March Madness

No I'm not talking about the month of nonstop basketball...I'm talking about my own life. March is only halfway in and its been insanity for the most part. But honestly I wouldn't like my life if there wasn't some constant unknown or hurried hectic days. It really makes you appreciate your downtime more and value your personal time overall. I've been planning trips for the summer to give me something to work towards and it is actually help me focus my attention and I've been more productive lately.
Ironically enough we had my nephew this past weekend and he actually slowed me down alot. It was the weirdest thing! I actually stayed in my PJs most of the weekend and we played board games and I cooked homemade meals. It was really nice compared to the constant, panicky running around I usually do on the weekends. Now he is a few years away from being a teenager so it's not like he is a baby who needs constant care but still a child. Now some of you may be thinking how can I possibly be that busy when I don't have children yet but you would be surprised. As of right now I have managed to book up my calendar until after the second week of April which sounds overwhelming but things are actually slow right now. The husband isn't always fond of this since it can put a damper on spur of the moment things but it gives me things to look forward to. There is race weekend, and birthdays, and hikes (yes, hikes), and concerts, and SO much more to look forward to!
I have learned that busy does not have to equal unhappiness and stress. At work I've taken a different approach to things. Prioritizing is key! Many people can't seem to figure out this simple task. Just because something is a priority to someone else doesn't mean that it is a priority to me. My fathers favorite saying says poor planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part. Isn't this true? Now my boss is always a priority since I'm technically his assistant as in any employee-boss relationship but everyone else is second. There are certain things that can be delegated and once they are delegated they are not my responsibility and I have no control over them. Letting go is often a big deal for me since I like to see things done the right way. However, I'm learning to let go and let others take responsibility for their own actions. Using this in work and personal relationships takes a lot of pressure off my plate.
All in all madness is not always a bad thing. I've always liked a busy schedule and have always been a multitasker who loses interest if things aren't fast paced all the time so this lifestyle works for me. Madness doesn't have to be stressful or overwhelming. It IS manageable my friends. And once you learn to cut stress out of the equation you may find that your soul and spirit would diminish somewhat without that so-called "madness".

On Middle Ground

Finding peace within your life is sometimes a difficult task especially when you go through a so called "metamorphosis" of who you were and who you want to be. Now some of you may think that old saying "People will never change" is true but I, on the other hand, beg to differ. I've seen it first hand that people are capable of changing whether it is for better or worse. I've watched people that I never thought would settle down get married and have a wonderful, healthy marriage. I've watched successful and intelligent people waste their life away to drugs. Change is inevitable in today's world but how we handle it really has more of an affect on us than we sometimes realize.
I've realized that just because you change doesn't mean that you have to let go of everything and do a 360. You have to find that middle ground and some sort of balance between it all or you will lose yourself in the change itself. For example, have you ever noticed how all of a sudden when people start going to church they suddenly become this totally different person? Not true. Just because you have religion doesn't mean that you are necessarily spiritual. Judging others, being selfish, and being a hypocrite are not acts of spirituality by any means. This is one of the main reasons that I have avoided church for so long. People get so caught up in the hype of telling others that they praise God they forget the real reason they are there. You have to find the middle ground where you can have a connection to God that helps you not makes you feel superior to others. It is a lot harder than it looks trust me...I'm there.
Growing up is another time when you must find middle ground to stand on. As we grow up we choose different paths than our lifelong friends and we meet new people. All of my good friends have children and sometimes I wonder where our lives coincide. While I may spend more time working or taking trips they are spending time with one of life's most precious gifts and making memories too. Does this mean that we can't be friends or spend time together? No! It means that there are certain aspects of my life that I turn to other people for advice or help on. I can't expect us to have everything in common because the truth is we are all wonderfully different. You must find that middle ground and remember the things that you do share in common. For most of us it is laughing and enjoying life. If you make yourself feel like an outcast then chances are you probably will be an outcast. Don't ever lose what you once loved about someone!
The relationship that my parents and I have is wonderful. It doesn't seem as strong as it once was but that is because I will someday have my own family too and that means that I must grow on my own. At first this was extremely hard for me to deal with because I am such a family person but I'm realizing that it is just life. I don't talk to my parents everyday anymore but I make sure that they know they are loved and mean the world to me. We take time out to do things together and we give each other our own space to allow me to grow. Do my parents really need to know everything that goes on in my life? Nope and I wouldn't want to stress them out either. At first this was really hard but I think I've found the middle ground. If I'm really hurting or bothered about something that Brad or my friends can't help with then I turn to my parents.
With all that said I think this mentality allows me to function in day to day life without letting too much of the junk get to me. There is no good or bad in things it is just an association label that we put on things. I mean if God is behind the scenes and we can't change certain things then why not accept them and be on middle ground? It's a great key to happiness I've found! And for those things that are sometimes hard to swallow....just breathe!

