Although I am getting over this god forsaken head/chest cold (a combination I do not recommend – EVER 🤧), I’m still not sleeping or functioning at full capacity, so today I’m just going to share some of my Christmas decorations with you, in hopes of bringing you a little joy.

In the meantime, I will be nursing my sore ribs from all the coughing I’ve been doing trying to expel everything. Have I mentioned how much I hate colds?

XOXO  – Me 😊

I finally figured out the source of my holiday blues – I miss my previous house. It had the best options for all of my Christmas tchotchkes, and it brought me joy to decorate. Also, I loved the house as I had picked out the plans and put personal touches in it to reflect me. I just hadn’t mourned the loss of it yet and Christmas brought it out of me.

But no more! We are putting a positive spin on this b🤬🤬🤬h, especially now that I’m feeling better (or because the cold meds have kicked in 🤷🏼‍♀️). And because it’s time to get my head out of my ass 😁. I’m sure that’s what my friend and sister were subconsciously saying when I whined to them (yes, I’m joking 😆).

So, if you’re feeling the blues, this is what we are going to do, put on our favorite Christmas (or Hannukah or Kwanza or any other holiday I am missing) music and dance like no one is watching. Then we are going to make some delicious hot coco, grab some cookies and find our favorite holiday special, sit down (maybe throw in a hot bath while we’re at it) and enjoy a few hours of much needed self-care. 

Once we’ve finished recharging, we are going to pick ourselves up and get on with the business of life. And maybe do something nice for a stranger, like buy them a cup of coffee or pay for a meal. It’s amazing how doing something nice for someone else can really make a person feel good. And this is the perfect time of the year to do so 😊.

I therefore declare my period of wallowing over and done with, so sayeth the Goddess of All That I Survey (me 😆).

We will now resume our regularly scheduled program 😜.

Note: If you find yourself struggling this holiday season, please reach out to your therapist or check out the Resource page for help. You don’t have to work through your problems alone.

Let’s start this week off with a fun little quiz, just three questions. Let’s see how well you have gotten to know me through my blogs 😁.

Questions 1: Who was sicker this weekend – Reese (my beautiful dog) or Me? Questions 2: Who’s illness was more expensive – Reese or Me? Question 3: Who was the grumpiest sick person in the house – Reese or Me?

You have 30 seconds – Cue Jeopardy Theme 😜.

Your responses should read as such 1. Trick question, we were both pretty miserable, 2. Reese by far (which is also making me think I need a new vet 💰💰), 3. Because I was sick and worried about her at the same time, I was in the worst mood most of the weekend.

So my poor girl is apparently having a pancreatic flare up which has caused her to throw-up pretty regularly for the last week. I learned this after dragging ass to the vet (seriously the amount of energy it took ☹️) and having blood work done. Hopefully it’s just a passing phase because the price of low-fat food is no joke 😬. Thankfully, she seems better since the anti-nausea shot.

I on the other hand have been battling a severe head and chest cold 🤧, along with spiking fevers most likely caused by the flu vaccine 🤢. So, no sleep, little food and a sick dog makes for a very cranky Charleen. 

Fortunately, I seem to be expelling the last of the cold today. But as Fate would have it (she seriously loves shinning her light in my direction 🔦) the water in my area was shut off just as I am about to shower all the previous night’s ICK off of me. I mean talk about not catching a break. I couldn’t even brush my teeth 😳. However, what was supposed to last 3-5 hours they managed in one, thank the goddess 🙏🏻. For now, I am upright and trying to stay that way (but fading fast….). I swear the older I get the longer it takes to regain strength from a cold. 

At least my Christmas shopping is just about done 😮‍💨.

So how was your weekend 😁? 

Note: All of this to say I’m a day late posting 😆😆😆.

I realized that September was the last time I’ve updated past stories so I thought today would be a good day to let you in on the latest 😊.

Let’s start with recent events. I had hoped that the County Records office would have a simple name change form for the deed to my house. Boy was I wrong! I’m not sure about other states, but in SC you have to have the deed redone if you need to change the name. Which means getting lawyers involved (again in SC). And, depending on the situation, you may have to pay for it 🙄. Fortunately. the lawyers who did my closing are looking into the easiest way to make the necessary change, since they messed it up in the first place. Call number one off this week’s checklist ✔️.

