Here's my money....where's my respect?

Dear Entrepreneurs, If I spend money in your establishment I expect to be treated with respect!  That's not so much to ask is it?

There is a delightful health food store within a mile of my house called Tru Health.  I LOVE this store!  It is wall to wall with a wide array of healthy food, vitamins, supplements, herbs etc.  You can find the obscure items very quickly.  The prices are very reasonable as well.  I have been depositing money into their cash register for years. 

The owner has vast experience and training in all things health.  Unfortunately, she is judgemental and condescending.  It's really quite unfortunate, because she knows what she's talking about!!

When I went in this week, I asked the guy behind the counter about my photo sensitivity (it's a sun allergy that causes severe break outs on my arms).   He asked me to wait while he went to get her.  I have been dealing with this for years so I brought with me the chemical laden sunscreen which is the only one I've ever found that works.  I also brought with me the prescription strength ointment.  I thought by bringing the "bad" versions of what works the best, she would be able to help me find natural solutions in her store. 

She wigged out on me.  She said "that stuff is all chemicals, you're not going to find that here".  To which I replied "that's why I'm here".  She was curt and short with me.  She quickly pointed to two sunscreens and then a third option in a bottle that she had made.  She told me that this was the one she uses for herself and for her son (although she doesn't have the allergy that I do).  She reminded me again "I would never use one of those" to which I replied again "that's why I came in".  She announced in a mean tone that I needed more antioxidants and turned on her heels and disappeared.  WOW, I was stunned!  The guy behind the counter seemed to recognize the energetic beating she just gave me and was much kinder and nicer as he took me to the antioxidant isle and explained skin, uv rays and supplements.  And yes, I got out my wallet and handed over another $60.

I'm not a total healthful kind of person, I know this sounds insane to people like this woman.  I love to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and eat junk food some of the time.  I'm shooting for balance.  I have no desire to live a "perfectly healthful" life.  If I can replace some of my chemically laden products I will.  I live way more healthfully now then I ever have in my life.  Partially due to this store and their products. 

Please note that I'm not talking behind this woman's back, I intend to e-mail a link to the store.  I want to continue to spend my hard earned money in that store often.  I just want to be respected.  I just want to be able to ask a question and get an answer that is neutral and kind.  Is that so much to ask in return for being a loyal customer?

Click here to read a follow up to this story

Sick and Tired

Just a short blog this morning.  I have one thing to say.  I'm sick and tired.  I'm asking myself "why bother?" a lot lately.  Maybe it's my age or a phase in my life.  I don't see this as a negative.  It's time to question the choices I'm making with more scrutiny.  I've been told lately that I have an attitude problem.  At first I said "no I don't!" emphatically.  Now, I have to admit it, I definitely do!  I'm sick of this shit!

The problem?  I take on too much.  I leap in and bend over backwards to solve the problem or get the task done.  I often find myself being told that I overstepped my boundaries.  Really?  I thought it was helpful but someone wanted it done a different way, needed control or wanted to take the credit.  God forbid I would step on any ones toes.  You want to do it yourself?  Fine by me!

Screw the "take one for the team"!!  I'm sick and tired of doing that.  I'm sick of working long hours and putting in my all and not getting anything in return.  I'm done with that. 

Join me, won't you?  Take a long look at your life.  Who are the sucklings draining every ounce of your energy?  Where are you productive, helpful and appreciated?  That's where we should spend our energy.  Ask yourself "WHY BOTHER?"  If you can't answer, then DON'T BOTHER!

I THINK I FOUND IT....

Ok, listen carefully...this is very important!  THERE IS NO PERFECT BRA!  I guarantee it and that means something as I have done my research and then some!  After 6 bra fittings, I write this post in the most comfortable bra I've ever owned.  It's not "good", but I think it might work.  It has a BIG job balancing these giant bazoombas!  I'm sorry if I'm being too forward or revealing too much.  I am NOT going to post photos (although you know I thought about it).  I'm not thrilled but I like this one and it was very inexpensive. 

Thank you goes to Virginia's in Marysville, WA!  This is an odd little place.  I almost drove by it, a manufactured home on the outskirts of an industrial part of Marysville.  It's owned by a woman and run by her twin granddaughters.  I didn't meet Virgina but her granddaughter read me well.  They don't have a large selection and all sales are final.  They will customize the size with alterations although I didn't need that.  I bought one bra that is questionable but the one I'm wearing right now works.  The prices were amazing, really reasonable!

I'm not doing summersalts but I'm in the most comfortable bra I've ever worn.  THAT IS FANTASTIC! 

This is only day 1 so I'll let you know but so far I'm batting 1 for 2 at Virginia's.  If I still feel this way in a few days I'll order this one again.

Feline Fun!

