I Wanted to Walk Through the Empty Streets, And Feel Something Constant Under My Feet, But All the News Reports Recommended That I Stay Indoors

So, how's everyone holding up out there? I know I keep saying this, but it's all so weird. Not only do we all have to isolate ourselves, but there is a very real possibility that any one of us could get seriously ill, or die from the is stuff. Ugh! It's a lot to think about. I guess, all we can do is try not to obsess about the stuff we can't control, and take care of ourselves, both mentally and physically as best we can.

For me, some of the mental health stuff means resorting to my two favorite things - comfort and escapism. I have been watching so many things in order to use two of my favorite crutches

I caught a really bad cold about a week before anyone else in Iowa were told to stay home, so I got a head start on the social distancing. In that week, I finally started and finished watching "Mad Men". Knowing my love of pop culture, my daughter told me years ago that I should watch it. I basically lived that show for a week. I'm sure I'll have to watch it again, sooner rather than later.

John and I have been watching a lot of old, goofy, movies in order to deal with all the serious drama of our real lives right now. We saw "Silver Streak", among other older, escapist, movies in the last few weeks.

I also have a thing for '90's quirky Aussie films. My sister got me and my daughters into "Strictly Ballroom", back when my girls were young. I introduced John to it last week, and he loved it. I was lucky enough to rewatch "Muriel's Wedding". It was just as cheesy/lovely as it was the first time I saw it.

Besides cheesy movies, we've actually been watching some that others might consider good. We watched "Little Miss Sunshine" last week. We also saw "Blinded by the Light" and "Knives Out", and enjoyed both of them.

Of course, an apocalyptic pandemic wouldn't be complete without some zombie movies, and we seem to be watching one a week. So far, we've seen "Shaun of the Dead", and "28 Days Later". I think next week we'll try to catch the first "Zombieland" movie. Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson. What's not to like?

I hope you all are doing what you can to stay sane during crazy making times.

No, We Can't Help It. We're Always Restless

This is the can of paint I'm going to use to paint our aluminum screen door...Someday.

In my head, during this social distancing time I was going to get a lot of projects done around the house. I'm still working full-time (and I'm very grateful for that), so I'm not sure where I thought all of this extra time was going to come from. Also, after two and a half weeks, I'm still getting over this stupid head cold. Also, also, even though I don't actually bleed, I still get almost every other symptom from my fake periods, so I'm in that part of my cycle where all I want to do is lie around watching movies and eating sugar - not very productive.

Anyway, I now have all kinds of things in order to do house projects during some imaginary time in my life where I will have all kinds of time and motivation to do them. Man, when that day comes, I'll be all set.

The one thing I am making time for, is cooking. I went out and bought a bunch of food - I didn't hoard, I stocked up. I would just buy two bags of whatever, not 50.

Since we can't really go out to eat, I am cooking more, and trying to fix things that aren't too similar to the last thing I cooked, so we don't get tired of the different same things. So far this week I've made shrimp tacos with black beans and Mexican rice, hummus, falafel and quinoa tabouleh,  baked salmon, baked sweet potatoes and steamed asparagus, and cauliflower au gratin and turkey burgers.  Apparently, we're on the fast track for gaining the Covid-19 pounds.

I've also been reading a ton lately. I just started Curtis Sittenfeld's "American Wife" and I'm really enjoying it.

I finally got around to planting my seedlings last week and they've started sprouting. It's one of the few things giving me hope during these tough times. I'm planning on planting lettuce greens and beets this week outside too.

On Sunday I was feeling a little better from my cold, and decided to do some raking and general lawn maintenance. Sadly, I was going through that whole fake period thing and my equilibrium was off. I went to push the big bin I was putting the leaves in, hit a bump, and fell hard halfway into the bin. For a minute there, I thought I might have broken my elbow, but I think I just bruised it. If there's one positive thing about my body at this age, it's that I've been a runner for almost 45 years now and my bone density is like a 20 year olds...Well, in my head it is, anyway.

This Ain't No Party. This Ain't No Disco. This Ain't No Fooling Around.

