MoxieLife

Ice and a broken heart.

I am taking a bit of a break here - we are expecting an ice storm with over an inch of accumulation. Not good for a heavily wooded area. And I am working through some family stuff - and am just heart broken. More when the ice melts and the heart heals.

Switching to Tea - Well for a while

So, I have been sick - just a cold/flu crappy thing - and one of the possibilities going around in my head was that I could use this moment to stop drinking coffee. I haven't been drinking anything but water for the last several days because the idea of having anything else sounded horrible. But today I thought a cup of tea would be nice. I looked through my pathetic collection of black teas and picked out a Lady Earl Grey tea. It was nice. Not great. But nice.

Why switch? I am a big coffee drinker who has been slowly decreasing the cups I drink. I went from 12 cups a day (basically a pot of coffee) to 6 cups. Then I wasn't even drinking 4 cups. I love coffee. I love the smell, the taste, the way it swirls with the milk in the cup - but I think it makes me crabby. Really crabby. It may give me some mental edge, but I don't think the crankiness is worth it so I wanted to quit.

And being sick has given me the perfect opportunity.

The thing about tea is that it has a nice level of caffeine and it is hot - an important part of why I drink coffee - but it doesn't give me that edge. I have to say I feel softer, which might seem like an odd thing to say, but I don't feel amped up - which is a nice thing. It may be more the natural me rather then some caffeinated version of myself.

Will this last? Who knows? I might become a one cup of coffee a day kind of gal, or special occasions - who knows but for now tea seems to hit the spot.

Any tea recommendations?

When did you start dressing like a grownup?

Obviously I missed some boat somewhere where everyone got on and had a personal stylist help them figure out what their grown-up look was going to be. Women were separated into business classics, flowing artists, designer labels, frumpy housewives, etc. On the boat they learned which style would be their personal look - from gold jewelry to heels or ill fitting sweaters and baggy pants. I am not saying they all looked great when they got off the boat, but they had taken off the jeans and t-shirts that they were wearing in high school and college and were somehow delivered into their adult lives.

I definitely missed that boat.

When I wear anything out of my regular costume of jeans and a sweater or t-shirt I feel like I am playing make believe. Like I was rummaging around in my mothers closet and came out wearing pumps, a safari print dress, and scarf in my hair. - not a great look.

How did you figure it out? Or did you? I figure with all the reality shows that are geared to helping women figure out what they should be wearing most of us are clueless. We don't know what is appropriate or even looks good on our bodies. And if you are like me you just wear what makes you feel safe - jeans.

I turn 40 this year and maybe it is time to figure out my personal style - something that transfers from the farm to the boardroom. Something that makes me feel strong and appropriate. Not a costume but a look. It is never too late to get on the boat!

Sick and dreaming.

I have a cold or the flu - either way I am snotty and tired. I don't get sick very often (a good thing since I don't have health insurance) and I tend to just sleep. That is my answer to every kind of illness - mental, bodily, or existential - just sleep. And because I have been sleeping I thought I would share some of my more odd dream moments.

I dreamed:

That I was standing on the grave site of Anne Boleyn and she was singing - granted this was induced by a Tudors marathon.

That I was asked to make a lemon cake without a recipe for an event and I successfully did so.

I danced in a parade in India. - Yep, more TV induced dreaming because we are watching the PBS series about India.

Nothing earthshaking here - just a sick person dreaming of singing royalty, while baking cakes and dancing in parades. I am sure I will be back to normal soon.

2009 Theme - What is yours?

For the past three years we have adopted a family theme. The first year was the "Year of Style" and my daughter became more interested in refashioning clothes, creating outfits, and designing the perfect look. She would often chastise me in my frumpy elephant jeans and baggy t-shirts - no style there.

The second year was the "Year of Fun" and unfortunately it was far from fun. We had high hopes in January when we set the theme, but we didn't understand what life was going to deal us at that moment. Moments of fun - yes, total fun, not on your life.

So, that brings us to this year and the "Year of Home Improvement". We live in a 100+ year old house that was built with Ozark ingenuity and no building standards. It is the bane of my husbands existence. Everything you touch crumbles within your hands. The walls are filled with newspaper. The wiring is, well, just scary. So, we started with removing a joist under the house and replacing it. It was three days of extreme frustration, some bad words, and crumbling wood.

Wish us luck on our new theme - our little world will be happy (after the dust settles).

Small Post and a Silly Google Thing

My Sparkly Girl wanted a new blog so I gave her one of my Typepad blogs. She was so happy - you can read more about this fantastic 18 year old UU on her new site.

She decided I should do this Google Thing. You type your name plus the word and what comes up is your answer - you will see below:

1. Google [your name] needs:
Jacqueline needs Vitamin D.
Probably true - I drink a lot of coffee and I think that depletes calcium and maybe D too.

2. Google [your name] looks like:
Jacqueline looks like a tree stump with a fine face.
Well, in the last two days my husband has unwittingly called me fat and old - so maybe I do. More about this in a longer post about self esteem.

3. Google [your name] likes:
Jacqueline likes cheeseburgers; drawing; summer camp.
I like drawing - that is close enough.

4. Google [your name] says:
Jacqueline says "Yay! Newts."
I don't think I have ever said Yay! Newts, but I would - yes, I would.

5. Google [your name] wants:
Jacqueline wants water.
I do - I want to drink LOTS of water.

6. Google [your name] does:
Jacqueline never preaches nor does she have falsely happy endings.
I think I might preach and I am a bit of a Pollyanna - so this can't be true.

7. Google [your name] hates:
Jacqueline hates Hippies.
Well, I don't - except sometimes I do because people who DRESS like hippies are really hippies and it is hard to tell them apart.

8. Google [your name] can:
Jacqueline can get things into perspective.
Totally - I am the friend that can do that for you.

9. Google [your name] goes:
Jacqueline goes Veg!.
I was a vegetarian once - but not for a long time. - Food is not my politics. I'll blog about that some time too - it is all about class.

10. Google [your name] is:
Jacqueline is inspiring entrepreneurs
Oh, I hope so.

11. Google [your name] loves:
Jacqueline loves all colors.
Yep. I think so.

Ok - WARNING - if you do this silly thing you will have the horrible experience of realizing that your name is popular in the sex trade industry. YEP. Mine is, my daughters is, and I bet yours is too. A little disturbing.