It has been hard to start a new job these last few weeks. In side my head I thought I was alright, but my body told me I was stressed.
Its true I have not been on my feet in years and it has been taxing. Working with all women is difficult as well. It is so much easier to work with men. You can say what you mean and be blunt without some one crying. I have not sent any women to tears, I just know what would set them off. I make sure not to go there.
I can not mention where I am working, it is just for the holiday's. You can guess. The holiday music is driving me nuts and I know when I have a head ache since I can still hear it, even at my home. In the mean time I take my i pod with me and on breaks and lunch I can drowned out the music with my own.
The dogs are still being well cared for and my chickens are fine as well. That makes me happy and they all miss me when I am gone. Its so weird to see them so happy, like I have been gone for weeks.
Since it is such a short time I will be working, it helps to know it won't be for long. With my feet being so sore all the time, I have to know that its not forever, or even for two months.
With all this whining I have to say, I am grateful to have a job right now and to help out with buying things I need and the house needs and maybe even a few extras. There are some things I need for my car and I can pay for it now. That's the point of working after all.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Films
Seeing every new movie is not something I try to do. There are a lot of really bad films that get made.
In a change of pace I saw a film over the weekend at the movie house. It was a cute film, but what struck me was that is was a depression era film. For the film buffs out there you will know what I mean. It was like a Judy Garland film where they are going to lose the lease to the theater and they all pull together and at the 11th hour some one steppes in with the money and saves the day. Either that or they put on a performance and a hold a back sale.
This film also keeps the dream of leaving a small town for the bright lights and big city, for fame and money. Wow I didn't think we needed a new generation to be trained like that. In the 30's a lot of girls that were fresh of the farm didn't have good hygiene. The wardrobe department ladies had to teach them to bathe more and clean up, quite literally. It was not fun for them and many of these girls were more than extras.
What are we being told? Move to Hollywood and all your dreams will come true? Really? Did we all forget the casting couch? Its amazing they are using this formula. Then again another film that won wide acclaim re-enforced the idea that rich white women (or men) are the only ones that can help poor blacks or other minorities.
That one is scary since other ethnic groups have long ago learned to take care of themselves. There are more and more agencies set up for this type of thing, not to mention the ethnic groups other than white are no longer a minority. For some reason only a rich white woman can save the day. Again, really??
Take these films as you will, I think I will read a good book.
In a change of pace I saw a film over the weekend at the movie house. It was a cute film, but what struck me was that is was a depression era film. For the film buffs out there you will know what I mean. It was like a Judy Garland film where they are going to lose the lease to the theater and they all pull together and at the 11th hour some one steppes in with the money and saves the day. Either that or they put on a performance and a hold a back sale.
This film also keeps the dream of leaving a small town for the bright lights and big city, for fame and money. Wow I didn't think we needed a new generation to be trained like that. In the 30's a lot of girls that were fresh of the farm didn't have good hygiene. The wardrobe department ladies had to teach them to bathe more and clean up, quite literally. It was not fun for them and many of these girls were more than extras.
What are we being told? Move to Hollywood and all your dreams will come true? Really? Did we all forget the casting couch? Its amazing they are using this formula. Then again another film that won wide acclaim re-enforced the idea that rich white women (or men) are the only ones that can help poor blacks or other minorities.
That one is scary since other ethnic groups have long ago learned to take care of themselves. There are more and more agencies set up for this type of thing, not to mention the ethnic groups other than white are no longer a minority. For some reason only a rich white woman can save the day. Again, really??
Take these films as you will, I think I will read a good book.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanks
This last year has not been that great for me, and while I am doing better at the end of the year and not at the start, there are things to be grateful for.
Do we really need a holiday to make us think about this? Even when I was not feeling great, I would stop and list the things I still could be thankful for. One has been that I still have a roof over my head. Not everyone has that, in fact and L.A. Mission was handing out tarps to the homeless this week.
My chickens and the eggs they give me also make me happy. I am amazed at the chickens, they have personalities and likes and dislikes. I would never have guessed with such a little brain. They make me happy and having to check them everyday has given me a routine I needed. We have a few more now and they are getting bigger each day.
I still have a lot of the same goals as I have had in the past. I am glad I still have good health to keep working towards them. My friends have also been a comfort during trying times.
The summer brought the Farmers Market and beer garden, since I wasn't working I could get the same good spot every Thursday at 4pm. So much so that the other regulars waited for me and even kept an eye out if I was running late.
Some of the time this year I have been too blue and didn't write a blog, since all was going to do was whine and moan about, whatever. That would not be that much fun to read. While it is great if you love your family and want to spend time with them, have a great time. As for me, I am grateful for the fact that my man doesn't watch Football of any kind and today we can watch movies and eat and relax.
