Midweek Musings, My Top 10 Birthday Realizations

In honor of yet another birthday that makes me older, I am grateful for people who love me and want to make me feel special. The event was last weekend. My mom cooked for me and got an awesome cake, my boyfriend gave me multiple gifts and a wonderful day, and my son gave me the gift I picked out.

With all my years, I must be especially wise now, right? So, for anyone still reading, here are some things I’ve learned:

1. I heard somewhere that bangs are a poor woman’s Botox. I find this to be true. Sure, they’ll grow out and you’ll have to adjust, but it’s worth it. Try it!

2. Wearing more makeup as you age doesn’t make you look younger. It makes you look fake. With a lot of eye makeup comes the removal process. Rubbing off eye shadow with cotton balls always makes my under- eye bags much worse the next day. That’s not the Smoky eye I want!

3. Find a cheap gym where you’ll see young and old alike. The young men are great to look at, and the old men will make you feel like you’re young and gorgeous!

4. Eyelashes are much less prominent with passing year. I always use clear mascara except for special occasions. I want an eyelash growth serum that doesn’t break the bank or cause irritation. Any suggestions?

5. A good eyebrow pencil is a must!

6. I tried the strategy of dying my hair darker and loved the look, but my hair looked thinner when the roots grew out. Never again. Highlights and lowlights for me!

7. Hobbies are a must, even when working towards retirement. I’m trying, but it’s not always easy. We’re in a world where employers are constantly asking for more from us. I have to say no sometimes.

8. I find I use concealer more and more each year. It is my friend.

9. The best makeup look is a well-rested face. Fight against the pull of the rat-race!

10. Find yourself a friend, partner, date, etc who is constantly willing to try new places and activities with you. I believe that novelty can still create wonder. Nonchalance and believing you have seen it all or even know it all really makes a person seem old.

Well, I’ve put off the rat-race long enough. It’s time to take my morning vitamins and slap on the industrial-strength concealer in preparation for my workday. I hope you all have a good one!

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Weekend Coffee Share, Upward

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer on her Blog . Today, my beverage is a hot, Tazo green tea with honey. It’s gray outside, so I slept late and feel no need to hurry. Bixby is filling the house with the little pitter patter of dog footsteps as he moves around the house.

He stops now and then to let me pet him or bark at the front window when someone walks their dog on the sidewalk. He always keeps us safe!

I blogged a few days ago about still dealing with sinus issues ( slowly improving) and getting the new-to-me car this week. Sunday is when I traded in for a 2021 Corolla. I’m in debt again. Ugh! Still, I like this car, it’s much safer, and it’s a smooth ride with Bluetooth for phone calls and Spotify playlists! Pretty awesome…

The color is Blueprint blue. “Sure looks good on you!”😊

So, with my birthday coming up, I’ve asked for two car-related gifts. The price for this car was good, considering it’s low mileage. Hence, I was willing to overlook small stains on the seats and get seat covers. That means, I’ve asked for them for my birthday, which is in a few days. 🙂 My boyfriend already got the paint pen for my car’s few scratches, and it has arrived!

The school week was challenging in the sense that some had to finish up work, some students were too amped up and just didn’t work, and I was monitoring all that while selling and distributing yearbooks from my classroom. Thursday afternoon, I took time off to come home and rest my voice which isn’t back to normal yet. There are no regrets!

I went back to work Friday. Several kids were absent, but the morning classes finished work and then played “teacher and students.” I got to play the principal and fired a temporary teacher. Next week, they want to do a court trial on whether that teacher was fairly dismissed. 😊 I just love their creativity! In the afternoon class, I taught some of them how to play Scrabble and we did a few games. It was fun!

Games are really enjoyable when students want to learn something new and are glad to spend time with their teacher and to be respectfully competitive with each other. Three students in my first class made up a competitive card game based on figurative language concepts. Two in a later class made up a game on socio-emotional concepts involving prompts and acting out a scenario. More creativity! They will play the games next week!

Handsome dog!

I’ve got Miles Davis playing, and it sounds like a coffee shop in here! In a while I think I’ll transform it into a yoga studio for one… well, Bixby tries to overtake the mat. Upward dog, anyone?

Midweek Musings, Too Multi-tasked

Here’s to another day of teaching middle schoolers at the end of the year ( no new content, just encouraging creativity), selling yearbooks, and recovering from an upper respiratory virus. I’m not sure I even can give 100% to any of these things individually at the moment.

Writing and being a writer is in the back burner, but this blog is part of writing. However, today this post feels like a cry out into the winds of chaos….”A break, I said…I just need a break! Please?”

By the way, I did buy that new-to-me car, which ate up a huge chunk of last Sunday, but I feel much safer now, so I don’t regret it! Soon, I’ll have time off to finish vacation planning.

That’s really all I’ve got for the moment. Thanks for hearing my impassioned plea for respite!

Weekend Coffee Share, a Season

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. It’s a sunny morning, and I’m indoors with a hot chai latte with honey in it. This should be good for my lingering sinus issue, minor as it is.

