End of January Thoughts

Top of the Dome
January 23, 2010

My gosh January is always a busy month for us. There is the let down after a busy holiday season while getting things back to normal on gloomy, grey days. Normally we have a few snow storms to deal with as well. It is also one of our vacation months so there is usually a lot going on. Here it is the first of February and I find myself looking back wondering where January went. This year we decided not to fly anywhere for vacation. I just wasn't up to dealing with any of the current airport problems. The weather has been so unseasonable un-winter like that traveling to a warmer climate wasn't as appealing either. My husband has only had to shovel the walkway once. Most of January our lawn has been mostly green occasionally tinged with a heavy frost or a bit of light snow. I spent the first couple of weeks indoors enjoying the winter days and wildlife from the comforts o a warm, cozy house. Most of our meals revolved around homemade comfort foods and soups so there wasn't even anything dramatic going on in the kitchen. At best it was very much a sleeper month :)

Pictured is looking up at one of The Domes at the Mitchell Park Conservatory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I thought it made for a rather interesting photo. If you would like to read more about The Domes, please check out my gardening blog, Garden Gnome Wanderings. I'm currently writing a series of posts featuring The Domes including pictures and video with the first two posts already published. There will be more coming daily this week.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

The Learning Curve

Evening Skies
July 7, 2009

Virtually everything we do in life is a direct result of learning. Learning involves a learning curve which is simply the time it takes you to move from not knowing anything about performing that task reasonably well. The steepness of the learning curve depends on the complexity of the task as well as the intelligence level of the individual. Thanks to technology we are bombarded with ample opportunity to expand our knowledge on a daily basis. That doesn't make the learning curve static!

Several years ago I got my first digital camera with no flash or memory card. It simply took 8 to 10 pictures then I had to download them in order to use the camera again. The learning curve for that camera was by today's standards very minimal yet it was there and it formed the knowledge base to go onto the next camera. Over the past few days I have been put back onto the learning curve with the new Panasonic DMC-TZ5.

I'm one of those people who does read the manual. There is a lot more to this camera as far as settings go in comparison to the Canon A540! I am quite impressed with the quality of pictures I'm getting already but hopefully they will improve further as I learn more about using the camera's features effectively. Pictured is the sunset from Tuesday night and it really did look like that (without the frame and signature of course)! The Panasonic captured the colours in amazing detail and clarity which I attribute to the high mega pixels. I'm excitedly reading through the manual to learn everything I can about this camera. Now I need to find a forum where I can ask questions!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

all alone

I took this video clip of the remaining guinea hen. I'm pretty sure this is a female and her distress is quite obvious. She isn't eating simply calling for her mate that will never come. She was like this yesterday and again today. The noise is precisely why the others were killed by callous individuals not understanding how beneficial guinea hens can be. It's not likely she will be nesting in this state of distress. What a shame to see!

Man Wins or Does He?

Defeated
April 19, 2007

Yesterday started off with the promise of a gorgeous and mild day. The real estate agent was showing the house at 4:30 PM so I did the spit and shine routine then headed to the grocery store. I wanted something cooking to give a nice aroma so decided on a small sirloin roast along with fruit to refresh the never ending fruit bowl. That left me enough time to prep the meal, do a little blogging and relax. Since I would be home, the game plan was for her to show the outside first then I go outside while she shows the inside. Everything went according to plan. As always my camera is with me except when sleeping. This is the sight that just brought a great day crashing down!

I've blogged on my garden blog about the guinea hens wandering through the neighbourhood. Guinea hens are great escape artists. At first there was one they he brought his friends so for the past few months there were three. They make a lot of noise but other than that are quite benefical in the garden so I welcomed them. One of my neighbours built a shelter for them and another left his shed open so they had somewhere to rest. Then there were two. Rumour had it that a certain neighbour had trapped one.

Mid-afternoon there was a lot of noise from one of guinea hens so I looked outside. Sure enough there was only one but it was obvious this bird was greatly distressed. I wandered out to the water while the house was being shown only to this sickening sight. The cowardly person who killed the guinea hen simply tossed it into the water. This morning I have watched his mate desperately search for him. She is very distressed. It is such a sad sight to see!

negative self talk...

Phynx Entrance, Luxor
Las Vegas, Nevada

This photo is of one of the entrances at the Luxor in Las Vegas. Designed after an Egyptian pyramid, this impressive casino and resort is a must stop at on your tour of Las Vegas. The Luxor has the strongest beam of light in the world. It can be seen from astronauts on space missions so this is rather impressive. Pyramids signify strength and endurance and they have been rumoured to restore inner balance.

Negative self talk is something we all do from time to time. While this is destructive and self harming, it really can really become pathological. My self esteem has always been on the low side. I don't know why, likely a combination of genetics, environment and patterning. So the last thing I need is me putting myself down! I think one of the biggest problems with negative self talk is recognizing it. We say these things to ourselves so often we aren't even aware but our minds begin believing these unspoken words resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is critical to recognize negative self talk and nip it in the bud before it has negative effects on your ego. After all, if you don't love yourself, who is going to?

Well that sounds great coming from someone with low self esteem, doesn't it? Even this question is negative towards my thoughts on the subject but I'll address that in another entry. I don't think I really became totally aware of how destructive negative self talk can be until I said some pretty nasty things, out loud, because I had accidently tipped over a bowl of food in the kitchen. My husband was home but out of earshot so I thought but clearly heard me berating myself for such stupid. I was so used to doing this when I was home alone, it just popped out of my mouth without even thinking! I turned around and there he was. Belying the astonishment on his face, he calmly asked if I would say those things to anyone else. When I replied no, he asked "Then why would you say them to yourself?". That got me thinking as to why would I say these negative things either silently or out loud to myself and ever since that time I have made a conscious effort nip these types of thoughts before they can do damage.

Recently, I had another eye opener. We were out as a foursome with another couple and as normal we gals paired together. Well, one thing led to another finally ending with body size and she made the comment she was "nothing but a fat cow". I automatically said, "Don't say that about yourself" and she seriously stopped short then realized what she said. We talked a little about the negative self talk and how it makes us believe things about ourselves that aren't particularly accurate. Later that night, my husband surprised me by saying he overheard our conversation and was proud of the way I handled that situation. So much for the guys doing their own thing but the compliment was much appreciated!