It's mine so hush...

I haven’t been checked in for a while. I find that after long days at work, it’s challenging to come home and get online. I have lots of stuff I often want to share, and no energy to do so. I am working on that. This week’s blissful bites includes a week of the hubs getting off work early and having dinner ready when I got home from work! You see, I cook in our house. Pretty much every day, I am responsible for dinner. I get home usually about 30 minutes to an hour before him, so it makes sense. But this week has been lovely! We (or maybe just me?!) are dreaming of the time that his schedule will permanently change and the cooking responsibilities will be shared more often. Sun breaks! I was born and raised in Oregon. The rain does not faze me. To be honest, I get more annoyed with all the complaining about the rain, than the rain itself. This week has been particularly rainy, and I have completely enjoyed the sun breaks we have had. I try to find a sunny spot and soak i...

This morning I made my first student loan payment in a very long time.  I had been paying back after my first masters, and then I went back for a second so the payment went away for a while.  So here we are again, and honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I know that I am lucky to have had the opportunity to access funds to get to go to school.  I would also appreciate at the opportunity to have my loans reduced based on the work that I do. For someone with my level of education and work experience I feel comfortable saying I am under-compensated.  This is not simply the organization I work for, it's the industry standard.  Unfortunately social services and the non-profit sector have bought into the idea that we should be so lucky to do this work and do it for less than say, hospitals or the government.  In doing so, we have created an environment that is often rife with burnout, frustration and struggling to survive workers. ...

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted up in here. I have been trying to find a way to balance my desire to write with my lack of desire to sit in front of a computer once I get home from work. Challenging...  Anyway, I am going to try to get back on the blogging train. At the very least, back to the self care that is Blissful Bites. I believe it is very helpful to me to spend time focusing on the positives in my life and to walk to the talk of self-care.  Lastly, I am throwing it out to the universe - I need a king sized bed. It's a long story, that I will share another day, and know this - a king size bed would change my life for the better. Hope any and all of you that check-up on this little blog are doing well and I promise to get back at it!

I must admit that this week, finding my moments of bliss have been hard. I have had to pay attention more, as to not miss them. Sometimes, weeks are just like that. 1) I have a great friend, that I am also fortunate enough to work with. Every morning we check in with each other for the first 10 minutes we are there. I have to say it's wonderfully blissful! It's 10 minutes of self-care every morning before we get too far into our day. 2) Kombucha . I forgot how much I loved it, until it was on sale this week and I bought a bottle for every day. So delicious and refreshing. Now I need to take a class to learn and make my own! 3) A new fridge. A friend is making changes in her life and liquidating her business, and we lucked out by getting a fridge for a great price! What were your moments of bliss this week?

There's been lots going on around the Mongoose Manor, I just haven't had the time to sit down and write it out. I am working on it! I will get my bliss list up this week, for sure. I have lots of stuff rollin around in my head, but need to figure out a way to get it down. Hope you are all well!

I started writing this post for last week’s bit o’bites, and then the plague set in. I was out sick on Monday and have been limping through the last week. This list will be a combo of the two, both of which were filled with unexpected blissful bites! An unexpected visit from one of my besties , at work a week ago Thursday. I was sitting in a LONG afternoon meeting when I got a text message she was in the lobby. It was a gorgeous afternoon and we sat in the parking lot, enjoying the sun and grabbing a few minutes of each other’s time. It was very revitalizing. I got some new ink work done by the every fabulous Roll Hardy and will get more done this upcoming week! Last Saturday we hosted another “crockpot, cheap wine and game night,” with so many wonderful friends who were in attendance! This house is a dream!! We had enough room for our dining table to be spread out long, surrounded by 10 plus beautiful souls, cheap wine, delicious food and more laughs than could be counted. ...

Holding Hope. I love saying this. I love doing this. Every day I hold hope for those dear in my life and for those I will never know. I envision my heart, with a little space at the bottom. It's a wide space, with slightly curved edges. It's smooth and warm. It's big enough for everyone and all are welcome. If you don't have it in you today, please know that I am holding a space filled with hope, for you.