2025 Blessing Jar

So Christmas before last (2024) our “gift” at church (the church always gives the congregation a small gift usually on Christmas Eve, made by the youth) was a Blessing Jar. It’s a little plastic jar with a sticker on it that says “blessings.” The goal being that we’d write down our “blessings” throughout the year and drop it in the jar. On Christmas Eve we are to open said Jar and remember all the blessing we have received over the past year. I liked this idea and fully embraced it. I didn’t drop a blessing in every day but when something good would happen I’d write it out on the piece of paper, put the date and drop it in the Jar. Even tho I got my Jar on Christmas Eve I dropped in a few in December as little Olia made her way into the world. I also have blessings in the jar for January, Feburary, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and well December. So I did better than I thought I did looking back on them.  

A few highlights include:

• 12-31-2024- Olia has been discharged, everyone is home and a family of three starts this next phase of this journey
• 1-18-2025 Got up super early and made our way to Pittsview to officially meet Olia in person. She is so adorable. She slept most of the day but was a trooper with being passed around so much.
• 1-21-2025 Mobile got 6-10 inches of honest to God Snow.
• 1-27-2025 I turned xx I’m blessed with family, friends and loved ones who reached out in various ways to say HBD. I keep thinking of my cousins Kevin who didn’t make it to this age (brain tumor). Am I living up to my potential ?
• 2-4-2025 Volkert turns 100 today. A great achievement and one that a lot of companies don’t get to celebrate.
• 2-2-2025 Uncle Ernest passed away today. Grateful that I got to see him back in January when we stopped by after seeing Olia. He made it to 89.
• 4-19-2025 Andrew asked Alana to marry him and she said yes. There will be a wedding in 2026, a graduation too for both of them. Proud of them. She’s lovely and already fits in well with our group.
• 5-12-2025 McNeil graduated with a  doctorate in Pharmacy today.
• 6-8-20205 Golden and I went to Atlanta to see the Stray Kids. I’ve never seen her more excited for a thing ever! I admit I didn’t know them before this but I’m glad she introduced me to them they put on a great show. I had to manually control her light stick cause we couldn’t sync them up but she only noticed that half way through the show
• 7-18-2025 McNeil is a fully licensed Pharmacist! I am so proud of him and how hard he works. The kid is hella smart and focused.
• 7-30-2025 – Mrs. Danley’s funeral was today (Paula’s mom). She had a brain tumor and while her battle was short it wasn’t easy. The boys took it really hard. I’m proud of them tho they both held themselves together when it counted. McNeil sang a song. They both were pallbearers. Alana even made the trip down from school for it.
• 8-15-2025 – Mom had bypass surgery today. It was scary but she did really well. Several friends came and sat with us during the surgery which was nice. I think dad really appreciated it.
• 9-1-2025 – I made it to Dragon Con ! Neil and Dad insisted that I go so I did but I thought about mom the entire time. The day I left she was moved to a room. The following day she was moved back to ICU as her oxygen kept dropping for very little reason. I couldn’t fully focus on DragonCon but we tried to do all the things. I ended up coming back early and mom was super excited to see me. So I’m glad I did that.
• 9-6-2025 – mom and dad celebrated their 55^th anniversary in a rehab room, mom’s getting stronger and that’s the best gift she can give him.
• 9-24-2025 – MOM IS HOME!!!!!
• 10-3-2025 – Andrew and Alana drove home so that we could throw a pumpkin party. I got to carve pumpkins with my favorite people and I’ve never been happier. Grateful this tradition means as much to them as it does me.
• 12-25-2025 – OLIA IS ONE!!!  Or as we say around here … Olia is ONDERFUL. Best gift we ever got.

I like the idea of the Blessing Jar … I plan to continue it into the new year …. What to do with the old ones… I want to save them some how … maybe I’ll find an envelope and drop it in the Jar too. It was fun looking back at them this year. Maybe I’ll do better this year about including more things in the Jar not just the big stuff.

Here’s to a great 2026 for everyone far and wide, I wonder what blessings it will hold. 

Marcy

2024 YEAR END RECAP : Best Laid Plans

So when I originally wrote this post, on Christmas Eve I was talking about how my nephew and his wife couldn’t join us for Christmas so we’d be going to see them on the weekend after Christmas which was going to eat into my downtime after the holiday. HOWEVER best laid plans be damned cause that Little Girl decided she wanted to join us for the celebration. My nephew and his lovely bride had a beautiful Baby Girl on Christmas Day almost 5 weeks prior to her due date. She was born around 3:30 and was 5lbs 14 oz and 18” long. She’s gonna be dumb tall like her dad. Her name is Olia Noelle and I love it, tho many of my fellow family members are struggling with the name. I myself can say it just fine until someone asks :D I say it like Ollie without the E but ad a AH to it. Oli-ah 😊 time will tell if I’m saying it right or not. My nephew and his wife aren't shy they will let us know if we aren't. Someday it will roll right off our tongue without us even thinking about it and we will giggle at the struggle bus that was her name. With this event I was upgraded from Aunt to Great Aunt and I mean I’ve always been great! As of this writing she is still in the hospital but her mom has been discharged and we are hopeful Olia will be coming home very soon as well. It's going to be exciting getting to celebrate this little thing every year on Christmas. I can’t wait to meet her and tickle her little feet!

However, this is about 2024 …. So digress. I admit that this wasn’t our best year on this blog…but wasn’t our worst ever … looking at you 2023 when we only managed 8 post for the entire year. That’s called minimum effort for sure. Ironically that was the year I started my “blog with a purpose” posts … and thus a post about a charitable foundation followed by me ranting about say Auburn Football …. Sadly, a constant on this blog (ranting about AU sports I mean). I also had only 8 posts in 2018 but it at least had more variety than 2023. Hey not every year can be a winner!

In 2024 I managed to knock out 10 posts, well 11 once this one goes up, on a variety of topics including another Blog with a Purpose post this time focusing on Anthony Nolan. That one was fun cause I was also helping sell a book at the same time. Don’t know if any books were sold cause of me but I’m sure I didn’t hurt the cause, well I hope I didn’t anyway. This was also the year my father turned 80 and he and I spent most of the year working on his memoirs which I found fascinating. Giving us his book was his gift to all of us this year. He also included a card with all his videos, pictures, etc, taken through August (AKA his birthday). That was a nice and very welcoming surprise that I wasn’t expecting. He’s good people my dad. This was also an Olympic year which is always exciting for me and of course Dragon Con for the 10^th time. I really believe we have been going far longer than that but 10 is a nice round number so that’s what we will go with.  

