I can’t believe that March 2015 has been and gone already it seems only a few days since the February Progress Report. I don’t feel as though I have achieved very much or made much progress towards my goals. I’m a little disappointed in myself but I’m trying not to be too harsh, because as ever there are plenty of others out there willing to do that for me. I think it is an excellent demonstration of seeing what you focus on – bad luck or good. And it seems I need to make more time to update my journal, and remember to take photos when I get up to things.
| virtue | February | March | notes |
| beauty: body weigh ≤61kg by 15 June |
64.3kg |
64.8kg |
Not so good in the weight loss department, though I have three months to try again. I have been very tired and felt strangely empty, but I put that down to that push to get the book done. Clinical Pilates is progressing well and the back exercises help a great deal with the pain, though I worry my health insurance cover will run out before the classes do. And in the last week or so I have been able to take a walk in the morning which has given me a semblance of motivation for getting other things done as well.I don’t like calorie counting, but uncontrolled eating clearly isn’t working!
changes: new due date – next clinic appointment 15 June |
| beauty: presence stick to the guidelines and continue to build a practical and workable wardrobe that reflects who I am |
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I have been thinking a bit about presence this month, can you have it when you are home alone as well as when you leave the house? I wondered partly because I wore out my stay at home clothes and I wasn’t sure what to replace them with. In the end, I took the easy route and got black track pants and t-shirts in bright cheerful saturated colours. And then I replaced some worn out shoes as well.
My next book is about wardrobe planning and strategic purchasing so perhaps a long-term view will help with this sort of dilemma. next steps: still looking for jeans… |
| beauty: home sparse yet comfortable happy home that reflects our authentic selves |
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I planned a dinner party for April, so the house had a good clean but I had to top up with champagne glasses and table cloths. Someone advertised seven place settings of my dinner service, but I would have had to drive for 90 minutes to collect them (and another 90 back) so I didn’t buy them. I feel it may take me most of April to restore the house to order.
Cleaning one day a week hasn’t been working for me, so I am back to doing a little each day. |
| beauty: garden lush and abundant garden providing habitats, weather protection and a mystical threshold |
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The dinner party led to some garden work as well, and the realisation that mowing the lawn gives the garden an instant lift in the same way as vacuuming the carpets lifts the house. We did a lot of cleaning up and discarding or broken fencing and general rubbish and it’s really nice not to look out on a big pile of rubbish. The weeding progresses. |
| friendship: creatures get the dogs well and healthy develop habitats to support native species |
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My 11 year old dogs are as well as ever, but their tails and noses are becoming increasingly white.
Our garden clean up resulted in some habitat loss, so I want to pile up some sticks and rocks and to replace it. Our bird numbers are decreasing as the weather cools and it as sad as always to see them leave. The next door neighbour’s cat (or perhaps a fox) dismembered a small furry creature… |
| friendship: friends maintain and improve relationships with international and e- friendsmake new friends, especially local |
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My e-friends have been relatively quiet this month, but that’s probably because I have been quiet too. I know that some of them have had some fairly tumultuous life changes with new babies and such and those things are bound to take up a bit of time. I miss them.
I made plans to catch up with local friends, some went ahead some cancelled. It’s nice to get out of the house, but it’s nice to come home too. I must start a round of rescheduling.It has made me consider the roles that we play in other people’s lives, and how difficult our differences in perception about those roles can sometimes be. |
| friendship: family Managing and constraining relationships with family |
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Wrote letters, made phone calls, listened to voice mail. Some irritations, but I think we have perceptual differences of our own as well. |
| friendship: contribution give something back to the community and the planet |
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While I would like to think that I brought some benefit to the planet and people/creatures who dwell upon it, I really can’t pinpoint anything. The woman whose shopping I caught when it fell? |
| pleasure: adventure taking risks and international vacations |
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DB took a week off work and one warm and sunny day we took a trip to Sovereign Hill. We haven’t been for a number of years so it was interesting to see the difference. And get an old timey photo taken. You just can’t beat an old timey photo can you? |
| pleasure: recharge rest, relax, recharge |
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I now know that I cannot replace my favourite bath oil, and I have not yet found anything else that I like to get instead. It’s disappointing. |
| pleasure: just because |
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I went into a hat shop in town, just because I saw a sign that I had never seen before, where I met a bright and busy milliner. I have to go back into town next week, so I shall wear my lovely blue overcoat and see what she can do for me. |
| wisdom: choice having the capacity to make choices |
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Oddly enough, choosing not to have ongoing paid work is hard work. Choosing to be a writer entails choosing to be a marketer, selling me as well as my writings. It’s a slow process. I am almost nostalgic for the days I used to work in an office doing as I was told. |
| wisdom: growth become a more complex person by challenging beliefsunderstand and develop my mind: critical thinking, self-reflection, subject expertise have the courage of my convictions, choosing me for me |
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A lot of March was spent learning about branding and marketing. It’s been interesting and incomprehensible by turns. I have been attempting to develop a logical and workable plan, but I think it will be another couple of months before it starts coming together and I can tell if it’s going to make a difference.
The process of making one’s brain expand sufficiently to accommodate new things seems as difficult and painful as transforming into a werewolf looks to be on tv. You survive a difficult transition into something new, but in doing so you lose something of yourself. Or like starting a new job everyday – scrabbling to catch up with what you need to know but never getting comfortable enough to relax and get complacent. |
| wealth: income $29,163 income |
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Made $20 in birthday money… |
| wealth: expenditure reduce expenditure |
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$562 on new clothes and shoes, along with the required alterations I need as a short person. |
What happened next: April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November
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