Smiling

“Letting go means to come to the realization that 

some people are a part of your history, 

but not a part of your destiny.” 

― Steve Maraboli

This quote always resonates with me.  We all have people who have been in our lives, and we know that there comes a time when the path we're on doesn't go in the same direction as others in our lives, and we need to let go.  Sometimes, that's not an easy thing to do!  But in order to move ahead, we can't hold on to those who hold us back.

That doesn't mean that you can't reconnect with them, to keep in touch from time to time.  That's what I did today -- I saw an old friend in a chat room and connected for just a bit, caught up on what's taking place in each others' lives.  I don't make connections with people that I meet very often.  Most of the time, you start a conversation with someone and it doesn't go anywhere.  Me, I prefer to have good conversations.  There are men I chat with who prefer to have conversations about certain body parts -- and most times I think "Grow UP!  that's what 15 year old boys think about, not real men!" Sometimes I'm even brave enough to say that to some.  *laughs*  I mean, its so boring for me to answer questions about boobs, or someone's libido.  At my age, I don't give a crap.  Capture me with some great thoughts, philosophical ideas, music we have in common, places we've been, sports -- its not hard to have a convo!  Or is that a dying art??

There are a select few, however, who can do the convos, impress me with thoughts or ideas, have something in common to keep the conversation going.  And that always, ALWAYS, captures my interest.  Those kind?  I call "old souls".   And that is the sort of man I'm attracted to!



Today's convo was reconnecting with a man in Sweden in his late 20s who is definitely an old soul.  He gets it, and when we sit down to chat, it goes on and on.  Too bad the time difference is so huge, makes it hard to find a time to connect!  He sounds happy, enjoyed his Holidays ... but best of all, after almost a year of no contact... he still remembered me!


I'm smiling .... all the way to dreamland tonight!

Thank You!!

Precious and Few!

Precious and few

are the moments

we two can share!

My daughter, Tanya, was the first grandchild, and is the only granddaughter.  I know she holds a special place in the heart of her Grandpa! 
Just look at how they smile at each other.....
(1982)

 What children need most are the essentials 

that grandparents provide in abundance.  

They give unconditional love, kindness, 

patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life.  

And, most importantly, cookies.  

~Rudolph Giuliani

Pat on the Back

Tuesday's Laments ... For some reason all day, I thought it was Wednesday -- wishful thinking for the weekend to get here faster???   hehehe Maybe so.  But probably more related to my lack of quality sleep time.  With a very windy storm that blew through the Valley, the evening/night wasn't very quiet, and poor Sadie had to wake up and bark at every little noise.  Of course, when she wakes up, I wake up.  I had dozed off just past 8pm.  by 11:15, I had been up with her 5 different times. I finally dragged her into my son's room and said "YOU take care of her, I'm trying to sleep!"   About an hour later, she was back in my bed, and snoozing the rest of the night away.  I think.  I dunno, I was sound asleep myself.  hehehee

Gym time ... was a success in my book!  I hopped on the treadmill and set it to the preprogrammed "interval" setting, which changes the speed and the incline every 2 minutes.  I set it for a 3.0 incline at 4.0mph, and 4.2mph on the flat.  When I had extra energy, I would manually up the speed on the flat to 5.0 and run for a minute or so. 

Personal Best:  4.0miles in 58:44

At Lunch ... I was sitting off by myself, not really paying much attention until one of the guys came in and started chuckling as he played a song on his phone... it was "Love Child" .. and he says "Now I'm starting to show my age..."  and of course, this version is some kind of 80s rocking version, which he said was done by some "Pajama Party" ??  I googled, couldn't find it.  I believe it was done in the 80's by Expose`.  But I didn't take the time to peruse the entire Google catalog of "love child" postings (there are too many!).  But what would he have said if I told him that hit was an original by Diana Ross and the Supremes back in 1968... ?    hehehe  Now I'm showing MY age!

Honorable Mention ... Yesterday at the gym, I'm doin' my thing, and working some weight machines, and a lil old guy says "You're really working hard at this!"  I smiled, he kept prattling, "I see you here every day, I see you working with a trainer... you must be proud of yourself!"  I smiled again and said, "I am!"  And its true, I -am- proud of myself and my accomplishments.  I've improved my health and well being by doing my thing at the gym.  Even if it doesn't show on the scale (the way I want it to), its still effective.  I bought me some new jammies one size smaller -- and I can wear them :)  Now that's enough to make this Gal smile!

Luv my Pug!

This is Sadie - she's a pug, nearly a year old,

and when I take her out walking,

we get the best comments! 

Even people who aren't the kind of

"dog people" who approach strange dogs,

they still smile at her when she ambles their way!

Yesterday at Riparian, there were probably 15

or so people fishing along the bank of the pond,

and every single one of them smiled at Sadie....

I wish I had pictures of those smiles --

it was something to see! 

