.-= Elizabeth´s last post … natural wonders =-.
Psychic Hay is just one guy, right?
@Andrea Oh, I just assumed Stu was into Desperate Housewives.
@Juliet I’m so sorry about your dog!
The hard:
-It’s been a rough couple of weeks, mental-health-wise.
-Bad fight with C.
-I’m running out of tea!
-Mental-health things make it hard to write.
The good:
+If I can get off my ass and do them, I find productive (rather than maintenance) tasks help. Hello, new office chairs that need to be put together!
+After the fight, we came up with rules for arguing, including: no fighting after midnight, before breakfast, or while drinking.
+An excuse to buy more tea! (Maybe I should up the herbal?)
+I worked on my letter-writing. Yay for snail mail!
Yet another person who is clueless about knish..
hard:
-turning up for a new job and finding that no-one knew I was coming
-getting super cold walking through the snow/ice
-some random payroll problem that means I might not get paid on time this month
good:
+having a great trainer at work who has let me take stuff home and leave early so I don’t have to walk home on dark icy pavements
+somehow getting to wear jeans to work
+the beautiful snow covered countryside I’ve seen from the train windows
+the chocolate croissant I just ate, and the strawberry and banana smoothie I just drank
+quality loafing time with a good friend last weekend
.-= Jane´s last post … Serenity =-.
The Mattress Thing: My grandmother finally broke down and replaced her bed a few months ago; Mom talked her into a memory foam thing with a base that raises and lowers the head and foot, heats and massages. She feels SO Much better! It really, really was life changing for her, completely FIXED the pinchy nerve things she’s been struggling with. The spouse laid down on it for a nap on Christmas, and I didn’t think I’d ever get him out of it. He’s now a convert, and “that awesome mattress” is now on the lusting-after-it list.
Ok, Cluckity cluck.
The Hard:
Cold. Cold. COLD. Discovering I don’t have nearly enough warm stuff to wear.
Physical hardness & being a girl.
Allergic, asthma kicking in, tooth hurtingness.
Still stucked on finishing major, way-past-deadline-projects. Puppy chewing through the third harness in 2 weeks.
In the AM, Spouse being bumped by a tailgater on black ice and spinning into ditch
In the PM, spouse being cut off by someone who jumped 3 lanes, to land in the OPPOSITE side of the same ditch.
Spouse still working way, way too many hours.
The Good:
Inexplicably suddenly liking hot tea, after YEARS of trying and failing to cultivate the habit. Yay.
Fixed Puppy’s harness by replacing chewed bits with chain. HA!
No damage to spouse’s vehicle, because he was driving The Tank, and just winched himself out of the ditch.
Casually mentioning a web-app that I liked being too pricey for me on Twitter, and having their team give me a press discount.
Actually blogging again. Yay.
Getting two unexpected affiliate checks. Yay.
Generally having a positive outlook. I think. Maybe 😉
Starting to find Place! for Things.
Chicken Eggs!(my personal addition to the Chicken because I love potential)
I want my office/studio/personal space cleaned this weekend. And I shall have it!
You chickeneers make me simultaneously laugh and want to wrap you in big snuggly blankets of comfort and ease. It’s a good feeling.
.-= Tori Deaux´s last post … "Places, Everyone!" (My Theme for 2010) =-.
Hoopla everyone, that’s a lot of Hard and Cold.
Have peaceful weekends and enjoy your beds.
Lucy x
Hey Friday Chickeners
The Hard:
– Confusion and hurt over money with my boyfriend
– Dread over finishing those last few edits of the dissertation
– Work drama
– Dry, dry painful skin because of the near-constant cold and wind
– Sleep deprivation
The Good:
– Went out and bought matching hangers for all my clothes! My closet looks amazing. And I can hang pants and skirts now, on their own hangers. It made my week.
– Being asked to teach a course overseas at work. Finally, a challenge! And the course is next month in a tropical locale!
