- totally random Olympic Torch experience. Not sure yet if it's annoying or just funny, especially since I really wanted to avoid seeing it for a lot of reasons. But I did have to laugh at the irony of trying to avoid it and then being right next to one of the transfers.
- Made another new recipe tonight and it turned out fairly well.
- Got a treatment from my mom. Hoping that will help me sleep tonight, and balance out some of the other health stuff until I see my regular practitioner on Saturday.
- Managed to fit a bit of reading in while trying to convince my computer that it wanted to stay connected to the internet, and not only stay connected (wireless is finicky tonight), but upload photos. (Watch for some more photo posts in the days to come.) Was really glad to at least get the reading in though.
- Pleased to be at verse nineteen in my memorization. Also pleased that the memorization is very much a forced meditation on the scripture, and I am getting the chance to consider Philippians verse by verse in a way I never would have.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Daily 5 - Day 159
Today's Daily 5:
Olypmic Torch
To be really honest, I knew the Torch relay was passing near where I lived today, and I knew it was going to be happening right around rush hour when I would be driving home, and I was desperately hoping to avoid the whole kit and kaboodle.
Instead, I got totally stuck in traffic. And not just stuck in traffic. Basically parked. About 10 feet from one of the spots where a Torch relay exchange was happening. Since I had my camera in my purse, I took a few photos.
Instead, I got totally stuck in traffic. And not just stuck in traffic. Basically parked. About 10 feet from one of the spots where a Torch relay exchange was happening. Since I had my camera in my purse, I took a few photos.
Waiting for her turn to carry the flame
almost there - see it coming?
the handoff
and she starts running too.
Tips on Simplifying
It's no secret around here that for the last several months I've been aggressively using a budget, and trying to simplify life a little bit to get my finances under control and eventually give me more freedom to do the things I'm really passionate about.
I've been following all sorts of blogs with tips on living simply, being environmentally friendly, handling money wisely, and living generously.
I've also been personally convicted the last little while of a need to revamp what I am able to give financially. Especially since, at the moment, my health is preventing me from committing a huge amount of my time to service projects.
In any case, I appreciated this post at Anne Jackson's blog this morning, dealing with some of these issues.
My one added tip, that I left in her comments: If you're struggling with credit card debt, look into getting a bank loan or line of credit and pay off your credit card with this. You'll likely pay far less interest, and that means you'll pay down what you owe much more quickly. I recently did this and am now paying less than half the interest rate that I was paying the credit card companies.
Someone asked me the other day about my student loans, but the interest I pay the government on the student loans is even lower than what I am now paying the bank. Plus, that interest is tax deductible. So, for the moment, I'm going to maintain my current student loan payments, and send most of my extra cash towards paying down the line of credit that now holds my other accumulated debt.
Oh, one other great tip for those of you who live in Canada and have been collecting HBC rewards points at The Bay, Zellers, and Home Outfitters for years. I recently checked my points balance and realized that I had accumulated enough points that I could trade them in for a $25 online Chapters credit and a $10 gift card for Itunes. I'm saving them for a month when money is a little bit tight and it will feel good to buy something just for me. There's nothing quite like the feeling of a guilt-free book and music purchase!
I've been following all sorts of blogs with tips on living simply, being environmentally friendly, handling money wisely, and living generously.
I've also been personally convicted the last little while of a need to revamp what I am able to give financially. Especially since, at the moment, my health is preventing me from committing a huge amount of my time to service projects.
In any case, I appreciated this post at Anne Jackson's blog this morning, dealing with some of these issues.
My one added tip, that I left in her comments: If you're struggling with credit card debt, look into getting a bank loan or line of credit and pay off your credit card with this. You'll likely pay far less interest, and that means you'll pay down what you owe much more quickly. I recently did this and am now paying less than half the interest rate that I was paying the credit card companies.
Someone asked me the other day about my student loans, but the interest I pay the government on the student loans is even lower than what I am now paying the bank. Plus, that interest is tax deductible. So, for the moment, I'm going to maintain my current student loan payments, and send most of my extra cash towards paying down the line of credit that now holds my other accumulated debt.
Oh, one other great tip for those of you who live in Canada and have been collecting HBC rewards points at The Bay, Zellers, and Home Outfitters for years. I recently checked my points balance and realized that I had accumulated enough points that I could trade them in for a $25 online Chapters credit and a $10 gift card for Itunes. I'm saving them for a month when money is a little bit tight and it will feel good to buy something just for me. There's nothing quite like the feeling of a guilt-free book and music purchase!
