Thursday reminds us to be kind.

Today's Quote.....Most of the problems in life are because of two reasons: 
We act without thinking or we keep thinking without acting.
                                                                                                                 Unknown


Today if you think something kind about someone don't wait.... tell them. If you think a positive thought share it with someone else. And think before you act because sometimes if we thought before we did or said there would be a lot less physically and mentally hurt people.

Be flexible on Tuesdays

Today's Quote.....Don't wait until it's too late to tell someone how much you love and care
because
when they're gone no matter how loud you shout and cry they won't hear you anymore. 
                                                                                                                  Unknown

This quote today is dedicated to a friend and co-worker who passed away very suddenly this week end from a brain aneurysm. I worked with her on Thursday evening and we were making plans for the summer. We wanted to go with some friends to her cottage as well as to another friends cottage and we wanted to take yet another trip to the States to outlet shop. On Thursday night I didn't think twice about making plans in the future because I assumed we would do them. Then on Saturday after spending time at the Glebe Garage Sale with her daughter she collapsed in her driveway and never regained consciousness before dying on Sunday. At work and among friends we are still all having trouble wrapping our heads around the fact that she was there and then gone so quickly. She will be remembered fondly by all who knew her.

So as the quote says don't wait until it is too late to tell someone how much you appreciate them or how you fell about them. Who knew when I said good-bye to Alison on Thursday night that it would be my last good-bye!!!!

So in line with flexible. Even though it may no be in your regular routine or what you are comfortable with, be flexible and make sure people know how you feel.

forgiving Fridays

Today's quote.....One of the secrets to a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody and everything every night before going to bed.
                                                                                                      Bernard Baruch

What a good idea.....If we forgive what has gone on in our day then we can just get on with the next day fresh. There may be things you did that you weren't proud of but forgive yourself and learn from it. People may have hurt you today but forgive them and don't allow it to pull you down.
Something I will remind you of is, after you forgive think of things you are grateful for in your day.This will change your thoughts that may be a bit negative to positive.

Have a great weekend!!!!!

Be kind on Thursdays......I need your opinion....read my scenario

Today's quote......Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do.
                                                                                                           Voltaire

So let's try to have as little guilt as possible when it comes to doing good.

I must say this reminds me of a dilemma I often struggle with. 
Soooooo last night I was driving home from work. It was 20 minutes past midnight and I am driving down Russell Rd. For those of you not familiar, it is a country road that, on a lot of nights, I can drive all the way home and see a maximum of 2-3 cars on the road. Anyway about 10 minutes from home I pass a person pushing a motorcycle. Didn't see until last minute as they had dark clothes and no reflective tape. I didn't stop.....and that is my dilemma!!!!!! In my mind we have been told not to stop as things could happen. In my heart I am thinking if that was myself or one of my family or friends I would want someone to offer help. Although I must admit I would be very scared if I was in that situation and someone stopped to help me. My society conditioning as told me this person could be bad!!!! I fought the back and forth feelings the rest of the way home. A few times I seriously thought of turning around and going back. I couldn't have taken the bike in my car and they probably wouldn't have wanted to leave it on the side of the road but I could have made sure that they had phoned someone, I had my cell phone with me. I could have drove them to get help if they lived nearby. Oh my gosh what to do. I seriously think next time I will stop roll down my window and ask them if I could call someone for them. They may have just been a short distance from home or km away I don't know!!!! In my mind I said well maybe another car will come along with a male or more than one person in the car and they will help. I still feel bad obviously or I wouldn't be writing about it. 
Any comments on what you would have done?????

So this is sort of a dilemma but today safely be kind to someone. Perform a random act of kindness. Even being polite to someone like saying thank you when they hold a door for you or thanking the cashier at the grocery can be a kindness not often shown these days. We tend to take service folks for granted.  
Be kind!!!!

Gratitude Wednesdays Be grateful that you are in control of your life!!!!!

