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Reflections from an RV 051912

May 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Brrr! It’s a little chilly here in St. Marys, GA this morning. We had a heavy rainstorm last night and it’s still overcast and damp this morning. Undaunted, I grabbed a sweatshirt, my helmet and headed out for a delightful one hour bike ride! The base has some great bike/walking paths, with lots to see. We’re on a submarine base, so there’s some interesting ‘architecture’ in addition to the woods and wildlife.  Who says that exercise can’t be fun? I like to do a little meditation while I ride, breathing in God and exhaling out any stress, bad thoughts or whatever might be troubling me. We are nestled in the woods, with lots of little lakes and bridges, and I returned with a light heart and a clear head. I had the idea that I would like to drop a few more pounds and get in great shape this summer, so the exercise is in harmony with that goal. The bike makes it fun and something to look forward to, rather than dreading the “E” word.

When I returned from the bike ride, Dave and the dogs were up. I made a pot of coffee and a nice, healthy breakfast. We actually donned some sweatshirts and turned on the little fireplace/heater in the living area. We’re only a few hundred miles from Titusville but already enjoying some cooler weather.

We didn’t do too much yesterday, mostly just explored the base and set up stuff in the RV. We’ve brought lots of books to read and some yarn to crochet a few things. I also have that murder mystery I started writing about a year ago, but had to set aside because life got too big. Now I’m inspired again and ready to bring that thing to life. When I tell people that I’m an author, they often respond with, “I’ve always wanted to write a book.” I’ve discovered that in order to make that happen, one must actually sit down and write. I am eternally grateful to my coach, Lorraine Edey for encouraging me to turn that dream into a goal with an action plan!

I had fun yesterday on Dr. Melanie’s radio show with my friend and fellow author, Sean Anderson. I really enjoy being a guest on the radio! Sean was great too! He and I have been talking about a joint project – a cookbook that features recipes from people who’ve also survived and recovered from morbid obesity. That’s still in the talking phase but it could come to life by the end of the summer!

Dave and I will drive up to Brunswick later today, check out the city and meet my friend Vivian for dinner. Viv and I were friends when we both lived in Orlando back in the 90’s and have rediscovered one another via a mutual friend. We caught up last year on a weekend excursion in our RV so it will be good to connect once again. I’m getting in touch with friends along our route to visit while we’re nearby. I will be heading to Columbia, SC for a day to see some friends while we are parked in Yemessee, SC for our next leg of the trip.

The view from our RV is nice – the lake is picturesque and at night there’s some wildlife. Dave saw a deer two nights ago; reminds me of home. We’ve rushed around for so much of our lives, working and trying to get ahead, that now it is so wonderful to just slow down, breathe in God and relax. It truly is a spiritual experience!

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Reflections from an RV 051712

May 17, 2012 By 4 Comments

Traveling in an RV is a good test for how strong your relationship might be. This morning Dave got up and said, “I think this is going to work.”
“what is going to work?

“Being in this RV with you for six months is going to work.”

We had a lovely first day together, driving from Titusville to Kings Bay Submarine Base, in St. Marys, GA. We have a very nice lot, overlooking the lake. It’s peaceful, quiet and very safe. Both of us had to show our military ID’s in order to drive onto the base, and the guards have guns!

Where was that guard when we were packing up this week and discovered that another GPS is missing. We had one in both our cars and the one from Dave’s car was missing.  At least it was the one that I liked the least.

Dave has checked out what’s around here and we plan on driving to Brunswick to explore the city this week. Sounds like a fun place to explore. He also found some info on kayaking so we’ll check that out too. Our goal on this trip is to check out local places and see some of this beautiful country of ours. I have done a lot of traveling outside the country for the last few years and I’m looking forward to planting my feet on USA soil for a while. What better way than in a motor home?

You know we dealt with mice in our house last week and I think I cured the problem before we left. My good friend, Julia is checking on our house and if it becomes evident that the mice are still there, she’ll work with our pest control guy to get them out. So I’m not worried about it. I was starting to wonder however, if Mother Nature had put out a message that the Helms’ were critter friendly. On Tuesday, Dave opened the door to the RV and in flew two little birds. He convinced one to leave right away but the other became disoriented and avoided the door. It took both of us shooing the little chickadee with towels to get her tired enough to fly low and find the door. That’s team work, but I’m hoping that it isn’t a test for future animal adventures! Glad they both found freedom with a minimum of anxiety.

I do have some work today –  a radio show at 1 pm EST, if you can really call that work. Its really a lot of fun being a guest on radio shows! Tune in if you are so inclined. It should be fun. I’ve not any more work then until Tuesday so we can make our plans to play for a few days.

I want to check out the exercise facility here on the base – no bike riding without a helmet and I really don’t want to buy one for just a week. I don’t really need one on a 3 wheel recumbent so it’ll stay hanging on the back of the coach for now. We’ll be in Yemesee, SC next week and hopefully there’ll be places that I can exercise on my bike. I really prefer being out in nature instead of in a gym.

