Tag Archives: inspiration

Nov15

On A Day Like Today….

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It’s rainy, it’s cold, it’s a curl up with a book, a blanket, and a pillow day. It’s a curl up with your dog day.

We recently adopted a dog. And after only three months we are still getting use to each other. She recently had puppies, and then when all was said and done, the people that owned her whisked her off to the animal shelter. We still can’t figure that out! Both of us think we were so lucky to be able to find her.

I had seen her on the shelter web page for quite a while, but after a few weeks she wasn’t there. I wanted to rescue a dog from the cold, hard life that a shelter would offer her. Luckily she was sent to another shelter closer to home. And, I spotted her on their website. The Rancho Coastal Humane Society. I can’t say enough good things about them, I was truly impressed with how clean, and caring they are.

This is our newest addition to our family. Peppa, a four year old French Bulldog.

Have you ever adopted a pet? Or, do you only get puppies from a breeder? I’ve done both, and I have to tell you I prefer rescuing a dog instead of paying for a purebred. It’s not that I don’t love getting a purebred puppy, it’s more about giving a forever home to an animal less fortunate. I can do that!

But there is a downside to all the goodness rescuing holds, the downside seems to be that we haven’t any idea what these sweet little animals have been through. These are the issues we have to deal with when giving them a forever home. Then there is the issue of personality. Frenchies are stubborn, they will outsmart you, and don’t like to be yelled at. But they will push you over the edge if you let them, and they need attention, and are high maintenance. I happen to be very calm these days, and don’t get pushed easily!

Our dear little Peppa was probably used for the puppies she could give them. Maybe this was their main form of income. Maybe they had other breeders also. We will never know, but Peppa did have some good habits I’m grateful for. I guess it doesn’t matter that she is wicked smart. She knows how to manipulate us, but we think we are smarter than she is. But are we?

She sits, stays, and comes when she is called. Could this be because I give her a training treat when she does these things, or did her previous parents teach her this? See what I mean by her being smarter than we are? We are still working on the word “Potty,” and what that means. She also gets a treat after she potties. Motivation is the name of the game.

I want you to know that our home as sweat as it is, was empty without a companion in it. My husband didn’t want another dog, or cat, but I convinced him it was important to me, and he kindly gave in. Now we both love her and get great amounts of joy from her.

She has made herself at home, and loves her back yard. She’ll even go out by herself now.

So if you ever wondered if you wanted a dog or cat to liven up your home, I’d say yes. They do bring you so much joy, and laughter. It gives us purpose, gets us up and moving. All that is a good thing, and probably it will keep all of us younger!

Thank you for stopping to read my blog, Have a Happy Thanksgiving from our home to your home, and from our Peppa to yours.

Oct4

If I Could Live My Life Over Again…

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“If I could live my life over again,
I would have gone to bed to rest when I felt sick instead of pretending the earth would stop if I wasn’t at work for a day…
I would have burned the pink candle carved like a rose instead of letting it melt in the pantry…
I would have talked less and listened more…
I would have invited friends to the table even if there is a stain on the carpet and the couch needs to be cleaned.
I would have eaten popcorn in the “good” room and wouldn’t have worried so much about dust when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.— with Esme Kopelowitz.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather telling stories from his youth.
I would never have insisted on driving with the car windows down on a beautiful summer day, just because my hair was freshly styled and fixed.
I would have been lying on the meadow with my head on the grass.
I would have cried and laughed less watching TV and more watching life.
But, most of all, to have a second chance at life, I would cherish every moment, I would really look at it… I would live it…
I wouldn’t get so worked up over petty and petty things anymore…
Don’t worry about those who don’t like you, or rather, you shouldn’t care who does what…
Instead, let’s cherish the friends we have and the people who love us…
And to what we do every day to improve our mind, body, soul, emotions.”
Written by Erma Bombeck 1979.

Thank you for taking time out to read my blog. I thought this was worth the read.
As always, we stand together! Karen

Sep20

Let’s Talk Eyebrows

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There is no doubt about it, eyebrows are a pain in the neck! I don’t know about you, but there aren’t too many things I want symmetrical, eyebrows are one of them, glasses being another! To me, if they are out of sync, or uneven, I’m not one bit happy. That being said, I can drive myself crazy trying to get them just right.

My eyebrows have been tattooed three or four times over the years, and each time they just don’t look like I think they should. How about you? Have you ever had your eyebrows worked on? or have you been happy with their shape, color, and style? If you’ve been happy with them, you are lucky.

