I attended a benefit concert this past April; the benefit was for The Thirst Project. It was a great cause and a great concert--Jon McLaughlin's concerts are always great! You can read about the The Thirst Project Benefit Concert here.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Week 22--Tuesday Evening
I love water, especially when it is 90 degrees out with just about the same humidity. I know I take clean drinking water for granted; I think about it every time I drink deeply of our easily accessible tap water. I try to drink tap water when I can, it's what I grew up drinking. Bottled water often seems like a waste of plastic to me.
I attended a benefit concert this past April; the benefit was for The Thirst Project. It was a great cause and a great concert--Jon McLaughlin's concerts are always great! You can read about the The Thirst Project Benefit Concert here.
I attended a benefit concert this past April; the benefit was for The Thirst Project. It was a great cause and a great concert--Jon McLaughlin's concerts are always great! You can read about the The Thirst Project Benefit Concert here.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Week 22--"Care for Water"--Memorial Day Monday
Oh the weekend...why am I up at 4:30 am on this Memorial Day holiday? Blek. ANYway, yesterday started Week 22 of 52--time is flying by...
Care for Water. "Think of all the ways you enjoy water in a day, from taking a nice hot shower to walking around a lake or sipping water with a meal. Are there ways you can help to conserve water? Any leaky faucets that need new washers? How about participating in an organized stream or beach clean-up? You wouldn't, of course, be pouring any toxic things into your street gutters, now would you? And there are certainly plenty of ways to reduce you water use at home, like watering plants at the end of the day, not leaving the shower water running while you talk on the phone, and not running loads of laundry that are only half full."
We live on a small, natural, stinky-in-the summer lake; I love our lake, despite it's smell in the heat of July and August. It provides a multitude of facades, ranging from the still, bleak, wintry pool of gray to a shimmering, lively, lake of summer teeming with waterfowl. It's amazing how many colors one lake can appear depending on the weather. At this point in our economy and housing market, the view of Mrs. Misty Lake is likely keeping our home's value "afloat."
Even as I write, you can hear our resident toad croaking away. Below are a few photos of our lake, as you can see, she has quite a way with color...
Care for Water. "Think of all the ways you enjoy water in a day, from taking a nice hot shower to walking around a lake or sipping water with a meal. Are there ways you can help to conserve water? Any leaky faucets that need new washers? How about participating in an organized stream or beach clean-up? You wouldn't, of course, be pouring any toxic things into your street gutters, now would you? And there are certainly plenty of ways to reduce you water use at home, like watering plants at the end of the day, not leaving the shower water running while you talk on the phone, and not running loads of laundry that are only half full."
We live on a small, natural, stinky-in-the summer lake; I love our lake, despite it's smell in the heat of July and August. It provides a multitude of facades, ranging from the still, bleak, wintry pool of gray to a shimmering, lively, lake of summer teeming with waterfowl. It's amazing how many colors one lake can appear depending on the weather. At this point in our economy and housing market, the view of Mrs. Misty Lake is likely keeping our home's value "afloat."
Even as I write, you can hear our resident toad croaking away. Below are a few photos of our lake, as you can see, she has quite a way with color...
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Week 21--Know Your Limits--Wednesday Night
We are preparing for the impending swath of thunderstorms that will soon sweep across central Indiana. Until then, I have a few things to do...like write about Socrates' aphorism, "Know thyself." How about, "Know thy limits."? Doesn't have quite the ring to it, don't you think?
Day four was fraught with learning some family-tinged emotional limits. No need to worry--I am not going to turn this entry into an outpouring of my childhood related moments of angst. However, today's events shined the bright, sometimes harsh light of reality on the facade of family drama--and how I deal with it. Today's emotions included feeling: helpless, helpful, needed, annoyed, ambivalent, angry, sad, loved, happy, grateful and humbled. Wine was most definitely on the dinner menu.
Did I gain insight into my emotional limits? Yes, yes I did. I also heartily expressed (in an attempted assertive means) to share with a close family member that I had reached my limits. It went over better than I expected...and why? Because I truly was not angry with this person, I was tired, sad, exhausted, and needed time to reflect--I could no longer listen and take in the words that were causing me pain and irritation. Thankfully there was mutual understanding and we "took five" and parted well.
I would never want to go into battle with my own family members as one might think of the word "battle"; however, over the years I have learned (not always easily) that battling to maintain your boundries is not only positive in the long run, it's vital to living well and loving others.
Day four was fraught with learning some family-tinged emotional limits. No need to worry--I am not going to turn this entry into an outpouring of my childhood related moments of angst. However, today's events shined the bright, sometimes harsh light of reality on the facade of family drama--and how I deal with it. Today's emotions included feeling: helpless, helpful, needed, annoyed, ambivalent, angry, sad, loved, happy, grateful and humbled. Wine was most definitely on the dinner menu.
Did I gain insight into my emotional limits? Yes, yes I did. I also heartily expressed (in an attempted assertive means) to share with a close family member that I had reached my limits. It went over better than I expected...and why? Because I truly was not angry with this person, I was tired, sad, exhausted, and needed time to reflect--I could no longer listen and take in the words that were causing me pain and irritation. Thankfully there was mutual understanding and we "took five" and parted well.
