The amazing and wonderful Collabo-writer Sallie Goetsch-rhymes-with-sketch  at Author-izer.com sent me a link that definitely belongs here:  50 Things You Should Know How To Do from Marc and Angel Hack Life.

This website is wa-a-ay too addictive. I’d definitely suggest adding it to your RSS Feedreader (if you don’t have one or don’t know how to do this, email me and I’ll ’splain — it’s super easy and you will LOVE it once you get it set up). Archives include:

25 Daily Suggestions to Guide you toward the Good Life;

10 Handy Numbers for your Mobile Phone (particularly notice the FREE 411 through Google);

33 Inspirational Videos from YouTube (including the “Last Lecture,” laughter yoga, the original Hoosiers motivational speech, the Braveheart “Freedom” speech, and wow, wow, wow, SO MUCH MORE!…check this one out about an autistic guy singing the National Anthem at Disability Awareness Day in Fenway Park in Boston if you want that throat swelling/eyes tearing up moment…);

20 Things the Millionaire Next Door does NOT do (fantastic list. I cover this in my book, based on the actual book “The Millionaire Next Door” - but read this and BE HONEST - what stops you from being a millionaire? My biggest issue is #9 - impulse buying - as Erin Doland and I discussed in our podcast, this is the “Shiny! Shiny!” problem. I actually do NOT do this at the mall - it’s always at things like silent auctions for charities. I figure it’s for a good cause . . . but hello, it’s not good for my pocketbook! I just did this yesterday at one of my favorite charities in the world, Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment…just shoot me.)

Check out this site! It’s great!  Thanks again, Sallie!

This is the 3rd of a 3-part vodcast series done with Mr. Martini (BehindTheBarShow.com). The first was in celebration of the Kentucky Derby - we made a mint julep and discussed Da Horses. The second took the bourbon from the julep to create an Old Fashioned, and discussed “old fashioned” subjects such as etiquette, manners, language, listening, and having a signature cocktail without being branded High Maintenance.

In this vodcast, we take the mint from the julep and create a Mojito, and as the Mojito reminds us of travel (Cuba might open up any time now!), we discuss:

*  How Sandy packed in 15 minutes for a 3 week honeymoon;

*  Picking and packing in a “base” color, intelligently;

*  Getting around every woman’s Achilles heel (as it were) - Shoes!

*  Things to leave in your suitcase, including one Secret Weapon to amaze your James;

*  Covering issues such as plants, lights, kids, pets, mail, newspapers and the like so you’re ready to take off when an adventure presents itself;

*  Handling lotions, potions, makeup and jewelry on a trip; and

*  Much more!

In a few minutes, we hope we can get you from “Oh Honey, No!” when those tickets to Paris show up unexpectedly, to “Honey, Let’s Go!”

Let me know what you think - either give me a ring on my Listener Feedback line 206.350.3537, leave a Comment here, or email to sandy[at]beabondgirl[dot]com.

 

 Mojitos and Travel Tips - How to Get Out of Dodge in 15 Minutes for a 3 Week Holiday! (64 MB): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This podcast is a recording of the new Thursday Night Fempowerment Lifestyle Training group’s Second Session. These Grrls have agreed to have their first meetings taped and made public, to instruct those of you who are curious about the process.

The second teleconference in each month is not based upon Curriculum. It is based upon what came up for each Bond Grrl during the previous 2 weeks, as a follow on from the first session of the month and the Weekly Update. If you are following along, you have heard Session One (based on the curriculum), then read the Weekly Update (and the Testimonials), and now we are to Session Two. It deals with setting Goals and Steps for accomplishment - because the Thursday group had some issues with respect to how exactly to do just that.

Each member uses her “Bond Grrl Name,” which I have found helps women really be truthful, honest, and forthright in what she discusses with the group.

My Bond Grrls were asked to post their weekly information and questions here in Comments to share their process, but it’s been a wee bit too private for that! So as you can see, most of the information on the Blog is just from Yours Truly. I am sure that you understand. But you can certainly hear their processes during the Teleconferences.

If you have comments or questions, please call my private line at +1 (206) 350-3537, or e-mail me at doubleohsandy [at] yahoo [dot] com. You can also leave a Comment below.

