Week 1 - June 2021 Musings

Did you know that peonies need the cold of winter to snap back and bloom? Sometimes I am the same - I need the quiet and dark to refocus my energy. I needed a bit less on my to-do list and a bit more time in my schedule for me. I hope you don't mind the break. (Peony picture for tax)

So what has been going on? I've been painting ALL the things in the house - walls, ceilings, book cases, furniture - ALL the things! And building furniture. And a bit of gardening. And reading. Pandemic levels of reading. And resettling myself after a pretty bad bout of depression. I get SAD to a lesser degree most winters. Throw in a pandemic, a break up, a house purchase, and the chaos of a new space = a much a greater degree. So I did a little re-set and gave myself the grace to just BE so I could get through the physical therapy on my hip, the winter, the memories of spring, and just everything. It worked! I'm back, sans limp - but I have an attitude. You have been warned.

Books? I read my entire 2021 planned amount. In escapist novels. (I have favorites, they show up in my Good Reads). I'm 75 books in.

New goal. I read non-fiction business during the week and indulge in other books on the weekend. It's significantly slowed my reading but I'm making some progress on enriching my mind.

Cooking? New stove came Thursday, we will discuss after that. Because I will be cooking ALL THE THINGS.

Gratitude? 35 year old me who thought a personal IRA was a great idea. The friends who visit my new space and do not suggest changes to their taste but understand I have a vision. My adorable kitchen. The new side porch furniture. 

Listening? Apple's lists have me pegged. I pick one and it rifts on things I like. Have discovered I like Fall Out Boy. (Will not be debating this.) 

Also a ton of Patrice Washington's Redefining Wealth podcasts and Don't Keep Your Day Job with Cathy Heller podcasts - they seem to inspire me and even out my keel. Right now, I'm all about that.

Watching? This week I finished Stumptown. Let's discuss how I can finish a TV series but not an online class. (Also a friend came to visit the new space and referred to my TV as a "cute little TV" - then asked where the bigger one is. That...is......it. That's the only one.)

Wearing? 

Yeah, I still look good for my age but who the hell knows about my skin? It currently hates facemasks on the regular, and I'm tired of fighting the wrinkles. Here's a picture of what I have going on this week - day, night, and mask.

Day (Skin)

Night (Skin) 

The Masks (Skin)

As mentioned, I've been fighting the maskne. I've got a whole regime of masks I rotate through. Here they are below. The Blue Magic and Mayala's Neem are my favorites but that Naturallogic hydrating mask is fantastic around the eyes.

Wearing (Perfume)

My perfume interest may have tilted into addiction. Kind of like when I need the full set of a book series. I think I may have an obsessive personality. (Shrugs.) I smell fantastic. Go explore the world of indie perfumes. Support a small business. It's good for your soul. 

Below is my latest indie haul from Death and Floral.

I bought a primer (the tin) to help make scents last longer. 

• Summer Camp Gothic - Scent notes: Dry oakwood absolute, browned marshmallows, cedar, black pepper, toasted vanilla
• The same way I am in love with the moon - Scent notes: Palo santo blended with smoked sandalwood and a lunar accord. Deep and reminiscent of a breezy night under a looming full moon.
• You belong among the wildflowers - Scent notes: Lemongrass and wild red poppies, blended with sunflowers, Spanish moss, and dogwood.
• Nothing rusts in the desert, the air is full of ghosts - Scent notes: Pink cactus flowers and sweet grass, with notes of warm rain and woody dry vanilla

And so far, I'm in love.

Random My Southern Gram passed a few weeks ago. The funeral was over Memorial Day weekend. And I realized as we progressed from illness to death to funeral that the experience of a single human life and how it is seen varies from person to person. People recalled things about her I could never imagine and would never have guessed. (Facebook memories and snippets of stories.) Other people, outside the family, shared memories as well - and it's funny because I was privy to Gram's take on those people and it does not jive with their impression of what she thought of them! In the end, despite what other people think, I suspect we are unknowable to all but the Universe (or God, if you prefer.)

Take-away - Nothing last forever...but while we are here, live with joy as often as possible.

All photos by moi! And you can tell...

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Let's Talk about 2020

Things we learned. Things we did not learn. Things we learned again. Unprecedented times. Life changes.  And where we go from here. That's my description of 2020 in paragraph form.

