the routine

the down side to travel is i am totally off my schedule. i get it why it is better for babies to stick to a routine...when they eat, drink, sleep. for me, when my routine is off i feel a little groggy. for instance, the time difference from my home to where i am visiting is 3 hours. well every day i have had to get up early for some function and i just haven't quite adjusted as i also have been going to bed late. i have been busy attending functions visiting family and my exercise routine is off. i have been eating foods i don't eat at times i don't normally eat. so, i am just a wee bit off....yes, more than usual offness!
happy monday people.

hotels

i love staying in a hotel. i don't know why but i just love it. i checked out of one hotel this morning in new jersey and tonight i have checked into another hotel in upstate ny. yes, it's pretty much my bliss. i love it. on one bed i have all my belonging laid out and on the other bed i have everything for sleeping, reading and watching tv. i like having all my things in one space...the bathroom, the desk, the tv, the coffee maker. everything i like and everything i have all in one room. most people want big places with lots of rooms...not me. i am the total opposite. less stuff, smaller space...bliss.
hello hilton...you are my home for the next couple days.

saturday in the east coast

as i lie here in my hotel room bed and look out at the beginning of fall foliage, i am reminded of the beauty of fall. i forgot. this is going to be a great day. we are going to head in to town and check out the local sites. possibly there will be a stop off at an apple orchard for some picking of apples and drinking of cider. today is a good day. i love to travel over seas but oh boy we sure have one heck of a pretty country right here at home in the good old u.s.a.
yep, i am waving my red white and blue today. happy fall people.

are you wondering?

did you wonder where i went? did you worry? did you think, huh, andrea writes every day and she wrote nothing on friday? is she ok?
i am fine. i am actually writing this post from a hotel room somewhere in new jersey. thursday i will admit that i cheated. i had my post ready on wednesday so that before i left for the airport at 5 am it was good to go...yes, it was just a comic but i did post something. yep, i am that kind of gal. hey, if i set a goal, i do it but yesterday there just was no time to write. oh wait, it is still friday. i haven't missed a day. wow, my clock is way off. i don't even know what day it is.
i am back east for a wedding and doing a bunch of different small trips - visiting college friends (last night), attending a wedding this weekend, visiting my mom in a few days, teaching yoga in vermont towards the end of the week, visiting more college friends at the end of the week and closing out the trip with a 30 year high school reunion. wow, i am exhausted just typing that.
so, if i write - i write and if i don't well, you don't have to worry about good old me.
namaste.

thursday giggle

enjoy a little laugh!

yay me

christmas arrived yesterday for my clients and i played the role of santa! nicoll, santa's helper, and i reorganized and redesigned every part of their home...wardrobe closets, storage closets, cabinets, rooms. you name it and we did it. the end result were the praises from my clients "love it. everything makes so much sense. love it. thank you". that's what i call a job well done.
so today is a me day. i have worked a lot of big jobs lately and as a congrats to me  - ME DAY! i am starting the day with coffee in bed watching cher on the letterman show. from here...lots of andrea things...trx class, hair salon, laundromat (yes, as part of the me day i like all the clothes clean!), client consultation, ending at home where i will pack for my trip back east. as a bonus it is a beautiful day. thank you sun for coming out to celebrate me day.
have a happy day people.

exciting

it feels like christmas morning. i met a family two weeks ago who would like me to reorganize their home. both of them work full time and they have two little boys. in order to organize the home they needed supplies, shelves, storage bins, toy chest, etc. so i have been researching and shopping for the right items and now today is the day to get to work. have you ever seen one of those home makeover shows and they have the big reveal? that is what i will be doing. i am bringing an assistant with me and for the next 8 hours we are going to recreate their home. i am super excited.
ok, work day here i come. let the magic begin. cheers!

 oh yes, i am going to go take before and after pictures.

it wasn't that bad

yesterday i was whining and complaining about not wanting to work. more specifically i did not want
to do an unpacking of a house that really didn't have a whole lot of storage. of course once again i was reminded that it wasn't that bad and i am good at what i do. before long the kitchen, dining room, living room and bath rooms were all set up. the boxes were emptied and the trash was tossed. i did a good job...good enough that i even got a tip. the couple was pleased. i was pleased.
the job is done.

