Those Christmas book people...

I'm always amazed and uplifted by the Christmas novels that are out this time of year. I spotted this one in the store today by the wonderful Debbie Macomber. I go to her books when Stephen King scared the bejesus out of me.

I generally see Christmas as an extremely stressful time of year where there is never enough time or money. The spirit of Christmas has turned into a can-you-top this game. One that tires and stresses us.

The Christmas after 9-11 was different. Both my children were on top of those towers 11 days before. Living across the bay from NYC with a good view of the Trade Centers (a place where half our relatives, friends and neighbors worked) we were struck very hard. We waited days to find out who survived, the stench in the air lasted for weeks and now we constantly run into people who worked the clean up. They all have breathing disorders. If you ventured back into the city you were met with National Guardsmen with guns checking out your cars. They were at the entrances to the bridges and tunnels, the police were out in force all around you. The walls of Port Authority was lined with pictures of the missing. We went to a play and after the final curtain Valerie Bertinelli came out and thanked us all for coming back to Broadway and encouraging us to take back our city.

That Christmas was different. We walked the stores searching for those perfect gifts and just felt grateful. We had our family. We came so close to losing everything that really mattered that gifts were just stuff, useless stuff. None of it mattered.

Debbie Macomber's books tell us this too. Most of her stories are about what's really important and how its the people around us who make the difference in every way that counts.

So, what's your take on the Christmas season? Love it or hate it? Or something else?

Discipline...

Discipline; that scary place between want and acquire. If you want to reach the stars you have to cut through the crap and find your way. It should be a four letter word this Discipline. If you are in front of the Discipline process you look forward with hope and inspiration. When you reach the other side you look back with pride and accomplishment. But that scary place inbetween can be a real problem. Especially when hope has such a tendency to fluxuate. It rises and falls with the tide. When up, discipline steps forward and pushes you along. When it wanes, hope falters, that star you're reaching for seems to move further our of reach.
Which is the challenge. How do you keep the hope alive so dicsipline can guide you?

When life reinvents.

When we hit high school we reinvent ourselves (sort of). It's a new enviornment, we meet new friends, and find different interests. When we choose how we react to these things --> Poof! We've become someone new. Left behind are the ideals and wants of childhood and we find different ideas and goals. After high school it happens again. College (or a job) brings new things into our lives and we change, finding our new selves. Then comes marriage and OMG! was that a change. I still miss having my own closet.

Babies? More change. Only now you're putting everyone but yourself first. Years later the kids grow up and there's no more chasing after little ones, going from play groups to music lessons to bball games and dance classes. It was all about them and suddenly they're on their own. It's called empty nest syndrome. I'm almost there...in that gray area between their college and when they're looking for the right job and place to live..either way they're very independent at this point.

My older and wiser brother says that: Empty nest is like being 20 again, only this time you have money. I think that's a good analogy. And I'm there.

Poof! I'm about to become another person. Only this time I have to think on it awhile. So many choices-I don't know what to do first.

Being a Virgo---I have a list:

Learn piano (I've always wanted to do this!)

Get my WIP finished and find a good agent.

Go back to school.

hmmmm, I'd like to jump out of an airplane but ....maybe I don't have enough courage to do that.

Buy a Mustang.

Get a tattoo.

Maybe sell some art.

So, if you were to reinvent yourself...what do you want to see in your new life?

When Dogs Become Cats

I'm working a job where we have to dress professionally. Gone are the jeans, hoodies and football jerseys. (sniff) But its not that bad, I'm actually beginning to enjoy it. Now my biggest problem is getting out of the house. It's not getting out the door by (gulp!) 7:30, or going out into the freezing cold to scrape frost off the car...no, it's the fact that the dogs have suddenly turned into cats! They've started to rub against my legs like hungry felines.

Three dogs generate a lot of hair. The shedding gets so bad that at times there are tumble weeds of hair blowing across the floor. When I sweep (hardwood floors) I think I collect about two or three puppies each time. It's that bad.

So now every morning I get dressed for work these three pups decide to become cats and rub against me. They can't walk past me without touching---AND I'M WEARING BLACK! Especially the youngest, Okalani (top) who likes to wind through a person's legs like an agility dog weaving through the rubber spike jaunt. The Lokie ( Center) likes to rub her face against you. I think I heard her purring this morning. And then there's Halston, (bottom) who just has to stand within inches of you as she commands her hair to jump off and cling to your DARK BROWN PANTS!

So being a virgo I've developed the following coping skills.

Coping mechanism #1 I bought those "repels pet hair" dryer sheets and ...eh. Not much of a difference. The dog hair still rules.

Coping mechanism #2 I decorate my house with lint brushes. One in every room especially by the front door. Its the last thing I do before going out the door.

Coping mechanism #3 Bought the Bissell Pet Hair Vacuum. So far so good. The only drawback is I actually have to use it. (Eeeeek!)

My advice to you is to buy stock in Lint Brushes....I think they'll be going up substantially.

Getting back into it.

I've taken a bit of a break from writing, painting and most everything I love to get into a new job.
I was sitting in a campaign meeting (a friend running for mayor) and someone came in with a job offer. The few who knew I was unemployed started pointing at me and saying "She wants it!" Well, going back to work before my unemployment ran out was a bit of a shock. Although I was putting the word out that I was looking, I never really gave it my all. I gave it to Karma instead. Whatever was meant to be, shall be.
And I guess Karma decided it was time.
Well the new job is in the county election division. I started two weeks before the election and haven't slept since. The amount of work that came through the office was unbelievable. We worked late every night & weekends. By election night (in at 5 a.m. not home till after 11 p.m.) I was exhausted! I think I'm still recovering. Like jet lag, election lag had me down for the count.
And now I feel like I'm back! Its time to take back control of the things I want to do as opposed to those I have to do. And I have a plan. Write at night, print and edit on my lunch hour. (I actually get a whole hour for lunch and finding myself not knowing what to do-at my last job I ate at my desk and did email during lunch.)
So my question is how do you slice up your time to write and get all the everyday demands done too? Do you have a schedule? Or just go with the flow?