Glasses Fashion
I have a genuine inquiry for those of you who wear glasses. Recently I had my annual eye exam and my prescription changed, so that meant I should order new glasses. Yesterday my new frames and my new prescription sunglasses arrived and it got me thinking. When you choose your new glasses, do you feel like changing it up everytime, or do you always go for the same frames?
I have been changing the style for the last few times. Started with some pure black frames, that changed to black with white arms, and then a dark green set, changed to a pair with various shades of red. Most recent frames are an eggplant purple frame that look more red toned in the sunshine. I have mostly gone into frames shopping with the idea that if I have to wear them every day, then I want something that is fun. To me color is how you avoid making things boring.
Another thought on my mind is the idea that some people choose frames with the intention of trying to maintain their overall style. If they mainly wear dark colors then black frames are probably a good choice, since it goes with everything in their wardrobe. Some people will go for their favorite color. Mine is yellow, so that would certainly make for some interesting set of glasses.
So I am genuinely curious, what do you think about when you are choosing a new pair of glasses? Please let me know in the comments below. I would really appreciate some more interaction with these posts.
Complicated House Plant Energy
I have come to the conclusion that I am a house plant with complicated emotions. When I am feeling down, sunshine and water help me feel much better. The days where the sun is streaming in through my windows always have boosted my mood.
This last week I decided to change out the curtains in my bedroom. I went from semi opaque white curtains, to a set of sheer panels with yellow panels on the outsides. The day after I got them set up, I woke up to extra sunshine in my bedroom. The extra light made me feel brighter from the moment I opened my eyes.
Erza is also a big fan of the new curtains. She has always taken naps on my bed, but now she will firmly place herself in the sun puddles that stream through in the afternoons. My windows face west, so I get quite a bit of afternoon sunshine, and Erza is thrilled with this whole set up. I have also spoiled her a little bit and gotten a cat hammock that suction cups to the window so that she can look outside while she lays in the sun.
The added sunshine to my bedroom has been helping me feel brighter and more ready for the day. I also have the light that comes from the grow light in my bedroom, that has been placed to try and assist my plants. With a little bit of water added, courtesy of my bedside water bottle, I feel a boost in my overall mood by the time I am dressed and getting ready to face the world outside my bedroom door.
I have heard the comparison of wearing a fitness tracker and likening it to being a Tamagotchi. The little animal that you are trying your best to keep alive is you. I also think it would be wonderful if I could have a tracker for my plants. Either way, I feel like the comparison also applies to myself and my house plants. A little bit of water, and a decent amount of sunshine can do wonders.
Fun Filled Weekends
This weekend I have been getting out of the house and having fun with my friends. Yesterday B. and I went out for lunch and then to a garden center that was hosting a thrift sale for the local humane society. I obviously wanted to go and support them, they have given me five incredible animals the past few years, and I am glad I have the means to give them a little help. Today, A. and the kids are picking me up and we are heading to Action City for a morning filled with games, laughter, and memories in the making.
Some weekends I am not up for having big plans. The week was hard enough and I need the weekend to recuperate my energy levels for the following week. This week though, I am very grateful for friends who make plans. I have been enjoying getting out with them lately and I hope my body cooperates, and lets me continue to have lots of fun. (One of the draw backs of having chronic illness.)
My friends have always been a bright light in my life. They get me and are very understanding. B. A. and L. are my three best friends. Sadly L. lives across the country or I am sure we would be hanging out much more. I am also grateful to have lived in the time of easy communication. I am able to reach out to all three with a quick text whenever I need or want to. That text can sit there, in their inbox, as long as it needs to, and they can answer when the get a moment. Two of them are professionals with busy jobs, and the third is an incredibly devoted mom who is always busy as well. So I am glad whenever they get the chance to message me back.
This weekend is the first in a long time, where I get to see more than one friend, in just those two days. My social battery is being given a workout, but I couldn’t be more thankful to have the time with them. Like I mentioned earlier, it is weekends like these that are memories in the making, and I know I will look back at them and smile.
Fun filled weekends are few and far between these days, especially as adults with responsibilities. So when you get the opportunity to spend a little extra time with someone you love and cherish, don’t let it slip away. Let yourself have those fun packed days every once in a while.
