Raige Creations

Just a few reminders we all need to hear every now and again.  Nothing changes if nothing changes.  from  laurengleisberg.com   What you allow is what will continue. from lifehack.org Never accept anything less than you deserve. Remember you teach people how to treat you. from Dr. Anne Brown on Twitter I happened to need to hear these now, as I am having to teach people some things.  It can be difficult, because if allowed, people will take advantage of you and when you say - ' hey, no more ' - they don't like to hear that. This is part of the ugly path I was forced in to at the beginning of the week, and alluded to yesterday. But it is time. It is time to remind people to respect me, to treat me like I deserve to be treated.  Period. 

  Thanks Pinterest We now have got three walks in over the past five days. We took a long break, but hopefully this is the start of a regular thing. And today, I realized how much I missed it. Every time we get back to walking, we wonder why we stopped. It is really such a simple thing, going for a walk in Nature. Why do we find so many excuses not to do it?  Even they days you get rained on are wonderful - the other day, in fact, we were soaked. Even the grey and cloudy days are beautiful.  Even a grey day is beautiful I knew things were starting to feel better when I wanted to take a picture. Sure, that is not the best photo. It was cloudy, it was the 'wrong' time of day, it was a rough and not brilliant sea. We hadn't seen much that was particularly interesting. But still, the waves look cool, the breeze was refreshing, and the grey is a bit soothing. I realized I wasn't feeling nature, until then. Figuring I may as well take as shot, seeing it through the lens (so t...

Source - English Literature via Facebook   Source - Pinterest Source -  The Kindness Rocks Project It honestly costs nothing to be kind. Be cool, be kind. Source - No Sidebar

It is so hard to know how to feel during all this. This Pandemic . COVID-19. The novel coronavirus , or 'rona as I saw in one funny meme on the internet. What a strange time. But that really doesn't describe it with any justice. It is so hard to put in to words. And by the time I try to get something down to describe it, the mood swings swiftly in the opposite direction. I have really been struggling with such swinging emotions, feelings that change from perfectly calm and settled to extreme panic, fear. Then being okay, then worrying. Then active and feeling healthy to lazy and feeling like doing nothing, while having a Kit Kat, then so happy to be in a safe place to going stir crazy. From wanting to laugh to wanting to scream. So in today's Thursday Thought of the Day, there is no one thought. It is all thoughts, ever changing. I mean, how do you process going to the bank these days? Last week, the last time I went in to a bank, there was maybe a new hand sani...

Source - Pinterest Go, ask, step. Sometimes we need a reminder, if we are feeling stuck or stagnant, to just do it. Sometimes it is that simple, even if it does take a great effort. It will get you results. I needed this reminder, as I have stopped working out, been really lazy, and now feel stagnant. I will be starting a new job Monday, which I am actually very excited about, even if a bit worried about the huge job description and big responsibility.  I worked my whole life really, for just this type of position (GO), I applied (ASK), and I was offered the job (STEP). Now, after weeks of waiting and being most definitely lazy, back to work I go. For me, I have decided this also means back to working out, back to blogging, back to not being lazy. A good reminder, just to GO, ASK, STEP.

Source Funny how you start thinking of time, how fast it goes by and things like that, when you are celebrating 26 years of marriage. We celebrated that milestone yesterday. The talk was mainly - ' wow, we have spent over half our lives together ' - and things like that. Also - ' It hasn't always been easy, but here we are ' - and things like that. Because it isn't easy. Life isn't always easy. Sometimes it is darn hard. But, we stuck it out thus far, and being that some of those darn hard times were more than darn hard, we figure we may as well stick it out another 26 years or so. Overall, we would say we have lived our lives together pretty well. And are looking forward to many years to come, living pretty well. Life, if well lived, is long enough.

If you are like me, I see all kinds of hypothetical pictures or memes meant to make us think, encourage, or help us be more thankful, or even provoke some emotions (good and bad). I may even have shared some of these questions, as sometimes they do help us see things in a different way, help us examine things we may not have done before. But sometimes, they do get tiresome. Or are even ridiculous. And sometimes we are just sick and tired of it all. So I found this brilliant. What if there were no hypothetical questions?  And now the loop of hypothetical questions is complete.

I can be friendly and outgoing. I sometimes thoroughly enjoy conversations with strangers. Sometimes I keep my head down and try to avoid any conversations with strangers at all. I have even been known to be frowning in the grocery store to avoid someone saying something to me. Other women seem to regularly strike up conversations with me in the grocery store...I think the place I live is just filled with friendly people, or do other people regularly strike up conversations with strangers about what is on the shelves in the grocery store? Or it could be that they are interpreting me talking to myself as me trying to strike up conversation with them. That could be it. But many a conversation has happened, about beans, ground lamb, chips, produce the most. from brooklybackroom.com buy here Another time, we actually had someone ask my hubby if he was Mormon in a home improvment store. We were chatting about gardening and garden lights, and she was very nice, but you could t...

It can be a tough decision.  We can so easily be pulled out of a good mood, right? But decide, and stick with it. Decide to be in a good mood. I believe you find it is worth it.

