Procrastination? I’ll get back to you on that!

It’s been 2 months since my last blog entry. I will say that it is not because I have nothing to write about. I have had many wonderful visits and adventures with fun friends and loved ones. I have been talking to myself saying “Kathy, you certainly need to catch up on your blog. What’s the point of having a website if you don’t continue to add to it?” But I find that the more you put things off, the more you put things off.  The undone things get bigger and bigger until it just seems like too much to tackle.  I have committed to myself to write a blog entry at least once a week, while teaching myself how to work on the website.  At the same time I am trying to elevate my jewelry hobby into a business, and all the while having visits and visitors and adventures on the side. So when I realized I was so far behind and finding myself watching TV or playing solitaire or browsing Facebook, I knew I needed to take action.

Of course I stewed on it while finding new games to play, checking Facebook again and again, and watching more TV (considering we only get 12 channels here I still find myself turning on that boob tube). So several weeks ago I found an interesting book on Amazon about tackling procrastination. It seemed like it might be the answer to my problem. So I added it to my cart. I of course did not take action to actually buy it. I put that off for another couple of weeks.

For at least a month I hadn’t worked on my jewelry or my blog. Things really seemed a bit overwhelming. So I poured a bourbon and thought about it some more. The voices in my head were telling me that I needed to get things done! But alas, I seem to get so easily distracted.

Work, TV, electronic games, campfires with friends. Finally I did start working on my jewelry. A logo and artwork for my earring displays are coming along quite nicely in the last few weeks. Then about a week and a half ago I actually hit the order button on that book. I waited patiently, putting off a blog entry until I could get the book and read it cover to cover. At this point I wondered how long I would procrastinate to pick it up and read it once it arrived. Amazon said it would be delivered a week ago and here I sit with no book. The book on procrastination has procrastinated getting to me! Ha!

So this morning I thought I should google procrastination. I found out I could procrastinate for days just browsing procrastination on YouTube. Everybody has something to say about it. If you are in the mood to procrastinate, these are good distractions. Some funny songs:

 

Of course there are some serious talks about it too. Some people say it is a good thing, that you work better on a time constraint.  I know I did it in college and then crammed when things needed to get done. I got by just fine and had fun along the way too. Overachievers would probably argue with this approach. One speaker on the subject says she schedules extra time in her schedule for procrastination.

I could procrastinate some more, and probably will. Some of the Ted Talks videos on procrastination look pretty interesting. But in the mean time I will attempt to get back on track. I still have a lot of stories to share from this summer, and a few more are coming up before I move  on to St. Petersburg Florida for more adventures.

The funny thing is, when I didn’t get the book, Amazon told me I could reorder or cancel. I procrastinated that decision until I did the google research. I figure I have enough to read online on this topic so I have cancelled my order. It’ll probably show up in a week or two now that I have been reimbursed for it.

Well, that’s enough for now. I have some web browsing to do while watching tv.

 

 

Slow as molasses? or just channeling my spirit animal?

May 9, 2018.

Okay, so I finally did it! Or at least I hope when I hit the publish button it all comes together. One can only hope and pray. As I write this I am 58, knocking on 59. I am not afraid of numbers, and am proud to have made it to where I am. I would not like to go backwards or forwards, as I believe it is important to live in the moment. It was about 10 years from when the idea of embarking on a life of full time RVing entered my head until it actually came to fruition. And I don’t know how long it was from the first time I had an inkling to start a blog until today when it actually seems to be happening. I many times wonder why it takes me so long to get things done.

“Mural Artwork by Craig McMahon”

 

When I first bought my RV (his name is Hugo), I posted pictures on Facebook on some RV page as I was so excited to embark on this new journey with this new (to me) home on wheels. One of the shots was of the back, which has an airbrushed painting of wolves in snow. It even has the artist’s name, Craig McMahon. One of the ladies on the site gushed about the picture and said that the wolf was her spirit animal. Hmmm, that set me on a quest for my spirit animal. Did I have one? Do I believe in that stuff? I googled it and found this: In certain spiritual traditions or cultures, spirit animal refers to a spirit which helps guide or protect a person on a journey and whose characteristics that person shares or embodies. It is also metaphor, often humorous, for someone or something a person relates to or admires. So I started looking around me and tried to be open minded about this. I started noticing crows. I thought they meant a sign of death, but I googled it and they also meant change. That made sense since my new life was going to be full of change. So, being a bourbon drinker, I changed brands, from Evan Williams to Old Crow. I woke up with a headache and came to the realization that the crow must not be my spirit animal. I just noticed them because they were noisy birds.

So as I was reviewing my life up to this point, I started thinking about the turtle. Humans tend to think of turtles as very slow, remember the tortoise and the hare? But yet, they get to the finish line just fine (unless that line is across the street, and traffic is heavy but we won’t talk about that). So I am going to embrace the turtle as my spirit animal. They plod along, seem to get along well with others, and usually live pretty long lives. When I visited the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston a couple of months ago, I was mesmerized by the beautiful sea turtle in they had in their large tank. They named her Caretta because the loggerhead sea turtle’s official name is Caretta caretta. She was so smooth and graceful. I wish I had her moves. Turtles are always around water, and I like to be around water too. They get sluggish when it is cold, and so do I. I see them sunning themselves, and I love the warmth of the sun on me also. So the next time someone asks me why I haven’t gotten something done yet, I will just tell them I am channeling my spirit animal. 

Sunbathing
Caretta