Not sure why but the past month has found us in the path of more thunderstorms and tornado warnings than usual for this time of year. In Missouri they can pop up and disappear with little warning, unless of course, you keep your eye on the weather radar. Whether you access it on a computer, phone, or TV it is fascinating to watch and helps you be prepared.
Tonight was one of those nights when we knew the storm was coming, which way it was turning, and what community it was going to hit when. The visual warning gives us time to prepare, as we did about an hour ago; moving chairs and plants close to the house, gathering pets to safety and laying down the basketball goal that during one wind storm ended up head first in my windshield. By the time the wind, lightening and sheets of rain hit we were able to watch the powerful display from a place of safety.
Which got me thinking, wouldn't it be great to have life radar? No more wondering what was coming up next, just bring up the radar and see when the next emergency, setback, challenge, promotion, or other wonderful event in life was going to happen. You could be prepared for whatever comes your way with full confidence and a sense of calm. But it doesn't work that way does it? The last few months have proven that changes can happen with little warning and assuming that everything as you know it will stay the same is foolish. We can still plan, dream and imagine the future as long as we understand that what we're counting on may not be in our future.
That's why you can't plan for specific life events. But you can have faith, be alert, and be the type of person that knows whatever happens to you in life can be handled. No specifics there but I think I'd rather take my chances and trust rather than always knowing what's coming next.
Give me unpredictable pop up storms, they keep me on my toes!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
We are renovating! For a week now we have been without the use of our washer, dryer, stove and basically our entire kitchen. The first project is replacing the old vinyl with the awesome tile that took me three months to pick out and next is the counter tops.
Everything thing is going well, except for a few problems tiling through the six doorways involved in the project. The contractor is even nice, considerate, and does an excellent job. But, (you knew that was coming didn't you) no one can describe to you how renovations can be so upsetting to a household. Laundry had to be done at the laundromat 13 miles away; a load was forgotten in the washer so we had to go back again to rescue and dry it while we twiddled our thumbs. My keys are never in the same place and I can only hope we've kept up on the mail. The fridge is on the back porch, the washer and dryer are in the foyer, and the stove, along with pots and pans, drawers and tons of plastic containers have taken over the dining room. There are so many decisions to make along the way that as soon as I get a project started I am called away to approve a threshold, figure out a trim piece or make sure the grout is the right color. Plus the cleaning and straightening that needs to be done when the job is finished will be monumental.
Today might be the day he finishes up but I'm not getting my hopes up. As we near the end my advice is never go into a renovation expecting everything to turn out as planned.
Everything thing is going well, except for a few problems tiling through the six doorways involved in the project. The contractor is even nice, considerate, and does an excellent job. But, (you knew that was coming didn't you) no one can describe to you how renovations can be so upsetting to a household. Laundry had to be done at the laundromat 13 miles away; a load was forgotten in the washer so we had to go back again to rescue and dry it while we twiddled our thumbs. My keys are never in the same place and I can only hope we've kept up on the mail. The fridge is on the back porch, the washer and dryer are in the foyer, and the stove, along with pots and pans, drawers and tons of plastic containers have taken over the dining room. There are so many decisions to make along the way that as soon as I get a project started I am called away to approve a threshold, figure out a trim piece or make sure the grout is the right color. Plus the cleaning and straightening that needs to be done when the job is finished will be monumental.
Today might be the day he finishes up but I'm not getting my hopes up. As we near the end my advice is never go into a renovation expecting everything to turn out as planned.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Grissom is gone? Say it isn’t so!
Last week was the final episode of CSI that will feature Gil Grissom. For the past 9 years I have watched and devoured every detail of the show but I kept coming back because I love Grissom so much. I can’t imagine the show without him, no matter how great Laurence Fishburne turns out to be as Dr. Langston.
As a tribute to him I’m sharing the following article from my newsletter that Grissom inspired:
FOCUS POCUS
I love CSI. Not the watered down versions transported to other cities around the country; I mean the original Las Vegas one with Gil Grissom at the helm. I loved it before it was cool and the rest of the world started watching and I think it is intelligent television despite the plunging necklines and often-provocative scenarios. It makes me think, it challenges my brain, and Grissom adds a witty thoughtfulness to every episode.
After years of devoted CSI watching, one thing has always puzzled me. I noticed that when they begin to investigate a crime scene they whip out their flashlights. It doesn’t matter if it is midday or 3a.m. They use flashlights to examine every inch of the area, but why?
Recently I went on a frenzied search of my office for a particular book. After climbing bookshelves, pulling out drawers and blaming members of my family for my dilemma I thought of CSI. What would Grissom do? Feeling a little stupid I pulled out a flashlight and started going over all of the same places I had searched before. It took me five minutes and two shelves to find the long lost book.
