My Thoughts on Equality

This is such a hard post to write, because people these days are so prone to be offended.  But here's what I say to that:  I have no agenda to offend.  I only want to bring people together as Human Beings.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the US.  For those who don't know, this day marks the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King was instrumental in the non-violent activism of the civil rights movement for the US.  On April 4, 1968, he was assassinated by James Earl Ray (as records stand now).

He was a true leader -- one I wish we had here today.  His message of equality by peace is something we still need today.  If he were here, I know that he would work to curtail the riots and the hate that is being displayed now.

Look.  Here's one thing this blogger can say, without a doubt.  I think white people and black people and every other color people in these United States have the same opportunity.  The fact is, we want everyone in the US to succeed.  Because quite frankly, if you succeed, I will succeed somewhere down the line.  That's the way it's supposed to work.

I don't give a crap what color your skin is.  I want you to succeed as an American -- as a Human Being.  If you succeed, I succeed.  That's just the way it works.

However, if  you are someone that is not able to be successful because of racism or discrimination or whatever, then that's a problem for me.  Because it's holding back Human Kind, which is holding me back.

On the other hand, if you're one of these people who thrives at being held back so you can lament about it, and protest about it, and collect government assistance because of it, I have no time for you. And if you participate in stupid protests that hold up business productivity, you are even more on my shit list.  And I feel safe to say that you would be a huge disappointment to Dr. King.

Get it together, people.  We are ALL on this Earth together.  There's no getting around that.  We need to figure out how to make it work (it's really not that hard, folks) and stop this unnecessary misery.

I love you all.  Please give your fellow Human a hug, no matter their color, and tell them you love them.

On Keeping Up The Pace

conniefitzgerald205

This is my thirteenth blog post in a row.  That's pretty good for me, but I am tired.  How do people do it?  It doesn't help that I've had a headache for four days and a migraine for two and a half of them. At this moment it hurts to think, so I'm going to take it easy and just ramble a little bit.

I've thought about writing a few blog posts in advance to have on hand for days like this, or when I have to work late, or whatever.  But part of the reason for me blogging every day is to practice the craft of writing, and doing it every day to develop the habit.  If I write advance posts and give myself permission to skip a day, well that's defeating the purpose.  So I'm going to trudge forward with blogging every day.  Just know that some of them will be boring.  Like this one.

On a happy note, we have freezing rain in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning.  Just a little bit, and knowing the way our weather rolls, it will probably fizzle out and do nothing, but at least it's in the forecast.  I'm ready for wintry weather.  I'd prefer it be in the form of fluffy snow instead of ice, but I'll take what I can get.  Incidentally, we had thunder ten days ago.  You know the old wives tale: If there's thunder in the winter, that means snow will follow in ten days.  Well, we're not going to have snow tomorrow, but it's trying!

For those of you who don't know, I'm a winter weather fanatic.  I love snow so much!  Mostly because we hardly ever get it in my neck of the woods.  I'm sure if I lived in Buffalo or Minnesota I'd be sick of it,  So if we do happen to have any of the frozen precipitation grace us with its presence, you can expect for me to write about it here!

I know this is short and sweet, but I'm going to end today's post here.  I hope you are well and warm wherever you are!

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Broadcast...

Victoria Nevland

Hi there, friend.

I had planned to continue with the 2015 Goals Series today.  I have three more goals to share. Coincidentally, they are the three goals that will be the most challenging for me, and the three that I have been procrastinating on for the longest.  But, I'm tired, folks.  It's only Wednesday, but I'm tired.

So I decided to take a pause in the series posts, and just pop in to chat.  I don't really have a particular topic in mind to discuss, so this will be one of those rambly posts I warned you about.

(I'm not procrastinating.  Really.  I'm not.)

I still find that I'm struggling with my time.  I'm struggling with finding enough time to do all of the things I want to do. There are so many things!  Yes, I could wake up earlier.  Or I could do something on my lunch hour.  Or I could go to bed later.  The problem I face is, I love to do all those things, too! I love to sleep until the last possible moment in the mornings.  And I like to use my lunch hours to unwind, when I can.  The truth is, most days I don't even step away from my desk for lunch.  And staying up late?  Ha!

