Share Your World – May 1

SYW (Cee’s Photography)

Would you rather live where it is always hot or always cold?

I’d have to say cold.  I can’t stand the heat.  I have never been good with high temps.  I was always the kid who got heat stroke as I was growing up and things really haven’t changed much for me as I became an adult though I think my joints now would prefer warmer weather.

Do you prefer long hair or short hair for yourself? 

I love long hair.  You can do so much more with it, but as previously mentioned, I hate being hot, so eventually I always cut every year when the temps start going up for my own survival.

What is your favorite month of the year?

November.  Yes, it is my birthday month, but is is also when the weather finally starts to get cool, the holidays are coming, lots of family time to look forward to, the leaves are changing, yummy foods, and all that goodness.

What is the easiest way for your to learn something new?  By reading, by seeing and doing, in a classroom?

I can listen or read about something, but I never really understand it I see it done and then do it myself.

Optional Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? 

I am grateful for finally finishing one of the shawls I have been working on and I also got out and painted some pottery.  I am also glad to be back to writing and taking pictures after awhile away from it all.

This week, I look forward to the energy boost I seem to be having at the moment.  I made this Essential Oil cream that is helping my joint pain and keeping me getting out there and walking each day.  I am also trying Clarity essential oil to help me with the fog that often takes over my brain when I get super tired due to my chronic fatigue and so far the scent isn’t my favorite, but the fog clears and it’s wonderful.  I think I might add something citrusy to go with it to make the scent more bearable since it seems to really be helping.  Crossing my fingers it helps.

Share Your World – March 27, 2017

SYW (Cee’s Photography)

Does your first or middle name have any significance (or were you named after another family member)?

No. My parents were hoping I would be a boy and they had picked the the name Jubal, which is a biblical name for, according to wikipedia, the forefather of all musicians. Luckily, I turned out to be a girl and they went with the most popular baby name of the year, Jennifer.

Music or silence while working?

It depends on what I am working on, but most of the time I like to have some sort of noise in the background.

If you had a special place for your three most special possessions (not including photos, electronics, people or animals), what would they be?

They would be – my Dad’s dog tags, my Mom’s pearls, and the ring my husband got me on our trip to Hawaii.

The Never List: What are things you know you never will do?

I will never try cocaine, meth, or heroin. They scare the crap out of me with what the addiction does people.

I will never bungee jump. After many years of thinking about it, I think I have finally come to the conclusion that no matter how many little pep talks I try to give myself, it’s not happening.

I will never get plastic surgery. I just want to grow old the way I am with wrinkles, gray hair and all.

I will never eat snails, haggis, or blood pudding. I’m sure there are other things, but these are the ones that always stick out to me when I am watching food shows. They always talk about how good these things are, but no matter all the beautiful and tantalizing words they use, these foods will never cross my lips.

Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful for lazy days. They kids I work with had the day off last Friday and one of them was sick so we had to stay in, but it was nice. I got to introduce them to the scariness of Jaws, make cake in a mug, color some postcards, and continue knitting our scarves.

This week I am looking forward to scrapbooking this week. I printed up a bunch of pictures over the weekend and now I need to start working on layouts.

A Month in Review

17 for 2017 (nanacathydotcom)

Well, it’s been a month of pursuing the goals I set for myself this year.  It was not easy, but I found that having them in my bullet journal has really helped to keep focused on them.  I wasn’t perfect in completing them, but I do feel accomplished.

1. Make 4 journal pages a month

   

   1. Yearly Goal page – this page is for the goals that I want to achieve throughout the year

   

   2. One of my writing challenges this month was come up with metaphors.  I asked the kids to help me and this is what we came up with.

   

   3. Monthly Goal Pages – these pages help me keep track of things that I want to achieve monthly plus I get to decorate them with fun stickers.  Though the 3-D stickers may have been a little much for my journal, but I’ll chalk it up to lesson learned.

   

   4. Miles Walked in 2017 – I am hoping to fill every single one of these squares by the end of the year, though I secretly hope I can fill them all before the end of the year forcing me to make another page.  Cross your fingers for me.