Enjoy… click on the button below to Play. It has about six seconds of silence at the beginning, so just wait a few counts, it will come on.

 

 Fempowerment Lifestyle Training Call 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This post carries on from the Podcast of our first fEmpowerment Lifestyle Training call on May 8th with my “Thursday Evening Bond Grrrrls.” Each member has agreed to let the process be open on this Blog, so that others can see what fEmpowerment Coaching is all about.

One issue that I did not bring up in the Weekly Update but I will likely bring up in the call on May 22nd was the “belching issue.”  A couple of the women on the call mentioned this specifically. If you have listened to the podcast, you will hear an enormous belch about 3/4 of the way through. It was while one of the Bond Grrls was speaking in the Masterminding session. (If you haven’t listened to the podcast, bet you’re going to do it now, huh? :-) ) The belch was definitely an adult - it was not one of the Bond Grrls who was attending with her baby. To me, it actually sounded like a man’s belch.

So it was one thing, or the other.  Either it was one of the Bond Grrls letting out a ripper of a belch, or one of the Bond Grrls who was on the call had her “significant other” come and belch literally in her face while she was on the call. If the first, that’s fairly easy to correct - it’s a disgusting sound, it’s unnecessary, and it’s definitely not Bond Grrl to belch like a toad on overdrive. If it was a “James” making this sound, it is either one of two things: (a) a power play, or (b) an “endearment.” In either case, the Bond Grrl has given some sort of signal in her life that this is “OK.”

We do train our men - we all know that. If we say “Oh honey that’s disgusting! (Tee hee hee)”, we are actually signalling that we are OK being treated like that. If we get angry, again, we have allowed our James to see that something “pushes our buttons,” and so he can use it as a power play against us.  Here a way to handle this.

Show no reaction at the time. (This is critical - remember, he’s trying to get you off your game.) Then, after the call, sit down very seriously and say, “James, are you really someone who belches in his woman’s ear? Is that the real you? Can you please help me to understand what you were thinking when you did that?” Then just be quiet.

He’s going to have to say whatever he “thought” - and you need to stay non-reactive. If he says “oh, I thought it was really funny,” don’t just counter with a huffy “Well I sure don’t!” Try instead “To me, it’s an inappropriate way to express yourself. Just like telling an incredibly prejudiced joke, that belch reflects upon you. Is that what you want to be remembered for?” or perhaps “When you belch in my ear when I am on an accountability call, it makes me feel disrespected. I feel embarrassed because the other women on the call can hear this. I would rather that belching is not part of our relationship repertoire.” Just do NOT go the direction of “When you belched in my ear, you disrespected me.”  Because he will say “No I didn’t,” and you’re in a fight. Always stick to how YOU feel. Do NOT get into “his body” or “his head.” You can ask what he was thinking when he did it, or what that signified to him, but when it comes to your reaction, ground it in your own feelings or you’re setting yourself for an “I did not,” “You did too” type fight. 

Whoever is the Grrl that had this happen to her has allowed this in her life. No one here is a Victim. How you are treated is a manifestation of how you have shown that you want to be treated. ‘Nuff said.

As for the call in general, it brought up some private issues that a few of the Bond Grrls wanted to work through with me on email, as their Coach. As you can see, we do not have that many Comments thusfar - those who had immediate issues decided to keep them private between coach/Bond Grrl (which I have respected, of course), and others were too crazed in their lives/schedules to learn how to Comment/post. The best part about fEmpowerment Lifestyle Training is that you show up however works best for you - so if there’s just not enough time to work the Curriculum, or something big interrupts your call-in time, then you can always “catch up” through the Weekly Updates and Recordings. 

If you have any questions, you can call my private line at +1 (206) 350-3537, or e-mail me at doubleohsandy [at] yahoo [dot] com. You can also leave a Comment below.

Click below to download the Weekly Update document. It is in PDF format, so you may need to obtain the Adobe Reader if you do not have it on your computer already (it is free on www.Adobe.com).

 Fempowerment Lifestyle Training Weekly Update 5/15/08: Download

I was asked by KOMO Seattle, a TV program that is trying to decide whether to have me as a guest, to compile the “Top 10 Tips” for a fempowered lifestyle. What do you think?