Next, I spent another hour with Western Digital in an attempt to fix my 7-month-old back-up drive. For a moment it looked like it was working but alas, no. So, after a third call, they are sending me a retrofitted (not refurbished – I know semantics 🙄) drive. We’ll see how long that takes before it becomes a problem. I think I just need to upgrade my computer – which I had planned on until the people at the Apple Store talked me out of it 😒. Always listen to your instincts! Second and third call off of the checklist ✔️.

One thing that went smoothly this month was my Global Entry renewal 😮‍💨. They had me stressed out about having to redo the interview and background check. And that it could still take months to process. But lo and behold – filled out the online forms and two days later I was approved! I just received my renewal card in the mail, which is funny in and of itself because the picture was taken 6 years ago, and I have definitely changed my look since then (my hair was long and auburn at the time – now it’s short an grey 😆😆 ).

As for the peach cobbler experiment – I am waiting until next year when I have access to fresh peaches from the lovely farm here in SC. I think I will experiment with the crust options in the meantime 😊.

Also, I need to get back to my Spanish immersion program. Now Netflix likes to recommend Spanish and other foreign language programming for me. I have to say, there is some great storytelling in other parts of the world (she says in an effort to get you to expand your viewing options 😁).

I am still looking into creating a little “What the Fate” contest, probably for the new year. Too many other things to finish this month.

Lastly, since my Mama’s Boy not a recap took off like gang busters, I am seriously considering a separate blog to dish on other shows. Not Housewives or any of the other popular (and overproduced) shows on Bravo.  I think I want to stick with these off-shoot shows. What do you think? Suggested shows are appreciated – but not Hoarders or anything about weight issues. Hoarders freaks me out too much and I have enough of my own issues with weight to watch others struggle with it. So, drop your thoughts in the comments please.

Those are my updates in a nutshell. If there is something I left out you are dying to know about, you know where the comments are 👇, so ask away.

Until tomorrow My Lovelies…

First a confession. I actually had to google the tag line for the Weebles (see yesterdays post 😁), because I always called them Weeble Wobbles as a kid and I was confusing myself with the tag line trying to add a second Wobble in there. For reference the line is “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down” and I was thinking “Weeble Wobbles wobble but they don’t fall down”, which wasn’t fitting the cadence I remembered. And it was really bugging me 😆. So google to the rescue.

Side note: vintage Weebles and vintage Fisher Price Little People rock 🤘!

Now that I’ve cleared that up… I forgot to mention that last week, while on “vacation” I got sucked back in by both a Gilmore Girls marathon as well as Hallmark Christmas movies (I was pretty much flipping between the two 😁). I think I need an intervention, especially with the Hallmark movies. Sometimes (okay many times) the story lines are so ridiculous and the same running gag about people falling in love at Christmas makes me want to gag (maybe I’m feeling a little salty this year 🤪). But every year, I sit and I watch, both old and new movies because most of the men are hot! And some of the stories are sweet (but it’s mostly the men 🔥). You have Ryan Paevy, Tyler Hines, Paul Greene, Steve Lund, Luke Macfarlane, Warren Christie, Victor Webster – need I say more? Some days a lady just needs movies with some gorgeous men playing characters you’d like to marry in her life 🤷🏼‍♀️. 

I say send help, but I’d probably suck them into the same Hallmark vortex I’m caught in 🤣. 

Until tomorrow My Lovelies 💜💜💜

Note: If you’re looking for a great show and have access to Fox On Demand, may I suggest The Big Leap? It will have you in your feels and the finale is Monday. Also, Scott Foley stars so there’s that 😁.

