Mary Engelbreit via sayingimages.com
Filed under Attitude, Changes, empowerment, Encouragement
“Birds in Flight” – Lake Geneva, Switzerland – Kirsty Bonner – LinkedIn
“Strike on the Lake” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Seagulls” – Paul Militaru Photography
A “colony” of seagulls. A “flock” or “brace” of ducks. Whatever you call them, I LOVE seeing groups of birds doing anything. Somehow just seeing them makes my heart soar.
FreakingNews.com
I feel pretty good right now. I just finished a session of folding myself into a paper airplane – otherwise known as “Yoga for Seniors” type moves. I’m not using the DVDs lately – just doing the moves that feel as if they’re what my poor, stiff body needs to fully stretch out and relax. I spend a bit more than half an hour, and then also do abdominal exercises.
The biggest problem I have is trying to relax at the beginning. I lie down on my back on my mat with my wedge pillow, arms and legs spread out and just try to relax and breathe. Typical of life around here, I had just started to relax a little bit and our lab puppy, Amber, lost her lunch right beside my left hand on the carpet. I yelled a bad word and leaped up as fast as I could, trying to get her outside. She tossed her cookies once more on the way out – this time on the tiles in the dining area. My husband helped me get things cleaned up. We don’t know what Amber found to eat outside, but apparently it didn’t agree with her. (She seems to be fine now, but we’re confining her to her bed in the utility room for awhile.)
I tried again, having to breathe through some pain on whatever muscles run across your back at the shoulder blade level. After a couple of minutes or so, I was more comfortable and then moved my arms up over my head. That showed another area of my back that was tight and sore, so I breathed into that. too. And so my yoga poses went.
Even my husband is remarking on my progress now. I’m able to touch my toes! It takes me a minute or two for my body to ‘give’ enough, but then I can do it! Since I started out with fingertips about a foot off the floor, I feel good about it. I’m also very close to being able to touch my forehead to my feet when I’m sitting with the bottoms of my feet touching each other. I’m making progress in loosening up this old body in several of the poses.
My husband is teed off that I’m able to do more sit-ups than he can. I’m up to 30 now, from none at the beginning. I’ve been trying to do this for about 6 months, I guess, so I’m glad I’m getting stronger. My husband has done it intermittently over the past two months, and has gone from none to 10. I’m pointing out that he’s made a lot of progress and that, if he keeps practicing, he’ll get stronger. I’m also doing leg lifts and whatever the exercise is where you do a sit up pointing your elbow to the opposite knee. AND I don’t need a crane to get back up off the floor!
We aren’t really impressing anyone with what we can do, but – when we take the time to remember where we started – we pat ourselves on the head a bit and resolve to keep on keepin’ on. (I also put a gold star on my calendar.) :0)
Combine this with bowling tonight with friends, and a cleaning project today – and we have a good amount of exercise for the day.
Filed under exercise, taking care of yourself
I’m not much for cold weather. I love PICTURES of snow and winter, but I rarely get out IN it, other than to walk around with my mouth open, trying to catch snow flakes. On a rare occasion we in Arkansas (and Oklahoma before that) have enough snow and the right KIND of snow to actually do things like snow angels, snow ball fights, and building snow people. I absolutely LOVE the creativity people show in building snow men and other snow people and animals. I celebrate them again, starting today.
Burying-Other-Snowman – Scribol.com
Filed under Creativity, Seasons, snow people
“Field Maple” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Gold Leaves” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Grass and Clover” – Paul Militaru Photography
“In Depth Study of Mushrooms” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Spine and Leaves” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Thistles” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Two Shades of Rusty” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Warm Colors at the End of the Fall” – Paul Militaru Photography
“What’s Left – Thorns” – Paul Militaru Photography
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Niki Firmin – LinkedIn
Niki Firmin – LinkedIn
Niki Firmin – LinkedIn
Filed under drawings, Niki Firmin - Pet Portraits
Oleg Vishnepolsky – LinkedIn
“Let’s infect the world with good.” Anneberly Andrews – AnneberlyAndrewscom.wordpress.com
One of my good, long-time friends sets a beautiful, inspiring example for me each time we’re together. She looks for opportunities to help others or to be kind every day.
