I’ve been thinking about how I handle stress. And I’ve come to the obvious conclusion:

I don’t.

I get all flipped out and start doing three things. I cry. I shop. I eat crap.

If you haven’t figured this out, that can pretty much sum up the weekend. I went shopping, I cried, and I ate all manner of junk food. I know that this is the dumbest thing I can do, because it has far reaching effects. I get fatter (as if that’s possible) and I get more in debt.

My meals this weekend have pretty much consisted of McDonald’s chicken sandwiches and fries. I ate things like Yodels for breakfast and lunch. Oh so healthy and sensible.

This is the type of thing I do all the time. I sabotage myself.

I think I need professional help.

I suppose the crying part is alright, but it doesn’t solve much. And I don’t just cry. I wail and weep. Loudly. It’s my Irish roots. But you know, when it hurts, it hurts. Crying at least lets me get it out of my system.

I didn’t do a lot of shopping today, just hit the bookstore and bought three books, the new "Oprah" magazine and the new "Somerset Studio" magazine.

I have so many books that need to be read and that I’ll never find time to read even if I live to be one hundred. So this time I bought River’s End by Nora Roberts, Acts of Love by Judith Michael and The Dream by Kat Martin. I have no idea why I bought any of these books, other than the Nora Robert’s as she’s a tried and true favorite. I think I got the one by Judith Michael because it ahs to do with letters that lead two people to each other and the characters are involved with Broadway. I’ll probably read that one first. I have read other books by Judith Michael (which is actually the pseudonym of a husband/wife team – another bit of useless trivia) and I know I liked them. The one by Kat Martin has to do with love lasting through time and past lives. That is a favorite topic of mine. I used to be wild about time travel books. I still read them once in a while.

So now I have these three books piled up and I still have to finish one and a half Harry Potters

I have to say that I really like the new "Oprah" magazine. It’s not just all home décor, makeup and fashion. There is a nice collection of articles that have to do with your inner self. There are even bookmarks to cut out, and cards with inspirational phrases on them.

The pictures are lovely too. They make me want to get back into keeping a paper journal and sticking in the bits of clippings and collage that I used to be so fond of. My paper journal needs to be revived on a more regular basis.

I need to start thinking in a more creative sense.

I think it’s going to be hard to go to work these next few weeks with that happy false smile plastered on my face.

Time to pull out the old tricks from "acting 101".