Mid-Week Thoughts

 

Kate Middleton mystery //// it's not secret that I love Princess Kate. I love her fashion and LOVE that she's a brunette too! This mystery and the wild theories of why she hasn't been has kept me on the end of my seat each day. I'm not sure if we will ever know the truth but these theories definitely make things more fun 

Nerds Gummy Clusters //// I might be late to the game for this one BUT these are soo good! They are weirdly addicting too. Go and find them and believe me, you will love them. It's like nerds rope but in bite size pieces. 

Clothes at Target /// I was so disappointed with Tsrget this past weekeend. Cutout, high waist, crop top, skimpy.  Used to be my go to for classic pieces. 

St. Patrick's Eve/// great marketing on Jameson 's part with St. Patrick's Day being on a Sunday. 

Mid-Week Thoughts

 

Spotted in last week's snowstorm

It has been a LONG time since I had any mid-week thoughts. I love writing these and I decided to bring it back this year. These are things that are on my mind but I don't have enough to write a full blog post about; these can been pretty random topics as well. Let's dive into this month's Mid-Week Thoughts:

*With Valentine's Day being last week, I was thinking about all the years I had a Valentine and the things we did for Valentine's day. 

2012  

We ate a home made dinner with my parents then went to go see the Vow.

2013

 Dinner at Bonefish Grill and then the movies, possibly. 

2015

We went to dinner and then went to see 50 Shades of Gray ( I was kidding when I suggested this)

2016

We were snowed in at his parents house, cooked dinner and watched tv.

2018

We stayed home and made home made Gnocchi. It was really yummy and sweet. 

2019

We did a Valentines Lunch and went to the movies; he worked that night, so I snuggled with the dog.

2022

We went indoor rock climbing and then did Gianni's pizza and garlic knots. 

2023

We celebrated on the weekend before and he surprised me with Red roses 

Those are all super duper sweet memoires. I love all the way I have spent Valentine's over the years- in relationships, with my parents, with my galentines; all of them are special in their own unique ways. 

*Bumper stickers & license plates 

Do you ever pull up behind a car in traffic and try to make a word out of their license plate OR if they have a custom license plate, do you try to figure out what it means. No,only me... cool! Well I do this all the time and I always try to read the bumper stickers too. I love finding out silly tidbits of knowledge about strangers. For example, where I park at work, there is a jeep with the license plate that has PUT on it. I always say "good morning Put Put!" as I walk by. 

*Bunnies and leprechauns 

I am finding it hilarious that both bunnies and leprechauns will be out at pretty much the same time this year. With Easter and St. Patrick's Day being so close, 14 days away to be specific, the decor is going to be funny this year. Are the Leperchauns going to be riding the bunnies around? Are there going to be green bunnies? OH and in the middle of all of that, Spring begins. Let's add in flowers too! HAHA I can't wait to figure out this decor situation for my office. 

(( For so reason, I have misplaced every single one of my Valentine's decor and could not tell you where I put them. HA! ))

*Doing things your own way 

This is a personal favorite. There is a right way, a wrong way and your own way to do things. Most of the times, you have to do things the 'right way'. Other times, you can do things your own way, how you feel most comfortable doing the thing; Doing it your own way could be from experience, trial and error or you decided you wanted to do it that way and there was no convincing you otherwise. My point, learn things the right way and then if you feel your way is better, go for it especially if it is not interfering with the end product. 

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There you have it, my random mid-week  thoughts. 

[[You do you boo]]

Midweek thoughts

Happy midweek! We made it! The first full week in June, and we are doing great! I am here to share some random thoughts that have been floating around my mind. The above photo was taken on a walk earlier this week and it just looked so pretty- that pop of purple and the sunlight made me smile. 

First thing is something kinda sad and its been weighing on my mind.....

The amount of mass shootings lately/// I am so upset everyday when I scan the headlines, there always seems to be another mass shooting. How in the world did we get here and why are we letting this happen? Has all of our common sense gone out the window and we are all cotton-headed ninny-muggins ?!  We need change and stricter laws for the sale of firearms. And perhaps rethink why individuals who have no true need for assault rifles need them? Lots of changes need to happen and not at the price of young children. 

On a happier note....

