On Pins & Needles

To say my stress level has been at an all time high lately is NOT an understatement. And we all know that stress exacerbates any and all dis-ease or sickness you may have going on.

So as I felt my body in a constant state of tension, my temper constantly hovering around a 7 (and that was on a good day) and my drive, excitement & energy for writing decline.  After a brief convo with my friend Mynfel (who’s also taking acupunture right now) I decided it was time for me to go back to the acupuncturist.

I originally started acupuncture treatments about 5 yrs ago, to help me deal with & eliminate pain associated with RA. Once I got better, I stopped going–it was very difficult to fit the treatments into my schedule at the time,  but I always knew that this was a practice I would like to keep as part of my health plan.

So after getting recommended to the same place by two separate people, last week I had my first acupuncture treatment in well over 5 years.  Even though I’d been though it before, I was still a little nervous.  But the results speak for themselves, even a week later. 

While I didn’t get a full needle count, here’s what I can best estimate:

         *Head-2
         *Ear-5
         *Arm-2
         *Abdomen-3
         *Legs- @4
         *Feet- @3

So roughly 19  needles, a little aromatherapy & an hour later, I left the office feeling relaxed and lighter in spirit.  Now, the relaxation is more than likely a by-product of the nap I took during my session.

So session 1 was a win!  I’ll be having weekly sessions for a while, as I work to get my body back in harmony.  Then I hope to go down to about once a month as part of my overall health plan.

Tags: health & wellness, natural remedies

Happy Birthday to Me

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I have super busy with work (several pressing deadlines, and I mean SEVERAL, all at once), so that means my writing and blog updates have to suffer.

But, I wanted to pop in quickly and post a pic of the best birthday gift I think I’ve ever recieved:

So I woke up the morning of my birthday to the prettiest wrapped gift I think my hubby has ever given me.  So I hurriedly tore open the bag, and feasted my eyes upon the prettiest, bestest, most nicest gift I think i’ve ever recieved (well, besides my iPhone that is.)

Check out the newest addition to my cube at work:

Just beautiful, ain’t it? 

Tags: Happiness

Real Life Dilbert Moments

I got this in an email from a friend and it was too funny to not share:

A magazine recently ran a “Dilbert Quotes” contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life Dilbert-type managers.  These were voted the top quotes in corporate America :

• “As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards.  Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees will receive their cards in two weeks.”  
  (This was the winning quote from Fred Dales, Microsoft Corp. in Redmond WA )

• “What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter.”  
  ( Lykes Lines Shipping)

•  ”E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data.  It should be used only for company business.” 
  (Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)

• “This project is so important we can’t let things that are more important interfere with it.” 
  (Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)

• “Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule.”    
  (Plant Manager, Delco Corporation)    <—This is my personal favorite

•  ”No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We’ve been working on it for months.  Now go act busy for a few weeks and I’ll let you know when it’s time to tell them.”   
  (R&D supervisor, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing/3M Corp.)

• Quote from the Boss: “Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say.”
  (Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)

• “We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees.”   (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)

Tags: funny

The Day of the Wolverine!

It is COLD outside.  And no, I don’t care if  weather we’re  experiencing here in the south is nothing compared to what the plains or the north sees in the winter.  I really don’t.  I’m a southerner and we’ve been hovering around the 30’s (on a good day) for a couple of weeks now, and in the teen’s (on the bad ones).

So when it get’s this cold, I have to pull out Wolverine:

Wolverine, as named by one of my good friends, is the one of the hats I purchased while visiting  NY last year in February (like a nut, talk about cold– that visit was downright painful at times, but I had a blast!!)  Wolverine was very good to me in NY and initially, I didn’t want to buy him because I knew I would never have a need for a fur trimmed hat with ear flaps in the the south. 

Boy was I wrong!

Wolverine has been getting steady action for well over a week now.  And I’m happy to report that I’ve not seen anything that even looks like my beloved Wolverine when I’m out and about.  Oh, I get stares, trust me, but I really don’t care.  My head is nice & warm and the cold wind is not blowing into my ears (which is quite painful). 

Tags: cute, fun

Happy New Year

It’s 2010 and it’s a new day!

I usually don’t set new year resolutions, but this year I decided to give it a try.  Plus, I tend to work better when I have a plan. 

So here goes, my two main resolutions for 2010 are:

1.  Start a regular exercise program- the goal here is not to lose weight, but to become a healthier me by getting in shape and toning up.  More energy is my ultimate motivation here. 

2.  De-stress and de-clutter- I don’t mean physically, although the hubby would say that I need to get rid of some of my books) but mentally.  I want to learn to not sweat the small stuff as much in 2010.  This also means cutting the dead weight.  God sends people into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.  As tough as it is when a season ends, or a reason is over, there’s no point in trying to hold on to something that’s no longer there.

3.  Get back on schedule- this goal works in tandem a bit with resolution #2.  Planning and scheduling will help me de-stress, but this one goes a bit bigger than that.  In 2009, I made a conscious effort to put away my planner (because I’ve been accused of being anal a time or two, can you believe that??   ) I was told this would help me relax more.  Did it? Ummm no!  Well, the experiment wasn’t a total waste.  I did learn that I don’t have to plot out every little thing that goes on in my world; however, things tend to go a bit smoother when I have a plan.

Peace and blessing to everyone in 2010.

Tags: resolutions