Every year I put out a list of what I learned. They are, honestly, mostly notes to self! And I swear sometimes I learn the same lesson - all over again. Below is my list for 2020. Maybe you learned the same lessons. Maybe you learned something else.  But either way, may we never stop learning and growing.

1. Fear will stop you. It is what limits you. Step outside of it.
2. Sometimes you've got to burn it all down and start over.
3. Boundaries are good. But you are in charge of keeping them defined.
4. Relationships require work from both parties. (Not a newsflash.) I refuse to be the only one working in it.
5. Be grateful for the people who see you as who you are rather than who they want you to be.

If you'd like to see what I learned at other points: lessons in 2019,  lessons in 2018,  lessons in 2017, lessons in 2016 , lessons in 2015 or learn about the rules. 

PS - want to get started journaling in 2021 but not sure what to write? I've got you covered with a digital book of journal prompts. 3 per week, plus an inspiring quote. Check it out on Gumroad with this link: https://gumroad.co/NZTt

All photos by moi! And you can tell...

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Musings - November 2019

November is a wind-up for the holidays. We've been planning for that and a trip at the end of the month. Plus I had some business travel (scenes from my hotel). It's been busy! (And the trip is the WHY of why this post is so very delayed)

Books: Kindle Unlimited is the bomb! I ran a full series on a new-to-me author, C.N. Crawford.
- C.N. Crawford's Shadow Fae series (7 books) - not for serious fantasy readers. When you world-build, the details matter. But it's got beach read fun vibe going for it.
- C.N. Crawfords's Dark King (1st book of the Sea Fae series)
- All 4 books of Elle Adam's Library Witch series
- Laura Thalassa's War and Pestilence books
- Rise of the Fae by Linsey Hall - finished out the Dragon's Gift: Dark Fae books
- The Selling Staircase by Nikki Rausch, which was the only physical book I read!

I did not finish 1000 White Women in November.


Gratitude: Time with friends. Fresh laundry. Holidays with people who love me. Girls night out. New recipes. Kitten purrs. (Despite how soft and cuddly they are, they will be 2 in March. I should start calling them cats.)

Listening: Halsey. And a lot of podcasts. Million Dollar Bad Ass. Dave Ramsey. Planet Money. Dan Carlin's HardCore History (which you can listen to at 1.5 speed to power through those long episodes.)  Don't Keep Your Day Job. Marketing Duct Tape.

Perfume: Still rocking that Magazine Street. It's a travel theme.


Random: We are spending some time away for the holidays and I'm very excited about that. It has involved many vaccinations.

Recipes: Nothing new but we had a hell of a Thanksgiving Day menu. Traditional favorites all the way around. Corn casserole. Green bean casserole*. Stuffing with apples. Stuffing with mushrooms. Deviled eggs. Pigs-in-blanket. (Latter two courtesy of 13 - it's her specialty). Home-made cranberry sauce. Zucchini bread. Berry cobbler. Pumpkin pie. Ham. And then his family brought rolls, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey and a still warm apple pie.


*Let us discuss the green bean casserole. If you are American or Canadian and make it with canned beans - YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG. Frozen green beans. Garlic cream of mushroom soup. Fresh shallots. (I will accept frozen pearl onions.) Fresh mushrooms. A bit of milk and pepper. Then, the French's onions on top. There is no other way to make it. Soggy canned green beans are why people hate it. Made properly - this is how it looks.

Self-Care Overview: 

I've been wearing Country Roads lipstick (Kismet, an Amercian brand) the second half of the month. It's part of my travel theme for this month, too.


"Keeping the Face Young" Skincare...
Day - Mad Hippie's Vitamin C Serum then 100% Pure's Super Fruit Oil Nourishing Eye Cream and then top my whole face with light application of Pacifica's Super Flower Power Rapid Response Face Oil.  Seems to work well with either quick Bare Minerals powder or with full-on Juice Beauty CC Cream + finishing powder.

Night  - There was some travel. When I travel, I tend to use my DHC Beauty samples as night as lotions and to try different products. I also take my DHC Oilve Oil Cleanser and Face Wash during travel. (I love my various cleansing balms, but when I travel, I don't want to use the hotel washcloths on my face - who knows what those were laundered in?!? And balms need a face cloth wipe, for sure.) On non-travel days, at night, I've been using the African Botanics Le Masque Hydralift Intense (October Boxwalla box) all over plus African Botanics's Fleur d'Afrique Oil. 

Stress: Big. Family stuff. (Of which I've said before. But it's still tough simply not being invited to big holidays.) Work stuff. 

