Tuesday 19 December 2017

Countdown to New Years - Day 15, 14 & 13

Now I remember why I didn't manage to get a post done every day last year...for the same reason I can't get it together this year.

THE EDJ  (evil day job)

I'm 6 days into an 11day stretch without a day off. Half the time I don't remember what day of the week it is let alone trying to remember to write down what made me happy. There was a pause in the retail christmas craziness today when a sales rep brought us in some cookies. That moment when the sugar, butter, and chocolate hit my tastebuds was sheer ecstasy today. They also had some almond flavouring in them so there was a distinct marzipan aroma and flavour. I was blissed out.

Saturday 16 December 2017

Countdown to New Years- Day 16

I think I remember why I didn't do to well and following through with this last year. As the big day approaches and my EDJ gets more and more hellish, it's harder to think about positive things. It's hard to even want to think about anything happy when I could sit here and fill pages and pages with complaints.
But, one step at a time and all complaints aside, I was happy to come home from work...and I was happier to eat too many mini eclairs.  LoL (My beach body has been put off until next summer...or the summer after.)

Friday 15 December 2017

Countdown to New Years - Day 17

9 days till Christmas! Yes, we have made it to single digits. To those of you who are sludging through the trenches of working retail this time of year....we're almost there! Stay true to yourself, don't let them get to you.

Friday Flash Fiction will return after the 25th....when my brain recovers from Retail Christmas Syndrome.

Thursday 14 December 2017

Countdown to New Years - Day 18

My whole day was a happy day today!

Really, it was. It was my day off. LoL I laid in bed a read till the obscene hour of 9am, then I sat around in my cozy "Bad Side" sweatshirt and leggings. Did some christmas shopping, spend some time with my husband. It's was an incredibly wonderful day that was way too short.

I'm back to work tomorrow...and everyday...for the next 11 days.  It's almost over for another year

Wednesday 13 December 2017

Countdown to New Years- Day 19

My happy thought for today.

Baths

Seriously, is there anything better than lounging in a hot bath with a glass of wine, a couple bath bombs and a book?

Nope, I didn't think so ;)

Tuesday 12 December 2017

Countdown to New Years Day 21 & 20



I didn't get my post done yesterday. It wasn't a good day and my brain really wasn't in a happy place and it was a struggle to think of something positive. But, I watched Scrooged and that made me laugh enough to snap out of it...(there are some heavy spots in that movie but I fast forwarded past them.)

In the end I'd say my happy thoughts for Day 22 was giggling at some classic Bill Murray. <3



Today was better and I had a much easier time coming up with some happy thoughts. Hubby suggested we go for a quick tan after I got off work, and my 12 minutes of quiet basking certainly lifted my spirits. (I swear I was a lizard in a past life)

But, what really put me in a good mood today was that earlier my daughter sent me a video on how to make a wreath out of a hanger and a bunch of ornaments. So, on my lunch break I went to the dollar store and picked up what we needed.

It turned out so awesome! We're completely covered in glitter and I'm going to be vacuuming my carpets for eternity to get it out, but I don't care. It was fun spending time with my youngest and creating something really pretty.

Sunday 10 December 2017

Countdown to New Years - Day 22

I was just about to crawl into bed when I realized that I hadn't posted for today! I would have been so angry at myself in the morning had I missed it...to be honest I probably would have posted tomorrow and changed the date, but deep down I would have known I didn't do it! LoL

What was it that made me happy today? Tonight I sat down and wrote my final exam for the online course I've been taking through Sheridan College. Yeah! I finished the course :)  I will admit that many bad words escaped my lips as I worked my way through the questions, but damn it felt good when I finished. 

And, despite already suffering from "retail holiday brain", I managed to pass the exam with an 85% . 

Yup, I'm feeling a little chuffed right now :)


Saturday 9 December 2017

Countdown to New Years - Day 23

I'm sitting here with the button of my pants undone wondering how I'm every going to make it up to bed, and if my husband has the energy to roll me up there. My favourite part of today was getting to go out to dinner with out best friends. No kids. No work. No distractions. Just the four of us making jokes and eating a fabulous meal. It was so much fun!
But, I'm so full right now....good thing this chair is comfortable because I don't think I'm going anywhere for a while.

Friday 8 December 2017

Counting down to New Years - Day 24

I wasn't sure if I was going to pull off a Friday Flash Fic this week. With 2 weeks left till Christmas, my EDJ is ramping up and sucking the life out of me... But, I did it :) And that made me very happy.


This is humiliating.


Colin stared at the wall in front of him. Everything about it was normal…tap, showerhead, running water., except that it was all directly at eye level and he was covered in fur ….and female.
Christ, what the fuck happened to me.

“Hey sweetheart, you’re out of sorts today. You okay?” The hunka, gorgeous man currently soaping up his paw with a bright pink sponge, reached up and scratched him between his ears.

Oh, god that feels good. Before Colin formulated the thought, he had already pushed his head against the man’s hand again. He tried for the hundredth time to talk, but the only noise his vocal cords could make was an odd growl and screech. 

