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HELP!

helpTwenty days have passed since I started my year-long journey of RENEWAL. Until today, it has been slow going, uninspiring, and almost coming to a screeching halt. I have not accomplished anything much regarding my health and fitness goals for this month, and I was having a hard time deciding how to write about it. I’m stuck! Then two occurrences took place earlier today that has prompted me to move forward. The first was watching a brief video that popped up in my Facebook news feed, and the second was an unexpected phone call from someone  I adore but had not talked to in quite a while.

This morning, while scrolling through my Facebook news feed, I came across a short video of an interview between Oprah and spiritual teacher Michael Bernard Beckwith. They were having a discussion about being stuck (coincidence). His recommendation is going beyond your “little mind” to awaken you: prayer, meditation, life visioning. And, the prayer could be as simple as HELP. For him, HELP means Hello Eternal Loving Presence. I like that! That short exchange between Oprah and Beckwith gave me the nudge that I needed to get started with today’s post.

Shortly afterwards, as I sat down to start writing this post, my Uncle Robert called me (coincidence). My Uncle Robert is awesome! He is intelligent, kind, hard-working, inspiring, and entertaining. We talked and laughed for over an hour. By the time our conversation was winding down, I was feeling less stuck and eager to start writing.

So, between the video pep talk and the phone conversation with my uncle, I am taking the first step to getting unstuck. I’m writing about it. The second step is acknowledging the obstacles that are making me stuck, whether they are physical obstacles or mental obstacles.  Then I need to figure out a way to remove those obstacles, shed those limitations, and release whatever it is that is keeping me stuck. My weight is definitely one of the obstacles. And, that dear reader, is one reason why I want to focus on health and fitness first. I truly believe that if I can shed these unwanted pounds, I will be free to work on other areas of my life and increase my happiness and productivity. I may not have reached all of my health and fitness goals these past couple of weeks (no functional exercises; lousy eating habits); however, I am not giving up. In fact, Andrew and I are heading to the gym right after I publish this post. Happiness!

Do you feel stuck? If so, what do you feel is causing you to feel stuck? What is one action step you can take today to get unstuck?

“Getting stuck is reactive, getting unstuck is proactive.” ~ Sherene McHenry 

 

A few months ago I purchased A Happier 2017 Page-A-Day Calendar. I’ve always been a bit fascinated with these kinds of calendars, but never wanted to spend the money on one because I already have a wall calendar, a dry erase calendar, and a planner. What would be the point of owning another calendar? Well, I bought this one since I’m a fan of Gretchen Rubin, and I want to be happier.

renewal-christian

The first page of the calendar suggested choosing a one-word theme to guide your thoughts and actions throughout the year. I chose RENEWAL. I want to resume some of the activities that I enjoy participating in to improve my overall physical and mental health. I also want to raise my level of happiness and change my perspective on life to a more positive one. Therefore, I am going to attempt another happiness project (my last attempt was in 08/2011).  Each month I will designate some area in my life where I want to experience a renewal. Of course, I am probably biting off more than I can chew, so to speak; however, I want to try. It should be fun!

Naturally, day 2 of my happier calendar pertains to happiness and habits and focuses on healthy eating. As a result, I choose renewing healthy habits for January of my happiness project. I have not ironed out all of the details, yet. I just made the decision to do my happiness project after listening to Gretchen’s podcast episode on Friday. However, it will involve steps to eating better and exercising more regularly. In order for changes to be successful, they cannot be made too quickly or all at once.

My resolutions for this week are simple:

  • Move more
  • Think about food and drink choices
  • Incorporate some functional exercises – at least 3 days (flexibility exercises-stretches, abdominal crunches, back and shoulder exercises, lower leg exercise)

Today was just the first day; however, I drank more water and Andrew and I went to the gym. I walked for 35 minutes on the treadmill while listening to another podcast episode, did some strength training (legs), and stretched. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes since I return to school tomorrow after being off for two weeks. It will be tough, especially with having to get up so early. I am more of a night owl than a lark. Nonetheless, dear reader, I’m excited about a new year and its possibilities. I hope you are, too. Happiness!

If you could choose a one-word theme for this year, what word would you choose? 

