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My Top Three Pet Peeves

It is defined as “something that a particular person finds especially annoying.” I have plenty of those but I’ll try to stick to three that I find not only annoying but wants to make me pull my hair out!

Not being punctual is one of them. This is one of the top “pet peeves” because as a person who believes that being punctual speaks to your character, I seem to be surrounded by people who don’t give a hoot about being punctual. My first reaction is extreme annoyance, the second is to reel it in and to let it go. However, the letting go part doesn’t always work. It just gives the person more leeway to keep on doing what they do. Now, I give a few chances and then I pull the plug. Meaning it is a friendship lost instead of putting up with someone else’s tardiness.

Next on the list are liars. I can put up with one or two lies but when it is a constant and it is very evident, it becomes a pet peeve of mine. I’ve met people who make “lying” their motto and if they can get away with it, so much the better. However, once in a while they come across someone like me who can spot a liar even before they get close! My problem is, I give them enough rope to hang themselves but then I go back and take it away! Does that make sense? It does to me. Instead of sending them on the way, I play this “nice person” and try to find out why they are the way they are. No more playing “nice guy,” I am learning to be more assertive and to understand that you can’t change people. They are the way they are.

Last but not least are fake friends. People who claim to be your friend but are never there when you need them. They are there for the good times and are invisible when times get tough. I’m sure you’ve met them too. These days, I look for the “I’m with you all the way,” kind of friendship. Friendship is a hard thing to maneuver but it is made harder still when you come across fake friends. Choose carefully.

Those are three of my top pet peeves. I have plenty more but for now, these three take the cake!

Daily writing prompt

Name your top three pet peeves.

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The Excellent Adventures of Honey and Hubie

When I sat down to write The Excellent Adventures of Honey and Hubie, I wanted to capture the kind of day every child secretly hopes for: the day when the world opens up beyond the garden fence and you discover that courage and friendship live inside you. Honey, the little Italian greyhound, begins the story very much like many of us do—safe, loved, and yet quietly restless.

She has a warm home, caring owners, and a familiar routine, but her heart is tugged by the idea that there might be “something more” just beyond the fence. Hubie, her bright green frog friend in a pirate hat, is that “something more” come to life: he is curiosity, mischief, and optimism all rolled into one.

As Honey follows Hubie out of the garden, the story becomes a journey through all the magic I remember from my own childhood walks in the woods: talking animals, music in the trees, and tiny folk who live in unexpected places. Along the way Honey meets the Buttercup Fairies, joins the Moppets’ grand celebration, learns to swim with the help of a graceful swan, and even helps
rescue baby Carmelia from the fearsome Screeches. Each encounter is meant to feel like a small, complete adventure, but they all circle back to one idea: we grow braver and kinder when we step outside our comfort zone for the sake of someone else.

At the heart of the book is the friendship between Honey and Hubie. They tease, they disagree, and they frighten each other at times, but when real danger appears, Honey finds herself willing to risk everything to protect her friend.

That moment—when a quiet, uncertain little dog stands up to a threatening Screech—is the true center of the story. Hubie later tells her that real
friendship is when you care so deeply for someone that you would give your life for theirs without thinking of your own. I wanted young readers to see that bravery doesn’t always roar; sometimes it looks like a trembling friend who refuses to run away.

The book is dedicated to my son, and that dedication is very real. I wrote this story hoping that he, and children everywhere, would never lose their sense of fantasy, because it is where compassion, courage, and creativity first learn to walk.

Honey ends the day muddy, tired, and smelling like a skunk, but she is also changed: she has danced, swum, rescued, laughed, and learned what true friendship feels like. It is not a “perfect” ending, but a perfectly honest one—a
reminder that the best days are often a little messy, a little risky, and filled with memories that last long after the bathwater runs clear.

T. J. Mueller

LOL!

A church-going man who’d been faithful to his wife for 40 years died and found himself in Heaven. Since his widow was still alive back on Earth, he was given a snug little hut to live in and a refrigerator with food and soft drinks.

One day, while he was strolling about, he saw a man he knew to be a total scoundrel – the guy had embezzled money, gambled himself deep in debt, drank like a fish, philandered all over town, and left multiple illegitimate children in his wake. He had a beautiful blonde girl on one arm and was carrying a bottle of Chivas Regal.

Enraged, the pious man went straight to Saint Peter and demanded an explanation. “I spent my life doing right by everything and I’m in this little hut with nothing special. That scoundrel drank, gambled, cheated, and stole – and you gave him a gorgeous girl and fancy whiskey!”
Saint Peter didn’t flinch. “Stay calm. It’s not as it appears. He’s got a bottle of Chivas Regal with a hole in it and a beautiful girl without one.”

Yup there is always a silver lining or things don’t always seem as they are!

LOL!

A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates.

Ahead of him is a guy who’s dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, a leather jacket, and jeans.

