Hello!
I did it….I just hit 500 hugs and I am two days ahead of schedule!!  And the day isn’t even finished yet!  Everything from here on in is just gravy (not that hugs aren’t like gravy anyway…)! 

Deb

Hello!
Last night we went to a dinner party.  We have a group of friends that get together to eat every couple of months.  We pick a theme and everyone brings a dish that represents the theme.  This time we chose Italian and the food as always, was fabulous.  The best part of the evening was getting hugs!  Once everyone learned that I was on the challenge they really helped with the hug count and I finished the day with 17 hugs – the highest total I have had this whole challenge!  I love dinner parties!

Deb

Hello!
I went to my yoga class this morning and we were doing the tree pose.  This is the pose where you have to stand on one leg with the other foot perched on the inside of your standing leg esentially making your legs form the number 4.  Then you lift your arms above your head and spread them out like branches of your tree.  This is the point where I (sometimes wildly) start to waver.  My yoga teacher put it so nicely today…he said just allow your body to waver and just like a tree moves in the wind, your body will move and waver, always adjusting and rebalancing. 

That is the way that balance works – it’s always adjusting and shifting and we always have to respond by adjusting and shifting to find balance.  It’s kind of what my hug count is doing lately – shifting and wavering…I’ve had a few days without my usual number of hugs.  I guess it’s time to rebalance and see about collecting a few more afterall, we are coming down the home stretch now – 12 days left! 

Deb

Hello!
This evening I was lucky enough to attend a dinner theatre put on by a local group of actors and actresses.  They were doing a fundraiser for the House of Hesed which is a transitional home that offers a safe place and family environment for those living with HIV/AIDS.  You can read about it here www.houseofhesed.ca if you want more information.  The actors were all in character the whole evening so when we walked in the door we were greeted by a couple of the characters from the play.  The play was called Virgil’s Family Reunion so the actors were treating everyone like family members who had arrived for the reunion.  Of course, that meant hugging!  One of the actors walked straight up to me a gave me a huge hug!  Now, he didn’t know me and he didn’t hug anyone else in our group so I was thinking that I must have some kind of “hug me aura” that has developed since I have been on this 100 Day Challenge!  If that is the case, I am quite happy to have that kind of aura!  It was a great hug! 

What about you?  What are you attracting during your challenge?  Whenever you give your attention and focus to something you will attract more of it into your life.  What have  you been attracting?

Deb

Hi!
Well, I have hit a mile stone and I’m excited!  After 3 and a half years of writing an email newsletter and inviting people to sign up for it I have broken the 1000 mark.  I have been trying to get my subscription list over 1000 for several months now and yesterday I hit 1003! This is shaping up to be a great month I think!  There are several things that I will be celebrating and I’ll let you in on them as the month progresses.  Today I am celebrating my increased readership!  Thanks to all of you who have been reading my newsletter and sharing it with friends!  What are you celebrating this month?  What can you find in your life to celebrate and be grateful for?  Let me know by leaving your comments here!

Deb

Hi!
This morning I was heading to lead my laughter club and I needed to stop and fill the car with gas.  I pulled into Domo and just as they say, they jumped to the pump!  For some reason I thought that I had better check to see if I had my wallet and sure enough, I didn’t have it with me!  I leaped out of the car, yelled out “Stop the pump” and scared the poor Domo guy half to death.  He immediately grabbed the pump and pulled it out.  I then explained apologetically that I didn’t have my wallet and began scrounging around for change to pay for the $2 of gas that he had started to pump into the tank.  The whole time I was laughing and his reaction was very relaxed (once he recovered from my initial yell!) and it occured to me to give him a hug for being understanding but I thought that might be pushing it!  I just thanked him and drove away laughing about my situation.  The great thing about practicing laughter regularly is that all I did was laugh and it never occured to me to be embarrased or get on my case for forgetting my wallet.  I just dealt with it and moved on!  How do you deal with these kinds of situations?

Deb

Hello!
Well, I have recovered from the pink eye incident and it seems that the rest of my body is also on the road to recovery.  It was actually faster than I thought it would be and I am wondering if it is the hug factor.  They say (I’m not sure who “they” are but they seem to be quoted alot!) that a person needs 5 hugs a day just to maintain their health.  So, perhaps my quest for a minimum of 5 hugs a day has created some kind of reserve that has helped me to recover faster…all I know is that after a few days of not having any hugs I sure missed them!  I’m glad to be collecting again and thanks to all of you who sent me the virtual hugs!

Deb

Hi,
So I have hit an obstacle in my quest for hugs!  Last week I developed a sore throat which expanded into an ear infection, then a cold and now the icing on the cake is pinkeye!  For someone who is rarely sick, this has definitely thrown me for a loop.  The question has occured to me that maybe my increase in hugging (just about anyone who will give me a hug) has somehow increased my exposure to germs.  The other thought is “OH, NO….I hope I haven’t given my germs to anyone.”  Rest assured all of you out there that have given me a hug, I have been very careful and since the onslaught of this crazy cold, I have been very careful about coming into contact with anyone so you should be safe!  But alas, I am watching my hug count stay the same.  Oh well, it’s only for a short time and I’m sure I’ll be able to make it up once I’m back in the land of the healthy! 

What do you do when you hit an obstacle with your 100 Day Challenge?  Feel free to write your suggestions here!

Deb

Hello!
I was visiting my family this past weekend and my Mom was telling me about how the Minister of their church had decided to walk everyday.  I knew she was doing this and I occaisionally get updates on how many days she has walked.  I was amazed to hear that she had just recently chalked up 700 days in a row of walking!  Isn’t that incredible?!  I’m sure there are lots of people who have been doing something everyday but just hearing about her decision to walk everyday has renewed my inspiration!  700 days kind of makes 100 days seem like nothing!  And really, what her 700 days of walking is saying to me is that she truly cares about herself.  This is a woman who ministers to three communities and is available to provide spiritual support to hundreds of people but she also recognizes that she is one of those people too and so requires support and care as well. 

Wow – what would your challenge look like if you approached from the place of truly caring for yourself and believing you are valuable?  Would that focus make it easier or harder to complete your 100 day challenge?  Let me know your thoughts!

Deb

Hi,
I was at a meeting this week where we were talking about our visions.  One of the group members told us that his vision was to be a blessing to all of the people of his generation!  That vision really intrigued me and made me start to wonder what I would do to be a blessing to the people around me.  It’s an interesting thing to think about. Then I thought about my quest for 500 hugs and wondered if giving someone a hug would be like blessing them.  I know that I certainly feel blessed when someone gives me a hug.  What would you do to be a blessing to others?  You’re welcome to share your thoughts here!

Deb