So there comes a day when I am not sure what to talk about....
Regarding the skunk issue. The dog smells fine. The Downey really left him smelling fresh - there would be little wafts of Downey in the air whenever he scratched himself. But, he was a little sticky - perhaps there was a bit of Downey that didn't get washed out. The faithful mobile groomer came Tuesday afternoon and gave him another bath and a vinegar rinse. He smells fine. If only I could say that much about the house. There is a lingering odor of skunk! At least we think it is skunk. There comes a time when telling the vinegar smell from the skunk smell is difficult. I have repeated spritzed the carpet but have gotten to the point where I am sick of the perfumed "air freshener" air also. I remembered a product called Fresh Wave, which is used to absorb smells but doesn't have much of an odor onto itself. I have used this product in a commercial setting and it was great. It really takes care of musty smells. I think it might be better but I am an optimist...
As far as exercise goes - I did walk twice last week. Not so great and I haven't walked this week. Very sad. The treadmill is still out of commission. So this week is a bust as far as exercise goes.
Ever feel like you are cheating but you really aren't? That is the way I feel. I am behaving myself but I just don't feel as upbeat about it. I think we are at that point where our old habits really want to surface again. I think we need a kick in the pants but I am not sure exactly how to do it. I suppose that just by recognizing it, I am ahead. I talked to Silent Sam about it last night and I think he agreed but sometimes with Silent Sam it is hard to tell.
Silent Sam has been working a lot and I am concerned about his stress level. So, I drive him crazy trying to find a way to "de-stress" him. (I just drive him crazy period!) I told him that he had to have a date with me Wednesday night as a way to give him a break from work. So Wednesday night rolls around and it is raining and I am tired from my stressful day (it can happen). We ended up sitting on the couch watching TV. Not so great at getting him thinking about something else. This weekend we are going to escape with our friends for a night at their second home. That should be at least something different and he can hear someone different talking. I sometimes think that my voice must sound like the adult voice in the Peanut cartoon shows - Waa Waa Waa...
BUT - I read this fascinating book that I highly recommend! It is called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I really had a hard time putting it down. Not too surprisingly, it talks about habits - personal and corporate habits. The book starts out talking about personal habits and the study of the brain in response to a change of habit and things that have made people successful in changing their habits. In the second part, it gives lots of examples about changes made in corporations and what changing those corporate habits meant to the company. He explains that every habit consists of a cue, a routine in response to the cue, and the reward. There is interesting information about when you go to change your habit that to be successful you should write down a plan that will change your habit - how you are going to do it and what to do when you encounter resistance. I have decided that I will use this as inspiration to change my non-exercise habit. If you have the time, I really suggest it.
As a sidenote to those of you who watch Castle on TV. There was a two-part episode a few weeks ago involving the CIA and some murders. The show talked about the lynchpin event - a pivotal event that changes history. Something that seems inconsequential on the outside but by changing that one thing it leads to a series of events that make huge changes. The book The Power of Habit talks about the keystone habit in the corporate environment. It is the same theory - a small change in a corporation can make wider and wider ripples though the organization.
I have been getting some great suggestions from you wonderful readers! Thanks so much. I will share them as soon as I have had time to test them out for myself.
Thanks for reading!
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