Saint Peter addresses this guy,

“Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?”

The guy replies, “I’m Joe Cohen, taxi driver, of Noo Yawk City.”

St. Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the taxi driver,

“Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

The taxi driver goes into Heaven with his robe and staff, and it’s the minister’s turn.

He stands erect and booms out,

“I am Joseph Snow, pastor of Calvary for the last forty-three years.”

St Peter consults his list. He says to the minister,

“Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

“Just a minute,” says the minister.

“That man was a taxi driver, and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?!”

“Up here, we work by results,” says Saint Peter.

“While you preached, people slept; while he drove, people prayed.”

Actually I did the same. While my uncle gave his sermon, I slept!

LOL!

Photo by Apostolos Vamvouras on Pexels.com

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings.

The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.

When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.”

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.

After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, “Who was that?”

“It was Bob the next-door neighbor,” she replies.

“Great,” the husband says, “did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?”

Oops! All for nothing!

The Date

I’ve written about the different types of individuals who are out there on the dating circuit. The narcissists, the scammers, the cheaters, the old men pretending to be 30 again, and a whole host of others that I know are out there but I haven’t met yet and I hope I never do! The aforementioned types give dating a bad name.

Anyway, I went out on this date last week. He seemed nice enough. A medical doctor with an impressive list of achievements to his name. He walked in carrying a bouquet of flowers and with a smile plastered on his face. Three hours into the breakfast date, we were still talking. I had to cut it short so he walked me to the car, gave me a hug, a kiss on the cheek and with a, “We’ll talk later,” and went on his way. My thought at the time, “nice guy” except for the fact that he kept telling me that he had a whole slew of women vying for his attention. Hmm…that was a red flag, but I tossed it aside.

The next day, we talked on the phone and he said, “It was a nice meeting. I want to get to know you better. I have a guest bedroom at my place and you can stay there for the weekend. I promise nothing will happen.”

He seemed harmless enough but I knew that there was no way I was going to spend a weekend at his place, no way in hell! I decided to play it out. We’ve been talking everyday since then, just friendly talk. Then it changed yesterday.

The phone call came as usual. He started out with, “I want to be honest with you. I’m not the faithful type.”

ME: “You mean you were unfaithful in your marriage?

HIM: “I’ve always been unfaithful. I think there is a difference between loyalty and being faithful.”

All the alarm bells were going off and screaming “High Alert!”

ME: “What do you mean? If you’re with someone, you are with that person. There is no room for cheating.”

HIM: “I want to be honest with you. If I’m with you, my feelings will remain with you but if someone walks in and I want to have SEX with that person, it means nothing. IT IS JUST SEX, nothing more, nothing less!”

Where do I find these guys?!! Exactly my question. The problem is he didn’t see the stick stuck so far up my you know what and neither did he see all the doors slamming shut on him! I listened and then it was time to put him out of his misery.

ME: “This is not for me. Cheaters are not my cup of tea, coffee or whatever else! You do you and I’ll do me.”

HIM: “Once we are together, I think it will change. I THINK I will be faithful BUT I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

He was being honest but I started wondering how many marriages out there are running on this same concept. The “having your cake and eating it too,” concept. I know it is not for me. Either be with me 100% or take a hike!

Another one bites the dust. Onwards and forwards. This dating thing is more than a headache and a half!

Have an amazing day.

Trusting Your Instincts

Where do I start?!! I want to say that I trust my instincts because I have a good head on my shoulders but, alas, it’s the other part that I worry about. The part that sees and doesn’t want to see and does its own thing. So far, it has been running rampant and doing whatever it wants. I call it “my heart.”

I am a softie when it comes to matters of the heart. Deep down inside I know that the path I’m taking is not a good one and it will lead to trouble but still I keep on, sometimes out of curiosity and sometimes out of sheer stupidity!

This journey of self-discovery I am on has helped to keep me on the straight and narrow but the heart wants what it wants. It wants excitement, the feeling of danger, the throbbing that comes from the adrenaline rush and so it goes. I’m not an adrenaline junkie, never have been, but I go for the “bad boys!” The ones I know from the get go that they are better left alone. However, I want to play the “helper” or rather the person who wants to save them from their misery.

Self-discovery has helped me to see things with a clearer perspective. Still, I am not all the way there. It is going to take time. Do I trust my instincts? Absolutely!

These days, I’m giving the “good guys” more than a chance. They are boring but it’s time to take my boots off (the adventurous ones) and to give those house slippers a chance to reign supreme. Who knows I may just find what I’m looking for. A nice guy with a heart of gold and one who doesn’t need saving!

Daily writing prompt

Do you trust your instincts?

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December

I have a love-hate relationship with December The year is drawing to a close and I have a chance at making things better as year end approaches and a new one begins. Add Christmas to that and what’s not to like?

