Getaway...

One of my favorite things to do is sit on a quiet beach under a big umbrella and listen to the waves. Last week I took Bob to the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge on Amelia Island in north Florida. It was so relaxing. I snapped this shot of the underneath side of the umbrella.

I relish these opportunities to connect with the outside and turn the mobile off. The truth is, I have plenty of time to do it on a regular basis, and don't. I'm not sure if it is to do with the guilt of not working or the guilt of taking time out. And why is there guilt associated with either of these things. I mean, I know I'm not at my best unless I take time off every once in a while.

Making room for these little getaways is a priority!

Visualization

I know it works, I've made it happen. It's how I met my husband. Really, I know it sounds cliche. But knowing that it works, actually having seen the power of visualization and meditation, why then, do I not do it on a regular basis?

I've taken to asking for what I want out loud. On my morning walks. If the orders for the business are slow, I ask for more. If I want my clothes to be a little less tight, I ask for that. It usually comes to pass. Crazy isn't it? What if the whole world believed and practiced visualization for the betterment of the world. Imagine!

Here are the two loves of my life:

What am I doing??

Life has been so crazy lately:

loads of work...yeah!

lots of stuff going on around the house.

trying to get ready for a marathon and a half walk.

I forget to take time to just be and write and reflect. Everything is going so well. I'm most excited about my business and how it is really starting to grow! I've got several people working for me now. I've started paying myself and even started a corporate 401k!! The future is very bright. The photo above is a shot from my studio.

when a plan comes together

Sometimes we meet people that bring out the creative forces within us and we come together in a moment of brilliance. That happened to me on Saturday and I'm looking forward to building a design coop with my new friend and business partner Kay. We outlined the business in about 10 minutes and it may take us 10 years to realize the final outcome, but it will be a fun and educational journey and I'm very excited about it! More to come later....we haven't figured out a name yet, any ideas??

The things we love

Why is it that the things we love to do are the very things we put off till tomorrow. I was really enjoying the blog thing and getting in the habit of writing at least a couple times a week. That is until January 2....almost 4 months ago! Let's see how long I can keep it going this time. What is new with me is a renewed sense of self and purpose. I've been very busy with work and it's rolling along very nicely. Bob and I are settling into a nice routine with a few hicups every once in a while, which I'm sure is quite normal. My health is really great and those last 20 pounds from the chemo weight are still hanging around....I'm not that worried about them though. I think I will lay off the wine and beer for a few weeks and see if that doesn't kick start it! I do believe I drink most of the calories I take in. Our dog Mo is doing great and will be getting a bath tonight - she is a little smelly at the moment.

All in all, life is wonderful - I'm going to post a happiness test here for others to take...I'll show my score and talk about happiness in the next post. Stay tuned in!

new year happy

I wonder what a 35 year old woman thought about at the new year 50 years ago, 100 years ago, 1000 years ago? Were they as hung up and worried about the extra 20 pounds they needed to lose as we are today? I do want to get off the 20 pound of chemo weight I gained last year. And I probably will, eventually. What I really want to be concerned with this year is.......well, truthfully, I haven't thought about it that much. I'm busy getting ready for market - a new product, a new booth design. It's going to be a big one. This year is set up for tremedous growth at my little company and I'm going to manage it well. Instead of new years resolutions, I'm going to state some goals for the year. Not here in my blog, though!!

global warming, global warning

So last night I hosted a veiwing party for the movie "An Inconvenient Truth". People, we have a problem. That's the bad news. The good news is, we also have the solution. And it's not even that difficult to correct it. All the technology is in place. Trouble is, no one wants it to be regulated, save the few people who are talking about it in public. In order for it not to be regulated, we have to stand up and take responsibility - YES, America! We are the biggest contributor to the problem, so we have to take the most responsibility.

I calculated my CO2 contribution and was shocked at how much I contribute. I feel morally responsible for spreading the word...

Did you know in the next 25-30 years the population of the earth is going to sprint to over 8 or 9 BILLION people? Nevermind the devastating consequences of Greenland or Antarctica melting - where are all these people going to live, and what are they going to eat?

