THE GOOD, THE BAD and JEFFREY

I wrote this post several weeks ago and never published it.
I suppose the reason was because I was hoping for a more complete ending.
Well, I finally have one!
You will find an update at the end of the post
and I can finally hit the Publish button on this one! -

The GOOD:
The Humane Society brings in animals to our clinic that they find or who have been released to them, who need medical attention.
It happens all the time.
Right now there is a kitten who was impaled on a fence.
He suffered damage to the area around one of his eyes and wounds to his belly.
He's doing great now. All fixed up, the eye was saved and his wounds almost completely healed.
Sometimes these animals get patched up and then sent back to the Shelter where they have capable staff to care for them.
But as we all know, the shelters are always full so sometimes we just keep these animals until they are more fully healed and adoptable.
We also have another kitten, who is fast becoming a cat, who was paralyzed on her lower body.
Her owner had a stroke and fell on her.
After a lot of care, chiropractic and laser treatments and therapy work, she's regaining use of her hind legs.
Not full use but if you set her on the floor, she flies across the room!
They seem to think there's a very good chance of full recovery.
Both kittens have people interested in adopting them as soon as they are given the green light to go home.
That should be any day now.

Then, just the other day they brought in a little Pitbull.
The woman that cares for the animals medical needs at the Shelter is a friend of mine.
We've become friends through work and the fact that I've rescued several pets through the Shelter.
So she was coming out of an exam room as I was walking by.
This little guy was so small that I thought he was a puppy but he's in fact a year old.
Sadly he doesn't really have use of his legs.
Right away I noticed the weird twist on one of his front knees.
My friend assured me that he could still maneuver around quite well in spite of his limbs.
I couldn't stop myself and I scooped him up and held his soft squishy body against my chest.
He had such a dopey wrinkly face.
If you've never embraced a Pitbull, I should tell you that they feel wonderful.
It's a soft smooth warm feel.
So I had him snuggled up to me and
my friend said "Oh my God Cindi NO!" and laughed.
I told her not to worry, I'm not acquiring any more pets.
I set him down and looked at his legs and she told me how Doc said the one knee might need some work done on it, some surgery, but it was very hopeful.
I looked down at him again and picked him up and handed him to her.
"OK!" I said, "I know you'll find him a great home!"
and then I went back to my work area.

I was glad to know that they were going try to get him better and adoptable.
Of course I did have that brief thought about how I could get that garden cart I've been wanting and pull him around on it....
I told that to one of the vet techs who is a friend and she laughed and said she had been thinking about getting a kids wagon.
So, that's all the good things.

Then there's JEFFREY.

Jeffrey came in as a kitten with a hole in his belly.
A big one.
They weren't sure, but most likely a dog got a hold of him.
So Doc stitched him back up and gave his antibiotics and pain medication and the staff cared for him.
I'm not sure who named him Jeffrey but one day, that was his name.

He had such a BIG personality for such a little kitten.
During lunch hours and after the clinic closed, the techs would let him run around.
Apparently one night as they pulled a blanket out of a kennel, Jeffrey jumped on it for a ride.
So the girls pulled him around the lab area and laughed that he was on his magic carpet.
They said that Doc turned from his computer and watched and LAUGHED.
It wasn't much longer after that, that Jeffrey was ready to go back to the Shelter
but then Doc told the girls to call and let the Humane Society know that the bill was covered and we were going to keep Jeffrey!
So Jeffrey became the new clinic cat.
There is one cat up in the reception area, Cinderella, but she just sleeps on the counter all day and only wakes up for meals.
Jeffrey was EVERYWHERE
and when he would finally need a nap, he crawled into one of the file bins and snoozed.

He claimed it as his own so the girls made it his bed, complete with a name tag.

So many people played with him and loved on him and dressed him up.
For Veteran's Day:

and Thanksgiving:

Here he is, joining in for the staff meeting:

He could be a rowdy boy and quite the stinker.
A couple of the staff teased him though and I'm sure that added to his behavior of giving a scratch here and there and little bites.

