Really need to get an iPad 2.

Unfortunately it has taken me longer than it should have to remember that life is just better when balanced.

I had become too focused on work the last 6 months, and although I “tried” I did not take time to exercise. That is the sad part, the forgetting part.

Now for the joyous, excited, currently powered-by-endorphins part…

TODAY I HIT THE POOL.

So, it is with great EXCITEMENT that I announce the future fatality and obliteration of the added weight since I had broken my ankle, and the extra European calories that have been hiding out. Prepare to be annihilated.

The TSA agent was the first one to say it officially, I remarked on this, how most people assume Miss, and he replied he has to observe these things and he saw my wedding ring.

I just took a snack break. Im finishing a huge project I have been working on for months related to Project Management.
Whoo-Hooo!

I had sardines and crackers in honor of dear old dad. And a stipend for another client in which I need receipts, so I splurged and went to Whole Paycheck.

I wish he were still alive, Id fill my suitcase with these lush sardines packed in lemon infused oil. He would probably scoff at the Pecan Crisps that pass for crackers.
Goodness, I miss him and is cantankerous ways.

I have been working my ass off this year. And now I can say that literally.

Before I start my 18+ hour days, I have been playing Wii Fit, drinking protein smoothies, and trying to get sleep when I can.

I am super excited about the work, but am looking forward to vacation – Burning Man in THREE WEEKS!!!

I cannot dye my hair purple this year – because I am leaving to come back early to teach in NYC.  Yes, cutting my vacation short.

Then it will be off to London. And probably not taking much extended time as we did last year for our pre-honeymoon. I still woudl like to take in sites in Scotland and Ireland.

October is filling up now.

I finally feel relatively comfortable with security of Karmoxie. Too bad self health insurance is so expensive. I have been flirting with the idea of going full-time somewhere else, but at this rte, I think I can afford medical costs to have a baby next year? and any other shenanigans my husband and I get into. We are accident prone, as you may know.

This was to be the year of catching up with friends and although it is only happened a couple of times, I cherish it, and look forward to more.

ELEVEN ELEVEN ELEVEN is right around the corner!

HUGE PARTY AT OUR PLACE

Peeps are coming in from around the country. Now just to get the canucks and euros to show up…

Much love to all, be good to all we meet, they may be having a shitty day and you can be that ray of sunshine

I have been absorbed by getting Karmoxie and Grape Thoughts moving forward, and the last 3 years have flown by.

There have been highs, there have been lows.

Two of the lowest things are:

1. my good friend passed away two weeks ago in an accident. It was very sad, and I have been trying to spend 2011 catching up with friends, but Laura and I had not gotten to see each other in a good many months.  I was just thinking of trying to get together. From now on, no delays.

2. I gained 40 pounds. WTF? It almost seems overnight, but it really had taken some time. Breaking my ankle didnt help. I am on Day 7 in a row of workign out, and today I started the Smoothie Shakedown.  I have a wine tasting event Tuesday but will go light on it. I really like using Ann Louise Gittleman’s advice.  I think my liver is not healthy, so Im not only eating right, but detoxing, and trying to give it a break.

Anyway, as the 89 year old custodian of the Rachel Casron Homestead told me – you get one body and one mind, take care of them.

People wish for world peace, and that’s great – but you got to take some steps. I thought about “Pay It Forward” and how that was a great movie.

So…if you were one of the people who did something nice on 6/19 in honor of my birthday – or even mistaking the Facebook share as one of your friend’s birthdays – please post what you did here. (on my blog – which is http://judyherilla.com/do-something-nice-on-6-19/ if you are reading this on the Facebook feed) THANKS!

Belated do-good-deeds are appreciated too!

I had kind of a crappy day – although there were some nice highlights. One thing that made me smile was hearing from people about the things that they were doing.

Some said “Keep this Private” and they dont like to get recognized for their good deeds.Please consider posting to my blog anyway – some of the stories are inspirational, and even though some people say – but I’m nice every day – it showed there are opportunities to stretch ourselves.

So, my personal, do something nice – I was contacted by a client that a non-profit needed help with their WordPress that had stopped working when they moved from one server to another.  Even though I had promised my fiance “no more free work”, it seemed like a perfect opportunity and a good cause.   http://allianceguinea.org

On behalf of the whole Alliance Guinea team and all our friends in Guinea – THANK YOU!!! These elections are truly historic and we so greatly appreciate your assistance for the very modest little contribution our group’s trying to make to help them be as free and fair as possible.

Happiest of birthdays to you and enjoy settling in to your new home!

with sincere appreciation,
Jennifer

Let me set the stage.

Im frantically busy working on a deadline, and have been sitting at my computer for hours at a time, and NOT looking at Facebook. Yeah!

Im drinking wonderful tea that I have been mixing myself from different herbs and teas.
NO caffeine, and yet Im a bit hyper when I get up to stretch.
Normally one of the dogs comes to nugde me that – hey – you need to give us water – or hey maybe you should feed us.

So, I got up and looked in the fridge for myself, and decided to cook up some thawed out chicken breast.
I may go vegetarian at some point, but not until my freezer is empty.
I looked in the freezer for some veggies, and in this container, presumably for ice cubes, I have bags of veggies. I decide to empty it out and remove it. At the bottom I find…

Some frozen green vegetal-looking material.
Now I have been to college, and my first thought was….weed? From where? From whom?
My boyfriend doesn’t partake, and I could not think of how it got there.
A minute later i realize it is frozen loose leaf spinach that is kind of bundled up.

Then Im surprised -  AGAIN – by what I see in the door of the freezer.

