Susan is studying and I'm trying to stay out of her way. Sometimes, I can't help but talk. I think she is the one who gets distracted though - I'm not distracting her. I'm being good sitting at the computer typing my thoughts - see?

We went to listen to the Cleveland Orchestra yesterday. John Williams was conducting. It was good. We started out sitting in the pavillion.......oh no, why is she reaching for the dictionary?

(I believe I closed this out before posting it originally)

Why is it that when sleep is most important, I don't seem to want to go to bed? Perhaps it's due to the things I feel I need to do before going to bed. If that's the case, why aren't I doing those things? Probably because I don't know where to begin! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Just Do It! What a slogan.

3 loads of laundry are hanging on the line - Oh - how I hope they all dry in time! Rain has arrived every day - which is why my laundry just can't stay!

Laundry - Bills - A few phone calls..... I need to do these things! I really shouldn't be sitting here - well, the laundry is washing. I'm flying to Ohio tomorrow immediately after work and will be returning on Monday a couple hours before work; Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I have stuff to do! There is no time to ponder today.

drink - drank - drunk How many times do you hear a sentence similar to this, "I haven't drunk any water yet today." I know I don't hear it often, but sometimes I do use the past participle of drink in a sentence. When I do, I find myself hesitating and sometimes modify my word choice according to with whom I am speaking.

My theory is that since we use the past participle adjective form so often, the connotation of that word is so negative that we hesitate to use it simply as the past participle itself.

The evolution of language - Is it good, bad or neither?

~~~ pondering again ~~~

Labor Day 2001, I took alcohol out of my life forever. I chose to view this "change" as a total health issue - not focusing on the fact that I don't drink alcohol. Through this, I have lost weight and of course feel better than before. Continuing on this health adventure, I keep my eyes wide open for new ideas on the topic of health. A friend recently shared a book with me. It is "Eat Right For/4 Your Type." It's about eating right according to your blood type. It seems logical to me and I noticed that there are many things that I have been steering toward even before having this book. I like to think it is because I am in tune with my body. The book explains why some people do well on a specific "diet" while others do not. It also explains the "evolution of blood types." If you have the opportunity to explore this book, I suggest doing so. I would like to hear your opinions also. It's as easy as clicking on "contact me" which is to the left of this screen.

I went to Jax yesterday and came back today. I'm very glad I went. I went down there because I wanted to visit my friends who used to live there but now live in Oregon. They were there because Sarah's son is now a father. I surprised myself on how wonderful it was to see the baby. He is a wonderful child! His name is Isaac. I like that name.

The hospital room was full of love. The love wasn't only for the baby. The love was surrounding everyone in that room. We were all connected through some point in our lives. Life is amazing. It was great seeing Ben (Sarah's son) with Felicia (Ben's girlfriend and I don't know how to spell her name) and both of them with their boy.

They are young parents, but they will also be great parents. I saw it. I believe it. I'm happy for them. I am also happy for our world. They are our future.

Tomorrow, I will be visiting friends in Jax, FL. Sarah is going to be a grandmother! I just find that funny because I can't imagine being a grandmother right now. I still have a great picture of Sarah's boy, Ben, and my nephew, James sitting at a table together coloring. They have the biggest smiles on their faces! Two happy little boys - innocent too! The innocence of a child is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

~~~~~~~~~ still pondering ~~~~~~~~~

Mom says it best! Here's a quote from mommi39 :

