Well so much for that every 2 day blog idea. This is another every third day blog. Whatever...... It works too. Hope this is finding you healthy and smiling(my last blog "remember").
Oh, and I was recently critiqued about my writing style(no names mentioned, to protect the innocent), I'm talking about parenthesis. That I am using too many of them. Well this is my way of separating me from the others(marching to a beat of a different drummer). Ok, move on Gary.
Today I thought I would share some interesting facts about bloggers and followers. In my two months of using this blog as my personal sounding board, I have discovered that it has some stats.
Number of views/followers: 2,758 cool.
From where on this big Earth: 10 countries (USA no. one) cool
Browsers used: Chrome 62%, IPhone browser 20% and more.
Operating systems: Android 42%, Windows 17%, IPhone 16%.
I hope and pray that someone out there is getting a positive feed from what I peck away to. This is for me(selfish), but others may borrow and run free for themselves. Thank You again for reading/listening. Gods speed.
What the heck? Where did the past three days go? Point; I want this blog done every two days, but I miss counted(lazysmazy me). It's ok, I'm ok, you're ok. Ok, movin forward.
Yes, it's a WooHoo day; Today officially marks 2 months since I started this difficult(cleaning/renewing process)walk. And I feel great(health wise) and blessed(support wise).
As you know, it was not a perfect walk so far(0 cigarettes 100%)(alcohol 95.4% success). Improvements in one area needs to be addressed at the next behavioral meeting(mental note)(post it note too). Just an imperfect/sinful man walking through an imperfect/sinful world. Sigh and pray.
There have been noticeable improvements in my normal routines though. Like, no longer opening the window vent for smoking exhaust(cigs). Or reaching towards my shirt pocket(cigs). Or craving that after meal cigarette. Feeling stronger every day (Chicago).
Updates to date: Sleeping? not a problem, in fact, can easily sneak in two day naps if needed(key word sneak).
Eating? added a couple new items to the food group, Malt O Meal hot cereal and Super sugar crisp cereal. #yum #dessert
Weight? Steady as she goes(not breaking any scales to date).
Monetary? This one took a slight hit after last week, but still had a positive amount to add on. $1,351.00.
Hope this finds All with smiles to give.
Houston we have a problem. Short detour ahead. A little bump in the road.
Ya, there's a meaning to the statements above. The night of the fifty first day, I dropped the ball and drank some alcohol. And I beat myself up pretty much the whole next day(not happy). So getting back on board with this blog took some serious thought. I could have continued on without anyone knowing a thing(except for a few), but that would have been lying by omission, couldn't do that.
Football teams sometimes have a perfect season of 14-0, and then drop the 15th game. They don't quit, they keep the vision ahead and continue on.
A bull rider gets thrown off in 5 seconds, he doesn't quit. He gets back on and tries again and again.
One day a person on a diet grabs the quart of ice cream from the freezer, and continues till the spoon scrapes the bottom of the carton. Not happy with themselves now, but, resolves to put this behind them, and continues on.
I am not going to quit the quitting. Because what I have accomplished so far has given me better health and happiness. Who would, in their right mind, revert from this?
Focused and On Board Again. Thanks again for listening. ;)
Back on track(blog schedule).
Yesterday was Monday, and also 49 days, and also 7 weeks. Which all means, time to dance and shout. Seven full weeks of focused, determined, and supported walk through this cleansing mission I set forth the beginning of March. I am more energetic and healthier, I can feel it. Booh-yah(five different spellings of this, lol).
Updates to date; Sleeping? I'm starting to let the sun get up before me. Don't know if that qualifies as a positive progression. Might have to start tweaking that one(nice though).
Eating? Pretty much holding steady on this one(snack,eat,snack,eat,and Twix and Coffee).
Weight? Still not tipping the scale at 275#. Probably not going to happen(100# less).
Monetary savings? $1,234.00 give or take a $1. And of course this figure does not reflect the Twix purchases. This is livable.
Today is nifty fifty. Not quite as exciting as yesterday(just one more day), but it has to be counted.
Gonna shut her down for now, gotta beat the sun up this time. Four bells should do it. Keepin the Faith, you too, ok?
Don't ask me; All I know is this writing was suppose to be on the Editors desk last night for proof reading, and it never showed. So of course it didn't get published in time. There's going to be a shake down in the writers department before the day is done; I can assure you this. They of course will probably blame rewrite. What to do? what to do?
