Managing Your Daily Time by Prioritizing

Video on prioritizing daily activities

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Back from a trip to Chicago - Reunion

Mark and I spent a long weekend in Chicago this past weekend attending his 45th high school reunion. Mark was fortunate in the sense that he attended the same elementary school, junior high school (now middle school) and high school and kept long-lasting friendships with a posse of guys that to this day stay in touch and see each other when they can. What fun to be the 3rd party sitting back and watching the dynamics of people getting together to embrace, share fond memories and see people they haven't seen in 25 to 45 years.  Their class was a large one for 1967 in Southside Chicago. There were 187 who attended the two days of events and 31 who have passed away over the years. From appearances and hearing conversations, some people looked the same except for maybe some white or grey hair, while others look completely different from their life experiences, genetics, health, etc. I smiled the whole weekend, took lots of pictures and just enjoyed the love and camaraderie that occurred. After high school, they all spread out and attended college in IL and in other states but the core group of friends stayed connected. They attend each other's weddings, now children's weddings and thank goodness no deaths yet. The wives, husbands and significant others are now considered part of this posse.

While growing up, we moved a lot, thus I attended many elementary schools mainly in California and Arizona  and I attended three different high schools so I don't have the luxury of having lots of friends I grew up with. I led an interesting life traveling and moving with my mother and I do somewhat envy people who were able to stay in one area and gather life-long friends. My children were Army brats and they too experienced moving a lot but my oldest son was able to attend one high school and has a couple of friends from there he is still close to. My other son attended two different high schools in two different states and didn't develop those close friendships.

I can't feel sorry for myself nor would I rewind and live my life differently as on my journey I became who I am today and that's what it's suppose to be. But I do respect and appreciate seeing those who have been together for years, shared life experiences, friendships and love. If you developed friendships from growing up and have lost contact with them, might be an opportunity to reconnect, think about it.

Report finds Penn State president, Paterno concealed facts about Sandusky sex abuse

This is very disappointing and disgusting.

Report finds Penn State president, Paterno concealed facts about Sandusky sex abuse

Pinterest Boards

Another new social media tool is "Pinterest" which really is a very user friendly place to create "boards" of interest. There are categories and topics you put on your page and then you start embellishing your boards. You can "pin" or upload photos you like or are interested in such as hobbies, food, places you want to visit, books you read or want to read, movies to see, styles, quotes.......you name it as you can be as creative as you want to be.

So you may ask yourself what the value of doing this is?  I have always loved to share with others helpful hints, tidbits, etc. so a perfect place given my personality to do this. Pinterest is connected to Facebook and Twitter  and somehow people from these social media sites will visit the boards to see things they can relate to or like and from the most recent additions put these same things on their boards. I simply enjoy spending a few minutes on this site each day. It is just fun.

I follow people who think similarly to me in how they post - fashion, design, travel, quotes, etc. May not be your cup of tea and that's OK.  Another creative idea that is innovative and the creators will soon be millionaires.

Life is like Coffee Movie

Life is like Coffee Movie: Do you know people that just seem to be happier in general? Do you say to yourself, "I want to be more like them"? Often, the happiest people in the world don't have the best of everything...they just make the best of everything!

Gaining Back a More Youthful Glow

I read in a beauty magazine that at birth, our skin is in the best shape will ever be - its velvety soft, free of discoloration and virtually perfect. But years of sun exposure, lifestyle choices and other external factors and skin conditions can damage our complexion and rob it of the healthy glow that we all want.  The article recommended regular facials vs. peels.

Eating healthier will help keep your skin looking younger. Orange veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes are loaded with Vitamin A which restores and regenerates damaged collagen. Fish creates stronger skin cells and it's rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Tuna and salmon are two fishes to include in your diet. Water-based veggies like cucumber, broccoli, swiss chard, sweet potatoes, asparagus and celery have a lot of sulfur which produces collagen. Red veggies provides sun protection. Tomatoes, peppers, beets contain an antioxidant - lycopene that acts as a natural sunblock. All good stuff to know.

Think Before You Do

Sometimes we get so caught up in the moment, especially in stressful situations that we tend to forget to see what we are doing. This happened to me yesterday - big mistake. I decided to pay my American Express bill on-line through my checking account. I hurriedly input the pertinent  information and hit process. What I forgot to do was to double verify the dollar amount I entered for payment which I didn't do. What I did do was input a number that was far more than what was owed. I immediately contacted American Express who shared with me, "too late" it's already hit our automated system. I contacted my bank and asked to speak to a manager (it was Sunday) - we decided to try and put a stop payment on the transaction which she shared with me may not work - it didn't. I got notified this morning that my account was overdrawn by this large amount so had to scramble to rectify the situation. I now have a credit with American Express and a depleted checking account but all has been taken care of.  Lesson on this for me, if I had simply SLOWED down enough to verify what I was doing before processing the transaction especially since a large sum of money was involved. 

We live in the digital world of technology which is so convenient but it can also be challenging in the sense that we aren't dealing with humans and the ability to really think before doing. I learned a hard lesson that got me pretty stressed over the past 24-hours but I have moved on and it's worked out in the long run. Bottom line, think before doing.