My Sure Cure For A Nasty Headache

Before I fell asleep last night I got a nasty headache. Not only that, my upper back was hurting really bad. I lay there trying to get comfortable, and started thinking about what I might have done for the back ache. Then I remembered that I did some arm exercises earlier in the evening. The headache could have been from my first day doing pilates again. I felt better knowing why I was hurting, but it didn't make sleep any easier.

I woke up a couple of times during the night with my head still hurting, and woke up at 4:30 a.m. with the headache still there. Hmmmmmm....hate starting out the day like that, but I got myself ready and headed to work.

About an hour after I got to work, I headed to the kitchen to warm up my tea that had already gotten cold. When I walked in I smelled this wonderful smell.....mint. Man did it smell good. I looked at the table and there they were...a plate of assorted Girl Scout cookies that someone had put out. I immediately spotted the little gems that were giving off the lovely aroma....thin mints! I could eat a whole box of those little guys in one sitting.

Unfortunately for me, I am on a special food sensitivity diet and flour and sugar are a no-no. I have not been perfect on the diet, I am still drinking my Starbucks chai lattes a couple of days a week, but to eat a thin mint would be a sin.

Then I remembered something from my 5 years of working in the natural health office....mint is great for head aches. My boss use to have a little roll on bottle of peppermint oil, and when she had a headache, she would rub it on her temples and her headache would go away. She swore by it.

With my head still pounding, I picked up one of the precious little chocolate gems....NO I did NOT rub the thin mint on my temples!!! I grabbed a napkin and held the little thin mint in it and then I breathed in the yummy scent. Over and over. I walked back to my office, napkin wrapped cookie in hand, sat at my desk and sniffed some more.

I left the little cookie sitting on the napkin next to me on my desk and started to work. Every once in a while I would pick the little guy up and take a whiff.

Well, about 20 minutes later, I suddenly realized that my headache was GONE! I mean it, it really was.

So, was it the magical little thin mint, or had my headache just run it's course? We may never know, but when the Girl Scouts come around next year selling cookies you can be sure I will be buying a few boxes of the thin mints.....for medicinal purposes only of course!

(And no, I never ate the cookie. It is wrapped up in the napkin, still sitting on my desk...just in case I have a headache tomorrow!)

There Are No Bad Dogs....

Isn't that what they say? There are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners.

So, Wrigley and I are walking down the first street and I told you yesterday that I heard guys yelling for their dog, Lady. Then I see the younger guy, I am assuming the son, chasing the dog all over the place. Are you kidding me? Did he really expect to catch the dog? You don't chase dogs for one. They think it's a game and they'll run all day long with you chasing them. I thought about turning around and going the other way, but alas it was too late, Lady came running right at us from down the street.

I tried to stay calm so Wrigley couldn't sense my nervousness. Dogs know when you are nervous and it makes them nervous. So, I just kept walking. The hair stood up all the way down Wrigley's back when the dog approached and I will say it rattled my nerves a bit as well because it turned out to be a pit bull. It was only a puppy, but it was about 4 times the size of Wrigley and I had no idea what it was going to do.

The owners continued to try to coax her into the house, and they kept saying, "She won't bite," and I kept thinking.......are you sure?

I know that pit bulls get a bad rap, but if you recall a couple of years ago, there was a little boy and girl that were out selling something for school door to door that were attacked by 3 pit bulls.....well the little boy almost died. He was in the hospital for a long time. That attack happened at my corner. It was one of the most awful nights ever. We heard the gunshots when they shot the dogs. It was terrible. Those kids were ripped apart and have physical and emotional scars that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Needless to say, as much as I love dogs, I am leery of dogs I don't know, no matter what breed they are, when they are loose.

Lady jumped on me a few times...not a friendly little jump, but a running jump! Man was she strong! The son kept chasing and the dad kept telling him not to. I continued to walk, but she kept following us.

After she had approached us a few times and didn't try to bite me or attack Wrigley, I started putting my hand out to her, hoping she wouldn't rip it off and eventually I was able to grab her collar and her owner came over and took her.

We live in a neighborhood with a lot of dogs. Many people like us have more than one dog. Many of the dogs are in their yards and are allowed to bark at every person that strolls by. It's really annoying. Some of them are in their houses barking and lunging at the windows! It's unnerving.

Dogs that run around their yards barking at people, or dogs that do the same thing inside their houses are bored dogs with irresponsible owners. I feel bad for dogs that never leave their yards. How awful that must be. Even if you have a fenced yard, dogs need to be walked. They need to get out in the world. They need to be on a leash so they know that you are the boss. They don't need to be in the yard to play alone, they need you to play with them.

Bad behaviors happen when dogs are bored and aren't getting the attention and exercise they need. If you have a dog...walk them, play with them and always let them know that you are the boss. Discipline them with love and be consistent. That's what they need and that's what they want. So give your dog a big hug and then take him for a walk...it'll be good for both of you!

It's January 5th...Do You Know Where Your Goals Are?

