Monthly Archives: February 2025

Weekly Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Sunday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm App
  • Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Monday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm App
  • Appointment at the Social Security office
  • Work on a recovery related workbooks
  • Work on a continuing education course
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Tuesday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm App
  • Work on a continuing education course
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Job interview
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Wednesday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm Walk
  • Work on a continuing education course
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Clean apartment
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Thursday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm Work
  • Volunteer with Alley Cat Project
  • Work on continuing education course
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Friday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm App
  • Volunteer with Alley Cat Project
  • Work on a continuing education course
  • Work on a recovery related workbook
  • Attend movies with friends
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Saturday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation practice through the Calm App
  • Volunteer with Alley Cat Project
  • U-District farmer’s market
  • Movies with friends
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Wide Awake at 2:34 in the Morning

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is two thirty-four in the morning here in Seattle. After my last blog poste yesterday, things didn’t go as I had planned but that is okay. I had planned to do a diamond art/painting of a tuxedo cat in a tree, but I got sidetracked. I got sidetracked by deciding to learn how to use a PowerPoint. Yes, I know it’s a little late in the game to learn how, but it never hurts to learn. I am teaching myself to use PowerPoint because I am wanting to present a conference that is solely focused on peer specialist. The cool thing I am learning about PowerPoint is can actually get creative with using it and I think that is awesome.

After starting to learn how to use PowerPoint, I realized that I needed to take a nap as I was tired as hell. Needless to say, I am now wide awake. I truly didn’t mean to sleep for so long especially since it was supposed to be a nap and not an average night of sleep for me.

Now that I am wide awake from an extra-long nap, I plan on doing some artwork. The type of artwork I am going to work on is a diamond art/painting project. The diamond art/painting I am doing is that of a tuxedo cat in tree. I picked this diamond art/painting because my cat, Billie is a tuxedo cat. Yes, that means I am very partial to tuxedo cats.

Maybe it is a good thing that I am doing diamond art/painting because the weather is yucky in Seattle right now. Yes, I know it is the middle of the night, but the weather is supposed to get worse as the day goes on. I’m not a big fan of yucky weather but it does make a great excuse to stay inside.

I do not have much else to discuss or write about in this particular blog post. 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!!!

A Quick Saturday Afternoon Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World (again)!!! It was my goal to stay home all day, but I realized I needed to go get groceries as I didn’t have much to eat here at home. So, I went grocery shopping. Well, technically I went to the farmers market first. When I went to the farmers market, I bought me a breakfast sandwich that one of the venders sells. After eating the breakfast sandwich, I then went grocery shopping and bought some essential foods. Sadly, I couldn’t afford eggs once again.

Now that I am home and have put away my groceries, I am now sitting down with my cat, Billie in my lap who is purring up a storm. As my cat, Billie lays in my lap purring I am about to start some artwork. In fact, I am going to be doing some diamond art/painting. The diamond art/painting that I am currently working on is that of a tuxedo cat. It so happens I am fond of tuxedo cat and the reason being is that my beloved cat, Billie is a tuxedo cat. I am so glad that I found a diamond art/painting project with a tuxedo cat as it will reminds me of my cat, Billie.

I do not have much of anything else to discuss or to write about in this particular blog post. 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 from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

So Far Lazy Type of Saturday

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! It is just a few minutes after twelve o’clock in the afternoon here in Seattle and so far, it has been a lazy type of Saturday for me. It is a good thing that it is a lazy type of day for me because I haven’t been feeling all that well for the last few days. I have been sick with a cold so just staying home and being lazy today is a good thing.

Since I woke up this morning with some great sadness over the loss of both my parents withing a two-month period, I realized that keeping myself busy would be a good idea. So, I figured out an idea how to keep myself busy at home without needing to do anything major. I decided to read a chapter or two in the book that I am currently reading. It turns out I ended up reading more than a couple of chapters. I ended up reading for almost two hours and I finished the book that I was reading. It was an awesome book, and I am looking forward to starting the third book in its series.

After finishing my book, I decided to start doing some artwork. I started out by coloring and ended up finishing up the particular coloring project that I chose to work on. I am so happy that I finished up that particular coloring project because I can now give it to the person, I colored it for. Since I finished a coloring project that is when I decided to do a diamond art/painting project. The diamond art/painting project that I am currently doing is that of a tuxedo cat. I chose this particular diamond are because my cat, Billie is a tuxedo cat. Billie is the reason I have a special place in my heart for tuxedo cats. Anyway, I made some major progress on the diamond art/painting project that I am doing.

I do not have much else to discuss or write about in the particular blog post except that I feel like today feels like an accomplished and productive day and it is only half over. 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!!!

