Coffee, Chaos and Cuss Words

Right around the time of Thanksgiving, we are bombarded on Social Media by the PC Police. The ones who are determined to correct the wrongs of the past by shaming everyone in the present about things that happened beyond their scope. To what end? Awareness? Shame? Education? Retribution? Year after year, I hear history being 'corrected' and yet, it is being 'repeated'. Throughout the internet I see people who want to change how you think and feel...and they do, for the length of time it takes you to read a Tweet, a blog, or a post. Then they go do exactly what they were going to do anyway, because there is nothing to engage them in action, just thoughts and feelings, which are often fleeting. The PC history police often come across as smug and holier than thou. They may be providing 'facts' but smacking the masses in the face with their PC gauntlet doesn't often win converts. It turns people away in shame and anger. Why, generations later, shoul...

I've been busy, as usual, living and loving the work I do; guiding and people out of homelessness and back to stable lives that they can enjoy once again. There have been some changes with the staff hierarchy, and it's really challenged me personally and professionally. A coworker, who has been on the job several months less than me, was recently promoted over me. It was a hit to the ego that I wrestled with every day for many weeks. She is smart, competent and I think she'll do great at the job. However, my first thought was, 'What about me?'! I'm hard-working, dynamic, enthusiastic, intelligent, effective, reliable, consistent and somehow, all that didn't seem to pay off with the kind of advancement I had hoped for. I went deep into self-reflection, knowing they told me before that they recognized my strengths, wanted me for the long haul and could see advancement in my future. I chided myself for being bitchy, but still felt the sting of not bein...

One of the most rewarding things I have been working on in the past year is Servant Leadership. My job uses the principal behaviors of Servant Leadership for the clients we serve, the coworkers we consider our teammates but primarily ourselves. The behaviors of Servant Leadership are:  Serve First- Demonstrate Respect Build Trust-Show Loyalty Extend Trust Live Your Values- Clarify Expectations Listen to Understand -Listen First Think About Your Thinking- Practice Accountability * Keep Commitments Bring Value: Your Strengths- Talk Straight Acquire and Practice Virtue- Create Transparency * Right Wrongs Demonstrate Courage -Confront Reality * Deliver Results Live Your Transformation -Get Better We strive to 'Encourage, Equip and Inspire those with whom we have influence...' for their highest good. In serving others first, we actually serve ourselves the same way. It's a beautiful way to look at it. I have really felt changes and overall growth with ...

Not real....but I bet it will be eventually... I've missed my Sunday 'CAWFEE' Klatsch! A tradition I grew up with, is one that I still love, though it has changed now that the elders in my life have passed on. One of my favorite memories of my childhood is spending time with friends, family, and neighbors and just chatting with the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the air. The Cawfee Klatsch is where I learned a lot about life, laughter and often, some new cuss words to add to my growing vocabulary! Getting up on a Sunday morning to enjoy coffee and conversation with my hubby and cats is still something I look forward to often. Not quite making up for all the missed free time during the work week. However, there is something smooth and easy about curling your fingers around a colorful mug of my favorite beverage and just enjoying time with the one I love. And now in this modern age, when so many friends are far away or simply met through cyberspace, I get to enj...

2018 has truly begun with me having a new view on the world around me... I developed cataracts in both eyes last year because of my uncontrolled diabetes and they developed in a matter of a few months. Scheduling the surgery for the first eye was a process of waiting for nearly TWO months.  I could see things close-up, but anything further than a few feet away was a blur. I was fortunate enough that my husband had some old glasses that allowed me to have a fuzzy view on the world, but let me see some distances. This, thankfully, allowed me to still work while waiting for the surgery. I changed my computer settings for nearly everything a truly visually impaired person would need. At night, every headlight became a huge starburst that prevented me from distinguishing cars coming from any direction. After one frightening and disorienting drive home, where I was racing the sunset, I knew I had to make the decision to forsake my independence on the road for a time. I told my husba...

On April 28, 2017, I was laid off from my job for the first time in my adult life. I was upset about it, but knew that I didn't have the kind of time to mess about. Living in Southern California, even as modestly as my hubby and I do, can be expensive. I was let go at noon on Friday and after I gave myself a few minutes to get weepy, I went home and started looking for jobs. 17 days later, I've got a new job. In a tiny, fearful area of my heart I don't want to 'jinx' this by talking about it. However, giving in to fear is NEVER going to be of use to me so I need to say it out loud. What am I afraid of? Well, I don't use drugs, but the neighbors downstairs and across the way smoke so much weed I can often smell it coming in my apartment before I shut the door. I was afraid that might show up in the drug test I took and disqualify me for the job. My hubby says that isn't likely to happen, but fear kills hope and I have been struggling with that since I...

