Discover A New World of Romance

"There is no reason why...You can't be safe," my mom would say to my children as they climbed on tables and the back of the sofa. So, this year I am saying to myself. There is no reason why.. I can't be fit and healthy. Of course, I can come up with a lot of excuses for giving into late night cravings: Hormones - this worked when I was younger, too many hormones and now that I'm older, not enough hormones. Cravings - I have no willpower. Metabolism - My metabolism has slowed down. I  don't eat half as much as I use to and I am gaining weight. Emotional Support - I am bored, tired, anxious, happy, sad, etc. The good thing is I am in the majority. In 2011-2012  the Center for Disease and Control stated the percentage of overweight adults, including obesity is 69%. So, the first week of having my vision board has not cured my cravings, increased my willpower or sped up my metabolism. But, what has changed is I am working on posture, balance and ...

My motivation isn't to look like the past -  It's to change the future... Twenty years from now, I don't want is to be squirming in bed with my thumb continuously pressing the call light, wondering if staff will come before I pee the sheets. I am not a patient person. I won't wait for help. The nursing home staff will catch me ambulating unattended. They'll put alarms on my bed and on my chair and every time I try and get up the bells and whistles will go off... This is not a good vision. I prefer to imagine myself wearing a blue plaid housedress with pockets stuffed with tissues, flask and ciggerettes and joining others on field trips to casinos, shopping malls, light houses, plays and ... So, I am not going to think of my journey as a diet or a fitness program. I am going to think of this as prevention, creating good practices and correcting some less desirable habits My plan for the future does not include a long term care policies......

2016 A Year of Vision and Luck  Besides a Rainbow in my backyard the universe has been giving me signs. Let me back track… When I worked for CenterPointe Energy in Leak Detection (2002-2007)  I had a Vision Board. We also had a Vision Board in Robbinsdale, La Crosse and Waukee, IA. Now when we packed the truck to head west - the Vision Board didn’t make the cut. So, then the Universe sent me a message on creating another board by way of an invitation from a woman in Rockaway Beach who has invited people to come and make a Vision Board or to color. While looking for photos of my Vision Boards I ran across a couple of old emails. Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 5:40 PM I wrote my wish was…. living life with no fear and no regrets... Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 8:45 AM Subject: Decided to create a 5 year plan.. . My Five Year Plan…. At 55, I’m going to sell my house, quit my job and rent a place on one of the Hawaiian Islands for a year and try to make a...

What if.. Do you ever wonder where you'd be if you made different choices. For 27 years, I worked for CenterPointe Energy and one day my boss said, "You're not happy here. You should quit." And I did. Four years later my daughter said, "you're not happy working in an office, you should be come an occupational therapy assistant." So, I quit my job at the City of Golden Valley, sold my house, moved in with Rich in La Crosse, WI.  and became a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. I worked with children with Autism in La Crosse, until I received an email with an job offer in Waukee, IA.  I worked for over a year in a skilled nursing facility until Rich said, "I'm not happy in Iowa. We should move to the coast and you should write." So, we did. 2016 is all about writing. I have been writing my whole life. I love writing, it makes me very happy. I have previously dabbled with writing and have had success with getting publi...

One of my favorite short stories… Christmas Mischief and A Night Owl Review Top Pick.  What could be worse than driving down a county road on a cold, snowy December afternoon and getting a flat tire... Being locked out of your car by your exuberant dog, acting like a fool trying to get back in when a tall dark handsome stranger stops and then the man doesn't ask for your phone number. And my favorite recipe for Gluehwein Gluehwein,  1 (750 milliliter) of an inexpensive bottle red wine -  3/4 cup water 3/4 cup sugar A package of mulling spices (3 ounces)* Cheesecloth Cinnamon Sticks In a saucepan, add water, sugar, and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Place mulling spices in a cheesecloth. Drop into the pan and simmer for 30 minutes or until thick and syrupy. Turn off the heat and pour in wine until steaming. Remove cheesecloth with spices. (Some people will also add 1/2 cup of Brandy) Pour hot water into mugs/cups to...

