Health "Hazards"

It is summer, the sun is shining, the temperatures are rising and my legs soak up water. Or whatever they do, but they have water every summer.
It came to the point, when I had to by my shoes with an eye to expandability, because they are not always oversize and I like to keep them on my feet while walking. That may seem a tad unnatural, but that's the way I am swinging.

So far, it was both legs equally, but this year my left leg was almost double the size of the right one and I do not know, wether that is, because my left foot is bigger or I mostly look with my left eye or whatever. But since most of my heart is on my left side, I decided to check this out.
So I got one of those 24 h heart-check thing (the german word is EKG, no idea, what is the english one), with a bloodpressure-measuring device attached.

Now, that blood-pressure-thingy-me-bob was a bit annoying and it was stressful and so my usually low blood-pressure was after 24 hours mostly higher than normal. Except for night-time, when it was really good.
My heart readings (or something in that vein) was very good though. So at least my heart is not in danger. Nice to know that.

Part of the reason for my water is an underfunction of the thyroid, but then I didn't always have water in my legs. Might have come with age, though it started at about 20, I do not consider that old. Not even my actual age (mid-40ies) is really old. Just a question of comparison. I use my over 80 year old parents and feel young right away.

Anyway, let's take the thyroid, age, the above-mentioned weather.

To this I have to add - though reluctantly a resistance to more than the absolutely neccessary movement, especially in great heat.
A lot too much weight       and
the habit of not drinking enough water. I do drink Cappuccino and Icetea and Earl Grey or other teas and Iced Coffee, flavoured water, but not really just water. Not so good.

And because of that (and because my gallblader, my other inner organs and my knees will surely appreciate it) I

.

This means however to fight myself. On the other hand I have decided to reach the age of 97, like my grandmother and I'd prefer to do that as healthy, as humanly possible.

So, I started by making an appointment with my ophthalmologist. Yesterday I made a green smoothie to have with my breakfast. Since a change of habit in my habit-change-challenge à la moi is due tomorrow, I decided to restart yoga stretching. And I will add, as an extra, to take the stairs up to the first floor in my office building. I work on the fourth floor, but I will start with one set of stairs.

To improve my water Intake I bought a refillable bottle yesterday and I found some very small waterbottles that are nice to carry in any size of bag. They are for kids, but hey, I am my parents kid, so I am entitled.

So all this should at least help my organs and knees and I should use some weight with it. The hydrating will help my skin and my doc said to drink a lot, so it should help against the water in my body. We shall see, if the water reduces the water, but I will help to reduce the weight...

Other than that I returned from a family holiday in the Netherlands yesterday and I have re-gained 3 of the 4 kilos I lost. Well, on the plus side: not only did I not gain MORE than I had lost, I gained less. I can go on from there. With a lot of sweat and hard work. But if that is, what it takes: bring it on.

Another reason I fight back? It fits into Minimalism... yes, but what I meant to write was: I am not willing to give my health over to others. It is my body and

I will take care. So if I am bored, I will not suck in crackers and sweets and sugared drinks (though I will drink them now and again), If I am bored (usually during parties) I find either some water to drink or someone to talk to, something to do or a polite way to leave.

I am not bored at home and I do not have any snackfoods here. On my grocery-shopping trip yesterday I did not buy any on purpose. O.k., I did buy nuts and fruit , but they are to be used in combination with vegetables for smoothies or selfmade cerials. Well, except for the almonds. I ate all 200 g of those. :-)

Also I will have my breakfast and dinner at home and take my lunch to work.

This way I know what and how much I eat and what ingredients where used.

On this note: I have to do some clean up in my kitchen, since I couldn't convince myself to do more than rinse my dishes yesterday and I find it nicer to have breakfast in a clean kitchen. My dining table is in my kitchen for reasons of space and because it gives me an added surface to work on.

I wish you all the best. For suggestions: I am always thankfull, but I still haven't found out how to read them. Maybe you try it via google+, I seem to get those.

Enjoy Life, you only have one....

A short one

I am going to Augsburg! In August. Hooray. By bus and I will stay in an apartment. That should be exiting.. :)
NOW I can improve my plans on traveling and exploring Augsburg..

Rainy Saturday

So. Great Britain is leaving the EU. A sad day. Angela Merkel said though, that this process of leaving is regulated and will take some years. Therefore it does not seem so very bad, that David Cameron isn't resigning before October 2016.
Since the process will take years, rather than months, he does not seem to hold anything up. BUT: it still makes me sad. However: I am not british and so I don't feel, that I can give any judgement. I am entitled to an oppinion and I voiced that.

Let's come to the "important" stuff therefore: my life. Of course, my life is mainly important to me and not to you, but since it is vice versa with your life, I'll survive and we all live on happily ever after.

Lately I have been doing some massive KonMari-Style decluttering and now I can almost say, that my flat at least - don't look into my cellar though - is free of stuff, that I don't need. Well, there are still three boxes, a bag and the headboard of my bed (that I screwed off, because it messed with the line of my bed-covering), that have to go to the cellar, but otherwise it is light and relieved. Light in the sense of weight off my soul and more sun in my flat. I love it.

On Tuesday my oldes nephew and his friend were kind enough to schlepp all the unneeded furniture to the curb to be picked up (by appointment) and when I got home from work on Wednesday, it really was all gone. I felt very free and easy.

Since I did my bit of schlepping as well, I was too tired to do much cleaning after the removal and so contented myself with sweeping my rooms. Today however I hoovered and did some wet cleaning as well and so now it looks very loveley everywhere.

So you have first my bed made (without headboard) and then my hall. There is just one piece of furniture now. The rack is for guest coats and such.

