I love camping!

I have the fondest memories of camping when I was young and that is probably why I still love camping to this day.

My mom is Dutch and my dad American and we moved to California when I was very young. Every summer I would go back to Holland and spend time with my family.

During those summers my uncle and aunt would take my cousins and I camping in France and we would search for fossils, My uncle was really into it and I still have some of the fossils I found today. That was like 45 years ago. Sheesh.

I love sleeping in a tent, I love camp fires and the smell of them, getting up in the middle of the night trying to find the bathroom or peeing outside when it’s freezing. Fun times and I can’t wait to do it again.

Daily writing prompt
Have you ever been camping?

Overcoming Fear of Heights: My Elevator Dilemma

I don’t like going up in elevators to site seeing platforms – like the Space Needle, Stratosphere or Eiffel Tower and once I get up there, I freeze. The only thing that would get me to do it is Valium, Xanax or alcohol. Doing any of those would probably ruin the experience for me so those are out.

I could try hypnosis?

Daily writing prompt
What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?

Transforming Regret into Positive Change

Why? It’s done. That ship has sailed. A lot of the mistakes I have learned from are in the past, I like them there as memories. I used to drink a lot of alcohol and I always would do or say something I regretted. I was just thinking about how that hasn’t happened lately because I haven’t had a drink in quite some time. Even not being drunk and doing or saying something you regret is rough. You go over the conversation or action over and over again in your head and there is really no reason why except to make you feel worse that you did in the first place. You can’t change what happened at this point.

I am working on changing my thinking and how I do that is by creating a future that I love thinking about. I have goals and plans that now occupy my mind so I have no time to think about something stupid I did or said a year ago. I had not really thought about how little I have been thinking about the past until I wrote this post. Now that is a beautiful thing.

Daily writing prompt
Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past? Why?

1966 – Interracial marriage and the Year of the Horse.

I think the most interesting fact about my year of birth is that my parents were in an interracial marriage when I was born and I am a U.S. citizen. Interracial marriage did not become legal in the U.S. until 1967. I was born in the Netherlands and that is where they were married. I ended up moving to the U.S. when I was 5. Times have changed a bit.

People born in the year of the Horse are said to be energetic and free spirited in nature. I guess it’s somewhat true. I wish I was a little more energetic! They are also adaptable – I agree with that. They are kind and social creatures. I am kind but the social creature part has dwindled. I work retail and have for a very long time and unfortunately for me a side effect of the job is that my love for being around other humans is just not there anymore.

For 2025, I will be working on some major changes and can’t wait for the happy social creature to come out again.

Daily writing prompt
Share what you know about the year you were born.

Warmth and Sunshine: The Key to Happiness

I am most happy when it’s warm and sunny. I love sunny days. It doesn’t even have to be super warm, I just like the sun. It makes everything so much better to me. I feel better physically and mentally when it’s sunny. I have skip in my step when it’s sunny. My happiest days are warm and sunny. I love being warm so the two, sun and warmth are the best to me. I like the feeling of the sun on my skin and I look a lot healthier when I have been in the sun.

Sunshine on my shoulders feels so lovely, sunshine in my eyes makes me smile.

It’s fall, the mornings have been cold and foggy. The days cold and wet.

I have a sun lamp, I use it a lot. It seems to help.

Good grief, winter hasn’t even started yet.

I am going to get a blanket.

Daily writing prompt
When are you most happy?

Why I Gave Up Meat: A Personal Journey

He died at 60 from heart disease. I remember him eating a lot of meat and he cooked everything in bacon fat that he left in a can near the stove. My parent got divorced when I was in second grade and my mom was not much of a meat eater or cook. There were specific dishes she would cook and we ate out a lot. One of my favorite dishes she used to make was ground beef and rice stuffed bell peppers.

When I got into my late 20s I started noticing that I would get really bad heartburn when I ate meat so I stopped eating it. After about 15 years I tried eating it again but the heart burn came back with a vengeance so I decided meat was just not for me anymore. I don’t miss it because there are so many alternatives these days.

For me, it’s not a healthy choice because it doesn’t make me feel good and as time has passed, I really can’t imagine myself eating it ever again, I just prefer a plant based diet most of the time. As I have gotten older I trust my body a lot more to tell me what it needs and once in while I may crave fish, if that’s the case, I take advantage of the situation and take myself out somewhere nice for fresh fish.

