Lost in LaLaLand...

Happy Saturday! Last week I mentioned my "niece" Mandy. I was planning on writing a blog about her but realized I'd made it home without any pictures of the beautiful girl. I've requested that my sister or nephew snap some shots of her to forward along and I'll get to that later. I didn't want you guys to think I'm lost in LaLaLand because I mentioned it and didn't follow up. Of course, if you know me, you'll realize that LaLaLand is a frequent destination of mine anyway! LOL

I hope you are enjoying your weekend - doing things that refresh your mind, body, and spirit! We've had some nice weather this past week, although today is sort of dreary. No complaints though...I hear that some of my friends are getting SNOW so I consider myself very lucky to live where I do! If you live in a winter place...bundle up and enjoy some nice hot beverage!

I was headed to the gym yesterday but realized that what I really wanted was a nice walk outdoors. The fresh air was fantastic and I felt like a new woman afterwards. Having my blog gives me an entirely different perspective so I took a few pictures to share. As I mentioned in an earlier post (the one with the snow pics), our neighborhood has a lovely "bike" path that is great for walking (I seldom see anyone on a bike on the trail). One of the things I like about this route is that I get to see some back yard decorating too.


I'm not really sure what this is going to be, but it seems sort of Zen, don't you think? Maybe sometime when I'm walking the owner will be out and I can inquire about the plans for this design. I find that most of the neighborhood people are quite friendly. A couple of years ago I was walking by one house and complimented a neighbor about his landscaping and was invited to see the Zen retreat he and his wife have created in the back yard! One of these days I'll see if they will let me photograph it. It's lovely!

The squirrels were busy at play yesterday. They were chasing each other around but this one was kind enough to stop and pose for a picture! Don't you wonder what they are thinking?








This beautiful little bird wasn't as cooperative and so the picture of him was much more difficult (and blurrier). He was perched on a tiny branch that was swinging. It made me think of a trapeze artist. Even though the picture is blurry, if anyone can identify this little guy for me I would appreciate it. He clearly has a black cap and is mostly white and gray.

Some of my favorite outside shots were made from inside my house...It's impossible to photograph "my" ferrals from outside since they tend to run whenever we step outside the door. They don't run far since they want to be close to the food though!


This cute little guy is "Punkin." He showed up a couple of months ago and is still pretty young, maybe four or five months - if that! We never saw a "mom" for him so I'm not sure if something happened to her and he just found his way to our food dish or what. Whatever the case, he has made friends with the other ferrals and sticks pretty close by.







Fortunately I was on the inside of the door when this shot was made since I'm pretty sure he meant business with those claws!














Or maybe he was just doing a high-5?














"Buttons" and "Tigger" asleep in their 'bachelor's pad' as we call the little barn we put on the back porch for them. Tigger, Buttons, and Punkin are the only cats we ever see in there and we think that's because the 'girls' (Alice and Bandit) don't appreciate the boys' housekeeping skills!








"Bandit" - through a dirty door. It had rained that morning and the little Abba dancers had pawprints all over the outside of the door! (Buttons, Bandit, Tigger, and Alice used to 'dance' at the door every morning so I nammed them ABBA. I guess I should change Tigger's name to something that starts with an A, huh?)























Tigger and Punkin took turns on this chair yesterday, sometimes laying on top and sometimes in the opening between top and bottom. I'm not sure what was up with that but I'm certain they had their reasons!

Believe it or not, I did do something besides take cat pictures last week! I've been busy applying for jobs and hoping something fantastic comes along soon.



In the past few months I've really fallen in love with journaling. Yesterday I found this gorgeous new journal at B&N and used a Christmas present gift card to purchase it. I've promised myself I won't start using it until I've finished my current one though....

I'm looking forward to this next week. Tomorrow I'm having lunch with a friend. One day next week (depends on the weather as to which day), I'm driving to D.C. to see the Cherry Blossoms in bloom! That's a must-see for me. I love visiting our nation's capital and it's even more spectacular in the spring.

Please let me know what fabulous and/or mundane things you're doing! As my friend/mentor/life-coach Jackie Burleson says "even the mundane tasks of daily life are important self-care." Jackie has really done wonderful things for me and for other people I know...check out her Web site if you have a chance (click on her name for the link!)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

What I would have posted if I could figure out how to post pictures using someone elses computer...

