Life as a CrazyMimi

If you Google "Live Life to the Fullest", there are 62,200,000 responses.  But I found one I really, really like: To  live life to the fullest means  facing  your  fears with bravery, an open mind, and a lack of prejudice. It  means  making the most of what you have and never settling for less than the  life  you are capable of living. It  means  being truly alive and awake to  life  and not asleep in  life's  waiting room. I often question whether I am really living life or just going through the motions.  I think at this stage of my life, I am somewhere between "stuck in a rut" and "Oh my gosh, I have to get more stuff done before it's too late"!  Troy and I have had a few discussions lately about what the next chapter of our life will be.  We don't want to be asleep in life's waiting room!  We need to be truly alive!  But we are always so consumed with getting the lawn mowed, the la...

Almost a year ago, I got up the nerve to try yoga at a local studio.  This was one of the items on my 60 before 60 list.  It was something I had always wanted to do, but never had the nerve!  I was absolutely terrified!  Yoga was something that other people did...people in big cities...chic people...YOUNG people!   But trying to get myself to a healthier place in my life, I put my sweats on, drove the 10 minutes, paid my money, and went inside on trembling legs.  Could I really do this?  What if I made a fool of myself?  What if I couldn't do it at all?  What if I'm too old, too fat, too anything? Well, I survived!  And 45 minutes into the one hour session, lying on a mat borrowed from the studio, my wonderful instructor telling us to start relaxing from the top of the head and slowly go down every inch of our body, I was struck by the most incredible revelation.... Why had I wasted 59 years of my life NOT doing yoga?  Why?  ...

I felt the need to get down on paper...ok, computer...some of my feelings about this past year.  2016 was not kind to my family.  There.  I said it.  Now, on to explain. We start each year with a clean slate.  365 clean slates to be exact.  But on January 1st of each year, we look ahead thinking "This is going to be the best year ever". We make big plans. **Case in point: December 31st, 2015. My dining room. Both of my boys, all of my grandchildren, my cousin Crystal, plus Troy and myself. I announce that I have a 60 before 60 list that I will be working on in 2016, explaining to the grandkids that I will be turning 60 in 2017.  We talk about the list, how I might be able to accomplish it, etc.  My cousin/bestie and I start planning our trip to NY City.  I had never been.   It sounds wonderful to all, and everyone was excited for me. Then Life Happened...... Let me preface this with a disclaimer.  This blog post is not ab...

Family Vacation.  Those words conjure up visions of the Griswold family, hilarious fun or fighting siblings, depending on the family, and either wonderful hotels in big cities, or tents or campers in a state park campground.  Throw those scenes right out the window!   After all, we are the Boothe family.  We don't do anything the normal way!  For 16 years, we have rented a house on Lake Anna in VA.  The Punkins call it Crazy Mimi's Lake House.  The crowd has varied in years past.  Troy's and My parents are no longer able to join us.  We added a cousin/bff  a few years back. There are no longer daughters-in-law.  (These things happen, and while we still love both girls and miss them, this is the new reality.)  But there's one constant, and that's our Punkins and our boys.  And this year we add our oldest Punkin's girlfriend.  The dynamics are changing! While other families eat out, sightsee, and lay on the beach ...

Five and a half years ago, looking for some extra money to spend on my Punkins, I applied to my local Pier 1 Imports store as holiday help.  Christmas was coming, and I thought it would be great to be able to fund the holiday without killing the household budget.  I have always loved Pier 1, the products, the people,  the smells, that red tile floor, and yes, the music.  It was my Happy Place!  Going in for my interview I was excited, and when I met Steven, the store manager, I instantly liked him!  Long story short, I was hired, and was so very happy to be working in this beautiful store!  I had no retail experience,  but when you love what you sell, it's super easy to be a good salesperson!  Christmas came and went, and I was asked to stay on.  I did, and after some more time passed, I was approached about becoming a Sales Leader, a shift manager.  It was more hours, but I loved this place, so after some thought, I agreed and be...

Have you ever read something that just totally knocked you off your feet?  Totally hit home?  I did that recently, and I can't stop thinking about it! I follow Valerie Burton on Facebook.  She is a best selling author and Certified Life Coach.  I like her posts because she is uplifting, faith based, and always has a positive outlook.  Last week, one of her posts was titled Accepting What Is....Can You Handle The Reality?  Well, I'm pretty sure I can't.  But I want to..... The basics of the article is this - Instead of constantly trying to control what you can't control, learn to accept "What Is".  So in the article she asks "What is your What Is?".  My what is I asked myself?  My "What Is" is that I am in my late 50s and still feel 18 inside.  There is so much I want to do, places I want to go.  I don't mean to go into a gloom and doom mood here, but I'm not getting any younger! And then there is that whole "I have t...

Three years and a few months ago, my granddaughter Emily was turning eight.   She was also learning about American Girl dolls.  She wanted one of these Oh So Expensive dolls so badly  that I decided, no matter the cost, that I would find a way to get her one.  I mean, what are Mimi's for, right??  I personally think a Mimi's primary job is to be there for her Punkins when they need her, or when there is something that is so desperately wanted that it melts my heart seeing their desire.  Emily was sleeping with the American Girl catalog!   I think that classified this as a deeply desired item!  Let me say right here and now that I don't want to take any joy away from a parent, but parents are responsible for day to day needs. They also have other children to consider.  Soooo...here's where Mimis and Pops  come in!   A date was arranged, reservations made in the bistro, cousins, great grandmother and great aunt loaded...