I also have trouble with prioritizing.  I tend to do the fun things first -- the things I really want to do -- and then bemoan when I run out of time before I can do the un-fun stuff -- the things I really don't want to do.

The thing is, I know that it's all about choices.  I have to choose how I want to spend my time.  I have to either live with the choices I make, or make different choices.  It's quite simple, really.  But at the same time it's so hard!

*sigh*

This turned out to be a whiny post, didn't it.  Not what I intended, but I won't apologize.  I want this blog to reflect who I am.  And, sometimes I'm a bit whiny.  But don't worry, it won't last long.

Now I'm going to go put on my jammies, have a cup of tea, and meditate.  And tomorrow will be a new day.  And it will be more productive than today, because that will be the choice I make.

Thanks for listening.

Why Spring and Summer Are Not My Favorite Times of the Year

ganzoman

Almost everyone who knows me is aware of my love for Autumn and Winter.  I'm well-known for my "snow dance" that begins late in the Fall, and my constant tracking of any Winter weather that even hints at stopping at my doorstep. 

It's also true that I love the change into all of the seasons.  The transition from Summer to Fall is my most favorite, because we get some relief from the hot and humid days, and it's the coming of the cold, holiday season. Fall to Winter, as I've said, brings the chance of Winter weather.  It also brings my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Winter to Spring brings fleeting relief from the cold and dreary days and the possibility of me being warm.  Spring to Summer is not much of a transition in my neck of the woods, as they are very similar as far as temperature goes, but I do like the change of scenery -- trees are fully dressed in their grown-up leaves, and the pollen is gone.

For the most part, though, Spring and Summer are my least favorite seasons.  Here's why:

1. I don't like pastel colors.  They're all over the place in the Spring -- in Easter baskets, in fashion, and in cosmetics.  Blech.
2. I don't like showing so much skin.  It's not a body image thing, or a religious thing.  I just don't like it.  If I could get away with it, I would wear sweaters and turtlenecks year round.  I'm uncomfortable in my bare arms and blinding white skin.
3. I don't like bugs.  They bug me.  (See what I did there?  :) )  I can't enjoy sitting outside in the evenings without being pestered by mosquitoes.  And being outside during the day means dealing with ticks and gnats and wasps and bees.
4. I don't like to sweat.  Yes, I adore being warm, but there's a fine line between being snuggly warm and dripping with smelly sweat.  And I don't like crossing that line.

Yes, there are things that I do like about Spring and Summer, but for the most part, I don't enjoy them.  I've already begun my countdown to Autumn 2014.  It's on September 23 -- 153 more days -- in case you're wondering.  :)

Do you have a favorite season?  What do you like most about it? 

Until next time, be well.

What I Learned During My Facebook Sabbatical

the.comedian

Hi there!  Happy Easter!  I hope you and your loved ones are enjoying your Easter weekend.

This day means several things to me: 

1. It's a day to celebrate our Risen Lord, and to be eternally thankful for his greatest sacrifice.
2. This day symbolically means (for me) the beginning of the Spring/Summer season.  It's not my favorite time of year, but that's for another blog post.
3. This year, today is the end of my sabbatical from Facebook.

This post is to reflect on my time away from Facebook, and share some of the things I have learned.

First, full disclosure:  I did visit Facebook four times during my time away.  Three times to wish loved ones a happy birthday, and once to accept a friend request and look at the photos of her sweet baby boy.  Each of those times, though, I quickly did what I intended to do, and did not stray to look at my wall or any other posts.

Now, on to what I learned!

Most importantly, I didn't really miss it all that much.

Sure, there were times when I missed checking in with some friends to find out how they were doing and what they were up to.  And during the first few days, I had to stop myself from the habit of opening Facebook first thing in the morning.  But after the first week or so, I didn't really think about it.  Instead, I wrote in my journal, or read my favorite blogs or books, or read the news.


I CAN do something for more than seven days!

