Sunday 11th April 2021

Taking Stock#1. New Version 9/51. #LifeThisWeek 27/2021.

Monday 1st March 2021 by 36 Comments

Taking Stock#1. New Version 9/51. #LifeThisWeek 27/2021.

I recently wrote about the changes I have made to how I will blog when it’s time for Taking Stock. You are, of course, welcome to use my new version of the prompts or ones initially devised by Pip Lincolne.

 

 

But…before moving on I have this update! I am delighted to see new and returning bloggers here linking up in 2021.

This is the 5th year of this link up from me in Australia.

What I want to say is this: do link up and comment on my post (thank you!), share that you found my link up by adding the image on your blog or using it in social media & please find the time to comment on other’s posts BUT limit it to what time you have for.

There is no need to comment on everyone’s at all, I do that, but try to comment on maybe around 2-3?

Thank you…the writing here is a bit small but is directly from the ‘rules’ area under the invitation to link up! 


This post was written on Sunday 21 February 2021.

Admiring: women who are courageous enough to speak up about ill-treatment and unlawful treatment by, in many cases, men.

Becoming: less likely to add my comments on twitter right now as I am getting overly angry about what I cannot control!

Curious: to know how my bone density results will be after being told 10 years ago, they were so good “don’t come back for 10 years”. The ten years is up and I will be having the test this coming Tuesday.

Delighted: that my daughter, a teacher,  chose to give an acting promotion position a go in 2021 and even though I am aware of how much more work will be on her plate, she has so much to share educationally and it’s time for her voice to be heard.

Excited: to know we are celebrating my husband’s upcoming birthday with our two kids and their respective kids (aka the 8 grandkids & one partner to a grandkid) present which we could not do for Christmas or our Golden Wedding Anniversary.

Feeling: well. That is such a good feeling. I will not take it for granted though.

Going: to the local shops is less about stopping anywhere for coffee now and more for getting what I need and coming home again. Sometimes with a takeaway coffee.

Helping: a Year 12 scholar from the Public Education Foundation with some mentoring…advice and conversation, along with goal setting. This person, may be from a relatively low socio-economic  background and may also be a refugee. She/He is supplied  with a monetary scholarship and low cost devices and so on to complete the Higher School Certificate

Imploring: people to ….insert words about “politics” which I won’t but see “becoming” above to know why. And, I did say my blog is free from politics…

Joking: is something I do not always get when my husband tells me he is….

Keeping: some memorabilia from our recent Golden Wedding Anniversary in a special box and some inside a new scrapbook for mark the occasion.

Loving: this set of prompts so far…

Making: a mess on the mirror with my waterpik if I do not keep it inside my mouth whilst cleaning upper prosthesis!

Next: I am not sure, nor so I have any clue what my “next” view from Netflix will be that will possibly make me as  obsessed with as Schitts Creek ended up being (very poorly constructed sentence too)

Observing: that virtually no-one (I put up my hand too) wears a protective mask if there is no mandatory requirement.

Pleasing: to see that my eating, exercise and attention to staying well is being noted by me and my G.P. as OK! Numbers of scale keep me somewhat grounded for record keeping but not for obsessing. I usually weigh myself once a month. I remain a steady weight (for me) which is encouraged for all head and neck cancer patients.

Reading: blog posts. Love the community of bloggers I follow.

Staying: loyal to my friends who blog and enjoy seeing their latests posts as it helps me stay connected.

Trying: to get outside for some more moving most days….

Understanding: that if I cannot, that is OK too. No longer “all or nothing” thinking…most of the time.

Viewing: images from years gone by, especially of our now older grandchildren. Brings me such joy, especially if it’s a little video and there is laughter and words.

Welcoming: the end of daylight saving..I know it’s nowhere near ending but I do like it to be O V E R.

X- You Choose! My Daily Calm Practice is continuing with no effort these days and I am over 420 days in a row!

Yes: to anyone can make changes (big, small or in between) once the mindset can be changed…

Z – You Choose! What Do You Think Of The New Prompts? Did you try them?

Denyse.

I am driving to Sydney today to see my Dad. Unlikely to be replying to your comments here till I am back later in the day. Thanks for understanding.

Link Up #229

 

Life This Week. Link Up #229

You can link up something old or new, just come on in.

* Please add just ONE post each week! NOT a link-up series of posts, thank you.

* Feel free to go with the prompt for the week to add your ‘take’ on the prompt. Or not.

* Please do stay to comment on my post as I always reply and it’s a bloggy thing to do!

