The Gift

After working the last two days at the hospital, I needed to relax... get out of man-made structures and into God's great outdoors... I needed to refresh my spirit!

Rick & I drove up to Daffodil Hill. We hadn't been there in several years and if you've never been I can tell you that it's well worth the time. The drive on Hwy 16 was great because the hills were so green and beautiful. It's in the little town of Volcano, about an hour's drive for us. (there is actually an old crater there, although we've never been to it. But there are signs to lead the way.) It's free to see the daffodils... even the well organized parking is free. Just as you start to drive past Jackson there is a Daffodil Hill sign pointing to the left...
We resisted the temptation to stop in the quaint towns .... Dry Town, Sutter Creek, & Jackson... (we planned to stop on the way back) and drove on to see the glorious daffodils. This is their time of peak beauty.
Did some walking, took lots of pics, and talked to a few nice people. What a beautiful day!
On the way home, we drove through Fiddletown, (yes, that's a real town) We stopped in Plymouth at a favorite little hole in the wall, Marlene Glenn's Diner. Mercy! Do they have some good eating!

Our spirits revived!

Back in Rocklin, we pulled into our drive-way and... to our horror... saw that our front door was wide open! Our first thought was "REMAX!" (he's our precious cat for any who didn't already know) We jumped out of the car & hurried up the walk. We ran from room to room calling out his name. We looked at each other ... unspoken fears in our eyes. Just as we turned to go look out side, he appeared! He was just there. Looking relaxed, as if he had been awaken from a nap. (how dare we disturb him!) We just stared at him, and we burst out laughing. He was safe.

We had NOT been concerned about theft... only about HIM.

Today we gave the gift of time to each other...we haven't done that in a long while... too long a while. It's important to spend relaxing time with the one you love... It was a very good day! Give yourself & someone you love the gift of time.

PMA

PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)...

Having a plan... knowing the goal. Having strong determination and continuous effort... with faith, courage and... focus. Having more than just a wish... having a BURNING DESIRE for success!


Do I really believe this "positive attitude" talk?

Absolutely!

Hummmm... Where to start?

Once upon a time... a not so young woman, (40 years old to be exact) had to make some life-changing decisions. She was in the beginning process of divorce with one small child and a teenager. She had managed as a stay-at-home mom with a high school education through the 10th grade only... but now... what could she do? She remembered her dream of being a nurse... (she had almost forgotten how to dream)

Despite her fears... (too many to recount here!) she started on the long road at adult-ed for her GED. She traveled her own personal trail of tears to American River College for 2 years of general ed & pre-nursing courses... Keeping her eyes on her goal, never giving up... she walked into nursing ... and after 2 years...GRADUATION!
A Registered Nurse!

She never gave up... even when it took all her strength to keep going ... just one more semester... holding on...(someone somewhere wrote, when you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hold on!) Focus... she knew she could do it... she could believe in herself just one more time! Her burning desire for that Associate in Science degree... her goal... she did it! She reached it!
And now... still doing it... over 23 years!

A few weeks ago this wife & her husband had a talk. They had been working hard... toward big goals...

Yet, they were talking negative talk... focused on unmet-goals... feeling low... even discouraged and somewhat depressed (oh yes! It's true.)

They looked at each other... knowing full-well that negative thinking attracts negative events & people. They had a heart-to-heart and turned from the negative talk ... and talked encouragement... and belief in themselves ... and in their plan and in their goal.

You may not believe what I'm going to tell you next, but the very NEXT day the positive events & people came into their lives... not just one appointment but four... out of the blue, THEY called us!! It works! This positive thinking stuff really does work!

If you haven't read THE SECRET by Rhonda Byrne... READ IT! The law of attraction is a law of nature... like attracts like, so when you think a thought, you are also attracting like thoughts to you.... Your current thoughts are creating your future life. What you think about the most or focus on the most will appear as your life.

So remember... Know what you want... and GO for it! You will need to have that heart-to-heart sometimes... we are still learning how to control our thoughts.
Keep your PMA!

Hopping Down the Bunny Trail

I spent a good portion of the day Thursday cleaning the back yard flower beds. I was delighted to find that several of my Iris bulbs had bloomed for the first time. A very sweet person gave them to me... I can't wait to tell her how pretty they are. We have a third of an acre. Our home sets on a high knoll (although you'd never know it from the front street). The house wraps around the swimming pool and flower beds in an L shape. The master bedroom is close to the spa. (it's great at night to go there and slip down into the warm water!)

I love the view from the far end of the pool which overlooks the back yard (which really isn't a yard but more like a woods). A six foot high retaining wall with a flower bed and hanging vines,separates the house, pool, grill and concrete patios from the area below.

We go to this area by strolling along a winding path... past bird feeders, bird bath and flowering plants down a slight incline to a natural looking dry rock creek which curves and turns until it disappears. All the grand kids love exploring this area! We hop (at least the grand kids hop) across the large boulders to continue following the path up another small knoll. The path ends there among the 20 Oak trees. Flowering Cherry trees, Crape Myrtles, and Japanese Maples hang over the rocks and plants. Lots of other plants grow between the Oak trees and boulders all in keeping with the natural woods-like setting.

My plan is to hide Easter eggs under the plants along the path... my very own bunny trail! I can't wait!

Hebrews 11 is well known as the faith chapter in the bible. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." By faith Abel... by faith Noah... by faith Abraham... through faith Sarah... Issac... Jacob... Joseph... and on and on. By faith Christ rose from the grave.

