Rocks

Since my last post was about stones, I thought I'd tell you about rocks as well. 

I have always picked up random rocks ... on a walk, in a parking lot, or even as gifts!  My Uncle Jim was the same, always giving me a rock!  I have a yard full thanks to him.  

Yesterday, as I parked at the grocery store, I got out and there was a nicely rounded rock.  I grabbed it, lifted it to the sky and said "thanks, Uncle Jim!"

When I was visiting my brother in Montana, we were at Rocky Point Ranch along the Clark Fork river and of course I had to get me some rocks!  I made a small bucket and stuck it in my brother's truck.  I told him to take it to mom's his next visit.   Then she moved here, and the rocks came with her! I have some Montana River rocks in my yard. On my shelf. lol

In a strange way, rocks "speak" to me. Those are the ones I pick up. My fascination with rocks is called "petrofilia". Carl Jung viewed rocks as one of the symbols of primordial eternity.  Yes, I learned something new today, too!

Thanks, Uncle Jim!

Montana River Rocks 

(small ones I snuck home in a suitcase!)

Yep, I like rocks!!!

Energy and Stones

Everything is made up of energy which vibrates at different frequencies.  And I am drawn to stones. Not like women who are drawn to emeralds or diamonds.  If you look on my bookshelf, there is always a stone or a dish of smaller stones.  Same with my yard, I collect stones. Rocks.  

The energy we emit is vibrates at certain frequencies. Well, rocks, crystals, etc, they all do the same.  I find that I'm sensitive to these kinds of things.  I carried a piece of turquoise in my pocket every day for a year because I felt better carrying it.  

Today, I checked my mailbox and inside was a package from an Etsy vendor.  Its a necklace made up of empath protection stones!  What a surprise!!  I immediately put it on, and I love it!!  

Its made up of amethyst, black tourmaline,  hematite, and labradorite.  All stones for health and healing energies. 

It's beautiful, and thank you, dear, for sending it to me!!  Hugs

Whatcha Readin'?

I am a big reader.  At work during lunch, the best escape is to read a good book.  Most of what I read is fiction, or what some might call "chick lit".  I like a little mystery,  sometimes an historical romance can be good.  I also like books that are a series, following the same family or characters through different events.

I recently read a story about a man who emigrated to Minnesota from Sweden, back when land was given if you promised to live and farm there.  I like being able to imagine myself trying to scrape by, growing foods, sleeping on a straw filled bed. (OK, that one not so much!) 

James Patterson has a couple series; JA Jance is good, her stories have an Arizona base.  Robert Crais writes about Elvis Cole and Joe Pike (swoon) based in Los Angeles. I have read the series through many times, and I never tire of them, and am anxiously waiting the newest one!!

Kafka on the Shore I've read 3 or 3 times.  Haruki Murakami's style of writing in this book makes you pause and think about what he's written.  

Susan Mallery has a series of books where the main characters change, but its all in the same town of Fool's Gold, so each book comes across characters from previous books.  I've read this series twice, as well!

I grew up reading Nancy Drew stories,  and Donna Parker sagas.  I've always had a library card, and its always well used!!

So what's next on your reading list??

My Kindle account has been keeping tabs on me:

Cloud Porn

I like watching clouds.  They are never the same,  like snowflakes.  Each shape can have a different shade of color, a different density to them.   Today, as I look out my window, it's the high thin clouds painting the sky a filmy bluish white.  But some days they're puffy white like a cotton ball. And then there are the greys of storm clouds.  I like those best.  Mom says I was born during a Midwest July thunderstorm.  Maybe that's why. 

But I also like to read, and today I read this about the sky:   "A skyscape of clouds makes the sky a visibly living thing, breathing as it moves, cooling the city and its people with a protective cloak, and washing the air and the land with rains that come and go in a way that freshens the place and its people."

When I moved from Ohio where there are often cloudy skies to Arizona, I was here for nearly 90 days before I saw a single cloud.   Now when clouds appear, I'm out there, looking, watching,  admiring and yes, taking photos.  That is my cloud porn.

Retail Inventory

Taking inventory at a retailer is quite the job to complete.  So much of it is preparation, and as one of the hourly supervisors, its our job to get the prep done.  So the day before inventory can be a very long day.

