And Now, A Festive Song :)

A departure from my normal ramble, here now...and mostly because I just sang it in my head....And at Christmastime you want to remember the things that make you laugh, I give to you the:

12 Days of Skunkmas:

On the first day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me....a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the second day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me...two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

One the third day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me...three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the fourth day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me...four nose kisses, three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the fifth day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me five snuggle hours! Four nose kisses, three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the sixth day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me six dens for hiding, five snuggle hours! Four nose kisses, three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the seventh day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me seven brakes a-rearing, six dens for hiding, five snuggle hours! Four nose kisses, three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the eighth day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me eight claws a-scratching, seven brakes a-rearing, six dens for hiding, five snuggle hours! Four nose kisses, three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the ninth day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me nine rounds of chasing, eight claws a-scratching, seven brakes a-rearing, six dens for hiding, five snuggle hours! Four nose kisses, three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the tenth day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me ten tries at begging, nine rounds of chasing, eight claws a-scratching, seven brakes a-rearing, six dens for hiding, five snuggle hours! Four nose kisses, three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the eleventh day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me eleven shadows following, ten tries at begging, nine rounds of chasing, eight claws a-scratching, seven brakes a-rearing, six dens for hiding, five snuggle hours! Four nose kisses, three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas tree.

On the twelfth day of Skunkmas my fur love gave to me twelve food bowls eaten, eleven shadows following, ten tries at begging, nine rounds of chasing, eight claws a-scratching, seven brakes a-rearing, six dens for hiding, five snuggle hours! Four nose kisses, three fast stomps, two playful nips and a tail like a Christmas treeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!! 

Thanksgiving is Nearly Here!

The holidays are upon us friends! I am honestly looking forward to both Thanksgiving and Chirstmas this year. More than I have in the past few years and I'll tell you what: It's great :)

I've been in retail for going on 11 years now and as the holiday season has crept up faster and sooner, it zapped alot of the spirit out of me for many years. On top of some person drama during those years, I really gave up on good cheer, just putting on a nice front. This year things have come back to a bit of normalcy and drama has been squashed away, and even my store has gone companywide and given us a day completely off on Thanksgiving. The mall held out until November to put up their Christmas lights. I heard Santa isn't even showing up til after Black Friday!

Also, in moving over here to St. Pete, we have bonded with a wonderful block and now I have a pair of lovely ladies to craft Christmas bobbles and garlands with! We're so happy to get together and just enjoy each other's company. My parents had a neighborhood group when they lived in Chicago and they always talk of it with fond memories. To this day I'm pretty sure they still send each other Christmas cards....30 years later! This is the neighborhood we have found, this is where we'll stay :)

When I do crafting, trust that I shall put a few DIY blogs up!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

In Celebration of Friendship

In my life I have and have had good friends, great friends, best friends, acquaintances, bad friends, ghost friends and toxic friends. All these people made a mark on my life in some way, at some point and shaped me to the woman you know/read about on this blog.

I have found that in troubled times and wonderful times you never expect all the outpouring of love and support you will recieve.

And because it has been a difficult couple months and now because we are on the upswing of our lives, I just want to say thanks.

Thanks to our friends who we love and love us back. I'm happy we are in each other's lives.

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Ah Well.....

It's 9am and I have only just gotten up. Last night to be fair I worked until 11pm and came home still pretty awake. Or maybe all my early mornings caught up, is that a real thing? I've heard yes and no, catching up on sleep doesn't actually do anything....But it feels so nice to stay in bed!!!

Today I work til 5 and I am pretty sure the rest of this week is off in the early evening as well, so more chance to work back up the routine. It's alot harder than I thought, I've been a late bird for so long!

I will get there. I can do it!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Can You Call It Sleeping In?

Last night I went to bed at the same time to keep on this early bird schedule. This morning I stayed in bed til 645. Still early for me! But not consistant, dang. I suppose getting up the same time all the time comes with repetition and I definitely am not used to it.

On top of that my brain knows I won't go in to work until 2PM so it's for sure in for a longer sleep.

At least my man and I are in this together and hopefully I can reset my rhythm with this routine.

Good morning early birds!!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Good Morning World!!

