Wonder of the World

Hello, everyone!

Hope your Monday has started out without a problem. When I was going to school or working, I hated Mondays...and Fridays. Those two days in the hospital were murder, for some reason. I always a lot of new admissions and plenty galore of paperwork to weed through!  Now that I'm kind of "retired" so to speak and not working, I don't mind Mondays anymore. Just another day.

So have you been doing the relaxation tips I told you about in my last two posts?  Thinking pleasant thoughts of things that happened in the past and deep breathing?  If you don't mind, we'll reinforce those techniques for today's post and take another journey into the past.  :0)
 I've received some comments about people really liking the pictures. Yay! I love my pictures and I love sharing them.  So here we go...

In 2001, my mom and dad and Frankie and I went to the Grand Canyon.  We figured we lived in this state for a number of years now and still hadn't seen the magnificent canyons (Except for Frankie...he hiked down to the bottom when he was in Boy Scouts).  My grandpa, who was VERY sarcastic, always said,r "It's the 7th Wonder of the World....you wonder why the hell it's there!"  Very sentimental man, my grandpa!!  He had a rough exterior, but he was all heart inside.
Anyway, here some pics of our trip:

My mom, dad and Frankie on one of the bus tour stop-overs.  We had a lot of those so we could take pictures outdoors, instead of inside a moving van with all the jostling of the camera.  And.....at almost every stop there was a gift ship.  Mom and I tried to ignore the intense calling, but we failed at some of the pit stops and got a few stuffed animals and Grand Canyon books.  Not too bad, right?

My dad is such a goofball!  Only HE would get the bus driver in on the picture taking festivities too!!  I forget the driver's name, but he was very good and we tipped him well.  He actually lives up at the canyon with his wife and kids.

The whole clan got in on this one....taken by none other than our friendly tour bus driver!!!  It's a good family portrait of us, don't you think?

Isn't that gorgeous?  We were on the south rim somewhere and when I first saw it, it took my breath away.  It was sooooo QUIET. No sounds of cars or businesses going on, only the faint call of birds flying over the canyon.  We all four just stared at it mesmerized for a moment.

 Another breath-taking view of the canyon. Words just escape me when I look at the canyon.  All my stresses and problems just melted away at that very moment.  It was great to feel weightless for a moment in time!!

At one of the bus stops, we watched this lil' gal weave a blanket.  It was fascinating how she did it, and right before our very eyes.  I'm sure they cost a pretty penny, too!

This drawing was actually etched with sand! Can you believe it?  It's gorgeous!

Here's a picture of yours truly in front of one of the sand paintings.  I made sure my dad just got me from chest up and he actually listened to me for once.  If he would not have, you wouldn't be seeing this picture!!

 We were waiting for the IMAX theater to open so we could watch "The Grand Canyon".  It was like no movie I had ever seen before.  It actually felt like you were flying over the canyon and actually there with the ancient indians.  If you have an opportunity to see an IMAX movie, do it!!!

While we were in the waiting area, we saw a tourist machine that would put your picture on a cover of "National Geographic."  It looked like fun and we had time to kill, so we did it!  This is my hubby, Frankie.

My mom even got into the action, as she is like me and hates to be photographed.  You could pick out your own background and the step into the machine and it puts you on the cover!!  How cool is that?

And last, but certainly NOT least, is my dad and his chosen cover. Doesn't he look totally RAD with his sunglasses? LOL... These photo covers cost about five bucks each, but it was worth it, I think.  But we didn't do anymore tourist traps for the rest of the trip!!

I remember going home hot and broke.  The temps in Yuma were soaring in the triple digits and I was missing the coolness of Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. I wanted to turn the car around and go back to the canyon again!!

See how easy it is to get your mind off your pain or your problems by thinking back to family trips you had fun on or just good memories that make you laugh.  Try it.....you just be surprised to see that it works!!

