Ah, the Memories

You Know You Grew Up In The 80's or Early 90's If:

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
3. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
7. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom
8. Two words: Hammer Pants
9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and spokey-dokes or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect
11. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales" (Woo ooh!)
12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
14. You saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen..and still know the turtles names.
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
17. You played the game "MASH"(Mansion,Apartment, Shelter, House)
18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
19. L.A. Gear....need I say more?
20. You wanted to change your name to JEM" in Kindergarten. (She's Truly Outrageous.)
21. You remember reading Tales of a fourth grade nothing and all The Ramona books.
22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF"
23. You wanted to be a Goonie.
24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing.(some of us...head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and
his cheeks shifted.
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
27. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
29. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what
am I?"
36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples.
43. Don't worry, be happy
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do..getting yelled at by younger hip members of the family)
46. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
47. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
48. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
49. You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales
50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
51. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB"
53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class.
54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
55. You just sang those words to yourself.
56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
57. Homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
58. You remember when mullets were cool!
59. You had a mullet!
60. You still sing "We are the World"
61. You tight rolled your jeans.
62. You owned a bannana clip.
63. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
64. You used to (and probably still do)say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"
65 You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
66. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

Regarding Contentment

WORDS OF WISDOM:

"Contentment is the greatest treasure."
The Dhammapeda

"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content."
Helen Keller--deaf and blind

"Anything in life that we don't accept will simply make trouble for us until we make peace with it."
Shakti Gawain

"I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind."
Albert Einstein

"Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires."
Lao-Tsu

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
Leonardo da Vinci

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of courage-to move in the opposite direction."
E. F. Schumacher

"A still mind wants nothing."
Tara Singh, Teacher of A Course in Miracles

Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get.
Spanish Proverb

The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith.
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) British logician and philosopher.

My crown is in my heart, not on my head, Nor decked with diamonds and Indian stones, Nor to be seen: My crown is called content: A crown it is, that seldom kings enjoy.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet and playwright.

Happy the man who can endure the highest and the lowest fortune. He, who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity, has deprived misfortune of its power.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-65) Roman philosopher and playwright.

When you can think of yesterday without regret and tomorrow without fear, you are near contentment.
Unknown Source

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.
Unknown Source

A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.
Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, and dramatist

Being ''contented'' ought to mean in English, as it does in French, being pleased. Being content with an attic ought not to mean being unable to move from it and resigned to living in it; it ought to mean appreciating all there is in such a position.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) British journalist, novelist and poet.

WAYS TO DEVELOP CONTENTMENT:

*Nourish your spirit with a daily practice of reflection and reverence
*View adversity as an opportunity to learn spiritual truths
*Accept the things you cannot change
*Slow down and appreciate the present moment
*De-clutter your physical environment
*Live within your means
*Think carefully before you say "Yes" to time commitments
*Educate children to be wise consumers
*Turn off commercial advertising
*Decide what really matters and live by your priorities
*Trust a Spiritual Power higher than yourself to assist you

AFFIRMATIONS:

"Simple living brings me freedom and contentment. I keep material things in perspective. I give myself the gift of quiet time. My spirit is happy when I let go of extreme desires. Life's difficulties are teaching me wisdom. I trust my Creator."

Control

A dear friend of mine recently reminded me of a basic principle learned in Psych 101 (Waaayyy to long ago for me) :) The principle is regarding internal/external locus of control.

People tend to ascribe their chances of future successes or failures either to internal or external causes. Persons with an internal locus of control see themselves as responsible for the outcomes of their own actions. These individuals often believe that they control their destiny, and are often observed to excel in educational or vocational realms. Someone with an external locus of control, on the other hand, sees environmental causes and situational factors as being more important than internal ones. These individuals would be more likely to see luck rather than effort as determining whether they succeed or fail in the future, and are more likely to view themselves as the victim in any given situation. http://en.wikipedia.org.

I have always had a really hard time with those with a "victim" mentality; who thinks that the whole world is against them; who work the system and blame everyone else for their troubles.

