What would helen do?

Check out Picture of the Day Blog :)

helcha8 — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:47:02 +0000

need to catch up on Picture of the Day?

Check out my link:
http://helentdiehl.posterous.com/

You’re going to LOVE it……

Helcha

do what you don’t know you can’t

helcha8 — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:15:51 +0000

“Things are only impossible, until they’re not.” -Jean Luc Picard

Summer 2008 we (Me, Michael, neighbors Adam & Debbie) were planning a longish bike ride.
(Ivyland, Pa to Frenchtown, NJ is approximately 38 miles).
The ride was scheduled for a Sunday & the plan was to attend a Wine/Beer Festival held in downtown Frenchtown.
Someone was going to meet us there to bring us AND our bikes home
so we’d be free to imbibe and not have to bike home.
On the SATURDAY before the scheduled ride, we were literally having a heat wave in Ivyland
BUT Michael & I were at the Beach playing volleyball where it was nice, cool & breezy.
{What heat wave???} In any case — the next day – the Sunday of beer & wine festival – the forecast was for
the same weather (HOT, VERY) so Adam & Debbie bailed (on SATURDAY for Sunday ride….)
b/c “it was too hot”. BUT – we didn’t “KNOW” it was HOT…
(I’m kind of thinking if we WERE home – we might have been tricked into their same thinking
- of quitting before we began………)
We were like – well, we’re going anyway…. so we did.
We didn’t know we couldn’t do it (“b/c it was too HOT”……)
But Adam & Debbie knew they couldn’t……
We did the ride & it was my best average speed to date -
not only did we ride in the “heat wave” but I broke a personal record!
In the end – it was NOT HOT riding – when you are biking at 15mph it creates a breeze – so you’re not hot.
We WERE hot when we got to the festival.
When you stopped moving & it was 90, sunny & humid it WAS HOT.

That was ONE story about doing the impossible/not quitting–
hope it wasn’t too convoluted & you were able to follow it……
I have others…….

Mission Accomplished

GREAT! I SAW A CARDINAL!

helcha8 — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:05:55 +0000

Below is a comic strip I sent to my brother Raymond years ago (in 2005).

When I see a comic or an article I think Raymond will like I save it. Then I give him a big envelope of goodies that will make him (hopefully) laugh (at least SMILE

Raymond is an artist (metal/scuplture) and he loved this comic so much he hung it in his studio. In April of 2008 his studio burnt down & he lost EVERYTHING — all his work for the past 20 years, all his current projects, his machinery/tools, his studio — like i said EVERYTHING ….. and to make things worse — he had NO INSURANCE…..
Saying it was DEVASTATING is an understatement.

BUT — the comic “survived” … sort of….. I don’t know HOW it survived. Metal MELTED but the comic was only singed & charred yet still “readable” –

WHAT I DID was ~~~~~~

I wrote the comic strip illustrator/writer ( Rick Stromoski) & told him Ray’s story. Rick sent RAY the ORIGINAL of this strip. (and signed it too).

Ray got the original framed with the “charred” one below it -
I think it is all pretty cool……because……
one - THIS comic “survived”
two - When i contacted the creator he graciously offered to sign & send the ORIGINAL to Ray!

I mean — we were total strangers to him – he really DID NOT have to do that…..

That’s the story -
– so EVERY TIME we see a cardinal we say

“I guess it’s a GREAT DAY…. I saw a cardinal!”

THANK YOU Rick Stromoski

http://www.rickstromoski.com/

GREAT! I saw a Cardinal

Picture of the Day for real…….

helcha8 — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:36:38 +0000

join me

Picture of the Day for real.

What I do now is an e-mail format more like Story of the Day – as my former assistant called it.

PotD is a way to keep in touch with friends

- you can read more about it here

http://whatwouldhelendo.wordpress.com/category/picture-of-the-day/

at my blog post on that specific subject.

Do YOU want to receive the “original” Picture of the Day?

if so, e-mail me……… helcha8@aol.com

In an attempt to write more & reach more via a website (e-mail, at this juncture, limits who i contact) I’m going to select ONE of my Pictures from PotD and expand on it. I’d like to act like I will do that EVERY DAY but I’m not that committed (yet). Like I’ve been committed with PotD – I’ve written PotD for close to 4 years now.

Never missed a day. I impress myself.

Self-discipline is #5 of the 17 Success Principles. Betchyoure wondering what the others are………

What this is going to accomplish I guess we’ll discover together.

