Riley at Great Grandma’s house.

Ava, Mia, Sienna, Isla, Stella, Eva, Bella, Isabelle, Peyton, Keira, Alexis, Millie, Aaliyah, Nevaeh, Gemma, Mya, Aria, Leah, Brooklyn, Lucia, Mackenzie, Poppy, Harmony, Manaia, Scarlett, Abby, Maya, Lilly, Riley, Hazel, Savannah, Natalie, Ayla.

1999

Paris, Brittany, Megan, Rachel, Nikita, Claudia, Natasha, Brianna, Ashleigh, Monique, Michaela, Shannon, Cheyenne, Stephanie, Melissa, Jamie, Casey, Rebekah, Jessie, Michelle, Morgan, Tegan, Tiana, Renee, Julia, Kelsey, Alicia, Jennifer, Katelyn, Crystal, Tamara, Tara.

Archie, Brooklyn, Carter, Charlie, Cole, Cooper, Dominic, Edward, Felix, Gabriel, Isaiah, Jackson, Kingston, Leo, Leon Lincoln, Luka, Luca, Lucas, Marcus, Mason, Noah, Phoenix, Riley, Sebastian, Seth & Toby In 2008.(Names top 100 2008 not in 1998)

Sean, Mitchell, Bradley, Jonathan, Timothy, Taylor, Anthony, Jared, Jarrod, Patrick, Scott, Brandon, Peter, Taine, Campbell, Richard, Kaleb, Louis, Jeremy, Trent, Jason, Justin, Lewis, Regan, Shaun, Kevin, Kieran, Keegan In 1999 (Names not in top 100, 2008).

In the dream I am sitting on the edge of a pool, sand instead of tile at the bottom, feet dangling in murky water. The pool is in what is and is not a room because it has walls and a door but the walls are just parts of the land and sky pretending to be solid. I could put my hand through it and still meet plaster, if you know what I mean. There is a commotion outside the door and my brother opens it, though he wasn’t there a moment before.

“You’ve got a guest,” he says and then sees himself out as Riley catapults herself at my face, tail wagging. I can feel her tiny tongue on my skin and her teeth nipping at my ear. The texture and the saliva; my mind deceives me.

I know he’s there before I look up because with one always comes the other.

“What are you doing here?” I say like I’m over him because in my dream I think I am. But, even in my dream my heart bursts up into my throat and pulsates there, where an Adam’s apple would be.

He looks at me steady, as if we held eyes long enough they would regurgitate our past from our hearts and let us start anew.

“You told me to come back.”

So simple. That’s when I realize I’m dreaming and I wake up.

Calm.

There’s something to be said for drinking too much and too often in a short span of time, say, three days. There’s less time to mull things over. Less time to let my subconscious pull me back into these murky emotional waters. More time to just do. Just be.

All these hearts hitched to me in chains. All these lives I’m not living. Marley’s ghost.

I have nothing for you but hangovers, blurry nights, and hands. Hands at the small of my back; on my shoulders; on a curve. Hands that shape wood and build. Hands. My hands, gloved, warming his ears in the bitter cold.

The end of another long night. Hands tucked up under my chin, cradling my head in what is at last a blissful, dreamless sleep.

All bundled up for the first big snowfall of the year. With GG in New Jersey.

Who is ready for Christmas? NOT ME!.  I am so disorganised this year and not all that motivated. I still have so much to get done before Thursday.

The past week was just MAD.  Riley Graduated from Kinder and is really looking forward to starting school.  It still seems so far away but I know it will be here before we know it. 

He also finished his swimming lessons (for now).  I am amazed at the progress Riley has made with this over the past 2 years.  When he started we could not get him in the water and he spent the first few lessons hanging off the teachers neck and screaming in her ear (poor girl!) .  They since developed a great relationship and he can now swim quite well.  It was sad to say goodbye on Friday, I am so thankful for all she put up with from him.  She found Riley a huge challenge but usually spent most of the lesson shaking her head and laughing at his antics. 

