Monster Trucks and Murphy's Law

Yesterday, my minivan was taken to a repair shop to fix the dent in the door that occured on last summer’s vacation (blog link).  Since the shop will have it for 6 days, I needed to get a rental car.  I was excited to hear it was going to be a Toyota Sequoia; I have always wanted one of these huge SUVs (even though I cannot afford it) because I am tall and I literally hate crawling out of small cars.  I have always found it much more enjoyable to get in and out of a SUV versus a 4-door sedan (and 2-door cars are even worse!).  However, I am used to driving mid-size SUVs, such as a Toyota Highlander or a Chevy Blazer, so I was a little surprised with just how big this puppy was.  I actually have to step up into it, rather than just sliding sideways into it, but that’s cool. 

Murphy’s Law decided to have some fun with me when I pulled it into my garage for the first time (and I know what you are thinking…but I did NOT hit the garage).  After I safely pulled it in our garage, my daughter opened her door to get out, and the big, heavy door swung wide open…right into the door of our Chevy Malibu, causing a rather noticeable dent.   *SIGH*

Being Challenged by Murphy Again,

Me

Motivational Moment: 

Today’s Motivational Moment is dedicated to the Children’s Hospital of Dartmouth Hitchcock.  Kudos sent out to the CEO for not only allowing this Katy Perry's Roar video to be made, but for participating in it as well.  Truly beautiful!

I bow down to all health care professionals for choosing a life path that helps others in such a personal, hands-on way, particularly those who work in hospitals as well as with children.  To compassionately be there for people who are feeling their worst is nothing short of inspirational.  Thank you for all that you do.  Hugs to you all!

The Challenge of Cherishing Every Moment

I know that we are supposed to cherish every moment because life is short and can end in an instant.  Even though I know this is what we are supposed to do, I find it challenging.

The past couple of weeks at work have been much busier than normal and filled with numerous challenges.  Then, on Thursday, I finally scheduled a root canal that I had literally been putting off for over a year (fear is an amazing procrastinator).  I come out of said root canal at 1:30pm and my husband calls me to tell me that his company is closing.  He has been there for 17 years.  Now mind you, I was still under the influence of a sedative (which wasn't very strong, but did the job well enough), and it still struck me as extremely sad.  I had worked there for 14 years myself and it is where my husband and I met.  Not to mention all of the close friends that still worked there.  It is the end of an institution and is pretty devastating to all who have been a part of that family.  (It says ALOT about a company when you have many workers who have been there for 10 - 30 years!).

Friday at work was no different than the past couple of weeks, and on top of the work stress, I had mouth pain from the root canal.  Despite all of that, I was still surprised how depressed I felt over the closing of my husband's company (as we had been expecting it for over a year).  I think part of the reason for my surprise, was the magnitude of the impact of the closure on me, outside of my immediate household.  For example, my brother-in-law may move out of town with his family, as well as many close friends, in order to find jobs.  (I never considered this negative aspect, when thinking about the company closing).

Friday evening, I spent time visiting a neighbor who is in the end stages of ALS.  It is an absolutely devastating illness, in which there is no cure.  It is said to be one of the worst ways to die, due to the fact that you still have your mind through it all, while you lose all of your muscles and can no longer move or talk, until finally you no longer breathe.  To make matters worse, this woman has two daughters (one is 11 and the other is 6).  I felt blessed that I made her laugh many times throughout the night, despite what she is going through.  She is an absolutely inspirational woman, who I learned, would have loved to have been a vacation planner.  I enjoyed seeing many pictures, from her family vacations, over the past several years.  My heart goes out to her, her husband, her parents, and her children.

I know from reading many books, including Dr. Terry Gordon's, that you are supposed to see tragedies as blessings.  I think this is extremely difficult to do, particularly at the time of tragedies.  Perhaps when some time passes, it is easier to see the blessings in disguise.

