Dog #2 watches Codename Dance … and she LOVES it!!

If you know anything about Dog #2 – you know she LOVES to watch TV, Movies, Skype etc.  I think she was a film critic in another life. ;)

Oh and I forgot to mention that I told Homeslice that I thought it would be best if we were no longer friends.  I realize how that sounds (betch!!) but I assure you that I did it calmly   and it was not an impulsive emotional decision (wait whaa??).  I wasn’t angry, sad, hurt etc. when I told him.  I think very highly of Homeslice (even though I call him a double douche jerkturd). HAHA!  As strange as it sounds (weirdo!) I can look at Homeslice and see everything wonderful that he did for me and COMPLETELY appreciate it and also feel like he was a bit of a douche to me in some areas.  NOBODY’S PERFECT!!!  I wasn’t a spoonful of sugar to him all of the time either! (ooooh – a bitter betch!)

Homeslice is in the middle of a fierce battle between his heart/values and his current actions.  And until he lines those up – I’m not sure I can trust him.  I won’t go into specifics but imagine you have a friend who convinced you she was ProChoice. 100% straight up.  And then you find out that she’s been going to ProLife Rallies.  Well – people can change their minds – that’s totally fine.  But what if this wasn’t a “change of heart”?  What if she kept actively participating in ProLife Rallies but continued to swear to you that in her heart she was ProChoice?

Homeslice and I have never even discussed ProAnything but I think it is the perfect example.  He needs to get his actions in line with his heart or admit that his heart has changed.  I don’t care which – truly.  But I’ve dated too many men who lacked integrity of thought and action that even though we’re not dating, it’s still acts as a “trigger” to me.

And back to the title of this post? :) Here is the song Codename was dancing to: Barbra Steisand by Duck Sauce

Riverside by Agnes Obel – haunting, captivating… oh and Homeslice helped

I talked to Homeslice today.  His call was perfect timing.  So much on my mind – TOO much on my mind.  He keeps accidentally rescuing me.

He gets me.  He sees the way I work.  He can follow my trains of thought and he knows where I’ll go with them, mostly.  This would be great and fantastic and all but you’re not supposed to stay friends with former teammates – ESPECIALLY ones with bipolar baseball disorder!!  BUT his heart appears to be bigger than the DOUCHE rooted deep in his psyche, so I’ve decided to accept and acknowledge he’s a douche, straight up jerkturd. HOWEVER he is a VERY good friend.  In fact he’s pretty much my best friend – so as a bestie he will remain.

Tonight he accidentally helped me by suggesting, in absolute outrageousness, that I give up my dogs.  And no he wasn’t joking.

I gasped in shock – I couldn’t help it. WTF was he thinking?

These girls are my life!  And I quite frankly owe them my life.  I thought I was rescuing THEM but learned quickly it was them who rescued me.

PLUS I love them so much I gave up my pride just so that we could stay together. Yes – that’s right. I moved HOME because although I can afford to live on my own – I can’t afford to live in a place where they would have a nice yard and be comfortable. I wouldn’t trust roommates with my dogs and they are just too big for apartment living. :-/

I got choked up (something I VERY rarely do) as I was telling Homeslice giving up my dogs was NOT an option. I made a commitment when I adopted these girls that I would take care of them for as long as they live.

Sure, they COULD be “happy” anywhere but NO ONE can ever take my place in their hearts.  They love lots of people – but they are bonded to me.  And even though I lived away from them for almost 2 years and they were loved, adored, and cared for while I was gone – they never latched onto their new caretakers the way they did and still DO to me.

And that’s when I realized/remembered that even if I feel like I am a little lost, struggling to find purpose, can’t find my direction and even if I feel hopeless.  I DO have a reason to keep on kicking. If it is not a possibility in my mind to give them up because NO ONE will be as good for them as I am – how could I possibly force them to give ME up?  How could I do something which would cause them to lose me?

I’ve had a tougher life than I like to admit.  Sometimes the idea of living even just to senior citizen status scares me.  It just feels like more than I want to bear!  And I don’t see a point.  However, if I set aside “forever” and just focus on sticking around for a few more years (while they grow to old age), THAT I can manage.  THAT isn’t intimidating.  It’s just a few years. Time flies.  And who knows – maybe in a few years I’ll have a new outlook on life.

BIG! no, moderately, ok, maybe only semi important decision made today

Two days in a row? WHOA!!! Am I out of my mind?

Yes. Probably.

Or at least it would seem so based on the pretty big decision I made today.  a CRAZY decision.  One of ALMOST mind blowing proportions.  As in, it would blow your mind if your mind was kinda weak and surprising thoughts were like human size grenades.  It’d be like “omgosh that is so surprisi”**BBBBOOOOOOOOM**** your mind just blew up.

