GGS

Who Run The World?

Standard

​March is Women’s History Month. And today is International Women’s Day. The earliest observance of a Women’s Day was February 28, 1909, and was adopted by the UN in 1975 with its first official International Women’s Day. There are several groups that observe and celebrate women with media, books, and activities. 

It is commemorated throughout the world with a day of protest and/or a day of celebration, depending on where you are and where it got its start. 

The UN declares a theme yearly and the theme for 2019 is Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change. 

Who are the women who inspire you?

Related Links:

International Women’s Day

UN International Women’s Day

Five Innovations that Have Advanced Women’s Rights

International Women’s Day – About

Here’s to strong women:

May we know them,

May we be them,

May we raise them.

No Car

Standard

​We are on Day 39* without a car. Our car’s engine died the third week of January. Our trusted mechanic told us it wouldn’t be worth putting in a new engine with the body our 2002 minivan had; just too much rust. We knew this day was coming, but it still left us in a numb kind of shock. It’s been our only car for several years now, and we just can’t afford a car payment. There were also some new payroll deductions so for now our salary has been reduced, significantly, and we’re not really sure how we’ll get through that. However, that is one too many problems for this discussion.

Day 39. Continue reading

Quick is a Relative Term

Standard

​A very quick note about the next two posts. The timing is a bit off. They were both supposed to post late last week or very early this week. Unfortunately, I had my yearly physical on Monday, and it was deemed that I receive a pneumococcal pneumonia (not sure if that’s redundant) vaccine. Which hurt. A lot. But I was fine. On Tuesday, I was tired, but I went to morning mass and then grocery shopping. By the time I came home from grocery shopping, I couldn’t lift my arm higher than my chest. I started feeling very warm, but then I was cold. By dinnertime, I was definitely ill. Fever, aches, ear ringing. I spent two full days in my pajamas drifting from bed to sofa and back again. I’m still not all the way well, but the fever’s been gone for days, the aches are tolerable and going, my ears are still ringing, but that is somewhat “normal” although not usually quite this loud. I was able to lift my arm higher so I was able to shower and that makes me feel more human, so I did get out of the house and do a couple of errands and made some phone calls that I had put off.

I’ve been told by friends who know (medical people) that this is most likely NOT a vaccine reaction. Live vaccines, like this one and the flu one sometimes make us sick. I’ve come to expect it with the flu vaccine. Good news: if all goes well, I won’t need a booster until I’m 65.

It is also precious little sacrifice for the immunity it will give me and those around me because the last thing I want is for them (and me) to receive life-threatening, yet preventable diseases.

I hope to get back on track this week, slowly, but there’s so much to do – Lent to prepare for, St. Patrick’s Day, retreat, interfaith dinner, Captain Marvel, my daughter’s musical, memoir workshops, and art, so it’s probably time to begin.

A Friend in Need… [Repost] Please help if you can

Standard

Last week I briefly mentioned that a friend of mine passed away suddenly. Nick, and his fiance, Morgan were my teammates on our annual Gishwhes scavenger hunt. I had known Nick for just over three years.

Nick was a fun, caring, kind person; one of the kindest I’ve had the privilege to know and his family is devastated by his loss.

Morgan’s sister set up this Go Fund Me to help them and give their family a little peace of mind until any benefits from Nick become available. They are in the process of moving to a new state, a new home, and new schools for the kids. And, of course, they will be doing all of this while they are grieving and healing. To say this is a stressful time would be an understatement.

If you can share this Go Fund Me, I would thank you, and if you can afford to donate, every little bit helps and is appreciated, please do. Continue reading

Product Review – Skullcandy Ink’d Wireless Earbuds

Standard

​Ink’d Wireless Earbuds by Skullcandy (with box). (c)2019

I requested and received these as a gift this past holiday season. I had seen them in a Target ad for half off on Black Friday. I think they retail at around $49.99 in most places. I wouldn’t normally spend that much or even half that on earbuds, but visually, they seemed to be what I was looking for.

I was happy to find out they are! And much more!

The earbuds themselves are very comfortable in my ears, either on their own or with my hearing aids. Other earbuds were practically useless with my hearing aids, and I don’t like taking them in and out during the day to listen to a podcast or music.

The part that worn around the neck is also very comfortable. So comfortable in fact, that I have forgotten that I’m wearing them, and will take off my jacket at a church or library function and realize then that I never took it off. I’ve fallen asleep with it around my neck and with the earbuds in my ears.

The website and the product box both extol its functionality: It connects to your tech with bluetooth wireless technology and the battery will run for about eight hours. It has a built-in microphone for calls, pause, track and volume control right at your fingertips.

The sound is the best sound I’ve ever had in an earbud, including other Skullcandy that I’ve used in the past. Both sides blend well to give a great stereo sound and I can hear some background vocals and commentary that I hadn’t heard in listening before. I really noticed this when listening to the Hamilton original Broadway soundtrack. In a couple of the songs there is a low side-talking that I had never noticed before.

I haven’t tested how far away I can go from my tablet, but I have left it in one room and gone to get dressed in another or went to the kitchen to cook or do dishes. I’m definitely not tied to my tablet in one place.

