Raige Creations

Almost finished with my first ever 2 week vacation, and I finally am unwound and reminded of life without work taking up all my thoughts and time. It took more than a few days to unwind. And more still to tackle some things that I had let slip. I don't know what it was that gave me the motivation to do that 2.5 mile walk (with hubby!) this morning, not rushed. Then I did 30 minutes of yoga after the walk, no rush. I also wanted to get a swim in before the dreaded grocery trip that was needed, but not as dreaded as usual because I wasn't in a big rush.  I had spinach and sugar snap peas and almonds for lunch, with a nice lime in my water - healthy! (It makes no difference that this was all that was left after throwing out the rest of the rotted spinach - it sat in the fridge untouched for a week and a half.)  Lunch - better than it sounds, especially with a little poppy seed dressing A short rain shower delayed me, and I leisurely started some laundry. Then, for the first time ...

 Talk about a break in blogging. Yes, guilty again. But as I sit here, procrastinating on writing my paper for my Leadership and Management class, pondering the last few days, I can only say life happens in the little things.  I try not to over-share. I like my privacy, and try to only share the lessons learned and not too many of the details of how I got there. But the last week has been a lesson in the little things. It is the little milestones, the little every day things, the little (but often seemingly huge) interruptions to normal life. The little things help you see how lucky you are. So here and now I will share, perhaps over-share, my latest little interruption, and how the little things made all the difference. A little backstory, I had a milestone this year. I reached an age where my doctors said, "Oh, you are ' this age ' (Not 37, which I stayed at for a number of years, nor 42, a nice number I stayed at for a number of years as well. A big milestone, the big o...

Grateful. Thankful. It is said if we acknowledge what we are thankful for regularly it will make us happy. If we write down what we are grateful for we live a more fulfilled life. I will try to get back to my thankful posts , lord knows we need some more positive things to hear about these days.  So today I am thankful for turtles, and my job.  Perhaps a short explanation is in order. First, my job.  I had a high paying job that I traded for a job I am passionate about . I am truly thankful for that, even if it did mean a hefty pay cut.  I am so challenged and busy in this current job, but I really like it, and love the variety of things that go on. For instance, what other kind of finance and HR job will you come across a bucket full of turtles ?  Our team of turtle monitoring people brought this bucket in to the office the other day. The intent was to give it to my boss, as she lives near the beach where these little guys were stranded in their nest. The inte...

Do you ever have days where you feel like you're just one puzzle piece short? Just not quite all there, not quite finished, so close, yet so far? And then you just can't FIND that last piece! We had that day two days ago. And are plagued by it. We were coming along nicely on the puzzle . The one we started 2 weeks before, with inspiration from my recent trip . We worked together on it, and were having a great time. As we got closer, the more excited we were to be done. Nearly Done! photo courtesy of Raige Creations And when all that was left was the flowers, we noticed that one pesky hole was left in the upper right. What the heck happened to that last piece? No clue. Did it come missing one? Did one get thrown away with the bag the pieces came in, I really don't think so. Where is that confounded last piece?!?! photo courtesy of Raige Creations We looked under couches, tables, in the laundry basket, pockets of clothes we thought we may have worn and ...

I have always been a fan of Train , loved their first album way back in 1998 when their debut album came out. I will never forget listening to that in our old bedroom, with all 3 kids piled in our bed, and taking naps to it. They are a poetic band, as I have mentioned before , which is part of the appeal for me. Too 'poppy' most of the time for hubby, and now the kids, but I still like them. I have been nostalgic lately. Especially since I have been unpacking things that have been in boxes in the warehouse for more than 3 years! Things I forgot we had, games like dominoes and Monoply we used to play with the kids, curtains I made for their playroom over 10 years ago! I have been enjoying looking back on memories, listening to old music. Which is why I bring back this band. The times where we napped on weekends to this band make me feel warm and comfortable, and full of love. It is sad to me that the issues in this song are even more extreme than they were back th...