By faith... this grand mother... seeks always to be the best she can be. The best wife, the best mother, the best grand mother... through faith and redemption. Working in the garden allows me time to reflect. My thoughts are lifted upward... I listen to the singing of the birds. My eyes take in the beauty around me... I smell the scents of the earth and plants. My faith is renewed as I behold the growth of spring bulbs planted years ago and I find joy in their colors.

By faith... I pray for my beautiful grand children... faith... hope... courage... May they grow to be the best they can be. They bring me such joy. By faith... may I inspire and lead them... be there when they need me.

Happy Easter! Happy Spring! (it's almost here!)

It's Only a Mountain

"It's only a Mountain" is the title of a book I just finished reading. It's the story of Dick & Rick Hoyt (father & son) men of iron... triathlon racers. If you need some inspiration & motivation read this book. You will never look at your life quite the same ever again.

We are so blessed with good health yet we take it for granted much of the time... We abuse our bodies by the food we eat, the lack of exercise, daily stress, lack of sleep... the list goes on & on!

I have become more conscious of how I mistreat my own body in all the afore mentioned areas. I'm not getting any younger (aging is not an option... I wish it was!) So I have committed to myself to get back into walking 2-3 times a week. And so far I have kept my commitment... In fact, I have just five min. to throw on my sweats and get out the door! Happy Monday morning to you all! Lets all take better care of our bodies (we won't get another one!) God bless us all!

Dust, cobwebs, and Clutter

My name is Joyce. I am a clutter-bug.

I stood in my garage and looked around. "I need to get RID of so much stuff!" I thought. I HAVE gotten rid of stuff before. How did it get back in here?

To ensure my success, I ask my friend Betsy, to help me. It was overwhelming... I have stuff in there that is 35-45 years old. Any mother would understand... that precious little pair of over-rauls my daughter wore when she was 1 year old (she is now 47), that little red cow-boy hat that has lost all it's shape, which my son wore constantly when he was 2-3 years old (he is now 35).

I was immobilized... not knowing where to begin. I felt like I had cobwebs in my brain. I couldn't think. As Betsy opened trunks with old clothing & memories ... I felt drained... wiped out! Thank goodness I had the foresight to pull out a couple of lawn chairs because I soon found myself sinking into one. My body felt strange and heavy. When I opened my eyes, Betsy was pushing bottled water at me. "Hydrate!" she said. (She had warned me... "If you ask me to help, I WILL help!") And she WAS helping! I needed help!

What saved me ... we made a box for my son with his keepsakes & one for my daughter with her keepsakes. Now THEY will decide what they'd like to keep... That took the pressure off. (Of course we made a box for me too.)

"Do you really think you'll EVER wear this 35 yr old dress again?" Betsy asked. Into the Goodwill box the dress went. She laughed as she reached deep into a dusty box and pulled out a stack of 8 year old Sunset Magazines. "I don't need these now," I said and into the dumpster they went. (Although... now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder if I should've at least looked at the pictures for my 2011 dream board? It's not too late... Betsy will never know!)

We sat in our chairs and thumbed through some old cookbooks which belonged to my Mom. The Home Menu Cook Book by Myrtle Calkins, (I love that name!) copyright 1934... a good example. The pictures alone were priceless! For once, Betsy & I agreed... we should get together & try some of the recipes.

There was no stopping that girl... relentless! But when she held up ..."Oh my goodness!" I screamed, "That is my original Dick and Jane reader!" I felt like I had found an old friend! "What ever will you do with this?" she asked. I grabbed my water bottle... hydrate!

The process of sorting... decluttering... discarding...

Raised by Depression-era parents, I was imbued with a "Save Everything" philosophy. So, this garage cleaning could take a very long time! Progress WAS made today, really,it was. But there's a long way to go!

Before she left, Betsy said, "Make paths... seperate what we've done, we'll do this one day a week until it's done!"

Clearing out what is no longer relevant to my life opens the way ... allows me to look at ALL parts of my life. I can see that what matters most to me is NOW... not the past.

"All those memories of things past can be a real deterrent to moving forward." -Ciji Ware. "If you're not moving forward, you're standing still." -unknown

Happy spring cleaning! Keep moving forward!

One Foot in Front of the Other

I did it! I walked 3 mornings this week! It was hard... don't laugh. I haven't walked in months and every single muscle in my body felt it. It almost felt like it was the first time. I'm not kidding! I got shin splints yesterday... still a little sore today. I was pounding that pavement!

It's back to work tomorrow... those 12 hr. shifts are calling me... Yeah! LOL

Dreams

I just had lunch with 10 beautiful positive ladies who's hearts are filled with hopes and dreams. We talked about plans and goals, we ate too much, we laughed a lot and shared the happenings of our lives with each other.

Never let anyone steal your dreams from you. We're never too old to dream. Sometimes when life happens and gets in the way, we forget how to dream. Or we let the events in our lives make us forget our dreams.

I've been relearning about the power of association. We are the reflexion of the people we spend our time with. I feel blessed to have these ladies in my life. There is a lot of power in relationships. I am thankful and honored to have a positive and joyful sisterhood with my fellow business women of Monavie.

I recently finished reading "Three Feet From Gold" by Greg Reid and Sharon Leehter. This book encourages us to discover personal success and to never give up. I highly recommend this book if you haven't already read it.

Dream big ... don't wait ... and don't let anyone steal your dreams!