Tag Archives: attitude

What Will You Do With Your Now?

Forwarded by a friend

I laughed when I saw this. I have to admit that I do identify with it.

In our world today, tensions remain high. Emotions live at the surface. It’s hard to know whether to keep up with the news of the day or avoid it and cover up your head. Communication can be strained. Attitudes are like yo-yos or roller coasters. You’re not sure whether to smile and put your hands in the air or crawl down into the bottom of the ride car and hope the ride will end soon. It’s hard to plan when we don’t have the first clue what’s happening or what may be in the future.

I have found that I like to feel in control. I like to plan my day – know what’s going to happen – get things ready. Very little of that is possible now, so I’m a bit at loose ends.

But then – as I’ve had some time to think about it – I have never really had control over much of anything. That’s all just been an illusion. I DO have control over how I REACT to whatever is happening, though, so THAT’S where I will put my concentration and efforts.

All we really have is NOW. The PRESENT. I will try to remember that and make each NOW count. Make each NOW the best I can make it. Make each NOW productive, enjoyable, or at least as pleasant as possible. And make the people sharing my NOW know how very much they mean to me.

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Mosaic-Puzzle-Quilt-Grab Bag

Brooke Hampton – Chrissie Anderson Peters

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Wasted Day

E. E. Cummings – Good Housekeeping

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Hold On To Hope

source unknown

One of my favorite ‘memes’ – or things by which I try to live is, “Today I will not stress over things I can’t control.” I have it printed and up with magnets on the file cabinet near my computer so that I am reminded.

We are submerged right now in all kinds of things we can’t control and it’s easy to become depressed and frightened. There is a lot of fear, hate, and hurtful labels flying around that only compound our negative emotions.

I am reminding myself to breathe a lot. Just one breath at a time, slow and deep. (Yeah. I’m nuts. I talk to myself a lot in an effort to retain SOME portion of sanity. :0) ) I’m doing my yoga stretches in the afternoons – again – s l o w l y – trying to end up relaxed and looser. If I get sleepy, I’m OLD – so I can give myself permission to take a nap, whether to cover up my head and get away from what’s bothering me, or a power nap just to recharge for whatever comes next.

I go to my art room. Sometimes I’m actually productive, but other times I just sit there, clean things up a bit (or a lot), consider possibilities, dream… I listen to music on my MP3 player or on my computer. That always transports me, lifting my spirits. When the weather gets better, I look forward to working in my flowers and my garden. (Now I am plotting and planning which plants will go in which squares in my raised bed, square foot planter veggie garden in the spring. I’m going to TRY to get some plants going on my counter in the garage starting mid Feb or early Mar)

I hope that you have things that help you cope, too. The world is a scary place now and SO much of is made up of things over which you have no control. My suggestion is that you control what you can in your everyday living to insulate and isolate yourself from things while you protect yourself physically and emotionally.

Things will get better eventually. One day at a time. Stay safe and well.

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Kindness

SayingImages.com

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Finding the Joy

ABC News – go.com

My efforts to keep hope alive continue.

Things that I have found helpful include –

  • Doing one concrete thing on my to-do list for the day.
  • Finding something hopeful to share on the blog.
  • Playing in my art room.
  • Reading
  • Listening to music – I have an MP3 player, plus I listen to my favorites list on YouTube
  • Learning something new on YouTube, such as a demonstration of an art technique
  • Singing (I do this outside while I’m walking around our yard. I used to play the guitar a bit, enough to accompany myself back in the dark ages of folk music. I gave my guitar to our son years ago. I only croak to myself now.)
  • Playing with Amber (our 95 pound yellow lab) – I’m trying to teach her ‘throw and bring back.’ She prefers ‘tug-o-war’ and run around the yard in a victory lap, shaking the toy.
  • Feeling good about doing my exercises and putting a gold star on my desk calendar when I’ve finished my elliptical trainer and my yoga stretches for the day.
  • Consciously mentally listing good things in my life

Life these days is challenging on a whole lot of different levels. If we really try, we can help each other find the joy.

Pin on Rainbow Connection

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Look for It

30 Seconds

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Back in the Saddle

“I’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again”
~ sung by Gene Autry

PictureQuotes.com

I earned 2 stars yesterday for exercise, so I’m feeling ‘back in the saddle again of daily exercise :0) When I finish getting some blog posts up, I’ll head for the garage and my elliptical trainer. I’m hoping that both the scales and my tape measure will show some progress by the end of the month. One can hope!

Speaking of that, I’m really trying to find good things lately in an effort to not be buried in gloom. My husband was doing a bit of the ‘whine and cheese’ bit last night, and I gave him a pep talk about concentrating on the GOOD in our lives, rather than the bad. He saw my point, particularly when I was able to give him several examples that were personal to us. I really think this is important for our sanity and general health.