Back in my area, I have a cat room.
In the cat room are my Kanga, and Doc's very elderly cat and another elderly girl and another cat that Doc didn't want to put down during an appointment for euthanasia and asked the owner to sign the cat over to the clinic instead, which the owners gladly did. Apparently that cat peed outside of the box and they were moving and didn't want that happening at the new place. (Although she has never done so since she's been in the cat room...)

THE BAD.
So Jeffrey could be annoying at times.
There were times when SOME people were working and I could see them getting mad, even angry at Jeffrey, so I'd pick him up and carry him back to the cat room with me.
Then at some point during the day, Doc would ask the techs where Jeffrey was and they'd come back and get him.
So it became a back and forth thing.

Some days he was up front and some days in the back with me.
Then finally the day came when the girls who loved him, would come back and pick him up and carry him to their area and he'd immediately ran back to my cat room door.
Rumor had it that some others would get so mad at him that he just didn't want to be up there anymore.

Truth be told, he was very rowdy in the cat room too.
I'd come in many times to messes he made.

But how can you get mad? He was just a young cat full of pent up energy.

I would have to cover the paper instruction sheets that hung outside the cages and kennel name tags with packing tape as a sort of lamination because he would climb the cages and rip them into pieces.
Other times he'd climb up and reach into the cages and steal food.
He was very crafty.

Then he started jumping on the old cats, trying to wrestle with them and they would get angry and a cat fight would break out.

Finally one day when Doc came through the cat room I asked him if we could find Jeffrey a home.
He went over to pet Jeffrey and Jeffrey let him for a moment,
and then tried to grab his hand and get mouthy.
Doc laughed at Jeffrey and  then sighed and said that, Yes. that would be alright since he just got into trouble when he was upfront.
We had a home in mind for him but then that home fell through because
they had four cats already and the husband said that was enough.

Then just recently, a family decided they wanted to adopt a cat.
The wife/mom is a friend of one of my workers so my worker told her to come in and see our cats.
The Mom came in and looked at the eye kitten,
and the partially paralyzed kitten and
a pastel calico cat that we also have and who is very laid back and
at Jeffrey.
The family has three boys and two rowdy cats and old dog.
After the visit, the wife told my worker that she was interested in the eye kitten
and that was who they would like to adopt.
So we got the paper work ready.

I felt sad because every day when I'd pull up to work in the morning, before anyone else was there,
I'd see Jeffrey's little face in the window.
Just looking out.

I would make me want to cry, to think of him growing up in a single room.
I even thought about bringing him home, and only because my big cats would stand up to him and hopefully play.
But then I worried about my older little tiny dogs
and of course about the fact that I don't want to adopt anymore.

The GOOD and JEFFREY.
Then I got a phone call.
It was from my worker and her friend the wife had called her.
Apparently her boys told her that they didn't want to adopt the kitten!
They knew that other people had wanted that kitten too but they were worried about Jeffrey!
They didn't know who else would adopt him.
They told their mother that they wanted "The Naughty Cat!"
The husband had said the Toys R Us Giraffe mascot was named Jeffrey
and he said "We need to adopt the Toys R Us cat!"
So the mom apologized for not requesting Jeffrey from the start and asked if they could adopt him instead.

Yesterday the mom dropped the boys off at school and drove directly over to get Jeffrey.
She said the boys had been asking for Jeffrey so she came in to get him.
We walked into the cat room and Jeffrey was up in the cat tree.
The mom set her cat carrier down on the floor and opened the door.
As she stood up,  we both turned to Jeffrey.
He was on the cat tree in front of the window and he jumped off the tree and ran across the room and right into the carrier!
We both looked at each other and laughed.
"I guess he's ready to go!"

I reminded her if it didn't work out, she should bring him back to us.
She agreed but didn't foresee a problem.

That's the agreement we always have.
If a pet doesn't work out, they can always bring them back...
I have another story,
for another day about that agreement and what happened with a different cat.

I hope it works out, but I have a GOOD feeling it will.

