Category: Therapeutic Thursdays

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Therapeutic Thursdays

The UnBurdenYourSoul Project

Annette Shoop Presents UnburdenYourSoul Project

Today I want to introduce you to the UnburdenYourSoul Project that my dear friend Annette is working on right now. In life, situations happen to us ALL the time. I can see you nodding your head yes. Some are minor occurrences like forgetting an item in our shopping cart and noticing it when we unload our bags into the car. Pausing to look up at He who sees all. Other happenings can stay with us for a week, like the argument you had with your favorite person in the world over feeling unheard. On occasion though, we might experience a situation that stays with us for a lifetime. It might mold us and cause us to react to later events without us even being aware of it. The situation might burrow itself deep into the darkest corners of our soul forever changing who we are AND who we will become. The UnburdenYourSoul Project is my friend’s effort to take you down the liberating path that she is now on. Well, I’ll let Annette fill you in. Read on to read Annette’s message on her UnBurdenYourSoul Project.

Continue reading “The UnBurdenYourSoul Project”
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Accountability Parnters being sick going to the doctors I think I have the flu New Year Resolutions NYE Therapeutic Thursdays

What happens when the clock strikes 12 on New Years Eve?

I know what the calendar says but I’m stuck on December 31st 2012. When I was on vacation Daniel and I planned to have a nice evening cuddled up in bed …maybe a glass of wine and Netflix to bring in the New Year. I have heard over and over again that what you are doing when the clock strikes 12 is what you’ll be doing the entire year. Spending more down time together is a must for us in 2013.

…Christmas weekend, the non-stop~ness that was our lives for the past 5 months crept up on me, and made a home in my throat. There IT sat, patiently waiting for me to pick up the pace. I laughed in ITs face, this unwanted presence was NOT going to take me. I caught up on my DVR for days. I rested. On Friday I felt better and when I least expected it, IT jumped in my face and yelled SYKE.

On NYE I went to the Drs with what I hoped was NOT Strep. I sat in a crowded waiting room where half the people wore masks (Just in case they had the FLU). I was happy to hear that it was a cold turned to a bacterial virus. NYE I took a nap so I could see the new year come in and maybe listen to my love’s voice but at 11 PM, midnight just seemed too far away.

Today I took the last of my Amoxicillin, now I just have to remember to rest. Rest is important; So is celebrating the new year. I thought that this week would be my NYE, but now Daniel is sick. So we’ll be celebrating on January 18th, when he’s taken his last Amoxicillin pill. I can’t wait. 2013 is going to be great! These last 10 days have been amazing, full of blessings, and news to force me to make changes in my life that are way overdue.

Next week I’ll be sharing my NEW Year Resolutions… I’m not late. I technically have 8 more days to plan them out accordingly. I’ll be sharing things I’ve only shared with a handful of people. I’ll share them with you to prove to the universe that I’m serious about my life and that I take nothing for granted. Over the last few weeks, the one thing that has struck me that I’ve lacked in previous years is an Accountability Partner. I hope that I can count on you to be that. It is a lot to ask but I have faith that you’re here reading this for a reason.

In the meantime, please share with me what your NYE was like! I’m sure it was AWEsome but I need details…give me and Daniel some options to choose from!

Until then,

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budgeting money for Christmas Christmas December Getting To Healthy gift ideas healt Holiday Shopping Old San Juan Puerto Rico Therapeutic Thursdays vacation where to start holiday shopping

Vacation, Take two of these and Call me in the morning.

photo credit: Emilio Santacoloma via photopin cc

It’s Therapeutic Thursday here on My Pocketful of Thoughts today!  Therapeutic Thursdays are reserved for all things that give you a sense of well being potential Holiday gift ideas.  Today I’m sharing with you what my boyfriend, Daniel, and I are doing for this holiday season.  Perhaps it will inspire you to think of a potential Holiday Gift for someone on YOUR list.

Throughout the year we can get extremely busy.  It’s like the saying, “If it’s not one thing it is another.”  It is great to be super busy, whether its work, pursing dreams, playing bowling, and volunteering at our church.  Sometimes I think having all these spinning plates though can be hazardous to our health.  It is important to know your body’s limit.  Daniel and myself are still learning and pushing the body’s limits to just help one more person.  It’s our gift and our curse. 

