"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly." Langston Hughes
Updated as of November 2020: If you have a dream, you have to do more than just think about it. Take at least one small step toward it every day. That’s my philosophy. I’ve always been one of those folks who researches everything before they do it, or decide to buy something. So, of course, … Read more About Me
Page updated as of January 2023: If you’ve just stumbled across my blog, or even if you’ve been a long time reader (in which case, I thank you wholeheartedly!), you know that I am a huge animal lover. So much so that I have my own little *herd* as I like to call them. I … Read more The Herd
If you are a faithful reader of my blog, first of all, thank you. But you may be wondering how I could go from Part 6 last week to Part 8 this week. Simple. I can’t add. I looked back at my posts and realized last week was actually Part 7. I’m home sick today but had most of this post already written so I thought I would go ahead and hit that old “publish” button. (And now, if you will excuse me, I have to go lie down and take a nap.) Read more
First post of the new year!!! Grateful to have spent good time with friends on New Year’s Eve – I had plans for once! I started writing this post on Thursday, when we were experiencing the beginnings of a ‘Noreaster, but got sick on Friday, so I’m sorry this is being posted a day later than normal. Read more
When I first took out my personal loan to cover the gap caused by the difference in the $ I owed on the loan vs. what I could get for it, I told myself it would be gone by the end of the year. I didn’t care if I would need to take money out of savings to do it. I just wanted it gone and now I can start the new year off with a clean slate. And I CAN!!!! (And yes, I did have to take some money out of savings, but I am all the more motivated to replace it in there now.) Read more
I hope everyone either had a good Christmas this week or a good day off! I celebrated Christmas Eve with my brother and his family and then spent Christmas Day with my best friend, her husband, and her grandma, watching 4 of the 6 Fast and Furious Movies. Then we had the “traditional” Christmas Day meal for a Jewish household: Chinese food!
To the left is my little Osito on a (finally) sunny day. You might not be able to see it but she is nice and warm in this photo thanks to her bright pinks scarf which my nephew made for her. It fits perfectly underneath her pink jacket! ❤
Luckily, this year won’t be as tough as it has been in the past. When I was first on my own a few years ago, I was terrified at the thought of spending Christmas alone in my apartment. I didn’t think I could bear the sadness and the feelings of guilt that I had created that sadness for myself by deciding to end my marriage. So, I went to my sister and her family and I had a really good time with people who love me and whom I love very much in return.
When deciding whether to come visit me or my brother for Christmas, my mom said “I just don’t want you to be alone for the holidays. As long as you have someone to be with….” and this year I do. My best friend is Jewish and her husband and I both really love the Fast and Furious movies. So, we are going to have a Fast and Furious Paul Walker Memorial Marathon. (And yes, I have agreed to watch even number 3, Tokyo Drift, although I thought it was awful and can’t believe it gets credit for being part of the series. It’s the only one in which Paul Walker does not appear, fyi.)
The holidays can be tough though, if you let them be. I won’t deny that I have had some feelings of wistfulness or nostalgia overcome me over the past few days, knowing that I was down south last year at this time, spending 10 days with the man I loved and meeting his family. That has replaced the feeling of loneliness I used to have, thinking of my ex-husband and how much he loved Christmas. So, that’s a good thing.
As I said to a friend yesterday, when those feelings about last year arise in me, I acknowledge them, and realize they are there for a reason. And then, I think to myself whether it will make me feel good to give into them, or if I can choose to press on forward. I have found that pressing on forward is the best choice, at least for me. I feel like by acknowledging them, I am not repressing them, but just recognizing them for what they are. Feelings. Feelings that I can choose to let bring me down or wallow in, or feelings to acknowledge how my life has changed. Guess those anti-depressants are working, huh? 🙂
I don’t mean to be taking any of this lightly. I know it’s more than the medication at work. It’s the hard work I have done on myself that allows me to handle things now. So, some days when I feel like my dream of being on the west coast, training and writing, and helping to save more animals somehow, all while living in my tiny house/RV/shipping container (I’m open to whatever it turns out to be) seems really far away, I try to acknowledge those feelings of hopelessness or sadness and work through them. I remind myself I have focus now, and a great group of friends who I trust will still be there for me when I move. And, there are a couple people out there on the west coast that I will be physically closer to, and with whom the bonds of friendship will be even stronger, I suspect.
