Things don't always go as planned!!!!

Today's quote......Focus on the rainbow....not the storm that made the rainbow possible.
                                                                                                                 Unknown

Well Bruce and I experienced a little 'storm' yesterday.
We set out around 8:30 yesterday morning to head to the cottage to visit family. All was well...Dogs happy in back seat, Bruce happy in passenger seat and Mar happy in drivers seat, with cruise control set!!!!! We stopped in Arnprior at the Antrim Truck stop for a nice breakfast. Decided we would hit Hyw 60 via Cobden instead of the usual Renfrew. (little did we know we would be seeing Cobden up close and personal about 2 hours later!!!!!) We just got through Eaganville when the car started to act up not taking the gas so I pulled over and after a bit of probing discovered that the transmission oil was leaving its mark on the road. We phoned CAA which sent a tow truck, that was driven by an amazing man who was very kind. He drove us to his garage in Cobden where we left the car for further towing on Monday. We called numerous friends and family and finally got in touch with our son in-law who very kindly came and picked us up and drove us home.
Sooo here is the rainbow we focused on.....

• Seconds before the car started to act up I started to make a move to pass the car in front, then inexplicably changed my mind...... wouldn't have been able to complete the pass as car stopped taking the gas!!!! A car was a safe distance away for a normal pass but not for a pass when you are suddenly losing power!!!!
• I didn't realize my Hyundai roadside assistance had expired but was able to call CAA and sign up so a tow truck could be sent. When driver arrived after checking our status realized that we would have to pay for the full tow to Rockland because the premium plan doesn't kick in for 48 hours. We only had 5 km. free tow. He suggested we leave our car at his garage and get someone to pick us up and he would arrange to get it towed for free after the 48 hours. He could have made himself over $400.00 if he had of towed us yesterday. 
• There was a nice park right on the water, that he pointed out to us, where we could relax in the shade, and let the dogs stay cool in the water while waiting for Mike to arrive. 
• Mike and Adrienne live in Hamilton but just happened to be home this weekend.
• We were able to visit with Mike and Adrienne as they came for supper and stayed overnight. If we had of gone to cottage we wouldn't have seen them
• We weren't hurt and got home safe and sound

Yes we didn't get to visit family but that can happen on the long weekend in August. Instead of focusing on what we couldn't do.... the storm
We are focusing on the positives......the rainbow.

Make your own fun over the next few days and be thankful for living in such a great country

Today's Quote.... God grant me a vacation to make bearable what I can't change. A friend to make it funny and the wisdom to never get my knickers in a knot because it solves nothing and makes me walk funny.
                                                                                                               Unknown

We are just getting ready to head to the cottage for 4 days. We go to my husbands family cottages in Baysville Ontario. Lots of his family will be there and it is always a good time. I also am able to visit with my brother and his wife as they are in Huntsville which is just 1/2 hour away.
I am looking forward to lots of activity, laughing, and sharing. My husband's niece is a hairstylist so she is going to be dyeing and cutting my hair while we're there so that will be fun.
I hope you all have a great week end as well.

Since I will be out of commission until Wed. I will give you your challenge for next week.

 Tuesday is our day to Celebrate being Canadian. We are very privileged to live in a country that is war free and we have an abundance of soooo much. Let's take the time to be thankful for what we have each day but also write down things that we can do on a personal level to make our surroundings an even better place to live.
It may include:

•  making your workplace a happier place to be by being positive, fun and upbeat while you are there.
• making your home more inviting for family and friends
• helping out someone in your neighbourhood 
• helping out at a local shelter
• cleaning out your cupboards and donating some of your clothes to a local thrift shop
• dropping off food to a shelter 
• sending a note to cheer someone up

Hope you all have a great week end.

Softness overcomes hardness

Today's Quote.....Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle of softness overcoming hardness.

                                                                                                                 LaoTzu

Today and always, keep this quote in your mind. Being hard on a person...aggressive, judgemental, unkind in any way will get you no where. Whereas if you are softer with someone... kind, understanding, caring it will go a long way in making them feel better and in the end making you feel better about yourself. We notice when people are hard on others and we don't have a very high opinion of that person. Often people are hard on others due to something in their own life not being balanced. They have perhaps been mistreated at some point and don't have a very good self esteem and want to bring others down with them. If you are a person who seems to be hard on people look inside yourself and try to see what may be allowing you to react to people the way you do. If you can see what it is try to deal with it and if you can't do it on your own seek help. You will lead a much better life if you are good to people and are positive.

Be grateful on Wednesdays.

Today's Quote....If you understand what makes a person laugh, you are closer to understanding and appreciating them.
Joseph Bruchac

Have a sense of fun today and the remainder of your life. Find the funny things in situations and be grateful. Take the time to get to know others well enough that you are able to make them laugh. Watching and hearing someone laugh is contagious so if you can make one person laugh chances are, if you look around, you have made others laugh as well.