She doesn’t ever say anything about it. We were spending an afternoon together and I watched in quiet amazement as she did good thing after good thing almost unconsciously. They were small things, like offering to return a cart to its place in the parking lot for an elderly lady, or opening the door for someone, or letting someone get ahead of her in line. She returned abandoned carts to the store. She retrieved the lid of a trash can and put it on the can so it wouldn’t blow away again. I realized, after watching her, that it was an attitude, a habit developed by lots of practice, and an unconscious recognition of what she personally could do to make the world a better, kinder place.
When I asked her about it, she looked surprised and then said she had been doing it for years. This discussion happened several years ago. I’ll never be as good as it as she, or get to the place where I do it unconsciously, as she does, but I’m really trying to emulate her wonderful example. She makes people feel special – like always greeting me with a huge grin and open arms for a wonderful hug. She makes people’s loads a bit lighter. She brings out smiles wherever she goes.
She’s not perfect. None of us is. But she’s one of the best people I know on the planet and I’m so lucky to know her. I’ll continue to try to look for opportunities each day to do what I can do to brighten someone’s day.
Filed under Attitude, Good Thoughts, kindness, opportunities
Charles Dickens via Lisa Bearnes Richey
Filed under Encouragement, Favorite Quotes, Funny Signs - Humor
Science ABC
“I didn’t make it to the gym today. That makes five years in a row.”*
My current exercise plan of doing ‘yoga-and-exercises’ one day and the elliptical trainer the next seems to be a good fit for me.
If I try to do both in one day I get overwhelmed since I’m a couch potato for some awful number of years now. I’m also trying to go through my over-30-year-old house, purging/donating/cleaning/reorganizing room by room, plus working out in the yard when the weather is cooperative, so I’m getting a good amount of other exercise on a daily basis, as well.
I envy folks who ‘discover’ exercise, quickly becoming addicted, feeling ‘off’ if they miss exercising one day. I envy folks who actually reshape their bodies with exercise, looking gorgeous in their cute little exercise outfits. I’m not dead yet, so I can really admire (and do a little bit of quiet drooling) over men who routinely rip their shirts off to expose their six-packs and bulging arms.
Reality is a whole different story, though. What I am going for – since at 71 I’m getting a bit long in the tooth – is
- balance – I don’t want to get tottery and pitch headlong down our stairs, and we have them everywhere here. I want to keep walking like I mean it, not hesitantly, as if I’m walking on eggs stiffly, as I see in so many older ladies.
- flexibility – I get stiff and sore at the drop of a hat, so I want to do all I can to get more flexible and then stay that way.
- lessening of pain – I would rather not be dependent on pain relievers in pills, gels, oils, or whatever. I would prefer to exercise my way to feeling as good as I can.
- loosening – this is probably weird, but as I exercise, my body is feeling ‘looser.’ I can feel my stomach muscles when I walk – a new feeling for me, believe me. My body is moving more easily.
- strength – One of the many ‘perks’ of getting older is getting weaker. I can accept that there are certain things I should no longer be trying to do, and that’s okay, I guess. But I DON’T want to accept giving up what I consider regular things and I will fight to strengthen my core muscles, my arms and legs, etc. in order to continue doing most of the things I would like to do until I croak.
- general health – as I get stronger, I’m healthier. I don’t get sick nearly as much. I feel better every day (unless I’ve killed myself overdoing the day before) and then MORE EXERCISE!
- new, smaller clothes – I also freely admit that I’m enjoying fitting into clothes that have been hanging in my closet – some of them for YEARS now – without being worn because they were too small. I’m enjoying almost being down 4 sizes in jeans at this point, with the thought that I might actually need to buy smaller ones in the future. :0) I like being able to look at clothes I really LIKE, rather than mainly concentrating on whether they are large enough to cover my bulk.
It’s okay that I will never be like the crazy people in the exercise machine commercials who seem to be in a sexual frenzy while bicycling. That would be wonderful, but it’s not gonna happen. What I FEEL happening is good. It feels good enough – along with the sweet little gold stars I give myself on my calendar each day when I do my scheduled exercise – that I want to continue. That’s good enough for this old broad.
“I decided to stop calling the bathroom the “John” and renamed it the “Jim”. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.” *
* Quotes were sent to me via email by my good friend, Marsha Koenig
Filed under Encouragement, exercise, taking care of yourself
I hope Willie Nelson won’t mind me using his words, but these photos just cried out to be shown together.
