Observations in October - 2018 - #31Things - 9:15 AM and Uniform

We're taking care of two things today in the same post because I missed yesterday and because it's my blog and I can do what I wanna.

9:15 AM - I am at my computer and have been since 7 AM going through emails and getting my work ready for the day.  You think I'm kidding when I say I work in my pajamas but I'm not!

Some mornings I have almost 100 emails to look through depending on what went on the day before.  I have a lot of other blogs I read and comment on (you know who you are), and some videos I watch.  How much I can do at that time depends on my typing workload. 
 

I am so grateful I can work like this!

Uniform - (See above pajamas!)  Really though, I did have a uniform at one time.  When I worked in the medical offices in the beginning I used to have to wear a uniform.  The pants were always white but for a while we did different color tops.  Blue was for Monday and I think green was for Thursday.  I can't remember the other days but I'm pretty sure there was a yellow and a pink.  After I got to be the office manager I didn't have to wear a uniform but I did sometimes wear a white jacket.  

When I worked at Michaels I had a vest to wear.  We did have a "dress code" but mainly it was a relaxed one, thank goodness.  

I would say that a "uniform" piece of clothing I wear is a scarf.  I have a ton of them and I love to wear them when we go out.  In addition to keeping me warmer, I think it adds a special touch.  

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On the vision board I created over the weekend I added a hat.  I love hats but I don't know that they look especially good on me.  I did find one at Target the other day that I loved but I didn't get it and now it's not there anymore of course.  Next time I see one like it I'm buying it! 

Your turn.  Have a uniform that you wear or a piece of signature clothing?  What were you doing at 9:15 AM?  Share!

Observations in October - 2018 #31Things - View

Yesterday I spent the day with my girlfriend and a small group of women looking inside ourselves and sharing our wishes, desires, dreams, hopes for our futures.  We were led by coach Judy Peebles.

We started off by making a list of all the things we really wanted, no matter how big or unusual they may seem.  Some of mine were to remodel the kitchen, get the backyard into a functional place to use, going to Disneyland at the holiday season, taking some trips by train and even meeting Stevie Nicks.  We also made lists of things we wanted more of and/or less of in our lives, like more time, less procrastination, more money, less stress, etc.  Finally we used the prompt "Twelve months from now..." and wrote a story about what is happening 12 months from now in our lives. 

Then we spent some time going through magazines and pulling pictures of things that meant something to us in terms of our wishes and goals, words or phrases that spoke to us.  After we arranged them all on the board we glued it down.  Here is what mine looks like:

These are things I'd like to have in my life.  I know that I may not get them all within the next year, but if I don't think about them and put them in my view, I'll never get them.

After we had our boards made, Judy took us through a "visualization" process where we picked a specific date in the future and described exactly where we were and what we were doing, who we were with, how we felt, what we were hearing, tasting, smelling, etc.  A really complete picture of a specific day.  I picked January 6, 2020 and the whole family was at Disneyland experiencing the Magic Kingdom in all its holiday finery.  Judy had us close our eyes and picture ourselves in that place, at that time and "view" ourselves in that moment.  It was very interesting. 

There really is more than one "view" of something, the one you see with your eyes and the one you see with your heart.  Both are important.  What are you "viewing" for yourself in a year?  Ever make a vision board?  

   

Observations in October - 2018 - #SLS on Monday

I was at a very interesting vision workshop all day yesterday so I didn't have time to post my song for the Song Lyric Sunday bunch.  I like this song so I'm gonna post it now. 

It is called "Hideaway" and is from the "Guilty Pleasures" album by Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb.  This is one of my favorites.  I really like another song, "Come Tomorrow" a lot but that doesn't quite fit here.  They did a previous album together called "Guilty" which has some really good songs on it as well.

The video:

The lyrics:

Hideaway

Barbra Streisand

I saw you looking in the mirror
I saw you fighting with your conscious
I think you need a little time away
And I may give you mine

And you could find me in the moon glow
You find me underneath your pillow
And we can find a little hideaway
Where we can go

I'm in the corner with a friend of mine
I stood with my defenses down
So many things that bring you close to me
That we be led astray, the wonder of desire
To love the things we cannot touch

Maybe we turn and say goodnight and walk away
And then the story can go on without a single tear
You take a chance on it and change the history
And for a time, we fall in love with someone

So who am I to say the words that say
We have found each other?
Can we imagine any hideaway is right?
And our adventure down in paradise
Borne upon the wind and we are one with the night

