Why lie?

As a way of sharing a bit, I've been having weekly visits with a psychologist for the past 4 years or so. It's not an easy thing to do, but I think self-awareness and discovery are key if we are to become whole human beings who are caring and compassionate with one another.

Recently I've been working on being kinder to myself. I'm OFTEN very hard on myself about any number of things. I think it's a way of picking myself apart and tearing myself down before others get a chance to do it. Perhaps I think if I say mean things to myself then when other people think or say means things about me it won't hurt. Unfortunately all that happens is I end up feeling hurt twice as much.

I learned a long time ago that I don't like it when life is complicated and, for me, lying makes life complicated. You have to keep track of who you told what story to and if you've been caught lying and then want someone to believe you when you tell the truth, it makes it very difficult for them to do so.

So why do we lie? How do we act/respond when other people lie to us? If we find out someone has been lying to us, is it wrong to feel we simply need to exorcise them from our lives as a way of preserving and loving ourselves?

Support for the little guy....

I live in a kind of forward thinking neighborhood who believes in grass-roots efforts and supporting local business owners. We have a lovely little family owned restaurant that has been wise and slowly grown over the last 5 or 6 years. When a Starbucks moved in, the residents of the neighborhood made sure to support the local coffee shop and bucked the Starbucks!

So, in that spirit, I'd like to share with you http://www.lathermonkey.com/. This is a company that sells organic soaps, body wash, shampoos, etc. It's run by a friend of Troy's who he went to college with. He's a chemist and I've experienced his products first hand. They are excellent. Give them a try.

Besides, he's having a SALE right now! Sweet!

I seriously have the best dog ever!

I went to visit my parents up north this weekend (see #21) and of course took Sasha with me. I hate to leave her at home when she doesn't have to be there. While we were there, she got to hang out in the front yard where she had a wonderful time rolling around in their grass.


For quite a while, Sasha and I have been working on LOTS of obedience commands (ie, sit, stay, roll over, etc) and I decided that since I had my camera, I'd see if she's obey me as she has been taught. She knows what she should do, of course, but considering I didn't have any food to bribe her with, I think she did exceedingly well.

I obviously have the best dog ever!

Take a look!

Get rid of 101 items I own (1/101)

I think that purging ourselves of those things that are not adding value to our lives is an important "chore" that we should engage in often to keep ourselves mentally and physically healthy. For me, too much stuff around me makes me a little crazy...well a little crazier than usual.

In an effort to keep myself as sane as possible, I've decided to get rid of some stuff. The first victim of my purging? The first car I ever bought. A 1999 Mercury Mystique. I bought it in 2000 when it had about 25,000 miles on it. Over the course of the next 9 years or so, I put another 100,000 miles on it. In 2005, I was rear-ended in it while riding as a passenger. Despite the horrendous damage to the trunk and rear bumper and nearly constant nagging from my parents and brother, I still drove it until December of 2008. After all, it was paid for and the engine was still in excellent condition. When I bought my new car in December, I didn't get rid of the old one. Instead, I parked it in my garage "just in case". Just in case of what, I'm not sure.

Last week (more than 6 months after I bought the new car), I decided that perhaps the Mystique had served its purpose and I was tired of it taking up space in my garage. I considered selling it to the junk yard or donating it to charity, but instead I decided to list it privately on www.cars.com. I've never sold a car, so I made sure to do my homework as to its worth and the appropriate paperwork that should be completed. I'm happy to say that after only a week of being listed online, I sold it for the full asking price. Yeah!

I don't think the other 100 items I purge will probably be quite so big. It feels good to have it out of my garage and off of my insurance.

Words and deeds

This week's word of the week is:

"spontaneous"
–adjective
1. coming or resulting from a natural impulse or tendency; without effort or premeditation; natural and unconstrained; unplanned: a spontaneous burst of applause.
2. (of a person) given to acting upon sudden impulses.
3. (of natural phenomena) arising from internal forces or causes; independent of external agencies; self-acting.
4. growing naturally or without cultivation, as plants and fruits; indigenous.
5. produced by natural process.

Does have a 101 in 1001 list mean that I'm not spontaneous? hmm.
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I went to visit Troy's family at the farm last night since his oldest sister and her family were in town and it seemed like I hadn't seem them in forever. They are a hugging kinda people, so as a result, my list of people I've hugged (#16) instantly grew from 1 person to 9 people. Sweet!

#28 Learn all the state capitals (29/50)

According to Sheppard Software, which has an online United States capital quiz, I currently know 29/50 state capitals. So, which do I know?

New York - Albany
Illinois - Springfield
Oklahoma - Oklahoma City
Hawaii - Honolulu
Delaware - Dover
Louisiana - Baton Rouge
Florida -Tallahassee
Minnesota - St. Paul
North Dakota - Bismarck
Indiana - Indianapolis
Massachusetts - Boston
Michigan - Lansing
Iowa - Des Moines
Rhode Island - Providence
California - Sacramento
South Dakota - Pierre
New Jersey - Trenton
Vermont - Montpelier
Wisconsin - Madison
Nevada - Carson City
Ohio - Columbus
Mississippi - Jackson
Montana - Helena
Arizona - Phoenix
Colorado - Denver
Kentucky - Frankfurt
Alaska - Juneau
Maine - Augusta
Georgia - Atlanta

Not bad for my first try. My apologies to the other states. I'll get to you soon.

#5 Eat sushi once a month (1/34)

Sushi trip for July 2009 all done! As a way of celebrating Troy's clean bill of health from his doctor on Tuesday, we ventured to my favorite little sushi restaurant here in Indianapolis. I was suprised that Troy suggested it as our celebratory dinner since he's not really a huge fan of sushi. He does enjoy their teriyaki chicken though and he'll sample the occasional piece my sushi. It was VERY yummy! The only problem is it's usually so good that I eat too much. Ick!