stay curious
Tag: curiosity
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Creature Counts – WIP – Updated Nov 13 2025
I want to add a “critter counter” or “creature counts” to the site this season, but in the meantime I have been meeting lots of new animals, bugs, birds, etc. since we arrived to upstate new york, (more on that in an upcoming post).
Recently though I encountered a Masked Hunter Nymph (Reduvius Personatus) a type fo assassin bug according to the google lens search. [image coming shortly].
They earned their nickname “dustbug” because they cover themselves in dust, lint & debris. It looked like a crawling dust spider when I first saw it.
Anyway — i will be sharing the bugs & things we meet here with info, photos, etc. Additionally there will be an entire section for flowers. Historically these categories were referred to as Flora & Fauna.
Heading into October in the Catskill Mountains we are seeing all the bears, we have a returning deer family of 3 that come to visit twice a day. The house we moved into in August was previously inhabited by chipmunks.
November 2025
The update was triggered by reviewing and updating a to do list when I noticed this post still talked about the house we were moving out of — LOL. We are in the process of moving again, and hopefully for the last time. The house we had moved into in August was not “previously inhabited by chipmunks as I mentioned above, it was INHABITED by chipmunks, mice, maybe a rat or two, barn swallows, and a lot of bugs. [read the full story in parts starting here].
This house has crow visitors, cardinals, and lots of neighbors with dogs and cats from what I can see. It sits on 24 acres, and as winter comes I look forward to seeing it bare, and having the glorious opportunity to watch it come to life this Spring.
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The Age of My Darkness
The age of my darkness is coming to an end — perhaps not forever but at least for now. The days are getting shorter, and the air is getting crisper. The birds are calling, and the trees gently whisper. The forest is a place to rest. I have found a place I can feel my best.
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WORD SHIT: Persistent
Persistent
[pərˈsistənt] adjective
continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
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WORD SHIT: Stubborn
Stubborn
[ˈstəbərn] adjective
having or showing dogged determination not to change one’s attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.
Thoughts to come….
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WORD SHIT: Audacity
Audacity
[ôˈdasədē,äˈdasədē] noun
1.a willingness to take bold risks.
2.rude or disrespectful behavior; impudence.
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WORD SHIT: Comply
Comply
[kəmˈplī/] verb
(of a person or group) act in accordance with a wish or command.
See also: Compliance
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WORD SHIT: Compliance
Compliance
[kəmˈplīəns] noun
the action or fact of complying with a wish or command.
See also: Comply
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WORD SHIT: Efficient
Efficient
[əˈfiSHənt] adjective
(especially of a system or machine) achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.
productive of desired effects especially : capable of producing desired results with little or no waste (as of time or materials)
These days corporate beans are hyper-focused on productivity, efficiency and growth. Upon inspection of said beans, it appears that the more corporate the bean, the less efficient the bean.
Let me explain:
To be continued….
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WORD SHIT: Brilliant
Brilliant
[ˈbrilyənt] adjective
1.(of light or color) very bright and radiant.
2. exceptionally clever or talented.
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Dear Parents – part deux
The following was an email sent to the parent community at my kids school.
Hi Parents & Friends!
Laura Rex, back again with some updates, ideas and general thoughts.
It’s a new year and for me personally it has been an absolute dumpster fire so far. If we haven’t gotten to know each other yet, that’s cool. There is always time. For those of you I have gotten to know, I appreciate you. We might not be cut from the same cloth, but everyone loves a good quilt.
Now let’s get some of the admin and reminders out of the way
It’s Tuesday, and the 2nd Tuesday of every month is FAMILY NIGHT at The Seneca. After lots of chats with different folks, I am stoked to share that Family Night is becoming a weekly, we are adding a VCR for that nostalgic
VHS goodness, and revamping some of the deals. Hope to see you there 
The 2nd Annual *school* Auction will take place April 7-13 2025, and we need help with sourcing and collecting donations — There is a quick survey HERE for preferences and auction ideas, do me a favor please and check it out. If you have an idea, we want it! Want to promote your business, let’s do it! Know someone who might be interested, let us know!
