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where my hula hoop ends
2026-03-23 09:17 amGood Morning, you Beautiful People!
Today's load of laundry is already in the dryer, and grocery pick up is scheduled with in the next two hours, so when I'm done with this, I'm going to hope in the shower, pick up the groceries, and the laundry should be ready to fold. So most of my work should be done before noon.
The things that will need my attention this afternoon include vacuuming my bedroom (every time I've been ready to tackle it, our dog Ted was napping up there, so I keep kicking that can down the lane--I believe in letting sleeping dogs lie). I still need to shoot a message to my friend/sponsor R, and I need to talk to my husband about scheduling my next imaging appointment with the vein center. We are still in the land of no paychecks due to the partial government shut down, and April's budget is going to be tight, as I need to assume that it will all be coming out of savings. I am not proud of my country right now. I've never been big on being patriotic to begin with, but the current state of things is dismal. But that's outside of my hula hoop for the most part, so I need to set that aside and carry one.
I think that remembering where my hula hoop ends has been a crucial part of my sobriety and has helped with my anxiety, as well.
I hope you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
Today's load of laundry is already in the dryer, and grocery pick up is scheduled with in the next two hours, so when I'm done with this, I'm going to hope in the shower, pick up the groceries, and the laundry should be ready to fold. So most of my work should be done before noon.
The things that will need my attention this afternoon include vacuuming my bedroom (every time I've been ready to tackle it, our dog Ted was napping up there, so I keep kicking that can down the lane--I believe in letting sleeping dogs lie). I still need to shoot a message to my friend/sponsor R, and I need to talk to my husband about scheduling my next imaging appointment with the vein center. We are still in the land of no paychecks due to the partial government shut down, and April's budget is going to be tight, as I need to assume that it will all be coming out of savings. I am not proud of my country right now. I've never been big on being patriotic to begin with, but the current state of things is dismal. But that's outside of my hula hoop for the most part, so I need to set that aside and carry one.
I think that remembering where my hula hoop ends has been a crucial part of my sobriety and has helped with my anxiety, as well.
I hope you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
Haiku Horror Writing Prompt no. 1701: grinning
#haikuhorrorprompt.
my head was spinning
when I saw the imp grinning
at the open door
with my breath bated
in cold silence I waited
he'd been here before
with fingers like blades
he played horrific charades
I shall be no more.
03-22-2026
I think I might reconstruct this without the 5-7-5 it feels awkward to me. And the formatting got a bit wonky with cut/paste. I'll probably play with this later.
taking it easy
2026-03-22 10:58 amGood Morning, you Beautiful People!
The engagement party was lovely. We got to spend a little time chatting with M's parents, got to meet his partner A for the first time, and enjoyed their amazing backyard with a view of the Rappahannock. It was a beautiful day.
The ride home was a bit of a challenge once it got dark. I have horrible night vision, and the oncoming lights kill me (astigmatism). I've said this before, but I need to stop driving at night. I had the worst headache by the time we got home, so I took a couple of Tylenol (and a couple of melatonin, since I had a diet coke in the afternoon), and used my heated eye-compress for a bit. And then I went to bed at 9:30. The headache was down to a dull roar, and I was ready to call it a night.
My husband is still asleep. I have no clue how late he was up last night -- I was dozing for a bit, then fell into a deep sleep after I heard our son shut the front door when he got in. Usually when my husband comes upstairs, it wakes me up, but not this time.
Today is about planning the week, taking Ted for a walk, and maybe reading a book. Unless the headache bounces back. If that happens, I'll probably use the eye compress again and listen to a podcast or two. I should also text R, my AA buddy and sponsor. I really haven't been in touch with her since the spreading of my sister's ashes.
That's it for me today -- going to be taking it easy for the most part, and plan on enjoying the weather before it gets too hot for me out there (it's supposed to get up to 80...I like it when temperatures run a bit lower than that).
I hope you each find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
The engagement party was lovely. We got to spend a little time chatting with M's parents, got to meet his partner A for the first time, and enjoyed their amazing backyard with a view of the Rappahannock. It was a beautiful day.
