friday i'm in love...

Hi from the big orange house!!

I feel like I have been struggling a little
lately with the idea of
going outside….
I’m not sure why.
It’s not even really cold out.
I’m just a wuss when it comes to winter.
:)

things i am loving this week::

♥ I have been listening to this guy’s podcast. They are very, very
long but incredibly interesting. They have ranged from one about
gut health, one about a documentary I want to watch called “Feels Good, Man”
and the last one an interview Rich Diviney who was a Navy Seal commander
and wrote a book about attributes that sounds so interesting. I had a few
a-ha moments of my own while listening to the podcast but I’ll save that for
a later post.

♥ I am in love with the vitamin c line from Body Shop…now if someone could sell
me something that will make my neck not look 50, I would love you for forever.

♥ I did leave the house on Sunday to go for tea with a BFF (yes, I am still 13 in my head)…
we went to our favorite coffeehouse and I tried the “pucker up” tea and it was delicious…
even without sugar (and you know how I feel about sugar. Heh)

♥ This magazine…..sigh.

♥ Reese has a book club APP….i heart apps.

Happy first friday in february to you! ♥

friday i'm in love...with so many things... ♥

So many things making me happy right now::

♥ Today is my mom’s birthday. It’s a big one. ♥♥♥

♥ I have been making this chicken noodle soup
lately and loving it. I don’t know why I am still
always so surprised to find out a homemade
version tastes SO much better than a can.

♥ This little list fits in perfectly with my self-care word
for 2021 - glow.

♥ As does this…plus I just love that he thinks about
the poems over night…that he is really absorbing them…
so sweet. And makes me miss when my kids were littles.

♥ Just floss one tooth…start there….don’t think about the rest…

♥ I am on the last episode of the last season of this…
I loved it. I really did. It kept me on the edge of my seat for
most of it…

♥ I set up my new Canon Pixma printer today!!

♥ This week, I have seen chickadees, a squirrel and 2 foxes
in my yard. :)

♥ I finally caved and downloaded TikTok. I am not sure
why I held off for so long. I assumed it was all funny stuff
and pranks, etc…but I was SO wrong. :) There is so much
creativity happening there! Music, arts, videography,
photography…DIY, interior design, wellness, healthy eating…
I fell in love with this song because of a TiktTok duet. I’m hooked.
(also I love the line “I can’t save you with embers in my lungs….”)

Happy Friday!!! :)

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whatcha readin'? 2021 {goal 35 - book 1}

Surprisingly, I think this may have been the very
first Nora Roberts book I have ever read.
I worked at three different bookstores when I was younger.
so am very familiar with Nora Roberts
but, honestly, I had never given her a chance.

But I was given this book in a “trade” that I did
with a friend and was pleasantly surprised.

I liked the characters, the story pulled me in…
it was a little light, a little gruesome, a little predictable
but also a little surprising.

I enjoyed it. And would read a Nora Roberts again
should one happen to cross my path.

4 ♥’s out of 5 ♥♥♥♥♥’s
NEXT UP:: UNPLUG - A Simple Guide to Meditation for Busy Skeptics and Modern Soul Seekers
Suze Yalof Schwartz

tuesday truths...being present

as part of my
#glow2021
word for the year,
i have been trying to
be present
more of the time,
for all the little things
as well as the big.

noticing.
listening.
feeling.
absorbing.

i am trying to be conscious
of my day to day life….
of my fingers
clicking on the keyboard,
rolling the words
i want to say
around in my mouth
like candy,
sweet and sour,
soft and chewy.

i eat slower
focusing on each bite,
letting myself savor the saltiness,
the blackberries that burst with juice,
sip my tea slowly,
watching the steam curl above
the polka dot mug.

i put my phone on “focus” time…
no access to social media
helps me to fight the urge to
constantly check it
which was a hard itch not to scratch at first
but is getting easier
and makes me feel calmer.

i watch one show a night
so i have to be picky about what that will be.
then the rest of the night
is either reading, yoga, editing photos, drawing or
just listening to cowboy junkies
and leonard cohen
in the semi darkness of the remaining
christmas lights
in my living room
with a pug on one side
and a cat by my shoulder.

hot showers.
vanilla candles.
looking out the window for the sunrise,
for the sunset.
fuzzy socks.
early bedtimes with a heated blanket.
counting my breaths…
finding my focus,
listening and paying attention.

♥♥♥

2020 Book Round-Up

5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5

5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5

4 ♥♥♥♥ out of 5

3 ♥♥♥ out of 5

5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5

5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5

3 ♥♥♥ out of 5

5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5

3 ♥♥♥ of of 5

5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5

I read 31 books this year….
including one computer science text book
cover to cover.

My goal was 30 so did it
but
just by the skin of my teeth.

I am not going to write about all of these
but I will say that I absolutely loved
The Sisters Brothers
and I absolutely
did not expect to.

But it was funny and sweet
and so well written
and violent and I was
completely drawn in.

Other favorites were
Untamed but it took me a long time
to read for some reason…

American Dirt but
then I was almost afraid to
write about it…
all I can say is it made me
think about things in another perspective.
Whether that is a fair or true perspective
or a perspective that should have been
given by someone who has not
lived that life, I honestly don’t know.

From the Ashes I struggled with
at first but then became very
caught up in this man’s story…
heartbreaking, frustrating, illuminating.

And…
in case you were wondering,
the computer science book
was a little dry…
heh.

Now onto the goal for 2021 - 35 books….
Yeeesh. I better get reading. :)