Youthful Times

I think we as a "people" have forced ourselves to forget how wonderful times were when we were younger. If we would incorporate things we did in our younger days we would all be much happier. I was thinking hard about this when I heard someone say "I'm too old to do that". Now I have always believed that "You are as young as you feel" quote is so true. Your birthday year is only a number on your birth certificate. Just because you are 30,40,50 or 60,etc; does not mean you have to "act" like what the number perceives you should be. I know I look youthful, not my true age, and act youthful because I still enjoy those simple childhood pleasures. I also believe that you are never too old to finish something you started, regardless of what your friends or family might say, I say "GO FOR IT" Chasing our dreams and endeavors is what keeps us young and our minds alive. That is what LIFE is all about. I sure don't want to look forward to a life of sitting around doing nothing, I want to fly by the seat of my pants just as I have and live on the edge, push the envelope and go for the gusto. So make a goal to do something you used to enjoy when you were a kid, you just may surprise yourself!


Remember: Live Life YOUTHFUL

Power to YOU!

Hello Friends !! I have surfaced once again, I have missed my blogging family and am sorry I have been gone so long. I finally got the "people" out of my house July 18th and it was not an easy task to do. Things did get a little heated, which I did not want, but I got to see just how two faced and ungrateful they were. What a "cleansing" feeling it was to be in my own house without the burden of "haters". So in these past 4 mos I have been finding my way around my house again again and finding "ME" again. I have really surprised myself once again. I am still working, YEA!!!, and I have reconnected with a great and wonderful friend also in the mortgage biz and has struggled like me and now we are forging through LIFE together, using the knowledge we both have to become successful in our endeavors. I am finally doing something that I know and have wanted to do for many years. You know I am just a regular person that has a dream to make it BIG in this world, make an impact on others lives and help as many people as I can, I'm not a celebrity, star, great athlete or someone that is seen in the media. I want to write a book too and become well known, but I'm not a "star", therefore achieving this goal will be a little more of a challenge for "plain" me. I was thinking of this a few days ago when I saw, once again, the ads for Sarah Palin and her book and her tour bus, and I thought "hmmm... wonder if I can get a book published, could I also get on TV to push my book, my ideas, my goals in life?? It's an interesting thought and I said "YES" I can!!! We get out of life exactly what we put into it. Read that again and let it really sink in. I have, I woke up this morning with this exuberant feeling of being able to do anything and everything that I have ever wanted to do and I am going to do it, period. I have always started something great then let it sit and sit and then just get forgotten, not anymore. I have risen up from the ashes of doom and gloom and am going to publish the things I have written, help the people that I know need it and make life a little bit better for me, my family and others alike. I am not afraid to jump right in, both feet planted and be noticed. I was once before and I will become that "star" to shine for everyone to see.


Remember: Empower yourself to do what you know

Sweating the small stuff

I have come to realize, once again, how wonderful life is. I have been through so much, just like everyone else and usually allowed the smallest things to make me stress out. I have recently been allowed to work my job from home and let me tell you, this is the best time of my life right now! Of course I think it would be challenging if I had younger children. Since my oldest moved out and my youngest is very mobile and my friends that live me are not in my way I have set my little office up in my room and I get to look out my windows into my great wooded, aviary like yard and am so pleased with this change that I don't have any "small stuff" to sweat anymore. I am no able to think a lot clearer and am able to get back to all the great things I started last Fall when I lost my last job because I have more "free" time to do it in. No traffic hassles for me anymore. My stress level has dropped and my happiness meter has exploded! My creative juices are flowing freely again and I am going to get my food business off the ground once and for all. With the special time here at home I have come to appreciate my own land space that much more. Too many of us are still wound way tight, want things way too fast and do not stop to "smell the roses". I have been and still am beaming!


