Just wanted to jot down a few books that are some of my favorite books that are a bit on the business side but still favorites….. i  just think are wonderful… if you have read them perhaps you would agree…
1.  The girl’s guide to building a million dollar business by susan wilson solovic

 November 16th 2010 @2:34pm  have been wanting to enter a post since Sunday…. Sunday was not only just a  beautiful day weather wise… but it was such a great day for movies.. Have you ever had those type of days when you  just wanted to watch a bunch of movies… the weather was pretty cool… i had walked showered.. and ten actually got back into PJ’s  and watched a bunch of movies…  well if you’ve never done it… i highly recommend it just once in a while other wise someone might think  oh…. who really cares what people think right?… but seriously… just once in a while… so back to my some of the all time favorites… guess what movies  i got to see.. the movie that inspired my email address……something about mary.… yes i get a kick out of that movie almost each time i see it… except for not being a doctor.. or living in Miami… i do have her similar hair cut… and have had that hair cut for years.. and i did have a dodge durango … for a short time.. ( it was my work vehicle for my faux painting business). . black with a tan interior….the original l plan was to have that as my “work vehicle and then have a really cute sporty car for my real vehicle…. but then….. 

 If you haven’t seen the movie you really need to see it… it is wonderful!
Of course there are so many movies that i have enjoyed seeing .. I’ll add on when i get a chance! luv mary jean ziska     
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 So its still Saturday… told you i was in the mood to write in my blogs…. here is a bit on heritage  and ancestry…  so when you’ve lived a life like mine… born in Ohio… moved to Florida.. then st. Croix virgin islands… then grew up in Saudi Arabia… then boarding school…  Florida again… then .. France… so like a military brat… i started thinking where do i fit in?  am i supposed to be from the north.. or the south.. or middle east.. or Europe…. seriously… where do i fit into just one neat little box.. the answer is….. i don’t… i really can’t be smashed into one box and labeled and have someone say… there…. she is this….. or she is that… and it’s honestly the  same in all  areas of my life… 

Speaking of heritage…. father… Czech. at least our last name is…actually a pretty funny story about our last name… something about a general who was famous… put horses shoes on backwards.. won a war for being clever…HA!! and bohemian…. and probably some other eastern European countries…
                                            mother... Irish and Austrian…. and also probably some other countries i have no idea about….

speaking of home..….when someone used to ask me where i was from… the easiest answer was … its along story… and move on to another subject… at times I  would start reciting cities.. countries.. or whatever… but sometimes it just didn’t satisfy anyone… if i said born in Ohio… they would want to know where…. if they asked where did i grow up.. and i said Saudi Arabia… they would want to know how  and why i have sandy blond hair and blue/green eyes…  it never seemed to satisfy with only part of an  answer….  is home where your heart is now? or where you grew up?… or where you can go back to visit?….  

 So my computer  or my using it today…is  a bit challenging… the posts won’t keep to the fonts I choose… or the size type…. since these hardships are making it much more burdensome to write my thoughts in a free flowing manner …I’ve decided to write down all the ideas whether they exist in a man or not …. the ideal perfect gingerbread man!

New day… 
August 28th 2010 and the computer is running great… so ….
 
So here goes… from my typing …..ahhhh….to gods ears….  now if there is a guy out there who will fit all these characteristics… for real…. and this contest can actually take place… then…. maybe there will be a large jackpot… who knows.. maybe wouldn’t it be funny to have a million dollar jackpot to find the right guy …and if it catches on… perhaps another woman will be able to find her right guy…. having a million dollars or more for a contest to find the right guy for me…HA! boy would that be fun….  

Now, I’m a pretty average, normal  girl… who has or had some really wonderful  expectations of finding the perfect guy for me at the right time… (I don’t think they are too high in the expectation category… so lets see if he can exist…. you be the judge…)but as I mentioned,  time keeps ticking… and I thought I’d help out a bit in this search for this guy… I once got a card at a card store… it read on the outside ….There is a perfect person out there for everyone  (when you open it up it read… ) Yours is in ( pick any country far, far away…..) with this mother and nine sisters….  

So here is the delima… if this guy is sooo far away… ohhhh lets say in Sweden..or Denmark… or even Germany or Switzerland…  the internet is probably one of the only ways to get a message out there to him right? Aside from the old note in the bottle trick…(which I think only worked in the movies If I’m not mistaken…HA!) 

