Joke From Bill

My father-in-law has a great sense of humor and loves to share jokes with my husband and me. I've been blessed to have terrific in-laws and I'm grateful for who they are and the many ways they contribute to my life.

Here's one of the latest jokes from Bill, entitled My Latest Diet. Enjoy!

I was in Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Purina for my dogs and was in line to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog........Duh!

I was feeling a bit crabby so on impulse, I told her no, I was starting The Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't becauseI'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care unit with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

Her eyes about bugged out of her head. I went on and on with the bogus diet story and she was totally buying it. I told her that it was an easy, inexpensive diet and that the way it works is to load your pockets or purse with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The package said the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again.

[I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy behind her.]

Horrified, she asked if something in the dog food had poisoned me and was that why I ended up in the hospital. I said no..... I'd been sitting in the street licking my butt when a car hit me.

[I thought the tall guy was going to have to be carried out the door.]

Let's laugh out loud frequently this week.

What Not to Think

Have you ever watched TLC's What Not to Wear? It's one of my favorite TV shows and I always learn something from watching it, whether it's about clothing or about philosophies and mindsets.

I think my life right now should be called What Not to Think. My husband and I are contemplating becoming homeowners for the first time, which we've wanted to do for several years but haven't been able to because of our transient careers.

I'm going through a similar process that a participant on What Not to Wear seems to go through. Stubbornness and resistance to change is first (I don't want to lose the "freedom" that comes with renting--we could pick up and leave at any time if we have to).

Next comes the fear that changing what clothes are worn will mean identity has been lost (If we become homeowners we'll lose that carefree spirit and willingness to travel spontaneously).

It seems the next step in the process is getting a glimpse of how much better the change is from the past, followed by a change in philosophy (I know we need to own a home before long--it's part of a smart, planned financial future in addition to giving us so much more than we've ever had while renting, like freedom to paint the walls in our choice of colors and customize it for our lifestyle).

The final step is happiness with the decision and its outcome (I know that none of my fears are valid--we'll still travel whenever we can and if we have to pack up and move suddenly that will work itself out).

So that's my candid confession of the process we're in. The excitement about the process and the desired outcome is (so far) outweighing the fears. To many of you veterans who've owned homes for years or even decades this probably sounds silly, and if you have any words of wisdom for me, I hope you'll share. Just click the comments link below.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend!

Spring

The trees are almost fully leafed out now and several have beautiful blossoms as well, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the birds are singing. It looks, smells, and feels like spring today and in light of that here's a piece by Joy that is appropriate to share today.

Don't you just love this time of year? Spring is such a special time, watching the world come alive again after a long, cold winter!

Are you taking a little time to enjoy the wonders around you? To marvel over the perfection of a tulip? To be inspired by the exuberant songs of birds as they celebrate life? We would do well to think of the birds--they don't count moments or months, but still have time enough for work and for play. Someone once said, "there are solus in this world who have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go."

I want to be like that...how about you?

Has spring arrived where you are (or fall if you're down under)? Enjoy!

Picnic

Here's something funny I found yesterday in the Reader's Digest. I experienced this a couple of times several years ago when running a computer consulting business.

"The latest term being bandied about our IT office is
PICNIC: 'Problem In Chair, Not In Computer.'" -Arlin Johnson

Enjoy!

Diversity

I saw this great old proverb in the tag line of a colleague's email yesterday, and it made me think about how valuable diversity really is.

If all pulled in one direction, the world would keel over.
-Yiddish proverb

The word "diversity" gets bandied about so frequently these days that I think it has become one-dimensional in its meaning. We now take it to mean only the differences in the color of one's skin.

I think we should go back to a more broad interpretation of this word, and this proverb made me realize why. Think about it: if we all were the same--same culture, same socio-economic background, same skin color, from the same country, believing the same things--we truly would make the world keel over.

My parents used to frequently say, "It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round." I guess that's their version of this proverb, but either way you look at it, I think we're much better off with diversity in ideas, people, cultures, and beliefs.

See you tomorrow.

House Hunters

One of the TV shows I find interesting is HGTV's House Hunters. The show's subjects are searching for a new home, and the show follows them through three houses that make their short list.

I like observing what draws people to a specific house, and now as my husband and I enter that search mode I wonder what we'll be drawn to.

Yesterday we spent a couple hours driving around the various areas in which we'd like to purchase a home. We found a great option but it may be a little outside our current budget. We are eager to find something great but we're both unwilling to be cash-short every month just for a mortgage.

I'll be sharing news occasionally with you as our search begins, but for now, let me leave you with a photo of some lilies I took this morning. Have a great week!

Dog-Crazy

Several of my posts this week have been about our dog, and today will be no exception.

He's at the vet getting a root canal for a broken tooth. Crazy, right? Well, listen to this.

