Romance isn't dead

I stole this from CreoleinDC... this one's for the ladies!

And David is...

THE SNOW SWORD
Your Superhero Name is The Snow Sword
Your Superpower is Seduction
Your Weakness is Glitter
Your Weapon is Your Flame Bombs
Your Mode of Transportation is Snowboard

All of this is spot on for David, and here's a bit of TMI that he's probably very proud of... he has some serious weapons of mass destruction with his Flame Bombs. Yes, it's what you think it is.

Seduction :) check. And now I know his weakness. Either this means I need some glitter body lotion, or his weakness is a stripper named Glitter. Hmmmm, I'm going to get my body lotion either way.

If you only knew ;)

You Are a Champagne Woman

A true mystery, no one can quite figure you out... That is, until you start drinking. Then you tend to let loose. You're fun to drink with, but it definitely takes you a few drinks to loosen up. You prefer to date a man who likes the finer things in life... like a five star dinner with that champagne.

What Kind of Drinking Woman Are You?

Happy Holidays!!

I can't believe it's almost Christmas! I have been so busy getting my stuff ready to move, I'm finally settling in to David's house and gave my notice at my apartment, so now I'm on a deadline. And I'm going to get my first Christmas tree! I'm not one to decorate for any holiday, but this year, we're getting a tree even though I'll only have it up for about a week before I leave to go to the 'Cleave. We haven't even gotten the tree yet, but the process has been fun, since I've never shopped for a tree before. Don't expect Christmas cards from me either :) By the time I remember to send them, Christmas has come and gone. So forgive the lack of updates on the blog, things should settle down after my holiday travel and I'll be writing a lot more.

In the meantime, enjoy our HOLIDAY DANCE! :)

The Secrets of Thin People

I found this article a while back on Real Simple online but I couldn't find it again when I wanted to post it the first time... The Secrets of Thin People, how they get there, how they stay there. A good read, as is most things on the Real Simple site. Love this site!

Giving Thanks

"The seeds of discouragement cannot take root in a grateful heart."

This is from Joel's message last week which I'm sitting here listening to again since I record them all now. This sentence is playing over and over in my head for some reason. I'm home sick today, it's raining outside, but I'm grateful I have a job that allows me sick days and the ability to work from home so I can be comfy and rest. I'm grateful we're getting the rain since we need it so badly. I'm grateful that David calls and emails to check up on me and rubs my feet when I'm not feeling well. Life is still good and every day should be Thanksgiving Day.

"The seeds of discouragement cannot take root in a grateful heart."

Happy Birthday Heidi!!

Last weekend we celebrated Heidi's 30th birthday by taking a girls trip to go wine tasting in Temecula. We visited five different wineries and took the Grapeline Shuttle so we didn't have to worry about driving. I got some really nice wines & champagne and we even signed up for the wine club at Mt. Palomar winery. Guess we'll be going back ;) We stayed at the Temecula Creek Inn and I got to take my daily walk on the back nine holes of the golf course before anyone was playing on it that morning, it was nice and peaceful and the area is beautiful! David has actually played here before, but I think we'll have to visit for a weekend sometime soon. Here's some info on the local wineries of Temecula.

Who are YOU?

YOU are not what you do... YOU are not your job, your resume or your net worth... YOU are not your weight, your body, your clothes, your car... You are not your mistakes or your past, your accomplishments or your hobbies... these things you have and these things you do are all temporary and imperfect and part of your story while you go through this life.

YOU are the unbelievably glorious brilliance of God's perfection... the REAL YOU is eternal and perfect and cannot be changed by what you have or what you do or diminished by what happens in this life. God loves YOU... and you should love YOU too! Why? Because YOU are fabulous!

I was just thinking about that on my walk today and thought you might want to know :)

iAmplify

I just found iAmplify ~ "A world of content to amplify your life!" ~ as they say. They have free downloads as well as audio and video you can buy in all sorts of areas. You can also download as a podcast, or simply download it to your computer. I'm really getting into this podcast thing, I'm really behind the curve!

Check out Marianne Williamson's free download on Intimacy.

