Category Archives: gratitude

They Stole It!!

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A while back I ordered a two pairs of Obama car magnets (one set for me, one set for the hubby).  One magnet was the simple “Obama” and the other was a round, “Vote for Change”.  The hubs and I were coming back from dinner and passed me car and dammit, my Obama magnet is gone!!  They stole it!

Of course, I have no idea who they might be.  But either way, that’s just rude.  I paid good money for my magnet, and we can’t have any signs on our windows or in our yard (or the landlords would probably freak) so it’s the least I could do.  Seems they no longer carry the magnets – maybe that’s why someone took mine.

Luckily, I still have one more “Vote for Change” magnet since it didn’t fit on the hub’s car.  Guess I’ll just have two of those then.  It still works considering the election is in mere days now.

Oh and great news…while checking my winter coat pockets looking for my winter gloves I found my Shure ear buds.  Woohoo!!!  I lost those babies, um…back in February or so I’d guess.  Glad to have them back in time for the Ireland trip.  They’re so much more comfortable than the standard iPod buds.

Yikes, I Feel Like I’ve Disappeared Here

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It’s not true though, I assure you.  I’ve just been a little busy with business stuff.  I was invited to a brainstorming session for a friend’s upcoming business on Sunday.  I had another brainstorming dinner for another friend’s business challenges on Tuesday.  And had a power business lunch today which including still more brainstorming.  Gotta love it!

OMG, even in the middle of writing this, only four sentences in and it’s an hour later and I’ve managed to do 3 other things.  Insane!

Okay, back to the point at hand…I might not be around all that much in the upcoming weeks.  Or more accurately, I’ll be around, though it will more than likely be sporadic and filled with random thoughts (yeah, not all that different, I know, I know).

I’ve got a lot going on with coordinating the upcoming giveaways for my site and the corresponding product.  Not to mention the correspondence itself.  I want this to go well for so many reasons and I think I can make some great connections.  Five packages came today already!  Oh and lesson learned…get dressed ASAP now since it’s no fun having to get the “attack” dog away from the FedEx guy whilst in a robe and my hair in a towel!

In the meantime, I’m also working on my business and working on getting a lot of writing completed.  I might even start my book proposal before the year is out (depending on how much time the giveaway-palooza goes).  I also have some interviews I’d like to get done sooner rather than later.

I’ve also decided that now is the perfect time to start doing speaking engagements!  Yeah, what the hell have I been smoking?  I wonder that myself.  Let’s just chalk it all up to forward movement and great attracting and leave it at that 😉

And lastly, we have the amazing Ireland trip to look forward to.  At least with this distraction you’re bound to get some amazing, photos, right?

On that note, I must get started on dinner.  The hubs should be home shortly.

Migraines Suck; Our Two Furry Boys Don’t

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They especially suck when they take a week to actually develop into a migraine.  Until then, they’re just dull and annoying ache for days and let me tell you, that sucks too.  Last night my week of dull aches finally turned into a migraine.  Believe it or not, I was happy to finally have it turn into a full on migraine.  Once it turns, the days of dull aches and twinges go away.

I tried a new migraine medicine, Maxalt-mlt.  It’s one of those that dissolve on your tongue.  Gross.  I will say that it had a nice quick reaction time and I felt things subsiding pretty quickly.  But I realized it was only good if I was still.  Once I started to move (to head to bed), the painful throbbing started up.  So in the end, I still needed a Vicodin to cut the throbbing pain (and I hate that – thankfully these only happen once a month or so).

I did notice that the throbbing wasn’t as bad as it can get when I take the Imitrex.  I also noticed that it didn’t knock me out like the Imitrex usually does.  So all in all, this might be able to replace my Imitrex (which I try to avoid at all costs due to the onset of the throbbing and the fact that it knocks me out within an hour).  I think I’ll ask my doc for another sample to give it a try a little bit longer.