True Companions
Lately I have been reflecting on the relationships that are shared between people and their pets. Our fur babies have major personalities, which is quite evident to anyone who spends any length of time with them. I have always been confused by people who say things along the lines of animals all being the same as each other and that there is no real personality.
Differences make up our personalities as humans, and the same can be said for our pets. Maggie gets excited over a game of fetch anytime of the day, while River will catch a ball if you throw it his way, and Cooper couldn’t care less about a ball thrown for him, and lacks the skill to really catch anything, even a treat. With the cats, Erza enjoys puzzle toys, especially if there are treats involved. Gobi is food motivated but has issues when it is any harder to get to than placed right in front of him. Pho doesn’t appreciate anyone messing with her food, and is particular about the kinds of treats she will eat.
Qualities that we have in common create connections between us and other people. Animals create bonds the same way. As I am writing this, my Mom is entertaining all three dogs by bouncing between their stuffed bears. Each one has a specific colored bear, and they can often be found playing with each other’s. With the cats, they all obviously enjoy a good snooze, usually on their person’s bed. While the toy in question may differ slightly, they all will play in similar fashion, throwing the toys around and giving chase like the little hunters that they are.
The connections that we form with these animals are just as real as with other people. They are parts of our families. They enrich our lives every day, and provide us with plenty of laughter. I will forever be thankful to have grown up in a family that values these little souls in the way that they do.
A Super Duper Kanine
Cooper was a year and a half years old when we adopted him from the local humane society. He is a blue tick coon hound mix. That means he is black and white. The coon hound part of him becomes very apparent whenever he decides to use his voice. Baying instead of the normal barking that I have grown used to having grown up with plenty of dogs around.
Coop had a bit of a rough start to life. When we rescued him, you could see all his bones. The humane society had put twenty pounds on him already and he was still so thin. We got right to work making sure he knew he never had to fight for his next meal or worry about when he would be fed again. His story from before coming home is a bit of an unknown thing. We know he came from Texas, and was so skinny, but other than that, there is just a big question mark. So I can’t say that anyone ever meant him harm, and I would like to think that he had a loving home that just couldn’t care for him and his brother. His brother was adopted out to a wonderful family around two weeks before Cooper joined our family.
River has become like a brother to him. That relationship was pretty quickly formed. I am guessing because Cooper was used to that dynamic. River is pretty much the same size as Cooper and they love to run around the backyard at top speed. There are patches of dirt that will never grow grass again due to the boys using those sections as racetrack. Cooper looks so graceful when he is running across the yard. He stretches out and can gain momentum with ease. It is a stark contrast to the goofy run he does when one of us humans call his name and he is happy to see us. If you remember the sort of run that Jack Sparrow did in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, then you have a pretty good idea.
It took about three days before he felt confident enough to use his voice. I was actually kind of startled when he first barked at River during a play session. Little steps along the way have shown his comfort level and confidence rising. His silly run, being so proud of himself when he knows what to do for a command, and giving lots of kisses, have been some of my favorite milestones that have come with nurturing Cooper. He really has come out of his shell, and shown us just how goofy and loving he really is.
These days, I am lucky enough to be one of his favorite people. Whenever I am playing games in the living room, he will hop up on my lap and demand hugs. This has lovingly become referred to as a Cooper Break. I must pause my game and snuggle with the boy for a bit. He will eventually get down from my lap and I may resume my game. Being reminded to take time to pause and enjoy the little things like hugs from a giant baby like Cooper, is one of the reasons that I am forever grateful to have him.
I saw on Facebook once, a picture of a dog looking out the window while laying on the window’s bench seat. They were mostly in shadow, because the sun was setting outside. The words on the picture read, “Sometimes I like to look over at my dog, and watch them enjoy the life I have given them.” I couldn’t help but think of Cooper and how much his life has changed since coming home. He is probably chewing on a toy while laying in the giant bean bag chair in our living room right now. He will never have any more worries in life. Just love.
Feline Smarts
In the past I am sure I have mentioned Erza’s intelligence. She has shown me her ability to think through problems and figure things out since the moment I met her at five months old. Her first display of intellect was through her pole vaulting over the baby gate that was meant to keep the kittens in their room. She wanted to explore, and seized the opportunity.
