An Andre Movie

I still love my 'Flip Video' - it is so neat to be able to capture these small but precious memories that bring our little family so much joy.

We are cat lovers through and through ... and we just love our 'Andre' cat! Here he is, up to some new tricks:

I Love Saturdays!

Many times last night, I woke up and tried to orient myself with the time and day of the week. Each time I realized that the morning ahead of me was Saturday, I felt a small thrill. The excitement and joy of 2 days from my weekly responsibilities elates me.

My 'new life' since I took a leave of absence from my Saturday job has been nothing short of wonderful. Beyond the luxury of 2 day weekends there is so much more in my life.

As I was telling someone who didn't realize that my life had taken this small shift yesterday, I felt myself panic as I said the words out loud. This decision to take a break from my Saturday job and the ability to take on a bookkeeping job from the comfort of my own home has been the best choice that I could have ever made. But was I jinxing my good fortune by 'bragging' about it??

Emotionally, I am so fulfilled to have a 2 day break. I am able to say 'yes' to things as a parent, that my Saturday job usually meant an automatic 'no'. I don't feel like I'm constantly racing against the clock. I have time for 'me'. I have time for friends. I have time to be a mom. I have time ...

Taking on the bookkeeping job meant sacrifices to that time. I worked through many weekends at first and I did question if this was the right decision. Yes, I was at home. But working all weekend, I was no more available as a parent than I would be, if I was working 6 hours out of my home.

Financially, this job has created a comfort level that my budget has rarely known. There is money left over at the end of the month for the first time that I can remember. Maybe I am not setting high enough financial goals with this new found income but the key is, that I am not spending more than I am making. Spending just a little more than I make has been a recurring theme in my budgeting. This time around, I am making wiser choices and not loosening the purse strings. The reality of the 6 weeks of reduced income after my surgery last fall has kept me very aware of the precarious situation that I am in financially. It was a very good lesson for me.

I have always stood by the idea that money can't buy happiness. I still believe that. But a comfortable financial situation does buy a sense of peace. A feeling that the rug can't be too easily ripped out from underneath you. I recognize that this feeling of peace that I feel at the end of this month, comes from a lot of things. One of which, is financially based. Instead of wondering how I will juggle my finances to make it all work, I am deciding how to best utilize what is left over.

In the economic uncertainty in the world around us, I know that nothing can be taken for granted. The business that I am doing bookkeeping for, is a small company. The owner built it from the bottom up ... but there is a lot of stress involved in keeping everyone happy in a thriving business. Who knows what lies ahead?

Nothing in this world is certain. I choose to make the best out of the opportunities that I am given. That has proven to be successful in my life. I like to ride the waves that I encounter in life. Swimming against the current has never been my way. And I'm riding a very good wave right now. And I am going to go and make the best of my Saturday!

Regaining Equilibrium

My life has been out of balance lately. As I try to shift myself into some kind of routine with the extra responsibilities that I have, while maintaining some time to replenish myself (and I've become very good at hanging onto the things that bring me pleasure) it seems that I've lost my drive, my energy and my enthusiasm to tackle the goals I have set before me.

I've upped my 'exercise' routine to 40 minutes every morning. And it is easy (too easy - I'm not breaking a sweat). But the habit is forming and that was the goal that I was trying to attain. Plus, some positive ions are working their way back into my consciousness. I believe that getting up and moving is helping with that.

My words seem to be stuck within me lately though. I'm not feeling a positive flow of words flowing out of my fingers. I'm not feeling a negative flow either. The words are just not there.

And so it is, with the ebbs and flows of life. The energy of the world around you comes in waves. I started the new year with an outpouring of words (if not energy) and it only makes sense that this had to ebb and find a new balance.

I'm feeling a sense of balance return to my inner being. On the balance beam of life, that equilibrium is a good thing to find and keep returning to.

An Unexpected Treat

I'm hooked on reading. Yesterday afternoon, I finished reading the book that I started on Sunday. Today, I started reading another.

Kurt had a dentist appointment to go to tonight, so I thought to grab my book. What a purely enjoyable wait it was. I read my book, knowing that there was not another thing in the world that I could have been doing with that time.

I couldn't believe what a lift it gave me, to indulge in such a very simple pleasure. It was a perfect evening.

Lazy Days and Mondays

Okay, I just endured one of the laziest weekends that I have had for a while. I couldn't even thoroughly enjoy it, because I knew that there were so many things that I should have been doing!

Did I even spend any of that time making an 'action plan' to get myself in motion? No. Did I utilize the time to instill a lot of positive talk within myself? No. What did I do???

