June 2007

To keep from gaining weight, most of us need to take two important and relatively easy steps.  Okay, make that 2,000 steps.

1. I just gave you the first one - we need to add 2,000 steps to our daily routine.  The best way to make sure you’re doing just that is to buy a Pedometer.  First, you wear it a couple of days - without trying to add any extra steps.  This’ll give you an idea of the number of steps you average in a day.  Obviously, trying to pad your stats would only hurt your cause, so that’s a no no.  When you have your average, start building on it each day.  Walk the long route in the supermarket, pace while you’re on the phone or cooking, park further away from your destinations, etc.  Move that body!
2. We need to cut out 100 calories each day.  Self-deprivation is not exactly my area of expertise, so I’ll leave this one to the experts.  Click HERE for 100 ways to cut 100 calories out of your day.  They’re amazing and I’m pretty sure they’re painless.  You’ll let me know, right?

Have a great Sunday!

Joi

“A task begun is half done.” ~ Horace

I’ve been reading and listening to a lot of opinions about President Bush’s controversial stem cell research veto. I’ve actually been seeking out opinions because different opinions fascinate me for some reason. Since this blog, nor its humble writer, have anything postive or helpful to add to the debate - we’ll zip our lips accordingly.

However, I heard a young man talking about the issue recently, amongst other things, and his anxieties kind of stuck with me.  He looked to be no older than 21, yet seemed to be carrying the weight of the world. Somewhere between vowing to move to Switzerland and falling in love with Hilary Clinton, he said that he was so overwhelmed with work, school, and life that he couldn’t even sit still for two minutes at a time. He also said that he was up to a whole pack of cigarettes a day. He rambled and rambled about having a million things to do, but didn’t know where to start.  Frankly, I’m not sure Switzerland or Mrs. Clinton, either one, are ready for him.

Anyway, I was reading his words and sensing the panic behind them.  You see that a lot these days, don’t you?  So many people are running around in circles, making themselves nuts in the process. 

I may not have all the answers in life - heck, I don’t even have a fourth of them!  But I do know the solution to this one.  What do you do when you have a million things to do?

You do one.

Then, you do the next one.

Then, you do the next one.

With three under your belt, you gain momentum and head off for the other 999,997 with a vengeance.

Basically, when we’re looking down the barrel of a monstrous to do list, we have two choices:  1.  Get stressed, or 2.  Get started!  We all tend to bite off so much….then worry about how we’ll chew it after it’s already in our mouths.  You can be certain of one thing:   Once the food’s in our mouth, it doesn’t matter how big the bite is, we have to start chewing…..then, we have to keep chewing until it’s gone!  

Btw, the cutie patootie at the top of the post is one of our cats, Svenn.  He actually wasn’t in a fit of distress - he was singing.  When he’s totally feeling his Cheerios - which is like, always - he sings.  During this particular performance, he laid down for part of the concert and my daughter Brittany snapped the pic just in time.

Groupie.

“When one has much to put in them, a day has a hundred pockets.” ~ Friedrich Nietzache

“Lost time is never found again.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

“Procrastination is the thief of time. Collar him!” ~ Charles Dickens

“Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Those who make the worst use of their time most complain of its shortness.”

“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.”

“You can’t turn back the clock but you can wind it up again.”

Are your spending habits so foot loose and fancy free that they’re in desperate need of being reigned in?  On No, mine aren’t either.  And by that I mean mine are the worst.  I think you could teach a possum how to ride a bike easier than you could teach me how to budget money.

I keep telling the husband that I’m what’s holding the economy together - I’ve taken it upon myself to keep Kroger, Starbucks, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Starbucks, Target, Wal-Mart, and Starbucks alive and thriving.  I’m sweet, like that.

For my husband’s sake, I read an article about saving money.  Read the whole thing, too, and it didn’t hurt a bit. The article includes 20 pretty cool tips.  I even….are you ready for this….acted upon a couple.  One was Go through the house and turn off all electrical devices you’re not using.  There were about 5 lights on that weren’t necessary.  Eh, it’s a start - and I guess every little bit helps.   I could also do this one:  Replace light bulbs with CFLs, compact fluorescent lights. (I’m all over the electric aspects of cutting corners.)

Write a grocery list (and stick to it when you shop).  I’ll try….no promises, though.  That kind of takes the fun out of it all. 

