It is Wednesday and time to take part in Jamie Ridler's Wiscasting Wednesday prompt.  Today Jamie asked, "What do you wish to step into?"  I wish to step into each day with a smile on my face and a spring in my step.  It is easy to see the negative but so much better to look at the world through positive eyes.  I want to be optimistic and happy and by stepping into each day with enthusiasm and joy I believe my life and the lives of those around me will only get bigger, better, and brighter each day. So each morning before I get out of bed I am going to visualize only beautiful cool fall days filled with wonderful exciting events and happy smiling people. 

Once again it is Sunday and time to reflect on living a healthy life.  This week I have been think about the importance of balance.  I spend alot of time on thinking about the importance of what I eat and how much I exercise but there are other components of my life that also need to be in balance in order to really live a healthy life.  Worry can cause illness, isolation can cause lonliness which can cause illness and negative thinking can lead to all types of things that will reflect in how healthy one is.  Since I am aware of these things and more, I try very hard to stay positive, to meet with friends, to do different things and have new interests.  At the same time, I feel it is really important to appreciate the simple quiet moments and to give myself time to reflect and think.  What I find interesting is that at other times in my life I did all of these things and more without really thinking about them.  They just seemed to happen.  I know that now that I have more time on my hands to experience life it is, in some ways, more complicated to get it to flow easily.  Writing always helps me to put things in perspective. That is what I want.  An easy flow to each day.  Well, I will see where that image leads me to this week.  Have a wonderful week filled with healthy, happy moments that flow easily into a terrific life.

It is Wednesday and time for Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting prompt, "What do you wish for an abundance of?"  Today my answer is very short yet so important to me. I wish for an abundance of wisdom so that I am able to help someone I care about very deeply who suffers from depression. Thank you in advance for all of the lovely wishes that I know I will receive from this incredible group of people.

Well I missed my Sunday reflection but I think it is necessary to reflect even if it is Monday.  On Labor Day weekend my husband dropped some very heavy wood on his foot and has had to be off of it ever since.  It will eventually get better and life will get back to normal but it really has made me realize even more how important being in good shape is whether you are the caregiver or the person needing extra help. I did not eat well last week. The only good thing about that is I now realize how much of a difference this makes in how I feel.  Yesterday I had no energy left to do anything but today is a new day and a new week and so I am going to the store to replenish the refrigerator with only good and good for us food.  In the past I would have beat myself up over how poorly I ate for a week,   Now I realize everyday is a new day which gives me the opportunity to start over and that is what I plan to do.  So although this week I will still be called on as caregiver, I am going to do my very best to spread that care to include myself so that I will have the energy to do what needs to be done for everyone.

I am so excited about an opportunity that I have been given this week.  Three local artists saw an empty house which was built in 1897 and believed that it could become a visual art center that would benefit all of our community.  In a time when funds are low, the city and county joined together to purchase not only the house but the four acres surrounding it.  The project is called the Elm Street Cultural Arts Village and it will have a theater, visual arts center, butterfly gardens, walking trails and so much more.  I been given the opportunity to be the volunteer coordinator which is perfect for me at this time of my life.  I will be helping to develop something that I think will create many many special opportunities,events, moments, and memories for so many people of all ages.  So this week I am so grateful to those three special artists who not only had a dream and vision but are nice enough to include me in the journey.

Today's Wishcasting question is ," How do you wish to come out of your shell?"  Since I was once very quiet and shy and now am able to speak in front of large groups giving lectures, etc. with confidence, I thought I don't know since I really have come out of my shell quite a bit.  But then in being really honest with myself, I realized I do great speaking in front of large groups or one-on-one with someone but if I am with a small group of people I am usually the one listening not talking.  I had a friend tell me once that I needed to participate more in this type of setting because I really did have a lot to offer to the conversation and that I was cheating myself as well as everyone else by not sharing.  As I am writing this, I find it intriguing that I can be very confident in some situations but not others.  So my answer to todays prompt is that I wish that when I am with a group of people in social situations that I become more of a participant in the conversation rather than a listener.

It is amazing how quickly the weeks fly by. It is Sunday and time to reflect on how well I lived my life this week. There are so many ways to evaluate if my week was successful.  Did I laugh alot or did I spend my time worrying about things I can't change?  Did I eat food that was not only tasty but healthy or did I make poor choices?  Did I exercise enough or not at all?  Did I see friends and do new things or did I spend my time doing things that were not of interest to me?  Can I answer all of those questions with a resounding yes. Only if I am perfect which I am not.  I think I had a good week.  I added another yoga class which I really needed to do.  I was afraid that because I had not been going as regularly as before, it would be hard.  Guess what?  I was right. It was hard at the beginning but gradually I began to feel better and I am now determined to go several times a week.  Yoga is so good for me and it was foolish to get out of the habit. For me living a healthy life is about developing habits that help me to make the right choices.  Some people may think that is boring but for me it works.  I don't always have to have a predictable week but knowing in advance what my week will look like helps me to live a healthy lifestyle which is my goal.  What helps you to stay healthy?

It is Friday and time to share some fun with the members of the Happy Book Mail Around group. Each week we share something that has brought us happiness.  This week we were to go on a scavenger hunt and find pictures of certain words.  Although my picture does not represent all of the words it does represent many of them.  I am not a person that loves objects (except for my car - I really do have fun in it) but I do love what an object represents or the memories it provides and that is why I decided to share my kitchen table with you.  There are many mornings when I get up early and just enjoy a cup of coffee at the table alone before the day starts.  And almost every evening my husband and I share dinner at the table going over the day. When I look at this picture I don't see an empty table.   I see the many times  it was surrounded by family and friends. I see my son and his wife before they were married excitedly sharing their wedding plans with us. I see both of my grandsons sitting in their highchair excited to be part of the dinner or birthday party.  I see our friends laughing as we all learned how to play bridge together. I see the dogs sitting under our feet as we eat dinner.  Some of the words that we were to represent this week are circle, smile, heart, treasure, and home.  This table represents all of those words and much more to me.  What did you observe or find that brought you happiness this week?  

It is Wednesday and time to answer Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting question, "What do you wish to have less of? "  What an interesting question.  I wish to have less time spent in my head thinking and more time in the world living. I really do a pretty good job of this but I am a thinker.  Although there is nothing wrong with that, it might be fun to see what it would be like to be more spontaneous and carefree. So just for a little while each day this week I am going to take off my thinker's cap and experience whatever comes my way. Should be interesting to see what adventures I can have. 

It is Sunday the day I have set aside to reflect on how well I made healthy choices this week.  One thing I have tried to concentrate on this week is the things that I have accomplished rather than what I did not do.  I did take several extra walks with the dogs.  I took an extra yoga class which reminded me that I need to do more in order to at least maintain the level I have reached.  I made better food choices and although not perfect I am satisfied with what I accomplished.  It is so easy to beat ourselves up over the things we don't do and so easy to forget all of the right choices we make that I have decided to make a conscious effort each week to recognize the postive and forget the negative.  So I am looking forward to a great week in which I walk a little more, add another yoga class and eat delicious and healthy food.  What goals do you have for a healthier you?