Well, kids. how is your apocalypse going so far? I'm on my fourth day of working from home and it's been good and bad. It's definitely getting better. Getting my wireless mouse attached to my work laptop has REALLY helped. If you're an old person like me, I'm sure you can understand.

So far, John and I are lucky that we're both able to still work. John's situation may change, since he works at an orthopedic clinic and they just canceled all elective surgeries, but they gave them two extra weeks of paid time off and he has another month saved up in addition to that, so depending on how long this all lasts, he might be okay.

Archie was pretty excited that I was working from home last week. He wanted to sit on my lap all day, which made it hard to access my keyboard, since he is fat and that made for quite a reach for me. Luckily, I have freakishly long arms.

 We are able to answer phones for my university because they installed skype for business for us all about a year ago. Fortunately for me and anyone who might call me, there is no video capability. I don't think anyone wants to have to see me in my work from home attire - boxer shorts and gigantic t-shirts.

And now a new weeks starts. Archie believes the luster has worn off from me being at home all day. He would be fine for Corona virus apocalypse to be over and for me to leave for at least 9 hours every day again. Poor guy.

Nobody Told Me There'd Be Days Like These. Strange Days Indeed

Well, it's some strange times we're living in right now. Starting tomorrow I'll be working from home for the first time in my life. It's going to be weird not seeing my two office mates for what could be months.

My daughters and my son-in-law all work in restaurants and bars, so since those are closed here, they're a little stressed about finances. My oldest, has plenty of money saved, and she still will be able to work taking care of to-go orders, but not as many hours and she may not get tips. Luckily, my son-in-law can apply for unemployment benefits, since the bar he manages has closed. I'm also going to try and help them all out as much as I can. This isn't the kind of thing that people prepare for, since we didn't think it could happen.

Right now, I can't go to a bar, or a restaurant, or the movies, or a gym, or the casino, or the library, or see a show. The good thing is, that I can still run and ride my bike, and hike outside. I can still read books and garden and draw and paint, and we'll hopefully get a bunch of house projects done. Best of all, when I work from home, I can touch my face all I want.

I hope you all are riding this out and finding ways to stay healthy and sane at the same time.

It's The End of the World As We Know It (Time I Had Some Time Alone)

Archie would be thrilled if we had to stay home from work.

Sorry I haven't written all week, but I have a good excuse. I had a bad head cold all week. It was just a head cold. I promise. I took my temperature several times. Only once was it a little over 100 degrees, and I didn't go to work that day. I went the next day, and then stayed home yesterday. I'm back today, even though my boss was a little annoyed with me.

I looked up the Corona Virus symptoms, and I don't really have any of them. I have a slight cough and I only had a very slight temperature for a day. The worst part of my cold was that I had such a bad sore throat, which isn't on the list.

Another guy in my workplace just came back from Washington State and has been hacking away. Now there's a rumor that he had dinner with someone who tested positive for Covid 19, but I don't know if that is just someone building on his visit to Washington state, and it isn't true. I assume if he was in contact with someone who was infected, our boss would make him work from home. Classes at our university are moving on-line until two weeks after Spring Break, but we've already heard students talking about taking trips after that, since their classes are on-line anyway, and the flights are going to be so cheap, so we'll see what happens.

It's such a weird little world we live in lately. We haven't been asked to stay home from work yet, but there's been 16 confirmed cases in Iowa (14 in my county) and when everyone comes back from Spring Break, those numbers will probably go up.We've seen how the spread of this virus has been slowed when governments' responses to the virus are strong and tactical. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda. I wish our government was better about responding to it.

I hope you all are safe from the virus and that you get paid sick leave and have decent insurance through all of this.  

When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

It's time for my February book trip post. Last month I read eleven books. Eleven! Apparently, I needed a lot of escapism. Although, a couple of those I DNF'ed on (did not finish), but we'll get into that later in this post.

1.) The first trip I took was to Scottland by way of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped". I love this book. As you know, I love most adventure stories, and this was no exception.

2.) The second book trip I went on was "Winter" by Ali Smith, it is the second book in her season series. I thought it was only appropriate that I read it in the correct season. Anyway, I didn't love it as much as I did "Fall", but it was still pretty interesting.

