QUESTION TEN

 Question: 

Go back to your twenties. What were you doing? What were you the skills and talents that you were developing. Were you starting to do what you truly wanted to be doing? What were your dreams at the time?

Answer:

I had my first baby at 20. I was for the first time truly in love with someone. My second darling girl was born when I was 21. My whole world was those little girls. 

I started cooking and sewing, out of need (money was beyond tight). I made pink scalloped dressed for my baby girls out of a sheet. I got creative with food so the girls would eat healthy food. 

Baby three came along at the end of my twenties and baby 4 came in my early thirties. 

Being a mom was everything I wanted. I loved being a mom, my children were so wonderful. They were my world. 

QUESTION NINE

Question:

What difficult things have you overcome in your life?

Make a list.

Answer:

Abuse at the hands of my parents and grandfather. 

I moved out at 16, two years after I told my mother to never hit me again. 

I married the wrong man, his mother even begged me not to. 

I stayed in that relationship for 24 years too long. 

I lost two daughters in the divorce tragedy. 

I have grandchildren I have not met. (My blog is for them, so when they look for me. I will be right here.)

QUESTION EIGHT

Question: 

What was the point of your life that was a turning point?

Answer: 

I had taken three of my kids on a day trip. At the end of the day, we stopped at the grocery to pick up ice cream. The kids all chose their favorite kinds. And one of them asked what I was getting. I said I would have a taste theirs. But they asked what flavor was my favorite…and I dint know. 

I had put everyone first for so many years (more than 25). And along the way I lost me. 

All the things I planed for my life, the dreams and plans… were replaced by real life. And I feel like I did a fair job of the new life I was handed. But I didn’t know who I was. 

I had trauma from childhood, trauma from my marriage. I was struggling. 

I saw a counselor. Who took me through my entire life- the good the bad and the ugly. The counselor, who I will be eternally grateful for, wanted to go over the work book I had filled in with my life. But prior to give him the book, I sat in his parking lot sobbing. 

A dear friend called at just the right moment. He asked what was wrong, so I vomited up my life. I told him about the book. 

And he said “Close your eyes…walk to the end of the hall and through that book in the closet. Now burn that mother fucker to the ground.” 

So I did. 

I can tell you, my world turned at that moment. I sat there and let all the hurt go. 

I learned so much from that book. But I also learned I didn’t have to hold onto the crap anyone. 

Finding me, was a process that literally took years. It was painful and stressful and hard. But I have put all my pieces together. I found the girl I was, and the woman I have become. 

I have truly learned to like myself. And that led to self love. 

I am the only person I have to wake up with every day of my life. I am the only person who can truly make me happy. And I am the only person who can give me the magic in my life. 

And I love good ice cream with lots of nuts! Equal parts nuts to ice cream. That’s perfect for me! 

QUESTION SEVEN

Question:

Do you know what your name means?

Answer:

My First Name: Angel, Messenger of God

My Middle Name: Beloved

(Ironic that in Hebrew it is Miriam)

I was named for my Grandmother and Great Aunt. 

QUESTION SIX

 Questions:

What did you love or love to do as a child?

What about your teen years? 

Did you have any ideas what you might like to be when you grew up? 

Answers:

I remember making mud pies with my friend Nikki.

I was a sick little kid, and that is when my Grandmother taught me how to crochet. I am still at it. (Working on my fourth afghan this year.)

I remember walking to Encanto Park without a grownup. It was an awesome!

I remember building a community out of tiles and caulking. It was so creative and fun. (Architectural nut)

I sewed a top when I was in 5th or 6th grade. I did it all by hand. It didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, but it was so fun and creative. 

In middle school I drew. Pastels mostly. I tried to capture the mountain range I could see from my backyard. I wasn’t great at it, but it made me happy. 

In my teens, I fell in love with being social. Home life was hard, so fell in love with church and socializing. 

I spent the majority of my teen years living for the Saturday Night Dances! They were the most wonderful thing ever! I will forever be thankful for church dances and late night ice cream at Farrells. 

I was blessed to have really great girl friends. Still have them today. (Just long distance) 

I was also very blessed to have some really great boy friends. They definitely set the bar. (If only I would have stuck with that bar when I married at 19)

I was forced to learn to sew. And I’ll always be so grateful for that. 

I took architecture and culinary in school. I loved them both. I was sure I would go into one of the two fields. 

