Dream Diary: Madonna

"I went to New York. I had a dream. I wanted to be a big star.
I didn’t know anybody. I wanted to dance. I wanted to sing.
I wanted to do all those things. I wanted to make people happy.
I wanted to be famous. I wanted everybody to love me.
I wanted to be a star. I worked really hard and my dream came true."  

Madonna 

Not sure how this came about, but yesterday my dreams brought me back to NYC in the strangest way. OK, actually NYC has come up a lot lately so maybe that’s why, but it still makes absolutely no sense!

For some reason I was walking around town with Madonna like we were casual friends!?! We were chatting about nothing in particular, wandering from one landmark to another, all while being followed by annoying paparazzi that we completely ignored. We started in Times Square and then we wandered and zigzagged all the way up to Central Park. Once at the park, we followed the paths up to the main gates of the Central Park Zoo. We even stopped at Magnolia’s for a cupcake and later we were eating pizza in the park. For some reason we both kept checking the time as well because we didn’t want to be late for something that was happening at “the townhouse” (she has one on the Upper East Side), which would explain the path we were taking (Note: I think I spend too much time in NYC since I knew my way up there even in a dream).

As usual, my dreams tend to “time lapse” themselves so this was all fragmented when it happened. I have no clue what I was thinking, but I can honestly say that a 25 block walk plus a stroll in the park was way easier in my head than it was on foot! I did this exact path last spring with shopping in between and I was pooped by the time I got to those gates! Also, I have never been further than the zoo on that side of the park by foot so I think that is why we stopped where we did; my brain could no longer “see” where to go.

Anyhow…. strange… I know!

Open Letter: Psst, I Miss You…

"If someone seriously wants to be a part of your life
they will seriously make an effort to be in it. No excuses.”

When we first met, I had no idea you would become so important to me. And yet you did; you became more important to me than either of us could have ever imagined. I considered you as a best friend, but we both know that you were always more like a brother to me.

And then, two years ago, it was over. Just like that – gone - and I thought that I could continue not speaking to you for the rest of my life and everything would be fine, except for one tiny detail… I miss you. I really, honestly, didn’t at first but in recent months you have been on my mind a lot more than a little and I want you to know that.

A few weeks ago I nearly ran into you three times in one afternoon but I didn’t have the guts to face you. I nearly did, the second time, but I chickened out. Since then, I can’t stop thinking that I made a mistake avoiding you; I should have said hi, at the very least...

We both know what happened so there is no use re-hashing it now, but I would like closure. We know each other well enough to know we are both too stubborn to break this cycle, but if you are willing to try then I am ready. People change, and sometimes they end up having nothing to say to each other; even best friends grow apart. And, if that’s the case, then I am fine with that… but I need to know.

I have no expectations - just a hole in my heart and an open mind.
You know where to find me, if you want to get in touch… no pressure.

A Cherokee Legend Of Two Wolves

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Today, more than ever, you have a multitude of negativity competing for your attention; television showing commercials of how you can’t be happy without their newest products, news media telling about the doom and gloom of the world, the internet and the drama of what is social media, talk radio, and personal acquaintances. Everything you take in effects the way you perceive the world. You become the average of the input you take in and the people you spend your time with.

Believe it or not, that’s good news. All of that information you take in is in your control. You can control the amount (if any) of negative television you take in. You can control the destructive news you absorb. You can control the radio station you listen to. You can even determine who you spend your time with. There’s an easy way to select who or what gets your attention. After spending time with that person or doing that activity ask yourself, “Do I feel drained or do I feel energized?” If it drains you…….DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH IT. If you feel energized, it’s probably adding value to your life and making you better.

One of my mentors, Darren Hardy, puts it like this. Your mind is an empty glass. When you fill it with dirty water that is the lens you see the world through. The only thing you can see is negativity, doom and gloom. When you begin to pour clean water into it, the dirty water begins to overflow and leave the glass. Soon, if enough clean clear water is poured into the glass container, it will flush out all the murky water and you will be left with a glass of clean beautiful water, and that how you will see the world.

Are you taking in more clean water that dirty?

Which wolf are you feeding?

Source: TodaysManager

Blog Analytics

Ever since I started this blog I have monitored its progress and I am truly amazed. At the beginning there were hardly any direct visits or traffic led to this site and now my monthly numbers are averaging over 100 visits a month! Over the last six months I have averaged 134 visitors per month. For a “personal” blog that really surprised me. My top 10 traffic sources come from all over North America, Australia, the UK, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Russia and even Bolivia! While I know who some of those visitors are, the majority are total strangers… and some of them return week after week! Some people may find that creepy, but I think it’s kind of cool!

So, in order to facilitate following, I have now added a “Follow by Email” box over in the right hand column which is driven by Google feedburner. If you aren’t already receiving blog emails feel free to subscribe this way instead!

