Tuesday, April 27, 2010

picture day

I traded days at the spa today so that I could go do some pictures for a business in Hillsboro Village. I was done by 10:30, so I decided to go to a Nashville landmark that I've always wanted to try out-The Pancake Pantry. Their pancakes were good, but I think it should be called Heavenly Hashbrowns!  They were the bomb. Then I picked up a couple of books at the main library downtown. What a beautiful building! And I was so sleepy from my huge heavy breakfast, I decided to come home and take a nap on this perfect-for-napping stormy afternoon. Now I am on to downloading the pictures from this morning and then later tonight going out to Vandy to work at a chair massage event. Whew! Busy day, but good.

Monday, April 26, 2010

two reminders

Yesterday, I received not one, but two reminders of just how precious this life is and how very blessed I am.

Driving to Vanderbilt hospital to do a massage for a man who had cancer, I came very close to having a horrible car wreck. There was an SUV two cars ahead of me that suddenly swerved, then flipped and then started to skid into the car in front of me. I had a concrete barrier beside me and nowhere to go, so I just held on tightly to the wheel. Somehow the car in front of me missed the upside down vehicle and I followed closely behind him, coming within inches of the wrecked truck. I looked in my rear-view to see about 5 cars pulling over to help, so I did not try to get off the road to help. I'm sure I could not have been much help, shaking as badly as I was. Somehow I managed to get down to Vandy, park and calm myself down so that I could work on this man with cancer.

He'd had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (I think) and then some kind of stem cell treatment that had completely messed up his whole digestive tract. He had not been allowed to eat or drink anything, not even water, for 22 days! I cannot even imagine how horrible that would be. His mother told me how much he longs for just a sip of water.

On the way home, part of me was extremely sad.  I think it bought up feelings about my dad and how I had not been able to be there or to help him in any way when he was slipping away with bone cancer. I never really got to say goodbye. We thought he was getting a little better and I had a flight scheduled, but then he passed away. And part of me was sad for this man I'd just worked on who would be so happy just to have a cool drink of water or a bit of food.

And the rest of me was incredibly grateful for this life I have, filled with so many friends and family, a good job, good health, the ability to do so many things that I enjoy doing like dancing, biking, hiking and photography and on top of all that a warm, safe, lovely home, clothes, a car, plenty of food...how incredibly blessed I am! I don't want to take one moment of this gift for granted. I know I'm not promised one moment beyond the one I inhabit right now. And I don't want to take all the wonderful people and things in it for granted, because they are not promised to me tomorrow either. (And you know what? I'm glad I'm not wasting any of the precious moments of this year watching TV...I know I made a good choice in that regard for sure!) Going to bed counting my blessings. :-)

Sunday, April 25, 2010

busy weekend

Well, it's been quite the busy weekend! Friday night I went to TPAC to see the Nashville Ballet perform A Midsummer Night's Dream. it was wonderful. I was mesmerized by their grace. The Saturday went to Cedars of Lebanon for the last day of Dance Escape. Did the workshops during the day and then the dance last night. It was great to see all of the dancers I hadn't seen since last year. Some come from as far away as Canada. It was a blast. Now today after chores, I'm going out to Vandy to do a massage for a cancer patient. I've never worked with him before, but looking forward to the opportunity. And possibly I'll get in a walk on the latter part of this beautiful day. The storms have washed the air clean and the sky is sparkling blue. It would be a shame to let that go to waste by being inside all day!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

working out

I worked out today when I got off of work. I had been trying to do it before work, but this week after just seem to be better. I guess it doesn't matter when, as long as you do it...right!? So, I did a mile on the treadmill, 2 on the bike and 2 on the elliptical. (about 50 minutes) and then did squats and stretching. I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk tomorrow, but I felt good while I was doing it. At some point during the workout, I realized how good and strong I felt. You know, like "I am woman hear me roar" kind of strong. As if I could conquer the world. Is that what they mean be the runner's high? I don't think I've ever felt that before, but I could see why it could be addicting. I need to remember that feeling when I don't want to exercise. Need to remember how good it feels and all the wonderful things it's doing for me. By the way...does my butt look smaller to you? LOL I threw out the scale, so I'm not sure how I will measure progress. Guess I just have to wait for the clothes to start falling off me to know for sure. I'll keep you updated.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