God bless,
Until tomorrow,
Missy

PS....I had to make an emergency doctor appointment today.  My right leg is just absolutely KILLING me with thigh pain and that horrible fire on the top of my foot.  Damn neuropathy!  I hate it!  So wish me luck.  I don't know what more she can do, but it's worth a try.  :0)

Relaxation

Good day, everyone!

I woke up with a revelation today.  The problem with the world today is everyone is so stressed out, their bodies are trying to adapt to the stressed out state, but they can't and that is what brings on flare-ups.  At least in my case.  But I'll bet it's the same in your case, too!  When you get really stressed, your body releases a hormone called "cortisol" and that brings on weight and water gains.  NOT what we need right now!!

The plan?  What I do when I get really stressed or worried about something, I think back to the past at similar situations and how I handled them. I take nice, deep, cleansing breaths, close my eyes and think about another time or place that made me feel really good about myself.  That works almost 100% of the time.  I get to laughing about funny things that happened in the past, that I forget about the here and now.  You should try it sometime. Hopefully the same thing will happen and you'll forget what you were worried about in the first place.  Everything has a way of working out....that I learned the HARD way!!

I joined the "Ultimate Blog Challenge" where I write a post a day for the month of October.  I figured I could do all kinds of posts on relaxation, stress management, fibromyalagia coping tips, ect.   If you have a blog and wish to join, just click on the button above on the left hand side and it'll take you where you need to go to join.  I hope to see you there!!!

Today I'm going to practice my relaxation method and think of a time where I had a lot of fun.  That would be with my grandma, ma and me when we went whale watching in San Diego, CA.  We had sooo much fun on that boat, and laughed so hard because we couldn't walk a straight line due to the choppiness of the waves.  Grandma tried using the bathroom downstairs (we were on the top deck, of course!) and she said she had a heck of a time trying to sit down and the stall door kept slamming back and forth.  Here's some photos of that whale watch adventure:

Ticket booth for HornBlower Cruises and Events. This is where we turn our internet vouchers in for tickets for the cruise.

My grandma and mom getting ready to board the ship. 

 Isn't this beautiful? I couldn't resist getting a quick photo of it flapping behind our ship, the ocean wake foamy white......USA all the way! :0)

As you can see, the San Diego Bay is getting farther and farther away.  It was chilly that day, as whale season is December to March.  It definitely was light coat weather out on the ocean waters!!

  Grandma searching in vain to find at least a tail fin of a whale!  We all were, but the whales must have been sleeping.  We did see otters and dolphins, though.  That was cool how they weaved in and out of the water by the boat.  The captain was so nice, he said that because we couldn't go out as far as other trips because of the choppy weather,  he would give us  a voucher for a free whale trip!  Cool!!

  Grandma deciding to move her search over to the other end of the boat.

  Taking a much needed break.  It's hard work, looking for whales and then not seeing any!!  Mom and grandma on deck, all bundled up in their jackets!

    Coming back to San Diego Bay.  Granny & ma's heads are all popped out over the side and read y to be on solid land again.  I know I was glad.  I get sea sick a lot, but this time I took Dramamine and it helped (I might have taken more than what I should have!), but made me so damn drowsy I could barely keep my eyes open!!

    And here we are, the trip completed.  We had so much fun, that we will definitely be going again next season!!

Thank you for coming along with me on our whaling trip. Even though we didn't see a whale, just the ride out there and back was super fun. I will never forget that trip.

Okay, that is my relaxation method.  Do you think it's something it might work for you?  You can use any memory that brings you joy and it will help you to relax.  You will find you can deal with any problem or stress when you are relaxed and not all knotted up in a big ball!!

That's it for today's post. Tomorrow we'll work on more relaxation tips.  I hope this post was helpful and finds you all in good health today.  With the exception of my head and the goose egg I have from my fall and my right leg, I'm no worse for wear.  Today I'm going to do a light shopping trip with my husband, so wish me luck.  Geared with my walker with the seat, I can go almost anywhere!!

Have a good Saturday!
God bless,
Until next post,
Missy