Take The Time To Fill Your Own Coffee Cup

This past weekend, I wrote about facing my inner demons.  I fight with myself sometimes.  Nobody throws punches, and nobody gets hurt.  Except maybe my own ego.

I can get stuck in a pattern of doing nothing while having the best intentions of getting through a whole list of things that need to be done.  There are days when I literally talk myself out of getting anything done.  It is a nasty little place to be in, and it happens when things are bothering me, or in the winter.  I am less likely to have the energy to do more than the basics in the winter time, and that is sometimes left too long.  In this endless loop of getting nothing done, I can become overwhelmed by how much there IS to do, and that doesn’t help me at all.

Spring is here.  I feel the change in the weather, and in my spirit.  The blog has started me off in the right direction.  I am wanting to get things done, and I FEEL DIFFERENT about life right now.  I am trying new things, making small changes, and thinking about what I need to do to make the leap from blogging to writing a book.

A year ago I was recovering from an infection in my knee.  It was not a pleasant experience, I would never recommend a knee infection as something for anyone to do.  I was away from work for 3 months, and sat around that whole time, as I was told to not be moving around very much.  I had nurses visiting me in my home for IV antibiotics once a day for two or three weeks.  I was taught how to bandage the wound when the IV was over, and they stopped the home checks.  I longed for the day that I could have a shower without medical tape and shopping bags protecting the bandages from getting wet.  I was on some strong painkillers, for the first time ever, and I was scared that I might become addicted.  I did not.

Spring cleaning didn’t really happen last year.  So I am on a mission to get it done properly this year.  I am writing about it, and puttering at it, and making a little more progress in that kitchen every time I get in there. I have made a few inexpensive purchases to help me to get this project accomplished.  I see the progress, but I am not ready to share it yet.

I needed to stop and just take a breath last weekend.  That’s what the title means.  When you worry about everyone or everything else and don’t take time for yourself, you can empty your coffee pot before you get yourself a refill.  That is a mistake that can build into a disaster if it is not made a priority.

It’s not Ok to neglect your own needs in order to make sure that everyone else’s needs are taken care of first.  Sometimes, it is necessary to take care of others first.  However, if you don’t stop and take time for you, the coffee at the bottom of the pot is going to have a burnt taste, and it will not be a pleasant thing to drink.

Whatever it is in your life that allows you to feel refreshed and recharged is something that you need to always make time for.  If it is the 5 am cup of coffee before anyone else in your home is awake, get up and pour yourself a hot cup of coffee.  If it is taking a bath at the end of a long and tiring day, make time to fill the bathtub.  Read a book for a chapter a day, at the time you can schedule it in.  If you have dogs, they can help you take the time to yourself to think when you have to walk them anyway.

Or, at other times you need to be around other people.  Friends and family are important too.  Find people that are fun to be around, and bring you up, not down.  I am not saying that you should ignore all of your other friends, but when you need to feel good, surround yourself with people, things and activities that help you do just that.

When I think about where I was a year ago, I had no idea I was going to make a leap into becoming a blogger.  I was waiting to be told that I could start going back to Zumba classes.  I was learning about the Trim Healthy Mama Plan, and trying new recipes.  I was already going through the motions of being back to work at my day job.  And I was miserable.

Now I have a blossoming new outlook for spring this year.  I will be working on my New Year’s Resolutions and branching out with what I am doing with my life.  I am chasing my dreams and making them into my reality.  One at a time.

Thank you for reading my 60th Blog Post.  Still having fun, and Always Thinking…

 

Coffee Station Complete!

Coffee is Here

I decided to get back in action yesterday in my Kitchen Cleaning Challenge.  Well, it continued today!  I have gotten to all the countertops and cleaned and organized my 3 sections.  FINALLY! I had lost my gumption somewhere after Christmas, and I am getting it back!

I realized that the dishes not being finished before I got started, although it is a logical way to plan the cleaning of one’s kitchen, it was HOLDING ME BACK!  So I dove in and started cleaning and organizing one section of the countertop.  I decided that it was time for me to revamp the countertop organization, and get caught up with the rest of the world.  I needed to redesign and organize a new coffee station!  

I have a Keurig.  I have an electric tea kettle.  I have a tiny little space of countertop.

This is what I did!

Tish’s Coffee Station!