UPDATE -

Jeffrey has fit in perfectly.

Here he is with his new brother/buddy George.

I love a happy ending.

HOUSTON

Houston is one my favorite boarders.

Although he doesn't ever really listen to me and can be pretty stubborn.

He's a real little character and always makes me laugh.

A LOT HAPPENED THIS WEEK!

I could break this down into several posts but
I won't.
It seems to work better for me to post a weekly post,
at least for now.
So, what happened?
Well....
My sister's dog Olive had puppies!

To be honest, I'm always torn about puppies,
knowing that there are so many dogs out there that need homes but
her older Husky "Nuka" was getting up there in age and when they adopted Olive a year and half ago the plan had always been to have puppies so they could continue his lineage.
It just happened sooner than they expected.
I won't go into the whole story but... things happened and BAM!
Olive was pregnant.

Luckily for them and the puppies, Olive delivered them easily and instantly went into momma mode.
It's amazing how Olive knew what to do and from what I've been told at the clinic, not all dogs are natural mothers.
She ended up having 7 puppies!
4 boys and 3 girls.
Stay tuned for a lot of puppy photos in posts!
LOL!

Also this week my niece Lily turned 21!

How did this happen?
I mean last week she was six!

I wish time wouldn't go so fast.

Another bit of good news.
I had a woman buy one of my prints that was at the clinic, that looked like her Goldendoodle.
But I didn't have one of her other dog, a Westie, so she asked if she could bring her Westie in
and have me take his photo and then do an altered photo of him.
So I did -

I also did an altered photo of Lily's little dog and her two cats as part of her birthday gifts to her.

Oh, I also turned in my letter for a request for a raise.
I tried to focus on it, using the Law of Attraction and...
it worked.
I mean, it worked to as how I was thinking.
Got to be careful how you think! LOL!
I requested an amount that I considered GOOD and fair.
As I contemplated the amount, I couldn't help think how happy I would be to get it.
And how if I got that amount, there was even the hidden fear that I wouldn't be as motivated to do my Art.
Then I thought about how if I got...

NOTHING.
Well, it had been three years since my last raise and I had taken on a lot more responsibilities and if I got nothing, well...

that would force my hand.
Then I thought about an amount I COULD live with but still be driven to do something more.
To concentrate on my Art and my books and...
The Universe listened and that's what I got.
Yep.

Sigh.

I have found lately that the power of positive thinking is working.
I have caught myself so many times, starting to think negative and catching myself.
I have had several "dips" this week, going up and down.
It's a struggle but the goal is to eventually just be positive and have faith that all will turn out as it should.

On that note, I have been having pain on my side and above the belly button area.
Nothing internal but rather it feels as though I have a bad sunburn but there's no rash, no bruise, nothing.

I'm not going to the doctor.

Everyone at work thinks I should but I'm going to ride it out.
My sister, who works in hospital, agrees with me.
We both think it might be residual effects of Shingles that I had several years ago.
I had them on the same side just higher up.
It feel like that, like a burn, only there's no rash or redness.
I'm going to remain positive and focus on other things and one day I will wake up and it will be gone.
In full disclosure, I've done that with many ailments and it's worked.
(I must admit that passing a bladder stone several years ago just about killed me! But Hey! looked at the money I saved by not going to the hospital! LOL!)
OK, anyway....

Back to the LOA-

The other day I was talking with someone and she brought up someone else who we have discussed before.
In the past, we have been envious, maybe jealous is a better word for this person's good fortune.
She hasn't had to really struggle for much and she's reaped amazing things.
She's traveled many times to Europe and gone fabulous places in the USA
and it all just falls into her lap.
Things seem to always work out for her.