– Eating well and exercising regularly
– Catching up w/an old friend and learning he has another baby on the way
– Helping friend w/her doctoral work, which in turn motivates me
The hard stuff: Pulling myself away from the computer. There’s so much good stuff I’ve been neglecting! Like this site!
Trying to find funders for a movie. Ouch. Really digging into me. Can’t they just find me?
The good stuff: First week of job freedom. Last day was Dec 31st!
Started acting classes. I didn’t know how deep the study of acting went. Very good for the soul.
Got lots of stuff done on the blog! Yay! I am this much closer to my own voice and message.
Found some cool people online, and we’re becoming friends!
Realized that with little steps I can find funders.
See you next week!
.-= Eric Normand´s last post … Shiva Nata and Concentration =-.
Hooray for Chicken! And sending special warmth and heat by those so affected by the arctic air that seems to be so ubiquitous.
The Hard:
-Stuck on new rewrites for my solo show. Have to do a new thirty minutes in 2.5 weeks. GAK! Not feeling inspired and not doing a good job of sitting down with the blank paper.
-Stuck on getting back to exercise regime. And it’s not cold where I am so no excuse on that front.
-Still have hurty finger which is mostly annoying but feels like it may be permanent. Rats.
The Good:
-Much more good than hard this week for the first time in a few months, so that’s really good.
-From the healthy narcissism dept., had a photo shoot for my solo show with the other folks who are in my special funded-performer program. And it was a blast. I felt like a star. I was in full unapologetic astrological Leo bloom. And the proofs of the pictures turned out great. Made me feel like the for-real-deal. Now I just have to make the show as good as the pictures 🙂
-Depression/gloom/sad fog is definitely lifting and it is clear to me a lot of it was the holidays. So I will prepare better next year. Mostly, it just feels really good to not feel so sad.
Hugs all around for the hard. Cheers for the good.
Quality beds, and bedding, is a great thing in life!
The Good:
Cottage Copy got biggified! I got to guest blog for the wonderful Michael Martine, who I really admire, and was totally honored by his accepting it.
The snow! Love being able to work from home and look out at the beautiful landscape and not have to drive in it.
Looking forward to a week long trip next week with some friends, even if I’m planning to work through most of it.
The Hard:
Family stress, feeling like you could be doing better, even while you feel like you’re moving forward nicely.
.-= Holly´s last post … Surprise! =-.
Oh, knishes. Haven’t had one in years. Did you actually find one here in Portland? Where, do tell….
On to the chicken, my first:
The hard:
–struggled with getting back into the weekly work groove.
–felt swamped and derailed by post-holiday cleanup and reorganizing needs.
–didn’t get going on the exercise, either walking or yoga. Which of course meant that I slept poorly all week. Sheesh.
The good:
–gave myself permission to just dig out from the holidays and get things put back together again–and to let work wait until next Monday. Wierdly enough, that gave me the energy and focus to deal with some tax prep work.
–attended first session of food-writing course last night. Terrific teacher, terrific group.
–first yoga class of the season is tomorrow morning, oh yes!
Best to all…
@cnsl2creativity
Chickeneers!
The Bad:
I’ve been a Sicky-poo Grumpola.
Still forgetting about self-care.
Not giving myself enough incubation time on projects.
Technical difficulties.
Money stress.
The Good:
Barter!
VPA’s work like crazy: looks like I may have found a VA. (yippeeeeeee!)
Friends who talk to me and say nice, supportive things when I’m a a Sicky-poo Grumpola.
Invited to join the Shiva Nata group blog!
My Right People are writing lovely, encouraging things on my blog and by email about my Thing.
Thanks for being here, Havi, Selma, and Chickeneers. I was so excited this morning when I remembered it was Friday and we were doing this.
This was a pretty good week.
The hard:
Getting back to work on the book proposal. Overcoming the inertia and hoping I’ll find my groove…soon.
