Detox Day 3 and So Much Random I’ve Lost Track

January 16, 2019 / zoebyrd / Leave a comment

So when last of that was going to a meeting with the group that I’m doing this detox with. Maybe I’m naive, but I didn’t put together that this group would be as large as it is I mean it’s close to 500 people. I really thought this would be little more personalized than that. I’m a bit disappointed in that, but I don’t have any regrets about joining it because I think it has really good information, and I think the detox is totally worth it. I’ve had success with this program in general so it’s all good.

This morning, I was making soup for the detox and doing dishes at the same time and apparently I left it up a little too high on the top of the stove and well let’s just say the explosion wasn’t pretty!

So that’s the detox so far, now for the random. My niece who is a tattoo artist is celebrating her birthday this week, and has decided to donate all the proceeds of doing little animal tracks for people to the local animal shelter. So she’s doing a series of walk-ins and appointments this week at $40 a whack and all the proceeds will go to her local animal shelter. I think is just a really fantabulous thing to do! She’s really my hero, well one of them anyway!

I’m getting a little bird track done on my wrist on Friday morning. I’ll post a picture of it later.

It’s been pretty hectic week overall but it’s moving along and coming together and I’m just trying to kind of keep up with it. I’ll apologize to Denise right now cuz I don’t think I’m going to be making it to six sentence stories this week. I wouldn’t have the time to hop around, or to come up with much of a story. So if you can’t do it right don’t do it at all in my book. I’ll get back to it at some point Denise I promise! Probably intermittently but I will get back.

In the meantime enjoy the sweet little pic of my friend Joulie at my friend Robin’s house! Have a great day! 20190115_205445

May 2, 2017 / zoebyrd / Leave a comment

9: DOWN LOW 1557a-img_20130608_203836_038 b33de-img_20130608_203716_804 f06b2-img_20130608_203403_906 41592-werweqrqw

See You Later!

January 10, 2015 / zoebyrd / Leave a comment

* While not totally appropriate to the occasion, I just couldn’t find a fun goodbye song! Do you know how many depressing goodbye songs are out there? Holy Cow!

I’ve decided to do some other writing for a bit and am going to be moving on from “rewritten,” but I didn’t want to just disappear without saying thanks for all the fun. Thanks for following through all the transitions from blog to book, from dog blog to book blog, from “why the hell am I doing this?” to “Wow, this was quite a bit of fun while it lasted.”

Thanks everybody! I’ll be back at some point, it’s just time for other ventures. It’s been a ton of fun!

Z, and of course Skips

NOSTALGIA- 2 shoes tues.

January 5, 2015 / zoebyrd / 23 Comments

WELCOME TO AN ANNUAL

TIME-HONORED TRADITION

Back in high school ( or was it shortly after?) my friend Lori took a typing class and needed to do that stuffy exercise known to all typing classes–the formal letter (da-da-dummmmmm).

So, she inadvertently started a tradition that has lived on many a year (we are now in our 50s).

What kind of great, worthy, and time honored tradition could this possibly be you ask? Why it’s…

THE LIVING OR DEAD DINNER PARTY!

(the crowd cheers!)

This is an imaginary party in which you may invite a predetermined number of people from both the dead and living. You must also supply why you would invite said individuals. If you participated last year we would urge you to refrain from inviting more than two of the same people you invited in 2014. With that in mind, let’s say you can invite 6 people living or dead (2 of whom you may have invited in the past).

Let’s give it a go shall we?

I did come to this event last year and invited both of these guys. Controversially Jesus was on both my living and dead list… luckily it just doesn’t matter in this game. So He can come again because I just want to see who shows up (will the whole Holy Trinity show? And what kind of answers will just His presence provide, never mind if He turns out to be the party guy I suspect He really is.)

Again in the way of answers I will invite my good friend Tseering, of whom unfortunate circumstances have left many still wondering “living or dead?” Also … great guy, loved a party, would love to see him again.

Being that I can hang with the living any time I often find myself with a predominate amount of the deceased on my party list but here goes anyway

Ernest Hemingway was supposedly a helluva story-teller and a pretty good drinker/party animal.

