Day 90

Rule 7

Be loving to your negatives: Acknowledge that you created them to fulfill a need. Now you are finding new, positive ways to fulfill those needs. So, lovingly release the old negative patterns.

I have so many negative patterns that must be released. I need to explore more about why we create them to fulfill a need. I guess it would take going all the way back to see all the things that have happened to you and molded you into the person you are today.

***

Today is my son's birthday. Happy Birthday Gideon, as his friends call him and DK the nickname I call him. I cannot believe 37 years have passed by so quickly. I send you best wishes for a happy day and a wonderful life.

Day 89

Rule 6

Support yourself: Find ways to support yourself. Reach out to friends, and allow them to help you. It is being strong to ask for help when you need it.

I'm doing pretty well with this rule. I have lots of support. A great husband, helpful co-workers and terrific friends.

I do need a financial braniac that can support and teach me how to handle money better. A life coach to help me manage my irrational behavior at times. I rarely have a problem asking for help or directions. So when it comes to support I think I am doing okay.

Day 88

Rule 5

Praise yourself: Critcism breaks the inner spirit. Praise builds it up. Praise yourself as much as you can. Tell yourself how well you are doing with every little thing.

This will be a hard one. It doesn't seem like I do much. Now that days are staying lighter longer and I'm feeling stronger, maybe I will start getting more things accomplished. Like making jewelry again. It's been quite awhile since I've attempted to make anything. I know doing a job well done can lift your spirits. I have alot of projects planned once the weather gets warmer.

Day 87

Rules for Living continued.

Rule 4

Be kind to your mind: Self hatred is only hating your own thoughts. Don't hate yourself for having the thoughts. Gently change the thoughts.

I will fill my mind with the beautiful things life has to offer. Art, music, books and friendship.

I will work on no negative thoughts. I've noticed that it is so hard to lift a negative person into cheerfulness from their slump, but, a negative person can drag you down into their depths if you let them.

A wise person once told me, "Surround yourself with happy successful people and you will be a winner. Surround yourself with negative unhappy people and you will be a loser."

Day 86

One more recipe.

Stir Fry Chinese Chicken

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tsp crushed garlic

1/4 cup barbeque sauce

1/4 cup Hoisin sauce

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 1/2 Tbsp chicken broth

2 cups cooked rice

Combine orange juice, crushed garlic, bargeque sauce, Hoisin sauce and ginger in a medium bowl; mix well. Add the chicken cubes to the sauce, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, or overnight. Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray; add the chicken broth and heat over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for 7-8 minutes, until cooked through. Serve over rice.

I found these recipes in the book Fill Up to Slim Down by Edward B Diethrich, M.D. and Jyl Steinback.

Day 85

A couple of recipes while I catch up the days.

Pineapple Chicken Packet

16 oz can pineapple chunks, in juice, undrained

1 lb bonesless skinless chicken breats, cut into 1 in slices

1/2 cup pinto beans

3/4 cup canned corn kernels, drained

3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp cayenne

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain the pineapple into a bowl, reserving the juice. Combine chicken, pineapple, 3 Tbsp of pineapple juice, pinto beans, corn, cilantro, chili powder and cayenne in a large bowl; toss to mix.

Tear off four 10-inch pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Divide the mixture among the foil sheets. Wrap foil around chicken mixture, leaving room at the top, and seal tightly. Place foil packets on a baking sheet; bake 35 to 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. If desired, serve over cooked rice.

Upside Down Ginger Peach Cake

24-oz can peach halves, canned in juice

1 1/2 cup plus 3 Tbsp brown sugar, divided

1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup craisins

1 1/2 cups cinnamon applesauce

3 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 cup nonfat frozen yogurt or cool whip

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray. Drain peaches, reserving 2 Tbsp of juice. Cut the peach halves in half again. Combine the reserved peach juice, 3 Tbsp brown sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl; mix well. Arrange the peaches in the bottom of the baking dish; sprinkle with the craizins and drizzle with the peach sauce. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix until blended. Pour batter over the peaches and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes, loosed the sides with a knife and invert the cake onto a serving platter. Serve warm with frozen yogurt or cool whip, if desired.

Day 84

Rules for Living.

Rule 3

Be gentle and kind and patient. Be gentle with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Be patient with yourself as you learn the new ways of thinking. Treat yourself as you would someone you really loved.

I think with maturity comes patience. I have learned this lesson pretty well. Look how long I've been waiting to win the lottery. LOL! But really, I don't lose my temper any longer when things don't go my way or when expected wants don't happen as swiftly as I would like.

I try to be gentle and not so forceful. I do need to learn to listen more and not speak everytime I'm involved in conservations with people.

I think I am kind, but, my tounge can be sharp at times. I will definitley work on all 3 of these parts. I will be more patient, I will work on being more gentle and will practice random acts of kindness more.