“Renewal requires opening yourself up to new ways of thinking and feeling.” ~ Deborah Day

Happy New Year

Happy 2017, dear readers! I am back for a new year. It has been quite some time since my last blog post. I am planning to strive to do better this year with my writing, as well as in other areas of my life. RENEWAL. That is the one-word theme I have chosen for this year. I have also decided to attempt another happiness project. Years ago after reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, I participated in my own happiness project and had a fabulous year. I am looking forward to a new year with new possibilities and opportunities. New Year’s Blessings to you, dear readers. Happiness!

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.'” ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

District Donuts #1

District Donuts

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who take on the role of mom. I have been blessed and privileged with being the mother of my two sons and the Godmother of my niece Emma. Yesterday, Andrew and I went to the movies to see The Jungle Book (excellent film). He seemed disappointed that he did not have a tangible gift for me. I told him the gift was his time with me. I told both of my children that I did not want any gifts. I just wanted to be able to spend some time with them. I LOVE them tremendously!

District Donuts #2

Sliders

Today, my husband and I took a road trip to Magazine Street in New Orleans. We visited District Donuts. The donuts are HUGE! I ordered a cheeseburger slider and a Rose and Champagne Donut (creme filled with sugared covered rose petals on top). My hubby ordered a pork slider and a donut called the Elvis (glazed donut with maple frosting, bananas, and bacon). Afterwards, we visited my mother and his mother bringing them both a donut and roses. We plan on taking our mothers out for lunch somewhere special later this month.

District Donut #3

Elvis

This evening I will have dinner with my boys. My husband is grilling chicken and stuffed mushrooms. What a perfect way to end my Mother’s Day!

Remembering ALL mothers still with us and those watching over us from heaven. Your love is with us always. Wishing all of you, dear readers, a pleasant week ahead. Happiness!

“Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we’ve ever met.” ~ Marguerite Duras

flowerIt is the first day of Spring, dear reader. What an absolutely gorgeous day! I wish I could have spent the day outside in a hammock reading a book; however, I do not own a hammock, and I spent a good portion of the day working on school stuff. I did sneak a couple of chapters of a zombie book in between reading journals and creating a quiz.

In four days, I will be on spring break along with my family. I cannot wait to have some time away from work. I will try my very best to get everything completed for school by Thursday, so I can have some FUN.

I want to invite you to go on a meditation journey with me for the next 21 days. Oprah is one of my favorite people. She is connected to some of the most inspiring spiritual teachers of today. She is partnering with Deepak Chopra to present a 21-Day Meditation Experience called Shedding the Weight: Mind, Body, and Spirit. It starts tomorrow, March 21st. You can register now at http://www.oprah.com/meditation and it is FREE. I have already registered! Once you register, you will receive an email to confirm your registration. Then you will receive a daily email with the link for that day’s meditation. This will be my first meditation experience; however, I can definitely shed some weight in all three areas, and I cannot think of two better people to lead this inspiring encounter. Let me know if you plan to join the meditation experience.

Well, dear reader, it is time for me to bid you adieu. It is Sunday night and The Walking Dead is just around the corner. Have a productive and amazing week. Happiness!

“The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” ~ Harriet Ann Jacobs

 

What an interesting week! Coincidence, the universe, the devil, my imagination…it always seems that whenever I start contemplating a huge decision that will impact my life, a thing or two breaks or goes awry. There is a shift. And, it kind of unnerves me! Well, letters of intent were due Friday. Much contemplation all week. Should I stay or should I go? The last time I made the leap to GO, Barry’s truck was totaled on the way to Andrew’s baseball practice. Naturally, I freaked! Fortunately, it all worked out, and I had a three year hiatus from teaching.

Thus, begins my tale. Last Sunday my laptop seized up preventing me from logging in which prevented me from blogging and working on school stuff. Needless to say, I had a slight meltdown! After school on Monday, I brought my laptop to a local computer place and a kind gentleman not only fixed it, but since it was a simple system restore, he did not charge me. I was back in business. “I got this,” I said to myself. My laptop would eventually need to be replaced, but I was hoping it would make it at least through the summer.