it is that feeling again

yesterday, i made no plans and had a great day. today, sunday, well i have to work.
i have that dreaded feeling that i really don't want to do this job. i am helping a couple unpack their belongings in their new home. the home is beautiful but it has limited shelving and my clients have limited furniture. this means finding a place for everything is going to be a major challenge. they have no dressers, no book shelves, no end tables. i am at a loss as to where we are going to put everything. as a result, i so want to cancel.
regroup. refocus. i just need to do my best.  that is all that i can ask of myself. take the pressure off andrea.
ok time for me to take a walk and clear my head. by 2pm i will be ready to go.
happy sunday people.

what to say

hello saturday.

i had it all planned that i was going to write about my explosion in the kitchen last night. i was emptying the compost bin and the compost bag broke. coffee grinds flew everywhere.  while cleaning up, i began to see other areas in the kitchen that needed cleaning. before i knew it a massive cleaning had begun. an hour later i was under the sink cleaning out the cabinet....yuck. anyway, i had an entire thought process about one project leading to another.  i am done with that thought. why? it's saturday.
for the first time in a long time i slept in. yep, i slept all the way until 7:30. normally my routine is to get up super early starting with laundry, followed by yoga and then a full work day. not today. i have the day off and i am skipping all the other projects. instead i am in bed, drinking coffee, watching tv and looking out at the sky that is threatening rain.
hello saturday, thank you for being here. cheers!

i am perfect just the way i am

working in the health industry as a yoga teacher, i have become more and more aware that many of us
are self absorbed. we are constantly looking at our selves, myself included and judging. i can hear the running dialog in my head.
have i gained weight? do i look fat? are my grey hairs showing too much? have the wrinkles on my forehead gotten deeper? the list goes on and on. the crazy thing is, the only one focused on myself is me!
i know i am always a happier person when i focus my attentions externally. when i practice this, my self judging thankfully moves to the back row and i am more focused on what is important to me in my life.

happy fall people from the extroverted introvert.

have i got a gift for you!

after my most recent post about making the top ten yelp list i got a call from a producer at kgo radio who wants to interview me about my professional organizing business. wow, me really?  it feels nice to be get acknowledgment for my work but i am realizing more importantly  i am super lucky to get to do what i do.
recently i met with an indian couple who have two young sons. the parents both work full time and their older son who is 3 1/2 has been diagnosed with mild autism.  they have asked me to get rid of the chaos and clutter and make their place feel homey. i liked them immediately. they are a lovely couple and they just want the best for their kids. right now it feels like they have stuff everywhere and not many places to put it. so for the past week, i have been researching solutions for their organizing challenges...everything from listings on craigslist to shopping at retail stores. and now i have a foyer filled with items...shelving unit that i built thank you very much, a toy chest - where at the end of the day and the kids go to bed, the parents can get the living room back together just by putting the toys in the chest, to basic household items.
it feels like christmas time when you have the perfect gift for a loved one and you can't wait to give it to them.
so yes, the top the ten yelp reviews are nice but improving the quality of a person's life is even better.

i am a top ten

on occasion i will go to the yelp sf site to check out reviews on my business. thankfully i have only had 5 star reviews but there is always that chance that i am going to get a lower rating. well on toy's check in i saw a link for "the best of home organizers" and below it were a bunch of pictures that i assumed would be associated with each business. and then i saw...my picture. holding my breath i clicked on the link and there was my business (no.4) listed in the top ten.
yay, me!
here ya go Top 10 Organizing Businesses

really? you let your dog do that...really?

i just had a random sf sighting. in san francisco when people want to get rid of furniture, household items it is often the trend to just put the item out on the sidewalk. typically by the end of that day, that item is gone. it is recycling at its best. one person's junk is another person's treasure. well with the increase popularity of the flat screen tv, you are seeing more of the old school giant tvs being put out on the sidewalk. now here comes my sighting.
guy is out walking his dog. dog is stopping and smelling everything it passes. it's the kind of dog that takes time to really investigate everything it smells. the dog sees large a ahead and immediately smells every part of it. then it happens. the dog lifts is rear leg and yes, pees on the tv. what does the owner do? nothing. he literally stood there and watched the dog do his thing and then they continued working.
really? you let your dog do that...really?
WOW!

sunday evening

just had a lovely day with my husband and my friend. we had a beer in a local bar. we walked around
and browsed an outdoor urban market. we ended the day with drinks and food at an outdoor cafe. we are very fortunate people.
i have been given a good hand in life and i am very grateful.
thank you.