The bluetooth pairs seamlessly to my Kindle Fire as well as my Samsung Galaxy 9, although obviously not at the same time. I primarily use it with the Kindle Fire.

I would highly recommend these earbuds. I have used them constantly since getting them for Christmas, and I will update as the year goes on as to how they last for the long haul.

10/10!

A Friend in Need…

Standard

Last week I briefly mentioned that a friend of mine passed away suddenly. Nick, and his fiance, Morgan were my teammates on our annual Gishwhes scavenger hunt. I had known Nick for just over three years.

Nick was a fun, caring, kind person; one of the kindest I’ve had the privilege to know and his family is devastated by his loss.

Morgan’s sister set up this Go Fund Me to help them and give their family a little peace of mind until any benefits from Nick become available. They are in the process of moving to a new state, a new home, and new schools for the kids. And, of course, they will be doing all of this while they are grieving and healing. To say this is a stressful time would be an understatement.

If you can share this Go Fund Me, I would thank you, and if you can afford to donate, every little bit helps and is appreciated, please do.

Continue reading

Mental Health Monday – I AM THE CHANGE

Standard

Chester Bennington was the lead singer for Linkin Park. After his suicide in 2018, his wife and sister made this video for Now This while at the same time coordinating an awareness campaign: 320 Changes in Direction. The video can be seen in full here.

5 Signa to Look For:

1. Change in personality

2. Agitation

3. Withdrawal

4. Hopelessness

5. Decline in personal care

I AM THE CHANGE

We are all the change. Go to their page at 320 Changes in Direction and see what other resources are available for you or family/friends.

If you are feelling suicidal, please call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at

 1-800-273-8255

This Week (And Last)

Standard

New year, new you, resolutions, goals, intentions, and then I started. I was getting up every morning, eating breakfast, staying at the table and writing. It was wonderful.

And then my car sounded funny.

And then I sneezed.

And then the phone call came, that my 2003 mini-van was done. It ran the good race, but it was over. We still need to go empty it out so the mechanic can get rid of it for us. 

So, now we are carless. I’m not sure how long we will be without a car. We can’t afford a payment, we can’t afford a used car with our non-savings. I briefly considered a go-fund-me, but with the government shutdown, I’m not sure how I feel about adding to the donation burden when people are going without medicine to feed their kids.

Went to make dinner last night, and our oven didn’t work. It’s been temperamental since the fall, and my husband can probably cajole it to work (hopefully tonight), but instead of a gorgeous roast chicken we had spaghetti, not that there’s anything wrong with spaghetti, we eat it often, and we love it, but I really, really wanted chicken.

Then I got sick. It’s a cold, but it’s a really bad cold. My throat just closed up a bit; I’m having trouble swallowing, so I think it’s swollen and it hurts a little. I’m drinking tea. Plus the nose running and the coughing, and the headaches.

Then, a very close acquaintance passed away. He was young, under forty with a family, and he was just a great, lovely, fun-loving, kind man who as little as I saw on Facebook and on my Gishwhes team, I will truly miss him for a long time. What a wonderful human being he was.

Sometime today, I will get back on the horse, and I will post Mental Health Monday, and the two tea posts will appear later this week. I was also writing a Martin Luther King reflection, and I still may.

I have wonderful friends who are helping out where they can, and I still feel blessed if a little depressed.

Thank you for sticking with me. As something I can “give” you in return, I will offer you a recommendation – Google John Mulaney, grab your tissues and weep with laughter.

What is Compound Time and Why Should You Try It?

Standard

For many of these types of posts, I would skim through the article, decide whether or not I thought it was beneficial to share, and then share it. However, after skimming through this one, I realized that I was already doing two and a half of the six hacks they recommended. With that knowledge, I wondered how my time spent was comparable to their other recommendations.

I sat down at my dining room table, cup of tea in hand, Kindle propped up, and read the article carefully, taking a few notes in order to be able to express what it was that I liked about the concept of compound time and why I thought it was worthwhile to share.

Beginning to read this article took minutes for me to convince myself that I wzsn’t wasting time and that it was important for my writing as well as my life. That’s the first conflict for most of us in reading an article like this. Take naps? Seriously? I already waste enough of my day staring into space. But what if that staring into space is something that jump starts a project? Or a thought that takes us to a new idea to work on?

We’re constantly being told that daily rituals are good for our creativity as well as getting us motivated to start our day. For the last couple of years, I’ve read what I call “daily books;” books that are meant to be read a page a day, whether they be devotionals and religious, prayerful or secular, they are something short to read to begin the day; to know that the day has begun, and we can go on.

Some of those past books have been:

Through the Years with Jimmy Carter: 366 Daily Meditations from the 39th President

Three Hundred Sixty-Five Happiness Boosters by MJ Ryan

Women of the Bible: A Year Long  Devotional Study by Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda

365 Saints: Your Daily Guide to the Wisdom and Wonder of Their Lives by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker

Currently, I am reading G’Morning G’Night: Pep Talks for Me and You by Lin-Manuel Miranda, illustrated by Jonny Sun. Every morning, I read the G’morning passage, and then before bed, I read the corresponding G’night. There aren’t enough to get through the whole year, but the beauty of this book is that I can restart it. The messages are universal, positive, and uplifting.

What is compound time?

Continue reading