You know, I’m a Certified Spiritual Coach, and what’s that have to do with RVing? Well, there’s spirituality all around us, when our hearts are open to it. Last night when Dave walked the dogs, he called me outside, and there stood a deer, off in the distance by the lake looking back at him. It was a quiet moment, and I appreciated my life so much at that moment.

When you concentrate on what you have and not worry about what you don’t have, life really is a spiritual experience.

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Reflections from an RV

May 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Wow, in one week from today, we’ll be singing that Willie Nelson tune, “On the Road Again,” as we embark on a six month adventure in our motor home.

When we were deciding to upgrade from a 32’ to a nearly 40’ two years ago, I told Dave that unless he really intended to retire from Disney, we should keep what we have. He assured me that once his 15 years of service was official, he could qualify for his lifetime gate pass and would turn in his costumes. That happened last week and now we’re packing up our little abode on wheels.

There’s food in the cupboard that I don’t intend to bring, so lots will be thrown out. And what a terrible time to get a mouse in the house! So far he’s not interested in the goodies on the conventional traps, preferring our popcorn, bagels and Hershey kisses. I’ve called in the big guns, a professional exterminator but so far his solution isn’t working any better than mine. We’ve tried peanut butter, snickers bars, tootsie rolls and still no luck. If we don’t get him before we leave, I’ll put out some poison but hope that we don’t have to resort to that.

Planning for a six month hiatus is challenging. We’ll mostly need summer clothes, but will also run into cooler fall weather. I teach for World Coach Institute, so the books will need to come along, as well as my own published books. You never know when I might have an opportunity for a book signing along the way. I’m a life coach, and it’s also mobile; I’ll be coaching from the coach!

I am hoping to share unusual reflections with this blog, so don’t look for any, “Today we drove how-many-miles-and-saw.” I’m more interested in reflecting on how it feels to share a 40’ habitat with my sweet husband and two fur babies. I want to look for more than the usual tourist traps and really see America, it’s people and unique experiences.

I’ll be bringing my 3 wheel recumbent too – there’s nothing like starting my day out with a good ride. I’ll also continue to eat healthy – I have a digital scale in my RV kitchen and plan to use it too. I’m not bringing my bathroom scale – if I weigh my food, I shouldn’t have to weigh my body.

We’re going to be in the Southeast for most of the trip. Perhaps you live along the way and perhaps I can plan a visit with you? I hope to meet lots of new friends along the way. I’ll keep you posted on our itinerary and who knows? We may be sipping a Starbucks together in the very near future!

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New Habits for 2012

January 3, 2012 By 2 Comments

Marcia Sirota wrote an article yesterday about ten bad habits to let go of in 2012. Some of them are pretty good, such as ‘comparing yourself to other people.’ Whenever I do that, I come up short. I’d much rather look for ways that we are the same. I can usually relate in some way to everyone. Yes, everyone! Everyone has something in common with someone else. And we all will have something more (or a little less) than the next guy. It’s just too
exhausting to look for how I’m different and then feeling less-than as a result. So, thank you, Dr. Marcia, I’m going to use that one.

The article also recommends that we let go of jealousy, avoidance, rudeness, denial,
complaining, gossip, a bad attitude, co-dependency and facebooking your ex. All are excellent habits to replace with something positive.

I have a few good habits that I want to reinforce in 2012:

Building a support team – Self-sufficiency propelled me to over 250 lbs. I binged, dieted and failed at diets alone. About nineteen years ago, I was introduced to the concept of building a support team to help me with my goal of weight loss. I’m sure that some friends thought me to be a bit daft when I’d call and let them know that I was thinking about eating a whole bag of cookies. We’d laugh about it and voila! I didn’t eat the first cookie. I know today that I need people in my life for all successes – you just get more results with an army than a slingshot and a pebble, unless of course, you are David.

Listen More – Every time I give to others, I get something in return. It doesn’t have to be about money either! Listening is so valuable and sometimes it’s just what a friend might need while working through a tough time. I also want to listen to my own instincts around self-care.

Forget the One – If there are 99 people in a room that love me, I’m not going after the 1 who doesn’t any more. There are always going to be people who don’t prefer my company, so I’ll bask I what I have and not worry about what I don’t have. Unless of course, the one is Tony Stewart. I’d have to go after him! He drives pretty fast and I’d probably not catch him, but I’d have to try.

 

Strengthen my Spiritual Disciplines – I presently start my day out with prayer, meditation and whenever possible, exercise. It feels so good to be connected to God in this way. And there’s always time to meditate during the day – it only takes a minute to stop and take time to breathe in God and breathe out self, or whatever might trouble me at the time. Just for one minute. Try it!

I’m also going to keep it simple this year. I was racking my brain to come up with more good habits, but this is really enough. I can make a list of ten but odds are excellent that adding more will only lead to doing less.

What bad habits do you want to release? What good habits will you reinforce in 2012?

 

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