Insomnia

It's 12:01 a.m. and I can't sleep. I am stressing out about it. In 5/2 hours my alarm is set to ring. I have laundry to do, followed by 7 am yoga followed by a super long organizing session and then hopefully I will be picking up items for an organizing job in a couple weeks. This is not good. I need sleep.
What is happening? My mind is whirling plotting out what needs to be done for future jobs. Need to turn the mind off. Oh yes, I am remembering I got a cup of coffee this afternoon and they did not have decaf...I am still on the caf. Drat.
Alright I got a job to do and that is to get some sleep. Turn the computer off. Turn the mind off. Come on zzzzzz's please!

not a lot gets to me

Person calls me about organizing services and leaves a voice mail message with their phone number but no name. I call back, leave a message about  my services and politely ask for them to leave their name when they call back. Person returns  calls leaves a message saying that when I leave a message I need to say my phone number at the beginning of the message not at the end as they had to listen to to the message twice. Having been in sales that is typically how I leave a message but she had reached out to me first and so  already had my number! She also asked me to return my call to a different number. When I returned the call to the new number there was an outgoing message, "I'm sorry but this voice mail box has not been set up". Really? Boy that irked me. It is amazing also sorts of nutty, annoying things happen to me daily that don't bother me at all but this...immediately I wanted to call her back and say all sorts of things like "are kidding me? Y
ou are leaving me tips on how to leave a message.  Seriously I got some tips for you."I also thought "I can't work with this person".  But instead I called back the old number and left a message stating I was returning the call.
Namaste.

it's in the bank

finally the morning email arrived...your pay pal invoice has been paid. of course my clients paid the discounted version and there was no note of thanks. time to move on and let it go. i could spend time reeling about why this happened, what they thought of me and you know what there is no answer and it just doesn't matter. let it go.
i am letting it go.
new day. new client.

today i am scheduled to work with someone about my age who has lived in a studio for 20 years and will have to move out as the building has been sold. not only does she have the studio but she also has several storage areas that she utilizes in the building. everywhere you look you see stuff and more stuff. there is everything from junk furniture to old appliances and a ton of books. the challenge is that she has cheap rent, lots of extra space and she will be looking for a new place in a very expensive and competitive rental market. she needs to downsize and get rid of 75 percent of the stuff. that also takes time and money.  her challenge is that she has that "what if i need it or can use it in my new place". what she fails to realize is that she won't have the space for it. this is a challenge.  i have some anxiety about working with her but i know it my gut i can only do the best i can and the rest is up to her.

deal or no deal?

i broke my deal to myself today and checked email all day for notification of payment.
nothing.
annoyed. irritated. perplexed. annoyed again.
only thing i can do. turn the computer off. turn my lights off. go to sleep.
by morning there will be payment.
thank you.

payment...it's part of doing a job

This is just a little rant. I don't feel like saying it out loud to someone so I will just write it here. I think sometimes just getting it out can make me feel better.
I hate to ask for money. I think most people feel the same way. When I started my business 3 years ago, I was very clear what my hourly wage was, $65 hr., the minimum time work, 3 hours and payment must be made at the end of each organizing session. I had worked for a previous employer who getting a check out of her was next to impossible. Well whenever I break one of my payment rules, you can guarantee that there is a problem. I have even had a client just not pay me at all!
Recent scenario...met with couple who moved into apartment and need help setting it up and organizing it to feel home. There were many tasks that needed to be done and some even before I came for my organizing day. I researched best solution items, went and bought those items and in one case had to build a shelving unit. So before I even came for my first appointment I was out time, labor and cost of expenses. Organizing day comes and I bring an assistant in to help with the job. Being a responsible employer I have my check book with me and pay her immediately. Now I am even deeper in the hole. No problem, I will get my check at the end of the session for everything. Client came home, loved what we did and I get the old version of the check is in the mail... "my boyfriend has the check book can I pay you tonight via PayPal". It is now two days later and no payment has been made. There have been a couple exchanges of emails - "I got your invoice and will pay it tonight." "Does the invoice include the discount you mentioned at our first meeting". I have tried to be polite and even took off the time I spent prior to my organizing session - roughly $365.00 and...still no payment. . In my gut I know I will get paid but the interim time of this...SUCKS. I keep looking at my email waiting for that notice from PayPal that I have received a payment. I even have gone directly to the PayPal site with the excuse that maybe their notification system is down. Nothing.
48 years old and I am still learning things the hard way...Session is done and you pay me now.
To keep my sanity today I need to make a deal with myself...I will look at my email only one more time today and fingers crossed that payment comes in by tonight.Deal? Deal.
Please send me my money. Thank you.

