Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Tangible Tidbits 2012 #48: A Time For Reflection

Hey, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your respective holidays. :) Ours were chaotic, as usual. ;) The kids all enjoyed themselves and most of the adults ate too much. :)) We even got some unexpected snow flurries on Christmas Eve! :-O MacKenzie got her first White Christmas already! :)) It also snowed today, enough to make everything slushy. :(

I tried to get on my computer yesterday morning to post my message as I had promised, but it froze up on me. I think Mercury is out to get me. :))

Given my recent birthday and Christmas, and New Year’s being only a blink away, this is usually the period when I tend to look back over the past year and think about how far I’ve come (or not). It seems like no matter how hard I work or what I do, I always seem to be in basically the same place from year to year. I look at the chasm between what I want my life to be and what it is, and I can’t figure out how to get where I want to be (the phrase "You can't get there from here" often comes to mind! :p). Many years ago, I joked with some friends that I would throw myself a "mid-life crisis shower" if I was still on my own when I was 45 years old, in order to make up for all of the bridal and baby showers I attended for my friends over the years. ;) Well, it looks like 363 days and counting before that happens. It would not be the first time I made a sarcastic crack about my life that eventually came true. :-O I understand the concept of self-fulfilling prophesies, but I never really thought I was turning the tide in that direction. I’ve learned a lot in the past few years, but somehow bridging the gap between knowledge and execution has still eluded me. Astrologers say 2013 will bring many positive changes, but I can’t help but think that this time next year, I will still be in basically the same place I’ve always been...although the Universe is free to prove me wrong at any time! ;) The two things I never wanted to be are broke and lonely. I haven’t always been broke (thankfully), although I am now...but I have been lonely for most of my life. Being surrounded by people does not change that feeling of deep down loneliness. Apparently, there is some secret to resolving this issue that I have not yet learned. Maybe next year? :P

This is my last post for 2012. I wish everyone a safe, healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year! Until next time, take care and have a great week! B-)



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Monday, December 17, 2012

Tangible Tidbits 2012 #47: Holiday Season Wrap Up

Hi, everyone! I’m really sorry I didn’t get here last week. I actually did write the blog post, but I never got online to post it. Other than access via my phone and a little bit on my Netbook, I wasn’t online for nearly two weeks! :-O My oldest niece even complained to my mother about how slow the Netbook is while she was trying to get some of her homework done one day last week. :-/

Things at the office have been crazy lately – I clocked in 86 or 87 hours in the past two weeks, and my regular work week is usually 25 hours! :P In addition to the regular end-of-the-year surge in activity, we got hit with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The vault of the Depositary Trust Company (DTC) in Manhattan was flooded in the storm...what do you expect with the address of 55 Water Street?...and they began processing the replacement of all of the certificates that were lost/damaged/ destroyed. It’s going to be a long time before any of us forget Sandy, I assure you. :P

I finally repaired my coworker’s Freshwater Pearl necklace on Saturday, and priced out a necklace and lanyard for two other coworkers on Sunday. With working so many hours and Christmas coming up next week – I finished shopping, but haven’t wrapped anything – I will have my hands full this week. My two older nieces are sleeping over on Friday night so we can assemble gingerbread houses and bake Christmas cookies. The baby isn’t ready for a sleepover yet...much less accomplishing anything other than eating, sleeping, and pooping! :)) She will be making her first public debut on Sunday, though, at a friend’s holiday open house. ;)

I posted a new social media poster yesterday...I only have one left, so I have to make some more. :P I’m embarrassingly behind on typing up the meeting minutes from BSNJ’s November general meeting and recent Board meeting. That’s something else I will have to get done this week. :-O

My birthday is next Monday...which also happens to be Christmas Eve...so I may not post until Tuesday. We have our big family celebration on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day is more low-key until Mom and I go to my sister’s house for dinner. So, I anticipate having some time in the morning and early afternoon. Hopefully, by putting it in writing, I will actually deliver as promised. :))

There are no words to express my feelings about what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT on Friday. I can only say there are 26 new angels in Heaven...all of whom had no right being called back as soon as they were. My sincerest condolences to everyone affected by that tragedy. Having a "Merry Christmas" will be inconceivable for them, and it will be a really long time before their lives can be put back together again, if that’s even possible. I may not say it a lot, but I am truly grateful for the wonderful people I have in my life, including all of you. :D

Until next time, take care and have a great week! B-)


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Monday, December 3, 2012

Tangible Tidbits 2012 #46: ’Tis That Season Again...

