Perspective is key...

A month or so ago, I watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy and Meredith Grey's monologue in the beginning really stuck with me:

"These are the things we beg for. A root canal, an I.R.S. audit, coffee spilled on our clothes. When the really terrible things happen, we start begging the god we don't believe in to bring back the little horrors, and take away this. It seems quaint now, doesn't it? The flood in the kitchen, the poison oak, the fight that leaves you shaking with rage. Would it've helped if we could see what else was coming? Would we have known that those were the best moments of our lives?"

It reminded me of all the times I have had a minor cold and found myself whining and complaining at how awful I felt, until some time later I would come down with the flu and learned what it feels like to actually be sick.. Then I end up apologizing to a higher being for all the times I complained about the insignificant things and begging for relief from all the aches and pains. The weird part is that when those silly colds come along, I find myself calling out of work or going home early, but when something really knocks me down, I fight like hell to keep going.. How backwards is that?!?

This has been a particularly rough year for me and I have a strange feeling 2011 will always be my reference point (like the flu) when I start to feel like life is just not fair from this point forward. My motivation this year has been, "If I can make it to 2012, everything will be just fine". For those of you who know me, you know why this is the case, for those of you who don't.. You are not meant to be in the loop :)

The sad thing is.. No matter how bad things seem, someone else has it worse.. But comparison is never the answer.. No one likes to spill their guts about what's wrong in their life only to hear someone else try to show them up.. Although, for some reason, that seems to be human nature. We all try to dance on someone else's stage when they are having their moment, thinking it will help them in some way.. I know I am guilty of the same, but I try really hard not to do it.

Christmas time has a way of warming my heart and making me feel like everything is going to be just fine.. It's something about being around those who love you truly unconditionally.. i.e. Grandparents. I know that I do no wrong in the eyes of my grandparents and they treat me like gold. I can confess all of my mistakes to them and they still love me all the same and forgive me so easily.. I wish I could give them the world and I hope that one day I will be a grandparent so that I can feel the way they do about me :) My only living grandfather is going through radiation treatments right now and it is knocking him down and that breaks my heart.. and once again, it puts all of my minor problems into perspective... Makes me realize that I need to focus on what I do have in life, rather than what I don't have.. I'd go through a hundred more 2011's if it would help my grandparents to have a better life, but unfortunately, we don't get to engage in those kinds of trades.. So, instead, I will focus on showing those who love me that I love them as well and hope to bring some extra happiness to their lives.

Perspective really is key... "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are". ~Anaïs Nin

Always trying to make a buck...

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to make money. I loved having my own money to spend on whatever I chose and to this day that is still the case, and I still like to see how far I can take every dollar....

When I was about 8 or 9 years old and living in the city of Lynchburg, VA, my mom worked (and is still working) as a customer service manager at Food Lion. One day while she was at work, I decided that I needed to make some money... So.. I walked around the neighborhood trying to sell my GoGo Pup. My mom had just given me the toy about 6 months prior, but I really needed the money (ha). I have no idea what I thought I so desperately needed to buy... maybe it was just the thrill of making a sale! And I did, indeed, make a sale and I was SO proud.. I made a whopping $5!!! The toy cost at least $50, if not more...

My mom called at some point during the day to check on my brother and I... I then proceeded to inform her of my BIG sale. She responded that when she got home, she was going to spank me! Oh boy was I upset... I had never been spanked before...

I quickly ran over to my best friend's house across the street to ask for her help. I'm not sure where we got all of our materials, but I recall putting on a baby diaper and stuffing my pants with other miscellaneous items so that my spanking wouldn't hurt... I have always been risk averse... what else can I say?!? In case you are interested.. my mom did not spank me and all my effort was for nothing....

I haven't changed much, even though it is 20 years later... I still love making money and Craigslist made that possible over the past few years... I discovered that the things I considered "junk" were apparently valuable to someone else... For example, I sold a faux wood kitchen table that we had when I was a kid and that I used in my first years in DC.. Someone bought it for $75! Can you believe that? Someone obviously didn't do their research before making that purchase... When we moved into our current home and bought new appliances... Instead of having the delivery company take away my old appliances, I decided I would sell them! Oh.. what a headache!

