Today I Start New!

It has been a while since my last post.  Much has happened in my life.  As my blog title indicates... Life Happens.... Make The Best of It.  But what happens when there are things that go on in your life that you have no control over?  Sometimes we are forced to live a life we don't want to live, face the very things that we fear.  Lose something so precious... we feel a part of us has died.

I have gone through that over the last couple of months... and today... my birthday... I finally feel able and ready to write about life again.

Three years ago my father was diagnosed with lung cancer.  He was only given months to live.  The passion that he had for life gave him the ability to fight this terrible disease... for at least a little longer.  His love for his new wife Gail and the desire to spend as much time with his children and grandchildren, his friends and family, gave him the courage to face his fear and fight a very courageous battle.

The last few months have been very tough.  I feel very blessed that I was able to spend almost every day with him, taking him for his radiation treatments, spending time with him... in and out of the hospital.  I was given the opportunity to share with him my feelings, my love, and my hopes for the future.

Sadly, he passed away on May 4th of this year.  I know in my heart that he is in a better place, and free from his pain.  However, the grief for our loss still overtakes me.  When I think about not hearing his voice, not sharing time with him, knowing that nothing will be the same again, sometimes I break down and cry. 

I know that it will take time to heal, and I'm good with that.  Today though, is the first day that I have been able to have a sheer sense of happiness.  A day that I am actually enjoying, rather than just surviving!  Perhaps it helps that my dear hubby (ah he is so sweet to me), brought me flowers, a nice card, my favourite treat (a chocolate bar) and got me that new book that I wanted.  (which I will talk about further down).  He also took me to lunch today with his Mom and sister.  So far today has been enjoyable.

Life for me is about having a sense of purpose.  When something happens in my life and I lose that... I am not really living, I am in survival mode.  Its time to move past that... and get back my sense of purpose.

Now about this book that I wanted.  Last week I was flipping through the channels one afternoon (laying in bed - surviving - well depressed actually, if I am to be completely honest here), and on the screen came Oprah.  This day she was interviewing an author Geneen Roth and the topic of conversation was her new book: 

Women Food And God

I found this interview so appealing, so captivating, so interesting.. I knew I had to have this book.  In fact, I immediately texted my best friend Jen and told her she needed to watch Oprah that day (she pvr's it).  I knew she would be interested too.

Well today my hubby presented me with this book, and I am so excited to start reading it.  I am hoping that not only will it help me to understand why I turn to food to console myself or when I am bored, but also give me more insight into the other women (and men) that I coach.

Click here to read an excerpt from the book on Oprah.com.



Click on the book to see if it is available on Amazon.com

I will keep you updated as I read this book and begin on "An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything"








Have an Amazing Day!

Patience… goes along way in a Poker Tourney!

Every Sunday afternoon Poker Stars hosts the Sunday 1/4 Million Tourney.  It is a very large tournament, a lot of people enter it because it only costs $11.00 to play, and if you finish at the final table you can make $1000’s.

I won a seat in yesterdays tourney on a $2.20 Satellite Tournament that I had won on Saturday.  I was pretty happy about getting into the tournament cheaply. 

36,306 entrants in it.  I knew, if I played well and had some good cards along the way, I could be in it for a while.  So I went ahead and prepared dinner, early in the afternoon, so that the family could eat whenever they got hungry.  During these multi – table tournaments you get a 5 minute break each hour. 

I did get some good cards at key times.  I laid down some good hands at key points and I think played the best poker I have ever played.  I managed a 28th place finish.

28th out of 36,306 entrants… that in itself is a feat.  With a prize pool close of $363,000, I made the best cash I have ever made on Poker Stars.  I was thrilled.  Well, still am..  :)

It took 7 1/2 hours for my tournament run to come to an end.  I stayed patient, focused and disciplined along the way.  In the end, with a short stack and looking down at JJ.. I decided to throw all my remaining chips in.  It was the right thing to do.  This starting hand is a better than 3 to 1 favourite from any random hand.  I got a call from one player who was holding Q8.  However, he flopped an 8 and rivered a Queen, which ended my run. 

I know that I didn’t go out on a mistake… just luck of the cards!

Now, if I could only convince Poker Pro and fellow Canadian Daniel Negreanu to coach me a little, my dreams of playing in the WSOP might be a little closer to reality… wink wink!  ;)

Have an Amazing Day!

February Blahs?? No Time For That!

It happens every year.  We hear about it, like its an ailment.  The February Blahs...  It's cold outside, the wind is howling.  The snow has piled up, but it's not pretty anymore, it is dirty from all the salt and sand being thrown around by the plows.  Spring still seems such a long way off!  This for me would be the ultimate time to get away on a nice warm sunny vacation south!

Converting my wordpress blog to blogger

With the start of 2010 I have created some new goals.  One of them is to start blogging more often.  So today, I have decided to put all of my stuff together on one blog site.

I am in the process of amalgamating all of my writing into one blog and organizing it with labels.  So, if you happen upon my wordpress blog... it is coming down as soon as I have everything moved over.

Wish me luck....

Have an Amazing Day!