I don't get bored anymore...

I just made an executive decision to apologize no more for lazy Sundays. It's day seven of the week. The end? The calendar says it's the beginning, at least it's formatted that way. But with a Monday through Friday job, I've always thought of Monday as the beginning of the week. So Sunday, in my mind, is to be used for rest, a "rejuvenating" of yourself to begin the work week on a good note.

I've been told I can't sit still, I always have to be doing something. I'm pretty sure I've mastered the art of relaxation lately, so this statement no longer applies to me. It's hard for some people to s l o w down and just chill out for a little while, especially those that are on the go constantly. I think boredom was one key factor that was being mentioned often when I talked to friends about this. I don't get bored anymore, I'm not sure when this happened but it did. Even if the t.v. is off and I don't have a book in my hand, or the phone in my ear, I still feel content. My stubborn, younger version of me is shaking her head, and her fist, at me, "get up and do something, I'm bored!" Ah well. She grew up, matured, and became....content.

It's okay if we watch a movie, or read, or take a nap even! Instead of going and going and going like the duracell bunny. A few people have told me they feel guilty when they take a nap, like they're missing out on life. Not true! What we're doing, is letting our  body rest so we can enjoy life when we wake up. It's so necessary, that rest.

I hope you're relaxing today. That BBQ, swimming, get-together-with-friends, (or family) vacationing, magical summertime is drawing nigh......I love knowing this. Actually when one lives in Dallas, the potential for all of these things comes in March at times. This crazy weather can't make up its mind!


See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS Breakfast on the patio today. Humidity you will not win. But if you ever start getting to me, I'll just go here in my mind:

With cabin fever comes clarity

So I've learned a few things, being iced-in, working from home all week due to the inclement weather Dallas has had since Tuesday.

1: If you send a plea to the Weather Gods through your blog, they will answer. They will REALLY answer. Focus stage right.

2: When you absolutely have to get out of the house to stock up on necessities, wait until there is snow on top of ice, and go at 6:30a. It's the most peaceful existence in the world. The crunch of the snow beneath your feet and the sound of your breath are the only audible things that exist. Had a few childhood memories come back to me so quickly, with such vivid clarity, that I almost didn't want to go back inside. With firewood being a must in North Dallas this week, I am happy to report that I'm fully stocked.

3: I'm quite the chef when snowed in and my imagination wanders to all kinds of possibilities based on ingredients I have on hand. Like blueberries for example. And yes they are cookies. Delicious.


4: I'm spoiled. Did you just gasp? I did too at the admission. With "rolling blackouts" comes no electricity. I was reading a book by the fire going in the fireplace anyway, but all of a sudden I found ten reasons to need power. I sat there for a while, and then thought, what do I need it for right now. I'm warm, I can see what I'm reading, and I'm not hungry. Get over it.
I did, and it came back on within the hour. Of course this happened several times, but that's okay.

5: I'm a fire bug. Thank you Dad, for teaching me how to build one. After I stopped reading, I was sipping a glass of wine, staring into the flames leaping off the logs in my fireplace. Thinking.....always thinking. You can do quite a bit of mental organization this way. I imagined my life in folders, and began gently placing certain things in them. Some will be filed away for better use later. Some, will be tossed.

6: I love social media. Even though I was sitting in my apartment without these friends present, I was having so many conversations with various people during that time, because social media makes that possible. I knew what they were doing, drinking, eating, watching, and how they feel about ice storms. It was fun.

7: I absolutely love getting texts from friends that care about my living conditions enough to text me to make sure that I'm okay. Another thing I love about them is they make me laugh out loud with very few words.

8: Kittens are tiny furry beasts bent on destruction and mayhem.
Except when they're sleeping

9: After 3 days of being iced in, one can inch towards madness. I say this lightly, I'm fine. But only because I got out and walked today, in the winter wonderland. It's important to get exercise and fresh air every day.

10: The Superbowl is nigh. I actually didn't learn this while being iced-in. But it's a fact nonetheless. I have no idea what kind of weather Dallas will have on Sunday. But I have a feeling the weather gods decided to make the Steelers/Packers right at home by blowing arctic gusts over the Stadium in Arlington. May the best team win!

I hope wherever you are, you're safe and warm. And you have a lovely weekend.

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS I bought fresh watermelon and canteloupe this morning. Oh Texas, how I love you for that. It's February after all. That's what's for breakfast at Tiffanys!

