day 76 - finally making good

Every year on my burfday I try to pick one new skill to learn/hone by my next birthday. It could be a language, a sport, just anything that keeps me striving toward something and learning. It's amazing how complacent you can become after you finish school. Birthdays are a great way to take stock. My apartment is littered with remnants of previous skills that I did not develop: sign language for dummies book, boxing gloves for muay thai, mah jong set for all the parties I'd host. . .

Thanks to the pcp, I actually did master something new this year. I learned how to feed myself more healthfully and to treat my body with LKR (love, kindness and respect-thanks Jenny for the acronym!). Who knew I could go this long (mostly) without eating processed foods and not die? I always liked exercise but now I feel I'm getting the nutrition part down. It really doesn't take THAT much time to grocery shop and have fresh fruit and veggies in the house. No more excuses in that realm.

Side note: I deserve mad props for not emotional eating last night. My old bedroom is the only place that isn't a full-blown disaster. As I mentioned previously, mom is a hoarder. As I was packing I discovered a box of papers in my old bedroom with the words DISPOSE and 1998 on the side. That's funny, I don't keep crap. I opened it and found homework papers of a girl I had never heard of and a high school commencement program for a school I did not attend. WTF?!??! Keep in mind, Mom is a retired accountant, not a teacher so no earthly reason for old school work to exist in the house.

Me: Mom, who is Tracy Wang and why do you have her old high school papers?
Mom: Those belonged to the daughter of Nancy, an old tenant. They wanted to throw them out when they moved but I brought them home.
Me: You brought home old papers of total strangers? Our house doesn't have enough paper? Junk? Books?
Mom: I kept her homework in case I had time one day to look through it and learn.
Me: Are you joking? You're insane. Who brings home other people's garbage??!?!?! She flunked a test for C++, a computer language that you'll NEVER learn.
Mom: I didn't have time to go through everything. Don't monitor/control me. It's not your business.

I have sustained numerous scratches and other injuries in the week that I've been home simply cause there are no pathways in the house. Losing blood didn't send me over the edge but that damn box did. I was so close to chowing on the mini dark chocolate raspberry cake my stepdad got me for my birthday. He meant well but I've told him 1,000 times that I'm not eating crap for the rest of this month. Not that he remembers anything with the dementia he denies. Anyways, long story short - cake still in the fridge. They'll be eating it in honor of me. Happy Eff-ing Birthday grace.