Good Thoughts for 2016

     I've never been much of an adherent for New Year's resolutions because I always seemed to fill my plate too full, especially as a teenager, and then would fall short of my goals even if I did a lot of what I set out to do. I was setting myself up for what I perceived as failure when, in truth, I was setting myself up for disappointment unnecessarily. Since the year 2000 I have been at work on myself as a person and my goals are a constant quest in my life with the opportunity to do these things in a time that is humanly possible. There have been times when my goals have been changed weekly. I have had one goal on my roster for fourteen years now and it will remain even though I know I may never fully achieve it. In the meantime, here are some good thoughts for even the most resolution weary travelers: 
   

"If you can't fly, then run;

 if you can't run, then walk...
if you can't walk, then crawl--
whatever you do, keep moving forward."

 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Five Steps to Overcoming:

1) If I give joy, it will come back to me.

2) My worries can be released.

3) Any detour can be seen as an opportunity.

4) Remarkable achievements all began as thoughts.

5) New learning is always there, waiting for me to embrace it.

- the daughter of Norman Vincent Peale

Motivation is what gets you started but habit is what keeps you going.

-Jim Ryan

There is always something to be thankful for so...

follow your dream and

from The Castle Lady

Animal Olympics

      Since the first of this year I've been keeping an eye on and feeding my neighbors cats which are tiger and black tabbies, respectively. They are as typical as cats can be but upon finding some extraordinary abilities in both felines I started thinking about why we don't encourage professional sports for our pets. I know it sounds crazy but hear me out because I believe that we may need a fitness revolution for pets. It's true that cats usually are the least likely to need an exercise regimen but even they could benefit and maybe even lead the way for dogs, hamsters, snakes, mice and even birds given the right circumstances. 

    

Take Po'ele'ele for instance. Tabbies are generally known as almost a run-of-the-mill breed and yet I saw this elegant black cat leap off a table vertically at least five feet to tackle Laulau, the tiger cat, like they were playing football. It was an awesome sight. I checked both cats for injuries but apparently they were fine and I may have ruined a score or something. Po (for short) also likes to eat tremendous amounts of food but I'm certain it's to maintain that great physique. Believe me, I checked for fatness and Po is pretty fit for a cat who does not need a mouse for sustenance.

     

Laulau is just a little love mostly but she has made her physical feats as well. She can make jumping high look like a magic trick. She makes no hesitations and always lands in or on her favorite spots. She has an extraordinary ability to hit a ball strategically to land right in an appropriate spot. She'd make a great shortstop. They both try to play some very strange form of tackle basketball with a tennis ball. I'm sure I've spent more than an hour of time just watching them play this fantastic secret game which beats my snow basketball by a mile. I'm not sure what the move of hugging the ball while trying to scratch the heck out of it with their hind feet signifies but it may be some sort of a high five, look-at-me victory dance maneuver. Whatever it is I highly recommend buying your cat a tennis ball to play with because he/she could become a millionaire and lift us out of this slow economy.

     Po'ele'ele for president ! (ahem!) and Laulau as running mate !

Never stop meowing...er, that is- moving...

The Castle Lady