Noteworthy Books

The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller

A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Just a few for now...suffering from writer's block lately.

When I Grow Up

That is the beginning of a sentence that most of us can remembering answering since as far back as kindergarten. And as most of us recall the answers were usually firefighters, nurses, teachers, scientists, Presidents, etc. However, you never heard children saying they wanted to be accountants or work for the IRS. So how in the heck did I end up crunching numbers for a living? To be truthful I really like what I do and I am very passionate about it (pass the barf bag please). While I do like my actual "career" I don't think it's quite exciting enough. No wonder little Johnny in the back of the class never said he aspired to be a number cruncher for a living.
Somewhere along the way we get lost into the traditional career track and lose sight of what really excites us. I feel like I'm so consumed with work that I have forgotten about the things that I actually like to do when there is time permitting. I think people who have children are blessed because they actually get to live through their children's eyes which brings back that innocent fun loving individual but for those of us who don't have children yet it can sometimes be a barrier. It definitely takes more of a self-discovery journey to find those things that we have "lost". Now my husband has a wide array of interests that he enjoys such as golf, poker, bowling, and many many more. While I do like to read I would like to hope that on my gravestone I'm not remembered by the sentence "She loved to read". I mean that makes me sound really lame and flat.
I think it's all about aligning my life around my personality. I work in an office with no windows and basically argue with numbers all day until I'm blue in the face. I would like to consider myself a social butterfly and an outgoing person which does not align with independent work at all. I'm in the process of revamping my career goals to satisfy my current career situation. I mean it is possible to be an accountant and be outgoing and social. CPAs get to visit multiple clients, they get summers off to spend time with their children, they get to consult clients on various issues, etc. In college I didn't want to even think about trying to sit for the CPA exam because it would require me sitting in for one more grueling semester and then spend a year studying for something that I may or may not pass. But isn't that what life is about...taking chances?
So all of this is getting at the point that I'm going to return to school and finish those grueling 13 hours so that I can sit for the CPA exam in a year or so. I've talked with Brad and he agrees that it would be a good career move since it will add more of the aspects that I like to my job. The kid in me wants to retire early and take trips around the world but the adult in me knows that I won't be able to get there unless I step it up now. Wish me luck!

For all my book readers...

So this post is for all of those who follow my blog that read whether it be for school (textbooks), for a hobby, or to learn something new. I was at my mom's the other night reading through one of her People magazine's and came across the most interesting website yet. It's paperbackswap.com and it's absolutely amazing if you love to read but hate keeping a bookshelf full of books you'll never read again. So here is the lowdown on it:

*You just sign up for your account using your home address, name, and such. No credit card/debit card info since it's absolutely free! All you have to pay for is the cost to ship the book to your fellow swapper. I just sent my first book out and it cost me $2.41 to send it.

*You can print the mailing label right off of your printer at home and drop the book in your mailbox which makes it SO easy to do right? Now I just paid paperbackswap.com to buy the postage. I added $10 worth of postage on my account and they charged a 50 cent charge so all together it was $10.50. They also charged a few cents when I used the postage on my account but what is 50 something cents for a new book?

*Now when the fellow swapper gets the book I get a free book credit to use on whatever book I want at no additional costs. The other person goes through the same process of paying the shipping for sending me the book.

*By the way 1 credit=1 book whether hardback or paperback. 2 credits=1 audio book. You can earn 2 credits by posting 10 books on your sell list. Needless to say that was the easiest part for me because I had about 20 to list.

Now at first I was skeptical b/c I wondered how these people are making any money but then I realized that they make a few cents off of each postage transaction. Now to me my 50 something cents was nominal for a good book that I would normally pay $20 for at Barnes and Noble but if they have 100,000 transactions a day this will definitely add up and they didn't even have to do anything. So as you can see I'm pretty stoked about this whole deal b/c I will never have to pay full price (or half price for that matter) for a good book ever again! YAY! Try it out...you'll be hooked!

