Still with the sense of humor

Background: I just had a nasty stomach bug yesterday, and my kids seem to be following suit...

Maeven just now up-chucked in the sink after eating chicken noodle soup, and after cleaning out the sink, Adam asked Maeven: "I saved most of the noodles, Maeven, do you want them?"

Yep, that's my hubby, always the comedian.

This just a test

Testing to make sure that my blog is set up to post to Facebook. Ignore this, I'll delete it soon.

Sick thoughts

Laying in bed, sick with a cold, listening to Pandora on my phone. I plugged in Kenny Loggins, one of my favorites, and it started with his heart wrenching, but oh-so-lovely "Forever"...not a song that reminds me of anything in particular but feels like it must to many. It's such a strong song. Started me thinking about how songs often hold memories and emotions....like how anytime I hear music from the 80s I'm transported back to high school. Or anything from Kenny Loggins "Live from the Redwoods" makes me remember that time of serenity when I lived by myself that last year in Sacto and I'd crank Kenny up and sit on my balcony in the sun with my cat and write in my journal and feel true peace and happiness. When I was actually quite happy with my life, except for the absence of that one special someone for me...

Eventually Pandora hit one that has deep meaning to me: Chicago's "Hard for me to Say I'm Sorry" and BAM I'm my 16yr old self, weeping. (in memory, not actually...thankfully these memories no longer hold that power over me.) Mourning the loss of the first boy that ever actually meant anything REAL to me. (Come on, we all have them! You know you did too!) He had moved far away just shortly after we started actually dating (had been friends for awhile)...and he had sent me a mix tape....remember those? And the power they had? Oh goodness, this one was full of similar songs that reduced me to a puddle. I don't remember all the songs from that tape anymore, but that Chicago song to this day transports me instantly to that girl curled up in a ball crying her eyes out. Not a fun time in my life.

There's lots of music that transports me...some of the songs I put together for my mom's mix tape I gave her to listen to in the hospital after her mastectomy, a terrifying time. The soundtrack to the Kevin Costner "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves" makes me remember that first summer with Adam and all the excitement of a new relationship and for the first time EVER, one where a guy actually doted on me and made me feel truly special...

....ACDC albums "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and "Who Made Who", take me back to cruising in the GTO (aka "The Goat" with "The Guys" in high school...oh so much fun just being a teenage girl in a gang of guy friends ...."Funky Town" makes me think of dancing at the Junior Prom....Nirvana's first album takes me back to partying in college with this one particular boyfriend that, for that first year made me so happy and made me feel so much like I belonged...and the emotions that went with that relationship as it later crumbled....that Amanda Marshal cd I discovered during my time at SCICON and how I would crank it in my room and feel that old sense of peace I used to feel in Sacto....but then the deep sense of gut-wrenching hurt and aloneness that later came from my time there...

That one particular Loreena McKennitt cd that makes me relive the simpler times in the beginning of my relationship with Adam....Scorpions and U2 remind me of the same boy who made me cry with his mix tape....Bon Jovi "Slippery When Wet" of Catholic school dances (SO FUN! For some reason the Catholic schools had all the awesome dances and my Catholic friends always knew where the good ones were, and we'd travel to them) in high school....and "Easy Lover" takes me back to learning the hand motions in marching band in high school (its on right now).....and Bruce Springsteen actually brings me back to the boyfriend in college in Sacto, CA and NOT my high school (which was Bruce's), because he was the one that actually got me into Bruce's music....

And that song from the movie "Anastasia" that was our first dance at Adam's and my wedding is still so wrapped up in all the hopes and dreams of starting a new life together....which I'm still living!!!

Boy music really does transport you, doesn't? What music takes you back??


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My son, the Chippendale

My 7 yr old son just took his shirt off and looked at me with a huge grin...
Tyr: "Mom, look!"
Me: "What?"
Tyr: "I'm a Chippendale!!"
Me: ROFLMAO!!!
Why does a 7yr old even know about Chippendales, you ask? Amazing Race Season 21. James and Jaymes, the Chippendales team. Chippendale dancers who brought their cuffs and collars on the race with them and did strut their bare-chested (but no dancing) stuff a few times during the 12 leg race. Who started off being one of my least favorite teams to start, ended up being one of my 2 favorite teams because they were just so dang sweet and caring and what's not to love about running a race to win a million dollars for you parents??
1 of them had a dad dying of cancer and he wanted to help him not have to stress about money or even work anymore...and the other had a mom with no car that walked to work and he didn't think that was right and wanted to help her. How stinkin sweet is that?
So, yeah, I thought it was hysterical and sweet that my 7yr old was pretending to be a Chippendale, like James and Jaymes. :) All he knows Chippendales do is dance with no shirt, so funny!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hic-downs

Tyren: "Why is it called a hiccup? Why isn't it called a hic-down?"....pause...."A hic-down would be from your butt!"

The comedy of my life

I was just in the bathroom and heard from the living room:

Tyren: Dad?
Adam: If you ask me for my phone again, I'm going to scream.
Tyren: *mumbled something I couldn't hear*
Adam: AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!! (in as high pitched a scream as he's capable of)
*Raucous laughter from both children*

Feeling really inspired

I listen to business podcasts EVERY DAY. No joke. Gawd it makes me feel so inspired! I know I've yet to accomplish what I'm striving for: financial stability for our family. But I am learning more every day, and I truly believe that we will get there and that all I'm learning from listening to so many fabulous podcasts and experts that host and are interviewed on them regularly truly helps me internalize all this great info.

I can literally feel myself changing.

I honestly feel like I get a little wiser every day and I'm that much closer to finding whatever it is that will enable our family to finally be financially free.

I turn 42 on Sunday and I'll be damned if I'll be in this same financial situation in 10 or 20 more years. I am NOT going to reach the final decades of my life and wonder where time went and what the hell I was thinking by not preparing for that time in my life.

No, I am GOING to do better with my life and as such, help make a better future for us AND help my husband, who is busting his butt to support us financially all the time.

I know he keeps telling me to focus on my job, which is educating and caring for our kids and he'll handle the income...and I love him for that...For being such a fabulous provider. But I know I can also make a difference in our lives as far as our income. There was a time when I did bring in over $500/month...and that doesn't seem like much but it truly made a huge difference! But unfortunately, advertisers have dropped like flies in recent years and I'm beginning to see that that really isn't the best direction to go anyway...so I am pursuing another direction now that is really exciting me currently!

No idea where it will lead, but it's something I've learned from listening to all these podcasts: smart, passive income. Do the work once and glean the money for years. And it's a product that I already have built-in marketing for via our podcast. Win-win!

Also fulfills one of the rules I learned recently: make money from something you're already doing.


AND I'm following another thing I just learned this week that really struck a chord for me: make the product FIRST, while you are on fire for the idea. Vs putting all energy into website, domain name, graphics, etc (something I'm known for)....do all that stuff AFTER creating the product...because this energy will wane and that stuff will be easier to do w/o this initial fire. And the existence of the product will help to provide fuel when this energy fades.

I love it when I learn something so simple, that just really resonates with me.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone