Weekend Coffee Share, Living Vicariously or Just Living

Welcome to my weekend coffee share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Cold matcha green tea accompanied my healthy breakfast today. I want to keep my brain relaxed!

I had my shoulder MRI, an open MRI, after work yesterday. I will say that I prefer an Open MRI to the other option, but it was horrible having to keep my arm still, because it also gets pained lately. The pain in my arm was worse after the MRI, maybe from just holding it so still and becoming stiff.

Still, I am just really glad that I now have gotten that done, and I can meet with the orthopedic doctor in about 10 days to hopefully find out what’s going on and what my options are to improve my quality of life. It surely is affecting many areas of my life: my moods, my enthusiasm, my sleep. I still force myself to get my cardio though. It’s not as much as it used to be but it is done regularly, at least three times a week.

This morning, after a much-needed massage,I had 5 minutes of stretch then a mere 15 minute walk and it almost did me in today. Talk about humid!

After a smoothie for lunch, I went to the hair salon to get my hair trimmed and highlighted, a true treat! Lots of girl talk. I was still so relaxed after the massage and almost dozed in the chair. It is a true self-care day. I deserve it!

Not much excitement for the weekend, but that’s okay, since I’m getting relaxation. I’m still living vicariously through my dog, Bixby’s imaginary life! Here’s my latest Canvas creation:

He is part Chihuahua, after all!

Gee, I remember the nights in my 20s hanging out with friends, then heading for the TacoBell drive-thru. I don’t even dare eat their food anymore!

That’s what I am up to. How’s your weekend?

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“I Can Do This!” 2018 Focus

Graphic made at canva.com ~Explanation below~

You may have guessed (or already know) that my keyword for this year is “Energy.”  I have many goals, and I am at a point in my life where I need to make them happen.  I don’t want to wait for a better time.  Even if it takes years to reach a goal, the time to start is now.

My morning mantra will be- “Let me get moving.”  That’s a great start for energy.  Of course, I’ve charted out some things I have to do.  Stretches to get limber and not feel old or sore all day.  I intend that to become like second nature to me.  Then the list goes on.

I’ve done this because I read somewhere that a resolution is nothing without a plan.  This is so true!  Working a full-time job can tire a person out.  Yet, I want to reach for more than a Mon.-Fri. workplace.  I need energy to do that.

I do hope the graphic is visible and easy to read for all.  In a nutshell, it lists what I want to become a regular part of my mindset and my daily routine in an attempt to generate more energy for my goals and to affect the world around me.  I truly believe this works.  I mentioned the morning stretches, because “Let’s get ready to move freely,” is better than “Crap, my back is sore, I HAVE to get up.”   Gratitude, music to help me get going.  Singing in the shower, expressing love to my family, asking God to inspire me to help someone else today.  Complimenting others I work with, using a 5 to 1 positive ratio for my interactions with students.  Then, there’s time to do what I love:  reading daily, a writing routine (not necessarily daily but when I am moved), blogging on my goals/progress or mindset once weekly and adding the flash fiction blog entries once or more weekly, avoiding work e-mail at home, and being thankful for it all.

My discovery of a focus keyword for this year was inspired by an entrepreneur on social media.  Mindset is such an important thing!  Truly, when you must do something physically challenging, they say to find a focal point.  Why can’t it be a word?  If you are interested, this blog post sets my intention to make Energy my focus and explains why this might help me greatly:  A Word for My Intentions