Sunday Inspiration: All There Is

Thankful Thursday: October 28, 2021

 

I Am Thankful For:

My dogs

Finding a tutorial for cleaning my washing machine

Healthy breakfast

Getting a lot accomplished

Phone calls from my daughter

Repeat customers

Funny stories

Pumpkins

Halloween costumes for my dogs

Catching up with the grandkid

Sunshine

Dinner and a movie with my husband

A free movie theatre popcorn

Sangria

A new top

Decongestant

Tissues that smell like Vicks

Having nowhere to go

White chicken chili in the crockpot

What I'm Reading Wednesday: The Plot

I have read a lot of good books this year.  I guess perhaps a year of quarantine was good for authors and for getting the creative juices flowing.  But, I am going to say that in my opinion, The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz is one of the best of the entire bunch.  

"Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he's teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what's left of his self-respect; he hasn't written--let alone published--anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn't need Jake's help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then... he hears the plot.

Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker's first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that--a story that absolutely needs to be told.

In a few short years, all of Evan Parker's predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised, and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his "sure thing" of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?" (description via goodreads.com)

I enjoyed this novel so much!!  

It was unique and refreshing.  It brought up a lot of thoughtful internal debates with myself about intellectual property, the theft of ideas, and plagiarism.  I loved the characters.  And maybe I also sort of hated them.  But those are some of my favorite kinds of characters, the ones you love and hate all at the same time. 

Maybe I was slow to get on the train, but I did NOT see the twist coming in this one.  Which, usually I have at least some sort of an idea or at least a guess.

This story kept me awake late into the night while reading it.  And stayed in my thoughts for days after.  I still find myself thinking about parts of it.  I am quick to name it if anyone is brave enough to ask me for a book recommendation.  And it has me adding more of the author's works to my To Be Read list.

Monday Musings: Friends

When I was a young girl in Girl Scouts, we used to sing a little song about friends. That song popped into my brain a couple of weeks ago, as I was driving home from spending some time with my life-long friend. 

"Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, but the other's gold."

Are new friends a good thing? Absolutely! It's amazing when you're able to find someone you can really connect with.  It's exciting to get to know each other as you build that trust and camaraderie over time. 

But nothing compares to "old" friends.  The friend that you share decades of history and memories with.  They are more than just a friend, you consider her family just as much like the one you were born into. 

It's the long-time friend that makes you feel safe. She's the one you are always comfortable being silly around. The one you can trust with your feelings. 

I am blessed to have a friend like that. 

We've known each other our entire lives.  She was born just a few weeks after I was.  We never attended school together.  But we went to the same church and would get together to play when I would visit with my grandparents. She knew me in the awkward middle school years.  Through the braces and bad haircuts.   In the years when there was no email and we lived states apart and would write actual snail-mail letters and cards to each other to stay in touch.  

Even though we still live in different states and haven't seen each other in a few years (thanks Covid), it always feels like no time at all has passed as soon as we're able to get back together. I look forward to hearing all the details of her life that I have missed out on over the months or years.  And quickly we are swapping stories and discussing everything from the mundane to the philosophical. 

Those "old" friends truly are one of life's great treasures. 

Sunday Inspiration: Take Care

 

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This Lip Balm Is Making Me Nostalgic

I don't know about you, but I have found that when I go out in public and have to wear a mask - my lips get dry very quickly.  This means that as soon as I get to the car and take the mask off, I am usually looking for some lip balm. 

Waaay back in 2019 (Remember 2019? Seems like a million years ago) I told you all about my favorite lip balm. I shared how much I enjoyed the Smith's Minted Rose lip balm and how it reminded me of the little tins of lip balm that I fell in love with as a little girl.  

Well, let me introduce you to My Favorite Lip Balm: Part Two!  

In my Christmas stocking last Christmas, I found a tin filled with Smith's balms.  The original, my favorite minted rose lip balm, and a strawberry lip balm.  

Y'all...  that strawberry! Oh. My. Goodness.

The first time I lifted the lid off the little round tin, I was mentally transported back to the early '80s and that lip balm I loved back then.  Talk about a blast from the past!  

This stuff is delightful! In fact, it's everything I didn't know I was missing.  The strawberry is just the right amount of strawberry, without being overly sweet or perfumey.  It has all the rich moisture I loved of the minted rose variety.  It's a pale pink color in the tin, but once applied it's clear.  

Am I giving up my first love - the Smith's Minted Rose Lip Balm?  NO way!  But the Smith's Strawberry Lip Balm is a lovely addition to the family.  I always have one (or both) on my nightstand and one in my purse. 

By the way, this is not an ad or sponsored post.  I don't receive any compensation of any kind from Smith's or anyone else for this post.  It's just me, sharing something I have discovered that I think you might also like. 

