December 24, 2008 at 9:43 am · Filed under spiritual
Here are some Christmas-y things I’ve done this season:
- Sold a bunch of my knitted stuff at a holiday craft fair
- Baked cutout cookies with Moon. (Photos are still in my camera.)
- Ate said cookies.
- Went shopping on Dec. 23, which turned out to be quicker and easier than any of my previous excursions.
- Put up our pre-lit, artificial tree.
- Smiled about all the snow.
- Sang winter carols at church. Played “Carol of the Bells” on chimes. (My notes were F5, F#5, D6 and E-flat6.)
- Drank eggnog, eggnog lattes and eggnog chai lattes.
- Made a wish list.
- Bought a present for the giving tree at church.
- Wrote a Christmas newsletter. Stood in line at the post office to buy nutcracker-themed stamps. Mailed cards on time.
- Felt thankful, contented and happy. (And at turns, frantic, disorganized and unprepared.)
I didn’t:
- Put antlers on the dog.
- Decorate the Christmas tree. It isn’t even wearing a skirt.
- Hang any outdoor lights.
- Get out the stockings. (Got to find them tonight, I guess.)
- Get depressed or anxious. (Thanks, modern pharmaceuticals!)
Hope your holidays are awesome.
December 17, 2008 at 2:27 pm · Filed under astrology
CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the Broadway play “Passing Strange,” the narrator Stew says, “You know how one morning you wake up as an adult and you realize your entire life is based on a decision you made as a teenager?” If that description applies to you, Cancerian, 2009 will be the best year ever to do something about it. In the coming months, you will have the power to correct errors or misjudgments you made way back when. You’ll be able to figure out how to start over in an area of your life that you’ve always assumed you were doomed to accept just the way it is. You may even find that you can, in a sense, change the past and reconfigure your memories.
FreeWillAstrology.com
December 15, 2008 at 10:54 am · Filed under home
From OptimalHomeLocation.com…
- “Everywhere is walking distance, if you have the time”, comedian Steven Wright.
- Commuting to work has been reported to be the least enjoyable activity in the survey performed by Princeton scientists: Noble laureate professor Daniel Kahneman, economist Alan B. Krueger, David A. Schkade, Norbert Schwarz and Arthur A. Stone.
- “If we use an increase in our incomes…simply to buy bigger houses and more expensive cars, then we do not tend to end up being any happier than before. But if we use an increase in our incomes to buy more of certain inconspicuous goods – such as freedom from a long commute or a stressful job – then the evidence paints a very different picture.” says Robert H. Frank, economics professor at Cornell University..
- “You can’t adapt to commuting, because it’s entirely unpredictable. Driving in traffic is a different kind of hell every day.” says Daniel Gilbert, author of “Stumbling on Happiness” and a psychology professor at Harvard University.
- “There’s a simple rule of thumb: Every ten minutes of commuting results in ten per cent fewer social connections. Commuting is connected to social isolation, which causes unhappiness.” says Robert Putnam, a Harvard political scientist.
- “We find that people with longer commuting time report systematically lower subjective well-being. If your trip is an hour each way, you’d have to make forty per cent more in salary to be as ‘satisfied’ with life as a noncommuter is…” from the article “Stress That Doesn’t Pay: The Commuting Paradox” by Alois Stutzer and Bruno S. Frey, University of Basel and University of Zurich.
- Read New Yorker article about commuting There and back again by Nick Paumgarten.
December 10, 2008 at 4:13 pm · Filed under shopping
The International Wolf Center is a fine organization, and I get their emails because I bought their 2008 calendar. Today they sent a message about holiday gifts that help support their work.
Which is cool, but this illustration puzzled me:
So, do these sweaters make it easier for the wearer to be attacked and eaten by wild animals? If that’s the case, then I’m thinking my family might not appreciate the sentiment.
December 9, 2008 at 6:10 pm · Filed under home
Well, hello. Guess what? I feel good. I knew that I would, now. And to keep myself from breaking into song, I’ll give you this week’s horoscope from Rob Brezsny:
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I’ve got three related questions for you, Cancerian. 1. Are there any roles you play in which your selfish and unselfish tendencies overlap? 2. What situations allow you to be most completely yourself as you provide a fine service to others? 3. Which of your skills generate the most blessings and gifts? The next 12 months will be a favorable time for you to identify these roles, situations, and skills, and cultivate them to the max. You’ll have prime opportunities to express your special genius while doing good deeds.
Anyway, winter has arrived quite dramatically here in Wisconsin, and my attitude has changed so much in the past month. The earlier sunsets don’t bother me anymore. Night doesn’t freak me out. I like it right now, and I don’t have the need to skip ahead to the future and obsess about all the unknowns. (And the knowns, i.e. eventual death.)
Plus, snowplows have been special to me since the last time I was recovering from a major anxiety episode (1995 for those who are counting). They were a reminder that people are out there, awake in the middle of the night, taking care of things. Very comforting at the time. Hey, whatever works.
School was canceled today, and my son hugged me when he heard the news. (Moon murmured a bit and went back to sleep.) I decided to go to the Y and swim before work, since the snow didn’t stop Pete from his regular 2-mile jog to his office. The roads were nasty, but I made it there. I took a later-than-usual lunch and then decided to work from home. My neighbors had a hard time getting up our shared drive and into their own garages. We had a pushing party.
In other news, did you hear Oprah gained some weight? I really liked what Kate Harding had to say about it. And that’s all for now. Stay cozy.
