Do You Need To Clean Up Your Language?

More and more you hear business women using foul language. Where does it come from? Do you think it is necessary to keep up with the men in a man's dominated world of business to make it to the top?

First of all, I was taught that cussing came from the lack of vocabulary. Be creative and learn to express yourself in a better way. My straight-laced North Carolinian grandmother cam to visit us. I was cutting out paper dolls for my baby sister-it happened so quick. I cut off  one of the dolls arms and said " oh darn. My grandmother told on me. My mother sent me out immediately to get my own switch!

Sometimes we get frustrated or angry and blurt out expressions to relieve the tension. What's wrong with "old turkey foot" or a food you don't like "oh liver" ! Be creative! Many foul words create more anger and offend others.

Another observation that is displeasing is the use of profound language by very young children . Some teenagers think it is so cool to cuss. It amazed me to find on YouTube a young man McKay Hatch who started a "No Cuss Club". He heard cussing in elementary school and when he moved to middle school so many around him thought it was cool to cuss. He didn't like it. He told his parents it offended him. It was then he asked his friends and classmates not to cuss around him. He started his club and now has over 30,000 members.  Youngsters and adults have started eliminating foul language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBCfXJBjVQg
Do we need to clean up our everyday language? Do we use cussing in meetings? Is it something we feel we have to do to be in the "in" group.? Do you want our children to grow up cussing and replace good English?

Don't Isolate Our Seniors

There are so many seniors across our country that live at home and are isolated.These seniors are isolated due to physical limitations in getting around. They have no families or friends nearby. They want to stay at home for the rest of their lives. Many think that moving to a facility is a death sentence. How can we reach out to these seniors? How can we help them feel at home without that dreaded isolation? How can we help them feel more comfortable when it is time for assisted living. How can we assure them they are loved and cared for.

Being 80 years of age myself, I know my limitations and I am fortunate to live in a 55 plus community. I am comfortable in my own home and find my neighbors some of the happiest people in this world. There are 100+ clubs all conducted on a volunteer basis. We have all kinds of events from exercises, games and concerts. Outside community partnerships bring us educational and fun events. There are many amenities here: a lake to enjoy;
many trails to walk; and sports facilities to enjoy. But one of the nicest things about our community is the neighborhood care committee.We stay in touch with our neighbors and share with carpooling to local functions, dining, shopping and the list goes on.What worries me are the older folks who do not live in a retirement community like mine.

So many things come into play when it comes to helping isolated seniors. It doesn't matter whether they live at home or some type facility. People think they are too busy-not enough time in the day. Costs and under staffing creates a stressful situation when it comes to providing the care the seniors need.What good is the best facility in the world when it does not provide the loved, friendship and the feeling of being wanted.

All ages can participate in a "Don't Isolate Our Seniors" A dream world of the Walton's where three generations co-exist is a good thing. We can fill that void of money and staff with our new technologies, our power of creative thinking and people willing to share.

My first step to help my senior friends was to share what I had learned from training and walking a 5K with my 4 wheeled "Cadillac" walker for my 80th birthday. Walking with my trainer, daughter was such a refreshing self-care time for both of us. we shared the out of doors, a little family time and exercise. My personal desire is to promote "Walk With A Senior Campaign."

Here are some of my thoughts about sharing with our isolated seniors.
Start with a mother, grandmother, elderly aunt or uncle. Just around in their neighborhood or maybe a nearby park. Walk in the Mall. Be creative. A Weight Watchers group can do this as they exercise to lose weight.

Promote the idea of community service credits towards graduation for seniors in high school to share time and relieve the understaffed care providers. Students can serve and be trained as part of a nursing career by adding Senior facilities as part of their internship curriculum.

Let me know your thoughts on how we can provide a little self-care for ourselves at no cost and provide our vintage souls with a little friendship they so deserve.

Kindness A Word For Everyday

The Founder of  Affiliated Women once tagged me as their women's organization cheerleader. It is a new hat I wear. And, the reason is simple. This vintage soul, heart and mind has taken on the fast beat of new technologies without moving out of the computer chair. It is a way to connect and share. Women's groups. like AWI do share their thoughts, problems,solutions and dreams. So be kind to yourself and give yourself a chance with the organization that best suits you.I encourage each and every one of you to participate. Participation helps you grow in so many ways: speech, writing, creative thinking, positive thinking- I could go on and on.
Seize the chance and opportunity, but as you do so always be kind:

Don't wait for people to show you how.

It's Nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.

Treat people with politeness, even though they are rude to you; not because they are nice, but because you are.

Never miss the opportunity to make others happy even if you have to leave them alone to do so.

The kindess word in the whole wide world is the unkind word unsaid.

Kindness is like a boomerang it always comes back.

Gloria Keeping Healthy

Are You In A Rut?

How Often have you heard this: "So you think you are in a rut"? What does being in a rut mean? Some things are daily routines to maintain ourselves and our safe haven-home. Does doing routines mean ruts?

Tennessee had just gone through 11 straight days of record breaking heat indexes. Staying indoors was a safety precaution especially for babies and seniors. On the fifth day with 109 degrees outside I began to feel caged in. At that point I throughly began to understand the expression "doing the same old, same old." That was the answer I gave my daughter when she called and asked what I was doing.

Yes I had been in a rut for five days. My days became boring, uninteresting and down right boring. This was not me! You can get in a rut in your personal life, in your business , in a club or in schooly doing things over and over in the comfort zone. Keep things simple-don't take risks.This attitude allows you to be around like minded people with no risks and not much effort. And, there is little room for making mistakes.

