SomeBody Needs Rest

Working hard makes a body tired

but so does stress!

My son is living with me, and that's not easy.

He's a grown man of 34, but he's also a "kid"

in every sense of the word when it comes to

"adulting".   For the first month, I didn't charge

him rent because his accounts were hacked

and he needed a little breathing room to get

caught up again.  But he's got creditors knocking

on doors, and needs to step up his game with a

plan for his future -- namely, making sure he gets

his credit score up so he can (at some point!)

rent his own apt again!  I let time slide, to see

if he would get things taken care of .....  lol

Today, we sat down and made a payment schedule

through his bank so that bills are paid first, THEN

he has his spending money. 

Yep, I'm all about the *tough love* , always have been.

No-Sun Day

Sunday afternoon and it's a bit

dreary and overcast.

Perfectly matches how I've been

feeling these past couple of weeks.




Life has taken some eventful turns.

My son called me out of the blue

and said he needs to move back home.

And it had to be the upcoming weekend.

Of course, being just prior to inventory,

I was scheduled to work.  So I hired

GoShare -- think Uber with trucks.

After being alone so long, it isn't easy

living with your adult children.

Add to it the fact that my job is changing

in a big way - because of corporate changes.

Every day is stress-filled, only to come home

and have stressed filled evenings as well.

I should be out walking; instead I'm enjoying

having the house to myself for a bit!

See Ya, January!

Happy to see January come to an end!

It's been a chilly January here in the 

Valley of the Sun -- but nothing like the rest

of the US has it! 

I've been working hard at being good

to myself

with healthy food choices and 

some added exercise each day.

My phone app rates my "nutrient score"

when I log foods, my goal each day

is 85 out of 100.  I achieved that twice

this week!  Today was only 74, but 

I had to fast through breakfast 

for a blood work update.  

Exercise goals include more flexible muscles

but as this photo shows, I can no longer get

my chest to the floor!  lol 

Isn't getting older just awesome??

Hello 2019!

Do not try to be the best

Just do your best.

~Sadhguru

A new year,

a new beginning.

I'm not a resolutions maker

but more of the kind who evaluates 

what was, to see how to be better.

I allowed my focus this past year

to be on things that didn't enrich

the creative side of me.

It is my hope, and my goal,

to be better with my creative side.

What are your wishes for the New Year, my friend?

From Old to New

An optimist 

stays up til midnight

to see the new year in.

A pessimist

stays up til midnight

to make sure the old year leaves.

- Bill Vaughn

... and a retail worker

goes to bed on time

because retail never stops!!

hahaha


Thoughts on a new year;

and on the year that has passed.

It's been a rough ride this year. 

My cousin died; a good friend

committed suicide.

I'm still alone.

and even though that's my choice,

there are some days that it's

not always .... enjoyable.

Every "diet" that I started

ended before I made any progress.

With each new year, we're supposed

to learn from our mistakes and

make the new year even better.

So that's my goal. 

To eat healthier, to be healthier

to get regular exercise

and to take more photos.

Happy New Year, my friend!

Edited Update

Old photo with a little editing
as I'm in no mood to get naked.
This was "hell week" at work
and I had some very hellish shifts

My step tracker showed 23k steps
on Thursday alone .... I thought
the day would never end!
Nothing like Retail + Black Friday
to make work so much fun.

To add to it all, my cousin who was
61 years old went in for open heart
surgery to repair a valve.  As he was
being prepped, his heart stopped.
They fought to bring him back, and
he was on life support for 7 days
and then died. 

This past week seemed unending.
Friday after work, I came home, ate
and crawled into bed at 5:30 pm.
I didn't wake up until 7am Saturday!

Welcome to this year's Holiday Season!
Is it January yet?  heh heh heh

Mysterious

Mysterious

Blown in with the night

All this beauty captured in a frame .....

That's the opening lines to a Gov't Mule ballad

called Beautifully Broken and for some reason

is resonating with me tonight.

What does it mean to be beautifully broken?

To be a beautifully broken girl 

means to see our brokenness not as a punishment 

but as someone's misuse of our own empathy and kindness.

Or as Wiki put it:

"the art and philosophy of repairing a broken object 

with elegance and grace using gold or silver, 

not hiding the imperfection 

but honoring and embracing it 

as part of the history of the object.

Smoke Filter

Some people 

walk in the rain

others just get wet

-Roger Miller

We had another storm

roll through the other evening

I had just gotten out of the shower

when the rains hit

so I had to dash outside!

Weirdly enough, even though

the temp was 104, the rain was chilly!

I utilized one of my many options

to filter this photo - it's called "smoke".

I like the black and white, always have,

but I like the added ethereal look 

it gives to the plants! 

(I've noticed I tend to filter the photos

that I don't like very much!)

