Months ago I wrote this post about happiness. Where are we today?
Stop at least one negative statement about a person place or thing. I can’t say that I have 100% stopped this behavior but I can say that I have gotten a hell of a lot better at controlling my negativity. And when I do let negativity slip out, I notice it right away and a few times retracted my statements in conversations. I have made much headway here and would like to continue this on.
Wear sunscreen daily.For many weeks I did this, then, I don’t know what happened. First it began as “I don’t plan on going in the sun today anyway” – in which case I ended up going into the sun 9 times out of 10. Now I don’t even think about sunscreen. I need to reset on this goal.
Cut some slack. I have made some improvement here, especially on the home front. I am beginning to sense when someone is just having an off day. I try to not engage in confrontation with them when they act in a way that I do not agree with. With some people it is more of a challenge than others but fortunately I continue to grow here.
Stop being judgmentalI have made some improvements as well. I received some interesting advice from a colleague a few months ago. He mentioned that he too has the tendency to be judgmental. He decided that the best way to conquer this notion is to embrace that which he is judging. He started approaching people he didn’t think he would like. He soon found that those people he had “pre-judged” were actually nice and interesting people. I have started using this approach on a small scale. I now say hi to people I would previously ignore. On a flight I was distraught when I realized I was seated next to a young family with an infant. I tried my hardest to ignore them, just knowing that the baby would be screaming throughout the flight. Sure enough, before we even took off, the baby started crying. A few minutes later she stopped. My fear was unwarranted. I ended up having a nice conversation with the lady. Opening yourself up to others will not only enrich their lives because you are showing a genuine interest in them but also because you are being enriched with knowing someone you didn’t know before.
Breathe and breathe deeply.
Stop being a debbie downer.This backfired on me a bit. At work I tend to be a problem finder. I see things that are going to go wrong before they go wrong. I most always call attention to these issues; and I am sure there are eyes rolling behind my back. Once I saw a problem, asked about it, was told it wasn’t a problem, it still didn’t seem right to me but I didn’t push the issue as I normally would. Big mistake. I ended up spending one entire weekend (day and night) trying to fix this issue that I “knew” could be a problem. The lesson here is to learn when negativity or conflict is appropriate and use it. In social settings it is ok to let things slide but in work I need to use better judgement.
Stop being a one upper. This is another category where I have made big improvements but I can still grow more. I think it is more of a self-esteem issue and feeling the need to prove myself. I just need to remember that people like to talk about themselves. Let them do it.
Flossing- This is a better than before category as well. Am I ever going to get myself to floss every single day? Probably not. But if I can get myself to floss 4 times a week, that would be great.
Eviction Notice

Yesterday afternoon, right before a holiday weekend, I sent eviction notices to some tenants. I physically kicked some tenants out on their arse. I think of myself as an easy going landlord. I let freeloading weeds live in my garden all summer, never having to pay rent (aka feed me). Weeds are big partiers who tear up the place; evictions must occur. Although it is as painful for me as it is for them (sunburns and back pains), it must be done to make room for new tenants.
I am real excited about the new tenants. I am expecting some first class kale, yummy broccoli, and other fall crops to be moving in soon. I will keep you posted on any new developments.
Some of the unwanted visitors
Here is what you have missed the last few months:
I took on way too much responsibility mid-way through this year. Gardening and photography were put on hold.
With the exception of back pain this past week (and two missed runs), I am on track to be ready to finish and maybe beat my time for my second half-marathon in November.

Some jerk bird ate all the blueberries.

Bugs binged and purged on the brussel sprouts






Grapes are rotting off the vine because we are slow to pick them. Backyard smells like a winery.

I just about killed my aunt’s favorite plant- the Okinawa Spinach. I am working on bringing it back to life.
Pita Pizza
Sometimes we do eat at home
This post is part of a new series I am creating for those who think that we eat out all the time. I love food and I love trying new things. I do convince my husband to go out quite a bit but we do tend to cook at home frequently. Our meals tend to be more from scratch than packaged type meals.
Here are some pics from recent meals.
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| From Plants, Photos, Fitness and Food |
Walk Bike Spain
I have many interests. Some of my interests include biking, walking and running. I am delighted when I discover communities that are friendly to those interests. My current city is adopting bike and pedestrian friendly measures but we are not quite there yet.
On the other hand, Spain seems to have caught on to bike and pedestrian friendliness. Every city we visited took measures to be bike friendly. All of them were pedestrian centric (Perhaps because the cities were developed prior to the invention of the automobile-unlike many cities in the U.S.).
Madrid
In Madrid I failed to take pictures of the bike lanes in the city but I did snap some pictures of some of the evening paseo (walks). In Madrid many streets are pedestrian only. Families, couples, and groups spend most evenings walking the streets and socializing.
Sevilla
Sevilla has some spectacular bike-only paths through its core. Easy bike rental kiosks are available if you don’t wish to have the burden of purchasing, locking up and maintaining your own bike.
Bike trail
Barcelona
Barcelona has a good network of bike and pedestrian paths down many of its avenues as well.
Bike and pedestrian paths down medians




















