Turkey and Total Fails

Thanksgiving was a great day. The turkey and fixings turned out awesome, Sam and I had a great time eating and watching movies, then after he left I watched the Seahawks beat the 49ers while I downloaded and sang along to a ton of songs. Was also able to chat with Jordan so that was icing on top of the cake!

Ran across the following bad makeup pictures I just had to share!   Hard to believe these gals showed their faces in public!  On a side note, today I went makeup-less and only dried my hair with no straightener.  That's usually reserved for Sundays but it was that kind of day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's almost Thanksgiving - can't believe a year has passed so quickly!  There are many things for which I'm thankful this year:

My health and fitness - Losing weight, getting into shape, and simply looking better in my clothes;
My sons - That they learned from their mom and were each able to fly the nest this year;
My job - Still a commute but the people, the atmosphere, and my ability to laugh every day makes up for the salary I wish I was earning;
My family - Don't talk to all of them as much as I would like but they are still the most important people in my life;
My dog - It's just me and Stubbs at home now and he definitely keeps things entertaining;
My friends - new ones and old ones continue to bring a smile to my face;
Optimism - the ability to keep smiling through all the ups and downs in my life.

Hoping everyone has a wonderful, blessed and memorable Thanksgiving!  Before we know it Christmas will be here!

Digging This Statement

Sweater and Spirit

One of my shirts repaired Friday night included a men's basset hound sweater, which had been picked up over a year ago for $4.  It ended up being too small, sleeves too long, and neck was strangling me.  Since losing weight, it now fits; the neckline was changed and the sleeves were cut shorter so yesterday I wore it to work.  The basset hound reminded me of my mom's dog Petey - short, squatty, stinky, blundering Petey.

After work I stopped at the mini mart to get some gas.  After paying at the register, I turned and an older grandmother-type lady was in line and gave me a smile.  I smiled back and made my way back to pump my gas.

As I was standing there in the cold filling up my car , I sensed someone coming close to me.  I looked up and it was the older woman.  She smiled and said "I just wanted to tell you how very pretty you are." Wow...that was unexpected!  She then reached over and gave me a big hug.  I hugged her back, smiled, and thanked her for her kind words.

My hand to God, it felt as if this woman was my mother - an angel - giving  me a compliment here on earth.  I can't explain it - divine intervention, a channeling of spirits - but in my heart when that woman spoke and hugged me, it was my mom's spirit that I felt.  It was a great blessing and resulted in a big cry on my part later in the evening.  Love you and miss you Mom - thanks for the visit!!!

Ode to Petey

Sewing and Saturday Night

It feels like a Sunday today and that's okay with me!

Friday evening I spent finally taking in a few clothing items that had become too big.  One was a white/black tuxedo jacket - I took in the sides and back, shoulders, and made the sleeves short. Turned out much better!  Also had a men's sweater with an adorable basset hound on the front; after turning it into a V-neck with shorter sleeves, I'll be ready to wear it to work.  Also repaired a beige skirt and significantly took in a cool sequined shirt that hadn't been worn for a long time as it was too baggy and loose.  There are a couple more items that I'm going to update tonight - a sweatshirt and a dress.  It's nice to be handy with a sewing machine - thanks Mom!

Saturday was date night; picked up in a shiny red Corvette for dinner at Red Lobster followed by seeing Interstellar at the movies.  It. Was. Long.  Too long - over 2.50 hours.  Plus it was difficult to follow....my mind was wandering and there were a few times I almost nodded off.  Came home and who was there but Sam.  Have barely seen him lately but the night I have a date he shows up!  It was like "oh great, my parents are home!!"

Today one of my other new gentleman callers, as Mom would say, phoned dropping hints to come over, which I gently ignored.  Now is the time for me to be asked out, courted, or dated and not having someone just pop in at the last minute hoping for dinner,TV, and some necking.

This morning after sleeping in, laundry was on the agenda, followed by making a whole wheat crust apple/pear tart, watching the Seahawks game, hitting the gym for an hour, stopping by Goodwill, then home where homemade mac and cheese was on my cooking list.  And now surfing on-line while waiting for 9pm to watch The Walking Dead.

TGIF!!!

Insight from Unexpected Places

One option on the on-line dating website I frequent is a Chemistry test - asks a variety of questions in order to determine your relationship style or function.  The following is the summary from the test I took - interesting.  Some key points that hit home were my openness, my frustration when someone is rigid or close-minded, and my high standards.  One interesting point made was "your openness might occasionally cause a certain degree of dependency on your end because you may be so open that you easily adopt the preferences and habits of your partners and gradually relinquish things that make you so unique."  Yep, I definitely see that as having occurred in past relationships and I must be vigilant to not fall into this trap again.


