Getting In Trouble

Getting in trouble stinks!!!!!!

When Will I Ever Learn?

When will I ever learn? If you want your hair to look good, sometimes you have to bite the bullet and pay someone for their help.

Several years ago, I made a major hair color mistake. I am a natural blond who decided to try to go black. This process was a nightmare as I attempted to do the transformation myself. After several boxes of color, having gray hair, etc., I finally got the black that I was trying to achieve. Unfortunately, I did not like it on me and decided to change it back ----that day. The trek going back from black to blond was even worse than my dying experience before. By the end of the day, I think I had done my hair a good 8-10 times. It's a wonder I had any hair left. I did seek the help of a Sally's Beauty Supply expert who guided me to fix all my errors. I vowed never to do that again.

Well, my vow did not last and this April, I decided to go from blond to medium dark brown. The process was not real difficult and after attempting a few different shades, I was happy and everyone seemed to like the new me.

The new me lasted about 3 months, until the other day when I decided to go back to blond. Did I go pay a professional to help me make the transition painless? NOOOOOO! Instead, I thought I could save money and do it myself. By the time I was through, however, I had spent about what I would have at a salon. I tried to remember all of my mistakes from before, but still went through about 4 processes, before I went to Sally's again and got some final advice. I went from brown to light brown, to orange to orange to red and then finally my roots went to very yellow and the rest of my hair is a dirty blond with a little strawberry in it. But, rest assured, throughout the process, I did use a very good conditioner.

Am I happy? No! But, I will live with it for a month and I hope by then, my hair will be healed and I can finally achieve the blond that I want. Did I learn my lesson? Yeah, because I HATE hearing my husband say "I TOLD YOU SO" over and over again. lol

Update: Wii Active

Well, I did a total of about 10 Wii Active workouts spaced over a period of about a week and a half to two weeks. The workouts made me sweat, they made me feel like I was getting a full body workout and they made me build muscle. I actually gained weight (muscle) and that made me frustrated. However, I would have kept doing the 30-day challenge had I not hurt my ankle(s). The last couple workouts that I did, I began experiencing pain primarily in my right ankle, but both ankles hurt. The right ankle began to swell and I had to stop the workouts. It took about two weeks for it to heal. I believe that the carpet in my living room has poor padding underneath, and with the jumping and the running in place the exercise requires, it caused the sprain. I am contiplating buying a yoga mat or an exercise mat to see if this will help. I have not taken the step yet, since I have been on vacation and focusing on my Weight Watchers plan.

My suggestion if you are going to do Wii Active? Make sure you have ankle support, proper floor cushioning and be ready to sweat!

Ha- Men Working

Okay, this sign is completely outdated!!!! I saw this on my way to work this morning and HAD to make a comment. Come on people, let's be politically correct and redo the sign to say, "CREW WORKING". Get 'er done!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Review of Wii Active

One of my Face Book buddies has been talking about the Wii Active 30-Day Challenge that she has begun. If you are like me, I was unaware of such a thing. I have a Wii and I have Wii Fit, (see my previous post) but I had not heard of the Active.

After about three days of reading her thoughts and experiences with Wii Active, and doing some research, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and purchase the disc. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. After the first day of workout, I was sore. It was a full body workout, done at medium intensity, for about 23 minutes. There was a wide variety of activities that were all pretty fun. The hardest I would have to say was the Inline Skating workout, where you have to squat down, hold the position and then jump up. Boy, that kicked my butt! The morning of my second workout, I was pretty sore and hoped the personal trainer that is in the video would take it easy on me. No such luck! The second day's activities were more difficult and focused on squats and lunges and some upper body. And to top it all off, the workout was longer by about 5 minutes. When I was finally done, I was relieved that I was allowed a rest day today.

So, tomorrow, Tuesday, starts my third day of the 30-day challenge. I will keep you posted every few days and let you know how it's going. According to the testimonials from the website, people who have completed the challenge have not only lost a lot of weight, but also a lot of inches. Stay tuned....

Facebook Is Making Me Think Too Much!

I have been visiting Facebook everyday now for the last several months. I am keeping in touch with old classmates from high school as well as relatives from in and out of state. It's also a great way to build friendships with people I am casually acquainted with.

