Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Use your talents and not your money

Hello ladies and gentlemen...Happy Wednesday. It is going to be officially fall and we are in the full swing of college football season, which just makes me happy. AND prime time TV is back in FULL SWING. Do you have your new shows on your DVR? I do...New Girl (love, love, love Zooey) and Suburgatory (I mean how can you not watch that one, the name alone is AWESOME). This upcoming weekend I am going to Kansas City to see my sister and brother-in-law win their Humantarians of the Year award. Yes, they are serious giver backers. I mean everyone in that family volunteers...even the dog is a therapy dog.

And the nice thing about it, is that they have given back their time (not necessarily a lot of money). So many times we "honor" people who simply have a lot of cash that they want to give away. So hats off to my sister's family. Plus I get to see my dear niece and nephew. I have decided that my niece is a lost cause in the fashion arena and I am shifting my efforts to my nephew...who is 7 and wanted to wear a suit to the event tomorrow night. OK, we have something to work with here...my niece wants to wear sweat pants.

So, I think a couple of years ago, I did a blog post about volunteering your time. And the point of my story was that if each person in the world picked ONE thing that they are passionate about and gave their time back to that, the world would be a better place. And this doesn't mean that you have to give your money, I mean because most causes NEED money, but many of them need volunteers to help DO things. As you all know, I volunteer for my sorority and I volunteer a lot of time, but let's face, this girl is BROKE - A**, so there is no way I can give money right now. But trust me, what I do for them is way more valuable than writing a check.

So ladies and gentlemen seriously, message for today: find that ONE thing and give your time back to it. FOR EXAMPLE, there is a new suitor in JZZRGRL's life (only two dates, but hey, it's a start), we will call him the Italian (for obvious reasons) and he told me he is passionate about golf (he plays like 3-4 times a week) SOOOO, if the Italian was so inclined, he could find a golf organization to give back to, maybe mentoring kids to play golf...Anyway, you can find something and yes I know, none of us has ANY time, well, if you are passionate enough about it, you will make time. So make the time, trust me, you will get a lot of it.

In my last post, I told you all about my job. Well the good news is, I already had an interview this week and things are looking good. So I may be back in the land of the fully gainfully employed soon and here is the good news...it is NOT in wireless and they have FULL benefits...OH YEAH, not paying for my own health insurance sounds DARN good to me.

SO I am OFF to KC and then to lovely Omalala NE to see my parents. Huskers are playing the might Cowboys of WYOMING this weekend. Go Big Red. Have a good one ladies and gentlemen.

BONSOIR, CHEERS AND CIAO BELLAS!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Being classy also means taking a loss gracefully...

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. As you may know (or not), college football is in full swing. And wow, there have already been some great games. AKA, Notre Dame-Michigan last Saturday. And I was watching my BF Kirk Herbstreit last weekend on GameDay, I got to thinking about head college football coaches and how they handle themselves. These men are in the spotlight regularly and have to have press conferences on the backside of a big loss or big win. And if you are lucky enough to be a coach at a traditional powerhouse football school, like my beloved Huskers, you have even more pressure on you. And so it says a lot about how you handle yourself in light of that pressure.

The newish head coach, Brian Kelly of Notre Dame, was being berated for losing his temper on the field in the game against USF. My dear, Bo Pellini, had the same thing happen last year when he lost his cool with his players and the officials during the Texas A&M game. I mean seriously, and don't even get me started on Bobby Knight. Is it right or is it wrong? I am not sure, I understand the incredible pressure that these people are under, from the fans to the players to the university to the boosters, but I think it is how one handles the aftermath is the true test of character. Look everyone makes mistakes and bad decisions (hence the frosted hair look I sported in college), we are human. So rather than skewering these guys for their performance on the field, perhaps we should look at their reaction after the fact. Well, Bobby Knight never apologized... But in reading the aftermath of Coach Pelini outburst, it seems that he quietly apologized and moved on and since then it has not had a problem. I would have to say, that has some merit and class.