Focusing on the "To Do's"

In my job as a health educator at IHM, our focus is on teaching people what we call the "to do" behaviors of health management. There is a lot of information and focus everywhere on what NOT to do when it comes to losing or maintaining weight: "Don't eat processed foods", "Don't eat saturated fat", "Don't eat eggs, chocolate, meat... etc, etc..." But the idea is that if you focus enough on the "to-do" foods, in particular fruits & vegetables, you will fill yourself up to the point that you don't need the "not-to-do's" or you at least minimize them. That's a simplified explanation of what we do, but I said that to explain that I'm personally going to start doing this with my thoughts, and what I put into my mind. I've been trying to stop wasting time on these celebrity gossip sites that I can't seem to get enough of... I guess it's my soap opera :) and I've been focusing on the "not-to-do"... "Don't view these sites"... but my new tactic is similar to our focus at work... Focus on the "to-do's".

Much in the same way that I focus on my fruit & veggie intake, I'm focusing on the "to-do's" of listening to Joel Osteen as much as possible and listening to Wayne Dyer in my car. I'm trying to make sure my input is as positive as possible as much as possible. I still find myself drawn to garbage celebrity sites, but not as much as usual, plus I'm happier listening to the positive input of Joel & Wayne. I'll next be moving on to Debbie Ford & Marianne Willliamson :)

I finally found a way to download Joel's podcasts to my Napster mp3 player (I'm a dinosaur, and don't have an iPod). Juice is a cross-platform podcast receiver and I finally got it to work. So now if I go for a walk, I can listen to Joel's message. I also started recording his messages on the DVR, so I listen to that in the morning having my coffee, instead of getting sucked into R.egis & K.elly :) Yes, I know you love them, but I'm aiming for pure positivity and Kelly is a little like processed positivity.

Thoughts turn into feelings which turn into actions. My goal is to improve my daily actions, more love, more joy, more peace... I want those things to direct my thoughts and direct my life.

What are your "to do's" to improve your thinking?

Update: Miracles can happen

update: it's creole seasoning y'all :)

OK, y'all, it was a miracle waiting to happen..... I'm learning to cook!! I always get really inspired whenever I visit either my mom or my sister-in-law. They are great cooks and love to take care of people when they are with them. My mom will always make sure to cook our favorite meals when we are home and Monica always likes to make you feel right at home in her house and in her kitchen. I've gotten quite old-fashioned in my old age, and now that I've met someone that I really want to take care of, I thought it was time to learn to cook for him. My problem is finding tasty AND healthy, low fat recipes that are good for beginners. I've started with the basics, well actually I started with just tasty and high fat :) As soon as I got back from DC, inspired by being around my mom and my sister at the same time, I made David a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich! Hehe not exactly heart healthy :) but it was yummy... and it was a milestone that I actually made bacon! I must love that man. It wasn't just any grilled cheese though, it was my brother's special concoction, made with 6-grain bread from the Amish market in DC and gruyere cheese. My brother puts mustard on it and Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, I made one for myself and just left the bacon off, of course. So yesterday, I baked chicken for the first time in my life (yes, don't make fun of me!) and made mashed potatoes. The chicken turned out a little lemony with the flavors that I put on it, so I'm going to make a pasta & broccoli dish and add it to that and see how it turns out with that. David is very loving and helpful through my learning process. I had to make peace with the fact that nothing is probably going to turn out right on the first try, so I'm just looking at everything like an experiment and he is helping me by tasting and giving me some tips to improve the dishes. I'll keep you posted with new recipes, because if I can make it and it turns out good, then anybody can make it!

Weight Loss Success

From ediets.com, are you making any of the 25 Biggest Weight-Loss Mistakes? Let me know which ones, I can post some solutions to some of the biggest challenges you face.

If you are interested in losing weight during or after the holidays, check out our HMR at Home® program at IHMonline. This is the company that I work for, I do not make commission on any sales of products or programs, I just really believe in what we do. If you have questions, email me at rmoss@ihmonline.com.

The Power of Disengagement

This is from a daily email I get from Daily Om, which is a website aligned more with Eastern spiritual practices. I thought this particular Daily Om was a good reminder on dealing with negative influences in our lives.

The Power Of Disengagement

Playing Mind Games

For better or worse, many people have been raised to believe that communicating in an honest and open way will not get them what they want. They have learned, instead, to play mind games or go on power trips in the service of their ego’s agenda. People stuck in this outmoded and inefficient style of communication can be trying at best and downright destructive at worst. We may get caught up in thinking we have to play the same games in order to defend ourselves, but that will only lead us deeper into confusion and conflict. The best way to handle people like this is to be clear and honest with them. As with all relationships and situations in our lives, we must look within for both the source of our difficulties and the solution. Reacting to the situation by getting upset will only entrench us more deeply in the undesirable relationship.