* Check out what others are up to: Leave a comment on a few posts, because we all love our comments, right!

* Add a link back to this blog in your post somewhere, or on your sidebar or let others know somewhere you are linking up to this blog’s Life This Week.

*Posts deemed by me, the owner of the blog & the link-up, to be unsuitable for my audience will be deleted without notice. These may include promotions, advertorials and any that are overly religious or political or in any way offensive  in nature.

* THANK you for linking up today! Next Week’s Optional Prompt: Share Your Snaps #2. 8 March 2021.

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Taking Stock #4. 36/51. #LifeThisWeek. 72/2020.

Monday 7th September 2020 by

Taking Stock #4. 36/51 #LifeThisWeek. 72/2020.

To new-to-this-linkup bloggers:

W E L C O M E !

Add your post, old or new, on or off prompt below. Come back to comment here too.

You can be assured of a  visit from me to your blog later in the week, and for others who link up, popping in to read and comment too.

Taking a detour from my Taking Stock in photos as I have here, here and here in 2020….

to reviewing where I am now, 3 years and 6 months on from this Taking Stock Post. 

Back then I used all of Pip Lincoln’s Prompts from here.

Now, for just this post, I have adapted my own list as well…in the interests of being easy-to-read!

The black print is from February 2017.

The blue print is now: September 2020.

 

 

Making: art every single day in one form or another.

Making: this continues! I have changed some of what I do, but consistently I do create on paper daily.

Cooking: much less these days and loving that more.

Cooking: whilst I like not having to cook each day, I do enjoy the satisfaction of batch-cooking and freezing meals for each of us.

Drinking: water and some soft drink

Drinking: back to coffee…yay. However, since COVID, I am learning to make myself a strong coffee at home. I dislike sugar-based soft drinks now and enjoy water, soda water and ginger ale.

Coffee: double shot small latte

Reading: a long list of books..none of which have been completed (yet) almost all non-fiction.

Reading: I have to say, this has not changed much & I tend to buy the physical copy of a book I love from Audible to have that as well.

Wanting: to have a greater level of concentration to continue to read “Victoria” by Julia Baird

Wanting: to continue to be satisfied with the life we have now, 3.5 years on, post-cancer and more….

Looking: always looking around me

Looking: I still do this but I also look into some people’s behaviour to try to get some insight into the ‘why’. 

Wishing: I had some of the insight into me earlier than now!

Wishing: This continues to go well. Is this a wish come true??

Enjoying: the company of my husband each day as we have never been ‘alone’ till past 2 years

Enjoying: as above,  a more relaxed at-home lifestyle now that many of the health issues are receding…stay there, ok! 

Waiting: to have enough money to buy a house

Waiting: this one (as above)  has now faded into the background. Knowing where we live now suits us and maybe, it will be something we consider to be renters in our future. 

Liking: that we do not have enough money to buy a house (yet) because it gives us more time to consider.

Liking: how life, as above, sometimes works out…

Loving: that I surprise myself with my art every day

Loving: that our family is more connected even though we live a fair way from them. We miss them but feel connected. That’s great.

Hoping: that I can continue to accept that I have a chronic condition called IBS and learn to live with it

Hoping: that my overall health continues to be OK. I “have” had some big challenges but I do manage my IBS even better than before.

Marvelling: at the way anyone who has a brain is….

Marvelling: that I have no idea why I wrote that above response. OK..maybe it was about D Trump??

Needing: to be as kind a friend to myself as I am to others and I am getting better at it

Needing: this is getting much better and I am very grateful for how much I can be self-compassionate and kind. So much better.

Smelling: frangipanis on the large tree right outside our back door

Smelling: not these any more…we are living in another house. Fresh air. Enjoying outside as there is a clear air and not that awful smoke from last Summer. NO more bushfires, please.

Wearing: retirement coastie clothing of coloured shorts and sleeveless top and birkenstocks

Wearing: similarly if it were Summer but in late Winter, early spring, it is likely to be jeans, maybe sneakers and a short-sleeved top. And a mask. None of us knew what COVID would bring to our lives.

 

Following: lots of interesting friends who blog

Following: same as above: also twitter and facebook too, along with instagram. I admit I am on social media frequently but know when to stop. For my mental well-being! 

Noticing: the days are shortening and the mornings are getting cooler

Noticing: the opposite for above…as the season moves into Spring. 

Thinking: that I would prefer not to think so much

Thinking: that I am much better at recognising and acting upon over-thinking and ruminating. It certainly pays dividend for my mental health that I can and do recognise it and act upon it.

