Little Blue Bear [socs]

I have a little blue bear on my desk at work. He’s a Ty beanie baby named America and I bought him when he came out after 9/11, which was shortly after I began working here (I’m writing this Friday lunchtime and will schedule it to post Saturday morning). On the left side of his tag it says that 100% of the profits from the purchase of the bear will go to Red Cross Disaster Relief. On the right side it says: “In memory of those who lost their lives in the national catastrophe that took place on September 11, 2001. We mourn for them and express our deepest sympathy to their families. God Bless America.”

A lot has changed in 18 years. My parents have both passed on. I’m divorced. My two daughters both graduated college and have gotten married. One of them has a baby, which magically makes me a grandma. I’ve moved five times. I had a relationship with a married man for two and a half years. If you believe in “bad karma,” then this gave me mine and I’ve been unable to have a happy/successful romance since. I also had a couple minor car accidents, which were horribly upsetting at the time, but in the grand scheme of things, not so bad really.

In these 18 years, I’ve been a flame warrior on Usenet, made enemies and turned them into Facebook “friends,” and since I quit FB most of them have forgotten my existence again. Perhaps that’s a good thing. I’ve been on Friendster and Twitter and Snapchat and G+ and other “social sites” too dark and dirty to mention here. I’ve experimented with different lifestyles to see if they were for me (no), and they’ve greatly enriched my fiction and poetry writing.

I’ve written a lot during these years. So so much. Poetry, novels, short stories. Zillions of blog posts and tweets. Loads of emails and texts. Have had interesting text chats with many men that I thought might “go somewhere,” but they didn’t and here I am alone, which isn’t a bad thing after all. I’m not sure anyone could really put up with me now… and vice versa.

I find that as I trudge toward my seventh decade I’m more or less the same person I was at age 14. I like to read romance novels and write poetry. I love games and puzzles, kittens and puppies, cookies and pizza. I’m not a sophisticated adult type person with advanced tastes in wine and music. Give me rock & roll and mac & cheese, woo! I’m a homebody and enjoy simple comforts. A hot shower is bliss. As I age, I’ve learned that I get more easily stressed out by other people, so I have to limit my interactions with them.

But through all this, I’ve had a good job, where I’ve been treated well. And every work day, little blue bear has been there to greet me, no matter what else is going on. I am grateful/thankful for my job and for my side work too… and for my book sales even though I wish there were more. (I’ll keep writing regardless.) When I began this post, I assumed at some point I’d say something political, but really there’s no need.❤️🧁💙

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

People Are Like Cookies

Beckie @ Beckie’s Mental Mess has a wonderful continuing series on various mental/emotional issues, and this week her focus is on introversion, a topic I apparently suggested (not that I have any memory of doing so). Soon, she’ll tackle amnesia, I hope! 😂

I’m going to answer the prompt questions that Beckie posted.

1. Are you more Isolated or Introverted?

I’m an introvert. I prefer to be alone or in small groups of close friends/family where we can have meaningful conversation. I also enjoy lots of online interaction. But I’m not isolated ~ most days I interact a little with actual people face to face and that’s fine.

2. Do you feel that there is a difference between the two?

Absolutely. You can be an introvert in the middle of a city, preferring not to talk to others while surrounded by people; while another person might be isolated due to circumstances, but not be introverted and love big parties.

3. What are the causes of being Isolated or Introverted?

Isolated can be by choice or circumstances. Introversion/extroversion traits are hardwired. I have always been exactly how I am.

4. Does your family/friends/co-workers question your behavior when you crave alone time and/or do not want to be bothered?

They don’t generally get fussed about my need for alone time. Some people have a bit of trouble understanding why I don’t wish to attend massive gatherings. A dozen or so people in a room is about the extent of my comfort level. More than that increases the noise to a point where the sound is just a wall crushing my head. There’s no way to have a real conversation either and I can’t stand nodding and smiling at BS.

I’m not talking about big open spaces like fairs or even restaurants that are designed for a lot of people. I’m talking about large social events where people are mashed together in rooms to be with each other. I just hate that. Why would I choose to go to such a thing when I could stay home with my boo kitty?🐱

5. Have you spoken to a therapist/psychiatrist in regards to being Isolated/Introverted?

No. Why would I? I’m fine!

