Category Archives: About Me

10 Things I’ve Never Told You & You Probably Don’t Care! Ha!

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I’ve been having a bit of a writer’s block the last few weeks. I don’t have an explanation for that other than I’ve just had my mind elsewhere. I’ve been crocheting like a mad-woman and that has taken up a LOT of my time! I will have a WIP (Work-In-Progress) to share, possibly tomorrow. Other than that, my pain level prevents me from doing much of anything. I’ve started my Christmas list already and have a few things (WIPs) in the making or finished.

I know I need to work on my novel (Spike) and I still have much to say in my Ex-Files series, but I’m just…I don’t know. I have no motivation at the moment to write, I guess. I’m trying to kick my own butt into gear, though, and decided it was time for a post about me (ugh, how boring!) and I came up with a few things about me that I may have never mentioned before. So, here goes nothing…

  • I used to be able to pick up a wet bar of soap in the shower with only my toes. Weird, huh?

  • When I was in my 20’s I could very easily do an awesome impression of Robert Plant. I didn’t look like him, but I sure as hell could sound like him! Everyone was so amazed that I was constantly asked to ‘perform’ at parties.

  • When I was around 16 years old, I took photos of photos in magazines of rock stars on stage and had them printed so that I could pass them off as my own concert photos! Shame on me!

  • My favorite shows when I was in Elementary School were H.R. Pufnstuf, Lost in Space, Gilligan’s Island, Dark Shadows, The Monkees, and The Partridge Family.

  • My mom smacked me in the face once when I was about 8. I will never forget it. She had brought a dog home that an old man was trying to find a home for. He couldn’t keep the dog in his new apartment. He was a big Dalmation-looking dog and his name was Zero. He was a very calm and loving dog. My dad wouldn’t let us keep him and it was very upsetting to my little 8-year-old self and I was hysterical (as my mom called it) so she slapped me across the face.

  • Once a wasp literally ran into my face while buzzing through the house and stung the shit out of me. My left cheek was swollen for days! I made up a multitude of swear words because it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch!

  • I skipped half of my Senior year of high school and still passed my classes and graduated with my classmates. When asked by my counselor how I managed to pass, I told him, “I did all the work I missed, any homework assigned, and I turned in some extra credit assignments. I’m not an idiot, you know.” He was amazed! I was bored with my classes and couldn’t care less about sitting there for 45 minutes, each class, day after day after day!

  • One of my ex’s aunts had a lazy eye and she made me nervous because there were times I couldn’t tell if she was talking to me or someone else! I eventually got used to it and I learned which eye was ‘talking’ to me.

  • I have a 6-pack of Coca-Cola Classic from the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA. This was back when sodas were still put in glass bottles. I wonder if it’s still good to drink?

  • When I worked as a CNA/CMT in a Nursing Home, an elderly woman slugged me in the right ear. She was a BIG woman, with a powerful punch. It hurt like a you-know-what and I may have said a few swear words to keep myself from punching her in the face. I knew that wouldn’t be the right thing to do, but it sure would have given me some satisfaction!

 

So, there you have it. A few more boring things about me that you really didn’t care to know. Haha. It’s funny the things you start remembering when you put your mind to it.

A Shout Out!

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My circle of friends has always been small. Even when I was younger, from grade school to high school and beyond, I had only a few very close friends. It was easy for me to make friends, but I rarely fit in. It was just more comfortable for me to step away rather than to keep up the facade of belonging. Does that make sense? I kept friends who were ‘easy’ to be friends with; those who weren’t trying to keep up with others, those who marched to the beat of their own drum. They were different and so was I.

Since the explosion of Social Media, I have made some great friends whom I will most likely never meet in person. However, Social Media can be such a toxic place. Too many opinions, too much self-righteousness, hatred, intolerance, and definitely too much ignorance. It can be overwhelming and exhausting.

I have discovered over the past few years that the world of blogging is so much easier to manage. Yes, there are opinions, and all the things I mentioned above, but the engagement is different; the people are more welcoming and accepting of different opinions…and even if they don’t agree they rarely falter in their respectfulness, at least in my experience. More often than not, bloggers tend to be ‘nicer’ as if they were taught simple manners, where so many on Social Media are classless pigs.

I never expected to make such wonderful friends in the world of blogging. Never. And to think that a “professional” blogger once told me that it was a mistake to have a personal blog! If I had ended my blog at that point, instead of writing what I know (my life) I would have never made such great friends!

It takes me a great deal of time to compose a blog post, always concerned with the way I’ve tried to convey my thoughts. I sometimes feel that my words are sloppy or that perhaps someone will misunderstand what I’ve written. My blog friends are very supportive and I would have “hung it up” years ago if it weren’t for them.

This post is a shout out to those friends I’ve made here on WordPress. These are friends who have made me feel that what I have to say is important, even if they may not agree. They understand my struggles with chronic pain and mobility issues or what I’ve been through in the past. Some can identify with my weight loss struggles and others completely understand what my life was like when they read my Ex-Files series. Some have enjoyed Shit My Dad Says, while others wait patiently for the next chapter of my novel, Spike. (I promise I’ll get that next chapter out asap!)

I want to thank my readers, my friends, for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, and for being the great people you are! I absolutely appreciate you!

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Photo by Giftpundits.com on Pexels.com

W.I.P. (Work In Progress) Wednesday

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Since today is Wednesday I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve been working on this week. Oh, and in case you don’t know already, I mean crochet projects! I learned to crochet when I was 8 years old. My grandmother taught me and I’ve been doing it ever since!

This gray block is just one of (probably) 16 blocks in various colors, joined together for a baby or small child. I’m thinking gray and shades of purple! It’s one of several blankets/throws I’ve made using the popcorn stitch. I just love the stitch, what can I say!