So it got me thinking about the bigger picture and my personal issues. Ladies seriously, how you handle yourself in serious pressure and stress says just as much about you as how you handle yourself in a good situation. My company basically closed down yesterday and I am not sure that I am ever getting another paycheck from them, my business is not growing and I am at the end of my rope. I have to make some very hard, serious decisions (ladies seriously) and I believe that my reaction to this particular situation will not only help me grow but will say a lot about my character. Failure (in my eyes) is not something I do very well, I have always been number one and this is not an easy pill to swallow. Man, it's been tough year, having my heart broken by being broken up with on email (at least it wasn't a sticky note) and then this.

I am a big believer that life doesn't throw you any more than you can handle, so I guess there is a reason that this is happening at this point. But ladies seriously, when you are faced with a situation that seems impossible, be a lady, be classy and handle yourself with grace. If that means admitting something is over, it is, move on. MANY MANY successful people have failed...heck, Donald Trump and Walt Disney filed bankruptcy, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, Einstein was expelled from school, Thomas Edison made 1000 unsuccesful attempts at inventing the light bulb and Oprah Winfrey was fired from her TV job. And I think you would count each of them successful. So this classy lady is going to follow their lead.

Here we go...

BONSOIR, CHEERS AND CIAO BELLAS.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

It's time to get off your....

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I know what you are saying...two blog posts in one week, how can I BE so lucky? Well yes, I know, it is a bit unusual, but you know I only write when I have something to say (that I think people want to read...CUZ let's face it, I always have something to say. My mamala says that I just talked to myself when I was little, which doesn't surprise me). SOOO, I was reading an article this week about the fitness industry and two things struck me...

15% of all Americans go to a gym and 65% of them are overweight or obese. AND that health clubs that are open 24 hours are appealing because people want to be able to work out whenever they want... OK, here it goes.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN seriously, it is time to get off our asses and move. You are not going to get any healthier by sitting on the couch. I want scream it from the mountain top! And the other thing is that you don't get to work out and then go to McDonalds every day...as I said in my original blog post, only ONE way to lose weight, eat less, exercise more.

Just read another study that says the only way to lose bell fat is through aerobic activity...that means moving your ass...whether it is walking, running, biking, aerobics, stair master...that blasted ZUMBA ;) I am a Jazzercise instructor, I have to say that. You have to sweat and you have to burn calories. That's it, 2000 crunches are not going to give you Gwen Stefani abdominals PERIOD. Because if there are three layers of fat on top of the muscles, the muscles will never show through.

Here is the other thing, if Yoga and Pilates are your only form of exercise and you want to lose weight...not going to happen. Yoga and Pilates are AWESOME forms of exercise but to tone, strengthen and stretch your muscles, not to lose body fat.

OH and the other thing, people want to join a gym so that they can work out anytime..I am sorry but I call BULLS**T on that one too. Seriously, if you have worked all day, if you go home, you are not going to go to the gym at midnight...really! So these 24 hour fitness places are taking your money and you are not going...it is what they bank on, you know.

Here is the bottom line...find an exercise you like (and yes you are going to have to sweat and you are going to be tired and you are going to be sore) and stick with it. ANYTHING, I don't care, just move your bootie...PLEASE. All of the extra weight is bad for you and it makes you feel bad as well.

And then stop eating all of the crap. Here is what I did and you might not like it, but anyway, I cut out everything! Bacon, sausage, pizza, cheeseburgers, pork, sweets, french fries, chips...etc (notice I didn't say coffee or alcohol, I'm not crazy). And I told myself if I really miss it, I will add it back in...guess what I missed? French Fries and Chocolate Chip Cookies. So I get them each once a month period. The rest I don't care about it. Sure, I have some chips from time to time but I haven't been to a fast food restaurant in over a year. So do it the way that works for you, but eat some healthy food, you will be amazed what it does for your health, I don't have stomach problems or allergies ANYMORE and I haven't been sick in 9 months...

So that is my soapbox...in this country where morale is so low, consumer confidence is at an all time low, and the economy isn't getting any better, do something good for yourself, don't wallow in the bad stuff, trust me exercise gives you endorphins and when they start to kick in, you feel better and then you might just lose that weight that you want to lose!

Enjoy your weekend. GO BIG RED!

BONSOIR, CHEERS and CIAO BELLAS!