by Tish MacWebber | Jan 7, 2017 | Tish-ism
I work Monday to Friday at my day job. So like a lot of people, I am working for the weekend, and TGIF is in my vocabulary. On the weekends, I try to relax. I usually do some prep cooking for the upcoming week. Also, I do the cleaning. I am trying to get my house in order so that I can work on my projects. It takes time, and to really make this work, I will need to make a schedule and stick to it. A schedule is like a budget for me. I can follow one, but I don’t always like it. This is one of those things. We all have to do things we don’t like. Cleaning is one of mine. I have no problem making messes, for productive reasons. Cooking, crafting, whatever I have going on may have a side effect of making a mess. I don’t go out of my way to be a messy person. And we have what we need to clean. But the gumption is almost always lacking.
How do I plan to change this? For starters, I have signed up for 2 challenges this year. A deep cleaning challenge that runs for 15 weeks, and a daily challenge for smaller scale organizational tasks, in January. One of my resolutions was to finish them both, in 2017. I am finding motivation by sharing the daily videos on my personal facebook wall, and also the other challenge has so many posts about other people’s progress that I can literally be lost in that thread for days without realizing it. There are SO many beautiful homes out there, and the ideas people have in this group are AMAZING! So there are two sources of inspiration for me.
To get in the zone for this, I used to listen to a radio station called The Bounce. They have since changed their name, so I am not as big of a fan as I used to be. I would crank up the tunes and go to work on the cleaning. Hence the Tish-ism, “Bouncing the House”! I would post regularly on my wall about how I was doing this, and a few of my friends have started calling it the same thing at their house. Music keeps me up and moving. It is a big deal in my life. Yes, I write lyrics, but I enjoy music as often as I can, and as loud as I can. It is such a good thing in my life.
I also listen to music to help with my moods. When I am having a bad day, listening to angry music, lets me scream out my frustration through the lyrics and makes me come around. If I am sad, again, I choose music to help lift me up above the clouds where I like to live. I am an optimist, and I like to stay positive.
So the next thing I have to do today is start the week long kitchen cleaning project for my deep cleaning challenge. It will be so rewarding to sit down ad write and not feel like I should be working on something else instead of what I want to, no need to do. I need to write more. I need to work on my crafts more. I need to be more creative. Setting this goal to get the house in order is a way for me to prepare to have the time to be creative, and not have the guilty feeling that I should really be doing other things. That is a terrible loop I USED to get stuck in. The result is always that NOTHING GETS DONE. I am tired of not getting anything accomplished because of this. So this is my year to give’er and be a huge success. At least in my own mind. Countdown to Bouncing my house in 3,2,1…GO!
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 6, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
A brain pretzel is a term that came to mind one day when puzzling out a problem. A pretzel is a twisted piece of dough, and the one above has some extra embellishments that suit this term even more. It’s a description of that moment when you are thinking really hard about something, and your head tilts to the side, and one eye is squinted while the other one is wide open and that eyebrow is pointed straight up in the air. It is what I imagine is happening to the brain on the inside when a person is struggling to figure out a conundrum. The look of perplexity on the outside, with twists and knots forming on the inside as the puzzle gets solved.
That is what a brain pretzel is. This was an introduction to one of many Tish-isms. It’s not trending anywhere yet, but it could be a game changer. If it catches on. There will be more. Always thinking…and full of surprises.
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 31, 2016 | Coffee and Stories
Coffee in a pretty yellow cup and saucer.
I have been taking care of a friend’s coffee mug for about three years now. She has moved out of the country for work. So I have a few of her things in storage, some of them I have promised to use carefully, and one of them is an extra large coffee mug. It holds more than 20 oz of coffee. When I enjoy my coffee out of this mug, I tell people I am having a bucket of coffee. It really is that big, much bigger than the pretty yellow one in the picture.
I am not the type of person that has to have the coffee piping hot to enjoy a cup. I like it warm, not too hot, but with some heat left in it is optimal. So when it gets cold, I have two choices. Reheat it in the microwave and wait for it to be at that perfect temperature again, or go get a straw. Today, I choose the straw.
