Saturday, February 27, 2010
Perfection connection
I have discovered the secret to the Fountain of Youth. Her name is Addison. My granddaughter. I discovered it last night that by merely holding her, I could feel my body regenerating. It's the relationship. A cosmic connection. It's as if I can tap into her energy. We have this pact: the love I give her is recycled into energy. It only works the one way. If you don't give, you don't get. The perfect formula.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Crazy bad and crazy good
This past week has been a crazy for almost everyone in the family.
John:
Hurt his hand playing soccer and set fire to his stove. He survived both.
Andrea and Jack:
Monday at 5 a.m. their mentally ill neighbor was arrested by police AT their front door. He had run to their house to escape capture and was pounding on the door. They say it took 4 officers to take him down.
Jack fell very ill, high temperature, missed two days of work.
Andrea's good friend Jason Cortez was acting the fool and crashed the car he was driving (in Louisiana). He has severe head injury.
Paul:
The plague finally caught dear Paulie this week. He missed one day of work.
Mary:
Maybe the busiest work week ever.
Jenny and Michael:
Too busy to check in.
Mika:
Did not catch one Frisbee or a tennis ball the day Master Paul slept.
And the winner is:
No question Jack and Andrea get the trophy this week. They showed their true colors. We now have proof they are good people. In addition to all that transpired this week, they opened their home Monday to a lovely young woman. I can't blog about this because I don't have their permission, nor the young woman's permission. I can say with absolution the whole family is so very proud of them.
John:
Hurt his hand playing soccer and set fire to his stove. He survived both.
Andrea and Jack:
Monday at 5 a.m. their mentally ill neighbor was arrested by police AT their front door. He had run to their house to escape capture and was pounding on the door. They say it took 4 officers to take him down.
Jack fell very ill, high temperature, missed two days of work.
Andrea's good friend Jason Cortez was acting the fool and crashed the car he was driving (in Louisiana). He has severe head injury.
Paul:
The plague finally caught dear Paulie this week. He missed one day of work.
Mary:
Maybe the busiest work week ever.
Jenny and Michael:
Too busy to check in.
Mika:
Did not catch one Frisbee or a tennis ball the day Master Paul slept.
And the winner is:
No question Jack and Andrea get the trophy this week. They showed their true colors. We now have proof they are good people. In addition to all that transpired this week, they opened their home Monday to a lovely young woman. I can't blog about this because I don't have their permission, nor the young woman's permission. I can say with absolution the whole family is so very proud of them.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
TGITH
Thank god it's Thursday. My Friday. It's peak season for my business. Holiday haze wears off and reality comes into focus. People need help with their life.
I need to focus on my own goals. I told Paul one day last week I wanted to come home after work and just eat. Bad idea, right? And drinking and drugs are out of the question.
Good news is yesterday morning I stepped back on the stepper for the first time in more than a month and last night I hit the punching bag a couple of times. Never give up.
I need to focus on my own goals. I told Paul one day last week I wanted to come home after work and just eat. Bad idea, right? And drinking and drugs are out of the question.
Good news is yesterday morning I stepped back on the stepper for the first time in more than a month and last night I hit the punching bag a couple of times. Never give up.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Snow Storm
Storm called 4th worst of all storms in N. Tex. history.
1. & 2. Before and After. Photo of the same stretch of Mill Creek, standing in front of our lot looking west. The calm before the storm photo was taken Friday afternoon. The other was taken Saturday morning. It appears we got hit by a horrible storm, but instead the damage was done in eerie silence. Late Friday night and in the early hours of Saturday, the silence was broken by the occasional crack of a limbs, followed by loud crashing. The volume depended on the size of the limb. Some sounded as though the whole tree was crashing. It was the weight of the snow that brought the limbs down. I read later that live oaks were especially vulnerable.
3. Limbs littered our front yard, as they did throughout the neighborhood.
4. Hydrant in our front yard.
5. Cowboys Stadium Saturday morning after the snow had stopped.
4. Hydrant in our front yard.
5. Cowboys Stadium Saturday morning after the snow had stopped.
6. My precious Tex. For two days our dogs frolicked in the snow.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Homey don't play that
It was classic Paul. Yesterday we test drove a Grand Cherokee Laredo. We need a new towing vehicle for the RV as Paulie's Challenger and my Liberty won't do. So we are at Don Davis in North Arlington, working with Marcus. Marcus seems like perfectly nice young man. In fact, he says, his mom's name is Mary! What are the odds? Hmmm.
