Food, Writing, and Other Things
I'm really glad I walked so much when I was in California the week before last. Although my eating habits weren't great on that trip, my walking habit was in full motion...hehehe That kept me moving when I returned. And I've continue with that strongly today.
I still remember when I decided to get up and walk in January 2023. I'm glad I listened to my heart that day. The spiritual, mental, and physical health journey I've been on since has been beyond anything I imagined back then. I'm nearly two years into this now. I'm so excited that God has given me the strength to keep going. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how long it would take. Being where I am today made it all worth it.
I've continued my discipline of eating at home. Some of my meals have been quite simple. Those are good when I don't feel like doing much food prep. But I've also made meals that required multiple cooking sessions. I've tried some new (to me) things as well. I'm mostly the type to just throw things together because it sounds good. There's a little bit of food science. As well as a lot of trial and error. I'm really pleased to be eating all of my meals at home, though. It is considerably cheaper and so much better for my health.
I had a really good day at work today. I'm continue to be productive and making headway on all the work I have to do before the end of the year. I'm glad I decided to remain at home to work through the holidays coming up. Being able to focus on the work will help get me across that finish line. The work I'm doing now will help ensure the work I need to do at the beginning of the new year will go smoothly. I should be able to travel to Indiana and work from there in 2025...you know, without finding some alternate work location other than my parents' house...LOL
I had a great weekend. It went by rather quickly. I feel that's because it was pretty busy. Aside from church and my weekly calls I do on Sunday, most of the weekend was unplanned. And I still made some time to relax a little. So, by busy, I mean there weren't any moments where I was bored or had trouble finding something to do...hehehe
I made egg and veggie tacos for breakfast on Saturday. And then I made chorizo tacos for lunch. I had tacos five times last week in total. Yeah, I love tacos! Real tacos, though. Not those things that Taco Bell claims are tacos. Or what one gets at a "Mexican" restaurant. And for me, part of that is the kind of spice level that clears the sinuses...LOL Yep, real tacos...LOL I'll be making tacos again this week...hehehe
I did my grocery shopping on Saturday this time. I liked going that day. I rarely do so on Saturday. It wasn't too busy in the afternoon. But they didn't have my sourdough...ugh! Instead, I got some Dave's Killer Bread Epic Everything bagels...hehehe I don't always get those. So, it has been a nice change for this week.
I'm thinking about adding a grocery trip to my schedule mid-week. Perhaps on Wednesdays. Some of what I get only lasts a few days. So I either have to go through it quickly or I just skip it sometimes. Avocados are one of those things. I can't get a week's supply. So, having a twice a week visit will help me get those sort of things to have as often as I'd like. It's worth a try at least. Which I also find to be a good thing to get me out of the house. Last week, I didn't go anywhere all week after my grocery trip when I got back from California. I don't mind staying at home all the time. But it's nice to get out a little more than just the one time.
After I had my dinner on Saturday, I drove down to visit with my sister for a bit. I told her all about my trip. I think we hung out for about four hours or so. That was nice. She didn't mention it yet, but I hear she's planning to invite me to her place for Christmas this year. I'm not sure if I'll be doing that or going to Disney. If I don't do Disney, I'll go to her place if she does end up inviting me.
The Disney thing is more of a once in a lifetime kind of thing. I'm considering giving up my annual pass next year. So, I thought about doing Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years at Disney. I've never gone on Christmas, but have on the other two. I hear Christmas is the busiest day at WDW. It would be fun to see it for myself at least once. I just need to be sure not to be at Magic Kingdom at the end of the day...LOL Getting out of there near closing is horrible since the parking lot isn't nearby. The other parks at least have a parking lot accessible. Magic Kingdom requires transportation to get to the parking lot.
