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The True West: Children’s Book Review & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #178
How much do we really know about the prominent characters who were instrumental in settling the American West? More importantly, how many of us realize that many of the renowned figures from the American West were women and minorities? Historians have estimated that 1 in 4 cowboys during the settling of the Wild West were black, latino, Native American, or women. So why have their powerful and inspiring stories not been given the same amount of attention as the white European men who also played an enormous role in settling the American West? Well, you don’t have to answer that last question because I am certain we all know the…
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The Fab 40’s are Festival Ready
Happy Monday, y’all! I am back from a long over due break. Over the last two weeks, I have found myself on a crazy roller coaster of emotions which resulted from a whole bunch of nonsense going on in a very private part of my life. I think the emotional roller coaster derailed some time about three weeks ago and I tried to keep riding that broken contraption for about a week before I finally realized that I must disembark from this busted ride and do some necessary repairs! Most of the repairs have been completed with a few counseling sessions, lots of time spent in quiet contemplation, and hours…
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Agoraphobia: An Old Familiar Fear & Link Up On the Edge #200
Three months spent in lockdown has triggered an old familiar fear. If you have never experienced agoraphobia, I am going to try my best to explain it from my own personal experience. But first, I want to share a bit of background. I speak often about my life with Bipolar Disorder. I sometimes hint at incidents of anxiety and have even briefly mentioned some obsessive-compulsive behaviors that once tormented me. But I have never talked about agoraphobia because I really had forgotten about it. And now those old uncomfortable fears are sneaking back into my life. “Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to…
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Tropical Style & Your Own Twist Link Up #21
It is time once again for Your Own Twist with my dear friend Monica of Jersey Girl, Texan Heart. This monthly collaboration allows us to showcase our own interpretations of a chosen style theme. We share the theme with you ahead of time in case you are interested in joining us. You can see the upcoming themes below if you would like to create your own post around the theme and share it with us in the link party at the end of the post. You are also welcome to link any fashion or style post even if you did not follow the theme. Next month’s theme will be Christmas in July.…
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No One is Listening & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #177
I feel like no one is listening. I feel like everyone just wants their own voice to be heard. I feel like we are all just screaming at each other. And the result is completely ineffective communication. How can we possibly view an issue from all angles and make appropriate considerations that will result in successful changes if we are so unwilling to even hear what anyone else has to say? Changes happen on a million different levels. From within ourselves which is then filtered down to our children and extended out to our personal networks. Change will grow from there. Outward, upward, downward, and inward. When we patiently and…
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The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book: Formal Wear
Welcome to The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book! Welcome! This is The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book. A series co-hosted with Nancy where you can choose whether you want to share a Good Buy (which is an item you are really exited about) or a Good-Bye (which is an item you are going to say good-bye to, previously known as a Bad Buy). Every month you can choose which item you want to submit. A Good Buy or a Good-Bye. We will provide the theme for each month. Photos should be submitted to us by the 10th of the month with a few sentences explaining why it is a Good Buy or Good-Bye. This month’s theme is Formal Wear or fancy dresses…
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A Good Ole Fashioned Ass-Kicking & Link Up On the Edge #199
This week has really kind of kicked my ass in the grandest fashion. It began with PMS sending an earth shattering surge of hormones through my body which left me feeling tired, irritable, and frustrated. I also tend to feel anger that verges on rage during these hormonal episodes. And that is a very unpleasant feeling for me. Then Jeff left for a three day trip to West Point (he is home now). About an hour after he left, I heard some awful news about the unexpected death of a friend. All of these things on top of a world that has been breaking my heart daily and I have…
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Are You Doing Enough to Strengthen Your Local Community?
A lot of people misunderstand what it means to engage in their local communities. For many people, their local communities are all they have when it comes to safety, peace of mind, and sometimes even entertainment. Smaller communities tend to be closer-knit compared to city communities despite people living further away from each other. Places like parks and stores become communal meeting spots and you can often rely on neighbors to help you with different tasks from watching your dog to offering their expertise on a DIY project. But strengthening communities is something that lies in the hands of the people. It’s something that needs to be initiated by the…
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The Meaning and Purpose of Life & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #176
Sunday, January 23, 2005. 11:11 p.m. I was reading The Heart of Philosophy by Jacob Needleman and I wrote a journal entry in response to it. But first, I need to set the stage… I was revisiting this journal from 15 years ago and what I found was an abundance of quotes jotted down from whatever books I was reading at the time. I followed a very strict and unwavering pattern in these entries. First, I would write the title and author of the book. Then when something would strike me from within the pages of that book, I would also write that down. Every time I wrote a quote…
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Maybe It’s Time We Listen
I feel like someone stole my rose colored glasses. Ripped them right off my face, threw to them ground, and stomped on them until they were nothing but a pile of shattered plastic. But I think I probably deserved it. I have been hiding behind those things for my entire life. Refusing to acknowledge what my fancy lenses were concealing. I suppose it is time to stop hiding and start educating myself on the injustices in our world today. My friend Debbie recently wrote in a post on a similar topic, “In my bubble, I love people because of who they are…what type of human being they are. For me, things…