Today's quote......  Believe it or not you are in control of you own life. You are the reason why you're sad, and you're the reason why you're happy. Don't wait for happiness. Go out and find it right now.
                                                                                                                 Unknown

Be grateful that you can control your life. Often we think that we are controlled by what is happening around us but the only thing that is controlled is how we react to our surroundings and circumstances.
Have you ever looked around and seen people that are content and you think to yourself that in their circumstances you can't see how they could be happy. Well that is because they have chosen to be happy. 
There are some situations that we can not change so we need to decide that we are going to make the best of it. There are times we can make changes and it is up to us to make those changes so that we can be happier.
Choose to limit stress from your life as it is very hard on our bodies.

Forgive on Fridays

Today's quote....Keeping score of old scores and scars, getting even and one-upping, always make you less that you are.
                                                                                                    Malcolm Forbes

Today is the Friday of a long week end. May 24 weekend or Victoria Day weekend.  Let's go with the Victoria Day and feel victorious about forgiving someone. You can forgive someone without even talking to them.
An exercise you may try is...... close your eyes and visualize the person you are wanting to forgive. Think of the situation that caused you to feel the hurt. Picture yourself forgiving them. Think about how long you have had negative feelings toward them.....Has this been a good experience for you????? Has feeling this anger helped you be a better person???? Instead think about what you can learn from this situation. Maybe it can help you realize how people feel when they are talked to in a certain way, how they feel when someone doesn't keep their word etc. Then you can concentrate on making sure you never make someone feel that way.
Don't forget to forgive and then LET IT GO. Don't keep rehashing the situation.

Have a great long week end. We're heading off to Bruce's family cottage in Baysville and my brother and his wife's house in Huntsville(half hour away from each other) We'll be spending good times with family.

Gratitude Wednesdays People who make you happy

Today's quote......I love people who make me laugh.I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It curves a multitude of ills. It is  probably the most important thing in a person.
                                                                                                        Audrey Hepburn

I agree with this quote so much. I'm with Audrey, someone who can make me laugh is very important to me. I have Bruce in my life, and we do a lot of laughing together. I do a lot of laughing with my boys and my stepchildren. My siblings and in-laws sure know how to have a lot of fun and laugh. I laugh at home, at work, with friends, when I'm out shopping or doing errands. If you look around there is always something to laugh or smile about.
If you don't find this to be true then you're aren't looking at situations with your happy eyes. If you are spending time with someone who doesn't have happy eyes then share yours with them.Whatever you do don't let them share their negative eyes with you.
A true little story..........
I started working in a grade 1/2 class in April of the school year. I had taken over from a retired EA. I loved all the kids and thought they were very cute but there was one little guy in particular that often made me laugh, One day when he was doing something very cute I shared my love for this little guy with the teacher I was with. She didn't share the same view, in fact she found him annoying. I said I couldn't understand her view and told her to just watch him. A few weeks later she came to me and said she totally had changed her opinion of him. She realised that the other EA had not liked him and had passed her judgement on, so the teacher was looking at him through negative eyes. I shared my happy eyes with her and she changed her opinion. So try sharing your happy eyes and if you don't have them try borrowing from someone else.
Be grateful for a sense of humour and be grateful for those around you who have one.
LAUGH OUT LOUD as often as you can.

Have flexible bodies on Tuesdays

Today's quote......Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world. 
                                                                                                       Marilyn Monroe

Today is a day to show how flexible you can be. Let's make it physically flexible. Do some good stretches tonight before you go to bed.
Sit on the floor, on a yoga mat or towel is more comfy. Spread your legs as far as you can and then reach down your hand down each leg and see how far you can stretch, to your thighs, knees, ankles, toes???? Hold this stretch for 2-3 minutes, or up to 5 if you can. As you are stretching continue to reach a little farther. Feels good on the back and inner thighs.
Stand up and stretch up, then fold to the floor. Fold your elbows then grab opposite elbows so that you have a box around your head. Let gravity pull you down and feel the pull in your legs and back.

HHHHHHaaaaavvvveee aaaaaa ggggrrreeeaaattt dddaaayyy. SSSStttttrrrrreeeetttttcccchhhhh!!!!!!!!

Compliment on Monday

Today's quote....He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. 
                                                                                                           Saint Basil

Today look around you and see how many positives you can see. If you see someone that  makes is doing something positive or makes you feel positive let them know.