The overall theme of my book and coaching practice = live your best, most passionate life. So these are the Top 10 Tips that came to me:

1. Clean House. Declutter your life of belongings, friends, commitments, and the like that do not feed your passion and fempower your Inner Bond Girl. (Empty your glass of beer to get champagne in there!)

2. Donate. Support fellow Bond Girls in your community by allowing the items you have freed from your life to reach their “next best use” with others. (Pour your beer into another grrl’s glass with water in it!)

3. Be Congruent. Coax Your Inner Bond Girl out by matching what you wear and the way you walk, talk, laugh and listen with who you are becoming.

4. Be Present in your Luscious Body, Now. Accept, love and nurture her as she is now, and explore her fempowered nature through sensual dancing, pole dancing, or the like.

5. Be Ready. Take advantage of every adventure and opportunity that comes your way, and structure your life to facilitate it. Learn to travel light and get out of Dodge in minutes.

6. Block out non-negotiable You Time. Give yourself a minimum of 10 minutes/day to dream and move that passion forward. Join a fempowerment group to move your life to the next level.

7. Be Adventurous. Do something you’re not good at, and stretch your horizons and your sense of humor.

8. Go Lean & Green. Fempowered women are not credit card-wielding, debt-accumulating consumers; they save and invest their $

9. Flex your Femininity. Be The Girl in your personal relationship, and take the lead in nurturing it - sex included

10. Be Self-Sufficient & Appreciative. All Bond Girls run their own businesses, live in the tropical paradises that Bond drops into as a government employee on an expense account, and take care of themselves BUT, they also know that men feel good taking care of them and are sensitive to it and appreciative. (Let him open the door, or the jar, when he offers.)

What would you add? Change? Let me know!

I have received many emails and queries from Bond-Girls-To-Be regarding what fEmpowerment Lifestyle Training “is like.” This podcast is a recording of the first meeting of a new Thursday Night group. These Grrls have agreed to have their first two meetings taped and made public, to instruct those of you who are curious about the process.

Each of these women completed a Fast Start document that discussed her life, the energy she is putting towards her goals (or towards things that she ranks as actually unimportant)… it covers financial issues, relationship issues… the works. She filled it out as completely or as quickly as she found time for. Nothing is ever mandatory. Each woman also completed two items of Curricula. The first discussed how to turn Adversity to Opportunity; the second deals with changing languaging skills by uncovering ”Psycho-Euphoric and Psycho-Phobic” words used in your business or your daily life.

Each member uses her “Bond Grrl Name,” which I have found helps women really be truthful, honest, and forthright in what she discusses with the group.

For the next two weeks, I will be posting here the information that I would normally have in a private, password-encoded file for the group. I have also asked them to post Comments here instead of sharing their process in a private forum, so that any readers who are interested can see what a typical first two weeks entails.

The first meeting of a group is always a little different than the subsequent ones. Each meeting uses a breathing exercise as an opener, then usually discusses the Curriculum for the week, then moves on to the Mastermind sessions for 1-2 of the participants. As the ‘homework’ behind the first meeting includes not only the Fast Start documentation but also 2 items of Curricula, it is always a bit more general and less focussed than the subsequent meetings.

If you have comments or questions, please call my private line at +1 (206) 350-3537, or e-mail me at doubleohsandy [at] yahoo [dot] com. You can also leave a Comment below.

Enjoy… click on the button below to Play. It has a second or two of silence at the beginning, so just wait a few counts, it will come on.

 

 Fempowerment Lifestyle Training Call 1 [56:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today’s entry in San Francisco IdealBite goes like this:

Ever seen da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”?

The Bite

Then you know food can be art. And that’s what the founders of Slow Food International - a nonprofit devoted to bringing back whole foods that are cooked and savored slowly - are all about. If you’re into food prepared the old-fashioned way (and with sustainability in mind), add slow foods to your daily menu for a more vibrant…er, palate.

