Tuesday night after work.....

MARK: "Hey, there's a letter from the C.R.A. for you on the counter"

ME (in a voice very similar to Dr. Evil): "Dear Cara, you owe us 1 million dollars"

MARK: "Well?"

ME: "It's a cheque! For 72 bucks!"

MARK: "Sweet, dinner's on you"



This weeks challenge: always look on the bright side!

I have a dream...

Mark and I every once and a while talk about who we would have at a dinner party if we could invite anyone. There are always categories: dead, alive, male, female, for fun, for an opportunity to learn.

I have a new celebrity crush right now on Josh Gates. I like his show, he has a sense of humour and reminds me a lot of Mark (I'm pretty sure that's why I like him so much).

In my dream last night, Mark and I were at some sort of convention, Josh Gates was there and when we asked him if he would come to our fictitious diner party, he said no!! In a dream, to a pretend party...he said no.

Seriously?

I may have to examine what this means. I'll invite him only one more time and then well...his loss.

A Dear Gym letter

Oh..... hi Gym. Wow, this is awkward. It's been a long time hasn't it. Oh really, that long eh? Well, I'm sure that I can find a million reasons for not being around. I've been busy, you know how it is. You look good. Strong and fit. Me? I've been better. I thought of you the other day when the elevator was not working and I had to walk the 5 flights of stairs. I thought about napping between the fourth and fifth floors, but I made it.

Gym, I want you to know that I strongly dislike you and yet enjoy your company at the same time. We have a very serious love / hate relationship at this point. I have a good time when I'm with you but when you call, seriously...voice-mail!! I feel energized and refreshed after visiting with you, and yet there are things that we need to talk about. Like the other day when I spent an hour with your friend Emily, who teaches the step class. By Thursday I could barely walk, my calves hurt so bad. There were tears when I realized that I had to walk up the stairs to the apartment. What is up with that?

As much as I try to blame you for where I'm at right now, I know that I have to own my fair share of the responsibility. If I had made more of an effort to maintain our friendship over these last few months, I know that there would be none of this painful awkwardness we're experiencing. But I'm back Gym, and I know that we will get past it. We'll get to know each other again and eventually be the best of friends.

See you tomorrow Gym, and hey....thanks for being there.

Cara

Whatta Man, Whatta Man, Whatta mighty good man

Sadly, This only makes me love him more.

No reason for this.

Not Halloween.

Just because.

Shortly after this awesome, awesome picture was taken, the "Hitler" became the new fad a stayed that way for the rest of the day. Through drive thru's and visiting friends.

Love you Honey.

creature of habit

hab⋅it
–noun
1.an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary: the habit of looking both ways before crossing the street.

2.customary practice or use: Daily bathing is an American habit.

3.a particular practice, custom, or usage: the habit of shaking hands.

4.a dominant or regular disposition or tendency; prevailing character or quality: She has a habit of looking at the bright side of things.


Whether good ones (buckling up) or bad ones (speeding) , I am a creature of habit .

It took me 20 some odd years to stop biting my nails. My mom tried to pay me a quarter a day for every day I didn't. This meant a poor childhood and my first job at 11 years old (picking raspberries - most of which I ate resulting in a pitiful amount of money at the end of the week but I remember waving around my $8.00 paycheck like I had just won the lottery - 8 BUCKS!! I was loaded).

I was talking with one of our amazing practice members the other day and we were both lamenting that we had a million unfinished projects in our homes. Her ceiling remains almost all painted while the 15 beautiful picture frames I bought a year ago are completely empty (there are currently no pictures in our house to prove that Mark and I actually live there).So how can this creature of habit never stick to anything?

WAIT! I think I'm having an epiphany - maybe not following through is a habit in itself!! It's the very definition of irony!! So how do I break this pattern? By finishing one project before starting another? Finishing what I've already started? By never starting anything ever again?

