Can You Feel the Excitement?

By cliopatra

Feb

6

beatles apple

Image by oddsock via Flickr

My big goal at work for the last two and a half years has been getting a professional designation so I could become state certified to teach pre-licensing and continuing education for insurance agents.  I currently work a desk for a large insurance agency and while it’s ok, it’s not my passion.  Teaching and writing are.

Ever since I got certified I have been putting myself out there to any and all teaching opportunities.  I was asked by a local association to teach a class in December, but it was cancelled due to low enrollment (plus the course materials sucked).  In January I was supposed to teach two ethics classes at my office, but there were problems with the course paperwork that had to be filed with the state so those had to be cancelled.

In January I volunteered to teach a class for the local association this month, and they sent the course materials, which I’ve been working through.  Then yesterday they sent me the class roster, which means:  I AM TEACHING ON TUESDAY.

I am so excited about this.  It’s been a long road to get here, and Tuesday afternoon’s class will be the fulfillment of a big dream I had when I moved to Florida.  I know it’s the first of many, but I am just so excited!  And nervous!

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What’s Working For Me

By cliopatra

Feb

4

Sparkler

Image by Tom Olliver via Flickr

These days I’m not just looking better, I’m *feeling* better.  And vice versa.

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting on my couch on a Sunday night feeling gross and useless and ashamed of myself.

Gained 4 lbs over the holidays that I really truly did not need.  Broken out from PMS.  Dove stopped making my facial cleanser so I bought Olay and had an eczema flare-up.

Since that day I found two things that have helped me tremendously:

1.  Cetaphil Antibacterial Gentle Cleansing Bar.  I’ve always trusted Cetaphil when things got ugly, but I’ve never used the bar.  This bar took care of the breakout AND the flare up, and while my skin is not completely perfect again, it feels softer and smoother than it has felt in a really long time.

2.  SparkPeople.  I’ve been a member of this website in the past, but I really didn’t GET IT.  It’s completely free.  You can track food, you can track exercise, there are tons of helpful tips, a very active community, but I just wasn’t using it the way I should have.

I started tracking on Monday, January 25, and I’ve lost 5 lbs since then.  The community is awesome, the tips and information are top-notch, and I feel so much better about myself since I joined.

I also picked up a copy of The Spark: The 28-Day Breakthrough Plan for Losing Weight, Getting Fit, and Transforming Your Life by SparkPeople founder Chris Downie. I downloaded the e-book to my Blackberry and have been reading it in my downtime. Very inspirational.

Nowadays I am keeping track of everything I eat, taking the stairs as much as I can, and being an inspiration to the people I work with.  Me!  A fitness inspiration.  Who would have thought?

These are the things that are working for me these days.  What’s working for you?

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Music In Me (Again)

By cliopatra

Jan

14

position of C on a keyboard

Image via Wikipedia

I’m not one of those who was all woe-is-me about 2009.  I actually thought ’09 was a pretty great year.

2010 started out kind of badly for me, just in a general mood sort of way.  I spent New Year‘s Eve and New Year’s Day in a bit of a funk.  Thankfully, I am over it now.

I’ve been working out quite a bit, and doing some reading while I do it, which helps the time go by (this is on a stationary bike, not during aerobics or anything).  I’m also planning on getting back into the Wii now that we have our livingroom back from Christmas.

The one thing I seem to forget is music.  On Wednesday at the end of our monthly departmental meeting, my boss put on some music and asked us all to dance around for a little bit.  It was quite fun, and put me in a better mood to go back and tackle my desk again.

I really need to remember that, and find more ways to put music back into my life.

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Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

By cliopatra

Jan

9

Blueberry Muffin Galore

Image by kitsunebabe via Flickr

One of the nice things about living in SWFL is that in January, it’s really not as cold as the rest of the world.  It’s not beach weather, but you still don’t have to wear socks.

We’re having an unusual spell of cold weather right now.  This morning it is 41F (feels like 34F) with a persistent drizzling rain.  I’m not planning on doing much out of the house today.