I'm home from my trip! It's ironic how knowing I wanted to blog about the trip helped me to see things in a different manner! My sister was kind enough to allow me to use her computer but I couldn't figure out how to post pictures! Hey...what can I tell you...I'm still learning the ins and outs of using a digital camera!

But enough of that...back to the trip...considering the circumstances, it was very pleasant. I loved spending time with my friend Bonnie and getting to see her husband, daughter, and pets! After driving through Pennsylvania for many hours (boy, that's a WIDE state!) and getting 'misplaced' thanks to Navigation Lady's warped sense of humor I finally found the hotel. Bless her heart, Bonnie is such a sweetheart, she had set off to find me when I called to say I was lost!

Once we were in the same place it was so much fun! We'd been trying to get together for over a year and was well worth every minute in the car! She and her husband Rob were terrific tour-guides. We went to Newport on the Levee and had a fantastic dinner at Bar Louie. Pear salad with cranberries...YUM! The skyline of Cincy is really pretty. Rob took this picture of Bonnie and me with my camera but I bet the shots he took with his camera were much better...he has one of those fancy cameras that probably require a degree to operate!

The next day Bonnie and I went to her house so that I could meet the pets. With four cats and two dogs it is an animal lover's paradise. Her fur babies are all so pretty but I especially loved Phoebe (get a load of the whiskers on this gorgeous girl, would ya?)

and Jake (this picture doesn't do him justice as I kept getting him in the middle of a blink!). Jake seemed to love having his belly rubbed. What a sweet boy!

While we were out we noticed an unusual passenger in the van ahead of us...

Yes, that IS a real live pony riding in the back of the mini-van. You can't see her but there was a lady riding in the back with him. She didn't seem at all surprised to notice us snapping pictures. I bet that happens alot! Thank goodness the camera was close at hand. No one would have believed me otherwise!

My time with Bonnie was waaaaaaaaay too short and then I headed off to Knoxville. For those of you who don't already know this about me...I'm mountain/curve phobic and I've just got to say that I was unprepared for how hilly/curvy it was between Cincinnati and Knoxville! And good heavens, there weren't many guardrails. But I'm so glad I went!

My friend Journey has inspired me to become more involved in the travel rather than just focusing on the destination. As a result, I've learned to keep my eyes open for interesting stops along the way. So when I saw a sign for the Artisan Craft Center in Berea, Kentucky I decided it would be a great way to stretch my legs, clear my mind and see something different! The welcome center had many interested objects. They even had a cat at the door...Cute, huh?

I definitely want to go back to Berea sometime when I can prowl through all of the shops! After that stop...I finished my drive to Knoxville where my sister and my "niece" Mandy (a lab mix rescue) welcomed me. More about Mandy soon...

Morning musings

I'm so excited! Tomorrow I'm driving to Cincinnati to see my friend Bonnie! I met Bonnie a few years ago at a concert and we've kept in touch via email and myspace. Since that first concert, we've only gotten together a couple of times...the most recent being two years ago in New York City. We're having a slumber party tomorrow night. Slumber parties are as much fun for me now as they were when I was 10! I'll spend Sunday with Bonnie (and hopefully get to see her husband, Rob, and daughter, Macy) before driving on to Knoxville.

It's been a good week. I received a letter from Journey. Her letters are like treasure chests arriving through the mail. She sent me an Artful Blogging magazine, which I'm enjoying tremendously. I'm rationing out the articles, allowing myself only one at a time in order to savor the joy. Journey encourages me to "mine the vein of creativity." I'm trying! What forms of creativity flow through your life? Reading other people's blogs, I'm amazed at the talent that is out there! How lucky we are to live in a time of such technological advances that we're able to see the works of others by the click of a mouse!

Since I'm going to be away from my fur-babies for several days, I've been loading up on pictures of their sweet little faces.

One of Tyler's favorite spots is on the daybed in our guest room. The room gets lots of morning sun and he's content to nap there for hours. Lately he and Toby have been sharing the space! Cats are such nap masters!

