#@Sixty

I’ve arrived at one of those benchmark birthdays — One that isn’t looked forward to by many. There’s no reward like being able to drive, vote or drink (I’ve been doing those things for longer than I can remember ). This  birthday does come with “Senior discounts”!

The weirdest thing about turning 60 is, I really don’t mind. Believe me I never thought I’d say that back when I was in the midst of the coming of age birthdays (when we never see this one coming). I say,” I’m 60″ as loudly and as proudly as a 6-year-old tells you she’s 6! I guess it’s because so many of my family and friends (including my father) didn’t reach this benchmark birthday.

This is why turning 60  for me is a privilege, a sign that I’m here for a purpose that I haven’t fulfilled it yet. Another stage in my soul’s development. I’m unsure what exactly I’m to achieve or do, but I feel it has something to do with service (It always has been). Whether I was a nurse, a martial art instructor, or school owner I’ve always felt my purpose was to serve and help others. Now I’m hearing that call again I’m not sure where or what it will lead me to, I just know it will be revealed when it’s supposed to…

I haven’t for gotten about my goal of 60 new things. It’s been a crazy couple of months but here are a few; I saw the movie Hidden Figures and learned a lot of new things. I had jury duty and got to visit Superior Court for the first time. I was a RIPTA bus commuter. I’ve enjoyed three new scone offerings at one of my favorite places the Bee Hive Annex. I’ve been watching Visiting The Country, a BBC show about house buying in the English countryside, and I’m learning an amazing amount of history. I’ve been introduced to coloring with gel pens by my bestie. I’ve leaned (sort of new form). I enjoyed a Chimmie burritos, and I’m working on a new weapon the (Jo). I believe that totals 10 more which brings my total to 54. I’m short 6, but I have an adventure in a few days that will be full of new things!

Seriously I’m grateful for reaching this benchmark, and most grateful that the people closest to me are going to be able to enjoy it with me!

Wishing you happy birthdays,

Ginnie

Some New Things with a review

No excuse for my absence, just laziness. My search for “New Things” has continued,here are a few of my latest with a little review.

First a place to go, RISD Museum on South Main Street in Providence, RI. I attended the Impressionist Exhibit a couple of weeks ago. The exhibit itself was worth the visit, but there was so much more, I spent two hours wandering about with a group of new acquaintances from one of my Meet Up Groups.  The museum also has a good coffee shop and a more than adaquate gift shop, it offers free admission on Sundays. I’m embarrased to say this was my first visit , but it won’t be my last.

Secondly, something healthy: Zeal For Life, is a nutritional drink from Zurvita, that was reccomended to me by my brother. I decided to give it try the beginning of this month and since starting Zeal, I have more energy, I’m not falling asleep in the middle of the day,my mood is better I feel great! Zeal is all natural and is easily absorbed and assimilated by the body. Believe me I was very skeptical when I first tried zeal and I honestly have made no other changes in my diet, or life that could account for my feeling 10 to 15 years younger!

Number three, a skin product; Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer. This was a freebie from one of my runs this past fall and I used it on a whim two weeks ago. Anyone who knows me, knows that every winter I get dry skin that gets irritated on both hip bones (weird I know). Every year I look for something to relieve the irritation, laundry soap, lotions (some very expensive) soaps all natural ect… the list is endless, until I tried this it works!

The fourth thing on my list is ironically the book 52 Lists for Happiness, weekly journaling for positivity, balance and joy by Moorea Seal. I’m a list maker from way back and this sort of thing appealed to me right away. I was also looking for something to fill the gap after completing the Love Your Life in 30 Days. So far it has been fun but also eyeopening. It gets you to list things that make you smile, you’re good at ect… It has given me a better appreciation of myself.

I haven’t started the fifth thing but wanted to mention it here it is a Tony Robbins CD course The Time of Your Life, three steps to take controll of your life. I start that tomorrow. A review or at least a mention will be made in my next posting.

Til then check out a thing or two from my list, you won’t regret any!

This brings my total 46! fourteen more before the 24th of March!

Ginnie

 

 

 

 

What? Am I Crazy?

Last time I blogged on this site I spoke of my Love Your Life in 30 Days adventure. Here are a few “new things” that came from that;

Manifesting, one of the assignments was to manifest something small I chose pennies, and 1 day I upped the ante to a quarter. Since that day I have manifested at least a penny each day and one day a quarter. I’m keeping them in a separate jar to track my progress. So far I’ve manifested six coins or thirty cents.

The next new thing I did off an assignment is get involved with Meet Ups this is a sight where like minded people join groups and get together and do things they like. Coffee and discuss books, hiking, photography etc. I’m thinking of starting one of my own!

