Embrace the Blah!

My recent detox treatment has reminded me of an important fact.

I really need to focus on relaxing - or as I say to myself in a moment of rage, just chill the F*@#% out! (which is not a very relaxing message to send to yourself - note to self) This is not a news flash for me- I did ask for (and receive) a Zen meditation CD for Christmas- which I completely LOVE.

My blood pressure has been tending to be run on the edge of "acceptable". There is a family history of some blood pressure concerns. I want to be proactive.

I believe that I am wired (or I've just fallen into the habit) to run on "high" to easily flip into "overdrive" - also known as emotional-rage mode. Maybe they call that "Type A". Things bother me. It's hard to get over it / let it go.

When I was scheduling my reflexology raindrop therapy treatment, my lady told me that you really CAN function after the treatment - but you have to push yourself out of your relaxed state of mind in order to do things like drive, cook, work- so she discourages it. She encouraged me to have the treatment done when I had a few days to really take it easy - and embrace the blah.

I found myself lingering in that "blah" into the week. I let things roll off my back that normally could have thrown me into emotional turmoil. Now, I know that this was likely NOT the effect of the treatment when we've passed 48 hours- this was a change in me and how I was approaching life.

I'm trying to embrace the blah more. I'm trying to chill out. I'm trying to care, but not stress out about things that are out of my control. I'm trying to do my best, but not put unreasonable demands on myself. It's a process and I have no delusions that perfection will be obtained. Balance is tricky. Do you have any tips for things you do to remind yourself to chill out / not take life so seriously?

Here's to a mild-er version of me!

A Week In Review - Of Spam

In one of my Wishing Wednesday's, I suggested that spam should be a federal offense. Maybe this will help you understand why... I tracked my spam account for 1 week (about 500+ messages) and it's created much thought...

Who are these people? Are they getting paid to attack my email? One spammer - igarden4fun- seems to be offering me MANY varieties of spam (dates, credit reports, loan offers, jobs from home). Dude, all I can say is I hope you are getting paid well because the very fact that I RECOGNIZE your address in the Spam Box is really pretty sad.

How are they finding me? It's not like I've put my email on a billboard. Are we forced to close out accounts and start new ones to run away from these spammers? For a while I diligently clicked on the "unsubscribe" button - I don't know that it helped at all. Now I just delete.

What is SPAM anyway? I know it's a meat(ish) substance in a can - and who REALLY knows beyond that...but what is computer SPAM? Special Pain-in-the Ass Message? Special Persuasion Aimed at Morons? Single Procreating Alien Monsters? I digress.

I've tried to consider "how could I make spam more fun"? Could you use it as a fortune cookie / horoscope? Could you make career moves based on the traffic of spam? Are there secret messages in spam? (Think "You've Won Lotto in UK" = an unexpected bill will be coming your way.)

If you have any advice on how to avoid these bloodsuckers in the future - please let me know. Until then, let's look at what I've accumulated in a weeks time. It's pretty exciting stuff!

I have many opportunities to be better insured - 29 Auto, 16 Health, 11 Life, 8 Home and 3 for anything else. I can also renew my car warranty with 3 offers.

I could consider a career change - 9 to go to school, 16 Dental, 25 Teaching, 9 Pharmacy Techs, 5 Social Work, 11 Nursing and 7 Professional Painters. I have 15 offers for financial aid to support this career change and 2 offers to just give me a loan for whatever I might want.

But I don't think I need to bother with schooling since I already have 9 job offers - one is for $120,000 a year and is part time from home! Or I could just write poetry - I have 21 people begging me to publish and I have 7 book offers and 3 offers to proofread poetry. And if none of that works out - I have 3 Home Business offers, and 23 from Sex (oops - it's really Six) Sigma - it just sounds porn-ish.

What will I do with all my money from the new job? I can buy an Ab Circle, use it on 7 offers for drugs without prescriptions, buy ink online, remove my dark circles, get a magic jack, go on a Disney vacation, or buy some quality coffee that they will Auto-Ship to me for the rest of my life.

Money is definitely in my future- 2 of my next of kin are trying to reach me regarding an inheritance, 3 notices about a payment, I've won 5 cash awards / lotteries, I'm going to be credited for 1 ATM Payment, I'm expecting 2 instant payments, Western Union has 2 transactions for me waiting to be picked up, I'm eligible for GI Benefits (regardless of not enlisting in any branch of the military) and I have 1 package that will be delivered to me as soon as they can update my address (which hasn't changed in over a decade). I also have an email alert and an important notice from anonymous senders - I'm sure they also have money for me.