2. Exercise at the gym 2 times a week – I didn’t make it to the gym this past month. Walking has really taken it out of me, but I did try some pilates at home once a week.
3. Walk 5 times a week – week 1: 2/5 week 2: 5/5 week 3: 5/5 week 4: 0/5 (road trip recovery) week 5: 2/2 – I am proud of myself for all the walks I got in this month despite the exhaustion after the road trip.  I got back to it this week with the help of my Fitbit friends who keep me going with our weekly challenges.
4. Make 5 fabric/yarn projects this year – I converted my flip flops earlier this year and on Monday I started my first Loom Knit project.  I decided to go with something simple like a scarf so I can get a feel for the loom.
5. Write in my journal at least 3 times a week – This one I averaged about 1-2 a week.  I am a little disappointed in myself on this one.
6. Submit 6 stories to publications throughout the year – did not get to this one this month
7. Complete 3 5K’s this year – I haven’t done one yet, but I have been looking them up to see which ones to sign up for.  I am thinking my first one may be a virtual one.
8. Read/Listen to 65 books – I have read 9 books so far this year
   1. A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris
   2. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
   3. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
   4. Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
   5. The Obsidian Chamber by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
   6. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
   7. The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
   8. The Fever Code by James Dashner
   9. The Fearsome Foursome (Tales of the Haunted Mansion #1) by Amicus Arcane – I read this one to the kids over their week off
9. Make 12 Scrapbook Pages

 

Photo Booth Pictures from my BIL 60th Birthday

 

10. Take 3 road trips this year – Road trip to LA for the Cookie Con

11. Take 1 vacation this year – not yet, but I’m researching places

12. Find 12 geocaches – all the rain hampered this one a little this month…looking forward to finding some this month

13. Commit 12 Random Acts of Kindness –  Over the break with the kids we did a few

1. Tape Popcorn to Redbox machines all over town
2. Make pipe cleaner flowers and hearts and attach them to benches, fences and poles around town
3. Leave bottles of bubbles at our local parks for the other kids on break from school to play with                                                              

14. Write letters to my senators once a month re: issues that are coming up for a vote or are concerning me – I sent out 2 letters this month and had intended to attend the Feinstein Empty Chair Town Hall meeting, but after a week of 12 hour days with the kids, I was completely exhausted.

15. Work on notes for NaMoWriMo (10 hours a month) – I got in 1 hour  – another disappointing area for me, but one I intend to remedy.  I’m not putting enough time into my writing and so I am going to make adjustments to fix that.

16. Draw paint or color 12 times this year – I actually got 2 postcards colored to send out for birthdays this so far.

17. Buy at least one Christmas present a month – The scarf I am knitting (if it comes out – crossing fingers) will be a Christmas gift.

I hope you all moving forward and meeting your goals.  WE CAN DO IT!!!

 

Share Your World – Week 9

SYW – Week 9 (Cee’s Photography)

Ever ran out of gas in your vehicle?

Yes.  I used to work at a group home for teenage girls.  Every week we went to the YMCA to get some exercise.  We were supposed to do checks on the van each time we took it out, but we were running late that night and I wanted them to have at least a little time to get their energy out, so I just drove and didn’t realize that there was very little gas left.  On our way back from the Y, we ran out of gas on the freeway.  I was mad at myself for not noticing, but even more mad at my co-worker who failed to fill it up or at least tell us that it was that low knowing that we were taking the girls out that night.  The girls of course thought it was funny and thank goodness I had AAA at the time and they brought us $5 worth of gas.  I learned my lesson.  I always check the gas gauge when I get into the car.

Which are better: black or green olives?

I like black olives better.  I never tried green ones till I was an adult.  They just always looked unappetizing and when I tried them, I just really didn’t care for them.  I can eat a whole can of black olives though.

If you were a great explorer, what would you explore?

I would want to explore earthquakes.  I took a class all about them in college and was fascinated.  I would love to follow fault lines, monitor movements, and learn more about the deeper inner workings of the Earth going down to the core.  I, too, would also love to explore space.  My Dad had a telescope when we were kids and he’d always have us looking up into space.  He had books about the stars and the planets and I read them pausing to stare at the pictures forever.  I love books about that take place in space and hope that one day humans will find another inhabitable planet to move to, though I hope we will have learned our lessons by then about the environment and preserving it.

Quotes List: At least three of your favorite quotes?

 

(I did not make these quote pics.  I found them on Instagram.)

These are the 3 quotes on my phone right now.  I keep them to remind me to to keep moving forward.  Something I need a constant reminder of.  One of these days I plan to get an arrow tattooed on my finger as a permanent reminder.

Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful for making it through last week.  I was completely exhausted from our Road Trip to LA. and the girls I take care of were out of school all week.  It was hard working all day with them, but thank goodness they are good girls.

This week I am looking forward to getting back on track again.  I have already started walking and I want to continue the beginners pilates I started.  I also started loom knitting last night with the help of YouTube.  I am starting out with a scarf that I am hoping I can turn into a pocket scarf if I can figure out how to do it.  Wish me luck!

