Summer plans revised again

In April or May, I posted about what I was going to do this summer. I think it was something about working on my autism/voice lesson project and maybe running away for a long weekend. The autism project was put on hold when I started planning a voice recital and practicing all of the repertoire possibilities.

Then I got sucked into actually getting my business more organized, including setting up the Jeannine Robinett Music Studio website. It is going to save me so much time and will really simplify how I communicate with my students and their families. But, right now, it's also eating up a lot of time. At least I'm having fun with it.

Yesterday, I found out that they are finally doing to the remodel on my townhome...tomorrow. With all the stuff I had to move so they could get to what they needed to work on, anything resembling organization in my home has disappeared. It will take me the rest of the summer put everything back where it needs to be. Yes, I'm excited to reorganize. I love to organize. I also love to do it when I have time, not when I'm trying to do forty thousand other big projects.
Oh well. The good news is that I had some wonderful people that were able to come help me move the big stuff. They even moved some of the smaller stuff that would have taken me much longer to deal with. Now I just have to empty the linen closet (and find a place to put that stuff), empty the drawer beneath the oven, find a place to put all the shoes that I can't have in the closet, and vacuum up some of the killer dust bunnies and spider webs we found when we moved stuff.

OK, enough time wasting. I'd better get back to work if I want to get to bed tonight before midnight. (I hope I can find the bed.)

Goodbye old friends (Quitting--part II)

I don't have much profound to say, but wanted to report that since the last post, I haven't had candy, cake, pie, cookies, chocolate (yes, I consider it a category completely separate from candy), chips, fries, or caffeine. However, I did have a whole loaf worth of peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches on Wonder White Bread during those first few days, so technically my sugar consumption was still pretty high. The good news is, I know I'm over the worst. The bad news is, I can never go back. My body just can't do these in moderation. I can either never eat them and be perfectly happy (and I was before) or I can eat them non-stop. It gets really scary. Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, double chocolate fudge brownies, Nacho Cheese Doritos, diet Dr. Pepper, Double Stuff Oreos--they will only be memories now.

Now I just need to renew my relationship with an old friend--the gym. I really love to exercise. People laugh when I say that, but I do. I love the way it makes me feel. I love getting all sweaty and gross (if I don't have to go anywhere other than the gym). The gym and I were good friends before I got so busy last year and would come home too late and too exhausted to move.

Another Facebook friend (and relative) just won a 5K in her age group. My knees can't take running that far (there is a knee problem unrelated to my weight problem), but I'm inspired by the number 5. My goal is to walk it.

Quitting

A friend just announced on Facebook her intention to quit smoking. She has friends rallying around her to give her encouragement and support. And I love that the first person that commented said how much better she would feel. It's easy to find all the reasons not to smoke--it's disgusting, gross, causes health problems, etc. But her friend chose not to emphasize how bad her current smoking is. She chose to show how good the choice to quit is. I love that.

I think one of the errors of many religious groups is that they choose to tell people how evil they are, rather than showing them the benefits of changing their ways. Don't tell me how awful I am. Show me how happy you are with the choices you have made. OK, I'm getting a little off topic. Before this turns into a full blown rant, I'd better get back to my original point in posting.

My friend's choice to quit smoking inspires me. If my friend can give up nicotine, surely I can give up sugar (again). I know that I can't be a responsible sugar "user" so I'm done. I know I'm happier and feel better without it. I choose this not because someone else said I should, but because it is right for me. I choose it because I want to be healthy and happy. I choose it because it is a step in the right direction.

Reframing

I can't believe it's been more than a month since I've posted. I've had lots of posts on my mind, but they still haven't quite taken shape yet. I had a wonderful experience a few weeks back with a scripture that has always really bugged me. I happened upon it while I was studying something else, and because of the other things I'd been studying, I saw this in a completely new light. Anyway, it has blossomed into something even bigger that I hope to post about here soon.

I love fresh starts and I love looking at things from a new angle. And quite frankly, in my life right now, it is necessary. When I continue to look at things as I've always seen them, to believe them in the same ways that I've always believed, it just leads to frustration.

There are two major areas in my life that are undergoing a lot of reframing right now. One is my spiritual/religious life, and the other is my singing.