The Older Sister Retires

If you visit here, you know that I have spent the last year or two learning to do things for myself and do what is right for me.  It's been a journey like I have never taken before.  It's been amazing and awesome.  It's made turning 60 a wonderful adventure.

 

I have had to make some hard decisions along the way too.  I've had to put myself first in some situations that I hadn't before.  I always worried about what everyone else would think if I did the thing that was right for me.  I still struggle with that at times, but I'm getting better at it.  It doesn't seem to get any easier though.

 

I had to make one of those hard decisions last week. 

 

After five years of being a contributing writer for the website, The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, I made the decision to step down.  I absolutely love everyone over at Shrinking Jeans.  I love what they do for people.  I love that people feel heard and inspired and motivated through the site.  I had just begun to feel like I wasn't doing my part to do those things for people.  I felt like my writing was getting stale and I was grasping for things to write about.  I owed our readers and my editors more and I just didn't feel like I was doing that.

 

I can't thank the sisterhood enough for everything they have done for me.  I got to meet people I never would have met like Alison Sweeney and Ali Vincent.  I even got to interview Ali Vincent.  I was there to cover several Self Workout in the Park events in Chicago.  I got to work out with Dolvett from the Biggest Loser.  I got to meet people from the Biggest Loser.  I got to interview an editor from Self magazine.   Little old me with a VIP press pass in the big city of Chicago.  Not once, but three times.  Who'd have ever thought it?  Not me, that's for sure. 

 

 

 

 

Mostly though, I want to thank the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans for what they have done for me.  I found them very early in my blogging days.  They made me really look at myself and begin to challenge myself.  They helped me see that I could be so much more than I was.  I think it was them that gave me the courage to have the awesome year that I had leading up to turning 60.  They helped me learn to think outside the box.  They helped me become "me" and I will never be able to thank them enough.  To go from reader to writer was amazing and I will treasure that always.

 

My editors, Christy and Melissa are two of the most amazing and wonderful people you will ever meet.  They trusted me when I wasn't sure I trusted myself to do this job.  They gave me the wings to fly and I think I did.  They have been two of my biggest supporters.  They kicked my butt when it needed kicking and they hugged me tight when I needed hugging, even though we were thousands of miles apart.  That's the truly amazing thing about that place.  I have only met a handful of the sisters in person, but I feel like I have known these people all my life.   It is truly a sisterhood in every sense of the word.  I may be leaving as a writer, but I will NEVER leave as a sister!

 

I also want to thank my fellow writers at Shrinking Jeans.  You ladies are some of the best people I know.  I don't ever want to lose touch with you.   You have always been there to support me and love me.  It means so much.  You are truly my sisters. 

 

I am going to miss my little graphic below.  As it says, "she's just old enough".  She's just old enough to know that it's time to say good bye to this chapter in my life.  It makes me sad, but it makes me happy.  I know it is the right decision for me. 

 

Good bye Shrinking Jeans.  I love you!!



Stream of Consciousness Saturday

I know that I am in the minority, but I am excited at the prospect of getting 12 to 18 inches of snow over the next 36 hours or so.  They have named the storm Linus.  That doesn't sound very fierce to me though.  I guess we'll see.

I have lived in northwest Indiana my entire life and I love snow.  Last year was the first really good winter we have had in a very long time.  It was the kind of winter we used to have when I was a kid.  There was snow on the ground for a very long time and I loved it.  It was pretty.  It was fun.

The shelf ice on the shores of Lake Michigan looked like mountains.  It was fascinating.  Can I just say that this man had no business that close to the lake let alone have his child that close to the lake?  That was just stupid, but it does give a good perspective to the picture. 

If this storm fizzles out, I'm going to be really unhappy.  The kid in me wants lots and lots of snow.  I'd like to be able to get out the cross country skis and see if I can still do it.  I'd like to go sledding with the grandkids.  I'd like to go hiking at the Dunes. 

Come on Linus!  I'm counting on you.

 

My five minutes are up.  Time to link up with Jaime.  If you'd like to join in, here are the rules......

 



1. Set a timer for five minutes. (Or keep tabs with your computer’s clock.)
2. Write freely. Any topic. Whatever is on your mind. It doesn’t even have to be completely cohesive.
3. Tag on social media with #SOCSaturday or #SOCSunday and link up below. You have all day Saturday and Sunday to join the link up. It closes Monday morning.
4. Click around and give some comment/blog love.

Knockdown

I have neglected blogging for far too long.  I miss it.  If nobody is around reading this anymore, it's my own fault.  But, I'm going to try to be more regular with my posts and I want to start with some of the fun things I did over the past year before I turned 60. 

I made it my goal to try and do as many "out of my box" types of things that I could, as well as doing some fun things and improving on old things.

One of my biggest adventures was to be a nonspeaking extra in an independent film.  The film is called Knockdown and it is in editing right now.  The opportunity came through my future son-in-law Myles whose degree is in film.  He was a camera man on the film.  Here we are waiting between takes.  Sorry this is your back Myles, but it's the one where I look the best. 

 I was only there about an hour, but it was such a great hour.  One of the actors was from the movie Divergent and several others were from the tv show Chicago Fire.  Some of the other actors were actual Chicago policemen.  My daughter Abby had a speaking role.  It was amazingly awesome.  Knockdown will be entered in film festivals.  Who knows, maybe even Sundance.  I just know that I can't wait to see it. 

There was a really special man I met on this day.  His name is Paul D. Morgan and he was the writer/director/producer of the film.  I knew when I met him that day that he was special, but it wasn't until later that I really found out how special.  He's the man in the middle of the picture below.

Paul and I became Facebook friends and comment back and forth.  Reading how he lives his life and treats his friends and coworkers is inspiring.  His faith in God is uplifting.  He has a work ethic that everyone should have.  He's just a great guy and I'm happy to have met him. 