Aww yes! Day one of get up early and I was out of bed at 545AM making my coffee. I set my alarm for 5 on the dot and while my mind felt awake enough, my body said noooo, just 15 more minutesssss....3 times hahaha

But here I sit coffee in hand, typing the earliest blog, so far. Here's to an even earlier one tomorrow!

We'll see how I feel around noon though. I'll be having a coffee date with myself for sure!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Life Changes!

Better late than never for an overhaul of sorts. October was a VERY trying month which trickled into November. Now that the bad times are over and the upswing has begun, we have decided to clense out the clutter/fog/mess of our lives and get ourselves healthy and happy and ready to take on the next years with a new found vigor. To start on our journey we have set our alarms to become early birds. What a crazy idea we have. We are super night owls and I know that being a morning person will take some getting used to but I really look forward to not rushing in the morning and getting the most from my day.

This little blog will be getting some action with my early rising! I'll have coffee and writing time which will definitely get my mind going for the day ahead.

Maybe now I'll be able to go get groceries leisurely  if I need before work. Maybe I can start my exercise routine. Maybe I can pack my lunches!

I CAN.

I am really quite excited to start getting up with the sun, giving it a little hello to the day and become more productive and living to the fullest.

See you at sunrise!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Florida Poster Girls

FLORIDA POSTER GIRLS

   "Nana, what's this photo from?" Victoria loved days spent with her Nana Ruby. She had many stories to tell and amazing photos from years past.
   "Ahhh, darling, that's the day your Great Auntie and I became Florida Poster Girls! Have you heard this one before? I owe Doc Webb to my discovery." Ruby was an actress with a long and impressive career. Great Auntie Edie was a model until she retired in the 1970's. Both ladies grew up in St. Petersburg, FL, just like Victoria now. Ruby poured two glasses of sweet tea and sat down in her favorite chair. Victoria settled across from her on the bungalow porch, ready to be transported to the past...
   "Put yourself in a beautiful afternoon around May 1949. I was getting dolled up for the big night and waiting for Edie to come round......"
   Ruby smoothed her curls and pouted her lips to apply her Tan-Gee Red-Red shade of lipstick. It was her favorite and old stand-by for important events, such as today. Ruby and her best friend Edie would be heading over to Webb's City to discover if they made it as a Doc Webb famous poster girl! Only eight young ladies from the surrounding area were hand-picked per year and it had gotten so huge that they competed against thousands of applicants. Ruby and Edie dreamed of becoming poster girls since they were ten and Edie's mom had taken them for root beer floats at Webb's drug store, the largest this side of the Mississippi, or as Doc Webb boasted, the largest in the world! Not only would they be honored to become a part of such a glamorous club, but as poster girls they would travel across the USA as representatives of their beautiful "Sunshine City". Ruby and Edie knew that this was the perfect stepping stone to get into the movies. In 1946 the group competed against California's prettiest and were sent to Hollywood to rub shoulders with movie stars and their agents. 
   "Ahoy gorgeous!" Edie sang through the open screen door. "Ready to knock everyone's socks off?"
   "You betcha!" Ruby hugged and air-kissed her best gal, so as to not muss her hair and make-up of course. "Let's hit it, that wiggle dress is the bee's knees!"
   A St. Pete gem, Webb's City and the original drugstore came complete with circus acts, dancing chickens and mermaids. Everyone knew it was the place to be seen. Tonight the corner block downtown had been roped off to cars and to really make the announcement of the new girls a major attraction. Ruby and Edie walked arm and arm into Webb's precisely at the given call time, an hour before the presentation. Doc Webb stood, arms outstretched, bidding the two girls a warm welcome. He then directed them to the back room with the other 25 finalists last minute primping and shooing away any nervous feelings. Ruby and Edie sat down, heads held high, taking in all the other competitors. Finally the call came:
   "Ladies, line up please!" The lead director would usher the girls out on to the outdoor stage and then Doc Webb himself would make the announcement to the eager crowd.
   Luckily Ruby and Edie were able to stand next to each other as they were the same height. Lined-up and peering into the masses, Edie spotted her parents first and next to them, Ruby's. 
   "Here's to us." Edie whispered, squeezing her best friend's hand tight.
   "The time has come ladies and gentlemen! Tonight is the night for a new glamour group! A new bunch of beauties! Eight new lovely young ladies to grace the USA as my very own, FLORIDA POSTER GIRLS!!"
   Commence wild crowd cheers and applause. Doc Webb was a wonderful showman. He could put vigor into any audience. 
   "For the fantastic year of nineteen hundred and forty-nine, I present this years eight finalists...plucked from the lovely shores of Spa Beach, the brick roads around Coffee Pot Bayou and whilst enjoying the flora of the Sunken Gardens. I pride myself in having a great eye for female beauty. Earning a place in history and honor, these eight gals will surely represent St. Petersburg for all the fun in the sun and beautiful nights we have come to enjoy. St. Petersburg continues to grow in size and recognition, thanks to the sight of beach scenes and bathing beauties!" 
   Ruby drew in a sharp breath as the anticipation nearly killed her. Edie squeezed a bit tighter to reassure both of them that, yes we made it, don't worry.
   "Walk forward and claim the coveted spot this year, Miss Lauren Brown! Miss Meg Johnson! Miss Virginia Davis! Miss Ruby Morgan! Miss Edie O'Neal! Miss Kim Haines! Miss Darlene Blass and Miss Marjorie Rose! Congratulations ladies!"

