My week in review. Recommendations. Surprises. Observations.

Dr. Manisha Patel-Smith - Who would have suspected that finding a chiropractor, who takes my insurance, and who practices myofascial release therapy, would be so life changing. Holy Moly Batman. Someone described it to me as "hurts so good" because of course, first there is intense pressure on my muscles followed by sweet relief. Yes, I still have some pain, but I figure I've been living with it for so long it will take a while for it to be "fixed." 

Mital Khatri LAc RN - WHY haven't I done acupuncture before?! Oh. My. Fantasticness. I had a little trepidation; let's face it, it's a lot of needles. But, compared to the pain in my Achilles, how much worse could it be? It was nothing! AND, for the first time in close to TWELVE YEARS (yes, you read that right) I walked without pain immediately after leaving her office. Mital takes insurance. HUGE bonus.

Getting my own cards read - I was at a wonderful shop, The Dreaming Goddess, in Poughkeepsie, NY in February and purely by accident (there are no accidents) the psychic on staff had a cancellation  YEAH for me! Since then, I have been going to see Shyla once a month. I usually go with an open mind and no particular questions churning in my head. And I can say, each month, SO much is revealed and so much is confirmed and I get all fired up for what's coming next. I am absolutely on the right path and I couldn't be more excited to see what happens from day to day. It will NOT all be pretty or easy, but, as my quote above reminds me, I want to live my life exactly as I please. Without causing too much pain for anyone, of course.

Dance Parties are FUN - thanks to the aforementioned women, I was able to dance with wild abandon last night. AND, let me tell you, the youngsters in the place were jumping into our circle and loving dancing with us. We taught a thing or two to the men and women in their 20's & 30's, I can assure you. I highly suggest putting on your boogie shoes and releasing some stress on the dance floor! (In my case it was flip-flops.)

etc.

• Laundry does not fold itself.
  
• The grill is a marvelous invention.
  
• Jo Anna's coleslaw recipe is the bomb. (Pre-made Dole's coleslaw, Marie's yogurt coleslaw dressing, dried cranberries and toasted, slivered almonds.)
  
• Going our on a whim shopping for a prom dress for Bella was a true delight. I love this kid.
  
• Having breakfast with Peter one morning this week, was an equal delight. I love this kid.
  
• I have an amazing support system. I know many people do not. I don't take it for granted. One of the things I realized over the course of this week is that is what I want Creating Community Sunday's to be about. A place to add to, build, or start a support system.

I wish you all a marvelous Saturday. TRY to live it exactly as you please.

Music Today: courtesy of New Girl the other night.
What do you say
Is this the time
For one more try
At a happy life
http://youtu.be/i6hOrlbSaVo

Despite the aching hips, knee and ankle, I am going out dancing tonight. It's Friday and that seems like THE perfect way to celebrate. Plus, it's a girls night extravaganza to celebrate a spectacular woman's 50th Birthday and this crowd LOVES to dance.

I wish YOU a Friday night doing exactly what you want to.

ENJOY!

xo

Music Today: for the Birthday Girl & friends - bring your tambourines and let's not have any injuries.  ;-)

Here's the bitch about therapy, especially if you are truthful. To yourself. Which IS the whole point, right? Admit it, you too have lied to yourself any number of times. I can't possibly be the only one. 

When your ego, super-ego and id collide, it causes pain, (sometimes manifested in body aches, case in point) it causes crocodile tears, it causes occasional poor choices (food, in my case) and ultimately, it causes release and relief and a clearer path to where you hope to be.

Throughout this adventure I call MY life I have definitely taken some risks. Some small. Some not so small. I would never call my life a darn shame, but there are certainly moments I can recall and think to myself, "Ah, I wish I had done (fill in the blank) instead of (fill in the blank)." Hindsight is always so gorgeously 20/20, isn't it?

That's the quote from my FB Post today. In general, I must confess that I have led a fairly charmed life. It has certainly had it's ups and downs. There is a movie reel in my head that can capture "the best of" on demand, and then there is the opposite reel of "oh. my. god."

If you've known me a long time, and many of you have, you "know" my story; at least, the parts I have chosen to share. (I share a lot...) If you've found me through the wonder of the internet, you can piece together bits of it here and there.

