Election Day is Coming!

 

In 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York the first Women’s Rights convention was held.  The women who organized this convention created a document called the Declaration of Sentiments.  Basically, it was a reworking of the Declaration of Independence with an important twist.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men AND WOMEN are created equal…” We may look at these sentiments today and think that women’s rights are a no-brainer.  But in 1848 it caused great controversy.  Women were not afforded the same rights as men.  They were perceived as property and had no voice.  Frederick Douglass who attended the convention is quoted as saying the Declaration was, “grand movement for attaining the civil, social, political, and religious rights of women."  The part we are most familiar with is the suffrage movement – a women’s right to vote.   Many of the women behind the women’s rights movements in the beginning, women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, made it their life’s work to win rights for woman.  Their LIFE’S WORK.  Equality came in bits and pieces and many of these early suffragettes did not live to see women earn the right to vote.  But they never gave up and that spirit inspired other women to take up the mantle to continue the cause.  Smart, learned women who also would not accept less such as Alice Paul and Carrie Catt Chapman.  The 19^th amendment giving women the right to vote was ratified in 1920, 72 years after the first women’s right’s convention.  It took dedicated, tenacious, people who believed that women were worth no more and no less than total equality.  Even though the major hurdle of gaining the vote has been crossed there is still a fight for equality today.  The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was written in part by Alice Paul and which she fought for until her death, was never ratified and today women STILL fight for equal rights.  Seems hard to believe, right?  94 years after we gained the right to vote we still have to fight for our rights.  It makes no sense in this day and age that woman make 77 cents to the every dollar a man makes nationally.  New York has it better at 84 cents to the dollar.  But having it “better” is not enough.  We should NEVER accept less.  Gender should never come into play when setting a wage.  Experience, education, yes, but gender? Never.  Women didn’t have a voice in 1848 but in 2014 they do.  Every woman should keep in mind those women who fought long and hard so that we could go to a polling place to cast our vote without fear of being arrested.  Honor those courageous women who thought that women were worth more by voting on Election Day.  Honor yourself, your daughters, your sisters, your mothers by demanding no less than equality.

I'm Still Here

Well, it has been a long....LONG time since I have written.  I didn't intend to not keep up with this blog but I am the type that has a hard time finishing what I start.  My Myers-Briggs profile is INFP and their prayer is "Lord, help me to finish what I..." 

It has been so long that I have forgotten how to work this site!! A lot has happened since I last wrote.  Way too much to go into detail.  But some of the highlights and lowlights are....

Highlight- My nephew got married at the end of August.  It was a beautiful wedding and I was honored to be able to help with it.  Lots of fun!

 

 

 

 

Highlight--In October 2013 I took a road trip with a friend to New Orleans.  New Orleans is one of my top favorite cities and I had not been there in years.  The goal was to go the Crescent City Blues Festival to see Sonny Landreth and Jonny Lang.  And to also add some Hard Rock Cafes to my list.  We made it to the HRs in Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans (I had been to the NOLA one before but they moved it into the French Quarter so it counts as a new one!), Biloxi, Destin and Atlanta.  We spent a couple days in Lafayette, LA where we saw Sonny perform.  On our way back home we stopped in Bethesda, Maryland to go to Georgetown Cupcakes and then to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harper's Ferry, WV.  A place that I have been waiting to visit!

 

 

Highlight--In April 2014 my friend and I drove my father down to Washington DC so that he could see the monuments.  He had been many years ago but he hadn't see the new memorials such as the Korean Memorial.  Since he fought in the Korean War he really wanted to see it.  We stayed at the same hotel I stayed in the last time I was in DC.  We had rented a wheelchair to cart my father around since he doesn't have the strength to walk very far.  We had good weather and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.  The best part of the trip was how many people came up to my father (who was wearing his Navy hat) to thank him for his service.

Highlight-- I was able to take another trip to Disney World in June with my niece.  Her boyfriend came along this time.  It had been 3.5 years since we were last there.  We took the train down, as usual.  It was hot while we were there but it only rained heavy the first day.  It was fun but a very different trip for me.  I have another trip booked for August 2015 with my niece, my brother and his kids.  Its a long way out but it will give us time to pay for it.

Lowlight-- My father's health is going down hill and he requires more care than before.  We bought a wheelchair and he uses it every time he goes out now.  His lack of mobility has cut back on how often he gets out now because the friend he used to hang out with can't manage the wheelchair on her own. 