Most of the time, things went fine... but one day this tiny Asian man showed up to take a look at my old, white gas range... He was driving a tiny little two-door white car. He came into my garage and looked at it.. tried to haggle with me a bit.. and then asked ME to help him put the range ON TOP of his car... Are you kidding me?!? This guy was out of his mind... When I told him I wouldn't do it, he flipped out and was pacing through my garage and in the process brushed up against one of Charles' paintings that was still wet. I then lost my temper, had to raise my voice and force the man to leave... Oh what a disaster... I would have preferred a spanking from my mom for sure :)

Needless to say... I still seek out ways of making a buck... I'm hoping to develop some sort of crafty skill so that I can sell things on my favorite site... Etsy! I'm sure it will likely result in yet another FAIL.... One day I will learn my lesson!

The click of my heels makes me sound authoritative

Charles and I were running some errands this afternoon and as we walked through Macy's, he said something quite funny to me... "I love the sound of your heels... It makes you sound authoritative." The comment definitely made me shut my mouth for a second and listen... It is a cool sound.. Definitely sounded like I was a woman on a mission (which I usually am)..

People make comments about the fact that I wear heels all the time.. Mind you.. I typically don't wear kitten heels.. They range anywhere from 2 and a half inches to 4 inches and I LOVE them! First of all.. I have a very high arch, which does not pair well with flats.. and not to mention.. Flats almost always make my already large feet appear even larger (I will need to write another post about shoe sizes some other time)...

These comments come from co-workers, strangers, you name it... I find it odd that people find the need to comment on my choice of shoes... It's one thing to tell me you like my shoes, but I really don't care about what anyone thinks of my choice of heel height.. you know? I don't comment on the length of people's finger nails, the length of their pants, or the height of the neck on their shirt.... But whatever. Don't get me wrong.. often the comments are positive.. Many people are "proud" of me for not being afraid to wear heels, but often the short people, especially short men, seem to find it appalling (I like to say that they are just intimidated).

Now I need to touch on the issue of pants... I have a 37 inch inseam and I do NOT wear high water pants EVER... and it KILLS me to see women, who are by no means tall or long legged, wearing pants that are too short. If I can find pants that are long enough (and it is by no means easy), then so can you. And then there are those who tell me that they can totally relate to my inability to find pants that fit in a normal store because all the pants are too long.. Seriously?!? I have one word for you... Alterations... Come on now.. it's like the easiest thing in the world to get a pair of pants hemmed, but it is not easy to add extra length!! Ridiculous. Thank goodness for GAP and Banana Republic for selling extra long pants online... It's sad that my clothes aren't in-store worthy, but beggars can't be choosers... And it would make my life far too easy...

Now... one more issue related to my height (for those of you who don't know me... an important piece of information for this entire post is that I am 6 feet tall)... Why do people find it necessary to not only comment on my height, but to try to guess it as well? I most certainly don't walk up to people and say.."oh my goodness, you are SO short.. what are you, like 4 feet tall?!?" First of all, that is just plain rude. So why do people find it appropriate to comment on my height and then proceed to guess my height. Seriously?!? It's one thing if someone says, "Wow, you are so tall and ," but no guessing or just simply stating the obvious. Please and thank you.

Anyways... That was just a bit of my rambling. Bottom line.. I love my heels and I feel good when I wear them. I came to terms with towering over the rest of the world many moons ago and am hardly aware of it anymore. Oh.. one last thing.. I don't play basketball and my lack of coordination should make that a good thing. Ha.

Reticent is not in my vocabulary.

It’s been a ‘hot minute’ since I last blogged… Shame on me! I have been too busy cleaning and fulfilling my Etsy addiction in my free time. So anyways… on with the blogging….

My co-worker, Lyle, who sits across from me, was out the week after Christmas and I had been out the week prior… so needless to say, we had a lot of catching up to do… Meaning, I had a lot to tell him because I am sure he feels slighted if he doesn’t know every detail of my life.. Ha Ha!

