snippets of the weekend 10.31.2022

Friday I walked the beach after work, drove back to Philly and meant to go watch the Phillies at my brother & Aubrey's but lay on the couch and it was all over. I was up until 2 Thursday night trolling through Rome hotels and apartments, so I watched the game on my own couch and was up until after 1 again doing that and also uh looking again at more Rome hotels and apartments. 

Saturday I slept in, did nails (Zoya Charla), ran a few errands, did some veggie prep for the week, and MFD made dinner. We went to Mr. May's to watch the Phillies and I was up past 1 again. 

Sunday there was no sleeping in. More errands, laundry, house things, Eagles game, and couch sitting. My brother and Aubrey and the kids came over and we got Chinese and had cake for my dad's birthday. 

In addition to snippets here, I've been doing weekending reels on Instagram if you are interested. 

Today is the first Halloween without my uncle alive for his Halloween birthday, getting absurdly large pumpkins and handing out full size candy bars to gleeful children. Extra love and support to my cousins today as it is a hard first, made extra hard by the fact that usually when a loved one dies the entire country is not celebrating their birthday as a holiday and by Perry truly embracing being a Halloween child and leaning into it so it is hard to separate the holiday from him. Or from excessively large amounts of chocolate cake.

Have a safe & great Halloween and appreciate each other - we don't know how long we have together here.

GO PHILS. The World Series game schedule/hours/watch parties were much easier on the body when I was 31 in 2008 vs. now. 

Find and cultivate that baseline wellness

Several things about this current earth simulation makes happiness feel a little out of reach many days.  

I don't think sustained happiness is possible - I believe you need the lows to appreciate those highs. But existing in a more even-keeled state - should we call it contentment in the now while looking forward to more growth and change? - is better for the cortisol levels, and keeping those cortisol levels in check is crucial for overall health and well being. Toxic positivity and consistent negativity are equally bad. Realism and authenticity serve me well. 

A state of contentment in the now helps us let go of things we cannot change, foster healthier relationships, and mind our health. When we exist in a generally happy state are more productive, creative, and resilient, and they're also better able to cope with stress. How to get to that state?

1. Spend Time With Loved Ones

Spending time with people you care about is one of the best ways to boost your mood. Regular check ins via text, phone, facetime, email, and in person when you can make it happen make a difference and remind us we're not alone out here. Make an effort to stay connected and boost you sense of baseline contentment.

2. Get Moving

Exercise releases endorphins, which have mood-boosting effects. A moderate amount of exercise is the key to happiness—too little and you won't see any benefits, but too much is too much too. I am not a joyful exerciser. I find activities I enjoy - walking, riding my bike - and make it a part of my regular routine, which improves my overall mood and sense of well-being. Add in some pushups and squats and mini weight work and that is something I can commit to keeping up with. And grounding! As in your bare feet, into the earth. Please try this in practice.

3. Help Others

When you do something nice for someone else, it feels good. Whether you volunteer your time or  perform random acts of kindness, helping others is a great way to make yourself feel good and bring more happiness into your life. Find a way to help people that assimilates into your schedule and bank account, and make it a priority.

4. Rituals

I love my routine, but I am always honing it. Sleep is an enormous player when it comes to your health, and if you are anything like me, lack of sleep makes you an unhappy troll. I started having sleep issues, and talked to my doctor (holistic practice) about melatonin vs CBD and chose CBD after realizing melatonin has the opposite effect for me. Using CBD can help with relaxation, which I need at night, something like Delta 8 THC Vape Carts or Early Bird gummies - my friends, you can get this shit in the mail. What a time to be alive. CBD creams are amazing as well. I've added that and more consistent dry brushing to my routine recently. 

5. Do Something New

Trying new things can help break up the monotony of everyday life and give you a sense of excitement and adventure. It doesn't have to be anything big—just something that you wouldn't normally do. 

6. Do Something You Love Every Day

Make time for activities that make you feel good, whether it's reading, painting, hiking, biking, cooking, or anything else that brings joy into your life. If you’re always working or busy or feel like you’re about to burn out, that does not lead to baseline wellness. Make your rest and leisure habits and  hobbies more of a priority. It’ll make such a difference to your happiness levels.

7. Be Grateful For What You Have

It's easy to get caught up in what we don't have and forget about what we do, and that is a recipe for all things to start going to shit. If you don't already do this, every day, take a few moments to reflect on the things you're thankful for. 

Keep on keeping on out there, my friends. I hope you always have something to look forward to...today, this weekend, next month, next year. 

Happy Friday! Go Phils.