Some people are happy with the same old, same old. But for me I felt like my life was passing me by. If you feel like you are in a rut and are not happy with your situation look it over and make your changes. We are not talking marathon here.We are talking about simple changes. I changed my walk time to the coolest part of the day. Every other day I walk the indoor track at our clubhouse. This helps me keep cooler, meet people and keep healthy.Then I planned lunch and  an afternoon movie with a neighbor, Fun, cool an interesting. My coffee and quiet time remains the same because it is the one thing that sets my tone for the day. In the evening I don't stay glued to TV. Once in a while, I put a jigsaw puzzle together or read books by my favorite authors-Nicholas Sparks. So with a few tweaking of my day plans life is back.

My take from this new experience is:

Acknowledge you are in a rut.
Create an action plan
Set simple realistic goals
Include both chores and activities for fun
Take your time making changes. You didn't get in a rut overnight so don't expect getting out of the rut overnight.
Keep things simple and enjoy variety

A Tribute To Mary Sue Baldwin

There is always someone special that enters your life and makes an impact. As I was painting a special vase to go in a friends shop  for a Grand Opening "a voice said to me "Gloria, keep that brush up on the chiseled edge". Yes, and through the years , 16 years to be exact , I have heard the voice of Mary Sue Baldwin.

Mary Sue is a veteran of art instruction completing over 38 years of teaching. She has taught in public, and private schools including a US Military school based in Germany. She is the Founder of the Seaside Decorative Art Chapter in Daytona Beach, Fl. which is affiliated with the National Society of Decorative Art. Inc.

Mary Sue is the reason I can consider myself as an artist. In 1996 I walked into The School of Folk Art searching for something to give back some meaning in my life. I had lost my husband, retired from my second career to recover from a bout with cancer. She was seated at the head of a large table instructing a group on stroke work and painting leaves. Sitting there, I had my doubts about painting but the easy going instructor and the friendliness of the group sold me on the idea of joining. I needed to be with the group of friendly people.

The group met once a week. There were times we did a group project. But with Mary Sue's versatility she could keep up with all her students on individual projects.The reason, the sharpness and patience of the instructor allowed this. That's where, I am reminded and hear her still miles away :"Gloria keep that brush up on the chisled edge"

There is something special about her. She cares for each and every student in her many classes. She calls to check up on a student who has been ill. She has taken several people to hospitals and doctors appointments including me. Their is a plus in being one of her students, you get her husband Bill also. He makes frames and mats to fit the art work of the students. He copies all of her art instructions for her classes. Bill is a wood carver and their art skills compliment each other. These two share their joy of art with others. I would like to share what I have learned from them. I truly miss them but stay in touch through social media and telephone. They are both recovering from illnesses and I would like to give back some of their kindness. This I share, because we all know someone like this and need to:

Be kind to others.
Believe in yourself
Share your talent and skills to benefit all.

Stop Bullying Build Self-Worth

Bullying ourselves is real. Comparison to others brings out the problem, It causes us to stray away from the fact that we are uniquely individuals. Comparisons eat away that positive attitude and lets negativity drain our energy.

Does being pushed to be at the top of our game create a problem of not living up to our expectations? Does it deflate your self-worth?

When I was in elementary school bullying was labeled "teasing"
It just seemed to be human nature to call a red haired kid "carrot top".
Shorty, Skyscraper, Freckles all seemed to be harmless nicknames.Siblings would hear;"your brother made better grades or you sister behaves better than you" from a teacher.

When we arrived at home we had parents and siblings to talk things over.
Family support was so important. Now, because we use so many new technologies kids are not interacting with others. When they face an issue of bullying they can't cope.They have no one to discuss their problems with because family members have busy schedules. Many times they don't even share a meal together.

Self-bullying starts when the family starts going their own ways. Home is no longer a safe haven to share and solve problems. When teens began to text and humiliate others it became a game. Bullying became a trendy thing to do on school campuses. Those being bullied started losing sight of their self-worth. With no one at home to discuss it with some comparisons to siblings and others entered the picture tagged "self-bullying".
If bullying started accelerating through new technologies why can't new technologies be a tool to stop the bullying?

Help to build self-worth by posting positive messages. Share you ideas.

Don't text messages that will hurt someone.

Do not stay connected to those who participated in bullying.\

Delete questionable messages.

Tell your friends you do not like it.

Talk to parents and teachers about rules against bullying.

For older folks, you know the drill because you survived the teasing and lived to be a responsible person.

Writing For Me-Self Expression

Writing for me is one way of expressing myself as a person, to share my thoughts and to build my personality. I never thought I was good at writing but I am still trying. I started writing blogs when I discovered Twitter. I noticed participants were referencing to their blogs.This gave me a start. I thought I would write a little free verse about my joy of painting, my memories of life experiences and about old sayings from my parents and grandparents.It gave me a start. Not in a professional way but just to express my feelings. In the past few years, I published a few on my blogger spot, but never felt comfortable. Most of my blogs were stored in the word processor and never published.

I learned the easiest way to share your insight to others is to blog. A twitter friend, Margie Clayman, who is really good at blogging influenced me greatly. Writing is really relaxing because you don't have to write on a subject you don't like. Yes, it is your choice what topic you are going to write. Like a journals, it is a composition that contains descriptions of events and your reflections about the events. Writing blogs gives you feedback from other people and to meet people across the world. For professional writers, they write blogs to share their knowledge and to make money. Writing build up your personality by helping you be more creative.
Think creative and be creative everyday because it is important for your brain activity, your general health, and your socialization. Writing it down helps you be more creative by writing blogs, journals and stories with wide imagination. Being creative alters us by improving our mood, self-esteem and socialization that can really help a lot in developing our personality.

So writing, what does it do? It creates stories, passes information along and helps us mentally to understand each other. And when you need a little boost in life, you always have that pen and paper. It is like a best friend because paper always listens. It is a little sad that a paper can't give advice or opinions.