by Tish MacWebber | Jan 11, 2018 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Hello Treasure Seekers! I am writing this a little late this week. How ironic is it that I design a new homepage with a table set for five less than two weeks ago for this website for me to not get this story written on time because I have too much on my plate? Very. So I should write a bit about this.
I have joined a bunch of challenges, am working on the website, still writing the blog, trying to find time to write my first book, am training and integrating for a new position at work, and maybe just maybe, I am a little bit overwhelmed. I am falling a bit behind in some areas and struggling to keep up with the rest.
This is nothing new for me at this time of year. January for the last few years has been a busy month for me. What is different now? I am fighting. I am pushing my limits and my boundaries. I am not going to just give up. I am writing today because of that. The old me would have just tried to forget that I missed the deadline and maybe started slacking off with writing. Not now. I am writing this late, but the important part is, I am writing it. I didn’t just quit. I am still working on all of the things, and have every intention to figure it out. One thing at a time.
So what should you do when there is too much on your plate and none of it is edible? You should tackle one portion at a time. I am writing this tonight and since I have the next 2 days off, I will make a plan in the morning to tackle the rest.
In terms of the Jewellery Brand Makeover Challenge, I am working on it. I am gearing up for the 2nd part of the homework. I am thinking really hard about rebranding Tish’s Treasures. With this website, I am starting something new. I think it deserves a fresh name, and brand. So I am thinking about what the new name should be. I have written a cocktail line for the Jewellery business. Here it is.
My Treasures (or Bling, I haven’t decided yet-this depends on my rebranding) are patterned with symmetry, but they are whimsical, unique, delightful and quirky expressions of my creativity, made just for the client after a consultation, often being a surprise to those who receive them , whether it is for the client or as a gift for someone else.
I haven’t ever tried to summarize my Bling Business before, let alone rebrand it. I am working on this currently, and when I make a final decision it will be a quick switch. Once I decide on what it is I am going to do, then it just happens.
I am playing around with ideas, even changing the logo just on the bling page from Always Thinking… to Always Blinging…
I haven’t decided on the name yet. I am thinking about using my pen name. Possibly just the initials TMW bling or designs or treasures. Tish MacWebber has to be in the new business name, I am just not exactly sure how it will be used.
If you have any thoughts or comments about this, please feel free to share them.
Until next time…
#TreasureSeekerTuesday (on a Wednesday or a Thursday…it is late).
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 6, 2018 | Weekend Warrior
Hello, Weekend Warriors and Weekend Warrior readers! I am writing today because I have to squeeze my whole weekend into one day. I am changing positions at work, and the transition starts tomorrow. I will have some different days off, and I don’t know yet what my regular schedule will be like. I am just happy with the change and willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.
I missed a few of my regular weekend facebook posts last weekend. I am going to fix that up starting today. I will be working really hard to catch up on everything today so I don’t fall behind. That being said, I have quite an extensive list in my head, that I should really take the time to write down. That will be next.
I am starting a different challenge this upcoming week. (Several, actually). The one I am really excited about is going to help me move Tish’s Treasures to this website the correct way! I am so excited. I never even stopped long enough to think about branding the Bling page for the website. I SO have to do this! (Guess what Treasure Seeker Tuesday will be about this coming week!) I am already thinking that the easiest way to start is to make it under my pen name, as it is a name I completely made up and therefore will make me stand out from anyone else using the name Tish’s Treasures. I have found at least one other business with that name. Expect that to happen on the Facebook page asap!
Which means new designs with my website colour palette, and that is going to be a bit of work. I will have to get back to the thought process before I update the website, but the good news is that I am working on a blank page. I can start however I want to, and build from that. I have a few parts already conceptualized, and they will be a part of what is to come when I am ready.
I am also helping friends at suppertime. I am getting the bonus of supper with those friends, too, and that is great! I like that I have to make time to help people that I care about, and I don’t have to figure out what to make for supper. Which also helps me with another weekend chore.
