The Power Of Positive Thinking!

Here's to positive thinking! I went to one of my favourite stores the other day and applied for a job in the knitting department. I was phoned for an interview that would take place at 9:00 this morning. I went into the store with the idea that the job I wanted was mine. The boss looked over my resume and said he was impressed. As we talked, he said he was no longer impressed, he was wowed. I WOWED THE BOSS!!! He then asked me if I would consider a position in the office doing the books!!

Does everyone here know that little dance where the hands & arms look like they're stirring something in a huge vat, and the body is moving as if operating a hula hoop, in the opposite direction as the hands? Well that's the happy dance I've been doing all day!!!!

I hadn't been home for ten minutes, and was just e-mailing Coramie with the good news, when the phone rang. It was Coramie! We had a wonderfully long conversation on the phone and I must thank you again for making that call Coramie. It really made my day to hear from you!

So onward and upward as you always say. I have plans for a home-based business as well, but will keep that one close to my chest until I have worked out which direction I'm going to go with it. This of course will be secondary to my 'real' job in accounting. Then as an encore, I'd like to enter the Christmas Craft Fairs when the time comes, just because I enjoy craft fairs. I don't quite know what to do as my entry however....I knit, but so does everyone else at these fairs. I make soap & candles, but so does everyone else. Hmmmm....this will take some thought. Good thing it's only July! lol Time to start looking in crafting magazines me thinks. Ooooo, but before I go, if anybody here does cross stitch or petit point and is looking for a drop-dead-gorgeous Christmas project, check out Mar-Bek's Nativity firescreen here: http://www.serendipitydesigns.com/MarBek_Designs_for_Cross_Stitc/the_nativity.html
The pattern for this is coming out of my first paycheque!

It's the little things.......

So ...when I swim I tend to come up with ideas that I could discuss in this blog.....
However, somehow they don't always seem to retain in my brain. But.....this one related to the whole swimming thing so I kind of remembered what I wanted to say ....or ask.

As I've gotten older, I find myself getting stressed out about the smallest things. Case in point.... swimming in a crowded and busy pool. I used to ....and still do sometimes....swim around 9 am. However, that is the time that the aquafit starts....and the music...rock music....LOUD rock music. .....and 9:30 am is when the lessons start....the group lessons....with kids....some of which take place in one of the lap lanes. So I swam and swam and then wondered why I used to not really enjoy the thought of going for my swim.....and that was it!! Too friggin' busy and loud. So I go now either around 8:15 am and then finish just after the aquafit starts....or around 11:45 which is just before everything finishes for the morning and one can have a peaceful swim for 45-50 minutes. I also worry about whether the change rooms will be full ( I use the family individual rooms)...so whilst I'm swimming I'm thinking about how long to swim and whether many people will be getting out of the pool at the same time as me and using the change rooms.....how bizarre is that. I never used to be like that.....I'm turning into a frightened stressed out old lady!! The upside is though, that I am actually going by myself when DH is working which is a huge deal for me....doing anything on my own is a big improvement over two years ago or even last year. Sometimes I even make a detour going home to visit a store....depending on how my legs are feeling after the workout!!

Does anyone else ever stress out about the little stuff? DH gets so frustrated with me when I blow up over something that's really quite meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I think it's all about taking life as it comes and dealing with it.....I just have to keep reminding myself of that.....sigh.....another thing to remember to do :-()

Slainte!!!

How Hard Can it Be?

Okay, I'm almost 60, 259 days to go and I intend to totally revamp my life before then. How hard can it be? I've bought almost every self-help book available and am avidly reading them all. The trouble is, the more determined I get to revamp, the more obstacles seem to be thrown in my path. Why revamp, you ask. Well, I've finished with the first two-thirds of my life, the single phase, the motherhood phase and now it just seems that my life needs a big readjustment as I start the third phase. I don't know what to call it, any ideas? Maybe it's the 'free to be creative' phase, or the 'finally picking a plum' phase, or...?

Okay, now, I have a history of starting books and not finishing them. I am going to commit to posting to this blog every time I finish a book and give a brief report on the book. That may keep me on track. Currently the book I am working on is called "Do It!: Let's get off our buts". I'm in the middle of it and it's giving me exercises to do which are hard but I will overcome!

I am working on a celebration plan for my birthday and have lots of ideas. Some of my friends have had surprise birthday parties and one had a full blown Ball. Whatever I do, I think I'd like to plan it myself. I'll keep you posted.

Hats off to Coramie for reading "Opening Skinner's Box". You will definitely stay young if you exercise your brain like that!

I look forward to reading more blogs at this place. Hopefully more will join.

my second post....

So..I've been reading a fair bit lately and the latest one I've been wading (and I mean wading) through is Opening Skinner's Box - Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century by Lauren Slater . The title itself would normally have put me off, but I saw it listed in the booklist on Rosie.com and as Skinner figures in Applied Behavioural Analysis, I thought I would give it look. It's a tough go, but I'm finding it interesting....I'm just not sure I will retain a lot of the information contained therein. It relates the pros and cons and the author's take on the experiments and the people who conducted them. Some are pretty horrendous....all in the name of science and the brain!!

I'm finding that my interests in book reading are gradually expanding....which in turn broadens the mind...at least I hope so. Another author that has taken my fancy is Annie Lamott. A couple of her books are Travelling Mercies and Grace(Eventually), she also has a column in Salon magazine and if you google her name you can find them to read. Humourous, down to earth, and to the point with a slightly Christian and spiritual aspect, though not enough to deter the non-vocal Christians among us.

I was at a garage sale this morning...alone.... (first one a loooong time) and it was nice. As much as I love my husband, having him with me at garage sales, causes me no end of distress. If he doesn't see anything that appeals to him, he huffs and puffs until I finally throw up my hands and leave, even if I've seen something that I like. He's just not a "second hand" sort of guy I guess.

In any case, I came away with a hat that reminded me of my grandmother (crocheted "cloche" style) for a dollar. some almost new Christmas place mats for 5$, three large hardcover books in pristine condition for 6 dollars and a small plastic bag of assorted "glitter glue" for collage work for a dollar. There were quite a few children's toys there, but I think I will wait until my grandson starts visiting before I decide what toys to get to have on hand. All in all, it was a good time....and it was after I had been to the market where I wandered through and picked up some bison meat, beets, yellow zucchini, apricots and peaches, and dog biscuits. A good start to Saturday. DH was at work.....so I was able to wander at my leisure with no one to account to....except Chauncey (our bichon) when I got home!!

I remember when DH retired I said that it would be a learning experience to start doing things separately.....there are things we do better apart and things we do well together. It's all about finding out which is which.... a task that is becoming a tad easier these days. When you have always done pretty much everything together, it is stressful but definitely worth it to achieve your own identity. It gets easier....but there are still times (and always will be, I'm sure) when I need him nearby even though I'm quite capable of being by myself. Now he has a temporary part-time job, the transition is easier....not quite so "in your face"...so to speak.

Well, I have blithered on long enough....I hope that someone eventually reads this....

Slainte!!

Coramie

Here we are.....

I have the honour of being the first to post to this new and hopefully awesome blog. Awesome because it will not be just me posting...it will be other women my age....at least that's the plan.
On the side bar of this blog is a blurb about staying young...I believe it was originated by the late George Carlin....who was not a woman....but he definitely had the right idea!!

No particular topic for the first post other than to welcome anyone who decides to join us. Feel free to to post pictures, videos, anything you like and that you think we might find interesting.

That's all for now!!

Slainte!!

Coramie