Ooh something shiny!

 The only difference between adult ADD and childhood ADD is the age. 

As a child undiagnosed and with teachers back when I went to school not knowing ADD was a thing, I spent a lot of time in...time out. Depending on the teacher in grammar school, it was sitting outside the classroom door or in a corner of the classroom. One teacher even employed the cone hat as you might have seen back in the day with DUNCE scrolled across it cause that will of course change the child's behavior to the desired fall-in-line. Shaming always works so well.

When it came into the forefront more and more as I got older, I was happy to see that a.) I was not alone and that b.) there was a reason for my behavior in and out of the classroom. The adults in my life handled it with a smack across the face or a good old beating on the backside. I would lie in bed at night crying myself and pledging to myself that if and when I had any children, I would never lay a hand on them or belittle them.

Back to the present - my son, 5 years old at the doctor and being diagnosed at that time with aspects of Asperger's. Now he is labeled as being 'on the spectrum'. We had a few years of medication which did help him focus and then when he was old enough to reel it back himself, we took him off the medication. It did it's job, he is now a sophomore and in the top 10 of his class and in all honor classes. This is all through his hard work and dedication. We encourage him and help when requested and needed. But having that diagnosis and knowing that one actually has something that can be labeled gives on a leg-up. 

I look back at my school years and wish I knew what it was called and that there are ways to manage it. 

Now as I get closer to 55 years old, I accept that my mind wanders. When I was younger, it was called daydreaming and I was snapped out of it often in middle school often with one teacher engaging a water gun shot to the face. Not Draconian punishment by any stretch but today I know this is unacceptable. It did not help me in the least and embarrassed me more than anything.

Even now I am distracted as I write this. What I wanted to say was it is okay to be a bit absent-minded because you get lost mid-stream in a conversation but there are mental tricks I employ constantly to keep myself on track. I am cognizant of when my thoughts wander and consciously I force myself to stay focused. 

Write it down on paper, use the notes in your phone when your thoughts come so fast as to not forget. I am constantly having ideas, be it marketing for the shop, story ideas, the shopping list....I need to write things down and keep myself better organized. And as more and more technology clouds my mind, it is even more so important that I employ all tools afforded me.

Now I have a ton of stuff to do everyday, it is a lot, our house is as chaotic as my mind so I am making myself to take little bites and do a little of each thing that needs my attention. I remember reading one thing in Don't Sweat the Small Things several decades ago and that is even when you die, your inbox is still full. 

You will never be done with all that what you want to or need to do but you do the best you can. Do not let it overwhelm you. Lists are my go-to. What is most important to do right now? And that feeling of when you cross things DONE off a list makes you feel better.

We are not alone, use your support team if you are blessed to have one. And if you don't, reach out, you might be surprised at how many friends and family are willing to help but they cannot help unless they know you need it. 

NJ needs to take the plastic ban a bit further...

New Jersey is the only state to now ban not just plastic bags but also paper bags. The paper bag ban is mostly in effect for supermarkets, it does not apply to all businesses and the paper bags allowed must also meet certain criteria. I studied a 5-page document to make sure we were bag compliant in case anyone decided to call the Bag Snitch Line. First offense is a written warning, next is a $1000 fine. 

New Jersey has also banned plastic straws. This is all great and good BUT we need to take this plastic ban a bit further and eliminate the use of a few other things. Packaging is the biggest culprit and some packaging occurs where it can be cut-back quite a bit and that solution is easy as just going back to how it was done just a few years ago. I am talking about the individual creamers which come in those PLASTIC mini-containers. Sure, most are shelf-stable, but one can only imagine what is needed as far as preservatives go to make them shelf-stable thus another reason to slow your roll on their use.