 I spotted Rudolph on my evening walk...and the difficulty of my morning hike has increased  

Good News, I found my favorite beer in Eugene. Bad News , my manuscript was rejected . I received great feedback from the editor at The Wild Rose Press and she gave me the opportunity to resubmit...And I have beer.

I feel like I'm in the wrong season. It's Thanksgiving week and I'm seeing green instead of white on my afternoon hike. This is my first autumn living someplace other than MN, WI or IA and even though it's not exactly warm in Eugene, it's doable.

 It seems to me the leaves in Eugene, OR are much bigger then I remember. If Stella could talk she'd say, "Something tells me we're not in Iowa anymore."

If you are traveling in July without reservations don't worry there is always Makoshika, MT state park. Dry camping in Makoshika MT state park - doesn't mean you can't bring in a beer or two...it means absolutely no water is available at the campsites. The place was beautiful, it looked like we were at the South Dakota Badlands, lots of hiking, rattle snake warnings, very little shade, lots of wind at night and Handicap Pit Toilets, but not necessarily Handicap Accessible Pit Toilets.

We went shopping to Costco on Monday - and for $11.99 you could go back to 2014. 

Or sometimes two words...What? Why?  This is one of those pictures from out trip out west. Have you ever take a photo and later wondered why? Driving down the interstate - going through North Dakota - there wasn't much to catch our attention - "Oh look a hill."  but I zoomed in and on the only hill visible for many, many mile we spotted Salem Sue, the World's Largest Cow...and no we didn't pull off the interstate to go take a look  

I consider myself the Queen of Downsizing... we have gone from combining two households into a two bedroom apartment and from there we eliminated anything that would not fit into the back of a F150 truck - luckily for me I am married to the Master Packer. And then we made our first mistake... we went into Wal Mart - of course we couldn't find what we wanted but ended up purchasing a rechargeable lateen - (and if you're curious - no we didn't use it on our two month   camping journey.) It's hard to believe after giving away so much...we would buy one more thing...

The Journey to Writing:  Downtown Minneapolis For 27 years I worked for a utility company... until the day my boss said, "if you're not happy here, quit." So, I jumped ship and went to work for the City of Golden Valley... until my daughter said, "you'd make a great COTA." So, I moved to La Crosse WI to get an associates degree as an Occupational Therapy Assistant.    I spent almost 1 year working with children on the Autism Spectrum. Before we relocated to Iowa where I spent 1 year working in a skilled nursing facility. Which brings me to now…We are living in someone’s basement in Eugene, OR and I am pursuing my dream of writing.   And we are living our dream....

After spending May giving away our furniture to family, donating to Goodwill and selling items on Craig's list we  squeezed our household into a F150. And left Waukee, Iowa at the end of June.

It has been a long time since I have written or published, but the tide has change. My ship has come in and I plan to sail off... Figuratively. The Perfect Country and Western Story - The title was tongue in cheek. Steve Goodman and John Prine wrote the country song, "You Never Even Called Me by My Name' and David Allan Coe recorded it.  I always love the part of the song where Coe talks about why the song isn't The Perfect Country and Western Song because there was no mention of Mama, Trains, Trucks, Prison or Getting Drunk. When I writing the novel I would tell everyone I was writing The Perfect Country and Western Story - because I had Mama, Trains, Trucks, Prison, and Getting Drunk. And the title stuck... RT Book Reviews states:  Want a fun beach read this summer? Look no further. With a heroine bravely battling back from a tragic loss and a hero you want to bed one minute and smack the next, you’ll be hoping for these two to find their happily ever after. St...

Was coming home after work and enjoying a great dinner and a glass of wine.  

Cynical... sounds like political ads bitterly   or   sneeringly   distrustful,   contemptuous,   or   pessimistic. I certainly grow tired of hearing people trash talk - it's a great message to show our children. The way to get people to like (vote) for you is to make others dislike/distrust the other person... Sounds a lot like bullying to me.

Today is Friday, June 13 and tonight there will be a full moon. I am not the least bit worried about this because I have never experienced any bad luck on a Friday the 13th or on a full moon. The full moon on a Friday the 13th is a rare occurance and it is not expected to occur again until I am 90. Now the thought of turning 90 does scare me a bit.