Stay tuned!......? (IWSG)

I was about to write "about a month ago" - but the truth is - I have lost most of my sense of time the past... however long.... Let's try again.

It has been my intention to start blogging more. I wrote a post once about why I struggled with this - the gist of which was that I didn't know what to write about. Then one day I sat pondering about what kind of posts I like to read and which one's I don't. For instance - everyone has been engaging in the A-Z Challenge, and I found that my absolute favorite blogger this time around was Lexa Cain. She posted about haunted places. It was awesome. I was totally engaged and excited to read about the different places. It had to have been quite and endeavor and I was impressed. However, even as I thought that I might have found something I'd enjoy writing about - basically, micro-history posts - I realized that in my current place in life, doing such posts frequently would become overwhelming for me. It would have to be a once a month thing. So I tucked that idea into my bag and kept thinking.

I recently stumbled upon a blog (briefly, and I can't remember the name of it) on which the writer was recording her journey out of debt. It was intriguing, and personal and I liked that. However, it felt a little too personal for my telling and I couldn't think of anything in my life that I wanted to share with the world that way. It got me thinking however, of the idea of learning from others experience. I have recently had a strong desire to change my schedule and start waking up early. I looked at the hours I spend doing things and decided that if I became that morning person that I longed to be, that I would be able to accomplish just a bit more each day. I decided I would begin a Morning Experiment. It was something that I could tie into writing and was feeling passionate about - so I tucked that idea into my bag and kept thinking.

You see, I felt that I could be pretty impersonal on the web. I have a lot of good reasons why... I mean... the only reason you really need is: It's the internet. But, my absolute favorite blog to read - which I never miss a post on - is that of Patrick Rothfuss. He has such a captivating voice, I like reading it even when the content is only so-so. He manages to share just enough of himself, without exposing his life to everyone. This finally convinced me that I need to talk about SOMETHING I was passionate about. I am passionate about writing - but, I don't have much to say about it. I'm passionate about my job, but that's not for me to share (as per HIPAA :). I'm passionate about the Wombat, but no one wants to read post after mushy post about someone else's lovey-kins. So I thought, and thought, and wondered if maybe I had a NeuroEmotional Complex (NEC) about it. Then I smiled, because that was something else that I was passionate about. You see, I'm not a practitioner - and I am not trained in the NeuroEmotional Technique, but after watching it done and having it done on me for years, I have learned how to do it, and the Wombat and I will use the technique on each other when we feel the need. Some of the biggest writing hurtles I have ever had were overcome because of this technique. So I decided that the personal piece would be an occasional Wed-NET-day post, in which I would share my experience clearing a trapped emotion and what happened because of it. 

So I began tucking this idea into the bag, but now the bag was kind of full. I looked in there at the shiny new ideas in there and I began to feel insecure. Who was I kidding? I can barely manage one post a month with IWSG!... but... I suppose I could do some NET about blogging... it may prove helpful and then I could write about that to get started... and if I got up earlier, I may have those few extra minutes to throw a post together... and daggnabbit I need to find sometime to do some research and enjoy learning, lest I become a complete workaholic. Maybe I can do it after.... so..... stay tuned.....?

Ya Healed!

I  know it's the day for posting out Insecurities - but I have some awesome news to share.

I am a chiropractic assistant - but not for a "snap, crackle, pop!" chiropractor. I mean, Dr. Cool does that too - and I lurve getting adjusted - but he does more than that. He practices with a more holistic approach treating structural, bio-chemical (fancy word to indicate nutrition), toxicity and emotional problems. It's the emotional - or stress - component that I want to tell you about today.

Alex J. Cavanaugh's Blog Hop

Now I've been receiving treatment for years. I've done the stress technique a ton. It's called the NeuroEmotional Technique (NET). Stress plays a large - and I would like to exaggerate here by adding, TREMENDOUS! - part in our health. There are people whose unresolved health problems are directly related to unresolved stress. In fact, I'm a good example of this, because if my life hadn't been heading down to hell in a hand basket six years ago I don't think I wouldn't have gotten sick at all. But I did. Slowly but surely, over the course of about 3 years. When I hit rock bottom... things were bad. Really bad. Shortly after that is when God showed me every mercy I could have hoped for if I knew it was possible, and found me a job with my doc. It's been a 3 year climb back to the top - but by golly ladies and gents - I am at the top! I never would have thought it possible in that misery that was 2010.

Anyways - that whole story doesn't need to be told to get to my real point. I am here to talk about NET and writing. You see, I have had plenty of NET done regarding writing. It's helped off and on a little here or there, but the subconscious mind tends to be somewhat intractable and often nothing really big came up that could be cleared.

