That hometown feeling…

I have vivid memories of my friend Maria talking about “that hometown feeling” while living in Ohio. We lived in a small town, and there seemed to be a core group of people who were involved with just about every activity in town. From events at the school, to summer rec athletics to the local community Pumpkin Show you could count on seeing the same faces. That hometown feeling as Maria called it was a sense of community, a sense of pride that can come from living in a small tight knit community.

Maria died of cancer a few years ago, a great loss to the community. She truly was the spirit of that small town in many ways. I felt very honored to call her my friend, and even now, I know she is with me as one of my guardian angels.

One would think that living in a big community like the Dallas metroplex, that it would be hard to have those types of hometown feelings. I know when I was back in the cornfields, I would have thought, big city, that sort of hometown feeling just isn’t possible in a community so large. A country mouse like me would more than likely get lost in the shuffle with the big city living. I was wrong…

Yesterday I met with some members of the Dallas Random Acts of Kindness group to bake cookies to be handed out by the Salvation Army on Christmas Day.  My group consisted of 3 women, and two teenage boys and after 4 hours we managed to have rolled out, cut out, baked, iced and decorated over 200 cookies.  We were one of the many small groups meeting in kitchens around the metroplex to take on this special task.

As we listened to Christmas tunes, laughed and talked I felt like I was back in Ohio, it was that hometown feeling.  The only difference is that my *hometown* is much bigger now, and the need to help is probably even greater here.

Maybe it’s PollyAnna of me to think that on Christmas Day when those eating at the Salvation Army, instead of being surrounded by family, will feel a little special that someone took the time to bake them special cookies for the holiday.  Maybe those homemade cookies will take them back to happier Christmases in their past.  I’m ok, if just one person has that reaction, my time will have been well spent.

I can’t count the number of cookies I have baked for the holidays, have baked in the past year…it’s in the thousands, but those cookies yesterday gave me a special feeling, that holiday spirit, that warm and fuzzy feeling of making a difference.

…tis the season…share the love.

Oh what a night…

“Dance as if no one were watching, Sing as if no one were listening, And live every day as if it were your last”

That’s one of my favorite quotes. My youngest daughter even sent me a sign with that saying and it hangs in my kitchen. They are definitely words to live by…but last night, the “dance as if no one were watching” part of the quote was totally put to the test.

I met a friend last night in North Dallas at a hotel..no, it’s not what you are thinking…he is part of a singles group that had been invited to an event planners evening mixer. It was a way for vendors to show off their catering services, their DJ services, an oxygen bar–which really made me laugh, and a variety of other options. The admission price was an unwrapped child’s toy.

I had visions of an elaborate party set up and struggled even with Jack my GPS to find the hotel. Probably because I am looking for one of the large luxury hotels downtown. This place was probably a step below the Holiday Inn Express. There weren’t many cars in the parking lot, and that should have been a sign of the evening ahead.

I signed in, donated my gift and made my way into the *vendor* area. It was a very small room, with a bar set up for wine tasting, a huge coffee making monstrosity in the corner and 4 tables set up with catering companies. In the middle of the room was a smallish dance floor. Even by cornfields standards, this room would have been too small to host a wedding reception. I put on my biggest smile and walked across the room to my friend.

It was one of those nights that it was a VERY good idea that I just drank non-alcoholic pina coladas for the pina colada machine. Even sober, I did not have enough of a filter system to keep myself in check. My visions of a glamourous holiday evening faded, but when the disc jockey began playing, I could no longer behave.

A lone couple made their way to the dance floor. They were definitely dressed in their holiday glitz and glam. He was dressed in black from head to toe, she was wearing a black dress with white trim. He was tall and slender, she was shorter and not quite so slender, but seemed confident in herself. I thought we were in for a treat, maybe they were part of the entertainment. Oh, they were all right, but not in the way one might think.

It was clear, that when the heavens were handing out rhythm genes, these two must have been in the bathroom or something. They managed to give new meaning to the term white people can’t dance. At first, I sat there politely smiling but laughing so hard on the inside I was crying. The dance moves consisted of a combination Fred Astaire mating with Beyonce and dropping him on his head at the first dance lesson. I’m sorry, I know I can be cruel, but I really need to give you a picture of what I was watching. I kept thinking I am so glad I am here among strangers, because if just one of my friends were here I would be under that table doing that laugh where you laugh so hard no sound comes out?

