i am awake

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it's 7 am. i have been up for an hour.  i am away for the holiday weekend. gotta get my blog in. yes, i am still me after all. as i sit here wondering what to write i start thinking that i need to be super quiet as everyone else is a sleep in rooms around the house. wait a second...did anyone think about me last night when they are all up late and i have crashed early? that answer would be a capitalized N-O. not in a bad way but they had a good time and i inserted ear plugs. however there does seem to be this unspokien rule that the we need to quiet...in the morning...when everyone else is a sleep. screw that.
i just decided i am not going to walk around on eggshells trying to be super quiet. and knowing this bunch their sleeping off some of their indulgences from last night and really wouldn't notice. they are crashed out and i am up and dressed and ready for the day...time to brew that coffee. vroooom.
happy labor day peeps.

thank you laboring people for this holiday. i am on holiday for the next 4 days because of you...oh wait, i am a laborer! happy holiday to me too.

meaning of labor day thanks to wikipedia...

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September, that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers. It was first nationally recognized in 1894 to placate unionists following the Pullman Strike. With the decline in union membership, the holiday is generally viewed as a time for barbeques and the end of summer vacations.

 woo hoo...time to barbeque. have a great holiday everyone!

what's in a name?

Why is San Francisco called Baghdad by the Bay?
This is what I found from Wikitionary.

Coined late 1940's by columnist and mainstay of San Francisco culture Herb Caen, likely reflecting the multiculturalism and exotic character of the city, while also identifying the city with a great historical cultural and intellectual center, as well as possibly implying a moral association with Babylon.

A Note from Herb Caen:

Why is it called Baghdad by the Bay? POSTED BY: ERIC KAUSCHEN ON: FEBRUARY 6 2011 • CATEGORIZED IN: LIFE IN SAN FRANCISCO I was asked by a friend working in Kuwait the other day why I chose the name “Baghdad by the Bay” for my site. I realized that while almost everyone in the Bay Area knows about Herb Caen who dubbed San Francisco with that name, there might be people outside of the San Francisco Bay Area who don’t know or understand why he came up with that name for San Francisco. Well, I figured it would only be fitting to let Herb explain it for himself so Herb will be our guest blogger for today. I’m sure he’d hate being called that since he never in the 60+ years that he was a news reporter ever used a computer and was proud of his “loyal royal” typewriter that he used from the beginning. Herb was also known for making the statement, “One day if I do go to heaven, I’m going to do what every San Franciscan does who goes to heaven. I’ll look around and say, ‘it ain’t bad. but it ain’t San Francisco.’” Please note that Herb died in 1997 so some of the references are a little out of date, but cut him some slack. Herb you may now take over the blog: Hello, Visitors! By Herb Caen Greetings and welcome to San Francisco, city of the world, worlds within a city, forty-nine square miles of ups and downs, ins and outs, and going around in circles, most of them dizzy. A small “d” democratic city run by big-buck conservatives, a place where the winds of freedom will blow your mind and your hat off, where eccentricity is the norm and sentimentality the ultimate cynicism. Cable cars and conventions, boosterism living uncomfortably with sophistication, a built-in smugness announcing simply that we are simply the best. The only city better than San Francisco today was San Francisco yesterday–maybe. Remember, visitors, that you are lucky to be here. Have fun. Spend money. Marvel at our giddy combination of Kookville and High Kultur, busyness and booziness, millionaires stepping daintily over passed-out winos, hot-pantzed ladies of the night throwing themselves at your passing car. Enjoy yourselves, but don’t stay too long. Parking is such street sorrow. Years ago, this wide-eyed kid from Sacramento dubbed it Baghdad-by-the-Bay, a storybook city of spires and minarets, gay banners fluttering in the breeze. A viewtiful city, he called it, a Saroyanesque pastiche of lovable gamblers and boozy bohemians spouting half-aphorisms in saloons run by patrician publicans. The most beautiful bay in the world–only superlatives were accepted–was breasted by ferries that looked like Victorian mansions with sidewheels. Then came the greatest bridges in the world–“the car-strangled spanner” of the bay and Joe Strauss’s suspenseful “bridge that couldn’t be built.” We looked around at the wonderful, funderful city and we were proud to be San Franciscans, the envy of all. San Francisco, Queen City of the Pacific (the title was once non-ironic), gleaming jewel of the West Coast, surrounded on three sides by water and on the fourth by Republican reality. Occasionally a Republican mayor sneaks in, but it is essentially a city that votes the straight Demo ticket. I don’t even know how they get people to run for mayor: who wants to be Chief Kook of Kookville? We have a city father who is an unmarried mother of two and a gay seat on the Board of Supes, as befits the new demographics. San Francisco has a large gay population, and it keeps increasing, although exactly how gays multiply has not been explained. Nothing is ever explained in San Francisco. “The city that was never a town.” There’s a thought that appeals to San Franciscans. Will Rogers may or may not have said it, but the phrase does conjure up a flash of the crazed and crazy place that was born in a Gold Rush and grew up overnight to become a fabled city. Tip to visiting journalists: “The coldest winter I ever spent was one summer in San Francisco” was one of the best lines Mark Twain never wrote, but who cares. Whoever said it was accurate enough. Welcome visitors, to a city as confusing as the Democratic party. If you drive, don’t drink, but the driving will drive you to drink. We are casual about street signs, but you might find one if you look hard enough. Directions? Forget it, and don’t ask whatever looks like a resident. He won’t know either. If you keep going on a one-way street, you will soon come to another one-way street with traffic coming right at you. That’s what makes us colorful and our insurance rates the highest. Don’t worry about traffic lights. Green and red both mean go like hell; in fact you cross on the green at your own risk. Another tip: No Parking Any Time means park any time, usually on the sidewalk and sometimes on a pedestrian. There are a lot of tow-away zones, so check the signs. It is maddening to pay $60 to ransom your car from a towing company whose slogan is “Discover San Francisco”. San Francisco, a city for all seasons (sometimes four in one day) and various reasons. A city that thinks nothing of spending $60 million to rebuild a cable car system that was obsolete a century ago and even less of letting drunks lie on the street as long as they aren’t in the way of the cables; “a sociological, not a police problem,” unquote. A city of soup kitchens and two thousand restaurants, some of them excellent and most of them crowded. A place where whites are a minority and “the largest Chinatown outside of the Orient” is no longer large enough. The mayor and both congressmen are Jewish women; do we need a Yenta Control Board? So welcome, dear visitors, to Crazytown USA. You will either be crazy about it or become as crazy as the rest of us. Either way, may you all return safely to your funny country, that large land mass slightly to the right of Baghdad-by-the-Bay.

