Riddle Me This

Here's a trivial riddle for you to solve:

A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. finally, she hangs him...... Yet, half an hour later, both she and her husband go out together to enjoy a meal. How can this be?
Answer; at the end of this post (no peeking)

I am in the middle of a super busy work week, with report cards going home this week as well as updating Personal Learning Plans for each student. Last weekend was wonderful. On Saturday night I attended my Providence College track team reunion, thoroughly enjoying reconnecing with people I hadn't seen in a while. I also attended a 40th birthday bash, which was well into the throes of wild dancing when I arrived (after the reunion). Anyone who knows me, knows that while my legs are excellent for running puropses, they definetely cannot dance for peanuts. So I sat and chatted, narrowly avoiding being torn onto the dance floor by some very well-oiled partiers, phew! The following morning I got up and ran a peaceful solo 13 miler out the country; pure bliss. My next race will be on Thanksgiving morning, the Newport Pie Run (5 miles).
Loving reading "Handle With Care" by Jodi Picoult. It tells the story of a NH couple sueing an OBGYN doctor for not letting them know their now 5 year old daughter would be born with brittle bone disease. They're maintaining they would've at leasted wanted to know they had the option to abort the baby before it drastically changed their lives forever. Of course, being a Jodi Picoult novel, it's well-written, moves smoothly and pushes all of us to put ourselves in the position of the main characters. I highly recommend this book.

Have a terrific day,
love trish

Riddle Answer: The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture of her hubby, developed it in water, then hung it to dry:) did you guess it?

Things I Love

Here's a few creature comforts that can make my day:

Chatting to family and/or friends, especially when it's been a while.
Cucumber melon body lotion from Bath & bodyworks.
Sage & citrus scented Yankee Candles.
Brooks Adrenaline training shoes to keep me injury-free.
Jodi Picoult and Anita Shreve books (set in New England; love that).
Long walks with the dog by the apple farms in my town; cider scents intoxicate.
Finding and cooking recipes my whole family likes.
Breakstone cottage cheese yogurts.
Listening to good audiobooks while commuting to work.
Builder protein bars, Zone dark protein bars.
My amazingly hair straightner with built-in avacado oils.
Nanette Lepore perfume, Pink Sugar perfume.
My massage chair to ease away stress.
Tim Burton movies and art.
Burt's Bees peppermint foot lotion as I get into bed.
Using my itouch under the covers when I can't sleep.
The movie Chocolat; I could watch it a million times.
Constant Comment tea by Bigelow (clove flavored).
My favorite yoga pants with my favorite hoodies.
The joy of receiving a hand-written letter by mail.
Blackberry jam on warm toast with hot cocoa.
Getting inspiration to do something creative and going with it.
Pad Thai noodles with chicken.
Meeting new and interesting people that instantly connect with.
Discovering new authors and artists whose work I admire.

Treat To Self

Sometimes when I am having a crummy day, I try to focus on tiny little rewards I can give myself for keeping on doing all I have to do. This school year, I've been given my fair share of behavior problems, so I've been finding myself needing a mental and physical pick-me-up right around noontime almost everyday. So I've been going for a daily cappucinno or flavored latte at a little place about a mile away from my school. Sitting in my car sipping that glorious treat warms me up both inside and out and gives me the strength to make it through the afternoon. i don't even care that the beverage is ridiculously over-priced; my mental sanity is more than worth the $3.25 I pay. It's just a small thing, but it's an example of how I'm trying to be kinder to myself. (I spend most of my life taking care of the needs of others; my three teens, dog, husband and 26 students), so it's about time I take care of myself too.
Most people I know are in a similar situation to me, in that they are taking care of the needs of so many others. So I say to all of you, be good to yourself, take the time everyday to do one nice thing for yourself, whether it be a cappucinno, a time-out from your kids, a new hairbrush or just a long bath. Life's just too short to ignore your need for self.
love trish

Poem; Going The Extra Mile

I felt during my wintery afternoon run,

scarcely a ray from the reticent sun.

Yet I had snowflakes drizzling down,

carpeting my way with nary a sound.

I had for companions the gentle deer,

who scampered away as I drew near.

I caught a glimpse through naked trees,

of south-bound geese, free as they please.

I meandered a trail through the countryside,

cold air suppressed by warm feelings inside.

I crossed the bank by the railroad track,

regretting the need to be heading on back.

Crack, crunch, creak,

Crack,crunch, creak,

Of footfall upon leaf and twisted twig,

This tranquil solitude a reason to live.

Yet the moon had arisen from its' slumber deep

When again I found myself back on my street.

By Trish Logan Hillery 10/21/04

Soul Collage

Hi there, I thought I'd post today about a project I started last winter and got halfway through, before I got distracted by other hobbies. With the long nights upon us now, I think I'm ready to pick it back up again. I'm talking about something called Soul Collage, which originated with a very knowledgeable Yale-educated psychologist named Seena B. Frost. It involves a person using their intuition to create their own deck of art cards which have deep personal meaning. Anyone can create a deck, you don't have to be "artsy" to do so. All you need is scissors, large index cards (I make my own larger ones with manila folders), and a variety of used magazines, calendars, greetings cards or any other interesting images. There are 4 different suits in the deck; companion, committee, council, and community. You cut out the images that appeal to you when pondering the specific suit you are interested in working on that day; You then piece the images together whatever way you want (can be very simple with just one large image, or very complex with much layering). I usually make about 3 images in one sitting, since I have lots of images spread out on the dining room table. Over time you build up a deck; at the moment I have created about 55 cards from all the suits. You then use the cards to give yourself a personal reading to guide you with issues in your life. For me, the actual process of creating the cards is so enjoyable, regardless of whether or not I ever intend to do a reading. Though it sounds very "tarot" like, it's really more intuition based. Thankfully, there's an amazing website http://www.soulcollage.com/ for helping you if you're interested in creating your own soul collage deck. The site contains information to explain how it's a sort of self-therapy artistic process, a detailed explanation of the suits, a gallery of completed images, online groups and much more. My 19 year old daughter and her friends have expressed an interest in making their own decks and having a specific night to get together to work on the decks (all sharing images). So next time you notice a cool ad in a magazine, save it (hey we've all seen people do that in doctor's waiting rooms) for use in a soul collage card. If you have any questions, I'm no expert, but I'd be happy to answer. Above all else, this creative project is fun, fun, fun and sooooooo relaxing. I will post some images soon of the various cards I've made and love.

Changing gears, my running is going well. I'm so happy to be fully injury-free and getting in the mileage I'm happy with. I ran 55miles last week and felt very strong. I'm considering running another half marathon next Sunday, but am watching the weather and my son's soccer playoffs schedule to see if it will work out for me. Yoga is also a huge factor in preventing my injuries and I've been doing well with getting up a bit earlier than usual in order to get a 20 minute yoga session in before work. Every bit helps.
Enjoy the week.
love trish