tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53997983918971669752024-03-12T20:31:11.846-07:00A Journey to Health - One Step at a TimeSharing my experience; striving for my goal. This journey to a healthier me is about enjoying my grandchildren to the fullest, travelling along the less-beaten path in countries around the world and, someday, rocking beside a cozy fire with a smile on my face knowing I made the world a better place by actively connecting with it every day.
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-48575067868647027122019-11-13T19:58:00.000-08:002020-04-12T11:46:29.417-07:00Next! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is humbling to look back at my blog posts over the years. The pauses in between posts are not all bad news. Often it is because I got busier living life with less time to write about life! On the flip side, sometimes it was because I felt like I was barely living at all.<br />
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I have run the gamut of eat, live and love. I have learned much along the way and applied a little here and a little there.<br />
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Truth - I was inclined to start a new blog or maybe delete all of the posts in this one before starting to blog again. Then I decided this right here - it is the truth and if there is one message I would like to get out there; one word that might encourage even one person; then, I must not destroy the evidence of my path of discovery - no matter how long (and humiliating!) it is.<br />
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<b>That word is NEXT.</b></h2>
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<b>NEXT</b> - Announcement - my next step on this journey is/was the Keto Diet. Yes, you heard it. In November 2019 I decided enough was enough and climbed slowly on to the Keto Diet band wagon.<br />
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<b>NEXT </b>- Research. Keto is on thousands of YouTube channels and covered in thousands of blogs. (well, now 1001 blogs!). It was overwhelming! Information choked me and some of the heavy pressure sales pitches made me want to ...well, you know..! I worked to dig out the knowledge with the hope I could make some sense of what was real and what was an advertisement.<br />
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<b>NEXT </b>- Real People/Advocates. A friend supplied the insight that helped me to believe that it was not a trend. Her doctor and her naturopath (real people, too!) both recommended it for her to help with the pain associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis. It works for auto-immune diseases - they said! She was real, live-person proof. Real-people wisdom: She recommended that I narrow my sources of information to one or two. Her highest recommendation was to pay attention to Dr. A. Bosworth - online or in print. Two reasons:<br />
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<li>Dr. Bosworth explains the science in depth but in language the layman can understand; and, </li>
<li>Dr. Bosworth gives a basic, easy to follow way to transition into Keto. </li>
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<b>NEXT</b> - Real Science. No I didn't go out and research medical journals or put up an ad on social media to attract the "followers". But I did pay attention. To discover that this Keto Diet is not a new trend or fad was a big selling point for me. It is science. Science that has been around since at least 1910 when used to successfully treat children suffering from multiple daily seizures that were not responding to the existing medication at the time. Successfully, meaning that sixty years or more later, when these children died of old age the autopsies showed that those who went on the Keto Diet had brains that had thrived in comparison to the damaged brains of those who had been medicated. This is a direct reference to the information provided in Dr. Bosworth's one and only book: <i><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/ANYWAY-YOU-CAN-Bosworth-BEGINNERS/dp/0999854232/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3R3F33F4A5YHW&keywords=anyway+you+can+doctor+bosworth&qid=1573703095&sprefix=anyway+you+can%2Caps%2C255&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Anyway You Can</a></i>. This book is available on Amazon and if you have Kindle Unlimited, you can download it for free! I will also include her website if you are curious enough to check it out: <a href="https://bozmd.com/">https://bozmd.com/</a><br />
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<b>Enough advertising. </b></h2>
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<b>NEXT: What have I observed in five months?</b></h2>
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1. Satiety. Amazing, cozy, fulfilling satiety. No crazy cravings. No hunger. (AND DELICIOUS FOOD!)<br />
2. Weight loss. I personally dropped thirty pounds without changing anything but what I eat.<br />
3. Reduced pain. That one is new - I noticed it on Day10. A long-time sufferer of osteoarthritis plus from an autoimmune disease which causes daily body pain, I was pain free. I am ecstatic that this has continued to be the case several months into this lifestyle.<br />
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That's it.<br />
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<b>NEXT</b>: Intermittent Fasting and One Meal A Day (OMAD)</div>
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<b>Now go. Do. Conquer. </b></div>
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Your "NEXT" could be Keto! or maybe something else!</div>
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<b>Just make sure you are looking forward when you take your NEXT step!</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://eileenb4u.wixsite.com/artbyeileenhopkins" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QJq6XdN1kXw/XczIMQdVAYI/AAAAAAAAB0I/u6XOSOzMhG0zMJq94hoLaiWdlGjQtwrNACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/2018-03-31%2B09.12.25.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://eileenb4u.wixsite.com/artbyeileenhopkins" target="_blank">The Wishing Star</a></td></tr>
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-62068911233851561612019-02-18T14:13:00.000-08:002019-11-13T18:49:38.658-08:00Health is....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J2At3rsDLM8/T52FjE9KZiI/AAAAAAAAAJk/HV8GHrzjHGMuykCLGAGXhUFe318rs4zkgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/DSCF3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J2At3rsDLM8/T52FjE9KZiI/AAAAAAAAAJk/HV8GHrzjHGMuykCLGAGXhUFe318rs4zkgCPcBGAYYCw/s320/DSCF3689.JPG" width="320" /></a>It is a tribute to my life that these blog posts are sporadic and filled with randomness. And yet, the one focus of it all is the word "journey". I have spun in different directions choosing to wander into the depths of despair and hidden behind rocks and fallen trees along the path of avoidance; but, not once I have truly been lost. Often living along the fringe and frequently focused on <i>pleasures that get in the way of my happiness </i>(thank you CS for sharing that phrase with me!), I seem to arrive back on this page and at least visiting the possibilities once more of living a healthier life.<br />
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My goal remains the same. My story end has not changed (writing the last page of my life was a game changer - I strive to work backwards from there!). My journey may have. Today I search for what is best as I now am looking at the 70's moving closer and leaving the 60's behind. Another 20 months! Sometimes it is daunting to look at the number but, most of the time, age creeps up on me slowly and I hardly notice the tiny increments until they cluster together into a "look at me!" change.<br />
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Choosing to move looks different now....but move I must. This week I have started a chair yoga practice that will hopefully get my joints moving and my swagger back. Gently, soothing stretches and swaying, breaking down the fascia that has tightly woven itself around my muscles and joints and organs. No snap of the fingers to hurry this process along. Curious? The course is available online at <a href="https://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=877&aff=92&cur=cad&fbclid=IwAR2X_hg9C0Ho7ZJ_cRUsNnrGKMx9LPbRyUg5LhPxgNaqR0xXwWESGsiEYxU" target="_blank">Chair Yoga</a> I am not advertising but...it is a video, it was a very reasonable cost, and, it features a girl and her mom (my age-ish) and it demonstrates chair yoga as well as gently floor yoga. The jury is out - I will keep you posted. Today the video moved beyond swaying and breathing and into the spine stretches. I am thinking the cat pose and the child pose modified. It felt good and was only ten minutes.<br />
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I am also making it a point of practicing some meditation. This is a bit newer to me. My sister has been practicing yoga & meditation for years and sent me the following link <a href="https://palousemindfulness.com/MBSR/week1.html?fbclid=IwAR3cuRQKr_RpethRv8RDYL7b-E6Aebrat7fTFL2fvmeiACJ8dhFO_TNll7o" target="_blank">Palouse Mindfulness</a> to get me started. I did the Raisin Meditation yesterday. A very different approach to coach a person into a mindfulness practice. It was a good exercise for me - and I had to work hard NOT to crunch that first raisin!<br />
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I plan on doing another one today - the Body Scan. To quote the writing on this at Palouse: "If you think of your body as a musical instrument, the body scan is a way of
tuning it. If you think of it as a universe, the body scan is a way to come to know it. If you think of your
body as a house, the body scan is a way to throw open all the windows and doors and let the fresh air of
awareness sweep it clean." This is a 30 minute time investment - that will be tonight. Once again, I will keep you posted.<br />
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Please share your experiences about medication/mindfulness and yoga with me below. I am all ears (and maybe a few other body parts once I meditate!) and would love to hear from you!<br />
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Namaste.</div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-28728432419291322182018-01-29T06:26:00.002-08:002018-01-29T06:26:18.961-08:00In My Closet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My first stop this early Monday morning was my laptop and the Cityline Weight Loss page! A little connecting and a little surfing for inspiration - a two way street!<br />
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I get to weigh in this morning. The scale is in my closet. I am not - yet.<br />
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I am excited and intimidated as I dig deep to control the "weight" (pun intended) I place on the numbers and how that can send my spirit careening into the sky or plummeting into the depths - either of which can also send me off the challenge! I decided yesterday I was going to practice a first-and-foremost focus on the other positive changes I have made that are moving me toward a healthier "me." By recording them here, they seem to become more real and will, perhaps, mitigate any wonky reaction to the weight number. So, here goes:<br />
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1. My night eating is under control.<br />
2. Better sleep - I actually got 8 hours last night - an unknown phenomenon in my life for the past year.<br />
3. Increased alertness and the ability to fulfill my commitments in my part time job tasks.<br />