There are some great tips, you might want to give the list a once-over. 

If anyone has thrifty tips of their own, by all means - please leave them in the comments.  Except of course, your advice involves avoiding Starbucks.  That’s the sort of desecration the delete key was made for.

Check out the slick jobby to the right. ———>>>>>>>>  Is it cool or what?  The more time I spend thinking about it, the more uses I come up with for it.  Right now, I’m using it as a go-between for two of my self help blogs - this one and Out of Bounds. I’ve put the one on OOB at the bottom of the page because the wide load won’t fit comfortably in the sidebar.  It doesn’t mind being a bottom dweller in the least, though.  Looks kind of sweet down there.

I’m thinking about some of my websites (like Buttermilk Press for example) that have accompanying blogs.  This would be a perfect way to show visitors what the most recent posts have been.  It’d be so much more effective than just, Visit My Blog!

Click on the link below the unit to find out more.

“Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them.  The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater their power to harm us.”  ~Voltaire

Have you ever read Shakespeare….without, that is, a teacher standing over you?  If you were to go out and buy a play - one of those with a translation, of sorts, accompanying it is especially nice - you might just fall in love.

After a few plays, you won’t even need the translation.  You’ll catch on quickly to the language of the time - and be blown away by its beauty.

If I were to recommend a play to start with, I think I’d suggest A Midsummer Night’s Dream (adorably fun), Othello (my first) or Julius Caesar (one of the easier ones to follow).  Taming of the Shrew is another fave, but it might be nice to have a few under your mental belt first - it’s kind of all over the place!  The first time I tried to read it, I threw it in the closet to punish it.  Then I HAD to prove to myself that I could read it, so I dug it out from under my shoes and stuffed bears and tried again.

I ended up becomming a lifelong fan of his writings and have even considered a Shakespeare blog - as a resource to help others who are reading his work(s), either for school or pleasure.  Yes, pleasure! - I promise!

Shakespeare was one of the wisest men to ever live.  When you read his writings, you can’t help but realize that you’re in the presence of brilliance.  Below are a few of my favorite Shakespeare-isms to give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

“The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and evil together.” (All’s Well that Ends Well)

“Brevity is the soul of wit.”  (Hamlet)

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”  (Hamlet)

“Society is no comfort to one not sociable.” (Cymbeline)

“When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions!”  (Hamlet)

“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.”  (Julius Caesar)

“He thinks too much.  Such men are dangerous.”  (Julius Caesar)

“Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod.”  (Henry V)

“Men of few words are the best men.”  (Henry V)

“I think the king is but a man as I am, the violet smells to him as it doth to me.”  (Henry V)

“Come what come may, time and the hour run through the roughest day.”  (Macbeth)

“The miserable have no other medicine but only hope.”  (Measure for Measure)

“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.”  (The Merchant of Venice)

“I am a kind of burr, I shall stick.”  (Measure for Measure)

“Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers.”  (Romeo and Juliet)

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Btw, did you know that the saying “eating me out of house and home” comes from Shakespeare?  It was a line in Henry IV - “He hath eaten me out of house and home.”

Give Shakespeare a chance - you’ll wonder where he’d been all your life.  The answer is, in a lot of closets under a lot of shoes and stuffed bears!

Someone, ironically enough named Rich, e-mailed me a great link earlier.  He thought my readers might find it interesting, and I know he’s right.  I’ve spent a great deal of time enjoying it, myself, and have bookmarked it to finish reading after supper. It’s the The 100 Most Inspirational Personal Finance Turnaround Stories Online and it makes for fascinating, inspirational, and motivational reading. 

Check it out.  There’s so much information there, just waiting for someone to soak it up. 

I’m now thinking rich and thanking Rich.

Are you ready for a check up?  Put your top back on, I don’t mean that sort of a check up!   It’s not a physical.  It’s not even a scientifically perfect or psychologically-based self evaluation - it’s more of just a gut check, actually.  Something to think about.  

Answer each question with A,B, or C and be 100 percent honest.  If you’re mortal (and I think most of you are), you’ll have at least one of each letter.  Write your answers down on a piece of scratch paper.

1.  A year ago, were you…..

• A.  Financially better off.
• B.  Financially worse off.
• C.  About the same.

2.  A year ago, were you…..

• A.  In better shape, physically.
• B.  In worse shape, physically.
• C.  About the same.

