Stinky Fishy Kitty Couches

Do you know what the most creative thing I've done today is? Sang a song to Coconut about how HORRIBLE her breath is. Seriously, I have no idea what is wrong with this cat. Good thing she is already spayed because Lord knows she's never going to snag a man with that fishy stink seeping out of her. Blech!

Actually, I also worked on a newsletter for my workshop.

LIVING JOYFULLY ON A BUDGET How to enjoy life for less Register Now! When: Tuesday, January 27, 6 to 9 pm Where: Oriental Pavilion at the Westgate Plaza Cost: $25 plus dinner (budget options available) Register: Contact Jen Trinque by Friday, January 23rd Contact: jentrinque@gmail.com 828-734-1422 View the flier! Bring a Friend and Save! Mention this newsletter and register with a friend to get the special discounted price of $15 per person! Cost does not include dinner Greetings! I'd like to remind you that the Living Joyfully on a Budget workshop is only 5 days away! Learn to live joyfully! This workshop will help you focus your energy on enjoying what you already have in your life without spending a dime. I'll talk about simple budgeting tools to assist you in figuring out where your money is going, what you're really gaining by spending, and how to refocus your intentions and embrace what you have. We'll also discuss ways to fit in some fun extras in life for less than what you'd usually spend! Please join me Tuesday, January 27th from 6 to 9 pm for this fun, interactive workshop. Living Joyfully on a Budget is only a workshop away.... Sincerely, Jen Trinque Joyful Coaching

Wow, I can't believe I was actually able to cut and paste this baby in here...we'll see how it looks up on the blog though! Okay, it looks totally weird on the blog, but I trust you to know it doesn't look so wacky in real life. Yes, I know, my phone number is on here, so if you do want to call me, please do it during waking hours. (Eastern Time, I'm usually awake and available and sober between 12 and 8 pm, with the exception of naps and feeding times and when I'm watching my soaps. Don't believe anything I say.)

You may notice I'm offering a two-fer. Yup, I've got NO ONE coming. Okay, one person, who is actually the freakin' CPA at the place I used to work (wait, if a CPA wants my help to live joyfully on a budget....) and I'm so relieved and thrilled to have her...but I need more people!

I sent this version of the newsletter to my life coach Barbara to get her feedback, then tomorrow I'm going to send it out. I'm going to see if I can think of anyone else to send it to...I just don't know that many people locally, and I'm certainly not meeting anymore by sitting in my pajamas reading books and blogging all day, not to mention singing songs to my tuna-breath cat.

Oooh, tomorrow is my second life coaching class and my first one with Martha Beck herself! She's a celebrity in my mind and I'm even reading another one of her books right now. It's going to be so weird to be hearing her voice, live! I also signed up for the coaches conference this summer where both she and Byron Katie will be appearing. Talk about exciting. For me, I mean. I don't know that it would excite the average person.

You know what, my couch is calling my name, sad and depressed since I left it to put on a batch of Spanish Rice, do dishes, and blog. I must return before it gets up and leaves me for good.

Birthdays Birthdays

Today I know three people who are celebrating birthdays. The first is my friend Daniela's husband, Attila. (He's from Hungary, where that name is absolutely completely run of the mill.) It's also my friend Christy's husband's birthday. His name is Vagan. He's from Arkansas, where that name is absolutely NOT run of the mill. I'm not making this stuff up. Last year I was with Vagan (and Christy and Anthony) on his birthday, on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, hiking in a canyon with mountain goats. Again, I am not creative enough to make this stuff up. I have no idea what he's doing this year, but I'm sitting in front of a computer screen with a sweaty T-shirt on and he lives outside of San Francisco now and has joined the Coast Guard, so I'm guessing he's not with any goats this year, either.

Last but not least, it's my dear friend Amy's birthday. I was lucky enough to have her over to my house on Friday night for an early celebration. Here she is with the cake I made her. Two things about this cake - she hates cake. So it's not cake, it's a brownie. Second, it's shaped like a cross because...it is. Don't be offended, Amy is a very faithful Christian and I promised her a religious birthday brownie this year.

I'm not sure why she looks so angry in the second picture...maybe she thought I hadn't made her a birthday card? She had nothing to fear:

It's a pop-out Jesus. He's amongst the universe, wishing her a happy birthday. Again, let me say that I honor and respect every one's religious beliefs and Amy was completely comfortable with this theme, she loved her cake, her card, and her present. Her present was the opposite of this cake and card, and I will NOT be posting a picture of it here, because it would cause her to turn a shade of red so deep and dark that her skin tone would, quite possibly, stay that color FOREVER.

She also gave me a present! It's a belated Christmas gift.

It's a cork board! With corks on it! Also, it had a gift card to my favorite grocery store, Earth Fare tacked to it. Very nice gift. Now I have something else that I will have in my office forever. (Two years ago someone I worked with had the prose "Desiderata" by Max Erhmann written in caligraphy and framed for me; it goes with my wherever I work now.)

I had one last gift for Amy:


Yup, I gave her Nola. Nola hasn't wanted to work lately and is not even washing dishes or taking out the trash anymore, so my only choice was to give her away.

KIDDING! Amy already has two dogs living in her home and I would never, ever part with my baby kitty. Wow, I really am one of those women who thinks her cats are her children.

Before I embarrass myself anymore, I'm going to go...do something. We're supposed to get snow later! I'm actually sort of excited about it because I don't have to drive and Anthony is going snowboarding tomorrow, so maybe the mountain will be good to him! I hope the roads aren't too snowy for him to go!

All In A Day's Work

Busy day today. Let me back up to yesterday, though. I did go to visit my friend and her son for quite a few hours in the afternoon. At first her two-year-old son wouldn't talk to me, but once I danced around in the kitchen in front of him, to music performed by barnyard animals nonetheless, he opened up to me. Daniela fed me lunch and we even watched part of a classic Romanian children's movie called "Veronica". I think that's what it was called, anyways. It was all in Romanian, after all, but it was a musical and I love me some show tunes. (Oh, Daniela is from Romania; she doesn't just drive around looking for foreign language musicals for fun.)

After spending the day with them I did not feel like attending the guided meditation class in the evening, even though I promised myself I would go. After calling myself lazy, silly, un-dedicated to improving myself spiritually, and a few other choice phrases, I told myself to shut up and went home to eat ravioli and play Scrabble with Anthony (I lost one and I won one).

Today I woke up excited to write more and research other ways to get my work out there. I submitted yet another article; this one to an online thingamajig, and I also spent lots of time petting Nola. A very good morning indeed.

I spent the afternoon walking and then came home to find a rejection e-mail from Skirt! magazine pertaining to the essay I just sent them on Monday. Meanwhile, the one I sent seven weeks ago is still floating out in the middle of nowhere without a response from them. I felt a little stung, but then I remembered what Martha Beck says about the "Hero's Saga" stage of our journey to find ourselves. Well, I can't quote it, but it's something along the lines of, "Get out there and start failing." Once I remembered that I felt pretty good. I must be doing something in an effort to work towards my dreams if I'm already getting rejection letters during my first week of being home.

After I recovered from that trauma I started to paint. This is what I have so far:

This isn't going to be just a painting though; I'm going to add texture and polymer clay and other bits to it, but for now it's drying. This is so much fun! I do have one complaint about being home, though. I have to work under really awful conditions:

This is the seat from which I type and paint. I'm not even allowed to have it to myself; instead I must share it with Coconut, who is extremely depressed that it's raining today and she can't sun herself outside. Instead she must make my life more difficult.

Thank goodness she's cute.