***On a side note, as I was typing this blog, my daughters were watching the animated movie "The Croods".  Due to the anxiety and fear I have lived with my entire life, I found the following advice from the dad in the beginning of the movie absolutely hilarious:  "Fear keeps us alive; never NOT be afraid!...No one said survival was fun...She lived her life in routine, fear, and darkness, and was happy."  Of course, the message in the movie ends up being the exact opposite of these initial statements; do not be afraid and do not spend your life in darkness.  (Very cute movie, by the way.  I highly recommend it, if you have not seen it.)***

I will end this post with the following quote from Dr. Terry Gordon and wish you all the ability to see blessings in your tragedies:

"What I have embraced is that a life’s experience becomes a tragedy, only if we make the conscious decision to make a calamity out of it. We might just as easily choose to accept encounters such at this as a gift from the Divine, a learning tool that helps propel us on to a higher path."  Dr. Terry Gordon's Link

Trying to Cherish Each Moment,
Me

Motivational Moment:

Today's Moment is to share with you a story about a brave, wonderful girl.  I came across her story by pure luck when checking out a friend's blog that contained a YouTube link.  The attached two links are the YouTube stories I watched yesterday, about a miraculous little girl named Shiloh Jade Pepin.  In her story, you will come to see what absolute beautiful people her parents and doctor are, as well as all the rest of her family, friends, and health care providers.  I thank them for sharing her story with the world and I wish them peace and love all throughout their lives.  Shiloh's Story  Shiloh's Story 2

For Her: Welcome to your 40's!

I have always felt that it is so unfair to be female, particularly every month during our fertile years.  Males NEVER have to deal with the crap of bleeding for one week out of every stinking month from middle school age until their 50s.  Apparently this ‘great divide’ in equality continues as we age.  When we finally get to the beginning of the end of these monthly pain-in-the-asses, a whole new slew of problems arise due to our hormones going away.  And when menopause becomes official, which can apparently take up to 10 years, an entirely new set of issues develop, such as brittle bones, lack of sex drive, and lubrication issues, to say the least.  Ahhhh...Life.

The following conversation occurred yesterday between my friend (who is a wonderfully laid back woman with a fabulous sense of humor) and her gynecologist:  

Doc:  So tell me what is going on with you?

Lola:  Well, one month I won’t have my period and then the next month I’ll have 2.  I am tired all of the time.  I could sleep 14 hours a day and I’m gaining weight.   

Doc:  Welcome to life in your 40s.  Tell me about your periods; do you have blood clots?

Lola:  Yes, like I’m dropping hamsters.

Doc:  Definitely sounds like your 40s.

Lola:  I have no sex drive.  My husband wants sex and I just don’t want to be bothered with such nonsense; that is 2 minutes of my life I will never get back.

Doc:  You’re perfectly normal.  I will put you on birth control pills to regulate your period.

Lola:  I was truly hoping for a pill so I would NEVER have another period again.  We can send a man to the moon and yet can’t stop my crazy periods!!   I’m 44 years old, have had my tubes tied for 10 years, I don’t have sex, and NOW I get on birth control pills.  Really.

Lola (after her appointment):  I had to get my thyroid checked, so they drew blood.  Apparently the only thing in me that doesn’t want to bleed out of control is my veins; that tiny needle hurt like hell.  So ladies welcome to your 40’s.  Life is grand.  It gets better, I am only peri-menopause now, I have 10 years before the party that is actual menopause starts.  YEAH.

Laughing Along This Journey,

Me

Motivational Moment:

May you have good friends to share laughs with as you travel along your life's journey.

For the Love of Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ever since going gluten free (GF) about a year ago, I have been on the hunt for the perfect GF chocolate chip cookie.  If you don't know, I am quite the lover of all things chocolate, including brownies and chocolate chip cookies.  One of the hardest things about going gluten free for me (besides the most obvious loss: bread) was losing a delicious brownie/cake/cookie option.  Most GF replacement flours result in a baked good that is NOT moist and delicious; the end product is more like a dry, thick substance that feels like a ball of cement in your stomach.

