Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Being a Hero

"To me, being a hero means:

  • To do what's right ... even if you are afraid.
  • To listen to the inner wisdom of your soul ... and not the random opinions of others.
  • To be kind ... and remember that sometimes the person you need to be kindest to is yourself.
  • To live by choice ... not chance.
  • To pursue excellence ... excel, but not compete.
  • To have integrity ... keep your word and your commitments.
  • To make corrections and changes ... not make excuses.
  • To be fair and treat all people with respect, and understand their point of view... even if you don't agree with it.
Most of all being a hero means accepting yourself with a depth of kindness even when you act less-than-noble. All bad behavior comes from fear or ignorance and when you judge anyone (including yourself) for acting badly or imperfectly, you lose the ability to influence that being.

When you accept your imperfections—and still are willing to brush yourself off and start again—you can make changes... for you are on a heroic journey of the heart. To me this is the best kind of hero. The kind of hero I strive to be. "

- Denise Linn

Saturday, December 27, 2008

My Christmas

Wednesday: Christmas Eve

I had to work all day, which was disappointing. I expected it but a coworker suggested they might let us go early so I got my hopes up. Next year I'll be sure to request annual leave.

We usually spend the afternoon and early evening at Dad's but since I had to work this year we started a little later. We went straight there after work. Dad made margaritas with his magic bullet and had a bunch of appetizers out.


Note that the men know their place - in the kitchen!


Usually we just drink and snack but this year we had a sit down dinner. Dad grilled filet mignon, and it was so good.



We had a great meal and very nice visit. We hung out and talked, opened gifts, and I played Cranium with Sis and the kids. Playing games with them is one of my favorite things in the world to do. We had a blast. We got home around 10:00 and I gave Dave his gifts (I had already gotten mine before Christmas).

Thursday: Christmas Day

Christmas Day we always go to Morgantown and spend the day with Dave's family. We got up at our usual time for work and got there around 10:15. We had a very nice visit and a great roast beef dinner. Gifts were exchanged. Sis-in-Law and I played some trivia games. And we looked at old pictures at my request.

It was a good day, marred only by the fact that I fell twice. The first time, walking out of the In-Laws' house, I wasn't paying attention and fell and landed on my butt. I didn't hurt myself. I got annoyed at Dave saying "Oh it's okay she falls all the time" and I said "I do NOT fall all the time!" I hate it when he says that. But a few hours later I proved him right when I fell out of the car onto the Dairy Mart parking lot after getting my foot tangled in my purse. That was the hard fall, the worst result being a pulled a muscle in my back which is still bothering me.

We got home relatively early and got to enjoy a quiet evening at home.

Friday: Boxing Day (if we were in England anyway...)

Today we spent the day at my Sister's house to celebrate with her family, Mom and Lil Bro. Unfortunately, Dave had to work most of the afternoon so I went up by myself and he came after for a little while. Actually that worked out okay I think because he gets bored while I play games with the kids all day. He got to come and visit, eat, open his presents and sit with a little dog by the fire.



The kids got a Wii for Christmas so we played that a little as soon as I got there, then ate.



After eating we opened gifts. My favorite gift I got this year was the hand-made stool that Bro-in-Law made from wood from the walnut tree they had cut down this year. He made them for everyone and they were so beautiful!! Niece picked mine out for me, because it was oddly shaped, and she knew I would like it because I like odd things. Or because I'm odd. One or the other. LOL.



We spent most of the rest of the day playing with the Wii. I got the kids Mario Kart which is a blast. They also had the Wii Fit and I let it determine my Wii Fit age (55! ack!). I did a little yoga on it with Niece and impressed her because the Wii told me after the initial evaluation that I did not have good balance, yet when doing yoga the virtual trainer repeatedly complimented me on my excellent balance. So there.

The Wii Sports is great too, we especially enjoyed the tennis. We also did bowling and played a bunch of other games on the Wii Party Games I think it was called. My favorite one of those was the shooting game. First you're shooting at cans then skeet, which I jokingly said were flying saucers, but then the next part there WERE flying saucers to shoot! There were little people running around the field screaming and little UFO's were coming down to abduct them!! It was hilarious. I wish the Wii wasn't so expensive - I would LOVE to have one!!

I was exhausted when I got home last night but happy to have had such a wonderful three days celebrating with family. I am so grateful for them and for all that we have. I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday as well.





Friday, December 19, 2008

This is what you shall do

"This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun, and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence towards the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men; go freely with the powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and mothers, of families: read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life: re-examine all you have been told at school or church, or in any books, and dismiss whatever insults your soul." 

 Walt Whitman quotes ( Poet, 1819-1892)
 

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Roomba!

I must say, so far I am impressed with our new roomba!! We got it on sale from Amazon last week. It appears to clean the floors (carpet and non-carpet) well. It picks up lots of cat hair that's for sure! You do have to clean it really well every time you use it if you have pets. And pick everything up off the floor. Although it does well at not getting the cords all tangled up. We didn't buy the virtual walls yet so we have been making our own barriers to keep it where we want it. It seems to run for a long time, over an hour today I think.

The cats aren't too alarmed by it. I wasn't here the first time it was used. Today they reacted kind of like they do with the vacuum. It's not as loud as the vacuum. Snoop stayed away. Roscoe and Stubby were both somewhat curious about it and watched it a little but then got bored. At first they would run when it came near them but eventually just walked away from it.

Here's a short clip of it with Roscoe. I tried to make Stubby ride it but he wasn't down with that...

Random Photos


Vying to be King of the Cat Tree


Doesn't care who is King of the Cat Tree, is just glad Stubby isn't annoying him


Snow this morning - the moon was still out but I couldn't get my camera to capture its brilliance


The mall is all dressed up for Christmas


Watch out for big balls

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Elder Brother


I just finished watching a National Geographic show called "Ancient Voices, Modern World with Wade Davis" where "Davis travels to the war-torn South American country to visit the Elder Brother, an indigenous group that says it’s connected to the ancient Tairona civilization."

It was a good show. The tribe they visited was so interesting. The people and their clothing and beaded jewelry are so beautiful, and the landscape is breathtaking.

I love to watch shows about indigenous people. Every time I see one about South America I want to go there. Although I love the modern world and its conveniences, there is something very appealing about living a simple life in harmony with nature. I wish I could do both. :)

"The ancient Kogi, Arhuaco, Kankuamo and Wiwa of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia know themselves as the Elder Brothers, dismissing the rest of humanity as new-comers, as the Younger Brother who chooses to neglect and destroy the balance of the world. With their prayers and spiritual practice, the Elder Brothers work to maintain the cosmic balance.

They are a people who exemplify a wholly profound relationship to nature and to the Earth. ... 'Every element of nature is imbued with higher significance, so that even the most modest of creatures can be seen as a teacher, and every feature of the world mirrors the whole.'"

More here: http://www.realitysandwich.com/our_family_tree_learning_balance_heart_world

And more interesting links about these people, I want to look at them later:

http://www.crystalinks.com/kogi.html

http://www.theelderbrother.com/kogi/index.cfm


http://tierra-y-vida.blogspot.com/2006/09/kogi-elder-brothers-warning.html