More positive = more smart...I mean smarter

At least according to the Japanese TV show エチカの鏡 it does. I guess that would translate as something like "The Mirror of Ethics". Kind of relates to the show, but mostly it's about how to make your children, or like this past week, yourself, smarter. Who knows if all of the advice they give is correct or not, but Akinori is totally addicted to the show ever since they had that Kayoko Baachan on it. She's this little old lady married to a neuroscientist/surgeon and she has this whole philosophy on how to raise children to be geniuses based on her husband's research.

Anyway, this past week was about how adults can make themselves more intelligent. I wasn't paying attention to the whole show (as I was more engrossed in playing Solitaire on my iPod Touch) but Akinori records it every week, so I figured I could just watch it later. I did catch a few things that I found interesting. There are 10 things you can do every day to make yourself smarter, like hang up the laundry with only the opposite hand you normally use, so if you're right-handed you would only use your left hand to hang the laundry. Another thing was to write out a schedule of everything you plan on doing that day, like 8am wake up, 8:10 - 8:15 make breakfast, etc. I've already decided I am going to forfeit any IQ points I might gain from doing that. Just not going to happen. Pre-baby...maybe, but definitely not now.

The last point of the 10 that I remember is to write an appreciation diary at the end of every day. You write down all the good things that happened that day and whatever you are grateful for. Kind of like how some bloggers do the "Things I love Thursday" thing, but you do it every night before you go to bed. I didn't pay attention to what the benefits of doing this are, but even without being told why, this just seems like a good idea. For one thing, you can't help but go to bed full of positive thoughts and remembering the good things about the day. That can't be bad just before you recharge for the night, can it? So I started doing this last night, and I have no idea if that affected my day or not, but I was in a pretty good mood all day, approaching downright giddy by the time I went to my belly dance lesson tonight.

I don't know if this program can actually change your life or not, but if definitely made me rethink any complaining I do. The brain specialist on the program said that we think we are relieving stress by complaining and voicing negative thoughts, but we're really doing ourselves more harm than good. I have my doubts about how true this is, because I certainly love a good bitch session, but I figure that no harm can come from giving this "no complaining, be more positive and appreciative" frame of mind a try, so we'll see how it goes.

In following with my new zen attitude about life, I was doing a little researching online and found this article today. I bookmarked it so that I can look back at it often. Every point in it makes so much sense, and especially since I am someone who tends to dwell way too much on what others think of me, it really struck a chord with me.

Thanks for all of the comments on my last post. My ex actually wrote me back this morning and told me that my mail was able to bring a smile to his face. Well that certainly wiped away any apprehension I had about what I had written (along with everyone's very kind comments)! It still makes me sad to think about his mother, but apparently it was really, really fast. They only found the cancer in October, and she had surgery in December and things started going downhill from there. As far as battles with cancer go, hers was short and relatively painless, and she went surrounded by family and friends and lots of love. What more could you ask for out of life?

I felt like I didn't have anything to blog about for days, and now I'm overflowing with stuff I want to write about. I started a new belly dance class on Monday nights at the dance studio this week. After the class the owner asked me if I could do a class on Wednesday afternoons too. There are only 2 students at the moment. At first I was really not too pleased about doing this class. It means I have to put Sara in daycare for the afternoon on Wednesdays. I have never left her in the care of anyone but family so far, so this is a really big step for us, well...for me. It almost made me cry right then and there just thinking about leaving Sara at the daycare. The money I will get for this Wednesday class will only just cover the cost of daycare, so I thought about refusing to do it, but then I thought about it again.

Akinori has been telling me since Sara was about 5 or 6 months old that if I was really stressed out by how much attention she demands, that we should consider putting her in daycare once or twice a week. Of course I feel stress looking after my daughter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But I love my daughter more than life, so although it's frustrating to not have my own time, I don't necessarily mind it all that much. I actually find being a full-time mom quite rewarding. But I digress. I thought about what having Sara in daycare would mean, in that she would be there for 4 hours, and the lesson is only 1 hour and 20 minutes. That's 2.5 hours to do whatever I want! I almost never have 2.5 hours to myself, especially not during the day, and definitely not on a weekday. So I decided that even if there are no financial benefits to doing this Wednesday lesson, there are definitely some psychological benefits, for me anyway. My daughter may be scarred for life after tomorrow, but for now I have decided this is a good thing, and I am looking forward to 4:30 tomorrow when I pick Sara up, and that feeling of having missed her and being really happy to see her, and hopefully, her me. The amount of stuff I have to prepare for her thought is ridiculous! She's going for 4 hours, not a week long camping trip! (Sorry I forgot I was not complaining and trying to be more positive for a moment there. )

And finally, my period is due tomorrow. I think it was actually due earlier, but I am really, really super trying to not get my hopes up, so we will assume Fertility Friend is correct, and it's due tomorrow. Although Akinori has been after me to do an HPT since last week, I have been good and patient and didn't give in until this evening. (So maybe not all THAT patient, but damn good for me!) I got a very, very, very faint line after 4 or 5 minutes, but the prescribed time is 1 minute, and you are supposed to discard any results achieved after that. So, I am doing my best at taking the result of the test at face value, but still hoping that I don't get my period tomorrow or the day after, or the day after that, and that I will get a darker line in a few days (if not tomorrow because let's face it, who am I kidding? I just don't have any patience when it comes to finding out if I'm pregnant or not. Not a lick.)

Okay, I don't think I have left out even one detail of my life at the moment, which means I have a pretty boring life, huh. But that's okay. I'm happy. Goodnight and sweet dreams bloggy world!