Perfect Moment Monday -- Covettes Galore!

This is the car Tom wanted to buy...but didn't.

Each week I participate in Perfect Moment Monday, sponsored by the blog, WriteMindOpenHeart.com According to Lavender Luz, "Perfect Moment Monday" is about noticing a perfect moment rather than creating one. Perfect Moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between." And so, here is a Perfect Moment for this week.

This past weekend our new hometown sponsored the Carlisle Corvette show. Even with the warnings of Hurricane Irene, there were a ton of corvettes in a variety of colors, models, years...and conditions.

Tom and I walked around the fairgrounds and he pointed out the ones he thought were cool (pretty much all of them). It was fun to see so many Corvettes all in one place. Amazing!

Here are some pictures from the show:

See the swirling, dark, clouds from Hurricane Irene?

The Pace Car for the Indy 500 in 2007.

A classic...

The two Corvettes that we might possibly be able to afford. :)

Cloudy or not (and no rain, thank goodness)...it was a great time to spend time with my hubby. Perfect!

If you'd like to check out more Perfect Moment Mondays go to WriteMindOpenHeart.com by clicking here.

Perfect Moment Monday -- Tree in a Cornfield

A tree in a cornfield.

Each week I participate in Perfect Moment Monday, sponsored by the blog, WriteMindOpenHeart.com According to Lavender Luz, "Perfect Moment Monday" is about noticing a perfect moment rather than creating one. Perfect Moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between." And so, here is a Perfect Moment for this week.

Over the weekend the boys all went on a field trip to Hershey Park (Perfect). Before they left for the amusement park, they asked, "Will it smell like chocolate?" I can imagine how wonderful it would be if it did smell like chocolate. Can you gain weight by smelling calories??

Tom and I had the day to ourselves (Perfect), which we filled with a great workout, a delicious lunch in an Italian Pizza restaurant, reading out on our patio, and running on the Appalachian trail, a part that runs by several cornfields.

Having never run in a cornfield before, I stopped to look at the corn stalks (to confirm that they only grow one ear per stalk). In addition, I paused to do a yoga pose, Vrksasana (or Tree pose). Too bad my kids weren't there to say, "Mom!!! Really? Right here? Do you have to???"

The weather was beautiful, the run was so new and different...and it went by really fast (which is the sign of a good run). In short, it was perfect.

I confirmed that there is only one ear per stalk.

Enjoying lunch with my Sweetie in a delicious Italian Pizza restaurant. Perfect!

If you'd like to check out more Perfect Moment Mondays go to WriteMindOpenHeart.com by clicking here.

Perfect Moment Monday -- DC In August

WWII Memorial at night with the
Washington Monument in the background.

Each week I participate in Perfect Moment Monday, sponsored by the blog, WriteMindOpenHeart.com According to Lavender Luz, "Perfect Moment Monday" is about noticing a perfect moment rather than creating one. Perfect Moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between." And so, here is a Perfect Moment for this week.

Last week, our oldest son, James, had one of his friends, K, visit us in PA to check out our new home. The boys had a great time hanging out, sleeping, eating, sleeping...and did I mention sleeping? It's amazing how much teenagers can sleep!

There were some great Perfect Moments last week including Bryce and Ryan riding their bikes to a friend's house, and discovering the freedom of having transportation and the ability to explore our beautiful town.

When Bryce and Ryan returned from their bicycle trek and I suggested James and K take the bikes out, James adamantly said, "I don't ride bikes." But sure enough, not a day later, he and K were out on bikes riding downtown to get some pizza and custard.

Perfect!

Over the weekend, we took the boys to Washington DC for an overnight before we took K to the airport in Baltimore on Sunday.

While in Washington, we gave James and K times to go exploring on their own (with money, of course). K had never been to DC before and we wanted him to see some of the sights. Should I mention that some of their exploring time was spent in the hotel room sleeping???

Tom and I took the twins to explore and even had some time with just the two of us. One of the best times was Saturday night when we set off from our hotel about 10 p.m. and walked the mall. It was a long walk, but the evening was beautiful to take in all of the beautiful memorials...and it's amazing how many people are out that late at night.