Merry Christmas to everyone and Joy to the World! I am glad Music Monday fell on Christmas this year, so that I could share with you a song that is sort of Christmassy, and plenty groovy. (I don't know about you but I am kind of sick of Christmas music...thank you Three Dog Night for spreading joy in a groovy way.)  Yesterday, I was so thankful Christmas Eve was a Sunday. You see, here where I am now, Sunday is a day where businesses are closed and it truly is a relaxing day. No running to the store, to pick up last minute things. No shopping till midnight, no grasping for that 'little something' you wanted to get. If you hadn't finished Saturday, you are out of luck. It is an adjustment, as living stateside you are accustomed to being able to shop on Sundays. Once you don't have that "luxury", you are forced to simply relax on Sundays. And it is a perfect way to spend Christmas Eve. Thus you get a Music Monday this week, as I have today to relax ...

This song may just get me through Monday....and Tuesday.....and well you get the idea. I really try not to 'live for the weekend' , but lately I have just been worthless after work during the week. I get up barely in time to have a leisurly cup of coffee and easy shower before work, and then after work I just want to sit and browse the web and watch Shark Tank . (We have TV again, and I forgot what a mesmorizing magnet it can be....)  It is only on the weekends that I can aget done the stuff I WANT to get done. The one good thing is, that I CAN get the things I want to do done. Now that we are back to renting (a weight has been lifted, no more renovations, no more stresses of home ownership, no more fighting with strata, and no more bad neighbors.  [Actually we don't really know our neighbors yet but that is A-OK for now. At least they are yelling at us and nearly running in to us with their car- yes those things did happen and that is all I have to say about that] ...

I first started this in January, asking ' And now almost half of January? ' But now it is MARCH! Time sure does fly. And I try to write, and am plagued by ' Where do I even start? ' Then I start, and never quite finish. So, time flies but have I been having fun? A bit, yes. That and a bit of a piled on work load at the 9-5. Work load over full, the lead up to the holidays flew by, and suddenly our house was full. Kids were home from College and they got me to play a bit. I even miraculously got some time off from work! And I even managed to get the whole family up before sunrise Christmas Day to watch the sunrise together. Best present ever! Christmas Day 2016 Sunrise via  Raige Creations But suddenly the holidays were over, and I was back to work and they were back to school. The house was again so quiet. In January, I though maybe, just maybe I can get back to more writing and creating. I tried to make it higher on my priorities this year. (Not th...

This song is on my 'Mom's Run Playlist - Fun' (as opposed to the 'Race' one or the plain one with a whole heap of songs that really aren't good to run to....) .  I added it when my kids let me know about this AWESOME tool to make any YouTube video a file you can put on your (or on my hand-me-down) ipod, otherwise known as MP3 file . I went on a bit of a  binge on YouTube of  80's music, and that is how this made the list. It actually has a good running beat! (much to the surprise of hubby that I would put ANY Rod Stewart song on a running playlist...needless to say, he is not a fan.) So I was running, and at this point in the run I was concentrating on the words (it was hot, and I was tired). I remembered this song from my teenage years, where some of the lyrics were inspring to a young mind, who was a bit bored with the suburban life, and dreamed of more exciting things to come. Like this line: "Young hearts be free tonight. Time is on yo...

I commented to hubby this morning, "there is nothing better than having coffee with you, out here, on a Sunday morning". "Bee Happy" photo courtesy of Raige Creations. I totally felt that, right then, in the moment. I was truly enjoying my slightly sweetened and slightly creamy coffee, after a very good 3.1 mile run (I went past our place to get over the 3 mile mark....yes I was that runner today), and just relishing the moment (even tho hubby was trying to talk politics....my least favorite subject). I feel I should add - this was all before 8am! I just realized at that moment, I was thankful for the slow Sunday we were enjoying. You might say, "SLOW? you call getting up before 6am and running 3 miles slow?" And to that I say, "YES!!" I could get out of bed at my leisure, not because I HAD to at that moment. I got to go for that run, and witness a most beautiful sunrise, and watch an older gentleman line-fishing off shore in the fo...