Missing My Parents

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! I woke up this morning with some intense sadness. Sadness over losing both of my parents within a two-month period. It sucks that they died so close together but there is nothing I can do about it but radically accept the situation or be in denial. Some moments I am in denial and numb while other moments I radically accept the sadness of losing both of my parents.

Despite dealing with the grief and sadness of losing my parents I am thinking of all the little moments that they tried to make good happy memories for me and with me especially as a child to have as an adult. I have so many of those small moments that it is helping with the sadness. It’s those memories that are helping me accept the fact that my relationship with my parents had been rocky over the years and that we work through a good chunk of the issues we had. I am so happy that I was able to work through some issues I had with my parents.

I do not have anything else to discuss or write about in this particular blog post. 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!!!

Friday Evening Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Happy Friday, World!!! I have had a pretty productive day so far today and I am proud of myself, and it is few minutes after one o’clock in the afternoon here in Seattle. I hope me saying that I am proud of myself for a productive day doesn’t sound like I am conceded or narcissistic. I volunteered this morning for Alley Cat Project, did an entire chapter in a recovery focused workbook and started a continuing education course that I am halfway through already. Oh yeah before I forget, I also did some artwork. I worked on some diamond art/painting as well as did some coloring. I not only feel like I was productive today, but I feel very accomplished.

After having a productive and accomplished, I am planning to hang out with friends in an hour or two. My friends and I are going out for a late lunch. We are going to my favorite restaurant which is Red Robin. I love Red Robin and something many people do not know is that Red Robin started here In Seattle. Red Robin starting here in Seattle is not the reason why I love eating there so much. The reason I love Red Robin so much is because they have awesome food.

After dinner at Red Robin, I plan on coming back home and having a quiet evening at home with my cat, Billie. I plan on two main activities when I return home from Red Robin which are reading and doing some artwork. The book I am reading is the second book in a six-book series. It is a queer dark fantasy book as is the entire book series. As far as artwork goes, I most like will be doing a diamond art/painting. The diamond art/painting that I am currently doing is that of a tuxedo cat. Part of the reason why I chose to do a tuxedo cat is because my cat, Billie is a tuxedo cat.

I do not have anything else to discuss or write about in this particular blog post. 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 heart. Peace Out, World!!!

Not So Exciting Friday Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is almost six thirty in the morning here in Seattle. Sadly, I did not sleep very well last night. I wish I wasn’t struggling so much with sleep. Sleep is essential for good health, both physical and mental health which is why I wish I could sleep especially since I am not feeling well. I am sadly dealing with a stupid cold.

Since I am not feeling very well today, I am going to take it easy. I am not sure what exactly what I will do today but I know cuddling with my cat, Billie will be one of thing that I will most definitely do today. Hell, cuddling with my cat, Billie is something I do on the daily basis, and I am so grateful that Billie is such cuddle bug.

Speaking of cats, I will be doing a shift with Alley Cat Project later this morning. I am on the incoming calls team. The thing the incoming call team does is return phone calls to people who have called, emailed or an online submission. Most of the time the calls returned are regarding stray and feral cats in need of some kind of help and the incoming calls team then puts the person in touch with the appropriate person to help.

Another thing I plan on doing today is continuing to do continuing education course regarding my chosen career path of being a peer support specialist. I hope the course I start today is something that I can use in a job or at least in my personal life. I am not sure what course I will start today but I will figure that out later.

Besides working on continuing education courses, I plan on working on a workbook or two that is related to improving myself and/or recovery related to the mental health challenges I deal with. Self-improvement is key to a person’s recovery no matter the type of recovery a person is in. I enjoy working on my self-improvement and recovery by working on recovery related workbooks as I find them quite helpful especially in between sessions with my therapist.

Today is not going to be all work and no play as everyone needs something fun or enjoyable to do. One of the enjoyable things I plan on doing at some point today is some form art. I am not quite sure what type of artwork that I will do but it will either be color or diamond art/painting or maybe both but of course not at the same time.

I do not have anything else to discuss or write about in this particular blog post. 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, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

A Day of Learning

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! It is a few minutes after three o’clock in the afternoon here in Seattle. I haven’t really done very much of anything due to not feeling well which means I have not left my apartment. I haven’t left my apartment as I don’t want to give other people in my apartment building or anybody else my cold. On a plus note at least my take home Covid test are all coming back negative which makes me so freaking happy.

Since I haven’t really left my apartment today due to not feeling well, I have been trying to stay productive with various educational opportunities and some personal growth opportunities as well as some training opportunities. I really enjoy being able to have learning and training opportunities as I enjoy being able to learn. As personal growth opportunities go, it can be quite challenging at times but well worth it in the long run.

