friday i'm in love...

♥ FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE ♥

• wabi sabi…I absolutely love this idea

  the delightful contemplation of what is old and worn
  that just sounds so perfect.

• this plucky 8 year old novelist :)

• I kinda feel like I need this in my life….I’m not sure why…

• but I DEFINITELY need to add THIS to my life!!!

• with making plans to see friends again…maybe even in public!
  it’s been tooooooo long!

• i watched the tinder swindler (that guy was a piece of garbage
  no doubt about it…gross) and it actually infuriated me and even
  more so, the people that direct their anger at the victims…sigh.
  So, I loved this article. And I loved the last girl in the show….good for her!
  Actually they were all very brave to come forward knowing that
  people were going to rake them over the coals for being trusting.

  (Do I worry about being swindled/catfished…short answer - not for money.
  I am far to skeptical and cheap and paranoid around money…it
  would be hard for me to loan someone 20.00 much less 20 000…
  nope. Plus, my dad would kill me. Hahahah)

• and oddly enough, I watched this movie randomly
  and it had a similar thread…it is slow going at first
  but it is sooooo worth it in the end.

• and this song by Patrick Droney….I listen to it every day
  and every time, I think…this is what I want….
  someone that wants me to call them on my way home. ♥

tuesday truths...

I am editing photos
from this summer…
including my solo random,
planned-yet-unplanned
trip to Hopewell Rocks
that ended up in Truro…
and my trip to Fredericton
with a BFF…
and I am kinda happy
that I waited until
the dead of February
to edit these
because
they are such a little
ray of sunshine for me
and are making me
look forward to future
summer adventures…
♥♥♥

sundaze...

I am finding winter
hard this year…which is
not really like me.
I mean, don’t get me wrong,
I always hate winter…
I don’t like to be cold,
I don’t wanna shovel…
I work from home so storm days
are nothing to look forward to…

but this year,
I feel more isolated
than I ever have.

I’m not really sure why.

I am trying to push myself
out of my head
by getting back to the little blue desk
(evidenced above by a little holly hobbie-ish geek girl),
doing monthly challenges for myself
(last month was intermittent fasting;
this month is 10000 steps a day),
and most recently
forcing myself to get dressed everyday
in real clothes
and not just stay in the same pjs…

This has been been a good thing
for me to do…
sometimes, when there is
no else to push you
you gotta push yourself.

IN THE BIG ORANGE HOUSE:

WATCHING: Yellowstone; Love Life; Atypical

READING: Becoming - Michelle Obama

LISTENING TO: Trucker Speed - Fred Eaglesmith

EATING: granola bars dipped in cake icing; popcorn

GRATEFUL: not many morning headaches; 22 helping me
with snowblower; sweet & encouraging comments on
social media; the way timmy the cat gently puts his paw
on my cheek when I need it the most; gas station cookies;
bunny slippers; shampoo that makes my hair smell like apples.

tuesday truths ♥♥♥ and a hint of happy mail surprise/contest

It has been a minute
but my little geeky girl mini-muse
has finally decided
to come back and visit…

Not gonna lie
the truth is
I was getting a little worried…
I thought I might have scared her off
for good.

But she has been peeking
around the corners
and I have seen her shadow
every now and then
but then she’d scurry off
and probably hide
behind the couch
wrapped up in a blanket
eating all the cookies.

Anyway…she’s back.

And she said she had an idea…
it was a little bit hard to understand
because she was whispering
and her mouth was full of cookies
but I think this is the gist of it…

happy mail
makes
people
happy.

I love getting something in the mail
that is not a bill or a flyer or a bill.
So many bills. Blech.

And then I did the Ipsy thing
and that was so much fun
and then I did the chef’s plate thing
and that was so much fun
and I realized that I really, really like
happy mail
and maybe
me and my little geeky girl mini muse
could make someone else
happy
when they open their mailbox
and not cross-cranky-curse-y
like I sometimes get.

And the truth is
I like just making random things…
doodles, scribbles, cards, notes…
I like little toys and post it notes
and fortune cookies and
teeny-tiny love letters…
paper dolls and photographs…
soooo
here’s my plan…

I am going to make two
happy-mail-packages.
One to give away, and maybe one
someone can buy
if anyone has any interest in that
kind of thing…
and if not, then it will be two to
giveaway!

Stay tuned for the details…
we haven’t quite decided on
the contest logistics yet….
we’ll be able to concentrate
better after the
cookies are all gone.
♥♥♥

whatcha readin'? {goal 35 :: book 1}

I had no expectations for this book.
I knew nothing about it.
Someone had passed it along to me
and so I gave it a try.

And it was so good.

It is a memoir…it is real
and gritting and
full of emotion
and a-ha moments.

I had a little a-ha moment of my own.
I am very, very bad at
being able to stay mad at anyone.
I just can’t.
And it’s not even that I can’t
stay
mad…but I have a hard time
even getting mad.

I can be rant-y or annoyed,
aggravated, irritated, sour,
cranky, snarky with a person
but I really struggle with actual anger.
I have lost my temper before
but not many times, by my count…
not REALLY lost my temper.

Usually, if someone really makes me mad
I just disappear. I withdraw. Retreat.
Until the bad feelings pass…
which they pretty much always do.

But in the book, the author learns
that she can’t be intimate
until she learns to express anger.

And immediately,
my brain was like “are you listening?
did you hear that? pay attention!”

So anyway,
I haven’t really decided what,
if anything,
to do with that lightbulb moment so…
yeah….this was a really great book. :)

Off to a good start for
whatcha readin’? 2022 edition!

5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5
NEXT UP:: BECOMING - MICHELLE OBAMA