Wellness and Life Balance Melissa Blanchard Journal 10-12-14

Hi All,

Hope your Fall is going well.  I'm enjoying all the trees and foliage as it changes colors as they prepare for the Winter freeze.

I took this picture on my walk yesterday.  The air is cool and the sky is a lovely shade of blue.

I went shopping yesterday too and bought 2 new outfits (8 sizes smaller than I wore in July, 2013).  It was a good feeling to find clothes that fit well and are fashionable.  I'll include a picture of the new look next week.

Life is really about enjoying every moment and taking one step at a time.  You won't be able to see exactly where the next step will take you but it's worth taking the risk.  Goals are good to have, they help you fulfill your purpose for working and living.  Be sure to take the time to find your special skills and interest that make you unique and pursue them to the best of your ability.

When the going gets hard and the road seems too long remember you can do it.  Stay as calm as you can, let you mind work for you towards achieving what your really need in life.  Every step takes you closer to fulfilling your destiny, never lose sight of the importance of being you - something only you can be.

Peace and here's hoping you always find the silver lining.

Sincerely,

Melissa Blanchard
Missy -

Wellness and Life Balance Melissa Blanchard Journal 10-4-14

Hi All,
Here's hoping your Fall is going well.  I'm learning much about the power of finding your purpose. 

In August I discovered my primary motivation for working in Health Care was patient safety.  I let my Manager know this as I covered the subjects covered at the August user conference for surgical instrument tracking software I had attended.

I'm very happy that my Manager listened to me and now I'm working with a new team getting insights into how best to support medical equipment with software and servers.  Fascinating topics for me that brings back the days when I went to work with my Dad.

My Dad was an engineer at a TV transmitter when they were primarily vacuum tubes and racks that held transistors that modulated the signals from the air and created the TV image.  Similar to how servers are handled in data centers today. 

As I learn about pursuing my purpose I see how my life has been building up to be the best at this work.  Life is becoming clear and exciting all because I'm pursuing my purpose.

I'm also learning how to communicate more effectively, something I wanted to do for a very long time.  First step was to join the Fairview Foundation Ambassador program.  This was a great opportunity to find a way to communicate why I give to the Reach Out and Read program Link for Reach Out and Read.  While writing the speech and then learning how to deliver it - I've found many ways to improve how I interact with others. 

I'm continuing with this theme by joining Speaking in Bytes Toastmasters Club.  At these meetings I'm learning how to listen, be responsible of a certain piece of the event (such as time keeper) and  I'm learning how to speak with preparation and without.  Our club meets at my work place over lunch hour but they are all over the Twin Cities I recommend you find a local club and join.  Everyone I meet at these meetings wants to improve themselves and help others as they strive to become better listeners and speakers.  Its a great way to meet people in your community and be part of an organization.

I continue to walk as well.  Every day for 30 minutes and overtime your body build muscle again.  I also find I have more stamina when I want to attend events such as the State Fair or a software user conference.  Now I'm applying it to learning how to support patient monitoring.

All I've been doing since July, 2013 has been preparing me for where I'm at now in my journey.  Eating right, exercising and getting to know myself through meditation and self awareness has led me to being happier.  Not just on the surface but inside I find myself content with my life and working toward my goals. 

I'm also going back to Maryland where my journey began in July, 2013 to another book signing event November 1, 2014.  Nora Roberts is signing the last book in her THE COUSINS O'DWYER TRILOGY see more information at this link:  November 1, 2014 Book Signing Event at Turn The Page Bookstore Cafe.

Life happens for a reason - we have to search to find that reason and the journey is very rewarding.  Keep on looking for your purpose, strive to be the very best you can be in all things and live the dream.  Your comments are welcome.  Thanks for stopping by and hope you come again soon.

