ventures

I feel like I have been absent from this space for such a long time - when in reality, it's been about a week. Life has been good - I have changed positions at work, and feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. There is still the desire to do a good job, to work hard, to be the best that I can be (and this time there is a team depending on me to do my part), but it's less nonsense than I dealt with before, and I really feel like I made the best decision for myself, at the best time possible. The schedule is slightly earlier (I am working 6AM-3PM this week, as opposed to the 7AM-4PM I have been on for the last year or so, but my regular schedule will be 5AM-2PM). Time is absolutely flying by at work, partly because I get out so early, I'm sure, and partly because of the less-stress.

My home life lately has consisted of inter-mixing all of my cats, and ending the quarantine of the vaccinated cat, so she can enjoy time in the entire house rather than being stuck in my room for the rest of her life. Other than some occasional hissing and head-whacking on all sides, the transition has been fairly smooth and uneventful. It has also been interesting because I decided to sleep with my bedroom door open at this point, to let all of the cats come and go as they please, to see who ends up in bed with me at night. It's always the three dogs, but now my fluffy girl Stella is usually in bed, as is Harlow. I forgot how much those two loved to be close to me, and feel like I have been a bad pet parent since I have been quarantining certain ones (before Zelda came along, Gabby and Stella were stuck in the bathroom with us with their upper respiratory infections - this is our first non-quarantine period in months!). Now, everyone is getting a lot more attention, and I feel less guilty about spending time with certain ones who needed it (because they were sick, or were babies).

As far as my absence on here is concerned... I have still been writing, just working on a different project. I need to be better about blogging, still, but I have had words pouring out of me for something else I have always wanted to do - a thirty-ish year dream that I am finally putting into action (here goes nothing!).

Wish me luck! On the new job, the pets all getting along, the writing venture...

Signs

Today, I asked my Facebook friends to pray or send out positive vibes into the universe, in an attempt to help me find my direction in life. I believe in signs - I have seen too many things not to, to be frank - and I got one as clear as day this evening. You know it's a sign when it literally says "this is your sign." It doesn't get much clearer than that...

Working on accomplishing some dreams... here goes nothing!

What's been going on

In case it wasn't evident, I have opted to cut my "thirty day writing challenge" short. I found that I wasn't writing anything substantial with it, but it did get me up and writing every day. I just need to find the motivation to continue to do that now, without strange writing prompts.

My last few days at home have consisted of trying to get all of the cats to get along. I finally decided it was time to end the quarantine with the two youngest, and just kind of hope for the best. Some growling and hissing has been going on since, but everyone is starting to come around. The two little ones still head to my room at night, and climb into bed with me and the boyfriend and the dogs. Most of the others don't seem to realized that sleeping with us is an option - they tried so hard to sneak in the bedroom when we would leave the door closed, and now that it is open all of the time, they are far less interested.

On the work front, the new position is fun, but tiring. Things haven't really kicked off much yet, but it's gearing up to be a busy summer! I walked over twenty-five thousand steps the other day, when I was alone in my position, and was exhausted by the time I came home. I need to get myself eating right again, and I am willing to bet that the pounds will just be falling off over the summer - I just need to convince myself that donuts are not delicious, and start eating more fruit instead.

This coming week may consist of a quick there-and-back-in-one-day trip to New Jersey to visit one of my best friends. The thing is - when someone needs help, you just figure out how to make it happen. I am going to bring cleaning supplies, and help her deep-clean her house. I am attempting to enlist another friend to come help us, but if not - we got this! I have been there... I have been so deep in the throes of depression that I cant even brush my hair, and end up with a matted mess at the end of the week. And the worse you get, the worse you feel about yourself, and you just get worse and worse and worse until you feel yourself spiraling out of control, unable to save yourself. I have been there so many times... and if I can help someone else fix it? I will help them, dammit! 

Things I love, volume 2

I had a lot of awesome feedback on my first "Things I Love" post, and I am super excited to share my second installment with all of you!

What am I loving this week?! The Nevertheless Portrait Project by Annie Govekar!