Apologizing is not easy

Signs.....signs.....everywhere there's signs. I'm not really singing with Tesla right now. But I'm thinking about all of the signs I've been receiving today from...well where DO they come from? Fate? The Universe? The Cosmos? God? I'm not sure, but the ones that kept appearing to me in various form are talking about apology.
When my alarm clock woke me up this morning (oh how I don't like you, little black box on my nightstand that won't let me sleep in) with one of my favorite bands, "One Republic" singing "it's too late to apologize......it's too laaaaaaate" I didn't mind. I love that song. But I don't believe it's ever too late to apologize. As usual, and this is the way my mind works people, I immediately get on that topic inside my head. That's just how I roll. But, I didn't stay there long, as I got ready for work. I sang.....drank some ice water, thought about the ridiculous blazing hot Dallas temps outside, the humidity that was going to un-do what I was doing to my hair the very minute I step outside the front door, and so it goes....
Got in the car, blasted the air conditioning before I melted, put the car in reverse, and turned the radio on as I was backing out of the parking space. The strains of "Oh it seems to me, that sorry seems to be the hardest word" filtered through the speakers, Elton John singing so heartfelt about what? Apology.
Hmmmmm. That again. Back my thoughts go to the subject. But as I sang along, my mobile recording studio has great acoustics ya'll, I started thinking about work. What lies ahead for me today, as I drive toward my all time favorite destination. Do I need to even tell you? Of course it's Starbucks. Remember, this is where I go and they know my order before I get through the front door. I adore these people.
I get out of the car, one of my favorite baristas arrives at the same time, so we walk in together. As the cool air hits me (and it felt good, it's so hot here, have I mentioned this?) I hear Buckcherry singing......"Sorry". I am not kidding you. I love this song. "And I just...wanted to saaaaay..... I'm sorry". I stood there for a minute, letting people go ahead of me in line. I thought, okay I'm hearing a message today. I couldn't believe how close together I was hearing songs with the same theme. It was slightly surreal to me. I snapped out of it long enough to get my lovely venti iced coffee. Get back in the car, sipped the coffee for a minute, and said out loud (yes I said it out loud, this is why people stare) "okay...what's it gonna be" as I turn the radio on.
One of my ALLtime favorite bands, The Fray, is singing "Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend". How to Save a Life is one of my favorite songs by them. I thought well, "sorry" isn't in this song. At least that specific word isn't. But I feel like it leans toward being sorry. Maybe I'm reaching, I muse.
So yeah, this has been on mind all day. The question I pose is this, "do you have anyone you need to say "I'm sorry" to? I think it's important to apologize when you've done something that hurt someone. The receiver may not accept your apology. Every situation is different. But if you apologize, you at least show them they are worth the words. The effort. Apologizing is not easy. I've had a few people tell me stories about how they stumbled and stammered in attempting to apologize to whomever they hurt, therefore making it seem like it wasn't sincere. I reassured them that it may have felt like the person thought that, but if they meant what they said and took the time to try, it would still come across as sincere. I also think it's important to be specific when you apologize. I've heard "sorRY" being used sarcastically. A statement is made, and then an immature response clearly indicating that they are definitely not sincere, I'm not a fan of this. If you are specific, it is clear that you understand what went wrong, and you are attempting to rectify it.
I've also heard people begin a sentence with, "I'm sorry, but"....and they continue with their belief on whatever topic is being discussed. I always think to myself, why do you begin with "I'm sorry". Are you really sorry for the way you believe? I don't want to be that way. I want to wholeheartedly be proud of what I believe.
I sent an email to someone I truly cared about at one time, pouring my heart out to this person to the point of it taking me all day off and on to write and send the darn thing. Even though it has been discussed since, I never received a written reply to that email. I was taught that I wasn't worth the reply. Months later, the discussion led with "I'm sorry I didn't ever reply to your email", and me saying, "I'm actually kind of sorry I sent that to you". The reply? "Don't be, you were stating how you feel". What a huge exhale I had when I heard that. But see the effect? I remember this discussion word for word even now, and it's an old one. The apology came late.....but it still came.

If there is someone you need to apologize to, be brave. Say the words. If there is someone that owes you an apology, and you don't ever receive one, forgive them. If they do apologize to you eventually, be gracious even if you are unable to totally forgive. They're trying. It's all we can do.

Dallas summertime equals so much fresh fruit I don't know what to do with all of it, breakfast it is!
See you friend,
Tiffany

You can't park there-Snow Patrol

Although Snow Patrol is one of my favorite bands, I'm not blogging about them today. I'm talkin 'bout some SNOW ya'll! (always inserting that Texan accent when appropriate) The saying goes, "Everything's bigger in Texas!" The weather yesterday was definitely, bigger.

To paraphrase the Dallas headlines this morning:

Snowfall Shatters Record, Leaves 200,000 Without Power

New 24-hour snowfall record now at 12.5 inches for DFW
On Thursday, police across North Texas responded to hundreds of crashes, even before the wet, slushy roads began to freeze.

I really wanted to get out in that sparkly, powdery goodness yesterday and play in it all.day.long. Unfortunately my place of employment had something different in mind, the NERVE. Well, at least I can work from home when necessary, I won't whine. I managed to get a long walk in between working. Although the picture you see in this post may not be incredible from an trained professionals eye, it's my favorite for personal reasons. St.Ann's Cathedral has their bells toll at noon and again at 6pm on the weekends, and oh how I love that sound. I always stop what I'm doing for a second and listen. Those tiny moments, I live for them. I won't be arrogant and say I'm the only one that notices those moments, but I will say that I hope you do too, in whatever form they may come in. It's that whole, "stop and smell the roses" idea, I buy into that as often as I can.

Today brought four collapsed carports where I live, luckily no one was injured and if you can believe this, I don't think any cars we're damaged either as the roof always fell to the side instead of collapsing straight down. Needless to say, all of the cars are NOT under the carports that are still standing, mine included, as everyone frantically moved them immediately. The snow was just wet enough to add some weight to it. Trees, carports, powerlines, a few roofs, all victims of the aftermath of a 12 hour run of falling snow from yesterday. I feel sorry for those still without power, I went without last night too but the response time was much quicker than I expected so there was no suffering, especially with having a fireplace. Another love of mine.

My neighbor built a Dallas Mavs snowgirl that I borrowed for my profile pic in social media for a while. She charges by the hour I hear so she won't be with me long. SO many pictures flooded twitter and facebook with snowmen, snowgirls, snowdogs, there was even a snowbunny! People building forts, and recording their snowboarding experiences, I LOVED IT.

So this is me throwing a snowball at you.

Tag, you're it.

I'm meeting friends for Breakfast tomorrow at ten am, come along if you want to!

Until then, keep warm friend
Tiffany