Then on Tuesday, our refrigerator did not seem to be cooling properly. Fearful thoughts started swirling around in my mind mixing together with self-doubt and defeat. Never mind that my laptop and our refrigerator were both old and nearing the end of their electrical lives. But of all the weeks to act up or conk out, they pick this week. The week I need to make a decision. Damn you, FEAR! Fear will rob you, threaten you, and diminish you. Thankfully, Barry came home on Wednesday and got us a new refrigerator. Fear slid back into its cave in the dark recesses of my mind. I started feeling brave again.

Then on Thursday afternoon, the rain came down. HARD! Bad weather conditions were predicted to ensue throughout the night and into Friday, so school was cancelled for Friday. The day I planned to bravely turn in that letter of intent. I had made my decision, but had to wait until Monday. Yes, the decision stuck with me all weekend with fear gnawing at the outer edges of my mind. Doubt and trust going back and forth, like a tug-of-war. Which side was stronger? Who was going to win? Then, school was cancelled again for Monday.

Now, I sit and write in BAM sipping a mocha latte. Have I been given this reprieve to change my mind? Am I delusional or just so burnt out that I am not thinking clearly? Could it be a test to challenge my convictions or to see if I am just full of crap? I guess I will find out tomorrow, dear reader, when I go back to work. All will be revealed, soon. Happiness!

“The future, the worry, the regret, the anxiety – these are all the mental events that do not have to be a part of the difficulty of life: these can be transcended here and now.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

Date with Deadpool

I worked many hours this week related to my teaching job. Six days in a row. I even clocked an hour reading literature journals this morning. Therefore, I thought today would be a terrific day to take a break and check out the new DeDeadpooladpool movie. It is basically about a wisecracking mercenary who seeks revenge. It also includes romance, mutants, and a cameo appearance by Stan Lee.

My hubby and I went to the 11:00 a.m. show (good time to go-tickets are only $5.00). Nestled in my theatre seat and equipped with a huge Icee and mozzarella sticks, I was ready for a cinematic adventure. What a ride! Personally, I thought the movie was AWESOME. Ryan Reynolds was perfectly cast for the role of Deadpool. I do think you must have a sense of humor, enjoy comic book related movies, and not get easily offended to delight in this movie. It is definitely not intended for young children. Oh, and Deadpool “breaks the fourth wall” which I think is quite cool. For those of you that do not know what that means: he speaks to the audience directly through this invisible wall. Super cool! Kevin Spacey’s character does it in House of Cards (excellent television show on Netflix) and Matthew Broderick’s character does it in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (classic 80’s movie).

What about the rest of my day? I plan on working on household related activities until it is time for dinner. Then, I will spend the evening with my fictional friends on The Walking Dead and Chris Hardwick on Talking Dead. I hope, dear readers, you found some time this weekend to take a break and do something enjoyable. May you all have a peaceful and productive week. Happiness!

“That’s because it’s Christmas Day, Dopinder, and I’m after someone on my naughty list!” ~ Deadpool

I woke up this morning feeling grumpy. The grumpiness was clearly in response to the disappointment I was feeling with myself. I feel stalled in Mission Innovation. Instead of grading an assignment for school, I decided to procrastinate. I worked a good bit on school stuff yesterday and resented the fact that I would have to do it again today. With a cup of coffee in hand, my I-Pad, and a notebook, I took to the front porch to listen to the second session of Danielle LaPorte’s Fire Starter Sessions audio course that I signed up for last month. Tomorrow is the last day of the course, and out of sixteen sessions, I was just listening to the second one. Ironically, in this session, LaPorte talked about embracing easy (quality easy) and addressed procrastination as being easy and that it can be divine. Alleluia! My mood brightened somewhat.

