One whole year

Last night, we went to a New Year’s Eve party at our friends house.  I was having a serious chat fest with my friend Jessica, like full on cathartic conversations about some stuff in my life, when she suggested that I should journal; that its good for the soul and there is an emotional release when writing.  I then had one of those “lightbulb” moments and told her, “oh yeah, I have a blog, I used to love writing”.  I chuckled to myself and then wondered how long had it been since I last wrote.  I logged in this morning and realized it has been ONE WHOLE YEAR!  I had 1, yes 1, single blog post for last year, on January 2.  WHOOPS!!   I guess life and busyness got in the way.  But I did make a resolution to get myself back into writing and even signed up for a blogging challenge for this month.  I hope some of you that have followed my blog are still around and will say hello and comment.  And I look forward to meeting new people on this continuous journey.  Feel free to make any post topic suggestions or ask any questions.

Change

They say the only thing for certain that you can count on in life is death and taxes.  I want to add to that list….CHANGE.

Death CHANGES things.  Life CHANGES things.  We are not growing if we don’t CHANGE.  CHANGE is inevitable.  I attended a funeral on New Years Eve.  It really got me thinking and reflecting on things.

Life is fragile and short.  None of is will escape death.  Our days are numbered, and I swear as I get older, the days and years go by quicker and quicker.  Last month there was a mass shooting at my work’s sister agency.  And while none of our coworkers were involved or injured, there were still so many that lost their lives, unnecessarily, who would have never thought that going to their company holiday lunch would result in their untimely death.  You never know where and when your last breath will be your true last.

In July/August I was involved in a situation at work that involved a lot of discrimination and racism, and just plain old meanness from people who I had previously considered friends.  I can’t say that they changed overnight, it was more gradual.  But let’s face it, people change.  We cannot control their behavior or actions.  This particular situation led me to a positive new change in position at my job.

I don’t want the intention of this post to be depressing; mostly just thought provoking.  Here’s what I came up with:

Life happens.  Your situation could CHANGE at any minute. You need to be willing to embrace the CHANGE and go with it.

Make the most of each day and strive to make a difference in the lives of others.  Be the CHANGE you want to see in the world. Tell your family and friends every day how much you love them and how much they mean to you.  Don’t take any day for granted.

No one can CHANGE you, except for you.  You should also look to continually be bettering yourself and your situation any way that you can.  And be good to yourself.  We all struggle, we all make mistakes, we forget things, we cannot possibly live up to everyone else’s expectations.  Give yourself grace when needed and focus on what really matters.  Make sure to do something at least weekly to be good to yourself.

How will you strive to change your self, your circumstances, your relationships with others this year?

2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,100 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 35 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Happy Earth Day

Each year, Earth Day — April 22 — marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

When is Earth Day?

Earth Day is honored around the world on April 22, although larger events such as festivals and rallies are often organized for the weekends before or after April 22. Many communities also observe Earth Week or Earth Month, organizing a series of environmental activities throughout the month of April.

Why do we need an Earth Day?

Because it works! Earth Day broadens the base of support for environmental programs, rekindles public commitment and builds community activism around the world through a broad range of events and activities. Earth Day is the largest civic event in the world, celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities. More than a billion people participate in our campaigns every year.

What can I do for Earth Day?

The possibilities for getting involved are endless! Volunteer. Go to a festival. Install solar panels on your roof. Organize an event in your community. Change a habit. Help launch a community garden. Communicate your priorities to your elected representatives. Do something nice for the Earth, have fun, meet new people, and make a difference. But you needn’t wait for April 22! Earth Day is Every Day. To build a better future, we all must commit to protect our environment year-round. -taken from http://www.earthday.org

So how can you participate and help save our planet? Here are some ways suggested by parents.com:
1. Be car-free. Walk or bike to school — not only is it good for the body, it’s good for the environment too!

2. Make a bird feeder or house. Use a milk carton, a large water or soda bottle, or a pine cone.

3. Create recycling bins.

4. Make positive promises.

5. Grow something.

6. Spread the love.

Walking or biking to work is not an option for me. But I will be carpooling with my son this morning, and with a coworker later to a meeting. My husband wants to create a birdhouse community in our back yard. We have purchased one that we need to work on decorating, and will add more in the future. We have our recycle bin, and today happens to be garbage/recycling day. We also use re-usable coffee cups and water bottles, and food containers for our lunches. I have been talking about planting a vegetable garden, so that idea is in the works.

Do you have any ideas planned? or things you already do to help keep our Earth clean?

Five Question Friday

Today is National Siblings Day, so our questions will be focused on siblings.

1). In what ways are you and your sibling(s) different?

I try to deal with situations/people more head on, whereas she is very passive.  She overreacts and makes things very dramatic.  I will sometimes overreact, but not to the same extent.  We  have different approaches in our parenting styles.  She has two kids, I have one.

2). In what ways are you and your sibling(s) similar?

Growing up we were told often that we could pass for twins, even though there is 2 1/2 years age gap between us.  We would dress similar (she was always stealing my clothes growing up). We both have sensitive souls.

3). What is a secret you have that you hope your sibling(s) doesn’t find out about?

I don’t have any secrets with her.

4). Share a funny/embarrassing story of something your sibling did.

One time when we were young, I think she was in 8th grade maybe, she decided to bake a cake. She put it in a plastic pan inside the oven.  It burnt and caught on fire and filled the oven and kitchen with smoke.  It was not initially funny, but no one was hurt and we were right there the whole time so there was no damage, we then laughed about it later and for several years about how she can’t cook or bake.

5). Share some activities that you  did with your sibling(s).

When we were very young, we liked to go swimming all of the time, go sledding in our back yard, make blanket forts, play Barbies, spend time with our cousins.  Once we went off to college and moved countries apart, we don’t get to spend time together.

 

“I don’t believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at.” – Maya Angelou

 

Have a great Friday and weekend.  Don’t forget to play along by answering these questions in the comments or in your own blog post.

Thank you, Thank you

It was fun to find a nomination from Sarah over at ArtTherapyGirl for a blogging award.  Its so nice to have someone think so much of my blog and postings.  I will gladly accept the award and play along.

 
Rules

• Each nominee must have under 200 followers
• Thank and link to the nominating blog
• Answer their 10 questions and propose 10 new ones for your nominees
• Nominate 10 blogs and tell them that they’ve been nominated
• Write a post containing the questions
• Include these rules in the post

1. Super hero power you wish you had? There are 2.  The first is to be able to read people’s minds bc they tend to have a problem honesty.  The second is to fly/teleport. Living in southern CA there is always so much traffic.  It takes me an hour and a half just to drive the 23 miles from work to home.

2. Right handed, Left handed or both?

I am right-handed

3. Do you write letters (cards don’t count)?  Rarely. The only person I write an actual letter to is the child I sponsor through Compassion International in Peru.

4.  Blogging as a hobby or hoping to pursue something serious? It is just a hobby right now

5.  Your most notable act of “paying it forward”?

I have no idea… I do not keep track.   I try to think of others and do nice things when I can.

6.  On your “before I die____” list?

I don’t have one of those lists. I would love to travel more and fly in a helicopter.

7.  Red wine or white? My answer used to always be white.  But since living out here, I have gone to several wineries and have been introduced to some good reds.   So I guess it depends on the mood and the meal it’s going with.

8. Guilty pleasure? Chocolate and reality tv

 

9.  Have you met anyone in person whom you initially met in the blogosphere?

No, but came close once.

10. Is spring or fall your season of change? I think both have significant meaning and impact.   I’m always striving to better myself and look for ways to change and grow.

 

Now I nominate anyone reading this!