We have a new "most viewed" post which is "Baby Talk" a short story I wrote about a new mom and dad figuring out their new roles. I have no idea where it came from but it's been viewed 335 times so maybe others are enjoying it. I am proud that my Bryan White Tribute is in the top 5 of all time views. I was really proud of that one. Golden's "Drunksgiving" Post from 2014 rounds out the top views list and again I say she's way better at this than I am. 

This year the big absence was Golden. I keep telling her she is way better at this than I am … go back and read any posts tagged with GOLDEN and you’ll see what I mean. She uses words like a paintbrush in a way that I only wish I could do. 2024 is the year I was diagnosed with Covid shortly after coming home from Dragon Con. It really wasn’t that “bad” for me but I’ve had every shot the have been willing to give me. Right before I left I begged for one but the nice lady at CVS said that a new one was coming out soon and I should wait. I should have pushed it but I didn’t. Who knows maybe I would have gotten sick anyway. Maybe not. As it was I was confined to my room for 5 days then took two test both of which came back negative before coming back to the real world. I wasn’t really sick as much as I had a MASSIVE headache that just wouldn’t quit and was exhausted all the time, symptoms that lingered long after the negative tests results arrived. I still don’t think my energy level is back up to full but I guess I’m where I’m going to be. The best part of my COVID diagnosis is that neither Golden or my parents got it which was my biggest fear. 

As I am writing this news organizations are dusting off their Jimmy Carter memorial videos to bid farewell to a man that did as much good out of office as he did in office. Maybe it is because he is from nearby Plains, Georgia, or maybe it’s cause he was President when I was born (1977 – 1981) but he’s the first president I recall. From his humanitarian efforts especially with Habitat for Humanity is what I really remember. I also can’t get over the fact he was 100 … like can you imagine all he’s seen and lived through and all the changes he’s been through over his lifetime? I don’t know if I want to live to 100 … heck there are some days I’m not sure I want to make it to 45 but I guess that’s up to someone who isn’t me.

 

I hope you all had a good holiday surrounded by love and that 2025 is good for you and to 2025 I say please go easier on my friend Golden she really does not deserve the crap that the last few years have put her through. Use someone else as a punching back for a change PLEASE and thank you.

 

Marcy

Happy …. Whatever.

It must be a New Year cause everyone keeps telling me that it is, and people are posting these long eloquent write ups about what kind of year they have had and their hopes and prayers for the aforementioned new year. I know I should be one of those people. The kind of wants to document the year prior, see if there is anything I can learn form it as I move into a new calendar but I just don’t have it in me this year. 

I didn’t have a BAD year per say nor did I have a great year with things that stand out so that makes this process hard cause it feels like another wasted year. Let’s see the year started off with me battling a kidney stone, but I didn’t know it yet (cause I’m stubborn and don’t like doctors). Then my mother almost blead to death, which was super unpleasant. Mom’s emergency surgery took place not even a week after my kidney stone surgery so helping her recover while I was still recovering was a challenge, but she’s doing great so that’s a positive. She has like the smallest stomach in the world but she’s here and she cooked New Year’s Day lunch today, which was delicious, and for that I’m grateful. Then about a month or less after mom got out of the hospital my oldest nephew got married. Literally. Like from one massive activity to another in very quick succession. I broke his heart cause while mom was still in ICU he asked if she was going to make it to the wedding and I told him that was the least of my concerns at the moment. I meant what I said and I said it with my whole chest. My mom surviving was my entire focus at that moment and while I hate I broke his heart I’d do it again. She did in fact make it to the wedding, was dragged all over that church by the photographer and she never complained. She was exhausted and spent for the next 4 days but she watched the baby she helped raise (she kept him while his parents worked until he started school) walk down the aisle and get married. She had already made my dad and I promise that we would go even if she couldn’t and we had made plans incase she couldn’t go. Lucky it all worked out, but it was a very stressful Jan/Feb/March to say the least.

Oh and in the middle of all that I turned 44.

In April, I took my younger nephew and his friends to play Top Golf for the first time in Birmingham (the closest facility to where he lived) and we had a great time. I got to stay with my older nephew and his new bride (first houseguest for them), I got to spend a crapton of money on the nephew, and I had a really good time. It was a quick trip. Up on Friday, back on Sunday kind of trip but a good one. It was on that trip that I made a very important decision. See Golden was supposed to join us for Top Golf. However, her beloved Beetle … well blew up. Literally. As I am driving my parents van home (large enough to hold the group going to b’ham) I couldn’t stop thinking about Golden’s situation. See I have been watching a Hyundai Kona for years … I am going to say 4 or 5 (maybe longer) and I really really really really really wanted that car. However, my Hyundai Sonata was too good a car to just give up. I thought about trading it in but it was just too good of a car to even think about getting something else. So I waited. Every time I saw that car drive by tho I pointed it out. I loved that car. I had a very specific car in mind that I wanted tho. Hyundai Kona N Class Grey with grey interior, red accents, sport seats, and a sunroof. I must have built that car like a thousand times on their website only to back out cause I didn’t “need” a car. On that drive home it hit me ….. GOLDEN NEEDED A CAR …. I had a car … and I wanted a new car. The wheels started turning. I got home called Dad and immediately told him my plan. He said and I quote, “That’s a crazy reason to buy a car.” Then mom looked at him in disbelief and looked over at me and said “I think it sounds brilliant. You deserve this … do it.” I had been saving like a miser to get this car for a very long time. I had the budget to do it.

I usually get to work about 45 minutes early. Around here traffic can turn on you very quickly. 5 minutes on either side of the clock can cost you 15-20 minutes very easily. I’d rather be there early than risk being late. I used to go right in and get to work. Lately I’ve been sititng in my car playing on my phone for about 30-40 minutes then drag myself out of the car and into the building (I really gotta get out of that habit). On this day I used that time to do a search on the Hyundai website for my Hyundai. I found one yall….. like 30 minutes from Golden’s house. It was PERFECT! Like someone was telling me to do this for my friend. I filled in the information and asked someone to call me back. I had a call back in less than 2 hours. I spoke with the guy, we settled on some things and I explained what I was trying to do. I asked if he could hold it. He said yes but not long. See I still hadn’t talked to Golden. Maybe she doesn’t want my car. So, I hung up promising to give him an answer by the end of day. I texted Golden and asked if she had a few minutes to talk. She said sure is everything ok. I shut my door. I called her and I really believe she was in disbelief about what I was telling her. I basically told her that she could go out and buy something or I could do this, and she could have more time to get something she really wanted/liked as opposed to what was there. My car was a 2013 (bought in 2012) so it wasn’t like I was giving her a new car, but it was well cared for. It wasn’t going to last her forever but could last her another 3-5, maybe even 10 years. It wasn’t perfect it has some dings; the dash was cracking like crazy, paint was chipping in a few places but it was and is a good car. She really didn’t know what to say and I think she was afraid of getting her hopes up.