When my dinner partner leaned across the table and whispered aren’t they great? I could no longer hold back the laughter. We had a ring side seat the entire evening to the smooth moves of this couple. They didn’t miss a dance, and even with their level of skill, he could not master the group dances like the Curly Shuffle, the Electric Slide and the Cha Cha Shuffle. You kinda need to know your right from your left and be able to keep the beat for those..

I sat in my chair dancing like the girl in Footloose who is there with the big hunky farmer who doesn’t dance. It was all I could do to just sit there and watch…finally someone came over, took my hand and said, “You know you haven’t danced once, would you like to dance with me?”

You know me…I said, “Hell yes!” and jumped on the dance floor. I figured I could not be any worse than Fred and Ginger. From that point on I was up and dancing every song…the music was mostly from my era, but I found myself longing for the music that I seem to be dancing to today.

…and you knew it was bound to happen…

I guess I caught the attention of Mr. Fred. He came to our table and asked to sit down. There are really levels of behavior that one probably should observe in these types of situations. Yeah, not so much with me. He sat down, and I really really was trying one, not to laugh, and two not to say anything inappropriate–stop laughing it could happen.

My friend was determined not to let that happen.

“She really likes the way you dance.”

He proudly declared, “My mom taught me to dance.”

I had two options here, the angel on my right shoulder was telling me to stuff the tablecloth in my mouth and keep quiet. The devil on my right side won out.

“Your mother taught you to dance? I can tell.” ( I swear I said it with the sweetest Ann smile on my face.)

“Yes, she told me if I could dance, woman would be all over me.”

A pause here for a comment to the Universe, please please please don’t put me in social situations and feed me lines like that to react to.

Once again a nudge from my “friend” who shall remain nameless, and who is going to pay for this in the very near future.

“She would really like to dance with you.”

I knew I should have worn some sort of pointy toed shoes, he needed a swift hard kick to the shins.

Once again, I smiled demurely, “Really, I’m quite shy, I don’t think I could keep up with you.” (Mostly because I have a left and a RIGHT foot and I have a small sense of rhythm, I am a white girl after all.)

I looked across the table at Celeste my new best friend for the night and leaned my head toward the dance floor, she nodded and we were out there shakin’ our groove things.

You know Fred could not just sit there, he was on the floor trying to dance with the two of us and I actually threw back my head and laughed as I was no longer witnessing the spectacle, but found myself smack dab in the middle of it all.

When he leaned over to me and said, “My sister really isn’t a very good dancer.” I totally lost it and could not stop laughing. His date for the evening was his sister. The next time they danced I looked at them closely and did see the family resemblance, then it just became creepy. Dancing with one’s sister that way is NOT ok.

The highlight of the evening was an appearance by President Obama, he no doubt heard about this gala event and flew into Dallas. Of course he wanted his picture taken witn me, how could I say no to that? Even the Obama impersonator was doing video of the dancing king, yes, he was that good!

I can’t say it was the most enchanting evening I have had since moving to Dallas, but it makes for yet another great story to tell about my Dallas adventures.

This night is going to make me giggle for a very very long time.

Gettin’ my cowgirl on…

I have this photo on my vision board.  It’s by my favorite Texas artist and I plan to buy this print to hang on my wall.  It just speaks to me, and I think reflects how I feel about myself and my life in Texas.

Today I received a unexpected cash surprise and I’ve decided to use the money to buy myself a pair of cowboy boots.  I could use the money to pay bills, or to give to charity, or to buy supplies to make things for charity..or I could treat myself to a pair of boots.

Oh, the checks definitely not enough to even remotely cover the cost of a pair of custom made boots from Leddy’s in The Stockyards—but one day I will have a pair of those too.  But I think I will have enough to buy something a little special.  Maybe just the fact that I am buying myself a pair of boots is special all in itself?

It’s just another step in my transformation to TexAnnie, although, I think I’ve been TexAnnie for quite some time. Long before I moved to Texas my good friend JD gave me the nickname TexAnnie.  I think TexAnnie was inside of me, she just needed some of that Texas blue sky and sunshine to help her make the final transformation.