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
We had a really big storm yesterday evening, all night, and into the morning with lots and lots of rain, strong, gusty winds, lightning, thunder, and flying hairballs. We were fine inside, but I was worried about what we would find outside this morning.
I was most worried that our greenhouse would be damaged or gone. Thankfully, it came through fine. I just spent an hour securing the greenhouse cover where the wind was whipping it around. I did fine for awhile, then the stapler jammed. I brought it in to my fix-it husband, who declared it unrepairable. I got another from the shop, but it was so stiff my arthritic hands were screaming, so we’ll try to find a kinder-to-old-folks staple gun soon.
I’ve brought everything that was in the greenhouse inside now, since we’re having regular freezes and we have no heat out there.
Here is what I brought into the dining area – some tall lettuce plants that thankfully haven’t bolted yet, some little celery plants in soil in front of the lettuce plants, and some new celery plants in water in the while bowl beside the window. I’m going to continue harvesting lettuce for our salads. I have no clue what I’m doing with the celery, but I’m having a blast watching them grow. :0)
Filed under Gardening, greenhouse, Starting - Growing in a Greenhouse
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
My mother LOVED baby animals. Her heart would simply melt and she wanted each one she saw. She oohed and ahhed over a baby monkey she saw on TV one day. The next day my dad showed up with a baby monkey in a cage he had bought at a pet shop. We lived with the monkey for a couple of weeks – a really hairy experience. He didn’t like any of us. He DID like grapes, however, and we would give him grapes one at a time. He would take it, pop it in his mouth, and then spit the grape peel out of the cage. One day he got out of his cage. He ran into the kitchen where my mom was soaking a head of lettuce. He picked it up and ran all over the house with it – up the draperies and down in the living room, water streaming all over the carpet and furniture, my mother shrieking for my dad to “DO SOMETHING, JIM!!!” He chased it down with a towel and finally caught him. I remember seeing the monkey’s teeth coming through the towel. The monkey went back to the pet shop that day.
When my mom saw a baby elephant on TV some time later, she oohed and ahhed, and then looked at my dad and said, “BUT I DON’T WANT ONE!”
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Karen R. Schuenemann via Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jatayu Nature Park – Kerala, India – Bisqajit Palvia – LinkedIn
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography, Catherine Lee
My husband and I made this decoration last year to replace this smaller one made years before. This is the back of the piece.
I liked this one okay, too, but it was really small compared to the new one, and I like the kids being on either side of the larger tree.
We went for Chinese take out last night, and I was happy to notice that the glitter on the star caught the light of our headlights and sparkled. :0)
Filed under Lewis Art, Lewis Mailbox Decorations, metal art
We are lucky to have brought Amber into our family. We need to keep reminding ourselves of that, though, as she is more than a double-handful.
My husband asked yesterday, “When will she be two?” This is in response to the people who have rightly advised us that a lab is a puppy until she’s two. That’s at LEAST two, I think, because she is showing no signs of maturing. She will be two officially March 7th. I’ve warned my husband that there is no hard and fast rule that says that by – or before – the second birthday maturity and calmness descends over the family like a glorious veil.
Her latest antic answered another comment by my husband – “I wish she would bark at strangers. She sucks as a guard dog.”
This morning he went out to add birdseed to the feeders plus the squirrel bottle feeder that is attached to the outside of the dining area window.
All of a sudden Amber saw him, but apparently didn’t recognize him as a member of our family. She instantly was up, paws on the windowsill, barking, hair standing on end over her neck and over her butt, knocking one of my plants off the windowsill. She didn’t hear me yelling at her to stop. I had to physically pull her away from the window, shove her through the doggie gate and close it firmly. She was still growling.
Thankfully, my plant and holder ‘fell’ into the lettuce plants on the card table beside the window, rather than crashing to the floor. I was able to carefully pull it back up and put it on the windowsill again without dumping or hurting the succulent I’ve had for years. The orchid took a dive, but I retrieved it, put an ice cube in it, and placed it back on the sill. I checked to make sure all the other plants were okay and then swept the floor beside the windowsill and under the card table.
My husband came back in, oblivious to the whole thing. When I told him what happened, he looked pleased that Amber had reacted that way to a ‘stranger’ so close to our window. (Usually, she wants to get into the truck with the UPS guy, Fedex lady, or any other delivery people or workmen. At the post office, she wags her tail off at anyone who talks to her.)