I am a very important person - the United Nations and FBI are both trying to contact me urgently.

Proof that spam is seasonal - 6 offers to help with Tax Debt and 1 about Valentines Day.

I'm worried about my health- 2 offers to buy health products online "discreetly", 9 offers for a diabetic meter, 1 notice about heartburn, 11 alerts about birth control side effects, 16 alerts about Paxil, 4 about Reglan, 1 about Extenze and 3 warnings about anti-depressant use. In the event that all this worry leads to hair loss - I have 11 offers to help me with that. And Smart Smoker will help me lower my nicotine contact - uhm, thanks I never started and I think that real "smart smokers" just quit.

I should consider remodeling my house - given the 10 low rate, pre-approved offers that I've received. And if that doesn't work out so well - I have 6 offers for Time Shares. And I'll be able to verify my good-credit rating for all those loans with my 4 credit report offers.

In the event that I decide that married life is not for me (just kidding Hubby) I have 28 offers from EHarmony to help me back into the dating game. However, I don't think I'd have to stoop to surveys since itouchmyself3 is "hot 4U" , a Brazilian beauty (twice)is new in my area and looking for a date, and Amjad baig believes in love, Lady GiLuvzU and buggy boo both want a date, and David Klottery has a "partnership proposal" for me, while Dr. Antar Ekli is offering mutual benefits. If none of that works, I have offers from Find & F*** and also from F***Book - I'm not kidding.

After all that dating, I'll likely be tired - but don't worry. It won't slow me down because I have 12 offers for a power chair- which I am assured I qualify for with no out of pocket payment. And in my old age I can be prepared if I act now on one of the 8 offers for senior living.

While I'm sitting around, I can enjoy any one of my 14 offers for satellite TV service - HD for the Super Bowl and a lower price than cable - and they will help me to recover from my sub-quality life without DVR.

But I think my favorites are the ones with a "personal touch". Kelly at Facebook has sent me 4 messages. Mr. Li Chin Wu, Mr. Mark Jones, Mrs. Lily Goody, Robert Zoellick, Rev james Morgan, and Dave Agot all need responses from me. By all means if you know any of these people - please tell them that I am much TOO busy to respond to their requests.

And this is JUST my private account. I could start a fan club with the number of foreign emails (I mean - not in English) that I've been receiving at my work address. Apparently I am very popular in the foreign countries.

The funny thing is, for a few hours before writing this - it was like all the spammers took a vacation. My Spam Box remained empty for multiple hours - it hadn't happend all week - it's like they knew they were about to be outed!

Here's hoping your week is SPAM free and that maybe my inbox brought you a smile!

Wishing Wednesday

Wishing you A Happy Wednesday- Week 4:

• I previously wished for a time remote to re-do moments in life - now I would like to use that remote to eat "reasonable portions" enough times to fulfill my cravings - with no additional calories. Okay?
• I wish that I still had "school lunch"
• I wish that when bulbs finally bloom -they would look as perfect as the tag pictured them....where they never droop or fall over.
• I wish that chocolate was a vegetable.
• I wish for Big Love to get started already!

Please add your own wishes in the comments or link to your own "home".

That VooDoo That You Do

I have a reflexologist. (spell check denies this as a real word - get over it) I was introduced to the idea of reflexology (which is a word recognized by spell check) at a training about stress management. I thought it was a load of crap. But it looked like a nice self-pampering thing to do. So I vowed to give it a try and made an appointment with what I now know to be one of the most wonderful and intelligent ladies around.

The week that my appointment was happening, I started to have some back pain. It was bad enough that I considered going to a chiropractor - which is always a source of dread. (I really do not like them popping my neck with the same motion that I've seen BREAK necks in thousands of movies.) I decided that this would be a real test - I had just planned to go to this appointment as a relaxation technique, but now I'd have a real physical complaint.

I loaded up my body pain and I walked a few blocks to my appointment. We started chatting, she started her thing and within a few minutes she had made me blush by the amount of information she was telling ME about MY body. She found the irritation in my back. She knew that I was ovulating. She had comments about my bowels. She could tell that I had asthma and allergies. And I had shared NONE of these details. About 5 minutes into the 30 minute treatment I was making a mental note that she was pure genius and that it wasn't a load of crap and that I needed to come back next week.

