Book 1: The Noticer

Perspective. In one word that's exactly what this book was about. It was an easy, fast and enjoyable first book of 2010. The plot centers around the an old man, Jones, that lends perspective to many lives in a small community along the gulf coast. Jones has the gift of noticing. He says, "I notice things that other people overlook. And, you know, most of them are in plain sight." The key to fixing the troubles of life isn't a set of answers as to how -- as Jones says. The key is in finding the inspiration to do so. His patient lessons to those facing trying times provides hope by offering perspective, which ultimately changes the course of their lives.

Highly recommend this book to anyone!

Motivation Monday: New Gadgets Can Help

Pedometers, ipods, gar.mins, new running shoes, or a new yoga mat can (at least until the new has worn off) really make it exciting to get back into that exercise routine.

I've grown to love and appreciate heart rate monitors. They give me exactly what "zone" I'm working in as well as an estimate of calories burned and how many minutes I've been exercising. I find the feedback very motivating. It's great to see at the end of the week exactly what I've done and pushes me for the following week to meet or push myself further.

Get a gizmo!!

Motivation Monday: Riddle Me This

Say there are five seagulls sitting on a dock. One of them decides to fly away. How many seagulls are left?

Four?

No, there are still actually five. Deciding to fly away and actually flying away are two very different things. Contrary to popular belief, there is really no power in intention. The seagull might decide to do this, he may intend to fly away, and he might even talk with the other's about his intentions of flapping his wings. Until the seagull takes flight into the open sky, he's still sitting on the dock. There's no difference between that gull and the others.

Just the same, there is no difference between the person that intends to change and the one who never had the thought. Now believe me, I do understand the importance of a thought. After all the initial thought is what births the action. However,it's the actual action that gives evidence of change not the thought.

That being said, have you ever pondered the notion of how often we judge ourselves by our intentions while we judge others on their actions? The intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best. Maybe I intended to bring someone lunch, but I didn't.

My challenge is clearly imprinted here. Follow through our intentions with action. Such a fitting concept for this time of the year when intentions are at full throttle.

"Nothing happens until something starts moving." -Einstein

Motivation Monday: New Year Goal

Motivation Monday is a new segment I'll be implementing for 2010. The thought is it will be little doses of motivation and the beginning of each week. Hopefully it's something that will inspire. It seems appropriate for the first entry to be about the New Year.

I believe the biggest concept we need to keep in the forefront of our minds as we're embarking on change is to honor where we're at. Practice grace, patience and understanding with ourselves as we work towards improvement. It's not going to happen over night and it's not going to be as easy as we might initially think. There will be times that we want to quit but keep the big picture in mind. Change is gradual. After a year of working at disciplining myself with indulging in one sweet per week instead of ten, it's just beginning to come together. It's a process and change that could take quite awhile.

Remember patience.

Great People

"The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing." ---Michael E. Gerber

I absolutely love this quote. It makes me realize how thankful I am for all the active women in my life. The women who don't sit on the sidelines but DO something about what they want to change or improve. They give me the opportunity to be with them as they create their lives actively. It means so much to me to have that option and watch them grow into stronger, healthier and more confident women.

Happy New Year Women!

Archives 2009: 52 Sweets

1. Donut Holes
2. Chocolate Cupcake
3. Orlando Trip
4. Vanilla Cupcake
5. M&Ms and Cupcake
6. W/B Cupcake
7. Cheesecake
8. Torta di Chocolate
9. Bits of Bravo Sampler
10. Strawberry Cheesecake
11. Jelly Filled Donuts
12. Chocolate Cupcake
13. Torta Di Cioccolata
14. Brownie&Jelly Donuts
15. Easter
16. Cupcakes
17. Cake Donuts
18. Sweet-a-Thon Week
19. No Sweets!
20. Jelly Filled Donut
21. Branson Vacay
22. Go Figure! Donuts!
23. 1/2 Sheridan's Concrete
24. Excursion to Caymans
25. Donuts
26. Scotcheroos
27. Cake and Brownies
28. Donuts
29. Jelly Filled Donut
30. Sabbatical Week
31. Branson Vacay
32. Donuts
33. Cin. Breadsticks
34. Donuts
35. Cake
36. Mrs. Fields Cookies
37. Donuts
38. Donut and Apple Pie
39. Crap (it was a bad week)
40. No Sweets!
41. No Sweets!
42. C.C. Cookies
43. CC Danish
44. C.C. Cookie
45. Donuts
46. Jelly Donut
47. Chocolate Pie
48. Cupcake A La Mode
49. Blue Chip Cookies
50. Sugar Cookies
51. Christmas
52. Cin Rolls

"10" in 2010

I've tried to create some goal ideas for 2010 and while meditating about it off and on throughout the last month here's what I've come up with:

1. Continue the sweet-a-week program. Since I didn't do my 100% best this year I'm going to make more rules that should make it much easier to earn an A. The rules are this: special days (my b-day and special holidays) a sweet is allowed and because it's 2010, I will allow myself 10 extra sweet days throughout the year. This should provide some nice wiggle room.

2. Read 10 books every six months (had to keep it with the 10 theme).

3. Complete 10 races.

And...that's it! I think these goals are very doable. They are something I've been building on over the past two years; not something I just pulled out of the air. That's why there's three because I don't want to stop controlling my sweets, I need to get back into races from my 2008 goal and I really want to be a better reader. Gosh there are so many other areas I could work on but tackling these three will continue to provide a good platform to build from in later years.

Please take a minute to read below, I think it really summarizes exactly what we need to focus our efforts on in the new year.

A Wonderful Resolution for the New Year!

What amazing gifts the new year brings! An entire
year's worth of wonderful opportunities, given to us
one sunrise at a time. Many of the moments ahead will
be marvelously disguised as ordinary days, but each one
of us has the chance to make something extraordinary out of them.

Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life.
The secret of success is in turning that diary into the
best story you possibly can. Have pages on understanding
and tales of overcoming hardships. Fill your story with
enthusiasm, adventure, learning, and laughter. And make
each chapter reflect time doing these things:

Follow your dreams. Work hard. Be kind. Do what you
can to make the door open on a day that is filled with
inspiration in some special way. Remember: Goodness
will be rewarded. Smiles will pay you back.
Have fun. Find strength. Be truthful. Have faith.
Don't focus on anything you lack.

Realize that people are the treasures in life, and
happiness is the real wealth. Have a diary that describes
how you're doing your best, and...
the rest will take care of itself.
- by Douglas Pagels -