I Wanted an iPad, But The Galaxy Tab S2 Works Great!

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changing seasons, Diana Schwenk, fall, friends, Hump Day Chronicles, learning, living in the moment, photos, Purpose, work

“I want an iPad mini 4 for work,” I said to my boss one day after having decided to take the social media portion of my job up a level.

“Trouble is we have PCs at work and iPads aren’t that compatible with them,” he replied.  So my boss did a bit of research himself and sent me to talk to his contact, Adam at Memory Express.

Well between the two of them, they convinced me the Galaxy Tab S2 was the way to go and I am pretty impressed with it so far.

So here, for your viewing pleasure are some of the photos I’ve taken over the last little while. I’m still learning about, and experimenting with the Galaxy Tab and hopefully my skills will improve with time.

Here’s my friend Susan with her totally hippified car

I took this picture after Susan facilitated a workshop on trauma and addiction for me and my co-workers last week.

Jo’s bike

Cindy filling out the memory book

I took these two photos recently at a celebration of life event honouring my childhood friend Josee.

I met Michaela in Red Deer recently

On a walk with Elizabeth

selfie with visiting blogger, Elizabeth

Visiting friends in Olds

Annie visiting from Scotland

Blurry George visiting from Scotland

Catching up with Terri who was visiting from Winnipeg

 

I’ve traveled to meet with them, or they have traveled to meet with me. It’s been a catching up with others month!

And below are some fall shots I’ve taken in my neighbourhood over the last few weeks.

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~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

How’s fall treating you in your neck of the woods?

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I’d Rather Feel Something

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caring, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, Fear, growth, happy, health, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, kindness, laughter, learning, life, Life's like that, living in the moment, love, pain, sorrow, strong

I’d rather feel pain than nothing at all. A phrase I’ve uttered many times over the years. A phrase that’s elicited just as many reactions.

Before you write me off completely as a wingnut, hear me out. It’s not that I want to feel pain, or sorrow for that matter, or fear, or abandonment, or rejection, or betrayal. It’s just that given a choice between any of them or nothing, I’d rather not feel nothing.

I have felt nothing on a handful of occasions; when I’ve given up, or I’m tired, or I just don’t care anymore. Nothing matters, whether I ever eat or sleep or shower again, whether I live or die.

Feeling nothing, being numb feels like being dead inside and that scares me more than anything else.

The sting of pain and sorrow and fear, etc., reminds me I’m alive and experience has shown me that it will pass and if I pay attention and embrace it, I will be stronger for it, I will learn to prioritize better, I will have more joy in my life, I will grow in compassion.

I loved this poem when I came across it today. I hope it speaks to you as well.

Love Sorrow

Love sorrow. She is yours now, and you must take care of what has been given. Brush her hair, help her into her little coat, hold her hand, especially when crossing a street. For, think,

what if you should lose her? Then you would be sorrow yourself; her drawn face, her sleeplessness would be yours. Take care, touch her forehead that she feel herself not so

utterly alone. And smile, that she does not altogether forget the world before the lesson. Have patience in abundance. And do not ever lie or ever leave her even for a moment

by herself, which is to say, possibly, again, abandoned. She is strange, mute, difficult, sometimes unmanageable but, remember, she is a child. And amazing things can happen. And you may see,

as the two of you go walking together in the morning light, how little by little she relaxes; she looks about her; she begins to grow.

Mary Oliver

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

You’ve Made a Mistake

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200 words, broken promise, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, family, Fear, forgetfulness, forgiveness, get over it, growing up, harmful, hurtful, I'm sorry, integrity, kindness, laughter, learning, life, Life's like that, mistakes, move on, only human, regret, responsibility, wrong

After all, tomorrow is another day.

Scarlet O’Hara

So you’ve made a mistake. So what?

You’ve locked your keys in your car. You didn’t call your mom on her birthday, or remember your wedding anniversary, or left the restaurant without paying your bill. You snapped at your best friend, child, boss, student, lady behind the counter at the gas station. You overslept.