Daily writing prompt
What are your feelings about eating meat?

I love the beach and the mountains but if I had to choose it would be the beach and I will tell you why.

I grew up at the beach so I have so many fond memories of growing up there. I have also lived in the mountains and love the trees and ferns and just being in nature. But I don’t like cold and snow. Usually it gets colder and snows in the mountains and I don’t do cold well. In addition, I get extreme anxiety from high and windy roads so the beach wins.

Daily writing prompt
Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why?

I love veggie burgers, especially cooked on the grill.

Burgers seem to be our favorite meal. We eat veggie burgers. I am not that picky about what type of veggie burger as long as I know it’s been on the grill.

We also do Taco Tuesday, one of my other favorite meals. I like veggies so I can make a huge taco salad out of it.

Vegan Beef Bulgogi from Trader Joes with noodles and lots of Sriracha.

Daily writing prompt
What are your family’s top 3 favorite meals?

Living in Apartments: Navigating Noise and Privacy

Lately I’ve had some different living situations, they have mostly been apartments. What I have learned is that I appreciate a neighbor who knows and obeys the apartment guidelines. I like neighbors who remember they share a wall. They understand someone doesn’t want to hear any arguing or loud music after a certain hour. It would be nice to have a neighbor that you trust. If you are away, they will keep an eye out.

Apartment buildings with outside front doors – my preference.

Just over the past 5 years I have moved 4 times. My current apartment isn’t bad as far as noise is concerned this week. We live on the second floor and have neighbors on each side and above. My current upstairs neighbor is pretty quiet now that he’s all moved in. He moved in about 2 months ago and has been moving things around ever since. It’s finally gotten quiet this week. The people that lived there before were so loud, they had a dog and a cat. They were constantly up and around and I call them hard walkers because it was always so loud. We would wonder if they ever sat down because the stomping around was constant.

I live in apartments, so I expect a certain amount of noise. Still, I also remember I have neighbors below me and on each side. I don’t stomp, jump or run the apartment. I keep my t.v. down if I am up watching t.v early. My boyfriend and I don’t yell, we try to keep our voices at a normal level. I can hear my neighbors on each side. If I am in the room next to them, I can hear their conversations. They need to be loud for me to hear them. I personally just like to keep my stuff a little more private. I don’t mind keeping my quiet voice in place.

Apartment Buildings with inside front doors, no, thank you.

Before we moved back to the west coast, we lived in Ardmore, PA. The apartment building we lived in had no privacy! It was one of those buildings where you walk into a main entrance and all the doors are inside. As you walked through the hallway, you hear the people in each apartment. Their voices were audible as you passed by. You smell what they were cooking. The worst part of that apartment, though, was the bed’s location. It must have been right under the person above’s bathroom. Every time they urinated, we heard the sound of it going into the toilet. It was crazy.

I have come to the conclusion I would be happiest in an apartment community. This community should be respectful and trusting of each other. This environment helps the feeling of having your apartment be your castle.

Daily writing prompt
What makes a good neighbor?

Essential Strategies for Affordable Grocery Shopping

My bank sent me a little something that showed how much I was spending on different things like groceries, entertainment, and gas among other things. I was really surprised to see how much I was spending on groceries. I know prices have went up, I work at a well known market and am always saying, “that used to be…” as in the dollar price.

I used to have a list and would go to different stores and I need to start doing that again. I think we stopped because it was so time consuming. We both work 40 hours a week like most people and would like to be doing something other than grocery shopping when we are not at work.

Preparation is key, if we leave early in the morning with a list – we can be home before noon.

Here are some other tips that have been helpful to me:

  1. Making a list of what we need.
  2. Checking prices at the stores I shop most at by looking at their weekly/monthly flyer online.
  3. Using the Ibotta app for any additional discounts.
  4. Loading coupons onto my phone from stores that have digital coupons.
  5. Go grocery shopping after we eat.
  6. Upload my receipt to Receipt Hog for points.

I am grateful for that info from the bank because now I can make some positive changes before I go to the store.

What’s your grocery store plan? Have you noticed the prices of just simple stuff going up? Do you use receipt apps? It is the beginning of the month so a great time to start a new plan and see what the results are.

Daily writing prompt
What details of your life could you pay more attention to?