Monday, April 04, 2016
From The Rainbow Bridge... Final Chapter
Hi Mom!
It has been an eventful month for Paige and I. We ran into a dog named Noodles that came across the bridge a couple months before us. Turns out her mom and you were good friends in high school! Noodles is doing great and hopes that her mom and dad are spending their time enjoying the grandkids and not missing her too much.
Then we found Daisy. We were shocked to see her here! Paige was so sweet to her, unlike the previous times we played with Daisy. Daisy is worried about Aunt Stephanie. Mom, will you make sure Aunt Stephanie is OK? We don’t want her to be sad for Daisy because Daisy is doing just fine. Just like we are!
We finally made it home… to Havanese Heaven! OH MY GOODNESS!!! So many of our Havanese family and friends are here. We found Dante and Monte… I just can’t believe how much Paige looks like her dad, Dante. Monte is just as handsome as he was when he won BOB at Westminster in 2003! Dante is enjoying spending time with his 2 kids, Monte and Paige. And, guess who found me… Baccarat! My dad. He remembered the day I was born… April 2, 2000. He said I was a little squirt… the runt of the litter! And, I ended up taller than him. And, how can I forget Auntie Phantom! She is as gorgeous as ever!
Mom, I know that my barkday was hard for you. I missed not being there for you to take my picture but I got to spend the day with my dad. And, he is the best gift I could ever have. Paige was surprised at how much I look like him. Dante and Baccarat must have some powerful genes since neither of us look like our mama, Cola!
Mom, just know that we are home. We are with family and we are being loved on forever. Paige and I decided that we are staying here in Havanese Heaven with our family and we will be here to greet other family when their time comes. This means that this will be our last update from the Rainbow Bridge.
That being said…
We will always love you and miss you but thank you for the wonderful earth life we had. We know that you still love us and miss us but please don’t feel guilty about the decision you made. Go and enjoy your life since you are now free to go wherever you want, whenever you want. Go see Grandpa and Martha because you don’t know how much time they have left or even how much time you have left. We will see you again someday but we really hope it is a long time before we do!
We will be with you always and when it is time for another earth angel, we will let you and Granny Kim know so she can find you the perfect angel. Until then…
Love you to the rainbow and back…. FOREVER!!!
Pepper and Paige
4/4/16
Friday, March 04, 2016
From The Rainbow Bridge… Month 3
Hi Mom!
Paige here again… Pepper is busy playing with all his old buddies, especially that Boo-Boo Bear! Those two never stop! We met up with Bogey too… Pepper said Bogey lived next door to us at Miller’s a long time ago. Bogey is big but such a sweetheart! I love him and am sorry I didn’t get to know him all those years ago.
We’ve done more exploring and run into some more dogs that seem to know you! Pepper ran into Chloe. He said he met her before I was around at Cousin Bruce and Wendy’s house in Toledo. She was so sweet to us. She even introduced us to some other dogs and cats that Bruce and Wendy have had over the years. But I was sure surprised when Eric talked about how he would cuddle with you on the bed… He is big!!! And, Opie told us that he was the only cat you ever liked. I can see why… he is a sweetheart. They said that you lived with them for a few months a long time ago.
We’ve explored so many more areas but still have a lot to go. We are happy so don’t worry about us. We do worry about you though and hope that you are doing OK. We heard a rumor that you considered adopting a Havanese rescue but didn’t. You aren’t ready yet, Mom. We will let you know when it is time for you to love another Havanese again. And, we know that Granny Kim will have the perfect one for you.
Well, we’re off to explore some more. We’ve heard there is an area for each breed of dog… We want to find all our Havanese buddies. Hopefully, we can fill you in on that next month.
Love you to the rainbow and back!
Paige and Pepper
3/4/16
Thursday, February 04, 2016
From The Rainbow Bridge… Month 2
Hi Mom!
Paige here!
This place is so amazing and there are so many nice and friendly dogs (and people) everywhere! Some really neat things have been happening for Pepper and me so we wanted to fill you in on them!
A couple weeks ago, we were near the exit off the bridge. There was this very nice dog, Sammie, just sitting there like he was waiting on someone. We struck up a conversation and found out that his mom knows you! He said you were very comforting to her when he crossed the bridge last summer. Pretty soon we saw him react to a dog coming across the bridge. It was a big dog but once he saw Sammie, he ran to him and was so excited to see him! Sammy had sensed that Bogart would be joining him and spent his days waiting for Bogart. Bogart was a member of Sammie’s family… So we welcomed Bogart to this wonderful land and helped Sammie show him around.
