For the first time in a long while, I took a walk on the beach this morning with a good friend.  It was gorgeous.

He and I have known each other for many years, so always have lots to talk about – but mostly talked about this fruit juice only diet he’d seen a documentary on.  He was asking if I’d do the diet with him, but I said no can do.  I’m all about support and go way above and beyond a lot, but a just juice diet?  Nope… and I love fruit, eat it all the time, for example at my house right now we have apples, oranges, grapefruit, mangos, cherries and frozen blueberries and I think there are some frozen other berries buried somewhere in the freezer. And the only reason we don’t have bananas is I can’t stand them when they get too ripe, so just had to throw out a bunch – literally a bunch – this morning. So you get that I like fruit.  But an all juice diet just didn’t feel like something I wanted to do, let alone having to buy a juicer and never mind the $28 per day he said the guys in the documentary were spending on fruit.  But go ahead, I said, I’ll support you every other way I can in your juice diet!

We finished our walk, stopped at a little art fair that was going on at the top of the hill and got coffee in the nearby cafe, where he knew the owner.  As they chatted, I noticed a little sign saying “Beignets – Sat/Sun only – $8.00”.  I had a flashback of having coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans many, many years ago, and couldn’t resist.  Oh my, served with whipped cream and a little strawberry preserve, almost too hot to hold, we sat and consumed all five of those little darlings, smacking our lips, licking our fingers and making other yum sounds.

You think I’m possibly a bad influence on my friend?  Well hey, we’re grown ups, we can eat beignets at the beach today and he can start his juice diet tomorrow.

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.

And funny thing, had been formulating a little piece on crying and just read Jenny Littlejohn’s great blog on that very subject.

I know I’ve spoken on this before, but having a little cry is such an awesome, cleansing, refreshing release.  I watched movies into the wee hours last night, starting with Independence Day (one especially good weepy bit in there) and ending with Waiting to Exhale (lots there).  Didn’t make it all the way thru Exhale, woke up on the couch to the end credits at 3am or something.  But I’d immersed myself thoroughly in movieland for hours and shed a good couple of tears, then slept like a baby.

What would we do if we couldn’t cry?  We surely would implode under the weight of the emotions in this world.  Of course that’s part of being a girl, isn’t it?

Here’s a song that goes deep.

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.

I'm late!

I could quite possibly be having a mid-challenge crisis.  My thoughts are so scattered.  I have plenty of them but they’re all flying around in the space in my head and I’m having a hard time coralling them for you.

I’m getting behind and it’s bothering me.

I was pretty focused yesterday afternoon and again today, but that was on the task of finding some new work boots.  Yes, work boots 🙂 I need work boots for my shelter work and for the other animal disaster drills/trainings I take part in from time to time.  I bought a pair in rather a hurry originally and while they do the trick and I especially like that they’re waterproof, they’re heavy and a little large (Kmart didn’t actually have any women’s work boots that were suitable for my purposes).  Anyway, I went to a bunch of places yesterday (and I mean a bunch!) and today made my decision and bought a nice, comfortable, correctly-sized Women’s pair of work boots on sale for $29.99.

But I digress…

I’ve been thinking generally about how much I enjoy doing the UBC, and comparing this challenge with the last one (April).  Right from the start I know I’m not getting to read as many of everyone else’s blogs as I did last time.  Besides the fact there’s a lot more of us this time, I think it probably just means I’m considerably busier than I was in April which is overall a good thing –  right?  I will endeavor to participate more.  That’s actually one of the best things about doing these.  It’s super cool getting to know so many other bloggers. 🙂

OK, so I’m gonna sleep on it and hopefully tomorrow I will be over this little hump and can get back on track.  Wish me sweet dreams please.

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.

Had really excellent enthusiastic interactions with some good people today, and that’s always fun.

Monet's Rue Montorgueil

I know I’m a pretty enthusiastic type, so I love it when I spend time with other equally enthused folks.  So how about we don’t curb our enthusiasm, let’s all rally around and be enthusiastic about stuff… it’s catching!