As you probably can tell by now, I'm the writer, the rewrite, and the Editor. And a pretty damn good blame shifter. #myfault.
Our tax preparer(Holly) was commandeering(using big words,13 letters) the blog computer last evening, reading instructions, printing, and filling spaces. I learned what the true meaning of the sign (Do Not Disturb) means.
Now about me(of course). I must say the last couple of days of super warm weather(we patiently waited for, haha) has given way to a lot of outdoor projects. And my elimination of cigs and whiskey(my drink of choice) found me doing projects I would have abnormally put off, or in those days, not do at all(if it ain't broke, don't fix it). That's a wow right there(patting my back right now). Yup, seeing good differences daily(encouraging myself). Don't miss God's blessings this week, they're there.
48 hours have past since I put my last words down on paper(not really paper). And the difference from then to now, is the weather change. When the first warm days of the spring first appear, I begin to feel anxious (earnestly desirous) to go and have some drinks and sit on the picnic table, enjoying laughs and sun(might miss something). This afternoon during my commute home, it was very difficult to keep going towards home. It was like my insides were turning inside out. I made it home(phew). So I didn't have to lie to me, God, or you(blog net).
But I miss having fun(type A personality)(all work and no play makes me a dull boy). So maybe cabin fever fits me better(home fail safe), I don't know.
So, this sounds like, and looks like Gary is having a pity party.
I am seriously glad I'm home in the long run. An extra prayer for me the next few sunny days would be greatly appreciated :)
Love all you readers out there. There's power in numbers, Right? Battling daily.
So how does the mind click? Well I learned it's pretty damn up to speed. Yesterday I went to return an item(grocery store) and after we went through the usual who, what, and when(oh, can't forget the where). She opened the till and handed me $7.41. My mind immediately thought, that's enough for a pack of cigarettes. What the? Noo. I moved on from that little bump in the road.
Also in the same store, I passed a young mother with three, rather busy kids. I could tell she was at that overwhelmed level. I picked up what I was after and went by them again(by the wine section). I jokingly said, kind a like the commercial on TV where the mom grabs up a bottle of wine quick. She concurred totally and rolled her eyes. Totally remember the shopping thing with our four beautiful children. It always was a happy and new adventure. lol. Why this last story? Because sharing humor(clean) soothes the heart and mind. Also, I need to put myself around alcohol and move on/away(strengthening my resilience). P.S. I lost at Scrabble tonight. #devastating/hurting
Geez, I just get done bragging about my growing more brain cells instead of killing them, and then I remember(surely age thing) what I was going to mention on the fortieth day. This past Saturday(forty days) I thought about Noah and his family waiting out the rain for forty days and nights. I can attest that the duration is along time. Maybe for them more so than me, I knew when forty days would be, they had no clue how long they would wait(real tough for someone like me)(type A).
Pretty excited(doin a dance excited), this marks the Sixth Week of Free and Clean(pinch me). I owe some of this new walk I began, to my nephew(Tim) and his wife(Lisa). Had they not decided to quit smoking October 2015, I'm pretty sure I would still be caught in that nicotine crutch to this day. A big woo hoo goes out to them for convicting me, and they didn't even know the effect they had on me(domino affect a good thing).
How's it going for me? I have to say, I kinda like me better(more humorous/and agreeable).
Sleeping till 6 am is so much more tolerable.
Eating? Time to eat yet? Got any snacks? Should I get some groceries? I think you get the picture on that one.................
Monetary savings? Cigarettes and alcohol $1,096............... (sorry I was staring at that figure for a moment).
Seeing that last one? I think I'll "Keep Pushin" (REO Speedwagon), keep pushin on. On that note(jk) I'm hitten the hay(mattress).
Should have started this blog sooner but we were watching a movie, and I don't multi task(one thing at a time).
I have been doing some alcohol and smoking research lately(to cold to be outside). And have discovered that quitting Cold Turkey has the highest success rate, but, one size does not fit all. It worked/working for me, and that's all that matters(don't mean to sound selfish). I wish I could help so many people in their personal fights and battles, but, if I have helped just one from this blog, then its been pretty cool.
I weighed me the other day, I'm up about five pounds. Not freaking out on that change yet(ten I may)(buying new clothes cost $$).