Remember: You have more resources than you think

Pressure

Don't you ever wonder WHY you make yourself feel guilty about something you did or didn't do or said or didn't say? I always put so much extra pressure on myself, like I really need it, and then I have to talk to myself and try to think out the situation. We humans are very complicated. I always feel like I must justify why I said something or told someone I would go somewhere and then changed my mind. You know sometimes I just need to wind down and have some time to myself. I'm sure most people are like this. My nature is to try to make time for everyone and I really can't sometimes. I find that on the weekends, especially if I don't have anything pressing, I NEED to take some "veg" time just for ME. Watch some non-thinking shows on TV or some of my shows I've recorded. I think we are all entitled to this and then we feel that we should make our "free", no stress time counter productive by trying to have an anxiety attack over trying to appease someone because, as humans, we simply changed our mind. It seems if I put more and more pressure on myself it takes me down to the core of the earth and that is not a good place to be. So today I am forcing myself to feel "free and open" and enjoy my choices, even the ones I've changed, and not feel bad about it. I almost feel like I'm doing something bad...anyway Alex started a job, he is so excited about and Will has now been in his first apt now for about 2 mos. WOW, I am really gonna have to work on myself to get used to all these great changes. I will eventually have more and more time to myself. It is raining and very chilly today, so I am gonna go relax and breathe freely. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and enjoy YOUR time.


Remember: You are in charge of yourself

Tell it like it is

Hello people, it has been so long since I have checked in. Sorry for that, I have been in "survival" mode and that takes a lot of time consuming concentration. Being back at work like a "real" person again has been so great! I have managed to help my bleak financial situation out and in the interim have had to be very straight forward and honest with my boys and I had to tell them exactly what was happening and that it would all work out. We have had to run on just a few dollars till the next payday and figure out meals and gas money and sports functions and school and you know LIFE things. It has been a long and rough road but I have always believed that you should level with your kids, especially when they are old enough to know. Kids can sense when things aren't going well, we Parents, well I don't, hide it real well. I have tried and then I thought, "hey, I am a single Mom and I have taken them through the good, the bad and the ugly, so what the heck". They have been more at ease just because I told them exactly how it was and how it would be and that "they" needed to help out as much as possible. Some Parents think that you shouldn't tell your kids the truth about what's going on in the family, my Parents did that with my Brother and I and as we grew older we had to tell them we didn't like that. I am sure they had their reasons and probably thought it best. Don't keep your kids in the dark, they can handle a lot more than you think. It keeps you grounded in a dysfunctional way, scrambling here and there, but you can feel better knowing your kids know what's going on.

Remember: Honesty brings relief

Timing

You know I truly believe that everything does happen for a reason and that if you do for others good things will come your way. Patience was also something that I have had to force on myself. I have always been a pretty patient person, I thought, but I needed more patience. I have groomed myself over the past coupe of yrs to be more and more patient, which has taught me that timing is everything and it seems to all be paying off. I wonder why we can't learn all of this stuff when we are much younger? We do, we just don't listen or believe it. Things are really falling into place now and I actually can say that I am not afraid to be happy now. I used to think if I felt too happy something bad would happen and spoil everything. So over the years I have become more of a optimistic person. I always see the "glass half FULL". I wake up positive and happy, greet people and am the "light" in any room. I find that my days are filled with more happiness than doom because of my thinking and timing. I don't get stressed if things don't go my way or complain, I can't stand complainers by the way. I believe, you buck up, get over it and be HAPPY!. Timing is everything, so do for others and in time the goodness will come back to you.

Remember: What goes around, comes back around

A sign of the times

Hello Friends, it has been awhile since I have been able to blog. I have certainly missed it and all of you. However, today while watching my favorite Sunday morning show, CBS Sunday Morning, it reminded me of the small pleasures in life that have evolved into everyone wants everything "fast, fast" today. This is over a 30 yr span. For instance I remember when letter writing used to be such a great surprise to the receiver. It is always a great feeling to go to the mailbox and find a handwritten letter from a friend or loved one. Today it's all about texting, email and voice mail. Sure these are all great features to our lives, but lack the "personal" touch. My Son Alex is a BIG texter and cannot seem to put down his phone, if he gets a text he has to see it and respond. Kids today need to be taught by the Parents, that cell phones are to be used when needed, oh but I forgot, most adults are constantly on them, just about every car you see, the driver has a cellphone stuck to their ear. I can't stand to see that, they drive horrible and this is the role model, tsk tsk. How many kids out there even know what a "land line" is? Not many. Cell phones came out and allowed us more time to do more things and it was more cost effective to get rid of the "home" phone and just use cell phones. I have gone through that and now have a home phone again, it is tied through my cable, however we get unlimited long distance, so I can call my Parents anytime for FREE, so that trumps the cellphone. These are just 2 timeless memories of the simplicities of life.
If only we could force ourselves to spend more time with our families and less time working 6 or 7 days a week, or talking, texting or emailing how much better a "people" we would be, hmmm........what a concept.
I have managed to squeeze this writing in between the Super Bowl and time with the family. We have had a great weekend and I just had to get this in. Too bad for my Arizona Cardinals.