**I wrote this post way back last winter. I never finished it, or published it. It is still mostly relevant today, so here you go. Updates are found between these astericks. ** We don't often realize it, when we have matured. When we have learned enough of life to know certain things and thus have an air of comfort in our own bodies, ways, abilities. It often happens slowly, and one day we realize we have matured.  For me, it hit me when my daughter needed help with her outfit. My daughter came rushing to me one morning, as she was getting ready for school. "Can I borrow that black and white scarf, the one I gave you?" she asked excitedly. "Of course" I say, always happy when I think I am cool enough that my daughter wants to wear my stuff, even though she gave it to me.  **Since originally writing this, my daughter is happily in college, maturing like crazy, growing so much it is hard for me to see her as the wonderful young adult she is turning in to.**...

Source: fashionablepins.com I am actually a bit tired of the new at the moment.  EVERYTHING has been new, again and again and again.  Another new bed to sleep in, new kitchen to get used to, new foods to try, a new (old) car, new roads to learn, new people to meet, new internet codes to set up, new phones to hook up, packing a suitcase again. I am so ready to settle in and have some things get old again. I am ready for my space to become familiar. I long to be able to wake up in the middle of the night and know where I am!  (Still takes me a minute or two to figure it out) Building the new is exhausting. But...totally worth it. Source: Raige Creations

Source: Jacqueline via Pinterest A bit unlike my recent blatherings of how wonderful life is and how good things are going? Yes. But I have realized one thing: No matter where you go, no matter how hard you try to be positive, there are some things that just suck! I will give you three things you will most likely wholeheartedly agree that universally, totally SUCK: Utility Companies Used Car Salesmen Insurance Companies No matter where, when, what other things are going on, these things ALWAYS suck.  The key is to always remember.... source: Jamie via Pinterest

Sometimes there just aren't the right words. Sometimes you just can't find the right quote, or saying. Sometimes all you can do is just savor the moment, and bask in the warmth and love of the moment, and not try to put words to it. Like when I got home on Tuesday, my daughter said: "I got you something!"   That was a surprise, and immediately I felt so grateful, not even knowing what it was. My beautiful gift. photo courtesy of Raige Creations . But then, when I saw it was an Iris, purple and yellow (my favorite!) , I knew just how thoughtful, and what a loving a gesture it was. We had been going for walks together the past few days, noticing all the blooming Iris flowers around. I then got to tell her the story of how I insisted the Iris should be my wedding flower, in October.  Note: they bloom in the Spring. So this request was a tall order for an October wedding! I insisted, so of course we only had a few, and had to supplement with other flowers...

source  via Pinterest 'Think outside the box'   Yeah, right! Until all you do is try to fit your life inside boxes. Which is what you have to do when you move, which we are. All I do is figure out how to fit my life in to boxes!  How can I think outside the box?!?!?! Perhaps my goal should be this: source I am sick to death of boxes.  I may just get rid of them all!

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source: Pinterest Especially GOOD chocolate! I was lucky enough to WIN a box of Godiva chocolates . A huge thank you to M.L. Gardner - one of my favorite authors. Her books are a wonderful place to visit, in my favorite era, and that she gives away chocolate too! I love!! Book 1 of the 1929 Series. Right now, it's FREE! {Right now you can begin the journey into her wonderful series with Book 1 of the 1929 Series, Jonathan's Cross - for FREE! Click HERE! } I never, ever bought Godiva chocolates myself. I always thought is was a luxury I could not give in to.  I heard they were good, but..... that, it turns out, is underestimating their decadent deliciousness.  The chocolates I WON!! photo courtesy of Raige Creations More on my chocolate escapades later....but know this: Chocolate has a power.  It has the power to bring people together, to relax (especially with tea), and to help us enjoy the simple pleasure in life. So never feel bad about enjo...

I have SO many thoughts going through my head these days! {it is even interrupting my sleep, which is not really common for me usually, but this week it is !} It was hard to pick just one Thought of the Day, I have more than one huge thought plaguing me on a regular basis these days. I am currently going through my year end reports for the taxes, and am realizing what a tough year it has been. Change after change after change. When one thing wasn't working, I tried another, and then another. source: behappy.me As disappointing is was to see on paper just how difficult the year has been, at least I gave it my all and kept trying.  Plus, I have been confronted with a coming year full of other big changes.  A new chapter, I like to think.  {Someday, I  will  write a book, and there  really will  be chapters.} But these changes are daunting , kind of scary, and are making us examine the past 10 years of our lives. At times, it doesn't seem ...

source - Pinterest I am sure I am not alone in wishing for the temperature to start going up!  In this vein, I am sharing some of my warm weather creations for us to dream about no wool socks and slippers , no fuzzy socks , not being covered in quilts when watching tv , etc etc. Let's dream about being barefoot ! Natures Green Rose on Sunshine Yellow Toekini's Alices Blue Flower Garden Toekini's Let's dream of a nice Valentine gift too. Red Open Heart Toekini's Beating HeartToekini's These make you feel too cold still? How about some with a little more cover? Purple Mesh Barefoot Sandals Sunshine Yellow with Groovy Red HeartBarefoot Sandals All that is missing is the beach I would be on wearing these..... (click on that beach link to see the beach I mean.....) Well, now back under the blanket, because it is really only 27 degrees outside, even though the sun is shining like it is Spring. Stay warm!