07.12.08
Posted in Health at 6:44 am by Paloma Cruz
TodayShow.com has a great reason to keep eating blueberries (my new favorite fruit): they are a memory-boosting food. “Berries have some of the highest antioxidant concentrations among fruit, and ALL berries are rich in healthy compounds called anthocyanins and flavanols… which may help protect against the breakdown of brain cells.” Good to know.
In case you need some help finding great local blueberries, the Houstonist blog just posted a very complete listing of all the farmers markets in Houston. I’ve been to a few, but this gives me many more options. Since I started eating better, I’m always looking for good sources of fresh fruits and vegetables.
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07.11.08
Posted in Finances at 11:09 pm by Paloma Cruz
Need to figure out how much money you need to retire? Wikihow has step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish this. Putting it on my to do list. (Found via Lifehacker.)
On a personal note, I think I need to sign up for Lifelock to do something to safeguard against identity theft. I’ve had some stuff happen lately that’s made me wary. A friend recommended it as something that’s worked well for her. Just something on my TO DO list.
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06.28.08
Posted in green at 5:06 am by Paloma Cruz
The Big Green Purse is reporting that the Home Depot is recycling compact fluorescent light bulbs. Good news for those of use who have been using them but were worried about what happens when they have to be replace.
Simply bring in your expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk. The bulbs will be handled by an environmental management company that will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance.
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06.24.08
Posted in Finances at 10:57 pm by Paloma Cruz
A vacation you can afford
Get Rich Slowly gives some great advice on being a tourist in your own hometown. Tips:
- Set a budget.
- Grab a guidebook.
- Book a tour.
- Be adventurous.
- Chat it up. Talk with the actual tourists.
- Be unreachable.
- Swap houses.
- Think outside the box.
Cool clothes for big kids
BusinessWeek has an interesting article about retailers filling the need for plus-sized children’s clothes. I hadn’t considered the fact that the national trend for bigger kids would produce a related need in clothing. Nice to see that this is finally getting addressed, although slowly.
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06.20.08
Posted in News at 12:02 am by Paloma Cruz
Sears gets a new image
The Associated Press reports that Sears is trying to get hip1, and catch a higher portion of the teen customer base. Why? Because, especially in today’s economy, “what’s certain, experts say, is that the chain led by financier Edward Lampert desperately needs to reinvent itself if it’s going to survive”.
An MBA or an MFA, or whatever
In a very timely post (as I continue to wrestle with the idea of going to get my Master’s Degree) Penelope Trunk, Brazen Careerist, gives us Seven reasons why graduate school is outdated:
- Graduate school is an extreme investment for a fluid workplace.
- Graduate school is no longer a ticket to play.
- Graduate school requires you to know what will make you happy before you try it.
- Graduate degrees shut doors rather than open them.
- If you don’t actually use your graduate degree, you look unemployable.
- Graduate school is an extension of childhood.
- Early adult life is best if you are lost.
Footnotes:
1 = Story found on the Houston Chronicle. Article may expire in a few weeks.
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06.03.08
Posted in Finances, News at 1:27 am by Paloma Cruz
The Houston Chronicle’s Shannon Buggs has some great tips on being thrifty:
- Make your home energy efficient.
- Don’t buy gasoline with a debit card.
- Don’t carry balances on gasoline credit cards.
- Plan daily commuting.
- Bring your personal life back in-house.
- Step away from the cutting edge.
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05.04.08
Posted in General at 10:13 am by Paloma Cruz
One of the luxuries I rarely get to indulge in these days is sleeping in. I am not a morning person, never have been and never will be. It’s just a part of who I am. So, sleeping in is something I love.
Unfortunately, it’s a luxury in the truest sense — something that’s often out of reach. Unattainable. And I do miss it.
Today I slept in until nearly noon.
And, since I am an adult who spends her time productively, I feel guilty. I should have done morning pages, gone through my email, or written a blog post. Instead I slept in.
{{sigh}}
Perhaps the days of sleeping in are behind me. Isn’t that a depressing thought?
