While I’ve been working on this puzzle over the last few weeks, some realizations have come to me. It’s probably pretty obvious to anyone that does puzzles on a regular basis. But here they are…
You need to look at things from different angles.
Instead of simply looking at the puzzle and it’s pieces from the same direction, sometimes I had to get up and examine pieces around the table. Pick things up, look at it a little closer – and discover something new about myself.
I think through this 101 things to do in 1001 days idea, I’m doing just that. I’m trying to look at things in ways that I haven’t before. Trying new things. Creating adventures for myself – and taking chances on things when I don’t really know what the outcome is going to be.
You need to flip things upside down.
More than one time this weekend, I was holding the right piece of the puzzle and all I had to do was flip it over. Turn it a little clockwise. Or just simply try it a different place. That’s how things came together so quickly.
In my weight loss journey there were plenty of times that I had to flip things upside down. I had to change things up. I had to do something different. Because change is good. Change keeps you on your toes and keeps your body from getting too used to the same things day in and day out. If I hadn’t continually made changes in my life – for my weight loss journey specifically – I don’t think I would have lost the weight.
Truly, when I speak of change in this case I don’t mean solely food, sometimes it’s the exercise or activities you do, and sometimes it’s the support group that you have. During my journey, I had 4 very distinct groups of support… and I can honestly say that each formed a special bond with me throughout the journey. 
Did I really just say that change is good… hmmm.
And sometimes you need to remove yourself from the situation to see where you’re at.
I think this is the hardest part of changing the perspective on something. Leaving it and moving on. Looking at something new. When I did this and then a while (hours, days, a week perhaps) later came back to it, the whole thing seemed new. Almost as if something had changed within the puzzle while I was gone.
I may have said this before, but over the last month my Bible studies have been non-existent. I’ve felt further away from God than what I have in a long time. Tears have been shed, prayers for help have been lifted up… but I never opened His word to listen to what he might be telling me.
Then I started the Bible in 90 Day journey 2 days ago. It was hard, I struggled. It wasn’t as if I wanted or intended to be a “remove yourself” situation, but I think for some reason, it was part of the plan because I feel renewed yesterday as I read.
All of these perspectives are important as we journey though life.
If we don’t take a step back from the conversations we’ve had that have raised tensions with a friend or family member and look at them another way, a rift may form that takes much longer to be crossed in the path of healing. What if we don’t look at what we need to change in ourselves to make us who God wants us to be by flipping something over in our lives, could we miss a blessing that could change the lives of those around us forever?
Do you have to change your perspective on something?
I know I do. And I’m glad to be working on it.
Next week I’m taking on a new challenge… reading the Bible in 90 days. Not only will it cross off another item from my 101 things to do in 1001 days list, but I am looking forward to this experience for another reason.
To grow deeper in my faith.
Lately – as you might have been able to tell from reading my post earlier this week about the “role I want” – I’m really struggling with who I am again. Not sure why… but it seems to come in spurts. For a while I know exactly what I’m living for, what my goals are (etc.) and then one day it’s like it all hits me and I’m down for the count. I really think it’s the attacks of the enemy.
So I’m going to REALLY learn God’s word. And I would love it if you would consider joining me.
As Amy (the facilitator) has been saying all through this week on her blog, this is not an easy journey and that sacrifices need to be made. Yesterday, I thought long and hard about it and I’m going to give up workouts an hour of internet time each day. Or maybe I’ll really sacrifice and get up at 5:30am to read. (But I’m not counting on the fact that my body will allow me to do such things.
I tried this journey before… but I was also working through Beth Moore’s “Esther” Study… and could not handle both at one time. Not that I didn’t want to, but because I just had no more time on my hands to do both studies. (And believe it or not, at that time I wasn’t even on twitter yet! Hence the reason I’m giving up an hour of internet time.)
So now I feel like I am ready – like God has prepared me for this – and that I can totally do this.
I’ll admit I’m a little nervous. Nervous about how much work it will truly be, and nervous about what I will learn. But I think the excitement of what God will show me in this 90 day journey is definitely overpowering anything else.
I can’t wait to meet my mentor as well as the (so far) 245 others that are taking this challenge with me starting next Monday, July 5. Are you interested in taking the Bible in 90 days challenge? If so… go to Mom’s Toolbox and sign up — and then fill out this form for her too!