Do we really need a holiday to make us think about this? Even when I was not feeling great, I would stop and list the things I still could be thankful for. One has been that I still have a roof over my head. Not everyone has that, in fact and L.A. Mission was handing out tarps to the homeless this week.
My chickens and the eggs they give me also make me happy. I am amazed at the chickens, they have personalities and likes and dislikes. I would never have guessed with such a little brain. They make me happy and having to check them everyday has given me a routine I needed. We have a few more now and they are getting bigger each day.
I still have a lot of the same goals as I have had in the past. I am glad I still have good health to keep working towards them. My friends have also been a comfort during trying times.
The summer brought the Farmers Market and beer garden, since I wasn't working I could get the same good spot every Thursday at 4pm. So much so that the other regulars waited for me and even kept an eye out if I was running late.
Some of the time this year I have been too blue and didn't write a blog, since all was going to do was whine and moan about, whatever. That would not be that much fun to read. While it is great if you love your family and want to spend time with them, have a great time. As for me, I am grateful for the fact that my man doesn't watch Football of any kind and today we can watch movies and eat and relax.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Years End
As the calender marks the up coming end of 2010 I am going to look back at my favorite things.
This year started out horrible with the close of the shop I worked at. Some customers understood and others were so irate. It was not fun and it took me months to get over the deep depression I felt. The thing that started to pull me out of it was getting out and walking my dogs more regularly. It may seem too simple but it really did help. Having pets and a regular routine helped me not to feel useless.
Keeping up with my dogs and chickens helped. Cooking new dishes at home and not asking to go out so much also helped to ease the tension around the house. If I didn't have good cooking skills and always wanted to eat at restaurants we would not have had the money to pay bills.
Also getting rid of some things on eBay helped me to have some spending cash. For pocket money it was taking in the recycling that did the trick. Thanks to that I was able to reward myself with a trip to Starbucks now and then.
Going to warehouse sales and saving some of the t-shirts helped. Last June I bought a lot of new t-shirts. I spilt them in two piles. One to wear right away and feel good about it, the other saved for BBQ invites and other events. That way I could have something new to wear each time. As if I always had new things.
We did have a few cheep and smaller trips this year. I would have loved to go to Europe again and visit my friends. I miss them so much. Instead we went to Vegas twice. Once for the Via Las Vegas car show and the other on a free two night stay we got for listening to a time share pitch. It was not easy and they tried to get out of giving it to us. We were able to see a show and had a two hour massage at a great spa.
The next highlight of the year was going to the grand re-opening of the Dior store at South Coast Plaza. I had been talking to one of the sales people a month or so before and he said he would send us an invite. I was still shocked that I got a nice thick paper invite to the opening. It was great and they served my favorite champagne. I met Eva Mendes and Mr. Segerstrom, the owner of South Coast Plaza. It was so much fun and I didn't have to spend a dime.
Then there was a short trip to see friends up North. That was a nice relaxing weekend and we brought up home made goodies. It was hot when we came back but nice to get out of the city for a while.
Of course I loved seeing the wolves howl. Highlight of my year! The Big Bear tiny zoo is well worth checking out.
Why am I doing a year end piece in the middle of November? I won't have too much time coming up. I finally have a job offer for part-time work.
The rewards for all my penny pinching? I was able to buy some nice things at the outlets coming home from Vegas. There was the corset sale in the summer and the vintage clothing sales. I have not suffered and have bought new things, always on a discount. Not to bad for a year with out work and staying home night after night eating my home made foods. I still have some jam I made over the summer. All of this is lessons from my grand mother, who went through the 1st depression.
This year started out horrible with the close of the shop I worked at. Some customers understood and others were so irate. It was not fun and it took me months to get over the deep depression I felt. The thing that started to pull me out of it was getting out and walking my dogs more regularly. It may seem too simple but it really did help. Having pets and a regular routine helped me not to feel useless.
Keeping up with my dogs and chickens helped. Cooking new dishes at home and not asking to go out so much also helped to ease the tension around the house. If I didn't have good cooking skills and always wanted to eat at restaurants we would not have had the money to pay bills.
Also getting rid of some things on eBay helped me to have some spending cash. For pocket money it was taking in the recycling that did the trick. Thanks to that I was able to reward myself with a trip to Starbucks now and then.
Going to warehouse sales and saving some of the t-shirts helped. Last June I bought a lot of new t-shirts. I spilt them in two piles. One to wear right away and feel good about it, the other saved for BBQ invites and other events. That way I could have something new to wear each time. As if I always had new things.
We did have a few cheep and smaller trips this year. I would have loved to go to Europe again and visit my friends. I miss them so much. Instead we went to Vegas twice. Once for the Via Las Vegas car show and the other on a free two night stay we got for listening to a time share pitch. It was not easy and they tried to get out of giving it to us. We were able to see a show and had a two hour massage at a great spa.
