My favorite cartoon character is Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. You know, the donkey that always expects the worse?....

Yeah, that was yours truly (ok, still am, but it is different). I used to expect the worse and accept it.

Now, I predict the future and plan possible positive outcomes. Yes, bad stuff will happen, but what is within my power to make the transition easier? better?, etc.

So, I have been blessed with 3 wonderful nieces, who would visit me on a daily basis. One of them is an optimist, the other two.....a couple of Eeyores!.

I would hear such things as...
"No one loves me"... "you always take her side" (except that you take for granted the times I take yours), and, here is the one that made me snap....."my life stinks, I have a terrible life".

You see, if 1 thing out of 100 went not according to plan, that 1 thing, regardless of how inconsequential, had the power to negate the other 99. It could be a friend at school being mean, or not getting a 100 on a test (99 is not bad, ok?)

So, I told my nieces that from now on, they could have their terrible days and horrible life and enjoy the misery of it all, but at the end of the day, they would have to tell me 3 good things that happenned that day before they leave to go home.

The first 2 nights they hated it, after that, they looked forward to it. After 3 weeks, they said: "Aunt Lee, do I really have to do this every day?, I got it, I do have a great life". (said this bashfully and smiling, as if ashamed of being joyful....what an eeyore!)

Every day I count my blessings, and the days were it just seems meager, I realized that am taking for granted the things that do work well in our lives and try to be aware and recognize them for the glue that holds everything together and make the disasters in our lives bearable.

Sometimes finding 3 good things in the day become like the provervial needle in the haystack, but am bound and determine to find them and rejoice in them, so this may sound trivial but here is my little list:

3 good things that happened to me today:

1. Am going to lotion after my shower.

2. Am feeling better today than yesterday

3. Got all the grocery shopping done

How about you? What 3 good things happened to you today (or even yesterday?)

YESTERDAY....

1. Paid daughter's local speeding ticket (bench warrant had been issued)

2. Paid daughter's speeding ticket in neighboring parish (bench warrant had been issued)

3. Visited aunt in hospital; found her much better; spoke to physician who confirmed congestive heart failure due to pneumonia, not related to other heart problems

1) My kids found a stray cat. They played with it, petted it, and made friends with it.

2) They brought it in the house and fed it! They begged for us to keep it but it obviously is well taken care of and belongs to someone.

3) The cat stayed the night. The kids let it back outside and it left.

It was nice having an overnight guest who knew enough to leave when his welcome was up  

Take Care...Carol~

1. Washed my bed sheets

2. Killed a spider in my room (by myself)

3. Spent time training my dog who thinks he's the boss of me!

1. It's the new year and I did NOT have a hangover.

2. I was able to sleep in which I haven't done in a very long time.

3. I had fun watching a comedy movie,"Monster-In-Law".

1) Clean clothes
2) I recovered from the flu/cold I had.
3) I had great weather on my trip last week

ok three good things that happened today

a) finding this thread
b)my son finding a site for widows of world of warcraft to vent on haha
c) it is a hot day (100F) and i have been able to wash my pillows and doonas

and because i found this late i am taking the liberty of adding two more haha
a) my son (mr 18) returned safely from hong kong and china last week
b)i have organised the best 50th birthday surprise for my ex husband and for the first time in 20 years he is frustrated because he doesnt know what is being organised hahahahaha, I finally got him back

cheers
kath

three things, mmm

a)i didnt go into the office, although i worked from home, it was easier and i got more done than if i had gone in.

b) the garden bag people delivered a bag so i can put my garden waste in

c) one son is having a sleep over at his grandfathers, hubby is at work and other son is playing what he calls music in his room - so peace reigns

cheers
kath

how come i am the only person who responds to this thread hahaha, it needs more credibility than my raves

today
a) i said goodbye to a long and valued collegue who had felt very dismissed in recent years, we were able to see this wasnt true and sent her off (with many tears) to take on her new career challenges

b) i was able to meet with executives in the organisation and respond to perceived criticisms with fact and make them realise that some of the major faults were due to their lack of decision making - that was a biggie ahaha

c) i discovered that my two sons (19 and 14) had watched on cable, a movie version of the vagina monologues and was able to talk to them in a humourous way to explain the bits they didnt understand. god what a conversation, it was a hoot and we were in tears of laughter. the best thing was that they got that it was about being a woman and i think they saw their mum as a woman too

cheers
kaht

Jr. came home from his dad's after agreed to time, but fully 6 hours before last week. Maybe next week, he'll be <gasp> on time!