Feeling: more positive than the last time I did a ‘taking stock’ post

Feeling: that I can see the differences in me and my progress in terms of mental health and well-being over the past 3.5 years.

Opening: my blog each day and seeing who has commented so I get ready to chat

Opening: my eyes each morning and beginning with the Daily Calm Meditation. It has made an enormous difference in my life. 

Have you ‘taken stock’ recently?

Denyse.

Denyse’s Taking Stock Prompts: from the original by Pip Lincolne.

Making:
Cooking:
Drinking:
Reading:
Wanting:
Looking:
Playing:
Wasting:
Wishing:
Enjoying:
Waiting:
Liking:
Wondering:
Loving: 
Hoping:

Marvelling:
Needing:
Smelling:
Wearing:
Following:
Noticing:
Knowing:
Thinking:
Feeling:
Bookmarking:
Opening:
Smiling:

 

Just did an update to these two optional prompts: they are in correct order now. Changed on home page too.

38/51 Grateful For This. 21.9.2020

39/51 Healthy. 28.9.2020.

Link Up #205

Life This Week. Link Up #205

You can link up something old or new, just come on in.

* Please add just ONE post each week! NOT a link-up series of posts, thank you.

* Feel free to go with the prompt for the week to add your ‘take’ on the prompt. Or not.

* Please do stay to comment on my post as I always reply and it’s a bloggy thing to do!

* Check out what others are up to: Leave a comment on a few posts, because we all love our comments, right!

* Add a link back to this blog in your post somewhere, or on your sidebar or let others know somewhere you are linking up to this blog’s Life This Week.

*Posts deemed by me, the owner of the blog & the link-up, to be unsuitable for my audience will be deleted without notice. These may include promotions, advertorials and any that are overly religious or political or in any way offensive  in nature.

* THANK you for linking up today! Next week’s optional prompt: 37/51 Remembering Sydney 2000. 14.9.2020 (20 years since the Olympics were held in Sydney.

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Taking Stock #3. 27/51. #LifeThisWeek. 54/2020.

Monday 6th July 2020 by

Taking Stock #3. 27/51. #LifeThisWeek. 54/2020.

Where Am I….

How Am I…

What Am I….

Why Am I….

G R A T E F U L.

 

 

 

As it’s been the practice for Taking Stock in 2020 I found the photos to represent the prompts. They are not in prompt-order. Forgive me!!

Have you taken stock recently?

Denyse.

Link Up #196.

Life This Week. Link Up #196.

You can link up something old or new, just come on in.

* Please add just ONE post each week! NOT a link-up series of posts, thank you.

* Feel free to go with the prompt for the week to add your ‘take’ on the prompt. Or not.

* Please do stay to comment on my post as I always reply and it’s a bloggy thing to do!

* Check out what others are up to: Leave a comment on a few posts, because we all love our comments, right!

* Add a link back to this blog in your post somewhere, or on your sidebar or let others know somewhere you are linking up to this blog’s Life This Week.

*Posts deemed by me, the owner of the blog & the link-up, to be unsuitable for my audience will be deleted without notice. These may include promotions, advertorials and any that are overly religious or political or in any way offensive  in nature.

* THANK you for linking up today! Next week’s optional prompt.28/51 Self-Care Stories. #4. 13.7.2020.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

My adapted list of prompts for Taking Stock.

Making:
Cooking:
Drinking:
Reading:
Wanting:
Looking:
Playing:
Wasting:
Wishing:
Enjoying:
Waiting:
Liking:
Wondering:
Loving:
Hoping:

Marvelling:
Needing:
Smelling:
Wearing:
Following:
Noticing:
Knowing:
Thinking:
Feeling:
Bookmarking:
Opening:
Smiling:

Original Taking Stock List is here, from Pip Lincoln.

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Taking Stock #3. 27/51. Life This Week. 75/2019.

Monday 8th July 2019 by

Taking Stock #3. 27/51. Life This Week. 75/2019.

My Soup for the Soul

For the last two years I have been recovering from cancer. Specifically a rare cancer in my upper gums and under the top lip. Oral cancer is part of the Head and Neck cancer group. It’s not well-known and this is WHY I have continued to spread the awareness news…and WHY I add the link to the fundraiser I have on-line to help the organisation Beyond Five where I am an Ambassador. To date, I now have wonderful donations bringing my current total to almost $300. Thank you. This the link to where you, should you choose, may donate.