The Benefits

• Eating becomes art. Getting to know ingredients, producers, and the cultural history behind our foods makes for more soul-satisfying meals.
• An easel way to avoid empty calories. Many additives in processed and fast foods are chemicals that lack nutritional value and sometimes wreak havoc on your health.
• Painting a greener landscape. The slow food movement promotes biodiversity of crops, organic farming, and the preservation of family (not factory) farms.
• An energy-saving Renaissance. Example: The production of a 1-pound box of cereal requires almost seven times as many kilocalories of energy as it provides in nourishment.

OK, you know, it’s the last one that gets me. I keep harping on posts like The Story of Stuff (long, but worth watching), but those are the things that astonish me.

When I posted my comment today on IdealBite, I was reminded of my Podcast 8 about Life-Affirming Rituals, including Saying Grace (start at 25:00 for this portion). As you may remember from that one, a student of mine wound up losing weight, literally just through the act of thanking the “folks” that had gotten the food to her. She used to eat in the car, standing up, junk-food-on-the run. When I suggested she and her husband start saying Grace over everything they ate, they originally balked because they “don’t do that God thing.” I explained that wasn’t what this was about — this was Giving Thanks to the farmers, truckers, plants, animals, etc. that got that food TO them. The actual physical energetic “beingness” that went into what they were putting in their mouth.

Once she started doing that, first, she found it ‘disrespectful’ to eat standing up. And in the car. She and her husband felt weird saying grace over take-out boxes, so they put the food on plates. Which made them stay at the table longer, and the Grace started them talking about something besides Their Hard Days. Ultimately they started cooking.  And she started losing weight.

If you have my book, check out page 127 for a reminder about Mindfulness versus “Guilt-Ridden Scarfing” — and a discussion about “sensory awareness” when eating. It also talks about Living CAMP (check out the “eating a banana” link).  If you don’t have my book, it’s not pretty, but I have a PDF copy of the page for you here as I originally sent it in to my publisher: guilty-pleasures-sidebar-page-127

How’s about starting a quickie Thankfulness Practice, today?  You’re GOING TO EAT IT ANYWAY, my dear, so…why not?

In this podcast I am extremely honored to offer you another full induction from Master Hypnotherapist Susan Bird. The final of three full inductions, this session builds from the clearing and cleansing you did in the first induction, and the growing of your Manifestation Tree from the second induction. In this culmination of the three episode set, you examine, prune, and nurture your Tree and your Lake into the heathiest, best, most energetic manifestation of your Goal to live your Best Life in the Now! 

If you have comments on this episode, please call the Listener Comment Voicemail at +1 (206) 350-3537, e-mail sandy [at] beabondgirl [dot] com or leave a comment below.

Click the red button below to listen.

 

 Hypnotherapy Podcast with Susan Bird (3 of 3): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I wanted to give a quick shout-out to Zandria’s blog on BlogHer. I am woefully behind on all my blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds and the like… it definitely takes discipline to scan through them every day. I know I need to set up a page where all the feeds, blogs, etc. “go” - but I haven’t quite gotten around to figuring out how to do that (Hi Sallie - yes, I know, you can’t believe it. I will. I swear.)

Today I was catching up on Zandria’s blog, and one of her comments was on being Single, and “doing something you’re not so good at/trying something new.” I wrote about this in my book, and she has a great perspective.  

When I was single, I did sort of a “regression analysis” (hey, I’m an attorney, so sue me) on the best places to “meet guys.” I had been bashed by relationship and was “older” then (late 30s) and really liked being “in relationship” so I wanted to figure out how to get back into one without doing something insane like hitting the bar/dance club scene. What it came down to was basically NASCAR and golf as being super man-rich “environments.”

I went to NASCAR with a grrlfriend and - yikes, boring beyond ALL boredom (if you’re a NASCAR fan I apologize), and SO LOUD.  But golf, even though I am AWFUL at it, was a GREAT thing. You can just go out and hit balls at a driving range, take some beginner classes (they’re always dead cheap — they try to ‘reel you in’), go to Play It Again Sports and get a golf set for not that much… and you really DO NOT have to be good.  There is a golf course in EVERY country (even Madagascar), and going and playing there you will ALWAYS meet guys, and it’s fun. The pro shop will have clubs for you to borrow.  If you decide to be a little more “interesting,” you can get a vintage putter for example, and just bring that -that’s the club that folks will comment on. (I have one from Scotland that was made from the rudder of the Queen Mary.)