Things 13 Said: Did. She's kickboxing now and has become a very teen-age girl. Lots of time in her room.

Watching: Shameless. (Spoiler - really Fiona? $50K? Is that for your guilt so you don't see them again?) Bob Hearts Abishola. Mom. Finished The Blacklist. 

Take- away - Your life is built for choices. Make the ones that work for you. Because you are in charge of your choices- and your life.

Original musings posts you may enjoy:

- Musings - October 2019
- Musings - September 2019
- Musings - August 2019
- Musings - July 2019
- Musings - June 2019
- Musings - May 2019
- Musings - April 2019
- Musings - March 2019
- Musings - February 2019
- Musings - January 2019
- Musings - December 2018
- Musings - November 2018
- Musings - October 2018
- Musings - September 2018
- Musings - August 2018
- Musings - July 2018
- Musings - June 2018

- Musings - May 2018
- Musings - April 2018
- Musings - March 2018
- Musings - February 2018
- Musings - January 2018

- Musings - December 2017

- Musings - November 2017

- Musings - October 2017

- Musings - August 2017
- Musings - June 2017
- Where Did March Go?

- Musings - February 2017
- Musings - January 2017

- Message in a Bottle (2016)

All photos by moi! And you can tell...

*Juice Beauty is a staple in my beauty cabinet. I stray, I try other things - but it's my favorite "foundation" (I used the CC Cream) and great skin care. If you like Juice Beauty too, here is a link. I do get a small commission (at no cost to you) when you use these links which helps support this blog.

- Skin Care by Juice Beauty

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Musings - June 2019

June is the season of cottonwood blossoms floating in the air. And the year the library's catalpa tree decided not to bloom! (I had to hunt down other catalpa trees to admire. Fortunately, in lower Michigan there are a good number of them.) It rained a lot. Many things grew and blossomed. None of which was my garden which I did not get put in yet!

Books: This month was a slower reading month. I had a lot to process on the family and personal life front. I did get 3 books done. Another few of the Lainwich Witch books (Murder Comes Calling and Murder Before Marriage, both digital)  - Book and A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams. The Witch Cozies were obviously lighter reading but A Certain Age was more interesting. (I will be setting it free to the Little Free Library - the new one mentioned below.) 

And those push me over 40 books for the year. I think the goal of 52 is within striking distance.




Gratitude: Purry, sweet kittens. Art brunch with a new and talented artist friend plus the oldest two #NotMyDaughters . (Yes, that's my piece at the top. Guy's comment "You are getting better.") Beach days. Peonies, graceful in all their re-cut glory. Yard bunny. Lawn toads (on the steps). Modern medicine for evil weed itch. Mermaid festival. Escape rooms for birthdays.

Listening: Dave Ramsey. So Obsessed podcast - all of season 1. Side Hustle School. But not really music. I've kind of enjoyed silence and learning in equal quantities without other distractions. It was a strange month. I usually crave more music.

Perfume: Daily, it's been Ofresia by Diptyque. On the weekends I've been rocking Willow and Water from the Library of Flowers. (Reminder - I apparently adore Margot Elena as most of the lines I like - Love + Toast, Library of Flowers, TokyoMilk - are actually hers and recently housed in one website.) I still would like to order Fog (from Michelle Pfeiffer's Henry Rose line). Perhaps soon. Meanwhile Jericho has been rocking my sample of Torn this month. And we discovered at a family event that maybe we should coordinate who wears the Henry Rose... (sillage overflow).

Random: Several random thoughts this month.

1) I found the saddest Little Free Library in the next city over. It's my new mission to improve it. I left 2 books  - the two paperbacks from April - to help early in the month. (Sadder even than the one in town was a few years ago.) 

2) I found out Erno Laszlo made a cream for Marilyn Monroe. It's luscious - and expensive. It's my new covet. (At $275 a bottle - it may remain so for a while. But it's got great ingredients in it.) Also - apparently Jackie and Marilyn used the same face cream? That's borderline creepy.

3) The only bat I want in my house is the one on the Bacardi bottle. That was not the case earlier this month.

4) Did you know, you can grow peonies from SEED? Yep. I'll be doing that!

Recipe: I cooked little but ate well! I had a meal catered by a local chef for an event - and OMG. Everyone should do that once. Or once a month. Whichever. 

I also made pies. It was 13's 14th birthday and he likes cherry pie. No one else does (except me), so two pies.

