Fun & Uplifting Simple Little Giveaway

This is a picture of the decal I currently have on the back of my car.

I got tired of seeing profane, sarcastic, nasty stickers on vehicles every time I left the house and wanted to send the opposite message out into the world...something that uplifted instead of insulted.

Lord knows we've got more than enough stuff to feel bad about in this current world of ours, am I right?

I got the idea that there should be more of this kind of thing - wishing complete strangers well - that I ordered two more and decided to make them this month's giveaway.

Nobody likes giving stuff away more than me!

For the month of August, I will be keeping track of every person who comments ('likes' don't count - I'm wanting real interaction) on my Facebook pages, signs up for my newsletter, and/or hits the share button under my artwork posts.  

Then I will randomly select two of those people to receive this decal, absolutely free of charge, no strings attached.

Let's uplift together ♥

Surviving Summer

I'm in self-imposed lockdown this week because most of New Jersey is in a disgusting heat wave.

Also, my anxiety level is creeping toward the red zone because most of New Jersey is in a disgusting heat wave.

Did I mention the disgusting heat wave?

Thanks to black paper shades (just over $6 at Home Depot!) and dark curtains on most of my windows, it's nice and dark and cool inside my house and I'm protected from the intensity of the sun which is essential for me all the time, but particularly in the summer when the sun is trying to kill me.

There are other things you can also do to cope while hiding inside away from Evil Sun and its cohorts, Humidity and Dew Point...

For one, humor. Humor is essential to ward off all kinds of woes. In fact I would go so far as to say that it has saved my life on many occasions. So while you are hibernating from summer, you could look at fun/ny things on the internet or watch funny television  or read books that makes you laugh (the library is free and cool!) or draw nonsense pictures that crack you up (see above & below) even if they might not make a single other person snicker. 

Decorating Naturally For Everlasting Life

Recently JP came home with a Just Because bouquet of flowers for me.  Such a thoughtful husband he is.

I am a flower lover; they are one of my very most favorite things in the world and they are everywhere in my house, in dried form, in a myriad of ways.  You see, I have to make sure they're reused so that their little flower lives aren't short-lived and/or for naught. 

While I of course appreciate a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers, when I see them stuck in a vase I eventually can't help but think about how happy they must have been growing happily in the dirt until they got ripped out of the ground and shoved into a vat of water, on display as they die.

It's the same reason I won't have a real Christmas tree. I'll tell that story when we're closer to December.

So while I know any fresh flowers I receive would be much happier in a field soaking up sunshine and swaying in the breeze, I can at least extend their life by decorating with them and loving them long time. 😊 

That's way better than throwing them in the trash and sending them to the landfill.
Flowers bring so much joy; surely their lives are worth more than to culminate in a garbage truck.

For this most recent JP bouquet, I used them along with a tree branch from my vast collection of tree branches.

Yes, I collect tree branches so that they, too, can have everlasting life.
Trees and flowers. My two most favorite things after husband, daughter, doggie.

I have a few of these tree branch/flower bunches around the house and they're so pretty.

All you have to do is deconstruct your flowers into small little bunches.

Wrap the bunches with some twine, then tie each bunch to the branch.

Voila!

Jabbed

I got my 1st dose last week, finally, after overcoming personal hurdles.

I have medical PTSD...well, actually, I have C-PTSD (the C stands for Complex) which means it's sourced from more than one trauma but the medical part is a big part of my particular PTSD pie.

What that means for me is that it's about 1000 times worse than the more commonly known 'White Coat Syndrome' so even something as simple-sounding as going to Walgreen's to get a vaccine that a gazillion people have gotten is a monumental thing for me...and I mean that in the true sense of the word.

Anyway, we went to Walgreen's. I had cancelled approx 3 appointments prior to this one for various reasons such as the stars not being in the correct alignment 😄 but at this point I was so sick of myself, sick of my anxiety and neuroses, that I forced myself this time.

And once we got there and approached the pharmacy part of the store I told JP I couldn't do it, which he understood because he is saint-like in his support and understanding of my aforementioned anxiety and neuroses.

Not wanting to disappoint him or myself, I then told him let's walk around the store a bit to see if the panic subsides.

The Herbary at Bear Creek Farm

As I said in a previous post, we stayed local during JP's vacation which was just fine by me especially since it turned out to be oppressively hot and depressingly sunny that week. As someone afflicted with Summer SAD* and photosensitivity, hot and sunny weather is the most dreaded combination and makes me hide in the house insulated comfortably by dark window coverings and air conditioning.

However, I do recognize that it's creepy not always healthy to hide from the sun all the time and so we ventured out on a hot, sunny May day to visit a place I've been meaning to get to since we moved back to the shore last July - The Herbary At Bear Creek Farm in Howell, NJ.

Have you ever heard of terrain - the Anthropologie-associated garden center/gift shop/all around amazing retail wonderama?  When we lived in Delaware we would frequently go to the terrain location in Glen Mills, PA since it was just a few miles from us. I haven't been back there since leaving Delaware and I've missed it, so you can imagine my delight at discovering that The Herbary has a very similar terrain vibe which is also my vibe: simple, natural, peaceful, hip.

