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Blog

Vogue: 73 Questions

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Vogue: 73 Questions

A week or two ago, my blog friend, Charli, tagged me in a post about answering 73 Questions like in Vogue. Vogue is fancy so of course I’m going to reply.

  1. What’s your usual Starbucks order?
Pumpkim Spice Latte

2. What does your workstation look like?

3. Favorite food?

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Caramel apple ice cream sundae. #icecream #summertime

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4. Favorite author?

5. What do you think of open relationships?

Easier said than done.

6. What is your favorite video game?

I don’t play video games. But I used to play the Wu Tang Clan video game.

7. Guilty pleasure food?

popcorn. lots of butter and salt 

8. Favorite movie?

9. Favorite book?

See #4

10. Twitter or Instagram?

Instagram. Obviously. 😉

11. Desktop or laptop?

Whatever works. Desktop is easier for typing, copy and pasting. Laptop would be nice if I traveled more. I also use my phone.

 

12. Best advice you’ve ever received?

  1. Don’t cook naked. 2. Nobody is worth dying for (as far as domestic abuse).

13. What project are you working on right now?

Besides this post, a cold case post for later this week.

14. Favorite color?

Red

15. Did you get good grades in school?

Yes. Except for math.

16. Dream job?

Full-time blogging.

17. Play any sports?

Only if tennis with the kids counts.

18. Do you have a degree?

I do.

19. Nationality?

American

20. What is your favorite kind of blog post?

Funny and sad

21. What do you like to collect?

 Books. Funko figures.

22. Describe yourself in three words

Creative, Sassy, Independent

23. If you were a rapper what would your stage name be?

Diz-E Serene Holley P a.k.a. Humble Cakes

24. Who was the last person you DMed?

My middle daughter.

25. What’s on top of your wish list right now?

A vacation to the resort in Dirty Dancing. Also a new car.

26. Sorting house?

Slitherin.

27. How many tattoos do you have?

three

28. What are you most grateful for this year?

My kid graduated from high school and is going to college soon.

29. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you this month?

My garden is growing. Also OITNB has a new season.

30. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you today?

I wasn’t late for anything.

31. What’s the best thing ever?

Laughing.

32. Favorite season?

Summer.

33. Favorite holiday?

Halloween

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Eva Diva #Halloween #leopardcostume #halloweenmakeup

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34. What fictional character do you relate to most?

Winona Ryder in Heathers.

35. Do you like surprises?

Yes.

36. What’s the biggest surprise you’ve ever had?

When I found out I was pregnant. All. Three. Times.

37. Which surprise made you cry?

None

38. What’s the best surprise you’ve given somebody else?

I bought my oldest a trophy for graduation.

39. Do you like muffins?

Yes.

40. Do you cook often?

Not really.

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Eva Diva and Sophie. #summer16

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41. What’s your favorite dessert?

 Chocolate/Raspberry ice cream

42. Is there a dessert you don’t like?

I haven’t met one that I dislike.

43. Cake or pie?

Both.

44. What’s your least favorite food?

Sauerkraut

45. What’s your favorite condiment?

Ranch dressing or BBQ sauce.

46. It’s 4 am on a random Saturday. What are you eating?

ice cream

47. If you could teach a college class what would it be called?

How to Make Better Choices Than Me.

48. Best animated film?

Big Hero 6.

49. What has a guy done or said to impress you?

My college boyfriend made a fancy dinner. His friend was the butler. I had another boyfriend that played the guitar and sang. Sometimes for me.

50. Best thing to do on a first date?

Dinner. Going for a walk on the boardwalk or downtown area.

51. Worst thing to do on a first date?

hiking. So creepy.

52. Whats the funniest pick up line a guy/girl could use?

If I could rearrange the alphabet, I’d put U and I together.

53. Best comic book character?

Ms. Marvel. She-Hulk. Wonder Woman. Harley Quinn

54. Name 3 things that can always be found in your purse?

Wallet. Lipstick. Migraine meds

55. Favorite drink?

Margarita

56. If you could play a historical character in a movie who would it be?

Margaret Tudor. Queen of Scots. Sister of Henry VIII.

