Feel Good!

One of the things I hear frequently in the rooms of recovery is how we always need to be there when a fellow addict reaches out for help. We're cautioned to be compassionate, as the people calling are probably scared as hell and not sure if calling for help will really do anything. Since we're human, and it's a "volunteer" program, there's no way to make sure there will always be someone there when that phone rings.

That's why I'm always thrilled to see facilities for drug treatment that offer a hotline number. This means there are trained professionals on the other line, waiting to help an addict or their family when they're at rock bottom. This is such a crucial time that needs to be handled sensitively, so I am all for these types of operations. Whether they counsel people to get into a 12-step program or not, they're offering a way out of the hell of addiction, and that's the bottom line.

Disclosure

I was recently asked to speak at a retreat for one of my recovery programs. The speech needs to be one hour and focused on my recovery from compulsive eating story. The retreat is being held several states away, so I'd have to fly there and spend the weekend with people I've never met before. I was a bit undecided when first asked, so I talked to my sponsor and some program friends about it.

My sponsor directed me to the 5th Tradition which states, "Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the compulsive eater who still suffers." Once I read the entire text of the tradition, it became immediately clear to me that the only answer I could rightfully give was, "Yes".

I feel that I have a duty to carry the message of hope and recovery to other addicts now that I've been blessed with a reprieve. Maybe what I say will help just one person. If it does, then I've done my part.

So in a few weeks, I will be flying to another state to spend an entire weekend and share my true self with people I've never met before. I'm nervous, but mostly excited and looking forward to a new adventure.

One thing you don't hear a lot about when people (especially celebrities) get nose jobs is how their nose functions afterwards. Since I'm someone who has a lot of nasal and sinus problems, I would be curious if getting rhinoplasty would be helpful for me or if it would cause even more problems.

The two doctors at the Rodeo Drive rhinoplasty center in Beverly Hills are taking this unique approach when it comes to nose jobs. They take both the aesthetic and functional concerns into consideration when doing their surgeries. I don't know if I've ever heard other high profile cases where this is addressed, and to me this is an important issue. Can you imagine getting a nose job, coming out looking great and then not being able to breathe or smell properly? I don't know about you, but if I'm going to get this procedure done, I want doctors who are thinking about the importance of both areas. I think so many people put too much emphasis on appearances alone and don't take the body's functions into consideration. That's a shame.  I mean, of course, you're going to get a nose job only if you're dissatisfied with how your nose looks, but you have more than that to be concerned with once you walk out of the doctor's office.

What are your thoughts on this?

Disclosed

What's the last compliment you gave and/or received?
Submitted by MalieKai.

I recently wrote to both of my parents and told them all of the wonderful qualities I see in them. It was a very heartfelt and emotional letter, that came to me in a flash of intuition and inspiration. It felt good to realize all of their great character traits and felt even better to let them know I admire them.

I wonder if I could find an ad like the one I wrote below on Its My Market classifieds? Probably not, but that's because the site is still young. Give it time! I have a feeling this site is going to be hugely popular just because it's so nicely laid out and designed. Great design really does go a long way in brand loyalty.

ItsMyMarket.com caters to the UK market and sorts classifieds into six primary categories: Property, Jobs, Local Services, Motoring, Free Classified Listings, and Wanted, all easily accessible without unnecessary clicking and navigating the site. There's even an RSS feed for advertisements to come directly into your Feed Reader.

Spread the word!

Disclosure

In your ultimate dream house, what does your favorite room look like?

Here's my favorite room in my ultimate dream house, classified ad style:

Wanted - One room with a bay window filled with lush green foliage, sliding glass doors leading out to the secluded backyard. A fireplace with exquisite mantle is required. Room should have 3-5 hardwood steps leading down into the plush, neutral colored carpet throughout. Prefer room to be furnished with premium reclining leather sofa and stools, cedar coffee and end tables, a large LCD wall panel TV with surround sound. Walls should be adorned with plenty of artwork from the likes of Marc Chagall and Gustav Flimt. Call me.

When do you file your taxes?  Do you do it yourself or get outside help?

I try to file my taxes as soon as I get all of my tax information from my employers and banks.  We almost always get a refund, so I want that money in my hot little hands ASAP! Which reminds me, I filed at least a week ago and I haven't seen a deposit in my bank account yet.  Need to investigate that.

Since we bought a house this year, I thought we'd have to pay someone to do our taxes for the first time ever, but I was still able to do them myself using online tax software.  I use TaxAct.com and have been very happy with them. 

This week, I paid off a credit card or two and it felt so good! We have a few more that we're working on, mostly with small balances, so they'll be paid off in no time at all.  However, we do have one line of credit that we opened up to pay for my new hearing aids when we couldn't pay for them in full.  I misread the fine print and didn't realize how high the interest rate and finance charges are.  I almost fell over when I opened the first bill!

That unpleasant surprise has led me to compare credit cards and investigate balance transfers, because I will be damned if we'll pay that high of a finance charge every month.  It's ridiculous.  I know we can get a better rate with a different bank.  Heck, we might even be able to finagle a 0% credit card offer! Our credit is mostly repaired from when we messed it up years ago, so I have confidence that we'll be able to get out of this ludicrous arrangement.

Note to self:  look into new banks before the end of the payment cycle!

Disclosed

How do you keep track of your bills and their due dates?  For a while now, we have worked off of a spreadsheet that consists of two components.  The bottom half of the spreadsheet lists all of our debtors, the monthly payment and the due date in addition to our monthly income.  This way I have it in black and white what is coming in and what is going out.  This gives me a general idea of how much we have to play with every month and when to fit each bill into the payment schedule.

The payment schedule is the top half of the spreadsheet.  This schedule is basically a repeat of the information down below, except I only list what is actually being paid out.  I do this for every pay day and keep a rotating 6 weeks worth of bills going at all times. 

Keeping this spreadsheet is a great way for us to stay organized and on top of our bills.  If there is an extra bill, I can more easily switch payments around by looking at a glance at the spreadsheet.  When we get paid, I open this document, open up Quicken and then start entering payments into Quicken as I go down the list of everything that needs to be paid. 

By using this method, we haven't missed a payment in a long time.  This system also makes it less intimidating and scary to do the bills because there are usually no surprises.  I know well in advance how much money we're going to have left over each pay day today and I can forecast out how long it will take us to save for the things we want to get. 

Do you have a method to your monthly bill paying duties?  Share!

Just documenting another migraine - this one was on Thursday night, last week.  I'm reminded of it tonight because I'm fighting one again.  Thursday was a doozy, though.  I got my period the next day, and I'm not sure if that is related or not.  Who knows, I might not find any pattern or reasons for why I get these, but I'll never know until I start keeping a good journal on when they occur.