The first thing we noticed when we drove into their parking lot is the openness. No cramming of mass amounts of plants that makes you feel overwhelmed...

Staycation At The Jersey Shore

JP was on vacation last week - or, rather, he was on staycation.

It was his first time off in sixteen months other than the one day he took off when we moved into our house.  To say he needed a week off would be a gross understatement especially considering that he works in the auto industry. Oh, the stories I could tell about what it's like to work at a car dealership!  
For now I'll just save it for that book I'm going to write soon.

Taking the kind of vacation where you pack bags and travel to a place and sleep overnight(s) there was not on the agenda since what he needed more than anything was to do a whole lot of nothing.  To just be home, to take it slow, to sleep in. His daily commute is pretty much a nightmare from the Jersey shore to north Jersey so I did not want him to have to drive too much during his week off. As usual since he is the best husband on earth, he said he'd do whatever I wanted but what I wanted more than anything was for him to relax. 

Staying home for vacation is highly appealing to someone like me. I hate sleeping away from home. For one, I have a monstrous phobia of bedbugs and other disgusting things that might be present in a place you would rent to sleep at - hotels, motels, Holiday Inn, etc. Have you ever watched the television show Hotel Impossible? I've seen things on that show that have scarred me and will haunt me for all my days. 

I used to not be this way. In fact, for many years I spent the winter months in a Miami Beach hotel suite.
This was before bedbugs made a comeback. By the time they re-emerged (<---that word makes my skin crawl), I was no longer a snowbird and was instead embracing local day trips that had me back in my own nice clean NJ bed by bedtime.

For two, in the few instances that I have actually been able to get past being completely skeeved out about laying in a bed that many, many other people have laid upon and in, I literally cannot sleep. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get 3 or 4 hours of broken sleep which means that I am basically a zombie on away vacations.  I have stayed in everything from super luxury resorts to rented cabins and it doesn't matter - I won't sleep. 

For three, many people seem to want to pretend it isn't so but...there is still a pandemic. It's really obvious that there are wayyyyy too many people who seem to have forgotten that now that summer is nearly upon us and there is fun to be had. 

We took a ride on Sunday from Seaside Heights to Point Pleasant Beach (which encompasses some of the most prime NJ shore destinations for those unfamiliar with the area) and I'm still traumatized 24 hours later but what we saw - and we saw a lot because we were stuck in summer-style traffic even though it's not summer yet.  Thousands of people on the boardwalks and beaches. Truth is I've never been big on being anywhere that a whole bunch of other people are and now thanks to pandemic, that's about 1000% worse.

Deciding to stay close to home and enjoy our house and yard and sleep in our bed this past week was just fine for both of us.

The plan now is to buy a really small inflatable pool that will fit on the patio so we can cool off while enjoying a cocktail.  If we stretch our imagination we can pretend it's sort of like a swim up bar at a fancy hotel but much, much cheaper and without the crowds. Or the bedbugs. Or various other germs and inconveniences.

In no way do we feel like we're missing out. In face, we really wouldn't have it any other way.

The Potpourri Of Putridity Has Been Proliferating In Plentitude

I've had some personal challenges recently, or as I recently wrote in a letter to a dear friend - "the potpourri of putridity has been proliferating in plentitude of late".

​And, as usual, when putridity enters the scene, creativity beats a hasty retreat and I've just basically been languishing in a non-luxurious state of inertia, enhanced by healthy does of overwhelment and ennui.

Plus, it really is 37°(F) outside despite it being late-ish April.
I know, I know - springtime is unpredictable...which is why I distrust it so.  
Did I mention the wind?  Yes, on top of the unseasonable temperatures we are experiencing here in New Jersey we are also under a gale force warning. 

via GIPHY

But back to the putridity...it really all started months and months ago when we moved back to NJ and a whole bunch of Other People's Stuff started happening that affected me directly and I forgot to remember to protect myself from a lot of it as I put Other People's Wants/Needs/Issues ahead of my own and you have to trust me when I tell you that no good will ever come from that. 

From 2019: Sitting Still On A Friday (6.10.19)

More evidence that sometimes something good comes from something bad:

 Last week Sherilyn was not feeling well with a pretty good cough and general malaise and so I got to work making a vat of chicken soup for her.  This is what I do whenever any one of us is sick as a pot of my very garlicky chicken soup has been known to cure most ills.

Then I got the idea to mix up a batch of fresh juice for her and us, too.  The more vitamins, the better, right?  But I didn't want to drag out the juicer because cleaning that thing after usage is a nightmare, so I decided to use the Ninja thing with the big attachment.

 This is really boring so far but here comes the good part.

As I was attempting to assemble the blade attachment it somehow slipped right out of my hand and I don't know what happened next but one or two seconds later I became very aware that a very significant amount of blood was gushing from my right wrist.

You Know What They Say About Mean People

Mildly apoplectic with a large dose of being disheartened would be the words of the day for me.

I had a job interview the other day and the interviewer was rude and condescending and I didn't speak up for myself so I've been stewing in that for the past couple of days.

