Are You A Marketers Dream?

Shopping at the Lloyd Center Mall last Saturday afternoon I was looking for some comfy 3 to 4 inch heel pumps to wear with my jeans.  I tried on some ballet flats just to prove to myself that they feel like pieces of cardboard on my feet and make my whole self feel flat and sloppy.  I think it is true the more one wears heels the more the body adapts and they become even more comfortable than flats of any kind even flat soled boots.  I have the best luck finding shoes on sale at Marshall's.   The clothing items there have no appeal for me and  even the shoe selections seem to be going downhill but hey isn't everything?

It used to be products that came along were better than the ones before it.  "New and Improved" labels meant something.  Today changes are simply merchandising gimmicks rather than improving the product.  They count on us being greedy with the classic cry "buy more save more".  It is actually comical walking the mall and seeing the signs outside Lucky store saying "50 percent off everything in the store" then further down the way Express has their sign "70 percent off all inventory".  When walking in the stores the clerks approach with a verbal assault starting with "have you heard about our buy one get two free with the third item half off  and if you have a coupon or our store card every item after that is 70 percent off blah blah blah" and I want to turn and say..." I only purchase items in stores that do not offer coupons and or sales."   But I stop myself with enough decorum so the clerk will not think me just  a "crazy old lady".

If we the people accept these changes yet not buy into them it would be interesting to see where the marketing geniuses head next.  If you want to hear the very latest marketing techniques in full force turn on HSN and QVC.  They are the masters at how to move merchandise.  The hot button words,,, "buy now, hurry, don't miss out, selling out fast, already thousands sold, free shipping and easy pay goes away at midnight"   They know people buy more when it is billed as a special holiday, anniversary, birthday, etc. so everyday they present some kind of celebration going on.  We know callers ONLY get to voice their opinion if it is positive so I liked to go online and look at customer reviews on certain items to see what the negative reviews were saying.  Guess what?  They have eliminated that feature now.  When I asked QVC why only a few customer reviews are available now because I counted on those to determine if I wanted to take a chance on an item they emailed back to say that feature has been discontinued for now.  

I know false advertising is nothing new it just seems more prevalent now with all of the access we have to the media.  I wish stores would STOP putting all of their dollars into how to market their products and more into making the product one that we would all want to purchase because of the quality.  Which brings me to shoes.

 The January Vogue article on shoes for Spring states that shoes are returning to thin soles.  Did you ever try the platforms?  I have one pair and they are very comfortable but I have tried on many others over the past few years and they looked clunky on me, impossible to walk in and did not see many others wearing them either except in photo shoots.  This article says....platforms are out for one big reason... they make you look fat or bottom heavy.  No wonder I did not like them.  I did like this pair of  Bandolino's that are a pretty pinky nude, slip on and off as easy as flats, thin soled, and hopefully do not create blisters when I wear them shopping this weekend to find some splashy colorful print jeans for Spring.   I've never tried any on but am curious.   Maybe I am a marketers dream after all.

The Power Of Unconditional Love

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood but I am no Mr. Rogers today.  I sit here from my second story apartment on this beautiful sunshiny day watching the world jog bye with my cold taking a turn for the worse.  I am mad, sad, and yes, plain bad attitude.

I do have some thoughts on the Lance Armstrong case and received a package in the mail yesterday from Amazon.com that was a successful online purchase after vowing never to order anything ever online again.

The question yesterday and probably today all over the news channels by friends, relatives, co-workers, team members, those who had spent years writing books about Lance and many others who at least one should have been able to see this coming but no......everyone kept asking, "Why now?"  What could possibly be his reason for confession after all these years?   My question is why were none of his followers able to figure it out???

I'm not sure when I started lying.  I do think it was full blown by High School   I lied about everything to most everyone......my name, where I lived, forged my mothers name. cheated on tests, and remember waking up each morning sorting through all the lies and keeping straight who I had told what lies to and had quite a chess game going on in my head.  The closest I came to getting caught was being called to the Principals office with a forged note but my mother did not want me to get in trouble so she told them it was her signage.  I am not sure when I stopped but I do know my lying came from low self esteem so maybe maturity stepped in,  a desire for growth and change?   I was never fed by money and fame to keep the lies alive which may have been harder to stop.