Plenty. I love Christmas, the sights, the sounds, the scents, and just the feeling of peace that is everywhere. The house comes alive with lights and there is this dreamy quality about it. The fireplace crackles, add a blanket or two on the couch and you’re ready to snuggle and watch the flames burn. There is just something about this time of year. I love it and yet, there is a certain sadness because the heart longs for Christmases past when loved ones were near and it was a time for family and friends to gather and celebrate the season. Christmas is no longer like it used to be. The circle has grown smaller and it is usually just Chachi and yours truly. Last year, I had a friend who came over but it wasn’t the same. This year, I might spend it with my “Little Buttercup” who is always ready to spend time with his mommy.

I have a love-hate relationship with this month. I love the cold, even better if there is snow outside, walks in nature are filled with wonder, and festive lights twinkling everywhere warms the heart and fills the soul with a certain something. I can’t put my finger on it. I call it “magic.”

However, there are definite downsides to this month as well and when you’re alone, it is magnified during this time of the year. I’m learning to cope with it and taking it in stride as I do with most things. Still, I do love December and all that it brings.

Daily writing prompt

What’s your favorite month of the year? Why?

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When Silence Speaks

Sometimes we think that silence is just that, a certain quietness where nothing happens. It is a void that is soothing but nothing much comes out of it. I beg to differ. I have found that if you listen carefully, “silence” has much to say.

“It’s been said that actions speak louder than words, sometimes, it’s what you don’t say or do, that sends the loudest message.” Carlos Wallace

Quite often when something doesn’t go our way and we are hurt by another’s actions or words, the first reaction is to let it rip. Let it all out and show them how you feel and during those moments, words are aplenty and so are emotions. However, when all is said and done and you are wrung dry, more often than not you realize that you didn’t achieve anything through those outbursts of the unsavory kind.

“Once you’ve matured, you realize silence is more powerful than proving a point.” Unknown

Maturity doesn’t show up wearing bells and it does not say, “Here I am, take me and use me.” It shows up when you least expect it and when you’ve gone though the growing up process. The one that takes you on the ups and downs, the one where you find yourself down on your knees and the one that shows you there is a better way of doing things without going ballistic. It is the quiet gentle knowledge of knowing that you deserve better and you will move on with grace. No shouting or being loud needed.

“And suddenly I stopped explaining, stopped fixing, and just moved on. I learned that silence speaks louder than words. No response is a response. Now, I don’t chase. I don’t care and I let people feel the weight of their own choices.” Unknown

Easier said than done? I know because I’ve been there. Things are hard and life is harder still but learning to navigate choppy waters is a must if you want life to let up on you. If something doesn’t go your way, take it in stride. If someone doesn’t choose you, let him or her go. If life isn’t going like it’s supposed to, stop, take note, and then move on knowing that whatever it is that life throws your way, you are fully capable of handling it. Let silence be your guide and your best friend. There is much to be learned during your bout with silence if you’ll only listen.

“Silence is not empty, it is the loudest answer.” Unknown

Not only that, it gives you the ability to get your message across WITHOUT SAYING A WORD!

Try it the next time you want to let someone have what is coming to them or you are chomping at the bit to say your piece. Stop and move in silence.

Have an amazing day.

An Italian Ice Place

I learned about this place from a friend and at first I thought it was an okay place but nothing special. It was run by Italians and most of the staff there are young Italians from Italy. Some don’t speak English, no German whatsoever, and they loved speaking in Italian. The problem? Customers had a tough time placing their orders!

However, the place grew on me. It was nice and cozy, the ambience was comforting and the people friendly. I love the decor and the music playlist had some of my favorite songs on there. It slowly became a favorite place to hang out in whenever I met friends for coffee and sometimes breakfast. If we arrived early, the place was empty and you can hear yourself talk. However, come lunchtime, it gets crowded and very noisy. That’s when it is time to go.

In summer, they serve Italian ice but throughout the year, they have Tiramisu, cakes, cookies, breakfast dishes like Avocado Toast, American style scrambled eggs, toast, and to top it all great coffee.

I am a regular there so they know me well. Just recently, a server from Argentina who speaks English told me that he was leaving to go back home. He is actually an English teacher back home and he was going back for a year to help his family and to teach but he would be back next year. There are others there that I have come to know well.

I have a favorite spot by the window so that I can people watch and sip my coffee in silence when I am there by myself but when I meet a friend, we can talk and laugh like we are the only ones in the place! It’s a nice place and since I don’t like crowded places, it works just fine for those rare moments when I get myself out and about. Oh, the bakery is right across from the Italian place and that is an added bonus. It’s where I get my beloved cheesecake! Not a good thing in one sense but for those days when my willpower isn’t where it should be, I break down and get a slice or two of cheesecake before heading back home. Not a whole cake anymore. We are making progress!

Daily writing prompt

What is your favorite place to go in your city?

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