Alex Apostol

Celebrate Recovery

April 20, 2018

Image result for celebrate recovery materials

One of the things I love to do naturally as a writer is journal and I’ve been using this desire to write to discover myself and recall things of my past. I’ve been going through some extremely hard things lately, coming to terms with my past, both done to me and that I’ve done, and last night it led me to Celebrate Recovery at one of our local churches. It was a rare night to start because it was the group’s 5th anniversary, but the experience was still interesting and made a big impact. It gave me motivation to be around other people who are not only struggling with various “habits, hurts, and hangups” (as they say) but to also be around people who have overcome the very things I’m struggling with. The only words I really said in the small group “Newcomers 101” was:

My name is Alexandra and I struggle with codependency,
abandonment, anxiety, depression, and slight PTSD from the Navy.

But just saying those few words was powerful enough. I knew those things about me all along, I had said some of them at one time or another before, but I had never said it like that, like I was admitting to everyone there and God that these things are real inside of me and I want to change them.

I don’t know why, but it seems like for writers, or any artist in general, there’s a stereotype that we are all in pain and that we should be in pain to create good art. Spectacular art is born through pain. I don’t know if that’s true or not. I think it’s true because by expressing a certain pain, so many people can relate to it in a big way. We’re all a little broken somehow and just want to know we’re not alone. That’s why art- paintings, poems, books, drawing, sculptures, photographs, music- can be so comforting in times of hurt. I can’t take away my past hurts. They’re there. But I can choose to be different, to be better, and to move past them. But I also feel it’s my duty to share them once I’m better so I can help others, and I know this is going to effect my writing in a big way.

Have you ever been to Celebrate Recovery or gotten through a huge life struggle and how did it effect your artistic work? I would love to hear your story of inspiration! Please, comment below.

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When Life Gets in the Way of Writing

April 16, 2018

writing

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I haven’t been keeping up with my blogging as well as I want to. By the title I’m sure you can guess, life is getting in the way of my writing. I’m no expert on how to handle this, but I thought it might make me feel better to write it out a little bit and maybe during this process I’ll come up with a good way to keep writing even though I am overwhelmed with everything else going on in my life right now. So, here’s what’s going on:

Momming– the one that never ends. I don’t mean that negatively. I just mean it will always be on my list of things I have to do over writing. My three year old daughter is such a delight that I would rather love on her, tickle her, and play with her than do anything else when she’s around.
Full-Time Work– I still have to pay the bills. No matter how much I would love writing to be my work from home, I’m not there yet. 40 hours a week are dedicated to tip-tapping on the keyboard at work instead of at home.
Sleep– The more overwhelmed I feel, the more I want to sleep. I’ve been averaging about 8.5-9 hours a night. It makes me feel better, like I can handle all that I have to when I wake up, but I feel like I’m not getting as much done as I could be.
Moving– This is one of those mother-load distractions. I get consumed in packing and carting stuff back and forth between old and new. It’s all I want to do, because I just want it done. I still have 11 days till my lease is up on my apartment, and being the procrastinator I am, it will take me 10 days to get everything done.
Relationship Issues– I won’t go into detail with this one out of respect for my partner, but we are dealing with some tough issues together, meaning our relationship requires more attention than it usually does. I’m happy to do this and I love going through the healing process with him.
Self-Discovery and Healing- I have just come to terms with a lot of things in my past that led me through such a self-destructive path before. I’ve made many changes in my life to better myself, but now I have the difficult task of dealing with all the things from my past that I’m ashamed of so I can move on from it. This is requiring book and website research, counseling, and opening up to certain people in my life.

So that’s what I’ve got on my plate this week and next…and possibly the next. Can you see why I’m overwhelmed? Why it’s so hard to squeeze in a bit of writing. Right now, the only way I’m getting to accomplish any kind of writing is by doing about 20-30 minutes of writing in my latest book at work on my break while I eat some lunch and writing in my journals (which I’ve become a little obsessed with and have quite a few journals I do every night.) I write in my gratitude journals, naming 4-5 things from my day that I’m grateful for. I write in my self-discovery one a day journal to learn more about myself. I write in my “This Is Me” (a journal I just put together recently that is for sale on Amazon) to learn more about my past and why I am the way I am. I write in my letters to God journal, which is my written way of praying. And finally I do a little tracking in my bullet journal so I can see patterns in my life to make necessary changes. While it may seem like I’m not getting much writing done, it turns out I am still practicing each day to further my talents. Even right now, writing this blog is helping me to hone my skills. My advice, if you’re feeling too overwhelmed to write, would be to do a little here and there throughout your day. It may not feel like you’re getting much done, but it does add up in the long run.