We all better get used to eating less, using less, and start getting smart about global warming - this is for real. It's a test of our will versus our wants. Do you want your grandchildren to wonder what in the world you were thinking? Maybe your grandchildren won't have an earth to think in. Think about it. www.climatecrisis.net

mantras

I'm definitely not the poster child for meditation. I do, however, fully believe there is power in meditation/prayer...whatever you call it. Clearing you mind of the clutter, so you might receive tidbits from God, the universe...whatever you call it. I take my dog, Mo, on a walk every morning. There is a song I sing to myself sometimes on the walk - an oldie..."Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day. Oh what a glorious sunrise, everything's going my way". I know when I sing that tune, my day goes better. The other thing I do on the walk involves a breathing exercise. Five or six steps is one breath in, while I think to my self "peace, love, harmony, happiness, in" and then five or six steps is the resulting breath out, while I think to myself "hate, anger, fear, war, out". I'm not sure if it's the oxygen intake or the mantra, but it makes me feel better, too.

cleaning day

I wish someone could explain to me the difference between men and women in the area of cleaning house. I've just spent several hours cleaning - something that should really only take 30 minutes. Except that things in this house get so dirty. I'm not saying that my husband is totally responsible - I definitely do my fair share of messing things up - but not in the same way. Let's just take the coffee maker. Now, I don't drink coffee. Bob is the only one who uses the coffee pot. I wiped it down during my cleaning of the kitchen and decided to wash out the morning coffee. Well, the bottom of the pot looked brown (old coffee, I suppose) so I took a scrubber and started scrubbing. It was disgusting! If I did drink coffee, I wouldn't want it out of that pot - gross! I don't think he has ever scrubbed the thing out - grey residue came out for ten minutes! He always says he cleans it.....I'm just saying.....

oh christmas tree

My weekend in DC was great! I got to see so many old friends. And being back in the city was fabulous. My trip to the greener side was well worth it. Went to Sonoma Restaurant on the Hill with Emily and Kristie. Visited the Eastern Market on the Hill and had breakfast at the market cafe - yum! Shopping in Georgetown with the girls. Gourmet dinner with everyone at Mary's place. And Mary's girls are stunning - all grown up! Michelle's wedding was beautiful and I knew more people at the reception than I thought would. I visited with my friend Gary - it was really great to catch up with him and see pictures of his boys. And I had a wonderful two day visit with Roxy and family in Winston Salem. It's so amazing that you can not see someone for years, speak on the phone occasionally, send a few cards, letters and text messages, and pick right back up where you left off the last time you saw them. In the end, driving instead of flying was the best decision. I went through a pretty nasty storm on the way up. But on the way back, I went through western North Carolina and got a christmas tree cut down and tied to the roof of the car. The tree is beautiful and now if I can just get it in the stand and in the house, I might find time to decorate it.

Someone else told me to write a book. Have I said that several people keep telling me to do it. In my spare time!! I just don't want to write another book about breast cancer. If I come up with a way to do it that I think is different enough, I may start getting some notes down. I've got a great start with the journal on caringbridge.org and would just need to organize it. I feel like my experience is pretty universal as far as breast cancer goes.

roadtrip

I'm back in DC for the weekend. Love it here - not really sure why I wanted to leave it so bad. The weather is crisp. Looking forward to seeing a ton of friends. Celebrating my old roommates wedding and catching up with everyone here. Last night I met some girlfriends at a place on the hill called Sonoma. I was sitting at the bar waiting and having a glass of wine and getting all nostalgic about living in the city and missing all the things that come with that. Florida is nice, it's just really different. I think I miss the little formalities - dressing a little better than casual, talking about issues and walking to your destination instead of driving. The grass is most certainly always greener on the other side and I intend to enjoy my visit this time!

train me, rehabilitate the dog

My dog Mo is being rehabilitated. We had a "dog whisperer" over on Sunday afternoon for me to learn how to be a dog owner. The pack mentality really works. Mo doesn't really understand sit, stay, come...but when I snap my finger, she knows she is supposed to listen to me. Before, our walks were not really walks...it was me holding the leash, but she just stopped and sniffed whenever and where ever she wanted to. Making it very frustrating to walk her. Now that I know how to use the lead (the real word for a leash) we both enjoy the walks and I actually get some exercise. I also learned that my dog is a fatty! So we are going to walk twice a day for twenty minutes and cut back on the treats...both of us!

the face of heaven

Yesterday, I saw the face of heaven. In a small church in Groveland, FL. I had donated a ton of fabric to this lady and her quilting group, so they could use it to make quilts for the Lutheran Worldwide Relief organization. Jan, also a cancer survivor, invited me to come to church and meet the ladies. It was so wonderful - they were all so appreciative and grateful. I want to do more for them....I want to organize a fabric drive for them.

making strides walk

This morning, my neighbor and I got up at the crack of dawn to do the 5k breast cancer walk in Winter Park. Between the two of us, we raised $1300 for bc research. I met some incredible people...other survivors. I think I may have found my volunteer outlet - The Young Survivors Coalition. They are getting the Orlando chapter started and need leaders. Since there are so many issues related to being young and surviving bc, this may be the perfect opportunity.