The sun is shining, though it is cold, and I will take the dogs for a walk before it goes down.

I did my weight lifting routine today.

hi all
this one is a little bit hard to explain but i will give it a shot.

as some of you know i work in the area of child protection and screening of people to ensure they are suitable to care for children.

recently we had an emergency in a hostel and they needed an immediate carer to step in. this required creature care by the office staff haha, stepping in themselves to look after the group of kids involved.

i pushed the prospective carer's screening through and was able to get her on board pretty quickly.

today i got a thank you email and included was a pic of THREE of the little fellas who had been being cared for by the staff in the crisis and now had a new carer with stable tenure.

what a surprise when i opened my email this morning. the pic had been taken about 1/2 hour before i opened my email and i just yelled "WOW".

they were cutest group of little scallywags i have seen for a long time and they looked very well cared for and happy, so it was a gift to be able to say hello to them.

so that was my THREE for the day
cheers
kath
ps i have to add that pic has been deleted and no rules or laws were broken haha by provision of the pic to me, just thought i better say that, no identities were revealled!!!
cheers again
kath

1) We woke up to snow in the UK today - very pretty, makes a change from the damp grey skies we've had lately.

2) I got on the scales and found I'd dropped 3lbs - yay!

3) Met an old friend while out shopping today, had a great chat, it was wonderful to see her.

ok, well it has been over 100F for the past few days here in perth, we are all slowly cooking our brains!!

but today i was lateral, i did the folowing:

a) bought a pool, ok it is about 2 feet wide and a foot deep, but it is in the shape of a purple whale!!!!. after you fill him up with water, you can (if you want a water feature) connect him to the garden hose and he will spurt water out of his nose. so i get the kids and the garden watered at the same time hahahah it took a while to get the kids out of him before they popped him haha. of course i had to remind that they should not go into the pool within an hour of eating, for safety reasons etc hahaha

b) i told H that i bought a pool and because of that i didnt pay his car registration, he is really pissed hahahahahahhahahahahhahahahah, i did pay his car rego, but he will get a surprise when he gets home and all 6'4" of him tries to dive into less than one foot of water hahaha


c)just sat back in the heat and played, oh and went shopping, the trousers i buoght without trying them on , were 2 sizes too big!!!, so it was cool to take them back, get a refund and then buy new bathers for OUR new pool hahahahaha

cheers all, melting here
kath

TODAY THREE THINGS THAT WERE GOOD FOR ME.
1)MY H FINALLY RECOGINIZED SOME OLD ISSUES THAT HE FELT DROVE HIM AWAY (INSTEAD OF SAYING "I DONT KNOW".
2)MY DOG SMILED AT ME!
3)I HEARD THE BIRDS SINGING THIS MORNING AND THEY REMINDED ME OF GODS MIRICLES

mmm

well i got up in time to take mr 13 to school, they ahve just gone back so getting children up on time, let alone me, is a challenge haha

i got a whole lot of checks done at work to enable staff to be engaged, so that is now done and dusted!

got to the dr and got some mega antihistamine medication to knock the hay fever off that i have been suffering with all week!!!

cheers
k

1. I worked out and feel great.
2. I vaccuumed.
3. I found new makeup that I like!

So far, I've been able to stay ahead of any illnesses.

I feel real good about what got accomplished at work.

