Weekly Check-In

Hello, World!!! As I stated in a post sometime late last week, that I would start my weekly check-ins back up on Saturdays. So, here I am doing the weekly check-in. I don’t have much to say this evening as I have discussed most of what I wanted to talk about through out the week.

The big event that happened this past week was my 40th birthday on Thursday. My birthday turned out to be a good one which I am quite grateful for. In fact I am still celebrating my birthday this weekend. Due to my birthday I have been spending time with both family and friends. It has been great spending time with those care about me. It does still feel weird to have folks celebrate me as I still feel like I do not deserve to be celebrated.

Something I started this past Monday was a writing course that WordPress puts on. I am doing a writing course called Finding Your Everyday Inspiration. I decided to do the course to help me get back in the habit of blogging on the regular basis again.

Another thing I started this week was a workbook called “The Artist Way.” I started it yesterday and I have to admit it seems quite overwhelming and challenging and it is only day two. It is a twelve week workbook course. I am doing this workbook at the suggestion of my therapist. My therapist thinks it will be helpful for my recovery and helpful in regards for me to build structure in my life which I am all for.

The other thing I started back up was going to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) group. I have had the group facilitators before and I like them. The teach the DBT skills quite well. Speaking of DBT I need to do my DBT homework for today.

I don’t have much more to check-in about. This week has overall been a good week. I hope that everyone has a good rest of their weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

Everyday Inspiration; Day 6: The Space to Write

Good Morning, World!!!  Today’s assignment is in regards to writing space and what method of writing do we prefer. For me it depends where my mindset is to where I write and what method I use to write.

When I blog, I obviously use a computer. Actually, use a laptop. Most of the time, am home when I decide to blog like I am now. There are a few occasions where I am not home when I blog. Those are times when I am out of town for whatever reason. A couple of times I have blogged from a city part here in Seattle as well as when I was in Olympia (Washington) visiting family.

When it comes to journaling I usually use a pencil with a journal that has paper in it. It doesn’t matter where I am when I journal. I have been known to journal on the city bus. When I journal it is usually when I have something on my mind that is really bothering me however I do journal at least once a week to just say how my week went. One of my favorite places to journal is when I am near a water like a river or ocean.

I don’t have much more to say about the space I write in. My cat tends to want to “help” me write whenever I blog or journal. We all know that cats just want to get attention when we are try to do something. I love my cat.

Everyday Inspiration; Day 4: A Story In A Single Image

Today’s Finding Everyday Inspiration is based on a story in a single image. WordPress gave us some images as suggestions and well, I am not feeling particularly inspired by their suggestions. So, since I wasn’t exactly feeling inspired by their suggestions, I decided to look through my own photo’s and still wasn’t exactly feeling inspired. I also looked on the internet to see if any images inspired me and still not feeling inspired.

I am not sure why I am not feeling inspired as today is a great day. A great day to feel inspired because today is my 40th birthday. There was a time in my life where I honestly didn’t think I would live to be forty. I thought because, I thought would have died by suicide. No, I am not feeling suicidal at the moment but there was a time in my life where I didn’t think I would make it because of being so suicidal. Thankfully, I have made it to my 40th birthday and I plan on living a very long time. So, I am very proud of myself for making it to today. Like I said, I should have seen something that inspired me today as it is my birthday and a happy one at that but I am not feeling inspired. I think it partly because I am having a slight case of writer block. I am hoping that maybe sometime later today, I will find an image or photo that inspires me to write something.

I don’t have much more to say due to writers block and the lack of inspiration. I hope everyone has a good day. Thank you so much for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things. Again, thank you so much for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Getting Back In The Habit

Hello, World!!! It is me again. I did end up fixing some spaghetti for dinner and invited my friend from across the hall from me in my apartment building over. My friend was extremely grateful for the invite, the food and the company. We discussed a lot of topics. One which is crucial for my mental health and that is structure. As we discussed structure it occurred to me that I need to blog more and make sure it is scheduled into my day. In fact I brought up my blog to my neighbor and how I need to schedule it into my daily life. He a great suggestion of having an accountability partner and he offered to be my accountability partner for my blog and I his accountability partner for him exercising.  So, not only did I have great company for dinner, it turned into something that will be helpful for me in regards to my blog and mental health, an accountability partner.

So, now that I had time to do the dishes and to think about how to get back into the habit of blogging on the regular basis, I realize that if I do one of WordPress’s courses, it would and will be helpful. I know this from past experiences. I am planing on doing a course I have already done and plan on starting it on Monday. I plan on doing the course “Finding Your Everyday Inspiration.” It is a twenty day course and I have been told that it takes at least twenty one days to create habit. Some studies say it can take sixty days to create habit but the twenty day course will help me either way with creating a habit of blogging on the more regular basis.

Another thing I will start doing in regard to blogging is doing a Weekly Plans post every Sunday and a Weekly Check-In every Saturday. The Weekly Plans will start tomorrow (Sunday) and the Weekly Check Ins will start back up on Saturday March 9th. When I did this in the past I found it helpful for my mental health as well as keeping you my reader interested in continuing to read my blog.

I don’t have much more to say about my plans to blog more as many of you have hear this before from me. The only difference this time around is that I have an accountability partner. Oh yeah, I am also scheduling it and putting it into my calendar. I hope this time I actually follow through with it and hope you all can hold me accountable as well.