In Other News: THANK YOU to everyone who donated to the parent fund. Back in November I used one of my awkward tokens to ask the community for a monthly contribution ($5/month was the suggestion), and I was blown away at the response. We raised $1100 collectively! ROUND OF APPLAUSE.The $ will be covering the following: All teacher appreciation initiatives, Special events & Supplies (Holiday party, Spring Picnic, Moving Up Ceremony, etc), Ideas have been floated about Leaving a cushion for the crew next year to get started, or donating the leftovers to fundraising, Insert your COOL idea here (but really in the form I will share soon).
Let’s Be Real. Hi I’m Laura.
I believe that transparency is the best policy – so for me you get what you get at all times, in all places. I have ADHD, I’m on the spectrum somewhere, I am awkward, often loud, brutally honest, filled with love, ideas, and questions. I ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS. I use “curse” words regularly, and I do my best to not offend people, but I’m generally an unfiltered person. If you have met me, you’ve probably seen me cry (no shame here).In 2024, the Surgeon General issued an advisory related to parenting, so if you are feeling alone in how stressful this shit is, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
We were all people before we were parents. Parenting is fucking hard, and it has recently come to my attention that many of us have been looking for a village, a friend, or literally any type of connection — So let’s connect!
Please don’t mistake this for me expecting everyone to be my “friend”, but some of y’all peaked in high school and it shows. If I am not your cup of tea, no harm, no foul. You just keep doing you. However if you’d like to have tea or coffee, vent, rant, walk, etc. I’m looking at hosting it on Friday mornings after drop-off after break.
THE FUTURE IN 2025:
In an effort to not exhaust myself yet again, or “over promise and under deliver” by attempting to do ALL of the things, I have put together a brief list of ideas, events, initiatives, etc. If something resonates, let’s find a way. Throw your expectations and assumptions out the window. I’m here for it.
Clothing Swap – As Springtime quickly approaches and everyone starts thinking about “spring cleaning”, a number of folks have communicated an interest in participating in a clothing swap.
School Retreat/Vaca takeover – Aiming for Spring break dates. More info coming soon.
Community Cookbook – I attempted this last year, made it WAY too complicated, and it got lost in the shuffle when the timing lined up with the auction, spring picnic, and the chaos of life. The goal was to create a communal resource of recipes and meals that our kids and families love, that are easy. We had a decent amount of responses, and I would love to share them with current, past and future families.
Parents Night Out Rotation – With coordination and communication, I’d love to explore giving parents a break for personal time, date night, or whatever TF you want to do with your time, while simultaneously fostering connections of the kids.
Next week, you can expect another update/reminder about all of the things. Feel free to text me at any time, or shoot me an email with your thoughts, questions, feelings, no matter how weird or silly they may seem.
Thanks for coming to my REX TALK – hope to see you out and about.
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Perspective on Industry Experience
Industry Experience Perspective
Recently I was thinking about resumes, the rules for job applications, the interview process, and the absurdity of what minimum qualifications are theses days. How your experience and experience for a specific industry to Industry.
And it made me think about how I’ve been in so many different Industries and that’s a large part of the reason I’ve been successful in past roles. Not to mention if I am interested in something, I will absolutely believe I am capable of doing it and learning how to do it on the fly.
Why do you want someone that’s only been in one industry, or doing the same thing at the same place for like 10 years? That seems unbearably narrow-minded and honestly counterintuitive when you really think about it.
New hires, consultants, contractors, vendors, etc. are generally brought on when a company is experiencing growth or is stuck.
You’re bringing them on to either fill a gap, expansion or because of what you think you know about their expertise and experience in a role/industry.Too many brands are ignoring the aspect of curiosity.
