Schedules

I was posting some doctor appointments on my calendar today and noticed how full it is. Seems like there is something constantly going on. Doctor appointments, meetings, craft shows, just a steady flow of dates and times to keep up with. Then, add in birthdays, anniversaries and such and the calendar is a mess! I can hardly find the actual dates! I thought that once the kids were grown up and on their own, I would actually have some time to myself. There are so many things that I enjoy doing (ceramics, cross-stitch, painting, reading, gardening) and I thought I would have plenty of time to do these things. I still did most of them while the kids were at home but just not as often or much as I would have liked to. But is seems like now, I have even less time to do them than before. What's going on?

I have decided that I am going to start taking 'me days'. I would like to take one each week but I am going to start with one every other week and see how that goes. That day is going to be just for me. I'm not going to do laundry, or clean house or go grocery shopping or any other kind of job or chore. I am simply going to do whatever I want to do that day. Things that I enjoy doing. Fun, creative things, reading, take time to learn how to do something new or just rest and chill out. I need some time for myself. I have spent most of my life worrying about and/or taking care of others and somewhere along the line I stopped thinking about what I need or want. I know this sounds selfish of me to take 'me days' but if I don't do it this way, I won't do it at all. I keep thinking I will work an hour here or an afternoon there into my schedule but it always seems that something else comes up and it never happens so I am just going to take the whole day as 'me day'. My first one is scheduled for next Wednesday, October 19th! I'll let you know how it works out.

Fall Updates

For the past few months, I have been using Facebook for most of my 'updates' and comments. With all of the constant changes and privacy issues that keep arising, I have decided to close my account on Facebook this month. I am going to use some of the time I have been spending on Facebook to do more writing here and writing personal emails and letters to my 'friends'. I guess I will quickly find out who my real 'friends' are by the responses or lack of that I get from more personal contacts.

In further updates, I am now feeling better than I have in quite some time. From July 3rd until now, I have been to the emergency room 6 times and had one 3 day stay in the hospital with diverticulitis issues. Two of the ER trips were due to reactions to medications given to me but I feel if the issue had been properly addressed to begin with, five of the ER trips could have been avoided. Even though, I am not a trained medical professional, I do know when something is wrong with my body and I think the professionals need to listen a little better to what the patients have to say. I won't dwell on this any more but I am finally doing much better. I have seen a specialist and will have some more testing done later this month to determine what plan of action to take from here on.

Sarah and I have been busy getting things ready for some fall and holiday craft shows we will be doing. The first one is coming up this Saturday here in Live Oak. We make some really nice and unique items and I hope that our friends and family will check out our website when you start your holiday shopping. We have some great items for yourself or as gifts for others and we make them all right here in the USA! Our website address is www.CrimsonCactus.com

There are lots of things planned for this fall and plans are in the works for the holidays, too. Check back more frequently as my updates will be here now. Don't forget to let me know how you are and what you have been doing.