Halloween Microblog Monday

The social media sites can be a tough place to be these days. Election talk seems to dominate and I know many friends who have taken social media breaks to get away from the polarizing conversations. The tough part about that is there is good stuff there in between the rants that could be missed.

Too much of anything is not good. Too much sunshine and roses? Gag me. Too much ranting? Gag me again. Real life is somewhere in between.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year on social media. I LOVE seeing all the costumes and all the kids and friends having fun.

Here's a photo from my facebook news feed several years ago. This costume was for a Halloween dance my daughter went to in elementary school and we really threw it together very last minute. She had a blast and the costume was very cute. (she is the one on the left)

So I guess my thought today it that I don't want to let all the bad stuff that is going on out there in the world totally overshadow the fun, good stuff that happens in every day life.

Enjoy your Monday and enjoy Halloween everyone!

Stay tuned for more from My Middleton Chronicles.

Wendy

In Search of Bittersweet

I love this time of year and one of the things I like to do is cut bittersweet and use it to decorate inside. Some years there's lots of it and other years it is hard to find.
One fall when my son, who is now 18, was little maybe 4 or 5 we went in search of bittersweet. He couldn't quite say it right turning the t's in to r's. "Birrsweet"
It's a really nice memory I have of time spent with him. That year was one of the years that the pretty fall colored vines were hard to find so we had quite a long search excursion in the woods behind our house.

For a long time I've wanted to find a book club and things have stood in the way of that. Available time to hang out and talk about a book being the biggest stumbling block.
There's a great online program (it's also an app) called Meetup and I found a book group that seems to fit my schedule. The group read a David Sedaris book this month and I finished it last night, just in time for tomorrow nights get together. Sedaris writes a lot about his family and is laugh out loud funny. One of the things I found most humorous was how his family doesn't like to tell him things for fear that they will become part of the content of one of his books.

Knowing that I won't say much more except Happy Fall Ya'll. Hope you find some pretty bittersweet or whatever it is that makes you happy this time of year. I know I am in search of it.

Stay tuned for more from My Middleton Chronicles, Wendy

Microblog Monday - What A Difference A Year Makes

I love the feature on Facebook that shows your posts from years past. The photo on the left popped up the other day and the photo on the right was taken recently. I keep a diary of my weight loss attempts that dates back to 2013.

After reading through my entries one day I realized that over and over I was getting started with losing weight but never getting lasting results. Not due to will power, not due to lack of effort but due to things that were out of my control.

Help, help was what I needed. Not help from the leaders and counselors at Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and the like that I of course had tried, often more than once. I needed serious help.

I have not quite lost all that I want to lose. The other challenge is I do not want to gain back what I have lost.

I'll talk more about my weight loss journey here so stay tuned to My Middleton Chronicles.

My best, Wendy

Microblog Monday - Hot Topic. What Would You Do?

Microblog Monday - If you were in this situation what would you do? 

This past Sunday a Facebook thread caught my eye. It was like a train wreck and I could not look away. I hesitate to take a side because I have no personal knowledge of the situation. I'll give you my guess, what my gut is telling me,  at the end of this post.

Here is the original post on Medium that got the discussion started https://medium.com/@nikkibeauchamp/no-more-whispers

I was riveted to the Facebook thread that has since been removed. I have since removed myself from the Facebook group that the gents in the article run. There were more articles, videos and lots of commentary. Some of it sage, some of it combative. People were jumping on one bandwagon or the other. Team Angelina and Team Aniston but with more bite.

Social media, the internet and a mob mentality can truly take on a life of its own. The election certainly is taking that same track and this situation felt very similar to the election stuff that is going on.

So what it my guess? What does my gut tell me? I think this woman is speaking the truth. Two of the guys on the bus with her, who she did not name, came out with videos shortly after the article was published admitting they were, in fact, on the bus. They said that they were having a conversation but that the conversation was nothing like what was described. Though protest too much. Because the thread was removed it would take me time I do not care to spend to find the videos. 

Hopefully this incident will be investigated and validated. If it is proven that it did not happen I assume there would be a retraction.

Here's an article that spells out all the gory details:
therealdaily.com/real-estate-brokers/lab-coat-agents-founders-accused-violent-sexist-comments-inman-sf/

The train wreck is over. The dust is settling. For me I hope my daughters never have to experience what was described on the bus and that my son never sits by while a guy he's with speaks they way the guy in the back of the bus was speaking about women and to women. I know for sure he'd never be the speaker himself. He was raised better than that.

If you were in the situation that the woman on the bus was in what would you have done?

She has been criticized for her blog post. What do you think of it?

Thursday Wish

I've been thinking a lot about social media and how it can positively and negatively affect people. Right now with the Presidential election coming up soon my social media feed has taken on a life of its own with people espousing their views.

It can be helpful and eye opening and it can be a place filled with propaganda and conspiracy theories. One thing that is becoming very clear is that there are people who take everything they hear at face value without looking in to whether it is true, not true or is partially true.
Take everything you hear with that grain of salt your mother told you about guys. Check facts. Form your own opinions.

The big news in my house this morning is we started delivery from a local dairy farm and you'd think it was Christmas day with how excited I am. Milk, orange juice, apple cider, eggs and cheese were all on my doorstep this morning. Grocery shopping is one of the worst chores in the house (at least in my opinion) so I am loving  life after the delivery. Life hacks that make things easier and more simple are things I try to figure out and for me this is a good one.
I've tried having my whole shopping list delivered in the past (Peapod from Stop & Shop is the one I tried) and I liked it in the snowy winter months but the lack of variety and shopping online and not being able to see things in person before they were delivered like you do when you walk the aisles in the store made it just an OK experience.
Having staples delivered each week may be the better option in my case.

The quote in the photo is the one from my social media news feed this morning that I am choosing to focus on today. It is also my Thursday Wish for you.

Wendy

Microblog Monday - I've Heard Writing Things Down Works

Photo by Mpho Mojapelo- unsplash.com

"Think of your mind as a juggler and the thoughts that occupy your mind as balls." -AT

Or for some people thoughts are like a game of foosball. Quick moving and sometimes hard to follow.

Either way there can be strain on the brain and a tendency to become overwhelmed and drop everything.

After putting down the balls or taking control of the game by writing down your thoughts, to-do list, goals anxieties, etc on paper there is a feeling of putting the ball down if you're juggling or running the game if you're in that foosball game mode. 

Once things are down on paper you can choose what you want to focus on. 

You also have everything in one place so when you want to revisit that thought, goal, to-do you know right where they are.

Are you one to write things down or do you wing it? I read some compelling info on why writing things down works and have switched from an electronic only calendar and to-do list to a combination of electronic and good old paper and pencil.

How do you juggle all the balls? Take control of the frenetic foosball game like life?

Does your method work? I'd love to hear from you!

Wendy