I call my finding the Focus Pocus Effect. The flashlight helped me focus my full attention on what I was looking at instead of glossing over the details. The same thing occurs when a spotlight focuses our attention on the lead actor in a play.
So what has this got to do with you and your life? I think many of us inadvertently spend most of our life out of focus. Much of what we see and hear is a blur and we lose important details along the way. We lose out because we are so concerned with reliving the past or planning the future instead of attending to the present. Surprisingly, learning to pay attention to the NOW slows us down and makes us more efficient, productive and energetic. It’s called being mindful.
While you could stay focused by carrying a flashlight wherever you go, try these simple tips for living and focusing in the moment:
*Stop finishing sentences for others in conversations
*Stop thinking about last night or tomorrow while your living today.
*Start talking less and listening more.
(And it wouldn’t hurt to carry a small flashlight in your pocket or purse as a reminder!)
As a tribute to him I’m sharing the following article from my newsletter that Grissom inspired:
FOCUS POCUS
I love CSI. Not the watered down versions transported to other cities around the country; I mean the original Las Vegas one with Gil Grissom at the helm. I loved it before it was cool and the rest of the world started watching and I think it is intelligent television despite the plunging necklines and often-provocative scenarios. It makes me think, it challenges my brain, and Grissom adds a witty thoughtfulness to every episode.
After years of devoted CSI watching, one thing has always puzzled me. I noticed that when they begin to investigate a crime scene they whip out their flashlights. It doesn’t matter if it is midday or 3a.m. They use flashlights to examine every inch of the area, but why?
Recently I went on a frenzied search of my office for a particular book. After climbing bookshelves, pulling out drawers and blaming members of my family for my dilemma I thought of CSI. What would Grissom do? Feeling a little stupid I pulled out a flashlight and started going over all of the same places I had searched before. It took me five minutes and two shelves to find the long lost book.
I call my finding the Focus Pocus Effect. The flashlight helped me focus my full attention on what I was looking at instead of glossing over the details. The same thing occurs when a spotlight focuses our attention on the lead actor in a play.
So what has this got to do with you and your life? I think many of us inadvertently spend most of our life out of focus. Much of what we see and hear is a blur and we lose important details along the way. We lose out because we are so concerned with reliving the past or planning the future instead of attending to the present. Surprisingly, learning to pay attention to the NOW slows us down and makes us more efficient, productive and energetic. It’s called being mindful.
While you could stay focused by carrying a flashlight wherever you go, try these simple tips for living and focusing in the moment:
*Stop finishing sentences for others in conversations
*Stop thinking about last night or tomorrow while your living today.
*Start talking less and listening more.
(And it wouldn’t hurt to carry a small flashlight in your pocket or purse as a reminder!)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
May I Help You?
Let's talk about telephone customer service. Today I called AT&T to check on setting up wi-fi for my home. I have DSL through them and, after searching everywhere I could think of on their website for the quick answer, I decided to call customer service. BIG MISTAKE.
I know it is never fun, but sometimes if you can get past the annoyingly calm and condescending male automated voice and can avoid the 'valley girl-my voice raises at the end of every sentence' female voice there is hope. Today, to begin with I got someone nice who knew nothing about DSL but did seem genuine and ended up talking me through switching to a different phone plan for one of our lines that will save me money. OK, that's fine, but then it went downhill. She said she could switch me to the DSL/modem department and I could ask about a new one. The next thing I know I am listening to the valley girl voice asking me about packages! I quickly began punching O over and over and eventually got a customer service rep, for UPS! Yes, I'm not kidding! The UPS lady said for some reason they keep getting Verizon and AT&T customers transferred to them and she was sorry but she could not transfer me back to AT&T. How long do you think that will continue before the right people get the message and fix it?
My quick question turned into two more routes through the system before I got a real person who could transfer me to DSL and gave me the number in case something went wrong. What I thought would take 15 minutes, ended up taking most of the hour.
I can't change the whole system but I do offer these suggestions:
*Give people a choice of automated voices and replace the annoying voices with ones that have a caring and compassionate tone.
*When someone reports an experience where you get transferred to a completely different company, direct them to someone so it can be reported.
*Teach all of your customer service people to have compassion and be able to say "I'm so sorry that happened to you, I will try to make this a better experience." At least they could acknowledge that you have a right to be a bit upset and they understand.
So be careful out there and if you need to call customer service, be prepared.
I know it is never fun, but sometimes if you can get past the annoyingly calm and condescending male automated voice and can avoid the 'valley girl-my voice raises at the end of every sentence' female voice there is hope. Today, to begin with I got someone nice who knew nothing about DSL but did seem genuine and ended up talking me through switching to a different phone plan for one of our lines that will save me money. OK, that's fine, but then it went downhill. She said she could switch me to the DSL/modem department and I could ask about a new one. The next thing I know I am listening to the valley girl voice asking me about packages! I quickly began punching O over and over and eventually got a customer service rep, for UPS! Yes, I'm not kidding! The UPS lady said for some reason they keep getting Verizon and AT&T customers transferred to them and she was sorry but she could not transfer me back to AT&T. How long do you think that will continue before the right people get the message and fix it?