3.) The third adventure I took was to Vietnam and the Philippines and some other places around the world during the Vietnam War era with "Tree of Smoke" by Denis Johnson. I normally like Denis Johnson's work, but this one did not hold my interest, and it was really, really, looooooong. I didn't know you could make the Vietnam War boring, but he managed it. Mostly, because he needed to edit a couple of hundred pages out of it. It had so many conversations and incidents that didn't need to be there. By about the halfway point, even with some skimming, I was done. I didn't finish it, so maybe it got a lot better later on, but life is too short for me to find that out.

4.) "These Things Hidden" by Heather Gudenkauf is a book my daughter asked me to read when she was still in high school. I finally got around to it last month. It's a YA novel, in the vein of Jodi Picoult and written by a woman from Iowa. It was an easy and quick read. I did have to laugh at the end when the young woman main character talks about maybe moving to Wellman. What the hell is there to do in Wellman for a woman in her early 20's?

5.) The fifth trip I went on was to England in the 1800's with "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. I have only ever read an abridged version of this novel in 9th grade. I loved this book. I'm sure I'll reread it many times in my life. Pip! Pip!

6.) "Ms. Marvel" by Wilson Alphona Herring was my next adventure. This graphic novel took me to NYC in the time of superheroes. I loved it. I can't wait to read more. 

7.) I read "Winter's Bone", by Daniel Woodrell for my seventh book. I loved the movie, and I really liked the book too. It took me to Southern Missouri among scary clans of meth makers (Scary Clans of Meth Makers just might be my new band's name).

8.). The eighth book I tried to read was "Seating Arrangements" by Maggie Shipstead. I thought it would kind of a beach book, but it was not. It was about a rich person wedding on the East Coast, and all of the people were horrible, nobody was funny, and the biggest problem the dad had was not getting into some rich people country club. I just couldn't finish it. Again, that whole life's too short thing... If you ever want to read a fun beach book about rich people also written by an Iowa Writer's Workshop grad, I highly recommend, "Eligble" by Curtis Sittenfeld instead.

9.) My ninth book trip was all over the place with another Iowa Writer's Workshop guy in Charles J. Shields' "And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life". It was an interesting biography. I found out so many things I didn't know, like the last year that Kurt Vonnegut lived in Iowa City, he rented a house about a block from where we lived when the girls were younger. Also, he wasn't quite as cool as I had hoped, but whoever is, really?

10.) My second to last book trip was scary and hard to read, but very well crafted. It was "The Vegetartian" by Han Kang (another Iowa Writer's Workshop graduate). The novel takes place in South Korea, and it is about a woman, who, because of brutal dreams, becomes a vegetarian. She is abused in so many ways and ultimately asks, "Why is it such a bad thing to die?" It's not exactly the feel good book of the year, but it is fascinating, and so well written. I'm not sure if I would recommend it to people, but it is definitely worth reading...If you can stomach it.

11.) The last trip I took was to the ocean outside of Cuba with Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea". I'm not usually a Hemingway fan, but I did like this story. It was also great escapism from Iowa in the Winter.

So, eleven is a lot of books to read in a month, but don't worry, I'm reading an almost 900 page novel this month, so my book count should be one hell of a lot lower for March.

Feel the City Breakin', and Everybody Shakin' and We're Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive

I'm just writing a quick little post about health. Yesterday I went for my breast ultrasound in the morning. I've been doing this thing where I take sick time for my morning appointment, and then take half a vacation day after, just in case the news isn't good and I need to deal with my feelings, or in case it is good, and I need to celebrate.

Yesterday the news was good. Yea! My appointment is right next to Trader Joe's, so I stopped there and bought myself some flowers, and a ton of food. The good news is, if we have to get quarantined for the Corona virus, we should be okay on sustenance for a while.

Also, it was weird to see so many people with face masks on when I was at my doctor's appointment. My husband says face masks only help not to spread the disease if the infected person wears one. If you aren't trying to catch the disease, the face mask can make your chances worse because people mess with their face masks all the time, and you aren't supposed to touch your face. Of course, if touching your face means you'll get the virus, then I'm screwed. I touch my face all the time. I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time. The most embarrassing thing, is that I've been known to try and push my glasses up on my nose when I'm not even wearing them. It's hell being spacey and old.

