14 February 2022 Valentines

by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 14 February 2022 Monday Valentines Day chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1297901452

Hello to you. How are you today? Hope this finds you well. It’s Valentines Day. For some this is a very special day. The retail industry loves this holiday! My take on it is if you are in a relationship with someone that everyday is Valentine’s Day! Don’t ever take each other for granted. Don’t wait for a holiday to show your special somebody that you care. When I was married we didn’t celebrate Valentines. We felt the holiday was just too commercialized. To each their own!

Got good news yesterday. My Dad was in and out of surgery for his fractured hip! I was really surprised he got in so quickly! Thank you for your prayers. Now he just has to heal.

We had a nice day yesterday. My Aunt and Uncle joined me at church which was such a treat! They got there before me and had told the pastor and some others it was my birthday so when I showed up they wished me a happy birthday! They had a little bouquet of flowers for me. It just really meant a lot! The big point of the sermon really resonated with me: “we do what we can in order to enable us to do what we can’t .” So much of my day to day is pushing through – trying to focus on what I can do not what I can’t.

Bouquet and cards – so grateful!

Later Link and I went over to my Aunt and Uncles. My cousin, who was also celebrating his birthday and his wife my dear friend was there. My Aunt made tamales and also made my chocolate pudding dessert! My Uncle grilled some elk steak on the grill. Later my cousins older grandkids stopped by and we all watched some of the Super Bowl. It was just really nice to be together! I’m so grateful to have loving family to celebrate these kinds of occasions with.

When I got home I was really anxious so I took Link on a walk. Then I went on another walk by myself. What was happening is I was getting sleepy and felt anxious thinking about trying to go to sleep. So frustrating! I finally did relax and watched the last quarter of the Super Bowl. My Uncle and I had spoken earlier about the LA stadium apparently it cost like 5 billion dollars to build! The LA stadium is practically in his backyard and so we had decided to pull for the Rams! It was nice to see them actually win.

“I will take time to notice the most important friends I have, my family. Each family member will get my love and kind thoughts today. “ (A Woman’s Spirit)

The weather has been nice. I was feeling restless so I got out and chalked a bit

13 February 2022 Birthday

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, Mental Health, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 13 February 2022 Sunday morning birthday stream https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1296945099

Hello there how are you? Today is my 54th birthday…..it still is a shock sometimes that I’m over 50! In a little while I’m meeting my Aunt for church which will be really nice. Later this afternoon my family is getting together to celebrate both my cousin and my birthday and watch football.

I wish today was completely happy but it’s not. I found out yesterday that not all is well with my parents right now. My Mom is having to have steroid injections for pain in her hips and my Dad has had a couple falls and he fractured his hip and will need surgery. I am feeling really powerless about it. This kind of stuff is what I’ve been talking about that happens and you have to choose how your going to deal with it. Shit is going to happen in this life in varying degrees and you have to go within and draw strength from your spirit to walk through it. There is no other way but through! I hate that my parents are having these health issues! They were supposed to be able to enjoy their retirement! I have to let God on this.

If you pray or meditate could you please think of my parents Larry and Dianne. Thank you!

“Our inner journey is a transformative process. It involves becoming who we already are in essence and letting go of the phony in favor of the authentic self.” (A Woman’s Spirit)

12 February 2022 Trolls

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Mental Health, Social media, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 12 February 2022 Saturday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1295753063

Hello to you. It’s Saturday as I write to you. As I sit here typing the morning sun is streaming in the front windows – it feels really nice!!

The stream this morning was interesting. My friend and I aren’t sure but are thinking I got a 2022 version of a prank call. Some guy was trying to tell us that his 3 year old sister somehow got a hold of his Grandmas ashes and flushed them down the toilet! We weren’t sure if we should take him seriously or not. It’s so frustrating when stuff like that happens on this platform. I have a limited amount of time and don’t want it wasted by pranksters and trolls. Lately I have been encountering more trolls than usual. Other than banning them there isn’t much I can do! If I was making money doing this I would have moderators to police the stream.

“Each day is a “workshop.” Let’s remember to keep our minds and hearts open so we won’t miss our opportunities.” (A Woman’s Spirit)

11 February 2022 Pills and Dessert

by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, Health, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 11 February 2022 Friday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1294588326

Hello to you. It’s Friday! We made it through another week. Sometimes that feels like a miracle.

