Yesterday I spent half the day administering the Praxis test. I love doing that. I call it my "Fun Occasional Job" because it only happens every other month or so. It earns me a little extra money- It makes me feel like I am doing something important and while the students are testing, as long as I keep an eye on them- I can get caught up on my reading. Yesterday's stack of magazine articles ran the gamut from paring down to giving back and I got some very good tips. I also came across a great quote last night while watching What Not To Wear: Rather than focus on the negatives- how can you alter a situation to make it a positive? That's a quote that, if you remember it often can really make you think and change your outlook. Thanks Stacy and Clinton for that one.
I have many things to be thankful for this Sunday Morning. I have discovered some terrific sites this week that I would like to share as well as some just plain old "normal" things that have made me smile.
1- The pups let me "sleep in" this morning. I woke up naturally this morning at 6:15 and both of the dogs were still sleeping at our feet. Auggie popped up as soon as I got up and Harley cocked her head but didn't want to go out- so I took my handsome boy out solo. As we normally wake up at around 4:40am to my alarm and head right out for a walk- it was a very relaxing way for us to start our Sunday. After he ate- Auggie went back up and hopped on the bed with "Dad" and Harley and the three of them are still snoozing while I prepare for work.
2- I found a great website/spokesperson for those of us who have body issues. Jess Weiner is a self described "Actionist" who is spotlighted in the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty which I have spoken of before. She's a lovely young lady who answers very frank- and sometimes sad- questions from women of all ages about dealing with life as a "real beauty". If you have a young girl or a woman of any age who is not fond of her body- send them to Jess's site. She was even chosen recently as one of Forbes 14 Women to Follow on Twitter. She's really doing great work.
3- I want to mention again Let's Say Thanks, Xerox's site to send postcards of thanks to our troops. I have several dear friends who are serving overseas and I know from them how hard it can be to be so far away from their families. These postcards can lift their spirits. It only takes a minute- so if you do nothing more today than this- pop over and say Thank You with a few clicks.
4- I got to talk to my baby sister this morning- we were passing back and forth tips on the whole weight loss journey. She is preparing to have a "gastric sleeve" surgery. I don't know how to explain it properly- but it is much safer than gastric bypass and has less side effects (and you don't have to keep going back in) like the lap band. This will change her entire life. What I am very pleased about is all of the pre-prep the bariatric center make them do before the surgery. Psych evals, lots of testing to see if they are healthy enough for the surgery, appointments with a nutritionist- a whole battery of preparation. One thing about this that affects me is that as we discuss all of this (and she is so very excited) I realize that I have no place to whine about how difficult it is for me to lose weight and- I can be thankful that I don't have to go through all of this. Yes- I am overweight- yes, I need to get off my duff and do something about it- but not to that extreme. It is within my power- I just need to do it.
5- I found two "new" books to read this week that have been sitting in my home library just waiting to be found. The first is from the Arthritis Foundation and is called Tips for Good Living with Arthritis I must have either purchased this book or gotten it from one of the drug companies but I remember it coming in the mail and I haven't really given it a lot of thought. For anyone with any of the arthritis's or for their loved ones- this is a terrific little book that has a lot of info packed in it's pages. The tips are thoughtful and easy to use- and it's a good reference for all of us to have on hand. It also has basic info about many of the different types of Arthritis that we live with that make it easy for our loved ones to learn more. The second is a Weight Watcher's publication entitled Start Living, Start Losing. Written in the style of the Chicken Soup series- it is filled with motivational and inspirational stories of people on the journey. It is now sitting on my bedside table to be added to my nightly reading.
That's a short list for today. I am off to take care of some last minute web orders before the semester's classes start tomorrow. It may be just too crazy for me to devote proper attention to my blog at least for the first few days of school so I hope you all have a pain free and positive week filled with blessings!
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