A new publicist for a national speaker asked me to send an email blast about their event. Being in the business, I am at the receiving end of everyone’s promotional material. I see what the market gets flooded with, and I get feedback on what gets read.  I replied I don’t send email blasts.  They wanted to pay me for my email list. I don’t do that either. What I do, though, is have an in-print and online magazine the last 22 years where it costs you far less to list your event than I’d charge for an email blast or sharing my mailing list.  Our  rates are affordable because we’re in it for the outcome, not the income.  Do I think by not sharing my list that I’m denying my peeps the opportunity to hear about the important new person, product or service?  No, because each will attract exactly what they resonate with and will find each other with or without me.
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I’ve heard it all by now

It sprays out at the elbow where the horizontal pipe hooks into the vertical. It’s just a tiny stream but a steady stream when the shower is on.

I’m watching Youtube videos. I have a leaking shower arm and I cut away the drywall to expose where the arm goes into the pipe. I can see water spurt out from the joint.  It’s been leaking awhile. I was sure the drywall behind the tile could use replacing, which meant replacing the tile also. It felt sturdy but I thought it had gotten wet for a few months. I stuck my cell phone camera in the hole I cut in the drywall and took a pic. Yay – it looks like zero water damage in there! I know it spurted (just a little squirt but it’s steady when the shower is on) for awhile before it made a wet spot in the drywall that I cut away to see inside. I was gonna cut the hole larger to stick my entire phone down in there, but I’ve already cut away all the soft crumbly stuff. If the drywall is that sturdy and dry, I just need to replace the shower arm and make sure it seals properly. Likely just the seal has been broken due to the fixture being 26 years old.

4-30-14 update: I replaced the shower arm and shower head!

I’ve decided to go back to Planet Fitness. I cancelled last year after I didn’t want to drive west anymore, now my body is like WTF? Yes, I can work out and lift weights here, but there I’m motivated to do more. I like an early dawn workout, the moment I get up, go jump on the treadmill while I wake up and decide what my work out will be for the day. By the time I’m halfway through my rounds, I’m awake and pumped for the rest of the workout.  Last year I checked out the new Anytime Fitness right next to the Publix I’m in every other day. It was a nice facility but the enrollment and monthly price was much higher than Planet Fitness, something like $89 to join and $54 a month.  For me, the extra amenities didn’t matter and $10 to join and $10 a month is fine.  I’m here for the treadmill, the weights and the machines. I don’t need pool or steam or tanning. Oooo, which reminds me I have access to a pool three miles away if I want to swim.  Win/win! Continue reading →

Today is my parents’ anniversary. It is also the 18th anniversary of mom dropping her body and leaving the earth plane. My mom and I were close, speaking every day, never arguing, she was my best friend. I always thought I’d freak when she passed, which she did suddenly on April 8, 1996, of her first heart attack.  I didn’t freak.  I didn’t grieve.  I felt there was no separation.  I still don’t feel she’s missing from my life. I’ve ever been a sentimental person. I’ve never been family oriented. I am more a loner.  I love my family, but family life is not for me. In the two days between her heart attack and passing — which we did not know was going to happen —  she was heavily medicated and could not speak, yet managed to open her eyes very wide once in order to look me in the eye and let me know she was still in there.  I talked to her and I whisper-sang to her.   Continue reading →

I love No. 5:  Be the problem. This is a tough one. You must confront your need to feel special. Stop being the saintly heroine that is the only person in the world he trusts, opens up to, or can tolerate. His moods, his wild antics are his story, make your own and don’t play a supporting role.  Here’s the article:
As if it’s not bad enough to be addicted to love, you seem to find yourself hooked on the unique brand of consuming desire that leaves you empty, confused, and utterly deflated. You have a special gift for honing in on the person in the room least interested in you. You gravitate naturally to the challenge of that special someone who makes it clear from the start that he is in some way unavailable… but then leaves a window wide open, inviting your enthusiasm. Be honest now. You crave the attention of bad boys, bums, and brooding narcissists. Here is a 12-step intervention to break the addiction and rewire yourself for a more satisfying and soulful connection. Continue reading →

