Let's try this again...

Well, I found that last time I documented my daily walks it kept me accountable for my health. A million excuses later I have decided to do it again because the feedback I got from people was extremely positive (I actually motivated some) and I need to get back to taking care of myself.

I do not promise to walk daily but I do promise to do it more often...let's start there.

Today's walk reminded me of how badly out of shape Poppy and I am. For those of you who do not know, Poppy is my dog.

Saying that you are too busy to get healthy is like saying you are too busy to care about yourself, what kind of a world to we live in where this is okay? I see this now. Making the time for yourself to be healthy is the single most important thing you can do for yourself and the people you love. After all, you cannot take care of your family if you are not well yourself.

I rarely ever manipulate my photography but I did with this one. This oak tree is captivating, it really caught my attention for some reason.

Proof that I walked, LOL!

Back at it Day 4 - Made the time

Another beautiful day!

The wind is a nice change. It is a little hazy and cooler too.

"There is a muscular energy in sunlight 

corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind."

 ~Annie Dillard

Back at it Day 3 - Fit it in where you can (Friday 5/2)

I did not have much time to fit a walk in BUT I did have to go downtown to pick up a card for a birthday coming up. To get my 20 minutes of walking in I decided to park out of town and walk in. That counts, right? I figured every little bit counts and it had been a while since I enjoyed out downtown district by my self. It was nice. Pup missed out though.

Downtown, such a neat place!

The old bank, the area is rich with history!

And the new areas blend well with the older areas.

Still able to enjoy all the blooming Dogwoods all over town!

If you are willing to look, there is beauty in every nook and cranny of the Earth. Even in the man made sections of it.

Not sure how a walk will be incorporated into my busy Saturday but I will find time.

Back at it day 3 - Another beautiful day in the foothills

I have not much to say today, other than I had a weigh in and it sucks! All is well though, getting back at it! I have to do this.

 “Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.” ~Seneca

Nice walk this afternoon with my daughter and dear friends, complete with a ring around the sun!

Love and light friends!

Back at it Day 2 - Hopeful

Almost did not go again today using the excuse, "I went yesterday, today Pup and I should rest." But I recognized the excuse and went anyway.

Beautiful day!

"Fall seven times, stand up eight." ~Japanese Proverb

I will keep starting over until I get it right. Love and light my friends! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Back at it - Day 1 with some action

I suppose I should start this blog up again. It kept me accountable for doing my daily walk.

I almost did not go today, again. Though this time it was not for the usual excuses I tell myself but because I did not have a good feeling about it.

Pup and I were off, I noticed a car with no body in it so I knew that someone was out and about the many trails by my house.

Nice day to take a walk in the woods...and get into a dog fight ;)

I decided to follow pups lead today. We went to the usual spot, the place where she knows I will take her off the leash if I feel all is well. But I decided to not take her off the leash this time and I am glad I followed my instincts.

We got to the point where we usually turn around and out of nowhere two dogs ran full speed up to us. One was friendly and just wanted to say hello, the other immediately jumped on Pup. My dog being the protective being that she is, started to fight based upon the mixed signals the second dog was projecting. That is how it began; a two on one full blown dog fight. The owner was not in sight. I screamed for them to get their dogs. Finally, a woman came running and called to them. Never did she come up to where the fight was. I however was standing in the middle of it. The friendly dog listened immediately but the other dog did not. Still she just stood 20 feet away and called to her dog. Finally it all stopped and the stupid woman put her dogs on a leash. I thanked her (because I was taught to be polite) and turned around to walk the way we were coming. The woman started to follow us. Of course my dog was distracted with this and it made it hard for us to leave.

The only one who got hurt was me, by the leash that my dog was on. I understand, she was taking them to a secluded area to unleash them, I do that with Pup. But geeezzz, it still pissed me off!

Love and light, my friends!

First walk in months, eeek!

Pup and I have not been walking on a regular basis in weeks! Since school has started, now is a great time to get back on track with my health. I allowed myself to get lazy and eat during the past few months. I do not feel bad about it, I just know I have to turn it around.