So as her current adventure was being brought up and the conversation started to go on about how unfair it was, I interrupted and said -
"We should feel happy for her. Happy for her good fortune, for the opportunity that she's going to have and then we should feel happy and positive for ourselves because something good is going to come our way too!"
"But it never does!" is the response I got and to which I replied
"That's the problem, instead of feeling happy, The Universe is tuning into how we feel that nothing happens to US like that. So the Universe gives us more of nothing. If we instead focus on gratitude for what we do have and what is in OUR future, The Universe will bring us that instead!"
I could see the frustration in her face.
I know it's hard to change and she said as much.
"But this is how I've felt my whole life! That crap just keeps happening to me!"
I nodded and said "Yes, but you can change it. It's hard but you can. Some days you will forget it and start feeling bad but you have to STOP yourself and be grateful. I tell you it's not easy but you can do it."

The other day I started to feel sucked in again by mean people.

People who always have something to complain about.
People who always want to repeat a mean story or make someone else feel bad.
People who would rather scowl and frown and grumble and it's hard not to be upset.

I started thinking negatively but then I remembered- 

and I started to think about the NICE people I do know.
People that are funny and make me happy to be around.

Yep, it's not easy but it's so worthwhile.
And... if people don't want to even try to focus on something good,
then maybe it's best to stay away from those people as much as possible.
At least I'm gonna try to do that!

Finally, the decluttering continues.
Boy, I have a lot of crap!
I've focused a lot on outside stuff, yard things and such
but now I'm working on inside things.
So much to do!

I'll leave you with this image.
While I type this post.
My Blue naps.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
XOXOXOXOXO

ONE MONTH from today!

I've been working on thinking positive

and sending my thoughts out to The Universe.

It has to be said: It's not easy.

But anything worthwhile isn't usually easy.

It's really been a real eye opener though,

on how quick I've been to think negatively.

I hope it's not human nature to be that way.

It's just little things.

Like at work when I encounter people who might not be so nice.

It still happens but instead, I'm letting it go and not giving it much thought

and focusing on the good people I talk to and know.

Instead of letting it build up and eat at me, I'm thinking about my future.

I'm feeling grateful for what I have now and what I WILL have.

What is coming towards me.

I'm believing it into being.

Last post I shared about my car.

How I had traded it for safety, security and happiness.

The next day on Sunday I went out to it to run some errands.

It wouldn't start.

I called my sister and she and my niece came over to jump it and still... no luck.

Since I have my warranty, I called and had it towed into the dealership.

Luckily they have a shuttle service that came to my house on Monday morning and drove me to work.

While making small talk in the Shuttle Van, I started to say to the guy that I hoped it wasn't anything major.

Then I stopped that train of thought and said 

"But I'm sure it will be something simple!"

The driver gave me a surprised look and said with a laugh

"That's a positive attitude!"

Later,  it turned out to be just the battery.

I got a new Honda one. One that lasts for 8 years

and they gave me my first (free) oil change and tire rotation.

Then the shuttle service came and got me on my lunch hour and took me to my car.

Car problems have never been this easy for me!

Then a few days later something else happened to me.

I needed to deposit a check that I had been keeping.

Full disclosure. I save all things paper.

Receipts, coupons, post-it notes, index cards with grand ideas scribbled on them.

I have bills, letters and well... you get the idea.

Important paper is kept in the top drawer of my desk,

or in my handbag,

or in the top drawer of the cabinet in the living room,

or in a book on the shelf

or....

OK, yes I have a problem.

And when it gets overwhelming, I will go around with a plastic bag and fill it with the papers

and tie the top and carry it upstairs and put the bag in a closet.

So, you see... it looks neat, but actually it's just hidden chaos.

So I desperately needed to deposit that check.

After all I had just bought that new battery.

And for the life of me, I could not find it.

I searched for it for quite a while until I gave up and went to bed.

I laid there thinking.. it's probably in the Other cabinet, top drawer....

In the morning I resumed my search.

I was starting to get teary eyed and so very mad at myself.

It was no where to be found.

Finally I made a promise to myself, to Glinda the Good Witch and to The Universe.

If I could only find it, I would once and for all get rid of all my paper clutter!

I took a deep breath, poured myself some coffee and sat down at my desk.

I pulled the top drawer open AGAIN.

There was a card laying on top and I flipped it open.

I know that I had looked inside that card before but

there was the check.

