Huzzah!

Today's trip to the gym

and I felt terrific about the results!

I got my 1.5 miles in 26 minutes today!!

There's nothing like the feeling of

setting a goal

and working toward it ......

Every little achievement in that direction

is cause for celebration!!

Cookies, anyone???

lol  Not really, I ate sensibly for lunch and dinner!

Tomorrow's another chance for more achievement.

It's the little things ..... *grin*

Re-Thinking Habits

Brain Fog.  Stress.  Sleeplessness or Insomnia.   We've all had bouts of these things, and others like them.  And they can all be related in one way or another.  I've been experiencing that a little bit this week, and I'm tracking my food and my sleep to see if there's a pattern.  (Besides the fact that I'm just getting old!)

I've found my most stressful day of work is Monday.  And after work, there's nothing I like better than to come home and binge out in front of Netflix.  It doesn't even matter if I'm watching "Friends" or "Frasier" ... and eat carbs.   Ahh, the stress relieving food for me.  If I had my way, I'd come home and have creamy peanut butter on toast, with tortilla chips.  A simple and very satisfying meal!  I try very hard to stick to my meal plan, however, of chicken and brown rice, with broccoli and cauliflower.   Tuesday is my busiest day at work when it comes to actual work to be done.  And the stress is only an added factor when The Bosses attempt to get me to do something outside of my normal duties.

Of course, a lot of the stress, brain fog and sleeplessness are caused by the weather here in the desert.  It's not a good start to the day when you head out for your morning walk at 5am and it's 90 degrees before the sun even rises.  (Hurry UP September!  I know I shouldn't wish my life away, but some days the heat makes me think crazy things!)

I think I've found a solution to some of this.  I made a change in my electricity plan where I use appliances and such as little as possible from 3-6pm.  Paying a cheaper rate in the off hours, like overnights, means I can lower my thermostat to a cooler setting, and maybe that will help with the sleeplessness.  I also learned to keep a squeeze bottle of water next to my bed.  If I'm feeling overheated at night, I just squirt some water on my Tshirt and/or my hair.  With the overhead fan on, it cools me off until I fall back asleep.
It's the little things, right?


I'm beginning to think that I need to change up my supper menu for something lighter, something cooler, maybe some chilled fruit, or a cold turkey sandwich would be better in the heat of summer. Or ice cream. Yeah.  That might be the ticket!  *scoffs*  I'd have to triple my time on the treadmill, though!

I started thinking about all these things because just before 5pm, I found myself looking at the clock, wondering if it was too early to crawl into bed.  *yawn*  Sure, I could do that, fall asleep even, but I'd be awake and ready to head to work at 3am.  Not a good plan.

Sorry for the ramble, but I find that writing out my thoughts helps me organize them, which can lead to those "A-ha!" moments, or at the very least, clarification of issues.

Here's hoping for a good night's sleep!

Focus!

I did well today, sat down at 7:30am with my two baked ham and egg cups, and a muffin.  Filled me up and back to work I went.  I was so intent on the work needed to be done that time slipped by -- and it was 10:30am before I knew it!  So I made a .... semi conscious choice to skip the gym, to keep going with my work and get it all done.  Even without the gym, I'm at 11,167 steps.   I kept within my calorie goal for the day, with brown rice and boiled chicken with broccoli and cauliflower for dinner ... but I could have done better, drank more water.

I will focus better tomorrow!

This Week's Goal(s)

Laundry done, work and workout clothes at the ready.

I spent the afternoon making breakfasts for the week:  ham and egg cooked in a muffin tin! They're great to grab in the morning on the way to work.  Just a little zap in the microwave to warm them up and it's two eggs, two ultra thin slices of ham and two triple berry muffins.  320 cals and it gets me past the hump of hunger when I'm at the gym during lunch!  After, I grab another 32oz bottle of water, and have some carrots, grapes and pretzels and cheese, portioned out of course at 150 cals.  Usually that does the trick, but some days I'm more hungry than that and will have a Clif brand Oatmeal bar as an afternoon pick me up.

I am determined to make this week count even more, to make progress on my getting fit and healthy plan.  OK, not so much a plan but more of a lifestyle change.  It's always good to have a goal!  And to learn that even when we don't reach a goal set for ourselves, it doesn't make us a failure or a bad person.  Maybe it means we set the bar too high.  But we should never stop trying!

