I have a question...

When you ask a question, do you wait for an answer? Do you listen for answer? Do you hear it?

Some of you know that last year I learned about simplifying life. Everything - mind, body and soul.

I am often asked questions and seldom have time to answer before someone or something gives me a chance to actually reply. It drives me NUTS! If you're not going to listen to my answer, don't ask me the question. I'm about ready to stop talking altogether.

Someone just asked me if I had done something. When I answered, they couldn't hear me because 1 - they think so fast their brain had already switched gears and 2 - they moved so their clothing made noise and prevented them from hearing my answer.

That got me thinking about simplifying the way we communicate.

When you talk to others, what else are you doing? Are you making eye contact with them? Is your face turned to your audience?

What about when you are listening? Do you stop your mind to focus on what is being said instead of what you want to say next? Is your body still so there is no rustling distractions from clothing or noise from footfalls or something being dropped? Does the person on the other end of the phone have your full attention or is your focus diverted by products on a shelf or kids pulling on you?

Yes, we are all guilty of this - even me. And i know there are external noises we have mo control over, like machinery nearby or a loudspeaker or fan blowing. But I'm making a concerted effort to do a better job of communicating. If I don't hear all of a question, I'll repeat the part I did hear so they know I was doing my best to hear them.

How many times do you have to ask someone to repeat a question?

Footprints

"Footprints" by Mary Stevenson is my all time favorite poem. The imagery is vivid and clear and the words are comforting. 

If you haven't read it before or haven't in awhile, I will put it here again for you:

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
‘You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?’

The Lord replied,
‘The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.’

-Mary Stevenson

Paper Chase

Just over a year ago I gave up printed books and now read exclusively on my iPad. I struggled for awhile about not turning actual pages and not holding the book and all the other concerns we readers have.

I love reading e-books. I work with a gentleman who is severely technologically challenged and he only reads e-books too.

I keep a journal too. Both paper and electronic. It seems silly I know. Evernote is the program / app I use. I love the ease of finding things in my electronic journal. It's on my iPad, phone and computer. LOVE.

But I like my paper journal too. I like the heft of it in my hand. I like the texture of the paper against my skin. The flow of the pen across the paper. Smell of the ink. Writing the words out. It's therapeutic. Maybe it's because I have to slow my thoughts down. Maybe it's because I think more clearly when I write. Although sometimes I can't get them out fast enough.

I have used a spiral notebook and am now using a Moleskine. Both have their own merits. Obviously, there is no metal wire to worry about squishing with the Moleskine. The spiral I can write from edge to edge though. I don't like writing in the middle of the Moleskine, though I can open it all the way. 

I do try to keep the paper journal and my electronic journal synced, but I'm not great about it. 

As for organization of the paper journal, I date each page and each new subject gets its own page. I number all the pages. If a subject appears more than once, I cross reference it by noting the other pages numbers with the current page number. The guy that I learned this from is named Doug and he has a YouTube video on it. At the time, I thought his idea was genius. I still do, but I'm just used to how to do it now. Now it seems so obvious. 

Crazy Caitlin!

 

Meet Caitlin - my favorite niece. (I only have one.) She's one of the most creative people I know. She's always been full of energy. And she is completely crazy! But I love her.


She likes to make up songs, organize skits, write stories and create personalized greeting cards. I'll give you an example of a song she wrote:

Cows, cows, cows

They make the world go 'round

They make a funny sound

They go moo moo-a moo-a moo-a

Caitlin is and always has been a straight A student. Her mind is a constant and moves at the speed of light. I make her stop and process what I've said sometimes.

Outside of studying and hours of homework, she plays lacrosse. 

She's a sweet kid and LOVES her hair played with or brushed. That we have in common. 

When she was 3 or 4 and would go places, as soon as she sat down or got settled, she would take her shoes or socks off. Silly kid! 

Here are some questions I asked Caitlin. You can glean more about her here.



If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out?
Crawl up the sides like a spider monkey, open the lid.

What would you do if you just inherited a pizzeria?
Turn it in to something else where I could sell weird things I make or into a place for stray animals.

What famous person’s party would you like to crash and why?
Zac Efron because he’s the sexiest man alive or the Kardashians because they are insane and they would be very dramatic and entertaining.