I ALWAYS like an adventure…….how about YOU???

Life is about the choices one makes!

Thank You Note

helcha8 — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:30:18 +0000

LOOK! Annika sent me a NOTE.

Teach them young & they will learn!

Thank You

What a simple NOTE can do……

helcha8 — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:20:05 +0000

A friend of mine wrote a BLOG about Simple Ways to Network Offline.
http://www.philgerbyshak.com/simple-offline-networking-tips/

One of Phil’s suggestions was “Send out notes and postcards.”

: send out notes

If you know me (and you probably DO if you are reading THIS) – you
KNOW I am QUEEN of sending notes/cards artfully adorned with a
plethora of stickers. My MAILMAN loves delivering my mail & people
LOVE receiving my mail (maybe just for the ENVELOPE EXPERIENCE?).
Does it make them feel like a little kid getting something special in the mail?

a present from HELEN!

FAST FORWARD backwards (does that even make sense???)
Last year I was “working” a wine event.
(I use quotes b/c how can something FUN be called WORK?)
Afterwards I sent a little note to the owner where the event was held saying how I enjoyed
working at the venue & how I wish I had the chance to meet up with him.
Side note — we had attended Grade School together – & haven’t spoken in 30 years.

Last night I worked the same venue & this time I saw Jack
(the guy from First Grade & owner of the venue & catering company).
The VERY FIRST THING he said to me was HELEN!!!
You sent me a really nice note last year after working this event.
THAT was what HE remembered – the note. WOW.
Of course I was SO EXCITED. (doesn’t take much for me….)

Notes are omnipotent.

Later in the evening he introducd me to the banquet manager & said -
Adam - I want to bring in Helen’s wines (to our catering company/events).
Woo-hoo. It’s a win win. Our wines are great – they will LOVE them
& Helen gets a commission (because she wrote a NOTE!)……..

WRITE A NOTE TODAY.

Here is Help!

25 Random Things

helcha8 — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:14:02 +0000

1. I LOVE participating in sports – particularly volleyball, biking, skiing & walleyball.
I hate running & would rather bike 30 miles than run 3 miles. I also practice Yoga & Pilates.
2. Despite staying active I still stay FAT.
3. I like to cook ( but never have enough time to cook) & I like to go out to dinner
(maybe these are related to #2).
4. I was a vegetarian for 15 years ( from 25 – 40yrs….. i missed eating meat, particularly BACON!).
5. I have a wine cellar & enjoy drinking FINE WINES (NO yellow tail!).
6. I ALWAYS dated older men. Michael was 50 when we got married
(this was his first (& ONLY) marriage!).
7. I am an ETERNAL OP2MIST
8. The #8 is my favorite number. #8 corresponds to Pleasing Personality
in the 17 Success Principles.
I have the 17 success principles memorized!
9. I like ANYTHING to do with Animals.
10. I worked as a Surgery Technician at Texas A & M Veterinary College as I was considering attending veterinarian school.
11. I LOVE my dogs Weasel & Chester. I like my cat Picassa despite that fact she is a BITCH CAT.
12. I regularly feed wildbirds & I enjoy watching them.
13.I’m fortunate to have a GOOD KID – Danny Diehl
It’s great being a “young mother” so we could play sports together.
14. I started college at LaSalle University in September 1979 & finished in MAY 2000. My degree is in FINANCE. It took me four decades ( 70′s, 80′s, 90′s & 2000) to complete all my coursework – but I did it! I was committed.
15. I climbed Kilimanjaro & SUCCESSFULLY SUMMITTED. (Climbing Kilimanjaro was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my LIFE.)
16. I am planning another trip to CLIMB KILIMANJARO even though it scares me.
17.I have been to TONGA, JAPAN, AFRICA & IRELAND — all by “accident”.
18. I RELIGIOUSLY write a Picture of the Day e-mail which is sent daily to 99 people.
19. I always wear a name tag. (since OCT 2007).
20. I love driving my 2 seater CANARY YELLOW ( yellow is my FAVORITE COLOR) convertible with the top down
on a chilly day with the heater cranked up!
21. I love reading books, magazines, papers & never have enough time to read all I want to read. I will read ANYTHING – I am not devoted to one genre of books.
22. Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music) is my favorite singer. I tend to like ALTERNATIVE music but pretty much like all kinds of music.
23. I am NOT proficient at adding CD’s to my i-pod.
24. I didn’t know I needed an i-phone until Michael gave me one.
25. Even though I am 47 years old I feel like I am about 12 (sometimes younger).