CHILLS.

Truly, I had goosebumps.

OK. so here's the plan.

I'm getting rid of the paper.

Burning it and putting what I MUST keep in one box.

One location.

But this has now also snowballed another thought into action.

It's a HUGE goal, (for me) but here it is;

In exactly FOUR weeks from today I will start a one week vacation.

Each weekend until then, I have off.

After my vacation I will start a six day workweek including Saturdays.

The upside being that I will be able to leave early on some days so it's really not as bad as it sounds.

and I will have Sundays off.

Now this is what I'm going to do.

In the past, every single block of time that I have taken vacation time

I have used to clean the house, sort through stuff and do yard work.

I've gotten up early still and worked until I was exhausted and although it was a good tired,  it's always how I've spent my vacation time.

Not this time.

Nope.

In the time leading up to my vacation I'm going into overdrive.

I'm PURGING everything.

Room by room.

And the yard too.

It's a lot to do but I'm focused.

And on my vacation?

I plan on just waking up when I do!

and not feeling like I MUST get up and get to work on my projects.

I plan on doing or not doing, whatever I want

and also sitting down and working on my Art without the nagging feeling of things not done hanging over my head.

Oh sure, I'll have walls that will need painting

and other projects but I can do that afterwards.

On following weekends...

but the STUFF will be gone.

Now this might sound silly but

it's kinda overwhelming and scary.

But having this deadline and putting it HERE

will make me do it.

AND having that  peace of mind will be priceless.

In the past I've held onto stuff because of the possibility of what I could make out of it

and/or the cash I spent on it or maybe someday sell it for.

But that's not believing in The Universe.

It's not believing that what I need will be there for me.

No, it's like seeing the negative and not the positive.

It's like the paper not being visible

but knowing it's there, crammed and jumbled and chaotic.

So that's the plan for the month.

Other News:

I gave Doc a letter asking for a raise.

A long letter, detailing my value and my reasons.

He will have to go over it with the HR vet.

But hopefully I will get the raise I deserve but here's the oddest part.

I'm not dwelling on it.

Either I will get it or I won't.

The decision they make will just be a piece of my life puzzle that I'm slowly putting together.

I won't know until it's all clicked together to see what the image is.

Although the piece they choose will definitely have an effect on how it all comes together!

OK, I best get busy!

I hope everyone is having happy positive things happening in their lives.

I always look forward to you sharing your comments, thoughts, ideas!

XOXOXOXOXO

YOU DESERVE BETTER and THE DETAILS

It's been a great week!

and nothing has changed except my attitude!

In fact I've had some people who are doing their best to sabotage me...

just for the fun of it I guess.

source

They must have their reasons but instead of wasting my time trying to figure out exactly why,

I've just making sure that I dot my I's and cross my T's and 

that's all I can really do anyway, so why let it nag at me and ruin my day.

Besides...

Now that I know that my life is changing, 

I just don't care!

I'm excited and pumped!

I really haven't even done much work on ME yet,

but I'm feeling so much better.

Mostly this week I've thought about what "I" wanted and in DETAIL.

Sharon left a comment about thinking about it in detail

and before this I've had many MANY ideas but never a nailed down SURE thought.

I met my best friend for breakfast the other morning.
It's something we always try to do every other week.

We have the greatest of talks

and energize each other.

source

But now with my reinvention plan, I found I had bigger plans 

than we have ever discussed.

And I realized that my past thoughts had always been smaller.

Kinda held down by what and how other people viewed me and how I viewed myself.

My friend has always been my biggest cheerleader

but I think I surprised her by wanting more than I ever had before.

In the past I felt kinda guilty about wanting too much.

I mean, I should be happy with what I have, it's more than many people have.

I have a job and shelter and food on the table.

She's always thought in terms of what seemed possible for me

given the fact that  I don't have a high paying profession or a mate.

She's always encouraged me to think out of the box though,

but now I want to throw away the box!

source

And still, there's a part of me that thinks... How dare I.

Does this make sense?

