Twilight and a Touching Story

It has been so long since I updated. Things have been crazy busy, which is a good thing, but I am ready to slow down just a bit.

We (10 of us) went and saw the movie Twilight on the 20th at midnight showing. The movie was great. I have heard several comments that it wasn't as good as they expected, but let me just say this: It is a movie based off a pre-teen - teen novel. I loved it and so did my teen daughter! I hope you get a chance to go see it.

Now on to the touching story:

This lady right here is our Mamaw. She is 97 years old and lived on her own until she suffered a small stroke. She is always so chipper and happy and she didn't retired until she was in well in 80's. Within the past year we have seen her decline and before her decline she always talked about how much she loved being at the nursing home, so we know they are very nice to her and treat her well. She gets her hair done, her nails are always polished and she is treated with respect.

Her memory is starting to decline and at times gets very confused. She says she wants to go "home" and at times tells us she has been visited by someone who has passed away years ago. My parents went with other family members to have a Thanksgiving dinner with her this past weekend. While they were enjoying themselves, a nurse came in and checked to make sure they had everything they needed and she decided she would share a story about Mamaw.

She said she was pretty new there and had happened by Mamaws room, she noticed that the door was shut. She knocked on the door and asked her if she was okay. Mamaw replied "Don't come in here". The nurse asked again if everything was okay and Mamaw's reply was "I said don't come in here." The nurse explained that she then tried to open the door and it was met with some resistance and she was concerned that Mamaw was okay. She went ahead and pushed the door open a little more and said she was wanting to make sure everything was alright. When she came through the door, there sat Mamaw with a very disappointed expression on her face and Mamaw looked at her and said "Oh no, now you have done it, now you will never get out of here".

It really touched my heart to hear my dad tell me this story, I know Mamaw is happy and treated well, but it still is sad. I haven't been able to go and visit her as often as I would like to, to be honest she doesn't really know who I am anymore. I will be going by to visit her this week and plan on going more often.

I hope you have a wonderful week and I will be trying to update again soon.

Life

I received this email from my grandfather today, and just went wow. I jut felt it was a great insight and plan on using many of these ideas in my life. (I already have been reading more :-) Hope you enjoy!
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day to pause and think.
3. Buy a tape recorder and tape your late night shows to get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose today is to __________.'
5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.
7. Take time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but, the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself too seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years will this matter?'
26. Forgive everyone for everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. GOD heals almost everything.
29. However good or bad a situation is it will change.
30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.
32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
33. The best is yet to come.
34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
35. Do the right thing!
36. Call your family often.
37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

Way too hot!

One of the biggest topics here is the heat! I know living in Texas you have to get used to having hot temperatures, but this is just plain ridiculous. The temps have been between 104-107 and let me tell you there is no such thing as dry heat. It is just plain hot outside. My plants are all turning an ugly shade of brown no matter how much I try to keep them watered and my air conditioner is running almost non-stop.
I went in the garage yesterday to get some things out of the spare fridge and I broke a sweat just being in there the few minutes I was there. We have a pool, but it is even too hot to get out in the pool. I did absolutely nothing yesterday! I went on line and played Scrabble on my favorite game site http://www.pogo.com and other than that I couldn't make myself do anything else!
This is the time of year that I have empathy for those who work outdoors.
I hope everyone has a great week, mine will be spent trying to find a way to stay cool!

Totally Random

Well I didn't do my Thursday 13, so I thought I would just list some radom things that have been going on.

Hubby has been sick since July 3rd and it has been tough. It started out as a simple cold and it lead to a sinus infection and ear infections. Today is the first day he has felt human again and was able to come to work. Missy just messaged me and said "Mom, I think I am getting sick". UGGHHHH NOOOO! So I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is not going to be shared throughout the whole family.

We are dog sitting a friends dog this week. She was actually our dog, but due to the fact she was very energetic and Hubby's knee giving out on him and he couldn't walk her, we had to find her a new home. It was hard, but we knew she needed a home where they would be able to take her for walks and she really needed to be the only dog. Needless to say it has been interesting having four (yes I said four) dogs running throughout our house.

Work has been crazy busy. We had two weeks that were really slow, then it appears everyone realized they were slacking off at work and said oh no I need to get my projects done that I put off. I guess that is a good thing, but sure makes the days crazy.

I have been having an awful time going to sleep at night. I have been in bed by 8 and it is still midnight or later before I go to sleep. I don't know if it is stress, too much caffeine (but I need that to stay awake during the day because I am not sleeping) or what. Anyone have some tips? I feel like I need to walk around with toothpicks propping my eyes open during the day and really could use a good 8 hours sleep.

Guess I need to get some things done. Have a great day!!