by Tish MacWebber | Oct 24, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
I spent a bit of time cat sitting this weekend. That happens sometimes. I like cats, and there may be a time when we need help from our friends, so I make sure I am available.
I watched some movies on Netflix with the cats. Movies my husband has not expressed an interest to see. I watched the Gaga movie Five Foot Two. I enjoyed it. It gave the fan a look from the outside into her creative process, showing her as a person that has issues like everyone else. It also gave insight into the thought process behind her last album, Joanne. Wow. I didn’t know what that song was written about. I had an idea, but the documentary really explained a lot about the title song. There is so much more to her heart than I knew.
I also watched Hidden Figures. That was a really good movie. It made me mad sometimes, about the way things used to be. I am glad that things are different, now, but I don’t think that they are better. People are people, and we need to work on being nicer to each other. Me too.
I watched the documentary Long Time Running too. As a Tragically Hip fan, I was sad to hear the news last week that their frontman, Gord Downie, died after fighting his battle with cancer. It followed the band and a bit of his solo project in the last year. They had a concert that was aired commercial-free last year, and any show they were in since, whether it was on CBC or CTV has been aired the same way. The last concert of their last tour was broadcast across the country in its entirety pretty much everywhere. I watched it on a big screen with several hundred strangers and a few friends. It didn’t matter, we all sang, watched and cried together. I am glad I made a point of doing that, as I never got to see them play live. This was as close as I was ever going to get, and it was such a memorable evening.
I have reflected about the musicians that have died in the last few years. I don’t know of any that took a fatal illness and fought it head on to raise awareness for both the illness and a cause close to their heart. Gord has made Canadians stop and think about many things this past year. He had the support of his medical team, his band, his family, and his fans through it all. What a legacy to leave behind.
Last night another Gord Downie hour took up my attention. It was the concert of his mission, The Secret Path. It is not my story to tell, but it made me sad to watch it last night. It wasn’t that it was being aired after he passed away, but the raw artistry displayed in telling the story along with the animation and song moved me to tears. It was not a story with a happy ending, and it has me wondering what I can do to make things better. I cannot fix the past mistakes made in Canada, but I can try to help and heal. Someone said to just reach out and be a friend. I think it is an excellent place to start.
Around all of this, I had a really busy Saturday. I had 2 separate events.The first one was the annual Boston Terrier Rescue Canada Recycling for Rescue Event. I showed up and helped separate some cigarette packages for recycling. I helped hang a poster and went on a coffee run. I donated to get a BBQ lunch. My husband also enjoyed lunch and had cashed in some bottles a neighbour donated for the rescue. I got someone to tell him about a dog that needs a home through the rescue, but he said no. We have to be in agreeance when we get a dog, it has to work for both of us, and for the dog. So no dog for me yet.
I then jumped in my car after bringing him home and getting my laptop. I went to the first NaNoWriMo Meet & Greet of the season. I had a little too much caffeine in me, and I chatted everyone’s ears off. I hope I didn’t scare anyone off. 😉 I was a little bubbly, and if I am saying I was talking a lot, I was. I think it went well. We all answered questions when asked, and I think it was a success.
I was so busy I am feeling like I am forgetting something. I had to scrub my BTRC t-shirt in between events as it decided to be a magnet for coffee and mustard. Then I found out there were puppy paw prints on it too. LOL. There were dogs a the event, and they were friendly. I really don’t know how I got all that done in a weekend, but I fit it all in. I am feeling rather tired still, so I am hoping to have a chance to rest up around the other project I am working on.
I KNEW I WAS FORGETTING SOMETHING! I am hard at work on the website. I want to launch it on November 1st. The blog has moved, and I will be adding this to the other location and the other stories up until November 1st will be in both locations. Then I will be working on the website for the blogging and other new adventures from then on. Don’t worry, it won’t be hard to find, and I am going to share the links when it is ready for the launch. I am finally pushing forward with this project, and I am getting excited about it. It was a super busy weekend, with ups and downs, full of challenges and progress. Next weekend is busy with Halloween parties, and if we are lucky I will have some pictures for the story next weekend. Until then, sorry it was a little late, but I was definitely a winner this past weekend! How was your weekend?
by Tish MacWebber | Oct 19, 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 35
They say that the core muscles are where your strength comes from. Mine hurt today. I had an awesome Zumba class yesterday. I didn’t feel like I worked out that hard, but I felt it last night when I was getting ready for bed. I am getting ready to start pushing myself in the writing game. This means I need to be active, or I will be a blob of goo in December.
