How Do You Create Your Own #WIN?

In my last blog I talked about creating my own #WIN in life. I was referring to this ven diagram that many people share on social media. How do you find what you love, what pays and what you're good at, all at the same time? Sometimes, if you're really lucky you do find it. I did once. I wonder if those people who do find it realize how fortunate they are. Do they appreciate it or do they find something else to complain about? It seems like it's human nature to do that because I did.

So what am I doing? I'm trying to find all 3 again, even if they are 3 different things. Or 2. I love social media and I love writing. I love communications. I can do that here, blogging, volunteering as the social media manager for my daughter's lacrosse team and other non-profits. I can partner with Treviño TodaMedia on their app GritoBlast that we're really trying to get off the ground. Those are things I'm both good at and that I love.

What I do for pay is sell advertising. I was very lucky for many years because I loved it, I was good at it and it paid me very well. Sometimes I don't have all 3 any more, it depends on the month and what I'm doing. I'm in sales so honestly, it also depends on how much money I'm making. Other days I feel super passionate about it because it's my career, not my job.

Then there's the writing, that I love, but I somehow never make room for it. I never give it a chance and I hate that. It makes me question my love for it. Do I really love it? If I love it so much why am I not doing it? I keep telling myself that I need to take a weekend retreat alone so I can kick start my writing and get going on my new novel. Excuses, excuses, I know. I don't need a retreat, I need to just do it. Nobody is holding me back except me. That's all...

So how do I create my own win? How do I find time in my life to do all the things that I love, that pay me well and that I'm good at? How can I do this while raising two kids and taking care of my dad? Those are the questions that only I can answer in order to create my own #WIN.

Creating My Own #WIN

I've been thinking a lot about life lately for a couple of reasons besides you know, just life.

This is LIFE

It all started when my sister came to visit from LA a couple of weeks ago and we finally started going through some boxes I brought to my house THREE YEARS AGO from my dad's house, after we cleaned it out and threw away stuff. My other sister who lives in Houston came over to help us sort through them because she's really good at organizing.

There were two boxes that belonged to our sister who passed away 21 years ago filled with pictures of hers and pictures of her friends. They held her memories book from high school, her wedding album, work ID cards and other mementos. As we sorted through these I got really sad, like I often do when I think of my sister's very short 42 years on this earth. This time though I looked at those two boxes and I told my sisters that it made me so sad to think that our life can end up in two boxes that people have to sort through and that nobody knows what to do with your stuff.

One of the photos we found in the other boxes was my sister's (the organizer) prom picture. We talked about her prom date and other friends. She told us that she had heard that one of our old guy friends was sick. We were surprised and that led to a phone call and she placed it on speaker. He answered and told us he was in the hospital but that he was getting out that day or the next. However, he was going to have to go to an assisted living facility because he didn't have anyone to help take care of him. We looked at one another in shock and dismay.

This all led to me going to visit him first then my sister who was closest to him went to visit him at home and has been helping him ever since. She was once in love with him when she was a teenager but they both married other people, twice... Now here is he is very close to the end of his life on kidney dialysis and she is helping to take care of him. So many missed opportunities in life...

So all of these things make me think about life, my life, my kids' lives... my happiness, my reality, my responsibilities.  A friend gave me the venn diagram above and it's such a great synopsis of life. It's so hard to find that #WIN. When we end up in one of the other spaces we do what we can and we try to be happy and that's where most of us are.

As I'm making changes in my life this year and concentrating on my three words, Clarity, Liberty and Healthy, I am trying to work a lot harder on remembering that people pray for the things that I have. Two brilliant healthy children, I OWN (or paying) a house, I just paid off my small mortgage, I've had a rich full life and I've travelled more places that many people. The list can go on, which is why I know that I have a lot of things to appreciate.