Same thing with blogging.
The good:
I ordered the Dance of Shiva starter kit, and I’m looking forward to both foreplay and shivagasms!
After letting the idea marinate in the back of my mind this week, I wrote the blog post on the picture of Judith I saw last week, and how that painting captures how I want my sovereign self to look. She’s also on my vision board right under the word, sovereignty.
I got a lot done this week. Ran a lot of errands, which means I should be able to be a hermit next week and write.
I am very content and happy, and I’m letting myself revel in it instead of worrying about when the other shoe is going to drop.
I had the absolutely best mushrooms I have ever eaten last night at Juicy Wine Co. Oh. my. Godde. Sex on a plate. Only way to describe them.
Havi: buy the damn mattress! I have scoliosis, so take it from someone with chronic back problems: a good mattress is the best thing you can do for yourself. It’s worth every penny. So is a body pillow. 🙂
I hope everyone has a good weekend!
.-= Shawna R. B. Atteberry´s last post … A painting of what I want my sovereign self to be =-.
I don’t try things. I’m a horrible window shopper. Why look at it if I can’t buy it. 😉
The hard:
Dealing with lots of real life changes that are making my head swim. And not having resolution on any of them, so I’m in a tension-filled limbo.
Talking to my stuckness. I reassure it that everything it wants to address will be just fine. Then it goes away until the next day, when my brain re-boots itself. Annoying.
I’m pushing against a comfort zone wall with my writing business. It’s a little wall that I tackled before, but I’m recoiling from the potential burnout that could accompany it if I try again. *tears out hair*
The good:
Taking control of my life. Even though the changes are in limbo, I’m making progress, and it does feel good.
Cleaning my house yesterday. Going for that clean environment/clean mind vibe, which works sometimes.
Spending more time with my kids. Wheeee!
~Kimberlee
.-= Kimberlee Ferrell´s last post … Pushing Past Your Writing Anxiety =-.
Hey guys.
I missed you. Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement on the mattress thing — it definitely helps. A lot.
@Shawna – sex on a plate? That’s got to be just one guy, right? Yay new Shivanaut!
@Jean – oh, at Kornblatt’s Deli on NW 23rd. They give you as many pickles as you want, which makes it kind of hard to leave, even without the knish factor. The Knish Factor!
@Gadgetgirl – ohmygosh, this has been building up *forever*. Sometimes reading your chicken is like catching up on a soap opera. Glad you are okay and that you’re getting some support with this. wow.
@Juliet – ohhh, hug to you. Sorry that your dog is gone. Hard.
@Willie – I know! The schedule change was mostly unintentional. Posted something immediately by accident instead of scheduling it.
That turned into adventures in casual experimentation. Turns out that all sorts of people have interesting rules (only read blogs at a certain time of day, only comment on blogs where there are fifteen or fewer comments, etc), and you learn about these things when you change your Normal Way of Doing Things.
Fascinating.
Anyway, we’ll see. 🙂
Hugs all around for the hard and joyous jumping up and down for the good. Yay. Chicken. Whew.
I’m new. Can I play? Oh, and the mattress? Buy it. Totally better than Paris.
The hard:
* Obsession with History Channel’s End of the World week and the ensuing making of lists of things I need to buy to survive the Zombie Apocalypse / sobbing over the mere thought that I could lose my daughter to the plague and have to go on without her
* Not sleeping for 48 hours because of the obsession
* The snapping turtle who is my boss’s boss, who snapped at me in a meeting, and I snapped back
* The continuing depression of the “season”
The good:
* Deciding to WRITE BIG on my blog, and writing (so far) almost 12,000 words of memoir from 2000-2004
* Those Last Decade Blogs are increasing traffic and stickiness on my blog
* … and causing me to find new areas of pattern in my life
* Getting to pick up my daughter a day early from her dad’s and the ensuing silliness of dinner last night
* Lots of cuddling with my husband, which always makes me all-better
.-= lynn @ human, being´s last post … Happy (belated) Ham Day, or why I need an odd sense of humor to live in my house =-.
