8/17/09 – Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive #24

No preamble today. Just gratitudes which include:

1) That Vicky was able to quickly recognize the signs of stroke in her wonderful partner Ron Sullivan, and act so swiftly to get him to the hospital. If it had to happen, I'm thankful that it happened in the way and place that it did. Alta Bates is a one of the best places to be if one is going through this. Phew. So glad healing is happening and that all is heading towards recovery. Love you both.

2) It also makes me incredibly thankful for my relatively good health. Incredibly thankful indeed. Things like the above put a lot of other things into shadow and clear perspective simultaneously.

3) Rob is home. For a few days, but he's home. That is a nice thing. Did I mention that things like the above put a lot of other things into shadow and clear perspective simultaneously? I did? Well then...I guess it bears repeating.

4) Figuring a quirky thing out the other day on the way to rehearsal. Preface: I struggle a lot with the concept of beauty as it relates to myself. This is not a fishing expedition...simply a statement of my inner struggle with my appearance and self-perception. BUT I started thinking about the nature of beauty on the way to rehearsal the other night and realized the following: If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that means that if one person sees you as beautiful, then you're beautiful. Period. End of debate. You cannot deny your beauty because that is to deny someone else their perception. To that someone or someone(s) you are beautiful and no one can take that away. I'm still trying to fully wrap my head around this, but it was an interesting thing to think about. I know it is better still if you can see yourself as beautiful, but sometimes it is these kinds of thoughts along the road of life that get us to that, yes? Anyway, I'm thankful for that thought and how that is allowing me to form my thinking right now. Thought I'd share.

5) Days at work like today where I feel like I spent the day kicking butt and getting things done. Very satisfying. Hooray.

6) Watching generosity in action.

7) Cran-blueberry juice is my new discovery. OMG...it is tasty.

8) Saving money with club card saving foo. It is strangely pleasing.

9) Kites. Went to the Berkeley Marina to eat our sandwiches after our visit to the hospital on Sunday and spent some time watching (with some of Rob helping) kites being flown. They make a joyful noise and are so colourful and fun. Hooray for kites.

10) Naps on a grassy hill. So fab.

11) No asteroids hit the earth today and I flapped around like a chicken. LOL. Thank you Sally and Matthew for that bit of hilarity in response to my anxiety post today. Laughter really can be the best medicine sometimes.

12) Actually...thanks to everyone for their kindness today in response to said post. I'm very thankful for the kind suggestions, the humor and the gentleness. :) Thank you.

13) The wonderfulness of the "English Originals" cd playing right now. Not only is it a great album populated by fab artists making excellent trad music fun and accessible, but it is also serving the purpose of blocking out the incessant barking of the dog down the street that WILL NOT shut up. LOL. Truly..I'm thankful for the music in and of itself...AND for the respite it is giving me. Phew! Double blessings are nice! :)

14) Reading glasses. I'm finding that I am much happier when I wear them these days. My eyes start to ache pretty quickly when I don't in the past few weeks and you know...I'm glad they exist. I keep forgetting because they aren't habit yet, but dang...what a great tool. Hooray!

15) Lovely time with Stella and Laura and Rob on Saturday evening. What an unanticipated pleasure it was to spend time with you two lovely women! Thank you!

16) I'm re-reading "Eat, Pray, Love" and really appreciating it again. It seems to offer me interesting perspective when I need it. I really resonate with it.

17) Along those lines I want to again share this amazing piece on the nature of genius also by Elizabeth Gilbert's here on Ted.com: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

18) I love, love, love this photo that Monique took of Anni, Cybele and I at the Pirate Fest. Thank you Monique!!! :)

I know there is more but I think I'll end there tonight. Hugs to all!

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive #23 - 8/14/09

I saw the dog above when I went to see Holly & Joshua a couple of months ago at the Live Oak Art Fair. The photo made me laugh so hard when I just glanced through my photos that I simply had to share.

I started this blog at work today with the hope that I'd keep a kind of running tally of things that pleased me. It was a nice way to go about it. And it means that I won't be typing this at 11 tonight when I could be sleeping. :) Hooray for thinking ahead. :)

I'm too tired to be pithy. Too much insomnia this week. So I will simply state that my gratitudes today include:

1) Remembering to open windows before I left the house today so that I hopefully don't come home to an oven again (update: it worked!!! yay!).