The ride home was a bit of a challenge once it got dark. I have horrible night vision, and the oncoming lights kill me (astigmatism). I've said this before, but I need to stop driving at night. I had the worst headache by the time we got home, so I took a couple of Tylenol (and a couple of melatonin, since I had a diet coke in the afternoon), and used my heated eye-compress for a bit. And then I went to bed at 9:30. The headache was down to a dull roar, and I was ready to call it a night.
My husband is still asleep. I have no clue how late he was up last night -- I was dozing for a bit, then fell into a deep sleep after I heard our son shut the front door when he got in. Usually when my husband comes upstairs, it wakes me up, but not this time.
Today is about planning the week, taking Ted for a walk, and maybe reading a book. Unless the headache bounces back. If that happens, I'll probably use the eye compress again and listen to a podcast or two. I should also text R, my AA buddy and sponsor. I really haven't been in touch with her since the spreading of my sister's ashes.
That's it for me today -- going to be taking it easy for the most part, and plan on enjoying the weather before it gets too hot for me out there (it's supposed to get up to 80...I like it when temperatures run a bit lower than that).
I hope you each find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
pool of crimson
2026-03-21 12:06 pm Haiku Horror Writing Prompt no. 1700: blade
#haikuhorrorprompt
a pool of crimson
neither spear nor sword,
the little blade will draw the blood
in which you shall drown.
03-21-2026
putting myself in chill mode
2026-03-21 11:59 amGood Morning, you Beautiful People!
Today should be a rather easy day. I decided to skip the face-to-face meeting day, not out of avoidance, but to promote a leisurely attitude. We will driving about an hour and half to an engagement party, and since my husband took his pregabalin this morning, I'll need to be the driver. It shouldn't be a difficult drive, but I don't really enjoy driving him long distances. So I'm putting myself into chill mode by taking the morning at my leisure.
Other than that, it's just a handful of regular stuff -- walk the dog, write a poem for the day (done), check in here (in process), and really, that's it. Everything else comes under the category of "what do I want to do?" not "what do I need to do?"
I hope you each find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
Today should be a rather easy day. I decided to skip the face-to-face meeting day, not out of avoidance, but to promote a leisurely attitude. We will driving about an hour and half to an engagement party, and since my husband took his pregabalin this morning, I'll need to be the driver. It shouldn't be a difficult drive, but I don't really enjoy driving him long distances. So I'm putting myself into chill mode by taking the morning at my leisure.
Other than that, it's just a handful of regular stuff -- walk the dog, write a poem for the day (done), check in here (in process), and really, that's it. Everything else comes under the category of "what do I want to do?" not "what do I need to do?"
I hope you each find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
nursery rhyme
2026-03-20 01:56 pm Horror Writing Prompt no. 2130: preacher man
#horrorprompt
nursery rhyme
preacher man, preacher man
follows me home
my house is on fire
together we burn
03-20-2026
(my apologies to the ladybug nursery rhyme...it's the only thing my brain could hear when I saw the prompt)
ghost margin
2026-03-20 10:19 am Horror Writing Prompt no. 2131: apparition
#horrorprompt
ghost margin
i thought your shadow
was an apparition
i was mistaken
it's just an instrument
without agency
dividing you from me
03-20-2026
Good Morning, you Beautiful People!
Today is about errands, housekeeping, and laundering the sheets. The housekeeping should be quick, as I've been maintaining the daily tidies. I also cleaned the bathrooms (except mopping the floors -- I'll do that today) yesterday when I was grabbing the towels for their wash load.
My head is in a good place, and I'm making better food decisions. I've adjusted the FAA plan to include a starch exchange with lunch. I just don't feel full without that component in a meal, so I added it. I also moved my dairy around. This is what my adjusted plan looks like:
Breakfast
1 protein
1 starch
1 fruit
coffee or tea
Lunch
1 protein
1 starch
2 veg
1 dairy
Dinner
1 protein
1 starch
2 veg
Dessert/Snack
1 fruit
1 dairy
I can live with eating this way. I generally use my fat exchange in my lunch and dinner. Sometimes it's in the cooking process of an item, other times it's as salad dressing. Since I added the starch component to lunch, I've reduced the serving size of starch to 2/3 cup instead of 1 cup. So I'm still having 2 cups of whole grains and/or starchy veg. Note on that starchy veg: I know that peas and corn are supposed to fall into this category, but I still count them as veg, due to upbringing. What I use as starchy veg is primarily potatoes. I don't like eating 2/3 cup of peas, so it makes more sense to me to make them a complimentary part of a 1 c serving of mixed veg. Does that make sense?