 Ruby and Edie heard their names and then only noise. Cheers and claps and whistles. Their bodies moved forward but their brains were thrown for a loop. Edie looked over, smiling wide at Ruby, still holding hands as Ruby simply said, "I knew it!" and then dissolved into laughter while a sash was placed over each girls' head and shoulders.
   The fanfare of the event was one of the best nights Ruby and Edie had together. The next week they were both featured in Life magazine's advert for Webb's City. Ruby framed it years later and placed it on the mantel next to photos of trips taken for film shoots and vacations to exciting locales taken with Edie and their husbands. Despite such a glamorous life, both women settled back home in St. Petersburg to raise families and live out their golden years.
   "Nana that was wonderful!" Victoria exclaimed breathlessly. "Auntie Edie and you are the prettiest of the bunch!"
   "Thank you my darling love. It was a grand time in our lives, the beginning of everything, I always say. St. Petersburg has a rich history and I am very grateful to have been such a wonderful part in it."
THE END 

This is an original short story I wrote for Keep St Pete Lit in their collab with Green Bench Brewing. Enjoy!!

Keep on, keepin on,

M.

November Thoughts

It has been a pretty tough month over here. As much as from the outside it may seem nice and sunshiny, it's been quite a struggle. We planned way too much for two people for Halloween and the party, went way over our heads and subsequently ended up too stressed and too tired to even enjoy ourselves. On top of blowing money on a party, my man had serious truck problems that threw a sizable wrench in his life. So here we are miserable and still having to try and put on a good face. It's really hard. When your body and mind separate and won't go back together it is the absolute worst thing in the world.

Cut to Halloween, which was actually pretty fun and we ended up going downtown with our friends.

The next day was a meltdown of uncertainty and fear. When you need a huge piece of your business is disabled and things are seeming to fall apart it becomes very damaging to your psyche and thus your body. Your brain can make you more ill than any virus or bacteria, it's insane.

Cut to the next day and things began the upswing of all upswings.

This year has been the hardest of all my years. It's had the lowest of lows and highest of highs and to be perfectly honest it's really worn me out. A lot of change has come about, mostly for good, but still it's been exhausting. I am for once very much looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and also 2016. It's time for a new year clense in this little family unit I have and make our lives richer than before.

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Nearly Halloween!

Hello all! It's been a bit and I'm back to update you on costumes, life and partytimes.

Saturday was our 3rd annual Halloween party, it was a good time. I made my dress up a day before, started with a simple thrifted long black dress:

Then I added a skeleton garland, some pins and some twine:

That night I added shawls for more effect and my head-dress. Make-up was equally simple with just a half sooty face and some random striping:

Here are extra shots of the night (we sadly didn't take as many as I hoped too):

My man and I had a good time but not nearly as good as we both hoped. You are ultimately your worst critic and the idea of topping last year's soiree proved very daunting and frustraiting. Our friends loved it and at the end of the day that's what matters I guess. Next year there won't be a party (I'm 90% positive) and maybe we'll get to enjoy more haunts around town.

