Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts. |
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WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING ![]() UPDATED INTRO 30 JUNE 2025: Just a little about me. I've been married for 33 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire. me in my 20's I've got 2 boys who are young adults. ![]() I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that. I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing. I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bio about my zodiac. GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless. Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts. Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers. BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS: DECEMBER 2025: I participated in:
this was a great challenge and I would highly recommend it if comes up again for next year. The blog earned the following merit badge: SEPTEMBER 2025:
Merit Badges collected and earned: Awardicon earned: The blog earned the Green 50K Awardicon for 1st Place. SEPTEMBER 2025:
Merit Badges collected and earned from "Earn the Badge 2025" SUMMER 2025:
Merit Badges Collected from Virtual Blogging &Virtual Blogging Friends: SEPTEMBER 2024: I participated in the
Big thanks to WakeUpAndLive~lifestyle change OCTOBER 2024 & 2025 : I participated in the
Big Thanks to Witchy Yule Woman NOVEMBER 2025 : from Tiggy ❄️ Find me at: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare"
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| It's been a busy couple of days. On Monday, I went to Magic Mountain, a local amusement park with my retired co-worker, Maggie. Maggie is a lil' younger than me (in her 50's) and she enjoys walking. I'm game to walk so we buy the yearly pass at Magic Mountain and take a lap around the park. In the summer, we go to Hurricane Harbor, the adjacent water park and walk the lazy river and hang out in the wave pool. Sometimes my son, Joey will come with us and we when we go. During this time of year, there's a "Holiday in the Park" theme, which is usually very nice. Unfortunately, decorations and ambience and ambience has been going downhill since I first starting with the boys back in 2013. This year it was anemic. We took some pics where the decorations were but it wasn't the same. We usually buy the food passes too, which is nice, but every year they seem to cut down on what they offer for food. Usually you can get 5 bone in wings w/fries for the food pass. Now it's just 5 bone in wings. I was better off without the fries anyway. Our walk was nice. We rarely ride any rides because Maggie tore up her shoulder at work and it's been about a good 5 recovering from that. And she retired out of the blue last summer. No one expected it, but she said her mom was dealing with cancer and she wanted to be there for her mom. The amusement park itself was bought out by Cedar Parks which I think is a big chain back east and so I think it's going through some restructuring. Maggie and I are hoping we'll see improvements soon. Cedar Park also bought Knotts Berry Farm which is another amusement park close to disneyland. (It's about 1 hour to 1.5 hours away depending on traffic.) I like Knotts. The rides aren't so dramatic as they are in Magic Mountain and they have a reputation for making some really tasty fried chicken. Hopefully we can work out a day or two to go to Knotts next year. Here's my friend, Maggie, posing with the nutcracker at Magic Mountain. I tried to load a couple of other pics with me and Maggie but they load rightside up and when I go to fill out the info on the image it loads sideways or upside down. Why is that? I suspect 2026 will blow in the winds of change for me. Husband needs a cochlear implant and my sister is dealing with my mother's cancer. This is my last working year as I plan to retire in FEB 2027. We'll see what else the winds bring, I just know I have to be flexible, ride the wind and give it up to God when the tough decisions come. |
This is written for:
Free Verse Prompt ▶︎ Family Time to gather and get warm In the cold mid-winter night. Mother lights a candle and Burns the incense. The sauna is set warding off The chill. Cousins carry mugs Of hot cocoa with laughter, Friendship and smiles. Tales of winter from the Ice Queen to heroic Ice Skaters wrapped in the Flag of their countries. The candle burns low The sauna grows cool Books lay open near the hearth A yule log burns on the screen Friendship to be enjoyed Affection shared by all Community embraced Hygge |