Anyway, this is what I'm working with now. I did the nutritional analysis on this approach, and it looks good:
Calories: ~1,300–1,380 kcal
Protein: ~100–115 g
Carbs: ~140–165 g
Fat: ~35–45 g
Fiber: ~24–30 g
It's actually lower in calories than I thought it would be, so I'll probably just not worry about being a bit more liberal about the fats.
I'm not trying to create a "perfect diet," I'm trying to create a template to make it easy to make healthy choices. To avoid turning this into an obsession, I'll check in on this matter in a couple of weeks and let you know how I'm doing.
I hope each of you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
Today is about errands, housekeeping, and laundering the sheets. The housekeeping should be quick, as I've been maintaining the daily tidies. I also cleaned the bathrooms (except mopping the floors -- I'll do that today) yesterday when I was grabbing the towels for their wash load.
My head is in a good place, and I'm making better food decisions. I've adjusted the FAA plan to include a starch exchange with lunch. I just don't feel full without that component in a meal, so I added it. I also moved my dairy around. This is what my adjusted plan looks like:
Breakfast
1 protein
1 starch
1 fruit
coffee or tea
Lunch
1 protein
1 starch
2 veg
1 dairy
Dinner
1 protein
1 starch
2 veg
Dessert/Snack
1 fruit
1 dairy
I can live with eating this way. I generally use my fat exchange in my lunch and dinner. Sometimes it's in the cooking process of an item, other times it's as salad dressing. Since I added the starch component to lunch, I've reduced the serving size of starch to 2/3 cup instead of 1 cup. So I'm still having 2 cups of whole grains and/or starchy veg. Note on that starchy veg: I know that peas and corn are supposed to fall into this category, but I still count them as veg, due to upbringing. What I use as starchy veg is primarily potatoes. I don't like eating 2/3 cup of peas, so it makes more sense to me to make them a complimentary part of a 1 c serving of mixed veg. Does that make sense?
Anyway, this is what I'm working with now. I did the nutritional analysis on this approach, and it looks good:
Calories: ~1,300–1,380 kcal
Protein: ~100–115 g
Carbs: ~140–165 g
Fat: ~35–45 g
Fiber: ~24–30 g
It's actually lower in calories than I thought it would be, so I'll probably just not worry about being a bit more liberal about the fats.
I'm not trying to create a "perfect diet," I'm trying to create a template to make it easy to make healthy choices. To avoid turning this into an obsession, I'll check in on this matter in a couple of weeks and let you know how I'm doing.
I hope each of you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
night vigil
2026-03-19 09:40 am Horror Writing Prompt no. 2129: after dark
#horrorprompt
night vigil
after dark when
the nightengale sings
you hold your breath
'til Shadow takes wing.
03-19-2026
Good Morning, you Beautiful People!
I had a great night's sleep last night. Between the lack of sleep the night before, charging my phone in my office instead of on bedside table, and turning off my lap top right after dinner (I had attempted to keep it off after clearing my desk around 4:30, but I had one of those "one more things" which truly needed my attention -- but I took care of it after dinner, and then shut down the laptop and successfully walked away -- go me!) I had no problems falling asleep and staying asleep.
This is what I written down for today's parade of daily events (that's either a FlyLady thing or a Side-Tracked Home Executives thing...I forget which):
launder towels
review financials
schedule CVR appointment
launder towels
✔ sobriety check-in
walk with Ted
a poem a day
close an open loop*
prep tomorrow's parade
The first three things are my priorities, and the rest of the rest items are things from the morning AM and PM routines. Walks with Ted have been very erratic, and I really need to fix that. It's not fair to him (we have a large back yard, so he does get active time and that's where he "care of his business"), and it's not good for me, either. The winter weather this year got us so far out of whack that I don't even know where whack is anymore. Did anyone else struggle with this past winter?