Her latest escapades are what has me writing today though. This whole situation requires a bit of background knowledge. Maggie, the buff colored cocker spaniel who has claimed my mom, has a tendency to be possessive over her toys and her food bowl. This happens less so with the other dogs, because she has to share some of those toys, but her balls are only for her to play with and she likes it that way. When the cats get to close she will grump and growl at them to make sure they are aware that she is watching them and that she will not tolerate them trying to take what she has claimed as hers.
Erza has found a way to negate this perfect storm kind of situation. I have noticed that when Maggie is hanging out in the living room, which she is one of her most likely nap spaces, Erza will start to communicate with Maggie as soon as she enters the same room. Erza has started to use her voice, and will meow at Maggie, as if to let her know what her intentions are for entering the room. It really looks/feels like Erza is letting Maggie know that she “comes in peace”.
Now Erza has certainly never had a problem with using her voice in the past. She will meow at me almost hourly, to communicate her needs, which usually involve food. Erza has also been known to meow at my family members, like she is just having a chat. The moments that will always make me smile are when she meows good night to my parents. She likes to snuggle with my mom for a bit before bed. So I will go and collect my gremlin, the nickname she has gained for her evening antics, and take her back up to my room so my parents can close their bedroom door and sleep in peace. As I leave their room, Erza will often meow at them to say good night.
What has made me a proud cat mom most in this situation is that Erza thought through the problem and found a solution that plays to her strengths. She uses her voice to make Maggie aware of her intentions. The best part though, is that it actually works. Maggie has stopped grumping at her when Erza meows and communicates. I have seen it happen several times now and I was pretty shocked the first time, but now, every time I see it, I feel like a proud cat mom.
My parents have dubbed Erza the MENSA cat. MENSA is a society of geniuses. When I see these examples of her thinking through a problem and finding a solution that works for her, I certainly agree with the nickname. Now, if only I was as proud when she uses those smarts when she is bored. Let’s just say, I will have to start cat proofing multiple things around the house if she keeps up her antics.
Strange Strategies
I have a genuine question for everyone. Have you noticed that recent commercials are just plain strange the majority of the time? Brands like Red Bull, Native, and Doritos are just the first ones to come to mind that I have seen in the past few days.
The whole goal of these adds is to get the consumer to buy their products, I am aware of that. However, I have been watching tv with my parents and one of those strange commercials comes on, and we are just left confused and speechless sometimes. If we want to argue that they have gone the route of strange because they are trying to get their product to be remembered, then I would say that they have achieved that goal. But at what cost?
If I am completely honest, I am less likely to try a new brand of something just because they had a very strange add. I find it off putting, and it gives me a negative impression of the brand as a whole for going with the add to begin with. This reaction may not be considered fair, but it is how I have found myself feeling.
Last night a commercial for a toilet paper brand played while my parents and I were watching a show. I can’t recall the specific name of the brand, but I know it was meant to show their “new” rolls that feature 1000 sheets, or at least something to that effect. The add featured a man who was unrolling one of these new rolls on to the floor and it proceeded to roll away onto the street. While this was happening, that man held the oo vowel sound of the word long the entire time it was rolling. So due to the idea that these are extra long rolls, it was a significant time for this sound to be playing. All this managed to do is straight up annoy me, and consider muting the tv the next time it played. I highly doubt a very effective marketing strategy is to annoy the consumer. It gave me a pretty negative reaction to the product and the brand.
Overall, I am just plain confused as to the new-ish trend of commercials that just don’t make real sense. It doesn’t feel like these companies are trying to put their best foot forward with their products. Not everything in life has to be played up for this grand spectacle that the entertainment world has become these days. I am starting to sound like a cranky old man, telling little kids about how things were back in my day, but that doesn’t make the point any less important.
I appreciate the companies that try to do right by their consumers and their employees. We need a little more of that in the world these days.
Sleepless Nights
As someone who has chronic pain, I am pretty used to it waking me up in the middle of the night and poking at my nerves enough that there is no use in going back to sleep at that point. So I have had the “pleasure” of seeing what the world is like when the majority of the people around me are sleeping.
