As the day arrived I had everything in place and got through the surgery just fine. I had a few visitors and phone calls in the hospital. The second day my friend who brought me home helped me get to bed and have the necessary items within arms reach. That night a friend came to stay with me, brought my dinner and helped with a shower. The remainder of the week I was pretty independent. I had the lap top computer on the bed beside me and cell phone on the night stand and answered most calls and emails. I thought I was treating "Wonder Woman" very well because on occasion I would turn everything off and take a nap.

By Saturday "Wonder Woman" was doing laundry, light cleaning, a little dust mopping, then taking a shower and washing her hair and curling it. She also kept up with the phone calls and emails. By 9:00 pm I was in pain, depressed and generally out of sorts. After looking in the mirror at myself I gave myself one fantastic pity party. I finally took some pain medication, made myself a cup of tea and went to bed crying.

By Sunday morning the depression had gone, the pain was under control and some of the dark circles under my eyes had left. As I looked in the mirror, I asked myself "Why did you treat yourself so horribly yesterday?" There was no one to blame but myself. That day all I did was let my friend take me to lunch, the grocery store for a few items then home to enjoy a movie and a glass of wine.

It was a good lesson though because when I started back to work on the next Monday I took it slow and easy on my body. I went home early and relaxed till bedtime. Of course by Friday, I was very tired but allowed myself to leave early and went home to bed.

My body reminded me once again that many times we look and feel burned out because we aren’t taking good care of our self. It took me over 10 weeks to get back to normal, and I truly feel it was because I pushed myself too hard the first few days after I was mobile. Love of our self and our body is one of most important priorities in our life. We need to give that statement thought and energy every day. Am I doing the best thing for my body and soul each day? You may want to add that thought to your daily affirmations as a reminder.

All that I have said previous to this needs to have one more thing added to it – HUMOR! This important spice thrown into life will make everything a little easier to deal with. As I searched bookstores for books on this subject I found several which are discussed in the following paragraphs.

One of my favorites is "Wear More Cashmere" by Jennifer "Gin" Sander. She gives suggestions with humor thrown in and she incites our creativity in ways that will spice up our life and make it more fun. I highly suggest that you purchase it and keep it close at hand.

One of my favorite suggestions in her book is called "Act as if . . . . " She tells us in a fun way what so many motivational speakers tell us – see yourself the way you want to be. Create mental pictures of yourself such as attaining the weight you want to be and see what happens. Make the target of your dreams attainable and start living in that fashion. I thoroughly agree with Gin Sander. I have seen my own life change because I imagined, planned, and made time and money available for those goals.

Another fun suggestion is collecting books. This is one of my hobbies and has been for years. However, in the last six years or so I have become a collector of castle books. I search for them wherever I go and especially when I travel. I now leave extra room in the suitcases for books. I have learned to spread them through out different suitcases so I they don’t weigh me down so much.

I don’t know what it is about reading a book I bought in London or Rome or the bookstore in Dover Castle but I feel as if the scent and aura of where the book and I met will always be part of me. History tells us about the Egyptians including some important relics of their life in their tomb. If I could do that I would choose a few of my favorite books so I would have them with me forever and ever.

Another book I have enjoyed is "How to Be A Lady" by Candace Simpson-Giles. It reminds us of the rewards of "being a lady." She notes that in our society today women are stronger, aggressive survivors and have lost some of these rewards. I happen to like some of those rewards so as I read her book I committed to memory several ways to act in the manner that would mark me as a woman who acts and enjoys being "a lady." Some I already knew and practiced but others I have added to my list of daily habits.

The third book I want to introduce to you is Anna Johnson’s "Three Black Skirts." It is fun.  It will make you laugh at times, has wonderful hints about our body, surroundings, jobs, money, dating and more. The next time I have to give a gift to a young woman I know exactly what book it will be.

Another book which I recently discovered is entitled "Take Off 10 Years In 10 Weeks" by Judith Wills. It inspires the reader with simple workshops/quizzes, slimming plans, skin and hair care, fashion advice, stress reduction, increasing your stamina, love, sex, and other important areas of your life.

It also gives suggestions on starting over after divorce. How to make new friends; the importance of starting out by making male friends before thinking of dating; where to go and not to go to meet men, and how to deal with the sexual area of dating.

I recommend this book very highly and am slowly working some of the suggestions into my daily life. I believe every woman alive will find an area of her life that can be improved by reading this book and building some of the suggestions into your daily routines.

My wishes for you!!

Finally, I have 3 wishes for each person reading this article:

I wish for you to discover the most beautiful part of your body and highlight it with a new look.

I wish for you to find at least 3 things to smile about each day. I like to think of them in order of morning, noon and night.

I wish for you to discover some glorious new challenge and watch it unfold as you envision yourself in that new dress, new job or new hairdo which pleases you and enhances your life every day.