I am excited about being involved in my community by participating in the Horizon Study Circle to get together on how to improve the community we live in.

a) got through work

b) visited the new office of a committe i have been involved and was shown an office which was described as "my new office" haha, they want me, that is nice
c) was offered a secondment to another department

d) (ok i know we can only do 3 but tonight i was told that my son the wrestler is going to australian national titles in sydney later this year and THEN international commonwealth titles in 2008 in INDIA - aahhhhhhhhhh so i guess this links to b and c above, i need a higher paying job hahahaha. the next step is olympics in 2012 hahaha

in between there are competitions in the USA, so maybe we will get to visit you all some day (year)soon

i either have to sell the eldest child, who is an internatinal travelling bum but very well dressed, burbury and LVT all the way haha and has recently returned from hong kong and china haha

OR i have to take up the above job offers and get a friggin passport haha, so my jokes of sofa beds and floors to sleep on may come true haha

sadly the next commonwealth competition after india is in the isle of man, but he will be too old to compete then, which is a bummer, because his dad is manx, so that would have been wonderful. but we might work on him being a coach by then and go to the UK and the isle of man in betwween all of the other stuff
i may turn into an international traveller yet hahaha

cheers
kath

1. Sorted through volumes of photos from our 35 years of marriage in prep for our move on to retirement together.
2. Successfully manuevered my way through finding several triggers w/H's help.
3. Hugged my older brother who's been living with us, and told him I love him.


Peace is not just the absence of war; it's an exercise in compassion. -Dalai Lama
Coming to you from JJ

1. Found this site. Something I needed very much to help make sure I am really healing and dealing with my feelings and not just trying to forget and survive.

2. Met with my mentor at church

3. completed a work out

ah my three things today

a) got up early and watered the garden, we are heading to a heatwave (40C for the next week) after rain last week) and with daylight frigging saving it is hard to get up that hour earlier in the dark haha, but i did it and got the garden sorted

b) went shopping and bought a new bed, so my old back no longer needs to cope with the 10yr old mattress, the new one is delivered on tuesday so hopefully i shall spring out of bed on wed morning to water the garden again

c) then i coped tonight with mr 13 having two friends at the last minute for a sleep over and dinner. so last minute that one of the mums rang and said "is simon staying at your place tonight hahah"

then my dad, brother, aunt and uncle all turned up around dinner time - i turned sausages in buns for the kids into a full meal for the relies (relatives)haha. now this is no mean feat, my aunt is a retired domestic science teacher (cooking and sewing. so in one hour, i did chicken, lamb and pork on the barby, plus tossed salad, coleslaw, potatoe salad.

she must have been impressed as she did the dishes and then when i asked if she could fold towels (on my side table) she did haha and then we had a laugh and competition about the easiest way to fold fitted sheets hahahaha. i love her, despite her being taurean retired teacher she is.

i think i passed hahahahaha
that was enough for one day
cheers
kath

1. Took donation items to Salvation Army.
2. Went to Toys R Us and bought some board games for a St. Paddys Day party.
3. Ate the last brownie.

"A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind."

1. It's been a long time since I've visited or posted on this site, but finding this thread was 1 good thing about today

2. Ran an errand that I have been putting off for 2 months!

3. started a diet

1. Had a diet Coke rather than a regular Coke (Good for my body!)
2. My headache from last night is better today, but not gone.
3. I am headed to lunch and thats a good thing as I am SO hungry!

Funny how the most simple things can be good.



"A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind."

well these are really about last friday/saturday*

a) my son who was mugged, punched in the face, chest and then had an axe held to his throat on friday night. fortunately the only damage (apart from emotional) is that he had his louis vitton bag and wallet stolen, plus some cash etc. he will get over that. 9pm in perth city who would have believed it. he has not long returned from 4 weeks in hong kong and china with no drama, and comes home, sitting in a park with friends having icecreams after dinner and is attacked by 8 people

b) the previously arranged family lunch for aunt and uncle from canada on sat went well, despite me not having much sleep and being not totally prepared when 20 people turned up. for me the funniest thing was making my two aged aunts have an egg peeling competition hahaha, that kept them out of the kitchen for a bit haha

c) my aunt rang tonight to thank me for the family day on saturday, ironically i was sending her flowers over the net to thank her for helping out given the previous nights trauma for my son.