I did not. 

SMILE

 What a great person she always was!

GRANDBABY TIME

 

QUESTION FIVE

 Question: 

How do you describe your identity today? Who are you? What do you do? What do you enjoy?

Answer:

I’m confident, fun loving,  passionate, positive, enthusiastic and effervescent. I look for the best in others and for the magic all around me.

I am very well suited for my current occupation, and I enjoy it very much. It’s all about loving people!

I enjoy cooking, crocheting, sewing and crafting.

I love traveling; far away trips and road trips alike. I want to go everywhere… all the time. 

I am a reader, well a listener. I listen to several books a month. 

I love celebrating everything! I think it has something to do with always needing something to look forward to. 

I love gardens and forests. They truly make me happy. 

QUESTION FOUR

 QUESTION: 

What have you done in your life where you were so engrossed you didn’t notice time passing? 

 ANSWER:

This happens when I’m totally into whatever I’m doing; sewing, needlework, meal prepping, walking in the woods, talking with someone I truly enjoy. 

QUESTION THREE

 What worldly issues make you angry, and with the right people, you will totally rant on that subject and all the details?

My Answer:

Entitlement, Accountability, Pride in All You Do and Respect 

These  subjects drive me crazy. We can see our culture declining so rapidly. 

Entitlement (that people should get something for nothing), I do believe, is a cause of the lack of pride that people no longer care about. (They don’t have to work at something they are just given so why would they do a good job or take pride in their work?) And I do believe that unless you care about how you are working, treating others, communicating and living (taking accountability) there will never be respect. With out a change in these four elements, our society will continue to decline. 

PREPPING

I’m reading a new book, I’m just trying to prep for what’s coming. 

I think I’ll do okay, I’m looking forward to the next few decades! I think I finally know who I am and what I want to do now that I’m about to be a grown up! ♥️

FEMININITY

 “Femininity is different now. 

Femininity isn’t a flowery dress and a little figure and a full face of makeup; 

Femininity is resilience, and courage, and power, and passion, and sisterhood, and standing up for oneself.” 

K.W. 

QUESTION TWO

 QUESTION:

What worldly issues break your heart so much that when they are brought up in conversation, you definitely have something to say?

ANSWER:

There are so many issues that break my heart. But I try to always look at the root cause of the issue. And in most issues, I always find that selfishness causes the issue. If we all did our best to serve one another. If we all took pride in the things we do. If we were kind to everyone we interact with. If we weren’t out to take care of just ourselves, but to make sure everyone was cared for. I am sure that our homes, our jobs, our schools, our communities, our little blue and green planet would be such a kinder place to live. 

HOBBIT TIME

 My son and his lovely wife took a day to just indulge! 

They were spending the day having a Lord of The Rings extended trilogy marathon and eating like Hobbits!

I love this so much! ♥️

Here is the Menu:

Breakfast - roasted potatoes w/ chicken sausage links and cherry tomatoes 

Second breakfast - almond croissants 

Elevensies - pesto and mozzarella  flatbread 

Luncheon - Italian sausage and gnocchi soup

Afternoon tea - lembas bread and blood orange soda (we’re not tea people)

Dinner - lasagna and garlic bread

Supper - mount doom lava cakes 

60 DAYS OF QUESTIONS

 Yesterday’s blog was about the “Sixty is a Good Start” book by Allison McCune Davis that I just read. Again it is a really great self help book and I highly encourage everyone who needs some guidance and encouragement to read it. 

Today I’m starting my 60 days. 

Part of my 60 Day Plan includes answering one question per day. And since this blog was started as a sounding board for me and is still a ‘life keeps happening’ board about me, I’m going to blog as meany questions as I feel comfortable on here. 

Question 1:

What are the innermost dreams you have had in your entire life, that still tug at your heart?

My Answers:

There are so many. 

One is that I always wanted to have a hobby farm. Gardens and flowerbeds. Maybe some furry friends. But I always pictured myself having the ability to care for the land. Gardening makes me happy. 

Another one is that I have always wanted to have a cabin in the woods. Nothing fancy, but very cozy. Somewhere to watch nature, to be part of nature. Simple and hygge.

Another… owning and running a shop where people gather to converse, take a class or work on projects or have tea parties. I would love to frequent a shop like that. 

Also, I have a dream/desire to travel to all the places my curiosity takes me. I want to see architecture, forests, libraries, churches, museums and homes. I want to see it all!