My sister said to me once, "You hide your pain through laughter." A dear friend made the same observation of THIS blog earlier in the year. I think the day I decided to have my meltdown on my Me: On a Mission blog about my weight loss journey, is the day I decided to come clean on paper. Will my readers get my "whole" life here? Nah. You wouldn't want it all, although some of it is downright hilarious...years later. Some of it is still deadly painful. And frankly, some of it is mine. 

As I said the other day, I expect to live a good, long life. And I expect there are zillions of adventures left to have. I am glad you are here to join me on the journey. And when the kids all get older, I WILL write that book I've mentioned.

Go forth, have an adventurous day, filled with laughter, love, maybe a few tears, and a risk or two.

Love,
Maggie

PS - I remind myself of this every. single. day.

Music Today: Life is a Highway
Turn up your speakers and sing along.

Last night I was watching The Voice. I love this show. The coaches are kind to all the contestants. Naturally they want a member of their team to win, but they are so enamored of the talent that they really can't help but gush when it is deserving.

Usher is an awesome coach. He is so out of the box; he had one of his contestants, Michelle Chamuel, sing to herself in a mirror. She was decidedly not thrilled about this exercise. BUT, she did it so she could connect WITH HERSELF while singing a song that was one billion percent perfect for her. The song? "True Colors." She. Was. Awesome. She sparkled so brightly last night.

Last week I mentioned having the girls in my car rocking out to Adele's 
"Rolling in the Deep." At one point, I popped open my glove compartment and handed Col a hairbrush. She knew exactly what to do with it. Her mic. She sang with an even greater enthusiasm than I thought was  possible. I bet, like I did, and so many others did, she sang to herself in a mirror, hairbrush in hand, for hours on end as a little girl. All four of the girls in the car were sparkly. It was fantastic to witness.

TODAY, let's all be a little sparkly. Let's all shine on! 

How many jobs have you had? I have had a lot.

• Babysitter - I baby-sat three little girls ALL DAY, five days a week, one entire summer when I was 13 or 14. One baby, one toddler, and one little girl. OH, how different the times were in the early '70's.
  
• May's Department Store - the domestics department. I folded towels. MANY towels. It was one of the most fun places to work in the late '70's. If the walls could talk we would all be in so much trouble.
  
• Thom McCann Shoe Store - I lasted one week. I was never a shoe girl.
  
• Import Alley - I swear I didn't realize it was a head shop until at least a week after I started working there. One of the managers looked so much like Kenny Rogers it was uncanny. One of the owners was a full blown coke addict. He flitted around the store like a pinball in a machine. It was where I was working when we found out John Lennon had been killed. I quit when I couldn't leave early for Christmas Eve - we were the only store that was going to stay open until 9pm in the whole mall.
  
• Foodtown - truly one of my favorite jobs, even when I was transferred from Massapequa to New Hyde Park. Funny people work in grocery stores.
  
• Verizon - the twenty year stint that I got laid off from and then went back to work as a contractor for. There were so many good things about working there. Some of the most amazing people I know are a result of Verizon. 
  
• Hen Hud Food Services - I adore, seriously adore Clare, who runs our food services program. I loathed cleaning 80 billion dishes. I lasted two weeks, which was nine days more than Clare thought I would.
  
• Rivertowns Chiropractic - my first foray into the medical field. I loved the patients. I learned to fight with insurance companies and Worker's Comp. The doctor is quite a character and everyone who came in loved him. It was a great place to work.
  
• It's SWAK - oh, how I loved working there! I loved everything about it, but most especially the women who own it. Rosie was who let me spread my wings in the world of social media by giving me artistic control of the FB page for a long time. What? You haven't been there yet? GET OVER THERE!
  
• JENeration Fit & Adrenalin Gym - two separate businesses that go hand in hand. The land of estrogen on one hand and the land of large vats of testosterone on the other. A most excellent partnership. You know all about them from my posts about them. My hand is still a little involved there and I couldn't be happier about that.
  

And then there's these:

• Tupperware - yep, I sold it, years ago. I still have most of it.
  
• Christmas Around the World - a bit on the schlocky side of stuff and far too much "stuff" to cart around.
  