The second and most amazing thing I learned is that if I focus hard enough, I CAN do something for more than seven days!  I have always believed that I have a very short attention span, and that belief was based on facts.  I almost always lose interest in things after a few days.  There are many examples of this, but the one I like to regurgitate most often is the fact that I've never been able to use the teeth-whitening strips for more than seven days.  (If I'm honest, I've never been able to use them for more than three days!)  But here's the thing:  Your mind will do whatever you tell it to do!  If you tell your mind that you can't do something for more than seven days, well, your mind will abide by your wishes and not let you do something for more than seven days!  It's quite amazing, really.  In the case of my Facebook sabbatical, I told myself that I would stay away for 40 days, and I meant it.  It was important to me that I follow through with it.  (The fact that I posted on Facebook that I would be away for 40 days helped tremendously.  I had to be accountable!)  And because of my determination, I was able to do it without too much difficulty.

Go inward, share less.

Those who follow me on Facebook know that I've been going through some hormonal challenges.  And the reason they know that is because I've shared my hormonal outbursts on Facebook!  That's not cool.  There are some things that should not be put out there on the internet.  What I have learned (or was reminded of, really, because I already knew it) is that going inward in meditation is much more healthy than spreading grievances outward.  Going inward and reflecting on what I'm experiencing helps me to eventually deal with it, and learn about myself.  Going outward just makes me look like an ass.

Intimate relationships are more valuable than superficial relationships.

I don't mean to say that I consider my Facebook friendships to be superficial.  I value that reconnection with old school mates and work mates.  I love reading snippets of their lives, and seeing pictures of their families and adventures.  But there's a lot to be said about spending time with human beings face to face.  There's so much more to be learned from that intimate interaction than from reading status updates.

It's good to take a break.

The definition of addiction is "the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity."  Before my sabbatical, I believe I had become addicted to Facebook.  I say that with all seriousness.  Facebook had become the first thing I thought about when I woke up in the morning, and the last thing I thought about before going to bed.  I felt the need to share every aspect of my life with my Facebook audience.  I no longer took the time to experience life through my own eyes, but instead focused on how to share the moments with my friends and followers.  Not cool, people.  Our life moments go by in a flash.  If we don't take them in and let them give us joy and knowledge, we are missing out, for sure. 

It's more fun to live my own life than to read about others'.

The last major lesson I learned, but certainly not the least meaningful, is that it's much more fun to live my own life than to read about the lives of others.  I had started to become envious of my friends.  They were having much more fun than I was.  Why couldn't my life be as cool as theirs?  Well, folks, I answered my own question.  I had to get my nose out of the Facebook community to realize that my life can be fun and cool and meaningful if I just live it.  Just LIVE IT!

I am really proud of taking the initiative to step away from Facebook for forty whole days.  It sounds simple enough, but it wasn't until I took that time off that I realized how it had consumed my life in more ways than I realized. 

I'll be rejoining the Facebook community today, after I upload this post.  But my time there will be purposefully limited.  I don't want to fall back into old habits.  There's too much to be done in this life; too much to be experienced.  I'm going to take in every moment that I can!

Until next time, be well.

On the Words That Wouldn't Come

Sharon Drummond

This is how blogging, or writing in general, has been working for me:

Voice in head:  "Oh wow, I just thought of a great idea!  I'll bet others would be interested to know this!  I'm going to write about it."

Five days later (because I totally ROCK at procrastination)...  sits down to write post...

Voice in head:  "That is the dumbest idea I've ever heard.  Why do you think people would want to read that?  Just give up already."

This has been my writing life for so many years, including tonight. 

I can remember the days when I couldn't write or type fast enough to get all of the words out of my head.  And they were good words, in my humble opinion.  Certainly better than anything I've written lately.  And I didn't even have to try.  The words flowed like a river clear of any boulders or tree roots to hamper the path. 

These days it's hard to even form the words in my head, and those words that do form just don't want to come.  They are very stubborn words.