Maybe we shuffle off to Rio
A little Rio de Janeiro
And then I get a little chance to say
I'm falling into you

And you and I can change the world if we just try
(Hideaway)
This lonely heart of mine has found a mission for your light
(In your world)
To make the sense of it and solve the mystery
(In my arms)
It's just the love you forever leave with someone

So who am I to say the words
That say we've found each other?
(Sunny day)
Can we imagine any hideaway is right?
(In your world)
And our adventure down in paradise
(In my arms)
Born upon the wind and we are one with the night

And our adventure down in paradise
Borne upon the wind
And we are one with the night

Songwriters: Ashley Gibb / Ashley R. Gibb / Barry Gibb / Barry Alan Gibb

Hideaway lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group

Better late than never they say.  Thanks to Helen for another great day of songs. 

Observations in October - 2018 #31Things - Chores and #SoCS - Precious

The Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt from Linda is "Precious" and my 31 Things prompt for today is "Chores."

I know your time is precious so I'll try to keep this short.  I used to be pretty anal about how the chores were done around the house.  The dishes should be washed a certain way, towels should be folded a certain way, laundry should be separated carefully, blah...blah...blah. 

After a while I decided that as long as the chores WERE getting done, I shouldn't be so finicky about HOW they were getting done.  Chores are not precious. 

Here is another post I did a while ago about "Precious."

How's that for short and sweet?  What do you think is precious?  Don't forget to visit the other participants in the stream. 

Observations in October - #31Things - Watch

Watch - I have a love/hate relationship with TV.  I try not to watch too much nowadays because there are SO many other things I'd rather do.  But, there are a few shows that I really like and I could just spend the whole day watching them, one show after another.  Most of them are on Netflix, so I CAN spend the whole day watching them back to back.  I did that a couple of times when my husband was taking extended trips to take care of his mother in Oregon.  He was gone for weeks at a time so there was no question about who would control the remote.  Plus, I could watch it on my laptop and therefore work in my craft room at the same time.  That was heaven...(Hey hon, are you sure your mom is okay?  Maybe it's time for you to go visit her again???) Just kidding (not really) - am I??

I watched:  Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.  I love that show.  You know I am a big Sherlock fan anyway but this series was done so well.  Plus, Benedict Cumberbatch is not that hard to look at if you know what I mean.  Hope they make more!

I watched:  Grace and Frankie.  What a great show.  Love the interaction between the two women and it was hard at first for me to think of either Martin Sheen or Sam Waterston as gay.  I have a few episodes to catch up on with this one.

I watched:  The Crown.  Love the history of the Queen.  I have a lot left to go on this one.  I hate getting behind but...you know, life.


I watched:  Downton Abbey.  I have loved those English series types ever since I was young.  I was able to finish this whole series in a couple of days over a weekend.  The house didn't get cleaned but it was just me so no big deal.  It reminded me of the Upstairs Downstairs series when I was a teen.  This is the one I started with and that's when I understood what binge watching was and why it is so dangerous. 


As far as regular TV goes, Giants baseball tops anything else.  When they are on I'm there.  Sad to say they didn't do as well this year as we had hoped but I never stopped watching.  I'm watching the playoffs now but only to root against the Yankees and the Dodgers.  (Sorry if you are those fans).  The Yankees are out of it now and so I say GO MILWAUKEE!  I also say Joe Buck sucks, but so do a lot of other people.












I like to watch Cash Cab with Ben Bailey.  I think it is good to stretch your mind with these trivia questions.  I like to see the reaction of the people when they get in the cab too.  We've seen Ben Bailey in person a couple of times when he came to Cobbs Comedy Club in San Francisco. 


















If I'm really lazy and bored I'll watch Big Bang Theory reruns and sometimes Family Guy on late night but most of the time I'd rather go to bed and read.  How about you?  What's your "watch" list?  Any other Netflix shows I should put on my queue?

31 Things is an old series from Ali Edwards but it is still available on her site if you think you might want to do something like it.  She also has a 31 More Things which I'm going to give a try in another couple of months.  Ali is really good with helping you to explore your life from all angles.  She did a class I took last year called One Little Word, where you explore your word of the year (if you choose one) in all different ways in order to keep it fresh for you. 

Observations in October - #31Things - Nourish

I have a problem with food.  I like it.  Carbs especially.  I'm Italian and I love my pasta, and steak, and occasionally a berry pie.  I am still struggling to control those impulses and follow along with the Hungry Girl eating plan but it is a long, slow process just like everything that has to do with self-control.  I'll keep at it but I don't want to write about that now. 