4. Improved energy - It is not 100% back but oh so much better. I didn't even need a nap yesterday!<br />
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So, I am celebrating in the wee hours of my morning on the west side of our amazing country! Doing a happy dance of joy for making it through one week of healthy eating - the non-exercise kind but working on that!<br />
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Next week - more of the same with one addition. I want to incorporate some kind of exercise or movement. Pondering the options. Wanting to ease my way into this to avoid the extreme pain of overkill from previous attempts! With our temperatures hovering at or above zero maybe a few short walks to get me outside to wake up my muscles might be good for my heart and soul. Strength training on YouTube? Hmmm. My mission is to make a decision this week and move forward on this. I vaguely remember how much better I do when I just move!!<br />
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So, off to the closet and my scale. I can't wait another minute! </div>
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<b>Down 4.4 lb. </b></div>
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<b>I'll take it! </b></div>
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<b>Deep calming breath......</b></div>
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<b>smile......and </b></div>
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<b>.....drink a glass of water! </b></div>
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<b>A toast to Week #2!</b></div>
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-60630765237244374042017-10-13T13:50:00.003-07:002017-10-13T13:50:57.332-07:0030-Day Clean Eating Challenge Day 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, I didn't really cook for myself on Day 1 but no problem sticking with clean foods. Buddha Salad will have to happen another day!<br />
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Day 2 - Eat walnuts! Yeah. I love these on my oatmeal in the morning and on salads or in apple crisps! Today? Hmmmm. I missed them on my oatmeal (forgot!) but will make some trail mix perhaps with walnuts for consumption. I could also make gluten free granola. Stay tuned. <br />
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It feels like I am steamrolling my way through this - oh yea, it is only Day 2. My main challenge is going to be when it gets around to cutting sugar, reducing uncomplicated carbs, and watching the portion sizes. I am determined to stay away from the craziness of crazy, crash eating.<br />
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But today - well, today I say BRING ON THE WALNUTS! Walking tall!<br />
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-29031392147695508592017-10-11T22:02:00.000-07:002017-10-11T22:02:09.056-07:00Thirty Day Clean Eating Challenge! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5_pFBY05pQs/UiLtCKDXsOI/AAAAAAAAAl8/pJ8HAiL3Swg8JgZ-VvWltsk_PoPYCI3AACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/P1020378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5_pFBY05pQs/UiLtCKDXsOI/AAAAAAAAAl8/pJ8HAiL3Swg8JgZ-VvWltsk_PoPYCI3AACPcBGAYYCw/s200/P1020378.JPG" width="200" /></a>Made my decision. Going for it. Little steps.<br />
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Although I get sick of trying every new trendy eating style that hits the internet, I have noted that similarities between the successful ones! Eating clean is definitely one of them. I like to keep away from anything that requires purchasing packaged meals, major supplements, or the latest book - although the book thing is a weakness of mine no matter what I try. Getting healthy in my senior years seems like a no-brain-er; doing it as a food addict is a BIG challenge. But, I am going to take it on, Sisters and Brothers. I am moving forward and it all starts with Day One!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Eat foods without labels.</span></b></div>
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Since we do this anyway most of the time except when I am packing a chocolate bar or ice cream treat, that is. Otherwise, we - our house - do not buy pre-packaged chemicals of any kind. BUT, I am going to make it my goal to try a recipe a day also. Since I am not the chief cook in our house, this is more of a challenge than eating foods without labels. So, my challenge on Day One is:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Make a dish encompassing food without labels!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Buddha Bowl here we come.</span></b></div>
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-33082384517856382412016-02-07T13:09:00.001-08:002016-02-07T13:09:04.123-08:00Every Day is Day One!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Keeping my journey to health in perspective is a challenge! It is easier when I am in the throes of an energized beginning integrating something new and exciting. It is great when that effort is paying off in a feeling of well-being and strength. And it is so amazing to share about new skills, new accomplishments, goals met and all that is working well. But.......yes, there is a but: it is HARD to keep it going day after day.<br />
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Lessons learned or assumed to have been learned are lost over the months following hard work, tenacity and determination to make that goal. Even in the midst of success, spirits dip, successes are bittersweet, tainted with the looming failure in the back of my mind. FAILURE - hard to fathom when the scale goes down, the mountain hike goes up and the wheels of my bike go round. But, yes, I fail to excel. I fail to maintain. I fail to move forward and choose instead to spin my tires in yesterday's ruts. So, what do I do - what do you do to move past this and keep going. NEVER QUIT! Simple but true? Hard but true!<br />
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Some days it is easy. Many are not. The addictive personality that revels in soothing the psyche with his or her chosen drug is a tough one. Bogged down in physical and emotional needs that are triggered by crisis, blips, memories. Facing night time cravings, daytime fatigue, distrust of what is supposed to be good for me, avoidance of change, I make progress, go backwards, move around an obstacle, clamber over the next one and so on and so on. Many times I sit in front of the obstacle and eat. And ponder. Like any other drug addict I falter without some mantra, some support, some belief that life needs to be controlled. By me.<br />
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So, I choose my mantra - my meditation - and determine to address my patterns and face them head-on, knowing that this will never go away. That each day is truly a new beginning that requires my full attention to just be there in the moment, living and being present, for now.<br />
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<b>Here's to another Day One!</b></div>
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-1412331625158019032016-01-26T02:22:00.001-08:002016-01-26T02:22:55.701-08:00The Moral Adventure<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS-SubXtjoXvgLUQ9jn6PzrfmoGEvBksa6FNoyj5tBSLYwtBYRX" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for images of change in life" border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS-SubXtjoXvgLUQ9jn6PzrfmoGEvBksa6FNoyj5tBSLYwtBYRX" /></a>Change can come slamming through your life, ripping and tearing and leaving gaping holes that can take years to mend. It can also penetrate slowly like a hypodermic needle, sharp, deep and filled with a medicine that can cause extreme discomfort before it delivers a healing relief. The moment may be forced on us by a doctor's words or be delivered in bits and pieces, as a broken relationship dissolves - lost, damaged, ended. Choosing to fight through it can mean the beginning of a moral adventure - one that will take you closer to your authentic self, grow you, and change you from the inside out.<br />
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I wrote in a previous blog called Square 2: <i>When we do face our weakness - our signature sin as referenced by David Brooks or a physical weakness that threatens to destroy us - we can wrestle with it, suffer from it, and by so doing, develop the depth of character that would be eulogy-worthy.</i><br />
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I am setting out on this next leg of my journey with a different mindset. Maybe it is a more honest quest than just <i>wishin' and hopin' and dreamin'</i> ." Digging deep! Getting dirty! Writing the next chapter full of exclamation marks!<br />
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<b>Hello. My name is Eileen and I am a(n).............!</b></h2>
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-77543070502678399322016-01-13T20:25:00.001-08:002016-01-13T20:26:58.237-08:00Right Brain Activity Points<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">So, I joined Weight Watchers online again and have spent this week trying to figure out the points! I am marking my days like I used to mark my hours when I worked full time. Not such a good habit. Numbers are OK but I can be overwhelmed with them sometimes. They tend to take on a mammoth size, growing like monsters until I am cringing under the dining room table, holding my fork in front of me like a weapon. Well, maybe not quite that bad. Still, I know I can't focus 100% on the numbers - weight, points, days, steps.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">One thing I have learned this year is to spend some time in my right brain instead of camping in my left one! I worked in my left brain for 24 years and only took the occasional run at my creative side. Now that I can choose, I have started to play again. I am hoping that this will give me the motivation to fill my moments with "doing" instead of focusing always on my food. Of course, I do have to add a little activity in there to keep my joints oiled and keep me out of assisted living for a few decades, but, I plan on embracing fun - that is a BIG change for me! </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 16px;">When I start getting serious about my painting or spend too much time agonizing over my writing, it will be time to try something else! So, how many Right Brain Activity Points is painting worth, anyway? </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kidding!</span></span></div>
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-81282165035073943712016-01-08T18:28:00.000-08:002016-01-08T18:28:04.956-08:00Am I Willing?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The story continues; a sequel in draft form always evolving. Will she make it? What will happen? Oh, oh, there she goes again? Thump! Can we just rip the pages out of our life that we don`t like and put them through a shredder? Is there a re-write button that we can push to change the beginning or the middle - those rocky parts where the heroine trips and falls and, then, just sits?<br />
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I have read this blog from beginning to now and I have decided that the place to start is the ending, not a new beginning. Knowing where it started is important, but agonizing over the details is fruitless. The story is a continuum of breaths. Each inhalation and subsequent exhalation are called life. One without the other is death. There is a continuing, a growing, a reaching that does change the plot, the twists, the curves, the drama, the pain but the element of a satisfying life story is determined by choosing the ending and sticking to it. The telling is the how.<br />