It's like whenever I buy something, I'm always quick to tell everyone how I researched it to death

and what a deal I got on it, how it will better my life and be a wise decision in the long run.

It's like I feel guilty doing something nice for myself,

for treating myself well... like I don't deserve it.

Here's an example.

Last December I got rid of my van.

My best friend AND my sister both had told me that I should drive it into the ground

and to keep it as long as possible.

I initially agreed with them.

I mean why get another vehicle if the van still ran?

Who was I to want something better?

I should be happy to have a vehicle to get me form point A to B.

But here's the thing.

It was 10 years old and I had pretty much replaced every single thing on it except the transmission.

And... it was rusting out.

I had gone and bought this bonding agent stuff that I saw on the Internet and I sanded down the rust.

When I sanded down the big spot, a hole gave way.

I filled it in with that putty type bonding stuff and built it up.

I layered it and swirled it on like frosting and then sanded it smooth and primed it and sprayed it with paint.

Thank god it was White and I didn't have to worry about matching colors.

And it looked sorta OK.

If you didn't look right at the spot...

But I would drive that thing on the highway and feel unsafe.

It had a loud rattle and I felt like I was in a big tin pop can.

And... truth be told, when I walked out to it and looked at it, I hated it..

But my last van payment was November and I had visions of paying down bills.

I'd be stupid to get another vehicle.

On my lunch hour, I started researching cars though.

I had decided on two car makers.

Either a Toyota or a Honda.

Both seemed to last forever.

So whenever the different dealerships were closed, 

I'd drive through the lots and look at the cars.

Finally, I decided I wanted a Honda.

Then I decided I wanted a Honda Civic.

Then I decided I wanted  it to be Blue, or maybe Black or possible Red.

Then I decided on BLUE. not navy, not light blue, but BLUE.

I could see it in my mind, although I hadn't really seen it anywhere.

Then I decided I  also wanted a sun/moon roof.

I had one in the car before the van and Blue always enjoyed sticking his head out of the top.

I didn't want NEW. That's not a good value. you lose money as soon as you drive off the lot.

The value takes a HUGE drop.

But I wanted low mileage because this car needed to last forever.

So I had the details down... 

Then one day on my lunch break, I drove through a drive-through for lunch.

It was raining and  trying to snow.

Slushy rain.

I placed my order and put my window back up but the rubber came away from the top of he window

and water started dripping in on me.

As I sat there, trying to shove the rubber back in place as I

got more cold and wet, when a voice in my head said

"You deserve better than this!"

When I got back to work, I sat down at my desk with my lunch and looked at the car dealerships online.

Another car had been added since the last time I looked.

A 2012 BLUE Honda Civic with sun/moonroof and under 22,000. miles.

It was at the dealership I had bought my van from many years ago.

The salesman still sent me monthly emails so I searched my old emails and answered the last one back.

Was he working that night?

He answered quickly, Yes! He was!

I quickly called my credit union so that I knew what the car was worth and what kind of loan I could get.

So, after work I test drove the blue car and also an Accord, just to compare.

The Civic had been just been turned in by a nurse who had it on lease.

Leased cars are required to maintained in compliance with the leasing terms.

The mileage was so low because she worked alot and never went anywhere or so the salesman told me.

The salesman actually knew her and had been the one to lease it to her originally.

He said she turned it in because the lease was up and she was getting another new vehicle to lease.

So I bought the Honda Civic

In that special blue color that I envisioned.

It's kinda pearlized.

When I walk up to my car now, I smile.

Yes, I have car payments but they are actually less than my van payments were.

I feel safe in that car and I have a 5 yr warranty that makes me feel secure.

Now I no longer mind driving.

I used to want to move closer to work because I hated driving the van

and although I still hate battling bridge traffic and construction, the car makes it bearable.

So there ya go.

Once again I feel the need to explain myself to anyone who comments on my car.

I couldn't just say to anyone that I wanted a better car.

How indulgent, frivolous, foolish and selfish of me.

Yep... I need to think better of myself.

