The Selfie Stick

I'm not going to lie... I feel a lot of pressure to write this story because I know when I write it, it has to be perfect!  However, if I don't write it now, it may never get written and that would be an even bigger disappointment than writing it poorly.  Gulp, so here it goes.

As most of you know, I love hiking and chasing waterfalls.  About two years ago, I realized there are waterfalls all over Ohio even though cities with names like Cuyahoga FALLS, Chagrin FALLS, Newton FALLS...etc never helped me to make this connection until I started looking for waterfalls.  Ever since then, I've made it my mission to see as many waterfalls in Ohio...and I think I'm doing a pretty fine job.

The final day of January, the weather in Ohio was spectacular.  Mid fifties with a little bit of wind.  Not normal temperatures for this time of year.  And when there is nice weather, you better believe that me and SJ are on some sort of outdoor adventure.  We ventured to the Wilmont area to see Dundee Falls.  I'd seen this one before however, after I went, I learned there was another one in the same area...unfortunately, I couldn't find anything via internet research, so I headed to Dundee Falls.

We went prepared for muddy ground, and I even grabbed the hiking stick which as been residing in my trunk for the last year.  I never use hiking sticks, and the only reason why I have this hiking stick is because a friend I used to go hiking with a lot, preferred hiking with sticks, and I kept it in my trunk since I usually drove to the place we'd hike.

I prefer to have free hands when I walk, however, I knew it was going to be super muddy, so I grabbed the stick.  About 1/8 of a mile in, I started regretting the hiking stick.  I needed free hands!  I needed to be able to grab branches while I climbed instead of holding on to a stick.  Stick or not, we made it safely to Dundee Falls.

We ventured down the stream for a while but decided we would go back and drive to the other parking spot to find the other waterfall.  According to SJ, if it took her friend Shawn 6 months to find it, there was no way we were going to find it on our first attempt.  Instead, we climbed up the side of the ledge and admired the view.  

I didn't take my "real" camera with me for this hiking adventure which turned out to be a major bummer.  However, I did take my tripod claw thingy...as I like to call it.  I don't really know what it's called, but it's an tripod for an iphone with gripper legs.

 I found it useful to wrap it around branches and take yoga selfies on my last hike, so I brought it along for this adventure.  SJ and I found a really pretty spot to do a random photo shoot and I pulled out my tripod claw thingy.  I looked around for a branch to hook it on, but there was nothing near where we were...however, I did have my hiking stick!

"Perfect, this will work!'  I twisted the claw on the stick and was ready to go, but SJ was in tears from laughing.

"You just made a selfie stick!!!!!"

And then we laughed for the next ten minutes.

We're pretty sure this is what actually happened when someone invented the selfie stick.  The hiking stick was no longer used for hiking, just for photos.  

And it worked great!

We ventured back to the car and took a left, and then another left, as Shawn had told SJ.  These were our directions to get to the other parking lot...only we quickly discovered, this wasn't accurate.  We drove around trying to figure out where to go next.  We knew nothing would be marked because nothing about this place is marked.  No trails, no parking signs, nothing.  It really is one of those, if you don't know where you are going, you'll never find it places.

Yet, somehow we found it.  (For the record, Shawn would have been right if SJ would have told him how we got to the first one....because from where we were at the second spot, it was a left and then another left to get back to where we started...)  

And boy, we were glad we did.

Talk about breathtaking!

We climbed back behind the frozen waterfall and felt the ice cold water that was melting drip over our hands.  It was magical!

And then, we pulled out the selfie stick and took some more pictures...of us laughing... because it's still funny.

My Co-Worker...Dorie.

Things in the shop are picking up.  In fact, they've gotten so busy that TWO part time people have been hired.  I was really excited about this for the mere fact the pressure of completing the entire orders on my own was gone!

The one lady is older and she is hilarious.  In fact, she might be the funniest person I've ever met.  (Sorry SJ, you are hilarious and still in the top 5)  When I first met her though, she told me she wasn't very smart and almost flunked kindergarten.

I thought she was joking.