Huge Lowlight-- I lost my job at the end of August.  I was told back in March that it "might" happen but I thought deep down that it would not happen.  An instance where the Law of Attraction did not work for me.  Early August I was told it was going to happen and by the end of August I was done.  I have a severance package which is saving me financially and mentally.  About six weeks later and there is no job in sight.  Yeah, it terrifies me.  I stay in jobs probably longer than I should because I prize stability above all.  To not be anchored to a moor is debilitating to me.  I have been using the services of a career counseling service...taken umpteen webinars and online classes.  I have only applied to four jobs (but didn't get them) but I have been reworking my resume with the help of the service and it is looking pretty nice.  So, most of my days are spent getting myself ready to apply and interview for jobs.  If I don't get one soon I will go insane!!

Lowlight--My healthy eating has gone out the window.  I struggled for the past year but I wasn't gaining.  When I was told back in March that my job was in jeopardy that was the beginning of the end.  I didn't do too poorly until I went to Disney World.  Since then I eat as if I am a person on death row.  Not pretty! I keep planning to get back on the wagon but, honestly, right now I am having trouble just keeping my head above water.  My priorities are different.  On the flip side I KNOW I feel better about myself when I am eating healthy and exercising.  So, it is not helping me to eat crap and gain weight.

Lowlight--I lost a lot of friends over the year.  My little group of friends that enjoyed so much decided that I wasn't worthy of them, I guess, and one by one they just left my life.  Because of this my interest in Girl Scouts has hit an all time low (these friends I met thru GS) and I am looking to get out.  This year will most likely be my last.  And there are other friends who have drifted out, as well.  I honestly do not know what I have done.  But I am tired of bending to what others think I should be.  Too old for that crap.

Highlight or Lowlight depending on how you look at it-- I have been writing again. Period. End of story.

Welp, that's all the pictures I can post until I can figure out how to get more of them off my phone and onto Google!

DC Vacation and CUCB!!

I haven't kept up with this blog but since no one but me is reading it didn't seem like a big deal.  A little has happened since I last wrote.  I had a birthday which turned out to be disappointing.  I have had some personal issues that were pretty shattering.  And I just got back from Washington DC and the Credit Union Cherry Blossom race.

We left on Thursday, April 4th so that we could spend some time vacationing in DC.  Out first stop was at Fed Ex Field since my friend and her little one are huge Redskins fans.  I am not a football fan at all.  But I had to go to the bathroom something fierce so I got to pee in Redskins territory.  The gift shop was big and my friends were in their glory!

Redskins Gift Shop



Fed Ex Field


Next it was on to our hotel which was in Virginia just over the bridge from Georgetown.  We were on the fifth floor with a decent view into DC. We got settled in and then walked over the Key Memorial Bridge into Georgetown.  Our destination was Georgetown Cupcakes!! There was a line to get in but it was not bad.  We were speaking with the girl at the door and told her that we had been to the G-Town Cupcakes in Boston. She said she had been there last summer, too, and the little one recognized her as waiting on us there.  We got our dozen cupcakes and then walked the streets looking for a place to eat.  I had never been to Georgetown before and I just loved it.  All the shops and restaurants! We ended up eating at Martin's Tavern.  I was on vacation so all the healthy eating options went out the window!! I even had a roll with butter which is something I rarely eat these days! The meal was good and I was stuffed.  We walked back to the hotel. And we changed rooms! My friend wanted a better view so we were changed to a room on the 10th floor! Now we had a really good view into DC and the Washington Monument!

 I took the little one to the pool while my friend did some work.  

Friday we headed back into Georgetown and these--

Another line but, again, not bad.  We went shopping--first stopping at Lululemon's.  I got a pair of running socks since I did not have any.  The little one got a headband. We went to Buffalo Exchange -- I had heard of it and really wanted to check it out.  My friend found a beautiful dress that was even half off the sticker price.  I ended up getting a maxi skirt and a pair of Minnetonka mocassins.  There was a Kate Spade bag that I would have loved but it was very worn. 

We stopped in at Lush because that was on my list of spaces to shop. There were a couple things I wanted and figured I'd save myself a shipping charge by going to the store directly.  The person who waited on us was a bit over the top.  To the point of being annoying.  I picked up what I had wanted and we got out of there. 

We went into a few more stores and then into Sprinkles Cupcakes.  We were on a Cupcake Crawl!! I knew of Sprinkles (I watch Cupcake Wars!) but had never had one.  They had a cinnamon cupcake and cinnamon is my favorite so I had to get it!