Of interest to me is the Taking Stock I did just before my big cancer surgery in July 2017. Here it is...with many caring comments from friends I know here.

Taking Stock #3 : 2 years on! 2019.

Making: decisions about how much time I spend sharing my art time with and for others….and coming up with the response I need to do more that is just for me now.

Cooking: little cupcakes. I think I write this a lot. Cupcakes get me through tough days and having fewer teeth. The current group are tiny ones and being made for the Soup for The Soul event coming up at Central Coast Head and Neck Cancer Support group’s fundraiser.

Drinking: after water, double shot small lattes. Every day.

Reading: two items: The Sydney Morning Herald which we now have to go and buy as home delivery is becoming extinct here. The late Chris O’Brien’s memoir. He was a superb head and neck surgeon whose skills and vision saw people like my head and neck surgeon trained under him and my head and neck nurse practitioner. His idea too, after seeing comprehensive cancer centres in the US, was Australia needed these….

Wanting: to keep sharing the stories of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse because if not for Chris and his vision, I would not have had such a friendly, comprehensive cancer hospital for my surgeries and check ups and where I feel very welcomed.

Looking: at my Apple Watch. To see how my steps, standing and getting exercise circles (rings) join up.

Playing: for the third time, Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton via Audible, in my car.

Wasting: too much time on thoughts that do not need chasing nor imagining into more/worse.

Wishing: I could achieve (gain?) contentment on a more regular basis instead of striving as much as my personality seems to dictate.

Enjoying: being back to ‘listening’ to books over and over. See above for Boy Swallows Universe.

Waiting: for some appointments where there is a bit of apprehension..one is with a new psychologist as I need to share how the grief of cancer along with ageing is confronting, and visit #38 or #39 with my prosthodontist to see ‘how my upper prosthesis’ is going.

Liking: just being ‘the two of us’. For all those years of a  household caring for kids, working long hours in busy and responsible jobs, caring for grandkids part-time….and part-time work…it’s just US being retired, yes some ageing is part of this, but it’s just us. Married for 48 years.

Wondering: how Dad’s health will continue to be so good for so long. He is 95.5 years!! Still very independent.

Loving: having time as best as I can make it work for me.

Hoping: that friends & family who need to find work/stay in work roles they enjoy can stay employed at the level they choose.

Marvelling: at people who understand anything ‘science- related.’

Needing: to ensure I do not obsess about how many steps I take…which are actually in competition with me…

Smelling: the sea when I get out of the car at The Entrance and always being taken back to January school holidays in the 1990s when we took family vacations there.

Wearing: clothes that I enjoy wearing and that I am much more (literally & figuratively) comfortable in – after some small “panics” about weight gain…which turned out for be good for my health. Who knew?

Following: people on twitter who make me think and also are prepared to have a decent and non-abusive conversation: I follow #education and #headandneckcancer mostly and make a contribution.

Noticing: there is a lot to be more grateful for which makes me actually notice more!

Knowing: I will forget some of my newer behavioural strategies to manage my reactions to potential stress…and give myself a break when I do.

Thinking: that I could do with less thinking…the one I am getting better at ‘over thinking’.

Feeling: Love – for and of others.

Bookmarking: every single page it seems where I save something on facebook. Best I review that.

Opening: my emails and seeing donations to the above cause. Thank you!

Smiling: every.single.day. because I MISSED my big smile for 14 months!

Do you ‘take stock’ regularly? Thanks Pip Lincoln for her original taking stock here.

Denyse.

You can link up something old or new, just come on in. * Please add just ONE post each week! * Feel free to go with the prompt for the week to add your ‘take’ on the prompt. Or not. * Please do stay to comment on my post as I always reply and it’s a bloggy thing to do! * Check out what others are up to by leaving a comment because we all love our comments, right! * Add a link back to this blog in your post somewhere. I don’t have a ‘button’ so a link in text is fine! *Posts deemed by me, the owner of the blog and the link-up, to be unsuitable for my audience will be deleted without notice. * THANK you for linking up today!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Next week’s optional prompt: 28/51 Self-Care: Share Your Story #4 15/7/19

 

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Taking Stock #2. 18/51#LifeThisWeek. 47/2019.

Monday 6th May 2019 by

Taking Stock #2. 18/51#LifeThisWeek. 47/2019.

It’s that time again folks, which comes around every 9 weeks on the blog for #lifethisweek. Taking Stock originated with Pip here and I thank her for that. I have amended the list recently. I hope you enjoy what I’ve been up to. I look forward to reading your post, if you have also ‘taken stock.’