The other is Quick Triple Berry. (Make a decent crust, mix triple berry frozen fruit with a bit of sugar and tapioca.)

Also, I made my first Chocolate Chess Pie. It seems to have been well received. (Photo documentation 3 hours after making the second one. I had not yet have any, either!)  I started with the basic All Recipes version.  And then for the second, I made amendments. Here's my version.

- 2 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons good baking cocoa
- 1/2 tablespoon coffee
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
- 3 eggs (beat each one)
- 1/2 can evaporated milk

Mix well. (I blended the sugar and coffee and cocoa in the blender to superfine them.) Put in a pre-made pie crust or make your own. (I use a flour, butter, vodka version). Then bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow it to cool thoroughly.

Self-Care: It was NEW SOAP DAY! I'm trying a South Bend, Indiana-based soap line. It's "nice" but not awesome like the Villianess soaps or even Zum. 

But... attention all soap makers. Watch your color choice and saturation. Yes it looks beautiful. But it makes a mess in my shower that I have to clean - long after the memory of my enjoyment of your soap fades.


This was a Boxwalla month (see picture) and I simply adore the pricepoint that allows me to try luxury products at such a value. This month's set has a summer theme from 5Yina (Lucent Beauty Duo) and I expect I'll be raving about it next month as summer heats up. And again, only the $49 subscription price makes enjoying these luxuries possible because the items in the box are worth more.

The Daily Basics

- Day - During travel, I've been using the Earthwise Resiliency Face Serum for day. (After I finished up that sample of Nap in the Meadow). During weeks at home, I'm using the Juice Beauty line for brightening emulsion, serum, eye cream, CC cream. (So, on the Earthwise days, I tried the H2O Serum around the eye area. Not for me. Causes stinging and tightening in that area for me. But my forehead likes it at night!) I've also added Farizad's Veil from the Earthwise Beauty line. I absolultely adore that I can just add it to an oil I already am using for sun coverage.

- Night -  All over moisturizer, most nights, is H2O Infinity Renewing Youth Serum (which I got on mega-clearance of $28) and which seems to be running out quickly - which may be good given the season as my skin doesn't love it when sun-stressed. (Makes me red. Fades quickly.) During travel weeks, I've been using the Earthwise Beauty Yasuni Balm plus eye cream samples from DHC Beauty. I've also been using DCH's eye masks - I forgot how much I love those.

Stress: Relationships all take effort. 

Things 12 said: Next year we will be better mermaids.

Watching: The Gifted - both seasons. (Okay, it's fascinating the unsung Season 1 super power of the female mutants seems to be looking fabulous, including make-up, in refuge conditions. Also, dating Thunderbird is bad for your health.) Finished out Pretty Little Liars, Season 7. And whoa. Strange Angel is a little risque for CBS. 

Take-away - Don't forget that you have choices. Good choices. Bad choices. But they are yours to make. Make them with deliberation because they have consequences.

Original musings posts you may enjoy:

- Musings - May 2019
- Musings - April 2019
- Musings - March 2019
- Musings - February 2019
- Musings - January 2019
- Musings - December 2018
- Musings - November 2018
- Musings - October 2018
- Musings - September 2018
- Musings - August 2018
- Musings - July 2018
- Musings - June 2018

- Musings - May 2018
- Musings - April 2018
- Musings - March 2018
- Musings - February 2018
- Musings - January 2018

- Musings - December 2017

- Musings - November 2017

- Musings - October 2017

- Musings - August 2017
- Musings - June 2017
- Where Did March Go?

- Musings - February 2017
- Musings - January 2017

- Message in a Bottle (2016)

All photos by moi! And you can tell...

*Juice Beauty is a staple in my beauty cabinet. I stray, I try other things - but it's my favorite "foundation" (I used the CC Cream) and great skin care. If you like Juice Beauty too, here is a link. I do get a small commission (at no cost to you) when you use these links which helps support this blog.

- Skin Care by Juice Beauty

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La Familia

There was a maternal family event in May, and it was just as soul-crushingly alienating as I feared. It was supposed to be a joyous event for the child I spent her first year living with, who spent every weekend with me when her mother couldn't handle 2 kids so divergent in ages, whom I sat with and spoke to her admission counselor to get her into the higher education program she ended up graduating from, who I talked the same program into taking back on a special schedule after a serious illness. This child who is not my daughter or my niece but something of both.