tuesday

yesterday, monday...worked for 8 hours straight with my friend nicoll organizing a couple's apartment. we made it great. we did not stop for 8 hours - no food, no drink, no bathroom breaks. we were on task.

and guess what...i get to do that all over today!

here we go tuesday. here we go.

i think that's all i got.

have a good day!

hello monday

good morning. this is going to be a super duper busy week. today i have the opportunity to recreate a home for a young couple who have recently moved to sf. my car is full of all sorts of things from a dresser to shelf organizers. my mind has been whirling about which room to start with first. for the clients it feels like christmas night and they can't wait to wake up in the morning or in their case, come home from work to see their newly designed home. i never know how it is going to go and almost wish their was some time lapsed photography filming me. i will try to capture some before and after shots to give you guys an idea of what that looks like.
ok day....here i come.
happy monday.

p.s. i apologize for any typos, grammar errors, etc. as this was written on the fly!

Sometimes I don't have to "Just do it!"!

This past month I have been working with a family to help them with their move from San Francisco to NY. This required measuring and photographing furniture, rugs and art work. It also required me to hire movers to move items locally and move unwanted items out of the house to be either disposed of to the dump or donated to charity. Typically this is not in my wheel house of professional organizing.
Yesterday morning I completed the move and for an hour after I left the client's house I seemed to do one dumb thing after another - couldn't find the receipt the movers gave me, couldn't figure out what to eat for breakfast and when I did I ended up not eating it. To say the least I was a scattered brain. I dismissed my erratic behaviors to exhaustion.
From there, I went to a single guy's recently purchased home to help him set up his new home - aesthetically pleasing to the eye and more importantly one that functions to his needs. While I was working in his office/library/music room I found myself singing out loud. Huh, why the change of mood? Technically I should be even more tired as I am climbing up and down shelves - reorganizing heavy books by color (client's request!). So what was happening? Light bulb on...I was doing what I am meant to do - organizing and creating a beautiful space. That is what I do.
I am not a mover. I am not a photographer. I am not a person who measures furniture. I am not a person who signs on to a job just because it has potential to make lots of money. When I compromise who I am and what I do, I am a scattered brain. I feel anxious, tired and irritable.
As I left the client's house in the morning I said to myself "I will never to a job like that again". When I left the guy's house in the afternoon, I said to myself "that was good". I could hear in my head the final words the client said. He told me "I couldn't have done this with out you. You have no idea how helpful you have been". Yep, that's what I do.

can't sleep

it's 2:13 a.m. and i can't sleep. i was super tired at 10 and crashed for a couple hours but didn't go the distance to the morning. i need to be asleep as i have lots of things to do tomorrow...two client jobs and a couple initial consultations. my mind is whirling about what i need to do, where i need to be, thoughts and ideas about the jobs, stresses about how it will all go, worries that i won't have enough sleep because i am awake at 2:13 in the morning.
oh yeah right...that is why i can't sleep.
need to take advice from my meditation teacher. let it go.
ok good reminder. i am turning off the computer and going back to sleep.
good night.

judgement day

well i am trying to practice what i preached - non judgment. i am learning it is not so easy.
quick scenario...called my friend and left her a message basically saying that i think she is great and she is a super inspiration for me. did i get a call back? no. week after week went by and still no call. really? i leave you a nice message and you don't call me back? what kind of friend does that?
yep, you can call me queen judge.
ok time to practice what i preached.
picked up the phone and called my friend. left her another message wishing her a good school year (she's a teacher.) and that i hope all is well with the family.
no return call.
it's all good. i'm not judging.
and as my meditation teacher shared with me...i am also letting it go.
namaste.