Triple Cinnamon Cupcake

Unfortunately, it was not very good.  My cupcakes felt like it was underdone and the frosting was way too sweet! I love cupcakes and will try them all.  But Georgetown Cupcakes keeps coming up the winner!

We stopped in the Old Stone House which is supposed to be the oldest house in DC.  We got stamps in our National Parks Passport Book. 






After a visit through the house we stopped at Pinkberry! Another place I had heard of but had never been to.  If you are keeoing track so far I have eaten two cupcakes and frozen yogurt.  No real food at all! Ah, the joys of being on vacation!

We headed back over the bridge named after Francis Scott Key and dropped off our stuff at the hotel.  Then we went to the Metro to go into DC.  We headed for the Expo to pick up our packets and check out the expo.  Didn't buy too much there.  This was actually my first expo and it was a little overwhelming.  We bought patches, bandanas and head scarves.  We got some samples of chips, granola, and Lara Bars!

After we left there we were on a mission to find Cherry Blossom margaritas! We had stopped at many places along our travels and no one seemed to have them! We ended up in a restaurant in Chinatown.  Since it was Friday night the place was packed and NOISY! The restaurant was upstairs but the bar was downstairs so we sat in the bar and had a drink. I don't know how people go out drinking in DC! Two drinks and a soda came to over $30!!

We didn't hang around because Chinatown was just a scary place to be! So, it was back to the hotel where we ordered pizza for dinner.   And, of course, cupcakes!! That is the end of our second day in DC!

To be continued....

Da Blues

I have been feeling rather down lately.  Lots of things going on and not much of it is fun.  The winter is really doing me in.  I hate the cold!! We had one day that got up to 60 degrees--it melted the snow and by the time the snow was completely gone, it snowed again.  My blues have been so bad that I took a day off from work yesterday.  What I found, tho, is that my spirits are lifted when I am around other people.  Well, really, friends.  I have a small circle of friends but not many have time for me lately.  I am naturally a solitary person but isolation is not good for anyone. 

This weekend I went to a women's basketball game.

I am not a basketball fan of any kind.  But it was Girl Scout day at the game and it got me out of the house.  That was the important thing! I felt energized enough to organize a shelf in my bathroom.

(Not so exciting but I had been wanting to do it for a while.)

But Sunday I was on my own again and I fell back into that funk.  Monday called for a sick day.  Monday night, tho, I did get out to see Josh Groban at my local theater.  He was performing live in NYC and it was broadcast to like 500 movie theaters across the country.  I got a friend to go with me--she didn't know who he was but I knew she'd like his music.  And she did--she loved it.  It was a good show--he is a fantasitc singer and he is funny, seems very down to earth.  And not bad on the eyes, either!

   

















 (This CD came out TODAY!)   

   On the weight loss front I am kind of discouraged.  I am eating pretty good.  Recovered from the chaos that was Christmas and New Year's.  But I have been in the same size jeans since the beginning of December.  Since I don't weigh myself I have to go by jeans size.  It took me about 8 months to drop 5 sizes.  So, it has taken me about a month or a month and a half to drop sizes.  It takes longer the smaller I get.  So, it has been over two months since I dropped a size.  I shouldn't beat myself up since the holidays did fall within those two months but I am getting anxious to get into a size smaller.  My goal is to be that size by my birthday which is in March.  So, patience is a virtue at this point.                                                                                                                                                                           





Flying Pig Marathon

I just bit the bullet and signed up for this race...

I had mentioned it to my friend when I saw it in Runner's World since I knew her sister-in-law has run this race many times.  And....she suggested we do it!!  Not the marathon--I don't have a death wish! But the 5k--me running, her walking.  I didn't know if she was really serious since this race is in Cincinnati and we are not.  We are about 6-7 hours away from Cincinnati! But it seems she was serious and today was the day we told each other that we signed up for the 5k.  I signed up, just waiting to hear from her as to whether she did.  So, that is two road trips I have set up for this spring to run 5k's! I am excited and nervous.  I really need to get my butt in gear and train for these races!!

Five Things I am Loving

Just a few things I am loving today...