This has not been me to a large extent. But in some ways, it has. I tend to be a slave to my emotions. I let people make me mad. When I do that, I am giving them power, rather than me being in control of my own emotions. I have never really learned to make wise choices. I have never really seen myself as an indepent woman. So these are the things that I am currently working on.

This is good stuff:

What is self-control?

Self-control is a set of behaviors which:

• Accepts the reality that the only thing in life which you can successfully change and control is yourself.
• Keeps in check all self-destructive, addictive, obsessive, compulsive, irrational, and unacceptable behaviors.
• Gives you a sense of personal mastery, autonomy, and competency over your own life.
• Is under your control and power to direct and orchestrate with no need for interference or manipulation from others.
• Makes you the master of your own destiny because it keeps in check those barriers and obstacles which are a threat to your overall success in life.
• Is a middle ground between perfectionism and laxity in self care.
• Results in your life having a balance and focus by helping you to cope with new challenges in life as they come.
• Helps you to keep your over-emotional responses in check or moderation.
• Helps you to open yourself up from nonfeeling or pulled-in emotions so that you can have a healthy emotional life.
• Is the foundation for healthy coping and contributes to your accepting personal responsibility for your life.
• Keeps your life in moderation, helping you to avoid extremes in any direction.
• Is the focus of the efforts to let go of the uncontrollables and unchangeables in your life so that you can concentrate on yourself.
• Eliminates the need for you to be manipulative, helpless, fixing others, intimidating, overdependent or a caretaker of others.
• Helps you to be detached from others and to keep your relationships in a healthy balance of give and take.
• Reflects your inner desire to grow up into a mature, responsible adult.
  

What are the negative effects of not maintaining self-control?

If you cannot gain self-control in your life, you could:

• Focus all your attention on trying to control, fix, or rescue other persons, places, and things and divert your attention from your own needs.
• Suffer the negative impact of your out of control behaviors such as alcoholism, chemical dependency, overeating, compulsive sex, addictive relationships, compulsive shopping, gambling, smoking, etc.
• Become deeply depressed and despondent over your weakness and inability to get your life into "check'' or 'balance.''
• Prefer to be overly dependent on other helpers, caretakers, fixers, and rescuers to give your life the control it needs.
• Fall prey to an overly perfectionistic and idealistic belief system in which no matter how well you get things in order you see them as being imperfect and not good enough.
• Lose control over the emotional boundaries you need to maintain from becoming over enmeshed or controlled by others.
• Become lost as to where you begin and end and where others in your life begin and end in relationship to you.
• Find yourself responding to situations in your life either in an overly emotional and hysterical way or in a withdrawn, pulled-in and non-emotive way, with neither response being healthy or appropriate at the time.
• Find it impossible to become detached from people, places, or things who are toxic or unhealthy for you.
• Find yourself in a state of powerlessness to effect changes to get your life into moderation or balance.
• Fall into the trap of learned helplessness and convince yourself that you are not capable of taking care of yourself and thus allow your life to get more and more out of control.
• Seek out caretakers, fixers, or rescuers to help you solve your own problems and get your life under control.
• End up convinced that there is no way you can get your life into balance because the amount of work, effort, energy, and resources needed are too great an investment just for you when there are so many other people, places, and things on which you could better focus attention.
• Experience even lower self-esteem because of your inability to believe enough in your worth and value to take action to get your life into control.
  

http://www.coping.org/control/selfcont.htm

I am grateful for my friend who brought this to my mind. This ssite has presented me with a lot of good info. I CAN make positive changes! It is NOT hopeless.

I Believe I Can Fly!

No, it's not the cheezy song I'm referring to. It's the FlyLady!! Have you heard of her? This woman is giving me hope!

It's so weird because because although I am very nurturing and long to be a great wife and mother, I SUCK at housework, cooking, and EVERYTHING domestic! I rarely make a bed, clean my surroundings or cook anything. I have always detested this part of myself. But the FlyLady is giving me hope! She basically just takes all the regular chores and just turns them into tiny baby steps. One little thing at a time. Before too long, you are FLYING and managing your home!

