Okay all you super shoppers. I need your help.

Oh the drama.

There was plenty of family drama over the long weekend and I was going to write about it. That is, in fact, exactly what I was thinking I would write about today when I was thinking about my blog over the weekend. Because on Saturday afternoon I was still in the middle of it and I was, quite frankly, sick and tired of it.

But then yesterday happened and I changed my mind. I'd rather talk about something happier and forget about the completely annoying family drama I dealt with this weekend.

A few weeks ago, I called and scheduled an hour massage session with my regular massage therapist for yesterday afternoon because I could pretty well guarantee I was going to need it after a holiday weekend around my family. I'm thankful for a lot of things in my life, but this particular brilliant moment of planning ahead might be one of the things I was most thankful for this weekend.

One of my co-workers/friends was experiencing some stress related health issues a while back and I had referred her to the spa I go to. She fell in love with the place as much as I love it. We had been trying for a couple of months to schedule a massage at the same time and then to go for coffee afterwards. We were finally able to coordinate our schedules for this weekend and she and I both had massages and then went to have coffee and catch up with one another. I seriously figured I'd be home by 5:30 or so at the latest. I got home at 10:00 instead. Turns out we can really talk.

My friend is in her 50's and has been through quite a bit in life. I have too. I think we're both at a crossroads of sorts in our lives. Mine has a lot to do with Hot Brazilian and what the future holds for us. There is so much up in the air right now and it's all super exciting. At the same time, it's making me realize just how unsatisfied I am with a lot of areas of my life. In particular with my job. My job is fine and I'm extremely grateful to have a job, but I'm just not passionate about it and I feel like I'm wasting my life most days. I have a few ideas floating around in my head of what I might want to do in the future, but I have much work to do to prepare myself for it.

My massage therapist and I chat a lot while she's giving me my massages. Apparently my friend and her therapist do as well. As we sat down at Starbucks, she seemed a little hesitant to bring up something that they were talking about. She said she was afraid I would think she was weird or something but that she and her therapist had talked about putting positive vibes out into the universe so that positive things would come into your life. I looked at her and said, "my therapist and I were talking about the Law of Attraction and about The Secret while she was giving me my massage today." Her mouth fell open and she reached over and grabbed my leg and said that was the exact thing she had been discussing.

After we finished our coffee, we decided to walk across the parking lot of the shopping center we were in to go eat dinner together. We continued talking non-stop for about five and a half hours. We talked about racial issues at our firm and in the South (she's black/I'm white), we talked about not letting negative people have power over us, we talked about cutting negative people out of our lives, we talked about our dreams, our goals, trying to get to know ourselves better, taking better care of ourselves, learning what we need to do to make ourselves happier, etc. And we made a pact that in two weeks we will check in with each other and report back on what we've done to move us closer to our goals.

So, on that note, does anyone know the cheapest source for me to buy Rosetta Stone Portuguese language CD's?

I'm giving people the stink eye this week without even trying

Wow.....things have been busy. I can't believe I haven't posted on here in almost two weeks. But first, in case I forget after I get started updating things around here, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine? It will be full of much family drama. My mom is already upset with me in fact. We are having Thanksgiving at my mom's house on Friday instead of Thursday because my older brother is a police officer and has to work tomorrow and my aunt is also working (she works in the medical field). My dad invited me to his fiancee's house for dinner tomorrow and my mom is mad at me for telling him I would go. Well, her exact response was about 30 seconds of complete silence followed up by, "that's what you decided you would do, huh? Well, I'll be alone on Thanksgiving Day but I'm sure I'll be okay". As a little back story, she has been telling me for a couple of weeks that she was kind of grateful she would be alone on Thanksgiving because she had tons of stuff to do to get ready and she never seems to have a day alone and how much she was looking forward to a day of solitude. That was until she knew I was going to spend the day with my dad, of course. Whatever. Facebook friends: a reminder that my mom is on my facebook so you can't discuss this on there or my life will really go down the crapper this week. My niece is spending this weekend with me. Hopefully she'll be nicer than she was the last time she stayed with me when I was ready to string her up by her toenails. Kidding! Sort of.

So, here is an update of the last couple of weeks. Those of you who are on my Facebook have already heard all of this so if you want to move along, feel free.