Hence my GF journey has involved many cookie recipes from scratch (with different replacement flours) as well as boxed mixes.  My family has (not-so-willingly) accompanied me on my journey.  In fact, my daughters have asked me: "Can't we ever have gluteny brownies or cookies?!".  One of my first GF recipes literally looked like a flat piece of paper with chocolate chips sticking out of it. It actually tasted ok, but was not aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  Apparently gluten is the 'glue' that holds breads and cookies together and makes them moist - because let me tell you - without gluten, cookies and breads just crumble apart when you pick them up. 

I am still quite the amateur at GF baking; however, I can tell you what tastes delicious and what does not.  This past week, I tried this Betty Crocker recipe and was very pleased with the results! 

 The baked cookie actually looked just like the picture on the box AND was delicious. 

I was so excited about my close-to-gluten chocolate chip cookie find, that I was, of course, inspired to blog about it.  :)

I will note that these GF cookies need to be kept in an air-tight container or else they go stale within a few days (but then again - I'm not sure that my baggie constitutes "air-tight" storage).  Oh well...the absolute best time to enjoy any cookie, whether gluteny or gluten free, is fresh from the oven (with chocolate ice cream on top!).


Sighing Contently with my newly discovered, yummy GF Cookie Mix (Thank You Betty Crocker!),

Me

Motivational Moment:

May you have simple little pleasures in life that bring you joy.

Today's Moment is dedicated to Dustin and Spencer.  If you have not seen it (which 10 million people have as of today!!), Spencer proposed to Dustin in Home Depot and it is such a beautiful display of love, I had to share it (Proposal).  Thank you both for sharing your love with us!  It is an inspiration and is beautiful!  Best wishes for a fabulous life to both of you!

Random Life Rant

Sometimes you just want more out of your life.  You feel inspired to do great things; be so much more than you currently are.  You feel trapped and burdened by your responsibilities and the drudgeries of life.  The problem is not really knowing what it is that you want to do and how to go about doing it.

I just came home from a fabulous massage at Salon Patrick's.  I love all the little extra's you get with massages there.  It starts with a hot foot soak in the relaxing, quiet, spa setting; away from all the activity of the salon.  Then you go into the massage room and you get a choice of aromatherapy.  I LOVE this little added benefit, since I love aromatherapy.  At the end of your massage, they put a hot towel on your back and your feet.  I had a wonderful experience; thank you Alison!

While I was at the spa, luxuriating in relaxation, I decided that my dream job would be to travel the country and review spa's.  I could critique their process, building layout, atmosphere; what works well and what needs improved upon to make it the ultimate relaxation destination.  I would excel at it because it is my passion; because I truly know what works and what doesn't work when it comes to a relaxing spa setting. 

I, of course, realize that everyone would love to live their passion; few are lucky enough to do it. 

After I started writing this blog, I was surfing the top stories on AOL and I came across this blog by Jessica Fox, and of course, serendipitously (and you know how much I love serendipity!), here was her first paragraph:

"The Navajos tell a story of the "pollen path." This does not refer to some allergy nightmare, as my sister helpfully pointed out, but as defined by Joseph Campbell, this is a path through life that is true to the individual and his/her unique passions. Psychologists would call this an ego-syntonic existence -- here, the outer world matches the inner one, so that each leaf, each branch along the path, and even on the ground below and in the infinite sky above, looks as if it is covered with pollen: golden, filled with possibility."

An "ego-syntonic existence".  Living a life true to our unique passions.  This is exactly what I am talking about.  What a happier world we would live in, if we all lived a life true to our passions, true to our selves.


Spa Critically Yours,

Me


Motivational Moment:

Today's Motivational Moment is dedicated to my daughters.  I asked the three of them what motivates them or what makes them happy.  Here are their responses:

Daughter A: Friends, Family (sometimes), Music, and Oreo's.

Daughter B: Books, Friends, Family, and Laughter.

Daughter C: I don't know.

Daughter C was not in the mood for my questions, although I can tell you she loves playing dolls with her sisters, playing with her friends, and watching movies.