One hopeful thing is that we might be able to get the COVID vaccine eventually. I read a thing online saying that people 70+ could start getting it Jan. 18th at one pharmacy locally. I called, discovering that they weren’t taking names to add to their list right now, since the list was several hundred people long. She suggested that I call back the 1st of Feb. to see if they had opened the list again. The fact that we MIGHT be able to be added to a list in the next month or so is good news.

Yesterday I took a bunch of new products to the shop where I share a booth with a good friend. I rearranged everything and am hopeful that someone will take a look, like what they see, and take something home with them. :0)

I hope that you are having a good Thursday.

Stay safe and well.

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Hope 5

13 Years Ago Today We Found Her Hiding Under A Christmas Tree At Lowe’s. We Decided To Take Her Home “Just For The Night” To Feed And Warm Her

She’s been lying about not being fed ever since.

This Is Cyrus, My Girlfriend And I Adopted Her Today. She Was Surrendered The Day After Christmas For Being “Too Much Dog”

We took our new pup to a park for 30 minutes and played some tug-of-war, and she’s been like this for over an hour. Guess she’s the right amount of dog for us.

I Don’t Have Room In My Place For A Christmas Tree, So My Mom Made Me This Wreath With Built-In Lights And All The Ornaments From When I Was A Kid

Neighborhood Kids Were Using This Lady’s Yard For Sledding Without Asking. She Responded By Blasting Xmas Music Out Her Window, Putting On A Santa Hat With A Beard And Joining Them

Thanks to Inga Korolkovaite of BoredPanda.com for these examples of why we can still hope.

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Diet Woes

I learned yesterdaythat, without a doubt. I am an emotional eater. When I’m upset, I can’t seem to stuff in the food fast enough. I’m much too old for this kind of reaction. We didn’t even have anything really upsetting happen – I was just thrown off my new diet and exercise regimen – and I went the other direction with a vengeance.

So – no stars yesterday for exercise and the scales were laughing at me this morning.

I have a nice start to the day. I will do better.

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And the Crowd Goes Wild…

Pinterest

Actually, the ‘crowd’ was my husband, our dog, Amber, and our cat, Abby, and me, but HEY! – you have to take your joy where you can get it.

We have been eating the things we don’t eat at all – or rarely – in the last days before we get serious about getting the lard off again. Yesterday I made a crock pot full of beef stew. And we had rolls with it. Amber and Abby licked our bowls in the kitchen while we were cleaning up.

My husband said two or three times while eating it how good it was, and a couple of times afterward. Then, this morning, he asked if we had leftovers and if we could have more tonight. :0)

As I gathered trash this morning, I got rid of some more things that we shouldn’t be eating in preparation for our getting serious about trying to lose the lard. We should be starting formally, as well as upping my exercising on Thursday. Right now I’m doing yoga stretches, but that’s pretty much it.

We have had a nice long break from doing what we are supposed to do. Part of me is actually looking forward to being in control again. Isn’t THAT a kick in the head!

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One Joy

I don’t think it’s Pollyanna-ish to choose to focus on what is good, rather than bad, in your life. A positive attitude not only affects how you feel and act, it’s contagious. (A very small example of this is when you choose to smile at people. I have found that most people smile at you in return.) People who answer phones as part of their work are taught to smile when they are talking to people on the phone because you can HEAR a smile over the phone lines or through the air waves.

Of course, you can’t be happy ALL the time. People have been squashed like bugs because someone wants their SHOES – and the same can happen with people who are TOO perky – TOO Smiley – TOO optimistic….

EzyVectors.com

My point is that it is your decision – to a large extent – to be mainly happy with your life (growing, learning new things, embracing new ideas, finding fun ways to spend your time) or allowing your world to implode, (being interested in fewer and fewer things, being whiny, complaining, not trying to reach out and get help, etc.)

I have watched people I love folding into themselves, their worlds getting smaller and smaller, not bothering to try to keep up with what is happening in the world, giving up things that used to bring them joy, not taking care of themselves, becoming brittle in mind and body. It breaks my heart.

Each of us handles aging, changes, and outlook in our own way, and we should be free to do that.

I am choosing to embrace the good stuff – finding things that bring me joy and sharing them however I can. I love it when someone writes, telling me they love a picture I’ve posted, laughed at a joke, encouraged them to try something new. Each of us can try to take something positive and pass it on. Everyone is richer for it. Maybe ‘Pollyanna-ish-ness’ is a survival skill.

