“What’s a lesson you’ve learned recently that shifted your perspective?”

About 2 years ago I purchased a rice cooker of Amazon and at that point I actually didn’t know why I did that, I can cook perfect rice with just a pot. Yes, I know, it sounds a lil bit nuts. Why spend money on something you do not really need. Well, I blame my belly feeling. Sometimes it does that, it tells me to get something and I’m totally clueless about why the heck I should do that, but month, sometimes even years later it hits me like a truck with this “aaaah that’s the reason”. However, I’m digressing, let’s get back to the rice cooker. So, when I was getting one I was under the impression it is just for cooking rice, hence the name. And I parked it in my storage place and almost forgot about it. Fast forward to last month. I’m hanging out on YouTube, yes I know I shouldn’t but come on, one guilty pleasure should be ok. There was this cooking channel that just kept popping up in my feed, regardless how often I told YouTube to “not recommend this channel” and “I’m not interested”. So at some point I gave in and clicked on one of her videos. She was rating Rice Cooker recipes she got from TikTok (never have bin to and never will be, the important stuff finds me elsewhere, often on YouTube) and I was amazed about what that little thing can do. So much more than just cooking rice. Scrambled eggs, chicken dishes, soups, pasta, even desserts. That little thing is like a magic cooking tool and now I’m so glad that I got one. Also glad about my trusty belling feeling that always knows what I really need in my life.

“What do you do to improve your sleep?”

From own experience I can tell, that good sleep starts long before bed time. There isn’t just one thing to make your sleep good, there are a lot of small steps you can do. But keep in mind, we all are different. Things that work for me, maybe not helpful for you. So you need to find your own way by trial and error, at least that is what I did. Habits that help you in general: No social media, no alcohol, no drugs, healthy home made meals. Be aware of what you stuff into your body. Avoid the news if possible or just stick with a lose overview. If you can not change it, there is no need to carry it. If it doesn’t make you happy, it has to go (goes for everything, people and things). Make your bed every morning. It’s less about being tidy, but more about you deserve a tidy bed when you go to sleep at night.

In the evening, have dinner early, so your body gets a chance to sort that out before you go to bed. Have a steady rhythm, go to bed around the same time every night. Melatonin will help falling asleep but it will not make sure you sleep through. And, everything below 5 mg is totally pointless. So if you do not have trouble falling asleep, you can just ignore it. Safe that money. Get a good herbal tea instead.

My biggest problem with falling asleep and stay asleep what constant pondering in circles. Audio books helped a lot to break that. The story itself doesn’t really matter that much (as long as it doesn’t make you feel bad in any way, shape or form), but the voice that is reading the story to you. Just last week I noticed that again. I was listening to an entire series of one author, all together 8 books and I loved them. When I saw, that there was another series from the same author I thought nothing could go wrong, after all, same author, the books must be as good, right? Wrong! Different person was reading the books and for me her voice was soooo annoying. I stopped after 1 book (even when I got 3 at ones – see, if it doesn’t make you happy, it has to go). Anyway, I set the timer to an hour and usually I’m asleep long before the hour is over.

Before you ask, yes, I wake up during the night, mostly around 3 am, but that is no problem. I go to the rest room, then maybe get something to drink and then I go straight back to bed. I simple repeat what I did when I went to bed in the evening. I turn the audio book back on, timer to one hour, and go back to sleep. Works every time, like a charm.

And then there is my secret sleep weapon. My dog! She sleeps with me in my bed (actually it’s her bed), under the covers. It is incredible cozy and nothing on this planet is more peaceful then a snoring dog.

Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite you.

“What’s the best way to deal with negative thoughts?“

You control what you think, most people just forget that. I’m dealing with a chronic severe depression since 2005 (most likely much earlier, I just ignored it) and I’ve learned that I’m in control. Yes, it’s “work”. Think of it like training your muscles in the gym. It doesn’t happen from default, you have to get active. Like train your happy muscle. I have 3 things that help me a lot. First of all, I do not look what other people have, that is not relevant for my life. I look what I have. Next thing is gratitude for everything you have. Yes I know, it’s easy to tell what we all not have, but think about it, there are people who look at you and think “oh if I only could have their life”. So make a list every day, maybe even on paper, with things you are grateful for. It starts with really really basic things like “I’m grateful for my cozy bed.” or “I’m really grateful for my home”. A lot of people take these things for granted but they are not. Just look around you, there are a lot of people who have much less than you have. Another thing you can do is, as soon as a negative thought creeps up you push it aside and think of something really positive, something that makes you happy. That is something different for everybody but it’s like so often the small things that work best, cats, dogs, flowers, nature, art, ice cream.

One last thing before I go. Sometimes there will be days, when nothing of the above will work. Then you still have one more emergency tool. You can just shut the negative thoughts down with knitting/crocheting plus audio book/pot cast (only positive ones) or your favorite show (not the living dead, positive only). This combination will shut down all negative thoughts because your brain will be busy with other things. Give it a try.

And now be happy and have a pawsome day.

“What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger?”

I disliked cooking. Single mom, full time job, never learned how to cook properly. At that time cooking for me was nothing else than creating extra chaos. I was the queen of convenience food and pizza delivery. Nowadays I’m retired and enjoying a peaceful comfortable life and I looove cooking. Homemade meals are the best thing ever. Not only cheaper and much healthier but also so satisfying. When you take the first bite from that mean Pizza and you can tell yourself “I made this” that is the best feeling ever.

I’m far from perfect but I’m getting better each week by picking a recipe/meal I want to learn and then cooking it til I get it right. At this point I can tell, I’ll never again have to order a pizza, my pizza is so much better than anything I could order. And don’t get me started about my little rice cooker. When I purchased it, the plan was just to cook rice with it (which is actually pretty pointless because I can cook the perfect rice with any conventional pot) but then I learned that this little thing can do so much more than just rice.

Life is a big adventure. Stay curious!