Lots of Day Dreaming

I finally bucked up and took my lap top into DSI.  I had been sweet talking it, patting it on the top, propping it with books to give it more air circulation without any improvement.  Yesterday I took it down, gave them my best "withdrawal" symptoms look and asked...whaaaaa, how long do you think it will take????  A beautiful glow appeared behind his head and I actually heard music when he said..."should get it done today."

At 5:00 I went back to pick up my "baby" and found out that they were still running programs and it would be better if I came back the next morning...not wanting to show them my best tantrum, I cheerily said that I would be back when they opened.

It is easy to get dependent and when our tools are taken away...we are lost.  I have a pattern to my day, I check my e-mail several times a day...if I am depressed I play Hexic for 20 mintues...if I am nervous about money I look at my bank accounts...all this tasks ground me and without them...I wander around trying to figure out what to do next.

When Greg got home I cried, "look no lap top on the kitchen table." and then patted the site where it normally sat.  This is not good.  I am not as fond of the PC because there is no view out the window where it's set up.

This morning I decided that the lap top should not be on the table all the time.  That when I want to use it I'll bring it out.  I am bored with Hexic which means I am not depressed.  As for email, I'll do what my sister does...checks it twice a day.  Looking at my online banking has not increased my bank account one penny!  I'll day dream more...but first I am going to be there right when they open with my nose pressed against their window!

E-Books

For my birthday this year Greg gave me an E-Book.  I had been researching the market trying to decide...realizing that I don't need one but do I want one?  

So the list began...I love to read...I love the written word...I love listening to book on CD...I just plain enjoy the way my brain is engaged as it is taking in new thoughts. The way the words tap into my emotions and the shear entertainment.  Over the years I have evolved as a reader.  Drowning myself in different genre, judging authors, loving some and discarding others.

Due to what I believe was my destiny because of the gene pool I swam out of...I can have several different books going at the same time.  Currently I am reading, Dean Kootnz's book about his own dog Trixie and  a book about Calla Lily Ponder.  In my sewing room I am listening to "Eat, Pray, Love"...in the kitchen "The Spectrum" and in the car "Atlas Shrugged."  This may make some people crazy but for me, it was the way I was brought up.  My dad was alway reading in the family room before anyone was awake and before the first light.  My mother, god bless her pee pickin heart will be found someday buried under the shear weight of all the reading material surrounding her bed and she has a small library filled with books that she has not been able to let go of.

So did I really need an E-reader?  I am a collector of books, I love the feel and smell of a new book.  I am also a regular patron of the library.  BUT...it is a fact that when traveling I have been known to lug several books, which is a weight issue.  And if overseas it can be difficult to find an english language book in a genre you would like to read.  In hotels, airports and train stations you will find discarded books as people leave behind a finished book.  More often than not it isn't one that I want to read.  For me, choosing a book to read requires knowing what frame of mind I am in at that moment, what I am eating and if I feel fictionie or non fictionie (not a real word).

This past Sunday the newpaper had an article on the holiday test of e-book sales. They said that the estimates of e-book sales account for only 1.5 percent of all books.  Which is higher than anticipated.  Paperback book sales has declined by 9% and hardback books12%.  With Amazon's release of the Kindle e-book, e-book purchases are the only area where there is any increase.

After discussion with a friend's daughter who did a paper on comparison of Amazon and Sony e-book I decided Sony was for me...then I found out I could get it in red!  And it is according to the article...sexy.  Yes, as quoted in the AP article..."a man sitting in a bar reading a book...looks lonely.  A man sitting is a bar reading an e-book makes the magic happen.  If you want to meet a girl, don't get a dog...get an e-reader."  Of course that doesn't nothing for me...but my red e-reader makes me smile, I carry several books in one small slimline cover, doesn't strain my eyes and makes me think it is so much like a real book page that I keep trying to turn the page in the traditional way. I use it when reading in bed because it is light weight and has a light, carry it when I have lots of appointments (I am not longer inpatient at the doctors office) and when I travel.  It is another alternative to an ever changing world.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

It is a new world and we are being taken over in a way we don't even have a clue.  Technology.  I know I have whined about this before but, isn't that what conspiracy theorist do...run around, warn every one, looking intense and concerned.  Although Chicken Little was the first conspiracy theorist and they made fun of him...did he not have a book and movie made showing that what he was saying was true!

Close encounters of the third kind is defined as alien face to face contact.  We had 3 in our house yesterday...TWICE! 