In addition to making changes, like running and eating better, I'm also working on positive thinking and believing more in affirmations and in the power of the universe, without sounding too new agey. I'm practicing gratitude, reviewing my vision boards, visualizing, making affirmations, meditating, making a positive list and other things. These are all part of my clarity and liberty words for the year. I want to create my own #WIN.

Far from the Madding Crowd

On Reading:  Many years ago I started a collection of classics that I wanted to read. I acquired some of the books at book shops or people gave them to me. One of the books I somehow got from my sister was "Far from the Madding Crowd" by Thomas Hardy. This was pre-Google and I never bothered to look up the plot, but I had heard that it was a classic so I added it to my collection. I've had it for years now and I never read it. Since it's a paperback it's grown old and the pages have yellowed.

I don't know why I never started to read it, especially since I love the title. It reminds me of how I feel when I'm overwhelmed and I have that desire to just run away and hide. Last night I decided to watch the movie on my HBO app on my Kindle (I sound so 21st century saying it that way!) and I absolutely loved the storyline! It is such a romantic story and the characters are so great. It made me want to read the book for sure now to get more details and to know more about the characters than a movie can't tell you.

I want to start reading again like I used to. I don't read enough and I miss it. I just finished reading "Room" by Emma Donoghue. It's a really great book and I can't wait to see the Oscar-nominated movie.

On Health: Well I have not done very well with my #healthy word for 2016. In fact I've been sick with a cold or flu at least three times. The third time was the charm! I had the flu really bad last weekend and it settled into my lungs and turned into bronchitis. It was the first time I've had bronchitis that I know of. Yeah, ironic isn't it? After all that talk about health!

I ignored resting this weekend because I wasted all of last weekend sick in bed. I cut the yard and I swept and mopped the 3 main rooms in the house. Now I'm feeling a little extra congestion in my chest but at least I've taken all 5 days of my antibiotics.

My doctor got after me when I went to see her about this bronchitis and she sent me for blood work. I'm going to go get it done this week so I can face the music. She's checking me for everything and I know I need to start seeing her on the regular. I hadn't been in three years! Yeah, not good.

Now that the time has changed I'm going to start walking every evening after work. I need to start a regular exercise routine again. I'd like to eventually start Cross Fit and I want to train for a run.

On Life: It's good in general. I appreciate the small things and the big things. I appreciate that I'm working back at the Chronicle again and that I have money to support my family like I should. That's a big one. I appreciate weekends without the kids to be alone and to watch all the HBO and Netflix that I want, uninterrupted.

I'm doing better at #liberty and #clarity than I'm doing with #healthy. At least there's that and I appreciate it. It's still a work in progress and arguing with the demons in my head.

Is it weird to still want to achieve something big in my life at the age of 46? Although I'm very grateful for what I have I still want to do more and achieve more in life. I was looking at Soledad O'Brien's biography and of course I'm not a major news anchor like her, but I see women like her, around my age, and all that they've accomplished and I want to do that too.

Soledad O'Brien is around 49, Brene Brown is 50. I don't know how old Kelly Rae Roberts is, but I did learn that she didn't start painting and doing her craft until she was 30.  I realize that 46 is much older than 30 but still, she didn't start as a young adult. I want to do that.

I want to achieve something big like they have, whether it's writing and publishing a book or starting a successful podcast with a really cool and interesting topic, or becoming a journalist for NPR in my old age. I feel like until I'm dead anything is possible and I don't want to stop dreaming and believing.

Experiencing More by Being Grateful

I’m still thinking a lot about the movie “Boyhood” and that quote that just resonated with me.

If you haven’t seen or heard of “Boyhood” it’s that amazing movie that was filmed over the course of twelve years with the exact same actors. Ethan Hawke plays the dad and Patricia Arquette is the single mother juggling school, two children and bad choices for husbands.

With the kids at the end of a day in Disneyland

Towards the end of the movie Patricia Arquette is getting ready to send her son Mason off to college.