Inclusion in cartoons///I have been so HAPPY and EXCITED seeing so much inclusion in cartoons lately. I don't watch cartoons often but I have seen sign language being used by the 2 monkeys in Madagascar A Little Wild on Hulu; an Insulin pump on a girl in Turning Red; and the Barbie brand making dolls look like others more relatable- hearing aids, prosthetic limbs, vitiligo and not stick figure body sizes. Seeing this makes me smile and makes me think how exciting it must be to be a child and see someone like you in a cartoon or doll form. 

Being in Nature helps everything///i have truly been loving being in nature lately. After my allergies attacked, it seems like i am back to normal and back to enjoying the fresh Air. There is just something so refreshing to breath in fresh air; perhaps its magical. After a nature walk, I tend to feel more refreshed and more focused. Like I can tackle whatever comes next. 

Thanks for tuning in to my  midweek thoughts. Jump back her on Friday for Friday Favorites AND WGJ Travels: Vacation Destination Bucket list. 

[[If you are happy doing what you are doing, nobody can tell you you're not successful]]

Midweek Thoughts

Woah, hello! 

Here is another gathering of my random thoughts I am having midweek. 

[[Also, if anyone knows how to fix a Chromebook that is squeaking while plugged into the charger, please contact me ASAP. I am pretty sure my Chromebook is dying a slow death.]]

St. Peters College in the Sweet Sixteen//// YAY JERSEY!! YAY for being the Cinderella story. Even though I am from Jersey, I had to look up where St. Peter's College was. I love the one tweet that read "St. Peter's does not have a single player on the roaster that was ranked coming out of high school" How cool is that? This was the first year in a while I haven't made a bracket, but knowing my track record, my bracket would have been broken very quickly! I can't wait to see them play again on Friday night!

Spring is Here/// Yay! Spring is finally here! I am here for the warmer weather, longer days and the generally good vibes that spring brings. I am NOT here for this super early allergy season. That can move on very quickly- no one (and I have spoken to A LOT of people) wants this weird early allergy season to say.

Turning Red/// OMG! If you have Disney+, go watch Turning Red.... I'll wait. Okay, Did you watch it in amazement? YES?! okay! This movie pulled at so many heartstrings for me, I can't deny that Disney knows how to tell a good story. The fact that Mei and her friends are messy and so real made me love this movie even more. AND THE DETAILS! The insulin pump patch on the little girl! The comment about it being so fluffy! (a la Despicable Me) Bart & Lisa the Dragons! The hair! The small tiny details that I ate up! The Easter eggs hidden! GAH!  Now I want to go watch it again. 

Lastly...

Best ideas always come in the shower/// This happens to me routinely and I never have a pad and pencil and my phone is just always out of reach and when i write it on the shower curtain in the steam, it always goes away before I get out of the shower.  I usually focus on repeating said best idea in my mind until I get out of the shower and run to my phone to type out. Hasn't someone made a waterproof notepad/ dry erase board yet for the shower?

Random thoughts huh?! Hope your last full week of March is going by swimmingly. Here's to warmer, more consistent weather and all the good vibes we all so desperately need. 

[[Whatever makes you weird is probably your greatest asset]]

Mid-week thoughts

I know I say this every month, but how are we already half way through February?! This month so far has been pretty fun. Here are some random things/thoughts I had so far this month:

Superbowl 

Okay, I am not an avid football game watcher but I am always down to watch the Superbowl. This year- The Rams and The Bengals played. I didn't really have any scientific approach to guess who was going to win this year; I looked at the important factors of: Hot Head Coach, Cute Quarterback, better team colors, better mascot and how everyone else was feeling. I picked the Rams (completely based on Sean McVey's good looks) and I was so excited to see they won!

The halftime show was something else this year. I love when they performers are from the area where the Superbowl is being held and there were so many funny memes coming out ahead of the Superbowl that I was curious to see what was going to happen. Overall it was a good show, I think it was targeted to a very specific age group (ie. the younger kids and the older generation maybe didn't love it as much) 

Congrats to the LA Rams for winning!

Wordle

Last month in my midweek thoughts I wrote about Wordle and how fun it has been to play. Well between now and then the New York Times has bought it and taken it over. 😕 I knew this was coming and I was really happy for the creator of Wordle to be getting paid for this creation but I had BIG worries that 1. NYT would make it impossibly hard and 2. you would have to pay for it.  Well since the take over, one day, users could have gotten one of two answers depending on what platform you played on (NYT.com or the original Wordle website), so much confusion from that. Then the next day, the solution from the NYT's Wordle was the original Wordle's solution. 