Since I was off for a half day yesterday afternoon, I stopped into our local store to see if I could make an appointment to get the Shingles vaccine. My doctor said to get the shot when you won't have to do much the day or so after, because it can really make you feel like crap. The pharmacist told me they were out of the vaccine again, so it was a moot point. I guess I'll just have to call every Friday until it's in. Luckily, my insurance covers it. Stupidly, Medicare doesn't cover it, and it's really expensive. So, older people who need it the most, might not be able to afford it. Sigh.

On a positive note, I went to the garden store and got a ton of seeds and black dirt and peat moss, so I'll start planting seedlings this weekend, and it's warm enough in Iowa that I can start planting greens, and beets outside. Hurray!

Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards

Hey! We got an extra day this year, and in Iowa, anyway, it was pretty nice out. It was also a pay day for me. So many great things. Normally, I would think of all the things I want to do on an extra day, but this Leap Year we were asked to help my daughter move in with her boyfriend to a new small town about 40 minutes from where we live.

She didn't have much to move and she and her boyfriend were super organized about it (that's how you know it was my oldest daughter, and not my youngest). Anyway, it only took one trip, and then we spent the rest of the day going out for lunch and wandering around the adorable little town she moved to. There are all kinds of little antique and specialty shops and a lovely town square. We also got to check out her boyfriend's house. He owns a nice 3 bedroom house with a fenced in yard. Of course, the best part about all of this was that we finally got to meet his two dogs. He has a Husky and a German Shepard, and they are the sweetest pooches you ever want to meet.
 

We didn't get home until 4'ish o'clock, which meant we didn't have time to get a bike ride in, but it was a lovely day with The Oldest and her boyfriend, and I thought it was a great way to spend an extra day at the end of February.

Sunday, was a different deal altogether. It got up to 65 degrees on the first day of March, and that almost NEVER happens in Iowa.

We did a bike ride with a few of our friends. We went to Kalona for brunch and back.

The roads were perfect, the weather was unbelievable, and the company was goofy and fun.

When we were close to Iowa a City, a friend of ours suggested that we take the bike path around Sand Lake. It was insane. There were so many people and dogs walking and riding and sitting on benches. At one point we had to almost stop because there was a dog jam - a group of people with dogs stopped while the dogs sniffed each others' butts.

Since we were going to pass right by it anyway, we decided to stop at Big Grove and get a beer. It was also packed with almost more dogs than people. There were people eating and drinking by fires, playing ping pong at the tables out on the grass, and the kids were climbing all over the big concrete pipes and tire piles. It is such a nice set-up there.

We finally got it together and pulled ourselves away from the fun, and headed home. I made tostadas for dinner and John and I watch "Terminator 2" before we fell asleep. If that was a preview of what our Spring and Summer will be like, I'm excited.

Too Much Fighting on the Dance Floor

 Writing exercise today. Flash Fiction:

We all seemed to jolt awake at once. It was the sound of breaking glass and the yelling. I found out later it had been my sixth grade school photo she had thrown at him. The metal frame made a deep dent in the hardwood floor and the glass shattered on impact.

There were six of us peering out of two bedrooms, trying to see, but not be seen during the fight. The youngest of us finally came downstairs, and cried, "I'm staying with you, Dad. If you leave, take me with you." We couldn't hear the response, but it stopped the yelling.

They wouldn't speak to each other for the next couple of weeks. She didn't know how to drive and refused to be in the car with him, so when it was time to get Christmas gifts, she somehow found a taxi van to take herself and us six kids to go shopping at the mall in Evergreen Park.

I'm not sure how they made up. It may have been after she vented to the Aunts, or it might have been because it was the holiday season, or because she was catholic and didn't believe in divorce, but one day they were speaking again - even affectionate with each other. The drama was over for a while.

Later we would hear what started it. We found out that he hadn't come home at a reasonable hour and she called a cab and showed up at his favorite bar where she found him talking to another woman. The Greek chorus of Aunts would use the term slut. She must have left us alone late at night to find him there. We were alarmed at what could happen while we slept.