computer virus

Wow...it only takes one bug to make you realize just how very much we rely on computers. All the computers at work were taken out by some bug in the Macafee update. It was horrible. We couldn't do anything. We couldn't check people in or out, make appointments, ring up sales, type documents, find anyone's phone numbers. In short, we were totally useless! At least our hands still worked so we could give massages, but we weren't sure who we were supposed to be massaging because we couldn't see their appointments. Oh well, we got through. But it does make some of those doomsday movies and predictions seem a little more plausible after you experience what the lack of technology can do to a business for just a few short hours! Scary to say the least!!! Better post this while I can, huh?

Monday, April 19, 2010

scales

I have a good friend who is a personal trainer and I was talking with him about exercising, losing weight, getting fit, etc... He said that I needed to throw out my scale! I, of course, told him it was the first thing I do every morning. "How does it make you feel?" he asked. Well, if I've lost weight-good, if I stayed the same-ok, and if I gained-bad. I could tell if it was going to be a good or bad day from that two second encounter with a weigh-in device. How silly is that, to let you mood and outlook for the day be determined by some numbers on a scale!? The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. He is the expert after all. So, this weekend I went through my closet and changed over my clothes for the season, weeded out 4 bags of stuff to take to Goodwill and threw the scale in the bags for good measure. Yikes! We'll see if I survive sans scales. :-)

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Greenway Project

The other day, I was on the internet looking for places to hike and/or bike in and around Nashville. I came across the website for the greenways in Nashville. Two weekends ago, I took a short walk at one end of the Shelby Bottoms Greenway, so I was a little familiar with them. But I was frustrated with the site, because it really didn't give you much information about the sites, other than a map. So I thought, wouldn't it be fun to go to all the greenways and write up descriptions with pictures so that people would have a better idea of what they were like.

Today was my first visit. I started with Shelby Bottoms since I was a bit familiar with it and chose to ride my bike instead of walk. And I could not have picked a more perfect day for a bike ride if I had tried. It was 65 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze and bright blue skies. Absolutely gorgeous. We did about 10 miles which was the complete loop, plus a little extra. I thought maybe I would post the log here, but I can't do what I'd like with pictures, so I will create a site to write and post the greenway project notes for anyone who is interested. I will tell you, if you are looking for a place to bike, walk or skate, Shelby Bottoms is a great pick!

Ok, off to do a little stretching and then bed. I should sleep well tonight!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

strange day

So...I had to go into work for an hour this morning to do a massage for a VIP. I was planning on being there for one hour. After I did the massage, I decided I should pay back my hair stylist. She'd done my hair and then I was supposed to giver her a massage in trade. But over the last month we hadn't been able to work it in, so I thought this would be a good day to do that. Then one of the people on my team was having a problem and needed to talk, so there goes another hour. By then it was lunchtime and I was hungry, so I went to lunch with everyone. Got back to the spa and decided to get a facial since it was so slow. (it was wonderful) And of course I had to get my workout in. When I got done working out Rikki says she can get me in to do my hair. So now I have a spicy new haircut/color. And 8 hours later...I'm finally home! Did get to go to dance class, but picked up a DVD on the way home and watched it with the kids. It was a good albeit strange day.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

perception of reality

Perception

"We do not see things as they are.  We see them as we are."

-The Talmud


"To a large degree "reality" is whatever the people who are around at the time agree to."

-Milton H. Miller



How much does your attitude determine your reality? How much does your choice of companions influence your reality? Are you hanging out with people who are always negative, down, pessimistic? Then your reality will reflect that dark cloud. Two people can witness the exact same incident and come away with completely different explanations of the event. It is their own perception that creates for them the reality of that moment. So perhaps I should choose to see things differently and alter my reality?