You forgot and missed an appointment. You’ve burnt your supper in the pot. You accused someone innocent of wrong-doing. You didn’t think before you spoke or acted and hurt someone’s feelings, started a huge argument, started a vicious rumour. You spilt your milk.

You broke a promise to take your kid for ice-cream, visit a sick friend, help someone move, or paint, or harvest their garden. Maybe you’ve caused harm intentionally and immediately regretted it, wished you hadn’t said that, didn’t do that, didn’t sink so low. You can’t look at yourself in the mirror.

You made a mistake. So what? Tomorrow is another day. You can fix it, apologize for it, make amends for it, pay for it, take responsibility for it, learn from it, forgive yourself for it and move on…

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

The Last Chance

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200 words, change, choice, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, Do the right thing, forgiveness, learning, lessons, life, Life's like that, living in the moment, mistakes, second chance, wrong

We never really learn from the first mistake or the second or third. It only hits us when we’re given the last chance. ~ unattributed

I’d like to think that I when I make a mistake, I recognize I’ve done so right away and at the very least, I do not repeat it ever again.

But is that what really happens? For me? You?

When the above quote appeared on my twitter feed, it stopped me in my tracks.

I can think of specific examples when I said or did something, and immediately I’d wished I hadn’t done it. I tell myself I will never do that again and before I know it, I find myself in a similar situation and I DO IT AGAIN!

What is wrong with me?!

It’s as if I’m programmed to do it. Usually it takes several instances before I can commit fully to I-will-never-do-that-again.

Then there are those times when I am not aware that what I am doing is a mistake, or not the best choice I can make until I’m given one last chance or it’s just too late. period.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Can you relate? What has your experience been?

Life Has A Way Of Showing Us

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200 words, alone, believe, broken, community, courage, death, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, family, Fear, grief, hope, humbled, learning, life, live, living in the moment, loss, love, memories, strong, struggles, Truth, vulnerability, weak

He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.

Why do we struggle so to get up from our knees? Why do we resist vulnerability and humility so vehemently? What drives us to prove we are not ‘weak’. What are we so afraid of?

Why do we tell ourselves that we can plan it all out so that we’ll never have to face our fears?

That from this high and lofty place we’ve constructed, we can stand up to anything or anyone?

Life has a way of showing us that we are fooling no one but ourselves.

Life has a way of driving us down to our knees.

As counterintuitive as it seems and has hard as we may resist – it is on our knees when we are:

Broken.

Naked.

Vulnerable.

Humble.

Weak in our own eyes.

Facing and embracing the truth about ourselves.

That we are made strong,

that we learn to live, laugh and love 

and are able to stand up before anyone or anything.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Upon the recent death of our Dad, my brother Michael said, “Dad taught so much and he is still quietly teaching us.”

Related post: The Glory of Life

Much to my chagrin

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200 words, annoying people, curious, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, growing up, irritate, learning, lessons, rub the wrong way, Who I am

“Personally I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. ” ~ Winston Churchill

I am fairly curious. I love learning stuff.

Like how I recently learned that although children get more individual vaccination shots these days than when I was a kid, in total they get less of a dose.

Or that Saguenay, Quebec has the longest winter in Canada – a total of 160 days! (note to self: Never relocate to Saguenay, Quebec)

Whether I’m watching a documentary, chatting with an expert in a specific field, or reading about an interesting subject here in the blogosphere, I love learning new things.

However, I’m not always a fan of someone pointing out the error of my ways, or even worse, when I find myself irritated, not by what someone says, but by the way I find myself reacting to them.

Much to my chagrin, as far as self-awareness goes and growing into the person I am, and continue to become, nothing else is as effective as annoying people and irritating situations.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Can you think of an important lesson or revelation you learned from someone who initially rubbed you the wrong way?

Celebrate Joy and Grow Through Sorrow

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200 words, change, choice, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, encourage, faith, Fear, gift, grateful, growing up, journey, joy, learning, life, living in the moment, love, meaningful, mistakes, Purpose, Relationships, sorrow

When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate, when life is bitter, say thank you and grow. ~ unknown

What an amazing journey we’re on!

