Gratitude for Me...Really??

I have long been a believer in living in gratitude and giving thanks for all the wonders in our world, and I have really come into my own in the past few years and feel comfortable in my skin...an odd and wonderful feeling for anyone.
I feel in an odd place that I am feeling grateful for my body. Ok, this may be a good cue for males to bow out as they may not fully get this....gone?....ok good....
Women are not encouraged to be comfortable or confident with themselves and this is unfortunate...
That is why I want to take this opportunity to give thanks to my body. Yep I said it! MY BODY!
Ok that is not meant to sound egotistic my any means, so let me clarify.

I am committed to living a wonderful life and just as I am grateful for my care for getting me to and from school drop offs and swimming lessons and playdates, I am grateful for my body for all that it does for me.....wow, novel huh....just think about it....what does yours do for you?

-I am grateful for legs that on any morning will run me several miles through the fresh morning air in the countryside.

-I am grateful for arms that surround those I love

-I am grateful for hands that comfort, work and complete.

-I am grateful for a mind that continually seeks knowledge and growth.

-I am grateful for a heart that is open, honest and sees that world with love.

-I am grateful for a spirit that is always seeking adventure.

-I am grateful for a soul that can find the good.

-I am grateful for a body that gave me my beautiful children.

The Age of Distraction

This has been a growing frustration for me and I really feel the majority of the general population is oblivious to it's impact or has simply decided to shrug it off.
I have to admit that I am far from innocent on this issue, but I can at least admit to it and try to better myself.

We have become ADD as a society and it drives me bonkers. When was the last time that anything had your complete, undivided attention? There is so much noise and distraction that few things, if any get the quality time and attention they deserve.
Really, think about it, when was the last time you completely devoted yourself to a task? A conversation without being distracted by your phone, your email, a passing noise...etc.

It is inevitable I will be out to dinner with friends and everyone's iphones/droids are out...sunnyside up. Are we looking for a distraction? Can we not just focus and give someone/thing our undivided attention anymore? Or do we feel that we may be missing out on something else?

I feel that it is having a negative impact on our everyday lives. Don't get me wrong, I love technology and all the assets it brings to my life, like being able to work from home, but really we have become a distracted society.

I gave myself a challenge a couple weeks ago. I made a list of things I needed to accomplish and set myself to do them, distraction-free.....it was hard! I mean HARD!

But really what I learned was that I can do it and it was amazing the incredible feeling of clarity that I had in my tasks and the efficiency of which I did them. It was a relief to not be distracted. I felt productive and accomplished.

It is nice to be able to identify the distractions and the time vampires and be able to focus. I do worry though about the generation of 20 somethings coming up that have never experienced being able to focus without distraction. When did it become the norm to text while driving or surf the internet while working? I never would have dreamed it a few years ago and yet, now it is common place. Is it possible to teach such a skill, if so the window of opportunity for modeling this behavior is quickly coming to an end.

Women....

It being International Women's Day, you sort of had to figure that I would step up on my soap box...just a little....I apologize in advance for anyone I may offend, but I truly speak out of love, so try to see it from that perspective.

Ok, with my disclaimer clearly stated, let's get down to business.
First off I am very grateful for all the amazing women in my life. I am fortunate to be surrounded by women who are passionate and caring. There are mothers, wives, educators, clinicians, lawyers, professors, students...etc. I have so much respect and learn so much from having such amazing women in my life.

That being said, I have one bone to pick with our sex. That is that I feel women are so incredibly hard on one another (not to mention ourselves). We are all battling so many of our own choices and trying to be so many people and fill so many roles that it hardly seems just that we are so hard on one another. One of the most epic battles is between the stay-at-home moms and the working moms. I can be the first one to admit that neither role is easy and neither one is the perfect fit for everyone on everyday.
I had to go back to work when my oldest was only 5 weeks old and i have felt that guilt, but also enjoyed those moments of pure silence in the car when it was only me. We all make really difficult choices and women have the amazing ability to beat themselves up emotionally, but we really should try to avoid doing it to one another.

Instead of feeling that the grass is always greener and thinking that the other team has an unfair advantage, can't we just agree that both sides kind of have it rough on somedays and fabulous on other days? Can we just agree to support one another and take both the victories and defeats together as a team, rather than trying to compete? I'm just sayin.....