I departed and began walking back to work. I was thrilled with the entire process. It was kind of weird - the lady is very naturalistic, organic, homeopathic remedies, etc- so it's just all a bit off the beaten path. And just as I was about to laugh at myself for falling under her spell - my whole back cracked. Like from the bottom to the top of my spine. It didn't hurt. But I did kind of freeze mid-step. I was pretty sure that I'd just become paralyzed and this next step was going to find my face meeting the sidewalk - or at the very least, there was going to be some pain involved. But no. No pain. That previous tension - totally gone.

When I went back to see her (which of course, I had to) - I told her the story and she laughed and said that when our bodies are functioning the proper way - they should self adjust and return to their natural positions. Tension, strain, stiffness and stress keep us bunched up and create our cramped body positions. I ditched the idea of a 30 minute treatment and decided that there was NO reason to mess around with anything less than an hour and quickly promoted myself to the full hour treatment on a semi-regular basis.

I have seen her for respritory issues, a sinus infection that I couldn't shake with two doses of meds and the threat of a cat scan, bladder infections, and of course some stress. With a full hour she also does some head work and an ear massage that would make anyone believe that dogs have got the right idea! At a recent visit, I mentioned that my whole system seemed to be set on "irritated". My emotioanl being, my skin, my body rhythm, my digestion - everything was just "off". I declared that I needed a total body detox, to which she replied, "I do that".

I quickly signed up for what I was told would be a two hour raindrop therapy treatment. And this weekend, I finally got to experience it. The very fact that she wouldn't let you drive yourself should have been a clue about what I was going to experience - oh yes, and the fact that she insisted that you have a "couple of days to rest / recover".

To sum it up - this was a combintation of a full body massaage, a reflexology treatment, a full body exfoliation, the raindrop therapy - which is made up of 12 essentail oils dropped over your back that pull toxins out of your spine, ending with several minutes of being packed in with hot towels. First, I don't know that I've been silent for that long in a LONG time - at least with someone else in the same room as me. Second, at some point - I checked out of consious land and instead visited a place where my mind wandered from thought to thought and occassionaly I'd become aware - and think "what the heck are you THINKING lady?" and the I'd go back to the crazy, random thoughts....one of which involved hearing (litterally HEARING) a discovery show about sea anemonie being cleaned by some particular ocean current -don't ask me, I wasn't really there. At the end, I was very lightheaded - in a kind of mildly drunk way - and really apathetic - in that super "chill out dude" kind of way.

I was escorted to the car - otherwise I may have just drifted into outer space (I really felt like I could have). And while I did go home and eat dinner - I only lasted about 1.5 hours before I called it a night and went to bed - and proceeded to sleep for 13.5 hours! And I woke still feeling very fuzzy / cozy headed and enjoyed my day ion a very lazy kind of way - and took a nap. Even today (48+ hours after), I'm not feeling quite as intense as is usual for me - but I'm totally okay with it.

The bottom line is. If you are reading this - and it sounds pretty insane (and I haven't even mentioned the knocking on your own chest 3 times to stimulate your immune system) - and you think that I'm pretty close to checking into the funny farm. I don't care. I think that this is one of the few times that I can honestly close my eyes and have total faith in the process. And if it's all slide of the hand trickery - so be it. What I do know is how I feel when I leave this lady's "office" and no medical doctor, no personal retreat, no spa pampering has ever come close to matching it. Break out your magic wands, your pixie dust, and your essential oils - they are all welcome in my world.

And for the record - this takes care of goal number #7.

One Thing Leads to Another

A few days ago (like around Jan 1)...I said I was going to try to work 10 minutes a day tackling some little de-clutter task that needs my attention. It hasn't taken long to realize why those tasks don't get done. Because by the time you cook the dinner, do the dishes, help with the homework, attend to the dogs, do / fold / and put away the laundry...well it just keeps going...and going. And at the end, there's not much left.

But here and there I have had some success - it's just lead to other problems.
Example #1. I was cleaning out my mail / crap holder - you know, one of those things that is meant to help avoid clutter - until you stuff it so full that it's holding the equivalent of an entire filing cabinet. And you need none of it now, but all of it at some point? So it lives there....in it's "temporary" home.

So I was sorting through these papers. Giving my shredder a workout. And wondering where on earth this is all going to "live" when I don't put it back into this holder. And I touched the wall. The wall in my kitchen, by my desk, in my house - where I've lived for a number of years. And the wall is HOT. I mean like it measures around 106 degress - hot. Crazy right?