Mom: You know what I'm realizing? My life is just going to go. Like that. This series of milestones. Getting married. Having kids. Getting divorced. The time that we thought you were dyslexic. When I taught you how to ride a bike. Getting divorced... again. Getting my master’s degree. Finally getting the job I wanted. Sending Samantha off to college. Sending you off to college. You know what's next? Huh? It's my f--ing funeral! Just go, and leave my picture!

Mason: Aren't you jumping ahead by, like, 40 years or something?

Mom: I just thought there would be more.

The reason this quote touched me is because I’m in the thick of it right now and the years are passing me by so fast. My daughter is 14 and just started her freshman year of high school. In four short years she’s going off to college. My son is three years behind her so I only have seven years left with him. I have less years left with him at home than I have had with him so far. Wow!

After watching this movie I said to everyone, “I don’t want that to be me. I don’t want to say, ‘I just thought there would be more.’”

I want to know that I did do a lot and that it was good. I want to cherish the moments I have now and appreciate them. I don’t want to miss out on anything.

So then I thought about an exercise my friend Kimmi had been doing. She has been posting #100daysofhappy on her Facebook page and she keeps posting what she’s grateful for. It’s based on a book called “The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun” by Gretchen Rubin. It’s a wonderful personal project and one I want to do too. Most importantly, watching Kimmi do this has made me think about all the things that I’m grateful for and there are a lot.  

Showing gratitude honestly acknowledges the good things we have had in our lives. I’ve thought about how I received my education early, before having kids, which is less stressful. I traveled abroad a few times prior to the kids. Since I had the kids I’ve traveled a lot in the US too. I realize that’s more than a lot people.  Two years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to take the kids to Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York for the first time. Last year we went to LA and to Disneyland.  They loved traveling as much as I do so I’m in big trouble.

I have a roof over my head, even if that roof needs a ton of work. I’m grateful that thus far my kids have been great and I hope that they continue that way. We’ve had our challenges, just like every family does, but we work through them.  Most importantly, they are very healthy and they hardly even get sick from colds. I know that in itself is a blessing.

I’ve loved and lost and I’m okay. I survived and I have a pretty good relationship with my ex husband. We work hard to co-parent our two kids. All in all I have to admit that I’ve had a really interesting life. I have tons of travel stories to tell and great experiences. I will not be one of those older ladies who says, “I just thought there would be more,” because so far I’ve already experienced “more.” I have nothing to fear.

Old Blog Posts, Life and Living with Imperfections

I was driving down a street by my dad's kingdom hall today and I saw a horse tied to a tree with a For Sale sign written on the back of an orange traffic sign and tacked to a tree. Only in the ghetto and in Texas. I swear!

It made me think of a blog entry I wrote once called "Horses in the Ghetto" but when I Googled that title with my blog name I couldn't find it. All I found was some song by the same title. Very weird. Maybe I wrote it somewhere else, or maybe it's missing now. Now I'm starting to think it may have been a poem.

In Googling my blog post I came across other blogs I've written and I always love doing that. I especially love the blogs about the kids when they were little. Seth was just a baby when I started this blog and he's 9 now. I always tell myself I should print all my blogs into a bound book and I haven't done it yet. I need to. What if something crazy happened and Blogger folded and took all my blog posts with it?

Life is passing me by way too fast. How is it already November of 2013? How has it been two years since my divorce? And HOW is it already six months since I quit my job? The time has come for me to either start making some serious money at my business or for me to get a full time job and back into Corporate America. On a good note, I just recently signed on with a newspaper in New Jersey. I really like the publisher of this paper and I think I'll really enjoy working for her. I just need to sell something for these publications now!

I read Brené Brown's book "The Gifts of Imperfection" not too long ago and I started reading "Daring Greatly" but I got side-tracked by another book and I need to go back and finish it when I finish this book I'm reading.