I shared before that Greg and I decided a while ago that our relationship had evolved beyond the need to fret over what gift to give each other at Christmas.  Christmas is a time to enjoy the sights, sounds and relationships in life...not to spend huge amounts of time...first, trying to pick up on all the clues of what someone might want for Christmas, then wading through the hoards of other shoppers who are going in debt...to be paid off the following year until the next holiday is reached.  At least that is what seemed to have happened when we reached our 50's.  So, now we put our heads together in romantic conversation, pool our resources and decided what we want to get ourselves for Christmas.  On Christmas morning the only surprises are what we stuffed into our Christmas stockings and what we are going to have for breakfast.

This year the conversation was resolved in about 2 talks as we read the sale ads in the paper.  A television we can actually see...and one that we can get netflicks to watch the instant play...eat your heart out Connor!!!!!!! 


Sure it is not Christmas yet...but I have never been one who could wait and have been known to lightly peel tape off of packages to see what was in them.

Back to close encounters of the third kind...Best Buy is a intake center for aliens...I know I sound crazy but I am warning you.  In order to check out your compatibility with their invasion they send out a recon team...in the guise of delivering your TV.  Now these guys don't actually teach you how to use it...they just hook it up to the cable and hand you a control and leave...nooooo....afterall they are only recon.  The next day comes the team who starts breaking down your defenses.  Best Buy sent out 3...yes, 3 team members to program and teach us how to use the TV. 

Now these aliens talk fast to undermine your self esteem in processing information.  The leader looked at us and said, "I'll write it down."  The humiliating part is he had a form already printed out that he just filled in the blanks...Press TV selection to turn on the cable...Press DVD to select, Netflick, UTube, Pandora Radio or Blockbuster or just to watch a dvd...we are not the first they have encountered...there are other 50+ people out there trying to fit in with new technology and they have devised tools to make us need them.  We now had no less than 3 remotes to deal with...and each remote has about a hundred buttons. Jesus H Christ (as a girlfriend says) this isn't a space ship...or is it?  It isn't one of those huge theater systems, it's a TV that fits in the same space as the last TV, it just has a little bigger screen and can get Netflicks (eat your heart out Connor!).

As they left we were given instructions on how to load the updates to the BluRay player...so we did.  Then we went our merry way...later that afternoon upon returning home we decided to watch a Netflicks Instant Play (are you crying Connor) We couldn't get the @#$%^ thing to work.  I called the chief alien and told him whaaaaaa it won't work. He tried to talk me through it but realized that I was already losing it.  So they came back...just 2 of them this time...figured out when we did the update we needed to reconfigure our choices.  The 2 of them, the ages of my sons looked at us and said, "don't do the updates, you'll probably never use them anyway."  SLAM

This is my theory...the reason for the mass influx of adult children moving home is not to take care of their parents, eat free food, have a roof over their head they don't pay for but, to control them with their technological ability.  By the time Greg and I reach 80 and need an even bigger TV so we can see the screen we'll be begging our sons to move back home...better than the aliens from Best Buy.

Fearless

I know so many people who live in fearfulness.  But it seems women are afflicted by this malady without recognition.  It must be part of the hormonal make up or maybe females are raised with an understanding that a little fear is going to keep you safe...I really don't have a clue.

What I do know is fear on all the different levels, whether it be will he love me? Will my life be fulfilling? Will my children grow up healthy and happy? Will I be respected? Do I know what I am talking about?...is always followed by the "what if."

"Fear and what if" are pals.  They travel looking for somewhere to set up shop. Oh look, there is a woman who has everything but is spinning her wheels...I bet she is a great place to land.  We can wreak havoc in her soul...I bet by the time we are done with her, she'll be depressed and a shell of her former self! Yippeee....emotional lunch!!!!!

I am always amazed when I see a woman who is absolutely incredible in every way but lives with some silent fear.  I have been that woman.  What I can tell you is that "fear and what if" will start to chip away at your self esteem.  No matter that you are a fabulously beautiful strong woman. By the time they are done with you...you'll believe you have nothing to offer and no one could possibly think you were worth loving.

Maybe, when we are born and they put a little name band on our leg they also attach a band called "fear and what if."  It is only visible to those who have no fear and when they leave the hosptial they cut it off...maybe our mothers can't see it because at our birth "fear and what if" are hanging around with them...so when we get home, they never cut the band off...because I am sure if our mothers could see the band, they would cut if off...but more often than not, we give it to our children.  We give it to them with our own worries...they know when we are worried.  We give it to them with our rules.  We give it to them as a family legacy.  And the most ridiculous...we give it to them when we start worrying about the fact that we even have "fear and what it."  A vicious cycle. 