Phone calls later - paranoia growing, I'm pretty sure I've got an electrical problem. And I'm pretty sure this is going to involve the trauma of holes in walls, large bills, and home owner nightmares. Not to mention, I'm feeling pretty guilty about the thought of leaving the puppies at home by themselves - what if the place burst into flames? A quick jog in my memory and I feel a little better - b/c isn't it 451 degress that paper burns (thank you Ray Bradbury) - so surely there will be no fire with a mere 106 degrees.

Well, much worry and a short visit from a lovely contracted electrician who came to my rescue for a small price - it's not an electrical issue. It's a stupid-owner issue. Apparently, it's likely been like this forever - b/c it has to do with the venting of the hot water heater and furnace. No danger, nothing to fix, nothing is wrong.

Do you see how the Universe tries to derail me? I clean a little pile of papers and end up with fears of flames! It doesn't seem fair, does it? What would happen if I actually cleaned out a closet? I don't know that I should risk such dangers...

Example #2. And then I went downstairs. After standing by the wall of flames - it didn't take long to realize there was a serious draft from the fireplace. Really cold. I'm kind of a push button fire-place kind of gal. So I've never really used this for a real fire. Messy, stinky, and a bit frightening to openly allow flames to live in your house...maybe that's just me. Anyway, I peek in there to see what's going on - and quickly realize I don't know WHAT it SHOULD look like. Really, where is the homeowners 101 class?

Much worry, a few phone calls, 378 additional examinations of the fireplace (never with me having ANY more clue about WHAT I was looking for) and a visit from a very nice chimney sweeper dude who didn't charge me an amount that would make me cry....the problem is pretty simple. There's a whole - you know, it's a chimney - and there's NOTHING blocking the air in there. So basically, I've been heating the world for the birds or any other wildlife that cared to hang out near my chimney top. And maybe I've been cooling it in the summer. For YEARS!

A quick slice of some insulation and the problem is solved. I'm expecting a sympathy card from the gas company within a few months - they will likely think we've stopped heating the house. Or at least I hope that we see that much progress on the bill.

There are certainly joys to home ownership - but the list of fixes and projects and improvements never ends. What is the craziest thing you've learned as a home owner?

Wishing Wednesdays

Week 3 : Sending out those Wishes- Please play along.

• I wish exercise was FUN.
• I wish I was on a beach - where exercise would be fun.
• I wish short work weeks didn't have a way of including enough work to equal 5 full days.
• I wish there was a friend finding service -think singles ads without all the mushy stuff.
• I wish hot showers were good for your winter skin.
• I wish the world was a safer place and that peace would infect each and every corner.

Don't Go To The Light!

I was enjoying date night with the hubby when I came to a horrifying discovery.

McDonald's - home of the golden arches, dollar menu, indoor play land, discount(ish) gourmet(ish) coffee, french fries that haunt my dreams, and fancy (still poison to the body) burgers - has added ANOTHER selling technique to it's "you'll love it" tool belt. There is a SPOTLIGHT.

As if your children could not already smell Ronald from a mile away.

As if you were ever unable to spot the golden arches towering about the buildings.

As if you were ever in danger from NOT being able to find the land of heart attacks served on a bun.

Now, there is a spotlight - a fry signal - to lure you in. And a two lane drive through to service your immediate needs.

Ronald, I'm not lovin' it. Not even a little bit. And I can only pray that you had the decency to use an LCD bulb while you're wasting our electrical resources.

Wishing on Wednesday

Week 2 : Please join in the fun of turning our thoughts into things and our wishes into well-here-it-is! If you do your own wish list please refer back to this one. Or leave your wish on a comment below - free of charge!

• I wish my spell check would just surrender to the idea that (ish) IS a word.
  
• I wish spam was a federal offense.
  
• I wish that we were not having such a bad winter that 32 is considered a heat wave.
• I wish I had a time-remote control for "do overs".
  
• I wish difficult people were plagued with hiccups.

Little Smokies, Big Yum!

These little tasties are perfect for snacking, football feasts, or the perfect side to a bowl of soup for dinner. Beware, many times they don't make it to the table. If you are making for a group of people (larger than 4) see recipe adjustments at the bottom.

