Amber - Switching focus

 Alright I'm finally going to do something more about this bed time thing.  I have to add some tweaks because it just isn't working as is.  The focus is to get that bed time and rise time down pat and I feel good about that one so I'm going with it.  In fact I think I will not even add the other goals on this post, though I am still working on them.  My biggest obstacle to getting up in time to get things done before I have to watch grandma is that I don't go to bed early enough to get enough sleep. My biggest obstacle to getting to bed on time is me on the computer playing games.  So for this week at least I am shutting all solo gaming down.  I need a break from it anyways, though I very much enjoy it so I will be working it in somehow.  However, since the established habit is stay up and play and the preferred habit is get to bed at a certain time then this is how I think I need to do it.  Then the only other edits will be that I have decided for now that my bed time will by 10 and my rise time will be 7.  In conjunction with that I'm setting my 9:30 alarm again which this time means I wrap up what I'm doing so I can go to bed.

Goals:

• No Solo Gaming
• Alarm at 9:30 - wrap it up and go get ready for bed.
• Bed at 10 pm
• Rise at 7 am (alarm included)

Monday:

* My thought today was to remember that what matters most is the spiritual.  Section 35:24 says "Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound; and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble and Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish."  Everything else will work out for me if I put the spiritual first.  So we see over and over in the scriptures and in other people's lives.  So I have seen often in my life but I forget.  This is why scriptures are so important.  We forget so easily but it is all there in the scriptures.

• Success on the gaming, I hardly even thought about it.
• The alarm went off alright and I did wrap up.  I didn't, however, get off.  In fact I made the deliberate decision to watch a movie.  So one would probably call this a failure which it probably was but I'm going to give it to me.  I was so anxious for my dental surgery tomorrow that I couldn't go to sleep and the movie was a nice escape from the anxiety and butterflies.
• I did manage to get off a little after 11 and go to bed before midnight.

Tuesday:

* I was on drugs all day so I didn't do a great study, in fact I did one of those flip open the book and read what you first see/point at.  It's actually quite successful most of the time most especially if you don't cheat and decide you don't like that verse.  I read a verse in 2 Nephi about spending your money and time on things that are of worth and that can satisfy.  It confirmed my desire to spend less time on gaming and also confirmed some purchases I was thinking of making while also curbing me from spending too much on those purchases.  How useful will they actually be and how worthy of your time are they?  Anyways I'll probably need to make more of a financial plan and then fit them in there instead of just purchasing the first one that I feel the urge to buy.

• I did wake at 7 but again due to stress about my appointment I stayed in bed for a bit until I had to get up.  I've never been so tempted to not show up and cancel my appointment.  It was just a root canal and I didn't even need any crown work afterwards but I was so stressed.  Then I realized why, a root canal has a lot more drilling work than a cavity.  The drilling is always the worst part for me and I have to have my mp3 player going at almost full volume in order to compete with the drilling or I can't relax.  Anyways it is over and hopefully soon I can chew on both sides of my mouth.
• No gaming today though I was tempted.
• Alarm went off and I did wrap up and I was off before 10 though I didn't actually get to bed until almost 11.

Wednesday:

* I did read but got nothing and have been so busy all day that I didn't get anything else read.

• I woke up before 7 and started doing stuff.
• No gaming again but I did have more than one urge to go there.  However I was super busy today and didn't have much time for anything.
• The alarm went off and I got off the computer by 9:45.  You'd think I'd have done better but I struggled to go to bed so again bed time was closer to 11.

Thursday:

* I read section 38 today.  I was thoroughly enjoying this section but didn't find anything super specific.  What I did get out of it was that the world is an unknown, anything can happen, but God is known and despite our weaknesses he will answer our prayers, help us with our struggles, give us blessings beyond what we expect from the world.  As I read the promises made me feel secure, then relieved, then comforting, then exciting.  God is creator of all things and is the source of all good.  Any and every good thing we want he can provide.  No where else will you get what you need in this or the next life.

• I woke late with a cold and in fact was so tired that when I got up I found Grandma was super tired too and we both went back to bed.  She slept longer than I but apparently she didn't sleep good last night so she was fine when she woke up.  I on the other hand was tired an sick all day.
• No gaming but I really wanted to play today!  Instead I forced myself to work on my sewing.  Sometimes it is so hard to do it but once I start I can keep going.  Today I finished patterning and putting together a pair of medieval hose for me.  I still have all the finish work but that is the fun relaxing stuff that I do by hand in front of the TV.  In fact I have also nearly finished my first practice pair.  I have one hem left and then I give you a picture of them.
• I missed the alarm because I was watching Poirot with Grandpa.  However I could have just gone to bed right after and even intended to but alas I got on my phone despite my thoughts that I shouldn't and was up until 11 again.

Friday:

*  I read some of 38 again and liked verse 33, the part which says "I will lead them withersoever I will, and no power shall stay my hand."  The saints were lead and prospered despite the opposition from other peoples.  Applying this to myself is a little different.  I'm not usually lead to a specific gathering space but I am lead in many other ways and prospered in many of the same ways.  I don't feel opposition from individuals or groups in particular.  However, I definitely feel specific and pointed opposition from Satan.  He is looking directly at me and trying to bring me low.  It is great comfort to know that he cannot stop God from lifting me up.  By relying on God, even in my imperfect state, I will be protected and bu successful in this life and the next.

• I feel some better today but not enough to get up by 7, I was up around 8.
• I already wrote the rest of the week but for some reason it never was saved.  So I failed today and played but I got off in time to go to bed before 10.  Unfortunately I stayed awake thinking and planned for two hours.
• I did actually sew today and my favorite part was cutting out my fabric because I used the more correct method of tearing it instead of cutting.  If you are doing straight edges on the grain then the most exact way to do it is to tear along the grain, it was super satisfying!  Though it only works on woven fabrics like quilting fabrics or muslin, it doesn't work on knits and some other fabrics.

Saturday:

* Since I already wrote this two days ago I've forgotten what I learned.

• I feel better and got up at 8 which is not bad for midnight.
• I also played today and this time I stayed up to after 2.  Saturday's I find the hardest to go to bed early.
• I finally finished my first pair of hose.  I don't have a picture today but I think I will put one up when I complete the second pair of hose.

Sunday: 

* I do remember today's thought.  Found in Matt 13 and about the seeds sown into the different types of ground.  I thought of myself as all of the types at once, particularly at conference.  Sometimes I hear something that I either don't quite understand, I have questions about, or I ignore because my focus is somewhere else.  All of which I choose not to pursue and I completely forget about them.  Then sometimes I hear things that are so good and I write them down quite excited about it and maybe I talk about it once or twice but I let time pass and the excitement fades and I again forget about them.  Then sometimes those things stick around longer, I plan for them and try to implement them but life gets too hard and I abandon them.  It is only a few things that manage to make into the good ground and eventually bear fruit in my life.  However, I don't think there is anything wrong with just a few things.  I think that if consistent with adding things over time that it is enough.  It was just curious to think of the parable in this way.

• I did wake up at 9 which was good for my sleep and still gave me plenty of time to get to church and get Grandma ready.
• Sunday is a different day I never play today.
• I did hand sew but nothing beyond that, not usually a day for sewing except by hand in front of the tv.
• I went to bed at around 10.

The progress is not too bad, very little computer and most of the nights was around 11.  Next week hopefully will be better.