This has given me hope and a jump in my step. There is hope for me. Maybe SAM is not doomed to living in a messy house and never being fed! Maybe my future kids will live in a peaceful home environment. There is hope for even one like me. Thank you FlyLady!

http://www.flylady.net/index.asp

Taming the Inner Brat

HAS SOMEONE BEEN SPYING ON ME???

• Is your sink always full of dirty dishes?
• Is your car in the driveway because it won’t fit in the garage?
• Are you late a lot?
• Are your credit cards out of control?
• Do you love animals?
• Are you afraid of some of the stuff in your fridge?
• Do you like surprises?
• Is your laundry backed-up?
• Are you creative?
• Are you overweight?
• Do you scrounge for receipts on April 14?
• Do you like pretty things?
• Do you love life in spite of the mess you are in?
• Do you like to please?
• Do you use the “but” word?
• Do you like celebrations?
• Are you still paying for the gym you don’t go to?
• Do you love children?
• Is it hard for you to say, “NO?”
• Are you spontaneous?
• Do you “over-goal?”
• Are you always looking for your keys?
• Are you afraid of your mailbox?
• Are you often over-drawn?
• Are you a procrastinator?
• Do you have too much stuff?
• Do you like decorations?
• Are you a perfectionist?
• Do you love to play?
• Do you know WHAT to do, but don’t do it?

I have found yet another wounderful resource - http://www.thebratfactor.com/

Learn how to ambush your immature thoughts
with the compassion and love of a wise parent.

Pam Young’s PhilosophyTo teach, with a lighthearted spirit, how to be firm, consistent, encouraging and loving with yourself. Welcome to Brat Reform School (BRS) where our motto is, If it isn’t fun, it won’t get done! The current curriculum is HOW TO GET ORGANIZED and it’s a home study course.BRS is the only school of its kind in the universe, because it is mandatory that both the child and the parent attend. The curriculum is designed not only to teach the adult practical strategies for getting organized, but also to teach the adult how to handle the inner child that has been causing the CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome) in her life.

At home with friends

i am so grateful for my precious friends
my friends who don't judge me, who don't condemn me
who take me as I am
knowing that I'm not all I need to be
but know that they aren't either
and this life is a process
and that I'm getting better
and getting stronger
and knowing that there is a God
who is in control
who is molding me and shaping me
even now
even as I am

imagine you are tired
and have had a long day
and you finally arrive home
and have no responsibilities
and can kick off your shoes
the temperature is perfect
the house is quiet
your are at home
you are at peace
you are at rest

this is the feeling I get with my friends
my friends who love ME
and not a preconceived notion of what I should be
THIS is ME
THIS is where I am
and they are ok with that
because they love ME

what would I do without you, friend???
how could i make it without people like you in my life??

others bind and constrict me
hinder my growth
hamper my spirit
make me sad
make me want to run

i will grow
i will be better

for now, i am ok
because of you

and am so grateful
for you

my at-home friends

Rejoicing!

In all that you are
and in all that I am when I am with you

Settling in. . .
The comfort. . .

Finally at home

How grateful I am

That in this big world
we found each other -
that you found me

Helping me along
Giving me strength
Giving me courage
Speaking the truth in love

Laughing
Feeling at home
so grateful for who you are!

So hopeful of what will be
so comfortable
and so at peace

So grateful for who you are
for who I am with you
and for all that we will be

Thank you, oh maker of Love
for bringing this gift to me.

Thank you, sweet SAM
for all that you are
for all that I am with you
and for all that we will be

I will never be the same
after such a precious gift

Beautiful Girl

beautiful girl
hold your head up high

don't believe their lies
the hurtful words they speak

your value, your worth
is more than gold

you are precious
unlike any other

so many gifts to give
to share with the world

hold your head high
be proud of who you are

speak the truth
of the value inside

don't let them tear you down
or wound the precious girl inside

be brave
be strong

rejoice in all that you are

beautiful girl

be strong
be brave

you are unlike any other,
beautiful girl

Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.