I have said it before but I must say it again.  My cats are crazy lunatics!  I love them dearly!  I've been playing a game with my cats every single day for years and I want to share it with you for two reasons.  First, because it's strange and hilarious!  Secondly, my hope is that one of my readers will have knowledge of video surveillance.  I would LOVE to see this game in action and I have not been able to. 

Here's how the game works.  There are two small stuffed animals.  Wherever I put them they always return them to the entry hall.  I kick them under the pool table, place them on top shelves, hide them behind the bathroom door and it never fails, the cats return them to the front hall.  Don't believe me?  Here's proof.  These photos were taken over a period of 3 days.

Look closely, the brown one is on the front rug.

Just one this time.

This is Yert (short for Yertail), he likes to be seen with the dolls but never touching them.

Oops, Chase is busted with the evidence!

Later that same evening...

Early the next morning...

I took this one a few months ago.

It's nutso man, who knew that cats were so smart when they seem so dumb.  There is another thing I would love to see on video.  Every evening when I'm walking home, Chase sits on the pool table looking out the front window.  He's hungry and waiting for me to come home and feed him.  As soon as I come into sight in the front lawn, he gets so excited he turns in a full circle before jumping off the table.  It is the funniest thing, like he's twirling with joy!

If you know about nanny cams or any other way for me to capture this feline mayhem that happens while I'm not looking, let me know.  It would probably go viral!!

CRAZY LOVE!

Have you ever loved someone so much it actually hurt?  I mean the kind of love that you would take a bullet for.  The real deal.  I gave birth to one child and I love her so much it hurts.  "Hurts" is difficult to describe because it's not bad pain.  Pain that's not bad?  YES!  In fact it's crystal clear beauty.  That's the only way I can describe it.

Kesa turned 21 on Sunday (Happy Birthday Honey!).  Of course I knew I would celebrate with her but I had no idea the journey that would ensue.  This is the story of the top secret creative project I have been working on for the last few weeks. 

About 2 months ago I found Kesa's baby book while going through some boxes.  Immediately the guilt set in about the fact that only 2 photos graced the pages.  Instantly, the guilt melted away. I was a single mother back then for God's sake and film had to be driven to the store and it was expensive.  No time either.  Then it hit me.....IT'S NOT TOO LATE!  There was no reason I couldn't do it right here and now. 

SO I DID!  In a big way.  First, I must credit the family members that helped.  My parents scanned a large number of baby pictures for me because I can't find those boxes here.  My niece works at the craft store and got me a sweet discount on supplies.  My sister and I shopped and carefully picked out enough embellishments to adorn pages that would span 21 years of Kesa's life.  Approximately 40 or 50 working hours later, I had created the best birthday gift I have ever even dreamed of giving someone.  HUGE thanks to Mom, Dad, Merritt and Jeanne!  Here it is:

This  beautiful album cover was made (back in the 90's) by my Aunt Julie.  Love it!

I added some other items like her ID bracelet, the tag from her hospital crib and the last ultrasound of her just 1 month before she was born.

See the three babies together on the right?  Kesa has two cousins within a month of each other in age.

They are otherwise known as "The Triplets".  

I love the flair with which she opens a gift!  Thank you to Hannah, my photog niece.  I knew I was going to be too emotional to get good shots.  You rock Han!

I can't look at this picture without a pit in my stomach and a lump in my throat.  THIS is the CRAZY LOVE I was telling you about that hurts so good!!

Here's something special about mine and Kesa's history.  See the picture in the top left corner.  This is  us with my sister Jeanne and her daughter Hannah.  We are four peas in a pod.  See below how we look now.  We couldn't resist repeating this photo all grown up.  Man, I love these girls!!!



Scrapbooking was sappy and cornball but I had a BLAST making this album.  Sure, the creativity was fun but that's not the main reason I loved doing this project.  The stroll down memory lane was not the reason I loved it so much either.  I loved it because of my love for Kesa.  I'm CRAZY in love with this girl.  I'm stuffed to the gills with pride and anticipation of what amazing things she will create next.

I LOVE YOU KESA!!

Starting to get very excited!

Summer is so fabulous!  You know I don't mean the weather, just the fun!  I feel like I've been waiting forever for this time to come and now it's moving so fast!  The kids both had their birthdays and it was wonderful!  Now in two short weeks we have Mark's birthday blow out where his long time friends and some new ones come from all over the place to toast Mark (ok, it's more of a roast haha).  This year we're going to celebrate in Leavenworth, WA.  If you are not familiar with this cute little Bavarian town in the mountains, check it out!

In 7 short weeks, our Germany trip finally arrives.  I'm so excited to explore this beautiful country I've never seen before for two whole weeks.  Actually, just having two and 1/2 weeks off work will be glorious!  The group of friends we are meeting in Germany just sent us a link and it turns out we're doing something very special in Berlin.  We will be involved in an attempt to break a world record for the longest beer garden in the world.  This will take place at the Berlin International Beer Festival.  Are you kidding me?  This just gets better and better, I could shriek!