Would you rather sing in the rain or dance in the streets?
Dance in the streets

What sound do you love?
Waves crashing at the beach or those cute little noises babies make

What is your favorite movie of all time?
The Hangover, The Hangover 2, Finding Nemo, Bridesmaids and the Hunger Games
 
What is your favorite season and why?
Summer because there is no school and I love the beach and the lake

If you were a worm, how long would you be?
10 feet

What weird habits do you have?
I give Cinni (her cat - real name: Cinnamon. Her other cat is named Spice.) a little water cup every night on my night table & my brother says that’s weird.

Who is a famous person you believe does not deserve their fame?
Honey Boo Boo

What is your favorite website?
Peopleofwalmart.com
 
Who would you pick as a mentor and why?
No answer (she meant to say me!)

What is your favorite midnight snack?
Oreos

Why do you love me more than your mom? KIDDING
 
What nickname do your friends have for you?
Crazy – Spider Monkey – an alien – KK – Caty

If you had a snail that could grant wishes, what would you name it?
Gertrude

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Austrailia

If you could have any job, what would it be?
The CEO of something extravagant

Favorite quote: You can challenge a redneck to almost anything. That’s why rednecks die in such strange ways.” (from the Duck Dynasty)

Saint the Saint Bernard

Growing up, Mom always had a dog. Probably the first one I remember was Saint.

Saint was average size for his breed as far as I know. He weighed in somewhere around 150 - 175 pounds if I had to guess.

Saint Bernards were bred for search and rescue in the snowy mountains. They can smell 20 feet into a snow bank. Once they found who they were looking for, they would protect their charge with their life and keep them warm by snuggling up. Saints are particularly protective and loyal to children.

Mom took him to the dead end at the end of our street to work with him on his obedience commands. The dead end was rock and dirt a good open space for playing and not being disrupted. I'd venture to say Mom and Saint would go there to get away from it all. It was a peaceful place. 

I remember Saint being a sweet dog and very loyal to Mom. He was her dog and she was his person. Because I was so little and Saint was so big, I thought he looked like a furry horse. When my brothers would put me on his back so I could ride him, Saint just sat down. It didn't matter where I sat on his back or how light I was. Mom said he knew I was a child and he did that because he knew I could get hurt if I fell off his back. What a sweetie! I don't think Saint had a mean bone in his body.

He lived the average lifetime for a Saint - 10 years or so. Mom buried him at our lake property at Lake Lanier north of Atlanta. She mourned his loss for years. He was a good dog. 

Saint Bernards are known as the "gentle giants". Saint certainly helped them live up to their reputation.

Fab Friday!

Good morning all! 

This week's list of things I'm grateful for:

1 - A working flashlight, Bear, my Saint Bernard and a .22 - all the better to scare the coyote away...

2 - Long time friends I seldom talk to but it's rarely awkward

3 - Sinus rinse

4 - Opportunities presented to me throughout my life

5 - Pinterest - even though it is an evil time bandit! 

Hidden In Plain Sight

I recently came across a site called www.humorsoffice.com. I admit I haven't looked at it too close mainly because one particular post got my attention. Now that I've posted this, maybe I can move on. 

The post is about advertising. It illustrates and explains 10 popular logos that have hidden messages. Some are fairly obvious and some I had seen or noticed before. 

Instead of "reading" to you what you can "read" for yourself, I'll give you my top four favorites. I did however copy most of the text from humorsoffice.com's explanations.

First, Goodwill...

Notice the shape of the face and then look at the shape of the ‘g’ in “goodwill”.  Can you see that smiling face is represented twice? Pretty cool.

The Hope for African Children Initiative is a pan-African effort created to help children who have been orphaned by AIDS or who have parents who are sick or dying from AIDS related illnesses. Their logo shows at first glance the African continent in the negative space, but what makes the shape of it? The outline of an adult and child, who the Initiative is trying to help bring together.

The logo for Toblerone pays homage to it’s history in two ways. The first is the image of Matterhorn mountain, part of the Swiss Alps. The second is the hidden bear in the mountain, which honors the fact that the sweets were founded in Bern (Bear), Switzerland. If you've had or at least seen this in the store, you'll also remember the box is a triangle - like the mountain. 

 

This one is my favorite, though I have not ever seen the logo before finding humorsoffice's site. 

The Museum of London is, well, a museum in London. One that shares the history of the city. Though the background colors in their logo look random, they actually represent the geographic area of London and how it has changed over time. Even in the logo, the museum is holding true to it’s mission. I like how some of us refer to England as being "across the pond" and the logo kind of resembles a pond. Use your imagination. Work with me here.