“Oh what fun, the Mount Everest of laundry is waiting to be dealt with today!” [sarcasm end]
Category: Prompt
Fellow Animal Lover
Daily writing prompt
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
I will never forget the day, when my mom and I flew back to Germany with Aubree. Besides the worries about my new beginning back home, O’Hare Airport with its hustle and bustle was challenging enough. But being anxious about how my little puppy girl would get through that 9 1/2 hour flight was yet another emotional difficulty to be dealt with.
While my mom was at the check-in counter I stayed with Aubree, who was in her kennel and quite worked up due to all the commotion around her. And obviously, she picked up on my nervousness as well. I tried to keep both of us as calm as possible, with very limited success. Then, a man came to get Aubree. That’s when the crazy reached a new level. I could no longer keep it together and a full on panic attack became unavoidable. The man tried to calm me, by showing me pictures of his own dogs at home and promised, that he would personally keep an eye on Aubree for as long as he possibly could. After getting my cell phone number, he send me a video about 30 minutes later, holding my sweet little girl in his arms, cuddling her, smiling big. That really helped me relax a little bit. To this present day, that was by far the sweetest gesture of a complete stranger towards me. And I’m so unbelievably thankful to him, for his kindness. A fellow animal lover, who did what he could to help Aubree and myself get through this stressful situation. Aubree was perfectly fine, when I finally got her back in Frankfurt. She was all excited to be back in momma’s arms, and ready to explore her new environment. 🐾💯💗
A-Z Challenge: Picture
The picture above my couch has a very special meaning. Every time I look at it, I remember my best friend Jamie and her husband Allen. They loved to go antiquing on the weekends, and quite often I was invited to join them. One of those Saturdays, we ended up at the Water Street Vintage Store in New London, Wisconsin, where I found this picture. Do you know the feeling when you see something and are drawn to it immediately? Spotting this picture, among all the other beautiful items being displayed at the store, was such a moment for me. It is precious, because it will always remind me of the quality time with two of the best friends I was ever blessed with in my life.
A-Z Challenge: Operetta
Just a few months ago, my mom started treating us both to evenings in the theater. Most often we enjoy an operetta, because traditional ballet [my favorite] is mainly on schedule around Christmas. Until recently, I had completely forgotten, that those evenings at the theater used to be a part of my life fairly regularly, and how much I actually missed them. During my 20 years in America I stopped going, because I could not find anyone to join me…..
“Do I look like your granny to you?”
“Operetta, are you bonkers?”
“Oh hell no, that’s for old people!”
“That awful music is an offense to my ears!”
Responses like these prevented me from asking. And going by myself wasn’t an all too appealing option, honestly. Thanks to my mom I have a theater companion again. Hopefully we will enjoy quite a few more evenings with lovely performances, no matter if operetta or ballet. 🎻🩰
Breaking Free
Daily writing prompt
Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
I had a happy childhood, but grew up overprotected. My parents did what they were supposed to, and raised me to the best of their abilities. In hindsight, they guided and guarded me a little bit too much. Although, I think every teenager feels micromanaged by their parents. Am I wrong?
The best decision I ever made for myself was, to break free from this sheltered environment and move to America with my ex-husband. When we divorced in 2001, I was on my own for the first time, which was scary and exciting equally. Suddenly I was responsible for my own life, knowing precious little about anything. There wasn’t anyone to take charge, make decisions, plan for the future. Uh-oh! It was up to me, the good, the bad – all of it. I learned to love my independence right quick, even though this newly found freedom came with lots of trials and errors. As I got myself established in America, and through amazing friendships, I truly started to get to know my “UN-micromanaged-self”. It may not have taken a different continent to become an individual, but it certainly didn’t hurt either. Moving back to Germany in 2014 feels like 10 steps backwards from how far I fought myself forward. Still, I learned what I am capable of, and I can always look back on that time in America with pride and joy.