My goal by Friday is to reach the 1.5 mile mark in 26 minutes.  Very doable.  I got this!

For anyone who's in this Valley of the Sun heat ..... Ugh!   And according to the 14 day forecast, it's more of the same:  at nearly 5pm on Sunday evening, it's 112.  When I walked Sadie at 6am, it was 89 degrees.  At least it isn't humid.  But I'm noticing that the more time I spend indoors, the AC just doesn't feel cold any longer.  I force myself outside, or into the garage, to putter around, just to have a little heat, a little comparison.  Because it might be 112 outside, but inside I keep it around 78, and that outta feel cool enough, but after all day in it .... it just doesn't!  But that's part of life in the Valley!

OITNB:  For you Netflix fans, Orange is the New Black series was released this month.  I just completed watching it - I doled it out, one episode each day, and frankly, I wasn't as impressed with the season as I was with season 1 and 2.  In season 4, they brought in all those extra people, and that created a little extra work for the story line.  Season 5 was the entire prison riot.  With a large group of women, it's impossible to keep all of them focused on one common goal.  Watching all the little cliques and groups break apart and do their own thing .... expected.  But the entire season as the riot?  and no conclusion yet?   *sigh*  13 episodes just isn't enough for all that they tried to incorporate into this season.  And while I'm still a fan and have high hopes for Season 6, this won't be one of the seasons I binge watch over the summer.  I get stuck back on 1, 2 and 3.  Those were great, gritty episodes that made me feel something for the characters!  and frankly, that's what I want in my dramas - great characters that make me feel what they're feeling.

I'm rambling because I'm overtired.  My son stopped by yesterday, and as with all younger people, life doesn't start until 9pm!  Me... I'm in bed and sleeping by then.  But we had a nice visit, he was looking for things he left on the shelf in his room.  Well, excuse me, but I boxed everything up and re-did his room last summer!  We took apart every box, but couldn't find what he wanted....  Then he returned a motorized bike to his buddy, I was going to pick him up, he thought it would take 30 minutes.  87 minutes later..... lol   Yep.  That's my kid!   :)  

Be Weird. Random Updates

Here it is, another Saturday.  A busy day for chores - washing linens, rinsing out the area rugs -- time for a little freshness indoors, since it can't be had by opening windows!  Still in the middle of our Extreme Heat alert.  It's been more than a week, temps over 110 8 days in a row, three days was over 115.  Yep, extreme!  Thankfully, our monsoons haven't started, so it's dry and not humid!  I'll take heat over humidity any day of the week!

I made it to the gym 4 days this week, I'm down 1.5 pounds.  I started off with my goal of 1.5 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes.  Friday's time = 1.5 in 28 minutes.  I'm getting back in the groove, and it feels good.  My goal, of course, is to be back to my 15 minute mile.  It'll take a little work.  And each day I'm growing older, so that adds a little bit of the difficult back into it.

Have you ever put on your shoes, and felt a small piece of something - pebble, or something - and then just left if there?  I did yesterday, and I could feel this little thing sliding around in my shoe with every step.  But I still left it.  The little dig of discomfort served to remind me that something life isn't too comfortable, and yet it's ok for it to be that way!

My aunt continues to grow weaker as the cancer continues to gain a stronghold on her body.  She's in such good spirits, and jokes with me about her "journey to heaven".  She's picked out her clothes, her choices in scripture and songs -- she's one fantastic lady!  It reminds me that I need to be as positive and proactive as she's been.  I hope I have all her dignity when it's my turn.

My sister's doing well with her own treatments.  She just spent 2 days at the beach, and this weekend she's in Lake Tahoe, living the dream I guess :)   I'm just happy that she feels well enough to do the things she's wanting to do!

In the meantime, I sit and putter at my computer
with my little vignettes about family history
and the things I remember.  Always fun for me!

Yes.
I know.
I'm a weird one.
And I'm OK with that!

Hot Mondays

there's no getting around it

we're in the middle of a

very intense

heat wave!

It's 6pm and still 115 degrees.

On the drive home, my car

was reading 120 and .....

I'm not sure my car was

operating at top notch!