3.  A year ago, was your temperment…..

• A.  Better than it is now.
• B.  Worse than it is now.
• C.  About the same.

4.  A year ago, did your house (and/or yard) look…..

• A.  Better than it does now.
• B.  Worse than it does now.
• C.  About the same.

5.  A year ago, were your relationships…..

• A.  Better than they are now.
• B.  Worse than they are now.
• C.  About the same.

6.  A year ago, was your health…..

• A.  Better than it is now.
• B.  Worse than it is now.
• C.  About the same.

7.  A year ago, was your confidence…..

• A.  Higher than it is now.
• B.  Lower than it is now.
• C.  About the same.

If you have one or two C’s, there’s no need for absolute alarm.  If you have mastered an area, or if you are simply blessed - a few “About the same”s are entirely possible.  (Especially in the “Relationships” and “Health” questions).

Now, having said that, we might as well get to the bad news.  These questions, or more appropriately their answers, will show us clearly where we have….

GOTTEN STRONGER

GOTTEN SMALLER

GOTTEN STUCK

When you add up your A’s, B’s, and C’s keep a few things in mind:

• If you’ve had one of life’s  hard blows or shake-ups in the past year, like the loss of a loved one, your answers won’t be very reliable.  When life pulls the rug out from under us we are not ourselves for a while - we’re just trying to hang on and get through the days.  Been there.  More than once.
• If you have more more A’s than B’s or C’s, look on the bright side - there’s only one way to go and that’s up!  You can start improving yourself and your life starting today.
• If you have mostly B’s, you’re doing something right and I raise my coffee cup to you and give you a cyber pat on the back!  You’re growing and that’s the whole idea of self improvement, right?  The whole idea is to GROW through life, not just GO through life.
• Mostly C’s?  Only you can explain it.  You’re either perfect or in perfect denial.

Now What?

Now it’s time to spend a little quality time with your answers. Interrogate them! You need to find out the Why?’s behind each one.  So, take each answer and make it accountable - write down 3 reasons for it.  For example, if you’re less fit than you were a year ago, your Why’s may look something like this:

1. I don’t exercise anything beyond my options.
2. I eat out more often than I did last year.
3. My metabolism has turned on me.

Be sure you write down the positive answers as well as the not-so-positive ones.  It’ll help you realize what you’re doing right so you can keep on keeping on!

These 21 statements are pure gold.   They could be the roadmap to the future of your dreams, that’s all.  What makes them so valuable?  They will determine the answers to the following questions:

1.  A year from now, will you be…..

• A.  Financially better off.
• B.  Financially worse off.
• C.  About the same.

2.  A year from now, will you be…..

• A.  In better shape, physically.
• B.  In worse shape, physically.
• C.  About the same.

3.  A year from now, will your temperment be…..

• A.  Better than it is now.
• B.  Worse than it is now.
• C.  About the same.

4.  A year from now, will your house (and/or yard) look…..

• A.  Better than it does now.
• B.  Worse than it does now.
• C.  About the same.

5.  A year from now, will your relationships be…..

• A.  Better than they are now.
• B.  Worse than they are now.
• C.  About the same.

6.  A year from now, will your health be…..

• A.  Better than it is now.
• B.  Worse than it is now.
• C.  About the same.

7.  A year from now, will your confidence deserve to be…..

• A.  Higher than it is now.
• B.  Lower than it is now.
• C.  About the same.

STRONGER?  SMALLER?  STUCK? 

We’ve run out of excuses….now we have all the answers!

I posted this once on another blog, but it doesn’t really matter - it’s great stuff and deserves to be repeated.   I’m not sure where it came from, it’s been written down inside of an old notebook of mine as long as I can remember. 

I’ve Learned…

• That we should be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for.
• That money doesn’t buy class.
• That it’s those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
• That the Lord didn’t do it all in one day…what makes me think I can?
• That under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
• That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
• That when you plan to get even with someone you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
• That love, not time, heals all wounds.
• That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
• That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
• That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
• That life is tough, but I’m tougher.
• That opportunities are never lost - someone will take the ones you miss.
• That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
• That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
• That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
• That I wish I could have told those I cared about that I love them one more time before they passed away.
• That I can’t choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.
• That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances:  When it is requested, and when it is a life-threatening situation.
• That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.
• That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.