I need to feel like I deserve it.

I need to do this, to open my heart up so that I can send it out to the Universe

and make my new life happen.

So...I guess the two biggest points that I'm trying to make here are

1. We deserve better, it's ok to want better. 

2. Get the details down and put it out to the Universe.

source

REINVENTION

So, this has been a long time coming.

a Reinvention for myself.

I've done it before, so I know I can do it again.

A long time ago I didn't used to be a morning person.

But now I am.

In fact if I ever sleep past 7 a.m. on my day off

I feel like I've wasted my day and it upsets me.

How did this happen?

Especially to someone who used to go out with friends and start their evening at 10 p.m.

Well, I decided back then to change my life.

I've done this a few times over the years, most of the times for the better...

But lately I've had so many things happening that it's hard to ignore the signs

that it's time to do something AGAIN... before it's too late.

I have read so many things lately, that have really hit home for me.

And things have been said, small, subtle hints and suggestions.

Which is good I guess because I've always had a problem with anyone telling me what to do.

It makes me want to rebel and go the other way.

I'm guessing it's because I grew up in an exceptional strict home.
Yeah, maybe that's why.

But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about listening to ideas and advice and acting on it.
It's about making changes, for a longer happier life.

I've been so fortunate to have all my wonderful blogland friends out there taking the time to

read my constant moaning about being tired, being poor, being overwhelmed.

And instead of moving on to the next blog 

so many of you have taken the time to be there for me and given me much needed advice.

Tammy, sharing the Joys of Less, and how to just BE and to always being upbeat and thankful for the Peanut on the Table.

Jean, sharing inspiration, motivation, and always having my back and cheering me on!

Sharon, with encouragement and financial wisdom and advice.

Vicki, Doreen, Kim, Connie, Su, Grace, Leslie and...Oh boy, I better stop here

before I forget someone because there are so many but....

THANK YOU!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

So I'm going to stop what I've been doing

and change into who I want to be.

I'll  ALWAYS share my dog/cat stories.

and my ART but I want to share my journey
to a better life.
One without so much stress, less weight, more energy, no debt and some sleep.

It will be small baby steps

but one day I will get there.

And I'm hoping that maybe it will help someone else too.

Maybe there's someone out there silently reading or who stumbles onto my blog.

I hope I can pay it forward for all the goodness, friendship and encouragement that's been given to me.

So what exactly, you may ask, pushed me over the edge

and made me decide to wake up and take action?

Well... many many things but

my sister, who doesn't usually say stuff to me about ME because she knows how I am.

She sent me a text me to "Please start eating better."

Just kinda out of the blue.
She was worried I won't be around for long if I continued on the path that I was on.

Then the other day she asked me to read a book she's been reading.

A book about how diet can change and eliminate diseases.

I told her I would, if she would read the book I'm reading about clutter.
(that's a problem of hers too.)

So this all had a BIG effect on me.

And then, the other day I caught my reflection in the bright daylight
and thought instantly -What the Hell?!

I used to take more pride in my appearance

How have I come to this?

So I text my sister this morning -

She was at work so I'm sure she was very busy and I'm sure couldn't take time to write more

and she's always been a woman of few words

but the capitalization spoke volumes.

YES

So that's my news.

Reinvention.

and I'll be changing my blog up too.

Talking about stuff.

Stuff I don't usually talk about much.

Like -

Eating better.

Feeling better. 

Fixing up my life.

My style,

My home.

My finances.

All my goals and steps towards them.

I'm hoping that by talking about it here

I will be held accountable to not drop this ball.
I'm throwing out to The Universe and telling everyone.
I can't fail.

I also want to help others with their own reinvention

If that's what they want

or at least offer some helpful tips and ideas that I might discover....

and of course,  I will ALWAYS blog about my Art
and my pets

and animals in general

because the only thing that has remained constant throughout my life is

my love of animals.

Once again! THANK YOU for everything and giving me the courage to do this!
Change is scary.

At least it always has been for me.
But I'm gonna do it!
XOXOXOXOXO

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