I think part of the problem is that I try to write for other people instead of myself.  I am constantly thinking about what others will think when they read what I've written.  I wonder what they will think about my words, and what they will think about me.  Even my journaling has succumbed to those thoughts.  So, now the words don't want to come, for fear of being judged or ridiculed or ignored altogether.  I don't blame them, really.  That's a horribly harsh environment for such fragile little words.

So, you can consider this blog post to be a sheet of lined notebook paper containing a few handwritten words, crumpled up into a tight ball and tossed at the trashcan.  (It lands just short of the trashcan just to mock me.)  I could just delete what I've written here, but I think I will leave it.  This is, after all, my personal blog, and I want it to be a chronicle of the hard, frustrating times of my writing life.  Because once that first novel is published and displayed in bookstore windows, I'll think back to days like this and just laugh and laugh...

Until next time, be well.

Spring Has Sprung. Bye Bye Winter!

I'm sitting on the couch, the balcony doors are open, and the birds are singing frantically before they bed down for the night.  We've had gentle rain showers off and on this evening.  While the rain is falling, the birds are quiet.  But as soon as the rain stops, the birds start chattering away.  I think they are rejoicing because they know that the chilly days and cold nights are on short time.

It definitely feels like Spring now.  We've had a few warm days early in this Spring, but they've been followed by blasts of nasty cold.  This day, however, has felt different.  It feels like a real Spring day, and not like Winter is trying to trick us into putting our winter coats and ice scrapers away.  The weather forecast for the next week is full of late afternoon thunderstorms and warm days and cool nights.  I'm looking forward to that.

Those who know me know that I really love Winter, and most especially the snow.  During the Winter months (and sometimes in the late Fall) I start publicly wishing for snow and doing my snow dance.  We don't get a lot of snow in these parts, so I'm often a disappointed pouty face.  I should know by now not to get my hopes up.

What I've come to realize, though, is that what I truly love is the change of seasons.  Spring and Fall are my favorite, because they are the most drastic of changes in our neck of the woods. 

Summer is sweltering, with hot and humid days and nights, so the transition to Fall is most welcome.  Fall soon transitions to Winter here, which really has less to do with cold temperatures and snow, and more to do with the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons for me (yes, I know Winter doesn't happen until just before Christmas...).  They are my absolute without a doubt favorite times of the year, for reasons I've outlined in previous blog posts, and if I haven't, I will outline them in a future blog post. 

Even after a dreary Winter which includes much less snow than I wish for, I'm ready for the warm air, and so in late February I start to look forward to Spring.  It usually doesn't really arrive here until late March or early April, and I think this year She is right on schedule.  By now I'm tired of the sweaters and turtlenecks and throw blankets, and am ready for sunshine on my skin.

So here's to a lovely Spring to come.  I'm looking forward to the blooming flowers and bushes and trees (okay, not so much the yellow pollen carpet that will cover our world), and the warm days and nights, and the thunderstorms.  And I'm looking forward to the kids coming out to play with their bikes and scooters and soccer balls (just don't hit the cars, kids!), and getting more of that precious Vitamin D myself.

Until next time, be well.

Catching Up

According to the most popular blog tutorials, you're not supposed to apologize for a delay in posting on your blog.  But c'mon, it's been six months!  So, I do apologize.  I have no excuse other than blogging was just not my priority.  But I hope that will change for 2014, because one of my goals is to post here more regularly.  I'm not promising anything.  We're almost three months into the year -- and you guys obviously know my record.

So, I thought I would use this post to update you on where I am at this present moment in my life.  There's nothing spectacular, really, but one man's mundane life is another's life of excitement.  So here goes.

My work life is ever evolving.  One day I will be working on expense reports, and the next day I will be traveling by air to a northern state who has SNOW, and the next day I will be tasked with preparing training materials for five different training sessions that I will need to deliver over a five-week period.  But that's how I like to roll.  I get bored very easily, and the unpredictable nature of my job is what keeps me going.

My home life is ever evolving as well.  One of the affirmations I have in my planner is "I want my house to be full of order and happiness."  Do you know how hard that is with two girls who are preteen and teen?  And who are on a shared custody schedule (meaning we have them half of the week and their mother has them the other half)?  But I'm adapting.  The whole experience has been one massive growth experience for me, and I feel like at the end of each lesson I come out with an A.  Or maybe a B.  But that's still honor roll status, right?!