Remember - I am TERRIBLE at golf.  But so long as you don’t hold the rest of your 4-some up (just pick the ball up, and tell them you owe them a beer… they’ll love you), it’s a GREAT place to meet guys, and you can tell their actual personality right off, too. (A guy I was kinda interested in threw his CLUB when he was upset at a shot he made and it BROKE - a handmade graphite club - NO THANKS. Step a-waaaaaaaaay from the Crazy Man…)

There are also groups just for women (e.g., EWC - Executive Women’s golfing Club) nationwide, where you get together with other professional women, usually on like a Tuesday or Wednesday after work, play a round and then have a glass of wine and laugh. It’s a fantastic networking thing, too.

Remember tho - it’s a game…. :-)

 S

PS:  My husband doesn’t play golf (figures, huh?) and so I’m a little out of practice now, but it’s on my “list” to get back to. It was such a great way to meet people and it’s good exercise too, if you don’t ride a cart.

In Episode 4 we discussed Feng Shui as a method for ordering your life and how your life can be diagnosed as being out of balance using Feng Shui techniques. In this Episode Sandy runs through the mechanics for doing a Feng Shui clearing and energy realignment on your home. These two podcasts expand upon the topic of decluttering that she discussed in her first View From The Bay (ABC) episode last month, and the topic of using Feng Shui as an ordering method for your physical surroundings, to be discussed in View From The Bay (ABC) on May 5th. (The San Francisco Bay Area lead-in show to Oprah.)

Click here for a printable Bagua map (from www.wsfs.com).

I know it’s difficult to “imagine” the bagua square just from my talking about it, so this should help.

If you have comments on this episode, please call the Listener Comment Voicemail at +1 (206) 350-3537, e-mail sandy [at] beabondgirl[dot] com or leave a comment below.

Click the red button below to listen:

 

 010 - Feng Shui and Energy Realignment In Your Home: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This podcast has some tricks to help you save Energy which is really what Earth Day is all about. These include green tips for around the house that are easy to implement. The beginning of the podcast also introduces you to a real fishing family in Sonoma County that are being devastated by the impacts of our current global situation.

The video podcast that I refer to in this podcast is The Story Of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can go back and find where I blogged about it a few weeks ago, or just click the link here. It’s a bit long, but it definitely explains the whole manufacturing process and Planned Obsolescence — I think this would be great to show kids.

If you have comments on this episode, call the Listener Comment Voicemail at +1 (206) 350-3537, e-mail doubleohsandy [at] yahoo [dot] com or leave a comment below.

Click the red button below to listen.

 

 Episode 9: Earth Day - It Can Be Easy, Bein' Green [1:02:10.625m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I just received the following from one of my Bond Grrls in Melbourne, Australia. If you check out Google.com’s website today, too, it has a black background — in “celebration” of Earth Hour.

---

From: merr<snip>

Hi All,
 
Did you know that Earth Hour takes place today?  What is this?  Well, apparently the idea started in Sydney last year, where between 8-9pm on 29th March, businesses and individual households turn off all their lights for one hour, to become a little more aware of the huge amount of power our daily lives consume. 

I’m writing this in the middle of “Earth Hour” (8.40pm Melbourne time), so I’m attempting to type by candle-light, which is a little difficult, particularly since the only candles I could find are scented ones, so I have “coffee” on one side and “ocean” on the other.  I think I’ll have to invest in some candle-sticks for next year! 

Last year about 2 million people in Australia participated, and this year I think it’ll be much more (it has received lots of publicity in the newspapers, etc).  Many cities around the world are also taking part, including San Francisco, I think.  Lots of buildings in cities are turning off all the lights for an hour, which is very cool. 

I snuck a look out my door, and it seems that most people in my street have turned out their lights too (or maybe they’re just out…).  I’ve also heard that some restaurants are taking part, so everyone will be eating by candle-light for an hour.  So, if you think of it, maybe you can have your own “earth-hour” tonight, between 8-9pm.  Its actually quite fun! 