We said goodbye also to our little “Edward”   It had been a while since the boys had a haircut and Riley’s was getting kinda CrAzY.  He always tried to spike it up but those curls just made it impossible.  In the end his hair ended up just like Edwards from Twilight and this became his new nickname.  We went out for tea one evening and he had his face painted. The following morning we could still not get the paint off from around his eyes and that was when Edward really came to life

The hair has since gone and so has Edward……..for now. 

Declan also had a haircut but gave strict instructions for his fringe NOT to be cut as he is growing it so it covers his eyes,  he wants a Nemo hairstyle haha…..mmm we will see about that.

School has also finished for the year.  We received Declan’s report which was amazing, 3 B’s and the rest C’s   After all the drama before he started school it is just so nice to now know that we made the right choice not to hold him back a year and that he is right on track.   He is excited about starting Grade 2 but also sad to be leaving his teacher from this year.  He is still addicted to Mathletics and now on level 3.

I have,  in between all thats going on, tried to spend more time getting to know my camera and new lens (from Hong Kong)  With much help from a dear friend I have managed to take some big steps this week and really start to understand how it all works.  I dragged the kids outside last night for a photo shoot and must say I am rather happy with the results

What makes me happiest is that I took these photos on manual, setting my own ISO and white balance and manual focus.

Can’t wait  to find the time for another “play” now .

Good luck to you all with your Christmas preparations.

Helen xxxxx

She may have a last name that rivals most Hollywood heavyweights, but don’t think Bryce Dallas Howard rose to fame riding on her father’s coattails. Before starring in big name blockbusters like Terminator Salvation and Spider-Man 3, Ron Howard’s daughter paid her dues.

Thanks to a reputable background in theater, where she caught the eye of director M. Night Shyamalan who cast her in two of his biggest films, The Village and Lady In The Water, Howard’s career has blossomed on the big screen. This month, she emerges as a 1920s debutante in Tennessee Williams’ The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond and next year will soon be seen as Victoria in the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (replacing Rachelle Lefevre). While there may still be some skeptics (nothing can stop an angry Twilight blogger after all), Howard continues to make a name for herself all on her own.

SNMag: So you have a film coming out this month, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond?
Bryce Dallas Howard: Yes, it comes out in select cities on December 30.

SNMag: Could you tell us more about the project and how you came to get involved with it?
BDH: It was such an amazing thing. I had enormous excitement when Jodie (Markell, the film’s director) invited me to do the film. It was brave on her part because typically women who are pregnant don’t get movies. (laughs) But, Jodie, she’s a mother and she was incredibly inspiring and said, “You know I really think that you can do it and I will be really supportive of you and let’s play together.” That got me involved. Jodie reached out, and I’m really grateful.

SNMag: We heard that you were her first choice for the role of Fisher Willow. What are your thoughts on that?
BDH: The fact that she would feel that way is astonishing and humbling, and it was amazing to work with somebody who is also an actress because she knew this character so well. She knew this character not only from the perspective of a filmmaker but from the perspective of an actress. I could really rely on her in ways that I haven’t in previous projects. It was really great. It feels like this role was a genuine collaboration.

SNMag: What was it about the role specifically that drew you to the character?

CONTINUE…

I recently remembered this picture from earlier in the fall. Riley is Skyping with the Michigan grandparents, out on the lawn of the Jersey grandparents.

With apologies to Robert May, the advertising executive who wrote “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” as a poem for a department-store Santa to give to children. Within its first year of publication, over 2 million copies of the poem had been given away to children. The poem was later set to music and recorded in 1949 by Gene Autry.

Riley received his name precisely because he lives “the life of Riley.” One of his co-dependent “Pamperers in Chief” says, “How can such an adorable little face hide such a Jekyll & Hyde dog?”