My personal life -- you know, where I'm supposed to focus on ME -- is pretty lacking.  And I'm starting to suffer the consequences.  Honestly, when I'm faced with a to-do list that includes work items, household items, and family items, the "Me" items just seem to fall to the bottom of the list.  And there are only so many hours in the day I have to spend before I conk out in a state of exhaustion at 9:30pm.  As a result, I'm falling behind in my writing, and everything else I want to accomplish.

I haven't even written out my goals for 2014.  Let me say that again.  I HAVE NOT WRITTEN OUT MY GOALS FOR 2014.  I'm sorry to yell, but you have to understand that this is very, very wrong.  And so out of character for me.  Usually that part of my planning for the coming year is complete by mid-December.  I just haven't been motivated this year.  Most of my goals for 2013 were unfinished for 2014, and that makes me feel sad, and is probably the reason for my stalling.  But never fear.  They are mulling around up there in my head, and I plan to get them down and into action before too long.

My perimenopausal self has been rearing its very, very ugly head lately.  My Facebook friends have endured that wrath a couple of times (I'm really, really sorry about that!).  I'm working hard to get that under control, for the benefit of myself, and my family and friends.  :)

So, I think that's it, really.  That's where I am in life as of this moment.  And I'm hoping that this post is a jumping off point to a long sprint of regular, entertaining content on this blog.  Let's all pray for the planets to align appropriately. 

Hope you all are well.  What's going on in your world?

Using Time Wisely

Today is Gymnastics Saturday.  (Don't be silly -- I'M not taking it, the daughter is!)  

Kayla's class is an hour and a half long, and I've struggled with what to do with that time.  Do I read?  Spend time with social media?  Write?

I'm in an observation room with the other parents (side note--more Daddies and Mommies today) and there's lots of chatter and noise so it's a bit hard to concentrate.  I worry about being anti-social if I bury myself in a project and not talk to the others.  But today there are two Daddies and a Mommy who are busy with their laptops.  So I am going to follow their lead today and work on writing some blog posts.

This one is being written on my iPhone.  The rest I will draft in a notebook (I brought my laptop, but the battery is almost dead.  Doh!).

I hope you are having a great Saturday!

The One With the Tattoo

Isn't it funny how we go for so long thinking one thing, and then suddenly we change our minds?

That happened to me regarding tattoos.

I was never into the tattoo scene and never in a million years thought I would get one.  It's not that I was offended by them, or thought badly about those who had them.  I just always thought it was silly to mark your body permanently.  Forever.

I know you can have them removed.  I knew a girl once who was having one removed from her ankle.  And it looked painful!  All red and oozy and bandages had to be changed... Not something I fancied ever putting myself through, considering I am a big baby when it comes to pain.

I guess I looked at the permanent aspect of tattoos from the point of view of someone who constantly changes her mind about things, and can rarely do anything consistently (7-day whitening strips are still a struggle for me).  I couldn't imaging marking my body forever with something.  It's inevitable that I would change my mind, and then regret the tattoo.

Anyway, I don't remember exactly when my thoughts shifted from anti-tattoo to thinking-about-a-tattoo, and I don't remember why they changed.  I do think it was shortly after my 40th birthday.  I was going through a life shift.  My dad had recently passed away unexpectedly, my marriage was ending, I was dealing with the thought of aging... I was looking for change, I guess -- something to shock my system and to remind me that my life was not yet over.

Fast forward five years, to my 45th birthday.  At that point I KNEW that I wanted a tattoo.  I had been casually thinking about what design I wanted, and once in a while would look at pictures on the internet.

And then it came to me.

I had been struggling with my writing, and was really frustrated about it.  I knew I was letting a lot of head games get in the way:  my internal editor (brutal SOB that he is), my insecurities about what I was writing, my feelings of failure at taking so long with my novel (10 years now, SMH), my inability to even journal, which had been my happy place for years.  I knew that the head games were holding me back, and I had to JUST WRITE.

