10/12/2004 08:39:14 AM|||Chench|||What a weekend... Got the futon, went apple picking, went to the movies, painted pumpkins, BBQ, bike riding, shopping.... I know I'm forgetting something! It was a three day weekend with Katherine and we were busy. On Monday shortly before I had to take Katherine back to her mom's I told Kris that she'd been here too long, meaning it makes it harder to bring her back. Big Katherine hangover day today. She told me in the car that she'll miss us and I said that she'll see us again on Wednesday and then she said, "Then I'll be happy again." She's happy with her mom, but I'm glad she's happy with all of her family.

What did you do this weekend? :-)


----------------------------------------------------
** ARTICLE: The Top 10 Tips for Taking Life Less Seriously -by Marla
Platt **
----------------------------------------------------

Simply put, sometimes things just don't go the way we had expected they
would. Typically, our tendency is to go back over our missteps and
misfortunes again and again such that it feels as though we are placing
ourselves under a magnifying glass! Stop over-analyzing the stuff that is
already under the bridge -- it feels much better to move on! While not a
prescription for ignoring actual problems, here are tips for stepping back
and taking life a little less seriously:

1. Project ahead.
Ask yourself: "How will I look at this circumstance six months from now? A
year from now? Then how much will I (or anyone else) really care?"

2. Learn a lesson.
Okay, so things didn't turn out the way you expected. Ask yourself: "What
can I learn from this so that I can do better next time?"

3. Look for the positive.
What did you do that was on the mark? Which parts went well? What were you
happy about? Looking for the right stuff helps take the sting out of the
parts that went off track.

4. Elicit feedback from a trusted family member, friend, or coach.
Permit your confidantes to assure you that things aren't actually as awful
as they may look to you.

5. Forgive yourself; forgive others.

6. Understand that failure is often a precursor to success, often in ways
that we cannot predict.
Don't forget that countless movie stars, rock singers, politicians,
athletes, techno-whiz-kids faced dead ends and disappointments before they
found success.

7. Don't dwell on the old.
Put your mental energy -- and action -- into creating a new success for
yourself. Start now!

8. You've heard it before: when you close one door, you move down the hall
and open another.
Have fun jiggling those door knobs!

9. How to deal with the personal embarrassment of your effort that went
awry?
Put away the microscope -- no one else is examining the situation as
closely as you are. C'mon now, if Bill, Hillary and Monica can go on and
hold their heads up high, well so can you.

10. Get to the underlying issue of why you are taking outcomes too
seriously.
Do your expectations of yourself (or others) tend to be unrealistic or
unreasonably demanding? So what if things aren't perfect? What is the
worst that can happen?

About the Author
Marla Platt, B.A., M.B.A.,
Personal and Business Coach, who can be reached at Marla@AchieveCoach.com
or through www.AchieveCoach.com. Coach Marla Platt wants you to know: I am
a personal and business coach, helping my clients to focus their plans
into reality.
|||109758402692501388|||Got the sweetest hangover. I don't wanna get over.10/12/2004 12:18:44 PM|||Nina Rose|||We got a new bed, put up curtains...still decorating.
We had our anniversary yesterday-I made a nice quiet dinner, and Neil built our first fire in the fireplace!10/12/2004 12:54:37 PM|||Chench|||Oooh, nice weekend for a fireplace. Jimmy like it?
Kenny10/13/2004 08:43:21 AM|||Nina Rose|||Jimmy is still getting used not being allowed on the new couch-we were so laxed w/the studio apt becuase there wasn't enough space-he just wants to be as close as possible...but it didn't seem to phase him either way...that's ok, we loved it!