Pizza

Pizza, pizza, pizza! I LOVE PIZZA! Pizza is the bane of my weightless existence. I have no shut off when it comes to pizza. If my daughter's didn't eat the same toppings as me, I would have eaten the whole pie. I've tried to stop eating pizza but it's like I have withdrawal symptoms the same was you would giving up caffeine or cigarettes and I've given both of those thing up yet pizza still plagues me. I could eat pizza everyday and there was a point during my twenties when my husband and I spent at the very least 3K on pizza. That’s a lot of pizza and definitely before, we had kids.

A national pizza chain sponsors the Washington Capitals and if the Caps win and score four or more goals, you can receive 50% off your order. Which means I can order two large pizzas for $16.00, how can you pass up a deal like that? Last night the Caps won 4-1 and guess what I cooked (lol) for dinner...PIZZA! And as I finish this post, the Caps have just scored their fourth goal and we still have another period to play. Could I be serving pizza two nights in a row?

Grant me the strength Lord to resist the possible pies in my future.

Dancing with Fear

I saw a moment on television when Tony Robbins asked a woman what she was most proud of and she responded her five sons. Robbins then asked why she was tearing as she mentioned her sons. She responded that they are doing everything she ever wanted. Robbins asked for her proudest moment and she responded with a wounded moment. Because if it were her proudest accomplishment she would have said they were doing everything, THEY wanted to do.

I have to admit I had tears too. I always say my daughters are my best accomplishment, but I would have answered Robbins with the same words and tears. While I am proud of them and they both are doing things I did and wanted to do, I somehow lost me in teaching them to be independent, capable and caring young women. I stopped doing what I was teaching. In that moment of the woman crying and as I write this I realized that I could still do those things that will give me the same pride in myself that I have in my daughters.

I started thinking what are they doing that I am no longer. At first, I thought they’re fearless, but that’s not true because they both tell me they are afraid, but push through it and accomplish or try to accomplish their goal because I said that that’s how we are supposed to live. They both thank me for teaching them to dance with their fear instead of resisting it and the funny part of all of this is that Tony Robbins said the same thing to his TV audience.

So why am I not dancing with my fear the way my children tell me I taught them to do. I could take the easy way out and say I am afraid to fail, but that’s not true because I fail on a daily basis and sometimes hourly. The truth is I’m  trying to figure that out, but that’s not the whole truth either. A voice whispers inside my head, ‘Everyone will laugh.’ I start to cry realizing that I fear not being accepted for who I am and not being supported when it may not be what others think or want me to be. Now that I’ve said it aloud and written it, I need and have to work on dancing with that fear. Maybe if I make more of an effort to dance with it, my resistance to living my life will ease. And while I might always fear people laughing at me or feeling unsupported, I won’t let it paralyze me.

Whatever is happening to me at any given time, I will “see it as it is, not worse than it is.” *

Until next time try dancing with your fear and I will dance with mine.

*Tony Robbins

Dream Home, Could it Be Mine

One of my favorite channels to watch is HGTV and right now, I am waiting like millions of others to see if I am the Park City Dream Home Winner. Stop laughing. I have the same chance as anyone else that entered to win. Funny thing is I’ve never faithfully entered to win one of the HGTV Dream Homes on a daily basis. Each day since January 1, I have submitted my two entries.

The house is beautiful and has all the natural elements I love surround the home, water and a snow capped mountain view. When I look at the picture of this home and its surrounding, I feel peace. I can see myself living in the home and community. You can do anything imaginable, the arts community is thriving, and that’s something I could totally get into. In less than seven hours, I could be a winner!

Stop laughing. It could happen and why not I a fresh start could be just what the universe has in store for me.

Until next time, keep dreaming!

On the Fence

I had my job interview that I was excited about and had been waiting for almost a year to get. It went well, they asked when I could start, but “First we have to have a background check.”

Okay no problem, I say. I fill out the information and now I wait. And while I’ve been waiting and had more time to think about the interview, I’m starting to wonder if this bookstore is really a place I want to work. 

During the interview, I wasn’t asked about books. I was however asked if I knew my alphabet?! Are you kidding me? I just told the manager that I am a writer. During the interview, the manager’s focus was their club card and was I willing to sell it? I would have to sell a certain percentage of cards or possibly risk losing my job. Oh and by the way, you’ll need to sell magazine subscriptions too.

When did the focus of a bookstore leave books behind? Why the huge push for magazine subscriptions and club cards, you know the managers didn’t have an answer. Why not push books and excellent customer service. Why not hire people who love books and want to talk to the customers about books. I’m all for pushin’ books, but, not so much the club card or magazines. I certainly don’t go to the bookstore because I have a club card; I go because I want books. Until a few years ago, I went because I knew the bookstore employees loved books the way I did and would ask the right questions and have a short list right off the tops of their heads for books I might enjoy. The customer service was exceptional. Then it all changed the stores felt they had to compete with the likes of Amazon but to what end. A bricks and mortar store can’t compete with price, but can beat them with knowledge and customer service so why not push your service, knowledge and books. As a consumer, I would love to save money, but I also put a premium on customer service. I will pay more for excellence. 

Now that I’ve had time to think about everything, I am on the fence as to whether I want to spend my weekends hawking club cards and magazines, when the whole reason I applied was to be a bookseller and serve customers.

Open to Opportunity

With all this thinking about dreams and working to make them come true, I also believe you have to be open to the change that comes with your dreams coming true. If we’re not prepared for what comes with and after our dreams come true how can, we enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Over the last few months, I have applied to many part-time job listings all over town. All I want is a part-time job of 15 to 20 hours a week to help the family pay some debt off and to do some fun extra stuff. Instead of just wishing, I had a part-time job I should have been more specific. What I really want is a fun part-time job that won’t feel like a job. I want to use my passion for a hobby, so what would my fun part-time job be; well it would involve working with animals or books. Anytime I saw or heard of openings at the local pet stores or bookstore I applied. I still sent out resumes and applications for all the other jobs because I can enjoy most jobs, it’s all in my attitude and I would be truly grateful for any part-time job, but pets with their people and books are the tops for me. For me when I asked what I want to do with the rest of my life it always comes back to books and dogs, so working with animals and or books are optimum.

I would love to be a dog trainer. I have fun training my dogs and would love to share that joy with others. I want to write novels, well I do, I’m just not published. In addition, I love to read and share my love of story with other readers. Perhaps my stating exactly what I would like and being open to these job opportunities is the reason I finally got the call for an interview. I’m totally excited about the possibilities this job could bring my way. Other than the obvious financial aspect, I will get the chance to meet and talk with like-minded people.

Open yourself to all the possibilities your dreams can and will give and who knows…the sky’s the limit!