So ... I treated her like a new baby and drove her softly all the way home.  lol

But even with the heat, it was a decent day at work.  At least with something to keep you busy, it was easy to ignore the temps.   For the most part.

I hit the gym today for lunch at 9:30am, but it was already 95 degrees!  Got my 1.5 miles in 30 minutes on the treadmill.  I used the incline, got the heart rate up for 15 minutes, then cooled down ... cuz I still had to go back to work :)   It felt good, still feels good, so I'll keep on keeping on.

And so far, I'm having a blast with the new blog posts.  I updated it so that it auto-emails my mom, sister and daughter.  Hope they like it and think it's as much fun as I do!  I know that I can't write down every memory I have about every photo, but selecting a few and writing down something will give them a sense of how I viewed the world.... and let's face it, I don't see it the way most folks do! *giggles*

Happy Monday ya'll!  I just checked our local PBS station, and Antiques Roadshow is back on tonight... one of my all time fav shows!

Productive Day

It's always a good day in my book if it's productive!  Today was one of those days.  Up with the birds for an early morning walk with Sadie before the heat sets in.  By 9am it was 94 degrees .... ugh.  Headed out and got the grocery shopping done in record time -- sure does help when you have a list!  And I was very practical this week in planning menus.  What can I have for meals when it's going to be so hot?  I will NOT feel like cooking, that's for sure!  

So here's what I came up with:  I bought 6 eggs and a package of Triple Berry Muffin Mix (the just add water kind!)  I lined 6 of the muffin tins with a slice of ham lunchmeat, sprinkled in a little shredded cheese and cracked an egg into each.  I mixed up the muffin mix, and made 6 muffins.  Popped the pan into the oven for 15 minutes and .... 3 meals already made up for the week.   And yes, this really works!  I also zapped 3 small red potatoes in the microwave for 1.5 minutes then wrapped them in foil and slipped them into the oven along with the muffin pan ... they're cooked and ready to heat n' eat this week as well!

I bought some chicken breasts, and slipped them into a mixture of 8oz Dr. Pepper and 1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray Barbecue sauce; they'll simmer on low for 2 hours and there's meat for 3 meals as well!

I usually come home after work and zap a cup of broccoli florets and eat that before I actually make my dinner -- because I'm always hungry and make too much dinner once I get started.  This helps curb the appetite, gets in my veggies, and then cooking dinner is way more reasonable.  This has worked well for me, so I'm sticking with it!

Looks like I'm good to go for this week :)

Summer Project

Every year during our "winter time" here in the desert -- yes, to the rest of the world that means summer.  But here, today, at 108 degrees, being outside doesn't happen if I don't have to.  So every year, I fiddle around with a project.  Last year it was home improvement DIY projects with Brian's room.  This year .... I need something that doesn't cost money now that I'm making car payments again.  ugh.

So I decided that I'm going to try and chronicle my growing up years.  I'll select a few photos and write about what was going on at the time.  I've been doing the same in my photo albums, 2 or 3 pages a day.  Because what good is a photo if you don't know anything else about it ??  

I'll admit, sometimes it's difficult to write something about a photo -- your child age 2 wearing someone's sunglasses ... not much needs to be said, I'm thinking!   It's just cute :)  But ... I do make sure there's a name and date on the photo ... because future generations might want to know!   And because my daughter and my granddaughter look like twins born 20 years apart!   :)

I'll be posting these stories in a different blog..  Not sure why I started it elsewhere, but at one point .... well,  that's water under the bridge.

It's danipape.blogspot.com - Where Family Memories Live On  if you want to follow along

My parents moved to California in 1962, Mom's pregnant with my sister, and they decided to make a move, follow a dream if you will.  My life sure would have been different if they hadn't!  

Here's our first apartment.  We lived downstairs, my mom's sister and her family lived upstairs.

And the adventure begins!

I Didn't Wait ... Just Do It!

After a lot of making excuses in my head, I logged off the computer and jumped in the shower.  But it must have been stewing in the back of my brain, because I turned my computer back on, grabbed my wallet and logged in to join Planet Fitness!  It's close enough to work I can dash over during my lunch hour and get in a workout.  It's a bit of a drive on a weekend, but .... totally worth it.