The close an open loop thing is something I picked up from Craig Benzine (aka WheezyWaiter on YouTube), and I'm finding it very helpful. He describes closing open loops here:
https://youtu.be/AtWfkfF94xo?si=IoPe02Ifjzq4vduX
Okay, that's what's inside my brain today, and it is definitely in a positive place, not an overwhelmed or stressed out space. Getting a good night's sleep is a beautiful thing.
I hope you experience something beautiful today, and as always, thank you for being here!
I had a great night's sleep last night. Between the lack of sleep the night before, charging my phone in my office instead of on bedside table, and turning off my lap top right after dinner (I had attempted to keep it off after clearing my desk around 4:30, but I had one of those "one more things" which truly needed my attention -- but I took care of it after dinner, and then shut down the laptop and successfully walked away -- go me!) I had no problems falling asleep and staying asleep.
This is what I written down for today's parade of daily events (that's either a FlyLady thing or a Side-Tracked Home Executives thing...I forget which):
launder towels
review financials
schedule CVR appointment
launder towels
✔ sobriety check-in
walk with Ted
a poem a day
close an open loop*
prep tomorrow's parade
The first three things are my priorities, and the rest of the rest items are things from the morning AM and PM routines. Walks with Ted have been very erratic, and I really need to fix that. It's not fair to him (we have a large back yard, so he does get active time and that's where he "care of his business"), and it's not good for me, either. The winter weather this year got us so far out of whack that I don't even know where whack is anymore. Did anyone else struggle with this past winter?
The close an open loop thing is something I picked up from Craig Benzine (aka WheezyWaiter on YouTube), and I'm finding it very helpful. He describes closing open loops here:
https://youtu.be/AtWfkfF94xo?si=IoPe02Ifjzq4vduX
Okay, that's what's inside my brain today, and it is definitely in a positive place, not an overwhelmed or stressed out space. Getting a good night's sleep is a beautiful thing.
I hope you experience something beautiful today, and as always, thank you for being here!
Good Morning, You Beautiful People!
I had a crappy night sleep last night (it was my own misdoing -- I made the mistake of bringing my phone up to my bedroom), mostly because I started watching shorts on YouTube. I know that doesn't work for me, and yet, there I was, taking until 3am to realize that I needed to put the damn phone down. My screen time has been lousy lately, but that was ridiculous. I need to go back to charging my phone in my office.
I've been doing a lot of work of restructuring my days in terms of what I expect of my AM routine and my PM routine. I'm good with the morning practice for the most part, it's the evening routine that I keep sabotaging. I have my laptop set up to turn itself off at 9:30pm, and it did. But what did I do? I turned it back on, to finish "what I was working on." Not cool. Especially since "what I was working on" was shopping. I was shopping for needful things, but honestly, that totally could have waited until today.
I think I need to give myself a reward for turning off the electronics at a decent hour. And maybe stay off the laptop after dinner, except to watch movies (not YouTube!). Mostly, I need to respect the parameters I set for myself, right? As my therapist said, my "inner teenager" has been ornery lately. She's right. And I mentioned orneriness first, so it was cool. I haven't been doing my puzzles and podcasts for a while...maybe I need to bring that back? Or maybe find a new quiet time activity...maybe I need something fresh? I need to ponder that one. I'm open to suggestions, if you folks have any ideas on that front.
The other thing I'm focusing on is food. Yesterday was a pretty good day. I did choose to have a sandwich (a Reuben) and chips at lunch, so that wasn't on plan, but it wasn't like the sandwich led to a binge and I didn't even eat all the chips (but I did eat all the sandwich!), so I'm going to let that slide, and carry on. Dinner went as planned, my yogurt and fruit "dessert" went as planned, and breakfast this morning went as planned, as did yesterday's breakfast. So four out of five eating opportunities went as planned, so that's a B, right? I'm cool with a B. Shoot, maybe I should grade myself more often when it comes to this stuff.
I hope you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here.