The next new thing came from the assignment where I had to fill in an empty 2017 calendar with the year of my dreams. This assignment was so much fun and so empowering for me that I had my staff do it!

Today I decided to register for the Newport Half Marathon! “What?” “Am I Crazy?”  After all isn’t this blog about doing 60 new things before I turn 60? Yeah but the marathon isn’t until October so technically I’ll be 60.5! Slogging a half marathon has been on my bucket list or goal if you will for quite sometime. It’s about damn time I commit to doing it and spending $70.00 is a fairly sizable commitment!

The trick for me will be manifesting enough change along the way to cover the cost!

Got to go now — Need to check some how to train for a half marathon sites!

BTW what do you have planned for 2017?

I’m up to 41 new things 19 to go!

Happy New Year!

Gin

 

Funk IT

Another long delay between posts, this delay was due to the funk I was, am in…

After the passing of my cat Sage, I found myself with more time (her care was fairly involved). Instead of using the time on me, it was used getting my business ready for the final quarter, prepping my mom’s house for the holidays and getting caught up with my holiday preparations. All this busy work was a way to avoid working through grief, thinking about planning a future, that doesn’t include a business or at least as I know it now. That is how I arrived at this Funk It place in my life…

You’ve all been there a time or two, when you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, so Funk it! There is a bit of wallowing, self pity, chocolate, wine, over eating, drinking, sleeping or in my case working!

I’m finding my way out looking forward to the holidays ahead and the new year and all that comes with it! I’ve started a program by Mike Dooley and Hope Koppleman called Love Your Life in 30 Days. I got the work book from Amazon and it also has companion videos from the website. I’m on day five and I feel it was the kick in the butt I needed. I also have booked a trip to celebrate my 60th birthday (more later). My total is up to 37 new things. I’m feeling good about the future and the next 23 new things!

Gin

 

 

 

 

Mourning Has Broken

No it isn’t a typo and yes I can spell morning… The title is correct; Mourning has broken. My beautiful tabby Sage was freed from the ravages of her diabetes on October 21st. It was one of the most difficult days of my life and I still miss her terribly, but life goes on and so have I.

I’m still looking for new things to do, try, and learn. By the way in case you’re wondering there will be no new kitty, at least for a while. Sage wasn’t my only cat there is also a Tuxedo cat named Gracie, who is as crazy as Sage was sweet — So no more cats until Gracie is gone.

Back to the new things, I’ve tried Butternut squash ravioli at the Fall River Country Club.  Both the meal and venue were new for me. Continuing on the food adventures I enjoyed an almond joy scone, from the Bee Hive Anex.

Moving away from food (never easy for me) I’ve just started an interesting book titled “Natural Born Heroes mastering the lost secrets of strength and endurance” by Christopher McDougall. So far so good! I’m hoping it will give me insights on gaining the endurance to get through these next months ahead with a whacko cat, a busy business and an insane world…

In the mean time if my addition is correct that’s four new things making my total 35 with 25 more to go! With that said, please seek inner peace, pray for world peace and when you feel the need to give a piece of your mind say it with grace…

Amen and Sage RIP

Gin

Numbers Thirty and Thirty-one

I may get two posts in this month! Which if I think about it will be some kind of miracle — Seeing this has been an insanely busy month personally and with my martial arts school…

Number thirty on my way to sixty new things was a new road race. This particular 5k was for the Victoria Sousa Foundation; Victoria passed away from the H1N1 virus and her family holds the race to raise awareness for vaccinating against the flu and to raise funds for scholarships to some of the area schools. The race was held in one of my favorite spots on the planet, Colt State Park in Bristol. The morning was perfect the course amazing and I ran my best time so far this year.

Number thirty-one was my reward and sort of ode to summer, I went to one of my favorite ice cream places; Somerset Creamery, and tried a new flavor Cranberry Chunk or was it crunch? Anyway it was delicious, loaded with pieces of chocolate, cranberry and walnuts! I’m usually not too adventurous when it comes to ice cream I tend to stick with, pistachio, black raspberry or maple walnut, but I figured this might be the last cone of the season so why not live a little…

Sorry my getting passed the halfway mark wasn’t more spectacular like running a marathon or eating a tarantula but they were both sweet and delicious. Which made this beautiful autumn Sunday even more amazing!