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I set out on this blog to write a new ending for my life. An ending that would see me living my authentic self, as healthy as genetically possible, enjoying my family, seeking new adventures and someday, rocking by a warm fire, content with the ending of a life well lived. Being authentic has a great deal to do with the final contentment. The question remains: what I am willing to suffer to make that happen?<br />
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Stay tuned!</div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-63913934832278762262015-04-18T19:58:00.001-07:002016-01-05T06:28:20.587-08:00Square 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So Square 2 follows Square 1 - months later of course. If one thing has not changed within me that is my tendency to procrastinate along with a little writer's block from time to time. If you have been following me in my retirement blog, <a href="http://boomerspotofgold.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Boomers Pot of Gold</a>, you will already know that the creative juices have been flowing all winter - but through water colours and not my pen or laptop. I have been writing but focusing on stories and "other things" not blogs. But enough of the excuses.<br />
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Today's inspiration comes from a recent essay that has been circulating online titled "Should you live for your resume or your eulogy?" It is also the topic of <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/david_brooks_should_you_live_for_your_resume_or_your_eulogy?language=en" target="_blank">David Brooks Ted Talk</a> if you are interested!<br />
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My children have always been an inspiration to me over the years. I have learned so much from them just through observation. This concept about using your weaknesses to build your strengths is lived out in real life as a parent. Recognizing even in my cute little toddler with the golden locks and big blue eyes that her stubbornness and the recurrent stamping of feet that accompanied it could be coached and trained into a tenacity that would stand her in good stead as she faced the many adult challenges down the road kept me optimistic and hopeful. This child of mine also faced down a physical limitation that she chose to believe had no limits. Her battle was one that inspired adults and children blessed enough to know her. I am still thrilled to see that goodness that shines (not just from that childhood battle!) - she lights up my life with it!<br />
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I am sure you have met one or two of those special people in your journey as well - the ones who shine with their goodness without really seemingly trying. Don't be fooled! It is because of their battle that the light is so bright. When we do face our weakness - our signature sin as referenced by David Brooks or a physical weakness that threatens to destroy us - we can wrestle with it, suffer from it, and by so doing, develop the depth of character that would be eulogy-worthy.<br />
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In his essay <i>The Moral Bucket List</i>, Mr. Brooks compares this journey to having "moral adventures" that will lead you closer to becoming that kind of person that has a goodness about them that is not based on success or any other outward achievement but founded instead by steadfastly making that humility shift from star to humble human while confronting daily those weaknesses that are ingrained in each of us. None of this can be done in isolation. No, not even you can defeat those signature sins that are at the core of your being all alone. The strongest among us (often especially them!) need "redemptive assistance from others."<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-46zimGfWoUA/UTKAuPrx4BI/AAAAAAAAAf4/9RUy5Ot0avg/s1600/387774_10151338958576559_1710683742_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-46zimGfWoUA/UTKAuPrx4BI/AAAAAAAAAf4/9RUy5Ot0avg/s1600/387774_10151338958576559_1710683742_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>I especially relate to Mr. Brooks comments about the Conscience Leap - stepping outside of the norm for your life, your peers, your belief system - to embrace what seems right, true and authentic for you. This will require moving beyond the safe, straight & narrow dictated by your fears or self-imposed barriers and choosing what is right for you- not what should be or could be but "IS". This concept lines up with my initial statement when I started writing this blog regarding authenticity - it is ingrained in my journey.<br />
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But, today I must accept that humility is the building stone that can move me closer to that goodness I see shine in so many others that touch my life. I see that connecting and not going it alone are as important as being real. I need a "moral adventure!" Want to journey with me?</div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-45633747770542562142014-11-06T00:51:00.000-08:002014-11-06T00:51:42.377-08:00Another Day 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Back to Square 1, starting over, first step - AGAIN! Never quit! As per my July post (whoops, that was Day 1 too), I know what needs to happen to get me from the couch to the playground again. I cannot say it enough times really - no matter what excuse I use - no time, no support, no discipline - they all add up to no change. I used to think that once retirement set in I would have the time, be less stressed, more motivated to get back in the game. If you think that way too, STOP. It is only your head playing with you. Time is not the problem; time is not my problem - I am retired!<br />
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So - the game plan this year (and next and the next) is to re-focus gently, lovingly, with forgiveness and patience and really look at the change that is right for me right now. Good health has always been the goal and I can look back at my former self and see that I have come a long way even with the set backs. Each set back has carried with it another piece of learning. This time it is two fold: 1. be patient with "me" and 2. continue on living authentically. Simple.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_osLbI8Bu8/UU5L8ghjq_I/AAAAAAAAAhg/QpnvFSL7_Gw/s1600/395533_451754344878209_468474701_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_osLbI8Bu8/UU5L8ghjq_I/AAAAAAAAAhg/QpnvFSL7_Gw/s1600/395533_451754344878209_468474701_n.jpg" height="196" width="200" /></a>Dr. Henry Cloud recently posted a commentary on feelings - or, more specifically what it takes to <b>NOT</b> feel! It reminded me about what my Head knowledge has always told me - that stuffing the uncomfortable means stuffing the best too - joy, excitement, anticipation, love. For me, that means that when I am so full of feelings I could burst I need a lot of food to keep them all down there! Taking the lid off the vent is a little dangerous when done alone - I might explode and damage something important! That's where all of you come in! I mean YOU - good friends (really good friends!) by reading my blog, nodding your virtual heads together, tapping your toes to the "Authenticity Chorus;" and, dancing down that crazy path called life. The journey to health just isn't meant to be solo!<br />
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<i><b><span style="color: blue;">Good </span><span style="color: red;">living</span><span style="color: blue;"> is a </span><span style="color: orange;">many</span><span style="color: blue;"> pronged </span><span style="color: lime;">journey</span><span style="color: blue;"> - </span><span style="color: purple;">isolation</span><span style="color: blue;"> is </span><span style="color: magenta;">self-defeating</span><span style="color: blue;">. I say </span><span style="color: lime;">Go</span><span style="color: blue;"> Team!</span></b></i></div>
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-14815700623542200902014-07-14T01:38:00.001-07:002014-07-14T01:38:34.945-07:00Knowledge, Wisdom and a Cloud of Dust<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have shared that I have hit a snag on my road to a healthier life - too many hikes to the candy machine as my career wound down and retirement and a major move engulfed me - major meaning the extra 25 pounds I found this last year wandering in the rich land of Aero Bars and Skittles which I now have to "move" every time I stand up! I have actually learned much about myself over the past three years and would very much enjoy some wonderful, wise adage that says "Knowing is Being" or "Knowledge is Wisdom". Alas, that is not the case. <br />
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Knowledge - lots of knowledge - about health and well being does not magically make you/me a healthy, wise person. In fact, all of this knowledge garnered over the years can and does mess us/me up - Yes, you heard it! <i><b>"She has drowned in her own "self help" pond!"</b></i> Well here's an adage that does speak truth - "Been there; done that and got the t-shirt to prove it!". Unfortunately, the t-shirt doesn't fit anymore!<br />
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I once heard it explained this way - that once I knew all of this "healthier life style" stuff, and then fell off the "healthier life train" it would be much harder to get back on and keep chugging along. I smirked when I first heard that as I believed knowledge and wisdom did go hand in hand and I certainly wasn't going to be that "unwise" to mess it up - again! However, I now get it - I know a lot of the excuses I use to justify my unhealthy eating choices or my multiple reasons for not walking or biking or "fill in the blank". I know a lot about all of the solutions too - like the self help jargon that goes along with each diet trend; the motivational posters; the "sisterhood of the bulge" hurrahs: "What touches your lips stays on your hips"; "Move it or lose it"; "Motion is lotion"; and, my favorite - "No pain; No gain!" Can we all say JADED?! Well, I have become a little jaded. I have procrastinated, binged, vegetated and gained. Today, I woke up and thought: "What are you doing, girl? All those months, days, hours you walked and managed to eat reasonable amounts of food - you lost the pounds and gained so much well being you were, like, flying to embrace the great pot of average BMI in the sky!"<br />
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Enough - time to land back in the real world. Retirement has arrived! I no longer can say "when I have time". I am back to Square #1 - Never Quit! I now remember my own banter - health and well being are not destinations - they are the journey! You never arrive - you just enjoy the ride - or walk or run! More greens, more movement, more laughing, more spiritual growing, more, more, more - giggle and grin; cry and sing; move and revel in the wind on your face or the extra spring in your step today; seek the silence in between the life moments - there, in that silent place you will catch a glimpse of the wisdom you have been seeking - joy in the moment. It is not all in the words and certainly not all in the food! It is in how you care for yourself and the world around you - with love and respect and faith that, when all is said and done, and the journey is ended, you will finally be able to rejoice in a life well lived to the very end.<br />