The point is this. Yesterday I came across a Huffington Post article about the 14 signs of perfectionism and it freaked me out. As I read the article I started checking off all the ones that reminded me of me and what freaked me out was that I was able to check off at least 11 of the 14 signs. OK, I'll share two things. (cringe) I'm a big procrastinator and I know there's no use crying over spilt milk... but I do anyway. Terrible I know.

I thought, "How can I be a perfectionist? I'm fat and I my house is a mess." I'm definitely not a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning. But then I remembered that I read something like this in "The Gifts of Imperfection." I don't have the book with me because I let a friend borrow it but I think that I can be a perfectionist even if my life is a mess because my problem is that I worry about all those things and I don't end up doing anything at all.

Even though I read the book I kept thinking as I read it, "Oh that's not me. I'm not a perfectionist." Now I'm thinking I need to go back and read that part of the book again and I need to take a honest look at myself. It's hard, but I do...

When it Rains it Pours! Especially for me...

The week started on Monday with a super early meeting/half day training and then a late in the day meeting too. I still wasn't feeling well and could not shake my cold/allergies. (Thank goodness it's gone now!)

Image from flickriver.com

The busy schedule continued Tuesday and Wednesday at work getting things done and trying to balance it all. Thursday was especially challenging because I had work in the morning, I had to take the kids to the dentist, and then I was attending a UH event that night.

As I was leaving the kids' school, after picking them up to go to the dentist, I tripped coming off the sidewalk and was catapulted into the air. Literally! I flew like Superman in my short black dress on to the cement driveway of the school, and landed straight down on my stomach. My lovely daughter came to me and first pulled my dress down so I wouldn't continue flashing the children on the playground, and then helped me up. I was in pain but I was able to get up and move. My right knee and elbow scraped and my right arm sore. I definitely hit harder on my right side. Both my hands were slightly skinned. Such a typical ME! But as my bff has pointed out, I'm getting older and I can't keep falling that way.

Despite the fall I made it to the dentist in time with the children and then turned back around to drop them off with my niece so she could watch them while I went to the UH selling program's graduation. Their dad was picking them up after work and keeping them for the evening.

By the time Friday came around I was tired and sore from my fall. I had a very early meeting at UH and as I hurried to get there on time I got a warning on my SUV dashboard that my transmission was going out, something that I've suspected for a while now. I quickly exited to downtown and parked it in our garage. I would much rather do that than break down on the back streets of UH.

I still had a luncheon I had to attend for work but thank goodness my editor was going to that too. I caught a ride with her and when I got back I started on my adventure of picking up the kids, taking my SUV to the shop, getting a ride back to my sister's house from my other sister, and borrowing my niece's car. (she is out of town)

The trick with that car was that she had a flat recently and needed a new tire. I considered that buying her a tire and filling up her tank was way cheaper than renting a car, which I may still have to do next week, depending on when my car is going to be done. So that's what I did. I feel like it was very appropriate that I ended the day with two margaritas. I earned them.

I hate to imagine what it's going to cost me to fix that piece of crap SUV. I am really considering taking it to trade it in this time. I can't afford to keep fixing that clunker if all it's going to do is keep breaking down every few years. Ugh!

Then today I had to wake up early to take Miranda to her Open House for her new middle school. I decided to be good and to go to the gym since I was already out and about and practically down the street. That is all I did in the way of being productive today.

It's like some drug came upon my body, or maybe it was fatigue from the whole week, and I passed out and slept for five hours straight!! It was insane. I have never done anything like that before. It was very weird but it told me I must have been very tired. Unfortunately I also feel like I slept through the weekend. I know I still have tomorrow but it's not the same as a Saturday. I just hope that the sleep really was needed and that it means that my body has recuperated and I'm ready for a great week.

Good things are around the corner!! I keep telling myself that and I know that it has to be true.

Fall is Almost Here, I'm in Love, and Random Stuff

First and foremost! I am SO IN LOVE!!! I just met these beautiful new shoes by Ann Roth, via skirt!, and I think I'm in love. Not with these shoes specifically, with all her shoes.

