Some happy thoughts for the day....

* Playing games
* Hanging out with your really cool son
* Waffles
* Reading good books
* Seeing your friends
* Walking in the fall leaves
* Eating a honeycrisp apple
* The feel of a hot, steamy shower
* Pumpkins
* A card from a friend
* A blank journal to start your story
* A nap

Today takes the cake!

Today is the day that takes the cake, says my ten year old son. I think about all the things that this can mean and I am going to say that it does take the cake because it is the day that I figured out that I have to be the one to decide which direction I am going in regardless of everything that is happening around me. I am easy to go along with my family, friends and to go with the flow of other people's decisions and to know that ultimately life decides what comes our way. My mom ended up in the hospital last week and in seconds our world changed. The only thing that I had control over was my reaction to the change and frankly, I am not sure how I did. I know I could have done better. But today takes the cake, and I am not going to eat the cake, I am not going to fight with the cake, I am not going to be tortured by the cake, but I am going to stay with what I believe is best for me and I am going to stay the course, regardless of what comes my way. I am going to smile and enjoy the fact that I am here and I get another chance. Today takes the cake! Hopefully I will get a chance to see whether tomorrow takes the cake too!

Day three-breathe!

So, day three out of four leading into the full-on fall craziness! Yesterday, success in some areas; a nap, fruit market stock up, and bulk food stock up, night time/adult time outing. Focus on the positive:
*I did get a good start on the day and accomplished some things on my list
*My son had some fun times with friends and quiet time with me
*My husband fulfilled his love of football with the college opener
*Everyone else in my house but me has clean laundry
*We ran into some friends unexpectedly and had a much needed chat session to bring us back together

Why do I feel so lacking when it seems I did have several positive moments?
*Perhaps because I did not take very good care of myself - no workout
*Perhaps because some of the activities were me, on my own, checking off the list but not meaningful and not fulfilling
*Not sure I stopped to enjoy the moments
*Not sure I was always speaking kindly of others and trying to see the best in a situation
*Maybe feeling a little scared and anxious about the coming week; New job, new school for my son, return to long hours, seeing people I have not seen in a while
All of this pulsing through my system left me with little sleep and lots of racing thoughts.

For the rest of today I will do something different so that I do not feel this way again tomorrow:
*Starting now I will look for beauty; in figs, in a leaf, in the color of cinnamon
*Starting now I will pay attention to my son; his eyelashes, his voice, his curls
*Starting now I will give a compliment to each person I speak with; you smell yummy, you are kind, you are a great friend
*Starting now I will listen to listen and understand; tell me more, what do you mean, can you explain that to me...
*Starting now I will be a little easier on myself; you are a good person, you have a great smile, you love people, you are fun and silly
*Starting now I will do good things for my physical self; move, dance, roller skate, laugh, eat raspberries, drink water

Onward!

Day two of four days to fall kick off!

Saturday, the second day on my way to a more focused fall, making new choices to embrace the current moment while also taking positive steps towards long-term gratification! Yesterday, I had a great day of superhydration, whole foods eating, lots of apples and greek yogurt, and positivity. I fell down later in the evening when we went to a football pep rally at U of M and pizza was calling to my boys. I cannot deny pizza Friday, especially fall-on-campus pizza Friday, so there I was confronted with bread and cheese. I am weak in the face of bread and cheese. I need a stronger long term vision when I face these two. Today I will try to keep in mind how much better I feel when I am healthy. Rather than happy for a moment, I feel happy most every moment. Here are my choices for today:
*superhydrate again: Water, green tea, coffee, apple cider vinegar with water
*whole foods; apples, yogurt, tofu
*rest, take a nap, chill
*watch the home opener -U of M v. Connecticut - go blue!
*read something
*exercise for one hour
* say a few mantras
*breathe
*kiss and hug my son!
*be a joy spreader!

Kick off of four days to fall!

There is no stopping Mother Nature and the cycle of the seasons. I am going to spend the next four days transitioning my life from smokin' summer to fantasmagical fall! Here is what I am going to do on day one, today:
*Super-hydrate with water and green tea
*Organize and prepare all of my gym clothes
*Detox my system with a fiber cleanse
*Organize my t-shirts, the staple of my wardrobe, the glue that holds all outfits together
*Laundry, massive laundry
*Organize notebooks and folders, put away all the ones I am not using this fall
*Whole foods; pink lady apples, greek yogurt, raspberries, protein shake with blueberries
*Take a cat nap
*Write a gratitude list
*Send a thank you note
*Read something inspiring
*Ride the bike for one hour
*30 push ups
*100 crunches
*Sing loud in the car
Check back in later to see how the fall into fall fest is going!

Some days just call for a happy list...

