• Bug,  crazy stuff,  Family Matters,  Funny Fashion,  photography,  Shop Talk,  The Desert,  the sticks

    CERT Couture

    cert-fashion-model

    I thought I’d take a break from reporting on all the things that make me worry these days and post some fun photos from a photoshoot Bug and I did at my parents. My dad has hired me to get his social media account going for his business. I’m not an expert but I am available for the very low price of FREE so he’s very happy with my work. :) It’s slow going of course but I plan to post at least three photos a week for him. It should be fun.

    gray-haired-cert-fashion-model

    I tried to model but I just don’t have it like I used to. I’m representing for the gray hairs in the house though. Woot! Woot!

    bug-cert-couture

    Bug is a natural model, obviously. It doesn’t hurt that she’s been posing since birth and she’s taken direction from photographers her whole life.

    cert-pants

    These pants, aren’t they crazy? They are supposed to be for people directing traffic in the rain but I’m thinking Bug could start a trend at her high school if I let her. They make a ton of noise when she walks. Swish, swish, swish! Watch her swish down the runway.

    papa-for-toms-protectivie-wear

    My dad is really passionate about his business. He sells protective wear for emergencies service people and search-and-rescue teams.  It started out as a hobby when he was selling gloves for truckers but now it’s a full time gig that we hope someday pays his bills. I hope I can help him grow it. He lives and breaths all things Community Emergency Response Team.

    If you know my dad, you KNOW it’s all he talks about and you’ve probably watched the FEMA movie about teen CERT teams. He’s taken the class and he’s started a CERT team in his community. He calls up CERT teams all over the country one by one, talking to them about everything CERT and how he can help them get reflective 8-in-1 bomber jackets. He’s trying to get us to become CERT members too and I think we will when the pandemic is over but for now we’re packing our go-bags and passing the word along to you.  It is a really good cause and I think everyone needs to think about it. It seems like everyday some new bad news drops from the sky, it can’t hurt to be ready for fires and earthquakes and I don’t know… zombies?! right?

    I said I wasn’t going to talk about what I’m worried about. Let’s talk about giant baggy reflective pant fashion!

  • 15 minute posts,  Life Lessons,  rando bits,  Slow Living

    Crickets

    I just wanted to pop in here in the spirit of the way I used to write and post a little update on my mental health. Things have been hard. But haven’t they been hard for everyone? I think we are all suffering PTSD from 2020 and worried 2021 is going to serve up another regular daily diet of fear. I’m not going to check myself into a mental hospital or anything and I’m still eating and sleeping and taking care of my kids like a normal functioning human being, but it’s just been a little hard.

    Something that has helped me: crickets.

    We have new neighbors. They are renters. They are here on a tennis scholarship. They are from Belgium, Germany, Spain and a few other places I don’t remember. There’s five of them I think. They are also full-on ravers. If I wasn’t trying to sleep I would actually really dig the music the deejay of the group spins nightly. He’s really good. Like Avicii good. Even though I can only hear the base and a few other rhythms, I catch my mind listening interested. Unfortunately, they are hot-blooded males driven by their animal instincts and not the fear of covid that I am and their nightly raves involve lots of people (girls) coming over to party. Thankfully the raves are reserved for Friday nights, I think… we’ll see if it kicks up again tonight. So when they open the door for a smoke break or for someone to puke, it’s super loud and difficult to sleep through.

    I don’t hate them though. Payam has talked with them and asked them nicely to turn down the music and they do. Sometimes they only turn it down from a ten to and eight but they do listen. We have their cell numbers and they always apologize the next day. So we don’t hate them. They are just kids.

    But what I’ve learned to do to help this situation is to use a white noise app on my phone. I’ve used white noise lots of times but recently I’ve really enjoyed the sound of crickets. It’s so weird and cool. I turn them on and I’m immediately transported back to my trailer-living days in the sticks. It’s night, the air is warm and dry. It’s dark outside but I can see my tomato garden in the moonlight. I’m laying in bed with Bug snuggled next to me and Holly, the dog is sleeping at my feet. Her tail thumps when I say her name.

    Even though the days that I lived in the sticks were super scary and stressful (you remember them, you read them. Hello, meth head neighbors…) I have a lot of fond memories. Even the cockroaches that scurried in all directions when I lifted an old rotted piece of plywood in the backyard brings back good memories. Yes, it was terrible at the time but I survived and I found strength in my desperate situation. I know I will find strength in my new desperate situation. I rest in that thought and gently fall asleep.

    Isn’t that cool? Who knew crickets could bring that out in me? I love the sound of crickets. I bet everyone has a sound like that, that transports them to another time. It’s kind of like how smell transports us back to our Grandma’s cooking. Nostalgia. We love nostalgia. All the trauma of the past is hidden and we remember the good times with a warm happy glow.

    I’m curious. Does anyone else find funny memories flooding back when they listen to different sounds on a white noise generating app? Please share. I think I might listen to them all and record my memories. If I don’t fall asleep first!