There was to the left opposite the small cupboard a bookshelf, to the right of the cupboard was a CD-cupboard, or however you call it. To the left of it where one small cupboard, a sideboard and some small closet for shoes, plus about 8 big sacks of discarded books.

This is my bookshelf now:

And you can see the boxes and part of the bag.

Anyway, as to my bed making, I did sort of stay with the habit-changing system suggested by Leo Babauto and that's how I came to making my bed every morning. Next up will be stretching myself from lying down to touch my tows.

Are those situps? I call them situps for now. Anyway, I will do them. One every morning, until I actually manage to reach my toes. Then I will up them to two.

I also try to get up really early, you already know, that I am not an early riser by nature, but I do sometimes manage to get up early, as I did today. And so I did yesterdays dishes and sorted the wasching, unscrewed the headboard, had breakfast and cleaned and dressed myself (duh) and then I went shopping at about 7 am, because one of the two shops not so far away that I can't walk there, started opening at 7.00 am. I love that. So I got some fruit and some other stuff.

When I was well and safely home, it started to rain very heavily, so I was glad, that I did go so early. It was surprisingly well frequented for such an early time.

The hoovering and other things I did do after 9.00 am, because I didn't want to rush my neighbours out of bed too early. I did however get the washing in by about 8.30 am. We do have a communal washing room in the cellar and there are people living right above that room, so I do not do any washing before 8.00 am.

Since they had their own machine running by then already, there was no worry to wake them up. Part of my washing I put in the washer, the rest I hung up on my balcony. As I did with my woolen socks, that I handwashed for the first time since I got them. I was aware, that it is better for the socks, but I was too lazy. But now that I am free of clutter, I even have time to handwash my woolen socks. Yeah.. :)  (Clutter includes clothing)

About 12.00 am I made some pancakes and had an Espresso and an orange for dessert. I am currently re-reading the Madame Chic books by Jennifer L. Scott and she wrote, that at Madame Chic's the best wasn't kept for special moments, so I decided to use my best on a daily basis. This became easier, because I chucked out a lot of obsolete dishes and mostly kept the best.

One of those is an espresso-cup and today I actually used it and didn't just dust it.

Nice, huh?

So that's it for today, thanks for your patience, have a happy weekend!

Another week ahead

... and I am inclined to take it as a chance to further imrove myself. Must be a midlife-crisis. Well, not  a crisis really. Just some "half 90" thing perhaps. And that should have been started last year, when I turned 45. This year, right now, I am closer to 46, then 45 and that's it about me.... (good joke?)

At any rate. My plans are made for the coming week, I am excited to see, how they will turn out. Will I do all of them? Some of them? None of them? Already I had an idea of cancelling one of my plans, but I think, I will stick with the original.

By the way, I am trying to not write in so big blocks. Gets hard on the eyes of the reader (you) and that's not very kind or is it?

Anyhow, here goes:

Monday:

 Morning Routine (get up, when awake or when the alarm goes - whichever is first

pack bag, make bed, air flat

get showered, dressed, fed, made up, gone)

work from 6.07 am to 2.30 pm

go to the recycling centre to finally get rid of my trash. IF my street is free to drive on

carry my book sacks into the free space in my cellar

prepare food for Tuesday

Evening Routine (get cleaned, lay out clothes, straighten up my place)

Tuesday:

Morning Routine

change the leave off time from 2.30 to 4.30 or 4.45 pm

go to my optometrist and have my glasses checked

get home, get into comfy clothes, have tea, read

prepare food for Wednesday

Evening Routine

Wednesday:

Morning Routine

work from 6.07 am- 4.30 pm

This is the first day of the return of my boss from maternity love. I am very glad, she's back

fill basket with clothing for the first load of washing the next day

prepare food for Thursday

Evening Routine

Thursday:

Morning Routine

Work from 6.07 am to 3.30 pm

get the first load into the machine

prepare food for Friday

change clothing to dryer (I'll have to explain something here, later)

get clothing up, start ironing part of it.

Evening Routine.

Friday:

Morning Routine

work from 6.07 am to 2.30 pm

get the next load into the machine

hoover flat, dust, clean windows, clean floors

fill in next load, hang up second load (Thursday was first load)

clean kitchen

fill third load in dryer (bedlinen, towels, dish-towels)

get Hall empty

Evening Routine

Saturday:

Morning Routine, except that I don't get gone, since I only work a five day week)

do paper stuff

unhook shower curtains

clean bath

rehang curtains

relax and enjoy having cleaned everything

check wether balcony clothes are dry, if not, in dryer for 1 hour.

get on with the ironing (with a good movie or audiobook)

Evening Routine

Sunday:

Morning Routine

more paper stuff

prepare Food for Monday

do the dishes

play, do computer stuff

read, relax

Evening Routine.

Now as to putting the first load of clothing into the dryer:

I only wanted to dry the bedlinen and other things in the dryer, as my drying rack can't take such big pieces and the drying cellar in my house can be pretty yucky, as one of my neighbour leaves his stuff there for weeks.

Anyway, I somehow manouvered myself into a corner, where I might not have enough clothes to get me through to Friday fully dressed... :-) I'd like to avoid that. I could of course wash earlier, but that would collide with another plan of mine:

Yeah! Another Plan.... :-)

First weekend of the month: do the shopping (groceries) and freeze or cook, what can be prepared

Second weekend of month:  do the washing

Third weekend of the month: social time, where I give up my people free weekend to friends and family.

Fourth weekend of month: MINE!  No people, not work, not stress, pure bliss.