This really was an amazing day.  I never thought that I would ever be in a movie of any kind beyond our own home videos.  But, I was and it was all because of this guy.....

Myles has been a part of our family for almost nine years now and we will "officially" welcome him in July when he marries our daughter Abby.  To know Myles is to know joy.  He has such a zest for life.  You can't be around Myles and not smile.  He's just one of the best guys you will ever meet and I get to be lucky enough to have him as my son-in-law. 

To Myles and Paul, thank you so much for letting me be a small part of your wonderful film.  You made an old lady really happy.  It is an experience I won't soon forget.  You two are the best!

"I Might Have Missed A Few Things"

As promised, here is another of my favorites from Listen to your Mother in northwest Indiana.  Alice Harrington was my girls pediatrician and we loved her.  After I saw her at Listen to your Mother, I loved her even more.  I think you'll love her too.

Some of my Better Stuff!

I have neglected this blog a lot lately.  So much has been going on that I will explain later.  I feel like some of my best writing has been going on over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  Two of my best posts have been in my Older Sister series.  If you would like to check them out, they are here and here.  

Both of these posts are about getting older and how your perspective and feelings change about so many things.  I hope you will give them a look.  I'm really kind of proud of them.

Lastly, here are a couple of my favorite pictures of spring finally coming to northwest Indiana although as I type this post, it is 39 degrees!

 

 

 

Happy Sunday!

Listen To Your Mother

You know how sometimes you find something that just clicks with you and you just fall in love with it?  Well, three years ago, I was introduced to Listen To Your Mother and that very thing happened.

The Listen To Your Mother tagline is "Giving Motherhood a Microphone" and that is just what it does.   Mothers from all walks of life tell stories about motherhood.  It might be their story as a mother or telling about their own mother.  Whatever story is told, it is amazing and so relatable.

Below, you will find one of my personal favorites from a few years ago.  I met Beth Fletcher through her children and she is amazing.  Watch her story and you will see why I love this show so much.


Listen to your Mother in northwest Indiana is almost sold out.  You don't want to miss this show.  Click the link and get your ticket.  I've had mine for weeks now and I can't wait till May 8 at the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso.

p.s.  I will share another favorite with you in a few days.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!

 This is my weekly photo challenge. The premise is easy.  All you have to do is show us your favorite picture you took over the past week.  It doesn't matter what it is.  If it is your favorite, that is what you post.  Pretty simple, right?  So here we go......

 

Here's my favorite shot for the week.

I am so enjoying all the colors in the garden at school.  This is the very first tulip to open.  I can't wait till the whole garden is full of them.  It is always such a gorgeous burst of color.

 

So, now it's your turn.  If you are a blogger, please post your link in the comments.  If you aren't a blogger, I will link this to my Facebook page and you can post your picture in the comments.  If you don't already follow me on Facebook, friend request me as Nancy Jankowski Collins.  I promise I'll accept.  Please link my post in your post.  Please let your friends know about the photo challenge and invite them to join in.  Feel free to share it on any of your social media sites. Be sure and visit the other entries and leave them a comment.  You know we all love getting comments.    I can't wait to see what everyone else's favorite shot of the week is.

 

That's it for me this week.  Now,  it's your turn to hit us with your best shot.  Fire away!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all my friends here on Bacardi Mama!

I hope you all have a wonderful day.  It is beautiful here in northwest Indiana and I'm looking forward to spending the day with my family. 

I hope you all have a perfect day too!

 

I saw this graphic on Facebook this morning and thought it was pretty interesting.  Thought I would share it with all of you.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!

 This is my weekly photo challenge. The premise is easy.  All you have to do is show us your favorite picture you took over the past week.  It doesn't matter what it is.  If it is your favorite, that is what you post.  Pretty simple, right?  So here we go......

 

Here's my favorite shot for the week.

It feels like it took forever, but the daffodils finally bloomed outside of preschool this week.  Now, I feel like spring is really coming.  That snow we had last week was just teasing us, right?

 

So, now it's your turn.  If you are a blogger, please post your link in the comments.  If you aren't a blogger, I will link this to my Facebook page and you can post your picture in the comments.  If you don't already follow me on Facebook, friend request me as Nancy Jankowski Collins.  I promise I'll accept.  Please link my post in your post.  Please let your friends know about the photo challenge and invite them to join in.  Feel free to share it on any of your social media sites. Be sure and visit the other entries and leave them a comment.  You know we all love getting comments.    I can't wait to see what everyone else's favorite shot of the week.

 

That's it for me this week.  Now it's your turn to hit us with your best shot.  Fire away!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!

 This is my weekly photo challenge. The premise is easy.  All you have to do is show us your favorite picture you took over the past week.  It doesn't matter what it is.  If it is your favorite, that is what you post.  Pretty simple, right?  So here we go......

 

Here's my favorite shot for the week.

We went to Meijer Garden in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the weekend.  We took the tram ride around the park that took us past this beautiful waterfall.  Look how much snow they still have hanging around up there.  The waterfall was breathtaking.  We all loved it.  I really like the reflections in the water too.

 

So, now it's your turn.  If you are a blogger, please post your link in the comments.  If you aren't a blogger, I will link this to my Facebook page and you can post your picture in the comments.  If you don't already follow me on Facebook, friend request me as Nancy Jankowski Collins.  I promise I'll accept.  Please link my post in your post.  Please let your friends know about the photo challenge and invite them to join in.  Feel free to share it on any of your social media sites. Be sure and visit the other entries and leave them a comment.  You know we all love getting comments.    I can't wait to see what everyone else's favorite shot of the week.

 

That's it for me this week.  Now it's your turn to hit us with your best shot.  Fire away!