I am not kidding. I have fallen way off track this fall, and I am working on getting my head back in the game. I need to put together a plan. I have been talking about this for a while. Thinking, not doing. Sometimes it is because I have other things that take priority. It happens to everyone. This or that becomes a priority.
The next thing you know, there are so many things that are a priority, you get left behind. I think that is what I am fighting with myself about right now. The importance of me.
I still have not checked in with the scale. I won’t do it until I am feeling brave. That won’t be until I am making strides in the right direction. I need to start wanting to track my progress. I can’t do that to myself right now. I don’t want to know how badly I have let things slide. I do want to pick myself back up and start wondering again.
I had some lows this week. That is a sign that I am turning a corner. When I am noticing that I need to lower my insulin doses again, it means that things are starting to work in my body. I have found that I am not able to go with a Zero carb diet. That is why I am positive that THM is the best option for me. I am getting there.
Writing about it helps. I am trying to inspire myself with my words. I have accomplished so much two weeks ago and nothing of significance this week. Except for the change in my blood sugars and getting myself to Zumba. That means this weekend I have some work to do. If I am going to be successful next month with my writing goals, I need to get serious about planning EVERYTHING out.
Time to make some lists. Time to make some changes. Time to make progress. Last but not least, time to make ME important enough to be a priority in my own life.
#TrustYourGutThursday
by Tish MacWebber | Oct 17, 2017 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Hi. I am so glad that you took a few minutes out of your busy day to read my blog. I am humbled and honoured every single time I get feedback and new statistics. Every time you take time to read one of my stories, you impact my dreams. You reinforce my beliefs to follow my dreams and make them into a reality. I am discovering my purpose here on this Earth. I am so glad that I am making it happen, and I am just as happy that you are sharing my journey with me.
I have always had a creative spark within. It was not enough. I have worked on cross stitches, embroidery, drawing, painting, beadwork, knitting and crocheting, and now I have rediscovered my love for writing. I didn’t work on my writing very much since high school. When I was in English classes, it turned me off writing as a career. I had to read books I never would have chosen to read, then I was forced to find hidden meanings that were a stretch for me to believe. I like things to be at face value. I also like to be funny, punny and clever. Dissection belongs in science class, not in English class.
After high school, I chose a path to science. I started a pre-vet program. I never made it to vet school. I did finish my Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, with an Animal Science Degree. It was an honours degree. It took me longer than the average four years to complete it, but that makes me all the more proud to hang it on my wall.
I met my husband while studying for that degree. We met through a group of mutual friends. When we decided to start dating, things clicked. We are happily married, and that is something that I can wish for all of you to find. Love. It is an adventure that we all need to grab onto and hold tight when it happens.
If you are not in that kind of relationship at the moment, please do not despair. It is not your time yet. Things happen for a reason, and I truly believe that. Your story is not yet finished, and it is up to you to get up every day and see where it takes you.
I did not find a job with my Bachelor of Science. I went back to school and trained to be a Pharmacy Technician, who currently earns her living by working in a call center. Is this the career path I would have chosen for myself ? No. Would I jump at the chance to go back into the world of pharmacy? Absolutely. I enjoyed using the scientific side of my mind. It was a satisfying career choice. But it was not the reason I ended up taking that course.
I believe that I was sent in that direction for another reason. I learned how to mix IV medications and prepare chemotherapy drugs in a sterile hood. My familiarity with working with needles helped me to adapt to having to learn how to give myself insulin. Sometimes you need to figure out what led you to the path you are on, so you can decide if you want to keep on that journey, or find a new branch and follow another trail.
No matter what path you are on, it is up to you to learn what you can while you are there. When you have finished learning all that you can, if you are not still inspired to continue learning, it is time to try something different. Even if it scares you. When you do this you are pushing boundaries, and that is when the magic happens.
Now I am going to plant some seeds. Something to think about for the week, to help you on your own journey. What choices did you make to lead you to where you are today? If it was difficult, it was to make you stronger. How did it do that? If it was easy, why was that easy for you? What things do you love doing so much that you lose track of time when you are working on them? Those are the things you need to investigate further, to see where they will take you. Maybe when you do, you will find that you surprise yourself like I do when I am writing.
One last thought. When you find yourself going two steps forward, and three or even five steps back, go with it. Dance within the ebbs and flows of life. Join me, and together we will make our own paths in this world. One step at a time.
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
Treasure Seeker Tuesday: Photo by Tish MacWebber; Photo Edited by Noa Price
by Tish MacWebber | Oct 13, 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 33
Insulation. Fat. I have it in abundance. Someone might think that it would result in me being warm all of the time. That is not true.