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So tomorrow I am going to share lunch with my family (a healthy lunch!), play with my friends, build a sand castle, float on an inner tube, ride my bike and screech to a stop in a cloud of dust. I am going to hug someone I love and be kind to a stranger. I am going to be thankful for each smile and embrace each tear for what it is - proof that <i><b>I can feel deeply and still live to see another day</b></i> - ah, wisdom, there you are! I hope you will come out to play tomorrow too! </div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-39255393597684914092014-07-14T00:16:00.000-07:002014-07-14T00:16:20.599-07:00Next<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I made a choice years ago to forego a formal education and marry my high school sweetheart. My dreams were filled with pictures of babies (cute little girls, I thought) playing on the swing in the backyard, skating on the outdoor pond and snuggling under a warm blanket at story time (some dreams do come true!). Only small career aspirations lingered as my desire to be the best stay-at-home Mom I could be took hold. I followed that path until I came to a fork in the road when money was tight and the bills were piling up. I had a choice - go left and hop on the work train or stay at home and hope for the best. I tried the work train briefly but the type of work I landed did not fit. Even though my heart still yearned for the stay-at-home port to call my own, I took a quick turn right and headed off for an education instead of the hearth and home of my dreams. Although fulfilling and exhilarating and exciting, this path was also filled with traps and triggers that threatened to blow my goal out of the water. I did not see the clouds of depression forming on the horizon or the poison ivy of bankruptcy creeping along, hidden in the grass. The storm hit with a magnitude that knocked my dream out of the sky. NEXT....<br />
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One divorce later, I was no longer a stay-at-home Mom. I was a career woman, studying and moving forward to be able to support a family. I discovered this path was amazing. I loved the challenges and embraced my aptitude to think, plan and process in a business environment. Money was tight but I was in charge and it felt good. I was finally on the right path - my journey was going to carry me off into the sunset at a ripe old age with loving grandchildren singing their goodbyes through their tears. I discovered my independence and my fighting spirit; I embraced my intelligence and my administrative skills. I had found my niche. This was a good port to visit and maybe even stay at for a while. I dreamed of romance and far away places; a career ladder that reached the mountain top and quiet safety on some cute veranda watching grandchildren playing in the park. Storm clouds rolled in, thunder and lightning crashed like I had never seen or heard before and my dream blew into tatters like an old Kleenex soaked with tears. Another romance ended, the cute veranda was attacked, it seemed, by the termites of matrimonial settlements and I moved on. NEXT..........<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j2h4vu75lsc/U8OA_39eV1I/AAAAAAAAA3c/hVCjOqhxATE/s1600/P1030888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j2h4vu75lsc/U8OA_39eV1I/AAAAAAAAA3c/hVCjOqhxATE/s1600/P1030888.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a>NOW, here I am, in a wonderful relationship, retired, and living on a beautiful oasis in Canada! and, I just have to pause and remember how I felt so torn, so unlikely to reach this place of peace and contentment and send the message out to all you 40 and 50 and 60 somethings! YOU CAN DO IT! Grab on to life, live it with all you have got, take a risk, catch a train, go somewhere exotic, open up your eyes, hug a child, release your pain - follow your dream and when something snatches that dream find another one and follow it! It ain't over until it's over! There are wasted moments in everyone's life and even some less than exemplary years here and there, but, if you can see past these snags, pull from the deep inner strength you have garnered by facing yesterday's challenges, you can fill your life with the peace or contentment or exhilaration of your dreams - moment by moment - because that is where life is lived - in the moments! NEXT........!</div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-32870472387131296972014-06-06T13:18:00.000-07:002014-06-06T13:19:29.890-07:00Time Flies!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3t5niGLMuLM/U5IftjYjmRI/AAAAAAAAA0E/weBwcp9L7wg/s1600/1501589_10153634817295468_1231415724_o+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3t5niGLMuLM/U5IftjYjmRI/AAAAAAAAA0E/weBwcp9L7wg/s1600/1501589_10153634817295468_1231415724_o+(2).jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a>It has been a long time since my last post on this blog (my retirement blog has been getting all the attention!). No mystery there - I would much rather talk about all of the great plans and excitement of launching my retirement dream then discuss with you my misery. Yes, sigh, misery. Fifteen pounds crept up to 20 lbs and then 25 lb. "STOP!" I yell! "Go find someone else to suffocate!" <br />
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I am definitely an emotional eater. The candy machine at work has my fingerprints memorized - I can almost see it vibrate with glee when I walk past it every morning, noon and night! The chocolate bars whisper my name - "Hey, Eileen, no gluten in my body anywhere - wanna' get together? " I power through my nutritious lunch and my healthy snacks and then the countdown begins! Ghosts of chocolate bars past whisper to me from the hidden nooks and crannies of my office - "We're waiting," they say. "You know you want it!" they cry. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0SS_Iqg4l5Q/U5Igihtf0eI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/Y3AIkjxcHKI/s1600/Candy+Vending+Machine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0SS_Iqg4l5Q/U5Igihtf0eI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/Y3AIkjxcHKI/s1600/Candy+Vending+Machine.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>I drink water, crunch almonds, jamb half a banana down my throat and still I can hear them, singing, calling, pulling me through the door, down the hallway and into the entrance until I am on my knees in front of the Red God of Calories! Red denotes passion, fire, excitement and fat - big, squishy belly fat, mounding in places, creasing in others, smiling at me when I make the trip from tub to closet. So what's a girl to do? Well here's what: Re-read her blogs, that's what! AND Remember that Never Quit mantra of old! AND Remind herself of the pain and constraints the extra weight created. AND Never forget the feeling of climbing up to Grassy Lakes in record time, with only a few short stops to catch my breath. AND Revel in the victories: 5 K walk in less than an hour; running hundreds of stairs to prepare for walking in SE Asia; taking the Zoomba risk and the Spin Class challenge and finishing the 100 Day Walking Challenge in the middle of winter! That's What!<br />
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-90231271967994977932014-02-17T15:13:00.000-08:002014-02-17T15:13:12.381-08:00Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sunshine In!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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That song popped into my head today - I used to sing it when I was still a preschooler. I was so excited when my dad bought the sheet music for it. There was a picture on it of a chubby, adorable little girl - I was pretty sure it was me! <br />
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Well, fast forward about 55 years and here I am, suddenly, opening up and letting the sunshine in. Smiling because "frown-ers never win!" Last week I focused more on my food, leaving out much of the sugar, most of the grains and quite a bit of the sodium! I gained half a pound! But wait, frown-ers never win! And there is the crux - when life dishes out unexpected hiccups to our well laid plans, the first thing I do (Do you?) is complain. Why? Why? Why? Why, when I ate so much better? Why, when I really, really wanted it? Why, when I was trying so hard? Well, why not? After all, this is a many-pronged journey I am on!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>So, this week I am continuing on my journey - food - same with even less sugar but I am adding more water back into the equation (slosh, slosh, gurgle); and, walking every day. Yep, that sun is shining for a reason - just so I can go walking in this winter wonderland without freezing. Grin! Of course, the sidewalks are too icy for safe travel and I am slowed down by that and the cars I am now having to maneuver around as I zigzag on my route through the ice fields. But the sun, people, the sun is shining!<br />
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Forecast for the rest of the week - above zero and sunny. Finally! I am not surprised this sense of warm fuzz-ees has overtaken me at this time of the year. It usually does! I think that I suffer from SAD and December in Alberta is SAD! But, I skipped part of that by heading south and landed back in sunshine in January - no February - so - my body says it is good to go.<br />
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My goal is 10000 steps a day - hard to imagine but I scored that and more on some weekends. We skipped the ice and slightly cooler late afternoon sun last week and wandered the aisles at our local Home Depot. Less crowded and fewer temptations than, say, Cross Iron Mills Mall or even Superstore! More focused walking, even speed walking, and no one even noticed us! We did take a side trip to check out kitchen counters but no buying! Not yet anyway! <br />
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Tomorrow, yes, tomorrow, the sun will come out!<br />
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-7016038166044712232014-01-12T00:28:00.003-08:002014-01-12T00:32:03.201-08:00Choices<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In my "DAY" job I am often in a place of providing counsel or advice. It is a place I feel I fit - not because I have done it all right but because experience has provided me with a lot of "doing it not-right" situations. You know - those times when you disappear from the journey on the right path and veer off on one that is full of manholes - deep pits just waiting for you to fall into them. It is a strange wisdom that comes from falling - one part embarrassment and one part illumination. <br />
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Since I am old, or so my grandson says, I have had my share of falls - in every stage from teenage angst and puppy love to adult choices like education, marriage and divorce. I have to say the map is so obvious from this viewpoint! But back there - in my twenty's and thirty's and forty's and fifty's - the trek was uphill, the curves were often hidden and the signs that said "Falling Hazard - Slow Down!" just didn't jump out at me until I was looking back over my shoulder. By that time the embarrassment or pain or sheer terror had taken hold and the lesson needed to be learned. <br />
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<a name='more'></a>Well, here I am - in a fabulous relationship with 60 lbs gone - but wait, I just found 15 of them hiding behind the Christmas chocolate boxes in the office - well five or so anyway. The other ten kind of latched on to me in tiny ounces sort of like little leeches or sticky burrs - barely noticeable until you pile ten of them in one place - on my gut! Disgusted - you bet! Angry - yeah, a little. Frustrated - BIG TIME! Lesson time - sigh - yes.<br />
