A to Z Challenge – Zest

Z is for Zest

No, I am not going to tell you about soap.  It is something I try really hard to hang onto on bad days like today has been… a zest for life.  I have hurt and felt worthless and a burden most of the day.  But I have tried to take care of myself and do what is best for me.  Every bad day can be balanced out with good ones.  You just have to remember you will make it through the bad to the good.

I also learned a little something when I battled cancer and there is no way you can face a disease like that and not crave life affirmations.  So good days or bad there is always something worse that could be happening so hold onto the good you can find and LIVE life.  Even if you have to take part of a day off to do a little self care… climb back on the horse and do something fun, new or unexpected.

I have enjoyed this A to Z Challenge, I hope you have too and learned a little about me.  Now for one last time… follow my A to Z challenge:

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A to Z Challenge – Y…

Y is for …

I have struggled with this letter.  I like yogurt, but not enough to post about it.  I do some yoga as my pained body can handle it.  I had a yo-yo as a kid but really sucked at playing with it.  I hate the term YOLO.  I was even young once (believe it or not) but I think that is not a phenomenon exclusive to me.  But then I thought of you.

This is a time to be glad I have 624 followers, although there a few I haven’t seen on here in quite a while, plus there are those who follow solely for the reason to get a follow back.  But I still think it is nice that more than 600 people took the time to press that follow button.

You have also visited me 13,000 times.  That is a lot of people wandering through my blog world.  And it hardly felt the least bit crowded!

So, I dedicate this letter to YOU and thank you for sharing this journey called life with me.  ❤ (((HUGS))) ❤

 

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A to Z Challenge – Xanadu

X is for Xanadu

In part Merriam-Webster calls Xanadu “a generalized term for an idyllic place.”  A paradise to escape to, an island dream… or an 80’s movie.  Ok so I LOVE music, and musicals have a special place in my heart.  It is NOT an academy award winner but it was a “cute” film.  And I may be bias as I have always loved Olivia Newton-Johns singing as well as ELO.  So the album does reside in my record collection.  I unfortunately don’t have the DVD yet, but every once in a while it pops up on tv.

But if I were to pick an idyllic place for my own Xanadu, it would be in the country near water.  Lots of gentle animals to see and NO bugs.  But back to the movie…

I also have to credit Gene Kelley.  He didn’t get to dance a lot in the movie, but he has always made it look so doggone easy!  Really smooth moves!

So, yes I am a fan of Xanadu and I am only a little afraid to admit it.  LOL!

 

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A to Z Challenge – Writer

W is for writer

This letter was kind of a no-brainer.  I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t write.  I wouldn’t put words out there if I didn’t want them read.  So I am a writer.  Now I would LOVE to be a paid writer some day, but for now I am happy that I can connect with one or two people here with my blog.

I have been writing poems off and on since I was in junior high school.  I have always found it somewhat therapeutic to get the sad, mad or glad feelings out on paper… especially the sad ones.  If not the thoughts just fester and it is no good for anyone.

My dream would be to have a book of poems with some pictures I have taken.  But I am too unsure of my writing to take the plunge and put my words up for criticism.  The blogging community has been so kind to me I feel really comfortable here.  I am a writer.  Come read with me.

 

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A to Z Challenge – Video Games

V is for video games

I was kind of born at the right time.  As an elementry student we got our first Pong game.  For those of you too young to know, video games started extremely basic and we were all gaga over them!  It wasn’t long before we moved up to the Atari 2600.  Space Invaders, Surround, Pole Position… all very boxy looking games now, but the greatest thing in the mid to late 70’s.

The Atari continued to produce new games and it wasn’t long before PacMan hit the arcades.  I loved it!  I was not a master at it, but I could often get the top score at the arcade.  Ah, the arcades!  I was a teenager and my friend had her driver’s license so we would hit the arcades in town, especially the one with the cute guys working there!  We knew all of them by name in no time.  We thought we were hot stuff.  (I can’t help but laugh at that now!)

Arcades began to fade when home systems evolved into more memory and better graphics.  We never had the Nintendo or Playstation until much later.  But we played lots of games on out Atari computer.  There was Preppy (a Frogger take off where you mowed the lawn at the country club) text adventure games (one, if I remember right, was called Escape and you just had to go through a series of events to make it down to the ground floor in a high rise.) and Lemmings (where you directed the lemmings which way to go so they would not die).

By the time I hit college the hot game for me was Tapper where you served beer in different saloon settings.  I was the master of it in the campus game room! Then life happened and before long I became a mom and picked very carefully what my daughter played.  Actually that is not true.  I tried not to sensor her too much and I know she and her cousin were well below the recommended age for Conker’s Bad Fur Day.

It became a tradition in our house, when there was a snow day I would stay home and we would play Paper Mario all day. As she ages she played more and more games alone and I sat down with Animal Crossing to play a nice mind numbing game.

Now a days it is phone games or Wii.  I still play video games and get all excited if there is a PacMan, Ms PacMan, or Frogger game any place we go.  I hope to join a Wii bowling league when I get old enough to go to the senior center.  😂🤣

 

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A to Z Challenge – Unicorn

U is for unicorn

Okay, I know they are not real but they are my favorite mythical being.  I started a small unicorn collection in middle school and still have a handful of them that I cherish.  I suppose it goes in line with my love of horses as a unicorn is just a horned horse with magical properties.  They even got a small part in the Harry Potter films and books.  An entire movie was done for The Last Unicorn (which is a very sad thought).  They are in many different cultures and even religions.  Let’s face it… you wish they were real too!

 

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A to Z Challenge – Technology

T is for technology

I will admit I struggled a little with what word to write about. I do however rely a lot on technology.  I spend a lot of the day on my laptop reading posts and posting on WordPress.  I connect with friends and family on Facebook and I try to keep up with my email.

There is also my phone.  A smart phone that lets me take and edit pictures, there are games to play, I can access WordPress and email if I am away from my laptop, I have access to all the internet offers, and oh yeah, I can call and text people.

I stream movies on Netflix and watch a little digital TV.  Oh and there is the WiFi that I use for both my laptop and phone.  I have a few ebooks and audio books I “read” during the day.  And music… it is available in so many forms.  As I write this I have Pink Floyd’s The Wall in my ear from the millions of videos on YouTube.

I am one who has fully embraced the computer age and wanders through the maze of the internet.  Who would have thought it all started with an Atari (yes, Atari) computer my Dad bought when I was a teenager?  Are you plugged in a lot too?

 

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