My Afflation

circa 1998 This #tbt is dedicated to the person who took this photo of me. No HDD failure to corrupt this one. Though I wish I could still fit into those overalls... Pin It

Good food and good company are instant stress releivers Pin It

So I haven't met Doug in person yet, but I have been reading his blog fairly regularly over the last five years. And he's the one who got me into twitter (just a little widget he had on his blog...) Anyways, if you have ADHD, or know someone who does, you can now take him on the road with you on your Kindle. He is definitely worth the read! You can also read Doug's advice column on ADDaboy ! Related articles by Zemanta Sleepwriting and Other Musings (thesplinteredmind.blogspot.com) How To Reach Out On Twitter (blogworldexpo.com)

Today was supposed to be a good day. Quiet and productive. Boring. Easy. Today I found out that one of my best friends died suddenly this morning. Her children will grow up without a mother. Her husband has lost a companion of 15+ years. You never know when it will be time to go. Don't hold off on telling your friends that you love them and making the time to see them instead of always "oh, let's try for later". Sometimes there won't be a later. This was posted on her FB wall: At 3:40am on Monday, August 9, 2010, Leslie Shevick Raymond passed away due to complications from pneumonia. Leslie's immune system had been compromised by ITP ( idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura .) Leslie is survived by her husband, Christian Raymond, their two children, Serena (age 5) and Connor (age 3), and her paren ts Mr. and Mrs. Barry and Emily Shevick, and Leslie's brother, Scott Shevick.  On behalf of the family, we thank you for your prayers and support. S...

Those of you who don't believe in it and don't want to know about it can skip this one. The rest of you ... Disclaimer - my spiritual life at the present moment absolutely stinks, but when the Holy Spirit tells you to do something, you do it. Twice in less than 24 hours I have been led to not only pray, but pray hard for a friend. Get down on my knees, bow down in supplication, pour out my heart pray. I'm crying now as I write this at an hour I am normally asleep. I don't know what's going on in this person's life. We don't talk much anymore. We don't live in the state. We have a few mutual friends and that's how I am kept aware of generalities. Something in the last week has happened. I don't know what. All I know is that since it was brought to my attention I've been preternaturally worried and concerned. And every time I think about contacting this person, instead of doing so, I am led to pray as if a life depended on it. And the w...

  I took this at my friend Peter's wedding a few weeks ago. They never let go unless they had to. :)

  A good friend and talented artist, Dave Conrey is having a sale of some of artwork. From his shop description: I'm an artist specializing in abstract original paintings. My paintings range in size from large 40"x40" canvases to miniature ACEO original cards. No matter what your budget or the size of the wall you want to decorate, I've got an art piece for you.   For those with a limited budget, but want the advantage of multiple art pieces, check out my limited edition postcard series #1 (extremely limited quantity). If you like my paintings, but you want something custom ordered, contact me directly and we can work something out. I'm totally open to all commission projects. So take a look and consider buying a set of cards or something larger. We all need more art in our lives.

Who needs men to move? Evidently not me when I have my mom and a few good girlfriend s ( would be plural but I had to do it this weekend instead of next). I figured my friends are getting tired of moving me and my crap around, totally understandable. Josh counts it as four times in the last two years, including the move from Oregon. It feels like more.   This past weekend I just needed to move my stuff out of storage in Long Beach to a less expensive storage center in Lancaster (because who knows how long we will actually be in Lancaster). The biggest piece of “furniture” is my TV, a 30” HDTV that is NOT plasma. That sucker weighs like 300lbs. But we figured it out, got it moved, and no one injured anything.  I say that makes the move a success. Now to finish getting my crap out of my mom’s living room before my sis and nieces come back this weekend …

A total stranger knows things about you like: you’re a night owl you only watch Castle you have two kids, their names, hobbies, and ages you are a photography nut you tweet a lot Now mind you, this person mostly just follows me during the day, or I thought she did. We found it quite funny that she could tell her friends things about me and yet tonight was the first time we had met in person. Just more proof that I need an intervention. Or that this new policy of transparency is something that I am really, very, extremely good at. On the other hand, I could just tweet too much information .

I found this fascinating quote today: Can you conceive of a situation where you might actually have to ask people for help? Or want to promote something? Anything? Garage sale? Sell your house? Help your spouse or kid find a job? Raise money for a sick friend or relative? You can certainly get on the phone and call people, or send out a group email to all your friends and contacts. But most people, without the benefit of a social network, don't have the network power to make the kind of difference that can be made with a healthy group of online contacts. From Craig Fisher's Blog You should read the whole article .

