Out with the old . . . in with the new

New Years Resolutions are something that I feel set me up for failure.

It's just another night . . . just another day, yet it is so symbolic.  In the past I've referred to the upcoming new year as a new chapter in a book.

Rather than set unrealistic goals and promises to myself, I like to take a look at the year about to end.  

What did I like about it?  

What did I hate about it?  

What would I change if I could?

It is also a good time to assess the daily routine and contemplate making it better.  Streamline the process . . . reminds me of the TQM business management philosophy taught by one of the best friends I have ever had, a professor I worked for many years.  I'll never forget his take on incorporating TQM (total quality management) into daily life.  It is all about continual improvement . . . that is what I always strive for.

The new years resolution posts are all over the blogs this morning with the typical lists of unrealistic goals . . . lose weight, quit smoking . . . blah blah blah.  Wonder what the scientific percentage is of those who actually stick to a new years resolution all the way to next Christmas?

Some of the topics I really liked for consideration in my life . . . some I already do, but need to change the way I approach it.

Identify the one thing that you can accomplish in 2011 which would allow you to call the year a success.

Keep a journal . . . be grateful about 5 simple pleasures every day . . . adopt the Simple Abundance lifestyle.  (I used to do this in a public blog that is now closed, but got away from it even though I am aware daily . . . but I need to get back to writing it down.  It helps to look back.)  The journal is like a conversation within yourself, discussing your feelings on topics of interest to you.  It is the ultimate ramble post . . .

Make a list of 10 simple pleasures you can incorporate into your life on a regular basis.  Examples . . . sitting out on the porch drinking flavored coffee in your favorite mug, visiting the park at least once a week to enjoy nature, give yourself spa days and pamper yourself . . . this one goes along with the journal, where you can discover what that simple pleasures are . . . if you ask yourself the right questions.

I love this one . . . Write down the names of 5 people you admire, whether you know them or not, and then write down why you admire them. Write down what you can do to acquire the traits or characteristics that you admire about these people.

My biggest challenge . . . Go through each room of your house and make a list of 10 items for each room which are currently cluttering up your home.  Get rid of them . . . or give them a new purpose!

The ongoing philosophy of my life is to focus on the quality of my life . . . and figuring out what it takes to make it the best it can be for me.  It isn't something that happens at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve . . . it all happens for me through incremental changes throughout the year . . . and throughout my life.

How about you?

Do you make New Year Resolutions?

Do you usually stick to them?

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I'm back, but not really?

My routine has been compromised by the Christmas holiday and The Captain on a different work schedule for the next week or so.  Although I'm a creature of habit, I can be moved in a different direction but need time to adjust.

Our Christmas was awesome . . . not only because it was the first Christmas together for The Captain and I, but for the first time since I became a widow, I actually enjoyed being in a room full of people and felt like part of the real world again.  It was great to get together with family and enjoy some quality time that has been a long time coming.

We were presented with a gift from God . . . a sweet kitty showed up out of nowhere and decided to make our yard its home.  Little by little, we have introduced him to living indoors and the wild thing is now in the house permanently.  He has adjusted nicely after a day of standing by the door so he could chase the poor squirrels.

The one thing I haven't liked is when he proudly appeared with a baby squirrel in his mouth and proceeded to make it a snack while The Captain and I were enjoying a cup of coffee and relaxing in our outdoor dining area.  ugggghhhhh it totally grossed me out!  

It's nature's way . . . and hastened our decision to make him an inside cat.  We both love feeding the squirrels and watching them run around outside.  They are as pets too!

As a loyal dog lover, I never had a cat as a pet . . . another adjustment I am getting used to.  When he first showed up, I had no idea of how to care for a cat.  I'm learning fast!  At the moment, we have no idea if Willie the Wonder Cat is male or female . . . we just started calling him Willie and it stuck.

Activities on the domestic front have kept me busy and away from blogging.  The time I have spent on the computer has been entering giveaways . . . I've developed a new obsession.  The winnings are slowly arriving and I'm thrilled at the concept of receiving these items for free!  The more I win, the more time I spend on giveaways.

The Christmas stuff is coming down today . . . we are anxious to get Willie settled into his area and also assemble the exercise bike that is doing neither one of us any good in the box.  Lots of changes!  We still plan on adopting a dog, but first need to get Willie comfortable in his surroundings.

