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Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Here is a place where I don’t drink coffee, but you certainly can. My chai latte, however, was pretty satisfying this morning.
I hope you all had a blessed and enjoyable Thanksgiving. My mom went up North to spend time with my brother, his wife, and his in-laws. At my son’s request, I planned a visit to Cracker Barrel for him, myself, and his father, my ex-husband. My boyfriend wasn’t ready for that, so he went to a basketball convention in Orlando. I expected an awkward Thanksgiving, but it was relatively quiet, and we were there and support of our son. It worked.
My son and I had some quality time walking with the dog before the early dinner, and there was no rush. He and I had good leftovers Wednesday night and watched a lot of Blacklist in Netflix. Spader is such an awesome actor! One thing I love about Thanksgiving is time with family. I didn’t have all of my family, but I enjoyed the quality time with my son and my dog, Bixby!
The only shopping I did yesterday was online. I felt good staying out of the stores. My boyfriend got back from Orlando yesterday morning, and he and I had dinner with my son last night, which was nice. I’ve gotten a few hints of ideas for the Ellie manuscript, and my boyfriend Chris has been helping me with that by asking clarifying questions. He really wants to see this come to fruition! So much has gone on and distracted my focus in the last two years. I’m still looking into ways to deal with my arthritis pain.
Today, I’ll have a massage and somehow try to get a 30 minute walk or bike ride. I’m committed to 30 minute cardio three days a week, and I sometimes get more. This is in addition to the work/ therapy on my shoulder, which includes arm exercises.
So there’s my weekend in a nutshell. Lots of relaxation and time with people I love (including Bixby). It can’t get much better! This is what I needed right now. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Ah, the holidays draw near, we get time off, and we forget what day it is! Never mind that my chai latte has already been consumed before I can get to this! Grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair…
My routine was topsy turvy Saturday morning, as I had to be awake at 6:30, get dressed, and leave the house without breakfast or coffee. I’ll use that as my excuse for not posting Saturday! I had to take a fasting lipids blood test. No, the lipids weren’t fasting, I was. 😉 I think it interfered with my sleep Saturday night, knowing I had to wake up and do that. Needless to say, my breakfast afterward tasted great!
Once I ate and had my chai latte, I was in a wonderful mood. Yesterday was the day for my school’s drama club to put on their play, a dinner theater style lunch of lasagna to start it off. Scrumptious! My boyfriend accompanied me and met several of my coworkers, friends,and my boss, who told him that I’m ” a treasure.” Nice!
We all really enjoyed it! My friend Jen, her husband, and her son met Chris. He had a great time and enjoyed meeting everybody. The superintendent was there, and I’m sure she was quite impressed with the play as well!
Now, on to health, a thread as common as writing used to be for me . I made a good attempt to sleep Saturday, and despite the tossing and turning due to leg nerve pain, kept getting back to sleep. My shoulder has much better motion, but my pain gets worse with cooler weather change, which happened this week. I’m still in shoulder physical therapy, and I’m seeing a specialist on Dec. 14th about the nerve pain and overall chronic pain. I’ve been trying to take extra vitamins, like B12, and to eat healthy. You might appreciate this week’s random post on my experience: https://wp.me/p7aqV2-33W
I wish I had more to share on writing, but healthy living attempts seem a full time hobby in addition to full-time teaching lately. Hopefully the holiday vacation will allow some time to write. I joined Planet Fitness, as I can’t stand working out in the outdoors while it’s cold. So I bike in the gym and type blog entries. Their fees are low, too. Maybe I’ll get answers soon.
On the bright side, I have a wonderful family, things are great for my son, I have wonderful friends, a loving boyfriend, and the funniest dog. I ordered the new technology with my classroom grant, so my already rewarding job is starting to become more interesting!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone, and have a great Thanksgiving!
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Today, I’m having a fruity V8 with green tea. What’s your beverage of choice?
‘Tis the season and Merry Christmas! It feels strange saying that in the midst of weather that reaches a high of 80 degrees. Yesterday I was out in it. I chaperoned a group of 7th and 8th grade NJHS students ringing the bell for Salvation Army outside of a local grocery store. We were sweating for sure, but they kept it up, ringing the bells. I started singing Christmas carols, maybe because I was growing delirious from the heat…or maybe not. 🙂
Good thing I went to bed early Friday night! I was tired from this whole week of school and finishing grades. In fact, one evening, I went home and ordered my dinner through Door Dash so I could put my feet up while I waited. Thursday at 6 p.m., I attended a musical production of Matilda Jr. put on by several students in our school, many of whom I teach or have taught. It was fantastic, and they gave it their all!