Monday, April 12, 2010

storm

Perception

"Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings.  It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that are forever blowing through one's mind."

-Mark Twain



How very true! And what would our lives be like if we could calm that storm? Or better yet, harness the power of the storm to create something incredible. Like using the electricity from a lightning bolt, we could power our dreams and make them into reality. 

Sunday, April 11, 2010

hiking

Percy Warner Park, blue skies and 80 degrees. What could be better?! I hiked six and a half miles today. That was a pretty good jaunt for someone how hasn't hiked in months. I may pay for it tomorrow, but right now I feel pretty good. And we saw an owl. He'd just caught something and was making a tasty treat of it. I hope I got some good pictures of him. I really like owls and had always thought it would be so cool to have one as a pet. You know, instead of a boring old parakeet. But I don't think I'd like to have to feed one. I think they only eat live things like mice. And besides,  I don't think I could stand the constant questions..."Who?" "Who?" "Who?". LOL g'night folks!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

21 Keys to a Happy Life

A Journey To Joy

  1. Compliment three people every day.
  2. Watch a sunrise.
  3. Be the first to say "Hello."
  4. Live beneath your means.
  5. Treat everyone as you want to be treated.
  6. Never give up on anybody; miracles happen.
  7. Forget the Jones'.
  8. Remember someone's name.
  9. Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.
  10. Be tough-minded, but tender hearted.
  11. Be kinder than you have to be.
  12. Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
  13. Keep your promises.
  14. Show cheerfulness even when you don't feel it.
  15. Remember that overnight success usually takes 15 years.
  16. Leave everything better than you found it.
  17. Remember that winners do what losers don't want to do.
  18. When you arrive at your job in the morning, let the first thing you say brighten every one's day.
  19. Don't rain on other people's parades.
  20. Don't waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
  21. Keep some things to yourself and don't promote havoc by hurting people you love.
source unknown

Monday, April 5, 2010

lucky girl

I walked in the door from work tonight and the little man comes running full speed yelling "Nonna" with the biggest smile on his face, arms outstretched. I'm going to tape that one of these days. And if I ever get to feeling sorry for myself or ungrateful for my life, I only need watch that to remind me of how very lucky I am. Then we took a walk to the park in the warm evening breeze. So nice! I'm loving the beautiful weather and the chance to be outside again. Need to get my bike tuned up so I can get riding...another thing that makes me happy. I always feel that sense of child-like freedom when I ride my bike. And we all need to feel that every once in a while, don't we!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

what a weekend

Wow, what a weekend! I think I did 12 West Coast Swing workshops in the last 3 days and probably another 12 hours of social dancing. And it was a blast! I haven't had that much fun in a long time. There were so many good dancers there, so when I wasn't dancing, I was watching. And then the pro show was incredible. I need to do ALOT more weekends like this. Not only did I feel like I really made some improvements in my dancing, but it really made me happy. I came away from the weekend with a huge smile on my face and my spirit feeling refreshed. Of course, my body is a little tired, but it's well worth that small price. Oh, and almost as exciting as the dancing was the fact that I think I may have actually found that most elusive of creations...a comfortable and cute pair of dance shoes. I danced in them all weekend long and my feet are feeling good. How awesome is that?!

Back to work and the real world tomorrow...but I go back with a happy heart. :-)

Thursday, April 1, 2010

weekend

This weekend there is a west coast swing event here in town and I plan on doing a BUNCH of dancing! I am soooo looking forward to it. I hope I can learn some new stuff at the workshops and get in lots of practice. I wish my back wasn't being so cranky, but I plan on hitting the chiropractor in the morning so I can get started on the right foot. No pun intended. The kids have gone to Gatliburg for the weekend and I can already tell the house will be way to quiet without the munchkins, so it's a good thing I won't be here much to ramble around in the silence. Of course, that means no easter egg hunt, but we'll just have to have our own when they get back. Better hop on over to the easter egg store some time this weekend then I guess and get supplies!