AND! in playing Wordle for over a month, I lost my streak for the very first time. I was so upset that day. Stupid ELDER. I think I actually cried. 😠😭

I am curious to see where NYT's takes this and what will happen to it and if it pops behind the NYT's paywall. 

Focus

I hate to admit it but staying focused has been really hard for me. Perhaps its the state of the world right now and how things are so messy, or that we are quickly approaching year three of the pandemic or just normal stress and anxiety, but focusing is really hard. 

I consistently give myself pep talks to try to motivate myself to get stuff done.  I recently heard of the Pomodoro method and I am interested in seeing if that helps. Setting the Focus setting on my phone has kinda helped too. 

Do you have any tips on how to stay focused? Or should I just wait until the world is back to normal?

Valentine's Candy

Now I remember a time when Valentine's candy would come out like Mid January and they stay around until after Valentine's Day AKA 1/2 price expensive chocolate day. THIS YEAR, I feel like Valentine's candy was out at the end of December and it was already gone by the end of January which meant there was no 1/2 price candy the day after Valentines day. I am pretty sure I saw bunnies out right before Valentine's Day; what is happening in the world?! 

WHEW! I think that is just about enough of my rambling thoughts for this week.

[[The Human body is 90% water. We're basically cucumbers with anxiety.]]

Midweek Thoughts

Hello! Can you believe we are in the last week of January already?! Today's post will be a bit of a random mash-up of what's been on my mind lately. Let's dive in....

Chalk Bag

For the last few months, I have been going to Gravity Vault, the indoor rock climbing gym, at least once a week. I finally decided to get my own chalk bag. After weeks of thinking and researching and measuring, I was originally going to make my own furry creature chalk bag but then I opted not to because for one, I haven't really sewn anything in years and two, that would cause me a lot of stress and put a lot of pressure on myself. So buying one was the route to go, now I had to find the one that was "me"- bright and cheerful.  I learned quickly besides the adorable little monsters, most chalk bags were dull until I found a company called Organic Climbing.  They have custom chalk bags for $22. They use the 'scraps' from other projects to create these made to order bags. Since they use scraps, each chalk bag is uniquely yours. I thought long and hard about the colors and I couldn't be happier with the choices I made. I am so excited to bring this to the climbing gym. 

Soft Foods

Yesterday I had to go the periodontist for a procedure and since my mouth is still healing, they suggested to eat soft, easy to eat foods. I was so nervous before the procedure so naturally I skipped lunch. When I finally arrived home, I couldn't get enough of mashed potatoes and jello for a late lunch. Since I ate a late lunch, dinner was also late, it was more like a smorgasbord for one than a real dinner. I was so hungry and all I wanted was something substantive. Jello, pasta, ice cream, rye bread, a cheese sandwich and raspberries contained my hunger for a bit. I felt like the little dalmatian from 101 dalmatians where he said "I'm so hungry I could eat an elephant" My feelings exactly. 

Grace

It is no secret I am really hard on myself. Like super hard and I get depressed when I can't do something that was on my to-do list. I've been working really hard to break this pattern. Since taking a long break last year from writing, I have been trying to catch up with my "Dear..." posts. I am almost done, I have September, October, November, December and a 2021 to do and I have been taking my time writing these. Thank goodness, my planner, and my phone have documented important things that have happened because I would never have remembered these small but important details in my life. With that being said, I am hoping to close out my 2021 posts in the next few weeks. I have also been realizing that its okay to leave things undone on your to do list. We are living in unprecedented times you know. 

Mental Health

Lately I have been struggling with my mental health and what has really helped is talking about whats bothering me, even if its hard to verbalize. Taking time to process it has shown me that the thoughts in my mind aren't always true and I am stronger than what I think. I have the worst habit of holding everything inside then exploding and crying and trying to make sense of it all and its a mess. I am trying to not let myself get to that point, but its a work in progress, daily. 

Winter Weather

Jersey has been pretty lucky with Winter weather this season, we only had 2 significant snow falls (at least where I live, down the shore) BUT this weekend is calling for a Nor'eastern/bomb cyclone/snomagedden storm. Am I looking forward to being snowed in and not being able to go anywhere- YES but I also wanted to do things this weekend out and about. I guess we will have to wait to see what will actually happen this weekend. 

Focus Tips

One thing I have struggled with consistently lately is focusing.  I have been getting so distracted with a random thing and then trying to get back to my original thing I was working on is super duper hard. How do you stay focused while working? 