Of course I will hoover in between and clean after me, do the dishes, when I have cooked, so there will not be so much need to clean all weekend, but I will do the heavy cleaning on the second weekend. I can also check, wether I need cleaning supplies (in the future, I have enough for years) and buy the stuff in the next month. And I can see, if anything has to go be repaired and get that to the proper places on the next first weekend of a month.

Since I know, that I'll be meeting people the next weekend, I can also use the second, to make sure, my clothes are in good order. 

I have reduced my clothes considerably and that is part of the reason, I do not have so many clothes at the end of the month. I had since to buy two pairs of pants and bought three tops, as well as ten pairs of longer socks, but now I am set. Everything I have got, I like and I came to the conclusion, that I can actually wear things twice as a rule. Unless of course it was very hot and a lot of sweat was involved. In that case I might have to wash inbetween. BUT: a plan is only good, if it is flexible.

Just as I will buy more milk in the middle of the month. I buy it in bottles and it can only be used for two weeks, so I will stock up on that. All the rest (veggies and fruit) I mostly freeze and the rest I use up in the first two weeks. That's why I bought a super efficient fridge after all. 

My one free weekend I will most probably spend in my pjs or my comfy clothes, but I will not dress to go out. So that saves on clothes as well. Also I can review where I have to make changes in the next month, what I need to stock up and what I have to add to use up stuff I have in store.

For instance: I now have a new kitchen applience, a steamer. So I can buy some veggies to fit with the fish I've got and steam them together. I also have a rice cooker, so I can prepare all three components in one go... :) I also have a lot of rice. And some stock is in glasses. Today I fried wax-beans, tomorrow I'll cook them and maybe cook a sweet potatoe. I don't know yet. What I do know: 

I have a clip about potatoes that will end this post. I do not own it of course, but I will try and add the owner of the clip.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0F_QmfkEuny7t72SejvARg

I copied that from the channel, that I got it from. And I linked the line. So when I tried it, it worked.

Hey, I am getter better with this technical stuff. O.k., I am pretty sure, my 8 year old niece already knows how to do that. BUT: she grew up with all this technical stuff... I didn't. We didn't have computers, when I was eight. And I can't regret that. Though I do not regret having them now.

It both has its good sides... 

Cheerio and a happy week ahead!

And another Sunday. Luvverley

I had a 4-day-weekend, because Thursday was Corpus Christi and that is a national holiday in most counties in Germany. Well, in those with mostly catholic people living there. Protestant countries do not have it as a holiday, because we do not see it as a holiday. Actually, most of the protestant Holidays I knew as a child, well the two I remember besides Good Friday, were taken away. None of the catholic Holidays. Since however I get the day off as anyone else, I am not actually complaining.

My Grandfather was catholic and he had to go to every procession on any catholic holiday and he had to go to a monks school. His twin-sister went to a nuns-school. He did not like it. So, when "the church" said: o.k., you can marry the protestant "heretic", but you have to raise your children in the catholic faith, he said something in the equivalent of "No way, José" and converted (this is a direct translation from the german word) to the protestant faith. Personally I am happy about it, because the protestant church does  not use incense. I remember, that as very little girl I got sick from the smell and had to leave the church. To be fair: I was exactly in the height of the incense Vessel in which it is brought to the Altar. So that might have to have had a lot to do with it.

Now, don't get the wrong idea, that I am critizing the catholic faith, as I am NOT. It is more a matter of one is used to. I do not know enough about the faith.

The only thing, that I will really never understand is, why young men are to be forced into celibacy at the age of about 21, to do a job the love. I just think, the personal lovelife and the choice of profession are by nature to very different things. If someone wants to live a celibate life, that is a very personal decision and I have no problem with it. I just do not see, that the reasons, for which this rule was installed in the Middle Ages, still apply.

Well, I am not forced with the decision and if there are young men who don't mind that: o.k. by me.
I still don't have to understand it.

-----

Anyway: this morning I woke up at 4 a.m. and I was all twittery and nervous and just knew, that I would not be able to get back to sleep again. So I washed and brushed and opened all the windows, made my bed, swept my floors, made a coup of tea and then set on the balcony, waiting for the sun to come up and listened to the birds singing. It was very nice, all of it.
Then, since it was only about 6.00 a.m. and the bakery opens at 8.00 a.m. on Sundays, I played some Sims 4 and at a little before 8.00 a.m. went to the bakery. I wasn't the first, but in time to get my favorite buns, called Laugenspitz. That is a triangular bun of lye. Very tasty.

Then, just after I finished that, I got really tired and so I lay down on my sofa (I had made the bed and didn't want to unmake it). I slept until a little after 11.00 am. So you could say, I got the lost time back in.
After that I called my parents, who had just returned from a short trip to Berlin (our Capital, though I liked Bonn better, it was closer to my hometown and more comfortable).

Then I did some dishes and after that I went YouToubing, which in my world is random clip-watching. Very nice.

---

Last Friday my nephew and I packed my trash-Sacks to get them to the dumpster, or rather the Recycling Centre, where they take care, that the trash is sorted and then, well, recycled. So the
trash goes to a good new home, in a way. Unfortunately, a lot of people used that gap day or Bruecken-Tag (Bridge-Day, as in "a bridge between a Holiday and the Week-End) to get their trash their. So we abandoned our plan and returned. Only, now it all is in my cellar, no longer in my flat. That is a positiv change. I then packed all my discarded books into sacks and yesterday I put them in the hall. Tomorrow, we will try again and then I will carry the book-sacks into the cellar, so my hall gets emptier. In the middle of June my bulky waste will be picked up from in front of my house. That is the stuff one can't pack into a car and transport to the Recycling-Centre. So they come and pick it up. I find that very good service.