It’s end-of-the-year at school , so that means a busy time for me as the yearbook advisor. My yearbook staff and I have been working since Wednesday afternoon to deliver yearbooks to the classrooms of students who ordered them, and to sell the books for cash to students whose book was not preordered. We had 169 sold online and around 90 to sell. Monday I’ll sell the remaining 40.

Wednesday we had a field trip, and I went as a chaperone. Such fun! It’s nice to get out of the brick and mortar, to take a drive and just have time to really chat with other teachers and let the kids have fun. It took place at Main Event, which has a mix of arcade, bowling, and laser tag as well as an eatery.

Yes, I just had to take a selfie on the school bus!

Today I’ll be cleaning out my car, as I plan to start looking for a new one. Who knows, I may find the right one right away and I want my old one to be ready. This car is twelve years old. It has served me well, but the repairs on it these days are a little too much. Of course I’ll get another Corolla!

Maybe you can tell Bixby got a haircut. He got snippy with the groomer, and he may need grooming by the vet next time. We had meatballs a few nights ago, and my mom gave him one. He pranced around with it as if playing a game, before finally eating it. He’s such a nut!

That’s actually a meatball!

That’s all I have for today. Have a great weekend!

Weekend Coffee Share, on the Upswing

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer at Natalie…Blog Home where she shares about many travels and visits. I’m drinking chai tea with honey, on the end of a sinus afflicted week full of popular culture fodder to stave off boredom.

Yes, I had a banner week of doing nothing, allowing myself to rest and get over this bug. It ran it’s course, but my head was hurting most days. I had very sensitive eyes one day, and the next they were watering constantly with runny nose. Yuck! Temperatures were between 99 and 100.7, so I can’t complain too much there. I also had a cough, but it got better with each day.

On Tuesday, my boyfriend had this floral arrangement delivered on a day I felt horrible. As we both love dogs, it’s adorable and perfect! Can you see that bandaid on the flower in front that would ostensibly be his leg? Yes, so cute. It really brightened my day. ☺️ He’s a keeper!

The window in my bedroom really lets light in, so I didn’t sleep enough during the day. I slept alright at night, since my energy was so low. I tried to read, but that didn’t last long due to my tired and pressured eyes. So, I started a book on Audible titled Verity, and it captured my attention. It’s definitely an adult book, but the plot swept me up with deceit, murder, psychosis, and a plot twist. I highly recommend for adults only.

Needing to alternate between phone time and other activities, I subscribed to HBO MAX and watched Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David, creator of Seinfeld. Sometimes I got tired of his bad attitude and sorry luck, other times I found it hilarious. Then, there was the Twitter news of our president and FL governor, pop culture news of which celebrities are miserable in their marriage or were abusers or had addiction troubles. Yeah, I could’ve done without that.

Through all this, I re-discovered a taste for audiobooks; I can close my eyes and picture the story while someone else reads it. It’s great for when my eyes are tired. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still enjoy reading through Kindle while on a bike at the gym.

My son has been kind and ordered dinner in for us one night. He seems to be sick now that I am getting better. It’s hard to stops these things, as he frequently would walk in the kitchen while I was there. He’s a young, hearty twenty -something, so I think he’ll be better soon.

Bixby wants me to throw the ball!

Today, I am welcoming the sunlight through the blinds and feeling much better. I have a pretty dry cough that just sounds like a response to springtime allergens. No problem. I’ve got this!

Have a great weekend, everyone, and a Happy Mother’s day!

Midweek Musings , Our Rights

It’s early voting season for our mayoral election. Lots of citizens just don’t participate. They say,”I’m not very political,” or “Both the candidates are shady, so why bother.” When I turned 18, I voted in a presidential election but wasn’t very active in voting at city level. I’m trying to change that these days.

Why should we vote? Because it’s not political, it’s responsible. Find out all you can about the candidates and even watch the televised debates. Think: what questions are they answering,and which are they avoiding? Is one candidate constantly putting a negative spin on the other? That tells me they don’t really want to tell us where they stand, they just want to win. (Straw man argument).

It is our duty to focus on the issues each candidate addresses and realize when a candidate is deflecting or putting up a smoke screen. This is why reading and vocabulary knowledge are so important for young people to work on and improve. There are a lot of things we can’t control in the world around us, but no one can say the world, nation, or city sucks if they didn’t even try to improve it.

I’m proud to say I’ve had quite an active voting record since 2016. Vote by mail has helped me with that. I don’t like crowds at voting sites. I prefer to get my ballot in the mail and hold it in my hand while I search for information on the candidates. It’s helpful too, if I change my mind about one of them.

We have the right to vote or join a political action committee, even to run for office. However, we have a duty when voting to learn what each candidate truly represents, and then to vote as our conscience tells us to vote. I’ve sent in my vote today, an easy process with vote by mail, especially since I’m sick this week.

Those are just my thoughts for today. I’d like to give a shout-out to my friend and fellow blogger Emily at The 6Parkers, who blogs a lot about her adopted family of four and striking a balance by maintaining her hobbies and identity while being an active mom.