Eleanor Roosevelt was an opinionated intellectual with a good heart and didn’t seem to give much of a rat’s ass about what the hate-mongers and negative Nancy’s were pushing at any given time.

If the quotation people are to be believed, Winston Churchill seemed to have many a witty repartee accredited him. Good at a party, yes?

I think I would also invite Ricki Gervais as he seems to be a lot of fun but may also be kinda freaky (in a good way) about meeting all those dead people. He is also a pretty avid animal activist and I wanna see what happens if Jesus shows up.

SO … who do you want at your dinner party?

Leave it in the comments!

TToT and a New Year?

January 2, 2015January 2, 2015 / zoebyrd / 35 Comments

*Really? It’s a new year? It doesn’t feel like it. I’m guessing it’s because nothing has really changed since last week–last year. I know much of the change is up to me, and believe me I think I do my part. I am not tooting my own horn here but, I’m also not willing to pretend I don’t try really hard to keep going. I do. I also recognize that I am really fortunate that other people not only seem to notice, but are often willing to lend a hand . Yeah , I make snide comments about not wanting any more questions, or if I want your opinion I am perfectly willing to beat it out of you, thanks very much… but really I appreciate the concern, I appreciate being given credit for the hard stuff and even if I don’t take you up on it, for the offers of help. So “thanks!”

Do you recall these earlier posts about insurance issues, ( (1), (2), (3) and that’s just to name a few)? Well, the saga continued and didn’t let up until it was quite literally the twelfth hour. Earlier in the month I found out that my insurance company again discontinued my insurance, accidentally of course (certainly not because I use it a lot or anything… but I’m not paranoid about that why do you ask?) The result was an irate phone call from me and assurances from them that “we will send you an email when it is reinstated.” I also had to cancel several appointments to find out why my ability to walk has suddenly become a problem because quite frankly, I couldn’t afford to find out without insurance.

I don’t want to misrepresent, so I will tell you that the email did come. It came on New Year’s Eve, after almost four weeks of no insurance coverage, twelve hours before the end of the year, the final day of the month in question, and what you don’t know is it was also the last day of this particular insurance which is leaving Massachusetts as of (you guessed it) December 31st. It’s stuff like this that wears me out. My health from here on in, will always be a challenge, but it doesn’t and shouldn’t be difficult because of improper management and frequent and persistent human error. So as Clark would say, this is a hypogratitude. I am happy to have new insurance. Unfortunately I am no more confident about this insurance as it seems to be the same package with a new label. We will see.

*Now that it’s out…I’m grateful that my legs and balance seem to have improved some.

*I’m grateful that I was able to write a bit more this week. and did a few art projects.

*While I’m grateful the main holidays are done, I still have a few Christmases to get through.

*I’m really grateful for this little goofball and her mom.

*SKIPS. I’m grateful for Skips.

*I’m really grateful for the camera on my phone. It used to be that I was always wishing I had brought my camera. Now I always have one with me and I have to say… it doesn’t take a bad shot.

*I’m happy to have found this little place.

It’s a wonderful little gallery and coffee house called the Stanmeyer Gallery.

Skyler, the guy who works there has managed to addict me to Paris tea. I don’t do coffee.

*What’s App is definitely worth a mention here… it allows me to chat with Lizzi for free …no easy feat for GB to USA. If you don’t have it look into it… totally worth it as a free app no less.

*Friends. I have really good friends. Thanks, everybody.

Happy New Year.

Your hosts

A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Rewritten, Thankful Me, The Wakefield Doctrine

Join the Ten Things of Thankful Facebook Group

12 PHOTOS

December 31, 2014 / zoebyrd / 21 Comments

Thanks Christine for putting out the call for Dwija’s Blog. If you’re interested in putting up twelve of your favorite photos from this year just hit the link above and get to it!

As much as these may be a reflection of parts of the year for me they are in no particular order… but let’s do this anyway.

I just built this beauty during our last big snowfall ( a glorious affair…sorry Christine). It was the last fairly active thing I did before getting a bit slammed by some unforseen mobility issues. Im working it out, but I have really fond memories of that day and long walks in the snow , dragging my reluctant dog behind me!

The fall was also really beautiful around here this year.