-Louisa May Alcott

The Woman Who Was Too Big For God

The Woman Who Was Too Big For God
by Shannon O'Donnell

She was big. No question about it. Size 12 feet. Broad hips. Big belly. Generous breasts. Wide shoulders. Big smile too. Even her voice was big, her laughter full and rich, capable of filling an auditorium. Some things fit, most didn't. She searched for chairs without arms, hard to find in most places where the chairs cut into her back and sides. She eyed every couch before she sat down, gauging its worthiness and her ability to rise gracefully from it. She asked for seat belt extensions and the window seat when she flew so her bulk wouldn't intrude too much on her neighbor. Once, when she traveled to Europe, she was stuck in the middle of five seats in the middle section of the plane. The whole long trip, she sat with her arms folded across her stomach and tried not to take up too much room. She woke up, every now and then, and from the looks of the people around her, she knew her snore was big enough to drown out the sound of the movie. She took up space. Lots of it. She was too big for most rooms, she thought, and so she found ways to be on the edges, not in the center, as if people wouldn't notice.

She was big. Too big for most clothes, especially the pretty ones with sparkles and beads and ribbons. She hadn't worn regular shoes for years, and the thought of her feet in dancing shoes left her laughing.

She was big. Bigger than almost anyone she knew. Her hug was huge, two strong arms that could wrap around and hold a person close and be warm, safe, whole. She was a great big pillow to cry into, one that held all the tears until you were done crying. Her friends would tell you she had a heart as big as the prairies.

She told big stories. Outrageous stories about old ladies who ran away from home and went to summer camp or sent postcards from their travels around the country. She told jokes, funny ones and stupid ones and ones that made you think for a whole day before you laughed.

There was a secret the big woman knew, something she didn't tell anyone. She didn't even tell herself very often because it hurt to hear the words. "I'm too big," she'd whisper, "too big for God. Even God doesn't have arms big enough to hold me." And then that great and big and gentle woman would cry. And her tears were just like her- big and gentle and they washed over her face and splashed down into her lap.

A giant hole in her heart opened one day. Nothing filled it. Nothing healed it. It just ached. And there wasn't much she could do about it. She thought for a long time that it didn't matter. It was really okay that God was too small. But lately it wasn't okay. Lately she was no longer satisfied to let God off the hook. Either God was God, and capable of being big enough for her, or they could just call it quits right here and now.

"You're not too much for me," God said. "Where did you ever get that idea?"

"I don't fit," the woman said. "It's not just my body size. I just don't seem to fit into the picture."

"Tell me more," God coaxed.

"Haven't you ever noticed," she asked, "that in all the pictures I'm the one just out of camera reach. My body doesn't all make it into the picture."

God nodded.

"But my life doesn't fit either. It's not like the lives of my friends. I don't fit inside a marriage. I don't fit into my work. I'm too big for people who want to follow all the rules."

"And what's wrong with that?" God asked. "Who told you that you had to fit those pictures?"

"But you said---" she started to say.

"I did no such thing. Never. Now, granted, some significant people in your life may have claimed I demanded that, but I'm here to tell you that I never did."

"So why don't I fit?" the woman asked.

"Oh but you do!" laughed God. "Oh, my dear, you do!"

The woman folded her arms across her chest and frowned. "You're not taking this very seriously," she complained. "You have no idea how it feels."

"Oh, don't I?" God chided. "You, my love, are as grand and glorious as all the Rocky Mountains, as huge and wide as the oceans. You are as big as a house-rattling storm that shakes the teeth of the people inside. You are like a giant earthquake and as dazzling as fields swamped by flowers. You are the embodiment of outrageous, silly, lavish grace. You, of all people, you are not puny."

She studied God, puzzled. "So, what you're saying is..."

"What I'm saying, dear heart, is that with you I do things in a big way." And God chuckled.

The woman chewed her lip. "It's not enough," she said finally.

"Only because you've been hiding outside the frame of the picture," said God. "Look, people pack up their cars and travel for miles to see real mountains, not those puny little hills on the East Coast that they pretend are mountains. No, I'm talking about the big ones! The Rockies. The Sierras. Big mountains like Rainier and Shasta. These people drag along their cameras and their video recorders and they spend all their time taking pictures. And you know what?"

"What?"

