New Beginnings

Sunday, almost noon, and my house is nearly all put back to rights.  The tree is down and resting in a perfectly good box until next year.  I organized the ornaments into smaller totes and fit them into a cupboard in the garage.  I also took time to sort through a box of fabric -- let's face it, I'm not going to sew much any longer.  Or if I do, I might want to select new fabrics!  *grin* 

As it is, I'm feeling as if I have too much stuff, and the things I don't use, its time to give them to Goodwill where someone else may get a use for them.  Things with sentimental value might be stored in the garage, since I made some room, and hold them -- the kids may want some of these things at some point.  (Bears, anyone? haha)

Now that my kitchen is back in working order, I cleaned and sterilized the counters, loaded dishes in the dishwasher, and things are back in working order.  I whipped up a meatloaf, which is now loafing in the dutch oven, cooking on low, making us a real good dinner.  Much to my son's dismay, he found out I grate carrots n stuff in it, along with putting in bread crumbs, egg, and some ground flax seed for fiber.   He has eaten it in the past, but maybe not knowing what's in it was working for him. lol

I walked Sadie for a mile this morning, she's missing Fergie and the girls, wandering from room to room looking for "all the excitement" we had yesterday :)   After they left yesterday, she curled up on the bed and was snoring very quickly - it was a busy, exciting day in a dog's life!

For me, the new year will feel as if it starts on Monday.  Wednesday isn't a day off for me, and I imagine it will be a very busy week.  And I've got my gym bag packed, its back to being on track again for me!  

Ahh, the start of another brand new year can be so exciting!  All the promise of new things to come, leaving the past behind, looking ahead toward .... what?  For all of us, anything is possible!  Maybe this is the year for a new job, a new place to live, maybe even a major move to another city! The possibilities are endless!!   A few years back, I once thought this would be the year for some things to come to fruition, but obviously the Universe and I haven't been on the same page, but that doesn't mean this year won't be amazing!

Make this coming year into something special, with good memories, and realized hopes!

2014 --- Is this your year?

I've looked back over the years, and it seems to me that even numbered years are good ones for me:  both my kids were born in even numbers, I made a major move in 1998 (CA to OH), another major move in 2004 (Hamilton to Dayton), and another major move in 2008 (OH to AZ).  I moved into my house in Jan 2010.  Makes me wonder what good major event will happen this year??

Are you the kind who makes resolutions?
Do you plan ahead for good things to happen?
What will you do to make this your best year yet?

I'm only making two resolutions: 

1.  To eat healthier "real" foods:  Fresh fruits and veggies, 100 oz of water,
      only 1 diet soda per day (if that), no processed or boxed foods.
2.  To exercise every day.  this could be walking Sadie more than just around the block,
      but hitting the gym at least 4 times a week.


Is it possible to do these two things?  It's not IMpossible, but I do love my hershey's, and the occasional pile of tortilla chips, or a trip to a fast food joint.  Granted, I've limited those things, but not eliminated them.  Time to work harder on eating better, and feeling better.  Taking vitamins every day will help as well.

But I checked into my iChing and got: 

Waiting.
Have confidence in the sunlight.
Progressing.
Persistence brings good fortune.
It is beneficial to cross the big river.

Waiting for something.
Be patient while what you are waiting for is still likely to happen.
This is not stagnation, so hold on.
It may be good to do something to get to a solution.

Can't say those are real clear instructions, but .... good enough for today :)

And for those of you who look at numerology or numbers.... 2014 - the digits add up to 7 - usually a lucky number for some folks!  plus, 14 divided by 2 is 7 also.  
Something to ponder.....

Merry Holidays!

Well, its been a helluva week around here!  With Christmas Day in the middle of the week, it was a day of rest for me -- as the two days before, and the two days after, were all over 10 hours long at work for me.  Yick.  By the time I got home each night, it was an effort to move from the couch to the car (to pick up my son) to the bed .... and repeat all over again!

