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Summerside, PE
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tuesday truths...being present

January 19, 2021 Arlene Giddings

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.

♥♥♥

In glow2021, tuesday truths Tags glow2021, glow, be present, mindfullness, calm, words
1 Comment

2020 Book Round-Up

January 18, 2021 Arlene Giddings
5♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5

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5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5

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5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5

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3 ♥♥♥ of of 5

3 ♥♥♥ of of 5

5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out 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. :)

In whatcha readin' Tags books, avid reader, whatcha readin'?, book round up
Comment

friday i'm in love...

January 15, 2021 Arlene Giddings

It’s hard to believe it’s already the
middle of January.

And, so far, as far as
Januarys go…
this has been a pretty good one.

I got out with the camera
on a wintery-sparkly Friday adventure
today and I’m so glad I did.

Granted I drove for
four hours
and didn’t really
go anywhere
but that’s kinda the way I like it.

It was a perfect morning.
Snow-sparkles
every where you looked…
a perfect playlist…
mild temperatures…
and nowhere to be.

No candy or diet coke though.
Still hard into the new year resolutions…
it’s early yet. :)

Things I am loving right now:

♥ that the book trading continues to grow…
I love that when someone is coming over now
we automatically talk about possible book trades
and I keep mine by the front door so people
can easily choose what they want
(at a safe 6 foot distance)

♥ being able to go out in a hoodie in January

♥ speaking of hoodies, this is my new favorite hoodie
that Santa brought me as a late surprise! :)

♥ Making time for tea…journals…music…hot showers
giggly phone calls…taking a best friend out for her birthday…
and tried a new meditation/women’s wellness session
that was so interesting. #glow2021 was a good word for the year
so far.

In friday i'm in love, glow2021 Tags friday adventure, fridays are the best days, friday i'm in love, tea, winter wonderland
4 Comments

2021 - glow

January 1, 2021 Arlene Giddings
processed_20201231_132456.jpg

I have been choosing a word
to use as my touchstone,
as my focus point,
as my compass
since 2008

Some years, it has worked really
well for me…
other years, I had forgotten what the
word even was by February.

Last year,
my word was ignite.
It was a good word…
just maybe, bad timing.
COVID slowed me down a little
in the sense that it caused
a lot of mental and emotional stress & strain
even if I wasn’t directly negatively affected
in the way that others were.

Adjustments and fear and negativity
and the new normal and vaccines
and all of that strain wears you down
even if you aren’t aware of it at the time…
I found myself more emotional, easily angered,
scared, sad, and tired…soooooo tired.

Anyway. My point is it was not the word that failed
but the circumstances. And I did have some gains
in the areas that I wanted to move forward in
so it was not a total loss.

This year,
I knew I wanted to focus on self care.
I turned 50 this year….if you follow me here
or on other social media,
you will know that I do not always make my own
health a priority. Haha.

In 2021, I want to be truly happy and secure.
I want INTRINSIC happiness, i want it to come from within.
And when I picture that, I picture myself glowing…
so that became 2021’s word.
It just immediately resonated with me.

This means my big picture goals
are going to be related to things like
less screen time (putting my phone away),
meditation, yoga (with definite goals),
healthy eating, vitamins, medical appointments…
that kind of thing.

I am also considering stepping back
creatively in a sense.
Too often, I let myself
get caught up in what
would other people like to see,
what would sell?
Or I agree to create things based on
specifics…
which has been very good for me
as far as pushing me out of my comfort zone
but I am considering
making this year about just
free-styling…
winging it…
follow my gut feelings
and interests and see where they take me.

