November

Yes, it has been a very long time since I last sat down with my blog.  I have been feeling like writing for a while now and today I actually have some down time to do what I want. I cannot believe it is November. This year has gone by unbelievably fast. I am now in full blown panic mode about the holidays. How does this happen every year?  You would think that I would have some kind of plan in place, like the old "I'll start shopping in July story"  that I tell myself every year.
I know its not the traditional time of the year to sit and reflect, but I am feeling extremely philisophical and thoughtful lately.  I have been reading the book "the Secret" and have already finished a related book "The Law of Attraction"  and have been trying to use these thought processes in my daily life. For those of you not familar with these books, the idea was first brought to my attention a few years ago on Oprah, (of course)  I did some basic research about it and then really didnt go any further with it.  This year has brought a lot of changes in my life and my way of thinking and I am like a sponge to any ideas to help me grow.  I was driving to work one Sunday and listening to Oprah's Soul Series on my xm radio and she was talking about the law of attraction again and I felt like she was talking directly to me.  I ordered the Law of Attraction for my Kindle that very day.  I have to be honest, I really believe that there is something to it.  To strip it down to basics, the secret or the law of attraction (it is known by both names) states that your we create our lives, with every thought.We are magnets attracting to ourselves the things we want, through our thoughts and feelings. If you emit negative thoughts, you attract more negativity, but if you think positively, you attact this to your life.  We give out a force and an energy with our thoughts and we attract back what we send out. So I know my friends, you are thinking that I have lost my mind.  The truth is, that I am a very scientific, logical thinker and don't fall for crazy stuff that people just put out there to trick lost souls, usually into spending money. This is real. I will give you an example.  In July, as many of you know, I took the Lactation Consultant exam.  I had studied for six months, It was difficult material and I had a lot of stuff going on in my life as I was trying to study.  The test came and afterwards I had very negative thoughts, I was convinced that I failed.  The results were not to be back until October 28th.  In the interim I started to read about the secret, and as the time came closer to receive the results, especially in the days right before, I started to see myself, actually envision myself with the letters IBCLC behind my name. I pictured telling my friends that I had passed. I actually (in my mind) acted like it was already true. This is a big part of the law of attraction. Put out the thoughts like you already have the thing you want.  Somehow, despite the fact that I had initially felt the negative feelings about the test, I transformed my thinking and I passed! 
Seriously, those of you who are rolling your eyes can make your own decision, but I am just regular normal Lisa, lover of The Real Housewives series, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, The Good Wife, Jodi Piccoult books, pedicures...You know what Im saying..Im not a weirdo, just normal like you.  This works for me and is helping me through some difficult stuff. Here is a link if you're interested.  thesecret.tv

Now to change the subject, yesterday was an absoulutely beautiful day so I wound up going for a hike. Usually I run or hike around the Civil War Battlegrounds near my house, but I felt like a change. I wound up going to Belle Island in the City. I haven't been there since we first moved to Richmond and it was so beautiful. Sometimes I forget what an absolutely great city we have here. Here are some pictures I took.

Very excited to be going out to dinner tonight with my friends, would love to make it a once a month thing as there really are so many great restaurants in Richmond.