6. What is a normal day being in your shoes?

I commute to work alone in my car to a small office where there is a moderate amount of talking, depending on the day and what needs to be done. Some days I’ll have a phone chat with one or both of my daughters for 20 minutes or so. Generally, I don’t socialize much with friends during the workweek. At night, I’ll do extra work, read, blog, etc.

7. If you were ever asked to go to dinner/party, would you go?  If not, what kind of excuses have you made up to get out of going?

Most weekends I do some sort of social thing that includes dinner, usually a potluck, followed by board games. But it’s with a reasonable number of people, like 10, not 100. Sometimes I’ll go to lunch with one friend, or to the movies with a few, or drive up to Los Angeles to hang with my family and whoever else might be at their place. I am not opposed to people! But they do need to be rationed, like cookies. Too many at once and I’ll just barf.🤮

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

FPQ36: Ends & Means

Fandango provocatively asks…

“Do you think the end or the means is more important? Explain.”

It depends on the situation.

It’s acceptable for firefighters to break down a door to save a life.

It is not acceptable for a neighbor to break down a door to grab a cookie just because they smell so delicious.

Live and learn, my friends! 🍪🍪🍪

~*~

© 2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Fan of… Fairs!

This is for Jez’s fan challenge. Join in!

I love fairs, which may strike you as strange since I’ve said repeatedly that I enjoy silence and small gatherings. But fairs aren’t forced socializing ~ in fact, you don’t really make nonsense small talk at fairs. You chat about what’s there, more often than not, or you simply observe.

Yesterday I went to the Orange County Fair, which I usually do every year, though not always. I was pleased that my foot handled all that walking around without too much soreness (but it is definitely not all better). My two friends and I who arrived early loved the exhibits of crafts and products.

Here is an owl made of belts. This pretty much made my day.

Giant cookies looked delicious!

But we opted for the healthy fried zucchini. Gotta have your veggies.

And one friend shared her corn dog with us…

While my other friend commented that she’s seen “big ones at Disneyland.”

Hmmmm.

Moving on. Here’s a cool first prize-winner table setting with lots of science info.

And now we have some sweet miniature donkeys grooming each other.

Mary, we found your lamb right here…

Along with Daenerys’ horse from Game of Thrones.

I decided to audition for “Bennie and the Jets.”

We had really all gathered to attend a night concert however, and more of our group wandered in as the evening approached. Some went on rides, but that’s not my thing these days. Finally, it was time to take our seats at the Pacific Amphitheatre and listen to the awesome orchestra followed by a super fun show.

Hooray for the fair! See you next year! 😀

~*~

© 2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Weekly Prompts ~ Food Cravings

My tastes haven’t changed much since I was 14, not in food or anything else really. I guess that’s sad in some ways, if you’re the type of person who believes that life should be about growth and change. Or maybe I’m just true to who I am, a girl who’s partial to grilled cheese, word games, and men with British accents. 🇬🇧

(No, that doesn’t mean I want to play Guess the Blogger with scrambled letters and obscure clues to people I don’t follow! 🙄)

So, decades later, when I crave things, it’s still the same things. Cheesy noms like mac and cheese, pizza, nachos, quesadillas, etc.

Equally, I have yearnings for the sweet side of the buffet. Chocolate chip cookies, PB cookies, lemon bars, cupcakes, pumpkin or key lime pie with graham cracker crust…

I’m not a chocoholic though and don’t usually crave chocolate by itself, though I do love homemade chocolate chip cookies, which is why I put them first. If people ask me which kind of cake is my favorite, I’ll say coconut ~ my standard answer since I was a kid.

Around once or twice a year I crave a big juicy cheeseburger from 5 Guys or In-N-Out. I usually don’t have the patience for the In-N-Out line though. This is how you can tell I was born in New York: always in a hurry, even when there’s nowhere to go.

~*~

Weekly Prompts

Late Night Quick Draw

Late Night Quick Draw ~ sorry for the oopsy. Rory seems to have deleted or rescheduled his post. Maybe it will magically reappear later. Copy pasta the questions at your own risk!

Season 1

Describe yourself in 7 words?

Funny, serious, organized, reliable, introverted, poetic, neurotic.

What do you find funny?

Yer mom.

