Wake Up Call

I was awoken in the wee hours of the morning (when it was still dark outside…extra dark because it has been raining here in California everyday for an entire week) by my husband nudging me in the back asking, “Hunny, what’s that noise?”

Let me digress a little bit…..

For the past three days I have awoken to an alarm clock blasting in my boys’ room, down the hall, at 5 a.m. Today was the third day! The first day it happened, I awoke, startled, rushed to the boys’ room and quickly turned their alarm off so it wouldn’t wake anyone else in the house. After my heart stopped beating 160 beats per minute, it was actually time to get up. I know what you are thinking…5 a.m. isn’t that bad. That might even be sleeping in for some of you. Well, it’s not for me! I thought surely it was a mistake and one of the boys probably just hit the wrong button on the clock and accidentally set the alarm without realizing it.

The second day this happened, I went through the same startled routine reflecting on whether or not I actually turned their alarm to the “off” position or simply hit the “snooze” button. Afterall, what is the likelihood this could happen again? I made sure, this time, that the alarm was set to the “off” position.

On either of these occasions, neither one of my boys woke up. Both times, they were sound asleep, blankets over their faces.

Well, this morning the alarm went off again at the 5:00 hour!!! But today, I actually did not hear it. My husband heard it first…(now the story comes full circle)…So, instead of waking to the alarm (which my mind and body apparently became accustomed to) I was woken up to a nudging in my back and my husband’s query, “Hunny, what’s that noise?”

1) He knew dang well what “that noise” was!
2) Couldn’t he have gotten out of bed and turned the alarm off himself?
(yes…but chose not to)
3) No need to wake me!
4) Selfish!
5) I WAS NOT AWAKE!!!

So, after the alarm clock, several Lego Star Wars ships in it’s path, and the electrical outlet casing were destroyed to pieces, my husband’s explanation was that since I had gotten up the previous two times to take care of it, (in his mind)…I had “taken ownership” of the matter.

Needless to say, my day did not get off to a great start. In fact, the whole day seemed out of whack. Now, that’s not the way someone who is trying to have a positive attitude should think, right? Well, today, I guess I brought teaspoons to life (see previous blog posting)…but what do you expect…all of my buckets were full of rain!!!

To look at things on the bright side…In my Jenny Craig menu today, I got to eat a piece of Lemon cake! and I savored every moment of it!

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

The phrase “This page is intentionally left blank” is ironic because, obviously, any page with this phrase written upon it, it really not blank at all. A blank page is clean and new waiting and ready to be shaped and molded - waiting to become something. Just like this blog entry, which seemingly is going nowhere….but just you hang on…have a little faith.

January is like a blank page. At least I like to think so. I like January because it’s the beginning of the New Year and in my mind, is a time to begin anew. It is a time to reevaluate and recommit to being better. The ongoing joke is that, of course, we all make our new year’s resolutions in January only to have them go by the wayside in March (if we’re really ambitious). Realistically speaking, they are typically gone by the wayside before March. This year is going to be different and I mean it!

I am not going to miss 2009 and am glad it’s gone. Good riddance. So……
My top five new year’s resolutions for 2010:

1.) Be more positive and optimistic (“the glass is half FULL”)
2.) Enjoy socializing with others (drop the “I hate people” act)
3.) Be less critical of myself and others
4.) Give more service to others
5.) Be more believing and trusting rather than cynical and doubtful
(I can be a little sarcastic at times)

I am a big believer in the Law of the Harvest! “What is the Law of the Harvest?,” you ask. You “reap what you sow” – you can’t plant watermelon seeds and expect to get corn. You cannot plan string beans and expect an apple tree. Likewise, you cannot sow seeds of contention and selfishness and expect kindness and love in return. I am reminded of a story that illustrates this point:

There was a kind, generous king who lived at the top of the hill where he could be watchful of his village every day. The people in the village loved the king because he was kind and generous. One day, the king’s well went dry and he ran out of water. He invited the villagers to a glorious banquet and required that each person bring a container with water to supply the king in return. Of course, the villagers were super excited and anxious to attend the banquet of their beloved king. The villagers scurried around preparing their containers of water. Finally, the day of the banquet arrived and people began filling the king’s court with all of their containers of water….some brought cups of water, some brought teaspoons, others brought buckets and barrels full. Some even brought wagons of barrels full of water. The king was grateful for each contribution. Everyone enjoyed the fine banquet and a great time was had by all. The king thanked everyone for their water and for coming to the banquet and excused everyone to go home. He advised that they could pick up their containers on their way out. The villagers were surprised when they picked up their containers on the way out to see that the king had placed rubies and diamonds and gold and silver in each of their containers as much as it could hold. Imagine the looks on the faces of those who had brought buckets and barrels full, as opposed those who only brought teaspoons and cups!

The moral of the story is obvious…we get out of life what we put in. We can put in a teaspoon of effort or buckets and barrels full. Either way, we will get what we put in!

Happy New Year and best of luck with your upcoming New Year’s Resolutions!

Fortune is Somethig YOU Create

If your ears are itching that means someone is clearly talking about you. If your palms are itchy, that means you will come into large sums of money. Four leafed clovers are good luck. Don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mother’s back. Crickets bring good luck. If your eye twitches, there is going to be a birth in the family. Pulling out a gray hair will cause 10 more to grow in its place (this one literally scares me and I think it’s true!). It is bad luck to walk under a ladder. If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of Autumn, you will not catch a cold all Winter long. If you drop scissors, it means your lover is being unfaithful to you. AND (ta da) …..my personal favorite…..If you use the same pencil to take a test that you studied with, the pencil will remember the answers! (Didn’t do a bit of good when I was in school!) The list is inexhaustible for the superstitions we create to help us cope with life’s little set backs.

My husband says he is NOT superstitious. Really? Then why don’t you open fortune cookies?

My husband, after receiving a bad fortune cookie, refuses to EVER open one again. He has been true to his standard! I try and get him to open…but he won’t. I even try to open and it and pretend it was for him…but it doesn’t count. You simply CANNOT open someone else’s fortune cookie. It doesn’t work that way. It ONLY applies to the person who opens it. My nieces and nephews say it will only come true if you eat it after you read it (and I don’t mean the cookie part….the paper fortune part!!). I don’t think I will be eating paper any time soon, even if it does mean that I will be “traveling on a far away adventure soon!”

We ate Chinese today and, naturally, we were given two fortune cookies. I placed one on his tray and then one on mine. I opened my fortune and ate my cookie (fortune cookies aren’t even really good. I don’t know why I even eat them. They are only good for the fortunes inside). At the end of the meal….I found his fortune cookie on my tray which was headed for the garbage. He won’t touch them! Not a chance.

He says he makes his own luck. He says that the fortune cookie doesn’t determine his “fortune.” He’s right – of course. But I am simply making the point that by not opening the fortune cookie he is being superstitious!

By the way, taped to his computer is a fortune cookie fortune! He will argue that it is not really a fortune, but rather, a reminder…it reads: “The constructive use of riches is better than their possession.” Additionally, he will argue it is pre-anti fortune cookie era.

He is right (a term we don’t use lightly around these parts). We are in charge of our own destinies. Someone said it best when they said, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” (Who said that anyway?)

We have opportunities come our way every day and if we are not prepared for them, they will pass us by!