I’ve received a few Christmas letters this week inside of cards and it made me ponder my last year, and if I were ever to write a Christmas letter just what would I put?  So, here is my online version…

Dear Friends,

It’s been an interesting year for me.  This year I have travelled to South Beach in Florida and sat on the beach drinking wine with friends, and listening to the waves moving back and forth on the shore well into the next morning.  It’s a memory that will forever be in my heart.  There was another trip to Florida where I swam in the ocean long after dark, and spent an amazing time with friends watching the LRO launch.  There was also another small trip to Mendocino, California to spend time with people who are very special in my life, and to meet new friends who have also secured a place in my heart.

Work has been great, I was nominated for employee of the month twice, and won the honor the second time.  I was promoted at work and received a raise.  I even received a shout out at the leadership awards program at work for my online work for the company.

I’ve found a way to continue my charity work through two Hospice groups and have recently started doing some hands on volunteer work with the Random Acts of Kindness group in Dallas.  My virtual charity projects continue as I send things to Mongolia as part of the Dulaan project, to California to a Planned Parenthood group, knitted hats to the Beanies for Baghdad project…and assorted small little projects in an attempt to make a difference in this world.

My daughters continue to make me proud with their giving spirits and their determination to live good and active lives.  I miss them both, more than they can even imagine.

I live a very abundant life.  I’ve added many more people to my circle of friends in Dallas, and I work to stay in contact with friends from all over the country as well as all over the world. I haven’t forgotten where I came from, I know that the years leading up to this point have helped to shape me into the person that I have known all along I was meant to be.

2009 has been a fantastic year full of all sorts of adventures and joy.  I know that the Universe has some terrific things planned for me in 2010, and I plan to hold on tight for the ride.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season to you and yours.
<3

Ann

P.S. Hmmmm…perhaps I may need some spurs to go with those boots?

A season of traditions…

“Never get tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes, those little
things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.” –Author Unknown

Yesterday was a tough day for me…I put a package in the mail to each of my daughters for Christmas and really was not prepared for how hard that would hit me.  Last year I was in Ohio in early December, and we celebrated Christmas together at that time.  But this year, I won’t be going back to Ohio.  It really didn’t make much sense, traveling there in the cold of winter to only have an hour–2 at the most with them.  So I opted to stay in Texas this year and to mail their packages.  It’s not the first Christmas that I spent without them, three years ago I was all alone on Christmas and very depressed, I can honestly say it was the saddest Christmas of my life, even harder than when my mom died on Christmas eve the next year..

Don’t be sad for me, I’m certainly not sad.  Yes, there were a lot of tears yesterday, but my life is amazing, and I am very happy with the place that I am in these days.  I will find a way to see both daughters in 2010, if it means them coming here, or me going to where they are.  Maybe that eased that ache in a mother’s heart a bit.

Christmas has always been a time filled with many traditions for me.  I smiled on Friday night when my daughter in Hawaii sent me pictures of her Hawaiian Christmas tree and a cookie sheet full of gingerbread men and cats that she was baking for the holidays.  Yesterday I received a Christmas card from my Ohio daughter and her boyfriend.  Baking and sending cards were traditions that my daughters grew up with, it’s nice to see them continuing those traditions even though we are far apart this year.  I have no doubts that both of them will be baking sugar cookies using their mom’s cookie recipe this season.

I feel a bit like Santa’s baking elf, I’ve long since lost count of just how many cookies I have baked this year…probably more than I have baked in my entire life.  But my circle of friends, and adopted family extend far and wide.  I’ve made great new friends in Texas and I have friends scattered all over the US.  My goal this year was to send off boxes to cookies to friends.  Last Wednesday I put 24 boxes of cookies in the mail.  Most of them arrived yesterday and the thanks from friends really helped me move past the sadness of not being with my daughters.

Life is about choices, and those choices usually come with a price.  I told both daughters that my wish for Christmas from them this year is copies of all of those years of pictures with Santa that I left behind.  It’s a small request, and I hope that they find a way to make that happen.  Those times of standing in line at the mall to be photographed with Santa were a Christmas tradition that carried over well into their teens.  I remember the year when they stopped getting their pictures taken with Santa, they were “too cool” for that to happen.  I remember crying, and being very upset…but life went on, and I still had years of grinning photos with Santa in gold frames that decorated the mantle every year at Christmas.

