No, I am not referring to my nest which is my temporary status at home this week while my hubby and I are on vacation. (Andrew is in Europe with STA.) I am referring to the spare room in my house that will soon become my scrapbook room. It is officially empty of stuff and is in the process of being rejuvenated. Today, the ceiling was repainted. Tomorrow (fingers crossed), the walls will be repainted. Instead of the off-white color which we painted the entire house when we built it 20 years ago, I chose Blue Shock to beautify my space. Crown moulding was purchased over the weekend, and my Daddy is coming over this Friday to help Barry install it. The air vent needs to be replaced, and I’m considering a new light fixture. Once the baseboards, trim, and crown moulding are spruced up, I can move in all my scrapbook supplies. The timing could not be better since I’ll be settling in my new creative digs around the outset of summer break.
Some other tasks that I will be attending to this week include bringing Comet aka Tooty (my dog) to the vet to get his teeth cleaned, addressing Andrew’s graduation announcements and enclosing senior pictures, and getting my first colonoscopy. Of the three items that I will be crossing off my to-do list, I can bet you can guess which will be my least favorite to complete.
In Other News:
Since The Walking Dead is on hiatus until the fall and the fifth season of Fear the Walking Dead does not start until the beginning of June, I started watching a new television series called A Discovery of Witches based on the historical-fantasy novel by Deborah Harkness. The story centers around Diana Bishop who is a professor visiting the University of Oxford for research purposes. She also happens to be a witch although she has chosen not to practice witchcraft or associate with other witches. Through her research, she accidently discovers an extremely well sought-after book which has her crossing paths with dangerous creatures including the handsome and charming vampire Matthew Clairmont. I like an alluring mystery with intriguingly magical creatures, so I’m hooked.
As for my 19 for 2019 list, I completed:
#8 Read one book a month for self-improvement. For April, I chose Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis. I borrowed a copy of this book from my BFF Shelly who had not actually finished reading it (not her cup of tea). I was curious about it because while I knew nothing about Rachel Hollis or her writing, she was making quite an impression on many people in the social media arena. Mixed reviews, really. Some love it while others hate it. I wouldn’t say I hated it, and I appreciated her candidness about her life; however, it isn’t my favorite self-improvement book either. Honestly, I wanted to like it more than I did. The one nugget I took away from 213 pages of text is summed up in one paragraph which appears on page 212 and that I’ve included as my quote at the end of this post. I can see her appeal and believe she has motivated many, but for me I’ve heard her message before just not as preachy. Finally, I listened to the podcast episode (11/28/18: Girl, Wash Your Face) of By the Book where Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer spent two weeks implementing some of Hollis’s advice for approaching life by not buying into the lies we tell ourselves. It was interesting to hear their perspectives, especially Kristen’s. I found myself agreeing with her assessment in a number of areas.
Today, dear reader, was such a beautiful day on so many levels. It also happens to be Earth Day. There is a great deal to be thankful for concerning our planet. It provides many wonderful gifts for our lives. It is up to us to protect our Earth not just today but every day. Happiness!
“You have the ability to change your life. You always had the power, Dorothy. You just have to stop waiting for someone else to do it for you. There is no easy way out of this; there is no life hack. Just you and your God-given strength and how much you desire change.” ~ Rachel Hollis
Andrew is officially registered to attend Southeastern in the fall. Over the Mardi Gras break, he applied for housing and just this week selected a roommate. Thankfully, Dane is a friend from high school and someone he has known since Pre-K. Andrew also applied and was accepted to the Honors Program and scheduled his orientation for June. In four and a half months, my baby will be officially moving into his dorm and starting his college career.
Since my last post, I have officially turned 50 years of age. My fantastic friends at school started my birthday celebration off with balloons, flowers, lunch, cards, and sweet treats. The next day was the shindig with family and friends from near and far. Son #1’s talented friend Tyler made delicious homemade pizzas for everyone in attendance. My BFF Shelly baked an amazingly scrumptious cake with a bra on top of it. And, my gifted cookie maker friend Darleen made incredibly yummy cookies for me to hand out to my guests. What a delight to celebrate ME surrounded by some of the most awesome people in the world! Although my birthday month will soon be over, my year of 50 has just begun.
Yesterday morning, I set up a Google Photo account (#3 on my 18 for 2018 list) to help me win the constant battle I have with my iPhone over storage. Setting the account up was effortless. What I find praiseworthy about opening this account is I can access my photos on my computer which will make ordering photos for my scrapbooking projects super easy. I still need to explore all of the features this account has to offer. One ability I hope I have is uploading photos directly from my account to my blog or to social media. I’ll have to play with it. I’m not tech savvy, so figuring this out on my own is kind of exciting.
I finally did it! I tried a voice (singing) lesson last Monday afternoon and had a blast. Now, Laura is officially my voice teacher. Since I can match pitch and can actually carry a tune, I have decided to take regular lessons. This basically entails going to a lesson once per week and practicing the other days of the week. Interestingly, Laura says I’m an alto. This seems to mean that I can hit some high notes, as well as some low notes; however, not too high and not too low. I like the label, so I’m going to keep it.
Even though I love music and love to sing, I never took any real time to seriously learn to play a musical instrument or to sing. My grandmother tried teaching me to play the violin when I was younger, but stubbornly I preferred going outside to play instead of practicing. Regretfully, I abandoned the violin in 3rd grade after struggling with “The Star-Spangled Banner” and never looked back. Thankfully, I still have the little violin that my grandmother bought me so many years ago. It is one of my treasured possessions. As for my singing career as a youngster, I was in choir for a year in grammar school. I remember performing at the annual school nativity program at Christmas. I really enjoyed it, and I’m not quite sure why I did not continue singing in choir. It probably had something to do with going outside to play instead of practicing.
