Thought provoking article

I still have not bought an adapter for my new camera so my Vegas post is still on hold.

Hanging out with my Mister a lot lately. Enjoying him. A LOT.

We have some pretty intense conversations and one recently was about being alone. Although this was not always the case for me, I like being alone.

He subscribes to an email called the DailyOM. Interestingly, the day after our long, deep convo about *being alone*, the DailyOM sent him this e-mail:

All By Myself

When Isolation Is Ok
We all need time alone. Even those of us who are social butterflies need some time to ourselves. Solitude is necessary for meditation and quiet reflection. We also may choose to isolate ourselves when we are busy and need to meet a deadline. We may cherish time alone when we want to give ourselves over to art or music, lose ourselves in a good book, or delve into a personal project. Having time to ourselves allows us to focus completely on our yoga practice or get into the zone while running or strength training. Sometimes we need to be alone to simply do nothing but enjoy the sound of silence. Our alone time revitalizes and replenishes us, grounding us in our own company.

Yet, too much isolation, especially when our intention is to hide, withdraw, or not deal with the realities of our lives is not physically, mentally, or spiritually healthy. It is during moments like these when being in isolation takes us away from our lives, rather than enhancing it. If anything, too much isolation can create a buffer whereby we don’t have to deal with our problems. Sometimes, pushing ourselves to deal with our issues and be in our lives, rather than isolate, is one of the best gifts we can give to ourselves.

Also, just as it is important for us to have our "alone" time, we need to remember that as human beings, we are by nature social creatures that thrive on human contact. Our lives cannot occur in a vacuum, and we cannot fully live in this world without interacting with others. Consider using isolation as time spent for rest, reinvigoration, and personal growth. Isolation can then not only empower you, but it can allow you to return to your work and your relationships restored and ready for life.


Love it! After being *alone* for 3 years, I am comfortable in my own skin. I completely enjoy my own company and don't feel at all lonely during this time.

Mr. J, on the other hand, doesn't like to be alone. I'm not sure if it's because he is going through a tough time now or is this his make up. Statistically, after a break-up, men are back in a relationship in 1-3 years. Women, 3-6 years.

Interesting.

Coming Attraction: Vegas blog!

OK. I got a new camera in preparation of my upcoming trip to Costa Rica. Awesome camera. Takes excellent, clear, vibrant pictures. One small problem though.

My adapter to download the pictures is not compatible with the disk. F!!

I'll pick one up at Target tonight.

Vegas bound.

I'm leaving for Vegas early tomorrow morning for two days of fun and relaxation.

happy New Year!

Many days of recap

This week has been busy,relaxing, miserable, entertaining and stressful all rolled in one. Yikes.

I will do my best to catch up.

December 25. Such a great day. For the last 3 years, my ex come over in the AM and the kids open their presents. It wasn't always this way but over the years we have become better friends. It makes for a much better holiday.

After presents, we mae a huge breakfast and gorge ourselves as if it was the last breakfast. Great morning.

After the kids left to go to the ex's family Christmas, I decided to make a huge pot of coffee and settle in for a Sex and the City marathon. I LOVE Sex and The City and have probably seen every episode 5 times and I never get sick of it. It was shaping up to be such a fabulous day until that evening.

The pain started behind my eyes. I tried to ignore it but it progressively got worse. Within 2 hours I felt like my head would blow off. After taking a pharmacy of medications, my head was still exploding and now I was nauseated from taking too much Excedrin and Motrin. Not much sleep which only made the situation worse.

December 26:

Finally fell asleep about 5am only to wake up at 6am with the third world war being fought in my head. I dragged my ass to work were I barely survived. Thank God it was a light day so I was able to get to Urgent Care.

I was not only in pain but was so disappointed because I wanted to spend time with babygirl1 and hubby. I gave it my best shot but the fioronal was not kicking in very fast and I was miserable. I did sleep better which was a relief.

