Latest Update.....

For those who read Update Part 2 last week... you know I recently found my soulmate. Well he is now officially my future husband as well. For anyone out there that has ever said "never" or "I'm done with romance" or "I'm happy being alone"... yep not to long ago that was me and now I'm blissfully eating those words, so never say never.

In other news... at the risk of making others annoyed with my new found bliss.... it is so awesome to work for a great company with wonderful people. Not that I didn't like the people (the majority of them were great) I worked with at my last job, it's just that things had gotten a bit unpredictable for the last 8 months or so of working there. It's nice to be at a place where I know what is expected and there is consistancy. My wish for the co-workers I left behind at the last job is that things will get back to the way they were before. For those of you ot there who are still looking or who feel stuck, hang in there, the right opportunity will find you when you least expect it...

Update Part 2- The soul mate principle....

When you bring up the subject of soul mates you get mixed responses. Many people don't believe in them and many who do only think of soul mates in terms of a romantic partner. The concept of soul means different things to different people depending on where and how they were raised, cultural and religious influences. I believe that the soul takes many journeys and that it often comes back to “Earth” in different lifetimes. I believe that certain souls are destined to be connected and that when one lifetime ends it is only a matter of time before they find their way back to each other in subsequent lives. I believe that we don't have just one soul mate. I believe we have many and that each serves a certain purpose on our journey. You know that connection you feel when you meet a certain person and you feel like you have known them forever, you feel an instant unexplainable bond even if you seem to have nothing in common at first. I believe this is our souls recognizing each other. I have been lucky to find several of my soul mates... many years ago, a little girl who I am supposed to watch over as she goes through life; just last fall, a sister, with whom the connection goes beyond blood and time....
Now do I believe in a romantic soul mate? Well if you had asked my formerly jaded and guarded self at the beginning of the year, I might have told you... not so much. In the matters of romantic love, I have never had the best of luck. Don't get me wrong, my often disastrous choices did serve a purpose in my life. After the last one, I decided to try online dating. Those of you who have tried it... you know. It is nothing like the warm fuzzy commercials they show on tv. I'm sure it is “interesting for both sexes... but for women, we get bombarded with pervs, psychos, stalkers, scammers, weirdos and desperate men. After many disastrous and comical “dates” I was even going to write a satirical book about the experiences but life got busy as it often does, I took a sabbatical from men and dating then before I knew it the book just wasn't me anymore and I was done with dating finding, the mythical “one”. In case you are wondering where this is going.... never say say never.... it will come back to bite you. Spring this year brought a mischievous current in it's winds this year. Before all the drama of late April begin... boredom and a little curiosity prompted me to once again venture onto an online dating site. A dear friend and fellow singleton, had mentioned a free online dating site that he at one point asked my opinion on (I have tried most of them)... so I decided what the heck, it's not like I'm going to find anyone “normal” much less compatible but I had some time to kill so why not check it out. What I found was actually a decent site, especially for a free one. Oh there were the usual suspects lurking but as I finished loading up my profile and scanning the “available” prospects I happened upon a rather intriguing profile. Don't get me wrong, it's not that there weren't many interesting profiles to choose from but this one.... had something different about it. It was relatively simple but had one line that spoke to me... so I took a chance and sent a little note. Hmmm he responded but seemed as equally guarded as I was so wasn't sure that was really going to go anywhere. Still... although others vied for my attention, his messages were the ones I looked every time I logged on. Then just when we finally started getting to know each other and communicating more, wouldn't you know I go and get sick, work/life gets complicated.... not the best way to start a romance, if that was really where that was even headed. I mean come on, this was an online guy, nothing about him was probably even real, they rarely are, and if they are once you meet you almost wish they would crawl back in the hole they came out of. Ok, that was mean, but seriously I've dated those creatures, not fun. Still, this one was different and so we continued to let the connection develop from our safe little distance until finally we decided to be brave and meet in person. Yes, I did jokingly warn him I had mace and a stun gun... and on the big day I did have running shoes on. But as I sit here typing this while grinning like some silly school girl, I can tell you that it turns out, he wasn't a troll, far from it... in fact there really are a few princes left in the world and romantic soul mates do exist...