Love and Happy “Earth Hour” — Merr 
 
Just a quick addition: I just read that last year it was hoped the energy consumption in Sydney might drop by 5% (during Earth Hour), but it actually dropped by 10%!  Isn’t that incredible?!  Even the Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House will be in darkness for the hour.  Cool!

As you’ve probably surmised, today is a day for me to post a bunch of stuff I have been holding onto. Here is another link, to The Story of Stuff, with Annie Leonard.  It’s 20 minutes long, but I think it’s a very good reminder… especially if you’re feeling a little down and want to cure that with “Retail Therapy”!

 I was particularly interested in some of the quotes about “planned obsolescence.” I also had to ruefully smile when Annie points out that, after 9/11, the President could have asked us to grieve, to be compassionate, to come together… instead, what he told us to do was Shop. (True!)

I’m not particularly political, but I do have a strong feeling that we’re getting to that Al-Gore-Nobel-Peace-Prize “point of no return” when it comes to our resources.  This should lead to a change in priorities… and to having a good, long look at our lifestyle. One of the things that Annie points out is that the two biggest leisure activities in the U.S. are watching TV, and shopping.  And if you’re watching TV, you’re getting exposed to commercials, which are basically telling you that “You Suck” (her words, not mine) and that you need to buy their products, to “Not Suck.”  So you go to work, or maybe work two jobs, to buy the Stuff that the advertisements say will make you Not Suck, and then you’re so exhausted when you get home, all you can do is watch TV… when tells you that You Suck (dot dot dot)

I was also very interested that the whole “planned obsolescence”/concentration on Consumerism thing started in the 1950s — which was the “peak” of our Happiness Graph as a society (it’s fallen since that time).  Gee, maybe because instead of using stuff until we’re done with it, having extra time to spend with our families, etc. we are being bombarded with advertising that says We Suck, news that says The World Sucks, and feeling that the only way for it all to be fixed is — surprise! — to buy more!

Have a look — I think it would be great to watch this with the kids, too, and be ready for some hard questions from THEM, about how YOUR household fits into this mix.

This podcast is about this wonderful period from Winter-to-Spring. It’s a great time to look at your life, and see what is going to need a little… you guessed it!… Spring Cleaning.

I also received some Listener Feedback on our Listener Feedback line — I love it! Please call, keep me company! :-) This was from Clementine (her Bond Grrrrl name) on the Yankee portion of the East Coast somewhere. Her Mom has a GREAT method of sorting through all the bits of personal “stuff” that we all gather each year, and Clementine shared. Kudos to her and to her Mom, a Bond Grrrrrrrrrl family!

Finally, I talk a bit about bringing Ritual into your life this year. Rituals are so wonderful, and they are very much a part of the human culture. It could be thanking your teeth as you brush them, a Grace at every meal that you really pay attention to, or something of your own. If you have your own Rituals or make up one that you love, please share!

xoxoxo Solitaire

P.S.: So now, my James has to figure out how to post the Podcast. It seems highly likely (as, since you can see, we are on a new server and “such” now) that it’s not going to be pretty. I better go and shake a martini or three! :-)

If you have comments on this episode, call the Listener Comment Voicemail at +1 (206) 350-3537, e-mail doubleohsandy [at] yahoo [dot] com or leave a comment below.

Click the red button below to listen.

 

 Episode 8: Initiating Life-Affirming Rituals to Welcome Spring [41:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I got this today from a friend — I am SO BEHIND on blogging… I have all sorts of notes, scraps of paper, and things to say… Oy.  But this came in and I thought it was fun, so thought I’d share.  It had very cute visuals with it…but if I try to get them in too, I will never post it, so…never mind :-)

 1. Try everything twice. On Madam’s (of Whelan’s and Madam) tombstone she wanted this epitaph: Tried everything twice…loved it both times!

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down
  (keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches).

3. Keep learning: Learn more about computers, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with that person.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with you your entire life is you. Lost time can never be found. LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.
  If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county,
  or a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity. 

11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.

12. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Podcast 007 had to do with the Year of the Rat, and also the Victim Loop. This is the Chinese Year of the Rat, and I find it easier to set “goals” (not “resolutions” —hate that word) on or about this time, with whatever the Chinese new year is supposed to signify as a subject goal. As you will hear in the podcast, this year is a year of the rat, which keeps a clean nest, is clever, knows when to get out of trouble, and is a guardian of abundance.