I think instead I'd like to talk about nourishing the soul, because that is just as important, if not more important than nourishing the body.

Some things that nourish my soul:

Family and Friends - I have a great family.  We also have some really terrific friends.  The kind that you can call for any reason and they will come running.  Spending time with them is so beneficial. 

Music - You know I love my concerts but even just listening to music while I'm driving or walking is energizing for me.  Everyone has "those" songs that have certain meaning for them but I have such an eclectic taste that my favorite thing is just to put my iTunes on shuffle and see what pops up:

Water - Watching the waves in the ocean or walking along the Bay trail.  I'm a Pisces so it's no surprise that the water is a calming thing for me. 

And watching the sunset over the ocean is icing on the cake!

Reading - A good book nourishes me too.  I really think that if I had no other commitments I could spend the whole day just reading.  I know that I used to do that when I was a teen.  I have done it once or twice if I have a cold and just need to rest. 

Scrapbooking - Of course there is my crafting and card making.  I've talked about that a lot.

Here are some of my other self-care and soul nourishing favorites. 

I know that some people like massages or mani/pedi's and some use exercise as a way to nourish and recharge their batteries.  What do you do to nourish your soul?  

 

Observations in October - #31Things - Evening

Most evenings around our house are pretty much the same.  I'm usually working in the craft room while my husband watches TV.  Sometimes we watch movies together, like last night.  We watched Hotel Artemis.  It was a pretty weird one.  Jodie Foster was very interesting as "Nurse."  Definitely not a glamorous part. 

For this prompt, though, I'm going to talk about our Evening with Lindsey Buckingham.  I mentioned that we had VIP tickets at the Palace of Fine Arts which is a very small venue with only about 1000 seats.  We left our house early since you never know what kind of traffic you're going to hit at 5 PM going through San Francisco.  We arrived in plenty of time and I got a chance to take a few pictures of the outside:

I wish I had stopped to take some more but not having been there before we didn't realize we had parked on the opposite side of the venue and since we were supposed to be there at a certain time, we wanted to find the entrance.  We decided to go again another time so I could take more pictures.  I think a general sightseeing tour of San Francisco is in order! 

We finally found the front door (which we would have found sooner had we gone right instead of straight ahead).  The usher scanned our tickets to make sure that we really had VIP access and let us in.  Once inside there were about 35 or so people in line and as we checked in, we got our special goodies.

A signed poster, a photo lanyard and a Lindsey Buckingham blank journal.  It would have been nice if he'd have written a note inside it or if we had gotten to actually meet him but cool stuff nonetheless.  We also get a copy of his new CD, Anthology, that is being mailed to us.  It was most unusual that no one checked my purse.  Usually at every concert we go to now we have to go through a huge security check point, almost like TSA at the airport. 

There was neat stuff to look at inside the lobby area and I had a glass of wine and a little snack - salmon on cream cheese and bread.

Once we got inside, we took our usual selfie and as we did that, the usher came up and told us that Mr. Buckingham requested no photography or videos taken during the show.  Bummer, because we were in the fifth row slightly right of center stage!

Well, you know that I am a bit of a rebel when it comes to taking pictures at concerts so of course I had to sneak a few.  Naturally they are not of my usual quality but I'm sorry, when I pay $200 for a ticket I want to get more than just a blank journal.

The drummer was really good.

He sang a few Fleetwood Mac songs, including Big Love, which is my husband's favorite, so all was good with him.  

He did some songs that were new to me and I really liked them so I'll be interested in hearing the Anthology album to see what other gems I may have missed.  It was funny that while he did not specifically say anything about his parting with Fleetwood, he did seem to particularly emphasize the words "Never going back again" when he sang that song :)

The usher was being REALLY strict and even went up to a few people who were taking pictures and made them stop so I didn't want to get us kicked out but when the show was over I figured I'd get a picture of them as they took their final bow:

Not the high quality type I am usually able to get but at least I have a remembrance of the evening and we did have a good time. 

I'm a day late with this one but, hey, it's my blog and I'll do what I want to.  Yesterday I took a free Creative Live class about blogging and email and things like that.  It was VERY informative and I'll be posting more about that.  Would you subscribe if I did a weekly newsletter?  

Also side note, if you are reading this on the WordPress site, check out the new link I put up on the right side of the page to get to my Etsy shop and tell me what you think!