All of this makes me wonder…when we head to Ireland, do I have to have all my meds in their original bottles?  Or can I keep them in a pill case with just a printed out of my prescriptions?  The only one I’m really worried about is the hubs Ambien (for flying and sleeping) and my Vicodin (I really only need a couple as a “just in case”).  Anyone traveling internationally and have any idea on this?

You know what else sucks?  Hairballs. I think my cat has had a hairball attack every day for the past three days.  And of course they’re big and messy and gross.  Today’s lovely gift was left at the corner of the bed.  Half on the bed and half off.  Lovely. Now I need to wash the blanket.  Guess I can take it in tomorrow after the dreaded dentist along with my batch of sweaters.

You know what doesn’t suck?  When I am dealing with a sucky migraine, the boys know and will both snuggle tight with me in bed (regardless of the time of day).  All that love and healing energy is just divine!

Ireland is IN the Bag!

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I just got back from visiting with the travel agent.  Turns out we’re good to go.  Finally.

Things were looking a bit iffy there for a moment and it was looking like we weren’t getting a decent hotel in Killarney.  But then i woke up this morning to an email from our guy and lo’ and behold, the hotel we wanted (that he wasn’t able to secure, as it was unavailable) just became available.  He booked it and proceeded to exclaim that I’m charmed.

Personally, I think it’s one more example of how the whole 20 Gifts things and the power of positive thinking works.  When you set the intetion and think happy thoughts (*grin*) good stuff happens baby!

Now I just need to continue this wave of goodness and book our B&B in Galway and all is good!

29 Days of Giving

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You’ve heard me mention (and link to) this a few times already.  Well, a while back (a little over a month ago now) I received a blog post submission from one of my fellow Ladies Who Launch, Cami Walker.  I wanted to share her story with you.

Cami recently started a worldwide giving movement called 29 Gifts. I was so inspired by her story, I decided I want to join her cause and help her create a revival of the giving spirit in the world.  Today is my 23rd day of giving.  I’ve not only enjoyed my giving, but I’ve also been lucky enough to receive some amazing gifts back (including some random checks, and the best one, 6th row, pit seats to a concert…for only $12 for the pair!!).  It really is something fun and creative that you can do that will also help to move you out of any sort of rut you might be in – be it financial, emotional, or personal.

Right now, Cami is in the process of writing a book about her experience with giving.  She made herself a promise that by then end of September she would meet her goal of 2,000 givers stepping up to the challenge.  She only needs a little over 200 more givers to commit to her 29-Day Giving Challenge. I want to help her get there.

Why don’t you join me and take Cami’s 29-Day Giving Challenge. It’s so simple. You sign up for the Challenge and commit to give away 29 gifts in 29 days. If you want to, you can share stories or art on the 29 Gifts community site about how it impacts your life to focus on giving (though I’ll admit it, I haven’t shared my stories anywhere and I’ve keep my blogging about it private – it just felt right).

The good news is that your 29 Gifts can be anything…money, food, old sweaters, smiles, your time, kind words or positive thoughts.  I’ve passed along information, books, and some product that I thought friends might appreciate.  I’ve also dropped off old magazines at the local hospital and donated clothes and food.  The opportunities are endless and coming up with creative ways to give is half the fun (when in doubt, or in a pinch, there’s always those click through donation sites and the simple act of prayer).

WHY SHOULD YOU DO THIS? To inspire more generosity on our planet. Because to see our world change, we have to do something to change our world. Plus, the best way to attract abundance into your own life is to be in a perpetual state of giving and gratitude.  You’ll really be surprised at the difference giving can make.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON! Forward this message to friends. Write about the 29-Day Giving Challenge on your website, blog or e-newsletter and help spread the word.

Visit www.29gifts.org today and sign up to start giving!

PS – I’ve been posting up a storm on my blogs and in my newsletter to show my support for this project –  just think, one more thing I’m “giving” for today (and I haven’t even left my apartment yet…heck, truth be told, I’m not even awake yet – I wrote this last night to post today!!) 😉

What in the World Was I Thinking?

