Just Melancholy

I always try to restrain the green-eyed monster of jealousy, but sometimes it escapes. Yesterday, I went to my step-sister’s new basement apartment, and that is where it began.  It is amazing! Especially for what she is paying for it. I really don’t think she realizes how great a deal she has. She only has to share it with one other person, and she even likes the other person. That alone, can be unique. Her apartment has granite countertops and all the kitchen appliances are by Insinkerator! Some people have all the luck!

Last week I was trying to call my car insurance, and, of course, was put on hold…again. If they had a creative hold message, it might not be so bad. So while I was waiting, I decided to get caught up on my Oprah addiction. It was too early to watch her show on TV, so I decided to make the world wide web my new best friend, at least for the time being. I found her stress-relief tips for women and I thought I’d share with all of you, just in case you might be a little bit stressed :).

1. Relax all your muscles. She says to target one muscle group by flexing the muscles, then to release the tension. Oprah recommends doing this to all your muscle groups, one by one. This one really does the trick for me. AMAZING!

2.Stretching and self-massage. Oprah recommends just keeping this simple. For example: a neck and shoulder roll.

3. Deep Breathing. While exhaling, imagine all the bad stresses in your life exiting the body.

4. Talk it out with someone you care for and who you trust with your feelings. Just talking it out can relieve a huge stress and also help you get a new perspective on it.

5. Laughing and Crying. Both of these are excellent stress relievers. I find that crying really helps me feel better, especially when all that stress and emotion is building up with no way to release it. Watch, read, or listen to something sad or funny, and you’re set.

6.Sleep! This is one of my personal favorites. I do adore sleeping. Even as a little girl, I would relieve my stress by taking very long naps. Try it; it works.

7. Eat a healthy diet. This is kind of a no-brainer. When your body is healthy, your mind is healthy; your emotions are healthy (for the most part).

8. Exercise. Again, a no-brainer. Take a jog, do some yoga, or go dancing. This is another one that I love to do to relieve stress. Some of my best workouts have been when I was utterly stressed.

9. Focus on your task. Don’t overwhelm yourself with a million projects at once. Take it slowly, one at a time.

Try these out and let me know if they work for you! Which ones are your favorites? Share, share, share!

Ever since I moved to a new state last May, I’ve lost 20 pounds! I am really excited. I bought a gym membership and started to go at least five times a week, sometimes six. That means I am twenty pounds away from my high school weight. Seems crazy, but awesome. I absolutely love working out, and I love the poundage that is leaving…who wouldn’t? But I realize that it can be extremely difficult for others to lose weight, especially if there are health issues or they just don’t have a very fast metabolism.

Last night, my mom came to talk to me about working out and getting in shape. Her work out routine is pretty much off and on. Very sporadic. She has the problem with the slow metabolism. She told me that she is thinking about taking a energy supplement to help boost her metabolism, so that the exercising that she is doing will show. She is in her late 40s and she has a four year old. Her energy level is pretty much shot. So, maybe an energy supplement really will help her lose the weight she needs. It might just be perfect for her.

Separated at Birth?

Lipstick Jungle and Cashmere Mafia are essentially the same show - both about a group of thirty-something working women, both take place in New York City, and both are vying for the female viewers who are desperate for an acceptable, witty “Sex and the City” replacement.

What are the differences? Well…Cashmere is about four women, Lipstick about three….Cashmere is on ABC, Lipstick on NBC…and, that’s about it. Both are essentially about friendship, sex, and really really great clothes and both provide the kind of mindless entertainment that is ideal for after a long hard day’s work. Which one is your favorite?

Yesterday I discovered the best time of the year to go to the gym and the store and have practically no one there: the evening of Valentine’s Day. I also saw an old coworker at the gym. She said she was all disappointed that they canceled all the aerobic classes because it was Valentine’s Day. She said, “Don’t they know that some of us are still single, fat, and need to work out?” Ha! It is true. I don’t think they should shut down everything like it is a national holiday. Although, it would be sad for those who had significant others and had to work on Valentine’s Day.

The moral of this story: If you don’t have anything to do on Valentine’s Day, go run errands. I’m telling you, Walmart was completely clear. Every open register was devoid of customers. It was fabulous.

I accidentally broke some of my mom’s china. I made it through my entire childhood without even scratching one. Now that I am a college graduate, I break one. Argh! I felt so bad. It was really rare china that she got when she was living in Japan. As a result of my clumsiness, I am currently looking for a china replacement dish. Maybe for her upcoming birthday, I can give it to her.

So, I finally made it through college and received my B.A. I thought I was done with school. I was tired. But about six months later, I decided that I wanted to go back to school and get my M.A. degree. I researched and researched which schools, which programs, cost, housing. You name it, I looked it up. It is a pretty extensive process. Lots of things needed to be compiled and what not. Well, in the middle of all this commotion, my computer crashed. I lost EVERYTHING! All my undergraduate papers which I needed in order to apply for Graduate School were gone! I was devastated. After that, people kept asking me, “did you have it backed up?” Nope. I didn’t. I’ve learned my lesson; computer backup is so important. So this is just a warning for everyone: backup all your important documents, pictures, music, and everything else.

My mom  has a little four year old girl. While she was still a baby/new toddler my mom, who lives in Utah, would drive to California for a few weeks for work. My mom is an interior designer and still had all her Californian clients. She had to do this every few weeks because my step-dad apparently didn’t find it a necessity to support his new wife and child. But that is a whole other can of worms. So, when my mom would come back to Makela, my little sister, she would be angry with my mom. I think she developed abandonment issues. Now, at four years old, whenever Makela hears the front door shut she runs to see who left. If it is her mom, she panics and screams, especially if my mom didn’t give her a hug and a kiss before she left.

A few days ago, Makela woke up around 6a.m. and ran downstairs to make sure my mom was still there. It just breaks my heart. Sometimes when my mom leaves to go to the store or anything trivial like that, Makela will cry and say that her mom is never coming back. So sad! Does anyone have any advice on how to help her get over this?