I’ve had a busy holiday season, baking, making scarves for special friends and sending Christmas cards.  My tree is up and filled with lights and ornaments from Christmas past.  I’ve added a few new ornaments this year, marking my first full year in Texas.  I feel that I am home. I’ve known for quite some time that this is the place that I belong.  I have a very full life filled with lots of friends and love.  I have friends that are struggling financially, emotionally and physically this year. It’s made me take a look at my life.  I have a job that I love, the people I work with are amazing, my circle of friends never cease to amaze me, I am living a life of abundance beyond what I ever could have imagined even a year ago.

Life is good…tis the season, share the love.

Social Media?

I can remember one of my first newbie questions when I joined Twitter just about 3 years ago.  “What the heck is this social media termI keep seeing all over Twitter.  I posed this question to my friend @NewMediaJim thinking if anyone had a clue about all of this, it would be him.  I think his short definition was that if I was writing to a blog, doing Twitter etc. I was doing social media.

I’ve always been about the social part of social media.  For me it’s just plain fun, and I’ve met some amazing people and formed some lifelong friendships with people 140 characters or one blog post at a time.  I spend a great deal of my time poking fun of people who take social media too seriously.  One of my funniest moments in the past year was at a NASA reception I attended pre-LRO launch.  My friend @lunarkatz introduced me to someone as a social media expert, and I could not stop laughing.  The only thing that might remotely qualify me as an expert is the fact that I was on the fringes of all of this at the early stages.  The days when our biggest grief on Twitter was when it would go down and we would gravitate to other similar online options..only to return to Twitter.  It wasn’t about the platform, it was about the friendships and the relationships.

My twitter list of people I follow is small, that’s intentional.  At one point after a mention from @ChrisBrogan on a @GuyKawasaki blog I was inundated by friend requests on Twitter.  I of course accused people of writing my name on bathrooms in cyberspace.  That was my 15 minutes or so of fame in the social media world.  People thought I had something to say, I do have something to say…but usually it’s a bit sarcastic, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

I’ve blogged for a long time, first as part of an online knitting community, and later just ramblings from my head.  I had no idea if people even read what I had to say.  For me it was a way to get thoughts out of my head, and onto the screen.  Mostly rambling about what particular thing was happening in my life at the moment.

Today I experienced social media in a new way.  Yesterday I did a blog post about my experience at the toy sort, and once again nudging people toward doing for others.  It was a pretty typical blog post for me, and one of those that seems to pull from my heart as much as my head.  I mentioned the Sheraton in Dallas, and Cafe Brazil, just in passing.  Both places picked up my blog post and responded with a comment to my blog, and @Cafe_Brazil_DFW posted a shout out to my blog post.

It made me realize how far social media has come in the 3 years plus since I ventured into this cyberspace stuff.  Both groups are smart to handle their online reputations.  The company that I work with also does the same thing, it’s a sign of the times.  I would easily recommend the Sheraton, it’s a beautiful hotel, and Cafe Brazil has been a favorite place of mine to eat long before I moved to Texas.

I thought that was a pretty interesting day in itself, but when I arrived home tonight in the mail I received a copy of The Ripple Effect: Maximizing the Power of Relationships for Life & Business, it was signed by the author Steve Harper.  Long before I moved to Texas while living in Ohio I started reading Steve’s blog the Ripple Effect. Yes, I have been a Ripple Effect groupie for quite some time.  I liked the blog so much that I ordered Steve’s book.  I was planning to take Steve’s book with me to SXSW last year, and connect with him to have him sign the book.

…and as the infomercial says, but wait, there’s more….

Inside the book, on the third page I found this:

“The tips and techniques offered in The Ripple Effect transcend the traditional ways of connecting and communicating and show you how to take that relationship building to the next level.”

–Ann Miller
Social Media Butterfly and Business Strategist

Who would have thought?  (He did ask me for the quote so this wasn’t a shocker for me..but I had assumed it would end up on the cutting room floor so to speak.)  Steve, seriously me a Business Strategist??? It’s probably better than being listed as the Mae West of Twitter.   I am quite flattered to be included in the new edition of your book.

Hmmm..maybe there is something to this social media stuff after all?

In the words of my friend Steve Harper…Ripple On!!!