Hi, all! I posted a picture of me and Kenzie from my first visit with her on Facebook over the weekend. :) We got to spend some aunt-niece bonding time over this weekend, when I did her 6:15 a.m. feeding on Saturday morning. Why was I there that early, you may ask? Because I got a phone call at 2:15 a.m. to go over there and stay with the girls, as my brother-in-law had to take my sister to the Emergency Room. She’d had a neck ache for a couple of days and started a bad migraine at 6:00 p.m. on Friday night that did not respond to her over-the-counter medication. :( She got a clear CT brain scan (WHEW! #:-S), and they gave her four different medications until they found one that worked. They think she may have a herniated disc. She’s hoping to get an MRI in the next day or two, so hopefully we will get a firm diagnosis and figure out what’s next. Never a dull moment, eh? :P

Earlier on Friday evening, I attended 1978 Maplewood Arts Center’s Preview Party for the BANG VII (Buy Art Now Guys) art show and sale. A coworker and her husband showed up, which was really fun for me. :D They came back to my house afterward to see my collection, and picked out a few items to purchase! B-) She picked out a bracelet for her hubby to give her for Christmas, and they picked out a necklace and earrings for their daughter. ;) Hopefully, I’ll sell a few items at the gallery sale, which ends next Sunday. I’ve done pretty well so far this holiday season, but the money is unfortunately spent before I even get it these days. :-/

As I mentioned last week, I went down to Tinton Falls to work on some unfinished objects (called UFOs) with some Bead Society members on Tuesday evening. There were only four or five of us, but it was really fun! I finished the bracelet I’d started at the workshop I attended in mid-November, and got half-way through the Peyote crystal project from our September meeting. As predicted, I got home about 3:00 a.m., so I really needed that day off on Wednesday! :)) Of course, with the law of cause-and-effect fully engaged, I had to work long hours at the office the other four days to keep up with the workload. At least my next paycheck should reflect my efforts. ;)

I have a few projects I have to work on in the next few weeks, for which I will be paid (YAY!). I have a multi-strand freshwater pearl necklace that has to be reinforced and parts of it restrung for a coworker, a Kumihimo lanyard to make for a second coworker, and a bookmark for a third one. I guess I should be grateful for the office job for more than reasons than just a paycheck, eh? :))

Unfortunately, I really haven’t been motivated lately with all of the extra hours at the office and off-and-on daily life drama, so I really have to get my act together. Sadly, not even the promise of incoming money has been enough to get my butt in gear! :-O I think I have a mild case of holiday seasonal depression. I had it for eight years after my paternal grandfather passed away on December 21, 1994. When my maternal grandfather and father died in September 2002, I just went into a deep all-year-round depression. :( That was finally lifting in the summer of 2004, right before my uncle was killed in a car accident. :-O I’ve been much better since sometime in 2007, but then my maternal (and only) grandmother passed away on December 26, 2008. Do you see a pattern here? :P Anyway, it shouldn’t really surprise me I’m feeling out-of-sorts. Part of me wishes I could fast-forward to the middle of January and skip even my birthday, but part of me wants to take part in the holiday festivities – that’s pretty much how I know it is only a mild depression this time. May be there’s hope for me yet? :P ;) [Editor's note: I got a call from my doctor today that my Vitamin D level is low, and she's giving me a prescription for it to be taken for two months, followed by an over-the-counter variety for another couple of weeks before retesting my blood. So, there may be an actual medical reason for my malaise...how about that? :)) ]

And on that cheery note, take care and have a great week! B-)

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