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Kidding Myself

KryptoniteBlonde – Global HD – El Montagista via Tumblr – TellMeNothing

At this point I’m limping along, kidding myself about my efforts to get back to my diet and exercise regimen. Suffice to say, I’m not back yet, but HOPE to be soon. (We are still eating our way through delicious no-no’s. )

I am about to leave to do a bunch of errands. I’m leaving the trash for pickup at the bottom of our driveway, getting our mail, changing out the things I’m trying to sell in the booth at Rags & Roses in Greenwood, then stopping at Real Food on the way home to see if I can get more kielbasa frozen dinners.

We’ll eat a quick lunch and then head back out again for more errands and a couple of appointments.

Our weather is deteriorating, culminating with a cold front and LOTS of rain for tomorrow and Thursday, so getting our mail may be all we do until Friday. Since it’s a holiday, Lunch Bunch is called off for Friday, so we may just stay up here, hopefully safe and dry in our house on top of our ridge line, celebrating the new year by ourselves and getting ready to start 2021.

I am happy that we’re about to see the end of 2020. I have high hopes that 2021 will be a much better year for all of us.

AND a year where there will gradually be less and less of a more fit me! :0)

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New Diet

Cartoon Stock

I’m still smiling at this one. :0)

My husband and I are still enjoying our stuff-everything-in-your-face-that-tastes-good mode. We have agreed that we will miss it – and very soon – when we go back to our get-the-lard-off mode.

I have to tell you that the stuff-your-face mode has helped my general ‘downness’ of the past few weeks. The world is such an unhappy place right now, and I can’t see it getting better soon, so a handful of fritos is spirit-lifting – at least for a few minutes.

I will break out my adult pants – if I can still get in them – and deal with what IS soon enough.

In the meantime, would you like a frito?

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After Christmas

Unknown

My husband and I are in the middle of a gigantic splurge that we hope will cure us of the ‘wanting-to-make-up-for-all-the-things-we’ve-been-missing feelings we’ve been harboring for about a year now. We accept that the scale is laughing at us – sometimes holding its nose in derision – but the feelings have been strong.

The dog helped us toward getting temptation out of the house last night. I had fixed fried chicken for the first time in a least two years of abstention. I overcooked it, so we were less than delighted with the meal, although the deviled eggs were wonderful. My husband took his plate to the kitchen giving our 95-pound yellow lab, Amber, the remaining bites of chicken on his plate.

The next thing I knew, I was hearing ‘noises’ from the kitchen area. Amber had not only taken care of the remaining bites of chicken on his plate, but the remaining two PIECES of chicken on a platter on the island, plus TWO packages of cookies we received – his and hers – from the counter. The only thing left was the containers and a mess on the floor. My HUSBAND was in the dog house for leaving Amber in the kitchen, rather than watching her eat the largess from his plate and then bringing her into the living room with the gate to the kitchen closed – a lesson we have learned before.

We are giving ourselves until the end of the month to cure our longings and find our intense motivation again to get the lard off…

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Things Will Be All Right

Depositphotos

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Lists

LIST OF THINGS I’M HANDLING

WELL CURRENTLY:

1.

4GIFS.COM – Awesomely Cute

I have a beef roast in the crock pot, and I need to put the trash at the bottom of the driveway on the way to the post office to mail a book we sold, but that may be in for the day.

I am feeling at loose ends and incredibly lazy. I just wish I looked as cute as this kitty not getting anything done….

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Always

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December 22, 2020 · 9:05 am

Best Exercise for the Heart

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December 10, 2020 · 11:25 am

Joy

Forward from Bill Lites

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Frustration

Pinterest

My weight loss efforts follow a pattern that I find very annoying.

Whenever I am making a good effort to keep moving, to do actual exercises plus my normal yard work, I either hold onto my current weight or I GAIN weight.

I tell myself all the cliches’ – that muscles weigh more than fat. yata yata – but I resent it that I am eating right, exercising, drinking lots of water, and GAINING.

I know. Life isn’t fair. It will ‘all come out in the wash.’ The scales will finally catch up with my efforts….

But I would be happier if my ‘goodness’ showed more quickly…

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Seasons

Mark Twain – Keepinspiring.me

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Gift

Maya Angelou – keepinspiring.me

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Hope

Emily Dickinson-Oxford Law-University of Oxford

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Life

Suzanne Weyn – Keepinspiring.me

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Our Job

L. R. Knost – SayingImages.com

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Never

Selfish Princess – SayingImages.com

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Do Your Little Bit

Desmond Tutu – SayingImages.com

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Raise Your Hand

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November 20, 2020 · 9:50 am

Wherever

Lucius Annaeus Seneca – SayingImages.com

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Make It Special

Robert Breault – keepinspiring.me

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