So, dear readers... there has been another reason for my absence from the blog world... in the midst of life's little challenges of late I have been kept busy being swept off my feet by my gentle giant. At the risk of sounding like one of those sappy commercials it truly is possible to find “the one” on an online dating site... seems the fates work in mysterious ways....

Update

Just wanted to take a moment to give all my loyal followers and friends a quick update. I have only posted a few times since the end of April. In the middle of a bacterial infection I found out out my job was being downsized and I was losing my insurance. Those of you who know me well, know that put me in panic and action mode, which meant I wasn't going to have time for reviewing and blogging. I have spent a lot of the past month planning and job hunting while still giving my current albiet smaller job 100%. I also had a new preoccupation, which I will expand on later. I decided to write this post , one as an update but also as a note of encouragement for those going through similar situations in these tough economic times.


Luckily, before 2010 began I knew it was going to be a year for new things and good things. While I could look at the situation with the job and the bad timing of finding out things were going to be a little topsy turvy with despair, (ok, to be honest, I had a few moments of that) I choose to look at it as an opportunity to pursue something new and challenging. I didn't wait around and even though still under the weather, threw myself into job hunting. It paid off because this week I will be starting a challenging new job with a fabulous new company with great people, and that is closer to home. The other great thing is that the hours are almost the same as the job I've been at for the past several years. In this economy and with so many people unemployed, I recognize what a blessing this is and I hope it gives those out there still searching a little hope. Sometimes it can be as simple as keeping a positive attitude even when it's hard.

All that being said, I can't take all the credit for being able to stay positive all on my own. I have wonderful family and great friends who are there with love, encouragement, support and laughter. I know from past experience how easy it can be to shut down and shut people out when you feel like the world is closing in, but we all have to remember, that for the ones who love us, that's when they want to be there for us the most. And as we get older and hopefully wiser, we realise by letting them be there we gain the strength to face anything.

Now my lack of bloggy time hasn't been completely devoted to dealing with illness and job drama, there has also been a very surprising and wonderful new development in my life that I never saw coming.... something that deserves a post all on it's own so I will save that for later. And as this week is filled with finishing a notice at one job, starting a new one and a few other wonderful things, it may take me another week or so to get back to a regular posting schedule. I have reviews of some fabulous books and a movie or two coming, one maybe two new Ember posts on the way and a few other random things up my sleeve. Thank you all for hanging in there with me.

Two Legged Snakes by Dr. Ed Slack & Is He Lying To You by Dan Crum

Dr Slack has put together a book about manipulative people, how to identify then and how to handle them or protect yourself from their deceitful ways. We have all encountered the two legged snake at some point in our lives and for some you may be dealing with them right now. Many are easy to spot, but others trick us into false security and trust. Slack has combined simple descriptions of types and traits with humorous pictures. He also provides checklist to help you become a snake watcher and to teach you how to take control back from the users of the world. An interesting, fun and informative read. Four out of five stars.

Maybe I watch one too many crime shows (Criminal Minds, Lie To Me, etc.) but the concepts of profiling and figuring out people's "tells" is fascinating to me.  Dan Crum has put together a book that says it's to help women, but really the information and wisdom he imparts is knows no gender. He covers the subject matter clearly and concisely. The book's subtitle also implies it's just for dating. Again, the information Crum provides can help in all your interpersonal interactions. For those new to the dating scene it can be invaluable and for those who have been burned in the past  or who are less intuitive, it can give you some skills to spot deception. I found the book fascinating and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't have a "jaded" feel, that many similar books express. Crum does say that everyone is misleading at some point or the other in life, but by explaining which deceptions are meant to cause harm he gives you the tools to trust your own judgement. Even if you don't need this in your personal life, it's a fascinating book or decoding behaviors. Five out of five stars.