My brother came to town and his family took my mom to an outdoor art exhibit where they did their best American Gothic impression…. wrote a poem about it on The Well Tempered Bards.

REVISITED

Parodied again,

American Gothic stands

In a New England field

No spinster daughter

No farmer father

Elderly woman and her son

Nostalgia renewed

Modern Americana

Iconic irony

a good friend and I had a bonfire of my manuscript’s extra copies

My sister treated me to a wonderful beach weekend!

My friend Richard put up a new blog of his photos called Richard Hoebel Photography.

Remember the reluctant pooch from the first photo?

My favorite Skips photos circa 2014.

This is the equivalent of the girls around the water cooler.

This year found some really fun shots of my mom. This is she and her great grandaughter .

NO ONE TELLS HER THIS IS HERE!

Lastly this is my great niece who just got this hat from her mom.

She is the queen of making goofy faces!

I WENT LOOKING FOR A WRITING PROMPT

December 29, 2014December 29, 2014 / zoebyrd / 21 Comments

I haven’t written very much in quite some time, so I went looking for a writing prompt and it said to make a list… so here I am. Being of a therapist bent, it fast approaching a new year, and that I am writing this during a cancellation at work, I thought a list of how to stick to a New Year’s resolution may be useful (for myself anyway). So here goes… I have never been one to consistently make a New Year’s resolution, however the times that I have, I have been fortunate enough to be relatively successful with them. I attribute my success to a few things:

I don’t often set them! For example I am thinking of three goals from the past. I am 51 years old and have set a grand total of three New Year’s resolutions? I have gone after other goals, but have not used the New Year as the jumping off point. Believe me I have my failures. Every year I can buy the equivalent of a half a yak for the Heifer Fund just from my swear jar alone!
I don’t often tell others about my resolutions because I also believe in the age-old adage of, “If I want your opinion I will beat it out of you,” or at the very least ask you for it. To some people, telling them you are setting a resolution is like chumming the water. I don’t want you asking me about it regularly, and it is certainly not within your purview to scold me if I do not ask you to hold me accountable.
That being said, I often ask a trusted friend or two to hold me accountable.
I believe in working incrementally. Even if I decide to go all cold-turkey on myself, I am likely to be okay with a faux pas or eight.
In working incrementally, I also think the key is reassessment. I reassess every month at the end of the month. I don’t do it daily, as many experts recommend, because I just don’t have that kind of discipline, and setting myself up for failure is also not my bag.
Never ask yourself “How am I going to do this?” Instead try– ” So what’s the first step in doing this? ” after you get that then, ” What are the next steps?” I find it a lot less overwhelming. My life is nutty enough without my own additions to the craziness.
Lastly , write the goal and the steps down . You don’t have to post it (or the sharks will come out!). You just have to keep it somewhere that you can access it and know that you will. Don’t write it down, and in my book, it translates into a pipe-dream. You know as well as I that when you say ” I’m gonna…” and don’t commit it in writing or with any thought as to the steps to reach it, then it leaves your head until the next time you’re frustrated with whatever it is you wanted to change.

SO … all that said, I am trying to set a goal this year and I am not going to tell you what it is because it’s not for public consumption. Last year was under- and over- whelming all at the same time. And unless I want to find myself there again at this time next year, it’s time for number four.

Happy New Year … Z and S

TToT Rule 2.0

December 27, 2014December 28, 2014 / zoebyrd / 36 Comments

By now many are familiar with the use of rule 1.3 that allows for its use as a tenth item in the TToT when nine subsequent entries are made. Then of course there is rule 98.1 subsection d, that allows for the addition of an unlimited number of canine related entries. Not to be forgotten is rule 67.90 subsection j that permits one to (as with all rules) dance the dance of the seven virgins and then lay down ten items of gratitude all related to indoor plumbing. But are you familiar with rule 2.0? I have been reluctant to use 2.0 as it may set a bad precedent, but when Lizzi suggested it I started to work on my dance steps. So after having done the necessary dance moves I hereby dust off rule 2.0 THE ESCAPE CLAUSE whereby the user may use one item as the entire list when said user is truly feeling gratitude deficient (justified or not… the virgins will decide).

1-10: Rule 2.0

and of course skips