Goodbye to Baseball season and moving (Literally) on.

July 10, 2026July 10, 2026 Shel R.Leave a comment

Good morning my loves.

I ran out of coffee. I realized it this morning when I was about to make some, and I am due for a trip to the grocery store, but – join me for a bit while I share some things and try to get the motivation to start today.

Baseball season is over for now.

This was Elijah’s first year playing on an actual team, and he loved it.

He had some moments where he’d say he sucks, and I would have to remind him that this is his first year, and every practice – every game – he got better. He started batting balls across the field and making home runs. He started learning when to run and when to stay on a base, and so much more.

He did fantastic this season and gave it his best.

I wasn’t happy that he wasn’t given a turn to pitch because I feel like that’s where his talent is. He’s great at pitching in my opinion, but with this being his first time on a team, I didn’t want to cause any issues and ask the coaches to give him a chance. I thought maybe they would, and I feel like every kid should have had a chance to play every position, so they learn each one and get better at them.

I’m not a coach – so I let them do their thing and just sat back to cheer my little dude on – whatever he was playing on the field.

He was upset because they kept putting him in the outfield, but I told him that during the summer, we’d practice more, and next year if we’re still here – he goes and shows them his new skills, and maybe someone else will be in the outfield and he’ll be one of their best pitchers or he’ll be on a base. Plus, he’s not the only one I’ve seen in the outfield. There were a few kids out there on repeat.

Still, I am grateful.

I am grateful for the coaches who taught him every new skill he learned and is getting better with, and that they ran to his side to guide him and train him.

I am grateful for his teammates who all cheered each other on, including my son when he was at bat, or running the bases.

These young boys always had each other’s backs and even encouraged each other when one of them would strike out. Their last game the night before last – all the boys were singing, “Let’s go, Elijah! Let’s go!”, over and over. It was the cutest thing.

I am grateful for the Baseball moms and dads who had kids on the team for years now and took me under their wing as the new baseball mom. I fully enjoyed sitting on the bleachers with them every game – talking, laughing, and having some of the funniest or best conversations with. We always found each other at games, joked around and enjoyed cheering each other’s boys on.

I am grateful for the baseball moms I didn’t talk to, that still cheered for my kid as much as they cheered for theirs every time that he was up to bat or running bases, and I did my best once I became comfortable – to cheer on their boys as well.

I am grateful that Elijah had this opportunity to play for this team, and I am grateful for the group photo he has of all of them, so that even if we move next year and he doesn’t play for this team again – he has the memories of them.

I am going to miss this. I was joking with a good friend of mine (Ashley) that I am NOT sad it is ending, but as soon as we came home from the last game the night before last, I won’t lie – I was a little bit sad. This is now just good memories. Good times. Ashley was laughing at me and told me, “See! That’s how I feel sometimes. It’s bitter-sweet when it all ends”. She’s in Arkansas and her boys play as well.

I am not going to miss the last-minute scheduling changes, the traveling to other parts of Minnesota for games, the double-headers, sitting in the heat and rain, rushing to get to the field on time for practices, but – I am going to miss these boys getting together to play and watching them all do their thing.

We were supposed to have a double-header today. Today was supposed to be the last game in another part of Minnesota, but for some reason, that was canceled.

I had to laugh when one of the moms I always hung out with at games – said that she is so happy they canceled the Friday game. I told her, “I knnnnnoooooowwwwww! I can’t say I was disappointed, either!”. When another dad showed up for the game the night before last, we were talking about baseball coming to an end, and he smiled and said, “And we have no game on Friday”. He was just as happy, and we laughed and shared that we were kind of happy as well. I had to laugh even more when one of the female coaches and I were talking after the game was over, and she shared that she was happy there was no game Friday. I told her that I wanted to say that, but she said it for me, and she shared that she loves baseball, but at some point – she’s just over it. 🤣

Still, like Ashley said – it is bitter-sweet.

These boys played in all kinds of weather, gave it their all, cheered each other on, encouraged each other, helped one another, and it’s all over now until next year.

A lot of these boys have been playing together since they were much younger on the T-ball teams, so the fact that this was Elijah’s first year, and they welcomed him with open arms – makes me happy. ❤️

We won the last game, and the boys followed the coaches across the way to the Football field – where they had a water balloon fight.

We stopped at the store and brought donuts for the team, so after – they enjoyed those, and helped clean up the field before they left.

As I was standing by the bleachers talking to a few parents about different things, the main coach came over, and we were talking about Baseball and Elijah practicing during the rest of the summer, and about the next season.

His son ran off somewhere and came back with the bat that Elijah has been using all season.

He handed it to Elijah and told him he could keep it. 😊🧢⚾ It was such a sweet moment, and I thought that was so awesome.

During the beginning of the season when I brought the uniform Elijah needed for baseball and got everything together to make sure he had what he needed, I had asked one of the female coaches if he needs his own bat. I planned to go buy him one. I just didn’t want to spend the money if he decided he didn’t like baseball and didn’t want to continue it next year, so I was grateful when she told me no, and said they had more than enough bats there – that he could use.

When I found out how much he enjoyed playing and wanted to return to it next season, I did plan to buy him a bat and I probably still will buy him one he can pick out and enjoy, but I loved when the coach’s son gave him this one that he has now.

To me, it’s a sweet reminder of this entire season, and the experience he had, and I hope he cherishes that bat for the rest of his life, and remembers when he was 9, and started this sport.

No matter where we are next season, and who he plays for or what team – I hope he continues his love for the game and continues to make memories with it as he gets better, and goes on to maybe middle school ball, high school ball, and beyond.

I wish I could say he’s going to play with them again next year, but we’re looking to move, so I can’t say for sure.

Baseball season has ended, and again – it’s bitter-sweet, but I’m grateful for everything.

To my little Elijah – if you see this one day when you get older –

So, now what?

Now that there’s no more schedules, game changes, last minute snack runs, washing his uniform over and over, rushing to the field, etc. – I can finally work any hours I want to work, so I’ve been looking to take on a 2nd job – to save money to move.

I’m so over where we live now.

Not really the little town, but mostly the building we live in.

That’s a whole other story I’m not going to get into right now, but I’ve been here for 6 years, and it’s just time to go.

I’ll talk about it another time, but I’m a little aggravated right now, and a few other tenants are as well.

The issue is – I can speak up all day because I’m not afraid and I always speak my mind and the truth, but if other tenants are afraid to stand up and say something with me – there isn’t much I can do.

I’ll just say that we were all so happy when we got new landlords because our previous landlord was a nightmare, but a lot of tenants feel like these new ones (a young, married couple) are no better. In fact, a few of the tenants have said they miss the previous landlord, because at least if repairs needed to be done – he sent someone or told us who to call – and to have him billed.

I am not going through another 6 years of this mess, so I’m ready to make a move happen any way I can.

That’s all I’ll say for now.

So, baseball season is over. It’s bitter-sweet, I’m working on looking for a 2nd job to save and move, and my life is all over the place right now.

Slowly, but surely, I’m working on so much and just trying to be happy again. Trying to get “me” back that I used to be when I moved to Minnesota, and trying not to forget that it’s still summer, and the kids and I need to have fun as well.

Love you all!

😊Shel😊

My heart says one thing. My brain says another.

July 7, 2026July 7, 2026 Shel R.2 Comments

Daily writing prompt

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

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To answer today’s WP writing prompt…………..

I DON’T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE!

I used to think going back to Illinois, or at least to a part of Wisconsin on the border of WI. / IL. would be the perfect place to live.

I wanted to go back to Illinois so bad after living in Minnesota for so long, and realizing it’s not home, and never could be.

Life is different out here and I’m just not used to it.

I love the fact that we have no traffic, and we can see the stars so clearly because we don’t have any huge buildings with lights, not many streetlights, and it’s so dark at night.

I love the fact that there’s so many cute shops and places to fish because we have tons of lakes.

I absolutely love opening the patio door or windows in this place and hearing the cows Moo – right next door on the farm.

I love the fact that we’ve seen the Northern Lights a few times out here – so clearly.

I love the fact that when we hear gunshots, it’s usually the season to hunt something, and not something serious to fear out here.

I love the fact that it’s a great, quiet, peaceful place to raise a family.

Minnesota is wonderful for so many reasons, but at the same time – it’s still not home.

Minnesota (at least the part we’re in) – has everything on repeat, and that’s one of the down sides of living here.

We have most of the same food places within 10 – 15 minutes from each other for no good reason.

We have two Burger Kings. We have two McDonald’s. We have four Caribou coffees. We have four Starbucks. We have two of the same grocery stores. We have two, three or four of the same everything – literally just a few minutes away from one another.

