Halloween 2020

 This is a scary Halloween, to put it mildly.  

Not only do we have to be on the watch for 

ghosts, ghouls, witches and warlocks, 

but also for the invisible coronavirus lurking behind masks…

and traveling piggy back 

on a little goblin knocking at our front door. 

On this all hallow's eve….

PaulA and I have decided to participate in Halloween... 

at a ghoulish distance 

to avoid gremlin Covid germs.  

We have made up individual candy bags for the trick-or-treaters 

and are not going to allow them to attack the bowl full of candy…

like every year.

Paul had the brilliantly crazy idea of throwing a candy bag to each of them…

but I’m thinking not every 5 year old is a good catch.  

That has disaster plan written all over it.  

Plus I don’t want to get in trouble with any parent 

for throwing things at their kid.

So I will be masking up more than usual…

and dropping the bags of candy in their bucket 

from behind our glass front door.

I will be dressed as a gloved “Thing” from the Munsters…

exposing just my hand reaching around the door.

I’m wondering what costumes will be popular for 2020. 

There's the standard…scarecrow, pirate, and clown,

but I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone dressed as the

nasty...

 coronavirus, hand sanitizer or roll of toilet paper .

As crazy at it seems…

I would even take the days when kids dressed inappropriately as the nasty

 twerking Miley Cyrus  

over these days.  

Bring back 2013

Anywhooo…..

I don’t know about you, but every day feels like Halloween to me...

between masks

and

folks not being able to tell who you really are.

Halloween 2020 has got me thinking...

if people wearing masks were rewarded with a candy bar…

more folks would be all in.

I know 

I am definitely down for 

a Kit Kat bar 

every now and then.

Sticker Advocate for Adulting

As we know,

Adulting,

performing tasks such as 

paying bills, making dinner, insuring to insure, making budgets, maintaining your health and your car's health and knowing the difference between a

401(k) plan and a 2-4-1 happy hour plan, 

ain't always easy or fun.

Being a responsible adult and performing mundane tasks

is hard enough but to make matters worse...

it's done without validation or affirmation

and the lack of 

reward stickers.  

No one is giving Adults

 a sticker for something done right.  

We go through life doing these things without any credit.

Kids have it made…

they get stickers at school and 

some parents hand them out. 

Heck, there are lucky little tikes who get stickers for things like…

tying their shoes 

or 

not pitching a fit to go to bed.

And then after collecting 10 or so stickers

they can turn them in for something like

….an iPad or xbox. 

Do they still have xbox….maybe it's a zbox by now.

Albeit, (love that word) 

reward stickers do have a way of bringing out good behavior.

After all, 

kids like stickers and free stuff…

but so do adults.  

Adults deserve stickers for their efforts too.

Nice job with the laundry Kat... here’s a sticker.

You braved the grocery store during a pandemic…here’s a sticker, PaulA.

You cleaned the guest bathroom 

and company wasn’t even coming over...here’s a sticker, Kat.

Anywhooooo……

Early voting is now taking place in Tennessee.  

I had been counting down the days until I could vote.  

I knew by hook 

or by looking like a masked crook,

I was gonna vote in person. 

Not just because I'm patriotic 

doing my civic duty as an American….

but heck y’all 

there’s a sticker involved.  

                                                           Full disclosure...Being a stickler for stickers I asked for two.

Move over kids,

it's about time adults got in on the sticker action. 

I'm proposing the

 The Sticker New Deal.

After collecting 10 stickers... 

you would receive a voucher ...

for maybe

 free coffee from Starbucks or DD’s 

or

4 hours of free babysitting*.

*this one's for you Chelsea

This Sticker New Deal would give adults extra incentive  

for Adulting 

and to be on their best behavior,

making this world a nicer place.

But alas,

 until I’m able to rule the world 

and implement The Sticker New Deal…

I will have to wait until another election to get another sticker.

Wait a minute....just remembered...

I could give blood.

The Red Cross gives out stickers. 

Happy 3rd Birthday Ansley

 I scream, 

You scream,

We all scream 

for Ansley 

on 

her 3rd birthday.

Isn't it amazing how quickly 

a newborn grows to being

a little human being?

 

Day 1

to 

Day 1,095

goes by faster than a Lamborghini...

on a straight away.

There's so much a little human absorbs in 3 years

from family and the world around her.

And Miss Ansley is no exception.

She has learned a gazillion things...

to walk and talk 

not chew gum

sleep in a big girl bed, 

be a Manomet girl...

which means climb 107 stairs and 

"swim" to Flat Rock,

ABC's,

math (ok count), 

read (ok, the pictures)

sing baby shark ov'r and ov'r,

be flexible...

and silly, 

be a big sis...

-insert countless brags here-

but the most important thing 

Ansley has learned 

by far and beyond is that

 she is loved.

