Takes the cake!

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So its been my week for dropping or spilling things.   Yesterday morning I dropped a lovely baked (and frosted!) cake that I was taking to bible study onto my kitchen floor.  Really.    The thing that makes this really upsetting for me is that the old me never would have made a cake.  I would have bought a cake.   So I was getting some satisfaction from having made something.  (Mine didn't look like this picture but maybe someday I will be able to do that!) I  So I ended up at our local grocery store, sadly disappointed at selection and price!    Thank goodness I was assigned to bring the
secondary cake and not the important cake, so  my winging it at the store and getting cookies, brownies and fruit, turned out looking like a "plan" instead of the disaster it was.  There was a moment where I was going to sit on the floor and just cry, but a good friend talked me through it!     I did share my story with my small group (wonderful gracious women) at bible study.   They laughed and commiserated with me.   You know we've all done things like this (we have,  haven't we??)   I will just keep telling myself that.

And I was reminded that bible study isn't about the treats - its about the "study" and the fellowship of some really neat women.   I am such a newbie at this that I am in awe of these women, a little hesitant to speak, more comfortable in the small group, but inspired by their sense of purpose and peace.    Later this month I will participate in a day of service, serving at a shelter, which I am sure will be eye opening.  A good thing for me, since I seem to have lived only seeing what I wanted or needed to at the time.   (I signed up to bring a veggie tray - its a safer bet than another cake!)

Happy Friday!

A daily question

I had run into someone I hadn't seen in awhile and of course they asked how my job was?  (Interesting the number of people who always asked me about my job instead of or before my family.)  ANYWAY, told the abbreviated version of my story and they commented that I had always seemed to love my job.

I thought about that.  And yes, that was true for a while.   But things change, and in my case adding a new commodity run by people who in my opinion had no idea what they were doing, was that change.    I think its important to analyze what's temporary versus what's permanent in relation to what has created the unhappiness.   I was thinking the start up phase was temporary and I could get through my frustration.  But I then realized it had more to do with the people and management - which wasn't going to change. 

So as I continue my path, which now includes real estate, I keep in mind that not every day will be perfect, however I want to always know that any frustration is a temporary thing (which will be in any job).   If ever it feels permanent - then its time for a change.

The following was from a magazine article (Real Simple - of course)  Bill Murphy Jr. was author, his title was Be Willing to Fail - Doing Something You Love.   He thinks you need to ask yourself every day:  Are you passionate about what you do and if not, what are going to do instead?  

I realize for some people they view their job as a means to an end.  That is, there passion is in something outside work - and work is just the "vehicle" that allows them to pursue that passion.   I do think, however, that given the amount of time we spend working, it needs to be enjoyable and with people you can respect.

Think about how great it would be to ask yourself everyday "am I passionate about what I do" and answer YES.     I am.

Is my luck really this bad?

There are days when you have to wonder just what you've done in a past life or this life to deserve the bad luck that seems to reign.

On Monday a.m. I poured a cup of coffee and walked over to my MAC laptop and ........

oh yes, I spilled about a tablespoon of coffee on the keyboard.    Panic sets in, of course, because remember what bad luck I had with my Ipod.   Anyway - as I try and log in the keyboard is possessed and is filling in my password randomly.    So now, I am screaming out loud and silently.    Really wondering why these things keep happening to me.  

Trip to the Apple store indicates this could be as much as a new laptop but they are willing to help me for just a few hundred $.   Wow....Great....not really.... but what's my choice???

So as I post this, I am feeling angry with myself for something so stupid that ended up being so costly.    No more drinks around the laptop - EVER!!!!    Maybe I just need to live in a box somewhere without access to electronics or things I can break.     Things have to look up sometime, don't they??

Monday, Monday

This weekend saw the end to a couple of activities around here.   First, Boy 1 turned 20 yesterday.   So it is the end of Birthday Month.   (Three of the four of us celebrate our birthdays from September 4 until October 3rd.    So there's presents and cake nearly every week!!)   Hard to believe my oldest is 20.    I think his birthday bothers me more than my own because its such a tangible reminder of how my life is changing.  He's ready to move out and get on with his own life.    Its just such a switch from the boy who used to ask permission for everything, even getting out of bed in the morning!!!   (Okay, he was only three but I still remember it like yesterday!!!)

We also cleaned up our boat this weekend.  Time for that fun to end until Spring.  Its a good kind of work; the kind that while you are doing it you remember the fun you had boating this past summer.   And it was a beautiful day - so that helps too!    We sat on the dock after we were done, soaking in that fall sunshine.    I could have sat there forever.

I also participated in my 2nd 5k this weekend.   It was a run benefiting SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) and it was so wonderful to see all the families and friends supporting this wonderful cause.   My time was improved since my first run, but really not focusing on that as much as I am focusing on just running (really its jogging!!).    There's another one in late October I am going to participate in, but that is probably the last one until Spring.

So with all these endings, I am trying to look for beginnings.   Things to keep my inspiration moving and fresh.   Today I will decorate the house with Fall decorations.   Normally this includes a trip to a pumpkin patch where I would drop about +$50 on pumpkins and gourds.    Not happening this year.   I will keep you posted if I have any revelations in this area.

These lyrics have been sticking with me these days (Natalie Grant song):   Particularly the line "gotta do better than this cuz we only got one chance to make a difference" as well as "a little love, a little kindness, a little light in this time of darkness".   Its like a reminder that I tried to start something but haven't really gotten anywhere - but I can and I will.  

Verse 1: 

Every life has a choice 

To rise up to fill the void 

Every heart has a mission 

And we are called to be human 

Chorus: 

We gotta do better than this cuz we only got 

One chance to make a difference 

We gotta do better than this cuz we only got 

One life that we've been given 

A little love, a little kindness 

A little light in this time of darkness 

It'll be what makes us different 

It'll be what makes us human 

I'm human, you're human, we are human