Monday, May 17, 2010
Inspiring Quote
I was just on Twitter, and I saw an inspiring tweet from Ed Young: "Remember the cycle of success: change, conflict, growth. Don't bail out right before the breakthrough!"
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Please Forgive Me
Yes, I realize that I am horrible at keeping up at this blog. Yes, I do realize that I am WAY overdue for an update. I've just been having some personal internal struggles lately. But enough about me.
Bianca has been doing absolutely wonderful sitting up. She will literally sit up for hours at a time if she has a toy to keep her occupied. Standing, on the other hand, is a task she doesn't like to do. Aunt Dot says she has "Lazy Legs." Although her legs do appear to be getting stronger every day, she would much rather fold her legs into a sitting position than try to straighten them out.
We don't think she has any real interest in learning how to crawl either. This fact was proved over the past two weekends, when her cousin Harley was staying with us. Harley likes to get up on all fours and rock. She even scoots backwards a bit. Bianca, on the other hand, is perfectly content to just lay on her belly and roll over when she feels like it. She is pretty much just laid back and relaxed. (Not that that's a bad thing!)
On Saturday, she said "Daddy" for the first time. Last week she started saying "dee" over and over. Saturday she added it onto her "Da." It was pretty incredible!!! Harry was sitting right next to her, but he didn't hear it, and she hasn't said it since. I'm sure it won't be the last time, though!
She has a few new toys that she enjoys. The first is a bucket full of shapes. Even though the goal of the toy is to have the little ones put the shapes through their corresponding holes, Bianca hasn't quite grasped the concept. Instead, she likes to take out the shapes and chew on them or throw them. She also likes to tap the shapes together and make music. I sing "tappity-tap" and she clinks them together. It's so precious!!
Another toy she likes is the one where you stack the rings on a little cone. Again, she doesn't quite understand how to stack the rings, but she certainly has no problems taking them off and throwing them across the room. (As a side note, Harry was a baseball pitcher. I think she may have gotten his arm!)
Finally, my mom bought her a toy where little animals pop up if you press, twirl, move a button. (Not really sure what it's called, and that's the best way I know how to explain it.) She hasn't figured out how to make the animals pop up yet, but she loves to push them back into their boxes. She gets very excited when all of the animals go away!
Bianca has been doing absolutely wonderful sitting up. She will literally sit up for hours at a time if she has a toy to keep her occupied. Standing, on the other hand, is a task she doesn't like to do. Aunt Dot says she has "Lazy Legs." Although her legs do appear to be getting stronger every day, she would much rather fold her legs into a sitting position than try to straighten them out.
We don't think she has any real interest in learning how to crawl either. This fact was proved over the past two weekends, when her cousin Harley was staying with us. Harley likes to get up on all fours and rock. She even scoots backwards a bit. Bianca, on the other hand, is perfectly content to just lay on her belly and roll over when she feels like it. She is pretty much just laid back and relaxed. (Not that that's a bad thing!)
On Saturday, she said "Daddy" for the first time. Last week she started saying "dee" over and over. Saturday she added it onto her "Da." It was pretty incredible!!! Harry was sitting right next to her, but he didn't hear it, and she hasn't said it since. I'm sure it won't be the last time, though!
She has a few new toys that she enjoys. The first is a bucket full of shapes. Even though the goal of the toy is to have the little ones put the shapes through their corresponding holes, Bianca hasn't quite grasped the concept. Instead, she likes to take out the shapes and chew on them or throw them. She also likes to tap the shapes together and make music. I sing "tappity-tap" and she clinks them together. It's so precious!!
Another toy she likes is the one where you stack the rings on a little cone. Again, she doesn't quite understand how to stack the rings, but she certainly has no problems taking them off and throwing them across the room. (As a side note, Harry was a baseball pitcher. I think she may have gotten his arm!)
Finally, my mom bought her a toy where little animals pop up if you press, twirl, move a button. (Not really sure what it's called, and that's the best way I know how to explain it.) She hasn't figured out how to make the animals pop up yet, but she loves to push them back into their boxes. She gets very excited when all of the animals go away!
Long, Depressing Update
I just wrote the following email to my co-pilot Steph. Even though I am still feeling pretty down, it's amazing how much better I feel just having everything off my chest.
I’m sorry I have been MIA lately. I have just been consumed with busyness. Work has been quite busy. One of my co-workers quit, and everybody has been feeling the effects. Plus, even though she hasn’t made the announcement to the office yet, my supervisor pulled me aside and let me know that she is pregnant. She is planning on taking 12 weeks of maternity leave. I will be covering for her while she is gone, so she has been doing a lot of cross-training with me.