Riley the Black-Nosed Puppy

Riley the black-nosed puppy
Had a very shiny nose
But if you ever saw him
You wouldn’t exactly say it glows

All of the other doggies
Used to laugh and call him names
The pampered pooch who lived “the Life of Riley”
Couldn’t join in any puppy games

They thought he was ordinary
And bragged that they could “sit,” “stay,”
… or even do a “high five”
But little did those nosy dogs know
That Riley actually knew how to fly!

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came their way
Riley’s little paws took flight
Chasing Rudolph’s glowing nose into the night

Santa could only chuckle
“Riley, you’ve made my day!
We’re done with our rounds but if you’d like
Try and catch us as we fly away!”

Riley yelped aloud for joy,
Waking all the neighbor dogs
As Santa’s reindeer flew up, up and away
Riley almost caught that sleigh!

Then all the doggies loved him
As they shouted out with glee,
Riley the black-nosed puppy,
You’ll go down in history!

‘It’s an incredible group of people,’ she says of the cast that welcomed her after Rachelle Lefevre’s departure.

“Twilight” fans are notoriously fickle when it comes to the actors chosen to bring their favorite Stephenie Meyer characters to life. In fact, it’s now the stuff of “Twilight” legend that following the announcement that Robert Pattinson would be portraying brooding vampire Edward Cullen, online petitions circled feverishly, decrying the British actor’s participation in the saga. A similar uproar occurred last July, when just weeks before production was to begin on the third “Twilight” installment “Eclipse,” Bryce Dallas Howard replaced Rachelle Lefevre as villainous vampire Victoria due to scheduling conflicts. Howard revealed to MTV News that the prospect of taking over the role Lefevre originated in both “Twilight” and “New Moon” was a bit daunting.

CONTINUE…

Christmas may still be almost two weeks away.  But this Sunday, I’m all abuzz about year-end name news:

• First up, the Nameberry gurus predict the Top Baby Names of the Future over at The Daily Beast.  Not any real surprises here, but almost certainly what we’ll hear everywhere in 2019;
• There’s also their look backwards, published at Nameberry earlier this week. 2009 certainly was a good year for celeb-inspired choices.  A few cited in their post include Khloe, Marley, Miley, Kingston, Kobe, Cruz and Kimora;
• Over at Baby Name Wizard, Laura Wattenberg announced her Name of the Year for 2009.  Second Runner Up: Balloon Boy Falcon. First Runner Up: the gender-neutral country chanteuse/werewolf actor Taylor.  And the winner?  Twilight mash-up Renesmee;
• The Melton Leader  tells us that Riley and Olivia were the most popular names in their corner of Australia in 2009.  Unusual names bestowed at their local hospital included a girl called Syntynche, as well as boys named Memphis and Atticus – but really, that’s nuthin’ compared to Syntynche;
• In Japan, Hiroto tops the charts for boys and Rin for girls - or do they?  The list comes from Benesse Corp., not a government agency.  And are gender neutral names big in Japan, too?  Ren is #3 on the boys’ list;
• And back to Christmas – check out this list of holiday names over at Lil’ Sugar.  They range from the obvious (Noel) to the subtle (Neve).  Just don’t name your baby boy Rudolph.

Speaking of unusual names:

• For Real Baby Names spotted an Everly Joe - which wouldn’t surprise me, except that Everly Joe is a she!  Shades of Jagger Joseph Blue, I think.  There’s also a Sixx Delilah.  Wonder if the proud parents were Motley Crue fans?
• Sebastiane over at LegitBabeNames wrote about Arpad, supermodel Elle MacPherson’s Hungarian hero name for her husband and son;
• Bewildertrix spotted a Unity – a virtue name much-neglected, save for the infamous Mitford sister.  There’s also a bumper crop of boys with bitsy names like Kye and Jai.  Wonder if they’ll join Kai in the US?  There’s also an Isobel Elizabeth Idonia. Isobel and Elizabeth together seems repetitive – and yet, it’s an appealing combo.