And it was a family event - except I'm not family anymore - that's blindingly apparent they treat me.

From being told about the event with bare weeks to spare (and having to move business travel plans because of it) when family was told at the holidays months before - to being completely left out of the day-before activities - to being left out of the post-event activities. Which would've hurt less, except - my family sat around the family reception table, where they asked us to sit, talking about the night before (to which I hadn't been invited) and plans for the next day (to which I also wasn't invited). It was all emotionally isolating. I tried to be positive and not start trouble - but I'm sure I failed at the first part.

Side note: And then there was the actual event when my mother's odious guest was astonishingly rude - throughout the whole reception. (It's lovely to be grilled on your marital status and called fat.)

This experience was not different than NOT being invited to other family events since La Gram Russe passed - notably, Thanksgiving 2018, Christmas 2018 and New Years or a certain girl's open house in the past 6 months. I'd been asked to 1 family event in the prior 15 months - Easter 2019 by a sweet cousin. But I had plans as the invitation planning was late. (Family - wonder why I'm not there? Perhaps ask if I was invited.) In the 12 month prior to that, I had to beg to be included in Thanksgiving 2017 that was being hosted in my mother's home. She has chosen time and again her sisters over me - perhaps because I told her until she addressed how they treat me in a meaningful way, I would not attend. Perhaps because telling everyone I'm busy alienates me from them further while preserving her place. Likely. She does worry overmuch about how people think of her.

I'm sure any maternal family reading this would say "It was K's day and NOT about you!" - yes, it absolutely was. And so I kept my peace. 

Here's the thing, I came for K but I'm D-O-N-E being treated like an after-thought and then being punished and reprimanded for feeling hurt by that lack of consideration you extend to each other. I honestly don't think it's a concerted effort - more the death by a thousand careless cuts. The reason being - none of you care. Each cut highlights a lack of connection. It started with one aunt, who seemed to need to continually demean me to elevate her own family, but there are others. The flighty aunt who sent my birthday card with my cousins' - which meant for more than 8 years I received my card 5 months late like the afterthought it was - and in person belittled anything I felt sacred. The mean comments on my appearance by another aunt (the bar drunk) from the time I hit my teens on, as well as her dogged insistence that I am wrong about everything up to and including the color of the sky! And then there is the aunt who claims to be Switzerland and does not ever defend me and or stop them. Her excuse is always -  "That's just the way they are" - no, that's the way we, as a family, have allowed them to become*. The finishing touch is my mother's silent acceptance of her family's treatment of me. The same way she accepted her husband's mistreatment of me. Always her reputation among others before me. 

My mother's acceptance of what her family said to me and how they treated me- always a ready excuse and a reason I needed to understand/accept their poor behavior, just this one time - normalized it until I didn't expect any better treatment for myself from anyone. For years my mother's silence towards their behavior equaled acceptance and allowed the treatment to become normalized by me and within the family...and then escalate. She never noticed; she certainly never intervened. We have reached a plateau where friends I bring to family events - with zero prompting or preparation from me - comment on how badly they treat me. At this point, there are too many cuts. There's no way back because none of you see what you do. In your minds, it's somehow always me.

Family - ha! La Gram Russe never taught you what family is. She taught us to survive. So here it is, the definition of "Family" is caring and support. You have not done either for me for more than 40 years. You follow each other on social media - but not me. You buy each others' business products - but not mine. (Mother - you figured out online dating and how to stalking your sister's ex on Facebook - but can't figure out how to order the book I wrote? I sent you a free copy. I can see it's been 3 years and you still haven't downloaded it - my sales page updates me with contacts. That book and my others are also on this blog, so don't tell me you lost the email. Great job on the support, mom!) When you see me, if you ask me anything about my life at all, you ask closed-ended questions based on incorrect assumptions. I know I'm the one who communicates for a living, but basic adulting skills would teach you how to interact with people better than that! Y'all must be a joy at parties. It's good that we're a pretty people, you need the help! But my Southern gram taught me pretty is as pretty does - and I see in your actions what you are.  

As a family, your interest piques when you see me or when you need something from me. I'm the call you make when you need a plan or to get someone out of a sticky situation or clean up a legal mess. And have been for more than 20 years. That's my action - saving your various selves from everything from childcare to FBI issue and through to legal help. La Gram Russe called me the family sheriff. Did you know that? She saw my role and how you treated me.