1. Anjou Pears!

I had been eating apples every day for months.  But lately the apples taste rather, well, tasteless to me.  I don't know if that is ME or if the apples really are tasteless.  They aren't in season any longer so I'll go with it being their fault! I need to have some kind of fruit with me at work.  So, I started buying bags of pears.  I started with Bartlet which I like.  They did start to get overly ripe by the time I got to the bottom of the bag, tho.  When I was shopping they didn't have Bartlett anymore.  They had Anjou so that is what I got.  And these are even better than the Bartlett! Very sweet just how I like them!








2. Bear Naked Maple Pecan Granola!

I like to have a little granola with my Oikos yogurt in the morning.  It just feels more like a meal to me that way.  I had been eating the Love Grown granola which I do like.  I have to get that through Amazon, tho, as it is not stocked in my grocery store.  I decided to pick up a bag of this granola at Target a few months ago and I LOVE it!! My grocery store does carry Bear Naked but not this flavor! :(












3. Brookside Dark Chocolate-covered fruit!!

I heard about these on another blog.  They aren't in my grocery store but a random trip to BJ's--and there they were! They come in big bags but also in these 100 calorie back bags.  While I am not much of a chocolate person I do prefer dark chocolate over milk.  I am not much of a snacker, either, but I have a few bags of these at work for those times when I start to get hungry.  They are very good and I love that they are portioned controlled!!










4. Chai Tea!

I don't normally like to drink my calories but I do make some exceptions! This is one of those exceptions! I love the chai tea from Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts but rarely get it.  I came across these k-cups in chai tea and decided to try it.  The taste is very close to the tea from Starbucks and DD! Well, close enough for me!! And it is 60 calories per cup.  Maybe not the healthiest of choices (I imagine there are chemically things in there along with the tea) but a great occasional treat!











5. Georgetown Cupcakes!!

I just thought I would add this in here! I don't currently have any cupcakes.  But I LOVE...let me repeat that...LOVE Georgetown Cupcakes!! Can't wait to get some when I am in DC in April!!

Long weekend and a mini haul!

Three day weekend! Although I spent most of it cleaning I did get out yesterday to see this...

Good movie! I really liked it! Would I pick it over Lincoln or Les Miz to win the Best Picture Oscar? No.  But I would recommend this to people!

While I was at the mall I hit up the sales again.  I just can't help it which is why I should not go to the mall. Especially not by myself! I need to conserve my money for bills and all the traveling I want to do this year.  But I have no reasoning when I see an item of clothing marked down! Apparently, the same goes for comestics.  I vowed that I would not buy anymore cosmetics since I purchased so much for myself for Christmas.  And, I also subscribe to a couple beauty boxes.  I have plenty of makeup! But, you know who suckers me in? YouTube.  Yup, I subscribe to a couple  several beauty gurus.  I am always seeing a product that I want to try.  Doesn't matter if it is wildly inappropriate for me ::cough:: red lipstick ::cough:: I still add it to my list.  Here is my mini haul at the drugstore:

These are on the lower end in cost which is a good thing.  And the only reason why I bought them was because I saw a YouTuber mention them.  Yes, I am that easy.

While I am on the subject of makeup let me take a moment to do a little rave over a beauty subscription I received.  I started with Birchbox but ended up cancelling it last month after months of being disappointed.  I have two makeup subscriptions now.  Sample Society and Ipsy. I'll review Sample Society some other time.  Right now let me talk about Ipsy.  Again, swayed by a YouTuber! I didn't know what to expect with this subscription.  I knew that the products came in a little makeup bag.  I was skeptical.  The last thing I needed was a bunch of cheap makeup bags cluttering up my already too cluttered abode.  But I gave it a try anyway.  And I love it! I have only been doing it for three months but I have not been disappointed! I love these beauty subscriptions because it is like getting a present - that I pay for - in the mail every month! It is such a let down to open a box to find samples that I could have easily gotten for free at Sephora.  That has not been the case with Ipsy! Here is a picture of my latest bag:

I should have opened that box of Nailtini! It is a bright red creme nail polish that I love! The bags have been cute and I am actually using them! Thumbs up to Ipsy!

I spent all day Sunday unburying my treadmill.  Yeah, it was that bad.  Also,  I have a tendency when I am cleaning to go overboard which is probably why I hate to clean so much.  I was so tired by the time I got the treadmill up and running again that I was too tired to use it.  But I'm feeling good that I got it done and now I can start training for my 5k! Yeah, we have snow on the ground again and it is 11 degrees out.  I am spending as little time as possble outside!!

Still trying to figure out how to post pictures.  I am such a dunce.