The first time I had my eyebrows tattooed was many years ago, way before mycrobladding. When I went to this lady, who by the way came highly recommended, used an old school tattoo gun. Yikes! That was not only scary, but it was incredible painful. To add insult to injury, at the time I jumped in with both feet. I not only had my eyebrows tattooed, I had eyeliner, and lip liner tattooed all at once as well.

Apparently, my skin is very sun damaged, and extremely sensitive. Not apparently, it was, and still is sensitive. She had a cream to put on my skin that might as well have been Jello, because it didn’t help at all. Since she was working on my face, and I couldn’t move or she would make a mistake, my face was the only part of me still on the table. The remainder of me was ten feet up on the ceiling. She wasn’t happy, I wasn’t happy, but I started it, so I had to finish it.

I had red hair at the time, and I explained to her that it wasn’t going to be red for long. It was going to be back to dark blond. When I left her studio, and the dust had settled, my eyebrows were red!!! Not auburn, but red! I wasn’t too pleased about that, but I thought when I returned for a touch up, I’d have her brown them up a bit. Don’t panic, everything is fixable.

The Tattoo lady was located in Arizona, and I actually ventured out to Ultra Hot Arizona to have my tattoo’s done. My girlfriend was with me, and the heat wasn’t a concern. Today, it’s a big concern…..I wouldn’t consider it. I was only there for a short visit (to have my eyebrows tattooed), so we wanted to see, and do as much as possible in the time I had. We drove from Flagstaff all the way to Mexico. And what we realized was, our lips arrived way before the car ever got to the designated town we were going to visit.

If you have ever had your lips tattooed, you’d knowhow much they swell up, at least to three or more times their size due to trauma! I’d say just about every part of our faces were traumatized that day having faced that big old black tattoo gun. To make it even more fun our faces were all greased up so nothing dried out.

What a sight that must have been…

My girlfriend and myself went together, because safety comes in numbers! At least we both had each other to lean on.

On our drive that summer day, we went almost all the way to Flagstaff, and found a Renaissance Fair to check out. People were dressed in midivil attire, with ribbons, faces all made up, and clothes that made us feel like we had stumbled into a mid-evil Hollywood movie. The music was from mid-evil England, and everyone was over the top joyous.

That was just the beginning. When we finished there, and had gotten a break from the heat due to the mountains, and altitude, so we ventured south to Tubac.

Tubac was at the time a small artist enclave above Tucson. It was dirt streets, but only a few, with adobe houses, and wire fences around the properties. It wasn’t impressive, clean, or even very interesting. I remember thinking, now is a good time to buy property here. But it was an armpit of a small, deserted, desert town. Well we saw it, we drove around it, now we’re going to leave it.

And leave it we did! On our way to Mexico……. What a fun day we were having, time to grease up again. We don’t want anything to get dried out!!!

Now going across the border, what should we focus on. I did notice a few people turning to look at us. After all, our lips were bigger than ever, and they did arrive before we did.

I brought back silver mirrored balls for the garden, and a few other odds and ends for my yard, but most of all….. I brought back my lips. I had to get my lips into the car so we could return home.

It was a fun trip, and having a friend to share it with was the best. We still laugh about that visit. It was one of those times you couldn’t repeat even if you wanted to.

That was many years ago, and since then I’ve had bad tattoos, and good tattoos of my eyebrows. I’m still having trouble getting them to look halfway decent, but now days If they’re close, they’re close enough!

There is a lady on YouTube who struggles with her eyebrows also, and she said something that really helped me. She said, “Remember your eyebrows are sisters, not twins!” I hope this helps you too.

Thank you for stoping to read this crazy post on eyebrows. Life can be so funny, and fun if you can see it that way.

Until next time, Together we stand. Karen

Sep6

Accepting Ones Self!

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This isn’t an easy subject!!! I sure have struggled with it, and I’m sure all of you have struggled with it at times also.

It truly hurts to realize we are never going to be what we use to be. On the bright side I tell myself “I’m not what I use to be, I’m better!” That’s how I handle that subject.

Do I believe it? Sometimes yes, and sometimes NO! But I can’t do anything about it, so the only thing I have control over is telling myself, “I wanted to grow old gracefully, so do it!”

Most of us don’t dress like we did, or even like we would like to in our minds. I’m super casual these days, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. I can also kick it up a notch if I need to. (I just can’t remember when the last time I needed to kick it up a notch, and we went somewhere we needed to get dressed up for.)

