I cheat a little...

Howdy Delights! I'm doing a 2-week challenge with a friend of mine. One where I'm not supposed to have unrefined sugars or candy bars or really anything craptacular! I'm not good at challenges. I've cheated a wee little bit each day. Handful of Reeses Pieces here. A square of Dove chocolate there. Small, salty french fries from Burger King. I'm tellin' ya... I'm a cheat and a thief! Maybe I should have a 5lb weight loss challenge next time. Help! As of late, I've been sorta freakin' out about my money and financial security. I am a terrible over-spender & know it. I try to rein myself in, but it just doesn't work out like it should. Suggestions from those who are great budget'ers are welcome.

Country Fella is still around. We've not had an in depth discussion about me paying for our entertainment, but I think we'll get to it soon. Hell, I need to have a talk with myself about paying for my entertainment! There's not even strippers or porn involved, so where the hades is all my cash going? Otherwise, things are mostly okay. I've decided not to get wrapped up in the ignorant comments made by my co-workers and supervisor about me being Mexican. Or stupid comments made by anyone, for that matter. I can't control what spews out of folks' mouths, but I can choose how I process the information. So...here's to better processing! I would toast your glasses, mugs, and cups but I'm off the booze for 2 weeks also. I'm tellin' ya... This challenge blows chunks! Who's going to see "Identity Thief" this weekend?

Celebrations:
♥  Getting the Valentine's cards & gifts in the mail for just about everyone
♥  Practicing acceptance of me & others
♥  Finding more items to donate
♥  Discounted movie tickets
♥  New magazines to read


Objectives:
♣  Curl up on the sofa & take a nap
♣  Catch up on The Daily Show
♣  File my taxes
♣  Clean my dining room table
♣  Upload & organize photos
♣  Drink more water

"Tomorrow" is not spelled with an A

Great Morning to you, Delights! Oh...let's see if there has been any major happenings over the past week. I'd like to go on record and say, "No. No, there have been no major happenings in my life over the past week." The most major thing I've done is finally donated my stereo to a thrift shop which supports a women's shelter. I'm thinking about letting Country Fella fade out of my life. I need yall's input here. I like the guy. He's nice. A hard worker. Fun. But he's broke (financially)! I mean, broke. I certainly do not mind paying for a meal or an outing, but I do have a problem paying EVERY TIME! I'm trying to figure out a way to discuss finances with him w/o hurting his pride. Recently, he asked to borrow a few hundred dollars. Uhm... HELL NO! Please. Thank you! It wouldn't have bothered me so much if A) he hadn't just bought the Insanity work out; B) he did not buy a fresh new jersey and hat for the San Francisco game last week, C) he made better spending choices. Needless to say, I did not give him any loot. While being broke is not a bad thing, you cannot be broke and make such irresponsible decisions and expect cash from moi! Also, I still do not understand a lot of what he says. Here's an example of one of our conversations:

     CF:  They say immaneeed tuhgooverthere antest. I'ownknowwhatallgonbe. Talked to my cousin anshesaytheynotfrennleeanyway sononeedmewurryin boutwhatdahmansay.

    Me:  Hold on. Slow down. I don't understand.

    CF:  Went.Over.There.Themansaidigotttaninnerview buthedinsaynothinboutnomoneysoooo Iownknow.

   Me:  [silence]

WTHades am I supposed to do with all of that?!?!? HELP ME GALS! Other than that madness, all is okay I suppose. Work is interesting as my cohorts have shotty work ethics and principals. But whatcanyado?!?! I'm looking forward to my month in Kentucky so that I can rub elbows and network with the true decision makers. Onward. Upward.

Celebrations:

♠  Finally donating my stereo & some other clothes

♠  Making a Mega To Do List but not pressing myself about the order of getting things done

♠  Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Triscuits. They're soooo dang gooooood!

♠  Knowing I need to get back in to a more strenuous fitness routine

♠  Staying positive about most situations

Objectives:

♣  Complete 5 items on the Mega List (I think I've already done 3 this morning)

♣  Read 20 pages from Team of Rivals. I'm a few days behind

♣  Catch up on The Daily Show

♣  Watch a movie from my Netflix queue

♣  Remain positive about most situations

Cheers! Have a great week, Delights!

Not Really Following Through

Hello FTC'ers! Just wanted to let you all know that I am not going to continue in my counseling program. Not right now anyway. Or maybe never. I don't know if it's because I'm not really learning anything new or I just have too much going on inside my noggin, but I'm not feeling this program right now. Not at all. I do want to continue learning. Something. Anything. Everything. But I sorta don't want the pressure of writing soooo much and all that funky jazz. Ugh! Mulling that over was really giving me a headache for about a week. Serenity hit once I decided to forgo the program and just relax for a bit. Thanks for listening and encouraging me and everything else you all do.