Wanna know who else is enthusiastic today?  Why the French of course – c’est le quatorze juillet, Bastille Day, July 14th – vive la revolution and all that!

History was not a subject I kept up with in my early years and I really kinda wish I had because actually I am very interested in other cultures, and their history tells us so much about who and why they are now, ourselves included.  Anyway, I pay a lot more attention now than then, so it’s a work in progress.  Apparently I’ll need to study American History if I ever get around to applying for citizenship (I’ve only been here 31 years already for heaven’s sake!) – so that may actually turn out to be a fun learning exercise for me.

But for now, je suis très fatigué, so I will sign off with a classic French or pseudo-French flourish: VIVE LA DIFFERÉNCE!  Which is a phrase originally referring to the difference between the sexes, but can be used to celebrate the difference between any two groups of people (or simply the general diversity of individuals).  Thanks Wikipedia.

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.

Wednesday, July 13

It’s been six years since July 13 fell on a Wednesday.  I know this because at about 6pm on Wednesday, July 13, 2005, I experienced a life-changing event.

Driving home from my corporate job, doing about 50 mph or so in my Toyota 4-Runner, I was hit hard on the right rear, pushing me up and onto the center divider and into a crazy, violent, torqued flip and turn, and flip and turn, ending up facing the way I’d come, upside down.

Good people rushed to help and pulled me clear.  Thanks to my seat belt I was amazingly unhurt: no broken bones, no loss of consciousness, plenty of bruises and a nasty gash down to the bone on my left forearm, but bottom line – I survived.  In the weeks and months that followed I got super, super clear that the time to change my life was now and not tomorrow.

I’d been unsettled for a long time, but as a single mom with a hefty mortgage, had yet to find the way and was not about to just quit the paycheck and take my chances.  But after the accident, my focus sharpened and I did find my way out.

I’m not saying you have to go through what I did to get the clarity to move now instead of later; what I am saying is that if you’re unhappy now and don’t change something, you’ll be unhappy tomorrow and six years from now.

So take steps – little ones are fine, but take action, read, watch, listen, talk to other people, find out… your new life and new-found happiness is out there waiting and there are good people out there to pull you clear too.

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.

Today I spent a few hours in the cat building at the shelter.  I wasn’t planning to but was asked to oversee the folks who were doing their community service work.

As I walked up, right away I saw there was a momma just finished birthing in one of the cages, I got excited.  While the guys cleaned the other cages, I hung a blanket over each side of the newborns’ cage to give them some privacy from the morning racket.

I went around and got to know more of the cats and kittens. There was a full grown Persian mix and a Siamese kitten, grey tabbys, a big orange, jet black kittens, little calicos, torties and blues. I gave a couple of playful kittens a toy each, and put little blankets in most of the cages – that’s an important cat-care thing I’ve learned.  While I was doing this, the Vet Tech came in and out, taking one cat at a time, sometimes big, sometimes medium, sometimes kitten-size.  And I began to realize that those cats weren’t coming back.

I’ve got to tell you, at the end of my time there today I was filled with such an overwhelming sadness.

If you’re ever sitting around with your family at home and notice an emptiness, perhaps you have too many laps and not enough cats?  And if you decide to get a cat, please, please, please, go to your local county shelter and choose one from there.  For less than $100, complete with all shots, you can fill your lap with one of these truly worthy creatures.

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.

Don’t you just love life’s little wake-up calls?  Do you heed them?

I’ve been settling in nicely I thought with my work at the animal shelter, including doing off-site adoption events.  We mostly take the smaller dogs, for many reasons but the biggest being they are easier to find homes for.  Today was not as spectacular as the previous events, but we took some great little guys and gals and they mostly get along fine and show fairly well.  I’ve been pretty relaxed and confident around them both outside and at the shelter, but at the end of the day today, I got got by a little wiry terrier who clearly didn’t want to go back into the truck!

I’ve been nipped a couple of times but not having been around a small dog of my own since I was a young child, I had formed the opinion that little guys don’t really bite hard – I mean, how can they, they’re just little guys.  So, wrong, wrong and wrong again.  Today I experienced first hand just how hard 🙁

It was a really important reminder for me that around animals you always need to be alert and expect the unexpected.