I believe one person can make a difference…

No smirking…no laughing..no shaking your head and thinking that I’ve once again jumped into my Polly Anna suit and am parading around Dallas.  The center of my vision board has my three main objectives in life:

1. Help someone achieve a dream
2. Help someone catch the giving spirit
3. Make someone smile EVERY day

I think that accomplishing one of those three things most days is doing well. I write about my charity adventures, not for a pat on the back, but in the hopes that someone will read my words and think about it.  Maybe it will sink in and they will see an opportunity to help, to make a difference, and instead of just closing their eyes, or walking away, they will step up and volunteer.  I would love nothing more than to have someone say to me, “Guess what I decided to do today, and it felt so good, thank you for the nudge.”  That’s worth so much more to me than a pat on that back.

This morning I was up at 6:30 a.m. to head to downtown Dallas for a toy sorting project.  I hate getting up early on the weekend…but I had promised to help so off I went to Dallas.  I still love seeing the skyline of the city as I drive in, it makes me smile and amazes me that I really am living here now.

At the Sheraton Conference Center, toys were stacked from floor to ceiling, they were collected last night at the Margarita Ball.  There were still all sorts of balloons everywhere, it must have been one heck of an event.  There were toys for every age, games, bikes, skateboards, scooters, you name it it was probably in one of the piles.  The first job was to sort through all of the toys by ages, boy or girl  or a general category.  That challenged the toy stereotyping in a big way…there are girls that like basketballs too you know?

After the toys were all sorted, each was put into a large garbage bag, tied, marked by age and packed into giant brown paper boxes.  It was an army of box assemblers, box packers, toy baggers..but it was definitely organized chaos with each group moving to help the next as they finished.  There were high school students there, and a variety of people on up the age scale.  It was quite a work out carrying, bending and of course laughing.  It was a great team effort, and we finished in less than the 4 hours they had planned.  On December 12 is the Christmas party for the Dallas kids where the toys will be distributed.

On the way home, I stopped at my favorite breakfast place Cafe Brazil and treated myself to pumpkin pancakes.  I’m still smiling.  This morning took less than 3 hours, the army of people made quick work of the monumental task and we all left the building feeling a little lighter..a little happier, because maybe our small part in this venture helped to make the difference in the life of a child.  That’s a very powerful feeling…

You know, that’s why I do it.  I’m selfish, it’s that rush of happiness that one gets from helping others.  It really is like a drug.  Yep, once you’ve had a taste of it, you look for other ways to get more, to give back to even more groups, even more people…to find ways to make a difference.

I can hear you know, but you live in Dallas, there are lots more opportunities to do this kind of work.  Excuse me? I spent most of my life living in the cornfields of Ohio.  Check at your local elementary school, donate books to the local library, feel passionate about animals, do something for the local animal shelter.  It’s important to find something that means something to you.  For me it’s Hospice, so I found ways to help them.  No time to go volunteer?  I dealt with that too.  I found lots of great opportunities at http://www.volunteermatch.org they even have virtual volunteer activities.

If you need ideas, help finding a way to give back, send me an email, I’m sure that I can help you come up with something. 

Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does.  ~William James

Psssttt…pass it on!

Kindness, like a boomerang, always returns.  ~Author Unknown

Go out and do something small…help me achieve my dream, one person CAN make a difference.

What are you waiting for?

Things have a way of happening in my life that make me say hmmmm…Last night my friend Duane aka @PreppyDude and I had a conversation on the phone about friends in need.  To us it seemed the normal thing to do to jump in and trying to help a struggling friend.  Even if that means hopping on a plane and riding in like the cavalry to the rescue.  The idea of @PreppyDude and I being the cavalry makes me laugh…a lot.  But the basic sentiment of the conversation was that if a friend needs help, you find a way to be there.  You don’t sit back and wait for someone to ask for help.

I understand this because it is REALLY hard for me to ask for help.  I’d rather just handle things myself.  The friend Duane and I were talking about is the same way..she’s had a tough time, a really hard year..and for things to get to the point that she would share her pain..to me that was a wake up call for those near and dear to her to rally around and give her the support she needed.  I did as best I could from a distance..friends do that.

I started feeling sick yesterday..I went to work anyway, and finished my Monday morning reports.  By 2:30 I was ready to put my head down on my desk for a nap.  I finally surrendered and came home and promptly fell asleep for four hours.  I woke up, had some soup, but by 10 I was ready to crash and sleep again.  I went to bed expecting to be well by this morning. Not so much.