FB offers picture and video posting. Many of my classmates from high school have posted pictures from back in the day. One guy, Anthony, carried a video camera around school the whole last day of Senior year and captured a lot of great video footage. High school came back to me and started filling my mind with memories. After 20 years, my memory is pretty shot! lol

These memories made me realize something. I thought of myself as a good kid. I didn't drink, smoke, do drugs or party. I never got in trouble and I worried about everything, including the future. Many of the pictures and videos I saw were all of the "party" crowd. It started me thinking that it looked like they had lots of fun being "teenagers". At the time, I looked down my nose at them because they were crazy and not responsible. Plus, I didn't want to get in trouble. I realize that even though I was friends with a lot of people, I missed out on a lot of growing that should have happened back then. Even though those kids did things that they should have got in trouble for, maybe that's what I needed to experience. Instead, I kept busy with school, planning my upcoming wedding and staying involved with Drama. Don't get me wrong, I still went out and did stuff, like cruising and going to movies, etc. But I didn't do the stuff that now looks so fun to me now. Maybe my life would have been different had I been wild and crazy at 17 instead of waiting until my quarter life crisis at 31. I don't know and I guess I will never know. But I am curious how those "crazy kids" are now. Do they still party all the time? What kind of parents are they?

Perhaps I will push my kids to be a little "crazy" during school and not be so hard on them. I know I will encourage them to "have fun" and "be a kid" a little more.

Movie Review: Who Is Wolverine?

"Who is Wolverine?" This is what I asked my husband when he suggested we go see the movie. I am not much into these kinds of movies, as I have not seen any of the X-Men shows. After some explanation and some guilt for always asking him to see my movies, I agreed to see Wolverine. Much to my surprise, I really liked the movie. It was easy to follow, action packed and it left me wanting to watch more. It's my understanding that because I have seen Wolverine, I will understand X-Men better than had I not seen it. So, I think I will watch some movies this weekend.

Dusting Off The Cobwebs

Well, I decided to dust off the cobwebs and re-visit my blog and maybe invest a little time. It's funny, since I have been gone, my blog actually had some visitors. So, after taking a little break, I will begin to blog again. I will not get wrapped up in the social networking necessary to have a successful blog, but I will use it the way I see fit and that it is to be creative and share my views and thoughts. Stay tuned....

I Need A Break

I began writing this blog because I needed an outlet for my thoughts and I wanted to write. I did not do it to make money, as you will see, I have no ads on my blog. Along my journey with Thoughts, I discovered that it was exciting to be in the blogging community and to have people from all over the world stumble on to my blog. My readership began to grow and I started spending a lot of time visiting other blogs and meeting some new people. I have enjoyed this. With all of the discoveries, the biggest thing I have learned is that to have a successful blog takes time and energy and lots of networking. The reason I started my blog slipped away and it turned into a goal to have lots of readers, instead of just to be fun.

I am in a place now where I need to focus on myself and I need to take a break from the computer. I spend 8 hours a day at work on the computer and then I come home and spend time on the computer. I know it's not healthy and I need to start focusing on exercise and getting into better shape.

So, with that, I want to thank all of my loyal readers and ask for your understanding and your support. I will eventually blog again, I am sure. But for now, wish me luck in my journey to self-improvement.

Take care,
Danifer

Crazy News

Did you hear about the 8-year old boy who drove his father's van into a tree?

This alone sounds a little crazy, but it gets better.

On February 8, 2009, in Sarasota, FL an 8-year old boy and his 34-year old father were driving along and the boy ran into a tree with the van that he was driving. When officers arrived at the scene, the father was asked to get out of the vehicle. As he was reaching for his driver's license, he fell to the ground and landed on his face. He told the officers that he was feeling woozy and didn't want to drive so he asked his son to drive. He later stated that he wanted to have a bonding moment with his son.

When officers spoke to the 8-year old boy, they got a different story. The boy claimed that his father took some "liquid medicine" in order to feel better. He then pointed to an empty bottle of Canadian Whiskey in the vehicle.

The father was arrested on child endangerment.

Can you believe this story?

We discussed it at dinner the other night with our 8-year old son. Of course, he was hoping we would say HE could drive now, but we quickly put an end to that idea.

Movie Review: He's Just Not That Into You

Great cast!

A movie everyone can relate to!

Funny & Heartwarming!

Good chick flick!

So these are all of the "headliners" that I was hoping to get out of this movie. And it lived up to my expectations.

