Give Thanks!

"Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way" ~ Native American saying

Remember to BREATH

Have you ever had those mornings, where things seem good at the start, but progress downward quickly? That was my morning this morning.

I had some lab samples that needed to be dropped off at the lab (another blog…..maybe) and this morning was rolling around nicely, I thought I could just drop it off on my way to work. I headed out the door around 7:05, got in the car and noticed that I didn’t have much gas, so I nixed the lab idea (which was out of my way, anyways) and decided to go to Starbucks for a Grande latte and their sausage/egg mcmuffin thingy instead (since I hadn’t had breakfast yet, and I wasn’t going to the lab anyways). NOTE: I need to be at work at 8am, and my drive is about 45 min. I get my order in, chat with my friendly barista, get my latte and…wait, where’s my mcmuffin thingy? So I mention to my friendly cashier that I hadn’t received my mcmuffin thingy…”oopps, so sorry, it’ll be just a minute” as she puts it in the super zapper. Zap it goes and I’m happily on my way down the freeway the 25 miles to my work when my FUEL light goes on. Now I don’t know about you, but I have few phobias, but running out of gas is a BIGGIE for me. Just ask my husband, I relentlessly ask for reassurance when we go on road trips that there is enough gas, we'll be gassing up soon, ect… (long story on the cause of this one). Anyhooo, so I figure I can stop on my way to get gas, thinking ahead of the exits and planning on the one to get off that I KNOW there’s a station at. At this point I’m perspiring a bit – panic tends to do that to a person, but manage to get off the freeway and locate my savior – the Chevron Station. Yippee, I made it! I pull into the driveway to find it being blocked by the tanker truck filling it up. I now need to do a 9 point turn to maneuver my big monster of car around to get myself out of this pickle I’m now in and around to another entrance way. So I manage this in only 5 points (quite proud of my maneuvering skills at this point) and am now being blocked by another car trying to enter this entrance that I’m trying to exit – (blood pressure starting to rise….) I’m now jumping the curb to let this idiot special person onto the driveway. I find another entrance, pull up to a pump and swipe my card (it’s now 7:57am and I realize that my cell phone is dead…thank you son for taking my phone off the charger Saturday before it was charged(yet another story). Misread – please swipe card again. WTF! Do we not know that we are in a hurry? So I swipe again, and again …please see attendant. Off I storm into the minimart to see the cashier. So we do the swipy thing another ½ dozen times, when she decides that that pump is not functioning correctly. HOLY MOTHER OF ….. (I don’t know…don’t swear, so don’t know what to put in the ……)*** BREATH *** Wait…there’s an empty pump behind me, I can just back up….wait no, someone just pulled in behind me. I’ll need to pull around to where Mr. Tanker -truck is and use one of those pumps (which of course I’ll need to use my now infamous maneuvering skills) to get into and out of this space. *** AHHHH, BREATH *** as the gurgle of gas fills my empty tummy of a gas tank. Knowing that I’m already 10 minutes late to work, with no phone to call them, I only fill the tank ½ ways and maneuver my way back out of the Chevron parking lot and back onto the freeway. ***AHHH, BREATH (with the help of Enya)****** The remaining 10 minute drive I Breathed and was thankful that 1) I had breakfast, 2) that I had enough gas to get myself to work and home, 3) that I had a job to get myself to, 4) that I can BREATH and LAUGH!!! What simple plans I had, my, how they snowballed into an interesting morning!

I realized that I have grown…I would have let those series of events ruin my day. My entire DAY! But even during the frustration of the morning, I found myself laughing at my circumstances, knowing that that darn “Murphy” of “Murphy’s Law” was having a field day with me…I was long overdue!

Quote for the day

"Time is free, but it is priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it." - Harvey McKay.

How are you going to spend your time this weekend? I'm planning on spending mine wisely...say, getting myself geared up for the holidays!

A great recipe to live by

I received this from my lovely sister ~ I thought I'd share it with you!

1) Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate antidepressant.
2) Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in you life.
3) When you wake up in the morning, complete the following statement: “My purpose is to ____________ today. I am thankful for _______.”
4) Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5) Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
6) Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7) Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8) Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge care.
9) Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
10) Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11) Don’t take yourself seriously. No one else does.
12) You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13) Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
14) Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15) No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16) Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”
17) Forgive everyone for everything.
18) What other people think of you is none of your business.
19) God heals everything – but you have to ask him.
20) However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21) Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!
22) Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23) Each night before you go to bed, complete the following statement: “I am thankful for _________. Today I accomplished ____________.”{
24) Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25) When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You’ll be smiling before you know it.

To tat or not to tat ~ that is the question

My daughter and I were talking a few weeks ago about tattoos. She has informed me that on her 18th birthday (just a few weeks away) she’s getting a tattoo along with her best friend, taunting me to get one as well. Now, I have nothing against tattoos…they can be beautiful and have great meaning! But I knowing myself as I am daily trying to do….I realize that I am wwwaaayyyy to fickle for such things.

My previous “pooh pooh” against a tattoo was the “I don’t want to be a grandma with a butterfly tattoo on my boob that’s now flown down to my belly.” I’ve come to realize that that’s not the issue at all.

My problem is that I know that even if I find an image that resonates in me all the way to my toes – that I fall head-over-heals for tomorrow, it will not hold the same meaning for me in 20, 10, even 5 years from now. I’m changing, ever evolving and my tastes, philosophies, beliefs are changing as well. Sure, there are those that believe that a tattoo would be a great reminder of where you are at this moment of your life…I guess I’m just not one of them. It’s so permanent! Yeah, you can get it lazered off if you really want to…but why do it in the first place?

But as I said earlier…I am ever changing and evolving – so who knows maybe for my birthday (next month!) I may opt for a hawk in full flight across my chest (but more likely, a cute ladybug on my hip) or like the guy on top – washing instructions! Ha!

What are your feelings on tattoos?

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