Tuesday Hiatus

I have a bunch of blog ideas sitting in various degrees of brainstorming or drafting. However, none are ready to post or even ready to edit. And, quite frankly, I’m rather brain dead.

Even the Ten on Tuesday prompt failed to inspire a post today. So, I’m going to skip Tuesday posts for a week or two and, hopefully, build my completed post queue back up.

If my brain starts firing on all cylinders this week, well, perhaps I can have something for you next week.

Thank you for your understanding!

This hiatus applies to the Tuesday posts only. Thursday Tarot posts are scheduled and the Sunday Summary posts are formatted.

Ten Things on My Bucket List

Have you ever been to a Bucket List party?

One of my co-workers went to a Bucket List party recently and we’ve been talking about our bucket lists around the water cooler (yeah, we actually have one). I thought it was a rather cool idea.

So, let’s have a virtual one!

The buffet is to your left. The beer and pop are in the cooler by the patio door. Wine is on the counter. Help yourself. Pull up a seat. Who knows, we might find something to add to our lists

In no particular order, my top ten bucket list items:

1. Go on a honeymoon with That Man. Believe it or not, we never got around to it.
2. Extensively travel Scotland, Wales, and England. I want to trace my family trees.
3. Learn Scots Gaelic.
4. Cruise across the Atlantic and come into New York. I want to see the Statue of Liberty from the deck of a ship.
5. Actually learn Belly Dancing. Not the thing I call belly dancing, LOL
6. Become a published author.
7. Write a letter to each of the wee beasties telling them about my life and the lessons learned.
8. Create and maintain a Happiness project.
9. Get all of the wee beasties’ scrapbook albums done before they graduate high school. (I better get on this one! Oldest only has four more years.)
10. Actually meet, in real life, all the amazing people I’ve met online!

What’s on your bucket list?

Hiking with Beastie Girl

The other day, Mum and Dad packed the pups and me into the car. I still don’t trust car rides but Mum assured me we weren’t going to that nasty place for shots.

We went hiking!

Mum oohed and aawed about the view.

Me, I was more interested in the horse poop on the trail and herding the pups in the right direction.

See that little bit of white in the middle of the picture? That’s where we started.

I’m not a mountain goat!

But apparently, SOME dogs (not that I’m saying I am a dog, mind you) ARE mountain goats!

Do see her?

She’s half-way up a cliff face! Her human couldn’t even follow.

While watching that Austrian Shepard, it seemed like a good time for a break. Mum handed out water and snacks to the pups and poured me a nice bowl of water.

I don’t think Dad trusted me NOT to go after that Aussie :shakes head:

What would hiking be without someone getting hurt?

Poor Mum.

I didn’t do it. Honest. The pups didn’t either. I was watching them.

No, Mum slipped climbing out of a wash. She said, “Loose limestone plus the wrong foot gear equaled ouch.”

I’m really glad I have four feet!

I’d never been hiking before. Have you?

What’s your favorite dog friendly hiking spot?

Happy Birthday Blog

Two years ago today I bought my domain and started this blog.

It kinda tip-toed up behind me and bashed me upside the head. With the job hunt thing I haven’t had time to plan any fun giveaways like last year

However…

Thank you,
every last one of you,
for making this blogging thing worthwhile!

I’ll leave you with a Beastie Girl approved jingle…

What’s your favorite way to spend a quiet celebration?

Dress for Success

Ladies, when was the last time, if ever, you wore a suit?

For me, it has been over twenty years. The last time I wore a suit was in the 80′s and not even for interviews have I needed a suit…until now.

Why?

Perhaps it was the change in location. Miami, Florida verses Portland, Oregon. Perhaps it was the change from a big corporation to small, more family run, businesses. Perhaps it was just the natural evolution of business wear to casual business wear. Or perhaps, the e-trade world we live in where people are a voice, an email signature, rather than a face.

Joely Sue Burkhart talked about dressing for dieting and writing success last year. Loved that post. And, as I mentioned in my comment, getting dressed each day is part of my Flylady routine. I’ve never been a slob but my last two positions (not counting the animal hospital) were more jeans/Dockers and blouses than skirts/dresses/suits!

Yet here, in Sin City, it seems to have shifted back to the professional dress code. Perhaps that isn’t so strange after all. Miami = tourist destination. Las Vegas = tourist destination. Portland, not so much.

I have an interview this afternoon so this has been on my mind, thrust into the foreground with my continued job hunt. Like many, I’m in a catch-22. I don’t have the funds to go out a buy a business suit yet I need to dress for the position I want, not the one I have…well, had.

Apparently, the current thinking is to focus on suits and/or separates (jackets, slacks, and skirts) in gray, black, navy, or tan. Stay away from open-toed and slingback shoes, keeping the heels under four inches, in fact, kitten-heels are recommended.

What is business wear in your neck of the woods?

Remembering Gumby

source

Do you remember Gumby, and Pokey?

The wee beasties are on Spring Break this week. As always seems to come up on these holidays, we started comparing their childhood to mine.

It feels like one of those songs or commercials, “when I was young we had to get up to change the TV channels” or “we drank from the garden hose.” And a radio show…not even in the stratosphere of their understanding. Of course, those were before my time, too, LOL.

Last night, Gumby.

The wee beasties and I stayed up much later than planned catching up on Gumby and Pokey’s adventures

There is something magical about introducing the boys to things I loved from my childhood. Having them enjoy it, too…well, that’s priceless.

“So, it’s like the 60′s version of SpongeBob,” oldest informed me.

Sure. I guess there are worse things he could have compared Gumby to.