Ok, I will step off of the soapbox now. If you made it to the end of this ramble, Congratulations and Happy International Women's Day :)

Rules

I read a wonderful quote quite a while back that I really felt did a great job of summing up how I attempt to live my life and my outlook on the world.
So I thought I would share. It's a nice reminder sometimes.
Hope you enjoy it :)


1. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.
2. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
3. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
4. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
5. Be generous.
6. Have a grateful heart.
7. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
8. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
9. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
10. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
11. Commit yourself to quality.
12. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationship with people you love and respect.
13. Be loyal.
14. Be honest.
15. Be a self-starter.
16. Be decisive even it it means you'll sometimes be wrong.
17. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
18. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.
19. Take good care of those you love.
20. Don't do anything that wouldn't make your Mom proud.

H. Jackson Brown Jr.

5 Things I am looking Forward to This Spring

Living in the Pacific North West, it seems like the edge of Spring hovers just beyond reach for a really, really long time. We get nice days and we establish the hope that full fledged Spring will soon be upon us....and we wait and wait....
In New England it was a more definite change. After enduring month upon month of endless snow, slush and freezing rain, suddenly gray skies would give way to blue and the melting began. We knew.....here, we are never quite sure but always hopeful....

So I have been day dreaming about Spring and thought of the five main things I am looking forward to the most:

1. Getting the yard started: Our yard...oh our yard, it is a big slab of dirt and mud and cut down trees. We have a vision and after bringing in almost 30 loads of dirt last summer, I am hopeful things will move more quickly this Spring since we have a foundation.

2. Grilling Outside: We have a huge, amazing grill that means I don't have to cook inside. Whoo hoo! But more importantly it means that possible the hubs may cook...maybe....

3. Sunshine: I swear that nothing competes with the feel of sun on your skin.

4. Our Gardens: I have been harboring an inner gardener who is busting to get out. I have a bizillion books and I ogle the plant catalogs. This relates to point 1, since we still need to make the garden beds.

5. Sitting on my deck and watching the trees move in the breeze and watching a million amazing sunsets over the Olympic Mountains (I will do my best to keep the pictures to a minimum as it is well documented that I take far too many sunset pictures).

Living in Gratitude

Ok, so I get a little (a lot) of flack sometimes for my enthusiasm for life. Fair enough, I can be a little obnoxious sometimes, but I think with a little explanation will help to shed a little light ;)

I think there is a misconception that optimists are either:
1. just lucky people that don't encounter the hardships that others do or
2. they just don't live in reality.

Well I would argue that while there are many people living out in Lala land, the majority of those who choose to live optimistically are or have in the past made a conscious effort to change their thinking.
I can definitely attest to that fact that everyone encounters stress and challenges but it is how you view them that makes the difference.

For example work can be stressful and hectic for me, but instead of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, I stop myself and think, "wow, I have a job that allows me to make an income, do something I love and care about and enables me to be able to help support my family and all the things we love to do". Huh...suddenly work doesn't seen so bad and that never ending stream of emails and tasks isn't a chore, but an opportunity.

I think all too often it is far easier to focus on the things that we don't have or the things we "have" to do, or whatever went wrong that day. I have definitely been guilty of going to bed and thinking about something stressful from the day. It's a not a great way to end the day and it is definitely not going to be a good way to start the next day.

The other night I was tucking in my disgruntled 6 year old. He gave me a laundry list of the things that had gone wrong that day (argument with brother, didn't get to pick the job he wanted at school, didn't get ice cream after dinner...). So there he sat with his lip out and I thought....OPPORTUNITY! It was so evident in this moment that it is not innate to be grateful and it is something we learn. So I asked him "what went right today? What made you happy?" He shrugs...ok....nudge...."Did you make a great art project?" Nods..."Did you play PS3?" Nods..."Did you play with your friends" Nods....Suddenly he is smiling and ending his day of a positive note. I said, "that is why you had a great day!".

Ok, that is enough for my public service announcement (for now)..Smile, seriously, what do you have to lose?

All Grow'd Up

Ok, I would like to say that I have been a horribly negligent blogger...yes it is true....I have slacked....I am sorry....ok, can we move on? Good! Glad we got that out of the way!

Today my baby girl is no longer a baby :( She is an amazingly chatty and brilliantly happy little 3 year old :)

3 years ago today she was born (much to my surprise) on her due date. Who knew that could happen?? Without being induced (who knew that could happen either???

She was bright eyed and peaceful right from the start. As soon as she could move she started to assess the situation and plot how she could establish control of these minions living in her house (her pink house at the time). She learned that with a delightfully high pitched shriek her brothers would drop whatever they were playing with and flee. Hmmmm this was an interesting start....She quickly rose through the ranks of siblings, establishing her ability to dominate any playtime, mealtime, bedtime situation. We quickly learned that raising boys and girls is very different!

She is a sweethearted and nurturing girl who will run to give hugs when you walk through the door and kisses boo-boos better.
She speaks in 10 word sentences and constantly has everyone in giggles.

I am so lucky to have such an amazing daughter :)