Today I am grateful for technology. It is my great nieces birthday and thanks to technology I can talk to her with ease.

Be with someone who lets you be you

Today's Quote....As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen.
Winnie the Pooh.

Well last night Bruce and I got a very nice surprise. My son Ryan and his girlfriend Steph. came over for supper and after a gentle nod from Steph, Ry very quickly said "so we're engaged." Bruce and I are both very happy. From the first time we met Steph we liked her and I as a Mom was very happy to see how comfortable they were together. It was like they had been together for a long time as opposed to a few weeks.
Believe you me comfortable is what you need to have in a relationship. No wondering if you are doing or saying the right thing, no pretending to be someone you are not, no walking on eggshells. Yes to having fun together, working together and enjoying it,whether it is cooking, outside work, renos etc, yes to together and independent times.
Having a 'yes to' relationship with Bruce it is nice to see my son able to have a similar relationship.
Here's to COMFORTABLE RELATIONSHIPS, not perfect but comfortable.

Sunday's weekly challenge

Today's Quote.....All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less that a single lovely action.
James Russell Lowell

This week's challenge is to, at some point this week, send a note to a co worker telling them something you appreciate about them.

I have done this several times and the reaction I get from people is so worth the very small effort it took to do this. People need to be appreciated. They say things like that was so nice of you to do and so often I hear no one has ever done something like this before. That comment always makes me a little sad, to think that people don't appreciate people. It is different to have someone say good job than to getting in writing what people think about you. Also if it is in writing it is something you can go back and look.

So make someone happy this week by letting them know you appreciate them.

Rest relax and find out about Avacados

Today's Quote....Happiness comes from the capacity to feel deeply, enjoy simply,to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.
                                                                                                       Storm Jameson

So when you are grocery shopping this week throw in a few avocados.
Avocados are packed with nutrients. They are rich in vitamin A and B especially niacin, folic acid, iron, 9 essential amino acids and lots of potassium.
BENEFITS... circulation, lowers cholesterol and dilates blood vessels. Avocados are high in fat but it is monounsaturated oleic acid which acts as an antioxidant to block LDL cholesterol. They are also rich in beta-sitosterol which has been shown to reduce cholesterol.
Mashing an avocado and rubbing it into your hair for five minutes after washing will add luster to your hair; rinse afterwards. In South Africa, an avocado mask made of mashed avocados, honey and lime juice is applied to the face as a moisturizing treatment to counteract the drying effects of the hot sun.

This information is taken from Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation by Andreas Moritz.

Forgiveness Fridays

Today's Quote.....Do something today that your future self with thank you for.
                                                                                                              Unknown

So today do something that will affect your future. It may be forgiving someone and getting a lost relationship back. It may be forgiving yourself so that you can move on. It may just be making a decision on the future that will be positive. Whatever it is do it. Write down what you are doing so that when it changes your future you can come back and thank yourself for doing it.

Happy Friday. Tomorrow we will talk about the benefits of a new vegetable.

Concentrate on kindness on Thursday

Today's Quote......When people hurt you over and over think of them as sandpaper. They scratch and hurt you, but in the end you are polished and they are used up.

When we think of kind we usually think of being kind to other people. It is also important to be kind to ourselves as well. As we know you have to know how to love yourself before you know how to love others. Be kind in concentrating on feeding your body well, avoiding putting chemical in and on your body, exercise and stretch your body so it works as well as it should. Be kind to your mind by thinking positive spots and exercising it as well by also learning new things and doing activities that keep your mind active. Sitting and watching tv for hours would not be being kind to your mind or body!!!!!
I am just getting ready to take my husband out to a new restaurant we have never tried, in Rockland. Bruce turned 65 today and we're going to celebrate. Speaking of kind Bruce displays this quality towards many people. He is a kind and caring husband, father, uncle, cousin, brother, friend and in the past he was a kind, and caring teacher. I am very proud of him and can learn a lot about caring and patience from him.

Be grateful on Wednesdays. I am grateful for friends

Today's Quote.....A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil, but it needs just a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small silly presents every so often- just to save it from drying out completely. 
Pam Brown

Just returned from the OCDSB retirement reception. A friend and I went to support a friend who taught at CHEO. While I was there I ran into several teachers I had worked with over the years and it was soooo nice to see people I hadn't seen for years and to recall memories with them. Even though I don't see them on a regular basis it is good to connect. I must say though lately I have been more diligent in connecting with friends and having them over for a visit. In the month of July we have 3 different sets of friends coming for supper and a visit. Some groups we haven't seen for a long time and we look forward to catching up. It is important to stay connected. It is something you have to consciously think about. A day turns into a week, turns into a month, turns into a year and before long you realize it has been forever since you have connected. We never know when it will be too late to connect so when someone comes into your thoughts take that as a sign you should be contacting them.
Glad for all the connections I made tonight and the ones I will continue to make over the next while.