I had a crappy night sleep last night (it was my own misdoing -- I made the mistake of bringing my phone up to my bedroom), mostly because I started watching shorts on YouTube. I know that doesn't work for me, and yet, there I was, taking until 3am to realize that I needed to put the damn phone down. My screen time has been lousy lately, but that was ridiculous. I need to go back to charging my phone in my office.
I've been doing a lot of work of restructuring my days in terms of what I expect of my AM routine and my PM routine. I'm good with the morning practice for the most part, it's the evening routine that I keep sabotaging. I have my laptop set up to turn itself off at 9:30pm, and it did. But what did I do? I turned it back on, to finish "what I was working on." Not cool. Especially since "what I was working on" was shopping. I was shopping for needful things, but honestly, that totally could have waited until today.
I think I need to give myself a reward for turning off the electronics at a decent hour. And maybe stay off the laptop after dinner, except to watch movies (not YouTube!). Mostly, I need to respect the parameters I set for myself, right? As my therapist said, my "inner teenager" has been ornery lately. She's right. And I mentioned orneriness first, so it was cool. I haven't been doing my puzzles and podcasts for a while...maybe I need to bring that back? Or maybe find a new quiet time activity...maybe I need something fresh? I need to ponder that one. I'm open to suggestions, if you folks have any ideas on that front.
The other thing I'm focusing on is food. Yesterday was a pretty good day. I did choose to have a sandwich (a Reuben) and chips at lunch, so that wasn't on plan, but it wasn't like the sandwich led to a binge and I didn't even eat all the chips (but I did eat all the sandwich!), so I'm going to let that slide, and carry on. Dinner went as planned, my yogurt and fruit "dessert" went as planned, and breakfast this morning went as planned, as did yesterday's breakfast. So four out of five eating opportunities went as planned, so that's a B, right? I'm cool with a B. Shoot, maybe I should grade myself more often when it comes to this stuff.
I hope you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here.
Good Afternoon, my Beautiful Friends!
The morning got away from me a bit today, but not in a bad. I'm trying to set and integrate a new morning and evening routine, as the old system was no longer working for me (gotta love ADHD!). It was just in time for my self-prescribed quarterly review, so all is well. In addition on working on new things, I also got my hair cut, ran to the store for a few items that I couldn't get at Costco, and watched a movie (Strawberry Mansion...very trippy, very much a low budget vibe, not everybody's cup of tea, but I quite enjoyed it). When I'm done writing this, I have some laundry to put away and should take Ted for a walk. I already got my poem a day written, and I even exercised (it was shifted to earlier in the morning routine, and yeah, that made a difference).
I am definitely feeling like myself again. As with every year (so far) I survived the time change from EST to DST. It just takes me a bit.
I hope that you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here.
The morning got away from me a bit today, but not in a bad. I'm trying to set and integrate a new morning and evening routine, as the old system was no longer working for me (gotta love ADHD!). It was just in time for my self-prescribed quarterly review, so all is well. In addition on working on new things, I also got my hair cut, ran to the store for a few items that I couldn't get at Costco, and watched a movie (Strawberry Mansion...very trippy, very much a low budget vibe, not everybody's cup of tea, but I quite enjoyed it). When I'm done writing this, I have some laundry to put away and should take Ted for a walk. I already got my poem a day written, and I even exercised (it was shifted to earlier in the morning routine, and yeah, that made a difference).
I am definitely feeling like myself again. As with every year (so far) I survived the time change from EST to DST. It just takes me a bit.
I hope that you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here.
gray but not dismal
2026-03-16 08:45 amGood Morning, you Beautiful People!
It's a gray day here, but not in a downer sort of way. I have my list for Costco, one errand from CVS, and my Costco Rewards check at hand, so errands will be accomplished this morning. When I'm done here, I'll take a shower, throw the laundry in the dryer, and then take care of those errands. It's also garbage day, so I'll deep clean the fridge as I stock up. I know that everybody says to do it before, but I'm better at seeing the task through when it's paired with stocking up.
After that? I think those are the only obligations. I might watch Frankenstein. Or I might read the book I picked up from the used bookstore -- Eater of Ghosts. Time will tell.