We barely have any good stores, and our mall is usually dead. Stores are moving out of that mall, and if you go into our mall here – and see at least three people, I’d be shocked.

I feel like they could totally bulldoze the mall down, and make a fun place for kids, and families to go, or a skating rink. I feel like they could totally make a better variety of good food places or put up something besides another coffee shop or car wash – because we have plenty of those in the nearest little city as well.

It drives me crazy that we have no variety of anything here, and in the little town we live in – there’s absolutely nothing.

We have a small grocery store. A Dollar General. A small theatre that only opens once-in-a-while, and a small bowling alley. We have a little food spot that could definitely use some improvements, and a few abandoned buildings. We don’t have much, and it drives me crazy that everything is usually shut down by 8 PM.

I was once told it’s because of the wildlife, but who knows?!

The cool thing is – you could easily see a bear walking through our little town or hear of Bobcat sitings. We see plenty of wild turkeys, and eagles soaring, and I once looked out of my bedroom window – to see a huge deer walking right past it.

That’s the country life.

Still, it could never be or feel like (home).

I laughed when my son told me the other day, “You thought you wanted the country life so bad and now look at you wanting to go back to the city. You’re totally a city girl!”. He’s not lying. I’m absolutely a city girl. I wouldn’t mind living in a country area – as long as a bigger city is at least an hour away, but here – we don’t have that. A bigger city for us here – is 3 to 4 hours away.

I was born and raised in Chicago, so moving to Minnesota – was totally a culture shock for me.

It was a lot different, and I don’t think I ever got used to. I may never get used to it.

I’m still surprised by some of the things I see or that people do out here.

If you want to laugh – when I first moved out here, I was sitting by the lake that’s literally 5 minutes from our place, and I saw a truck drive around the corner – looking like it came from the lake.

It was the middle of winter and I was so confused, so I walked over to the edge of the lake – to look on the side and see if there was a trail there, but there was nothing. When I saw other trucks on the lake – yes, ON the lake – I was in shock.

My oldest daughter moved here when she graduated high school in 2018. A few years before my other kids and I – moved here, so I called her while she was at work, told her what I saw, and she laughed – telling me, “Yeah! They do that here. It’s ice fishing season”.

I was talking to some guy about it one day, and he laughed and told me he does that as well. He asked, “You’ve never been ice fishing out on the lake?”. I said no. He told me I had to let him take me on one of the Minnesota lakes to try it one day. I joked that there’s just something about solid ground that us Chicago people appreciate, but I did promise I’d let him take me out on the frozen lake one day – if he promises he’s a professional and he brings me back to solid ground, safely. lol.

Hunting seasons. There’s always hunting or fishing going on out here and I would really love to learn all this hunting stuff, but being here 6 years already, I still haven’t. A friend of mine out here said her husband would take me out into the woods and teach me, but I still haven’t taken her up on that offer, and maybe I should.

Minnesota nice – not really a thing. They say that, but I’ve found more people that are all clicked up here, than actual “nice” people.

Many of these people have lived here their entire lives, have grown up together, went to school together, graduated together, their families all know each other and have hung out together forever now, their kids grew up together and know each other, etc. So, when a stranger – an outsider – a newcomer comes to the community, they don’t welcome them very well, and I learned that when I first moved to this little town.

If you’re not from here, they look at you like you don’t belong, and if you have an opinion about this little town, they have no issues telling you to go back to where you came from. Everyone knowns everyone here, and if they don’t know you, many people aren’t trying to get to know you, either. They have their little clicks, and the people they know and that’s what they stick to – which is one of the biggest reasons that I’ve just kept to myself since moving here.

I used to think “Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I need to put myself out there more and make new friends or get to know people”, but other people who aren’t from here that I’ve talked to, say the same exact thing. There is no real “Minnesota nice”, and if you didn’t grow up here and you’re not from here, it can be tough to make new friends.

Not to mention that since it’s such a small town I live in, everyone gossips about everyone because everyone is so bored – they’re in each other’s business and everyone knows what everyone else is doing here.

People are nosy here, and the town talks, so if you’re doing something or did something – everyone is going to know it – which is another reason I’ve learned to keep to myself and mind my own business.

I have met a few really good people out here that I have grown close to and have grown to love, and I adore them. I’m grateful for them, but the ones I’ve tried to get to know – who are in their own little clicks, I just smile, say hello, and keep it moving now.

So, there’s a lot of good things I love about Minnesota, and there’s some things I don’t really care for, and again – it’s not home.

Part of me really wants to move back to where home is – and continue my life out there – to live there.

Part of me loves the safety, beauty, and comfort of Minnesota and I’ve thought about living here for good.

I don’t know where I would live.

I don’t know anymore – what my heart wants.

I just want to be somewhere that feels like home – be it our real home in Illinois or close to it – or not.

I guess time will tell, and I’ve told my kids that maybe all of the times we’ve tried to move back home or make a plan to get out of Minnesota – it didn’t work out because that’s God’s way of saying, “This is your home now”.

So, when it comes to the question of living anywhere in the world if I could, I can’t even honestly answer that right now, because I really don’t know. My heart says Illinois / Wisconsin – close to Illinois, but my brain tells me to stay right where I am here in Minnesota and make this home.

I laugh because Minnesota is so different from Illinois, and it’s both good and bad.

Being stuck in Minnesota for now – has me always thinking about Illinois and how much we miss it, but when I’m in Illinois, I don’t think about Minnesota at all.

However – my kids and I joke that if and when we do move back to Illinois, we’ll probably miss Minnesota.

At least a little bit.

I’ve thought about how happy we’d be if we move back to Illinois, but then I think, “For how long?”.

Will it be a constant happiness that we’d be back, or will it be short-lived and we’d miss all of the quietness, the boring country life where nothing happens thankfully, and the little – to no traffic here?

Hell, if we open the door when the sun goes down – we can hear the crickets and frogs so clearly. We have frogs that come up to our patio door and aggravate the cat, which is hilarious – but – it’s still not home.

So, I honestly can’t say where I’d live if I could, because my heart doesn’t even know anymore.

I want this quiet, peaceful country life for my kids, but then again, we all kind of want the crazy, wild, everything is close by and we don’t have to travel miles to get anywhere – city life we miss so much. The variety of stores and food places. The family and friends that used to be close by that we could see any time we wanted to.

We miss that.

I want to go home to IL. but a part of me wants to just buy a house on some acres here – and be able to say, “We are home now”.

Life and decisions. Oy.

Have a blessed day!

🤔Shel🤔

Learning to take chaos as a blessing.

July 6, 2026July 7, 2026 Shel R.Leave a comment

Is a little chaos actually good for us?

Today’s WP writing prompt – made me laugh as I thought about the exhausting, crazy and chaotic, endless-cycle of Amy’s daily routine in the great and hilarious movie (Bad Moms).

If you’ve never seen it, you should! (Don’t forget to watch A BAD MOMS Christmas) after Bad moms.

It’s not a movie for kids, so wait until your kids are in bed, and you definitely have to have a sense of humor and not easily be offended. 😁

The amazing actress (Mila Kunis) plays a married mom (Amy). She eventually finds out her husband is enjoying his alone time with an online cam model, and (Amy) kicks him out of their home, as she then has to navigate life as a semi-single mother doing everything on her own, while she’s about to go through a divorce as well.

In the scene where she’s describing her never-ending chaos, she says:

That’s me.

That is totally me, and I’m non-stop on the go – all the time.

Even when I think I can sleep-in or relax, one of my kids tells me there’s something to do, or they have to go somewhere, or something needs to be done.

Chaos should have been my middle name.

Between working two jobs, rushing around picking up dinner, getting home to make dinner, getting my little dude ready for Baseball practice or Baseball games, cleaning the house, getting laundry done, paying bills, feeding the animals and making sure they have clean liter, and water, trying to get my daughter into a good EMS/Medic program, filling out applications for her, picking up extra shifts at work, keeping up with family and friends, calls I have to make to people who left me messages, grocery shopping, vet visits, and so many other things…………………………………………………………..

Chaos is totally a thing here.

Did that whole list I wrote out non-stop – make your head spin? It makes mine do loops.

Let’s add on unexpected bills I sometimes get and forget about, jury duty that I’m all of a sudden summoned to, car repairs that need to be done, bed-time routines, waking up early to have at least 30 minutes to myself in silence with a hot cup of coffee I’m probably going to forget about and have to heat up 3 times before I actually get to drink it anyway, and other things I have going on and I’m dealing with – it’s a lot.

It’s a whole lot!