December 27:

I had to work again today and Babygirl1 and hubby had to go home. My work is on their way home so they stop to have lunch. I was definitely feeling better and we had a nice but short visit. I so miss her and my tears flowed heavily when she left.

After work, I had my 6th date with Mr. J. I know I have not posted much about him because I'm still not sure where this will actually go. We are having a great time together. He is fun to be around and he makes me laugh. Unfortunately, there is a little too much baggage for me. So unfortunate as I really do like him.
I have been honest with him and made my intentions clear. He knows, too, that he is not really ready for long term. And it's OK with me.

Clearly, this is a rebound relationship. Even though my last relationship ended 3 years ago, I still have not fully recovered. Yes, I have grown tremendously. I am much more stable, secure and Independant. I am happy with the woman I have become. yet, there is a small piece of me that still mourns my loss.

Mr J is in the middle of a messy divorce. He has been married 24 years and letting go of that kind of history is difficult. I have been there myself and We talk about the healing process frequently.

This relationship has got me thinking. A lot.
I have learned so much from my last relationship. I have learned to use my head AND my heart so I can see the red flags instead of rationalizing them away.
I am a cautious person and do not trust easily. Even though I blogged about how many dates should I wait until I jump into bed, I already knew the answer for myself and I obeyed my head and not my loins:)

I don't know how long this relationship will last. I had a dream the other night that he went back to his wife. In the dream, I was not angry but happy and relieved.

Maybe it's a sign.

Serious Sinus Infection

Oh Gawd, what an awful 4 days this has been.

Christmas night I started with a serious headache that would not go away. Started behind my eyes and quickly worked it's way through the top of my head and then to the back of my head. Serious pain.

I didn't sleep much that night and I had to work the next day. Being the responsible person that I am (I hate this quality sometimes), I went to work.

The moon must have been in the right place the night before because my patient load in the clinic was super light. By mid afternoon, I had the chills, green shit where it didn't belong, a headache that put any hangover headache I have ever had, to shame and a temperature of 101 degrees.

After clinic, I went to urgent care. My luck was still running strong because I didn't wait long at all. The drive there was a different story. My head felt like it was going to blow off and the sun rays were penetrating my sun glasses. It was unbearable!!!

I love urgent care Doctors. They love to hand out the drugs and get rid of you. The Doc. I saw was very generous. I got heavy duty antibiotic and some fiornal for my throbbing head.

I went to fill the prescription and decided to buy some more of Zyrtec D which is a decongestant. I don't know if any of you have bought decongestants lately but they ask to see your drivers license so they can enter your number into a computer to make sure you haven't been buying a bunch of decongestants to make methampetamines. UGH, the world we live in. Anyway, back to the story. The clerk looks at my license and says "Um, you license is expired."
F! How can that be. "they never sent me a renewal."
She told me " I'll just put 2012. License renewal is every 4 years right?"
I think she just felt sorry for me. I was looking pretty pathetic by this point.

However, now I feel sorry for myself too! I have to go to the DMV today and renew a license that has been expired for 1 month. Double F!!!!!

I will catch up tonight on my blogging. Many, many stories!!

Christmas Eve Cheer

Babygirl1 and hubby are in town. It's so good to see them. I miss my babygirl1 terribly but so proud of all she has accomplished and the beautiful woman she has become.

We joined babygirl1 & hubby at hubby's parent's home (got that?) for some Christmas Eve cheer. There was tons of food, good wine and funny stories. Fun, fun night.

Babygirl1 baked all day and made these (the picture doesn't do them justice)
Red velvet and chocolate hazelnut cupcakes. YUM!





Hubby's Mom has many Christmas trees with different themes. Absolutely amazing. I only took a picture of the HUGE tree in the foyer.



Fun times but I was exhausted. I had a tragic event at work yesterday and I haven't entirely recovered. I'll post about it after the holidays.

I'm happy you're *home* babygirl1. Mama misses you!

Too damn tired

to blog! I have been working way to much and I'm feeling it. It will get a little better after Christmas.

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!