We also ran into a sweet little dog named Mollie. We found out that we know her Mom, Diane! Diane came and stayed with us once, remember Mom???? Mollie had crossed the bridge just a week or so before we did so we’re all finding our way around together.
This place is so big! There are so many different areas to discover that we just haven’t had time to see them all. Pepper and I have been hanging out in the area closest to the exit until we get our bearings and it is so big just by itself. We can’t believe all the dogs (and cats) that we have seen come through on a daily basis. We’re feeling like we can start exploring more of this wonderful land and will keep you up to date on our travels in the coming months.
Mom, I’ve felt your love so much this month. I know that you are missing me, especially since I would have had my 14th barkday and we always did our “photo shoot” on the piano bench. I miss you as much as you miss me but I’m healthy again and will be young forever.
Love you to the rainbow and back!
Paige (and Pepper)
2/4/16
Monday, January 04, 2016
From The Rainbow Bridge
Hi Mom!
It’s been a month since we last saw you before we crossed into this wonderful land across the Rainbow Bridge. We felt your love pushing us along this big, big bridge. We are certainly glad that we had each other when we crossed though.
When we made it across we were amazed at this wonderful land that awaited us. Guess who was here to greet us… Boo Boo Bear!!! He looked just like I remembered him and it was just like old times playing with him. He even let Paige join in!
We also got to meet someone that we never knew… our Grandma Beve and Aunt Patches. Grandma said you had a talk with her on Christmas Eve and asked her to take care of us. She found us right away and brought Patches along for a joyful family reunion.
Don’t be sad Mom, you’ve got 3 Guardian Angels on your side now. Patches said she’s been with you always and she sent us to you knowing that you would need us these last 15 and 13 years. Grandma knew how much you had wanted another dog so she was thrilled to know that you had found us.
We know that it is not the time for another Earth Angel for you but that someday, you just might want another one. Patches, Paige and I will find the perfect Earth Angel for you when you are ready.
In the meantime, know that we are whole again and watching over you constantly. We will always love you for the wonderful life that you gave us.
Oh by the way, you know that gorgeous rainbow you saw on December 14? Paige and I decided that you needed that. Just remember that we are always at the other end when you see a rainbow.
Love you to the rainbow and back!
Pepper (and Paige)
1/4/16
(Inspiration for this post came from a post by Clare Booth on the S.A.S.D. Rainbow Bridge Facebook Group)
Friday, September 19, 2014
Layout: A Moment Frozen
Sweet Digi Scraps has a wonderful new kit available at The Digi Chick called “Memories Past”. It is made for those pictures from my childhood although it works quite well with more recent pictures also!
Friday, August 08, 2014
Dream Manager: January 2014
Session 12:
Your Character is Your Destiny
“The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be; all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.” ~~ Socrates
Our last session of year one. Unfortunately due to weather issues, 3 of our members were unable to attend.
We discussed our reflections on the first year by answering the following:
- How is your life different today than before you began the program?
- I have more confidence in myself
- I am more confident in my future
- I have become closer to family
Next up for discussion…
What are virtues?
- Virtue is the ultimate organizing principle. All of life is relationships. Two patient people will always have a better relationship than two impatient people.
- Virtues are attitudes, dispositions, or character traits that enable us to be and act in ways that develop our potential to become the-best-version-of-ourselves.
- Our lives only genuinely improve when we grown in virtue.
Virtue… the ultimate positive habit
- What virtues are most important for you to grow in if you are to achieve your dreams?
- Compassion
- Diligence
- Fairness
- Fidelity
- Forgiveness
- Generosity
- Humility
- Justice
- Kindness
- Patience
- Prudence
- Self-Control
- What are your obstacles to virtue? (Activities, thought patterns, habits, people, or places)
- What virtue do you most admire? What virtue was most celebrated in your family growing up?
Your character is your destiny:
- What role does virtue play in your life? Select a virtue for discussion and share how working on that virtue could impact your character and your destiny. Use the following progression:
- Thoughts create actions
- Actions create habits
- Habits create character
- Your character is your destiny
We got the good news that we would be continuing on in the program for year 2. We would have 4 group meetings and do a lot of the work on our own. Kim will email us assignments throughout the year.
Then she gave us take-home assignments to get us started…
- What are three areas of your life, dreams, or habits that you would like to focus on in the next 12 months?
- What are ways in which you can grown in virtue? How can you practice, develop, and exercise virtue in your life?
- How can you ensure you stay connected and committed to living your dreams?
After our group session and the individual sessions, we had a “graduation” ceremony and luncheon. Our chef, Dale, made a lunch for us and presented a graduation speech. A long-time dream of his had been to give a graduation speech so he did.
