Friday, June 25, 2010

Battling the Blahs

For the past couple of weeks, I have been battling the dreaded blahs. You know what I am talking about, right? That dispirited mood where nothing seems to make you smile and you just feel tired or run down all the time.

For some strange reason people assume that I am a peppy kind of person just because of my name. While I am not always peppy, I do tend to be in a good mood the majority of the time. So I really don’t like having a case of the blahs. And believe me, my family doesn’t like it either!

I am not sure if my crazy work schedule has finally taken its toll on me. Andrea, PJ and Gannon have heard me complain about it for a year now (see I’m a part-time employee who has been working full-time plus overtime for A YEAR and counting).

Or maybe the blahs arrived after the start of summer vacation for my two children. The chaos summer brings is just unreal. I’m a structured kind of person, but there is no structure in summer! And the kids are ALWAYS bored!! Given my hectic work schedule, there is no time for visits to the park or play dates with friends.

I don’t know what triggered the onslaught of the blahs, but a few days ago I decided to take the bull by the horn, or rather the blahs by the horn. It was past time to throw the blahs out of my life.

How did I do it?

Well, with a good ole shopping trip. Yes, you heard me correctly – SHOPPING!

First let me explain something to you. See, I’m not like most women. I’m not a clothes whore. I’m not a bag whore. I’m not a shoe whore. In fact, my husband probably has more shoes and clothes than I do. I only buy what I need. Usually, I only go to the store if my kids need something. And that has always been fine.

Until now.

Until the blahs took up residence.

So during a recent stop at a local store to get my son some new shoes (see my kid needed something), I wandered over to the purse section of the store just to see what was out and found . . . THIS.






Isn’t she pretty??

And you know what else? She was on clearance. Oh yes, clearance bay-bee!!! Seventy percent off of the original price.

Now she’s beautiful, right? I sure thought so.

So I picked her up, took her picture with my phone and sent it to my sister. She immediately called and said, “You better buy her for yourself!” See, my sister knows I am a practical person. And a pretty pink purse is not practical. At least not for me.

But she is beautiful!

And she has SUPERPOWERS!!

She vanquished the blahs with a single swipe of my debit card.

I was grinning from ear to ear when I got home with her. My husband rolled his eyes as I presented her ala Vanna White style. But he noticed the smile on my face, the twinkle in my eyes and the pick-up in my step.

Mission accomplished.

Now you might think I’m insane, but I am almost daring the blahs to come back.

See, my pretty pink purse has a sister. She’s apple green and I believe she has superpowers too ;-)

So what do you do to wave bye-bye to the blahs?


~ Buffie

26 comments:

  1. I also have the blahs, but I really don't have a solution to them. Normally I buy books and that cheers me up. Unfortunately, books are my problem. My house if FULL of them. I have over 40 full bookcases and about 30 to 40 boxes of books with no place to call home. There is no room for bookcases. We just got back from a 2 week trip and I bought 100+ books on the trip. There is no room for them. My sister called to say she and her husband will be coming for a visit. I've spent the past week or so trying to dig a path to the guest room.
    There is no way I'll be done in time.

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  2. Cute bag, Buffie. I love shopping for handbags. I hate getting the blahs. I've been in a funk for the past week or so and reading didn't even help. I did spend the week watching the first season of "Party Down," a comedy on Starz. Watching funny movies and TV shows do improve my mood. I think I need to watch "The Hangover" again this weekend to keep the laughs coming.

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  3. Buffie, your new best friend is just gorgeous! Isn't that pink lovely?

    Actually I'm like you - I'm not a shopaholic and clothes and shoes and stuff are fun to buy but shopping isn't something I salivate about doing.

    And then I went shopping to buy something to celebrate my second contract. For various rather sad personal reasons, I never really celebrated my first contract. I certainly didn't buy anything to say - there, that's for selling a book at last.

    But when I went to my first RWA conference, I noticed that all the American girls had lovely handbags. And I had a horrible vinyl thing I'd pinched off my mother and I think she'd had it for about twenty years before that.

    So I bought myself a REALLY posh handbag. I still love it to death - you'll see it in Orlando (hey, we can drool over each other's handbags - bleuch!). It was 25% off too and even so, it was what I thought was a ridiculous amount of money for something that wasn't a matter of life or death.

    But you know what? I've never been sorry I bought it! It always makes me happy. And I think, hey, yeah, I sold a book whenever I use it. So I guess it wasn't bad value at all!

    Hope you're out of your blahs. Here's something to cheer you up - you, me, the bar, Mouses and princesses outside! ;-) A couple of weeks! WAHOOOOOOOOO!

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  4. I get like that sometimes, I can't even get into reading which is a very ugly time for me. I am not a shopper by nature either so I am not sure what the "cure" is for me. Haven't found it yet. I also have the same problems as librarypat. I have books everywhere and no place to put them but still I want more. I know one thing I do like to do is cook so maybe I will just plan for a very special dinner this weekend, that is about the only chance I get to really cook. I work 10 hour days so there is no time in the evenings.

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  5. Librarypat - I think we all have the blahs at one time or another. Every time I have them, something different seems to pull me out of them. This time it was my pink purse :-) That IS a lot of books, but just imagine all the wonderful stories you will be enjoying.

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  6. Thanks, Jane! You are right -- funny shows and movies always seem to help too. I like to pull out our DVD set of FRIENDS. Those quirky group of characters can usually get me to crack a smile.