So we have already driven the car, I love it. It's exactly the right specs. Now comes the good part. I'll show you my numbers if you show me yours? Marcus takes our numbers to his boss, 20 minutes later he comes back with an insulting counter. You know how much Paul likes insults. OK. Marcus is doing his job, what he's been told to do, right? He goes back and reports we're about 7 grand apart. Another 10 minutes later Marcus is back WITH boss in tow. The boss has a booming voice, good grip on the handshake, eye contact. His shirt was so white it blinded me for a second. I am certain he sees us as easy marks. He begins with something about "let's agree that this is the right car for you." Shinola from the start. Oh yes. Paul sort of shrugs his shoulders. Boss challenges Paul on this response. At this point, I wish this could be on Pay Per View. Paul then does the unthinkable: he throws me under the bus. It turns out to be good strategy, really. Paul says his opinion doesn't matter because it will be my car. Boss turns to me. Hi. Oh, I love the car. Yes. It's the car for me. Yes, it has everything I want. Really. Back to Paul. Boss tries to explain the numbers to my hunky husband, who is not wearing a blinding white dress shirt, more like paint stained sweatshirt and jeans. Don Davis apparently isn't giving the advertised rebates unless you take the GMAC financing. Oops. No, Paul says, we won't be financing with GMAC for two months, get the rebate, then refinance with our credit union. Wow. Fraud much? Paul: you will have to go way higher on the trade in (they are 4 grand below blue book, it has less than 24,000 miles for cryin' out loud). They leave again. Paul is getting flashbacks from previous purchase at Don Davis. John's car. We are starting to get hungry and maybe a little dehydrated. Whew. This is no longer fun. It's more like Survivor. Paul is Boston Rob and I am Cherie. Boss and Marcus back again. He's got just one figure. It still includes the GMAC financing. Paul: How many times do I have to tell you I don't want the financing? Knock out! Can't you just hear the line from Fargo? I don't want the fucking undercoating (said with heavy accent). It was painful and it was productive. We walked, of course. Then went to lunch at an awesome new restaurant in the Highlands: Mandola, something like that. It's an Italian Deli. It wiped out all the bad.
Lesson learned: Treat people like real people and you may sell them a car.
So we have already driven the car, I love it. It's exactly the right specs. Now comes the good part. I'll show you my numbers if you show me yours? Marcus takes our numbers to his boss, 20 minutes later he comes back with an insulting counter. You know how much Paul likes insults. OK. Marcus is doing his job, what he's been told to do, right? He goes back and reports we're about 7 grand apart. Another 10 minutes later Marcus is back WITH boss in tow. The boss has a booming voice, good grip on the handshake, eye contact. His shirt was so white it blinded me for a second. I am certain he sees us as easy marks. He begins with something about "let's agree that this is the right car for you." Shinola from the start. Oh yes. Paul sort of shrugs his shoulders. Boss challenges Paul on this response. At this point, I wish this could be on Pay Per View. Paul then does the unthinkable: he throws me under the bus. It turns out to be good strategy, really. Paul says his opinion doesn't matter because it will be my car. Boss turns to me. Hi. Oh, I love the car. Yes. It's the car for me. Yes, it has everything I want. Really. Back to Paul. Boss tries to explain the numbers to my hunky husband, who is not wearing a blinding white dress shirt, more like paint stained sweatshirt and jeans. Don Davis apparently isn't giving the advertised rebates unless you take the GMAC financing. Oops. No, Paul says, we won't be financing with GMAC for two months, get the rebate, then refinance with our credit union. Wow. Fraud much? Paul: you will have to go way higher on the trade in (they are 4 grand below blue book, it has less than 24,000 miles for cryin' out loud). They leave again. Paul is getting flashbacks from previous purchase at Don Davis. John's car. We are starting to get hungry and maybe a little dehydrated. Whew. This is no longer fun. It's more like Survivor. Paul is Boston Rob and I am Cherie. Boss and Marcus back again. He's got just one figure. It still includes the GMAC financing. Paul: How many times do I have to tell you I don't want the financing? Knock out! Can't you just hear the line from Fargo? I don't want the fucking undercoating (said with heavy accent). It was painful and it was productive. We walked, of course. Then went to lunch at an awesome new restaurant in the Highlands: Mandola, something like that. It's an Italian Deli. It wiped out all the bad.