It felt good to be back in a gym atmosphere.  I didn't realize that it had become such a part of my life when I was going 3-5 times a week a couple years back.  When 24-Hour Fitness moved out of the building next door to my job, it really hurt my efforts.  Well, because it was *right there*, there were very little excuses to not go to the gym, so I went.   And now, I'm back at it.  I'd like to say I'm really excited about it, but ya know, it IS a lot of work, but it's the kind that feels good.  So yeah, it's a good thing :)

Just did the treadmill today, wanted to get a feel for how my body parts would take it.  1.54 miles in 30 minutes.  Not the pace I'd grown accustomed to back in the day ... but I'm also carrying the 30+ lbs I lost.  So today's a new beginning, a fresh start!

I even bought a new bag to carry my gym stuff - something new and trendy, not the old "boy" kind of bag I've been carrying since 2004.  lol  Yeah.  Why replace it if it still works??  That's my normal mantra, but I thought if I had a spiffy bag, I'd be more upbeat about working out.   Mind games, if you will.  hahaha

No Judgement.
I belong!

so now .....  I gotta "Just Do It".

Something's Gotta Change

Ok.  Something's gotta change.
I'm tired all the time, and know that I need to step up my vitamins.

At the same time, I'm feeling... what?.... robbed.  I work a very physical job.  According to my FitBit, I'm burning an average of 2800 calories a day.  I'm taking in aprox 1600 calories a day.  So why does my weight stay the same.... or worse, is on the incline?    *ugh*   It gets so depressing.

I start my day with a 15 minute stroll covering 1/3 mile.  It's a stroll because it's Sadie's walk, so she gets to stop-n-sniff as she wants.  Then it's off to work. I park in the boonies to get extra steps into my day.  I'm on my feet from 6am to 10:30am (that's my lunch break).  Usually only a 30 minute lunch, then I'm back at it, on my feet.  I don't "just stand" at my job.  It's a physical one.  I know that it's not considered high intensity, but it is constant.  Walk over to get a bin that usually weighs about 12 pounds, walk it back to my desk, arms are in constant motion moving things from the bin to the box or appropriate container, put empty bin back and move filled box to the pallet of boxes.  When the number of boxes reaches a certain point, it's my job to audit and put them in orderly fashion onto another pallet (I like to think of it as getting paid to play Tetris!)  but still, it's a constant motion, constant lifting, boxes weigh an average of 22 pounds.  Some more, some less, but I don't ship "air"!

By the time I get home, I've been on my feet for 9+ hours, and I'm tuckered.  My FitBit usually registers over 10k steps by this time, and my day's not even done!  Housekeeping, cooking, taking care of Sadie each evening ... well, I tell ya, a Gal's gotta have SOME time for relaxing, and doing things that are enjoyable.  I don't sit and 'veg' in front of the TV for more than an hour.  I like to have time for my hobbies:  photography, genealogy, and DIY crafts/projects.  Heck, I even get a kick out of painting walls and trim!

Breakfast is normally an Oatmeal and Walnut Clif bar.  It's quick and portable.  Lunch ... varies.  I work in retail with full groceries and deli.  Dinner starts with a plate of veggies steamed.  After that, depending on how hungry, boiled chicken breast and brown rice topped with a chopped roma tomato.
How does this work for other people?  I am constantly thinking back to 2013 when I joined the gym and was spending 45-60 mins 4 days a week at the gym to lose weight.  But going to the gym meant I didn't have time for any of my hobbies.  When you look at life's balance .... is that really any kind of balance?  *smh*

There's got to be an answer.  I'm not saying it has to be an easy answer, but ... something.  The doc tested my thyroid and was within the 'norm'.  (whatever that means).  The logical math side of my brain says calories in must be less than calories burned.  But I'm already doing that.  So it breaks down even more:  that not all calories are equal.   If they were, I could live on Hershey bars and Diet Coke, right??   lol   But that isn't it.  There must be something else I'm missing.  And damned if I know what it is.  I've read about having a 'leaky gut' and the issues of candida.  I even tried eating just home made soup for every meal.   No change.

It's a delicate balancing act, and lets face it, none of us wants to eat the same meal every day, the same workout routine every day, the same job every day.  Life is more complex than to be bored out our gourds in this manner.

So I'm totally frustrated.
Hello, Planet Fitness?
Time to take action.
Something's gotta change.