Still, I love being a mom. I love working. I love making money. I love the running around. I love the crazy, wild, chaos.

I can’t say I love unexpected curve balls life throws at me, or the 20 million other things I have to do daily, errands I have to run, or new things that keep popping up that keep me on my toes, but as much as I feel like I’m going to lose my mind – I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Life is crazy chaotic right now, but it keeps me busy, doesn’t let me slack off much, and doesn’t give me time to be down and depressed.

Sometimes, the chaos is so crazy and good – that while I have problems sleeping – there’s some nights my eyes close before my head even hits the pillow because I’m so tired from running around all day and being so busy. There are times I’m so tired, that my sleep problems aren’t an issue and I knock out right on the couch when I sit down to relax for a moment.

So, to answer this question – a little (or, even a lot for some of us) of chaos – IS good for us.

It keeps us busy and keeps our minds off of the things we don’t want to think about.

It helps us sleep at night if we’re so busy, we’re exhausted at the end of the day.

It can actually help keep us focused on the things we really need to get done and prioritize.

Sometimes, chaos can keep us motivated and make us want to do other things we’ve been slacking on.

So, yes – chaos is good for us, and if you have chaos in your life right now, take it as a blessing.

Who wants to be bored all the time, and have NOTHING going on?

So, cheers to Chaos. 🍻

🍷Shel🍷

Happy 4th of July, darlings!

July 4, 2026 Shel R.Leave a comment

Daily writing prompt

What’s a lesson you’ve learned recently that shifted your perspective?

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To answer today’s WP writing prompt – it would absolutely be the lesson of cherishing every great moment and every person you love while they’re still here.

Today is the 4th of July, and I used to take that for granted many years ago.

My oldest daughter was still alive.

My mom and dad were still alive.

My brother and his ex-wife were still together.

I was an auntie to two.

I still lived in Illinois.

4th of Julys used to look a lot different.

For the last few 4ths – everything was different.

My oldest was killed in a car crash with her girlfriend in 2021. She was the passenger.

My dad passed in 2023 from Cancer. My mom passed in 2024 from – what we can only assume was a heart attack, because no autopsy was done. She passed in an assisted living facility. We knew it was probably coming, but we didn’t know it would be that soon. She had just celebrated her 70th birthday. With my dad, he was in hospice for a while, so we knew for sure that death was coming.

My brother and his now ex-wife have since divorced, obviously.

My nephews live with their mother, and I’m now an auntie to three – however, I don’t get to see my niece. My brother’s now ex-fiancé – (a different woman) – wants nothing to do with my brother, so she has decided that includes his family. My niece’s family that she should know. I even sent her a huge box full of adorable baby stuff I picked out when my niece was first born, and a special gift for her, but I got nothing.

I’d love to spend the 4th with her.

My kids and I also now live in Minnesota.

So many things have absolutely changed from the 4th of July traditions I was used to.

We always went to my brother’s place for the 4th, and his wife (now ex) would always make sure I had a drink in my hand when I arrived. lol. My brother and I would joke around. She’d yell at him and tell him to leave me alone, and I’d threaten to kick his ass after I finished my drink. He’d make more jokes, and life was good back then.

My kids would be sitting around the table eating every snack in sight. Chips and dip. My mom’s famous Vegetable pizza, and whatever else was laid out for everyone.

My brother would be grilling, and my older son would be next to him helping or watching over the grill.

My mom and dad would argue about something every 4th of July, and we’d always giggle because it would be something so stupid, but I miss even that. 🤣 They’d both be aggravated with each other, and my dad would say, “Okay, okay!”, and end the fight – letting my mother have the last word, and my mother would look at me and say, “He loves to aggravate me!”. By the end of the night, they’d be sitting next to each other acting like nothing ever happened. ALMOST EVERY 4TH OF JULY!

My nephews would be in the kiddie pool or running around getting into mischief with my little dude, and my youngest daughter chased them around here and there.

We’d take selfies and photos with each other, and of the food.

We poured more drinks.

We joked around and shared so much laughter.

We recalled so many funny “Remember when’s”………..(memories), and we enjoyed each other’s company.

My brother would run in and get the fireworks as soon as dusk arrived, and we’d watch him blow them off in the alley, joking that the fire trucks needed to be on standby.

Once we watched him blow off his fireworks and then watched the fireworks that were lighting up the sky around us, we’d play music (usually country or oldies), sit and talk, laugh, and enjoy the night as it got later and later, and nobody wanted to say goodbye.

We had dessert, more drinks, and more fun.

I miss those days, and that’s how we spent many 4th of Julys.

That’s not something that will ever happen again with all of us there, and it sucks – but life has to go on right?

One lesson I have learned recently that shifted my perspective – is to love everyone so much while they are alive, take so many photos, tell them you love them, cherish them, take the time to look around and cherish each and every moment – because one day – they will be just memories that you wish you could relive one last time at least.

I smiled today as I thought of the past 4th of July’s and how much love, fun, laughter and good times we had.

I thought of the time my brother sat on the tailgate of his pickup truck one 4th, and I told him the burgers were going to burn – as he was jamming out to country music and drinking, and he told me he was going to make my burger extra dark and crispy to shut me up.

I thought of the time my brother sent me a photo of a big piece of wood he super glued wires and different fireworks to and asked what I thought would happen if he set the fireworks off like that. I laughed so much and told him I was going to take bets amongst our friends to see who would arrive first – the fire department, the ambulance or the police.

I thought about the 4th that my oldest kiddo and I got into this huge argument over something goofy, and at the end of the night, I asked if she wanted to go for a ride and have cake, and she laughed and said, “Hell yeah I do!”. She was 18 or 19 at that time I believe. Even those memories are funny now and I miss them.

I thought about many different things from past 4th of Julys that I could never get back, and memories of times that are long gone now, so please – take all the photos you need to with loved ones, cherish good moments before they become memories, and never take them or the people you love for granted because one day, you’re going to wish they were still here and those moments weren’t just memories.

I also love the memories of the 4th of July’s I’d stop by my best friend’s house.

Her mom would make Jello shots. They’d have the music on, and her dad grilled.

Thankfully, if I did go back to Illinois, I could still make more memories on the 4th will all of them.

Her family is like a 2nd family to me, and I know I’m always welcomed there. ❤️

My aunt and Uncle’s house – has become a new tradition on the 4th as well out in Illinois.

We’ve been there the last few 4ths, and I’ve been so grateful they’ve welcomed us into their home because the 4th is always a lot more fun ln a pool watching the fireworks above or hanging out with family.

So, even if we can’t do the old traditions anymore because some people that we love are gone now, and others moved on with their lives – we’ve created new ones and kept other old traditions alive as well on the 4th.

Unfortunately, we’re stuck in Minnesota this year, and nothing really happens in our little town.

The last few years, we’ve had a “no burn ban”, which also included fireworks, so we couldn’t shoot any off out here, but we haven’t heard of anything like that this year. Plus, we’ve had plenty of rain, so I got some Sparklers for the kids, some little pop-it’s for Elijah, and Frankie got a few of the spinning, colorful fireworks.

Nothing crazy because we still want to play it safe.

I made burgers for dinner and got some freeze pops I know my little dude loves, and cupcakes my youngest daughter enjoys.

You know the 4th wouldn’t be the 4th without S’mores! So, I had to get some stuff to make those as well.

My daughter LOVES S’mores!

One thing I truly am missing this 4th – is how the fireworks in Illinois always start weeks before the 4th, and on the 4th – they can start as early as 4 AM – and we’ll hear huge M-80’s being blown off. They can go all the way until 4 AM the next morning, and sometimes – for days after.

Out here in our little town, we hear none of that, and it’s dead. It’s so boring out here, so I’m a little sad tonight that I’m not back home in Illinois, but – it is what it is.

The night is almost over and I wish I was at my best friend’s house or my aunt and uncle’s waiting for the fireworks to begin as we chat, enjoy dinner together, and a few drinks with my aunt (me and her anyway), I have to make the best of being stuck out here and so far from everything and everyone I love out there.

Please – no drinking and driving tonight.

In many bigger cities and states – buses and trains are free tonight from what I’m hearing. Check your local transit center / site.

In many bigger cities and states, Uber and Lyft are offering discouts and vouchers tonight.

Or – if you can’t do any of those and you’re in a smaller area, many police officers who aren’t busy – will sometimes pick you up and safely get you home.

NO EXCUSES!

I love you all, and as the dusk approaches and the fireworks begin – keep having fun, keep enjoying the night, and stay safe. ❤️

I saw a post earlier from one of my good friends – who posted:

“Make sure you put a boot in someone’s ass today in honor of Toby Keith”.

