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

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!

Old Ends

"So I close my eyes

to old ends

and open my heart

to new beginnings"

-Nick Frederickson

Here we are, the end of 2018.

Was it everything you hoped for

when we started this year?

The last two weeks of December

are always the hardest for me.

As we grow older, 

our gains and our losses increase.

Sometimes, we focus on the gains

so we don't have to dwell on the losses.

But it's in this time that I tend to think

of all the losses.  

I'm ready for January and a new year,

a time of new beginnings,

and I'm hoping for 

a few new gains along the way.

Here's to a new year, a new chapter.

Hot and More Hot

"The water that came

last winter is long gone.

"Female rain," it's called in Navajo:

the gentle, furtive rains that fall

from overcast skies between

November and March....

What we're waiting for now

is male rain.

Big, booming,

wait-till-your-father-gets-home

cloudbursts that bully up from Mexico

and threaten to rip the sky."

~Barbara Kingsolver

Yessirree it's hot today!

Not record breaking,

but hot enough!

An overdue day off

and too hot to do much of anything.

Our summer rains we call monsoon

because they come in fast,

the rain falls heavy and hard.

Thunder and lightning 

might rip across the sky

and can be very exciting!

In the meantime, 

I'm finding any

little bits of shade...... 

hehehe

On Being Alone

Being alone

is very addictive.

Once you start

loving your own presence,

you stop chasing people

in your life.










My entire life was always spent being

someone's something: 

daughter.

girlfriend.

wife.

mother.

aunt.

grandmother.

and a whole host of other roles

Now that I'm alone,  it's very freeing!

I can have a bowl of cereal for dinner

if I want.

I can eat dessert instead of a meal

if I want.

There's something very free

in making your own choices

to please yourself.

Two Mondays?!?

B e   y o u r s e l f

b e f o r e   y o u   f o r g e t

w h o   y o u   r e a l l y   a r e .

Another long-feeling day at my job

It's weird being off on Thursday .....

it makes Friday feel like Monday

and Saturday feel like Tuesday.

With that kind of thinking,

I'll have two Mondays in one week!

Yikes! 

Unbecoming

Maybe the journey

isn't so much about

becoming anything.

Maybe it's about

unbecoming everything

that isn't really you,

so you can be who

you were meant to be

in the first place.

So What!

“So what if you have stretch marks.

So what if you have cellulite.

So what if you don’t have flawless skin.

So what if you don’t have a body

that other people deem to be perfect.

So what!

Don’t allow people to define YOUR beauty.

Hold your head up high

and know who YOU are!

DO NOT EVER allow anybody to make you feel

as if you’re NOT enough.

You ARE enough!

BELIEVE that.”

― Stephanie Lahart

Diamonds

Your diamonds

are not in 

far distant mountains

or in yonder seas;

they are in

your own backyard,

if you but dig for them.

-Russell Conwell

An absolutely gorgeous day

here in the Valley of the Sun.

80 degrees and full of sunshine.

It would be a shame to mar it

with thoughts about anything else!

Happy Weekend, my friend!

Love Chooses

Remember that you don't choose love; 

love chooses you. 

All you really can do is accept it for all its mystery 

when it comes into your life.

-Kent Nerburn

Hello again, my friend!

It's been a busy week, a long stretch of non-stop work days

with a badly sprained pinky toe, causing a swollen foot and

broken blood vessels.  But it's healing.

I chose this quote because it reminds me of a toast from "Frasier"

An obsession kicked in and I'm watching the series over yet again

And now I know why.   It has to do with not wanting to get married

but doing it anyway; of hoping a Knight in White Armor would

rescue me and declare his love.  (Only in fairy tales, right?)

It finally kicked in why I like the episodes where Niles 

wants Daphne, and Daphne runs out on her own wedding.

I realize now that if I wanted something different, it was 

up to me to find the nerve to choose.  

I didn't.  Daphne did.

And I applaud her.  

And while it's somewhat of a (comedic) fairy tale .....

Love fuels the reason(s) to go after your dreams.  

They won't come to you without your own efforts.

Amazing Sky!

In the bigger picture

we're just a

drop in the bucket.

Some days

the sky just amazes me!

Windows

The window is the

absence of the wall,

and it gives air and light

because it is empty.

Be empty of all

mental content,

of all imagination

and effort,

and the very absence

of obstacles

will cause reality to rush in.

-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj


Never heard this quote before,

it drew me in.

I never considered a window

being an absent wall,

or thought about what

a window gives:  air and light.

May all your rooms have a window - or two!

Az Summers

Arizona:

Where Summer spends the Winter,

and Hell spends the summer!

Where hot water comes out of both taps!

Where you can get a sunburn 

through your car window!

Where the best parking space is determined 

by shade, not by distance!

When the temp drops below 95F, 

you feel chilly!

Where your seat belt makes 

a pretty good branding iron!

We joke about our hot summer temps,

and yes, they can be quite hot!

It's been over 112F for 11 days straight,

with no relief in sight.  It's a little early

for this much intense heat, but perhaps

that's an indicator of the amount of rain

we can expect in our monsoons?

So here I sit, looking out instead of being out

in the backyard.  I will have to make time to

water my plants.  Perhaps tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday!

Monday Mornin' Sunshine

Monday Mornin' Sunshine

It's a beautiful day, and lucky me, no work!

Just a day off before I start a long stretch,

getting things done before a short but

well-deserved vacation.

Gonna pop up and visit with my mom and sis,

get a feel for how things are *really* going

because I think I get a lot of 'fluff' on the phone.

Very typical in my family.  lol

I don't know what the weather is like where YOU are,

but today, it just might reach 90F.  :)

Hello Spring, Summer's just around the corner!

(and another hat - done and gone!)

Dark Night, Bright Day

For every dark night,

there's a brighter day! 

-Tupac

I'm trying to keep this as my motto,

with health and with work,

as both things can swing a person's mood

from one extreme to another.

Some days, it is a struggle.

Other days, it seems to come easier.

Just BE!

When I checked in on the blog, I realized

I hadn't posted in quite some time.  Things

have been crazy here.   Lots of emotions 

going on deep inside.  My sister was just

diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Have I mentioned that already?

Shocking, as she's only 53.  And as it is

when something hits close to home, you 

begin to feel every ache and pain and wonder

"Do I have .... something too?"

Of course, I headed off to the doc to make sure

and am in the midst of all the check-up things

that are done:  blood tests, mammogram, and

then a complete physical after all the "evidence"

is in.  I like my new doc, so it should be OK.

Work is crazy busy as it always is after the 

holiday season.  I'm ready for a break from it all.

I need a little time at home to just do, just be!

Just Bein' Me

How I feel about myself

is more important than

how I look.

Feeling confident,

being comfortable in your own skin --

that's what really makes you beautiful.

-Bobbi Brown








To be honest, I'm not always comfortable

in my own skin.  I see other women,

especially in the media, and I think

"Why couldn't I look like that?"

But then I have to remind myself that

I am beautiful, too!

Blowing Kisses

Blowing kisses in the wind

Waiting, waiting, waiting

Waiting for you is

Like blowing, blowing kisses

Boots

"Nothin' but cowboy boots

sets your spirit free

It ain't proper, it ain't cool

but folks remember what you do

in nothin' but cowboy boots"

-Lyrics "Nothin' but Cowboy Boots"

There's something freeing puttin' on yer boots

and heading outdoors - 

leave the cares, the worries, and 

for me, my job that's been crappy lately,

and thinkin'  'bout nothing but sun and

warm breezes ... in yer boots, of course!