Also, while we're there we are going to memorialize a woman I never met.  She was the Mother of a very good friend.  She was born in Germany and I will be in her home town on what would have been her 90th birthday.  I will be celebrating with several of her children.  This is so special.

Do you know that feeling where you want time to move faster but you don't want it to move too fast?  That's how I'm feeling.  I want to enjoy and savor every minute but I want it RIGHT NOW.  Hahaha That's me, Madam impatience! 

I hope you have wonderful plans for this summer too!

Strange News

Have you read the news lately?  There are so many bizarre stories going on right now, it's insane!  I'm not a big news person, in fact I try not to get more then a little news each day.  I opt generally for the local news and I get a healthy fix of political or world news from my NPR junky husband.  That's enough for me.  For years, I have tried to strike a balance between being informed and being overwhelmed.

I have talked many times in this blog about the rising energy on the planet now days and how you can see it's effects everywhere.  In this light, I'm fascinated by the way the news is shared.  I'm sure some out there would rather not be in the news at all but others seem to use the media as their personal marketing department.  Lets face it, that a Reverend with a radio show can spark world wide panic over the rapture and make hundreds of millions in the process is pretty impressive.  I can't stop thinking about how to harness the media to market the businesses I care about and have them go viral.  What's lacking is the fear factor.  Without that it's not going viral. 

Sickness is another big winner in the media.  The weirder or crazier you are, the more play you get.  If Sarah Palin pees in a public toilet, it makes news.  No, I'm not calling her sick, just crazy.  Does anyone care that Kelly Ripa made a list of her favorite food?  I like her but I don't give a crap what she eats.  There's only so much time in the day people!

This whole weiner gate thing is so strange!  It's actually a great example of something that should be covered for us to be well informed about our elected officials.  But, how much coverage is reasonable???  By the way, am I the only one that searched through the European news to find the actual picture of his penis?  Well so be it.  It's a riot that he took a picture of big Jim and the Twins from that angle and thought it was good looking.  It was bigger then I thought it would be but I don't think there is such a thing as penis glamour shots.  Yikes!

Sometimes it's just too much information!  Often it's just a body count.  There was a great story in The Everett Herald this morning about a guy who suffered a heart attack and died playing ultimate frisbee with friends.  They revived him and he recovered.  That's a nice break from the "news".
  

Impostor

It's been a while since my last post.  This is mostly because I have been feeling like an impostor.  I blog as a creative outlet and way to put my life out there.  If it's not really me then why put it out there?  There are a few reasons that I feel this way, here's a bit more about that.

First, my creative energy has been focused elsewhere lately.  I'm working on a project that has been consuming my creative energy.  I can't tell you what it is just yet but watch for a post in the coming week.  It's a doozy!  Working on this project, I suffered a thumb injury which caused me to lose part of my nail and leave the nail bed exposed.  Is that one of the most painful and annoying injuries on the planet or what?!  It's really hard to type with a big bandage on your thumb!  If you've received cryptic short texts from me, now you know why.

Secondly, I have been having sinus trouble (which I often do).  I'm not sure if it's a new allergy, perhaps it's a bad year for pollen, who knows but I have been down for the count.  All the while, my husband has been dealing with a health issue that has him down for the count as well.  Adding concern and care taking to my list has been overwhelming.  I didn't tell alot of people about him being sick so my work mates thought I was working short days just because I was sick.  My current stressful work situation kept me from being there for him during two important appointments.  He's a big boy, he would never admit to needing me but I should have driven him, waited with him and carried his coat.  That's what partners do.  Instead I went to work.  The guilt from that has been bothering me but I have to let it go.  I won't make that mistake again, this family IS my top priority.  He is going to be fine by the way.  I'm going to blog another day about Mark when he's sick but I'm sure that will not be his favorite one.  LOL!

Third and finally, I had another revelation yesterday about this odd feeling in my gut.  I have two men that I work pretty closely with come to me yesterday (separately) and ask if I was ok.  I laughed it off and said that I was just fine and why on earth would they ask?  They both said they knew I hadn't been feeling well but that I didn't seem like myself.  Duh...  That's when I started to play back the last 10 days in my mind and see how it was affecting me.  There hasn't been one normal thing.  I haven't been blogging and I haven't been walking.  Driving to work allowed me the freedom to come and go when I needed to.  For weeks before this I have been riding the bus which means walking 3 miles a day 3-5 times a week.  I miss it.  That's why I feel like an impostor, I haven't been moving my body or connecting to my writing outlet.  I'm glad those guys asked me if I was ok.  It made me realize that yes, I'm just fine.  I need to get back to the things that remind my body that I'm alive and well. 

Ok, I've got a bus to catch, see ya'll tomorrow!