Sunday, November 21, 2010

Don't Say the "P" Word! Don't Even Spell It!

I've had pets all my life, cats, dogs, goats, bunnies, snakes, guinea pigs, gerbils, hamsters, and even a bird. Never before now have I enjoyed so many hours of entertainment from just watching my pets. 2 dogs and a wild as sin cat. The dogs FAVORITE activity of all time going to the dog park. They also enjoy going swimming at the lake with us and love long walks and jogs. But when we say "Do you want to go to the park?" they jump up and down and bark really loud and non stop. And when I say jump up and down, I mean my 120 lb lab/mix jumps OFF the ground at me and gets about a foot of air...it's SCARY! They enjoy it SOOO much that if we ask EACH OTHER if we want to take the dogs to the park they start jumping up and down and barking as loudly as possible and don't stop until they are in the truck. So even if we were undecided at that point, it don't matter because they have made up their mind once they hear "park"! They are so smart that even after we started spelling "P-A-R-K" they still understand what we are talking about and react the same way as if we had said it out loud. So now we have to be extremely careful even using anything that RHYMES with "park" in a sentence when the dogs are in the room, or else we have to head to the dog park...OR have 2 barking jumping dogs for the rest of the night!

The good part of bringing them to the dog park is that it only takes about 20 min or 1/2 hour of play and we can go home and they are passed out for the rest of the night, right now they are laying next to me snoring. :) Good night.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Wellness

So, the place I work is about the best place to work on the planet. Not only do I love my job and the people I work with, but they also provide a fitness center, fitness staff, and wellness plans that are out of this world.

I found out about a wellness coaching meeting which takes 2 1/2 hours to complete! This "course" takes you through every aspect of you as a person, of your life, to boil down to 3 or 4 simple statements that define YOU at your peek wellness...not what a doctor says or what a personal trainer says, but what YOU SAY is your vision of you at your best wellness. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical that I could be decisive enough to come to this conclusion.

The course with my wellness coach was nothing short of amazing!! I am pretty confident that I am very in tune with myself, my body, my soul, my heart, I would go out on a limb and say FAR more than the average 35 year old female. STILL this activity made me see things so clearly, and dig deep inside to see what is really important to me, and WHY, and which things might not be as important to me.

When speaking of "complete wellness", one cannot avoid the subject of weight and fitness, and fact is I DO want to lose weight (again) and keep it off. There are many other things that fit into MY wellness vision, but I've packed on 40 lbs and it is going to take a hell of a lot of work to get that back off! And when a person is that overweight, it affects every other aspect of life! Work, friends, romance, kids, leisure, ...everything. For me it is a foundation to feel at 100% success in any of those other areas. Otherwise it feels like I am falling short of success, in everything. It is a fact, (not a mood, not a feeling, not depression or lack of self-esteem)...it is a fact.

So, not that earning $500 next year for losing 10% of my weight isn't enough motivation for me (err wait, it wasn't enough last year), now I have much more to look forward to IF I can get there...feeling successful in all that I set out to do, and feeling good about myself when I reach little or big successes. I know what it feels like to have 100% pride of my kids, to feel that for myself...that will be cool.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

No Electronics Day!

I was having a mushy mom moment and started writing a letter to one of my children to let her know how proud I am of her and how very much I love her. When I finished I felt so good inside, it was PRICELESS! I was so stressed out for a long time, and it was better than any therapy I could think of! The letter meant so much to me that I wrote another one for the other 2 kids because I knew I was just as proud of each of them and (of course) loved them just as much. I placed the letters on each of their pillows for them to find when they went to bed. I thought, what a great way to end a day and have in their minds when they go to sleep.

The next day, I found a letter from my youngest child on my pillow! She wrote me back! I would be lying if I said I didn't shed a tear when I read her sweet letter, she always amazes me for being SO SMART at the young age of 8!

So then I was on a mission. (which always scares my partner, and sometimes the children! haha) I knew this was a great stress reliever for me, and a great booster for the recipients, so I had an idea! (now you're a little scared too, aren't you? haha!!) I grabbed 3 notebooks, stuffed each of their letters in the back of each notebook, and wrote another letter in each of them, and placed them carefully in their rooms. (VERY carefully in my 17-year-old's room because it looks like land mines went off in his room and I'm always afraid I will be the next to set another one off!) and I told them this will now be our personal journal between us. (I mean now not so personal since it's broadcasted on the internet! But still personal because you don't know what it says! Plus I thought sharing the idea would be great in case other families want to steal the idea!) But now I can go to their rooms, and write a note to them to say how proud I am, or things I noticed lately that they did very well. And they can write back to me if they have something on their mind that they either can't or haven't had time to say out loud to me. I told them this does not replace verbal communication, but rather just adds to the ways we can show care and love for each other.