Because it was only a day, my girls came up on Friday in order to spend the day.  I was just about to head home from work when my son sent me a text:  "Ma, we got a problem"  hm, not gonna go there with text, so I give him a call.  "The garbage disposal is spewing water all over the place...."   OK, I'll be home in 30 mins.  And yeah, it was spewing all right, all over the place!   And of course, right then, the girls arrive too.  So, off to Home Depot go my son and daughter, leaving me to put my feet up and rest for a few.  They came home with a disposal, and after some doing, we're nearly there completing the installation and we find out we don't have any plumber's putty.  *sigh*  So... back to Home Depot, but stopping to pick up dinner on the way home -- our fav, Chipotle!  yummmm

Home again, complete the installation, and voila!  We have a working disposal.  But.  Uh oh.  Still a problem, now the sink won't drain.  I told them "Let's forget it, enjoy tonight, tomorrow we'll get a snake and be done."  

We watched Christmas Vacation,
opened gifts, 
enjoyed some wine.
And enjoyed each others' company :)

Saturday morning and we're trying to fix the sink, to no avail.  We called in Roto Rooter and $200 later, voila!  the sink is draining and things are good again.   I hope!




The girls left around 5pm Sat evening, and got to the highway -- its shut down because of a major accident.  There just aren't much in the way of roads between here and there, so ... it was a fiasco for sure, taking much too long to make that drive! 

Talk about making Christmas memories.... hahahaha!
Merry Holidays everyone!

Family Home

December 8, 2009 found myself signing papers that put me into debt for 30 years!  Yes, I bought my house four years ago now.  It seems like just yesterday!  And I wasn't so happy with the color.... someone had sprayed every room, every wall a dark tan color.  My Aunt Margie and Uncle Jim came over to help - we painted nearly the entire house in a day.  Brian and I each painted our own bedrooms.

It's been a process going from then to now.
And I couldn't be happier with the house - its just the right size, small and simple.

Happy 4th Anniversary!

I'm a firm believer that in every thing we touch or repair, we leave a little of our imprint on it, even if its just a little of our spiritual selves.  I'm so thankful that Uncle Jim had a part in my home, as he passed away just a few short years later.  My parents and my kids have all had a hand in doing things here, and I like that, too.  :)  Nothing says "family home" than a home that's been touched by family.

To Tree or Not to Tree

It's always a dilemma for me -- do I put up a tree or not? 

Working retail means being very busy, and why have a tree if I'm not here to enjoy it?  But then, I didn't put up a tree last year, and my girls are coming the weekend right after Christmas Day -- so it might be a nice occasion to have a tree, get a few family photos even :) 

Here in the Valley of the Sun, Christmas decorations look kind of funky without snow and cold.  Maybe putting them up this year is a good way to cull out the things I no longer need to put up.  and maybe gift some of the childhood ornaments to my daughter now. 

I used to go all out and decorate every spot I could --- now its a matter of less is more. :)

So, I guess I'll get off my butt and get the tree out of the garage and put up in the living room!

Wonder Years

For the last few days, I've been watching The Wonder Years - its fascinating.  At my age, it reminds me of so many things -- the music they play are tunes from back then, the cars are period, so is the clothing.  And Kevin, the main character, is a 12 year old boy in junior high, the year is 1968.  The themes are all about the angst a 12 year old feels as they muddle through life's circumstances.   We all had those same feelings as we found our way through our first crush, school bullies, dealing with parents, our first dance.

Remember your first dance?  Girls mixed with girls, boys gave each other friendly pushes on the other side of the gym.   A few brave kids danced with each other, but most of the time, we looked busy getting punch, saying hi to other kids, anything to make it look like we weren't a) bored ; or b) wishing someone would ask us to dance.

We look back on those days and think they were good times, but living in the moment, we were full of confusion, questions and feelings we didn't know what to do with.  The drama we endured was all consuming in the moment.  Luckily, it was forgotten just as quickly as it happened.  