So, while I will still be away from a minimalist flat, I am getting closer to it every day. And I am getting better at it two. Somehow.

As I was a little frustrated from the fruitless attempt of ridding myself of recyclables (or some such word), I went into town. My general reason was good, I wanted to replace two tops, meaning shirts, that I had to discard becaus of stains I couldn't get out at all. Well, I bought 3 Shirts and two pairs of pants. one jeans and one a dress-pant. Sounds bad, doesn't it? It isn't really. I just found, that after my discarding pants that just didn't suit me or fit me anymore (for Donation) or that where frayed and beyond repair (for recycling), I was left with only 4 pairs of pants. That seemed not quite enough.

As an aside, one of my several new plans is, to just wash one weekend a month and 4 pants for 30 days meant, that I would have to wear each of them 7 1/2 days. Even with my technique of giving them a days rest and a good airing in between wearing, that did not seem quite enough. So I had decided to by two new pairs on my shopping-weekend. I have decreed the first weekend of the month for shopping. BUT: in my favorite shop, where I get quality clothes, that I can wear for years without loss of quality and without getting bored of them, plus the very good service and advice I get, they had an offer: two pairs of pants and the cheaper one for half price. Now the shop is - due to the quality of the material - not cheap, but they would have been more expensive next week. So I bought now and do not have to go clothes shopping next week or for quite a few months now. I am very well provided now.

----

My plans: I plan to do the shopping for the whole month on the first weekend in the month. I might have to buy milk inbetween, but the veggies and fruit I will freeze, so I shall have them for the whole month. I am not very much into joghurt, so if I only get that in the beginning of the month, I'll survive and stay happy still. Milk I need for rice pudding, iced coffee and sometimes in my tea.
I will also cook ahead for a week and this will not have too much pre-cooked stuff in my freezer.

On the second weekend I will do the washing and clean my flat very thoroughly. Since the machine does the washing and the dryer (towels and bed-linen) and wind (the rest of my clothing) do the drying, I have my hands free to hoover, sweep and wish. And I will only have to hoover once a week and wish off in my bath daily, (personal choice). Much less work.

The third weekend I give to people. I prefer to have my weekends to myself, but it is not always possible. So I figured: if I give my family one whole weekend in the month, they will leave me alone the rest of the month and so I can have the last weekend as my wellness-weekend. Manicure, Pedicure, Massage, hair-dresser, just plain pampering. :-) And no people. I have people five days in the week and since I have now an intern for three days of the week, 4 hours a day, I am always knackered, when the weekend starts. I am no longer used to have to share my office. But it is a luxury, I do know it. Usually, only the Executives have them.

Well, after this very long post (I am obviously not made for short stories), you deserve a rest...
Enjoy your Sunday, it may just have started or you may only have the evening of it left, but enjoy every minute of it. It's worth it... Just see, that you enjoy it the way YOU like, not the way you THINK, you are supposed to enjoy. It is YOUR day. Unless of course  it is some loved ones birthday and you want to make it a happy day for the birhday person (or want to make it special for other reaons)...

All the best..

Habit-Changing Challenge and Tidying

Here we go again....Or to make it more musical..

Of course, I do not own this clip!!

Anyway, I have been working away at getting up before 6.00 am every morning, but I have not been overly successful with it. If I did get up early, I went back again to sleep. Especially when I knew, that I did not absolutely have to get up.

On the other hand I managed to eat at home, at a table, most of the times and I managed to make my bed every morning complete with overthrow. Since it has a very nice pattern, I do not put pillows on. Apart from not having any and not being a very pillowy person. Well, if that is a word, pillowy.

After finishing the book: The more of less by Joshua Becker, I went on to The life changing magic of tydiying by Marie Kondo or KonMari. I found that book not only very interesting and inspiring, but also very helpful. I have reduced my books very much further and even my clothes, of which I thought there was nothing to be put away anymore. But even this morning I did put away some scarfs I had not worn for a very long time. They also don't fit in with the wardrobe I do have now. Not with the colours.

Also this morning I parted with my plastic-containers in the bathroom and I have decided to donate my tapping-shoes. Apart from not fitting me anymore: they haven't been used in ages. So I am donating them with the rest of my clothes.

Next week Friday, my oldest nephew and I will bring a big bunch of Sacks to the junk heap, where they will be properly discarded and at least two sacks of clothes and bedlinen and towels, that I donate as well. Most of my other clothes have already been donated.

Then on Sunday the fifth we put out some bigger items to be picked up. Which reminds me, that I still have to order the van. I'll do that (online), when I am finished here. This way, there will be a lot of superfluous stuff out of my flat. A lot of it stems from the tim, when I thought, that things might be useful to me or even make me happy. For a long time now I have known, that they don't. Therefore I donated and donate some of them, sold others and wll have to discard the rest. I am getting good at that. Yesterday I emptied part of my Secretaire. I did keep some of the stuff, but most of it I tossed or put it to its proper place. I am making space. I intend to remove every piece of furniture from my entrance hall. Expet the coat-hanging device. That is nailed into the wall and so I do not consider it furniture. Neither will I get rid of the Key-hooker or the big mirror. But the rest will go and I will have free passage through my hall again.

I like that. I have also been inspired by my Aunt, who moved last weekend, after having lived in her flat for more than 30 years. She took a lot of stuff with her, that she really didn't use or need or want.
If it had been something, that her heart clung to, I could have understood it. But the way it was, she just didn't want to let go. That is her decision, it is after all her stuff. Still I confirmed me in my oppinion, that I do not wish to move with so much stuff. I want less stuff in my life and I am on a good way here. So far, most of what I have got, is stuff, I really like. And the rest is stuff, that will go to a better place. Free to help others now.

