The Porch Postscript

Source - Pinterest Friendships are such a unique dynamic thing.  They come in all phases of our lives, are constantly evolving, ever growing and sometimes only last for a season.  At a certain point in your life, much like romance, age won't matter. I have friends that are 20 plus years older than me that I just click with.  Many of these are friendships that happened in unlikely ways but have bloomed into friendships I treasure dearly.  These are the friends that have no inhibitions and are totally the people I discuss those things no one else thinks is dinner conversations. Then there are the friends that are more than 20 years younger than me.  Several of these friendships started out almost in a mentorship way and with time grew into friendship built on common interests.  They're the friends that keep my heart young and challenge me to look at the world in new ways, the friends I push to be strong and grow their dreams.  Friends that I support and reassure, lendin

Title:  Author:  Type:  From the back of the book:  Why I picked this book up:  My thoughts on the book:  Excerpts from the Book:  In Conclusion:  *Please note this post does contain affiliate links*

What is sexy? Does that question conjure up images of thin, well toned, barely clad women?  That's what society has influenced us to think and to believe, but what is it really?  We're lead to believe that it's about how we look.  I asked if I was sexy and I was told yes.  I asked what made me sexy and the list he gave included things I never thought about.  Things that are who I am, not how I look.  Then he asked, "don't you understand that?"  I had to answer no.  I'd never thought about or considered what makes someone sexy is their mind, their heart, the kind things they do.  I'd been drinking the stereotypical cool-aid of the media, thinking that sexy was about being thin, having long hair and big boobs.  Go ahead and laugh, but the next time you're standing in a grocery store checkout line look at the magazines and tell me that's what sexy is portrayed as. I've struggled with my body image for years, and while I think I'm w

That's me, and extroverted introvert.  Left in the wild I will seek out one-on-one conversations, avoid large groups and get hives at a sign of a big crowd.  I will avoid public speaking at all costs. The flip side of that coin is I have a job that is very public and very much a people-oriented game.  I get hurled into large groups of strangers and which often leads to the public speaking opportunities I loathe.  I'm a program cordinator...I've got no choice.  It just comes with the territory. I'm loud and often funny, maybe even a bit quirky.  Most people mistake me for an extrovert that loves the wild world of entertaining.  I'm a good jokester in the right company and I enjoy a good round of teasing.  Left to my own devices though, I'll choose to alone.   I often decline party invites, especially if it's a party where I know very few people. The other part of my personality that is often misunderstood and misjudged is the public withdrawal.  After

How much of your life is based on someone else's perception of you?  No really, think about that a minute.  Home much of what you do and how you act is based on the thoughts you perceive others to have about you?  Go ahead, mull that over.  I'll wait. Are you a little shell-shocked?  It really does put a little perspective into your life when you think about it and actually, consider some of the more mundane things we do. Do you wear make-up?   Why?  To hide your imperfections.  To enhance your natural beauty.  To highlight you check bones.  To make your eyes pop.  I really could go on and on with all the lines we're fed in our daily lives through advertising and social media. Why do you hate your body?  You don't feel you're thin enough.  You don't feel you're swimsuit ready.  You don't feel your boobs are big enough.  You feel your butt is too (insert descriptor here).  Again, society has influenced these thoughts. All of these things are bas

Excuses are like ass holes, everyone has one and they all stink.  Yep, I sure did.  I just said it.  I put it out there for everyone to know.  I have the vocabulary of a well-educated sailor, but in all seriousness is anyone ever interested in someone's excuse? When is it that we learn the behavior of blaming others for our shortcomings and failures?  No seriously.  When?  When is this taught to us?  Grade school?  Middle school?  High school?  Or do we learn it as young adults? I've learned in my nearly 40 years, that's it's just better to man up and take the blame for the misstep and move forward.  That's not to say that the perfectionist in me doesn't beat me up for a few days after the misgivings of the failure, but if everyone survives without injury it's all good.    Yes.  I am still learning to let it go, but I do accept blame for the missteps I take.   What I'm wondering is why is this so hard to do?  Do we hold ourselves so highly,

I took Friday off last week and gave myself a long three-day weekend to rest, relax and reflect.  The 2017 year has been a bit tense and I needed some time to just chill.  I'll spare all the details, but I can say I definitely needed this weekend to unwind and recharge. Day 1 : I enjoyed an iced coffee and a good book after running a few errands in the morning.   Snapped a pic of the honey bees that are enjoying the dandelion field where my garden usually is.   Sat on the grass and supervised Hubby repairing our garage roof. Day 2 : Enjoyed a homemade waffle for breakfast while doing a bit of journaling. Spent some time hanging out in the yard with the pups, enjoying a large glass of iced tea. Did a bit of reading about Nature Journaling. Grilled some chicken and bacon for dinner. Which I turned into a delicious spin on a cob salad, to go with my red wine and Sunset magazine. Took an evening stroll around our property.  I

