Stress Management

A lecturer was explaining stress management to an audience raised a glass of water and asked: "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, We won't be able to carry on. " "As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden " "So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, Let them down for a moment if you can." So, my friend, why not take a while to just simply RELAX. Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while Life is short - Enjoy it ! Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life: Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late The second mouse gets the cheese When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour Just wanted to share a little something...this has worked for me...you should try it as well! Smooches, Tiff

Morning "Mad Men Meets The Clash" links

Barnhart points us to some very cool "Mad Men"-based art - including wallpapers. My favorite is the one at right, which combines Betty Draper with the "London Calling" album cover! Comedian Jeffrey Ross and his creepy facial hair were eliminated from "Dancing With The Stars" last night. Go Frau Blucher! I don't even know what to think about this: Lisa Kudrow will star in an Internet comedy series on the Lexus channel. What? Some good predictions for this season of "The Office," which starts on Thursday night with an hourlong episode. Allegedly Elisabeth Hasselbeck is considering leaving "The View" for Fox News. And we care because...? Hibberd gets some "Lost"-ies to give sorta spoilers on camera. And here's Ausiello's video spoilers from the same Emmys carpet.

Wish List, Likes, Dislikes...

I had a brainstorm idea this morning. (Watch out world!) I belong to several online stitching groups and each group has a questionaire asking about wish lists, likes, dislikes, etc. I find it time consuming to be typing the same things over and over, so I thought... Why not put it all in my blog, and then reference this entry? Good idea, eh? I thought so! So here goes:FAVORITESFavorite fabric: 28/32ct evenweave/linen, hand-dyedsFavorite needles: 26ct petite needlesFavorite Threads: WDW, Victoria Clayton Silks, GAST, Glissen Gloss Colorwash Silks, DMC Linens, SSS (needed floss for the last 2 are in my wish list link below). Love specialty flosses.Colors (include favorites & least favorites): Favorites: soft pretty colors such as pastels; Dislikes: dark, drab colors.Themes (include favorites & least favorites): Likes: oriental themes, Fobs, Stitcher Accessories; Least favorite: religious, folksyMagazines (include favorites & any that are subscriptions): Any UK mags, Stoney Creek , JCSFavorite Designers: Lorri Birmingham (elegant designs), The Sweetheart Tree (fobs), Joan Elliot (oriental designs), as well as a few others.Favorite Foods/Drink: ice tea (or flavored hot teas), cocoa, skittles, jelly belly jelly beansCollections (things you collect other than stitching): old cameras (I’m a photographer too)Scents (include favorite & least favorite): Lilac. I have allergies and asthma so strong scents don’t work for me.Favorite ONS: Needle in a Haystack www.needlestack.com123 Stitch www.123stitch.comKeepsake Needlearts www.keepsakeneedlearts.comFavorite LNS: Don’t have one close to me. There’s a Walmart, JoAnn Fabrics, Michaels and Hobby Lobby.WISH LISTPictorial Wish List located HERECharts wanted: see link aboveKits wanted (including just charts from kits): see link aboveThreads/beads wanted: anything but DMC/Anchor floss. I don't use Anchor, and I have 2-3 complete sets of DMC.Accessories/Gadgets wanted:Leather Scissor sheaths#26 Stitch FixerDMC Brand Plastic BobbinsOtherDo you have an online photo album? My AlbumHow do you store your threads? On bobbins in plastic storage casesFloss bags or bobbins? (Cardboard or plastic bobbins?) I use both bags and bobbins. Mostly bobbins. I’m in the process of switching from cardboard to plastic DMC bobbins.Do you have pets? Yes. A little 4lb. dog named Celeste

Window carve

Have you ever tryed Kiwi or Starfruit?

I am a fruit freak. I could just live on fruit. But I am diabetic and that is just not as good for me as you might think. I love my bananas because I am always low in potassium. If I don't get enough I get really bad cramps in my legs. Yes bananas helps those leg cramps and I am proof!! I usto live in Florida and was able to get really fun fruit like kiwi's and Starfruit. Starfruit gets it name because if you cut it across the right way it looks like a star and man is it good. Now Kiwi takes some getting usto. The fuzzy outer shell you either have to peal off or cut the fruit the right way and dig your teeth in and hope you don't get the outer skin cause it is funny feeling to your tongue. Do you have a favorite fruit?

Lisa's 2nd Ear surgery

Hi. Lisa had her 2nd cochlear implant surgery Nov 12th. She was operated on in the morning, her surgery being scheduled for 10:30. She was released and they (She and Mom Holsteen) were back home mid afternoon. Lisa seems to have a bit more pain with this one than the last one, but we trust that it will heal like it is supposed to, and all will eventually go well.Lisa is scheduled for Dec 17th for activation, which means she could have 2 ears for Christmas.Is that how the song goes? "All I want for Christmas is my own two ears?" Maybe not, but it fits this setting.As you may know, Lisa has been making a remarkable recovery in hearing. She does very well on a face to face conversation... She was able to watch tv last week without subtitles... and she is able to do some telephone, but not every voice is easy for her to hear.We really want to thank Valerie for coming all the way back from Florida to help Lisa on her surgery. (We recieved a call last Wed saying can you be ready in a week for surgery. I was already scheduled to come down to Florida to help my parents move. My flight was the same morning as Lisa's surgery. So Val drove up here, and I flew down there... :D)It has been good hanging with my parents. Its the first time we've been together in 3 years.So it is nice... I'll put some pics of my time down here on the next post.But here are pics of Lisa post surgery...

The Apprentice 2009 (UK) - Episode 6

This week saw the remaining candidates wandering the streets of London trying to sell a variety of items ranging from a vintage pair of shoes to a first edition book and a skeleton. It was a fairly dull episode this week as there wasnt an awful lot of "business" content (but then again there seems to be less of that and more of the boardroom fights this series). So what lessons can we take from the show this week? Well it proved what many have always said about selling: If you are prepared to accept enough rejection, youll eventually make a sale no matter how bad your sales technique is. However smart entrepreneurs dont try to sell to everyone (its too inefficient) instead they use marketing techniques to identify who are the most likely customers and how to best reach them. When it came to counting the cost (literally) of the teams efforts to sell, both teams had made a loss, selling their items for less than they were worth in their desperation to make a sale. The lesson from this: Only ever make a sale if its going to be profitable for you. Know your costs, know the minimum price required to cover your costs and never, ever sell below that price. Dont do "loss leaders" - unless your name is Sam Walton. When we got back to the boardroom we found out who lost and why. The losing team did so because they didnt understand what the task was about. Lesson: Listen to the clients instructions, if you dont deliver what they asked for youre unlikely to get the promised reward, be that payment of a truffle tasting treat. Finally in the boardroom the losing candidate tried to claim credit for a mistake that the team leader made. Why? The lesson here: When someone is being (rightly) criticised for something theyve done wrong, dont step in and try to steal the blame. Copyright