I am looking forward to a  chilled out Halloween night on the porch with our neighbors and my bestie. Happy Haunting you guys!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

DIY Antlers and Now Floral Necklace Tutorial PART 3 :)

Welcome back! This part of the tutorial is very optional. If you made the antlers and want to be done there, that's totally cool. I'm going for some drama so I added huge flowers!

STEP ELEVEN:

Cover your headband in a ribbon or fabric so the glue can better stick to it.

STEP TWELVE:

Plan out what flowers to use before attatching them. Add embellishments is so desired.

The beige flower had those same middle bits as the blue, but I had to cut them out to get the skull to properly fit.

STEP THIRTEEN:

Attach you flowers! Figure out your pattern and make it your own :)

And done! Also I realized that unfortunately the antlers and the frog piece I made earlier no longer fit together on my head. So now I at least have options during the night to switch out my "crowns". It really works out too since my antlers dried a bit wonky and stopped fitting through our doorways :/
So they are outside antlers now.

True to form I wanted more! I wanted to maybe make a floral crown to wear with my frog piece.....That did not work out. Instead it became a floral statement necklace and honestly that's fine. I was over extending on this costume and I needed to be done with it to move on to other home decorating!

STEP ONE:

Cover your base in tape, I also glued on leaves to cover the tape.

STEP TWO:

Have your baby skunk help you pick out your flowers :)

STEP THREE:

Make your arrangement, glue it on and that's it!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Come back for more Halloween themed shenanigans soon!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

DIY Antlers PART 2

Hello again friends! Here is part two of perhaps a part three or four series. Doing so many parts because realistically that's how many days this is happening over :)

Ok, there's the continuation of the Antler Saga:

STEP SEVEN:

After you have let your paper maiche layers (2) dry completely you can begin the texturing and painting.

Ok, So what I did there is use hot glue to build a little base on my antlers. Just like real ones, they need that rough looking bit at the bottom. Then I made little bumps and continued up the antlers with lines of hot glue. It makes the antlers look rough and works for when you paint layers.

STEP EIGHT:

Paint the first layer of color. I used peach because I had it, but you can use whatever colors you'd like.

Let that dry. Paint on a second coat to cover any dark areas of newspaper.

STEP NINE:

Mix up a darker color, I used an avacado green and black. Paint that over the antlers and at the bottom, rub it off on your texture bits so it shows through. On real antlers there's this type of gradient.

Like at the base of these.

This is my interpretation:

STEP TEN: 

Paint a second layer of the dark color on the antlers, making sure to cover patches of light. Don't repaint over the rubbed off texture parts though. 

Then let the antlers completely dry overnight and wonder if you should paint more, source answers from friends and plan out your floral attatchments.

Stay tuned for PART 3 (and maybe FOUR :))

Keep on, keepin on, 

M.

DIY Antlers & Floral Head-dress PART 1

My first tutorial!! Halloween is in full force over here in my little haunted house. I bought a bunch of weird gourds and all the costume supplies. Today I shall put in part one of how to make your own wearble antlers and skeleton head-piece. Part two will be a floral crown of epic proportions.

I watched and read alot of pins before starting on this project, so it's a blend of sorts. Here we gooooo.........

YOU WILL NEED:

• 12 Gauge Wire
• Heavy Duty Aluminium Foil
• Wide Headband (2, holes optional but made it much easier to work with)
• Painters Tape or Masking Tape
• Electrical Tape
• Flowers
• Skeletons/Skulls
• Ribbon
• Paint, Colors Your Choice
• Newspaper (not pictured, and almost forgotten)

You will need some of these items more in part two, but here are the steps for how I began making my antlers!

STEP ONE:

Make a shape for the base of your antlers, freehand or with refrences,

STEP TWO:

Wrap the wire base in the foil. Some tutorials only used foil as the base, which is really crafter's choice. I wanted the wire for strength but also because I would be attaching the antlers to a headband.