- 

in my head

do you ever find yourself dreading going to do something just to realize that you created the drama all in your head? it seems that i have a tendency to do this. it seems that when i go to start an organizing job that i am unsure of the outcome, i begin to anticipate all sorts of problems. this happened recently when i helped a couple going through a down size from a 2 bedroom to a 1 one bedroom and they had a lot of stuff. during our initial consultation   i reassured them that we would find a place for everything and make the apartment feel like home. in my head, i was not so sure. .a week later i still wasn't sure. this uncertainty led to the feeling of dread on my drive to the organizing day. what happened?

3 hours later...i found a home for everything. i reorganized what they were doing, utilized the space more efficiently and it all turned out great. that is always a relief.
sure there are going to be times that it doesn't all work out but i am reminded that most of my drama is in my head! i will always do the best i can to help my clients. there is no need for dread...well at least until that next over the top organizing job. 

12 hours

i think i mentioned in an earlier post that i bought a fitness tracker band called fitbit. one of the things it does is it motivates me to walk 10,000 steps a day. often i have to play catch up at the end of the day to meet my goal.  because of that i have had the opportunity to meet many different people along my walks.

in the last 12 hours i have met...

a young guy from thailand hanging outside a local bar smoking a joint

a middle aged guy who i helped carry a trolley down some stairs

a guy named anthony from reno who was part of an art installation on divisadero street http://www.sfstation.com/2013/08/23/open-canvas-offers-free-interactive-exhibit-for-local-artists/

a lady who was watching her daughter's portrait being pained - event mentioned above

and believe you me, i had real conversations with all of these people. well maybe not the guy i helped move the trolly but everyone else. each one of them we talked for at least 45 minutes.
super cool.

thank you fitbit for helping me get out the door and meet people that i normally wouldn't know.