Bob Hager (our company president) and Vickie Roby (Human Resources) also attended our luncheon. Bob was pleased with the way the program had progressed during the first year and was excited about starting it with a new group in 2014.
One of our group had fulfilled a dream of learning how to do wood burning. She had presented Kim a plaque during our December meeting. Kim had then commissioned a plaque for each member of the group as a present for completing the first year!
Here I am receiving my plaque from Bob and Vickie.
I had advance notice about the graduation speech so I bought each participant a “Class of 2013” visor which was also given out.
Here’s our group on graduation day.
Bev, Kim, Wendy, Dale, Jane, Becky, Rene’ and Bob. Dan, Fernando and Alex were missing due to work issues at their locations. We lost one participant earlier in the year when he left Miller’s.
It’s been a wonderful learning experience and has forced me to dig deep into learning about myself. I’ve also learned that it is NEVER TOO LATE TO DREAM!!!
Next up… Continuing Your Success Journey.
Friday, August 01, 2014
Dream Manager: December 2013
Session 11:
Professional Mastery
“I visualized where I wanted to be, what kind of player I wanted to become. I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there.” ~~ Michael Jordan
We started off the session with our discussion of our take-home from the spiritual mastery session. It was interesting to see what characters from books, movies or plays that we admire. I had chosen the character of “Angel” from the movie/Broadway play “Rent”. A character that is living life to the fullest even knowing that he will not be around long since he has full-blown AIDS. His belief in life seemed so spiritual to me.
The purpose of the Dream Manager program is not professional growth although it is an important part of our lives. Personal and professional successes are interconnected.
We broke into groups of 2 and discussed the following:
- What have been your professional dreams in the past?
- What were they as a child?
- What were they in high school?
- What professional dreams have you developed or accomplished since we started the program?
- What are some of your professional dreams for the future?
Kim listens to our discussions and uses what she hears to lead our group discussion. She singled me out because she heard me say I always wanted to be a teacher. She had me tie that to my current dream of leading the Core Financial Wellness program. Others also shared their former/current professional dreams.
Professional target dreams:
- What are you willing to do to accomplish these professional target dreams?
- What should you focus on to achieve these target dreams.
We then had to record our professional dreams we want to achieve in the next 12 months, 1 to 5 years, and 5+ years and what specific, measurable, and realistic things needed to accomplish these dreams along with who would be our partners to help us in these dreams.
At the end of the session, Kim told us to think about this question and write down our answers before our next session:
If you could speak openly and honestly with your manager, what would you tell him or her?
Other take-home included to complete the target dream action plans for our professional dreams.
Next session… Your Character Is Your Destiny!
Friday, July 25, 2014
Dream Manager: November 2013 Individual
My 5th individual session with Kim was in November.
I updated her on the progress of the Core Financial Wellness program that would be starting in January. We will be having approximately 8 to 10 participants.
We also talked about how I hoped that the group I’m in would be able to continue on with year 2 of the program as well as bringing in a new group of employees for year 1.
Kim definitely encourages us and pushes us to work harder on our dreams and I enjoy these individual discussions with her.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Dream Manager: November 2013
Session 10:
Spiritual Mastery
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” ~~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
We checked in on our scorecards and dream lists then started discussing what spiritual mastery means to us by considering the following questions:
- What is spirituality to you?
- What are your spiritual dreams?
- What are the spiritual qualities that you would like to develop?
- Describe the last time that you felt at peace spiritually…whatever that means to you. What can you do in the next 30 days to create that sense of peace again?
- Silence – How do you react to silence? How does quite time impact you? Do you find that the voice within encourages you to become the-best-version-of-yourself?
- Solitude – Have you ever been to the movies by yourself? How did it or how would it make you feel? What can you do to become more comfortable in your own company?
- Stillness – If you sat in a chair and put a stopwatch in front of you, how long could you sit completely still? Do you control your body or does your body control you?
- Freedom is the ability to do whatever you want, wherever you want, with no interference from anybody else.
- Freedom is the ability to choose whatever will allow you to become the-best-version-of-yourself throughout the day.
- Identify characters in books, movies, or plays who you admire for their spiritual mastery. What are the qualities or habits that these characters possess?
- Revisit our spiritual dreams and add to our dream list.
- How can you share what you learned today with others in your life?
Friday, July 11, 2014
Dream Manager: October 2013
Session 9:
Intellectual Mastery
We started by examining our scorecards and checking in on our dream lists sharing what dreams we are working on and/or completed.