I got with dad, told him what the guy and I talked about, he suggested I counter with this other price, and I was like um ok… the guy said let him see what he could do. They countered and met us halfway. I was pleased. He was gonna get the paperwork going. I called Golden to say it was a Go. While we were on the phone the car guy beeped in. Another dealer had just sold MY CAR. I was devastated. I knew it was all coming together to easily. He tried to sell me on another and I said no it has to be that car, that set up, those colors that’s the car I want. That’s the car I’ve been dreaming about for years. He said let me see what I can do. I called Golden and we were both exhausted by this roller coaster. The dealer asked for me to give him until Lunch. I said ok. 10am … he calls. I found it, I don’t have it yet but I found it. I’ll call you back as soon as I have it. I said same car as yesterday he said yes. I’ll send you a picture as soon as I have it. I was confused by that but said ok. I called dad, I called Golden and I called the bank. I didn’t know how long it took to get a cashier’s check. Then I didn’t hear from him again until nearly 10 pm. I was like well there we go it was all too easy. Sigh. Golden was trying to figure out how to get to work the next day and I was sad. At 10 I get a text from the dealer. It was a picture of a car in a parking lot. It had just arrived from the swap me made with a dealer in TN. It was MY CAR, same color, same trim, same accessories as the one had and it was perfect. He said the next morning the guys would do the Hyundai inspection on it, and they could be driving to me by 10am. I was like wait the whole point is getting mine to Golden. He said due to all the trouble the dealer was willing to drive it down to me and drive my car back for Golden to pick up for free. I was like I’m sorry, what? For no additional money they were going to do that for me. I said let’s do it. He told me the total, I paid the deposit on my credit card, the rest by money order and I had purchased a car, mostly via text which blew my father’s mind. I called Golden and I tossed and turned all night. The next day was like a weird dream. I went to work, waiting for the bank to open so I could get the cashier’s check then came home and cleaned my Sonata like it had never been cleaned before. I almost cried when it left my driveway and prayed that the guy wouldn’t have any problems on the drive back I got my dream car and helped a friend out at the same time. We did the bill of sale stuff Golden sent me a check, I sent everything with the car so she could do the tag thing and to this day I’m afraid some glitch in the matrix happened cause it was all too smooth and perfect. I am still waiting for something to go wrong, even after all this time. It was a win win win and I was so very happy to do it. To this day it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever been able to do for a friend and while that was awesome, I can’t tell you how happy this car has made me. So, for me that’s my highlight of the year. I don’t know if I’ll ever top that nor will I try. Mighty, Golden's furbaby was very confused as to why my car was tehre but i was not. 

In May, a month after the car swap, I drove to Golden’s to watch her niece graduate and to celebrate Golden’s birthday. We went to the zoo, a tradition I haven’t been able to participate in years, and I had a very lovely time.  In Aug/Sept Golden and I made it back to Dragon Con for some much-needed time away, fun and laughter. We decided to venture north and found a really cool bookstore, which made for a nice relaxing drive to the con. Which was nice cause life was trying to suck the very life out of me and Golden and continues to do so. Golden's niece has just finished her first semester in college and seems to be doing really well there. I am very proud of her. 

In October, my oldest nephew and his wife suffered a devastating heartbreak and while they are still dealing with the aftereffects of it, they are still intact as a couple and are going to come out of this stronger I truly believe that even if they don't yet. 

In November, I started dealing with some more weird health issues. I used to have really high blood pressure but suddenly I have very low blood pressure. It runs in the family, and I am not a small girl, and I have a horrible diet. I'd tell you I'm going to work on that, but history says otherwise. However suddenly this year it started just dropping out of nowhere. I'm walking along and boom all dizzy and grabbing at walls about to pass out. I can hear my heartbeat, I can feel my heartbeat (sometimes it feels like it's about to leap out of my body...most of the time it feels like I'm on vibrate, or there is a techno show happening in the front yard). I haven’t taken my BP meds in over a month, and it keep bottoming out which is just crazy pants. I have been keeping a journal of my blood pressure since my last visit and have a follow up later this month. I think it’s stressing Golden out too. There really doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for it. In December Golden had a very invasive sinus surgery which she is still recovering from. So when I say 2023 can go ….. I mean it can go and I’m ready for a New Year I’m just not optimistic that some of the 2023 crap won’t come with it.

So, consider this my year in recap I guess …….. and I didn’t even get into the work stuff which had its own drama and hell running through it but that’s another post … maybe.... or maybe I leave that in 2023. 

I hope everyone has a great start to 2024 and that we all keep moving forward cause at the end of the day that’s all we can do.

Marcy

NEW YEAR ….. frankly same blog

I've been thinking a lot about this blog since posting the other day. About its original purpose, to be a creative outlet when the world was sucking the very soul out of my body. A Place I could come to play, vent, challenge myself and well share some insights on the world. However, i'm not really using it for any of those things. I'm not really being creative, yes I'm writing things but am I being creative. No. I'm not challenging myself, nor encouraging others to do anything in particular to make their lives better or different. Frankly the world is scary enough without my useless 2 cents being involved. It is scary out there yo!

So has the focus on this blog shifted, does it need to. I don’t post to just post. It’s usually I have something I want to say or something relevant to what’s going on in the world at the moment. I’m never going to be a blog a day kind of person. There are just too many things pulling on me that allow me to have a goal like that. I might could keep it up for a week, I did a month once, but for long-term posting I know that’s not a realistic goal. If I can’t meet said goal I’m not going to set it. See I’ve watched Social Media “influencers” and I use that term very very loosely set those kind of goals for themselves and spend most of their time apologizing for not meeting said goals. An Influencer I am not … tho if you want a chuckle the latest episode of the Simpsons in which they basically mock the influencer is hilarious and one you should flock to Disney+ to watch ASAP.

We also barely advertise the thing, we post on Twitter, and that’s pretty much it. That’s right the platform that was on death’s door is still kicking, likely Elon wishes it were doing better but if he’d leave it alone it might be. I’ll post and tag Golden she will RT it and that’s where it dies. So, the fact that we get any views at all is pretty impressive to me. Imagine what would happen if we actually promoted the darn thing. However, then I’d feel like I have to deliver. I kind of like the obscurity of this blog. No one really expects anything so if I deliver at all I’ve already surpassed those expectations.

