eeeeek....a mouse!

Yesterday I was up early because it was a work day and I was doing my yoga routine as ususal. I could hear our cat Abby running around the house but this is not something new. She often rips and tears around the house to reasons unknown to us. So I'm done my yoga and head into the bedroom to change into my uniform and there she is with her nose directly in a corner. Silly cat!...is all I think. I then see what I think is a toy ball fly across the floor and it goes behind the door. I look behind the door and it's not there...hmmm? I look out in the hall and see that the "ball" is now sporting a TAIL!!! Yikes!!! This is not good! I call out to my partner who finds me perched on the kitchen counter with my feet off the floor of course!! He then headed into the bathroom and I was dismayed at his nonchalance, but then found out the the mouse was also in there and he managed to throw a towel over it. He took the captured little mouse outside and released it in the front yard. Oh my!!! This was not a great way to start my day! I went into work with a great story and peopled had a good laugh about it or were able to share their own 'mouse' story. Everyone tells me that if there is one mouse, there will be another. So far I haven't seen anymore. I was tempted to sleep with one eye open last night but I managed to fall asleep easily and without worry. I hope this is my last mouse story for a long, long time.

back to work today........

So, after a great week off it was time to head back to work today. I wasn't really feeling chagrined about it, but what didn't help was that I woke up at 3a.m. and that was when my day started. I simply couldn't get back to sleep. Ugh....I do tend to get up early for work (some co-workers think I'm crazy for getting up as early as I do) but 3a.m. is a bit much. So needless to say I was a tad tired while at work and my 12 hr work day is enough to be tired about in and of itself. Luckily it was Easter Monday and the pace is slower on holidays so we weren't taxed with alot of activity.

I'm lucky in that I have a week off every 6th week and its like a mini holiday to be away from the stressors of the workplace. It allows me to pace myself and do what is needed for those 5 weeks and then have some well deserved time off. So I eased myself back into work today and now just have tomorow to go and then a couple of days off again. It's all good. I'm fortunate to have the job that I do and I'm able to take things at the workplace in stride better over the past while. That makes alot of difference. So, in all, going back today was fine. I'm again one shift closer to my next week off. It's all in the attitude you bring to life.

wedding planning..........

What fun to be planning a wedding with my daughter. Her special day is a long way off, but it certainly is fun to be making plans and coming up with ideas. Her sister is going to be her maid of honor and she is excited as well to be a part of this wonderful event. It will be fun to be a part of the planning and blend all kind of ideas into a grand celebration. I am excited to simply be a part of it. It will be the best day ever!

thomas edison quote..........

'The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his
patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention
of disease.'

first published in the Newark Advocate on January 2,1903

sunday.....

Today is an overcast, drizzly Sunday morning. Not maybe what we had hoped for but it works for me. I love the morning and this one has been not unlike others where I have had my tea and done some page turning in my picture book of design and started my day slowly. A couple of pieces of toast with peanut butter that starts to drip off the edges....so yummy and water(I really need my water)to wash it down. I just finished my yoga routine of standing poses and was proudly able to do the best tree poses I have ever done. Yay for me :)....I find them hard to manage and yet ending up the routine with the chair pose is something I can do, but find treacherous. My leg muscles really talk back about that pose. But alas, my morning is good. Now I need to organize a plan in my head and get this day underway. A family Easter dinner ensues and requires some thought. Megan is coming over to help and it will be nice to work with her in the kitchen and prepare a meal together for our family. It feels good.

Buddha says.........

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.

I like this .............it is so very true.
Namaste

time to redecorate........

I love to decorate!....... even that is an understatement. It must be something connected to a past life because I feel such a passion about it. Maybe I was a famous designer or had a beautiful home in a former life. It's not at all reflective of what my home looks like today, but in my minds eye my home could be, and will some day be exactly what I dream of it being. I was at the library the other day and came across Barbara Streisand's new design book. It is a glorious book of the design work that she put into creating her current home. It's pretty much a picture book filled with wonderful photos of her home and all the work that went into its creation. I sigh with the turning of each page. I dream of how I can incorporate even a small idea or concept into my own home. My home will obviously never compare to hers but I can certainly use even a small design element and make it my own. I don't doubt that I will someday have the home of my dreams even if it remains to be where I currently am. We are empty nesters now and I really don't need more space.....well, maybe a bit more could work ?I just think it is so important to have your surroundings reflect who you are and how you feel. My home is my sanctuary and my surroundings help me to feel the calmness and serenity that I need when I come inside from the often big, bad world. I can rest quietly in my meditation room or I can cook something wonderfully tasty in my kitchen. My bedroom is a peaceful haven and the livingroom is a place for family to gather. Best of all is the dining room where we all sit as a family and partake of great food and conversation. My design elements and tastes have changed as I have grown and now I am heading into a time where changes are due. I am excited about beginning this next process and creating a new space for us to all come together. There are so many ideas in my head and I need to get them all down on paper and explore them fully. I will consult with a friend who's career is specifically in design and with her be able to put my ideas and her expertise into my reality. I will keep posting about how things are progressing. I can't wait to begin!

community garden work today..........

