Oh my!

So, I was just completing my late night blog stalking & came across something that made my heart skip.

As I was checking in with wonderful mrs b and mrs s, looking at their fun, fun, fun (how I wish I could be fun like them) family and friend pictures and posts, I did my usual blog stalking technique of peeking at their "lists" of other people's blogs. I saw the coolest name for a blog & almost clicked on it. Then I realized......it was me. Wow.

My dear mrs (or should it read mrses?), hugs to you. Big ones.

Training

The past few months, I've been big in training mode. I didn't do it on purpose, I just ended up here.

I've been weight training for over a year now.
A very independent, dominant, & excitable puppy entered our family's lives. She and I are in dog training.
An opportunity to learn a form of brain training arose, so I went to that training and I am preparing to train other people using those methods.

In my weight training (fyi-I'm not hardcore), I've learned that I have to push past my comfort zone and go heavier than I'd like sometimes. I have to struggle sometimes. I sweat-I've grown to enjoy that sweat because I know that I am tearing my muscle fibers apart and later, they will repair. I will be stronger. I am stronger.

The dog, oh the dog. We've never had a dog before. She's a whole separate post, but for now I will tell you that she's not really the one in training, I am. I've learned that I have to stand up to her, let her know that I am in charge, and be very firm. We go to class, work, go home and practice. I really have to push her. She makes a mistake, there is a quick correction and we move on. A simple "eehh" noise when I start seeing her lose focus brings her attention back to me--sometimes. We've been to 12 weeks of classes. It's been a struggle. She's improved. I've gained some confidence with her. We are improving.

A main theme in the brain training is "push to the struggling point." Some of the exercises are intense and designed to push the student to their cognitive limit. The trainer has to be firm and in charge. I had an epiphany during an example training exercises when the trainer made the same "eehh" noise I use with the dog when the student made a mistake. Right after the noise, he said, "no, start again." No talking about the problem, no analysis, just moving on. Oh, and there was no time for whining. Push, struggle, gain.

My epiphany: So I've been watching people around me deal with their own personal struggles; health, economic, social, etc. I've been watching our country going through some very strange times. I've been a bit weirded out. But I know we are in training.

Push, struggle, gain.
To get where we need to be.
Push, struggle, gain.

Brave

Did something brave last night.
Worked on my courage muscles.
Gave someone I don't know well the blog address.
Hope she visits.
Hope she enjoys.

BrainSurge

A funny thing happened this afternoon while I was sitting on the couch, being a potato, trying to remember something I forgot, & keeping one of my people company. I saw something promising on television!!!

But first, this message:
A couple of weeks ago, I went out of town to a seminar to learn a very specific form of "brain training." It's designed to advance a person's cognitive abilities by fairly intense one hour sessions, five times a week, lasting 12 to 24 weeks depending on what is specifically needed for the learner. I went into this to become licensed and learn the program so I could use it on my children -and hopefully get some gains myself. I left the seminar very excited. In my advanced age, I have found my "thing. " Woo hoo. (Well, the program is kind of a subgroup of my larger learning "thing," but you get the picture.) Who knows, if it goes well with the family, maybe I will branch out.

Disclaimer:
Normally, we don't watch a lot of television, especially on weeknights. This afternoon, my mr. was a sickie (asleep & in and out of it on the couch), there were children present, & (oh my) we turned on the boob tube, saw something called "BrainSurge" on the schedule and took a chance.

Back to our show:
It was fun! And it makes you work (if you so choose to be engaged, focus, and play along). Master B wants to be a contestant. We just might try, after I start and finish training him. If we're going to go for it, I think we should go big and win, don't you agree?

Check it out. It's on at 4:30pm central on weekdays (right now & as far as I know). You might want to check out the Nick website which I've linked to at the bottom. I've also linked to a Wikipedia entry that gives more details.

As we were watching the exciting conclusion, the phone rang. It was master b's cub scout leader. I remembered what I forgot, grabbed my keys and the boy and took him to his meeting.
I think I need to watch the show. Maybe it will help.

Note:
I find it very funny, ironic, & interesting that this show is on before and near Spongebob (whom we love). Good medicine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrainSurge
http://www.nick.com/shows/brainsurge

Halloween Article

Hi.
I am still new to this blogging thing and don't know the traditional or appropriate way to say, "Hey, I found something cool. Maybe you'd like a peek." So here's what I'm going to do:

Hey, I found a very interesting article called "The Spiritual Origins of Halloween." It doesn't site references, but does say where he got his information. It's something to think about.

Here's the link:
http://meridianmagazine.com/ideas/091001halloween.html

Ok-how awesome it that that I just learned how to add a link in a blog entry. Woo hoo for me. (What a geek I am-wait-not geek-if I was a true geek, I would already have known how to do this-so- what a dork? Does that work? I think so. Learning something new everyday is good, don't you think? Today was a twofer, woo hoo.)

Why this blog

I have been awake since 4:00am this morning. My car was at the shop and if I wanted to make it to the gym today without huge inconvenience to my family, I needed to get there and back before their day began. I did it (woo hoo for me- it was definitely mind over mattress), but right now, at 10 something pm and no nap, I am feeling a bit tender. And open.

So, this is why I am doing "why this blog." If I tried to write this tomorrow morning or for the past few weeks, it wouldn't happen.

I am quiet. I like to get to know other people. Not many other people know much about me. If we met, you'd most likely be a quick acquaintance or friend, if you were open to it. You'd probably tell me quite a bit about your life and I would file it away & hope that someday we would meet again--like that really nice woman who shared a sandwich with me in the Denver airport. It was a really good sandwich. She was a very nice woman.

If you are a person who I might be around in social situations or more frequently, I will smile and learn about you. If you hear the line, "so tell me about you," you might be talking to me. I love learning about other people, your lives are so interesting. But, I am afraid of letting you get to know me. I am afraid that you won't like me.

That said, not many folks know too much about me. I noticed myself becoming invisible. I would like to not be invisible and this might be one of the bravest things I've done. Being "out there," as a friend refers to this, is very scary to me.

I am not looking for recognition or validation. I am not looking for attention or comments or criticism. I think I am supposed to contribute something to this world whatever that might be. I want to have a voice. I want to be an influence for good.

And know I've borne my soul, I am going to go to bed or go sit by my mr on the couch.

Good night.

Hope

I have a friend who is going through tough times.
I feel very sad for her.
I have a friend who lives in Samoa. (earthquake and tsunami this week)
I am worried for her and her family.
I have dear children who are going through their own difficult "growing times."
My heart aches for them.

But,
I have hope.




We all need hope.