So I've been doing a little research about this strange feeling that keeps popping up in me. Apparently it's an uncommon but not unheard of affliction that's called happiness. It's very odd and keeps throwing me off balance. Well it's supposed to be a new year with some new experiences so I think I'm just going to roll with it.
What it is coming down to is that the life changing habits that I tried to attach to my 40th birthday are working and making a world of difference. The impending erasure of my debt has me determined not to fall into it's trap ever again. I've spent much of the first couple of weeks of the year setting up different automations to pay my bills and save as much as I can. I have never felt as in control and frankly excited about my financial future as I do right now. (Though I wouldn't complain if my 401K would stop shrinking on a daily basis.)
The other big change was to my diet and tomorrow is a full two months of tracking everything I eat on MyNetDiary. This is also paying off as I've just started using a notch twice removed from the worn one on my belt. I'm down about 15 pounds from my maximum weight and am full of energy. While I'm not thin by any means, I've begun to remember myself as the thin person I used to be. This is big for me. A positive self image is another of those mind-states that I'm just not used to. I'm already thinking about some new clothes for summer. Actually the one piece of clothing I bought this winter was a sweater that bought based on my torso length not width for the first time in a very long time. That was $20 well spent dollars.
I'm on a writing roll too, even if this blog doesn't have much to show for it. I only missed one day in December in my journal and that has meant much to my sense of well-being. I've been trying to keep a dream journal too but that has been hit and miss. Too often I want to just turn over and get back to sleep as quickly as possible. When I do do it though the payoff is immediate as it usually helps me remember the next dream.
Along with skipping out on this blog I haven't taken very many pictures in the last two months. My last big day with my camera was my birthday and I have hardly given those pictures a second thought. I am not done with photography by any means but it does seem to have taken a break from the forefront of my consciousness. This is not unusual for me when I'm in what I've taken to calling "process mode". That is a state of mind when I take off my creative hat and put on my technical learning cap. This time it is not so much about a particular piece of hardware or software but more about absorbing as much advise as I can take from the internet regarding diet and personal finance. Being that tis is the season for diet and personal finance blogging there has been no shortage of advise most of which can be summed up as stop eating and buying stupid shit. Writing down what you eat and buy seems to be the preferred method of showing you how much stupid shit you eat and buy. The rest is details. It's been good to read the same things over and over though It's helped cement some habits. I would like to take this time to put a shout out to the site that has done for money what MyNetDiary did for food for me, and that sight is Mint. It is hands down the easiest way of keeping track of my money and budget I have ever seen. Of course both sights have great corresponding iPhone applications to go with them.
Well that should bring you up to date with where I'm at right now. I'm trying to turn myself into a lean, friendly, money saving machine.