The big realization today was that it is a lot easier to get out of shape then it is to get in shape.

Angel Clouds...love where I live!!

I found me!

What I found out was that I do not give into things easily, I am stubborn and I am strong. When I was a kid, these attributes were not very much appreciated, but they are serving me well now, LOL ☠

I have been walking a little here and there and taking pictures everywhere...I think this is my "thing", my "make me happy", my "passion". I feel whole when I am in nature with my camera and dog. 

"You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you'll discover will be wonderful.  What you'll discover is yourself."  ~Alan Alda

Here are the latest pictures from my walks...

The view from my Mom's front yard, she also have a walking trail right outside her house!

 

The view from my Mom's front yard, but on a different day.

Me and Pup enjoying the sun on Summer Solstice ☼

I am pretty sure Pup and I are not supposed to be here, but so glad we are! ☮

Love this shot, this is one of the moments where I feel whole. ☯

Me and the sun, it is a beautiful thing :)

Anyone know what this is? It is a cool plant? It has flowers in the Spring that turn to these sticker things in the Summer.

Well that is all we have for now folks! Thanks for reading, love and light! 

 

Mind over matter, it has always worked for me!

So the past several weeks have been a test sent from the Universe. I was tested in strength, both mentally and physically. I was tested in will and most importantly I was tested in self love. Being diagnosed with anxiety, depression (based upon a silly test on a silly piece of paper) and tension head aches was a huge eye opener for me and made me see that I fell into a place that I had worked so hard to stay away from. Back to square one you could say, but this time I had the knowledge and experience to pull myself out of it.

While I do feel that people do live with depression daily, I do not buy into the concept that everyone needs to take medications for it. I am not a depressed person. I am a female, need I say more?! As John Trudell says, "I'm just a human being trying to make it in a world that is very rapidly losing its understanding of being human." While the feelings of depression do come in and out of my life, it is not me. Period.

I did not truly believe in anxiety, of course, until it became part of my reality and effected me physically. There are people in my life that suffer from it and while most of them truly suffer for no reason known to them, I did feel that some peoples experiences with it (if not all of it) was brought on by themselves, their lifestyles and their decisions (past and present). Lesson learned. Like a friend once said, "God will always give you what you do not understand". Thank you Universe for setting me straight! I have always been anxious, but was able to talk myself out of it. This time I was unable to do so and the anxiety became physical, not just mental/emotional. Each day gets better and I know I will get past this.

Tension headaches, well, they suck and there is really no fix for them other then relaxing and de-stressing yourself. Right? Still working on this but ya know, life could be worse. I am not going to die, all the tests I have had look great. Still waiting on the appointment for the MRI but doc said not to worry about this as they are just following up on a brain scan that came up with some inconclusive results. He said this happens all the time and that they have to follow up on it (for liability reasons) and it usually results in nothing. 

So what am I doing to fix myself? I tried Sertraline (generic Zoloft)...had a reaction and will never take any psycho drugs again. Just another experience to remind myself that the pharmaceutical companies are not there to help us. Sure, I get that idea of taking a drug to keep your heart, kidneys, liver or other essential organs working, but let's not mess with the brain! It does not seem logical to take a drug that has the same exact side effects as what you are experiencing and that makes you sick for weeks before it "might" work. Only to find out that it does not and that you have to go through the whole process until you find a drug that "might" work. What a racket!

Mediation, positive thoughts, walking, nature, photography, loving my peeps and loving myself enouph to know that I am strong and worth it is what is working. Mind over matter, it has always worked for me!

You could be saying to yourself, "Wow, this chick in nuts" or "Hey, she has a point", either way...thanks for reading :)

Love and light my friends! Happy Summer Solstice! ☼

A trip to the Courthouse...there is no shortage of beauty!

Ya know, I have always been one to stop and enjoy the sights around me. Even the travels to take care of daily tasks serves as a wonderful photo shoot...creative peeps, I know you understand ;)

Nevada City is full of old, beautiful churches, buildings and plant life. Here is what I found on my walk from the front door of the courthouse to the car...