57. Kittens or puppies?

58. Favorite Sushi roll?

59. What lipstick do you use?

Dark browns/reds/purples

60. What foundation do you use?

Elf

61. Blow dry or air dry

Air dry

62. Who is your fashion icon?

Audrey Hepburn

63. Favorite Disney Character?

Ursula. Maleficent

64. What are you doing tomorrow?

Working. Picking up kids. Drinking coffee

65. Movie you laughed the hardest through?

The Hangover

66. Movie that made you cry?

Dangerous Liasons

67. If you could sing a duet with anybody who would you choose

Post Malone.

68. If your life was a song what would the title be?

Making a Mess 24/7

69. What is your favorite animal?

Monkeys

70. Favorite Illustrator?

Too many to list

71. The person you want to have coffee with?

I’m not picky. Come have coffee with me.

72. What country would you like to visit?

Italy

73. Best way to decompress?

Watch Netflix. Have a snack. Go to the beach.

Blog

Year in Review: 2018 Didn’t Totally Suck

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Last year didn’t start off well for me. It was more like Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness than Shiny and Oh So Bright.

I quit a job that payed well because the money wasn’t worth crying every day. I still cried for a month afterward but that was because my bank account was sad also. For a few months, I worked at another crappy job.

In June, I broke my toe and stopped working at factories for forever and ever. It was kind of a blessing. A very painful blessing.

There was more time for blogging, reading and driving my kids every damn place on earth. I did 280 blog posts and approximately 26 posts on BuzzFeed. On a side note, I may have reset my BuzzFeed password about 27 times.

In 2018, I added two sections, Funktober and Cold Case Quest, to keep it interesting around here. The Funktober posts were fun. The Cold Case Quest posts are more serious but it fills some need that I have to make a tiny difference in the world.

Apparently, I took the Goodreads reading challenge super seriously because I kicked its ass. Other years, it has kicked mine. In 2018, I read 38 or 39 books. Most years, my limit has been 15. There are book reviews for most of them on this blog. I read more ebooks this year than ever before. Is it because I can read the kindle in the car without getting carsick? Possibly.

My boyfriend thinks I should tell you what I’ve really been listening to for the last several months. Fine, here is the video that I can’t stop watching. You’re welcome.

I don’t have a plan for the blog for 2019 quite yet. Hopefully, it will be interesting enough. So here’s to another year of blogging, reading and driving my kids every damn place.

Blog

Pinky Swear

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image

The boyfriend and I were having our once-every-few-years conversation about marriage. It’s more of a conversation about not getting married. Really it’s about keeping promises or our ability to not keep promises.

He used to be very deterred by the fact that I’ve been divorced. Also, I don’t feel especially bad about the divorce. To him, it means that I don’t feel bad about breaking my promise to stay married to my ex. It’s true. I do not feel bad. Divorce sucks but so would staying married to my ex. Besides, if I stayed with my ex, I wouldn’t be with the current boyfriend and that would really be terrible.

It doesn’t seem to matter that I’ve only been divorced once. The promise was still broken. My grandma was married four times. We know people that were on their fourth wife before they reached the age of 40. I feel like I’m doing alright in the marriage/divorce department.

We also discussed the idea that if we get married that one of us won’t be able to keep our promise.

I don’t remember who brought up pinky swears. I know that I said I only pinky swear with my kids and only something that I know I can promise for sure.

This is the furthest that we’ve ever gotten in the conversation. There is a reason that we only discuss it once in a blue moon: one of us feels defensive. Tempers flare, again, just the one temper. Still, the conversation always screeches to a halt and one of us doesn’t talk for several hours about anything. (i.e. I feel on the defensive about being a promise breaker. I get pissed off. Then I don’t want to talk about marriage for another two years.)