Little Smokies in A Blanket
You will need:

• 1 package of little smokies (since we [I] don't eat pork we [I] always use the all beef variety)
• 1 can buttermilk biscuits (search for trans fat free)
• 1 small block pepper-jack cheese

Line a cookie sheet with foil - trust me - they are going to be ooey gooey yum, just not fun to clean up after.

Open your can of biscuits and cut each one in half. (So a can of 10 biscuits makes 20 rolls)

Slice pepper-jack cheese into thin slices- about as thin as a slice of wrapped cheese and cut it in half length wise so that you get 2 square (ish) shapes from each rectangle slice.

Place one square of cheese and one smokie on each biscuit half.

Squeeze the biscuit dough around the cheese and smokie so that it wraps around them and press the seam together well. Place on foil lined cookie sheet seam side down.

Bake 8-10 minutes on 450 degrees.

If you need to keep these warm (like they have a chance of surviving long enough to cool off) put them in a crock pot on low.

If you are making for a larger crowd - read your label on little smokies pack to see how many links are in the pack. Buy enough biscuit cans to equal 1/2 of that number. One 8 oz block is still plenty of cheese.

I use to think these were evil-full of calories. But the biscuits are 3 for 110. The cheese is about 50 calories due to the small amount. The smokies vary, but servings are around 6-8 for 150 (ish) calories. So you can have 6 of these little lovelies for around 310 calories - not bad! (Assuming you can stop at just 6!)

A Lesson In Patients

From time to time (like all the time) I can be a little inpatient.

I'm an inpatient gardener...I spent months cursing my elephant ears for refusing to grow. I kept watering and thinking hello, it's wake up time. You are wasting days - sitting there, doing nothing, showing no progress of growth - I don't even know where you are...I might plant something on top of you. You know, something that shows signs of LIFE? They grew. Eventually, but I reminded them often that playing hard to get didn't make them any friends.

I planned and calculated with great passion to ensure I would have my amaryllis and hyacinth in bloom for Christmas and planted them promptly - have I yet seen flowers? No. I've threatened (lovingly) to throw them out in the snow if they don't want to keep up their end of the deal. I provide warmth, water, and regular turning - you GROW. Seems simple enough to me?

Did you ever notice how time is funny? Like when you are about to run out of shampoo / toothpaste - you know it's getting low. You know you need to buy more. So you do. And then the stuff seems to keep going......and going.....and you are thinking every day - just one more day...but it keeps going....until you are finally thinking - Dude, if I have to use two whole handfuls of shampoo today to finish this up; it just needs to END already. And then more days pass. And then it's gone - and you are surprised.

That is just like my relationship with the package delivery dudes / mailman. Here is how it goes...

Day 1. Really want item.

Day 2. Shop and shop and shop and find item.

Day 3. Place order and dream of the happiness that is coming to me.

Day 4+ weekend. Immediately get excited and can't wait for it to get here.
Obsession fills my brain. (I always forget to count "business days")

Day 5. Dying of anticipation - and still no shipping confirmation.

Day 6. Shipping confirmation - but no progress is track-able.

Day 7. Going to explode with the desire to have it in my hands - it just left the factory in Iceland.

Day 8. Rush home from work. Feel like I've been stood up from prom when porch is empty.

Day 9. No package - typical, a$$h%les, that's just like them.

Day 10, 11, 12 + a weekend- I don't want to talk about it.

Day 15. Complete amnesia that I ever wanted / ordered the item.

Day 16. It arrives. Great joy fills my soul and I'm surprised that it was such fast service.

Every. Time.

So right now, I'm ready to jump into the fitness goals of the year. Sadly, the best prices and deals I have found are all online. I'd gladly trudge through the snow, in the flesh freezing temps to have any of these products in my hand RIGHT NOW. But I'll have to wait. Obsession is filling my brain...let the countdown begin. My heart literally skips a beat when I hear the truck come down my street...and I just hit "confirm order"...will I never learn?

Confessing About the Tree

The question of the day is how long do you leave all the decorations up?

I generally try to take the tree and Christmas specific decor down by the weekend AFTER New Years Day. That seems like the right time to get over it and get on with new things. However, more "seasonal" decorations can stay out of their storage prisons until the snow melts or I start wishing it would.

However, in the spirit of confessing...there was a year - where I think we were in a month that started with M? Maybe it was March, maybe it was May - I honestly can't remember, so let's pretend it was March! I did have the decorations off of the tree and packed away. And I too considered the idea of a year round tree. ( In my defense my tree is one of those slender decorative trees that are log-cabin in style - and some people DO use them year round. ) I was kind of proud that I finally got it done - until I noticed a countdown to Christmas item still out in August. Oh well, I can't be perfect.

