JAKE KELSEY - RELEASE

HE JUST GOT ACCEPTED TO CIM! THAT'S RIGHT. ONE OF THE FEW TO GET IN. 
(Just found out that he was accepted to Peabody Conservatory of Music!!)

REMEMBER HIS NAME. HE WROTE THIS A FEW YEARS AGO.

If you like trivia, please visit my trivia blog and engage! http://triviatrain.blogspot.com/

or to read some of my poems you can visit http://ofverseandrhyme.blogspot.com/

Thank you for visiting!

YOGA DAY 3

Even though I was Very sore yesterday, I decided to get right back on that horse, or downward facing dog :) 

 I did many of the poses, as best as I could, but holding each briefly this time. This turned out to be a good thing! The pain from day 1 is gone, except for some along my shoulder, but I've been working that out with stretches here and there. So onward and upward. I do all of the poses, as closely as I can and hope to gain a little more flexibility each time.

If you like trivia, please visit my trivia blog and engage! http://triviatrain.blogspot.com/

or to read some of my poems you can visit http://ofverseandrhyme.blogspot.com/

Thank you for visiting!

YUMMY DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

I had to slip this in for a friend. Will add photo when I make the next one. Just made this Sunday and it's gone! Have to make another one this weekend.

Cake:
2C flour
2 C sugar
3/4 C unsweetened Cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 C cold brewed coffee (I use instant)
1 C milk
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 tsp vinegar

Mix all dry ingredients. I use a wisk. Blend in wet till smooth.
Bake 350 degrees for 35 min.
I use 2 round cake pans. You can use a 9x13
I've started using store bought Vanilla Icing, but here are 2 icing recipes that are good.

Chocolate Icing:
1C sugar
1/4 C cocoa
1/4 C butter
1/4 C milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 min. Add vanilla. Cook partially, then beat with a mixer for 3 minutes or until of spreading consistency. 

Vanilla Icing:

1 C sugar
3 Tbs flour
2 sticks butter
1 C milk
2 tsp vanilla

Boil milk and flour. Cool completely. Cream the butter. Add Vanilla and sugar. Combine and beat on high 5 min.

YOGA BOARD

And the boards are done. Diagrams to go by when I practice the poses. Still pretty sore, but will attempt some simple poses and breathing before bed, for relaxation only. These poses are comprised of a few that are simple for me, some to work towards and others I Hope to do someday.....

YOGA DAY 2

In the spirit of accountability, I'm going to write each day, or two, about my progress. Obviously I can't be doing these stretches everyday, as today my body is saying to me, "ENOUGH! What have you done to me?". There are muscles I forgot I even had screaming at me today. It's like they've been in a deep and tranquil sleep for....oh...about 25 years! Well I'd be pretty pissed off if someone pulled me out of my quiet slumber for that long too. So I just yell back, "Shut up! It's for your own good." Not going over well yet, but with time and love I hope to encounter a little less rebellion from Muscle. I'm not one to turn swiftly toward pills and medication. However, today I am willingly enlisting the help of my old friend, Advil. Advil and I are going to team up until Muscle learns her place and stops whining at me. Especially the part of Muscle who resides up and down either side of my spine and across my shoulders. 

Today I will print more pictures for my vision board. Luckily I haven't filled it all in yet. Having experienced a mild amount of pain from day one, I will need to choose the rest of my poses a bit more wisely. I think Pretzel stage may be just a Little further out than I first hoped. But that's OK. Each day I take a new step toward that goal.

HUMAN PRETZEL?

In all walks of life people tout about goals. It drives people. I suppose it works for me in sales. My daughter even put together a list of goals on a white board and has recruited her boyfriend and I into her shenanigans. Goals. Ick! Why do they irritate me?! Maybe because it means that I now HAVE to do something. It's suddenly not optional. Shouldn't everything be optional. Her boyfriend liked it and so I reluctantly agreed. As a stretch, I put down that I would do T'ai Chi twice a week. "Set the goals small and attainable.", Patrick said. I like him :) I did T'ai Chi once, before the board came into play. No I didn't get credit for that one time since the month hadn't started. Rip off! While I was at work today, I noticed this picture, which is on my computer desktop.

I also have it on my desktop at home. Something to Remind me to attain peace, hence the T'ai Chi. Well.....I decided to twist myself into a pretzel instead of working on simple moves to improve circulation and the natural flow of energy. OK. So I can't Exactly twist myself into a pretzel yet, but after my first set of yoga stances, I'm here to tell you (And thank God I'm still here) that I FEEL like a pretzel in the making. When I was a young lass, THIS was Nothing for me to do. And the beach is where I spent most of my time doing it. That's where I learned my side aireal. If you can do That in Sand, you can do it Anywhere! 