Weekend Coffee Share, Ironies

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer Blog. My coffee share usually is accompanied by chai tea, but today it is green tea with honey. The rules don’t forbid it, and if they did, I’d break that one. 🙂

A quiet, gray morning lets me sleep in late. Yes, I needed that. My plans were to go to the zoo today with my boyfriend. However, today is the day I discover that the headache I had all week was the sign of a cold. I feel it in my throat today. There was one year I caught a stomach bug on the day before Spring Break started. So, I guess it could be worse.

My mom has been out of town and will return Sunday afternoon, so Bixby has been lonely during the day. He has survived, though, and he’s so happy when my son or I get home from work.

Flashback photo: Bixby, protector of the house.

Last night was couch and relaxation time for me and Bixby, and my son put on the movie Us by Jordan Peele. It is mesmerizing, with so many unexpected moments and great acting. Yes, even though I’ve seen it before, it’s still mesmerizing. Lots of Ironies abound in that movie 🍿.

So, I have no pampering appointments today, and my free-to-do-whatever day is probably going to be a napping and resting day, out of necessity. Such is life.

Have a great weekend, and some relaxation, friends, writers, and readers!

Weekend Coffee Share, Don’t Just Survive

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. A cold chai latte with cinnamon sprinkled in top is sponsoring my energy this morning. I slept in, thank goodness! Grab your favorite wake up beverage for a chat!

Lana del Rey is coming through the speakers, and Bixby is enjoying the morning as well, looking pretty contemplative. Work has been way too hectic, so I just won’t think about it today. I got a flat tire last night in my neighborhood as I was almost home from work, so I put that off until today, but I’m not in a hurry.

This is my weekend, after all. I try to avoid committing to much of anything except self-care on my weekends. I work quite hard during the week, I’ve raised a son, and I pay my bills. I believe I deserve down time. My health is a priority. I just need to reduce my Amazon purchasing. 🙂 It’s a goal!

Last night,I revelled in Netflix and sleep. I didn’t make any calls to find out anything about tires. I ordered dinner delivery for myself and my son (another costly habit to reduce). It’s what I needed, and it was tasty! I took time this morning for a full, healthy breakfast. It’s a beautiful morning to enjoy!

My son’s cast-iron plants, a gift that has been part of our family since he was first-born , are finally coming back. Spring is in full-force! Their rejuvenation is quite reassuring and is a much better thing to ponder than discipline at school or a flat tire that happened out of nowhere.

Yes, I’m practicing self-care with reckless abandon, whether in my mindset or my weekend activities. Earlier this week, I went back for Zen acupuncture again. It really helped my stress level on Thursday. I shared photos and a post about it here: Mid-week Mellow Out

That’s all for me. Today is what matters now. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Midweek Mellow Out

Yes, I went back for round two of Zen acupuncture. No regrets!

Zen acupuncture: 2

My stress: 0

With exotic beaches in the screen, it’s like a wonderful dream.

There’s still a slight unnerving feeling when the needles go in, but that is gone in an instant, and since it’s Zen acupuncture, they are small needles and don’t go very deep. It’s 30 minute getaway. What can I say? I work hard! I deserve this.

Weekend Coffee Share, New Places and Old

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. It’s a sunny morning, and I’m currently enjoying a cold, peach mango V8. What’s in your cup?

I got to spend more time at my boyfriend’s new rental home. It’s very spacious, he wanted a garage and an extra room when his dad visits. He also was pretty discerning about which side of town he chose. It’s further away from my house, but we don’t have to go over a bridge between us, and it’s an area I’m used to.

All this is just a foyer!

Being close to the river (but not on the river) and in a family neighborhood, it’s very peaceful and quiet. There are tall trees in the backyard.

We took a drive last night past my old house, not far from his rental, the one I inhabited when I was married and my son was an infant, then a toddler. I’m glad the area is still peaceful. So many memories,but it’s like another lifetime.

The energy in his house is pretty nice, too. I feel relaxed and comfortable. He has lots of poster art and this wonderful Napoleon canvas that he has put up even in his apartment digs. I absolutely love it! It is still in great shape after all his moves. The housing market being what it is in Florida and in its bigger cities, apartments and rental companies keep jacking up their rent without providing anymore value. Companies offering houses for rent are pretty doing the same.

By David, Napoleon crowning Josephine as his queen.

After apartment life, Chris is glad for the peace and quiet. I enjoy visiting there, not just for his comfortable recliner, but for the awesome company! Who knows if they’ll try to jack his rent up in a year. He’d be ready to move, if so. It makes me glad for my house and my mortgage. I pay about half of what people would pay to rent a three bedroom with a garage. Plus, I hate moving! We didn’t that so frequently when I was a child.

Later today, I have to go to the airport with my mom. My son and his dad flew up north to help his sister move. They’re driving back down, so Mom and I are going to get the car. Which reminds me, Mom and I are flying up to Minnesota to see family for a week this summer. More on that later.

I’m praying for my son’s safe return and peaceful travels with his dad. We celebrated my son’s birthday this past week. He’s doing so well now, and his sense of humor makes me laugh!

We’re leaving for the airport soon, and I still have to fit in my cardio. My routine is a little off, but that’s alright. Have a great weekend, everyone!