Let me first start by saying that I have known Annie for quite a while. We met online years ago (over a decade, but I can't remember if it was 2003 or 2005-ish. Either way, a long time ago) due to our common love for both country music and Broadway musicals, and probably some nerdy stuff as well. Annie is a super-talented artist, and has been as long as I have known her. I actually commissioned a Thom & Coley piece a couple of years ago, and look at it on a daily basis. I love Annie's work so much!

Moving on to this awesome project! Over a year ago, Annie decided to start doing daily portraits of awesome, badass women, along with quotes. I don't think she realized how huge it would become, and how much all of us following her daily portraits would fall in love and beg for copies of certain prints, or push her to create a book. Over a year later, and this awesome lady managed to find 365 badass women to feature, and listened to all of our pleas for a book. There are politicians, artists, educators, actresses. So many amazing women are featured in this amazing book!

The Nevertheless Portrait Project features a lot of badass women who are very famous - and so many that I admittedly had never heard of. There is something in here for everyone. Words of inspiration from women who have done amazing things, and women who are continuing to do amazing things.

I snagged a few portraits from Annie's Facebook page to give you previews of portraits in the book. Check the book out, order a copy, share it with friends.

Why I Love it? No matter what your political affiliations may be, or how you feel about a lot of hot-button topics, there is something in here for everyone. I love the idea of this book as a gift for my teenage nieces, and for all of the awesome women in my life. The artwork is amazing, and I am always a fan of supporting artists! Also, a portion of the proceeds goes to the Joyful Heart Foundation - to help victims of sexual and domestic abuse! This is something that I can always get behind!

depression

I have gone back and forth about what to write, and how to write it for a few days, but I need to say something, so I will just let myself go on about it for a while.

Suicide. 

There, I said it. Recent headlines of celebrities who seemingly had it all are shaking everyone's fragile little worlds - because if she couldn't be happy with billions of dollars, and he couldn't be happy with fame and seemingly having an amazing life, then how is there hope for the rest of us?

But the thing is, I find so much of it hypocritical. In one breath, they mourn for these lives lost (though it seems only because they're famous, and not necessarily what it means for their loved ones left behind who don't care that mommy was famous or rich - they care that she was mommy). In their last breath, though, they were telling someone who has actual depression to just smile. Just be happy. Count your blessings. Hey, it could be worse, right?

Our society somehow minimalizes depression, sweeps it under the rug, and then acts shocked when someone just can't take it anymore and ends it all. We treat each other like actual garbage, and then we wonder why someone broke.

A dear friend of mine whose depression keeps me worried most of the time, made the comment that she is no stronger than anyone who has killed themselves. It is through luck that she is still here, still standing, still breathing. It is luck that keeps her going - that keeps so many of us going - and not some imaginary force of strength, or of being better than anyone, or of somehow having better coping mechanisms or a more supportive or loving system of friends and family around us. It is merely luck. 

We hang on every day by a thread, that is mostly worn, and is mostly comprised of luck.

I am fairly vocal about my depression, about my bad days, about my hopelessness... and even through some of the things that I have gone through or talked about, I mostly have people somehow expecting me to just shake it off. Better days are coming, after all... the sun will come out tomorrow... it's all in your head... but I cam tell you - when you are in the belly of that beast, you don't see the sun, the better days, the hopeful things ahead. You see only depression, and waves of sadness, and your hopelessness washing over you.

And still they tell you it will be better, things will look up, you have so many things to be happy about.

And when you got to a point that you could no longer take it, they will mourn, they will act surprised, they will wonder how it got to this when you were so happy all of the time. It was such a shame, she was such a good person, she had so much to offer.

And yet they still somehow missed the screams, the cries for help, the way you slept the days away, and cried in the night.

But you should have just shaken it off, right?

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 20

Concerts that I have attended...