The time we do spend together is precious.  Which is why this holiday season we are giving the gift of doing absolutely nothing in a beautiful destination.  If I were a doctor I would prescribe to most of my patients a VACATION;  Take two of these and call me in the morning.  While we do need to keep moving to STAY active, we also need to drop everything regularly to make sure that the body can heal itself properly and rest.  If our cell phone is about to die, we do not try to make just one more call, right?  Ok…maybe I do but only because it guarantees a short phone call. 🙂   Our mind automatically starts looking for the charger as soon as the light starts flashing red.  So why not treat our bodies like we do our cell phones.  We can get a replacement if the cell stops working but we can’t trade-in for a new body if our batteries die.

What better gift is there to get, than spending quality time with our loved ones, right?  Cue in the music … why spend the money on gifts when you could spend the money on a trip that will build memories to last a lifetime. You can avoid the rush at the mall and save time from having to track down the item that seems to be on everyone’s list?  In the past, that has been my favorite gift, the gift of an activity.  We have built some great memories over the past years with those kind of gifts.  I always look back on them with love in my heart. 

One year Daniel surprised me with Broadway tickets to In the Heights during our stay in NYC.  The play was amazing, a definitely must see.  This January we used one of his Christmas gifts from me, a photography shoot class in Grand Central Station with Sundays in NY, read all about it when you’re finished here.  This year we both know what we’re getting, as we planned it early on, a vacation to Puerto Rico.  We will be doing a combination of absolutely nothing, eating, lying on the beach, sipping yummy drinks, sightseeing, and eating some more.  We owe it to our bodies to just have a time out, heal and rest.  Time outs are not just for kids you know!  If this sounds great for one of the people on your list check out the Travel Discount Page in the menu above, its full of my favorite sites on where to get deals from activities to traveling.
If you’ve done something similar in the past, drop a line in the comments section, I’m always looking for inspiration on my next gift.

Until then,
PS Wednesdays on the My Pocketful Of Thoughts Facebook Page is Where Are We Going Wednesday, the entire day shares posts full of great travel tips and things to know.  Stop by today and check out what great things you missed yesterday.

If you like what you’ve read, warm my heart and follow the blog!  Likes are great for those who don’t want to comment.    Just go to right side panel, look for FOLLOWERS and click Join This Site!      
       
Join the My Pocketful of Thoughts community by giving a LIKE to the FB Page! Just hit like and feel free to share it with lovely like minded people by hitting send below.

Join in on the conversation, click here to get started.

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a diary death friends Hurricane Hurricane Sandy loss of home no power prayers Random Thoughts Therapeutic Thursdays water

Random thoughts during Hurricane Sandy…

 Monday

  • 7:00 am – The winds have started to pick up this early Monday morning.  The first high tide is coming in a bit and they are worried of serious flooding.
  • 1:00 pm – The first high tide did not bring in as much water as we expected.  We’re off to a good start.  A lot of the people I spoke to yesterday seem to be unconcerned, I hope they evacuate anyways.
  • 2:00 pm – Not feeling well, I’m going to take advantage of this quiet afternoon with a nice long nap.  
  • 5:00 pm – We lost power a few hours ago, just lost my window of having a hot meal for dinner; stupid nap.  The wind has begun to pick up more.
  • 6:30 pm – I have been getting texts from family members and friends, some have power and some don’t, maybe it won’t be so bad after all.  My niece has called to tell me she still has power and since they were bored she’s out joy riding to access the damages. Wait, what?!
  • 8:00 pm – The wind has picked up a great deal.  Leaves and debris float on invisible waves like a perfectly timed flash mob.  My attic bedroom is shaking; I keep thinking of images of a silent screaming women taking flight.  At least the candles give the illusion that all is well.
    • photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video via photopin cc
  • 10:30 pm – I can’t read anymore.  The wind seems to be dying down now; my eyes won’t stay open.  There’s still no power.  I am not feeling well.  I will let the dark night take me to dream land.  