I loved that and it made me smile, so in honor of one of my favorite country singers – T.K. ……………………(Rest in peace and this one is for you and America tonight). 😁

All my love:

❤️Shel❤️

Baseball, an 18th, a trip to Puerto-Rico, and a new Boyfriend. :) (Or – na?)

July 2, 2026July 2, 2026 Shel R.Leave a comment

Good morning!

My home is clean.

I’m showered and ready to start the day.

It’s beautiful outside, and I hear we’re supposed to get thunderstorms later. (I love those!)

Listen. If you’re getting sick of hearing Baseball talk, you can click the X above and skip all of this, but if not – then let’s talk about it.

My little dude (Elijah) had a game the night before last and last night.

The game the night before last, he did amazing.

It was an away game at another school.

The other team was winning.

So, when Elijah was up to bat, and he cracked the ball half way across the field, and ran – parents and his team on our side all cheered, and we were all so excited! 😊

He smiled when he got to 1st base, and I smiled because I knew he was happy and proud. He always says he sucks, but I always remind him this is his first year playing on a team and not just for fun, so he’s not going to be perfect.

I don’t expect him to be perfect.

This isn’t the major leagues!

I’m not one of those moms who take it seriously.

I want my kid to go out there, give it his best and still have fun / enjoy it.

Nobody is coming to recruit your kid to their team for college or professional ball right now. If you’re one of the moms or dads who lose her mind over your kid not making a good play, or decision on the field, calm down! If you’re one of those moms or dads, have a beer or something after – but don’t take it out on your kid!

I understand that some parents feel like they’re preparing their kids for continuing this sport well on into high school and beyond but worry about all that when they’re teenagers in high school – or beyond.

My son said yesterday – that one of the coaches yelled at his kid in the dugout – in front of the team – because he was goofing off on the field.

My son said the kid cried – in front of the team. He was hurt. He was embarrassed. I don’t blame the kid.

And let me tell you…..

The game the night before last – when my son ran to 2nd base, some mom from the other team started screaming at one of the kids on the field, “You could have caught that! What are you doing? Pay attention!”. She was angry that my son hit 2nd base and the player chasing the ball – didn’t catch it before my son hit 2nd.

Calm down, homegirl! You’ll survive! 👀

Your team might lose, but you’ll survive. (I say that with humor), but damn. I can’t understand for the life of me – why parents take this so seriously when these kids are young and should just be enjoying themselves out there.

I don’t believe in putting all that stress and pressure on kids to be perfect in a sport, as long as they’re trying and giving it their all. 🩵

I’m NOT okay when I hear a parent, coach or someone who should be encouraging a kid – going off on them, making nasty comments, making them cry over a sport, or putting them down.

If I would have heard the coach yelling at his kid over the game and saw the kid crying, I would have said something – because that’s unnecessary!!!

What if I yell at you, sir? What if I embarrass you in front of all these parents, other coaches, and your team?

I asked my son if that same coach had ever yelled at him, and he said no.

Maybe I should start hanging out by the dugout and listening.

Anyway – the first game the night before last was beautiful.

My son made it back to the home plate, and the cheers for him were wild and so awesome. 💕

When he entered the dugout – his team wrapped him in a group hug, jumped up and down, patted his back and they all tapped the top of his helmet……more like banging on it – he says, but it was the cutest thing.

Everyone was so happy.

Another boy after him scored and we ended up winning.

Take that – Ms. Serious mom from the other team!

I wanted to look at her and be like:

VICTORY DANCE!

Again, I’m just being funny, but stop taking your kids games seriously if they’re 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Give them a break and you should just be having fun as well, and be happy that they’re not in the streets causing trouble and getting arrested.

So, we won the night before, and last night – we lost.

And – that’s okay!

Last night though……

Ooooooohhhhhhh …..last night though ……

There was this mom standing behind me by the bleachers. She had her kids with her, and one of them (a boy about my son’s age or a little older) – knew half of our team, so he was cheering on everyone who was playing from our team.

We played another team from our school, (different age group), so they all knew each other.

My son was in the outfield at one point, and the ball rarely flies out there, so my son (although he should) doesn’t always stay ready when he’s out there.

We did have a talk about it last night before the game and when the ball did fly past him, he quickly ran to grab it, turned to see what was happening, so he knew where to throw it – and this mom quietly told her son (as the other teams players hit the bases and were safe), “Oh my God! If he would have ran a little faster, he could have gotten it and got them out. He let it go right by him”. She kept going and going with other things she was saying, and my ears were open!

I can hear perfectly, so when her son asked who she was talking about, she mentioned, The outfielder. He should have…..”, and she kept going.

Her own son had to tell her, “He didn’t know the ball was going to fly past him. It’s not his fault! He ran as soon as he saw it. Don’t blame him”.

I tried, and God knows it. I really tried to keep my mouth shut, but my daughter was with me and I loudly said, “Speak up! The outfielder is mine!”.

She still kept going and started calling him “The little one” – and trying to be a little quieter, but I was right there. I could still hear her from where we were standing, so my daughter made me laugh when she took off one of her slides, and handed it to me. 😁

If I’m being honest, all I could think of – was that scene in the great movie (The Blind Side) – where Leigh Anne Tuohy goes off on the man in the stands behind her – who keeps talking about her adopted son.

I don’t know if she didn’t hear me or didn’t care when I said the Outfielder is mine, but obviously – she had a problem and this is what I’m talking about.

Parents. Coaches. Whoever you are. JUST LET THEM HAVE FUN AND BE HAPPY THEY’RE TRYING!

It drives me crazy when someone talks down to or talks about a child and what they could have done better in a sport, rather than just encouraging them and helping them get better.

I absolutely love the coaches and parents who yell, “That’s okay! You’re doing great. Better luck next time. You got this! Shake it off, it’s okay! Nice try!”.

My son ran up to me after the game yesterday and said they lost. I told him it’s okay, and reminded him of the win the night before.

He said he didn’t do good because he didn’t hit any of the balls. I told him not many of our kids did yesterday. They played an older team I believe and that older team was really good.

I told my son not every day is going to be a win. Not every day is going to be cracking the balls across the field like he did the night before, and that’s normal. I told him he tried his best, and he played a good game. 🩵

That’s how it should be!

This coach that yelled at his kid in front of everyone yesterday – told him they were going to have a talk when they got home.

Kids don’t need that crap.

Show up and shut up if you don’t have anything nice to say.

They don’t need to feel like failures, or that the parent / coaches aren’t proud. They don’t need “talks”….unless they’re encouraging. They don’t need to walk into that field in the next game – scared or worried that if they do something wrong, the parent or coach is going to flip.

Show up and Shut up!

When we encourage these kids in sports, they’ll know they can make mistakes, have bad days, bad games, and still know that we love them and we’re proud and that there’s no negativity if they don’t do their best on certain days.

I really wish I would have heard that coach yelling at putting his kid down yesterday – because yes, I would have said something! His kid or not…it’s never okay.

For the love of the game, if I EVER hear him yell at MY kid – Jesus, take the wheel!

It’s a game! These kids are young. Colleges and the big leagues aren’t coming to their games to scout them right now, so chill out!

****

In other news, I was planning a cute 18th birthday for my youngest daughter (who turns 18 next month), and I mentioned to a few of her friends that I’d be having something for her.

I said I’d let them know.

I mean – 18 is a huge milestone that has to be celebrated, right?

My daughter messaged me while I was out this week, and she asked why I told some of her friends that she was having an 18th birthday.

She was NOT happy about it and said she doesn’t want a party. She made it so clear, and she said there’s a few places she wants to go on her birthday but absolutely does not want a party.

Last year for her 17th, we went wherever she wanted to go, and I got her a Sash and crown to wear, but this year – upon not wanting a party, she also told me she doesn’t want a sash and crown.

I told her it’s her 18th, and that’s huge.

Still, I guess I have to respect her wishes, right?

It sucks when kids get older and start clearly stating what they want and don’t want, and no matter what you want to do for them, give them or how you think things should go – you have to honor their wishes sometimes and go with the flow.

I want her to be happy on her 18th, and the places she wants to go – are simple, so that’s what we’re doing for her birthday.

I guess it’s easier on me as well because it’s less money than a big party, and it’s less stressful from not having to plan a big party, so I should be thrilled that she doesn’t want one.

I can’t believe I’ll have another adult child next month, and then – there’s only 8 more years until my little dude turns 18, as he’ll be 10 in November.

Time needs to slow the hell down.

My daughter is turning into her own person now, and she’s finding who she is and figuring out what she wants to do with her life. She’s becoming more independent, and she’s so ready to get a job and have her own money.

