The Pink Cupcake [a dating story]

A couple people have asked about my blog icon photo, so here’s the Saturday night special version. This isn’t a funny dating story with a twist at the end, but a stupidly sad one, or a sadly stupid one. Take your pick.

I had a relatively popular blog from 2004-2007ish. Then I grew weary of the (self-imposed) pressure to come up with funny and/or interesting poasts several times per day. Back then, I grabbed a lot of my topics from the news, including political stuff, and wasn’t afraid of generating arguments; now, I avoid this.

For a while, I tried keeping a super light blog about cats, cupcakes, and shoes only, but it became too boring for everyone, including me. Then my mom died, and my marriage broke up. Those two things aren’t related, but they’re both at the top of the life stress scale. I latched onto the first person who offered emotional support… and I fell in love with him. And he was married ~ one of those who was just waiting to leave when X happened, but then X turned into Y, and then Z. (He’s still there, living in the house with his wife long after X, Y, Z, yada.)

So, to cope I started a new blog, this one. My first poast was March 25, 2011. I didn’t talk directly about my relationship of course, since he knew about the blog too, but I would poast song lyrics and excerpts from books I was reading that alluded to it. Later, after we broke up, I did write a bit about how I felt at certain points, though I’ve probably deleted most of that now. Long-time readers will know him as TMW, short for “the man who broke my heart.”

In 2010, for his birthday I bought cupcakes for us. Not a cake because obviously he wouldn’t be able to take it home with him. I took a pic of mine ~ it was strawberry with a chocolate heart. Later I realized the heart was broken and I thought it was a neat pic. When I began the blog, I decided to use it for my “subtle” profile photo. If anyone asked, I figured I could say I was planning to resume doing cupcake reviews again. But I’m not planning to do that. I just like this photo. It’s held up over time.

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Red, Red Mine [CFFC]

Today’s fun photo challenge is red, and even though I don’t have much clothing in the red range, I do have quite a few photos, mostly of food. Yes, I did archive all my Instagrams before closing my account, you lucky ducks. 😂

One of my favorite meals: avocado and tomato, served simply with salt and pepper.

Red against azure, for a striking contrast.

My lucky rainbow sand-dude. Daughter1 made him for me when I began my current job 17 years ago, and he’s been on my desk at work ever since.

Life is just a bowl of strawberries, or something like that.

Gatsby guarding my sparkly red shoes.

Red velvet birthday cake, delicious!

Red velvet wine, so smooth. Alas, I’ve given all alcohol up because of migraines. 🙁

Red taillights and an ironic personalized plate.

All About Orange

The fact that I have this photo in my blog media library gives me the idea I have written negatively about orange before. But instead of searching for that poast, and lazily efficiently reblogging it, I’ve already banged out a new one. Maybe next time I’ll remember to look for a pic before I start typing like a maniac. Who wants to bet on that?

Orange has never been a favorite color or flavor of mine. There are a few exceptions. Color-wise, I like a dash of bright orange with pink and yellow, lime and purple, for that crazy fruit bowl tropical look. Perfect for the muumuu you need on a cruise to cover up the 10 pounds you gain the first three days before the dysentery hits. And naturally orange is the appropriate base color for Halloween shirts, preferably with black cats, owls, and bats decorating a spooky crooked tree. Boo!

Food-wise, oranges suck. What is up with these things? All pulpy and seedy, with icky white strings you have to keep peeling off. Feh! Waaay too much work. I don’t mind some orange juice, sans pulp, if it’s mixed with mango juice, but that’s a lot of sugar. Did I mention I’m eating a lot less sugar now? Paula’s diet… always a fascinating topic, but we’ll leave that for another poast. As far as the actual taste of orange? Meh. It’s good in cake, I guess. But there’s that pesky sugar issue again! Same with Panda Express orange chicken (soooo sweet and yummy). Oh, here we go with the Panda Express haters piling on to tell me it’s not real Chinese food. 🙄🙄🙄

Okay. Not gonna write a book rn. Bottom line: orange is pretty much last on my list, except for pretty flowers obviously, and it’s not because of you know who.

I Wouldn’t Call It An Obsession, But…

…I like to read about the British Royal Family.

There, I said it. Whew! Confession is good for the soul. 😀

Whenever I see an article about a pretty frock Princess Whozis is wearing, I click on that. I want to read more. Is she wearing pantyhose like she’s supposed to? I need to know (if not, I hope the Queen won’t haz a mad). What about shooze? Do they match the dress perfectly or are they black or nude? I like to find out.

I read about the cute lovey nicknames the couples have for each otter, their adorable kids, that time they broke up (oh sads), etc. I smile to see pics of their shiny happiness. And I love all the bright colors the Queen wears. She rocks.

I especially like reading these tidbits now. They’re like M&Ms sprinkled in our shit salad of news… one dripping horror slice after another about the deranged narcissist POTUS, his spineless enablers, the rise of white supremacy, the constant random shootings, the nonstop domestic violence, the weekly overdoses/deaths of celebs, the never-ending wars, on and on.

Yeah. More fluff pieces on fancy hats, please and thank you.

Lime or Light Green [CFFC]

This series is all about lime, also one of my favorite colors (and flavors)! Back in the day, I had loads of lime green clothes, and even some lime boots, but I don’t have the patience to look for photos in the various archives. Idk why everything has become so disorganized in the clouds. 🙁

Anyway, here is a refreshing cucumber minty drink… from somewhere, probably at the Irvine Spectrum. Dunno when.