Yes, it has made it easier in places which deal with a lot of to-go but do you really need to use these when sitting down to dine? Go back to the glass, stoneware and/or stainless-steel bottles and dispensers for the cream and milk. I just found this one in a quick search for just $2.00:

I love when I am eating out in a small cafe and they actually use the half-pint-sized glass milk bottles. Another easy solution that saves money in the long run, is reusable, easy-to-clean AND looks darling on the table. I found these on Amazon - 20 for $22.00:

Now we are entering your home and work kitchens etc. Let's talk about Keurig pods - generic and name-brand. Another blight in the dumps...I used to use a Keurig and when I did, I used the reusable pods. They are inexpensive and last a long, long time. In fact, they outlasted my use of a Keurig. Convenient, yes, but the brew just never tasted the same as a good old-fashioned coffee machine. Be it French Press, percolator or just a Mr. Coffee, a longer brew time vs. hot water dashing through a pod tastes so much better. But if you love your Keurig, get your favorite coffee and not only are you helping eliminate garbage, you are saving yourself quite a bit of money. Just $10.00 for 6 on Amazon. The great thing with buying a few is you can always have a bunch of pods ready-to-go.

The opinions expressed in this blog are exactly that, my opinion. I am sure many will disagree with this but if this reaches one restaurant which agrees and decides to change then that is a step towards change. Change can be small but it can have a large impact. 

Count your blessings, big and small

In order to go forth and continue with life and be in a good place mentally, I do my daily blessings when I awake. This helps, it truly does. 

First and most obvious is my family, all of them including our furbabies. 

I am grateful for a roof over my head which we finally got the leaking to stop when we were able to get the roof fixed. I am grateful that despite the rising costs of everything, we can afford to keep our house comfortable. We always have food on the table and even have leftovers. 

Blessings do not have to be grandiose, they just have to be what makes you grateful, what makes you happy. Do not let people tell you what your blessings are, these are YOURS, you define them. Yes, they can be things, why not? I always tell customers in our antique shop when they say they do not need something but they like it. Honestly, who needs anything in our shop? BUT we need to smile and if something makes you smile, then yes, yes you do need it! I tell the customers just that. You are blessed if you recognize that magpie in yourself, the need to collect. Stop listening to the naysayers who define THEIR beliefs, what they believe are true blessings.

I looked up the definition of blessings and of course there is the religious aspect of the definition but there is another part of the word's definition which I thoroughly embraced:

a beneficial thing for which one is grateful; something that brings well-being - (well-being is the joy in the little things IMO.)

Blessings come in the physical, the senses - make sure you do not take for granted sight and sound. Mobility, even if it has decreased or changed dramatically. When I went to physical therapy for my walking issues, the therapist said I had such a good outlook on it all. I said, I was blessed most of my life to be in very good physical shape and could participate in so many sports, jog, hike, whatever I wanted to without issue. I never took that for granted knowing how many never will know what it is like to walk and play without a wheelchair, braces, assistance. 

Being able to read I always saw as a blessing, access to public libraries. WOW a world of my own. My mother used to drop me off at the Cyrenius Booth library and leave me there for hours and I loved it. That library is huge and old, the smell of old books ensconces you as soon as you walk in the door. What I loved about that library was how they never seemed to get rid of any of the books, the shelves were packed with books that were decades old as well as the newest. I would sit for hours on the floors going through so many books. I used to be able to read and retain so much quickly. I was a voracious reader, not so much now. Maybe when we officially retire. I will be like my grandmother and get those books with the large text that you can read from space. BUT the most important thing is still being able to see and read. 

I have so much to be grateful for, it is wonderful because when you do, the complaining seems to almost cease. Sure, there are some things I do want, a clean house, no bats in the attic keeping our son awake but in the grand scheme of things, these are things I can and will change and fix.

(and now I see it has been a year exactly since my last post, maybe this year I will actually post more...we shall see)

Almost a full year....

 I made it under the wire! What wire? That one year mark since I last posted.

I am exhausted. I am blessed. I am burnt-out. I am lucky.

Mandatory NJ Closure of Non-Essential Stores

This is a post that I shared in one of the Antique/Vintage Store groups I am in on Facebook.

Whatcha doin' during the closures?

We have a HUGE list of projects to get done which we have tried and tackled during normal business hours but could only make a small dent.

We have so much to do that we are pretty sure we will not have it all done before the mandatory closures are lifted in NJ.

