I’m doing 30 days of writing to heal trauma. No, I don’t think my trauma can be remedied by writing. But nothing else works, so why not try? I’m reviewing this book for the author, so I can’t publish the prompts even though she ran the challenge for free with these prompts a few months ago. Now it’s in a book! (Not yet released – I will share a link once it’s available). So sharing the prompts would be wrong.

However, the prompt from today is so basic that I can share it. 

Write your dream life.

My life has changed so much, so I guess my dream life has changed too. I have to consider my chronic illness. Will I still have autistic burnout? I think yes. So, I’m assuming all that will be true. Other than that, I won’t “be realistic.” 

My dream life ten years 

Funny, I thought I’d be dead in less than ten years, so surprise, I’m alive! If I am alive, in 10 years, I want to have a small house (less than 1,200 square feet) with a nice bathroom – a separate shower. A Jacuzzi is a plus, but I wouldn’t expect that in a small house. I don’t really care about the other rooms.

Oh, and it has to have 1-2 acres of land. More would be nice. 1-2 is the minimum. If I could ride a rider mower and cut it, that would be fine. But if it’s a lot of hills etc. I would have to hire someone.

I don’t want close neighbors on either side. I want to be able to go out front and out back and not see a house. SO NICE.

That is all I REALLY want.

I want to be a person who helps people who fall through the cracks. If the person can get help, I can guide them to help. I want to volunteer 5 hours a week. Not sure if this is connected with helping people who fall through the “no resources” cracks.

I like to work. So I want to want 20-30 hours a week. I would love two days off a week. Probably Monday and Tuesday.

I don’t know what to say about animals. I know my dog probably won’t be alive in 10 years. 🙁 If I don’t plan to travel a lot, I want a dog. If I’m a nomad, no dog.

Sometimes I see myself in Central America (the continent). Sometimes in Texas, if I ever stop hating America. I don’t know where the house will be. America is the same everywhere, so the weather is the only concern. I want to live in a place where snow is extremely rare.

I do want to travel. Once or twice a year is fine. I want to go to Denver in the Fall because it’s beautiful in the Fall. I want to visit Puerto Vallarta, Costa Rica, Greece, and Italy. Belize would be nice too. I could name 100 more places.

My daily life in my dream life

My regular life would be waking up without the alarm and having my schedule. I like having a schedule when it’s mine. I would probably have a morning and night routine involving writing, meditation, and yoga. Hopefully, I’ll be walking in nature daily and eating meals outside.

I’m a freelancer for a living. I don’t have employees. I would never do that to someone. (never say never). I write, redacted, and sell digital products for freelancing. That takes up about 30 hours a week.

I never have to wear sweaters because it’s always warm. I don’t get dressed most days because I don’t have to.

I take care of myself by eating as healthy as possible with gastroparesis. And somehow, I can eat gluten-free pizza without getting sick. And I can afford it! I meditate and do yoga daily (see above). If I have a jacuzzi, I relax in that every day. I read on my hammock daily.

I could go on, but I’ll stop for now.

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This Week I…

Music of the week: Ariana Grande, Sugarland, Kenny Chesney, Lea Michele, Lauren Alaina, Faith Hill, Jillette Johnson, Lady A

I never thought I would listen to or enjoy Kenny Chesney, but I mentioned that I’ve been listening to a lot of country music, and she told me to try Chesney. I like him!

TV of the Week: The Handmaid’s Tale, old episodes of The Bachelorette, Housewives

Note to self: Watch Midnight Mass. It’s supposed to be like Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, one of my favorite books. I have to have this here, or I will forget. I now have one movie and one TV show to watch for Halloween month. Lol.

Podcasts of the Week: The Vanished, Truth & Justice, Undisclosed, Canadian True Crime, Gone Cold, Joyful Marketing, Crimelines, The Zach Lowe Podcast

Books of the Week: Going to include the last 3 books I’ve read

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz Personal notes: Took me forever to read this book. I would mostly listen to the audio while on walks. That made this book much more tolerable. Talked too much about wolves. I don’t care about wolves. I want to read about dogs. My dog! I like the stories about her dog. So adorable. Didn’t learn much. Maybe a couple of new things? I don’t read much about dogs. I intuitively get to know each one. I was hoping to learn so much and didn’t. A disappointment. Rating: ★★★ (3 stars)

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware Personal notes: Enjoyed the process of listening to this book. It was so GOOD and kind of fun. I was expecting something different from the person who recommended it. But it was still good. I want to give it 4.5 stars, but the end got too messy for me. So 4 stars. I want to go back and listen to the ending again to answer all my questions, but Nah. The ending is just too long. I would like to re-read it in 6 months or a year. Update: Tried to listen to the ending again, and who the fuck cares? I know who did what, and I don’t care why. Hate when authors mess up books by the ending. Will not listen to it again. Still 4 stars. ★★★★

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress by Alexandra Gold and Gustavo Kinrys (doctors). Personal notes: Great reference book. I don’t need to ever search the net for natural remedies again. I highlighted a lot of the book. Great information. A lot of the things in the book I’ve already tried. One made me depressed, so I’m not crazy about some natural remedies. I’m glad I highlighted the parts I like, so I can reread it. Short book. ★★★★ Four stars.

Goal for the week: Survive. Not kill anyone. Figure out whether I want to take my dog to a new vet. The one he sees now is too expensive since he is eight years old. It’s going up to $111 next year. NO.

Gotta go read and rest for a while, then go to bed. I’m already late. Have a great week!