A Little of This and That

Life is clipping right along around these parts.  Spring seems to have settled into place, the first daffodil is ready to open any day, the clocks are all set to a new time an hour later and we are gradually adjusting our sleep schedules to match the clocks. Ornery woke up at 2:00 AM yesterday, and decided to start the day--may as well, no more sleep would be happening with the big dog barking all night right outside our bedroom window.  I finally broke down and wrote a letter to them yesterday and am hopeful they will do something about the dog soon, but if not, I am prepared to begin keeping a log of bark-fests to present to the court.  What a pain.

So, you may be wondering what we have been up to around here... Well, I've done a few art projects, finished off the last of my Swap-bot swaps for March, and written a few of my A to Z blog posts.  I decided that while I won't quit altogether, I am going to cut way back on swapping my art--it is in many ways the same as giving it for free.  I don't think I am "all that" that I can charge a fortune for my creations, but neither do I think my art has no value.  It is one of a long line of perspectives that I am working on changing, and it has always been a struggle to ask to be paid for something I made.

Elizabeth has been busily planting seeds and comes by each day to praise their progress.  It's fun to hear her sing out to them each day, "Morning seedies!!"  I confess to having absolutely no interest in gardening yet this year. My focus seems to be on other things, and I think that is okay. That said, I really don't know what she has planted...

The tray on the far right has been planted the longest (almost a month), the two on the left are just from this past weekend--so those little bits of green were seeds three days ago. She bought a LOT of new flower seeds, and quite a few herbs. I hope she maintains her enthusiasm for the garden, because mine is still hibernating.

Last Wednesday when we were snowed in, Ornery and I began reading aloud Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker. We spent several hours that day, and have continued to work our way through it a bit each day since then.  We should be done reading it for the first time by this weekend. We have also signed up and made hotel reservations to attend a Millionaire Mind Intensive seminar, and been faithfully following the advice in the book, in as much as we are able.

It is time consuming and emotionally intensive to address long held beliefs and take the steps to alter those thought patterns.  However, it is another step in the progression of the goals we set at the beginning of the year, and we are both on-board with the plan.  It seems when we are both in agreement with anything, we make serious progress, so it is exciting to consider the future and what it may hold in store for us.

 Our ultimate goal at the beginning of the year was to replace Ornery's income at his job with self-employment and/or passive income.  We thought to do it with real estate, but it requires much more investment capital than we have been able to secure, so we are taking some different paths.  So far we haven't made any money, but we have learned a LOT and I think we are moving in the right direction. Time will tell, but we aren't quite through with the first quarter of the year and we can already see that things are aligning to bring about the changes we seek.

We have both continued to maintain a lot of the routine we set for ourselves in January. We know that success in the financial arena will require that we have good health and stamina, so part of our daily routine has been to spend time doing the sauna, exercising and eating for health.  We have gone a couple of weeks now without eating wheat, and Ornery says he has lost about 5 lbs. so far.  We are also still having a quiet time each morning, reading from the Proverbs, Psalms and two different Bible study books depending on the time we have.  We are fairly consistent (more so lately) in our nightly journaling exercise wherein we track the daily activities that will bring us closer to our goals.

One of the quotes by Jim Rohn that has really helped us to focus is, "If it's easy to do it is also easy not to do." Doing those little "easy" things every day makes change and will create the lifestyle we seek. But it isn't possible to just do something once and establish a habit or change core beliefs--it is by repetition every day that will achieve success. Easy to do, but easy not to do. And life is so DAILY!

This is the longest period of time we have been able to maintain our momentum, and that is really encouraging to us both. We have been able to remind each other of the potential benefits, and have had some really deep discussions and addressed some heretofore unknown issues in ourselves. I would say the last month has been one of the most rewarding times relationally we have ever had. And that is saying something because we have always had a very close relationship!

Mom came over yesterday to work a couple of jigsaw puzzles.  I had intended to write blog posts for April all afternoon, but it was good to spend time with her. One never knows how long we'll have with family, so it seems wise to use the time we do have to build good memories. I know she must get lonely, as well.  It is unimaginable to think how I would cope without my beloved Ornery.

So, now you are up-to-date with us! The days are rushing along like a speeding train, and April will be here before we know it.  My goal is to have all my blog posts for April written by Friday, catch up on all my correspondence over the weekend, and begin in earnest to write my book next week. I realize how important it is to carve out large blocks of time to work uninterrupted, so I have decided to treat it like a job. I ordered new business cards to take to the Millionaire Mind Intensive, and for my profession/title I listed artist and author.  I'd like to have a good body of work under my proverbial belt before I have to face someone and claim my titles face-to-face!