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You would think I would have realized by now that to keep myself healthy, I need to make sure I’m getting enough sleep. The problem I’ve been having with this (and I don’t know if I’d really call it a problem…more like a challenge!)- is that I’m up late because I LOVE what I’m doing! Haven’t had this ‘challenge’ before! But I also know that if I get sick, there comes a point when as much as I’d like to be working, you know that you have to stop and get well.

So yesterday I started getting that achey, not wanting to move feeling with a little bit of congestion. I got a little work done, ran a couple of errands with my daughter then came home to put the Halloween decorations away (which, by the way, is part of the reason I feel run down. After having a Halloween party the weekend before, we moved a lot of decorations out front…the slideshow below shows some pics). As much as I probably should have taken a nap, my daughter and I got it all done and I feel MUCH better today (knowing it’s done). Took some Nyquil last night and slept great. So, now I’m quietly working with some tea & honey….I think I may be napping today. I often wonder why I don’t take my OWN advice….get enough rest! And of course, balance things a little better…..

So I clearly am enjoying referencing the Ten Thoughts on Whole Living from the September issue of Body & Soul magazine. I figured I may as well finish all ten thougts, huh? Here’s the fourth thought: “True release comes form sustained relaxation”.

This is BIG one for me! I have a tendency to go, go, go….and then all of the sudden I hit a wall. I remember hearing something by Zig Ziglar a long time ago (it was an audio). And it was something like,” When you’re at work you’re wishing you were at home with the family and when you’re at home with the family you’re thinking you should be getting more work done………no wonder you’re never getting anywhere…..you’re always traveling”. Of course it’s more meaningful if you hear it with the southern drawl that Zig Ziglar speaks with, but it’s such a great point!

Taking time to rest and relax is just as important as all of our “to-do’s” and lists. When I start getting so busy that my list doesn’t seem to be getting much smaller, I realize that it’s time to take a break, because things don’t feel as good as they should. The never ending list starts creating “WORK”….and I’ve finally found something that I enjoy so much it has just taken a hold of me. I don’t want it to start feeling like work…ever. So that’s when I make sure to take some time to lay in the pool and read a book, take an afternoon nap or lay with the kids and read a book for a while. Inevitably, when I’ve taken the time to relax, I’ve released the tension, or tightness that I was starting to feel and my list looks like fun again.

So lately I’ve been doing a lot of purging around the house (closets, garage, kids rooms, you name it). So the next thought in the list of Ten Thoughts on Whole Living in the September issue of Body & Soul magazine was perfect! Here it is: ” Your stuff reflects you. As your needs evolve, find new homes for your old things.” This also reminds me of something I read in Jack Canfields book, The Success Principles. He has a lot of exercises in the book to help you get organized and set your goals. One of the things was to create a list of “incompletes”. You are supposed to list all of the projects that you have hanging around and all of the things you need to get rid of in order to allow room for what it is you want in your life to come in (this doesn’t necessarily mean material things).

The big thing that I’m gettin rid of and not replacing is a refrigerator in my garage. It finally gave out (it’s about 11 years old). I thought about getting it fixed or getting a small, new one to keep in the garage, but realized we reall don’t need it anymore. My kids are big enough that the frozen things from Costco are dwindling, I stopped buying them juice boxes/bags, I’ve moved the water bottles to the refrigerator inside the house and I’ll be saving money every month on my electric bill (which helps a lot!). And it feels really good to know that I’m not just getting rid of something. I’m not replacing it either.

So the idea for this post came from one of my favorite magazines, Body + Soul (if you haven’t ever read it, I highly recommend it.  It’s a great mix of health, wellness, exercise, mind and spirit).  In each issue, the last page of the magazine has Ten Thoughts on…. (the topics change). This came from Ten Thoughts on Whole Living. The first thought was “Learn to receive what others have to offer, and you’ll enable someone else to give”. What I loved about this is that we’re always hearing how good it feels to give (which it does, I’m not disputing the value of giving or the importance of it for that matter), yet we never stop to think about the importance of allowing other people to give, to us. Is it that we don’t think we’re worthy of receiving? Or do we not want to put other people out?

