Lollapalooza

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

0095: Centenarians

My grandma, "Abuelita" - last year, at 100 years old.
My beautiful grandmother is 101 years old. She still reads the newspaper (in it's entirety), some gossip rags (primarily looking for any stories about royals) and novels, both non-fiction and fiction. She is currently reading a novel about ancient conspiracies... She also walks around with her walker to get her exercise and still takes her beauty routine quite seriously - I think she has been using Elizabeth Arden most of her life, maybe she needs to be a spokeswoman for them!!  :-)

I've had several conversations with her about her longevity and her most important bit of advice is to have a strong mental outlook. This will allow you to remain focused on your internal and external self. She also thinks we should enjoy life, everything in moderation! I don't really know if she has ever been on a "diet" in her life but she certainly was always particular with what she ate.

Today I came across an online article titled, "11 Habits That Will Help You Live to 100". It talks about how researchers have discovered that centenarians (people that live to be 100+) tend to share certain traits in how they eat, move about, and deal with stress - the sorts of things we can emulate to improve our own aging process. I found the list interesting so thought I'd share (click on the link above to read the entire article):

1. Don't Retire, stay active whether volunteering or farming or anything else in between 

2. Floss Every Day to minimize bacteria, which can lead to heart disease

3. Exercise to improve mood, mental acuity, balance, muscle mass, and bones

4. Eat fiber-rich cereal for breakfast to help stabilize blood sugar levels

5. Sleep at least 6 hours every night to help regulate and heal cells

6. Eat whole foods, not supplements

7. Be Less Neurotic, roll with the punches - this is also at the top of my grandmother's list...

8.  Be a Creature of Habit, with diet, sleep and exercise

9. Stay Connected, be socially active avoiding depression and having someone watch your back

10. Be Conscientious, be prudent, persistent, well organized

11. Cherish Your Body, no smoking, alcohol abuse or overindulging in sweets. Again, good diet, exercise, with a focus on family and community.

Personally, I am living my life as if I will live to be 110. Some people don't ever want to think of living to 100 or beyond, I'm excited to be planning it this far out!! At the end of the day, I would consider it a privilege to live that long and in case I do, I want to be able to be as independent as my grandmother is today...

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

0094: A Free Dream Home Package - $2 million

Front Yard
Great Room
Back Porch - outdoor living room to your right, entertainment deck straight ahead, outdoor jacuzzi to the left...
Did you know that HGTV gives away a "Dream Home" every year? This year's package is worth $2m because of the house (near Park City, Utah), the SUV and $500k in cash!! Ahh, to dream... I've signed up and had enough material for a month's worth of day dreaming :-) You never know...

Anyway, sign up at HGTV and good luck - let me know if you win ;-)



Saturday, January 14, 2012

0093: Lyrics - The Climb

"Three Sisters" - Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
Photo by me :-)

I can almost see it. 
That dream I'm dreaming, but
There's a voice inside my head saying
You'll never reach it

Every step I'm takin'
Every move I make
Feels lost with no direction, 
My faith is shakin'
But I gotta keep tryin'
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down, but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it, but
These are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most
I've just gotta keep goin', and
I gotta be strong
Just keep pushing on, cause

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb

Keep on movin'
Keep on climbin'
Keep the faith baby
It's all about, it's all about
The Climb
Keep the faith, Keep your faith, woah


As you may know, these are the lyrics to The Climb, sung by Miley Cyrus and written by Jessi Alexander and John Mabe. I've heard this song several times over the years but I just listened to the lyrics for the first time. I was sitting in traffic and actually paid attention to the words and loved them. 

I can relate to these lyrics because I had a tough climb a few years ago ("tough" being relative...). I left the corporate world and started my own company. It was extremely hard to make the decision and hard to ignore the nay-sayers but something inside me just drove me to "jump off the cliff" anyway. Now that I near my company's 2nd year anniversary (February 2) I am so happy with the decision and the outcome. I would do it again a million times over. Of course I now know it is all okay and all working out but I didn't know that then and I was scared of making the change but even more terrified of not making a change... 

So, as the song goes... despite your head saying you won't make it, despite feeling lost, despite getting knocked down, keep the faith, keep YOUR faith! 



Friday, January 6, 2012

0092: Be Who You Want To Be

Photo: by Me
Poem: by Donna Levine
Potential: Unlimited


You Can Be Whatever You Want To Be!

There is inside you all the potential to be whatever you want to be,
all of the energy to do whatever you want to do. 

Imagine yourself as you would like to be, 
doing what you want to do, 
and each day, take one step towards your dream. 

And though at times it may see too difficult to continue,
hold on to your dream. 

One morning you will awake to find that you are the person you dreamed of,
doing what you wanted to do, 
simply because you had the courage to believe in your potential
and hold on to your dream.