This is the Charisma!

These shoes are just amazing pieces of art. I can not wait to afford a pair. LOL! I LOVE shoes, but I can not bring myself to spend more than $100 for a pair. Even $100 is way too much for me. I usually stay in the $80 range.

So Fall is here and I totally do not feel like it. I feel like something is off kilter. I know what it is. I don't feel like it's Fall because I'm not taking the kids to school every day or picking them up. Since Rey is still off, and doing all of that, I'm not following my school schedule. I don't feel as busy as I usually am when school starts, therefore I don't feel as useful. I still feel very lazy. I'm hoping that the start of Cheerleading classes tomorrow changes that a bit. I'm coming home a few minutes early to take the kids to their first cheerleading class. I'm watching this first class, but the plan is to work out every Tuesday while they are there.

That's another thing! I haven't been working out and that has a lot to do with the laziness. Fall always marks the beginning of a new phase for me, like my birthday and a new year. It's a time that I use to reasses my life. It is so hard to believe that it has been 8 months since the start of the year and six months since my 40th birthday. Incredible... I have never felt quite right in these six months. I haven't felt like my life is in order. Something is definitely askew.

Once again I'm also behind schedule. Instead of sitting down to revise my goals for the rest of the year and reviewing my five year plan before school started I am barely doing it this week. I never even made a vision board/bucket list. I kidded that I needed to make a love shrine instead. A love shrine to myself and my life. A definition of who I am and where I want to go. I hate it when I get this feeling that I'm just existing and not living. It isn't a good feeling and I must shake it off.

Umbilical Hernias, Fear of Pain, and Death (it's fear of pain, not fear of death)

I wanted to post a picture of an umbilical hernia but they were just way too gross and I thought this picture of a little kid wearing a harness to hold in his umbilical hernia was better.

Every time I have to say I'm having surgery on my umbilical hernia I just cringe. I hate the way it sounds! I wish I was saying something a lot more exciting like I'm having a tummy tuck or something. But unfortunately I'm not. I'm going under the knife and anaesthesia next Wednesday to have this annoying thing fixed.

What else? Why is it that when you have a deadline like this over your head the days just fly back way faster than any other time ever? I am trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends at work and I need to make sure that I leave everything prepared for when I'm gone. The days are thus flying by like crazy.

And whenever I'm going under the knife and anaesthesia I get this little prick of fear that I'm either going to 1. wake up during surgery and that I'll feel everything or 2. that I won't wake up at all. I don't even know why I have that fear. I went completely under when I had my tonsils taken out when I was in 2nd grade, when I had all my wisdom teeth taken out when I was 16 and most recently when I had my lap band put in. Every time I've reacted well to the anaesthesia and I've woken right up like I was in a deep yummy sleep. So I don't know why I worry.

So Wednesday is the day. If I die know this. I didn't do everything I wanted to do in life but I got a bunch of good stuff done. I can't complain. (my friends hate when I talk about dying) I still didn't take my trip around the world.

But I CAN'T DIE because I'm hopefully going to MIAMI when I get back. YEAH! I have to go for work but I'm going to stay over the weekend like I often do when I'm going for work. I'm totally going to relax. I want to go to a spa so I can have a great massage and I'm going to go to South Beach. Can't wait!

Oh and on one last note my mother-in-law the saint took my kids overnight yesterday and Rey and I had the chance to go get margaritas at the little Mexican restaurant by our house and to be silly together. It was a great feeling. That's all.

P.S. Oh yeah, and Glow in the dark Mars Mud that we bought at the Children's Museum is awesome! It reminds me of that old Slime toy that was around when we were kids.

My Daddy and His Notes

My daddy in the hospital with a broken hip, but reading his Houston Chronicle religously.