This mango block will be part of a large blanket that reads, “I Love You to the Moon and Back.” It will be only 2 colors: mango and white.

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This is the little guy that’s giving me some problems! This is the photo from the pattern and because it’s written differently than all the other popcorn stitch patterns, I’m having a hard time with it. It doesn’t have a graph of the block like the others and there are a few other differences that are driving me to drink this evening!

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So that’s what I’ve been working on for the past few days. I get tired of one pattern or one set of colors and I move on to the next! Oh! And I just finished this beauty! It’s a lapghan; just the right size to lay on the lap of an elderly Veteran!

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What do you think? If you’d like to see more of my work, please use the drop-down menu at the top of the page!

Thanks for looking!

Spiders, Ick!

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I have a (possibly irrational) fear of spiders. Any kind of spider. ALL spiders! They give me the heebie-jeebies. My son used to tease me by touching them, knowing it would not only make my skin crawl but it would also make me feel nauseated. Just the sight of the above photo makes me shiver! Weird, right?

I check my bed every night before I go to bed. I check the sides of the bed. I check the walls and the floor in my bedroom. I shake my clothes and bang my shoes on the floor before I put them on. If I feel a tickle on my skin, the first thing that comes to mind is that a spider is crawling on me. IF a spider really is crawling on me, you would see me doing the “OMFG get it off me” dance and I would be freaked out for the rest of the day!

If I see a spider right before going to bed at night, all I can think about as I lay in the dark is that there’s a spider coming down the wall, or there’s one crawling up the side of my bed. I know it sounds absolutely nuts, but I can’t help it!

I was bitten by a Brown Recluse several years ago, not once. Not twice, but 3 damn times! I made the mistake of not checking my sweater before I put it on and it took 3 times before I realized I was being bitten. It felt like a “nerve tickle” and didn’t hurt. I was freaked out for weeks after that! Thankfully, I didn’t suffer any adverse effects from the bites. They say some folks are immune to the venom of the Brown Recluse. (Yes, I went to the doctor!)

I was up until 3 am one time a few years ago, just trying to get a spider. I saw him in the kitchen on my way through. He scampered across the floor and went right into my bedroom, and under my dresser! That fucker had to go! No way could I go to bed with him in there. Now, just so you know this was NOT a small spider! This creepy bastard was the size of the palm of my hand. If I let him get away, there’s no telling where he might turn up! I grabbed my broom and my handy spider spray. I had to move the dresser and I managed to spray him, which slowed him down considerably. It took hours, but I finally got him and still didn’t get any sleep that night!

When I was working as a Medication Technician at a nursing home in the 90’s, a huge spider came running out from under the snack machine in the hall. Someone had placed a plastic cup over it and called the charge nurse to get rid of it. Since this was late at night, the maintenance crew was gone. They normally took care of the icky stuff for us. The charge nurse picked up the plastic cup, thinking she was going to smash it or something but that spider took off running so fast she couldn’t get it. What did it do? It came right towards me! I let out a blood-curdling scream that woke several residents from their slumber and I ran like hell!

I know, I’m such a baby!

When I wonder why I’m so terrified of spiders, my mind always goes to the story my mother told me many years ago. She said that one day when I was small, I was playing outside on our driveway, just outside the kitchen. Mom told me that she caught me trying to pull a black widow spider out of a crack in the cement and she hollered at me to stop. She said I had been afraid of spiders ever since. I don’t remember the incident so I don’t know what she yelled, but I often wonder what she actually said to get me to leave the spider alone? Could that be the reason I’m ready to crawl out of my skin upon seeing a spider?

Give me snakes, cicadas, grasshoppers, beetles, rats, mice….cockroaches even! Just keep the damn spiders away from me!

What are you afraid of? Do you feel that it’s irrational? Do people laugh at you? I know a guy who is afraid of butterflies and moths. Go figure. Too bad I couldn’t trade fears with him.

Adios, 2018

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As I prepare to leave 2018 behind, I’m thinking about my life and how much stronger I am today. I detest “New Year’s Resolutions” because after a few short days (maybe even weeks) those resolutions are forgotten. Instead, I’m focusing on who I am today.

  1. I’m a good person with many flaws, but I try to better myself every day.
  2. I have regrets, but I refuse to get stuck in the past.
  3. I value honesty, respectfulness, love, manners, and education.
  4. I have a great sense of humor. Sometimes, I can literally crack myself up!
  5. I love my family. I would die for my children and my grandchildren.
  6. I love animals and I have a great reverence for nature.
  7. My furbabies fill my heart each day as they allow me to love and care for them.
  8. I despise drug pushers, thieves, and abusers. ZERO tolerance!
  9. I am very self-conscious about my looks, my body, my writing, and even my voice.
  10. I believe I’m a good friend. I always listen, offer encouragement, and advice if asked.
  11. I value my alone time. I might read or write, listen to music, or watch tv. Sometimes crocheting eases my mind better than anything else.
  12. I am an introvert, but when I’m within my own circle I’m not shy and I tend to be more vocal.
  13. I tend to have a stubborn streak when it comes to figuring things out. I will persist until I accomplish my goal!
  14. I’m not brave but I would stand up for someone being wronged in a heartbeat! I believe everyone is equal. It doesn’t matter what race, religion, or sexual orientation. Don’t go spewing hatred because I will call you out!
  15. I cannot handle stories of hungry and dying children or animals. I literally cry. It hurts my heart.

I will go into 2019 seeking knowledge and betterment of myself. I will continue to improve my writing, get back on my weight-loss journey, and I will discover new things! I can’t wait!

What are you thinking about tonight as 2018 comes to an end?

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Happy New Year to all of you! Thanks for reading my blog!