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Happy New Year! – Again

February 1, 2012 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: Furryscaly

You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.

— CS Lewis

I’ve decided to start 2012 over again. January was the pits and I had great expectations for 2012, so I’ve decided that as of today, February 1^st I’m starting over. It’s the only way I know to get a do-over.

January was a sad month. Between friends, family and co-workers we lost five people. It seemed like I was always signing condolence cards. These things happen. But, I don’t want to spend the rest of the year in a January hangover, so I’m declaring February 1^st my New Year.

Sad Times

In Happily Flourishing I said that since I was getting soooo old I needed to focus on being healthier and happier now. What I said in my first post this year is still true today. Every day I get a little older. From now on, I intend to get healthier, happier, and older (I can’t stop that one) every day.

What stopped me last month? Sadness. Losing people is a sad process. And I will still miss the ones I knew and empathize with the people I know who also lost someone. But, I will focus on remembering the good times. I am sad that my friends and family are no longer here, but I am grateful for the blessings they gave me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll have a good cry now and again. But I still must learn to keep going. As we get older, we either learn how to grieve in a healthy way or we give up. It’s just that simple – and just that hard.

I have a bad habit of anticipating… not so much the good things, but the other losses that will inevitably come. When it gets away from me, I become unable to move – as if by staying still I can halt the passage of time and stop anything from changing. Since I can’t stop change, I must cherish what I have today. And to really cherish today, I need to be healthier and happier while I am here.

Here’s to a Healthier, Happier 2012

So, I’m starting over. Sometimes, that feels like going backward but in this case, it’s a positive step forward.

I hope your January was better than mine. But no matter, let’s get back up on the horse together and get moving. If we stop, we quit and I’M NOT READY TO QUIT just yet.

Making Stress Your Friend

January 12, 2012 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: topgold

I can show you where the greatest advancement of mankind comes under stress and strain, not comfort.

— Don Young

One of my favorite whines has to do with how I look. Yes, I’m getting older and I’m showing my age (where I can’t help it), but that’s not what I’m referring to.

My problem is I’m showing my stress. For all of us who are carrying a little, or a lot, of weight around the middle, there’s good and bad news attached. The good news is that the weight that you’re carrying is less about a lack of discipline or an unwillingness to give up cake/chips/muffins/buttered popcorn, etc. than it is about the amount of stress in your life. The bad news is that if Continue reading » Making Stress Your Friend

Chronically Challenged

October 26, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: ODHD

Acceptance of one’s life has nothing to do with resignation; it does not mean running away from the struggle. On the contrary, it means accepting it as it comes, with all the handicaps of heredity, of suffering, of psychological complexes and injustices.

— Paul Tournier

Wikipedia defines a chronic condition as a disease or other human health condition that is persistent or long-lasting in nature. It can be discouraging and sometimes we can feel that the “condition” controls more of our lives than we do.

For example: In the spring and the fall, my allergies can be a real challenge. My head gets stuffed. I have trouble thinking. I have trouble sleeping. Bending over to pick up doggie output can cause me to Continue reading » Chronically Challenged

Speaking Up for the Introvert

September 8, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: Bouligab

The best thinking has been done in solitude.

— Thomas Alva Edison

I am on vacation this week. The only responsibilities I have are investing and writing posts for the blog. (WHAT, you take a vacation and don’t work??!!!) As part of pampering myself, I’m catching up on Charlie Rose. Five nights a week, Charlie invites someone interesting, or famous, or powerful or sometimes all three at once, to his table and has a conversation with them. The Social Animal by David Brooks had just been published and Brooks was doing his book tour. Hence, he was Charlie’s guest for the hour. (I don’t mean to be overly familiar but I’ve been watching Charlie for sooooo long that I figure I can call him by his first name.)

The Social Animal is fiction, based on Continue reading » Speaking Up for the Introvert

Merri-Wanna Time!

August 11, 2011 - Posted by Ellie

Photo credit: Steven Beger Photography (Beger.com Productions)

Bet you can’t eat just one…

Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of those pieces.

— Judith Viorst

First off – let me tell you a secret about PattiAnn: She can make a chocolate bar last for days! Truly! For many of the rest of us, just one taste of a chocolate bar or a french fry sends us into a frenzy of “more, I want more… I’m merry and I-wanna-eat-more…” or as I’ve paraphrased: Merri-Wanna Time!

According to new research, “fatty foods may cause our bodies to Continue reading » Merri-Wanna Time!