Here are some photos from our trip:

Tom and I ran Sunday morning
by the U.S. Capitol in a drizzly rain.
It's amazing and ironic how so much and so
little can happen all in the same building.

Lincoln Memorial at night. Very powerful.

Of course, much to the chagrin of my teenagers,
I had to do a yoga pose (in public).
Did Abe do yoga??

We visited the National Museum of American History.
The first car I drove was a Honda (matic) like this
(except it was the station wagon version in light blue).
Great memories for me as my first kid starts to drive.

Our trip was...FULL of Perfect Moments!!!

If you'd like to check out more Perfect Moment Mondays go to WriteMindOpenHeart.com by clicking here.

What is 8/8/11 About?

I just wrote in my journal and noticed that it is 8/8/11. With two 8's and two 1's, there's got to be some significance to this...and so I started looking into it.

• Eights are about order, organization and strength. They can symbolize advancement, stability, cycles, setting priorities and accomplishment.
• Ones are about starting a new cycle, trying something new, the beginning of projects and trying a different approach to starting new things.

How does this apply to your life? Maybe start by asking a couple of questions:

• In relation to the 8's: Where am I seeking order in my life? What needs my attention? What priorities are most important (see Rice and Walnut example below)? What cycles have created stability and how can I build on that foundation?
• In relation to the 1's: What is new in your life? What would you like to bring into your life more fully? How could a new beginning in your life benefit you and others?

Personal example:

Most of you know that we recently moved from Colorado to Pennsylvania for a temporary assignment in my husband's career. Leaving my home of over 20 years, and the boys' only home they have known, we are experiencing LOTS  of new beginnings. Some of them exciting, some seem painful, uncomfortable and new.

My time has been consumed by organizing for the move, and then unpacking and setting up our new home. As each item falls into place, there is a feeling of more stability and comfort (organizing is EIGHT energy).

When we first got here I constantly found myself subtracting two hours off the clock and wondering what was going on in Colorado.

But now, I am on Eastern time and only occasionally deduct the two hours to think about what's going on "back home," mostly because I have a new home...here...now.

I have on my plate a smorgasbord of choices of how to spend my time. The soldier students have started school and the spouses are being invited to participate in all kinds of activities -- from recreation to fitness to educational to family to you name it! (new beginnings are ONE energy)

In our Spouses Briefing last week, the General came in to welcome the mostly female spouses. After a touching slide show of his family (he has three sons as well), he gave a demonstration that I have seen before, but it is a GREAT reminder of how to set priorities. I call it the Walnut and Rice example and here's how it goes:

The General lifted up a jar that was completely full of six walnuts and rice. He separated the walnuts from the rice as he dumped the rice into another glass jar and set the walnuts on the table.

He explained that the jar represented all of your life, and each of the walnuts represented a different priority for each of us. The priority was based on our values, in other words, what was most important to us.

He held up the first walnut and said, "Perhaps your top priority is your family -- getting your kids to their activities, family dinners, etc. Another priority (he held up the second walnut) may be your education. And yet another one could be your health (he held up a third walnut)."

"And then there's the rice," he explained. "What's life without the carbs?" he said and explained that the rice represented all of the many fun activities, options, opportunities available to each of us every day...all of them sounding so appealing!"

He explained how tempting it is to be presented with LOTS of options and want to immediately put them into the jar. He poured the rice from one jar into the empty one.

The General continued to explain and demonstrate, "But, if you fill your jar first with the rice," he said holding up the rice-filled jar, "then the walnuts may not fit in like they did before," he said as he jammed the walnuts on top of the rice...stacking on top, but not fitting into the jar.

He continued, "If you are not careful and don't prioritize your life, the walnuts (top priorities and values) don't fit into your life (jar), and you find that you are busy tending to all of the rice, while the important walnuts get shoved out."

"As you might imagine," he said, "a life without the important walnuts can feel busy, but empty...and we know that all six walnuts and the rice CAN fit into the jar, if we do it in the proper order."