(this is not to say that I won’t have
any items for sale this year…just that it
won’t be my main focus during the
creative process…)

I’m looking forward to the new year…
all bright and shiny and optimistic and
hope it’s full of laughter, health and happiness for everyone.
♥♥♥

In glow2021 Tags 2021, glow, resolutions, goals, life goals, thinking out loud
2 Comments

hindsight is 2020...a review

December 31, 2020 Arlene Giddings

there is a part of me that feels
like maybe it’s wrong
to do a review of 2020…
that 2020 has left a sour taste for
so many people…

i am a bit of a pollyanna-personality though.
:)

it’s just in my nature.
even the year my marriage ended,
i did a year end review
and was able to focus on the positives
so i guess i should be ok with
a pandemic.
heh.

processed_20201230_125234.jpg

Every year, I reread my
journals, blog, facebook posts and instagram…
(and, not gonna lie, I catch myself thinking
that someone should take my internet away
many, many times during this exercise).

GEEK GIRL 2020 HIGHLIGHT REEL

♥ I read 31 books! My goal was 30 so I am ahead of the game albeit by a tiny margin,
but still…and one of the books was a computer science text book but I read it cover to cover
so it counts!

♥ Speaking of computer science, I passed my first course with 84% and plenty of tears,
cursing, frustration and questioning myself.

♥ I turned 50! and had a party complete with fireworks (and a stern warning not to light them myself…for good reason), McDonald gift cards for Happy Meals, lots of laughter, hugs and candy and my brother and partner-in-crime told me::

♥ they were taking me to CABOT TRAIL as part of my birthday present!! It was so great! I was able to cross something big off my bucket list AND spend some concentrated time with my niece and nephew who have learned that I am both amusing AND annoying on a road trip. Heh.

♥ After a lot of manual labor, back cramps and cursing, I was able to complete the yard clean up. It only took at least 43 yard bags and a dumpster, but I got it done. Other big orange house accomplishments included fixing the broken wheel on the lawn mower ONLY TO HAVE ANOTHER WHEEL IMMEDIATELY SHATTER, spray foam which resulted in a very artistic sculpture- y display but also kept the ants out, and a garden that produced roughly 60 billiondy tomatoes.

♥ Creatively, I sold some cards, paintings and a little book that someone asked me to put together. I am not gonna lie…that one pushed me HARD out of my comfort zone but the recipient was happy with the final result and that’s what matters. I also got out for lots of adventures with the camera and bought a new phone…JUST for the camera. AND I had a photo shared by CBC…not just CBC PEI (sorry, CBC PEI, I get excited about that, too) but the BIG CBC…like…CBC!!! :) I also built a smurf display!

the photo shared by the big CBC!!  :)

the photo shared by the big CBC!! :)

processed_20201223_093739.jpg

♥ I watched all the Star Wars movies and all the Marvel movies! I joined a book club and even
went to some of the meetings! I started a photography club at work (pre-COVID) and started a book trading group with a friend in an effort to let go of some of my possessions. I also started an accountability group with a friend but again…COVID foiled our plans.

♥ I went snowshoeing, also got so lost in Bonshaw that I had to ask 4 grown ups to lead me out..I survived the gruesome shellfish foot injury of the summer of 2020 where I pretty much had my foot amputated (ok…it required a muppets band aid on it but still….I could have died.) I also accepted a marriage proposal from an internet scammer who thought I was a coal miner with 7 children…until I couldn’t give him two to three thousand dollars for foodstuff for his son…heh. Takes all kinds.

All in all, 2020 was not a bad year for me.

And honestly, I am hopeful for 2021.
I’m going into it with big plans, goals and ideas…
world domination blueprints and a weird sense of humor
just like I always do.

Happy New Year…thanks for sticking with me
as long as you have. I am always surprised that
this little scribbling I do in the teeny tiny quiet corner
of the internetsphere gets any readers at all…
so I greatly appreciate you. ♥♥♥

I hope 2020 was not too painful for you
and that 2021 brings you good things…and candy. :)
(mostly cause I think you are nice…
and that you will probably share with me….heh)

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In grateful, ignite2020, it's a smurfy world, the world of marvel Tags 2020, ignite2020, 2020 year in review, looking back, grateful, proud of me
1 Comment
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