A 90 Year Old's Life Lessons

I have learned so much about life and myself within the past several years. I will always remember my 90 something year old grandfather laughing every day and making others laugh, while at the grocery store or the doctor's office. He died not too long ago at the age of 99. Yes, 99! I hope to live until I'm quite ancient and always be surrounded by laughter and love. 

While both of my grandparents were alive, he said his reason for staying alive so long was to take care of my grandma (who was about 11 years younger). Several months after she passed, he soon followed. I'll always try to apply his way of life to mine, by laughing every day and enjoying my loved ones while we're all here together.

When I stumbled upon this piece written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer Newspaper, from Ohio, I knew I had to share! I took away some valuable points that I had forgotten for a while. I hope you also take away something from this too! :-)

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step..

3. Life is too short - enjoy it..

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and
family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it...

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to be happy. But it's all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't
save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23 Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will
this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive but don't forget.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does..

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd
grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

♥, Kayla

New Year, More Awesomeness

Happy New Year! It's crazy how time goes by. I feel old when I say things like that. Haha.

I'd like to reflect on 2012. Good, bad, anything that I can remember at this point anyway.

• I quit a job I came to loathe after a few months (hostess at a popular Italian chain restaurant). 
• I got a new job and worked with the majority of cool, friendly people and had fun. Then later I had to quit in order to focus on school (18 credit hours).
• Caleb (my longtime love) graduated from Georgia Tech in the spring. Such an accomplishment.
• Caleb and I got our dog, Atom (a sweet yellow Labrador), a brother in the summer!  He's a sable Merle Border Collie named Obi. He's so sweet and smart and cute and gush, gush, gush! ^_^ 
• We moved to a new apartment. This is the third one since Fall 2010. Aye. Hopefully we'll stay here for a while though... Haha. This place is better than the other two.
• I did well in the Fall semester from taking six upper level classes (all A's and B's). And my first A+ at this university.  
• I really improved my writing and gained more confidence as a writer and artist.
• I learned a lot. My brain should be the size of Saturn from 2012 alone. 
• I read a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot! English major, creative writing concentration. And I wrote quite a bit too.
• I payed my car off!! Woohoo! That was just in time for me quitting my job too.
• Then of course I dealt with car problems after I payed it off. Over the year I got new tires, a new battery, new brake pads, new transmission fluid, and something else I don't remember. 
• I got the flu last month then gave it to my dad. It started from Caleb's boss, then him, then me, then my dad. And I gave it to my dad from having to drive to my parents house to get my car worked on over in their area. 
• Elvis sang to me and gave me a lap dance... in front of my boyfriend's family. Then Elvis gave his grandma a lap dance too.
• I met cool people in my English classes. It sucks that I met them in my last year of college though. But at least I did and we could stay in touch.

Those were a few things that happened. I didn't have much of a social life last year from being heavily involved with school and work (before Fall). I did hang with friends but not as much as I would've liked.


Holiday Reflection!

Favorite gift I gave to someone: I was pleased with all the gifts I gave. I felt like I did a decent job in showing who they are and what they like. I mean, I pretty much only bought gifts for my family, Caleb, and his mom and stepdad.
Fav gift I received:  A medium Intuos 5 drawing tablet. Or the heating pad. Or the eco friendly yoga mat. I'm really grateful for everything and for me, it's about the thought behind the gift, not the price tag.
Fav gift to myself: A donation to help the animals in the shelters in NY after Hurricane Sandy. I always wish I could give more to help though. One day I will.


2013 is going to be a big year for me! I'm finally graduating from college, getting a "real" job, going to really put my artwork and writing out there, and who knows what else. Big, big changes will come this year.

Things to achieve:
Update this blog more frequently.
Get more on a chef level of cooking. Learn more about techniques, spices, recipes, etc.
Upload artwork. Make deadlines for myself... Writing and Illustrating.
Teach a lot more to Obi and work with the frisbee.
Go on vacation (with the assumption I'll have a good job to have $$$).
Read leisurely. I miss that.
Get better at yoga. Build more muscle and strength.
Work on children's books. Focus on the gluten free one first. Maybe other diseases to come.
Make new friends.
Be happier, healthier, and always feel grateful for everything in my life.

♥, Kayla

So this is the New Year

Motion City Soundtrack "Together We'll Ring in the New Year"
This must be it. / Welcome to the new year. / The drinks were consumed, / the plants were destroyed, / and the hors d'oeuvres dismantled. / I'm not smiling / behind this fake veneer. / I am often interrupted / or completely ignored, / but most of all I'm bored.



Death Cab for Cutie "New Year"
So this is the new year. / and i don't feel any different. / The clanking of crystal /explosions off in the distance / so this is the new year / and I have no resolutions / for self assigned penance / for problems with easy solutions.