2) A wonderful lunch in the sun with Mags! Thank you! Our Friday visits are something I look forward to all week!

3) A lovely chat with Sam. :) Glad you got to dance at lunch today! :)

4) Celery & Crunchy Organic Peanut Butter! Love it so much when they have both on the salad bar and I can enjoy one of my fave childhood treats!

5) Learning to navigate difficult co-workers....it makes things much more pleasant.

6) Sharing laughter over a frustrating situation with another co-worker.

7) Bumping into Heather at lunch! Hope the yoghurt was tasty!

8) Reminding myself that I can only change me. Trying to keep that in the center forefront of my thinking.

9) Podcasts. They're awesome. Thanks again to Laura & Kelly introducing me to the world of the iPod Nano. It is proving extremely useful!

10) Having a washer and dryer in the house is such a nice thing. Hooray for easy laundry.

11) The kindness of the responses to yesterday's gratitude blog. Thank you all. Hugs!

12) Getting a chance to catch up even briefly with Rene today. :)

And now, I'm off to study my scrip and eat some dinner! :) Wheeee!

8/13/09 – Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive #22

I was reminded today that I need to write these sorts of things no matter how my life feels like it is going. I need to write them because it will keep me reminded that even during hard times there are usually simple things to find to enjoy and appreciate.

I am re-inspired to do this by Anni and by Laura. I am inspired by need too. I need to find my positivity again. I know it exists. :)

So without further ado, today my gratitudes include:

1) Remembering that doing this is good for my soul and my psyche.

2) Anni & Laura for being the living reminders of this process.

3) Lunch and the growing friendship with Jen. Thank you so much for being you.

4) Discovering The Serenity Prayer...and starting to learn to take it to heart a little bit at a time. Here it is the part of it that has really been speaking to me:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time.

The rest of it gets a little to "god-ish" for me, but that bit...it seems to resonate for me right now.

5) Deb & Robin for a really fab rehearsal last night. Thank you. I've been humming all day.

6) I'm thankful for the ceiling fan in my bedroom on a night that is this warm. Phew!

7) To Deb for our conversation tonight. Thank you.

8) So glad I watched the movie "Amazing Grace" the other night. So thankful for William Wilburforce. I think I need to read his biography soon.

9) I'm glad I feel sleepy. I hope that means I'll be able to sleep tonight.

10) I love this woman's blog. http://karenrussell.typepad.com/
Her photography is beautiful, her writing is very real, and I can't wait to see new installments. Teri...thank you so much for turning me onto her site.

Ok...sleep now.
Hooray for Gratitude.

7/16/09 – Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive #21

“Nothing’s impossible I have found. For when my chin is on the ground, I pick myself up; dust myself off, start all over again….”

Sometimes song lyrics speak more clearly than I do. Today, I’m hearing Fred Astaire in “Swing Time” in my head, singing the lyrics of Dorothy Fields set to the brilliant music of Jerome Kern. I’m humming along in my soul and I’m trying to take those lyrics to heart.

The past month or so has not been easy for me. During that time I lost my grace, I lost my gratitudes, I lost my sense of humour and through it all I kept feeling lost. The combination of illness, depression, interpersonal problems, a deep sense of loneliness, and generalized stress was too much for my normally resilient nature and I got lost; lost in despair, lost in anger, lost in resentment, lost in self-righteousness….just plain lost. So everyone hum along with me while I sing that I’m going to “pick myself up; dust myself off, start all over again….”

I’ve kind of fallen off the wagon all over the place in the past few weeks – no gratitudes, very little photo taking, no writing, and very little positivity. It is blazingly apparent to me that it is time to hop back on to that wagon seat, tie myself to it, and stay up there for a while on all fronts. Starting with today. One day at a time as the saying goes. One day at a time.

Today my gratitudes include:

1) My thankfulness for being healthy after the nasty flu I had a month ago. I was sick from a Sunday – Saturday and that week or so of flu/cold/cough hellishness has been a reminder of how healthy I generally am and how incredibly thankful I am for that fact. What a gift good health is.

2) I’m particularly thankful to Cat, Peter, Anni, Amy, Chris, Monique, Carma, Eileen, Sara, & Katie. They saw me through a lot of my darkness via IM and phone, and loved me beautifully through it all. They offered perspective and support, let me know when I was off base, and also showed me the places that my feelings were indeed valid, sane, and rational, even when I felt like I was coming unhinged. I don’t know how to thank you all enough, but I do thank you -- deeply and from the entirety of my being.

