Working Out!

Well, I am back at it. I am working out again. This is very exciting to me. I love to do it but find as many excuses as possible to avoid it. It makes me feel so good!! I got my gear together and am back with an ipod in my ear and my mind on nothing for an hour.....I have a little trouble walking right now because I am only two days into the routine....but I know the possibilities that lie ahead and look forward to them with great anticipation.

Sweatin' to Ozzy.

Weekend in LA

I am back from a three day weekend in Los Angeles. Wow, it was quick. On Thursday my sis and I decided that I would fly out there with my son and spend the weekend with her. We had lots of fun. What a great birthday gift!

We spent time on the beach, in Hollywood, at La Brea Tar Pits....and shopping...shopping...shopping. My sister has a black belt in shopping. We had a lot of fun.

The time there reminded me of why I have always wanted to live there. Now the bug is in my son to get back there again soon. He loves the beach as much as I do. He is a natural in the water. I still attribute that to my sitting in the ocean in Italy when I was pregnant and too huge to move. He loved it then, too.

And when we touched down in Dallas I was back to my life....back to my reality.

I wish they all could be California days....

October

October 1. This is fall, right? A little warm here still...but the colors in the mall are changing! :) I am ready to plant some mums and get some pumpkins. I asked my son what he wanted to dress up as on Halloween and he wants to be a skeleton this year. That sounds like fun.

This weekend I attended a banquet for the local chapter of TAAP (Texas Association of Addiction Professionals). September was recovery month. It was fun. I haven't danced in a while. Now my time and and attention professionally can be focused on the January NOVA conference.

At the end of the week I will have a birthday. I seem to get contemplative when approaching a birthday. All in all it has been a great year. There have been enormous mountains to climb and I don't always like that part. But I can see the lessons I have learned. I guess that is what life is all about.

Happy Fall.

Monday, Monday

Oh, what a great weekend.....we stayed in town! I miss that. And my home computer is broken so I did absolutely nothing related to work or conference planning.

Friday I saw a play at a local theatre.....The effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds. It was pretty good for a small, local theatre.

Saturday we had soccer. It was really hot out but the team did better than last weekend. My boy is getting some of the skills down. He can really kick it....and is working on his stopping and dribbling skills right now.

Saturday evening we hung out and watched some movies.....I even took a nap and cooked several times! Wow. My boy and I did one of our favorite things-- we went looking at new homes being built near our house. We have so much fun doing that.

And Sunday it was still warm enough that he was able to swim while I did some yard work.

This morning he told me he thinks he is old enough to go to Hawaii now. For several years he has wanted to go but I have always told him how long the flight is. This morning he told me it was time to start planning a trip! I love that little guy.

Relaxed.

News From DC

This is the email I received from our DC voices!

Dear Recovery Advocates,

Thank you to everyone who called--or tried to call--Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi yesterday for National Parity Call-in Day. The event was a huge success, so much so that its organizers had to hire additional operators and eventually shut down the lines early. I apologize to everyone who tried to call in but was not able to get through because of the volume. In total, over 1,000 people spoke with Speaker Pelosi's staff, passing along the message that Americans are ready for HR 1424 now.

Yesterday was historic not only for the overwhelming success of Call-in Day, but also because the Senate passed its version of the parity bill, S.558 , the Mental Health Parity Act. This will put even more pressure on Speaker Pelosi to bring HR 1424 before the House of Representatives for a vote. Once both the Senate and House pass their bills, they must compromise on any differences between the two versions, and only then the bills can become law.

The Health Subcommittee of the House of Representatives' Committee on Ways and Means will be "marking up" (offering amendments) to HR 1424 this morning. This will bring HR 1424 one step closer to passing in the House.
These are exciting times! Your advocacy and support make successes like these possible.

All the best,

Website

I have had some articles from my book published in the Recovery Today newspaper. Take a look at them at www.recoverytoday.net. It is a great newspaper.