Well, now....I've been out for a bit. There's been a load of changes going on-some good, some not so good. Grab a cuppa and let's get caught up, shall we? When last we met, (besides the post about the 'Fearless Girl' statue) I was getting ready to move on to a new job that I was so very excited about! I was making a quiet exit from a job that I didn't feel was the right fit for me. The new job made me feel valued in ways the one I was leaving had not. I felt my age and experience were considered an asset, not punchline. I started the new job and began my intensive 6 week training program with gusto! I had such good vibes from the interview, my classes were going well(I aced the tests!) and the work I'd begun with clients that I had not a clue what was to follow. For the first time EVER in my life-I got laid off... One week before the finals for my training,and just a day or two shy of 90 days with the company, I was called into the boss's office (yo...

I don't care if they call it 'feminist marketing', 'pink washing', 'Wall Street tokenism' or a variety of other phrases designed to minimize the impact of a powerful piece of art on the human subconscious. It should be made a permanent statue, right where it is, facing the bull of Wall Street, and essentially, the world.  I've heard men and women poo-poo the symbolism. FUCK YOU, I say.... Men and their brainwashed female counterparts will always find a way to sabotage any efforts to raise the awareness of the world to appreciate women in any way, shape or form. Even if it's a brave young girl, facing the world of BULLSHIT.  So let that be the reason you support it...to tell the world that anyone who sees it knows that you aren't afraid of the Bull, either.... Here's my link to the petition: "Hello, I just signed the petition, “City of New York: Make Wall Street's Fearless Girl Permanent.” I think this is important...

Good morning, my friends....got your mugs handy? Let's chat... I find myself in a weird situation today. It's my last day at my current job. Monday I will start at my new job...no extra time in between for a break. Don't need one, really. Just wanted to move on to a place where I felt my 30+ years of work experience might be more....appreciated. Or at the very least, not be treated like a fucking afterthought.  I've not fit in here well, particularly. Most folks are pleasant enough, however, it's run much like a clubhouse on a college campus. They have openly yelled insults at each other, had nerf gun fights, cussed in front of clients, had crass and inappropriate conversations, etc that I simply cannot engage in as a professional in the workplace. Sure...have some fun every now and again but when you are in front of people looking to you for help...and you are almost literally their ONLY  hope....you might want to behave like you actually can do the job and tak...

A Dirty Chai and a little blog housekeeping! I don't think you know how frikkin excited I am about this new blog! I just merged the Childfree Moxie blog and the Mid-Stride Moxie blog here....and now, it's full speed ahead! Are you ready? Cause I sure am! This is my comfy spot...and I'm ready.  Hope you are, too!

Much as I thought I would enjoy having this singular blog to vent about my frustrations and celebrate the joys of living a Childfree life....I find that I need to simplify things. So, I've created a new blog- Coffee, Chaos and Cuss Words!  I'll import the articles I've shared here and I'll be posting about my Childfree life there. In addition, it will be a blog more in keeping with this stage of my life. I'm 51, menopausal and definitely a true, eclectic Witch with a seeking soul and daily spiritual practices. I do hope you'll join me at the new blog. Come January, this site will be no more. It's time for a change and I'm up to the challenge....I hope you are, too!

Hello Everybody! I was thinking that it was time for a change. I'm moving into a different time in my life, and I wanted my blog to reflect that . I was feeling stretched too thin, trying to keep up with my other blogs: Mid-Stride Moxie and Childfree Moxie. I am still the Moxie gal from Jersey you already know, but I feel that I haven't really made my blogs enough about who I am and what I really want to express. So, it's time for me to embrace more of the aspects of my life that are truly ME. I recently saw this mug online: This mug was the inspiration for the new blog. First of all, I *LOVE* coffee....nuff said. Chaos...well, THAT is my LIFE. Every day, I strive to maintain balance in a world that is determined to constantly knock me on my butt! As for Cuss Words....well, that is part of me and my personal expression and I make no apologies for it. As I moved into my Crone years, this stage of my life is all about truly being myself. I am over the politically corre...

Been away for a bit....but the struggle is still very real in the life of this Childfree woman. I find that most of my challenges come at work, where I am one of two Childfree-by-Choice individuals. Soon to be solo, as my CF counterpart is moving at the end of the summer. However, that person does contribute to the issue as well...as she's not as devoutly CF as I am. She's especially fond of our coworker's children and has spent much time with them. Me? Despite being there nearly a year, I find I am no closer to the gang than when I started. The reason for the lack of connection, at least for me, has a lot to do with COMMUNICATION. No matter where we are, when we gather, or for what purpose....the topic almost ALWAYS runs to children. We recently had a staff meeting where a coworker's pregnancy was announced and you'd have thought she announced that she had won the Powerball lottery! There was whooping, hollering...even crying. What I found most ridiculous about the...

