Day #87 - Flew Season

Yes, "flew" season...time just keeps flying by like the wind. It seems so crazy that it is the end of yet another year. How does it happen so quickly?

I have been nursing a cold for going on three weeks now and Travis is now well on his way, hacking and blowing his nose sore. I think getting sick made December go quicker than planned. I was totally unprepared for Christmas until the last minute, which always leaves me feeling hurried and un-Christmas-like.

Luckily, I was responsible for our office giving this year and this gave me some feeling of the Christmas Spirit. We collected coats for The Road Home shelter. It was slow going at first, so I got clever and bought a bunch of hangers. At one of the office meetings I asked who would take a hanger and bring back one coat...I got commitments for all the hangers. My boss carried his around the office all day and it cracked me up to see it going up and down the hall as he talked to the agents. As a result, by the coat deadline, we had a huge pile of some very nice, warm coats.

Really...I could barely get them all loaded into my car. I was super happy with our agents efforts and care around the project and was also happy to be involved in something good during this season of giving.

Around here The Road Home becomes a very big deal around Christmas. The radio and TV stations all have contests to see whose listeners can raise the most money for the shelter. This particular shelter is geared around families and works with other shelters and programs that help people get back on their feet after finding themselves homeless. One of the TV news stations asked the director how many people the shelter can hold on any given night and the guy said, "There is always room for one more". I thought this was the most amazing statement - no one, who is in need, will get turned away. 

The other night the temperature dropped to 3 degrees...as I turned my kitchen sink's water on to drip thru the night, so the pipes wouldn't freeze, I thought about some of the coats that would hopefully be keeping someone a little bit warmer who was not as fortunate as me...

I Am Grateful,

HB

Diva Quote: "There is always room for one more."  Director for The Road Home homeless shelter

Day #86 - Is it a wonderful life?

Don't let the title fool ya...of course life is wonderful; my question relates to re-writing reality. Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if...'such and such' hadn't happened or if 'such and such' DID happen? Wouldn't it be interesting to experience "The Ghost of Christmas Future" or get a glimpse of what life would look like if one decision was made differently in your life?

I was watching Glee, of all things, the other night and one of the characters, Artie, who is in a wheelchair, wishes he was never in the chair and that he could walk and be normal. He wishes these things because his trials are hard and he thinks things would be better if he got what he most wanted. Turns out, he would be able to walk, but none of his friends would be the same because he hadn't influenced them or meant the same things to them when his priorities and attitudes were different.

We have all seen "It's a Wonderful Life" - if you haven't you should see it - about the guy who thinks he'd be better off dead; and most of us are familiar with "The Christmas Carol" - the old curmudgeon whose life changes with perspective...I have thought, at different times in my life, that things could have/should have/would have been different if...but it's funny how we always imagine the best scenario or the better than we've got it scenario when we are looking back. Maybe it has something to do with that pesky 20/20 hind-sight vision.

What if the truth of the matter is, we made the choices that have given us our best lifes? And any other choice would have turned out worse, or not as good as we've got it today...I guess we will never really know. Whatever the reason for "what if" look backs...yet another name for 'regret'...I choose to believe things are happening the way they are meant to and life is good, just the way it is...minus a few pounds...;0 and the only re-writes that need to occur are the ones on my blog or in my own vision of my future. Write on friends.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "By its very nature, history is always a one-sided account.” Dan Brown

Day #85 - Party Hardy

Trav and I attended the C21 Holiday Party on Friday night. It was pretty beautiful, the food was good and I am happy to report I knew most of the agents that attended. It is good to know I am finally getting there with people's names, which is actually sort of difficult for me.

The best part of the night was when I realized I was sitting at the table with a new agent who is married to the son of the first agent I worked for in the business. It was pretty funny - we had been sitting there getting to know each other and our spouses and suddenly we all realized at the same time who we were. I am not surprised I didn't recognize him since it was over 13 years ago that I last saw him, but it was a kick and made the night a bit more exciting.