 

Thursday Thoughts - I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now

Glorious night. The air was great last night, and so were the skies. I was out there for a long time walking and stretching my neck like nobody's business. I'm making a pier pics photo book for our house this winter. Allegedly

Bruce was running wild through the ocean with his leash on, Ben following, and Mae bringing up the rear although how she made it out there I don't know. We all got soaked but it was fun and they didn't move the rest of the night. 

Fuck everyone who has things to say about a man recovering from a stroke speaking in public. Especially if you voted for the former president who is a fucking terrible public speaker and don't know your ass from a hole in the wall regarding strokes or any kind of processing delays. Being able to speak well in public is great, but we do not need the sound bytes and we do not need the fire tweets. We need people who will write, read, and pass legislation that will HELP REGULAR AMERICANS. That's the fucking job. People who will actually work and produce RESULTS that are not TV interviews and tweets. We've had so many years of gridlock and so many years of do nothing shit under McConnell previously that we might have forgotten they are not in office to make names for themselves or be twitter stars or make appearances at fucking baseball games or anything else people on both sides do, they are there to work for the American people. Period. The ableism and fake concern for health people have been spouting this week is fucking vile. Many people out there clearly taking their health for granted and have not had to work through the recovery from any physical or mental health issue in public and if fucking shows. Enough. Act right. What is wrong with people. My god. Elect people who will not lie and will work for us. 

Last day for Yunizon kickstarter. Please click here to support this campaign if you haven't! I did it by pledging the sunglasses. Amba and Andy, baby.

Desk refreshes. In Philly I changed up my lighting because the room is dark and winter is coming, my friends. At the shore I just cleared out around my computer shit - there had been a scary stack of receipts and miscellaneous bullshit everywhere. I have a tiny lamp coming to light up the back of this area. Anyhoo easier to live and work in brighter, clearer areas. 

IT Department, Party of One. One of my least favorite things about WFH is being my own IT department. I woke up yesterday to no internet with a deadline looming so I tethered to my personal hotspot and chatted with comcast until we got a temporary fix, and they sent someone out in the afternoon who told me 3/4 things that make the modem work had a filter on them so we were only getting 1/4 of the power. Guess who showed up one day unannounced and put the filter on for "interference reports?" Comcast. The guy yesterday just shook his head.

Booking accommodations for next year's family trip. My first time out of the country since 2016 which does not seem possible. 

Halloween candy ordered. I nearly forgot. You? Who needs a costume? It's funny but it's fucking not

Reading. I have had issues settling on a book recently. I'm trying Celeste Ng's newest, which is absolutely nothing like her other books. I do have a new hold in at the library so I'll get that tomorrow.

Watching. Last night I watched the second Austin Powers for some LOLs 

That's it. Go Phils.

 
What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve

Most Effective Techniques To Teach Your Kids About Household Pests

It’s fantastic being a kid, you have a lack of knowledge of many different things that can make life seem so much simpler and blissful. While it’s great to allow this innocence to continue, there are some areas where it’s important to educate them. Household pests are one such area.

Why Education Is Important

If you have a pest problem and need to check here to get the best possible assistance, then your child may be curious about what is happening. It can even appear scary. Educating them helps them to realize that this is just a specialist dealing with an issue. 

In addition, if you educate your children they will know the difference between a pest and a harmless creature, what they should be doing about the pests, and even how they can prevent them from appearing in your home.

Go Online Or use Book

The first step is to go online or use a book and show your child the various pests that are common in your area. This will allow you and your child to identify each pest and understand the differences between each one.

Doing it this way allows your child to see pictures of the pests, which makes it much easier for them to correctly identify them in the future.

Know The Issues

As a follow-on to being able to identify the pests, it’s a good idea to write down the pest and the issues they can cause, such as eating wood, contaminating food, or carrying diseases. Writing it will help your child to remember it.

Catch Some Pests

If you place some traps in your home and garden you are likely to capture something. The best

approach is to use sticky paper to capture any insects that are around in your home or yard. The sticky paper will hold the pest in place, killing it and allowing you to show your child and see if they can identify it or not.

The more you practice this the easier it will be.

Make Sure They Know Why Pests Are Important

As part of educating your child, they should learn about why pests are important and the role they play in the food chain and the environment. That will help your child develop a respect and understanding for pests.

More importantly, it will encourage their curiosity which will ensure they are better prepared to deal with any pests they come across.

With the right understanding, a child can understand the difference between a dangerous pest and a harmless one. That will make it easier for them to take the right action when faced with one.

Do It As They Find The Pest

Perhaps the best approach, to avoid overloading your child with information, is to do it in real-time. That means, when your child comes across a pest, sit down with them and make sure they know what type of pest it is and any other relevant facts.

