March is Here, and "We Make Our Own Luck!!"

Whew! February is over, and I am celebrating!!

It is now March, one of my favorite months, because of St. Patrick's Day, but also because it is the month I discovered something wonderful.

Want to know what it is?

I'll tell you in a minute.

The quote of this post I have to give credit to my cousin, Nick Kerzmann, Jr., who came up with this motto for his new trucking company called "Thrive Trucking". Great name, hunh? Also a great motto, which shows me that Nick will do whatever he has to do to take care of his family.

Nick originally ran a heating and air conditioning business, but with the current economy, he had to find a way to pay the bills. So, he hit the road and began trucking. It hasn't been easy for him and his family, I'm sure, but then he started his own business again, and here he is out there doing what he has to do.

He is truly an inspiration. I like stories of the underdogs winning despite the odds. I like it when people find a creative way to make a living, recession/depression be damned. I'm hoping to be one of them soon.

It's been shown in a recent study that luck has more to do with attitude than it does with fate. If you feel lucky, and you are in a positive frame of mind, then most of the time you will come upon opportunities the pessimists will miss.

For example, in a recent study, they put two people in the exact same scenario. They put money on the ground, and a "millionaire" in the restaurant and observed what happened. The positive person found the money right away, and went into the restaurant and sat next to the "millionaire" and began a conversation. During that conversation, an opportunity for a job position was presented to the positive person and an exchange of numbers and information was made.

The pessimist, missed the money, sat next to the millionaire, and didn't speak a word. Why? They were too wrapped up in how bad and unlucky they were and felt and missed both opportunities.

Why do I bring this up?

I know the power of thought. I know that when you truly put your mind to something and don't let anything distract you, you can and do create miracles in your life. You find the people, opportunities, circumstances, and money that you need to accomplish what it is you want to accomplish.

I put this "secret" into action 14 years ago.

It was the month of March.

I wanted something to happen in my life.

I wanted someone to love and to love my son, and to find a person that would treat me like I wanted and deserved to be treated. Someone with my warped sense of humor, my taste in music (for the most part), who would get "goofy" with me and be there when the times were not so fun.

I asked for it.

I wrote all of it down.

I was SPECIFIC.

I then said, "If I'm meant to have someone, then please make it quick and if not, then please give me the grace and the strength to go through this life and raise my son to the best of my ability alone."

I SURRENDERED CONTROL. I didn't know if or how this would ever happen. I wanted it, but knew that if it didn't happen, I would still be okay. How it would happen was not my job.

A couple of weeks later, my friend Kathy told me there was someone I "had to meet" and I got goose bumps. My brain was telling me this was crazy, but my intuition was telling me, "This is it, silly!!"

He has been in my life ever since. I have grown to love and cherish and admire him with each passing year. If I win the lottery, or hit the best seller list, that is just icing on the cake. I have already been blessed, and I am grateful for all I have.

But most of all I am grateful he's here to share it with me.

Now, I'm working on that book contract, and a Harley.

I'm not worried about "how" it's going to get here.

After all...WE MAKE OUR OWN LUCK!

AACK!! More SNOW!!!

Today we got nailed. Literally.

You know the commute to work is going to be a bitch when you see a snow plow in the ditch and it's taken out a TREE!! That's what we saw on our way to work this afternoon, because I work the 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm shift and I'm not rich writing yet and I didn't win the Powerball!!! AACK!!!

I need to work from home. Seriously. It's getting worse out there and if the SNOW PLOW goes into the ditch, it doesn't really inspire my confidence in any other driver on the road...INCLUDING ME!!!

You also know there's a slow news day when THE WEATHER CHANNEL SHOWS UP IN YOUR HOME STATE!! Like they never saw SNOW BEFORE?!

I think this sinus infection has gone to my brain and it's melting. I know because it's coming out my freaking nose and coughing it's way out. Gross, sorry, I also have no TACT, it's the antibiotics, or the 14 hours of sleep I got last night or maybe the mixture of plastics fumes co-mingling with the over-the-counter stuff I take so I can at least breathe, which is soooo helpful for my snoring problem (sorry, honey, I guess I'll be moving into Alex's room until I can get my own C-Pap machine).

Sigh.

The picture above is Bill the Cat, for those who are not versed in the ways of Bloom County. I miss that cartoon. So many laughs. So many times standing in your underwear looking down, or my favorite was when Geraldo was hit in the nose on his talk show by a skinhead who hit him in the face with a chair. Good times.

My all time favorite of the cartoon was when Dallas was trying to quit smoking and said he gave the last pack to Bill. The next picture was of Bill with all the cigs in his mouth at once, all lit and the "Thppptt" was the caption. Nobody does it like B.B.

Time to get to sleep, I'm behind schedule and I need to start my writing marathon tomorrow. I have books to write and send to my publisher before she loses her patience with me.

Not much else to do after a snowstorm. I miss snow days, don't you???

Slowly Getting Caught Up

It's been a challenging month to say the least.

