What a year it has been!!  I bit the bullet and went back to working for someone else in addition to maintaining a private practice.  Seems that for most, biting the bullet is going out on their own - but I have never been known to do things the way others do!!

The topic for today's post is

LIVING A WELL ROUNDED LIFE

I like to think that I practice what I preach, but as the famous doc once said, theory is easy and practice - well - not so much.  But here is my prescription for a well rounded life.  One that can be enjoyed in the midst of adversity, which continues to be all around us and the economy continues to be in a state of flux.

1.  Diet and Exercise:  Honestly - I hate both, but it is important to do things in a way that can be managed given your own personality, faults, and needs. 
I went on Nutrisystem over a year ago and lost 40 pounds.  I am starting it again to lose another 20.  It takes into account my on the run personality in addition to my lack of planning.  As for exercise.  I am PLANNING to start on Tues next week.  Why do today, what you can put off for another week - or two.  I have been doing more chores around the house and I call that exercise enough.  That and jogging my memory, wrestling with new ideas and chasing my tail.

2.  Love the one you are with:  I am so thankful for all of my friends.  They are the best!!  But I have to admit, that my love for my 4 legged babies can cure all that ails me!  They are ready with wags of appreciation, slobbery kisses and laughter galore!!

3.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy:  I am learning to slow down my work pace.  I have learned that when I don't slow it down on my own, my body puts me in bed at the most inconvenient of times.  I have learned to ride an ATV, jump out of a plane and to stop saying NO to fun.  I have learned that friends hybernate just like I do, and then they come back out as if no time has passed.

4.  Hard habit to break:  The best way I know to break a habit - is to create a new one.



Seize the Day!!

The Nutcracker

The Monday is not over

... But as this Monday continues, I will continue at the tasks at hand. Fixing the computer and putting back information from when the hard drive died. Installing a new printer as the one that was in the office decided after 8 years that it was not happy with the ink cartridges. The puppy is on antibiotics because if this doesn't cure her, Prozac appears to be my next options.

And still - the dishwasher is broken,
The window screen needs put up
The Escape needs 'jumped off'
The air conditioner needs fixed,
The plumbers that I spoke with last summer still have not arrived.
A nice neighbor fixed the broken pipes in the 'house' and I get to look forward to reconciling my water bill after using 20,000 gallons.


Let's hope Tues is better

Lazy Days and Mondays

It is most certainly another Monday at the Nutcracker Suite and beyond. I am not entirely sure where we are at in terms of Full Moon or Mercury in Retrograde, but it certainly seems that all things that are to be uncomplicated are amiss.

I told a friend recently that I needed a man for a day. Before she was able to respond with any lewdness, I quickly inserted that I had windows that needed washed and mirrors the needed to be scrubbed and puppy 'flingers' removed. Ron referred to them as 'slimers' but Mastiff Saliva can be found in the most amazing of places.

Anyway... My friend must have been fraught with fever, for her exclamation was that I needed a woman - because I was referring to woman's work... I retorted that I also needed the dishwasher fixed, the lawn mowed and groomed, screens replaced and there are certainly toilets that need to be scrubbed.

Over the years I have gone from feminine, to feminist, to female. The wrench will fit my hand and the toilet brush will fit his. But as I seem to be working all of the time, these things remain undone. And frankly, I don't care who completes these tasks and all of the others that I will soon think of, but if male, may he have a nice butt and tight jeans.

I surely hope that her fever has passed.

Ta Ta for Now!

What Do You Need

I answered the phone this morning and the neighbor was calling me back as she saw my number on her caller id this morning. Her words were "what do you need." I was speechless (for just a millisecond) as I pondered her question - What Do You NEED?

I need air, water, food and human touch. I need my friends and my family and their support. I need that little voice that I hear that tells me he is with me always and I am never alone.

I have ALL that I NEED. Want - is entirely different story :D

It has been a while since I have been touched like that!!

I remember clearly hearing about a family that did not touch. They didn’t kiss; they didn’t hug and wouldn’t even touch the arm of an aged and infirm family member. Unfortunately, this could be any number of people I have talked spoke with over the years; clients, caregivers and friends.

Too often I hear of, and have been witness to, people who are afraid to touch, as if they will catch something. Not sure what they believe they will catch. Being old is not a transmittable disease. It is a phase of life that I can only hope and pray that I get to experience myself some day. Touching the arm of someone that is deformed in some manner, or just not so easy on the eyes will not cause one to wake up with a deformity when the sun rises the next day. And touching the sad and lonely does not mean that they will become instantly in love with you and stalk you day and night, just as it does not mean that you will become sad and lonely too.

A wonderful massage that I had today reminded me about the healing power of touch. It is what allows us to grow, and to thrive. It is as important as sunlight, air, and food. Without it, we will wither and die or just be grumpy and mean.

Oh Pooh!!

Saw on someone’s site that you are not supposed to flush cat poop in the septic. I was so troubled by this post, that I have started to Google this for more information. Answers/explanations are as follows:

1. Cat feces is too toxic for the septic and could contaminate the ground water

a. Whereas baby poop should be emptied into the commode before disposing of the diaper, because it carries too many diseases for the landfill

b. “Flushing cat waste is suspected to be linked to the death of sea otters, whales and porpoises in the US and the UK. The parasite can survive sewage treatment and then travel down rivers until it gets to the sea. The only safe way to dispose of it is via land fill or incineration.”

2. Doggie Dooley Dog Toilet Model 3500 Standard Toilet

a. Guess that would work for cats too.

3. "Poo Converters" ranging from $80 to $400 in price are available for composting pet feces

Now correct me if I am wrong. Rodents carry all kinds of parasites as do opossums, and raccoons and other animals living in the wild – behind my home. And as much as I have seen the neighbor cats multiply, nothing beats the fertility of a well-fed rodent. That being said, why am I worrying about the toxicity of cat feces?? As for those sea otters – It is a LONG way from my mountain home to any breeding ground for sea mammals!! Besides, my dogs have all eaten more than their fair share of ‘kitty muffins’ and they are still ready to take on the universe every time they hear a sound.

My conclusion, sometimes the poop goes in the commode, sometimes the yard and sometimes the landfill. I am doing my part for the environment by evening out the wear!!

Out like a what!!

Here it is – March 27^th and there is frost on the ground! What happened to in like a lion and out like a lamb, maybe a lamb on steroids! The temperature is going to go up another 20 degrees during the day. I think Mother Nature’s steroids are making this lamb kinda looney!

I am headed to work here in just a few. Have to finish my coffee and powder my nose first. And of course I have to figure out what to wear - Spring clothes that go with frost on the ground. Hmm – wonder if they offer at class in this at the local college?