Author Archives: Andrea

Stepping Out of the Frantic, Urgent Mode

Yesterday they delivered the April Horizons Magazine and we spent the day getting it into the mail and to the drivers.  Subscribers: look for it by Friday. Stores: you’ll have it earlier. Each month I am surprised by how quickly the time flies in between one issue of the magazine and the next.  My free time doesn’t begin the day the magazine goes to the printer, it begins a week later after the magazine has been delivered and all distributors have checked in.  Then I get to sleep in and spend a few days running errands and attending to the rest of my life until I need to glue myself to the computer once again 10 days later.  It’s a schedule that works well for me, however I have a tendency to try to hurry up and work as much as I can so that I can take lots of time off later.  Later of course, that never comes. Continue reading

My Day at Jiffy Lube and Tire Kingdom

Since I stay busy with work and always have a bunch of big and little things to do, I’ve learned some tips and tricks that keep me motivated and not getting overwhelmed by it all.  When I have to do maintenance type chores, like getting my oil changed, I put it on my To Do List so I can see it each day until I can stir up the entusiasm to jump up and get it done.  I’ve had “change oil” on the list for 2 months, and yesterday morning I woke up wanting to go right to Jiffy Lube.  I didn’t even step into the office first, I just jumped out of bed and left. That was my signal that I was in the perfect vibrational place to have a quick and easy experience.  Continue reading

Procrastinators, Cut The Sh*t and Do The Thing

I woke up yesterday morning knowing it was time to call the stores I mail the magazine to, confirm their address and confirm they are getting as many magazines as they want. Each month, I mail to 100+ stores that are in areas I have no drivers, where postage is cheaper than mileage. That means a lot of phone calls to keep up with it.  I usually have a dozen calls a day waiting to be returned, I’m on the phone all day long and then I do my phone sessions at night. So I’m not always in the mood for a bunch of extra calls.  I posted on Facebook: Who that I really know wants to make about 120 calls for me? Not sales calls, just checking mailing address calls. You’ll play phone tag with about 80 of them. You’ll need lots of minutes if it’s a cell phone. I’ll pay you for the calls. Continue reading

I replaced my kitchen faucet set!

plumber under sinkI went to Lowe’s and bought a kitchen faucet set and called the plumber to install it. Now when I turn the water on, it is shooting out all over. Well at least it’s on a day I am doing heavy cooking and need it to not do that. Ya gotta laff.  I’ve got 2 pitchers of water from the bathtub sitting on the kitchen counter to use as I cook, so I don’t have to use the faucets to clean up. I feel like in pioneer times. Except for the house and electric stove and indoor plumbing and stuff.
OKAY  Sunday 1:19pm   I just finished preparing the kitchen for the arrival of the plumber to replace the faucet and handles. Service dudes love me. I clear their working space and give them lots of light. That also makes the photo shoot go easier. Having running water in the kitchen is awesome. Not having it for 2 days taught me I can eat right out of the saucepan and that’s ok. In fact, I’m doing it right now 🙂

The Power of a Sisterhood Circle

I sat with some friends Sunday morning to welcome a new sacred space one of them had created in her side yard.  Almost hidden beneath a huge and tangled Brazilian pepper tree, she’s created a magical faeryland with a tent as her writing and meditation room.  I haven’t asked everyone permission, so I am not naming names, but it’s not the names that matter. What matters is that we’re a group that has come together in synchronistic fashion and as we all sat together, some of us for the first time in person, we all felt the bond of our sisterhood.  Aged 28 to 58, we sat in a circle and honored the intention of the dedication of this sacred space.  Continue reading

Welcome, Spring

finished the April issue of Horizons Magazine yesterday and headed outside to do some hand watering for a few hours.  I can see the turk’s cap and arbicola are coming back, and the mulberry tree is loaded with new leaves and small berries.  I have 3 loquat trees all getting fruit at the same time, and the live oaks have all dropped their dead leaves as the new ones have come on.  The entire property floor is covered in fallen oak leaves and everywhere I walk there is a crunch, crunch.  I’m once again under a high canopy of shade, and getting a little more privacy now that the live oaks are waking back up.  I walked around with my clippers and pruned the frostburnt ends off.  I made a few dozen cuttings and stuck them in the ground for a privacy hedge by next summer.  I talked to the orchid tree, bent her branches and gave her a few taps to wake her up.  She’s shown me dozens of baby orchid blooms in the past week. Continue reading

Don’t represent yourself in Court if you don’t know the law – especially when your home is on the line

blindfoldedA friend has let a lawsuit get out of hand without legal representation and he’s about to lose his house because of it. He thinks it’s not fair, and has sent long, long letters to the Court. I told him what he sent is not a legal response. He got advice online on what to send the Court.  I read his formal response and he doesn’t cite relevant case law. I told him to go to the law library. He said finding info online is “easier”.  I told him what he finds online includes people’s opinions of what they think the law is and someone else takes it as gospel and loses in court.  PEOPLE: Don’t let that be you. Continue reading

When The Universe Interrupts Your Plans with Synchronicity

I was really busy on Tuesday, well into final layout of the April Horizons, with phones ringing like crazy, when I got a call from my friend Maria.  “Are you busy? she asked?   Hmmm four days after deadline with just 5 days to get the April mag done – am I busy?  Aaaugh! Final layout week I usually stay glued to the computer and don’t drive out unless I have to.  I schedule myself tightly and, we all know what happens when we do that.  So Maria is about a half mile from my office and needs a ride into Melbourne.  Well, that’s different.  I am always glad to help a friend. Continue reading

What’s in a name? Anagraming your name for self discovery

“Nice airhead damsel.”  “A shielded American.”  “I’m a deadline chaser.”  What do these 3 phrases have in common? They are all anagrams, or phrases made up using all the letters of my first and last name.  One recent popular anagram is the name of the movie, October Sky, which is an anagram of Rocket Boys, the title of the book the movie was based on. They anagrammed it to give more credibility and better market appeal to moviegoers.  Rearranging the letters of “Clint Eastwood” gives “Old West action,” “Madonna Louise Ciccone” gives “Occasional nude income,” and “William Shakespeare,” “I am a weakish speller.” Continue reading