Tuesday

  • 7:03 am – Danny, the boyfriend, brings me much needed coffee.  He mentions being stopped three times by the police.  It is understandable that after a hurricane people would stay indoors.  Right?  I spend the next five hours charging my phone and my kindle in the car.  Not once does it occur to me to turn on the radio.
  • 12:30 pm – More cars are on the road and lots of people are walking around.  I go back into the house.  Still NO power.
  • 5:00 pm – I just woke up from an almost four hour nap.  I am starting to feel better.  I am starving.  We’re all starving.  Still NO power.
  • 5:30 pm – I venture out to find hot food.  Traffic lights are not working.  People are not driving crazy.  Trees are knocked down.  Where to eat?  Closed.  Closed.  Closed.  No Power.  My favorite Chinese food spot is open.  Operating by flashlight. Hmmmm. I am hungry.  My last hot meal was breakfast Monday morning.  Granola, bread, and fruit are not cutting it.  Hey, where are the UI guys?
  • 10:30 pm – I regret already eating that Chinese food.  Rumor has it that the UI guys are on strike.  Apparently out of state line guys have been paid almost triple, with five star hotel check-ins and gourmet meals.  I just want my power.  Tonight is supposed to be cold.  I can’t read anymore.  The dark night still seems surreal.  I fall asleep to the sound of humming generators, ambulance sirens and the dark.  Still NO power.

Wednesday

  • 5:20 am – Still NO Power.  I get up to wake my father for work.  It was hard to get out of bed, so cold. I go back to sleep
  • 7:00 am – I wake up to a nice hot shower and get ready for work.  Thank God for Gas Water Heaters!  Downtown Bridgeport has power?! Drive to Panera Bread for breakfast and it was packed.  A quick scan and overheard conversations, a good portion of Shelton and Trumbull are out of power to.  Driving to work I see that the power is not on in the building.  Decide to drive home, stopped at the Dunkin donuts in Bridgeport to grab coffee for my mom and the line is coming out of the door, drive through is wrapping around the building. Craig, the newspaper guy, sends me to the cafe in the lot next door.  Bless his soul.  
  • 1:00 pm –  Still NO power.  I did see a UI guy working on the tree a few blocks away.  I wonder if the rumors are true?  If so I pray the negotiations are moved along.  Its cold.  Nap time?
  • 3:00 pm – Can’t get warm.  I throw on layers and head over to the cafe that has free wi-fi.  They have the door open?  Why?!  Don’t they know I’m trying to defrost?  I almost tear up to see all the concerned souls praying and sending love my way on Facebook.
  • 5:00 pm – I get to my sister’s house, who has power, to warm up with an invite to dinner.  I step out to find soup for my mom to find the Chinese place closed.  Driving home I do not know how to explain to my mom I could not find soup and decide I can heat up a can of soup.  Oh, what wait, street lights?  Yes.  oh wait but not on this block.  Turning onto my street I see them, bright and beautiful.  I run into the house, We have POWER!  My mom forgives me for not finding soup.
  • 11:30 pm – I am thankful that the power came back on, its warm and my belly is full.  God is good.  So are all the people in my life!

I was very fortunate during Hurricane Sandy.  While my household suffered the loss of power, Monday into Tuesday evening was warm.  There are people that have lost their homes. Some have lost their lives. There are many still without power.  My thoughts and prayers stay with them during this time and I pray they find relief soon. May we all go to sleep with the street lights on tonight.

photo credit: Bigod via photopin cc
Until then,

    Categories
    Therapeutic Therapeutic Thursdays

    Marriage…Giving Up A Piece of You?

    I finally finished reading Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I began a discussion about it a few months back in the post titled Should We Come with a WARNING Label?  While the title may be explanatory it might make sense to revisit it.

    I liked the research done about the topic of marriage.  The different points of view of what marriage is and what makes it survive varied from country to country, but the one constant was the work that went into it.  I believe that marriage should never be taken lightly and neither did Elizabeth.

    There were many points in the book that I jotted down, but what I’d like to discuss with you today is what you think about marriage.  Do you feel that marriage is giving up a piece of you?