Last Saturday, my dear sweet aunt passed away. She was my biological mom's sister and had put up a very hard and very long (13 year) fight against cancer but she finally lost. Even on the days she felt her worst, I never heard her complain for a minute about the way her life had turned out. She told me when she was first diagnosed that she was determined to face cancer as my biological mom did so many years ago: with a sense of humor and no complaining. I'm sure my mom was looking down on her throughout the entire span of her illness with much pride. Since this was my biological mom's sister, she is not related by blood to either my mom or my dad. They both attended the visitation and funeral. And there was drama. I was pretty upset that we couldn't even get through the celebration of my aunt's life and mourning her passing without it becoming about them, but so it was. I don't really feel like writing out all of the details, but there were tears and ugly words involved. One bright spot of the funeral (if there can be such a thing) was at the graveside part of the service. My only remaining aunt on that side of the family called me over to where she was standing once the ceremony concluded to introduce me to someone. It was my biological mom's high school basketball coach. It was so nice to meet someone who knew my mom when she was young, happy, and innocent: before marriage, three kids and the cancer that ended her life at the age of 28. He raved on and on about how awesome my mom was, how sweet and talented she was, etc. It was really an honor to get to meet him. On a sad note, I know this will be the last Christmas we get to spend time at my Mam-ma and Poppie's house. Mam-ma passed away about a year and a half ago and we all agreed to wait until my aunt's passing before we sold the house and split the proceeds according to her Will (my aunt had been living there for many years during her illness and we wanted her to be able to stay there as long as she was with us). The house will now be put up for sale but we will wait until after the holidays. My aunt told me that last Christmas the aunt who just passed away seemed to know that would be her last Christmas with us. She made her sister promise her that she would put up a tree this year and decorate it with Mam-ma's ornaments one last time. OMG, I have tears in my eyes thinking about this right now.

We opened our second paint studio last weekend. Other than a few technical difficulties with our sound system going on and off and the microphone not working, things went really well. We sold out our first two classes, almost sold out our third class (only 7 seats open), and were one seat short of selling out last night. The original studio is also selling out or close to it most nights. Things are booming in art land!

On Friday night, during the Grand Opening of the new studio, I started feeling like I had water in my right ear. I couldn't figure out why it started suddenly that evening. The next morning, it still felt like I had water in my ear. As I was in the shower washing my face, it felt like someone had punched me in the left eye. Everything around my eye felt bruised. Very odd since no one has ever punched me in the face in my entire life. When I looked in the mirror, my lower eyelid was red and swollen. On Sunday, it was even worse. And every single step I took all day long resulted in my right ear rustling like I had a plastic bag wadded up inside it. Very annoying. On Monday, my eye was a little bit less sore, but still very swollen and red so I called my doctor. She referred me to an eye doctor and I made an appointment for yesterday morning. Dr. Google had convinced me I had a clogged tear duct and everything I read said I would most likely need surgery to fix it. And that it could be caused by bacteria entering the tear duct (minor) or it could be caused by a tumor (UH OH!). I went to the eye doctor bright and early yesterday morning and after many drops in my eyes and a thorough examination, the doctor said I have an eyelid infection and prescribed me some antibiotic drops to take 4 times per day for the next 5 days. Very expensive drops. The pharmacy gave me the generic brand and had I not had insurance, a bottle that contains approximately one teaspoon of drops would have cost me almost $80. Thankfully, with my insurance I only paid 5 bucks. The doctor also told me my eyes are extremely dry and look "rashy". So he handed me three different sample bottles of rewetting drops as I walked out the door and told me to try them and that he was shocked my eyes don't bother me all the time because they are so dry. So yes, I have dry, rashy, infected, swollen, red eyes right now. I'm so hot!

Other than that, things have been busy but pretty mundane and boring. Bailey has peed on my bed a couple of times, half of my office is out this week so I've been covering for people and working my hiney off (of course all three of my bosses have been in most of the week too so I'm still doing my normal work load as well) and, therefore, I've worked almost an hour late the past two days. Today, I thought more people would be out and it would be quieter so I dressed like I'm going on a picnic instead of to work at a law firm. I have on cargo pants and a t-shirt with sandals. Obviously that means my boss called me in first thing this morning, went over a bunch of documents in his office, told me he was leaving and asked me to meet with his two clients coming in at 11:00 to get them to sign a ton of stuff. I hope they don't mind a casually dressed legal assistant! Speaking of which, I need to go put a notebook of crap together before they get here in 20 minutes, so that's it for now. I'll try to update more regularly next week. I'm fairly certain I'll have plenty of family drama from Thanksgiving to tell y'all about......

Won't somebody be friends with me?