I am so proud of her!

She has also learned how to play around with ChatGPT, so apparently, we went to Puerto-Rico, and I have a boyfriend now. 🤣

The trip we never took.

LOL.

She makes me giggle when she creates and sends me these fun photos, and I joked with her yesterday that now I kind of want to find a boyfriend and travel to Puerto-Rico. ❤️🤔❤️

My darlings.

I hope you have a beautiful day.

If you’re coming across this – don’t forget to subscribe to get updates by email or hit that follow buttons and I’ll follow back.

🍵Shel🍵

Naps and baseball.

June 30, 2026June 30, 2026 Shel R.3 Comments

Daily writing prompt

What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger?

View all responses

In response to today’s WP writing prompt – NAPS! 🤣❤️

I’m old. I know.

Once you pass 40, a nap becomes a beautiful thing.

When I was younger, I HATED naps.

My (Yia-Yia) grandma and my (Papa) grandpa used to make my brother and I take naps when we came home from school every day. They used to babysit until our parents got home from work, and we had to nap for at least an hour. They had a love seat couch and a regular one, so we’d pick our couches, lay down and proceed to make each other laugh, instead of napping.

If Papa heard us talking and laughing, he’d stand by the little area between the living room and kitchen and bang his cane on the counter.

We tried to shut up and go to sleep when we heard that, but one of us would always start laughing again, causing the other to start laughing. Eventually, we’d fall asleep.

As I got older, I no longer felt like I needed a nap, so my grandparents would tell me just to lay down and wait until my brother fell asleep, and I could get back up. That’s what I did for a year or so – before he pretended to be asleep one day and realized I was getting up and not napping anymore.

He finally told my grandparents he didn’t want to nap, and they no longer made us, but for the time they did – we hated those forced naps.

I remember him confronting them and yelling, “If she doesn’t have to take a nap, neither do I”. They didn’t even fight with him about it. They agreed.

Now that I’m 44, Naps have become a beautiful thing.

If I’ve had a long morning or woke up early – and have the time to nap during the day, I’m doing it!

It’s doesn’t happen often. I’m usually super busy with work, the kids, and just making sure everything gets paid or done, but the moments that I can actually take a time out and nap – it’s lovely. I love naps, now. Especially on a dark, cloudy, stormy day.

…………..

Now that we have that out of the way, today is a Baseball Day.

My little dude has a game not too far away.

We were supposed to have a Double-header last night, but it was storming most of the day, and the other team’s field was under water.

I can’t say I was disappointed because I wasn’t looking forward to that long drive, but they rescheduled for the 2nd week in July, so we still have to make that drive.

When I signed Elijah up for Baseball, I didn’t realize it was traveling Baseball, but I’ve done this before with my older son when he played Basketball. We used to have to travel to Wisconsin – sometimes for all day games. It’s not a big deal. It’s just a lot of time and gas.

I love watching Elijah play, and it gets him away from the video games, so I’m still going to travel to wherever they play, and yes – I’m still going to whine about it, but I know he loves the game, and he loves his coaches and team, so it’s all worth it. ⚾🧢

I have nothing for you today.

I shall go get my day started and maybe take a small nap. lol.

Seriously, love you all and whoever may come across this – I hope you have a fantastic day.

❤️Shel❤️

My parents once told me…………

June 27, 2026June 27, 2026 Shel R.2 Comments

What’s something you used to believe as a kid that seems ridiculous now?

My parents used to tell me if I turned on the lights in the car while they were driving, the police would pull them over. 👀😁

Of course, that sounds ridiculous now and I’ve turned the lights on in my car while driving. Cops don’t care. My own kids have turned the lights on in the car while I’m driving, and the cops don’t care. That is in fact – a MYTH.

I’ve never been pulled over for it, and I don’t even think that’s a thing, but my parents really had me believing that when I was younger. (lol)

…………..

Let’s talk about my youngest daughter, though!

That little spoiled girl.

When she graduated high school a few weeks ago, she had the option to either have a graduation party, or go see two Latin singers she absolutely loves (Romeo Santos and Prince Royce) in concert – out in Chicago.

She picked the concert in Chicago.

When we came back to Minnesota, she saw that all her friends were having graduation parties, so she made a comment about it and I felt like she really did want one. We talked about it, and while I refused to spend hundreds on a big party because she already made her choice, I was more than willing to have a graduation (get-together) for her with just a few of her close friends.

She was more than happy with that idea, so I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off – planning that and getting everything together for it.

That was today.

I got off work, went and grabbed a few pizzas for her and her friends, went to pick up one of her friends because she’s on the route I take home, and the rest of my daughter’s friends had their parents drop them off. One of them drove herself.

We got the cake, the decorations, plates, chips, dip, pop, napkins, etc. yesterday, so that was all ready for today because I refused to rush around after work.

My daughter was excited about it, and even though she had a choice and picked the concert, I didn’t want her to feel left out of a graduation party, or at least something fun with her friends, so I caved!

I told them they could have the entire living room, dining room and kitchen to themselves and do whatever. (Watch movies, play games, play PS5, and so on) – and I wouldn’t bother them.

I promised my little dude we’d take our pizza into his room and watch movies, just him and I. He loved that idea, and that’s what we did. 😊 I invited my older son to join us, but he was on his PS5 in his own room.

Here’s one thing I learned a long time ago. (Years ago actually)…….

When teenage girls get together – they are crazy, wild and loud. They laugh a little too loud. They have no filters and say the craziest things. They scream and joke around a little too loudly. They make a hell of a lot of noise, and they are all hyper and goofy, so I didn’t expect anything other than that today, and that’s exactly what I got. 😂

They blasted the music, and I smiled and giggled a bit as I listened to them all singing different songs together.

Yes, they were so loud, but I didn’t mind.

I know my daughter had the best time and I’m so happy I was able to do this for her.

I wanted to take so many cute photos, but I also just wanted to leave her and her friends alone, so my little dude and I – stayed in his room watching movies and we let the girls have their fun.

My kitchen is a mess from cake and pizza.

The girls are now just relaxing in the living room – as I write this.

I hope and think that they are finally calming down from the hyper day they’ve had, and all the fun.

I’m so grateful she has some great friends in her life.

One of her friends was dropped off by the parents, and they came inside for a bit to chat.

I was more than grateful when the mom suggested I let her husband fix my car because it needs a lot of work, the brakes and rotors done and a few other things, and I haven’t been able to find a mechanic who I actually trust and who actually knows what they’re doing. So, I’ll take my car over there one day and allow him to fix it all if he can.

The little get-together for my daughter was a success.

The girls are still enjoying this.

The night is coming to an end, and I will be driving two of the girls home, probably coming back and enjoying a glass of wine in silence, and getting to bed early – as I work in the morning.

I have nothing else going on tonight, and I hope all of you have a beautiful one.

Love you.

😊Shel😊

Voicemails for Isabelle and an old-school (forever will be cherished) radio.

June 24, 2026June 24, 2026 Shel R.Leave a comment

Good morning my darlings.

I’m just sitting here with a bagel and my coffee, and I may go back to bed for an hour, but we’ll see.

Let’s chat.

The day before yesterday, the woman who lives right above me and I – were chatting and she asked if I’ve seen the new Netflix movie:

I told her I have not seen it, but I’d watch it soon and let her know if I liked it or not.

She said she cried within the first 10-15 minutes.

I cried within the first 10-15 minutes.

I watched it last night, and I absolutely loved it!

It was sad. It was funny. It was cute.

It was a movie that shows that even the best things can come out of grief, sadness, anger, etc.

That beautiful things can happen after pain.

The movie focuses on Jill losing her little sister that she’s always been so close to, so she continues to call her sister (Isabelle’s) phone number thinking it’s still connected, and Jill finds comfort in leaving Izzy many voicemails on different days, venting – chatting – and sharing things like she used to when Izzy was alive.

She always feels better after leaving Izzy a message.

She has no idea that the number was disconnected and recycled.

That the number now belongs to some guy’s work phone, (Wes) – and he is listening to all of the messages Jill is leaving Izzy, and hears all of her crazy stories, things that are going on in her life, and things she vents and jokes about – and it makes him smile. It makes him laugh.

He plans to tell her she has the wrong number – not knowing the situation and why she’s leaving these messages or who Izzy is, but he’s intrigued by her and her funny, wild, crazy voicemails, so he doesn’t tell her that number is no longer Izzy’s (whoever Izzy is – because again – he has no idea!).

He lets her keep calling and he keeps listening.

Eventually, he finds a way to get just enough information to look her up on social media, and when he sees her photos and who she is, he finds her attractive, and he’s even more interested in listening to new voicemails from her – for Izzy.