And someone should clean that up STAT (obviously YOU can’t because your mind is gone) because Dog #1 might accidentally run through it, splattering vomit ON THE WALL – siiiiiick.  yes ok fine – I admit it! We WERE talking about your blown up mind but I digressed and ended up telling you what was waiting for me at home tonight, chunks (ok maybe not CHUNKS but definitely “a lil bit”) of vomit splattered on my wall.

yum.  Thanks Dog#1!

Ok so back to my MIND BLOWING, vomit splattering, DECISION!! *Smiley Face* I was walking through Target and I found myself wondering what it would be like to fill an entire journal.  You know – to like FINISH something. To be consistent for that many pages!!! Yikes!  What would it feel like to have an ENTIRE book filled with my thoughts, and like, FEELINGS?  A book that covered one whole season (or partial season) of my life? like in ADDITION to this blog where I store my private and very secret thoughts for the whole wide interweb to see.

Well – I decided to find out! FUN!!! Soon enough I will know EXACTLY what all that jay jazzy YAY up above feels like.  Because I purchased a journal – please see below for picture proof.


My, my. What great eyes you have!  And what great powers of observation you possess!!  But seriously, so what if it was the smallest, thinnest (*extremely* thin) journal I could find? At least it’s a journal! *smile* And at least I’m going to write in it! Wahoo!!

Pic of the day – rockin the 3D glasses.  I really need a blog name for him – but I haven’t found the right one. For NOW you can just remember/know him as the guy I said was radical.

We saw Hugo in 3D – I LOVE LOVE LOOOOVVVEEEED it!!  We went into the movie not knowing anything about it and came out very impressed!  I fell in love with the characters, loved how many little love stories were going on whilst the main story was being told, was impressed with the cinematography, appreciated the moral of the story and would totally watch it again!!

Homeslice turns K. Pete into a Grumpster

I keep telling myself I’m going to start blogging again. like for REALZ blogging. like do it on a regular basis like I used to blogging. And then I think about all of the back story, the new people, the __fill in the blank with whatever word delights you__, and it OVERWHELMS ME! AH! where do I begin?

So I’m just going to start with today, right now, this moment.  I’m here (you don’t say…) and although I still have all of the YAY HAPPY PEPPY RAINBOWS AND BUTTERFLIES AND TWINKLY WHITE LIGHTS STRUNG IN PRETTY BLOOMING TREES in me – I ALSO have, at least in this particular moment, a grumpster inside.

OOOH K.Pete!! What’s a grumpster? asks the wild looking child who probably should be named Chin or Inch (INner CHild) but who is ACTUALLY called, at least for now, InchChin.

Oh my good gracious sweet heavenly angels. We need a better picture of InchChin because THAT is not a good one.

ANYWAY Good question InchChin. *teacher-ish smile* A grumpster is a mix between a plain old grump and a grump who likes to make up cool words LIKE “grumpster”, which could be a cross between hipster and grump OR dumpster and grump – either would apply to me *wink wink* but, at least in this post, it’s probably the latter because dumpsters hold trash and the grumps talk trash and I’m packing some trash talking baggage around. (oh and it’s FUN to say) *BRILLIANT!*

So where were we? Oh yes. My dichotomy. Let’s not focus on that too much, let’s just accept it and get down to the nitty gritty.  This might have been (which means it WAS) the theme of my day today: “I know we’re not dating but whenever I see someone else flirting with you, I want to shoot them in the face.”

*SHOCKED LOOK*

Welllllllllll what can I say? A guy I didn’t think I was dating but who I was diggin’ on a little and who I was playing baseball with EXPRESSLY told me that we WERE indeed dating. Wait – whaaa???? the week before that he said we were JUST FRIENDS W/BENEFI*cough*playing baseball.  But now we’re DATING?? His bipolar baseball disorder sent my head spinning, spinning, spinn – BAM!  GUESS WHAT HAPPENED? you’ll never guess.

He was like “haha – it was OPPOSITE DAY when I said we were dating so let’s stop playing baseball and just be friends.” HAHA!  Nice hit Homeslice!! You just scored a DOUBLE DOUCHE.

*and don’t judge, judge-y pants – it’s not what you think cuz I live in MoMo land and around HERE wearing a tube top is almost like wearing a scarlet letter so playing baseball is probably not what you think*

ANYWAY- Homeslice invited Coach (a girlfriend of mine) and ME! to a lil weekend MoMoHo weekend party getaway but because of a lot of OTHER back story that we’re skipping I wasn’t feeling the weekend getaway.