A new hire, a new contractor, or any new relationship should bring new things to the table.
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. A NEW SOLUTION.
Both of those things often come from experience working in different Industries, roles, companies, teams. Someone who can look at a problem differently, flip it upside down and shake it the fuck up.
That’s the point. The basis of it at least. I will come back to this…
To be continued – with examples…
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What Makes A Good Parent?
In the midst of my increasingly ugly divorce with my soon to be ex-husband we continue to “disagree” on some seemingly universal basics. Now while some of you may be thinking — just don’t talk to him. Move out. Be the bigger person. Please kindly and disrespectfully fuck off. Three years of silence and being the bigger person got me here to this exact point.
So after a quick google search of “what makes a good father?” for the comic relief, followed by the same search of “what makes a good mother?” it has occured to me that society in this country is FUCKED. (As if we didn’t already know this.)
Below are the two images of the top things listed for each search as prepared by google.
As noted these were compiled from various sources across the web. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK THOUGH?
*Please note I am fully aware of what MY definition of a good parent is on both sides. We will get to that.
Can we just talk about the apologize when necessary first?
To be continued….
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Word Shit: Minimize
Minimize
[ˈminəˌmīz] verb
reduce (something, especially something unwanted or unpleasant) to the smallest possible amount or degree.
represent or estimate at less than the true value or importance.
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Stop being so polite..
Stop being so polite, and try being honest.
It has recently come to my attention, awareness, or top of mind that I often find myself surrounded by a bunch of people so worried about offending someone, that nobody wants to say anything at all.
Enough with the judgement, can we try to lead with curiosity?
Come from a place of understanding, or wanting to understand. Enough with the judgements, the assumptions, the snarky passive-aggressive bullshit.
Say what you mean and mean it.
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Word Shit: Principle
Principle
[ˈprinsəp(ə)l] noun
1.A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
2. a general scientific theorem or law that has numerous special applications across a wide field.
Principle is often confused with principal. Coming back to this post shortly.
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Dear Parents,
Last night at Family Night I watched a little girl be inherently mean to my kid, over and over. My kid is 3. In an effort to let her “handle” the situation on her own, I would check in periodically, I stayed close by.
She looked so sad and confused. And then I just couldn’t. I told her when she was ready to leave we could go home and have ice cream (yes I absolutely bribed my kid to leave). We left 10 minutes later.
We all have varying degrees of what’s acceptable, but honestly this shit is getting old. I refuse to accept the excuses that “boys will be boys, and that’s just how girls are at that age.”
WHAT? Nope. Sorry. No thank you.
Can we stop making excuses for our kids behavior when its shitty? It seems like as parents we often excuse certain things because it is a direct reflection of ourselves, or we become aware of how our words and actions have shaped our own kids consciously or not.
I believe we can do better. I know for a fact that a 4 year old saying “You make no sense, I am going to ignore you and everything you say” while simultaneously blocking and pushing a younger kid didn’t come from nowhere. Not allowing my kid to try and make friends with any other kid is shitty.
let’s take a minute and think of how we can be supportive of each other and our children. I implore you to approach life from a place of curiosity and understanding vs. judgement and assumption.
The displays of judgement and snobbiness that are infecting this neighborhood are ugly. Your kids see you. We all see you.
To be continued…
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Word Shit: Humility
Humility
[hyoo-mil-i-tee] noun
the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance, rank, etc.
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When I was a kid…
When I was a kid:
playdates weren’t so formal, and didn’t always require planning.
i made rainbow pancakes and threw them out the 10th floor window.
we would slide in the mud after big rains in the neighbor’s driveway.
i wanted to be everything and do everything.
i believed anything was possible.
grown-ups had issues, and i had no desire to get there fast.
everybody smiled and said hi when passing in the street.
we would search for stones in the river and cover ourselves in river clay.
that’s what I thought my childhood was. until i had a kid —
To be continued….