Be aware of who you are hanging out with!!!

Today's Quote.....Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.

We are all highly influenced by those people whom we 'hang out' with. Negativity breeds negativity and positive breeds positive. Observe over the next few days....If there are people in the room who have a negative complaining spirit soon everyone seems to have something they can complain about. Whereas if you get someone in there who is speaking positively, laughing and having fun everyone adopts that behaviour. Decide what kind of person you want to be and then surround yourself with that type of person. I have gone as far as gradually dissociating with people who bring me down. I try to keep a room happy if I can although there are times when I can get caught up in the negativity as well. I'll tell you though it is not a good feeling afterwards and I do regret stooping to negative.

Also since I had a busy weekend and didn't get to post on Sunday I will give you this week's challenge today.

This week practice being the positive influence. If the room has a negative feel try to turn it around. If you are not able to turn in around then leave the area so that you don't get caught up in the negativity. If someone asks you why you are leaving be honest and tell them you are trying to avoid negativity.

Have a positive, happy remainder of you week. 

Forgive on Firday

Today's  quote.....Butterflies don't know the colour of their wings, but human eyes know how beautiful they are. Likewise you may not know how good you are, but others can see that  you're special.

So as we head into the weekend think positively about yourself. Take time to realize how many positives you have. Think about positive things that others say about you and realize that is how people think of you. Even if you don't see positive, dwell on what others say.
Also make sure that you let your friends and family know what their positive qualities are. Somedays people need to be told how special they are as they may not being feeling it.

Have a great weekend.

Thursdays are for Kindness

Today's Quote......I will waste not even a precious second today in anger or hate or jealousy or selfishness. I know that the seeds I sow I will harvest, because every action good or bad is always followed by an equal reaction. I will plant only good seeds today.

Think about this quote today and every day. Think about the seeds you are planting. When you are no longer around don't you want people to be harvesting the good thought seeds that you planted. Being kind, fun, caring, appreciative etc. Also remember that people will remember how you made them feel for a lot longer that they will remember what you said.

Chocolate Weekend Next week's challenge

Today's quote.....Life is like photography. You use the negatives to develop.

                                                                                                                 Unknown


This week's challenge is...... Everyday this week at the end of your day write down one thing you are grateful for and then 3 things that went well that day.
Doesn't have to be earth shattering!!!! Could be that you are grateful for a home to live in. Things that went well, was able to get some yard work done, spent time with Bruce, almost finished the book I'm reading.

 As I shared earlier a friend of mine passed away very suddenly and it really knocked the stuffing out of me.  Her wake was Friday and her funeral yesterday. I am still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I won't see her again. I have been putting a lot of thought into how precious life is and how we don't know how long we will be here and how long we will have others. Over the next week really concentrate on being grateful for everything you have whether great or small. Think positive not negative, thus the part about writing down 3 things that went well. That forces us to think of the positive.

Have a great week. 

Be kind on Thursdays

Today's quote/question......If you were paid $2. for every kind word you've spoken, and $1. for every unkind word, would you be rich or poor???
Taken from Good Hearted Living by Steve Wilson

Think about this today and every day. Words can be very harmful so think before you speak!!!!

Be Grateful for relationships on Wednesdays

Today's quote....There are persons so radiant, so genial, so kind, so pleasure-bearing, that you instinctively feel in their presence that they do you good, whose coming into the room is like the bringing of a lamp. 
                                                                                             Henry Word Beecher

Be grateful for relationships today.... Whether it is a friend, family member, co- worker, neighbour, be grateful for the time short or long you get to spend with them. If you don't spend face to face time make sure you are phoning writing (yes I said writing!!!) texting or emailing them. Time is precious and we don't know how much time we have with anyone. Take the time to be grateful for the relationships you have and let the people around you know that you are grateful.

Flexible Tuesdays

Today's quote.....We live our lives as if nothing is a miracle. Dogs live their lives as if everything is a miracle. 

                                                                                                              Unknown

The definition of miracle from Websters

A remarkable event or development that brings very welcome consequences:

 Appreciate everything in your life no matter how big or small because we are blessed to have everything we have. Miracles happen all the time. For my dogs when I drive in the driveway this is a miracle, they are glad I am home and are happy to see me and I know this by their reactions. We should make sure our friends and family always know how happy we are to see them because it is a remarkable event each time we see them because we can never be sure when we won't have the opportunity to see them. My dogs are happy every time I feed them, give them a treat, or pay attention to them. They don't expect this, instead they appreciate it each time it happens. This is how we should be. We should never expect things or take things or people for granted we should always appreciate and let people know how much we appreciate, even if it is something that happens often.

Show your flexibility by going outside your comfort zone to tell someone, you may not normally tell, how much you appreciate them as a person and/or how thankful you are for something they have done for you.