Life With Ziggy

You think Marley was bad, you haven't met Ziggy!



"Ziggy, that's not a rug you're sitting on!" Sweet Lula, she's so tolerant.






Time for a little R&R













"Night Night!"

Ziggy was an unexpected addition to our family a year ago. He's quite the handful, but he has brought me so much joy and laughter. Every morning I wake up to this adorable face, how sweet is that. Our dog Lula welcomed her new playmate, although at times, he really wears her out. She is so tolerant of his antics, as you can see above.

Book Review

The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Gretchen Rubin has come to the realization that she is not focusing on the things in life that really matter. While riding the city bus one day she looks out the window to see a woman about her age trying to balance an umbrella and look at her cell phone, while pushing a stroller and carrying a child. The sight of it gave her a jolt. She saw herself, riding the same crosstown bus everyday, back and forth; "This is my life-but I never give any thought to it." She realized she was suffering from a mid-life malaise; although she lived a very fortunate life, something was still missing. As she states early in the book, she had everything she could possibly want, but failed to appreciate it. Like most of us, she was caught up in the day to day routine of life. We just go through each day and fail to realize the things that really matter in life. The more she thought about this, she realized she needed a better perspective; she needed to be more grateful for just an ordinary day. That's when she decided she would start a happiness project.

Rubin creates a list of twelve resolutions to focus on each month known as her Twelve Commandments, she lists what she believes to be some of the secrets of adulthood, and along the way discovers what she calls Four Splendid Truths. She reads countless books on the subject of happiness from the likes of the Dalai Lama, Martin Seligman, Aristotle, Elizabeth Gilbert, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Johnson and many others. She studies a great deal of scientific research, tries meditation, begins a strength training exercise program, studies various spiritual leaders and their philosophies, tries journaling and many other ideas in the pursuit of a happier life.

It is obvious Rubin is very passionate about this project. At times maybe a bit too analytical, however, I found the book to be very enlightening and I really did enjoy it. While reading The Happiness Project, I was inspired by much of the wisdom she shared from various books she read on the subject; I have added several of the books to my personal book list. I think anything book that promotes the pursuit of a happier, more fulfilled life is worth reading.

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Missing Book

I am a bit freakish about my books. This morning I went looking for a certain book, only to discover it was not on my bookshelf. I searched all over the house and could not find it. So, my concern is that I might have inadvertently given it away during a recent cleaning out and de-cluttering. We hauled off several boxes and bags of clothes, books, nick knacks etc. I read the book once already, but I want to read it again because the subject matter is something of which I have first hand knowledge and would like to write about here on my blog. This will drive me crazy, wondering what has happened to it; I'm very protective of my books. I will admit, some may think it's crazy, but I'm very selfish with my books. Most of the time if I read a book that I think a friend will like, I will likely go out and buy them their own copy, rather than give away mine. I have quite a few books that I would like to reread because at the time I was reading it there may have been a lot of distractions and I wasn't able to fully absorb the material. I'll go back at a later date to read it again to really absorb the book. So the search is on, it has to be here somewhere.

The Most Depressing Day of the Year?

The Most Depressing Day of the Year?

Here is a link to one of my favorite blogs, Simple Truths, by Mac Anderson who is a wonderful motivational speaker. Like he says in this post, I too need constant reinforcement to stay positive. I'm sure many of us these days in the midst of some difficult times in our country feel the same way. You can subscribe to Simple Truths and receive regular newsletters and short inspirational movies to lift your spirits, give encouragement and advice to help succeed in life and business.
Enjoy!

Castaway Island Preserve, Jacksonville, FL

One of the great things about living in Jacksonville is that there are so many great parks and recreation areas to get away without driving very far. Castaway Island Preserve is a beautiful nature preserve tucked away in the middle of neighborhoods off San Pablo Road, along the intracoastal waterway. This is a great place to take the kids for a nature walk or school field trips. There is an education center just across from the picnic area. The Island Trail is lined with animal tracks that you can identify to see which animal lives in this type of habitat. At the end of the trail of footprints is an information board that will tell you what kind of animal prints you have been following along with more detailed information about that particular animal. There are a few observation decks along the way that give a beautiful view of the marshlands, and benches to sit and rest or enjoy the view. This is a great place for birders to see many species of birds, such as hawks, osprey, egrets, storks, bald eagles, and many more. You can spend the day canoeing or kayaking along the intracoastal and get a close up view of the wildlife. After you've enjoyed the nature trails, enjoy a picnic at the shaded picnic tables. A note about this, there are no garbage cans at this park and that is noted at the entrance. They do provide you with trash bags through a dispenser, but it wouldn't hurt to bring one from home, just in case. Please, whatever you do, don't leave your trash. This park is definitely a gem, and we want to keep it that way.

NOTE: Castaway Island Preserve is part of the Preservation Project Jacksonville; a massive land conservation program instituted by former Mayor John Delaney in 1999. As a result of this program, Jacksonville now has the largest urban park system in the country.

The Happiness Project

During a recent book search on the Books-A-Million website I stumbled across an ad for a book called "The Happiness Project". The book is written by Gretchen Rubin, who after having an epiphany while riding a city bus with her young daughter, realizes how something that she dreads every day, means the world to her daughter. Thus begins her 1 year long happiness project, which she wrote about on her blog. After reading about the book, I suddenly began to hear about it everywhere, including The Today Show. You can see the video clip of that on her website. The book has inspired a "happiness movement" to make 2010 a happier year. So, after hearing and reading so much about it, and, sense I am at a crossroads in my life feeling somewhat stressed out and dissatisfied with the way things have been going in my life, I decided I have to read this book. So, I ordered it a few days ago and am eagerly awaiting its arrival, which should be Monday. So, I know what I'll be doing Monday evening. I have a good feeling about this book and have already gone to the happiness project website and signed on to be a part of this movement to make 2010 a happier year. Regardless of any book, you can't go wrong being a part of a movement that is designed to help people find some happiness. You can check out her website at www.happiness-project.com. So, stay tuned........I can't help but think of the song from the popular 70's tv show, The Partridge Family, "Come On Get Happy"!

My calendar, myself | Jacksonville.com

My calendar, myself | Jacksonville.com

Above is a link to a column by Laura Capitano, Lifestyle columnist for the Florida Times Union. I got such a giggle out of this recent column. It reminded me so much of myself. Just a week before, a friend at work was showing me how to set up my "digital calender", telling me I needed to open it first thing every morning, and all day long it would chime and give me pop up reminders of what I needed to do or where to go. The problem is, I rarely think to open it. Well, recently, while trying to organize my desk, I actually took the time to open up my calendar and update it. I thought of Laura Capitano's recent column and laughed. She was right, it just wasn't the same. My large desk calender was not only a reminder of important dates and appointments, it served many purposes. It was my note pad, where I would jot down reminders, phone numbers and grocery lists. It's my personal "sketch book", where I doodle when I'm on long phone conversations; it's a large coaster for my giant mug of tea that I'm almost never without and a placemat for lunch. My calendar was like a diary in a way, a reminder of how I spent my days and yes, sometimes, like Laura, a reminder of what I ate and drank. I miss my big desk calendar and I've decided there are some technological advances I can live without. So goodbye digital calendar, tomorrow you will be replaced with the old fashioned desk calendar.