This movie had some wonderful actors. From the beautiful Scarlett Johansson to the handsome Bradley Cooper and to the quirky Ginnifer Goodwin and the loveable Jennifer Aniston.

If you have ever been in a relationship, whether you are single and loving it or single and hating it, or if you have had your heart broken, you can and will relate to this movie. From the desperate attempts at finding true love and finding that one person who will love you for "you" this movie explores many things that we all go through.

He's Just Not That Into You was funny and dramatic all at the same time. It was a movie I saw with the girls, who, by the way, loved it.

I, on the other hand, had a lot to think about on my long drive home.

One couple that the movie followed has been together for 7 years, living happily unmarried, and they decide to break up because the woman feels they should marry and the man is against the legal union. After being apart for awhile and realizing that even though she is not married to this man, she still has a better "husband" in him than any of her relatives who are married to their own couch potatoes. She realizes that marriage is just a symbolization and that the relationship that you have with someone is what counts, not the piece of paper or the title that you hold.

Another couple in the movie appear to be happily married but yet, the husband finds himself drawn to a beautiful woman who pays him lots of attention and strokes his ego. Even though he realizes he is married and makes half-hearted attempts at pushing the "other woman" away, he pursues her and they start having an affair. This troubles me and could trouble anyone else who has been hurt by an affair. An affair is the way we all feel when we first begin a relationship with someone. You feel so in love and can't get enough of the person. You also believe this person can do no wrong. But once you are with them for awhile and the newness wears off and you see they are a real person, it's just not the same. Or, in this instance, if your lover shoves you in a closet while he makes love to his wife, it's pretty much over.

Then, there is the quirky girl who just can't figure out the signs that men put out. She believes what men tell her and assumes only the best. With help from a man who has "been around the block" and knows the ways of dating, she quickly learns to spot the phonies from the keepers. She does this by calling her helper during dates to run scenerios by him to get his help on how to deal with her date. Haven't we all been this girl? Blindsided by some smooth words at least once?

This movie has other cute story lines that I will not go into, as the above resonated more with me.

In closing, the movie was good and I would suggest seeing it (but maybe not as a date movie - maybe it's more of a chick flick after all).

Did you see this? What did you think? Did you have any deep thoughts or did you just dig/not dig the movie?

Danifers Daily Commute: Volume 4

As I sit at the red light, waiting for time to pass, I notice someone running along the side of the street. This is not your normal "exercise" runner, but someone running to or from something. I begin to take note that the runner is trying to catch up to the public bus that is beginning to shut it's doors. I watch as the sprinter puts forth more effort to reach his destination. As he sees the bus begin to move slightly, as if to tease, the runner attempts to yell at the bus as if the driver will hear him. He then feverishly waves his hands, as he is running, to get the drivers attention. I hope he does not fall. As I watch this display, I wish there was something I could do. What if I honk my horn, would the bus take an extra moment before pulling away from the curb? Could this extra moment allow the runner to make it in time? Sadly, I watch the bus drive away as the deflated sprinter still continues to run after the bus, in hopes that he might have a chance.

Poor runner.

Facebook - A Place To Meet Friends I Never Had

I put off using Facebook for as long as I could. Since this year is my 20th high school reunion, I was contacted by several people who encouraged me to join the social networking site. Once on there, I felt like I was back in high school, hoping that I would be accepted and acknowledged. High school was a time in my life that I wanted to put behind me. I was not ready for this kind of "popularity contest".

Don't get me wrong, high school was not that bad. I was never "in a clique" like many people were. I was a loner, a person who did not hang out with a crowd of people, but who kept to herself. This is not to say that I did not have friends and that I wasn't an outgoing person. I simply was not committed to being with one group of people. I knew a lot of people and a lot of people knew me.

With Facebook, you have the option to message someone before asking if you can be their friend. The message allows you to write something personal to perhaps remind the person of who you are or if you don't know someone, it is a way to introduce yourself. I like this option. There are people who simply click the "add as friend" option with the hopes that they will be remembered and accepted. There are also people who do this to completely random people they don't know in hopes of building their "friend" network. This just simply is not for me. If I do not know you or if you do not make an effort to get to know me by sending me a message, I will not accept your friend request. I don't want to just be a part of someone's list who doesn't even care who I am or what I am about. I am simply a number to them. In this day and age, there are plenty of cyber stalkers out there that just don't need this encouragement.