Your friend,
Missy
Melissa Blanchard

Wellness and Life Balance Melissa Blanchard Journal 9-28-14

Hi All,

Fall has come to Minnesota.  It's still warm but there's a sense that all the green, flowers, animals, and insects are living on borrowed time.  Here's some pictures from last week's walks:

Flower from my Apartment Terrace - lovely Red Color

Bush by the driveway where I live

Loved the blue sky and the Flag Caught in the wind

Beautiful Red coming from the cold nights and shorter days

Vivid yellow - also enjoy the shadows in this picture

Birds and bees busily getting fuel before the first snow fall.

Trees adapting to shorter days and longer cooler nights sky is lovely blue today

Color framed with green

Beautiful

Soft breeze with cool blue lovely

This time of year gets you thinking about all you need to do to get ready for winter.  I've been planning for getting my 30 minutes inside as well as outside for those icy too cold days to venture out. 

I'm glad I have end of October vacation plans.  It will be good to see USA from the sky during the change of season for those of us that tilt far from the sun.  I'll be going to Maryland to the Nora Roberts book signing in Boonsboro MD.  Lovely town in the summer so I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be like in the Fall.

Remember to keep your focus on what's possible.  Changes take time the main thing is to keep the yourself pointed in the direction you want to go.  You may need to make some course corrections but overall you'll have your destinations in front of you.

Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove TV show see http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/cedarcove
for more information.  This is a great Fall show - it's about endings and beginnings.  Last night's show also demonstrated what happens when you have the wrong people in your life.  Its important to chose wisely those you allow to influence your decisions.

I also enjoy tweeting with the cast and fans of this show and the http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/
The best of human nature triumphs on this channel.  Hopefully you'll be able to tune in next Saturday at 8/7 central time and tweet #CedarCoveTV hash tag and add your voice to the conversation.

Here's hoping you have a Fall full of sunshine and for you in Spring - all the best in your new beginnings.  The good thing about being human is we are able to adjust to all the seasons and still find a way to have new beginnings even in the dead of winter.

Sincerely,

Melissa (Missy).

Wellness and Life Balance Melissa Blanchard Journal 9-21-14

Hi Everyone,

Well, allergies came back after the indoor plant move so they are now back outside and will remain.  There must be something in the soil that my allergy shots don't combat.  The plants are doing better back outside anyway - they are wild at heart so annual is what I'm able to sustain in Minnesota climate. 
Even with the slight relapse - I was able to give blood to the Red Cross check out this link and give if you're able http://www.redcrossblood.org/make-donation-v6.  Asthma medication doesn't disqualify you so give it a go.  I'm glad I've been taking steps to be in good health so I'm able to give to those in need.  The process was fast and easy.  All that worked on the blood mobile were friendly, helpful and good at their jobs.  I'm thankful they are dedicated to keep the blood supply well stocked in USA and abroad as needed.
Next week I'll be attending 2 classes.  Fairview Health Services is providing these educational opportunities at no cost to the employee and during work hours.  I'm thankful for an employer that supports continuing education.
Today was Fall cleaning day.  I found some pictures and a shelf my brother made for me.  Below are pictures of my new wall adornments:

Deep cleaning takes more out of you than just running the vacuum so one room a day will be my pace this Fall.
Yesterday I spent most of the day upgrading my Apple devices to iOS 8.  So far so good on the new operating systems functionality but it took quite a bit of memory to accomplish and some time to accomplish but I had the reward of completing the process successfully.
Also, on Saturday night I used my new Verizon Ellipsis™ 7  learn more at this link:  http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/device/tablet/ellipsis-7?&zipRdr=y tablet to tweet with #CedarCoveTV, check out this think for more information:  http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/cedarcove/about, cast and fans.  The little Android did a good job without any issues so glad I have it for tweeting support for @HallmarkChannel family entertainment.  I enjoy tweeting with the actors from the show.  I appreciate they take the time to support the fans opinions. 
iPad still does somethings better than Android but there's something to be said for light weight and simplistic operation that Ellipsis manages very well.
I enjoy working with computer and mobile devices.  There's a satisfaction when you get everything to work together to make life easier both professionally and personally.
Here's hoping all is going well with you.  Your comments are welcome.  Keep on believing in the possibilities.
Sincerely,
Missy
Melissa Blanchard.

