Category Archives: life

Live from SXSW Interactive!

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It’s day 27 in my 100 Day Challenge and I’m currently hanging out in Austin at the South by South West Interactive Conference. And while this has nothing in particularly to do directly with the Challenge itself, I’m learning SO much and really receiving a ton of good information that I’m certain is a direct result of the energy I’ve been putting out. And the best part, since I seem to have left my power cord at my friend’s house in Dallas, I’m forced to conserve my computer time and focus on the actual people and events, going with the flow instead of hanging out in my own head.

Quick parting words…I got the message at least twice to check out The E Myth by Michael H. Gerber that I actually drove out to the local bookstore on my lunch break to pick it up (and score some YUMMY Amy’s Mexican Vanilla ice cream!). It’s really shaping up to be EXACTLY the sort of book I needed to help me to clarify my business success goals. So talk about needing to be open to what messages the Universe sends your way.

And now, I have a party (with a free drink or two!) to get too. I’ll post more after I either get back to Dallas or get back to LA.

100 Day Challenge – Day 18

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A Couple of Observations…

One – Everyone is going absolutely C.R.A.Z.Y. for The Secret!!! I tried to order a copy of the book off of Amazon last week and it had about a 2 week or so delay. I didn’t feel like waiting, so I canceled my order. Then today, I stopped by B&N to pick up a copy (and my next book club book – Lolly Winston’s Happiness Sold Separately, which they were sold out of!) and they were sold out! The woman said the publishers just can’t seem to publish enough for the demand. Man, that Oprah is amazing…what she can do for book and product sales!

Two – One of the biggest changes I’m noticing since participating in the 100 Day Challenge (aside from the money just showing up!!) is that I’ve become a lot more mellow. I’m noticing others getting upset and frustrated in lines, or in traffic, or whatnot. But me, I’m cool as a cucumber with no worries. And let me just say, I’m SO loving that. Talk about things to be grateful for!

Three – I also seem to be purging a lot of crap. In a good way. I wrote earlier about what appeared to be a little breakdown of sorts with plenty of tears and pent up frustrations getting cleared. This was great because it really seemed to give me some much needed clarity and it brought the hubby and I closer. But now I seem to be dealing with a sinus-turned-bronchitis sort of thing. I’d let it work it’s way out, but I’ll be flying in a few days and after having flown with some sinus congestion a month or so ago, there’s just NO WAY in hell, I’m going through that again. But I do recognize that it’s just my body’s way of purging some crap. So I can be more than grateful for this cleansing experience – and I’m more than open to medication & healing 😉

Good Karma Baby!

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I’m working on making a couple of deposits to my Good Karma Bank! Well, truth be told, I’ve been doing a lot of work lately towards mellowing out – I seem to be able to yell at traffic and lousy drives like a trucker, but I’m getting better, I assure you 😉 But I’ve really been going out of my way to do some random acts of kindness and doing what I can do to help others.

And now, my main focus is on my sister-in-law’s (hereby known as SIL) upcoming baby shower this weekend. My new SIL is a lovely Indonesian woman with no family here in the US and very few friends or co-workers. So I’ve taken upon myself to plan her shower (I did her bridal shower as well) with my other SILs. It’s becoming a little frustrating in that 1) none of her friends are actually RSVPing, 2) my other co-hosting SILs aren’t returning my emails and 3) she’s missing quite a few key, modern, baby-raising, conveniences.

So instead of dwelling on all of that, I’m just moving forward and shopping up a storm! Lucky for me (well, for my pregger SIL really), a good friend of mine handed down some adorable baby clothes already. So at least we know the baby will have some of the basics, like onsies and blankets covered.

But man, I’ve been spending money left and right! I picked up three outfits last week on sale and now today I picked up two more cute t-shirt onsies to go with the overalls that my friend passed along. On top of that, I picked up a vibrating, bouncy chair, a boppy (with a too cool, reversible cover) and the head-thingie for the car seat – all things that she didn’t register for. Oh yeah, I’ve also picked up a cutie patootie pair of sneakers during the Old Navy sale (and a few things for myself – it’s why I was there to begin with!). Hopefully, she’ll like everything.

Now I just need to figure out what food-stuff I should make as well. I think, since it will be a small group that we’re just doing a sandwich tray with side salads, fruit and veggies. And let’s not forget the mango cake from the Asian bakery. Any other ideas?

And speaking of shopping, since I leave for SXSWi in a week, I’ve also been doing some shopping for myself. Maybe I’ll post some of my fun finds a little later in the week. For now, I have some bookkeeping entries to do since we’d like to have that done and handed off to a real bookkeeper before I leave for SXSWi.

