Tag Archives: Self

Back Home

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I’m home after a few days of adventures with my Pittsburgh pal. She gives me the insider tour of her city and, this time, we also took a day trip over to historic Bedford, Pennsylvania.

This was my first real adventure of the year and it didn’t come a moment too soon. I was feeling restless, deprived, and yearning for something more interesting than my own four walls. I have a good life but it’s better when I step away occasionally to see what else the world has to offer.

We did a book crawl, ate at a historic tavern, and looked at art and historic buildings. We shopped, contemplated the sacrifices made by our veterans, and browsed a middle eastern food market near her home.

It is never lost on me how different her life is from mine because of where we live.

There are about three dozen independent bookstores in the Pittsburgh area. There are radio stations that play more than top forty country and pop music. I listened to some jazz radio while in the area and was sad to lose the station as I traveled away from the city. There are markets and restaurants that cater to ethnic cuisines and her very nice neighborhood of tree lined streets is filled with people who have come from afar. There are more jobs, more money, more educational opportunities, more museums, more of everything really.

The contrast between urban and rural is surprising sometimes.

Yet, where I live is beautiful. We have a shared sense of community that comes from everyone attending the same high school, shopping at the same grocery store, and being so small we tend to know each other.

Where I live in the country, there are no sidewalks or streetlights. There’s also no traffic unless you count school buses, farm equipment, and the occasional road construction.

I can hear a variety of birds and frogs in my yard and my closest neighbors are far enough away I don’t really hear them.

Quality of life is awfully good in many ways here but it’s also nice to leave and to have different experiences.

At one point, I stood before a mirror in the ladies room at Bedford Candy. My hair was a mess and I had the wild eyed look of someone who was so busy running around and looking at stuff that time didn’t matter.

It’s true, I spent almost the entire trip without any idea what day it was or what time it was. I was in my element and didn’t give a gosh darn what the clock said.

I have missed that version of myself. Planning and schedules have nearly crowded her out.

Yet, all good things must end. I’m home safe. The people in my life are thrilled to have me back. My little house panther couldn’t be happier. I keep catching him staring at me like he just wants to make sure I’m really here.

I am really here, a country mouse tucked away in my country house with a few stories to share and a mess to clean up. Not only do I need to unpack, there are groceries and fun purchases that still need to be put away today.

For now though, I can take my time, enjoy my little cat’s company, and savor the memories of experiences that helped me remember who I am.

Back Home

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Today is my first day back after a being gone for a week of adventure out west. I flew to Casper, Wyoming and got in my friend’s Jeep so we could head up to the Cody/Yellowstone area.

Yes. In the middle of a government shutdown, I thought it was a good idea to fly AND go to a national park.

The security line in Columbus was long at 6:15 a.m. last Wednesday. TSA seemed to be running with a skeleton crew and then I slowed things down even more with the two metal pieces in my knee brace. My leg got scanned and patted down and my hands even got scanned for residue but they evidently decided I wasn’t a risk and let me go. Ha!

Johnna and I explored museums and thrift stores, went Jeeping in the back country, saw some wildlife, and had a wonderful time wandering around. I had an especially lovely gloomy afternoon in a wonderful bookstore.

I ate badly, didn’t get enough rest, and needed far stronger moisturizer than I had packed. Holy cow. My skin wasn’t prepared for the dry air and winds that are trademark of Wyoming. The 60 mph wind we drove through Sunday is what locals call “a breeze.”

Travel scares a lot of people but I find it exhilarating and fascinating. The more time you spend in places where you encounter people who look, sound, and think differently than you, the more clear it becomes that the world isn’t so scary at all. Leaving your comfort zone and exploring this big world of ours is one of the most amazing things you can do for yourself and for your understanding of your place in the world.

I learned a lot this trip and have much to think about in the near future and I’m grateful for this opportunity. Stay tuned. I have lots to share and a few stories that may take me a while to mentally unpack. We’ll get there.

Meanwhile, if you need me, I’ll be here with my industrial strength moisturizer, trying to coax my skin back to life.