Eventually, they would fix the glass for the frame of my sixth grade school portrait, but the mark on the wood floor would remain.

Sweetest Surrender of Winter

Wow, kids! What a weekend. It was in the 50's both days at the end of February in Iowa. Of course, there's a good chance of snow tonight and tomorrow, but I can't think about that today. I'll think about that tomorrow.

Since it was so nice out, we did two long rides, and now my legs are very, very sore. On Saturday we rode to Kalona for lunch. It was a strong headwind on the way there.

Also, Kalona is where there are large Amish and Mennonite communities, so there were tons of horses and cows and dogs for me to say hi to.

The ride home was so nice. It was about 53 degrees out, and we had a tailwind for most of the ride. Fifty miles of Heaven.

On Sunday the winds were coming almost straight out of the West, so we decided to ride to Cedar Rapids. Most of the ride is on multi-use trails, which normally feels a lot safer than riding on highways where many drivers are distracted by their phones.

The danger yesterday, was that some of those trails hadn't been plowed all Winter, and the shadier spots were slick and snow covered.

At least the scenery was lovely and bucolic.

We hit one section of trail that was completely snow and ice covered for about a mile and a half. I had to call Coadster and tell her we were going to be about fifteen or twenty minutes late meeting here for lunch.

By Sunday night I had run about 10 miles and ridden 115 miles and I was ridiculously sore and exhausted. I might need to rest for a day or two before I try to exert myself again. I'm sure the cats won't mind if I snuggle with them on the couch.

'Cause I Haven't Got Time for the Pain. I haven't Got Room for the Pain

Sorry that I haven't written in over a week. I got myself a lovely migraine on Friday and it has only subsided for 24 hours a couple of times when I took meds. On Tuesday I had a dentist appointment where x-rays found calcifications just under the gum line, and they proceeded to scrape those off, in the midst of my lovely migraine. Two great tastes in one candy bar...Or not.

Since I've always heard that if one had nothing nice to say, one shouldn't say anything at all (and if you've met me, you must wonder why I ever speak), I've been taking a break from the blog, and like Archie in the photo above, hiding in my cat tree until things perk up a bit. Luckily, I think things are starting to get better, so you might be hearing from me in more detail sooner than you'll want to. Until then, I hope you are migraine free and your dentist doesn't find any calcifications just under your gum line.

I Was Following the Pack, All Swallowed in Their Coats. With Scarves of Red Tied 'Round Their Throats

It's the middle of February and very, very cold. It's not half as bad this Winter, as last year, so it's hard to complain too much. Plus, a couple of days ago I was running outside and felt the change. You know, like in August, when you notice the light starts to look different, and you know that means Fall is almost there? At some point in February, the air feels different, and the birds chirping gets louder and more varied. Those, my friends, are indicators that Spring isn't far away.

Last night my daughters came over and we did a little early Galentine's Day thing. I bought Happy Joe's taco pizza and we watched a girl movie and had a good talk. Of course, all of that mindful eating I've been trying to practice went right out the window, but it was so nice to hang with my girls...Especially, since Stinky is threatening to move to Des Moines sometime this Summer.

This cold snap is only supposed to last another day and we should be in the 40's again. Here's to waiting out Winter and spending your days with your favorite people and pets.

But Just Like the Peace Sign, That Vanished in Our Dreams. Never Had a Chance to Grow

Let's talk about books. In January I read ten of them. Some were amazing and some barely held my interest. Here's how my book adventures went:

1.) The first book trip I took was called "Queenie", by Candace Carty-Williams. It took place in London in the recent past. It was about a 25 year old woman of Jamaican descent, who suffered a ton of trauma as a child, and never really worked through it, and now it is all coming back to bite her. Having lived something similar to this, it was uncomfortable for me to read, but I thought it was very realistic.

2.) My second novel vacation was pretty fantastical. It was "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift. If you want a book adventure, here's your story. It has giants and Lilliputians and there is much talk of peeing and gas and all the issues you have to deal with during your travels. So much satire, so much silliness.

