On the Road Again

Today I saw a finch flitting around in the road and as I approached it did not fly out of my way. I hesitantly looked in my rear view mirror and chuckled when I saw the finch still pecking at something in the roadway. I drove over it and it was not concerned.

I also saw a rather large woman, or quite possibly a drag queen, driving down Richmond Road in a white Cadillac with pink hubcaps and big fake eyelashes over the headlights.

Then lastly, Brutus and I were trying to merge into one lane on Reynolds and some punk in a black Tahoe sped up and tried to keep me from merging in front of him. Brutus said “Show him who the alpha is Mama!”  How could I resist? I stomped it, got in front of him and then the car behind me cut him off and left him two cars back. Karma is a bitch and so am I.

Rainy Days

don't always have to be dreary....

my chicken leg looks slightly bigger than a day lily stalk

Random Shots

 Look Mama! Meez Obameow when he met Pootin. 

Oni's massage face.

Draw me like one of your French squirrels, Jack.

Rainy Day Off

.....means there may be more than one weird post today.

I went to get my drivers license renewed today. Now in the past I always tried to do my hair and makeup so I was not too homely on my 8-year license. Today I took a new approach. I figured that I am without makeup and "wild mess" hair 95% of the time, so why not let my official id actually be a true photo of ME and go in like the hippie chick I am?  So I did. I was pleasantly surprised when the clerk asked me if I wanted to keep the same weight and I found out that I was 30 lbs lighter now. I was so pleased that I said "Oh hell no! It's much better now and we need to change that!" 😊

So the photo is my look. Nada done to my hair, did slap on some eye makeup and just because I love them so much, I wore my favorite necklace and earrings. The reason they are my favorite?

This set is the result of taking two pieces of my maternal grandmother's costume jewelry and having them made into a 3-piece set again. The necklace and one clip-on earring were all that was left of my Granny's jewelry. A lovely jeweler client and I worked out a trade to make my vision happen. The one clip-on earring became part of 2 beautiful drops when the necklace was shortened and a piece was  removed to make up for the missing earring. When I was a little girl I was allowed to play with my grandmother's costume jewelry and this set was always my favorite. I would put the necklace on my head and wore it feeling like I was a princess in another time.

Ladies, Please

I found this on Facebook and when I double-clicked it to save it and share later, I found the most disappointing posts from women......arguing over this meme. Some ladies were deriding other women for believing that this kind of relationship is possible. Other women were accusing the nay sayers of being ignorant bitches who want everybody to be as unhappy and unfulfilled as they are. Really? Is this what we want to spend our energy on?

Fine. Two cents worth. If you can choose to believe in a love like this, why wouldn't you? Shoot for the moon, you'll land in the stars. If you don't believe in this kind of relationship, why not just keep that opinion to yourself and let the romantics have their beautiful hopes and dreams?

It really shouldn't have to be this hard........damn.

Politics Aside

The basics:

 I am registered to vote as a Democrat, but I am not a straight party voter.  I vote for the best candidate which means I am open to and have voted for both Democrats and Republicans. (I am not opposed to other parties-- just offering my opinion on the two I have voted for.)

 I definitely lean more liberal in that I believe a woman's body is her own and abortion is a personal choice for HER--not politicians. I also think love is love. Why not let gay marriage be an accepted norm instead of a right that people must fight for?  Gun control laws should make it harder to put guns in the hands of killers. Legalize marijuana already and health insurance should be affordable for everybody. I don't mind paying a bit more taxes if I know it helps the greater good.

I identified with conservatives in being fiscally moderate, some of their family values, and the idea that less government was a good thing.

If you ask me who I voted for I will tell you.  If you disagree with my vote, fine, we can agree to disagree.  If you disagree with my vote and you try to lecture me on my failings in politics, I will tell you to fuck off. I will never try to persuade you that your political beliefs are wrong, (even if I believe deep in my soul that it's true) because it is your right to choose who you feel best represents you and it is my right to pick the best representative for myself.

With that said......... Trump in no means represents me or my beliefs.  So when I ask this question, I pass no judgement and mean no condescension, but when you envision the best possible version of yourself, does Trump truly represent you?

Boundaries

Have you ever read one of your old journal entries or had a Facebook timeline post pop up and you think "HOLY COW I WAS IN A DARK PLACE WHEN I WROTE THIS!"?   This was what prompted me to write about boundaries.

Boundary:  something that indicates the farthest limit, as of an area; border, line that separates one thing from another

Have you ever felt like someone was taking advantage of you? Maybe you have helped someone countless times and they do not reciprocate. Maybe a friend or family member consistently shows up late or no-shows for plans with you. Maybe they talk down to you or smother you in negativity.  All of these potentially ugly scenarios could be okay experiences with boundaries in place. But how does one set boundaries?

Like the physical boundary, you should know the farthest limit of your goodwill.  Through lots of hard life lessons and heartache I finally found peace when I accepted the fact that helping someone is good for my soul, that some efforts are not reciprocal, and sometimes folks are not appreciative of your good deeds. So when I help someone I try to have no expectations, therefore I am rarely disappointed.  No more hurt feelings. No resentment. Just me feeling good about being a decent human being.

Respect your time. Asserting that your time matters can really piss people off --DO IT ANYWAY.
When someone starts draining me with all their negativity I make it a point to limit my time with them.  If someone consistently late cancels massage appointments I don't re-book them... for months.  Know how much alone time you need to be your best person and make sure you get some ME TIME. It is okay to stay in and decline invitations. It is okay to say NO. If time is money, value that currency and spend it wisely.

Know when to leave.  This was the toughest part of setting my boundaries, because it hurts to leave people who are in pain. I am a healer and this went against my desire to help/fix pain and suffering. But I realized that I could not heal effectively if I was not in a good place mentally and physically, so I made some tough choices.  I have become quite masterful at avoiding undesirable situations.  If you attempt to drag me into your self-made ridiculous drama I will leave tire marks when I peel out and leave you to deal with your own mess. Snide remarks and hateful comments will also send me out the door in a hurry. I still love these folks but I will not be part of stress and bitterness a moment longer than is absolutely necessary. I miss them. I hope good things for them. I also respect my boundaries.

Heard This Week on the Massage Table

After I had done a bit of massage work, through the sheet, on my client's very tight leg, I undraped his leg to move into the next phase of treatment.  He says "Was all that other work the warm up and now you are going in for the kill?"

"You seem like you have really tiny hands."

........ but you must have the strongest hands in the world!"

And just the topics:

Gun violence frequency and causes
My Out of Africa moment.....sort of
Cam's first lemon
An absentee love life
Family, the highs and lows
Condescension aka mechanic vs Sarcastabitch