100 Day Challenge – Day 11

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I haven’t been around much the past couple of days, but that doesn’t mean that things aren’t humming along just as expected. In fact, I had a bit of an epiphany this past weekend (at least that’s what I’m choosing to call it since it sounds SO much better than breakdown – LOL).

I think, for the most part, it was a time for purging and cleansing, both in the relationship department and the work department. For the first time, in a long time, the hubby and I had a real, heart to heart about stuff that was going on in our lives. This not only brought us closer as a couple (hello, smoochie smoochies!) but also helped us to clarify some of the bigger picture items

One of the bigger issues that we talked about was my job. As I’ve mentioned briefly in passing, I’m an administrator of a women’s online community. The interesting part, is that I kind of just fell into this. There was an opportunity, the hubby jumped on it, and wham-o, I’m an administrator. It turned out to be a wonderful thing, in so many ways, since just a month or so before (or after, I’m really not so sure) I had lost my job and shortly after that it turned out that I was the primary caregiver for my father-in-law. So everything really does happen for a reason.

Only catch…it’s not something I ever had any desire to do. Lucky for me, I enjoy it, I just sometimes have some challenges in finding focus or motivation regarding the site. So in my epiphany moment (thanks to my loving husband), we’ve talked about maybe turning the site into a non-profit sort of thing and spreading out further to helping other women create a web-based presence – roughly speaking. It’s still in the beginning stages.

So while I’m away at SXSWi I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears open to the opportunities that I’m certain will be presenting themselves. I haven’t given it a whole lot of thought just yet, but I really feel that this will be right for me (for us) and that it came into my life at this appropriate and perfect time. I love when it all works out this way.

And as a neat “look, here’s another example of how the Universe works!” event…after putting a new home on my affirmation list, we kind of just bumped into a perfectly suited home this weekend while out walking the boy. I believe it has everything we were looking for on the list and believe or not. Even the price was pretty right. I don’t believe that this one is The One, but I just love seeing how the Universe brings forth what you ask for.

So go baby, go! And just think, we’re only on Day 11!!

100 Day Challenge – Day 5

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While this entry isn’t specifically about my focus and the challenge itself, it is about what sort of things the Universe brings your way, and what lessons might be in it for you.

Friends have always been a very important part of my life. I like to think of friends as the family we choose to have in our lives. And while I’ve never had what some might consider a lot of friends, I’ve always been happy with the friendships that I have. I’m the type that would do anything for a friend.

Now the Lounge here isn’t my first and only blog. I also keep a pretty regular journal where I have developed some deep, online friendships. I don’t really mix the two and that’s mostly due to my job. As a website administrator in a women’s community, my life is a pretty open book and all of my journal friends, are part of that community (and therefore, my work environment). The Lounge, on the other hand is more for me and not so much about a community.

Well, as one would expect of a journal, I spend quite a bit of my time in there discussing the minutia of my day – work, errands, friends, family, vacations, what have you. And yesterday was no different. So there I was commenting on someone’s behavior (and more importantly, their reaction to a reprimand) on my site. I didn’t name names, nor did I get into specifics, which is how I typically do things. Yet somehow, what I said wound up being repeated in a friend’s journal (in a private – not for my eyes – post).

Interestingly, it was by the very same woman that took something I said once before and repeated it around my community trying to cause some drama. Thing is, when I seem to snark (as we tend to call it) about a situation or a member, it’s not something I haven’t already said to that very member through email or PMs. So basically, I own it. But somehow, I just felt so hurt.

To have this very same individual take something out of my safe zone and repeat it, and then lock me out of it, so basically, it’s all going on behind my back, left me a little shocked. Yet surprisingly, not really bothered. I mean, I had already forgiven this friend the first time around and let her continue to be a part of my journal and my life (never blocking her out to begin with, even after it all went down). This time, I was able to just send her an email to let her know that she hurt my feelings and move on.

This to me is pretty big. Normally I can perseverate on something like this for quite some time, ranting and raving about being violated and disappointed, playing the victim role perfectly. This time around, I just naturally and instinctively chose to handle it all from a higher place and move on. Heck, in my email with her I even wished her well in her future endeavors (she’s been looking for work).

So for me, this is just kind of proof that changing your focus and letting things go, is a much less stressful way of life. I really feel that this is all part of my plan, working in action. Did I not say just the other day that I am so happy and grateful now that I am a complete, confident and beautifully, fabulous woman.

I am grateful for this experience and acknowledgment today. I welcome this confidence with open arms. Thank you Spirit!!

100 Day Challenge – Day 3

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Today the hubby and I continued to work on our house goal. While driving around today we discussed which homes was the *type* of house that we’d like and why, as well as which neighborhood we like.