Witness the Cute!

3) I’m delighted for Chris and Jen. For their engagement and their upcoming marriage. Unabashedly, unreservedly delighted for them both. I love them both so much! Please join me in congratulating them! Hooray!

1/21/09 -- At Chris and Zak's Birthday Fun

4) I’m tickled that I’m going to be Best Man in their wedding. :) My friendship with Chris is one of the great joys in my life. I feel so thankful that we worked so hard to come through the difficulty of our break up in order to come full circle to the incredible strength that always has been our friendship! What an amazing gift! AND I can’t begin to tell you how honoured I am to be his Best Man, and also how tickled I am by how fabulously hilarious and quirky that is. :) I can safely say that I’ve never been Best Man before. And given the number of weddings I’ve been in, the positions I haven’t filled are dwindling. :) Thanks for checking one more off the list CB. *grin*

5) I’m thankful that I still have a job despite the fact that furloughs were just announced at my work. A 5% pay cut in the form of 13 furlough days is coming my way. Ouch. Money is already so tight, but I am thankful that they are doing it this way and trying to avoid layoffs for everyone. Also thankful that I get 13 days off and don’t just have to suck up the pay cut while getting nothing in return for it. Now to find where to cut that money from my budget. *scratches head in consternation* Still…could be much worse.

1/18/09 -- Visiting my folks in Mountain Ranch -- Thanks to Annika for my AWESOME Flying Monkey T-shirt!

6) I love my heart-shaped glasses. They are fun and frivolous and they make people giggle in the street and I like that. Plus I feel good in them which is an added bonus.

7) Just had dinner with Amy. She is so good for my perspective and my soul. Thank you Amy for being so wonderful and rational and loving.

8) Went out to 4th of Juplaya. Had some good times and some hilarious moments. To the Elbow...and beyond! Thanks in particular to Allen and Haley and Rob for our laughter filled night! And to Amy & Bill & Eric for their hospitality and comfy space. :) BTW...I love this mountain.

9) The sign below this made me laugh aloud. :)

This sign made me giggle

10) Visiting with Cybele and Ryan a few weeks ago was great fun and from it came photos like this (and isn't the sexy just overwhelming?):

And the puppy cuteness... oy!

I thought 6 was enough but couldn't stop writing. :) Now, however, I must sleep. Hugs to all!

Maybe...

Maybe it is time for me to write for me.
Maybe it is time for me to write for others.
Maybe it is time for me to write to free my soul.
Maybe it is time for me to write.

Here I am.

© Tanya Anguita

6/4/09 – Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive #20 -- Picture Heavy

Hello. Here I am again. *waves*

It has been a whirlwind of a week and I haven’t had two minutes to rub together. During the times last weekend when I did have some time, I was busy having fun with Rob at Disneyland and was NOT interested in sitting at a computer. And you know what? I think I’m good with that.

It was a wonderful weekend and a wonderful trip on many, many levels. It was good for my soul, good for our relationship, and good for perspective. It was just plain good all around. Honestly, I wasn’t ready for it to be done. I’m still not ready for it to be done and I’ve been back since Monday. *wry smile*

Re-entry into “normal” life has been very difficult for me. I realized a lot of things as I mourned the end of our weekend and one of them was that I haven’t had a “just go have fun” vacation in years. I’ve never had a pure “down time” adventure before and I need one. My life is too frenetic not to vacate it once in a while.

And I feel a little bit like I have emotional whiplash because I went from 4 days of full time, focused, fun US time to Rob leaving to go up to his family’s property in Montague. We got back Monday, he left Tuesday. *insert cracking whip noise here* I’ve been reeling a little from it, but I’m glad he’s up there helping out his Grandma. She’s having cataract surgery today. Please send her good thoughts.

So yes, re-entry has been difficult, but it is difficult in good ways because I’m recognizing the need for change in my life, and I’m starting to try to figure out how to make change happen in some areas in my life that really need some positive, self-directed change to be made.