Someone mentioned at work the other day that it costs 4 times as much to heat a home as it does to cool it.  At least here it does, anyway.  I decided that was enough incentive to try and keep the thermostat low, so this morning when I woke up I put on long pants, a long sleeved T-shirt and socks.  This is WAY more than I usually wear at home.

I then started the coffee (which I don’t drink), made a cup of Earl Grey (which I do drink), then put some a new chicken recipe in the crockpot, and started a loaf of bread in the breadmaker.  In a couple of hours this house is going to smell amazing.

I’m even thinking about making some homemade blueberry muffins (thanks to the 10 lbs of organic blueberries I found in the freezer).  If the oven doesn’t keep the house warm, then maybe a 10 or 15 rousing games of Wii tennis will.

I’m thankful not to live where it is truly cold, so that I have all these low-cost and yummy options for keeping the chill away.

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Dream Realization

By cliopatra

Nov

6

Title page to Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning...
Image via Wikipedia

I’ve been in the insurance industry for most of the last 16 years, and in that time I’ve been an agent in 4 different states. When I moved to Florida 4 years ago I went to work for a large nationwide agency, and was immediately impressed by the knowledge of the people I worked with, and my boss in particular.  She is extremely knowledgeable and teaches continuing education (CE) classes both in-house and for the local insurance professionals organization.

I don’t know when I first started thinking about it, but at some point in the first year or so of my employment here, I started thinking about teaching CE classes, and maybe even pre-licensing courses for wanna-be insurance agents.  I’ve been in the industry a while, and I enjoy the ins and outs of the contracts and such.

One day I woke up and thought “I want to teach insurance”. 

I went online with the Florida Department of Financial Services and found out that I was only lacking either (1) a college degree or (2) a professional designation in the insurance industry to qualify.  My background was clean and I had more than enough applicable experience to qualify.

In August of 2007 I began working on a professional designation.  Most of the people I have admired throughout my career have been Certified Insurance Counselors (CICs), and that’s what I wanted to do.

CIC is a rigorous program.  You have 5 years to complete 5 courses.  The courses are 2.5 days of lecture, and then a 2 hour 20 question essay exam on the final day (and exam results mailed to you a nail-biting 6 weeks later).  You have to pass all 5 to get the designation, but you can retake them as many times as you need to (with applicable fees, of course).

In June of 2009 I completed my final course, and found out in July that I had passed the exam (I passed all 5 exams on the first try – go me!).  In less than 2 years I was awarded the CIC designation, and the first thing I did (after a celebration dinner with Irish) was apply to be a CE and pre-licensing instructor with the state.

Imagine my surprise when I got my approval in just 2 days!  I informed my bosses and the local insurance professionals organization as soon as I found out.

My office has scheduled me to teach 2 in-house ethics CE classes in January 2010, which I thought would be my first official classes, but today the local organization asked me if I would help instruct another CE course in December.

I was just thinking how much I used to hate CE classes, and now I’m going to be teaching them, and I’m excited about it.  I hope to make the classes that I teach fun and interactive so the students stay involved.

It just goes to show that if you dream and work hard, and you have people behind you that support you (like Irish, my friends and my employers and coworkers) that you can accomplish anything.

 

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The Day After

By cliopatra

Oct

27

Comune di Roma

Image via Wikipedia

Last night on the way home from work I had to stop and pick up a few things.  I loaded my purchases into the trunk of the car, and then took a few minutes to dig some loose change out of my car to pay my library fines.

I owe 50 cents, and I almost never carry cash.  I haven’t replenished my ashtray full of change in a while, so after digging around I was only able to come up with 35 cents.  I decided to delay the library trip until tonight, but did have a nice little freak-out when I couldn’t find the bottle of Sobe I had just purchased to drink.  I finally found it in the trunk.

I was beating myself up quite a bit for being unorganized, and feeling so out of control.  I was feeling a lot of anger and resentment over household chores, so I knew something had to be done.

Irish had class last night, so I went home and turned on one of the music channels through cable – Party Favorites.  I expected I would have to turn it off eventually, but it was just one song after another of fun and energy.  I heard everything from James Brown to Justin Timberlake, Sister Sledge to Lady Gaga.  Lots of fun.