"They go home. They drop off the pictures to be developed and they do the laundry. A week or two later, they remember to pick up the pictures. They shuffle through them, try to remember where they were the day that picture was taken, and who took this strange shot? They complain about the color. And the flatness of the picture is nothing like what they saw those few weeks ago. Then they toss the envelope of pictures into a drawer and forget about them."

"So?" she prompted.

"So, they never saw the mountains, all those vast giant beauties I created. They settle for puny reproductions and wonder why everything else in their lives is so flat and stale. You are like those mountains, huge and grand and glorious. People who see you only through the camera's lens will not know your beauty. How could they? They have forgotten how to see."

God raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Now you, you in your body, can you forget how big you are?" God asked.

She looked impatient. "No, you know that! How could I forget? It's always there, always a part of how I move around in the world."

"Do you ever feel small? Flat? Puny?" God was grinning at her.

She stuck out her tongue. "Hell, no!"

"Then you're seeing the real beauty, not some camera's reproduction. And there are no edges to the picture. You always fit."

"Yeah, but, . . ." her voice trailed off.

"I'll tell you a secret. I like doing things in a big way, so people will notice, pay attention, wake up. You're one of my best surprises." God reached for her and spun her around and danced a wicked tango with her.

"You know," the woman said when the dance was over and a huge moon hung over the horizon, "you're a lot taller than I thought you were."

Not of this tribe

For so long I've cared what you thought
I hurt for I was not like you

I am no longer part of this tribe

You judge
You worry

for i have left the tribe

I now belong to one where there is love and support
where there is no longer judgement

following my heart
and trusting in Truth to lead me
and for Truth chase me
I worry not
only rest

This tribe is not one of working
not one of exhaustion
but one of peace
of rest
of trusting
of waiting

i belong
i am safe

i am better than ever
for i left the tribe

i am often there alone
it often hurts

but there is relief
and quiet
i belong

i am grateful
i am at peace

the new tribe embraces
Truth chases

I am well
better than ever. . .

i pray there will be a day
when you rest too. . .

TLS

YOU

Tears
because of the awe that i feel
the awe
of you

The sweetness
the utter sacrifice
of you giving
and serving

I've always been the one to love
and give
and serve
and give
and rarely felt it in return

so long neglected
in need of a touch
of a glance
of a smile
of someone to reach out
to ME

along comes you
precious
sweet
giving
serving
YOU!

You are my gift
How grateful
I am
and will always be

My heart is alive
it thrives

because of YOU!

I rejoice
I celebrate
in the gift
the gift I have found

in you.

TLS

Roses!

I got a dozen roses! If my memory serves me correctly, I haven't received a dozen roses since 1986! What a precious, sweet man.

Can a dream come true?

Can a dream come true?
Can it really be?
Is there really such a thing
becoming my reality?

Like a mist you suddenly appear
and seem to be everything I have longed
and craved
and hungered for
for so very long.

Such comfort, such rest
in one existence
Like coming to a home
that you didn't even know you had

I kick off my shoes
I relax
I feel at home although it is so fresh
and so new

You are now my reality
You are my dream come true

Like two pieces that fit
that have been looking for so long

I rest
I am at home
I envelope you
and you envelope me

we are at peace
we belong

What a gift

Thank you, giver of all

for bringing me home....

TLS

Kindred Spirit - Lee Bogle

All of us rejoice in finding the one person who completes us, the one for whom we alone were created. This painting invites us to participate in these emotions that are the essence of our being. — Lee Bogle

Traci's Training

You know how some people talk about doing something and how others really do it? Well, I've been talking about getting weight off and exercising and blah, blah blah.... WELL, I haven't had time to write as of late because I'm actually DOING it rather than just talking about doing it! I've been too busy to even write...

I've have signed up to be a part of a local weight loss competition, similar to 'The Biggest Loser'. I have created another blog strictly for this entitled 'Traci's Training'. Keep up with my progress if you'd like!

http://tracistraining.blogspot.com/

The Evolution of Dance

This is amazing! Thanks Crys!

Judson Laipply on the Evolution of Dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIeIWkK0t4s