The next highlight of the year was going to the grand re-opening of the Dior store at South Coast Plaza. I had been talking to one of the sales people a month or so before and he said he would send us an invite. I was still shocked that I got a nice thick paper invite to the opening. It was great and they served my favorite champagne. I met Eva Mendes and Mr. Segerstrom, the owner of South Coast Plaza. It was so much fun and I didn't have to spend a dime.
Then there was a short trip to see friends up North. That was a nice relaxing weekend and we brought up home made goodies. It was hot when we came back but nice to get out of the city for a while.
Of course I loved seeing the wolves howl. Highlight of my year! The Big Bear tiny zoo is well worth checking out.
Why am I doing a year end piece in the middle of November? I won't have too much time coming up. I finally have a job offer for part-time work.
The rewards for all my penny pinching? I was able to buy some nice things at the outlets coming home from Vegas. There was the corset sale in the summer and the vintage clothing sales. I have not suffered and have bought new things, always on a discount. Not to bad for a year with out work and staying home night after night eating my home made foods. I still have some jam I made over the summer. All of this is lessons from my grand mother, who went through the 1st depression.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Date Night
While I worked at my old job I used to make up lists of goals for myself. Some were travel goals, some were life time goals. On that list was 'go to a national park and howl with the wolves'. I had seen a spot on this on PBS years ago and planned to do it some time before I die.
Last Saturday on "Date Night", I was able to cross that off my 'Life's To Do List'. the original story i saw on PBS was of a park in Canada were in the summer the park rangers took a group into the woods and got the wolves to howl. Imagine my surprise and delight to find that a small zoo in big bear does a similar event on Saturday nights during the month of October. Not as far as going to Canada.
The small zoo is right across from Bear Mountain and open to the public. It houses three grown bears, some coyotes and a great big snow leopard. It was so great to see them live, not on TV and so close. They will be moving in a year or so, right now they are up close, I'm not sure it will be the same when they relocate. There were also birds of pray, with dead mice in their area so they could eat them. There was two maimed Bawled Eagles, and one wing or not, it was still great to see one that close, he is still pretty.
It was very cold and I had on a coat as well as a hat and a thick sweater, it was only an hour tour and that's about all I could take in the cold. There was two groups of about 25 of us taking the tour It was nice and yes we got to get close to the wolves, they were white and so great. I wanted to go up and hug them like I do my dogs. Of course I can't, oh well. They had been howling before, and we got them going. That great haunting sound, that starts out high, then deep and low then high again. It was so wonderful to see them and hear them, it was so cold that I could see the breath of the wolf as he howled into the night air.
If it hadn't been so cold and if I wasn't already getting sick, I would have loved to stay for hours just listening to them howl. Before I knew it, it was time to go. I have to come back in the snow and see them play in it, and yes get them to howl some more.
One of the more original date nights I have ever worked up. It really made my month. Yes I get to check off an other thing on my "life's to-do list" and it makes me so happy. I'm not ill with cancer or anything life threatening, I would not want to wait until then to work on this list. I want to do things that I love while I have the energy to do them and enjoy them. So what is on your list and what are you doing to get it done?
Last Saturday on "Date Night", I was able to cross that off my 'Life's To Do List'. the original story i saw on PBS was of a park in Canada were in the summer the park rangers took a group into the woods and got the wolves to howl. Imagine my surprise and delight to find that a small zoo in big bear does a similar event on Saturday nights during the month of October. Not as far as going to Canada.
The small zoo is right across from Bear Mountain and open to the public. It houses three grown bears, some coyotes and a great big snow leopard. It was so great to see them live, not on TV and so close. They will be moving in a year or so, right now they are up close, I'm not sure it will be the same when they relocate. There were also birds of pray, with dead mice in their area so they could eat them. There was two maimed Bawled Eagles, and one wing or not, it was still great to see one that close, he is still pretty.
It was very cold and I had on a coat as well as a hat and a thick sweater, it was only an hour tour and that's about all I could take in the cold. There was two groups of about 25 of us taking the tour It was nice and yes we got to get close to the wolves, they were white and so great. I wanted to go up and hug them like I do my dogs. Of course I can't, oh well. They had been howling before, and we got them going. That great haunting sound, that starts out high, then deep and low then high again. It was so wonderful to see them and hear them, it was so cold that I could see the breath of the wolf as he howled into the night air.
If it hadn't been so cold and if I wasn't already getting sick, I would have loved to stay for hours just listening to them howl. Before I knew it, it was time to go. I have to come back in the snow and see them play in it, and yes get them to howl some more.