Ever have something like that happen?  How did you handle it?

I used to interview people in a previous position and I was really good at it.
Thankfully, it would never occur to me (then or now) to to be rude and condescending to anyone generally speaking, but especially in an interview setting when you know the person is already nervous.

I'm frustrated at myself for not speaking up but more than anything I'm sad that there are people who treat other people with such disregard.

Seems like a good day to get outside and spread some extra kindness.

Finally, March (aka Fake Spring)

It never fails.

Despite knowing better, as soon as the calendar turns to March, I'm like hooray, winter's over!

Case in point:  I was an avid Rollerblade skater back in the day. I was pretty much addicted to it and used to skate between 3-5 miles every day, always in the same place.

There is a road in Bay Head, NJ, that runs right up alongside the ocean and the oceanfront mansions of the Excessors (people who buy more and spend more than they actually have to). It's not heavily trafficked so you'll mostly find people riding their bikes, walking themselves and/or their dogs, skating, etc. You'd find me there every day from springtime to late fall, showing up immediately after work on the weekdays and sometimes several times a day on the weekends. Regular exercise - which I will not go on about because there's not much else that's more boring than people talking about exercising - will do that to you...make you addicted thanks to glorious endorphins...the exact ones that have been eluding me of late.

Back then I had to skate, just like I had to eat and sleep.

But skating outdoors in a place like New Jersey is a seasonal activity and I would freak out hard when the seasons changed and it got too cold to skate anymore - especially along the oceanfront where it's much colder and windier than it is inland.  

Winters were long for me as I counted the days until I could skate again.

When the calendar turned to March it was on.  In my head March meant springtime no matter what the thermometer said and so I'd head out to finally skate again. Drive to the beach, park, put my skates and wrist guards on, and off I went.

To hypothermia.

20 or so yards into my skate and my eyes were tearing, nose was running, and I would start to not be able to feel my extremities and it would dawn on me that it wasn't time to start skating yet.
Skating the 20 yards back to my car felt like this:

 

I did this every March for at least a few years.

In my defense, no one ever said I was the sharpest tool in the shed.

My only excuse?  I guess it's only that hope always springs eternal + those eager little endorphins.

19 days until technical Spring.
Actual Spring is anyone's guess.

A few minutes ago it was flurrying outside.  Not a good skating day.

Not Always Uplifty (Especially A Year Into A Pandemic) & That's OK

Hello all.
I hope today finds you as happy as you can muster during these uncertain times. 

Do you hate that term as much as I do? I'm sorry. I don't know why I used it. I won't do that again. 😕

Recently I have been stuck in a mildly depressive funk* and I wrote about it in a previous post. I received a comment from someone in response to that post in which the person wrote 'thanks for being so uplifting' with what I deduced might have been an itsy bit of sarcasm, and accompanied by the statement being punctuated with abundance of exclamation marks (!!!!!!!) which can sometimes come across as being shouted particularly when more than one is used.

THANKS FOR BEING SO UPLIFTING!!!!!!!

Ha ha, I'm having fun with it although I am hoping that the commenter wasn't really yelling at me because there's nothing I can do to change about being in a funk and not being very uplifty right now. 

See, I write from my real life.
Sometimes in my real life the things I write about might be happy, funny, weird, sardonic, sad, ridiculous, depressing, self-deprecating, etc. 
Am I uplifting and encouraging at times? Yes.

All the time? No. I'm an actual person with various moods, emotions, etc. 
Am I filled with a bunch of nonsense? Regularly. I use humor in all aspects of my life because

(a) what's better than laughing?, and

(b) humor is a fantastic coping tool when sh*t gets real (see resources below and image above).

I do not subscribe to the idea of constant positivity because it's unrealistic, unsustainable, and also unrelatable, which may be the most important 'un' of the three. 

39 Days Until Spring + Everything's Stupid

I am not dealing well with winter this year which is quite surprising as I am usually a wintertime welcomer.

This year, though, I've been stuck in a pit of despair struggling more than usual and so being stuck indoors is not doing wonders for my fragile state of mind mood.

This morning I heard that springtime is 39 days away and I felt this sudden odd and foreign sensation that might have been hope but I'm not sure because I no longer really know what that feels like, which was then quickly followed by the crestfallen thought of how the hell am I supposed to get through the next 39 days even though I've now gotten through almost 12 months of what was supposed to be a 15-day pause.

The truth is that I don't need springtime; I just need it to not be 20°(f) so that when I do go outside it doesn't make my lungs feel like they're going to explode. 

My mood has been so low lately that I have resorted to looking things up on the internet like How To Cope With Winter During A Pandemic and Wintertime Mood Lifters While Traversing A Worldwide Plague and Happy Activities When Pretty Much Everything Sucks.  Not surprisingly, I have not found anything very helpful in reading such things as it does nothing for my mood to consider following their suggestions such as getting up off the couch to go alphabetize my spices or starting a new home-based fitness routine via free YouTube videos. The only real exercise I'm getting lately and seem capable of is lifting my hand to my mouth to shove food into it.

note:  the above meme is meant to be lighthearted