And when he asked me TODAY if I was going to go I was like, “Umm no”. and I couldn’t figure out why he was trying to convince me to go.  Cuz like seriously? did he think I would take great satisfaction in watching him flirt with other girls or maybe he thought I’d consider myself oh so fortunate to be eye candy – omgosh…

That’s when it occurred to me – HE WANTED COACH AND ME AS MOMOHO STRIPPERS! (which means NOT STRIPPERS AT ALL but just two hot girls who are a lil crazy and as such provide entertainment and make it more fun for the guys there.) SICK! GAG! Homeslice you’re a DOUCHE! Especially because when I called you out on it you didn’t deny it. *extra evil glare*

Well Homeslice – THIS JUST IN!  Coach said to tell you that we’d reconsider if you want to pay us an hourly rate.

Here’s my pic of the day:

That’s Codename and ME.  We’re grabbing a little food-age.  I cheated and ate gluten-full FRENCH TOAST STICKS and the rest of the day I envisioned the damage they were doing to my trying to get ready for bikini season body.  Eh – whatevs.

In other news, last night I hung out with a really cool guy that I thought for SURE wouldn’t want to hang out with me again after he got a lil dose of k.pete ideology … but he did – so we did! :)  AAAANNNDDDD we went on a hike/walk with my dogs which makes him radical.

Until the next post…

~K. Pete

A new breed of exercise: Water Aerobics ;) & have you seen Barbie’s Wedding pics?

Be honest – when you read the title “Water Aerobics” did you think of old ladies?
AP Swimmers in a water aerobics class in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Experts say aerobic exercise can help people with headaches.

Or maybe the word LAZY popped into your mind?  Followed by little snickers?  I mean for real – WHO in the world does water aerobics??  Well, well, well … Do THESE people look old and lazy to you?

Early to Rise, Early to Bed

Dog swim
I didn’t think so!

Wait a minute- those aren’t pictures of water aerobics!  Those aren’t even pictures of people!!  Those are dogs!!  Where is the picture of young, energetic people doing water aerobics?  :-0  Are you telling me such a picture doesn’t exist?  And that my next door neighbors had every right to make fun of me when I got home from water aerobics tonight?  And that you also wish you could tease me to my face because I went to water aerobics for the first time?  And you are laughing out loud because it’s only been 3 hours since I finished water aerobics and I’m already sore?

Ok.  Fair enough.

Water aerobics IS an old lady sport.

_MG_1081

An old lady sport I just discovered I LOVE!!!  YAY!!!

p.s. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  Mattel announced that Barbie and Ken OFFICIALLY divorced.  Which actually wasn’t funny – it was just sad.  But what IS funny is that this brilliant photographer had them get RE-married!  AHAHAHAHAHA!  You can see more pics HERE.

Seriously brilliant.  I love that she even captured all of the cliche wedding poses.  :)  AND the latest trend to have different colored shoes!  HAHAHAHA!  I love it. :)

Btw – tonight, after water aerobics, a bug flew into MY EYE!  Siiiick.

 

 

Reframing – and my dog is a drug addict.

ok so look – I know I said the next blog was going to be about the value trifecta but I changed my mind.  :) If I waited until that blog was ready – I wouldn’t blog for a LONG time.  And then I just read Vanessa’s blog about Dog Soup, and yes it was made with REAL DOGS siiiiiick (but for realz – go read it!!! I laughed OUT LOUD) and I remembered that I once said I would NEVER eat cow tongue – NEVER EVER EVER!!!!

But then HE happened:

And I DID eat it because you see that guy above?  I fell in love with him.  And he lived in Honduras for a few years and he said, “Trust me – it’s good.”  So I did.

And I liked it.

siiiiiick

But I really did like it – which is still siiiiiick but when cooked correctly – very succulent!  ;)  But ANYWAY life is unpredictable and you never know when you might change your perspective – so…. what I really want to talk about today is CHANGE.  :)

Reframing – a necessary tool

Reframing has been one of, if not THE biggest factor in my ability to accept, change and move forward.  It allows you (or me! YAY!) to change your ENTIRE pattern of thinking without feeling like a poser  ;) It lets you save face – *YAY* – and it lets you stay true to your values even while changing your mind on big issues.  And the best part!!!  If you are logical and keep an open heart and mind, reframing can create change or at least cause ripples immediately.

p.s. I MAY have thrown in a few confessions here and there to keep this post spicy.  ;)  So back to blogging …

WHAT IS REFRAMING?

  • Wikipedia “…reframing a situation or context, thus sees a situation in another frame. A frame can refer to a belief, what limits our view of the world. If we let this limiting belief go, new conceptions and interpretation possibilities can develop...”
  • Changingminds.org “..A frame, or ‘frame of reference’ is a complex schema of unquestioned beliefsvalues and so on that we use when inferring meaning. If any part of that frame is changed (hence ‘reframing’), then the meaning that is inferred may change.”
  • NLP Reframing “…Changing the frame of an experience can have a major influence on how you perceive, interpret and react to that experience.”
  • On a simpler note – reframing can be as simple as understanding that “truth” with a lower case t, CAN have more than one side.  And just because you experience or perceive ONE truth – it doesn’t mean there can’t be an equally compelling truth if you look at the situation from another direction.