We talked about commitment. We’ve been together for almost 7 years. I asked if he was committed to me. Clearly, he is. Then I wondered what was really keeping us from getting legally married.

Then he brought up spirituality and being together in the afterlife. I was honestly stumped. Spirituality is one of those topics that brings out the awkward in me. The thing we don’t know is what spiritual being are we saying is cool enough to be involved in a wedding ceremony. The five winds? I’m voting for a Hawaiian God in case we have a destination wedding.

The Afterlife? Together forever and ever in the afterlife. Seven years is the longest that I’ve ever been with anybody. Do I have what it takes to be together with someone for eternity?

I asked if that meant I couldn’t make out with dudes in the nursing home if he dies first. He said it was okay but I have to stop seeing them after I die.  There will be no flirting in the afterlife.

Then he said, “This should be a blog post.”This is when I definitely knew that our chat would not end badly.

Sometime in the conversation, he wanted me to take a picture of his pinky. Howevre, there were no pinky swears made that day.

I think it’s progress. I can totally see us getting married in another five years. It will take that long for us to get through the spirituality conversation.  Apparently, Thor is not an option for our spiritual being at the wedding. I asked already.

 

 

 

Blog, movies, Uncategorized

Inspiration: Movies, Cooking & Surfing

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pin3
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/75364993741351312/

 

 

For the last month, maybe two months, I have been rather uninspired. I have been in the valley (aka the pits of despair) with this guy  . . .

pin1
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/316729786269414369/

Not really. I haven’t even been to a literal valley. For Pete’s sake, I haven’t even been to Cleveland for several months.  I’ve mostly been going to the library and watching movies.

In the last two months, I’ve probably watched at least 50 movies. 50 is the low estimate. There were good movies, bad movies, movies that made me fall asleep – I’m talking to you “Inception.” It would be great to stay awake and watch Tom Hardy but all of those people sleeping makes me sleepy.

However, there have been two movies that I’ve watched this week that have been fairly inspiring.

When I rented “Chasing Mavericks,” I didn’t know that it was based on the true story of Jay Moriarity. I won’t tell you what happens. I will tell you that it makes me want to get off of the couch and go surfing. I’m from Ohio. I’ve never even touched a surfboard. It’s possible that I’ve not even seen a surfboard in person. That’s not the point. The point is that I need to get out there and do stuff again. It’s not that I want to surf the Mavericks but I want to learn the basics. Small waves are better than no waves.

Would I rather waste time being a couch potato or learn to surf and maybe meet some sharks. If I came face to face with a shark, I would at least have a story to tell. Probably. I mean, after I kick the shark in the face. Then it can be storytime.

pin4
http://ragtagriot.com/motivation-get-week/

The second movie was “Julie & Julia.” I totally relate to Julie. She’s in a rut and then she starts to blog. I’m a blogger and currently in a rut. (My grandma blamed being in a rut on drinking too much soda. It turns out that she was right.)

pin5
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/568086940473395283/

Anyway, as many of you know, I’m a terrible cook. It’s more than just being terrible, I’m afraid of cooking or rather afraid of the rejection and disgust from listening to people complain about my cooking. I’ve gotten back into the kitchen for short periods of time – only out of necessity.

My mom says that I’m an avoider of difficult subjects. When I was a kid, I used to take naps to avoid life. Now, I just outright avoid the kitchen, except for doing dishes and making coffee. Sometimes, I pour cereal for the kids. I have offered to make them food but they almost laugh me out of the room, like “Yeah, no thanks mom. We’d like to live another day.”

I don’t want to be this person that avoids scary things, like cooking and sharks. I want to get out of this rut. Getting back into the kitchen might be part of the ticket. Today, I found a Chinese cookbook in the kitchen. It must be my boyfriend’s – my cookbooks are usually called, “Quick & Easy” and “Oops.” The cookbook is very zen. I need some zen cooking and surfing lessons. It has got to be better than hanging out in the pits of despair.