May you live a life true to your passions!

This Summer's Home Project

I have been promising my two older daughters that we would paint a mural on their bedroom wall for the past couple of years.  Their bedroom has tan carpet, tan walls, and a baseball fan.  The previous owners of the house had a son in that bedroom (and when we moved in our youngest just turned one; my husband and I both thought that we might try for a fourth child - and possible son - for that room.  Luckily, exhaustion and being too busy raising three girls, talked us out of that crazy thinking.)

I told my daughters to sketch out what they would like painted on the wall.  Here is the sketch (even with the bunk bed drawn in for reference):

We had an open weekend at the end of July.  We figured we would take all day Saturday and Sunday and conquer this fun little family activity.  We ran out to Lowe's to pick up the paint:

It was really cool seeing how excited the girls were over getting started and painting their parts.

The Creativity Zone

After about three weeks, we were finally done with our little weekend project.  And despite a rocky start (with hubby and I having creative differences over paint colors and painting styles), I am happy to say that overall, it was a good family bonding experience.

Creatively Yours,

Me

Motivational Moment:

I found the following quote on a magnet at Barnes and Noble's, which of course I had to buy:

"May you always have enough happiness to keep you sweet; enough trials to keep you strong; enough success to keep you eager; enough faith to give you courage; and enough determination to make each day a good day!"  ~Blessing

Parental Pride v2

My 11 year-old daughter recently rented a book from the library and when she finished it she told me I might like to read it.  I was skeptical at first because she had picked the book from the young adult section, but the summary sounded good, so I gave it a try.

I am happy to say that I loved the book.  I am humbled and thrilled.  I never thought I would enjoy the same book as my 11 yo.  I am impressed with her reading prowess.  She has been an avid reader for years; she would be happy if she could read for 10 hours a day, every day.  In fact, I often have to tell her to put her book down when we need to get something done or leave the house.

The book she picked out was Golden by Jessi Kirby.  I love the messages throughout the book, as well as the Robert Frost quotes at the start of each chapter, such as: "Into Your Own", The Courage to Be New", "A Boundless Moment", and of course the famous "I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence.  Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.". 

My favorite quote from the book is a thought-provoking one: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?".  The quote is from a poem (The Summer Day) by Mary Oliver.  In the book, a teacher has his students spend the end of their senior year journaling about their present lives as well as their dreams for their future lives.  The teacher collects the journals and then mails them out to the students 10 years later.  (I love this idea and wish I had done it my senior year.) 

This book makes me want to seize and treasure the moment.  It makes me want to get so much out of this one life that we live.  I passionately love books, quotes, and thoughts that inspire me to do more, to be more.

Near the end of the book, as it reaches toward its climax, the main character has the following thoughts:
"True love, meant to be, fate, destiny, serendipity, kismet.  They're all big, romantic words.  Words saved for movies and books and fiction.  Not for real life.  In real life parents get divorced, and people live unfulfilled lives, and love goes unrequited, and there are no second chances, or do-overs, or perfect moments."  While I do believe that some people live unfulfilled lives, I also strongly believe that there are second chances and perfect moments.  I love the romantic notions of fate and destiny and serendipity.  All of our lives revolve around love, in many varied roles, shapes, and sizes; we all need it for survival; it increases our enjoyment of our time here on earth.

On a side note, I thought this book was an older one as the pages seemed yellow.  I was surprised to see the copyright date was 2013; and of course, serendipitously, my local library had a date stamp for receiving the book on July 8, my birthday. 

Thank you, Jessi Kirby, for writing this book.

Thank you, my fabulous daughter Cori, for recommending this book to me.  May you always keep your passion for reading and perhaps one day become an accomplished writer yourself with that creative imagination of yours.

Passionately Yours,
Me

Motivational Moment:

May you live your "one wild and precious life" to the fullest; may you be challenged, inspired, and impassioned throughout your life.

"...what is it YOU plan to do with your ONE wild and precious life?"