Stuff

This pic's for you, hedgie!!------------------>
That could also be Jim with his merlot.



Stressing today. Just a lot of financial stuff going through my head. I think that if I relax, get done what needs to be done, and not overthink everything, I will be just fine. I know that if I give it to God, and let Him help me, I will be fine. I used to be one of those people who would pray, but then do nothing. I had a friend of mine say to me once "if you want to have God help you win the lottery, you have to buy a ticket." That just came back to me in the last couple days, so I guess I'm buying the ticket now. I'm doing what I can to hold back on "STUFF" and my second job is going to bring in some dough, AND my income tax return is solely going to my debt, which will be nice and I can actually pay off my big card that much faster, like in about 3 months. NO, I'm not getting THAT much back, but my debt is more than I can afford, so it's debt.
I hope all is well for you. I love hearing from my readers. If you have any good "get out of debt fast" pointers, let me know.

Love to all (or both, since I only have 2 followers, but I know some others read)!

Book to ponder: Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. Christian self-help, and also was a catalyst in why I'm trying to get out of debt and stuff. Good stuff in this book! They're not conservative. They are very sound.

Piano fingers and fiddle bows

Nothing to say about this caption, just nice to look at, and I do mean the piano (hehe). ------------->


I'm listening to a lovely piano piece. I love the piano. It's one of the only instruments that has so many sounds to it. It also is the most eclectic. It has the ability to play in any genre of music, whether it be alternative, blues, jazz, rock, etc.
I was a terrible piano student. I loved it so much, yet thought that I had to be classically trained, so I got frustrated and have just learned, in recent years, after learning how to play the fiddle, that I can also learn the piano that way. I plan on getting a new fiddle when I get out of debt, and it will be a priority.
So many things I want to do. Still have to fuel my Twilight obsession, too, and I always seem to be able to come up with strategies to do that, AND pay bills. WHEW!! Am I getting off the subject again? I don't think I really had one, actually. Just like to have a pert subject to get the conversation rolling, you know.
I've been wondering how much should be disclosed in this journal of mine. What's your thought on that? I am always aware of needing to be private about work and family people, but there are some things I'd like to say, but don't know if I should. THOUGHTS? I know you have them.

Ohhhhh....such a jumble in my head!!

This hotness isn't just a pretty face. He's an AMAZING musician!!-------------------------->

So, I just realized that I didn't wish you a Happy Valentine's Day last week, since I was standing on my soapbox preaching about the woes of capitalism at its best. Sorry about that. I figured out this week why that was happening, let's just say I'm chalking it up to hormones.
ANYHOO!! Had a great day with DD in Seattle. Went to Pioneer Square and International District (aka Chinatown). Had a blast. We like to give socks and candy to the homeless, so we make a trip of it. Then we went to our favorite local bookstores and got a present for her friend. We ended it with the tourist trap that is Uwajimaya. For those of you who wonder what that is, it is an Asian supermarket in Seattle that has just about everything. I call it the tourist trap because tourists are what you see in there. It's fun, though, and we went to a great Cambodian restaurant on one of the main streets of Chinatown. Got to see a dragon dance, too!
I keep forgetting about seeing how THE LIST is going. Mine, not so much, but I'm drinking more water, and I've cut sugar down by quite a bit. I notice that I focus better, which makes me feel so much better, and I don't feel the need for may Adderall as much. :D
Listening to Rob Pattinson right now. GAWWWD I love his voice!! That boy needs to put out an album. WOOT WOOT!!! Hear my playlist of him here: http://www.playlist.com/playlist/19280145675
Love ya!!!
P.S. If you're interested in coming w/ us on our next homeless trip, let me know.

BOOK OF THE BLOG: "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein-Shoutout to Carol, who, if it wasn't for me being a guest in her home, I wouldn't have discovered this sweetness of a book. Garth Stein is a Seattle author. Check it out if you haven't already!

Capitalism at its Best.