In starbaby news:

• The littlest Duggar, Josie Brooklyn, is here.  And quite early, though reports are optimistic;
• Model Jourdan Dunn has welcomed a baby boy – no name yet;
• Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady are also proud parents to a bouncing baby boy – also with no name released;
• Kendra Wilkinson is a mom. She and husband welcomed Hank Randall Baskett IV.  Of course, they’d announced his name when HB4 was still a zygote;
• American Idol alum Jessica Sierra welcomed son Kayden Cash.

Is it me, or is it more fun when celebs don’t release their baby names while their offspring are still in utero?  Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take a baby name announcement whenever it comes.  (Is Pilot’s little sister really named Casper?  Inquiring minds want to know.)  But I kind of enjoy the whole “So and So Had a Girl and Named Her Guess What?” part of the process.

Perhaps I’ve been conditioned by reality television’s big reveals.

Thanks for reading – have a great week!

The evidence:

I’ve reached the conclusion that every parent thinks their kids are the cutest things to ever soil diapers. It might not be rational, and it could very well be confrontational and rude, but that’s why we don’t usually express these feelings out loud. I, however, don’t have any censor.

1. Are you really living in the Philippines?
Why, yes. I know that you’re used to me ghosting for no apparent reason, but this time I’m not just avoiding you because of selfishness and/or growing pains really just gone. I’m truly living [it up] in the Philippines. Want proof? This is our house:

That’s where I live with my brother, my son, our maid and our nanny. My brother would kill me if I showed his face on the internet, so here’s a of Riley at 14 weeks, with Cecil (our nanny) and Joy (our maid):

And another picture of Riley, just because I’m a proud mama:

2. Why did you decide to move?
Where do I start? There are sooo many reasons we decided to move. Here are just some:
- I love New York, but it burns me out, and after having Riley I realized I needed to reevaluate my priorities and my plans and make some big changes.
- I didn’t want to live with my parents or Rob’s mom, and we’d have to seriously downgrade our living situation if Rob and I were going to have our own place, raise a baby, and eat once in a while.
- I’ve never considered myself particular “Filipino”, and Riley’s birth made me realize that I want to get in touch with my “roots”.
- I decided to go the way of the conformist Filipino and get a nursing degree; it’s waaaayyy cheaper here, and a hell of a lot more hands-on than nursing schools in the States.
- The cost of living, in general, is ridiculously cheap here when you’re living off of dollars.
- I wanted to raise Riley the way that Rob and I planned to raise Riley, and not have to fret about people butting in with their “advice” and “suggestions” for the right way to do things. Because, trust, I’ll put you in your place for telling me how to parent, and if that requires making you cry you better take out your hanky.
- Another gratuitous picture of Riley, this time at 10 weeks old:

3. What’s it like living in the Philippines?
Um, different. Witness, for instance, foods you won’t likely see in the States:

Do not adjust your screens. And, no, this hasn’t been photoshopped. My brother and I picked up a watermelon that was called “Black Beauty” and cut it open to reveal – dum dum DUMMMM – yellow flesh! It was the sweetest watermelon EVAR, and it wasn’t sickeningly sugary sweet either. Kudos to whomever responsible for that one!

That second pic is of balot, aka fertilized and steamed duck eggs. I had a really traumatizing experience with balot when I was a little girl, and I haven’t been able to touch the stuff since then. I thought I’d try it again because surely the baby duck inside the egg isn’t as fully-formed as I’d remembered… right? Right? RIGHT?!

Wrong. I ran away, screaming, and Cecil ate the balot instead.

Okay, that last one is my brother’s new puppy, Simone, and no, we’re not going to eat her. In the past, though, it wasn’t uncommon for drunk men to steal a dog or take their own dog, skewer it, and roast it in the backyard. My dad, when he was here, looked around at all the stray dogs in our neighborhood and laughed. “I guess it’s not the uso [trend] to eat dogs anymore,” he said, eyeing a mutt that was sitting in front of our neighbor’s house.

