It’s all about Donna

I wish I could take credit for this nifty little find, but I can’t. A new connection actually found it first. Curiosity got the best of me, so I had see what the Word Cloud was all about. You can enter random words, a URL, whatever you want, and it will create a jumble of words. Pretty neat. This is my Word Cloud.

“Find a purpose in life so big it will challenge every capacity to be at your best.” ~David O. McKay

I came across this quote today. I think we all have this capacity. I know I do. I strive to be at my very best every day. I don’t always succeed; I do try, though.

I think having purpose is like having a job. Everyone needs purpose. Sometimes you have to be quiet to discover what your purpose is. I know that sounds almost like a cliche, but it’s a fact that we all know so well. To gain the guidance and know your purpose, you have to be quiet and listen.

Your purpose may be for a few hours, a day, a week. Each purpose has a different time frame and we never know what that might be. Be mindful and listen. You too will find your purpose.

My purpose today is making people smile. What’s yours?

This has been a crazy year and this post is long overdue.

Being the social butterfly that I am, you might find it hard to believe that I would avoid such venues as twitter and facebook. I didn’t understand twitter, and I felt facebook too invasive. However, this year that changed.

I actually started on facebook a year ago when my colleagues were being laid off. I wanted to stay in touch. I created a profile and went on my merry little way, checking in about once a month. I signed up for a twitter account about the same time but totally did not get it. Never used it.

I found myself in the unemployment line about mid-March and all that changed. I still have my doubts about facebook, but have realized through using it, I have some pretty awesome friends. I also enjoy the camaraderie of friends far away that I’ve gotten to know better. And the most amazing part, is that I have discovered there are people out there who genuinely care and check on me on a daily basis. The downside of facebook? They introduced farmtown. I admit it. I’m addicted. I have to plant and harvest my crops and keep things watered. If only all that coinage I’ve earned was real… I would be a millionaire!

As for twitter. I so totally get it now. I liked the analogy of a tree with birds in it tweeting to each other. That’s really what twitter is, except with people instead of birds. I have friends who don’t get it and I have a hard time explaining how to get it. What I discovered with twitter, is that all of a sudden you can get up close and personal with people you might not ever have the opportunity to do so in any other venue. I’m not talking stalking up close, but being able to reach out and on rare occasion actually get a response. Those are the moments I live for. I’ve tweeted with the likes of Sam Champion, Chris Cuomo and the awesome guys at CreativeTechs. My followers include Arnold Shwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, and much to my amazement a few local celebs follow me, too… Dale Hansen and cohabitat. I have a fairly good balance of who I follow and who follow me. The value I see in twitter is bringing the world just a little closer and more in reach of the common man. I like the interaction and being able to brighten others’ days.

Without these two venues, this would have been a tough year. I am glad I am find my way and this is all about being social!

I was prompted today to start blogging again. So here I go.

It’s been kind of a tough year for me. Hasn’t gone exactly the way I thought it would or should. However, this wonderful circle of girlfriends have blessed my life and has made dealing with life so much easier.

Today we all met for lunch. Again, I feel so very blessed, as we have managed to pull off meeting for lunch about once a month since the first of the year. This is quite a feat as we all have such hectic schedules and demands. Today it was Lin, Amy, Dana and Gayla. Dana brought her son, Kasson, and her new baby girl, Kinsley. What wonderful children. Kasson has impeccable manners, and “Baby Kinsley” is just an absolute doll.

We met at Mi Chula’s in Southlake. Turns out I could have walked there faster than it took me to drive. Oh well. Definitely hoofing it next time. Very tasty Mexican food at this place. I had the chicken flauta platter. Yum!

It was super catching up with everyone. These women are just so positive and gracious. I am so very glad we’ve become such good friends.

Oh? What’s “G65?” We all met through an employee-only social network. G65 is actually Group 65 as it was the 65th group to be formed within the network. We all kinda came together and ended up forming the G65 Ladies Auxiliary. The rest, as they say, is history. You can learn about this cool application for your company by visiting www.cubeless.com. I highly recommend it! If you decide it’s an app you want to learn more about, tell ‘em Donna sent you! Yah… that was a shameless plug, but I had to do it.

I got the call today. Ace is permanently retired.

Who is Ace? Ace is my girlfriend’s old Arabian horse. She’s been allowing me to drive him for the past 20 months, following the passing of my own Arabian horse. Ace is a spry 29 year-old, that you wouldn’t guess to be a day over 20. Lots of spring in his trot, and a twinkle in his eye. I’ve had some very enjoyable times with Ace and he has certainly helped me deal with the loss of my own horse.

Last week we had awful weather here in Texas. Temps in the 100s, high humidity; and then a slight cool down with some pretty powerful thunderstorms. With the weather, also came colic. Ace was rushed off to the vet, treated, spent a night or two and came home. He’s not out of the woods yet. My girlfriend believes it best to let him just live out however many days he has left as a pasture ornament. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to enjoy some time with Ace. He’s a good pony.