Now, you ask...? Hmmm. I'm Lucky if I can do This simple move, which is no harder than tying your shoe laces, and not wind up in traction!

 But that's OK. I've started a Yoga board. You've heard of Vision Boards...? Well, I'm creating a Yoga Board. The pictures are a mix of things I can do now, to some I will work up to and others that I simply DREAM of doing someday. I've never been one to stick with anything, so I'm putting this out into the world for a sense of accountability. If anyone sees this, yeah right, then just maybe I will feel some obligation to forge on toward my dream. 

So there we have it. In a recent blog I was baffled about what I was to become, when I grow up. Well folks, and by 'folks' I mean Leslie, if She even reads this, when I grow up, I hope to become a Human Pretzel. The gauntlet has been thrown down! That counts, right?

JOURNALING

A fellow blogger was once talking about her future self and blogging. I thought that was great. After all, if you don't delete your account this can be here forever! How great to look back and see everything you've been doing, going through and sharing. I've just been randomly posting things on my mind. I notice that a lot of people have specific blogs dedicated to politics, frugal living, fundraising and such. Heck, I have a whole blog just for trivia. Plug time :) www.triviatrain.blogspot.com lol. Visit me and play! Kind of a break from life's craziness. So this will be my journal going forward. The life and times of Kym. How interesting could That be? I don't know, but it will be fun to look back on, in years to come, and see where I've been and Hopefully how I've grown.

Let the fun begin!

FORGIVENESS CHALLENGE

Let's talk about forgiveness. 

This is something Jesus says about it.

Matthew 18: 21-22 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft should my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee,  Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven.

Wow! 70 x 7! 490 times!! That seems to be a Lot to ask of us weak sinning humans. I think I made it to 50 with my sister and it was over. MUCH less with some others in my life who were written off for various reasons. And I've been told that I'm a very forgiving person. Wow. What does That say about me? And what does it mean to forgive? What did Jesus mean about forgiveness?

What does it mean to forgive?

This is from my favorite bible author. 

Luke 6:37 Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.

It seems to be saying that we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us, and continues to forgive us. That's great, but there is deeper meaning in it. Anyone who's held a grudge and grown in life knows that anger, judgement and condemnation of others does nothing to them in comparison to what is does to the one holding on to those feelings. We've come a long way in understanding the affects of our thoughts and feelings on our own body, being and spirit. How does that relate spiritually? Well, for starters, it's hard to be a loving spirit when we feel so much anger and resentment. Love and hate can't fill the same space. It's important to love ourselves. But how is that possible while filling ourselves up with hateful thoughts and emotions.... I think you get the point there.

Love and limits.

How to forgive. 

It's one thing to forgive, but to continue being the recipient of hurtful words and actions is another. By nature, we want to defend and retaliate when someone lashes out against us in Any manner. Of course! It's survival of the fittest. Our natural instinct is to survive, whether we are defending our life, ego, spirit etc. Whatever someone seems to be attacking. There are tons of therapists out there, self help books, guru's of peace etc. teaching about love and limits. It's the separation of emotion that is most difficult. It's OK to forgive someone who has done horrible things to you. Really. It is OK! We seem to think that forgiving that person means that we give them permission to continue hurting us. It most certainly does NOT! We have to learn to say to someone, "I still love you, but not your behavior. I will not engage in your behavior anymore, or allow you to continue hurting me with it, but I will support you when you make positive decision and perform positive acts. I will also love you no matter what." 

Here's what I've done often, with a particular person in my life who continually rages. When the conflict arises, I basically use an invisible wall between us. On my side of the wall, I would feel love flowing. I then imagine their rage bouncing off the wall in the middle and returning to them. Then in my calm, I would make a good choice. That good choice came much easier, when I was in a state of calm. I've used this many times and it was amazing just WATCHING their anger rage and not listening to the hurtful words. After all, they don't define me. It took time. At first the rage escalated because they weren't getting the reaction they wanted from me. But over time, it would stop. Why? Well who wants to fight with someone who won't engage and is unaffected. That is the main goal in all these circumstances. And each time it happened, I would learn to let it go completely. I also knew another battle would come and I wanted to be grounded so that I could sustain it with love. I couldn't do that if I had the mental list going on of past grievances. You Have to let them go for your own health!

So I challenge you all to let go of your anger and pain toward the people in your life whom you hold accountable. Accountability starts with yourself.

Let's start here:

1) Make a list of those who continue to hurt you and those whom you still dislike, or hate.

2) Make another list of the good things about them, even if it's just one thing.

3) Work on connecting with the love inside of you at all times. Then work on stabilizing it during conflict.

4) Practice letting it go.

