Wednesday, Morticia, Lily...

 And...Bats.

Happy Wednesday, my friends!

Billie Jo

Monday Morning Coffee

Good morning, my friends. Today was the first day I needed a jacket for my morning walk. And that made me happy. I will take a chilly day with a soft zip-up jacket over a hot, sweaty day every single time. Anyway, the transition from bright, colorful October to the more subdued browns of November has begun here, and I couldn't help but think this morning how thankful I am that as each new season approaches, I am in some way ready for the change. As much as I love the colors, leaves, and excitement of early autumn, I am also ready to embrace the cozy, more muted days of late autumn through November. It feels like the right time to slow down and start preparing for the cozy days ahead. My walk today reflected the changes taking place as the vibrant greens faded and the water, once bustling with activity, grew still.

Madison and Nicolas are off to Denmark today! They are so very happy to return to his beloved Copenhagen to visit with his family. Steve cooked dinner last night for them, and Madison requested sloppy joes and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Spirals. Our favorite. If you look closely at my plate, you may notice the macaroni-and-cheese-to-zucchini ratio is a bit off, especially for this fifty-seven-year-old. Still, there is something about that blue box macaroni and cheese that gets me every time!

I contributed Halloween cupcakes for dessert, and they were delicious! Again, boxed, but sometimes Pillsbury does it better. Especially the festive holiday mixes I cannot resist.

Sharing this picture of my handsome, hilarious, and hardworking son because he is the best. And because I love the young man my little boy became. 

Lastly, last night I went to throw something away, and the garbage can was empty, with a fresh new bag in it. Can I tell you how happy that made me?! I started thinking about other seemingly small things like that because, more often than not, we find happiness in the simplest things. Here are a few of those things for me...

~ Opening the dishwasher to find it has been emptied

~ The first night sleeping in fresh sheets

~ Stirring pumpkin creamer into my hot cup of coffee

~ A stack of new books sitting on my bedside table

~ Lighting the Yankee Home For The Holidays candle for the first time each year

~ Plugging in the Christmas Tree on a dark December morning



Feel free to add something simple that makes you happy!

And have a cozy Monday!

Billie Jo

Photos From An October Week

This week was all about October around here. There were snuggles on the couch in the late afternoon, one pup in front of me and one behind my knees. Every time.

The early morning walks are what I wait all year for. I don't have the words to convey the feeling I get when I walk outside on these mid-October mornings. I have loved this specific time for as long as I can remember: As a teenager, practicing with the marching band in my little hometown, looking up and seeing the colorful trees that made up the mountains surrounding us, then walking to class around the autumn-colored trees that lined the small campus of my beautiful college, and the distinct smell of crunchy leaves mixed with the joy of second graders running onto the playground for an extra recess at the end of the day because it was simply too beautiful to keep them inside, the happiness of pushing a stroller so many times with each of my four precious babies, sometimes two at a time, pointing out leaves and trees and pumpkins, and now, as a middle aged mom, reflecting and enbracing the changes life brings to each of us...these few days that October shares with us each and every year are so very special to me, and I am thankful.

It wasn't all snuggling and walking around here, though. There was eating too! Funny story about us. We buy a cow every year from a local farmer and then have the butcher cut it into the types of meat we need. Well, every year without fail, we use up all the ground beef and chip steak first, and are left with steaks at the end. So this week, Steve had steaks to cook, and we invited his friend Brandon to dinner. Brandon is a local farmer, and Steve and Madison met him at the Farmer's Market. We had steak and potatoes from his farm for dinner. 

Madison brought one of our favorite cakes with some spooky additions for dessert. She also made these amazing, beautiful cookies and brought them over while we watched The Great British Bake Off because it was Biscuit Week!

And of course, there was homeschool. It is slightly sad how excited I get about Geometry. Flynn is liking it too, promise.

Lastly, Steve and I went out on the town last night with some of our good friends from back in Pennsylvania. They came down to spend a few days at the condo, and we went to dinner last night. It was so nice to see them and visit with them. We are thankful that they made the drive. 

Oh!!! The Twitter "discussion" with Duff Goldman! So, I did not remember the specifics, and I went to one of my memory banks, also known as Rhett, and of course he remembered the entire thing. This was years ago, maybe like ten years ago? The kids and I were watching one of the baking shows on Food Network where Duff was a judge, and that night the theme was Dessert Imposters. You were supposed to make a dessert that looked savory. For example, Rhett says, a pie that looks like a cheeseburger. So this one woman made cupcakes. And she put fondant pieces on the cupcakes. Duff and the judges were obsessing over her and praising her efforts, even though the other contestants had made incredible imposters. It was just weirdly blatant. Anyway, I had Twitter at the time and typed a comment; honestly, it wasn't rude or anything. I just pointed out that she really didn't complete the challenge. My goodness, Duff commented back, and he clearly did not appreciate my opinion! It was really funny! So we went back and forth a bit, and then I told him off realized that this was a good teaching moment for my children, and I agreed to disagree with him. I didn't even know he had Twitter! 

OK! I'm done! Happy Weekend, my friends!

Billie Jo

Would You Believe Wednesday

 Would you believe

~ I can still twirl my baton and remember some majorette routines from high school?

~ I still have my tonsils and my wisdom teeth?

~ I have not parallel parked since my driver's test in 1986?

~ I have no interest in parallel parking ever again?

~ I cannot eat an apple unless it is sliced or cut into pieces?

~ I once got into a Twitter argument with Duff Goldman?

~ My favorite color is brown?

~ I would love to live in a cottage in Scotland someday?

~ I majored in English Literature in college and absolutely loved my semester studying Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales?

~ I would rather go to the dentist than go shopping?