Finally a picture of Lacey showing her standing! Doesn't she look like she's wearing boots and walking on her tiptoes? Our vet tech, Rachel, calls Lacey "the ballerina"

Dolly isn't the least bit shy! Just like her namesake, she's lively and bold! (and full-figured LOL)

A moment of silliness...I'm generally only comfortable from the other side of the camera but I decided to take this shot sans make-up and all! Maybe some of Dolly's boldness is rubbing off on me!

Photography is a hobby that I have loved for years but had fallen out of the habit of taking pictures, mainly because I was using a film camera and it just wasn't convenient. Since buying my Olympus digital in October I've rediscovered how much fun it can be to take pictures! I know several of you are saying "I told you so" right about now! You're right!

I do want to begin exploring some other avenues of creativity. I'd love to hear about your's. Please share!

Snow Day

Here in NJ we got quite a bit of snow last night - probably 6-8 inches in my neighborhood. I always loved snow days when I was a kid and even more when I was a teacher! LOL. Is there anything better than waking up in the morning hearing those two magical words "No School"?

I made this picture early this morning from the upstairs bedroom window. I just love the way the snow frosts the tree limbs!

This is the brick of our chimney. I was standing on our front porch when I noticed the snow was sticking to vertical surfaces too! That's pretty unusual. I guess this was caused by a very wet snow and strong wind gusts!

The wind had blown the snow around so much that spots of the lawn were uncovered! There were some interesting snow drifts!

Our house...our little tree was starting to bud. Does anyone know if it will be harmed by the snow on its new buds?

The neighborhood kids love this hill and another one that goes off to the left. This one ends on the street and they were just zipping right across! Kids are so fearless! I was very tempted to ask them to let me have a turn - it's been a long time since I went sledding!

The top of the sledding hill...sledders are to the right of the picture. You can see the street they cross!

One of my favorite spots in the neighborhood is along a bike path. It goes up this hill and has woods along the path. The top of the sledding hill pictured is reached by this path! During the warm months I find this to be a tranquil spot so I save it for near the end of my walks.

This is the view from the top of the hill looking back down at where the other picture was made.

This flat area at the top of the hill makes a wonderful meditation spot in the early morning on warm days!

At this point in my stroll the batteries on my camera were "empty" - which is a good thing because I was just about to make a snow angel! Without a picture to document it I decided I would wait until I was NOT wearing my wool coat!

I hope you're enjoying your weather, whatever it may be! Now, I'm going to cuddle with the cats and relax knowing that my trip to Tennessee has been postponed until next week due to our SNOW DAY!

Today's "whisker moment" is Lacey soon after she came to live with us. I hope to someday get a picture of her standing. She looks like she's wearing white high-heel boots! She's very dainty!

Oh Happy Day

My focus recently has been on maintaining a positive attitude! I figure that no matter what life tosses our way it's up to us as to how we handle it! Many years ago there was a commercial on the stations in Orlando (maybe it was a national ad, I don't know). I think it was an ad for Aetna health care but I'm not certain. Anyway it featured this elderly lady. She said (in her little old lady voice) "every morning when I wake up I can choose to be happy or unhappy. I choose to be happy!" Why choose anything else?

With that goal in mind, I've been trying to surround myself with positive images (or as my mentor Jackie says "high frequency vibrations"). Every morning I listen to songs that make me feel good and I dance. I read material to reinforce my mindset. Right now I'm reading a couple of books...

Creating your best life: The ultimate life list guide by Caroline Adams Miller

and

Happy for no reason: 7 stops to feeling happy from the inside out by Marci Shimoff

In Creating your best life Miller recommends watching either "The Bucket List" (Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freedman) or "The Last Holiday" (Queen Latifah). I saw The Bucket List at the theatre so today I went to the library and borrowed "The Last Holiday." If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend watching it. It's a feel-good movie with a message. Don't you love those? My frequency vibrations are definitely elevated after watching that movie!

(pictures of books and dvds from BarnesandNoble.com)

Do you have a "bucket list" or a life list? I've started mine. Two of the things on it so far are:

1) to do the 3-day cancer walk (60 miles!)

2) to learn to make a souffle

I'll let you know some of the other things as I discover them. I'd love to hear about your's.

Today is the 3rd day my complaint-free bracelet has remained in place! WooHoo! I'm enjoying the process of retraining my brain. I've started thinking about things before I say them and it feels really good.

