Looking on the positive side.

Things are difficult when you lose your job. I've been having these dreams lately with the underlying theme of hopelessness. The other night I dreamed that I woke up and my jeep had it's wheels stolen and it had been stripped of the seats. Last night I dreamed that I was at an airport, but had forgotten my wallet with my passport and consequently could not board the plane. Sad.

Knowingly needing to turn all this negative energy around, I did a little research. If you google "looking on the positive side," you might come up with this:

We have to pay full attention to the following, which are considered positive:-

1) Constructive not destructive
2) Creative
3) Progressive
4) Idealistic
5) Purposeful (only noble or virtuous)
6) Valuable
7) To remain busy, alert, industrious, to keep freedom, liberation, or independence.
8) Perfection
9) Purity
10) Careful
11) Confident, courageous. etc. etc.
(-naguru)

You can't go wrong if you think about all this, and take it to heart. It's so easy for someone to say "hey, look on the bright side," but that is bullcrap. That's an empty statement. I'm glad someone broke down the elements of positivity to make the idea easier to digest. Hopefully the dreams and the negativity will subside and I can get my life back. Cheers.

Job Search

Surfing is amazing. Even when you're just floating and it's just you, your board, and the gentle rising and falling of the swell beneath you.

Giving....and Receiving

Greg, Twice. I made this my setting a camera up on a tripod, shooting him in two different positions, and then superimposing them in photoshop. Good stuff.

One little morsel of wisdom I heard today:
There was this guy talking about the two bodies of water that border Israel. There is this sea to the North that has a constant input into it, and it also has a constant output draining out. As a result of the constant refreshing and mixing of the waters, this sea is rich with life. On the other side of the map, the Dead Sea to the South has water flowing into it, but nothing flowing out. Consequently, everything that washes into it dies, dubbing it the Dead Sea. All this metaphor is trying to say is this: Receive freely, Give Freely, and be full of life.

It's easy for people to say that it's healthy to give generously. I love giving. I give when it's not practical to. It brings me joy. But I've always thought as receiving eagerly as somewhat selfish. I guess you need to feed the sea as well as drain it in order to flourish. It's true though; I've been in situations where I feel I've been giving everything and not getting anything in return. As good as it feels to give to others, if you're not occasionally receiving something back, it drains you. Just like the sea would run out of water if there was nothing flowing in to replenish its waters. You don't feel like giving so much anymore. Before, I thought it was selfish to expect something in return. But I know now that receiving just as much feeds the human soul as giving. So don't feel gulity about getting an awesome gift; enjoy it but just make sure you're giving back.
Fans.

Hot dog man in Hi-top Converse shoes.

Creepy.

Blessings in disguise

Sometimes we do things we regret. Like drive over a tree and screw up your jeep and then get pulled over for driving on the trees in the wal mart parking lot. We've all been there, metaphorically speaking at least. As much of an inconvenience and embarrassment they can be, these mistakes are a basic and genuine human truth. Everything we have done in the past makes us the person we are today. And for that, I have no regrets. And even out of this brainles endevaor with jeep vs. trees comes good. I am now getting the new mirrors I've always wanted. I'm also getting that buff job I've been putting off. And I'm staying in next Friday night. Learn to take the good with the bad, and just plain learn from your mistakes.
No worries.

Why Not?

I really think it's time I broke down and bought a plunger.

Time for coffee. Then off to gym. Why hasn't someone come up with a way to make the gym not so boring? That's the million dollar question.
This whole being unemployed thing has left me with a lot of extra free time on my hands. So, why not cook? Here's what I'm baking today:

Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks (8 ounces) butter
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 4 beaten eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
• sifted confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

Heat oven to 325°. Blend butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Pat into ungreased 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. For filling, blend together eggs, sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Pour over first layer. Return to oven and bake at 325° for 20 minutes. Loosen around edges, cut into bars and sift confectioners' sugar over the top while warm.

Money saving tip of the day: Make your own ringtones in itunes!
Select the mp3 you want>file>get info>options>set start and stop time (usually under 30 secs)>ok
Then under "advanced" menu>create mp3 version
Ba boom. you now have a custom ringtone for free. Just remember to change the original track start and stop times back to the full length so you're not listening to your ipod and wondering why some of your tracks are only 30 seconds long.

today..

Today was school picture day but I always feel more comfortable when I have Teddy by my side.

Why didn't I go surfing today? Webcam is showing thigh to waist and clean. Selling all my things instead.
There's a lot more to this moving thing than I anticipated. And I have a lot of stuff.


Words of wisdom:
"It's not what you do that defines you, it's how you bounce back from failure that defines you."
-From Maid in Manhattan
******************************************************************************************
The best Darn Lasagna. ever.
I saw this recipe in a 7-month old issue of Redbook while in the waiting room of my ob-gyn. They won't miss the page.

Chicken Spinach Lasagna Casserole
ingredients:
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/3 cup shopped onion
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 (10 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 (4.5 oz) jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1/3 cup mayonnaise
6 lasagna noodles, cooked (or buy the no-cook ones)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 f. In a large bowl, combine spinach, chicken, cheddar cheese, onion, cornstarch, salt, pepper, soy sauce, sour cream, mushrooms, and mayonnaise. Put a layer of noodles in the bottom of a greased 9x13x2 inch lasagna pan. Spread half of the spinach mixture over the noodles. Put another layer of noodles on top and cover with the remaining spinach mixture. Sprinkle parmesan cheese, then pecans on top, and bake for 1 hour. Serves 12.

New blog

Created a new blog today. What is a blog anyways? I will publish things on the web that people do not want to read. Or for those who wish to know what I was up to last Thursday evening or so. Tired, going to sleep.