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05.03.08
Posted in General at 10:13 am by Paloma Cruz
Being up early enough to make a 7 a.m. Breakfast appointment is too early for a Saturday. But here I am, at Taquería Arandas (on Shepherd, near I-10), waiting for my friends to show up. I give them even money that they won’t be here anywhere near on time. But I set the time and place, so I have to be punctual.
Gonna stop typing, once of my friends is here.
********
It was a great day. Breakfast with friends from work. The Dragon Boat Races with friends from work and other friends. Lots of Vitamin D, a mellow mood, a nice breezy sunny day.
After the races we went to the Farmer’s Market in the Heights. It was this cure market with about 10 stalls that had a nice variety of foods and wares. Veggies, grass-fed beef, Indian sauces, and local honey were just a few things on sale. Very cute, but very limited.
I think that I need to try one of the bigger markets next. Or maybe I’ll try the one at Discovery Green. One of the commercials I saw for the new park had a farmer’s market listed as one of the activities they offer. It would be a good excuse to go to the park.
Anyway, had lunch with Mom, little sister and the kiddo. Had a leisurely day after that.
All in all, a very good day.
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04.30.08
Posted in Finances, Career, Health at 10:53 pm by Paloma Cruz
Today is the day I’m supposed to do an end-of-month inventory on my goals. But I won’t, I know it. I’ve been avoiding looking at my status against what I’m supposed to be accomplishing.
I don’t want to know.
I haven’t reached my financial goals, I know without even looking. I haven’t achieved my weight loss goals, I know without even looking. I haven’t reached my professional goals, I just know. I don’t need to see it on a sheet of paper to know that.
I worked really hard to make sure that the goals I set this year were realistic. And I’m still falling short.
What’s my problem? If I had a therapist, this is the part where I’d moan about my counter-productive attitudes, my self-destructive tendencies.
The good thing is that these tendencies never make it into my workplace. No matter how much my personal time is wrecked by my personal foibles, they don’t seep into my job. I get my work done, and done well, regardless of what I have to suffer through to make it happen.
A friend of mine convinced me to start the program through “An Artist’s Way at Work.” I’m finding that the daily pages are getting my creative juices flowing. The words that were stuck in my brain, in my throat, are getting out in the pages of my journal, and now in here.
Unfortunately, I’m being slow in actually posting the words, but I am writing them.
Just losing the weight I have lost required tremendous willpower, especially as the people around me were ever-so-subtly attempting to sabotage my commitment. I don’t know if they were aware that that’s what they were doing, but it is. And I survived it.
Thankfully, the sabotage attempts from family have stopped. They seem to understand that I am fully committed to seeing this through.
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04.29.08
Posted in Health at 10:51 pm by Paloma Cruz
Tired, hungry and short-tempered. I’m indulging today, right now, in a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a diet soda.
Diet be damned, at least for today.
This is my first diet cola in more than six months. It will be my first real bacon cheeseburger in just as long.
I won’t bother weighing myself tomorrow. I haven’t weighed myself in more than a week.
I know that I would lose more weight if I were faithful to the diet. The problem is that that’s not fun. My way, I deviate every once in a while and still lose a pound every week or so. As a plus, I’m not so bored with the diet that I quit altogether.
Today is stress-induced. I know that I haven’t been following my diet lately because of stress. My react badly to emotional factors. And there have been a lot of emotional factors lately.
I wish I were one of those people who get stronger with challenges. I always rise to the challenge, always meet my goal, always do the thing that needs to get done — but I sacrifice my personal well-being in the process. I over-eat, sleep less, keep weird hours, and start forgetting things like daily pages and meditation and yoga, and it all goes to hell in a hand basket.
Is work worth that?
What’s my choice?
I’m sitting in an empty restaurant, having “lunch” at 3 PM. I forgot to pack any snacks, protein bars or anything to tide me over. I haven’t been drinking my water, have had too much caffeine and am too stressed. Surely not conducive to a good emotional being.
Did I mention that my back hurts? Yes, one more thing to add to the list.
My friend says “find your bliss.” I’d love to follow that advice, but I don’t know what my bliss is.
Gonna stop typing now, gotta finish my lunch and go back to the office.
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