So most weekends recently I haven’t felt a huge sense of being productive. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but come Monday morning… I’m always feeling like I could have — or maybe should have — done more.
Not this weekend.
As you will see from the (multitudes) of pictures – sorry about that, by the way – it was good. Very good.
So the first thing I did this weekend was make a plan. Because as most of you know I am a total planner. P.L.A.N.N.E.R. And of course because I am all about crossing something off the list (obviously the easiest, quickest thing) right away… I went to PostCrossing.com* to start whittling away at my 101 Things to do in 1001 Days list. And I have sent out 5 post cards as of Saturday morning! (They went to Russia, China, Thailand, the Netherlands and Finland… and one to Tracie as well because we were chatting about it on twitter.)
*PostCrossing.com is a website that will link you with others around the world to send and receive postcards.
There was also some enlightenment that happened on Friday night. I am going to be changing a couple of things with my list. The first is to change the trip to Australia/New Zealand to a trip to Alaska. I do still want to go to Oz… however with the trip to Europe I *really* want to do, along with the other travel stuff… I don’t think it’s going to be possible, unless I win the lottery — and because I don’t play the lottery… that could be a problem.
The other changes that have been made are 1) No more cake decorating. It’s just asking for trouble with me trying to maintain my weight loss and working with something I love. I might do it still if I see that there’s a Wilton class nearby (because seriously, how cool would it be if I could make and decorate a stellar birthday cake for someone!), but not for this list. I’m replacing it with listing and researching my ancestors and where they came from in the Netherlands — back 4 generations on all the sides of my family! (Not that I’m making this any easier on myself!)
And 2) after a LOT of debate in my head, and with my budget… I’m discontinuing my membership at the gym I love so much. At least for now. It’s *really* SUPER expensive and I’m just not going enough to justify the cost of it all. As a replacement, instead of working out at the gym for 30 days… I’m thinking about doing (and probably will) P90x. I saw the infomercial for it while I was in Detroit this past week, and think I want to do something like it for a challenge.
Anyway… back to what I was doing this weekend (sorry I got a little off track… and long.)
I went to IKEA last week and purchased some wall sticker decals to “spruce up” my bedroom. I have a couple of walls that are still a bit bare (for me) and I needed a little bit more for them. And this…
…turned out to be the perfect thing! Just look…
Ok I know you can’t see it in proportion to the wall, but IT LOOKS AWESOME. So cool. (I was watching “Couples Retreats” whilst doing this… OK movie.)
Then, (kinda) because I felt like I didn’t fulfill the whole buy something at IKEA and put it together philosophy (they didn’t have anything in the size I needed), I went to Target and found the cabinet that I wanted. I started putting it together LATE on Friday night, starting out like this…
…building it to this…
…and finally finishing it the next day (because at midnight, I didn’t want my neighbors complaining about me hammering away)…
(Sorry for the blurry photos… I didn’t really pay attention to them as I was taking them. Gotta work on that.)
Then on Sunday I thought I should go check out what kind of coloring books I could find. I didn’t (where can I find a STANDARD size coloring book… sheesh) and instead bought and started my 1000 piece puzzle…
…which will likely take me a while to finish. It’s a “Thomas Kinkade” puzzle. I intend on gluing, matting, framing and hanging it after it’s completed.
So that’s the weekend for me… what did you do?
Welcome!
My best friends from SITS have arrived! In case you didn’t know… I do talk about you all the time. I like to read your blogs and LOVE chatting with many of you on twitter. Seriously. I’m a twitter-a-holic. I’m afraid there might be an intervention from my family soon. But I digress…
Some of you visiting today may not be aware of the great online blogging community known as SITS (aka Secret in the Sauce.) Many bloggers come together daily and leave comments on the blogs that others have written. Tiffany and Heather came up with this brilliant idea and have connected so many bloggers. I really can’t wait to meet them (and so many others) at Bloggy Boot Camp later this summer in San Francisco!
And today is my day!
YAY!!
