Think Positiviely: You will live longer than a pessimist

Alexandra Stoddard is an interesting woman and has written a number of books.  The title of today's blog is straight out of one of her books.  I am just going to go ahead and quote her directly.
"You  are the only one who chooses what you think.  Think the thoughts that will increase your sense of well-being. Think the thoughts that make you feel good.  We become what we think about all day.  Positive thinkers stay connected to their creative power and use all their powers constructively, staying focused on what they want to accomplish and how they want to feel, doing the best they can to look for the good in every situation.  Negative thinkers find themselves feeling scattered.  Negative thought prey harmfully on us, triggering a number of distinctive emotions; anger, confusion, anxiety, depression, and frustration.  Negative emotion appears to weaken people's immune system.  Psychology, indeed, does affect biology.
In order to get the most out of your lifetime, formulate a positive philosophy and search, not for the ideal later, but for the actual good now.  You must have a point of view, a perspective, on life.  You always have a choice to select the window you look out from.  Choose the best possible view.  Look for ways to expand your horizon and multiply your possibilities.  Choose to look at life from a sense of increase, a sense of potential.  Being positive is being appreciative of the miracle of your life, even when things are not going your way.  A positive attitude looks for progress, ways to improve things and make things work out for the best.
There is far more good than bad in the world, more beauty than ugliness, more kindness than meanness, more love than hate. "
And... it helps to put a sticky note on your mirror that says "Don't Worry!  Be Happy!"  At least when you are brushing your teeth and getting ready to head out the door you will do so with a smile on your face and an expectation that this is going to be a fine day. 

In and Out

No, I am not talking about the infamous hamburger joint.  I am back in from the garage sale in MN and am on my way out to Montana.
The garage sale was a huge success and could have been even bigger if the pricing on a few items had been lower, but all in all my folks were very happy with the outcome and my dad had so much fun doing it that he wants to have another one in the spring.  Hmmmmmm.......
Now it's time to enjoy a long weekend of doing some of this.

After a quick week  of catching up around the house and helping Dean find an apartment ( 1 mile from his new job), we are on our way back to cooler temperatures today.  It is going to be rainy in Bozeman when I land and I might just dance a jig over rain.  I hardly remember what it looks, feels, and smells like anymore.  But, the best part is that is going to get into the low 40's at night and I might just have to make a bonfire! I CANNOT wait.

Bacon and Tater Tots

I am sitting on an American Airlines 737, and I am seated in 6 A. Yes, I was upgraded on a completely full flight. Praise the Lord!

I am off to Lake Shore Farm where I grew up in southern Minnesota. It is going to be 82 degrees there today and I might just have to borrow one of my mom's sweaters. It's been in the 100 plus degree temperatures in Dallas for so long that we have ALMOST gotten used to it.

This Friday and Saturday my parents are having their garage sale that we have been getting ready for on and off all summer. I will tweet some pictures of before,during, and after.

When I talked to my parents to see what they needed me to pick up at the grocery store, I was told only 2 things were needed. Tater tots and bacon. Hmmmmm. I think I might just pick up some "bag salad" too.

In the meantime,I best take whatever they offer me for lunch on this flight and enjoy it.

Z's first day of school

It seems like yesterday that I was taking "first day of school" pictures of my kids.  Where have the years gone?  I did take a picture of Z today before she drove down to SMU to begin Grad School.  The picture was taken with her phone and probably will only be seen by her sister, but it brought back lots of fun memories of new tennis shoes, new back packs full of binders and  pencils, first day of school "outfits", new lunch boxes packed with an extra good lunch for the first day, and all that blonde hair and tan skin from a summer spent at the pool.
As I drove into the neighborhood this afternoon, all the moms were walking to school to pick up their kids and I was also reminded  how much I enjoyed the quietness of the house that first day of school and what fun it was to think up a fun after school snack. 
THEN, I remembered that K, D, C, and L all brought home folders full of forms for me to fill out that first day.  I guess it's kind of nice that Z has filled out all the necessary forms.  We haven't had to lift a finger.  Well, unless you call helping with tuition "lifting a finger".  Good luck Z!!!!!

Things that fit together

I am reading two books.  I am reading them at the same time and they look like they are going to fit nicely together.  The first one, The Happiness Project is by Gretchen Rubin.  The second is The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer.

I have read the first chapter of each book and there is a common thread that I think many women will be able to relate to. (Perhaps men might as well.)

Gretchen makes this comment; "I have such a good life, I want to appreciate it more-and live up to it better".
AMEN!  She talks about disciplining yourself to feel grateful for an ordinary day and looking for happiness "in your own kitchen".  She goes so far as to say, "Act the way you want to feel. Fake it til' you feel it."

Fast forward to Priscilla's book.  Chapter one is all about embracing your now, whatever that may be.  She asks the questions: What have you been hurrying through?  What have you been hurrying to get to?  What can you do differently today, to gather up all the good things around you and begin enjoying the journey of your life? 

She goes on to say that instead of relishing each moment, each year, each opportunity, each step on the journey, we're constantly overeager to get to the next thing, which always looks more enticing than what's currently before us.  We are rarely satisfied in FULL with our present situation.

Isn't this true?  We are single and we want marriage.  We get married and we look forward to having a family.  We have a family and we push our children to "grow up".  Our tendency is to keep pushing forward to find more happiness when our happiness can most likely be found in our NOW.

I am going to follow both authors advice and read these books S L O W L Y...let the themes roll around in my mind and start being more aware of my NOW.  Life flies by far too fast to miss the moment I am in at present.

Priscilla Shirer has a Resolution Revolution Project going on over on her blog. www.goingbeyond.com/blog 
and Gretchen Rubin's website is: happiness-project.com  .

Escaping the Heat Again!

We enjoyed a wonderful break from the 100 plus degree temperatures in Texas.  After a couple of days showing some of the Phytel folk around Montana, Lefty and I did some fishing on a variety of creeks, streams, and rivers.  I caught my first cutthroat trout on the lower Gallatin.  Very cool river. 

We saw an adorable little river cabin that would be fun to recreate at our place some day.

We were able to fish a private creek one day,

and the Big Hole the next. 

We were thankful to enjoy beautiful and cooler weather and another week of decompression in one of our favorite places in the country.
Now we are back in Texas until Labor Day.  Feels good to be home even if it is still HOT!

Leaving Minnesota.

Last Wednesday I flew to Minneapolis, rented a VERY small, VERY red Chevrolet of some kind. Truth be told, I don't want to remember what it was. It had hail damage, squeaky breaks, and sounded like a Diesel truck when I accelerated. Enough about that.
I was in MN to help my parents start going through some things in their house. They need to get ready to downsize soon, so a garage sale is being scheduled for the end of August. We went through crawl spaces, attic storage, closets, dresser drawers,kitchen and bathroom cabinets, 2 garages and a boathouse. Wow! After 23 years in this house, there were lots of things that had accumulated that no longer serve a purpose for them. The temperature while I was there hovered around 95 which by Texas standards is a cool spell, but I had forgotten what HUMIDITY feels like at 95 degrees. I will be very sad if I haven't lost at least a couple of pounds from sweating for 4 days straight.
It just so happens that for the second year in a row I was back in MN for a family reunion. We had a little potluck lunch on Sunday after church. I spotted some jello salads that I had not seen since I lived in MN YEARS ago. As a proud Texan, I will be having some sort of Tex Mex tonight. My mouth is watering already.