Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the old, new, and soon-to-be Dad's!

My Dad and Me

My Dad, Edwin J. Hurn, passed away over 6 years ago, but I still think about him every day and appreciate the time I was able to spend with him. It always makes me smile when I see one of his quirky traits in me, like how he put his hand on the center console when driving, or the way he rarely closed a drawer all the way. He continues to be one of my role models in regards to his work ethic, his don't-sweat-the-small-stuff personality, and his ability to have respect for everyone he met. Unfortunately, he suffered from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) (learn more below), and left this life sooner than we could have imagined, but I know he lives on through my memories, and in the memories of his family and friends. Love you Dad!

5 Things to Know about IPF

1. IPF is a lung disorder which slowly robs its victims of their ability to breathe.
2. It is idiopathic, meaning it comes from obscure or unknown causes, and there is no known cure for IPF. There are many clinical trials looking for a cure, but currently a lung transplant is the only option for victims.
3. Approximately 128,000 Americans suffer from Pulmonary Fibrosis, and an estimated 48,000 new cases are diagnosed annually. Pulmonary Fibrosis claims the lives of 40,000 people each year - the same number as breast cancer.
4. IPF affects more men than women and most commonly occurs between the fifth and seventh decades (median age at time of diagnosis is 63 years).
5. Limited awareness of the cause and disease progression has made misdiagnosis of IPF a common problem. A recent study showed that more than 50% of IPF patients may be initially misdiagnosed.

Makeover and Multitasking

I've not posted for while for three main reasons.

1. Work has been busy (in a good way)
2. I've been sick (I'm better now)
3. Nothing exciting has happened (probably because I've been working or sick)

Anyways, you all might have noticed my Blog got a makeover thanks to Blogger Template Designer which is a new tool in Blogger that makes designing your Blog a whole lot easier. Don't be surprised if my blog changes it's look a couple of times before it finds its official style.

On a completely different topic, if you're like me, it seems like there are too many things to get done in a day sometimes. Many of us pride ourselves on being able to multitask which we believe allows us to get more things done, faster. Well, according to the article How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking in the Harvard Business Review multitasking can reduce productivity by up to 40%. The author decided to stop multitasking for a week, and instead focus on one task at a time. He found that he was able to make progress on significant projects, reduce his stress dramatically, and find patience for things he found enjoyable and useful. The article isn't too long, and it's definitely worth the read. If you decide to stop multitasking, let me know how it goes.

PS. My couch is being delivered next Thursday so I'll have pictures posted soon.

Sporadic Shopper

I'm not a die-hard shopper. I'd probably consider myself a sporadic shopper - meaning there are days, weeks, even months when I have NO interest in shopping, and then one day I wake up, and all I want to do is shop. This weekend was one of those weekends.

The weather was gorgeous so I tried to enjoy the sun as much as possible, but when the sun went down, I did some shopping. I finally bought a couch. My mom will tell you that I've been looking for a couch for over a year now, but Friday night I decided to bite the bullet. I knew Macy's would be having a sale so I headed over, found one I liked in 30 mins, picked a color and ordered it. Unfortunately, it's not on their website and I forgot to take a pic, so I'll have to take one the next time I'm there. The couch is supposed to be delivered in July, but that's just an estimate, so let's hope it arrives some time this summer.

Once I got the couch, I of course started thinking about end tables, lamps, and coffee tables. Macy's had some cute things, but they're so expensive so I headed to HomeGoods instead. They didn't have any end tables or coffee tables that I liked, but they did have some cute lamps. I figured what's the point of getting the lamps if I don't have the couch yet, so I decided to hold off. Doesn't sound like a successful shopping trip but what you don't know is I filled by basket with a whole lot of smaller items, like this cupcake pen, some sheets for my bed, and small pic for my bathroom, three cute tops, and more...so I did quite well. :)

While we're on the topic of shopping, I wanted to introduce everyone to Etsy. I'm probably 5 years behind the times, but my co-worker told me about it this weekend and then it was mentioned on one of my favorite decorating blogs. Etsy is the world's most vibrant handmade marketplace where you can buy and sell handmade or vintage items. They seriously have some of the cutest stuff, and most of it is reasonably priced because it's paid directly to the artist or jewelry maker.

Enjoy!