However, I would like to get my creative side flowing again. I really enjoyed writing the Haley and Michaels series (Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV can be found here) and let’s face it the Royal Family could use some attention. Who knows maybe I’ll find a new muse and get to going or come up with an original idea something that Hollywood can’t seem to do but maybe…just maybe I can. I’d also like to get Golden back on this thing cause she’s way better at it than I am, I mean did you see the words she strung together for Betty White last year ?  I still pull up Golden's blog about her eye surgery when i need a good chuckle to get me through a crap day. PS she did eventually have the surgery and while it didn't go perfectly it went well and she does not in fact look like PAtchy the Fucking Pirate. I don’t really make New Year’s Resolutions anymore but those are things I’d like to accomplish for 2023.

The point is … if you have stuck around this long, stick around a little longer 2023 should be fun and It will be more fun if you all take the Journey with us.

 

Marcy (@beaslma)

Golden (@Theonlygolden)

2022 YEAR END REVIEW

It’s New Year's Eve … who knew. Not me at least not until someone sent me a text telling me to be safe tonight, and I was like why where I am going. They said you know if you go anywhere for the holiday. I responded with you mean tomorrow. They were like um…no tonight. People celebrate New Year's tonight, since it’s New Year's Eve. I again responded with tomorrow. They wrote back with a screen shot of the date, like my devices don’t also have that. Turns out … guys they were right today is New Year's Eve. The last day of 2022, the last day of the year, tomorrow starts a brand-new chapter full of wonder, excitement and pretty much the same shit that 2022 had but with a different date at the end … if I’m being honest.

New Year's has just never been a thing I celebrate. I mean yeah sure it’s an accomplishment to get from point A to point B I guess and not everyone got to make that circle, heck I went to 2 funerals just this week alone, so I see why people celebrate this “milestone” but I’ve just never been interested in it. Even as a little Marcy I wasn’t concerned with staying up to watch the ball drop. Seemed like a lot of fuss over not much and you spend the night wandering around going from place to place finally landing somewhere to count backwards from 10 then it’s over and everyone goes home or leaves to head to yet another place. I’d rather stay home, sleep at a decent hour and just get up the next day. I will admit I do like seeing how everyone chooses to usher out the current year and welcome the new one, but it’s all become a bit much. Every single town now has a thing. Hell, mine has a Moon Pie Drop. They take a LARGE Moon Pie strap it to the side of a building downtown and at midnight lower it to the ground because nothing says New Year like getting ready for Mardi Gras.

It's been another year of hard work and some appreciation for both Golden and I. I do wish she got more appreciation but there's very little I can do about that. I just completed my first year at the helm of the ship at my work, which has been a learning curve. I'm proud of what we got accomplished this year and know there's more we can do so that's the goal for 2023. Once gain I'm gonna lose some of my vacation time, I hope that next year I do better about that. Golden and I are trying to come up with our next big trip (other than Dragon Con) because it's been a few years since we did that. I think the two of us just need something to look forward to if I am being honest. 

Last year on this day it was 84 degrees and sunny, which was just dumb. I rang in the new year in shorts and a t-shirt. Less than 24 hours later it was raining and in the low 50s. tell me the south isn’t always sick for no reason and I’ll explain all that again. It’s been ridiculously cold the last week or so which was nice to have a Christmas holiday where I could wear my Christmas sweaters without sweating through them for a change. Today it’s 67, cloudy and wanting to rain. We had a wicked storm blow through on Friday afternoon and it was supposed to hold over until today, but it was moving faster than originally thought and we are left with a dreary, cloudy, warm day instead. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be in the high 70’s low 80’s. So basically, back to normal.

I’ve spent the majority of my “time off” for the holidays (Christmas and now New Year's) cleaning. Throwing things away, purging my life of the things I don’t “need” I have 5 bags of things to take…. somewhere. It’s mostly clothing that I can’t or don’t wear, some of which still have the tags on them. I’m really bad about that, it’s the downside of online shopping it looks better on the screen than in my house.

While I wasn’t looking this blog turned 8 years old. Since 2014 we have had 261 entries that have been viewed 27,526 times by ….. someone. We average about 29 post a year, but I credit most of that to the first two years when I did blog challenges and then in 2019, I did kind of a resurgence of the blog in an effort to bring it back to life. I will admit that with this blog I’ve not been trying to set the world on fire, teach anyone anything in particular, or even study specific subjects for a greater understanding of a higher universe but I have tried to stay consistent in my posting. Here lately it’s felt more like a journal or diary than an actual blog with a purpose or passion. Like this isn’t a lifestyle blog, or a blog trying to sell my various projects or causes, or a blog that is used to promote anything or generate likes and collaboration with companies. It’s just me, my little HP laptop that’s still kicking (knock on wood), and sometimes Golden just sharing various thoughts with people who might be interested. It tuns out that while most of our views come from the US, we also get a large portion from Russia and Ukraine (haven’t those people suffered enough) with France and Germany rounding out our top 5 countries. Sorry Canada you just missed the top 5.

I did just learn that our blog with the most views has changed … it used to be the “Royal Welcome” my Real Person fiction about Haley and Michaels working with the Royal Family. However ironically the post now with the most views of 314 is “He is Risen” posted in April 2019 … I just re read it and it’s nothing to special so I’m not sure why so many have felt the need to click on that particular one but it’s gonna be hard to pass that many views. But I’ll do my best.

Have a great 2023 and a safe New Year’s Eve, which is apparently tonight in case you didn't know.

Marcy (@beaslma)

Happy...whatever....

I had grand plans to do this end of year wrap up post then I just didn’t which is kind of a fitting way to end 2021 actually. I am currently sitting at my kitchen table writing this and watching mom juice about 75 Limequats which are apparently what you get when you plant a lemon tree and a cumquat tree to close together …or some BS like that. So that she will have juice for pies but she can throw out the Limequats. PS they are very very tart so the Lemon is strong in that quat.

I am also setting up my dad’s new Samsung phone (I’m a multi-tasker afterall). A few months ago my father destroyed the back of his phone. Like destroyed it. Little pieces of glass everywhere. We took it apart and tried to put a new back on but it wouldn’t hold as the glue or tape on the back had lost its sticky. So me and the engineer decided to take the back off and put superglue on it and well it held but it wasn’t pretty. It was only a matter of time before that failed so for Christmas I got him a new phone. I also got my mom a new one so they now have the exact same phone.

