HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY WEEKEND, FRIENDS! My hubby surprised me with these two Valentines Day cards after I came home from work last night ...
Hubby and I back in the year 1995 ...
And, today ...
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And, a special THANK YOU to one of my thoughtful co-workers for surprising me at work yesterday with this little chocolate "goodie" box of candy ... YUMMY!!
Many thanks, Ms. Bea! 💖
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The current scene outside of our house in Reading, PA. (this pic was taken at 1pm this afternoon and it is STILL coming down here!) 😖
💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜💙
"She dances in a ring of fire ... and throws off the challenge with a shrug" - Jim Morrison
Some
people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people stay for a
while and give us a deeper understanding of what is truly important in
this life. They touch our souls. We gain strength from the footprints
they have left on our hearts and we will never be the same.
~ Flavia
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
Happy Friday, friends! Just this morning while talking to a long-time good friend of mine, I was reminded of something very important. I have always believed that God puts people in our lives for a reason; hence, I have never believed in coincidence. My friend said to me, "I wish I would've met you earlier in life. I'm sure my life would have been very different."
After giving it further thought, it occurred to me that although she may have been right, she and I met one another at exactly the time we were meant to do so at the time in our lives we were supposed to. I have had many "friends" in my life that had come and gone and each and every one of them has remained in my heart. Why? Because they have taught me something about myself and life which I needed to learn.
To this day, I have three close friendships which I cherish and consider them as close to "family" as you could get. After all, I have learned that blood does not always equal family.
Greetings, friends! Well, today was rather windy and in the low 20's BUT NOT snowing. My husband decided to take a vacation day (although he is still on call this entire week up and including this weekend) to dig our cars out of the snowy mess. The remainder of the week promises to be VERY cold. Par for the course so to speak ....
And now an update on Butterscotch. We received a call from our veterinarian this afternoon. She told us that Butterscotch's blood tests were normal for the most part save for his low urine concentration. She said that his urine is very diluted which is not considered normal for a cat. She suggested we either have a follow up done in a month so long as he keeps his food down or we can have an abdominal x-ray performed to make sure that the removal of his malignant cancerous tumor has not spread for any reason as Dr. Mike noted in Butterscotch's chart that he was unable to remove ALL of the surrounding tumor from his left leg. We have scheduled him for a follow-up on February 24th.
Last weekend, I spent the afternoon with my sister Aurora Skye where I picked up these books at Barnes & Noble ...
This book was written by actor Kristian Nairn who played the character of Hodor in the HBO series, "Game of Thrones".
And, this interesting magazine on Stevie Nicks! ...
" ... and the summer became the Fall. I was not ready for the Winter ..." ~ Stevie Nicks ("Nightbird")
Thank you to everyone for their prayers and good thoughts for Butterscotch!
On this dreary, dark, and rainy Sunday, I was feeling tired and lazy so I decided to experiment with some new products that I bought at Ulta Beauty on Friday.
One of the items I picked up was this lip gloss for hydrating and plumping up your lips. It is strawberry flavored with a hint of sweet lavender and it has a cute little heart-shaped clicker at the bottom to move it out of the applicator ...
Another item I bought was this ColourPop pallet with neutral colors called "Feelin' Bubbly" to use with my Chanel Noir Allure colored mascara, "Orange Bruni" ...
To be honest, I seldom wear eyeshadow, but when I do I try to wear one that will compliment the color mascara I am using.
The following is my personal list of the best colored mascaras with the most color payoff and bang for your buck!! And, of the worst colored mascaras that I have tried.
Best Blue-colored Mascaras
1) Pat McGrath Dark Star Mascara - "Azure Allure" ❌
2) Urban Decay Special Effect Mascara - "Gonzo" ❌
3) Maybelline Sky High Mascara - "Blue Mist"
4) L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara - "Cobalt Blue"
5) ColourPop BFF Mascara - "Blue Ya Mind"
Best Pink-colored Mascaras
1) Pat McGrath Dark Star Mascara - "Pink Mistique ❌
2) Maybelline Sky High Mascara - "Pink Air"
3) ColourPop BFF Mascara - "Pink Inc."