I am starting the new year with two challenges I have done before. Both are for cleaning and organizing. One is a 10 minute a day challenge for January, and today is my catch up day. If you want to check this cleaning challenge, check it out on youtube, Day 1 of 2018’s #31Days2GetOrganized Challenges. It is hosted every January by Peter Walsh, who used to be on the TV show Clean Sweep. I used to watch him on that show, and it is why I do the challenges every January since I found them. The other one starts Monday, and it is the spring cleaning and organizing challenge. I need time to prepare for it, and that time is today. So that is also what I am doing today. The surface clean before the deep spring clean.
I will have to figure out a grocery list today and get Roy to get the groceries tomorrow, while I am at work. It is a lot to do in one day, but I can continue things tomorrow after work if I have to.
First, I need to get ready to make this week’s coffee review video on my facebook wall. I have done this on Saturdays but may have to film on a different day of the week until my schedule settles down. Then I will have to walk away from the computer to get some other things done. That is the other reason I am writing it early this weekend. I have to get other things done and crossed off my list.
What are you doing this weekend?
#WeekendWarrior
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 5, 2018 | Trust Your Gut
This week in Trust Your Gut, I am not sure what to write about. I have done better with food choices. In fact, I tried something new. I bought Green Giant riced cauliflower and sweet potato in the frozen vegetable section of the grocery store, a while back. I am not afraid to try new things, but I will admit that it sat in the freezer for longer than had I intended it to. I had some THM Crispy Lickin’ Chicken Thighs in the oven, so I decided to make this new thing my side dish.
I cooked it in the bag in the microwave. There are stove top directions, but I wasn’t ready to try frying it just yet. I cooked it, and added butter to it and mixed it in. I really liked it. I was full with the chicken and the sweet potato cauliflower rice. I have split it into 2 meals, and have my own healthy “TV dinner” packed in the fridge, ready to heat and eat.
I also finished up the loaded spaghetti squash casserole that I made last week. I had it for lunch at work the last two days. I am not sure if I am going to take the chicken meal for lunch tomorrow, or if it might be a sandwich day. Sometimes I take eggs and scramble them for lunch with cheese. Whatever I bring, I am trying to have healthier choices again.
I have not had Zumba classes this week, but I expect to have some shoveling to do for activity tomorrow. It is called a weather bomb cyclone, and there was a large snowfall warning overnight. It is freezing rain out there now, so I am not sure if there will be any snow to shovel tomorrow or not. I will see in the morning. We have a late start time, and work was closed early today, which is very unusual, that does not happen very often. Neither does a bomb cyclone. It is the first time I have heard of a winter storm with that name.
I am also trying to get more sleep in. It has been a busy December with building the website in all of my free time. Now that it is here, although not finished, it is not the cause of stress to meet the launch deadline. I know that 6 hours of sleep is technically enough to squeak by on, it is not ideal. I am trying to get in more sleep when I can. I don’t want to get sick, and I know I will have a better chance at being healthier if I make sleep more important in my goals for a healthier lifestyle. I have been pushing my limits. I know I need to slow down. Just a little.
The website is launched. The Holidays are over. Now is the time to continue to work on living a healthier lifestyle. I keep working towards my goals. When I start seeing results, it will be just the incentive I need to keep going. My defining word for 2018 is SUCCESS. I plan to make it happen.
#TrustYourGut
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 3, 2018 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Here is the first Treasure Seeker Tuesday from my NEW WEBSITE! What do you all think? I have worked really hard to get it this far, and I am not even close to being done. As I wrote somewhere else, earlier this week, I knew it was time to launch, even if it is not perfect. If I wait for that I will never launch it, and if you want to know the other truth from behind the scenes, it will never really be done. If I stop working on it, stop changing and updating it, it will be a dead website. Why? Not because I have a burning desire to constantly work on it, although at some point I will be working on it from a maintenance perspective, rather than a building & construction perspective. No, Treasure Seekers, the reason for that is you. I do not want you to leave out of boredom. I try to keep things interesting on the blog, but I realize that there is more to experience here on the website, and I am just testing the water with my big toe right now. Once I dive in, it is going to cause ripples, waves and splashes that you will never see coming until they are in your face.
Photo of a wave splashing in the Atlantic Ocean. Location Chimney Corner, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. Photographer Lisa Hill.