4. You keep on saying that school in the Philippines is hard, but all your life you’ve been an overachiever. What gives?
Okay, so you know all those papers you complained about writing? And those exams that were all essays? And those times your teachers asked about your own opinion? You might have lamented them out of sheer laziness, but guess what? They made you think. They made you form your own thoughts. They made sure that (at least in the classroom) you weren’t just some mindless drone. Or maybe you were….

Anyway, my point is, in the States, it’s all about analyzation. Students are taught to think for themselves. They are taught to understand the relationships between things, to realize the universality of the world and the beauty of its chaos, to connect between the lines.

But in the Philippines, there is no connecting. What is there? Mindless, repetitive, regurgatative memorization. You read/hear a lesson, then you’re “quizzed” right afterward. No time to study. No time for your brain to build connections between new ideas. No time for information to sink in. It’s drill time. Add to that that it’s short answer, and there’s no room for your own interpretation of things (even if the subject is subjective), and that 75 is failing, and you can see why I have a lot of adjusting to do. Because if 75 is failing, then 80 is barely passing, and 85 is just doing decently – and I’m aiming for an academic scholarship.

5. What’s up with you and Rob? Is he living with you?
Rob and I are doing really well. He’s currently in New York, working and sending us money while also paying off some of my debts and saving up for his own plane ticket. We have Skype sex dates really often and we send pictures back and forth.

Lack of successful communication has always been one of my problems with our relationship, and now that we’re apart I’m realizing that the biggest hurdle to our mutual understanding has been my ego. I’m a writer, and I love the English language; Rob’s pretty terrible at English, but he’s awesome at communicating. I was too snobbish to see that a lacking in one area didn’t necessitate a lacking in the other area. I was too egotistical and stuck-up to give him credit even though he fully deserved it.

I’ve realized just how lucky I am to have him by my side, even if he isn’t technically “by my side”, and that lesson is one reason I’m so glad we have our little guy:

6. How is Riley adapting to the Philippines?
Since we’ve been here, Riley’s gotten his first fever, his first cold, and his first bout of eczema. His pediatrician says it’s all very normal and happening just as it’s supposed to happen. And aside from these episodes, he’s the happiest baby you’ve ever met. He’s constantly entertained, amused and educated by a bevy of people who are speaking different languages, repeating the alphabet, counting, watching educational TV, repeating the names of colors, and exercising with him. He’s still as easy-going as ever, still loves to babble to people and be held by people and cuddle with me – but he’s also becoming fiercely independent. He loves sitting in his bumbo chair all by himself, and playing with his hands, and grabbing his feet, and rolling over, and attempting to crawl. He’s four months old and loves it when you stand him up on his feet, like he’s standing on his own. He responds to his name, laughs all the time, and reaches for you when he wants to be held. He’s more than doubled his birth weight, grown almost 8 inches, and loves reading time. In short – Riley? He’s doing awesomely well. But I have a feeling that would be the case no matter where we were.

7. Are you living in the city? In the country? Are there, like, cows and goats and shit where you live?
We live about one hour away from the capital of the Philippines, Manila. It’s urban enough that there’s a 7-Eleven and a 24-hour supermarket within a few blocks of our house, but it’s country enough that it’s not uncommon for people to leave their houses in house dresses and flip-flops. In fact, flip-flops are the footwear of choice in these parts.

One of the best parts about living here? There are street vendors that walk past our house everyday. They sell fresh bread and donuts, ice cream, balot, fried peanuts, and desserts. The less mobile street vendors sell fish balls, Japanese sweet corn, and freshly caught and fried calamari (to name just a few of the yumminess). And you can have a meal out of these street fares for about a dollar.

But yeah, getting back to your question: there are no cows or goats nearby. There are, however, lots of chickens and roosters.

8. How are you earning money?
I’m barely earning anything at all, but the little that I am earning is from freelance copy-editing. I’m trying to land a few regularly-paying writing gigs, but when isn’t that the case? All I know is, I’m kick-starting this “attempt” at making a living via writing into high gear. Rob’s moving here in April or May, and before that, I want to have secured a coveted writing and/or editing position or two.