Wordle #219

The newest obsession....Wordle. I love this game. The simple interface, the quickness of it, how everyone has the same puzzle to try and how it really makes you think. The other day, Monday to be specific, Wordle #219 came out and it blew everyone's mind. I will admit this was a really really tough one and by the time i got to the fifth guess, I was panic typing and trying every letter combination I could think of. I had to google what the word was after i figured it out. I have said it previously and I will say it again, I loathe double letters. They make it so tricky (I guess that's the point huh?)  I don't have a strategy for what word I am going to start with but my goal is always to solve the puzzle.  I always look forward to 

Whew! I think that's enough randomness for this week. Hope you are all having a great week, staying healthy and happy. 

[[What random thoughts are on your min this week?]]

Midweek Thoughts

Hi! The post I originally had planned for today (actually Monday, but it got bumped to today) just wasn't happening; I had a writers block and also felt a little nervous about sharing it. I will share this mystery post in the future, I promise. 

I thought I would share today are my thoughts, unfiltered and not on any specific topic. It has been a while since this open candid post. 

• My mind has been racing lately and not on any one thing specifically either. I feel overwhelmed but also very calm lately. 
• I've also been having very odd dreams involving dark, scary roads and giant bats. 
• My yearly conundrum on picking a planner has started. I love the planner I have and have used for the past two year but should I shake it up? Try a new planner? 
• I got a Dazzle Dry manicure 2 weeks ago and besides the normal wear, my nails looks great. I am continually impressed by Dazzle Dry each time. 
• Also is anyone else in a book rut? I cannot find a book to read that captures my attention for longer than five minutes. It seems that I also cannot find an article I can read for longer than a few sentences. 
• There has been construction on the far side of my office and let me tell you, I have been enjoying seeing something built from nothing and learning all the neat construction jargon. 
• I bought tickets to 2 virtual concerts coming up and I am very excited. Does anyone know how to get something viewed on a Fire TV from the Internet? (I sound 80 years old right?!)
• Did anyone else see the Amazon commercial with the ballerina dancing in the courtyard of the apartment complex? I might have cried watching it. 
• I am very excited to eat all the things tomorrow. I guess I should pick out what stretchy waistband pants I will be wearing tomorrow.
• Isn't that a beautiful sunset photo? I promise its 100% real; my parents and I took our Christmas Card photo on Saturday during golden hour and I am eagerly awaiting to see the end results. I will for sure share them all when it gets closer to Christmas.
• Things I have been seeing on Instagram have been inspiring me to pick my paintbrush back up again.  I haven't painted since the summer...maybe the spring(?) and I have really been missing it lately. I have when Winter breaks comes, I will let myself really jump back into it.
• ONE month, 30 DAYS from today is CHRISTMAS!!!! 

Okay, I think that's a good idea what has been going on in my mind lately. Whew! Thank you for letting me share all of that. It's always nice to know someone is reading this.

What's been going on in your mind lately?

[[If you own your imperfections, they become your assets- Diane von Fursetenberg]]

-gabrielle

ps. Want to read some other thoughts I had check out: 1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8//9//10//11//12//13//14//15

Mid week thoughts: Choices

Just a note: I started to this about this post over the weekend and for 4 days, I struggled to write it. I am not sure why the word, "choices" has been so prominent on my mind but I figured I needed to get it out and write about it. This is a little different that what I normally write and how I write. I feel as if it is more unorganized thoughts than actual ideas. I truly couldn't stop thinking about this for days. Something was pulling me to write about this and it was my choice to get it out of my head and onto digital paper. Even after finishing this post, I have questions about choices swirling around in my mind. Has this ever happened to you? Let me know?

Here we are, the middle of the week and just about a third though August. Life is getting back to the same and life is getting into a new routine as well. Lately I've noticed that there have been so many choices that need to be made and people are struggling to make what they think is the right choice.

We have to make choices everyday- most of them are not life changing- what to eat; what to wear; where to go. Some choices are life changing- where to move, who to marry and what to invest money in. With the new school year coming up quick, parents are having to make the choice of how their child will attend school- in person, virtually, a combination of in person and virtual, or in some cases, homeschooled.  Each option has a good points or bad points but ultimately it is up to the parents to make the decision for their child based on their own needs. No one knows their child better then the parents and in this uncertain time, parents have to make the best choice for their child.