I have continued all the way around the countertops.  The rest of the kitchen progress will be added into my next Weekend Warrior story, but I couldn’t wait to share this! I still have a lot of work to do, but I feel like I have made progress, and that will inspire me to keep going.  Well, that and the coffee! 😉

 

My coffee is cold. Time to get a straw. Better make it a bendy one.

Coffee in a pretty yellow cup and saucer.

I have been taking care of a friend’s coffee mug for about three years now.  She has moved out of the country for work.  So I have a few of her things in storage, some of them I have promised to use carefully, and one of them is an extra large coffee mug.  It holds more than 20 oz of coffee.  When I enjoy my coffee out of this mug, I tell people I am having a bucket of coffee.  It really is that big, much bigger than the pretty yellow one in the picture.

I am not the type of person that has to have the coffee piping hot to enjoy a cup.  I like it warm, not too hot, but with some heat left in it is optimal.  So when it gets cold, I have two choices.  Reheat it in the microwave and wait for it to be at that perfect temperature again, or go get a straw.  Today, I choose the straw.

I know, some people that read this will shudder, and think that cold coffee is disgusting.  When I drink coffee, I don’t put anything in it, I drink it black.  I used to dress it up, but I decided to go cold turkey a few years ago, and I convinced myself I would learn to like it.  I now enjoy it this way.

I have tried bulletproof coffee.  Who comes up with this stuff?  Maybe I just don’t know how to make it right, but I did not enjoy my only attempt at this creation.  I will stick to taking my coffee black and sometimes flavoured.  Some of the flavoured coffees work for me, and some don’t.  I like a good variety, and when I decide to splurge on K-cups, I try new flavours whenever I can.

I was talking to someone the other day, and he said I should drink Ethiopian coffee.  He said it will keep me up for nine days; and that I will save money because I won’t be running to Timmy’s all the time.  I live in Canada, Timmy’s is a reference to Tim Hortons Coffee and Donut restaurants.  When I was a child, I thought it was Important Donuts. They are the main Canadian preference for coffee shops, and a place a lot of people like to spend time, cafe style.  If you ask your friends if they want a Timmy’s, you usually get replies that include a double-double in them somewhere.  Now, I’m all for a good cup of coffee, but to me, being awake for 9 days sounds a little extreme.

Why the bendy straw?  Well, the bucket is fairly tall.  I like options, and bendy straws are more fun.  Why not?  I am sitting here getting ready for New Year’s Eve in my mind.  I have a lot on my to-do list for today.  I am invited to a house party, and it is a potluck.  My husband and I have gone to this party for several years now when the weather cooperated.  The forecast is good for tonight, so we plan to attend.  He will be working until I pick him up on my way to the party.  With a big list of things to do and only me here to do them, as much as I would have liked to drink a cup of coffee at that perfect temperature, it wasn’t in the cards today.  So a bendy straw it is.

I am feeling a little nostalgic today.  2016 was a difficult year in many ways.  A lot has happened.  I lost some weight, so that is something I would like to continue in 2017.  Living a healthier lifestyle is one of my resolutions this year.  It will be something I blog about, because it is important to me, and I want to share my successes.  Maybe it will help another person in their struggle, and it will do some good. I started this blogging adventure in November and decided that I need to write those books I have wanted to write my whole life.  So that is going to happen.  Writing the Fantasy Trilogy is another resolution.  I hope that the music world stops in to read my lyrics.  I dream of a collaboration with musicians to make my songs audible for the world, not just to be poetry in a blog.  I have had the pleasure of making new friends online through this project, and I am grateful for those who took the time to help me get this blog from an idea to a reality.  I thought I was only going to make the two resolutions for 2017, but something joined the ranks in the last 24 hours.  I have attempted to complete home cleaning and organization challenges for the last 2 years.  Last night I signed up again, and I am not committing to finishing it in 16 weeks, but I am committing to finishing it this year.  I joined two last year, as one is more for in-depth cleaning (16 weeks) and the other one is for quick organizing (31 days) so I will be working on both challenges in 2017.  My final resolution is to finish them within the year.

Well, I am now making that annoying noise through the bendy straw.  I have finished my coffee.  Time to walk away from the desk for a while, crank the tunes, and tackle my to do list.  However you ring in 2017, I wish you well and hope you accomplish what you need to do in 2017.  Happy New Year!