Very Worky

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Happy Friday!!!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!!! New readers, we keep it light and sugary here at Adulting – Second Half on Fridays. On Fridays, we discuss the material stuff of life and what makes our hearts sing the most, when it comes to the material plane. Typically I list three of my favorite things, cosmetics, songs, websites, pet products, etc. I strongly encourage you to add any of your favorites to the Comments section. You do not have to stick with the theme. Variety is the spice of life. Please also check out previous Friday posts for more favorites.

So, what did you raid out of your kids’ candy bag this morning? America’s top three favorite candy bars are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers and M and M’s. I am one of those weird people who does not like Snickers. I would put Twix in place of Snickers any day.

To put a new twist on Favorite Things Friday, I’ve decided to list the ten worst Halloween candy, according to a poll of more than 30,000 Americans. Here is the list of the 10 worst Halloween candies:

  1. Candy Corn
  2. Circus Peanuts
  3. Mary Janes
  4. Wax Coke Bottles
  5. Necco Wafers
  6. Tootsie Rolls
  7. Smarties
  8. Licorice
  9. Good & Plenty
  10. Bit-O-Honey

So, the candy on the above list, is the stuff that we’ll be eating right before Thanksgiving, when all of the other good stuff is gone. Waste not, want not, right???

Have a great Friday friends! Enjoy your sugar high!! Enjoy your weekend!!

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It Can Wait

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Happy FRIDAY!!!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!! Hello, wonderful friends and readers. It’s here. Our favorite day of the week! Here at Adulting – Second Half, we don’t delve into the deep end on Fridays. We keep it light and airy. I list three favorite things, songs, websites, stores, pet products, etc. etc. that make my material life just jam! I strongly wish and encourage that you guys would add some of your favorites in the Comments section. You can never have too many favorites!! For example, I have four favorite kids and two favorite dogs, but I only have one favorite husband. New readers, please check out previous Friday posts for more ideas to add to your list of favorites. Here are this Friday’s Favorites:

Owen Barry purses – I’ve always been a bag lady (a shoe lady first, then a sunglasses lady, but handbags are right up in there, in my list of obsessions! Oh wait, jewelry too . . . . ) Anyway, I think one of the biggest delights of getting older, is really honing in on what you REALLY like. A lot of the experimentation is over and you really know what really works for you and you OWN IT. When it comes to handbags, big, soft, supple leather is what I love in a handbag. I love a leather handbag that is soft like butter and keeps getting softer and softer, the longer that you carry it. I am currently carrying around a wonderful Owen Barry bag, that just makes me happy just thinking about it. It melts into me, when I carry it. Owen Barry is a British company, but many American stores carry the line.

Faux Fur Throws – I love throws. I have baskets of them everywhere. My favorite throw lies on my side of the bed. It is a light brown, thick, luxurious faux mink that alternates between making me feel like I am staying in the Waldorf Astoria in their presidential suite, or I a wild, unruly native in a tee-pee on the set of Dances With Wolves. It all just depends on my mood and my imagination that day. Grandin Road carries a nice collection of these fabulous, over the top, blankets.

Vera Bradley Iconic Campus Backpack – I have always been a proponent of well-made, long-lasting book bags. My daughter is currently carrying this one around in an understated, quilted navy material. It it is holding up very well, despite the fact that she never goes to her locker, so all of the contents of her locker are loaded up into this model every day, which makes it seem like she is carrying around boulders. When my kids were little, I always ordered them Lands End backpacks with their initials embroidered on them. Often, despite being carried by a boisterous pack of rough and tumble little kids, we typically got more than one school year out of them. This Vera Bradley model is the grown-up, sophisticated version of that, for my teenage daughter.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Joey: You can’t have Thanksgiving without turkey. That’s like Fourth of July without apple pie, or Friday with no two pizzas.
– Friends

Casual Favorite Things Friday

Art speaks for itself, but sometimes the conversation balloon can be helpful.

Hi all! Happy Friday!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!!! It’s been a good, busy, productive week and now it is time to have some fun!!! New readers, Fridays are definitely casual and upbeat here at Adulting- Second Half. On Fridays, I list three favorites – anything from TV shows, to books, to websites, to jewelry, to food stuff, etc. etc. You get the picture. Please add to the list by putting your favorites in the Comments section and please check out all of the previous Friday posts for more fun favorites.