Some of the questions we had to consider this session were:
- What are your intellectual dreams?
- What are your intellectual strengths?
- What are your intellectual weaknesses?
- What are the intellectual qualities that you admire the most in other people?
- Describe a time when you felt like you were at your intellectual best.
- If you were paid $1000 per hour to learn, what would you learn and why?
- Describe a time when you learned something that you thought was out of your reach or that you didn’t want to learn.
- What does the term “life-long learner” mean to you and how might that concept apply in your life?
My list ended up like this:
- Cincinnati Underground Tour on Nov 23 – done
- read “Battle of Leyte Gulf”
- read “First Man”
- read “Steve Jobs”
- read “A Stolen Life”
- read “Omaha Beach D-Day”
- read “Restoreth My Soul” – done
- read “Beside Still Waters” – done
- read “To The Grave” – done
- read “Last Queen of England” – done
Next session… Spiritual Mastery!
Friday, July 04, 2014
Dream Manager: September 2013 Individual
My 4th individual session with Kim was in September. Due to the holiday we had our meetings later in the month. So I had already presented my lunch ‘n learn before our meeting.
I updated Kim on how it went (awesome!) and the interest from fellow employees. We discussed how to move forward with the actual implementation of the program.
We also talked about my progress on some of my other dreams. Here’s a picture from the beginning of my presentation.
Another very productive meeting!
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Layout: Fireworks
Ever wish there was a kit out there to scrap your fireworks pictures that wasn’t red, white and blue? Sweet Digi Scrap’s to the rescue! She has released a kit called “Sparkle and Boom” that is absolutely gorgeous. You can find it at The Digi Chick.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Dream Manager: September 2013
Session 8:
Emotional Mastery
This session we examined the emotional area of our life. We also talked about The Seven Levels of Intimacy model.
After talking about our scorecard, we then worked on answering questions.
Identify three relationships in your life that are not working well. Then we had to answer these questions:
- Do the other people in these relationships feel the same way?
- How might you raise this issue with these people?
- How might you improve these relationships?
- What does a great relationship look like to you?
- Identify three to five characteristics of a great relationship.
The Seven Levels of Intimacy overview
Every relationship improves when communication improves.- ClichĆ©s – In the first level of intimacy we simply communicate in clichĆ©s. The first level allows us to “warm-up” in conversations and interactions, but we cannot allow our relationships to get stuck here. What relationships in your life need to move beyond the first level?
- Facts – In the second level of intimacy we tend to talk about the facts of our lives and usually focus on the impersonal facts like food, the weather, the stock market, or the results from the ballgame. In the second level the challenge is to move the conversation toward more personal facts. Who do you avoid sharing personal facts with in your life?
- Opinions – The third level of intimacy is where every relationship gets into trouble. The reason is because we all have different opinions which have been formed by our education and experience. Here it is critical to recognize that opinions are constantly evolving based on new experiences and new education. It is this insight that empowers us to accept people with radically different opinions. How do you feel this insight will enable you to be more accepting of people with different opinions?
- Hopes and Dreams – When we know the dreams of the people around us, we want to help them live those dreams. Nothing is more fulfilling than helping someone live a dream. We love the people who help us live our dreams. Do you know the dreams of your family, friends, and colleagues?
- Feelings – The fifth level of intimacy is about knowing our feelings and being able to express them at the right time, in the right place, and to the right person. In what way can you grow in this area?
- Fears, Faults, and Failures – Nothing stops us from becoming the-best-version-of-ourselves like fear. Leaders want to know their faults so they can either transform them into strengths or so that they can surround themselves with people who complement their weaknesses. When we reveal our failures, we give other people permission to be human. How does the sixth level of intimacy most challenge you to grow?
- Legitimate Needs – We are happiest not when we get what we want, but when we have what we need. We have legitimate needs in all four areas: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. These needs are most basically understood with the following example: If you do not breathe or eat, you will die. What are some of your legitimate needs?
Next session… Intellectual Mastery!
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Layout: Metamorphosis
Sweet Digi Scrap’s newest kit is “Off The Path”, now available at The Digichick. I used it and a template from Scrapping With Liz’s Recyclables 26 collection to do this page about the butterfly garden Dennis and Allison are creating in their backyard. Involving the kids in the process is a complete learning experience.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Dream Manager: August 2013
Session 7:
Physical Mastery
After our review of session 6 activities and our scorecard check-in, we started discussing the topic of physical mastery.
First: Rest and how does sleep impact your energy. We discussed our how many hours of sleep we need to feel our best and how we can optimize the amount and quality of sleep we get.
