Sorry

I have been gone from posting awhile.  It's likely to continue another week, or so.  I wish there was an easy way to explain, but there isn't.  I hope to be up and running shortly.  Have a great week!

To Twitter or not to Twitter

I've decided to Twitter in conjunction with this website.  Not sure how many tweets you'll get, but feel free to follow me under HarmanMediation.

Happy Valentine's Day

Dear Readers:

 

  

  

  

Everyone deserves a little love on Valentine's Day, regardless of the Hallmark and candy roots.  I hope everyone has a little L-O-V-E today!!

Sometimes...

10 Things I'm Loving Today

1.  Confidence in being different

 

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2.  Love Letters

 

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3.  This piglet

 

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4.  Couples with things in common

 

5.  Love birds

 

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6.  Oh wait, confidence....again.

 

7.  Dressing for a casual Valentine's date

 

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8.  Glamorous garden parties

 
 

9.  Paris!

 

  

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10.  Alice in Wonderland party theme

 

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Bonus:  VALENTINE'S DAY

P90X

Ok, I have completed my first week of P90X.  I have one word to sum up my experience so far: OUCH!! 

My body hurts so bad, but in a good way.  I'm struggling a bit with food.  I pretty much stick to the plan, but I'm starting to get cravings.  I'm going to keep finding new and excited recipes to curb my cravings, but I do not anticipate that my Route 66 roadtrip will be easy.  It's about eating healthy and making a lifestyle change, so I need to find alternative foods that I find exciting.  Maybe a bite of this or a bite of that, but no more burgers 5 days a week. 

As for the exercises, I can't do all the things in the video yet, but I'm on my way.  I feel so much better and have a lot of energy.  On the downside, my body is requiring a lot more sleep.  So, I go-go-go all day long, then crash into a nap and crash into bed at around midnight.  I know my muscles are building and recovering, but sheesh!!

So, for the first week, adhering strictly to the program, I have lost a total of TWO (2) pounds and I'm super-excited about it!!

21 pounds to go!!

Tribute to Alexander McQueen

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

He was always cutting edge.  Fashion will be less fun without him.  

Exactly how I feel about great bags!

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They could be cute!?!

 

 

Perfect!!

My personality is changing a bit.  The more I get to know my past, the more the parts of me that were hidden come out.  For example, I actually enjoy organized things.  I'm still not good at it, but I enjoy it all the same.  Another interesting change has been fashion.  I loved Banana Republic.  I still do, but I shopped there so much that at least 1/2 of my closet looks like this:

 

  

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A lot of black, right?  Funny thing is, I find the color black a little boring.  Lately, my eye has gravitated towards things like this:

  

  

  

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Big difference, right?  I've always known that my creative side was in there, I just didn't realize how much I  tried to stifle it.  I guess always doing what the right thing was will do that to you.  I look forward to embracing and mixing both styles.  Here's an example:

 

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More changes will soon reveal themselves, I'm sure.  I may even go back and forth on the things that I like, but I am so looking forward to discovering it all!

How beautiful is she?

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What a dream home...or maybe vacation home!

 

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Seth Godin Love

I just want to take a few minutes to tell you how much I love Seth Godin.  As a new entrepreneur, which I am super-duper excited about, I love reading and learning all about operating a business.    A friend introduced me to him when I first started turning over the idea of actually starting my own business and committing to making it succeed.  She's brilliant and has a brilliant, successful family.  I think it's important to surround yourself with people who have qualities you don't have, and she is definitely an asset.  

But enough about her and back to Seth.  Brilliant.  And the most brilliant part about him is the simplicity and common sense of his ideas.  For example, today, he wrote:

"One way to think about running a successful business is to figure out what the least you can do is, and do that. That's actually what they spent most of my time at business school teaching me.

No sense putting more on that pizza, sending more staff to that event, answering the phone in fewer rings... what's the point? No sense being kind, looking people in the eye, being open or welcoming or grateful. Doing the least acceptable amount is the way to maximize short term profit.

Of course, there's a different strategy, a crazy alternative that seems to work: do the most you can do instead of the least.

Radically overdeliver.

Turns out that this is a cheap and effective marketing technique."

Can you even believe how simple and effective that idea is?  Over-deliver instead of under-deliver.  Brilliant.  Sometimes people just need to be reminded of the little things that make a business successful.  He has more complex ideas, as well, but he always make them simple to understand. 

Not to mention his fun book overs:

 

  

  

 

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2010 Goals Update

In the interest of accountability, I've decided to disclose the progress of my 2010 goals from my previous post.  Just as a refresher, here's the list:

1. Find a career that makes me excited to get up every morning;
2. confront and accept the things that happened in the past;
3. recognize and cultivate the healthy relationships in my life;
4. cook a great meal at least once every two weeks;
5. get up and get moving; and
6. face the scary stuff

So, let's start with find a career that I am excited about.  I'm starting my own mediation business, with the help and encouragement of my bf, that I am SUPER excited about.  I've been struggling with finding a niche market, but I think I did it.  Now, I just need to put it together and make it happen.  Work, work, work.  I can do it.  My February modified goal is to have them both up and operable by the end of the month.  It's a short month, so I really need to get started!   I give myself a B+.

Next, is to confront and accept the things that happened to me in the past.  Well, having a type of amnesia makes confronting the past a little difficult, but I spend at least one hour a week, generally more, concentrating on trying to remember and confront.  This may take a couple years, but I'm on my way.  I give myself an A.

Third, is to recognize and cultivate the healthy relationships in my life.  I get a D in this goal.  I'm feeling a little anti-social at the moment.  I have spent time with a couple friends, but I need to do more.  I'm going to continue to work on it and strive for cultivating those healthy relationships. 

Fourth, is to cook a great meal at least once every two weeks.  I cook most meals at home these days, partially because of the next goal.  They're not always great tasting...but I try.   I give myself a C.

Next, is to get up and get moving.  I am on day 3 of P90X, and definitely feeling.  I give myself an A!

My last 2010 goal is to face the scary stuff.  Phew, my whole life is scary stuff, new business, new work-out, new past (oxymoron, I know), trusting in a relationship, trusting in myself, watching my friends advance in life all around me and knowing I'm not on the same path yet...sheesh, so much to face.  I give myself a B.  Room for improvement!! 

Overall, I think I'm at a B-. 

I leave you with this tidbit of wisdome I need to remember:

 

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Kate Spade Glamour!

 

  

  

Kate Spade.  Need I say more?  Probably not, but I will.  :-)  I love, love, love the vibrancy of her collections.  She's my favorite semi-affordable designer.  Semi-affordable meaning on sales and when gainfully employed, I can purchase items from the regular store.  Hopefully, in the next year, she'll be one of my affordable designers.  :-)  Her colors always put me in a good mood.