time managment

everyone handles time management differently. some people are just always late. some people are racing to get there on time. then there is me. my last name maybe wait but that is the last thing i will make people do.
i am an on time kind of gal. in fact, i am often found waiting for other people. yes, you can say all the jokes you like. for me, not only am i on time, i actually like to get to a place early. i plan in the fact that there can always be a detour so it is best to plan to get to my destination early. if something comes up, such as traffic on the bay bridge, i will still be on time.
i recently learned in my meditation class that this is a buddhist way of thinking. if class starts at 9 am then you must be in your seat at 8:45 am. in fact if you come in at 8:50 am, you are considered late! when my teacher shared this rule with us i almost stood up and started clapping. i can't imagine being surrounded by people who not only show up on time but actually arrive early.
i think i have met my kind of people!
happy monday...now stop reading blogs on the internet and get to your appointment.

hello sunday

really trying not to do anything today so even this is a stretch. hope you are living for today!

meeting new people

i would say most of us stay with in our comfort zone of engaging only with people we know and perhaps those with in the small group of who we do business with - the bank teller, the store teller...you get the idea. some of us take it one step further and smile and offer a greeting to a passerby. me, i like to know the people that i don't know. 

last week i helped a client de-clutter her home and in the process put free items out on the side walk.  one lady who seemed homeless arrived with a giant recycling bin on wheels to cart away some treasures. we chatted about how she wanted to sell the items to make some money. i told her how smart i thought she was using the recycling bin on wheels. my client on the other hand stayed in her apartment and told me how impressed she was with our conversation. 

then yesterday afternoon i had the opportunity to meet cynthia. i was heading in to a local cafe for a cup of coffee and cynthia was standing next to the front door asking for a dollar for a cup of coffee. i asked her if she really wanted a cup of coffee and she assured that is what she wanted. i told her i would be happy to buy her a cup along with my own. hey, if i can go out and buy a cup of coffee i can certainly extend the offer to someone else. she hesitated as if to wait outside and i asked her to come in with me. once inside i introduced myself, asked her name and shook hands. i told her that her hands felt warm so she must have a warm heart...a smile appeared on her face. she complimented me on my soft skin. i then shared with her that i was just in a shop next door where you can sample the lotions. it is amazing the things that privileged people get to do. i can walk into a shop and sample lotions and others can't get access to a bathroom. i guess that is another story. anyway, cynthia then after placing the orders she asked me if i would still give her a dollar, in addition to the coffee...yes, of course! so after we got our hot yummy drinks, i gave her some cash and we said our good byes. i offered to hold the door for her on the way out but she decided she would sit at a table.  she was now a customer and could sit at any tablet.  cynthia sat downi noticed that it was relatively close to where another gentleman was sitting. hmmm...what will he do? will he say something about her sitting to close? funny enough, i felt protective of my new friend. well it seemed almost instantly that they started to talk. to him maybe she was just another person having a cup of coffee on a saturday afternoon. 

so what's the purpose of all this? i don't know. i do know that i am very blessed and i am reminded that sometimes it can be just a small gesture like a cup of coffee and 5 dollar bill to make a person feel seen and connected. 

cheers. 

falling coconuts

author liz gilbert shared this thought with her readers...so i am going to share it with you.

Thought of the Day: BEWARE OF FALLING COCONUTS!

Dear Ones —

A story for you this fine morning: Once upon a time there was a wise and beloved Guru who lived in India, with a beautiful ashram and many passionate devotees. One of his students, though, always had terrible luck. In fact, this poor man had a coconut fall out of a palm tree and land on his head not once, but TWICE. The first time it happened, the Guru was sympathetic. But the second time it happened, the Guru kicked the guy out of the Ashram, with these words: "You are welcome to come back here and be my student again someday...but only when you are fully committed to stop being a person who always has coconuts fall on his head!"

The first time I heard this story (in India) it made me laugh, but it also shocked me. At first glance, this hardly seems like a compassionate response to a fellow human's suffering! I mean, the falling coconuts were just an accident, right? Hardly the poor man's fault! It could happen to anyone!

On the other hand, as I thought about it further, don't we all know people who constantly seem to have coconuts falling on their heads? Yes, it could happen to anyone, but doesn't it sometimes seem like it always happens to...that guy?

And haven't we all — at some point in our lives — even BEEN that guy? The poor fool who always has coconuts falling on his head? Again and again?

(I have. I've been that guy. So to speak. And then I would go stand under the SAME DAMN TREE again and again — and let it happen again and again. Always with the same terrible outcome. Until I finally learned to, you know, maybe sleep under pine trees for a while, instead. So to speak.)