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Why did I think that writing up a newsletter on a Monday would be a good idea? Honestly, I seem to have no desire to do much of anything on Mondays.  But nope, I’ve got to finish updating our books, write this blog, a newsletter, a biz blog post and prep this week’s blog posts for my site…today.  Yeah, that’s some motivating stuff.  I’ll work on it all though, that’s for sure.  I’m all about the forward motion lately.

I’ve been participating daily in the 29 Days of Giving (this is the third, different link I’ve used for this event) and I’ve had some very interesting things happen as a result.  I’ve also been focusing more and more on setting my intentions and asking for what I want.  Needless to say, yesterday was an interesting day and brought me some interesting ideas and people.

Yesterday was a local LWL event.  It was held at the Equinox Spa & Gym over in Century City.  Let me just say, this place has an amazing set up.  It’s a perfect party location.  Very cool.  It was a fun event, tons of women, many great ideas, fun nibbles, interesting drinks (mine was just way too strong for me to enjoy, so I stuck to the Her energy drinks and water), and a goody bag to boot!  Aside from the hour or so when the sun was directly upon us, all was good.

I think my favorite part of the event though, was the networking, the mingling about and the catching up with folks.  With many networking groups it’s all about “hi, this is what I do, how can you help me?”  But with LWL, it’s such a casual event.  One minute you’re chatting with someone, the next, they’re introducing you to someone that might be able to help you…but it’s all natural and organic.  It’s not about what’s in it for them, it’s about genuinely wanting to help out your fellow LWLers.  It’s funny how you can just casually say something to someone in this group and the idea just explodes.

Case in point…I mentioned that I have a book idea and a friend referred me to her sister who works in publishing (who I had already been talking to and wanted to hook me up with some authors she knows).  Next think I know, they’re talking agents.  Wow, this could will really happen.

Second example…I was mentioning my upcoming workshop to a few gals and they got me to not only raise my price for the event, but to offer up a test-run class for a half the price (still more than I was originally planning to charge) in just two weeks.  I mean this went from casual mention to actual planned event in the course of an hour!  Absolutely amazing.

Now it’s an hour after I had to step away from this post to take a call, so I’m going to get to work.

When the Husband is Away…

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…the wife will scratch!

Okay, I’m down to the final countdown here.  My appointment is at 2:30 tomorrow.  I just need to make it through tonight.  Luckily, the itching seems to much more tame today.  I’m thinking it just means that I’m getting used to being without meds again.  Then agian, I typically go scratching crazy at night, so who knows.

I did decide that today was the day for errands.  Amazing how much earlier I can wake up when I go to bed earlier – funny how that works.  I had to pick up some meds, drop off some food at the local food bank (thank you 29 Days of Giving), and head out to J Crew to see if those $50 flipflops are on sale yet (they are – $35 at 30% off — I’d happily pay $25 for them though I didn’t like the way they fit).

After the errands, I spent most of the day working on biz stuff – emails, bookkeeping (half-way!!), and reading some biz stuff.  I find that I set these priorities and tasks for myself and my business, but then life happens and I keep putting things off.  I’ve been much better this week though, so I hope to keep this momentum going.

I also decided to look at a condo today.  The hubs actually looked at it on Sunday while I was at book club and asked that I check it out this week.  It’s a nice complex, right down the street, quiet, has a rec room (where I could lead workshops), pool, gym, blah, blah.  It’s a bit bigger than I’d think we’d need with PLENTY of storage which of course means that sadly, we’d easily be able to fill up all that space.  I think it might be a bit out of our price range, but who knows.  It’s definitelly nice to at least get the energy flowing in the direction of creating a new living space.  There’s one smaller one a town or two over that he’d like me to look at as well so I’ll call on that tomorrow.

Now…it’s time for dinner and a chick flick.

It’s the Simple Things in Life

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I’m so happy!!  I finally got around to calling a bookkeeper. No really, this is reason to rejoice.  Our books are finally going to be taken care of.  Best part, I think we’re actually going to use her to actually input our reciepts as well.  This means even less stress for me.  And by less stress, I really mean less tears at the end of the year.  I’m so happy.

