Birthdays

My birthday is July 12th.  Most years, I get really depressed at my birthday, not so much because I am another year older, but because I haven’t really accomplished anything worthwhile with my life.  

Not that I expect to cure cancer or anything that big, but I had this idea that everyone is here on this spinning planet for a good reason and that we should actually be doing something to make us worthy of being here.

Perhaps it’s age, or can I be so bold as to say wisdom?, but I got it in my head to actually think about the things I had done with my life.  I was thinking of things that I have actually been recognized for by other people.  It’s silly really have to have that justification for living.

I mean really!  I raised two daughters by myself and did it while dealing with multiple sclerosis.  That should count for something!  We all survived and both girls are out there as contributing members of society, living without me and surviving just nicely.

Interestingly enough, while a friend was visiting we got talking about success and I realized that despite what I have accomplished, I still don’t feel successful. Through the discussion, I realized that it comes down to this:  I can’t possible be successful if I am still living paycheck to paycheck.

I earn really good money, I get good bonuses, I buy my company’s shares every paycheck, I get good raises and my boss now even gives me extra shares at bonus time.  Of all the things I can do, why can’t I get on top of the debt?  That isn’t to say that I don’t pay more than the minimum on my debts, but something always comes up that throws me off.  I have failed!

So, I am just looking at it as my latest challenge and focussing on trying to be successful at managing debt.  It’s not like I buy or own all kinds of expensive things.  I’m kind of a Walmart kind of person.  I just can’t manage money and I need to!

This is my new year resolution--the new year of my life--get a handle on this!  I need to be able to retire and I’m going to try to push that date out for three years.  I just need the multiple sclerosis to co-operate and I’m good!

God bless you all, especially for reading my ramblings, and I pray that you isolate your greatest challenges and get the better of them!

My Birthday Week!

Hey folks!  I am back after my weekend away last weekend and blogging on this gloriously sunny Sunday, that is very hot and humid outside!

I had a great weekend last weekend catching up with family.  Cavan and I explored the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa on the Friday--a lot of walking.  We walked from the bed and breakfast we were staying at, toured the parts of the museum that we hadn’t gotten to the last time and walked back.  A very long and exhausting day.  But I really enjoyed it!  We caught up with my brother Paul for dinner (walking to and from the Baton Rouge!) and then crashed for the night.

Saturday was our reminiscing day!  Most of my siblings were able to get together to go through old photos and talk about old times.  Paul, our resident photographer, had scanned in many of the pictures and gave us each a beautiful wooden box with a USB drive with the pictures on it that he had time to scan in.  There are tons more that will takes some time to get through.  It is a wonderful keepsake.

Sunday we headed back home stopping at the Diefenbunker.  A bunker built to house our government (and gold!), during the cold war, in the event of nuclear war.  It was fascinating.  Us techies were amused by the old technology in the computer room and everything that was used back then.

The Sunday (the 12th) was my birthday and perhaps I’ll write about that next time.  Suffice it to say that my birthday didn’t end there!  My dad and his girlfriend bought Cavan and I tickets to the Pirates of Penzance play in Gananoque for the next Saturday (yesterday)!

So, yesterday, Cavan and I drove to Napanee and had a lovely afternoon with Dad and Sally.  They drove us into Gananoque, where we had a quick lunch and then saw the show.  It was quite a funny play.  When we returned to Napanee, my sister Carol and her family were there and we had a lovely dinner and evening together.

It was a lovely birthday week and a half!

I am truly blessed and I realize it the older I get!  Perhaps now is the time that I have the time to step back and realize just how blessed I am!  

Go Paleo!

Well, folks I have been sticking to the paleo diet and I’m finally seeing some results.  I am down 10 pounds from when I started and, oddly enough, most of it came off this week.  What was the difference?  This week, I added warm lemon water first thing in the morning and extended my workout with the weights, using my Bowflex.

So, we will see where this takes me.  I’m happy to finally be taking off some weight.  As a matter of fact, Friday, I got up earlier than I usually do when I get to sleep in and I thought that the diet was finally giving me some energy.  Well, Saturday, I was back to dragging myself out of bed at about 10am.  I don’t know what happened.  Perhaps, the energetic day was a sign of days to come—we’ll go with that!

Saturday, I was barely able to run my errands and its good thing that I didn’t buy anything frozen because I had to rest a while before I had the energy to put away the groceries!  Today, I just have laundry to do and I wanted to clean up on the patio where I feed the birds.  I have to rest in between.

I have been asked if I get out of breath.  I don’t move fast enough!  No, my fatigue is the MS kind, where every ounce of me just wants to melt into the floor. I still try to avoid naps because I’m afraid that I won’t get through the work day.

Oh well!  If I get the weight off, how can I not feel better?  I’m sure that over time, all of this will get better.  Remember, I am the eternal optimist.

So, folks, next week I shall be in Ottawa.  Thursday, July 9^th is the 10^th anniversary of the passing of my mother.  In addition to visiting the cemetery, we are having a trip down memory lane at my brother Paul’s place.  Paul is the keeper of the photo albums, so we shall reminisce and laugh at old memories of our childhood and good times with each other.

It is funny, because as the oldest daughter, I left at the age of 22, when my youngest sibling was only 10, so there are lots of things that happened after I was gone, and I get to hear about those memories, as well.

Blessings to all! Have a glorious week and I pray that everyone has their own happy trip down memory lane from time to time.