“the adventures of Helen in Africa”

helcha8 — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:43:46 +0000

19,300 feet.....let's climb!

This is a letter I came across in my SAVED e-mail folder.

It was a letter I wrote upon my return from Tanzania, East Africa.
Thought it was BLOG Worthy……I hope you agree!!!

Hi everyone,

thought you all might like to know we got back safely to the States yesterday. If anyone has every visited a third world country i am sure you know the relief felt upon the landing of the plane. We spent close to 20 hours flying – do you know how loooong that is??
i am happy to report the whole trip was a success and only relatively minor injuries to a few in our group ( due to improper preparation).
All members of our group successfully summitted Mt Kilimanjaro - which is quite amazing considering about 20,000 people a year try reaching the top & only 1/2 complete the climb to the highest peak – which is 19,300 feet.
Can you say LACK OF AIR? when you finally descend & can breathe again you are in total awe of what you just accomplished. The trek up the mountain to base camp (15,000 feet) was a “chore” in itself requiring physical & mental strength. Many, many times you just WONDER HOW you did what you just did. My main mental frame was one of “just do it”.    Don’t ask questions, don’t wonder how you are getting to the top - JUST DO IT – one step at a time! Fortunately i trained VERY hard & was extremely disciplined in preparing for the trip that i felt relatively “GOOD” the whole time – yet still in AWE at each day’s accomplishment…..
The final summit day was the most gruelling of days. You start hiking at midnite – needless to say it is very dark (pitch black) and pretty cold to add to the fun. (you do use headlamps so you can see something). The guides start you climbing at nite so you can summit at sunrise PLUS i also think they don’t want you actually “seeing” what you are climbing. The altitude at base camp was 15,000 feet the peak is 19300. You literally take “baby steps” from base camp to summit – this takes about 8 hours. You cannot go any faster – you physically can NOT move any faster – you can barely breathe!   ( i know each of you are all wondering ‘HOW do i sign up for this adventure?’) You are climbing ( & ascending) on an assortment of terrain – from dirt & gravel to frozen scree ( loose rocks & sand) and they throw a little bouldering in just to make it more entertaining – oh yes and there is lotsa snow so you get to trek thru that too. In addition to traversing the terrain you are ascending so there is less oxygen. You practically can’t beathe – that part is really fun! I said they take you at nite bc i think they don’t want you actually “seeing” what you are climbing — what i mean by that — is if you could REALLY REALLY see what you were doing most people would bail before taking that second Baby Step…..
One wrong step – one false move & you were tumbling down the side of the mountain – and believe me – you would NOT be alive to tell the story because you would be DEAD. Yes – the final summit attempt was extremely TREACHEROUS. did i mention the final ascent was TREACHEROUS ???? potentially deadly……………..
After reaching the top & getting pictures taken – you start your descent. This part was actually kind of fun – for me – for real – all joking aside. The surface on the descent was pretty much just scree – which as i said before is loose gravel & sand. If you don’t know how to navigate scree you can be miserable. Being a skiier i was able to SKI the scree – the guides were in disbelief how i managed to get down with relative ease.   (Some of the others in my group got piggyback rides down the mountain……) All those balance sports i play really paid off — I was able to descend in about 2 hours. the rest of the group took about 3 hours. An extra hour back at base camp was a wonderful thing because we still had to do another descent to the next camp. After the last group got in – we rested about an hour. Then it took about 4 hours to get the next camp. That was one looooooong day.   The final day was spent descending to the base of the mountain thru a rain forest. We got to see monkeys so that was pretty cool. We each got official certificates saying we climbed the mountain. And of course bought the t-shirts that say “i climbed Kili” ………..
We spent a day recuperating from the climb then went on a 2 day safari. The safari was pretty cool because you got to see animals in the WILD instead of in JAIL (behind bars at the zoo).
We saw the “standard” animals that one would expect – elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, pools of hippos, black rhino, baboons, velvet monkeys & many others i know i am forgetting. A few of the “cooler” sightings – one where a lioness was having “breakfast” – and it wasn’t a bacon, egg, cheese sandwich. I couldn’t quite identify the LEG sticking up but i am sure it was quite tasty (for her….). She finished with her breakfast & the hyenas & jackals moved in for leftovers. That was pretty cool to see too. Another favorite animal sighting was a cheetah trying to catch an antelope. I guess the Antelope had his KEDS on that day because he ran faster than the cheetah and escaped being lunch that day. The cheetah just got too tired & gave up on the chase - the “chase” was very exciting to see. We also saw a pride of lions just laying around – loved seeing that too.
Hope you all enjoyed “the adventures of Helen in Africa” – if anyone has interest in climbing Kili i kept a journal while i was there & part of the journal is “Tips for next time” – so next time i do it i will be REALLY prepared…….
MY LAST NOTE:   Where i was in Tanzania (east africa) is extremely poor – these people really have nothing – and sad to say – my dogs live better than most of the people there live. We are all so fortunate to have what we have & it is way easier to REALLY APPRECIATE what we have since being in Africa…… I really hope i never complain about anything ever again in my life – though i really try not to as it is ….. i am really going to be conscientious now more than ever.
Every day above ground IS a GREAT day (when u live in the USA).