Only by disengaging, becoming still, and going within can we begin to see what has hooked us into the mess in the first place. We will most likely find unprocessed emotions that we can finally fully feel and release into the stillness we find in meditation. The more we are able to do this, the less we will be bothered by the other person’s dramas and the more we will be free to respond in a new way. In the light of our new awareness, the situation will untangle itself and we will slowly break free.Whenever people come into our lives, they have come for a reason, to show us something about ourselves that we have not been able to see. When unhealthy people try to hook us into their patterns with mind games and power trips, we can remind ourselves that we have something to learn here and that a part of us is calling out for healing. This takes the focus off the troubling individual and puts it back on us, giving us the opportunity to change the situation from the inside out.

Look on the left hand side...

and check out my new polling section! My first question references a conversation taking place today at lunch after I made mashed potatoes for David :) We're trying to find out which of us is normal... well, I guess as normal as the rest of you :)

This made me smile...

I was still in bed when David left for work this morning. I told him last night to please take all the Halloween candy that was left to work with him, since if it was in the house, I was going to eat it! He loves me, so he knows not to enable my chocolate addiction :) I hear him in the kitchen pouring the candy into something to take to work (now that I think about it, why didn't he just take the bag?) Anyway, I was thinking how much I really would have loved to have one more little chocolate and then how glad I was that he was taking it all to work like I'd asked because I would be too tempted. Then I walk into the kitchen to this... One perfect Reese's Peanut Butter Cup to get me through the day :) My man knows me. Thank you baby!!

In Memory ~ Erik Thomas Garoutte

Oct. 9, 1985 - Oct. 19, 2007

Erik was David's nephew and yesterday we attended his funeral. I had never met Erik, he was already in the Marines when David and I started dating, but I knew his name. You could tell his family was proud of him, proud that he was serving his country. To me, he was just a name, someone I had never met, but yesterday I wished I had gotten that chance. I have been so affected by seeing his family and friends grieve for him, he had only just turned 22 and I thought these kids shouldn't have to be burying their friend at this age. It didn't make me feel old to call them kids, it made me feel heartbroken for them. There were five of his friends that spoke at his funeral, sharing memories that made everyone laugh. Apparently Erik had been quite the prankster, so there was actually lots of laughter at his funeral, remembering the good times. Isn't that a testament to the person he was, that people were laughing at their memories, sharing that common denominator that he was the funniest person they knew... he could always make you laugh. They went on to talk about his music, he played guitar and wrote and played contemporary christian music. He was a good listener and you could talk to him about anything.

I never met Erik, but I know that seeing David and his brothers, his dad and stepmom, all of his family, grieving their loss, I was grieving with them. It made me grateful that I have not had to grieve this type of loss in my life, but now acutely aware that it will happen in one way or another. We are not promised another day, it is a reminder to love every day and live each moment with passion, whether it's laughter or tears.

I spent the weekend in DC with Robby, Monica and my mom... I was more grateful for the weekend after yesterday, grateful that we make the time to do things like this. I'll share pictures and stories of the weekend in another post, but this is heavy on my heart today. I wish for Erik's friends and family comfort and peace while they grieve, keeping his laughter and wonderful memories close to their heart.

Obituaries

Zion Christian Fellowship

Los Angeles Times

The Little Things

From my inbox, a reminder to be grateful for all things :) even the little annoyances:

As you might know, the head of a company survived 9/11 because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an auto accident.

One of them missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.

One's car wouldn't start.

One went back to answer the telephone .

One had a child that dawdled and didn't get ready as soon as he should have.

One couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.

Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a ringing telephone... all the little things that annoy me. I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment. Next time your morning seems to be going wrong, the children are slow getting dressed, you can't seem to find the car keys, you hit every traffic light, don't get mad or frustrated; it may just be that God is at work watching over you. May God continue to bless you with all those annoying little things and may you remember their possible purpose.

Arrrggh! Just call me Ethel

My pirate name is:

Dirty Ethel Vane

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You tend to blend into the background occaisionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Lilies & Tulips

I definitely need my grandmother's green thumb... My tulips were very beautiful, but I'm not sure I took care of them like they needed plus I kept rearranging them... They make me smile just thinking about David though, so I love them :)

The Breast Cancer Site

Click to give FREE Mammograms at the Breast Cancer Site.