This is a wheel from a game where Carol, my dear friend, won a GREAT Twilight poster. Lots of choices on that wheel, huh?----------->

So ironic that me, the one person in the world who loves making it a point of trying to shop local and small business is sitting in Starbucks blogging with my donut (made from a local Seattle company called "TOP POT"--YUM!) and short, single breve coffee. What can I say? I haven't been able to find better coffee than the 3 top Seattle coffee places of Tully's Starbucks and Seattle's Best. But, really? How can coffee be local anyway, since it can't be grown here? Okay, I'm making the soapbox bigger, and so I'll come back to the smallness of it.
The reason for this topic?
Yesterday, I talked to a young woman who studied abroad. I asked her what it was like. It was ITALY for goodness sake! She didn't like it much. I asked her what it was besides the fact that traffic sucked, and she said that she didn't have enough choices. Being a young lady who has been raised in our modern American world for 20 years, she didn't like the fact that going to the market resulted in picking between 1 or 2 brands of detergent, or having to go to one market for detergent, and another for food. Then the food only had 2 choices of pickles and , and the aisles were small...etc....Need I say more?
As I end up at my Fred Meyer or Target (I do not do the W-word store, and if I do, it's out of IMMENSE necessity!!), I realize that half my time spent in the aisle is like this (in my head, of course, maybe)--"okay, so I need ranch dressing. I really like Hidden Valley, but Ken's is on sale, and it's not TOO bad, but LOOK, what's THAT kind? Should I TRY that instead??? Maybe I'll just get the creamy Italian since I now can't make up my mind and can only buy one bottle." You know, my DD and I both have ADD, and I wonder if I've developed mine because of all the damn choices I have!!! LOL!! Just kidding. But I feel that there are so many choices-like the fact that my breve could have 65 different flavors to go with it. What stops me from adding flavor to my breve? I like fat over sugar in my coffee. Skinny lattes suck, with the exception of peppermint mochas. BREVE'S, which are half and half w/ espresso, are yummy and full of satisfying fat. :D I get a short single, because it's the perfect size to carry the perfect balance of flavor. Can you believe I'm mainly a tea drinker? I digress.
CHOICES. We have SOOOOOOOO many of them.
Being a daughter of a K-mart shopper, I know all about selection, and sometimes, I don't like that. I think about the people who make my laptop that I want to replace with something less bulky, who probably go home to a house with many less choices than what I have. I recall having chatted with a Christian missionary who was gone from the US for 5 years and came back and didn't know how to go into a regular grocery store because it was overwhelming for her. Her soap in Africa was what she used for hair, clothes, and body. NOT that I'm saying to resorting to that is great, but it sure can make me stop and say, JUST BUY THE DAMN HIDDEN VALLEY ALREADY!!!

Because of my blog name, I'm going to suggest a book to read. I may or may not have read any of them, but I've seen them and they look intriguing if they are suggested. The one that may be a good book for this topic is called "How We Decide" by Jonah Lehrer. Drop me a line of your thoughts if you've read it or want to.

Melancholia

Feeling blue today. I actually almost feel too tired to write. Ever have one of those days? These are the days where you know that it's just a moody, possibly pmsy thing because my day overall was EMOSEWA!!!!
Since I feel like writing is too much effort, I just PAINTED what I feel. Call it the mishmash of the bipolar mind. HEEHEE. It's titled Sunshine, Daisies, and Broken Hearts.
Anyway, Since I don't have much to say in words, and I felt better PAINTING it, what is your favorite outlet for getting rid of stress or sadness?

WHERE YOU FROM???

----------------------------------->This is what the mountains looked like from where I lived in Montana. The most beautiful place in Montana was the Fairfield Bench, IMO. :D

Hi! Not much to say, but I have a question that gets posed to me once in a while. Where are you from originally? Well, I'm originally from Montana, moved to Central Washington when I was 15 (Sunnyside, near Yakima), moved to Spokane for 6 years a year after high school, and then moved to Seattle after that, where I still reside. People ask me if I miss any of the places I lived, and I have to say that I miss parts of it. I miss the mountains of Montana, the friends of Spokane, and the grape season of Sunnyside where I could get concord grapes easily. :D
How about you? Where are you from and what do you miss about it?

Jobs

------------------>Me and 100 Monkeys. Nice guys. I would like their job.
So, I was driving to work this morning thinking about what I was going to say on my blog tonight, but guess what??? Drawing a blank.
This week has been tiring. I started doing my workouts that I wanted to do, and then on Wednesday I get a call from the YMCA wanting me to teach 2 of their water aerobics classes. I have been needing a 2nd job, and here it is! I hope I get it. I love the facility, and the crew seems great! I really wanted a waitressing job as a 2nd, to get me out of debt faster, but I think I need to pace myself a little and just enjoy. I'll do the waitressing job if I don't get the Y. The Y called me, which is my way of thinking that this is where I'm s'posed to be.
I really don't have much insight, but here's a good question. What would be your dream job?? It could be ANYTHING!