For some reason, Maurice's lumberjack friend is loitering around my belly. I'm eating anything and for no good reason. However, working out is going relatively well. Bought some new running (okay, slow trot) shoes yesterday & I hope to give'em a whirl in the a.m. Wish me luck and lung-gevity!

Decided to make one super duper major goal for 2013. Wait, I forgot I've already set a goal to finish Team of Rivals this year. So the second super duper major goal for the year is to go see The Daily Show at least once. `Cause I'm pretty sure I've not told you all yet this year, but I freakin' LOVE this guy:

Celebrations:
= Have made it half-way through the month & have not paid for myself to eat out
= Enlightening & educational discussions about Django with several of my friends
= Reliable internet connections
= Being caught up on The Daily Show
= Rippling beginning to take place in my abs. YAHOO!

Objectives:
♠  Make sure my withdrawal from the counseling program is complete
♠  Get some order to my random fitness routine
♠  Stay engaged with my fitness routine :-)
♠  Evict the lumberjack
♠  Smile

Have a wonderful week, Delights! Own it!

Crown Royal Maple...

is soooo good in my hot chocolate. Hola Delights! Hope 2013 has started out fabulously for each of you and Nichole hasn't punched the annoying girl in the face by now. I'm that sort of PMS'er. Some ladies are criers. I'm just downright mean and HUNGRY! I'd want to punch Miss Annoyance in the mug & then scoop ice cream outta the mug. Bonkers? Yep. But welcome to Carmen's PMS World. So, I'm doing my counseling program & digging the learning but also realizing that this program is freakin' costly. There are 2 residencies (basically, week-long conferences) I have to attend at $1550 a pop. That does not include lodging or transportation. WTFoxtrot?!?! However, I've learned of a college that offers a certificate in counseling and I may go that route. Cheaper. Less work. Just my type of deal. Will I be able to get a job with this certificate? No idea, but I'll deal with that another time. A time when I'm not sipping on Crown and cocoa with a starlight peppermint melting at the bottom of the cup. Might I mention that this concoction is DEEELISH!

My challenge for the month is to not eat out unless someone else pays. Wish me luck & mega bucks. There were some other things I wanted to say here, but can't remember them at the moment. I'm slacking on fitness & am blaming the weather and my crazy sleep patterns as of late. Is that Justin Timberlake I hear in the distance? Yes. Yes, someone please cry me a river. Bleh!

Celebrations:
♠  My nutty supervisor hasn't called me Mexican in quite some time
♠  I got a very slight raise in pay
♠  Many Soldiers have expressed their appreciation for the help I've given
♠  Tons of friends have already donated 40 items/dollars for my 40th b-day wish
♠  Great hair color

Objectives:
♣  The To-Do Now list is too lengthy, so... My objective is to get as much done as I can without making
myself bonkers!

Cheers!

Changes & Progress... Perhaps.

Howdy Gals! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season & your toes and/or fingers have not turned blue. Last night as I was doing my pre-slumber face wash, I discovered a new mole on my chin. The mole had an inhabitant. One super friendly strand of hair!!! What the holy blue blazin' moly mackerel?!?!? The hair was just a'wavin' at me in the mirror. And all I could think about was: Has this been sticking out of my face all freakin' day? How many folks saw it and were frightened when speaking with me? Ugh. Bleh. Gross. Those were my first thoughts. And then... bada bing bada boom! I became okay with the mole. Plucked out the hair. Finished washing my face and went to sleep. I just cannot fathom spending good energy [read: time I could be sleeping] panicking about facial flaws. Or the rest of my outer flaws. Would I love smoother, silkier skin? Sure. But I gotta be okay with the skin I'm in. Plus, it could be worse. If I ever become a burn victim, I'd pay big Monopoly money for the skin I currently have. Finito. My eating habits are getting a wee bit better. I see some curves to my mid-section & I'm still exercising regularly. The jogging has been put on hold as it's freakin' cold. At least by Georgia standards. And my toes and fingers go numb so dang quickly it's a shame. A shame that one Foghorn Leghorn could attest to. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0D6DZuTPsA

I just finished watching Michael Moore's "Bowling For Columbine" about gun control/violence/whatever in America. It made me want to run away, as do all of his films. I wish we American's weren't so dang scary or so dang violent. Sheesh! Inhaling and exhaling peace. :-) So, I went to small town Mississippi again last weekend. The roundness of all the folks was so so so disheartening. And because I walked about a mile and a half (round trip) to get oatmeal and coffee a couple times scared the crap outta my big friend and his family. "Why you walkin? That's too far! You could get kidnapped out here! Nobody walks `roun' here!" Uhm... Yea! No freakin' kidding! Everyone there needs a walk or three, but instead they all just came to their doors to stare & wave at me walking by. It's so rare for them to see walking people that I was asked FOUR times by FOUR different people if I needed a ride. They figured I was stranded and walking because why else would I be walking alone on those roads. Please take note that there's maybe 5k people in/around this town. Seriously, what could happen to me walking to and from McDonald's on the main drag?!?! Great thing is that I got the senior discount because, "I can just tell that you're not from here. You just don't have the look of people from here." Yep, that's what the McD's cashier guy told me. Oh, my sweet sweet small town Miss'uh'sip! Such a special place. I did get to see a friend from Clovis while there. Her parents now live sorta near where I was staying. I also swung through Tupelo, MS and saw the house in which Elvis was born. What an eventful ... okay, not so eventful... trip. 

