Happy 2011!

If you thought 2010 was a crock of crap, I hope this new year is going to be a better one for you. But really, if you look back at the year now gone, was it truly that bad? Or was the problem, in part, the way you looked at things?

I had a mixed year, last year. My father died in November, my son ran his car into a wall and wrecked it, one of my 'employers' decided they no longer wanted me, I failed to complete my study even though I should have got my certificate late in the year and I was diagnosed with a chronic illness.It didn't happen in that order, that's just the order I remembered things.

Throughout all of this, I maintained a positive attitude. I can look back at the year that was and see it as a year when I stepped up to the mark, learned things about myself and others, found inner strengths in myself and others I didn't know were there and learned how to do things I thought I could never do.

I don't look at bad things as things I can never get over, things that will haunt me and drag me down. I look at the bad things that happen to me as learning experiences. I learn the lessons, apply my learning to my life, and I feel stronger and stronger all of the time.

I may be physically weaker than I was before I became ill, but I feel stronger in my spirit, and I feel ready to take on whatever life hands to me. I'm lucky to have wonderful family and friends to help me on my journey, and I thank them all for being there for me.

I'm not the most perfect person in the world, but I feel I am getting closer to being a good person. Being the best person I possibly can be is my aim for 2011. I wish you a Happy New Year and hope you can achieve the very best things possible for yourself!

Dogs in hot weather

I am so glad the hot weather has gone! We've had the evap cooler going almost non-stop for a week and a half and I'm sick of it.

Our dogs don't seem to have minded - they've been inside where it's cool almost no-stop too. They flake out on the tiles, or on the carpet under the outlets and only get up if they absolutely have to.

I've heard some terrible stories about dogs left outside and people coming home to dead or dying canine friends. I don't know how I'd live with the guilt if that happened to me. Well, I do have some idea about how I'd feel. We've had some tragic losses in our fish pond in the last week. Things just got too hot for some of our goldfish.

I've put big blocks of ice in the pond on a couple of days, and sprayed cold water in the pond to help the fish cool down. Our fish numbers have plummeted to only three, and I do feel some guilt about that.

I care about the fish, but I don't love them like I love the dogs. I like the fish, but I don't feel fish are people, like dogs are. Dogs have their own character, and they are friends and family members.