It reminds me of the inventory I prepped for back in 2008.  I was at a smaller Midwest store, and my coworkers were fantastic.  We had a split shift the day before, 7-12 and back at 4pm.  But driving home and back again was a lot of time.  So a group of us hit the local park for a walk to change our perspective, then hit the local Skyline Chili before heading back to work.  Having the support of your work sisters us awesome!  And I miss working with them. 

It also reminds me of my very first inventory, it was after midnight and all of us were a little punchy and acting silly. One of the managers, Robert, was helping us zone ladies lingerie.   He started singing a ditty and dancing around, wearing a bra on his head.  We had a good laugh!  Its amazing how a little laughter can lift your spirits and keep you going!

So if you're struggling through a tough moment, remember that a little laughter can get you through!!  Laughter is good for the soul!

Spring has Sprung

Driving home from work, sun is shining bright, its 78 degrees, and this guy goes zooming by.  

Yep, its Arizona in February!!! Mmm.

Un-ass the Couch!

When you have a stressful day, what's your go to???  The obvious for me is chocolate.  But lately I'm finding that when I've had a stressful day mentally,  I find myself sitting here watching endless videos.  But why????

They're all random.  Sometimes its Facebook, other times its Instagram. None of them are informational.  And frankly, many of them aren't even entertaining.  So what's the draw?  Is it the hope that the next one will be better???  I'm not sure.

If you've never worked retail before, you may not be able to relate.  We have inventory coming up on Thursday.  In order for it to be a successful count, there is a LOT of preparation, and many, many details.   Which means my mind was on overload all day, as I am one of the ones who oversees many of the store areas.  We will be counting $8.3M of items in the store.  It takes a team of 40 people, and lasts about 8 hours .... sometimes longer.

So there I am, home after a long work day. Still haven't cooked dinner, or done anything else.  Just veg on the couch watching videos until my battery nearly dies.  Time to break this cycle and un-ass the couch!  

Is it Friday yet?????????

Dreams

If you've followed much of this blog,  you know I am a dreamer.  I don't spend hours trying to analyze them, and most of them don't worry me. Much.  And some of them make me feel better.

Last night's dream was one of those.  Now that I'm awake, the details escape me. But what was clear was a nice, long hug from my Aunt Margie. 

She was a fantastic lady, wise in so many ways.  And in my opinion,  she was a more "put together" woman than her sister, my mother.  I often turned to her for advice in my grown up years ... mostly because I found dealing with my own mother to be difficult.  

Aunt Margie's last piece of advise to me, to all of us, was "what you do for your mother honors your father."  That was difficult because I didn't understand it at the time.  My fault.  I wasn't involved with my parents on daily basis because I lived out of state. But as they aged and dad got sick, I was there often. And often overwhelmed!!  Just before Dad died, he made me promise to take care of her.

Now that mom lives near me in the Valley of the Sun, I find myself having to do things for her that ... well, I always thought she was more capable than she truly is.  Sometimes, its very overwhelming.  I pretend I'm going to work but stay home instead so that I can have a day to myself!  

But my dream made me feel better. I felt as if Aunt Margie was telling me I'm doing the right thing, and that it will all be ok.  It was a nice dream to have!  Thanks, Auntie!

Clocks

I can't remember the last time I had a broken clock, if ever.  Usually a clock is part of the decor of the room and you might change one for another for the look.

I've had this same alarm clock since 2004, when I left my ex and started living alone.  Why I bought one covered in stars, well I just can't remember why. I've never had a patriotic theme.  lol. But there it is, has traveled from place to place with me since then.  

Over time, this little clock has been ... well, a little abused.  I have slapped snooze many times! The buttons on the top to adjust time and turn the alarm off and on have been wearing out, getting loose.  Last night as I got ready for bed, I tapped the button to turn on the alarm and it was like the whole clock fell apart!!!