How did no one see this coming?

Your children are yours to feed.  You already have the power to feed them truths or feed them lies.  You do not have to earn that right it is just God given   I forgot he had children.  Yes I went along with the chatter about his drive for fortune and fame, his ruthless desire for power and leadership, his need to control everything and everyone around him.  But for one thing,  when an innocent child comes to you with unconditional love all controls and power are off the table.  There is no where to go.  The bike hits the wall.  Unconditional love is a free gift that just is.....you cannot turn your back on it....you have to receive it and be responsible for it.  How did no one see it would be his children would bring him to his need to come clean.   He had to encourage his own children to fight for something that was a lie and he could not take that step.   So the choice is always made when there is no choice.

Now I need a new perspective and some inspiration from one of my favorite authors who captures in one sentence all of my feelings on this day.
                  "In spite of illness, in spite even of the arch enemy sorrow, one can remain alive
                    if unafraid of change, curious, and happy in small ways."

The package that arrived on my doorstep yesterday was a treat because it actually lived up to its promise.  I have been experimenting with many different brands of eyeshadows over the past few months none to my likeing.   I finally decided to take a chance on a pallette from Balm called....
"Nude-tude".  The quality and texture of the product is the best I have found and I created a new smokey eye look today.  Now all I need to get is a better attitude!

How To Turn A Sick Day Into A Game

Self-diagnosis I may have strep.  My throat has never been this sore since after surgery when I had my tonsils out at age twenty-eight.  Must be running fevers because I cannot bear to step away from my heater for more than a minute.  I do not want to swallow but of course the remedy is to drink hot water and juices all day so what do I do when I don't like to face my day?  Divert my attention to other peoples problems.  Like the news event of the day celebrities Lance/Oprah a shining example of the term Egomaniacs.

 I know what craving attention is about because I like it too.  One can only identify in others what one knows or denies in oneself.  Psychology 101.

A sick day allows me to remunerate on things.  Such as growing up I did not get along with my mother at all and thought it was because we were polar opposites.  Now the years have brought me a whole different perspective.  I am identifying more and more areas of my life in likeness to the way she lived her life bringing to light she had many positive and negative traits just like me.  One is in the area of "intuition".  She would often say, "I knew that person was not right" and we would all roll our eyes when it was stated after the fact.

When I posted my opinion about the LA scandal awhile back I questioned if I should blog about it but quickly realized I do not write for the NY Times so basically no one was going to read or care about my opinion anyway it is always just for me and so I published it. Now many months later my intuition was right in that post at that time.  Today I may be wrong but my intuition tells me....Oprah has fallen into the trap of being a PP (Power Pleaser) for so long now she is numb to it.  I have seen her over the years go from a hard news reporter interviewer to a Gospel according to Oprah one.  If she thinks you have some power behind you she will promote you as the next Dr. Oz and/or Phil etc.

My intuition today tells me she has lost her skills to do a hard interview.  Now that I hear she is struggling with her fame she took on the the King Betrayer of all time.  Communications 101 when doing a hard interview you have the person come to you on your turf and your environment and no one else allowed except of course a trusty lawyer.  Evidently Armstrong has told so many lies over the years he needed ten trusty lawyers in the room with him and made Oprah come to him on his turf.   Is she this desperate for attention?  Then she told the news media she was surprised she did not have to ask Lance her prepared questions because he already had all the answers.  REALLY!!!!?????

What other traits did I come up with today that are like my mother that I now see in me?  Her inclination to pre-judge others, her desire to manage on her own and do her own thing, her commitment to health and fitness, her decision to wear trousers most every day because it fit her lifestyle, never changed her hairstyle, and in later years kept a smile on her face and a positive attitude.

Now I am going to turn on the TV news cast and see how the L/O interview came off and see if my intuition was right this time.  That Oprah got scammed.  I will be joining the zillions of others who will be giving their opinion until I will get to turn to the Lakers game and later Project Runway.  Maybe we really are all more alike than not????