And I decided that was it.  Just Write.  I needed to see that reminder every day.  Why not as a tattoo?!

I found a place on the internet.  (I'm sorry, I've looked for it, but can't remember where it was.)  I entered the text I wanted, played around with the fonts a little bit, and quickly had exactly what I wanted.

I finally got around to making the "go" decision three months after my 45th birthday.  I told my husband I was ready, and we decided on a Saturday to do the deed.

We chose a reputable tattoo parlor in our area (my brother had been several times and highly recommended them).  I emailed them a photo of what I wanted, they printed it and made a template.  And before I knew it, I was sitting in a chair, the tattoo needle was marking the inside of my right wrist with black ink, and right before my eyes I had the most beautiful and meaningful tattoo I could have imagined.

The process took 30 minutes or less, the tattoo portion was probably less than 10 minutes, and the pain was minimal.  People compare it to a bee sting, but I've never been stung by a bee so I can't confirm that.

I've had the tattoo for almost a year now, and I still love it.  I see it every time I write.  I'm so proud of it I could burst.

As far as it helping my writing, well, that's still a work in progress.  But I definitely know that it is influencing my writing, as well as other aspects of my life, and because of it, things are getting better and better.

August will be one year since my first tattoo, and I have plans to get another one.  Snowflakes on my left ankle.  I'll be sure to share it when it happens!

My Filofax - Week #27

I got nothin'.

I have had planner fail, big time.  I completely shut down, and wasn't using my Filofax at all.  And my life was suffering because of it.

For the past several weeks, I have been using Google Calendar for my appointments and reminders, but my task management went out the window.  I wasn't writing them down, I wasn't keeping them electronically, and for the most part, they weren't getting done.

I've been in Overwhelm for the past few weeks.  I started a new position at The Bank; something completely different and unknown to me.  I looked forward to the learning experience, but quite frankly, it turned out to be nothing like I was expecting.  That experience has kept my brain on overload and I've been fighting back the fear and the disappointment every single day.  But that's a story for another day.

I did try to get back in the swing of things with my trusty Personal Chameleon.  (Yes, I've set my A5 Malden aside for now.  More about that later.)

And today I'm regrouping by working on my planning for the coming week.

I'm hoping that returning to my planner will help me feel more in control of the things going on around me.  In fact, I know it will.  That's what has helped me to stay focused so many times in the past.

Sometimes I guess we just have to falter a bit to be reminded of what works.

Here's to a great week ahead!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Today marks the one-year anniversary of my gastric bypass surgery.  Woohoo!

The decision to have surgery was a scary one for me (you can read more about why I did it here), but with the support and encouragement from my family, I went through with it, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Before the surgery I was almost 250 lbs., now I am 61 pounds lighter.  I still have 30 pounds to lose before I reach my goal weight, but already I am happy with where I am.

I'm looking forward to the next year ahead, and am ready to take on the next batch of challenges, and celebrate the next batch of accomplishments!

After-Holiday Blues

Does this happen to anyone else?  Do you get the after-holiday-blues?

This is the time of year when the blues usually set in for me.  Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is over, and New Years is over.  Our family Second Christmas, when my entire family gets together to celebrate Christmas, is usually held at or around the Epiphany.  And that's what truly marks the end of the holiday season for me.  Now that's over, too.

I love the holiday season SO MUCH.  It just holds so many good memories for me.  Aside from the pumpkin pie and twinkly lights and colorful packages under the tree, it's a time for family, and being grateful for them, and everything I have.  It's a time for baking, and decorating, and planning that only comes once a year.

And when it's all over, I get sad.

This is usually when I start to wish for snow.  I need something to look forward to, something to hold on to.  But that usually ends up being a disappointment.  Central North Carolina is not especially known for its snowy winters.  But I'm trying to change that by PRAYING REALLY HARD.  :)

The thing is, seasons are supposed to be...seasonal.  The holiday season wouldn't be so special and memorable if it happened all year long.  So while I'm sad to see it go, I know that another one is just around the corner.  (Somehow the older I get, the faster time flies!)  And I'm looking forward to the end of September -- when the Halloween decorations start to appear in the stores.  Then I'll know that Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't too far behind.  And the cycle will begin again.

