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It’s 03:34, and it looks like I’m starting off the secular new year with a weird sleep schedule. But I’m not going to let that get in the way. I’ve decided that I need to fix my routine problem, and that means getting up and doing things at a set time. I still plan to get up like a human later this morning. The laundry’s done, and all I pretty much have to do today is some writing. I’m participating in NaBloPoMo this month, and am looking forward to writing with the prompts provided. Hopefully this will get me blogging more substantively. I would like to get to a point where I’m writing at least one post a day, with some really great content at least once a week, and the big goal with my site this year is to participate in NaNoWraMo, or National Novel Writing Month, in November. And these goals go along with my goals of finding a job, becoming healthier, finding my own place, ETC.

You should expect the first NaBloPoMo post later on today. I’m excited to start writing it. The only part I really have no clue about is a title for it, but practice makes perfect, and I’m sure by the end of the month I’ll get to a point where coming up with titles isn’t so hard for me.

Happy New Year everyone, and may the coming year be prosperous for all of you.

Amanda

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When it comes to replenishing the energy supply, I’m not too sophisticated. Right now, my biggest energy source is caffeine in its various forms: coffee, tea, and my absolute favorite, Coke. Personally, I believe Coke is the elyxir of life. This is problematic though, because Coke is extremely unhealthy, (twelve ounces of the stuff equals about 140 calories, all of which are empty), and it has the potential to sabotage all of my goals relating to becoming more healthy. But it tastes so good. There’s nothing like that first swallow. The shock to your taste buds is the best. I’ve tried other versions, (diet Coke, Coke Zero), but while I can stand these and will drink them, they don’t quite do the trick. I’m sure almost all of my love for Coke is purely psychological. But it’s a tough monkey, and I don’t think I’ll ever completely give it up. Good thing Weight Watchers doesn’t demand I give it up completely, because I’d be out the door real fast.

In the past, I used to draw energy from spiritual persuits: contemplation, prayer, Torah study. I’ve been very lax when it comes to the area of spirituality in my life, and one of my goals for 2013 is to increase the amount of spirituality in my life. I know that prayer goes hand in hand with my goal of becoming healthier, and that I will never become healthier if I don’t make it a point to look inside and discover what keeps me from doing the right things as far as my body and mind are concerned.

I’m also planning to add more exercise. I know that I will have to take this slowly because of the Lupus, and that’s a hard thing to deal with for me. I find it discouraging when there’s something I want to do, and I can’t because I’m either sick or physically fatigued. Lupus sucks. But it’s something I have to deal with, and I will have to give myself constant reminders that I can’t overdo it, not without serious consequences.

I think if I incorporate the steps I’ve mentioned above into my life this year, I will see progress. Maybe not the outward progress I’d like to see, (at least at first), but definitely progress. And progress is always good.

This post is part of a serious for National Blog Writing Month (NaBloPoMo). If you would like to participate, or read other posts by other participants, go to NaBloPoMo.

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There are days when I get up feeling like I could conquer the world. And then, there are those other days. The days when I don’t think I’ll be able to get out of bed, let alone do anything else. And the hardest part about those days is knowing that I have a ton of daily tasks to get done, and not enough energy to do them. These are the days when it’s very important to remind myself to take things one day, or one hour, or one minute, or even one second at a time; when I have to remind myself that I’m not Superman, and that my personal worth doesn’t depend on whether I did an allotted amount of work; when I have to remind myself that tomorrow’s another day, and that sometimes it’s OK to just slow down and take things as they come. Fatigue, both physical and mental, is a big part of Lupus, and a lot of the time, that’s the biggest battle for me, far and above the pain caused by any of the other attendant symptoms. Often, I berate myself for being lazy, even though I know this is completely irrational, because there is a good reason for not moving, or not getting as much work done as I would like. I know, on a rational level, that I’m not lazy, but sometimes the self-hatred can become overpowering. But I know in these cases that my emotions are getting the better of me, and I have to stop and tell myself to look at my situation logically and rationally. In this year of 2013, I plan to pay more attention so that when my emotions start to run wild and I start to berate myself, I can stop and reorient to a more rational perspective. I know that this will take a lot of effort and prayer on my part, but I believe I can be successful. And on the days I stumble, I will remember to tell myself that tomorrow’s another day.

This post is part of a series for National Blog Post Month, (NaBloPoMo). If you would like to participate, or read other posts, go to the NaBloMoPo site, and be sure to add your post to the list.

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It’s a new week, and that means more writing. I missed Thursday and Friday, (with the exception of little bits), and I’m hoping this doesn’t disqualify me for this month’s National Blog Post Month. I’ll catch up on the prompts I missed for last week, because I think they were good ones and I would like to write about those subjects.

Today we deal with the subject of music, and which songs are good for helping with the get-up-and-go that is so important for getting stuff done and making sure I don’t spend the entire day in front of the TV engrossedin the ID channel. (For those who aren’t familiar with it, that’s Investigation Discovery, and it’s all crime, all the time, and they never run infomercials. If your cable provider doesn’t carry it, call them and threaten to get a bunch of your friends and other interested parties together and start rioting outside their offices until they do. 😛 ).

Anyway, back to the music.

Music has always been a huge part of my ife. I normally listen to jazz or soul, especially when I’m working. Jazz and other instrumental music helps me to concentrate on what I’m doing and avoid distractions. But when the need for energy arises, that’s an entirely different story. This is the point at whitch I will either listen to some of the stuff I grew up, or listen to certain alternative tracks. And speaking of the music I grew up with …

When I was a teenager, my all-time favorite group was Color Me Badd. I bought all their albums, saved newspaper clippings, had videos, and even annoyed my local radio station with requests just so I could make sure their music got played. I bought their second album after spending two days singing at an Exceptional Children’s Conference. I stopped at a record store (remember those?) in Greensborough, North Carolina, on the way back home to the Fayetteville area to pick it up, and had the chance to listen to it (or at least part of it) before my mom and brother and sisters got home, which meant I could play it as loud as I wanted. The eighth track on that album, (Time And Chance), is a song called “In The Sunshine”. I thought it was cool and catchy then, and I still find it catchy now. It has an upbeat, happy sound. Unfortunately, I don’t know of an official video that I can link to, but if I find one, I’ll update this post. Of course, since I was thirteen, the content of the lyrics went right over my head. When I listened to the song again as an adult, and knew what was going on, I found that the lyrics weren’t exactly a work of art. But the beat and melody were still catchy. So if I’m doing housework, I’ll through that one in the playlist.

Some of the other songs I like to through in my energetic playlist are:

  • Bad Habbit, by the Offspring
  • Off The Wall by Michael Jackson
  • Several songs by Alanis Morisette
  • I Love Your Smile, by Shanice

There are several others, and if anyone’s really interested, I can add the whole playlist to this post. For now though, I think that’s a pretty good sample. And as I come across other music that’s upbeat, catchy and just generally sounds good, I’ll add tha ttoo, regardless of the format.

This ;post is part of a series I’m writing for National Blog Post Month. For more information, or to see others’ posts, go here.

Until tomorrow.