NEW BLOG

I changed my blog. I'm now at injoyinmylife.wordpress.com I have found it much easier to upload videos and make the kind of changes I want. Please follow me there. Thanks a lot. Ellen

What a difference a Decade Makes!

I was just going through some of my Affirmations I haven't used for awhile and I found this one.

There is no loss in Spirit.  I cannot lose my good.  I have not lost my good, though I may have outgrown certain phases of it.  My good has simply changed form.  I now welcome my new good, which comes to me in God's wise and perfect ways.  My good is now divinely restored.  My life is made beautiful again.

I stopped for a minute to reflect and couldn't believe it has been ten years to the day since (one of the times) my life was turned upside down.  

I had been suffering terrific pain from Fibromyalgia.  I was using medication, I had taken a job closer to my home to cut down on my commute (at a considerable pay cut), I was doing all that the "book" told me to do, AND I was more miserable than I had ever been.  The pain was excruciating. I couldn't sleep.  I was depressed.  By the time I got home from work I hadn't the energy to get out of the car, I would just sit there and cry.

My friends and doctors had all suggested I quit work.  Well, that was just not a possibility.  My husband had just retired, although he was fortunate enough to have a great retirement plan from Los Angeles County where he had worked for 40 years.  He basically received 100% of his salary and all of our medical premiums would be paid for life.  Since he was only 60 years old, he had a part-time job, but we really needed my income to "make ends meet."  

I was 50 years old and hadn't planned on retiring for at least another 10 years.

Well, you know what they say, if you want to know if God has a sense of humor, tell Him your plans. But, I digress.

Ten years ago today I walked into work, (I was a family law secretary in a very busy Los Angeles law firm) and my boss called me into him office.   He told me I had to quit work because "they" couldn't stand watching me in pain anymore.  I told him that they should see how it feels from my side!  He went on to say that I needed to file for disability and that basically it was my last day.  I was flabbergasted.  I had never been fired before.  He assured me that he wasn't firing me, I just couldn't work there anymore, it was just too difficult for them.

Okay, that's how it started.  Needless to say, I was extremely upset, cried for days, talked to an attorney about wrongful termination, but hey, all the attorneys stick together.  He "explained" to them that he had not fired me, I just couldn't work there anymore.

Well, God bless you bossman.  That was one of the best things that ever happened to me.  It took two years to get on disability which netted me the wonderful sum of one-sixth of my earnings, but heck, money isn't everything.  My doctor was thrilled, he said now I could take the time to heal.  I started a water aerobics class at the Y.  I began to learn how to lessen the stress in my life, AND, I made a huge decision that would change the course of our lives.

I'm not one to sit around and wallow in misery for very long.  Yes, I was really upset about it because I had wanted to control when I would retire and that was taken from me, but that wasn't all, my health was failing, but more importantly, my self-worth was in the gutter.  I was afraid for us, how would we make ends meet.  What would we do?

I had read somewhere that if you are not living the life you say you want to live, you must be lying to yourself.  I got to thinking about that.  What did I really want to do?  I had always dreamed of traveling the country in a beautiful, fully loaded RV, I had even mentioned it to my husband at one time or another.  So, I suggested to Doug, my husband, that we just go look at them, I had all the reasons why it would be less expensive to sell our house, take the money and buy an RV and travel.  The year was 2000, gas prices were still affordable. 

So, we just did it.  I knew it was the right decision.  We even bought it before we sold our home. But again, the year was 2000, we sold our home right away and off we went.  

In subsequent blogs I'll talk about our 5 year adventure of touring the country, where we finally settled, and about the fact that I am pain free.

Yes, life if good and it just keeps getting better!