Be a Warrior

Face forward

Stand your ground

Lift your sword

and let the enemy

see the lovely face of a hero.

-Lisa Bevere

That will be my mantra

as I face the coming week.

B&W

  

There is nothing wrong

with change.

If it is in

the right direction.

-Winston Churchill

Just another shot of the

brooding evening

I allowed myself.

A day of rest and recoup

tomorrow will take care of itself.

Perfectly Me

Love your curves

and all your edges

All your

perfect imperfections

-John Legend









I'm not perfect

but I'm perfectly me.

The last of the evening light

shines on a white door

more computer playtime

creating art

while Sadie snores at my feet.

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 :)

Remembering Alex

A moment of sadness

here in my corner of the world.

A friend from work died - suicide.

It brings up so many thoughts:

"Did I miss something?"

"Could I have helped if I'd known?"

Now there are no answers.

Sometimes things lurk inside

when no one else has a clue.

Unanswered questions

are often the hardest

to live with.

Whatever your troubles, Alex,

I wish you had reached out.





"In the U.S., suicide rates are highest during the spring. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year-olds and 2nd for 24 to 35-year-olds. On average, 1 person commits suicide every 16.2 minutes. Each suicide intimately affects at least 6 other people." 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Call 1-800-273-8255
Available 24 hours everyday

Ready for a Break

Relax.

Everything is running right on schedule.

-The Universe

I got over the hump of our dreaded

"inventory" - a 53 hour work week

has never been my intention!

(Thank goodness I'm not salaried!!!)

And just when I thought I could 

catch my breath

every time I turn around 

I seem to be the person who's 

filling in for everyone else's 

vacation time! 

So I put in for a few Fridays

to hopefully coincide with 

my weekends off ....... !

I'm ready for a break!!

Number 23

a l l   t h e   w o m e n .

i n   m e  .

a r e   t i r  e d .












Long ago ..... (waaaaay back in September 2000) ...

SheDaisy had a song that kinda spoke to me

or maybe it even resembled me?? 

because I think every woman has more

than just one kind of woman inside

...... and the chorus of the song explains it all!


"Number 5 just cries a river a minute

7 wants to tie you up and drown you in it

Yeah, 14 just wants to say so long, bygones

32 wants to do things to you that'll make you blush

10 will key the El Camino that you love so much

And there ain't nobody wants to mess with 23 ...... "

Listen here....

It's been that way at work the past week.

Every day, a different issue to solve -- and quickly!!

because our annual inventory is 10 days away.

and the closer we get to the date....

the more I seem to resemble Number 23!

hehehehehehehehhehehe

Dream Fit

One post, two photos

because I couldn't decide

which post-production

I liked better






The details come out well

in the darker version

but I like the dreamy look

of the second version






What I didn't like was the bra itself.

"Dream Fit" , white satin and lace

and I can never pass up a bargain

at $1.00 !!  (Gotta love a good clearance sale!)

However.

This will not hold up for work! 

By the end of the day,

I couldn't WAIT to get home and out of it!

I'm too physically active to wear something

that doesn't mo-o-o-o-o-ve with me. 

I swear, men must design these things.

Or women without a real need for one.

Just because you make the same version

as a size A doesn't mean it will work

for the rest of us!  *chuckling to myself*

It's Granny Bras for this ol' lady from now on!

(unless, of course, it's Date Night!)

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?

Life's Curves

With very little time on my hands

for the next few weeks, 

I had to stop a moment and post!

Sometimes, life throws you curves

most times, those curves aren't welcome,

But this week, I got one that IS!!

My co-worker Elvis was terminated.

It's been a long time coming. 

Do I dare gossip a bit?

He liked to sit down to do his job,

and was told on Thursday that his job

is not a sit-down job.  Over the weekend,

he decided to use the rolling stool that 

is used for doing paperwork - NOT actual work.

When they discovered what he was doing,

they terminated him.  His excuse?  He knew

he couldn't sit in a chair, but thought the stool would be OK.

He came back in today to ask for his job back.

DENIED!  

Frankly, how could a grown man (of 68 years)

not understand that being talked to by management

meant business?!?!? 

Backyard Light

“Wherever there is light, 

one can photograph.”

~~Alfred Stieglitz

It took a huge effort

to bring out the camera

and try for a shot.

It's been unseasonably cold here,

frost every morning for days straight.

And after working many long hard days,

I lost enthusiasm for doing anything

beyond vegging out on the couch.

I'm looking forward to a much better week

*crossing my fingers* 

How's your weekend going?

Be Somebody

If you wanna 

be somebody

you gotta 

rock a bow tie!

A quick throwback photo ....

just got home from a trip to see Mom

in California - it was her 80th Birthday!

Just can't let that one roll by without a visit!