Then once we got home we worked on cleaning out the garage. For us, the garage has always been our crap storage. We have boxes and boxes of papers and wires that are years and years old. We finally gave up and just threw stuff away. We actually crushed enough cardboard boxes that I could probably turn them in for some cash – probably enough for a cup of coffee!

But I’m really psyched to finally be able to get rid of some stuff and I really think things will open up for us. Good energy baby! The best part, the old loveseat will be going out and my new chair will be put in it’s place. That alone will make the living room look much better. Once we add curtains, the entire room will just feel so much better. And a happy, cozy home makes for a happy, cozy life!!

100 Day Challenge – Day 2

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Last night the hubby and I spent time deciding what we’re looking for in our new house. We’ve had this discussion before, mostly concerning what the boys would like in their new house. But as we were in bed thinking about the upcoming warm weather and what seems like our lack of central air.

So here’s what we came up with…3-4 bedrooms; an office space and an entertainment/music room (can be considered part of the bedrooms); walk in closet space; not too wood or hard surfaces so sound won’t bounce around too much (the hubby’s a guitarist); a large master suite; a large master bath with a jacuzzi tub; 1 or 2 extra bathrooms; living room; dining room; plenty of storage; back deck; large kitchen with new appliances and plenty of counter and cabinet space; large fenced in yard that would be safe enough for both the dog and the cat to visit on their own; room in the yard for a garden; laundry room; 2+ car garage; room to entertain; central heating and air; nice neighborhood; this side of the Hollywood Hills with a decent commute for the hubby.

It sounds pretty specific I know, but I feel that the more specific you can be, the better chance you’ll attract what you’re looking for. And of course, let’s remember this is for the good of all involved 😉

Cheapskate or Demonstration of Love?

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As a childless-by-choice couple, we indulge our fur-babies quite a bit. We spoil them with special toys, special food and snacks, special furniture, you name it. I don’t regret it one bit. I love our boys and wouldn’t trade them for anything (though I’d love for a little girl so I’m not so alone in this testosterone-driven house).

Having just spent the past thirty or so minutes hand sewing my little guy’s favorite toys back together (while he intently watches every in and out of the needle from beside me) I just can’t help but wonder…am I just a cheapskate that wants to get my money’s worth out of his plush toys? Or am just so in love with little guy and the joy gets from playing with his favorite plush toys that I’ll do anything for him to be happy?

So I ask…cheapskate or demonstration of love? But really, could you say no to this face?
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The Secret and My 100 Day Challenge

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After having heard so much about it the past year or so, I finally sat down to watch my copy of The Secret. Interestingly enough, I’ve followed the principles of Positive Thought and the Laws of Affirmation for nearly 20 years now (I got started as a youngish adult). Heck, I’ve even been sitting on the DVD for over a month now. It’s nice to see Larry King and Oprah embrace it!

For the past couple of days, I’ve had strangers start talking to me about the movie completely unprompted (this isn’t as abnormal for me as you might think). Not one to ignore the message, I finally watched it twice last night – once to hear it, and once to take notes. Today, I handed it off to a friend and jumpstarted a conversation about it on my website. Just doing my part to spread the word.

While catching up on some TS clips on YouTube, I also stumbled upon the 100 Day Challenge. So knowing that it’s time to kick things up a notch or two, I thought I’d embrace this very challenge. So over the next 100 days, expect to read a lot about my life and all that I’m creating. I’m sure I’ll also throw in some background info about myself considering this belief structure plays a huge part on who I am and how I came to be. So coming up you’ll find some affirmations, much gratitude, some manifestation and a whole lot of love.

Everything happens for a reason and there’s no time like the present! Anyone care to join me?

I can’t figure out how to post a YouTube video here, so here’s a Secret summary link instead.

Modern Medicine Rocks!

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My fantabulous doctor just called me. After my not-so-graceful fall last week I headed out to the doctor for a quickie check up. While there I thought I’d have her check both my thyroid levels (since I’m feeling a bit symptomatic again) and my testosterone levels (since my dermo seems to think I might have PCOS because I’m over 35 and still getting cystic acne – as if being overweight isn’t enough).

Well, turns out I don’t in fact have PCOS and my testosterone (or whatever) levels are just fine. To be honest, both my doc and I thought the dermo was a bit of a whack job for going there. My acne is all but PMS-time, gone. So that’s good to know.

She did tell me though to double up on my thyroid meds. This is good news to me. It means I’ll be sleeping better, the stupid lump in my throat will go away, the occasional, light-headed, dizzy spells will go away, and no more arm tinglies when I’m reading in bed. And to think, these symptoms are nothing compared to what I was dealing with before the meds! And won’t the hubby be happy when the snoring stops (he actually woke me up when I first started my meds – and they worked – to tell me that I wasn’t snoring — goofball!)

So yeah, modern medicine rocks!!