Have you broken your New Years Resolutions, yet? Me, too! lol! #NewYears #NewYearsResolutions

                  

 Dis me, eatin' a cake - hahaha! Whatevs! Me dooz what I likes, and I likes da cake! hahaha!

Have you broken your New Years Resolutions, yet? Me, too! lol!  Whatever... I'm not a big fan of New Years Resolutions... just occurred to me, this New Years Day, I happened to mention to my son, who is 15, now, "Oh, hey, did you write out your New Years Resolutions?"  Then, instantly, in a revolution, it dawned on me that we had to write out our New Years Resolutions, painfully, at the dining room table, for what seemed like hours, because my parents probably needed us to just be super quiet for a while on New Years Day - maybe that's where all the New Years Revolutions started, from parents who just needed a quiet house to recover from the New Years Eve festivities, the night before - hahaha!  Who knew?  And to think how much we used to agonize over what to write down, since we had to write down TEN New Years Resolutions, and show them to my Dad.  Pretty funny, now that I think of it, as an adult.  

So, of course, I said to mah' boy, don't worry about it, you're all good, no need to change... is an interesting concept, this incredible need we have to make ourselves change, when, clearly, we're already doing what we really want to do, or there wouldn't be all this need for change, right?  Hmmm... (Did you catch that little 'Chandler Bing' be, in there.. that's a Canadian thing, me thinks - lol!) 

So, that said, me no haz gone to the gym for ages, now - one, I didn't go for the entire 'Christmas Break' - I easily used the school holiday as also my gym holiday - haha!  Whatevs.  Annoying, since I've already paid for their stooopid extra fee in December, the $60 extra payment they didn't bother to mention when I started the hour and a half long signing up process (clearly designed so the new gym member will feel like they don't want to have just wasted an entire hour and a half with idiotic paperwork, so they just go ahead and agree to the the 'surprise' extra $60... annoying - I hate anyone who is not upfront with the costs of anything.... but that's a whole other story... )

Now it's Day 2 of potential 'good days' to go to the stooopid gym - and, technically, I did go to the gym, one day, during the holidays (I had coined our name, 'Holiday Hermits', because it's soo much fun to stay home and read, play games, watch our fave TV shows, schnooooze... you know, fun stuff, relaxing stuff), whenever we were lucky enough for a rainy day - yahoo for Rainy Days! We call them Reading Days - our fave days! lol!

So, the reason me no went to the gym, yesterday, Day One, is that when I went for a quick visit into the 'new gym' - they just moved to a very nice location, a huuge new space, and guess what these morons did?  They squished ALL the machines that actually work to change your body, and they squished everything useful into one tiny corner, and the rest of the space is open, and only for people who are using a trainer, and I am not happy with the trainers at the gym, because they keep showing everyone the exact same useless exercises, is very annoying for me to watch (I'm a Personal Trainer, too, in that I have that qualification, and only for myself, and anyone who happens to ever ask me a question, or ask for help, then I'm more than thrilled to help them out, but I don't offer help unless it's asked for, since I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings (except for that aassssss at the gym, the one I hate, but that's another story, too... lol!  Me gots lots o' da stories! lol!)

But I digress (first time... lol!)... so I am super annoyed with this 'decision' at the new gym, to not only squish all the useful machines into one tiny space, and leave the rest open only for those people using the personal trainers, but I had asked waaay in advance of this new gym opening, will there be good equipment for women, meaning, there needs to be good equipment for inner thighs, waist, back and arms... and legs - is that everything?? haha!  No, but for real, all gyms have to have a good balance of machines, to target every body part, every major area people like to sculpt, right?  And the manager was such a dismissive jerk to me, when I asked anything at all about the new gym, and what would be in it, when would it be open, the basics... booo, I cannot stand people who are not straight-up, answer your legitimate questions clearly and truthfully.  

Now I don't even want to go to the gym, and that makes me so mad, since I love the gym, and I am super pisssed that these people have made me hate the gym - I'll still go, maybe tomorrow, since I've already paid for the stooopid gym - but if ONE person asks me if I have met my weight loss goals, yet, this year, or how much weight do I want to lose, or what are my gym goals.... me no wants to be mean to these people, but I do need them to not speak to me, or anyone else, like that - it's offensive to most women - don't ask us how much weight we want to lose - stop making assumptions about why we're at the gym.  We're there for our own selves.  Let the gym members lead the discussion, if there is one, and don't make the gym only for men.  That's gross and stoooopid.  