I used to actually keep a list on my LiveJournal, a million years ago or so... I actually tried to log on to my LiveJournal account to go and find it, with no luck (I did however find other entries about things that made me shake my head - like ones about the guy I was dating when I last was on LiveJournal, and I never updated that, but he ended up being nuts... and one with conversations with a guy who I used to have the biggest crush on, like six years ago). Now that I have had a 3AM trip down memory lane, I will just list some of my concert moments...

Emerson Drive. I saw them a lot... somewhere around eighty times.

Little Big Town... I also saw them a lot... probably only in the thirty show range, though.

Thom Shepherd (a ton on his own) and Coley McCabe (probably half a dozen times since it's been the two of them touring together.

Most other people I have seen have just been a show or two here or there... I have seen just about anyone I have ever wanted to see... except for Garth Brooks and Shania Twain. I think I have literally seen just about any other country artists between 2000-2008 or so (and I am pretty awful because I have no idea who most people on the radio currently even are). 

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 19

Today, I am supposed to list all of the places that I have lived. I will keep this short and sweet (well, as short as it can be - I have moved quite a bit) because there is a bit of other waiting that I want to work on this evening.

First... Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was born there, and lived there until I was five. I attended kindergarten in Philadelphia before my family moved to northeastern Pennsylvania to a tiny little town called Tafton, where I would spend the rest of my childhood, through high school, until two years after high school. Then, I thought I was big and tough, so I headed back to Philadelphia for college at Temple University, but only spent two years there (I used to have big dreams - long story). I spent a transition period of about six months living in southern New Jersey with two friends and their family, before the three of us moved to Antioch, Tennessee (just outside of Nashville). I lived there for close to three years (one apartment for the first two years, and a different apartment for almost a year). Some things happened, and I moved back to southern New Jersey - living with family for several months, before moving into a hotel for about a month, then a room in a house with random Craigslist people (I used to be a lot dumber in my youth), before getting my own tiny studio apartment in Barrington, New Jersey. I spent about a year in that apartment before moving to a one-bedroom apartment in Blackwood, New Jersey for two years. From there, I shared an apartment with a friend in Deptford, New Jersey for a few months. Some things happened (as is common in my life), and I moved to Stevensville, Maryland where I lived with a friend and his family for about three months before my friend and I found a house to rent in Denton, Maryland. My friend lived with me for the first two years, and then moved out but I stayed in the house. More stuff happened, and I ended up moving back to northeastern Pennsylvania where I currently rent a house from a friend in Greentown, Pennsylvania.

Can you tell that I move a lot? And that apparently a lot of stuff happens in my life?

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 18

Name a TV show you have become addicted to...

I am writing this as I am watching season six of "Parks and Recreation," for probably the sixth time. This is crazy in itself - even more so because I only discovered this show in the last year or so (probably due to some gently prodding from my friend Lauren, who insisted I would love it, since I love "The Office"). 

There are few shows that I really love (at least not ones that are current), but this show makes me happy, and cracks me up every time I re-watch it. I mean, seriously... how can you not love Leslie Knope?

Fun side note: I am trying to collect all of the "Parks & Recreation" Funko Pops. So far, I only have Andy and April, but I want to get Ron, Leslie and Lil Sebastian - and am pretty sad that there aren't Funko Pops of some of the other characters.

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 17

What do you want to be when you are older?

I feel like I should have figured out what I want to be when I am older a long time ago... but older than now? I want to be happy. I want to be a mother. I want to find some way to work with animals in some degree.

It wasn't until the last few years that I realized what I wanted to do with my life, and now I feel like perhaps it is too late. I don't have the finances to go back to school again, and I don't think I have the time, since I have no choice but to work a full-time job at this point to be able to pay my bills. If I had the chance, I would go back to school to be a veterinary technician. I have been kicking myself lately for not finding a way to do this a long time ago...

I want to be a mother - a fact that I have known my entire life - but the logistics of that somehow boggle my mind. I have never managed to get pregnant (not that I have ever tried, but I've never really tried to prevent it either). Adoption would be an option, except that the finances things is there.

And happy? Well, I am working on that. 

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 16

If the world were to end tomorrow, what would you do with your remaining time on earth?