9. So you’re there as a tourist, right?
For the time being, I’m actually here illegally. I haven’t yet filed for dual citizenship (which I’d planned on doing asap), and the reasons for that are purely logistic, i.e., I need my dad’s birth certificate and it’s lost. The Philippines is so corrupt that you need an inside man just to get your own papers from the government, so this process is taking a lot longer than I thought it would take.

No matter. When I finally do file my paperwork, I just have to pay a fine and everything’ll be fine.

Still, I think that deserves another gratuitous pic of my baby:

10) What are your impressions of the Philippines, thus far?
I feel like I have a lot to say about this, and I’ll probably say it all in due time over at In The Fray. For now, though, I can’t help but feel like moving to the Philippines has been the best decision I’ve ever made for me and my family. Not only are Rob and I given the opportunity to chase our dreams to the best of our ability, but we’re given all the love, respect, compassion, understanding and support necessary to see our goals through to the end. All this makes it possible for us to be the best partners, parents, and people we could possibly be.

Ok, so this is going to be a brutally honest post.  I have things I need to get out of me, but I don’t want to say them out loud and I don’t feel as though writing them in a journal is enough.  Who knows?  Maybe when this post is done, it won’t be what I thought.  I may even delete it.  I guess I’ll found out when I get to the end.

My mind is flying in fifty different directions, which is also why I want to write this post.  Emptying my brain of all my thoughts may help me figure out what all I am truly thinking, worried about, care about, whatever.  I don’t know where to start.  Well, here it goes.

Work.  I love my job.  I am thankful to have a job, but am so happy that I really do enjoy it.  Sure, every job has its ups and downs and annoyances, but I can handle them.  The past week was utter insanity as my boss and I took “high level” forecast givebacks from upper management and pushed it down to the point of detail needed for our GL.  Then, and I don’t fully know how I did that (which is why I know my head is too full of “stuff”), I DELETED the bloody file!  Now, for most people this wouldn’t be a problem as they put way too much stuff on their C: drives.  I’m a good little worker who saves everything to the LAN (which apparently it isn’t called anymore these days because the helpdesk didn’t know what I was talking about at first).  So, I couldn’t go to my deleted files folder, I had to open a ticket in IT.  Anyways, this could go into an IT tangent and my week at work, but let’s just stop here and say it was busy, but I ROCK!  My boss flipping loves me (or should).

Now, see, there is perhaps an opportunity for me to get promoted at work.  It’s all very hypothetical at this point and there’s a lot of “I can’t speak to that now” or “I’m not at liberty to discuss that now” BS, so I have no clue if I am being foolishly hopeful or not.  Again, I love my job, so the promotion isn’t a necessity as far as my job satisfaction goes.  And here’s the rub.  I need that promotion for me to provide how and what I want to provide for my family.

Alan has resigned from his job as sous chef and very kindly gave a month’s notice.  Well, I don’t know if he’s going to make it to the end of this month.  But more so what I don’t know is if Alan can be happy working.  I just can’t tell and it’s something we don’t discuss.  He was in the corporate world and miserable three years ago.  We decided to send him to culinary school to change careers.  His first job in a kitchen he really got sick of towards the end, although now looking back he misses it (hindsight is always 20/20; isn’t that a pisser?).  Well, he is now miserable at his job, in the culinary world.  I don’t know what to do, other than to bust my ass to get a promotion so that he can stay home with Nate.  If that is even something he’d like to do.  I don’t know.

I can’t imagine him not cooking, but I don’t know if he can be happy working for someone else.  And I sure as hell am not opening a restaurant in this economy (or probably ever).  I am a risk taker to a point, but not so much that I would quit my current job to help run the restaurant.  And so, Alan and I would probably see even less of each other than we do now.  I haven’t really seen Alan since Tuesday evening.  We saw each other for about an hour this morning.  How pathetic is that?  Yes, I know he’s a sous chef, but we used to be able to have lunch together on Fridays and see each other a few hours Saturday morning, but since Alan’s given his resignation, his hours have gone up and so, we don’t really see each other.