That picture is one that I have had for several years, and a friend took it. She shared it with me, and I treasure it so much! It is one of the things that I am happy to use over and over again, because it speaks to my soul, and my soul is in constant longing to be near the ocean. Seeing this picture makes me happy.
Why just my big toe? Well, if you grew up in Cape Breton like me, you know that in the deepest part of winter, the ocean actually freezes every winter. Locals say, “The Big Ice is in,” when it freezes over. Seals sometimes wander too far inland following the ice up a river, and if they are lucky, people help steer them back to the ocean. I am sure some of them make it back on their own. The Big Ice does thaw and melt every year, but the ocean is never warm like bath water where I am from. There is a coldness to it year round, although it is warm enough to swim in from the middle of June to the middle of September, in a good warm year. So I have learned at a very young age to always test the water before diving in.
Here we are. I am beginning my new adventure, and I am so happy that you are here, reading, and joining me on this next big leap. I am never going to say that I know all of the answers, and that is why I am known for asking so many questions. It is how I learn. If I get stuck, I will keep asking until I sort it out, or until I finally understand. There is a story about this. What is a Brain Pretzel? is a Tish-ism, and they are stories about things I think up that need a bit of an explanation. I have had a few of those while building the website, and I am sure they weren’t the last ones that I will have.
I would like to officially welcome all of you to my new website, and I wish for many returns!
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 2, 2018 | Weekend Warrior
Hello Weekend Warriors! I know I am a little late posting this, but I am happily writing this for my new website location. My Blog has moved, and although I am in the process of organizing the new website, I am happy to be able to post my new stories from the new location.
OK. My weekend was busy, and I did more than just launch my new website, and close the old Blog with an invitation to join me here at the website.
Saturday started with a late breakfast out with friends. I like Skillets for breakfast. They consist of hashbrowns, grilled with onions, or deep fried, with scrambled eggs, sometimes veggies, choice of breakfast meat, and cheese. If you order one that is an Eggs Benedict style, then it will have Hollandaise sauce. I fell in love with them years ago at a Restaurant called Smitty’s. They no longer have a Smitty’s here, but there are other places that serve Skillets for breakfast.
A few weeks ago, I had breakfast with my husband at Cannon’s Cross Pub. Their Skillet pleasantly surprised me, and I quite enjoyed it. Since then I have had one at The Coffee Mill, and this past weekend, at Porter’s Diner. The last two did not impress me nearly as much as the first one.
If the onions are not cooked, it takes away from the meal. If the potatoes are fried and almost burned, it’s no good. I will not order a skillet at either of these two places again. They have other items on the menu, and I have liked other meals in both restaurants. I will not go back for a Skillet, though.
Smitty’s has a Texas Skillet that I make at home. It is like nachos on hashbrowns. I love it, and make it frequently for us as a supper, without the eggs-at his request. So there is taco meat, tomato, green onion, (eggs – I scramble them when I make it with eggs) cheese, salsa, and sour cream. It is delicious.
Saturday after we got home, we didn’t do too much. I worked on my website, and he watched tv and occupied himself on his computer. Typical night home for us, we do this a lot.
Sunday we got our candy wrappers together and cashed them in for 2 free admissions to go see a movie. We went to see Star Wars. I do not want to spoil it here, and it was good, but there were some things that didn’t seem to fit with the Saga. It was bittersweet, seeing it so close to the anniversary of the deceased Carrie Fisher, who played the iconic role of Princess Leia. It was nice to see it, but sad knowing that she is gone.
Sunday night we went to a house party to ring int he new year with friends. I had made deviled eggs, and we also brought cheese and Triscuit crackers to share. There was chili, but the chili there is always too spicy for my taste. There was a table full of food, and we ate, drank, and played Toto’s Africa almost on time to wish the Blessings of Rain to Africa (a line in the song) at exactly midnight. There was a 5-second delay. I hereby declare that it was an unintentional Broadcast Delay, like the one for Live TV. 😉 I really tried, but the whiskey caused a delay in me getting it to start on time. Yeah, that was it, the Whiskey Broadcast Delay. LOL!
