Weekend Recap: Relaxed and grateful!

Posted by random olio

I had another good weekend. Chris is finally feeling better (he was out most of last week)! I love going to bed on Sunday night with the laundry done, fresh sheets on my bed, the house cleaned, and as much crossed off the list as possible. Yesterday we put a bunch of items on eBay to sell, and got through some things that have been on our list for weeks. It felt great to end the weekend with some relaxing time spent together. I got a couple of good runs in, and I feel ready to tackle the week ahead!

It made me think, how do others approach the end of their weekend and the changeover to a new week? How do you make sure you are relaxed and you get some rest before your week starts?

On Saturday, I was waiting for an elevator to go into a building for an appointment and I had this overwhelming sense of gratitude and appreciation for life. The thought that came to me was to not take any of this for granted. I then went over many large things in my life that I am grateful for – what a humbling experience.

Since it is Monday, and I had my humbling moment on Saturday, I wanted to share a bit of inspiration with you. I have included the quote from David’s blog here, but be sure to click to also see the great painting he included (Thank you, David Kanigan):

“You can be fully satisfied with where you are, understanding that you’re eternally evolving. When you get into that place of feeling appreciation of where you are and of who you are, and appreciation of what you are, and you accept that you are a never-ending, always unfolding Being, then you can stand in that delicate balance of being optimistic about what is to come, without being unhappy about where you stand. Find a way of eagerly anticipating future changes, while at the same time you are in love and satisfied with who, what, where and how you be.” —- Abraham

And a not so serious post from David. For those of you that do not click on the link it says:

“I do 5 sit-ups every morning. May not sound like much, but there’s only so many times you can hit the snooze button.”

Happy Monday!

PDX has my Heart!

Posted by random olio

I love Portland. Today I came across this amazing video from the Discovery Channel. Their website states that the video is:

“Comprised of 308,829 photographs taken from over 50 unique locations, it took an average of 3.8 hours to make each second of this film. The intent of the project was to place our cameras in unique locations across the city, achieve significant ranges of dynamic camera motion, and pursue cutting edge time-lapse techniques.”

I am in awe of the work that went into this short video. Ah, the bridges, Mount Hood, Portland at night, during the day, the waterfront, Powells, Voodoo doughnuts, food carts…

Now do you see why I love Portland? This is the perfect “Visit Portland” ad.

Enjoy and have an amazing, adventurous, relaxing, and playful weekend!

Warning: Mortgage Auditing Program

Posted by random olio

So this week we received a letter in the mail stating that we “may be owed a refund of several thousand dollars from your mortgage lender.” It then gives the date we signed our home loan and the amount of our original loan. The letter goes on to say:

“Government studies by the FDIC as well as financial audits of lenders have shown that thousands of mortgages contained mistakes or overcharges. Your monthly mortgage payment may have been miscalculated and you may be due a refund from either your current or previous mortgage lender. The average refund is $1,497.32 and one third of the refunds equal $3,000 to $7,500. You are eligible for a mortgage analysis and refund review.”

At first I thought wow, I would not mind a refund! Then I think…this is not from my mortgage company, and all it says for the return address is: Mortgage Auditing Program//Division of Consumer Services – of WHAT company? So I Google: “Mortgage Auditing Program” and all I find are tons of hits about how this is a scam. That you have to pay $249 to sign up, etc. Yuck, I hate stuff like this, because it always makes me think of my grandma and how if she had received something like this, she might have believed it. She was very trusting of companies she worked with, and this is just vague enough and enticing enough to mess with your mind. Who does not want to learn that they could receive a refund from their mortgage company?

If you stop to think about it, the only time you usually see any type of refund from a large company for a mistake is through a class action lawsuit. So if your mortgage was miscalculated, then most likely others were too, or it was part of a larger situation where large numbers were effected and charged a fee they were not truly required to pay. If that happened, you would hear about it in the news or directly from your mortgage company.

Further research shows that the Better Business Bureau gave this company an F rating and they had 41 complaints in the last 12 months. With the following comment: “For $249 the company performs a review of the payments you have made to your mortgage lender.”

I just wanted to share this in case anyone else receives a similar letter. It is frustrating because I do not want individuals to get duped and excited about the possibility for a refund from $3,000 to $7,500!

In Plain Sight…Ending

Posted by random olio

I am a bit bummed out. There are only two episodes left of the TV show: In Plain Sight. Have you seen it? If not you will want to Netflix and start with the first season. I am getting too ahead of myself though. I started watching In Plain Sight because I was a West Wing addict. I really liked the role Mary McCormack played on The West Wing so when I saw she was on a new show a few years ago, I was intrigued.

Here it is five seasons later and I am sad, because it is the final season and there are only 2 episodes left. If you have not heard of In Plain Sight, it is about two US Marshalls supporting the Witness Protection Program. Not having ever witnessed a crime I really knew nothing about the Witness Protection Program. While this is a fictional show, the storyline is very realistic and it has really made me think about what it must be like to be a witness. Your identity has to be changed. Nothing you did before can be the same. If you are a lawyer, you can do nothing pertaining to law. To give up your life, your job, friends, sometimes your family and start over fresh somewhere else, so you can stay safe because of something you witnessed.

I also like watching In Plain Sight, because well Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack’s name on the show) is a badass. Yes, I use this word a lot. She does not take crap from anyone, she is strong, brave, and has no patience for the trivial parts of life. You want her on your side. Can you tell sassy women inspire me?

So while I mourn the loss of this great TV show, I hope you add it to your list!

Dukes of Hazzard + Big Wheels

Posted by random olio

What activities made you happy as a child? Could you list them right now? If so, do they bring a smile to your face? I started thinking about what made me happy as a kid this past weekend when I came across this picture of me on my Dukes of Hazzard Big Wheel.

me on my new Big Wheel

I LOVED Daisy Duke. She was just the epitome to me at the time of what I would now call a badass. We did not have a TV growing up, so I would live for the chance to watch Dukes of Hazzard at my grandma’s house each week. I remember a local store (I think it was called Zayre’s) had a photo signing by Daisy Duke herself. I do not remember if I actually got to meet her, but I was so proud of that photo with her signature. In my mind she was famous.

I also loved the Dukes of Hazzard theme song. Hey, I am from Indiana. You can take the girl out of Indiana, but you cannot take an Indiana childhood out of the girl. Enough said.

As you can tell from the above picture, I obviously loved my Big Wheel too. It looks like it is brand new and I do know that I am riding it in our living room (flip flops and all). Somethings do not change, I still check the temperature in April to see if I can wear my flip flops yet, and in October to see if I can continue to wear them or if I will freeze.

What I love most about this photo is the absolute glee and happiness on my face. This is my inspiration this week. That I can approach life today with as much excitement and joy as I did on my Big Wheel version of the General Lee.

Are you with me? What Big Wheel riding, Dukes of Hazzard moment of your childhood made you feel like a badass and you smiled from cheek to cheek?