I have one more thing I wanted to tell you about, and honestly, I would probably wait until tomorrow if dh were home, but he’s not, so that means I can’t go lay down yet, so here I am and I might as well go ahead and tell you about the book, because that will keep me from howling in pain. Did I mention that my mouth hurts a little bit? Did I digress again? Oops. I need a new category: Cass Digresses. I put that on one of my new blogs: I digress. ha!

So, I got a personalized book for Drama for the express purpose of telling you about it. I have to tell you right up front that I messed up when I ordered this book, and so while I was a bit disappointed in the book it was mostly my own fault, and that I will probably order other personalized childrens books from them. I had th list several choices, and I did not pay attention to the descriptions when i was making that list. I’ve ended up with a book for Drama that would be much better suited to Batman. So, if you order, and if there are children on your gift list, you probably should, be sure to read the descriptions. You’ll save yourself some grief.

The next point of contention is the dedication in the book. I did not specify one because I did not want one, because I was not quite sure how the book was going to fit into our own holiday gift giving scheme. It’s locked in now though, because the book is from “Mommy and Daddy”. My suggestion: type in “no dedication”, because, really most people would want one, right?

They have a great selection of products to personalize on this site, from super heroes to Mother Goose. The prices are reasonable and the quality is good. My book feels solid in my hands, and I’m not worried at all about giving it to a three year old. They also have music cds and videos, many with a Christian slant.

Ok, dh has called and he is on the way home. Soon I can go to sleep. When I wake up , it would be nice to have a new face. If that is not feasible, I am willing to accept the old face not hurting.

Those of you who came by over the weekend may remember that I had a dentist appointment this morning. My mouth is about to be worth as much as my wedding rings. I have had two fillings and a “gross scale” cleaning, and I need 2 more and a “fine scale” cleaning. Here’s a word to the wise, ok? Don’t skip the prophylactic dental care. In the long run, you aren’t doing yourself any favors. I may be sinking a mint into my mouth, but I’d rather be getting new diamonds. And besides, clean teeth feel better!

So Saturday was the day. We had The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk here in Bittyburg. When we got to the bike trail, a group was using the community building for a birthday party, and a couple of the men there hung up the banner for me. That was way cool, because I am too short for that type of work, LOL. Here’s the sign:

And here’s me with the sign, just to show I was really there and all.

Honestly, I was very dissapointed, but I am also committed to making next year’s walk a more succesful event. We did not have the turn out I had hoped for, and I am pretty sure that was becasue we lacked publicity. The website never did reflect that there was a walk here, but only indicated the volleyball tournament in the next town. Of course, if I had known 3 or 4 months ago that I was going to organize the thing, I would not have chosen to do it the same day as the tournament. As it was, by the time I made up my mind to do it, I was locked in to some other scheduling already, and so I didn’t have much flexibility.

As I said, though, these are lessons learned for the next time. And there will be a next time. If we’re able, my mom and I will be out there again next year.

This post is sponsored by The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk

Technorati Tags: Memory Walk

Dear ER Doctors,
When someone, especially a child, comes in and complains of stomach pain, I know that your first reaction is to check for appendicitis, and I appreciate that, because it’s my first concern as well. But! Please go ahead and listen to the belly, instead of just saying “come back if the pain gets worse or you can’t eat.” Because then, when I go buy that child food, and she can’t eat it, I won’t be forced to make a second trip to the ER in the same night. And the mail boxes of the insurance company won’t be stuffed with mail about the TWO ER visits in one night.

Check things the first time, tell me every thing the first time, and there won’t be a second time. How hard is that? I won’t worry needlessly, you won’t have to think I’m crazy, and people who really need your services won’t be kept waiting for nothing. And I mean that nothing to relate to what they will get from the first doctor. Grrr.

Shoes, socks and hats and bags, these are things I buy. I love, love, love a bag, cute socks are my downfall, and shoes are best purchased in lots of 10. Which I did this spring. Remember? The hats, not so much, but I needed to fit the rhyme.

This is one of the new Petunia Pickle Bottom Diaper Bags. It’s a cool looking bag, don’t you think? And not just for babies. I think it’s cute for ME! It’s one of the Cake Society Satchels, and I think it’s way cool. You can arrange the straps 4 ways! And I want one. Now, I have to admit that the price is way outta my league, but man, that is one fine bag. *cough* Just in case you want to send me a wee giftie. And, yes, this is the one I like the best. It’s pink. D’uh, as they say here in my hood. It’s my fay-vo-right color.

If you are anything like me, and I must assume you are, because really, I can’t imagine the lip gloss princess age group would find much to interest them here, then these days you are probably interested in a swim suit that covers a bit more than the itsy-bitsy-teenie-weenie-yellow-polka-dot bikini that you might have worn a couple of decades ago. Notice I said “you”, not “we”, since I have never had a shape that was enhanced by being stuffed into a bikini. “Nuff said on that. Except that round is a shape.