I know, some people that read this will shudder, and think that cold coffee is disgusting. When I drink coffee, I don’t put anything in it, I drink it black. I used to dress it up, but I decided to go cold turkey a few years ago, and I convinced myself I would learn to like it. I now enjoy it this way.
I have tried bulletproof coffee. Who comes up with this stuff? Maybe I just don’t know how to make it right, but I did not enjoy my only attempt at this creation. I will stick to taking my coffee black and sometimes flavoured. Some of the flavoured coffees work for me, and some don’t. I like a good variety, and when I decide to splurge on K-cups, I try new flavours whenever I can.
I was talking to someone the other day, and he said I should drink Ethiopian coffee. He said it will keep me up for nine days; and that I will save money because I won’t be running to Timmy’s all the time. I live in Canada, Timmy’s is a reference to Tim Hortons Coffee and Donut restaurants. When I was a child, I thought it was Important Donuts. They are the main Canadian preference for coffee shops, and a place a lot of people like to spend time, cafe style. If you ask your friends if they want a Timmy’s, you usually get replies that include a double-double in them somewhere. Now, I’m all for a good cup of coffee, but to me, being awake for 9 days sounds a little extreme.
Why the bendy straw? Well, the bucket is fairly tall. I like options, and bendy straws are more fun. Why not? I am sitting here getting ready for New Year’s Eve in my mind. I have a lot on my to-do list for today. I am invited to a house party, and it is a potluck. My husband and I have gone to this party for several years now when the weather cooperated. The forecast is good for tonight, so we plan to attend. He will be working until I pick him up on my way to the party. With a big list of things to do and only me here to do them, as much as I would have liked to drink a cup of coffee at that perfect temperature, it wasn’t in the cards today. So a bendy straw it is.
I am feeling a little nostalgic today. 2016 was a difficult year in many ways. A lot has happened. I lost some weight, so that is something I would like to continue in 2017. Living a healthier lifestyle is one of my resolutions this year. It will be something I blog about, because it is important to me, and I want to share my successes. Maybe it will help another person in their struggle, and it will do some good. I started this blogging adventure in November and decided that I need to write those books I have wanted to write my whole life. So that is going to happen. Writing the Fantasy Trilogy is another resolution. I hope that the music world stops in to read my lyrics. I dream of a collaboration with musicians to make my songs audible for the world, not just to be poetry in a blog. I have had the pleasure of making new friends online through this project, and I am grateful for those who took the time to help me get this blog from an idea to a reality. I thought I was only going to make the two resolutions for 2017, but something joined the ranks in the last 24 hours. I have attempted to complete home cleaning and organization challenges for the last 2 years. Last night I signed up again, and I am not committing to finishing it in 16 weeks, but I am committing to finishing it this year. I joined two last year, as one is more for in-depth cleaning (16 weeks) and the other one is for quick organizing (31 days) so I will be working on both challenges in 2017. My final resolution is to finish them within the year.
Well, I am now making that annoying noise through the bendy straw. I have finished my coffee. Time to walk away from the desk for a while, crank the tunes, and tackle my to do list. However you ring in 2017, I wish you well and hope you accomplish what you need to do in 2017. Happy New Year!
by Tish MacWebber | Dec 5, 2016 | Weekend Warrior
Well, here I am, on day one of my staycation. I know, it’s not a real word; but it is in my world. I am prepping for my only Christmas Craft Show this year, Christmas In The Dobie; I am going to be working on my blogging and I will be working on this site as well. I have joined a couple of writing groups, in the hope of fulfilling one of my dreams to write a fantasy trilogy. I am now trying to get serious about this writing thing. Having this week off to work on projects that matter to me is going to be very motivational when I have to get back to work in a week’s time.
I have just started here. I have gotten feedback and help from strangers. That is something I have to say is great. I am a pantser which refers to me flying by the seat of my pants, not a plotter that plans things out and works in a structured format. Both styles are successful, if applied properly. So I am here, blogging, from the seat of my pants, and hoping to have others come along for the ride.
