tuesday truths...pollyanna-positivity warning ahead...

in an effort to
look at the bright side
of the bubble,
i was thinking that
if more restrictions
HAVE to happen,
i guess january is
better than july.

(i also realize it’s easier
for me to say this
lightly
because i know that
i am not nearly affected as others…
my kids are older,
my work is not terribly affected,
my family are all on the island…
even if i can’t see them
right now
i have seen them recently…
and as of yet,
we have all been lucky.)

(the truth of what others
are facing or have faced
is not lost on me.)

but also in a fit of my usual
pollyanna-positivity
i made myself a list of what i
could do for the rest of january.

• yoga

• meditate

• go through my clothes & purge

• draw

• read books and books

• paint

• experiment with the art supplies i never even opened

• zoom call a friend or two

• chefs plate meals

• plan a bathroom reno

• find 2 screwdrivers and a hammer & make that damn bookshelf

• go for a solo hike

• go for a solo drive & ramble some country roads

• write a short story

• sort and purge photos

• finish atypical

• start yellowstone

• plan my garden

• read some poetry

• social media detox

• write a letter to someone

• color my hair something new

• take an online course

• focus only on positive things; avoid negativity

• vision board

and blog, of course.

so that’s the plan
for january
in the big orange house…
♥♥♥♥♥

friday i'm in love

I know it has been a minute since I have been here.
I had a crazy good summer, that I did take lots of photos of
but I found it hard to find the time to sit down
and write anything…

Now that fall is officially here,
I feel like the creative side of me
is stirring again…
and it’s a good feeling.
♥

THINGS I AM LOVING RIGHT NOW::

♥ my daughter moved home recently for a little bit
and i couldn’t be happier. ♥♥♥

♥ spending whole days parked by the water
reading, journalling, watching the waves crash….

♥ love on the spectrum

♥ watching videos about people
living and traveling in their jeeps
makes me think…also
i would like a drone.

♥ picked up the new bella grace magazine
and can’t wait to read it

♥ dirt roads. :)

♥♥♥ grateful thursday ♥♥♥

everyday i journal
and in that journal
i also write a quick and dirty
list of what
i have recently
been grateful for.

here’s a snippet:

♥ lilacs
♥ pug snoring on the couch
♥ sunshine
♥ hot showers
♥ no headache
♥ a new polka dot dress
♥ beaches and books and ponytails
♥ running into my brother at the grocery store
♥ the house smelling like lilacs & baby powder
♥ how a friend made me laugh by saying he
hoped baby powder wasn’t made from babies
♥ garden centers
♥ late night conversations with Cam
♥ unexpected sweet text from Em saying she misses me
♥ a good night sleep
♥ hair in a messy bun
♥ bare legs and bare feet and polka dot flip flops
♥ people that tag me when they see polka dot items on sale.

embrace winter...

the first day of december…

I have been thinking
that this year
I might try something different.

Every year, I fight winter tooth and nail.
I hate the cold.
I hate bundling up. I hate shovelling.
I hate worrying if there is oil in the tank.
I hate, I hate and I hate.

But this year, I am going to turn that around.

I am going to embrace winter.
(ok. Let me re-phrase that. I am going to try my hardest to embrace winter).

I made a list (cause….you know…I love a good list…)
(plus…added bonus…some of these are also on my fifty before fifty…
so DOUBLE WHAMMY…wait…is a double whammy a good thing? haha)

EMBRACE WINTER

• hot drink recipes

• ice skating

• sledding

• cross country skiing

• downhill skiing (which i should leave til the last cause I will probably break a bone)

• snow shoes complete! ♥

• marvel movie marathon

• bake cookies complete! ♥

• make a snowman army

• make a puzzle

• cut out snowflakes

• go bowling

• winter bonfire

• board game night

• pj party

• walks outside…get sunlight/vitamin d when you can

• try curling complete! ♥

• make a winter playlist

• make snow angels

• get a new candle

• sauna/hot tub nights

• tubing

• make a snow fort

• have a snowball fight

• nap by a fireplace

• bubble bath

• blanket fort pj popcorn cartoon nights

• read SOOO many books

• go look at Christmas lights complete! ♥

I think that should cover this winter. :)
but it occurred to me that A LOT of these would be much more fun
if done with other people soooo…I may be
looking for willing (or slightly unwilling) volunteers…heehee.

I actually took pugsley out for a wintry walk on the trails today
as an attempt to get a good start on this list right away…
and honestly…it was by far the best choice I could have made today.

and see…in the spirit of “embracing” winter,
I bought myself a pretty red shovel.
……………………………………………………….

oh…and unrelated-but-must-be-said…
the response to this story about my geek girl ink cards
in one of our local papers has blown my mind…
in a very good way. :) I was completely surprised
and sooooo incredibly happy with all the comments, likes,
emails, orders and support.

My heart is full. ♥ Thank you!!!!

friday i'm in love...the long weekend edition

no links this time.

just words.

i think we all know that i love summer...
the beaches, the boardwalks, airshows, dairy bars,
dirt roads, starry nights, sunshine...all of that sweetness.

but i also love september.

(and not just because my birthday is in september)(heh)

but because
september feels like a new beginning...
a mini-fresh start...you know...before the REAL fresh start of
january and a new year.

but this is kind of like a reset button...
where i think about picking up on all the stuff
i let slide as i made time for beaches and dairy bars....
where i start thinking about new routines
and maybe getting up earlier
and hey, maybe i'll try that keto thing everyone is talking about
and remember when i said i was going to do yoga everyday
and hey, have you seen my bullet journal anywhere?

so here is a little list of what is making me feel
kind of excited about september (in a geeky kind of way):

• fall leaves!
• hikes
• yoga
• bullet journal
• make chocolate chip cookies
• writing group
• have had some requests for handmade cards :)
• might try my hand at family photos again
• apple picking
• board game nights
• listening to music
• watching movies (finish my Marvel list)
• make an apple pie
• take pugsley for walks
• read lots more books (on book 35 right now)
• try to get some prints ready to sell (maybe at a craft fair)
• would like to try to do some "nursery room" paintings...like...of farm animals maybe?
• maybe try to make a coloring book
• finish the 365 robot series
• sort out my life

yeah...i kind of like september. :)

View fullsize