Remember: Focus on family

Recipes

For us all to be so different and the same is pretty scary for one breed. So my question to everyone is, "What is your recipe for a good, healthy life?" Just like the thousands of cookbooks and recipe books, everyone has a different version to achieve the same thing than the next person. How interesting would it be to see what everyone's thoughts are on this topic. Hmm.... I think so.

Come on people, let's give it a whirl! Pass this on to everyone you know and invite them to respond so we can all share in the many diversified ways to life.

So in this "new" year 2009 my recipe for a good, healthy life is:

Need:

1 able body
1 zest for life
1 good attitude
1 happy personality
1 dz desires to lose the stress
1 positive outlook
1 family oriented body
12 handfuls of smiles
4 bushels of hugs
1 dz fun ideas
100 gal of energy
101 ways to spend time with family and friends
365 days a year to apply everything


Mix all the above in one BIG life, day to day. Let rest for 4-6 hours, then shake vigorously and apply to your day.

Enjoy!


I hope to hear from you all, new and old. Let's wake up the life in us all!


Remember: When you least expect it, LIFE is just around the corner.

Information highway

Today I relish my first week back to the workforce, outside of my domestic engineer duties and it was wonderful! Actually too good to be true. I have a no stress commute, 5 minutes each way in comparison to the hour each way of the last job. The real stress is lack of information to be communicated in order to get anything done. At work it is dealing with new systems and fumbling your way through it, wondering if you did it right, or if you will mess up everything, because you can't get the info on how to work the system. Yes I know it will take a little time for everything to come together, so I am very patient and just ebullient about it all.

Now at home, I wake up today and the garbage is overflowing, the kitchen looks like every dish we have has been used, and there's laundry on the couch, aren't teenagers somethin' ? It's just that if I don't tell them about these things, it's like they can't "see" what things might need to be done around here. I made a little trash bucket to go over the washer/dryer for lint and dryer sheets trash, etc; I put a bright label on it and it's right at eye level, it says "Please empty this when it is full". Of course today it is overflowing and I mention this to my 16 yr old and he says, "I've never seen it". Isn't that classic. I said, " I guess I should put a motion sensor with a recording of my message so everyone who does laundry will know what they need to do." He smiled, and said, "yea that would be cool." Now wouldn't it. WHY can't anyone in this house besides ME do anything??? I ask this often. Then my friends Son tells me that he needs to meet his ride, back to college, at 5PM today,!!! is this ok with me?? Hmm.......his Mom is working till 5 today. He, like most boys, flies by the seat of his pants ALL the time. His Mom should explain to him, like I have many, many times, that we ALL need information, just like he should want to know when, where, why. I guess I am just asking way too much from everyone. This is just common sense and my nature. I thrive on information and cannot perform without it. I guess that 's why I also enjoy teaching others about stuff I know that they do not. Everyone should want to be informed!

Information is something people take for granted. Not enough of it is told or explained and not enough of it is asked for. So start today to be more informational to and with everyone. The world will be a better place for it, or at least just your own little community :)

Remember: Information is key to life

A great start

Hello Friends-I hope you all were able to bring in the new year in a great way. I sure did. New Year's eve was celebrated with my boys and some fireworks I got them, we had a blast, it was about time. Then yesterday I invited some old friends over for a very traditional "southern" New Year's day dinner, corned beef brisket, collard greens, cooked cabbage, green bean w/potatoes, mac-n-cheese and of course black eyed peas! What a "prosperous" feast we enjoyed and great company. We all used to hang a lot then the evil one, who is no longer a part of us had worked very hard at splitting us all up and it has taken a year for us all to come back together. I toasted yesterday to having my friends back. We also had some great cocktails, pomegranate margaritas-YUMMEE!! This wonderful experience made me think that sometimes we can call up that long lost friend and try to see if we can enjoy what we had before and make it better for this great New Year! I truly missed friendship and know as I get older it means so much to me, so I am still in awe about what a great time we have all had and am looking forward to 2009 filled with great and wonderful times.



Remember: Revive the old to enjoy the "new"