I'm totally stealing this from Fianna. She just posted something like this on her blog.

As most of you have probably noticed, I don't get by here very often to update my blog. I am doing really good if I put up a post once per week. I think it's because I'm entirely too word-y and don't have the time to write a long blog post more often than that. However, I update my Facebook status about 5 times per day because I'm limited to a certain number of characters per post and it just doesn't take that long.

So, if you are a regular reader and commenter and would like to be my Facebook friend (if you aren't already), please send an email to creativemoxie AT gmail DOT com and let me know your Facebook name and I will friend you. Then you can read exciting stuff like how I ate some paint at the studio last night because I thought it was hot sauce for my chicken, the fact that I spent today's lunch hour naming a box of Mexican jumping beans with a group of grown-up women, one of my bosses passing gas really loudly this week, and how I cleaned my left boob with Lysol last week in the office. You'll also get to see pictures of Hot Brazilian. And if you would be my FarmVille or Farm Town neighbor on FB that would be the AWESOME. It seems I'm addicted to growing soybeans and pumpkins lately. And I'm currently raising a very cute pig and a huge wild turkey. My rabbit is coming along, but he sure is slow about it.

There is only one rule: you cannot mention this blog on my Facebook page because no one I know in real life knows about my blog. Also, my Mom is one of my Facebook friends so you can't mention anything about my Dad or she will fo' sho' get upset with me. If you happen to mention my blog or anything about my family by mistake, please don't take it personally when I immediately delete whatever you've written.

Is that wedding bells I hear? Why yes. Yes it is.

Well, I went to dinner at my Dad's house last night. My brother and I had it correct: he and his girlfriend are getting married. They are planning a church wedding in February. Yes, he is almost 70 and she is in her 70's. This is the third marriage for each one of them. She's been widowed twice before, my dad has been widowed once and divorced once. And they are having a church wedding ceremony rather than running off to Vegas or the local courthouse. Oh boy.

Blog Share!!!!

Thanks to -R-, it's time for another Blogshare......an opportunity to get something off your chest when you don't want anyone to know it's a post you wrote. I have an anonymous post floating around in the blog world today but will not tell you which one is mine. I am hosting a post for someone else who wants to confess something. After the post, I've included the list of participants for this Blogshare. Check some of them out - you just might read some super amazing stuff.

The following post was written by an anonymous blogger. It is not mine:

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My husband and I have a massive amount of debt. It could be worse and it has been worse. We’ve been working really hard for the past couple of years to dig our way out of the debt we owe. It will still be 3-4 years before we are debt-free, but it is comforting to know there is an end in sight.

There are several reasons why our debt piled up, but for the most part it was because I was in charge of our finances, did not make good spending choices, and kept my husband in the dark about the amount of debt I was racking up on credit cards. Finally, I realized there was no way out of it without help; I fessed up to my husband; we talked to our family about the situation; we met with a debt counselor; and we started making moves to work toward becoming debt-free.

We could have taken the easy way out and filed bankruptcy (keeping my retirement and profit-sharing), but ethically and morally believed we were responsible for paying back what we had borrowed. So, we cashed out all of our stocks, my retirement fund and my profit-sharing and paid off as much as we could (after taking a huge tax hit). Then, we started using the Dave Ramsey practice of the “snowball effect.” This means we pay off the smallest debt first and once that is paid off we roll that money into the minimum we’ve been paying on the next smallest debt and the amount being applied toward the balance begins to grow as you begin to pay off the larger debts.

Also, we made a strict budget and have forced ourselves to live within our means. This has been challenging for a number of reasons, but it has been approximately three years since we’ve used a credit card! There are a few things that frustrate us, however.

1. We make enough money that if we didn’t have the debt to pay off we’d have a very comfortable lifestyle. However, my husband is good at reminding me that we got to do a lot of wonderful things – trips, etc. – when we were younger and we just have to pay for it now. I appreciate his understanding and encouragement when I get low about my past choices.

2. We moved a few years ago and have not been able to sell our house in the city where we used to live. So, on top of paying rent for our current residence we are stuck with a mortgage payment. It was on the market for over a year. Then, we took it off the market and rented it out – which was a total disaster. Now, we’ve done some additional work on the house and it is back on the market. I’m praying so hard for a quick sale (or a very directed lightening strike). Not having that mortgage to pay will make our lives so much easier and will allow us to put even more money toward paying off our debt.