Get Fit Now

Watching the Miss America contest, why?  It boggles my mind the choices I make.  My commitment to health and fitness has boomeranged on me so I don't know who I am right now.  With every intention to focus this year on ballet training taking six classes a week I have only made it to 2 classes.   Not sure what is going on with me physically with watery eyes and overall feeling of fatigue the most I have been able to do is get to work and some chores.  Just the thought of ballet class was overwhelming my body/mind/spirit.  What is wrong with my commitment making?  If I just take one day at a time I tend to do better than making proclamations.

I have one visual of myself going to class faithfully, relentlessly, advancing or at least making some improvements in my exercise of choice.  But the actual me is lying on the floor, head down, wondering if I am sick, coming down with the flu, have allergies, or just my body fighting off all the germs that have attacked me from my co-workers?

 Not being in class every evening gives me too much time to question if I even want balance in my life because all I want to do is ballet classes non stop.  I also think about how much I want to keep learning how to live in the present moment, and how bored I am with my hair.  I want to practice writing as well and one blog I like is The Writing Life Too.  The most recent post has the best definition of pursuing balance in life activities.  "For me it means that whatever I'm doing I'm not fretting that I should be doing something else.  So that I can be present in the moment."

I cannot rely on what worked for me in the past.  Teaching myself to be in the present moment and make my choices from that place takes vigilance because I am such a creature of habit and expect my body to perform a certain way.  My confidence gets shaken when faced with what feels like weakness.   It is so much easier to think about my hair.  On Miss America it was stated "a woman's hair holds her identity".  No wonder I'm wanting to change my hairstyle.

Am I the lone ranger when it comes to making a commitment to one thing and have it feel like it turns into something else entirely???

What To Do With Winter Blahs

Studies show if we pay attention to animals and all of nature we learn many things about ourselves.  Taking a clue from our friends the birds and watching them migrate South for the winter many have followed their lead purchasing winter homes where it is warm.  Those of us who do not have that luxury nor wings to fly such as I turn into a big fat bear that only wants to hibernate in a cave.  It feels like the best I can do is forage for food by going to work 35 hours a week and trying to get myself in gear to pursue my personal challenges that takes sheer willpower right now.  It does not help to visualize my friends in warm places.

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What does help is to keep finding ways to inspire myself and setting challenges to improve in body/mind/spirit.  I have decided to be my own easygoing coach this year and today was my Starting Line.  Mini goal: get to class six times a week even on or especially on days I don't feel like it.  Specifics:  Create strength and relaxation with balance in all areas of my life while questioning all.

Can the body/mind/spirit improve with age or does it automatically deteriorate as we age?  Many use the visual of the flowers and say we wilt and die just as the lilies of the field.  Others say we do not know what the body is capable of because we are each individuals with unique life experiences unlike the flowers.

This is John Lowe.  He is 91 years of age and started ballet training at age 79. You can Google him and his story is amazing.

This is Tao Porchon Lynch.  She is age 94.  I am told she lived in Oregon during the war and has a condo in downtown Portland here where I live.  I have never met her but a good friend of mine says she is incredible and still dancing.  But I have a different role model.  His name is Kobe Bryant.  I know Kobe is 40 years younger than myself and started practicing basketball as a child.  I started ballet training at age 50.  I hear the commentators say that he has been trashing his body as a Professional BB player for almost 20 years now and that is unheard of.  The wear and tear on his body is supposed to be equivalent to a ninety year old.  No one has ever played as many years.  He has not had to make any adjustments to his play and scores as many points as he ever did and has the most points in the NBA at age 37.  Yes he has had knee surgery last year but it has not affected his play.  His work ethic is supposed to be far superior to anyone and he admits he has sacrificed his family and friends for his sport.

It helps me get through the blahs when I have inspiration from animals, people and places.  Choosing to do anything in life is a learning experience.  If you have a personal challenge you are experimenting with please share.  I would love to hear.