Just Ask Elizabeth- Difficulty Getting Going In The Mornings

Dear Elizabeth,

I often have trouble getting going in the morning. Any suggestions?

Signed,
Stuck in the morning in Somers

Dear Stuck in the morning in Somers,

I had the same troubles getting going in the morning until I developed a morning ritual that I now follow religiously. Try my ritual; it just might work for you.

Get right out of bed at the same time every day. I do not allow myself to lounge in bed because it makes me feel groggy. If I sleep in, I have a “foggy brain” all day. I hate that feeling so out of bed I go.

I start my day with a 1-2 mile walk. I get my blood flowing, wake up, loosen up, and feel energized at the end of my walk. I spend time out of doors every day for the “ health” of it.

Time to eat. I eat a healthy breakfast every day, as I complete the daily newspaper crossword puzzle. This is a suggestion from my doctor and she is always right! It gets my brain active and I learn new things every day.

I then create a “ to do” list and mark “ done” as I complete the list. Sometimes I even complete the list. Wow!

I set about my day with another walk and start completing my list. I look forward to all things “feisty” in my day and always find something that surprises me.

Try my ideas and let me know if my routine works for you!

Have a great day!

Review of the Twelve Laws of Karma: Part 3 and Final

Part 3 of my mini-review of the twelve laws of karma as a prelude to my second book in The Feisty Woman series, The Feisty Woman’s Guide to Surviving Mr. Wonderful KARMA RULES. 

To read my review of the first eight laws check out the previous 2 posts. Mastering the concepts of these laws and writing about them have helped to facilitate my own journey of healing and forgiveness, and I hope they bring the same inspiration to you.

Ninth Law: The Law of Here and Now: I must be totally immersed in the present moment. At this very moment, no problems exist. Any problems I think of are either in the past or future, but the present is up to me.  As I gain more strategies and confidence, I realize that by staying in the present I am able to move with ease towards a great feisty future.

Tenth Law: The Law of Change: I need to remember that history repeats itself unless I learn the lessons I needed to learn. Remember what works for me and what did not. I believe in my lessons; I do not need to re-learn them. The definition of insanity is doing something the same way every time and expecting different results. 

Eleventh Law: The Law of Patience and Reward: For me, true joy comes from doing what I am supposed to do and knowing that the reward will come in its own time. Perhaps the reward lies in the journey itself. Be patient as more answers will reveal themselves and success comes with time.

Twelfth Law: The Law of Significance and Inspiration:  I promise to invest my energy into something that will be valued and that is me. My sense of humor, inspiration, and advice are my strengths, and I believe an asset to many women who are struggling in similar situations as me. I can and will make a difference. True joy comes from doing what I am supposed to do and knowing that the reward will come in its own time.

I hope that my review of the twelve laws of karma will inspire you to think of each law and what they mean to you and how they apply in your life. The year 2021 has certainly been better than 2020, and as I focus on my writing and medical recovery, I am amazed at how far I’ve come. I feel inspired and ready to expand my writing, embrace new speaking opportunities, and gain knowledge from as many sources as I can. My goal is to remain healthy and to continue to write and inspire with my feisty advice and humor.

I’d love to hear some of your goals, too. Leave a comment if you were touched by any of the laws I reviewed.

Reviewing the Twelve Laws of Karma: Part 1

My own journey through the laws of karma has taught me a lot of things. As I wrote my second book in The Feisty Woman series, The Feisty Woman’s Guide to Surviving Mr. Wonderful KARMA RULES,  I reread the twelve laws constantly as I moved on in my own journey of healing, forgiveness, and writing, having responded to each law in my very own feisty woman way. My karmic law impressions for all twelve laws are listed below.

First Law: The Great Law:  Any of my actions can come back to me at any time. I am working hard to keep that in mind. I strive to be kind, thoughtful, and compassionate in all that I say and do, or my karma will come back to me. Plus, it just feels better to be kind!

 Second Law: The Law of Creation:  I work daily toward my goals and do not just talk about them. Keep at it, I tell myself and keep expanding the Feisty Lady brand. The world needs women’s voices and all of my feisty friends and our great sense of humor and loving advice. This helps me to push forward even when I do not feel very humorous or wise. We all have our days! I am inspired by all the feisty women I know to keep creating.

Third Law: Law of Humility: Sometimes life sucks; I cannot change that. I am, however, working at moving on, trying again, and making things better in my life. December 2019 and March 2020 really did stink for me, but 2021 is turning into my year for all things feisty. Absolutely!

Fourth Law: The Law of Growth: I am working on changing what is needed to change in my heart, my state of mind, and then my life will change, too. I am doing my best to stay positive no matter what. I know that I can do it! And if I can, so can you!