Employees are also making choices, or had the choice made for them- working from home. Now some employers are requiring employees to come back  into the office and the employees don't know what to do. Some employees didn't have a choice working from home and they had to decide if they were going to risk their health, especially the people who have compromised immune systems and health concerns. These employees had to choose whether to work and risk getting sick OR risk leaving and not having their health insurance. Each choice has pros and cons and its hard and there is no way in telling what is the right choice. 

Another choice we make daily is what we choose to consume via social media. Social media is a great tool but it can be detrimental to our mental health. There is so much information floating around-more than ever now- that it can be overwhelming and hurtful. We, as individuals, can choose what we see each day and what we don't see. We don't always realize what we consume on line, can affect us long after we view it. 

Choices- sometimes they are easy to make, sometimes they are hard to make but ultimately we have to make them multiple times a day, every day. Its up to you what choice you make.

Whatever choices you are making today, you are making the choice that is the BEST for you, and you alone. Don't let anyone else tell you differently. You got this.

-gabrielle

Mid-Week Thoughts

Social Media. We all have a love/hate relationship with it. I know from my experience with it, it has tremendously changed, especially in the last 5-7 years.  Most people have some type of social media and use it daily if not hourly.  I have some thoughts on Social Media this week for my Mid-Week Thoughts.....

The other night, I was rummaging through my Tumblr account looking for a specific post; I was deep in my archives-July 2013ish- and I found exactly what I was looking for (it was the friYAY! pink graphic from last Friday, if you were wondering). Then I started to look even further back and I noticed something interesting. I posted whatever I wanted- I wasn't cohesive, it was part of a color scheme, it was what made me happy. If I wanted to post 7 photos in a row that was for a holiday, I did. If I found a long read that I agreed with, I shared it. It didn't matter what you did and that was magical.

I also took a short trip back to my other two blogs- Just Simply Elle and Everyday Jersey Girl; Most of these posts were just me talking, little snippets from my day or something funny I observed. The posts were sometimes only a few lines, sometimes they were long. I miss that kind of blogging. I feel now when you post something you have to make sure it fits your online presence and the aesthetic matches with your mission statement. In the old days of blogging, you did it strictly because you liked what you saw and you wanted to authentically talk about it.

There are bloggers that do exactly that- they jus talk about their lives without any concern for a specific aesthetic or cohesiveness- they post about their lives- messiness and all. I LOVE that- the ones who aren't afraid to be real.

Krista Robertso from Covering the Bases was posting from her Instagram archives last week and she was commenting on how what she posted back in 2013 would never work in today's instagram. She had a lot of #ootd collages that showcased her accessories and preppy outfits. Carly Heitlinger from Carly the Prepster also was talking about how she looked back at her Pinterest secret board from 2011 and showed what her aesthetic was back then for her wedding. Carly has been pretty true to herself (from what I've observed online) and her aesthetic over the years.  Its nice to see these Influencers be authentic and show that they used to do the same thing- post whatever they wanted.

Its funny how things change over the years. This old way of social media- posting what you want- I think was so much more authentic. You shared what you wanted to share, you didn't have to follow any unwritten rules and online life just seemed simpler. That was just over 5 years ago- it seems like a lifetime ago. Now, in 2020, if you are an influencer, you have to post certain things, saying exact phrases and positioning branded items in your photos/videos just so. I am glad Instagram has made influencers tag their posts as 'sponsored' or 'ad' to show people that they really are getting paid to talk about a certain product.

During the pandemic, I think everyone has been consuming more screen time then they ever had. It looks like people are having the best time ever and I fall into this comparison trap of saying "why are they having a better time than I am?" You only see what they are showing your in their winning season; you have no idea what they lost in their losing season. Its a fine line to see and not become consumed with it all.

Do I love this new social media...the jury is out on that. I try to show my authentic self  online, in whatever I post, wherever I post it. I know I have been more selective what I choose to post which for me makes sense- its all about joyfulness- if it doesn't spark joy, its not being posted by me. I have also been more selective on what I choose to see in my newsfeed. Why would I post something that I just hate or am angered by. I try to keep the joyfulness and authenticity in the forefront.

I think that's enough for this Mid-Week Thoughts. I'm going to try to do this ever so often, its fun to just write 

Do you enjoy social media like you used to? Has the use of social media changed for you?

[Bring your own sunshine]]

-gabrielle