What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?
Let me tell you, answering the question “What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?” right now feels a bit like being asked if I’d like to eat more kale after stuffing myself at a farmers’ market. I mean, I’ve been crushing it lately, making major life upgrades like I’m on some sort of self-improvement reality show. For starters, I’ve kept my New Year’s resolution alive yes, alive! Usually, resolutions flop by February at best, but not this time. Matcha if you didn’t already guess. Yep, I’ve hopped on the green powder bandwagon and am sipping it daily like it’s the elixir of life, some need coffee I need matcha bonus is that it is healthy for me to boot.
The one catch? Matcha and I have had to set up some boundaries. Turns out, caffeine and I were in a very casual relationship until now. I never used to care how late I drank tea even green tea or coffee, but one late-night matcha, and boom! I was staring at the ceiling at four in the morning, regretting all my life choices when I needed to go to an appointment the next day. So, now I’m the person who actually checks the clock before a cup and says, “Sorry, it’s too late for us, matcha even if I really want to.” It’s helped, though. I’m starting to go to bed at *checks apple health* 2 a.m. instead of my usual 5 a.m. or, on my worst days, when the birds are already chirping at 7. As a natural night owl, that’s progress. Though of course, it only takes one late night of scrolling for my next book and picking it to turn my fragile sleep schedule into a pile of rubble. Thanks, circadian rhythm, though this does explain how I could get so much done during night shifts that my line at work was only night shifts after six months in the first medical facility I ever worked at.
Another improvement I’ve made is doing at least one thing every day that makes me genuinely happy, and surprise, surprise writing has become that thing (as if you didn’t guess). Oh, and what a glorious thing it is. I get why people told me to be an author or a lawyer when I was younger. Apparently, I have a knack for words, whether they’re crafting a story or arguing over whose turn it is to do the dishes or being really good at getting around punishments my favorite pastime as a kid. Writing has added this bizarre variety to my days that TV or reading just can’t replicate. Let’s face it, no matter how good a show is, even the best binge-watch starts to feel like eating the same pasta leftovers for three days straight. Writing, however? That’s chaos. Beautiful, unpredictable chaos.
I never know what rabbit hole I’ll dive into next. One moment it’s YouTube videos on why octopuses are the geniuses of the sea, the next I’m jotting down ideas for a novel about time-traveling baristas or starting a book from talking about matcha tea and cermony. The bonus is that I can call it “work.” While be utterly truthful, even if I do not explain it to people when I make the comment and enjoy their confused “ok we will agree but we don’t actually agree” look. Even brewing a cup of tea and analyzing its flavor notes has become legitimate fodder for my “creative process.” Some might call that a stretch; I call it multitasking, hell all you need to do is look at my writing to see this. Examples (I swear I will cut it back I promise):
I think you get the point…. I hopefully have trimmed this very long list down by the time I hit publish yet each of these are what make chaos my signature so to speak. So yup, I can write anything off as writing 😏. Update: I cut it in half if you can believe it. These are some of my oldest posts so it shows how I have grown… shhhh that is the excuse I am using and sticking to.
Oh, and smoothies! I’m officially a smoothie enthusiast again. I’ve been throwing the most random ingredients into a blender, things that should NOT work together and somehow, they turn out delicious if they need a bit extra that is what peanut butter is for as it masks so much. It’s like a culinary trust fall with me. I’ve stumbled on combos that not only taste amazing but are ridiculously healthy too. I should really start sharing these recipes; they’re that good. Plus, they make me feel like I have my life together, which is a nice bonus when most of my life consists of trying to figure out how to adult while life says “oh close to figuring it out? Let’s flip it and give it some shakes in the paint mixing shaker.” At least that is how it feels so often. Oh, would blender be more fitting at this point given I am currently drinking one of my concoctions. Silk tofu, pineapple, cranberry juice, celery, mixed berry, with some matcha of course blended with water as I do not think yogurt or milk goes well with this mix. I can see milk curdling way to well if I am honest with myself even if it is *shudders* soy milk.
Then there is my miso soup fixation, of course this must be from scratch. Have I shared this yet? Hopefully, a search of old posts will show this when I am done or that may be the first kitchen mashup I share. Trust me, my miso soup is nowhere near what you see in the store or at Japanese restaurants like I used to get it from until COVID skyrocketed costs for everything, and eating out became too much. Though, if I’m honest, it always was. I get a bunch of vitamins and enough dashi to freeze, and then I seal the vacuum sealer bags used to freeze it in. That is the key to freezing food that is not easy to freeze in a nice flat shape a bin small enough to hold each up and flat without the bulging while it freezes. Keep in mind to leave a bit of extra room for expansion, then you seal it. Easy as 1-2-3.
Talking about the vacuum sealer, I have made soups, pasta dishes, rice dishes (minus sushi yuck 🤮 that stuff does not work so well that way). Not admitting to trying it or anything. While I could eat that entire batch of pancakes I made for breakfast, lunch, and supper (if you use it like a crepe), I try to only give in once a week. So, I freeze, then seal after it is frozen this works well with dishes that get crushed by the process such as rice. With my back and hips, this makes it so I can eat healthy through the week no matter my level of pain, I do most of my prep in the living room and have a bowl for garbage and containers for the rest. Less standing means less pain. Who woulda thunk I would be one for meal planning at least as to what is available? As to when I consume it, that is just as chaotic as my writing.
These are all new things since January 1, 2025, I have started with. I am not sure I can handle much more improvement at the moment. So many changes does not make my ASD mind overly happy, to say the least. Though, I think my laundry especially those socks that are never mated again after they hit the first wash might disagree. It is washed; it just lives in the laundry basket a lot of the time. Which is also another improvement I have made: using a clothesline drying rack in the tub in winter and outside when it is not freezing.
Though, let’s not talk about the times I’ve used that tub rack as a pseudo jungle gym for laundry chaos. Imagine a balancing act of socks, sheets, and T-shirts that resemble a poorly built Jenga tower. Fun to stack, but one wrong move, and poof it’s all in a heap again. Orrr one crazy night with the cat playing bounce off the walls. Yet that’s on-brand for me, right? A little chaos, a little unpredictability it’s just the way life shakes out, no matter how many improvements I seem to squeeze in. What chaos do you like having that is fun? What is one new years resolution you have kept to you?
Just a note: The AI could not have generated a better image right off the hop as it did today. This is me to a t. Head in the clouds, laundry in the bathroom forgotten while drying, art easel… even the random floating thing even fits!
5 responses to “Why Chaos is Improvement in Daily Life”
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Interesting
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Thank you. I find that when you accept who you are, some of the negative aspects of medical complexities to life actually become gifts. It’s about perspective and self-acceptance. When you accept who you are, all of who you are, you are happier which improves everything. Something this site has taught me while writing.
❄️Siearra Frost❄️
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Exactly!
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