Fun and Mental Changes

So I have been selling stuff that I have had in storage on ebay for the past couple of months. I have had such great success with buying off ebay for the past couple of years that I thought it would be fun and exciting to try my hand at selling. Wow! Did I create an uproar. The first month was fine and then the "Must Upgrade" emails started. I was not sure what was happening. I called PayPal....my trusted source for SO MANY purchases to ask what was going on and was told that it was ebay's policy that if I was going to sell on ebay, I needed to be able to accept ALL forms of payment. That didn't make sense to me.... I had already sold four items on ebay the previous month without "upgrading" anything....what the heck were they talking about???? You mean I wasn't accepting all forms of payment? I thought that was what my PayPal account was for? How am I to know either way... sellers do not receive buyers pay information other than PayPal's notation of...

So, as some may or may not know, I am working on trying to master caring for my own nails after my economic situation has required me to cancel my standing nail appointment with the " Amazing Alison ". I have realized just how hard a job it is! My nails were in dreadful shape after having fake nails for so many years. I have battled brittle nails, peeling nails, polishing issues....you name it, and I suffer with it. The first was the peeling of the nail layers right after the fake nails were first removed. I attempted to "strengthen" them with nail strengthening products such as OPI's Nail Envy. I found out that strength was not what I was needing because that led to my nails being so "strong", they would break with the slightest pressure since the Nail Envy did nothing to help with the nail's flexibility to give without breaking. I then ordered Nail Aid which I STILL use as a basecoat (this product is still my number one!). The polish issues, mor...

So yesterday's blog was kind of a "downer". And just when I think that I am not going to find my "silver lining", the silver lining finds me. As I was flipping through the channels this morning I paused on a local morning program. I love it when that happens! When you see something you normally wouldn't look at or you hear something that "sticks" and you have no idea why, just to find out down the road that it was exactly what you needed to see or hear to help you in the knick of time. Well this was it! The featured show guest was Mindy Mendelsohn speaking about our divine connection and how we are choosing to act and what part of us is influencing our decisions. To really look at what decisions we are making from moment to moment and what is REALLY influencing those decisions certainly boggles the mind. But I also think it gets us closer to really knowing ourselves...the real us inside this skin. Clearly my post from yesterday was getting in touch...

This economy is HURTING so many people. You are hearing it on the news and even in my day to day, talking to people who are getting downsized and jobs being cut. It is unbelievable to think about the "chain reaction" of things. Gas prices effects food prices. Loss of housing effects the spending that ultimately effects businesses that effects future jobs....the list goes on and on. I spoke to someone yesterday who is in the medical field. People are not spending money on health care because they can't even afford to keep their houses....my heart is broken. Why, oh why, did our government choose to "bail out" all those banks when the people who put the money IN the banks need the "bailing out". Our government chose (ignoring "the people's" voice) to bail out the minority when the minority is dependent on the majority to spend the money they now have even less of because we are funding the bail out of the minority. That sounds to me like a ...

YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS So, for those of you familar with " Chili Cookoff "....this is chili cookoff funny! Visit: TheBeautyBrains.com It is a blog post about UV polish drying on the nail and safety. The post isn't what's funny, but the thread made me laugh so hard I think I peed a little. It was that freakin funny! And just like "Chili Cookoff" the more I read, the harder I laughed! I couldn't get air in, tears were running down my face.....I was laughing so hard! I originally found this site while browsing photo images on Google for UV nail lamps to attach to a Christmas List for my husband when I ran across this pic and HAD to see where it came from. I'm so glad I did. That was just soooo much fun. Everyone needs to check it out....seriously!

So I saw something on MySpace yesterday that cracked me up and also made me think. "Don't criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, you will be a mile away AND will have their shoes." So ok! That is HILARIOUS! But more importantly, what a great attitude to have. I mean, we ALL pre-judge others before first getting to know them or their situation. It's the ones of us who allow that initial "first impression" about another person, their decisions or behavior to keep us from "connecting" who really buy in to the negativity of the first impression. That is really all criticism does. It hurts you MORE than it hurts the other person. At it's very essence, the definition of criticism is: to find fault. How do we get to a place where we can take it one step further? In a world where we are judging this or judging that, and usually in a negative light (as the very definition is "to find negative"), to judge a p...

Living in Arizona for the past 14 years has taught me a few things. One of those is that sunscreen is a MUST, but I have also discovered that sunscreens you buy on the market contain many chemicals that can be harmful to your health. So you get protection from the sun, so that you don't develop cancer, only to get cancer from the stuff in the protection.... doesn't make sense! What alternative do you have other than to not leave your home (which doesn't help you either because the sun provides vitamin D and boosts your immune system)? Well, I've got the answer! Try an all-natural, organic sunscreen that will give you protection from more than just the sun. Using it will also keep you from poisoning yourself. Hahahahaha! That's what I call serious protection.

This is the blog post as seen on Danielle's MySpace Blog Got Support? For those of us on the journey of health and building our bodies, I have found an invaluable resource. PeerTrainer.com is a FREE site with incredible information and support. I hope you all get a chance to check it out.