I like it and therefore I am going on now, reducing the number of my CDs. :-)

Questions

Next week - on the 26th, to be exact - my first challenge ends. So far it did not go so very bad. Only two days without breakfast at home.
It is time however to think about the next habit to Change, challenge, you Name it.


I did do some deep thinking, chose a couple of possible habit changes and got them off the list.
Two habits remained and I thought that I'd ask you to help my decision:


Possiblity one:     Make my bed every day. And that means not only airing it and then folding pillow and blanket, it includes putting the beadspread on as well.


I'd have to take a photo of the result, but I could only report success or not in the evening or once every five days. Why? Because I intend to stick with the breakfast habit. That's why I started it after all, I just wouldn't report on that anymore. Both will not leave me time to take the photo, upload it and then publish.


Possibility two:   get up before six a clock every morning. I am not an early bird. Not at all. My Alarm goes at 5.00 am, because I have to take my thyroid medicine at the same time every day, but then I turn around and sleep on.


Well, you can give your own two Cents as to that decisision until Monday,  April 25th and I can tell you on Tuesday, which Habit I'll challenge next. I'll do both, but it is a question of order of Events.


The question is though, how you'll get your vote to me. Probably best via Google+, because I get notifications from there and I am so technically inept, that I still haven't found out how to get at comments. If you gave any: I am still working on it. I don't even know if you get to read: comment has to be approved. So: don't be angry, have mercy. I am working on it.


Anyhow:


One is     making the bed - very nicely - every day
Two is    getting up before 6.00 am every day


Thanks for voting!

Living a Meaningful Life by the Minimalists

I am in my second reading of the book "Living a Meaningful Life" by Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus aka The Minimalists.

In the first reading I was very happy to see, that Health was put as the first Value. Happy, because I had come to the same conclusion.
At the topic relationships I learned, first: I had unknowingly followed the described maxims three years ago, by removing an emotional bloodsucker not only from the first tier, but completely out of my life. That was probably the best decision ever and I wonder now, why I kept friendship with that person for about 17 years! Well, better late than never.
second: I have more relationships by their definition, than I knew of and only a very chosen few are in my first tier, a few more, mostly family are second and the rest are rather remote. I forget the word they used, but I can now "let them live" and just see, that I have as little contact to them, as I possibly can. At work, that is not always easy, but made easier by having an office to myself and a door, that I can close. Plus, some of the people I have to accept as remotely (rather bodily, than personally) in my life are not often in my sight. In my hearing yes, but well. I can always get the radio a little louder.

All in all, I would put Relationships clearly in my bottom end of values, though I did meet a first tier friend today and we did have a meaningful talk, and I had a guest in my office today of second tier status (she comes to me twice a week), but in general I prefer to be by myself at work and at home, if possible. I learned to make it possible.
To me, I do not have have many people in my life and the few that are close to me, I do not need to see often or talk to often to feel and know they are close. Both sides make the most of rare meetings.
This way, we can enjoy them intensely. It is a bit like a relationship, where both sides live far away. One enjoys meetings the more, for them being so rare.

My passion is reading. What I can get in my fingers, but mostly crime stories by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh,Georgette Heyer, Martha Grimes, Arthur Upfield and Magdalen Nabb. I also like the Regency-Romances by Georgette Heyer and authors from that area: Jane Austen, George Elliott, Elizabeth Gaskell, a little bit of the Brontes, but certainly not Wuthering Heights.

My passion for reading does tend to getting information. I find, that by reading the stories of people who lived in those times or researched extensively about those times (like Georgette Heyer), one can learn quite a lot about the times then, the world they live in. I also like documentaries about historical topics and sometimes I have a person or a topic, that I like to get my teeth into and that I read a lot about. For the past two years, that has been Minimalism, in many forms. And Health.

So you could say, my passion is learning and information. Learning about people and the past. I find the past very informative. One can see patterns, that come up in todays life as well, though sometimes in other forms.

My other passion is knitting socks. Since I can't knit and read, I discovered Audiobooks and this way I found out, that there are voices I like and those I don't. I am very choosy, as to who may enter my brain through my ears. :-)

Growth. Well, my growing is very much combined with my passion. I think, that you can grow through learning only. Learning about life and learning about oneself and people. So maybe, I have 3 Top Values and only two bottom ones. Or seeing my passion to learn as growth, I might have only four values in all. two up, two down. :-)

Contribution. I consider my job as my main contribution as I work in the social department of the Rhineland Regional Council or in German: Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR). I am responsible to write the permit-decisions for people with disabilities who work in sheltered workshops. And I prepare Helpplan Meetings for people with disabilities, who live in homes or receive assisted living.

I think that worthwhile and therefore I like my work. Apart from that I help, when I can, how I can.


As to the named questionable items: smoking - I don't smoke; overeating - working on it, gossip - working on it.
TV: because I found, there was nothing much on TV that I couldn't watch elsewhere or absolutely had to watch anymore, I stopped watching TV and canceled it. Not just cable, the whole caboodle.

I do spend to much time on the Internet, but I use social media to play (on Facebook) or to write my blog only.
I only like shopping for books, audiobooks or DVDs. Since I just spent a lot of time reducing the amount of those items in my flat (and am not really finished yet, still have to get them out of my flat), I am not willing to get stuff in again. Well: audiobooks on my computer yes, books about minimalism and related topics on my e-reader: yes. But paperbacks only, if I really want them and think, that they are important to my wellbeing. Like for example the book "Sanditon" by Jane Austen (and another lady, since JA died before finishing it): I had read that ages ago and liked it very much. Recently I found, that I can get it, so I ordered it as a paperback, since I couldn't get it as an e-book. But others won't come in.