Currently I am fulfilling my dream of creating my own “Creative Studio”. I’m working or the organization of all the component's right now. I just built a 50x70 work station with lots of cubbies. Now I just need to organize all the boxes and totes into my useful space. This dream is going to lead me into my retirement dreams!

DEPENDENCE MUCH????

 I left my cell phone at home today. I realized it when I got to work and was ready to turn on Spotify on my Bluetooth speaker. 

I called John from my work phone and he found my missing appendage.  

.........

It's just a cell phone. 

I do not need it at work... not really. 

But...but...I think it may be my security blanket!

The anxiety of not having it, has manifested in a hyper, almost giddy side of me. And although that comes acrost as fun and playful, it is truly only because I feel like I have lost a piece of ME! 

Funny how everyone reacts to knowing I have lost it. As though they also understand it is like loosing your emotional support animal. They all give me suggestions, like, "I'll watch your desk, go get it!" or "Can't someone bring it to you?" 

The panic I feel in my heart is the same panic I see in their eyes! They know my emotional destress! 

I am surviving just fine. 

I have made it 3 hours without my phone now, less than two to go before I can retrieve it. 

*Update:

 I went home for lunch and got my phone. When I got back to work it sat on my desk untouched until I got ready to close up the office. 

What I learned from this: 

1. Always make sure I have my phone with me when I leave the house. 

2.That most people feel the same way I do when it comes to not having their phone with them. 

3. I need to memorize important phone numbers. I currently don’t know anyone’s number other than my husband’s. And honestly I had to hope I was right on that one, but I wasn’t 100% sure. 

INSPIRATIONAL

 I just finished reading this amazing book. It was inspirational and I can’t wait to follow through on the Sixty Challenge. I highly recommend it to everyone! 

PHOENIX SUNSET

 

WHAT GREAT PLANNING

 

This was my screen saver at work today. 

(I get something new everyday and I love it!)

This is Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. This fortress was designed to resemble a star and was founded in the Republic of Venice in 1593.

I love it! 

GOOD MOVIE

 I highly recommend 

this one!!!

OH MAN!

When I kicked the elliptical at the end of my workout, and I about cried. 

I trimmed my very sad nail, got ready for work and put closed toed shoes on. 

Only to find out that my poor little toe had grown too big to stay in that shoe. 

But I was afraid to take off my shoe to see just what it looked like. 

Until… 

When I got home from work and slipped off my shoes. There was a my poor, very purple and very painful little toe. 

So so sad! 

There will be lots of pampering needed this weekend! 

STORM

 

A WAY TO LIVE

 

GRACE

Isn’t just a prayer

IT’S A WAY TO LIVE!

PRE-SCHOOL

 

BLINDNESS

 

The most dangerous form of blindness is believing 

that your perspective is the only reality.

FN

PHOENIX SUNRISE

 

BABY BATH TIME

 

FULFILLED

 Life is too short to be bored. 

I went to dinner with a friend yesterday. As I reflect on what we chatted about, I have come to the realization, once again, that we can’t wait around for others to make us happy. 

Being happy is a byproduct of what we do that gives us fulfillment . 

If you want something… 

Give it to yourself!

Make yourself happy.

FRIDAY NIGHT & SATURDAY MORNING

A SUNNY SMILE

 

“It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald

HOMEBODY

 

This is NOT me!!!

THE MUG TREE

 I saw this silly road side attraction several years ago. It was rather cool to see how many people loved this Mug Tree at the side of the road in some ones field. 

But everything comes to an end. 

LIGHT HOUSE

 Today is national Lighthouse Day.... This is the nearest Lighthouse to me. It is at Grand Rivers, Kentucky. I have been there, it is a lovely area. I would like to see other lighthouses on the coasts around the world.

RELATIONSHIPS

I think all those that make your life difficult are the people who want more from you than they are willing to give. We should all keep it simple. Relationships should be simple.

EUDAIMONIA

 

AUGUST 2026

 

YOUR REALITY

Sometimes we dream of what we want.

But until we understand that we are the ones to give our dreams wings, they will merely stay dreams.

Putting in the planning, the work, the effort, the money, is your obligation to your dream. 

Invest in you. 

Make your dreams a REALITY.