Mom’s phone was different. She had the old Microsoft phone, maybe one of the last phones still working. AT&T sent her a text saying yeah we aren’t supporting that phone anymore so we are going to send you a free one. I was like yeah right delete it mom it’s a scam. DON’T CLICK ON ANYTHING!!!!! … amazing how many times I have to tell them that. Then a few weeks later we got a letter … saying the same thing. No phone. A month or so later I called them and after being on the phone for over an hour and the dude trying to sell me everything under the sun we determined that in fact they were sending my mom a phone and we should get an e-mail when it is shipped. Damned if we didn’t. They sent it and it was the slowest piece of shit I’ve ever held in my hands. I knew eventually that would get on her nerves. The box was in my bedroom but I hadn’t wrapped it yet. One night as we watched yet another Cheesy Crimas movie it happened. She announced to the room that she wasn’t going to have a phone, didn’t need a phone and didn’t want a fucking phone for Christmas! I sat there through her rant and the next day spent the morning setting up her phone (hence why I’m setting up dads (you just did it after all)) then I went to give it to her and while she was mad a hell and didn’t want to take it, she felt like it was too expensive, she eventually did and I think is very happy that I did give her one. It still frustrates her sometimes but I do think she likes it. I hope so anyway. As an adult it’s rare I can give them Christmas presents they aren’t expecting and neither saw that coming. It was a nice feeling.

 It’s currently 84 degrees outside on this New Year’s Eve which is just stupid. The air outside is heavy with moisture and there’s a feeling of bad weather in the air. I hope it holds off cause well I’m not sure why. I’m not planning to go anywhere and I really feel like I’ll be asleep long before the ball drops but it just seems strange going into the new year with tornados in the air. Then again maybe that’s how 2021 should go out the door.

 I’ve been sick the last week or so. Not Rona, I don’t think. I’m 98% sure it was a sinus infection. I was all snotty and gross and congested. I never did the RONA test, I just stayed home, worked from the house and am now feeling much better. Tho my left nostril has some explaining to do. For some reason it refuses to work but jokes on him I’ll just breathe through my mouth! I never had a fever, never had a headache, lost sense of taste or smell, and never really felt “bad” thus why I don’t think I had the RONA. Then again I’ve had both my shots, I’ve had the booster, I wear the mask when in public and so if I did get the RONA I was going to be mad as hell. However I also understand I’m very likely to have had it, never really know it and spread it, hence my staying home this past week. Several of my coworkers didn’t come back from Crimmus cause they had tested positive or were in contact with others who tested positive so next week at work should be … interesting. My partner in crime Golden has also been battling sickness this past week, however as a medical marvel that’s more the norm for her than the surprise.

 The reason for the year end post is that I realized not too long ago that our little Blog turned 7 this past August … one day I’m going to actually remember the birthday of this blog but alas this was not the year. I thought well that’s not really a milestone age .. I mean it’s not like 5 or 10 it’s just a 7 .. but to me that is a pretty big deal. For 7 years I’ve wasted your time with drivel that fell out of my head and some of you read them all, some of you didn’t and that’s ok ..the point is that despite my best efforts .. this blog isn’t dead yet. That’s 250 blog posts (once this one goes live), some that were substantial, some that were by Golden, and some that were just to say I posted something. Not surprisingly that first year (2014) I had over 83 posts but that was also the year that I did a post a day in November and with this thing being new and all it was fun and interesting still. The second biggest year was 2019 which came after a year with the lowest number of posts, also the year that really tried to take us down but didn't succeed. 2019 was my re-launch of this blog so to speak and we haven’t looked back since. Sure, there are some months with one or no posts but hey I did keep it going. This year we have had 10 posts, well 11 once this one goes live.

I’ve been thinking about how different life was 7 years ago. 7 years ago … I had a boss that was literally sucking the professional life out of me, to the point where I had started looking for a new job. I knew the grass always seemed greener on the other side. I loved the company I worked for and most of the people, but I was just done with her. HEAR THAT AMERICA IT’S NOT ALWAYS WE DON’T WANNA WORK IT IS SOMETIMES WE DON’T WANT TO WORK FOR SPECIFIC PEOPLE!!!! Nothing I did was good enough, and if I ever tried to step up and do more than expected I was suddenly “out for her job.” I had gotten to the point where I took everything that was personal out of my office. No pictures on the walls, no sitting around fun stuff to show it was my office, even my candy dish (which always bothered her cause A. she couldn’t stay out of it (somehow that was my fault) and B. cause my coworkers would stop by and chat as they got a piece and never stopped to chat with her). I wanted to be able to literally go down to HR say I’ve had enough and quit. I didn’t expect her to let me work a 2 week notice and so instead of her standing there watching me pack a box of my stuff I could grab my purse and get the *uck out. My coworkers noticed I didn’t put anything up for the holidays, they noticed the lack of personal stuff in my office and started trying to build me up, which frankly made her even madder. They were dark days for sure work wise. Now it's 7 years later, I just celebrated my 18th anniversary at the same job, I've got an amazing boss, I have been promoted twice and just celebrated my first year of being the manager of my department with my own staff. I have taken on more responsibility than I have ever had, and I love my job more today than I did back then, tho it often stresses me past the breaking point but that's on me not them. So, she can suck it! :D 

However, I guess she can be credited with not only hiring the boss I currently have but also with this blog as the stress of the office was making me not want to do anything outside of work either. I was spending so much energy in the week not cussing her out that by Friday I was mentally drained, and Golden came up with a fantastic idea of starting this blog to refocus that energy. I will always love her for that. I would give anything if could find something similar for her. She’s made guest appearances on this blog from time to time and frankly she is much better at this than I am. The way she tells a story, the humor, the details, the drama. She uses worked like a pen in the way that I only wish I could. She paints a story in someone’s head and damn I wish I could do that. I’ve begged her to try her hand at writing a book, I think it would be a best seller. I’m going to keep at her and keep striving to be more like her in every aspect that I can.

 7 years ago, Golden was also in a place with her job where it was taking the very soul out of her body. However, unlike me she was released and found a new path and now she is in another job that she really likes but that has taken everything she has to survive it during this pandemic. The crazy thing is she is really good at this job, it’s just …. too much sometimes. Staff shortages and overtime hours is starting to take a toll, but she’s survived it and hasn’t murdered anyone and for that I’m both grateful and a little shocked. See Golden is a 100% essential worker who works at a facility that runs 24 hours 7 days a week. As I mentioned previously Golden is a medical marvel and needs the downtime that her current situation is just not supplying, I pray that in 2022 she gets some rest, some peace and finds a balance between work and not work. Heck even when off they call her more than she tweets which is a problem. Even in her downtime she’s never too far away.

SHUT up … as I was finishing this I got an alert that Betty White has left us … damn you 2021 … but well played 2022 … don’t let that be on your shoulders …….. damn ….. rest well Mrs. White we’ll take it from here.

 So, I’m ending this on that note …. See you guys on the other side…. I hope.