It has been a miracle of a week in so many respects and I have so much to be grateful for. My gratitudes for this week/today include:

1) I’m thankful to Rob for choosing to take me with him on his graduation/birthday gift adventure to Disneyland. His mom told him she was giving him money for his graduation/birthday and that he wasn’t allowed to spend it on anything practical so he decided what he most wanted to do was go to Disneyland with me. And we did. What a gift all around. SO thankful. Here he is on the Dumbo ride:

2) I’m incredibly grateful for the reconnection we got to have while we were there and for the good conversations that have come out of that both there and since we’ve been back. :)

3) We…no…let me be honest… *I* haven’t been good about making focused us time happen because of how busy I always am, and that has been detrimental to our relationship. Having the time to reconnect was so good for me/us. I learned that I need to find more time in my schedule for weekends like this last one -- both for my relationship’s sake, and my sanity’s sake. I’m thankful to be figuring that out and thankful to Rob for patiently waiting for me to figure it out. I love you, Sweet One.

4) I’m strangely thankful to and for Disneyland. It was a really a “magic kingdom” for me this past weekend. I don’t ever see myself turning into a “Disney is my life” person, but I definitely see myself trying to get back there with some reasonable regularity. It was such a treat and so much fun to just be a kid all weekend.

California Adventure was pretty fun too!

5) I’m so lucky. Rob is such a good sport. I bought him a silly mouse ears birthday hat and he wore it ALL DAY on his birthday. Evidence is here:

and here:

6) Playing is good for my soul. Allowing myself to just play and not stress or think about the “have to list” is golden. This is us being silly at Rob's Birthday "Character Breakfast" with Stitch:

7) I’m grateful for the questions I’m asking myself because I hope they’ll help me to grow and change. Somehow this photo seems oddly appropriate, or maybe it is just late...

8) Winnie-the-Pooh in all his guises makes my heart happy. I got to have my picture taken with Pooh and Tigger this weekend. I felt like I was 5 years old. Evidence is here:

My mother read “Winnie-the-Pooh” to me as a child and the scene in the book with the Heffalump is one of the earliest memories I have of my mother and me laughing uproariously together. I’ve read it numerous times since, and I learn something new and endearing every time I read it. I love the book first and foremost, and the classic drawings. They are so sweet and simple. That being said, I also have a fondness for the movie version of Pooh and all of the oddness inherent therein. Hooray for Winnie-the-Pooh! Thank you A.A. Milne!

9) The “Hold Hands, Don’t Exercise” tour that Monique, Eileen, Anni & I took a few years ago. I saw this sign over the weekend and had to take a photo in remembrance of our fabulous time together.

I love you women so very deeply! Thank you all for being in my life! Can you believe that was 5 1/2 years ago?

10) I just this minute finished a huge spreadsheet project at work tracking all of the trainings that were done for a specific program we offer to managers and supervisors. I’m both proud of my work and very glad that it is done!

11) Staff meetings happen every other week at my job and are a total farce. As individuals the people in my dept are great. As a group they are frustrating. Our staff meetings sometimes feel like an adult version of “Lord of the Flies” and it is simply ridiculous. People are so invested in being right that they cease to listen. We just finished our bi-weekly staff meeting. I’m so glad that it is over and that I don’t have another one for two weeks. *giggle*

12) Home now after a quick and lovely dinner with Holly. What a treat. Good conversation and yummy Ramen. Thank you, Holly. :)

13) Spoke with Rob tonight and it seems his Grandma’s surgery went well. YAY!

14) The hilarity of some of the signs one sees around Disneyland. Like this one:

Or this one:

Or um...this one..seriously....wow:

It is time for bed for me. Poor Rob has a flu/cold and sounds awful and I’m fighting a scratchy throat so I think sleep is the plan.

Hope life has been treating you with relative kindness. Hugs abounding!
Tanya

5/27/09 – Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive #19

Today I am cranky. I had disturbing dreams all night, had a frustrating run in with a woman who I work with occasionally, have been chewing on the inside of my mouth in my sleep so I’m in pain and I’m just plain filled with crankitude.

Sounds like the Perfect time to remember what I’m thankful for today, yes? I think so!

So today my gratitudes include:

1) Deep calming breaths. They can really, really help.

2) Peter’s brilliant idea here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=84686434769 not sure where to go from here but think it is a great idea and I fully support anything that will fight H8 mongering!