Circulation. Normally, if you have normal circulation, all that warm lovely blood pumping in abundance in your veins keeps you from being cold.
Diabetes. The chronic condition that I live with every day. Making it difficult to do a lot of normal things, like staying warm.
What do I do to combat being cold? Layers. Yeah, that’s what the morbidly obese person needs to do to keep warm. Put on layers. Make yourself appear larger than you actually are. Brilliant.
A friend told me that I should try wearing a scarf, especially when I started cutting my hair short. I have one I wear a lot. It is the first scarf that I knit for myself. It does help.
If I get up and move around, it helps. Can’t do that at work. So I layer up. I do stand up from time to time and get breaks. But sitting still for seven hours a day in a generally cold office means I have to take my own comfort control.
I have been cleaning. I unburied the bathroom scale, and am scared to step on it. I fear the worst. It is taking me away from the computer and writing, a bit. It is also a form of “I am not sitting down I am up and moving around so it counts as exercise.
I went back to Zumba. I got 4800 steps last night. That is good.
It has been a long two weeks, and I am up too late again, this time with very little inspiration. So, I will keep on working on me, my house and my writing.
I think I have hit a metaphorical wall. There is only one thing left to do. Get back up and try again tomorrow.
#TrustYourGut
by Tish MacWebber | Oct 8, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
Happy Thanksgiving from Canada! I am indeed going to stuff myself full to the brim of turkey dinner at a friend’s house today. I am thankful that I don’t have to cook a turkey this weekend, as it is still warmer than seasonal temperatures here and I would absolutely melt. I did see a turkey roasting pot at Walmart yesterday that looks like a crock pot for turkeys and claims to be self-basting while the turkey cooks. If that works it might be something that goes on my wish list. If you have tried this out, let me know if you like it.
I am cleaning this week. I realized that I need to get into the cleaning again, before November. I have been inspired to participate in NaNoWriMo after I decided not to do it this year. I am going to write about cats and Susan, and the theme is superpowers, not superheroes like I thought, but I will make it work. I have asked friends to send me cat stories for research. I have an idea of what I want to write, and how, but was worried that I may not have enough information to write it all from the original idea. I will use my own superpowers to win this year, I know it!
I have yet to complete the website setup. I am working on it this month, but I now have more going on than I did before. Since I started this blog in November last year, it seems fitting to make my move a year later. I wanted to test my writing abilities before making this leap. I think I can safely assume that it is not a passing fancy and that I am totally committed to keeping it going. I am about to add my new third category this week, and I am really excited about it. It is also going to have a few surprises, in terms of nerdy author geeky things.
Along with working on concepts and ideas for my NaNoWriMo novel, I have taken up the fantasy trilogy project. I do not want to fall too far behind on it and am working on it every few days. I am happy to say that a challenge I am in (are you surprised that I started another one? No? I am in two right now, with one to catch up on when I finish these two) has fired up my writing for the book one of the trilogy. I started a little bit of free writing and got some plot and character ideas going. That was all I needed to pick it up again. Who knew? I didn’t. I told you that I even surprise myself sometimes.
Weekends are supposed to be fun filled. It was. I also went to the Northside Market on Saturday, and am now as I write re-organizing furniture in my mind in the Master Bedroom/Craft Room. I have made some progress, and want to finish it tomorrow so that I can move more craft supplies back out of the living room and into the neatly organized space in my Master Bedroom. I hope to get this done because I am on a deadline. I have to push through this week and work at work and clean at home so that I can really focus on the writing. What do I need to finish before then? After the cleaning is done, then I move on to website building, including an online store (exciting and terrifying at the same time) and moving the Blog to the website. If I am going to get this all done before November, I need to be focused on progress and getting things finished.
By the end of the week, on Friday, I want to kick back and relax after a week of doing double duty. Then I can implement the maintenance cleaning schedule and have a monthly and weekly chore list that keeps things from reversing into chaos again. I know that chaos is a true sign of a creative mind and that it is not always a bad thing, but I am trying to change my ways for the better, and fight my way to be able to feel like I can spend more time creating and be happy about it. Not feeling guilty and not doing anything because what I want to do can’t be done until I do what I need to do, which I don’t want to do, and then I fall into the nasty non-productive loop of living in chaos and getting nothing done at all. I have a plan for tomorrow, and I have to set myself up to succeed before I give up on it all. I know what I have to do, and it is up to me to do it.
What did you do this weekend?