This year I am vowing to do MUCH better.

Don't forget about Wild Wishing Wednesdays - leave your wish below...

Wild Wishing Wednesdays!

I'm thinking of those ideas - where thoughts become things, where the words we use become the reality we live, where we can have it any way we want it (no, I don't mean Burger King).

And I think I'd like to invite you all to join into this tradition of sharing your wish. If you could have whatever you wanted - what would you change? Big, little, serious, or silly. All wishes welcome!

Here are my wishes this week...

• I wish my pups could coordinate their bladders.
  
• I wish I had a non-judgmental, organizing queen friend that enjoyed a challenge and wanted to push me through the chore.
  
• I wish for more followers.
  
• I wish for success in letting go of things that I can not control (weather, people in power)
• I wish I would get back on schedule - bedtime without King of the Hill just isn't right.
• I wish I could recreate Chipotle burritos in my own kitchen.
• Right now, I'm wishing for a blackberry phone.
  

How about your wishes? Let's see how many we can "plant" this week...

I Thought You Were Sleeping...

For those of you that don't know me - I want to believe that I am not the kind of person that would ignore someone in need. I have this coworker who's been having a bad time - some health complaints, some personal dramas, some work stress - and she's kind of falling off the truck and about to get run over.

Her work stress has led to disorganization - which causes errors - which causes more work stress.

Her personal dramas have led to work disturbances - collector phone calls, needy/ nonsense/ demands from family members which causes more stress and makes her further behind on work.

Her health issues - well, if you have ever had long-term non-specific health complaints - you feel like poop, you don't give a flying monkey-butt, and it's hard to do good work...you see where this is going....yes, more work stress. It has also lead to emotional and physical exhaustion - and a new habit of sometimes nodding off in the middle of the work day.

I sit closer to this coworker than anyone else. I have ears like a hawk. I may be the only one aware of what is happening - but from time to time, I hear snoring. Where, I ask, is this kind of situation addressed in the employee handbook? It would seem that good co-worker ettiqute would demand that you leave them be and - should a supervisor approach - make such a ruckus that they are forced to wake up before being caught. Yes?

And what if it happens a lot? Even when you know this employee is really mucking up the status of their continued-happy-much-needed- employment? And what if you add, on top of all of that - the fact that you are convinced that that co-worker has become a full-raging facebook ADDICT? And maybe this habit is also to blame for their exhaustion, falling behind on work, etc?

Well, I've tried to ignore the situation. I'm trying to hear a little less. Today, I was busy working - not at break neck speed, but working. And I became aware of the deep SILENCE that was settling over the office. No rustling papers. No clicking keyboard noises. No mouse scrolling. No calculator punching. (I told you I have ears like a hawk.) Nothing - not even snoring. So I got up to see if I had somehow missed the fact that everyone had left the office but me (some co-workers are very good at sneaking out) - and saw enough to confirm that the co-worker was still in the cubical. So what was I to think? Yes, I thought she was sleeping.

Time passes - I take phone calls. I make phone calls. I answer email. I finish report. I gather items to take to main office. As I am walking out, I run into the boss. I do not divert my mission, but figure that I can HONESTLY say - it was out of my hands if someone is held accountable for their actions.

When I return to the office - I hear the employee talking to the boss, who says, "Regina, will you come over here and check on her every once in a while? It appears she passed out at her desk."

Yes, punch me in the gut, I feel like a total A$$! Please tell me - you might have done the same?

Potential Addictions & Other Dangerous $$ Pits

There are some things in life that I just can not seem to fulfill. It's a thirst that can not be quenched. It's a need for something better and more satisfying.

I was watching a program on hoarding last night - and it did help me to feel much better about myself. Because I saw these people hoarding LOTS of things - it seemed ANYTHING. And I only have a few -so if there's a line, I'm certain I haven't crossed it. I hope that I am not alone...

1. Body lotions and sprays.
Can you ever have enough of these things? There's the dry weather variety, the smells good variety, the works good variety, the self-tanning, the firming, the cellulose destroying...and then all the various flavors? Not to mention the buy ## get for a better price, or get one free tactic...see how they get you? Pure evil.