That is 

knowledge 

she can take to the Bank

that will compound daily, 

year after year,

and yield a fortune in the future.

Anywhooo...

Ansley's ice cream party was delicious fun...

no meltdowns...

just lots of licking good ice cream 

with every topping to fancy your taste.

(nice job mama)

My favorite  

was the 

Ansley a la mode 

sprinkled with smiles

Ben and Jerry has Cherry Garcia

but

we have sweet Cherry Ansley.

She will forever be the cherry on top

who makes our world a sweeter place.

Happy Father's Day - 3 special Dads

Today I remember and celebrate 
3 special Dads

over 3 generations...

my Dad in heaven,

my husband, PaulA,

and 

my son-in-law, Austin.

Being a dad is a 

 BIG JOB

that pays GREAT

with

love and smiles.

Today I'm remembering my Dad

 and his famous line...

“Who loves Dad? Raise your hand.” 

As kids, 

my brother, two sisters and I 

could be busy doing our homework or watching television, 

but whenever he would enter the room and say, 

“Who loves Dad...raise your hand?”…

we would automatically raise our hands 

and keep on doing what we were doing.

Anywhoooo....

Happy Father's day to PaulA 

aka

Chelsea, Colin and Brianna's Dad.

PaulA...

a man who has been a pillar 
of love, 
strength and 
balance.

hang on kids

A Dad always there for them in every way

always loving, supportive and a great role model

PLUS

the best dead guy at a kid's birthday party.

And Happy Father’s Day to Austin

aka

Ansley and Presley’s Dad.

2.5 years into the Dad role and 

Austin's got it down perfectly...

down to an "A" and a "P."

A Dad always involved
ready to 
read,

snuggle, 

play

as a human jungle gym,

and 
the ultimate 

pancake provider.

Who Loves Dad...  
raise your hand?

BREAKING BAD...habits

“They say” it takes approximately 

66 days 
for a new behavior to become automatic…

and a new habit to form.

I’m thinking PaulA is a habit now…14,111 days

a good habit...I ain't breaking.

I’ve easily been at home
over 66 days 

and noticed I’ve broken some old habits

and made some new ones.  

Since mid-March, 

I have not bought 
one item of clothing or 
one pair of shoes for myself.  

You just know, my inner Imelda Marcos is solely missed.

I may, however, have bought a couple/few/more things online for 

sweets Ansley and Presley…

just to keep my credit card company happy. 

I'm not a shopaholic…

chocoholic maybe

or a clothes hound...

although it is fun to sniff out a good deal at a store.

I do admit, however, to getting something new 

every once/twice/thrice in a while.

But since Covid,

I have walked by the 12 South shops in Nashville and 

 had no urge to go in.  

Not because I’m afraid of getting clothed with the Coronavirus 

but because I feel like I’m all set with clothes.  

I’ve been wearing the Covid uniform for so long, 

yoga pants and workout wear, 

that all the clothes in my closet are like brand new.  

Now when I look in my closet…I no longer think…there’s nothing in there. 

Now I’m like...

"Hi there light blue gauzy shirt 

that goes great with my white pants …

I forgot about you. 

You are so cute. 

Get on me."

And crazy enough...

the cosmo is no longer written in the stars.

I haven’t had a cosmo in months. 

The cosmo was my go to drink...  

not a to-go drink…

cuz if I was carrying a to-go cosmo around town..

Houston/Nashville we have a problem.

Could I be breaking bad 

habits? 

Anywhooo…

Since Covid, Paul and I have a new routine.

After dinner we get lost and 

found in front of the tv screen...

a coupla Netflix regulars.

We’ve been flexing our Netflix muscle through a series of series... 

currently watching "Broadchurch."

We try to show a little self restraint with

binge Flixing 

but

our Netflix habit real.

And so is our Klondike habit.

Klondike bars are so easily habit forming, 
they should come with a warning.

I probably formed a Klondike habit in record speed...

definitely didn’t need the average 66 days.

Who knew I was better than average?

Paul and I started cutting them in half so we could share...

half the guilt.

I would cut the bar, careful to get each side perfectly even 

but sometimes accidentally (on purpose?) 

one side would be a little larger.  

I would, of course, take the larger half.  

But PaulA caught on to my shenanigans.  

and he laid down PaulA law with a new decree.  

"Thoust person who cuts the bar in half, 
doth NOT get to choose a side."  

So seeing I couldn’t cut it perfectly even…

even to my own liking..

I would let him cut the Klondike….and then I would chose. 

I'm choosing left. 

Of course,

PaulA got really good at cutting perfectly even halves. 

He was barely off by an eighth of an inch…

but who’s measuring Klondikes with a ruler?

66 days in and

we are

creatures of 

new and old... 

good and bad

habits.

But

for this Kat, 
it's mostly

Breaking Bad 

habits…

and making other bad habits.

Better Call Saul