I cleaned house for about an hour and a half singing and dancing to the radio.  I did a couple of loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, swept the floor, took out the trash and worked up a sweat.  I had originally set the time for 40 minutes, but I decided to keep going and also count it as a workout.

When Irish got home I had him start dinner and a couple of other small chores.  He never complains when I ask him to do something, but I try to keep the requests quick and simple.

Only personal writing last night, and a couple of personal housekeeping items, but I did get some play time in.  I really needed that.

I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to last night, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.  I just have to keep a list and check things off as I go.

A friend of mine likes to send me little things she gets in her e-mail and this was today’s:

Today’s thought from Hazelden is:

It’s easy to look at all the tasks and unsolved problems and feel so pressured that we get paralyzed and don’t get anything done. It takes discipline to gather in our scattered forces and focus on one thing, one day, one step, and sometimes one hour – even when taking only that one step can seem so trivial in the face of all that looms.

Inventory Focus:
Are you creating unnecessary fear and drama by taking on more than you handle? Are you willing to trade in the I’m-out-of-control-and-overwhelmed feeling for a sense of manageability? Do you have any history with deliberately living life one day or one step at a time? How did that work?

Plans, goals, and dreams are good, but the only way to get there is one day at a time.

The link for Hazelden takes you to today’s thought on the website, which is different from that one.  They have an e-mail service where they send you a thought for the day, which is where this one came from.

I think I needed to hear that.

I was late for work today, but I’m clean and dressed and I’ve had breakfast, and really, life is full of small miracles I can look at and stop drowning in my self-flagellation.

One day at a time!

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Cold Wind Blowing

By cliopatra

Oct

19

A photo of trees in a forest in New Jersey, Ea...

Image via Wikipedia

There is something about the cool autumn weather that energizes me.  It always has.  Back when I lived in a place with actual seasons, autumn was always my favorite: cool weather, warm sweaters, colorful leaves and football.  These days I only seem to get a taste of it when we go up to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for Thanksgiving.

Saturday was clear and cool, but Sunday was the most beautiful day.  It was in the 50s when I trotted out to get the newspaper, and never ventured about 70 all day.  In SWFL!

After my brother and his stepson left to head home I did some cleaning up, then opened the windows and settled in with the cat for a little siesta on the couch.  She slept, I watched a little TV (the 9/30 episode of Glee) and enjoyed the cool breeze caressing my skin and ruffling through my hair like a lover.  It was a gorgeous afternoon.

I slept well last night, and even got in to work *on time* this morning, which is probably the first time all year.  I think I will try to make a habit of it.

That must be why we have seasons, to kind of reset the clock and give us a reason to keep moving forward.  I know I’m ready to get moving again.

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Beauty

By cliopatra

Aug

26

Reminds_meThere is beauty everywhere, you simply have to look for it.   Sometimes it is hiding in plain sight, but so small you may not even notice it.

Are you looking for the small moments of beauty, or complaining that their aren’t any big ones to find?

A lovely quote from Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann:

“Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.  With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.  Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

By cliopatra

Jan

7

Three things that have made this year more pleasant for me:

1.  Switching to SunButter.  I’ve been miserable about the lack of peanut butter in my life until I found this stuff.  It’s made from sunflower seeds, has the consistency and heft of peanut butter, but is slightly sweeter AND is made in a peanut and tree nut free facility.  The nutrition works out this way:

SunButter (in 2 tablespoons):  200 calories/16g fat/4g fiber/7g protein/30mg sodium

Peanut Butter (in 2 tablespoons):  190 calories/16g fat/2g fiber/8g protein/150mg sodium

Nutritional value compared to peanut butter is negligible, but I don’t end up with my face peeling off, either.

2.  Bringing my lunch to work.  I eat healthier, spend less money, and get to read on my lunch break!  Today I had a Sunbutter and pomegranate jelly sandwich on Arnold Sandwich Thins (whole wheat) with a small cup of cottage cheese and some frozen mixed berries, plus water!