STEP THREE:

Oooh got a little ahead with that last picture! Ok, so once you wrap the first base antler with foil, cut smaller pieces of your wire and attach them to your base. I then used the electrical tape to smooth it out for the future foil. Antlers, like eyebrows are sisters and not twins, so don't worry if they aren't super symetrical. Also leave about 2 inches of wire bare at the bottom for attaching purposes. Oh and, when you wrap the foil, make the bottom a bit wider to mimic real creature horns.

(Unlike me who did end up fussing with these too long before I recognized their unique ways.)

STEP FOUR:

Wrap the entire thing in masking or painters tape. It provides a more textured surface for the paper maiche and it smoothes out the foil bumps.

STEP FIVE:

Attach the antlers to your headband

The headband/wire combo really holds up. And at Halloween party time, that is clutch.

STEP SIX: 

Prepare your paper maiche. One part Mod Podge and one part water. Use plastic dishware.

Cut newspaper strips.

Cover your work station :)

(I never did use the foam brush except to mix)

It's the same paper maiche technique you learned in school, dip your paper, squeeze off excess, adhere to surface. Continue until you have one full layer and let dry. You can wait a couple hours or do overnight like me only because I wait to be lazy the rest of this night haha.

While your antlers dry, begin on your floral head pieces. I am making two of them along with my antlers because obviously I love to make myself crazy/my Halloween character this year is Dramatic! :)

So here's my little frog skeleton head piece:

STEP ONE:

Find a headband that is big enough to fit on the front of your forehead. Once you have it, take your skeleton and wire this creature to the front middle.

I used electrical tape to cover the comb bits on the headband for pure comfort. 

STEP TWO:

Put some flowers on it! 

Lana Del Rey that skeleton. Make an outrageous crown for yourself. It's the best holiday for it!

 

STEP THREE:

Your antlers are pretty dry by now, so go ahead and put them on with your frog piece. See how they look together and decide "Is this enough or too much?" Spoiler, you can never be too much.

Tomorrow I shall be continuing on the antlers, so look for PART 2 soon :)

Keep on, keepin' on!

M.

Life Update and Decorating Begins

Hello! So I shall start this blog off with the best news of 2015:

MY DAD GOT HIS CANCER SCREEN BACK AND IT IS CLEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have never been more happy in my life. My Dad is my rock and I was having freak outs all the time over his illness. But now we can breathe easy! Tonight I am having dinner over at my parents to celebrate. Mom is making spaghetti squash with meatballs and I'll be drinking beers by the pool with my Dad. I can't wait!

We have begun to decorate. Honestly we are prepared for Halloween year round, but I shall at least show you our fireplace mantle, as it is bad ass:

And in our bar room we have this dapper friend:

Things are coming together outside, but still in the no photo stage. All will be revealed in due time.

I had to brush out my wigs for this month, and yes I have a very large number of them because A) I like options and B) I was able to get them for cheap :)

This is maybe a third of the collection :) And yes I will most likely wear all of them depending on parties and events this month. 

SO READY TO GET MY SPOOK ON!!!!

Keep on, keepin on,

M.

Great and Wonderful Days!

So I submitted a piece to the website, HelloGiggles. THEY ACCEPTED IT!!! YAYAYAYAY!!! I was pushed towards what I want to do, did it and things are happening!!! Really going full force now and signing up for writing courses locally to expand my mind and tweak my skills. I am becoming happier every day and I think that it's really paying off karmacally(SP??).

In other news I am piecing together items to form my voodoo witch queen head-dress extravaganza. I am not sure why I have such a dramatic flare when inevitablly I know that I will hate and eventually remove this piece by my drunkeness at around 2am. But if I come out this year with some cool photos in our backyard swamp, I suppose it will be worth it. Beauty (swamp fashion!) is pain.

Using this little guy as the centerpiece starting on my forehead:

These friends as some sort of decoration on the costume. Currently they are playing Sia and swinging from our chandelier.

This is my wig. Not using those flowers, but wanted to give her a ~look~ (Feeling those Lana Del Rey VIBES)

All in all I am excited with life. I shall more than likely update on the head-dress construction. Look out for it soon!

