Countdown to New Years- Day 16

I think I remember why I didn't do to well and following through with this last year. As the big day approaches and my EDJ gets more and more hellish, it's harder to think about positive things. It's hard to even want to think about anything happy when I could sit here and fill pages and pages with complaints.
But, one step at a time and all complaints aside, I was happy to come home from work...and I was happier to eat too many mini eclairs.  LoL (My beach body has been put off until next summer...or the summer after.)

Countdown to New Years - Day 17

9 days till Christmas! Yes, we have made it to single digits. To those of you who are sludging through the trenches of working retail this time of year....we're almost there! Stay true to yourself, don't let them get to you.

Friday Flash Fiction will return after the 25th....when my brain recovers from Retail Christmas Syndrome.

Countdown to New Years - Day 18

My whole day was a happy day today!

Really, it was. It was my day off. LoL I laid in bed a read till the obscene hour of 9am, then I sat around in my cozy "Bad Side" sweatshirt and leggings. Did some christmas shopping, spend some time with my husband. It's was an incredibly wonderful day that was way too short.

I'm back to work tomorrow...and everyday...for the next 11 days.  It's almost over for another year

Countdown to New Years Day 21 & 20

I didn't get my post done yesterday. It wasn't a good day and my brain really wasn't in a happy place and it was a struggle to think of something positive. But, I watched Scrooged and that made me laugh enough to snap out of it...(there are some heavy spots in that movie but I fast forwarded past them.)

In the end I'd say my happy thoughts for Day 22 was giggling at some classic Bill Murray. <3



Today was better and I had a much easier time coming up with some happy thoughts. Hubby suggested we go for a quick tan after I got off work, and my 12 minutes of quiet basking certainly lifted my spirits. (I swear I was a lizard in a past life)

But, what really put me in a good mood today was that earlier my daughter sent me a video on how to make a wreath out of a hanger and a bunch of ornaments. So, on my lunch break I went to the dollar store and picked up what we needed.

It turned out so awesome! We're completely covered in glitter and I'm going to be vacuuming my carpets for eternity to get it out, but I don't care. It was fun spending time with my youngest and creating something really pretty.

Countdown to New Years - Day 22

I was just about to crawl into bed when I realized that I hadn't posted for today! I would have been so angry at myself in the morning had I missed it...to be honest I probably would have posted tomorrow and changed the date, but deep down I would have known I didn't do it! LoL

What was it that made me happy today? Tonight I sat down and wrote my final exam for the online course I've been taking through Sheridan College. Yeah! I finished the course :)  I will admit that many bad words escaped my lips as I worked my way through the questions, but damn it felt good when I finished. 

And, despite already suffering from "retail holiday brain", I managed to pass the exam with an 85% . 

Yup, I'm feeling a little chuffed right now :)

Countdown to New Years - Day 23

I'm sitting here with the button of my pants undone wondering how I'm every going to make it up to bed, and if my husband has the energy to roll me up there. My favourite part of today was getting to go out to dinner with out best friends. No kids. No work. No distractions. Just the four of us making jokes and eating a fabulous meal. It was so much fun!
But, I'm so full right now....good thing this chair is comfortable because I don't think I'm going anywhere for a while.

Countdown to New Years - Day 25

What made me happy today?

NEED I SAY MORE?

#DoughnutsMakeEverythingBetter

Countdown to New Years - Day 26

As my first week is drawing to a close I've realized I enjoy thinking about what I'm going to post about. With the craziness of this time of year at my EDJ, thinking about positive things  is good mental practice. LoL

Today was harder than normal, might be a combination of a lot of things. There aren't any windows at my EDJ and I feel like I don't ever see the sun. Which is a one way ticket for my brain to sink into an unhappy place.

So off I went to the tanning beds with my husband today. I know they aren't exactly healthy for you but a quick ten minutes once a week really helps my mental process. 

I like laying there all toasty warm and cozy, imagining I'm on a beach somewhere. Ten minutes of peace and quiet and it's amazing how much I can get my thought process quieted down and semi organized.....or as close to organized that my brain will ever get. 

:) 

Countdown to New Years Day 27

My warm happy fuzzies today came from being able to spend some time alone with my husband in a dark room....while munching on popcorn and chocolate :) 

We went to see Justice League. I know a lot of people didn't like this movie but it wasn't that bad. I enjoyed it. (It wasn't as good as Thor:Ragnarock) There was action and cool fight scenes.

The Flash totally stole the movie for me. Maybe because I write stories I'm a little more aware of character arcs and growth...and really Barry Allen (the Flash) was the only who had any kind of character development at all. He's a little bit dorky and a whole lot adorable. I hope they make a Flash movie because I'd enjoy learning more about his character.


What movies have you seen lately that you've enjoyed??

#SixSentenceSunday - Wanna Be Bad

I need to stop vowing I'm going to get better at blog posting. LoL I mean well, I really do but Real Life gets the best of me and all good intentions get blown to smithereens.