The Sound of Silence

"Hello darkness my old friend....... "
Being alone never bothers me.  In fact, most days I seek it out.  When it's lunchtime, I seek out the quiet corners where I can be alone.  In silence.

When I need something more to change my focus, one of my "go to" things is the song The Sound of Silence by Disturbed ... especially the live version he did on Conan's show.   It's on YouTube if you search for it.

People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening ..... my world is full of that at work. What is it that drives people to speak -- not saying anything important, it seems more to hear themselves speaking??  I want no part of that, need no part of that.

This song and his voice really move me.
When I need something to uplift, this really does it.
Give it a listen .... 

Pug. Ugh.

Just a little bit more related to yesterday's post about this being our "winter" here in the desert.  Since I got my pug, Sadie, I've had to relearn a few things.

I thought she would be an OK travel dog.  Nope.  She gets over-excited no matter how many times I take her in the car, and that brings on breathing troubles which brings on anxiety - to me and her.

I thought she'd be a good companion for walking.  Nope.  Anything over 20 minutes brings on breathing troubles.  And once summer hits, forget walking!   I tried a stroller ... and maybe I need to try it out again (as she's gotten older, she might appreciate it more now!?!??)

I thought she'd be good company.  And she is.  As long as we're doing something ""together'".  She tries to be too helpful when I paint, when I work on the computer, when I do chores.  She prefers to bark and whine at me on my days off until she convinces me that it's time for a nap.  She's VERY content to curl up next to me and take a nap!

If you're single, and you're thinking a pug would be cute -- rethink your plans!  While this is an adorable breed for a family .... it's not so good when you're single.  Because I'm gone about 10 hours a day when I work, I feel guilty taking any longer to get home and let her out.  And on weekends, leaving her home even more.  I mean, why have a dog if you're not going to be there for her?

Somehow I'll figure out how to keep taking care of her,
but ... no. more. dogs. ever.
Pugs.  Ugh.

Backwards Livin'

Livin' in the desert can seem sort of backwards at times.   I was raised in California, then spent 10 years in Ohio.  Winter in Ohio can be cold, windy and snowy four months or so when it comes to weather.  I remember feeling as if I were hibernating during the winter.  Granted, if the sun was shining, I loved to trek out over the new fallen snow.  But the reality of working and living in a snowy state can be a pain.  All those accessories:  hat, gloves, shoes, ice scrapers.  Getting up in the dark, scraping snow off the car, shivering while the car warms up, never knowing if the roads to work would be open or closed.  Some days you had to get creative on your drive to work if the snow plows hadn't been out yet!   

Here in the desert, our "winter" is summertime.  Extreme heat and dry conditions can be just as draining as the cold and wet winters of the midwest.  It's also when we get our rains for the year. Monsoon season is just around the corner.

Weekends in the summer heat tend to be spent hibernating.  Long afternoon naps because there's only so much you can do when its hot!  And anything over 80 degrees makes it difficult for Sadie to breathe, so we don't get outdoors very much.  By 7am today, I had already taken Sadie for her morning walk, washed the car and washed the bed linens.  That leaves quite a lot of daytime left to do .... what?   I need to think up a project to keep me occupied, or it's going to be a very long boring and worse, unproductive!, summer.   

I'm thinking working over the scrapbooks and photo albums.  With my history of blended families, there are some photos in the albums that probably aren't labeled, and future generations will wonder "Who's that?"  I had that same issue with my grandmother's photo albums.  So maybe a note of the who, what, and when about a photo.... maybe even a little story telling, just to make it interesting! 

This was about 1990.  Grandma Greer came from Oregon to California for an extended stay.  Obviously Christmas time!  Tanya and Brian are my kids.  In the background is the upright piano that my parents bought from an old school sale in Los Gatos.  They brought it home, disassembled it, stripping all the old paint off it.  It had been green, pink and beige in the past!  They stained it, and put it back together.  It was moved into my bedroom where I learned to play and took lessons back in the 1960s.  When the family room was added on, it finally moved out there!   

Another little note:  most of the ornaments on my mother's tree were hand made.

Never Easy

Good-bye's are never easy.  Visiting my family in California, when I knew I wouldn't be back for a long time, good-byes were tear-filled.  I'm not sure you ever get ... accustomed, perhaps, .... to saying good-byes but when you know you're coming back in a month, they're a bit easier.