And at some point, isn't there a moment of total self-accountability and complete ownership of your own life, wherein you decide, "Maybe it's time for me to figure out why it's ALWAYS THE SAME COCONUTS falling on my head, time after time"?

And isn't that moment of self-recogntion and self-accountability the beginning of adulthood? Isn't that the beginning of getting it together? Isn't that beginning of figuring it out, of breaking your own doofus-y patterns, of learning how to not be your own worst enemy, of learning how to get out of your own way — the beginning of all good things?

So what is your coconut? That's really my question today. What keeps dropping on your head (time after time!) that you keep blaming on fate, or bad luck, or persecution, or injustice, or lousy karma, or poorly-managed palm trees? What if you stopped blaming and made a change?

If somebody told you: "You are welcome to return to a wonderful life — but only once you stop having coconuts fall on your head all the time"...how would you fix it? What would you change? Who would you turn to for help? What would you turn INTO?

Discuss!

day 3 - what does my name mean?

What Does Name "Andrea" Mean

Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You have lots of ideas and begin many projects but do not always finish them. A is a letter of initiative, self-reliance and will power. If negative, you can be sarcastic, cynical, or critical. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it. If A is the first vowel and there are two A's in the entire name, you are a clear thinker. If A is the first vowel and there are more than three A's, you can be egotistical, cynical and even critical.

You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You are probably an introvert. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.




for your name go to...http://www.meaning-of-names.com/

screw up

i hate when i screw up. it is incredibly annoying. i know we all do it from time to time and it is a human thing but i hate it.

scenario:
after the yoga retreat many of us uploaded our pictures on to an application called drobbox. great. well i decided last week that i could delete the photos on my computer as they were now stored on dropbox. 
well i just got a basic "what the fuck did you do andrea" email from one of my yoga guests as the pictures are all gone! GULP. really, i did that? who knew deleting photos from the computer meant also deleting them from dropox. i didn't.
so i just had to pull up my girly pants and send out an email to everyone saying what i did and apologize for my technological error.
andrea, the human, is in the house.
namaste.

day 2 - questions the brady's

lately where i do my laundry they have been playing old old episodes of the brady's. that got me thinking, what are all of them doing now and quite honestly what do they look like!

if you are curious...click on this link

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/05/the-brady-brunch-cast_n_3015815.html

and for a quick glimpse here is bobby brady - looks like he didn't spend much of his dough going to the dentist! 

day 1 question

what is a hip flexor? (i found the answer at www.hipflexor.org) we talk about it all the time in yoga class. it's a pretty important body part.

The Hip Flexor is not a single muscle in your body, but rather a combination of several muscles and tendons that are located in the hip region. All the muscles that are considered part of the Hip Flexor aid in hip flexion in one way or another. Hip flexion is the movement where your hip becomes contracted, most noticeably when you lift up your leg.

When you think about it you may not think that the Hip Flexor is that important, but in reality it is considered one of the most important muscle groups in the human body. You activate your Hip Flexors every time you take a step, climb a stair, or bend over, which happens thousands of times every day.

The main muscle is the psoas, which is the primary muscle that is attached to your pelvic bone in the hip region.  First and foremost when you lift your leg in any way your psoas drives the movement and then the other surrounding muscles assist where necessary.

to do

i like setting goals and then meeting those goals. i stress about the meeting part.
i have a goal to blog every day. in my ideal world i would wake up every day and have something to write. that usually doesn't happen. i then begin to feel pressure and draw a blank.
my friend tom says that i should keep a little note book with me and as ideas come to me to write it in the book. that way i will always have a writing topic.
i have a new idea.
this week i am going to research random things that i haven't ever heard of and then write about it. actually i am going to do a bunch at once so then i will have already written blogs in my line-up. it helps to reduce my pressured feeling of completing the goal by having back up. then when more natural ideas come, i will write about them.
i realize this sounds over thought but that is what works for me.
i wonder what's on your goal list for the day.