Picture of the Day

helcha8 — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:42:07 +0000

picture journal

What is it why is it who needs it?

To answer the FIRST question (what is it):
It’s a pictorial of my daily life — “picture diary” I suppose we could call it.

why is it
A few years ago my friend Shannon, who lives in Arizona, inspired me to create Picture of the Day. It’s really more like “Story of the Day” – should I change the name? Shannon & I have been friends since 1984 and stay in touch regularly but - since we live 2,416 miles apart – we weren’t really a part of each other’s Daily Life. Shannon wrote Day in the Life (her version of Picture of the Day) for one year so I could see what her & her family were regularly doing. She wanted me to share my every day experiences too – Where do I grocery shop? What does my office look like? How is my powder room decorated? What did I do Saturday night? Am I biking, playing volleyball or skydiving this weekend? What wine am I drinking & where am I dining? How are the canines & bitch cat entertaining me these days?? What does my train stalker look like?
Just for FUN – as a “BONUS” I often include a Positive Quote and sometimes an interesting website.

who needs it
Other than Shannon I didn’t realize ANYONE “needed” it…..
I discovered that the more people heard about Picture of the Day & talked about it – the more people wanted to be “on my list”. People will often tell me how much they LOVE Picture of the Day. It’s funny how people will recognize someone featured on my Picture of the Day whereas I never knew they were acquainted. Sometimes I am told – that was the perfect QUOTE & was just what the doctor ordered.

If you are NOT a Picture of the Day subscriber and WANT to be on my list …
send me an e-mail and I’ll promptly get you signed up! Helcha8@aol.com

make it GREAT day!

“How Winning a BIKE Changed My Life”

helcha8 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:40:54 +0000

Crinkle the tickets my sister said. When I bought 3 chances for $10 I figured I was simply making a donation to Girls with Gears (an annual women’s cycling event to support Carol for Heart {www.carolforheart.org} an organization set on preventing women’s heart disease through education). Like a “good little sister” I listened to Pat & “crinkled” the tickets.
A few months later I received a phone call: YOU are the GRAND PRIZE WINNER of our Girls with Gears contest – a $2000 Trek Bike. Who NEEDS a $2000 bike I thought out loud. Later I discovered I could “spend” $2000 in Collegeville Bikesport Shop (www.bikesportbikes.com). This meant my husband Michael & I could both get bicycles or $2000 worth of whatever we wanted in the store. After HOURS of test riding bicycles and getting properly fitted (who KNEW bicycles where so involved?) Michael & I each selected bicycles. I will admit we exceeded our $2000 Grand Prize “allowance”. Weeks before I knew literally nothing about bicycles and I was now transformed into an “expert”. I “needed” to buy the “Mercedes” of bicycles. Classic “Helen” antic… Always “requires” the best…. and why should anything less be accepted?
Despite the risk of sounding CLICHÉ, I must admit – the day we brought our bikes home forever CHANGED OUR LIVES. Michael & I started biking regularly. First around Warminster & Northampton parks (ten miles or so) then longer excursions on weekends. We joined Central Bucks Bike Club (www.cbbikeclub.org) and became avid bikers. We biked all year round –unless it snowed – then we skied! Twenty & thirty miles became our “short rides”. Moreover, we spread the biking fever to our neighbors. A few of them were inspired to purchase bicycles and join CBBC as well. We have encountered countless interesting people during our biking adventures and forged wonderful relationships. We love exercising, being outside & meeting new people.
Thank you Carol for Heart for designing a contest where people can really WIN & have their LIVES changed because of it!