Oui, it is I, Solitaire, posting whilst on holiday with my James! It’s his birthday, and we’re driving down Highway 1 from San Francisco to Laguna Beach. Well, let’s say we HAVE been driving down the coast… I had great thoughts of blogging and podcasting my way down, and there has been absolutely N-O reception along the way. So, we’re here (Laguna Beach), after a bit of receptionist-wrangling (awful awful terrible dark room for our 3-day stay) and “stirring not shaking.” My James is off to get supplies (bless him) and so… here I be.

So what’s really on my mind now is Travel. I can’t get over how much easier it is to get out and about when I have my “gym bag” (with necessities) and my “makeup bag” all set to go. I took my own good advice (was that Podcast 3? Who can remind me?) and have put my contact lens fluid, conditioner, etc. in smaller bottles, and am dutifully chalking off the sides as we use them each day. I’m still working on the right bag for my makeup stuff, brushes, and the like. My dad gave me a bag for Xmas that I thought might work (because I want to use it… because he gave it to me…) and it’s just too big. Pfffft. Oh well.

Thusfar, we have stayed at an Inn in Carmel, and went to Clint Eastwood’s ranch/inn place for cocktails one evening. It was beyond a hoot. They do sort of cowboy karaoke, and most of the folks there are locals. If any of the pictures came out, I promise to burn them—oh, I mean post them. :-)

We went from there to Cambria, a WONDERFUL little town, and stayed at the J Patrick House. At their suggestion, we ate at Robin’s Restaurant — fab, fab, fab — at least we walked there so we could just roll ourselves home and spend a few calories at it.

Then we headed to Hearst Castle — a friend is the District Superintendent (read: Big Ranger Kahuna) at Hearst. He got us on a tour, and we were able to catch him between meetings. He said that Hearst was his first posting where he had to have “not one, but two tuxes.” Apparently the Governator likes to use it as his own private party spot, especially at Christmas. And who can blame him???

We met some folks at the Cambria B&B who suggested we stay at the Montecito Inn, in the “expensive part” of Santa Barbara. Lovely, lovely, though the walls were a bit thin. Amazing gym! We walked over to the Four Seasons/Biltmore Santa Barbara and had cocktails in front of their roaring fire—wow. We snuck in a “back way” so we didn’t have to come in the front door — we came in a side — and whether or not that really made a difference I don’t know.

If you have comments on this episode, call the Listener Comment Voicemail at +1 (206) 350-3537, e-mail doubleohsandy [at] yahoo [dot] com or leave a comment below.

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 007-The Year of the Rat and the Victim Loop [34:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This podcast follows on from podcast 5, and discusses more tricks to help you clear your schedule and your mind, to make room for your New Bond Grrl You. Let us know what you think of the new intro and exit!

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 006-More on Clearing Out: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’ve worked on your Outer Bond Girl – time to think about your Inner Game. You’ve cleaned out your physical surroundings – this podcast will help you start to clear out your schedule… and clear out your mind!

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 005-Clearing Out Your Schedule & Your Life: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Click here for a printable Bagua map (from www.wsfs.com).

I know it’s difficult to “imagine” the bagua square just from my talking about it, so this should help. I tried to find one I could insert here — but most of the ones that are available on the internet are “Magnetic School” and more difficult to understand. I think that this one should help to envision “what I’m talking about” in podcast 4!!!!!

Let me know what you think about the podcasts! If you have comments on this episode, call the Listener Comment Voicemail at +1 (206) 350-3537, e-mail doubleohsandy [at] yahoo [dot] com or leave a comment below.

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 004 Feng Shui-A Great Ordering Method: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Are you ready for Paris? As a follow-on to podcast #2, this podcast details some tricks for being prepared and ready to go on a moments notice! Thats what the Bond Girl lifestyle is all about!

If you have comments on this episode, call the Listener Comment Voicemail at +1 (206) 350-3537, e-mail doubleohsandy [at] yahoo [dot] com or leave a comment below.

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 003-Decluttering Contd-Are You Ready for Paris? [32:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download