fragments of my dignity on the side of the road....

September 22, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i never fall.

i used to be able to say that.

i don't really feel like i can say that
anymore and feel
that i am being
completely
honest.

this morning,
i tried to cross the road
and tripped...
apparently over the ROAD itself...
and landed
smack dab face down flat
on pope road.

on pope road at 7:30 am
which is very, very busy at that time...
similar to the 401 i would suggest
(the 401 is a road, right? somewhere in canada maybe? and busy?)

anyway.
face-plant in the middle of the street
in a dress
wearing my backpack
which is very heavy
because i am slightly insane
and carry 3 journals and a pencil case
WITH ALL MY PENS IN IT
and 3 cans of diet coke
and a package of pencil crayons
with me...everywhere.

so i try to
bounce back up
like "i'm ok!"
but the backpack
is weighing me down
and there are cars coming
and so i do some kind of mad
hermit-crab-turtle-y skittering crawling movement
to push myself backwards
and back to my feet.

and then i laugh instead of cry
and dash (witnesses may suggest the word limp rather than dash)
across the street with zero percent
of my dignity
intact.

the one bonus?
i got to break into the box of muppet bandaids
that emma gave me...
because i ripped my leggings
and scraped my knee
and the blood was sticking to my leggings.

and normally
i only get to use those bandaids
for papercuts
because
i never fall.

fable tearoom...my new island favorite place to be...

September 17, 2016 Arlene Giddings

this image really has nothing to do with this post
other than to say that i am still in love with my anniversary flowers
and i needed a photo for the start of this post...
:)

i had the chance to visit
the adorable and charming
fable tea room
in bedeque
on friday.

it is just as sweet and whimsical
as its name
would have you imagine.

and if you know me at all,
you know that i am a bit of a picky eater
(not really because i'm actually picky
but more because i am intensely fearful
of trying something new
and always tend to order the same thing)
{chicken fingers, if you must know...heh...}

obviously a tea room
would likely not have
chicken fingers and fries...

instead i had
a beautiful grilled cheese
(and yes, if you know me well,
you are probably thinking CHEESE!
you don't eat cheese! you won't even eat
cheesecake
because you insist you don't like cheese!)

i like melted cheese.

i hate the texture of not-melted cheese against my teeth.
i can't explain any better than that.
you should probably just accept that answer
and we'll move on.

so...the grilled cheese was literally
beautiful...please don't ask me what kind of
bread or what kind of cheese...
but i can tell you
that there were thin apple slices
IN THE GRILLED CHEESE
and i was like THAT IS THE BEST IDEA EVER!
so
damn
good.

and cucumber all thin and curly and pretty
with a flower on top
which my best-friend-partner-in-escapades ate
and i wished i was that brave
but instead i settled for cheering her on
and telling her i'm sure it must be edible.
well.
not sure but pretty sure.

ok but i haven't even told you about dessert yet.

my best-friend-partner-in-escapades (BFPIE for short)
always tries to make me eat things...
i can't tell you how long she has
tried
to make me eat cheesecake...
(it's just not going to happen, by the way)
(but please don't stop trying, it's cute when you make that annoyed face & sigh in exasperation)
anyway...she suggested the
blueberry bread pudding with pecan caramel sauce
and i was like
yeah, i'm totally with you RIGHT UP TO THE BREAD PUDDING part

i just couldn't wrap my head around that idea.
bread.
pudding.
my brain was picturing soggy mushy wonderbread
with some blueberries on top...
but we agreed to share one
and i cannot tell you
how wrong i was.

what i will tell you is that
i will never share one of those again...
i will eat the whole damn thing myself,
in fact, i might order two or three
and eat them all...
in one sitting
it was that good.

and it came in a teacup!!!!!!

seriously, this is a dessert
that i would have thought only lived in the imaginations
of lucy maud montgomery
and roald dahl
in the lands of raspberry cordial and
scrumdiddlyumptious bars...

i am totally smitten with this place.
they are open year round, by the way,
and do tea leaf readings and have lots
of interesting events coming up as well
like traditional full moon ceremonies
and guest chef nights...

and there are items for sale also...
cutest little displays of jewelry and stuffed owls
and full moon wishing powder...
and maybe, possibly, hopefully, someday
there may be some little robot cards of my own
in that mix...
(which is equally exciting and scary for me...
it would be my first time putting myself out there
in that type of work...big breath...you can do this)

and i apologize for the quality of the photos...
i had fully intended to bring my actual camera with me
but then was running late
and so only had my phone...
but the truth is
i wanted to take photos of EVERYTHING...
oh...and if you are going to go,
you should probably call about a reservation...
we didn't and we were just lucky to catch a table.
:)

but you should definitely go.
you'll love it, too.
i know it.
and eat the BREAD PUDDING!