 

 

Blog, Depression, Mental Health

Driving Maybe. Sinking Definitely

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I shouldn’t tell you. It’s too much information maybe.

I feel like I’m sinking into a murky abyss.

Nothing is going right and it affects everyone around me.

I’m sinking and dragging everyone down.

I hit a telephone pole. Everyone is fine. The telephone pole is still standing

At some point, I will have to drive again. The boyfriend said I can’t afford a chauffeur.

I almost can’t spell chauffeur or write a single post because the abyss is taking over.

I’m sinking.

Is it too late to learn how to surf?

 

 

Blog, mommyhood, Uncategorized

Christmas Doesn’t Have to be Perfect, right?

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The tree is up. No mice fell out of it – thank goodness! The box was slightly open so there was a possibility of a mouse hiding in the branches.

The Elf on the Shelf has been found. I forgot her name for a few minutes. It’s Belle. Well, that’s what it said on Instagram.

hp2

Most of the decorations are up. I even went through the box that didn’t have a lid.Why didn’t it have a lid?

Also, there were no mice in the box. There was only a huge insect waiting for me at the bottom.

Note to self: Buy a damned lid. Think of it as a Christmas present to yourself.

Unfortunately, I cannot lift the “Ain’t Nobody Got Time Fo’ That” Box. My neighbors probably got a kick out of watching me drag it across the yard. This box makes me laugh every time. It shouldn’t. My boyfriend thinks it’s funny that I took down Christmas decorations down in less than an hour one year. Christmas tree and everything. So he labeled the box with this name as a homage to my lack of Christmas spirit.

He went to the store for milk and when he returned, Christmas was officially over and the tree was stuck in the door. I had a meltdown – like a major, meltdown.

I wanted Christmas to be perfect and magical and lovely like something on the Hallmark Channel. It was nowhere near any of those things.

Every Christmas since then, I look at this box and remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be special. My kids are probably going to fight all day. Someone will leave their belongings somewhere else. I will receive clothes ten sizes too  big. It’s just how things are sometimes.

We are not a Hallmark Channel family. However, we can still have a pretty awesome Christmas. I just saw “The Nightmare Before Christmas” decorations that would be fairly perfect for our house. It would be like Christmas and Halloween all in one.  We can make it work for us.

 

 

hp

Blog, Fangirl, Uncategorized

T-Shirts are My Favorite

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img_20151011_101028.jpg

Teeconomist sent this to me. My middle kid has her eye on it. She will be  trying to borrow it soon. It must be cool enough. You can find your own cool t-shirt at the following link. They have tons of nerdy shirts for your enjoyment. Personally, I like the designs by Poofette.

The shirt been washed several times. The design hasn’t faded yet so that’s a definite plus. I’m also very excited that it hasn’t shrunk either. However, my kid is still hoping that it shrinks.

Teeconomist

Designs by Poofette

 

 

 

*I received the t-shirt from Teeconomist in exchange for blogging about their t-shirts.

Blog, Uncategorized

The Neighbor’s Dog is a Jerk

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on http://barkpost.com/21-of-the-greatest-dogshaming-pics-hide-yo-underwear/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post

 

This week, I’ve read a few really great posts about things going on in the world. So I’m over here not telling you anything important or exciting. Funny, maybe.

My neighbor’s dog is a jerk. A greedy little bastard that doesn’t want me to go into my house or see my kid sit on the steps of our house.

The last time that the neighbor’s dog came over, the owners came to retrieve it. Two owners and my boyfriend were trying to catch the dog in our yard. It was hilarious. I’m so glad that they didn’t see me laughing hysterically, while I watched from the kitchen.  This is why I haven’t put curtains up yet. I’m just waiting for something else to happen.

The other night it was barking at us while we sat in the car. He wanted to bite us and nip at our feet. It’s what he does.

I tried to call my boyfriend but that didn’t work. The dog ran away for a minute and I made a break for it. I can’t say that I ran. I did walk briskly.

Of course, I could not find the keys.