Marcy

Bring Positivity to the New Year

Happy New Year! We made it …the calendar actually flipped from 2020 to 2021 now let’s see how long it takes my brain to understand that it is 2021. My mom is cooking up s storm, here in the south there are very strong traditions that surround new years that dictate what we can eat, the things we can do, and of course the things that we can’t do. Such a laundry, if you do laundry apparently you are washing away the good fortune of the new year. Every year I get a lecture from mom on NYE that if I have anything that needs to be washed I need to get to it as I can’t the next day. Like clockwork. It’s the one day a year that no laundry is done in her house. 

I have my own New Years traditions. Every year on Jan 1^st one of the things I do is clear off my cell phone. Go through aps and uninstall them if I haven’t used them lately. I also take all my photos off the phone from the previous year basically wipe it clean and start fresh. That’s one way of organizing my pictures, if they were in 2020 I took them on my camera roll ….. it also allows me to start fresh. All that stays on are the aps I use and my contact information. It feels like a refresh, even if I spend part of the first week redownloading pictures for lock screens and memes I want to send by no longer have.

I also go through my social media and drop those who need to be dropped. I’ve been a little funny with my social media the last few years. I’ve decided most of my lack of enjoyment in said social media is the people I interact with. I am slowly learning to let negativity go and move on with positivity and light and people who generally make me laugh, engage in conversation, or are just interesting to talk to even if it’s only every once in a while that they hit my radar. I have found that all that negative BS, sharing, RTing does is block the positive and meaningful conversations from even have a chance to rise to the top and so there fore those people have to go. Sometimes it’s athletes from my alma matter who graduate and move on with life and no longer “do” social media as they have entered the real world and are no longer pushing their sport. A lot of time it’s fly by night fans of said alma mater who are far too critical of 18-24 year olds and I can’t support what they are saying. Usually it’s celebs that I followed after watching something they did and really wanting to learn more about said person, or musicians who entered my realm only to not really land on my ear holes so they have to go ….. long tern vs short term in full effect here.

I keep thinking about 2020. We got a call last night randomly out of the blue by an old family friend who wanted to tell us hello. She said she thinks of us often but rarely picks up the phone to call. Last night she felt the need to call. Now she genuinely had a lot of problems this year, her Son in Law died (he had a massive heart attack and died in his wife’s arms), her daughter is going through another round of cancer and it’s apparently really bad. She’s 80 and has recently moved into a new house to be closer to the daughter who just lost her husband. However most of the call talked about how really horrific 2020 was for the world as a whole, you know the cliché stuff you see online. Like people believed that on midnight Dec. 31^st everything was going to magically get better all because the clock turned to Jan 1, 2021. Yes for most it sucked hard, for many it was a really rough year but I keep thinking that there has to be more to 2020 than just unending misery.

I keep thinking about the people who had a GREAT 2020 but can’t really talk about it cause of the overall belief of the collective is that it was awful for everyone, to think otherwise must feel like being out of touch with the rest of society. However I have to believe that there are people who fell in love, who had children, who got married, who took trips (when allowed), who graduated, who got their dream jobs. Those people likely look back on the year 2020 in a fond way, at least in private.

I guess my point is that a lot of what we do is shaped by the collective belief of others, the media, our social media feeds. AKA if someone is having a bad day you will have a bad day. If someone constantly talks about negativity then negativity will creep into your thought patterns making it hard to find the positive, the good, the … happy. So that’s my goal for 2021 to not let the views of the outside affect my thoughts and views as much.

So here’s to a great 2021 for us all …. Let’s focus on the good, give positivity a chance and connect with each other in a greater way. 2020 proved that when we collectively come together we are all better for it.

Marcy

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

Happy New Year to all my readers, or those that accidently clicked on this link when it was posted on Twitter. Welcome to the random thoughts that fall our of my mind, through my arms and fingers and into this blog. I’ve decided I’m not making any New Year’s resolutions, every year I do and every year it just becomes a list of things I didn’t do, or accomplish. So I’m not falling for it again. Nope not me. 

It’s been a very interesting year. From the struggles with my mom’s health (she’s doing amazing by the way), to work stress, it just felt like one long Groundhog type day. You know one of those days where no matter what I did during the day I get up and we do it all over again. That’s not to say there weren’t fun or good moments sprinkled in throughout the year cause there was.

I got a little more involved at the Church, helping the finance office, serving on the “Imagine Team” and once again helping with VBS and dressed as Marvin the Martian at our annual Trunk or Treat in October.  

In January I got to see Vanessa Peters at the Listening Room, for the 2^nd time. She’s as lovely today as she was a year ago when I met her. I would make my way back to the Listening Room – now known as the People’s Room of Mobile - in a few months to see my musical hero. I really should spend more time at the Listening Room (AKA People’s Room). I should spend more time doing a lot of things but especially that. I keep saying I’m going to go down there one day and just see whose playing. Maybe this year.

Auburn of course was another highlight of my life, as it has been for the last 40 something years. I got to see a Baseball game, a basketball game, a few football games, softball and volleyball games as well as a couple gymnastic meets all in person or TV. I really want to see more in person. I mean what is science doing if not building me a portal that allows me to teleport to these venues so I can have these fun experiences then get back in time for work the next day. I mean comeon! Get on that.

In March I got to go to a work conference and visit my cousin to meet her new daughter, who has recently started walking, the daughter not my cousin. Int was that trip that I also got to spend a few days with a dear friend of mine. I think that would have been a TON of fun if I weren’t also on my social media break for lent. I might have to not do that again this year. ha!

In April I attended my first (and likely only) Kiss concert with a friend which I have to admit I enjoyed more than I thought I would. They are her all time favorite band and since this was their farewell tour it was now or never. I also saw KC and the Sunshine band with this same friend back in June.

In May I took a work trip to Tampa to help with a project. I think they are expecting me to do that again this year. It was nice to get out of the office that’s for sure. Later that same month I got to fart around with Golden for her birthday where we watched movies, ate good good, laughed and reconnected.

In August I got to sit in a room and listen to my musical idol play music, I could listen to Bryan White read a phone book and be happy as a clam.

Golden and I made another trip to Dragon Con and while it wasn’t exactly as we had hoped or planned that it would be I think we made the best of it and had a really good time.

As far as this blog is concerned I brought it back to life some what with 50 posts with only 3 months without a post. I am kind of proud of that. Of course my 30 posts in November as part of a challenge I gave to myself helped in that effort but I’m trying to keep this thing going. I still can’t believe that I’ve been using this thing since 2014 that’s over 200 posts that you guys have sat through and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you guys indulging me when I need to give my brain a break from the world.