"I think change is good if it improves your quality of life - be it physically, mentally, environmentally... well I guess I could go on. Perhaps what I want to say is that any change that improves your well-being whether it is by creature comfort, mental alertness, self-esteem, or whatever you need to make you happy..... any of these things can not be bad for you!"

~~~ I think I'll ponder for a while ~~~

Those of you who have been reading this web log regularly, probably have noticed that I've been battling with the last line in my previous post. I'll think it through "out loud" here. Change does not always nor should it always equal improvement. Sometimes, it's just different. Most of the time though, it does seem to me that change does mean improvement because why would we change something unless it was for the better? Hmmmmmmmm - what do you think? click on the "contact me.." phrase which is to the left of this screen and tell me what you think about it.

Life is Good!

The changing of dreams and goals - In March, 2000, I bought 5 acres of land. Before having the opportunity to buy this land, I used to look at it every time I drove by and think to myself what a nice piece of property it was. One day, I saw a "for sale" sign. Soon after living on the property, my dream of building a dome home came to life. I think it would look nice here but more importantly, It has some practical attributions such as energy and space efficiency. This dream is changing. (don't worry family, I have no plans to sell the land)

I think it's important for people to realize that it's healthy when goals or dreams change. Look at me! I have a degree in business but actually enjoy more of a "hands on" type of work; for a long time, I dreamed of owning a restuarant. Lately, I've been thinking about going to a technical school to learn a trade such as flooring, plumbing or electrical. By learning a specific trade, I could fulfill the dream i've always had of "working for myself" while also doing hands on work.

My dreams are changing - I equate the change with improvement - continuous improvement which makes this journey we call life - fulfilling.

Good News! My kids didn't eat the little Yorkshire terriers (?) that were frolicking in my yard. They didn't frolic long after Alley caught site of them. One of the dogs was smart enough to run home while the other one ran in circles screaming as if it were being chewed and beaten. Neither Bravo nor Alley touched the yappy little thing. I saw them just following the little thing with their noses as if trying to figure out what the heck it was. I put my kids in the house, pulled the little monster out from under my car, and brought it to its owner. She was nice and told me all about how the little beast insists on getting out of its fence. I've had cats that weighed more than that thing! ..................................... We finished our walk.

Names! What's in a name? I think the answer is personality which includes individualization. So, many of us, at some point, decide to go by a variation of our name. I still don't know for sure what a couple of my sisters prefer to be called, so I call them by the name that we used when we were growing up together. Does Patti go by Pat with some of her friends? Does Sharlene still like to be called Shar? They have always been Patti and Sharlene to me. Actually, we did call Sharlene Sherry for some time period. How did that start and end? I don't know.

My name is Janice. On line, I have often mistyped my own name, so my online name has become Jancie. If i were to be called that in person, I'm sure I would laugh. The name i recently chose for myself is "Jan." It's not a big difference, is it? I started introducing myself as Jan to new people in my life about a year ago - maybe a little longer. As a result, my new friends and co-workers know me as Jan. If my family always calls me Janice or some of those other names I've also been called, that will be just fine.

What was I thinking? One of my Aunts used to call me Jan when I was little (that's the only time I knew those people). I always liked the way it sounded. Then, later in life, one of my brothers - in - law would call me Jan. Finally, I decided that since I like the way it sounds, I would just start introducing myself that way.

Hi, I'm Jan!

It's Tuesday - I have a regular job now, but I still haven't gotten in the swing of things. I know, I know, blah, blah, blah, Just Do It! right? I almost said easier said than done, but I'm not saying that. Really, it is just as easy to do as it is to talk about it. Why am I talking then? 'cause it helps me iron out my thoughts! See - I am probably my worst (and best) critic.

It was just past 8 this morning when I walked the dogs. It was already getting very hot! My goal for tomorrow is to walk them no later than 7! That will accomplish two things (probably more) - 1) We will walk before it is excruciatingly hot and 2) I will get an earlier jump on the day.

Are you aware of the etymology of that wonderful word I just used? I looked it up to ensure my correct spelling and discovered this - Latin excruciare, from cruciare to crucify, from crux cross

Guess what? I didn't have a headache today.

I learned two new words yesterday and today. It's a benefit from having smart friends. Of course when they use these words, I am generally able to figure out the meaning because I'm smart too, but I look them up just to know for certain. Looking the word up also ensures the correct usage of the word; afterall, my friends are not always correct! Here are my two new words: 1) Enervate -to lessen the strength or vigor of, weaken in mind or body 2) Fetid - having an offensive smell

I've been having headaches regularly this past week. I thought about it this morning - wondering why. I decided to look at it as if it weren't me and have come to the conclusion that I have brought the headaches on myself. With many things to reorganize and restructure in a sense, I have probably been stressed out a bit. To remedy this problem, I will begin taking care of those things that I have control over; thereby relieving the stress, which in turn will eliminate the headaches.

It's the 4th of July. Here's an excerpt from a history book I own. This book was written primarily for children. I like it. "Who did America belong to? That's a simple question with no easy answer. The struggle to find the answer would end in terrible fights that exploded into two enormous wars. The New World, which was supposed to be a haven of peace and prosperity, would become a place of sacrifice and death.

... After days of arguments, the delegates agreed. A new declaration was read on July 2nd and approved by every colony except New York, which voted to abstain. Still, the delegates fussed with the Declaration and decided that a few paragraphs needed cutting. On July 4th, the final Declaration was read and America declared herself free from British rule."

What was I thinking? I didn't have time to walk the dogs at noon! oh, what was I thinking? I better walk them first thing in the morning from now on.

I have been training on the job now for two days. So far, so good. I haven't exactly gotten in the swing of my schedule, but it will just take a little time. I tend to start a project and end up with not enough time to finish before having to get ready for work or rushing to get ready for work. The trick for me will be to pick only those projects with which I have time to finish. This morning, I simply chose to do nothing. I guess that is okay too, but I prefer it to be the exception not the rule. Of course, I will not skip the walk with the dogs though; I do that for me as much as for them. Actually, the kids are lying around looking at me so as to say, "what's up? why aren't we outside?" Time to walk the dogs!

Orientation! It is a good thing. I had a good weekend with my orientation which was thorough and of course, informative. Today, I will begin training during my regular hours. I was tired during the weekend. Today, I'm trying to get some laundry washed. It doesn't look like rain today, but I don't want to take the chance of leaving clothes on the line while away at work. For those of you who don't know, my drier is the great outdoors. I tend to revolve my laundry days around the weather. It has been working well for more than five years now. Wow! I've had my humble home for five years? That means I'll have it paid off in another five for sure (if i don't sell it first.)

I visited Pam and most of her fam Saturday evening. It was a nice visit. It was short, but that didn't make it any less valuable. We walked on the beach, ate dinner at the beach and then settled them into their hotel room. I told Pam that her dog has been keeping a very good journal of her experience with grandma and grandpa. I'm sure she will be reading it upon her return. I hope they found it easy to find the highway. I chose that particular hotel for them because I knew it was clean (not exactly new but clean) and because i wanted to make it easy for them to get to the highway. I know when I'm traveling that when I'm ready to hit the road with the goal of reaching my destination, I'm not really looking for the scenic route.

Busy, busy, busy - that's the way I like it. I need to walk the dogs soon since it will be dark when I get home from work.