And of course, the little jerk came back and had me cornered on my own steps.

So what else could I do but bang on the door and yell for the boyfriend? Nothing. I didn’t want to kick it exactly. I was ready to swing my purse at it if it got any closer.

The kid was watching. Besides that it wouldn’t be right to kick that little bastard back onto it’s own porch. Right? Right.

Times like this makes me miss our old neighbor, the rooster. Yeah, it crowed all day but it never chased us or marked it’s territory in our yard.

Sorry that I don’t have any pictures. I was too busy shooing the dog away to take a picture.

 

 

 

 

 

Blog, Mental Health

Kidney Chronicles: Let’s Do Our Nails Again

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Nail Salon

My friends, my mom, the doctor all want to know, “How do you feel?”

I’m supposed to say fine. Fine. I feel freaking awesome.

It’s all a lie. The only good thing I could say to the doctor was that my nails look great. Really, they do. I’ve had nothing but time to spend on my nails. It’s good that I’ve had so much time because I still can’t sit still long enough to let the topcoat dry. So I have to start all over.

I swear I can hardly move. How do I keep messing up the topcoat? Lucas says I don’t have the patience to be a nail jedi. I’m going to keep at it  until I have succeeded.

I do not feel fine. I feel like I have a foreign object in my body. Oh wait. I have two foreign objects in my body right now. Namely two stents. One in each ureter. You know, the place between the kidney and the bladder.

I had one surgery last week and scheduled for another one in two weeks. The nurses at the doctor’s office thought I could still work until I told them what I do for a living. Then it was “Oh yeah, I guess you can’t work then.” They still think I can go back to work the day after surgery. I think those bitches are crazy with a capital C. Crazy.

I haven’t worn pants for at least a week, unless you count pajamas as pants. I’ve been wearing pajama pants every where. It’s not my thing but it will be my thing for two more weeks since I can’t wear pants that are pants.

On top of that, they gave me a diet plan because my kidney stones are made of calcium oxalate. Peanut butter, chocolate and blueberries are on the “don’t-eat-this-or-else” list. My daughter, who can be a bit dramatic, said that I have to stop eating peanut butter or I will die. Honestly, I love peanut butter so much that I might die without it. What am I supposed to eat now?

Yeah, I can’t sit at the computer for very long. So my NaNoWriMo novel has been put on the shelf. I haven’t totally given up on the novel. I’m still thinking of plot and character.

I feel like it would feel better if someone was taking out my kidney with a dull spoon. It would be so gross. But I really think I would feel better. Eventually.

In the meantime, who wants to come over and get their nails done? I won’t make you join a nail polish cult or remove my kidney or anything.

Blog

More Anxious than . . .

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I was anxious yesterday. Honestly, I may be anxious every day but I was especially anxious yesterday. It was a stressful work day. I was waiting anxiously for everyone to yell at me for anything and everything. Someone noticed the anxiousness oozing out of my body. It was probably sweat but it looked like anxiety.

This person said, “You look more nervous than a pregnant nun.”

I stopped. Well, my body kept moving but my brain stopped for a minute – if only to think about how nervous a pregnant nun would be.

Holy crap! I felt that nervous. Now someone has noticed. Does that mean the anxiety is out of control? Do I need to do something about it?

No, it will be fine. Sometimes breathing helps. Not worrying about every little thing helps. And then more breathing. If there is any humor in the situation, I hope to find it and laugh hysterically later in the bathroom. Or maybe I should wait until I get home so people at work don’t hear me laughing hysterically in the bathroom. I would rather not get called to the office for being a distraction.

http://myinnerchild.lolspotsarticles.com/368844-lol?p=5
http://myinnerchild.lolspotsarticles.com/368844-lol?p=5

Then I realized that it could be worse. I could be the pregnant nun. Thank goodness I didn’t take my uncles advice and become a nun. He said it was a good job with three square meals a day and a shot of whiskey at night. Can anyone confirm that nuns drink whiskey every night or is it only in the winter?