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Each time I think I am finally on the RIGHT path I manage to take a little detour. Sometimes a big detour. It usually means I need to re-balance, re-focus, re-think and revise! I have lost my mojo, my driving force, my dream - well, maybe not lost it but I misplaced it when I picked up that big bag of anxiety last fall right along with the 4 cubic foot box full of deprivation disease. But, the dream is still there - that ending to my story I wrote so many months ago. Wide brush strokes of gold and crimson and deep turquoise; pale pink edges with dribbles of aqua and lilac - a life full of colour and faith in the best health I can muster, a strong determination to make it to the top for that one last view of my story before I relax into my next journey.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1DL2JMOsywQ/UtJRS7-5-yI/AAAAAAAAAsA/XwFEc84Z7XM/s1600/1501589_10153634817295468_1231415724_o+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1DL2JMOsywQ/UtJRS7-5-yI/AAAAAAAAAsA/XwFEc84Z7XM/s1600/1501589_10153634817295468_1231415724_o+(2).jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>It comes down to choices - my choices. I can go on with this pity party a little longer, pining for what I can't have and scoffing poor substitutions down after midnight like it doesn't count in the dark or I can take charge and find another path to my dream. Get serious about practicing meditation, yoga, and just plain walking - yes, practice. Even the walking - fitting it into my schedule again, driving myself out into the cold, crisp winter air to crunch through a winter landscape of ice and snow. It is time to choose to NOT do it alone; to quit isolating and start sharing - with you, my friends and family, and back to the Weight Watcher community. Time to choose a new eating plan - make a choice. After all, it is my dream!</div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-54768974147526172942013-10-20T18:14:00.002-07:002013-10-20T18:14:49.858-07:00Life is Serious - now BREATHE!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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All too often I take life very seriously like it is mine to hold on to, to count and quarter, measure and maintain like some kind of special model ship or shiny crystal butterfly. It is a fact that many of us feel that we can protect the essence by hiding it behind carefully constructed walls but in the end we smother the joy of really living. Breathing freely - exhaling as well as inhaling - is truly living. Have you ever held your breath in nervous anticipation of something - good or bad - then exhaled in relief or acceptance? I see this holding of my breath as an unconscious way to control something that is inevitable. You can, for a moment, control something but, in the end, life takes over and so you too must exhale.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I can now look back over many years of living and identify where I was holding my breath - sometimes too long - and losing out on the joy of just exhaling and going with it! Every decision point along the continuum there is that moment when I instinctively held my breath in a last ditch effort to control the outcome: a marriage or a divorce; a healthy infant or a child with a challenge; a fulfilling career or a mundane job. All part of the human condition called living and many outside of my control.<br />
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When I exhaled, sometimes what I faced was not what I would have chosen; other times that first breath afterward was filled with joy. When you think about it, to do otherwise, would mean death - not physical death, but failure to breathe out in the next moment could and sometimes did lead to the death of new joy, new life, new adventures and the anticipation of new experiences just around the corner. Thank goodness, God did not close the doors or windows on my soul at each crossroads and was there along with a friend or two, in the quiet, just waiting for me to exhale!<br />
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When you've got friends that wish you well.......shoop; shoop; shoop! Now, hum along with me:</div>
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-85480449155316921502013-10-18T12:04:00.000-07:002013-10-18T12:04:08.659-07:00They Say It's Your Birthday....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The numbers keep creeping up and I am so grateful for each and every one of them! Today I am celebrating sixty three years of living; four super awesome daughters (and that is ALL for that number!); ten amazingly wonderful grandchildren; twenty three years employed in a field I love; twenty three Likes on my new Boomer Pot of Gold Facebook page; 75 views on one of my Blog posts and ONE wonderful Love of my Life (that number I will keep at 1!!). <br />
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Good health - mentally, physically and spiritually - makes my world go round....and round! I am so excited to feel so good - I just can't help but share that with anyone who will listen. Weight loss has made a huge difference in how I feel in all of those areas but the benefits of digging deep into the whole health picture is what pushes me over the top. Sorting out allergies and the whole gluten intolerance thing was a big score. Adding walking into my routine replaced a lot of mindless TV watching plus increased my serotonin, built up muscle and got me outdoors to just enjoy life. This summer I added a bicycle to our vehicle collection and Wow - do I love the wind on my face (better in August and September but don't give up on me October - I will spin through you at least once too!). <br />
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Since starting my journey, I have walked the streets of Havana; climbed a mountain to sit mesmerized by the tea terraces in China; walked through miles of night markets in SE Asia; and, swam off the coast of Bali. I would never have attempted any of this without the amazing "numbers" in my life. <br />
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To all out there reading and sharing my blogs - thank you! I write selfishly from my own passion to express myself with words and the occasional photo but to be able to share my wanderings through the valleys and over the mountain tops (literally and figuratively) and maybe make one little difference in someone else's very human journey sends me all the way to the moon and back! I would love to take you there with me! Just keep in mind that these feet are truly made of iron so I always land back on earth with a thud and a big dose of humility!<br />
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And from my generation to yours - a little Paul McCartney - LET'S DANCE!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">You say it's your birthday</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">It's my birthday too, yeah</span></div>
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They say it's your birthday</div>
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We're gonna have a good time</div>
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I'm glad it's your birthday</div>
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Happy birthday to you.</div>
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-15109035976656669672013-10-12T11:20:00.000-07:002013-10-18T14:57:07.796-07:00Vitality and Vanity - Good and/or Evil?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Three weeks in on a new way of eating and I am feeling like a new woman - well, almost. There is still a lot of the old one left! Going gluten free was not a BIG stretch in my home with three other family members following similar diets. Sleuthing for hidden gluten has been an education, however, and has instigated many interesting conversations in our kitchen. As we emptied drawers and shelves to accommodate gluten free tools and appliances, we discovered hidden corners harbouring crumbs and molecules of gluten. Out went our favorite wooden spoons and spatulas as we embraced more washable plastic. A new toaster and cutting board found space in an already crowded pantry and the bread knife is now washed with each and every use before being popped back into a drawer. The vigilance could be likened to Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Sherlock had many Ah Ha! shouts of victory while Watson shook his head in amazement and then followed instructions - you can use your imagination on who played what role! <br />
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<a name='more'></a>The biggest challenge in all of this has not been the annihilation of every speck of gluten; it has been how to continue to lose weight while doing it! I have started on a new leg of my journey this past three weeks. One change is that I have left Weight Watchers. Scary as that was (it is a very healthy program), it didn't seem to be working for me anymore (or I wasn't working it too well anymore!) and with the major change in my diet, it felt like I needed to branch out a little. Ironically, in January 2012, I read a book by Patrick Holford called The Low-GL Diet and thought, WOW, this is what I am going to do. I bought the book (a small one with just an overview and recipes) and embarked on a gluten free diet - yes, almost two years ago - partially! I did not lose weight (that was the "in part" piece!!). Enter Weight Watchers July 2012 and the weight came off until this spring. Now knowing what I know, I am facing this new challenge with all of my analytical powers in gear!<br />
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I am back on the Low GL Diet - bought the big book with all the details and dug in. Why? Well, as I said, with my propensity towards analysing everything to death, I have been researching gluten free and weight loss. I have discovered many views of eating with two main focuses: weight loss and healthy living. From various diverse sources - all the way from Jillian Michaels (of the Biggest Loser fame) to Michel Montignec and Patrick Holford, both with decades of science and practice behind them. Montignec and Holford have the science down pat, and both hold the degrees and longevity that I trust. Michaels has focused on oxidation speed (another topic) but the eating plans are all very similar. This is a balanced eating plan eschewing the poisonous Dr. Atkins but, at the same time, explaining why our fascination with low fat diets is making us fatter and both lean very well to gluten free eating.<br />
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So, over the next several months, I will be integrating Holford's science into my life. Google him for more info if this starts you thinking or just follow along! To date, I have lost 6 lb. in 2 weeks - much attributed to getting gluten out of my life (did you know that sensitivities and allergies make you gain weight!). The true test will be measured on my scale tomorrow! But true victory right now is I feel fantastic! Enter VITALITY! The unexpected proof of this new vitality is on my facebook page - "Vanessa's Mom looks just like she did when I was in Grade 7!" Enter VANITY! Thanks, Chuck! but I think I feel even younger than that!</div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-47933476691683076892013-10-02T20:31:00.001-07:002013-10-18T14:57:19.991-07:00Honestly?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wlIy9WCpb74/Ukzk6ss4ecI/AAAAAAAAAmc/VFkdFcp73_E/s1600/297745_10150821362370468_325137219_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wlIy9WCpb74/Ukzk6ss4ecI/AAAAAAAAAmc/VFkdFcp73_E/s320/297745_10150821362370468_325137219_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>Fall is always a time of renewal for me. Maybe it goes back to the old excitement of returning to school or maybe it is because my birthday happens to land right smack dab in a pile of beautiful fall leaves! Whatever the root, October is a bonus month for reflection. Since embracing authenticity over a year ago, it now has to be a month of honesty also - how can you reflect without mixing in some honesty?<br />
