Monthly Archives: May 2024

Caturday With Billie The Cat

Posted on by Gertie

Happy Caturday, World!!! Caturday is actually Saturday however I am one hundred percent sure that everyone who reads this particular blog post is fully capable of figuring it out. Today there are only three pictures and they are all of my cat, Billie. I hope you all enjoy them.

Billie is on top of my analog television that is only good for playing games on as well as an outlook post for Billie.
Billie looking straight into the camera wondering why I am taking another picture and not petting him.
Billie sleepily has his eyes open under the blankets wondering why I am not letting him sleep and taking another picture of him.

Well that is all I have for this weekly photo shoot of Billie. Of course that doesn’t mean I won’t post pictures of Billie during the week if I feel the need to because there is a high likelihood since I think his a cute kitty. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Daily Prompt; What Activities Do You Lose Yourself In?

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
What activities do you lose yourself in?
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I can lose myself in multiple activities. One activity I can lose myself in is reading. I can spend hours on end reading and have stayed up all night doing so. I love to read and love the fact that I can lose myself in stories I cannot fathom but enjoy getting wrapped up in the books I read.

Another activity I lose myself in is artwork. Specifically coloring or rock painting. I can spend hours doing both. I love doing both especially when I listen to music or a podcast. Losing myself in artwork while listening to music or a podcast is something I tend to do when the weather is bad outside.

Daily Prompt; Describe One Positive Change You Have Made In Your Life?

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
Describe one positive change you have made in your life.
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A positive change I made in my life was when I went I decided to go into a two outpatient Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) program. I went into this program because I needed some help learning new skills to help with my emotional and verbal outburst as well as my self harming behavior and multiple suicide attempts. At first I was extremely wary of it however I am beyond grateful that I went through this DBT program and graduated from it. This was the second major adult decision I made for myself and my recovery. The first major adult decision I made was when I went to Mercy Ministries (now Mercy Multiplied) like I described in yesterday’s Daily Prompt post. Going into the DBT program was one of the most important decisions I made in my life and I am grateful for it as it helped me make bettered decisions in my life.

Daily Prompt; Describe a Decision You Made In The Past That Helped You Learn or Grow.

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
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I think one decision that helped me a great deal to learn and grow was when I was twenty years old. It was the first major decision I made as an adult and I don’t regret it however if I were to have to make the decision now at forty-five I would not make the same decision. When I was twenty I considered myself a Christian and dealing with an eating disorder. An eating disorder that I greatly needed help with but my Medicaid didn’t pay inpatient or outpatient eating disorder treatment nor did I have the money to get it. So, after finding out there was a free residential program that I could go to in Nashville, I decided to apply to Mercy Ministries (now Mercy Multiplied). Not only was it free but a Christian program which was a plus for me at the time as I considered myself a Christian at the time. I was accepted into Mercy and graduated. I learned a great deal about myself and grew as a person. I felt like I grew up and became an adult while I was at Mercy. I learned a lot about myself and don’t regret going.

Daily Prompt; What Do You Do to Be Involved in the Community?

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
What do you do to be involved in the community?
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Involvement in one’s community looks differently for each individual. For me getting involved in my multiple communities looks slightly different in each community. The one thing that is not different in each of my communities that I will mention is I volunteer my time. For instance I am involved with the animal welfare cause in many ways and the main way I do this is to volunteer my time at PAWS Cat City. I also help my neighbors with their pets when they need it as well.

As far as other ways I am involved with my community is that I am highly active in the recovery movement. I used to work as a peer specialist in the mental health field and I hope to go back to work in the field as my mental health continues to improve after a major trauma last summer. I am also helping plan for the Peer Pathways Conference by volunteering my time doing it. To me being involved in the peer and recovery communities helps me with my own recovery.

Another way I am involved in my community is being involved in multiple activities in the queer community. One way I am doing that is playing in a queer sports league for kickball. I am loving it and having fun as well as making friends. I am also apart of a queer book club where we read books by queer authors and/or books about queers. I am enjoying it and having fun with it as well as making friends just like kickball. I just applied last week to volunteer at Lambert House which is a community center for queer teens. I am hoping that I can volunteer at Lambert House.

Daily Prompt; How Would You Improve Your Community

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
How would you improve your community?
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Hello, World!!! There are many ways I would like to improve my community. The two ways that I would like to improve my community that popped up into my head was helping people with their recovery with mental health challenges and/or substances plus helping animals. Helping both animals and people at the same time is possible. I would improve helping animals by helping companion animals such as dogs and cats to their furrever home which is something I do when I volunteer at a local animal shelter. Another way I can improve my community is to go back to work in the mental health field to help people with their recovery once my own mental health improves a little more. Hell, I don’t need to work to do that, I can just reach out to friends who struggle. I can also just stop and talk with someone who is asking for food or money even if I don’t have either to help the person. There are several ways to improve your community, you just have to find at least one that you are passionate about to help.

Weekly Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Sunday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
  • Visit mom for Mother’s Day and take her out to dinner

Monday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Make mom breakfast in bed
  • Help mom with chores before going home
  • Cuddle with my cat, Billie after getting home from mom’s house

Tuesday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
  • Kickball practice

Wednesday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • In person therapy with therapist
  • In person group therapy
  • Kickball practice

Thursday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Lunch with grandpa
  • Kickball practice

Friday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Attend Emerald House (a mental health clubhouse)
  • Dinner with grandpa

Saturday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Kickball game
  • Hang out with kickball team after kickball team

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It is that time of week where I do my weekly check-in. I do not have much to discuss in this week’s weekly check-in. The major thing that has happened is the fact that my grandpa took a major fall yesterday while on errands. He has a broken jaw and nose as well as being in extreme pain. He is currently in the ICU due to his blood count being out of whack. He is 93 and I hope he gets out of the hospital soon.

As far as everything else, I have been depressed and isolating. While isolating I have been reading a pretty awesome book and doing some art work. The book I am reading is the second book in a series that I am enjoying. As far as the art work goes, I have been coloring a giant poster as well as some rock painting. When I do art work I also listen to some music. The music I have been listening to is from my recovery playlist that I created.

I have also been spending time with my cat, Billie. I love my cat so very much. I cannot imagine my life without my cat Billie, in it. He is an amazing kitty and I am grateful that he is a lap cat that loves spending time with me.

I do not have much more to discuss in this week’s weekly check-in and I will keep you all updated about my grandpa. I do want to thank you the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Caturday With Billie The Kat & A Doggy Friend

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is yet another Saturday or should I say Caturday. It being Caturday means it is time for pictures of cats, specifically my cat Billie. Well, today I will be posting pictures of Billie and my grandpa’s one year old dog, Bella.

Billie giving me the stink eye, grumpy face look.
Billie being cute and looking into the camera.
Billie looking at something and showing off his green eyes.
Billie looking at something and showing off his green eyes.
My grandpa’s dog, Bella laying on the couch sleeping.
Bella my grandpa’s dog laying the couch giving me the puppy dog look.

I don’t have much more to mention in the particular blog post. I hope you enjoy the pictures of Billie and Bella. Have a good Caturday. Peace Out, World!!!

Daily Prompt; What Was the Last Live Performance You Saw?

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
What was the last live performance you saw?
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The last live performance I saw was a concert, March of last year (2023). In fact I went and saw Amy Grant in concert in Bremerton, Washington. I had a blast attending the concert. I had so much fun and met some new friends that I have been keeping in contact with since then. One of my favorite parts was when I was waiting by Amy Grant’s bus as she was leaving, I got to briefly talk with her and got a belated birthday hug from her. I love Amy Grant’s music.