******

This post was written with the Life According to Steph audience in mind

snippets of the weekend 10.24.2022

Kicked off Friday with a sunrise walk and a half day of work before loading Ben & Billy up and ripping through South Philly to do an IKEA pickup before finishing out the workday in Philly. I also returned some shit from the company party last weekend, threw a pizza from Aldi in the oven, and stayed up late finishing a book. 

MFD inadvisably stayed at the shore, which stressed me out. We made it on time about  45 min away to my dear friend Beth's wedding which was in a lovely hall with excellent food, good playlist, beautiful brides, lots of smiles and authentic joy, mismatched china and vintage table cloths which is my favorite type of table scape, and immaculate wedding energy while we spent some time with the work fam. And the flowers and table books. Loved. 

We timed the day to a T, motoring out so MFD could pick up a Jersey at my brother's and get to his evening festivities with the Sixers at 6 in a packed ass South Philly with that and the Phillies game. I did a run through HomeGoods and settled on the couch to watch Season 3 of the Derry Girls in its entirety. It will never be enough. Phillies game check-ins.

I woke up Sunday and set about reorganizing and sorting things in the dining room and batch cooking, all of which came to a screeching halt mid-mess as sinus-related vertigo reared and I literally could  not stand due to dizziness and nausea. I swear Mae is an empath, she was not well either. Careful movement and couch for the rest of the day, which is where we watched the Phillies clinch the NLCS. A fair amount of years and a far cry from our bar-tour throughout the 2008 post-season LOL. 

In addition to snippets here, I've been doing weekending reels on Instagram if you are interested. 

I'm not a super fan of any team or sport, but I do love some red October baseball and athletes who do well in Philly because they understand what Philly is about. Those professionals are immediately recognizable even to us non super fan fans. I enjoy most anything that brings a lot of collective joy. I do not love when "real fans" feel the need to pee on the bushes to mark their territory as true fans versus those showing an interest now. My dudes, there is sincerely not an individual reward system for who is the biggest/longest/most die hard fan and it's a drain on the thumping energy the City/area is enveloped in and the players feed off of in a time like this. Just have a good time and enjoy it.

But I digress. Happy Monday!

Closing out the week with that Friday energy

Onto the next bathroom project. This is not a total gut to studs. We're getting all the shiteous useless trim removed from the big bath at the shore, sheet rock over the hideous wallboard and ceiling, paint wall and ceiling, install exhaust fan, new baseboard trim, new hooks/towel holder/toilet paper holder/mirrors, and better use of the dead space behind the shower. We already switched out the vanity light fixture and ceiling light fixture. This should be done by the end of next week and I am pumped. I hate this room. I need to call my plumber about changing the shower fixtures too but that's for spring.

T-shirts this week.

This week on the beach.

Squad.

Happiness. Happy birthday to Lori yesterday, one of my people on this earth!

Library hold pickups.

That post-omicron booster shot feeling. Terrible. I had high hopes this time but 27 hours after it got me. Fever and intense body aches. I still have a lot of fatigue and body aches but I've been walking through it this time and I'm happy about that. 

Otherwise, laying low this week. It's the first time we've all been at the shore at the same time in over a month. We're transitioning stuff over to fall here - putting away the ACs and getting out the portable fireplaces - and spending time outside. 

 

snippets of the weekend 10.17.2022

Friday work event prep and an evening at the Doylestown Bookshop seeing Lisa Regan talk about the Josie Quinn series! I saw that she'd be there Friday morning and made sure I got there. Very cool! If you aren't reading the Josie books, you should - #16 comes out in December and they are consistently solid reads. 

Saturday was entirely centered around errands for, set up and break down, and running an event for my company at Franklin Square in Philly.

Sunday I did some returns from that event and could not pass up the Feliz Navidad pillow in the Target $5 spot (a pompom promptly fell off). I was on my way to the shore by 11 and unpacked, hit the thrift store and grocery store, and did a beach walk with all the dogs and started the newest Tracy Crosswhite book.

Monday I was off and did nothing aside from annual vet visits for Bruce and Ben, back to pick Bruce up after a dental, a solo beach walk with Ben, lounging and reading, porch sitting, a bike ride back by the bay, and the interior door work started in the main house which is not exciting to most people but is definitely exciting to me. 

In addition to snippets here, I've been doing weekending reels on Instagram if you are interested. 

Second week in a row where snippets of the weekend is happening on a Wednesday. Let's not call it a pattern yet.

Thursday Thoughts - Autumn comes for a time, but autumn sways

Streets Dept Walls To the  Polls 2022 murals are up in LOVE Park and they are worth seeing.