Then, I hit a point where I felt entirely able and inspired to write, but... man, it was hard. I would sit down and write, but every word was pried out of me. Truly, it had been this way for awhile, but I had cleared so much other crap from my head that this irritation was suddenly very obvious. So I had the Wombat do some NET on me (after watching the treatment and getting treated for years, we picked up on how to do the technique on one another - though being married tends to make us go polar sometimes and we know that not all topics or issues should be approached by each other - sometimes you just need to be in the caring hands of your caring doc - which Dr. Cool is.)

I would explain in detail what I got treated for with Wombat, but... first of all I can't remember what emotion it brought up and if I told you details of when it started you'd probably close your browser or blog feed and write me off as a loony. What was isn't really important though. He cleared me of the emotion and I felt a lot better. Didn't think much of it. After all, like I said, I had already been treated for writing before.

Then I sat down to write.

It poured out like melted chocolate. It didn't gush. I mean... I was writing. It takes effort... duh. However, it wasn't like pulling teeth. It came out comfortably. Easily. Happily. I wrote and wrote. Then the next day... well I felt like writing, so I wrote and wrote. The day after that... well I wrote a little more! It felt great! Better yet - it STILL feels great!

So I guess, rather than sharing my insecurities today, I want to just share a little info. Maybe NET isn't for you and that's fine. No judgement on that. If you find yourself really struggling though - sometimes it's not anything you are doing consciously and a little subconscious care could help you tons. So maybe find a practitioner in your area. Maybe look for a counselor - or if you are ready and wanting to make some big health changes find yourself a good chiropractor. You can search for a practitioner here: www.netmindbody.com

Take care! May your writing be forever in your favor!

Healthy Body = Healthy Brain = Healthy Writing!

Get Healthy Blog Hop!

Thanks to our Stephen, Alex, L.Diane and Michael for hosting this latest motivational blog hop!

I work for a chiropractic doctor whom I dub Dr. Awesome, because he is a miracle worker. He is the kind of genuine individual, who never judges, respects his patients and gives people back their lives on a daily basis. I'm not exaggerating. He evaluates people on every base required to maintain a good health: structure (e.g., nervous, skeletal, muscular), biochemistry (nutrition), toxicity (e.g., metals, infections, food sensitivities/allergies), and emotional stress (it can kill you, friends).

I am not Dr. Awesome, nor a nutritionist, or anything so licensed or prestigious - but I get to sit and be a part of the journeys his patients embark on and I see honest-to-goodness miracles.

As you can imagine, it's a pretty motivating experience, and while I'm not perfect in any sense of the word, since Wombat and I have moved to Austin, we've gotten our lives back in a whole new better way.

First of all, we obviously have been getting treatment from our doctor. We took supplements and cleaned up some infections, and some nutritional deficiencies. He treated us for some neuro-emotional complexing, and got us both congruent with our new lives here.

Then we started to change our diet. We eat lots and lots of fruits and vegetables - and can't wait til we can save up for a mega-blender to make green smoothies in the morning. We've started buying cleaner protein and have used it to replace a lot of our carbs (which I'm sorry to say, though filling and nummy, are extremely nutritionally lacking compared to your fruits, veggies, and protein). 

We've also started using better sweeteners. We use raw honey which is ten times tastier than regular honey, but we still try to use it sparingly, because it is still sugar. We also use a combination of liquid stevia and xylitol - which together can be as sweet as sugar without much in the way of after-taste.

Also, because I don't have a car here I have had to walk home from work. I find walking super boring - so instead, I run-walk-waddle! It's been great to not have a choice about exercising, as I am notorious for exercising in short bursts.

I'm soap-boxing a little, I know, and I hope I didn't rustle anyone's jimmies, but my point in mentioning everything above is that - I have noticed distinctly that now that I'm feeling better, I'm writing better. 
I'm busier than I have been in years. I still struggle to fit in writing in between taking care of home chores, and working my tail off - but I have such a strong desire to write, and my head feels clearer, and when I do sit down to write, it comes easier and I feel happier about it.

It's taken me and Wombat over three years to get to this point. Three years of working in a holistic health field everyday. It doesn't happen overnight, and I've done it the wrong way more than once, but each and every step you take brings you closer. Start with something - whatever it is, just start! Pick ONE thing and get going - once that one thing isn't hard, pick ONE more new thing, and just keeping moving forward.

