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sticking close to home

July 24, 2022 Arlene Giddings

today I tried to
stick close to home
for once...


if you know me,
you know I like roam,
to explore,
random long drives
to nowhere places...

but I have a couple of "big"
weekends coming up,
so I am sticking close to home.

which is harder than I expected.
:)

i did try the Willow Bakery though
in Kensington and it was
SO good…
i had sin bar…and the cupcake
which was totally pretty
until i mauled it. :)

and i tried a new to me trail
which always makes
me happy….

all in all,
a very good saturday!

hope yours was great, too!
♥

In grateful, island girl Tags weekends, saturday sweet saturday, sticking close to home, sweet tooth
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there was a time...

March 6, 2021 Arlene Giddings
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there was a time when i thought
i would never
be happy
again.

i want to say that i always knew
that i would be
ok
but even that
is not true…not fully true,
if i am 100 per cent perfectly, brutally and completely
fucking honest.

i can’t lie.
i had some very dark moments
back when my life felt like it
was starting to really crumble
around me,
a house of cards
slip-sliding away from me
and no matter how tightly
i held on,
it wasn’t tight enough.
things felt out of my control,
and i don’t like that feeling…
not at all.

i remember driving that white rental car
late one night
driving way too fast
on roads i didn’t know
in the dark
and every tree on the side of the road
looked like a reprieve,
like i could just veer hard to the right
and slam myself into not feeling
this way
anymore…
every oncoming set of lights
from a transfer truck
looked like an invitation,
an escape,
a solution.

i was scared.
petrified. terrified. sad. hurt. crushed.
laid bare.

I couldn’t do it that night
or any of the following nights
that i took that same drive.
the kids.
i couldn’t.

for a long time after that,
after i stopped taking that late night drive
i was better - on the outside - i was functional…
but on the inside
i was hollow.
empty.
a shell.

i was just going through the motions.

but this morning
i sat down to journal
and thought…
i am honestly truly so fucking happy
right now.
i am happy.
i am not pretending to be happy.
I am happy.

2.5 years later.

when they tell you time heals
and you feel like
throat punching them
because you are
in the thick of it and
”time heals”
feels like garbage
and a cliche
and useless and like
what you say
when you don’t know
what else to say…
but
it’s true.
or at least, it was for me.

(This is in no way a slight or blame on
anyone…marriages end everyday.
it’s a fact. even 20 year marriages.
life happens. we grow, we change, we move on…
and i am grateful EVERY DAY
for the 20 years we had…
i would not change a day
and i do not regret a moment of it ♥ )

but i do think about this
all the time
when i look at other people…
and think
i don’t know their story…
i think about it all the time
when i remember how
secretive i was…
i have never ever told anyone
about those nights in the
rental car…
and i don’t say it here for
drama or pity or whatever…
i can say it now because
i am so far past it.

i have been very lucky in my life…
i have a strong network of friends and family
that would have happily supported me
if i had let them in.
(but it’s hard to admit that you are broken…)

but it’s just that
we don’t always know
what others,
even those closest to us,
are going through.

and to be kind.

you never know
when that little bit of kindness
could be the tipping point
in the right direction.
(and if you are broken right now…
it’s ok to admit that you are broken…
it really is. It really is ok to not be ok.)

enough sappiness for one saturday.
the sun is shining,
my camera is calling me.

there are adventures to be had
and doughnuts to be eaten.
:)

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In words Tags saturday sweet saturday, happy, i talk too much
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solitude...silence...sunshine...

April 25, 2020 Arlene Giddings

I had big plans to get out of the house today…
there was sunshine and blue sky.
I got up early and did the big house things -
cleaned out the freezer,
split up the meat I bought to freeze it
in smaller portions
because I am trying to finally start cooking
for 1 to 2 instead of 4….

I was planning to go for a long drive,
maybe stop for a hike…
bring myself some snacks,
take the camera,
a playlist…
maybe stop somewhere quick and
pick up a rake.

But…when I got in the car,
it wouldn’t start.
Google tells me it might be the solenoid in the starter…
blah.