How was your Christmas holiday?

Having a difficult time getting
 back into the routine too?

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Merry Christmas from the Captain and me

It is Christmas Eve day and as usual,
I have procrastinated until the last minute.

We should already be at my cousin's house in the midst of roasting a pig that started early this morning . . . or maybe last night.  I haven't even made the fudge yet!!  Why do I do this?  Me very bad with the procrastination thing.  It drives The Captain crazy!

Well, as tradition goes in my family . . . my cousin Chris and his wife Tina host a fabulous Christmas Eve Party that starts early in the morning and continues well into Christmas morning.  It is not unusual for them to throw down the blankets in the living room and have a slumber party for those who partied way too much and have no business driving home.  Although I have been tamed through the years, I come from a family of drinkers.  We are an ethnic mix of Italian and Cuban, a wild combination!  The Captain will experience his first holiday gathering with that part of my family . . . his wildness will fit right in.

Christmas Day will be spent at my brother's house with his family, my sister-in-law's family, my mom and her boyfriend.  It is a much smaller crowd!  My mom is making her famous lasagna and flan cake . . . yummy!!

This Christmas is very special for me since it is the first one that The Captain and I are spending together.  Last year we spent the holiday with a bluetooth stuck to our ears.  I'm so grateful that we found each other through the miracle of technology and Twitter.  

Imagine a chance meeting and conversations of 120 characters or less turning into a lifetime relationship.  It still amazes me how God works his miracles . . . I prayed for a partner although I never did the things that normal single people do to meet other singles.  Although I was using Twitter as a jumping off point to start my social life locally, searching for local political affiliations and groups to join, I ended up finding a crazy pirate from North Carolina living in Montana on a political related Friday Follow.

I ended up not joining any local political groups
 and did not participate in local socializing.

It was a long and ponderous process from there to here

. . . but we are here now and we couldn't be happier.

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Race of life

It is too much to do in too little time . . . and the biggest culprit in stealing our peace of mind which triggers stress. Been there and done that . . . over and over again in my life.

The race of life, often referred as “the rat race,” is a vicious cycle until you learn to slow down. The longer you stay in the fast lane of the race, the more difficult it becomes to enjoy the pleasures of life. Stress and anxiety breeds frustration, impatience, anger and fear.


What are your priorities? Shouldn’t peace of mind and less stress have a higher priority than some of those less important commitments? Assess your commitments and slow down!


Imagine your last moments of life . . . will you remember awesome memories spending quality time with loved ones or a time where you were so stressed out you didn’t have time to see anyone around you?


As the countdown to Christmas day becomes shorter . . . enjoy every minute of it.  Don't stress yourself out . . . make a plan and stick to it . . . one priority at a time.


Life is so short . . . such a beautiful gift . . . don’t waste it!

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Blue sky day

Finally . . . a weather warm up in Central Florida.

If you read the last post, you will know that I am one happy person today . . . temps in the 70's by this afternoon!!  Now I can get to the mounds of laundry that has been haunting me this week.

It really feels like a blue sky day.  That saying originates from a soap I watched for many years . . . many of you probably still watch it . . . All My Children.  The character Ryan spoke of his now departed mom, who gave him his blue sky days in the midst of a horrific childhood.  He fondly recalled his happy days often on the soap and I never forgot it.  Happy days are like that . . . even if they are not memorable.

Today is my mom's birthday . . . also my cousin Vince's birthday and my friend Rhonda too.  It is also the day my sweet girl dog Betsy passed away 10 years ago.  The date is memorable and bittersweet at the same time.  Any day can be a blue sky day . . . it is what you make of it, despite the life circumstances that surround you.

Rather than think negatively about this day and the passing of the sweetest little baby I've ever encountered in my life . . . she WAS like a baby to me . . . I'm gonna have a blue sky day even though I still haven't gotten over her being gone.  She was my constant companion and gave me years of love and joy.

Betsy was the little girl I never had and I treated her that way . . . look at how I dressed her up . . . I would even paint her toenails.  And she loved it.  When I painted her nails, she would hold her little paw up for me.

She was my prissy girl!

My husband passed away two years after . . . while I was still grieving the loss of my little baby.  These days I celebrate having both in my life and experiencing innocent, unconditional love that I was blessed to feel.  