So I’m going to take a random guess and say that you want to know a little bit more about me and why I write…
First I better say that I’m not from The Netherlands. I’m from a small city called Holland that’s located on the shores of Lake Michigan. This is a beautiful little place in which some of my ancestors founded after leaving the Netherlands looking for a better life. And while many love it here, I would love to have an adventure in a much warmer state that doesn’t receive 100+ inches of {mostly lake-enhanced} snowfall each year.
I started out this blog talking about the struggles that I was having with my weight loss journey – because as so many know, it is not an easy journey. But with the help and support of my family, friends and online community, I achieved my weight goal about 18 months ago after losing more than 150 pounds.
For one day I was a celebrity when I was featured on The Rachael Ray Show last October. I had a fabulous time in New York and wrote about the whole experience. There’s also a link so that you can watch my segment!
I still struggle with keeping the weight off but am trying to find adventure in all that I do. I – just this past week – created a new goal of doing 101 Things in 1001 Days so that I can make the most of these adventures… as well as provide myself some REALLY good blogging material!
Currently I’m on the search for “Mr. Right” and had quite an adventure meeting someone while on a roadtrip a while back. I’ve also tried the online dating thing… and found that you “meet” some interesting people that way.
It has been such a pleasure hosting each of you today – I hope you enjoyed reading some of the things that I’ve shared… and I hope that you come back and visit often. I love meeting new blog friends. And I truly can’t wait to visit each one of your blogs this week as I anticipate my next “Saturday Sevens” feature.
Thanks again for coming by… and have a blessed day everyone!
Do you remember when I created my “lifelist”? You may or may not, but as of recently I have NOT done much to cross things off it. In fact, some things in my life since that time have changed so much. Priorities shifted. I think that’s how life goes when you learn more about who you are… and what you really want your life to be about.
So with that, I’m going to be removing my lifelist from the top in the next few days and replacing it with…
101 things to do in the next 1001 days
This officially starts today, June 3, 2010. Some of these items were taken from the lifelist, and obviously (since that was only 30 items long) there has also been many, many additions.
And this is where I need your help. SERIOUSLY.
I only have 56 items right at the moment… and I need 101!!!
Give me ideas… good ones – especially for those of you that know me well (online or off) of things that *I* would be willing to do, that would not compromise my values, would be fun and an experience to share here.
1-Go to a midnight premiere of a movie
2-Sleep under the stars
3-Ride in a hot air balloon
4-Complete a coloring book
5-See the Northern Lights
6-Complete a 365 day photo challenge
7-Write a book
8-Join a book club
9-Fly a kite
10-No fast food for a month
11-Kiss in the rain
12-See 10 classic movies I’ve never seen
13-Go on a picnic
14-Host a dinner party
15-Buy something from Etsy
16-Sell something on eBay or Craigslist
17-Climb a mountain
18-Sail in a boat
19-Take a dance class
20-Become Bilingual (re-learn spanish)
21-See the Eiffel Tower
22-Visit Australia / New Zealand
23-Learn to play the guitar
24-Watch a meteor shower
25-Take a road trip
26-Buy a sofa
27-Read the entire Bible
28-Read the complete works of Jane Austen
29-Take cooking lessons
30-See the Pacific Ocean
31-Swim with dolphins
32-Ride a roller coaster
33-Identify 101 things that makes me happy
34-Try a new recipe each month
35-Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
36-Have dinner by candlelight
37-Find out my blood type
38-Write a letter to myself to be opened when the 1001 days is over
39-Learn to decorate cakes
40-Create or go on a scavenger hunt
41-Ask a random guy on a date
42-Pay off my debt
43-Write down every dream I have for a week.
44-Go to the batting cages
45-Buy a digital SLR camera
46-Visit the Grand Canyon
47-See the windmills and canals in The Netherlands
48-Eat chocolate in Belgium
49-Go to Ellis Island
50-Finish a 1000+ piece jigsaw puzzle
51-Go one month without soda
52-Send anonymous flowers to someone who is having a tough day
53-Achieve my personal weight goal
54-Get my picture taken with Santa
55-Go whale watching
56-Donate blood
This list will self-destruct on March 1, 2013.
There are also some things that I’m keeping for “Lifelist” items…
…travelling (and seeing something meaningful) in each of the 50 states.
…Attending an Olympic Opening Ceremony
…Meeting a President (while they are currently holding the office)
So… ideas for me??? Leave me a comment!!!
Only 45 ideas to go!!
