#2938 art gallery

Happy Superbowl Sunday to those who celebrate! T and I will be watching the game when it starts in about 90 minutes or so. We'll probably tune in a little early to watch a bit of pre-game stuff. I am rooting for the Chiefs to win because I like that team and the coach, and I think it would be cool to see a bit of history today: no team in the history of the NFL has won the Superbowl three times in a row, and the Kansas City Chiefs could do it today. Most people I've listened to at work are hoping the Eagles win. I hope it is a good game. 

It's been a quiet week at my house. MT didn't come home this weekend, and I didn't really go anywhere, other than the office, or do anything interesting. I've been doing a little art here and there and writing in my journal, which is always interesting for me. My journal is getting zazzed up these days with stickers and doodles and sometimes even photos printed on my Sprocket. The Sprocket might be one of my favorite toys I got myself last year. 

That reminds me, I haven't showed you any art for a bit, so here are four things I did in the past few weeks:

Flower Power

This piece was from a prompt by Jill Badonsky. I drew the elephant upside down based on a model Jill provided, then I flipped it right side up to paint and add the lines. In the photo that Jill gave us, the elephant was wearing a headband with a flower, and that was when I decided to use some of the (many) stickers I have to zazz it up. I know it's a bit much, and I like it.

I Can Paint Myself Flowers

This one is from another Badonsky prompt to do an abstract floral. I had a great time painting this! It is so fun to dab paint on the page and see what happens. 

Florence Duomo at Sunset

This painting was also inspired by Ms. Badonsky who prompted us to do whatever your Muse tells you. I've been neglecting playing around in my Italy travel journal, so I pulled up a photo of one of my favorite memories and made a rough sketch of the Duomo in Florence. No, the cathedral is not yellow, but it looked yellow-ish in the sunset light. Those blue things back there are the mountains. It's not fantastic - I'm still learning and practicing, after all. 

Garden(ing) Snake

Last one! Also a Badonsky prompt to celebrate the Year of the Snake. Most of my snake experiences have happened at Red Butte Garden, so I thought it would be fun to draw a whimsical garden snake. I drew her upside down, and looking at it, her eyes are supposed to be closed, so I might have made them the wrong way up, but whatever. Also not really sure what's going on in the left corner there. Maybe I was painting some sky? 

Let's move on...

Starting on Wednesday the 12th, I'm doing fun things. That night I'm going to a play at Pioneer Theater Company that I'll tell you more about after the show. Friday is Valentine's Day and MT will be coming home for the weekend. I've got a couple of things planned for Saturday and Sunday, too. The week after will be most excellent because I get to go hang out with Mama and Lizzie for a few days!

Well, it time to make some chicken enchiladas and get ready to watch the game. Have a great week!

xo

#2936 weekend wrap-up

And here it is, Sunday night at 9:30 already. The weekends whoosh by, it seems.  Here's a peek at my days.

I woke up on Friday feeling awful. My stomach was cramping, my head was stuffy, all my joints ached, and I was kind of miserable overall. There has been a bug going around the office that has given folks similar symptoms, so I decided to stay home and try to sleep it off. I slept until about 1:30 in the afternoon, then I laid on the couch wrapped in a blanket for a couple more hours. I drank peppermint tea and ate toast to soothe my tummy and warm myself up. I took T to work, and lucky for me, he got off work early that night. More sleeping ensued.

Saturday morning I slept in until about 10:00, then I had to get up and get moving because I had a volunteer meeting at the Garden at 1:00. Yes, I know it seems like that is plenty of time to get ready, and it is, but I was moving pretty slowly. The day was cold, windy, gray, and there were snow flurries, so it was pretty yucky. The meeting was interesting, then I braved the weather to take a quick stroll around the place. I was dressed warmly enough that my core wasn't cold, but my face was, of course.

brrr

The waterfall was extra interesting. It is frozen, but water is still flowing behind the ice. The pond is frozen, too, except down by the little falls, though the creek on the other side is also frozen over.

Nature is amazing. 

Unsurprisingly, I basically had the Garden to myself. I did see four people out when I started, but that was the only time I saw them. It was cold! I'm thankful for heated seats in my car! After the walk, I ran a few errands, then came home for the rest of the day. I wrapped myself in my favorite snuggly quilt and watched a movie, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. I read the book many years ago and really liked it. The movie was sweet, too. I cried. 

I planned to stay home all day today, but then I realized I didn't have milk. I have to have milk in my coffee. Today the weather was still cold, but the sky was blue and there wasn't any wind and it was a pretty nice day. I took the dogs for their walk and played frisbee with Stella, bought some milk, had a late breakfast, then did my bookkeeping. After that, I swept and swiffered, as I must do each week to keep some kind of dominance over the dirt and dog hair. I potted a couple of plants I've been rooting (I hope they do okay. I'm not very good at potting.) Then I flopped down on the couch and watched football. The outcomes were predictable, and that's okay with me. 

I didn't do any art today :( Maybe I'll scribble a quick doodle to make myself smile. 