Office Space

Okay so I like accounting...I like it alot actually. However, some days I can't help but to feel like I'm living proof that the dialogues in Office Space actually do exist. I mean someone had to come up with that material from somewhere; or at least the inspiration for it. Most days I just mosey in and out of my office wondering where this is all headed. As I walk by the coffee pot and interact in "water cooler" chat I can't help but feel like this lame character from a movie.
I'm currently working towards adding a little "spice" in my career but that will take a few years so for now I'm just trying to watch and observe for future reference. Throughout the bad days and brain racking problems, however, I do find humor in certain things that help me hang in there. Examples are referenced below. Eat your heart out!

-Anything on the break room counter is free game for everyone. Kind of an unspoken rule around the place but if you leave something on the counter and come back in an hour chances are that it's already devoured. Hmm....note to self....bring expired leftovers in to avoid having a smelly garbage can at home...lol. Just kidding. I wouldn't do that!

-Most of the people I work for are family so there are about 10 different Mr. XYZ's. It's always fun to test the telemarketers to see if they are slick enough to try and get through. Ummm...yes may I please speak to Mr. XYZ? Well.....which one? You have 3 tries to get a name right.

-We don't have a human resources department anymore since we downsized. You want to file a complaint about a comment a coworker made to you? Tough shit....not only will no one believe you but you have no one to tell it to. Lol. I must admit this is pretty genius.

-The vending machine people "repossessed" our Coke and snack machine. Who does that? I guess we weren't making them enough money in the machines. I mean how much can you make at 60 cents a pop seriously? It was like one day I went to get a Coke and saw the machines being taken out. It was heartbreak right there.

-My office has moved from downstairs to upstairs and back downstairs. I'm pretty sure that my next "promotion" will be straight upstairs to the caged corner of the storage closet. Which in considering that it doesn't sound all that bad....lol. I can nap when I need to, talk to myself, or blast the radio. Maybe I'll put in a request to be moved first! ;)

When the tough gets going, I just look around. There are plenty of things to laugh about; even if its only ironically funny.

I figured I would take a minute and explain just why we (women) need men in our lives and what makes us love them so much. Yesterday I came home to find my whole house clean. Thank the dear Lord because it wasn't in the greatest condition when I left for work. Now I will be the first to admit that I have a little OCD so of course I started scanning the entire house to perform the 25 point inspection. The hubby decided to help a sister out by doing the laundry, cleaning the kitchen and such. Everything was gleaming and I swear I saw those shimmery sparkles that you only see on the commercials when things are cleaned w/ the "better" product.

I began to cook dinner and when I reached for the dishtowel which I keep handy on the door to the oven I find this.....a hand towel for our bathroom. Now some of you may be thinking "And, what's your point?". My point is that in my husband's world there are no dishrags vs. bath rags. No mixing bowl vs. cereal bowl. Things are much more simple in his world than in a woman's world. Thanks to a dear friend he now has his very own set of "nesting" cereal bowls (which are actually mixing bowls). Thanks Shan! ;) At first it bothered me to watch him pour half a box of cereal and half a gallon of milk into the MIXING bowls and eat cereal but then I realized how dumb the thought really was. After all, it technically is just a bowl.

He helps bring me back a simplistic realm where things don't have to serve the purpose they were intended for. The "user" police aren't going to come and give me a citation or throw me in jail. Now I am not saying that I always agree with him on his bright ideas but for the most part I'm learning to let it go 99% of the time because it's just silly and it makes me feel like a weirdo which is always fun! It still burns me up when he uses my dish rags to clean his shoes especially when they are covered in grease afterwards but in his mind he really doesn't see what was so wrong with it. I'm going to wash it anyways right? I am starting to learn the opposite sex and their thinking logic.

It's no wonder that he isn't an emotional roller coaster like me. He doesn't overexert his mind by worrying about the small stuff. Doing laundry is a breeze when you just throw everything in together and put a little laundry detergent in there. You ask what about bleach for the whites? Enh, he doesn't worry about that either because it is an extra step and adds time to the chore. I'm learning to bend and it sure does make this marriage thing run a whole lot smoother. Now when I ask for help I take what I can get and I know what to expect...blue hand towels...lol.