There's a Hawaiian forgiveness act I've been reading about. It seems graceful. I think I'm a bit spiteful in the application of it, but this is what I've got for Ho'oponopono:
- I'm sorry  - I was never enough for you to see me as a person in my own right and value that person
- Please forgive me - for needing you to be to me what you were to each other
- Thank you - for teaching me what family should never be
- I love you  - enough to set you free from the apparent burden of being my family 

* Something I recently read that resonated with how my maternal family has grown to treat me - "Every now and then, a group of people assumes the traits and behaviors of sociopaths. Maybe one person in the group completely and permanently lost their doughnuts several decades prior, and slowly, each member of the group learns that playing along with this singular menace is the only way to survive. Eventually, the members of the group are so utterly confused and gaslit by each other that they enforce the will of the group and nod along with bizarre opinions until they can’t even remember what it means to think logically or have free will or behave like other regular human beings on the face of the planet." - Read it all by clicking here.

Family, next situation or mess - find a new number to call. The sheriff has left her post.

Other posts on my attempts to deal with the family situation:
- Gifts and Expectations
- Message in a Bottle (aka the impossible aunt)


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Lessons - 2018

Each year. as the year progresses, I write things down. To learn from them. To remember them. To share them. I keep them in the Random area of my blog until the year ends. 

And then, I share them! This is that post. And I'll frame it by noting this was a heavy year with relationship changes: eldest #NotMyDaughter got married, my paternal family underwent some massive shifts in family stress, I left a professional board I'd been on for more than 10 years, and my maternal family circled the wagons on family loyalty (with me on the outside).  Wave after wave of changes. And this is what I learned from them.

1. All relationships can be boiled down to the pronouns used and the money. (Ex:Watch what they say and how they spend their resources. It tells you a lot.)
2. Stay curious
3. Instead of RBF, try Resting Pleasant Face
4. When you can't help, step back so someone else can.
5. Everyone thinks they invented it (so no one will use your referral link.)

I took number 5 from the 2016 lessons and made a 7 Day Boot Camp digital book. Click here to check it out:

Take-away - Life is short. Make everything a little bit special. (Picture top - cake with a bit of fresh fruit brings it to another level.)

Other posts you might enjoy:

- Lessons 2017
- Lessons 2016

- Lessons 2015

- The Rules

Pictures by me.

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Musings - November 2018

Hello! November is always my favorite month with Thanksgiving near the end. I hope yours was good!

Ours was fantastic. I made all the things (pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, yeast rolls, corn muffins, yellow cake with blueberries and a lemon glaze, corn casserole, vegetarian dressing aka stuffing)! And then 12 made her famous deviled eggs and pigs-in-a-blanket. Guy took care of the roasted potatoes, ham, and turkey plus made something called "spicy tomato fritters". We also put out a bag salad which was fairly well-received- mostly because I felt like we needed more food without butter and bread as the main components.

Books: It was a fantastic month for reading! I finished 10 books over the month, thanks to the holiday and catching "plague":

- The Colony by John Tayman   - this was the book I picked up from the Puerto Rican book exchange at the hotel last month. It was dense reading, as many good non-fiction books are! It was filled with personal accounts of the leper colony on Hawaii.
- The Divine Secrets of the YA-YA Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells  - which I'm late the party on and have never seen the movie. It was a very enjoyable read from my local Little Free Library and made me want to hunt down the other 2 books! (Which are sadly not on Kindle Unlimited.)
- Lynchpin by Shannon Mayer via my Kindle Unlimited which was not super exciting or illuminating but I'm a finisher.
- While I had plague, I ran through the whole Blood singer series by CT Adams after finding Book 5 at the local Little Free Library the week before. Thanks to the awesome digital option - I was able to download the others to my Kindle for instant gratification. (Blood Song, Siren Song, Demon Song, The Isis Collar, The Eldritch Conspiracy, To Dance with The Devil, and All Your Wishes.) 

With these books, I've clocked in 54 books for the year! And there is a month - with business travel and a week off - of the year to go! One of my friends suggested counting how much I read a year to see if I read one book per week, a common goal; I'd never done that before and my reading tends to ebb and flow as I have time. These results are surprising to me. If asked, I'd have said I didn't have time to read that much! 

Gratitude: Time with family and friends. New ventures. Guy's ingenuity. Family adventures. Remembering self-care. 