DISCLAIMER: i do not proclaim to know how to write a review of anything
and have just realized this would probably seem like a very weird review
as most of it is about me and my food-quirks...
heh.
(hence the disclaimer).

tuesday truths

September 13, 2016 Arlene Giddings

♥ i have not watched judge judy since my girl left...
it was kind of our "family" thing...&
it just isn't the same without her

♥ i am still watching scandal
although i am hating it...and yet...i can't stop watching it.

♥ i just ate week-old corn on the cob and reheated KFC popcorn chicken.

♥ i am slightly blown away by the response to yesterday's post
   which i have to tell you
   i COMPLETELY did not expect.
   i get excited when i get over 10 visitors
   to this little blog...i'm all like yay! somebody actually read me!
(or someone googled the word bixby and accidentally found me...
   that happens quite a bit...)(what!?! don't tell me you
   didn't watch bixby and me...we live in a tree...well...i didn't have cable as a kid)
   but anyway.... :)
   the slightly surreal reality that since last night,
   SIX HUNDRED AND TEN
   people have stopped by here
   is astounding to me.
   i kind of post these things and forget
   that other people may actually read it...
   that someone i don't recognize may stop me
   in the grocery store and ask me how i'm getting along
   with my daughter being gone because i wrote about it
   in depth on my blog....
   it's amazing and surreal and fun and
   just a little tiny bit scary.

   part of me thinks maybe i say too much,
   maybe i should pull back, maybe i should be quieter,
   maybe someone should cut me off from the internet... :)
   but then part of me shrugs her shoulders
   and says....but...this is me....
   i've been writing this blog this way for over ten years,
   the only difference is that now
   someone besides me might actually read it....heeheehee.

♥ i am loving the new july talk cd (ok..is it cd or album or record or what? what do you callmusic that just in the air?)

bullet journal sunday

September 11, 2016 Arlene Giddings

spent some time on the bullet journal over the weekend...
hit 500 instagram followers which
doesn't seem like a lot
but was very exciting to me
because...well you know...i'm me.

I am participating in two instagram challenges this month
or trying to anyway...
somedays, like saturday, I have to play
catch up on the days that I have fallen behind.

Oh! and I was asked to do a little session on bullet journals
at a local library in October!!!!
How exciting (and slightly terrifying) is that!?! :) :) :)

This month, I am doing the #planwithmechallenge (first time)
and #doodlewithusinseptember (second attempt...
I did the under the sea version in June).

#doodlewithusinseptember (prompt - speaker)

#doodlewithusinseptember (prompts - pen & clock)

a new collection page to help me keep track of where i am on the weddings...

looking for balance in my life...these are the little things that make me feel like i am taking care of myself.

and i am not going to lie...i might have just played for a little bit...

Sad to see the weekend end...
why does Monday come so soon?

bullet journal sunday

August 28, 2016 Arlene Giddings

no weddings this weekend
meant spending time with family,
meeting up with friends home from away,
waffle breakfasts with whipped cream,
sleeping in,
popcorn with garlic & pepper mixed into the melty butter,
a movie night (mother's day...loved it),
editing and catching up on neverending laundry
and
finally cracking the spine open
on my new bullet journal
the purple leuchtturm 1917.

the truth is
i was a little scared to start that new book.
the fresh blank page is so
new...so crisp, so clean...
so open to possibility.

and i was scared that i would mess it up.

but finally,
i just bit the bullet (haha...see what i did there)
and started...and about 8 hours later,
i stopped.
so damn addictive...and fun...and
in all honesty
a little time consuming...heeheehee

here's how the first few pages are looking:

thank you Revision Guide for the inspiration for the "don't be normal"
which is, by the way, the way i have pretty much lived my whole life...
even when I didn't think I was trying to be anything but normal...
being weird has obviously always just come naturally for me.
:)

I liked the idea of a key/legend...
I think I am only going to use the index for collections though.
I didn't really use it in V1.

2016 goals and plans...carried over from V1
happy is my focus word for 2016
so I tried to pick out a couple of goals
that would make me feel happy
and focus on those...
:)

I am loving the leuchtturm 1917, by the way.
so far, I have used pencil crayon, markers, watercolors
and no bleeding through...a little crinkling from the
watercolors but I expected that.

Now I can't wait to start some challenges in September...
September is a preview for January for me...
it feels like a fresh start with new routines...
:)