One Word Photo Challenge: Escape

OWPC: Escape (Jennifer Nichole Wells)

My greatest escape would be to travel all over the world, but since I am terrible at planning for the future, most of the time I escape by sitting down with a good book and letting my mind get lost in someone else’s life, someone else’s town, someone else’s country or one of my true favorites, someone else’s world somewhere out there in the universe. Reading is a wonderful escape. I look forward to it everyday. It’s the last thing I do each day before I go to bed. I love that it can make me stop thinking about the weight of the world, stop the racing thoughts, and relax me enough to sleep. Sometimes it has the opposite affect when the story gets really good and I can’t sleep until I see how it ends, but those hours of lost sleep are almost always worth it. I do generally love mysteries and psychological thrillers best, but I’m really not picky. I like to read many different genres, different age groups, and it doesn’t matter if it’s fiction or non fiction, if it sounds interesting, I’m willing to give it a try. When I start something, I like to finish it, but I have learned to not waste my time on books that really aren’t catching my interest and are more of a chore to read than anything. It kills me to abandon a book, but it’s better than not reading at all because I can’t stand the book I’m trying to get through. Since I started keeping track of the books I abandon (I put them under the “book graveyard” heading in goodreads), I haven’t been able to finish 4 books. Not bad, right? Books have been my escape for a long time and I am thankful for them everyday.

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge

CWWPC (Cee’s Photography)

I took the featured picture on our road trip last week right before the storm got really bad. Sorry it’s a little blurry, but I was driving. I wanted to get the pretty rainbow before it disappeared.

Despite the crazy rain and flooding, we had a great time in LA. On Friday, we stayed with some friends and played games all night. I was the Disney Scene It Champion, I faired pretty well in Apples to Apples, and after I warmed up, I kicked butt in the old game Dr. Mario. We got to bed a little later than we wanted to since we had the Cookie Con the next day, but it had been awhile since we’d seen our friends in a long time and I was having too much fun.

We got up early to get ready. I watched the news to check on traffic to the Convention Center and saw the aftermath from the crazy storm. We were lucky that we drove down as early as we did because there was a mudslide shortly after I took the above picture on the Tejon Pass that closed the Interstate down. Luckily, there were no hazards between where we were staying and the Convention Center. It was weird to drive out and see that the flood waters for the most part had receded. We were thankful though because it was cookie time. We got there early to check in and get in line. Unfortunately, the cookie con was not organized well, vendors weren’t told that VIP ticket holder got in an hour early, and so the opening of the Cookie Con was delayed. When we were finally let in almost 45 minutes late, many of the vendors were still setting up. We began our rounds of tasting samples, (Cookie Jam – delicious…look for it on shelves soon, Got Milk and bacon donut holes, and cookie shot cups you could fill with different flavored milks)

checking competition pieces (edible art and superhero theme cake),

trying new products (it’s a cookie printer),

look at the pretty products

,

and watching classes/demonstrations.

There was more, but overall the Cookie Con was underwhelming.  There were a lot more product vendors, many of them not baking related (i.e. the nail polish design ladies or the at least 3 different electronic massage guys all selling the same kind of product in different wrapping and slightly different pricing).  I kind of thought it would be like the scrapbook conventions I’ve been to where each vendor either had something to try or make.  More interactive.  We got through the whole Cookie Con in a few hours.  We stuck around only to see Duff Goldman make cookies and then left.  

We didn’t come back for the second day even though we’d already paid for it.  Not sure I would go again unless they got their S**T together, got more baking vendors, and more interactive things to do.

Color Your World: Laser Lemon

CYW: Laser Lemon (Jennifer Nichole Wells)

Years ago we visit Universal Studios Orlando and as you all know, walking around all day gets tiring and so you take a break by seeing the shows offered and “Fear Factor Live” was one of them.  They chose people from the audience to complete the tasks in the show.  There was no way I was volunteering after watching the show, but there were a bunch of crazy people willing to go for it as you can see from this picture.  It was entertaining and a great way to get out of the sun and off of our feet.

Share Your World – Week 7

Share Your World (Cee’s Photography)

Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?

We don’t use a top sheet. I don’t like the feeling of tucked in sheets. I feel trapped in my bed and I can’t sleep well. I used to always have a top sheet that I would tuck in when I made my bed in the morning and untuck at night, but I finally decided years ago, why go through the trouble and expense of buying and washing them when I didn’t really use them.

Have you stolen a street sign before?

Nope, though I have thought about it a time or two when I have seen fallen signs on the roadway.

Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?

