MM 3/26/2007

Hi Friends!

It seems I have been having some e-mail address trouble and thanks to Miss Diana, I was able investigate and find that many of you had been deleted from the MM list. I think when I went in and made changes to my address book in general, combined with working with the evite system, changes were inadvertently made. With that, if I put you back in the loop and you don't want to be here, let me know and I will take you out. We also have a few new names added to the list.

This weekend was leisurely and fun. Dave was gone with the National Guard so it was Mason and me to fend for ourselves. Before Mason got home from school, I got the house cleaned and boy did that feel good! Everything dusted, floors vacuumed and swept, dishes done, everything picked up and I even cleaned the stove! Not just wiped down, really cleaned. From there, Mason and I had a really wonderful Friday night of dinner at home, popcorn and two movies. We snuggled up on the couch and watched the Farewell Season of Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade (my favorite) and then we watched Barnyard.

Saturday, we ran a couple of necessary errands and tried to get Mason's hair cut. No such luck with that, the place was packed and had a 2 hour wait. At 2 O'clock I went to a girls poker party and that was really fun! I didn't get to stay to the end because I only had a sitter until six but it was really a good time anyway.

Sunday, we had breakfast and I made extra waffles for this week. We read the paper, watched cartoons and before we knew it, it was noon and time for lunch and Mason's nap. David and Lisa Anderson stopped by on their way home from Truckee and Dave even made it home before they had to leave. We wrapped the weekend up with a little play in the backyard, a soak in the hot tub, dinner and the Electrical Parade again (now Mason's favorite).

So now we are all off and running with a new week. Let me suggest you mix it up a little, do something you wouldn't normally do. Like what? Introduce yourself to a coworker you don't know. Drive to work a different route. Bring your lunch and put some thought into what you will make or if you bring your lunch normally, eat out! I don't know, I just think it makes life more interesting when we break out of our regular patterns. Mason and I stayed in out pajamas all day on Sunday. Everyone kept asking why we were still in our jammies and my response was "why not?"

Have a great week and I'll see you next Monday. I love this quote, I hope you do too!

Lots of love,

If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place.
Nora Roberts

Daffodils!

Hi Friends,

What a glorious weekend it was! I hear rain in on it's way and that is OK because we need it but this weather has been heavenly!

This weekend started off with a wonderful, long awaited girls lunch in Sutter Creek on Friday. Dahlynn, Teresa and I had lunch in a lovely tea room. It was elegant, delicious and so pretty. The best part was being together and strolling the antique shops after lunch before we all had to be back home to jobs, kids, family and all other forms of responsibility. It reminded me that we absolutely need to make time to turn off our phones, take the day off from work and be with the people who mean the most to us. It is uplifting and necessary to refuel with the energy of those we admire, and I certainly admire both of these women.

Saturday was about running errands and getting stuff done around the house. Being St. Patrick's Day it was also a planned special night out. Paul, James, Lisa, Dave and I all went to our favorite country bar a few miles away for some music and dancing. Dave made a delicious traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner and we headed out for a night of fun, and fun we had! The country dancing started off OK but this bar has another open air night club in the back playing a lot of classic rock and top 40 dance music. It was how we rounded out the night, singing and dancing loud and proud. I laugh because when you hear people sing in a club, well, I guess you don't hear them but for most of us, it is not really something to be proud of!

We wrapped up the weekend by visiting Daffodil Hill and having a wonderful lunch outside in the tiny town of Volcano. From there we drove to Jackson where they had the Daffodil Days festival in full force. We walked around a little and gave Mason the opportunity to visit a real Old Fashioned candy store where he got to hand pick his very own candies. It was after 3 PM when we headed home and made one last stop to visit Ken and Dahlynn for a little before we came home to BBQ dinner. While dinner cooked, we played Nerf baseball with Mason and he just thinks hitting the ball with the bat is the best thing since picking out your own candy at the candy store. Although, I bet given the choice, he would take the candy store option!

I hope you all had an equally enjoyable weekend. If not, make plans for next weekend and make this week great. Remember, you can want it, you can think it and you can believe it is possible but if you are not willing to act on it, "it" will never live. This Motivator is especially poignant and I think necessary to remember as you set out to make this coming week great!

"Hope without action is destructive because it goes to magical thinking."
— Dr. Robin Smith

Winter's Not Gone Yet!