I was filling him in on all of the events of the holidays and showed him my surprise gift from Charles… a Nook Color! He was explaining to me that he didn’t feel he would enjoy such a gadget, as he tends to jump around while he’s reading a book… and no, I don’t mean physically jump as in doing jumping jacks, but as in he may read Chapter 1 and then skip over to Chapter 4 without ever going back… Now this seems a bit bizarre to me, but… whatever floats your boat. While trying to convince him of the usefulness of my Nook, I was showing him a rather amazing feature that will most certainly enhance my vocabulary over time… And let me tell you that there is a TON of room for improvement! You can click on a word with your finger and choose the “look up” option and the definition just pops right up on your screen… Genius!

I used one of the words I had learned that morning as an example… the word was Reticent…

RETICENT

1: inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech: reserved

2: restrained in expression, presentation, or appearance

I told Lyle the word and proceeded to show off that I now know the definition… Boy did I set myself up.. Lyle suddenly had a big, devilish smile across his face and mumbled something.. It took me a moment before I realized that he had said, “Of course that word wouldn’t be in your vocabulary…” Now that was funny!

Lyle and I just become office neighbors in the Fall of this year. Previously, no one sat across from me, so I had no one to chat with unless I got up and walked around. Now, I can just talk loudly and he can hear me while we are both still sitting at our desks! A couple of weeks ago I was explaining to Lyle that it is so nice to finally have someone across from me to talk to and his response was, “You must be making up for lost time..” Wow! Another good one.

I have known Lyle for 6 years and I think it is quite obvious that he is all too familiar with my loquacious nature. There’s a new word for ya! And for those of you who know me… I’m not telling you anything new. If I sit at a table and no one is talking, I am going to be the one to comment on the fact that it is quiet, because I would rather talk about the obvious than sit there in silence, because silence is my enemy! So if you have a headache, or are looking for peace and quiet, then stay far away from me!

Rush, Rush, Rush... and Where's my..?!?

I have been working at the same place for 6 years and I've had the same 1 hour and 20 minute commute for the past 2 years... One would think that I would finally have my morning routine down to a science!! But, of course, that's not the case (hence the title of this post). Every single morning is complete chaos for me.. Well.. once I actually get out of the bed that is... I usually have two snuggly kitties taking turns snuggling with me in the morning.. Halo comes and nuzzles me and lays on my pillow.. then Riley comes by and burrows under the covers to keep warm.. So even though a 5:45 alarm clock is unpleasant.. Having to leave those sweet boys makes it painful!

I typically battle the alarm clock for a good 30 minutes.. and some times an entire hour.. Sad, huh? But once I'm out of the bed.. I move like lightening because I take the VRE (a commuter train)... It only runs every 40 minutes and the last train is at 8 am, but parking usually runs out at 7:30 am, so there is a lot to be lost if I don't make it... my two options are: be in the car by 6:43 am or by 7:21 am.. Isn't it pathetic how exact my times are?!? I need every minute I can get!

The best part is.. once I get to the parking lot, I have to grab all my things, hobble through the lot with untied shoes and validate my ticket. Usually the train is already pulling up to the platform by the time I get to that last step and then up on the train I go!

Now here's the kicker... Once I find a sit and get settled.. I start looking through all of my mess to find my belongings and that's when the "Where's my this.. where's my that?!?" starts up.. This results in a phone call to Charles... It's time to enable what he calls the "Remote Controlled Charlie Bob" (I will explain the Charlie Bob nickname some other time).... I call and tell him I can't find something and where I think it might be and he goes and looks for it so that my mind can rest.. RIDICULOUS! But... that's what I do. Now.. if he happens to not be at home.. well then I'm stuck worrying about it until I finally forget :) Too bad those kitties can't pick up a phone and look for me!

Well... needless to say.. one of my New Year's resolutions (and there are many) is to improve my morning routine.. The odds of it happening are slim, but I'll keep my fingers crossed (and I'm sure "Remote Controlled Charlie Bob" will, too!

My Etsy Addiction....