3.  Stopped reading Perez Hilton.  I was seriously addicted to that trainwreck website.  One minute he’s talking about how skinny someone is (they must be dying!) and the minute they gain some weight they are either a porker or pregnant.  Not to mention the penis drawings and mouth drippings.  Over it.

What have you done to make your 2009 better so far?

Stopwatch! CHANGE!

By cliopatra

Dec

28

I have decided to bite the bullet and attempt to participate in NaBloPoMo for January 2009.  The topic is CHANGE, which I think I can probably deal with.  

2009 is going to be a year of big change in my life.  There are ideas and implementations and all sorts of stuff going on behind the scenes.

In other news, have you ever just needed a stopwatch or timer?  I needed one today and couldn’t find my digital kitchen timer, so I did a Google search and voila!  Online Stopwatch.

Set the time to count up or down, and if your sound is on it will even alert you when time is up (or down, whatever).  I’ve been using it for lots of fun stuff today:

  • The breadmaker said I needed to scrape the dough after 4 minutes of mixing (which is why I found this doohickey in the first place).
  • I turned on the dryer for 50 minutes and then set the timer for 50 minutes because Lord knows I NEVER hear the dryer buzzer going off and the clothes get all wrinkly…
  • 15 minutes cleaning with FlyLady!

I’m sure you could find other fun and useful ideas for it.  Enjoy!

I’m off to fold clothes now!

Merry Christmas

By cliopatra

Dec

24

Blog Pictures | acobox.com

Though it hardly “feels” Christmaslike here in SW Florida (we’ll be in the mid-80s for the next few days), I am feeling Christmasy in my heart.  For some reason this particular song has struck me hard and often the past few days:

O holy night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth
The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn

This song is my heart’s refrain this season, my eyes welling with tears just to read those words.

I have never particularly understood the allure that sunset has over some people.  To me, sunrise is the most magical time of day: the sun’s rays alighting on every living thing, revealing a new day, a fresh start, the promise and the hope of a new beginning.

It’s a clean slate: a new and glorious morn.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Raining and Pouring

By cliopatra

Sep

30

Woke up this morning to a thick blanket of clouds, the kind that calls for a thick mug of apple cinnamon tea and the spending the whole day in bed reading trashy novels.  Instead I came to work.

My assistant is the chirpy sort, and I wasn’t quite in the mood for it.  I didn’t sleep much night before last, and last night’s good sleep didn’t quite erase the deficit completely, so I steeled myself with some Red Bull.

I stopped by her desk to drop off a project for her and she was crying.  The mortgage payment hasn’t made it to the mortgage company, even though it was mailed two weeks ago.  Her husband has just spent the last several minutes on the phone berating her for this oversight.

She’s sobbing about how she is a bad wife, a bad mother, a bad assistant, and I know all of this comes from him.  She’s been seeing a counselor for depression, and the counselor is urging her to take anti depressants, but she worries about it making her birth control ineffective.

Of course, the last thing she needs is another child with this man, and he flat out refuses to wear condoms.  Selfish bastard.  Abusive and controlling.  She thinks he will probably go out and get drunk tonight, and use the mortgage payment thing as an excuse.  How is that helping, exactly?

Then my best friend IMs me to tell me that her ex-fiance has stomach cancer.  His wife told her mother that he was starting chemo today.  My BFF and this guy were together for years and years.  I dated his cousin, and his family is like my family. 

This world can be a terrible place.

I am so lucky to have health, and the people who love me, who forgive me for my mistakes and support me.  This day is a reminder to be thankful to God for his blessings.

Money Matters

By cliopatra

Sep

25

Last night while I was working on my little organizational notebook (details forthcoming) I found a business card for my dentist, and nearly choked when I realized I had a cleaning scheduled for this morning at 8 a.m.  I vaguely remember receiving a reminder call sometime last week, but I never called the office back to confirm.

I got up early this morning and headed up there for my cleaning.  I am a child of the 70s, so I have those terrific silver fillings that have been there for years, and I know my teeth are in bad shape structurally.  I generally don’t have cavities, but I do have some cracks.  In the last 4 years I’ve had two crowns put on, one as a preventative measure, and one to replace a tooth that broke off down to the nub.