I had the Gibson’s Finest Rare Canadian Whiskey ( there is an age verifier on their website…) which I mixed with both Pepsi (OK) and Sussex Golden Ginger Ale (amazing) which you can only buy here, in the Maritimes. Canada Dry is my 2nd favourite Ginger ale. I do drink Zevia Ginger ale when I am trying to be smarter with my choices, but not on New Year’s Eve.
I had also brought the bottle of Pollen Angels Scuttlebutt Mead made locally here. I brought that one to share, and a couple of my friends sampled it with me. Now I know that sounds like a lot of drinking, and I was a little wobbly after midnight. However, I have a secret weapon for surviving a night of partying. I make sure to have water, and an electrolyte drink before going to bed. That usually does the trick for me and since a hangover is basically a major case of dehydration, I have found this to be a trustworthy cure for the avoidance of a hangover. It is never good to drink in excess, of course, and you should be mindful of snacking while drinking of you are a diabetic like me.
We rang in the new year with friends, and as my husband is not as fond of drinking as I am (I am from Cape Breton, it is kind of a requirement) and also because he had to work on New Year’s Day ( I am so thankful that I didn’t have to!) he was my designated driver that got us home safely. I am also a strong advocate for planning ahead, to make sure that people travel safely. Better safe than sorry. It is too bad that people still think it is OK to drive after drinking, I don’t. If you ever wondered about it, try having a few and playing a racecar video game. Unless you are some kind of unique person, you will see why it is never good to drink and drive. On a video game, you can start over. Not in real life.
Monday was still the weekend for me as I had the holiday off. I spent the day doing laundry, running the dishwasher, and building my new website. I am happy to be able to share it with you all and look forward to watching the stats climb here like they did for the blog, on the old blog site.
How did you ring in the New Year?
#WeekendWarrior
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 29, 2017 | Trust Your Gut
The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name. If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story. The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors. I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.
This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.
Here is Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 44
I have been doing okay with my food choices this week. Not perfect, but okay. I indulged in some chocolates and now they are gone. I bought chocolate ice cream, and haven’t gotten into it yet. When I did buy it, I looked really hard at the larger sized bucket, as it was less than a $2 cost difference between the one I ended up buying, and the larger one. I am fine with treats as long as they aren’t around all of the time. If they are, I make them disappear…and reappear in places like my chin! I want to learn to stop making the magic of this type from happening. It is a time for a new magic trick. And that different kind of chocolate that I have been craving. Diamonds, darling, I am setting my sights on chocolate diamonds.
I have mentioned this to my husband but I don’t know how seriously he took my comments. I am aiming for a time about six months from now. I am going to set a goal, and if I make it by my birthday, I am going to get a reward that I can happily show off to the world. What better incentive can I make? Well, I will be needing to add to my collection once I get it started. I would rather collect diamonds than pounds, so it is a great thing to work for.
I haven’t set the goal yet. I want to be realistic. So let’s do the math. Ugh. 6 months. The average healthy weight loss goals have always been 2 pounds a week. 6 months have 4 weeks each. Multiply that by 2 pounds a week and you get 48. I am going to round it up to 50. So the goal I am setting for myself is realistic. I am undergoing a change in my day job starting next week, and I will be missing my Zumba for a while. In the winter, but I have a plan. As I am ALWAYS THINKING…
I have decided that I am going to workout at home. I know a few of the Zumba moves by heart for some of the songs. I have a step here too, for exercise so I can mix it up. I may even start a third day of exercise a week. I want to say more than 3 days a week, but I am not going to push myself so hard that I just give up. That is not the way I want to approach this change in my schedule. I want to do what I can, on my own, and then when I do get back to Zumba, I will not be so far out of shape that I have to build myself up to where I am now in my fitness level. See, ALWAYS THINKING…
In the spring, I still want a dog. If it isn’t a chocolate lab, that is OK. I will love any dog we take home. A dog means I will have to take it for walks. Walks are good for me, but I do not want to go just because of me. If I have a dog, I will need to go, because the dog will be needing this to happen. More than once a day. I live in a trailer court, and it is well kept. It is a nice place to live, and lots of people have dogs here. I would have a regular route to walk a dog on twice a day, and I think that is a fantastic goal to work towards. I know, I have written about these things before, but I am still aiming for them.
