October 4, 2019 - 21 - "Name That House"

  

Las Nomadas by Juan Diaz Duran

   So we need a house name. 

     It feels very Jane Austen-novel-ish to need to name your house.  Pretty much in America we just say:  home.  If you're really fancy and have two places you might say:  'the cabin', or 'the lake house'.

     In Mexico lots of houses have names.  They have little painted plaques outside.  Noticing these is one of the many fun diversions when walking the streets around town.

     Casa Bougainvillea, Casa Agave, Casa Cumpleanos..., they all seem so pretty and romantic.  One of my favorites is: Casa Macarena.  (Though I can't imagine using that as it gives you an instantaneous, and tough to dislodge, earworm.  Not to mention a strong desire to dance badly.)

    We called our first place in Mexico:  Casa Mikkasuki.  Big mistake.

October 3, 2019 - 20 - "I know! Let's Sponge-paint EVERYTHING!"

    

     A lot of homeownership involves wondering what the heck the previous owners were thinking.

     In the case of the house we're renovating in Mexico, I'm referring to the owners before the previous owners.  The couple we bought it from lived in the house while building their current masterpiece.  Almost all of the design choices were made by the owners they bought it from.  But, then again, I can't really blame them either.

     It was the 80's.

     The 80's, as we all know in hindsight, was an era of epically bad choices.  There were strange rules that had to be followed when it came to decor:  Hollywood lighting had to surround vanity mirrors, mauve and/or floral explosions must ooze across bedspreads, geese-in-bonnets must preside over kitchens, and cutouts of wolves must howl on patios.

October 2, 2019 - 19 - "I've Got Mail!: Fan Mail!"

Inspiring and beautiful art, by the inspiring and beautiful, Cynthia Stroo

My day yesterday:
     It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  Wait, I think that's been said before.

Anyway, the best of times part:
          -I woke up with Michael (Oh so lucky for this, a fact I am infinitely grateful for every single time it happens.)
          -Michael brought me coffee.  In bed!  (Ditto on the daily gratitude score.)
          -Progress was happening on our casa.  (Really, really, good as we're having a big family shindig there not too far in the future.)
 
The worst of times part:
          -Had to leave the project, the house, the magical city of San Miguel, and Michael.  😢
          -Long journey home, with standard-issue, and a few outside-the-norm travel hassles.  (I am eternally grateful also for our flight benefits, but it makes us do dumb things.  Like back-up fun trips and work trips with little time in between.)

     So, I get home.  Road weary, missing Michael, stressed about getting myself (my uniforms, my bags,...) unpacked and repacked to go back to work

     I'm simultaneously thrilled to see Ella...and already sorry I won't have more time with her.  And I'm vaguely thinking that I commit to too darn much stuff.  Like crazy writing schedules I need to fit in between everything else.  Wah, wah, wah...

---

     And then! ...

October 1, 2019 - 18 - "Habits Make Our Lives"

Daily Habit Tracker

     The title of this post is a premise I've been working with and thinking about a lot for the last few years.  And when I say the last few years I really mean, once again, my entire life.  

     I love how the book Bridget Jones' Diary starts with her tracking her alcohol, calorie, and cigarette consumption.  

     I completely relate to this.

"September 30, 2019 - 17 - "Nice Feet"

   I guess you’ve probably been waiting anxiously for this moment when I would finally address the issue of feet beautification.  (Clearly my only blog theme seems to be 'What's swirling around my brain today'.   I've been thinking about feet, so here we are...talking about feet.)

      Possibly this will completely gross you out.  There are many views of feet in this world;  from people with foot fetishes to those on the opposite end of the spectrum who can't even bear the mention of the word 'feet'.

September 29, 2019 - 16 - "Before and After"

     Transformation is a major theme in my life.  I love all 'Before/After' images.  The 90-pound weakling morphs into Mr. Atlas, a room goes from drab to fab, a cluttered closet becomes a visual altar to organization, someone goes from being a lost tourist to speaking the language and navigating the norms of a foreign land...  

     I love growth and learning and change, in every possible area of life.  The idea that we can improve, fulfill potential, and explore possibilities, is endlessly inspiring to me. 