A compliment goes out to my son Ryan and his girlfriend Stephanie who made a great supper last night for Bruce and I to celebrate Mother's Day. Nice to have a home cooked healthy meal as opposed to going out. Thanks guys.

Sunday's weekly challenge.

Today's quote....Parents are not irresponsible because their children experience pain. The irresponsibility comes when parents do not teach children the lessons found in pain.

This being Mother's Day the quote is about raising children. Parents need to teach their children early that they can learn from mistakes they may have made, pain they may experience and also let them know that life has ups and downs but you have to keep on going. I have 2 sons that I spent time with today and I am very proud of both of them. We have a great time when they were growing up and we have a great relationship now.

This week's challenge.....
Send a note to a child, grandchild or parent and tell them what you appreciate about them. If you do not have any of these family members to tell, then tell someone that is as close to you as a family member.

Forgive on Friday

Today's quote...."Resentment is an extremely bitter diet, and eventually poisonous. I have no desire to make my own toxins"
                                                                                                           Neil Kinnock

With forgiveness as the theme for Fridays it seems to be a day of reflection. As the quote says resentment can be toxic. If you feel resentment toward someone think about a few positives about that person and focus on those instead and realize that positive is better for you health than resentment.

Have a great week end and remember to laugh lots!!!!

Rest relax and recreation Saturday and a new veggie

Today's quote...."House work can't kill you, but why take a chance?"
                                                                                                  Phyllis Diller

It is gorgeous today... We've been cutting trees, splitting and stacking wood. Love it!!! Brings back memories of my Dad. I love the smell of cut wood. I would always rather spend time outside with Dad than in the house doing housework with Mom. I would go to the bush with him and in the summer we would cut lawns together. He would use the riding mower and I would use the push. I remember when I was a teenager a male friend of mine said that he thought my dad thought I was a boy because I did a lot more boy work than he did!!!! Whether he did or not I loved my time spent with him.

So your veggie for this week
Carrot
Carrots are a rich source of beta-carotene, a powerful anti-cancer, artery-protecting, immune boosting and infection-fighting antioxidant. Research has shown that a single carrot a day slashed stroke rates in woman by 68%. The high soluble fiber in carrots balances blood cholesterol and promotes regularity. Cooking has shown to make it easier for the body to absorb the beta-carotene.
From Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation.
Get buying and cooking those carrots. Bruce and I like to mash them mixed with turnip and sprinkled with a little nutmeg.

Be Kind on Thursday

Today's Quote.....I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel. 
                                                                                                          Maya Angelou


Be kind to someone today. Make them feel good, either about, how they look, what they have done or how they make a difference in your life.
A few kind words may mean nothing to you but will go a long way with them.

This reminds me of a story.......

Years ago a new family had just moved into our neighbourhood and I decided to bake some muffins and take them to them to welcome them.
I made blueberry muffins with frozen blueberries. If you have done this yourself you realize that you have to put the berries in just, and I mean just before you put them in the oven. If you don't, as I learned, they turn all the dough blue!!!! After they are baked it gives them this blue tinge that tends to look like they may have been around a little too long.
Well this happened to my muffins but since I decided that I was going to give them and I didn't have time to make more. My two little boys were probably up and running by now and wanting to get to the park or something. So I made the decision to take them over. I gave them to 'the lady of the house' and welcomed her to the neighbourhood. She smiled and thanked me. Later when we became friends she told me about her showing them to her husband when he came home and them being a bit skeptical about eating them because of the color. She said they decided to try them anyway, and they enjoyed them!!!!
We laughed about this a few times....  the potentially crazy, but kind neighbour.
I continued to bake for new neighbours and friends, but must say never chose blueberry after that!!!!!!

This is give a compliment day.

Today's quote....Happiness is not in our circumstances, but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel like the heat of a fire, happiness is something we are. 
                                                                                                       John B. Sherrin

So today compliment someone you wouldn't normally think about complimenting. Like maybe a stranger.... It feels good when a stranger compliments you because, you certainly weren't expecting a compliment, so you know it is genuine. If I see a cute haircut or like jewelry or clothes someone is wearing I tell them whether I know them or not. I'm just sayin'..... this has led to some good conversations!!!!