“That’s my girl, you just need a bit more love today don’t you.” The man leaning over him scratched down his spine to the base of Colin's tail.

Fuck that feels so damn good, but I’m not a fucking girl and if I knew what happened to my cock I’d feel much better about all this. Colin shifted his weight and almost slipped, catching himself in a split second. Cat-like reflexes, I get it now.  

Out of everything that had happened to him in the last twelve hours, waking up in the form of an apparently domesticated, large, cat, without claws, wasn’t the worst of it. It was the loss of his favourite appendage that continued to be the focus of his attention.

The last foggy memory he had from the previous night was trying to get the guy he’d brought home, out of his bed and out the door. Hook-ups for fine, but Colin didn’t do cuddles of sleepovers and the guy from the bar hadn’t been getting the hint.  Sure he’d been fueled with a bit more alcohol than normal. And yes maybe calling the guy a big pussy might not have been the nicest. But Colin had no idea when the guy replied “I’m not a pussy, but you will be.”..he was serious.

“There we go, baby girl. Let’s get your dried off and out of the tub.” Mr Hunky wrapped a towel around Colin’s head and started rubbing his neck and body.

I wish I knew your name. Colin didn’t believe it was coincidence that the guy who was apparently his keeper, was the same guy who’d brushed him off a few weeks ago. Another crazy bar night and Colin had tried so hard to get this guy into a bathroom for a quickie. He’d wanted to touch the muscles filling out his silk shirt. But no matter what he tried, Mr Hunky wouldn’t give him the time of night.
Now, here I am, finally in a bathroom with you. You’re shirtless, gorgeous and I’m… a fucking pussy cat.

Don't miss out on the other Friday Flash Fics posted today!

Jeffrey Ricker

Wednesday 6 December 2017

Countdown to New Years - Day 26

As my first week is drawing to a close I've realized I enjoy thinking about what I'm going to post about. With the craziness of this time of year at my EDJ, thinking about positive things  is good mental practice. LoL

Today was harder than normal, might be a combination of a lot of things. There aren't any windows at my EDJ and I feel like I don't ever see the sun. Which is a one way ticket for my brain to sink into an unhappy place.

So off I went to the tanning beds with my husband today. I know they aren't exactly healthy for you but a quick ten minutes once a week really helps my mental process. 

I like laying there all toasty warm and cozy, imagining I'm on a beach somewhere. Ten minutes of peace and quiet and it's amazing how much I can get my thought process quieted down and semi organized.....or as close to organized that my brain will ever get. 
:) 

Tuesday 5 December 2017

Countdown to New Years Day 27

My warm happy fuzzies today came from being able to spend some time alone with my husband in a dark room....while munching on popcorn and chocolate :) 

We went to see Justice League. I know a lot of people didn't like this movie but it wasn't that bad. I enjoyed it. (It wasn't as good as Thor:Ragnarock) There was action and cool fight scenes.

The Flash totally stole the movie for me. Maybe because I write stories I'm a little more aware of character arcs and growth...and really Barry Allen (the Flash) was the only who had any kind of character development at all. He's a little bit dorky and a whole lot adorable. I hope they make a Flash movie because I'd enjoy learning more about his character.


What movies have you seen lately that you've enjoyed??

Monday 4 December 2017

Countdown to New Years Day 28

4 days into my countdown to New Years, what made me happy today?

This x 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

I'm guilty of it and I know lots of other people are too. We don't want to be made fun of so we cut down something that makes us happy before anyone else can. That's something I don't want to do any more. 

If you need someone to cheer you one, I'm here. Share in the comments if you'd like. I'll never poke fun of your dreams or ideas. <3

Sunday 3 December 2017

Countdown to New Years Day 29

Everything was pretty low key around my house today. But, I can honestly say something that made me feel happy is TEA :)

It might be psychosomatic, but the moment I'm not feeling 100% I shy away from coffee. Growing up, my mum's first response to any emergency, dilemma, trauma, boredom, etc, was to put the kettle on. (My Dad would wet a facecloth, fold it up and slap it on your forehead, but that's another story)
It's possible that I have drank my body weight in tea today. I have two favorites at the moment. 

Tetley Vanilla Earl Grey with a splash of milk

PC Feeling Soothed with a generous spoonful of honey 

Are you a tea or coffee drinker? What are your "goto" flavours/brands

Saturday 2 December 2017

Countdown to New Years Day 30

What made me smile today...I want to say not much because I'm not feeling good and I'm a bit of a grumpy bastard at the moment. 

I was freezing....like turning into an icicle, at work today. A sure sign that I'm coming down  with something, especially when everyone else was complaining that the store was too hot. LoL I ended up popping down the hall to Ardene to get myself a sweater. I found not just a sweater but the most amazing t-shirt. This made me smile today and I instantly felt a little better. 
Lilo & Stitch is one of my girls favorite movies.  They are 18 & 20 now and they still both get excited when they see Stitch stuff. To be honest I'll be lucky if I ever actually get to wear this again because I'm willing to bet one of them will swipe it from me. 