Wellness and Life Balance Melissa Blanchard Journal 9-14-2012

Dear Friends,

Summer's heat is slowly leaving and the leaves are starting to change with early morning frost.  I brought my hanging plants inside and so far they are liking the 70 degree temperatures better than the 30's outside.  Here's a picture of their winter home:

I had always avoided having house plants due to allergies but there's growing things all summer when I'm outside and I survive so I can handle 3 plants wintering with me inside.  It will be good to have something living when all things green slowly die away under the winter snow and cold temperatures.  My allergies are doing much better - hopefully after 14 years of allergy shots.

I'm covering the outside window box flowers with sheets until its freezing during daylight or they start turning brown.  I'm going to get some artificial pine branches, after the annual flowers die, to put in the soil so there's green out on the terrace over the winter months too. 

I've found being around growing things to be inspirational to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Just as the plants need water, food and sunlight so do I.  I see the rewards in how the plants grow big, strong, and beautiful which helps me keep working on giving my body what it needs.  Seeing how small plants grow into big beautiful flowering plants also reminds me God is at work all around me.  Every day I see how life continues to find a way to thrive even in the cracks of the sidewalks. 

I'm also discovering the best use of my time to get the outcomes I need to have a healthy body.  Daily walks, some slow stretching of the arms and legs yields result without putting much more than 45 minutes a day.  A good investment in having mobility as I age.  The body functions better with well formed muscles.

I'm also learning how to listen to others.  It's very important to listen first.  I've found I can do this better by reviewing all conversations in an objective manner.  It helps to keep all comments you receive in a place where you can take out later when you're calm and decide that this applies to me personally, professionally or not something about me at all but more to do with how the other person chose to handle a situation. 

Stepping back and letting go helps to maintain perspective.  Some questions will have ready answers but some take longer to formulate or research so it's ok not to have a reply immediately.

When others are unresponsive or sometimes even insulting with their replies, I can step back and consider before I react.  There are times when all of us need grace.  Forgiving rash statements helps me to be easier on myself.  Perfection in communication isn't possible for anyone and when you apply this to yourself its damaging.  I've learned to do the best I can, learn from mistakes and keep on trying. 

Keep on seeing the possibilities.  There's so much to learn and see in every moment of life.  Take the time to enjoy and make the most out of each and everyone. 

Peace,

Your friend,
Missy

Shared Journal August 30, 2014

Hi All,
Last couple of days we had rain during my walk times so I used my bike on a trainer in the apartment to get my 35 minutes in. I've found that keeping exercise simple and doable everyday is the best way to go. I'm tempted to do extra and sometimes I do, but not everyday and not as a goal.

The ground I've made so far to being healthy has been built on doing activities that are sustainable. No matter how many people in my life that want results faster will just have to wait. Best change in the body happen over time. This goes for healthy changes too so I'll keep going with my sustainable routine.

As far as my FB and Blog posts. I try to be sure to do a weekly check in and sometimes more all depends on how demanding life becomes both personally and professionally. I have to maintain work first (to pay bills) then my healthy regiment (exercise, food planning/preparation, bills, connecting with family and friends and vacation planning).

Social Media friends are a big part of my friend connecting and I'm working at being efficient at that part as well. I'm using flags on e-mail (iphone lets you see just flagged e-mail) and answering tweets that are addressed to me or RT and FAV of my tweets first - then supporting other tweets of friends and authors in my lists.

I'm working at remembering to check the sites others build that liked my posts I have on FB and my other blogs. Not something I'm always good at - sometimes I try to share and not all like that - but in all we need to remember if you chose to post on FB you control the privacy settings not those that share your posts so keep that in mind. A good rule my Grandma told me long before FB was invented is if you don't say it you can't be repeated correctly or incorrectly. So only share or post what you want all to have read and communicated - use another media to share things you don't want out there (I don't totally believe in FB's privacy being absolute so I use blogs and locked journals on my own PC or MAC for my private or things I want to control).