I spent years dragging around "fear and what if."  If I got fat, they got fatter...if I got depressed, they sewed a nice little bag so I could drag it and them around with me.  It wasn't until I accepted my failures, my short sightedness, bad luck times as allies of knowledge and not friends of "fear and what if" that I could spend more time in gratitude, joy and fearlessness. If you are not careful "regret" moves in with "fear and what if."  Over the years and with continuous work, "fear and what if" are back in a box.  Every so often they start banging to get out...now, I just tell the little shits to pipe down...I got a life to live!

As told in story when Thomas Edison lie on his death bed he said, "yeah, my life has been full of constant misery, worry and failures...most of which never happened."

That's Me In The Corner...

...that's me in the spotlight, losing my religion...that R.E.M. song is one of my favorites.  I have been doing a lot of soul searching about what skin I am the most confortable living in.  I have talked before about my childhood being raised by 2 extroverts.  Being an introvert was not a respected place to live in my family. 

To most people I am an extrovert.  I can talk to complete strangers.  I can move people to try things that are fun.  I appear to be a natural conversationalist.  But in reality I am an introvert.  Everytime I say it I get a thrill.  Because it feels right.

Given a big party and I will put forth all that is needed, but by the end I am exhausted.  I like more intimate gatherings with quiet coversation.  I love to talk to strangers, one on one...but talking in front of a large group, although I can easily perform...I am exhausted.

I have played the role of an extrovert so long that if I am with family or friends and I am quiet most are concerned that something is wrong.  In reality I am OK with being quiet.  In fact I need quiet.

Recently reading an article, "In Praise of Introverts" I had one aha moment after another.  I recognized myself and more importantly I was happy who I saw.

It's The Simple Things

I have discoverd that my sleeping issue was solved by a simple thing.  I have at different times tried, Benadryl, Tylenol PM, a shot of tequila, hot cup of Sleepy Time Tea, reading, and sex to see if I can get a really good nights sleep. None of it works for any length of time. 

The Bendryl and Tylenol, just make me groggy the next day.  The tea makes me have to get up and pee at least 3 times during the night.  The shot of tequila makes me feel like I am one step away from "Leaving Las Vegas."  Reading makes me want to keep reading.  Greg is wonderful but sex at our age every night would make me a widow.

I stumbled on my solution quite by accident.  I was in Costco roaming the isles and came upon the bed sheets.  They had a whole bunch of flannel sheets in wonderful colors.  Now I hate spending money on sheets because they are so damm expensive...especially in the king size version.  But here piled high as they only can in Costco were flannel sheets from Portugal.  I thought...winter is coming...maybe it would be cozy to sleep in flannel.  And at under $40 for a king size set of flannel sheets, in a beautiful sage green with leaves blowing around the pattern...well, I couldn't pass them up.

I was pleasantly surprised because they make me sleep soooo much better!  I love the feel of them on my skin, I am cozy all night, the color is soothing.  I love my flannel sheets.  I wonder if Greg will start getting jealous...he is really not the jealous type and he'd have to wake up to notice, because I think the flannel is working it's magic on him also!

Between Halloween and Thanksgiving...Pumpkin Spa Treatment

So what to do with the jack 'o laterns that you don't want to use in a pumpkin pie...have a pumpkin spa treatment.

Yes, in fact that's what I did yesterday.  My very favorite massage therapist has moved to a new place and is promoting some excellent spa treatments.  When she first talked to me about the pumpkin treatment it sounded fun but I was concerned that maybe I had better lose a little more weight or there might not be any pumpkin left for Costco to make pumpkin pie with!

My other reservation was that during the process you are pretty exposed...and I have always had body image issues.  So I showed up with the mantra, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

First step, a total body scrub with brown sugar and olive oil...I could feel my skin getting  softer by the minute.  Once done it is wiped off with warm towels.  Then the pumpkin is painted on...all over.  Once basted on both side you are wrapped like a mummy, tight as a bug in a rug with 3 layers, the last being a thermal blanket...cucumbers are placed on your eyes and you are left to a blissful sleep dreaming of Thanksgiving dessert.  After 20 mintues (it seemed longer than that) She washes the pumpkin off and gives you a relaxation massage.  When done you get up, you wipe the last bits of pumpkin from all the nooks and crannies and your clothes go on like silk.  My skin never felt so good.