Armand Della Volpe writes, “Getting close really fast makes it 99% more likely that we will experience heavy emotional drama.” I agree, as that has been my experience. I usually dawdle for years with secret crushes. There is such exquisite delight in unfolding someone slowly. My impetuous times were rewarded with big drama.  A friend just found out the one he thought was ‘the one’ lived a double-life. He thinks they’ve parted as friends. I suggested he let it cycle thru. An ex and I parted amicably, then 2 months later it was a different story. Armand wrote, “We recently learned a couple we thought were compatible with us were in fact not. It took 18 months for all of our pain bodies to surface.” I found that relevant. It took 18 months of daily interaction before I saw my ex’s real personality.  I criticized his deception then but I was the one ignoring red flags. I now realize how difficult it must have been for him to keep his pain body in check and the mask in place for all that time.  My current mate paid the price by me not early on blindly trusting.  We’ve taken our time getting to know each other. Ten months, no red flags, no drama. The unfolding has been delicious.  While getting close really fast can feel right, my experience is the drama is never worth it.

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A friend was forgetful and low energy by mid afternoon. It turns out she had low thyroid and adrenal fatigue. This article examines the causes, symptoms and process of recovery using nutritional balancing. Of greatest importance for this article is that the adrenal hormones, particularly adrenalin and cortisol, activate the body’s fight-or-flight response. Below, Dr. Lawrence Wilson writes on Adrenal Burnout Syndrome:  “Thousands of people suffer from constant fatigue that is not relieved by rest and sleep. This is one of the main symptoms of adrenal gland problems.  Many people are still suffering from adrenal exhaustion, adrenal fatigue or adrenal burnout 3, 5 or even 10 years.  This is not necessary!  Nor is it necessary to take hormones, obtain a lot of tests, or do chelation therapy, in my experience with this condition.  I owe a great debt to Dr. Paul Eck, whose deep interest in the adrenal glands inspired this article. This article examines this extremely common syndrome – its causes, symptoms and the process of recovery of vibrant health with a nutritional balancing program.”

Continue reading →

Some people are just lucky.  On our walk this morning, we found someone’s wallet.  It was just north of the bf’s house.  The lucky one is Prince, the guy who lost it. Lucky because he had a student ID so we knew to call Bayside High School.  Lucky because we’re not bandits. The woman in Guidance said she knew who he was and she would give him the phone number to call to pick it up.  Five hours later, the school calls and says they will have someone come out to the house to pick it up on Monday.  What??? I understand, school policy, red tape, yada yada.  But I think it’s ridiculous to make him wait for it over a weekend.  As I drove the one block to the bf’s house, I passed RastaKid who lives on the corner.  I figured I’d go back and ask if he knows Prince and where he lives.  But RastaKid is no where to be found. I almost doubled back the half block, but decided to go around the long way instead. As I rounded the corner,  I saw a kid walking. I asked him if he knew Prince.  Of course, he IS Prince.  Earlier the bf’s spidey sense told him it might belong to a house down the street from him.  He was right.

A retired friend says she feels selfish staying at home watching her tv stories and sewing outfits for her dog, but that is what brings her happiness. She thinks she should go out and volunteer somewhere. I told her if she’s having that thought, go out and volunteer somewhere until she wants to stay home again to watch tv and sew her dog dresses. Then she can volunteer again if she feels she’s being useless, until she’s had enough of that. She’ll know when it’s time to change, because she will become dissatisfied with her life and she’ll begin thinking she should do something other than what she’s doing.

After watching two episodes of  Naked and Afraid last night, I went out into my west woods and created a lean to using my big tarp and slept outside all night. I made hot tea at the firepit and drank it watching the day break and the critters wake up.   I like reality shows to see how people act and react and relate during all kinds of conditions. I know I am a different person under different circumstances.  Put me in the midst of electronic and digital media and I can take charge and multi-task like a mofo.  If I was on one of those shows, I’d do some survivalist research ahead of time so I could be efficiently resourceful and I’d stay goal and consquence-oriented.  Collect wood for the fire while it’s still daylight so I’m not scrambling in the dark with my little self defence flashlight for home to find what I need. Build a fire before nightfall so I don’t get eaten alive by misquitoes trying to start it. Don’t drink the water without boiling it, so I don’t get sick from it. Research ways to boil water with no pan and no supplies. Those are the goals and consequences I’d make sure to stay mindful of. Have good footwear so an infected thorn doesn’t keep me down.  I think of stuff like that. I used to never consider consequences, but I’ve learned that lesson.   Continue reading →