livingwellwithmel

[livingwellwithmel]

Day 3: Taos, NM

On day three of my girlfriend trip to New Mexico, we started at the Petroglyph National Monument, where we walked some trails and took about a million photos of the ancient drawings. It was unfortunate to find that some folks are destroying these treasures by adding their own drawings and initials to the volcanic rocks. Afterwards we headed out towards Taos, admiring the beautifully constructed…

[livingwellwithmel]

Day 2: Albuquerque, NM

[livingwellwithmel]

Albuquerque, NM Day 1

[livingwellwithmel]

Day 6: A Day in Salamanca Spain!

[livingwellwithmel]

Day 5 - Castelo Rodrigo

On day 5 of our Viking River Cruise, we departed Pinhao for a beautiful sail to Pocinho, where we would make a short stop to allow some passengers off for an alternate excursion. We stuck to the included excursions, so we remained on board and enjoyed the view on the way to our final destination, Barca d’Alva. Our travel dates aligned with the start of the picking season, so we often spotted…

[livingwellwithmel]

Day 4: Regua - Mateus Palace & Gardens and Sandeman Winery 9/1/ - Thurs

Day four of our Viking River Cruise began with a sail along the Douro river from Vila Nova de Gaia to Regua. In the photos below you’ll see the Crestuma Lock, one of 5 locks we moved through on our travels. You’ll also see some beautiful views of vineyards and evidence of some of the wildfires the Portugal mountains have suffered – they came very close to many homes along the water! We weren’t…

[livingwellwithmel]

Day 3: Bus to Porto via Coimbra 8/31 - Wed

Day 3 of my Viking River cruise was a bus trip to Porto and then boarding the ship with many beautiful sites along the way!

[livingwellwithmel]

Day 2: Sightseeing in Lisbon

Day 2 of our Viking River Tour of Portugal...

[livingwellwithmel]

Day 1: Travel to Lisbon and Some Exploring

I'm finally getting around to blogging my trip to Portal in Aug/Sept. More to come! Thanks to @Lee Kroeger for instigating this adventure! Yes, I meant to use that word ;-)

Flying to Lisbon from the East Coast is an adventure in itself. I left Nashville at 2:35 pm and had a layover in Newark, where I met up with my friend Lee. We boarded our plane to Lisbon at about 7:00 pm and then after a short delay for a flight attendant medical emergency, we were on our way. Then, about half way through the flight (I’m guessing about timing because I was mostly asleep at this…

[livingwellwithmel]

On Dating - Part 1

At this stage in my life I know pretty well what I don’t want. The problem is finding someone who fits the description of what I do want.

Photo by YADU KRISHNAN K S on Unsplash

Part of me wants to have someone in my life; part of me wants to remain single. Here’s the thing: I’ve been in several bad relationships in my lifetime – mostly when I was much younger, but – there were a lot. So I know pretty well now what I don’twant. And I’ve got a pretty good thing going right now. I’ve got a home that I love, two dogs that make me…

[livingwellwithmel]

Delayed Grief

It was a Tuesday when I stumbled onto the news, and I had a very busy work schedule that week so there wasn’t time to process my feelings immediately. I had to schedule time to grieve.

Photo: K. Mitch Hodge

I was clearing out old voicemails recently because someone told me my mailbox was full. There, at the bottom, was the Blocked Messages folder. I opened it to find the same three messages, the last one dated 12/16/2017. That left me curious. I did a quick search of my inbox and found the last email from him was on 12/26/2017. I was curious what made him finally stop.

So…

[livingwellwithmel]

One Day at a Time

I’m so tired of seeing “COVID” this and “COVID” that in my social feeds. I get it. Stay inside. Wear a mask when you absolutely have to go out. It’s depressing. And there are so many people out there trying to “help” (AKA get their 15 minutes in the spotlight). I’m really over it all. Don’t get me wrong. I feel horrible about what’s going on and I am so grateful for the people who are risking…

[livingwellwithmel]

Self-Judgement and Shame

If you’re a perfectionist OCD control-freak people-pleaser…can I get a “Hell yes!”

I work on myself. I try to make myself a better person. And I beat myself up in the process.

Here’s my latest story:

It happened yesterday. I had volunteered for a “feed the people” event. It was for a local organization supporting patients and family members of patients who are visiting Nashville for…

[livingwellwithmel]

Another Writing Nudge...I think

Another Writing Nudge…I think

DREAM:

I’ve recently moved into a new house (that I LOVE) and I’m settling in when I remember an apartment that I have that I need to get the last of my furniture and belongings out of by Saturday (today) because the lease will be up. It’s an apartment I haven’t used in a long time and had forgotten about until today. I can’t imagine how I could have forgotten about it, but I’m glad I…

[livingwellwithmel]

On The Seventh Day…There Would Be No Rest – or – Seven Days of Labor? Nobody told me about that!

On The Seventh Day…There Would Be No Rest – or – Seven Days of Labor? Nobody told me about that!

On the seventh day of my hospital stay I again began to feel labor pains, but this time I refused to call a nurse. I sat up straight in my bed (I hadn’t been able to lie flat for four days) and played cards with Ted (he had finally made an appearance), stopping to breathe when contractions hit. I kept this up for several hours until, after waddling painfully into the bathroom I noticed spotting…

[livingwellwithmel]

It Wasn't Supposed To Go This Way!

It Wasn’t Supposed To Go This Way!

My doctor-calculated due date was August 13. My self-calculated due date was July 16. On June 26th I went into labor. Ted was nowhere to be found, so I called Mother, who was pretty funny, actually. She came to the house all in a tizzy, running through the house collecting things I would need (I hadn’t packed my bag yet) and took me to the emergency room.

My doctor said it was too soon to have…

[livingwellwithmel]

Procreation for Dummies

In my alone time, I devised a brilliant idea. I decided that all would be well with the world if we had a baby to redirect Ted’s energy. I was sure that Ted would be a wonderful father, and would be more inclined to spend his time at home if there were children there. He was, after all, one of five children, and his family had such wonderful stories to share about growing up. Family was important…