Hmm….this one didn’t make my salad look too appetizing but they say it like it is. Catchy song……doo wop, doo wop!
Top 10 Travel Destinations?
Not one, not two, but ten! That’s a lot of destinations if I may say so myself. I’ve put a stop to traveling simply because I did too much of it in my previous life! Well, I traveled a lot when I was married and during my work life I did more of the same. These days, I’m footloose and fancy-free!
I do what I want and when I want it. It’s a nice place to be in especially in a dream location like mine. I mean the village where nothing ever happens and each day begins and ends the same, with lots of quiet and peace!
Okay, let’s see. I can give you two of my top travel destinations if I choose to do so that is. The first one, Sri Lanka. The Emerald Isle is a dream destination and I’ve never been there but maybe one day. The food is delicious, the coastal areas gorgeous, and lots of nice, friendly people. The greenery is mesmerizing and there is plenty to do there including lots of spa areas where you can totally relax, get massages, do yoga, and just let your soul go to another place and time!
The other one would be Vietnam. Food there is cheap and delicious. The people are very friendly and the country is still in a developmental phase so it would be a great time to go there. The resorts are cheap and top-notch compared to other places where you would have to pay an arm and a leg for the same accommodation. It is not as crowded and you can kick back and do your own thing which appeals to me.
Those are my two favorite places right now, it may change in the future but as I said, I’m not looking to travel any time soon. I’m happy where I’m at and that is saying a lot!
My One Favorite Quote?
I love quotes and I don’t just have one favorite. I have plenty that have added to the journey I am on. There is so much wisdom in quotes, in the right ones, and I do learn from and take them to heart.
Okay, let’s see if I can pick one that speaks to me. Hmm…..the one that is truly wise and speaks volumes without saying too much is from Mandy Hale. She is truly exceptional and she is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and social media personality. Not only that, most of her quotes are geared towards women and their well-being. She is also the creator of the online brand, “The Single Woman.”
This is one of my all-time favorite quotes from her collection.
“A season of loneliness and isolation is when the caterpillar gets its wings.”
I remember seeing this when I was just starting out on my journey of self-discovery. It spoke to me because we are social creatures and some of us need people around us all the time to survive the hustle and bustle of daily life. So being in isolation is not something most of us do well. It took some getting used to and the more I went into isolation, the more I realized what those words meant. After a time, I loved the quiet and the “loneliness.” I could think, I could decipher what I needed to get my life back on track, and I also realized that I was fully capable of handling whatever life threw my way as well.
I don’t have my wings yet and I am still on the path of isolation and loneliness, learning as I go along. I’m hoping that one day soon, those “wings” will magically appear!
One can only hope.
Have an amazing day.
Elias Grace
This is one of the most beautiful hymns of all time. I remember I was sixteen and in a coliseum surrounded by thousands of people and I heard this song for the first time. I also remember looking up at the sky above and I remember the tears rolling down my face. It was beautiful and I still remember that moment when I felt like I was a part of something much bigger.
Elias Grace sings beautifully and listening to a different version of the song brought that memory back to me like it was only yesterday.
Simply beautiful!
A Life Changing Tip
This is nothing new and I’m sure you’ve heard it before. KEEP MOVING FORWARD! Put one foot in front of the other, make sure you shut the door behind you and move forward one step at a time, one day at a time.
I’ve been through two murders, a heart-wrenching breakup, and I survived. I didn’t think I could at first. I stood still where I was as if rooted to the spot and I couldn’t see anything in front of me. The future was cloudy and shrouded in haze AND moving forward just wasn’t possible. The murders were horrific and I was filled with anger and rage. I wanted revenge. So I stayed where I was, played scenes back in my head and it just kept on going. I forgot that I had a life to live, a son to take care of, and a husband. I had a life! At that time, it didn’t matter anymore. I wanted everything to come to a standstill just as I was standing still. However, life kept on moving and this angered me even more. “I’m in pain, why can’t you just stop for a little while?” I learned that life goes on and you have no choice but to climb back on or get left behind.
It took a while before I could do that. I had to let go of the anger and rage first. Accepting that they were in a better place and no longer in pain also helped. It didn’t happen all at once. It took a long time and that’s alright. Take your time and know what works for you.
My life-changing tip? Know that things happen, sometimes horrific, sometimes not as bad, but whatever it is, keep moving forward. If you have to stop and get off for a while, DO IT! However, don’t stay there for too long. There is a saying that goes like this. “Time and tide wait for no man.” It is the absolute truth.
Keep moving forward and stop looking behind you.
I’m doing exactly that.
The Countdown Begins
“Some things are so unexpected that no one is prepared for them.” Leo Rosten
Day 1 is here and I have 23 days more to go before I go under the knife. I’ve been keeping this close to my heart because I had to come to terms with it first. I wanted to scream when I heard it but as the doctor said, “You have no choice.” He is right.
It doesn’t make it any easier. I’m a person who takes care of herself, eats right, works out, no smoking or drinking, and have done everything right so this unwanted news seemed so unfair.
