Lovin' Hats

A chilly weekend

with rain and clouds

and very little sun

makes it a good weekend

to get over a cold -

but lousy for photo ops!

A crazy mad hatter hat

for this crazy hat lovin' gal!

The Mad Hatter

I knew who I was this morning, 

but I've changed a few times since then.

~From Alice in Wonderland

Here I am sporting a crazy hat

I found for a dollar.

There's just something about a hat .....

Otherwise, ignore how peaked I look

as I've come down with a cold and

have spent nearly the entire weekend

in bed.

and not in *that* way.  lol

Samhain Blessings

On this Samhain:

The black candle represents your life, decisions and experiences in the past year.  Think about how your experiences have helped you to become the person you are today, what lessons you could have learned (if any), and what ways you have grown.

Burn, burn, sorrow turn, 

melt away, do not stay. 

Go in peace, trouble cease.

When you are done, blow out the black candle’s flame with gratitude, bidding farewell to what was.

The white candle represents the present moment and year to come. Reflect on ways you can experience more joy and wholeness each day.

Flow far, flow free, 

flow in peace and harmony.

When you’re ready, blow out the flame with hope.

My secret wish for this year's ritual

was to be bidding farewell to the 

year I've had, the troubles I've had,

with Elvis.  

Since that is not to be, I am leaving

it in the past, and looking forward to

a new year, a new beginning,

and perhaps a new direction.

Bright blessings, my friend! 

Find Your Joy

Find joy in everything you choose to do.

Every job, relationship, home .....

It is your responsibility to love it, or change it.

~Chuck Palahniuk

I struggle with this more often than I should.

There are many things I do out of

a sense of responsibility rather than joy.

Like my recent "vacation".

I drove myself, my son and Sadie to NorCal

for a nephew's wedding.  I knew that it would

be a weekend full of events surrounding the wedding.

I also knew there wouldn't be much joy in it for me, 

other than the happiness I had for my nephew and his bride.

I didn't know 95% of the people there.  I am old enough

to be the mom to most of them.  Not much conversation

happens when you're "the mom" while the "kids" drink.

lol yes, I can laugh now but events like that are more of

an endurance for me, than a joy.   

And work issues continue.  Day 3 and Elvis decided to take

a stroll through my work area, and since I was out making

deliveries, I have no idea what he said, or did, to the gal

who works with me, but she was pulled in for two different

closed door meetings immediately after.  And was told

she couldn't discuss it with me.

With all that, and because I'm worn out from "vacation",

I decided not to go in to work today.  

Sometimes, you have to stay home and find your own joy!

Being Happy

The greatest challenge in life

is discovering who you are.

The second greatest is

being happy with what you find.

Kermit the Frog always sings

"It ain't easy being green ..." (listen here)

He finds a way to find the good

within the bad.

I like to think that I do that too.

It's not always easy being happy with

who we're meant to be.

But every day, I'm trying.

Alive and Well and Grateful

"So damn easy

to say that life's so hard

Everybody's got their

share of battle scars

As for me, I'd like to

thank my lucky stars

That I'm alive and well.

And today, you know,

that's good enough for me

Breathing in and out's

a blessing, can't you see

Today's the first day

of the rest of my life

And I'm alive and well"




I seem to be hooked on a loop

of country music

that reminds me to focus

on the positives in life.

I assume it's a symptom of

being submersed in work

and not doing the things

that make me happy

or feed my soul.

Time to work on changing that.

All the Mysteries ...

“There is no

greater journey

than the one that

you must take to discover

all of the mysteries 

that lie within you.”

– Michelle Sandlin

At this stage in my life

I find I'm still discovering

all the little things

that make me tick.

When I was a kid, 

I thought that once 

I became an adult, 

I could quit all the learnin'

-- only to discover that it never ends!  

Thank goodness :)

Every Day Heat

"Heat makes

things expand.

So I don't have

a weight problem ....

I'm just hot!"












It's 7am, already nearing 90 degrees.

(and this quote made me chuckle!!!)

The sun breaks over the horizon

of the other houses around me

and shines on my patio.