Maybe I am looking at this wrong, but I simply want to use my Facebook as a way to re-connect with people who made an impact in my life. I also like to use it to stay connected with my current social network. Do you use Facebook? What do you think about it?

Movie Review: Revolutionary Road

I have been putting this review off for awhile so that I can give some good thought to it.

Why did I go see this movie?

1. I thought that seeing Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet together again (after Titanic) would be good.

2. It looked like a movie that would resonate with anyone who has ever been in a relationship.

How did I feel when I walked out of the movie?

1. I felt really disappointed.

2. I felt embarrassed that I made my husband go see it with me.

3. I felt tense and depressed.

My thoughts on the movie:

I remember when the movie was almost at it's end looking over at my husband who looked as uncomfortable watching this as I did. This movie was obviously written by someone who does not have good thoughts on marriage as every relationship in this movie seems disfunctional. When we left the theater, I appologized to my hubby. We both agreed that it was uncomfortable watching the characters fight - you really felt like you were a part of it. We agreed it was a bad movie.

However......

The next night, while out for dinner, we began talking about the movie. We both brought up our thoughts on the characters and the relationship that they had with one another. We agreed on a lot, but we also brought out other ways of looking at things in this movie. We related some of the movie to our relationship and our past, failed relationships. By the time we were done discussing the movie, and our relationship, we both seemed to realize that the movie wasn't all that bad and that maybe we got out of it what we were supposed to.

I would love to share our thoughts on this movie, but I do not want to give it away or ruin it. So, I will just leave my review as is.

Did you see this movie? What are your thoughts?

PMS - Or Just A Bad Day?

So.....I am sure that I will be stirring the waters with my topic, but I want to know what you all think.

I am generally a pretty easy going person. I do have my opinions but I get along with everyone. People who know me know that I don't curse, I don't say mean things to people and I am usually fairly happy in appearance. Of course, I can have my complaints now and then, but I laugh them off.

I know people who are complete opposites from what I mentioned above, almost 365 days a year. You can never make them happy, they are upset with the world and carry a super huge chip on their shoulders. That's fine, they are entitled if they feel so inclined.

What I am about to say may surprise you, but once a month, usually only one day, I can be a little moody. I can be sad or a little on edge and I have been known to pick a few fights with the hubby. You might know other women who get this way, heck, you yourself might be this way.

The question of the day is: If women are emotional or have a bad day, why do men always blame it on PMS? When they have a bad day, they can't use that excuse - so why do they feel we are not entitled to have a bad day?

I am just asking.......

Delegation - How To Be Effective REPOST

Picture by KM Photography

We all get to be the boss sometime in our life, whether it be with our work, our school, in our homes or with our children. Being a leader has it's challenges. There is a job that has to get done and you either need help with it or you need someone else to complete the task. There is a certain way the project needs to get done and usually a time frame that has to be met. Knowing how to ask for that help and see that the project gets carried out is a skill some people need a little help with.

#1: Describe the job and the outcome that needs to be reached. For example: "Today, we need to get this mailing out to all of our clients."

#2: Specify who's responsible for meeting this goal: "I would appreciate your help in spearheading this project and seeing that it gets completed today. Can you please take care of this?"

#3: Describe the steps that need to be completed so that the project is successful: "It's important that we make enough copies of this memo so that all of our clients receive it. We will need to put it on letterhead, prepare labels and envelopes and tri-fold the memo so that it fits in the envelope. Then, let's make sure that the correct postage gets applied and that the mail is done before the carrier arrives at 4:00 pm."

#4: Ask if there are any questions or concerns with accomplishing the task: "Do you have any questions? Do you think that you will be able to get this mailing out by 4:00 pm today?"

As the employee being given the task, this would be the time for you to clarify the instructions to make sure that you understand everything that is being asked. Far too many times, employees feel intimidated and they proceed with a project without fully understanding what needs to be done. This leads to mistakes and delays in completing assignments.

#5: Make yourself available to the employee and check on their progress.

#6: When you see that the job is completed, praise your employee: "I see you got those memos out. Thank you so much for taking care of that, you did a really good job. Those memos were really important."

The steps above can be applied to any sort of delegation, whether it be asking your kids to do a chore or working with groups for community service. Following these steps will help make you an effective delegator.