Much, much better to have learned the hard way with a small dog than with a large, don’t you think?!

So all is well, tomorrow’s a brand new day, and I am duly chastened.

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.

Thought I’d be full of inspiration today and while I had a nice productive day in many other ways, nothing was really coming together to share with you.

Working at my desk this evening I glanced up at this postcard I got from a convention I attended a couple of years ago.  It says: Annoy People, Take Personal Responsibility.  The card is from Marsha Petrie Sue – who is a terrific motivational speaker.  My son happened to go with me to that convention and he also has one of these cards pinned up on his wall, which makes me feel pretty good.  But in any event, it reminded me of an essay I wrote about responsibility, so here’s some of the closing section for you to ponder and perhaps respond to.

So try this….  Responsibility turns your focus outwards, drawing from belief in self while building inner strength and self-confidence, which in turn projects out onto what you are being responsible for – kind of like a self-perpetuating wheel.  Responsibility in self-learning will turn into responsibility in practicing your business in a similar way.

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.

Yesterday I had one of those annoying “helpless female” moments at the shelter.

The day before I had been asked to move 5 cute, bewhiskered and rambunctious terrier/(probably) pit pups to a more public section as they were believed cleared of giardia (nasty contagious intestinal bug). When I checked on their status yesterday morning, turns out they tested positive again, so we moved them all back to kennel #1 and then needed to disinfect kennel #2.  I found the spray attachment, found the disinfectant and went to hook it all up.

Well I just wasn’t seeing it.  I asked a Blue shirt (shelter employee) for help, he told me I needed the spray nozzle off the water hose and showed me how to connect it.  Somehow I heard that was all I needed (just the nozzle, no hose).  Long story short, I found yet another employee (Green shirt – officer – this time!) to set me straight.  Talk about feeling like an idiot.  I was able to laugh with him but inside was totally cringing.

Oh well, there are some things I’m good at and some things I’m not.  Even though I try to calmly evaluate and take action logically with “machinery,” I also recognize that I often stop the process too soon, and especially when listening: I listen to the first part, get excited and because I’m already taking the newly corrected action in my mind, completely mis-hear or don’t hear the second half.  Sound familiar to anyone?

Big note to self: listen better longer – it could do wonders for my reputation!!

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.

Oh my goodness I’m so tired.

I was planning on getting home at a reasonable hour this evening and whipping off two blog posts tonight, but I can tell I’m not gonna make it.  Can I tell you why?

I signed up to volunteer at my local animal shelter at the end of May and have been working there whenever I can.  I just put in two hefty days in a row – we’re gearing up for an adoption event.  I can go for one long day, no problem, but at the end of two my legs stop working easily and my heavy work boots feel like lead.  You basically hit the kennels running and don’t stop til you leave.  Plus it’s hot and muggy at the moment (at least for us spoiled kids in Cali), and I know I’m not drinking enough water because last night I was woken up by a thumping great Charlie Horse in my right calf!  Last time I had one of those was… well, oh yes, it was the last time I worked two big days in a row at the shelter.

There’s a mountain of things to tell you about what I’ve seen and been doing there, but the question I’m asked most by members of the public is doesn’t the noise get to me?  True, it’s really hard to carry on a conversation sometimes but otherwise, no, I say, I just tune it out.  For sure though, it can definitely be described as a deafening doggy din (ooh, some alliteration in my fatigued state!).

We have an adoption event (this will be my third!) this coming Sunday, so we’re making sure we have a gaggle of pooches to take with us, adjusting daily, as dogs come and go all the time.  Anyway, there are many sad tales of course, but many happy wagging ones too. I will share more on my new efforts, but you know I LOVE it.  I can’t wait to get back, and have to be really disciplined with myself on the hours I put in.  If I didn’t have to make a living I’d be there every day I swear.

Here are my very own pound puppies  🙂

P.S. I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month – 31 days of July, a blog a day if I can.