Marcy
@beaslma

Happy Holidays

I hope wherever you are today, whomever you are surrounded by that you have a wonderful day filled with love and well wishes from not just us but from everyone you meet. My greatest regret is that that feeling we all embody today doesn't always translate into tomorrow or next week but for today Peace appears to be possible and that's gotta be good enough.

Everyone deserves to be happy and celebrate this time of year with the traditions and heritage that they choose. This is especially true for those healthcare workers, emergency responders, military personnel, transportation workers (trains, planes and automobiles - yeah I went there) and many others who have to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as if it were just another day on the calendar. To those we salute you and hope some lovely soul in your life saved you some pie.

So Happy whatever you celebrate be it Chanukah (Hannukah), Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, St. Nichols Day, Las Posadas, Ramadan, Winter Solstice, Merry Christmas or something else that I haven't thought of in my mashed potato filled brain.

As Golden says Happy Holidays covers it all! 

Have a wonderful end of the year, see you in 2020! 

Marcy
Golden

Happy New Year

Happy New Year …. Some 12 days into the new year but yeah you haven’t told me happy new year yet either so suck it! In prep for this post I looked back at the previous year and you know what …. We didn’t do half bad …. We didn’t do great mind you, I’m not at all saying I deserve a pat on my back or anything but we had 8 various posts spread out through 6 different months and to me that’s pretty darn good. Hey I was an average student who was damn proud of a C, an A or B was better of course but I could live with a C. In the real world no one cares if you got C’s ….. a friend recently told me "D stands for Diploma" and I thought well not really but maybe .... ha …. just saying.

Last year I shared some original writing, did a few music posts about Eric Erdman and The Springs, shared my Social MediaBreak during lent, and my transition to a new phone - UPDPATE: I did go with the S9+ and LOVE it. So when I say it was a variety of topics I’m not joking. My problem with this blog is that I often think ohhhh I should write about my frustrations with never getting to go to a movie in a theater and why it never seems to happen and how I hope that it will happen more then something horrific happens in the world and I think well that just seems assy now. I want to be a lot of things when I grow up but assy isn’t one of them. So then I delete the word document and move on with my day. I used to keep them thinking I’d post it later but then later never came or when I went back to read it the post seemed silly and unnecessary cause I was no longer in that frame of mind. 

Last year was fun I went to our corporate office for a “retreat” in Franklin, TN (got to take one of my coworkers on her first flight which was really fun), went to DragonCon with Golden, saw several concerts with my friend Katie including Def Leppard and Journey in New Orleans, and capped off the year with Christina in Disney for Halloween. Now that I look back at this blog … kind of should have shared more of those events with you guys. This year I have a concert with Vanessa Peters to look forward to (later this month), Kiss in Birmingham with Katie, Christina and I are trying to get a trip to AU pulled together, and of course Dragon Con with Golden. Did I mention that Golden and I will be in a host hotel for the first time and not just any host hotel but the mother of all host hotels … THE MARRIOT !!!!! I am so excited about this turn of events. There is also talk of sending me to a conference in March in Ashville NC but no confirmation on that from the powers that be. Hopefully I'll get off my duff and make those blog worthy cause they totes should be. 

This past year I’ve also hesitated to write anything for fear that someone might read it (AKA family) and get their feelings hurt. I have since realized that I can’t let that hold me back. My mother almost died twice this year, and while no one in my family reads this thing (that I know of) I’d have hated one of them reading about some of our struggles and in particular my frustrations throughout it since it wasn’t that we weren’t really telling people about it but at first we didn’t know what to say. Here’s the story ……. she was sick and instead of making her go to a doctor we let her “handle it her way” until her way wasn’t working anymore. I finally forced the issue and called 911 myself and if I hadn’t she would have bled to death within the next 12-24 hours. She had a bleeding ulcer that was trying to perforate. She sat in the ER all night long and well into the next day getting blood, losing blood and waiting for someone to decide they were going to do something. At the same time my father was on the other side of the hospital getting his pacemaker replaced. Thank god for my brother, he was able to sit with mom while I was with my dad and that was the longest 12-24 hours of my life. Once dad was done we checked him out, drove him around the hospital (he wanted to see my mom), he went back into the ER (by himself cause they wouldn’t let us go with him – one at a time they said) while my brother and I hung out After leaving the ER at midnight and being back at the hospital at 5 I was in zombie mode as the adrenalin was wearing off. Then he took my dad home (later I discovered dad had him replace a toilet and I was livid) and I went to sit with my mom who kept telling me to go home and rest. She finally had surgery that afternoon around 4. They “fixed it” but the doctor said she almost died on the table twice and he was shaking when he said it which did not fill me with warm fuzzys. A week later she was home. Two weeks after that we were back in the ER and this time they had to slice open her stomache from side to side when they weren’t able to clamp and artery. That one we really almost lost her. She was in the hospital for 2 weeks and in rehab for 2 more weeks. She is now home and getting stronger every day but it was a tough 2-3 months for sure. She claims if she sees blood again she’s not saying anything cause that ordeal took a lot out of her. I hope that’s all talk but I also am checking her more often now because of it. I feel like I’m in three lives right now. My work life, my home life, and my by myself life. If I’m not working or taking care of mom I’m in my room watching you tube trying to get myself tired enough to sleep. I’m not sleeping well. I’m averaging about 4-5 hours a night but it’s interrupted sleep so I’d say I’m getting less than that. I’m still moving however so that’s something I’m proud of. My father has been a ROCK throughout this entire ordeal, who would have thought it. He has the bed side manner of say Peter Griffin. He means well but often he’s just in the way but this time I think he’s proving the definition of for better or for worse. God love them they are a cute little couple. Dad’s running himself half ragged too but he’s also pushing himself harder than I’d like. I keep telling him to take some time for himself but I really think he’s “fixing mom” which is replacing some of the guilt he has from “not being able to fix his mom” when he was working and had two kids and Alzheimer’s is a **tch even if he doesn’t believe she had it. She totes did but i'm not gonna argue with him about it just now.

So this is a post to say Happy New Year and a post to keep this blog alive and to try and get my voice back on this thing. I really do enjoy using this blog to share my thoughts and gives with the world I just need to make it more of a priority. I'm nearly 40 (in like 15 days) so that's going to fun to share as well. It's a new decade for me … let's make it a good one. 

Marcy

@beaslma

2018 Resolutions/Guidelines

HAPPY NEW YEAR…. In a few hours … look I plan to be sound asleep in bed at midnight or at least in bed wishing the neighbors would stop with the fireworks already. So I’m telling you happy new year now mostly cause I can’t wait for this shitstorm of a year to just go. Seriously 2017 don’t let the door hit you on the way out. It’s not 2017’s fault, really I mean it just showed up and what happened …well it just happened however I’m blaming 2017 cause there’s really no one else to blame.

