Ahhh....Spring

I know- it's February. And as my husband so lovingly pointed out, I cannot complain about the cold and still where flip flops. I don't care, I'm done with winter.

As the studio was on break this past week, I took the opportunity to do some spring cleaning around the house. I am proud to say that you could snoop through almost all the cupboards, drawers, doors and closets in our home and find things amazingly organized and orderly (I know, the word almost is in there and I'll get to the storage room – eventually).

Starting with clothes and shoes - including the 3 new pairs that I bought 2 days before - I went through every item that I owned and packed up everything that hadn't been seen outside the apartment in the last year. The next day I hit the laundry/storage room. Then the kitchen, and then the bathroom cupboards. (Seriously...who needs 3 cans of hairspray?) Each day a different room.

The final result was not only a clean and organized house but a very happy wife who actually has a place for the grill she got as a wedding present 5 years ago because she finally got rid of the 27 mismatched (and plastic) glasses and mugs that she kept when she left home 16 years ago.

Now...can this be maintained? Yes. If I don't wait for that one day when I can find the time to do everything. So what that looks like is...Mondays- clean the laundry room, Tuesdays- clean the bathrooms, Wednesdays-bedrooms and so on and so on. If I schedule15-20 minutes a day to take on one task at a time, it saves me having to do EVERYTHING in really long, tiring day.

Try it. Start with one room and feel free to let go of what you don't use. It you haven't touched it in a year- you may not need it! Spring is fresh and clean and new and bright. How awesome would it be to have that feeling inside and out!!

Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day, I got you a.....

BANJO!!!

February starts out like EVERY February. I say to Mark, "Valentine's Day-no gifts- really no gifts, no cards. I don't need anything. Lets go for dinner and a movie". He says, " O.K. but I kinda already got you something, well... not just for you, it's more for US. I only hope that it's here by then!!"


Dread. Fear. Cautious anticipation.


Feb 14, 2009....

I am running late for our after work dinner date, racing into the house, when I am stopped dead in my tracks by the lovely? twangy sounds of a banjo coming from the next room.

What do I do next? Do I flee? Obviously some one has broken into the house and is sitting in the living room playing the banjo, because (if you've met him) we all know that it CANNOT be my husband.

But it is.

"I'm serenading you", he says proudly, looking like a kid at Christmas. "Happy Valentine's Day!"
I'm very proud to say that he has purchased "us" a very nice banjo and is currently learning (Banjo's for Dummies) how to play. And, although the "song" that he played for me on that very first night wasn't anything I could recognize, I expect big, big things from this particular musician.

May you have an amazing Valentine's day with the ones you love but I ask that you remember to celebrate your spouse, friends and family throughout the year. Don't wait for one day in February to acknowledge who they are and what they mean to you. Do your best to maintain a regular date-night with your significant other. Have a girls night, guys night or game night. Studies prove that the people who live the longest are the ones who are surrounded by the right people and are connecting on a regular basis.

I wonder what they say about listening to banjo music?

Happy Valentine's Day

Cat-like Reflexes

Where does your motivation come from? What inspires you? I only ask because I recently found mine in a VERY unusual source.

I went for an interval run on Friday morning. And I was focused. I was going to run this far, this fast and for this many minutes at a time. NOTHING was going to break my concentration

So...

• this feels good, I can do this.

• good...keep this pace.

• Look! A cat!

• No! Focus.

• Seriously...that's a huge cat.

• Cara - get it together.... You have 32 more seconds.

• But that cat is not moving.

• Is it dead? It's not even blinking.

• Good. The timer went - I can walk.

• What is the problem with that cat?

So, not one to refuse an excuse to stop running, I continued to watch that stupid cat for a few more minutes. Without a word of a lie it did not blink, move or even breathe. It was sitting in a picture window staring at something. A large black crow (ruffling his feathers in a rather taunting and provoking manner) was sitting on a phone line just outside and out of reach. From what I witnessed, the bird seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself.

I could have dressed in a giant fish costume and lit myself on fire outside that window and the cat would not have even looked at me. All it wanted was that bird.

So as I continue with my run, I start to wonder how is it that a cat can maintain such a level of concentration and I can't walk from one room to another without forgetting why I was going there in the first place?

The answer is simple. This particular cat was living in the moment. There are no fond memories, embarrassing regrets or plans for the future when you are a cat. You live in the now. There are no distractions. Do you think that cat cared about what I was doing outside his window? As if!!

As the length of my running route expands, I will do my best to maintain a feline-like concentration and live in the moment. Maybe a good idea would be to stop peering into the neighbours windows at their animals.

Be well.

Creature of habit

hab⋅it

–noun

1.	an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary: the habit of looking both ways before crossing the street.

2.	customary practice or use: Daily bathing is an American habit.

3.	a particular practice, custom, or usage: the habit of shaking hands.

4.	a dominant or regular disposition or tendency; prevailing character or quality: She has a habit of looking at the bright side of things.

Whether good ones (buckling up) or bad ones (speeding) , I am a creature of habit .

It took me 20 some odd years to stop biting my nails. My mom tried to pay me a quarter a day for every day I didn't. This meant a poor childhood and my first job at 11 years old (picking raspberries - most of which I ate resulting in a pitiful amount of money at the end of the week but I remember waving around my $8.00 paycheck like I had just won the lottery - 8 BUCKS!! I was loaded).

I was talking with one of our amazing practice members the other day and we were both lamenting that we had a million unfinished projects in our homes. Her ceiling remains almost all painted while the 15 beautiful picture frames I bought a year ago are completely empty (there are currently no pictures in our house to prove that Mark and I actually live there).

So how can this creature of habit never stick to anything? WAIT! As I write this, I'm having an epiphany - maybe not following through is a habit in itself!! It's the very definition of irony!! So how do I break this pattern? By finishing one project before starting another? Finishing what I've already started? By never starting anything ever again?

Studies show that it takes a minimum of 21 days for anything to become a habit. This means 21 days of going for a run, 21 days of not biting my nails, 21 days of having a proper meal before I dive into the bowl of popcorn.

I can stick to anything for 21 days, the key is consistency. I think I'll start with finishing current projects.

Now, if you'll excuse me... I have to go and mail last years birthday cards.

Be Well.

And the winner is....

I watched 20-30 minutes of the Miss America pageant the other night. After about 7 minutes I was completely invested in Miss California. I wanted her to win. I thought she looked, walked and talked the part. When asked how she would handle a wardrobe malfunction if it were to occur, she quickly responded with, "I don't think it will but if it something like that happened - it would totally happen to me". (Please refer back to my Jan 23rd post to know why I immediately related to this girl). She was funny, beautiful and come on...she was from California!!

The talent within each of these girls was out of this world- ballet, opera, classical piano...gone are the days of baton twirling. Unless you were to light it on fire and juggle chainsaws, it just wasn't going to cut it.

Miss Virginia, Carissa Cameron won the title in the end. She was so incredibly happy, you could see this was a dream come true. I was cheering right along with her and who I can only assume was her overjoyed, very, very excited mother. As I cried tears of joy for a girl I didn't know a thing about but after 13 minutes decided that she clearly deserved the title of Miss America, I thought....

When was the last time I was that happy for someone I DID know? When have I celebrated along side a friend with pure joy and no hesitation? Saying nothing like...Are you sure? Do you realize...? Maybe you should...? My questions and cautions are all out of love, but I realize that I can be quite the downer.

This week I will rejoice in good news and not question it. I will not wait for the other shoe to drop, expect the worst or assume that I know better. Let the celebrations begin!!!

I'll start by congratulating the first runner-up Miss California!!

Be well.