I was gone all day to my one day assembly. I had a missed call from my dad around 6 and I called him back. He told me that he'd been by my house today, but he never called at that time. He waited and called me later of course. He forgot I was going to be gone all day. He said he left me a note at my door.

I get home and the note said this:

Mi hijita Loida:
Aqui estuve y te espere como 2 horas y me fui porque nadie vino.

By by,
daddy

P.S. Me fui para la casa. No me pude mover porque llovio mucho.

I read it and I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. It makes me laugh, but it makes me frustrated, because he comes to my house (walking from the bus stop) without calling first and then he waits for TWO hours without calling me. I pay for his cell for a reason.

He's getting older and there's nothing else to it. The man is EIGHTY-FIVE now. Whenever I say or write his age these days I feel like the capitalizing for emphasis. Very few people live to that age I realize. Of course Rey's grandparents are around that old too. And they still stay up all hours of the night and party, and in Vegas too. Yes, they are the exception too.

But my dad is old and he's more of a home-body. He's a lot older than most people. And he's getting older every day and forgetful. I love my daddy.

When I was a kid he always left notes everywhere.

Dry the walls of the shower when you're done. daddy
Shake the handle of the toilet when you finish flushing so it won't stick. daddy
These are fan belts in case yours gets busted. (in a box in the trunk of my car) daddy

And so on. I always knew I could find an entertaining note from my dad somewhere growing up. He is a note writer and he always signs them simply, daddy. Not even a capital "D." That's my daddy.

The day I received that phone call last year that he had been beat by that lunatic my heart stopped. I thought of all the worse things that could happen. When you have a dad that has lived as long as mine you never expect to receive a call that he died in that way. I always think that hopefully it will happen quietly, peacefully, in his sleep, and never in a violent way like that. I couldn't believe that this horrible thing had happened to him.

After I couldn't find him at either hospital my husband suggested that I call his cell phone and maybe the same sheriff who called my sister still had his phone. Imagine my joy when my father answered his own phone and he was able to talk to me. I felt hope that it wasn't as bad as I had imagined it to be. Yes, the lunatic did break his leg, but thank goodness that was the worse of it and thank GOD that my father was strong enough to endure the surgery. He's walking around great now.

So well that he can walk to my house from the corner bus stop and he can wait around for TWO hours. A que daddy!

And Then I Had To File Bankruptcy

No, not really. But that's how I feel right now. I have had one of the worse weeks I've ever had in a very long time. Career-wise, money-wise, car-wise, etc... My transmission blew out and I had to pay a huge amount of money to get it fixed. Now when I am super tight on money.

I had a very unproductive conversation with someone at work that didn't make me happy. Well, I can't say it was totally unproductive, because it told me a lot about where things stand and where I stand.

I seriously feel like I am at a crossroads in my life and that I need to re-visit my goals in life. Yes, I am one of those people that always writes her goals down.

I always find those studies interesting. The ones on people who wrote down their goals early in life and how successful they are or aren't today. I think success really depends on the person's own definition of success, not the definition of someone else.

I know that early in life I measured my success with my career. Today I wouldn't say I measure it the same way. I remember wanting to have a successful career and there was never any question in my mind that I wouldn't work.

Having children changed all of that. Now I wish I could be a stay at home mom and a writer. If I had chosen that route I would be able to write during the day while they are in school. Summers I would be busy with activities surrounding them. Shoulda, coulda, woulda... Of course I still could, but it would mean a complete lifestyle change.

And that's the hilarious thing. I am having to go without as much money as I used to make because of the economy and other changes at work. If I can survive in this new economy with less money then I can also survive in a different career. Maybe it is time to start thinking about a change.

Confessions of Adult Drama Queen

I have a confession to make. I've been busy. In addition to being a mom, wife and full time employee, I've been social networking, writing and editing my skirt! story for the March issue, working out, and doing a ton of Mama things, all while starving.