Obviously I have the mornings where I am annoyed by the fact that I am awake, we all do even if we wake up at a much more reasonable time. However, I do enjoy the quiet. There is no one around to bother me, other than the cats, while I write or draw. My ADHD feels quieter when there is no one else around to create the distractions that have become so easily available.
I try my best to not make too much noise myself. Since there are other people in my household and they are still trying to sleep, I don’t want my circumstances to affect them in any manner. So while almost silent activities are my only form of entertainment, the modern technology of my incredible headphones certainly come in handy. Most mornings though, I don’t use them.
Like I previously stated, I tend to work on my writing while the world around me sleeps. There is something about the stillness of the morning that makes the words come easier. I do have writer’s block occasionally, but while the outside noise is muted, I have less in the way of the ideas that end up creating things. Several passages in my book, Elementals: Spark, were at least inspired by, if not directly written during, the time when I am awake all by myself.
Later today, I will take a nap, and cross my fingers that I can get some of the missing energy back. For now though, I sit in the living room, waiting for the world to wake up and say good morning.
Back To School Memories
The lead up to back to school was always one of those times of year when Mom broke out the important To Do list. Things like clothes shopping, new shoes, and yearly appointments like the eye doctor and getting our vaccines were always included. Supply shopping had its own list that needed to be checked off. There were also those odds and ends that needed to be picked up that weren’t included on the general list for each student. I always had to get a new water bottle because I would find a way to break mine between school years. (One memorial school year required several water bottles because I couldn’t seem to control my klutzy tendencies whenever my water bottle was around.)
When my siblings and I joined sports the list got even longer. We had to add in sports physicals with the doctor. Then equipment for the sport was added to the supplies list. I enjoyed basketball in elementary school, up until I didn’t hit a growth spurt and was the second shortest kid in my grade. Middle school was filled with volleyball practice and games. Sadly it also consisted of many doctor appointments for sore knees. When high school came around, I did a year of color guard. During the last week of the season is when my left knee subluxed and effectively stopped my foray into athletics.
I joined choir, which meant that some fees would pop up during the year, but at least I didn’t have to rent an instrument. (Tried to play the trumpet for a year, that didn’t work out.) My sister was in orchestra, as a violin player. There were supplies she would need for upkeep.
All of those things sound a bit tedious writing them out like this. But I have very fond memories of the moments leading up to the start of each year. I love new stationary and I was very happy to have an excuse to indulge my obsession. New pens and notebooks were treasured items for me. As I got older, I would figure out what to look for as features in the items that I chose for my supplies. Back packs had to have a certain amount of pockets, and the side ones needed to be able to fit my water bottle, and in my high school years, my morning bottle of pepsi.
This year I found myself missing the steps that would lead up to the start of a new grade. Thankfully as a writer I have reasons to still buy some of my favorite school supplies. Maybe one day I will have kids and they might end up changing my mind on how I fondly look back on the days just before the first day of school, but for now, I will hold on to those moments.
Summer Heat 2024
When I was a kid, Summer was spent doing our best to find fun ways to stay cool. Dips in the kiddie pool, popsicles, and running through the sprinkler were the popular solutions to the heavy humidity that weighed us down. Living near a lake for part of my childhood also helped. My family is big into water activities, including going to the local beach, and boating when we get the chance.
Now that I am older, I don’t run through sprinklers anymore. (Bad knees) I mostly only dip my feet in the kiddie pool to cool down. Popsicles will never go out of style, but I much prefer ice cream. Trips to the local beach have become fewer and far between, but they certainly hit the spot when I do get to go.
I recently went to the beach to celebrate W.’s 5th birthday, one of my best friends children. He had a blast getting to swim in the lake with his friends, and play in the sand. I was one of the few adults with a full swim suit on, because when you go to the beach, you wear a suit in my family, so I was out in the water with the kids to make sure they stayed safe as they went deeper. The water certainly helped me not feel the sun’s heat as much. (I will be forever grateful to my parents for the swimming lessons growing up. They really help in moments like that.)
What I didn’t notice while at the party was how red my skin was getting. I did apply sunscreen part way through the event, but I was too late. When I got home, I was already feeling the tender spots on my shoulders and back. My face was pretty red as well. Thankfully I normally recover fairly quickly from sunburn. I am already back to normal, and it has only been a week, only a little bit of pealing.