3.) My third novel was "Divisadero", by Michael Ondaatje. It took place in California and France and followed the lives of three young people who grew up together on a ranch in Northern California. It was beautiful and sad and hopeful.

4.) My fourth January book was "Embroideries", by Marjane Satrapi. It is the first graphic novel I've read in a while. It took place in Iran and it was basically women telling stories about how they dealt with the men in their lives.

5.) "Do Not Say We Have Nothing", by Madeleine Thein took me to Canada and China during the revolutions and uprisings surrounding Mao and his aftermath. It was a slow, careful read. The stories were so rich and sad and you can see how scary things can be under a dictator and how close we are getting to that here. The whole thing of the government blaming the celebrity elite and the media for everything and using fear to get its people behind the government read a little too close to home these last few years.

6.) "Children of Blood and Bone", by Tomi Adeyemi is a fantasy/sci fi Young Adult novel that took me to Africa in another time. It basically grabbed me and took me so far away from Winter in Iowa. It was so good, and exactly what I needed in the middle of January in Iowa.

7.) I read Henry Miller's "The Colossus of Maroussi" because I thought it would take me to Greece right before the beginning of WWII, and it would keep me warm and entertained. I bought this book in the 1980's and I've carried it around with me, or put it in storage, until I finally read it this month for the first time. Maybe it was too much build up? But it was just alright. It didn't grab me, and I found myself getting a little bored during it.

8.)"The Burning Girl was my 8th read. It took me back to junior high. It was about a friendship between two girls and how they drifted apart. It wasn't very substantive, but it was kind of sweet.

9.) I went on a wild ride when I read "Edie American Girl", but Jean Stein and George Plimpton. It was a non-fiction book about Edie Sedwick and her messed up, very wealthy, well connected family, and her 15 minutes of fame with Andy Warhol. She reminded me so much of the hard to take rich girls I met in the 1980's when I was that age, and hung out with the artsy kids. I felt really bad for her, but she would have been horrible to be around. You see why she was such a mess, but now that I am finally really good with boundaries, I would stay so far away from her.

10.) The last book trip I went on was to South Africa in the late 70's, during Apartheid in "Hum If You Don't the Words", by Bianca Marais. I hadn't heard much about this book beforehand, so I didn't know what to expect. I thought it was a little gem. It took on a tough subject in such a great way. The characters were believable, and even though they were flawed, I rooted for them the entire novel. It was a great last book trip in January.

I'm Worth a Million in Prizes

Well, I've been writing and looking back at last year lately on the blog, so I thought I'd do a quick and easy "get to know me lately' post. It will be like those little bios they do of celebrities about what they're reading, or eating or whatever...Except way more boring. Sounds great, huh? Anyway, here we go.

What Have I Been Reading Lately?: A lot of different stuff. I'll write a blog post on it soon, but I just finished that Jean Stein biography on Edie Sedgwick, which was fascinating. I couldn't put it down, but it sure made me glad I never had to hang out with her in person. Yeesh!

What Have I Been Doing for Exercise Lately?: The answer to that, is not too damn much. Like I said, I had a bad stomach flu last week, then my glasses broke (they're being held together with scotch tape, so I look super glamorous right now). I also hurt my back trying to open one of our old, wood, stubborn, windows so that Archie could get out on the back porch. Of course, the litter box was directly under the window, so I couldn't get a good angle in which to heave it up. So, I think I pulled a muscle in my back. If that was just one week in my mid-fifties, what will my mid-seventies look like?

What Am I Watching On TV?: That's a very 1980's way of putting that. A roaring twenties way to ask that is, What Series' Am I Streaming Lately?: We just finished watching "Fleabag" and it was delightful, in that very uncomfortable, hilarious, bittersweet way that it has. I really liked "The Morning Show" on Apple TV. If you try to watch it, get through the first couple of episodes before you judge it. It really picks up steam as it goes along. We're also still watching, "Shameless", the latest season of "Grace and Frankie", and "The Mandalorian". Seriously, the only reason why me or anyone else watches that show is because of baby Yoda. There isn't any other reason, but baby Yoda is a very good reason to watch it.