The feedback was constructive. I am working with advice from someone in another country, and she is showing me how to make this site more user friendly, and to attract more followers. In the land of blogging, this is what it’s all about. More hits, more followers, and more opportunities in the land of the internet and beyond.
The comment was very kind. Having a stranger take the time to read what I have written and quote a part of it in the comment was really cool. It gives me the courage to keep going.
It doesn’t only apply to the blog. I have been working at getting healthier too. When someone notices, and it is real, by that I mean I am losing weight, it feels wonderful. When someone says that I look like I am losing weight and I am not, I don’t feel good about the compliment. So it depends on me sometimes to be in the frame of mind to accept a compliment in the way it is intended. It is hard to not feel bad inside when it isn’t a real one, no matter how the intended comment was given. We have all had them, those compliments that people give because they are trying to say something nice and it backfires because it isn’t true. Until this year, I have never really felt like I had earned any compliments about losing weight. Because it wasn’t true, not since I went through Weight Watchers with my mom in grade 11&12.
Here’s the thing, though. Those comments aren’t being said to hurt me. They are telling me that I am looking better, whether it is about the weight or not. Maybe the clothes are fitting better because my body has changed since the last time I wore that outfit. Maybe I am happy and as an emotional girl, that shows, and that is what the person is seeing. Whatever is said, it is being said to encourage me to keep trying, and that is what I have to focus on.
It has taken me a LONG time to realize this. I have never been good at taking compliments to begin with, and I think it is because I don’t always feel like I have earned them. That boils down to me being way too hard on myself. It is the way I am. I don’t know how to be any other way.
So, I am trying to learn. It is not easy to change how I react to what people say. Taking the meaning behind the words is how I will be able to grow as a person, and thrive on the positivity. I have to filter out the feelings and run with the good stuff. I am getting better at this. It is something I have to consciously work at, though. Everybody isn’t out to get me or be mean. Some people are. I am going to encounter negative comments and feedback also. It will happen. But that is a different struggle. Those have to be released into a black hole somewhere in outer space, as far away from my heart as I can get them. Otherwise they will drag me down, and that isn’t where I want to live my life.
When I do something creative, like design a new pattern for earrings that is mine from concept to finished product, I feel genuinely accomplished. Proud of what I made, because it is my work, with my own pattern. When I get on the scale, and I don’t want a hammer because it is showing that my hard work is paying off, I shout out loud for everyone to hear, and then if someone says something nice, it does what it is supposed to. It makes me feel good.
Words matter. Choose yours carefully, and make the world a better place because of them. If you can help someone today by being kind, please do. It might be the only good thing that person hears all day, or even all week. It is nice to have something good to remember that tells you to keep going, and that you matter. We all do. If your words come from your heart and are meant to be nice, then go for it. It’s the thought that counts, and for some people, it will mean more than you will ever know.
by Tish MacWebber | Nov 30, 2016 | Flash Fiction
I want to thank everyone who has submitted to our flash fiction competitions! I love reading through the submissions and seeing the widely different takes on the prompt. This week I was intrigued b…
Source: Flash Friday Winner
by Tish MacWebber | Nov 26, 2016 | Weekend Warrior
I live in Canada. Black Friday was not always something that happened here. We used to only have the Boxing Day sales every year. But, with the world being more socially connected, Canadians decided to try this Black Friday thing. We have sales. The purpose in starting it here was to help the Canadian economy by giving shoppers the opportunity to find deals and sales here at home, and in theory it makes sense.
The timing is good. If you are able to get your Christmas shopping and major household purchases done on Black Friday, you stand to save a good amount of money. There is a lot of hype about Black Friday. Now it is going through right until Tuesday. Sure, I like a good sale as much as the next person , but when you live on a budget, it is hard to plan for such things.
There are times I think about shopping. I have already written that I can be an impulse shopper. These days it applies mostly to food. I have been following a plan, and making my own meals to eat healthier. When I make food for the week it is called prep cooking. In a household of 2 with only me on plan, I do the prep cooking on a much smaller scale than I would like to. One or two recipes a week gets my breakfasts and lunches ready so I am able to stay on track and have a quicker exit to go to work in the mornings. When I work hard at it, it works. I have seen the results from the changes I have been making. It is encouraging to see it work, and frustrating when it gets stalled or goes in reverse. I have been stuck in a rut this past month. It is that time of year, when the undiagnosed seasonal depression kicks in.