Falling in Love -- It's an Annual Thing!

I love the Fall, don't you? 

All of the beautiful colors and smells, the first chilly morning, the sharp afternoon shadows -- they all make me feel rejuvinated and alive. 

Which is odd, if you think about it, because Autumn is sometimes thought of as a dying season.  The leaves on the trees shrivel and fall to the ground, the air gets chilly and the days get shorter.

I look at it as a time to turn inward and reflect.  I remember holidays with family, and warm fireplaces, waiting for the first snowfall.  The oppressive summer heat and humidity are gone, and I finally get to dress in warm turtlenecks and sweaters and drink Chai lattes.

I get more excited about writing.  Sitting outside with my journal in the fall is one of my most precious past times.  And I look forward to the challenge of NaNoWriMo in November.

There just seems to be so much to look forward to, it almost makes me giddy.  There are fairs and fall festivals and Halloween and Thanksgiving, and then Christmas and New Year's Eve.  It's all so exciting, yet so calming and peaceful to me.

I'm making an effort this season to take a moment each and every day to savour each of these favorite things.  They seem to fly by so quickly, I don't want to miss a minute.

What is your favorite thing about Fall?

Photo credits:  Geekr, Lady_Fox

Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day!  I am thankful for those who labored today, so I could take the day off.

My day, and in fact my whole weekend, has been spent in a very restful state.  I have spent time working on household chores, reading the two books for my upcoming book club meetings, and catching up on magazine and blog reading.  Today I did work for a few hours to prepare for the workday tomorrow, but that has been the extent of my exertion.

I sometimes wonder if I have worked to hard to perfect relaxation and "me" time.  I have read and studied so much on the topic of relaxation and stress reduction in the past years, I think I may have become an expert.  Is that possible?  I do think I need to get back on the productivity wagon...

...Which is my reason for coming back here tonight.  I need to get back to the writing.  ANY writing.  I still haven't done that, although I have talked a lot about it.  I'm ready to be a doer instead of a talker.

So I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend.  Did you do anything fun and exciting?

Weekly Review

Hi there!  Happy Sunday!  I hope you've had a great week.

My week was somewhat eventful, though mostly filled by undesirable things.  I'm not complaining, though.  Everything worked out in the end.

The first part of the week we were reminded that things happen for a reason, and when you work hard to help yourself, God finds ways to give you a little boost.  Things didn't turn out the way we had hoped, but they turned out much better than they could have.  For that, we are thankful!

On Wednesday I stayed home from work with some sort of stomach bug.  I hate staying home from work. I always feel so guilty.  But I also think it's rude to go to work when you are sick and risk spreading germs to your workmates.  By Thursday I was mostly feeling better and went back to work, and by Friday I was good as new again.

Thursday was the First Day of School for the girls!  They were both sorry to see their Summer come to an end, but excited to get back to the classroom and to be with their friends again.  We have one on her last year in elementary school, and one on her last year in middle school.  Big year for them both!

Friday was spent waiting and preparing for Hurricane Irene's arrival, and Saturday was spent watching her.  We are in Central North Carolina, so fortunately for us we only had to endure her outer bands.  We did have a little bit of rain and quite a bit of wind.  Our only damage was to a beautiful tree in the circle of our cul-de-sac.

I hope you've had a good week.  Did you do anything exciting?

Weekly Review

Hey there!  Happy Sunday (well, what's left of it, anyway)!  How did this weekend go by so quickly?  It's just not fair, I tell you!

The past week was somewhat eventful.  Let's see, there was...

~ Dinner out with a few girlfriends to celebrate a birthday

~ A surprise party for a friend to celebrate her awesomeness

~ A night of karaoke to celebrate our second anniversary

Wow, that's a lot of celebrating!  It was a fun week, and I was happy to spend it with so many friends.

The weekend has been pretty quiet.  Yesterday was day four of a headache that would just not quit, so I took some of the hub's left-over Tylenol with codeine.  The good news is it got rid of my headache in about ten minutes.  The bad news is I was pretty much a zombie for the entire day.  I took a four hour nap!