The more I tried to train her, the more I realized she just didn't get it.  Nothing was "hitting home" yet, I persisted on teaching her the same thing in a variety of ways.  I even asked her if she was an audio learner, visual learner, hands on learner....etc....I just needed something to go by to help her understand.

She's been working two days a week and when she came in yesterday, she looked defeated.   She had taken her normal work day off because her cousin passed away so I thought maybe she was feeling down about that, and so I asked.  "Is everything okay?"

"You know, I just don't think I can do this anymore.  I don't know if it's my age or how physically hard this job is but I feel like rice krispies...all I do is snap, crackle and pop.  I really don't know how you do this every day.  I heard she was hiring someone else so I'm just gonna let her know that I'm the weakest link and I really did try.  You are a great teacher."

I give her a smile because I know how hard this job is however, I also know how much work we have to do and how desperate we are for any help, whether they can move fast or slow.  "When she said she was hiring, that didn't mean she was replacing you, I promise, when we went over the tasks for this week, your name was on a lot of them.  Maybe you can request some of the easier jobs or only one day a week?"   I offer the suggestion because I know my boss is going to panic when she gives her notice.

As I left work that day, I gave my coworker a wave goodbye and asked if I'd see her tomorrow, since she was on the schedule.  She shrugged and told me she'd call me and let me know.

This morning, I pulled into work and my coworker was waiting in her car.  I opened up the door and gave her a smile.  Without missing a beat, she said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm still here."  She fills me in on the talk and it went similar to our talk.  My boss told her we'd give her all the easy jobs....however, we still had the weeks plan of her tasks, which weren't so easy.  I did my best to alter the plans but we still had to get it done for the shipment.

It was in the mist of all this, this coworker decided to give out nicknames....my boss is Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke.  And I am Rose the Riveter.    (It's not so random... we have the picture hanging up in the shop)

But this is when I made the connection my coworker is Dorie.  Seriously.  She has no memory.  She's easily distracted.  She's always cracking jokes.  She is Dorie but in person!  I came to this conclusion because I just finished showing her how to do a new job, and this Miss Kitty asked her to help her a second by holding the trash can down so she could pull out the trash.  Dorie happily helped, and then emptied all the trash cans.  She finally came back to her original task and said, "Ok, I don't remember what I was doing.  First day on the job..."

Dorie did however tell Miss Kitty a few days ago that I needed a raise for putting up with her and training her and retraining her, and double checking everything.  It worked!  I was super excited about a well needed raise.

Anyway, we had a good laugh about calling her Dorie, then she asked us to never tell anyone her new nickname along with her real name because if anyone found out about it, they'd all agree 100% with me and call her Dorie for the rest of her life.

Later, I asked her why she didn't do stand up comedy because her comments are always so perfectly timed, and naturally, she answered with a comical response, without missing a beat.... "I'm too tired to stand up so I'd have to do it lying down."

Dorie.  

She keeps us laughing.  I really hope we can find some "easy" jobs for her because I really enjoy her humor.  However, after today and her "easy" jobs, she's still considering surrendering to old age, even though she knows we desperately need her help!

Yeah...um...About that...

It's been a very weird holiday season for me, mostly because I have a man-friend at this point in my life...and well, I don't know what to do with him.

See, I told him weeks ago that I don't have any feelings for him and if he were a guy I had feelings for, his response would have been super sweet... "I'm fighting for you and I'm not going anywhere, no matter how much you try to push me away..." but, because of my cold beating heart, I find it a bit...annoying.

However, he doesn't care and he would be happy with 1% of my heart and would gladly settle with that.  This also annoys me because I'm a passionate person and I want 100% of the heart of the guy who has 100% of mine.  (Unfortunately, I have 110% of my man-friends heart and I keep trying to give that percentage back!)

To prove the difference of our feelings, I'll share with you the gift I got for him...and the gifts he got for me.

I bought him a $12 apple pie.  Not only that, I made him drive 30 minutes to a different city so he could pick out the pie he wanted.  He doesn't really like sweets but he does like pie.  I didn't even get him a card.

He...on the other hand...gave me his old flat screen television, bought me a super soft blanket, and lovely sterling silver with small diamonds in the earrings and necklace.  He spent a little more than $12 on me.