I commute to work by train everyday. I use this time to read. Therefore for me the time is not questionable but helps my passion and growth. Also sometimes relationships, as I meet a lot of people I know and mostly like on my commute. So: three values served. By taking the train, I have to walk a little to get to the train, which is good for my health and I don't increase pollution and by regularly using public transport, I save jobs. So I'd say, all five values are served.

That leaves going to bed late.. usually I am in bed by 9 pm. Tonight a little later, but this is an exception. So it works for me.

Getting up late: I have to take my thyroid medication at the same time everyday, so my alarm goes at 5 am. I switch it off, take the medication and then turn around to sleep on. That's not so good. I have a lot of work on that ahead of me.

I don't think, that I have other questionable items in my life, that are not covered here. And so I can now stop here, hit the bath and then the pilllow, it is 9.43 pm.

Good Night!

Another Sunday

But this completes my first week of my Breakfast-Habit-Challenge or BHC for short.

I did very well, if I say so myself, though the first week is always the easiest, since one is always most enthusiastic in the first week. I thought, I might mix systems. The Zen-Habit mixed with the meaningful living of the Minimalists. So I break the thirty days into three ten day units. In that way, the first unit will be done with Wednesday and I can start fresh on Thursday.

I will then see, that I improve the healtyness of my breakfast. So far I very much just eat, what is there, not actually healthy. Like Salami today. Though I did pair it with salad and half a pickle.

Beside my BHC I am experimenting with other changes. For instance: I am switching to water mostly. I still have a lot of tea and other things, that (or is it which?) I am loath to through away, since I find it wasteful and I can't  really sell the stuff or give it away. On the other hand, I am not getting anything unhealthy in, if I am strong enough.:-).

I am also experimenting with green Smoothies. Yesterday I had my first try-out. I made one with cucumber, Avocado, Salad and a little Salt and Pepper. Not bad and I will drink it up without disgust, but I don't think, that I will try it again. There are a lot of other recipes to try out.

Yesterday I went to my local Farmers Market and got most of the veggies I will need for the next week or two. I do have a very good fridge, in which I can keep them fresh. I can make Smoothies of one or two taste versions and keep them for many drinks. It'll be fun trying out.

Anyway, today is Sunday, I am well breakfasted and sitting here with my cup of (now lukewarm) water. And in a little whilie I will play a little, going over to my first smoothie today. I'll have three I think, haven't decided yet. Here in Germany it is 10.38 am CET. As I wrote: Sundays I sleep in.

Enjoy your day with this song, that - as ever - I do not own.

Doris Day is just the best for this song AND it's her birthday today, so I do hope, that she enjoys herself today! She deserves it, she brought a lot of happyness into a lot of lives!

Challenge update: I managed to edit the original post. So successes and others are in that, no new posts. This one is only headline...

I thought I add another video for the musical enjoyment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06hB4oep4XY

That's, where I got it. It was in the Channel of Letterkundige Museum. Just to say: don't own it.

Breakfast-Habit-Challenge

I'll try, if I can add every day by editing this text. That way it won't be a one word post every day. That's only causing clutter. Not neccessary.   ANOTHER CHANGE: it will last until the 26th of April, since only then I will have completed 30 days.

So to start:

28.03.2016             Done
29.03.2016             Done
30.03.2016             Done
31.03.2016             Done
01.04.2016             Done
02.04.2016             Done
03.04.2016             Done      (Sundays I sleep in)
04.04.2016             Done
05.04.2016             Done
06.04.2016             Done

This was day ten and so I decided, that tomorrow I started another 10-Day-Round. I tweak it a little.
From tomorrow on, I'll have one small green Smoothie with my breakfast and some vegetable. Salad, cucumber, that sort of thing. Unless of course, when I have Oatmeal for breakfast, then there will be some fruit or nuts or something similar healthy.

Thank you all for accompanying me on my way to a healthier living. I can say, that I have already lost 3,2 Pounds or as I way it 1,7 Kilos. Though the Pound way sounds somehow better. :)

07.04.2016            Done                Though I had to hold back not to switch to my desk to go online.
08.04.2016            Done                Day off today. Wanted to post photo, but didn't work from mobile.
09.04.2016            Done                Today with porridge, fruit, smoothie and hot water to drink
10.04.2016            Done                Today I hope, the photo works...
                                                     

It did. Hooray

Now for identification of the greenish stuff: that's my smoothie. With basil, salad, cucumber, banana, pineapple, orange-juice and apple. You don't actually taste the green stuff. It was only important to have it in. Not to taste it. :-)

11.04.2016          Done                And yet another monday. Have to be in early, too. :-(

12.04.2016          Done                A hasty breakfast, yes. But at my table at home

13.04.2016          Done                Today I have off, so it was leisurely :-)

14.04.2016          FAILED          I'll have to start fresh tomorrow...

15.04.2016          Done                I told you, I'd start afresh today. And I did. :-)

16.04.2016        Done                 Porridge with nuts and banana and tea. On the balcony. :)

17.04.2016        Done                 Scrambled Egg, bread with mustard spread, Avocados and

                                                    black tea with milk. It is Sunday and I had time to "cook".