Listening: All the podcasts. Dave Ramsey podcasts. Chalene Johnson's podcast. Bacon Marketing podcast (yes, by the guy from last month's book.). Christy Wright's Business Boutique podcast. Susan Hyatt's Rich Coaches podcast. Hirsh Marketing (which I ended up unsbscribing to due to lack of meaningful content).

Perfume:  Diptyque's Ofresia. It's  reminiscent of a garden but I'm not sure I like it for "winter" . And I've been using that Carolina Herrara lotion, Good Girl, for quick days. (I'm so stuffed up I can't smell. So, I've been careful about using fragrance sparingly.)

Recipes: We made a ton of things for Thanksgiving! (See above for the list - here's a quick shot of the stove the day of as I baked.) I didn't create anything new but we tried vegetarian stuffing (dressing but not in the bird) and yeast rolls - those were new and well received.

Earlier in the month, we made Day of the Dead bread due to 13's interest in his Spanish class. I had not worked with yeast in a while. He did not realize how patient he would have to be. It was good exercise for him. (And why we had yeast rolls for Thanksgiving - I had left-over yeast packets to use up.)

And I made up "bottom of the refrigerator salad": shredded broccoli stem, cut up raw brussel sprouts, shredded carrots. Topped with chickpea crumbles, red pepper and tomato. Dressing: orange juice, ranch dressing and a bit of horseradish. Super nutritous and filling!


Self-Care: Last month I mentioned my slight soap obsession (hello, Villainess Soaps). Well, I opened up the full sizes with Pearl Diver in September and Krakatoa in October. This month I popped over to a different brand, Michigan-based, Cellar Door Bath Supply Company. Let's start with awesome ingedients, beautifully packaged, and the hands-down BEST confirmation email I've ever seen. (I loved them so much - and they are such a great price point - I gave a number of them away as gifts.) 

And this month I finished out my favorite  (sale) mask and the Lumene cream while I continued to try face oils on a schedule. Yes, specific oils for evening and morning. Every day. It's a continuation of last month with just a few additions and a switch out. For the month. I grouped them in the top photo by day and night:
- Day -I'm sampling Juice Beauty's Stem Cellular  Anti-Wrinkle Booster Serum around the eyes. And I've gone back to being totally Juice Beuaty for the day. Serum, oil, eye cream, CC cream. While I like to experiment - that pretty much is my standard and it serves me very well. 
- Night -Same as last month until I ran out of  Lumene Vitamin C night cream mid-month. I've kept using  thelayer of Predire Eye Care Ant-Aging Night Serum. (And NO, I did not pay retail for it! I picked it up for about 1/10th that price on a Vegas business trip last fall.) And I'm still using Little Barn Apothecary oil. The  substitution is the 100% Pure Multi-Vitamin serum. It's very active but not super moisturizing, so the night oil helps with that.

And I'm loving Kismet's Country Roads lipstick for color!

Things 12 said: Well she didn't say much funny because she was sick for a bit - but she kindly passed it on! And it took me O-U-T for better than a week. 


Watching: 007 is back on Hulu. (Hello.) And I hadn't caught up with this year's Criminal Minds. But now I have! I also found the perfect "plague" binge - Schitt's Creek is light and funny. I'm 2 seasons in!

Random: 12 and I were supposed to go to a glass class but she had basketball (she's trying out for 7th grade basketball, even though she's only in 6th grade) so, I took 13 to the glass class. After he got over being the only male in the class, we had fun. We made some awesome ornaments!

Take-away - Let it go. Because whatever happened, it wasn't about you. It was about them. When you hold it, you allow them to anchor you down. (See post from my book on the left.) 

Original musings posts you may enjoy:

- Musings - October 2018
- Musings - September 2018
- Musings - August 2018
- Musings - July 2018
- Musings - June 2018

- Musings - May 2018
- Musings - April 2018
- Musings - March 2018
- Musings - February 2018
- Musings - January 2018

- Musings - December 2017

- Musings - November 2017

- Musings - October 2017

- Musings - August 2017
- Musings - June 2017
- Where Did March Go?

- Musings - February 2017
- Musings - January 2017

- Message in a Bottle (2016)

All photos by moi! And you can tell...

Juice Beauty is a staple in my beauty cabinet. I stray, I try other things - but it's my favorite "foundation" (I used the CC Cream) and great skin care. If you like Juice Beaty too, here is a link. I do get a small commission (at no cost to you) when you use these links which helps support this blog.

- Skin Care by Juice Beauty

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