I wanted to briefly talk about my experience with Hydroxyzine. It was prescribed to me to help me with anxiety but an beneficial side effect was drowsiness. When I took it I was able to relax and sleep. Well I had to get refills yesterday and they told me they changed manufacturers but assured me it was the same pill. NOPE! The new stuff doesn’t make me sleepy and the other night when I took it, it actually made me want to pace my house in the middle of the night! There is a difference between one manufacturer and another. My body noticed! Thankfully last night I just took my lithium and was able to sleep most of the night. I’m so tired of this but I’m not going to let it get me down.

The recipe can change just enough that you notice

I wanted to share with you my favorite birthday dessert- it sounds like my Aunt is making it for Sunday. My cousin and I will be celebrating our birthdays together!

Mom Schmidt’s chocolate dessert

Crust: mix 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) spread into a 9×13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let cool and then add

2nd layer: mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup Cool Whip and 8 oz cream cheese. Then add

3rd layer: 2 pkgs instant chocolate pudding, 3 cups milk and 1 tsp vanilla. Once this layer sets top this last layer with the remaining Cool Whip and nuts if desired. Chill and serve.

The message from A Woman’s Spirit book today was about developing your inner voice. How do you talk to yourself? Is your inner voice nurturing or a reflection of the critical voices you used to hear around you? I’ve been working on cultivating an inner voice that speaks to me like a best friend would. It takes time and effort to reprogram ourselves from our early programming – from our earliest selves.

“I can listen to a loving inner voice if I practice loving myself and others today.” (A Woman’s Spirit)

10 February 2022 Thursday

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 10 February 2022 Thursday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1293499319

Hello to you. How are you doing today? I hope this finds you well.

My Twitch stream is short today as I have to conserve my WiFi minutes! Got a notice from my internet provider Sparklight yesterday that I had used up all my minutes. They were giving me more more minutes but charging me for them! I think my daily streams have been using a lot of it.

Today I talked a little bit about how we feed our heads….our souls. It was a reminder to myself about how what I read, watch and listen to shapes my souls perception of the world. An example is like watching the news sometimes. I usually avoid it because I don’t want to believe the world is going to shit! I want to believe there is good going on. My family and friends are testimony to that. Garbage in….garbage out.

Yesterday I spent some time listening to Thich Nhat Hanh talk about loneliness. His words really resonated when he talked about the importance of making a home within ourselves before trying to make one with someone else. Not too long ago I had a healing session with a friend and that was the message for me then too, “You are home.” The messages for the soul have many sources. Choose the sources wisely!

https://youtu.be/FoYKHy78oiw – Thich Nhat Hanh talk about Loneliness

“I will love the people in my life today. They are here with me now because that is God’s assignment for me.” (A Woman’s Spirit)

9 February 2022 Messengers

by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, Mental Health, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 9 February 2022 Wednesday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1292413476

Discord: https://discord.gg/DAs7rfxy

Hello! How are you today? I’m doing alright. This morning as I was laying in bed I got to thinking about messengers. An image came to mind of me standing in front of many doors. Each door representing a person with a message. Who do I listen to?

So many messengers to choose from

Last night I was craving to hear a spiritual message so I looked up Joyce Meyer on You tube and that helped. Sometimes her words really resonate with me other times not. It’s good to have messengers. People that you listen to that help you navigate this life. I am realizing, however, that it’s important to have a strong relationship with the God of your understanding AND yourself. Any messenger you choose to listen to is not going to be there forever. Nothing in this life is permanent be it people, places or things. It’s important to be strong in what is unchanging…..fixed…won’t leave you. When the storms come, and they do, you have a strong shelter. This is stuff I have to work on every day! I’m learning you can’t completely rely on what’s outside of you to get through life. People say things like they will always be there for you but it’s not the truth. They are mentally, spiritually and physically incapable of doing that no matter how well meaning they may be. You have to be able to be strong in your relationship with God and yourself. Like I said this is a lesson I have to learn and relearn each day!

“ Every thought I take to God is a prayer. Today I’ll be free of anxiety if I think of God before every action I take.” (A Woman’s Spirit)

8 February 2022 Tuesday

by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, Health, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 8 February 2022 Tuesday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1291287593

Spiritual stuff going on inside and out

Hello to you. How are you today? I hope this finds you well. Today is off to a fine start. There is lovely sunshine again today – so grateful for that. My stream was kind of lonely this morning but that happens. The past couple days I’ve had not so nice people show up and this morning I was able to ban one of them. I know how to do it now!