While I love a good morning,

the summer heat can quickly

zap your energy!

An odd Wednesday off work

and doing nothing much of anything.

Fill the dishwasher, grill up some burgers

and that pretty much sums up my day!

What's your day like??

Black Lace

"Do not judge my path,

you haven't walked in my shoes ....

or ridden my broom."

~A.M. Galdorcraeft

Instantly gravitated toward this quote.

With my thorn in my side gone,

I've been working many days, 

many hours, with little time off.

While trying to find a replacement,

I find management asking odd questions.

I'm sure its related to Elvis and the rumors

he spread about my inability to work with him.

It's made me question my own abilities;  

I'm finding as I get older, I have less and less

tolerance for people with less work ethic 

than I have myself.   I've had to deal with 

a lot of BS over the past 6 years, so don't

judge unless you've walked in my shoes.

Which summarizes what I told the bosses

when they asked me about the work relationship

that wasn't working.  

On a happier note, everything is better when

you slip into some black lace, don't you agree?

Yesterdays and Tomorrows

You don't get rid of yesterday by talking about it all the time;

you get rid of its effect on you by moving forward.

I saw this quote and thought about it a long while.

and I think in my own life it took me a lot of time

to figure this out.  Mind you, I know other women

who never figure this out, and they're stuck.

I prefer to just keep moving forward. 

However, I have my own issues with this as well.

Because along with a "keep moving forward" mantra

I'm also stuck with "work before pleasure" 

and as many of you know, sometimes our job it never done.

In my own case, what I do in my BigBox store never ends.

It's a constant stream of 'job security'  so I've had to learn how

to break it down into pieces to allow me to feel as if my day

was accomplished and as complete as I could make it. 

Not an easy task for someone who tends to be a workaholic!

Fleetwood Mac's song comes to mind, seems to say this very thing:

Why not think about times to come,

And not about the things that you've done,

If your life was bad to you,

Just think what tomorrow will do.

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow,

Don't stop, it'll soon be here,

It'll be better than before,

Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.

(Sorry, is that tune stuck in your head now too??  *giggles* )

Got Lights?

Who's ready for some lights???
















Black Friday has ended, which for my BigBox store

means it started at 6pm on Thursday.  I'm always so

disappointed in the direction Americans have taken.

There is no longer a traditional Thanksgiving.

I know I'm showing my age when I long for a

"simpler time in the past" but it's difficult watching

people's family traditions die off because of corporate

commercialism.  But it is what it is.

Now that it's over, it's time to get back to some of the joy --

which always starts with Christmas lights.  As Sadie and I

took our evening walk, several of our neighbors were starting

the task of hanging lights on the outside.  Can't wait to try

my hand at taking a few photos of them!

For myself, I'll have a small string of lights in my front

window, I'm thinking.  Although that's a bay window and

has become Sadie's favorite spot to wait for me to come home

each day, so we'll have to see if she tolerates the intrusion!

hehehehe

With Trans Siberian Orchestra's "The Lost Christmas Eve"

playing in the background, I'm smiling -- and almost wishing

for a little bit of snow!  (*smh*  ok, maybe not!)

Stormin'

“It’s not a bad lesson to learn in the

bleaker months: how you view a storm

is a question of perspective; provided

you find the right rock to watch it from,

it could be the most incredible thing

you’ll ever witness.”

― Dan Stevens







My house sits a half mile from

a freeway that runs east/west

and when something is going down,

it's the freeway that the local helicopters -

news media and police/rescue -

follow to get across the Valley.

Every once in a while, one goes

screaming across the sky

when I'm in the backyard

taking photos..... oopsie!

*giggles*

Blow, Blow, Blow

“When you come out of the storm,

you won’t be the same person

who walked in.

That’s what this storm’s all about.”

― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore










I love a good thunderstorm,

a rain storm, or even just wind.

When it starts blowing and

there are clouds on the horizon .....

all I want to do is be out there,

to be a part of it!  To be me!

Feeling the power of the wind -

something we can't see,

but we know is part of the Universe -

is amazing to me!