I GUESS I’m happy that if we had an intruder, Amber would cause a ruckus and bark loudly, but right now, I’m still shaken over being in the middle of it.
Living for March in hope…..
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
Julie Meadows via Jackie Lyons
This sculpture hit me right between the eyes.
We lost our daughter, Jade, just after she turned two months old and had her checkup at the pediatrician’s office. She died of SIDS. (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). I thought we would die, too. My husband and I both seriously considered ending it, our pain was so great. The only thing that kept us going was our son, Brian, who was two years old and desperately needed us. The hole in your gut never leaves. The hurt in your heart never leaves. I’m tearing up even as I try to type this, and we lost Jade almost 38 years ago. This sculpture was created by someone who has been there and truly understands. My heart goes out to the artist.
“Wild Blue Flower” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Wild Fruits” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Wild Roses 1” – Paul Militaru Photography
I guess if you’re ‘regular folks,’ you might think that the shelves need to be cleaned out NOW. If you’re the Lewises, though, this is WONDERFUL.
We have about 1/3 as much ‘stuff,’ as we did, the shelves are clean, smell like lemon Pledge (Ahhhh!) and are organized. (The pic above is my husband’s side of the entertainment center, so he’ll probably do more rearranging, but now he won’t choke on the dust while he does it. :0) )
And this is MY side of the entertainment center. I now have things where I can find them. I found things I didn’t realize I HAD, and did away with more stuff I no longer want.
I’ve worked on this project all afternoon, so with a little nudge from me, we’re going to get fried rice from our local Chinese restaurant for dinner tonight!
Sono Marin Cleaning Services
I WISH I had a cleaning service, like the one above!
I told you recently that we had decided to get rid of our DVD collection – or most of it, since I kept my prized ones, not completely trusting the Synology Storage System. We gave approximately 217 DVDs to the local library for their next fundraiser. We’re trying to sell the ones Amazon would accept, though it made me feel older than dirt when ours weren’t ‘acceptable’ (even Blu-rays) most of the time, due to the publishing date being too old.
This left us with several empty shelves on both sides of our TV!
I’m working my way through them, cleaning and moving things around. Due to the fact that they have held DVDs jammed side by side for umpteen years ( I removed the strips my husband cut to length and screwed into each one to make the DVDs stand in the shelves correctly) – cleaning is a real trip – partially because, other than running the dustcatcher over the top of them, the shelves couldn’t be cleaned without taking all the DVDs off each shelf. Since I’m a slob – FAT CHANCE! So I’m choking on dust, then using a clean cloth and Pledge to get the shelves clean and wonderful-smelling again, and THEN rearranging things so that books on the same subject are together, for example. I’m also getting rid of a lot of things.
I’ve spent a couple of hours on the project so far. I’m about halfway finished and am taking a much-needed break.
When I finish my husband’s side, I’ll take pics of the newly clean, organized shelves!
Popsugar
Short answer –
I’ve lost 30.6 pounds and 29.55 inches on Nutrisystem. When you add what I lost on a low-carb emphasis before that, the totals are 43 pounds off and 45.95 inches off.
Longer answer –
We are still on the plateau from Hell, but we’ve been eating homemade beef stew and bread for dinners three nights in a row, so I guess it’s amazing we didn’t GAIN weight this week.
The larger point is that we are AWARE of what we’re eating now. We’re incorporating flex meals (where you eat something other than Nutrisystem meals) into our lifestyle. We’re SUPPOSED to eat ONE flex breakfast, ONE flex lunch, ONE flex dinner, and ONE flex snack per week. We’re going to have to continue doing some changing to be able to eat only ONE meal of beef stew and then freeze the rest for other weeks, rather than simply having a bowl each night until it’s gone.
Other changes noted –
Most of our progress lately has been in attitude and confidence that we CAN lose the lard and get stronger with persistent effort. We have made a lifestyle change, trying to be aware of what we’re eating, the portion we’re eating, and modifying the rest of the day if we overdo at one meal. We’re consciously trying to move more and gain strength and flexibility. I’m also working on balance stuff, but have a long way to go on that, too. I’ll feel as if I’ve REALLY made progress when the hardest thing is NOT getting up off the floor from my exercising! :0)
Valeria Korothevich via Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Catherine Lee – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
creativeartworksblog 