I could have seasonal depression. I do get gloomy in the winter. I still go through the motions, go to work, eat, sleep, repeat, but I don’t have a lot of energy in the winter. I am also terrified of falling on ice outside. I have a lot of padding built in right now to break the fall if it happens, but it is not something I have had good experiences with. So if I could hibernate, wake up for Christmas and New Years, and them resume hibernation until the spring comes, that would be OK with me. Maybe stretch my legs and get a box of chocolates in February, you get the idea.
Did I do any Black Friday shopping today? I worked for most of those shopping hours. After work, I came home and made supper. There are leftovers, and I am trying a new recipe this weekend. There was a bit of planning in supper, because the spaghetti sauce will be an ingredient in the casserole I am making tomorrow. Right after supper we did go down the road to the grocery store. When I climbed in the car this morning, I was told by my husband to be ready to go get groceries when he got home from work. He heard a Black Friday ad on the radio while he was warming up the car, for the grocery store. There is a sale on cheese and chicken. So we got our groceries tonight. Sans list, free style. Which means there will be this or that needed between now and next payday. But the groceries are done, and a sale on chicken and cheese makes us both happy.
We keep telling ourselves, if we work real hard, and keep paying down our bills, maybe next year we can get to experience The Black Friday shopping in Canada (or get in on the Boxing Day sales). I don’t know if there will ever be a time that we will be able to do it. But we keep working hard anyway, because we have to keep paying the bills. They don’t pay themselves, and they won’t just go away.
What would I buy if I had the money? A new car, it is hard to manage with one car and two people. A new fridge and stove. A new bedroom set, we haven’t got that grown up purchase done yet. Cell phones, yes, you read that right, we do not have cell phones because it is an expense we cannot afford. Peppermint plants for every room ( I read they keep spiders, mice and bugs away). Clothes are a given. Sneakers for sure. A new purse and some new shoes. Make up. But something I really want is more of those glass containers that I could store my prep cooking in. We have some, but I was thinking today that if we could Black Friday some more of those, it would be beneficial for the days that I FEEL like prep cooking, I could do more and have some food frozen for the weeks I don’t feel like it.
At least the cheese and chicken freeze well. Would I buy more of both tomorrow? In a heartbeat. I go through a fair bit of cheese and chicken with this plan, and I have to have the ingredients on hand for when I want to cook. At least when we took the groceries in there seemed to be a decent amount. It is expensive to eat healthy, and I am trying really hard to improve my whole life. It is not easy, but it has to be done, and I am the only one that can do it. I hate coming home from the grocery store and having a fairly large amount of money spent and only 2 bags of food to show for it. It irritates the Scottish half of me. If I am going to spend money, I want to feel I got my money’s worth. Today that worked out OK. Maybe next year we can start working on the want list instead of scrambling to cover the needs list. Maybe next year.
I hope if you are reading this you were able to enjoy The Black Friday events on either side of the Canada US border that you got some deals that will make you happy because it was something practical that you really needed, or will use. The cheese and chicken were very practical for us, and will be put to good use. It will help me get back on track, and that is more important to me than any sale, because it is going to help me achieve my healthy lifestyle goals. There is no price tag on my health.
by Tish MacWebber | Nov 23, 2016 | Weekend Warrior
I do not like numbers. As a general rule of thumb. Which I wish was a greener thumb. I have been known to try to keep a pink polka dot plant and it did not end well for the plant. I do OK with African Violets, though. I still have the one from my wedding bouquet. It was a little scared for a while, but it is happy and growing again. Five years and counting.
