the choices we make when we are stressed…

  I’ll admit to you right now that September was a horrible month for me. Horrible.

 Two family issues cropped up last month that had me in a crabby mood. They were issues that I haven’t had to deal with yet in my life, and I’ll admit that they were big ones. I don’t have the family support that I feel I need, either, which of course added another layer to the crabbiness. I was something else, to put it mildly.

 I made some mistakes last month as a result of this stress. I’ll admit that. They weren’t major mistakes but they were big enough that it got me fairly stressed out. I know this would have never happened had I not been so stressed.

 I’ll also admit that part of it is that I’m learning as I go. I was in real estate for almost ten years, so this is a new ballgame. (Is it ever….) I guess I can look at it that way and simply move on. Lessons learned.

 How do other business owners cope with family stress and dealing with other issues? I’d love to hear your suggestions for muddling through it all.

 Then maybe we could all learn from each other.

more, more, more!

  The recall effort is getting started in Fullerton, so I wrote a short little ditty about it here.

 I may not agree with every part of the recall effort, but I do agree with standing up for what’s wrong and fighting the injustice of it.

 It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with all of this.

Fun stuff this Kelly Thomas

 This Kelly Thomas news is getting, um, interesting….

 I did write something relatively positive though about it here. They are a good church and I agree with going to pray at city hall during these protests. They were very clear though that they didn’t want to take sides during this, but wanted to pray for God to sort this whole thing out. Very cool.

 I also pray for a peaceful ending to this.

And now…..Kelly Thomas, the protest

 I covered the Kelly Thomas protest yesterday, and it was amazing, to put it mildly. Here’s the link to the article: http://www.examiner.com/community-in-los-angeles/kelly-thomas-protests-taken-to-a-new-level

 On one hand, it looks like the police really kicked the you-know-what out of this guy. Yes, the police did beat Kelly, which landed him in a coma. Is that right? Hell no!

 On the other hand, what else do we know though? Why are we passing judgment when we don’t know much more than that? Police say that he apparently really fought them, and they apparently did get some injuries in the process. People who hate the cops don’t care and are really pushing this to the limit.

 I of course decided to be stupid yesterday and wore a long-sleeved shirt as I went to cover the protest. I went home to change and missed a couple hundred folks literally walking in the street, blocking traffic to protest this.

 I feel for Kelly’s parents though that they are the subject of blame. What can you do if your adult kid refuses to take his meds time and time again that help him lead a stable, functioning life? He apparently did go into treatment centers numerous times, got better and said I don’t need the meds-and got off them. Really, what more could they do?

 And so, the story continues…..

Kelly Thomas

 He’s a name that is now known world wide. He died not too far from me.

 I went to the first city council meeting last night since this issue blew up globally and wrote about my observations here. I got there late due to stupidity and was just shocked when I got to city hall. It was something else, to put it mildly!  I counted 7 news vans. I wondered why a firetruck was there. (Probably as a precaution.) And then, I went inside.

 My neighbor got there on time and told me tonight about the stuff I missed. Wow. Just wow. I am personally scared of what’s going to happen if the officers involved get off scot free. I may Glock up. Seriously. I predict a riot.

 I offered my condolences to Ron Thomas, who was standing outside when I got there. Both he and his lawyer said thank you. He ironically stood behind me in the lobby a short time later to finish watching the council meeting after walking out of packed council chambers. People in the lobby chanted “Justice for Kelly!” as he walked by them and stopped behind me. I asked him if hearing this made him feel good. It did.

 Kelly’s mom was crying during the recess the council took. A woman was praying over her.

 I really hope and pray that we learn from our mistakes here and improve out police force and not sweep anything else under the rug. I also hope that we can become educated about mental illness and work on solving the issues of homelessness.

 Let his death mean something.

Cool title for a GIRL…….

 

 I’ve seen friends plan weddings. I’ve seen roommates plan weddings. I’ve listened to co-workers make calls at work to plan their weddings.

 It looks really, really stressful….

 Being 36 and never married, I would like to experience the fun and stress too. And so, in an inadvertent way, I will. I will now also cover everything dealing with Orange County, CA, weddings for one of the Web sites I write for.

 Ironically, this quest began a few years ago when I was thinking up ideas for the Web site I write for. I covered the city I live in, which is sadly the city that Kelly Thomas passed away in, and thought that giving wedding planning ideas for the city would be great for articles. I was right. (And for those of you wondering why in the heck anyone who covers community issues would talk about weddings, I didn’t cover community issues back in the day. I covered the whole community and all subjects related to that.)