Anyway… back to this mythical man who may or may not exist….this great guy…. one who is honest… I mean really honest, not even in a habit of those little lies… because if someone can’t be honest in the little things… why would I be able to trust them in the really big truths… like being faithful.. so he has to be faithful… and trustworthy… someone you can turn to and tell your most personal fears or joys and you know they won’t betray your confidences… so this is pretty much describing your best friend right?  So this guy would have to be a friend… the person you want to share your stories… your life adventure.. want to help you achieve your goals and dreams… and would be someone you could or would want to spend time with…. not all your time.. but be able to definitely want to “hang out” with you and somehow could make even the most mundane tasks enjoyable just by being there… isn’t that what a great friend is?  

o.k., how about a great sense of humor… kind, thougtful, romanitc, considerate   
someone who has a great outlook on life and is positive… o.k realistically no one can be positive all the time but wouldn’t it be great if  after a bad day… you had a friend  who could and would listen… maybe even a shoulder to lean on or a hug and a nice comment like ” don’t worry… we can work it out… lets  put our resources together… I know we can solve this” not someone who talks down to you… or make you feel inferior… but a person who believes in a relationship as working together… as someone who has your back so to speak… I mean , life can really throw a curve ball every now and then… its nice to know you dont have to go it alone…

How about varied interests… like, athletic… but loves the theater… is that possible?  or is that a contradiction?… How about a great cook a great father or potential father… you know the kind of man you sneak a peek  into a room when he doesn’t think anyone is watching… who is rocking or singing or even dancing with a baby… now is it possible for that same man to still command a board room meeting or company? Seriously……do these guys still exist?…. I mean on the t.v shows.. the qualities that are supposedly beneficial to win a game like bachelorette or bachelor…they don’t necessarily seem to make for a great guy to settle down with do they?… I’m not looking for a game player… I am who I am and though I may change for better or for worse… ( hoping changes are always for the better right? I am hoping there is someone who likes me ( as in the famous words of Bridgette Jones…) “likes me just as I am”    Wow maybe even loves me Just as I am… 

would absolutely love someone who has traveled a great deal in their life… and who still enjoys traveling … but I must admit that I definitely prefer traveling in a more comfortable style than when I was in  a teenager or in my 20’s when backpacking and jumping on a train and sleeping on a couchette was a solution for “making time” to get to the next destination… now I would really love to have someone to travel with who enjoys similar expectations for traveling in a more comfortable style… there is jsut nothing nicer than a great hotel with the softest sheets and the best of service and comforts… when after a long day of sightseeing and excursions you can enjoy a nice dinner and a great room ….now at this point in time of my life… that  is  a great way to travel….   dont get me wrong… I can still rough it at time… but it is so much more pleasurable  to  make travel /vacations and trips so nice and comfortable….  so i guess that is enough for today… does anyone have any great qualities to add…. and yes…if you want to correct my spelling… please feel free to let me know!HA! thanks for your input and your time… luv mary jean ziska  

Today, dont know why but  was on a search for my cousin  john’s writing…

wait i know… this is the  thought process.. vetrans day… so emailed john ….then thoughts on his writing and on nancy on my grandmother… pop… and cousin nancy… so started a serch for his writing…. you know he is really such a talented writer… he’s written a few books…

midnight in monaco
bad men driving
loner stories

Acutally when i went to amazon.com and looked up john lawrence sheppard they will actually allow you to read some of teh pages…. so of course i did… and teh story aobut my grandmother dying.. didnt think readign it woudl affect me  and instead i could acuually picture her… and ended up crying … odnt know if it was also thinking of allthe people in that family who have died.. my aunt from breast cancer, her mother, her father, her daughter…. too many in one family … i mean i knwo everyone has to die but i still have so many questions…. like the recipies or stories that died with with  my grandparents… the truth aobut so many things tht died with my cousin… such a stong yet secretely sensative woman that died when my aunt did….      

 While  reminiscing about childhood experiences…. about  how as a child i got to grow up with German Sheppards… what a wonderful experience….  our first German Sheppard..Nipper….. was shipped from Florida….. someone wanted to remind me that  got her from a breeder in Florida and shipped her from….Brandon when we were moving to st. croix virgin islands ….. yes my parents invested in property in Florida … Brandon Florida…. in fact…… they ended up having a 16 unit motel!  and actually did really well in most of their choices… I am and will always be really proud of my parents and the choices they made while i was a child….

Pretty smart actually… when they were first married they bought a home in  Cleveland Ohio… later  they had a beach front condo in Naples… a motel in Brandon…. some property in a ski resort in the Carolinas… some other property…..elsewhere….

While we were young  my parents actually  part  owned a motel in Brandon Florida.. with my aunt and uncle……. i remember visiting with my cousin Nancy ( now deceased- who was only 4 months younger than me..) Each summer we would take these long walks and talk until  we had caught up on all the experiences of the year… and we were back to being best friends….   I  remember visiting and going on huge shopping sprees with my mom…. when we would go on vacations from Saudi we would shop for a full year….  for the next year of clothing… of growth…..a full year of growth….some years she did a great job …..a few years with some serious growth spurts…. well…. we had to go shopping else where HA! but then it was fun to go and travel…… to go shopping… who doesn’t like to go shopping right?….  

