New Year's Commitment

 Once again, I'm trying to change my day structure to....

    1) write more

    2) exercise more

    3) eat better

The writing is to get back into the habit of something I love and to feel a better sense of accomplishment each day. Maybe it will turn into money. Most likely it won't. But I can live with that if I can figure out another way to bring in a small amount of money each year, enough to allow us to travel.

That's the biggest thing  - to be able to travel more. Some of it may be sightseeing, but mostly, it's to get together with family.

Exercise and eating better are to control blood pressure and blood glucose better. If I'm going to travel more, I just don't need the finances. I also need the health to do so.

In that effort, my mornings have changed. I will get my coffee and start writing after a brisk walk (super brisk on these chilly early mornings). At first, it will be like putting a monkey on a typewriter and letting the gibberish come out. But hopefully, in time, I will improve.

I also have a series of exercises that I go through that will help with my sciatica. Some aspects have similarities to yoga, but it's mostly stretching. It helps.  

Later, in the early evening, I have a treadmill. I can watch parts of silent movies while on it. I must be careful not to overdo it because it can cause foot pains. Yes, I must balance exercise while avoiding the onset of arthritis flare-ups.

I'm returning to a spreadsheet that helps me better track what I eat to balance out different categories. It's about the same except for adding potassium, which I watch now. It's more of a check and balance system than super-restrictive. I keep a good ratio of carbs to fiber, and now I will watch the ratio of potassium to sodium.  

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There's a closet in my house that has boxes and boxes of stuff I have not looked at in ages. It was blocked off while Benjamin had the room as his study, but now it's opened up. Some are junk, but others are like taking a trip through time, with memories going back decades.

It has given me many story ideas I hope to share with you.  

New Year's commitments are difficult. I have a lot of church treasury work in the next two months that will require much time and concentration. I lost a lot of sleep last night trying to solve one particular problem, and many spreadsheets were floating through my head. I thought I had left that behind when I retired from accounting, but it's hard to tell my church no.

Best wishes for the New Year, my faithful friends and readers! Hope to be writing to you again very soon!

Until next time,

T. M. Strait