Month: December 2011

New Year, New You!

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The New Year is right around the corner and I am trying to do way too much. I want to make sure my house is clean, my bank accounts are correct and I don’t have things all over my house. My family always told me that if you are broke when the New Year comes in, then you will be broke all year. The same goes for a dirty house, dirty laundry and personal chaos. If you start the year with so much out of order, you can never get back in sync. I want to be in sync. I am ready to get started before the year comes in, I want to make sure everything is in order to take the old year out.

    My first stop finding new ways to be a better me is to find new ways to save money. These are my special sites for the New Year:

Discounts
http://retailmenot.com
http://Ideeli.com
http://Beyondtherack.com
http://fifteendollarstore.com

    Next step on my list is to lose some weight without dieting. I am just going to eat my age. I am not going to eat things that my old body can no longer process. I do love French fries but really, I should not eat them. I should be past refined sugars, but I must be realistic, I will take this a step at a time. I will drink more water and eat different types of vegetables to shock my system; lots of leafy green vegetables.

    Third, I am going to clean out my pantry. I am going to get rid of the boxed rice dishes and buy some brown rice and add some spice. Hey I watch the Food Network. I am going to get rid of those items in the back of the pantry that I am not going to eat. I am going to read up on expiration dates to make sure I rid myself of food that may be still okay, but again, I can donate.

    Last and not least, I am going to read more. I don’t care if it is on a Nook, Kindle, Cruz or check it out from my local library. I am getting off the computer, some, and I am going to read. I am going to invite my girlfriends over and make them read to, but 2012 is going to make a better me. I am going to be better because I am going to try harder to do better and make better choices. I am thereby guaranteed a better year.

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What a Great Show!

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It is mid-season and on comes the mid-season replacements! Say Yeah! As you are well aware, Grey’s Anatomy was a mid-season replacement and look how well that did. It is my sincere hope that some of the hype of the earlier Fall shows that have been a grave disappointment will be removed from the televisionverse. NBC is planning to stand strong with a mid-season addition of the The Firm and a nice late edition and one of my favorites Grimm. The Firm is based off the movie with Tom Cruise and of course the latter is based on Grimm Fairy Tales with a twist. However with the addition of something new, something old has to go. The first on my list to be cut is that insipid Terra Nova. Are you hearing me Fox?

    However, I have been pleasantly surprised by some alternative programming on some of the other channels. The geniuses at AMC, who brought you Mad Men, have come back strong this season with a wonderful period piece, Hell on Wheels. It has cowboys, it has Indians, and it has moguls, madmen, and developing civilization. There are union workers and a coalition of Free Men who are fighting for the right to be called men after liberation by President Lincoln. It has intrigued, murder, romance and conniving women. Whew, that is a good show!

    AMC also has the Walking Dead, but hey, it’s about Zombies. If you are going to watch a show with half dead people feeding on other humans, please turn over to the SyFy channel for an episode of Being Human. You see, a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire all move in together and no, it is not the start of a bad joke. She’s dead, killed by her boyfriend and doomed to haunt the house the boyfriend is unable to rent. The werewolf has some issues and the end of each month and the vampire stopped feeding on humans. Together, they have become a weird, dysfunctional family that actually loves and support one another. I am not sure how it is all going to work out in the season considering the ghost lady let something malevolent into the house. It is going to be a fight for survival, but it is understood that in the end, they all just want get along and be loved.  I am now imagining greater.

Even greater, SyFy has also acquired Lost Girl. We meet Bo, a succubus that is a cop, wandering between her human life and the life of a Fae. I know right?  I can’t wait to check this one out next month.

    I am even more excited because in January we can welcome the return of that damned American Idol, but we can also return of something fresh. The Food Network understands fresh and beefed up their programming with The Next Iron Chef. Those smart aleck Chefs who sit behind a desk a critique other people’s food have been put to the test. This show is really exciting because those arrogant over paid chefs have been cut down to bite sized pieces. The one chef they thought would be gone first is actually standing up and is going against Jeffrey Zacharian. Now that is a good show! I also learned a new way to work with lamb and make sausage.


It just gets better folks, Game of Thrones will return in April and True Blood returns in June, featuring Chris Meloni of Law & Order SVU fame.

Exciting! Now that, is going to be a show!

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Loving What You Do

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Three weeks of freedom. Freedom to create, get masterful, sleep late or improve my skillsets. An opportunity has presented itself for me to be better. I am going to take it. My first stop of course was to Joann’s Fabrics and Crafts. Loaded to the gill with 40% off coupons, I was ready.

    Since it is December, the new Block of the Month program is out for the New Year. I love this pattern, and it is actually a quilt I would like to make and have on my bed this Spring. I use my coupon to buy the first block.

I also pick up stuffing, batting, and other items that are on sale. Simplicity patterns are $1.99, so I pick up a few for Halloween costumes, new place mats and pillow case patterns. I also pick up one or two apron patterns for potential mother’s day gifts.

    Once home, I am armed with my stuffing, so I fill my holiday pillows and place them in the living room chairs. A few cuts and some clever stitching, I have a matching holiday quilt to drape across the back of the sofa. Did I mention that I also had a 40% coupon on fabric as well? Those aprons only require a yard and a half of fabric so I stocked up. I am ready for my new year.

