Prochaska, DiClemente & Norcross:

1. Precontemplation: A person is unaware of an issue or unwilling to change something. Common questions/statements in this stage: “I don’t think that there is anything wrong with doing this.” “I don’t see what the big deal is?”

2. Contemplation: A person considers the possibility of change. Common questions/statements in this stage: “I don’t feel that I can ever change but I can’t stay like this.” “I wonder if things can ever get better?”

3. Determination: A person is ready and determined to make change. Common questions/statements in this stage: “I can and I will overcome this.” “Changing will be difficult but it is better than staying the same and being miserable.”

4. Action: A person is ready to take actions that will modify identified issue. Common questions/statements in this stage: “I know that self injurous behavior reduces my quality of life. I will exercise or practice meditation instead.” “My contingency plan for self injurious behaviors is journal writing.”

5. Maintenance: A person attempts to maintain new age appropriate coping skills. Common questions/statements in this stage: “Paying attention to my body allows me to stay centered and balanced.” “Only making decisions after taking a minute helps me make better choices.”

6. Relapse: A normal slip up before stable change occurs. “I felt myself becoming dysregulated but I did not practice my skills.” “I allowed myself to become dysregulated and I made a poor choice.”

Why does it feel like shortened work weeks are more difficult than an entire work week? Monday was a holiday, so I was off from work. Four days. Four days that should have been easy… Of course not, you cannot apply logic and reason to anything that has to do with my job.

The week ended a lot better than it began thanks to a few pep talks from dear friends.

The highlight of my night: William counted to ten on his own for the first time. I was very excited. I cheered for him, congratulated and hugged him. Keisha could not be outdone… she immediately ran over to count to ten. She did it about 5 or 6 times before I stopped her by asking her to go get her pajamas. I have a feeling my twins are going to be very competitive as they grow up.

This evening I began to clean off my desk. I threw away a lot of crap but as I look down at at… it doesn’t look like I did much to it at all. My desk stays cluttered. I think the only time my desk has been clean is 1. when we moved and 2. when I was in the hospital after the birth of my twins, JT cleaned up the house. That is it. Sad I know.

I signed up for ESPN Fantasy Baseball 2007 under the Blogshares League. My team is the St. Louis Juggernauts, abbreviation: JUGG. I need to make a logo for the team soon. The draft is March 23.

Other than that, I took it easy today. Came home and took a nice nap. Spoke with friends online. Spent time with William and Keisha. Watched a show with JT and had dinner. Now I am listening to music on Last.fm, tag: neo soul. Can’t go wrong with Jill Scott.

I generally update all of the Windows Updates… especially the security ones. I do not have any of my computers set on automatic. I have it set where I see the popup and I can make the determination of whether or not I want the update. I refuse to download Internet Explorer 7 and the following:

Windows Genuine Advantage Notification.

According to Microsoft, this tool notifies you if your copy of Windows is not geniune. If your system is found to be non-genuine, the tool will help you obtain a licensed copy of Windows.

Even if your copy of Windows is genuine, why would you want this update? I just think this is more crap that Microsoft wants on your PC.

A couple of weeks ago I posted 13 foods that I love as a part of Thirteen Thursday so it is only appropriate to do the 10 on Tuesday today:

1. Sardines. The smell eats away at my soul. I cannot believe that my children like this crap.

2. Liver and Gizzards. I have never tasted this and I never will. I just cannot bring myself to eat a liver. What the hell are gizzards anyway?

3. Artichokes. Number 3 and 4 on this list go hand in hand. I get the two mixed up, don’t ask me why or how. I just know that they make me want to blow chunks.

4. Water Chestnuts. See the reason above.

5. Mushrooms (unless they are fried). These slimy creatures err fungi scare me. Unless they are fried… then yummy!

6. Sushi. Raw fish… no.

7. Peas. I was forced to try these green bastards when I was little. I think the trauma alone made me not like them.

8. All beans except green beans and baked beans. Navy beans, kidney beans… all those beans equal creepy.

9. Most of the nut family except for walnuts and peanuts. No crazy reason here.

10. Pork. The unclean meat. Enough said.

Ten on Tuesday

I have had a great deal of mood swings in the last week. This has been the most that I have had in several months. I really cannot put my finger on one thing that has caused the mood swings. Some of it stems from financial concerns, crap at work and communication issues at home. The one thing I do know for certain is that I need to get back in the gym. Not just to get into physical shape but also for my mental well-being. When I was working out consistently for three weeks straight, I saw a drastic positive change in my mood and presence. My muscles ached terribly but it was tolerable. I was not as impatient with JT and the twins and I was more active at home. I miss that feeling. Now to get the motivation and get up early enough in the mornings to work out before my shift starts at work. Thankfully, the gym is in my building. I have a locker with all of my shower goods so I can freshen up before my duties begin.