Thankful Thursday: October 21, 2021

 

I Am Thankful For:

Each new week

Extra time in the afternoon with my husband

Ice cream leftover from birthday celebration

Getting the light and fan in my office fixed

Halloween costumes for the dogs

Max chasing falling leaves

Lunch with a friend

Coffee and conversation

Bookstores

Productive days

Texts from my grown children

The mums are blooming

New throw pillows

My air fryer

Saturday morning coffee

Dinner at my Dad's house

My husband's love

The dogs let me sleep in a little

Early football games

The male offspring making dinner

What I'm Reading Wednesday: We Begin at the End

If you're looking for a feel-good, happy ending sort of book, We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker isn't it.  However, if you're in the mood for a novel filled to the brim with loss, remorse, revenge, redemption, and love -  then you've found it!

"Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released.

Duchess is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them, but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper into self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old brother. At school the other kids make fun of Duchess—her clothes are torn, her hair a mess. But let them throw their sticks because she’ll throw stones. Rules are for other people. She’s just trying to survive and keep her family together.

A fortysomething-year-old sheriff and a thirteen-year-old girl may not seem to have a lot in common. But they both have come to expect that people will disappoint you, loved ones will leave you, and if you open your heart it will be broken. So when trouble arrives with Vincent King, Walk and Duchess find they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed"  (synopsis via Goodreads.com)

I'm still not sure how I felt about this book.  It was an intricate and compelling story.  But, it is also incredibly sad. 

There were many characters, and sometimes it could feel like a bit much to keep them all straight and figure out what was going on with who and what part they might be playing in the main storyline.  Duchess is a 13-year-old girl, forced to grow up and take on far too much responsibility at a very early age, leaving her angry and closed off from others. Her mother, Star, is a woman lost and unable to take care of herself or her two children.  Walk is the chief of police who seems bound and determined to take care of everyone except himself.  Vincent is constantly going to extraordinary lengths to punish himself for a horrible mistake from his youth.  And that's just a few of the players in this tragic tale.

This novel had my emotions in a twist.  I was as angry as Duchess as I read one page, and then as full of hope as Walk on the next.  And sometimes I was just confused. 

Although it starts slow, and a more than a bit confusing at times - once it starts rolling, it's a novel well worth the time. 

Monday Musings: Ants

Last week, I came across a quote by Henry David Thoreau that had me thinking about ants.  

"It's not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" - Henry David Thoreau 

Obviously, humans and ants are very different creatures.  But perhaps there are some lessons we could take from the tiny insects.  Especially when it comes to work and reaching the goals we set for ourselves. 

Every ant has a specific job to do that contributes to the good of the colony.  Some gather food, some build the homes (nests?).  Some care for the queen. Some care for the young.  And by doing their specific work, they are all taking care of each other. 

I seriously doubt that you would find any ant stuck in a cycle of comparison.  I can't imagine an ant wondering why someone else gets to gather food, while they are stuck defending the nest.  Or feeling envy because another ant brought home a bigger picnic crumb than they did.  Ants don't worry about how anyone else is doing.  They are too busy taking care of the task assigned to them. 

Ants are always focused on the work. They stay on task. If you see a line of ants marching along and you place something in their path - they don't give up, turn around, and go home. Sure, there might be some temporary confusion.  But eventually, they will go over the obstacle, or around it and get back to where they are going. 

So, maybe that's the lesson. Keep your eyes on your own work.  Don't compare what you are doing to others.  And when you face a challenge, find a way over it or around it and keep on going. 

"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.  Learn from their ways and become wise!" Proverbs 6:6 NLT

Sunday Inspiration: The Time is Now

 

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What No One Told Me About Menopause: It's A Lot of Back and Forth

This post is meant to share what I have learned about menopause based on my personal experience. It is in no way intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new healthcare regimen.  Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking help because of something you read on this website.

Just when you think you're starting to figure out this whole perimenopause/menopause thing... WHAM! It throws new and exciting surprises into the works for you.  

For example, you may discover that you now spot for days and days before your period starts. Or for several days as it ends. Spotting around ovulation (whenever that might be) is also common.

Shorter cycles. Longer cycles. Cycles that are of no discernible pattern whatsoever. 

Recently, I had a cycle that was sixty-three days from the start of one period to the next. I'm not gonna lie - I was kind of excited to go so long without a period and hoped this meant that things were finally starting to wind down. 

Then... I spotted for ten days.  Yes, you read that right.  Ten days!  Then nothing for a couple of days.  I left for vacation thinking it was all over with.  Only to be hit on the second day of vacation with one of the heaviest flows I have ever experienced.  Because nothing says "happiest place on earth" like making an emergency run to Walgreens and having to make a bathroom stop every one to two hours.

When that finally ended, I thought "ok, at least I shouldn't have to deal with it again for a while".  

Wrong!!

Because from the start of the spotting to the start of my next period was twenty-four days.  Which if you're counting (I hope you aren't), means I had exactly seven days between the end of that period until the next one started!  

That cycle lasted a whooping nineteen days.   And that gave me a total of three periods in about a month and a half. 

This latest cycle is now on day twenty-four.  And who knows what's going to happen with it.  Will it be ending soon?  Will it go on for another month?

It's anybody's guess at this point!