I can do math. I have taken a calculus course as a part of my Bachelor of Science Degree. I can manage a budget. I choose not to, as sticking to a budget when there is a need or a fantastic sale completely ruins the budget, as I can be an impulse shopper. These days, I don’t get the chance to shop much, other than for groceries and necessities when a need arises. My husband does manage our budget. We made an agreement a long time ago that he could do that, and we would absolutely fight about it from time to time. What that translates to is that when I deem something has caught my eye and I want to buy it, I check and see if we can swing it. If not, then we may have an argument over the importance of the desired purchase. I was very clear that there will be times when I am really mad, but it is not at my husband. It is at the root of all evil in my house, money. Or the general lack of it.
Don’t get me wrong, we do splurge once in a blue moon. We also try to plan purchases that are out of the ordinary so we can have the things we need, but sometimes there is a little bit of a wait on those things.We cut costs where we can, and make allowances if things happen. Because we all know things happen, and they usually cost money.
So you are now wondering, “OK Tish, where are you going with this?” As you can see, I do tend to not think or write in a straight line. I am a creative person, and I had a thought years ago about the comment we have all heard at one point in our lives, that time flies. We all notice that as we get older; the years seem to blend together, and they do seem to go faster.
To someone that likes numbers, this is probably not going to be a mind blowing concept. But the fact that I came up with it on my own, well that is a different story. I think that is rather phenomenal. I really go out of my way to avoid as much math and numbers as much as possible. However, I did stop and think about this concept one day, which does happen from time to time. Thinking. I do that more than I let on.
In the first year of your life, you live it all, 100% of your life in that year. In the second year of your life, you live 50% of your life in it, because the other 50% of your life was lived in year one. In year 3, 1/3 of your life is lived within it, and 2/3 of your life was lived in years one and two. So if each consecutive year of your life seems to go faster, if you think about it, it is. It is a fraction of the time you have been alive. So the saying is true. Each year does go faster than the previous one, because it is a smaller percentage or fraction of the time you have been alive. That’s where I was going with this post. I can think about things, and come up with ideas, and not all of them are about crafts and jokes. I do have an intelligent side too. I don’t always share it, but it exists. I always tell my husband that I am always thinking, and he usually shudders and says that it scares him. But I also tell him I am always full of surprises, and he has to agree with that from time to time. Surprise! I spent time thinking about a mathematical concept, and I didn’t have to. Who would have figured that one out? I did. 🙂
by Tish MacWebber | Nov 23, 2016 | Flash Fiction
It was so exciting reading all the entries for our first Flash Friday! I wanted to thank everyone who submitted. I laughed and I cried, but one entry really stood out. Our winner is Megan Johnson, …
Source: Grey
by Tish MacWebber | Nov 22, 2016 | Weekend Warrior
I didn’t want to get up. I was still tired. But I am begrudgingly at times a responsible adult, and I have a day job. So I fought my way out of bed. Stopped at my computer to check in on the way to the shower. Got dressed, packed my lunch, and ran out the door.
Rough day at work. It happens sometimes. Got through it, and was a little later than planned when I was running out the door from work to go home before catching a movie. Too short on time to have supper, changed plans, and decided to eat at the Mall before the movie.
Traffic was backed up on the bridge, so we arrived at the mall just in time to buy tickets and see a preview or two. Then the movie started. We didn’t even have time to stop and buy popcorn.
Trolls was fabulous. Singing, glittery, rainbows and laughter everywhere, fabulous. Even with the hidden morals and the necessary bad guys. I mean, there has to be a villain, otherwise there isn’t much of a plot line. The jokes were for all ages, if you know what I mean. Lots of laughs and giggles. It was a fun movie.
Finally, we had supper at the mall. I was almost hangry by the time I did get to eat. I am not usually the first one to finish what’s on my plate anymore. I always was when I was growing up, because that was how to get to your dessert faster. The most important meal for my day has always been dessert. But that is a topic for another day. I was still the last one done eating my supper, but it wasn’t a leisurely paced meal like I might have had at another time.
We drove my friend home after the movie. Too late to visit, everybody has to work in the morning. So we made our way back home. It is nice to get out of the house with friends for a movie, but we had to plan for the early show because of that whole responsible adult day job thing we all have to get up in the morning for. Unlike whomever had 2 car accidents on the bridge that stopped traffic before the movie, we all arrived home safe and sound.