Also, as my posts are gradually getting lengthier, I am looking into different blog formats and styles to keep the page a little bit cleaner; possibly some shortened posts with a “continue reading” option for example. I may test a couple over the summer so if you see changes you like please let me know! Which reminds me, I may also turn on the “comment” feature but I am hesitant because I don’t have the time to monitor for spam. We shall see!

Anyhow, to those of you who follow me… thank you!

Important: New Car Seat Guidelines

Generally speaking, I feel that we have become a society where parents far too often choose to raise their children in bubbles and that we are generally over protective in many ways. But, I remember seeing something on TV about this over a year ago and I started to read about it afterwards and it makes a whole lot of sense! I know at least one "mommy friend" has done this and I encourage others to consider doing the same. It makes no difference in your life, but it may save theirs.  Think about it...

AAP's new car seat guidelines change rear facing & booster rules 

Yahoo! Shine 

Everything you thought you knew about car seats is wrong. Okay, not everything, but things have changed and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced new guidelines today. And it's big news! The recommendation is that children rear face longer and they also changed the details for kids in boosters. 

It was believed that 1 year and 20 pounds was the benchmark for forward facing babies in car seats, despite evidence elsewhere that that was still dangerously early. Now, hopefully, with new guidelines, parents and doctors can get on board and spread the word about the safest practices for children. Here are the details.  

New Rear-facing Recommendation: Parents are to keep children rear-facing until 2 years old, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for the seat as noted in the manual. Safe Kids agrees. Two years is a goal easily met, considering even some of the lowest cost seats now rear-face until 40 pounds. When your baby outgrows their infant carrier, that is when you buy a convertible seat that rear-faces longer, not a forward-facing seat, which you can put upright up to 30 degrees when kids are bigger with better head control, often making them take up less space than infant seats. 

New Boostering Recommendation: Children should ride in a belt-positioning booster (that means a high-back!) until they are at least 4 foot, 9 inches, AND 8-12 years old. Jennifer Hoekstra, the Safe Kids Program Coordinator at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, shared: In working with parents, we educate them beyond the law and share with them the best practice for keeping their child safe. We strongly agree with the new AAP policy and support the extended rear-facing limits as well as the new booster seat advice. It's best to keep children in their harnessed seat until they outgrow it, which is into elementary years with the height and weight of most convertible seats and even harness-to-booster seats these days. But they will outgrow it and go into a booster, and eventually they need to meet all points in a 5-point test before they're ready to sit in a car's seat without a booster of any kind. Remember that these belts are designed to fit an average adult. Best practice is also waiting until children are 80-100 pounds as well. 

Beyond that, all kids need to stay out of the front until they're at least 13 years old. 

While 2 years or 8 years may now be the minimums, we don't parent by minimums, do we? Buying a high quality (not necessarily high cost!) seat to start, after you do all your research to choose the best seat for your child, can easily help you meet these recommendations. Make sure you're using the car seats correctly, too. There's a lot of intricacies for both harnessed seats and boosters. When in doubt, find a Safe Kids inspection station or event and get checked out by a tech. And hopefully more and more pediatricians, with these new recommendations, will be on board as well, and we can maybe put an end to vehicle related-injuries being the number one cause of death in kids ages 2-14.

Newborn's Ten Commandments

This is already all over the web but I had to share! No clue who the original author is but it's a great read, and, so true! 

I come to you as a small, immature being with my own style and personality. I am yours for only a short time; enjoy me.

1. Please take time to find out who I am, how I differ from you and how much I can bring to you.
2. Please feed me when I am hungry. I never knew hunger when I was inside you and clocks and time mean little to me
3. Please hold, cuddle, kiss, touch, stroke and sing to me. I was always held closely inside of you and was never alone before.
4. Please don’t be disappointed when I am not the perfect baby that you expected, nor disappointed with yourselves that you are not the perfect parents.
5. Please try not to expect too much from me as your newborn baby, or too much from yourselves as parents. Give us both six weeks as a birthday present – six weeks for me to grow, develop, mature and become more stable and predictable, and six weeks for you to rest and relax and allow your body to get back to normal.
6. Please forgive me if I cry a lot. Bear with me and in a short time, as I mature I will spend less and less time crying – and more time socializing.
7. Please watch me carefully and I can tell you those things which soothe, console and please me. I am not a tyrant who was sent to make your life miserable, but the only way I can tell you that I am not happy is with my crying.
8. Please remember that I am resilient and can withstand the many natural mistakes you will make with me. As long as you make them with love, you cannot ruin me.
9. Please take care of yourself and eat a balanced diet, rest and exercise so that when we are together, you have the health and strength to take care of me.
10. Please take care of your relationship with each other, for what good is family bonding if there is not a family to bond?

Although I may have turned your life upside down, please realize that things will be back to normal before you know it.

Thank you,
Your Loving Child