So, you can see I'm in a great place with my 'New Years Resolutions', right?? hahaha!  and I just heard, sometime in the last couple of days, maybe on Jimmy Kimmel (love the new beard, by the way - lol!), that most people give up their New Years Resolutions by January 8th - hahahaha!  I got that beat, by 3 days! lol!  

Well, I hope you do whatever it is you would really love to do, in 2015, and forever more, so-to-speak, and that if finding a good gym is in your near future, you might like to read this wee article I wrote a while back, before this new, current, 'new gym' situation...

http://buildyourownhousebodylife.blogspot.ca/2013/01/how-to-choose-good-gym-and-some-other.html

Oh, and you know what I think will make the most positive change in your life?  I started reading all the books by Louise L. Hay, back in mid-October, and, no joke, I feel like my whole life has changed, and I feel like Louise's ideas are far more useful in any kind of a weight loss plan, even more than going to the gym, and cutting back on everything you happen to love... you will find yourself loving yourself, completely, ever bit of yourself, not just the 'perfect bits', since all of you is perfect, right?  Right!  You are already perfect, is just a matter of seeing that for yourself, and really knowing that...and you will naturally gravitate to taking good care of your body, because you love it so much, not to hurt yourself, or not nurture yourself nicely... be your own best friend, be your own Personal Trainer (not the mean kind, the nice kind - lol!) - now, that's what's gonna make a big change in how you feel, and how you look, since you'll love how you look, and isn't that the key to happiness?

Oh, and I started with Louise L. Hay's You Can Heal Your Life, loved it, then I just started reading everything I could get mah' hands on, from Louise Hay - she's brilliant, so endlessly kind - wow, what a human being!  Love Louise Hay!

Here's a wee page I've written about Louise Hay, my favourite new-to-me, change your life person on the planet - http://buildyourownhousebodylife.blogspot.ca/2014/11/you-can-heal-your-life-by-louise-l-hay.html

#Soap #SoapSlivers How to Use up your old Slivers of Soap... Wait, don't throw it out, just convert it to Liquid Hand Soap - lol! #LiquidSoap

How to Use up your old slivers of soap... Wait,  don't throw it out, just convert it to Liquid Soap - lol!

Okay, so, if you know me even a liiitle tiny bit, you'll know I don't like to waste anything - surely there's another use for it, right?  And if there is another use for anything leftover, I'll find it - and I will go to great lengths to figure out another use for something... no wastes it! lol!  

So I had a LOT, and a I mean, a lot, of slivers of soap left over, all in the shower caddy, I'm not sure why... maybe I thought someone would use them - although, I am very quick to replace the 'slivers of soap' with a new, full bar of Dove soap, our favourite - no dyes, no scent, is perfect for most people... the heavily scented soaps are no-bueno for me - lol!  

Anyway, I had all these slivers of soap, right, and I didn't want to just throw them away - I kept thinking, maybe I could microwave them, reshape the slivers of soap into a whole new bar?  I had a lot of good ideas like that - until I saw some meme with the kid holding a huge mass of soap that had been put in the microwave, but it was the million warnings of 'watch out, don't burn yourself on the soap you've heated in the microwave'...okay, good enough for me, I had to find another solution.

I went to get all the slivers of soap from the shower, and while I was there, there was an older bottle of our fave Coconut Body Wash - yum, smells delicious, and I don't have a reaction to Coconut (and some lemon, some orange...), but this bottle of Coconut Body Wash had just a little bit left in it, enough for me to use as a 'base', if you will... sooo, I opened the bottle, broke the leftover slivers of soap into smaller bits that I could jam into the top of the bottle, filled it about half way, maybe a little bit more, with water, closed the bottle and shook it.  Left that for a few hours, shook it, again... is like a shake-and-bake process, without da baking... shake and wait, more like it - lol! 