3. We keep having all these little “unexpected” expenses pop up. I know we all have to deal with these, but it just seems we have more than average at the moment – new appliances, car repairs, medical bills, deductibles. Again, once these are paid off in the next few months it will make things much easier and give us even more money to apply to the big debt.

Fortunately, we have very supportive families who are helping us both emotionally and financially (for some of the unexpected costs that we can’t cover right now). It changes the dynamics in the relationships a little bit, but they are all very encouraging of what we are doing and how diligent we are being about staying focused on the goal of living debt-free.

It’s frustrating and sometimes belittling. There are times I wish we’d taken the easy way out and declared bankruptcy or let our house go into foreclosure. But, at the same time I am proud of the way we are now living and how we have stayed true to ourselves and our beliefs. Three to four years may seem like a long time, but in the scheme of everything in life it is a drop in the bucket. We will make it and once we are there I can’t imagine the pride we will feel in accomplishing what at one time seemed impossible.

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Feel free to leave this blogger comments here if you want to. She has been told by -R- that I am hosting her post so she'll know to come here to see what people have to say. I have no clue who wrote this post.

Here is a list of other participants if you'd like to check them out:

Not the Daddy: http://notthedaddy.blogspot.com
O is for Olson: http://oisforolson.wordpress.com
Red Red Whine: http://redredwhine.com
Rediscovering Me: http://leavingthecocoon.blogspot.com
Reflections in the Snow-covered Hills: http://snowcoveredhills.com
The Reluctant Grownup: http://gilliangaladriel.spaces.live.com/
Sauntering Soul:http://saunteringsoul.blogspot.com
Serendipity Now: http://serendipitynow.wordpress.com
Snarke: http://snarke.net
So, This Is a Treadmill: http://sothisisatreadmill.blogspot.com
Thinking Some More: http://3carnations.blogspot.com
Time for Change: http://ngradstudent.blogspot.com
Together They Come: http://togethertheycome.wordpress.com
Wondering and Pondering: http://wonderingandpondering.wordpress.com
And You Know What Else: http://andyouknow.wordpress.com
Andrea Unplugged: http://andreaunplugged.wordpress.com
Arctic-ulate: http://arctic-ulate.blogspot.com
Bright Yellow World: http://brightyellowworld.com
Bwildered: http://bbwilder.blogspot.com
Catheroominations: http://catheroo.com
Did I Say That Outloud?: http://tracyoutloud.blogspot.com
Dispatches from the Failed Mommy Club: http://failedmommy.com
Full of Snark: http://fullofsnark.com
Heidikins: http://heidikins.com
Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men: http://hotchicksdigsmartmen.com
Just Below 63: http://littlepieceoftexas2.blogspot.com
The Little Goat: http://thelittlegoat.com

It's that time again!

Tomorrow is the big day! It's time for another Blogshare hosted by -R-. For those of you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about, Blogshare is a way for those who participate to write a post that they want to get off their chest but don't want to post on their own blog for whatever reason. They want it to remain anonymous. Therefore, tomorrow I will be hosting a blog post written by another blogger. I will have a post on someone else's blog but I will never disclose which one is mine - the person hosting my post won't even know it's mine. In the past, Blogshare has resulted in some amazing posts: some are sad, some are incredibly deep, some are hysterical, and still others are downright bizarre. Please come back tomorrow and see what people need to disclose in an anonymous way. And a huge thanks to -R- for doing this......I don't know how she has the time for this every 6 months or so!

Very quick post - I know you are all shocked that a quick post is possible for me

My older brother, sister-in-law, niece and I have been contacted by my father. He said he's trying to put together a dinner at his house this week and we have to come either Wednesday or Thursday evening and that he cannot be flexible with the date. I asked him if we're celebrating something and he said yes, but that he would not tell me anything else because he wants it to be a surprise. I called my brother today and we both think the same thing: that he's getting married to the woman he's been dating for the past 6 or 7 months. I am speculating that they are running off this weekend to elope and that's why we MUST have dinner on Wednesday or Thursday. My hope is that my brother and I are wrong and my dad won the lottery and he's sharing his winnings with us. (But that ain't it y'all. He probably wouldn't even tell us if he won the lottery.) I have to teach a class at the studio on Wednesday night so we are having dinner on Thursday. Leave a comment with some other ideas of why my dad has an urgent need for us to come to dinner at his house for a big announcement. Remember: my dad is a bit crazy, so the crazier the thoughts the better! However, his girlfriend is in her 70's so we know she's not pregnant!