Given the strong degree of confidence that you have, it’s no surprise that you get along well with most people. Indeed, it’s self-confidence that allows people to feel comfortable interacting with others without feeling insecure and vulnerable. For this reason, you shouldn’t have much difficulty in romance, at least not initially. Your social skills will likely help relieve any anxiety your romantic partners might have on those first few dates. However, over time, the high standards that you have for yourself could potentially frustrate your partner. 

Because you respect family values but appreciate a good night out on the town, you probably get along well with people that are different from you. For this reason, you would probably be quite content in a romantic relationship with someone who shares your same values on these issues. Being in a relationship with someone who enjoys going out to parties and staying-up late at night might be fun, at least initially; yet it’s likely that you will find this tiring over time. Thus, it might be easier and more satisfying for you to develop a long-lasting relationship with a person who enjoys both spending time at home and going out to eat. 

As someone who is more relaxed than most people, you likely get along with most people quite well. Chances are that your friends and colleagues perceive you as lively, fun to be with, and good-humored. When it comes to romance, you’ll likely be attracted to most people. However, your free-spirited nature might make being in a relationship with a person that is more rigid than you difficult because you might perceive the person as being too uptight and controlling. 

Your openness probably makes it easy for you to respect and appreciate people that are different from you. However, when it comes to romantic relationships, your openness might make it difficult for you to tolerate people that cannot appreciate diversity as much as you. Therefore, you may be happiest in serious relationships with people that share your open-mindedness. But, your openness might occasionally cause a certain degree of dependency on your end because you may be so open that you easily adopt the preferences and habits of your partners and gradually relinquish things that make you so unique. 

Time to Shine!

It's kind of interesting being single and dating again this time around.  I think the last year was overwhelming for me with stress and it caused me to shut down and become more of an introvert, encapsulated with worry.  Now, with the stress behind me, the joy that has been missing from my life has returned.  I smile more, laugh easily, joke, banter, and flirt.  I've begun to enjoy the gym more and look forward to working out on a daily basis.  And it seems my new optimism and positivity that I'm exuding has resulted in an increase of positive vibes being returned back to me, like a boomerang.  I feel good about myself, my confidence is higher, and in general I'm just plain happy.

This new found happiness has resulted in some surprising outcomes.  Over the last month the amount of attention and flirting toward me has increased substantially.  Men look at me approvingly, smile more, and in general flirt with me.  Compliments have increased and their behavior toward me has been surprising - I'm not used to it.  But instead of avoiding it, my smile grows bigger and this seems to encourage more interaction with all people, not just men, toward me.  Filling up my gas tank, a stranger smiles at me and we begin to chat.  While grocery shopping people strike up conversations with me.  In addition, my witty banter and sense of humor has turned up twenty notches, resulting in some gut splitting laughter with friends, co-workers, and dates.  It's unexpected but I'm enjoying every minute of it,

It's also resulted in dates...several dates.  My social calendar is filling up faster than when I was in my twenties!  My dance card has been full and I'm enjoying the ride.

Another habit I've picked up is to bestow good thoughts upon others.  There is an app I use frequently - Whisper.  It's a place where people anonymously write their secrets.  Whenever I read a secret that expresses self-doubt in girls/women (i.e., I can't make my boyfriend happy; I'm so lonely; etc.) I send them an anonymous, life-affirming message encouraging them to take different, positive steps for their lives.  I hope it helps.

Perhaps 50 isn't the life ending age I originally thought it may be.  I'm feeling healthy, strong, beautiful, happy, confident and optimistic - better than when I was in my thirties or forties.  Here's a toast to enjoying, and continuing, this time in my life!

Christmas is in the air when there are over 20 Santas in one place!  Yesterday there was a Santa convention so of course, being my mother's daughter, I had to butt in and get my picture with them. Perfect photo op and pitential holiday card!  Later several of them put on their old fashioned suits and drenched. Too much fun!

Out of the Blue Brings a Smile to My Face

I received an out of the blue Facebook message this week that brought a tear to my eye.  Back in the day I was stepmother to Chelsea, 26 and Dylan, 25.  I've kept in touch with both via Facebook and followed their growth to adulthood.  Dylan was in the Air Force and now is married with two children; Chelsea just graduated from culinary school.

The message  I received was from Chelsea and Dylan's mom; we aren't Facebook friends so it was a surprise to receive the following:

I have been errant in telling you how much you did to make the kids into who they are today...thank you....I am in your debt for all the effort you invested in them..I have to say I always could breath a little easier knowing that you were there for them!!!

Wow! What a blessing to receive this comment and it made me feel so good!  I'm glad the kids are doing great and I had a small part in making them who they are today!