The spirit of minimalism lives on in my household! I am content with this tree that fits into our home that houses three generations, mother, adult son, and grandmother. The amount of gifts is just right. However, I received a Christmas check this weekend. What’s the first thing I did with it? I ordered a green Christmas t-shirt. 🙂 Well, I wouldn’t have done that otherwise, and why not spread good cheer?
Okay, the Weekend Coffee Share is late, and it took me three sittings to complete it and then to remember I had to finish and send it. It’s my Winter break, so deadlines are a little fluid. I had a massage yesterday and then rested a while before having dinner with my boyfriend. My one regret about this post is that I could not join the inlinks for the Weekend Coffee Share community. You might be surprised to learn the temperature right now as I finalize this is just below 60. I hope you all have a great week, and a Merry Christmas of happy holiday!
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Some of you may be warming by a fire, but I’m drinking iced coffee with the ceiling fans going today. Grab a cup of iced or hot energy and pull up a chair!
Yes, it’s 75 degrees today in Jacksonville, Florida, and I’m getting ready to have a pedicure in a little while. We had a cool spell last week, but this weekend feels sort of like Spring. We do have a few fall colors, though.
I’ve been considering going a little bit minimalist this Christmas. The idea of minimalism appeals to me right now as I ponder retirement and how little I have for emergencies or the desired vacation abroad. I get by fine, but I could really make a difference for myself if I just don’t buy the ugly Christmas sweater I was browsing last night.
Not me:
Why should I pay 20 or even 10 dollars for something I would only wear once a year? I shouldn’t. Nor do I need to buy two or more gifts for everyone. Families go through this, too. I don’t have a big family, but buying for people I haven’t seen in four years isn’t easy, so I don’t see spending too much. If they tell you the exact gift they want, where is the surprise? What am I saying with this gift? Handmade or even little gifts with a personal touch are much better than the latest gadget. A friend posted about this on social media, and I totally agree with her sentiments.
I was going to go to a holiday event last night but we had a refrigerator replacement delivered, something that is a necessity. It’s smaller than the old one (minimalism), but it works! I plan to go to church in the morning where there will be Christmas music, and I think that will help set the seasonal mood…not for shopping, but for peace and kindness.
Hopefully, the minimalist spirit will stay with me. It could just be the thing to supplement my retirement savings plan!
Have a great week, everyone!
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share in verse, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Ali!
Three Little Birds
The birds tell me ‘don’t worry,’
but I am in a hurry
to leave the past behind,
get this year gone from my mind.
Still, they whisper, ‘Be still,
For all of this is real.
Ponder on the lessons,
Each moment has its essence.’
One must flap his wings and go,
One will stay and become known,
The other existing just in our minds
Changeable, elusive, but we shall find
All of these birds will occupy our hearts
One moves in when the other parts.
Everything has its place: past, present, and future. With each New Year, we relegate another to joining the ranks of the past. I am probably, like others, anxious to kiss this year goodnight! However, every year has its lessons, and we should not deny them. They are worth remembering! Any mistakes made can bring a lesson, but it is best to remember our mistakes without shame or sorrow, to not continue suffering from our mistakes, but instead, to forgive ourselves and be thankful for the lesson. Most of my mistakes are way back in the past, but they come back to haunt me sometimes. I am working on keeping them in their place and remembering them rationally without berating myself. My anxious brain needs to remember that I am not doomed to continue the same pattern of mistakes. Every day is a new day! There’s nothing like a New Year to remind us of that.
If you’re interested, I summed up my year 2020 in a bloggers’ challenge post by Beaton at becomingthemuse. net, and you may read it here: https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/2020/12/16/best-of-the-year-boty2020/ You can also share your own! It was interesting to think on my lessons learned and what were the best parts of this year.
So, as I finish my cereal and decaf coffee today, (part of my new healthy habits), I am feeling optimistic. I also know that I may drag my feet today and spend the day reading, journaling, playing with the dog, and maybe organizing my closet as I try to stay in from the cold. I am allowed to do that today! Everyone who is dear to me is currently COVID free and I got to see them for this holiday. So, this morning, I am one step closer to “being happy.”
*A random word generator gave me the word, ‘flap.’ I was thinking on the New Year and how the old year must take flight. I’m always thinking about how the past, present, and the future collide. Thank you to Bob Marley for inspiring me with his song, “Three Little Birds.” Yes, ‘every little thing, gonna be alright!’
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Ali. Pull up a chair and grab your favorite beverage! My ‘coffee shop’ has a cute pup wandering around, and in the background, music plays by the band, LIVE, particularly, my favorite song lyrics:
Don’t try to find an answer
when the the truth’s already here
don’t let your heart be wounded
Show no mercy to your fear.
****
Quite appropro, as I had to meet my traffic anxiety face-to-face this holiday season.
