It's been a good day so far. I woke up and checked on my new guy living with me =). His name is Mark and belonged to a co-worker who wanted to give him a bigger home. He was in their tank and was getting big for it. So Tues. she brought him over and he's adapting from being inside to outside. He hides a lot.

Hi, my name is Mark

I guess they named him Mark because of the way he eats. Cynthia's boyfriend Mark eats a lot, I guess. That same morning that they brought him over, I went to the pond store to get him other pondmates. A goldfish and shubunkin (sp?). One is red and the other is spotted brown. Because I couldn't remember the type of fish the brown one was, I named it Shaq (for shubunkin?!) and the other one Kobe because I think they should all just get along (even though they're on different teams). =D They all mostly hide and as a first time fish owner, I'm worried they're not eating - I think they are when I'm not there, but I'm not sure.

I went to PetSmart to get Mark the kind of food he's used to - the shrimp pellets that sink to the ground. I had the other kind that floats on the top so I think maybe he doesn't know it's food? After PetSmart I went to the newer Einstein's that's really big. Oh, I forgot to mention that Liz and I went there a few weeks ago. It's a nice place, with seating outside. I also haven't mentioned how I'm starting to like my iPhone more now. When I saw Liz, she told me about some new features I didn't know about because I hadn't updated my phone. It's nice because I'm not stuck with the same phone - they update the software with improvements. Yay! So now I can text multiple people and change my home screen to customize it more.

So after eating my bagel sandwich, I read a bit and sipped on coffee. I think it would be hard for me to give up coffee. For the most part, I've given up soda - it just doesn't have that same appeal to me. But coffee is like a comfort drink to me. I like to read and write while having coffee. And definitely coffee with dessert. I'm almost done with "Anatomy of the Spirit". Some quotes...

Guidance requires action, but it does not guarantee safety. While we measure our own success in terms of our personal comfort and security, the universe measures our success by how much we have learned. So long as we use comfort and security as our criteria of success, we will fear our own intuitive guidance because by its very nature it directs us into new cycles of learning that are sometimes uncomfortable.

She writes in language that speaks to a broader range of people and she considers herself spiritual but not religious. I find that many of her beliefs about God are quite similar to what I believe.

This last stage in developing self-esteem is an internal one. People who can maintain their principles, their dignity, and their faith without compromising any energy from their spirit are internally evolved: people such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela. The world is filled with people of much lesser reputations who have accomplished this level of self-esteem, of course, but these three peoples' spirits took charge of their physical environments - and the environments changed to accommodate the power of their spirits.

I thought the last sentence was interesting and wondered if that's the nature of miracles and faith. Jesus defied the physical through miracles, walking on water, changing water into wine, being raised up from the dead.

We are unaccustomed to giving value to what we cannot see, and we cannot see the power emitted from a healthy psyche. Thus, those whose work is "waiting and becoming" can often appear useless.

This book has given me much to think about. I feel like I'm going through an external change and wanting to be authentic in how I look. Meaning I want to discover my own style and look instead of feeling like I need to imitate another image. To be completely comfortable with myself. In the process, I believe it will translate into an internal transformation. I'm not sure why something that seems superficial (physical appearance) is taking on such a significant role in my life right now. I wonder if it has something to do with drawing attention to myself. I'm not comfortable with that and so maybe I've grown up trying to appear "normal"? I don't know. I need to journal more about this.

Anyway, I went to GVR to play keno since I've been winning lately. So I came out $60 ahead =). I came home and visited with Mark in the backyard. And I checked on my passport renewal and it was received yesterday so I should have my passport in 4-6 weeks!

It's getting hotter and I'm loving it! Although the temp. will drop tomorrow and may rain on Sun. But I'm hoping to get a lot of time outside in the backyard on my hammock =).