I had the best of intentions, but you know what they say about good intentions. 🙂 I was mainly caught up in the current project, THE MARRIAGE PACT, which will be followed by a special Christmas title (brand new) for this year, and we had the usual number of figurative fires to put out. One of the horses has been having tummy problems, so we have to keep a close eye on her. Naturally, this is stressful for Mama–that would be me–but thanks to my EMDR techniques, mentioned on previous blogs, I’m not so easily rattled as I used to be. 🙂 (Of course there’s always room for progress.)
I’m doing GREAT on Weight Watchers–some of you asked how last week’s weigh-in went–down 1.8 pounds. This week, I’m probably going to skip the meeting, because I don’t want to interrupt the writing flow.
Anyway, I love the Simply Filling program madly, truly and deeply–most of the foods I like are on the plan, and there’s almost no point counting. I say “almost” because we’re allowed 7 points per day for things that don’t qualify as power foods (chocolate and wine, for example) but the really cool thing is, I’m earning Activity Points now, too. This means I can have a glass of wine or two–5 oz, carefully measured–and still lose weight. In previous WW forays, I never touched the Activity Points, because I didn’t trust myself to figure out how many I was really entitled to, but now–hallelujah–there’s this handy-dandy little device available called an ActiveLink. I wear it during waking hours, and it records my actual movements and awards points accordingly–I’ve already earned 4 of my 6 point target by riding my exercise bike while I listened to the Daily Audio Bible. (www.DailyAudioBible.com)
I know exercise is good for me on multiple levels, not the least of which is keeping my moods from roller-coastering, giving me more energy, and doing great things for the heart and lungs, among other very important organs. I just haven’t been able to get myself to do it–until now. Yeehaw! I’m rolling!
On the journaling front, I continue to be amazed by the rewards of writing down at least 5 things I’m grateful for every single day, reading the one daily-devotational book I alotted myself this year (as some of you will remember these particular books have an alarming tendency to morph into teetering stacks), Marianne Williamson’s, “A Year of Miracles.” Frankly, I’ve always thought her stuff was a little too new-agey for my tastes, but these devotions are solid and very inspiring, and my highlighter has been getting a good workout. Perhaps the best discovery, though, is the question I ask myself as I begin my Morning Pages each day, which was inspired by Danielle LaPorte’s wonderful book, THE DESIRE MAP–
Here’s my version of the question: “How do I choose to feel today?” For instance, this morning, I chose to feel productive, grateful, in the present moment, etc. There’s no magic here–but answering that question focuses my attention on what’s going on inside me–I don’t always know, since, like many of us, I ‘live a short distance from my body’, as one great writer put it and how I’d like to feel. I’m getting great results from this, even if they are a little difficult to quantify. 🙂
A closing note: those of you who are sending your stories about how you met your love to the blog are certainly welcome to do that, but the actual contest is going on over on Facebook, on my page there. Just an FYI. 🙂
As for the ongoing blog contest–have you commented? 🙂
About Linda
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.
Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a horse property outside Spokane.