I hope you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
It's a gray day here, but not in a downer sort of way. I have my list for Costco, one errand from CVS, and my Costco Rewards check at hand, so errands will be accomplished this morning. When I'm done here, I'll take a shower, throw the laundry in the dryer, and then take care of those errands. It's also garbage day, so I'll deep clean the fridge as I stock up. I know that everybody says to do it before, but I'm better at seeing the task through when it's paired with stocking up.
After that? I think those are the only obligations. I might watch Frankenstein. Or I might read the book I picked up from the used bookstore -- Eater of Ghosts. Time will tell.
I hope you find something beautiful in your day, and as always, thank you for being here!
from whence the blood flows
2026-03-15 04:52 pmHaiku Horror Writing Prompt no. 1693: mercies
#haikuhorrorprompt
from whence the blood flows
not from feral stabs
but from tenderly sliced veins
mercies ebb and flow.
03-15-2026
#haikuhorrorprompt
from whence the blood flows
not from feral stabs
but from tenderly sliced veins
mercies ebb and flow.
03-15-2026
Good Morning you Beautiful People!
Doing my best to check in while it is still morning...I have 8 minutes to compose this. ;~)
It's that time of year when one receives their Costco Rewards check (if they have the Costco credit card), so it is time to do my annual "let's try shopping for groceries at Costco" trip. Throughout the year, I use the card for gas and incidental spending, so sometimes, that adds up. I might be able to get two weeks of groceries out of this, but I'll have to be careful of not buying too much at once. So I'm giving myself a budget, and using ChatGPT to plan it out.
I feel a little guilty about that, but it's going to be so much faster than me bouncing back and forth between the Costco website to check on prices and my meal planning notes. I live near an area that has an ever growing footprint of processing centers, and we are starting to see that they really do impact the local climate. The area in which most of these centers are located is definitely creating it's own micro-climate zone which regularly has higher temperatures than the surrounding areas. Our local weather guy was going to do a thing to try to debunk that idea, but when he saw the data, he said he would have to that project on hold, as he wanted to do more research on the subject, because he was surprised to see data that indicated the area in question did seem to operate in a heat bubble. And then there was no further story, because even local news can be swept under the rug. Does that sound too conspiratorial? I dunno. Even if I'm being paranoid, I don't make a habit of using AI and I feel a bit weird choosing it now.
And that is your unplanned trip into how my brain thinks sometimes. And it is now 12:06, so I hope you have a beautiful afternoon, and as always, thank you for being here!
Doing my best to check in while it is still morning...I have 8 minutes to compose this. ;~)
It's that time of year when one receives their Costco Rewards check (if they have the Costco credit card), so it is time to do my annual "let's try shopping for groceries at Costco" trip. Throughout the year, I use the card for gas and incidental spending, so sometimes, that adds up. I might be able to get two weeks of groceries out of this, but I'll have to be careful of not buying too much at once. So I'm giving myself a budget, and using ChatGPT to plan it out.
I feel a little guilty about that, but it's going to be so much faster than me bouncing back and forth between the Costco website to check on prices and my meal planning notes. I live near an area that has an ever growing footprint of processing centers, and we are starting to see that they really do impact the local climate. The area in which most of these centers are located is definitely creating it's own micro-climate zone which regularly has higher temperatures than the surrounding areas. Our local weather guy was going to do a thing to try to debunk that idea, but when he saw the data, he said he would have to that project on hold, as he wanted to do more research on the subject, because he was surprised to see data that indicated the area in question did seem to operate in a heat bubble. And then there was no further story, because even local news can be swept under the rug. Does that sound too conspiratorial? I dunno. Even if I'm being paranoid, I don't make a habit of using AI and I feel a bit weird choosing it now.
And that is your unplanned trip into how my brain thinks sometimes. And it is now 12:06, so I hope you have a beautiful afternoon, and as always, thank you for being here!
something wicked, something wild
2026-03-14 08:29 pm Haiku Horror Writing Prompt no. 1642: writhe
#haikuhorrorprompt #notahaiku
something wicked, something wild
under weather, under want
under waters
something writhes
03-14-2026
