Feeling guilty that I haven't been blogging lately, I decided to review all of my "new year's resolutions" while I thought of it. I haven't written 1000 words a day yet; missed blogging last week altogether; exercised for 30 minutes a day an average of six days a week (although it's been low intensity); attended church once this month; did some research on teacher certification; lost one pound total in the last three weeks; and I blew my monthly budget about a week ago - yikes!
In summary, I have some work to do to make progress with all of my resolutions but it's still early in the year. Even though I may not experience a lot of initial success, I know that things can turn around. There's plenty of time left in 2012!
On an unrelated note, I am very proud to say that Ziva is officially housebroken - thanks to Lilly the Super Sheltie-Aussie. If I had to use one pet to house train the other, does that make me a horrible pet owner, or a spectacular one?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Training the dog to train the cat
It takes a village to raise a child and a household to raise a pet. We recently added an abandoned kitten to our household, which already consisted of a ten-year-old cat Scooby and a six-year-old Australian Shepherd-Sheltie dog Lilly. I decided to name her Ziva (yes, in honor of NCIS) and she is a fiery little gray tiger cat.
For the most part, she is a fast learner. She is also quite stubborn, and if there is something she wants to do, she finds a way to do it. I can't tell you how many times I have removed her from my laptop keyboard, only to have her promptly return. It is, after all, the warmest place to stretch out. I even saw her get up from another comfortable spot, go running across the room, run up my leg and jump onto the computer as soon as I opened it up.
As a result of her stubbornness (and my admittedly inconsistent instruction), litter box training is not exactly on schedule. She will voluntarily urinate in it, but apparently feels the need to place her feces in the living room. Or the shower, if she is locked in the bathroom during potty break.
It's getting frustrating, and I am trying different methods but I wish she would accept the litter box as an adequate bowel movement receptacle. It's almost sad that my dog is now trained to chase Ziva away from the baseboards in the living room as soon as she begins scratching. At least one pet has had her intelligence harnessed for good and not evil.
For the most part, she is a fast learner. She is also quite stubborn, and if there is something she wants to do, she finds a way to do it. I can't tell you how many times I have removed her from my laptop keyboard, only to have her promptly return. It is, after all, the warmest place to stretch out. I even saw her get up from another comfortable spot, go running across the room, run up my leg and jump onto the computer as soon as I opened it up.
As a result of her stubbornness (and my admittedly inconsistent instruction), litter box training is not exactly on schedule. She will voluntarily urinate in it, but apparently feels the need to place her feces in the living room. Or the shower, if she is locked in the bathroom during potty break.
It's getting frustrating, and I am trying different methods but I wish she would accept the litter box as an adequate bowel movement receptacle. It's almost sad that my dog is now trained to chase Ziva away from the baseboards in the living room as soon as she begins scratching. At least one pet has had her intelligence harnessed for good and not evil.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
A rocky start
Okay, I looked over my resolutions, and I am not off to the best start but if I remain positive and focused, I should pick up some momentum. I haven't written 1,000 words each day, but I have been writing daily, mostly through a journal of letters to my nephew.
Due to family drama, I haven't been able to see my step-nephews and nephew for a few months, and prior to that, when I saw them in public, they ignored me. It's been difficult dealing with the sudden change in the relationships, particularly with my six-year-old nephew. It's been hardest on my mother, however. My step-nephews were getting to the age where they didn't want to hang out with their grandmother or aunt as much. My youngest nephew, though, used to enjoy doing activities with us and we both miss that.
Since we haven't been able to give them the gifts we purchased, Mom decided she would set up an account and keep a journal of the times she thought of him, or something she wanted to buy, put the money into an account and turn everything over to him once he's graduated high school. I liked the idea, and started my own journal of letters to my nephew. It's amazing what little things remind me of him, and it's also helped me a lot since it gives me a much-needed outlet for my thoughts.
All of the drama is why I want to develop myself spiritually because it has been incredibly difficult dealing with my hurt and disappointment in the behavior of several family members. I realize there are people who have it worse than I do, and there will be better days. Still, I've allowed the recent stress to affect my eating habits, which leads into my "eat less, exercise more" resolution (although I have that one on the list EVERY year).
Six months ago, I started Weight Watchers Online and had great success over the first three months. The last three months did not go nearly as well, and I gained back ten pounds. I've been struggling to get back on track with the plan and hope tomorrow's weigh-in will be the spark I need to just put one foot in front of the other.
Due to family drama, I haven't been able to see my step-nephews and nephew for a few months, and prior to that, when I saw them in public, they ignored me. It's been difficult dealing with the sudden change in the relationships, particularly with my six-year-old nephew. It's been hardest on my mother, however. My step-nephews were getting to the age where they didn't want to hang out with their grandmother or aunt as much. My youngest nephew, though, used to enjoy doing activities with us and we both miss that.
Since we haven't been able to give them the gifts we purchased, Mom decided she would set up an account and keep a journal of the times she thought of him, or something she wanted to buy, put the money into an account and turn everything over to him once he's graduated high school. I liked the idea, and started my own journal of letters to my nephew. It's amazing what little things remind me of him, and it's also helped me a lot since it gives me a much-needed outlet for my thoughts.
All of the drama is why I want to develop myself spiritually because it has been incredibly difficult dealing with my hurt and disappointment in the behavior of several family members. I realize there are people who have it worse than I do, and there will be better days. Still, I've allowed the recent stress to affect my eating habits, which leads into my "eat less, exercise more" resolution (although I have that one on the list EVERY year).
Six months ago, I started Weight Watchers Online and had great success over the first three months. The last three months did not go nearly as well, and I gained back ten pounds. I've been struggling to get back on track with the plan and hope tomorrow's weigh-in will be the spark I need to just put one foot in front of the other.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
I resolve...