Okay folks...it's January 5th. Have you set your goals? Do you plan to set some goals? Did you read my blog posts about goal setting and achieving your goals? Here is one, and here is the other. I did set my goal and I have my plan in place. I just need to make the final copy and post it by my computer so I can stay on task each and every day.

I got off to a great start this morning. I got up at 4:30 a.m.......yes, that's what I said....4:30 a.m. I start work at 7:30 and I have a 50 minute commute on most days. In the morning, I am going to work out, fix a good lunch, check my etsy shop, my blog and the forums and then get ready for work. I need 2 hours to get it all done. I don't like to rush. I did it this morning and hopefully it will be a tiny bit easier tomorrow and each day after that.

Work was tough today. I had so much to do and I have only been at work twice in the past 2 weeks. There were things on my desk that I looked at and went, "Hmmmmm, now what the heck was I suppose to do with this?". It was quite a day. I am normally extremely organized, but I felt totally out of sync this morning. (No, that is not really my desk!) As the day went on I started to remember what my job was and by the end of the day I was thinking, "Oh, yes this is what I do for 40 hours a week!"

When I got home I immediately changed my shoes and grabbed the dog's leash and we headed out the door. Poor little Wrigley hasn't had a nice walk in weeks. The weather has been awful and the roads have been covered in salt and that hurts her little feet. So, off we went. The first street we went down, I heard 2 guys yelling for their dog, Lady. I slowed down a bit because I don't know Lady. The men were yelling and chasing and doing all of the things you aren't supposed to do, but we'll save that topic for another day. I'll tell you tomorrow about what happened.

Anyway, we did survive our walk, in fact, it was quite nice. We got back and I headed into the workshop. I did not spend my hour talking to Irv like I planned, but I needed to get pics of my new decoupage stuff done so I can post a couple of things tonight. He understood. He asked what I would like for dinner and he headed for the kitchen. I'm so lucky!

I started photographing and most of them turned out pretty good. We'll see how they look when I get them in my shop. I did have trouble with one of them and I'll have to redo those next time around.

So, with pictures taken it was time to blog, so here I am! It's 7:30 p.m. so that means I have less than 2 hours to finish up my "to do" list for today. I am bound and determined to do this.

Like I said in the beginning, have you made some goals for yourself. Have you developed a plan to help you achieve those goals? If not, what are you waiting for? Let's go!

I'm Throwing My T.V. in the Garbage

Not really...if I did that, my son would be very upset with me. We are t.v. sitting for him right now until he gets his house. So, I have this gigantic t.v. in my little living room right now. I will say that it is much easier on the old eyes, but.....

Over the course of this past year, I have found myself watching less and less t.v. It's almost to the point where I think I could be one of those people that doesn't have a t.v. at all...and I can't believe I am saying that!

Do you watch much t.v.? What is your favorite show?

I do flip on the weather channel occasionally to see what kind of storms...snow or tornado are headed our way. I will also confess that I am one of those silly people that love American Idol. I know, I know....it's a ridiculous show, but I love the laughs at the beginning of the season and I do get attached to some of the performers by the final weeks. I have always loved music and I enjoy the talent.

The other show I really like is the Amazing Race. I don't enjoy the bickering and the nastiness that always seems to rear it's ugly head, but I do love to see the countries they travel to. If I had the travel channel, I could enjoy that part of it without all of the silliness.

I talked before about my immense dislike of violent movies...well I feel the same way about t.v. shows. I just can't watch them. I don't find murder and torture entertaining. In fact, it really bothers me. I know it isn't real, but much of what you see on t.v. really happens on a daily basis, and that's what bothers me. It is kind of real.

Medical shows have taken over the airwaves too, and I really don't want to watch one sick person after another paraded across the screen. I know there are horrible diseases out there. I don't need to be reminded of that every night. I use to watch Grey's Anatomy, but every character has become dysfunctional in some way or another and I got bored with it all.

I was a fan of "24", but each season it gets more and more violent. I'll try watching it this season, but I have a feeling I might be done with that show too.

Yep, I am a real barrel of laughs aren't I? Perhaps you can recommend some good quality shows for me. I don't have digital cable though, so I am a bit limited as to what I can watch.

So, what do I do instead of watching t.v...I make things, I blog, I read, I do Sudoku puzzles, I try to do logic puzzles, I plan, I journal, I text with my kids and I e-mail friends and family. I do things that make me happy.

I don't begrudge anyone their hours in front of the t.v. My husband watches t.v. every evening. He is a huge fan of House and the Law and Order shows...oh, and Criminal Minds. If t.v. makes other people happy, then that's great for them. I guess it's all in what you call entertainment and what you choose to do with your time.

Now, when baseball season starts, you will find me in front of the t.v. any time the Cubs are playing....and believe me....that can be torture!

Sneak Peek

I got up nice and early this morning and headed straight for my workshop. I am bound and determined to get some of my new decoupage stuff listed tomorrow. That meant I had lots to do today, and I am happy to say that I did really well.

