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.