De-influencing Shopping Habits And Patterns

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Social media has gifted me with the videos of a woman who reminds followers they don’t need to buy anything today. She has a lovely Puerto Rican accent that makes everything she says sound charming. 

Her videos go something like this:

You don’t need anything from Target today. You do not need anything from TJ Maxx today. You don’t need anything from Amazon today. You don’t need anything from Ulta today. You have plenty of things already. What you need to do is clean.  Don’t shop, go clean your fridge.

Sometimes she instructs viewers to make an extra credit card payment instead of shopping or to declutter instead of buying more. I don’t know who this lady is but I like her!

There are few hills I’m willing to fight for but one is that cleaning and decluttering are the most powerful tools for curbing spending. I have said this repeatedly in my Winter No Spend Challenge stories and agree with her belief that cleaning is a lowkey way to save money. 

When you find yourself decluttering the stuff you once thought you couldn’t live without, you are reminded of the money wasted on small things that don’t matter. There’s something calming about cleaning what you own and appreciating what you already have. 

I don’t need someone to film a video every day telling me not to stop for coffee when there’s free coffee at work or that I don’t need to bargain shop at Marshalls when my kitchen is packed with gadgets. You may not either. 

But after years of watching the rise of the social influencer – you know, the ones who do videos of Walmart hauls and who color coordinate their Stanley cup to their outfit- it’s awfully nice to see people out there reminding us that what these people do isn’t normal. 

I have a good life. I have everything I need and much of what I want. I would travel more if I could but that isn’t in the cards right now.  I have a birthday coming up and the people around me are asking for gift ideas. I’m coming up short unless they want to buy me a kitchen door or maybe another book. Ha! But isn’t that a wonderful problem to have?

If you find yourself in the habit of shopping regularly – for entertainment, for stress relief, for a chance at keeping up with the Jones’ or for whatever reason, today is the day to ask yourself why. Look closely. There are patterns to your behaviors. You just have to pay attention to see them.

Do you need the things? How else can you entertain yourself? What do you already own that you can be using instead? How else might you use that money? 

You don’t need a bunch of random stuff and clearance shelf junk. Go for a walk, clean something, declutter your closet, cook a good meal or call a friend. Focus on building a better life that doesn’t require an avalanche of random things you didn’t know you needed till you saw them at the store.  

Have you considered doing a No Spend Month? Here’s a story about my No Spend Challenge rules! 

What We Think About

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“We become what we think about most of the time.” —Earl Nightingale

And poof! I’m a bookstore! Although, I wouldn’t enjoy letting other people touch or take the books so that would be a problem.

Friends, tell me something. What thing do you think of most of the time? What would you be?

Is that thing worth your time and mental energy? Is it worth becoming? Perhaps it’s time to redirect your thoughts and energy for a while.

Think about it.

No Matter What

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No matter what’s happening in this world, know this: you most likely cannot change most of it.

What you can do, though, is change how you react, how you internalize, and how you pitch in to make the world better in whatever small way you can.

Even if your contribution is only to not make matters worse or only to make your slice of this earth better for you and those around you, that’s something.

No matter what’s going on in this world, make your bed, go for a walk, bake some cookies, and wash your dishes.

No matter what’s going on in this world, feather your nest and do what you can as well as you can. Just keep going. Keep breathing. 

No matter what’s going on in this world, as long as you keep trying and as long as you don’t harm yourself trying to shoulder the burden, it will be fine.

Your life is your journey. Make it count.

Curating Your Own Life

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I read something recently that suggested you should be the curator of your own life and I liked this idea. It’s like curating an art collection – perfect since your life is a work of art. Cut out things that don’t matter and the things that drag you down, steal your time and distract you.

Keep doing this until you’re left with only the things that make your life better and that bring you comfort and joy.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what you want your life to look like and what it ought to be. Rather than picture that, sometimes it is easier to know what it shouldn’t be and begin stripping away the unnecessary.

There is such a thing as addition by subtraction.

Curating your own life will be harder than you think. That’s why you need to start today. Where will you begin?