Change your pillow, change your life!

I am pretty sure a new pillow would change my life right now.

Have I cheapened the concept of life change? What does it mean to "change your life"?

Right now, not having neck pain that may be traveling down my arms and making giants knots that are palpable on my scapula, according to my massage therapist friends, would be pretty fantastic. It would make every instant of my existence better. Is shopping for a new pillow less authentic than doing the work? What IS the work that would make my neck feel better?

If it makes the woo woo gurus feel better, I have consulted my inner child, and she would also like a new pillow. She wants one like the ones at the Hilton in Atlanta, when she got to go to the fancy IT conference. Those were the best pillows.

Ah, but why those pillows? Could it be that you just want to go back in time to when you made plenty of money, and got to go to fancy conferences? Although that was probably 10 years ago now, you weren't really a child then, you know. Not chronologically, anyway.

Besides, those were feather pillows, and that might not be firm enough for side-sleeper positioning. And you can't go back in time to that Hilton to steal them, or even look at the labels. You will have to hug a bunch of pillows at the store. It looks like Bed Bath and Beyond is your future, honey.

P.S. I went to BB&B and pushed my fist into every display pillow they had, because they were all vaguely grimy and I didn't want my head near them. I selected a mid-priced latex one, because I don't like the idea of memory foam very much. (I used to think it actually remembered what you were shaped like, but have since realized that's not literally so.) I have slept on my savior for two nights in a row, and my life is exactly the same, otherwise.

P.P.S. I would like to say that "I give up!" here, but you and I know that I will keep trying. 

Update: List Edition

What I've been working on:

Not really. But that is quite a useful skill, don't you think?

1. Habit Building Galore - I am finding the Lift app to be so awesome and motivating. If a habit is made of the trigger, the habit itself and a reward, Lift provides the trigger and the reward. You bring the habit. Seriously, it's a routine-changer. It is available for iphone and android. I'm currently tracking sweets, intuitive eating, morning pages, biking / walking / belly dancing, and blogging. See more below. 

2. Sweets / Intuitive Eating - I don't want to mess with it anymore. I'm just going to do what the ol' gut says. Literally. They don't call me Literal Liz for nothing, you know. I do struggle with sweet, delicious baked goods. Well, they don't really struggle...and they're super easy to eat, so I'm not struggling either. I guess it's just plain over-indulgence. I'm following the "No Sweets" goal in Lift, and only set my goal to no sweets for 5 days a week, but still haven't made it past 3 days. I'm breaking all the intuitive eating rules for the this habit because it keeps me honest. It really feels like I never get any treats, and yet, the check marks don't lie. 

3. Morning Pages - I started reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Yes, everyone else has already done this, but then you know it's pretty powerful. Yes, she does mention God a lot, but she also shoots down your "god" hang up pretty quick. The basic premise is to write 3 pages first thing in the morning, take your inner artist on a date, and get on with "it", whatever your it is. There are 12 weeks to mull it over. I've been quite good at getting in the morning pages, and it's really clarified my thinking on a lot of topics. Plus, with the freedom to write about conceptual blocks instead of blog-worthy news or personal exposition (which happens in my girly whiny personal journal), I'm using parts of my brain that haven't been to the beach in a long time. 

4. Biking / Walking / Dancing - It's the attempt-at-exercise trinity. I might run a little, starting next week, if my shoes are nice to me. Yeah, I should probably do some body-weight type exercise, but I've broken up with John Should, the jerky boyfriend from my 20s. I only do fun stuff now, guys. Maybe if push-ups become fun... I could assign them a goal on Lift, and allow myself to eat scones every day.

5. Blogging - Did you miss the big announcement? Because I kind of buried it, again? I'm going to publish every Wednesday, so I'd better have some kind of draft going to choose from. I'd like to write a little every day, or preferably, write a day, edit a day, etc. 

This does kind of beg the question, what IS this blog about? I like to think of it as the bird that gathers all the shiny bits to build a nest. And lays blog eggs. What would you like to see hatch? 

Waning, with no regrets

There are still 18 days of summer left. Yes, I am aware most of the children are back in school, but summer is not dependent on the school year, right? It ends September 21 in 2014.

I am trying to reassure myself that I didn't miss the whole thing, while running in circles inside my head. I did get the usual stuff done - a couple trips up north, some beach time, as many peaches as I could buy and eat. I did a lot of walking. I wore some cute summer clothes.

Hammock time.

All that's left to do is have some ice cream, try and wear those red sandals I really like that don't really go with anything, and maybe try to catch one more Lake Michigan sunset. By running around inside my head, I actually have less regrets than I do running around aimlessly. I think I used to know this, but I have re-learned it again.

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