I haven’t been going to church again. I don’t think we’ve gone since Easter. I’m dying. I am desperate for a spirit-filled church. Scratch that. I’m desperate for church period. Even though the Catholic church wasn’t spirit-filled and the messages weren’t great, at least I was hearing the Word every week. I NEED weekly worship and fellowship in my life. Nothing feels right without it. I am going to try a non-denominational church in White Marsh this week called Community Christian Church. I am going to go whether Harry accompanies me or not. I just desperately need to be fed.
My weekends have been crammed with activity. Pink Papaya parties, birthday parties, get-togethers with friends….all while having houseguests for two weekends in a row. Harry and I bought the rocks for the mini rock wall I want to build around my garden, but I haven’t had any time to work on it. Same with reading. Same with spending quiet time with Bianca and Harry. Same with having ANY me-time at all. This coming weekend is much the same. I honestly want to cry. I just want a day to rest.
I have also been doubting my decision to go to massage school at this point in my life. My life is running at full speed right now, and I’m feeling completely drained. I don’t know if I honestly have the energy to add anything else to it. Plus classes will mean even less time with Bianca, and that thought tears me up inside. I don’t see her enough as it is.
Harry has decided to give up coaching soccer. He wants to spend more time with Bianca, so he’s handing the program over to Adam. He also cut back on summer school. He is only working three days a week so that he can have two days a week with Bianca. I am so jealous that my heart literally hurts when I think about it.
I’m also questioning my ability to keep up with Pink Papaya. It takes up so much of my time and energy, and I’m not seeing any fruit from it. I just keep getting disappointed. I had hoped that I would be able to quit my day job and focus on my business, but financially, the possibility is looking quite impossible. I’m only averaging $35 a party, and two parties a month. $70 a month is a far cry from what we need to survive.
Although perhaps we could survive if we didn’t live so extravagantly. I’ve actually begun resenting my home. Why live in such a big, beautiful place? I’m never there to enjoy it anyway. I’d rather move into smaller quarters and stay home and raise my beautiful babies instead of living in a huge house and struggling in a job that only drains me.
I read a beautiful quote: “A mother who radiates self-love and acceptance vaccinates her daughter from low self-esteem.” I hate to think that I am not radiating at all. And I hate to think that Bianca hardly knows me at all. This is a typical day: we get up at 5:30, I spend 10 minutes changing her, and – if I’m lucky – another 10 minutes holding her before it’s time to leave for work. We get home. I feed her a bottle. Then she plays on the floor while I make dinner. Harry and I eat, we clean up, and by that time it’s usually after 7:00. I hold Bianca until 8:00 – when she usually goes to sleep. I am practically missing her entire day. I am missing her entire life. And I am so, so sad about it.
Harry and I want another child. But what’s the point of bringing another life into this world if you’re not even the one molding and influencing them?
Steph, I am honestly so depressed. Once again, I just feel stuck. I really thought that 2010 would be my year of action, but now I’m wondering if taking the action right now is wrong. I wouldn’t mind going to school and studying if I had the majority of my day to spend with Bianca. But thinking that I’m going from seeing her very little now to seeing her even less when school starts, I literally have a hard time catching my breath. I don’t know what to do. When I think of it that way, school doesn’t seem like an opportunity but a barrier.
I want to quit my job. I want to raise our daughter. I want to cook healthy meals for Harry. I want to clean our house. I want to garden. I want to sing and dance and play. I want to go for walks in the warm sun. I want to take naps or read in the middle of the day. I want to go to school in the evening, knowing that my family came first, and now it’s time to better myself. I don’t want to stay in an unfulfilling job where I never see my daughter and all I have time to cook is processed foods.
Whenever someone asked me in the past what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said “a wife and a mother.” I never had any career aspirations. And in a way, I still don’t. All I want to do is be a good wife and mother. That is what is going to make my life feel like it has meaning. As it is, I feel like the world’s worst wife and mother. I am just a shell of a person. I feel like I don’t have any life inside of me.
I’ve considered seeing a counselor, but again, I don’t want to add anything else to my life. I literally don’t have the time.