Hmmm ... let's see ... I danced, ran errands, went to a movie, ran more errands, had a movie night at home ... exercised (yay!!) ... talked on the phone to a friend and my mom ... sent one email ... watched a few 'missed episodes' of TV programs I enjoy (I love being able to go to the TV stations website and watch an episode that I've missed) ... and ... I started reading a book.

I haven't read a book since before Christmas. And even at that, I didn't even enjoy it. It was just another thing to mark off my to-do list. So I promised myself that I wasn't going to waste another book until I had time to savor it. And that, I did!!

I love losing myself in a good book! It was a most excellent way to spend a cold Sunday afternoon and evening. Something I haven't done in a very long time.

I've doubled up on my exercise time. I'm up to 40 minutes now. It isn't the actual exercise that I find hard - it is sacrificing that time in the morning. I love my mornings to indulge myself in my guilty pleasures. Watching a TV show that I have taped while I have my morning smoothie and cup of coffee; writing in my blogs; reading or sending emails or (this morning) sitting back and reading a book. I have to get up between 5:00 and 5:30 to accomplish all of this. But if I am fulfilled before my day begins, I am destined to have a much better day.

I feel ready for whatever this week has in store. I've replenished myself and I'm ready to go.

Stuck

I have been idling in limbo-land this week. Spinning my wheels, going no where. Stuck. My words have been halted as well and I haven't been drawn to write my thoughts. I guess when I don't feel like I'm headed in a firm direction, I lose a sense of myself. It amazes me, how the words that you need to hear, are presented to you ... if only you listen.

'Greys Anatomy' often speaks to me. This past weeks episode had a thread of 'being stuck in limbo' as part of the storyline. I felt the similarity in my own life. Stuck in between thinking and doing. Stuck.

I have a 'Mountain Wings' email greet me every morning. Friday's message contained the theme that if you want something done, give it to a busy person. They will get it done. As it went on, it described the qualities of that busy person and explained the dynamics of how this works. I read it, I understood it, I believe it ... and I thought "I used to be that busy person" ... I need to get busy again.

I've been watching the web casts on Oprah's 'Best Life Series' this past week. There were morsels of information in each show that I wrote down (enough to fill almost 6 pages in a scribbler that I have named "Oprah isms"). The quote that resonated with me this week was "What gifts lie within me that I promised myself to share, that I have not dusted off for a while?" Hm mm .... I have made promises to myself that I am not keeping.

As the week progressed, I knew that the only answer was to start getting busy. I not only have to dust off that, which is within me ... but I think I need a good, swift kick-start!

I have so many responsibilities, ideas and goals within me at the moment that I feel overwhelmed. Yet I still try to reserve my evenings for my 'down time'. It is whatever I can squeeze into my 9 - 5 hours (while I am tending the kids), that I am getting done. I'm willing to give up one day of my weekend, but not both. I'm carving out time for myself. It is like grabbing an oxygen mask for yourself, so that you can help others. If I don't take care of my most basic needs, I will get no where.

So, I need to kick-start today. An entire day lies before me. How can I best spend it??

One Step at a Time

I have developed far more bad eating/exercise habits than good ones this past year (or more). So I am trying to redevelop some better habits. Trying to change a lot of things at the same time simply doesn't work for me. So I'm trying to add or deduct one habit a week.

Week #1 - I added drinking 2 litres of water to my day. That was easy. Instead of grabbing a third and fourth cup of coffee, I grabbed a water bottle. I added that to my day and have continued on with that small step in the right direction.

Week #2 - I stopped buying potato chips. Not a big thing for many people. A huge thing for me. I look at a bag of chips and I start to salivate, my knees go weak and my resistance to the lure of whatever sale is on (and there is always a sale) is nil. So as easy as that sounds, it was not. I kept my resolve for 7 days. Then Kurt and I decided to buy snacks and watch a few movies on the weekend. The can of Pringles was shared by both of us for 2 evenings of movies (then I polished them off by myself Sunday morning). So considering my usual potato chip intake, this was not perfect ... but once the chips were gone, I didn't buy any more (and boy, have I been tempted!).

Week #3 - This week. I have added 20 minutes of exercise to my morning routine. I need to extend the time, but for this week I am content to just try to relearn the habit of getting up early and moving! I've succeeded 3 days in a row. I almost talked myself out of it this morning but I told myself that I could do 20 minutes. 20 minutes is easy.

I took away one more item from my diet this week. Soda pop. That should be easy. The big temptation is the pop that a person gets with a take-out meal combo. I crave pop every now and again (though it usually is hand in hand with a chip craving).

I gained all of these bad habits slowly but surely. My plan, in trying to regain some good eating habits. Gradually. One bad habit (replaced by one good habit) at a time.