Always know your competition

Always know your competition and deal with them appropriately.

Dang-nabbit I have been up and down this gravel-covered road and nothing. Zip, Nada, Not a blasted agate anywhere, I had been looking for weeks with no luck. What happened? Where were all the agates? Had I taken all of the available agates in the whole region? I was concerned, REALLY, concerned.

 I like to collect agates; it started when I was a little girl. There was a man down the road that would pay me 50 cents per pound. He used them to make jewelry.  This started my agate hunting adventure.

I have a large non-agate rock in my possession also (it’s on my mantel above the fireplace). It is just a normal gray rock about the size of a shoe. I have the words “my rock” painted on it with red finger nail polish. Why do I have this rock? I have no clue. Other then I was in the army at the time, in a place that I had never been before. Therefore, I took a piece of it, decided to carry it with me for the rest of my life.  

Anyways, I was baffled until one-day. I meet the neighbor’s adult son with his two boys 5 and 7 years of age out at the end of the driveway. I bent down to look at a potential agate. “Oh you collect agates to” he said.” We have been finding all kinds of great agate on this road.” “We even found one the size of a baseball on the corner of 110^th and Manning. It was great…bzzzzt….I could no longer hear a word he was saying. My mind was too busy screaming obscenities to him.

 There was a dagger in my heart. ” Really, I said feigning a smile. “Who gave you the right to hunt agates in my territory?” my mind continued to scream!

“Yah, it’s so much fun collecting rocks and we even got a rock tumbler,” the oldest boy yelled out.

“Really” I said. “I looked down at them and saw the glow in their little eyes, and their sweet little smiles.  “Wow, that’s great, I am really happy for you.” At that point, I realized I had more than enough agates in my possession.  I stepped down that day. I gave them the position of the official agate hunters of the territory.

After all, what am I going to do with all those rocks?  When I am dead and gone, my people will have no idea what to do with my rocks

So Always check the competition and make sure you deal with them appropriately.

Yoga, Chia tea and Church

This has been the worst winter ever. I do not remember any winter this cold, snowy or long. Every time I need to go out of the house, I have a little talk with myself (sometime it becomes an argument). I frequently loss half of the argument (the half that wants to stay home and not subject myself to such torture) so I head out wrapped in at least five layers of clothing. In addition, I add a few scarves and a couple of pairs of mittens.

This last Sunday it was 15 below zero. However, I did my yoga, drank my tea and went to church. I needed to. I don’t know about you but I feel one inch shorter by the end of the week. All week long, life beats me down little by little and by Sunday, I am hunch over and walking wacky. To many long commute times, sitting in chairs not made for comfort and frequently under pressure to keep going when all I want to do is take a nap.

All week long when I did my extended puppy pose in my Yoga, I was rushed (not the reason to do yoga or the right mind to be in). I would feel a lot of tension in my back and neck. I did not take the time to really breath and relax into it. So this last Sunday morning while I was in the extended puppy pose, I BREATHED, RELAXED, RELEASTED and BREATHED into it. I let go, relaxed into it POP! A moment of panic came over me, as you know that may not have been a good thing. Then the tension in the middle of my back was gone. I stood up straight walked without pain and felt revitalized. In addition, I think I am now one inch taller.

Now I have pushed myself before in my Yoga practice and caused damage that I had to work around for many months. I have learned not to do that anymore. I just do what is comfortable with a little bit of a push. I try to apply this to my daily practice of life also. Seems to be working, not pushing the buttons unless needing to and then with just a little push.

Anyways I was running late for church, slippery roads! In addition, I was lolly gaging all morning in my warm cozy house. I thought to myself that it was going to be a little low in attendance today anyways. I even had that little argument with myself before heading out.

I arrived and surprisingly it was a full house. I had to park way in the back and there were many people scurrying to get into the church also. Here I was thinking this morning that it was too cold for any sane person to venture out, (nothing I can do about it) and so I might as well just go. I sure am glad I lost that little argument with myself.

I sat in the back because the church was full and seating was scarce. I guess everyone thought the same thing, might as well go. We are all in this same misery together. There, as I sat and listened to the music, and sang along (the best I could do) my spirit lifted.  In addition, as I listened to the sermon I reflected on how it pertained to me.  My soul soothed. I BREATHED, RELAXED, RELEASED and BREATHED into it. No there was not a pop. However, there is a feeling of growing a little.

Now you are probable wonder what is the significance of the chia tea. It just tastes good. I make it with One-cup milk heated up. Then steep you chia tea in the milk. Then add a little honey. Yummy! 