I lied...the best part of the night was seeing Travis back in a suit...He looks good:

I took some other photos with Trav's phone including a side photo to show off his mullet, which is actually turning into a party in and of itself, but he looked sharp on Friday. I am a bit concerned about his gag reflex...MAN a collared shirt is just no good for this guy. If anything touches the front of his throat, he sounds like he is going to heave up his stomach. He gagged 3 times just going down the canyon - I finally asked him to just undo the top button to give himself some relief.

I tried to dress up as best I could and dressed up my hair as well. I love updo's, but they always look better in the back, of course it would help if I liked photos, but here is the best shot I got:

The party was pretty packed:

Some fancy dresses:

And, of course, a Team photo:



I will say it is pretty amazing that, when other real estate companies are cutting costs and encouraging pot luck Holiday parties, that this company insisted on throwing a formal event for its agents and staff as appreciation for a good year. Pretty cool.

I Am Grateful,

HB

Diva Quote: "When you're the most happening person at the party, it's time to leave” Kelly Cutrone

Day #84 - Gel Nail

I think I finally found the nail solution I have been looking for. Painting my own nails is a pain, but one I have tried to do so I, A) wouldn't pick at them & B) can enjoy a little colorful bling on an otherwise pitifully dull canvas surrounded by hang nails. The problem is the paint only lasts well for a week at most (if I'm lucky), then it starts to chip..then of course, I start to pick at the paint.

As a solution to this problem, I have had acrylic nails put on and I always love how they look. The problems here are the nails make me clumsy at typing and other daily tasks, like picking up paperclips, and they are thick and unnatural. EVERY time I get acrylic nails, I last thru one or two fills and then I get fed up with it and promise myself I will never do it again...until the next time I cave and do it again.

Last Saturday I decided to try this new paint called shilack (not even sure how to spell it). While at the nail place I started talking to the lady next to me who called it "gel"...oh, this is gel? I have heard of it, but never tried it. Well, so far so good. It is more like a thin acrylic...I am excited to see how long it lasts without chipping. I was told the biggest problem is nail growth. It also seems like a bit of a hassle to get the paint off, but if the color and shape lasts two to three weeks...YIPPEE.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways. ” --Oscar Wilde

Day #83 - Kindness

Last week I went to lunch with three co-workers. We went to the Cheesecake Factory and I, for once, made a reasonable food choice for lunch. It was delicious and the company was excellent. The service, however, was friendly but SLOW. We were on our lunch hour, so it got a little hectic at the end trying to waive down our server and get the bills handled.

Lindsey and I were the first out the door and were sitting in the car for what seemed like FOREVER, but was probably only 5 minutes. When the other two got in the car we found out what took so long and I was reminded of the spirit of the season.

The Cheesecake Factory is typically a very busy place and I was surprised at lunch there weren't more people there, especially at this time of year with all the shopping going on; it was busy, but there was no wait. We sat at a table with two seats against a long booth that ran all the way down the wall with two chairs on the other side. In these situations there are mulitple tables fairly close with no wall separating the tables.

While we were eating a single occupant took a table two down from us. It was a older-middle aged woman eating on her own and it seemed like she was there to really treat herself. She wasn't wearing the most fancy clothes and seemed a little disheveled. I barely gave her a glance, let alone a 2nd thought during lunch, but my workmate, Lesley, took notice of her and was paying attention. Unbeknownst to Lindsey and I, as we scuttled out of our seats in a massive hurry to get back to the office, Lesley was paying for this woman's lunch on the sly. I am sure she would not have said anything to us about it, but Sandra ratted her out when we gave them a hard time for lolly-gagging.

I was really shocked and amazed...then I was wondering what I missed...Les said she just felt it was the right thing to do. Her feeling was this was a rare treat for this woman and something she may not be able to do often and, "wouldn't it be fun to surprise her with a free meal". I thought about this later...if I was the woman who expected to pay my bill and the server told me it was already handled, how would it feel? I think it would be amazing and gratifying.

This is a side to Lesley I have not seen before. She is very quiet and keeps to herself doing her work. I have only recently had the opportunity to get to know her better and, after this example of her character, look forward to discovering who this lovely person is that I get to work with. It is also a reminder to keep my eyes open for opportunities to enrich another person's life - they are everywhere.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” --Rabindranath Tagore