So, where were we? (Darn that rabbit trail-itis again.) Oh yes. Bathing suits. Specifically, the swimdress. I really like the styles on this page, because….well, my thighs, like my mind, are 40. And 40 has been much kinder to my intellect than my legs. Just sayin’. I’m happy with the trade-off and all, but still. You know.

Anyway, I am seriously thinking about a new suit for Vegas. Did I mention Vegas yet? I’m almost sure I did.

I hope you are enjoying this little series. As I was typing yesterday, I almost stopped and put it off because I was having a hard time concentrating. The noise level and my frustration were going up, up , up, but I knew that if I didn’t push through, that would be the end of it, and I have several more things to say. But before I do that, I need to let you know what got me fired up, because that’s the focus of today’s post: Financial Goals. I have managed to get myself in a little financial bind, and it was because I wasn’t paying attention–I didn’t keep myself focused on my ultimate financial goal of being prepared. We’ll get out of the mess, but I’ll have to tighten up until I feel the pinch more than a little. I knew all along where I wanted to be, but I didn’t create a plan to get there. I didn’t take the necessary steps to move it from a nice idea to a reality.

That’s why I thought it was pretty serendipitous when I had a chance to review Live in the 2. I took the short test there, and even without looking at the results, I thought I saw where a lot of my issues come from–lack of follow through. (And for the record, in the interests o honesty, this applies to way more than financial matters for me.) Here’s what the test revealed about me and discipline:

According to your responses, it’s probably safe to say that you couldn’t be more out of balance if you planned it - which we both know you never would. You try your best to keep things together, but if just never seems to be enough. If only there were a solution! Think about how much better life would be if you could learn the secret to this art called discipline.

Oh, how I would love to say “Well, I never knew that”, but the simple truth is that I did know it. I just haven’t been disciplined enough to do anything about it. When I told you that life had spiraled out of control, I was dead serious. I did much better in the Passion and Risk categories, but this tidbit from the Interpersonal Skills area blew me away–I’ve bolded the shocker.

You’ve got a pretty good attitude about life, and while others view you as positive and approachable, you require time away from people. You prefer to surround yourself with quality rather than quantity.

See, I already knew that about myself, but it’s something most people don’t realize about me (particularly my family) and so it was shocking to me to see that this 5 minute computerized test picked up on it. Now I at least know that it isn’t because I am not giving off the appropriate signals, but rather that people around me refuse to read them. But I am getting sidetracked–see the part about discipline above.

I am glad I took the test. As I continue on the self improvement path, I expect I’ll be referring back to it often. Living in the 2 is about so much more than money. In fact, money is just a tool– the real benefits come form better health, less stress, more edifying self talk, etc.

Go take the test. We both know that in the end, they want you to buy their self improvement materials. I can’t speak to the efficacy of the materials as I haven’t reviewed hem. I can tell you that the test is worth investing 5 minutes in, and that the fact that they want to sell you something doesn’t negate the wisdom you can gain from looking at your results. In fact, I imagine I’ll be using some of the things I’ve learned as I write this series.

Now, I have to put this little badge in here, even though it embarrasses me to do so. I always feel like it’s a big ol’ sign that says “ignore this post”. I really, really hope you won’t do that. If you roll over it with your mouse, it’s gonna pop up and tell you I got paid for writing this post. That’s not entirely true. In the interests of full disclosure, I will get paid for 200 of them but the other 566 were free.

Technorati Tags: goals, goal setting

Yesterday, I touched on goals, so if you missed that, you may want to back up and read it. I mentioned Nero and laundry and began to differentiate the difference between goals and the steps we take to achieve them. My own tendency is to over-focus on the steps, kinda like not being able to see the forest for the trees. I need to write down the large goals and also the steps, otherwise, I forget where I was going when I began the journey, and I began to meander aimlessly, distracted by various rabbits, once the first step is achieved.

Imagine for a minute the difference between paper planes and RC airplanes. They both do the same thing, fly through the air, but I think we will all admit that the one with electric power and a guidance system does the job better. Goals are like that difference to us, they provide the power and steering for our flight through life. You can meander around crashing into various objects until your nose is all bent out of shape (yep, I meant that the idiomatic way), sailing only for short un-controlled bursts, OR you can set a reasonable course and engage in a controlled flight plan in order to get there.

So, let me challenge you: Today, think about where you want to be this time next year. Or what you want to do. Or have. I’m talking about the big things: I want to go to Europe for a month, I want to make a quilt, I want to build an extension on my home, I want to have my bills paid off. These are big things that take many small steps. And after you think about the big things, think about the steps it will take to get there. And write them down.

Okay, my time is about up, but I am not done. I guess that means we’ll be having a part 3.