Hope you're enjoying your holiday weekend. I have found that plans don't always work out but in the end the alternative has it's own reward. Be open to the rewards that come your way - planned or unplanned.

Thanks for all the likes, shares and comments I enjoy meeting people on social media. I've made some special friends and connected with many. Keep on posting everyone:)

This rose I found in a parking lot - find all the beauty that's around you each day.  When you seek you will find.  Peace.

My Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle 8-8-14

Hi All,

Work and personal life in balance is the key to full happiness.  I've found that working toward loving myself deeply and completely has shown me how to do something about those things I can control.  The work end of my life is somewhat out of my control so is taking sometime to work through all that will be needed to make that portion of my life more fulfilling.

There are little things you can do like join in the charitable giving events and volunteering to give your time and talent to helping others in the community through work sponsored activities.  I've also recently rediscovered Toast Masters - a really good way to step out of the pressure of work and take a few moments to experience people you work with or those from your community in a new way.  These activities have enabled me to have some feeling of accomplishment and purpose within my job portion of my day. 

I've found I can accomplish quite a bit of positive action at home too.  I've started a weekly art class and a bi-weekly Cribbage tournament (informal) to round out my community participation at home as well.  Thinking of others and how to work with them has helped me find new skills I didn't know I had - like being able to read a book into a recorder on my iPhone in hopes of giving my friend a gift of something she's able to do - listen.

My friend had a cancer that was treatable but left her with weak bones to the point of needing help to leave her chair at home.  She also is losing her eyesight.  Books are a good way to keep the mind active when the body is having issues, so I thought of reading a book to her.  I'm hoping she likes the topic.  I was reading "The Power of Purpose" by Richard Leider so that's what I read to her.  I learned so much from the reading of that book.  When you read out loud - somehow you learn more than just reading in your head - try it. 

Human beings need to have a purpose.  A reason to get out of bed in the morning and get to bed at night.  Another key is finding nutritious people.  These are people that are happy to see you, full of life and love for all they encounter.  The more I look for these people, the more I find myself wanting to be a nutritious person for someone else. 

The "The Power of Purpose," also helped me to find the skills I was born with.  That's right we all have skills, its just a matter of finding them and looking for ways to express yourself with them.  I hope to one day be able to earn money while using my talents that are easy for me to express in a natural flow (that feeling you get when you're in the zone and time flies by as you work).  There are ways to get the most out of what you are getting paid for as well - it's all about finding the keys that are what you enjoy and able use them to get the job at hand done. 

There's so much to do and see in the world, be sure to make the most of every moment.  I'm learning to be as positive as I am able to be but stay true to my inner core values and self expression.  Fake happiness is worse than being sad.  So, I look for what truly makes me happy down deep in my heart, soul and spirit and find ways to express that at every opportunity.  Keep on believing in the possibilities in your life.  Dream, pray and love while doing what needs doing. 

Remember to do your planning thinking in the morning.  It's important to take some time to be alone with yourself and listen.  Quite time with only your inner voice will help you to find your true calling.

This answer doesn't come overnight, but just as it takes time to lose weight and build up your strength and muscle mass, your inner voice needs time to grow.  Like when you haven't talked to anyone for several days, when you first use your voice it isn't very strong, but as you talk more, the voice gains in strength and is more defined. 

Little by little this daily communing with your inner self will reveal pieces of the puzzle that is your purpose.  One day you'll see the picture fully revealed.  Don't give up on this inner journey anymore than you're outer journey to a healthier weight and muscle tone.  Both are keys to fully living a healthier lifestyle.

Your comments are welcome and I hope you're able to find some useful ideas as I share my trip to wellness.  May you know the peace that comes from finding your purpose for being.  Remember, its a life long journey so your purpose may change as time goes by never stop listening to your inner voice with quiet meditation.