tuesday truths...the "people are really nice" edition...
happy new years day!
I debated today on whether to actually be
social and get dressed (in something other than pajamas)
and go outside (shudder!) and talk to people (gasp!)
but then the pajamas won out.
it’s stormy here and the kids are home
and emma made awesome mashed potatoes & porkchops
and campbell picked up copious amounts of diet coke
for me without question
and we watched epic fail videos while eating
so it’s been a pretty good first day of 2019.
I know I just posted yesterday but I wanted to share
how frigging nice people are….
like…when my car broke down & my dad fixed it so fast
even though I am sure he had other actual customers to deal with…
but in the meantime, every time I would write something about
the lack of car (usually attempting to be funny,
cause I have learned you really can’t cry
if you are laughing, heeheehee) and
so many people immediately messaged me
asking me if I needed a drive or to tell me
to message them if I did need a drive anywhere.
So nice. People are so nice.
Like when my friend & I were invited to an open house just before Christmas…
& when we got there, our other friend said
”I have something for both of you”
and gave my friend the most adorable plush muppet band set
(I am not going to lie…I was/am still a little jealous…heeheehee)
& then gave me the sweetest sparkliest glitteriest sesame street
string of christmas lights…which will stay up YEAR ROUND
just telling you now….they look so great in my fun-space!
I know that these items hold a special sentimental sweetness
of memory for the giver and his family
and that has made these sweet little glowing lights
just that much more important to me & I am incredibly touched
to have been thought of.
AND THEN, he also dropped off a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies
because I had RAVED about them the night before at his Mom’s open house.
♥ ♥ ♥
People are just so nice. Seriously.
Like the other day, when my cousin’s wife
messaged me to say they had something for me
and I found a card and a wrapped gift in my mailbox…
the card had a photo of their sweet little baby with Santa
which would have been gift enough
but THIS was also in there…
I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS…look at it!
I can change the seasons and the month and the dates and
it’s all little blocks and it’s the peanuts and…
well…I seriously just seriously have serious love for this thing.
it was totally unexpected and totally unnecessary
but soooooooo appreciated! :) :) :)
People are just so friggin’ nice.
like my sweet adorable niece who agreed to foster one of our TOO-MANY cats
and also gave me these sweet books for Christmas
AND messaged me all through the holidays
just to check in and see how I was doing… ♥
and my kids who probably drew straws
to decide which one of them would stay
home with me NYE…but made what could have been
a lonely night into an incredibly fun one…
and the people who have allowed me to
message them at 2 and 3 in the morning
when I can’t sleep…and sometimes, even respond to me…haha
or who offered to let me come over and hang out with them
when they thought I might be alone on Christmas Eve…
& bought me hot chocolate
& the girl who gave me THE most delicious homemade pecan tarts ♥ and
rubbed my back because she knew I was stressed out…
and to the guy (I still can’t say ex…I’m sorry…baby steps), who,
even though we are separated,
always answers my texts, always still calms me down,
and always, always looks out for us
even when it means giving us his car when my car was getting fixed…
oh…and my neighbor from down the street
who randomly messaged me on Christmas Eve
and asked me to pop over for a minute because she
had something for me…and when I got there,
she gave me this WHICH SHE MADE SPECIFICALLY FOR ME
and FRAMED because she saw it
and it reminded her of me….
seriously…people are SO FRIGGING NICE. :) :) :)
Look at this!!!! I adore this soooo much. ♥
I honestly did not mean this to be so long
but once I started,
I didn’t want to leave anyone out…
(and I really hope that I haven’t)…
I just wanted to take a second to say how frigging much
every comment, every gesture, every message
means to me…and how I just hope that maybe on my good days
I make someone feel as good as other people have made me feel.
People are just so friggin’ nice. And it makes me incredibly-stupidly
big-smile happy. XO
goodbye 2018...
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.
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?
:)
friday i'm in love...
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!!!!
NaNoWriMo 2018
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.
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).