Here are some ideas of things I've done or have seen make big differences in people's lives:

Structure: *start walking every day for 30-60 minutes *find a good chiropractor and get adjusted regularly *stretch out or do some yoga every day to keep good motion in your joints *practice standing or sitting with better posture 

Biochemistry: *get more nutritious foods in: fruit and veggies! *try drinking fruit and veggie rich smoothies in the morning *cut the carbs and sugars - just start saying "no thank you" to the goodies occasionally (that's how I started) *make more meals and snacks at home instead of eating out *eat at healthier restaurants when you do eat out *search foodgawker for paleo recipes, or simply pick the no desserts category

Toxicity: *avoid processed foods *don't eat things that wouldn't rot if you left it out - it's probably not food, it's probably a food product *cut the chemicals: high fructose corn syrup, MSG, aspartame, sorbitol, caffeine, food dyes, etc. *get resin fillings instead of amalgums when you go to the dentist 

Emotional Stress: *learn about meditation and practice it *pray, if you pray * practice smiling at yourself in the mirror *practice affirmations every single day *treat yourself smartly when things are weighing you down- get a massage, read a good book, get good sleep (this can be huge in improving your health)

Take a look around at the other great ideas being shared on this our May 29th Get Healthy Blog Hop!

Good luck on your health journey!

Peak-a-Boo!

December 2012? It really has been a long time. I feel somewhat embarrassed, but I have plenty of excuses gathered up to curry forgiveness with. Chief among them, and perhaps the only one I'll take your time to share is that me and the Wombat moved - over 2100 miles!

Yes, ladies and gents, we left the "Keep Portland Weird" slogan toting land of Oregon for the "Keep Austin Weird" slogan toting land of Texas. Most every aspect of our normal life was put on hold for the past several months, but we're here and we're happy.

We've had the great opportunity to get to know some of Wombat's family that we hadn't gotten the opportunity to party with much. The Wombat is falling in love with the computer tech scene. Happy Wombat = Happy Duckie.

Me? I'm working as a personal assistant to Doctor Awesome who I worked with back in Portland last summer. To be frank: I love my job. I'm crazy busy and rocking it. 

In addition, working with Doctor Awesome has re-motivated Wombat and I to improve our health even further. Nothing like a huge change in your life (ie., move thousands of miles) to help you break bad habits and change for the better. We've drastically decreased the amount of grains we're eating, making our meals out of good clean meats, and fresh fruits and vegetables. We aren't perfect and still tend to splurge on the weekends (can anyone say "Hopdoddies" or "The Salt Lick"?) - but during the week we are pwning face. 

Well it's good to be back, and I had fun revamping my blog, but I have to admit, I haven't written much in the past few months. Stress and creativity didn't prove compatible. Wombat and I have been working on some projects that have been inspiring me though, and as I've begun to feel better, I've noticed an increased desire to write. Better Health = Better Writing? I think so. With that said, I think I will join my first blog hop! Get Healthy Blog Hop here I come!

I/O for the Brain (IWSG)

Not only do I feel insecure about my writing today, but about my intellectual existence. Basically, my TV consumption has increased over the past few years, and my intellectual exercises have decreased to such a degree that I've gained POUNDS of dumb-fat (we won't even discuss what it's done to my level of fat-fat). Further, I can watch the extra weight slowly flattening my word count to nothing. not only did I poopoo on my NaNoWriMo goals, but I probably had the lowest word count for the month then I've had in a year. I'm just pulling that out of my rear - I didn't actually make any calculations. I'm trying not to beat myself up too much - most of the time all that does is cause a downward spiral to worse behavior... at least for me... <.<   >.>..... I can be stubborn like that :p
I am working to change my habits and behaviors, though. It's been a pretty hard few months for me personally. I actively avoided the blogosphere for awhile, because I was a might-bit antagonistic and moody and critical - I was in bad form, basically (though, I'd like to say thanks to Elise Fallson for thinking of me, and checking to see how I was doing - Elise your awesome). Thanks to some NET - I'm doing better and better. Part of my goal, is to limit the amount of time I'm watching TV - putting my foot down about what I really want to watch, and not go searching for entertainment beyond that. I've also begun making a list of things that I want and like to do - so I have answers when I think "there's nothing to do". My ultimate point is that I need to give my brain a jump. Turn it back on.
Part of this plan also includes the significant increase of reading. What? I'm a writer that doesn't read? I used to a read a lot when I was younger. Then life got me busy. Obviously I'm not as busy now- since I can spend as much time as I do watching TV (even when excluding when I multi-tasked). I'm in a new place now and one of my strongest focuses is to finish this book. I've not been reading, because I'm gotten picky and critical - but I think its time to hunker down and do some purposeful reading. Heck, even if I don't like a book, I can still learn "what not to do" and the truth is, most of the time, I'm so fickle that I won't even finish the first chapter. Too much TV has given me an extremely short attention span.
So, now, for the sake of my future as a writer, for my health as a person and personality - I'm going to fight for my brain's right to write, logic, express, and experience.

Anyone else find that a daily habit hurts their writing? Done anything to help it improve?