I actually find this questions very anxiety-inducing. It's not so much that I worry about the world ending and ceasing to exist (or whatever happens at the end - heaven or whatnot), but the idea of trying to pack in one last awesome day gives me anxiety. My best friends are all spread out (the closest ones being three to four hours away by car), so getting to all of them before the world ends just isn't feasible. I would go somewhere calming, with my dogs. We would probably just go to the local state park, spend time walking together, and playing on the beach.

It's funny - I probably wouldn't even try to fit in anything elaborate, because I have the cats at home, too, and if the world was ending, I would want to be with all of my pets. After spending time with the dogs outside somewhere, I would just come home and spend time with the cats as well. Just me and all of my favorite little fur balls... 

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 15

Today, I am supposed to post a picture of someone that I fancy at the moment... I'm going to stray a little bit away from that, and post a picture of some critters that I fancy. To be fair, I fancy these three all of the time, but I have been extra lovey about them lately, after dealing with some health scare stuff with Champ last week. These sweet babies aren't babies anymore, and I am getting sad realizing that they won't be around forever (one is thirteen, two are eight), so I am trying to enjoy as much time as possible with these beautiful souls.

work stuff

It's amazing how much better I feel after making the decision to step down at work. A seventy cent pay cut for a little (okay - a lot) more peace of mind seemed like the obvious right decision at this point in my life. To be fair, I am still stressing a little bit over my old department - freaking out when the freight isn't worked, when it's clear that no one has touched certain spots of the department in days, when things are left empty for days on end. I am trying hard to just step back and ignore it, but I can't help still feeling ownership over it.

Now, though? I am going to be paid to shop for eight hours every day. Paid to shop, you guys. I am on a great team, with people who I know are going to help to crush it when we officially launch. We are currently in sort of a holding period, training before we officially launch new services, and learning everything we can possibly learn so that we can be out of the gate and running at the end of this month. I don't think I have ever been so confident and ready to do something at work. It was totally worth the seventy cent pay cut - I can already tell that - plus I know I will be crushing goals on Fitbit - challenge me, guys! After the end of June, I will be dominating weekly step challenges.

I was also able to work a load of overtime this past pay period - thirty hours over the course of two weeks - and end up with a nice little paycheck. I debated what to do with some of it and really wanted to buy something silly (another cat condo or something obnoxious like that was one of my original plans), but opted to use a little bit of it to pay off my car insurance for this period (which only included this month and next, but still - it felt good, and this month wasn't due until next pay period), and I switched to the annual plan for Amazon Prime so that I don't have to worry about that little thirteen dollars coming out of my account every month for the next year (I just need to remind myself next June that I will have to either pay or cancel before I get billed $119 again). I don't have many bills at all - the landlord pays the electric and internet bills (I mean, I send her money for them along with my rent and she just takes care of actually paying the bills), a friend pays my cell phone bill because I am on his family plan, and he refuses to let me help with it. But now, having a little bit less to worry about for the next couple of months is going to be a blessing - especially with the little pay cut I just took at work.

Worrying about money and paying bills is probably my biggest struggle in life at this point. Then I find myself in that awesome catch 22 situation - I make too much money to get assistance to go back to college, but not enough money to really get ahead (or pay off those student loans that are looming). Life is fun when you're lower middle class, let me tell you...

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 14

Provide photos of five celebrity crushes? How is this even possible? Can I even think of five? I am realizing that my list/pictures are going to prove to people how very little I watch television in my adult life, and how sort of dorky I was through middle and high school.

Dean Cain! Oh, be still my middle-school-heart! I used to buy those silly teen magazines only when they featured this hunk (in an era where all of my girl friends had crushes on Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and pull out the full-page pictures to hang on my wall. Of course - didn't every teen girl have walls littered with pictures of their celebrity crushes in the nineties?! To this day, "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" is the only superhero show/movie/anything that I care about at all. When I am asked if I wanted to watch some new superhero movie, I look confused, I'm sure, because everyone knows that if it doesn't star Dean Cain as superman, I have zero interest whatsoever. This was probably the start of the realization that I liked older men...