This morning I read an article in the Reader's Digest about a new diet drug for overweight dogs. Can you imagine? Giving your pet a diet pill? That's crazy.

It also mentioned restaurants and bars around the country where a weekly "Yappy Hour" is featured, or "Ham Barker Helper" is on the menu for your canine companion. Crazy.

Also, several pro baseball teams have a special "Canine Day" each season for pet owners to bring their dogs to a baseball game. What would a dog possibly get out of watching a baseball game? That's crazy.

I think it's funny how we draw the line at certain activities, but engage in others. For example, I'd never take my dog to a restaurant/bar or baseball game, but I'd take him on a road trip around North America. I'd never give my dog a diet pill (though he did weigh in at 95 pounds today), but I'll pay for a root canal to save a canine tooth. So who's crazy, really?

Have a great weekend. :)

One-Color Graphics

I have a book titled One-Color Graphics. It's a book filled with beautifully-designed stationery, posters, brochures, and other pieces by graphic designers around the world. Each piece utilizes only one color in its design, demonstrating what can be done with only one choice from a palette that includes more than millions of options.

I was looking through this book recently in an effort to spark some creativity for a piece I'm designing, and I began thinking about how that concept of one-color graphics can be a metaphor for what each of us does with our talents and abilities.

I imagine you're thinking, "What? A graphic design book teaching a lesson about using talent? She really IS off her rocker."

Seriously, though. Little lessons present themselves all the time, even when we're just browsing the pages of a book.

What struck me was this: we all have some talent/ability. Some have identified only one, some have many. The number you think you possess is irrelevant.

I think the point is that we should develop our talents and use them to make life for others and ourselves more beautiful, caring, pleasant, or tasty (based on what our particular talent is).

If beautiful designs printed on paper can be achieved using only one color, imagine how much more beauty we can create in the world even with only one talent (developed and put to use)!

So here's the interactive part. You knew this was coming, didn't you? I'd love to hear what your talent(s) are. It's easy to share...just click the comments button below.

See you tomorrow!

How Not to Be a Pain

I don't know about you, but I learn so many good lessons by observing my dog.

The vet yesterday wasn't able to perform the needed procedure to make our dog's tooth feel better, and I'm waiting for another vet to call me back to make the appointment today.

In the meantime, our normally bouncy dog is pretty subdued. That tooth must really hurt, and yet he's really cuddly, not grumpy, not a pain. He follows me from room to room, which isn't all that unusual, but the last few days he's really stuck close by.

That made me think of this statement by Maya Angelou I heard recently:

"I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to
be one."

I'm certainly not the most cuddly person when I'm in pain. In fact, I tend more toward being a a pain than just being in pain.

So that's the lesson of the yellow lab with a broken tooth: how not to be a pain even when you're in pain.

Broken Teeth and Rain

Some days I just feel soggy. Today is one of those days.

Our yellow lab somehow broke a tooth over the weekend, we assume while chasing after a tennis ball. He gave us no indication that he had hurt anything, but after we got home he began constantly putting his tongue in and out of his mouth. For a little while we thought he just had something on his tongue but we couldn't see anything.

Then we saw his lower left front tooth. The top of the tooth is just gone. The vet couldn't see him until today, and so this afternoon we'll find out how bad it is. Our dog hasn't been his normal high-energy self, so I suspect that tooth has been hurting.

This is one of those days for me where a statement made by Marc Riboud, a famous photographer, takes on new meaning.

"To see well is to have a free mind, and good legs and
good shoes. Photography is walking down muddy streets."

Live well today.

A Little fun

I came across this optical illusion recently and thought it would be a different way to start the postings for this week.

You're supposed to look at the flag for 30 seconds and then look at a white space. You'll see our American flag in its correct colors. The reason for this, it seems, is that our eyes reverse the colors in the "afterimage."

So enjoy your Monday and as you see the flag, please think about the men and women serving our country around the world (regardless about what you think about the war). We are fortunate that they are willing.

Reflections

My office these days is in our second bedroom, and our yellow lab likes to hang out with me while I'm working. The closet doors are mirrored and it's inevitable that there are some interesting reflections throughout the day.

This one showed up on Wednesday and I hope it makes you smile like I did. Even our dog is candid in his communication. There's no mistaking what he wants. :)

Speaking of reflections, this is as good a time as any to reflect on the week. It's been an interesting week for me, with job security being clarified, making some good steps forward in my relationships, and the downer of realizing that yet another week has passed without my changing some bad habits.

How was your week? Did you meet some goals, solidify or release some friendships, or learn anything new about yourself? As always, I'd love to hear about your progress.

Enjoy your weekend.

When Candor is Funny

Last night my husband and I went to Macaroni Grill for supper and afterwards experienced some funny candid communication from another person in the parking lot.