LEWIS and CLARK & CO.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition

Explore Lewis and Clark's 8,000-mile journey in Google Earth: https://join1440.com/r/14654?utm_source=1440-sun&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=view-content-pr&user_id=66c4bf685d78644b3aa504c9

The  8,000-mile journey that first accurately mapped the American West lasted 862 days (spanning 2 years, 4 months, and 9 days from May 14, 1804, to September 23, 1806).

 The expedition purchased more than 260 separate items to supply their journey. which included 120 gallons of whiskey—though they still ran out of alcohol halfway through their journey.

In August 1805, Lewis and a small party encountered a group of Shoshone people. 

Sacagawea, a Native American teenager who fulfilled a crucial role despite speaking no English and being accompanied by her infant son for the entirety of her 16 months on the journey.

 The expedition cataloged 240 plant species (178 of which were new to western science), including the future state flowers of Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, and described 122 new animal species, including the grizzly bear and prairie dog.

Following Lewis and Clark’s journey is on my bucket list! 

TODAYS WISDOM

 

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure.”​

– JULIA CHILD

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

- Thomas Edison

BABY DEAR

 

NEW URBANISM

 I loved this article. 

The concept is one I feel should be copied worldwide. Innovation should always have charm and hygge. 

https://nicenews.com/culture/newer-towns-designed-to-look-old/

COCO

The Best Things 

In Life Are Fee

The Second Best Things

Are Very Expensive

CC

DON’T STOP

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

- George Bernard Shaw

BEHAVIOR THERAPY

 A behavior incident happened at work yesterday. It bothered me. 

A lot. 

Today there was another behavior incident. And I jumped to action. But it bothered me. 

A lot. 

So, I figured there was something I must be missing, and messaged the Behavior Specialist. 

She made a house call right to my desk. 

We talked, she showed me what I did not understand and why the issue is and issue. 

It all made sense once I could stepped back and looked at it from another view point. 

I now understand, and have made a few changes to help avoid future incidents. 

And I feel better, understanding what happened and why. And now I know how I can help reduce future incidents. 

And Beth brought me chocolate...That helped too. 

TODAY IS…

 It’s Wicked Wednesday! 

Let’s crush it!

FUNDRAISER

RAMPAGE… GO TEAM!

 

SUNNY

 

BAREL PICK

 

LET’S GO

 

“Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: ‘I’m with you kid. Let’s go.’”

​

– MAYA ANGELOU

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

EFFORT

 

FREEDOM

 "FREEDOM is not a state;

it is an act."

JL

JULY 2026

 

FIVE C's

CONNECTION

 COMPASSION

COPING 

COMMUNITY 

CARE

Every person

Every day

FEELINGS

 

"Don't be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it's just death."

- Lena Horne

HOSPITAL VISIT

 Recently John was put into the hospital for issues with his diabetes. 

All is well now, and he is doing great. But it definitely made us take a look at what we are doing right and what we could be doing even better. 

No one wants to stay in the hospital for testing and monitoring. But how nice it is to see just how well a job you are doing at caring for this human body we have been given.

I am grateful for the wonderful staff, the all those who took care of John and all those who called to check on him and visited. 

We now know that his issues stemmed from a bad batch of insulin. But we also now know that he has really done a good job of taking care of himself. 

The visit was a scare. And I’m sad that it took so long to get help. But I’m pleased with all we learned. 

He even said he thinks we should start eating avocados. ( I have been trying to get him to eat avocados since we met.) Now he’s having avocado toast regularly! 

Again, something new! 

LEGOS

My children all played with legos. We had the big toddler type, then the regular ones. 

My son and daughter now have the fancy sets. 

And now my grandchildren have a few at my house. Just enough to build race cars with driver. 

But gosh darn if I don’t find all I piece under foot. 

The spy glass (why race car drivers have spyglasses I do not know), the helmets visor, the axel and some other price that truly looked like piece of a chicken nugget. 

No I don’t wear shoes in my home, and yes it’s always me that finds the missing legos. Painfully

Why?

WEEKEND

 We had a great weekend! 

We got to attend church with six grandchildren and snuggle the tiniest grandbaby. We got to have grandkids in our home. 

A dance party, backyard bubbles, forts and catching fireflies. 

Our hearts were filled when a fishing accident caused someone to only want Papaw to fix the injury, But broke when it came with pain. 

We took part in a memorial ride with friends, for a young man whom everyone cared for. It was a very good weekend.