Today has been spent catching up on laundry (I used to love doing laundry...) and working on a new project. Yes, I know I don't need another project.  I have several other projects that have not gotten the attention they deserve.  Well, I'm hoping this new project will help me with the old project.  I'll tell you more about that later.

Right now my comfy cloud bed with it's fluffy European goose down comforter is calling me.  I hope to get some reading in before I doze off.

I hope you had a great weekend.  Did you do anything exciting?

Weekly Review

Hamed Saber

Hi there!  Happy Sunday!  I hope you've been enjoying your weekend.  In my part of the world we've had a cool(er) few days, but this week the heat and humidity are supposed to fire up again.  Booo.

My week has been fairly uneventful, mostly because I've had a Horrible Summer Cold that forced me to stay home from work for two and a half days.  I'm feeling much closer to normal now, thank goodness, and should resume my regularly scheduled life tomorrow.

One thing I did get to do (when I wasn't in a self-induced Nyquil coma) was a lot of thinking.  I've passed the half-year mark, when I typically take stock in where I am goal-wise for the year, and whether I need to re-adjust my coordinates for the remainder.  I was not surprised to realize that I've fallen short on making any progress at all.  And that's simply because I get too distracted.  There are too many times my attention and my time are spent on things that steer me away from my goals.  Sometimes I don't even realize it has happened, but then other times I choose to let it happen (but always regret it).

So for the past few days I have reviewed and revised my goals and am going to try to get back on track.  The first half of the year may have been a wash, but I'm going to try hard to make the second half ubber productive.

Oh, one other thing we did this weekend is see the last of the Harry Potter movies.  I think it was very well done, as was the entire series.  It's a little sad to see the end of Harry and the gang.

What did you do this weekend?

My List of Google Reader Items

I love Google Reader.  I started using it several years ago when my blog-reading started to blossom and I needed an easy way to keep track of all of the new posts.  Since then, I visit Google Reader almost every day.

I thought it would be fun to share the list of my favorite blogs.  Please keep in mind that this list changes semi-frequently as I find new blogs to read or discover that a blog I've been reading no longer holds my interest.

So here they are, in alphabetical order.  Please check them out.  They'll be worth your time.  I don't read junk.  :)

1. A Big Creative Yes
2. A Daddy Blog
3. A Life In Translation
4. A Working Mother's Daily Rant
5. Abundance Blog at Marelisa Online
6. Be More With Less
7. Better Writing Habits
8. Caffeinate Me
9. Calvin and Hobbes at GoComic
10. Confident Writing
11. Journaling Saves
12. Just One Week
13. Lateral Action
14. Life in Development
15. Make A Living Writing
16. Men With Pens
17. Mnmlist
18. My Escape Velocity
19. Pick The Brain
20. ProBlogger
21. Procrastinating Writers
22. Stepcase Lifehack
23. Stirrup Queens
24. The Positivity Blog
25. The Reflective Writer
26. Write It Sideways
27. Write To Done
28. Just A Titch
29. Zen Habits
30. {Courage 2 Create}

Do you use Google Reader or some other type of RSS reader?  Do you use it for another purpose, other than blogs?

Happy New Year!

Sally M*

Can you believe it's 2011?  Doesn't it seem like we just celebrated the first day of 2010?

I don't know about you, but 2010 was a whirlwind for me.  There were tears and laughter, struggles and wins, failures and successes.  There were times when I felt so beat down I couldn't imagine getting back up. 

But most times I was lifted up by the loving, caring support of those around me.  And it's to those wonderful people that I'd like to send this message:

Thank You.  

Thank you for being there for me, for listening to my whines and cries, for making me laugh, and for helping me to remember that life is a dance that should be enjoyed and treasured.

I also want to wave to my new friends out there.  *waves frantically*  I'm so glad to have you in my life.  Your friendship and encouragement means more to me than you know.

I wish you all the most successful and joyful year to come.  2011 is going to be a year to remember!

xoxoxo