So instead of a long drive or a new rake,
I curled up in a chair by the window
and read a book while eating oreos….
so…almost as good.

Honestly, the silence and the solitude
are starting to wear on me a little tiny bit.

I think I will spend the rest of the evening
letting myself feel a little bit sad…
catching up on this show that I love,
and maybe grey’s anatomy and
I started this last night and thought I would not like it…
but was SO pleasantly surprised.
The first episode made me laugh AND cry last night.

and this….this also made me cry a little bit…heehee…so sweet

In list-me-up, words Tags saturday sweet saturday, my car hates me, google-mechanic
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i missed my friday i'm in love list...

September 29, 2018 Arlene Giddings

so this is likely going to be a post
with a lot of random things
that i am currently loving
but in no particular order
because my plan
WAS to do a fall list
but wanted to have some fall photos
to go with that
but i don’t have any yet
because my plan is to go out with the camera tomorrow
(and when i say camera, i mean poor little back up camera
because my 70D broke last weekend which is causing me
great sadness…but that sad story does not belong on a
friday i’m in love list…) and
so there will be some random shots thrown in to this post
because…well…that’s what i do…
including this photo
that i love in a hundred different ways
because i found this little bit of broken poetry
unexpectedly
while climbing
onto the back of a bench
when taking maternity photos
and immediately loved it.

i know.
weird things make me immensely happy.

so anyway!
on with the list of random things i am loving today.

♥ chicken burgers. I know…that’s a big stretch for me
from my usual chicken fingers but…I’m on a bit of a
chicken burger binge. Hahaha. Last week it was chicken fricot,
next week I plan to be on a grilled cheese kick.
High-brow culinary tastes, I know. :)

♥ this show. How did I not know about this show?
I loved the pilot…I REALLY hope it keeps going.

♥ i loved this…such a great idea…somehow i suspect it wouldn’t be the
same today…

♥ i can’t even tell you HOW MUCH I AGREE WITH THIS. Play is
incredibly important (and honestly, not just for kids…for grown ups, too).

♥ maybe I’m hungry…there seem to be a lot of posts about food…
but…..this is a gift I would write a thank you note for. :)

♥ working on some new cards…a little bit of fall…a little bit of anne & diana…

♥ this guy is coming to moncton!

♥ i was invited to trivia last night at a local restaurant/bar.
Normally, if I am already in my pjs, well, I’m pretty much done
for the night but I actually changed back into real person clothes
and went out AND I AM SO GLAD I DID. I suck at trivia but the
caesars were good. Oh! And the company, heeheehee!

♥ i started this course a couple of weeks ago and am really enjoying it.
This week they are talking about meditation and I can’t wait! :)

♥ this made me laugh…and think.

♥ this made me mad…and cry…and curse…and cheer…and think.

♥ my 18 year old has me totally hooked on this song…

In friday i'm in love, list-me-up Tags saturday sweet saturday, i love lists, listmaker, random
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i wasn't going to go out this morning...

September 22, 2018 Arlene Giddings

it sounded windy, it looked like it might rain…
I wasn’t going to go.

I woke up late.
I had a little bit of a headache.
I wasn’t going to go.

But then I did
AND I AM SO HAPPY THAT I DID!

It’s funny. I go for drives
all the time…
and I have gone to this wharf
in Egmont Bay
a million zillion times
but this was the first time
I ever drove down the little
dirt road that takes you
to the lighthouse
and I literally
was so excited
that I am pretty sure
I squealed and
clapped my hands
when I saw the view…
all I could think was
HOW have I never been here before?

and how many other views
on the island
have I never seen before?

and, for the record, it was REALLY windy…
to the point that I was a little afraid to go too close to the edge
of the cliffs because I was literally afraid
of getting blown off…

all in all, a pretty good first day of fall <3

In 2018, embrace2018, grateful, i take pictures, island girl, life's beachy, she's so weird, summer Tags PEI photographer, prince edward island, lighthouse, egmont bay, shameless selfies, saturday sweet saturday, i love saturdays
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