Btw – Chloe – my dog who is a bumbly bear – hurt her leg and was limping a lot.  So I took her into the vet.

She’s now on drugs.

BENEFITS OF REFRAMING:

  • Allows acceptance
  • Allows forgiveness
  • Creates a new reality
  • Has life-changing potential
  • And I think Chloe is now a drug addict. :-|

EXAMPLE

The other night she kept looking at me with her happy smile.

Pant, pant, pant, puppy eyes, smile, pant pant pant.  I couldn’t figure out what she wanted!! I said, “Show me” and she lead me into the kitchen…. uh oh – the kitchen?  This had trouble written ALL over it.

I went to the treat jar – no no – she didn’t want that.  SHE – piggy of all piggies!!! – WALKED AWAY FROM THE TREAT JAR!!  So I asked if she wanted to go outside – she took two MORE steps back and sat down with stubborn determination.  She was NOT going to go outside.

Pant pant pant.  More puppy eyes.  SMILE!!!  WAG WAG!

“Chloe bear – WHAT do you want?”

WAG WAG WAG WAG WAG WAG WAG WAG – she went back to where the treat jar was  - and that’s when I noticed.  Her pain pills were sitting RIGHT next to the treat jar. *oh boy* My dog wanted drugs.  My dog is a drug addict. ***SHOCK OF ALL SHOCKS!!!***  Well – ok – maybe it’s only *mostly shocking* she is a little chubby wubby lazy bear – it doesn’t surprise me TOO much that she likes a lil something something extra to help her stay EXTRA lazy.  ;)

OK!!!! BACK TO REFRAMING!!! Though you will find that I tie my confessional of Chloe back into reframing in a bit but for now – If you want a great life changing personal example of how a bloggy friend/reader helped ME reframe – I’d recommend reading the following postsI went from feeling like an utter failure with every reason (in my mind) to logically believe so – to just days later understanding that there was another side and that I may have been too hard on myself.  ALL FROM THE HELP OF ONE COMMENT!!!! Sure I still feel like a failure on many levels – just not the same ones.  :)

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote … depresses me because it screams at me, “YOU ARE A FAILURE!”  A complete and pathetic failure with no backbone and no sense of identity.  (Read more if you want)

I remember, at the age of 25, when I went to see a psychiatrist.

“What can I help you with Daisy?”

“I don’t know who I am, what I want from life, or what I like.”

He looked at me with surprise.  He and I had met before. …. He had always believed I was very self-assured, confident and independent.  How could I not know myself?  (Read more about my search for identity AND find suggestions to help you find out more about your OWN self :) YAY! )

“This sort of relates more to your last post, but I think maybe you’re failing to recognize that the fact that you didn’t just allow everyone who was trying to make you conform means that you actually WERE “finding yourself” all of…” (read the rest) and Thanks again Phoebe!!!

…Is it possible that I’m not such a failure after all?…although I may not have known my mind completely – I was learning what I didn’t like.  :)  I did play along with “THEM” and played the part – but I suppose I never really conformed did I?… Maybe I need to have a little more faith in myself.  :)  I never conformed in my heart.  Never.  And looking at the circumstances I pushed through – I feel safe to say I never will.

And back to Chloe, the drug addict.

MAYBE – just maybe – she’s NOT a drug addict.  MAYBE – just maybe – she likes the cream cheese I wrap her pills in.  AAANNNDDDD  Maybe – just maybe ;) I might have discovered, after testing, she is equally happy with a tiny dab of cream cheese as she is with a pain pill wrapped in cream cheese.

So in conclusion.  :) Reframingkeeping an open mind – looking for another side or being willing to hear another side – continually giving the “benefit of the doubt” and actively searching for ways to confirm this benefit of the doubt you gave - INCLUDING GIVING THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT TO YOURSELF (and Chloe) – this may not seem like much. But I promise you:

Reframing has the power to permenantly change a frown upside down and to help you accept (yourself or others), forgive (yourself or others), move forward, and provide new realities that might unlock a newer, happier you.

Please feel free to email if you have questions or would like more information.  Daisy@australiandaisy.com or watch for upcoming installments on areas of life that might benefit from reframing.  And as said before – watch for an upcoming post on Humility! :)

Oh! Oh! AND I’m GOING TO WASHINGTON D.C. for the first time :) TO CELEBRATE JULY 4, 2011 with my honey!!!!!

Please wish me SAFE TRAVELS!!! :)  YAY!!!

And I wish those of you in the United States a

VERY HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

I’ll post pictures upon return.  :)

Washington Monument - Washington D.C.