Keep on, keepin on,

M.

Decorating for Halloween

Tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow I go up in my creepy attic and get our Halloween stuff down for both costuming and decorating purposes. I want to and I don't. I don't like my attic but I'm super excited to sort through stuff and make over my home into the macabre little mansion it was born to be :)

I still haven't started on ANY of my costumes yet and I'm slightly freaking out. I absolutely need to get my party one done and the others will fall into place hopefully *fingers crossed*

IDEAS:

Party, swamp witch like this:

 Lily Rabe in AHS Coven, mixed with

 This cool headdress (Artist unknown), mixed with

Some combination of these looks, by Jessica Haze @jessicahazemua on instagram

For our neighboorhood Haunted Hike, some sort of alien/otherwordly being:

Along the lines of this but IDK how great it will turn out. Practice time!

Actual Halloween always gets the simplest, maybe vampire this year? I'm not 100%. I always try not to repeat costumes but upcycle parts of old ones so we'll see what happens. 

Until then...

Keep on, keepin on,

M.

Morning Thoughts

Trying to write and also running around to keep a skunk from going under the couch.
Trying to write and not yet having coffee because you ran out of creamer and now you aren't sure if you want just black coffee.
Trying to write when outside there are lawncare people and they are SO LOUD.
Trying to write and it's dreary out but not raining so you aren't sure if you could justify more sleeping before work.

Trying to write and just writing a mini blog about trying but in turn, at least writng SOMETHING.

Keep on, keepin on,

M.

PS: I entered a local writing contest with a short story and once it is over I shall post it in here :)

Ooooo something to look forward to!!

Judy Blume!

     Happy Sunday! Today is the day for sleeping in (if possible) and then languidly going to hang with friends/family or run errands. So this early afternoon as I sat out on my porch enjoying my second cup of coffee and having my Sunday convo with my folks, my mom told me easily one of the most exciting things to be upcoming in a long while.

 Ahem:

JUDY BLUME IS COMING TO DOWNTOWN ST PETE FOR THE FESTIVAL OF READING AND SHE IS GOING TO HAVE A BOOK SIGNING FOR HER NEW BOOK BUT ALSO SHE WILL SIGN ONE OF HER OLDER BOOKS! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

    Ok, to start at the beginning, my mom was always big on reading to me and made up different voices for characters and would have me read aloud to her before I stated kindergarten. So my whole childhood was a wonderful world of imagination and far off places and great people that whenever I got lonely, would be waiting for me right in the chapter I'd left off at the night before. My two favorite authors during elementary school were Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary. After I started middle school, Judy stayed to give me advice on puberty and friendship. Then I moved on to high school and Judy was still in my corner, never to far to advise. As a grown up I still continue to re-read her adult novel Summer Sisters . I am also currently reading her new adult novel In The Unlikely Event , which takes place in the 40s/50s up to present day. Because of this new novel, she is going on promotional tours around the US and Canada again and today mom told me this wonderful news. Down the street from my house (basically) I will be able to listen to one of my favorite people ever speak about her stories and THEN tell her hello and how awesome I think she is whilst she signs one of my favorite books. I haven't finished In The Unlikely Event yet so I haven't put it in my list, but it is very good so far.

    Also I wrote a question to Judy Blume and she answered it on Buzzfeed and I fangirled ALOT.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/pieces-of-advice-judy-blume-has-for-young-writers-readers#.yqnqdlJk13

    Keep on , keepin on!

         M.

Lazy Days

        Sometimes you need to be a grown up and sometimes you get days off where you can kind of choose your own adventure. Today was a half and half sort of thing. I did laundry and went shopping for house things, but at the same time I relaxed. I work retail and though that might not ultimately be the hardest job in the world, it wears your mind/soul out. I get home sometimes and all I want to do is nap. It's hard debating with yourself about how tired enough you are and whether or not you should nap or wait it out so that you ultimately don't stay up til 1AM. It's a bad cycle :(

       And then you get this post forgotten and you end up messing around with it for a half hour the next night. Coooool times!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.
       

Ready For Fall!