i guess that is three, maybe i am getting older, i told the family (before the mugging and the night at the police station) that coming to my house was just about getting together. nothing flash

on saturday when they all turned up, the importance of being together was more important. given the dude with the axe at my son's throat i could have been organising a funeral. at the end of the day we were together and had a nice time, who could ask for more, we ate good food, one cousin drove 3 hours and brought fresh crayfish, we had great grandmas and new born babies and they stayed for hours and hours, much to my joy.

i think i am blessed.
much love
kath
ps ialso told work today they had 6 months to get their **** together or i quit, i will go on the dole, i am leaving for another job in a couple of weeks for 3 months, and i want better treatment when i return. the biggest thing is i told H tonight of my resignation plan and he said "that is ok*" WOW

ciou for now so that is my three things although it took a bit to explain, as i said i feel blessed

Kath,

So sorry to hear about your son. WOW! So thankful that he was ok. What a slice of trauma that was.

Its amazing how an incident such as that can put other things in a new light.

Bless your heart and your family.

My 3 things.....

1. Got to sleep in an extra 45 minutes since son is on Spring Break and didnt need a ride to school this morning.

2. H has been cleaning the jacuzzi tub in our bathroom... must add: ALL DAY, but he is cleaning and servicing all the jets and etc.

3. Talked to my dad tonight who is in Palm Springs for the winter..... yes dad, it is offically "Spring" now and you can come back to the rainy Pacific NW!

"A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind."

well after the last week i guess three things today would be

a) i watered my garden and got to play in it after work

b) i got a new job for three months

c) an offer of another new job for 6 months


god a life choice haha, i said i would think about it haha

besides that, life is good and despite the above life decisions (and associated impact on the family) there is peace in my house today. cant ask more than that.

cheers
k

Kath - WOW. Glad to hear your son is o.k. What a horrible ordeal.

I only have 1

1) I feel like I was granted a second chance today --- a lump in my breast is not cancerous. God is watching over me and I am truly thankful.

As Coral said, sure puts things in perspective.

PEACE and (((((HUGS))))) to all

JL

mm three things

a) got my office cleaned out
b) dealt with two jobs at once,plus kids, family etc and the delivery of two new buffets - so the house looks nice and all the crap in book cases that i cannot bring myself to throw out will be cleverly disguised behind cupboards haha
c) got some support for son following axe attack and got him to go into the city for the first time in two weeks, which is huge, given he used to live in the city.

all is good
kath

Kath- your son will be in my prayers.


My three today:

1. I have a home to live in
2. my children and I have food to eat
3. I love myself and will stand up for myself. I will not be a doormat for my H anymore!! (if I tell myself that enough times I will believe it)


D-day #4 was on Sunday. That is the best three I can come up with today.

Thank you God for this day!! I am blessed.

ah so much since then

mm three good things today

a)i did the washing, the sun is shining and got everything dry even though it is winter, me thinks spring is coming soon

b) i got to pick up my son from his friends and negotiate 6 14yr old boys for a sleep over haha, still dealing with that but they are good boys,cooking for them as i type

c) picked my dad up and took him to the chemist so he could buy the stuff he needs and was so proud watching him as he struggled with his walking sticks. he didnt care about that, he just wanted to introduce me as his daughter to the chemist, i felt so proud when he said "this is my daughter kathy." i go to that chemist all the time, now he knows who i am i will have to be cautious about what i buy haha. but it was nice to be able to do that with dad, let him be a bit independent etc. we did have a laugh though when he couldnt work out his pin number for his credit card. he started telling the chemist his number and i said, dont do that, it is private, i remember it, THEN I go the number wrong hahaha, so we laughed and said if anyone raided his credit card it would be my brother or the chemist hahahha.

so they are good things to be able to do arent they?!
cheers
kath