My daughter and I laughed and called him a stalker, but I corrected my daughter and joked that there’s a big difference between creepy stalking and cute stalking. He did some cute stalking. lol. (I’m just being funny, but it was cute that he looked her up and checked her out).

I don’t want to give the whole movie away, but it’s something you should totally watch if you have the time, and I laughed a lot in this movie, but I also cried a lot, especially at the end – when this guy (Wes) asks for a sign, and he gets it. ❤️

It’s definitely a MUST WATCH, and one of my new favorite movies!

My daughter was also laughing when one of Wes’s friends asked, “What is it about her, Wes?”, and he starts listing everything he loves, and says her cheeks are always filled with food – like this “Sexy Chipmunk”. I told my daughter, “See? I’m a Sexy Chipmunk, too!”. I made her laugh even more.

If you want to giggle a bit, I went outside in the middle of the movie last night to move my car to the garage because the weather was calling for tornados in our area (or close by) possibly, and the sky looked awful, so if we had hail, I didn’t need my car damaged.

I had cried right before going outside – because of this movie, so when another woman who lives upstairs but diagonal from my place – was out there and started talking to me about a kitten we always see in the garages, I apologized for the way I looked and told her I was “ugly crying to a movie I was watching”. She laughed and said she’s the same way.

The movie was fantastic, and it helped a lot that the guy who played (Wes) – Nick Robinson – is a hottie. 😊

Listen.

If there was a poster with him (from this scene on it) – it would be framed and hanging above my bed.

I’m just saying! 🤣

I loved the movie.

10/10 – I recommend!

……………………………………………

Other than the movie – check this out.

One of the tenants in the facility I work for – came downstairs last week and asked if I wanted this radio.

It’s totally Vintage.

He said he’s had it since he got married many – many – many years ago.

He’s an older guy that I adore so much, and he’s always joking around, making me laugh and he’s goofy.

He’ll tell you he has a history with crazy women – including his now ex-wife, and he did just that – and that’s why he said he doesn’t want it anymore, but it still works.

I wasn’t going to take it. I didn’t think I had any use for it, but ……………after some thinking, I realized I’d love to have this radio, and I’d cherish it because it came from him. It’s now a sentimental radio for me because I’ve grown close to this old guy, and he’s hilarious.

Even when he’s pissed off and running his mouth on certain days – he still looks at me when he’s going off on people, and we both laugh because that’s just who he is, and he knows I’m not going to stop him.

I tell him to be nice, and sometimes – when I already know he’s going to say something he shouldn’t – I’ll look at him and tell him, “DON’T DO IT!”, and he laughs because he knows I already know what he’s thinking, and what he’s going to say or do.

He’s got a lot of health issues, so my son and I both agreed (because my older son works with me on the weekends) – that if this man ever passes, we’re going to miss the heck out of him. We’re going to be so sad when we lose this guy, and hopefully it won’t happen for many more years, but we know he’s old and brittle.

So, after thinking about what an honor it would be for me to have this man’s old radio that he’s had forever now and no longer wants, I did take it. It does work, and it sounds so clear – but the only issue – is that we don’t have many good radio stations in Minnesota, so I won’t use it now.

Still, I know that if and when we move back to IL. or closer to it, I’ll have many more radio stations and choices, and this radio will look so cute on my kitchen counter, and it will give me something to listen to when I’m cooking or baking. 😊I do need to give it a good scrub down, but I love it!

I remember almost losing this guy at the beginning of this year.

He was really sick, and some of the employees at the facility wanted to go say “Goodbye” to him – so, some went to go see him.

My older son and I – went as well. He wasn’t expected to make it.

When my son and I walked into the hospital room that day, this man couldn’t even keep his eyes open, and he struggled to talk. His breathing was shallow and we thought for sure he wouldn’t make it past that weekend. We were talking to him, and I was holding his hand the entire time – while we just watched him doze in and out, and we sat there quietly some moments – just watching T.V. and watching this man rest.

The facility we work in houses the previously homeless, some Criminals, some addicts, recovering addicts, and alcoholics / recovering alcoholics. He’s one of the alcoholics, and we give what they call “Portions” (little bits of alcohol) followed on a plan – to certain alcoholics avoid their withdrawal symptoms and them getting sick from it.

When we were in the hospital that day, this man (that I’ll call Denny) – suddenly woke up, looked over at my older son and I – and tried saying something. We couldn’t understand him, and he finally yelled, “PORTION!”. We laughed because of course Denny is going to ask for his portion, or for us to sneak him one in, and it just made our night seeing him – even if we didn’t expect him to make it that time.

I laughed and told him, “I can’t believe you just said that!”. He smiled and went back to sleep, only to wake up and ask for a cigarette. I playfully – softly hit his arm and told him, “You’re on Oxygen my dude!”.

Eventually, he fell back asleep and woke up – no longer smiling, trying to talk, or anything.

He was coughing. Struggling to breathe. Nodding in and out of sleep.

I decided to let him rest that night, and told my older son we should go, so he could sleep, but every time I thought he was fully asleep and tried to pull my hand out of his, he squeezed my hand tighter – at one point – shaking his head no and refusing to let us leave.

When we told him we had to go, he looked so sad, and when we got out of that hospital that day, the tears started to fall.

I couldn’t help it. He’s become one of the main people at this facility that we have grown so close to and grown to love dearly, and I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again after we walked out of there, but thankfully – by the Grace of God – he was back in our facility a few weeks later – looking healthier, so much better, and so full of life.

He still comes down to try to get his portion an hour earlier, and we still have to distract him and talk about other things, so he forgets about it until it’s time. We still have to try to get him to eat because if he could live off alcohol, milk and Sardines – he totally would, but I’m so grateful he’s still with us, and that he’s still his hilarious, crazy, wild, no filter – self.

I’m glad I have a piece of his history with me, even though it’s just a radio, but to me – it’s not.

It’s HIS radio, and he decided he wanted to give it to me. 😊

I’ll forever love this thing, and I hope that in the long future – far from now hopefully – when God wants me back – my older son will keep this radio and cherish it forever – maybe put it in his kitchen one day – to remember Denny and to remember me and the way I loved it because it was from one of our favorite tenants.

Ah well.

I guess I should go get my day started, huh?

🌸Shel🌸

Player of the game, and a 3rd movie Sequel.

June 23, 2026June 24, 2026 Shel R.Leave a comment

So, my little dude had a game last night.

A double-header.

I had to laugh when we got there and two of the other teams’ boys were playing for us – because some of our boys couldn’t make it.

I can’t even imagine how tough that is feeling like you have some kind of obligation to help the opposing team because you’re playing for them to substitute the boys that are missing from that team but also feeling a dedication and loyalty to your own team that you’re playing against for the day.

One of the boys from the other team – that was playing for our team – kept getting home runs, and my older son and I joked that he’s not going to be allowed in their locker room later. His team is going to turn their backs on him, but – in all honesty – they showed so much good sportsmanship, love, respect, and encouragement to each other. 😊

It was the cutest thing when one of our boys hurt his knee, and both teams that were on the field – took a knee to show him respect and love. They stayed that way until they knew he was okay.

At one point, my little dude was batting, and he got hit in the jaw with the baseball.

I knew he was hurt and as much as I wanted to run out there, make sure he was okay and give him the biggest hug, I just stood up and stayed by the stands because his coach ran over to him and I knew his coach had his back. If he was really hurt, his coach would pull him out, but after standing with him for a few minutes and everyone watching to make sure he was okay, my little dude shook it off and ran to first base.

I did a huge sigh of relief because no parent wants to see another kid get hurt, let alone our own.

He is just fine today, and while it was probably a shock to get hit like that, it’s the Baseball life and he’s not the only one who has ever been hit by a baseball in the game. A few weeks ago, one of the other boys took a hit to the eye. (Thankfully, he was just fine).

The coach was awesome and kept checking on my Elijah.

At another point, I wanted to run onto the field and yell, “HE’S SAFE!”.

I didn’t want to be THAT mom, and I’m usually pretty quiet and chill at games, but this one time yesterday – I almost caved with the pressure. ha.

The coach from the other team tried to say that my son was OUT – when he hit 3rd base, because he swore up and down his player caught the ball and tagged my son out, when this boy didn’t even tap the base or my son if and when he caught the ball. I didn’t see exactly how it all went down, but I know my son was safe, so when this other coach tried to run him off the field, there was no way I was having that.

He tried to argue with one of our volunteer coaches (who is also amazing) and she wasn’t having it! She held it down on that field yesterday, and while my son ran off the field because he thought he was out, she called him back in and told him to take his place back on 3rd – as it should be!