I don't want a busy life.  I'm not interested in what's referred to as "the hustle."  I hate hearing the phrase "you know how it is." The answer is NO!  No, I don't.  I've never understood the feeling that you constantly have to be on the go and always doing.  I physically can't and mentally won't.  When life gets too busy I reach a saturation point and will withdrawal from everything!  I become angry and less tolerant of people, noise, and places.  Busy isn't good for me and what's more is I find it maddening when I ask someone how they are and I get the pat answer "busy" or my other favorite "crazy busy."  Either of which is followed by "you know how it is."  No.  I don't.  I've made the choice not to live like that. To be quite honest, when you tell me about your "saturated" or "busy" life, it all sounds like complaining.  It sounds like you're letting your lif

I've been writing for years, like my entire life years, or at least since junior high.  I've written in starts and spurts.  I've had long dry spells, and I've had those moments of scribbling on any piece of paper I could find in my bag. For me, writing isn't about scribbling out the next great American novel.  It's about getting all the thoughts and ideas out of my head and onto paper.  If something creative comes from all the nonsense, then that's a bonus. I was never much of a journal keeper until a couple of years ago.  I took it on as a challenge for myself.  Somewhere to just get random stuff out of my head.  Looking back I wish I'd developed this habit years ago, but hindsight is always 20/20. The type of journal I keep could be referred to as a "commonplace book" or a "brain dump book" or even an "everything book."  I'm not a "dear diary" kind of person, those kinds of restrictions make me hyperv

For Rent The baby came with the house. As we walked up the sidewalk, I saw him through the window lying in a crib. Summer wind breezed the yellow curtains, billowing them against railing sides. He lay watching the flow of the tapestry as it breathed in and out of the window and he reached to grasp the edge as it was inhaled against the wooden window frame, his expectant eyes peering at me  through the glass from inside the empty room. That was why I cried,  knowing we would never come again. You see, the baby came with the house.   ~ by Roxanne Fehlaicer I've had this in my collection for years, and unfortunately, I can't tell you where it came from.  I know it was a Wyoming Anthology of sorts, published quarterly and that I picked up an issue at a library book sale when I lived in Laramie years ago.  That's where the info stops.  I didn't write down the book name when I copied down the poem and I no longer have the book.

Torn.  There are so many days that I would like to run away and live in a Winabego, on the open road, thumbing my nose at the world.  That's the point where hubby reminds me we're just too responsible to really do that.  I nod my head and go on with my daydream. Then there are the other days, the days where thinking about giving it all up gives me anxiety and can't cope with the thoughts of how much we'd have to give up to travel full time. I still have wanderlust and will probably suffer for life.  I like having a house, but honestly the older I get the more I want to travel and what better way to do it than in a moveable house - be it travel trailer, RV or converted bus. I have a romance in my head of living a traveling life, writing and creating art wherever we go.  Most days I know this a  crazy pipe dream, but days like yesterday I don't care!!!  Days like yesterday make me want to be free and live a life of creating, writing and photographing my journey

Start again.   Find your path.   Look beyond the now.   Learn to grow.   Trust your inner self.   Find courage.   Step away from comfortable.   Seek your own peace.   Be your own light.   Move past the fear.   Accept the compliments.   Be confident in your own skin.   Accept yourself.   Seek your heart's truth.  Find creative peace.   Build the path one stone at a time, remember Rome wasn't built in a day.   Who said that anyway?   Stop being someone's afterthought.   Build the success you desire.   Open your own doors.   Use your passion.   Learn to satisfy your personality.

Good morning.  Are you sitting down?  Do you have a good cup of coffee?  I hope so because this is gonna be a little long and maybe a little deep. I know it's been months since I wrote a post, and I'll be honest, I'm not gonna apologize.  I've been working on some personal growth. At the beginning of the year, I did something I've never done, I picked a phrase to lead me through the year - "Inward Acceptance."  When I picked this phrase I really didn't think it would impact my life that much.  I was wrong.  It's five months later and I'm in such a different place.  I've been exploring a lot of things, so of which are a bit more personal than I want to share here, but good things have happened and are continuing to happen. I dropped a lot of things and opened myself to my own talents and started telling the world I'm an artist.  This was a HUGE step for me.  I've spent several months drawing, painting and working on things,