I'm a professional!

I normally don't get into arguments with ignorant people, but yesterday at Thanksgiving my little Bro made a derogatory comment against me and my money saving shopping strategies, that I just couldn't let him off without an education!
I studied marketing in college, and have been in a marketing/sales career for many, many years.  I've also learned over the past five years how to coupon shop, and maximize my shopping budget by using coupons, and sales to get more bang for the buck!  I study the manufactures, brands and sale cycles and have learned all this through the internet, friends, savings groups and a lot of shopping experience!  So yes, I'd most certainly consider myself a professional, and get many, many requests from people who know me to "school" them in the art of saving money.
Little bro youngest of the group, and we all know of his money struggles, he's not the best at sticking to a budget, in fact, I highly doubt he's ever sat down and written one at all in his 30 something years on the planet.... he tries to put me down, and criticize me for " holding up the lines in the store" and basically called me "cheap" for coupon shopping!  Keep in mind, this guy is a high school dropout, a blue collar worker, (not that there is anything wrong with that) and terrible with his money!  For for him to criticize me a savvy college educated person...who manages her money beautifully...... we'll I wasn't going to stand for it anymore.  Yes he's tried to humiliate me in the past, every chance we get together...  and tries very hard to "put me down" in order to get a chuckle out of the rest of the group for years now, and I usually ignore his rude attempts at humor and being completely secure in myself and my personality, that I truly am the comic of the group.... I normally let it slide.    But not today little bro..... NOBODY will dis on my shopping skills!!  I stood up to him, and basically "OWNED HIS ASS!!"   After my lengthy and passionate rant on how coupons work, how I, the store, marketing, and the economy all benefit from using coupons, and if you don't use them you're a complete idiot, over paying for virtually everything you own!!!..... well he was indeed speechless!  Nothing more to say, which was a good thing, because anything more he could have said would just further substantiate his complete ignorance of all things shopping....


  

 Bragging about overspending and wasting your money would make even a millionaire cringe, and only show's your lack of intelligence!  

BAM! 

Don't Worry Be Happy!

In every life we have some trouble

When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy now

 Cause when you worry, your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy now

 This song is so silly and light and everyone knows the lyrics, and melody and can hum along with it.  Why don't we follow it's perfectly sound advice?  Expect some trouble in life, it will happen but if you worry constantly you'll drive your self crazy and it's a huge waste of time. 

I started following this advice a couple years ago, when I read somewhere about human emotions, and how worry was an emotion that was a complete waste of time.  I couldn't agree more. I'm not 100% free from worry, but when I catch myself starting to worry about something beyond my control, I stop it!  Take your mind off of in, and remember all those wrinkles and frown lines you'll get.   Not to mention you'll drive everyone bonkers around you!
Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep, and you weep alone!  ( unless you have a good friend who'll let you cry on their shoulder)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU

I'm Smexy!

I'm sexy and I know it! 

       If you wear clothes, you should know something about clothing, how are they constructed, how to sew on a button, or fix a hem.  If you drive a car, you should know how to change the oil, or fix a flat tire, or get your car serviced.  If you eat food, you should learn how to cook healthy meals, know a little bit about nutrition and meal prep.  If you own a home, you should learn home improvement basics, how to fix a leaky faucet, or unclog a drain, how to change the furnace filters, or know how the hot water heater works.  This is simple common sense, yet I'm absolutely astounded as to how many people can't prepare a nutritious meal or fix a broken zipper!  All you have to do is get cable and watch the food channel, and HGTV.  There are plenty of car repair men on YouTube ready and willing to teach you!   Get smart people!

 Being Smart is the new SEXY!

Gratitude

It's important to take a step back and show gratitude for the things we enjoy.  I'm grateful that I'm 48 years old and in excellent health.  I know others my age and younger who have had health issues, and I'm healthy and strong and extremely thankful for that, I think of my health each and every day.

I'm grateful that I have two intelligent kids, they're no angels, but they've taught me so incredibly much, more than I could learn in any books or universities.

 I'm grateful I know how to use my brain, I'm not saying I'm the smartest person on the planet, but I know how to use my  head, in a logical, and sensible manner.  I feel sorry for those who have not yet discovered that organ that sits up in their scull, just waiting to be used!  Every time I encounter one of those people I'm grateful I'm not like that.

I'm grateful for my work ethic, that I work hard and that enables me to live in a nice home in a nice area, pay my bills and be responsible.  I'm glad I'm a good worker and can keep a job.  I'm grateful for all the hiring managers I've had who have given me a chance to prove myself to them, who have coached and mentored me into the worker I am today.

I'm grateful that I'm a creative person, who loves to decorate and create beautiful things.  I love giving ordinary objects extraordinary makeovers or just as simply jazzing up a present, or desk space. I'm grateful I have and eye for the aesthetically pleasing things in life, and can take nothing and make it spectacular!
  ( I'm kinda good like that)

I'm grateful my parents and all my siblings are still with us, we're all here and healthy and happy, and enjoy each others company. I'm grateful we all live nearby and frequently see each other often and celebrate special events together and can reach out to each other when in need.

Mostly I'm grateful for my ability to earn a good living, and take care of myself, that nothing too terribly tragic has happened to me, and I'm not afraid to be independent and fearless.  I'm astounded at how many women are so needy, and scared, afraid of the dark, of being alone, fearful of never finding Mr. Wonderful ( psss hey, he's not out there I tell ya) afraid of going anywhere by themselves, have to have a posse of gals around at all times.  I'm grateful I enjoy my own company, and I can have fun alone, or with a group.  I make friends easily, yet value my alone time as well.