Speaking of Florida… my sisters were born in Florida…I was born in Ohio….  we had this babysitter (who mysteriously enough looked like Karen Kahel) …. UCK right?… double uck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  she also looks eerily like the  Washington housewife..  you know the one with the same white blond hair…   no one liked or trusted.. who lied and snuck into state dinners  at the  white house….. the one who was a poser and a wanna be?… what was her name? anyway… she looks just like  karne kahel and the babysitter we had when we were  young…. I  think the babysitters name was was Laura… A

Anyway…  Just a side thought….  maybe people who look the same …. act the same? or somewhere in the  genetic cosmos.. they are related…. so that is why they have the same lack of morals or values or ethics….  right? Someone should  do a study on that… …HA! ….  not only did i get bullied by Karen as an adult… but who knows what that person who was the babysitter….. then…. was like….especially if there was a correlation between people who look alike and behave alike…  seriously someone  should do a study on this….

I even babysat a little girl and her brother while her mother was out… she had been given a referral from a girl named karen …..  she also looked like a younger version of Karen Kahel…. UCK…. Trust me i kept a close eye on my belongings just in case  was genetically related to the girl who bullied me…  

Anyway… what was i taking about?…..before i got off the subject….  oh yes… growing up with German Sheppard dogs… and other pets… what a joy to have nipper…. and then our second nipper we actually got in Germany….  so when i was calling and trying to get the information on the second Nipper…. we figured out it was Reg ens burg  Germany…… we found a great kennel:   www.kolendalkennels.com />

 Memories….. tangible memories like photos and letters.. keepsakes…. and this blog entry is all about charms.. and charm bracelets….. how wonderful to look on these items  and know how thoughtful the gift…   not only the thought and preparation in giving such a special gift… but  the knowledge of the person who  gave it to you…  My mother collected these silver charms while we were young and traveling all over the place….  I wear the charm bracelet today …. it not only symbolizes and reminds me of the places /countries we were luckily enough to travel through but it reminds me of my mother’s thoughtfulness….
 
Countries on my bracelet:
Italy, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Austria, Egypt, India, Jordan, Africa, Spain, Holland, USA-Florida, and the keys-Florida, a big heart that says happy birthday and two charms that fell off… were England and Greece… other charms that i haven’t put on yet….

Charms i need to collect from countries i already have traveled and visited…. ( many….. )

there was a time a little while ago when everyone seemed to have charm bracelets… with other trinkets  attached… and charms that meant to each individual as much as my charm bracelet means to me…  I’m just really glad that my mom was….. and still is so unique and individual in her meaningful gifts…  one year when she came back from Saudi… at Christmas she actually gave us frankincense,  gold and myrrh (sp?)… like the wise-men…  another time for a friend of her’s Pete…  she gave him this preppy puzzle and them proceeded to give him all the items that  made up the puzzle….  pretty clever right?… another time…. we went on trips to celebrate birthdays or holidays….even once gave us sand from the rubalhahli(sp?)  ….  she was really great at  making holidays special and memorable and most times went to  great lengths … to make them  extra special…. all the time and effort  that went into all the holidays and gifts…. was and is still appreciated….  

I just think a charm bracelet  it is such a thoughtful and really  meaningful gift and memento.  I am so glad my mother gave me this gift… i hope someday if i ever get married and have children of my own… that i can pass along not only the charm bracelet idea… and travel experiences and a life full of memories when traveling to places together… but i hope she would appreciate it as much as i do now….  Thanks MOM!

So today… on the phone I had someone who kept trying to make me look bad and feel bad… about myself and my family…. I was also  told to “get over it”….   meaning anything that had to do with my other website and blog… blog.mysearchforjustice.com     ruined most of my day to be perfectly honest…. and here is a thought….

Has anyone seen the bucket list? the movie where two men who have cancer go an an adventure to accomplish everyting on a list… things yet to do in life beore you “kick the bucket”…. what an idea… right? list of events to accomplish… things yet to do… that i thought i might have wanted to do.. to learn.. to complete…  .  

So quick blog entry… maybe  will finish or write more about these quotes on friendship..

” No soul is desolate as long as there is a human being form whom  it can feel trust and reverence” George Elliott

“A friend is like a rainbow- they brighten your life when you’ve been through a storm “

“Chose your friends carefully you never know who is on your side… remember the truth shall prevail”.

“a person  is only complete when she has a true friend to understand her /to share all her passions /sorrows/to stand by her through out her life “
Jennifer L.

” No lapse of time or distance of place can lesson the friendship of those who are truly  persuaded of each others worth”

I hope everyone has at least one friend like these quotes…. you know true genuine friends… the kind who unconditionally love you and stick by you though bad boyfriends… through happy and joyous occasions and events…  real friends….. luv mary jean ziska