He also got me a card... which I thought was a little over the top....but had I had feelings for this poor guy... all of this would have been a heart melting Christmas miracle.

I'm going to a New Years Eve party with him... one that I've been dreading since he asked me to go with him....but I figured since I didn't even see him on Christmas day... knowing he doesn't have family in this country and he would spend the holiday alone....I figured the least I could do was go to a party with him.  After the New Years though, I am going to have another talk with him and prove to him that I am a cold heartless woman and his love for me will never change that.

A Sticky Christmas Situation

Merry Christmas!  I hope you find yourself filled with love, happiness, warm moments, giggles, and making the best memories you possibly can.

My niece has been in town for almost a week.  Whenever she comes to town, life is very busy, filled with sweets, and very exhausting.  I get to see my niece a few times a year, so when we do see her, we are busy giving her so many new memories which wears us out...pretty quickly.  

She travels from relative to relative, having slumber parties with her Aunt Jennee, sleep overs at Grammy and Pappy's, and staying the night with Dad and Uncle B.   On Christmas Eve, she decided she wanted to stay with Grammy and Pappy since they had the tree that Santa would be dropping her presents at.  I also decided to stay at Grammy and Pappy's because I thought it would be much easier to roll out of bed and enjoy the moments of Christmas morning instead of hearing my phone go off as a wake up call, telling me to come over immediately so the niece could open some presents.

After the niece went to bed, it occurred to me that none of the presents from "Santa" were at Grammy's house.  And the niece is still a believer of the jolly old man in red.  We decided we'd tell her that Santa got confused and left them at Dad's house in the morning....only morning came....and there were presents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But after a quick inspection, she realized NONE of the gifts under the tree were from Santa.  She was devastated.  Santa had forgotten her.  Tears rimmed the corner of her eyes and she tried her best to hide her disappointment, but the sadness weighed her down as if a sumo wrestler was sitting on her shoulders.  I did my best to distract her.  I told her to get dressed and brush her teeth...but her mind stayed busy.

"Aunt Jennee, I think it was Pappy who drank the milk and ate the cookies because there's only presents from you and Grammy and Pappy under the tree."  She said with a heavy heart.  As soon as I had a free chance, I huddled with Grammy and Pappy, informing them of the about to lose her belief on Christmas morning!   A few minutes later, my mom and I were hiding in the bathroom and on the phone with "Santa" trying to thing of a clever plan.   "Maybe Santa left the presents in the garage...oh... the Christmas tree on the porch... yes, he couldn't fit thru the wood burner pipe!"

While we waited for Dad and Uncle B to arrive, the niece sat on my lap and said, "Aunt Jennee, I can't believe Santa forgot about us."   I gave her a hug and said not to worry, but I know it didn't bring her any comfort.  She was a child and Christmas didn't come!

And then the doorbell rang.   "Go get the door!!!"  I said with excitement, but it took me pushing her off my lap for her to go get the door.  She pulled open the door and not only saw Dad, but she saw all the gifts under the tree on the porch.

Her spirit soared!  Santa hadn't forgotten about her after all!  And how silly it was that we didn't look under any other Christmas trees around the house!  She skipped, she danced, she giggled, and she glowed.  Christmas was going to be wonderful after all.

But better than that.... it was DAD who bought her the present she wanted most, not Santa.

 And though she will figure out very soon that Santa is her family that loves her so dear, it's been so magical making her believe the man who loves to wear red and spreads happiness all around.

Merry Christmas friends.

May you all create some magic this holiday season.

Holiday Hustle

It's finally starting to feel a little bit like Christmas, even though we are still having surprisingly warmer temperatures here in Ohio.  My beloved little niece has finally arrived for the holidays and the Christmas magic is starting to come alive because she has brought her belief of Santa and miracles to the Thompson household again this year.

Now, I've been trying to get the Christmas spirit most of the month.  I've decorated my apartment with as much Christmas cheer as a typical elf but it still didn't sprinkle any holiday magic on my heart.   And then SJ and I went looking at Christmas lights all over town, and they were beautiful sights to see, brilliantly shining in the dark sky, but without the snow, it didn't feel right.