Thinking back, I realize why I had so many years of being lost and screwed up, wound up tight like a spring, ready to uncoil and crawl out of my skin at any minute.  They were my immediate family . . . here one day and gone the next.  It can be devastating . . . and it was for me.  But I've come back to life again.

In all the years she has been gone, I have not replaced her.  We had another dog, who was my husband's dog, but that little bugger totally hated me, especially after my husband died, but that's another post that I've already written that is buried somewhere in this blog.

My nickname for him was Cujo . . . not a cool dog.

The Captain informed me this weekend that it is time for us to get a dog.  I agree wholeheartedly!!  Now that I am not working away from home, I have all the time in the world to give another baby dog all my love.  So it was decided . . . we will be on a quest to find another baby girl for me to love after the holidays.  I can't wait!!

"Our perfect companions never
have fewer than four feet"

Colette

Animals can be living proof of a simple abundant source of love . . . 
we just have to let them into our lives and allow them
 to be our creature comfort.

Dogs are definitely my creature comfort!

Hope you all have a blue sky day :)

  

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The need to be grateful

Finally, I'm feeling better.

Although I am still sneezing and coughing, at least I am not having to stay in bed for periods at a time because the dizziness of stopped up ears are making it impossible to do anything but lay down.

I've blamed the cold snap that has hit Florida and being outdoors way too long for catching this nasty cold.  Well, I'm also to blame because I quit my routine of taking handfuls of vitamins to boost my immune system.  I was trying to save money since I was "feeling so good I don't need them" . . . I didn't stop to think that is why I was feeling good!

Living on the edge of a zone 9 climate is very strange.  The fluctuations in temperature from one day to the next is enough to bring on a cold.  In the days before the cold snap, we had the air conditioner going.  Seems like from one moment to the next, it goes from AC to heater.  I hate the cold weather and have been a bit grumpy because it has inconvenienced my life, along with this nasty flu or cold . . . whatever you want to call it.  

The laundry room is part of the outdoor carport.  Part of my grumpiness is brought on by not being able to catch up on the stacks of clothes staring at me . . . begging to be washed.  They are mocking me since they know that I won't step foot outside until I am done with this illness.  Now that I am feeling better, I have the energy to get it done, but don't dare subject myself to the cold temperatures that can lead to taking a step backward and having to deal with stuffy sinuses and stopped up ears all over again.

As I sat at my computer with my cup of coffee, all comfy in my heated house, visiting other blogs, it hit me.

What I had forgotten is to be grateful instead of being grumpy about those things that are inconveniencing me.

My grateful list is extremely long this morning and an overwhelming feeling of contentment took over.

Yes, it is unusually cold for my part of the world and I hate it . . . but I read the blogs of those who live in colder climates, experiencing blizzards.  At least the sun is shining in sunny Florida and have one more night of extreme cold before going back to normal.  They are in the midst of it with no end in sight.  I had forgotten about them while wallowing in my misery.

My cold will be gone in a few days . . . but I read the blogs of those with chronic illnesses who suffer pain routinely . . . it is their norm.  I had forgotten about them too.

And more than anything . . . I'm so grateful for the love of a man who loves taking care of me and appreciates how I take care of him.  It is our first holiday season together after spending last season hundreds of miles apart in the midst of a long distance relationship.  My life has finally come together and it is my first joyous and happy holiday season since my husband passed away eight years ago.  I am so blessed . . . good things come to those who wait!

Ok . . . so I exaggerated my message for today with way too many details to target on how it is human nature to wallow in what is wrong, being negative and feel sorry for ourselves.  In the midst of the pity party, it is difficult to see the positive aspects in our lives and be grateful for them, no matter how small.  They are blessings that should be embraced for the treasures they are.  

Simple abundance!

It took me going back to being grateful to get back to feeling better.

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The Journey

The journey that you are making now is most wonderful. 

It is called human life. 

This life, as you have manifested a body, a career, a dwelling place, a mate, co-workers, experiences of workshops and places of gathering, this experience of life is most wonderful, because you have created it. 

You are creating it moment by moment. 

Enjoy the journey. 

This lifetime you will never live again, so make the most of it. Enjoy the journey of this lifetime. Allow yourself to come completely truly alive in this lifetime, to be able to speak to other ones from the heart, not fearing that you are going to fail or have some other tragedy befall you. 

(Author unknown)

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