One of THOSE days...

It's definitely the little crap that can get a person down....
Today, I just wanted a quiet break in the break room, so I picked a time that is usually quiet, about 930. I grabbed my bottle of water and my stack of reading for class. I have a paper due tonight, so I had things spread all over this six foot table. And being a place that employs a lot of people, my store has 12 six foot tables in the break room. I had just settled in to my reading when another gal walked in, started cooking her ramen noodles, then flopped her laptop and hot (stinky) soup and herself right next to me! I mean, for reals, there's 11 other tables! Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Making a show of looking at the time, I left the break room, with my break and my homework unfinished.

Thinking I could do a little more at lunch time, I chose the only empty table, spread my things out and tried to finish up my reading. Being later in the morning, there were plenty of people in there, but most days, I can tune them out. Today, however, was a different story. I think it was social hour, let's catch up, and I wanna bitch about my (insert specific person here) day for the spanish speaking crowd. For some reason, that is not something I can tune out. Maybe its because I can't speak or understand it. Or that I don't feel its a very flowing language. But coupled with high pitched female bitchy voices, I couldn't shut it out. At all.

I realize that everyone needs a break from work, and everyone (well, ok, most people?) enjoy having a social time for that break. But what about my break and what I prefer? Solitude! If this is how it will be, I need to find a new place to take a break :)

OK, I feel better.... thanks for reading this!

Silent, space filled HUGS to everyone!

What the Heck!?!?

Do you ever wish every day could feel fresh .........
instead of like a replay of the last one??

It takes only a little change to make a big difference ....
Just like shaking one of those old fashioned snow globes,
and watching the flakes resettle in different places,
sometimes we need to shake up our own lives.....
Here are a few suggestions:

• Try brushing your teeth with your other hand
• Get dressed in a different order in the morning
  
• Walk a different block or at a different park
• Drive a different route to work
• Rearrange your desk
• Pack a lunch
• Switch to a different radio station for a while
• Watch an old re-run movie
• Learn something new
• Read the newspaper
  
• Try cooking something new for dinner
• Eat dessert first (that's my FAV suggestion!)

Why not make "What the Heck" be this month's theme?
What have you got to lose, except boredom!

Learning to allow yourself pleasure
is the most radical celebratory change you will ever make.

So... from this moment on, repeat after me:

There is never too much of a good thing!!

and when we get to the point of having days

that are too wonderful for words,
let's remember two more:
Thank You!

What the heck kind of HUGS to everyone today!

Saturday's Apache Trail!

This morning, I decided to get up, get out, and take my new car for a spin, see how she handles on the road. I grabbed my cameras, and got myself dressed, grabbed the GPS and headed out the door. I couldn't decide where to go, so I plugged "local attractions" into the GPS, and found a listing for Lost Dutchman State Park, and its close by! The car handled the freeway just great, barely felt the 70mph... hehehehe. When I arrived, I parked, and thought "what a great place to take pictures." However, I wasn't dressed for the desert/hiking mode, wore the wrong kind of shoes. *sigh* So much for actually hiking. And I didn't even have water along. I need to restock my car! {grins} But I managed to get out and wander around, get closer to the mountains for some great pix. After a bit of walking, I got back onto the road at took Apache Trail Historic Road. This historic road covers some of the most rugged terrain in Arizona. Located in Tonto National Forest, it is 41.5 miles long. (Allow about five hours to drive this byway.... [its full of twists and turns, much of it at 25mph] ) But it sure is pretty up here, when you stop so you can take your eyes off the road! :)

Bounteous HUGS to everyone!

Romance and Bliss

There is only one romance: the soul's.
~W. B. Yeats

The subject of romance fascinates me. The media portrays romance in a certain way; there are romance novels that usually portray it in several ways. But which is it that's right for each person? While other people's love stories can inspire us or illuminate our path, the one story we want to hear most is our own love story.

But does that necessarily mean only those kind of romantic interludes between two people who are getting to know each other in that way? Certainly not! We all have times in our lives where romance such as the media reveals isn't a part of the moment we're in. And its OK not to have that. Certainly, it could be nice, and pleasurable! But if its all the time, it's like too much frosting, too much cake. Cake is wonderful, and I'm definitely a frosting lover! But if I had to eat it every day, it would lose that extraordinary, and just be ordinary. So treasure and enjoy the little moments of romance that come your way when your special someone does something special. And certainly don't think that these things should happen all the time. You'll be disappointed if you do.