9:07 sunday morning

it seems that most people are in want of having a lot of money. i want to tell them that there is more to life than having a full bank account.
at this very moment in time, i could not feel more content, relaxed, happy. i just woke up - note the time. i am typing this in bed. sleeping in with no set time to wake up is divine. then i opened my eyes and found a cafe au lait waiting for me to drink it. yes, my husband delivered to me coffee in bed. ahhh that is so nice. i love me my morning coffee and i have a wonderful husband who knows how much i do.

i have nothing planned for this and from how the sun light is shining on my windows,  i know that it is a beautiful day outside.
no doubt money can be nice ...but right here right now i am taking my sun-day over that.
happy sunday.

happy saturday

i am working all day...enjoy your saturday.

doing what i love...not sweating the small stuff

i just reading the book dying to be me by anita moorjani. basically discusses her near death experience and her thoughts about living in this world. sure it is a little woo woo but i definitely picked up a few good thoughts.

1. every part of you is magnificent - your ego, intellect, body and spirit. it is who you are. every aspect of you is perfect. there's nothing to let go, nothing to forgive, nothing to attain. you already are everything you need to be.
2. when it comes to finding the right path, there is a different answer for each person. love yourself unconditionally and express that fearlessly in the world.
3. do things out of love instead of fear. for instance, eating all the so-called right foods out of fear of getting sick and being miserable about is no fun. even if you make the choice to eat healthfully do so out of love.
4. we owe it to ourselves to be happy and spread that joy. basically,  enjoy life and do not take it too seriously.
5. create joy in the present moment. living in the present means not carrying any emotional baggage from one segment of time into the next. every instance is unique and can't be replicated. make the most of every minute, living it to the fullest and doing things that make you happy.

i absolutely positively love all 5 statements listed. this is how i am practicing living my life. some days i am more successful then others but i know i am trying to be the best me i can be.

the blog

so what's the deal with this blog? what is my goal? on occasion i have what i consider informed thoughts. when that happesn i would like to share those thoughts with others. i also would like to work on my creative writing skills and the only way to do that is to actually write. so, i decided to combine the two. now there are days that i have several thoughts in my head and others (most) where i draw a big fat blank. part one of the equation - sharing thoughts - is out. however, i still want to write so i just have to wing. for the most part those are my worst posts and i bet you can pick out which ones they are. so i ask you just hang with me and every once i a while you just might find something that resonates with you. thank you.

trx

taking trx classes has taught me a great lesson. if you keep practicing something over and over, you will get better. now will i be known as "mrs. trx"...probably not. what i will say is that i have definitely improved since that first class where i couldn't do a lot of it. now i am staying with the class. some things i can do better than others. i am better.
so the reminder is, if there is something i am interested in doing i shouldn't listen those nasty voices inside my head trying to discourage me.
"you're too old to try that."
"there's no way you can do that."
"it looks too hard."
"don't embarass yourself."
i just need to say shut up! better than the ripped arms, i am getting a ripped brain.

this stuff works!

i just heard from my 2 most recent organizing clients that they posted reviews on yelp.

hmmmm. what did they say?

i have the world's best clients.  thank you.

here's a glimpse. 

• Andrea was a pleasure to work with.  I immediately felt comfortable with her -and that is important when you are having someone go through your stuff! Andrea immediately moved all of the stuff that I had separated out to take to charity into her car to be donated-what a relief to have that pile gone.  Then we started in on the kids rooms, eventually we covered the den, garage and the home office.  Andrea was great at maximizing the time we spent together.  She can give you helpful advice and great support sorting the stuff you have and organizing it- or she can just do it for you.  Both doing the sorting with her- and having her go to town on her own, worked really well for me.  All I can say is don't wait to call her -you'll be so happy you did.
• Andrea has been a God Sent to me!   She totally calmed me down and got me organized to the point where i can breathe again.  Her non-judgmental, lovely manner is what i needed to go forward.  She plowed away, and took no breaks - she's really remarkable.
  
  I recommend her to anyone who needs organization or is moving.  She unpacked 40 boxes and put everything in its place in a  time frame that would of taken me 8 times as long - she actually made this "moving" experience Very Pleasant!!   Andrea keep being your amazing self.  I am so grateful I found you!
  
  
  http://www.yelp.com/biz/organize-your-life-san-francisco

do least favorite things first

one thing i learned from my boss when i worked in the insurance industry was to tackle the least desirable items on my to do list first. that way they don't hang over your head all day long. i broke that rule today. i have taken care of every thing else first and now i have the three items that i still have 3 things to do. it is now 7 pm and i 1) go out into the cold windy fog and complete my 10,000 steps 2) meditate for 20 minutes and 3)blog.
i would prefer just to go next door to my neighbors for birthday cake. i know they have a cake as i dropped it off as a surprise earlier. i really do not need to be eating cake.
no more procrastinating. item 3 is now done. now on to walking and meditating.
later.