And lookie what happened?  Now I've used up all my leftover soap slivers, so I no haz a'wasted a'nuffin', and now I've got a whole bottle of liquid soap - yahoo!  I think, just give it a wee shake, when you're about to use it - you could just pour it on a sponge or clothe - I am partial to Buff Puffs - remember them?  I love them - they're great for your skin : ) 

And look at that - a whole bottle, so maybe a good thing I just added the water to the halfway mark, maybe a little bit more, because, evidently, the soap has grown in size, magnified itself - how cool is that?  And no wasting anything - lol!  

Now you know what to do with all your leftover soap slivers - make them into Liquid Soap!  : )  

New Idea: I just recently figured out you don't have to try to break the soap slivers into little pieces to fit in the top of the container, with your fingers - put the soap slivers in a baggie, use the bottom of the container - I just use the old Body Wash containers, then the 'new soap' has my favorite Body Wash Scent - I love the Caramel Fudge and the Coconut - ah'yum! 

Try to put the soap slivers in a single row, in the baggie, just kind of roll the bottom of the container, the edge of it, into the soap, and it'll come apart so easily - who knew? Put that sledge hammer away ( for now - hahaha!) #UrWelcome! lol! 

I had started using the can, in the kitchen, then occurred to me, the last time, was just about as easy to break the slivers of soap in a little baggie, right in the bathroom, using the bottom of the Liquid Soap bottle, if you will - you just roll the bottom edge of the bottle over the soap, it'll pretty easily break into little bits, then seal up the baggie, pop in the drawer for the next time you need to refill your Liquid Soap container... Just Add Water - and I add a little of whatever scent I like, Coconut or Caramel Fudge are my two faves - yum! It just takes a small amount of the body wash to create a nice scent, or just leave the soap on its own, for scent-free, if you like that ...

Normally, everything I use is scent-free, since I'm allergic to many scents - but there are a few I'm okay with - is hit and miss, as it might be for most people... but, generally speaking,  think the less scent, the better, seems like a good idea : )  (Unless it smells delicious, with no reaction - lol!)

Why, that makes no scents - bah'hahahahaha! Ailsa : ) (You know me happy you' in here! lol!)

Happy cleaning!  Ailsa : )

Oh, and I've just recently discovered all the incredibly beautiful books by Louise L. Hay, and this is her Publishing House, Hay House - sooo smart, so lovely... but there was one wee bit I read in one of Louise's books, her book on Daily Meditations, which I normally would not have read, before, but this stuff really speaks to me, and is not at all what I thought a 'daily meditation' might look like - they're just really nice, really eye-opening, lovely wee passages to read - who knew?  Anyway, there was one that I read, about just taking one tiny bit of your house, just like taking one tiny bit of your mind, or your life, and 'cleaning it up', tidying it up, right, and sooo, the next thing you know, I had straightened up a bit in the kitchen that had been bothering me... so, that one little 'meditation' totally helped me get down to figuring out what to do to make the clutter go away in that area of the kitchen - so now I want to tackle my little 'craft' table, if you will... they're more than 'crafts' to me, they're wonderful pieces of art, but, I do need to tidy that bit up, maybe even see if I can turn it into a business!  Wouldn't that be cool, to turn something you love to do into a real, live, business??  2015, here me comes! lol! 

Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande - What a Brilliant Read - so smart, a very interesting take on Elder Care and End of Life Discussions #Hospice #PalliativeCare

Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande - What a Brilliant Read - so smart, a very interesting take on Elder Care and End of Life Discussions

I loved this book so much - what an absolutely beautiful way to look at elder care and end-of-life situations, with a total evaluation of the person's life, making sure the person is truly happy, and not just housed well, and kept safe from harm, but for each person, as they near their own end of life, to live as full a life, and as happy a life, as they can.  The whole key is autonomy for each person, or as much autonomy over their own lives as possible, as each person reaches the different stages of the end of their life.

You might think this is a bit of a dry read, and why would you read it if you're totally fine, nothing to worry about, right?  But here's the thing - so many of us have parents who are getting older, and we want the best for our parents, and many people will be approaching this end-stage of life, themselves, right now, or are starting to think about it, and sadly, there are people who reach their own end-of-life stage much younger than they thought, and then all of a sudden, this becomes of utmost concern to the patient, and to everyone around them.