My quick question turned into two more routes through the system before I got a real person who could transfer me to DSL and gave me the number in case something went wrong. What I thought would take 15 minutes, ended up taking most of the hour.
I can't change the whole system but I do offer these suggestions:
*Give people a choice of automated voices and replace the annoying voices with ones that have a caring and compassionate tone.
*When someone reports an experience where you get transferred to a completely different company, direct them to someone so it can be reported.
*Teach all of your customer service people to have compassion and be able to say "I'm so sorry that happened to you, I will try to make this a better experience." At least they could acknowledge that you have a right to be a bit upset and they understand.
So be careful out there and if you need to call customer service, be prepared.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Darla the Plumber?
Well, that might be stretching it, but here's the story. A couple of weekends ago my husband, Paul, embarked on his yearly "Follow the Tigers" trip when he and his friends travel to watch the University of Missouri football team play an away game; this year it was to Lincoln, Nebraska. My daughter, Doran, and I look forward to this time to do our stuff, which usually includes an out of town shopping trip, I mean, it's only fair right?
Around 10:30 p.m. on Friday night we were getting in order so we could leave as soon as possible on Saturday morning. I was cleaning up in the kitchen and, having used the last paper towel, asked Doran to go downstairs and bring up some more rolls. When she came up from the basement she offhandedly asked, "You know the basement floor is all wet, right?" (This is when everything fell apart!)
I, in my old, but still comfy Victoria's Secret robe (do not think slinky or silky here, it's cotton and covers my entire body), headed down and discovered wet carpet, wet boxes, and water dripping from a pipe on the furnace that came from who knows where. After retreating to grab a pair of Crocks, I returned and began moving boxes, old golf club bags, a set of folding tv trays and 14-year-old Lego toys out of the way so I could begin to figure out what was happening. Doran was getting a bit excited now and wanted to help so I sent her for a flashlight, some old towels and finally banished her upstairs to keep her out of my way and iron our clothes for our shopping trip I was NOT giving up on yet!
Paul, was so glad to hear from me at 11 p.m. when I semi-hysterically told him the furnace was leaking, the basement was wet and asked if he had a clue what to do! Our plumber friend was nowhere to be found or else wisely decided not to answer anyone who was calling him after 10 o'clock at night. There were more phone calls back and forth, more drama, a few raised voices and a lot more leaking water until I told both of them to leave me alone to think and if I need them, I'll let them know. I sat on the damp concrete floor in a tiny space between the water heater, furnace and wall with dirty towels and my beloved robe wrapped around my legs as I mentally inventoried the situation and what I thought would work. By about 1:30 a.m. the leak was temporarily stopped with the aid of a hose and clamp I borrowed from the dehumidifier, the cut off necks of two large balloons I found in the attic and a lot of creative thinking.
By 2 a.m. I had notified Paul, taken a shower, and climbed into bed exhausted but kind of proud that I save the day, or at least the basement, by using my creativity and whatever we had on hand. My stop gap solution held for 3 days until Paul and the plumber could handle it in a more conventional way.
The lesson to be learned is, creativity isn't just for the fine arts, it's for life and it's inside you to use anytime you want to access it; I would suggest today!
Around 10:30 p.m. on Friday night we were getting in order so we could leave as soon as possible on Saturday morning. I was cleaning up in the kitchen and, having used the last paper towel, asked Doran to go downstairs and bring up some more rolls. When she came up from the basement she offhandedly asked, "You know the basement floor is all wet, right?" (This is when everything fell apart!)
I, in my old, but still comfy Victoria's Secret robe (do not think slinky or silky here, it's cotton and covers my entire body), headed down and discovered wet carpet, wet boxes, and water dripping from a pipe on the furnace that came from who knows where. After retreating to grab a pair of Crocks, I returned and began moving boxes, old golf club bags, a set of folding tv trays and 14-year-old Lego toys out of the way so I could begin to figure out what was happening. Doran was getting a bit excited now and wanted to help so I sent her for a flashlight, some old towels and finally banished her upstairs to keep her out of my way and iron our clothes for our shopping trip I was NOT giving up on yet!
