Garlic, Onions and Olive Oil

To me one of the best smells ever is the smell of garlic and onions with a little olive oil.....yum......Yankee Candle should make a candle with that scent!!!

There is something about the aroma that fills the house.....

I love the fall because of the soups and stews and other creations that I can make in the crock pot. I love walking in the door and it hits me. This fall although there will be some changes to the ingredients (yes.....healthier) the smell will still be inviting.

I remember the smell of the cookies my Mom would bake around the holidays. It meant Christmas was coming. It is funny how we tie the aroma of certain foods to seasons or occasions......hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill mean summer.......soups and stews mean fall and winter........cookies mean Christmas.....homemade sauce is Sunday......

It awakens my senses.....there is nothing wrong with that as long as I remember not to overdo it once I am ready to eat whatever it is that smells so good......now that may be a challenge.....

Steve Jobs Quote....

The most important decisions you make are not the things you do, but the things you decide not to do. .....Steve Jobs

Isn't that a great quote??? The things I decide not to do......that can lead to a lifetime of regret. For years I decided not to focus on me......for years I decided not to exercise......for years I decided not to eat healthy......

Where did all those decisions not to get me???? I think we all know the answer to that.....

Now I have turned over a new leaf.....I am deciding to do things and that makes me feel GREAT!!!!! I do not walk around signing "Zippidee Do Dah" with a constant smile on my lips......but I really am trying to see the positive.....I really am.....really

Changing Direction

Like the storm that is heading up the East Coast......a small change in direction can affect millions of people. The small changes I am making in direction are affecting me in a million ways......

Today for example, I went for a pedicure. There is a small step up to the chair. I got up and down it with no problems. Also, getting up and down on the chair can be a little challenging. The chair is not connected to anything.....so sitting down and getting my legs in the tub takes a little maneuvering. Getting out of the chair is a little more challenging. You have to get up sideways and there are no arms to lean on.....guess what I got up all by myself. I know this sounds so trivial but to me it is not. I have struggled in the past to maneuver out of that seat and sometimes had to make more than one attempt. Today.....I got it right the first time both up and down the step and up and down into the chair.

Like a storm.....I am a force to be reckoned with.....put up the storm warnings......I am here for the long haul and I am not giving up.....

The New Kid On The Block

I am meeting more and more of my co-workers. They stop by my office to ask a question or just to introduce themselves. I am torn between keeping my distance and wanting to be friendly. Getting too close and familiar is not good for a manager. You have to maintain some distance to be effective. But you have to show you care and want to know the people you work with.....it is a tough walk and a fine line. It is also hard because I am coming from a job where I knew so many people for so many years.

I am lucky that some of the people from my new job are people I have worked with before at other places. And the others will get to know me....

There is something to be said for history.....there is something comforting about knowing people who understand that you cry for a variety of reason both happy and sad. It also helps to have people who can read you....and know when to talk to you and when to give you some space.....it is good to have people know you need time in the morning before they hit you with the first challenge of the day....they know you need to turn on your computer and put your pocketbook away or as one of my team members once said "I was told to leave you alone until 9:00" LOL....that is pretty close to the truth.....at my new job they haven't figured it out yet.....in time I am sure they will.....

Getting Back In The Swing

This week I started working with my own team. The hours and days flew. Each day I learned more and more. I am enjoying all of this so much. I am pleased that I am remembering more than I thought I would. But by Friday......I was pooped. My boss walked past my office at about 4:00 and asked me if I was OK. I said why "do I have a deer in the headlights look?" She said two words I hadn't heard in a while....she laughed and said "Month end." I had forgotten how crazy month end is.....if you have worked in retail mortgage you understand what those words mean. My boss said, "Don't worry, you will get back in the swing of it." She is right I will...it is funny how you forget some aspects of your job.....how the heck could I forget what month end is like??? When Jenn called to see if we were going grocery shopping I told it had been a crazy day and said "you know....month end".....even Jenn said "Oh Mom I haven't heard you say that in a long time." Month end gives you an adrenaline rush......and then on the 1st of the month you start to breath again!!!

Welcome back to retail mortgage Donna......welcome back......

I Hate Being So Far Away

I love living in South Carolina. Still my biggest regret is that so much of my family lives 700 miles away. If they were just a few hours away.....I wouldn't have to miss holidays together....I wouldn't have to miss birthday celebrations.....I wouldn't have to worry about family members who have had health issues and I wasn't there to help. This week I hate not being there because I am worried about them with Hurricane Irene heading their way. Here I sit at my computer complaining about the heat while my family is facing 80 mile an hour winds and lots and lots of rain....throw in the possibility of tornado warnings.....I feel helpless. I have been on the phone several times today. It is times like this when those 700 miles feel like a million miles!!!! There is not a thing I can do to prevent the impending storm but at least to sit with them through the night......would give me peace and save me from worrying about them.

I have to do a better job about going to visit them more often.....why does it have to be an occasion to go visit......me coming to visit could be the event. It is hard for me to believe that it has been 13 years since I have sat down to a Thanksgiving Dinner or spent a Christmas Eve with my family.....

If it took a hurricane to get me thinking about this......maybe some good did come out of the storm.....but until the storm passes I will be texting and calling....it will give me some piece of mind and make all those miles that separate us seem less distant....at least for tonight....

3 things....I don't want said about me when I die

The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have. .....Louis E. Boone

When I go to meet my maker, I do not want these 3 things said about me so I better get with it quickly.

I could have been a writer, I could have worried less, I could have been more impulsive, I could have found.....not ready to complete this yet.

I might have been less afraid, I might have been smarter about how I handled my finances, I might have been a better student.....

I should have put myself first a long time ago, I should have been working out all these years, I should have paid attention to what I was doing to myself....


Here is where I can make some changes.....this is my chance for a re-do....

Instead of she could have....people will say.....she was a great writer, she knew how to laugh, she really got it together and took good care of herself...

Instead of she might have......people will say.....she enjoyed traveling, she really got herself in shape (whatever that may be) and she enjoyed her retirement...

Instead of she should have.....people will say.....she made the second half of her life what she really wanted it to be full of family, friends, laughter, adventure, and most important of all love....

It's not too late.....I have been making some changes......there are more to come just be patient with me.....it is going to be fabulous......