Scenes from my Thanksgiving: I proudly drive two hours straight through Georgia and then (respectfully) require my boyfriend, Kenny to drive I-95 in S. Carolina. At a rest stop in Santee, my bro grills hot dogs and we have chips too, before he ushers my mom up to Raleigh, N.C. I gratefully ride home with Kenny having avoided an 8 hour trip alone with my mom and my traffic anxiety. (If I needed a break, her driving would also cause me great anxiety). You see, I could have gone up to N.C. with my mom, but, you can infer why I preferred not to, and my brother and his wife don’t get much time visiting alone with Mom. By the way, what is up with I-95 in South Carolina? Everybody seems to take that route north during the Thanksgiving holiday, and it is just TWO AGONIZING lanes. That scene is just not for me, and let’s suffice it to say, I am honoring and setting my own limits….
Thursday, I effectively teach Kenny’s 83-year-old dad how to take a picture with my cell phone! His smile was wonderful! Carb-laden food is consumed and I laze around. I let my son drive me later on and I get scared half to death because of his involuntary tics…which also add to my anxiety and I don’t know how he can white-knuckle it and tell me “It’s nothing.” He won’t get checked out. I sometimes fear it is a lingering result of his head injury from 2017. It is in his hands, also in God’s hands, I suppose. I pray it is not as awful as it appears to me. Friday, I avoid shopping malls and do nothing but dog play, yoga, and laundry.
On the note of anxiety, I am starting to re-read the book, Finding Serenity in the Age of Anxiety. It speaks of Toxic anxiety (so prominent in our world today), Natural anxiety (think of wildlife, ready to fight or self-protect), and Sacred anxiety (involving fear of death or that our time is running out to fulfill our purpose). It is brilliant, faith-based and Science- based, so all-around perfect in my book, and I highly recommend it if you are trying to achieve/ maintain balance or calm in your life.
I am not writing much as far as progress on a novel, but I already decided this next one will take some time, and I will give it time to marinate. However, I seem to churn out poetry now and then and a short story or two. Here is a recent poem I posted on my blog about ‘knowing thyself’ and honoring yourself during the start of a hectic holiday season. Check it out here: https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/2020/11/26/slow-down-and-grow/
Thank you for stepping into my world and catching up for coffee today. I hope you all have a great week!
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Antoinette at
This is the last Coffee Share of 2019! I am so looking forward to 2020, and instead of a resolution, I decided to choose a word: Limitless. I have had so many limits this year and put so many limits on my life. It has almost gotten me down at some points. I have also accomplished a few things: I encouraged my son to get a low level job in a new field, and he loves it! I published/produced two books into audio. I celebrated my boyfriend’s 57th birthday, my 51st, and my mom’s 78th. I actively sought to deal with my back and pain issues and sought help with it; as a result, I am now doing squats (among other things) several times a week. Squats! It is a shocker. However, I draw the line at Burpees. 🙂 My family are in on my new health kick, well, at least on supporting me. My boyfriend got me a vertical mouse which is ergonomic and more comfortable for the hand and arm. I am really getting the hang of it! (Google it and check it out). So maybe I can write even more, pain-free. Mom got me an upright desk, it just isn’t assembled yet….
I did not feel much Christmas spirit due to the loss of a few dear people, but I did find opportunities to help others and the community, which made it feel more like Christmas. Now I get to greet a New Year, and live out my personal goal of a being more of a limitless person.
A blogger friend wrote a beautiful Weekend Coffee post on New Year’s resolutions, to be more loving, like Christ. It’s a wonderful post, and you can read it here: https://garyawilsonstories.wordpress.com/coffee-share-191227/
Since it is Winter Break, and I have time off, I have been writing some short and flash-fiction. I am proud of this piece here, which involves aliens: https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/2019/12/27/popular-opinion-fiction-fowc/ and was written in response to the Fandango One Word Challenge; the word was ‘popular.’ I personally love those one-word challenges and have tried them with some of my students who like writing.
These are two books I have read lately. One, very traumatic, yet hopeful. The other, just all out bawdy humor by one of my favorite humorous authors, and I loved it as well! I needed that after a Holocaust novel, and I loved both of them equally.
I also was able to meet up with an old friend who lives out of town. She lost her husband of three years to an illness. I read recently about the healing power of laughter. She and I laughed a lot this time, as always. It was wonderful to see her and her daughter. The Insomnniac’s Diary is still in progress, but I think it is more of a personal thing now; in other words, I believe I am accepting a new normal. As long as I can fall asleep at night and get at least four hours of sleep, I can handle it. I am still logging the basics, though. I mean, I was on 5 hours when I met my friend for dinner. We had a great time for about two hours, and then I went home to relax and get ready for bed. No problem!