As time goes by

I remember waiting for Christmas. The time always went to slow the months and days dragged on forever. Also, for that matter I had a hard time waiting for my birthdays. There also was the famous waiting for the end of the school year. Then for some strange reason I could not wait for the beginning of the school year, although that bell at the end of the day seemed to take forever along with the bus ride.

As I turn the calendar to April, I wondered where this past month has gone. I also wondered, as did you I am sure, where is spring? This particular winter has been harder than most and spring has been long time coming.   My mind turned to reflecting on things as it does from time to time. I thought that everything under this sun and on this earth have been experienced, said, done and felt by all people and generations.

Therefore, I need to ask. What are we waiting for? Are we waiting for that new best memory in our life? Are we waiting for a problem to be solved? It is probable both at different times. So then, I need to ask why we are not in the moment more often. Why can we not just take what is in front of us and except it? I think it is just in our nature to want to know the future and anticipate it. We cannot help it.

Today at church, the minister said something that related to this. He said that there once was a woman that believed that everything in her life was prewritten and all she had to do was live it. One day she was going down the basement stairs and trip herself up at the top. She fell down the stairs bumping and bruising herself. As she lay at the bottom of the stairs, she said to herself, boy am I glad that part is over.

Anyways, season change and the scenery also, it could be a building is no longer there or a two-lane road turns into a four-lane highway. We go about our daily lives watching the small changes day to day and then there it is. The old barn degraded and fell down or that two-lane road is now a four-lane highway. Yet the ground below us remains the same and the sky above is still forever. These two examples happened right in front of our eyes. We grow up and have children. They are little one day and then we turn around and they are adults with lives of their own. For that matter, we were once young and strong. Then day-by-day without giving it much thought we grow old.

I find that now days, I do not ever have enough time. The years seem to fly by and I am constantly trying to keep up with time.  Although, when I look back at my life, there have been so many changes. People have come into my life and gone out of my life. I have had many different jobs, lived in many different places and know so many different kinds of people.

I also have people in my life that are always present, but the relationship changes as time goes by. We grow we change we adjust and go on from there. Sometimes, or should I say mostly this happens without us even thinking about it. It is just the natural flow of life and love. I love it.

Yet the ground below remains the same and the sky above goes on forever. I realize I am rich with memories and ever-changing wonderful relationships.  That is what life is about. That is why I carry my rock with me. It keeps me grounded and helps me to remember the good times and the bad times. 

Pour some sugar on me

What can I say something just take hold of me; it was just as if I had no resistance of what was going to happen. I tuned into the convenience store parking lot, parked the car and got out. I walked into the store. and before I could even stop myself, there I was standing in front of the donuts. I must have been crazed or something. Then all of a sudden, I saw my hand reaching and picking out a cream filled donut. Stop! What are you doing? Why are you even considering this? Put that thing down and step away from the donut case. Run and never look back my mind screamed! I continued to walk toward the checkout counter with my donut in hand. Although, I felt a strong pull back to the donut case to return the donut back to its original resting place. I continued on my path of destruction.

I find it somewhat ironic but every time I am coming down with something, I crave junk food. I have no idea why, but I am sure there is some science behind this.  I was feeling just fine at that point and did not think anything of it except I had a big hankering for a creamed filled donut. It has been a long time since I have had a cold so I forgot the early warning signs.

Research has determined that sugar depletes your immune system. So why is it when I am sick all I want is junk food? For example, the only thing that sounded good last night (not me the C.O. wanted them, he likes every opportunity to have a good junk food dinner) for dinner was fish sticks and tatter tots. The first reason was that I did not even want to eat at this point anyways but felt I had to eat. The second reason is I cannot taste anything at this point and the third reason was I just had to pop them in the oven for thirty minutes, Tada done. Oh, yah and melted American cheese on top of everything.

About a week ago, before I got sick, I was listening to the radio and in one of their wonderful information blips; I thought I heard them say that we should strive for just five grams of sugar a day.  WHAT?  I immediately went to the pantry and pulled out a bunch of my food items.  I checked the sugar contents of some of my healthier items and was devastated by the fact that they contained tooooooooo much suuuuuuuugar!

Turns out it’s actually 24 grams of sugar a day recommended for woman. I need to clean my ears out I guess. Anyways that adds up to six tablespoons a day. Therefore, that is eight grams a meal, or two tablespoons a meal. Yah, I can do that, Phew.