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Prelude to Book Two: A Stroke of Luck

The following is a teaser that helped to inspire the journey of writing my second book, The Feisty Woman’s Guide to Surviving Mr. Wonderful Karma Rules. I'll be posting information about the book's release in the coming weeks.

Sunday had started out like any other Sunday: a great breakfast with my family, followed by attending church with my mom, niece, and nephews. We all shared lunch at the Truck Stop, my favorite local eatery. I ate blueberry pancakes as usual and had some salad as well. After gassing up the car, I packed my things to begin the journey to New York. I hit the road a bit after one o’clock with a bright sunlit sky greeting me as I rolled along the interstate.

Like most other Sundays, the traffic was alternating between light and heavy. Expecting an uneventful drive, I talked to a friend and a relative (both hands-free, of course). I observed the requisite bathroom break at the nearest rest stop, and as I rejoined the flow of traffic, I thought about the concerts that were scheduled soon for my music students. I felt that my students were well prepared, ready to perform an awesome concert the ensuing week.

Suddenly, I felt a stomach twinge and wondered if my lunchtime salad was about to give me some of much-dreaded indigestion that I often suffered from. I snarfed down a few Tums and felt better. I also ate a few pretzels, my go-to snack for stomach upsets, which helped briefly calm my stomach. I had just hung up with my friend when I once again felt extremely nauseated, worse than I could ever remember. I had a headache and felt that my eyes were struggling to focus as I drove.

As I continued down the road, I felt sicker and sicker. I slowed down a bit and looked at my hands, which were shaking while clinging to the steering wheel. My vision was also blurred, my eyes were spinning and watering, and I started barfing everywhere. I immediately slowed down and merged into the right lane. Just at that moment, my car spoke to me. “You are not feeling well,” it said. “Who would you like us to call?”

I was stunned and said nothing because I felt that I was imagining all of this. Who was this “voice”? Where did it come from? Being the religious woman that I am, I immediately thought that it was the voice of “God.” I said nothing and in another ten seconds, it repeated the same message to me. I resisted the urge to respond sarcastically and instead responded that yes, I did not feel well. What in the world was going on? Had I somehow gotten food poisoning that was causing me to hallucinate? (As a point of reference, all cars manufactured since 2018 are equipped with this safety system. I was unaware of it, but I later called Toyota and they confirmed this with me. A friend consulted her Honda manual, and it has the same system.)

To see how this story evolves, stay tuned for my next teaser!

The Twelve Laws of Karma For Feisty Women Everywhere

The twelve laws of karma are featured in my next book, The Feisty Woman’s Guide to Surviving Mr. Wonderful: Karma Rules. If you’d like to hear more about them and the personal stories that follow each law, be sure to sign up for my mailing list for information on the book’s release this fall.

Law #1: As you sow, so shall you reap. Your actions can come back to you at any time! 

Law #2: Law of creation. Life just doesn’t happen.  It requires your participation. Work towards your goals. Just do it and put your mind to it! (Stories of Pam and Paula)

Law # 3: Law of humility. Be humble and accept what is. Move on, try again and make it better. (Stories of Tammy and Liz)

Law #4: Law of Growth. Change what is needed in your heart and state of mind then your life will change. Stay positive no matter what. (Stories of Jane and Kathy)

Law #5: Law of Responsibility. Take responsibility for your life. Be active in your life. Change things right now as you need to, even if it is difficult. (Stories of Candy and Judy)

Law #6: Law of Connection. All things in the universe are connected. Respect the journey because all the steps are important. Complete them all and enjoy the journey. (Stories of Janey and Cindy)

Law #7: Law of Focus. Do one thing at a time and do it really, really well. Focus! (Stories of Debbie and June)

Law #8: Law of Giving and Hospitality. Give without expecting to get anything in return. Be patient; things will work out. (Stories of Elizabeth and Mary)

Law #9: Law of Here and Now. Be in the here and now. Be in the present! Let go of the past. Just let the future create itself. (Stories of Kim and Rose)

Law #10: Law of Change. History repeats itself unless we learn the lessons we need to learn. (Stories of Jan and Sasha)

Law #11: Law of Patience and Reward. True joy comes from what you are supposed to be doing and knowing that the reward will come in its own time. (Stories of Gail and Diane)

Law 12: Law of Significance and Inspiration. The true value of something is a direct result of the energy and intent that you put into it.Put your energies into things valuable to you. (Stories of Karen and Sandy)

Monday Thoughts: Making Good Habits

My feisty brain often needs a review of the good habits that I need to follow to be my best. We all need this from time to time, right? We are just so overwhelmed with life, chores, people who need things from us, the news, etc. My good brain habits are listed below. Share some of your ideas so that we can keep each other on track!