So my version of dressing up is putting on a pair of my best earrings, and using my most seductive perfume. I even hot iron my hair. Does it work? Well, it makes me feel better, and my husband always compliments me on my clothes, my hair, and anything else that he knows helps me to feel appreciated, and beautiful.

Incase you haven’t figured it out, I have a perfect husband!

What do you do to feel pretty, and desirable? Don’t tell me you have no-one to get dressed up for. Because I think we do this for ourselves as much as for others. If I feel good, I hold myself better, greet others better, and my entire day does better.

Yes, sometimes it’s difficult to greet others with a happy, energetic face, but when we do, it really does make us feel better.

So next time you drag yourself out of bed in the morning, get that cup of coffee, and tell yourself. “I can do this!” Put your best foot forward, with a nice shower, some nice perfume, and something comfy. Maybe kick it up with brushing your hair, and a little lipstick. You can keep going if you feel good enough, but this is a start.

Remember, we are in this together, and we have to stand together!

Thank you for stopping to read my blog, I’ll be back soon. Karen

Aug2

Afraid to Age?

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Why are we afraid to age? Is it the perceived lack of mobility, or having our drivers license taken away, the fear of being sent off to “Shady Pines,” or fear of the unknown?

For me, I’m not afraid of the unknown, but I don’t want to be sent off to Shady Pines either. My license, well I’m sure I won’t like not being independent any more than anyone else, but I certainly don’t want to run my car into the side of a building like you hear on the news that some geezer did either. So, I’ve told all my kids (all means 3) that if they see me do anything that is dangerous, please tell me. They all watch me like a hawk!

But I think the worst thing is that we can worry so much about getting old, and how much time we might or might not have left, that we miss the sweet moments we need to pay attention to. Yes there are moments, but we need to look for them, and appreciate the small little things that are all around us. Sure it’s easy to focus on the negative, but what about the positive? That’s what we need to pay attention to.

Life isn’t always kind, and many of us have had very real disappointments, and losses, that won’t ever change. Life can be cruel, but we don’t have to let the cruelty take over our lives. Loss is real, and heartbreaking, but we are still here and alive. Not one of the loved ones we have lost would want us to grieve, and suffer forever.

I have learned not to look back, unless the tales of the past will help someone. Do not worry about the future, because inevitably it will change, and you will have given all your energy to something that won’t ever happen. Live life in the moment, enjoy what you have and not what you have not!

Life will be so much sweeter that way. That doesn’t mean you forget the past, you have just chosen to not let it define you. That doesn’t mean you aren’t aware of the future either, it just means you are aware that all things can change, and it isn’t worth wasting time and energy on things that change, and you don’t have control of.

You are all part of my tribe, and I wish for all of you a healthy, happy, and fulfilled life. Thank you for taking time to read my blog. Remember we need to stick together for the love we share, and the support we can give one another. Until next time, Karen

Jul19

Healthy Aging

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One thing I seem to be dealing with is stiffness. Yes, I’m stiff almost all the time. If I sit for more than five minutes, drive for more than five minutes, I’m stiff! When I get up in the morning, I’m really stiff! I officially feel like the Tin Man!

I would bet you’re the same way. As we get older we seem to be chronically stiff! It isn’t so funny when it’s happening to you. Is it arthritis, or is it something else? I’m not sure. If you know, I’d like to know. Would it really make a difference to know?

There are all kinds of information on You Tube helping us stay upright, and healthy. Here are just a few.

It isn’t just stiffness, it’s a whole bunch of things we have to deal with. Balance is a huge issue, and we all deal with balance sooner or later.

Eating well is another way to stay healthy. I believe sometimes healthy foods are way too expensive, and cooking is another subject all together.

Are any of you tired of cooking like I am? After putting together meals for a family for more than sixty years, I’m most definitely over it. Standing at the stove for longer than five or ten minutes is a killer for me. How about you?

Do you love cooking? I use to, but not any longer. Are we even suppose to cook when we get older? Shouldn’t someone else be doing the cooking? Maybe the imaginary chef! Wouldn’t that be nice?

I hope you were able to get something out of today’s blog, we could go on talking about our aches, and pains for hours, but I don’t want to focus on the negative. We must push the negative aside, and find the positive pieces of aging. It is freeing, and I really do not care about what anyone thinks. Your comments, and thoughts are always welcome.

One last thing; I’m learning that people that live longer, and feel better are existing with a positive attitude, and do activities they love. That is the key to being happy in the “Golden Years!”

Thank you for stopping to read my blog. I’ll be back soon. Remember we need to stick together for support both mentally and physically. Together we stand! Karen