Over the weekend, both Tom and I talked about and prioritized our "walnuts" and our "rice," in an effort to fill our "jar" with the most important things first.

Today's date, 8/8/11 emphasizes the importance of this lesson for me. It's important to think about the walnuts and the rice in my jar (life) and use my best organizational skills (a characteristic of the 8), to prioritize and begin to pour my energy (a characteristic of the 1) into the most important areas of my life...the things I value the most.

What are your walnuts? What is the rice? And MOST importantly, what are you going to do to use your 8 energy to fill your life with what's most important?

Perfect Moment Monday -- Pass the Parmesan Cheese, Please!

Each week I participate in Perfect Moment Monday, sponsored by the blog, WriteMindOpenHeart.com According to Lavender Luz, "Perfect Moment Monday" is about noticing a perfect moment rather than creating one. Perfect Moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between." And so, here is a Perfect Moment for this week.

My Blogging Confession..."Forgive me, readers, for I have taken a breather. It's been over a month since my last blog post." :)

OK. I feel better getting that off my chest!

The great news is that I have lots to write about...so let's start with a Perfect Moment.

We've been living in Pennsylvania for a little over three weeks (driving here from Colorado). Since everything is new, we've all been going through LOTS of adjustments.

Our house is different. Our community is different. Our routine is completely different. Everything feels new and different.

The only thing that is not different is the people in our family. But even that is not a true statement. I am watching each of us change as we move from day to day. Here's an example:

Tom and I were sitting with Bryce and Ryan (the 14-year old twins) at the table. That afternoon we had registered them for school and were given the materials to select their specific courses when we meet with their counselor, about two weeks away.

At dinner, we looked through the catalogs to determine the requirements, classes, credits, etc. The tension was building as Tom wanted to discuss the options and the boys were stuck on a "NO" stance. It seemed that for each door, each opportunity that we were opening for them, they were immediately shutting it (and sometimes slamming it).

The tension reached an all-time high. Tom got up from the table and said, "I've had enough."

Bryce and Ryan tried to apologize, but their efforts seemed less than genuine and only escalated Tom's frustration. So much so that he (are you sitting down?)...unplugged the wireless Internet. You would have thought he cut off their right legs!

The boys immediately wanted to talk to me because any effort they made to talk to Tom was flatly refused. Bryce and Ryan explained their frustrations and their feelings...and I listened.

I went upstairs to talk to Tom, who shared his frustration and his feelings. As with most confrontations, both sides had legitimate concerns, but NO communication was happening and so the problem remained unsolved.

I was in the middle, listening to both sides, but unable to help them communicate to each other. Until I saw one of the boys tapping on their beds with the drumsticks we had gotten them from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one of our great sight-seeing stops we took on our trek east.

The "talking stick." Yes. We could use the talking stick to help us communicate.

We all gathered in the living room as I explained how the talking stick works. You can only talk when you hold the stick. When you pass the stick, the second person explains what they heard the first person say and the second person asks for confirmation that they heard and interpreted correctly. The second person then goes on to express their thoughts and feelings...passing the stick (to the next person who would like to speak) when they are done.

And so it went. We passed the stick around the room doing some of the best active listening (communicating) I have ever witnessed my family doing...ever. And, we were able to each express our frustrations, our thoughts and our feelings...and know that we were heard and understood.

The talking stick slows down the conversation, but it is SO much more effective.

A couple of nights later, when all five of us (James included) were finishing dinner, we had the same type of discussion, but this time we used our Parmesan cheese as "the talking stick"...and it worked again. We had a great discussion where each person felt heard and understood. It doesn't mean we all agreed, but there was a common understanding, love and respect that we had for each other.

A love for our sameness and for our differences.

The joke now in our family when a difficult subject arises is someone saying..."Pass the Parmesan cheese please," which means they would like to talk, be heard, listen and respond.

Watching his unfold and thinking/hoping that each of the boys would take these skills with them into their own relationships, their work situations, their own families and communicate effectively...was Perfect.

Could you please pass the Parmesan Cheese?

If you'd like to check out more Perfect Moment Mondays go to WriteMindOpenHeart.com by clicking here.