Tag: togetherness

Posted in Family, Holidays, Reflection

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted on by shesipscoffee

I am sipping coffee and contemplating why I always have loved Valentine’s Day. I find it to be one that can evoke many feelings based on your personal season in life.

Many of us as children exchanged cards and candy with classmates. We all had those teachers that creatively guided us through many art projects made from the shape of a heart.

My mother (I miss her on holidays) never missed an opportunity on any holiday, even St. Patrick’s Day and 4th of July, to give gifts. When I woke up on these “little” holidays, I would make a beeline to the kitchen to see what might be waiting. There was always a card. Like many Valentine gifts, there was likely a heart shaped box with a few chocolates and a little something else with the theme of hearts: barrettes, bracelet, earrings, or a shirt. It was never anything fancy yet I loves it. I loved incorporating a gift I could wear into my outfits that day. My mom was my favorite Valentine every year. Even in later years with boyfriends, best friends, and crushes, her gifts were the highlight. I wonder if I ever told her that?

As a Single Mom, I continue this tradition with my family. I didn’t plan ahead this year, so after being out of town for two weeks, I made sure last Sunday that my errands included picking up something for my children. Yes, my son is 22, his girlfriend is 21, and my daughter is 13. Like my mother, my children are never too old to gift. And like my mother, anyone in my home is part of the tradition. As a parent, we are our children’s first and continuous Valentine. Don’t you think?

So, they have Skittles and Russell Stover chocolates waiting for them.

And like my mom, I made sure I wasn’t left out.

I have these candy hearts to play with and nibble on throughout the day. I love these and conversation hearts. Perhaps this was the origin of my love for words. Thanks to my first and continuous Valentine: Mom.

Do you have Valentine’s Day traditions? Anything special planned for today? Whatever you do, I hope it is special and in the years down the road provides happy memories. Life isn’t about things. It is definitely about shared memories. As you can see I don’t remember the “things” in detail but the memories, they are quite vivid.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

P.S. It is also Ash Wednesday. Are you doing anything special this Lenten Season?

Posted in lists, Planning, Reflection, travel, vacation

New Orleans-Day 1 Reflections

Posted on by shesipscoffee

Are you ready to travel along with me and hear about my 2-week adventure? You helped me pack and plan. Now I am ready to explore.

I didn’t even sleep a wink like I suspected. I don’t know about you, even at 47 years old I still anticipate the trip and stay awake the night before my vacation. I tend to watch movies and triple check the packing list because the last things to pack are important: hygiene, health, and beauty items.

So with no sleep I headed to the airport with my bestie Trish. And on each flight our giddy inner-selves emerged. And we met fellow Rock Boaters along the way and made sure everyone in social media circles knew we were coming.

We skipped fruit juice with breakfast and opted for the adult version in-flight. Why not? And even better, they were free.

Southwest last minute repairs had us departing late and worried about our connections. Juggling passenger flight changes while we waited so lots of people, including my bestie, ended up on different flight which coincidentally was my connecting flight. We met up with our other friends in NOLA baggage claim and headed to the hotel together.

The first day was packed full of fun. We stopped in at Famous Door and listened to music.

We waited with anticipation for our first parade.

I will write a separate post about the parade. I promise. That experience was amazing.

We ended up visiting bars on Bourbon. We loved Ticklers the most. We spent about 8 hours there with the dueling piano guys. And ran into friend after friend who would be joining us on the cruise. Sing alongs and drinks and merriment make for a great day. We made our way to famous Pat O’Brien’s because you have to have a Hurricane from that place. You just have to! And ran into more friends. Such fun.

I found out the next morning I did a few shots and we are a late night breakfast close to the hotel. Ummm. I would say day One was amazing fun. Wouldn’t you?

Have you imbibed in New Orleans on Bourbon Street? What was your experience like?

More tomorrow…I am sipping coffee now.

Posted in Family, lists

Blockbuster is so not Netflix-Not To Me

Posted on by shesipscoffee

While standing at a register buying a cup of coffee in a local Circle K a couple of weeks ago, my cashier said to a nearby employee, “It isn’t like going to Blockbuster anymore.”

How long has it been since I had even heard any reference to that storefront? Yep, you guessed it. I eavesdropped. Even better, I jumped right into the conversation and realized I missed that place. Or the experience of the place. This past weekend when my family and I were browsing all things streaming through our Amazon Firestick, we couldn’t seem to pick anything to agree on. Frankly, I got annoyed by the browsing along with the respectively bored faces . We kept saying no. Browsing by topics we vetoed one after another. Nothing seemed new. At first I thought it was my desire to grab the remote and manage the search process. We through one title after another when everything seemed like the same old same old. Then Blockbuster came to mind again. I asked my son who is 22 years old if he remembered going to Blockbuster. He recalled a vague memory and it made me a bit sad. Especially when I realized my daughter, a mere teenager definitely seemed clueless. Game Stop is probably the closest comparison and she loves that place.

Blockbuster, and the experience it offered, seems so lost on the next generations tuned into the more common addiction to satellite tv, cable, On Demand, binge watching the seemingly limitless streaming services.

Think I am Crazy?

Maybe. I miss going to Blockbuster. I miss walking the aisles of New Releases and other movie sections looking to see something I might have missed seeing or an old favorite to see again. I miss the conversations my friends and family and I would have about movies we loved or hated. We reminisced about who we experienced movies with, some of the crazy covers, the actors, the soundtracks all while we picked cases up and held them in our hands. Date nights were fun because you learned each other’s likes and dislikes. And sometimes you talked to strangers who offered recommendations or chimed in on conversations. How about times when you would browse alone and pick something and meet your co-conspirator in another aisle with a suggestion or two in hand? Wasn’t that fun, like a scavenger hunt?

I loved picking out 2 or 3 movies, debating to a point where some were mutual selections and others were compromises. It was energetic, frustrating, fun, disappointing, and great quality time together.

I loved the chance to pick up used DVDs on the cheap to add to my personal collection. I miss the overpriced snacks, drinks, toys and collectibles that were perfectly placed like a concession stand as you waited in line to buy or rent the movies. Oh and the games too!

Why did we let this part of “date night, family night, friend night…whatever night” fade to black like the end of so many great movies we wished would keep on going?

Netflix? Yeah. We picked something to watch together. But I don’t think we all wanted to watch it. Some of us fell asleep. There was no build up for what was next. We never spend 30 minutes browsing titles saving and queuing two or three movies and devising a game plan on what to watch first. We aren’t dividing and conquering in the virtual aisles either. We did search for snacks in the house. But the selection wasn’t as great. They were free.

Streaming Better Options

Sipping the last of this cup, I miss the Blockbuster experience and for the life of me, I just cannot think of a plan to bring that to life with the unlimited streaming options I have available with those around me. Is it because we aren’t engaged physically? Is the search and browse method limiting? I remember walking through Blockbuster many Fridays in a row and feeling like there was nothing to get. I also remember going in expecting to get our hands on a New Release only to find all the copies were claimed. I kept going back though. Redbox and Netflix became the newer things. Redbox can simulate the debates and the sale tion is much smaller at the kiosks. But still full of experience gaps.

Is it the process? Vould it be the lack of options in Streaming? Is it how we are blindly looking at only what we can see? I really think Netflix suggestions were better ten years ago.

Does anyone have a method that takes us through the process that ties it back to the relationship and the experience? Are we just lazy and expect our technology to know what we want when we don’t know ourselves?

Do you miss it? What else do you miss? Do you have streaming struggles too? Why?