---

     Probably the most potent manifestation of this belief is when I fell in love with this house, and thought "This house has so much potential!":

September 28, 2019 - 15 - "More Susan Slander"

     If you haven't read my feelings concerning the term 'Lazy Susan' you won't have a full appreciation of how little I'm enjoying the latest aspersions cast on Susans.  ("Useful Susan's" Post)

      I'm a flight attendant working for a large carrier.  We barely hired new people between about 1995 and 2014.  The few we did hire were laid off after September 11.

     So there's a big divide between old-hires and new-hires.

September 27, 2019 - 14 - "I Believe in Yesterday"

  * Spoiler Alert *

If you haven't seen the movie 'Yesterday', do not read this.  It will definitely ruin it for you.

  *******

     We've been meaning to see Danny Boyle's movie 'Yesterday' since the first preview came out.  What an awesome premise! It’s one of those story ideas you just can't believe hasn't been done before.

     I had the release date on my calendar for months but one thing or another kept us from seeing it.  Then I put the video release date on my calendar and that date came and went.  Finally, last night we got to watch it.  And it was everything, and nothing, I'd expected.

     I expected a light-hearted look at all the lovely gifts the Beatles gave us.  I did not expect to be sobbing uncontrollably by the end.  I did not expect to be discussing and thinking about the movie for hours.

September 26, 2019 - 13 - "The App Made Me Do It"

Trick # 1-Pretty In Pink

      Sorry. I’m going to talk one more time (at least) about how great I’m doing on the fitness front.  It’s not that I’m trying to brag about it.  (Well, I am pretty proud of myself.) . It's more like everything I write about:  I write in an attempt to figure stuff out.

   I just keep wondering how a lifetime of sloth morphed into a 3 year habit of regularly working out 'til my heart’s racing, my muscles are screaming, and my tongue drags the floor.  

   Believe me:  No one is more surprised by this than me.  

    I partly blame that adorable little girl from Australia, Kayla Itsines, for coming up with a workout program that really works.  But mainly I blame her app for making me actually DO the program every stinkin' week of the year.  

     You might be thinking I should say I give them credit.   It is true that I'm wildly grateful for the program’s many benefits.  It has certainly given  me increased energy, happier moods, better discipline in all areas of my life, mental clarity, and on top of all that:  my clothes fit cuter.  But it's also given me a compulsive habit that takes some real time and work. 

     So how did this change occur?  What magic does this app possess?  

September 25, 2019 - 12 - "Cup of Joe"

     Any day that Michael and I wake up in the same place is cause for celebration.

     We've both traveled a lot throughout our relationship. Often it's been for work, but sometimes it's to visit friends or family, and sometimes to toil away endlessly on random houses in random places.

     Okay, really, we've just done this with two houses, in one foreign locale, but it's currently causing more time apart than we prefer.

     Really, we've just done this with two houses, in one foreign locale, but it's currently causing more time apart than we'd prefer.

     Anyway, today I'm thinking of all the things I miss when we're apart.  The list is long, but the biggest one is Michael bringing me coffee in bed.  

    It's not just the nice gesture, it’s the ritual around it I miss most.   

It's always the same:

September 24, 2019 - 11 - "Eat Your Spinach"

     You probably come here looking for a little bit of distraction, maybe even actual entertainment, but this post is really more of a a Public Service Announcement:

September 23, 2019 - 10 - "Where I Write"

     I prefer to write in a coffee shop on rainy afternoons.  It's ideal.  I put my AirPods in and listen to some gentle music, the weather isn't luring me outside, the soft hubbub of the other coffee-swillers creates a sense of camaraderie... while not requiring me to actually interact with anyone.

     This preference probably sounds limiting.  But, actually, I write almost exclusively in this environment.  If it's not a rainy afternoon, and there's no coffee shop; I just create my own.

Setptember 22, 2019 - 9 - "Taking Steps"

     Michael and I both have step counters on our phones.  We like to compare and contrast our activity levels.

     I think the most steps I've ever gotten in a day was around 19,000 steps.  We were in Madrid and headed out to explore the city early in the morning and didn't get back to our hotel until late at night.  Most of my days are more in the 7500 steps range.

     Michael told me yesterday that he topped 20,000 steps.