God I love that! (then again a Gemini always gets a rise out of communication)

Another activity I can chalk up as something to do when I say "NO ELECTRONICS DAY!" at which they all moan because it means no TV, no computer, no texting, no video games, NO ELECTRONICS! (and yes, I have had to clarify that means not only ones that plug in but also ones that require batteries as well!!)

Happy Communicating!
~Prudy

***Making little ripples of happiness will cause a tidal wave of happy people in your life***

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Volunteering

So it is that time of year again! United Way campaign and all the temptations of signing up for fun volunteer projects! Now I have to decide which one I can commit to so that I can try to stick with my goal of finding balance. They all seem like so much fun though! There's one place that keeps catching my attention though, it's the New Beginnings center for young new mom's. There are so many ways to help: babysitting, helping with activities, donating, being a mentor for one of the mom's. *EEEK* I would just LOVE it!

Then I have to weigh out the possible negatives it could cause: how much time would I spend on this, how much extra do I put on my budget for it, can I involve my kids/family and still avoid them feeling neglected or like their mom is being spread too thin?

Things always seem to boil down to planning. Thinking it all through and deciding which activity (instead of ALL of them), how much time I will commit to per week or per month, how much money I will cap on spending toward it, and then see what happens from there. HOW EXCITING!

Think about volunteering somewhere! Join with a friend even! It gives back to you SO MUCH more...a new network in your life, new friends, gain different experiences, and best of all make a huge difference in someone's life...actually SEVERAL people's lives! How awesome is that? =) <3 Hugs! ~Prudy ***Making little ripples of happiness in your community will cause a tidal wave of happy people!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

And these are the days of our lives....

I changed the theme of the page a bit, since I feel off track from the last one (hence my randomness. So many people in my life keep telling me to blog what happens in our life because it's been said time and time again "PRUDY!! You're life could be a sitcom!!" and "You should write this stuff down!!" So, laugh, learn, or do what you will with it! =)

The month of October! Oh boy! Where do I start?
I spent an entire Friday night with my 17-yr-old son in the Emergency Room for what was thought to be poisoning. Come to find out he experimented with drugs, a drug called K2 that they sell over the counter in our community! The good that came of this??? I learned about something very important; a dangerous drug that is available to all of my children and anyone in our community. I never would have known about this if this didn't happen, now I know what kinds of signs to look for and to involve my kids with my research about the side effects and the dangers.

Then...I took my 13-year-old to the doctor for a lump on her back where they referred me to Gillette's Children's Hospital for emergency surgery to treat her scoliosis. I paid for a 2nd opinion at a chiropractor within 2 days and they backed the decision to go to the pediatric spine specialists at Gillette. The next week I spent an entire day in the cities where they said surgery wasn't necessary, but casted her torso so a fitted body brace could be made for her that she needs to wear 18-23 hours per day for next year or two. The good?? We caught it early enough to correct, AND she doesn't need back surgery!

Then...one of our cats was having chronic bladder infections and was going to be put down. But it was suggested that maybe she has become very picky about her food and litter box and refuses to share it with the other cat (we have 2 litter boxes, but the other cat uses both of them) so we found a home on the very day she was going to be put down. A VERY nice family (with no other pets) welcomed her with open arms and are going to do whatever possible to fix her bladder issues. Who does that!?

So after a very sitcommy October, not a dull moment EVER, November has begun and I feel very much at peace with how everything ended up. Everything that has happened seems to have a happy new start! Especially for the little pets that are dependent on us for their health and happiness. I love those little creatures! =')

Now Christmas is quickly approaching, and I found out today that we might be adopting a family for Christmas...which means we get to go shopping and buy presents for another family and make their Christmas as special as we possibly can! I am SO EXCITED!!

Sorry this entry is so long - we had to (re)start somewhere!! Please feel free to respond or comment!

Love and hugs to all always,
Prudy