I am one of those people who likes making New Year's resolutions. I do place importance on the first day of the year being a day of new beginnings, and an appropriate time to implement changes (or at least be more diligent in efforts to make changes). Here are my resolutions, in no particular order:
1) I resolve to write daily. My goal is to write 1,000 words daily.
2) I resolve to blog on a REGULAR basis. My goal is to blog twice a week.
3) I resolve to exercise regularly. My goal is to be active five to six days a week, for at least 30 minutes but ideally working up to an hour each day.
4) I resolve to develop myself spiritually. My goal is to attend church at least twice a month, and I think I want to learn more about meditation.
5) I resolve to develop myself professionally. My goal is to have a full-time job by the end of 2012. I intend to do that by creating detailed short-term and long-term plans to enter the career I want.
6) I resolve to lose one pound each week (which sounds much less intimidating than "lose 50 pounds in a year").
7) I resolve to adhere to a monthly budget. My goal is to live within my limits, and shift my spending mindset from "splurge" to "save."
These seven resolutions are ambitious, but each is extremely important to me, and I have tried to make them as realistic as possible. I am very excited to assess the status of each throughout the year!
1) I resolve to write daily. My goal is to write 1,000 words daily.
2) I resolve to blog on a REGULAR basis. My goal is to blog twice a week.
3) I resolve to exercise regularly. My goal is to be active five to six days a week, for at least 30 minutes but ideally working up to an hour each day.
4) I resolve to develop myself spiritually. My goal is to attend church at least twice a month, and I think I want to learn more about meditation.
5) I resolve to develop myself professionally. My goal is to have a full-time job by the end of 2012. I intend to do that by creating detailed short-term and long-term plans to enter the career I want.
6) I resolve to lose one pound each week (which sounds much less intimidating than "lose 50 pounds in a year").
7) I resolve to adhere to a monthly budget. My goal is to live within my limits, and shift my spending mindset from "splurge" to "save."
These seven resolutions are ambitious, but each is extremely important to me, and I have tried to make them as realistic as possible. I am very excited to assess the status of each throughout the year!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
A NaNoWriMo WoooHoo!!
I was just too discouraged to blog yesterday after only writing 400 words, but I can't be too hard on myself because at least I wrote something. Today, I had a feeling I could plug and chug right along - and I did! After pounding out 3550 words, I am up to 10023. I am also starting to formulate a better general structure for the project and if I have time, I will try to incorporate it in the next few weeks. My priority, though, is the word count so I am not overly concerned about the quality of the structure. I am sure I will still have plenty of time in December for reading, revising, rereading, revising, rereading, etc., etc.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Decisions, decisions...
...to sacrifice sleep for the sake of meeting my daily and cumulative word count, or tackle it fresh tomorrow? I am inclined to say that I will be ending my NaNoWriMo session short today, and will pick up tomorrow and cover more ground than I have in the last two days. So, with a small twinge of regret, I have to admit that I am technically behind - on Day 4. But I am on optimist and know that I have a lot left in me.
I make an effort not to make excuses, but today was a day out of the ordinary therefore, I have that much more confidence I can recover quickly. We have a new member of the household here. She is a cute, 8-week-old or so, kitten that was abandoned at or near my grandfather's recently. My mom decided it was too cute and friendly not to rescue. She has a few health issues that we are addressing, but she and our Australian Shepherd/Sheltie mix dog Lilly are getting along quite well. I have named the kitten Ziva, and she thoroughly enjoys the "loving" licks and nudges she gets from the dog, even if they are overwhelming at times. She has also already played with the cat tunnel I purchased. My other cat, Scooby, does not care for this latest development. All afternoon, he has avoided the area we have kept her and made frequent trips outside. I am hopeful he will come around and the two can get along.
I make an effort not to make excuses, but today was a day out of the ordinary therefore, I have that much more confidence I can recover quickly. We have a new member of the household here. She is a cute, 8-week-old or so, kitten that was abandoned at or near my grandfather's recently. My mom decided it was too cute and friendly not to rescue. She has a few health issues that we are addressing, but she and our Australian Shepherd/Sheltie mix dog Lilly are getting along quite well. I have named the kitten Ziva, and she thoroughly enjoys the "loving" licks and nudges she gets from the dog, even if they are overwhelming at times. She has also already played with the cat tunnel I purchased. My other cat, Scooby, does not care for this latest development. All afternoon, he has avoided the area we have kept her and made frequent trips outside. I am hopeful he will come around and the two can get along.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Third Day of NaNoWriMo, both easier and harder
Today in the world of NaNoWriMo, it was easier finding a flow in my thoughts, but harder reaching my daily word count goal. Cumulatively, I am ahead of where I need to be, but I'll try and get to my daily word count goal although it appears I'm cutting it close. Yet I opted to blog so I wouldn't forget to do it.
I am feeling more satisfied about the approach I've taken, and feel I've had some good ideas for the revision process. It's hard not to revise or reread and edit, yet for the sake of completing 50,000 words, numerous people have suggested not editing at all and just writing. So, that is what I'm trying to do. For some reason, the last two days I have put off the writing until later at night. It's almost as if I am reliving college days and scurrying to finish up essays and projects. Yup, I was, always have been, and probably always will be a top notch procrastinator.
I am feeling more satisfied about the approach I've taken, and feel I've had some good ideas for the revision process. It's hard not to revise or reread and edit, yet for the sake of completing 50,000 words, numerous people have suggested not editing at all and just writing. So, that is what I'm trying to do. For some reason, the last two days I have put off the writing until later at night. It's almost as if I am reliving college days and scurrying to finish up essays and projects. Yup, I was, always have been, and probably always will be a top notch procrastinator.
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