Overall it was a pretty decent year, for me anyway, for the Country that's for history to decide. My 2017 resolutions all pretty much came out ahead so that’s a positive. In 2017 my resolutions included write more … which I did … kinda …hey I finished my Haley and Michael’s story so that’s one thing I did … I didn’t start a new one which I had wanted to do but hey that’s Future Marcy’s problem right?! I also wanted to exercise and lose some weight. I did kind of do this, I maintained the weight I was at so I didn’t gain any but I lost very little too so I’m calling this one a draw. I wanted to Travel more and damn if that didn’t rocket to the top of my success list. I traveled to Auburn a few times, Birmingham a few more times, Atlanta a few times, Pensacola (for work), Orlando for fun, and Nashville for the best weekend ever. I definitely can say that this resolution was met with a very happy yes let’s do that attitude. I wanted to get more involved in church, since I had just started a new church in 2016 and I can definitely report that I did do that, from Vacation Bible School to helping with Communion and the Nursery this was also a successful resolution. I also helped with several “parents night out events” and have been appointed to keeping up with the monies coming in and out of the church in 2018 which I’ve already started. I wanted to spend more time with friends which I can report I did so, I mean I didn’t go on all those trips myself did I? I want to make more time to stop and do lunch with friends, or have dinner with friends I don’t see often more in 2018 so that’s a new goal. I also didn’t want to die. That was the main thing I wanted to accomplish for 2017 and I can proudly say that I accomplished that goal. Whew … it was touch and go panic wise most of the year but I did it. Suck it 2017.

So … what do I hope to accomplish in 2018 …. What does it have in store for me ….. what can I try to control when the outside world is too much ….. these are my resolutions/guidelines for 2018 …

1.       Lose Weight – I desperate need to keep this one in check. It’s weird I’m like the opposite of anorexic, like I don’t feel overweight when I’m just sitting around or walking around then I walk by a piece of store front glass and I’m like who the hell is that or someone takes a picture and I’m all ewwwwwwwwwwwww. I really need to get this in check sooner than later and no time like the present, or tomorrow, maybe tomorrow is better. If nothing else I want to be able to go to things and buy a tshirt remembering that trip or that event and right now I’m often told they don’t have that size I have started wearing clothing that fits instead of clothing that’s too big so I can hide in it some. That’s helped a bit but I have more work to be done … stupid chips … being so damn delicious.

2.       Clean More – I have a tendency to let things go until I simply can’t take it anymore then have a massive day where I spend it cleaning, typically it’s a Saturday and by say 5pm I’m done even if I’m not done. So my area often looks worse than it is cause there are piles of crap everywhere. I need to take a lot of stuff to good will, I have far more clothes than I’ll ever wear, I need to throw things away that I’m not going to use and are of no use to anyone else. These are things I really need to do. I should also vacuum more but I know me let’s start with just being able to sit on the window seat.

3.       Spend more time with Friends – this includes dinners after work, or long lunches with friends I don’t see often. I did some of that this past year but not nearly as much. There was still al lot “let’s do x-y-z” then nothing came of it, and I miss these people. My goal is to do more of the planning and less of the not doing the planning. I’m not talking long trips, I’m talking around town going to movies, going to dinner, having adult conversations over adult beverages. I’m really bad about thinking no one wants to do x-y-z with me so I don’t ask, but I need to trust these people to tell me no. ha!

4.       Travel more – I want to continue to travel in 2018. I really enjoyed that aspect of 2017 getting to go and do things instead of being at work or not being at work. I even enjoyed a few of my work travel trips, tho my friendship trips were way more fun obviously. It’s not even 2018 and I already have a trip to New Orleans planned for Mardi Gras (who am I ?) and also a trip to Orlando in October with that same friend now that I think about it. So I’m hoping 2018 will follow 2017’s example and I’ll have more fun during my “downtime” cause after all that’s why I work as hard as I do right?!

5.       Spend time with the nephew’s – As I said the other day the older nephew will be in college next year, that’s just insane. I know after he gets to Auburn he’ll have less time with his aunt Marcy and that’s ok. He’s growing up and has his own life but I have little time left to hang with him so I want to take advantage of it even if he’s busier than I am between school, work and his girlfriend, bring her a long, I like her. As for the little one when big bro leaves I want to hang with him more too cause I remember when my brother left for school I suddenly felt like I was disconnected from him even if we didn’t spent a lot of time together as it was. I want to do more with them than go to a sporting event, have lunch, then come home.

6.       Discover new music – last year I found a new artist whom I adore cause I took a chance and found someone who I my ear holes have been very happy that I found. My twitter follower list is filled with independent artist just waiting for that big break and I like seeing that from the beginning. I also want to post more about these artist to try and put their name out there some. When this blog first started I wrote a lot about my obsession with music, I need to get back into that.

7.       See more movies – I’m not talking about DVDs tho I do have a ton of those still in the wrappers but I’m talking seeing movies in the theater. I had several movies this year that I wanted to see then never did. Either I couldn’t’ find anyone interested in said movie or there wasn’t a good time to go so the movie left the theater. My goal this year a movie every other month even if I have to go alone, I mean it’s not like me and the friend I drag along are going to be talking through the movie right?

8.       Write more letters – sure social media is fine and allows us to feel connected even when we really aren’t, but a long or short letter to someone can make their day. I want to do that more often, I had a pen pal I guess I still have that pen pal I haven’t heard from her in a while but I went a few months without reaching out to her too. I want to make more of an effort to her and to others in my life who aren’t close enough to touch but that would be fun to reach out to in this more traditional way.

So that’s the plan for 2018 …… I’m sure I’m leaving a few things off but just cause they aren’t on this list that doesn’t mean I can’t do them right?! I’m not nearly as anxiety ridden about 2018 as I was but I see another social media break for me in my future. I really enjoyed the Lent break I took and I think that’s going to become a yearly thing for me. It’s good to step away, stop with the RT and shares and think about how we use that platform not always for the greater good. I’m hoping that 2018 will include more conversations and less name calling, more discussions about events and ideas and less dismissing things outright since they don’t fit into my beliefs. I think we can make the world a better place in 2018 but only if we strive to listen to one another, have the conversations we’ve been avoiding and realize that it’s ok to not agree with others as long as those disagreements are done respectively. You can’t change someone’s view but treating that person as if they are an asshat. You don’t have to change the world but you can make it a better place. Let’s make 2018 a positive year and that starts with what we post, how we interact with one another and frankly what we put out into the world. 

Let’s do this!

Marcy (@beaslma)