What are your goals for living a healthier lifestyule in 2018?
#TrustYourGut
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 26, 2017 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Hello Treasure Seekers! Here we are for another meeting where I think, then I write; so you can read, and maybe then you think too! Not too hard, I hope. It is good to think about things, but if you are Always Thinking…like I am, it can be exhausting. Want to know a secret? It is also exhilarating.
I am building a website. You know that if you follow this blog. I am writing a book. You know that also for the same reason. I have more than one book in me to write, and that is something that I am happy about. In the music world, there are one hit wonders. I want to be a best selling author, and that means I have to write more than one book. I don’t expect to hit it out of the park with my first book, but a girl can dream.
So what holds people back from taking the leap of faith into the exhilarating world of chasing your dreams and chasing their passion? I have been thinking about that a lot, lately. I have been dragging my feet about my website launch. I am struggling with the importance of it. I want to change it, but not too much. There needs to be a bit of familiarity to make people want to take the leap with me, and that requires a foundation built on trust. I am working hard to put myself out there so that when I make the leap, there is a landing pad to aim for. Since I am writing about this in the Treasure Seekers category, I need a map and a big letter X to the destination.
I have been working on this website in my mind for months. I know what I want to do, and now that NaNoWriMo is over, it is time for me to take action on it. I do have time this weekend, but me, really, building my own website? I never learned how to do anything like this before? What if nobody ever goes to it? What if nobody ever buys any books from my website? What if it fails?
The fear of the what ifs can be paralyzing. If you are too scared to try, then you have already failed. What is the alternative, then?
To take action. To stop thinking and start doing. I don’t always have all of the answers, but I have never been too afraid to ask questions. More importantly, the end result is worth asking questions for. I am working on all of this with an end goal in mind. Although like a resume, a website is never going to be sufficient to be left alone when it is done. Inevitably there will need to be changes and updates. If it is left the same for too long, it runs the risk of losing its zest. That is one of the reasons that I have decided to move this blog to my own website.
It is a risk. It is scary. It involves a fair bit of work, which I am not scared of, itself. I am more worried about getting stuck in the middle and not being ready to launch on New Year’s Day. That is the goal I have set for myself, and with that in mind, I have time, if I get working on it right away.
The other thing I see people sharing online is the fear of being seen as an imposter. I am an author. I am writing constantly, several times a week if not every day. I had to build up my stamina as a writer. I needed to test the waters (make a splash) with the blog to see if it was something that I would keep working on, instead of something I just wanted to play with and drop when I got bored. I am still writing here, so I passed the first test I gave myself. I pushed to learn new things. I am taking courses online. I am not spending a lot of money on this passion, yet. I will need to work on a business plan. That means I have to take another course (YAY! #HAPPYWRITING has a course for me to learn how to do this) and I need to take the next step. I need to research what I need to know about publishing options. In the middle of everything I have going on right now, I also have to write my book. Then I will literally switch gears and write another book. The second book will be going in a completely different direction. I have a concept already. It is another one I NEED to write. I am hoping to get the first two books out of my system so that I can prove that I can write a book, and start preparing to make the fantasy trilogy a reality, not just a dream.
When I publish my first book, and sell just one copy, I will no longer be working towards the passion of becoming an author. Of course, I want to sell more than one copy of my book. One is a good place to start. Then we will see what happens. Until that day comes, I will keep working on writing and building my website. If I am doing instead of thinking about what to do, it takes the fear and the imposter syndrome right out of the equation. That is something to work for. When I am a best selling author, and I believe that I will be one, I can start tackling other dreams. Chocolate diamonds are a part of that dream…
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
Treasure Seeker Tuesday: Photo by Tish MacWebber; Photo Edited by Noa Price
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 25, 2017 | Makeup Monday
Okay. I said I wasn’t going to write in this category every week. I still stand by that, but today I had some free time, a new dress to wear, and that led to me playing with makeup today.
First of all, I am wearing the dress I bought during Black Friday 2017 that I had to take home after I tried it on. I love it.