Let's see...what's coming up this last week of January? Not much, to be honest. I'm looking forward to creating my zine and wee calendar. MT will be home for the weekend. On Thursday at the office, we are planning to have a big clean-out day as we prepare for remodeling the admin department. I didn't think I'd ever see that happen. It will be office-y cubicles, but it will be shiny and new. I don't know what the time frame is, but we will be ready for it. 

Have a good week!

xo

#2465 thankful for a little football

Tonight is the first game of the Utah football season. It is the third game on their schedule; the first two games had to be cancelled because of COVID. I haven't been tuning in to local sports talk radio, so I know very little about the team this year. In fact, I didn't even know the quarterback. 

Nevertheless, here I am, sitting on my couch, all snuggled up in a blanket watching Utah football on TV. I've been reading and listening to the flow of the game, looking up when I hear excited voices or if something catches my eye. There are no fans in the stands, so that crazy loud crowd noise that is typical of a Utah home game is definitely missing. 

I prefer to watch football games on my couch. I hate being cold, for one thing, and I like to read. I'd much rather sit in my house, cozy and with a book, then sitting in the stands (if that were even a possibility). 

Go Utes!

#2327 three things bonus episode: groundhogs, football and palindromes

Today is a magical day. I'll give you three reasons why.

1. It's Groundhog Day!

The legend is that if the groundhog in Pennsylvania doesn't see his shadow, spring will come early. Punxatawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning, so HOORAY! Spring is coming. It won't seem like it here in Utah; tomorrow morning we are expecting a big ol' storm. But good job Phil!

Another fun thing involving a groundhog is this darling video I saw this morning about a groundhog named Chunk who eats vegetables from a garden. The dude who planted the garden noticed that he was missing a bunch of veggies, so he set up a camera to find out what was raiding his garden. Just watch the video. If you've already seen it, just watch it again, because we all need to smile more. Turn up the volume. The words and sounds are precious.

2. It's Super Bowl Sunday!

Who doesn't love an excuse to watch football and drink beer and eat food that's not healthy? I will also read during the game, so it's a win, win, win, win situation for me. Here's hoping the Kansas City Chiefs win the game, but honestly I wouldn't be sad if the San Francisco 49ers win either. Both teams are fun to watch.

3. It's Palindrome Day!

No matter how you look at it, no matter how you turn it around, today is the perfect palindrome. Here is the U.S., we usually look at days as month/day/year = 02/02/2020. In Europe, the date is usually looked at and day/month/year = 02/02/2020. Sometimes the year is first followed by the month and year = 2020/02/02. I love that kind of stuff!

And an extra bonus reason - it's Kevin's birthday!

Happy birthday to MT's little brother!

#2326 January is done

Sunday is the Superbowl, the unofficial American holiday of football and food. On Superbowl Sunday, we mostly don't eat traditional meals; we snack. We eat appetizers and drink beer. At least that's what happens at my house, and what I have experienced at the few Superbowl parties I have attended.

We are not having a party, but we will have appetizers and probably beer. I've been trying to figure out what to make. T wants lil smokies: little smoked sausages smothered in BBQ sauce. He likes to eat them twice a year - on New Year's Eve and Superbowl Sunday. MT said he would be happy with whatever I provided, which is pretty great. I was thinking of a queso dip and maybe some cookies. On Sunday I will be making some regular food for the week, so we won't just have crapola to eat.

Today is the last day of January. My mom always recaps the month, so I'll give it a try. Let's see:

• I missed three days of work because of that crappy cold
• I applied for a job, but I didn't get it
• I went to a Jazz game
• I went to the gym a few times
• I lost a little weight
• I watched a couple of movies
• I read five books

I've heard January referred to as the armpit of the calendar year. I don't know about that. It is long and there's not much to make it notable. It is kind of a letdown month after the jolliness of December. I have a lot of entries in my journal that say "quiet". I guess that's okay.

Back in the day when we lived in Idaho, my BFF LA and I used to hate February, probably because it was so cold and it felt like winter would never end and also because we disliked Valentine's Day even though we were both in committed relationships. I've softened my feelings about February because we often take really excellent vacations during the shortest month of the year. We won't be going on vacation in February this year, but I will get to go visit Mom and Lizzie toward the end of the month!

I hope you had an excellent January! Happy weekend!

          

~~~

~~~

I have added a new tab at the top of the blog called

2020 READING LIST.

Click on it to see the books I read in January. 

#2320 weekend wrap-up

I have been kind of miserable all day, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, and blowing my nose. Will this cold ever go away?

Mostly today I have been reading and watching football. I did finish the book I was reading on Friday. It was kind of weird and kind of cool. It was called "The Starless Sea" by Erin Morgenstern. She wrote "The Night Circus" which, as I think back on it, was also kind of weird and kind of cool. Today I was reading "The Dutch House" by Ann Patchett. I got it from the library on their Lucky 7 rack, so I only have seven days to read it. It's due on Wednesday. I have about 100 pages or so to go. I'll finish it easily. It's very good and easy to read.