A cloth choker! How the heck did this end up in the freezer?

Looking forward to next week, new projects, and spreading some Karmoxie love.

Had a parking ticket. Had been inside getting change to feed the meter. UGH.
Forgot to pay.
Letter from Magistrate.
Forgot to pay.
Called Magistrate, okay, send $ you are okay.
30 minutes later – Hello this is constable so-and-so, Im holding a warrant for your arrest.

Apparently it is all taken care of – but oh boy, scary call!

And indicative that I need to refocus on only 3 companies, rather than 4.

Being away, things feel different. Full of possibilities. And new experiences. And how things change and keep changing. With the thunder rumbling, I remembered how I used to crawl into my dad’s lap as a kid to hide and be comforted, because I was so afraid of storms.

This reminded me today is his birthday. I say “is”, even though he passed away in 2000.

I felt peaceful as I thought back on who I am because of John Herilla. I thought about growing up on the farm, having everything at the dinner table as a result of the time and care put into the gardens and with the animals.

I used to think of him as being a tyrant, but in him I observed the strongest work ethic I have ever witnessed, and conservation of resources. I used to be so upset about not being allowed to have money to buy toys or new clothes, but I never experienced the likes of the Depression that had taught him to conserve out of necessity.

I really wish I could talk to him now that I am older and have learned some lessons. To get his take on things.

I feel very lucky to have been able to know him and his way of life. I miss him. And although I think I might be able to relate to him on a deeper level, I think I kind of know the reaction he would have knowing I am in love with someone who has blue hair. Even though dad was very intelligent, I dont think he would be able to understand.

Related to the thoughts on my dad, lately I have been obsessing over the decline of our society, into robots who just make money to buy stuff, to feed into the chain of consumables. I had been thinking of this before, but the online cartoon Story of Stuff – by Annie Leonard really does an interesting job of explaining it. She quotes Victor Lebow from 1955:

Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption. The measure of social status, of social acceptance, of prestige, is now to be found in our consumptive patterns. The very meaning and significance of our lives today expressed in consumptive terms. The greater the pressures upon the individual to conform to safe and accepted social standards, the more does he tend to express his aspirations and his individuality in terms of what he wears, drives, eats- his home, his car, his pattern of food serving, his hobbies.

These commodities and services must be offered to the consumer with a special urgency. We require not only “forced draft” consumption, but “expensive” consumption as well. We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing pace. We need to have people eat, drink, dress, ride, live, with ever more complicated and, therefore, constantly more expensive consumption. The home power tools and the whole “do-it-yourself” movement are excellent examples of “expensive” consumption.

I don’t know how our society is going to change in my lifetime, but I am glad I was able to witness how my dad operated given his experience.

If he was still alive I would not bother trying to buy him new shirts or socks. I would spend time talking to him. I had sat with him in hospice running out of things to talk about. I wish I could get that time back. Or better yet, take him to a place I know of in West Virginia, where there is no cell service, but beautiful scenery and seemingly untouched by pollutions and poisons. I would tell him I know its going to be a struggle at times, but in a few ways, I now want to be more like him.

• Worked
• Organized my sock drawer – yippee!
• Worked out with Marcia – treadmill – 25 minutes!
• Chased Dragons on mountain bikes!!!
• Attended a gallery closing (the opening was canceled due to bad weather) – new wine location!!!

As I was arranging another wine tasting, Adam came in with a sixer of one of my favorite beers!

I had a surprise for him too!

Marcia and I did some shopping, and I picked Adam up this.

Its a box of jelly belly beans, with good and bad flavors in the same colors.

So we did a sort of Russian roulette (probably a better analogy here…) with them and each picked one, and saw who got the bad crap. It was okay because I had my Vanilla Java Porter and he had his Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager to wash down the yuckies.

Id say I got more gross ones than he did. But I did finish the skunk spray, while he spit out his Rotten Egg.

Yes we are weird, and I wouldnt have it any other way.

To me, she was the embodiment of a strong, unstoppable woman.

Up until just a few years ago – she was still out there cutting grass, tending her garden, baking amazing treats,
and making my favorite – turtle soup.

Today was her funeral, and she was buried with a locket that contained her son’s ashes – he died 6 months ago.
At his funeral – she grabbed my arm and cried, that she had thought of ending her life, due to the pain of her incurable cancer,
but that she had promised him she would not.  And somehow, she would find the strength to carry on.

I loved to visit her to not only be around her amazing personalty, but to feel “connected” with the Herilla side of the family.
When I have called more recently, she was weak, and not up for visitors.

Of my father’s siblings, only two of ten(?) are left.

I saw my cousins reaction when my uncle spoke to him. Afterwards my cousin said, I cant believe he spoke to me.
He hasn’t spoken to me since my son was little (15 years).  My cousin was close to my dad, who also did not speak to his brother (this same uncle) for over 40 years, until my father was dying and my uncle came to visit.  I later heard my uncle tell someone why he had not talked to my cousin. It was related to an incident in which my cousin had his young son at the club, and I guess his son was on top of a pinball machine or something similar. I guess my cousin did not make a move to correct this or apologize.

Stupid shit to hold a grudge over, but in my family there is a history of not talking over things like this. Waiting for the other person to call first.

If you are holding a grudge with anyone, please, even if you feel YOU ARE RIGHT – reach out to them. It is not worth it.
Being reminded of this was a big take-away for me today.

At any rate, all seemed united when the pastor asked for people to shout out baked goods or things my aunt had done that were impressive.
It was a very long list, and I only hope to live up to my last name and display the work ethic demonstrated by my late aunt and father.