I knew I would need a replacement, thank goodness for Walmart+ !!  My new one was just delivered.  In the light of day, I picked up the old clock and it fell to pieces in my hand.  I think over time the little bit of heat generated by the circuitry caused the plastic to become brittle. *sigh*  

I think I'm one of the few in this world who is sensitive to the pitch of the alarm ..... none of the ones I've tried in the past have suited me.  I prefer the tone to be the key of G just below middle C on a piano keyboard.  So yeah, I'm kinda weird that way!! 

I will miss my old clock.  We woke up together too many times to count. 

When's the last time you replaced your alarm clock????

Dirty Dancing

Finally, the end of a very hard work week if here, and its time to rest.  But after going all out all week long, I find I'm restless and still need to keep going.  

Today, I decided to compromise and put Dirty Dancing on the TV.  I puttered around in my kitchen, straightened up the living room, and enjoyed all the classic music.  Most of its pretty mellow, definitely not ACDC rock!  

But the line that stuck with me today was Baby saying "Me?  I'm scared of everything. ... and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling for the rest of my life the way I feel when I'm with you."  Those are powerful words, and puts into perspective how we thought about things when we were teens. 

From my perspective this late in life, I've learned that you can love many people in your lifetime, each of them different and unique in their own way. 

You'll carry those memories with you, and some will stand out more than others.  My first real love was Ronnie.  Unless you count Michael.... we were in second grade..  haha..  My last love was intense like Baby's feelings in the movie.  Its been more than 15 yrs and I still carry those feelings for Chuck,  my cowboy.

Hang on to your memories, they are treasures!!

Counting My Blessings

You can take the gal out of the church, but you can't take the church out of the gal.  I was raised going to church. Every Sunday; we never missed, we didn't skip church to watch football, or socialize, or even take a Sunday to be lazy.  

My first husband was not churched. I didn't think it important at the time, but it turns out, that mattered.

I continued church every Sunday with my own kids, although we switched from the Lutheran services I had as a kid, and went to a Pentecostal church. My second husband attended this church. I thought it would be better .... but he cheated, marriage didn't work.  As a result, I was mad.  And my anger led me to being mad at God because He allowed this to happen.  

I ran from church, hooked up with someone else, still didn't work.  It's taken me a long to come around full circle, to realize my anger shouldn't have been directed toward God.  Whatever my ex's reasons for cheating were partially due to me, we all play a part, it takes two, etc.  And maybe there was a reason in his own life path that had nothing to do with me.  For whatever reason, I finally put it all in the past.  

It's taken me some time to renew the church feelings inside me; they're still there, never went away, they were just ... idle.  Now that I've turned back to Christian music, listening to sermons when I can, I feel better now than in the past.  It helps to focus on the little things, counting my blessings.  I'll still have moments where I dwell or regret the past, but I'm so thankful I'm not in that place any more.

"One, two, three, up to infinity. I'd run out of numbers before I could thank You for everything.  The more that I look in the details, the more of Your goodness I find.  I will keep counting my blessings, knowing I can't count that high."   (Seph Schlueter song -- listen if you can!) 

Tax Time

 Things sure have changed over the past couple of decades.  Taxes hasn't.   But the process sure has!

When I was young, in the 70s and 80s I did my own taxes.  By hand.  On paper!  Then along came computers, and actually doing taxes has become pretty easy if you don't have complicated issues.  And I don't. 

But as the years go by, using my desktop computer, well its become obsolete!  We all do everything on our phones, or maybe a table or laptop.  

This year, I bought my tax program and there wasn't a CD, it was all download.  Ok, I'm good with that.  But it became very clear that what was once almost automatic for me to grab a download and get things running on the desktop .... it's not as automatic any more!  Much easier to jump on the Playstore app and get what you need.

Everything changes. And faster as I get older!  Youngsters are much more able to grasp all the changes better than us!  Because its what they know, their minds aren't cluttered with what used to be.

So off I go now, time to start loading preliminary data into the tax program and see where things stand!!

Make It

Today, the theme on the radio was "make it" day.

Make coffee.

Make art.

Make a memory.

Make a difference.

What will you make today?

For me, it was a work day, but I made an effort to be cheery to coworkers.  If I'm honest, some days it's difficult being cheerful at work.  It was also rainy with a chilly wind.  I was happy to get home and relax.  Where I made some art, and hopefully made a difference for someone today!

Bless you all!