Lenses, Lilacs and Luck

Today I worked at home until a doctors appointment at 9:30, then made it there a few minutes early. Doc had some blood drawn to try to figure out what is going on with my tummy.....have had nausea and stomach distress the past 12 days now.

Had some time after doc to run to the Kroger next door and pick up some readers, having left mine at home, and then swung through Dunkin Donuts for a cuppa my favorite coffee!

Had one meeting and then was able to fit a Yoga class in before my afternoon meetings (Joy!) it was a beautiful day and the lilacs at the entrance to where I work smell soooooo good right now......heady stuff.....and also a very big joy!

Around 3, my youngest called to tell me he'd been in a car accident on his way home from school.....:-(. No one was hurt fortunately, and the beetle only has a little scrape which blends in pretty well with the Magritte painting that is on it! Am VERY happy that the damage to all concerned was minimal(the LUCK mentioned in the title and we have insurance Co involved.

Only a quick post tonight, as the night grew late quickly after a late'ish dinner with Ben, kitchen clean up and a nice phone call with my Sis! Will sleep well tonight!

Day 2 of Choosing My Joy

Day got off to a normal start, took a call with Germany on my way to my first meeting which ended up being just an informal discussion between the 3 of us that showed up on one of the topics and I got some good book recos....one on people currently in their 20's who we work with called "The Defining Decade"

As that conversation was ending, Ben, my youngest called to ask if I could bring his history assignment to school that he thought was in his backpack. Normally I wouldn't have, but had some time due to meeting being cancelled and every assignment counts for him in that class right now....

The rain had stopped, so it was a good time for a drive!!

Long story short......2 hrs later(about 2X what it should have taken), I was back at work...after a trip to my house and my exes, then telling him what I did find....which all looked like they had been turned in and corrected...(turns out the assignment for the practice test included SELF correcting the test, and writing in the correct answers! Who knew). At any rate, that vital piece of information in hand, I was able to complete the task by going BACK to my house to get it! JOY! And on my way to school I stopped for a coffee at Bruegger's and (JOY!) this was their first day with coconut flavored coffee which I have been waiting for for 6 weeks!

Had a meeting in the afternoon which had potential to get emotional....and didn't(JOY) despite me giving some needed feedback to an individual in my group, who is prone to tears.

The penultimate joy was Ben cooking dinner for me (Chicken Scallopini!) so I could work a bit later since I had driven all over town for him earlier, and enjoying it together when I got home.

After he left for a meeting, I cleaned up the kitchen and did a 30 min interval workout and a 40 min Yoga class via an on-line exercise program I subscribe to....was great to discover a new Yoga teacher (each one is a little different) and to sweat a little....back on the path to fitness and health!

Overall, a great day!

Maximizing Joy

A number of years ago, I went to a week-long residential (read all day and all night) training where I work.....my dad had passed away the week before the training, so needless to say I was pretty distracted, grieving, making arrangements, dealing with family, etc....

For all the hours spent there, the one thing that stuck with me was a talk by one of our Sr. Leaders who had a history of running the happiest and most productive groups in the company. His secret? He had made a decision, that in his life, and in his career, he was going to do everything possible to maximize the area under his Joy v. Time curve. Apparently his attitude was infectious, and it yielded great results in his teams.

I have been having kind of a rough spot over the past month...April is indeed the cruelest of the dozen! Have been letting fears and moods and anxiety really color my world, and my interactions with others.....and it's not a pretty color.....so today begins my quest to find the joy in every day, no matter what gets thrown my way, or how I interpret others actions.....I will choose to refocus my attentions and energies toward that which builds me up, not that which might tear me down, and I will blog and journal about it.....in all the aspects that present themselves.......today......well, I found joy in making a new playlist of music I have been collecting for the man I love, and doing laundry and ironing, trying a new bread recipe.....and in clearing some space on my desk......sometimes it is the smallest rituals that bring the greatest peace.