Onto the next thing,

Ginnie

A Few More Things…

So — I haven’t been too diligent with recording my new things. This has more to do with time management rather than lack of “things”  to write about. At this rate I should have said this was going to be a monthly news letter rather than a blog…

In no specific order here are my latest new things: Number 25, I watched a video series by Mike Dooley on getting unstuck. I guess it helped as I’m back to blogging! Number 26, also in the same vein of getting unstuck, I’ve downloaded the  Rituals For Living dream book and planner. I’ve used multiple planners and systems in the past with varying degrees of success but this one “Ritualizes” planning and life so I’m going to give it a go. Coming in at number 27, is a tasty food treat from the Bee Hive Pantry, a sweet potato ginger square. A delicious fall flavored offering that paired well with the hot coffee they were serving up. Number 28, I attended my first Rally For Recovery and was moved beyond words listening to people in the recovery movement share their stories, work and missions. Being an adult child of an alcoholic I empathized with what these family members were going through. Number 29, will take place on Sunday, I’m running the Gloria Gemma 5k. I’m excited to be running for this cause. Knowing so many woman (including my mother, twice) who’ve bravely fought this battle, and especially for the three friends who lost that battle. I feel this is the very least I can do!

There you have the latest, I’m pretty close to being on track, I need to be at 30 new things by tomorrow. So I better get on it!

I pray it won’t take me a month to write about it!

G

 

New Things From Vaca…

New things from my time at Kripalu include; a class on positional therapy, reading Silence by Thich Nhat Hanh, exploring new hiking trails, and gentle yoga…

My latest new thing total is 24! Good progress was made on my week off from work. I spent three days at Kripalu yoga and health center. Where I attended an excellent seminar on positional therapy which deals with all sorts of chronic pain — Especially low back pain which I learned costs over 100 Billion a year and is the number one physical complaint! I also attended four gentle yoga classes taught by different instructors who put their own spin on the class. I also found time to explore the wonderful hiking trails, the silence and serenity of the woods fit perfectly with the book on silence by Nhat Hanh.

Vacation allowed for more time and the space to find new things, now back to reality and my everyday life. New things won’t be as easy but I didn’t set out for this to be easy — It’s a journey and not all journeys are vacations…

Gin

Slow Progress but progress…

It appears three weeks is my groove for documenting my “new things”…

To say this month has been crazy would somehow minimize crazy! August to me is like the .1 in the 3.1 of a 5k, all the hard work is supposedly behind you the finish line is in sight yet it reamains painful.  In the martial art industry summers are busy but a different sort of busy, and at my school we don’t break until the 20th of August. So our.1 has been split shifts of camp and routine evening schedule. This in of itself is wearing but this whole month has been!

Enough whinning here’s what I’ve added to my list thus far; My brother and sister-in-law treated me to lunch at a new local Mexican returaunt called Casa Maguritta. I had tacos they were ok but a little grey in color first they were more like burritos in a soft taco shell. I may or may not go back but there’s another new thing. My next new thing is another app the Udemy app, I’m currently reviewing Pema Chodron’s Freedom to Choose Something Different. This is a series of lectures she gave at a retreat and well worth the $39.00! I’m also going to be running a 5k this Saturday for the MS Society, I’ve run a bunch of 5K’s but this is going to be the first I’ve done in the evening.

So slow and steady, just like my 5k

G

The Search Continues…

It’s been three weeks since my last entry!  This task is far more daunting than I first envisioned – When has that ever stopped me? Never…

I wish I could write that I haven’t blogged because I’ve been so busy doing new things, but that wouldn’t be true.  There have been a couple of new things that I’ll be sharing but life or should I say habits have a way of anchoring us down. If I’ve learned anything through these past four months is life doesn’t deliver new things they must be sought out – You have to get out and out of your own way to experience them.

With that said here are a few new things I’ve tried since my last post; First and the most fun standup paddle boarding. I was invited by a dear friend to try it out, being a lover of anything on or in the water I was game. Thankfully I have good balance and a fairly strong core from my martial arts training so balance was not an issue. Paddle boarding gives you a different perspective being upright than you get from sitting in a kayak. I felt like a gondola driver (if that’s the correct term). The paddling is certainly more akin to canoeing than kayaking which gave my shoulders a bit of a break but my forearms took a bit of a hit. All in all a wonderful experience one I hope to try again, however nothing beats the connection to the water than a kayak and this experience made me want to get into my kayak all the more!

My next new thing was a new author, Kate Carlisle of the cozy mystery genre her book  Homicide in Hardcover was a delight well written and fun to read! I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more in the series.

My final new thing was a blueberry lemon bread that I made from a recipe that I found on line. The bread came out great (it was done before the crazy heat). The recipe was fairly straight forward but if you don’t like a lot of chopping and shredding lemon peels then stick to a quick bread mix …

Well that brings me to a total of 20 new things in four months, which if I my math is correct I’m right on track for completing my goal…

Gin