Author Archives: Gertie

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! This is not going to be a long weekly check-in as I am not up for writing much at the moment. This has been an up and down week for me and the current weather here in Seattle is not helping my mood much.

I saw my therapist this past week and we discussed how challenging it is to have some intimate moments with my partner, Junior due to PTSD. My therapist gave me some positive feedback regarding intimate moments with Junior and that he loves and respects me to stop intimate moments when I end up in freeze mode due to PTSD. I am so grateful for an awesome therapist and the love of a partner who helps me deal with PTSD. I am hoping that my therapist gets approval from her supervisor to be able to have Junior in one of my sessions with her.

As depressing as the weather has been here in Seattle today and yesterday I am so happy that my cat Billie has been helping with the PTSD and depression. I love my cat so much and I don’t understand why he loves me unconditionally.

I am done with this particular blog post. Thank you for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Daily Prompt; On What Subject(s) Are You An Authority?

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
On what subject(s) are you an authority?
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I really do not have the “authority” on any subject but myself. Then again that is debatable at times. I do know that I am knowledgeable in certain subjects but I am surely not an authority in any subject except for myself. That is all I have to say all this subject.

Daily Prompt; How Are You Feeling Right Now?

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
How are you feeling right now?
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Right now I am feeling anger, fear and some anxiety. The reason for these emotions is due to some PTSD symptoms. I am not a big fan of these emotions especially due to stupid PTSD symptoms. I just wish that PTSD would not interfere with my life and my emotions. I also have a difficult time expressing anger, fear and anxiety especially anger. I was not allowed to express most emotions growing up especially anger. Now, I am slowly learning how to express my emotions in an appropriate way for society.

Daily Prompt; What Brings You Peace?

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
What brings you peace?
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I have many things that bring peace. Some of what brings have always given me peace while other things I have had to practice to bring me peace. The one thing that has brought me peace since I could remember is water as well as nature. I grew up in California and went to the beach all the time as well as went to the mountains to hike as well as to camp. Of, course there are lakes that I went to when I camped and/or hiked. Now that I have lived in Seattle for nearly thirty years, I have easy access to water which is easy to get to no matter where in Seattle you live.

Another thing that brings me peace happens to cats. I know it is weird that cats bring me peace but cats do bring me peace. Cats know what brings them peace and they know how to set boundaries. That is one of the reasons why cats bring me peace.

Now on to what I had to learn to what brings me peace. The thing that I learned to help me be at peace is meditation. I am so grateful that I learned meditation as it is something I can do anytime and anywhere. I am so glad I learned meditation.

Daily Prompt; Are You A Leader Or A Follower?

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
Are you a leader or a follower?
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This is a hard one for me to answer as in many situations it appears to others as well as myself that I am a follower while some say I am a leader. In my opinion I think I am a little bit of both. I say this because in some circumstances one needs to be the follower to be able to learn while in other circumstances one needs to be the leader because there is nobody else who can be the leader for whatever reason. So, in my case I tend to be both especially since I am not a natural born leader and I learn for others on how to be a leader.

Daily Prompt; Write About A Random Act Of Kindness You’ve Done For Someone

Posted on by Gertie
Daily writing prompt
Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.
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I do not like to share when I do random acts of kindness as I feel like that defeats the purpose of doing them. I do them out of the kindness of my heart and not to stroke my ego which is why I really don’t want to share at the point in time. Yes, I have shared random acts of kindness from time to time but I do my best not to as it defeats the point. I think doing random acts of kindness for people on a daily basis then this world would be a better place.