My new navy dress
I love it so much I want to wear it for my Author Headshots, whenever I plan that day. I thought it would be warmer, being a knit dress, though. I will be changing in a bit to work in the kitchen, and I will hang it up for another day.
A tale of 2 lipsticks is what I am sharing today. A lot of you liked the pink one last time. I have worn that same pink, and also tried a bronzer and a different blush today. I used the Maybelline Expert Wear Mocha Motion eyeshadow palette. I did not use the shadow eyeliner. I used the essence one I used last time, and I also used the same Maybelline Mascara.
I watched some videos on the contour NYX palette I have. I learned to use salmon pink under my eyes. I also used green for red tones under my foundation. I used a little of the bottom left concealer on my forehead also.
Then I added Annabelle Perfect Bronze in Sunkissed after blending the colour correcting pink & green and then applying the QUO foundation I used last time. I then chose a pinker blush, by Maybelline. It is called Dream Bouncy Blush, and the colour is 45 Orchid Hush. It is more natural than my new winter blush I wore the last time.
SO I used the pink lipstick on the left side of the pic below, Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick (ZZ). The right is Lip Lingerie, by NYX. The colour is Lipli20 French Maid, and I was told when I bought it that it was one of the most popular colours. It is a less bold colour, so it is even a more natural look for me than the pink.
I am going to share the pics below, and then you can see the tale of 2 lipsticks for yourself. Which one looks more like a best selling Author look to you? I have not purchased my new glasses yet.
If you have a preference, please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading, and have fun playing with makeup. I do.
#MakeupMonday
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 25, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
Merry Christmas Weekend Warrior Readers! I am writing a day late as I am off today, and Christmas day just happens to be on a Monday this year. Which means New Year’s Day will also be on a Monday. That means 2 three day weekends, and 2 four day work weeks. Yahoo!
Friday night was spent shopping for coffee, and liquor. My husband wanted a bottle for Christmas, and I got him what he wanted. I also bought 2 bottles of wine (1 a week is my usual wine shopping plan) and I wanted a little something extra. I looked really hard at the Writers Tears Irish Whiskey bottles. There are three kinds, a Writers Tears Copper Pot, a Writers Tears Red Head, and a Writers Tears Cask Strength. I have tried the Copper Pot, and it was very good. I want to try the Red Head next, as the expert at the store recommended it as his favourite. When I am a Best Selling Author, maybe then I can splurge to try the Cask Strength. It is the most expensive of the trio.
I bought a new to me kind of wine. I had never heard about Cabernet Franc. I purchased two bottles, and they were $13 and $30 respectively. The less expensive bottle was enjoyed last night, and it was good. I am curious to see if the more expensive bottle is a different quality or not. I will be making a Facebook live video when I try new wines now, as something I am learning about as I try to find THE ONE. At that time, I will make my own in that same style. Roy said I wouldn’t be able to keep doing my videos and reviews if I did that. I enlightened him. I will then switch to white wine. 😉 Champagne will have to wait for me to be able to afford it. But there are always options.
This morning I decided that it would also be fun to do Facebook Live video reviews of the different coffees I try. I love coffee too, so why not? People seem to like these ideas so I will start with the one I bought on sale Friday night. Jingle Java. It sounds like fun!
Saturday we did a bit of grocery shopping after I joined some friends for a breakfast at Houlie’s. It was a ladies breakfast, and it was nice. I then joined one of the ladies for a trip to the mall. I went for the walk. She had a few things to get, and I had fun hanging out and commenting on the fun things we saw. I rarely go to the mall anymore, and it was fun to just go hang out at the mall. It is not something that I did as a teenager, like a lot of you would have done. It was an hour drive each way to go to the smaller mall of the two cities I had a choice between in Cape Breton, growing up, so it wasn’t a regular thing we were able to do.
Saturday was also the day to get groceries. In the two different stores we went to this weekend, they were sold out of turkeys. (I had to think of how to spell that one, -ies or -ys) By the time we finished, the weather had turned a little nasty. Freezing rain is not pleasant to walk or drive in.
Sunday involved a quick run out to the store for a few missed items, and that was all we did. I watched some tv and movies. I had my wine. It was a nice relaxing day.