After the game, I walked up to that mom / woman and told her how happy I was that she stood her ground and defended Elijah. She told me what happened, and I was more than happy that he was able to take his spot back where he belonged and made his home run.

I have a good friend named Ashley. Ashley is a Baseball mom as well, and she always jokes about how she’s the loudest mom at games, so if the other coach or someone makes a foul call – she’s screaming and calling them out on it.

I didn’t want to be like Ashley and get crazy and loud, but I almost became Ashley and almost got crazy and loud during that little foul call he tried to play against my kid. 🤔🤣⚾

I was a good girl though and let the other coach handle it.

Besides that……….

Every game we play – someone gets to choose who gets the “Player of the Game” baseball.

I was so happy and proud when my son received one for the 1st game in the double-header.

The coach shared how much he’s improved since he first started, how he really tries, and how proud he is of him, so …. my Elijah was given his very first “Player of the game” baseball, and we will be finding a case for it, and cherishing it forever.

❤️

As I was driving home last night from the game, I looked back and Elijah had his eyes closed.

He was so tired.

I smiled and wondered if and when we move closer to Illinois like we’ve been wanting to, are we going to miss this? Are we going to miss the no traffic jams going to and from further games? Are we going to miss his entire team that he played with and could continue to play with if we stayed here and just made this home forever? Are we going to miss the quietness of the country life? Are we going to miss the baseball crew he loves and knows? The coaches? The excitement of it all?

Yes, he could play for other teams wherever we move, but I don’t know if it will feel the same.

I think part of us will miss this little town life, but part of us will also be happy to be back to what and who we know in the place we came from.

Home is where the money, better opportunities, better career choices, friends, family and everything close is, but here in Minnesota – where we are now – we’ve gotten to know some amazing people, some amazing kids, and it’s peaceful.

My older son and I were talking about this last night as I drove home.

I’ve thought about trying to buy a house out here, but we also know that our hearts are not happy here.

I was once told that this little town is a place you either move to when you have tons of money and just want to sit back and relax from now on, or a place you retire to – and I don’t disagree.

Still, driving home last night – I wondered if we’d miss all this “boring” and “quiet” stuff when and if we moved back. My son joked that we should move back to Illinois, save a ton of money, and then move right back here, and I laughed and told him that’s not how it works.

Anyway, we had a good game yesterday, and while I’m not sure who won both games yet, the ride to another part of Minnesota was beautiful and peaceful, the games were awesome, and we got home safely, Thank God!

In other news…………

I’m a bit excited right now because I just heard that Ice Cube and Nia Long are reuniting for a new movie (ARE THEY GONE YET?).

If you’ve never heard of the other two movies or have never seen them, you’re going to have to!

I absolutely love – love – love them both.

In the first movie (ARE WE THERE YET?) Nick (played by Ice Cube) owns his own business and when he happens to look outside and sees the beautiful Suzanne standing there, he feels like he’s fallen in love almost immediately.

He quickly finds out she has two young kids, and that stops him in his tracks. Nick doesn’t like or want kids, so he feels like Suzanne is off limits now.

One night, he sees her on the side of the road with a broken-down car – in the rain, and while his mind and his imagination tell him to keep going, his heart won’t let him.

He ends up getting into the middle of Suzanne’s dramas, life, and involved with the kids in ways he never saw coming, but eventually – he realizes he wouldn’t have it any other way. 😊

(Photo taken from the Pinion) site.

In the second movie – (ARE WE DONE YET?) – I don’t want to give away spoilers if you haven’t seen it and may want to, but let’s just say that’s a whole set of other dramas, headaches, and craziness.

Both movies are awesome, so go check them out.

When I heard the new one is happening, I was thrilled because I’m pretty sure now that the kids are older, it’s still going to be great and probably even more hilarious than the first two.

I’m looking forward to it. I’ve read a bit about it, but I can’t wait.

My darlings. I wish I had other things to discuss, but my life is pretty chill right now, (or, shall I say – anything but chill, but I’m not going to get into the headaches of my life right now). ha.

❤️Shel❤️

Money misconception, Birthday and books, Bunnie XO and Podcast truths.

June 19, 2026June 24, 2026 Shel R.Leave a comment

Daily writing prompt

What’s a common misconception people have about happiness?

View all responses

“Money can’t buy happiness”.

I hate when people say that, and it’s usually the people who have a lot of it – that say that.

I’ve seen a quote online that says:

I 2nd this!

While this quote is supposed to be funny, for those who are just trying to survive in this economy – money can totally buy happiness.

For those struggling with financial issues and not having enough money – money can totally buy happiness.

For those with bills, or big dreams that they want to go pursue and can’t because of the financial part of everything – money can totally buy happiness.

It’s wild because I’ve heard famous people, billionaires, and people with enough money in their accounts to be set for decades – say that more money only brought them more problems, and that they’re depressed.

I’ve heard them say that money doesn’t buy happiness, and they were happier when they didn’t have so much money, but …………………………………………………………………………

I feel like telling them all ………………

“Send it to my account. Problem solved!”. 😁

There are so many things I’d be able to do with a lot more money, and any time I’ve had more – I’ve always been happy, so maybe for some – that saying is true, but for me and many others dealing with this economy right now and the inflation of everything, money can absolutely solve a lot of things and buy happiness!

I can also say that money and mental health definitely play a big part with each other. So, yes, I think if more people had access to more resources or money – mental health struggles would not go away, but the number of people that struggle with mental health may be lowered.

**********

With that being said – let’s talk about my birthday.

It was yesterday.

I woke up emotional.

I’m living in the middle of nowhere in a small town where I don’t know many people, and all of my friends and family are back home in IL.

My parents are gone, so they’re not going to call and wish me a happy birthday, and there’s absolutely nothing to do in this small town or even in the closest bigger city. I would have to drive hours and hours to go find something to do and I didn’t want to do that.

My morning started with tears. With me crying and being this emotional little baby and feeling sorry for myself. I decided I was probably going to go take a ride and get out of the house for a while, maybe grab a free birthday drink from Starbucks, run to a couple of stores, grab my birthday cake I had custom ordered and come right back home to go back to bed.

I planned to watch movies in bed all day. Sounds awful, right?

Do I have people out here that I do know – who I could have called and know they would have celebrated with me? Yes. Still, I just felt like not doing anything yesterday.

I will say that when I picked up my birthday cake – it was better than I expected.

Oh yeah! I grabbed a bottle of wine on my way home as well. 🍷

I planned to watch one of my favorite movies (Second Act) with Jennifer Lopez and Leah Remini.

Great movie, and in it – it was also Maya’s birthday (played by Lopez), and she was feeling sorry for herself because of the things she wanted to do, the things she was doing that she didn’t want to do, and the way she felt unaccomplished. At 40, she was feeling like she should have done more, or be doing more, and that’s kind of how I felt yesterday – aside from not having my IL. family and friends here with me.

So, I was going to watch that movie when the kids went to bed, and I was going to enjoy a glass of wine – or two.

It’s a great movie if you ever need something cute to watch. ❤️

Anyway, I came home yesterday afternoon and sat on the couch for a bit just watching my little dude play his video games and thinking about life itself.

I decided I was NOT going to keep up with this damn pity party that I was having.

I got up, told my daughter to get ready to ride with me, and we went to the library.

I love a good book! I love reading and my daughter calls me a “book nerd” and a “book worm”.

She laughs about how fast I can get through a good book.

I decided I was going to do something I love to do.

Go pick out a few books!

I ended up getting two books.

My daughter told me I should try more fictions, because there’s some really good ones out there. Anyone who knows me – knows that I’m mostly about non-fiction books, but I’ll dip my nose into a good fiction love story or mystery / crime book from time to time.

One of my favorite authors from the fiction category of books is Raenne Thayne.

So, I always look for something new from her when we go to the library.

I just read her awesome book

Abby is a widowed nurse trying to move out of state to start a new life somewhere else with her young son, but before she moves to the new state she’s going to, her good friend Lucy asks her to spend a few weeks at Holiday House to watch over her elderly grandma who took a bad fall and was injured.

Lucy is out of town and won’t be back for another few weeks to watch over her own grandma, but when she does come back – she loves the idea of Abby and her son spending Christmas at Holiday House. So does the grandma (Winnie), who both Abby and her son have grown to love.

The problem?

Lucy’s brother (Ethan) stops by every so often, and Abby finds him so attractive.

