Where's the Taco Bell?

Today as I was on my way home from my mom's place today I was driving through the 'old neighbourhood' and thought I would stop off at the Taco Bell just around the corner.

To my dismay...when I actually turned the corner it was a Wok Box that was in front of me, not the familiar Taco Bell I had loved as a teenager. I came to a halt and was shocked to see that it was gone...I wasn't sure if I was more upset over the fact that I couldn't fill the craving I was having or the fact that I had so many memories in this place and it was gone.

Back in 1991 we had just gotten our first taste of Taco Bell; I'm not sure why but it took some time for the franchise to come to Canada but when it did...it was lined up out the door. I was in high school then and skipping school and eating crap food was not only a hobby but a lifestyle choice. LOL We would go there during school, after school and especially after the bars closed.

We would be "feeling good" after the bar closed but we weren't quite ready to go home yet...somehow we convinced our designated driver to go to Taco Bell. I don't know how we did it but we were able to convince him of how awesome the food was there and how fulfilled he would feel after eating there. Weekend after weekend we would end up there, it got to the point where the night staff actually knew what we wanted when we walked through the door. We'd sit there until they closed; which at that time was an unprecedented 3AM...no other place stayed open this late, how could we  not enjoy it?

As time went on and I got older, I frequented the Taco Bell less and less. But I always knew that it was there when I had that odd craving for it...until now.

I am a little sad that it's gone as it really was a great place to get that late night food and all of those memories with friends...ahhhh, I just can't see the Wok Box having the same affect on me...

Words for Thought...

I was sent this email today and found it very inspiring, I just wanted to share it with you...

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck

(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the

earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the

day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it

melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was

stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and

worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a

fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble

about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a

summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and

more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical,

wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said,

'Later... Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been

more 'I love you's, more 'I'm sorry's.'

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every

minute; look at it and really see it; live it and never give it

back.. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's

doing what . Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have

with those who do love us...

How Do They Keep Up?

Now that I’ve immersed myself into the ‘blogging world’; I have decided to follow some very interesting blogs that I have stumbled upon. It is a very diverse list as there are many things that have attracted me to them; I can’t explain all of the reason or else we’ll be here all night.

There is one blog in particular that I follow and I find it very interesting as the blogger is very close with all of their college friends and they seem to get together a lot. At first I couldn’t figure it out and then realized that the blogger in question was only 25ish. I remember being 25 and always being with friends; it was a great time in my life. If only I had blogged about it eh?

Oh well, my loss. Anyhow the point I was trying to make was that I can’t for the life of me figure out how this blogger keeps up with everything that is going on in their lives. I mean I know when we were that age we were able to go on less sleep and just basically ‘give the world hell’. But this blogger is doing it all…literally.

Working (I think full time?); cooking home cooked meals (from scratch); hosting parties (a least once a month); decorating for every season (which is damn near impossible); dressing the part of successful businessperson; blogging (at minimum) once a week; on Pinterest; on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr all while not gaining a pound and looking great doing it. Don’t forget continuing to keep up with the friendships, which has led this person to be in 8 different weddings. I must admit my wanting to be a bridesmaid jealousy is definitely raising it’s ugly head right now…but I’m more interested in how this person keeps up?

I not only want to know for pure curiosity’s sake; but so that I too can live the (what seems like) a very well organized life. I want to know the secret…I know in the movie ‘I Don’t Know How She Does It’ that there are faucets of her life that Sarah Jessica Parker’s character is missing out on. We get to see the downside of it, but with this blogger it just all seems so surreal.

I mean I know that in the blogging world we all try to show the world the best of our lives but really sometimes I would be nice to know that this person is real and that their whole life isn’t just a facade. I don’t mean to sound harsh I just want to know that someone that I’m following also deals with struggles (not enough time) like we all do out in the ‘real world’.

Do You Know What Your Dream Is?

I was watching television the other day when a commercial came on that had this little green box on it. You were supposed to reach into it and ‘your dream’ would show up for you…it could be a dream job, or retirement or helping a family member.

This got me to thinking, if given the opportunity would I know what my dream is? I can tell you that I thought long and hard about this one and to my surprise I couldn’t think of what it would be.

Then I started to wonder if anyone else would know what ‘their dream’ would be. I asked a few colleagues and a few friends and they answered me pretty darn quickly. I will admit I was surprised to hear them know exactly what they wanted. I asked the Mr. and he too also knew what he would do if given the opportunity…so why couldn’t I think of anything? Why was this task so hard for me?

As I continued to try and contemplate what my ‘dream’ would be I wondered if the fact that I am a very selfless person has anything to do with it. I am my mother’s primary care giver; I am the oldest child in the family…thereby ‘granting’ me (I am joking) the privilege of taking care of my younger siblings. I have been taking care of my family for as long as I can remember so me not knowing what I wanted to do for me really shouldn’t come as a shock to me.