Yesterday, I went back to physical church for the first time since July 7th. It was a new satellite location of theChapel, the church I previously went to up until the end of June. They had it in a movie theatre down the street from me. I think it took maybe 2-4 minutes to get there...hehehe It was a lovely experience. One of the things I knew I might face by going back to physical church happened. But I got right through it. I praised God in my heart for being my strength and preparing me for it. I am so glad I went and I'm already looking forward to this coming weekend...hehehe
I also tuned into the church service Cherie has been doing with a church out of Virginia Beach. It was a lovely service. She mentioned to me this morning that she saw only two viewers online and knew I was the other one...her being one as well, of course. So we were the only two watching online...hehehe I'm so glad to be back doing that as well. I hadn't tuned into any of the services she was checking out since July. It was such a blessing to be back in worship and a sermon with her again.
In the early afternoon, I did my usual one last review of the Bible study. I also added some notes from that episode. I've been watching the episodes multiple times to get as many lessons from them as I can. Writing out some of those thoughts has been nice for me. And then I had my weekly video call with Cherie. I think this week's Bible study took us longer than usual. But we also had a lot more discussion this time. Last week's lesson really got us talking...hehehe
I've started this week's lesson. I already know it will spark so much more discussion...LOL One thing I love about how they do these The Chosen devotionals and Bible studies is that each day or lesson builds on the previous one. The continuity and consistency has been amazing. To add to this, almost every lesson is applicable to the exact circumstance we have been facing in our lives. It has been amazing!
After my call with Cherie, I made a quick dinner and started to eat it too soon. I burned the roof of my mouth...LOL I was sort of in a hurry because I wanted to do my mostly weekly call with mom and dad. It has been a while due to my trip. I had about two weeks worth of things to talk about. After about an hour, I asked them if I could call again today as to not keep them. But they were fine continuing our call last night. I talked for another hour after that...hehehe A two hour call to cover two weeks of topics. The topic I loved most was my Disney Day with Cherie ❤️
After the call, I had a late coffee and snack. I ended up finishing part of one of my newest projects. I haven't talked about it yet. And I won't be talking about it publicly, except here in this journal. Cherie had mentioned something last week about being interested in hearing my ideas for fictional writing. She knew I was interested in doing some but I hadn't started anything yet beyond the tandem story we have been working on. I pondered it for a bit and while I was reading a book, some ideas started to pop up in my mind. Nothing related to what I was reading, though. Just the fact I was reading a book ignited the brain storm...hehehe
After I finished reading, I hopped on the computer and started making notes. The next day, I began writing one of the chapters. The words just flowed. I decided I wouldn't write it all at once, though. I wanted to take my time. Again, something Cherie inspired me to do. Although I did write this chapter quickly, it was over a four day span. Three of those days were consecutive while the fourth was last night after a short two day break from writing.
The primary idea for the book is that it be a collection of short stories. This chapter is currently five pages long for the size and format I'd like to have it printed in. It will get a little longer in the final stages, though. I plan to add an illustration and change some of the spacing of the first page. I'm not yet sure how long the other stories will be. But I'm hoping to keep to a similar length.
I sent the first draft off to Cherie and Dan. They are my two best friends and people I trust. Some of the other stuff I've written, I've done so in public. Things like my Vitamin G are works I don't plan to sell for money and intend to release as a public domain work. If I ever sell it in book form, it will be just to cover the costs of printing and shipping. However, this short story collection is something I'd likely do as a copyrighted project and retain my full rights. I might put it up for sale. Not for profit really. But it would be something I wouldn't just give away freely. Not to say I wouldn't ever give free copies away for fun...but I think you get the idea...hehehe
It was fun writing the chapter I finished last night. It felt good to create it. An accomplishment I didn't expect to achieve a week ago. After all, the idea didn't exist a week ago...LOL It was well received by both of them. Their feedback truly blessed me.
Speaking of writing, I'm publishing two journal entries today...hehehe A doubleheader, you might say...LOL I decided to wrap up the one I started last week. I tell the story of My Favorite Job. Originally, I had planned to write about what happened after that job. But I decided that part of the story wasn't really the point. I may write about it later. It is a story in and of itself.