I would never want to go into battle with my own family members as one might think of the word "battle"; however, over the years I have learned (not always easily) that battling to maintain your boundries is not only positive in the long run, it's vital to living well and loving others.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Week 21--Know Your Limits--Tuesday Evening
Had to leave work today; thankfully it was quittin' time because I had reached my limits. Enough said on that subject. I actually thought to myself, "I'm done; if I stay any longer, I will be of no use to anyone or myself. I have reached my 'fed up with this stress' limit." It was quite freeing, actually. I did not allow myself to feel guilty or angry or stressed-out any longer. I chose to acknowledge my limits, all circumstances considered and it was a positive, assertive choice for my well-being.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Week 21--"Know Your Limits"--Monday Morning
I must take a few lines to reflect; I did not pick up one piece of trash on a walk last week. It wasn't because I did not walk--there was no trash to be collected! The neighborhoods in which I walked were impeccably cleaned--a good thing. But I did pick up some debris from my front yard--typical after the weekly trash pickup. Oh the irony...
Sunday marked the beginning of Week 21--as expected, "I can't believe it's almost June" came out of my mouth last week, but here we are! Week 21's task:
Know Your Limits. "Know your limits, from knowing how much sleep you need, how much alcohol you can drink before feeling sick, how many projects you can handle at once, and how much downtime you need between events, to knowing how much change you are capable of making at any given time. Don't push yourself beyond the comfort zone, or the sanity zone. Keeping yourself in balance by knowing your limits is a big contribution toward keeping the world at large in balance. Just think what might happen is everybody were as self-aware."
Whether good or bad or indifferent, I tend to go past my limits on a regular basis. I know this, and yet I still do it. My husband said to me yesterday, "don't feel bad for saying 'No' to people. If you don't say it, you'll be helpful to no one." He is right; he's said this a couple times in the last few weeks. So I cancelled my attendance at a meeting last evening because I was exhausted from a busy weekend of intense yard work, amongst other things. I felt bad for cancelling, but I must go on. Goodness knows most people don't care about it as much as I do.
On a cheekier note, I do know how much alcohol I can imbibe before feeling awfully awful :) I also need about 8 to 9 hours of sleep daily to function somewhat coherently.
Sunday marked the beginning of Week 21--as expected, "I can't believe it's almost June" came out of my mouth last week, but here we are! Week 21's task:
Know Your Limits. "Know your limits, from knowing how much sleep you need, how much alcohol you can drink before feeling sick, how many projects you can handle at once, and how much downtime you need between events, to knowing how much change you are capable of making at any given time. Don't push yourself beyond the comfort zone, or the sanity zone. Keeping yourself in balance by knowing your limits is a big contribution toward keeping the world at large in balance. Just think what might happen is everybody were as self-aware."
Whether good or bad or indifferent, I tend to go past my limits on a regular basis. I know this, and yet I still do it. My husband said to me yesterday, "don't feel bad for saying 'No' to people. If you don't say it, you'll be helpful to no one." He is right; he's said this a couple times in the last few weeks. So I cancelled my attendance at a meeting last evening because I was exhausted from a busy weekend of intense yard work, amongst other things. I felt bad for cancelling, but I must go on. Goodness knows most people don't care about it as much as I do.
On a cheekier note, I do know how much alcohol I can imbibe before feeling awfully awful :) I also need about 8 to 9 hours of sleep daily to function somewhat coherently.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Week 20--Trashy Walk--Tuesday "Wee-Early" Morning
Monday was busy; but I walked. However, I did not do a trashy walk. It was a personal training appointment, so it didn't feel quite right...besides, the neighborhood we workout in is cleaner than my kitchen, so it all balances itself out. It was a productive appointment, and in total, I racked up about 100 minutes of exercise today, counting the lunch break stroll in the parking lot with colleagues.
Tomorrow I have a walk planned with an acquaintance in another awfully nice neighborhood, but I do plan to take a trash bag with me.
All this walking has caused two things to surface in my mind. One, I need to get fitted for a better pair of walking shoes. I'm afraid my ol' reliable brand isn't cutting it any longer. Secondly, I have to find a way to prevent heel spurs from ripping out the inside-rear fabric of my shoes. Hmmm...perhaps the former will fix the latter? I doubt it. Due to this said heel spur and subsequent rubbed-raw skin, wanted to share with you a picture of the funniest band-aid I've ever seen:
Tomorrow I have a walk planned with an acquaintance in another awfully nice neighborhood, but I do plan to take a trash bag with me.
All this walking has caused two things to surface in my mind. One, I need to get fitted for a better pair of walking shoes. I'm afraid my ol' reliable brand isn't cutting it any longer. Secondly, I have to find a way to prevent heel spurs from ripping out the inside-rear fabric of my shoes. Hmmm...perhaps the former will fix the latter? I doubt it. Due to this said heel spur and subsequent rubbed-raw skin, wanted to share with you a picture of the funniest band-aid I've ever seen:
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Week 20--"Trashy Walk"--Sunday Afternoon
May 1st is National Trash Clean-Up Day. Seeing as I love to take walks after work for both the benefit of my dogs and my health, I will have ample opportunities to meet this week's "Make a Difference" task. Perhaps I should plan walks where I know there could be more opportunities to find rubbish...parks...parks with playgrounds...and areas for cookouts. Sweet.
Trashy Walk. "Next time you take a walk to run an errand or just to relax, carry a little garbage bag with you. And as you come upon bits of trash, instead of cursing the inconsideration of some of the people who share this planet, just pick it up and walk on. Wouldn't it be cool if other people did this too?"
Trashy Walk. "Next time you take a walk to run an errand or just to relax, carry a little garbage bag with you. And as you come upon bits of trash, instead of cursing the inconsideration of some of the people who share this planet, just pick it up and walk on. Wouldn't it be cool if other people did this too?"
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