One of the best lines from an episode speaks eloquently about what these kinds of memories mean to us as we get older:

Memory is the way of holding on to the things you love,

the things you are, 

and the things you never wish to lose. 

Chilly Mornings

At 6am I got up to let Sadie outside; when I opened the door, I chuckled to myself, all I could hear was a symphony of heaters running!  It's only 30 degrees, which is quite cold for the desert!  We usually get our freeze nights in January, but they are here early this year  I wonder if that is a sign of a rough winter ahead, or even if it gives clues about our summer temps?  I wonder if the Farmer's Almanac would tell me??

Interesting!   

DECEMBER 2013: temperature 45° (3° below avg.); precipitation 0.3" (0.2" below avg.); Dec 1-9: Sunny; cold, then mild; Dec 10-17: Rain and snow showers, cold; Dec 18-24: Rain and snow, then sunny, cold; Dec 25-31: Sunny, turning mild.

So far, its totally correct for Dec 1-9 !!!!!

Jan 1-5: Sunny, cool; Jan 6-10: Showers, then sunny, mild; Jan 11-21: Sunny east, showers west; mild; Jan 22-28: Sunny, cool; Jan 29-31: Showers, chilly.


Well.  I am thinking I outta be purchasing a few more long sleeved shirts for working in!

After getting up, I snuggled back under the covers.  It's a chilly day, and that makes me want to just stay under the covers, read a good story, or maybe watch a movie!

I finished a book called The Christmas Note, good story about a girl raised by her alcoholic mother who learns upon her mother's death that she has siblings who were adopted.  She breaks out of her shell with the help of a new next door neighbor in order to find the lost siblings, and ends up finding herself as well.  Enjoyed the book, its an easy read with an uplifting hopeful story line. 

Happy weekend, everyone :)

Step ON!

Holy Smoke, Batman!  Today was an extremely busy day!  I think with our tough economic times, shoppers are trying to be smarter with their money, trying to get the best deals they can.  In my store, that means opening packages, testing things out, touching, feeling .... what that also means is when that happens, those opened products come back to claims (me) to be processed as a return to vendor.   I was a very busy lady today, and was on the go non-stop.  Never made it to the gym, not sure I needed to -- I got in over 12,000 steps without it!  zoiks!  

So I'm sitting here thinking about Christmas and what gifts I need to buy.  It's not much of a holiday if one doesn't do any shopping -- but the thought of shopping fills me with dread!  But this weekend will be my spree, I think.  Gotta just bite the bullet and get it done.

Looking forward to some family time:  my sister gifted me a plane ticket home, so I'll be spending 2.5 days with family in a couple of weeks.  And looking forward to a weekend with my daughter and granddaughter the week between Christmas and New Years -----  I'm thinking Chipotle! already. hahahahaha




My SparkTracker award for this week:  

72,024 steps.   1,017 minutes of walking.  for 27.39 miles.  

Is it any wonder I'm tired when I get home every day??????

Hello, December

Welcome, December!   I'm not sure, but I think my heater quit this morning... or the thermostat thingy isn't working.  My Thanksgiving Day weekend has been ..... too short.  Of course, being retail, I worked Black Friday.  I cooked a turkey and all the trimmings on Saturday, and my son and I enjoyed a terrific dinner!  For dessert, he had made an apple-biscuit dessert that's really yummy :)   And now, here it is Sunday, and its all those usual chores to get done so that we can make it through the week. 

My goal for this week is to concentrate on drinking more water -- it doesn't seem as refreshing when its not over 100 outside! -- and to stay off sugars.   Controlling the intake was difficult in November for me.  Lots of things going on the last half of this year, and I think it's all catching up with me.  Once the colder temps the Valley, it seems like I'm ready for bed earlier every day!  When the sun drops over the horizon at 5:30, I'm ready for a shower and bed!! hahaha

Wishing everyone the best for this month.... :)
Looking forward to seeing family!!