How do you squeeze writing in when you’re overwhelmed with daily life? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks in the comments section below!

41v+ZXpOewL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_ — If you would like to do some self-discovering, check out my latest journal on Amazon! Available in Kindle and paperback.

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This is Me Journal hit #30 on Amazon!

April 6, 2018

reading, writing

41v+ZXpOewL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_

Yesterday my newest release “This is Me: A Guided Journal to Self-Discovery” made it to #30 on Amazon for religion & spirituality > spirituality > personal growth > Family

An exciting moment for me and I’m happy to share it with all of you!

PICK UP YOUR COPY TODAY IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY
$0.99 Kindle, $9.99 Paperback

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Writer Habits: Squeezing Exercise Into Your Day

April 5, 2018

Writer Habits, writing

Image result for writers and exercise

Don’t we all wish we were the lady in the picture above? We really do want it all; writer of awesome books, wonderful parent, caring spouse, clean house, shiny car, and a rockin’ bod! But there never seems to be enough hours in the day for all these things to get accomplished. Crazy as it sounds, your least favorite activity is usually the one to get cut—for me, that’s exercise. I don’t know what it is about exercising that I hate so much. Maybe it’s the fact that I loathe sweating. I know I feel better after doing it, but I still don’t ever want to do it. But I’m realizing, with the more I age and the more I sit and don’t move, that exercise is a necessity, especially for writers!

My whole world seems to be sitting. Let’s take a look at how much I truly sit during the day (and I advise you do the same!)

-Wake up, get dressed, get ready, get out the door.
– Sit in car on way to grandma’s to drop the little one off.
– Sit in car on way to work.
– Sit at work for 8 hours + doing computer work, book work, homework, etc. only getting up to make lunch and go to the bathroom.
– Sit in car on way back to grandma’s to get little one.
– Sit in car on way home.
– Make dinner, play with little one which may or may not involve sitting, pick up a bit, get little one ready for bed.
– Sit and eat dinner.
– Sit by little one’s bed and read her bedtime stories.
– Change into pajamas, get ready for bed.
– Sit in bed and journal.
– Sit in bed and catch up on favorite shows or read for about 2 hours.
– lay down and go to sleep at about 10 or 1030pm.

See how much sitting a writer can do in one day!? Sometimes I end the day looking at my pedometer and realize I haven’t even taken 2k steps that day. That can’t be healthy! That’s why we need to take special care to never cut exercise out of our day. The trick is to find something you actually enjoy doing. Even if you hate exercise like me, there are a few things out there you’ll like, I know it! If I can find a few, so can you. Here’s what works for me:
I wake up with about an hour and half to do what I need to do before I leave for work. The little one is still sleeping so that gives me time to brew some coffee and exercise. I like to start off with some morning yoga. I do a few rounds of sun salutation and feel all loosey-goosey after.

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Afterwards, I like to do about 50 deep squats, because my butt and thighs are the only part of my body I have a real issue with. (Not because I care what anyone else thinks. My beloved would love me no matter what and with age I care less what other people in the world think of my looks, but because I like to look in the mirror and be proud of myself. That doesn’t mean skinny. That just means I’m happy with me.)

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With these two simple exercises that take about ten to fifteen minutes total to complete, I feel my heart rate pumping enough and feel my muscles loosen. I know at night I don’t want to do anything but relax. I may add another session of yoga and squats before bed some nights, but not usually, and I’m okay with that. I don’t want to try to look perfect or anything. I just want to be healthy in a world where I mostly sit to work.

How do you squeeze in your daily exercise and what are your favorite exercises to do? I’m always looking for new ones I would enjoy, so please share in the section below!

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Share Your Gift of Writing with the World

March 30, 2018

writing

It’s no secret, really. Once you find your passion, you can find great purpose in sharing it with the world. It’s the way we’re meant to live. No matter what it is, there are people out there who will delight in what you have to offer. In my case, it is my writing. I’m so glad that I’ve stuck with it through the years (6 years of publishing) and didn’t give up when it was tough. Once I stopped looking at it like a job, and started viewing it as my life’s purpose to share, it became a lot easier and stress free. I could enjoy failure and learn from it as it came, rejoice in success and learn from that as well. There was no longer any pressure to get a certain amount done a day, like I was punching the time clock. I still try to get something done Monday-Friday, but even if it’s only a page, that’s better than nothing. Let the world and the people in it inspire you to share the gift you’ve been given! I’m feeling very blessed today with the first day of my newest release, “This is Me”, doing better than I thought. Really, I made it for myself, but I’m glad others see value in it as well.

Here are some great quotes to motivate you: