I would like to take issue with something. I would like to know why guy stuff is considered "good" "cool" "acceptable" "sensical" or whatever. While girl stuff is considered "fluffy" "wasteful" "nonsensical", if you will.

Men, in general, like to watch sports. GAMES.  No one laughs at that. Many women like romantic comedies. This gets laughed at. Just because its target audience is women, why should chick flicks be disrespected? 

I like to Facebook, play word games, and research music, entertainment, and parenting tips online. My husband calls this girlie and time wasting. Meanwhile he browses sport stats and car & truck accessories and this is time well spent? 

No one need be embarrassed to admit they partake in an activity that is described as "manly". But when "girlie" is used, suddenly we are in "guilty pleasure" territory. 

Now of course there are men who like romantic comedies as well as sports, and women who enjoy sports with or without romantic comedies. I am not saying that people are stereotypical for what they like.  I just don't like the fact that many things that are lumped into the typically female oriented group of interests is looked down upon compared to those in the male oriented group interests.

I have just decided to embrace my "girlieness" and spread it around with my interest in news, politics, sports, health, and so on.  What do you think? Am I being too sensitive or have you, too, noticed the subtle demeaning of women's interests?

 I admit it. I miss spending money. And having "stuff".  I want to order the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame cd collection in the next ten minutes for a ten dollar discount. I am drawn to Dooney & Burke day on the shopping channel.  I am tired of the current condition of my house and I am just certain that new window treatments will turn our disposition around from depressed to top of the world. 

REALITY CHECK: If I had all those things I am fairly certain  a few more things would present themselves for me to dwell on that I don't have. This is a common problem, as I understand. Obsessing so much over what we don't have, what we can't have and what we are sacrificing, that we forget to acknowlege and appreciate the wonderful things we do have - Whose exitence in our lives would brighten the days more than custom blinds and new hand bags if only we gave them equal focus time. 

What are you focusing on that is taking your attention away from the wonderful things you already possess? How do you give thanks for the gifts you already have?

 

 

 

I adopted my kids together when they were 3 and 7 years old so I am out of the loop when it comes to baby accessories. Never had to buy a Bob Stroller or an Einstein jumper.  I burped, fed, and changed enough nieces, nephews, and kids of friends that I never really felt I missed the "baby" experience. Something weird is happening to me now, though.

You see I never wanted babies. Ever. As a really young kid I formed this opinion that for me to have a baby - when so many children already exist with no parents - would be silly. I also never had that itch for babies, nor did I go GOO GOO for babies the way a lot of people do. I am a mushy sentimental type, and I've always been crazy for kids in general, just not baby crazy. 

With the adoption of my kids came a slight side effect of the "goo goo ga gas". No they weren't babies, and I didn't baby talk them, but some door was unlocked inside me that made me more baby friendly.  A warmer side of me emerged. Also, a crazy hollering woman on the verge of a nervous break down appeared, but that is for a different post. :)  

I am 41 now. There isn't a speck of babyness in my now 10 and 14 year olds. And sometimes it aches deep in my chest. Where in he world is THIS coming from? Do I want more kids? Is it common among women my age?Will a puppy quench my thirst to nurture a helpless being? LOL. Help! I don' like this feeling! 

Even though the cars are not kept in there, we enter and exit our house through the garage.  In inclement weather we are protected while we put our shoes on and off and stay a little warmer while Dad fumbles with the house keys trying to get inside.  We also keep all our shoes out there.  Our bare feet and socks often meet the garage floor when we walk out to find the perfect footwear, and dust from the garage floor often sticks and finds its way into the house later.  At least is USED to until my husband painted the garage floor.  I don't know what it is - maybe because it is smoother it sweeps up better and doesn't collect dirt - but our socks are staying cleaner and so is my house.  The painted garage floor looks so much better too. I would actually love to have a big mud room or some other place big enough to keep all our shoes and get our feet ready to go. Until then, the garage is the best I've got.

I am not a big fan of diamonds, as I mentioned before, but I do like jewelry.  Blingy jewelry, simple jewelry, costume jewelry, cheap jewelry - it's all good to me, especially if it SAYS something about me. My favorite gift of the holiday season was an $8 ring my daughter surprised me with from Target. 

Even though I love the look of the ring, the real gift is that my daughter knows me so well that she picked out something that represents me so perfectly with the blingy black, silver, and pearl peace sign. What was your favorite gift of the season?

 

In the game area where we play Wii the tv stands free on a flimsy cabinet and I worry that in the heat of competition, someone is going to knock the tv right over and smash it it to bits like the Youtube videos I have seen. And laughed hysterically at.

So far we have managed to control ourselves but it does get pretty active. I am looking for a more sturdy entertainment center before our luck runs out.  I wonder if there has been an increase in broken televensions since the popularity of the Wii. Have you had any close calls?  What precautions do you take?

What would you rather have... a Samsung led hdtv? Or a flu free winter?