February is usually bad for me. It's the shortest month of the year and it seems to bring a lot of difficulties that make it seem the longest month of the year.

Other than Valentine's Day, the month holds difficult memories for me. Today, for instance, is the anniversary of my mother's masectomy. She had her surgery in 2009, and has been cancer free since then, Thank God. But the melancholy also seems to be amplified with everyone being sick, including yours truly.

I was supposed to have some teeth pulled yesterday, not the funnest thing in the world, but I was prepared to have it done and get it over with. Well, that didn't work out either, because of my upper respiratory infection and my blood pressure being high. I took Thereflu the night before, which elevates your blood pressure, and had nothing but coffee and you mix that with the possibility of pain in the dentist chair, well, you get a high reading.

So, they cancelled that and I made an appointment to see a family physician and have my pressure checked, etc. He saw no reason for me to delay having the extractions, but said I should take antibiotics and let the sinus infection clear up before rescheduling with the dentist. Fine. So, I got my prescription and like a good girl, took my medicine.

The plan is for me to stay away from anything that will elevate my pressure and the doctor had my blood taken to check for cholesterol and stuff and see how that comes out. I also need to drop some weight, a lot of weight. But first thing's first, get rid of the infection. Then get my butt back into the gym.

As for everything else, I have had a hard time getting back into my groove. I'm almost back up to my 2,000 words a day in writing, but I have found that once you stop it's hard to build up the momentum again. I wish I wouldn't have slacked off the last couple of weeks, but my heart and my head were so turned around with everything and my emotions were all over the place, it was hard to just focus on getting out of bed and functioning without breaking down and crying.

It's taking time, but it's getting better and I'm slowly getting caught up.

In the meantime, I'm trying to stay strong and positive and to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I can't sit around and feel sorry for myself or crawl into a corner and cry all the time. George, if he were alive, would kick my ass for that, and so would his wife. She's been getting along fairly well, but I know it must be really hard when you lose someone you've lived with and were married to for over 60 years.

Sigh. Life goes on.

I'm looking forward to Spring, and March is coming. I will be planting my flowers again, with Cannon's help, and will be happy when the weather warms up and the snow is gone. It's been a long winter.

Jess and Patrice will also be welcoming their first baby in the early part of March, a baby girl. Then I can be "Grandma Laura" and QH can be "Poppa Dude". Babies have a way of making things all better.

April we will be going to Florida, for a much needed vacation and some time in the sun and on the beach.

But the best news is my brother called on Valentine's Day and he and his wife, Lisa, are expecting their first baby sometime in the fall, around September. I told him since Kelley and I had the boys, he was going to have the girls!

We'll have to wait and see.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

In honor of Valentine's Day and to keep the Love and Happiness flowing, here's my Tip Sheet on having a Fabulous Valentine's Day with your Sweetheart!

10 Ways to Make Valentine’s Day Fabulous

10. The 10-second kiss.
When your sweetheart leaves for work, take 10 seconds and give them a kiss they will remember all day long! Then do it again when they come home! It might last longer than 10 seconds.

9. Decorations.
Fill balloons with notes of reasons why you love your sweetheart, then blow them up, hide them and the night before, put them in the car (really fill it up if you can), and then leave a large pin with a note and instructions.
Or write how much you love them on the car with a bottle of car window ink, the kind you see on the windshields at the car dealer with the prices, etc. It comes in all sorts of colors, so go wild! You can find it at a party supply store or a hardware store.

8. Give them the royal treatment.
Make them King (or Queen), for the day with a crown, a declaration on parchment paper, and then cater to their every wish. You won’t be sorry!

7. Surprise, surprise, surprise!
Come home early, (before the kids get home, if you have them), and show your sweetheart how much you love them. Make sure you lock the doors and unplug the phones!

6. Look out Emeril and Rachel Ray.
If you can’t get a reservation to your favorite restaurant, then plan to surprise your sweetheart by ordering their favorite meal via take out and plate it up like you cooked it yourself. If you plan waayy ahead, then take a cooking course and make that Steak & Lobster Thermidor yourself. Not only will your sweetheart appreciate it, but you will feel a sense of accomplishment and confidence as well.

5. Draw a nice warm bath.
Nothing relieves stress better than a nice, hot bath. Draw the water just before you know your sweetheart is ready to hit the water or it will be too cold. You can put rose petals or heart shaped confetti down on the floor or carpet leading the path to the bath. Make sure to scrub the back and rub the neck and shoulders area.

4. Make the world go away.
Shut it all off. No electronic devices, no television, no cell phones, or other things that ring or clack or will disturb the intimacy of you and your sweetheart and your quality time.

3. Go Ahead! Eat Chocolate!

2. Bring out your inner Shakespeare
Express your love in the written word, in your own words. If you have trouble finding the words, then find a poem or have someone help you write it.

1. Run away from home.
Take off for the weekend. This one will have to be planned out since there are over a zillion reservations made for Valentine’s Day, or if you want to avoid the holiday rush, then celebrate the weekend before or the weekend after. Enjoy all the time you have together.