And yes, it is the same mug I used yesterday. I do clean my mugs after use. :-)

18.04.2016       Done             Only just realized, after posting yesterday, that I have started

                                               the last 10 days. Amazingly, only one failure-day. :-)

19.04.2016       Done             A hastier one then usual, but a breakfast at my table. 

20.04.2016       FAILED       just didn't have any time this morgen, which is why I failed.

21.04.2016       Done             Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again

22.04.2016       Done             was a little rushed today, so I'm late updating. Sorry!

23.04.2016       Done             tomorrow we have a brunch, so I will be very late again

24.04.2016       Done             o.k., I could have written earlier. I'm sorry.

25.04.2016       Done             was rushed again. :-)

26.04.2016       Done!            and this concludes the official part of my habit change.

My next change will be: getting up before 6.00 am every day. That will be hard, but it will be.

There are so many open and hidden advantages, that I decided on tackling this next.

Zen Habit Change Style

One my way to minimalism and simplyfying I came to the book by Leo Babauta: "The Power of Less" and apart from writing, what I knew, that you need about a month to change a habit, since I wrote that somewhere else, he also wrote, that one should change one habit at a time and make oneself accountable.
So I decided to make myself accountable in this blog. But with what habit? You will doubtless wish to know. Well. Since I am to start small, I start with having my breakfast, every morning at home at my dining table.
This may sound weird, but I do not always have my breakfast, if I have it, it is not always at home and then it isn't always sitting down. For some time I managed to have my breakfast as described above  and it was good for me. I had a regular meal, I did not feel the need to eat before lunch and I steadily lost weight, which is very good for me.

There is another reason to choose breakfast. The book or rather its author stated, that one should find out ones values, goals, what one loves, what is important to oneself, what has the most impact, what the most longterm impact. What do I need and what do I want?

In my case: among several other things I value my health. My goal is to become healthier and keep that way. Again, among other goals. I love my family and friends and my health, which is important to me, has the biggest and the most longterm impact on my life. What do I need? Health, what do I want, eat what I like, when I like.

So what would you say? Health is uppermost in my life and so I made this one big goal: Get Healthy and stay that way. BUT that's not all, or rather quite a lot. So I divide it into subgoals.

Change my eating habits.
Change my sleeping habits
Change the food I eat
Start excercising
Loose 19 kg = 38 Pounds (in Germany, we usually count in kilos, not pounds or I do)

All these Subgoals I can break into projects and since I am to have no more than three projects, that take no longer than a month, but of which one is at least goal related, here are my projects, starting tomorrow, Easter Monday:

1. have breaktfast every morning at home, at my table, sitting down.
    until April 25th 2016
2. research green smoothies = find out about vegetable smoothies to get more iron in
    until April 1st 2016
3. finish the task from last week at work
    until April 3rd 2016

I don't think, that it'll take me so very long to find green smoothies on the internet and I
can buy supplie on my local farmers market on April 2nd. So that's done. I can have a smoothie every morning with my breakfast.

As to what I eat for breakfast. At the beginning, that is determined by what is in my pantry and my fridge. But since I have already stopped buying the very unhealthy stuff for breakfast and have eliminated (the unhealthy way of eating it up), what I had, it is not such a bad choice.

So!!! Wake up:

For the coming month in the light of accountability you will have a blogpost every day, just to tell you, wether I did have my breakfast at home, at my table sitting down.
It will be:

done                                 for success
almost                              for breakfast at my office desk
at least I ate breakfast     for breakfast on the run.
lost                                   for no breakfast at all.

Let us - or at least me start the games. Although, I started yesterday, but I wanted to start on a monday officially.

Oh: I do not set a particular time, since my wake-up-time-habit-change comes later. :)

All the best and for all the christians or those who hold the feast:   Happy Easter!

Plans - How I love to make them

I am not as enthusiastic about doing something about their realization though.
BUT: I do not have this problem with plans that require a lot of work.
Sometimes a plan is made and perfect. Now: who am I to perfectionate the perfection? Exactly.
Realizing the plan might ruin it.

Other plans wether they require a lot of work or just hard work or longterm work, I fulfill. Not everyone of them, but a good number.

Then there are those plans, that sound good, but turn out really very bad or disappointing.

And some things - a lot really - I do unplanned. Like moving the furniture in my flat. Buying wool to knit sox. Going to the cinema to watch a film.

***

There are times, when I have made a plan for every last second in the next 80 years for myself. That is the dangerous point, when I start making plans for others. Because I am in general very convinced about the success of my plans. And though I am writing it myself: it is born out of former success.

Very often plans or ideas I voiced to others and that they actually followed, were very successful. Sometimes plans that I made for myself, but discarded for one of the above-mentioned reasons (or even other reasons) turned out to work for others.

The thing about planning stuff for other people is: they live a completely different life and they think very differently than what I think (was that a real sentence?),
Sometimes, I figure that in and those are the most successful plans. Sometimes I ignore it, but that doesn't mean the plan won't work. It often does, because I ignored the difference.
At the same time it can happen, that it only works for a while, then the person I planned for gets bored with the plan or life comes inbetween and so they stop. Or they just come to a point, as everyone will at some time in life, where an add-on is needed. Where one has to adjust a plan.
That's good or bad or neutral. Depending on people, circumstances and plan.

I will go on planning so be afraid: be VERY afraid...

And I made a plan for myself. :) a longterm one. I will pay off my flat and save very hard and get it renovated and while I do all that, I reduce my living-costs as low as I can without depriving me of human contact, health, happyness and decency. But in the spirit of minimalism I empty my life of the superflous stuff. And the better I get at that, the better I'll be able to reduce my working hours.

And with that increase of time, I can improve my count of acts of kindness, which can do with improvement.