The birthplace of American independence from the British is showing out against fascism. Hopefully you show out against fascism too. Election deniers are fascists. People against bodily autonomy are fascists. Fascists are anti-freedom. Anti-freedom is anti-America. People in PA, if you vote for Mastriano, he is an Election denier and that makes you... What are you? Let's stop dancing around shit. If you vote for people who America would have been against in WWII because of their "beliefs" about elections that have been disproven in courts ad infinitum and bodily autonomy which is a human right for all people, that's voting for fascism. If you are an elected official and you support someone who is an election denier, you are supporting fascism and you do not belong in office. If you can't bring yourself to vote for a democrat don't vote for that position on Election Day. Just you and yourself in that booth. No one else needs to know, but your heart will know you didn't vote for fascism. 

Monthly massage at Blossom Bodywork on Tuesday - you need to get in with Sarah if you are in Northeast Philly/Bucks County. Trust me. Monthly massage for wellness is so good for me. It's good for you too, and you should do it.

I hit up my acupuncturist too. Which is also so good for me and my wellness and I need to get back on the monthly rotation versus every three to six months. My acu is amazing for many reasons and shit like this hanging in their window is one.

Best good boy

Must be Fall Family Event season. 

Have I ever told you MFD eats old people food? Here's an example.

Two days in the office this week did me in. So weird to think I used to do that all the time. We're still putting the Philly house back together after the bathroom project. When I finish getting my artwork for that I'll share photos. Construction dust is still everywhere and will be for a while but MFD is working on eradicating that in passes. 

I'm pivoting to the big bathroom at the shore, which will be undergoing a mini transformation soon. I need to pick a paint color and order my canvases for that too. 

Happy Thursday! It's gray here today and a good day to sink into the couch with a book (I'm reading Mad Honey, Jodi Picoult's newest, and it feels like old Jodi Picoult). But alas we must participate in the capitalism. Cheerio

 
What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Autumn Comes by David Gramberg

snippets of the weekend 10.10.2022

I was off Thursday and Friday and it was so nice to ramble around with no agenda and not do work things. Thursday I put my fall stuff out on the porch, went to the library, took a number of long beach walks both before and after Lori and Mo arrived for the weekend, strolled Asbury a little, had dinner at Jon & Patty's, got a cinnamon and pumpkin swirl at Kohr Bros, and watched the moon rise as we walked home along the boards. 

Friday a slow ease into the day, Asbury shopping, a lovely weather time on the beach, salad and reading for dinner, outdoor shower, long walk on the bayside to cap off the day, and news from Philly that the bathroom project had been completed. 

Saturday Block Party Day! Debbie arrived, Dad and Carol enjoyed last year so they came over on the ferry to do the festival again this year and stopped to say hello, and Melissa and Stephanie and Stephanie came down, did the Block Party, then joined us for some hours of catching up and laughs. It was a good day.

Sunday Lori, Mo, and Debbie went to get donuts from Nauti, then we took a walk on the beach. Debbie headed home, and Mo, Lori, and I went and had lunch at Jay's. We hit the beach and it was quite windy but still doable for a few hours. We celebrated Ben & Mae's birthdays with birthday burgers. 

I packed up and cleaned up, and did a final walk up to see the rise of the Blood Moon. It was a good one. 

Drove back to Philly and put some shit back in the bathroom then fell out exhausted and happy. I missed this weekend through Covid and spending time at the shore with everyone, especially my person Lori!

In addition to snippets here, I've been doing weekending reels on Instagram if you are interested. 

Happy birthday to my forever friend Melissa on Monday! 

Hope yours was good! I mean we're almost to the next one if it wasn't.

Thursday Thoughts - Oh well, I guess we're gonna find out

Dogs on the regular beach season is back. And we are thrilled.

Electric blanket season is also back for Ben. It's always Mae bees mean and Chewy advertisement season.

You've got to be fucking kidding me with this price. 

Does craving citrus mean you're about to have scurvy? If so, sign me up. I already have a mild concussion from clocking my head into the fucking pier coming and going on the second to last day of the Nor'Easter because the tide was so high.

I got these angry ocean photos as a souvenir.

Yesterday was much better. 

Fall must haves. These are LLBean but I also love my Sperry Syrens which are not easy to find right now. And the takes a licking keeps on ticking Columbia Acadia II rain jacket. I also use my non-polarized sunglasses on overcast and drizzly days because they are still too bright for bare eyes.

Fresh off my hold shelf.

Fall shore decor loading.

So tempted to list Found: piece of large Tonka Toy on the local facebook page

Out of office behavior. I'm off today and tomorrow with no agenda and it has been a damn long time since that was the case.

 
What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Let's See How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20