Thoughts of the Day
My life has qualified me as "experienced" on such topics as Army life, parenting, mental health, loss and grief, multi-tasking, and adapting to all things new (good, bad, or indifferent). I will share my thoughts on these topics and hopefully you will find some calm in the chaos knowing that others have been where you are.
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Feel the Feels
I am not the best subject to work with for any photographer for a number of reasons. I am super uncomfortable in front of the camera. I am no super model or even minor model, for that matter. I have no idea how to pose. I have never had any kind of training for being in front of a camera. I am so utterly awkward that it borders on the inane! Despite all of these idiosyncrasies of mine, my husband is getting pretty good at capturing decent photos of me! Like the ones in this post…But alas, the military has taken him away. Again! This time he is only about…
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Seeking Advice: Unsolicited Collaboration Requests?
This is a totally selfish post on my part…I am just trying to reach a larger audience with a blogging issue which is troubling me. But to present the appearance of being not so selfish, I have included pictures of a really cute outfit that I have worn recently (insert winky, snarky, sarcastic emoji face…is there one of those?) Recently, I have been receiving unsolicited email requests from companies requesting collaborations and/or guest posts on my blog. The first one I received included a request for me to publish a guest post. I had no idea what this even entailed, so I reached out to a few blogger friends via…
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Menstrual Cycle Mayhem
I don’t know about you all, but sometimes my menstrual cycle determines what clothes I am going to wear. Yes, I am going into this unspeakable realm of the female menses! When the flow starts and the misery sets in, all sorts of things make me crazy! At this perimenopausal stage of life that I am in, I have raging mood swings. Actually I shouldn’t even call them mood swings because there’s not too much swinging going on…it’s mostly all just rage. And it’s awful. I apologize to all who have to deal with me at this time of month…my husband, my children, my friends, even my pets fall victim…
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Mind Your Words
We as human beings have many ways of communicating with each other…words, body language, facial expressions, actions, the way we dress, the way we walk, our overall presentation of ourselves to the world. So you see, there are many underlying reasons why I do the things I do. Getting dressed to feel good and present a positive image of myself to the world is important to me. It communicates that I have pride in myself, that I take care of myself so I can take care of the people in my life that need me. It communicates that I make an effort to participate in my life everyday and to…
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Vanity or Sanity?
I have been struggling with the idea that fashion blogging carries a connotation of vanity. I mean, I take great care styling my outfits in the morning and taking photos of myself and then posting them on the internet for strangers to view. I suppose many would consider that vain. As a result, I was hesitant even before I started my blog. And I had to come to grips with that view. But it has been a struggle for me. I’m not one who generally feels the need to justify my actions, but for some reason with this blog, I do feel that need. So I had to look inside…
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Here’s the Thing About Confidence…
I recently discovered this fabulous woman on Instagram…actually I think she may have found me first…and when I checked out her Instagram feed, I was so happy that she did find me. Her name is Rebecca and her feed is filled with words of kindness and an infectious confidence that you can’t help but feel equally great about yourself. This post was actually inspired by words she offered to one of her followers deep within a thread of comments. Yes, I was pulled in her by the beauty of this woman’s soul and could not pull myself away from reading all of the comments on her photographs. If you need…
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My Happy Mother’s Day Paisley Pants
I am definitely feeling happy and inspired today on my 6th Mother’s Day. My kids are healthy and happy. My marriage is strong. We want for nothing. My technological issues are resolved. And I recently purchased the happiest pants ever. What is better than bright coral and a paisley pattern? Seriously, you can’t not smile at my pants. Well, at least I can’t. About a month ago, one of my oldest and dearest friends, J., and I went on a day long outlet shopping excursion at The Crossings Premium Outlets in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. We shopped until 9:00 p.m. and literally shut the place down. One of my favorite acquisitions from…
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Return to the Edge
So it has been a nice long while since I last posted…like months. I found myself in quite the funk with deployment blues, then the reintegration process after my husband returned home from Afghanistan, then getting back into the normal Army wife routine, then searching for my motivation, endlessly searching. Truth be told, I still am not feeling all that motivated, but I figured I might as well just start writing something to get myself going or I may remain stagnant forever. And forever stagnant is not good. Not good at all. While I was taking a break, I did a lot of thinking and brainstorming about where I want…
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Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and All That Jazz
I have been absent from blogging the past two week due to illness, laziness, and holiday deployment depression. I always love the holidays and I still do, but there is a bitter sweetness this year. I want my kids to enjoy their Christmas and I absolutely love showering my loved ones with gifts, but I sort want it all to be over because that brings us a few weeks closer to J.’s return home from deployment. I hate that we are celebrating the major holidays without J. My kids are driving me crazy. I can’t wait for the Daddy to return home of relieve me of some of my parental…
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Is it Weird to Tell a Female Stranger that She is Gorgeous?
Yesterday, I was having lunch at my local Applebee’s with my mom-in-law and there was an older couple seated at the booth directly behind my mom-in-law. I would guess they were in their late 70’s or early 80’s. They were very quiet and I didn’t take much notice of them until after about 30 minutes when a woman in her late 40’s or early 50’s entered and sat down next to the woman. My mom-in-law got up to use the rest room so I had a clearer view of these 3 people quietly enjoying their lunch and their conversation. Suddenly, my eyes were drawn to the younger woman and I…