I don’t have much more to say. Thank you for reading my blog. It is very much appreciated from my end of things. I appreciate each one of you for reading. Thank you again for reading my blog. Have great rest of you Saturday night. Peace Out, World!!!

1000th Post

HELLO, WORLD!!! I am happy to announce that this is my one thousandth post. I have shared quite a bit of my life with you over the last few years. The ups and the downs of having a mental health challenge.

When I started my blog I wasn’t expecting one hundred people to follow my blog much less having four hundred and forty six people to follow my blog. Having four hundred and forty six followers may not seem much compared to other people’s blogs but to me having as many followers as I do have I am happy to have them.

Seeing my blog grow into what it has, has it amazed me. It is given other people who have mental health challenges hope. Hope that was part of why I started this blog. I’m still not sure if my blog is reaching my other targeted audience who don’t have a mental health challenge because it is my hope that those without out and mental health challenge it will help lessen the stigma of those who do have a mental health challenge.

I may not view my blog as very successful but I must have some success if I have some pretty loyal readers and/or followers. So my blog must be a success to some degree.

I want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated on my from my end of things. I hope you can an will continue to read my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Poetry; Day 2: Face

by Gertie

Facing shit ahead

doesn’t mean heartaches nor peace

yet means good healthy respect

for one self

Poetry; Day 1: Water

Untitled Poem

by Gertie

Watching the brook,

babbling as it does in the woods,

gives much needed peace.

Boring Ramblings About Blogging

Good Afternoon, World. As many of you know by now if you read my blog regularly, I attempt to improve my blogging skill a little more as well as attempt to follow through on having a schedule. A schedule on what to write when. I hope that makes sense.

I am planning on starting one of WordPress’s courses that I really enjoy to do. It is in hopes to keep you my reader and/or follower interested in reading my blog. Keeping you interested it something that I hope I can do by taking one of WordPress’s courses.

Another idea is go back to having a regular schedule. Here is hoping that I can follow through on this. The schedule as follows:

Sunday: Weekly Plans – this is where I tell you the plans I have for the week

Monday: Writing Prompts – do something that I won’t have to think of the topic

Tuesday: Not sure yet

Wednesday: Special Guest Junior (1st and 3rd Wed.) and Mama Bear (2nd and 3rd Wed.)

Thursday: Educational – Stuff about Mental Health, it’s treatments and so on

Friday: Fun Fact – Just a much of random facts that are weird or cool

Saturday: Weekly Check-in – This is were I inform you of what I did for the week.

Than you for reading my blog. It is very much appreciated. Peace Out, World!!!

Everyday Inspiration; Day 4: A Story in a Single Image

As this woman walks through the woods I cant help but thinks about the peace it can bring her. If it brings me peace, I am sure it brings her peace. A peace that only nature can bring. A peace and contentment that can give one hope and inspiration. A hope that can change the world. A change in the world that will inspire others and give them hope. A hope that is being set by example. An example of hope all because of a walk in the woods.

Another Post About Blogging Sh*t

Good Morning, World!!! I’ve been thinking about my blog a lot lately. Maybe because I’ve been posting more as of lately and getting my support system to finally follow through on the guest post they will do every other week. It is my hope that I can create a regular schedule on when I will have regular post as well the usual way of how I am already doing thing as posting whenever I feel like it. So the schedule I plan to have is as follows:

Sunday: Weekly Plans. This seems pretty self explanatory. It’s where I plan to tell you what I have planned for the week.

Monday: Weekly Writing prompts. This is where I can write both fiction and nonfiction stories. More or less I hope to be creative in this post as it is my hope for it to be fiction versus nonfiction as I usually write about my own personal experiences.

Tuesday: To Be Determined (TBD)

Wednesday: Guest Post. This is the day where my support system will write what its like to deal with a loved one who has lived experience. The primary guest bloggers will be Junior and Mama Bear. Junior and Mama Bear worked it out to where Junior will post on the first and third Wednesdays of the month and Mama Bear will post on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. As for the rare fifth Wednesday, I’ll get a special guest. Hopefully, someone who has been an inspiration to me, the peer community or the blogging community.

Thursday: To Be Determined (TBD)

Friday: Fun Facts. Fun Facts will include weird and/or random facts about things around the world as well as about me.

Saturday: Weekly Check-in. This is where I inform you how my week went and what I did. It’s more or less a post about how my week went.

As you can tell I have high hopes regarding keeping a regular schedule with blogging. I don’t want to not post and lose you as reader yet I don’t want to overwhelm you feed or email with too many post. I’m attempting to find a happy medium with blogging.

Something else I am going to do is take free courses that WordPress does. I’ll being doing everything from poetry to photography to inspired writing. I’m doing this in hopes to keep myself interested in blogging as well as you interested in reading my blog.

In fact keeping you my reader interested is why I am creating a schedule as well as having special guest and weekly writing prompts that hopefully will be fictional along with weekly plans and check-ins. Having a blogging schedule will also give me the structure I so desperately need and desire.

Thanks for reading about my blogging woes once again. I need to get going and get ready for the day as I have a doctors appointment with my dermatologist. I hope everyone has a great day and enjoys life. Peace Out, World