A few days later, I went to another Christmas light display, and much to my surprise, it still didn't feel like Christmas was a little over a week away.

And now, we are in the week of Christmas and though I'm going thru the motions of the holiday, it still doesn't feel like it's Christmas time.  However, when my niece first saw me, I was wearing my fury fury jacket and instead of saying hello, or I've missed you Aunt Jennee.... she gives me a hug and said, "YOU LOOK LIKE MRS. CLAUS!"

However, a little while later, when she calmed down, she told me in a soft and sincere voice, "Aunt Jennee.  I finished reading Holy Jamolie.  It WAS AWESOME."  I'm not sure which one of us smiled more.  When I wrote it for her last year, she didn't seem so thrilled at having a book where she was the main character, but now she's read it and liked it...and I'm slightly regretting my choice of not having book two ready for this years Christmas gift.

Since the arrival of the niece, we have filled our tummies with chocolate and sugar, built gingerbread houses and talked about Santa coming down the chimney.  It's feeling more like Christmas but I have a feeling it will rush by and I won't get to enjoy the season as much as I would prefer too.  Hopefully, with the magic of Christmas, time will slow down and I will get to spend quality time with friends and family, and not lose myself to the sugar and dairy that is already changing my mood and bloating my body up to a size I'm not comfortable in, anymore.  Whether we are ready or not, the holidays are here!  And since I know I won't have much time to myself until Christmas....I'm wishing you now, the happiest holiday season of all.  May the child like spirit of love, peace, and joy, fill your hearts and sound thru your laughter, as you spend time with those nearest and dearest to you.

Merry Christmas!

Never A Dull Moment

For the last few months I've been working full time in an upholstery shop.  I manufacture restaurant booths for Wendy's and Outback.   Business has slowed down and my boss is doing her best to keep me busy to give me hours.  So, this week I have....

Painted her son's bedroom

Made her sister a Christmas gift

Put letters on a letterman jacket

Made a quilt for her son

Run errands..and a few Starbucks runs

I've picked the kids up from school, dropped her husband off to fix a vehicle, gone to Staples, and Joann's (which worked out perfectly because I needed to pick up a few items there as well) and it's been an interesting week.  I'm not sure how I feel about being a personal assistant... however I've decided I really need to start looking a little more presentable at work so if I do have to go out in public, I'm not immediately regretting my lack of effort in clothing, hair and make up.

How was your week?

Jennee version 3.3

Today I turned 33 years old.  Gulp.  I'm finding it hard to believe I'm in my 30's....

Anyway, this year was a big year for me and I'd like to review what Jennee version 3.2 did with herself.

Jennee version 3.2

I dated a lot more than I ever have in my life.  I dated a guy I didn't like, a guy that I really liked, and a guy that I think I liked.   I was treated poorly and disrespected by some, and I was valued and adored by one.  I really like feeling valued and adored.

I started practicing yoga... and I've stuck with it for 8 months.   It's changed me mentally, physically, and spiritually.   I can now touch my toes, do headstands, and balance my body in positions I would have never imagined.

I changed jobs and got back to pursuing my dreams.   I'm back to my roots of doing upholstery and working on getting a full time job with my passions of health, fitness, writing, and photography.

I crossed the border and finally went to Canada.  I've done a bit of traveling this year.  Niagara Falls, Nashville, and tons of waterfall chasing all over Ohio.  

I published a children's story just for my niece.

I reached a lot of goals.

I listened to a life coach podcast to help with my broken heart and self esteem.  I continue to listen to the same life coach so those negative voices stay out of my life.

I invested in myself and my health.  I'm still learning how to say no, but I'm starting to get better.

I've searched out for adventure, I stayed active, I lived life to the fullest.

I overcame a broken heart, I lost some weight, I accomplished some goals, I had some set backs, and I bought a new car.   I've made new friends, I've mended broken friendships, and I've lost a few friends.  I've taken chances... on love, on life, on my future, on a career.

This year started with a lot of crying but it's ending with a lot of joy and laughter.   I learned how to find joy in the ordinary, and I've learned that creating joy in my own life brings happiness full circle.

I'm really excited to see what Jennee version 3.3 will do with her life, and I'll get to see it one day at a time.