Today is my bonus day off this week. I am going to make some veggies to go with the chicken I cooked last night, and get the kitchen back into working order. I cook, the food is great, I don’t like cleaning it up.
I dressed up and played with makeup again. You should expect a second Makeup Monday story soon. It may not be long, but it will have makeup and a pic of me in my new dress as well. 🙂 Merry Christmas, and keep on winning the weekends, folks. You make the best use of your time, and you will win them all, too!
What did you do this weekend?
#WeekendWarrior
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 21, 2017 | Trust Your Gut
The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name. If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story. The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors. I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.
This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.
Here is Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 43
43, just like me! Sometimes, when I look at the number of the story I am writing, I just have to shake my head. I am still coming up with ideas, so I am still going to keep writing. Sometimes the stories are short, and other times I ramble on a little long, but there is usually a point or a lesson, or a laugh somewhere in it, right?
This story starts with my Zodiac sign. I was born in July, and that makes my sign Cancer, the Crab. It aligns with my fascination for water. I don’t like that it is called cancer, but I didn’t name it. I just live with it, and try to navigate life with all the knowledge I can gather. I have friends that believe in many different things, and that is fine by me. I don’t necessarily believe everything I read about the sign I am under, but it is fun to read my horoscopes once in a while.
Why am I writing about this? Well, I got to thinking this week that I have that sign, and years ago when I met my husband, I told him that I had a wall. To protect me from the rest of the world. It took time to build up the trust to let him in, to where my heart is. I have no regrets, we are still very much a united front in marriage, and he is my bull. His sign is Taurus. We are a good fit for each other.
I was thinking like I ALWAYS do, and I thought that the crab has a shell, like the metaphorical wall I used to keep around myself for protection. So in a way, the two are the same. But what does the shell do for the crab?
It keeps it from getting hurt. It keeps other animals from having crab legs for lunch. The world can be cruel and harsh, and the fear of being eaten alive, either literally for the crab, or metaphorically for me, is a real fear.
I have spent a lot of time keeping things to myself, over the years. When I started the blog, I also started putting myself out there. I write about how I am feeling, what I am doing, and whatever else I happen to think up.
The protective shell, physically, for a morbidly obese person, is fat. Layers and layers of fat. It doesn’t deflect every mean word or thing that it encounters. But if you are quiet, and try to stay under the radar, by just being a blob in the corner, you can minimize the number of attacks that you could encounter by hiding within it. It is almost like jello, but not everything bounces off the surface like it would after the jello is set.
My layers of fat are set. I have had them for years. I have hidden inside them for the majority of my life. It is not healthy, but it is the comfort that I know.
I know it isn’t easy to be a morbidly obese person. I know it might surprise you that I go to Zumba twice a week, every week that I can. I know it would be easier to just not care and eat my way into an early grave.
Do you hear that? It is a teeny, tiny little version of myself that is squeaking to get out. It wants to be free and to be healthy. It wants me to do the work, and be proud of myself for every little bit of progress that I make. I went to Zumba twice this week, even though my seasonal depression (which is not officially diagnosed) is starting to kick me into hibernation mode. It is cold outside. I might fall down, again. I am almost recovered from falling a week and a half ago. I got back up. I was bruised, but not broken. I am tougher than I look. Which was pretty bad about a week ago. I don’t want to go into the land of ice and snow at all, anymore. I am scared to fall down.
I got back up. Every morning that I fight my way out of dreamland and my warm bed to face a new day is just the same thing for me. It is a struggle, but I do it, every day.
One day I won’t be able to. I used to worry about that day a lot more than I do now. I am proud of what I have done, and I am setting some goals for the upcoming year. I have started cooking healthier food again. I am trying, and then I am doing the things that I need to do.
The easy way is lazy, cowardly, and hidden under layers of morbidly obese fat. I am tired of hiding. It is time to let my inner glow have a turn at making me shine for all the world to see. I am going to work harder on myself than I ever have before, in 2018. There are things I want to accomplish before my time is done, and I am determined (stubborn) enough to fight to get them done.
#TrustYourGut