Reviews

Jumping on Water: Awaken Your Joy ~ Empower Your Life by Ted Karam

I have long said perception is reality. Each person has their own reality because they have their own perceptions. This book captured the essence of soul searching. Karam gives a fresh and easy to follow guide for making your life positive. Life and emotions are complicated and we can choose to let them rule us or we can take control and master them. Jumping on Water is a fabulous guide to teach you to become a master of your own journey. Karam will teach you how to take every experience, whether good or bad and find the positive in it by focusing on Who You Are, Why You Are here, What You Want, What’s Holding You Back and How To Wake Your Power Within. This isn’t just another self-help book, it’s a way to truly be alive. Five out of five stars.

Making Rounds with Oscars: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat by Dr. David Dosa
Cat lovers will rush to pick up this book about the endearing Oscar, who is known to comfort dying patients in their final hours. However, only a small part of the book is about Oscar. The real focus of the book is dementia and the experiences of the patients and families affected by it. I have to be honest and say that I originally wanted to read the story of this wonderful animal. But having watched my grandmother go thru this horrible disease, I was deeply moved by the stories of the lives Oscar and Dr. Dosa touch. If you know someone who has a loved one suffering through this, buy them this book. It has valuable insight that will help them cope. Five out of five stars.

In Honor of Satu Harris

Today, I discovered that a wonderful woman who photographed me last year for a local magazine was killed this past weekend by a repeat offender drunk driver. Satu was a tiny woman whose zest for life and positive attitude made her seem larger than life. I only had the pleasure of working with her one day, but in that short time er personality made an impact. That's the type of person she was. Although she was a 38 yr. old mother of three, she could easily be mistaken for a teenage. She was a ray of sunshine and this part of the world will be a little overcast without her in it. My heart goes out to her family.

Here are some of her sights:
Artist Bio
Blog
Facebook Memorial
Website (note her website is down right now)

A to Z Reflections

Monday is the official reflection post day for Arlee Bird's A to Z Challenge over at Tossing it Out. A Huge thanks to Lee for the challenge it has been fun and insightful. I have discovered many new and fabulous blogs and great people. This challenge was about more than getting us to think outside the box to come up with different post it was a way to shrink the blog universe down a little. It became a month long blog party with old friends and new. I have also learned so many new things. 

Looking forward to reading everyone's reflections. 

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As a second order of business, there are many things currently taking up all my free time in life right now so I will be blogging sporadically until things calm down. I will try to post atleast once a week until I have time to return to a regular schedule and it will probably be at the end of each week.

Happy Blogging Everyone!!

Winners

Recently some gracious authors offered copies of their books to my commenters.

For Brian Cohen's The Life O'Reilly the winner is Roland. Please email me your mailing address and the author will send you an autographed copy.

For Riddle of Berlin by Cym Lowell the winner is Maurice please let me know what you email address is so we can get the ebook to you.

Thanks to everyone for your great comments!

Neutralize Your Blogs Carbon Footprint and Help Reforest

One of my favorite things is trees. They are so majestic. They have such history. The things they could tell us if they could speak. They are like giant guardians over the world. They clean our air, stabilize on ground, and provide us shelter. And then there is their beauty. Visually they signal the changing seasons with their bright green leaves and often budding flowers and fruit at winters end, the darkening of the leaves and falling of the fruit and blooms as spring progresses into summer, the kaleidoscope of colors that signal fall and the majestic trunks and branches that stand watch through the winter. Without trees the world would have long ago become a wasteland.

and the Arbor Day Foundation are partnering to reforest the Plumas National Forest in Northern California that lost nearly 23,000 acres of forest due to a fire caused by multiple lightning strikes in July 2007. Two short month’s later moonlight Fire struck and took another 65,000 acres. As bloggers we can make a huge impact on the world around us. Running a blog leaves a carbon footprint but we can help neutralize that by the planting of more trees. Here’s how you can be a part of the great reforesting project:

Go to their website and get your button.


Write a short post and send them a copy when it publishes.


How simple is that? Making a difference doesn’t have to be hard. Every effort has the power to change the world.