Let’s get this party started!

Jiuhong Stretch Removable Washable Short Dining Chair Protector Cover Slipcovers – Our kitchen chairs are getting a little ratty. We use them every day (like many people, we use our dining room set one time a year at Thanksgiving and also, mostly as a place to set piles of stuff). Anyway, after years of supporting four big, sweaty men and their big, sweaty, hungry friends, and also many spills and mishaps, our chairs might even be refused from Goodwill. However, these incredible slipcovers that I easily put on the chairs yesterday, made my husband and daughter think that we had gotten a whole new set of chairs! They give our breakfast area a whole new modern look and at $35 for six covers, they may be my bargain of the year. I read in the reviews that a lot of people buy these to protect their chairs when their grandkids come over or they are having a big party. Overall, I am more than pleased with this purchase!! You can order them on Amazon and there are many patterns to choose from.

Clays & Birds Twitter Feed – My aunt told me about this wonderful Twitter feed yesterday. On this past 9/11, this feed devoted its site to the brave service dogs and their handlers, who did the very difficult job of search and rescue at the site of the fallen buildings. The big “takes” I got from the stories (besides a complete and utter reminder of why I love and respect dogs, as much as I do), is that dogs get emotionally overwhelmed like we do and oftentimes, these search and rescue dog/people teams are volunteers and are not at all paid for their training and service. Wow! On the first point, the stories talked about the dogs getting so drained and overwhelmed by only finding deceased people, that live firefighters volunteered to be “found” alive by the dogs, to keep the dogs’ morale up. I know that our dogs get very upset when any of our family is emotional. It was such a reminder of the fact that animals have bigger hearts than we often give them credit for having. On the second point, there are websites that you can donate money to these volunteer search and rescue efforts, as they are a very vital and worthy cause. Check the Twitter feed out and have a box of tissues handy.

Military Working Dogs Forever Stamps – My mother always taught me never to settle for the flag stamps at the post office. She always looked through the mailing stamps available and picked the prettiest ones for her correspondences. I have always appreciated that lesson. It was not lost on me, even at a young age, that she meant that on a bigger scale, with all of our little choices that we make throughout the day. For often no upcharge, you can drink your water out of the prettier glass, or your coffee out of the mug that makes you smile, etc. etc. The little details often do matter. Anyway, as a person who loves stationery and always looks at the new stamps available, these have been my favorite stamps to come out all of this year! For the very reasons, discussed above, you can’t help but appreciate the loveliness and dignity of this stamp collection.

Have a great weekend, friends! Thank you, truly, for your support and validation!

From my other favorite Twitter feed (Think Smarter):

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That’s Weird

Hi guys! Happy Friday!! The weekend is here! Happy “Favorite Things Friday”! On Fridays, I keep this light and on the material plane. I typically list three favorite items, cleaning products, foods, songs, websites, etc. that just make life a little more life-filled. Please see previous Friday posts for other favorite things and please add your own favorites to the Comments section. Without further ado:

Amkiri Visual Fragrance Tattoos – I bought this wand and stencils temporary tattoo kit for my artistic teenage daughter to have fun with, and to share with her friends. (including me) It is sophisticated enough to be an upgrade from the Crackerjack stick-on tattoos, but nothing you have to commit to for life (or even for a day), like an actual tattoo. (they are pretty easy to remove) My daughter has a blast experimenting with the stencils and her own designs. The ink actually smells divine, to boot. So much fun to be had and worth every penny!! **helpful hint – My daughter says that baby powder and hairspray makes the tattoos last longer.

Bumblebee Tuna Packets – These packets are a fun, easy, healthy way to snack or to grab lunch on the go. The packets even have a built in spoon. There are so many different flavors to try, but we have decided that our family favorite is the Lemon Sesame Ginger variety. At only about a dollar a package, this is a wallop of good healthy protein, at a great price!