Harry gets upset with me when I tell him I don’t want to work anymore. He thinks it’s because I’m lazy. But I honestly think I would work harder at home than I do at work. I am passionate about my family. I hate my job. But we’ve come to depend on my salary. And I hate it. I know we shouldn’t dwell on shoulds – but I think we should have stayed in Harry’s house in Rosedale. It wasn’t as big as ours is now, but it was nice, and he could afford it on his own salary. Had we stayed there, I could have stayed home. But I had issues. I never saw it as his house. I saw it as his and Angel’s house. And I just wanted it out of our lives.
I absolutely adore our house. I do. It’s just that lately, it’s feeling like more of a burden and a prison than anything. Because of it, I can’t break free.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking despite all the hectic activity in my life, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I will not be happy with ANY job. That’s why I’m not trying to find another one. I will not be happy working ANYWHERE while Bianca and our future children are little. When it’s time for them to go to school, that is when I am supposed to work. That is when I’m supposed to start my mid-life career as a holistic health practitioner. In the meantime, all I want to do is be a wife and a mother. I have this knowledge, and yet I can’t act upon it.
I feel stuck and I hate it. And it’s sad but true: I literally don’t feel that there is any spirit or joy in me. I catch glimpses of it here and there, but in general, I feel very sad and dark.
I wish I knew how to make money writing from home. Wouldn’t that be ideal? I love to write, and I can do the task from anywhere. That would leave me ample time to take care of the house and family. I just don’t even know where to start looking.
So that's what's been happening with me. It's not pretty, but that's just where I am.
I’m sorry I have been MIA lately. I have just been consumed with busyness. Work has been quite busy. One of my co-workers quit, and everybody has been feeling the effects. Plus, even though she hasn’t made the announcement to the office yet, my supervisor pulled me aside and let me know that she is pregnant. She is planning on taking 12 weeks of maternity leave. I will be covering for her while she is gone, so she has been doing a lot of cross-training with me.
I haven’t been going to church again. I don’t think we’ve gone since Easter. I’m dying. I am desperate for a spirit-filled church. Scratch that. I’m desperate for church period. Even though the Catholic church wasn’t spirit-filled and the messages weren’t great, at least I was hearing the Word every week. I NEED weekly worship and fellowship in my life. Nothing feels right without it. I am going to try a non-denominational church in White Marsh this week called Community Christian Church. I am going to go whether Harry accompanies me or not. I just desperately need to be fed.
My weekends have been crammed with activity. Pink Papaya parties, birthday parties, get-togethers with friends….all while having houseguests for two weekends in a row. Harry and I bought the rocks for the mini rock wall I want to build around my garden, but I haven’t had any time to work on it. Same with reading. Same with spending quiet time with Bianca and Harry. Same with having ANY me-time at all. This coming weekend is much the same. I honestly want to cry. I just want a day to rest.
I have also been doubting my decision to go to massage school at this point in my life. My life is running at full speed right now, and I’m feeling completely drained. I don’t know if I honestly have the energy to add anything else to it. Plus classes will mean even less time with Bianca, and that thought tears me up inside. I don’t see her enough as it is.
Harry has decided to give up coaching soccer. He wants to spend more time with Bianca, so he’s handing the program over to Adam. He also cut back on summer school. He is only working three days a week so that he can have two days a week with Bianca. I am so jealous that my heart literally hurts when I think about it.
I’m also questioning my ability to keep up with Pink Papaya. It takes up so much of my time and energy, and I’m not seeing any fruit from it. I just keep getting disappointed. I had hoped that I would be able to quit my day job and focus on my business, but financially, the possibility is looking quite impossible. I’m only averaging $35 a party, and two parties a month. $70 a month is a far cry from what we need to survive.
Although perhaps we could survive if we didn’t live so extravagantly. I’ve actually begun resenting my home. Why live in such a big, beautiful place? I’m never there to enjoy it anyway. I’d rather move into smaller quarters and stay home and raise my beautiful babies instead of living in a huge house and struggling in a job that only drains me.
I read a beautiful quote: “A mother who radiates self-love and acceptance vaccinates her daughter from low self-esteem.” I hate to think that I am not radiating at all. And I hate to think that Bianca hardly knows me at all. This is a typical day: we get up at 5:30, I spend 10 minutes changing her, and – if I’m lucky – another 10 minutes holding her before it’s time to leave for work. We get home. I feed her a bottle. Then she plays on the floor while I make dinner. Harry and I eat, we clean up, and by that time it’s usually after 7:00. I hold Bianca until 8:00 – when she usually goes to sleep. I am practically missing her entire day. I am missing her entire life. And I am so, so sad about it.
Harry and I want another child. But what’s the point of bringing another life into this world if you’re not even the one molding and influencing them?