We're not Samoan or Hawaiian but "Ohana" has always been something we used to explain to our kids that family doesn't just mean the people your related to. We have lots of people in our life who are chosen family, or we've adopted to be part of our motley crew.  
Ohana makes my heart smile

Friday 1 December 2017

Countdown to New Years- Day 31

A "Memory" popped up on my Facebook feed earlier today, reminding me that last year I did a countdown to the New Year. Everyday I'd write about something that I enjoyed that made me happy. I won't get into why at the end of November I was feeling very negative and oppressed but I remembered enjoying the mental exercise.

I didn't manage a post every day, as my EDJ is in retail and the month of December will suck anyone's will to live. But, I'd like to try again this year. End the year on a wave of positivity and hopefully it will create a habit to carry into the new year. 

December 1st....Day 31 

I'm going to tell you about something silly I had a lot of fun with today.
My husband had a booth a THE BUILDERS SHOW at the Metro Convention Center in Toronto. I was there today to help out, cover the booth when he ran to have a smoke or get a coffee, but other than that I was free to wander around. 

Now, wandering around a massive trade show devoted to construction is more interesting than I'd thought. There were lots of plot ideas floating around in my brain as well as character inspiration. 
What I didn't expect to see were so many stress ball type swag...and I got quite obsessed with them. 

As I wasn't there as a trade member or would ever be a customer I felt bad just scooping their swag. So I made a rule for myself that anyone I had a conversation with about their business then it would be okay. LoL It made what could have been an incredibly boring day into a fun one. Every time I came back to my booth my husband would laugh and ask what I got that time. 

I managed to come home with 2 lego blocks (the guy said you can't take just one), a van, a toolbox, a brick, a green light bulb and 2 hard hats (white and yellow) 

There were lots of interesting people there today and I learned some interesting things that I'm sure will end up in a book at some point. And now I have a collection of funky stress balls I have no idea what to do with!

Any suggestions? :)


Friday Flash Fiction 12/1 - Hawkeye is the sexiest superhero

It's Friday and you know what that means!! Another fun day of reading shorts and snippets surrounding the same inspirational picture. Courtesy of Elizabeth Lister and Friday Flash Fics. :)


"Hawkeye is the sexiest superhero." Mitch lit a cigarette and passed it to Jeannine before lighting another one. They both perched on a large decorative rock on an upper level garden that looked out over a massive well-manicured green space. One of the owners was doing favour for a friend and allowed them to use the gardens for a photo shoot, at least that’s what the gossip said.

"Purple spandex or Jeremy Renner?" Jeannine had never been one to read anything non-academic unless he’d forced her to go to look at one of his comics. The fact that she knew there was a difference surprised him.

“Oh, how about Jeremy Renner IN purple spandex.” Mitch grinned, that was a mental picture he’d save for later when he was alone.

She took at drag on her smoke. Tilting her face to the sky, she popped her jaw and made a perfect “O” before pursing her lips and blowing a straight line of smoke almost through it before it dissipated. “I’d prefer imagining Jeremy Renner naked.”

“I’ll whole heartedly agree with you on that one.”

Below them, one of the models was posing with a bow and arrow as a series of cameras clicked and whirred. Lights were moved, shades were angled and it all started again.

“Really, who makes the connection between archery and underwear?” Jeannine’s questions startled him out of ogling the picture perfect, high maintenance, boy toys.

“Who cares? It’s fun to watch.” One of the models let his arrow fly…a whole two feet before it plopped on the ground. There goes my Hawkeye fantasy.

“Speaking of naked, this would be much more fun if they weren’t wearing the underwear. They can’t shoot for shit.”

“That would make this an entirely different kind of photoshoot.”

“If it was, we’d probably be getting paid better.” Jeannine sighed as she hopped off the rock they’d been sitting on. Dropping her smoke she ground it under her heel. “Superheros and underwear models do have one specific thing in common though.”

“What’s that?”

“Neither of them notices the help.” She patted him lightly on the shoulder, “Come on, sweetie. We had better get back to the kitchen and make sure lunch is set out properly, before one of those pretty boys freak out because their single blueberry is touching their carrot during their meal.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I finish this.” Mitch held up his cigarette. “Just a couple more drags.”

“Don’t be long; the boss is bitchy today.”

He nodded and winked at her. She rolled her eyes before walking away. They’d been best friends since high school but where her nose had always been in a text book, his had been in a comic. She’d never believed in the fantastic or magic. He wished otherwise because he’d wanted to share this news with her.

As soon as Jeannine rounded the corner and was out of sight, Mitch tossed the half-finished smoke to the ground. Hooking the cord around his neck he pulled out the pendant which had been resting against his chest all morning. The sun glinted off the pale purple rock. He traced one of the metallic bands with his finger and a series of  ornate symbols appeared, glowing brighter than they had this morning.


I might have been unlucky enough to be born into a dimension without magic…but, no one said I had to stay here.

Don't miss out on the other Friday Flash Fics posted today!