Due to this, I have really felt like a single mom this week.  And it has been hard.  I’ve busted my ass all day at work, come home and take care of my beautiful baby boy, but he goes to bed at 7:00.  So then I am home alone with no one to talk to.  It would be so nice to be able to put the baby to bed and then share a glass of wine with Alan and discuss our days.  Or a new band.  Or a new recipe.  Or anything.

Then there are things I am worried about.  One is money.  Again, a promotion could help with that.  But money isn’t important.  Not in the grand scheme of things.  The health and happiness of my friends and family are what are most important to me.  Well I have a good friend down here who is only 29 and has to have brain surgery on Tuesday to fix an aneurism.  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.  I’m not greatly worried, but I am.  I went and hung out with her today, acting like everything was normal, because I know that’s what she wants. It was good to visit her, and to see her with Nate.  He had lots of smiles for her which I know helped lighten her heart just a little.  I am scared for her and her family.  I know she’ll be fine, but I can’t help have just a little worry in me.

And me.  I’m worried just a wee bit about me.  I’m recovering well for the most part from my post pardum depression.  My only main issue/complaint is I am having crazy, vivid dreams EVERY night.  I talked to my psychiatrist about it and she put me on trazedone for it and it hasn’t helped.  Some dreams are absurd, some are sad, and some are me dealing with real life issues.  I really wish they would stop so that my sleep could be more restful.  The trazedone hasn’t helped, so I need to e-mail and see if she wants to try something else.  I am terrified that she is going to switch me off Zoloft and I’ll have to try a new med all over again, which resets my clock as to when I will start to be weened off the antidepressants. 

It’s the holidays and I have a baby who needs things like diapers and formula, so I’ve been shopping.  Plus, it is the holidays, the time of giving, so I’ve made a few charitable donations.  I’ve been worried recently that I’m spending too much, then I wonder if it’s the antidepressants and some weird side effect from them.  And if so, I worry about going off them and slipping back into my depression.  Then I worry that I am just worrying too much and get all tangled up in my head.  I’m not out buying TV’s or anything extravagant; and I’m not donating ridiculous sums of money.  I’ve used it all; and actually needed probably 90% of it.  I think what I am really worried about goes back to money, Alan quitting, and me hoping to make enough to support my family on one income. 

But with all my small worries and getting all tangled in my thoughts, ultimately I AM happy.  I feel like Charlotte York from Sex in the City (the movie).  “Because! Nobody gets everything they want!. . . I’m so happy and… something bad is going to happen.”  And when Samantha questions her about being happy, Charlotte replies with something like, “Yes, I’m happy everyday.  Not all day everyday, but I am happy every day.” 

I just want to maintain my happiness, and have more of it.  I want my friend to have successful surgery.  I want to see Alan more.  I want to have Nate see Alan more.  I want to provide for my family so that we can be happy and secure.  I want to be able to have the energy to run with Riley. 

Wow.  That is a lot of “I wants”.  But you know what?  There are no “I needs” which is a good thing.  Because for me, I take NEED in the truest sense of the word.  Sure, I need food to eat, but I can afford it.  I’m not having to say, “I need money for food.”  I have the essentials covered.  We have food on the table, a roof on our heads, heat and running water, things that some people don’t have.  And the things I want?  They are the things in life that truly matter.  I’m not wanting a brand new car or the latest gadget fad or anything material.  I just want health and happiness.  I don’t think that is too much to ask.

There is a bit to catch up on, here we go……

Steve came off his bike 3 weeks ago and damaged his shoulder He has been off work since and is slowly on the mend. Chances are he will be off work until early next year, its been a long 3 weeks for all of us LOL!.

He did manage to catch up with some of his work mates at their annual Christmas party. As usual the kids were spoilt rotten and we came home with a car full of “stuff”. A fun and exhausting day for all, already looking forward to next year.

My 3 little helpers gave me a hand with the christmas tree this year. Definitely not our best effort but they all assure me Santa will LOVE it and thats all that matter, right?

