20 Days of Chill Challenge

Tropical islands.

Warm destinations.

Sun and blue water.

Beaches and sunglasses.

That’s what many people think when it comes to winter vacations. That’s why people plan trips to so many warm destinations when snow flies in other areas.

And I would normally agree. But for some reason, I have this fascination with Barrow, Alaska. I am not sure I’d like to be there in the middle of the winter as I once thought would be cool.

But there’s still something about it.

Look at the upcoming forecast (tonight is Monday night):

 

Tonight

Flurries. Areas of freezing fog after 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around -22. Wind chill values as low as -40. North wind around 10 mph.

Tuesday

Flurries. Areas of freezing fog before 9am. Partly sunny, with a high near -15. North wind around 10 mph.

Tuesday Night

Flurries. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -24. Wind chill values as low as -45. North wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday

Flurries. Partly sunny, with a high near -15. Wind chill values as low as -40. North wind around 10 mph.

Wednesday Night

Flurries. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -16. North wind around 10 mph.

Thursday

Flurries before 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near -16.

Thursday Night

A 20 percent chance of snow after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -18.

Friday

A slight chance of snow before 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near -10.

Friday Night

A slight chance of snow after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -18.

Saturday

A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near -10.

Saturday Night

A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -18.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near -10.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around -18.

Monday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near -10.

 

I mean… not too bad, right?

OK, maybe the Bahamas might be better…

*****

This post is part of the 2019 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

I don’t want to be an adult anymore

Bills and responsibilities.

You know what really stinks about adulthood? Growing up.

I’ve found how things — at least for me — have changed since I’ve gotten older and in my professional career. There’s no galavanting at local gin mills until all hours of the night (morning). I find I drive (most of the time) better and such. I don’t take a lot of risks — not that I ever really did. I hate driving at night.

Sheesh.

Before long I’ll be talking about “Back in my day…”

Crap.

I think I already do that.

Let me say this, though. Being an adult in the current day is better than starting to grow up now. When I was a kid, we didn’t have all this fancy technology (which, for the record, I love). We didn’t have cell phones and computers and all that. We went out and played, be it sports or something else. You could play “war” without worrying about getting shot or arrested. You could explore the woods without having too much of a concern about ticks and diseases. We drank straight from streams and we didn’t have the fear that every stranger was looking to harm us.

That’s a hell of a difference.

Being an adult isn’t so bad. Usually. There are a lot more freedoms and such. But I do think about the current generation of youngsters and hope things will be good for them when they get older. I may have had some issues when I was younger, but I — for the most part — enjoyed my childhood and was pretty carefree.

Growing up wasn’t bad. Sure, there are responsibilities and more bills, but maybe it’s not so bad after all.

Maybe I actually just wish I could take 10 years off my age… then I might be OK after all …

*****

This post is part of the 2019 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Those of you who have been part of this challenge in past years know that I usually come up with (or solicit) random themes, put them in a hat and draw them out.

I have no idea what I was thinking putting this in the hat.

The simple part of this — I can’t stand wine.

Not a red.

Not a white.

Not dry or whatever they call it.

The smell … everything about wine.

Blech.

It honestly doesn’t matter if it comes from a box or some high-priced vineyard. I don’t care if it’s aged for years or freshly done.

Nope, it doesn’t matter. I can’t stand wine.

Now cheese, on the other hand. I love.

Give me some cheddar or Swiss. I’ll take brie any day of the week. Gouda? Yes, please. I’m pretty much always up for trying cheeses as they are so amazing in every aspect.

Especially without wine.

Maybe a good beer. That enhances the cheese, I do think. But not that wine.

So, to answer the initial question. No, I’d rather not have wine with my cheese. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not a week from now. Heck, not even a year from now.

You can swish your wine around and let it breathe. I’ll hammer down the cheese with a good barley and hops and be perfectly happy.

But — and this is a big but — if I have to bring wine to a dinner or something, expect it to come in cardboard. Because I’m classy and like nice things and what says that more than wine from a box?

*****

This post is part of the 2019 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

We’ve tackled this theme before in previous challenges, but I thought it would be good to do it again. Most of us change from year to year, so maybe it’s good to have this theme every couple of years.

From personal experience, I know there’s a lot of change in people.

Honestly, as I truly reach middle age (mid-40s now!), I have found I don’t know fully who I am. I battle this every day as I still try and find my way in this world. Despite a good job, a great family, and excellent friends, sometimes I can feel like the world is beyond its actual vast size.

Alas, every step one takes in this world shapes you to be the person you are.

I am not big on New Year’s resolutions, as I feel people make these to try and improve and then fall off the wagon. I am more into life goals — and it just so happened that some of them for me start in the New Year — but many others started before.

If you read my blog — when I’m doing things a bit more regular — you know there are probably quite a few adjectives that can explain who I am. One is a diabetic, which took me several years to accept when I was first told. If I had accepted the “pre-diabetic” title early, maybe I could have avoided it becoming worse.

Then again, maybe not.

Last year, I thought I was really going the way I needed. I was working it well and then I had back issues and let myself go all to hell again. I got a wakeup call at my last doctor’s visit, so I knew I had to change — again.

But it wasn’t just the diabetes battle — I wanted to find myself as a person. I wanted to discover who I was and where I wanted to go. Life is short and it can end in an instant — so I wanted to start experiencing things and try to figure out my place in this world.

I’m not there yet, but I’ve started the process.

With that in mind, I’ve started working on a goal challenge and some of my goals are health related. From losing weight to getting my blood sugars in order a bit more, I’m hoping to make myself a better person. Better health gives one a better outlook.

But I’m trying to become better overall. That even includes things I tried not to ever do — like be in photos or (gasp) take a selfie sometimes (though still very rare). I’m walking a ton and I am getting ready to hopefully run a 5K in March.

What I’m trying to say, I guess, is who I am is somebody who is always evolving and hopefully being the best person I can be.

Who are you?

*****

This post is part of the 2019 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

It’s that time of year. January is upon us and the chill is here.

Because of how January lines up this year, I had to get a little creative with how the challenge will run. Please check the dates and how it’s set up.

Also, all the themes are below.

For those who have and who haven’t participated in the past, this is a simple challenge. On the given days, post something using the theme and then come back here and link up. It’s also good to visit and comment on other blogs in the challenge. Interpret themes as you see fit. Participate as much as you’d like. Most importantly, have fun!

Posts here are usually posted around 9 a.m. EST.

I hope to see many taking part in this with us!

20 Days of Chill 2019

Week 1:

Thursday, January 3: Who are you?

Friday, January 4: Would you like wine with your cheese?

Week 2:

Monday, January 7: Adulthood

Tuesday, January 8: Winter vacation

Wednesday, January 9: Milk money

Thursday, January 10: A hot drink on a cold winter night

Friday, January 11: Games and hobbies

Week 3:

Monday, January 14: Planning

Tuesday, January 15: Spring vacation

Wednesday, January 16: Blue

Thursday, January 17: What are you reading?

Friday, January 18: Best place to travel

Week 4:

Monday, January 21: Drop a beat

Tuesday, January 22: Summer vacation

Wednesday, January 23: Cult Classic Movies

Thursday, January 24: A cold beer on a hot summer night

Friday, January 25: Life is good

Week 5:

Monday, January 28: Mountains and valleys

Tuesday, January 29: Fall vacation

Wednesday, January 30: Outta here!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!