I made it through the shower and it was clear that the only place for me today was in bed resting.  There wasn’t anything that couldn’t be handled by a team mate, or put off for another day.  I crawled back in bed and woke up at noon.  I wandered to the computer and posted:

“Ann is thankful for sick days, flannel pajamas, couches, Tylenol sinus and chicken noodle soup. Maybe staying home and sleeping in all day will help me kick this crud.”

In the time it took from me to walk from the computer to the kitchen to warm up some soup, my phone was ringing.  A friend (Syed) calling to see if there was anything I needed, could he bring me some soup?  If I’m home tomorrow and I need anything, please let him know.

It can be a challenge to live alone and be sick.  I for the most part just want to be left alone to sleep it off knowing that I will get better.  Does it show weakness to ask for help? I don’t know, just sort of built into me to try to go it alone.

It’s very nice to know though…that even without asking, there are people that care about me enough to pick up the phone and ask.

Is there someone in your life that’s under the weather? That’s hurting? That could use a hug?  Stop waiting for someone else to step in and do that.  Don’t wait until someone is in such sad shape that they feel the need to ask for help.  Do something now..today…right now..

I can tell you as someone who received one of those calls today…it means a great deal.  Just to know that people care.

Ann aka PollyAnna 

Everything’s bigger in Texas..

When I lived in Ohio, I often teased and joked about that Texas-ism.  (Apologies to my fellow Texans, I was a newbie from the cornfields.)  Last night over a pair of knitting needles, some soft and warm alpaca yarn on the way to becoming a scarf I thought about the past week.

In one week’s time, I attended a Law of Attraction Group Meeting, Volunteered at the Susan B Komen 3 day walk, took my first country western dance lesson, was part of a group that made sandwiches for the Dallas Soupmobile, attended the Texas Stampede Rodeo/Pat Green concert and went to a belly dancing class.

 

I’m not sure if everything is bigger in Texas, but I feel like my life is bigger in Texas.  Maybe it has a lot to do with where I am in my head, in my heart and in my life.  I’m not nearly as afraid to step out of my comfort zone, worried about what others will think.  People in my corner of the world, really don’t care so much about all of that.  It’s such a change from the way my life was before moving. There were some friends who just didn’t understand why I wanted to move..and to Texas?  Was I crazy.  Maybe I am, but for as long as I can remember, each time I came to Texas before moving here felt as if I was coming home.  There were more than a few times I cried when I boarded that plane out of Texas and back to Ohio.

I have no idea what this week has in store for me…another dance class, another writer’s group meeting…next Sunday another Random Acts of Kindness event.  My life is full and rich with things that matter to me.  I would venture to say there are some people out there, that are still struggling to find out just what matters to them, and some people who will sadly never find that in life.  I am happy and feel that I am living a fulfilling life.

Yee haw…let the adventure continue.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”–Howard Thurman

You can wait for life to happen…

..or you can step outside of your comfort zone and find a way to create the life you want, to make things happen.

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tonight, I decided to sign up for a Country Western dance class. I’ve been to a few honky tonks and have watched the dancers in awe. They don’t dance the same way in the cornfields, or at least not in my part of the cornfields. I’ve been wanting to learn ballroom dancing, it’s on my bucket list. I can tell you that after a “team building” dance event, it just wasn’t my thing. That doesn’t mean that I took it off of my bucket list, I just sat back and thought, “Oh well, maybe one day I’ll find someone to take dance lessons with.” Case closed, back to sitting on the couch and knitting charity hats.

I saw a MeetUp group in Dallas, in my corner of Dallas that was for singles. I thought that it sounded interesting, so I joined the group. I saw they were having a dance class tonight, and decided it was worth a try. What would I be out if I just couldn’t do it, a few bucks, a few hours and a little gas out of the car. I found out when I got to the lesson that this was week 3. Everyone else in the class had 3 hours of experience on me. That intimidated me a bit…but why sit on the sidelines and watch?