My brain circuitry is messing up tonight, can't seem to pull anything up from the hard drive. Which is strange because with my new fresh and clean walk, my brain should be upgrading daily. I'll do some research on that next. NIGHT.
Ha, and you thought I was going to forget to come back. I may be a little old, but, I am producing new memory cells as I type/you read. So I have more then enough for me to remember this blog and your support(blessed).
I have been getting a little anxious inside(body/house) lately with this unforgiving winter season holding on. I just want to get back out there and service the customers(March was super). It gives me affirmation and keeps me busy. Something sitting around this house doesn't. That's when the thoughts of the old habits seem to surface more often. And eating/snacking is getting ridiculous. Not that I am gaining that much weight, but I am getting really tired of that full feeling all the time. Ugh. (Smoking would alleviate that feeling)(just saying).
But I have kept those vices in check(the Lord promised not to give me more then I can handle(temptation)(1 Corinthians 10:13)(trust and faith). Looks like I'm getting a little/lot parenthesis happy tonight. Just trying to help you understand where I'm going sometimes(outside the box). With that, its time to say adios for now. Happy trails to you, until we meet again(song).
Ya, I know, what the heck happened on the thirty-fifth day? Lets just say I got lazy again. Not against my battle(winning).Am I eating too much and loosing energy for my blog? Don't think so. I think I am getting addicted to board games though, which is a good thing for sure(not so bad of an addiction I'd say). I have discovered Twix candy bars are my new cookie in a wrapper(tasty treat).
Today(thirty-sixth) was a good day, even the sun appeared. We went to vote and I have to admit that being under some kind of influence(alcohol) would have made my voting choice a whole less painful(ridiculous choices). Sorry, my opinion of course.
I thinking about doing this blog every two days. I know I have great support out there everyday, and touching base with these keys every other day will be fine. I am not taking this blog lightly, it is very important to me. I have the old thoughts pop up in my head occasionally, and the retraining of the mind goes on, and on. Please keep the faith and stay encouraged.
Sunday, so off to church we went, to give thanks and praise. Had our sister in law and nephew visit for a great meal at our place(roast beef, mashed tators, and gravy). Then we played a game of Tri-Ominos and 2 games of Scrabble and of course its not all about the winning, as long as you had fun(winning has a lot to do with the second part though). I nailed the Scrabble, must have been the alcohol free brain cells(bragging, I know).
Being a Sunday(day of rest) I probably will cut this blog short, seeing I all ready taxed my brain cells earlier. Also, this way you can hit the hay early too. Hope this finds you encouraged and strong. Keep swinging the bat. GN
On this abnormally cold April day(all day snow showers), it was very welcomed not having to go out in the garage and smoke while shivering. Also, watching movies there is a lot less hitting the pause button while I go out there to grab a puff. I am trying to focus on as many pluses, no matter how menial they are, to succeed.
I started a fire in the fireplace(good thing we have a fireplace,lol) tonight, and a little smoke always escapes into the house(part of the warmth). The smell seems to be more over whelming than I remember before. So tolerating smoke of any kind is a little more difficult(I think a good thing).
I thought I would tell you that there is liquor around here too, and that I don't even notice them. But, if I do, I just remind myself that it is not for me, and just go on.
I watched the movie "A Walk Among Tombstones" with Liam Neeson (very good). There were excerpts throughout, about him going to AA meetings(powerful).
Well, it's getting really late for my bedtime. What? Unbelievable..... Hmm.
It's here. What you ask? The month(April) that follows the long month of March(31 d a y s). I was looking forward to a shorter month, and here it is.
Soo, along with a new month, comes(you may have noticed) a new look for the blog(gotta keep things fresh).
Ok, lets get right to it. The other day I was thinking about what my past mornings were like and what it consisted of. First I would slowly get out of bed, and start thinking what I had scheduled(customers) for the day(memory default). Then get to the bathroom and grab 3to4 aspirins(headache), get dressed, stop at the kitchen and fill large coffee to go cup and run out the door(usually late)(honest speaking, probably shouldn't been behind the wheel)(Dumb). Work all day with very little, if any, to eat. So glad to be finished for the day(tired), but not to tired for a reward at a bar. What a vicious circle it was(and that probably wasn't the half of it). ugh.
Soo glad where I'm at, and glad you're here to listen. Thanks a ton, means a lot to me.