Well, it's late on a Friday. I am sitting here watching a movie with my family, stressing about what to write about for the first day of National Blog Posting Month .  Fall Country Road photo courtesy of  Raige Creations "Didn't she just do that?" I hear you asking.  Well, kind of. Well, yes I took part in National Blog Writing Month , where the goal was to write every day in the month of October.  But National Blog Posting Month is the month of November, and I joined a group on Blogher.com . As the day wore on, I felt so uninspired, yet felt the pressure of getting something posted. I realized, not for the first time actually, that I am tired of stressing . Camouflage Tree photo courtesy of  Raige Creations Dinnertime came. Pizza was on the menu (see tired of stressing above, and I DO stress about dinner regularly), but we had to go to the place to order it, and wait for it.  (They don't have to-go menus, and I actually find...

That is all I can think of right now. No other title for the day. Though there is plenty on my to-do list (neglected yesterday), I am going through the pictures of the beautiful day I had yesterday. View from Craggy Pinnacle Hike photo by Raige Creations The kids were off school, I have family in town, and we all spent the day together. The lunch at 12 Bones was great! First time I tried grits. I know, I know, living here in the south and first time trying proper Southern grits. I never thought I would like them, having only tried instant grits as a child. Since I tried those instant grits (like cardboard baby food), I never even considered trying them. But when I saw them on my son's plate, they looked nothing like the ones I tried as a child. And let me tell you, they are damn good, especially at 12 bones ! Lunch at 12 Bones hope they don't mind I shared this. you can tell my son is not too happy... photo by  Raige Creations Full bellies, we traveled up th...

Clarity Through the Mist photo courtesy of Raige Creations This is the beautiful scene as I was running on Monday. The fog was drifting over the water so brilliantly, it was a great distraction from the run. I was on a route that I don't often use, around Lake Louise.  I ended up going farther than usual, mainly because I had to go around the loop more than 3 times to get my usual 3 miles. Then I had to get back to where I head home, so I logged 3.38 miles. Almost all of it a run. The day started out pretty good.  Hard to believe how the day changed , but it is a lesson in enjoyment of the moment , because moments change, moods change, and if I didn't have that good morning I can't even image how truly bad the day would have turned out . I was glad to see this picture today. It reminded me of the beauty right outside my door. It reminded me that I will see clarity at some point, I will find my way. Even if I can't see it exactly, once I get settled after...

Sounds like the title of a story, and very well could be. But today, it is simply the caption of the photo I found the while going through my computer pictures. It was taken from far away, as Red Tailed Hawks are rather skittish around us humans. I honestly didn't even notice the squirrel when I was taking the picture.  The Hawk and the Squirrel This photo was taken right in our yard, this view is from the kitchen window.  I often get lost on pictures. I enjoy reminiscing, I wonder why the time goes by so fast when I see pictures of the kids past birthdays, and wonder WHY I took some pictures..... I am not sure why I took this picture.....  and then  congratulate myself on some great shots!  The Praying Mantis in a Jar 1. (great shot 1) The Praying Mantis in a Jar 2. (great shot 2) I should have been working, updating spreadsheets, but instead I got lost on photos. It is a nice vacation from the present sometimes. It is a nice thought of t...

I was shopping with my daughter the other day, which is always a nice treat for me to have her help me at a task I do not love. She thinks of things we need that didn't make the list, she is great company. An added bonus is that sometimes we plan dinners together while shopping which is also a huge treat for me because planning dinners is more often stressful than enjoyable for me. But sometimes I question what she puts in the cart. Like the other day, when she brought a bag of cherries to the cart. I said, "Don't we still have some of those in the fridge? I just bought some the last time I was here!" She said, "I don't know...I think we ate those...". Yes, she kinda trailed off while saying this, giving me the feeling she really had no idea, but didn't want to take the chance that we might be out because she really wanted them. So I gave in, and a big bag of cherries we bought. We got home, I go to put the cherries in the drawer in the fridge, a...