One of the more original date nights I have ever worked up. It really made my month. Yes I get to check off an other thing on my "life's to-do list" and it makes me so happy. I'm not ill with cancer or anything life threatening, I would not want to wait until then to work on this list. I want to do things that I love while I have the energy to do them and enjoy them. So what is on your list and what are you doing to get it done?
Friday, October 22, 2010
Rainy days
Yes its that time of year and I couldn't be happier. Sure summer is gone, just as winter will pass.
It wasn't that hot of a summer this year. There were some days that were really hot. We had record breaking heat and then rain. Go figure. Not that I am complaining. I am just happy to be alive and experience it all.
For now I am happy for cook up a storm and make my favorite soups and cornbread. I am looking forward to baking some pies and other things in the oven. I am happy to wear a sweater and can't wait for it to be cold enough to wear a coat.
I have bought some new tights at TJMAXX and have been about to wear them. A friend asked me where I get my thigh highs the other day. We are not that close and I don't want to give out all my tips for shopping. Sometimes people need to do their own leg work. Plus I don't think she would like to drive around as much as I do.
All the good fabrics are hot ones, and that is why most of the time SoCal people dress in t-shirts and jeans. Its doesn't get cold enough for a wool suit, or long over coat, things that are more dressy. The American Natives that lived in Malibu area wore nothing but a thong and sandals most of the year, only putting on a rain poncho during winter.
Rainy days make me happy, I don't have to water the lawn or wash the car, it all gets done for me. My dogs are not happy and they need a walk, they get bored. For now its staying in and eating my home made meals.
It wasn't that hot of a summer this year. There were some days that were really hot. We had record breaking heat and then rain. Go figure. Not that I am complaining. I am just happy to be alive and experience it all.
For now I am happy for cook up a storm and make my favorite soups and cornbread. I am looking forward to baking some pies and other things in the oven. I am happy to wear a sweater and can't wait for it to be cold enough to wear a coat.
I have bought some new tights at TJMAXX and have been about to wear them. A friend asked me where I get my thigh highs the other day. We are not that close and I don't want to give out all my tips for shopping. Sometimes people need to do their own leg work. Plus I don't think she would like to drive around as much as I do.
All the good fabrics are hot ones, and that is why most of the time SoCal people dress in t-shirts and jeans. Its doesn't get cold enough for a wool suit, or long over coat, things that are more dressy. The American Natives that lived in Malibu area wore nothing but a thong and sandals most of the year, only putting on a rain poncho during winter.
Rainy days make me happy, I don't have to water the lawn or wash the car, it all gets done for me. My dogs are not happy and they need a walk, they get bored. For now its staying in and eating my home made meals.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Back Again
As some of you may know my website has been down for over a month and it just went back on-line this week.
In the weeks it was down, lots has been going on. I took a short trip up north and had a nice visit with old friends. It was much needed. The gifts we took up to our friends were all home made. Home made food, salsa and a trivet. My man brought home made beer as well.
It felt good to take up things we had made ourselves rather than something that was bought at the store. We even brought up some eggs from my chickens. Silly as that sounds I was very proud of that.
The other things have been the fact that I still can't seem to get a job. As it is I look younger than I am, but when they see my age they don't want to hire me. I will ask for more pay or not be able to run around as fast as the others? It could be that they just want to hire young kids that they can pay little to nothing and they won't complain. The other thing is, very few are hiring and they have so many applicants.
In the mean time I have printed out my book project and let a few of my friends read it. It felt great after all this time to see it looking like a book! I did my own cover sheet and decorated it the way I wanted too. Which will be the only time I will get that experience. Also the only time I will get nothing but rave reviews. My friends have been very kind.
I have much more to say but that will wait for the next time. The plans so far are to go to the Fashion Expo this weekend and Oktoberfest. Should be good!
In the weeks it was down, lots has been going on. I took a short trip up north and had a nice visit with old friends. It was much needed. The gifts we took up to our friends were all home made. Home made food, salsa and a trivet. My man brought home made beer as well.
It felt good to take up things we had made ourselves rather than something that was bought at the store. We even brought up some eggs from my chickens. Silly as that sounds I was very proud of that.
The other things have been the fact that I still can't seem to get a job. As it is I look younger than I am, but when they see my age they don't want to hire me. I will ask for more pay or not be able to run around as fast as the others? It could be that they just want to hire young kids that they can pay little to nothing and they won't complain. The other thing is, very few are hiring and they have so many applicants.
In the mean time I have printed out my book project and let a few of my friends read it. It felt great after all this time to see it looking like a book! I did my own cover sheet and decorated it the way I wanted too. Which will be the only time I will get that experience. Also the only time I will get nothing but rave reviews. My friends have been very kind.
I have much more to say but that will wait for the next time. The plans so far are to go to the Fashion Expo this weekend and Oktoberfest. Should be good!
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