Atul Gawande is a beautiful storyteller.  Atul takes us through the stories of his own family, his Father and his Grandfather, who had lived to 110 years old, and only met his 'demise', if you will - hmm, that does not seem like a good word, given the nature of this lovely book - passed away, at 110, from falling when he was getting off a bus, because he happened to be going to deal with a business matter, so it was an accident that brought on the end of life... that's amazing, right?  110 years old!  Wow. And the stories of Atul Gawande's own Dad, and his whole family - so touching, so moving.  You will be taken into their lives, learn more about how to manage what can be a very difficult situation, and feel very connected to all the people in Atul Gawande's excellent book, Being Mortal.  I highly recommend it.

I loved the whole section on the experiencing self and the remembering self.  Very interesting, how we perceive a situation, especially a health situation, like childbirth, or a surgery, or anything of a health-related nature... that we will identify with one very painful part, then see how it all turned out, like, when I had my son, Aidan, they had induced me, even though I had begged them not to, t o let me have the baby completely naturally, and it was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt, and could never have imagined that level of pain - and I wonder why they did that?  Time constraints at the hospital?  Who knows. But in the end, here I have this wonderful new human being, my wonderful son, Aidan, mah' boy, I call him (!) - now he's 6 feet tall, such a good boy, so all that pain had an excellent outcome, right, so my main memory, if you will, is Aidan, not the pain, not the procedure ... anyway, when you read this section, toward the end of the book, Being Mortal, you might have your own stories come up, and you will think this is a very interesting concept, the 'remembering self' versus the 'experiencing self'.

I first came across Atul Gawande on The Daily Show, with Jon Stewart, I think, or maybe Atul was on The Colbert Show?  Or maybe both?? lol!  I looove The Colbert Show - we're savouring Stephen Colbert's last show - we'll watch the rest of it, tonight, slowly, if you know what I mean - all the Stephen Colbert fans will get that, for sure... we'll miss Stephen Colbert - so endlessly funny, and soo super-smart.  Anyway, that's where I first heard Atul Gawande speak, and what a kind and articulate man, so I immediately went out and read The Checklist Manifesto, which was a very good read, too - was great.  You will get so much out of these very smart, very well written books... you'll love them!  And maybe you'll stay up 'til 4:30 am reading them, too! lol!

I loved the whole concept of helping people to stay in their own homes as long as possible, and I loved the new ideas for 'nursing homes', where they are much more like homes - closer to the Canadian model for group homes, that we have had for a long time, for our people with Special Needs.  If there's a chance this is your first time in reading me, so-to-speak, I'm a Special Ed Teacher, so I have a very big interest in how people who need help are given it, and how great a life they have... where their lives are fully valued, they have as much autonomy over their actions as possible, and that their whole selves are nourished, not just on a physical level, and this goes for all people experiencing end-of life scenarios, where they, all of a sudden, require a higher level of care, but that that same care can be very kind and cheery, not stale and scary.  Just think of how happy you are in your own home, surrounded by all the things you love, and the people who mean the most to you - you would want to keep that as long as you could, right?  It just stands to reason.  I loved all the stories of all the different new care-models, for what used to be called old folks homes.  Haha!  Makes me laugh, now - that's what we called them - there were amazing models in Calgary, where you could buy your condo, and you could increase your level of care as you needed it, but they were gorgeous units, moderately priced (I had really wanted my husband-at-the-time, a very good guy, to get his parents to have a look at them, they were that nice... but they have excellent elder-care, end-of-life care in Calgary, Alberta, Canada... and I can only hope they have that level of care, everywhere...).

We're in BC, Canada, now, and hilariously enough, one of my favourite jokes is that I can't wait to be 55, because life just opens up for everybody here, when they reach 55! hahaha!  You should see all the beautiful places that are only available for the 55 and up group - lucky dogs! lol!  The only downside to that, was, when we first moved here, all the places I looked at, that I really liked, with the fabulous views of the mountains and the ocean, were all only for the 55 plus group, so we weren't able to get any of them, and my son was 12, and they said, he had to be 19 to live there... soo, well, there you go, too young for the Island  - hahahaha! No, me joke, and we're on Vancouver Island - is craaazy- gorgeous, and a beautiful place to live - and just think of what opportunities await me when I get to turn 55, too! lol!