I hope you have enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and will have a safe, fun New Year with many pleasant surprises.
-Pamela
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Antoinette at https://antoinettetrugliomartin.com/category/weekend-coffee-share/ I am having a half-calf, which seems to fuel me just fine these days. However, I must admit, I am waking up, on a good night, somewhere between 4:30 and 5 a.m. It doesn’t bother me as much as it did at first. I don’t know if it’s the time change or the new exercises I have added daily as a result of PT, but I am getting used to it. I wonder if this will change once the clocks move forward in the Spring? I know I have a busy mind and wonder if it will ever slow down. It’s okay if it doesn’t. 🙂
As far as the physical therapy, it seems to be going well. My lower back is not as locked up as it used to be. I do still suffer from sciatic issues, but I’m learning some exercises for that and realizing I need to have more hot baths and less time in the computer chair. Maybe I’ll just record my writer’s thoughts and stories straight to audio? I don’t know, we’ll see what happens. I am not worried! While editing/revising the Malachi manuscript, I found a wonderful modification that works for me. I e-mailed the rough draft to myself and I’ve been opening it on my phone for a read-through. This read-through can be done laying on the couch, exercising on the Gazelle (small, elliptical type exerciser), or even in bed. I can be on my side or back, etc. according to my comfort needs. When I find an error, I write it down for when I will edit it on my laptop. Then, I am going to send it to the professional editor. There is no way I will stop writing, so I just need to change my process.
As far as the busy mind goes, I had an interesting talk with a student yesterday who rarely talks in class. Yes, it was the day before Winter Break, I was casual, friendly, and joking a lot, a relaxed atmosphere for sure. I presented them with our reading theme for next quarter: “Fear, is it a hindrance or a help?” The first time this student started talking to me was when I had a lesson on conflict and explained internal conflict and how the struggle is strong for someone who suffers from depression or anxiety. I told them of my anxiety when driving over a bridge. I recently have added hospitals to my list. (I have too many thoughts of experimentation when I see a whole floor taken up by only one office, and construction does not help either). Recently, I’ve also realized that the holidays are a little triggering.
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that she actually wanted to have a conversation with me. I also was pleasantly surprised by the Christmas holiday kindness shared by the students yesterday, and one student’s note in her card almost had me in tears of joy:
Dear Ms. Canepa, Thank you for your hard-working ethics and passion for teaching. I love how you have the inspiration to get up and drive to work every day, not knowing will the day go by good or bad. You made a great impact on my life so far and I’m looking forward for you to continue.
It was a hard week with lots of grading, a Code Red drill, a fire drill, a handful of parent meetings, some holiday events, and amped up kids. But seeing such empathy, appreciation, and the right choice of words warmed my heart. Someone noticed how hard I work and took the time to verbalize that to me. Maybe they are taking it to heart. That is the best gift ever!
May you all enjoy the spirit of Christmas and the holiday season, and may you reach calm when you seek it! I am definitely planning on some relaxation myself.
Peace!
Pamela
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at eclecticali.wordpress.com. I feel like I’m neglecting my blog lately, I’ve been so busy. Yesterday, I volunteered as a teacher sponsor with kids in our National Junior Honor Society. I have to say, their youthful bounce and jump right in attitudes kind of warmed my own holiday spirit and the hearts of many patrons. I only needed one cup of java to get me through the day. It seems the spirit of youth was in the air and influenced even my energy!
At one point, a Salvation Army rep came by and fixed our sign. It’s supposed to go at the top of the stand. Oops! At any rate, it was a day well-spent with several interludes of Jingle Bells and a few other songs! I think the kids did a great job and learned more about what it’s like to set a goal and raise money for a good cause.
Work has kept me quite busy as well. I’m a teacher, so I guess that’s just what is expected. I do find time now and then to work on my current work-in-progress, which is now just a little above 15,000 words. I am proud of that, as I have brought it up just in the last 3 weeks. I’m also part of a read/review group, and they have an Online Holiday Popup Book Shop until 12/16. Please visit the link and browse, because if you buy a book from their online shop, which links you to Amazon by the way, you just have to follow their instructions in order to be entered for an Amazon gift card. We all could use one of those! While you’re there, visit the author reading room to see authors reading excerpts from their books. I even have a video of myself reading a portion of my sci-fi novel, Detours in Time. Go to this site and navigate through the links at the top of the page. Enjoy! https://booksbudzpopup.wordpress.com
On a side note, damp weather does interesting things to my hair! Thank you for reading, and have a great week!
My available paperbacks, also can be found in Kindle edition; only Undercurrents is not shown here. I am working on adding to the collection!
pamelascanepa 