Last night I watched an interesting program on You tube called In Search Of starring actor Zachary Quinto: https://youtu.be/OTa8jePn8iI the episode I’ve linked is about super humans. Zachary talked to these three men who each had super abilities. One man exerted over 500 pounds of pressure to bend a car door to save someone. Another man was a Shaolin monk who could break a stick with his head without hurting himself and the last man is like one of 40 in the entire world that doesn’t feel pain. What was interesting is how much of what was going on is an inside job – what the mind does. Zachary himself was tested. During one test he and the three men had their brains scanned when putting their hands inside a bowl of ice water. Zachary’s scan showed that when he meditated he was able to block pain. A lot of what is going on in our lives has to do with what we think!

Something I learned through my Quantum Touch training is if for example I bumped my leg to take deep breaths – to breath through the area experiencing pain instead of focusing so much on how it hurt. When I was able to do that I noticed less severe bruising. The natural reaction when we are physically hurt is to focus on the area we are hurt. Again, like the program I described, it’s an inside job. It really takes a lot of practice to train our brains to do what we want them to do. This is something I struggle with most every day!

A couple good messages from A Woman’s Spirit book today:

“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other.” George Eliot

“My purpose is to help someone else today. If I think someone is causing me a problem, perhaps I should address my attitude.”

7 February 2022 Monday

by saymber, posted in animals, Bipolar life, drawing, Health, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 7 February 2022 Monday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1290210941

Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. I’m trying to get myself grounded after the stream this morning. We had a troll get in the first go around! It happens. You just can’t let them ruin your day. After the third try we got it. I talked about some serious topics. One of them was about coping with loss. The way I used to deal with it was shopping but after our Sam died I realized there was nothing on this earth I wanted more than Sam! You can’t put tangible things in the space of the intangible. It’s like light in a black hole. That’s why it’s important to have a strong relationship with the God of your understanding…..spirituality.

The battle for sleep continues

The battle for sleep continues. I’m going through the Hydroxyzine like it’s nothing. I think needing to lose weight is what part of my problem is. So I’m going to try and do little things to be more active. Yesterday Link and I went on a longer walk into town. He was panting and my leg aches but we made it! I have some weights I can use – just do something! May be being more active would help with anxiety too.

A good little message from A Woman’s Spirit today:

“ I write my script today. Who I choose to be is in my power. My past performance doesn’t determine my present personality.”

6 February 2022 Sunday

by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, Health, Social media, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 6 February 2022 Sunday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1289157720

Hello! How are you today? Hopefully good. So far today we have beautiful sunshine, I had a nice stream on Twitch, went to church, took Link on a nice walk and had some cereal for breakfast. I almost stopped at our local restaurant called the Sunrise Cafe on the way home from church but it looked really busy.

Yesterday I went over to my friends house and helped a little bit with a big painting job she wanted to get done. I was kind of embarrassed at how out of shape I felt! I did some of the taping and was having a bit of trouble getting up and down. Thankfully she had her daughter and a couple of friends helping too.

Felt my age yesterday!

“We are where we need to be. We get what we are supposed to have. Let’s practice gratitude.” ( A Woman’s Spirit)

5 February 2022 Saturday

by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, Food, Social media, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 5 February 2022 Saturday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1287928568

Hello how are you? I hope this finds you well on this Saturday. The weeks are going by so fast aren’t they?!

Last night was fun. My Aunt came over and picked me up. She wanted to go out to eat with me someplace. We drove to Star which is a few miles down the road and were just going to eat at Dairy Queen but found a place called The Rustic Table instead! It turned out to be a really nice sit down restaurant! We decided to make it an early birthday treat and order some nice things on the menu! She had Halibut and I had filet mignon. The meal came with yummy garlic mashed potatoes and coleslaw. For dessert we shared some chocolate cake. It was just really nice to get out of the house and experience a new place with my Aunt!

My Aunt and I made a nice memory last night

I got some sleep last night but I’m having to go through a lot of Hydroxyzine to do it. My body is treating it like Benadryl. I will get a couple hours of hard sleep and then I wake up. I’m feeling pretty good this morning so it’s worth it !

My stream this morning was pretty short. Just had one viewer and she she doesn’t talk much! I talked a little bit about s book I’m trying to read about Energy vampires by Dorothy Harbour. I read a little bit about the different types of vampires there are. For some this might be a new concept of energy exchanges in relationships.

Some morning cuteness from our Link!