I pondered this thought and have since convinced myself that this (selflessness) is why I don’t know what ‘my dream’ would be. I have never really taken care of myself and to this day still kind of don’t. I have improved to the point where I do take a few mental days here and there but again nothing substantial.

So can I get out of being this selfless person? Currently, no…like I said I take care of my mom who is more reliant on me than my other siblings. So I’m pretty much stuck like this until either she passes away (god forbid that happen) or she actually becomes self-reliant. She’s past the point where she can be so I’m pretty much stuck in this cycle.

So for now I will continue to watch these commercials and wonder if I will ever get to the point of knowing what ‘my dream’ is.

Words of Wisdom

I just finished reading the autobiography of Kris Jenner, the mom of televisions most famous (or infamous) family…the Kardashians. I have to admit it was a really good read, very light and there wasn’t any ‘fluff’. It made me realize a couple of things about this woman; 1) She’s a fighter that’s for sure and 2) She was born with a brain for business.

As I continued to read through all the different stages of her life I soon realized that she really has come a long way. I could read the changes in the person she had changed to once she had a taste of the money…that seems to happen to a lot of people. Fortunately for her, she was forced to rebuild herself and her family again. In doing that she had some very poignant quotes that I was hoping to share with you all as they really do hit home for me. So here they are and again these are all quotes taken directly from Kris Jenner’s autobiography; Kris Jenner and all things Kardashian.

• The power of friendship, the power of love, and the power of feeling complete.

This one really hits home for me as I continue to struggle with feeling like I am missing a few key friends in my life.

• I never knew my environment could have such a powerful impact on my happiness.

I’ve been saying this for years and I’m glad that there is someone else out there who feels the same way.

• Don’t ever discount your environment. Where you live, work and play have a powerful effect on your happiness & productivity.

Again another mantra that I live by and will continue to live by knowing that it’s perfectly normal.

• I have to have everything in my life completely organized and perfect – otherwise, I am a complete mess. I can’t think straight if my home isn’t just right. My environment is my energy. I thrive in order of what I create.

This one really stuck with me as I need to feel that same way in order to move on with projects etc.

Overall the book was an easy read and I would recommend it to people who just want something to “fill the void” of their normal genre of reading. The main reason for writing this blog was to share these very important quotes that I was able to pull out from the book and hopefully others can relate to them as well.

Who Keeps a New Year's Resolution?

We all know I seem to get the writing bug around the beginning of the year; if you look back at all of my ‘Resolutions’ blogs…I don’t know what it is, maybe I get cabin fever and just need to feel like I am accomplishing something. I don’t know, either way I’m wondering who keeps these silly resolutions anyway.

 I know last year or the year before I stated that I would make more realistic resolutions and I did. I was able to fulfill 85% of them; which is pretty amazing considering that 90% of the population breaks their resolutions within 2-3 days. Anyhow this year, I decided to write out another list of (realistic) resolutions to see if 1) They could make me a better person and 2) I could actually complete all of them at least partially. So here is my list of resolutions:

• Read a book once a month (notice I don't specify how big or what kind)
• Blog Regularly (again I don't say how often, I just say regularly
• Get onto Blogger and post old blogs - CHECK
• Get into a routine to touch up or paint my nails every week or two (again no set date)
• Get into a routine of washing my face, working up to every night
• Cook recipes from unused cookbooks that I have (again not how many times)
• Take daily vitamins - CHECK
• Learn more about digital photography

These all seem do able, I don’t think that they’ll be too hard to keep; I like how I’ve set out what I want to do but there isn’t a set time frame. I think I am finally getting the hang of this resolutions thing. So for now, I am successful in keeping these resolutions in check…I just hope I can continue to for the entire year.

Only the Lonely

How is it on the most romantic day of the year (according to Hallmark), I am feeling most lonely. Don’t get me wrong I am still with the Mr., but I seem to be missing one key ingredient in my life…friends.

I’m not sure when it all happened as I’ve always been social and had a lot of friends. I know moving so much in my life has played a major role in me not having ‘lifelong’ friends but I thought I had some friends. I know when my ex and I broke up he took a lot of the friends I had with him and I don’t think I ever really replaced them. Not that you can so easily but I don’t think I ever filled that void that I’ve been missing for quite a while now.

I read a book recently and a quote in that book was “…the power of friendship, the power of love, and the power of feeling complete.” I think I am missing that; I don’t have a whole lot of friends and I really wish that I did.

As we get older it seems that it’s getting harder to make any new friends as we seem to have all made the friends that we wanted to. With the time constraints that we have placed on us it’s hard to make the time with our girlfriends. In my case I lost some in a separation and the others had kids and left me in the dust. I tried, believe me I tried but if you don’t have anything in common anymore it’s like “…thanks for being my friend and have a good life.”

I don’t think that I’ve been the only person this has happened to; I have to believe that I’m not alone in my crusade. Maybe I’m too picky, maybe I’m a bad friend…I don’t know? I always thought I was a good friend…but now I am definitely having my doubts.