Just Another Blog Post

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! I realize it has been a while since I last blogged. I have various reasons why I have not blogged as well as some excuses to why I have not blogged. I will do my best to blog on a more regular basis however I cannot make any promises as we never know what life may bring.

On that note, I have had a lot going on. Currently, one of the most pressing things I have been doing is helping a stray cat. Sadly, the Seattle Animal Control is not coming out due to the fact that the cat is not injured and that there are no leash laws for cats in Seattle. I am frustrated with the animal control at the moment for a few reasons but thankfully, I was given the email of the executive director that oversees the animal control. That means I have been working on an email to send to the executive director. As far as getting help for the stray kitty I have contacted another organization to help. They are extremely busy and backed up at the moment but they have been quite helpful as well as been in frequent communication with me. I am hoping that this organization can come out to help some time tomorrow or Tuesday.

If you read my blog regularly you know I live in the United States. It is an election year in which we vote for the next president of the United States. There have been many more twists and turns this presidential election year than I have seen in my 45 years of life. Hell, the same goes for my almost 94 year old grandpa. I may not be a fan of Trump nor have I voted for him and I will not be voting for him this time around but sadly someone tried to assassinate him. I may not like the man but he shouldn’t be shot for any reason. Also, President Biden dropped out of the presidential race for a second term to be president. As of right now Kamala Harris is running for president for the Democratic party. The political climate here in the United States is extremely shaky at the moment.

Now on to a happier topic, the 2024 Summer Olympics. Sadly, I didn’t watch the opening ceremonies but I have been watching the various events that have happened already. I love how the Olympics brings unity and peace this world needs. I just wish there could be unity and peace when the Olympics do not happen. I really enjoy watching the Olympics and I am grateful that they are a break from the daily grind.

I do not have much more to discuss in this particular blog post and I hope to blog more regularly. 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!!!

Long Time No Blog

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is the middle of the night here in Seattle and I am unable to sleep. As you know I have not blogged in a while. It has been roughly one and a half months since my last blog post. Sadly, I have let my depression symptoms get in the way of blogging. I just wish my depression wasn’t getting the better of me. Even though my depression is acting up at least I haven’t acted on self-harm urges and that the suicidal thoughts haven’t led to plans or intentions.

I know from experience that blogging on a regular basis helps me with my depression symptoms as well as symptoms from other mental health diagnoses. I am going to schedule time out of each week to blog so that way I can keep you the reader interested in continuing to read my blog as well as it helps the symptoms of my mental health challenges.

Of course my cat helps with my depression symptoms as well as other mental health challenges. I love my cat so very much. It is hard to believe I have had him for almost four and a half years. It is also hard to believe that he is a senior kitty who loves to play with a wand toy and a laser toy. I am grateful that Billie is in my life and I am able to experience his unconditional love.

I do not have much more to say 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 for 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 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!!!