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Bloganuary Day 18: What book is next on your reading list?

OK- so they have me talking about books…

Let’s start with what I recently finished:

  1. When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash
  2. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
  3. The Maid by Nita Prose (is that her real name- I mean really- an author named prose?)

What I’m reading now:

  1. Zen: The Art of Simple Living by Shunmyo Masuno
  2. The Best of Me by David Sedaris
  3. The Home Edit Life: The Complete Guide to Organizing Absolutely everything at work, home and on the go by Clea Shearer
  4. The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson
  5. A Deadly Affair by Agatha Christie
  6. A Year of Positive Thinking: Daily Inspiration, Wisdom and Courage by Cyndie Spiegel
  7. The Comfort Book by Matt Haig

WHAT’S NEXT:

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

Posted on by LA · 21 Comments

Bloganuary Day 11: What does it mean to live boldly?

What does it mean to live boldly?

  1. To say yes in a roomful of no’s
  2. To wear red in a roomful of blue
  3. To not follow a trend
  4. To not jump on a bandwagon
  5. To not use cliché’s
  6. To read things and come up with your own conclusion instead of what is being told to you
  7. to follow you heart instead of anything else
  8. to keep trying when others have stopped
  9. to own who you are and not care what others think
  10. to live on your terms
Posted on by LA · 33 Comments

Bloganuary Day 10: What five things are you grateful for today?

As you know, at the end of every day I write down my best moment of the day, my worst moment, and something I am grateful for. I started this grateful shindig a few years ago and I think it’s the most effective way I’ve found to concentrate on the little things, and how wonderful life actually is. I truly believe that it’s the little moments that make us.

So right this very minute I am grateful for:

  1. dog clothes so that I don’t have to look at my dog’s really pale, lightly furry body
  2. E books so that I can find a book to match my mood even if I end up not liking my choice and reconsider ever browsing in a book shop again because I continually browse and buy sub par fiction (for the record, I have never once regretted a non fiction organizing, personal growth or coffee table book that I browsed in a store- those in particular are always my faves.
  3. My new pink cart which I am using as a quasi self care station and it’s just a delight to wheel it from room to room and know that fuzzy socks are right there if my feet get cold
  4. Fuzzy socks
  5. my little hot plate like device that keeps my tea warm as I write
Posted on by LA · 50 Comments

Bloganuary Day 6: Who is someone that inspires you, and why

Single Parents.

Now let me define single parents. They can be single by choice or by circumstance. They can also be part of a two parent household but jobs take one parent away for long periods of time, such as someone who is in the armed forces. It’s someone who holds down the fort alone, for any length of time.

But however you look at it, single parents inspire me.

I know how hard it is to be a parent when I have a co-parent. I know how exhausting and emotionally draining it can be, and I had someone to pick up the slack. But single parents…they really don’t. True, they probably have great support systems, but really, at 3am with a feverish kid, it’s just the one parent.

How they manage to hold down a job, make the lunches, help with the homework, get through the angst… it amazes me when I see people do it. I don’t know how I would have faired as a single parent…

So to all those single parents out there who just get it done, I salute you.

Posted on by LA · 77 Comments

Bloganuary Day 2: What is a road trip you would love to take?

I don’t own a car, so I never really think about road trips. The last real road trip we did was back in the summer of 2018 when we toured colleges with my daughter: we referred to it as the Most Beautiful College Campus in America Tour. Charlottesville, Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore- much fun to see things I’d never seen but I wasn’t a fan of living out of a suitcase…

So if I were to take a road trip, I would need to figure out how to do a great one suitcase capsule wardrobe. Then I would need a fun route- to me, going along major highways like 95 or the Jersey Turnpike would just not work for me. I would need a really nice car- in my mind I imagine myself as Grace Kelly in a vintage convertible, Hermes scarf tied neatly around my hair, cats eye sunglasses shading my high from the brilliant sunlight. Alas, as I know myself I figure I am more likely to be Bridget Jones showing us with Medusa like hair…so I think I would opt for a car with a sunroof- best of both worlds. But I still would be wearing awesome sun glasses…

And the route…

Well, I guess it would have to be Route 66- the quintessential American Highway. Also known as the Mother Road, parts of Route 66 no longer exist- however-thanks to some preservation efforts, you can still drive parts of it. It originally went for almost 2,500 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica. We drove parts of it when we were in New Mexico and bought the “I got my kicks on Route 66” sign, which my daughter still has on her bedroom door.

Why Route 66? I guess because of its kitsch value. I love kitsch. I also love touristy things. I love seeing little pieces of history. And 66 is a great combination of all these things. I would love to imagine the people that went on this trek, the things they saw, the food they ate, the stories they told. I would think about time before smart phones and GPS and making the destination more important than the journey. I would like to think about the freedom of just being and driving and looking our the window, with local FM radio narrating the passing miles.

So that would be my road trip.

Who’s in?