Studies show that it takes a minimum of 21 days for anything to become a habit. This means 21 days of going for a run, 21 days of not biting my nails, 21 days of having a proper meal before I dive into the bowl of popcorn.I can stick to anything for 21 days, the key is consistency. I think I'll start with finishing current projects.

Now, if you'll excuse me... I have to go and mail last years birthday cards.

Be Well.

all that's missing....

Ever have one of those days when all that's missing is the toilet paper on the bottom of your shoe?

Mine happened the first week of January. Right after I made all those resolutions.

(I didn't actually make resolutions but I did write down what I want for myself, friends and family in the year 2010. Rather than the forceful: I WILL stop having popcorn for dinner, I wrote something like: I see myself maintaining a balanced diet that includes popcorn as a treat not a food group).

The first 3 that I wrote for myself included:

I see myself walking with confidence
No longer am I motivated by what people think
I am maintaining a consistent exercise / running routine

Monday, January 4th

• I feel fantastic.

Tuesday, January 5th.

• wake up late
• run out the door with a coffee but without breakfast
• very ungracefully get out of the car, spilling the contents of my purse on to the seat
• walk across the street (this is the only thing that was easy that day)
• trip UP the stairs outside of the Landmark Towers during the busiest part of the day
• try to prevent myself from falling on my face, twist and re-injure my back, which prevents me from running for another 2 weeks
• spend the rest of the day feeling sorry for myself and thinking that it was foolish of me to assume that things would change
• did I mention I chipped my new coffee cup during my spectacular fall?

So, what's the lesson? Nothing changes overnight. I will be faced with obstacles and situations that will seem insurmountable. I have two options:

A) Stare at these overwhelming situations and think, here we go again, nothing ever changes and then give up.

OR

B) Recognize this as an opportunity to get up, dust off and walk confidently even after a fall. Realize that people care more about if you are o.k. rather than making fun of the fact that you fell in the first place. Come to the conclusion that running will still be there in two weeks and I've always wanted to try yoga. And....a chipped coffee cup is an valid reason to get a new coffee cup.

I choose B.

Felis Navidad!!

O.K.

So I'm sure that if you look back on the entries I've made, you'll read (many times) how I say- "next time it won't be so long before I write...I promise I'll do better....I'll write more often".



So.....anyways.



The last few months we have been blessed with so many adventures!!! There was the Dominican Republic with the Chiropractors with compassion team. That was an amazing trip. It was not planned, in fact, we had to make the decision to go in about 2 hours. The stress that caused me (no $$ - prior commitments - no $$) was well worth the reward. I left feeling like I didn't have enough arms to hold, hug and play with these kids.



There was the NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK concert!! We took to calling it the old men on pension tour, but I was wrong. The concert was really good. I didn't see them when I was fifteen and I'm glad I did now. That was in November and my ears have NOT stopped ringing!! The endless shrieking from both 15 and 35 year-olds alike was heard in space- I'm sure. Mark (who was one of 13 guys there) and I sat next to a girl who was "15 and, like my friend is 16 and we're, like super excited". I asked if they knew who the New Kids were and she said that she did but only after she researched them on the Internet. I told her that if she needed to know any of the dance moves from the early 90's, I could, like, totally show her. Mark entertained himself by trying to copy all of the back-up dancers moves.



My husband turned 36 this year and wanted to spend the day at the zoo. We saw hippos, giraffes, zebras (oh my). There was a encounter at the Orangutan enclosure as one of the big orangutans was insistent on looking in Mark's ears She would tap on the glass when she was finished with one ear and wanted to look in the other(which Mark happily endured).



Then...Cuba was cancelled.


Seriously. Cancelled.


There was a change of date for the flight, which we could not do, so we (Mark) searched and re- booked us to the Mayan Riviera- Again. And we had a fabulous time - Again.


We are back now, slightly bitter, and after 36 hours are ready for our next vacation.


I'll leave you with some pictures of the zoo and Mexico and I promise I'll write more often in the future. No, No...seriously...I mean it this time.















Happy New Year Everyone!!