Wasting Time

You know how people say, "If it's a cliche' it's because it's a truth"?  Well, sometimes that makes sense, like:  'People don't plan to fail they just fail to plan'...true and it's definitely cliche'.  But how about this one:  Wasting Time...ugh.  I don't like that one, even if it may be true.

I was thinking about a time when I was in a store just browsing at the merchandise.  I really had no intention to buy anything so I was just roaming around from one aisle to the next.  I remember the sales lady coming up to me and I got all tense (the way we do when people charge at us trying to sell us something) and as she approached me in her sing song voice she offered the ever dreaded, "Can I help you find anything?"  To which I simply replied, "No thanks, I'm just wasting time."  Guess what she did when I said that?  Nothing.  She smiled, nodded and moved right along, as if she understood.

Is it really so acceptable for us in this society to feel like we should be able to simply WASTE time?  Now, I know that time in and of itself is a pretty vague concept, but really, waste??  Think of what you consider to be waste?  Garbage.  Refuse.  Scraps.  Leftovers nobody else wanted.  Do we really want to do that with our time?

Whether it's a cliche' or not, I'd rather invest my time.  Invest it in a way that each action from here on out will yield me awesome things in the future.  Maybe even spend time a couple of moments, spend it doing something that will build me a memory.  But please, pretty please with a cherry on top, no more WASTING!

The Places We'll Go & The Things We'll See

There was a game I remember from long ago when I was in middle school called, “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego.” I think the point of it was to answer trivia questions about different parts of the world and by the clues find out where this character was stationed. The thought of that game brought some memories and desires right up to the surface for me.

Traveling is something I love to do. It’s not just about the destination. The entire process that starts with booking your flight, packing, the airport, the hotels, etc. is thrilling. How fun is it to escape and put yourself into a different portal for a bit just for the purpose of exploring? There is so much out there for me to see and I look forward to going many places.

Here are the places I have been:

In the USA (Not counting cities I’ve just driven through:o):

New Jersey

New York

Florida

Maryland

Washington D.C.

Pennsylvania

Massachusetts

Georgia

Utah

Colorado

Nevada

Arizona

California

Outside of the USA:

Slovakia

Czech Republic

Guatemala

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

Spain

Oh how teeny tiny that list seems to me, especially considering how vast this universe is! Here are some places I am eagerly awaiting to travel to:

In the USA:

All the rest of the states

Outside of the USA:

England

Egypt

Brazil

Portugal

Cambodia

Thailand

Fiji

Bermuda

Mexico

Holland

Italy

India (I especially want to go here)

And the list will go on and on…

There is still so much to see and do. Where have you been? Where would you like to go?

Fun and Laughter at the Expense of Others

I found this really interesting product the other day.  It's called PET HEAD and it's made by the BED HEAD brand.  It dyes your pets fur and if you have  a pet that has hair-like fur you can also use it to style.

My poor dog was the victim of this new found item.  See if you can tell where I painted her purple:

She was so cute as she sat there innocently letting me paint her white spots.  I have another dog who is mostly yellow so I couldn't find a place for the purple to stand out except for a tiny white patch on her nose:

It's cute isn't it?  Just something different to look at.  Kinda like it's fun when we see someone trip and fall or get pranked.  Come on, you know you chuckle (assuming they're okay, of course).  The reason I do it is because it gives me permission to be clumsy and to be real. 

Life is fun, good, interesting, and the age old advice of being able to laugh at yourself is still as priceless as ever.

Change

Change is a good thing.  Some times we have to convince ourselves of that, but most of the time looking back, we're all the better for it.  One client I had is a pastor of a church.  He is probably one of the most charismatic people you could ever meet and his family is incredibly genuine.  He explained to me about a custom they have in their services.

The band starts playing a familiar tune and then the pastor stands up and proclaims that it's time to walk on change!  What a great analogy, I thought.  Walk on it, like you can conquer it!  It was a great symbolic sentence.  However, they do it literally!  When he makes that statement, members of the congregation take out the change from their pockets and they begin to walk on it...literally!  He reassures those who do not have any spare change on them, by explaining that they can reach into a bin in the room full of change.  The coins they collect then become their own.  At that point they have the option to keep it, or throw it down with everyone else.  After the process is complete, he has volunteers going through the aisles scooping up the change.  That money of course is used as a charitable gift which sustains the church ministry.

Isn't that a powerful example of what it means to "own" change?  After all it is inevitable.  Things will move on and move forward.  We can fear it, or we can celebrate it.  We can try skirting the issue or we can WALK on it!  We can certainly be bigger than any obstacle in front of us.  If we don't feel like we have enough in us to change, we can borrow strength from someone else until we have our own. 

It's actually pretty exciting when you think about it!

Atlantic City

Isn't it amazing that as soon as you put your mind to something it finds a way of crystalizing into your actual "reality"?  Well, not long ago I decided to focus on some of the goals I came up with to achieve within the awesome year of 2010.  One of my goals was to take 4 trips.  I had one down, and three to go.  One of the locations I wanted to go spend time in was Atlantic City, NJ.  Last weekend, I got to cross that one off the list.

Not only did we get to go, we got to go for FREE!  Your mind is an amazing thing!  We got a free room and free dinner and lunch, so off we went.  I dropped my babies, aka dogs, at my uncle's house and we hopped in the car for a two day adventure.  We landed at the Tropicana Hotel and checked in.  The room was gorgeous.  It was big and the bed was H-U-G-E!  Can't beat that.  We freshened up and went to play at the casino.  Oh, we're not gambling fools, but some Texas Hold'em and good ol' Black Jack is always fun.  We retired to our room at about 1:00 AM and rested up for the next day.

In the morning we packed up and loaded our stuff in the trunk of our car.  We actually had a business meeting in Atlantic City that day, and although that may seem like "work" to some people, it was actually the highlight of the trip.  We got to hear from motivated and successful leaders from the company and it totally jacked up our energy level for the rest of our stay.

We headed back to our hotel after the meeting for some late lunch/early dinner at the buffet and stayed to play a little longer.  In the interim we saw the boardwalk and enjoyed the sights of the beach and that neat town.  All I can say is that your intentions are powerful.  As soon as you can start to focus on goals, they will have to come to you because that's how life works.  It's inevitable!  So, instead of focusing on what we don't have, let's focus on what we want and enjoy an awesome life!

Delicious Memory

I went to the grocery store today for a few quick items.  As I strolled through to the bread isle, there they were.  Delicious looking crisp French Crullers.  I decided one of them would have to end up in my shopping basket.   As I got to the car I put it in drive and pulled out the donut.  Chomp, chomp...into my mouth it went.  It was good.  Sweet, dough-ie, and pastry-like.  However, it wasn't out of this world.  Then a thought hit me.

Was it really the fact that the donut was good or was it the fact that the memory attached to the donut was a good one that makes me continually choose this donut option? 

When I was a little girl my sweet dad would bring home French Crullers for me all the time.  Sometimes plain and sometimes vanilla frosted.  I ate and savored as any kid would and that was that.  Now that I moved back to NJ and live in the area where my dad spent most of his time with me I get the same craving for those sticky donuts everytime I pass by one of them.  They're okay.  Definitely not spectacular, but they are delicious.  Not so much in their taste, I realize, but in their memory.  Each bite reminds me of my Pop, and for as long as those bites last, the memory is the ingredient that makes those crullers exquisite.