Dodging.....

the bombs.....

I took a short walk in my neighborhood today, all the while dodging the little gifts the geese had left on the sidewalk. Weaving and bobbing and trying to avoid those stinky, gooey bombs.

It got me to thinking that it is a little like dodging the bombs in our everyday life.

Avoiding the co-worker that for some reason just gets on our nerves.

Steering clear of the boss knowing that they are going to ask you 'how are things going' and you might just have to tell them.

Or maybe avoiding your pal that is rocking their exercise program, and you just don't want to admit AGAIN that you are not doing ANY type of exercise right now.

It sometimes amazes me at the end of the day how much bobbing and weaving I actually did. It WEARS me out.

I need to address this issue because if not, I will continue to end each day exhausted and just plain stressed out. This week I am going to work on my attitude. I am going to remember the positives that can happen with every interaction instead of focusing on the negative. And if some little bombs hit me along the way, I need to accept them, deal with them, and then move on to the rest of the day.

How do you avoid the bombs in your life? Do you go way out of your way so as not to have to deal with them or do you face them head on?

Note...my plan is to face my bombs during the day but I still plan to avoid the goose droppings.

Until next time...

Keep on Creating.

Did I really...

....need another reminder as to WHY I don't shop at Wal Mart?

I just happened to be at Bath and Body Works (getting stuff I NEEDED hehe)
which is right next to the local Wal Mart. Since I had to pick up some groceries anyway, I thought I might as well give Wally World a try. That stop would save me a few steps and some time to boot.

WHY OH WHY

do I have patience with sooooo many things, but shopping at Wal Mart is not one of them?

I am not big on grocery shopping as I am sure I have mentioned on here before,
but I gave up on Wal Mart grocery shopping a couple of years ago. 
Why did I stop going there?

I can't stand the LONG lines, the unfriendly folks that work there, the less than stellar produce.....do I need to go on? Well, this one trip reminded me WHY I stopped shopping there.

I have YET to meet an employee at Wal Mart that is helpful as well as happy to help.

 Most of the folks I have come across seem to HATE their jobs, and don't appear good at hiding it.

Then, for some reason at the Wal Mart nearest me. the customers don't appear to be versed in the etiquette of sharing a grocery store with others.


First off, no one thinks they should share the aisles with others. Is it really that tough to travel down one side or the other instead of down the center of the aisle?


Second, following the '20 items or less rule' in the self check out line is not something that the local folks think is important. Today I was in line behind a lady and her daughter that had WAY more than 20 items.....I am talking like double that number. Not only did she have a bundle of items but it appeared to be her first foray into self check out.

OK, OK, I know.....

I should be more patient.

There may be a reason it was taking her so long, or that she felt the need

to get in that line with her grocery cart full.

But at that moment, I have to admit that patience was NOT on my mind.

So the line next to mine had 2 self check out lines with one of them clogged by a poor gal that not only had trouble with scanning her groceries but was having a devil of a time entering and scanning her GAZILLION coupons. Don't get me wrong, by daughter in law is an extreme couponer but she is good at it and (at least in my mind) isn't holding up a line full of folks trying to decide WHAT coupon to use while actually standing at the scanner.

THEN, there was another self check out that was NOT cooperating with the guy checking out. The lady in the scanner kept yelling at him, which he apparently was not enjoying.

NOW, in the interest of fairness, I have to admit that the lady in the scanner kept yelling at me too and YES IT WAS ANNOYING!

OK, so have I complained enough for one post?

I just had to get it off my chest, and I thank all of you for listening.


All I know is that I plan on avoiding Wal Mart at least in the near future. The 'special low prices' just aren't worth the frustration it causes me.


So do you have any pet peeves? Hate grocery shopping as much as I do?
 Lack patience when it comes to other shoppers?
I would love to know.

Until next time...
Keep on creating?

Something To...

Think On!

I was spending some time on my favorite blogs over the weekend and while stopping by The Reluctant Entertainer, I came across her post on Fighting the "Wants".

