Diary of a Spinster and Lunatic

No one describes the true meaning of Christmas better than Linus.  Today, say a little prayer of thanks that God sent His only son to teach us and bring us closer to Him. 

It’s the end of the year, and you know what that means!   It’s time to reflect on the past year, and see where we need to continue to focus our personal growth.   I tried to look at several areas including health of body and mind, spirituality, and just overall bad habits that need to be remedied.   Here are some things I’m going to be working on in 2018.   Do more challenging exercises.   I don’t do any type of rigorous exercise.   I enjoy a more restorative yoga practice that I use more to relax my body and refocus my mind.   But, I need to challenge myself more.   And, exercise is one way I can do that.   Whenever I find myself getting stressed, anxious, or angry with someone, I can draw upon my regular yoga practice, and just focus on my breath and the job that needs to be done in front of me.   I figure that if I challenge myself more physically and mentally on my yoga mat, I’ll also be able to deal with more challenging things more easily off the mat as well.   Make Healt

There is officially just one more week until Christmas, and exactly 11 days until my sister's wedding!  There is so much going on, that when I think of everything I need to accomplish, I start to give myself an anxiety attack.  As we get closer to the holidays, we tend to indulge in more sweets and rich food, and exercise less because there is so much to do.  Be sure to take a few minutes to get out and take a walk at lunch, take a class or enjoy a little yoga. It will do wonders for your stress, as well as your focus and mental health.  Today, I will be taking 30 minutes for myself, and doing some yoga for stress and anxiety with my favorite yogi Adriene!  Care to join me?

It has turned incredibly cold in my area lately.  And, when it is so chilly outside, there is nothing I like more than cuddling up at home in warm sweats and fuzzy socks.  Something that I invested in a few years ago, and cannot stop using are my fleece sheets.  It's like lying in a warm fuzzy cloud.  They are so warm and snuggley!  The only downside is that they make getting out of bed so hard in the morning. I picked up my light blue set a few years ago.  They have worn really well, and look pretty much the way they did when I bought them.  They are just as warm as ever.  Since there are just a few days until the holidays, it might be a good time to give the gift of warmth and comfort this holiday season.  Or, maybe pick up a set for yourself.  I mean, how cute are the snowflake sheets !?

As I get older, I feel like life is just passing me by.  And, while I call myself a spinster, I don't consider myself to be that old.  Even though there have been periods lately where I just feel old, like I could be twice my age.   I so badly want to feel alive again.  So, when I saw that my office was offering a lunch seminar on the secrets to a well lived life, I signed up immediately.  So, what is the secret to a long, and well-lived life?  That secret is connection.  And, there are four areas that we need to re-connect with... food, our bodies, to the people around us, and to purpose. Food.  In general, as a society, we have no idea where our food comes from.  We don't know if it's locally grown or if it was shipped from half way around the world, and when the fruit or vegetable was actually harvested.  It would be helpful for us to connect to our food, by first knowing where it comes from.  It would be awesome to start my own garden, but my little apartment balcon

Maybe it's just me, but there have been days where it just feels like everyone I come into contact with is working together to prove how bad the world has gotten.  People cut you off in traffic, or blame you for something that was in fact their own doing.  On those days, it's all I can do to not react in a way that would keep the cycle going.  But, it can take just one person's kind act to turn the day around.  I remember one day like this, where someone completely restored my faith in people when they asked if I would like to go ahead of them in line at Target since I only had a few things, whereas they had a full cart.   Today, spread love.  Lead a dignified life.  It may only take a small act of kindness to turn someone's day around.  Be that person that brightens someone's day.

I was speaking with my cousin a couple weeks ago, and he was telling me all about his new relationship with a girl he’s known since high school.   He was so excited, and I could just tell he was just super happy.   One of the things that he was telling me about, was that this girl was easy to talk to.   And, it got me thinking about not only how important communication is in general, but how important it is to create an environment that actually allows for open communication!   No one will open up to you if you’re going to take that information and gossip, or use it against them, or even criticize or make fun of them.   There have definitely been people in my own life that I wanted to open up to, but didn’t feel safe.   In some situations, I felt safe with telling a person certain things, but not others, depending on the subject matter.        We are each responsible for creating the environment we want.   Unfortunately, there are many instances where we are creating an environment

Today marks the first week of Advent!  This week we are called to be alert, and mindful of how we are preparing for the coming of Christ.  If tomorrow was our judgement day, would we be ready?  I know, I wouldn't.  There just seems like there is so much I need to work on.  There are times when I feel really overwhelmed by this, and have literally just thrown the covers back over my head and took a nap.  But, this is not the first long-term challenge I have faced.  After all, it took me 20 years to complete my formal education, first with grade school, high school, college, and graduate school.  It's also taken 12 years to finally work my way up to a position at work that I really love and enjoy.  This is no different.  Even though it it will take time, we mustn't shy away from our personal journey of growth, whatever that might mean to you. My Advent e-calendar yesterday provided a wonderful week long activity I wanted to share.  It's such a great way to take a few m