boo hoo

do you ever wake up and think, i just don't feel like dealing with today? my problem this morning is on the physical side. well, if i am really being honest it is also on the mental side.
i had a crappy night sleep. i can't decide if i have a cold and a sore throat or a stomach ache. i think both. to top it off i don't feel like going to trx class and then my mind says that i instantly be out of shape. and, i don't want to work today - for a high end client.
wah, wah andrea. what a baby.
thankfully i have had a moment of clarity. i am immediatley aware that i am in bed typing this blog on my apple computer and drinking my home brewed coffee with steamed milk.
really andrea, really?
i have absolutely positively no reason to complain. sorry about the adult tantrum.
now back to your reguraly scheduled progam. happy sunday.

i am annoyed with me

over the last few months i have been working hard to take better care of myself...watching what i eat, working out regularly with trx classes and yoga classes, walking more and the results have been great. i feel good. my clothes fit better. i am getting random compliments. so what do i do????
i go crazy. the last few days i have eaten nothing but junk food...jelly beans, sour jelly beans,  gummy bears, pizza, ice cream, chinese food. really andrea, really?
all this hard work and i am sabotaging it. typically i would keep this crazy binge going until monday. instead, the crazy stops today. yes, i am annoyed with me.
pull it together andrea. enough said.

everything to do and nothing to do at all

last night i was lying in bed thinking about all the things i had on my to do list for today. at the same time i was looking in front of me and on my were two books - one the actual paper kind and the other my kindle. it was 8:00 and i was hoping i could read both books but except for that darn "thursday to do list" - 6 am yoga, 8 am laundry, 11 am meet client, 1 pm 10,000 steps, 5 pm meet client ,7 pm meditation class...and with that i knew i should just call it a night. 

and then...i began to think about those lives recently lost and how i admired there way of doing what they wanted.  i then asked myself - andrea what do you want to do and the answer was read my books and sleep in. just say no to the 5 am alarm!

so that is exactly what i did. it felt great. i read both books and i slept in. granted i only slept until 7:30 but i woke up when my body was ready. now it is 9 am i am sitting in the laundromat washing the clothes. i have to say i feel relaxed and rested. sure i love my 6 am yoga but it can be missed. oh and the best part, it was raining when i woke up.  i think even the universe agreed with my deicision. 

i gotta practice this more "andrea what do you want to do"! i like it. 

loss continues

not ten minutes after i published my last post, i got a call from my friend pete letting me know that his mother verena had suddenly passed away. this was a total shocker. she was in great health. she even was scheduled to leave today for an alaskan cruise with her other son marc. pete is devastated. he could hardly get the words out. his brother marc had called him in the morning to say he hadn't been able to reach their mom on the phone for the past few days.  marc phoned the neighbor. she spotted several newspapers in front of the house.   police were contacted. verena died at home. devastating.
verena was a dynamic, funny, smart, witty lady and i will remember her as always up to something. she opened her home up in italy to all of pete's friends. those were some pretty great times. i will mourn the loss for my friend but i will also remember that she lived life to the fullest and on her terms. she didn't care what people thought about her. she did what she did, no explanation. she loved her family and she loved life. i will miss her.
she is now with her lovely husband al and they are probably have a nice glass of red wine.
rest in peace lovely lady. rest in peace.

loss

death. another person in my life has passed. cancer. one week karl was posting on facebook about up coming yoga events and the next he was gone. we don't know how much time we have on this earth. we will all die. life can end suddenly. am i paying attention to what is really important to me? what is that i want from life? love, laughter, meaning, purpose, connection.
rest in peace karl.

the book shelf

i started de-cluttering the book shelf - reallya, andrea a box of soaps on top of my books? why were they there? that organizing process took me to the jewelry boxes which took me to my clothing drawers and so on. you get the idea.
what i simply love about the organizing process besides the de-cluttering faze is that i often change up a specific area so that i see things differently. for instance i gave away so many necklaces which then freed up hooks that i could then use for bracelets stored in a drawer. now i will actually wear the bracelets as i can see them. love that.
the second thing that happens when i go through my belongings is ireconnect to things that i was holding on to for a reason and haven't touched. i have a shelf of old books that i have been "meaning to read". last night, i cracked open one of those books, read it all the way through and have now donated it. there is a feeling of completion with that process which i find incredibly satisfying.
next stop on my de-clutter tour...the storage area over the closet. this containschristmas decorations sent to me over the years from my mom and my sister. so not fun...but i must continue on.
happy monday!