There are so many more thing's I'm grateful for but these are the top few on my list.  It's healthy to show gratutide everyday, and appreciate what you have instead of always looking at what others may have.  That is the key to true happiness, appreciating what you've got, because someone always will have more or better than you, and someone will always be worse off than you as well.  That's just life teaching us lessons.

Be Authentic!

     I have opinions, on just about everything, as does everyone, and I usually keep quiet as to avoid offending people, because I'm usually a live-and-let-live type of human being.  The one thing I feel strongly about is being your authentic self.  Don't be a damn copy cat!
     I'm so proud of a gal I'm acquainted with for not running out and getting a boob job because some of the other gals have fake ones...she opted for a nice RV pad and sprucing up her back yard instead.  Kudos to you J, for being authentic!  She'll get more enjoyment out of her new backyard and owning an RV, than large fake knockers always getting in the way of stuff!

     Don't get me wrong, I used to be a "Copy Cat" in college and my early 20's, so I know what I'm talking about.  I used to try to "be" other people only because I didn't know who I was.  Once I found myself, and learned about me, learned to love myself only then did I stop "Copy Catting" others.

     I'd never get a boob job even if every single women on the planet had one, and they were giving them out for FREE!  I'd also never inject my face with Botox, or tat up my pretty skin.  I did spend money on my teeth, by getting braces in my early 40's as I wanted a killer smile, and I do color my hair just because I'm not fond of the colors silver and gray.  I don't spend hundreds of dollars at the salon each year, I use a natural non-toxic foam hair color product that costs me about $3-$5 with coupon from the drug store, and do it myself.  I stock on on shampoo when it's on sale, and use high dollar coupons, so most of my hair products are under $1.   I get it trimmed up at a place that charges me about $14 + tip, and I get a lot of complements on my hair. I do use tanning creams in the winter, as skin, teeth and hair are important features of mine, and I like to accentuate the positive, but that's about it. I used to fool around with fake nails too, but that stuff is carcinogenic and I'd hate to die of cancer just because I wanted a french manicure with fake nails!
     I experiment with  eye makeup, and will try just about any color, or style, I don't stick to just one look. I paint my nails with what ever color nail polish I can get for free with a coupon.  I don't copy anyone, I look at myself in the mirror and do the best with what I have.

    I grew up in the 70's watching Charlies Angels, they were fierce, smart, fabulous, and flat chested!  I digress to that era, and that show in particular because each one of them were authentic characters, no copy cats, they all had their own identity, and character, yet all beautiful.   Can you imagine these women with big coconuts jetting out of their chest chasing down criminals??  No way!  Keepin' it real people!

Off the wagon

I lost 20 pounds over the summer and thanks to going back to standard time, and Halloween parties I'm up today by 5 pounds!  FREAK! Time to get very, very serious folks!  I'm not going to beat myself up, but simply stay the course beginning right now.
Over the summer I maintained our community pool every morning.  I'd go down there each morning and sweep the decks, vacuum the entire pool, and re-arrange the patio furniture and so forth.  Then I'd have to walk down the sidewalk and check the water samples 3 times per day.  There were a lot of twisting valves, I'd become a contortionist leaning over the pumps, and filters turning the valves on and off, and really working up a sweat for an hour a day!  I called the valve turning my "Yoga Class" for the day.

 Now that it's fall, dark and cold, I've been getting lazy, eating more sugar than I did over the summer, and less fruits and veggies.  I've been in the kitchen cooking up Paula Dean's chicken pot pie recipes, and other fall favorites..... DAMN IT!  ENOUGH!

I belong to the Spark People website I'll post the link below. It's the best free site for fitness and weight loss, you can track your calories, learn about different exercises, read motivational stories, and track and graph your progress. I'm going to utilize this tool all winter long, as well as hit the gym for my daily sweat-a-thon and get rid of the 5 LBS I packed on in just a week plus all the rest of it too!

GOD*Speed!

www.sparkpeople.com

Stepford Employees?

I work for a nonsensical place where the management is trying their best to turn us all into Stepford Employees!  Yes that's right, I said it... that's the way it seems at least.  If you point out any issues what-so-ever to the management, they'll either ignore you, or tell you not to say anything.  They call it negativity, and they FROWN upon this big time!
     I call it being realistic.  I'm not a positive Pollyanna but I work for one, so that begs the question:  How does a realist work with a cockeyed optimist and not get canned???  Well, I've worked there for 5 years, and the cockeyed optimist has been here for 3 of the 5, and I haven't gotten fired yet!  
     The reason I'm writing about this is because:
 1. There has to be more of these bosses out there than just mine
 2. We were recently threatened/told/warned not to email any negativity to our peers, because they CAN read our email!
I get negativity, and about people complaining about stuff we can't control.  I know it spreads like wild fire, and is a poison to a company.  But.... when there are issues, billing, system, website, customers legitimate complaints, and you bring this to the attention of the managers and nobody gives one IOTA that's an issue for me.  Ignoring problems and "staying positive" doesn't make the problems go away, you just frustrate the employees who have to deal with it on a daily basis, and they eventually quit!
   You can't force people to love their jobs, and be a positive Pollyanna all the damn time, you may think you can, but nobody controls what's up in your brain.
I'll never become a "Stepford Employee" and I'm not a BROWN-NOSIER!  I'm a realist, and if I see a problem again, I'll just shut the F@ck up!  After all I'm not the boss, and don't get the big bucks, and that's what their paying me to do..so I'll just turn my brain off before signing in!