Don't get me wrong: I won't wait with the acts of kindness until I am able to go down to about 30 hours a week or even 25, that I will start immediately or rather have started already. But I will increase the amount of time I put into this.

I will not, however, spend all my freed time to do good deeds. I will spend some time just being me.
And that means: being alone. Without people or noise or movement. I will be. So what do I do: I do life and I do it the way I like it. Which is the best way to do life.

I could of course thing of stopping my work altogether, but I happen to like my work and the people I work with. So I don't see any reason to leave before my time. And it is a nice thought to be able to go home, when others have to stay. Or let's make it a little nicer: stay by choice because they can't see the sense in working less. It means earning less. Yes, it does. But if I earned more, I would only spend more on STUFF. I want less stuff. So: less money makes it harder to get stuff. I like that.

So the plan is: earn money by not spending it in order to be able to earn less and feel great!

Here I blog again......

well hello there. After not having written anything for month on end, I thought: hey, you got this blog, it's boring to only write in your diary (and I do that with an actual pen *gasp*), so write "to" other people.

So I write again and to day I write about minimalism. This is a concept, that isn't actual new to me, but that very often gets out of my focus. For the time being, it is back in my focus.

The reason it came back lies in my health, after decades of mistreating my body with shitty food, my body shot back. So now my gallblader ist almost bust and will eventually to be hauled out. My thyroid-measures (I was born with an underfunction of the thyroid) were bad, my try-glycerides were bad and - for the first time in my life - my iron count wasn't too thrilling. Oh and I forgot my allergy to histamins.

The good news? My cholosterol was good and so was the blood-pressuere and there is nothing wrong with my heart. Well, that's something!

How to improve the rest though? Well, change what I eat. Actually, there is not much that I can still eat or drink. I thought! BUT that's not true. There are a lot of things I can eat, just hardly anything of the stuff, that I liked. The fatty, oversalted stuff.

I do like sweets, but if I had to choose - disregarding health-issues for the moment - between no more fatty and salty stuff or no more sweet stuff? I'd choose no more sweet stuff.

The question doesn't arise, because for me, it is far less fatty and salty stuff and leave off sugar.

What has all that to do with minimalism? I made me change my eating habits or at least start to, that meant, mainly, that I had to change my shopping haits as well. Which resulted in less money spent for food.
Unfortunately, it resulted in more money spent for STUFF. Probably to compensate. So instead of weight and health-issues, I accumulated more stuff. I write more, because I already had more stuff, than I needed.

Then, in 2014 we had to count, how long any single work-process takes us in minutes. It turned out, in my case: not many. That led me think: why would I work a 41 hour work, if  I don't need that time to do my suff? So I started calculating (and I am severly maths-challenged). It turned out however, that I could reduce my working hours - and with that my salary - down to 35 hours a week and still have more money than I need for a comfortable life. Sounds like a dream? It is true though.
Well partly. I did reduce my working hours, but not my spending. YOU do the maths now..

Still: I got back SIX valuable hours of my time. Six hours to spend as l like and use sensibly or senseless. Well, I started off with senseless. I did not absolutely work. But partly. I felt relieved, because I did not have to work so much. But I did not use the time properly. So, I searched for MORE Sense, Value, fulfillment.

Before I started working part-time in 2015, I had ordered a new fridge. Mine was old, not energy-efficient and beginning to fall apart. So I got me a new fridge, engergy-efficient and a bargain to boot. That meant, that I had to clear out my kitchen.

Did I clear it out: I carried out FIVE trashbags, three boxes and one of those pull-along buggies for shopping. I am still possessed of to many kitchen utensils and I mean: I AM POSSESSED, not I possess. Still: it is much less and I am continually reducing the stuff. Throwing away, giving away, selling.

Next off was my closet. I have had my since 1997 and closets get a lot of wear and tear. So two of three doors did not work properly anymore, the shelves loosened then and one pull out thing (don't know the correct name right now) started to fall apart.
I was lucky though: my uncle and aunt are going to chance flats and they gave me there closet. A very good closet and I got it for free. It meant however, to clear out my closet
and let me tell you: for a person, that dislikes clothes shopping as I do (and that started at about 6 years old) I had A LOT of stuff to get rid off. Another six bags, this time to donate to a clothes collection, three bags of trash, nothing to sell. While I was at it, I got rid of a lot of books in my shelves, though those are in my cellar right now. But I chucked out about 250 books.
This left one shelve free for my extrensive DVD and audiobook collection.
I have only just started to get rid of these and will go on purging here.

Much more is my collection of audiobooks from i-tunes. And my collection of dysfunctional i-pods.
And my collection of e-books is getting bigger. So far I only lost one e-reader, I am happy to tell.

So: as a minimalist, I am a work in progress, but I am continually progressing and I got virtual help from several books and websites. I only name the websites here now, you go along and look in, they are very helpful and interesting.

The minimalists.com   www.theminimalists.com
Zen Habits                   http://zenhabits.net/
Becoming Minimalist http://www.becomingminimalist.com
Exploring alternatives http://www.exploringalternatives.ca/

And - because I think, that one fits with the others:

Random acts of kindness.  https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

I think, that they each have a blog, a facebook-account and are on google+, twitter, instagram, youtube, you name it.

They are all worthwhile and if you don't think so, there are a lot of people finding, that minimalism in one way or another is the life for them.
Because the one thing I learned already is: There is no ONE version of minimalism. It's individual!

All the best to you (oh, I put the links for those websites on in a while, but I am not only mathematically-challenged, it stretches out to technical stuff. :-) )  Well, as you can see above: Done!