Delights, I hope you all are doing fabulously & usher in 2013 just the way ya want. TAPS, glad you're back to work on your own terms and hours. Be great! Cheers!

Celebrations:

♣  Being off work until Wednesday 

♣  Maintaining decent grades

♣  Easy to manager hair

♣  Crown Royal Maple & spiked hot chocolate  :-)

♣  Making delicious fish and veggies

♣  Having someone fix SinnABurst's rattling sound for free

Objectives:

♠  Donate clothes and shoes and un-wanted xmas gifts

♠  Connect with at least 3 old friends

♠  Read 10 pages per night of Team of Rivals

♠  Do next to nada for the next 3 days

♠  Smile & be generous

Mental Stability

Hi Delights! What a rough couple of weeks this has been for a lot of folks in this country. I know we all feel "something" for the community in Newtown, CT where the shootings took place. And the week before in Portland. Then, a day after the awful events in Connecticut, some guy shot three people at a hospital in Arkansas & some other fella shot 50 rounds in to the air at a mall in California. I find myself wondering about the mental health of the shooters. What sort of traumas had the 20-year-old kid in CT endured that gave him the capability to completely disconnect from life?!? He had no regard for human life at all. How does that happen? The bootleg sociologist and aspiring counselor in me has plenty of theories and they all are pretty sad. I always hate when a person can find no peace in their soul and they go off and do the unthinkable. That has got to be a terrible feeling. I don't know if any of you know anyone personally connected to any of these horrible events, but my thoughts are with you anyway. We're all mothers or aunts or occasional baby sitters or god parents to some wonderful kiddos, so I wish you serenity as you try to process and/or explain these terrors. 

I'm entering my 3rd week of the counseling program and happy to say it's going well. I'm on top of all my assignments thus far but still struggling with others' writing. I have to remind myself on a regular basis that their writing does not affect my grade. I may need to play some Enya and chant that phrase celtically. :-)

Celebrations:

♥  That the country is coming together to help the folks in CT and still helping Hurricane Sandy victims

♥  Colouring my mini-fro Red Hot Rhythm

♥  A wonderful & much needed vacation to Phoenix

♥  No airport delays

♥  The kiddos in my life have received their xmas gifts from me already

Objectives:

♣  Continue to exercise and eat better

♣  Clean, recycle, & grocery shop

♣  Try e-couponing for the first time

♣  Un-pack, do laundry & prepare for the week

♣  Remain optimistic about folks' mental health & how fragile we are

Enjoy the day! Ms. Awesome:  GO BEARS! 

Partly Cloudy!

Howdy Delights! Just want you all to know that my partly cloudy really means I'm partly drunk. Was packing for my upcoming Phoenix trip and decided to have wine during the process. There will be quite a few errors in this blog. Justsoyaknow! Maurice is on his way out, but the Lumberjack lingers. I want cookies sooo bad. Help me Baby Buddha! I want to change the spelling of Maruice's name and add an "x." Thus making him Maurixe. Just ran that idea by my gal pal & she said it doesn't look right. What sayeth thou, Follow Through'ers? Anyhoo, my first week of the counseling program was a cinch, which sorta scares me. I've already finished the assignments for week two. Equally scared. I'm sure week three will bring on some challenges, right?!?! Sure. In other news: I'm still hanging with the Country Fella `cause... Well, I just like him. And I think he's gonna mature a little more by the week. However, there's another guy on the horizon who's caught my attention. Yowzuh! I'll keep you all posted as to how that plays out. I'm still rockin' with the fitness, but maybe need to look at my eating habits again. Or maybe it's just cause the Lumberjack was around & I felt the need to eat an over abundance of chocolate. Let's go with that. I actually feel healthier & am getting in the groove of jogging (although I still don't really like it). I had my hair cut off again & plan to take better care of it this time around as it grows/fro's out. I really want an oatmeal cookie. Damnit!

Celebrations:
= Drunk packing for Phoenix
= Steady fitness regimen
= Easy to maintain hair
= Upcoming vacation
= Great wine
= Going to the Spurs game in Charlotte last night

Objectives:
♣  Make sure to look at what I packed to ensure I have the right stuff
♣  Clean & do laundry before I leave
♣  Get a mobile Hot Spot device
♣  Find a ride to the airport  :-)
♣  Rid myself of the Lumberjack

Have a wonderful week, Delights! Own IT!