must be nice to be so perfect

i just came upon the after math of a hit run accident of a car and a dog. as i approached the stop sign, i could see two people tending to a dog in the middle of the intersection. one woman was wearing scrubs and another woman had a stethoscope in her ears checking the dog. several people were on the side walk watching what was happening. the back story is that a guy was walking his dogs and one was hit by a hit and run driver. the two people trying to help the dog were just people who happened to be there at the time. one was a paramedic and the other worked at the dog store across the street. they checked out the dog and you could tell immediately when it was determined the dog was dead. they then wrapped the dog up in a blanket and gave it to the owner's friend. the owner was of course hysterical. i of course was crying. as we all seemed to stand there in silence a woman walks by me and says out loud "the owner should have had the dog on a leash". really? the guy just lost his dog and you thinks it is ok to be nasty.
sometimes i think we as humans can really be awful. we love to sit in judgment. no one said anything about the guy who hit the dog. no one said anything about these two people who tried to save the dog. we just kick the guy who is already down. it makes me sick to my stomach.
i am going to start practicing non-judgement. i know it is not easy but this was a good reminder.
i am also sending much love to the person who lost his furry friend today.

tuesday september 3rd

here we are at exactly four months left in 2013. that means it is time to re-set my goals to complete by the end of the year. as i get older the time seems to pass by at a much faster pace. i can't just dilly dally my days away. there are things i want to get done and in order to get them done i have to remember what they are. ok so what does that look like?

my list:
- work on getting 10 people signed up for yoga retreat first week of june. the second week is booked and if this does not happen by the end of the year, then cancel one week.
- read 4 books
- plan christmas vacation away with john - very important to do this asap....oh where to go????
- pay off any remaining debt of year and add to savings
- work on growth of organizing business - need to really fine tune what that means
- take the trx work out to the next level
- visit my mom, mother-in-law

well i better get outta bed now....there are things to be done.
have a great day.

i got the september blues

why do i have a little bit of the blues? it is the day after labor day which means to me...summer is over. aka short days, darkness comes earlier, cold weather, winter, rain...
sure i live in san francisco and yes, we are coming into the best weather of the year in septembe and october. but my brain goes to the dark side. i see, feel and think cold, wet, dark. i suppose that i am seasonally impacted and that is just the way it goes. as soon as the calendar page flips to september i feel a sense of sadness.
i know - get over it. but for now, let me say good bye summer. i love your long days. you will be missed.

the signs

i am always looking for signs about whether or not i am on the right path in my life. i think because i look for them i see them. there have been two themes that keep presenting themselves to me.
at my thursday night meditation class the teacher shared two messages with us. the first was the idea of letting things go and the second was what she called a metta.

fast forward 3 days...i'm in tahoe taking a yoga class at the school in town. class is focused on two themes. yes, you guessed correctly.

1. let it go
2. repeat this metta - from what i understand the metta is similar to a mantra and the premise is sharing good will towards self, others and the universe at large. here is the shortened version.

• may i be happy
• may i be safe
• and may i be at ease at whatever arises with in me.

i love it.

i am so practicing this. i think these signs are easy for me to follow.

namaste, andrea

let it go

for the past four weeks i have been taking an intro class into meditation at the sf zen center. this past week was quite powerful and really resonated with me. the reverend was sharing with the class that we have a tendency to get in our own way - our thoughts, the thoughts about our thoughts. you get the idea. so she led us through a guided meditation on how to just let it go. thought comes in. thought goes out. let it go.
now hiking the last couple days i kind of been saying these three words. let it go. maybe it has become my own little mantra.
i like it very much.
well me being me, whenever i set my mind to something the universe has a tendency to reconfirm it. and with that i give you this nice blog written by someone else on that very same thing.
let it go.

Y REBECCA BUTLER
AUGUST 30, 2013 5:00 AM EDT

Recently, I stumbled upon a post by Ram Dass. He was asked via a follower how to turn suffering into grace. His response blew my mind. He said, in short, that suffering is grace. He included, wisely, that you can’t ever tell someone who is suffering that. He also said that if you're avoiding suffering, that is less than graceful. He professed that you have to consume your suffering, and only then does it become grace. 