Joe Lando! When I mention him, no one seems to remember the name, and they only vaguely remember "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman." At least, no one in my age range seems to remember... I was seriously an older lady trapped in a pre-teen or teenager body, because this was my show! I had to be home on Saturday nights to watch Dr. Quinn with my mom. I really just loved the show - and don't remember it having anything to do with the hunky Sully who was always around to save Michaela - but as an adult, I certainly watch the show and admire his good looks. And the long hair? On him? Yes, please. I just wanted to get lost in the woods with this guy and have him teach me survival skills or something. The rugged handsomeness and how he always showed up to save the day? I could even get over the fact that his character's real first name was Byron - because Sully was a huge hunk! 

Kyle Chandler! Confession: I have seen about one episode of "Friday Night Lights," and just couldn't get into it - but I really did try, because Kyle Chandler was in it! I was an "Early Edition" girl all the way - yet another show that no one my age seems to remember (I'm telling you! I was so old as a teen!). Not only was this guy good-looking, but he was a good guy (I have no idea about him as a person - I'm clearly talking about the character Gary Hobson who would go out and try to save the world, with tomorrow's newspaper in hand). This was another show that I had to watch every week, and I was obsessed. Maybe I should try again to get into Friday Night Lights so that I can get my Kyle Chandler fix without having to watch Early Edition for what seems like the hundredth time.

Lee Pace! I actually just not had to google his name, because I couldn't remember, and only know him as Ned. Ah, Ned the piemaker. No one seems to know what I am talking about when I mention this show, and sadly it was far too short-lived, although a lot more recent than my other favorites. Ned could bring the dead back to life with the touch of a finger, but only for a minute, or there would be consequences. This is another show that I could watch over and over, the love story between Ned and Chuck always making me feel warm inside - though really, I could mostly relate to the ever-lonely Olive, who clearly was much more like me than Chuck. Ned (err, Lee Pace) has this adorable dorkiness about him, and it's probably another case of falling in love with the character more so than the guy himself, but gosh he's adorable.

John Krasinski! But to be fair, who didn't have a crush on Jim from "The Office"? He was adorable and goofy and loveable. Total confession here, though: I kind of hated him a little toward the end. I mean, at the very end he sort of redeemed himself, but for a while there, he was a real jerk. The first couple of seasons though, he was adorable, and I rooted endlessly for him to get together with Pam (I am noticing a trend here - it isn't so much the actors that I have crushes on, but very much so their characters - but hey, I guess that works, right?). I feel like similar to Lee Pace, he has that cute dorky thing going for him, and that's pretty adorable. I have yet to actually watch anything else with John Krasinski in it, so yup - I just have a crush on Jim from The Office.

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 13

Today's writing prompt is "three confessions of your choice." 

Confession #1. I am not generally as happy as I appear to be. I mean, I have a lot to be happy about, and a lot to be grateful for - and my logical mind knows this. But I also have depression pretty bad that kind of sneaks up and convinces me that there is something wrong. I feel like my inner self is constantly at battle. Usually, my days off are spent trying to recover from the days where I worked and had to put on a fake happy face and pretend that everything was amazing. Don't get me wrong - I have days that are better than others, but it takes a lot out of me sometimes to just deal with normal life.

Confession #2. I am really bad at adulting. Seriously. I feel like I somehow missed a class on how to be an adult. I can't even cite specific reasons why I think that I am awful at adulting, but it just seems like most people have everything in life figured out, and I am over here with no clue, no direction, and really just no concept of what I am doing. Maybe other people are like this as well, but just hide it better.

Confession #3. I am going through a really strange time mentally/emotionally, where I am questioning just about everything that I thought I wanted, or knew. I guess part of this goes back to my first and second confession... but there are things that I always thought I wanted in life, and I find myself lately wondering if I really do, or if I just thought I wanted those things because I was supposed to want those things. To be clear, I am still unsure about a lot of it, but I also guess I am glad that my life has gone the way it has because I am realizing, well into my thirties, that I am not sure what I really want out of life - and it's actually sort of terrifying.