The hygenist took some pictures and showed me the two teeth on the lower right in the back are very cracked and damaged.  I still have some benefit left on my dental coverage, and they suggested I should get them both done at once.  My portion after insurance is about $700, which is both “whew – thank God I have insurance” and “oh crap – $700?” all at the same time.

So next week I get to go in and have those taken care of.  Instead of going to my writers conference.

The conference is $250 + $250 for hotel plus gas and meals and any crap I buy while I’m there, which is, well, essentially $700.  I just have to get someone to buy my conference registration by next Tuesday and we are all set.  If not, I cancel the registration and lose $50, but I still will not be out the money for the conference.

The economy has me a bit spooked.  I am more thankful that ever that we didn’t buy a house last year, and that we found a rental that was within our budget.  We both still have jobs, and we live within our means, which means room for some extras now and then.  Hopefully we won’t be as affected by the economy as others have been or will be.

But choices have to be made, and I choose my teeth.

Besides, the conference is geared towards novelists, and I am starting out on my screenwriting adventure.  There is an online screenwriting basics class starting in January for only $50 and I can probably afford that.

Who is this fiscally responsible person.  Me?

Dear Readers,

By cliopatra

Apr

30

Both my father and my father-in-law have heart or stroke related illness. So do my grandmothers on both sides.

I’m participating in this year’s American Heart Association Heart Walk. Please help me reach my donation goal by clicking the picture below.

Thanks for your support!

Dear Susie,

By cliopatra

Apr

14

First of all, Happy Birthday. It is a blessing to have a friend who is a year and two weeks older because it makes me feel young. 

I wish I could say I can’t remember a time when we weren’t friends, but I can. Up until I was 15 there was no “Q” in my life, and everything turned Technicolor after.

You took a shy, too-serious girl to lunch with you that cold February day in 10th grade, and you turned her into a friend and she was never the same after that. Thank God.

We’ve had our rocky points, which I’m not going to rehash. Thankfully we were both smart enough to realize the value in our friendship and hold onto it, because it got us through some really tough times that had nothing to do with each other.

You’re like the sister I never had, except I did have one eventually, and one day I hope she is lucky enough to have a friend who is as wonderful to her as you are to me.

Despite the distance, and the differences, I want you to know that you are still and will always be my very best girlfriend. Happiest of birthdays to you on this, your 37th (!!!) and many more even happier ones to come.

See you in 10 days!

Love, C.

Law Enforcement Gear

By cliopatra

Mar

30

For those in law enforcement, there are few places to go and buy the gear they might need or want for on the job. Law enforcement gear can be found on the web, specifically at lapolicegear.com.

Lapolicegear.com has everything from Blackhawk holsters to shirts, pants and hats. I checked out the closeouts page and found a great deal on a compass and a book on financial success for police officers. Check it out!

Today is NEW LAPTOP DAY

By cliopatra

Mar

29

I’m finally going to go and buy a new laptop. In the spirit of this technological advancement I’m going to talk about two Things I Love:

(1) Google

I adore Google in ways I did not know it was possible to love a virtual entity. I love gmail, I love Google Docs, I love the Calendar, I love Google Checkout, and I especially love Google Reader. There are a million other Google products and tools, and I know I’ve only scratched the surface, but everything is so useful I barely need to have a real life anymore.

(2) PayPerPost

20 posts and $147 later, I feel like I’m doing pretty well with it. Lack of significant PageRank on either site means I have to “make do” on some posts. I don’t really get the opportunities on the big money posts, but $7 (average) per post, when a post takes me about 15 minutes from start to finish is not a bad thing. That’s laptop money right there!

Starting out

By cliopatra

Feb

22

Thanks to my brilliant brother for setting me up. As soon as I figure out which site of his I should link to, then I will.

Everything below this post has been moved over from Xanga.  I may occasionally duplicate posts, but I think that I’ll be moving most of my blogging over here.