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goodbye 2018...

December 31, 2018 Arlene Giddings

It’s New Year’s Eve
and I am wishing that I had thought ahead
and gotten food or treats or diet coke (!!!!)
but now it’s dark out
and I am in my pjs
and don’t want to leave the house.

It’s a sad state of affairs.

Heeheeheehee.

I realize I have not blogged since November
but honestly…
my life was kind of falling apart off and on
all through 2018
so I am actually surprised that I blogged as much as I did (93 times).

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram,
then you likely already know that my marriage of 20 years
has sadly broken into pieces & while I spent a good portion
of 2018 just trying to hold the shards of my heart and head together,
I also tried to appear normal…I didn’t want to admit out loud
for a long time
that anything was wrong…but, eventually, I had to
and, honestly, admitting it was a good thing for me, for all of us, in the end.

So. Anyway. That news is soooo 2018
and I really don’t want to talk/think about it anymore.

This time last year, I wrote about how I wanted 2018 to be a year of fun
not realizing at the time that 2018 was actually still going to be a big year of suck.

Therefore, I reserve the right to re-use my plan of attack & make
2019
a year that I focus on fun. :)

Every year, I go back and re-read my blog & journals for the year that is passing.
This year, well, I just didn’t want to read my journals because…that’s just depressing
and for the first time ever, I am considering burning journals.
But, for my blog, I mainly only talked about the good things, the funny things,
the stuff I love…so here are some of the highlights:

  • I read 36 books! My goal was 24 so yay me! I realize I didn’t write about all of them on here so I am planning to do a short summary again of the ones that I missed writing about. And now, I need to set a new goal for 2019. Is 25 setting the bar too low? Heh. Oh…any recommendations??

  • I sold a bunch of watercolor cards (and journals & a canvas!). This blows my mind. Seriously. And makes me incredibly happy. I have big plans for expanding this in 2019 so stay tuned! :)

  • I sang Mony Mony on a speaker & didn’t get kicked out!

  • I saw real live eagles.

  • I went to the air show and sat in a Hornet (a stationary hornet, but still….)(and I had to line up with 50 little kids to do it…but still….)

  • I joined a writing group, started nanowrimo, got further on a story than I ever have and submitted a story to a contest (I didn’t win…but I submitted it!)

  • I got to talk on a taxi CB….always a goal of mine.

  • I created an online dating profile. This has been both amusing and horrifying.

  • I got my thumb stuck in a box of cold shots at the liquor store which prompted the cashier to say “Well. THAT’S a first.” Heh.

  • I tried cabbage. I learned how not to stir fry it and that stir fried cabbage could actually kill me. And they keep it by the turnips if you are ever looking for it. And cauliflower and cabbage are not the same thing.

  • I got in a car accident. Goodbye little accent…I still miss you. :(

  • I ate a lot of jujubes, broccoli, ice cream sundaes, cucumber sandwiches and popcorn.

  • We had unplanned kittens.

  • I did a whole month of Inktober! :)

I am not going to lie though. I didn’t love 2018.

But I learned
that I can do this…we can do this…
that a separation does not mean the end of the world
and it doesn’t mean we failed…
things happen, people grow and change…
(24 years together is a long time…we should just be proud of that)

And that, yeah, there are days it’s going to totally fucking suck
but there are also little bits of good in every day
if you look for them…some days, you have to look really damn hard
but they are there.

And that it’s ok to accept help or support.
That’s one I am still struggling with.
I know we have such a strong support system of friends & family & co-workers…
and I felt like I should write
”thanks for being there for me even when it
felt like all I was doing was pushing you away
”
in EVERYONE’S Christmas card….
because…that’s what I learned I do…

The truth is we are alive and healthy…
and 2019 will not be about spinning my wheels any longer.
2019 will be about getting some traction
and moving forward…about having fun and being open minded…
making new friends and reconnecting with old ones…
laughing so hard you spit your diet coke through your nose…

and lots and lots of adventures.

Happy New Years Eve to you…if you have stuck through this
long and painful post, hahahaha, thank you.
I am always totally surprised when anyone reads this
(and always always always so appreciative….)
so thank you so much for being here!

Now…is it too late to order Chinese food?
:)

In 2018, we are family, words Tags 2018, 2019, unfold, recap, looking back, looking ahead, you got this, yeah, bad words ahead, gonna be ok
4 Comments

friday i'm in love...

November 23, 2018 Arlene Giddings

I know it has been awhile since I have been here.

I had started the NaNoWriMo challenge
but let’s face it…
I don’t do well with full month challenges
especially
right after a full month of inktober
and especially
when it involves something as
time consuming
as writing…

But I also did want to say thank you to everyone that
took time to read it.
I really really appreciated it!