And here are some pretty lime green tchotchkes from the tea shop up in NorCal where my daughter took me for a lovely Mom’s afternoon in 2015.

This is Gatsby snoozing behind some lime towels as he likes to do. This photo is a couple years old. I’ve replaced many of my towels now with turquoise ones, which is a great combo with lime, btw.

I guess I will have to add “organize cloud photos” to my list of things to do. Bummer. That will really interrupt my project of staring at the wall. I’ve been making great progress, which is why my blogging’s been a bit light.

Comfy > Sexy

I wasted a pile of money on uncomfortable clothes, lingerie, and shoes during my dating years in an attempt to look sexy. Dunno if I ever achieved this look (here I am still single, so probably not), but for sure I was uncomfortable in many ways, most notably cold. Generally, I’d end up throwing a giant fluffy sweater over my “sexy” outfit anyway, thereby ruining whatever appeal it may have had. I get cold easily.

Now, I just wear comfortable clothing. I don’t like tight stuff, and I’m way past my mini days. I like loose, flowing material, layers, and plain colors that can be combined in various ways. My shoes have lowish heels, both to avoid back pain and also in hopes of tripping less. Jury is out on the latter. I have lots of cardigans for when I’m chilly, but they no longer ruin the sexiness of my outfit, since there was none to begin with.

I love that I’m dressing to please no one but myself, and I wish I had always done so. Spending loads of money in hopes of pleasing some man was all a big waste. I don’t even color my hair anymore because who cares?! Certainly not my kitteh. Pffft.

Ch-ch-changes

I just downloaded the WordPress app and so far it seems fabulous! They’ve really improved it since I tried it a zillion years ago. It takes a lot of motivation for me to deviate from my habits, so this is a big deal, blogging from an app. Truth be told, I’m a bit resistant to apps in general, misliking the idea of cluttering up my phone with icons. Why can’t I just use my browser? But this WP app is very nice. Very nice indeed. Of course, now I’ll need to d/l more apps to even out the row, but never mind that.

My motivation is partly due to the fact that blogging from a phone browser is rather clunky, and while I have a semi-solution in my old Kindle Fire, it’s still imperfect. (Hard to access media from there.) Also, I like using one device. I already have a sweet Kindle for reading and the Fire is pure backup, which I like to keep at home.

Isn’t this fascinating? I thought my fans would be enthralled with an OCD data dump.

I’m feeling good about all the things I’ve abandoned along the path toward enlightenment, or death, whichever comes first ~ husbands, real estate, dating sites, Facebook, fiction writing, and thigh highs. Thank gawd I never have to wear stupid thigh highs again! What a dumb invention.

Oh, and sushi. Blech!

Simplify

One of my goals is to simplify, though it may not seem obvious. I think more carefully about how I spend my free time and money, not that I ever was wild and crazy, but the older I get, the more important both become. I’m cautious about which projects I start, mindful of the energy they may consume, and the same goes for invites I accept. Slowly, I’m switching my wardrobe to mainly solid colors, which are more practical to mix-match. New clothes/shoes are chosen primarily for comfort and durability, not sexiness. Those days are over ~ what a relief!

~*~

The Daily Prompt: Simplify

Orange

Never cared much for orange. It doesn’t complement my skin tone and it’s a sharp, nervous color. Hurry up, orange says, we haven’t got all day. While yellow connotes happy sunshine, and red reminds me of romantic valentines, orange taps its toe impatiently, obnoxiously. And don’t get me started on oranges themselves with their nasty little pits and stringy skin. Blech! (If we’re discussing orange cake, that’s another matter entirely.) The juice is fine, especially mixed with mango. But as for the colors, I much prefer to wander among the cool, smooth blues and greens and purples, taking my time.

 ~*~

The Daily Prompt: Orange

Regarding Elegance

People have described me in many different ways (some not fit for print), but no one would call me elegant ~ and I’m OK with that.

 

This isn’t because I dislike elegance ~ quite the contrary. Elegance holds great appeal for me in many ways. First, I love math and logic, both of which, at their best, are often beautifully elegant. There’s nothing more intellectually satisfying than to work out a complex equation by discovering a clean, lean, streamlined solution. Elegance!

Second, the pure aesthetics of clean and simple design also turn me on. I adore a bold artistic statement of monochromatic décor with a splash of contrasting color. The uncluttered ivory bedroom with a single red rose in a crystal vase on the dresser is the height of elegance ~ gorgeous. Remember when it was all the rage to B&W-ify your photos and add back one accent of color? Loved that elegant look.

Third, I totally admire the olden days of elegant dress. James Bond in a tux is the ultimate male, sipping champagne in the casino and then slipping out back to slit someone’s throat. He adjusts his cuffs and returns to baccarat, white shirt pristine and every hair in place. Same goes for his female counterpart in her long black gown with diamond stud earrings and ruby lipstick that never gets smudged.

But I am not that woman. If I ever get fancy in an elegant black gown with lovely black heels and my hair done just so, then I will fling on  a sequined rainbow shawl, wheeeeee! And my lipstick will get smudged right away on a cupcake or from using my teeth to open the plastic wrapper on a new deck of cards or from smooching a kitteh, who will proceed to shed half its furs on the dress.

Sometimes I start to write an elegant poem, but it always dissolves into something silly. I can write angry and/or sad and stay with those emotions, but whenever I catch myself trying to be elegant I can’t resist tossing a handful of glitter in the air.

It’s not my fault ~ I’m just made that way.

~*~

The Daily Prompt: Elegant