• Park Lane Jewelry - I know, you wouldn't think this would be something I sold, which is perhaps why I didn't last long.
  
• Stampin' Up! - a love story. Literally. From the beginning to the end. It is totally ALL about the relationships; stamps, ink and paper are secondary.
  
• Uppercase Living - vinyl lettering for your every mood. The NYer in me couldn't deal with the slow turn around time, but I love the product.
  
• Tastefully Simple - who doesn't love food? Really?! But you can eventually have too much and also, it was a lot of stuff to bring.
  

If you asked me when I was a teenager what I was going to do when I got older, I doubt any of these jobs would be on the list. I didn't have the direction my kids have. 

I was utterly and completely in love with my boyfriend and KNEW we would be together, forever. I would get married and have kids. If you recall from other posts, you know I was in love with love. I was in love with the idea of "the wedding." Everything that came after the party wasn't something I thought about. It was all rather hazy. The delusion/hope (?) of youth.

Life had other plans for me. Relationships change. Jobs change. I changed.

And then, this year, that wide-eyed, hopeful girl of my youth reemerged. I like her. She's a little sassy. She likes to dance. She really loves to write. She uses Pinterest and this blog as her journal from days gone by.  She LOVES music (you didn't know that though, did you?).

My hope as a mom is to keep my kids energized with WHO they are, because they are awesome and amazing and fantabulous teens. They have big dreams and goals. I look upon them with amazement at how focused they are. I was NEVER that focused. They have an astounding father who keeps up with them and is that focused. He has learned to back-off a little and wait and watch. It is good for all of them.

The Glass House Retreat is a result of all of my life experiences. It is the culmination of my many interests and many loves. It is a work of grace. It is my soul. I have been blessed to be loved by many people in my life and I have all of them in my heart, which transfers to how I created this place, with the love of many guiding me along.

I expect to have my mother's side of the family genes and live until my really late '90's. I have a lot of living left to do. I have a lot of loving left to do. Thanks for taking the journey with me. xo

As always, if you are so inclined, feel free to share this, like this, and comment and add YOUR experiences.

Music today: I couldn't decide so you get two.
Suggestions always appreciated.

One night while I was eating dinner on campus last semester, I overheard some kids chatting. They were rather hilarious and I couldn't help but laugh at a particular part of their conversation.

L-O-N-G story short, we had an entire discussiom about how they wanted to live their lives. They had many questions for me. My final response to them was to ignore the chatter in their head and listen to their hearts. Apparently, they really appreciated that answer as is evidenced by what happened next. With tears in their eyes, all four of them asked me for a hug. I think they liked that I laughed with them rather than at them. I think they liked that I spoke to them like adults. I think they liked that I was speaking from MY heart to them. 

My very favorite part of the whole encounter was as I was getting ready to head to class. They asked me if I lived on campus or at home! This is how I knew they were freshman. Seriously. I laughed a long laugh and reminded them that I had teens of my own and as much as I would love to experience dorm life on a college campus, it was MANY years too late for that for me.

Each time I saw any of the four of them throughout the semester, they each said, "Hi!" to me. I like to think I made a small difference at that one moment. It was just before Thanksgiving break and I knew they missed home. They needed an adult, a mom, who would listen to them, and, most importantly, listen with her own heart while chatting with them.

Even if it hurts, because let's face it, sometimes it does, listen to your heart today...it doesn't steer you in the wrong direction. 

Yesterday, I cooked, went to the grocery store, filled two cars with gas, had Peter's teen boy car fumigated, I mean cleaned, and played taxi driver.

Marco spent the day in the yard clearing, pruning, cleaning up a year's worth of mess. Hello Spring indeed. More of the same on tap for today.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Our high school doesn't currently have a home field for the lacrosse team. As a result, we have been borrowing other fields; most are quite far away.

So, what does this have to do with music? Well, when you are driving 40 to 60 minutes to get to a field, you can listen to some stellar tracks.

I have a variety of places to get my music from - iTunes, Pandora, Songza and of course, the radio. My favorite remains my own iTunes. This week I pondered just how it picks which songs to play when I hit shuffle. And I always hit shuffle. Is it the number of times a song has been played? Is it an alphabetical thing? Is it because I am thinking of someone and so, of course, THAT song should come on? Is it because someone is thinking of me? Is there some complicated algorithm? (You are figuring out just how many hours I spent in the car, aren't you.)

