Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Changes, $5 Million, Literary Characters, Food & Looking On

Today's blogs...

Welcome To My Reality - Week Eighty - One

1. When I look around and compare the world today with the one I grew up in I can't help at marvel at all of the changes. What do you think are the biggest changes that have occurred so far in your lifetime and how do you feel about them.

The computer age is the biggest change in my lifetime. Computers were only starting to gain an interest when I was in high school. We had two classes - Data Programming and Computer programming. That's all. We still had typewriting class which I took in grade 9. The libraries were still using the card catalogue system and the internet was not something I knew about.

Now we are digitally hooked up and connected. I sit here composing this on a Surface - essentially a computerized tablet. I am connected to the internet and will be posting my blog later when I am done. I have many face to face friends but I also have friends on the internet. It boggles the mind to know I can chat with a friend in New Zealand and get her take on things. When I took my Special Education course I did it online - one of my classmates was in Indonesia! So cool!

With any advancement there are good and bad things. Computers and the internet are great things, but we still need to take care and remember to write and communicate with compassion. We need to be aware and shut Cyber bullying down. Computers and the internet speed the process of life... take care to spread love not hate. Pick people up, don't push them down.

4. You have just won $5 Million in this weekends lottery. How would you spend it?

Fist of all I would invest a good portion of it so that the money would be working for me and not just be spent on trivial things.
I would continue to supply teach... the worry of not having enough money to pay my bills would be a thing of the past. I could just work where and when I liked. There is real freedom in that. I would also be able to write... being able to follow my dreams without money worries would be a blessing.

It would be nice to have a new house... a bungalow. With an apartment for my mother to live close. I think I would still like to live in town... able to walk and explore the neighbourhood and its shops. Although having a block of property without having neighbours in your pockets would be lovely.
I would travel. Exporting this great big world would be a delight. I could travel and explore without having to stick to a set schedule. Take a month or two in Paris, then head to England to travel with my mother for a month or more... probably staying on after she went home. Meet my aunt and uncle in Italy and travel with them for another month - meeting my uncle's extended family. Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.... then I would broaden my views to see India, China, South America.

5. What literary character are you most like and why? What is it that you relate to most about that character.

I would like to say Jo March from Little Women or Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice but although I love those characters I do not see myself as strong as they are. Jo was determined and headstrong. I love that about her. Her determination took her places and her love of family kept her grounded in love. She went out and found her place in the world. I would like to be that.

Both women are strong and intelligent. They are steadfast and committed to what they value. I want to be that way... and I? I am not always sure. I am probably more like Jane Bennett - kind and seeing the good in everyone. Also good qualities but not as strong... at least they don't seem to be.

Or what about Mansfield Park's heroine - I like the movie version that combines some of Jane Austen's aspects with the book's heroine. Maybe that character aligns more with me.

Blog City – Day 488

“I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food,” said Erma Bombeck.
What are your feelings about food?
How much do you love it? Or do you fear it?

I enjoy my food. As a child I ate to live, now however, I tend to live to eat. The more decadent the better. Sweets are a favourite, but so are salty... it all depends on my mood.

My greatest area of weakness is eating in the evening. All day I master my food choices. I eat a reasonable healthy breakfast, and generally my lunch is acceptable but the evening is a weak point. The tireds kick in and I eat.... and not because I am hungry but because it is there.
My body, however, is not so easily disppaiting my later evening fararys into the world of snacking. I have put on weight that is stubborn to leave me. Rolls of skin are thickening and I am feeling more lethargic. To enjoy my foods, I need to be proactive. First I need to be more active. A minimum of 10,000 steps - which is 5 miles of walking - a day is required. If I manage a thousand steps each hour I should be able to manage a good, healthy amount by bedtime. I should also go for a walk or do some yoga whenever my evening blahs kick in. But this extra movement does not mean extra food. I often find on a day that I am extra active, I am also extra nibbling and that is a problem. So I need to cut back and I need to make healthier choices that require more thought. I also need to only eat when I am hungry and not eat after 8 pm. Drinking at least 2 litres of water a day is advisable as well. That is only 8 cups of water... spaced out over the day to meet me hydrated and that also keeps the over eating at bay.

Keeping chips and chocolate out of my pantry are also wise ideas.

Blog City – Day 489

“But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned to a pillar of salt. So it goes. People aren't supposed to look back. I'm certainly not going to do it anymore.” Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

If you are told by God to pick up and go, then you must... and you must do so without concern for what you are leaving behind. I admit it is hard to go and not look back. Even to reflect on what was. Reflection on what was should help with the future... but in this case the future and God's plan for you is not to be questioned without consequences.

The problem with looking back is dwelling on what was lost. To move forward, one must only see what lies ahead in the possibility. The past is gone. The future is open to anything. Take time for healthy reflection, then let it go and take only the lessons with you in your experience.