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 12

Screenshot your desktop...

I am so boring! I put this Thom & Coley as my desktop image years ago, and I just never changed it. I really should find something different, I suppose (my lock screen is a butterfly picture that I took at a park when I was living in Maryland), but I have no idea what to change it to... if anyone has any cool suggestions, feel free to let me know...

I keep next-to-nothing on the desktop. My recycle bin probably needs to be emptied. Spotify is there, but I hardly use it, because I feel really guilty about how little money songwriters make when their stuff is streamed through services like that. World of Warcraft, but my account isn't active at this point - I really need to reactivate it this summer, but my computer isn't the greatest, and it always lags quite a bit. Then I have a folder of quotes, random quote images that I save from google or other sources that I share on my Facebook a lot of mornings when I feel like sharing a little inspiration. Then there's a folder of potential blog backgrounds - which I also need to clean out because some are too busy, and some (despite saying they would when I downloaded them) don't actually tile, so they look ridiculous when I try to use them. And then there's the lone little saved image on the desktop - which is just my list for this challenge, so I can reference what day I am on.

See? I am so boring.

Things I love, volume 1

I have decided to start compiling lists of things that I love! I am not sure at this point if I am going to do this weekly, monthly, or just whenever I think of things that I love that I want to share. My plan is to have a variety of things - a song I'm loving right now, products that are making me happy, blog posts or articles that really spoke to me - a huge variety of mix-matched goodness that I just found too good not to share!

For our first volume of "Things I love," check this out:

Demented Dyes! Whether you are generally a fan of tie-dye or not, I strongly urge you to check out this Etsy shop (and join the Facebook group).

Jim is my former boss. He is forty-three years old and was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. To keep him busy now that he ended up having to retire early, his wife Debbie has set up a business for making tie-dyed shirts and tapestries (and probably anything else you could want!). His work is great - I believe I was one of the very first customers, and wear my shirt regularly - plus $1 from each sale is donated to ALZ.org for Alzheimer's research - grab a cool shirt, support a good cause!

I had already planned on featuring this shop as my first "things I love" volume when I decided to include this feature - then I started doing some research and found out that June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month! Perfect timing, huh? Whether or not your personally know someone who's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, imagine the families dealing with this disease. Your loved one is still there, and has days of lucidity, and then days where they might have no idea who you are. Imagine how they must feel, and imagine how the family must feel. Let's support this cause - whether through grabbing a shirt or a tapestry, or by directly donating over at ALZ.org! 

Why I love it? Everything is made-to-order, you can pick your colors and design, and it supports a great cause! Also, I am awful about how I wash things - never careful, throw everything in together, don't use any special detergent - and my shirt is still super vibrant, after being washed a lot! Plus, their prices are super reasonable! Shirts start at just $15!

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 11

What is your favorite quote? Oh, I have so many that I love! I actually have a chock-full folder on my computer's desktop of quote images that I have saved, because for a while I was posting inspirational quotes on my Facebook on a daily basis. I really don't have any one all-time favorite, so I will share a few that I really like - in image form, because pictures are pretty!

What's Up Weekend? 06.01.2018

Another weekend is on the horizon, which means it is time again to link up with the wonderful folks at the Peaceful Posse Facebook group, where we get to talk about our weeks, and all of the positive things going on.

I'm not even going to lie - I have had a pretty trying week. There was work nonsense to deal with, and I came home on Tuesday evening to find that Champ, my thirteen year old mutt, had been sick in his crate during the day. Him and poor Madden were a mess, and had to be bathed as soon as they were done outside. I had to take Champ to the vet yesterday as we were about forty-eight hours in to tummy issues - something that I have never dealt with when it came to him - and I was a nervous momma to say the least. I mean, he's thirteen - hardly a young pup anymore - and I have noticed him slowing down in the last year or two especially. I freak out and imagine the worst all of the time anyway, so dealing with his belly issues didn't help.