One of the women I met is Jan. She is a really fantastic person and loves life! She is a member of a church that makes quilts for underprivileged people all over the world - mostly in third world countries, I'm assuming. Well, I told her about the fabric stash I had accumulated over the years and as I'm talking I realize she may be able to use it. She followed me home and I gave her hundreds of yards of material. She is so excited and I feel so good that this material is going to be used and distributed in quilts!! Love it when the universe puts people in the right place at the right time!! She invited me to go to the church tomorrow and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone!

hair cut

I got a hair cut this morning. Isn't it nice to pamper yourself every once in a while? Until you've figured out that you've spent too much money! Since my hair is so short, it's really irritating to have to pay for a woman's cut, when really I'm getting a man's cut. So today, I was pleasantly surprised when Louis only charged me a little more than a man's cut would cost. I'm also wearing a new outfit today...when you look good you feel really good!

Orders have slowed down, I think there will be one more big push before the holidays and then it will get quiet before market. Or not - I just remembered that I'm advertising this time. Inventory needs to be built up! I want to get to market and have enough product to fill all the orders I take. Then I would have all my cash at once instead of spreading it out so much. The cash flow issue! I'm learning my lessons!!

growing a small business

Last night I hired a contract employee!! She's young and her mother wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise, but I'm hoping she will come out of her shell when she's working with me. It's going to be on a trial basis. Hopefully she will like the work. It could be a good learning opportunity for her if she takes it. I've told her she has to invoice me for her time/hours, and is responsible for her own taxes.

I'm painting the store room space on Saturday - the space that will be the work area for Sissy Made It. Then Bob is going to help me build my work table. He doesn't know this yet...

The last couple of weeks have been really filled and fun. I was in the dumps because our good friends Carrie and John moved away. I wasn't expecting the hole they left. I think I just started planning things without really thinking and all of the sudden, I have a full calendar! But John and Carrie are coming for a visit and we are thrilled!

what a difference a day makes

You hear it all the time - what a difference a day makes. Yesterday proved it! My little company had it's biggest order day (outside of market). Two new customers and tons of re-orders! I've found a space outside my home to move the manufacturing to. Since I started working for myself three or four years ago, the business has always taken over the house. And before that, the home office was always spread out. I'm finally getting my home back!

things to do in sonoma

go to the glen ellen market to pick up a prepared lunch to picnic at a winery, benziger family winery tram tour, br cohn olive tasting (and wine), kunde estate winery, kenwood winery, sonoma square - mary's pizza shack, saffron for dinner, cline cellars, drive up to dry creek valley and visit ferarri-carano and dutcher crossing wineries, go over to alexander valley and hit a few places: hannah, alexander valley, ehlers estate, take the gondola up to sterling vineyards, spend the afternoon in st. helena strolling in and out of the shops on main street, have a late lunch at a great restaurant in napa, trefethen, grgich hills, drive over the pass to or from sonoma to napa and stop at chateau potelle half way, hit diamond oak on the napa side of the pass, pick one or two wine clubs to join....that's about 4 days worth of stuff...

another new venture

Today I'm going to be making a presentation to a design firm about Nood carpet. I've not sold carpet in over three years and now I'm back. It's very surreal, but I'm confident in the material and the product. The truth is, I've got so many project businesses going that I'm sure this one will take off, too! Just more for me to do! I don't want to take my health for granted anymore. It's so nice feeling normal and not being on drugs that wreck your body, just so they can kill cancer cells. Stress is at the door and I need to make sure to keep it in check. I've found that I can change my thinking and turn stress into motivation - it's not easy, but you have total control over it if you recognize it.

So back to this presentation. I'm nervous in a good way. New people, new conversations, will they like me? Will they laugh at my jokes? Will they ask me questions I don't know the answer to? Yes, yes, and most definitely YES! A new adventure, a new reality, a new beginning.

I wonder what my life would look like if I were to focus for 8 to 10 hours a day. Really focus. Not get distracted by the frig or the television. Actually follow a schedule. All the little mini projects I start during the day and going back and forth...what if I were to budget my time. Have slotted time periods for certain tasks. I think I should try it.

lucky girl

Today is our first anniversary. Bob is in the kitchen cooking breakfast for me. It smells delicious. I think he is replicating something we had on our San Fran trip. I'm a lucky girl!