What was the last “I remember when” moment you had with someone from a different generation?

Ten on Tuesday: St. Patrick’s Day Edition

In honor of St. Paddy’s Day, today’s prompt — 10 favorite things that are GREEN.

1. Grass. I love the smell of fresh cut grass.
2. A green glass mug I have to serve my green-hating uncle his coffee in whenever he comes to visit.
3. Emeralds. They aren’t even my birthstone.
4. Grapes, the green seedless. I could eat them all day long.
5. The Bookshelf Muse’s GREEN entry of the Color Thesaurus.
6. New shoots pushing through the garden soil.
7. Mojitos.
8. Christmas trees.
9. My favorite pen.
10. My mum’s Green Jell-o Salad.

Green Jell-o Salad

1-6 ounce package of lime Jell-o
1-20 ounce can of crushed pineapple
1-13 ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cottage cheese

Mix Jell-o with 2 cups boiling water. Stir in pineapple (this helps cool the Jell-o before adding the dairy). Stir in cottage cheese. Blend milk and mayonnaise till smooth then stir into Jell-o mixture. Pour into greased mold if desired. Cool till firm.

Wee Beastie Rating:

Your turn, what’s one of your favorite GREEN things?

Balance vs. Imbalance

Chakras.

With my yoga experience, minimal though it is, I’ve picked up a rudimentary knowledge of chakras. And I’ve been thinking about them this last week, quite a lot. (Perhaps due to the stress That Man and I have been under, which is resolving. We’re in a much better place than we were on Sunday).

The idea of chakras feels reminiscent to the idea of humors. Balance and imbalance. Hmm…that goes back to my word for the year. Maybe it isn’t so odd I’ve been dwelling on this.

There are seven main chakras.

Starting from the bottom and working your way up the spine, you have:

1. Root, located at the base of the spine, Red, Earth, grounding and survival.
2. Sacral, located just below the belly button, Orange, Water, sexuality and relationships.
3. Solar Plexus, located just above the belly button, Yellow, Fire, personal power.
4. Heart, located at the center of the chest, Green, Air, emotional zone and the masculine/feminine of self.
5. Throat, located in the hollow of the throat, Blue, truth and willpower.
6. Third Eye, located between the eyebrows, Indigo, intuition.
7. Crown, located at the top of the head, Violet, divine consciousness.

Bet you don’t look at a rainbow the same again, LOL.

As you can see, the lovely elements we’re used to seeing with the tarot are present. And, of course, there are tarot cards associated with the chakras.

Root: The Emperor, The Devil, and The World
Sacral: The High Priestess, and The Empress
Solar Plexus: he Chariot, The Tower, and The Sun
Heart: The Lovers, Justice, Strength, and Temperance
Throat: The Magician, The Hierophant, and The Wheel of Fortune
Third Eye: The Moon, The High Priestess, and The Hermit
Crown: The Hanged Man, The Star, The Fool, and Judgment

The simplest way to use the tarot with the chakras is with a spread. However, this kind of spread is very personal, and potentially controversial, so I’m not going to post an example.

The easiest way is lay out a straight line. Focus on each chakra individually and draw one card per chakra. Each card reflects the main issue at the moment for that chakra.

If the card is upright, the chakra is open, balance. If the card is reversed, or upside down, the chakra is weak or closed, imbalance. By looking at a card’s keywords, you have a road map to fixing the chakra — focus the card’s ‘energy’ and work with it to turn the card right side up again.

What do you think, do chakras fit into your life?

You might also like:

Chakras, Tarot Majors, and Archangels — if you click on each chakra, you’ll get detailed correspondences as well as positive and negative attributes.
Seven Chakra Spread — from the Aeclectic Tarot Forum.
Chakra Spread — this is a more detailed tarot spread involving the chakras, also from Aeclectic.

Ten on Tuesday: the Valentine Edition

Today’s prompt: 10 Fun Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day

1. Slip a love note into your honey’s lunch box or briefcase.
2. Share an evening walk with your honey.
3. Write the reasons you love your honey and leave the messages around the house for them to find.
4. Make a video on your phone sharing romantic things like how you met.
5. Single? Share your love by volunteering for the day.
6. Have a picnic.
7. Play hooky from work together.
8. Make a mix-tape of your songs and dance the night away.
9. Recreate your first date.
10. Share a bubble bath.

What’s your favorite way to spend Valentine’s Day?

Ten on Tuesday

Tomorrow is National Pie Day. An event I haven’t missed since learning of its existence. After all, pie IS my favorite dessert.

It isn’t that I forgot. Rather, knowing I had a three-day weekend right beforehand, I procrastinated. Procrastinated, yeah, I keep meaning to join procrastinator’s anonymous.

And typical of a three-day weekend and all four wee beasties at home…no pie.

Nicole does a regular Top 10 List feature over on her blog, called Ten on Tuesday. I mentioned its fun brilliance and she pointed me toward Carole where I registered for the Ten on Tuesday prompts.

Today’s prompt:

10 Things You Always Have in Your Car

1. Booster seat
2. First-aid kit…four boys, need I say more?
3. ABBA CD
4. An outlet thing (adapter?) we plug into the lighter spot that allows us to charge anything from phones to DSI’s to my laptop
5. Blanket
6. Hand sanitizer
7. Roll of paper towel
8. Tinkerbell (a necklace I got on a visit to Disneyland as a kid and it’s hung from my rear view mirror since my very first car)
9. Loose change in the ashtray (I always keep at least $2 in there)
10. Scotland flag decal (I won’t stick to my car so I can move it)

What 10 things do you always have in your car?