Ryan was my first partner, he was very good at counting and we both realized that as long as we didn’t talk, we could follow the 1-2-3, 1-2-3, walk walk. He was very patient with me, and I was surprised at how fast I got the hang of it. We then broke into groups of beginners and intermediate dancers. We practiced, then practiced as couples. I admired the women who took the role of the male dancers. I got to dance with a combination of guys and girls. When the instructor pulled me out to the floor to dance with him, I took it with a grain of salt. At a particular part of the step the woman is to be looking across the man’s shoulder. I realized I should be looking there about 3 seconds too late, and snapped my head to look across his shoulder, and we all got a laugh out of that.

I surprised myself tonight. I figured I would feel clumsy after my ballroom dancing experience, but found that I got comfortable enough to dance, and only count in my head, and to look around and watch the other dancers. When I managed to do a turn while moving around the floor dancing I let out a squeal of happy delight. I was so proud of myself.

I was sad that tonight was the last class until after the first of the year. They do have a Monday night class, and I came home and did a Mapquest search to find that the Monday night class is just as close to me, just a different direction. So, I will be able to get a few classes in there.

I loved tonight, loved the feeling of dancing around that floor, and was ok when I messed up now and then. It was great exercise (My doctor will be so proud of me.).

I paid for the next set of dance classes, and talked to the instructor a bit, I told him how much I had enjoyed the class, I was bubbling over with joy and excitement. I’m hooked, it won’t be long before TexAnnie is sporting a pair of cowboy boots!

Isn’t that what life is all about, being in the moment and huggin’ the stuffin’ out of each new experience?

I am thankful for abundance…

I attended another MeetUp group last night, you know I’ve got an addiction..or maybe I’ve decided it’s long past time to embrace the fact that I live in a metropolitan area, and there are so many opportunities to meet new people and explore life.

Last night was a local Law of Attraction group. (No eye rolling please, I do believe in the law of attraction, and how it impacts my life each and every day.) The speaker last night wrote a book called The Law of Abundance. She gave a great talk, and I had a few lightbulb moments. I came home and requested her book from the library. She was an interesting speaker, and the group asked a lot of great questions. It was great to be in a room with people who shared a common interest. It was held in someone’s home, so it had a bit of a party atmosphere. I look forward to these once a month meetings.

One of the last phrases she said in her talk last night was, “Abundance isn’t just about money.”

I’ve thought about that statement quite a bit since last night. Tonight while I was watching the CMA Awards and knitting a gorgeous gray baby alpaca scarf I really focused in on those words. I realized, that my life is full of abundance.

I have a job that I love, and am at the edge of a very exciting time for our team. Our director is gone, our manager is gone and in their place is someone who I believe will take us to the next level. Life is full of possibilities and I’m really excited at the prospect of what we can do in the next few months.

I live in an area that gives me all sorts of venues to explore, people to meet, new adventures to tackle. I’ve long since left the cornfields behind, and really truly have become the person I am meant to be. It’s been a long journey filled with all sorts of drama and adventure, but I focus only on the positives.

I am surrounded by people in my Texas world who are fun, inspiring, caring and have grown to mean the world to me. Moving cross-country many people in Ohio thought I was crazy. I knew in my heart this was the place I was meant to be. Forming such great friendships and being surrounded by so much love is a bonus.

I have a huge support network around me of friends from all over the United States, all over the world. People that are awe inspiring when I see the things that they accomplish, and what they do with their lives. I am so proud of the people in my huge circle of friends who go out and work to make the world a better place. There are times when I take a step back and can’t believe the people who add to my life each and every day. The people who have helped me through the darkest times of my life, and are still here to help me celebrate the small victories.

I appreciate the opportunities that I have to give back. I love that I can do things for Hospice using my creative talents. Each thing that I do for them is in a small way to honor my mom. Last weekend I was at the finish line for Susan B. Komen, next weekend I am part of a team making 1,000 sandwiches for the Dallas soupmobile. I’ve already signed up to help with the Dallas Kids Christmas Party. Giving back and volunteering fills such a need inside of me to give back. Here, I am able to do so much more, and to have fun while volunteering.

Do I have a big fat bank account? Nope, nowhere near fat, I’d say it’s mostly on the slim side.

But my life is filled with abundance in the important things in life. There’s not a price tag that can be put on these life treasures, these moments and the people who make me smile, and make my cry with their love and caring.

“Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now, you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal reality.”
- Wayne Dyer

“Not what we have But what we
enjoy, constitutes our abundance.”
- John Petit-Senn