I finally did a live Facebook video of me painting a piece as people have been asking me to do so for awhile. Why anyone would want to watch or listen to me is beyond me BUT I got that done as well as finally trying the new-to-me powdered milk paint for the first time. I was so happy nothing went wrong during the filming, I was able to use the paint without issues which was worrisome since I never had used it before. I say 'during' because afterwards, I turned the music back on and while dancing in my chair while finishing the painting, I knocked my table over with the water so I had to grab a bunch of things out of the vendors booths because as you know, even though it was not a lot of water, items which can be damaged by water were of course in the path of the small little river...

As soon as I logged off, I got a call that someone wanted the piece I was painting as soon as we were back open. I really did not want to sell it so soon, I even mentioned in my video I would be pricing high so I would have the sample on the floor for a little bit to showcase the paint and help sell more paint.

My husband who helps me a lot at the shop managed to get the newish PC hooked. I say newish as we bought it in Dec. 2018 to replace the 2011 model which has the original POS on it that came with the shop and lost all technical support back in early 2018. It does not work on Windows 2010 so we never downloaded it BUT the POS has had a few glitches so we have been wanting to get that up and running. So we popped the new POS onto the new PC and have some time to learn it and get comfortable with it whereas before we did not know when we really could sit down and do it.

Stuff - we have TONS of stuff waiting to get tagged in our shop's garage, the extra space we rent in the basement at the shop from our landlord, a storage unit we throw money away at, our house (can tackle that later) and most importantly, the bathroom at the shop with the slop sink which I really need to get to!! That bathroom has been inaccessible for a few years due to STUFF!

I also have a lot of signs I have to make, custom orders as well as filling-in my sign walls at the shop.

As for our vendors, we will figure out a fair compensation for all parties. We have a few things we will do including some rent credit spread out over a few months and being open extra days and some extended hours when this all said and done.

I am hoping we can all survive this unprecedented ordeal. It is unchartered territories for all.

I for one am sort of glad that we are closed as I am high-risk and also, if I had it and didn't even know, be the one who got someone else sick.

Best of luck to everyone. Stay safe and healthy, may we all come out of this with our businesses intact as well as our sanity!

School supplies - a quest not to be taken lightly

Now join us on the school supplies journey we decided to do on Sunday night since our weekend days are consumed by the shop.

We began at Walmart to get a protractor and compass and some other generic supplies. It was pathetic the assortment left, was like the bread and milk aisle when snow is forecast. People were wandering around all confused and dismayed at the lack of supplies.

We ran down to Dollar Tree which was actually better stocked and much more organized but alas no protractor and compass. 

So off on the highway we ventured away to Target. I went to the ladies room as the quest had left me needing some relief. Imagine my joy when the stalls were lacking TP, I found a small supply and warned others as they entered. I found a female employee to tell her of the urgency many ladies were about to face....I found my small tribe, no protractor or compass to be found in the cart, they had no luck. I walked down one aisle and found the Holy Grail right next to a pack of scissors. It was both needed items in one package, I returned to the hunters and showed them my kill. They were amazed and dumbfounded after having beaten the brush thoroughly in that area and finding nary a beast. I was the hero of the night.

One more for the road!

Since I rediscovered that Blogger is still around and that I have an account, I feel like I have found a new friend I can chat with about the incidentals of my day.

Sure, even though that 'friend' is only myself, it is just nice to have a place I can chat without judgement, a hand-gesture indicating 'get to the point' when I have only spoken literally five words, and where I can let my mind wander without fear.

What do I hope to gain from this experience?

The ability to fall asleep faster and then to stay asleep.



My mind does not shut-off. I wake myself up with all sorts of nonsense. Sometimes there are some great ideas for the shop, the home, etc. But usually it is just something that could have waited to pop-up in my mind in the morning or even better, never! 

Yes, this is yet another distraction for me but it may help me regain some focus.

I am not writing this for anyone but me - here's to hoping this gets me going in the right direction.

I feel the last two days have been very good as I accomplished a few things. Small accomplishments to most but for me, it is a start.

RA, sciatica, fibro and all the other things I have been diagnosed with, screw you! I'm getting myself back on the road to 'get 'er done'! 

After all, slow and steady won the race.

So - on your mark, get set and GO!