So…good for me, I gave it a go…
but let’s just agree
that we all knew it wasn’t really going to happen
and move on.
:)

So! Back to my regularly scheduled programming
which means…friday i’m in love….

♥ this story about one of the first ever water parks killed me.
And it actually DID kill others. Crazy.

♥ i desperately need a dollhouse…desperately.
i don’t know if you really grasp how badly i want this.

♥ i think pugsley really needs a sweater and a coat and
maybe some rainboots….AND A BACKPACK.

♥ I NEED THESE SOCKS….

♥ i think i could do this…if i had a van…and a hammer…and a saw…
and…some other stuff.

♥ new disney movies coming out!!!!!

and finally, I just wanted to say how surprised I have been
by everyone’s reactions to my recent obsession…
watercolor cards.

I never expected the reaction to be so great…
and people to stop me on the street or in stores…
but I love it.
People have asked me how they can purchase them
and I will have them for sale soon on this site…
and stay tuned for a new contest…
and….maybe a calendar for 2019…if there is any interest in that…

Happy Friday!!!!

In friday i'm in love Tags friday i'm in love, linky-love, lots of links
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NaNoWriMo 2018

November 1, 2018 Arlene Giddings

so…
inktober has just ended
and now
fresh on my success and
still on the high
of having completed
that challenge,
i have decided to take on a second challenge…
but this one will be much more difficult, i suspect.

nanowrimo.

national novel writing month.

50, 000 words in one month…
50, 000 consecutive words…enough words to
form a novel should someone want to do that…

what do i want?
i want to force myself to finish something.
just one thing.
just finish one thing.

so…this appealed to me…
because i need accountability.

i have decided to work on the story that
i have been working on for a while now…
about bernadine and why she should never, ever
go into the woods across the street.

i am going to post it here on my blog
as i write it…that’s my accountability…
and i am hoping that some brave soul
may actually read it which will make me
feel accountable to someone
other than me
cause lets face it,
i’m a bit of a softie and
will listen to any sad-sack excuse
i try to offer myself for why i can’t write today.

but if someone else is reading it…
well…that’s a different story.

and if YOU are the someone else reading it,
please bear in mind that this is a rough draft
with no editing…
heh.
(but….i hope you like it anyway).

ok. HERE WE GO!
(and already, i’m cheating a little cause what i am going to share
today was written a long time ago…
but that doesn’t mean i didn’t write something new today…
it just means
you can’t read it yet…heh).

In nanowrimo 2018 Tags nanowrimo 2018, bernadine, story, tell me a story
1 Comment

whatcha readin'? {book 27::goal 24}

October 29, 2018 Arlene Giddings

i loved this book.

i don’t really know what else
i can say
except…
i loved it (with great enthusiasm).

she is funny and sad,
cautious and bold…

definitely worth your time.
it’ll make you laugh
(but, not gonna lie, it might make you cry, too….)

5 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP:  EDUCATED - TARA WESTOVER

In whatcha readin', 2018 Tags avid reader, book love, one book at a time, all the books
2 Comments

friday i'm in love...

October 26, 2018 Arlene Giddings

♥ fall leaves
♥ beautiful light in the morning and the view from my work window
(well…except for that day it SNOWED in OCTOBER. that was not beautiful. it was blech.)
♥ getting home to find an adorable halloween card from your bestie in your mailbox instead of
the constant barrage of “vote for me” fliers…

♥ and also the view from my “work” window at home…
(where i paint my cards and doodle my doodles).
i love love love that birch tree.

♥ that my girl posted this video for me the other night…
i was feeling a little down (she didn’t even know)…
and this totally made my night.
and….not going to lie…yeah, i LOVE prince
and that she chose that song for me
but the fact that she misses me…that was the part that
kind of made me cry… ♥♥♥♥♥

♥ the tips of my fingers have been cracking and peeling
which is totally weird and annoying…i have never had
had this happen before (and no…this is not my Friday-love, haha)
but i tried this stuff AND IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING so far…
fingers crossed…(hahaha. see what I did there…)

♥ i love this radio station…the music is great and the
announcers are not annoying which is usually my
biggest pet peeve with radio stations but this guy
is my total favorite….he toys with people that call in
and makes me laugh out loud…and…i like to laugh out loud.

♥ this show. have i already told you about this show?
i apologize if i did. But seriously….IT IS SO GOOD…
dark humor, brilliant writing and THERE ARE PUPPETS.
not going to lie…i have been googling “how to make a puppet”
since watching it. :)

In 2018, friday i'm in love, my girl Tags friday i'm in love, the edge 102.1, kidding, puppets, my girl, o'keefes
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