    I love to make crafts and I love to sew. I made the first block with pride and I look forward to going into Joann’s and picking up the next few blocks. I have fabric, I have patterns and I am carving out time each week to make a little something. It is my goal next year that all of my Christmas presents will be made. I am working on my crafts and I am doing what I love.

    Now, if I can just get my manuscript complete and my syllabi ready for class next quarter.

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7 Types of Men Every Woman Should Date

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Okay, admittedly so, I have on several occasions acknowledged that I need to stay off Facebook. However, I could not pass up this little ditty. According to Quentin McCall, Life Coach, there are seven types of women, every man should date. These beauties include a simple, low maintenance woman, a woman who has submitted herself to God, an emotionally stable, selfless woman who can be your best friend. The last two traits that every man should look for is a woman of character, who is also loyal and patient. If you happen to find this woman, I think I would like to date her too, because I am not sure if this person exists. On a good day, I can cover maybe three, but all seven, I fear, my friends, that I am not that enlightened. Even June Cleaver sometimes got a little terse with the Beaver.

As a woman, I am always looking for ways in which I can be better, or ways in which I can evolve. Yet, we all know that in order to evolve, we must learn ways to grow from our mistakes. The things which have slowed us down or rather taught us major lessons in life, are the things which have caused us pain. Therefore, it is only fitting that I pick up where Mr. McCall has left off, and make a list of seven men that every woman should date.

  1. Someone who is broke, so you can remember, it ain’t cute constantly eat off the dollar menu.
  2. A man without a car, you will easily learn that he spends his money on Jordan’s instead of saving for something worthwhile like a vehicle.
  3. A bad boy, these are great to show you that drama is not a formula for relationship success. Getting drunk and fighting is only fun and exciting the first time, until you either get arrested or the cops threaten to haul you off with that idiot.
  4. A sexaholic. When you are young, you can go all night. When you are 35, the only thing you want to do all night is sleep. These guys are great for a once a month outing, but really, in two years when you would rather sleep, he and his friend are constantly poking you in the back trying to get you to play. Both of them need to go to sleep. You want to converse with me, talk to me with your mouth.
  5. A man who is in touch with his emotions. He can tell you all about his feelings, which is great, but a year into the relationship, he is just going to seem like he is just whining.
  6. A cheap skate. The good thing about this man is that you will never be broke. You will also never have anything new, never get a new car, a bigger house or shop at Macy’s.
  7. A man of refinement, this person is usually smarter than you are, are well traveled and understand food and wine pairings. He is also a test model because these types of men always make you feel as if you are not quite at their level. I love these types of men, because they inspire you to learn more and be better. Please keep in mind, you are not being better to be with them, just tuning up for when you meet your future husband. PS, hubby is going to be proud that you know food and wine pairings. This insipid fellow also taught you about stocks and bonds, so you can a little bit of moolah.

Even though I said seven, there is still one type of man with a must have trait in the man you marry; that is the ability to fix things. I love a handy man. I hate when something breaks and your man is in the Yellow Pages looking for a repair person. Heck, I can do that myself.

    I know I may have missed a man or two that a woman should date, but these are not to be confused with the type of men a woman can’t resist. That in itself is a different story with a whole new set of rules and lessons learned. We will visit that on a later edition.

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Afraid of Being Alone

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As I was trolling through my Facebook feeds looking for something to make me chuckle, I saw a posting from a friend on being afraid to be alone. The posting was attached to a website on the fear of being alone. The questions posed was, are people staying in bad relationships out of fear of being alone? The article went on to say that people stay in bad relationships out of fear or obligation.

I am afraid I may need some help with this one. I did not understand this concept. I understand the concept of guilt. I understand the concept of obligation, but I cannot see staying in a relationship because of either.

Understandably, as a young adult there were unwise choices made for material or social status, but never out of fear of being alone. I have made some of my best decisions and biggest strides in life during times I was alone. This occurred because I simply did not have another to answer to and I could stay up late, spend countless hours on research and focus on making my dreams come true.

Now, this is where I become confused. True, the times in my life that I have been single have been of my choosing, but I was never one to feel as if I was no one if not with someone. How can a person justify loving another person if they cannot justify loving themselves enough to breathe? Breathing is what is required to have your own air space. I like my own airspace.

Moreover, I like who I am when I am alone. I also like who I am when I with someone who loves me, but these are not two separate people. My journey of discovery does not end with a bad relationship. Leaving a bad relationship should be the start of self-discovery of where you want to start to be better. Being alone is a time of fruition, a time of growth and time to understand what makes you tick. If we know these things about ourselves, then this is the person who is ripe to be shared with another soul.

The individual, who chooses to compromise their principles to be accepted, is a lost soul. You are not staying because of obligation; you are in fact staying because of lack of direction. This person that you have attached yourself to is now the person who gives you meaning because you have failed to find meaning in yourself. Does this also mean that the fear you are experiencing lives and breathes because you are afraid to go solo?

Unhook the oxygen tank; the air in the room is just fine. I can breath easy knowing that sometimes, the best conversations you can have, are the one you have with yourself.  In time when I have been alone,  I learned a new craft, new software or sharpened a skill set. I may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but I am an instrument that can stand alone.

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