Hi everybody (*waves*)
What an extraordinarily uneventful week. Lots of sleep, Shiva, and reading. ahhhhh… Sometimes nothing at all is exactly the right thing to be doing.
The hard:
– Bureaucratic BS: dealing with the DMV, the EDD, and other acronym-laden, paperwork heavy institutions. Gah.
– Doctor’s appt in which he revealed that the heart monitor I’d been wearing for a month revealed nothing useful.(making all those times I nearly dropped the damn thing in the toilet also useless)
The good:
+ lots of sleep and snuggle with Dave
+ lots of reading and starting the KT (though I missed the first call – whoops)
+ Client paid unexpectedly early – yay money!
+ warm heaters to hang out in front of while reading and petting cats
I think almost nothing is better than Paris, except maybe a Really Good Mattress. We are lucky in Denver as there is a place that makes RGMs that are bizarrely reasonably priced.
Hard this week was an eye infection that derailed everything for days and days.
However, this does make one realize that waking up being able to easily open one’s eyelids is surprisingly underrated.
.-= Sonia Simone´s last post … What Makes Marketing Hard? =-.
Sympathy on the mattress issue. We bought one, and I am now ruined for all other beds. Is it okay to wish you good things on the bed front? Because I wish everyone had a bed that felt so utterly wonderful that they never wanted to leave it. What a happy world we’d have. Provided we all *did* manage to get out of our beds and, you know, do stuff.
This week’s hard:
– being spat on in Seattle. Spit from an unprovoked malicious stranger in my hair and on the back of my coat. Totally as gross as it sounds.
– my sweetie’s non-response to me having malicious stranger spit in my hair even though he was right there when it happened
– finding out someone I loathe *slept in my precious bed* while I was out of town (because she was too drunk to drive, so not only slept but was polluted there)
– finding it out when completely depleted after 11 hours of airline travel and almost no eating
– finding out my sweetie knew *last week* and didn’t tell me but concealed the information from me
– losing it on my (otherwise totally nice) housesitter friend
This week’s good:
– keeping a commitment to myself even while traveling
– traveling going better than usual (at least the outward bound bit)
– reconnecting with old friends in Seattle
– laughing with same
– smoked salmon piroshkies
– learning that there’s a way to cleanse the ick from my precious bedroom (sound penetrates! yay!)
– good friends who talk me back from the edge when all the hard went down and made it so I could say a loving goodbye to my housesitter friend this morning
– having this Chicken spot to get all this stuff out. Phew!
.-= Darcy´s last post … Day 68: Home =-.
Chicken Time! And thanks to Havi’s title, I’m now craving a cheezbrgr with a fried egg on top, one of nature’s least healthy treats.
The Hard:
– My Paypal account is lonely, and I want so much to take Blonde Chicken’s teleclass but I’m not sure it’s in the cards this week.
– My shoulder hurts. I blame the cat.
– Not nearly enough sleep this week.
– Ditto on the getting work done thing.
– Very Meh day yesterday.
– Missing the relationship thing a little this week.
The Good:
+ I’m running a contest on my blog, and I’ve had 32 entries! Woot! I’m really going to enjoy this and it’s already been great publicity, even before the winners are announced and their gifts someday posted.
+ I started a new service from my design biz, Be A Cartoon, and have had several nibbles! I’m quite excited to do some of these, because they’re way fun.
+ Most of December’s aches and pains have faded now that it’s 10 degrees warmer at night.
+ Risotto, Port, Cheesecake & Z = yesterday being much better by the end of it.
+ Realizing that I voluntarily stepped off the Wheel of Serial Monogamy and it’s okay to think about stepping back on.
+ Completely awesome copywriting consult from @copygeniusgirl, for Antemortem. My About page no longer sucks rocks.
