Begin Again

Time to Begin Again!
Spring is a time of renewal, of life presenting itself anew in the flowers coming out of the ground and the buds beginning on the trees. One thing that is great about spring is the way that it makes you feel, especially if you live in an area where the winter was especially brutal.
There are places on the east coast that are still getting tons of snow! The midwest is very cold right now as well. I'm sure that the populace will more than welcome spring once it decides to arrive!
I've been watching my bulbs in my brand new garden come in. The crocus' have come up, but don't seem as vibrant and large as I remember. They might become a casualty after their blooming is done.
The hyacinths are coming up now and I can't wait until I can smell their fragrant blooms! My Stargazers tried to come up during the winter and they may not have survived the snow and freezing winter weather. I am thinking that I should buy some more and plant them, since they are in the stores right now.
I say welcome to spring! Here in the Pacific Northwest, it has been a gray winter with very little sunshine. Come on sun and warmer weather. Looking forward to feeling your warmth on my face.

Twenty Minutes

Twenty minutes, three times a week....and so the journey begins. I want to lose 65 pounds and it starts today. I just finished my 1st twenty minute workout and entered it in my log. I am working on the Pace Program by Dr. Sears. It is an interval training workout and his theory is based partly on studying sprinters, who have much more muscle mass than long distance runners. I am also incorporating weight lifting at least three times a week. I want to see results soon! Dr. Mercola has written a book called ,"Take Control of Your Health." One of the basics of this program is Nutritional Typing. You can determine whether you are a Protein Type, Carb Type or a Combination Type. My body does best on protein, so I am learning how to eliminate grains from my diet. So, it's a learning process, learning what is best for my body and eating 90% that way. Today is the first day of this journey....

Age and Relevance

When did it become acceptable to ignore those who are older than us? I find that people of all ages have interesting stories to tell, but the most interesting stories to me are those from a life well lived. I had the opportunity to meet a lovely 81 year old lady this past Saturday. I was attending an Art festival in Redding, CA and was resting on a tree. A lovely lady came up and started telling me about her life. She had been to so many places, it was stunning. I remember thinking, "Wow, I hope that I get to see as much of the world as she has." The most impressive thing to me was the life and the fire that remained in her eyes. She was still very much full of life. So often I find that the people who have the most interesting life stories are the ones nobody takes the time to listen to. I want to take the time to listen more often, because the stories are ones of courage and perserverance. It is the journey of life that all of us are on together and believe me, I'll take all the tips from those who have gone through it successfully as much as I can.

Flaking Out

Right now I am irritated at many things. Why is it that people promise things and then completely, conveniently forget that they made you a promise. Let's say, for example, money. You stick yourself out on a limb, charge something for people, say something that a group of you do. You are being nice, saying oh, take a few months to pay me back. But really? Who are you really hurting? Yourself, definitely. Maybe it's me, maybe I'm a dinosaur because my word is my bond. Ok, I'm confessing now. I put a charge of close to $400.00 on a credit card where 3 people needed to pay me back. So now, one person conveniently forgot to pay me back. This after sending an email saying, "Oh, I haven't forgot about you, I'm going to pay you half on such and such a date and then the other half here." So, I got half. and then about 2 weeks past the other half due date, I emailed the person reminding them. And I got the typical, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I never forget these things but I forgot. Do you need it sooner?" So, I see the person on the promised date and then they sneak out without ever offering. Wow, I don't think the credit card forgot to charge me interest on this amount. How callous....now I feel like a dog chasing down it's prey. Just frickin pay me already......and oh, by the way....never again.

Love and Misses

I've been thinking a lot lately about people I miss. You know who you are!! But seriously, people I barely remember because they were gone too soon, or those that you wish you had a second chance to tell them how much you love them. I love to be in people's lives and wish the best for them. I think that I've become more collaborative than competitive. And I just want to see people do good and have good things in their life. I want to cheer them on and say, "Great Job." I want to be able to not feel like a dork when I get emotional. I really miss certain people, like my nieces and nephews. Being in a different state and not watching them grow up has a much larger cost than I ever anticipated. So, I'm going to cheer them on and say that YOU CAN do better than we, the older generation, have done. So, GO FOR YOUR DREAMS and don't let ANYONE tell you that you can't achieve it. They only tell you that because they didn't achieve theirs. You can do it: Erin, Steve, Brandon, Chelley, Stephanie and Bethany. Push through all the negatives and know that you are more than capable to be a success. And oh, by the way, I love all of you and look forward to being wowed by all of your accomplishments.

Journey of A New Day

So, how do you keep yourself upbeat? When you're unemployed in this market, what do you do? Faced with negative news all around, do you choose to shut it out? I think that you have to in order to stay positive. On a wet fall day when the temperature barely rises above 50 and you've just seen the seven day forecast and it's rain for all seven days ahead....
Well, that makes me want to stay in bed until noon with the comforter pulled up over my head! But, realistically, I must get out of bed and peer into the black hole known as the internet to apply to a job that I'm qualified for, but so are many other people. So, my question comes back again, how do you keep yourself upbeat?