These songs always come to mind when I think of the New Years. There is all this pressure to change so suddenly, all these made for TV movies about miracles. It's not my favorite holiday. I invested too much in a single day thinking, "If things go wrong today, then the whole year is screwed!" For some strange reason I think that whatever I'm doing when midnight comes will dictates the rest of my year. One time I happened to be in the bathroom during the countdown. This year I want to get over myself and wipe the poo off my face. The first day of the year is almost over, and there is still plenty of time to have a beautiful life and make it a beautiful year.

First blog post of the year, done. Hope we can keep it up, Kayla, one day at a time.

Love and Happy New Year,

Ginny

Foods of 2012

Since I tried to improve my cooking habits over the past 5 months, I started photographing the meals I prepared. Here are just a few of my ups and downs. One thing I've learned is that I should always make more for dinner so I can save the left overs for lunch. One thing I want to improve is just my creativity with mixing and flavoring foods. Any suggestions are welcome. Here we gooooo...

I guess I could look at the good part about this. The fiber from the granola bar is a good source of energy. The macaroni is ...filling? And the soda.. ah... the soda. A bad choice. But you know? I'm not really on a diet. I didn't have too much soda over the past few months. I like orange juice in the morning and lots of water through the day. Still, the meals improve I promise.

I showed these in an earlier post, and I made them a few times. They got better!

A nice improvement from simply pasta and cheese. I got this idea from a friend who mixed peas and carrots with mac and cheese. Here I mixed in Lima beans, black olives, and tomatoes.

I've been taking car of my basil since this summer and it's doing well here. I didn't take a picture of it but there was pasta too. The basil was good with the pasta and the croissants.

Vegetable pancakes are sooooooo NOMNOM. And really easy to make. I think there are some recipes on our pinterest for a homemade pancake mix as well. That could make this meal even more healthy.

Another easy meal to make. Rice is cheap and filling, easy to flavor and mix with stuff. I always make too much. That's good though because I end up with more for later.

I'm a pescetarian but don't always eat enough protein. I got this awesome salmon burger while grocery shopping and I cooked it for dinner. Awesome wholesome sandwich. 

That's all for now. Next year I want to work on cooking even more often and making more interesting delicious meals. Guess I should also work on learning how to take good pictures of food. hah. Well, until next time!

Peace and Noms,
Ginny

Weekly Motivations

This quote is simply perfect. 

Weekly Motivations

 http://pinterest.com/blossomposh/pins

I'll try to post an image like this from our Blossom Posh Pinterest once a week. Loves to yal:) -G

Prayer to Myself

It is not easy staying positive. The concept is something new I've adopted over the past couple years. I can't speak for everyone who has been quiet or shy growing up, but for myself at that time, I didn't understand how some people could feel happy and outgoing all the time. How could I, or anyone, just march right through the troubles without acknowledging that there is a problem? Looking at the sunny side was not helpful, but as I grew older the other extreme wore out as well. Recently I have been trying to find a way to merge those extremes, to face my negativity, address its validity, and then propose ways to change things for the better.

Around that time growing up I used to pray to God when I was scared, or worried, or confused. It was the thought of tender wishes of love and safety being sent out and wrapped around me, my family, and my friends no matter how far away. More recently in rediscovering my spirituality, I've missed some part of those days. I miss the connection I felt to others, the universe, and something larger than myself; I missed believing that the connections actually had meaning. However, I had found more comfort and freedom from letting go of my Christian faith. Organized religion with its focus on one dogmatic faith fits all, felt constraining and irrational. I started believing in myself and individuals more than wishes to pretty notions in the sky. I was content, but would there ever be something like prayer in my life again?

One night I was feeling particularly down. So instead of trying to sleep while thoughts bombarded my mind, I started writing. I got out all of that anxiety about my financial independence upon graduation, all those worries about the difficulty in finding a job I enjoy in this economy, the headache about paying loans, my concerns about risking a move to another state, and my doubts about my readiness for this all. When I was finished my mind could breath again, but I didn't really feel any better. I needed a prayer--what kind though? I couldn't honestly pray to God, or any other kind of divinity. I realized what I really needed was a prayer to myself, a holy moment, or affirmation of sorts. I didn't hold back; I didn't matter how little sense I made, or how strange it seemed, I would pray to myself and say exactly what I needed to hear any time I felt like this. It was empowering experience to simply comfort myself. It was somewhere in between a meditation and a poetic conversation with myself.

Borrow my idea if you think its inspiring. If you ever feel the need wrap yourself in words of self encouragement, discipline, and love, I recommend it.

Until next time. Peace!

G