I want to start working on my Literary Mama essay now. Life is carrying me away and I haven't had time to blog here or on skirt! much lately. I also abandoned Twitter for a while and just showed up again recently.

I have fallen in love with two websites, goodreads.com and livestrong.com.

Good Reads lets you log all the books that you've read and rate them. It also lets you add friends who you can share your books with and your thoughts on those books.

The other site Live Strong is part of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. This site has a SUPER COOL tool that you have to pay for on Weight Watchers but it's FREE on here. It's a tool called The Daily Plate that allows you to search for foods, even name brand and restaurant chains, and log them for each day. You can also log your exercise and it will tell you how many calories you burned against what you ate. I love this tool and it's really helping me keep up with how much I eat. I used to pay for Weight Watchers Online a few years ago and I lost around 15 lbs just logging what I ate.

I've reached an interesting turning point in my lap band journey. I keep hearing that people experience a much bigger challenge their second year. They report that it's harder to lose the second year and that sometimes complications arise.

I can already see how that can happen. Starting with the stomach virus that I got in January, right after my one year anniversary, I have not really gotten back on track. Weight-wise I have. I'm back at the weight I was before the stomach virus and the month and a half break that I took. But I'm not back on track with eating.

I'm afraid I may have come across a complication but I won't really know more until tomorrow. I've basically been starving since Monday. I haven't been able to really eat for the past 4 days. I've only been able to sip coffee, some protein shake and a tiny bit of chicken. Needless to say, I've been pretty miserable. I finally called the lap band clinic today and told them and I was told to come in tomorrow for an x-ray.

So that's what's going on with me. Life. I'm behind on so many things!

The Drama of Going Out of Town

I have known for months that I was going out of town this week. Months. But inevitably I always end up running out of time right before I have to leave. Of course I didn't know that two family members of two different family friends were going to die and that I would have to go to their funerals. That took up a lot of time from my weekend too. But I take that back. I should have known that something would come up to make my preparations more challenging. That always happens.

Here is a list of all the things that I have to do to prepare for this trip:

Clean House (OK, realistically probably won't get done but should because my in-laws are staying at my house with the kids.)
Wash and fold all clothes
Organize all Uniforms for the week
Buy Groceries
Pack
Write out instructions for Yolanda (mother-in-law)
E-mails to Kids' Teachers
Note to daughter's After School
Note to son's After School
Do Budget
Call Electric Co.
Check Cable Bill
Buy leggings
Get son's hair cut

I've done seven of these and I delegated a couple of things. The clothes and the packing is the most time-consuming of them all. It is always like this when I travel for work. I can't just pack my stuff and take off. I have to prepare all of the kids' stuff and I have to leave instructions for them.

My in-laws have graciously accepted to come stay with the kids at our house. They'll be taking the kids to school each morning. What would we do without family?

So here I am. Thank goodness I cut and paste most of it from my To Do list. I have to run and finish my laundry and start my packing.

I'm Not Dead!

That's kind of a morbid headline, especially since I just went by the cemetery to check on my mom and sister's tombstones today. Weird, huh??

Anyway, I have been totally here just SO BUSY with work and life and everything else in between. We had our district convention in Cypress last weekend and we were super busy.

Here's a photo Rey took of me smiling too big. You can even see my back molars. Or as one of my sisters has said to me, "my crazy smile." You be the judge. Do I look a little batty?

My step-daughter is also visiting from New Orleans/Metairie so we've been trying to do some stuff with her. Wednesday we took her downtown to see Discovery Green, then we took her to Cabo for dinner.

While we were at Discovery Green we saw a really interesting exercise class going on. The guy was playing some Indian sounding music so we started to sway to the music. But the best part was watching my two crazy kids just dance to the music, like no one was watching. It was great to see how un-shy (is that a word?) and uninhibited they are. They rock!