Always, always, accentuate the positive. I list at least 5 things that I am grateful for every day. This list could be events, phone calls, kind words, people, what made you smile, flowers, a sunny day-basically what makes your day a good one. Focus on the positive to feel better.

I take vitamins every day to keep myself healthy. This regimen also includes drinking enough water. After a recent health crisis, I know how important a healthy brain is to achieve optimum daily functioning. Having my body feel healthy is one of the best ways to feel GOOD! If you are in a health crisis at the moment, be patient with your body and know that it is doing its best to take care of you. Do the simple things you can to take care of it, too (rest, water, no stress).

I avoid sugar as much as possible. Spikes in blood sugar give me headaches. Instead, I eat lots of fruits and vegetables every day, along with dark chocolate to keep my brain in tip-top condition.

Get a good night’s sleep. To do this, I try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Sticking to a schedule and sleeping in a cool, totally dark room seems to work for me.

When I use headphones, I don’t keep the music too loud to avoid headaches. I wear headphones because not everybody likes my type of music, so I do my best to be considerate while at the same time, listen to what I want!

Finally, I try to limit my time on the computer, and maximize my time in the “present moment.” While catching up with my online friends can be great, sometimes we can get stuck down the rabbit hole of other people’s posts for much longer than we originally intended. Taking walks and getting out of the house at a specific time each morning or afternoon helps me with this!

If you’ve made it this far, what are some of your good habits?

Just Ask Elizabeth- I Can't Keep My Hands From The Cookie Jar!

Dear Elizabeth,

I’d like to lose at least a small bit of weight. Diets never seem to work for me or any of my friends. I feel healthy and happy but sometimes struggle with overeating. I know that I need to consult my doctor but wanted input from another woman in my age group. What works for you, Elizabeth?

Signed,
CJ, (Cookie Jar)

Dear CJ,

When it comes to dieting, I have tried it all. If you find a way to avoid going to the cookie jar for seconds, tell me how. A friend shared this with me, and we both had a good laugh about the calorie counters among us! Who else has followed the below (very funny) myths of calorie counting?

If you eat something and no one sees you eat it, it has no calories. Do not count it. ( Not true.)

If you eat a candy bar and then drink diet soda, cancel the candy bar calories. (Right.)

If you eat a meal with someone else, your food calories don’t count if you eat less than they do. ( I wish.)

If you eat food for medicinal purposes, the calories never count. (What?)

If you eat movie snacks, do not count them. They are part of the movie package. ( Not so.)

If you eat cookie pieces, the very process of breaking them leaks out the calories, so no calories.

(Dream on.)

If you lick off the spoon in the process of making something else, they contain no calories. (Really?)

If you eat foods of the same color, they all have the same calories. (Applies only for vegetables.)

If you eat frozen food, they have no calories because calories are units of heat. (Another myth.)

These tips have helped me have a good laugh and remind myself not to take dieting too seriously. Truth be told, exercise and a balanced diet consisting of healthy foods have always been part of my lifestyle. I also limit my food intake and drink lots of water. I happen to have a sweet tooth and try not to feel too guilty when I treat myself to dessert. Even if it’s before 5 pm - Life is short! :-D

Let me know if my tips provided some laughter!

Elizabeth

The Eleventh Law of Karma: The Law of Patience and Reward

If you enjoy this teaser, you will be sure to love my next book, The Feisty Woman’s Guide to Surviving Mr. Wonderful: Karma Rules.

Sign up for my mailing list for information on the book’s release this fall.

Karmic Law #11: The Law of Patience and Reward

True joy comes from doing what you are supposed to do and knowing that the reward will come in its own time. 

I have done my best to live The Law of Patience and Reward and it has been a bit trying for me, to say the least. I have learned a lot from this law about life and how some days stink and others bring a reward.

My own learning curve went like this: One holistic fair with poor sales (another holistic fair with great sales). Trade-in two-year-old car under duress; new car rear-ended on day four of ownership (but at least I was not injured). Near pneumonia diagnosed and felt awful (cured in five days with heavy-duty drugs). Work supposed to be done by others (I had to step in and complete the project because others dropped the ball). I could go on but you get the picture. My patience was tried on these four occasions in a short time and yet a bit of patience brought me a reward, as I had hoped. I am an example of how this law really works. Life happens and you have to deal with it. Take a deep breath, curse a bit, scream, or drink, or meditate, and things just might work out for you, too.

My true joy came from having patience and knowing that the reward would come in its own time as it did. My reward? Better sales so far this year, enjoying my new car, taking better care of my health, and better planning for the group that I work with. I also enjoy “me” time every day for relaxing, vegging, or taking a well-deserved nap. 

Still, I fantasize about those jackpot-type rewards that are meant to tempt us all. Feisty ladies, what do you consider a reward? What would you like to happen beyond your wildest dreams?