So you are probably wondering what a Scotch Lick kind of a day is. Well, let me back up to this morning. My day basically started with a Scotch Lick, and didn’t slow down for very long all day. A Scotch Lick is when you take a shower, but don’t wash your hair. Because you are in too much of a hurry to make time for that extra step in the start of your day. My whole day was pretty much a rush from one thing to the next, all day long. Sure, you can be fancy and use the shower cap and not call it a Scotch Lick, but being half Scottish, I rather like the term, and it certainly applied to my whole day. I got everything done that was necessary, so now I plan to relax for the rest of the evening, and hope tomorrow is not lived in so much haste. Because I will have to make the time to wash my hair tomorrow.
by Tish MacWebber | Nov 22, 2016 | Weather Stories
Webster’s Encyclopedia of Dictionaries defines accumulation as a collection; a mass; a pile. It is also the word that my sister used to describe winter in Fredericton, usually with a colourful expletive or two in front of it, depending on who she was talking to. When I got the assignment of writing a story around the topic of Winter In Fredericton, this word naturally came to mind. I think a fitting title for this category is weather stories, as the accumulation of snow is something that is talked about all winter long in Canada. So I am going to try to apply all three meanings to it.
A pile of snow last year has quickly grown into a much bigger pile this year. If there haven’t been records for snowfall, then we must be at least acknowledging that we have been pummeled with winter storm after winter storm, along the whole East Coast, if not the whole country this year. So yes, the word pile does accurately describe winter in Fredericton, at least this year. I don’t remember having snow here like this, at least not since moving here.I am now shorter than most snow banks. It is intimidating to think about it, and one does wonder where it will all go in the spring. Hopefully not into my basement.
Which brings me to my second thought on the definition, a mass. There is a whole mass of ice under all of that snow out there, that makes it treacherous to walk or drive anywhere in this town. Not using salt on the roads is better for the bodies of the cars we drive, but I am not so sure that it is the safest thing to do this year. The mass amounts of ice on the trees since the storm we had on Sunday night is nice to observe, but not so nice to the trees. Some are bending under the sheer mass of the ice on their limbs, and some of them will not be alive in the spring. This being said, there was also a mass of water that came down in the last storm, to make new ice on the trees. It also caused temporary flooding in the city. I drive a Neon when I drive. I didn’t know that when I was driving to work, and came up to Lake Dundonald, that it was part motorboat as well. The water went in every direction, and the poor car stalled after that particular ordeal, but I made it to work, although I was a little bit late. The Neon is tougher than it looks.
Finally, the description of a collection. This is the good side of Winter in Fredericton, which came to a rather high point last weekend when Fredericton was the host of this year’s ECMAs. There were performances in every bar in town, from Thursday right through Sunday. It was an event I was proud to participate in, as a fan of music. The amount of talent may have varied in style, but nonetheless, it was a collection to be noticed. This weekend, as winter in Fredericton continues, we get ready for Winterfest. It is a different venue for Frederictonians to revel in the wonders of sledding, a snow maze, and to take part in other winter-themed activities.
So, winter in Fredericton is definitely an accumulation of all sorts. I guess my sister was right.
Note: This story was written in 2011. As the first snow of the season is starting to fly, the accumulation will begin for another winter. It brought this story to my mind, and I thought I would share it here. The Farmer’s Almanac is calling for a bad winter this year, so there will be more snow to come.
The assignment was from when I was in a creative writing group called Freddy Words, that I was a part of at that time. I did name the group, and it seems to have busy moments, and lulls. It has been in the lull mode for several years. I hope to stir it back to life again, someday.
There is no “Lake Dundonald.” The water had accumulated to flood the street. It was a short-lived flood that I thankfully did not get stuck in.
I attended one of the performances of the ECMA weekend. I chose the Nova Scotia venue, being from Cape Breton. I had a wonderful time and discovered The Tom Fun Orchestra for the first time. I enjoyed the show.
Now I will go to my window one more time before I go to bed, to look out into the night, and watch the snowflakes fall from the sky for the first time this year. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. But not too much, as the accumulation leads to a lot of shovelling.