I used to always cut coupons on Sundays and put them in an organizer and even take the organizer to the grocery store, but the majority of the time, I forgot to get them out or would find a better deal. I eventually stopped cutting coupons. I see all those shows and reports on those “couponing” women and how much they save and think about getting back to it, but I never do.

Do you have freckles?

Nope. Though I remember wishing I did when I was a kid. I had a friend who had them and she was always so happy and I thought her freckles had something to do with it for some reason.

Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful for that high you get from exercise. I completed my goal of 5 walks for the week and I got through 1 pilates workout. I am super tired starting this week, but I’m trying not to let it stop me.

I am looking forward to our road trip this weekend. My husband and I are going to attend the Cookie Convention this weekend in LA. I can’t wait to taste all the goodies, see all the creativity, and just have fun. Just get away for awhile. I’m also hoping to take lots of pictures for my scrapbook and to use for photo challenges.

 

Grief (a short story)

via Daily Prompt: Expectation

The young girl stood at the railing of the Golden Gate Bridge staring out into the thick gray fog.  She secured her long curly black hair  up into a bun at the back of her neck as tears rolled down her cheeks.  She had come to get a last look at the city she had loved, a city that no longer felt safe, but the fog was so thick this morning, she could barely see 2 feet in front of her.  She closed her eyes and thought of the last time she had seen the city from this view point.  Tina came here often.  Her family lived close by and she liked to run everyday.  Running across the bridge provided such a beautiful view, plus she loved seeing all the tourists taking pictures and how happy they were to finally be on the famous bridge.  Yes, it was annoying sometimes to run around them as they randomly stopped with their selfie sticks, but she made a game out of it, ducking and dodging them like she was in a video game silently keeping score every time she was successful.  Her Mom always had a large glass of cold water and a plate of nuts, apples and cheese waiting on the kitchen table when she got back from her run.  She had loved her Mom and all the little things she used to do.  Tina began to sob now as she thought about it.  Her Mom had been killed 6 months ago.  She had been walking to her car in a parking garage downtown when a man had grabbed her hijab from behind, pulled her close, and shot her in the head.  The man had been caught a week later because he had gotten drunk and started bragging about what he had done to a friend he thought shared his same hatred.  The fact that the man had been caught was a relief at first, but all the media attention, the stares, the insults to her Mom, her family, and to her, were too much.  Many people had come to support their family.  They had received an outpouring from the community of money, food, and some people even came to walk with her to protect her from the haters, but Tina didn’t feel supported.  All she could think about was that her mother was gone.  She couldn’t get the images of what she’d seen on TV of the people who supported the man who’d killed her mother out of her head. There had been a spray painted message on their garage that had read “You don’t belong here!”  And the worst of it, a group of girls had surrounded the outside of her toilet stall at school and had whispered things like “your mother deserved it”, “your mom was a terrorist”, “muslims are scum”, “I hope it hurt when that man shot her”, “I hope the President deports you and bans you from coming back” and so much more.  It seemed like they had kept her trapped in there for hours whispering horrible things, things that kept popping into to her head when she least expected it.  She can’t forget them no matter what she does.  Her father keeps trying to talk to her, but she doesn’t want him to know about it all.  He is already so hurt and so angry.  She sees how he struggles to keep going for her sake.  She hears him crying all night, but every morning he’s in the kitchen making breakfast and trying to appear like nothing is wrong.  Tina had stopped running, stopped laughing, stopped caring.  She just wanted it all to end.  Everyone kept telling her it would get better in time, just think about the good times, remember who your mother was not the way she died, take one day at a time, but that was all bullshit.  Her mother was gone and never coming back.  Her life had changed forever and she couldn’t handle it.  Her Mom had been her rock.  The expectation that she be just as strong as her mother, pick up the pieces, and carry on were unfair.  Her mother was exceptional.  That man had extinguished her life in seconds knowing nothing about her other than she wore a hijab.  Tina pulled one of her mother’s hijabs from of her pocket now and put it on.  It felt warm like her mother had put her arms around her.  As she straightened the material around her neck and head, she caught a whiff of her mother’s scent.  She smiled. It was the scent of lavender.  She thought of the time her mother had put a little drop of lavender on her wrist and how grown up she had felt.  Tina took a deep breath.  And another.  She knew she had to be fast.  She didn’t want anyone to stop her.  Someone may be on their way now with all the crying she had been doing.  She was angry with herself.  She had told herself that she wouldn’t give off any signs of wanting to jump. That anger helped her stop crying now.  She wiped her tears away.  She took another deep breath, quickly climbed over the railing, and jumped before she could change her mind.