Dolly loves my desk chair. Sometimes she will come sit on my desk as if she wants to be petted, when in reality she's waiting for me to get up! She's a very confident miss! I'm fairly sure she has more personality than any other female cat I've ever known!

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing...I hope that today will be filled with moments you love. Celebrate your life!

Happy Inconvenience Yourself Day

Okay...I admit it...I have a lot of time on my hands (I consider THAT a good thing!) One of the things I enjoy doing with the extra time I have is finding interesting or trivial things on the Web. "Prowling" on the Internet is fun for me, so much so that I sometimes schedule it as a relaxation tool!

Two years ago I decorated a bulletin board in the library using Earth Day as the central theme and in the process found several obscure holidays (National PB&J Day is one of my personal favorites). Every day is a holiday if you look hard enough. Check out the Holidays on the Net Web site to find holidays you want to celebrate!

Today (February 25, 2009) is Inconvenience Yourself Day. Ways to celebrate include random acts of kindness and planned acts of kindness. A group that I belong to recently discussed ways to improve our spirits and one of my favorite ways is to perform a random act of kindness! Planned acts of kindness can be just as rewarding! Have a happy Inconvenience Yourself day!



Toby, the epitome of a 'fraidy cat...hides when he sees birds on the porch! He's a sweet and funny boy and best of all...he LOVES his "mama" (that's me!)







Toby is proof that age and weight are just a numbers. This 10 year-old cat firmly believes he's still a little kitten. Some mornings my "wake-up call" comes in the form of a 15-pound mushball stretching out on my back while licking the side of my face. Other mornings he plays "q-tip" on the bed. If you've never experienced the game, the rules are as follows...smack the q-tip; smack it again; pounce on it; knock it off the bed; jump and get it; jump back on the bed and begin again. From a sleepy-person point of view it feels much like a three-year old bouncing lightly on the bed. It's a very effective wake-up strategy.

Update on Day 1 of "Complaint Free Living" - While not completely successful, I am happy to report I only had to switch my bracelet a few times yesterday, which represents a serious improvement from previous attempts. I'll let you know how "whine-free Wednesday" goes!

Reaching for higher ground

Have you ever had a day when you are going along just fine and then without warning or turn signals, you go from being in a happy place to being in a bad mood? I'm sure we all have those days...even without PMS or menopause sneaking into the situation. The question is what to do about it...ride it out or fight it? Wallow in it or reach for higher ground? Today I faced such a dilemma and boy was it tough!

Last year I read a book called A Complaint Free World: How to stop complaining and start enjoying the life you always wanted by Will Bowen (AComplaintFreeWorld.org). If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. The author points out that we often don't even realize how much we complain because we get into the habit. He provided his congregation with purple bracelets (like the yellow Live Strong ones) and instructed them to switch the bracelet from wrist to wrist each time they caught themselves complaining. He challenged them to go 21 days without switching the bracelet because studies show that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. I have a bracelet and I'm going to start wearing it because I believe that my thoughts create my reality. Complaining breeds negativity which then contaminates my world and the world around me. I've decided I want to surround myself with positivity instead.

It gets tricky because we have ways of blanketing our complaints, using words like "challenging." I find myself using that one A LOT! The thing I want to remind myself is that phrasing a complaint in glowing terms doesn't change the fact that it's a complaint! If I say I'm "challenged" by something that represents a GOOD challenge (like setting myself a goal to go 21 days without complaining! :) then it's not a complaint. If, however, I say that dealing with telemarketers is a challenge, the "challenge" has become a code word for "pain in the butt!" I hear myself using this term frequently because it sounds so much more "upbeat"! So how about if instead, I just quit talking about dealing with telemarketers. Does talking about them really make them go away? Nope...it just gives them more of my time and energy than they've already taken! So...here's my goal...I'm going to make Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Day 1 of my Complaint Free "challenge." Anyone care to join me in this uplifting venture?

Speaking of uplifting...

A very special friend sent me this lovely "dancer." My friend, Journey, is one of the most inspirational women I've ever known. It's no surprise then that she would discover this ornament that hangs above my meditation area!

Today's "whiskers" moment: Lacey is a bit camera-shy. It's almost impossible to get a picture of her face. She's more of a behind-the-scenes kitty who is always glad to lend a helping paw for typing assignments!

Sending you wishes for happy thoughts and complaint-free days!