Next: Exercise. Do we have an exercise routine and if we do, what is it. Are we faithful to it. If we don’t have a routine, what do we think our exercise routine should be. We then had to answer the following:
- If you exercised 3 times a week, every week for an entire year, how would:
- You feel?
- Your life change?
- Your clothes feel and look?
- Your energy increase?
- What can you do to stick with your existing exercise routine or to improve your exercise habits?
- Do you ever use food for…
- Comfort?
- Entertainment?
- Distraction?
- Fuel?
- What are foods that energize you and that drain you?
Homework included reading from The Rhythm of Life and finishing our lists of energizing and draining foods.
Next session… Emotional Mastery!
Friday, June 13, 2014
Dream Manager: July 2013 Individual
I had my 3rd individual session with Kim in July. We talked a little about my vacation in May and then started focusing on my dream of bringing Core Financial Wellness to the company.
I updated her on my steps for this dream:
- following the FPU program myself – in progress
- investigate whether FPU vs Core Financial Wellness would be a better program – will contact Lampo Group to discuss this
- present a Financial Wellness luncheon for interested employees – scheduled for sometime in September
I had also started putting together ideas of what I would present in the FW lunch and learn.
Next step is to put together a PowerPoint presentation of about 45 minutes for the lunch and learn. Once we set a specific date, HR will post sign up sheets and it will be publicized on the digital display boards.
Felt very energized after the session!
Friday, June 06, 2014
Dream Manager: July 2013
Session 6:
Time and Energy
Again we started by reviewing our session 5 homework and a check-in on our scorecard.
Part of our activities included choosing a word from this list that best describes how we feel in our everyday life and another word that best describes how we feel when at work.
- Angry
- Anxious
- Burned-out
- Confident
- Defeated
- Defensive
- Depressed
- Enthusiastic
- Exhausted
- Fearful
- Invigorated
- Joyful
- Mellow
- Overwhelmed
- Resentful
- Serene
My words were Confident for work and Serene for Life.
Next we discussed the 4 levels of energy and where our selections put us in the levels.
- Level 1 = depressed, exhausted, burned-out, overwhelmed, defeated
- Level 2 = angry, fearful, anxious, defensive, resentful
- Level 3 = mellow, serene
- Level 4 = confident, joyful, enthusiastic, invigorated
We then talked about where our time goes by filling out a personal time inventory record. This is pretty much a chart of the 24 hours of the day broken down in 30 minute increments starting at midnight. We had to fill one out during our session of the previous day. Our homework included filling out another one with what we would consider our ideal time inventory. We had to consider where we would spend less time, where we would spend more time and do we take time to reflect and work on our dreams.
We also talked about what person, place or activity increases our energy and what person, place or activity decreases our energy.
Our homework included answering the following question: What are 3 things you can do this month to increase your energy? As stated above, we had to complete our ideal time inventory.
Next session… Physical Mastery!
Thursday, June 05, 2014
Layout: Blue Streak
Sweet Digi Scraps is back! Her newest release is now available at The DigiChick, Choose Happiness.
I used it to scrap my favorite roller coaster at Cedar Point. Because whenever I think of the Blue Streak, I smile! It is definitely an “oldie but goodie” in the roller coaster world. One of my fondest memories of Cedar Point is when a friend and I rode the Blue Streak 5 or 6 times in a row. We got off a ride and hopped right back on! It was in the evening and the park had pretty much cleared out after a late afternoon downpour.
I just love this ride…
… and Sweet Digi Scrap’s kit is great too! Template is by Scrapping With Liz.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Sweet Digi Scraps Sale!
Be sure to check out the kits Liz of Sweet Digi Scraps has on sale at The DigiChick this weekend. Here are a few of my layouts using the kits…
Kit: Shore Thing
Kit: Summertime
Kit: Tea 4 Two
Kit: Fun Night
Kit: Summer Daze
Kit: Find Yourself, The Scholar
Other kits on sale: Life’s Lemonade; Find Yourself, The Photographer; Find Yourself, The Performer; Find Yourself, The Trainer; Find Yourself, The Daydreamer; Find Yourself, The Crafter; Find Yourself, The Artist; Find Yourself, The Undecided
All kits are $1.00
HURRY! Sale ends soon!
Friday, May 30, 2014
Dream Manager: June 2013
- How might your personality type impact your group interaction?
- How can you explore your opposite personality type so that you could learn more about yourself and others?
- How might your personality type impact your conflict style?
- How does your personality type reflect jobs or work situations when you’ve succeeded or faced challenges?
- What personality type strength do you most celebrate?
