Just Call Me Pollyanna!


After rereading my last post I've decided I need to be a little bit more positive about things.  There is a lot of good in my life and rather than concentrate on the glass half empty (as I am apt to do), I will focus on the half full.  Sooooo, here's a list (because I LOVE lists):


My Dad is doing pretty well.  The new medication he has been on since January has actually appeared to help with the bleeding in his esophagus.  This is pretty major as it has been ongoing for about a year and a half and is due to the lack of separation between his stomach & esophagus from his previous cancer surgery.  The problem with bleeding is that it's a major attraction to cancer cells.  So since the bleeding appears to be much better now, it also means he can start treatments, which will begin with one a month and monitoring after.  The prognosis is good so I'm feeling very optimistic.  He's also been saying he feels less pain now.  Another good thing.


I have three Birthday Dinners to look forward to and we know how I LOVE my food!  I'm probably going to go to Beast with G2 and Buca with E but I'm not sure about the last restaurant choice with G & M.


Despite my ankle problems, I'm still managing to keep up with a regular workout schedule.  I've been doing my core exercises faithfully & my strength training.  I'm at a good place, weight-wise.


I started fiddling around with jewellery-making again.  Nothing big, just reset a jade pendant my Dad brought back for me last year from China.  It was on a black string necklace but was made for someone with a neck the size of my wrist sooo, I had to cut it and reset so I could use it on one of my silver chains.

Voilà!  I have a lot of semi-precious stones just waiting to be made into something.  Now I find I make a few small things for people or I just fix something on a piece of jewellery that has been broken. Maybe I'll become inspired again?


I continue with my decluttering and it's going very well!  I've donated a few bags of old clothing already (there is a drop-off bin right near my place which makes it convenient) and have thrown out (or recycled) a bunch of other stuff.  I swear, this is the year I get rid of EVERYTHING!  Okay, maybe not everything because then I wouldn't have anything.


I booked my June Conference in CA on Monday, at the very last minute (per usual).  Of course now I have to figure out how much it's going to cost for a flight and hotel.  And I also have to make a decision about another Conference about 10 days later in the same vicinity.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to the alone time.  Well, I'm always alone but I'm one of those people who doesn't mind being alone on a trip and eating at restaurants by myself.  I guess that's weird.  I think it has a lot to do with growing up alone as an only child.  As an adult, I still like my space.


These couple of photos from Myanmar of random people I saw make me smile:

The way the little boy has his arm around his big brother is just endearing to me.  This was taken at Nam Pan Market on Inle Lake.

I went to the school in a local village in Bagan.  The kids were the cutest things.  They were supposed to be concentrating on their singing but I like how this little boy still gave a glance to the camera.  He is wearing thanaka on his face.  Everyone wears it in Myanmar, but more women & girls, than men & boys.  It is a paste ground from the bark of the thanaka tree and acts as a sunscreen & skin cream.  I think it also keeps your skin more pale.  In one of the places I stayed, there was the stone & bark in the bathroom for me to ground my own thanaka.


Although I don't have brothers & sisters, I am lucky to have two cousins who I am pretty close to and talk to regularly, even though they don't live in the same province or country.  I was talking to my cousin last night and she was making me laugh.  Currently she has a crush on some CPA who works on the same floor as her.  I mean, really, an accountant??  Haha, I can say that.  Anyway she was talking about seeing him all the time, even when she goes in on the weekends (yes, she is a workaholic) and so I said, "Isn't he married?"  Pause. "Uh, yes." Me:  "Isn't that a bit of a problem?"  Of course we both burst out laughing because really, is there any sense in crushing on someone who is, oh I don't know, unattainable & off limits??  You see, unlike what seems like a whole heck of a lot of my friends lately, I don't really condone dating married men!


Which leads me to remember that my life could be so much worse right now when I look at what some of my friends are going through in their marriages.  It's incredibly sad when I see friends who have been together for 20+ years (dating, then marriage), divorcing now.  I feel even more sad for their kids.  But it happens, right?  Unfortunately it gets messy & mean, which is the worst part of it.


Oh, and with Easter coming up I want to make some Easter chocolates.  I always loved the idea of big hollow easter eggs filled with stuff.  I've seen them in France by the Chocolatiers there & they look beautiful and fantastic.  I might give it a try as I do have hollow chocolate molds.  I also want to do a Cadbury Dark Chocolate Mini-Eggs Bark with everything dark chocolate.  So maybe the Mini-Eggs aren't the best quality dark but I would use a 70% South American dark chocolate for the couverture.  Hmmm...