Well, It's all true. 

And now you know!

Happy Wednesday, my friends! Some fun just because...

Thanks for visiting!

Billie Jo

Monday Morning Coffee

 

Hello! And Happy Monday, my friends. This past weekend was rainy, cozy, and quiet around our house. I was able to accomplish the tasks I had on my list, although I did not do them on Saturday as usual. This Saturday I was in slow mode! Young Me would have powered through because the list said so, but older, wiser, and slower Me realized the world would not end if I waited another day. So, Saturday was a sit-on-the-couch-and-read day, followed by a nice Saturday evening Mass. Steve went out to the car show on the boardwalk, and Flynn was upstairs on the computer talking to some of her friends from Pennsylvania...Remember when we used to use phones...so I put on my jammies and watched some TV. 

On Sunday, I did all the things: finished the laundry, washed and replaced the sheets, vacuumed, and even did a quick clean in our bathroom. I finished watching the show I started earlier and took a Sunday afternoon nap. Then, I made dinner, and we watched last week's Survivor episode. Which, to be honest, I am having trouble getting into. Something about the cast that I am not connecting with. They seem very young. Of course, I am old, so there's that. Dinner was a far cry from the chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy meal I prepared a few weeks ago. And that is perfectly fine because that is life. Some days are chicken dinner with all the fixings, and some days are chicken nuggets and boxed macaroni and cheese. At least they were spooky-shaped chicken nuggets, right?

My friend Heather and I spent time on the beach on Friday. This is one of our favorite things to do, and I am so glad the weather cooperated. 

I smile because I took my book, and she had her magazines, as if we would open any of them! We talked for hours. And it still wasn't long enough.

Before I finish up today, I want to be sure to mention that this week, October 11-17, is recognized by The International OCD Foundation as OCD Awareness Week. If you have read here for a while, you may know how important this recognition is to me. Nine years ago, I wrote about my diagnosis for the first time. I was hesitant to share this information here, but realized that one of the reasons I was diagnosed so late in life could be due to the lack of discussion and information about OCD available. If sharing my story could help one person to know she or he is not alone, that there is a reason for the thoughts playing on repeat inside their head, that there is help available, and that it is possible to live a very happy life with OCD, I knew I had to do it. Below is part of the post I shared here on October 13, 2017. I could link it, but who wants to have to click to an old post, right?? If you are not interested, feel free to scroll past it. It is quite long!

How do I know so much about this subject? Well, a few years ago I was diagnosed with OCD. Although I often felt I had tendencies toward OCD behavior, I was able to manage them on my own for most of my adult life. Once I hit forty years of age, however, I became overwhelmed with my obsessions. My obsessions manifested themselves in the form of intrusive thoughts, mainly regarding my health. I became unable to distinguish fact from fiction, reality from delusion. I spent hours fixated on my upcoming mammogram, obsessed over a freckle I was certain was changing into a mole, or bumps on the back of my head. I could be fine for days, and then suddenly, I would be paralyzed with fear because I saw an article on Facebook about a woman with a horrible disease. My OCD would then cause me to fixate on the symptoms, which I of course researched on Dr. Google...DO NOT DO THAT...and my mind would be filled with scenarios of my death.

Although the term OCD is thrown around quite randomly, it is a real disorder, and those suffering from it, in my experience, are initially reluctant to shout it from the rooftops. It is more than being neat or disliking germs. It isn't a status symbol or worse yet, a joke. It is a serious mental health issue, and left untreated, will consume one's life and render him or her unable to function on certain days due to endless anxiety-ridden moments.

I am beyond blessed that my husband Steve recognized my need for help when the time came. He literally put me in the car and took me to an amazingly empathetic doctor. But even more, I was blessed to have the kindest, most respectful, and most considerate nurse, who immediately put me at ease. I felt able to open up and pour out all the thoughts I have carried in my head for so many years without feeling judged or, worse yet, labeled. When I left, my nurse April hugged me. I knew then that I was going to be ok. And thus began my way back from the depths of OCD. 

My new doctor is amazing. She will literally sit with me and go over each of my concerns. She checks to make sure my issues are not real medical concerns. Then she reminds me that I will deal with this forever, but I have tools to help me now. She, my new gynecologist, and nurse April reassure me as well. They listen to me. They don't label me. I am comfortable with them, and I feel so relieved.

How else am I handling this part of my life? Well, I do take medication. And I am ok with that. I understand the medicine does not change who I am...it doesn't change ME. The medicine helps the part of my brain that needs it to function properly, so I can be the healthiest me I can be.

I also have an amazing therapist I visit when I need to be reassured. She has given me tools to use when I have a slip-up. Perhaps one of the best? OCD does not define me. I am NOT OCD. I HAVE OCD. It is a small part of me. And through medicine, therapy, and support and love from my family and friends, I am now able to say that yes...I have this thing I deal with. It is OCD. It is a pain. I think of it as my cross. I think everyone has something. And this is mine. 

So there you are. Something about me you didn't know. But something I am not ashamed of. Something I share to encourage even that one reader who may be helped by my story. My advice to anyone suffering from this mental health issue...

1.  Admit it to yourself.
2.  Confide in a loved one.
3.  Seek help from a doctor or nurse professional.
4.  Follow the plan he or she sets out for you.
5.  Stick to the plan even when you feel better.  
6.  DO NOT GOOGLE.
7.  Ever.
8.  Have faith in and love for yourself.
9.  Lean on your family and friends.
10.  Ditch the fear of judgment.
11.  Show yourself grace. This is hard!
12.  Pray. If that is your thing. 
13.  Live your life. OCD doesn't define you.

Have a lovely Monday, my friends!

Thanks for visiting.

Billie Jo