My favorite image from this shoot...I have always felt really close to the Celtic Cross.

There is even beauty to be seen at the courthouse! UG!

What are these? They are beautiful!

Daffodils!

The church that is across the street from the courthouse.

This the church, behind the church that is across the street from the courthouse.

This was a moving moment for me...double crosses!

Nevada City landscape.

And there you have it...hope that you enjoyed!

Love and light my friends!

Getting back at it and it feels real good!

"If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, 

change the way you think about it."  ~Mary Engelbreit

The past two weeks have been filled with pure chaos! It has been hard to schedule in our daily walks with all the catch up that has been played after taking that time off to recoup. I am back at it though! At least every other day we are out walking or being active. AND of course I took pictures for proof ;)

The past few weeks I have been pondering why it is so easy for me to get off track with changes that I start in my personal life. I have come to the conclusion that I have a weird relationship with change. As most people do, I fear it yet need it.

I had a boss tell me once that I feared change, I did not agree as the context it was given in was work related and I have always had the attitude of "if it is not broken why fix it". Her statement stuck with me though, for this time in my life when I needed it.

Now, more than ever I need change. In order for me and my family to move forward we need to tweak a few things. Today, change is encouraged. My perception of change has a lot to do with it, too. If I look at our daily walks as a chore or something that has to be done...I do not want to do it (unfortunately, this is a personality trait). If I look at it as a tool to help me change in the other areas I hope to change then it gets done and it is enjoyable. I swear, humans are their own enemy. While free will was gifted for the good in us, we can sure turn it around and use it against ourselves and others.

Here are a couple of quotes I found on change that help, hopefully they help you too! The last one is a reminder that we do not know what life holds for us once we do change but the results are usually for our benefit. Especially with those positive changes we make.

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."  ~Anatole France

"You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler."  ~Denis Waitley

"Change always comes bearing gifts."  ~Price Pritchett

Now for the photography...

We see this waterfall on a trail that we take usually when we are all together...love me some family walks!

Pup, on the trail we usually take

Yep, still seeing hearts...they are not as frequent as before but they are there. All you have to do is look :)

It was a cold morning walk on Litton Trail with my Mama...

We saw this HUGE mushroom. Anyone know what it is?

Always beautiful at the Empire Mine Trails!

A bee, I like to see these!

Nothing but blue skies and Pine Trees...love Empire Mine Trails!

The wildflowers are in full bloom!

I had some company on this day!

Poppy likes it when Alyssa rides her bike...it gives her an excuse to run fast and not listen ;)

Love this goof!

If I was a bird, I would spend a lot of time in this tree.

This makes me think of the past, not sure why...nothing specific, just "the past".

The Great Oaks...as I call them. They are just gorgeous right now!

Love it! Big. bold. Green. Fresh.

This was not taken on a walk...I stopped on Ridge Road one day before my daughter got out of school. This reminds me of my brother, his favorite flower is Lupine.

Love this pic...nothing better then blue skies, wildflower fields and evergreen trees!

So this is what I have captured the past few weeks. The next few coming up I have to work on not allowing distractions and my own perspective get in my way.

Love and light friends...thanks for reading ;)

San Fransisco, here we come!

Last weekend we spent some time in San Francisco, it was fabulous! I did not seek any exercise but I know that I got plenty. Here are some pictures of our trip...

The first day we spent being tourists in SF...this is Lombard Street

We took a ferry from SF to Tiburon where my husband's Aunts live. This the view of The Ferry Building from the back of the ferry.

The next day we walked along the bay in Tiburon. Here is the view of the city from where we stayed.

This is the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Tiburon

This is the view looking towards Tiburon and Belvedere. It was a beautiful day!

A little daisy and clover patch in the grass.

Driving home we say a heart in the clouds...they are truly everywhere we go.

We cannot wait until our next visit with the Aunties!