Hello Moxie clan! It's been a couple of months since last I blogged. Life on SoCal coast is wonderful but it has required some adjustment for this Jersey Witch! Mentally, physically and spiritually I have had many experiences and growing pains in the past few months. Now that I finally feel ready to come back here to blog, it seemed more than appropriate to address new ways of Spring Cleaning. Spring Cleaning goes way beyond sweeping and airing out your house. As I've learned, moving from the East Coast to the West Coast, a change in season doesn't necessarily require staying indoors to avoid snow, ice or generally freezing to death. The average temperature here has been around 64 degrees this winter. So, how do I adjust Spring Cleaning magickally? Let's do this by the Elements... AIR: Yes.....open those windows and let the breezes play as they move through your home.  What if you live in an apartment with no windows? Make or use a hand fan and focus your energies. Star...

Hello my friends! Thank you for joining me again here at Mid-Stride Moxie! I had quite a different plan for what I wanted my first post of 2016 to be, until something happened to me yesterday.  My hubby and I decided that we would celebrate the first day of the New Year by taking a walk at our favorite place; the beach. It's a special place for us and the main reason we moved from NJ to SoCal. It's a spiritual place for us both that heals us and relieves our stress instantly. We could not imagine a better place to breathe and set our intentions for the year to come. As we were walking toward the pier, we were witness to an assault. In a flash, I turned to hear the pop of a fist hitting flesh and saw a young man get punched, rise in the air and hit the pier.....hard. I got the barest glimpse of the young man who did it as he walked away with a young woman pushing a stroller. My husband and I were more concerned with the young man with the bloody face and hands, prone and not mov...

My husband and I are in our 50's and are Childfree by choice. It's always been a bit of a challenge to find other Childfree couples like ourselves. While we can find others online, finding people to be friends and socialize with in real life is becoming more of a struggle.  My hubby helped raise his ex's daughter for a time, but never considered having his own otherwise. He may not fit what normally would be the strongest definition of Childfree. However, we have two cats and are happily committed to not having or raising a human child in our home. But prior to my hubby and I getting together, I was already well versed in losing friends who had babies. They swore having a baby would never change our friendship, but it always did. Back in my early 20s, it was common for a friend to have a baby and immediately start hounding me to have one, too. That led to a parting of the ways and I'm not entirely sure that some of them even noticed I was gone. That's okay...but whe...

I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of 'rhyming spells'. There are very few times that I actually will cast or work a spell and speak aloud at all, let alone rhyme. So, does that make me a bad witch or does that influence the outcome of my spells? No....what guides my magick is the intention and energy I put forth into my workings, not whether I found a good rhyme for 'wart'.... Let's explore this a little and I can explain where I differ. Some witches believe that unless a spell is spoken aloud, you have not properly sent your magick out into the universe to work by giving it to the Element of Air. Well, each working I do may not be spoken aloud, but I will take a breath and blow gently across my altar and items as a way to bring in the Element of Air. I also use other symbolic items such as feathers, and such... I have heard that some witches feel you are not properly and intimately involved with your magick unless you speak rhyming words aloud. Agai...

                                                    I seriously hate the special 'mommy & baby' parking spots. Talk about an idea that came out of a pronatalistic, privileged society!!! You can always find these spots right up front....near the handicapped/disabled parking. That's right....you can feel free to equate parents and pregnant women with disabled people all around the world. Kinda works for me....I think having kids IS a handicap on several levels. Now, I'm not looking for a special spot of my own here, just the elimination of an idea that is so wholly unfair and pronatalistic that it makes my stomach ache. There are no actual laws forbidding non-parents from parking in these spaces, but on occasions there are areas that claim they will tow your car or fine you. Can you imagine having to pay a fine for a parking space at the grocery store??? ...

Still amazed by the number of Pagans fascinated with this Pope and the things he says and/or does. I've been told a number of times that it gives Pagans hope to hear the words of Pope Francis and his positions in reforming the Catholic church. Why? Hope for what?  What is it that you are looking for....absolution?  He has given soundbites and photo ops...small words and small gestures. He might well be a good man but he has a larger agenda that only includes YOU if you convert to Catholicism and/or become one of the faithful members of his large flock . Did you all suddenly forget WHERE he works and what he took an oath to uphold? How can you separate the man from the position he holds? The Roman Catholic church has a long history on issues that some really seem to 'want' to forget. However, I cannot forget: - Sexual Abuse -They continue to tolerate priests who are sexual abusers in the church. They move offending priests around to hide them from whatever legal charges the...