Day 83

New Rules for Living

Rule 2

Don't scare yourself: Stop terrorizing yourself with your thoughts. It's a dreadful way to live. Find a mental image that gives you pleasure and immediately switch your scary thought to a pleasant thought.

I have written in the past about my worry box. Constant worry moving in and out of the box. But I guess I do have scary thoughts too.

Globally I get scared where politcially this country is heading. With all the violence happening I am scared something really bad will happen. The militia people, white nazi wierdos and the religeous right wing extremists all the while you have republicans spewing hatred and stirring them up into a frenzy. It is bound to bring on something horrific. Here in the Northwest we have all three of those groups, especially across the border in northern Idaho, only a few miles away.

Then there are the scary things that have been haunting me for a long time. War, nuclear meltdowns and fire. I am terrified of fire.

So now I must define my pleasant thoughts. Ireland, of course. South Whitely where I keep all my yesterdays and dreams of being a lottery winner.

Day 82 New Rule #1

New rules to live by. I was sent 10 new ways of thinking by Mind Body and Soul. Each day I am going to post a new rule and see how I may implement this in my life.

Rule One

Stop all criticism: Critcism never changes a thing. Refuse to criticize yourself. Accept yourself exacly as you are. Everybody changes. When you critcize yourself, your changes are negative. When you approve of yourself, you changes are positive.

***

Can I really do this? I find myself being very critical and griping alot about the goings on right now in our country. All the negative images we see on the news just brings me down and makes me critical and mean spirited. So much ignorance and hatred is everywhere. I worry where our country is heading. Closer to home I am going to try and not be critical of the people around me and try to listen to people without trying to solve their issues, which I sometimes try and do.

I can work on not being critical about life in general. Sure there is never enough money and sometimes life just sucks. But who's to blame? Usually me. So its time to make it better. Have a more positive attitude and work on the things that suck.

I have posted these rules on my wall at work with a small bucket under them. Everytime I say something critical I'm going to put a nickel in the bucket. Maybe that will help with my new goal.

Day 81

Healthcare reform bill passed. Now for the shit storm to begin by the right wing wackos. The country is so divided. Even friends are divided on this issue. Feels like back in the times of the Vietnam war. Now the state of Washington along with 10 other states have a bill that they want to opt out. Without even considering what the people want? I hope our President and party stay strongly commited and safe.

Day 80

Just a nice relaxing Sunday at home. Waiting to see if the healthcare bill will pass.

Day 79

A beautiful spring day in the Northwest. Almost flip flop season.

Removed Michael's pain pump today.He is doing well, considering. Just very uncomfortable.

Dogs to groomer, post office and library. Typical Saturday errands.

Day 78

Day after surgery. Michael is still doing good. The pain block is slowly wearing off and now the pump is doing it's job.

I forgot how much I miss visiting the library. Books, movies and cd's. They have it all. The movie inventory has really increased since the last time I have been in.

I was able to access my desktop from work. That was pretty cool.

Day 77

Michael's Surgery Day. We headed out early to Holy Family Hospital after scraping the ice off the windshield. COLD!

We were there for about 6 hours. The ligament in his shoulder was torn clear through, worse than we thought. The rotator cuff was also repaired and the bone spur removed. Dr. Scott said it all went well.

Because of the Pain Block there was little or no pain today, just discomfort. He did not sleep as much as I thought he would.

We will see how it goes...

Day 76 St Patrick's Day

First day of my 3 day vacation and 5 day weekend. Weather has turned cooler. Michael took the day off before his surgery tomorrow.

We went to the library so he could load up on stuff to read. I checked out some cd's, a diet book and a movie. Then off to Costco. Just a few things and actually got out of there for under $100. Amazing!

Spent the rest of the relaxing doing what we both chose to do.

Day 75

The day can go by really slow when you are waiting for a 5 day weekend to begin. Weather is beautiful.

Day 74

Working at getting my desk totally caught up before heading for vacation.

Met Lorna for lunch at Taco Bell. I bought a big box of beads that she was selling for a co-worker.

I am going to spend alot of my vacation time getting back to making jewelry.

Day 73

New linens for the new mattresses. Still need new pillows and curtains.

Beautiful sunny day to be out and about to enjoy.

Day 72

We went to the Blue Dragon Bead Sale being held at the Quality Inn out in the valley. Lorna met us there. I bought some really cool stuff. I am hoping this will spark my creativity bone and get me making jewelry again.

After that it was Safeway and Walmart. And after that I was done for the day. Spent the rest of the day doing chores and watching tv.

Day 71

Slow day at work. I am so glad it is the weekend. Work today, 2 days off, work 2 days and the 5 DAYS OFF!

Day 70

Rain! I guess that is what we must expect for spring to come.