 

Making: so many little cakes. Maybe I am ‘fooling’ myself making them tiny but I look at it this way, I feel less guilt and small still has lots of icing!

Cooking: see above. And as well, quite a few meat meals in small serves for both me and my husband. I prefer a batch cook and freezing the meals. Recently it’s been sweet & sour chicken, slow cooked lamb shanks and sausages/bacon in tomato and gravy base. And pies.

Drinking: my daily double shot latte ( seen as a model for the meme for this post) 

 

Reading: I start so many books (non-fiction) and have yet to finish them. Megan Blandford’s book is one. Go Megan for sharing the story of your post-natal depression. 

 

Wanting: as I write, less pain in the parts of my upper mouth which are tight. So tight. However by the time you read this, it will likely be gone. 

Looking: at the wonderful awards won by my favourite Aussie fiction writer at the recent publishers’ awards. Go Trent Dalton and Boy Swallows Universe.

Playing: a game I liked in 2017 and enjoying it again. Not strictly a game but an app called Elevate and it’s a brain-training one and I love me a personal challenge. Back at it. It’s a paid annual one but they had 40% off so snapped it up. 

Wasting: enough time – too much I mean – considering how much I have added weight to my body since I can eat….properly and well…..and being more kind to myself as I learn more about mindful eating vs mindless eating!

Wishing: that cancer was cured. Eradicated. Gone. Done. Two friends ( one on-line and one I have met) have died far, far too young in the past 2 weeks. 

I am so sorry @curlypops  and @t_to_the_racy your time here ended too soon.

Enjoying: some quality time with my husband as we have made it our practice to go out once a week somewhere different for morning tea. 

Waiting: for not much. That is a good thing!

Liking: the fact that we live in a very modern house, the lease has been extended till April 2020 and we are content with that.

Wondering: what this year will bring to our family and relationships. Nothing mysterious in this. Just wondering as when your kids are adults and some of  their kids are adults, you can get some news about all kinds of things. 

HB to SM! A while back but I will never forget the day this beautiful butterfly joined our family!

Loving: that relationships made with our grandchildren in their early and formative years, translate into memories made even if we do not see them frequently, they have our love embedded in them.

Hoping: that the rotten   federal election is over with a clear result one way or another. Please. 

Marvelling: at nature. Always. These flowers were in pots last May. I planted them in the very small garden out the back when they stopped flowering and now, it’s May and here they are! Again.

Needing: to remember self-compassion before self-blame and it’s getting better. It really is. I highly recommend as I have written before: Dr Kristen Neff’s work.

Smelling: coffee. It is aromatic. Love it.

Wearing: more tops with sleeves, so it must be getting cooler!

Following: my education tweeps and their schools and being so proud of what public education in N.S.W. is doing for ALL kids. 

Noticing: that I am far less reactive generally. Not always but better! And I always realise “oh” and think, that could have been a better way to respond.

Knowing: I am loved. Not much more needed is there?

Thinking: How fortunate I am to have been treated by the best every professional team when I was diagnosed with my Head and Neck Cancer almost 2 years ago.

Feeling: gratitude. And for the next few weeks on the blog, will be posting about Gratitude on Tuesdays and linking up here.

Bookmarking: so many of my real books. Sigh. I love getting them. I just need to actually read them as well.

Opening: a parcel from Ebay that I did not recognise then realising I knew exactly what was inside.

Smiling: at so much these days and with so many people because I CAN smile

I hope that your weeks have been wonderful.

I hope for sunshine and warmth and rain too….it’s needed!

Very soon, on this blog, I am starting a series called Women of Courage. Each Wednesday. It promises to be a very interesting series judging by those whose words I have already received. Thanks to all.

Have a great week.

Denyse.

Linking here on Mondays with Kell for Mummy Mondays.

You can link up something old or new, just come on in. * Please add just ONE post each week! * Feel free to go with the prompt for the week to add your ‘take’ on the prompt. Or not. * Please do stay to comment on my post as I always reply and it’s a bloggy thing to do! * Check out what others are up to by leaving a comment because we all love our comments, right! * Add a link back to this blog in your post somewhere. I don’t have a ‘button’ so a link in text is fine! *Posts deemed by me, the owner of the blog and the link-up, to be unsuitable for my audience will be deleted without notice. * THANK you for linking up today!

Next week’s optional prompt: 19/51 Contentment Is…13/5/19

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


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