Ullswater! Drink!

Just a quick note to stay hydrated. The weather is getting warmer and that means our bodies can overheat if we don't stay properly hydrated. Second only to the big O2 (oxygen) water is the most vital nutrient the body needs to properly function. I read somewhere that you can only survive 3 days without water. You probably already know that your body is about 60-70% water and that blood is about 80% water! Muscles are 75% water and in case you didn't know the leaner you are the more water you should consume because muscle tissue holds more water than fat tissue.

Are you feeling tired? Depressed? Agitated? Check your fluid intake my friends. Lack of water is the number one trigger of fatigue and headaches.

Remember:

• Water transports nutrients throughout your body making it function properly and ensuring that your cells are getting adequate nutrition
• Water improves digestion and plays a key role in regulating your body temperature
• Water eliminates all those nasty toxins and waste debris from your beautiful body
  

Drink up!

And while you're at it, check out this gorgeous little number by Kohler. Too cüte or vat?

B(earth)day! Yeay!

Yaaaaaahoooooo!!!! YES!! YES!!! YES!!! It's my birthday!!! Yes it is!!! YIPPPPEEEEE!!!! Lücky dücky me!!! I am soooo very happy to report that this is indeed my most favorite birthday everrrr!!! Fo' shizzle. Today I am one year older than I was yesterday. ps: thanks mom and dad for bringing me into this world.

It's a quiet b-day this year for me and my hub-bub and I couldn't be more content. I can't tell you enough how very blessed I am. 

And what I know is this. There is a good and positive force in this universe. There is a loving and knowing presence in this universe and it is real. And true. And good. There is something higher than myself. Something higher than you. Something higher than all the rest of it. I know this. Because I know love. We are so blessed. In our pain we are blessed. In our debts (both literally and figuratively) we are blessed. In our fortunes and misfortunes. We are blessed. 

I look back on the past 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, years of my life and I marvel at the wonders I have witnessed. I marvel at my ability to take each day, one at a time. I amaze and dazzle myself with my ability to forge forward in the face of silent adversity. I confound myself with the exceptional hope and optimism I have been gifted with. I thank God everyday for the grace he has bestowed on me. 

But even more than all of this, I marvel at the mystical and magical humans who surround me. My circle of touch stones. My brilliant husband. My stalwart brother. My amazing mom and dad and my new mom and dad. My sweet sister in-law. My creative cousins, and their cousins, and my husband's cousins. Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents from both sides. My coworkers... My brilliant friends. Joey. Pedro. Carlie. Meemo. Marilyn. And all the rest of y'all... Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. 

Who am I to be blessed with such fortune? Who am I to deserve such love? Such acceptance. Such compassion? Who am I? or rather, Who am I not to be? All of us. Each of us. Deserve all of the blessings we have and then some. I challenge you to remember this. I challenge you to know... to witness... to be present. On this earth day... as I will today- on my birthday. 

Know love. This is one of the miracles of love: It gives a power of seeing through its own enchantments and yet not being disenchanted.

XoxooXOXO - <3> Üdo

Make Your Own Kind of Music!

A little shout out to Mamma Cass... if you're having one of those days where it feels like you just don't fit in... this song's for you. The very first time I heard this song was LOST S2E1.

"Nobody can tell ya

There's only one song worth singing
They may try and sell ya
Cause it hangs them up to see someone like you
But you've gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song
Make your own kind of music
Even if nobody else sings along
You're gonna be nowhere
The loneliest kind of lonely
It may be rough going
Just to do your thing's the hardest thing to do
But you've gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song
Make your own kind of music
Even if nobody else sings along
So if you cannot take my hand
And if you must be going
I will understand
You've gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song
Make your own kind of music
Even if nobody else sings along
You've gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song
Make your own kind of music..."

Work from home, eh?

Want to work from home? How about work from the beach! Yo, I can dig it. Not every day but maybe 2 days a week I can dig the telecommute. I'm a people person, so while the thrill of working in my pjs with a cranky cat as my co-pilot on spaceship Macintosh does sound enticing- I know I'd soon tire of playing Street Fighter 4 on my lunch break or running off to hot yoga between phone calls and emails. How do I know? Because I have! Hehehe... In my past positions as a Technical Trainer and ISD (instructional designer) I've had the luxury of working from home before it became the "in" thing to do. In my current position I get the same luxury when it's warranted (which comes in handy when you're feeling under the weather and don't necessarily want to take a sick day but don't necessarily want to go in an spread the germ-love while you get your work done).

Now "with the economy so bad" working from home sounds like an ideal way to supplement your income without tearing up that extra part-time paycheck for gas money. Mostly to work from home you need a skill set. Whether it's writing, crafting, editing, or marketing - these skill sets are transferable to the online community in a way that makes transitioning your google surfing, to a steady income, seamless. I know, I know... there's Google AdSense and all that jazz for your blogs... but really!? Who really clicks those links? I know I don't. I avoid them like the plague. I do so much to avoiding the advert-click that I would rather directly visit mywrinklesaregone.com then click on the ad on MSNBC's website. Why? Maybe I'm just a pisser. Or maybe I just don't feel like it. The point is- Ads are great... but they don't always work. So if you want to actually work and make a few extra bucks this summer- let's explore some ways to do that using the skills you have as a writer et al, (and I bet you didn't think you had it in you)!

For those of you out there still entertaining the idea of working from home- I've put together a short list of WFH opportunities. Most of these links actually link to a million other places with more job listings there. If you think of any others to add to the list- stick them in a comment and I'll update it here with your name as contributor. Happy hunting!
Suite101
The Write Job
Virtual Vocations
Artists Resource
Essay Writers
Writing World