Weekly Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Sunday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
  • Do self paced online training for Alley Cat Project
  • Read
  • Artwork (color and/or rock painting)

Monday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Attend Emerald House (a mental health clubhouse)
  • Do some self paced online training for Alley Cat Project and do some shadowing
  • Evening walk
  • Read
  • Artwork (color and/or rock painting)

Tuesday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Attend Emerald House (a mental health clubhouse)
  • Do self paced online training for Alley Cat Project and some shadowing
  • Evening walk
  • Read
  • Artwork (color and/or rock painting)

Wednesday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Therapy appointment with therapist
  • Lunch at Red Robin with friends
  • Clean apartment
  • Evening walk
  • Read
  • Artwork (color and/or rock painting)

Thursday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Attend two virtual groups
  • Do some self paced online training for Alley Cat Project and some shadowing
  • Evening walk
  • Read
  • Artwork (color and/or rock painting)

Friday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Attend Emerald House (a mental health clubhouse)
  • Do some self paced online training for Alley Cat Project and some shadowing
  • Evening walk
  • Read
  • Artwork (color and/or rock painting)

Saturday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • U-District Farmers Market
  • Spend day with partner

Unable To Sleep = Artwork & Cuddles My Cat, Billie

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is almost two thirty in the morning here in Seattle. I am sadly unable to sleep due to a combination of PTSD symptoms and insomnia. As much I wish I wasn’t struggling with both PTSD and insomnia I am grateful for my cat Billie. I am so lucky to have a cat that loves to cuddle and lay in my lap.

On that note, since I am unable to sleep, I have been doing some artwork while listening to music. The type of artwork I have been doing is coloring from coloring pages and giant posters I bought from Stuff2Color.com as well doing some rock painting. My uncle got me a rock painting set for Christmas last year so I have been painting rocks. Granted I have had to buy some more paint and some more rocks from the local art store that is within walking distance from my home. The type of music I have been listening to as I have been doing artwork is grunge and ska.

I do not have much more to write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you 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 writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It is Saturday evening here in Seattle and means it is time for my weekly check-in. Overall, I have had a good week despite some sleepless nights. I am grateful for the week I have had even when dealing with insomnia and PTSD symptoms.

My week started out my week with volunteering PAWS Cat City and I of course enjoyed myself. I love helping people and cats find the purrfect match. Seeing cats find their furrever home is priceless especially since I have been able to give cats their furrever home.

After volunteering at PAWS Cat City I hung out with some friends and we ended up going to Red Robin. I love Red Robin especially when I go with friends. In fact I went to Red Robin three times this week with friends. I am one lucky person. I always get the same thing as I know what I love and I am a creature of habit. I enjoy spending time with friends especially with some good food.

The biggest thing that has happened this week is that I am a volunteer in training with the Alley Cat Project. I became a volunteer in training after one of the volunteers who helped me trap a stray cat suggested that I apply to be one. Little did I know I would become one so quickly. It took less than two weeks which surprised the hell out of me and I am so looking forward to volunteering.

That is it for my weekly check-in. I hope you all have a good rest of your weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

Another Sleepless In Seattle Type Of Night

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is just after two o’clock in the morning here in Seattle. I am unable to sleep due to insomnia. Since I am unable to sleep I have been cuddling with my cat Billie as well as doing some mindfulness meditation through the Calm App. The mindfulness meditation has been quite helpful to quiet my mind.

Not only have I been doing some online training for Alley Cat Project (ACP) as I applied to be a volunteer two weeks ago and found out this past Tuesday that I am now a volunteer in training. Alley Cat Project (ACP) helps trap stray cats to return them back to their human or get them a new home as well as neuter and spay feral cats and if needed stray cats. That being said, people call their message line in which someone returns that call. From there coordination happens depending on the situations. Most of the time it is with the trapping team and from there the trapping team takes over. So, I will be on the incoming calls team that helps with coordination with helping the cat in need of help. So, I am really excited about this volunteer opportunity especially since Alley Cat Project helped me trap a stray cat and I am incredibly impressed with them which is why I want to volunteer for them.

I do not have much more to write about in this particular blog post except I really want to finish this part of my training so I can get my next training as I am really excited about volunteering at Alley Cat Project (ACP). I do want to thank you 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!!!