2. Fine chocolates.
I know they are meant to be eaten a few at a time. Truly savoring each and every melting bite. (I'll wait a moment while you go get your own fix.) I do abide by the fine chocolate rules and etiquette. However, I like to buy in bulk. I think it is no accident that the "seasonal" flavors are the best.

3. Nail polish and pedicure supplies.
I am much better at BUYING these than at USING them. But I can never quite surrender the quest for the perfect dark chocolate brown, nor the perfectly nude yet subtly there shade of pink. Foot lotions, hand age fighting lotions, foot scrubs, foot masks. Oh the joy.

4. Throw blankets.
Different seasons, different furniture, varying weights, varying textures...

5. Yarn and some other craft supplies.
The problem again, being so much variety in texture, weight, size, material, and shade. And so many sales. And so many potential projects. I really think I could love a cricut...but I know the danger that lies within - so many future shopping trips for the shapes, letters, numbers, varying fonts and sizes - please, just take my wallet.

6. Paper.
This could go under craft supplies - but really, if I took inventory, it would deserve it's own place on the list. Origami paper, beautiful journals, little notebooks, giant notebooks, notepads, scrapbook papers with patterns, card stock. Oh, I love paper. *sigh*

7. Water flavor packets and tea flavors.
In my quest to fend off the soda addiction, I have developed a serious relationship with this section of the grocery store. The last time I was there - they had MISPLACED my favorite energy packet. When I found it (hidden behind the crappy varieties) I bought the whole display case. Seriously. I can't take that kind of risk. But were it so simple that I only loved this one flavor- you see, once upon a time I did not know the wonder that was contained in this particular flavor box - so now, I make the habit of picking up a new one (or two) from time to time. I just keep the dream alive of finding another treasure...I keep telling myself it's for a good cause.

So if you feel like confessing your own potential addictions - feel free to join the party. I won't judge!

Hitting the Pavement of the New Year

Last year, as I was showering (all good ideas can either be traced back to 3am or the shower in my opinion) I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I swear there are little gremlins in my house that are forever leaving things, adding to the piles, dirtying the clothes, stacking the dishes, etc. My office space also has a very busy look - part of this because I am a very visual person (not visual as in "oh doesn't that look nice" but visual as in if you can't see it, it doesn't really exist) and it is also partially due to the fact that my job takes a lot of stuff. I live in and out of boxes. I pack the boxes, pack my car, unpack my car, unpack the boxes, set up the room, have event, pack the boxes, pack my car, clean the room, return to office unpack the car, unpack the boxes and it all begins again. Wow, just saying it makes me tired!

Anyway, back to the shower - there was a plastic bottle that had been empty there for a few days - who's counting it could have been weeks. And the brilliant idea came to me - I need to stop trying to do EVERYTHING (which always fails and makes me feel more like doing nothing) - and just start doing SOMETHING. And if the only "extra credit" I got for the day was getting that plastic bottle out of my shower and into the recycling - then at least I'd be that much closer to "together". And that became my resolution - to do one small thing everyday to make the situation better.

I really didn't keep score - but overall, I did see more of that "just do it now" attitude develop. I also let others "do more" by encouraging my son to do a few simple jobs everyday- there is a chart involved - it hasn't gone so super, mostly due to my lack of "following up". So I'm considering adding money to the mix - I know, I have mixed feelings about payment for chores - it's part of your job as a family member to help take care of things. But I think a minimal amount of money won't be too bad - and we always have the deal where if you want money you are welcome to do some odd jobs to earn it. So while I can not say that the project was a 100% success; I'm sure that my small attacks didn't hurt my house / office situation.

I have already committed to some changes on Does This Blog Make Me Look Fat? Which, you should totally visit - if you haven't already. But since this is about all the other things "Me". I've decided to try to set 10 minutes each day (both at work and at home) to tackle some non-daily routine. Prepare to hear many times that all this included was sorting / deleting / shredding the mail. This seems to be a serious source of trouble for my counter tops. But each day I'll do something to get my Sh%$ together. I plan on encouraging (read as: forcing) my son to join me in this challenge. And on being a more mindful TV / video game police for myself and for the family- more on that later.

I realize that my goal for 2010 isn't going to win the noble prize - but isn't that part of the reason that most resolutions fail? They are unreasonable? It's not too late, you know? If you've over-committed yourself with a lofty resolution...let's face it, no one gets started until the world returns to "normal mode" after the holiday - so there 's still time to jump on the simple yet effective train. Small or big - all goals get you further up the mountain. What are you changing for 2010?