The post REALLY made me think about my spending habits over the last 2 years. Back in October of 2011 I blogged about the Retail Therapy that has gripped me and what I planned to do about it.

HMMM, here we are a few months later, and I really have pulled back on my spending. Probably not as much as I would have liked, and now with the blog post from Sandy over at RE, I realized what my problem was (as still is) figuring out how to control the 'wants' or, in my case, the 'needs'.

Did I really need an IPod Touch?

Did I really need an iPad?

Did I need a Bose iPod dock?

Ok, so those are 3 of the major purchases that I really, really wanted and really, really thought I needed.

But did I really need them?

UMMMM NO!

Was I happy without them?

UMMMM YES!

BUT... the one thing those purchases did was to take my mind off all of the craziness of life, and all the heartache and loss.

Fast forward to today and believe me....

I still read about my 'wants' in my fave magazines and I still think about those 'wants' and yes, sometimes I even buy the things I want (need).

The one difference is that I don't JUMP head first into a purchase like I used to.

I don't make decisions as quickly as when I was using the shopping to cover up the stress or to hide the sadness behind my wonderful new toys.

So what do I do to curb my retail therapy?

One thing I love to do is surf around on my favorite online retailer sites and sometimes I even fill up a shopping cart full of stuff I want. Then I either empty the cart or I just close the website. Brilliant?  Radical? I KNOW!!!! haha. 

I have found that window shopping online is more fun than actually ordering the stuff and then regretting it when it shows up at my front door.

Then the only thing it costs me is time. And that I can afford to part with the time.

The Reluctant Entertainer posed a question on taming the 'wants' and I thought I would do the same. But for those of you that have been around a while know that I can't stop with one question. :o)

Do you give in to the temptation? Do you just buy the things you want?

Do you spend the money and then worry about how to pay for it later?

Or do you think on the purchases a little and eventually talk yourself out of it?

If you do talk yourself out of it, I would love to hear how you do it. I sure could use more ideas of how to put up a "you don't need that" wall and walk away from those things I think I need.

Until next time...

Keep on creating!

A look at Easter Brunch

Hey everyone, I am over at Creative Concept Events

with a post about the Easter Brunch I styled.

I would LOVE for you to check it out here.

While you are there please take a minute to follow me on Creative Concepts so you can see all of the parties and events I style as well as inspirations I find out on the web.

Until nexty time....

Keep on creating!

Creative Concept Events...

GOES LIVE!!!

Those of you that have been following me for a while know that I have been working on starting an event planning service. I will be planning and styling events in my area, but I also had the idea of planning parties and events electronically through email and Pinterest. I thought "WHY can't I plan parties for people all over the country?" I mean the biggest part of the planning is the research and the shopping. The fun part is the actual set up of the decor and food, so my plan is to take the stressful part of the planning away from the party hostess.

I would LOVE for all of my loyal followers to go over and take a look and check out the Event Services page at Creative Concept Events to let me know what you think about the concept and the pricing or anything else you wanna comment on.

It would also be GREAT if you would think about following me over there too. I will be posting my first few events here on A Creative Spirit as well as at Creative Concept Events, but soon, I will only be posting over at Creative Concept. So be sure to follow so you will see all the fun parties and party inspiration I find elsewhere in party land.

Until next time...

Keep on Creating.

Joy...

Renee over at Renee's Joy Journey has issued the April "Joy" Challenge. She asked that her followers take on the challenge to create joyful moments and to keep joy alive in our family. I find that very easy to do when there are two beautiful little grandchildren running around whenever the family gets together.

So today I am sharing MY joy with you. Please enjoy the pictures of my two lovelies - affectionately known as A & A. The pictures were taken on Easter, so not only was it a day to celebrate the joy of our risen Savior, but to share the joy of family.

Find the joyful moments in each and every day.

Until next time....

Keep on Creating.

HAPPY EASTER

Wishing a blessed Easter to all of my Creative Spirit friends!