I had to learn to accept from other people- and it was primarily help. I’ve always been a very independent person and sort of had this idea that I could “do it all”, whatever that means! It’s definitely an ego based idea that’s for sure. What’s funny though is that as I allowed other people to help and accepted their help graciously, without worrying about how I could give back, I started to feel SO much better. And as that happened, I noticed the other person’s joy in being able to help (which of course made me feel even more gratitude). It’s always a give and take- it’s just a matter of what you decide to take away from each experience. The giving is actually the easy part.

So I should probably give a little more background as to how the whole teleseminar came about, especially because it ties directly in with the content of the teleseminar itself.

I started working online and getting involved with getting a website (or two or three) up at the very beginning of this year. I had gotten interested with internet marketing and online business in general about two years ago. Life happens, and two years later I was able to start devoting serious time to everything I had been reading, listening to (you gotta love mp3 files!) and following. I started a coaching program dedicated to social networking in January- before I had any website. Through that I found someone who has his own company and his product is a great CMS (content management system). So between meeting Pete (he’s my web guy in Canada…I’m in California), starting the coaching program, coming back to Wordpress with this site and meeting David (he’s in Oregon…my other ‘web guy’) some amazing

First off, a very Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there. We actually celebrated Father’s Day with my family yesterday- we had a barbeque, swam and just enjoyed the nice summer weather ( getting a little too nice- it was pretty hot. But I’m not complaining- I LOVE summer!). I had a couple of moments yesterday that just made me sit back and realize how fortunate I am for the people in my life- and my Dad is definitely one of them. We spent the better part of the morning putting together my new BBQ- although we shook hands prior to starting, agreeing we wouldn’t argue or get frustrated with one another (we tend to butt heads…..probably just because we’re both so head strong!). Towards the end of the assembling (which went smoothly- even though we were roasting in the garage), my son came in to help us. I had to stop and get the camera to take a few pictures of my Dad and son, working peacefully next to one another, feeling so grateful that my Dad has never complained about being more than just a grandfather to my kids (who lost their father 5 years ago). It brings me such joy to see the pleasure he takes in just spending time with all of his grandchildren.

I’m also fortunate enough to have my maternal grandfather here as well. Both my grandmother and grandfather are still here and came over to enjoy the day with us yesterday. They’re 83 and 85. My grandfather even got in the pool to cool off and enjoyed a little bit of a swim with us. It’s always so fun to see the kids get so excited whenever one of the adults gets in to swim- at one point, all the guys were in the pool with all the kids (my dad, uncle, brother and grandfather). It was truly a day to appreciate the simple things in life- for which I’m very grateful.

The gym I belong to just opened it’s new building today, complete with a rock climbing wall. So, of course I signed myself up for a class to learn how to use the climbing wall ( I also signed my sister up, but we couldn’t make it to a class at the same time). All I can say is…”My arms are feelin’ it!”. I’ve seen people do the indoor rock climbing before and it looked like fun, so, since everything you read about fitness these days talks about the importance of mixing up your routine, I figured, “Why not?”. The instructor was really nice (although she was a little hard to hear over the music blasting…the rock wall is in the same room as the new weight equipment), we first had to sign our lives away promising we wouldn’t sue the gym if we fell to our deaths or broke something. After that she went through showing us how the harness works (so much fun putting a harness on when you have to let the slack OUT…. and then tighten…I digress), not too bad. A little uncomfortable when you’re just standing there, but so grateful for it when you’re up 20 ft. Next we spent some time unhooking the…..cable? from the wall (I forgot what it’s called already…I’m getting old!), we did this a few times, which is good because it’s a little trickier than it looks. Before we attempted climbing the wall the instructor showed us how to let go and fall back- much easier when you’re only a few feet off the ground as opposed to halfway up the wall (when did I turn into such a skirt?). Finally, we climbed the wall. Let me just tell you that it’s much harder than it looks!!! I got almost to the top and decided to sort of climb down before I just let go. The second time up I did a little better letting go, but not much. I prefer to climb down a bit until I’m more comfortable….or am climbing with my sister so I won’t feel like such a complete dink. So, long story longer….I will definitely be climbing again soon! I think I may even invest in some climbing shoes….at least I’ll look the part!

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