Andrea’s note:  For active links, see http://www.brevardtaxcollector.com/Taxcol3.htm#howto

This section below provides basic information on obtaining or searching for a Brevard County Business Tax Receipt.  Continue reading →

Ugh, this is how I get behind on calls: I let myself skip my 4pm to 8pm sleep segment, then when 10pm comes, I can’t stay awake and have to cancel my calls for the night so I can sleep. Not good..

It’s not that anything is a secret.
It’s that it’s nobody’s business,
and it is so entertaining to
watch the speculation unfold.

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” ~e. e. cummings

I wrote on Facebook, “We are the luckiest family on the planet, for sure. Even when challenges come up, they are minor and manageable, and usually the best case scenario. May it ever be so.”  My friend Anne Marie Anderson replied, “You know of course, that luck really has nothing to do with it… you do the work, you learn, you grow and your very appreciation creates miracles in your life.”

It’s refreshing when a pal has muscle discomfort and doesn’t describe it as pain, and they reach for heat, stretching and manipulation rather than painkillers. The youngbloods are growing wiser. Thanks to all the mothers and fathers who raised conscious children, I am confident I can trust them to lead us wisely into the next generation.

I can smell beautiful gardenias as I return calls and answer emails. I’ve got a dozen in a bowl of water in the living room, the scent is intoxicating. The weather is beautiful outside, I love my working environment, I have the best office and best boss on the planet.   Two months ago I began taking cuttings from the night blooming jasmine outside my bedroom, and now the east garden is filled with it. This time next year it will all be in full bloom. I’ve recently transplanted some honeysuckle into the east yard. I don’t have much luck with honeysuckle. My mothering pattern is smother/ignore, so living things have to be durable and self sufficient.

Domino stopped smoking this year.  Her husband, a long time smoker, stopped as well.  His sister said she found it hard to believe that he would quit just like that.  The sister and her family have always been smokers.  What they don’t understand is that when you know it is a life or death situation, you do what it takes to support your loved one.  He doesn’t just go outside to do it, or do it out of her sight.  He doesn’t want to be the one who triggers her due to his habits.  As a result, their clothes no longer smell of smoke, they’ve both stopped coughing and they can’t believe the money they save by not buying cigarettes and lighters.  They don’t feel triggered when family members smoke, but they are becoming increasingly sensitive to the smell of it, now that they can smell again.  They don’t fault the family members who put less importance on it than Domino and her husband do.  We all do what we can from where we are with what we know.  That’s what our parents did and what their parents did and what we all do now.  Here’s to ever increasing awareness through conscious mindfulness.
Andrea

April 23, 2012.  Izzy DeBig-giantkitty gets to go to the vet today to have the bubble on his back checked out. He’s not happy about skipping breakfast and he may now be tying that to the carrying cage I placed by the door on Friday… If he doesn’t get breakfast yet, I don’t get breakfast yet. It’s only fair.  I took him in 90 minutes early so he could get used to the office before they began poking and prodding him. He needed to have this done, even though the vet makes me bring his shots up to date when he’s treated. I like my cats to be vaccine free as long as possible, except for what the law requires. It’s healthier since they eat a partially natural diet.  Dr. Joiner at Animal Medical Clinic (they rock!) removed the bubble tumor the same day.  I am glad they could do it in one visit for him, Izzy is such a scaredy cat. The tech was having a time getting his long and sleek 20+ lbs into his carrying case, so I showed her how to back him into it.   He slept at the foot of the bed the first two nights. His sutures are healing nicely.  I’ve dabbed them with aloe from the garden. He’s such a trooper, he acts like his back isn’t all stiched up like Frankenstein. Yinnie DeMini-Cow has been leaving him alone for once. Continue reading →