21 Days of Journaling Day 8 How Much Do You Love Yourself?

These topics get more difficult each day! The directions on this one said to list it as a number between 1 and 10. My gut reaction was to say 7. Now I have to figure out how to defend that number.

Although the other day I said I had no regrets in the last 3 years, I can't say that about my entire life. I've overlooked things about myself and I made choices that I wish I didn't.  However, I am soooo happy with what I have in this life so far.  Maybe I don't have regrets after all.  I have a lot of life experience that I can use to help others.  If I had made different choices in the past, I'm not sure I would love myself any more now.  I think the more I get to know me, the more I can love me:)

21 Days of Journaling Day 6 What is the Most Important Thing You’ve Learned in Life So Far?

It really takes a lifetime to learn this one but every once in a while a feel a glimmer of freedom when I "get it." The most important lesson I've learned is that it is ok to be authentically me.  I'm not going to make friends with everyone who crosses my path but that is ok.  I don't need to win every argument, and I don't need to make up my mind on the fly.

Being authentically me means that I can have my own opinions whether they are popular and pc or not.  It means that I can have my own sence of humor, and enjoy a movie that someone else finds distasteful.

Being authentically me does not mean I am original in everything I do. In fact, it is very fun, to find out what I have in common with others.  Sometimes it is only the fact that I enjoy raw cookie dough:)

21 Days of Journaling Day 6 What Frustrates You?

In all honesty my partner frustrates me the most.  I don't like being knocked down and when I explain in words what I mean it is often met with sarcasm. I'm often frustrated with myself for staying involved. I think it is just easier than breaking it off. So in the end, I frustrate myself by no doing what I want to do.   

21 Days of Journaling Day 5 Who is the most important person to you in the world?

Reflection on Day 4:
The person who is emailing this challenge to me every day posted this in my email. Hopefully the links will stay put so you can find them yourself.  I thought the advice to their former self were well written so I am reposting them:

1. Do what you’re doing now. You’re absolutely on the right track.
2. Follow your heart and trust your gut instincts as you always have. It has never steered you wrong, and it will continue to bring you to the right place.
3. Nothing has ever happened for you to lose faith, so there’s no reason to have doubts in anything.
4. If there’s ever any one who is a cancerous agent to your path, let him/her go. There are 7 billion people in this world – For anyone who doesn’t resonate with your current consciousness, there will be ten thousands of people out there who do.
5. Live. Love. Breathe.

Day 5

I can't, no, I refuse to answer this.  The truth is that the only person I am in charge of is me. But me includes everyone I have any type of relationship with. So everyone I know is really a part of me and is therefore equally as important. There just isn't a most important person, just as I don't love any of my kids more than another.

21 Days of Journaling Day 4 If you are travel back in time what advice would you give yourself 3 years ago.

I look at this one this morning and I couldn't respond right away. After some thought, I decided I didn't really have any advice. 3 years ago I got serious about getting rid of debt, and everything I have done since is really without regret.  Except in two areas. One I can't journal about and the other is "Don't get the air conditioner from someone who posts on Craigslist."

21 Days of Journaling Day 3 What is your ideal diet like?

Reflection on Day 2:  I'm thinking that I might enjoy writing some units of study for multi-age groups like home-schoolers. I could list lesson plans on my website for free and then compile them into units with extra dudads.  It is definitely worth considering because there are loads of home schoolers out there that would at least give me some traffic to my blog.  Hmmm...

Day 3 

After the first two topics, this one seems out of place.  I guess the word I would use would be balanced.  I would like a balance of red meat and fish. I love barbecued and broiled everything like shish-ka-bobs. I can almost taste the cherry tomatoes on the skewer now.  I would also want to eat ripe avocado every morning.  I really need to get an avocado tree.  I wonder if there will be room in the budget when I win the million.

At least once week I want to go to one of those restaurants where you get a 7 courses  of tiny samples.  I went to one once and it was like art in my mouth.  Yes, that is definitely something I want to experience more often.

21 Days of Journaling Day 2 If You Are To Do Something For Free For the Rest of Your Life, What Would It Be?

I had to think a little bit about this one. I thought maybe I would say work with parents, or play with babies all day but the truth is I would run a 1 room school house.  The only place I know that these even exist anymore is in Montana and that is way too cold of a place for me to return.

I looked up one room school houses here in TX and they disappeared a long time ago.  The first one ever built in Ely, NV was sold at auction right in front of my eyes.

Yep, that's what I would do, I would run a 1 room school house.   Loads of fun all ages learning the same subject and responding at different levels.  Not sure how to fulfill that dream...maybe a workshop?

21 Days of Journaling Day 1 What Would I Do With a Million Dollars?

I'm not sure how I got on the list but 9 days ago I started getting these emails inviting me to blog once a day for 21 days. It promises to align me with my inner self, grow me as a writer and give me mental clarity. I'm up to writing 3 articles a day but none of them have been here or in a journal.  I remember how good it felt to put all of my thoughts on this blog before, so I'm willing to give it another shot.

I'm a bit behind so I might have to double up in order to finish with the rest of the group. The rules are simple, write from the heart with no minimum or maximum.

What would I do with a million dollars?


I've actually thought of this one often.  The first thing I would do is pay off the homes of both of my parents. Then I would fix my own house so it was presentable. I'd get a mold abatement team out hear, have someone clean up the fallen tree in the backyard, add carpeting to my cement floors, and maybe, if it didn't cost too much, I'd replace the broken cabinets in the kitchen.

That would give me about $500k left over (not sure what my parents owe )  I'm finally old enough to buy an instant annuity and that is just enough to give me about $2k per month for the rest of my life.  That would allow me to breathe.

This is where things get fun.  I would continue to write and coach but I would do a lot of charity work.  I left word at a local organization that I wanted to teach parenting classes and they were interested but they never got back to me.  I need to act on that right away. Why wait until I win the million?