Month: March 2014

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The Things I learn

I have a confession to make, every morning while I am getting ready for work I watch old episodes of the Andy Griffith show. I have always loved that show, especially the older ones, the ones in black and white. I appreciate the gentle humor, a story told in 30 minutes, a lesson learned. There is always a lesson to learn, whether Andy is getting his hat handed to him by the women of the town or watching him parent Opie and admitting to a little boy when he, the parent, has made a mistake and must own up to it.

One can learn a lot from watching this classic television show, I think, in today’s hectic society, that this show is exactly what people need. A chance to see life in a slower pace, appreciating those around you and taking the time to interact with others.

With the advent of smart phones, tablets, computers everywhere, we are losing our ability to interact in a personal way. This is my belief, I find myself being drawn in, I carry my smart phone with me, ever connected to the world at large, but not interacting in person. Alex tells me he hates the computer, I am beginning to agree with him, he rarely texts me, instead he calls. We talk person to person and I like it, you can convey so much more voice to voice than you can in text messaging.

Elizabeth also calls me, now she and I text a lot, but that is because for 11 hours a day, 4 days a week, I am at work and not able to take calls. So she and I communicate a lot via text and twitter.  Jeffrey is more of a face-to-face kind of child, he prefers communicating in person. I enjoy that as well.

I am going to preface the next thought with I am not Catholic, however, it is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Typically, if one is Catholic, they give something up for Lent, for 40 days they sacrifice something they love. At least this was my understanding, until I asked my BBFF about it, going the route of what are you giving up. He said nothing, he hadn’t practiced this in years, I said I was very disappointed as he was my go to Catholic. This was his response:

“Actually, giving up stuff for Lent has been out of favor for a decade or so. It is the THOUGHT behind the giving up, namely sacrificing to prepare yourself for the Death of Jesus, that is important. While giving up is not bad, doing a more “positive” sacrifice is better.”

I thought this was a perfect response and gave me a better understanding of his belief system. Yes even after all of these years I can still learn something about my BBFF. You see we never stop learning about others, there is always something new to learn, something to discover.

So, here is my challenge to you, go out and have an actual conversation with someone, face to face, voice to voice. Learn something about someone you have known for years. Please report back.

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Dancing with Happiness

I have decided that Tuesday shall become Wednesday in my world as my BBFF said that I do not have a Wednesday, so he inspired me to acquire one. So, welcome to Psuedo Wednesday!

Today brings the dawn of a new day, a day to get things right, to begin anew, to be thankful for all of the miracles in one’s life. Our family has a huge miracle, I don’t know if I have permission to talk about it here, let’s just say God is alive and well, sitting on His throne and has His hand in every aspect of our lives. That being said I very much look forward to our family reunion this summer to celebrate this greatness with my family.

I have discovered the song Happy by Pharrell Williams, I literally cannot stop dancing, I was chair dancing all day yesterday at work. This morning, the first thing I did upon waking, yes, even before coffee, I put on the song and danced around the kitchen with Stormie. She was very happy to be dancing so early in the morning, perhaps one day I will post a video of her dancing. We dance together quite often, it is a lot of fun. Even now as I type this I am dancing in my chair, what a great song, if you are ever in a bad mood, put that song on, it is impossible to stay down while wanting to bounce.

I’m back now, took a break to dance again, LOVE this song. I come from a long line of dancers. My great grandparents on my grandmothers side used to win Charleston contests. You might scoff, but you try and do the Charleston, not so easy huh.  Those of us from the South are typically good dancers, all the hot weather, going without shoes makes one move.

I am off to have a great day, because our days are what we make of them, remember, take a moment to reflect on all of the miracles in your life. I promise there are many, then give thanks, lift your hands to the heavens and give a great big AMEN.

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My Review of Spa Esoteric

Yesterday I went and had the facial Jeffrey gave me for my birthday, and I was not disappointed. The place he chose, Spa Esoteric, is located in old McKinney, in a house that is over 100 years old. When I walked in the door I was immediately put into a calm state, the atmosphere was nothing short of perfection.

My appointment was with Irene, she was gracious and welcoming, she explained to me step by step what was going to happen and how my skin was going to react. She expressed surprise at my age, in a good way, and put me at ease immediately. She told me she would not be chatting during the facial; she would only talk to me if she needed to tell me something about my skin.

I immediately fell in love, I do not enjoy chatting during my facials or massages, I want to relax, not talk. She asked what products I use, I told her I was a true Mary Kay user; I have been using the products for 25 years.

The Chocolate Cherry facial was beyond any expectations I might have had, my skin felt wonderful afterwards. She told me that whatever I was doing was working, she did recommend I use something gentle in the line on my face and only exfoliate twice a month for the type of skin I have.

She did not try and upsell me on needless products; she did not try and convince me that I need to change my current products. She told me that it was working for me, just be a little gentler with how I handle my skin.

I noticed that they do more than just facials; they have a full service salon within the building. I will be going back and enjoying the services they have to offer.

Please check them out at www.spaesoteric.com, well worth a trip to historic downtown McKinney. I believe in spending dollars locally, so I will be using them again and again. For many things, check out their website, make an appointment and enjoy. Especially if you live in McKinney or the surrounding areas.

The day got better from there, Alex had the day off and came over after my facial, then I went and picked up Tess from school. I made dinner, Jeffrey and I ate together then the Irishman came home with his two girls and Alex came back and I fed more people. There was plenty for everyone and they all seemed to like it, the only one missing was Elizabeth Anne and her fiancé with his daughter. Hopefully next time an impromptu family gathering happens she will be able to come down for that.

I have decided that whenever I pick up Tessa I will be making dinner, so maybe next time I pick up Tessa Elizabeth can plan on coming down and hopefully her intended will be in town so he can come as well.

That’s all I have for now, I hope everyone has a great day and enjoys the artic blast that is headed our way.