Donalacasa's Daybook: Thursday, April 29, 2021

Outside my window... It's a very cloudy, gloomy, overcast day while I am writing this (which may not be the day that this daybook gets published).

I am thinking... About this 20-page research paper that I have to write. I think I may be on page 5. It's due in May, but it is never far from my mind. Today, as I was reading one of the millions of pages of reading that he has also assigned in addition to writing the research paper, the thought crossed my mind, (1 Corinthians 10:31)  "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the esteem of Elohim." Can I stop stressing over the professor's possible response to my paper (which is preventing me from even moving forward on it), and write the paper to the glory of YAHUAH and not unto men? I know that I need to write better and write more. There are lots of things that I am supposed to write for the remainder of my time on this earth. Will they stay locked inside of be because of the fear of how they will be received? I must be transformed by the renewing of my mind in this area. I am thankful... I am in the midst of the Counting of the Omer. An omer is the equivalent of a daily supply of bread. Literally, I am counting my daily bread. I am journaling my gratitude, but I confess that there have been several days that I have missed. I was distracted, not so much by the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial, but to some of the social media responses to it. I have a timer on my phone that tells me how much time I spend on each of my social media platforms. The day after the verdict, I literally spent 3-1/2 hours. I cannot complain that I am stressed out about my reading assignments and my paper if I am wasting time like that. It is actually my goal to try to stay completely off of social media while the sun is still in the sky. (John 9:4)  “It is necessary for Me to work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day – night is coming, when no one is able to work." I am wearing... A couple of months ago, I was listening to an entrepreneurship podcast and I heard about a woman who had created a loungewear line just before the pandemic hit. This makes sense to me because even though I am not in a restrictive area, teaching online and going to graduate school online, I spend 99% of my time in my house. I want cute tops to wear on camera, but I don't want to sit for hours at my desk wearing jeans. I didn't want to pay the amount of money that this entrepreneur wanted for her line, but I did some research and came across Haband. Given that my great-grandmother wore "house dresses" (think Edith Bunker in All in the Family), my grandmother wore a button down housecoat, and my mother wore housecoats with zippers, I think that my loungewear is a step in the cooler direction (although my children might not agree). Today, I am wearing this Embroidered Knit Top & Capri Set in Blue Denim. Since it's a cool day, the longer sleeves make me comfortable. I also think the embroidery is very pretty and looks nice on camera. Of course, it has pockets, which is always a plus. I am creating... I am restarting this blog at the request of The Grand Duchess. It has taken me a week to produce. I only write a little bit per day. Something is better than nothing.

At the moment, I am regrowing romaine lettuce in a cup (see photo above), but I haven't had the time to re-pot them into some soil. I am going... No where. I am too busy. I am reading... Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Diversity Consciousness: Opening our Minds to People, Cultures, and Opportunities. These are both for a couple of my graduate school classes. The books I am currently reading for the class with the 20-page research paper are Coming of Age in Mississippi: An Autobiography by Anne Moody and I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle. I am listening to.... For the past couple of years, I have been falling asleep to an audiobook. I just finished Nine Perfect Strangers, which is a thriller. It gave me a break from my usual historical fiction reads. Right now, I am back to historical fiction, listening to The Ninth Hour. In the mornings, I create a playlist of Scriptures to listen to. I have finally gotten Friend Hubby to do the same thing. I listen to the Psalms of the day from Hebrew4Christians, a chapter of Proverbs, and the Read-Through-the-Bible-in-a-Year daily scripture from Hoshana Rabbah. Frankly, I don't always have time to sit down and read the Bible, but I don't want to neglect the Word in my life on a daily basis.

I am also starting to listen to more podcasts on a variety of subjects. This one, most recently, kind of unexpectedly blew me away: EP 95: Relationship Beliefs: Dr. Thema explores some relationship scripts that can cause us to sabotage our relationships. She describes why and how to shift our thought patterns. Listening to this was like going to therapy without going to therapy. Part of the reason that I stopped doing Donalacasa's Daybook consistently was because when my husband went through a period of depression AND I had to adjust to us becoming empty nesters AND menopause hit, which brought out some other health problems I didn't know I had AND grief over the passing of a woman who was like a second mother to me AND the passing of both my fathers-in-law AND the pandemic hit I was afraid of the volatility of all the emotions that I was experiencing. Listening to the right podcast at the right time can help to examine these emotions and recognize them, pray about them, heal from them rather than putting a Hello Kitty bandage over them and pretend that you're so holy nothing affects you. I am watching... I am SO busy between teaching and graduate school that I literally force myself to watch TV. It sounds strange, but between 7 and 10 in the evening, I sit and watch TV with my husband so that I can think about something else. We watch This is Us, and the Chicago shows: Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD. We watched Kobra Kai. I love when they bring back some of the original actors from the Karate Kid movie when they went to Okinawa. I think we were living there when it came out. We have watched the Marvel shows and a new show on the CW called Kung Fu. I think I prefer that fantasy shows (which is weird because I don't like to read fantasy books). The current events that they try to put in all the shows can be overwhelming at times. From the learning rooms... My first full year of teaching 100% online is almost ending and I confess. I love it! I'm praying for twice as many students this upcoming year as I had this year. It will be somewhat easier for me than this year because it took me a while to find my rhythm. My kids have been great and I look forward to every class. I know of a few who are registered to return next year.

I have finally gotten started on this 20-page research paper for graduate school.  My aim is to work on it at least an hour a day so that I'm not stressed out when it becomes due.  I had written up to 6 pages, but I think I'm down to 3 because I refined it after peer editing.  

Princess Butterfly is being honored today for leadership over a college organization that she has been president of this past year.  I wish I could be there.  I miss cheering for my children's accomplishments.  

Noticing that...On weeks when the sky has been overcast for days repeatedly, it is so hard for me to find the motivation to exercise or even to get my day started.

From the kitchen... I rarely cook anymore. I make Friend Hubby breakfast every morning and I plan our Shabbat meal, even if I'm not always the person cooking the majority of it. I think the last couple of years before our nest became empty, Friend Hubby mostly preferred his own cooking to mine. That's fine with me. When our children lived at home, I was always experimenting with new recipes to find the ones that my family loved. I eat a lot less than I did when the kids were home because I know that my metabolism has slowed down quite a bit. Around the house... When Crown Prince Sanban came home to surprise us in January, we started redecorating the gameroom. I confess, after school started for the semester, not much more has been done, except to sort through and get rid of the smaller of two boxes of stuff that we've had since leaving Okinawa over 20 years ago. Now that I am doing much less prep work for the classes I teach (I'm having them present over the next couple of weeks), I'll get back to sorting through the larger box on my breaks.
My self-care... Some days my self care just looks like getting 8 hours of sleep. I have been keeping up with French on Duolingo. I hope to one day be able to use it. Shalom and blessings!