I had promised you a while ago that you would get a sneak peek at my new stuff, and if I don't do that today there will be no sneak peek because the stuff will be listed in MyOtherShop! I have a number of things done and still waiting for the finishing coat of spray. It looks like that will be tomorrow, but you can still see what they look like. So here you are!

Remember the funky little ducks I found at the resale shop? Well, Irv sanded all of them for me and I went to work. I painted the edge of the ducks and then I covered one side with one type of scrapbooking paper and the other side with a different paper. I figured that way people could turn them whichever way they want and match their decor. I worked very hard to make them look old and worn. Like I said yesterday, it is taking a lot more time to do all of this stuff than I thought. I want them to be really cool though, so it's worth it.

I love the little birdhouse. It was just an unfinished piece that I found at the craft store. It was the last one like that. I wish they had more of them. I really think they are cute. I didn't make this look old. I thought this paper was fine looking new.

The little purple flowered box doesn't have it's latch or hinges put back on yet, but I love this little box. I definitely will do more boxes. I can even line the inside with fabric once I get more comfortable doing them. I think this paper is so awesome, and this one I did give a worn look too.

The last thing is a picture frame, and this one I just started today. It still needs some sanding and more coats of goop, but you get the idea. It's my 60's look! Love the paper.

I have a feeling that a lot of these things I am making are going to have a hard time making it to my etsy shop. Everything is getting really good reviews here and I think so many of these would make super gifts for people I know. For now though, they have to go in my shop so I can get it open with a nice little assortment of products.

Still working on getting the rest of my Valentine's cards in my FourDogDay shop too. If I don't get going, Valentine's Day will be gone and I'll still be sitting here with a stack of Valentines!

Pages and Pages of Plans!

Each night when I go to bed, I take paper and pen with me and continue working on my Goal and Goal Plan for 2009. At this point, I have decided that I need to get up at 4:30 a.m. in order to run my business, my home and take care of myself. I said before that I am a morning person. Working out after my full time job seemed to be going okay for a little bit, and then I got busier and it got pushed aside and I quit working out. The frigid weather and the treacherous roads came and I stopped walking the dog. Not okay.

My thought is that if I pull myself out of my workshop around 9:00 p.m. I might get to sleep early enough to not cringe when the alarm goes off at 4:30. Doing so would allow me a short 20 minute workout before I have to get ready for work, plus time to check my shop and e-mail. I didn't like walking the dog in the pitch dark at 5:30 a.m. Not that we live in a scary neighborhood, but you can't see a darn thing. I like to enjoy my walks, and even though it was quiet and peaceful and I enjoyed that....I didn't enjoy it enough to do it every day. So, the walks are going to get moved to right after I get home. Hopefully that will work better.

I am also trying to figure out a way to also talk to my husband of 36 years for at least an hour or so a day instead of flying in the door yelling, "Hello, how was your day?" as I dash into my workshop. I think I need more structure and more balance in order to be successful in business and in my life. So....that was discovery number one.

Next, I set up some things I want to accomplish each month and I am through May I think. Things like getting my Valentine's Day cards listed in my etsy shop, opening MyOtherShop with my new decoupage line, moving my Fun and Fancy Plates over to MyOtherShop, getting on Artfire, designing new businesses cards, getting a website up and linked to etsy, Mother's Day cards, a vinyl sign for my back car window and Father's Day cards. I also have somewhat of an idea how much money I would like to be bringing in each month throughout the year, by my plan isn't so much money based as it is the things I need to do. I believe if I do the things I have planned, the sales will come.

I also plan to schedule my time on twitter and the forums. I just don't have an hour a day to spend chatting. I know it is helpful and can be useful, but I think if I schedule my time, and I know I only have so much time, I will make it more constructive. Again, I think balance is the key.

With that said...my little duckies are turning out so cute and I am working on a great little birdhouse right now. I tried to buy one of many different things to make and put in MyOtherShop when I open it and then see what garners the most interest. I have sold a lot of different craft things over the years, but never decoupage. I'm not sure what to expect. I do know that being as picky as I am, the items are taking longer to complete than I had anticipated. I want some of the things to look old and worn, and meticulous sanding of paper edges takes time. Picky, picky me!

I promise that if I can get them sealed tomorrow I will get some pictures up this weekend.

Have you put your goals and your goal plan in writing yet? Have you started working toward your goal? If you have, good for you! If not....what are you waiting for...it's January 2, 2009!

Happy New Year

I wish you all a year of great health and tremendous happiness. May all of your goals for 2009 become a reality! Have a wonderful year everyone.

And to those of you who thought the numbers I wrote about in yesterday's post were my real goal figures, they weren't. I just used that number because it was big and round. I am still working on my exact numbers, but once I have things figured out....who knows...maybe that big round number will work! I need to do some factoring and dividing and multiplying and then I will be all set.

Thanks for the positive comments. Maybe that number isn't so unrealistic??

Happy New Year!!