WHAT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP

Who did you become? Me....? I have no Idea what I want to be when I grow up. I better think of something Quick though, as I'm now pushing 47! 47. Psh. That's young these days. Right? Right!

I've spent many years thinking about how I screwed up when I was younger. When I was rather young, I wanted to be a psychologist. Later I took on a different interest. At about 22 years old, I enrolled in school to become a translator for the deaf. What did I do Instead of going to my first class? Well, I moved out of state to get away from a guy. GREAT decision. I then moved in with a sister, who often drove me to the brink of insanity. I could write 10 blogs on her alone. The game plan then became; get a job and get the hell out. Then boy meets girl, girl is not happy, girl gets pregnant and says, "Ah, what the hell." Ahhh. The fairy tale I always dreamed of..... You can probably surmise that this fairy tale ended in divorce. Shocker, I know. Then with a 5 and 6 year old to care for, I had to get a job and pull it all together. I wasn't one of those Super moms who could do it all. Work, school, kids And keep everyone happy without Prozac. So I stuck with work, kids, a messy life and the occasional break down. God bless those who could do it all!

My children, whom I love with all my heart and soul, are 18 and 19 now. That's one decision I would Never regret. Having my babies. It wasn't easy, but we all survived. So far :) I've spent many years wondering what I want to do with my life outside of being a mom. I work, of course. I've been in print advertising sales for about 11 years. I took a couple off, in between, to sell commercial trash service. Throughout all of these years, even those when I was making very good money (not the case now), I still wondered....What am I Supposed to be doing with my life? What should I 'be'? I've thought about nursing for a Very long time now. I see it. But all that blood and mangled limbs might just turn me into a patient instead. But hey, then I would be able to experience psychology too, though I was hoping to do that from the chair, not the couch......So maybe that wouldn't be the best laid plan, though I think of it OFTEN. Then how would I afford school etc. For many years I've felt very lost. Like I don't have a talent, or a 'thing'. A gift, I guess. It's weighed heavy on me, often wondering how I will leave My mark. Wondering how I will make a difference. Feeling like a non-person almost. Tonight it hit me. I am me! And I am quite wonderful just as I am. OK. That might be a Bit of an exaggeration and I know that won't pay the bills, or offer me a cozy life in retirement, but I am happy. Honestly, I would rather be happy without a 'title', than rich and miserable as many seem to be. Some have it all and that's great! But maybe this is just how it was supposed to be for Me. There are So Many things I'm interested in that I wouldn't even know Which one to pick if I could attain any of them! Archaeology, nursing, translator, musician (yeah, a stretch :) counselor, business owner.....The list goes on. In many ways, raising kids gave me the opportunity to explore ALL of these things. I don't Have to have a piece of paper to make it official, though journeys to other countries and digging up bones and artifacts would have been a plus ;) The farm we lived on, for awhile, offered it's share of amazing discoveries, if you count rabbits, deer, snakes etc....both living and deceased! See? Exciting! So today I will stop feeling less than. To my kids, I was all of these things, at some point, and that is the most important thing. That, and my happiness with who I am. What I will be in this next chapter of my life is a mystery and that is exciting in itself! I can't wait to explore the rest of me. 

ATTACHMENTS

What are you attached to? 

We are all attached to something, or someone.....

a friend or relative

religion

material things

self

acts

pets/animals

jobs

food

drugs

therapy

conspiracies

lying

anger

love

pain

god

religion

others ideals

exercise

cooking

nature

hobbies

emotions
eating

Are we attached or addicted? Are we addicted to the therapy that brings recovery from the addiction? Do we Become our attachments? Do they become us? We all subscribe to some form of addiction. If it's not on the list above, insert your charm. I call it a charm because we wear it wherever we go and we cling to it in times of need. 

What kind of life do You lead?

Some form of life, at our core, leads us.......

by the seat of your pants

godly

spiritual
religious

thoughtful

selfish

inquisitive

explorative

extreme

emotional

daring

giving

dangerous

vicarious

wishful

painful

material

Who are we at the end of the day? 

Do we ever even ask that question? 

If we all cling to something and we all lead a certain way of life, how do we all affect each other? Who do we surround ourselves with? People who allow us to keep being who we are comfortable being? Do we change it up? Do we accept others for who they are? Do we become them? Do we judge them? 

In the end, do we ask, "Who am I?" "How did I affect others?" "How did they affect me?"

We all affect each other and should therefore strive to be something better. Who are you? What have you passed on? After all, that's the bottom line. What did you pass on to improve other lives and thereby the world ongoing.

If you like trivia, please visit my trivia blog and engage!

http://triviatrain.blogspot.com/

or to read some of my poems you can visit 

http://ofverseandrhyme.blogspot.com/

Thank you for visiting!