Be grateful on Wednesdays. Isn't this a beautiful day!!!

Quote for today.... Friendship is the strangest but greatest think in the workd. I find my time with my friends, the best times of my life. My friends are my heart, my soul, my fun, my laughter, tears, love and my life. 
                                                                                                          Kate Tierney

Today, or soon,let a friend that you are really grateful for know it.

Today I am thankful that it is a beautiful day for our first Nine and Dine!!!! Golf bag is on the deck ready to go!!

Sunday challenge

Today's quote.....                     

Four things you can't recover

They stone after the throw

The word after it's said

The occasion after it's missed

The time after it's gone

                                                   Unknown

Your Sunday challenge for the following week is....

Contact an elderly relative and share a memory with them. This will bring a smile and warm feeling to both of you. I bet more than one memory will be shared once you start. 

Weekend is Chocolate, Rest recreation and reaxztion"

Today's quote.....Friends will call and ask you to hangout. Tell you you're pretty. Let you eat the last chip. Best friends will show up at your house without even asking. Call you ugly when your hair is messed up and grab the last chip and yell "Sucker Ha Ha" 

                                                                                                       Unknown  

How great to have a best friend that is honest and there is no pretending. 

Well today is Saturday so lets talk about another vegetable and what it can do for you.....

Cauliflower is a cousin to broccoli and cabbage so contains many of the same cancer fighting hormone regulating compounds. It help woman to break down estrogen and produce estrogen-by products in a safe way, slashing breast cancer risk by 40 percent. It also helps ward off colon cancers. 

Throw some cauliflower in your salads, stir frys, raw or roasted.  I like to put other veggies with more color in them with it because I like the plates to look colorful.

Forgive on Friday...... Forgive yourself

Today's quote.....You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. That's what makes you a winner.
                                                                                                         Venus Williams

So we're heading into the weekend again. As we go we think about forgiving and today I wanted to focus on forgiving yourself. Often what we see as a weakness someone would love to have that quality and if not then we need to try to turn it into a strength or help us to understand others weaknesses, as we all have them.
I am very clumsy and always have been. I remember my mom telling me I would grow out of it.....at 53 I'm beginning to wonder. I must say though that my clumsiness on my feet has improved as my balance has improved from doing yoga. I often get frustrated when I spill something when I misjudge distance. In my readings on trying to turn positives into negatives I have really been trying to see the humour in this but I must admit it can be a challenge. Often I think when I have done something that it is often from moving to quickly or trying to carry too many things to safe steps. Those extra steps are exercise though!!!!! One positive though is it often makes me think either of my father or my Grandmother (Dad's mom) They to were accident prone. They are good people to remember though so I try to think about positive memories of them as I clean up my mess and tell my self to just move on and not let it ruin my day.
At this point I have a little story.....
When my son Nick was probably 3 maybe 4 he was attending a day camp at the Lutheran church in Orleans. They must have been talking about Satan and sin because...... I had to give him a time out for something he had done. He was sitting on our stairs just on the other side of the wall from the kitchen. I was in the kitchen and could hear him talking so went closer to tune into the conversation. This is what I heard,paraphrased, and through tears and lots of sniffing.
Jesus you just have to talk louder to tell me to do good things. All I can hear is Satan telling me to do bad things. 
It was soooo cute.
Well Happy Weekend.
Tomorrow I'll tell you the benefits of another vegetable.

Be kind on Thursday.... Be kind to you!!!!

Quote for the day....You can never do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.

So today we focus on kindness...and let's make it being kind to ourselves. How does that look? Well we can be kind to our bodies by eating well, exercising and just generally caring about ourselves. We can be kind to our emotional side by finding time to laugh and spend time with positive people and doing things that make us happy. 
If you are struggling doing this, take a minute to think back to a time when being happy was easy... Think about how you felt then and do whatever it is you need to do to feel that way again. 
Watching a comedy can boost your spirits, taking a long relaxing bath, going for a walk and being aware of nature, calling up a friend and just chat, spend time with a pet, cook your favorite meal. So something today that will put a smile on your face!!! BE KIND TO YOU!!!!!