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To be authentic, I have discovered I need to be honest with myself as well as with others. Hiding behind a mask of passivity when I crave action or saying yes when I really mean no are acts of dishonesty with others - acts that stem from fears of not being loved to feelings of not being enough. These actions are barbed on both ends - some even with poisonous hooks! I suffer but I drag others into the black pit with me!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>But, lately, I have been blindsided with yet another layer of authenticity - being honest with myself. How often do I play the game of blinding myself to my own strengths or, on the flip side, to insidious threats to my health and well being? Honestly? - VERY often! <br />
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Blind to my strengths - yep - recently I started a writing course - fiction writing at that! This was never my expected choice of genre but it seemed to be calling to me - for about a year - and I made a decision to take the leap. Now, I love to write. I have loved writing from my heart for - well since I was able to pick up a pen in Mrs. Sinclair's Grade Two class and write a story about a red dump truck. The writing part was not the surprise; the fiction writing part was! <br />
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I pushed through my little fears ignoring the tiny finger Doubt was shaking at me not to mention the out and out hammering of my heart coming from Ms. Failure. I marched in, smiled brightly and took a seat safely in the middle (not too close to the facilitator to be under her nose but not so far away I couldn't read her eyes!). The topic of the day: imagery. Well, I have kind of specialized in that since about Grade 10 and could conjure up words like "scintillating" at the drop of a hat so I breathed easy and shared my spontaneous writing in class. All went very well - I was in my familiar territory. I looked around and started to hear that inner whisper: "Quiet! Don't share too much! Are you showing off?" I looked down at my writing, listened to the kind, glowing comments and thanked each one. <br />
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So, what was wrong with that you ask? Well, I started thinking that maybe I shouldn't share so jubilantly. Maybe it would discourage others? Or maybe they were just being nice because I had a hungry, needy look in my eyes! I started to plan to withhold; slow down; quiet down - become someone I was not! I was lying to myself; shooting myself down; and, in retrospect being dishonest. Playing games with myself should be a win/win - right? I mean how can you lose? Well, playing this kind of game with myself is actually a lose/lose! I lose out on the feedback and encouragement and others could lose out on learning and improving - not because my writing is so fantastic but because we all write differently. We all experience the world differently and it comes out on paper - when we are being authentic!<br />
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My second experience was even more frustrating but I am so grateful that the light bulb went on - just hope it keeps shining some light my way for awhile as I do believe I need a big, deer-hunting spotlight kind of light in this area. I have mastered the art of ignoring the obvious and lying to myself about it - day in and day out. I have recently been diagnosed with a gluten intolerance (perhaps Celiac disease but the final results are not in on that one). The diagnosis is recent BUT the symptoms have been going on for over a year. I have ignored my own wisdom; the wisdom of others and my own body, telling me something is very wrong. I have refused to pursue the medical world for more answers and willingly accepted their "You are fine" when the symptoms were ongoing. <br />
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This is not the first time - it is one of many times throughout my life. Ignore postpartum depression - you must be a bad mother; ignore menopausal mood swings - you must be a bad person; ignore excruciating knee pain - it's your own fault for gaining so much weight! You get the picture! Now I get it too. I have been very dishonest with myself and came to believe my own lies so thoroughly, I just let my body get worse and worse. Sure, I have been on a journey to health one step at a time; sure I have lost over 60 lb so far (tripped a few times but haven't stayed down yet!, but, here I am, still ignoring obvious problems until my body is screaming so loud, I cannot continue to play the game that everything is OK and if it isn't it is because I am obese - STILL! <br />
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Well, how utterly un-authentic is that! The worse kind of dishonesty is when you lie to yourself. Shifting that burden we picked up years ago, the one that whispers and taunts us with not being enough robbing us of the joy of living and, then, kicking it to the curb - that is the miracle of authenticity. Only when you can let all of the "supposed to's" and "should haves" go and just be you - well, then, and only then, can you allow yourself to fill up with joy so exceptional that you won't be able to contain it - and that is a very good thing. It is one part of yourself that doubles the more you give away! Try it! Honestly!<br />
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Absolutely most favorite quote on this topic: <br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are..." 'The Gifts of Imperfection' by Brene Brown</span><br />
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-87099627093233125812013-08-28T21:05:00.001-07:002013-09-01T00:24:20.881-07:00Through Grandma's Lens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m0-vZbJoVAM/Uh7Ep6r1CmI/AAAAAAAAAlM/_uERgDslKO4/s1600/IMG_7381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m0-vZbJoVAM/Uh7Ep6r1CmI/AAAAAAAAAlM/_uERgDslKO4/s320/IMG_7381.JPG" width="320" /></a>I watched a movie years ago about a young man who was autistic and one of the ways his therapist enabled him to walk on a busy street without becoming overwhelmed was showing him how to look through the lens of a camera while walking. It distanced him from the throngs of people and helped him integrate into society. <br />
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I have embraced the view through my lens for a very different reason but it actually accomplishes the same thing for a different end. By viewing the world around me through my camera lens I can eliminate the extraneous visual clutter and find the one, special detail that might just make a good shot great. I am not a proficient photographer - I play, I snap AND snap and after a few hundred pictures I might find one or two pictures that - well, that satisfy my inner artist! <br />
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<a name='more'></a>When I purchased my first digital camera I thought I would use it to capture the sweet and impish sides of my grandchildren. For various reasons: distance, opportunity and a poor eye for people photos, I did not excel. I was much happier with my minimalist shots and the emotional beauty hidden away in the corners of my world. That surprised me. My daughters are far better at capturing these little ones in digital files! <br />
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Until recently, that is - well, not that I am better than my dear daughters but that I actually captured a moment. I have managed a few moments before but - this one resonated in my Grandma-heart. It isn't that the photos are great (as you can see!) but that the moment is frozen in my mind and still brings a smile to my face. <br />
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Picture this. A BMX bike course with dirt hills, scrubby grass and a wooden ramp. The sun is blazing and this Grandma is hanging out by the bleachers wondering if she should be standing in the middle of the track for better shots or even lying down to capture that magnificent air-born swoop every little biker dreams of! I had seen it on a commercial once. But then, my grandson is only six and I wasn't too confident even his Dad was going to catch enough air to fly over top of me, so, I resigned myself to the bleachers. <br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gQRzMxpP0Fc/Uh7E40Z1JxI/AAAAAAAAAlU/pLPbgLFKvm4/s1600/IMG_7418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gQRzMxpP0Fc/Uh7E40Z1JxI/AAAAAAAAAlU/pLPbgLFKvm4/s320/IMG_7418.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Max and Dad line up at the top, getting set to hit the trail or track or whatever it is called. The "black diamond run" included a wooden ramp and some rather large dirt hills between the start and finish; the smaller runs required some serious dirt "moguls". Neither looked easy to this inexperienced Grandma watching from the sidelines. Quietly, I murmur, "dear God, don't let him go down the ramp"! <br />
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Max, helmet on (I am suspicious he sleeps in it - he wore it in the car on the way to the track!), bike poised, feet planted on the ground, looked at Dad, nodded and launched. No fear, this boy. He whizzed down from the high vantage point the start offered, gained speed and sped over the first hill and then braked before hitting the next one. Peddling hard, he worked his way to the top and the rest was a quick up, down, up and glide. Dad was not far behind. I snap some pictures of both of them and back up they go. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xU9rupwYAAE/Uh7FJalO-EI/AAAAAAAAAlc/zl2sszqhOb0/s1600/IMG_7419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xU9rupwYAAE/Uh7FJalO-EI/AAAAAAAAAlc/zl2sszqhOb0/s320/IMG_7419.JPG" width="320" /></a>With the same stance for the next go round, Max focuses on the downhill - once again, I pray he will choose wisely. This time he pauses for a second, glances to the side to see if I am watching, checks to see if his Dad is tuned in and then - whoosh - he goes for the middle track. Full speed he hits the first hill. Without braking, he buzzes over the second one and then, for that one second, as I am snapping, it almost looks like he catches some air. He is sure he has! I go into to sports photographer frenzy and take continuous shots as he heads back. My camera is rapid firing and, there it is, the perfect moment. A little grin just barely there, dusty helmet wedged tightly on his head and - click, click, click - I watch this little gutsy biker dude turn his head ever so slightly and sneak a quick glance out of the corner of his eyes at the photographer. My lens afforded me the perfect picture - the pride and determination of a six year old who can already see himself hitting that wooden ramp some day soon and catching air like the big kids checking to see if Grandma is watching. Did you see that, Grandma!<br />