Holy Nightmare
That would be Australia, I’m sorry to say. Surely the country is beautiful, the people friendly and lovely. Not only is it way too hot over there for my well-being, they also have way too many of these slithering, creepy animals I am terrified of. They’ve been causing more nightmares, than I care to admit. As wonderful as this country certainly is, regrettably, I will never visit. Sorry! 🐍🌡
A-Z Challenge: No
The 47th president of the United States shakes up the entire world. And it has been what, three and a half months? The American people voted for Donald Trump, but the rest of the world didn’t. Yet, we get to read about him, and see his face nearly every morning in our newspaper. Not only the Americans have to worry about, which ridiculousness they are going to wake up to next.
The antics of this president and his troll brigade have negative and challenging effects on so, so many people, well beyond the borders of America. If I would not have left my heart in the States, I would say “Sir, go ahead and ruin your own country, but leave the rest of the world to their own affairs, please. We’re all stocked up on crazy over here, and certainly don’t need your help”! Unfortunately it is not nearly that easy. The worst part is, that this president doesn’t care in the least about “the common folk’s problems”. He is an attention-needy, power hungry old man, who should enjoy time with his family and play golf. To three and a half more years of his presidency, I can only say “No. Please. No.”
A-Z Challenge: Milwaukee
It was my home, sweet home for nearly 20 years: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
You’ve been so welcoming. I learned so much, met a lot of truly lovely people. The country roads and highways have been frequented by me quite a bit, especially during the warm months….moonroof open, music loud. Lots of long nights and tired mornings. Countless walks by Lake Michigan. And the Starbucks on HWY 100 was my second home. When they saw my car in the drive-up, my coffee was ready when I got to the window, without having to order. It’s a bit scary in hindsight, how much money I left there. Just like Barnes & Noble. I think at the Mayfair Mall location, which was my favorite, they silently cheered when they saw me coming, because they knew, that I’d leave quite a bit of money there. The same goes for Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Burlington Coat Factory, Pier 1 Imports, or JC Penny Outlet Store, to name a few. And I really miss Chili’s restaurant. Every Sunday night I’d get a take-away Southwestern Cobb Salad, with extra Cilantro Dressing….yumm-tumm-tumm, that was so very good. I loved that salad. Another highly frequented place was the observation area at Milwaukee Int’l Airport. How many afternoons and evenings I did I sit in the grass or the car with my puppy girls and watched the planes take off or land? Gosh, I don’t know. And the very cool thing was, that you could tune your radio to the frequency at which the pilots were communicating with the tower!
A great thank you goes out to my last employer Dental Associates, headquarters on Burleigh Street. They’ve been like a family to me for almost 13 years. They saw my potential and gave me a chance. Hopefully they never regretted hiring me.
Milwaukee, it wasn’t always a cakewalk, because there have been some difficult and dark years, that I gladly could have done without. But overall it’s been an amazing experience, that I will always treasure, and be thankful for. I would never be, who I’ve become, if it weren’t for these 20 years in the beautiful Midwest of America, in which I had to fight my way through life alone. Thanks so much for having me! Love, always 💓
Back To Balance
I don’t want to count, how many times I was in an emotional freefall, and my mom caught me before I hit the bottom. I’m sure it took so much more strength on her part, than she really had to spare. But to this present day, when I’m falling she faithfully catches me. Not only that, she holds on tight, until I am emotionally balanced again and my “inner workings” are back to neutral.
What would I do without her? I can certainly say thank you, by taking good care of her now, that her health is slowly declining. Momma, you are still my hero 💯💗🥇
A-Z Challenge: Layout
About two and a half years ago I discovered junk journaling. When watching tutorials to get ideas, you see all these fancy tools and pretty papers being used. And? You guessed it, you’d like to take your own handmade books to that level as well. Needless to say, all of those fancies are quite expensive. When it comes to the pretty paper pads, often times there are a couple of patterns that I truly like and the others, well, not so much. But it is a package deal…
Lately, I’ve heard more and more creatives say, that they design their own papers with Canva and print them out. Aha! So, here I am learning the basics of Canva and what I can do with it. My struggle is, to get good looking layouts that actually make sense, in terms of placement and size. There’s lots for me to learn, still. And the funny thing is, depending upon how many papers and designs I end up printing out, it probably won’t be cheaper at all, but at least I can have exactly what I like. Now, if I get my layout struggles managed, I’m on my way to having fancy papers just like the others.
Trivialities & Intricacies 
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