Pugs are very social; they're described as being

"Stubborn, Attentive, Docile, Quiet, Charming, Playful, Clever, Sociable"  (I would also add mischievous!!)  I've had dogs in the past, but the one thing I have found very different about pugs is that unlike other breeds, pugs love being with their owner all the time.  Yes.... ALL the time.  

 

Which can sometimes be difficult! !!

Quick Fix-It

Depressed?  Out of Sorts? 
Has your Get-up-and-go got up and went?
Yeah, I know the feeling.

I have been in the midst of fighting this for a while now.  Sometimes I'm more successful than others.  We all have those kinds of days.  Saturday was the worst day for me in a long, long time.  And while I don't have answers for everyone, I can only share what helps me.  Not wanting to let another day pass me by without getting anything accomplished, I took little steps.  The one thing I knew needed to be done was my laundry.  After vacation, its easy to get behind in that, especially when you come home on a Monday and have to work the entire week.  So I set that as a very small goal:  2 loads of laundry; and I got it done.  Having one small accomplishment makes it easier to take the next step.

The one thing that's really clear when you do any kind of research about depression is that most of us forget to take care of ourselves.  We find ourselves so overwhelmed with life and the details of getting through a day, or taking care of others, that we forget that we are important too. 

One of the things I read about mild depression is that eating is a part of it.  Well, I did my share;  with no regard to calories, I let myself indulge in whatever struck my fancy when it came to foods.  I also read that flax seed can help, because of the essential oils in it that helps the brain.  I  might consider looking at that when I shop.

What's my antidote for today?  A shower.  The long kind where you take extra pains with our care.  I shaved, then used a puffyscrub with my fav smelly soap and lathered up all over, head to toe.  Just the smell of something familiar adds a few feel-good vibes.  Washing your hair can feel good too.  Take a few extra minutes to massage your scalp.  Run the water just a little hotter than usual.  When you're done and toweled off, slather on some lotion.  Your skin will thank you.  And its funny, your brain knows you're doing things to take care of YOU and that goes a long way.  But don't stop there.  Fix your hair.  Blow it dry.  Curl it if you're so inclined.  and DO NOT climb into that favorite sweatpants/tshirt outfit.  Put on real clothes. 

I slid into my jeans, one of my new shirts (that isn't navy, and part of my daily "uniform" for work); I even went so far as to put on shoes and socks.  Doing something that's part of your daily routine when you "have to" can change your mindset about getting up and about, off the bed, out of your chair. 

Yes, I know this is no cure for depression. 
It won't make your troubles disappear. 
But maybe it will help them seem a little more manageable. 

And don't forget to smile, even when you don't feel like it.

PS:  Later, I'll probably write in my journal, because that is my personal 'go-to' solution to help make sense of nonsensical thoughts.

New Moon's Hopes

Did you try the New Moon ritual with me?  If so, do you find yourself thinking about the things you wrote down?  things you wished for?  Come Friday, on the Full Moon (which is a Blue Moon, by the way!) we'll check our list and see what manifested itself!  I know that one of the things I wrote was wanting to smile more often.  And I know this week that I already did!   


A lot of it was job related, I was helping out in the fabrics department on the floor.  I know this dept well, I set up my own fabrics dept when I helped open a new store (back when I was living in Ohio), so that's what I've been helping with - the layout of the department was done mostly wrong, and needs some desperate help to get caught up.  But what made me smile a lot were the comments and questions from customers.  It's so nice to talk fabrics with others who like it as much as I do.  Yeah, I don't sew that much any more; maybe its the creative process that goes along with a fresh piece of fabric. :)

The other hopes will have to wait until Friday..... Can't wait! 

Reasons to Smile

Here it is, Wednesday again.  And weigh-in Weds at that.  So.  I figured after the hellish week or so that I've had... I was keeping my expectations at a minimum.  And I was right in doing so.  Not that I had a setback, and I'm not sure if i truly lost half a pound.  But the important lesson for the week was that while emotions had hit an all time low ... I didn't feel overly compelled to "stuff them" with anything, and everything.  So I was pleased with that.  :)

While I was working out, one of the trainers, Sean, gave me a wave and a smile, so I waved and smiled back.  He circuited around a couple of machines, on his way to his own workout when he circled back and came over.  He gave me a high five, we chit chatted for five or six minutes, and he went back to his workout.  This is the same man who did a second look after one of my "experiments".  Yeah :)

On a good note, my time on the elliptical hit an all time high for me:  3 miles in 42:30.  I was tickled.  So tickled, in fact, that I pushed myself on the weight machines and worked on my balance as well ... staying well past my usual 90 minutes. :)

In other good news... two different people approached me at work and commented on my weight loss, and asked how I was doing it.  There's something rather nice about being asked.  And being noticed. :)

And out of the blue, someone who's seen some of my photos online contacted me, mentioned how much he liked my work.  When I casually answered back, which I always do when I get queries from folks, he wrote back, saying it was a treat getting an answer back! Now I have a smile on my face :)