A cold winter's night. You want something warm and yummy. Warm creamy soup? The weight gain the next morning will not be worth the indulgence. What if I told you that there WAS a warm yummy soup that will hit the spot without denting (the cellulite kind)? While Arizona doesn't see cold winter nights really, it does get to be a little brisk in the evening. Tonight is was 69 degrees and I was searching for the warm and fuzzy feeling. So I searched the kitchen for something that would fit the bill. Coffee? No, I don't like it black and would hate myself for consuming the cream and sugar. Hot cocoa? Nope, same problem there as well. The guilt tomorrow isn't worth warm and fuzzy tonight. Soup ! Yep, that's the ticket! But who the heck wants to MAKE soup at this hour of the night? While my VitaMix would certainly whip up a batch of healthy, yummy, make-you- toastie soup in minutes, it would still require prepping the veggies....something I wasn't wanting to do. So I...

I just got a Bible cover embroidered and it is BEAUTIFUL. What a great holiday gift idea! This Bible cover design runs about $25 plus tax. My friend Patty of Artic Fox Designs did it....here's what it looks like. Sorry about the picture quality. The Bible cover is vinyl, so the flash created quite a bit of shine. Without the flash, the pic is blurred. Oh well...what to do?If you would like to get in touch with Patty, feel free to contact her at 480-456-3644. You can also order online at http://www.articfoxdesigns.com/ . Her website shows a TON of designs and she can embroider just about any material (I was shocked when she said that she could do vinyl). Just a little gift idea I thou ght I would share. Happy gift shopping!

I actually wrote this some time back, but am just now posting it. I found it while perusing Romans (thank you sista!) and thought it was very special and wanted to share. I really enjoyed "re-reading" it! I did do a little editing, but for the most part it's the original. Way to Go God! It's a funny thing about Matthew chapter 7. I have hung on to verse 7 for a very long time, and in recent review (and knowing verse 7 by heart) verse 11 JUMPED out at me. Shortly after I was first saved and baptized, a VERY traumatic event took place in my life. To which, I reacted with definitive hatred for God for not answering my prayers (I even tore up a Bible). "Pray God's word" the experts and theologians will tell you.... yah, that's all well and good, but you must first UNDERSTAND his word. And I'm afraid that only time, experience, and in some cases the reading of His word a couple hundred times, will give you that. So here I am today. Many years have gon...

So why is it that men just don't get it? Women need to vent! When we start ranting about this issue or that issue (and usually the issue is of NO consequence either way), we just want to be heard. When men begin adding instructions on how to fix this or that, or try to explain why this or that has occurred, it is interpreted as opposition when all we wanted was an open ear, acceptance and understanding. It is then that the smallest issues become an argument . And guys, the argument in and of itself IS NOT the issue at all....rather, it's us women not feeling support and understanding. " Everything's gonna be alright" and "I understand completely" go a long way. And why can't my mountain (that I completely know is a molehill to you) be a mountain? Even for the 5 minutes it takes to vent.... What if every time ANYONE talked to you about ANYTHING your response was always, "it's no big deal. Why do you have to make it a big deal"? How man...

For quite some time I have been focusing on my diet. My husband's physical therapist recommended a diet that was PACKED with fiber, fruit, vegetables, and lean mean.... all the good stuff. Unfortunately, this diet was very hard to stick to because it was the same food over and over. That led to me looking for recipes that I could substitute some of the meals with on this very wonderful (but boring) diet. ** A quick note: it was a wonderful way to start changing the way I eat! Let me know if anyone would like a copy of it. It has a full 2 week eating plan. No guess work. What you need to eat is outlined daily. I first grabbed my "old standby".... Eating For Life ( Click here for link to Amazon.com ). This book is FULL of terrific recipes that are very easy to make, but lacked in the amount of vegetables that the previously mentioned diet included. Then I found it! Volumetrics! This book is fantastic. I am including the Amazon link as well as a blog link so that you can all...

I have been working out pretty regularly lately and found that motivation to get the gym in the morning was slowly declining. Why is that? Well for me it was the fact that I do not eat breakfast for an hour after my first workout in the morning so the time it takes to get ready, get to the gym and then complete the workout is the difference between feeling good and feeling famished! So upon waking I found myself not very motivated to get up and get ready, but rather wander to the kitchen for something to eat. Well, that was until I found that "little" thing that turned it all around. Fake hair! That's right....fake hair! I can't believe it either! More correctly named faux hairstyles, these things let you clip and go! I can't tell you how ecstatic I was after I bought this and found out how beautiful it looked on. It looks like I spent an hour on my hair at 5:00 a.m. I purchased Toni Brattin's fake hair and it has saved my life! You can find her hair produc...

So A LOT has happened in my life over the course of one short year. A lot to be grateful for with Thanksgiving fast approaching, even though the economy is struggling and my employment has s l o w e d. I have found that, as of late, I have had a ton of time to devote to....ME. I am going to the gym 5-6 days a week, attended Bible studies, and have actually read books (instead of the audio books I'm so used to). My husband is digging it as well since he is seeing me energetic and happy.....the home cooked meals he comes home to every day helps too! :) Anyway, with all the bad going on in the world today...I thought it was time to start focusing on the good even if we have to vent the bad. Let's Rock and Roll!