Question Of The Day

We are going to have a little fun today with a mini-meme. Here goes:

"List one thing that most people don't know about you"

I will start:

When I was nineteen, I was an extra in a movie. I spent a day on the set and was chosen out of hundreds of people to be in 4 scenes. Unfortunately, 2 of the scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. I did not have a speaking part, but it was so much fun. It was later aired on USA cable under a different name than what it was originally slotted for. I got paid a non-SAG wage of about $60 but I would have done it for free. I was able to record the movie from the television and now have it to show my kids, my future grandchildren and anyone who wants to hear my, "I was once famous" story - lol.

Now it's your turn......

Movie Review: Marley & Me

Hang on to your Kleenex! I knew this movie would have a sad ending, but I couldn't help crying during the last twenty minutes. Was it a good movie? Yes, of course! Should everyone see this? Yes - most definitely!!!! The movie, over-all was part comedy, part drama. It was very entertaining.

Marley & Me wasn't just a movie about a cute dog. This movie was about love, life, family, choices, and happiness. The movie follows John & Jenny Grogan, a newly married couple, played by Owen Wilson & Jennifer Aniston. The casting for this movie was great - the two made a very believable couple.

John & Jenny decide to get a puppy, enter Marley. Marley is as adorable as can be, and if you have ever had a puppy, you can relate to all of the wonderful side-effects to taking care of puppy. If Marley isn't chewing the floor, howling at thunderstorms or humping the stuffed animals, he is running off down the beach with everyone chasing him. This dog becomes a lot of work for the newly married couple, who eventually decide to start a family.

Throughout the movie, we learn about the Grogan family and the trials and tribulations of building a solid family and about holding onto your individualty. I related to a lot of this movie, since everyone always looks at the greener grass on the other side and wonders what it would be like. We see this when we observe John's relationship with his successful friend, Sabastian.

John and Jenny build their family and realize that it is all worth it; the screaming kids, the sleepless nights, the chewed up couch and all the joys that family brings. Throughout the movie, Marley ages as does the family. I began to cry as I realized that the dog has been there as a permanante fixture of the family and as he ages, we know the inevitable will soon happen.

Although it has a sad ending, the movie really is wonderful and I hear the book is great too. I hope I did not spoil the movie, but I really enjoyed so many aspects of this that I wanted to share it with you.

Did you see the movie? Could you relate with it? Do you have any CRAZY dog stories? The floor is open.....

Repost: 15 Tips To Stay Positive

This is a re-post of a great article written by Donald Latumahina on his blog, Life Optimizer and with permission, I am sharing it with you:


There are times when we must go through negative situations. Maybe people say something negative about us, or they show rejection or even resentment against us. In such situations, it may be difficult to stay positive. We may be inclined to react negatively to them. That won’t do us any good though; doing so will just make the situation worse. People may behave even more negatively to us. Our day would be filled with anger and disappointment. At the end, nobody wins.

Though it’s not easy, it’s important to stay positive in negative situations. Beat the negative situations by staying positive. Here are 15 tips on how to do it; pick the ones that work for you:

1. Never respond when you are not calm. If you are not sure that you are calm, don’t respond. Take time to calm yourself down first.

2. Take a deep breath as a first step to calm yourself down.

3. Speak in gentle tone to reduce the tension of the situation.

4. Realize that you can find opportunities in negative situations. Albert Einstein said: “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.”

5. Look at the content of what people say to you for something positive that you can act upon to improve yourself. Don’t just reject the whole messages.

6. For the rest of the messages which is negative, simply ignore it.

7. Maintain positive view of the people. Maybe you don’t like their messages or behavior, but that doesn’t mean that you can hate them personally.

8. Realize that having negative feelings will just hurt you, not them. So there is no reason for you to have any negative feeling.

9. If you make mistakes, be open to admit it.

10. If you make mistakes, remember this quote by George Bernard Shaw: “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”

11. If you can, listen to motivational audio program to feed positive thoughts into your mind.

12. Talk to a positive friend who can encourage you.

13. Remember your favorite quotes to give you inspiration and motivation. This is one reason why you should have quote of the day.

14. Look at the negative situations as your training sessions for real life. The higher you climb in life, the worse the negative situations would be, so you’d better be prepared for them.

15. Realize that you can’t please everyone. In fact, nobody can. Sometimes you need to just let some people go. Realizing this will relieve you from a lot of unnecessary burden so that you can focus on the people that you can positively interact with.