We attended the Christmas Concert/Picnic at Declans school. The weather was perfect and the children put on a wonderful performance.   

I assisted today with Declans class on their excursion to Jells Park and Rollerskating. What a hoot!.  I have discovered that most 7-9 yo’s have no fear.  There were kids going in every direction but luckily only a few minor injuries. Declan got the hang of it after our trial run last week.  I think we will be heading back in the near future.  

 In between all of the above we have also….

*  Celebrated my Dads and Steve’s birthday

*  Been caught in a HUGE storm, just as school was finishing.  We had over 30mm of rain in 15 minutes, it was cRaZy!  

*  Attended so many parties (Christmas/Birthday/End of Year) that I have barely been home. We have 3 more this weekend and a few more next week.

*  Because of the above mentioned parties, I have had little time for Christmas shopping and have still not written one Christmas card.

*  Declan and Riley have met their teachers and classmates for next year and are both very happy

*  I have done something with my settings hence why the photos in this post are a bit dodgy and too big (sorry).

Phew!  until next week…….

Helen xxxxx

the site of the day – open source bulk email.

Does your organization have a “span contestant” attitude?

Why is teeamwork important?

Are the benefits of teamwork open up?

Leaders who recognize the importance of teamworkk create an environment that allows their band feel that they can be a percentage of something greater.

This requires that the chairman establish common values that encourage individuals to sacrifice personal goals for the good of the gang.

“The most difficult passion allowing for regarding individuals to when they are share of a duo is to sacrifice. Without sacriifice, you’ll not in any degree separate your pair’s potential, or your own.” –Pat Riley

Being Something Greater

Team players want to share their successes with each othher bbecause they would sort of be part of a championship side than the most valuable player who walks away without the coveted championshiip award.

History is full of examples of great players on ample tteams, but fewer instances of championship teams that figured out how to enjoy the benefits of teamwork.

The following narrative shows how one distinguished basketball player had both, but felt a greater desire to be a team player and part of a winning team.

A “Magic” Story…

… taken from The Winneer Within: A Life Plan for Players, by Pat Riley (1993).

As a youth, Earvin “Magic” Johnson was a very superb basketball entertainer. Time after time, his team won championships, but he felt something was missing and he developed an prime need to appropriation his successses with others.

During his brief collegee career, “Magic” led his Michigan Statee Spartans to the NCAA legend before being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers. In his first year in the NBA, he was named Rookie of the Year and once againn led a whizzo team to an NBA title.

After successful the ownership, Coach Pat Riley told “Magic” that he had never seen anyone like him more than twenty years of playing and coaching basketball, that is, someone who combined matchless skills with a great attitude.

When Coach Riley asked how he to be that way, “Magic” told him that even as his teams won championship after another, he would look on all sides to share his joy but his teammates not feel the same; they just looked miserable.

“Magic” told him that he was always the biggest the most suitable and his coaches told him to scoot, but this made his teammates felt like nobodies; he did want it to be that way.

Team Players Experience Greater Success

“Magic” recognized the human need to share success with joined another outweighed any individual reward. The lessons he learned as a youth helped shape his feeling and made him an unimaginable team speculator.

As “Magic” grew with the L.A. Lakers, he became known for his unselfish play and making his teammates better.

As the team connected started working together, they were masterful to enjoy the benefits of teamwork, which included winning five NBA Championship titles. The L.A. Lakers during the 1980s were truly part of something greater!

“My driving belief is this: artistic teamwork is the only conduct to reach our ultimate moments, to engender breakthroughs that define our careers, to fulfill our lives with a sense of lasting weight” — Pat Riley

Teamwork in the Workplace

Imagine caapturing “Magiic’s” team player attitude repayment for your organization.

Does your get a team player that sets positive example and brings prohibited the win out over in everyone?

Does your troupe work together unselfishly, helping each other to improve along the way?

As your team recognizes the beenefits of teamworkk, they will affair greater success!