The Sandwich Test
This one really made me chuckle. I love turkey sandwiches. And as for mortal enemies, in the sandwich world, tuna would most definitely be at the top of the list. I am also very introverted and mostly prefer to blend in.
| You Are a Turkey Sandwich |
 Conservative and a bit shy, you tend to stick with what you know and trust. You are very introverted, and you prefer to blend in whenever possible. Though you may be hard to know well, anyone who does know you considers you a true friend. Your best friend: The Ham Sandwich Your mortal enemy: The Tuna Fish Sandwich |
Verse 19
It is most definitely Monday.
I pretty much didn't sleep last night.
I knew that I might be in trouble when, an hour after taking the supplement that lets me sleep, I was still wide awake. It usually knocks me out within 20-30 minutes.
I got up this morning and realized my face had decided to explode overnight. A zit. Which is no big deal since I usually get them around the edges of my face, where my hair hides them, and since they're usually pretty little. Nope. Right between my cheek and my chin. And volcanic. Lovely.
I'm also having crazy symptoms again as I work out the finer points of figuring out how to balance my totally out of whack body chemistry.
So. It's Monday.
It's taken an hour and a half, but I feel like I've mostly organized myself, and have a sense of what needs to be accomplished at work, and what needs to be accomplished at home this week. That's a good thing.
I'm still working on memorizing Philippians. (That, you'll recall, was one of my goals for 2010 - finish the project I began late in 2009 of memorizing the entire book by the of 2010.)
There are 104 verses in Philippians. I have now memorized about 19. That works out to about 18 percent for those of you who are counting. (I'm counting!)
This morning I worked on verse 19 as I drove to work. (My strategy for memorizing involves an audio bible and my morning commute. I find this works for me, repeating it alone, and with the audio bible, and that it helps my mindset for the day to spend that 20 minutes or so focusing on scripture intensely.)
Meditating on the verse I'm working on for the day, or the entire portion of the book I'm running through is unavoidable due to constant repitition, and this morning I find myself caught by verse 19: "For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance."
Such confidence. You pray, Jesus will help, and I'll be okay. Paul was in prison when he wrote that. Knowing that he likely wasn't getting out, and his life would likely end.
Somehow, that's sticking with me this morning, as I consider some challenges that exist in my life. Others pray (and I know of many who lift me in prayer, thank you!), the Spirit of Jesus will help me, and I'll be delivered. That is a very comforting way to start an off-kilter Monday.
I pretty much didn't sleep last night.
I knew that I might be in trouble when, an hour after taking the supplement that lets me sleep, I was still wide awake. It usually knocks me out within 20-30 minutes.
I got up this morning and realized my face had decided to explode overnight. A zit. Which is no big deal since I usually get them around the edges of my face, where my hair hides them, and since they're usually pretty little. Nope. Right between my cheek and my chin. And volcanic. Lovely.
I'm also having crazy symptoms again as I work out the finer points of figuring out how to balance my totally out of whack body chemistry.
So. It's Monday.
It's taken an hour and a half, but I feel like I've mostly organized myself, and have a sense of what needs to be accomplished at work, and what needs to be accomplished at home this week. That's a good thing.
I'm still working on memorizing Philippians. (That, you'll recall, was one of my goals for 2010 - finish the project I began late in 2009 of memorizing the entire book by the of 2010.)
There are 104 verses in Philippians. I have now memorized about 19. That works out to about 18 percent for those of you who are counting. (I'm counting!)
This morning I worked on verse 19 as I drove to work. (My strategy for memorizing involves an audio bible and my morning commute. I find this works for me, repeating it alone, and with the audio bible, and that it helps my mindset for the day to spend that 20 minutes or so focusing on scripture intensely.)
Meditating on the verse I'm working on for the day, or the entire portion of the book I'm running through is unavoidable due to constant repitition, and this morning I find myself caught by verse 19: "For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance."
Such confidence. You pray, Jesus will help, and I'll be okay. Paul was in prison when he wrote that. Knowing that he likely wasn't getting out, and his life would likely end.
Somehow, that's sticking with me this morning, as I consider some challenges that exist in my life. Others pray (and I know of many who lift me in prayer, thank you!), the Spirit of Jesus will help me, and I'll be delivered. That is a very comforting way to start an off-kilter Monday.
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