On a good note, however, the doctor didn't find anything obviously wrong with Champ (no parasites, and he didn't seem to have any sort of obstructions), and he was sent home with some probiotics to help. He seems to be feeling better, but has yet to have a solid bowel, so I opted to call out of work again today to stay with him, because my mom-guilt would have been in overdrive if I had left him home. The medicine he was prescribed can actually be obtained on Amazon, for right around the same price I paid at the vet. Knowing what I know now, I am going to order another kit of it - as a backup - in case this ever happens again, with him or any of the other pets. I feel very comfortable medicating my pets as needed, and make sure I listen to our vet for advice. I have saved myself a lot of money in vet bills by just knowing what to do and what to expect in cases of emergencies.

This week, I also feel like I have started to find my voice a little more. I wasn't originally going to look at this as a positive, because I feel like I might be being a little bit snarky sometimes - but I am learning more and more to stand up for myself, for other people, and for what's right. I found myself commenting on a lot more social media posts than usual lately, pointing out peoples' errors in judgment, calling them out for spreading falsehoods, pleading with them to fact-check before posting. I am not sure if it has done any good, but I feel better knowing that I am not just sitting back and letting people do things. Perhaps that is so much of what the problem is - not so much the evil-doers, the ones out there fighting and doing wrong, but those of us who just sit on the sidelines, afraid to open our mouths, afraid to speak up for the voiceless. I know that we have to be the majority out here, and yet so many people seem so afraid to say anything. And so the hatred continues, the falsehoods get shared again, the bad guys wins the day. I know that I can't change the world on the whole, but perhaps I can make my little corner of it a bit more peaceful, kind, and able to critically think. One can only hope...

I did receive compliments on some of my writing this week, so that was pretty awesome. It always makes me feel amazing when someone shares something that I wrote, and tells me that it affected them. I am so very lucky to have people like that in my life.

In the meantime... I am hoping that the weather clears up a bit today - I want to get to the park to go for a walk, possibly alone, possibly with one or more of the dogs. I haven't been able to take a lot of time for me lately - I feel like between work and having to come home, clean the house, take care of more-than-enough pets, etc., I don't get a lot of quality time for myself. Today, I am trying to make it happen. I may even just walk in my community - anything to get out, get some fresh air, and just feel better about myself.

I may also finally get around to finishing "The Princess Saves Herself In This One." I had to put it down one night when too much of it was resonating with me, and I was finding myself emotional and a little bit broken one night.

So happy to be linking up with Lindsay, Beth and Charlotte again this week, and being able to sit and reflect on happy, positive things! Make sure you go check out these ladies' blogs, and say hello!

30 Day Writing Challenge - Day 10

If I could live off of only one food and one beverage for the rest of my life, what would they be?

Okay, the food part is easy - eggplant parmigiana! This has always been one of my absolute favorite foods, and since going vegetarian, it has become even more of a staple in my diet. Some places don't make it very well (Olive Garden is the worst I have had - which makes me sad, because I love just about everything else I have ever eaten there), and every place is a little bit different, but as a general rule, this is my go-to meal at restaurants that offer it. I actually made it myself fairly recently, and was impressed with my own work (yes, yes, let me pat myself on the back for a moment!). It wasn't as difficult as I had psyched myself up for it to be, and it was actually quite tasty. Even the meat-eating boyfriend enjoyed it, and that's saying something!

Beverages are a bit harder... I don't really drink soda, but really miss Mountain Dew and Dr Pepper - but I am not sure that I would want to have them on a daily basis ever again. I won't be boring and say water, though clearly that is a given (and I drink so much water all of the time). At this point, I would probably want my Thrive shake every single day. I used to hate it - thought it tasted awful - but now, I love it, and get really sad if I run out of it and have to use some other sort of protein shake to hold me over until my supply arrives in the mail. I have no idea how I became that girl, when I swore the stuff off for so long. Bonus points on this if I would get to have access to all of the flavors so that I could switch it up every day - if not, I'll take the chocolate... or the strawberry... oh wait, I forgot about the vanilla...