More NBA

I realize two posts in a row about the NBA proves my problem. But, again, I am not going to change it! :)

I get to go to LA in December to watch the Spurs play. I am so excited about that. My sister lives out there and I have been wanting to get out to see her anyway. This is perfect. My sis, the beach and the Spurs? Kill me now.

Burning for Basketball!

Sports

I can smell the NBA season. One month until some pre-season action begins. My name is Paula and I am addicted to basketball. But I will live with that today. Right now I am counting down the days to the pre-season SPURS whipping up on the Mavs game here in Dallas in October. My seat is secured but I don't know if I will make it out of the arena....I plan to go in full Spurs gear. Hee hee.

My son started soccer practice and has his first game this week. He loves soccer. I love watching him but sometimes my competetive nature comes up....and that is in conflict with my nurturing mother side.

You should live in this head.

VISION!

Imagine this!

Random Monday Thoughts

Well, school is underway for my boy. He didn't want me to walk him to class on his first day. I let him go alone. Although; it almost broke my heart, I attempted to allow his independence. But, this morning I think I was blind sided with a little fact of his growing up. He left his water bottle in the car so I called to him but he didn't hear me. I just whipped into a parking space and caught up with him to give it to him. I assumed he would be grateful since it is so hot and it was water, blah, blah, blah. But that isn't the experience we had. He was EMBARRASSED! He was embarrassed because I caught up with him while he was with his friends. Oh, I felt sad. He is six and a half and I gave birth to him (all ten and a half pounds of him!) and I am actually pretty cool. Oh, my. I have made him this way, you know. All this independent thinking and feeling. Oh, the woes of self-actualized thinking :)

I can't cope.

Workshops

I did two last week. One Friday and another on Saturday. Very different subjects with very different audiences. I presented ethics to current counselors and support staff at a treatment center on Friday. Saturday was a women's conference at a church near Dallas. I presented the basics of addiction. I enjoyed both.

Today I think the reality of back to school time is setting in. Today we go to buy school uniforms. One week of summer left. It is funny that I have been in school myself all summer but really feel the sting of the back to school time most when my little fellow is getting ready to go back.

Back to school blues.

Hurt Feelings

I hurt a friend today. I don't like when I do that. My feelings were hurt, I acted inappropriately. I hurt her and I wish I wouldn't have. We were able to talk about it and she says she will be okay, but I still regret my part. The more I live and grow the fewer times I hurt people because I try to live without that intention...but when it happens I think I feel worse than I did when I hurt people a lot.

Sad.

Summer....don't end!

Wow. Summer is coming to an end. Not in weather, but in time out for my boy. He will start back to school in less than two weeks. It has gone by so quickly. I feel that we haven't had enough time to do everything we wanted. But, he is ready. We get to meet his teacher next week. I look forward to seeing all the parents and finding out who is in his class this year.

Our trip to California will have to be a fall trip instead of a summer one. Time just went by so quickly...and with the illnesses that took place in the family, we adjusted some of our plans. Summer or fall, our trip to California will be fun. It is always a great place to visit no matter the season. I have been in spring, summer and fall and have loved all of the trips.

I was very busy last week. I had two speaking engagements. I enjoyed both of them. I don't usually get tired when I do those. I think that is how passion is.

This week I will put more thought into my vision board and contact the person editing my book. As the end of the week nears I will make my way to Austin for a meeting and some time visiting the family.

Mourning the passing of summer.

Roads

I am thinking of all the roads I have walked along. It seems that the ones where I have learned the most have had steep inclines, bumps and sometimes ended in heartache. I wonder why lessons are learned most affectively when injured on the path? Pain is such a motivator.

Back from Institute

Wow, what a quick trip. I left here for the Institute on Monday night at 9 PM and returned home last night (Tuesday) at 10 PM.

The people I met at the conference were great. I saw some folks I hadn't seen in a long time. I enjoyed doing my presentation.

Now, back to the office today. Then me and my boy are off to San Antonio Thursday afternoon. His three cousins are having a swim party for their birthday and he can't wait to get there.

Let the healing begin.