Some of you may know that my favorite magazine is Real Simple, of the Martha Stewart empire. It is a GREAT magazine. The layouts are clean and innovative. The paper is textured and feels good your hands. They book bind the pages so the magazine lays flat on a table or lap. It has fun quotes, great articles, quality pictures and it's not glossy!!!

Anyway, in last month's magazine they mentioned a Web site that has become one of my favorites. It's found at http://www.assignmenteditor.com/ . It's fantastic, especially the politics and research categories.

Check it out. I bet you'll like it :O)

On another note, I talked to my boss this A.M. Ahhh, there's nothing like a good dose of inadequacy in the morning. It pairs perfectly with my coffee and frozen Slim Fast. Why do I feel so stupid when I talk to new people on the phone? Whenever I pick up the phone to call someone I'm not acquainted with I have to give myself a pep talk! Talking on the phone is definitely not the way to put my best foot forward, especially in professional environment. I can talk on the phone for interviews, but those are somewhat scripted and prepared. Blast the phone :O)

I think it all goes back to the nagging question, "What do people think about me?" Does my boss think I'm smart, snooty, sparky or slothful? Then once I feel I've figured out my standing, I work on a plan to get my alliterated character traits back to where I want then to be. I'm reading this book called He loves Me!. It's all about God's love for us. The cover features a daisy, which the author uses to symbolize how we view God's love for us. You know, the whole plucking the "he loves me, he loves me not," from the center crown. "I got a job"- he loves me. "I let anger take my tongue"- he loves me not.... it continues forever. This book takes that idea and throws it on the trash pile. Then he runs over it with a tractor and catches it on fire... (hehehehe, did I go too far?)

God loves me because I am his child. He doesn't just delight in me because I held my tongue when it was feeling more like a sword out to slash somebody. Nor does he take away is admiration when I screw up and let selfishness and greed take hold of my body. HE LOVES ME because I'm his child! There's nothing I could do to make it go away and there's definitely nothing I can do to earn it. Earn it... that's the real struggle. We only want what we “deserve”, what we feel we have sweated enough to earn. God's love isn't one of those things. It is given freely... with no expiration date or checklist.

So, I guess that just shows you… God is love and bosses are scary.