 I spoke to the independent wedding dress store in downtown. I talked to the photographer next door to the wedding dress place. I scoped out reception sites. I went to the gorgeous Methodist church. I got advice on buying a wedding cake. I got advice on how to find a photographer you’ll like. I got money saving advice from a florist.

 In short, I can plan a wedding now and know who to go to and who not to go to in order to get the job done.

 Join me on the journey, and I will let everyone know when my page is up!

 And RIP, Kelly.

Breathe when you want to panic…..

  I’ve learned my lesson.

 As I mentioned in a previous post, I screwed up during a tryout for a job at the major local paper in my area. The person who got me in here told me to relax, but of course I didn’t. I freaked out over my screw up and freaked out again. Really though, I should have taken a deep breath. Why?

 The editor called today asking me to fill in for a reporter going on vacation. 🙂

 This is music to my ears. It helps me right a wrong, in a weird sense. (I’ll make that a different post.) It brings me a sense of happiness. It lets me know that I am generally going in the right direction career wise. It lets me know that I need to calm the heck down!

  I’ve got a ways to go, I guess, before I learn that I’m doing fine on my own path of destiny. I’ve got a ways to go to see that I need to learn from my screw ups instead of beating myself over the head for them. I’ve got a ways to go before I see that I am human.Even though I’ve got a ways to go, I’m glad to be moving in the right direction.

  Right directions involve calm thinking though. You can’t progress when you are in a panicked state. So, I will remember to breathe instead of panicking from now on.

working from home, not wasting time from home…..

 The time wasters are always a-callin’ when you work from home.

 Facebook, Spider Solitaire, Facebook……. The list goes on and on and takes me away from being productive and getting work done. You know, the thing that allows you to eat and to pay bills? Yeah, it’s kind of important to get that done first!

 And so, I searched for helpful hints to rid myself of the evil time wasters. I even deleted Solitaire from my computer. And I saw that a Facebook friend did this for awhile. Hmmmm. Interesting. And then I saw this page. (Warning: I tried to download the free time log and my brain couldn’t wrap itself around what to do since I’m not a programmer. Go for something else like Toggl. I hear it’s free, so I’m going to try it for awhile to see if it helps.) Very interesting too. This page also had good advice. But what do you mean that I shouldn’t work in my pajamas?? 🙂

 How many of you are Facebook addicts when you should be working from home? Is Spider solitaire your enemy? I’d love to hear your story and also gather tips from others.

  Maybe we can all learn that way how to be more productive.

crafts always cheer me up……..

 I’m in a bad mood this evening because of something that happened work wise. A freak thing happened and let’s just say it doesn’t look good. The person who helped me get in to do freelancing here told me to relax. He’s right, but I’m still angry with myself because honestly, I don’t do bad work!

 So……. Being in a crappy mood after this, I wanted to lift it by seeing craft stuff online. Craft stuff makes me happy. I used to dry emboss all the time a few years ago and loved it. So, I went here to see if they were still in business. Yay! I don’t know any store that carries their products anymore, but at least I know I can get them online. I’ve actually dry embossed Christmas gift tags and they came out beautifully. I need to take it up again.

 I also like to make gift tags. I can’t believe that I actually went to this site to look at them after Googling “handmade gift tags.” I am really old enough to like a magazine that my mother used to read. I am old, LOL! I used to make gift tags at Christmas all the time a few years ago when I’d do craft shows and they would sell like hot cakes. I need to take that up again also.

 I know it’s good that I could redirect my bad mood into something positive. There’s nothing like creating something to put me in a better mood.

 Crafting…….it cheers me up.

not pondering, but doing……

 These past two days have been productive. I’ve obviously been working on the freelancing assignment I’ve mentioned in a few of my recent posts. I’m doing an article as a tryout for the major local paper in my area. I kind of have to pat myself on the back for something related to this article, because I managed to work my way around not having the PIO available, who just happened to be on vacation. (I was rolling my eyes after I heard that one!) I ended up leaving a message for the higher up who I was transferred to. I called back the next day to see if anyone got my message. Success! I got my information! I’m patting myself on the back because despite the small obstacle, I politely pushed forward and worked my way around it. The editor asked me to give her a status update yesterday, and so I did. I tried to talk myself up by telling her that despite not having the contact person to get information from, I pushed ahead and got everything I needed for the article and she would have it by Friday. I hope I didn’t sound too haughty but instead impressive. 😉

 I’m also working on an article for another Web site I write for to see if I can get another title that I personally think would be girly, fun and I think good financially also. We’ll see what happens.

 I also got my hair did today. Here it is!

 (FYI-I don’t have a bald spot….)

 Hope it’s a good week for all of you!