The Power Of Stress...

I am not generally one to share things with all but thought I would share this story as a friend thought it was a good one. Many people under value the power of stress. For some it causes nausea and vomiting while others see it effecting the back door area. Others experience a lack of appetite while still others find that even after eating the entire contents of the kitchen (including a solid stick of butter) they are no better off at staving the stress than they were before the food orgy. Some people fall into a deep pit and choose to sleep the time away as if they will wake up and by some miracle all will be well. Others like myself try and move faster as if getting more done will make it go away. Or, by some stretch make whatever jobs you complete reduce the level of stress because hey your to do list is getting smaller so surely that has to be a good thing. If only it were that simple. Life would be grand. Of late my family has been hit with an unbelievable amount of stress. Its like one hit after another. I feel like I have been in a street fight with some rival gang. Needless to say I am getting my butt kicked. But... here is the story of stress... The other night I was balancing way too many balls in the air and feeling the nervous tension that goes with it. I started moving faster and thought if I did more I would feel better. I came in the house from my studio to cook dinner (for one as the hubby was away dealing with the stress) and I was suppose to be cooking one of those boil in a bag pot roast quick meals. Totally non-nutritious but hey... I wasn't going to cook from scratch for just me. I put the pan on the stove, turned it on high and reached in the pantry. I pulled out a container of vanilla cream cheese frosting, popped the top off and peeled back the foil layer. I ran my finger across the foil and licked it away cause Lord knows you don't waste frosting. I grabbed a wooden spoon and in a daze stood there for what seemed like an eternity. I couldn't remember how to cook this stuff... How do I cook it? I know I have done this before... What do I do? Then it hit me... Its flipp'n frosting!!! What am I doing??? I was so wrapped up in stressful thinking I was literally going through the motions and wasn't even paying attention. At that point I shut off the stove. Grabbed the spoon and frosting and went to watch TV. I ate 1/2 a tub of frosting and called it dinner. Moral of this story... Somethings you can't change and sometimes you just have to go through the motions to get to the other side. Not to mention the simple truth that although its probably not the healthiest dinner in the world frosting CAN make it better!!!
Stephanie

Where Have We Been...Day 5 of the swanky flu, whatever it is...

Working with Beth is a joy. We email all day long. I just got this from her and laughed so much I decided so share her pain.

Stephanie,
Ok, in our quest to find nasal congestion relief, we have tried, tylenol cold/flu, theraflu (yuck!), zycam clear (serious yuck), nasal sprays (various kinds), homeopathic eucalyptis stuff, vicks in the humidifyer & sudacare shower dissolves. Here's the verdict: the nasal spray gives immediate, jolting clear airway for about 5 minutes of painful nasal breathing (so clear it burns) & then after 6 minutes, the nose clogs more than the lincoln tunnel at 5pm on friday. The tylenol cold and flu helps reduce fever, that's it. The shower dissolves did just that. It dissolved in a minute, going down the drain to help our copper pipes breathe easier. The theraflu, who knows because once I got the awful taste down I blacked out from taste bud failure. The vicks in the humidifyer with a towel over my head opened the air flow and makes my pores look somehow bigger than pot holes in March. The hot, hot shower and old fashioned blow-your-nose technique, thus far, is the only remedy that seems to give us any relief.

Just thought you could use a laugh, at our expense!
Beth