stuff, stuff and more stuff

working as an organizer i deal with people's stuff. at the end of an organizing session, i then take the client's stuff away. when all that stuff is in my car i feel frazzled, anxious, tired and super over whelmed. then when the car is empty, the feeling i have is a calm, serene bliss. so imagine what it is like for me de-stuff my own life.
yep, this week is dedicated to de-stuffing me. i will work in one small section at a time and work my way around my home. i regularly do a purge but this is going to really be the brutal cleanse of getting rid of everything i don't need, use, want, wear, love.
i can't wait for that calm feeling that comes at the end of this process.
stay tuned...

stop stressing

every once in a while i stress that i won't get new organizing clients. my jobs run in cycles. i have a bunch of clients. those jobs end. then it's time for new ones. there's usually just one day where i have no work scheduled and i have the day completely off with no new prospects. i am reminded again as my voice mail fills with job requests for a variety of jobs to enjoy those every once in a while total day's off. so here i am at the start of a new cycle with new clients, new jobs and not a day off in sight. i am grateful for that as well. there in lies the challenge of being self employed. i am the marketing person, the finance person, the laborer and everything else in between. it is a great thing and i wouldn't trade it for anything else.
ok, now i must return some calls.
happy saturday.

death, loss, sadness

i lost another friend this week to the evilness known as cancer. i hate cancer. so, i am once again reminded that to age is actually a gift. getting older really? yes. the alternate is not in my view. so i did a little research and came up with an article on some of the key things to age gracefully.

1. embrace your natural beauty.
i tried this. i went a solid year with out dying the wild greys. then my friend rebecca told me - dye it. i did and the results are...people say i look younger, prettier, happier.
hmmm.
i still think natural is pretty and then at a little bit...whatever your little bit it is. mine is hair dye, mascara, and lip gloss.

2. laugh at yourself.
i do this on a regular basis.
the other night i was in the bathroom for a midnight pee with out the lights in. a hand reached in...i screamed...the hand flipped the light switch on...yes, it was my husband. i freaked him out and i broke into hysterical laughter.

3. don't hold grudges.
why? supposedly negative energy ages us. i can't think of any grudges that i have and that could simply be explained that with aging my memory is going and well, i just can't remember who i am mad at.

4. accept the fact that you're no longer capable of certain tasks and find replacement activities.
at the ripe old age of 48 i don't think i really fall into that category. in fact i think i am adding new things to my repertoire as i get older. i don't worry so much about failure, what i look like, etc. so i am more open to trying new things.

and that was the list...4 things.

what else would i add? just a few more things...

1. eat cake, cookies, ice cream - something from your treat list!
2. travel
3. exercise
4. see the dentist every 6 months
5. stay close with friends and family -
6. pursue your passions
7. eat your greens - staying regular is super duper pooper important
8. read
9. go to the movies
10. enjoy a day of no plans and just see how the day unfolds
11. get dolled up and go out for a nice meal
12. have a party
13. sing out loud when you drive your car
14. be kind to a stranger


i think those are some good ones. at least for me. cheers.

august begins

today marks the start of a new month. time to plan some goals.
1. shopping diet...no frivolous shopping on line
2. minimum 3 days a week trx
3. minimum 2 days a week yoga
4. 10,000 steps - at least 25 days of the month
5. work on websites
6. enter tax stuff into quick books

ok, those are my goals...what do you got?

july ends

ok so how did july turn out for me? this may be boring for you but i like to see what i have done for the month and that can get me geared up for the next month.

here are the goals i met...

fitness
17 trx classes, 10 yoga classes, 29 days of walking 10,000 steps



organizing
i signed on 8 new organizing clients

websites
thanks to my friend tom, i have consolidated all my various sites into one landing page www.reallyandreareally.com

yoga retreat
meditation - i signed up for a meditating series at the sf zen center - starts in august
spanish - i have found many places that have classes but nothing starts until september