Paul, was so glad to hear from me at 11 p.m. when I semi-hysterically told him the furnace was leaking, the basement was wet and asked if he had a clue what to do! Our plumber friend was nowhere to be found or else wisely decided not to answer anyone who was calling him after 10 o'clock at night. There were more phone calls back and forth, more drama, a few raised voices and a lot more leaking water until I told both of them to leave me alone to think and if I need them, I'll let them know. I sat on the damp concrete floor in a tiny space between the water heater, furnace and wall with dirty towels and my beloved robe wrapped around my legs as I mentally inventoried the situation and what I thought would work. By about 1:30 a.m. the leak was temporarily stopped with the aid of a hose and clamp I borrowed from the dehumidifier, the cut off necks of two large balloons I found in the attic and a lot of creative thinking.
By 2 a.m. I had notified Paul, taken a shower, and climbed into bed exhausted but kind of proud that I save the day, or at least the basement, by using my creativity and whatever we had on hand. My stop gap solution held for 3 days until Paul and the plumber could handle it in a more conventional way.
The lesson to be learned is, creativity isn't just for the fine arts, it's for life and it's inside you to use anytime you want to access it; I would suggest today!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Walnuts, leaves, and apples, Oh My!
I don't need a calendar to tell me that Fall has arrived. I can tell by the walnuts, leaves and apples that sprinkle my yard, deck and driveway turning them into obstacle courses. It seems no matter how hard we try we cannot keep up with the pace of nature as it deposits it's wares. Sure it can all be a pain, but autumn has always been my favorite season. I like the winding down of outdoor activities and chores as we begin to focus more on the inside. And, growing up on the farm, it always signaled a time of harvesting and gathering what you have grown and produced. I still can't help but feel I need to be using every last tomato, apple and squash before the first freeze.
It can also be a time of reflection and introspection as we hopefully have more time for reading, thinking and creating in the months ahead. This month in my e-newsletter I shared the fact that our two large walnut trees result in surprise bombs that can hit us at anytime as we cross the yard; much like life hits us with unexpected circumstances and challenges. Sometimes we can dodge the bad stuff that tries to get in our way, but sooner or later we get hit. We always have a choice, deal with it the best we can, bury our head in the sand or bring confidence and power to our life by marching on with a great attitude to boot! My choice today is focus on the upside and before you know it it will become automatic. Hmmmm, that might involve making an apple crisp so apples don't go to waste!
It can also be a time of reflection and introspection as we hopefully have more time for reading, thinking and creating in the months ahead. This month in my e-newsletter I shared the fact that our two large walnut trees result in surprise bombs that can hit us at anytime as we cross the yard; much like life hits us with unexpected circumstances and challenges. Sometimes we can dodge the bad stuff that tries to get in our way, but sooner or later we get hit. We always have a choice, deal with it the best we can, bury our head in the sand or bring confidence and power to our life by marching on with a great attitude to boot! My choice today is focus on the upside and before you know it it will become automatic. Hmmmm, that might involve making an apple crisp so apples don't go to waste!
Monday, July 21, 2008
3 Weeks, 2 Weddings
This has become the summer of weddings! Who knew that anyone that was even close to getting married in our family would choose the month of July to do it in? The first one took place July 5th on the beautiful Outer banks of North Carolina at Kill Devil Hills. We luckily were able to go several days beforehand to enjoy the ocean, the weather, and the family who had gathered there. It was a rare time because all of the cousins were together, making new connections, plotting against the grownups, and generally having a good time. Everything with the wedding went off without a hitch and the bride, who you think would be the nervous one, was totally relaxed and in control. I especially liked it because I was responsible for nothing, which rarely happens in my life anymore. I was able to enjoy every bit of it which included lots of time to visit and catch up with my sister-in-law Sherry who happened to be the mother of the groom.
The second wedding occurs this weekend and involves more hands on experience. My husband's son is getting married in good ole 'hot in July', Missouri. The wedding, which was going to be outside has been moved inside, because the weather forecast is showing little relief for sweltering guests. Our daughter will be a bridesmaid for the first time and is a bit nervous about the walking in a long dress part, but whatever happens will make for terrific memories. Maybe she should start practicing soon? We actually have some responsibilities in this wedding production so the week will be busy and full of preparations, relatives flying in from other states, and I'm sure, a last minute crisis or two.
So we will end the month with two new additions to our family tree, both named Sarah, and both brave young women. I'd love to hear your wedding experiences and suggestions for keeping calm as the day approaches.
The second wedding occurs this weekend and involves more hands on experience. My husband's son is getting married in good ole 'hot in July', Missouri. The wedding, which was going to be outside has been moved inside, because the weather forecast is showing little relief for sweltering guests. Our daughter will be a bridesmaid for the first time and is a bit nervous about the walking in a long dress part, but whatever happens will make for terrific memories. Maybe she should start practicing soon? We actually have some responsibilities in this wedding production so the week will be busy and full of preparations, relatives flying in from other states, and I'm sure, a last minute crisis or two.
So we will end the month with two new additions to our family tree, both named Sarah, and both brave young women. I'd love to hear your wedding experiences and suggestions for keeping calm as the day approaches.
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