THIS much I know is true:

Seriously. There are certain songs, that NO MATTER WHAT, I know all the words to. Usually they are upbeat, catchy, pop tunes. Not always. But usually. 

I tried to figure out how to use the audio player on the blog so I could list a TON of songs, but, it was too much for me to decipher last night. I did determine that iTunes does NOT equal an mp3 track and I cannot just drop and drag a song in like I hoped. I'll figure it out soon.

In the meantime, I will leave you with songs I bet you will know all the words to.

You're welcome.

What songs do YOU know all the words to? SHARE! And have an awesome Saturday!

On one of our rides home from the fields last week, I had four girls in my car. They totally and completely rocked this. LOUDLY. With drumming included. It. Was. Awesome. All I could do was smile from ear to ear. It was, THE most fun car ride ever.

Cheers to Bella, Bails, Liv & Col!
http://youtu.be/rYEDA3JcQqw

AMY UPDATE: Amy came through surgery "great" yesterday. She spent the night in ICU. I have no further details at this time. xo

Seriously...WHO doesn't love a Friday? Even if we have to drive a thousand miles in circles for spring sports and whatever else is in place for Saturday and Sunday, Friday means we can relax a little for the next 48 hours.

My friend, Kim, responded to one of my FB posts yesterday:
"Remember when we used to have time to make pretty, handmade cards and crafts?? LOL... Those were the good old days  xo!" 

We MADE the time. We gathered on the third Wednesday of every month and stamped and chatted and got to know our friends in an altogether different way than how we had known them. We met new friends. We had awesome snacks. Our friend whose house she so graciously opened each month had the dog who barked not when we arrived, but when we left. 

I loved my NJ Stamp Camp and when I stopped going, I cried, because I knew I would miss them. And I do. All these years later. We created not only beautiful projects, but we also made memories and forged long lasting friendships. All over a little paper, rubber and ink. And glitter. Lots and lots of glitter. (Right, Kim?) 

It has been close to six years since our last gathering, and I remain delighted I can stay caught up due to the wonder of FB and email with so many of my NJ friends.

So, on this Friday, when we are gearing up for the weekend, perhaps we can make the time to do something fun and creative that will make us happy.

Cheers! xo

It's probably a good thing I decided upon the topic for this post last night, as my morning didn't exactly start out peacefully.

I had an entire rant on FB about my dog.

Suffice it to say he escaped from the back yard, through the bushes, and scampered through the neighborhood. He is utterly precious and utterly a pain in the ass with his Houdini-like abilities. And yes, love is ALWAYS the answer as is evidenced by the fact that he is still here and out of the time-out I imposed on him this morning. 

Isn't it astounding how our pets can truly provide us with unconditional love? When we adopted Tucker (you KNOW I replaced that "T" with an "F" more than once this morning!) one of my friends said, "If there were a million people I imagined never getting a dog, YOU would be one million and one." I am not an animal person. But boy, oh boy, do I love this stupid, escape artist dog.

ANYWAY, that was just the very start of my morning. From there it has all gone swimmingly!

Do you receive my newsletter? It's fun. It's riveting. It will entertain you for the three minutes it takes you to read it. It gives you all the classes taught here at TGHR and all kinds of helpful links to take you to the descriptions. What? You don't get it? Well then, fill out the contact form and let's make it happen. You'll be glad you did!

Music today ~ All You Need is Love. OF COURSE it is! xo

Yes, I love The Beatles. BUT, every once in a while, someone else does an awesome job with one of their songs. Me, being me, couldn't decide which version I liked better. Knock yourself out - they're both terrific.

From Across the Universe
http://youtu.be/ZLcC0os5ZR0

From Love Actually
http://youtu.be/lWxhIiwNvwc

My FB post this morning struck a chord with an old friend.

It says, "Believe in what you want so much that it has no choice but to materialize."

He responded to it with this comment, "A little hard work can help."

I don't, for one second, disagree.

You will WANT to work towards whatever it is you are working towards, when you have an innate belief in yourself.

What do YOU think?