Thankful Thursday: October 14, 2021

 

I Am Thankful For:

A day with the grandkid

Realizing some things about myself

Rainy mornings

Ideas for writing

Making lunch plans with a lifelong frienbd

Mom getting the "all clear" from her surgeon

Cute, comfy tops

Lunch with my dad

My husband

The rain finally stopped

Birthday cakes

Sushi dinner with the family

Beautiful autumn days

My grown children

Having dinner brought to us

Watching football with the family

Sunday Inspiration: Yesterday and Tomorrow

 

Thankful Thursday: October 7, 2021

 

I Am Thankful For:

Falling leaves

Safe travels for the Man of the House

Clean sheets

A comp!eyed to-do list

Tissues with Vicks

Phone calls from my husband

Starting a new book

Texts with my daughter

Birds flocking to my feeder

Morning showers

Cute finds at Marshall's

October

Flu shots

The Man of the House making dinner

Pops of yellow in the trees

A good sleep

Hot chili on a rainy Sunday

Monday Musings: Stuff Happens

Stuff happens. Every single day things are happening.  Every month.  Every week.  Every minute.

Some of it is good.  Some of it is not so good.  And some of it is just... stuff that happens.  

Some of those things we can prepare for.  They're expected. Some of them are even inevitable.  

But some of it takes us by surprise.  Whether it sneaks up on us, or comes swooping in and knocks us off our feet, taking our breath away.  There are always going to be things we can't plan for.  Things we never see coming until... there they are. 

My mother didn't expect to hear that she had two large tumors when she went in for a routine exam.  But there they were.  She didn't expect to be having surgery less than 3 weeks later.  But she did.  I didn't anticipate her living circumstances having to change without warning and her staying with us during her recovery period.  But here we are.

Stuff happens

All these recent events have had me thinking a lot about how and why things happen.  Especially things you couldn't plan for or didn't anticipate.  Even things you certainly wouldn't want to happen, like my mom's surgery.

I'm seeing a lot of evidence that sometimes that unexpected or unwanted event can turn out to be exactly what you needed. Or it can lead to something better than you would have thought in the beginning. 

There's a Bible verse that speaks to this: "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Romans 8:28 NLT)

Y'all... I am here to tell you that I believe it!!  I've seen it at work recently.  

That thing that you don't want to go through, that tough time, that unexpected news. When things aren't going according to plan. I know it seems gloomy at the moment.  But hang on... cause the outcome might be exactly what you never even knew that you needed. 

Sunday Inspiration: Precious Time

 

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Currently... October 2021

Whew... I hope your September was less stressful than my September.  What a wild and crazy month that turned out to be!  It hasn't been all bad, but I can definitely say that I am ready to put the month behind us and move on to October.  Hopefully, this one will be a little calmer.

The good news is that all of my mother's pathology reports came back negative for cancer!  Praise God!!  She is recovering well from her surgery. Although maybe not as quickly as she would like - it's definitely a process.  So, it's about as good of an outcome as we could have hoped for.  BIG sigh of relief!

I always view October as sort of the unofficial start to the holiday season in our house.  Our celebrations begin when the Man of the House has his birthday this month. (The Big 5-0 this year!) Then my birthday is the first of November.  Our anniversary is the 21st of November.  And then the real holiday season begins.  

Working On: September and early October are busy times in my Etsy shop for the little "character" hats I create.  This year the teddy bear hats, tiger hats, and R2D2 hats have been quite popular.  So, that's pretty much been the focus right now. 

Celebrating:  As I mentioned above - the Man of the House turns 50 this month. (He probably doesn't appreciate me pointing that out so many times in one blog post.) So next weekend will be all about celebrating him!

Wanting/Needing: Ideas for healthy protein-rich breakfasts and lunches that are quick and simple to prepare. Dinners, I can do - no problem.  But I don't like having to do a lot of work to prepare my breakfast or lunch.  As a result, I will often skip meals and end up doing a lot of snacking late in the day to make up for it -  or I grab something that is not very good for me.   

Eating:  Too much candy corn.  This is the only time of year I eat the stuff.  And by the middle to end of this month, I'll probably be sick of it.  I know a lot of you don't like candy corn.  That's ok.  More for me! 

Loving: The weather took a turn toward cooler temperatures just as Autumn officially started.  And I couldn't be happier about that.  Chilly mornings. Comfortable afternoons.  The leaves just starting to change.  Pumpkin cream cold brew back at the coffee shops.  It all reminds me why this is my favorite season!

Thinking About:  How some things happen and why they happen the way they do. Check back on Monday for more of my thoughts about that. 

Goals for October:

• Celebrate the Man of the House's birthday
• Read one self-help or inspirational book
• Do some sort of exercise (walk, weight, yoga, etc) every day
• Select inspirational quotes for first quarter Sunday posts
• Brainstorm January post ideas
• Create 1 - 2 valentine gift sets for Etsy shop
• Plan1 - 2 blog posts during January for the shop blog 

What are your plans and goals for October?