There have been many good-byes at work - in retail, people come and go often!  When you get close to some of your fellow coworkers, the good-byes are a little bit harder.  But every now and then, one really touches you.   Today was that day for me.

There's a guy who worked in Asset Protection for over two years now, turns out he's "just a kid" in comparison to my own age!   But from the minute I met him, I recognized him as a fellow old soul.  We hit it off, we've always been able to talk, to grouse about work to each other, to work through a problem by talking it out loud to each other and coming up with a workable solution.  We've all had that kind of a relationship with someone in our work spaces at one time or another.  It felt as if it was some kind of sympatico between us.  To be honest, that's very rare for me.  So I appreciated the relationship.

I realized today just how much I appreciated him.
Because today I had to say good-bye.

I've knew a month ago he was looking at other positions.
I knew three weeks ago when he found something and applied.
I knew two weeks ago that he'd gotten the position.
And every day since then, whenever he was in my office, I knew that I'd be facing this good-bye.  He would pop in for a chat, and I knew it would be one of the last chats we'd share.

Today was that good-bye.  I got all teary eyed and said "it's not good-bye, it's see you later".   He's only 26 years old, but he has the heart of an old soul.  He wrote a special thank you note that ended with "Do what makes you happy."  How many people in this world take the time to do that any more?  Very very few.

Work is going to be a much different place for me with him gone. I thank you, Tom, for your part in my journey!  See you later!

Goodbyes are never easy.

Monday Moanday

Mondays can suck the life right out of a gal!

I had this ... weird feeling in the middle of the night.  So I reset my alarm for 3:30am and headed in to work at 5am.   Only an hour earlier, but a good thing I did!   On my "team" there are five of us hard working souls.  And today, only two of us showed up.  UGH.  By noon I had my 10k steps on my FitBit and I still wasn't done with my day.

But as I was working, I had this thought related to that "Wheels on the Bus" song the preschool kids learn.  I can be the driver of the bus, and most days that's what I am.  However, today I felt like one of the wheels.  And I realized that the bus doesn't roll when there's only one wheel.  It takes all four wheels -- and the driver of course! -- for the bus to actually go anywhere.  


Just when we're getting caught up, two people call off work on the same day.  Talk about two steps forward and three steps back!  Makes me wish I'd gone and worked the entire shift on Sunday -- just to stay ahead of the game.  The sad thing is, no one else feels the way that I do.  They don't care if the work gets behind.  To most, it's just doing a repetitive thing until "the whistle blows" at the end of their shift.  No matter how hard I try, I just can't be that way!   What made me this way, and so many of my peers not that way?  

It can be very frustrating to a Type-A person to scramble to get work done, while others just ..... do their own thing, without a thought to what will happen tomorrow.  Four of us covered for one of the guys to have an awesome wedding and honeymoon, he was gone from work for 3 weeks.  We did extra shifts, stepped up to the plate, so to speak, and this guy comes back, works 2 weeks and poof! he had to call off sick?  I know people get sick and really need the time off.... but some tend to call in because they have a hang nail.  Or maybe it's the new PTO policy:  after working 80 hours (2 weeks)  they earned enough PTO to have a paid day off?

Thank goodness this Monday is in the bag .....  I'd like to bury it in the backyard now!

Retail Pains

I work retail.  And one of the drawbacks to working retail is that retail never stops.  Folks gotta shop, which means freight needs to be received, shelves need to be restocked, and in my crazy world, there always seems to be some crazy project that needs doing.

Yesterday, my store manager requested I come in to help with a project.  Normally, I'm OK and don't mind doing that because it means time off at some other time during the week.  Or it means overtime, which I never object to, either.  However, last night the call came in at 6:30pm.  I had just stepped out of the shower.  Never expected to get a crazy call at that hour of the evening!  But ... I answered.  And silly me, I never think fast enough on my feet to say "I'd love to come in but I had wine with dinner and shouldn't drive."

So I worked for 4 hours last night, got home late, it's weird driving at night any more!  I don't mind the dark when I drive TO work in the morning, it's just weird being dark when I leave work.  *shrug*

This was supposed to be a four-day weekend for me.
But with a regional audit, I worked Thursday as well.
So much for feeling like I've had any time off!
What a pain.
But it's retail, and that's my life.