This resonates with me. 

As I watched my mother slowly deteriorate, slowly lose the ability to breathe and gradually become unable to swallow, I felt suffering. I felt despair. I felt sorrow. I felt indignation. 

I didn’t run from it. Mom needed me to brave the reality, step by step, with her. 

I didn’t hide it from my loved ones. If I kept it hidden in the shadows, it would have become more powerful.

I didn’t brush it under the rug. I spoke to it. I wrote about it. I shared from my soul with those who wanted to hear. 

It wasn’t easy. There were many tears shed in public. And not everyone stuck along for the ride. I lost students and followers and friends. But I absolutely knew no other way. 

I showed up at her bedside everyday, willing, ready and able. 

I read books to her and held her hand. I brought her juices and smoothies. And when the end came, I left her in peace so that she could go about the process of dying, even though, for selfish reasons all my own, I desperately didn’t want her to go. 

After she passed, I showed up big. I wrote her obituary and delivered her eulogy. I wrote her epitaph and took care of my dad. I met with the funeral home and the florist and the pastor. 

I consumed my pain. I met it head on. I continue to do so.

I offer you this humbly. Are you letting your suffering define you? Are you letting it run the show? There's a difference between your suffering consuming you and you consuming it. We all know someone who is defined by their tragedies, injuries and pain. It’s important not to get attached to it. It’s important to feel it fully. And then let it go.

Death is a natural part of life. Don’t fear it. Just be still and know: you are alive right now. Do whatever it takes to consume your suffering so you can return to joy. 

Joy is where it’s at. 

Joy is home. 

Joy. Outrageous joy. My mom has come to me only one time in a dream since she passed. Those were her words: Choose joy.

Feel the suffering. And then let go. If you need help, reach out for it. Don’t waste another moment wishing it wasn’t so. Don’t try to understand or compartmentalize. Do whatever it takes to feel the pain. Then let it go. 

So that you can get back to living. 

So that you can create a life of beauty and a life of joy. 

That is what your loved ones would want. That’s all we ever want for those we love. A life of beauty. A life of love. A life of joy. 

Consume the suffering. Then let it go.

donner lake

i am staying up by donner lake for the holiday weekend. want to to know their story????  Seems like the donner party didn't just grill up some hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner!

This info is compliments of Wikipedia.

The Donner Party was a California Trail wagon train of 81 American pioneers who in 1846 found themselves trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada. Thirty-six members of the party perished as a result of starvation, exposure, disease, and trauma, and some of the survivors resorted to cannibalism.

The wagons left in May 1846. Encouraged to try a new, faster route across Utah and Nevada, they opted to take theHastings Cutoff proposed by Lansford Hastings, who had never taken the journey with wagons. The Cutoff required the wagons to traverse Utah's Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert, and slowed the party considerably, leading to the loss of wagons, horses, and cattle. It also forced them to engage in heavy labor by clearing the path ahead of them, and created deep divisions between members of the party. They had planned to be in the Sacramento Valley by September, but found themselves trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains by early November.

Most of the party took shelter in three cabins by Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake), while a smaller group camped in hastily constructed brush sheds and tents several miles away. Food stores quickly ran out, and a group of 15 people attempted to reach California on snowshoes in December, but became disoriented in the mountains before succumbing to starvation and cold. Only seven members of the snowshoe party survived, by eating the flesh of their dead companions. Meanwhile, the Mexican–American War delayed rescue attempts from California, although family members and authorities in California tried to reach the stranded pioneers but were turned back by harsh weather.

The first rescue group reached the remaining members, who were starving and feeble, in February 1847. Weather conditions were so bad that three rescue groups were required to lead the rest to California, the last arriving in March. Most of these survivors also had resorted to cannibalism. Forty-five of the eighty-one trapped members of the Donner Party survived to live in California. Although a minor incident in the record of westward migration in North America, the Donner Party became notorious for the reported claims of cannibalism. Efforts to memorialize the Donner Party were underway within a few years; historians have described the episode as one of the most spectacular tragedies in California history and in the record of western migration.^[1]