Ethan (who had a fiancé in the past, but realized he didn’t love her and was perfectly fine when she left him), finds himself attracted to Abby as well, and as Abby knows she’s moving and leaving the state, and Ethan finds himself falling harder for Abby and loving her son like his own the more he sees her and spends time with her – now what?

She’s not staying in the small town she’s currently in to help with Holiday House and the grandma, so Ethan is fighting against his feelings and time. Abby is fighting against her feelings and ignoring time.

Meanwhile, Lucy is dealing with her own love emotions as she has a guy who is so in love with her and wants more than a “friends with benefits” thing that they’ve been having, but she saw her parents fighting a lot, and she never wants to go through that, so she tries her hardest not to get into a relationship with the man who is in love with her, and he refuses to continue to be just her “friend with benefits” .

It’s a really good book, and I totally 10/10 recommend it!

I’ve ready many of her books and love them all!

The one I got at the library yesterday is:

So, I’ve read this one before, but it’s one of my favorites, and yes – I’m going to read it again!

Serenity Harbor is about a wealthy businessman (Bowie) who is raising his little brother (Milo) who has autism and is a lot of work. He can be hard to handle, and uncontrollable sometimes. Bowie didn’t even know he existed until he has to become his guardian.

He and Katrina meet at a local grocery store one day, and she walks over to help him with a meltdown his brother is having, and once he sees how good she is with him, he hires her temporarily to help him with his brother.

She ends up moving in with Bowie (short-term) to make things easier on him while he’s working on his business stuff, and whatever he needs to do, while Katrina is also trying to find out about adopting a special-needs girl she met while doing work in another country a while back.

The more Katrina is living with Bowie, and he sees how she is with his brother, and the more Katrina gets to know Bowie – they have to struggle to keep it professional and both fight the fact that there are strong feelings there, but neither one of them want to say anything.

10/10 – I recommend this one as well.

This book made me laugh a bit, and she’s just such a great writer – that many of her stories keep me interested, so when it comes to fiction – she’s my first “go-to” for a good book, but I’ve opened my mind up to checking out other fiction as well.

We’ll see.

I’m more into non-fiction as I said. Mostly autobiographies.

I also picked up the book

If you’ve seen the movie (The Blind side) – this is the real guy who went through everything that movie is based on. It’s a real movie. It’s a real story, and I wanted to read things from his point of view.

The library is one of my happy places. 😁

My daughter knows we can be there for a long time, so she minds her business, lets me pick out books, suggests books to me, and lets me just do my thing.

I love her for her patience! lol.

I had to laugh when we were checking out and she made a comment about how I can get through books in two days, and the librarian smiled and told me, “Well then – you need more than just two books!”.

My daughter was hungry, so as much as I wanted to tell the librarian she was probably right, turn around and go to look for more books, we just checked out and I went to grab Pizza for dinner. It was my birthday and I wasn’t planning to cook for it.

We had Pizza. We had my cake. The kids sang to me and I danced to it. I took some cute photos because again – I wasn’t going to be emotional all day and let it ruin my day, and I relaxed for a bit with the kids – waiting for them to go to bed, so I could pour a glass of wine and watch (Second Act), but I ended up getting so tired – I went to be bed as well.

Isn’t my cake pretty though?

And, of course – I had to grab a few selfies.

❤️

I look totally crazy in this, huh?! haha.

I plan to treat myself to something cute when I get paid in a few days.

Be it some new lotion from Bath N’ Body, or something from Amazon, I will treat myself.

I did see this and had to get it…………………………..

I had a decent birthday.

It wasn’t fantastic, but it was okay, and I’m okay with that.

If you want to laugh – there’s a trend on TikTok where women change the numbers of their candles around. If someone is 42, she’ll change the 2 to the other side to make it look like she’s 24. If she’s 32, she’ll make it look like she’s 23, and whoever is with her, changes the numbers back around to her real age. The woman who is doing this trend – will say “no”, playfully slap the hand of whoever is changing it back, as she changes it to the way she wants it to be, and giggles.

So many women are doing this trend right now.

I was going to do a video with this trend – until I made myself laugh because I’m 44 now.

No matter how I switch the number candles, they’re going to come out the same way. 🤔

I didn’t think about that when I planned to do this trend.

Ah well. It was a fun thought.

****************

Babies!

I mentioned a few days ago that I heard Bunnie XO and Jelly were getting divorced, and it broke my heart.

They are one of my favorite couples, and I thought they were so happy – forever and ever, Amen.

No.

The internet went crazy trying to figure out why they were suddenly getting divorced once the news broke, and people wondered who cheated on who.

The internet went crazy trying to dog out Jelly and sticking up for Bunnie. The internet went crazy gossiping, spreading rumors and lies, and sharing nonsense. The internet went crazy bringing up old videos of Bunnie and Jelly with other people or trying to decode the meanings of everything in their videos or on their socials.

I did none of that.

I waited because I knew that eventually – the truth was going to come out, and one of them was going to speak on it.

I knew one of them was going to come out with exactly what was going on, and why the divorce was happening, and yesterday – as I drove home from the library and grabbing Pizza, I noticed that Bunnie XO had put out a Podcast called, “The divorce”.

My daughter and I listened to it on the way home and it broke my heart.

I stand with Bunnie XO, and so does the entire world of women.

She spoke on how her and Jelly stopped communicating a long time ago, and she has always felt like she loved him – more than he loved her. She said they had a bad argument on Mother’s Day, and she screamed for him to file the divorce papers, and – he did.

She said she screamed it out of anger, but when he really went and filed, that was a rude awakening for her. She didn’t want the divorce. She doesn’t want the divorce. She wanted to try to work it out in marriage counseling, but Jelly doesn’t want to. He’s ready for the divorce and he’s ready to see other people now. He’s not happy in this marriage and she still stuck up for him and said he’s doing what he has to do, and she respects that.

She said everything beautifully in her Podcast and talked about being happy for him wanting to be happy, and finding his way now, and she even went as far as to tell women listening – that his DM’s are open and that if he finds a woman who is sweet, genuine and isn’t on some sneaky shit – she’ll welcome that woman with open arms.

She spoke highly of Jelly and talked about the years they’ve spent together. She spoke of building their empire together, and their struggles trying to have a baby, and even mentioned that they plan to keep trying to have a baby together / co-parent together if it happens – despite the divorce. (Which confused the hell out of me, but everyone does things differently).

She killed any rumors or gossip going around the internet and said she is NOT and never will be dating Chad Kroeger despite videos or rumors out there. She said Jelly is dating already, and she’s happy for him. She said he was kind enough to give her the compound they were building together and talked about how they will always be friends.

She shared her true feelings on everything, and despite her not wanting the divorce, she is okay being there for him during this time and being happy for his next chapter in life – whatever that may be and whoever he may end up with.

Bunnie XO is a beautiful person with a beautiful soul, and she’s not going to cause him problems or make his life hell just because he wants this divorce, and he’s ready to move on, and I respect her so much for that. ❤️

If you’ve seen his video from his concert (I believe last night) – now that the news of the divorce is out because TMZ got ahold of it and broke the news, and because now Bunnie XO spoke about it on her Podcast, he went on to say at his concert – that Bunnie Xo is his best friend and always will be – and I thought that was beautiful.

So, if you’ve been waiting on one of them to break their silence, or if you’re wondering what’s really going on – go listen to Bunnie’s Podcast, and if you don’t want to go find it, I also posted it below for you to watch.

My heart broke every time she wanted to cry, and I’m sure this is killing her, but still – she stays peaceful, respectful, and honors his wishes.

THE WORLD LOVES BUNNIE XO, and she’s going to be alright.

She’s already landing on her feet and working on herself.

I giggle every time I hear someone say Jelly is an idiot, or that he fumbled Bunnie, and I have to agree, but we’re not going to disrespect, or talk down on him. We’re not going to make him feel bad, right?

People fall out of love all the time. He did the right thing by filing the divorce, not cheating on her, and not leading her on to believe that all was still good when it wasn’t / isn’t.

I think if a married couple can work things out and love each other, by all means – I cheer that on, but if one falls out of love, or one knows that it’s not working and he or she chooses to file divorce before cheating, so they can go see other people or see who else is out there that may be more for them – I’m all for that as well.

He never talks down on her or bad about her, and I know that despite all of this – them being one of my favorite couples – and now – no longer together – they will always love and be there for one another and that’s all we need to know.

Bunnie said she’s “Getting her sparkle back”…. but baby never lost it!

She’s always had that sparkle!

Loves.

Have a beautiful day my loves.

I’m going to go enjoy my Coffee and the Michael Oher book, and tonight – best believe me and that wine have a date. ha. I plan to watch that movie I planned to watch last night.

📚Shel📚