Taking care of my sunburn is what reminded me of those long summer days when we would spend so much time in the sunshine, but it felt like those nasty UV rays couldn’t touch us. Maybe my parents were more liberal with the sunscreen than I remember.
Today is going to be another warm day, so make sure you stay hydrated and protect your skin from those UV rays.
Morning Routines
Every morning I have the same steps to get ready for the day. Most days I get woken up by what my family has lovingly referred to as a Maggie pounce. Our cocker spaniel Maggie loves to run into my room, jump up on my bed and pounce on me. She proceeds to kiss my face until I give in and start to get up for the day. I can definitely think of worse ways to be woken up in the morning.
Erza follows the pup entourage and meows at me until I put her morning scoop of kibble into her bowl. She also gets a fish oil treat crushed up with her breakfast to help with the persistent dandruff that makes her very itchy. If I try and roll over and go back to sleep after Maggie has left the room to grab her ball, Erza with walk on me to get to my face and proceed to lick my eye lids to try and get me to open them back up and give her breakfast. (Again, worse ways to be woken up.)
Maggie will eventually return with her ball and wait for me to get dressed and start to head down the stairs. After I grab my daily Pepsi bottle, and give Cooper his morning dose of Benadryl, (he has so many allergies) I will sit on the large bean bag chair that we have in the living room and play fetch with Maggie. Personally I think Maggie loves to play with me in the morning because I am her personal hype woman. Every time she goes to get the ball and brings it back she is cheered on and praised. She is actually pretty good at catching the ball either from the original throw or off the first bounce.
Breakfast for both me and the dogs happen eventually, usually after Maggie is done playing for the moment. I will spend time cuddling with each dog on the bean bag chair, which has basically become a giant dog bed most of the time. The dogs will actually take turns laying on the bean bag with me and I absolutely love the fact that they each want hugs from me in the morning.
Now, since my parents and sister are out camping this weekend, I have had to do the dogs full morning routine with them. I sleep in my parents’ room with the dogs and they decide when it is time to get up in the morning. Today that happened to be 5 am. When I let them outside, because they normally wake up and have to use the facilities, only River actually did anything. Maggie and Cooper just stood on the step by the back door and looked out on the yard like they were Simba and Mufasa from The Lion King. I felt a little annoyed.
By that time I was already moving around enough that my body was waking up so I just started my morning routine and now I am trying to use the extra bit of time to be productive. It has not escaped my notice that Maggie is currently snoring in the chair next to me, and the boys are asleep in other positions around the living room. At least they get to go back to sleep.
A Rose By Any Other Name
Growing up with a unique name was certainly an adventure. It used to annoy me when people would mispronounce or misspell my name. My name is spelt phonetically, and because of that fact, I didn’t understand why so many people have such an issue with pronouncing or spelling my name. Now I realize that because people are not used to my name, they over think it and that is why they have such an issue. While I now understand why people struggle with my name, it still boggles my mind when people look at my name and call me names like Kassidy. There is no A or D in my name, so why try and add letters?
The story behind my name is that my Mom was college roommates with a wonderful woman named Kesinee. My Mom fell in love with the name, and when she had me, her first daughter, she gave me the name. The original Kesinee is now my God Mother as well.
I always get a good giggle out of visiting my God Mother at her day care that she runs out of her home. When I introduce myself to the kids, they always laugh and say that I can’t be named Kesinee. I have to get my God Mother to confirm for them that I share her name. It probably is because they are either not used to two people with the same name, or they are really not used to two people sharing such a unique name.
In school, I could always tell when the teacher would get to my name on the roster or during roll call. Because it was alphabetical by last name, I was always at the end of the list. There would be a giant pause, and the teacher would usually make some sort of face that showed how unsure they were about the pronunciation of the name they were reading. Most would try and take a stab at it, and the majority who tried would get close. A few would read off my last name and ask me how to say my first name. One that made me smile was when they said that they were not going to even attempt to say my name because they knew they would get it wrong and just said my last name. At least they tried?
While I may complain about my name because of the issues so many have with the pronunciation and spelling, I would never change it. I never had to deal with multiple people in my classroom with the same name, or with getting confused when someone would call out my name. I always knew that they meant to be talking to me. (Obviously this changes slightly when I am around my God Mother.)