It’s Monday, again…

Happy post black Friday My Lovelies! Did any of you venture out that crazy day? I did briefly but that’s only because I was in desperate need of slippers! I’m a “no shoes” in the house kind of gal and the insoles of my old slippers were worn through, so time for new slippers 🤷🏼‍♀️. And batteries, because tis the season…

Now I am trying to rally from my week off, which didn’t go quite as planned (does anything in my life go as planned 😜). I attempted to make changes to the blog format, but since I had set it up a year ago, I forgot a lot of the basics. So instead of screwing it up, I’m going to hire someone who will have it fixed long before I figure out the first step. One must know one’s limitations 😁. Keep checking in for the updates.

As for the rest of the week, two things I have blogged about in the past came to bite me in the ass as per usual 🙄 (a WTF Fate moment for sure 😬). First my 6-month-old back up drive stopped working. So, I spent an hour on the phone with Apple trying to problem solve it – I even got bumped up a level because the front-line person couldn’t figure out the issue (yep, I’m that good at screwing up electronics/computers 😁). He determined it was a problem with the drive and I had to call them to see if they could fix it. I call them the next day only to be told I was routed to the wrong tech department, by their equipment (allegedly – but we all know Fate had a hand in it). The tech said he could take my information and have someone call me back. Another hour of data collecting and a promise of a call back that afternoon, and that’s that. Except…. they didn’t call back, of course 😒. So, I get to try again this week. Glass half full – I have a case number at least.

If that wasn’t bad enough – I went to the county office to see if property taxes had been mailed out. I was informed that they had just processed them, and they would go out soon, but the lady asked my name so that she could look mine up for me. So Nice! I give her my name -nothing, address – nothing, driver’s license to check spelling of name and address – nothing. Why is anyone’s guess 🤷🏼‍♀️. She is somehow able to pull a map number so that I can go to another office and find out the issue with why we can’t pull my property taxes. The assessor’s office looks up the map number and the deed. And we discover the problem. The lawyers that did the closing paperwork, including the deed transfer, listed my name as Charleen, First Last Name (no hypen), Second Last Name, leading the county to list my First Last Name as my middle name on the deed. So on my house deed and property taxes, I am listed with my first name and my ex’s last name. Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!! And I know I have to get that fixed because with my luck, it will become a legal issue down the road. 

I have had a hyphenated last name for 25 years and I have never had problems this bad. I cannot for the life of me figure out why it is so hard to understand the concept of a hyphenated last name. It boggles the mind 🤯.

But Thanksgiving Day with my adorable nephew and a Friday showing of Ghostbusters: Afterlife was enough to erase some of the ridiculousness that happened. And yes, the I loved the Ghostbusters movie – highly recommend it 😊.

So to my dear friend Fate -I am Weeble that may Wobble but I refuse fall down!

Greetings My Lovelies. I know I’ve been a bit m.i.a. this week. With the holiday season upon us, I’ve been dwelling in the blues a little bit this week – the not where I thought I’d be in my life blues. I’m sure I’m not the only one experiencing it. 

But I hope to turn it around once I get the trees up and decorated this weekend 😊. With the new house, I’ve got to strategically plan what and where things will go. I know some things won’t make it out of their boxes this year ☹️. I’ll post pictures in the next few weeks to share my love of Christmas.

Since Thanksgiving is coming up next week (in the US of course) I thought I would share some things I am thankful for today in a secondary effort to shake the blues. So here we go.

I am thankful:

• That my nephew’s surgery went exceedingly well, and he is on the mend. Thank you all for your healing words.
• That my global entry renewal went smoother the second time around. I did try to call the customer service number, but the wait was over an hour 😬. So, I pushed ahead on-line and as of last night my renewal was approved – no second background check or interview. One less thing to stress about 😮‍💨.
• And sad that I finished the last book in Karen White’s Tradd Street series. It was wonderful as always and I look forward to her new series set in New Orleans. If you are looking for a new author to try, check out her books 😊, https://www.karen-white.com.
• For you My Lovelies for appreciating my humor enough to come back time and again. It truly means a lot to me 💜.
• For my friends and family, as always ♥️.

I am taking next week off to try to revamp site so it will (hopefully) be easier to navigate. We shall see 😆. 

I wish you all luck in your Holiday shopping, whether it be Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza or whatever you choose to celebrate. I know I’ll need it.😁.

Love always – Me