Hello Internet Friends!!!!
   I have missed this. I am ready to take this blog and really do it a great service. I'm also really ready for Florida to be on the autumnal trend. Let's hear it for sweaters and boots for real y'all. But back to the blog, I really do like writing when I get down on it. I need to stop making silly promises to the ether and make serious promises to myself. What good is having a creative outlet if you never use it? It just makes more brain clutter, not to be confused with brain matter, haha you need that! Ahhhhh anyway....I'm going to write. That's it, that's all. I'm going to just get out there and do it or else I'll always kick my own ass on what might have been.

New to this blog at least, I want to start giving you a visual into my little ramble world, so thus now I shall add photos of said skunk or adventures or cool things my man and I create.

Speaking of my man, he and I are starting to plan and build for our annual Halloween shin-dig which is in the third year of life. It is the most fun I have all year. I love planning a costume, I love decorating, I love making party food and drinks and I LOVE having a blast with my friends.

Here is a taste of the first year:

And then last year(Where we really went all out):

What does this year hold? I'll tell you that the theme is a VooDoo Bayou after our fantastic trip to New Orleans this January. I think I've settled on being a swamp witch, but who knows? I tend to be indecisive when it comes to costumes! Trust that this adventure will be well documented this go-round. Til then....

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Night Blogs

I feel that when I don't keep up with this blog, I'm doing a disservice to my soul. Like I want to be a writer. I want to put out the next great American novel. I have no clue what it will be about and I'm pretty sure I won't know until that idea hits me a 3AM on an idle Tuesday.

I will be 30 in less than 6 months and right now, today, as I type this, that is the 2nd most terrifying thought in my brain. The 1st one is for another night.

How do you know when it all starts falling into place? Do you ever know? Or do you just tell yourself that lie of complacency that you've been taught. This is halfway where I thought I'd be 5 years ago. I'd like to be fullway where I thought I'd be a year ago, but I'm just better sometimes at coasting through than actually making hard, uncomfortable choices and leaping off that cliff.

Here's to August being the month I really write full force and change my life!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Sunday Morning

Hello and welcome to February everyone :)

Update from the last blog: My NOLA report will be live on www.lifebetweenweekends.com Feb 9th! YAY! I am very excited and very grateful and very happy.

In other news, I've kicked around the idea for a few years to start a little business and see if anything happens. So thus I give you Renate Rose Jewelry! I have a shop coming soon to Etsy and of course will keep this blog up to date on all details and pages to see and whatnot.

Ok, shameless self promos over.

This has been a strange and frustrating 2015 so far. Yes New Orleans was amazing. Yes I am excited for new ventures and randomly wonderful opportunities. But despite all that it has already been a hell of a struggle in the back burner personal side of things. Outside everything seems pretty smooth and together but inside certain things are just ripping apart my good nature. I've always been good at squashing things and no letting the bad show, which at some points have made me feel like I have robot parts. Can't let those rust so you can't cry over every little thing.

When you're little you are told that you have the whole world in front of you and you can do anything. When you grow up that stops and suddenly you're painted into a corner and given all these roadblocks that prevent you from just going for it. I think it's time that those walls get steamrolled right down. Live your life at any age still believing that you can do anything. Don't them anyone make it hard. Don't let yourself make it hard. I've spent too long getting painted and now I've come to the conclusion that maybe it was always me holding the brush.

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Writing This Blog With A Skunk In My Lap

Hello!

I have been back home from NOLA, but not yet back to work. Tomorrow I shall finally return to the retail world. I actually can't wait. Yes I love vacations and yes I love to have lazy days, but after so long you just itch to get back out there and work! In my dreams and goals, I very much envision myself working from home and all that freedom. Work for myself, make my own hours, not worry about other possibly rude people. It's definitely something that I would like to make a reality in the next few years.

In accordance with my being back from vacation, I am posting about my trip. However it will be a guest blog on another website, run by a dear friend and her husband. It is called Life Between Weekends ( www.lifebetweenweekends.com ) and I highly recommend you check it out. It's all about living everyday like Sunday, which for most is their best day. Why not make everyday your best day? I will be sure to update when the NOLA post goes up.

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.