Lacy Panties

I think lingerie plays a big part

in how you carry yourself.

--Nicole Rickie

You can tell a lot about a person

from her underwear.

-Rachel Bilson

I saw both these quotes

and I couldn't help but laugh

at myself

Yes, I have some nice lingerie.

Yes, I put it on, on occasion.

Or I used to.

But if you can tell a lot about a person

from her underwear......

what does simple colored cotton

say about me?

I know that when it comes to 

lace and lingerie

it's rare to find that any of it is

actually comfortable. 

Or maybe manufacturers don't make

it that way for a pluscious woman.

To me, the lace is scratchy, and the

fit doesn't allow you much movement.

And for me, in my job, I need to be

comfy, be able to move, and the fabric

has to breathe. 

When I work, I work hard.

And there's no way I have time to 

pinch, twist or rearrange my undies

every time I move around! 

*giggles*

Dancin'

Just a month away

until the Big Day

so I had to try on my

Anne Klein's and see

if I can actually 

stand wearing them

on my feet!

I'm not much in the 

way of fancy shoes,

too impractical for

work!

Experimenting!

Well isn't this fun!

I'm experimenting with
all the little options
because some of the
photos feel boring
to me.

it's probably my own
moods, but i have to
keep working on it.














When I saw this one
my first thought
was one of those
closing credits
from a
Looney Tunes
cartoon!

“At the end of the day, 

let there be no excuses, 

no explanations, 

no regrets.” 

― Steve Maraboli,

Look Within

“Turn away from the world this year 

and begin to listen. 

Listen to the whispers of your heart. 

Look within. 

Your silent companion has lit lanterns of love 

to illuminate the path to Wholeness. 

At long last, 

the journey you were destined to take 

has begun.” 

― Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Whether you realize it

or not,

you have lived many lives,

and each one has left

an indelible mark

on your soul.”

― Sarah Ban Breathnach

Moments

Good Sunnnnday morning!
I got up today thinking "aha!!
sunshine-y beautiful morning
i should be able to get something...."

and while I took a few,
I'm not pleased.
well.  The photos are OK.
but to me they just look
the same.
over and over again.

Although I found the shadows
to be more fun than selfies. :)

I am trying to be more
photographer than model
and training my eye to be on
the watch for things that
while they may register on
our horizon, we don't actually
take the time to stop and
process what we're seeing.


How many of us walk right
over the top of a manhole cover
and yes, we know its there.
yes, we know it says something on it.
but what? does it register?
have you noticed if there is just
lettering?  or is there a city seal?

Just an example of how we let
the simple things slip past us,
while we worry about things
that aren't in the present moment.

“Life is not made up of 

minutes, hours, days, 

weeks, months, or years, 

but of moments. 

You must experience 

each one 

before you can appreciate it.” 

― Sarah Ban Breathnach

just a little thank you 

for the recent activity here... 

especially from those outside the US :)

New Day

 “Renew, release, let go. 

Yesterday’s gone. 

There’s nothing you 

can do to bring it back. 

You can’t “should’ve” 

done something. 

You can only DO something. 

Renew yourself. 

Release that attachment. 

Today is a new day!” 

― Steve Maraboli

Today, many will awaken
with a fresh sense of inspiration. Why not you?

Today, many will open their eyes
to the beauty that surrounds them. Why not you?

Today is a new day!

Many will seize this day.

Many will live it to the fullest.

Why not you?”

― Steve Maraboli

You Are Beautiful!

"You are beautiful. 

Your beauty, just like your 

capacity for life, happiness, 

and success, is immeasurable. 

Day after day, countless people 

across the globe get on a scale 

in search of validation of beauty 

and social acceptance.  The scale 

can only give you a numerical 

reflection of your relationship 

with gravity. That’s it. 

It cannot measure beauty, talent, 

purpose, life force, possibility, 

strength, or love. 

Don’t give the scale more power 

than it has earned. 

Take note of the number,

then get off the scale and live your life. 

You are beautiful!” 

― Steve Maraboli