OPI Alpaca My Bags – A while ago, I featured my favorite nail polish colors on a Favorite Things Friday post. I have a new color to add to this list. This is a fabulous shade of blue. It is not a garish turquoise or ultra bright sky blue, but more of a grey-blue or a cornflower blue. It adds a sophistication to blue nail polish which is perfect as we head into autumn and the more subdued shades of the season.

Have a great weekend, friends!!!

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Oui! Vendredi!

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I’m jealous of people who have distinctively wonderful voices. Morgan Freeman’s voice would definitely make my list of Friday favorites. James Earl Jones and Sam Elliott would probably round out my top three actors with best, most interesting voices.

Happy Friday, readers and friends!! New readers, Fridays are light and airy here at Adulting – Second Half. On “Favorite Things Friday”, in my happiest voice (and non distinctive and a little bit higher than I would like it to be), I list three of my favorite anythings, whether it be books, makeup, songs, products, foods, etc. Please check out previous Friday blog posts for more favorites and please share your own favorites in my Comments section. Okay (clearing my throat), here are today’s favs:

Oui Yogurt – Yoplait outdid themselves with this one. This French-style yogurt is so light and airy and delicious. However, the best part about it, is that it is served in these little, adorable glass jars. I feel like such a sophisticated grown-up eating it! I mix some Cascadian Farms granola in mine every morning, and it is like having dessert for breakfast. Magnifique!!

JanetHillStudio.com artworks – I just bought a few inexpensive pieces of Canadian Janet Hill’s art from her Etsy store. I love her artwork. It’s just so fanciful and feminine, like being in another perfect time, that doesn’t quite exist, but maybe it does, inside of us? She sells greeting cards, books, and notebooks, too, so you don’t have to buy a print if you don’t have anymore room on your walls. Peruse her art to get you back to your most feminine, glamorous, exquisite self.

Jeff & Aimy UPF 50 Safari Sunhat – The paparazzi photographed Lori Loughlin trying to stay incognito when out shopping this summer, wearing this hat. (or at least something similar to it) Now, I am not going to get into the whole Lori Loughlin scandal – that would take a whole other blog post. I just remember seeing the picture and going, “Wow. I live in Florida. I need that hat.” I bought mine on Amazon. There are all different colors available. It is the perfect soft, fold-able, pack-able, washable sun (and rain) hat, and it actually looks attractive, too. It sort of has a southern belle flair to it, with its wide brim and long flounces and bow in the back, and at the same time, it protects everything on your head, including your hair.

I end Favorite Things Friday with this thought:

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God Bless You, Friday

My son was telling me a story about one of his science professors. She is a strict, brilliant German woman. She is currently teaching him Organic Chemistry 2. He said that the most interesting trait about her is that no matter what is going on in the class, no matter if she is in mid-discussion of a highly complicated subject or demonstrating a lab experiment, if someone sneezes in the class, she stops and says, “God bless you.” My son said that this has become such an obvious trait of hers, that he sometimes thinks that students fake sneeze on purpose, in order to get her blessing. I love that story! It clearly demonstrates the truth of the saying that what people will remember about you won’t be as much about what you said, your brilliance, your looks or your possessions, but more so, how you made them feel.

On that happy note, “God bless you, readers!!” It’s Friday, the easiest day of the week to feel blessed!!! Here at Adulting Second Half we call Friday – “Favorite Things Friday”! I typically list at least three favorite things, songs, websites, videos, books, etc. that have added positive vibes to my life and I encourage you all to do the same in the Comments section. (please feel free to Comment on anything, any time. I see the stats, I know that you are out there – I would LOVE to hear from you!) Please check out previous Friday posts for other favorites.

Today’s favorites are all quotes. I took these from a list of 77 of supposedly the world’s most popular quotes. I narrowed that list down to my favorites (at least for this Friday)! Here goes:

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
– Dr. Seuss

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
– Oscar Wilde

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
– Aristotle

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
– C.S. Lewis

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
– Marilyn Monroe

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
– Albert Einstein

“If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.”
– Malcolm X

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
– Helen Keller

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”
– J.K. Rowling

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
– Abraham Lincoln

And to end with where we started:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou

Happy Friday, friends!! God Bless You!! Thank you for blessing my life and making me feel heard, interesting, and worth your time!!