My name is special to me. I will always be thankful that I was blessed with a unique name. But if I had a nickel for every time someone mispronounced or misspelled my name, I would have been able to pay for college.
Spark of Something New
Publishing a novel is no easy feat. Many have started to go the route of self publishing. Most of the time though, this costs a pretty penny. I managed to find a way to make it happen for my book.
Elementals: Spark is not the first manuscript that I have ever written, but it is the first one since I graduated college with my Bachelors in Creative Writing. I used my new skills to try and improve a story that I have always had roaming around in my head.
Summary:
Rhea Morgan is just finishing high school and trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life, when she is off to her final year of training as an Elemental, an ancient line of druids that control the six elements of the world and protect the balance. A group of people with these same abilities, The Banished, are starting to attack the strongholds of the Elementals in search of something.
With her twin sister Robin, and four other Elementals who are also graduating high school, Rhea must fight The Banished, and protect life as we know it, while also trying to figure out her future, and love.
Many things go into creating a novel beyond just the words. I created the cover for my book. Copyright is no joke, so I used a photo that I had taken back in the summer, and placed the text over it. The simplicity of the cover I created suits the story, at least I think it does.
This process, publishing and writing a book, took some time, but as they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Good things take time, and I sincerely hope that many people find my novel to be a good thing. If you would like to support me, please take them time to purchase my book off Amazon.
Comfort Shows
Growing up I would watch certain tv shows whenever I caught them playing on the regular channels. Reruns were something I hunted for. Shows like The Last Airbender and Charmed were something I would seek out when I was home sick or needed something familiar playing in the background while I was working on something else.
Before streaming came along, my mom got me and my sister DVD sets of the first three seasons of Charmed. We would watch them over and over. I would imagine I was a powerful witch with magical powers. I could escape into the world created in the show. Because I had watched each episode so many times, I knew exactly what would happen and didn’t find the need to focus on the tv and I could work on a project, or homework without missing important events in the story of the show.
Since streaming, I have kept track of which service has had the original Charmed series available. (Which by the way is Peacock) Periodically, I would come back to it and rewatch the majority of the series. With the power of being able to pick and choose, I often would skip over episodes that I wasn’t a fan of.
Something that I have treasured and found comfort in since I was a child continues to bring me a joy. I want to hold on to things that connect me to the person I once was. Maybe if I hold on to some of those core loves, those core values, then I won’t change so much that I can’t recognize who I am. I am keeping things with me to hold close. I am keeping my comfort shows.
Momentous Moments
Thanksgiving was this past Thursday. Like most years I spent it with a large group of my family and lots of good food. My family certainly knows how to cook. Side dishes included green bean casserole, home made baked beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and fresh home made buns, to name a few. We certainly don’t go hungry on holidays.
In the spirit of the holiday, I started to really think about what I have to be thankful for this year. I am incredibly grateful for my loving family and friends. I am always thankful for the good food and laughter that fills the day. And it may make me a crazy cat lady, but I will always treasure the fact that I have Erza.
This year one of the main family members was absent due to the fact that she was in early labor. My cousin welcomed a beautiful baby boy over the weekend and we couldn’t be more thrilled as a family. The new addition is the first of his generation, the first of the great grand kids for my Mom’s parents. (Another thing to be thankful for: my grandparents are still around to love on the new baby.)
With new beginnings come reflections, and I have been looking at my own life. I am certainly not were I thought I would be at 27 years old. Ten year old me thought I would be this incredible published author by now and that I would be married with maybe a kid or two. None of those things have happened yet, but I refuse to talk down about it. Just like choosing to be thankful for the good in your life, instead of focusing on the bad, I am choosing to use positive self talk.
When I finished college, a couple of my female family members continued to remind me to choose the words I use carefully. I earned my degree, instead of I have a degree. In this light, I am choosing to say when I am published, and when I find the right person to share life with, I am sure I will look back at today as the simpler times.
Overall, I am thinking about the moments that become so important to us and those we love that we hold them close to our hearts and protect them. I certainly count hearing about the new baby as one of those moments. Holidays with my family will always be high in the ranking of memories that I treasure.
Here’s to many more magical moments that turn into treasured memories!