For the other moments in life, why not try and have a Great Romance with Life? In all of our lives, we can turn the ordinary into extraordinary with a change in our thoughts, and our habits. Back a few years, there was a trend to Follow Your Bliss! This could be seen on bumper stickers, and people everywhere talked about it, but who knew what it really meant? But think about it, if you were following your bliss - whatever that bliss may be - you could be following a life's path that was there the whole time, but you were too busy to see it! Some thought that following your bliss meant the road to power, fortune and fame. Or just a better job. But often the door to bliss is right in our own backyard! I think bliss and romance are alike in a lot of ways. Both involve intermingling senses.

If we listen close enough when bliss or romance calls our name, it's like a divine rescue remedy from the ordinary life. Neither romance nor bliss requires a great deal of money, or things. The only requirement is that we pay attention to the things around us, not only with our eyes, but with our other senses as well. A flower in your backyard might look pretty, and smell nice. But have you touched the petals with your finger? Stroked the softness of it against your cheek? While a flower itself might not make a noise, the wind sighing across plants, or a bee gently buzzing as it searches for nectar certainly does. We all have the same seven senses. But our bliss triggers are totally different. With confidence, I believe that watching a sunset, walking barefoot on the sand or eating a juicy peach is likely among the majority of people's bliss triggers.

So here's the challenge: Take some time to turn the ordinary into extraordinary just by changing how you view your world around you. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that the next Great Romance is the one you create with Life!!

Blissfully romantic HUGS to everyone!

An ode to Betsy

I finally traded in Betsy, my 12 year old Intrigue. And its funny, it was a very hard thing to do! She and I had been through a lot with each other :)

She went with me when I moved into a new single life, taking me back and forth to work every day -- most days reliably! -- and also took me to far away places to meet friends and family. Then I dragged her butt behind a truck when I moved 1,872 miles to Arizona, and did she ever complain?? Not once!! Once here, she valiantly moved her lil odometer from the 150,000 to the 160,000 to the 169,972 marker. We missed the next major marker together by *just*this*much*. But it was past time for something more reliable.

At the dealership, after all the papers were signed, sealed and delivered, I went out to climb into the new Zona-mobile and there Betsy was parked, too. I had forgotten to take my CDs out of the six disc changer. The salesman watched as I walked around Betsy, checked the interior one last time for anything else forgotten, then patted her butt and said my goodbyes. I hope she's now resting happily in the big parking lot in the sky!!! Goodbye, Betsy, your work is done! The Zona-mobile may be more reliable, but she doesn't have the class you had .... You were great, Betsy!!

She's a beauty!!

SRP: unsung heroes

Well, it was quite the day here in at my house in 'Zona territory. Around 2am, we started having electricity issues. When I got up and started trying to use lights and things, they weren't working correctly. But my TV was. Very strange. I would turn on the bathroom light, and it would come on, bright as ever, then dim to half power, flicker, go off, then right back on to full power again. All within about three minutes. I checked with my next door neighbor, his power was all fine. So I called SRP (our electrical provider) and when I spoke with her, she said if I had partial power, the problem was with my home, and not their service. Damn! So I called and placed a home warranty repair request (gotta get my money's worth!)

Spending the day trying to keep myself busy that doesn't take electricity wasn't as easy as you'd think! I couldn't vacuum. I didn't dare open and close the fridge often (thank goodness for water in the door!) I worried about when or if I'd have power, so .... when do I take a shower? definitely before sunset. Will I have hot water?? (yeah, i did :))

About 3pm, my neighbor on the other side came home, and I happened to catch her outside. We compared notes, and she was having the same issues I was having! She was calling an electrician as well. Hmm, two of us with the same problem? Not our homes' problem. So we both went back inside and called SRP and reported it again. The tech came out within half an hour, and said "yep, you have a bad line. I'll send the underground crew out. It'll be a couple of hours, they're already out on a call."

8pm and the rumble of trucks up the street has me jumping out of bed, getting dressed and going outside to meet the next crew. After they assembled all their working supplies, they checked the ground line, and sure enough, it was bad. The section that was bad was along my back yard fence line. So, out there in the dark, with a few powerful flashlights, a crew of three men dug a pit in my backyard ... not to sound morbid, but nearly a grave sized one! They were friendly and chit chatted and joked around as they worked. Since I had nothing better to do, I sat in a lawn chair and relaxed while they worked. hehehe They quickly replaced the 18" of bad power line and I was back up and running before 9pm. *shew*

It's been a long day, and time for me to be in bed. Don't forget, your service providers are unsung heroes when something goes wrong!! Appreciate them :)) THANKS SRP!!

HUGS to everyone!

PS: Happy Easter to everyone!