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My lens had removed all the other clutter of that day and caught the moment when my grandson let me in into his life to share a little bit of the excitement of his passion. These moments are rare with distance that puts mountains between me and this guy. I won't forget it!</div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-47784394827448888882013-08-27T19:33:00.002-07:002013-09-01T00:24:00.398-07:00Dying Longer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I just finished reading Lyndsay Green's "other" book <em>You Could Live a Long Time: Are You Ready?</em> Her statement that we are not actually living longer as much as we are dying longer caught my eye and caused my heart to blip! Many of us have seen our parents pass on over the last few years - some were blessed with a quick exit while others lingered in various states of being - dying longer. Not really something we can choose but, while we are still in the driver's seat, some thought and planning could make it less harmful and feel less uncharted. <br />
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Ms. Green's perspective is summed up so well by the name of her final chapter "Embracing Old Age". So often the media plays to our desire to stay young and the creams and diets and exercise regimes flooding the airwaves (and our bathroom counters and bookshelves) these days are just the tip of the fear mongering iceberg we boomers keep attracting while more and more marketers are looking to access our millions of hard earned retirement nest eggs! Youth is for the young! Bail off that Titanic - you know where it is heading! I plan on acting my age by being the healthiest, smartest, strongest old person I can be but, I will still be old!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Fighting to avoid old age can actually impair your ability to plan for old age. I am not talking about what you put on your face or the trendy clothes you hang in your closet or the cute shoes lined up in your other closet or cycling with a friend - those are passions that will continue forever! Seeking to keep up with the 30 year olds at the gym or in your Zumba class can, however, set you back rather than move your forward! It can also make you laugh but that was another blog! Chasing the fountain of youth may keep you slim and trim and athletic for a time, but eventually, you will slow down. What I am talking about is obsessing over every new wrinkle, competing beyond your capacity to oust one more 30 something from your self-claimed podium or - well, you get the picture. <br />
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Many activities can become distractions from what might be more important in the here and now. By refusing to be realistic about the inevitable we can play pretend and figure we have another day or week or year to think about the hard stuff. We would rather clean toilets than think about how we are going to live out our lives - especially the last 5 or 10 when illness is likely to rob us of our mobility or brain power. Hiding our heads in the sand, hoping we won't get sick or fall, wishing harder and harder for the pot of gold or the next winning lottery ticket and thinking - that couldn't happen to me - all of this thought-clutter can lead us down a long dark alley with a light shining into our eyes so we can't really see what is at the end until it is too late to turn back. No plans in place, no escape route to access, no friend to call. This heroic effort to protect our independence can actually rob us of the ability to make the decision in the end. <br />
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While researching the topic of how to find a home where I would like to retire to (that I could afford!) I was reminded about the diminishing capacity I have to make a decision - is that old age creeping in or just a carry over from my usual procrastinating self? So much to think about with so much riding on the outcome - it is overwhelming even in my early sixties - what will it feel like in my seventies or beyond? In actual fact, you can choose where to live each decade of your life and make that decision yourself five years in advance (just to be sure you make the mark!) or you can wait until you or your spouse have that fall or face that illness and then, others can choose for you. <br />
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Go ahead - paint the picture of what your retirement dream looks like now and work backwards. Figure out what you have to do between now and then to get to that dream. Spend less time and effort on planning out every nickel and dime (I am betting you have spent hours on that already) and really start to figure out how you are going to get to there from here. <br />
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I sat back today and let my mind wander and started to paint that picture for myself. First I saw beautiful sandy beaches, sunshine sparkling off the waves in that one second before they crashed at my feet. Oh wait, that was just a video I was watching while cuddling up with my sweetie on the old couch in our living room. Sharpening my crystal ball gazing somewhat, I see myself smiling as I tell him about my bike ride that morning as I zipped to the library for a story time with some sweet toddlers. I get up to make some tea and remind him our friends are coming over for a game or two of UNO that night. Tomorrow - well, tomorrow I am heading into work to finish off the intake of another aboriginal class - one day of three I am spending right now before we head off for a few months of warmer temperatures visiting friends further south and then spending some time in the Okanagan with a whole crowd of new friends we have come to cherish each winter. I make a mental note to message Darlene and Joanne about our arrival date so they go ahead and book us a table for the New Years celebration. Life is good. <br />
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So - how am I going to get there from here? For Decade #1 the planning is underway - or will be next week! Here are my first thoughts - scattered, just hatched, but, still, moving in the right direction:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>To get to a secure, pleasant home with a comfy couch and privacy - well, we need to secure the one we have and make sure we make the changes we may need to our existing home that will support us into the first decade of our full retirement. Things like a main floor laundry, grab bar supports in the bathrooms (the bars can come later - ambience trumps function so far!) and installation of a small wet bar/kitchen in the basement to enable a potential secondary suite to support our travel to visit friends or family plus finance our little Canadian escape to slightly warmer climes - or house a live-in care giver if that becomes a necessity.</li>
<li>Much as we would like to travel the world, our plan is to squeeze in some of the bigger trips before retirement and then see what life brings our way in health and wealth in Decade #1. The idea of continuing work on a reduced schedule will certainly help along those lines and Raouf is an expert planner of cheap vacations! I just follow!</li>
<li>I know I am going to have to work at keeping my mind from turning to mush - continuing to work in some capacity beyond age 65 will give me that brain exercise. It will also help stretch the retirement budget a little further - see point above!</li>
<li>Building up a group of friends close by will go a long way to support our need for social interaction and provide some of the help along the way as we move from old to old old! This, dear friends, is one of the biggest and most concerning aspect of The Plan! Also, working on staying on top of technology because I think I might have to call on some great friends and family who live further afield - my justification just recently to jump on the smart phone band wagon! Facebook, blogging, email and phones - embrace them all, people. Your best friend with time for a chat may not be your close neighbour in Decade #1 or 2 or 3 - as many head south to warmer cities or across the country to be near family, you may see your face-to-face friends dwindle. Keep plugged in - learning this new technology at 85 will be much harder if you turn your back on it at 65!</li>
<li>Volunteering during retirement will help transition me from work-centered living to me -and-you-centered! I have been advised that this is not something that just happens one day - I need to plan this out and get actively volunteering before retirement starts. By establishing those connections while I am still working and connected (i.e. NOW), I will be able to carry this over into my retirement plan. </li>
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As you can see, my plan has plenty of holes in it with lots of places that need fleshing out and more research completed but, at least it is a start and I am a few inches further ahead than I was last week! At least I am getting closer to what I think I want 10 years down the road (or sooner). <br />
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I certainly don't have my plan for dying longer in place and I might not even be all the way to firming up my plan for Decade #1 but, deep down inside, I am determined that I will make the choices I can earlier rather than later so when I do die, I will go out with a sense of having left my mark in beautiful strokes of yellows, blues and pinks and not scratched in frustration on some poor daughters back! I hope that at least some memories of me will continue to make a few people smile when they hear my name. I will love long, play often and laugh at my own crazy antics and screw ups. If my journal is a little sporadic and even stained with coffee or wine, I still want it to shout: I lived well and dyed long - but with a sparkle in my eye fueled by the love in my heart!<br />
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Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-23321100225225621102013-08-22T12:32:00.001-07:002013-09-01T00:24:35.094-07:00Class Reunion 1968 to 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The cracks in the oiled wood floor ran
parallel to the beat up filing cabinet and work table pushed against the far
wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Secure in the knowledge that three
of my best friends were lined up along this same crack in the floor gave me the
courage to raise my eyes to Mr. Kitchen's level and focus more consciously on
what he was saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being one of the
quietest students in my class, this was my first foray into the principal's
office in twelve years of school and I was shocked that I was still being
expelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His gaze moved from one
student to the next as he lectured us on the seriousness of skipping class and
the consequences - wait, there were consequences - a BIG consequence - none of us would be allowed
to go on the planned trip that day to tour two post-secondary institutions in a
nearby city unless our parents called the office to
re-instate us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I straightened my back, unconsciously
threw my shoulders back and dared to look him in the eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in my 17 years of life experience I
could recognize that little glimmer sparkling for a few seconds as he flashed me
a look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why, he was smiling on the
inside - maybe even struggling to keep a straight face as he lectured
"little Miss Goody Two Shoes" and her friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hurriedly shifted my gaze back to the old
floor and wiped my face clean of that little grin just starting to spread at the corners of my mouth, choked down
the giggle rising in my throat and began to plan the "story" I would
have to tell my Mom so I could take that bus trip to the promised campuses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is the story that flashed through my
