Paradise For Sale

Dreams change and time marches on....our little piece o' heaven is up for sale. Eighty acres (+/-) of land 21 miles southwest of Laramie, WY, at Tract 17 of Lake Hattie Vistas. I've blogged about it, posted photos of it in my Picasa albums, and now I have a real estate listing for it.

If your dreams might include a little piece o' heaven in Wyoming, with to-die-for views and a portion of your own private lake, check it out.

Dreams change, little ones, and we must change with them.....

It's Not Just Toyotas, Folks....

Toyota has themselves a heck of a mess going on right now, don't they? Seems every day you hear of another model of Toyota either being recalled or "researched for safety issues."

Imagine my surprise when I received a recall notice for the "sticking gas pedal" issue for my 2009 Pontiac Vibe! Seems the Vibe was a "joint venture between GM and Toyota." It may say it's a Pontiac Vibe on the vehicle, but it's really a Toyota.

My little red beast is, as I type this, at the local used-to-be-Pontiac-is-still-Chevrolet dealer having the "sticking gas pedal" fix installed (that's Pontiac Recall No. 10018, if you're interested).

So, while you think you have dodged a bullet by not driving one of those recalled Toyotas, you might be mistaken. Watch your mail for recall notices, little ones. ☺

UPDATE: I left out the best part of this mess...when I picked up my newly fixed car, the driver's side floormat was gone. I asked where it was and was told, "Well, since there's a recall issue with the driver's floormat, we had to follow Toyota's directions. We removed it and put it in the trunk." Well, there's a high-tech fix for ya....

The Joy of Competition

I love the Winter Olympics...the dancing-on-the-razor's-edge aspect of most of the sporting events...the seemingly reckless abandon of the athletes. It's one big adrenaline rush!

It's a bit of an oxymoron, though, isn't it? While hundreds of the top athletes from around the world converge on Vancouver and show us what they've got, we all become champion couch potatoes and watch them 24/7. We are inspired by amazing feats of athletes we've never heard of before from countries we may only be vaguely aware of. We cheer them on, groan and ache for them when it goes wrong (RIP Nodar Kumaritashvili), and all-in-all enjoy the heck outa their hard work and dedication.

Once the games end, we need to all get off our couches and go outside...allow ourselves to be inspired by the athletes we watched for two weeks...and get moving!

So, little ones, for now settle in and enjoy the Winter Olympics and all it has to offer. But come March 1, you'd best be getting on those walking shoes and moving!

Change is possible....

If there's something in your life that you are not happy with, little ones, you can complain about it, fret about it, let it overwhelm you...or, you can start taking steps to change it.

I have been obese for decades, and what started out as a resolution for me (which I usually don't make and rarely keep when I do make 'em), has slowly started becoming a way of life. Daily exercise and eating smarter and healthier were my New Year's resolutions...and one month later both are actually becoming habits. They say if you do something for 3 weeks, it will become habit and you'll be more likely to stick with it. Well, I've been exercising and eating less for a month now, and though there are times I'm tempted to eat a ton, I've resisted. And I am finding that I must exercise at least a little every day or I just don't feel right.

As part of my efforts to change, I am using Wii Fit (an awesomely fun way to exercise), taking a Tai Chi class (and I'm finding Tai Chi a great way to start and end my day), doing water aerobics, riding the elliptical (when I remember, that is), and doing my usual daily walks with Sprocket.

Movin' my ample @ss instead of sitting on it so much, and putting less food (and smarter food choices) in my face is helping me change...a lot. I am changing my health, my weight, my stamina, and my outlook.

Yes, little ones, change is possible. So instead of sitting there and bitchin', get up and start moving toward making the changes you want to see in your life. As Nike so aptly puts it, JUST DO IT!

A Fresh Start

A new year, a new decade...a new chance to get it right.

When you begin writing 2010 on your checks, you know it's time to turn the page. Time to shake off the vestiges of the holidays (and holiday excess) and move forward with renewed vigor and determination. Resolutions be damned, it's time to make some changes.

I always enter into January a bit depressed...the holidays (my favorite time of the year) are over, the company (this year it was AA&T) has gone home, the decorations are taken down and put away (well, the indoor ones...the outdoor ones are still buried in snow and/or frozen to the ground...might not get them taken down till spring with the winter we are having). But by the end of the first week of the new year, I am usually starting to get back to normal (well, as "normal" as I ever get).

Every January I start out so optimistic, with plans to increase my exercise, decrease my food intake, and all in all live a healthier lifestyle. True to form, that's where I'm at right now...it is my fervent hope I can actually stick to it this time (as it is every year), but I'm not setting any goals or deadlines (those always trip me up)...I'm just gonna work at it and hope for the best.

So, little ones, here's to fresh starts, new changes and challenges, and always new adventures!