That afternoon Enzo heeled like a champ...I like to think it was the training, but he kept trying to lick my legs...guess I missed a few pumpkin smears.

For an all over theraputic massage, you can't beat her and if you are ready to walk on the wild side...she is the kindest massage therapist I know...

Diana  541-788-0787

Gift

Some days you wake up and start your routine.  Greg makes the coffee, I take the dog out and we leave for the gym.  Come home from the gym, fix breakfast, feed the dog, read the paper...and then...Greg says look out back.

Wow, a 5 point buck with the thickest neck I have seen and a doe.  The world stops, no rushing around...just a period of time where you realize that you must pay attention.  That this moment is a gift...not to be rushed but to savor.  Even Enzo realizes how special this moment is and we stand on the deck quietly watching.  No matter what we have to do today, this moment will be a piece of miracle that we carry in our hearts while we are in traffic, in line at the grocery store or paying bills...it is a Gift!

PS. you can double click on the photo and it will make it bigger.

Global Warming

When Greg and I got home from the gym this morning we discovered our freezer was not running.  In fact there was no current to that side of the garage, most likely since Tuesday when he plugged in an electric chain saw and it blew up.

The result was a mess in the freezer.  Most of the items had to be tossed...a good chunk of change into the garbage.  A few items down at the very bottom were still frozen solid and a couple of items were on their way to defrosting which means we will be cooking a large amount of food this evening.

A change in the climate and there was loss of food.  Most had to be discarded a bit salvaged.  Much like the planet.  Americans make one of the biggest footprints on the planet.  Many would like to ignore Global Warming, but there are a few simple things that can be done by each of us to save our planet for future generations. Here is a article including 10 tips on decreasing your footprint...all of this thought process started by my freezer coughing up spoiled food.  If you pay attention...you will hear the message.

10 Simple Tips

1.  Decrease your consumption of beef, pork and lamb. Instead focus your consumption on chicken, fish and eggs.  Beef's carbon footprint is 3-7 times that of chicken.  It take 3 liters of oil to produce  1 lb of beef.

2.  Eat out at restaurants less, cook at home more and waste less.  Plate waste at restaurants is the single largest source of waste...11-13% of food waste at restaurants.

3.  Eat fewer dairy products.  Dairy products are not only responsible emissions of CO2 but also of nitrous oxide and methane.  It takes 10 liters of milk are used for 1 kilogram of cheese.

4.  Drink fewer soft drinks.  Last year 200 billion beverage containers were sold, 130 billion ended up in the land fill...besides there is no nutritional value.

5.  Drink less bottled water.  Choose filtered tap water.  Producing the bottle water for the annual US consumption requires the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil.

6.  Eat fewer package snack and junk food.  The boxes, packets and packages that contain this food account for 10-12% of the value of all food products.

7.  Eat fruits and vegatables that are in season and buy locally if possible. A typical American meal will contain food from at least 5 countries outside the United States.

8.  Walk to your local farmer's market or grocery store.  If you have to drive combine trips.  The food on a typical American table has traveled an average of 1,500 miles.

9.  Upgrade to an energy efficient refrigerator.  Your refrigerator is you largest energy sink other than your jaccuzi (if you are living large).  A refrigerator can use up to 5 times more energy than a television.

10.  Eat wild fish that are not threatened, rather than farmed fish.

If you are interested in reading this entire article it can be found at this web address.

http://www.goodguide.com/issues/2009/4/20/tips-to-reduce-your-environmental-footprint

Men Are From Mars

I know that some people get irritated with the broad generalizations about men and women.  The differences of the species...so much so that you wonder how we ended up with male/female pairing being the most common. 

As I look at this photo of my eldest son cutting onions...I not only have to laugh out loud, but I see a man who has found a practical solution to cutting onions...his snowboarding goggles.  This is the reality of man, have a problem...solve it with the simplest solution...done...finished...adios mama..no drama.

Whereas if you go in any kitchen shop, watch cooking shows, look at the numerous cooking manuals, we finds many ways to solve the onion cutting problem.  From processes, to special devices for chopping onions. 

Another case in point was the million uses of duck tape discovered by man...my friend Val's son used duck tape on his little brother and made for a nice photo shot.

Yes, as women we may shake our heads...but there is truly something hysterical about a man cutting onions with goggles on...and...even more spectacular is that the man is cooking dinner!  The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree (their dad cooks, his father cooked...and I am sure that their great grandfather must have cooked)...and as with all parents, if we listen...we learn a lot from our children.

Gotta go get Greg a pair of goggles.