mind as I walked into the local golf clubhouse last weekend and came face to
face with Mr. Riley - the vice-principal and star messenger regarding the above
incident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, the set face, arms-crossed
figure burnt into my memory 45 years ago immediately came to the forefront of my brain as I
remembered his slowly raised arm pointing me in the direction of the
principal's office that fateful morning back in 1968!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For one second, I was overwhelmed with the
wish to turn and leave before I got into trouble again but it was really only a
memory that had become one more funny story to share with those who were there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Seeing old friends - some for the first
time in 45 years - was an amazing experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Reminiscing with teachers that seemed to hold your current life in their
hands Monday to Friday for a whole school year was priceless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adulthood and maturity seemed to break down
the old barriers of group think and loyalties forged by teenage brains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quiet teenagers had grown into chatty adults
and the self-proclaimed party animals were ready to pack it in at 8 PM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hugs were available for all and stories came
out of memories revived by many brains working together filling in the blanks
where there were pauses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had sadly
lost some friends along the way and, dare I say, a few of us even struggled to remember some who were
smiling at us from two feet away - but, for a few hours, we were a class again.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Flash backs to crazy high school times were
flittingly dimmed somewhat by the shadows of life as we caught up on each others lives - not obliterated but tamed into a pleasantness of nostalgia tempered by
losses each had experienced along the way - divorce, death and
sickness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had all experienced the
human condition, worked through the difficult times, put our pieces back
together again where a little glue sometimes showed still, and then moved
forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no going back - not
really!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, for a few short hours, it
sure felt like I was "just 17, you know what I mean, and the way she
looked was way beyond compare!"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Rock on, Class of 1968!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See you in 2018!</span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span> </div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-9665964611599581092013-08-11T15:23:00.000-07:002013-09-01T00:24:57.572-07:00Boomer Living - Where's the Pot of Gold<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have been gnawing on the whole retirement thing for a few years. Where, when, how? Today I listened to an interview with a Canadian author, Lindsay Green (and bought her book - thank you Kindle - <em>The Perfect Home for a Long Life</em>) and found myself stopped cold hearing her say out loud what many of my peers whisper to each other - most of us over the age of 65 are more afraid of living in a nursing home than dying.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Over the past year, I have spent many weekends dashing around the world (albeit, only in my mind!) and trying to find a cheap, warm place to spend my retirement. I usually end up back at home wondering if we can make it work in our own little house. I have actually downsized and upsized twice in the last 10 years and can say without a doubt that anticipating another move is short lived excitement at best. Temporary insanity based only on the "idea" of getting to decorate a new space, or simplifying my life with less, or just moving to a new, exotic locale where it would feel like a permanent vacation sets in and for a few hours I immerse myself in the search for nirvana. Right about the time when I think I have discovered that it would be cheap to grab a long-term rental in Spain or safe to go to Osoyoos, BC, I head upstairs for a quick cup of tea, look at the familiarity of my little urban space and say, "Na", and go back to square one - where is that perfect retirement abode - my self-defined pot of gold?<br />
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Weighing the wealth and health aspects in a little heavily (you have to admit they are shiny and tangible!), I sometimes forget the value of a community. My oldest daughter commented recently (when I was sharing another idea of moving away to retire more cheaply in a warmer climate - I think it was in the Okanagan that particular day) and said an interesting thing: "But Mom, who would be there to take you to your Doctor appointments and make sure you had groceries." Once I got over the offensive vision that popped into my head - you know that one of the old you, hobbling with cane or walker in place, depending on a younger, more mobile daughter or care giver supporting your elbow, or worse yet, wiping the drool from your chin when visiting you in the nursing home - I chastised her for putting me into a nursing home too quickly (at which she just smiled - her only defense that works with me in my moods!) and then I moved on to a more palatable subject. <br />
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I did, however, carry her comment and my vision into my next foray into retirement planning. Assuming that Raouf and I age at the same speed, who indeed would take me to my appointments? I remember how often my sister accompanied our mom to her medical appointments or shopping trips and frequently she raved on about her friends and their escapades and realized that, of all the things my mom valued the most in her final years, I believe the highest one was that connection - knowing that there was someone close by who cared about her - not just cared for her. <br />
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Since I keep landing back on home turf, I realize I have flirted with the idea of aging in place more often than not - maybe renting out space that I really don't need so I can finance the travelling I really do need (....want) and staying close to family and friends. Aging in place has definite appeal even though the weather is not one of the plus points. I also recognize that wealth and health are important aspects of retirement but, possibly, even more important, is a community of caring, loving people - family and familiar friends. According to Lindsay Green, you can pay someone to care for you but you can't pay someone to care about you. It has made me re-think my planning.<br />
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Since I come from a family with strong genes leaning toward longevity, the flirtation has to come to an end and the relationship with retirement needs to take on a more serious form. I have just over 1050 days before I plan on retiring - time to plan, re-invent, sculpt, define, discover and DECIDE! <br />
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So, my first step is to invite you to weigh in on your own experience - what did you think was important that really was (or wasn't} and how did you decide where you would live? You are my community - that pot of gold may look different for all of us but - rainbow or not - we are all on the same ark floating in the same direction! I would love to hear about your plans, your final destination (if you have already arrived) or are you still on the journey? Whether you are still running after rainbows or are fortunate enough to be sailing into your chosen sunset - your voice is important!</div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5399798391897166975.post-51083450329287339382013-08-11T14:11:00.000-07:002013-09-01T00:25:16.025-07:00My Journey Through Life - One Heartbeat at a Time!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lI-v1PT5pLw/Ugf3oWye1xI/AAAAAAAAAj4/FNcENbOuD5s/s1600/Bali+Temple+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lI-v1PT5pLw/Ugf3oWye1xI/AAAAAAAAAj4/FNcENbOuD5s/s320/Bali+Temple+2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
My Journey to Health has become my journey through life - a new story I am scripting daily - or so it seems. The ending exists in my heart of hearts but I only get glimpses of the details. Along the way, I know I will engage with my world and revel in the smells, tastes, sounds and sensations - in countries around the world or from my own back deck. <br />
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This became so evident during our recent trip to SE Asia. So much filled so few days, that the memories overloaded my communication zone - what to share without drowning my friends in post-trip euphoria?! I have attempted to distill the experience into a few sensory phrases: smell, taste, sound and sensation!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Bangkok: inhaled acrid tuk tuk exhaust; savoured spicy hot coconut soup; nodded my head to jazz at the Saxophone Pub; and loved the bubbles of joy popping in my throat as a bucket of water was dumped in my lap! <br />
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Phuket: breathed in the sea of warm salty air; overwhelmed my taste buds with sticky coconut rice with sweet mango; reassured myself that the annoying cicada buzz would fly away each evening; spirit restored by warm sea water enveloping my body and seeping deep into my parched soul.<br />
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Kuala Lumpur: wandered through the mist of hot cooking oil wafting from the street vendor's cooking pot; sampled sweet baklava and smooth cappuccino at the Islamic Art Museum; captivated by the haunting call of the eman to prayer at sunrise and sunset; cocooned within my inner me while the warm tropical downpour splashed off the cool blue tile of the dome.<br />
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Jakarta: choked on hot diesel fumes in search of working Indonesians; salivated over the hot, melting goodness of satay; tuned in and out of the common call of the hawkers -"just looking" - at the antique market; shocked myself with a growing sense of oppression from the heat swirling around my scarfed head as I followed the men through the national mosque with rebellion rising in my heart.<br />
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Bali: immersed myself in exotic incense mingled with heat, sweat and spices; indulged in hot nasi gorang and cool Italian gelato served in restaurants with sand floors and waves crashing at the threshold; bounced to the repetitious notes of the gamelan ensemble ping ponging through the air and my mind; mesmirized in spirit and heart by a temple silouhetted against orange and pink and blue waves crashing on the rocks.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yqwNDaSew5Q/Ugf4e19LwUI/AAAAAAAAAkE/VisyyxLe1bs/s1600/P1020791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yqwNDaSew5Q/Ugf4e19LwUI/AAAAAAAAAkE/VisyyxLe1bs/s200/P1020791.JPG" width="200" /></a>Urban path: warm earth mingles with the sweet perfume of the wild roses; hot coffee lingers on my tongue and breath; bird songs amplified by the silence on the edge of a sleeping city; soaked in contentment as the cool misty valley rose to meet the hot orange ball of the sun - my home.<br />
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Be authentic; be alive; be you - and follow your heartbeat!</div>
Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02166513893416847503noreply@blogger.com0