Yesterday was a really beautiful warm spring day where I live. Two days ago, it was snowing! So I really took advantage of the sun and warmth and spent some time outdoors. I went to my local Lowe's and drooled over the plants and flowers that are finally out for sale.  The vegetables and early perennials and annuals were calling to me. Over the past several years, I have found a real love of gardening because the warmth of the sun and the smell of the grass and flowers brings me peace. There is also such a sense of satisfaction to watch something grow from a tiny seed to a full plant that you can admire or even harvest and eat.

If you are like me then you collect projects like Rachel Ray collects recipes. Unlike Rachel Ray, however, I used to try to do all my projects at the same time—a veritable smorgasbord of delights with no main theme to my life. Then I figured something out: I wasn't a very good chef.

Do you ever have those dreams where you run and run and you never get anywhere? I used to have those dreams all the time before I started this quest to bipolar recovery. I felt lost. Like I would never get anywhere. And then I began to follow my own advice to those who had asked for it. I began to believe. I believed that what I wanted wasn’t unattainable. This time I ran and smack in the middle of my dream I stopped and smiled. I’m following the road to bipolar recovery and stability and it’s a wonderful thing!

Horror films don't come close to raising blood pressure like the prospect of mealtime for a parent of an eating disorder patient. Forget the knives and chain saws: the sight of a fork and spoon can be send the pulse racing. There is hope, however, in having a plan.

No process better defines the "Oooh, shiny!" moment more than the ADHD tendency to stop one project to begin another at the drop of a hat. This week I want to talk about a similar tendency: collecting projects like shelves collect dust.

Last week when I found out I was pregnant, I stopped taking my daily 100 mg of Sertraline (the generic brand of Zoloft) cold turkey. Since then I have been worrying what kind of side effects I may experience. It's hard for me to know if what I am feeling are side effects or simply normal yuckiness of the first trimester.

Can you have one without the other? Of course, you could have insomnia by itself, but insomnia and bipolar disorder are best buds. Best buds that drive me up the wall! I would kill for one whole night of 'I can't wait to get up in the morning and live life' sleep. Bipolar gods, are you listening?! Well, in case they're not, I'm off to a sleep specialist to discuss the twixt that is bipolar and insomnia.

Half asleep on Easter morning, I was drifting in my mind through the classic picture book, The Runaway Bunny. It's appropriate for Easter and for eating disorders. This story of persistent and firm parenting despite spirited attempts at independence from a child was meaningful when I read it to my young children, but means far more to me now as I watch countless families negotiate parenting during eating disorder recovery.

Adults with ADHD have a tendency to take on projects like sinking boats take on water. There is something about the sparkly goodness of NEW that leads the ADHD person around by the nose with a smile on his or her face.

Things are going well--I think I'm on my way to a peaceful bipolar life. My psychiatric nurse added an antipsychotic medication at bedtime and I’m doing better. I feel more stable. I have minor shakes, but I can live with that if it means I can handle life. I registered for college this past week and I’m going to start on June 1, 2010. I’m excited and nervous all at the same time. I have to say that I feel better able to handle the stress right now. I meditate twice a day now and it’s been amazing at controlling my stress. The affirmations that I listen to daily remind me that I’m going to make it. I’m keeping a positive outlook on life with bipolar. I feel like I'm about to live a peaceful bipolar life.