What Movies Am I Streaming Lately?:  Since I was sick for an entire week, there are a lot of them. My daughter is letting me log into her Disney Channel plus thingy. It is the BEST thing to have when you are sick. I watched the live action "Aladdin", "Captain America", and "Thor" on it. John and I also just watched "On the Basis of Sex", the movie about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I love her so much, and that movie was very uplifting. The women of the US are very lucky she worked so hard for us.

What Am I Painting?: I just finished the above acrylic painting on the largest canvas I've ever painted. It's one of the first things I have painted that I actually like lately. It's called "Desert Flowers". I have never had any formal training in drawing or painting (I'm sure you can tell just by looking at my work). Mostly, I just look at other people's paintings or drawing and copy what I like of them, and leave out what I don't like. Obviously, I'm a fan of abstract paintings. I also like the colors in this one.

What Am I Eating?: The answer to that is usually everything in sight. Since I got sick, I'm trying to change the way and what I'm eating. Mostly, I'm trying to eat more slowly, take smaller bites and stop inhaling my food as much. I'm also fighting that struggle against eating so much sugar (the story of my life). While I did eat half a doughnut the other day, for the most part, I've been able to avoid too much processed sugar. I have honey in my tea, maple syrup in my oatmeal, and I eat an orange or a grapefruit for snacks in between meals. I know it's only been a couple of weeks and I could always relapse, but if you knew how much sugar I ate before this, you would be proud of me.

What Am I Listening To? "Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Waits". It's a bunch of women singing Tom Waits songs. If you are one of those people who have a hard time dealing with Tom Waits' voice, you will really love this. I'm also listening to Kendrick Lamar, and even some Billie Ellish.

Okay, that's probably enough about me. What are you all up to?

You Are Always Trying to Keep It Real, And I'm in Love With How You Feel

Well, well, well, it's our third wedding anniversary today. We started dating in 2010. Which makes this the longest relationship I've ever been in before. It's definitely the happiest, healthiest relationship I've ever experienced. This post lists just a few of the many reasons why I am madly in love with John.

Like I always say, John works just as hard, or harder than me on everything in our relationship. He is always willing to pitch in wherever he can around the house. Believe me, I had never dated a guy like that before, but it wasn't too hard to get used to. He is also willing to talk about anything I need to talk about to work things out in our relationship emotionally.

In the past I seemed to date guys who were either emotionally unavailable, or if they were more emotionally available, they were abusive. So, after many years of working on my issues and not putting up with crap from other men, I was single and ready to be in a healthy relationship when John moved back to Iowa. It's true when they say it's all about timing.

John is amazing with my daughters. Dealing with women in their late teens and early twenties isn't always easy, to say the least. John is always empathetic and compassionate and no matter what kind of $hit my girls get into, he is there to assure us all that we're going to be okay. He's a nice rock to have in our lives.

John deals with the crazy of my extended family as well. My siblings and I have rather "interesting" (read: strong) personalities, which can mean drama among us, or very tense silences while the drama builds. John always says he's fine with it, since it's not HIS family. He's also so compassionate when it comes to my oldest sister's health problems.

By his actions and reactions, he is the best reminder to me to be kind and empathetic.

Since I originally met John when I was in college, we have many of the same friends, I know most of his exes, and we love most of the people we have met from each other. So, we can hang out with our friends and both of us can have a great time with each other's people.

I have been very poor for much of my life, and haven't been able to travel much. Now that my girls are adults, and I have a little bit more money, I want to go everywhere and see everything.

John always says that if he wants to keep his wife happy, all he has to do is agree to a fun trip in the next six or eight months, and she'll spend all kinds of time joyously planning it. He's a smart man. I am good with the planning, finding all the fun things to do, and the best places to eat and drink. I give him all the links, and he deals with the logistics. I have no sense of direction, so he has to find the bike routes and trails. He also does most of the driving.

John loves animals as much as I do. He brought his own beautiful cat into our relationship, and he tolerates mine. Archie knows that I'm his human, but if he's feeling like a baby, he goes straight to him and bugs him to carry him around the house. John always obliges.

So, nine and a half years into this relationship and three years into this marriage, I couldn't be happier. The best thing is, I'm never bored with John. Here's to many, many more years together!