thank you mother earth

Happy Earth Day everyone! I came across an interesting email from the Sierra Club today. If you go here you can quiz yourself to find out how green you are in different areas of your life. I took the "How green is my workout" quiz and got a 68. they said I had some good moves, but I could probably save a few more trees. There were also green quizzes on your love life and your pirate ship among others. check it out here. If nothing else, you'll raise your awareness. Even if you wind up making one or two small changes. If everyone did something, it really adds up to a healthier environment for us all. Besides, the earth has given us so much, shouldn't we take care of her in return?
please click on images for prettier details


"All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them."-Arapaho



"When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us."-Arapaho

500 Souls

Check out this unique music video by Ian France. I think it's the neatest thing. You can check out more of this artists music here. If you go to his myspace music you can also hear, "Now is the Time" probably my favorite of his so far.

I've decided I am not going to talk about my weight when I gain some back. Well, other than to report it here. But that's it. I'll just move the slider thingy at the top of the page & then I will state I gained 2 pounds last week. So there you have it. I just don't feel like talking about it anymore. I will only elaborate on my success or my hope for my future. & I feel very hopeful this week.

Happy Easter & Happy Passover my friends.

A good story to share for this holy week,

Two Horses

There is a field, with two horses in it.
From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse.
But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will
notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes
of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner
has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a
good home for him .
This alone is amazing.

If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the
sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of
the sound, you will see that it comes from the
smaller horse in the field.

Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell.
It lets the blind friend know where the other
horse is, so he can follow.
As you stand and watch these two horses, you'll see
that the horse with the bell is always checking on the
blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for
the bell and then slowly walk to where the other
horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.

When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter
of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and
looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn't
too far behind to hear the bell.
Like the owners of these two horses, God does not
throw us away just because we are not perfect or
because we have problems or challenges.
He watches over us and even brings others into our
lives to help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by
the little ringing bell of those who God places in
our lives.
Other times we are the guide horse, helping others
to find their way....
Good friends are like that... you may not always
see them, but you know they are always there.

Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.
And remember...be kinder than necessary-everyone
you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly....

Leave the rest to God

& Thank you to the unknown author.

The Love Dare

I gave this book, The Love Dare to my husband for Valentines Day with a promise to take the dare as my gift to him. That was nearly two months ago & I've completed two dares so far. The idea is to do a dare a day for forty days. I however, am taking the dares one day at a time whenever I have the opportunity. Still, I think it may be more effective if I do them closer together.
The first one was easy for me. I was to say nothing negative to my spouse for an entire day. It is rare that I say anything negative to my husband. That is not to say I didn't monitor myself for the day, just in case. You are supposed to journal after you complete the dare, so I found this dare rather anti-climatic since it wasn't all that unusual an experience.

The second dare was to repeat the first dare while adding at least one unexpected act of kindness. At first I thought, I am kind every day, what's the big deal? & then of course it hit me, an unexpected act of kindness, oh yeah, I get it.
It took me a week to think of a good one, finally! and then I waited for the weekend when hubby usually cleans the bathroom, but I cleaned it instead, right after I bathed Priscilla, something else H likes me to do & he loved it. He was so appreciative. & I felt happy inside.

Here is a little excerpt from the book;
Initiative. kindness thinks ahead, then takes the first step. It doesn't sit around waiting to be prompted or coerced before getting off the couch. The kind husband or wife will be the one who greets first, smiles first, serves first, and forgives first. They don't require the other to get his or her act together before showing love. When acting from kindness, you see the need, then make your move. First.
Good stuff, eh?

Yay, I lost a pound!

Despite my failing to control my appetite as much as I should have, the ticker is once again moving in the right direction. I was afraid to get weighed today for fear I gained, but it seems to be the only way I can stick to my weight loss program so I showed up at my Weight Watchers meeting this morning & I am glad I did. Of course the whole way there I had a running dialogue with myself about how I should just go ahead & quit WW. In retrospect it is a wonder I ever lose any weight at all with the way I think most of the time. I was surprised and very grateful I lost weight. It's just a pound, but I'll take it.

Notice I am now passed my halfway mark. I am guessing the exercise I did this week helped as well as making sure I got enough sleep. That seems to really help with my sugar cravings. I was still quite hungry, constantly wanting to eat, so this week my goal is to make sure I drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. I have read that sometimes when you don't get enough fluids your body acts like it is hungry when it actually just needs water. I know it's just basic stuff but like all these tips & guidelines they can be hard to remember on a daily basis especially when you are busy doing other things all day. It's so easy to fall back into old habits, like thinking, "let me just grab this piece of ...CHOCOLATE!" Well, at least I make sure it's the dark chocolate. Did you know dark chocolate has iron in it?
I will do better this week. That is my mantra for the week. I WILL do better!

interesting art seen at the APW gallery Long Island City
click on image to see meaningful quotes in artwork up close