+ My rent and bills are all paid for a while into the future, and I have good prospects for that continuing to be the case. Biggification ftw!
+ Cute cats are cute and cuddly.
.-= Amy Crook´s last post … Contest! =-.
Hi!
I hope the Mattress Fairies pay you a visit.
The Hard:
No walks or picture taking because of the continuing snow-ocalyse and hubby stole camera to take his own pictures…at work! (renovating a cabin into a house!)
Headache all week related to having dry heat and…maybe caffiene since I’m trying real coffee this week. I like it. It may not like me. Pouts.
Homework: Not doing it. Much catch up to do. Arg!
The Good:
I haz a Twitter! It really is a funny bar! Magic mood lifter and the awesomest pointer to the Goodness! Free therapy!
Comments! I got some!! (Thank you!)
Releasing the need to have a ‘thing’. Warm, cuddly sighs of relief and gratitude.
Discovering I haz Happies in nebulousness! Perfect!
Learning to draw Anime Manga style and loving it…must get eraser.
Spending two days with BFF and making much process on both our homefronts by being there for each other and laughing almost too much. Good medicine!
Discovering knish and that I can cooks it! MMMMmmm
And way more good than hard! Yay!
.-= Wulfie´s last post … Eyes of a Dreamer =-.
@Darcy – ohmygod! There is so much hard in your hard! I can’t believe you went through it without having major emotional breakdowns. Good grief.
I was spit on years ago (while walking to work in Tel Aviv) and it shook me up so much. There was something so malicious about it, and I was alone and in kind of an isolated area, and the whole thing was so completely creepy and horrible.
And it was interesting to see who got it and who didn’t get it. Like, people were either shocked and appalled or they kind of shrugged and thought it was odd. It was like this mental readjusting of who felt like friends. Ugh. Sorry.
And having someone sleep in your bed! Someone you don’t like! In your bed! Without knowing about it! That is so completely unfair. Stomp stomp grumble grumble.
Glad you were able to find your way back to the good. And wow, what a lot of hard. Hug to you.
@Sonia – “we’ll always have a really good mattress” totally not as romantic as “we’ll always have Paris” … and yet you are so completely right.
Thanks everyone for making me get the mattress. I know I will be thanking you on this one for years. MWAH!
My new motto: Light is a Fig of Wisteria. Or maybe the name of my next poetry collection: “Light is a Fig of Wisteria, & Other Poems.”
.-= Sarah´s last post … Carving Out a Space to Create =-.
HARD ON MY BRAIN:
Reconciling what I know of you as a self-declared hippy with the fact that you have THAT MATTRESS.
I know how much it costs, and I’ve always wondered if it was like sleeping on a cloud woven by silkworms, being cuddled by angels.
I now have to completely revise my image of hippies, who I thought slept in sleeping bags on the floor of a yurt.
PLAIN HARD:
* Trying to learn quickbooks. Eff you, quickbooks.
* Trying to get help with quickbooks on the phone. Apologies to the Indian guy for crying just because he couldn’t help me customize an invoice form the way I wanted.
* Having a falling out with a friend on the phone and wanting so badly to blog about it. But the falling out was partly because she thought I exposed too much online. So.
BUENO:
* Booking a shit-ton of work
* Cooking my own dinner. First time in the last 19 years, for real. I make toast. If I’m ambitious, heat leftovers. This was just spaghetti, but still.
* Clean sheets on the bed. It’s not THAT MATTRESS, but it does the job.
* My husband. Always bueno.
.-= Laura Belgray´s last post … Kid, you’ve got it easy. =-.
Left out THE AWESOME:
* Booked a Knish Getaway Package. Got a really good rate because it’s off-season. Hoping it won’t be overrun with knish-loving Brits. They love a package holiday.
.-= Laura Belgray´s last post … Kid, you’ve got it easy. =-.
