The rest of the story... (re: March 15 post)

After posting such a discouraged entry two weeks ago I wanted to share the flip side.

I've lost the weight I gained. My blood sugar is down. The lymph node in my neck has returned to its previous size. My energy level is better. My mood is vastly better. I've significantly reduced my consumption of Dr. Pepper, my drug of choice.

My kitchen is drastically better, and will be completely back in order tomorrow.

My tops are clean, my sheets are clean, my towels are clean, my underwear is clean. The jeans aren't as urgent, since I switched from jeans to denim capris last week.

My current goal with my wellness coach is increasing my activity by wearing my pedometer regularly and progressively increasing my steps.

I've gone from being clueless on Thursday about digital video and YouTube to having successfully uploaded a test clip, in preparation for filming a cooking demo tomorrow for my Cooking for Life application. A friend is bringing her camera to shoot the video. (Mine won't shoot five minutes at the resolution I want.)

Someone whose opinion I greatly respect has agreed to provide a reference for me. I'm waiting to hear from a friend whom I've asked.

I'm spending more time with people and less with my computer.

I've given up mystery shopping. It's been several weeks since I accepted any assignments, but I hadn't said, "That's it; I'm done." Now I have. I don't know how I'm going to replace the income in the short term, but I feel good about the decision.

I'm walking more, singing more, scrapping more, cooking more.

I need to be more diligent about maintaining balance in my life. Overscheduling myself, or pushing too hard, has in the past started a cascade of poor decisions: I'm tired, I drink more Dr. Pepper, I don't cook from scratch, I don't clean the kitchen.

I have the tools to maintain balance. I'm getting better about using them. I'm getting better at stopping the cascade early.

Life is good.