A tree

 

So, it was a sad day in the Wilson household (daughter still not speaking to us). We cut down the tree! When we moved into our house the tree (in the front garden) was about 7' tall. We put a few hundred Christmas lights on it that year and it was stunning (see photo at bottom). But trees have a habit of growing. We got more lights, and more lights but eventually the lights looked a little sparse. Hubby started to trim it every year to try to control the growth. It got to about 20' and his ladder is only 15'. He had very long lobbers but it was tricky. Getting the lights to the top of the tree was also very difficult - and funny. More than once hubby, attached to the ladder, fell into the tree! I laughed, a lot! So we (me) decided it had to go. I got the electric saw and took off the bottom 2 layers of branches. Hubby chopped down the tree (see other photo at bottom). Bingo. But know what? Hubby chainsawed the branches off the trunk. I used chainsaw for first time. I was very proud! I then pushed every single branch through a chipper! It filled about 30 coal bags which we donated to our neighbour (they were very helpful and provided lots of tea and biscuits - thank you George's mum and dad). Now there's a however here, as hubby was chainsawing branches off he found an empty nest.... Then a baby pigeon... Then another baby pigeon (see picture above). SSPCA came and took them. They'll be hand reared then set free. But mum keeps coming and is looking for them. Breaking my heart it is! So sorry Mrs pigeon! 

My cousin-in-law contacted me this week to invite me to join an online 5 day confidence challenge. It's run by a couple of Geordie life coaches and they do live events every night (and set homework lol). They are funny and entertaining but they make sense too. Obviously I can't tell you everything but I will share a few points that I really liked (heavily abridged) -

- be the CEO of your own life. Not just the admin person and definitely not the janitor (just opening up in the morning and switching the lights off at night).

- people think they lack motivation, but motivation is not the problem, it's your goal. What's your goal? If it's something that you really really want motivation will be there.

- don't be afraid of no. Don't be afraid to try because you are scared you'll fail.  Don't refrain from asking the question because you're worried the answer will be no, just think how many yeses you could be missing. And if you get a no, it's not personal. It's just that person is saying not this, not yet, not at this time. It's not because of you.

- don't let your own head (your monkey) get away with itself. It's just stuff you're making up and not even true eg I didn't get that job because I wasn't good enough, they didn't like me, I'm too fat! Are these facts? No

- how you feel is a choice. People will invite you to feel a certain way. They may poke and prod you but how you react to what they say or do is entirely up to you. It can be difficult but you can learn.

I've lost 3lb this week! I honestly think these sessions have helped me think about what I really want. It's exciting 

Comparison is the thief of joy.