    ‘…Robert Frost wrote that “a man must partly give up being a man” in order to enter into marriage – and I cannot fairly deny this point when it comes to my family.  I have written many pages already describing marriage as a repressive tool used against women, but it’s important to remember that marriage is often used as a repressive tool against men, too.  Marriage is a harness of civilization, linking a man to a set of obligations and thereby containing his restless energies…’ Pg 197

    In all honesty, this idea of marriage being a repressive tool saddens me.  I am not married yet.  But I do not want to feel repressed and I do not want my husband to be to feel repressed either.  I love his restless energies.  I would hope that we could have a 50/50 relationship, where the responsibility of a marriage is not carried more by one person than the other.  I know that we have our strong suits and I feel confident that we work as a team on virtually everything except for picking a restaurant.  I do feel that the times have changed significantly, enough to say that the husband and wife no longer have assigned roles.  What say you?

    What are your thoughts on marriage?  Do you disagree with marriage being a repressive tools for both sexes?  Are aspects of this statement true?  Let me know your thoughts below!

    Until then,
    Categories
    relationships Therapeutic Thursdays

    Should We Come with a WARNING Label? PART DOS

    Hello!  Upon thinking about this topic some more (Shall We Come with a WARNING Label?), I find it interesting that IF we were in a relationship, and a friend’s mirrored ours, we’d advise them to leave but not take our own advise. For example, if I were dating someone who told me they did not want to commit, and I stuck around because I was in love and believed that it would “all work out in the end”, and my friend told me he was in a relationship with a woman that did not want to commit, but he wanted to stay believing that she would change her mind. I’d advise him to let her go and move on. Explaining that she has already stated that she did not want to be in a relationship, so why believe she’d change her mind. If she didn’t realize already how awesome he was by now, who knows when that would happen, and he’d just be angry in the end. Which he shouldn’t be since she’d already said she didn’t want a relationship to begin with. I would see my situation as being different, because the person I’m in love with, will surely change his mind….not lol Then I’d yell at myself when I snapped out of it.  I’ve done this before so I know.  People tell you who they are, believe them.  Why do we not see these things for ourselves?  And if we do, why does one convince themselves that things will be different this time?  Is it that we secretly want the same thing, to not commit?  When did you realize it was time to let go? If you find yourself in a situation as stated above, ask yourself this, “what are you telling the universe you want?”  I remember watching The Wedding Date, and a line in the movie made so much sense.  The father is talking to Kat, the main character, that is still pining over the man who loved her for seven years and called off their wedding because he was sleeping with her sister(which she never knew), she’d brought an escort to her sister’s wedding (marrying another guy) to make her ex jealous…‘I remember reading a fascinating articIe in the New York Times Magazine once, where this guy said, “Every woman has the exact love life she wants.” You know what? I agree with him. But I refuse to believe that this is what you want, Kat.’   I do not believe that we want to be in relationships that bring us nothing but misery. The sooner you realize that the faster things will start to change in your life! Focusing on the positive, the happy things you want to come to be, will make it come. If you choose to focus on the negative, all the things you do not want, well guess what, you’ll get what you don’t want. On this terrific day, Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want.

    A penny for your thoughts?  What advice could you give someone trying to end a relationship (officially committed or not)?  How can a person take charge of their love life?

    Until then,
    DjRelAt7
     
     
    Categories
    Beauty fashion Jackie Clark mesothelioma Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog My Pocketful Of Thoughts new writer Soulful Sundays Stay Tuned Therapeutic Thursdays

    ..the NEWest writer to bless the My Pocketful Of Thoughts blog…

    I hope that you are well on this Therapeutic Thursday!  Today I am introducing the NEWest writer to bless the My Pocketful Of Thoughts blog.  She comes to us from the land NY, NY.  She does outreach work with the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance.  She has a passion for fashion-from shoes to makeup, nail polish to handbags, and everything in between! Coupled with that she believes that all women need to feel beautiful, no matter what circumstances they may be facing. Women are powerful beings and WE need to realize it! Sadly, many women are hearing those devastating words ‘you have cancer.’ Despite a cancer diagnosis, women can still feel beautiful in their own skin. Fashion is a wonderful way to feel strong and confident. On Sunday she will share the reality of cancer and how women can say ‘YES I have cancer, but I am no less beautiful than I was before my diagnosis‘.
    It takes a certain type of person to go out and make others feel good about themselves.  Please help me welcome Jackie Clark to My Pocketful Of Thoughts.  STAY TUNED!  Her post will appear this coming Soulful Sunday.  In the meantime check her out at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog.
    Until then,