Steph, I am honestly so depressed. Once again, I just feel stuck. I really thought that 2010 would be my year of action, but now I’m wondering if taking the action right now is wrong. I wouldn’t mind going to school and studying if I had the majority of my day to spend with Bianca. But thinking that I’m going from seeing her very little now to seeing her even less when school starts, I literally have a hard time catching my breath. I don’t know what to do. When I think of it that way, school doesn’t seem like an opportunity but a barrier.
I want to quit my job. I want to raise our daughter. I want to cook healthy meals for Harry. I want to clean our house. I want to garden. I want to sing and dance and play. I want to go for walks in the warm sun. I want to take naps or read in the middle of the day. I want to go to school in the evening, knowing that my family came first, and now it’s time to better myself. I don’t want to stay in an unfulfilling job where I never see my daughter and all I have time to cook is processed foods.
Whenever someone asked me in the past what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said “a wife and a mother.” I never had any career aspirations. And in a way, I still don’t. All I want to do is be a good wife and mother. That is what is going to make my life feel like it has meaning. As it is, I feel like the world’s worst wife and mother. I am just a shell of a person. I feel like I don’t have any life inside of me.
I’ve considered seeing a counselor, but again, I don’t want to add anything else to my life. I literally don’t have the time.
Harry gets upset with me when I tell him I don’t want to work anymore. He thinks it’s because I’m lazy. But I honestly think I would work harder at home than I do at work. I am passionate about my family. I hate my job. But we’ve come to depend on my salary. And I hate it. I know we shouldn’t dwell on shoulds – but I think we should have stayed in Harry’s house in Rosedale. It wasn’t as big as ours is now, but it was nice, and he could afford it on his own salary. Had we stayed there, I could have stayed home. But I had issues. I never saw it as his house. I saw it as his and Angel’s house. And I just wanted it out of our lives.
I absolutely adore our house. I do. It’s just that lately, it’s feeling like more of a burden and a prison than anything. Because of it, I can’t break free.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking despite all the hectic activity in my life, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I will not be happy with ANY job. That’s why I’m not trying to find another one. I will not be happy working ANYWHERE while Bianca and our future children are little. When it’s time for them to go to school, that is when I am supposed to work. That is when I’m supposed to start my mid-life career as a holistic health practitioner. In the meantime, all I want to do is be a wife and a mother. I have this knowledge, and yet I can’t act upon it.
I feel stuck and I hate it. And it’s sad but true: I literally don’t feel that there is any spirit or joy in me. I catch glimpses of it here and there, but in general, I feel very sad and dark.
I wish I knew how to make money writing from home. Wouldn’t that be ideal? I love to write, and I can do the task from anywhere. That would leave me ample time to take care of the house and family. I just don’t even know where to start looking.
So that's what's been happening with me. It's not pretty, but that's just where I am.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Convicted
This morning, I woke up in a pretty bad mood. I was upset that it was already 5:30 a.m. After Bianca got up twice last night. After having an incredibly busy weekend with houseguests. After I messed up on entering a party order last night. After finding out that another one of my parties is now canceled. After not being able to read my book like I wanted to. After neither one of my Mother's Day presents that I ordered for my mom and Ms. Kathy arrived on time. After having a stomachache. After realizing that we have practically no food left in the house.
I grumbled on the way to work that I was tired. That my body is falling apart. That my job isn't feeding my soul, and I'd much rather be in bed. That traffic was bad. That I was running late. That my week was starting out on such an awful foot.
I didn't change the date on my desk calendar when I first arrived at work because I was grumbling about my neverending To-Do List. About my lack of free time. About the lack of Spirit and joy in my life.
A few minutes ago, I noticed my calendar still said May 7. So I flipped to May 10, and this is what my sticky note from God said..... "Do you think you could go an entire day without complaining? xo, G." Ouch.
I have so much good in my life. My godson even gave me a bag for Mother's Day that says "Too blessed to be stressed." Why, why, why do I constantly focus on what's wrong with my life? Especially when I know that if I made two lists, the "what's right with my life" would be way longer? I hate living in negativity, and I know nothing major is going to shift in my life until I change my attitude. I only wish I knew how to get there. Otherwise, I would already be living my authentic life of happiness and abundance. I need to get un-stuck!!!
I grumbled on the way to work that I was tired. That my body is falling apart. That my job isn't feeding my soul, and I'd much rather be in bed. That traffic was bad. That I was running late. That my week was starting out on such an awful foot.