We walked back to our Honda Element and as we were getting in we noticed a piece of paper under the windshield wipers on the passenger side. Tim pulled it out and burst into laughter and passed it to me. This is what we saw:
Someone parked nearby had taken the time to grab a piece of notepaper and draw a trophy for us, designating us 1st place for having the ugliest car in the parking lot. :)

Now that's funny! We both had a great laugh and I knew right away that this would make a super post on my blog.

Here's the thing. This is a great piece of candid communication! There's no way I can misunderstand their message, and the bonus is that they expressed it in funny terms.

Here's a new goal for myself: express myself with both candor and humor.

Enjoy your day, and smile!

Same-Day Service

I used to subscribe to the Reader's Digest several years ago, and eventually let my subscription run out because we moved so frequently that it was impossible for the magazine to keep up with us.

I still enjoy reading it and pick up an occasional copy at the newstand, as I did this month. I nearly always enjoy the Quotable Quotes section, and this edition had several great sayings by our contemporaries.

This one from Diane Sawyer made me chuckle, and I don't think there's much else to say about it.

"I have a photographic memory.

But I don't have same-day service."

Do you have some favorite quotable quotes to share? We'd all love to read them. Just hit the comments link below and get us thinking, smiling, and laughing out loud.

Passion

Human beings are kind of quirky, aren't we? We often live as though things will always stay the way they are right now, today.

I've been trying to identify my passion as it relates to a profession for most of my life, and throughout all those years of struggle, obsession, and frustration of not knowing I thought that I would never know it and it would never be any more clear than it was at that moment.

Oddly enough, it has become clear. I now know what my professional passion is. As it turns out, the not knowing, though lasting a period of many years, was only temporary.

My husband, on the other hand, has known for most of his life what his professional passion is. Now, as a result of the events throughout the past year, he feels passion-less and, for him, that's like being a ship in a storm without a rudder. I believe, based on my own experience, that his period of being unable to identify a passion will not stay as it is right now, today, but is only temporary.

I think we take for granted how important it is to just accept the present reality, and really live in it. Really feel the frustration, really thrive on the joy in it, really experience it all (good, bad, and ugly) to the fullest.

The reality is things don't stay the same. Careers die, loved ones pass on, relationships change, good times come to an end, rough times come to an end, and passions blossom and fade, but the constant is that it's all only temporary.

So for me, today, that's a kick in the pants to really live. Really feel the pain in painful situations and not try to dodge them before we've learned what they teach. Really embrace the passions. Really thrive on the sunshine. Really love my husband and family.

The rough time you're going through is only temporary. The good time you're going through is temporary, too, so either way, make the most of your time.

A New Week

Well, another Easter has come and gone, and to me that holiday seems to always mark the beginning of spring, even though it's not the official start of the season.

I hope you had a great weekend and took some time to share pleasant moments with the people you love. I had a super weekend with my husband and our yellow lab.

It's late on Sunday night as I write this, and normally I would have waited until Monday to post this, but I wanted to capture the thought before it slipped away. Things sometimes flit in and out of my mind too quickly and this time I wanted to be sure to write it down.

Earlier this evening my husband and I were talking about some recent lessons we've learned, some paradigms that have shifted in dramatic ways, and how we're managing some disappointment from things that didn't turn out the way we hoped they would.

As we were talking, it occurred to me once again that every bit of happiness, contentment, success, whatever, really does depend upon our perspective. Ok, I know you're thinking, "Duh. Is she just now figuring that out?" But bear with me, I think this is worth re-learning several times.

The world is an exciting place. There's a lot of unknown out there, and depending on your approach to uncertainty (one of Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions) it's either scary or exciting. I've mostly been in the exciting camp throughout my life, and actually like uncertain situations. I think all kinds of fantastic things could materialize, which may not be very practical at times, but as my mom would say, "it's certainly a lot more fun to think of it that way than the other way."

Of course that's not always the case for me...I'm definitely lacking in the perfect category. Sometimes uncertainty is really scary, especially when the path isn't very clear.

On Friday I talked about choosing to mentally "flip the coin" of perspective as a mechanism for dealing with challenging situations and people, but maybe that's also what's needed when approaching uncertainty. I've never really tried to understand what it's really like to always live in the uncertain = scary camp, and I can see that's an area of my life I need to try to understand so that if called upon I can be of help to someone about to make the move to the flip perspective.

What about you? What's your approach to uncertainty? If you're already living in the exciting camp, then keep on truckin', neighbor. If you're in the scary camp or hanging out somewhere in between, then consider this your invitation to pack up and change your address.

As always, I'd love to hear (read) what you think about this idea. Go ahead, click the comments link below and share your thoughts.

This is a new week. Anything can happen!

Good Friday

Thanks to those of you who commented yesterday. It was great to read what you consider worth giving your life to, and I appreciate the interaction.

