822.

O' happy Sunday everyone!

I hope you all brought in the new year safely and in good spirits.

I was home alone, a bit maudlin but tis the season and all.

Cooking has never been my forte but I did quite a bit of it this past week. A pot of bean soup (cannellini beans, carrots, kale, chicken, cumin, Himalayan salt) and a pan of cornbread that fed me for several days. 

For my New Year's Eve dinner, I ate barbecue ribs, kale, and a slab of the cornbread. I also made a cake and topped it with a simple homemade icing.

Martha Stewart won't be asking me to pop by but it was all tasty enough for me. 😋

Now let's get to today's business, shall we?

This is the "What's New for 2018?" edition.  🎊 🎊 🎊

It has come to my attention that I will need to take a few steps back in order to move forward. Also that I'll have to give up something or someone from my past.

Well alrighty then.

Although I am a firm believer in omens and portends like rainbows and falling stars (both of which I saw during my drive home from visiting daddy), I don't believe in signs in what I think of as a willy-nilly fashion. 

In other words, I need to see what I think of as Real Proof. 

Does that sound crazy, expecting the tangible from things that seem to have no basis in fact?

Maybe, but as I've heard a time or two (and I like to quote it when it's appropriate): I'm from Missouri.  (For those of you who don't know what that means, go here: Missouri.)

As for this back-and-forth-to-the-future forecast, it has seemed to be a theme in the past week.

Not only has it been the theme of more than a few tv shows/movies I've seen in the past week, I also did a few of those silly Facebook quizzes that promised to tell me what my 2018 would look like based on my responses to the questions.

I actually did a few of them on New Year's Eve. I find the options and outcomes fun and funny enough to distract me when I need it so I made them part of my festive evening. 

One of those outcomes predicted romance in the new year with someone from my past. 😐

Now y'all know how I feel about the exes.  😐 (An "ex" being anyone I've ever talked to on one of the dating sites, had at least one date with, or been married to.)

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say I've been on hundreds of dates and talked to hundreds more online. 

From that humongous group, there exists a minuscule percentage who can expect a response to a phone call or text. One of those is an ex-husband. At this moment, I can't think of anyone else who belongs on that list of one. 😄

(Ooops, wait! There is another guy. We never dated but there was once a very subtle flirtation. By "once" I mean it was an isolated incident that went absolutely nowhere and many many years later, we're still friends.)

While I'm not gonna attempt to bribe my crystal ball for a name, I do wonder who this someone might be.

A screenshot of the predictive pronouncement:

So will this person from my past be He-Who-I-Must-Disgard? Or will it be someone (or something) else?

Along those lines, there is a friend who I've been feeling ambivalent about for over a year. She has a few habits that are lately wearing my patience thinner by the day. Sadly, it's gotten to the point of me not wanting to respond to her calls or texts.

It dawned on me that she's one of the few people I currently think of as a close friend, which is kind of suck-y because she is no longer the type of person I want to be friends with.

*sigh*

Probably it is her that needs to be let go because it would certainly create space in my life for a sunnier disposition to come along.

The decision isn't a difficult one but I've been dragging my feet about it because of the length of our friendship. Really, the hesitation lies in how to sever the ties.

With other people I've felt okay with what some might call ghosting, which for me it comes down to not wanting the drama of trying to explain to people how they have crossed the line with me (for the last time).

(Because I know humans make mistakes so I'll give a few chances but truly, if they understood my boundaries they wouldn't have continued to cross the line. Unless they understood and just didn't care. Either way, I've learned there's no need to waste my energy with an explanation.)

A few examples:

After Mr. Bliss and I were married, I had one friend who kept calling me in the wee hours. Granted I've always been a night owl, which my friends know. However, I told homegirl it wasn't cool to continue the late-night calls because my husband had to get up early for work every day. But she thought it was okay and kept at it.  *snip, snip, snip*

Another friend decided about a year after Mr. Bliss died that it was okay to ask me how much money I got when he died. Très gauche honey! There is only one friend I discuss my finances with and that chick was not the one. In almost two decades of friendship she and I had never discussed money. At least not my money. She talked freely about hers and why she never had any. When she inquired about my "inheritance" (as she called it), I was inclined to think that at some point in the future she would be angling for a loan. That and the fact that I thought she was incredibly rude for asking me the question: *snip, snip, snip*

My friends are important to me and are usually considered family. Some of them I do miss talking with but having boundaries is a good practice and for me, letting people cross them indiscriminately is the same as having none.

Moving on...

Today's Lotus Tarot, titled "Tough Decisions, featured the Hanged Man. It's is a continuation of the "Back to the Future" plot that began with the quizzes. Looks like I'm gonna need more lavender essential oil, lots of pens and paper, and lots of Epsom salt.

See screenshot below:

(The screenshot is the last part of the Lotus Tarot e-mail, which in its entirety was too long and I believe the last bit is most pertinent for this post.)

There is also a wedding in the forecast featuring me as the blushing bride. 💕💍💏 😜 (Definitely not marrying the guy in the graphic!)

There will also be money! (Shhhh! Y'all aren't supposed to see this because I do not discuss money with friends so don't tell anyone. 😄)

Finally, there should be travel! Specifically, to Argentina. (If anyone cares to join me, please drop me a line. 😀)

It looks like my 2018 will be super busy and exciting folks. My passport is ready but I might need new shoes! 💃