After the session, I went inside to have breakfast and read a reflection a coworker sent out this morning. It began, “TRUST AND THANKFULNESS WILL get you safely through this day. Trust protects you from worrying and obsessing. Thankfulness keeps you from criticizing and complaining” (Sarah Young, Jesus Calling). Wow! I decided that instead of starting any school work, I would look at the emails I received all week pertaining to the two Blogging University courses I signed up for last month and have NOT had the time to really participate in. I have been storing the information with the hope that I will be able to do more with them in the next few months. I started reconstructing the ABOUT area of my blog which was one of the topics this week. Then, well, yeah…I did not start working on school stuff. I surfed the web, played some games, and procrastinated some more. I chose “inner rhythms over external pressures” (Danielle LaPorte). Magazine StashI finally dusted in my bedroom, cleaned off surfaces, threw away Andrew’s binder that had been residing under my nightstand for the last two years, and made a plan to sort through the scrapbooking magazines my BFF gave me years ago. I felt like I was on an archaeological dig to find my bedroom. And, I had fun and my grumpiness faded completely away.

Despite the fact that I do not feel that I am making much progress with my audio course or my blogging courses, I am still getting something out of both opportunities. My disappointment comes from having expectations. I need to trust and be thankful. On the other hand, my procrastination paid off today. I have two new goals to complete in the next few weeks: update the ABOUT section of my blog and go through the scrapbooking magazines (59 total). While I did not do any school work, I did make my to-do list for the week.

The weekend is over, dear readers. May you all have a fantastic week. Happiness!

“Make stuff that feels good to make-your way.” ~ Danielle LaPorte

 

For the Love of Zombies

Happy Valentine’s Day! My hubby and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day with an early movie and lunch. What movie did we pick? Not a romantic comedy in the truest sense. No Nicholas Sparks for us! We chose Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It had romance, comedy, and oodles of zombies. I happen to adore zombies. It was the perfect way to spend the early part of my day. Afterwards, we meandered over to a Japanese restaurant for some sushi.

Zombie[1]Now, I have the rest of the day to chip away at my to-do list while my hubby works on his latest outdoor project. I want to get as much done as possible because tonight I am spending the evening with ZOMBIES. The Walking Dead is back on tonight followed by Talking Dead. Oh, how I have missed Chris Hardwick and my fearless group surviving the zombie apocalypse. I guarantee you there will be no romance or comedy this evening, but there will be plenty of zombies. The group is in peril, and I am anxious that someone I care about in the group is going to die tonight.

Love and hugs to you, dear readers. I hope you were able to spend time with someone you love, or you spent time doing something you love. Happiness!

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.” ~ Seth Grahame-Smith, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

The four months of the year that I struggle with the most are the months without Daylight Savings time. I have a hard time dealing with it getting dark early, especially when it is cold. Admittedly, I am not as productive or motivated to be as productive as I am the other eight months of the year. I want to crawl into a cave and hibernate. However, I do have eight things that are saving my life right now.

1. The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo

Book of Awakening

2. My Gratitude Journal

I look forward to recording the blessings I receive each and every day. This daily practice has really changed my perspective in all areas of my life.

3. The X-Files/The Walking Dead

Thexfiles

I enjoy watching television. While The Walking Dead is on hiatus, I have been watching the revival of my favorite program The X-Files. I actually look forward to Mondays. So far, the episodes have been terrifically entertaining. The Walking Dead and Talking Dead return next Sunday (Valentine’s Day). I look forward to seeing my characters again.

4. My Keurig Brewer

There is nothing better than having a cup of coffee, cocoa, or tea while reading, writing, or grading papers.

5. Books (and Books-a-Million)

I do not think I could live without my books. There are many things I could do without in my life; however, books are NOT one of them. And, regular trips to Books-a-Million with Andrew definitely make me happy.

6. Tooty (aka Comet)

IMG_2795

My little black ragamuffin brings much joy to my life. He is quite a character who demands lots of love and affection which he equally doles out to his humans provided adequate treats are in hand.

7. Family

photo (38)

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

8. Words with Friends/Trivia Crack

I know, I know. I should not admit that I enjoy playing these games, but I DO. I am a word geek. And trivia, well, I just like answering trivia questions especially related to arts and entertainment.

There you have it, dear readers! I know that my list is small; however, I am grateful for these eight things that are helping me survive right now. Happiness!

What is saving your life right now? 

“The autumn twilight turned into deep and early night as they walked. Tristran could smell the distant winter on the air–a mixture of night-mist and crisp darkness and the tang of fallen leaves.” ~ Neil Gaiman, Stardust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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