So today is Good Friday, and if you're a person of faith as I am, that has significance as the day we remember that the son of God was crucified in order to remove our sins and give us a chance at eternal life. Many people from my youth have traditionally been somber on this day, but I prefer to adopt a different attitude--one of excitement--because what happened on that day 2,000 years ago was just the beginning of a great transformation.

I think this attitude is possible because it's really just looking at the different side of the coin...a simple change in perspective.

That leads me to this thought: you know those times when something is really bugging you? Maybe it's a job situation, or some pissy person in your day. Whatever it is, what if we choose to "flip the coin" in our minds and see the situation or person in a different way?

It might look the same (some situations and people look the same from almost every perspective), but there is a very good possibility it will look very different. And that different perspective might just provide the solution we've been looking for.

So today I say...let's celebrate. The crying and sadness were finished years ago. I'm going to flip the coin and let today be one of happiness.

Happy Easter!

Thursday's Thought

I read somewhere recently that we all give our lives to something--a career, sports, artistic pursuits, family--whatever it is, we all choose to give everything we have to something.

The thought that follows from that is this: we should make sure that what we choose to give our lives to is worth it in the long run. A short term focus will really get us into trouble and, at the end of our lives, leave us feeling as though we've wasted our time.

The author of that first statement went on to share his idea of the most valuable thing to give your life to: service to others.

I'd love to hear your idea of the best thing to give your life to. Just click the "Comments" link below and share. It doesn't have to be long, just a short phrase will do.

Thanks! See you tomorrow.

Hump Day

In the spirit of "hump day" I thought this comic on my Yahoo! page was extra-appropriate. Hope it makes you smile.

Yesterday in my reading of The Purpose-Driven Life a lesson I seem to learn and re-learn throughout my life was brought to the forefront of my consciousness yet again.

This was it: if we want to grow we can't hang onto old ways of doing things. We have to let go of what may be familiar, friendly, comfortable, safe, or solid in order to experience new growth. That's why growing can be so scary to us, but if we can trust enough, or love enough, or be willing enough to take the risk, the new growth is well worth it.

For me that means letting go of the mindset that a traditional 9-5 job with a boss other than myself is the only smart way to make a living (or make a life). There are plenty of people making a great life (and a superb living) as photographers working for themselves. Why not me too?

So here are some candid truths I have to face: 1. my photography business plan is nearly finished (and has been for more than a week now), but I'm letting some belief systems hold me back from completing it and seeking the funding needed to start; 2. my weight is out of control and I know what to do to combat it, but I'm holding onto some mindset that is keeping me fat; and 3. personal growth in my life is not only desirable but necessary, but I have some limiting beliefs that I need to let go of.

How about you? What are you holding onto from the "old ways" that's keeping you from experiencing new (scary, exciting, wonderful) growth?

Happy Hump Day!

Here's a little humor from last week. My father-in-law sent my husband an email with photos of "weird houses in weird places." I don't think the description could be any more accurate.

I want to share them with you and hope that they'll make you smile. Can you imagine what an unusual experience it would be to live in them?

It's Monday

It's Monday, isn't it? Today really feels like a Monday to me. I'm tired. The weekend and free time with my husband didn't last long enough, somehow.

We took our yellow lab swimming yesterday. I'm always surprised at what simple, mundane activities teach me. Here's what I mean.

At the reservoir there is a long dock in the water, and if you know anything about labrador retrievers, you know that they love to jump off docks into the water. They also love little kids and tennis balls, and not necessarily in that order.

As I was throwing tennis balls out into the reservoir and enjoying watching our dog jump off the end of the pier and aggressively retrieve those yellow floaters, a family with two small girls approached and walked out to the end of the dock and sat down; eager, it seemed, to watch our dog run by and launch himself off the dock in front of them.

I was sure that our dog would lose focus on retrieving the tennis ball and opt instead to share how wet he was with those two cute little girls, who were all dressed up in pretty dresses. But our lab stayed focused and time after time just ran right past them and broad-jumped off the end of the dock. The family enjoyed it immensely and asked me lots of questions about our dog.

Ok, so nice story, right? But here's what I learned from this silly little activity: a tiered approach to priorities is always a good thing. So many things clamor for equal attention in our lives, and knowing which ones are important, and in what order, is crucial to focused living. Imagine if our yellow lab had tried to stay focused on retrieving while being equally focused on getting to know those cute little girls. At the very least, he would not have been very successful in either venture, and at the very worst, he would have gotten hurt trying to jump off the dock and still be near the girls.

So maybe it's just me that learns little lessons through things like this. If so, I apologize for being a freak and wasting your time. However, if you also learn random lessons through small activities in life, I'd love to hear about it. What's one lesson you learned (or re-learned) last week?

Happy Monday.