I spent a good chunk of this weekend working on our books and our filing.  I still had all of the ’07 paperwork filed in the cabinet and not organized or boxed up.  Which of course meant that my ’08 paperwork was just piling up since I could actually file it away.  Not any more.  Now my desk is not only cleared, but I no longer have mountains of papers threatening to topple over.  Such a good feeling (even though I still have a bit more to file away).

So now I’m going to spend the rest of this week focusing on writing and getting my website up and running the way I want it to.  I’m finally going to get that newsletter subscription service running.  Enough putting it off.  The time is now.

On that note, I can’t say I’ll be blogging all that much this week.  I really do need to get caught up on things (and no, I haven’t even tried to get caught up on my backlog of blogs – though my email is all caught up!)  So bear with me.  I’l be back shortly…

My First Earthquake!

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Well, technically it was like my third or fourth, but ones when I’m sleeping and totally unaware don’t count, nor do the ones that happen when I’m driving, since you can’t really feel those.  My very first one was a rolling quake a couple of months after I first moved here. I had no idea what was going on. I just remember feeling nauseous and thinking that that was just odd.

As was this one. I was getting ready to walk out the door to head to the dreaded laundromat and the hubs stops me saying “earthquake.”  I didn’t feel anything at that time so just looked at him saying “really?”  He pulled me to the front door just as the shaking started.  Crazy.  For us it wasn’t bad, just a lot of shaking and noise.  The pictures aren’t even crooked and nothing fell or moved…thankfully.

The landlord came down just now and he said that upstairs it was shaking like crazy.  It was a 5.8 in Chino Hills. Great, and now the news is saying “not to alarm, but there is a chance that this was a foreshake to a larger quake to come.”  Now I’m scared to leave the house and a little worried about the nieces since they’re home alone out there in Corona, which is must closer to the epicenter than we are (and all I’m getting is a busy signal).

Odd how even when it’s over and done, you can still feel the adrenaline rushing through the body.  It’s like you’re humming from the inside.  Or just overly caffeinated.

Some Things I’ve Learned This Weekend

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This is a pretty quick and non-BlogHer related post, but now that I’m home and setttled in a bit, I realized that I’ve learned a couple of things this weekend.  In no particular order…

  • It seems as though I’m allergic to something in our home (besides our cat).  Every time I go away, my throat clears up and I lose the post-nasal crap.  So there’s something in our apartment that just doesn’t agree with me.
  • As much as I love being around other women…I really only like being around supportive and positive women.  There was some jealousy and negativity in the air this weekend and it was palpable, and downright uncomfortable.
  • I really and truly can and will talk to anyone about anything.  Anywhere.
  • I like initiating contact with strangers – especially when I meet some great people (waves hello to my new friends!!!)
  • Traveling is tiring.  Even though I got a good 7-8 hours of sleep a night, I’m freakin’ wiped out exhausted today.  Like the kind of exhausted where I can barely think clearly.  What’s up with that.
  • I can surprisingly travel lighter with swag than with a suitcase full of clothes.  Who knew?!?
  • Even when you stop the mail, they still deliver the crap.  What’s up with that?!?!
  • As much as I love having the bed all to myself, I miss my boys and my husband.
  • I hate unpacking.  And even when I tell myself I’m packing light (I only packed an extra sweater, otherwise, I wore everything – one outfit for each day – once) it’s still too much shit.
  • I believe my eye lash curler is what has been setting off the TSA luggage search these past few flights.  It’s the only common thing (outside of regular make-up and a brush) that I had with me in my small, checked bag, that I didn’t have with me the last time I traveled.  Guess I won’t be bringing that with me any more.
  • Raisinets does not a lunch make.  And well, sadly, American chocolate sucks and I just need to stop eating it.  It’s just not worth the calories since it really isn’t even satisfying or tasty.
  • I am SO thankful that the ONLY thing on my agenda tomorrow is that I have to pick the hubs up from the airport.

On now, I’m off to veg or sleep or whatever comes first…