Having said that this year is already FLYING by, I'm not sure if it's age (as I turned 46 this year), or I have so much on the go that I keep getting distracted. I was shocked when I checked in and realized I hadn't posted anything since January. (EEK!!)

Today's quick peek is into a short story I'm working on for a box set called "Wanna Be Bad". I'll post links when it goes live. Seriously, this is going to be an amazing collection. The theme to all the stories is, older women getting a first or second chance at love. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an ageist, and normally I don't care about the age of a heroine in a story....but there is something to be said for about reading about a woman in her 40's finding true love.

Here is a 6 sentence peek into my (unedited) contribution.....

~~~~
     Buzzing filled the air, they both looked down at where his hand landed. He might have missed her toy, but remote had slid closer to him and his fingers had pressed it though her sleeping bag.

    "What the…” his hand moved and cupped the small quivering mound inches away.

     "Oh for gods sake, it’s not like I’m the only one.” reaching in she fumbled for the remote only to hit the wrong button and change the pulsations under his hand. 

~~~

Remy and Cass are so much fun to write ;) I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. The collection should be up for release in June. As soon as I have a solid date I'll post it :)

Counting down to a New Year....17,16,15,14

It's that time of year when everything goes to hell in the retail world. I'm still making notes of what makes me happy and trying my best to be more positive and appreciated of my life. (although I'll admit there are moments when it's really difficult. LoL)

I've gotten myself quite behind over the past couple days and while I'd like to believe I'll stay on target over the coming weeks....there might be another "catch up" post done before it's all over. :)

But today I'm gong to share 4 more things that have made me happy over the past couple days.



1) A friend of mine on FB makes the most amazing paper roses ornaments and wreaths. They are gorgeous absolutly beautiful. One day I'd like to give that a try, but for now I'm going to stick with my version. Crochet hook and yarn, :) I think it turned out really cute...so I have 1. I figure in another decade or so I'll get a couple more finished. LoL




2) About 6 months ago I decided that I' was tired of touching up my hair every month because of my greys and I planned to grow all the colour out and go natural. Well....I do like my grey that's coming in. It's really pretty and sparkly but there isn't enough of it yet and after all this time I finally caved and covered them all up. I redid my streak though. After asking an informal poll on my FB page (Pink or Purple) Purple won by a landslide, but again I was inspired by a friend and decided to do both. It's purple with a thin bright pink segment down the centre.






3) My ongoing attempt to eat healthier, and start my day with something other than 2 cups of coffee has spawned something new. I came across a recipe for "Oatmeal to Go" It's like taking a bowl oatmeal and baking it into a portable version. It looked delicious and was crazy easy to make. I got a bag of "country trail mix" at Walmart and that's whats on some of them. The others have chocolate chips because that's the only way I can get anyone in this house to try something new. Put chocolate on it.




4) Winter got a late start for us this year...not that I'm complaining. I'm not a fan of snow and I really hate being cold. But that does mean I can pull out all my comfort food dinners again. The ones that are too heavy or hot for summer. Tonight I made Cottage Pie (not to be confused with Shepard's Pie, that's made with lamb). Not that it's close to a pie because I use the biggest dish I have and even then the savages cleared out half of it on one sitting. I'm going to have to hide some now so I can take it for lunch tomorrow!



Let's keep these happy thoughts going. Share what made you happy today in the comments. Even if it's small...some days are harder than others.

Counting down to a New Year....18

What make me happy today..... Chili!

I've been smitten with a hella sinus cold in the last couple days. Par for the course when my day job involves working retail with the general public. Virus get passed around like smarties at Hallowe'en.

But, making a boiling pot of herbal tea helps and so does a big pot of bubbling spicy chili. I can already breath better just from standing over it. Of course all I can smell right now is chili powder but that's okay too. :)

I completely acknowledge that I'm playing fast and loose with the term "Chili" as I put beans in mine and according to Sheldon on BBT....that's not chili. :)

Counting down to a New Year...21

What made me happy today.... having lunch with 10 of my fellow authors!!

Writing can be and is a very solitary adventure. It's so easy to feel like your all alone in the world, trying to figure things out and getting frustrated with things out of your control. Also there is the illusion that everyone else is doing so well and seems to have their shit together, while I can't slogging along making mistake after mistake.

But, getting together with a bunch of authors even for a couple hours is the most empowering and inspiring feeling. We're all in the same boat. Have the same frustrations, struggle with many of the same insecurities, and all often feel we're the only one. Being reminded that there are friends out there, even if we've only ever spoken online and this is our first chance to meet face to face. Is an amazing feeling.

The best part is we all committed to doing this on a fairly regular basis. It's a support group for a bunch of crazy people who live their lives listening to the voices in their heads....and it's normal.

Allison Cosgrove
AW Clarke
Erin Christofoli
Freya Barker
Gillian Jones
Kate Reedwood
Kerri Ann
Miranne Maguire
Shana Gray
Tricia Daniels