bettyliedtke – Page 54 – FindYourBuriedTreasure

List of projects leads to fulfilling goals and dreams

“I focus easily and naturally on what is important and rewarding to me, and let go gently and comfortably of what is not. I am accomplishing my goals and fulfilling my dreams.” Whether you would call that an affirmation, a mantra, positive thinking, or wishful thinking, it’s something I’ve been saying to myself several times a day for a few months now. And the reason I’m telling you about it is that it relates so strongly to what I wrote last week. My column last [...]

By bettyliedtke|January 3rd, 2014|Accountability, Columns, Holidays, Organizing|Comments Off

A project a week will lead to success

91.25 hours. Over the course of a year, that’s how much time you would spend on something if you devoted just 15 minutes a day to it. I mention this because my New Year’s Resolution last year was to spend 15 minutes a day decluttering. That might mean whittling down a stack of papers on the kitchen counter one day, cleaning out an overstuffed dresser drawer on another, and tackling an overloaded bookshelf in my office on a third. As I look back on the [...]

By bettyliedtke|December 27th, 2013|Accountability, Columns, Holidays, Organizing|Comments Off

Memories and traditions warm up the holidays

When I was very young, Santa Claus used to visit our house on Christmas Eve. Not in the middle of the night – leaving presents under the tree when we were nestled all snug in our beds – but early in the evening, when we were still up and wide awake. I remember one year when we needed to make a quick trip to the grocery store on Christmas Eve. We kids were distraught, afraid we might miss Santa’s visit. Although my mom assured us [...]

By bettyliedtke|December 20th, 2013|Columns, Faith, Family, Holidays|4 Comments

Adjust for foul weather, on the road and in life

The snow, ice, and frigid weather we’ve had so far this year have already caused me to change my plans several times. When I hear words like “snow emergency” and “travel advisory” on the news, especially when they say we shouldn’t go out unless we absolutely have to, I reevaluate my plans and priorities. That doesn’t mean I always stay home, but it does mean that I give it some extra thought. And I’ve come to realize that this is another way in which we [...]

By bettyliedtke|December 13th, 2013|Columns|Comments Off

A change of plans brought family together

My dad, who just turned 86, fell in the shower not long ago. He banged up his elbow pretty badly and needed stitches. He then developed an infection, which did not respond to antibiotics, and ended up in the hospital having surgery on his arm. He’s now at a care center that provides rehab and therapy. So my husband, my sister and I decided to drive to Chicago over the Thanksgiving weekend and spend time with family there rather than celebrating the holiday here at [...]

By bettyliedtke|December 6th, 2013|Columns, Family, Health and Well-being, Holidays|Comments Off

Remember the giving as well as the thanks

I’m doing Thanksgiving a little differently this year. That doesn’t mean I’ll be making any changes to the traditional meal, or abandoning time-honored practices and customs that go along with the day. And it certainly doesn’t mean I won’t be thinking, talking, or writing about all of the people and things I am grateful for. What it means is that before I focus on the “thanks” part of Thanksgiving this year, I’m going to concentrate on the “giving” part. I want to spend time reflecting [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 28th, 2013|Columns, Family, Holidays, Values|Comments Off

The changes we go through when a friend moves away

I had brunch last weekend with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. Our schedules aren’t very compatible these days, so when we want to get together, it often takes us a number of tries before we’re able to find a date and time that works for us both. But it’s always worth it once we do. The first thing we did after we settled in and ordered our food was to bring each other up-to-date on work, family, and other news. When we [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 22nd, 2013|Columns|Comments Off

A doomsday dream brings reality to life

I had a really weird dream the other night. And the weirdest thing about it was seeing the ways in which my dream world overlapped with the real one. In the dream, I was talking with a friend about the devastating state of the world today. We were in a barren, outdoor setting – the kind you see in a post-apocalyptic or zombie movie. There was another catastrophic danger on the way, but I don’t remember now whether it was an asteroid hurtling toward earth, [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 15th, 2013|Columns, Faith, Writing|Comments Off

An unusual position gives a different view of the world

Picture yourself sitting on the floor, your back pressed firmly against the wall, your legs straight out in front of you. Then imagine pivoting at the hips so that you are now lying on the floor with your legs against the wall, stretched up toward the ceiling. That’s the position I found myself in on Friday night, at the end of a “Gentle Yoga” class I was attending. I’m not a regular yoga practitioner, but the event was a fundraiser that a friend of mine [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 8th, 2013|Columns, Health and Well-being|Comments Off

A weekend road trip leads to Thunder Bay

The bus left Rochester at 5:30 a.m. on Friday. It pulled into Bloomington – where I boarded – at 7:00. After one last stop to pick up a few more people in Duluth, we continued on to our final destination of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Actually, we had one additional stop, a brief one at the border crossing. We didn’t pick up any additional passengers there, but we did impress the Customs agent – or at least made him smile – when we sang the first [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 1st, 2013|Columns, Toastmasters, Travel|Comments Off

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