Category: My Little Blue Kayak Blog

Solve Impossible Problems

I spent the day in quiet solitude.

I had a few easy tasks to complete today, an interesting book to read and some thinking to do. I love days like this!

The high temperature today is 29 degrees here in the Finger Lake Region of New York State. There is a fresh coat of snow on the ground and it is calm and still outside. The sky is a beautiful blue with big, white clouds loitering on the horizon. The sun is shining brightly, reflecting off of the snow and it is blinding. Too bad I can’t find my sunglasses.

A day like this!

Other than venturing out to walk my dog, I have been inside of my house, sitting on the couch, relaxing all day. I consider myself blessed to have opportunities like this to regroup, to think, to unwind.

So many people simply don’t know how to relax. They are hyper-focused on one thing and never stop to smell the coffee much less the roses.

Take the time…

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I Challenge YOU!

One year ago I picked up a book at the library by Allisom Rimm titled The Joy of Strategy: A Business Plan for Life”  The introduction begins with: “The joy of a life well lived – our work well done, our cherished ones well loved, our potential realized. Isn’t that what we’re all after? You don’t need to leave your dreams to chance.  However achieving this most fundamental and often elusive goal doesn’t just happen. It requires a strategy. To create a meaningful plan, you need a structured approach that guides your through the process of defining what is most important to you and what you must do to get it. The world’s most successful businesses do this as a matter of course, and there is no more essential business than the business of  your life”.

I read those words and got excited. I had already been doing a lot of soul searching and had a pretty good idea of what was important to me and the type of life I wanted to live. I had already gotten a taste of freedom by moving the lake and I wanted more!  At that time, the life I so desperately wanted looked like this:

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What does your strategic life look like?

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My Love Affair

I am in a happy, loving, committed relationship with a wonderful partner. My partner is loving, kind, fun to be with and knows at least 50% of the people in our small city. So I have to be careful who I share this with – I am having an affair.

Yup, I have fallen for another. My new love is tender and warm. So easy to be with and always willing to cook a healthy meal. She is quiet, low maintenance and cleans up easily.

I have fallen in love (again) with my Crock Pot! Call it a Crock Pot, call it a Slow Cooker – just don’t call me late for dinner.

Isn't she a beauty?
Isn’t she a beauty?

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Bad News First

Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks and express gratitude for all that you have. A day to celebrate a delicious meal with family and friends. In my house the preparations would begin 2 days before with everyone pitching in to clean the house.  Mother Fran would give out instruction to ensure everything got done in time for the big meal. Desserts were usually made the night before and tucked away so as not to tempt us.

Thanksgiving is here!
Thanksgiving is here!

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Visualize This

Just Breathe

I strive to live a simple life, I imagine most people do. But lately it seems a bit more chaotic than usual. I feel stress settling into my bones and little tasks are tiring. With the holidays quickly approaching, things are likely to get even busier, and crazier.

Recognizing when you are on the brink of falling into a pit of stress filled days, before the actual fall, gives you the time to make a change.

We need to recognize stress before it becomes unmanageable
We need to recognize stress before it becomes unmanageable
If only life came with instructions!
If only life came with instructions!

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“How are You?”

How do you respond to a simple “How are you?”

Some people put an incredibly positive spin on everything. You ask them how they are and they enthusiastically respond “fantastic”! And they mean it. Other people respond “lousy” and proceed to tell you every last detail of why their life sucks. Other people mumble “good” or “ok” and give the obligatory “and how are you?”, then walk away before you even have the chance to respond.

My response could be any of the above depending on the day, my mood, and my health. I strive to be healthy and enthusiastically responding “fantastic” (and meaning it) seems like a wonderful answer to such a simple question.

I choose the one on the right
I choose the one on the right

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Celebrate the Little Things

I realized this week that I have lost some of my focus. I have been working a lot more than usual and have gotten caught up in all that entails. Setting the alarm for 5:30 is not really my idea of fun. Taking the dog for a walk in the pitch dark is not ideal. Slapping cheese on toast is not really lunch. Coming home too exhausted to cook is not relaxing. Yup, I am a bit off kilter.

I hate setting an alarm
I hate setting an alarm

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Don’t Judge Me

Imagine going out to a cool brew pub in Harvard Square with your best friends. It is crowded and noisy and you are sitting on the inside of the booth which makes you want to flee. Imagine trying to make rice balls for dinner and jumping up and down every time you touched the mixture because it felt sticky and wet.  What about getting stuck in a crowd during the Montreal Jazz Festival and grabbing your friends belt buckle, begging him to lead you to safety.

You won't find me here
You won’t find me here

Weird right?

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Falling For Fall

I don’t know about where you live, but where I live here in the Finger Lakes of Central NY, the colors this fall are spectacular. As you walk around my neighborhood, the trees are stunning; shimmering in shades of orange, yellow and red. When out walking, I find myself stopping and simply staring up at the leaves. Personally, I think it is beautiful here all year-long but then fall comes along and BAM everything is the same but oh so different.

AAAHHH Fall in the Finger Lakes
AAAHHH Fall in the Finger Lakes

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Hello Drama, Please Come In!

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN DRAMA COMES KNOCKING?

Have you ever met someone who seems to have a dark cloud that follows them at all times. It hovers just over their head, sometimes a reasonable pale grey and sometimes a threatening, black mess. When disaster strikes they get hit exceptionally hard. When they get sick they get really sick. When they are short of cash they are broke. When they lose a friend they are completely devastated. The cloud that follows them likes to be dark, it wants to be fierce and it enjoys the difficulties it witnesses. The cloud likes drama, hell maybe the cloud is drama.

Is there a black cloud over your head?
Is there a black cloud over your head?

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