Doesn't that sound like a dumb question? There is nothing more important than our health. We spend billions of dollars on it each year on doctor appointments, therapy, prescriptions, diet aids, etc.  Who would sacrifice all that for a television?

I totally would! I also believe that in a time like this of stressed economy and cutting back - cable TV is too important to let go.  Cut back on your package maybe, but don't say goodbye!

We're making all kinds of sacrifices.  Bill collectors are calling. Were fighting with our spouses.  We NEED levity in order to carry on. When I feel like giving up, a quick does of Will & Grace, or Ellen, or a music video is what zaps me out of my funk and sends me off to work or clears my mind so that I can come up with the solution to whatever problem has me down.

I am not even a tv junkie. I don't don't have time to watch it on a regular basis.  But when I need it, it is there. In high def clear picture with a zillion channels.

What tiny, simple thing keeps you going when things get tough?

I have tried a lot of home businesses and money making opportunities and in my opinion, even the work at home scams are legitimate, if you are willing to put i  the time and effort.  Many of the scams are deemed such because they are misleading about the ease of the scheme. Bot if you actually DO the work, you can earn money. How much and how quick is up to you.

That said... there are a lot of things that although legitimate I either do not enjoy doing or do not feel good about doing. This should be considered when contemplating work from home opportunities.

My best investment in work at home business was the medical coding training courses I took in 1996.  By the time I adopted my children in 2003 I could no longer keep up with the work without an assistant and bigger office and I was bringing in $3,000 a month working for myself.

Heres the nitty gritty of it though. When I took the classes we were told we would make a TON of money (red flag #1) and that is would be super simple to do that a monkey could do it. (red flag #2) Even this class that set me on my entrepreneurial way could be called a scam because it was only partially true.

First of all - before you can do the easy monkey work you have to get clients. Try walking into a doctor's office with zero experience in the medical field or any coding experience and see what happens.  I had experience in both of those things and I had to beg, schmooze and barter to get business.  But then, the more business and good referrals I collected, the easier each new client came.

Secondly - although the act of typing forms or plugging in fields on the fancy schmancy software is a breeze A) You have to have an understanding of th terminology and practices because despite what your instructor tells you, the doctor is not always going to give you all the information you need to file the claim. S/He he wants a biller that HE can count on for advice.  and B) Once the claim is perfectly submitted you have to learn how to fight with the insurance companies to actually get paid because they will reject them for no good reason. 

Thirdly - An entrepreneurial spirit is a plus. I didn't make all that money just from filing insurance claims.  I had medical and office management experience.  Medical billing got me in the door and I spun that into temping and consulting. 

If you have familiarity in tome area of the medical field you can definitely build a career from medical billing.  If you don't have experience you still can but you have to have patience and it will depend on your ability to sell yourself.  

What is your experience with home based businesses?

Well it's been 5 days since my husband left for deer camp and all I have accomplished is moving the golf clubs in the corner of the basement where the tv stand used to be. The days are flying and my motivation is lacking. Or maybe I am just resting. I've been running around putting out fires for a while and I'm a little pooped. 

It seems like for the last two years things have been spiraling downward.  First my real estate deals started dying then came all the controversy and lay offs with Chrysler, where my husband works.  We were glued to CNN and Google and we let every bit of that negativity absorb into our minds and our bones.  Things are settling but the residual effects linger.

The one we pay most attention to is our empty bank account. "Woe is us we didn't get to go to Orlando this year and YIKES I am using skincare from Rite Aid!" Blah blah blah.  Instead of being thankful that he is fortunate to still have a job and a home, unlike so many others, we dwell on how far behind we became and that we are facing the holidays on a shoe string budget. Isn't that stupid? At least we have a budget.

What we (that's a collective we, not just a me and him we!) should be focusing on is ourselves: mind, body, attitude, spirit. As humans we think we are invincible and forget that the bodies that support us are so easily broken if abused or neglected. And as tough as we think we are, our spirits are fragile. When the attitude becomes negative, it's only a matter of time before our precious shells begin to deteriorate in both appearance and function. 

I look in the mirror today and see the result, not of the things that have gone wrong for the last few years, but of what I have been doing wrong in response to those things.  But that result, this current situation, these are simply my circumstances and do not represent what I am or what I am doing now. I am excited to see how my situation and circumstances evolve along with my new understanding and attitude. 

As a former healthy, productive, thriving girl I knew all these things. I read the books, quoted the quotes, and relished in my young wisdom. But it wasn't until my perfect life was tested and my confidence was shaken, that I really understood what it all meant. I continue to revisit lessons that I thought I already mastered fifteen years ago, and even though so much of the journey sucks, the lessons are more rewarding. 

How about you? If it seems like your dreams & goals are out of sync with your reality just keep moving forward toward what you want and your reality will catch up.  If you stop too long to think about it, you might get stuck.  Now that I have figured all that out I can move onto cleaning out the basement :-)