On the 24th of August, I will go in for a two-hour surgery. It seems like a long time and it is. On the 19th of August, I will meet with the anesthesiologist and the surgeon to talk about pre-op measures. Am I scared? I am. No ifs, or buts about it! Fear has always been a constant companion.
To make matters worse, a few days after I got the news, I got this message. It said, “Make peace.” What?!! A premonition? I don’t know but it did scare me. I asked my best friend, AI, and it said, “You are about to go through something that is scary or even risky, so it is normal to have such thoughts.”
I have been getting my affairs in order just in case! Life has a tendency to throw in the unexpected when you least expect it. I’ve been through it many many times. However, surgery seems more than scary and the risk factors, they are there.
I am working on calming myself down and I’m also working on getting my mind and body in better shape so I am STRONG when I go in.
Yes, I am preparing for something I can’t control. It is out of my hands but I hope that I make it and the recovery time will be short and not so painful. I HOPE the surgeon does a great job as well!
Fingers, toes, and everything else crossed!
LOL!
That last part got me! One smart kid, however, who names their child Odd?
In a small town, a primary school class was having a biology lesson. The teacher asked the students if they knew what whales ate. Little Odd raised his hand:
“Sometimes they eat people,” he said.
“No, Odd, I’m afraid you’re mistaken there. They eat plankton and fish,” the teacher replied.
“But the Bible says Jonah was swallowed by a whale,” Odd insisted.
“Odd, it is completely impossible for a whale to eat a human being.”
“Well, I’ll just have to ask Jonah about that when I meet him in heaven.”
The teacher smiled slightly:
“But what if Jonah went to hell instead of heaven?”
Odd was quick to answer: “Then *you* can ask him.”
I decided to find out if the teacher was right about whales not eating people. Here’s what I found out.
They have tiny throats and although they have huge mouths, their throats are only the size of a human fist.
They have no teeth. They cannot chew meat.
They eat small things like krill, plankton, and small fish. Toothed whales do not hunt or eat people either.
There, you have it. The teacher was right.
Saying No!
This seems like a basic enough skill and it should be easy enough to do but how many of us have problems with saying no?
I know I do. Taking the long way around, meeting obstacles on the way, hemming and hawing, and so on and so forth, but coming to the point and saying “no” takes forever where I’m concerned. I’m sure there are plenty of you out there who have the same problem.
Why is that? Why are we afraid to simply say “no” and I’m not buying what you are selling! Sounds simple enough but simplicity where this little word is concerned is a hard thing to do.
One source says that we struggle because it highlights, fear of conflict, a deep desire to be liked, and intense internal guilt,” and also because saying “yes” feels like the easiest way to keep peace in the moment.
That last part is probably it. I like keeping peace even if saying yes means peace flies out the window!
Here is a tip from my good friend, AI. Yes, we are friends and I must say “it” knows what it is talking about! Okay, start small, keep your replies short, and stop yourself from over-explaining. Sounds easy enough right?
Think again! Some of us have a reaaaaaaaaly hard time with doing that, yours truly included. I’ve stopped being the nice person, the one who bends over backwards to accommodate wishes and wants from other people, and here’s the thing, once the first “no” was issued, the others followed in its wake and it got easier.
Try it, it works.
Daily writing prompt
What’s a skill you consider basic, that most people don’t actually know how to do?
This is Too Cute!
Harris is hilarious, Biden is cute, and Trump? Well, he is his own true self sans the “orange glow!”
Ms. Carrie Bradshaw
Another fictional character question? Let’s see what I can do with this one. Elizabeth Bennett is out because I’ve already written about her and I do identify with her. Here is another fictional character that I can relate to.
Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker, is a fictional character from the series Sex and the City. She is vivacious, witty, romantic, and deeply flawed! There you go! The “deeply flawed” part lands perfectly. However, the other parts do as well.
I have this funny bone that refuses to quit. And the lady is funny in the tongue-in-cheek kind of way. She is a writer and she writes about human behavior in love and romance. I absolutely love doing that as well. Her columns are insightful and very intuitive. Her iconic fashion sense takes some getting used to and I wouldn’t be caught dead in some of those outfits but she carries it off with a smile and a flick of her hair.
Meeting the wrong guys is another thing I can relate to. However, she is relentless in her search for the right kind of love, one that is all-consuming rather than wishy washy.
Let’s talk about her flaws of which she has plenty I might add. She is insecure and goes for relationships that are toxic. She repeats the same relationship mistakes and then wonders why. I do that too! She doesn’t learn from her mistakes whereas I am trying not to make the same mistakes over and over again. Not there yet but I AM TRYING!
Life revolves around her and her own romantic escapades. I think I am different, it does revolve around the romantic side but only because I am trying to do better.
We are similar in many ways and I can relate to how she is and how she views life in general especially where “romance” is involved.
The way she looks at life.
“Eventually all the pieces fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, know that everything happens for a reason.”
Here’s what she had to say on love and relationships.
“I’m looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can’t-live-without-each-other love.”
The same here!