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  7. Isn't she beautiful, Anna! I love her. Really. I love her :-)

    Yes, we will definitely have to introduce our bags. I'm sure they will be best friends and just love Orlando!! I'm so happy that you were able to splurge on yourself. You SO deserve it!!!

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  8. Dianna -- sounds like you are just like me, always working. It sure brings you down, doesn't it? I'm tired all the time, but just seem to push through it.

    A really nice dinner sounds fabulous! Buy you a new gadget for the kitchen and create something new. Tell me what time dinner will be and I'll be there :-)

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  9. Hey Buffie - your post had me smiling from ear to ear. Not because you had the blahs, but because you finally treated yourself! Good for you and I encourage more of same!

    I very rarely get the blahs. But when I do I clean. Yes, I clean, de-clutter and organize. I have this crazy belief that when I'm in a funk if I get rid of old stuff that's been hanging around I'll have room for new and exciting stuff to happen.

    Unfortunately, I've been in a great mood for long time and my house is a disaster area.

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  10. Gorgeous handbag, Buffie! I can understand why it lifted your spirits.

    I'm not a dedicated shopper either, but I do think sometimes an article of clothing or a piece of jewelry or whatever just calls my name and whispers "I'm meant to be yours." I'm convinced that if I ignore the voice, the object haunts me. :)


    I have two cures for the blahs. One is my mother's recipe for reviving the spirit--do something kind for someone else. Even something as simple as a grateful wave from the driver I let pull into the line of traffic from a side road can work wonders. The other cure is my response to my mother's cure. I declare a Me Day and spend the day indulging myself. For me, that usually means letting the answering machine get the calls, saying no to grands' visits, and curling up with a good book and a tall glass of iced tea. Selflessness or self-indulgence--one or the other or both successively always works for me.

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  11. I had a bit of the blahs lately, too, Buffie. I think it was because of the end of the school year for my kids. For some reason, it really hit me harder this year. Plus, some personal stuff had me down and Anne Mallory's latest pulled me back up again. Terrific book = terrific mood! But now I find myself spoiled for any other book! That happens sometimes after I read a book that blows me away. Sigh.

    Oh, and I love the purse, Buffie! Very chic. Can't wait to see her in person. *g* I'm not usually one who likes to shop either, though I did have a great time with my sisters yesterday. Perhaps it was because I found a lot of really great stuff and it was all on sale! ;-)

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  12. LOVE it! I am a green fan, so I'd love to see the sister bag, too...grin....

    I'm in the blah mode also. Just finished school, am now working full-time. I noticed the strap on my purse is a little frayed. Maybe this is exactly what I need to perk myself up. Hmmmm.... Me thinks I'll be shopping this afternoon...

    Thanks for a fun post, Buffie! Have a great weekend.

    Tami

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  13. Buffie, I'm not a shopping person either but sometimes when I'm down nothing works better. Shoes and purses work especially well because you're not trying on clothes and fighting with the this doesn't look good on me thing.

    BTW, I love the bag!

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  14. Hey Marisa! Glad you got a smile out of my blog today. Yes, it was time for me to treat myself!! And I have to tell you this -- it happened AFTER I cleaned out my closet :P

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  15. Thanks Janga! I do agree with your mom. Doing something for someone else does make you feel better. But just like you said, sometimes you have to treat yourself :-)

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  16. Andrea, I'm glad that book put you in a good mood. You needed it!!!

    Sounds like a wonderful shopping trip with the sisters. My sister and I are hitting the stores next week. Hopefully we will find some good things, and maybe I'll pick up that green purse ;-)

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  17. Hey Tami! A new bag may be just what you need. I hope you find something very pretty!!!!

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  18. So Christie, you are not a shopping etiher? At least I know I'm not the only one. I'm really not a shoe person either. My feet like to be naked!! LOL! Though my sister did find me a pair of pink shoes for the conference. They are too cute. Now I just need an outfit for them :-)

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  19. lol, very funny post !! I think I do just like you. Imo shopping is a good cure for the just about anything. I love to shop for cosmetics, you know... the kind that is way too expenssive but soooo beautiful (like a perfect 25 $ nude lipstic).

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  20. Hey Emmanuelle!! Glad you liked the blog. I love looking at cosmetics too. In fact yesterday I bought a new lip gloss -- beach bronze. I don't wear lipstick but this will add a little sparkle.

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  21. Love the purse, Buffie! A little retail therapy can do wonders

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  22. Thanks, Gannon! She makes me smile every time I look at her :-)

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  23. Buffie

    That bag looks beautiful way to go I am not a shopper at all I know strange but I am happy to spend time with the family or curling up with a good book, and one thing that will help me out of the blahs is a good movie comedy of course or a day spent with the 5 grandkids after that I am usually so tired I sleep well LOL

    Have Fun
    Helen

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  24. LOL @ Helen!! I'm sure a day with all 5 grandkids WOULD wear you out pretty well!! :-)

    Seems like there are quite a few of us that really are not shoppers.

    Oh yes, on the comedy movies. Anything that can make you laugh seems to help. And you burn calories while laughing too!

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  25. Well Buffie, I ended up with stuffed pork chops, garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy and green beans fixed the way my grandmother made then, with green onions and bacon.

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  26. Oooh, Diana, that meals sounds abolutely delicious!!!!!

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