3) Time spent with good friends. Rob and I went over to Cybele and Ryan’s on Sunday for a bbq and had a marvelous time with them. John & Karen joined in the fun and there was much laughter, swimming in a verycoldpool ™, Cybele’s famous crack-amole (guac so good it is addictive…hence crack-amole), Tonks the wonder puppy and her INCREDIBLE cuteness, a viewing of “Real Genius” and a ton of fun across the board. Rob and I spent the night and in the a.m. we had bacon waffles a la Cybele and hung out until early afternoonish. It was a great, great 24 hours and I’m so thankful to and for that time spent with them.

4) Tonks is one of the cutest, snuggliest, funniest little puppies I’ve ever been blessed to spend time with. She rocks my puppy socks. :)

5) Goat Rock Beach. (photos will be posted from home) I hadn’t been in ages and on a whim on the way home from Cybele & Ryan’s, we decided to drive towards the Coast and ended up going to….brace yourselves for this name….Dickmann’s Deli for sandwiches (no, I’m not kidding) and then going up to Goat Rock Beach to hang out for a couple of hours. It was so wonderful and so fun and exactly what the Tanya ordered. It means I didn’t “Get Things Done ™” but really….the world didn’t stop and I felt so happy and calm that I couldn’t care less.

6) Three day weekends are really wonderful things. They allow enough time to really start to wind down from the week and if you lose a day to a migraine you still have two left to have fun with. :)

7) Finding ways to develop good habits. In addition to taking photos most every day, writing these as often as possible and walking the two miles home from work most days, I’m trying to find a good way to make myself drink more water. I’m generally terrible at hydrating and I know that isn’t good for me on so many health levels that it isn’t even funny. My current game plan involves carrying a 48 oz thermosy thing with a splash of juice at the bottom and the rest filled with water. Yesterday I drank the whole thing and then more in the evening. That little splash of juice in the bottom gives enough flavour that I actually want to drink it without adding tons of sugary calories. It seems to be doing the trick. We’ll see. Today I’m moving a little more slowly with it, but I think it might be what I need to get it done. I like the act of trying to develop good habits though. It feels like I’m trying to take care of myself. Wish me luck.

8) Having lunch on workdays with Rob. We got to have lunch together yesterday and it was such a treat. It made my whole day more pleasant and joyful.

9) When I am in a cranky mood, I need to find a funny photo of myself and post it...it makes me giggle and keeps me humble all at the same time. How can I be cranky with a turkey on my head? This photo makes me giggle every time I look at it. Peter took this photo. As a matter of fact many of my favorite silly photos of me come from Peter. Thank you, Peter.

10) Sometimes I enjoy mindless work. I like the satisfaction that slogging through a stack of it and knowing that I’m done with it brings. Mostly the being done with it brings me joy, but sometimes the mindlessness is nice too. *drool*

11) The ubiquitous work glove. One of the janitors leaves his work bucket outside of the restrooms with some regularity. He almost always leaves a work glove on the handle of the mop-wringer as well. There is something about the glove, and the glove’s varied hand positions, that makes me giggle most days.

2/3/09 -- The Ubiquitous Glove

12) Writing this at work in between other projects has been a great way to keep me focused on the positive and it guarantees that I won’t be writing it at midnight tonight. Maybe I can try to do this more often on days when work isn’t overwhelming. I like that idea. :)

13) Anni and I just came up with a new memoir title and it makes me giggle so I’m sharing… “Hook, Line & Stinker”… *grin*

14) Anni and I also established that are each other’s emotional bras. The comfortable kind of bra with only occasionally pokey underwires. *hee* This makes me giggle in so many ways. YAY Anni!

15) Bubble wrap is fun. Always has been…probably always will be to me. I’ve been putting certificate sin frames wrapped in bubble wrap. I have to keep myself from popping it all. *grin* This is not as fun as real bubble wrap, but I like that it exists:
http://www.virtual-bubblewrap.com/popnow.shtml

16) Photos from Monique, John, Michelle, Robert, Drake, Layla & the Twins! family trip to Kauai. I keep looking at them and grinning. So glad you’re all having fun!

17) I find this fascinating and like the “we can fix this over time” thinking in it http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/05/26/whale-shark-ocean.html

18) Knowing when to quit. *grin*

I’ve written so much today that *I’m* almost overwhelmed by it all. I feel much happier now. YAY!
Photos will have to come when I’m home as I don’t have them on this computer at work.

Hugs to you all and Happy Wednesday!
Tanya