Hi friends,

What a week last week was. I was sick and didn't even realize how sick I was until it had past and I was feeling better. I knew I was a little under the weather but I just kept right on working. I was going through the motions, catching cat naps everywhere I could and going to bed each night by 8 PM. I even fell asleep in my car in an AM/PM parking lot in Woodland when I realized I was 30 minutes early for an appt. The most amazing thing about us as beings and bodies is that when our bodies need something and we don't respond, it usually will impose sanctions on us. The same can be said for our minds. I was exhausted and only had 30 minutes. I fell into a deep sleep and woke up with 10 minutes to spare. By Friday I was really feeling better and it was only then that I realized how bad I had been feeling all week.

So here we are on the tail of a most gorgeous weekend and the week ahead promises to be equally nice. It seems we have not had a winter at all and Spring is here. I have to say, as much as I like this warm weather, I think Mother Nature has a storm or two still up her sleeve before we should put our long sleeves and pants away. But since it was so nice today, Dave, Mason, Riley and I went for a mid morning walk and made it home for lunch. Dave settled in to watch the race and I sat out in the backyard and wrote for over four hours while Mason played and Riley slept at my feet. We had dinner together, watched America's Funniest Home videos and got Mason off to bed. After the Sunday night meal plans for the week ahead were done, Dave and I sat in the hot tub under the most gorgeous starry skies and before we knew it we had to say good bye to that wonderful day.

I hope you had a weekend as nice as ours was and your week ahead is productive. I have lots to do to make up for poor performance last week but I think I can do it. Have a wonderful week and I'll see you next Monday!

Lots of love,
Kathy

Everything Matters

It is important to visualize what you wish to accomplish. It is also essential that you put that vision into action.

It's great to know precisely where you plan to go. Yet for that plan to be of any real value, you must act on it with commitment and persistence.

Successful action is more than just a once-in-a-while effort. The actions that bring about the most value are the actions that are fully integrated into every moment of life.

Real success is more than a method or a technique. Real success comes from who and what you most consistently and authentically are.

Every corner of your world, every moment of your time, every person and pursuit and passion in your life all matter. The time you spend playing has just as much influence as the time you spend working, for it all affects the whole person you are.

Seek to integrate positive purpose into everything you are, and into all that you touch. Live as though everything matters, and you'll bring magnificent achievements to life.

Ralph Marston from The Daily Motivator with permission www.thedailymotivator.com

We Made It Out Of The Snow!

Hi Friends,

Last week I wrote very little as you know we were in Truckee and weather conditions were not good for travel. We stayed the extra night and it was neat to be tucked away in a lovely winter home but also a little stressful knowing we all had work commitments and appointments to keep or reschedule. We were up at the crack of dawn on Tuesday and even while we were cleaning the house and planning to close it all up, HWY 80 traveling west bound was still not open. Needless to say, by the time we were in the car, the road was open and we slowly headed up and over the hill. I am attaching a few shots of the snow for those of you who have not had a change to frolic and play. For those of you who live in it, yes, it is novel for those of us who don't! Laughing. The last shot is actually of the white out conditions, not just a bad picture.

Dave is back from Kentucky and we are all back to work and school. February is gone and March feels like it is half way over. Can you believe how time flies the older we get? Sheesh! The strange thing is that we have seen next to no Old Man Winter and Spring is pushing her way in. We need more rain and snow so we will have full lakes to ski on for Poobah. I hope you are all well and practicing gratitude. It seems like such a simple thing to do when in fact, it makes a huge difference in so many outcomes of our lives.

Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Monday!

Love, Kath


Happiness is now

As long as you are preparing to be happy, you will not be. If you continue to see happiness as some distant goal to be reached, you will not experience it.

Happiness is now. The only time you can ever experience it is the moment that you are in.

Happiness is unconditional. When you put conditions on happiness, it immediately disappears.

Happiness makes no judgments or demands. When you focus on judging others and making demands of them, it drives happiness away from your life.

Though happiness is simple and uncomplicated, it is at the same time profound and sophisticated. For when you allow yourself to be truly happy, the positive energy can reach into every corner of your life.

Set aside the complaints, excuses, conditions and demands, and make a place for happiness in your world. Be happy, and you'll discover a whole new level of life's richness.

Ralph Marston from The Daily Motivator with permission www.thedailymotivator.com