Gratitude Practice

 From a page a day calendar from a few years ago:

From obligation to opportunity: Write a list of at least five things you have to do this week. Begin each item with the words "I have to." Now cross out those words and begin each line with "I get to." This can help you see your tasks as privileges that you may not have always had and may not have in the future, and that many people do not have at all. Experiment with seeing and claiming your responsibilities and obligations as privileges and opportunities. 

Here is my list for the week:

I have to - I get to - make a medical appointment

I have to - I get to - go to work

I have to - I get to - get groceries

I have to - I get to - do laundry

I have to - I get to - exercise

Gratitude can be life altering.

It can change your way of thinking and improve your mental health and outlook on life. 

Practicing gratitude on a daily basis will help you develop it as a habit. 

What is your list for the week? 

librarianintx

New Book Genre

 I read a lot of biographies and memoirs. 

I especially enjoy reading about people who are from one place, and move to a completely different place, and how they adapt. 

This has led me to a new type of memoir: travel ones. 

The first one I read is called The Passport Project. The book is about a family with two young daughters who take a five-month trip during the school year to visit a variety of countries. The adventurous daughter is thrilled. The other daughter is adamantly opposed to the idea. She does not want to be aways from her friends and miss school events. But they go, and the book covers both the good and bad of international travel. At the end of each chapter there is a chart where the four members of the family list what they liked best and least of each country. The book is written by the mother, Kellie McIntyre.  I guess it's considered a YA (young adult) book. I absolutely loved it. 

Now I am reading Searching for Home by Judy Kashoff with photographs by her husband David. It's part of a three book series that chronicles their five years of travel around the globe. I am enjoying this book as well. Judy tells engaging stories that are enhanced by David's photos. Searching for Home is the third book in the series, but they are stand-alone books. I'm reading the third book first because I was able to read it for free on the Kindle app through Freebooksy. 

I am including the covers of both books because the titles are longer than

what I included in this post. 

I haven't had much of an opportunity to travel in my life, so I enjoy reading about the adventurous of others who are braver and heartier than me. 

librarianintx

Dancing with the Stars Last Two Eliminations: My Thoughts (Spoilers!)

If you haven't seen the Disney Nite episode from last night - STOP READING NOW!!

Okay. Sorry for shouting. 

For those of you pissed off about who went home, both last week and this week -

I will say it again. 

Dancing with the Stars is NOT a dance competition. 

It is a popularity contest. 

The goal is not to crown the best dancer of the season, although they claim it is. 

Hilaria Baldwin was the contestant with the most dance experience. 

Her Disney Nite Quickstep was praised by the judges and earned her good scores. 

But she was not a popular contestant. 

And once again, Andy Richter, whose dance skills are clearly the most lacking of all the contestants this season, was voted through to the next round.  

Was he even in the bottom 2? 

We don't know. 

It's not Andy's fault. 

He is trying. 

And he can't help it that the audience loves him, cheers for him, and votes for him. 

He is the underdog of the season. 

And Dancing with the Stars viewers, and voters, love an underdog. 

It would be nice if there could be a better scoring system. 

For the last two weeks, Andy's scores have been too similar to dancers that are more advanced than him. 

But even if the scores were more realistic, the voters still have a bigger say than the judges in determining the outcome each week. 

Forty million votes, if that number can be believed, is a powerful statement on the popularity of the show - and some of its contestants. 

Did Lauren deserve to go home? No

Did Hilaria? No

This season, in my opinion, is going to be very interesting. 

Because other than Andy, everyone else is doing well. 

So we could have a few more *shocking* eliminations. 

One more thing. 

I absolutely LOVED Mark & Whitney's Foxtrot to the song from "Hamilton"

I have loved every dance of theirs so far. 

I was thrilled that they got a 9 from Carrie Ann. 

But I watched an interview with Max, and he was said the dance was not a Foxtrot. 

He praised the performance level but seemed to question the high scores because it was not a Foxtrot. 

I found that interesting. 

librarianintx 

Big Brother Season 27 Finale: My Thoughts

One word: Ugh!

Now, to be fair, I haven't seen the Jury Q&A yet.

Because I don't care anymore. 

Neither one of them deserved to win in my opinion.

Vinny racked up an impressive resume of HOH's.

But his social game was abysmal. 

The jury was justified in their bitterness.

Meanwhile, Ashley took showers and let her allies protect her. She only won once, the first Veto of the season. 

But then she did win when it was do or die.

And she was smart enough to vote out Morgan, who she knew she couldn't beat.

Speaking of Morgan - What the hell happened?

Does anyone but me think she threw the last challenge, hoping that Vinny could win against Ashley? I just can't believe she got that many questions wrong. And she seemed too calm about it. 

Anyway, the bright spot of the finale for me - Keanu won Favorite Houseguest! Yay! I'm SO glad so many fans shared my appreciation for Keanu - as a BB player, and a human being.

The season started slow for me, but then I got hooked. Keanu, Ava, and Will were my favorite houseguests. 

And I'll leave it there.

See you next summer BB fans -

librarianintx