Favourite Food?

Cookies.

Favourite Tipple?

Constant Comment black & orange tea.

Favourite Ice Cream Flavour?

Cookie dough.

Currently Reading?

The Essex Serpent.

Last Film you saw [Cinema/DVD]?

While You Were Sleeping.

Favourite Comfort Food?

Cookies.

Ideal Breakfast?

Cookies.

Favourite Music Genre?

Classic rock.

Best Holiday you have had?

Portland with my daughter.

Holiday destination you would love to see?

New Mexico might be nice.

What’s your favourite animal?

Favourite Game?

Ticket to Ride.

Favourite sport [Take part in/watch]?

Meh.

Most Favourite Nursery Rhyme Growing Up?

Pop Goes the Weasel.

Favourite Colour?

Turquoise.

What would be your perfect day?

Assuming I can’t go back in time, just a pain-free, stress-free day would be nice.

D’oh! [SOCS]

(Sing to “Do Re Mi” 🎶)

D’oh, my dear,

Don’t eat raw dough–

You might get poisoned,

Don’t you know?

Eggs are bad;

New studies just came in–

Toss them all into the bin!

So, about that pyramid?

We’ll keep it for the TV show;

I win, I’m going off the grid…

And that brings us back to dough!

My Brain Hurts

Halp! Rory’s provoking my thots again!

Thought Provokers

***

When was the last time you tried something new?

Why would I do that?

***

Do you ever get excited about happiness?

Meh.

***

Do you question enough or simply accept everything? As in if I said Jump – would you say no or how high or why?

I accept nothing! Nor do I jump, run, hop, skip, or scamper. I’m old. I walk sedately. Unless there’s a kitty, at which point I’ll crouch down and make baby noises.

***

What is your preferred blog reading style – do you like light hearted, emotional and heart-felt, comedy, learning about things, philosophy, something that you bite into and guage some depth from … what?

Yep, all that and some purrn.

Gatsby typed that I SWEAR TO GOD! 🐱

***

What belief do many people you know hold onto, that you yourself cannot believe under any circumstance?

That Star Wars is better than Star Trek. Wtfff?

***

When was the last time you were excited about life, what were you doing or had experienced to make you feel this way?

Just a couple minutes ago when I nommed up a chocolate chip macaroon left over from Saturday night, which I had forgotten I took home, but there they were… COOKIES RIGHT HERE OMG!

***

Is happiness just a myth do you think?

Not if you have a chocolate chip macaroon.

***

When life is all said and done, will you have said more or done more?

Lol, said more. I talk the talk. Walking the walk? Not so much. And that’s the way I like it. 🙂

Green Is Good

Hope you enjoy some more greenery in your feed for Terri’s Sunday Stills photo challenge. 🍀🙂💚

What’s Up With Cookies?

I went to Target tonight to get a head start on the weekend’s chores. I have a lot of things to do and am a bit stressed! Now, I assumed that everyone else would be out having fun on a Friday night and I could shop in peace. Wrong! The store was full of shoppers in my way. Annoying.

As I was crossing stuff off my list, I checked the cookie aisle for Game of Thrones Oreos. I read that they’re coming out with a special version for the final season and I want some. Didn’t find any. But! What the heck? There are like 18,000 kinds of Oreos now! When did this happen???

Previously I’ve blogged about trying some alternate Oreos, especially cookie dough which were delicious, but this is just crazy.

Not only that though. I found something else. Something absolutely wackadoo. You will not believe this! I wouldn’t either, so I had to take another photo and practically shove people out of my way. Yes, I am taking pictures of the cookies and what is your problem, buddy???

WHAT HAVE THE KEEBLER ELVES DONE TO MY DAD’S STRIPEY COOKIES!?!?

I’ve previously blogged about stripey cookies too. Normal ones… you know, golden cookie-flavored cookies with fudge backs and stripes. But now they have all fudgey ones and these white ones? Whaaa? They look like those crayon things we did in school that we colored over again. But look!!! They have unicorn ones! Now, I die.

I really wanted to buy some unicorn stripey cookies. But I didn’t. Why not? Idk. I guess I just felt too silly. They weren’t on my list. It was all so disorienting.

I might go back again soon though.

For the unicorn 🦄 cookies!