I have chosen . . . .
my one little word for 2011. Nurture. With a goal to nurture relationships with my family, friends, and my Heavenly Father. Funny thing, I had already chosen this word back in December when I got a fortune with my chinese food that read: "This year your highest priority will be your family." I still have that fortune and it is sitting right in front of me.
I have been inspired by . . .
talented people and their projects, ideas, and goals. I've started a mini blog here to "re-blog" or bookmark some of these inspirations for future reference.
i have realized . . .
I am content. I can enjoy the smells, dreamy smiles, and softness of someone else's baby without stirring up desires for "just one more." Today I got to hold Sheila's little boy Nolan as he nuzzled into my shoulder and arms for a 2 hour nap. Ahh, . . .
I have nodded in agreement . . . .
with this e-mail forwarded to me by a friend not too long ago.
"I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection-the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.
Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality “girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin-a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings?-rarely. Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.
There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged--not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking! So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health.
I have a craving for . . .
Izze. Cold, sweet, and not too sugary. I'm tempted to buy a case or two on Amazon (a whole lot cheaper than in the grocery store + free shipping). I enjoy Sobe Lifewater as well, but for the life of me I cannot open the stinkin' bottles! (Just call me jell-o arms). When Scott is out of town I'm toast.