Life is a gift.

Its ebbs and flows.

Its highs and lows.

The connections we make and break.

The joys and sorrows we experience.

Each one of our paths; unique

a combination of choice and circumstance.

Sometimes courageously following our dreams. Inspiring and encouraging others to follow theirs. Take hold of ‘moments of joy’ – treasure them in your heart. They will carry you through the hard times.

Other times we are paralyzed by fear. Making us empathetic and patient with others who are afraid. Embrace every part of who you are.

Rippling effects that change the course of our path, that teach us if we let them. Or haunt us until we are teachable.

Life is a gift.

A beautiful and precious gift.

Don’t squander it.

Don’t take it for granted.

Be grateful for every opportunity given.

Even our mistakes have meaning when viewing our lives in this way.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate, when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.

Easy to Start, Hard to Stop

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200 words, celebrate, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, entrepreneur, Fundraising, generosity, hard work, learning, listen, mission, Purpose, sacrifice, share knowledge, tenacity, The Other Bottom Line, vision

To succeed, you need to be easy to start and hard to stop. ~ unattributed

It’s been one year since I started The Other Bottom Line. And in that time, I’ve:

• provided one organization with their fund development history and 3-5 year strategy.
• worked with another organization as a bum-in-a-seat employee.
• facilitated the process to find a sponsor for, and drafted a gift agreement for another.
• helped another consulting company conduct searches for two non-profits.

The in-between times haven’t always been easy. I’ve had my hopes dashed a few times. I’ve spent some time playing the ‘Hurry Up and Wait’ game. I’ve been disheartened.

When I have wanted to give up, I kept going by:

• Documenting processes and accomplishments; referring to them often.
• Doing the things I vehemently didn’t want to do; moving them to the top of the list.
• Sacrificing the fluffy things. You’d be amazed how much you don’t really need.
• Being generous. Sharing knowledge and expertise.
• Celebrating the wins. Learning from the losses, then moving past them.
• Being open. Asking questions. Listening to others who have been there. 

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

How do you ensure that you’re easy to start and hard to stop?

The Young and The Old

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200 words, building community, caring, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, empowering, gifts, growth, health, leadership, learning, life, mission, passion, Purpose, together, understanding, vision, wisdom, world issues, youth leadership

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” – Greek proverb

Each generation, at some point, bemoans the world they have inherited from the previous generation. With their whole lives ahead of them, they vow to leave a better world for the next generation.

Then life happens.

The drive to provide for, and protect, their immediate tribe becomes priority. They  block out the injustices in the rest of the world, not entirely, but where these issues intersect their own survival – they choose to protect themselves.

This is not necessarily a bad thing.

This is how we have survived for tens of thousands of years.

We’re not really wired to think about 10, 50 or 100 years from now.

But perhaps in our old age, with our lives mostly behind us, we are freed up to think about future generations.

Perhaps then we are willing to plant the tree whose shade we will never personally enjoy.

I wonder what we could learn and what plans we would conceive if we listened to the idealistic dreams of the young and tempered them with the life-time wisdom of the aged.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Could Bad Hair Days Be My Own Fault?

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200 words, Against or With?, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, humour, learning, living in the moment, mentors, Purpose, true to yourself, wisdom

Some of the worst mistakes in my life were haircuts. ~ Jim Morrison

Bad Hair Day

Why did I ever think that cutting my own hair would be a good idea?

What about that period of time I dyed my hair bleached-blond? Or the time I forgot to rinse the dye out on time?

And what was up with that short, short hair in my late 30’s??

It’s hard to know what I was thinking, but one lesson that stands out is that when I’ve tried to do new things without seeking the help of professionals or tried to be someone who I’m not, the results weren’t pretty!

Why do I fight against the natural tendencies of my hair instead of working with them?

Could this be true in my everyday life as well?

Like when I’ve taken on new things without seeking counsel from someone who’s been there?

Or when I’ve tried to tow the company line when it scratched against my own values?

It’s funny how I’ve worked so hard against some things instead of working with them.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Do you find yourself working against your natural abilities?