Lesson learned: Treat people like real people and you may sell them a car.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Lessons learned
For a month almost I have been fighting the plague. Today I believe I have won. Today I finally feel like posting.
Feb. 9th was the 10 year anniversary of my triple heart bypass surgery. I've never written about it and not sure I should go there. The only pain I really recall preceded the surgery: both physical and emotional. 10 years have healed both. I don't take my life for granted. I fiercely love my family and would take a bullet for any one of them (clarification: those living in Texas and Rhode Island... well, and a few in Montana, maybe even South Dakota).
Faced with death, I want to live well. Faced with death, I better understand what it takes to live well. Here are some things I better understand:
1. Forgiveness. This is big in life. Better to say "I'm sorry" to a loved one than to say "I love you." It carries a bigger punch, it means more. For sure the "sorry" rule is kind of confusing. As women, it's often on the tip of our tongue in social and professional settings. That's where we need to come up with something else to say than "sorry." In a relationship, the rules change. Right? How many times do you hear your significant other say the word? How often do you say it? It can melt tension faster than anything. Forgiveness is also something we should give ourselves. We're human. We make mistakes.
2. Passivity is passe'. How useful is being passive? Some people are good at it intentionally, others come by it genetically/environmentally. Shyness can produce it. Fear produces it. Over time, it becomes what's familiar, and worse, it becomes what others expect from you. It prevents you from speaking up. It puts doubt in your head. Doubt about your true abilities and purpose in life. It prevents you from charging forward, asking for what you want and what you need. The opposite of passive is aggressive. Both words carry liabilities. Instead, you want to shoot for assertiveness.
3. Assertiveness. Stand up for yourself, ask for what you want and need. In doing this, you show others that you value yourself. The result: others begin to see your value.
4. Accountability. You are responsible for your own happiness, for your own successes, for your own ambitions and goals. Don't look to your children or partner. It's not there. They, of course are a gigantic part of it. But your emotional health, like your physical health, is your sole responsibility.
5. Curiosity. This turns out to be a great way to look outside yourself. A distraction for ego centrists. Combined with a sense of wonder, curiosity enhances the human experience. Having interests outside ourselves makes us more interesting.
I guess I could go on, but these 5 things for me are the biggies. The last 10 years have been the best of my life and I believe the next 10 will be even better.
Feb. 9th was the 10 year anniversary of my triple heart bypass surgery. I've never written about it and not sure I should go there. The only pain I really recall preceded the surgery: both physical and emotional. 10 years have healed both. I don't take my life for granted. I fiercely love my family and would take a bullet for any one of them (clarification: those living in Texas and Rhode Island... well, and a few in Montana, maybe even South Dakota).
Faced with death, I want to live well. Faced with death, I better understand what it takes to live well. Here are some things I better understand:
1. Forgiveness. This is big in life. Better to say "I'm sorry" to a loved one than to say "I love you." It carries a bigger punch, it means more. For sure the "sorry" rule is kind of confusing. As women, it's often on the tip of our tongue in social and professional settings. That's where we need to come up with something else to say than "sorry." In a relationship, the rules change. Right? How many times do you hear your significant other say the word? How often do you say it? It can melt tension faster than anything. Forgiveness is also something we should give ourselves. We're human. We make mistakes.
2. Passivity is passe'. How useful is being passive? Some people are good at it intentionally, others come by it genetically/environmentally. Shyness can produce it. Fear produces it. Over time, it becomes what's familiar, and worse, it becomes what others expect from you. It prevents you from speaking up. It puts doubt in your head. Doubt about your true abilities and purpose in life. It prevents you from charging forward, asking for what you want and what you need. The opposite of passive is aggressive. Both words carry liabilities. Instead, you want to shoot for assertiveness.
3. Assertiveness. Stand up for yourself, ask for what you want and need. In doing this, you show others that you value yourself. The result: others begin to see your value.
4. Accountability. You are responsible for your own happiness, for your own successes, for your own ambitions and goals. Don't look to your children or partner. It's not there. They, of course are a gigantic part of it. But your emotional health, like your physical health, is your sole responsibility.
5. Curiosity. This turns out to be a great way to look outside yourself. A distraction for ego centrists. Combined with a sense of wonder, curiosity enhances the human experience. Having interests outside ourselves makes us more interesting.
I guess I could go on, but these 5 things for me are the biggies. The last 10 years have been the best of my life and I believe the next 10 will be even better.
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