That is my goal for the week.

I need that feeling back because I hate feeling down like I do right now.

I have a pimple from hell above my right brow and I cannot get rid of it. The bastard came about a few days ago and now it is bringing about headaches. It feels larger than what the actual size is… probably one centimeter. I put a hot press on it this afternoon. No luck. I am going to look up some home remedies. My mom suggested applying Preparation-H or toothpaste. I don’t think that I have any Preparation-H in my medicine drawer. Never had a need for that. I suppose that I will try the toothpaste. I’ll try anything within reason because my head really hurts and this pimple is not giving up.

I’ll keep you posted on the results. If you know any reasonable pimple remedies, drop a comment.

Week 211

I say … and you think … ?

Threshold :: Peak

Jason :: and the Argonauts

Suspicion :: Guilt

Tender :: Lover

Tempted :: Seduced

Crimson :: Tide

Repulsive :: Stinky

Bulldog :: My middle school mascot

Garage :: Storage

Racket :: Tennis

Unconscious Mutterings

The Year of the Pig… I am so glad that I was not born in the Year of the Pig.

I was born in the year of the Horse. My grandfather, JT and my little brother were born in the year of the Rat. My mother and father were born in the year of the Dragon and my children were born in the year of the Monkey.

The Horse attributes:

The horse personality is often willing to give as well as expect a lot of liberty. These people are extremely independent and confident. The horse person is very quick-witted, inquisitive and determined. They are very good at recognizing patterns: he or she is on to the thought in your mind even before you’ve expressed it. In general, these people are gifted. But in truth they are often more cunning than intelligent – and they surely know that. They adore being the centre of everyone’s attention, but they prefer to be recognized for their skills and are easily flattered. On the other hand these people have an honesty and genuine warmth which attracts lots of people and helps them make new friends. People as a rule confide in a horse person because he/she is sincerely interested in their thoughts and feelings and is able to help with both wise words and an action, but there is a small problem about it – the horse person is so excited by new discoveries that it is difficult for them to keep a secret. This is not something that arises out of malice or revenge – sometimes they just cannot help themselves.

By now we all know you get a discount on a phone when you sign a new cell phone contract, but these days the kinds of new phones you get for free are super hot.

Not long ago if you saw an ad for a free phone, the excitement did not last long. A free phone used to mean a phone with not many extra features and very simple. Customers today are still interested in good deals but they also want sleek phones with cool features. Students want to text their friends, employees want to keep up with deadlines, business men and women want to keep up with important meetings and parents want to capture pictures of their children on the go. You cannot do these activities with a cheap free phone but with great cell phone deals at Wirefly.com you can. At Wirefly.com you will find cell phone deals that willl meet your needs.

Amongst the free phone selection at Wirefly.com you will find phones that are super slim and lightweight, have a built in camera, mobile web capatible, bluetooth-enabled and many more features. The free phone selection currently includes: Motorola L2 (two colors available), Samsung C417 (three colors available), Sony Ericsson z525a, Motorola V557, Nokia 6030, Samsung A707 (three colors available), Firefly, many types of RAZRS, RIM BlackBerry 7290 and many more.

A free Blackberry? Yes. The BlackBerry Pearl is free at checkout and no rebates are required. This is a hard deal to pass up for my wireless phone users.

Thirteen Things About My Twins

1. They are fraternal twins. Boy and a Girl.

2. They were born on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at 8:20 and 8:21 a.m. at 38 weeks in the pregnancy.

3. Their names are William Nathaniel and Keisha Nicole.

4. I thought that I was going to explode several times before their birth. I was pregnant throughout the summer and gained 65 pounds total!!

5. They have gone to the same daycare since they were seven weeks old.

6. They love watching The Little Rascals, Doodlebops, Dora the Explorer, Diego, The Backyardigans, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and a variety of Disney movies.

7. William and Keisha both know how to count to ten but Keisha is a little more outgoing with it.

8. Keisha knows most of her alphabet, A-H and P-Z.

9. William is excellent with puzzles.

10. Keisha counts to ten in Arabic with me.

11. William knows how to work everything electronic in the house, particulary the DVD players and televisions.

12. William and Keisha occassionally drive me crazy…

13. But I love them with all of my heart and soul and I cannot imagine life without them.

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