I had the most amazing dinner last night, and for once I wasn’t the cook! Oakley aka Oakmonster , made Guinness Stew and Guinness chocolate cake, and there were Irish car bombs involved. From Oak’s blog : Here's the preview of tonight's dinner for 12. Yep.   The massive vat of Guinness Stew is back.   (Not in picture, a pound of carrots. And actually, I only used 3 potatoes, one box of stock, and 1.5 bottles of Guinness.) … That's   the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with the Bailey's Cream Frosting   I made last year for the house party. Now I can watch my unsuspecting colleagues stumble through the office. Hehe. The dozen kids tonight, instead, will have the   Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting . … You MUST read the blog post she got the cake recipe from. A good read, and then good food! What could be better? Also check out Hmm…Food… Good for more mouth-watering pictures and th...

I am blessed to know some pretty cool people on this Earth. One of them happens to be a very talented and uplifting girl named Brin. Today is her birthday and she debuted a vlog . She’s been podcasting and blogging at Bitz of Brin for about 4 years now, thanks in some part to her dad @ SplinteredMind . Check her out and wish her at Happy Birthday!

I had a very interesting lunch today and it made me realize some things about myself. I already knew I wasn’t money motivated, but I really am NOT money motivated. On some topics, I just couldn’t relate. The main thoughts going through my head included “Who? What?” and “Why?” Who : are these people they are talking about? Who are these designers? What : I’ve never heard about that. And generally I consider myself fairly well-informed. Why : would you say/do/think that??? I knew I was an oddball, but wow, either I’m out of it, I’m travelling in the wrong circles, or being money-motivated leads to … I don’t know what it leads to. The only thing I am searching for in life right now is contentment. I’m not denying that money is useful. BOY, do I know that it’s necessary . But the things I would use it for, compared with the things other people use it for, are just at opposite ends of the spectrum. But hey, if you want to give me money, for a little bit of work, and some vis...

So, my marriage taught me how to approach people and issues from the side. Obliquely. Never deal with anything head-on if you can avoid an unpleasant or disappointing confrontation. I’m learning that doesn’t work real well in the real world. Or with dealing with people who aren’t control freaks. Boy, do I have a lot to re-learn. This is one reason why I said being single wasn’t so bad a few days ago on twitter. It doesn’t reflect on anyone I might be dating, it’s totally on me. I don’t know how to relate to people anymore, at least, not the ones who are interested in me romantically. JPD said he wanted to have time to talk and I nearly had a panic attack (yes, hyperbole ), it was merely a mild anxiety attack. Gob-smacked because someone actually wanted to have a conversation with me, in RL (that’s real life). And then realizing that might mean that I’ll have to be emotionally available. G irlfriend say what??!!!??? That’s what actually caused the racing of my heart and heavy bre...

prospects. Today was an awesome day. Or at least it has been so far. I met with some friends , made a few new ones too, and we walked around Belmont Shores in Long Beach. The weather was STUNNING and the company stellar. I hope we can do it again soon. sent using a G1

the last few days have been tumultuous, confusing, lonely, and a myriad of other feelings that have ultimately left me emotionally and physically drained. Last night I received some respite as well as affirmation and assurance that I am not the nutcase I often feel like. the lonliness is the worst. not knowing which friends to trust, or who even have time to listen to my misgivings and self-doubts, no one to talk to completely open and honestly. At least I am FINALLY aware of the type of decisions I make when I'm lonely, stressed out, and down on myself. Not acting on those impulses is getting harder and harder. and there's no one to lean on when I'm at wit's end. my spirit needs rest and restoration. my self-esteem is shot, and i feel like i have nothing left to give. where do i go from here?

I think I need a dictionary at work. My vocabulary isn't as big as I thought it was. Just look at the scores.

View Album Get your own Yeah, I've been meaning to get these up for a while now.

So, I move back to L.A. and finally get around to sending out my new address. One of the replies is an invitation to a birthday party for one of the daughters of one of my best friends from junior and senior high school (let me know if you are confused yet). So anyways, Tim, Joy, and I get there on time (imagine that, and Josh didn't want to go because it was a girl's party). Angie recognizes me right away, I had to do a double-take, I recognized her voice, but ... anyways! She looks good! It was so good seeing her, and then her brother and sister-in-laws showed up and one of her nieces and it was like being surrounded by family again. It helped that they all remembered me, and then kinda funny when ... "aren't you Geraldo's daughter?" "yes". My dad had stayed in touch with her family even after I left the state. I have missed so many people! And I didn't even realize it. It's so good to be back home.