The Hard: Cleo bunny got out of our room yesterday. The dog (mainly Westie) chased her and pulled out some fur and kind of bit her without actually penetrating the skin and only with the top teeth. I wasn’t home, but mom stopped the dog from chasing Cleo. I took Cleo to emergency vet yesterday evening. Ugh. Poor bunny. Also, not all vets really know bunny physiology. So, well scary. And our regular vet Dr. Pursley is in a wheelchair which is a bonus because she holds the bunnies in her lap while she examines them. This is way less scary for them than being on the high, cold metal table which makes their mama happy. So, Cleo was at emergency place and had to be on the scary metal table.
For years I’ve been using a card table on its side to block the door and yet letting air flow into the room for the bunnies. This failed somehow. So, anyone know of an interior screen door or something we could use to keep the bunnies in and the dog out while giving the buns some air?
Also, Cleo’s drama affected her mate Quigley Wiggly Supper Bunny. He’s been worried.
The Good: Cleo is doing good. A little jumpy, but doing good. I spoke with Dr. Pursley today. She said that the meds that the er doc gave Cleo was good for bunny (yes, I’m a worrier) and Cleo was lucky with the dog as it could have been worse.
Also, the dog in the hard is my mom’s dog Pootie Doo. He is really a good doggie and I love him, too. Whether he was chasing a bunny for play or for real, I need to prevent any repeats. Actually, Pootie Doo is snuggled at my side as I write this.
Also, I’ve gotten a new student and current students are booking more hours. Yay.
.-= Jane Vedell´s last post … Math Tutor =-.
A new mattress, I have been wanting to get one for at least three years. Lots of sales on, I should get going. But:
The hard:
– Notebook fell into a coma
– No back up for a file I need
– Washing machine about to die
(hence possible bigger expenses)
– Still fighting lethargy
– Putting pressure on myself that after having quit the job I now need to know what I want in life asap
– Confusion
The good:
– Could borrow cousin’s netbook and so I am at least back on the net, albeit late for the chicken.
– Notebook can probably be revived from coma
– Spent hours on a (hopefully) wonderful photo book with photos from the past 3 years for husband’s birthday (maybe that’s what put the notebook into a coma)
– Back at work for one day to hand over job to my successor and still feeling that leaving the job was absolutely the right decision
– Doing one entire series from Paul Grilley’s yin yoga DVD 6 days out of 7.
– Snow, snow, snow. And being snug at home with lots of tea and delicious lentil soup.
Have a wonderful weekend chickeneers!
@Jane, I’m so happy Cleo bunny is ok, I can only imagine how scary that was for both of you. Have you considered a baby gate? You may be able to find a gently used one at GoodWill or if you have a Once Upon a Child. If the gaps are too big (ie Cleo bunny can slip through) maybe tack some window screening over it, you can get rolls of that at Lowe’s or local hardware store.
.-= Andi´s last post … Etsy Update =-.
Thank you for the big dose of sympathy, Havi. Reciprocal belated sympathy to *you* for your similar incident. Good gravy, what is with people?! And to have been alone somewhere remote when it happened, that is even worse. Hug back. And hooray about getting the bed. Sleeping in our good new bed cleared up chronic hip pain I’d had when we still had our old crummy bed. Hooray for good beds!
.-= Darcy´s last post … Day 69: Not so welcome home =-.
Exhausting trip + packed week + jet lag + birthday eve = tearful existential crisis in a department store’s basement shoe section.
Unbelievably thoughtful birthday presents. I’m so grateful for my friends.
Wishing everyone comfy sleeps.
.-= Sandra´s last post … How to out-gadget the Japanese =-.
@Darcy, the bed violation is the worst. Given the caliber of mattress, about on par with someone you hate borrowing your finest thong for 2 days. Shiver.
.-= Laura Belgray´s last post … “F” is for Food Emporium. And for my boycott. =-.