It was sod lifting day for the community garden sites. I had not been able to volunteer my time with needed jobs lately due to my own schedule so this was the day I was determined to help out. The weather was not the greatest but there was no rain and the temperature was above freezing just even a little bit. I made sure I was dressed in lots of layers to keep out the cold. We finished up the First Ave site and then headed over the the Kains St location. It's so great to see a group of people coming together for a common cause. We simply saw and understood what needed to be done and off we went. We really made short work of lifting the sod from all of the laid out plots and neatly piling it all up. There were men, women and children and even a pet came along to watch the work being done. I am looking forward to watching the gardens unfold and come to fruition this year. Last year was a struggle for our little group of women who were determined to see our city have a community garden. This year we have the backing of others and things are going well. I will be sure to post the progress during the planting and growing season! Can't wait!

my yoga practice............

There are many people that are fiercely devoted to their yoga practice. I take mine only as seriously as it needs to be for myself. I have practiced yoga over the years and it seems to come and go with me. I guess that's the way it is with many forms of exercise or physical activity. We go through phases. Just recently I have returned to my yoga practice. It is a small habit in terms of time and effort, but it is making such a difference for me. I am almost addicted to the 'stretching' that I feel when I do the asanas and how my muscles respond. It's like they awaken and can then work to their full potential more easily. I love the 'twists' the best. The squeezing of my organs to help detox them is what keeps coming into my head when I practice them. In only a short time I once again felt how much my flexibility has improved. It truly is amazing. Sometimes my mind is not as quiet as it should be but I defer from allowing myself to feel bad about that. I simply then gather myself back to that place in my mind where I should or could be. That silent, empty but present place that yoga can bring you to. I need to practice halting my 'monkey mind' more but I figure that will all come. I put effort into staying present and seconds later I have wandered off in my mind already. I laugh inside of myself at my skill in being able to do this so easily. So I continue to work on this each time. It will come I'm sure. For me it's just so much more than exercise. It's my choice to look after myself in so many ways.....physically, spiritually and emotionally. Those 20 minutes of yoga each day are a way for me to celebrate my body and mind. It's like a gift I give myself every day and then get to feel the results each day also. So yoga is back in my life and that pleases me in many ways. I am in no way a huge devotee of yoga. I don't buy Yoga Journal or belong to a yoga studio. I simply know that my small yoga practice works for me and it is something that I love to do. It is peaceful to stand on that mat and let everything else fall away and know that the next 20 minutes are for my body and mind......a gift each day. Namaste........

my wellness journey..........

Wellness.....its a word that we hear more about all the time and for the last decade of my life I have been striving to get there. Interesting to note that its only been the last ten years that I have consciously thought about it though. Why didn't it occur to me sooner? My 'wellness' wasn't even on my radar for the first 35 yrs of my life. I guess in my younger years I simply didn't experience anything that was opposite of wellness. But did I really know what wellness felt like. Had I ever felt 'well' in my lifetime? I guess it depends on what the definition of wellness is. The definition I found stated "the quality of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort". Well, I know I didn't put any deliberate effort into my feeling well as a youngster or young adult. It simply didn't occur to me. I was busy living a life filled with other things. Wellness was not in my field of vision. As I approached middle age I began to realize that something was off in my being. I was beginning to notice how I felt physically and how that affected the "whole" of me. I started to take notice of my body and mind and also how they live in harmony (or disharmony) with each other. I started to understand how I didn't want to feel and yet that the whole 'wellness' thing seemed to be a huge enigma on my forever horizon. Something brought me to look at alternative health options and I incorporated some of those in my life. Things began to slowly change. In my midlife years now I have begun to look at my health and how it affects my overall wellness. Initially it didn't look all that good and how I felt physically and psychologicaly said it all. I felt like crap. My history is such that I have had periods of unending stress, of which some was in my control and others that were not. I cannot use that as an excuse, but I am living with the legacy of how it affected my body and mind for many years. But, now I can make a change and alter how I feel and respond to life. It sounds so easy, but it is a daunting task because the effort required is huge and I was feeling wasted. I was emotionally drained and physically drained as well. So how does one begin to make change. I took little steps and then would fall back. I would make better decisions only to leave those decisions behind. It was tough. I placed expectations on myself that I couldn't uphold and then I would feel like a failure. As the years of retraining myself passed I fell into a lull. It took a few real health scares to make me stand up at attention and read myself the riot act for the last time. Years of saying and not doing were over. Now was the time and I left behind all regrets. I have always believed that we are a product of our choices, but somehow thought that I could get away with less than optimal ones and still be ok? Wrong.....it all works together. My physical path is now aligning with my psychological path. They cannot thrive independantly. Everything is connected and the dots are now shaping themselves into the 'being' that I am today. I am the designer and have no one to place any blame on. It's all about me. Sounds selfish, but its a good selfish. I sometimes look at it all and hope its not too late, but I quickly let that go because those kind of thoughts will get in the way of a 'healthy' today.

So now each day brings along with it new opportunities to live 'well'. It's all about choices every day. I don't purport to be a saint, but I try to live with choices that are best for me. I have had too many years of self recrmination to not avow a change in that behavior. My wellness is no longer that enigma on the horizon. It is right in front of me every day. It lives inside of me every day. I will still make mistakes, but I will recover more quickly and get myself back on track.

It has been a long journey but it has been worth it. My body and mind are really the only things I can be fully in charge of. So why wouldn't I want to feel well? Anything else would be silly.

It is all about living in the present moment. Not worrying about the past or even tomorrow. Just living well today.