It's official... I am now an Etsy addict. My co-worker, Maria, and I were discussing purses one day as she introduced me to Longchamp bags (which I had never heard of, but now see every where I look). I told her that I have no use for such a big bag with zero pockets or sections for organization... This led to a Google search for purse organizers and ultimately to my discovery of Etsy! Etsy is a website where you can buy and sell handmade items... purses, purse organizers, paintings, knitted items, home decor, supplies, woodworking, ceramics... anything you can think of! I have always been a window shopper... well.. I guess a bit different than a window shopper.. I walk around put things in my cart and pretend they are mine for a little while and then put them back. I really get a thrill out of unique items... which is why Etsy is so much fun for me.

At first, I wasn't sure how to go about clicking around on Etsy since new items are added every second, but I have now developed a strategy.. ha ha! "Favorites" are the key.. When I find something I like, I add the item or the shop (or both) to my "Favorites" and then I proceed to check out the shop's "Favorites"... I figure.. if I like their stuff, then I may very well like the same stores they like... To top it off... Etsy does some browsing for you! Based on the items and shops you click on, Etsy gives a list of items "you might like" and a list of "suggested shops"... This is heaven for me :) Now I can window shop in the comfort of my own home with new inventory all the time, while... wait for it.... snuggling with my kitties! It doesn't take much to make me happy.

This website has also inspired me to try and be creative... I'm not sure how it will all pan out, but let's just say I made a few visits to some fabric stores this weekend and will be borrowing my mom's sewing machine.. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but we shall see.. That will have to be another post.. Stay tuned!

If you are interested in checking out my new addiction.. this is the website:

http://www.etsy.com/

A few of my favorite shops are listed below to get you started:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MimsMaine
http://www.etsy.com/shop/dedeetsyshop
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SeasonsTotes
http://www.etsy.com/shop/likekittysville
http://www.etsy.com/shop/atouchofstardust
http://www.etsy.com/shop/janejoss
http://www.etsy.com/shop/christystudio
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Fritos314
http://www.etsy.com/shop/tippythai

I shouldn't be allowed to buy anything.. especially a new car!

For those of you who know me, you've heard the stories of my 2007 Altima, but I will give a quick recap just in case. I drove a 1997 Nissan 200sx for 8 years, but after being hit numerous times and then witnessing the car almost blow up while I was driving it due to an idiot mechanic putting 4 quarts too much oil in it... I decided the car needed to go. It was a BIG deal for me to make such a big purchase and I was so excited, but that didn't last for long.. Little things kept popping up all the time..

1. The glove box was broken and had to be replaced...3 times!!!
2. The hinges on the trunk were put on backwards.
3. The brake pedal was malfunctioning (who needs brakes anyway?)
4. The air conditioning pipes were routed incorrectly and were draining into the car.
5. The front windows screeched every time you rolled them up and down.
6. The air condenser blew out after only a year and a half.
7. When you push the panic button.. the windows rolled down (that'll keep those thieves out!)

SERIOUSLY?!? I think a drunk put that car together!

And... since I obviously didn't learn my lesson.. My husband and I just sold his 2001 VW Jetta and bought a 2010 Nissan Xterra. Another Nissan?!? I must be an idiot.. but I liked it best.

There were two things that I wanted added to the Xterra because I was so used to having them in the Altima--a rearview camera and a built in console for a navigation system. The salesman (who we loved, by the way), said that they could add those on with no problem. He told me that they had ordered the parts and would call me as soon as they came in.

So... I waited.. and waited.. and waited some more.

Finally, I called the dealership and asked to speak to my salesman.. and would you believe it?!? He doesn't work there any more. Imagine that.. I finally feel like I got lucky and then boom.. it is ripped right out from under me! So.. I asked about my parts and was told they would call me back the next day. I gave them a few days and then called again.. Same response. We played this game for a bit and then I decided to show them my ugly side...

Turns out.. they can not find the parts that they sold me.. WTF?!? What does that even mean? How can you not find something that is in all the pictures around the dealership?!? It has been 6 weeks and I still don't have those damn parts and I am beginning to think that I never will.

Why didn't I learn my lesson from the Altima?!?