Themes of These Past Four Years

It is so interesting to go back and read the posts written in late 2008 in light of all that has transpired since then....was thinking earlier this week that each of those years seemed to follow a kind of theme...if I had to name them it would be:

2008/9: Cheerful oblivion
2010: the black hole (all time lows in personal life and career)
2011: Health & Renewal
2012: Stability & Focus
2013: Travel & Exploration

Feels like a pretty good sequence....taking small steps, building on successes....

10/11 were rough....fall of 2010 marked the point where I realized my marriage could not be saved after years of trying, and in 2011 the dissolution was final.....throughout that time I was so lucky to have faith, family and friends who helped me get through it all.

My sister challenged me to train for the 2012 Disney half marathon toward the end of 2010, and I began run/walking using the couch to 5K training plan and made pretty major diet changes and completely eliminated alcohol consumption. That provided a really solid base to rebuild my life from....getting back to a healthy body, actually probably healthier than I have been in my life.

With the help of a very dear friend who kind of took on a "life-coach" role, I set goals for getting my home and work environments purged and in order, and knocked items off one by one, and established better systems for maintaining that, and established routines....set wake and sleep times and meal/clothes/schedule planning for the week ahead by Saturday PM.

In 2012, my job responsibilities changed to a much more current business focus, and I needed to travel internationally for work, so personal travel was put on hold except for the marathon and a quick trip back East so Ben could go on a canoe trip w dear friends from my college days.

Also helped my oldest get settled in at college (tho really he was probably perfectly capable of doing that himself!)

This year holds more personal travel, with the Disney Princess in Feb already, a spring break trip to Turkey, High School Reunion/Canoe trip for boys in July and an Alaskan cruise w my mom in August.

Still a lot of growing to do.....never finished......

Auctions

This was quite a fun weekend! Saturday AM, I got up and went to an auction preview at Cowan's here in Cincinnati. They are known for their expertise in American Art & Artifacts, and this weekend's auction was for North American Indian Art - an area in which my BFF Stacy is an expert & collector. There was an amazing chess set there that she wanted me to look at. So I went around 8:30, and found the piece, and spoke to Danica, who Stacy knows from prior sales and she was so nice. She took out the piece and showed me all the details, and also showed me some water colors that Stace was interested in. I saw some bead work pieces that I was interested in, so I registered for a number, so I could go back later in the day. The woman who signed me in lives one block south of me - at almost the same house number as ours! She has livd there for 35 years! Quel coincidence! Everyone was so nice at th auction house. I went back, and while I did nt get the primary piece I was interested in, I did gt a lovely pair of beaded slippers - which happen to be exactly my size as it turns out - I tried them on tonight. They are so beautifully beaded. I also bought a few pots - one acoma piece in partcular is my favorite

Sleep & Sports

A brief post before bed......had a great day at work, planning for a two day session that I will help lead on reinventing one of our product categories.  Have had great conversations with many of the leading thinkers in our company on what it takes to get people to address, and go beyond current paradigms about what is possible.  It is very easy to say "NO" - that is not possible - and to follow it up with phrases like "that's crazy"......"we've tried that before"......."we can't change x or y will happen" and too few conversations that begin with  "YES" that could happen "IF" we did x or y or z - much more productive discussion if you ask me.

Went straight from work to Josh's soccer game - 45 min across town.  got there just before the half - score was 3-0.....Josh in goal.....he played there 3/4 of the game, then they put him on offense.  Final score 9 - 0 Walnut Hills - the JV boys soccer team is now 4 - o, the best record in the school this season.  The football team won for the first time in 4 years at their first game last Friday (the crowds went wild! - and the whole town is abuzz - Walnut is typically known for its brains, not its brawn).  And they had an alum win a gold medal in the women's 4 x 400 relay (Mary Weinberg).

Home for dinner (thank you Todd) around 8:45.  Bed.......NOW!