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 has been hijacked by a post all about goals...cause...2022... :)

Every year, I set goals.
I set SO many goals.
In fact, it’s possible I set
TOO many goals…
I never hit them all…
I carry them over from one year to
another…and I rarely
cross off what I wanna cross off.

So this year
I decided to try something new.

I am picking 4 areas and setting one
blanket goal for each.
Then each month, I will try
to set mini goals
based on the blanket goals…
confuse you yet?

The other thing
that I am going to do that I
am really, really, REALLY
excited about
is setting 30 day
challenges for myself…
I haven’t decided on what they will be yet
but the first one is
intermittent fasting (the light version, haha).

Other ideas include
30 days of
smoothies,
doodles (likely in October),
yoga,
walks/trails,
adventures,
photography…

:)

2022 - RESOLVE (warning::long post ahead....sorry, heh)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Every year, I choose a word
to set the tone for what I want out of
this coming year…
to set the stage, establish the mood,
create the atmosphere…

to start the year off on a right foot…

I have been doing this since 2008 and some years,
it has worked very well for me;
other years have been a bit of a dud.

I have chosen words like
embrace, adventure, happy, risk,
balance, brave, leap, connect, dare and focus..

Last year, I chose glow
and, honestly, it was one of my
best choices ever.

The other years that I can say
worked really, really well
were unfold and adventure.

But glow?
Glow was fan-frigging-tastic.
And possibly because 2021
was a good year for that kind of thing,
for self care and calm,
for being introspective, for spending time
focused on me…
when I chose that word,
I was picturing intrinsic happiness…
happiness from within.
And that’s what I got.

I did things for me and by myself.
I pushed myself out of my comfort zones,
I allowed myself comfort when I needed it.
I adventured and created and rested and
made decisions all based on what I felt
I needed most…not what I thought others
might think, or want, or judge.

I looked after me.
And it was a fantastic year.

Like, seriously, a FANTASTIC year. ♥

This year, I didn’t contemplate my word
for long…it was like it came to me
immediately…no hmming and hawing,
no wondering if it’s the right word…
the word RESOLVE just popped into my head
and left no room for any other words.

I feel like I start a lot of things,
I talk about what I want to do,
what I should do, what I need to do…
but if you know me, you know I often
don’t do any of these things.

The definitions of resolve is
to decide firmly on a course of action…
a firm determination to do something.

And that really spoke to me.
Loudly. With all caps and exclamation marks.

So, hello 2022.
C’mon in. I’m ready for you.

Happy new year to anyone that still
shows up to read this…heehee.
I mostly keep this blog as a bit of a journal
and accountability tool for myself
but I appreciate anyone that takes the
time to stop by my little weird
and random corner of the internet-world.
I hope you have a year of laughter, health and
happiness! ♥

boxing day bliss ♥

I hope you had the
merriest of
Christmases ♥

Over here, in the big orange house,
we ate lots of candy cane peanut butter balls,
opened gifts, teased each other a lot,
played “would you rather”
and a rousing game of scattergories
at my parents
with no discernible winner
but a lot of laughter and yelling…

countless cartoons and
christmas specials
were watched…

many mugs of
hot chocolate were made…
and I got this new grinchy mug from my girl
and a new grinchy soft blanket
from Santa…

someone got a new headband and wore it every chance possible even though
it usually caused a headache…heh.

meat pies were made and eaten…
and someone made a meat pie person
with striking similarities!!

I hope you had a great Christmas…
despite the restrictions and regulations and rules…
hopefully this is our last Christmas
trying to make the best of things…
and next Christmas really IS the best of things…

I am ready for 2022.

I love the idea of new beginnings
and fresh starts and blank slates…
big plans and ideas churning about
over here….

Merry, merry Christmas to your and yours…♥♥♥
happy happy holiday from our house of
chaos and confusion to yours.

whatcha readin'? {goal 35 - books 21-25}

Playing catch up once again….

5 more books I have read:

25.

I know I have written about this author here before,
actually, just last week :)
I do really like her writing.
It reminds a little bit of the books
I read when I was younger…
I loved Jackie Collins…and books
that were glossy and glittery
and maybe a tiny bit smutty…heh.

Anyway. These last two books by
Taylor Jenkins Reid
remind me slightly of that time
in my life…but
without the smuttiness
:)
Rich people, famous people,
rock stars, celebrities
and secrets behind the screens…

I enjoyed this book.

4 ♥’s out of 5

22.

Not really a subject I am good with reading about…
anything that has to do with children
really, really hurts my heart…it always has.

The note I had written myself about this book was:
”I did not expect to love this so much
but the writing was very beautiful and tragic and
sweetly sad like a fairy tale.”

5 ♥’s out of 5

23.

Another quick read that was a bit of a thriller,
a bit creepy (which is not usually my thing) and also involved a kid…
but it was well worth the read.

4 ♥’s out of 5

24.

and welcome to the
self help portion of my reading list….
:)

I actually really liked this book.
I appreciated his no-nonsense way of
looking at things…I liked that he said the eff word a lot.
I felt like a lot of this was not new to me,
but did reaffirm some thoughts I had…
but I did also have some epiphanies while reading this.

The truth is I am pretty happy on my own
and I knew this going into the book…
I do not require a relationship to be happy.
I am not opposed to one but
I am also unwilling to settle for anything less
than sparks and butterflies. :)

“Asking myself where I am going
before I ask
who is going with me.”

5 ♥’s out of 5

25.

This.

This book. This was one of my most favorite books
this year. And yes, it’s a bit of a self-help-y kinda thing
but it’s the kinda self help-y thing I like…

Also, it has the eff word in the title.
Which I always like.

I made sooooo many notes while reading this.
And when I finished it, I wanted to start it over again.
It is not a “give away for trade book”
it’s one I know I will re-read…
and I just like seeing it on my shelf.

* also the author is adorable
and my bestest friend now cause she left
a comment on Instagram…heehee

5 ♥’s out of 5