When I start to feel sad about what I don’t have, I try to remind myself what I do have. I don’t have as much money saved as I wanted to by this time of year, but I do have more in past years. And I now have a really comfy new-to-me big chair on which I can sit and look out the window, or at all of my furbabies and my christmas tree all lit up. I have freelance work to keep me busy over my days off, family to go to on Christmas Eve, and a warm, comfy roof over my head. It’s a lot more than others have.
Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful holiday (or just day off, if you don’t celebrate it.) In that case, a belated happy thanksigivika to you!
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I woke up this morning to find four of my cats sleeping on the bed with me – guess they all like it to be cozy in the winter! My list below is a combination of both silly and not-so-important things, as well as more serious subjects. I feel fortunate to be leading a full life right now. Read more
I was going to write this as a Making Progress Mondays post, but the day got away from me yesterday. Sorry!
The last week has been kind to me. Not a ton of progress in the cutting debt area, overall, but the hope for saving and paying off debt definitely increased. I am going to be working at a gym as a front desk person, hopefully in January. I have officially been hired and will probably just be the fill in person but you never know when that could become more permanent! AND I have started doing freelance work for someone I worked with a few years ago. At times, when I’m working on her book, it feels like no time has passed, but I know it has. Because I am different now. I have a real focus to my work I didn’t have before. And I LOVE IT!
The debt total stands at this today, having just made some payments on my personal loan and my LAL loan.
GRAND TOTAL:$120,082.82
Total as of Dec. 1st: $120,563.23
DIFFERENCE = $481 decrease in debt!!
On a completely unrelated topic, I just finished reading a book, This I Know: Notes on Unraveling the Heart, by Susannah Conway, which I highly recommend. She writes from such a place of openness and I just found it to be really refreshing. I also felt like a lot of what she wrote was written for me (although I know that’s not the case.) That’s how much her writing spoke to me. I found I was bookmarking almost every single page.
Have you ever read a book that touched you like that? Please let me know if you have — I’m always on the lookout for good books, especially now that the snow, ice and cold weather have come to New England and I’ll be running on a treadmill a lot more. (Having broken my anterior fibula last year, I’m becoming a bit of a scaredy-cat when it comes to running outside on snow and ice.)
I’ve also begun reading Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal Suffering, by Mark Hawthorne, which a friend told me was on sale today on Amazon for .99!! (Kindle version, it’s usually more like $34 to buy.) I’ll let you know in a future animal issues post what I think of it. So far, it’s looking really good.
If you’ve liked this post, please hit “like” or subscribe or drop me a comment below, and thanks for reading!
I wish I could say I was thankful for the extremely cold weather we are having in the Northeast, but I can’t. I hate the cold. That’s why I want to move someplace a lot milder! However, there are many things I am thankful for this week.
What are you thankful for this week?
I wish I could have the introspection and insight of the young man to whom this quote is attributed. I really can’t improve upon his wisdom and that of his family in the video below. The first time I watched it, it really clicked and as many people who have commented on it on YouTube said, it really affected the way I look at things. If we are unhappy, it’s because we make ourselves unhappy. We can choose to go that route, or to go the route of happiness. I choose the latter.
Please let me know what you think of this video. I watched it again tonight and it had a profound impact on me again. I’ll write about my progress that I usually note on Mondays on a later post this week.
Enjoy. Even if you cry like I did the first time I saw this, I assure you, the second time through, you will be smiling at his outlook.
It’s Friday, so time for my weekly Friday post which reminds me of how lucky I am to be alive in this world. I hope it encourages you to feel the same way, even if you’ve had a tough week.
Also, thank you to all of you who read my blog, even if you don’t comment. I just checked the subscriptions to it, and I just can’t believe there are people out there reading! Thank you! And thank you so much to the gentleman from Time for Action, who re-posted my post about animal rights. (Please check out his page if you are interested in animal rights too!)
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Chasing Simple Dreams 