With love and light, Ellen

Back in Action

Wow, almost a month without my computer. I felt so disconnected. But - all is well, I have a branny-new laptop. Actually my computer guy, Chris, won't let me call it a laptop, I have to call it a notebook. That's because he says I'm not allowed to use it on my lap. I wonder if that is why I go through a laptop every two years, could be??? Anyway, I have a new one now and one of those cooler pads so I can use it on my lap, but I will try to get used to calling it a notebook. I don't want anyone to confuse it with a netbook. I got my husband one for Christmas and he hasn't used it yet. He really wanted it too, go figure. Anyway, I made do with it while I was without, but I really didn't like it at all. I don't like the tiny screen and the fact that nothing fits right. I used it a couple of times with the old desktop monitor I had and that was better, but then I had to sit at the desk! No fun. Well, I am on the internet, but I still don't have everything loaded on my "notebook" yet. I don't have Word or my Creative Memories picture program or all my documents, pictures, etc., from the old hard drive. I need Chris for that. Oh I suppose I could do all that, but it's better when Chris does it because it goes on right the very first time. Besides, there are always these other little things that I forget, that he remembers. So I will await Chris' arrival for that.
I must say that we had just backed up everything from my computer on to an external hard drive the day before it died. Can you believe that? I have everything and didn't lose a thing. Really exciting since I lost the hard drive in its death.
That's about all for now. I have many things I'd like to blog about, but way too much other stuff to do now. Bye for now.

Throwing out the Brownies

I must be getting ready to eat right again because I just threw out the brownies! Hurray for me! Now believe me, this is something I hardly ever do, throw out delicious food, but I just don't think I can eat another. The only problem is that I bought myself the "Perfect Brownie" pan for Christmas to go with my new heavy duty stand mixer (700 Watts from Cooks). I bought a new rolling pin, new cake and pie pans too. I was really in to baking this holiday season. Oh, and I enjoyed it sooooo much too. Well, I really know the BEST diet plan available and believe me, I've been on them all. To think I found this on TV. The 6-week makeover diet I think it is. You have to jump through hoops, like answering all these questions and then find your specific diet plan through all they send you, but after you find your specific pages, IT REALLY WORKS! I found this a couple of years ago when I needed to lose 25 pounds. I lost it and kept it off for quite awhile, but then decided to "go crazy" a few months ago and actually gained 25 pounds. Now do you ever wonder why 25 pounds can come on you in a weekend, yet it takes 250 years to lose it again? Okay, I exaggerate, but it really seems like that. The point of this plan is to eat 6 small meals a day. You get protein, lo-carbs, fruit, and veggies, but depending on what type of eater you are, those foods are eaten in certain amounts and at certain times of the day. You really don't get hungry on this plan, but then hunger has never been a prerequisite for me to overeat. Anyway, I still haven't committed to eating this yet because I have an idea to try first. It seems to me that if I just cut out all the desserts, cookies, cakes, pies, brownies and candies that I have been eating on a daily basis, I might lose pounds, what do you think? I say all this, but at the same time I am well aware that my attitude, thoughts and beliefs play a huge part in the state of my body. That, however is for another post. Positive affirmations have played a major part in making positive changes in my life and using them in this weight loss endeavor can only help. I've been thinking about different affirmations to use. I find that simple ones, used in repetition are best for me. Something like, "my body is the perfect size for me" or "My food nourishes me and creates my perfect body." During my last weight loss I repeated "I weigh 140 pounds" all the time and especially just before I stepped on the scales and one day I weighed 140 pounds. I also like to sing songs like Karen Drucker's about my healthy body, every little cell in my body is well. So more on that later, I just wanted to post that I think it's time for a change.

My New Blog

Hello everyone. I've decided to blog now and I'm really excited about it. "Life is good and it just keeps getting better" is not just a phrase I say all the time, it is the truth. There are so many reasons why, AND I plan to blog about it.
My pups, Sugar and Meeka are in their prime and so adorable. I will be sharing pictures and stories about them. I'm having the best time with digital scrapbooking and you'll be hearing about that along with all my other crafting endeavors. I have nine grandchildren, soon to be ten in April - and one great grandson. Cute pictures are to come! Something else I will be blogging about is my quest to lose the 25 pounds I have gained in the past few months. Yes, 25 pounds! Most importantly, this blog is for me. A place to share my thoughts, my joys and my adventures.