Sadly, the training I was hoping to start and finish today, I could not do, due to a technical glitch that is not on my end. The training I was hoping to accomplish today is one for PAWS Cat City. It will allow me to learn more about cat behavior as well as being able to work with some cats who may be bit more socialization for various reasons. It is my hope that by the end of next year (2026) I can complete the various levels of training to be able to work with some of the sassier cats. On that note I am not sure if I have to wait a certain amount of time to take the next “level” of training and I am okay if I have to wait so I can get more hands-on experience after doing the online training.

Speaking of training, I did a continuing education course regarding my career path of being a peer specialist. I am not too sure about the course that I have been doing but I am learning something. Some of it is applicable to being a peer specialist and sadly I feel like the particular course I am taking is missing some vital information. I am hoping that when I finish the course that the vital information is discussed.

As far as the personal growth opportunity goes, I am doing a workbook for queer people who identify as trans or nonbinary, but I do know queer folks who do not identify as trans or nonbinary. The workbook’s focus is to build resiliency in your identity. Building resiliency can also be a part of other areas of life. The section I did today was quite challenging for me and I know it will ultimately help with accepting myself as well help me with my mental health recovery. I am grateful I have workbooks to do to help me improve myself.

I do not have anything else to discuss or write about in the particular blog post. I do want to thank you the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated on my end 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!!!

Thinking About Self Improvement & Recovery

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is a few minutes after four o’clock in the morning here in Seattle. I am not sure why I am up so early, but I am and sadly I am not feeling very well. It appears to me that I have a cold as I did a home Covid test last night as well as this morning and both tests came negative. I will be taking another take home Covid test this evening as I want to make sure that I don’t have Covid and if I do then I will self-isolate to make sure I don’t give it to anyone else. I am wearing a mask in public because I don’t even want to give this cold to anyone.

Even though I am not feeling well, I am still planning on doing what I want to accomplish today or at least start what I want to accomplish. There are a couple of continuing education course I want to take through the State of Washington that is for already certified peer support specialist. I am wanting to do this just to learn more as well as needing to take them for future trainings as peer. Plus, I love learning especially when it comes to my career of choice as a peer specialist.

Speaking of my chosen career choice, I have been applying for jobs as a peer support specialist. In fact, I have two job interviews next week for two different teams at the same agency. One is parttime and is not temporary job while the other if fulltime but temporary that last 18 months. In all honesty, I really hope I get the parttime job for various reasons. One of which I think I could succeed in the particular job.

Since I brought up wanting to succeed in a future workplace, I have been setting some goals for my recovery. One of those goals is to continue to work my way through some recovery related workbooks. I enjoy doing workbooks as a form of self-improvement as well as to help me with my recovery especially in between sessions with my therapist. Plus, completing recovery related workbooks allows me to help clients with improving themselves and I can inform them on how the workbook helped me with my own recovery.

Another way that I am focusing on self-improvement, and recovery is by watching TED Talks videos. There are so many TED Talks that I can learn from and not just with self-improvement, but other topics as well including how to deal with grief as I recently lost both of my parents. Hell, there is even a series for cat people like me.

Speaking of cats, I got approved to take the next level of cat behavior training for PAWS Cat City. It is online and I am looking forward to it. I can do it at my own pace, which is a good thing, but my plan is to do it in one sitting later today. I really enjoy working with cats or in this case volunteering with cats and not just with PAWS Cat City but Alley Cat Project (ACP) as well. Even though my volunteer position with Alley Cat Project (ACP) doesn’t have me directly working with cats, I am still helping cats. On that note I am really excited about taking the next level of cat behavior training for PAWS Cat City especially since I do have direct contact with cats at PAWS Cat City.

I do not have anything else to discuss or write about in this particular blog post. 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!!!

Insomnia Strikes Again

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is a few minutes after two o’clock in the morning here in Seattle. I am sadly unable to sleep again due to insomnia. I am not a big fan of not being able to sleep as getting a good night’s sleep is crucial both physical health and mental health.

Speaking of mental health, since I am unable to sleep, I have been working on a recovery related workbook. I find that working on recovery related workbooks help me with my recovery and allows me to look inward on how I can improve myself and lessen the symptoms of my mental health challenges. The recovery related workbooks also helps me in between session with my therapist.

In addition to working on recovery related workbooks, I have been reading. I am reading the second book in a dark queer fantasy series. I am really enjoying the book as well as the series. Reading helps me get out of my head and is a way for me to focus on something other than my current problems.

I do not have much more to discuss or write about in this particular except that I am going to curl up with my cat, Billie and read. 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!!!