olivia submits

And just like that, it’s Friday again! 

It’s been a lovely week.  Um, not necessarily a big step week or a low carb/sugar week, but a lovely week in lots of other ways.   I took myself to the chiropractor.  I took my time doing some tasks and did them with thought and care.

I finished rearranging my “office,” and have a little bit of room to breathe. “Office” in quotes because it’s just a bit of space in one room, but still.  And  now I have a place for my rocking chair just outside of my office space where I can rock and read my kindle (which is the app on my laptop) in the evening.  One of the parts of my desk can be quickly converted into a space to hold my computer at a comfortable distance, and it’s just nice.

I made some decisions in my own best interest.  I had thought I was going to do one thing, and I changed my  mind about it.  I informed my family of my decision after the fact, rather than talking it over or getting their opinions first.  It was the right decision.  They supported it, but even if they hadn’t, it would still have been the right thing to do.

I got some stuff accomplished that I’d been procrastinating on forever.

I went for a long walk.

I whittled away my to do list, making actual progress.  I am not a plow straight through kind of person.  I do part of about 5 things, inching forward on the goals for each of them.  Maybe it would be better if I did pick one task and power through, but left to my own devices, I do a bit of this and a bit of that until I finish them all.  I even do dishes that way – I might put all the glasses in the dishwasher and then wipe off a counter before I start loading dishes.  Clean the coffee maker before I do silverware.

Anyhow.  I feel super lucky to be able to do things in my own way and my own time.  I’ve been doing some energy clearing – more music and dance, more smudging with sage.  I feel like my chakras might even be lining up.

I watched a really fun – webinar, I guess it was.  Or meeting.  Or something.  Whatever you call it, it was an on-line event, and lots of fun.  All about claiming your magic, or getting your magic back, or some such.

I am all about getting my magic back now, and feeling really hopeful about it.  Not just because of the webinar – in fact, I probably watched it because I was feeling some hope.  So there’s that.

(Have you noticed, i’m always on the verge of doing something better than i have been?  i suppose sometimes i make actual progress.  Maybe.  But at least I keep going.)

Anyhow, Briana Borten, who did the webinar or whatever, ended up with the idea that we need to clear our energy.  And i was enthused about that.  She’s offering a group thing called Love Rising that meets four times a month – and is really reasonably priced.  I’m not going to do her thing though, so I turned to my dear friend google.

In the instant magic of the interwebs, I immediately found this article:  Getting Rid of Negative Energy: 20 Powerful Practices for Cleansing and Clearing Your Energy Field.    And, much to my delight, I already do a bunch of the things on the list.

I don’t do them all the time, consistently, but I don’t think I do anything very consistently, you know?   But from smudging with sage to napping, from walking with intention to breath work, there are lots of techniques I already know.

And there are some new ones, or ones I haven’t tried.  Using crystals more intentionally.  Essential oils.   And here’s a fancy one involving the chakras:

One of my favorite general self-clearing meditations that involves water is to lie down, close my eyes, and visualize my energy body and my chakras. I begin at the bottom, with the red root chakra. I see it clearly in my mind and then set it spinning. I move up the chakras, moving from red to orange to yellow to green to blue to indigo to violet, keeping them all spinning at the same time. Then I imagine a swoosh of water coming through the top of my head (through my crown chakra) and moving through each chakra in turn, cleansing them as it goes. The water flows back to the earth to be redistributed as needed. I admire my shining, sparkly clean spinning chakras for a moment and then settle them back down. That’s it. Easy as can be and so incredibly refreshing. 

And, although that article didn’t mention it, there’s Qi Gong.  Which I’ve learned more about but haven’t started doing every day like I planned.  Um, because I don’t do anything every day or like I planned.   But I think I’m ok with that today.  That is really just the way I’ve always been.  100 ideas, and a few that actually get carried out.

It’s ok.  I can sit with who I am… with love and compassion.

Welcome to my health and fitness blog, only more like my non-health and non-fitness blog.  I’m averaging 5,200 steps/day, which is an improvement on last week – but that’s a low bar.  My weight is back up a bit – I’m hitting between 155 and 157, which is heading in the wrong direction.

So drat and curses.  I’m eating too many carbs and my glucose levels are up too.  Not crazy-out-of-control, but up.

On the other hand, I’m going through a huge life transition and doing ok with it.  That’s something.  I just need to turn this trend around and get back on track.

If I think in terms of the change cycle, I’ve gone through pre-contemplation and contemplation, moved through preparation and action, and now I’m in what should be relapse prevention or maintenance, only I’ve gone for relapse instead.  Which is predictable.  We do that.  I just need to move back into recovery.

And I need to do that by identifying some micro-changes I can make, rather than a global “DO BETTER” approach.  Right?  So I could start by planning meals rather than waiting til I’m real hungry and then thinking about what might taste good.  I could eat dinner – and then quit eating.  If I did those two things, I would probably be fine.

In other news, i am organizing my house!  Not to the standards of Fly Lady, but to my own standards.  So that’s good!

And Sir and I are doing ok.  I’m a little concerned about his health, but he insists he’s fine, so I will take his word for it, and keep my fingers crossed and one eye on him.

So much loveliness. First, there was date night. A glass of wine and appetizers on a rooftop bar overlooking the river. Then dinner with some of my favorite actually low-carb food.

We had such a good time, and were so late getting back to the house that everyone was in bed. It was the perfect opportunity for some serious spanking and good times.

It had been so long since I had been spanked, that I was more sensitive than I expected to be. But I was able to settle into it, reminded myself that I needed it, and both enjoyed and appreciated it.   It was followed by orgasms and lots of cuddles. Life is pretty good.

Of course,  Sunday is beach day. So I am actually writing this from my usual cozy spot on the sand  The ocean is fairly calm today, and I’m enjoying that .

There is still lots and lots of stuff going on in my life and I’m way busier than I want to be.   But it is mostly all good stuff, so I truly can’t complain. Also, because I am always looking for new ways to experiment with managing my life, or maybe just always looking  for new things to add onto my plate, I have been reading up on Qigong. It is fascinating. More on that later.