Taking Matters Into My Capable Hands

My very first blog post ever here was about "Plan Kick Ass." It was what I called a plan to rid all toxins from my diet and radically change my habits for the better. It has come and gone through the years. Typically with food addiction taking the drivers seat and veering me back into old habits. 

My dinner the other night. Cheese tortellini with gorgonzola alfredo sauce and roasted broccoli. It was even more delicious than it looks.

Cheese, butter, sweets, carbs... are all very hard for me to resist. Eight years later I'm ready to try again. But this time I have AI to help me.

With the help of Hal (what I call Copilot on my phone) I made a complete list of all the foods that are the very best for mitochondrial health. I then formed a meal plan around those foods. It is a complete, Vegan, protein and antioxidant heavy diet. No animal products at all. 

Matcha tea instead of coffee every morning.

What it also lacks are replacement foods. No Earth Balance instead of butter. No Impossible Beef instead of burger. And sadly, not even some fake buffalo "chicken" instead of real chicken on my salad. Nope. Whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables. The closest thing I get to eating anything "fun" is dark chocolate. This... is... going... to... be... hard.

My research added to my 2026 journal.

BUT. If it will help me lose some weight to help my strength and mobility. Heal my mitochondria and allow me to have more stamina and less fatigue? Well... There's very little I wouldn't do for that.

First comes food. Then hopefully if I'm feeling stronger and more energetic I can increase my activity. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Welcome to 2026. My body won't know what hit it. 

Happy New Year!

Re-Imagining Me

I've been trying to have a big mental shift. It isn't easy. At my age my thinking is pretty set. However if I shifted it to become a full time student at the age of 40, then I can do this. I accomplished a hell of a lot for my career. I have shown myself what I can do when I put my mind, time and energy to something.

In the past this was how my brain worked:

90% Illness

10% Everyone else, including me

My illness was in the drivers seat. I did anything I could to self-comfort. Social media, fast food, limiting how physical I was, ignoring it and just surviving. Not much of a focus on thriving.

But the power of the mind is mighty. Here's what I'm working towards:

75% ME

my food, being in nature, art, creativity, spirituality, relationships

25% Illness (appointments, crash days, pacing, pain, insomnia)

Rather than numbing myself out of my illness I'm leaning in and making friends with it. I'm not "managing" or "surviving." I am nurturing and feeding my body what she needs to do her best. By leaning in and listening. Rest, art, movement, beauty, nature, good nutrition... These are things I need. 

Exertion is sometimes worth it

The older I get the more I like my home environment to reflect where I am in my life right now. My values, my hobbies and interests, my friends and family. 

Last summer I updated my special room. I made an art corner and bought a beautiful desk. Everything in the room is special to me and exactly the reflection I wanted it to be. But now...

Upon my epiphany that I want to commit more of my time to my art I realized my space for my beloved ceramics was woefully wanting. My "art table" had become a "catch all" for everything from future craft projects to things I need to return. Even a bath mat found its way in. ACK! 

Is there even a craft table in there!?

Then I realized that the space (once de-cluttered) would be great for TWO art tables. One devoted completely to ceramics and clay and the other for my other art. Painting and drawing mostly. Then my desk (which I'm at right now) for computer things.

Voila!

But as I said previously, I am disabled, so I need to do this in stages. Something I HATE TO DO! I love to swoop in like a vulture and make the space perfect all in one day. I think this will take me well into the weekend. But I see the vision and it's coming along nicely.

Sweating like a sinner in church.

My "Visible" device telling me to stop. I listened.

Even though I have to stop and do this project in spurts I'm excited for the end result. I have time booked at my ceramics studio tomorrow and will buy some clay to take home. Anything I make they can then fire for me. 

I'm also excited to get some of this clutter out of my special room.

Who Am I?

How would you describe yourself to someone who has never met you before? What defines you? Makes you... you?

I would say I am a woman who enjoys art and other creative people. I adore my two miniature pinschers and my Autistic son. I've been married for almost 30 years to my best friend. I am a licensed psychotherapist, but I haven't been working for the last five years because of my health. I struggle with serious chronic illnesses, mitochondrial disease and migraines. I am tall with very short salt and pepper hair. I am average size for American women. I wear red glasses (sometimes) and have blue eyes. I am very white. 

I love conversation over high tea, any music but acid jazz and generous people. I have a love and respect for Polynesian culture and that's reflected in my eclectic home. My husband and myself are potters, so yes. I would call myself an artist. I also enjoy photography in a very beginner way.

I love food and travel. I could live in the ocean, especially tropical waters. I'm a water person first then a forest/nature lover. I adore sharks, mermaids, rays, whales, otters and most things that live in the ocean.

I'm a Capricorn and have lived in the same home for 22 years. I have a wanderlust spirit that conflicts with my home-body. I'm also a maximalist with an un-voiced minimalist living inside. I'm a social justice warrior, a liberal, pro-choice and a feminist. Scratch that. A feminist first. 

Oh yes! And I'm 51 years old.

And you?