4) Urban Decay Special Effect Mascara - "Junkshow" ❌
Best Purple-colored Mascara
1) ColourPop BFF Mascara - "Purple Prose"
2) Chanel Noir Allure Mascara - "Lilas"(#37)
3) Lime Crime Astronomical Mascara - "Nebula" ❌
4) Chanel Noir Allure - "Amethyste" (#27)
5) Urban Decay Special Effect Mascara - "Vice" ❌
Best Green-colored Mascaras
1) Pat McGrath Dark Star Mascara - "Aquamarine Dream" ❌
2) Urban Decay Special Effect Mascara - "Deep End" ❌
3) ColourPop BFF Mascara - "Kiss 'n' Teal" ❌
4) ColourPop BFF Mascara - "Swell Season"
5) Lime Crime Astronomical Mascara - "51" ❌
More Beautiful colored Mascaras!
Chanel Noir Allure Mascara - "Orange Bruni" (#57)
ColourPop BFF Mascara - "Sugar Pie" ❌
ColourPop BFF Mascara - "Wood Spirit" ❌
Chanel Noir Allure - "Rouge Intense" (#47)
ColourPop BFF Mascara - "Left on Red"
Worst Colored Mascaras
1) Benefit BADgal colored mascaras
2) NYX colored mascaras
3) L'Oreal Voluminous - Violet, Green
4) Maybelline Snapscara colored mascaras
5) Maybelline Great Lash colored mascaras
6) Maybelline BIG SHOT colored mascaras
❌ = Denotes product line discontinued, but may still be available on some sites.
Yesterday, I noticed a small dot on the kitchen ceiling ... turns out it was a ladybug come to visit us.
The ladybug has many different meanings, but here are five of the most commonly accepted:
1.
Good luck
If you have ladybugs on your property, you can bet they'rehelpingkeep your plants aliveand healthy. As such, ladybugs are thought of as a sign ofgood luckand good fortune, Star Wolf tells mbg. "If one lands on you, it's said to be a kiss of good luck," she adds.
2.
Fertility & rebirth
As warmer weather arrives in spring, so do ladybugs, so they're also thought to be a sign of both fertility and rebirth, Star Wolf explains.
3.
Protection
Again, ladybugs have a strong association with protection and have long been loved by farmers. "Because they often ward off predators from other plants, they are seen as protectors and life-givers," Star Wolf says.
4.
True love
Feeling the love and keep seeing ladybugs? Along with its associations with fertility and rebirth, ladybugs can also be a sign of true love, according to Star Wolf—whether you've just met your true love or someone new is heading your way.
5.
Adaptability
And lastly, Star Wolf says ladybugs are also thought to be signs of adaptability, resiliency, and even metamorphosis, thanks to their many life stages and ability to come out of hibernation after a long winter of resting.
Yesterday was a beautiful Autumn day so my husband and I drove out to the farmer's market and had a nice breakfast. I couldn't resist the pumpkin spice pancakes ...
After we got home, I decided to take a little walk up the road to Epler's United Church of Christ to walk the labyrinth located on their cemetery grounds...
Along my walk I saw these cool Halloween decorations so I took a quick pic - two black cats ...
And, I tired to get a couple of shots of an eagle flying in the sky above the cemetery ...
It took me too long to understand that no matter how much I explain my side, some people will twist it to fit their narrative. I used to pour my heart out, desperately hoping they’d see the truth, but I’ve learned the hard way—if someone truly wanted to understand, they wouldn’t make me beg for it.
If you’ve already decided I’m the villain in your story, fine. I’m not going to keep bending over backwards trying to prove I’m good enough, worthy enough, or innocent enough. The truth is, the more I explain, the more power I give to someone who doesn’t want to hear it.
Let them believe what they want.
Let them say it was all my fault.
Let them stay stuck in their version of events.
LET. THEM.
I won’t defend myself anymore. Because I’ve realized something crucial—explaining myself over and over doesn’t bring peace. It only exhausts me. It only reinforces their narrative, because if they really cared to understand, they would’ve listened the first time.
I’m reclaiming my energy. I’m walking away from the endless loop of justification and debate. I deserve connections where I don’t have to fight for my truth to be seen.
If my silence makes you uncomfortable, then be uncomfortable.
If my choice not to explain feels like defeat to you, that’s on you.
I’m no longer concerned with trying to win a battle I never agreed to fight.
I’m done begging to be understood.
I’m done begging for kindness, respect, and empathy that should’ve been given freely.
I’m done putting myself on trial in a court that was never fair to begin with.
I'M. DONE.
The only explanation I owe is to myself: that I choose peace over their noise.
I choose to move on without the weight of constantly trying to be heard by people who are committed to misunderstanding me.