Get it all Done

I've always been the kind of gal who's on top of it all, getting things done when they need doing.  I'm still that way, professionally, but at home here, I just can't always seem to get it together lately to get it all done.

I've had two days off work.  And yes, I get up early and walk Sadie, even on my days off.  I have to now, for summer has arrived and it's over 90 by noon, and doesn't cool off until after midnight.  So we do our walks early.  And by the time I get a couple of chores done after that, it could be 9am and I'm wondering what to do with the rest of my day!

Yesterday I decided that I needed to work on finishing up the painting I'd started back in ... well, a few months back.  lol   I have cathedral type ceilings and the peak of the ceiling between living room and kitchen is just over 14 feet.  Let me tell ya, that's hard to roll paint on!  It's hard enough rolling it on a slanted ceiling in the first place.  So here I am, putting a little paint on the roller, and stepping onto the ladder, hefting the roller on its long pole up to the ceiling and trying to stroke paint.  I had purchased a roller for "rough surfaces" and boy, does that thing soak up the paint and get really heavy!  I was very careful with each step I took, making sure I wasn't having a mis-step because I was in too big a hurry.  Sadie observed all of this as she watched my every move from the floor near my bedroom door, mostly out of my way, but it looked as if she was making sure she would be right there if something went wrong!   (now that I'm done, she's been snoring away all afternoon! heheh)

I'm happy to have my living room and kitchen back to rights, all the things back on shelves, hung on the wall, but anything else seems beyond me today.  I should be doing some paperwork, finishing up some laundry, watering, sweeping .... there's never an end to the To Do list when you own a home!  But some days, it's as if "things can wait" has become my motto and I can't get motivated to do those things that need doing.

And maybe I'm just overwhelmed for the time being with the accident, the new car purchase and everything else going on.   Sis is doing well but my Aunt is having more bad days than before.  I stopped to see her yesterday, and she's ... well, I admire her greatly for her attitude about all of it.  She doesn't ignore the "elephant in the room" when it comes to talking about her dying.  She's certainly not afraid, she's the strongest, most courageous lady I know!   And she sent me home after our visit with home made potato salad, some home made oatmeal cookies.  Typical midwestern hospitality!


I ate the potato salad along with a ham sandwich while watching
the NBA Finals first game Thursday night.  Go Warriors!

Maybe next weekend I'll be able to
Get it all done!

Wonderings

It must be a case of feeling nostalgic or something;  I watched that old movie "13 going on 30" and it got me to thinking about my youth, and now my so called golden years.

Why is it that when we're in our teens we're so anxious to skip it all and be grown up?

And then when we're all grown up, we look back on the things we did, or the things we skipped from our childhood and wonder where that fun-loving kid went to?

Personally, I'm an old soul, so I've always felt as if I'm much older than my years. But I still can remember wanting to skip all the teen age stuff.  Here in Arizona we have on-line schools for kids in high school and if I was a kid now?  That'd be the way to go for me.  I was always one for doing my studies and skipping out on all the social activities that come with being in High School.  Even my Junior and Senior proms were events that were a "must do" kind of thing.  When you're not into the rest fo the social stuff, going to prom exacerbated the feeling that you don't fit in because you don't share the same memories and events as the rest of your peers.

In looking back now, I can see that I should have been more involved in things; it might have pulled out some of the good characteristics one gains from that, and made me less of a shy person.

Then again, maybe not.  And because that teenage chapter in life was so long ago, pulling that back out again at my age ... well, probably not.   But maybe I should!  Adding a little youngster-like fun might work --- as long as there are modifications made!    I can't see myself grabbing a jump rope and doing a little "skip to my lou";  falling down at my age could break a hip, a leg or an ankle!

I think we could all do with a little bit of the wonder we felt when we saw something that amazed us.  I try to create that with my photos, but there are other ways as well:

A little more laughter,
taking ourselves a little less seriously.
Skipping that last chore of the evening
to watch a gorgeous sunset.
Setting an alarm on our day off
to watch the sun change the sky
from indigo to pink to bright.
A walk in nature
A simple Sunday drive to nowhere and back
Blow some bubbles
Kick off your shoes and walk barefoot in the grass


Even if you can't do all of them, try for one or two a week,
and see what a difference it makes in your life!