Just put on a little lipstick...

My friends at work know how much I love to shop, so they gave me a Amazon.com gift certificate for my birthday. I bought this fabulous tire cover that says it all - because Life is good, when you have fabulous friends!

One of my co-workers resigned this week. She has looked distressed for the past several months and we have all worried about her. I guess she finally reached her limit. I really think in this fast paced world, it is important to know when to call time out. Most of us try to do everything, please everyone, and we are afraid not to take on another project because we think, what if I turn this down and I don't get another chance . It can be a scary risk, but sometimes it is the most healthy option. My doctors are encouraging me to focus more on myself. I need to be living a very healthy life of exercise, good food and rest. All these things are very important to stay healthy and prevent recurrence . My goal is to focus on how I spend my time and energy. I need to choose the things that bring me the most satisfaction and joy. I am going to find creative outlets and I am going to start journaling again. I think it helps to see in black and white how I am spending my time. I think abou...

I was recently discussing book clubs with my girlfriends. We were talking about different ones we had been in, or were still a part of. After some discussion, we decided we are either going to start a movie club , or a People magazine club (Lori's idea). We can watch the film or read the magazine, and then get together for dinner and a lively discussion. Everyone agreed this is a great idea!

I went with a few girlfriends to see the movie "Eat Pray Love". I had read the book by Elizabeth Gilbert several years ago and enjoyed it. The movie is not a romantic comedy and not a thriller. It is a bit slow at times, but I enjoyed it. It reminds us how important it is to love ourselves and choose people in our lives who compliment us, not consume us. It also reminds us when we feel out of balance to work to get that back by asking ourselves what we really want, and then to go pursue that. I saw an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, the author, she talked about people telling her of their attempts to re-create her journey in order to find themselves. Her response to them was- "T he point isn't that you do what I did, the point is that this book will encourage you to ask yourself these same questions that I asked myself: what am i here for? what do I want to do with my one wild and wonderful life? If you could do anything, what would you do?" http://www.youtu...

"She turned to me & whispered, don't you just love it when you get so excited you forget to breathe? & the thought of her smiling eyes still makes me laugh." ~ Story People I love that feeling!

My team at work recently did a pilot for a strength finder program. We answered questions quickly about our thoughts and reactions to work and home life issues and activities. The point is to answer quickly from your gut, to get the most honest response. Then we all got together as a group to discuss the results and see if we were all being utilized to our full potential. These were identified as my top 5 strengths: Strategic Responsibility Positivity Maximizer Connectedness The exercise came with a insight guide which describes what makes me stand out from other people with the same theme in their top five. I'll admit I was a little nervous going in to the meeting, nothing like discussing your strengths and opportunities for improvement with the vice president of the company. It went fine and was pretty interesting hearing the make up of our team. We seem to be a well rounded group, according to this exercise.

Showtime has a new series called "The Big C" about a lady who is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She makes a decision to live every moment of her life on her terms , and she doesn't tell her family what is going on. They think she has just kind of lost her mind. I've only seen the first episode, but I'm already hooked. When you are told you have cancer, it changes you. It makes you feel off-balance and sometimes a little kooky. I can totally relate to some of Cathy's feelings. Choosing or not choosing treatment is a very personal decision and should be supported. I am looking forward to seeing how they play this story out.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ahIJ98ppw http://www.sho.com/site/video/brightcove/series/title.do?bcpid=69609888001& bclid =309216242001& bctid =326144684001 On a bit of a related note, one of Bryan's friends wife is battling stage 3c melanoma. She has a blog I am following. I can tell you that she is handling her battle w...