This is one of those days when I just need to make a list of perfectly simple, simply perfect moments that anyone can create, right when you need them:

• The beauty of a single flower, a wild flower, a weed, the beauty of nature
• A tall cold glass of water with lots of ice
• Sitting quietly to read a few pages from a favorite book
• Taking a moment to breathe in a favorite scent, a perfume, a lime, clean laundry
• A kiss on the cheek of a little boy or girl in your life, breathe in the happiness of childhood while you are there
• Smile at a stranger
  
• Make a list of happy ideas and then follow it through the day and into tomorrow!
  

Love, peace and happy!

No to mediocrity!

Today I remind myself that I refuse to settle, I will not be complacent and that I would rather be talked about as being wild, crazy, leaning towards unstable, than to be mired in mediocrity! What are the words I want associated with my life? Here are a few:

• fun, funny, instigator of fun!
• loving, lovable, inspiring and aspiring to bring the love!
• joy-filled, joy-spreader, crazy with joy!
• adventurous, adventurer and seeker of adventure in everyday moments!

Today, I am going out into the world and living my life as me, the real me, the one on the inside and the one who is visible to the outside world. I am going to...

• wear my favorite chunky sandals to the grocery store!
• compliment every person I come in contact with!
  
• set up a beach in my backyard with beach towels, beach chairs, and the sprinkler!
• kiss someone every hour, watch out!
  
• draw a bouquet of flowers on the driveway with sidewalk chalk!
• sing the Beastie Boys in the car as loud as I can on the way to the library where I am going to borrow a French film to watch while I give my self a pedicure with purple polish and blue polka dots!
• invite my family and my best girl friend to join me on today's adventure!

It is a start for this very moment, while dreaming up other adventures! Love and peace!

A dream, a day and a daydream...

One of the beautiful things about this life is the ability to create a new storyline everyday. Without losing sight of who I am, there are so many choices to make each day that I can virtually write the story of my life one decision at a time. I am struggling with this since my choices are frequently less than smart. I am trying to remember that this empowers me to create me! When I think about this, the impulsive me wants to drain the bank account and head to Paris where I will smoke, sit at cafes endlessly, drink pastis with a group of friends who talk things that matter and never settle. The other, more stable me, really wants to do the same thing...hmmm...For today I am choosing to enjoy the moments in my current life; I will savor the thick swirl of espresso at my favorite coffee shop, I will talk to the barista about what is going on in his life, I will pay attention and ask real questions, I will take a whiff of the cigarette smoke as I pass by a group of smokers in front of the coffee shop and I will daydream of Paris...

Determined to stay present in this day

I love mornings! There is so much hope at the beginning of the day, so many directions to go in, so many things that might happen! Maybe today is the day! The one I have been waiting for all my life when everything comes together and I feel like I got it right! What can I do to create this feeling? Well, here is what I am going to try for today:

• I am going to take it as it comes and smile through it!
  
• I am going to love and appreciate whatever Mother Nature decides to do with the weather and I am going to stop and pay attention to it for a moment!
• I am going to do something that makes me feel like a strong girl warrior who can take over the world, my world anyways, like light saber battle with my son, run around the middle school track, do 30 push-ups, sing Nine Inch Nails on RockBand, go on the Slip and Slide!
  
• I am going to help someone else see how great they are and take them along on my journey to feel great about today!
  

So now it is the late afternoon and I am thinking; where to go from here... I walked out in the sun, I have super-hydrated with countless glasses of water and green tea, I biked for an hour and I did some math and haiku writing with my son. All in all, a good day so far. But I want it to be an amazing, exciting, awe-inspiring day. Ideas for sending it into another space:

• write a letter to someone I love and tell them why I love them, why they are special
  
• write one to myself and remind myself of all the ways I am special
  
• find some paints, markers, crayons and draw something, anything, just see color
• paint my nails bright blue
• lay flat in the grass and just feel the weight of the world
• kiss someone and really pay attention
  

I will try and see what happens...

Wednesday morning - a good moment to start...

Time to start out on a new adventure and why not now? There is no real value I can see other than procrastination(which I am an expert in) in waiting to begin a new life on a Monday or on New Years Day. So this is the moment! Today I am going to start putting into action all the things I said I would do to make myself and my world around me a better place, according to me. Starting right now the first thing I am doing, is an immediate and decisive change to eating only to live. Does that sound simple? For someone who is not obsessed with the life long battle to be a smaller size, it might seem simple, but for those of us whose life has circled around it for an entire personal history it can be all that matters. Well, there are too many other important things to do, so this one is being put on notice; today is the day that I am living as if I am already Penelope Cruz and all of my decisions will reflect the fact that I am living as if...This will get me one step closer to the next adventure which is getting to Paris, living in in Paris, having enough money and beauty to feel good while I am doing it! Step one...a whey protein shake, black coffee and a shot of apple cider vinegar!