New shows I want to DVR:

Sons of Tucson

Celebrity Apprentice - Go Cindy and Sinbad!

Justified

Hoarding

Gene Simons Family Jewels

Kirstie Alley's Big Life - Love her!

I am sad Ugly Betty is being cancelled after this season.

We have 3 good movies to watch this weekend. Big Dogs, Amelia and Everybody's Fine.

Day 69

Okay, if I am going to win the lottery and have any kind of retirement plan I must start buying tickets. You cannot win if you do not play.

Somebody has to win, it might as well be ME!

Day 68

Spokanites are very confused when it comes to dressing in regards to the weather. I noticed when I stopped at the store at 47 degrees people were wearing such different types of clothing. I saw people bundled up in winter coats and scarves still wearing snow boots and then others were in sweatshirts or sweaters. Then there are the die hard, come on spring Northwestererners that were wearing shorts, tshirts and sandals with socks.

I did put my sunroof down for the first time this year at lunchtime. The sun was shining so sweetly. I was dreaming that soon we will be pulling out the flip flops from the back of the closet.

But I am not to be confused as the ones who think a sunny weekend before the snow is off Mica Peak is a great time to rush to the local nurseries and buy flowers to plant just to watch a freeze kill them.

We are enjoying early spring weather. A little sun, fast moving clouds, a few drops of rain, possible chances of snow, cold mornings and people hoping to see 60 degrees and maybe a spotting of a tulip emerging from the ground.

Day 67

I so appreciate my dog grooming shop, The Yuppy Puppy. My little Sammie got into something that smelled to high heaven and was sticky and then there was the pee pee incident...

Anyway into the bathtub he went. Oh how he loves being scrubbed and rubbed with bubbles flying everywhere. Sammie was in his element enjoying every splash of warm water. My knees were killing me.

And then came the blow drying. He endured being flipped over and over and put in positions I know he did not care for. An hour of it. This dog has an amazing coat.

Once it was done, he pranced around and showed us how beautiful he knew he is. With so much praise coming from the two of us, I think it went to his head.

Thank you Yuppy Puppy and Aquila and Kris for every 3 weeks they come and get glamorized!!

Day 66

The new front door is stained and looking so cool. We still need to do the trim and put varnish on the door.

Very productive weekend.

The Oscars were fabulous. The dresses were beautiful. Most of my picks won. Best hosts ever. I love Steve Martin. And Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock, how cool was that? I cannot wait to see both their oscar performances.

Day 65

Leak fixed, chores galore accomplished. The sun shone so beautiful, but, this is the Northwest and you know we will have one more blast of winter before spring can truly begin.

Day 64

Boring Friday. The leak continues...

Day 63

There is a leak in the basement. A small leak, behind paneling. I hate being a homeowner. I hate being responsible for repairs. Especially when these surprising events happen when money is the lowest. And soon spring will bring the expense of lawn care. I want to fix what needs fixing and paint and sell this house. Our old landlord, John, said there are renter people and house people. I'm a renter.

So my goal this year is to unclutter and get down to what we would move into an apartment with. Of course we would not move into an apartment because of the dogs. But lighten the load. So throw away, give away or sell. Its time to lighten ship.

Day 62

Tip # 2 Eating Right

Bananas offer serious mood-lifting power, with their combination of vitamins B6, A, and C; fiber; tryptophan; potassium; phosphorous; iron; protein; and healthy carbohydrates.
When you eat a banana, you’ll get a quick boost from the fructose as well as sustaining energy from the fiber, which helps prevent a blood sugar spike and ensuing drop in energy and mood. Carbohydrates aid in the absorption of tryptophan in the brain, and vitamin B6 helps convert the tryptophan into mood-lifting serotonin. Bananas are also a great source of potassium. While potassium isn’t directly related to mood, it’s needed to regulate fluid levels and keep muscles working properly, which is important for feeling energized, a key factor for a sunny outlook. And finally, bananas also offer iron, which is crucial to producing energy and fighting fatigue.

Day 61

Does it say on my forehead Give Her Burnt Toast? I hate burnt toast and it seems anytime I order when we out anything with toast it will arrive burnt.

Dear Waitess/Server, Do you think I won't notice the blackness or the dryness of the toast you just delievered? Would you eat this crap? Please take it back to the cook and tell him... oh well. And please do not just flip it over and serve it again. Yes, I will notice that the other side is still burnt.

Sincerely, me

Michael says I am banned from ordering toast in restaurants.

There is a chance Spokane will get an aquarium. I have emailed every city council person, the mayor and the local newspaper. I am hopeful that the city will see this as an economic stimulator, but, alas it is Spokane.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry, because tomorrow you might be in Spokane.

Day 60

Sometimes biting your tongue is the best way to go.

Beautiful day today. Feels so much like Spring.