So there we all were dancing around to the music on the sidewalk as people passed us by. Me, my step-daughter, and both the little ones. There was a whole group of people coming from the Microsoft convention and cutting through the park. We heard all these different languages being spoken as they walked by. And the people would smile at us as we danced around. I loved it and I was so proud of my kids in that moment. I wanted to hold that moment and save the feeling in a bottle.

Daily Exercise

I have been doing the daily exercises the author of "Eat, Pray, Love" recommends and I have got to tell you, they really make you think. They make you think so much that I would NOT recommend them if you do not want to think or to face your concerns. If you are happy where you are and you don't want to get out of your comfort zone don't do them.

HOWEVER, if you really want to ask yourself daily what you really want then I DO recommend that you do them. Every day sit down at a quiet place, be it your car before you get off to go to work, your kitchen table before everyone else wakes up, Starbucks, or at your desk at work. Write down what you "really, really, really" (3 times) want. Then every night before you go to bed write down your happiest moment that day. Not your saddest or most frustrating moment, like I am sometimes tempted to do. Write down what really brought you joy that day.

So what has it done for me? I am seriously reconsidering my priorities in life again. What are really the most important things to me when it's all said and done at the end of the day?

A lot of things have been happening around me lately to make me think of these things. People have been making big life changing decisions, like up and moving to Europe or contemplating moving from Europe back to the U.S.

A dear friend's mother passed away yesterday after a long battle with what else, Diabetes. She was only in her early 60s. A dear dear friend is suffering from something she thinks may be a neurolgical disorder but the doctors are yet to give her a final answer. A co-worker's dad is very ill with a sickness they just now found. Another co-worker has a mystery pain the doctor's can't figure out. (my mystery pain was just a sore muscle) It's been interesting- all the things going on around me right at a time when I'm taking stock of my life.

What about you? Are you doing what really excites you and motivates you? What do you really, really, really, want? What brings you joy each day? Good questions to ask ourselves.

Crazy Week and Random Musings

I had a crazy week. I had a terrible sore throat last week but I went on my daughter's field trip Monday anyway because she was going to be really disappointed if I didn't go. Then I worked out really hard both Monday and Tuesday.

Then Wednesday I started having this mystery pain on my right hand side. A few people think it's my gall bladder and I was starting to believe them but then I spoke to 2 of them who had theirs taken out and they both described either gas, like you have to burp, or a stomach problem and I realized that I don't feel that. I think I just pulled a muscle working out. It figures! Just when I was on a really good roll. However, I'm not going to let that slow me down. I was going to go work out yesterday but Rey wanted to have some friends over and then my girlfriend said she'd come over with her little boy so I skipped the gym. I'll make it up tomorrow. I'll go walking with the kids.

On top of having a sore throat and a mystery pain on my side the kids got sick on me too. They both had bad sore throats but the baby's was worse. He had little blisters in his throat. The doctor prescribed some pretty strong medicine and my daughter is 100% better and the baby is on the up an up.

I have been trying these daily exercises that the author from Eat, Pray, Love shared on the Oprah show. Every morning I'm writing what I "really really really want" and every evening I'm writing down my "happiest moment" of the day. It's been really therapeutic. It's helping me put things into perspective and to decide what is really important to me.

I have been procrastinating on a lot of things and one of them is finishing a short story to submit to a local literary journal. I am going to work on that. I've also found another national magazine that I really like that accepts submissions. I want to do that before I continue working on trying to sell my book. I've decided to send my book out to another round of agents. If I still don't sell it to them to sell for me, then I'm going to try the small publishing houses.

A couple of random things. Why is it that the smell of patchouli reminds me of creativity? I bought a patchouli scented candle and I love the smell. It makes me feel creative.

For you younger readers that are myspace fans I've started up my myspace page again. It's really a great place to network with other writers. Almost every writer has a myspace. Check it out at myspace.com/shoegirl1970 .

I REALLY want to go see Elizabeth: The Golden Age this weekend!