I didn't change the date on my desk calendar when I first arrived at work because I was grumbling about my neverending To-Do List. About my lack of free time. About the lack of Spirit and joy in my life.
A few minutes ago, I noticed my calendar still said May 7. So I flipped to May 10, and this is what my sticky note from God said..... "Do you think you could go an entire day without complaining? xo, G." Ouch.
I have so much good in my life. My godson even gave me a bag for Mother's Day that says "Too blessed to be stressed." Why, why, why do I constantly focus on what's wrong with my life? Especially when I know that if I made two lists, the "what's right with my life" would be way longer? I hate living in negativity, and I know nothing major is going to shift in my life until I change my attitude. I only wish I knew how to get there. Otherwise, I would already be living my authentic life of happiness and abundance. I need to get un-stuck!!!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
IT CAME!!!
My Introduction to Massage Therapy textbook arrived in the mail last night!! I was so excited!! Unfortunately, I didn't get to dive into it like I wanted to. I had to get dinner ready, then clean up after dinner, then read to Bianca, then spend a little relaxation time with her and Harry, then prepare for my webinar. The webinar was over at 10:30, and I was more than ready to hop into bed afterwards.
This morning I had to complete my normal routine, but add a bath for Bianca in there AND take her to Aunt Dot's. (Normally we try to give her baths at night, and Harry drops her off in the mornings.) So I didn't get a change to peruse it, as I was already pressed for time.
I brought the treasure with me to work, but I never get a break. Perhaps things would be different if I didn't share an office with my supervisor. Unfortunately, she always checks to see what I am up to. I think she would have something to say if she caught me reading a textbook as opposed to working on my never-ending to-do list.
The whole "when to read" dilemma has me wondering if I can really handle it all. Can I handle a day job, a business, school, quality family time, time alone with God, daily housework, relationships with friends, AND me time all at once? Only time will tell. I want to live a balanced life, and I don't want any area in my life to suffer. But something tells me that I may be making some sacrifices along the way. Oh how I wish I could quit my job! I would have SO much more time on my hands!
This morning I had to complete my normal routine, but add a bath for Bianca in there AND take her to Aunt Dot's. (Normally we try to give her baths at night, and Harry drops her off in the mornings.) So I didn't get a change to peruse it, as I was already pressed for time.
I brought the treasure with me to work, but I never get a break. Perhaps things would be different if I didn't share an office with my supervisor. Unfortunately, she always checks to see what I am up to. I think she would have something to say if she caught me reading a textbook as opposed to working on my never-ending to-do list.
The whole "when to read" dilemma has me wondering if I can really handle it all. Can I handle a day job, a business, school, quality family time, time alone with God, daily housework, relationships with friends, AND me time all at once? Only time will tell. I want to live a balanced life, and I don't want any area in my life to suffer. But something tells me that I may be making some sacrifices along the way. Oh how I wish I could quit my job! I would have SO much more time on my hands!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Day 8
This is Day #8 of my lingering headache. I am really starting to get frustrated. I can't wait until the morning I wake up and I feel great. Right now, I am just dragging. I don't know how much longer I can live like this. If it's not gone by the end of the week, I think a call to my doctor may be needed.
I Need A Personal Shopper
I realized this morning that I really need someone to help me dress properly. As I was drying off after my shower, I looked at my body in the mirror. I realized that, in general, I liked what I saw. I liked the shape of my body. I liked my curves. I could definitely use some toning and would love to get rid of my tummy, but overall, I was pleased.
Once I was dressed and I came back to that same mirror to finish getting ready, my whole attitude had changed. I didn't really like the way I looked. I looked fat and round, with no definition.
Obviously, my problem is I don't know how to dress properly. I don't know how to buy clothes that would look flattering on me. I don't know which colors or cuts I should get. All I know is I don't like the majority of clothes in my closet. They make me look frumpy and un-stylish.
I need a personal shopper - or someone like Clinton and Stacy - who would teach me how to shop and show me what no to wear. Too bad I don't have the money to hire one!
Once I was dressed and I came back to that same mirror to finish getting ready, my whole attitude had changed. I didn't really like the way I looked. I looked fat and round, with no definition.
Obviously, my problem is I don't know how to dress properly. I don't know how to buy clothes that would look flattering on me. I don't know which colors or cuts I should get. All I know is I don't like the majority of clothes in my closet. They make me look frumpy and un-stylish.
I need a personal shopper - or someone like Clinton and Stacy - who would teach me how to shop and show me what no to wear. Too bad I don't have the money to hire one!
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