By the way, I'm very pleased with the teams going to the Superbowl this year. The Kansas City Chiefs will play the San Francisco 49ers. Should be a great game on February 2!

Last night I had the opportunity to go to the Jazz game with a bunch of my male co-workers - not hard to do when you work for a construction company. I was the only woman in the group and I knew most of the men and they knew me too. The Jazz crushed the Sacramento Kings, so it was extra fun.

Sometime around the third quarter was when my nose completely closed up and I became a mouth-breather. I had a hard time sleeping last night because my mouth would get all dry since it was hanging open, then I would cough and sniffle. My lips were chapped and cracked this morning. So awesome.

My brother-in-law Kelly is coming over tomorrow. He is going to help MT with the houses. We've got two places that are empty. One is the newest house we bought. We were planning to flip it, but MT has decided to rent it. He has a renter all lined up to move in on February 1. The place isn't quite finished, and that is the house that Kelly will be working on. Kelly does the same thing MT does, except in Pocatello. He is very good at what he does. MT is so happy that Kelly is willing to come and work for him. Kelly will work on the Magna house while MT is working for a customer. Kelly will work four days a week and stay with us for three nights. He'll go back to Poky on Thursday night and return on Monday morning. MT can definitely use the help. He's super busy. Besides the house in Magna and the now vacant house in SLC, he has outside jobs lined up through March.

That's all I've got for tonight. I'm going to take some more cold medicine and try to get some sleep.

#2287 it didn't play out the way it was supposed to

Tonight was the PAC-12 championship football game. The University of Utah, the fifth ranked team in the country, played the 13th ranked Oregon Ducks. Utah was favored to win. If the Utes won, they had a chance at the College Football Playoff or at the least a appearance at the Rose Bowl as the PAC-12 champion.

But it was not to be. Oregon dominated the game from the beginning and ended up beating the Utes 37 - 15. I am disappointed. I'm sad. The Utah team I watched tonight looked nothing like the dominating team I've been watching this season. Oregon definitely came in with their hackles up looking to spoil the Utah party.

The Utes will still play in a bowl game, but it probably won't be anything cool. I was joking with MT that the Utes would probably end in the Turkey Bacon Bowl in Bismarck, North Dakota on Christmas Eve. (That's not really a thing; I just made it up.)

I can't even imagine how those young men feel in that locker room tonight. The plane ride home will probably be pretty quiet.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Damn.

#2272 weekend wrap-up

Happy Sunday evening. We did the "fall back" thing with our time, so I've been a little discombobulated all day. What I don't like is that it will be dark when I leave for work and dark when I leave work to go home. Ahh winter.

What did I do this weekend? On Saturday I went to WW, then I went to my neighborhood Starbucks for some "me time". I write in my journal and I plan the coming month. I met MT for lunch, then I came home to watch the Utah football game. It was a good one and the Utes were victorious over the Washington Huskies. The Utes are fun to watch this year.

After the game I took a nap. I meant to sleep for an hour, but it ended up being a little over two hours. I have had a bit of a cold, so my energy is lacking. I needed the sleep.

When I woke up, MT and I watched season two of the Amazon Prime series Jack Ryan. I have a thing for John Krasinski and I think he's wonderful as Jack Ryan. Last night we watched five episodes. That's nearly unheard of for me because I usually start playing with my phone or fall asleep or wander off. I was riveted. It was a good story with good action. I probably would have watched the final three episodes last night, but MT thought we should get to bed since it was midnight.

This morning we went to breakfast, as per our usual routine. My pancake was not delicious. We might have to shake up our Sunday morning ritual by finding another restaurant. When we got home, I cleaned the downstairs and did some laundry. I also went to the grocery store, then made lunch. I changed the sheets on my bed and it was about that time that MT came home from collecting rents and working on the flip. We decided to take a nap. I set a timer for an hour and fell asleep very quickly. I don't know if MT slept at all. He said I did not move for the whole hour.

When we woke up, it was time to finish Jack Ryan. So good!

I interviewed a young lady who will house-and-dog sit for us while we are on vacation. Her name is Katie and her business is dog-sitting. She seems nice and responsible and conscientious. I feel good about this decision.

I had a big to-do list this weekend, and I mostly got everything done except one thing: I didn't get out my winter clothes and put my summer clothes away. I think I'll be okay though because the weather forecast for next week is high 50s/low 60s during the day. Next weekend I will definitely swap out my clothes AND pick out what I'm going to take to Mexico!

What I'm looking forward to this week is going to the Jazz game on Wednesday night with my work friends. I think that MT's brother Kelly will come over one night this week to hang out, so it will be nice to see him.

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

#2268 the remote got a workout

Tonight was basically a perfect Sportstober night for me.

First up, World Series game 4. I watched the first few innings without interruption until...

...it was time for Jazz basketball. I flipped channels between the basketball game and the baseball game until...

...it was time for Utah football. I have mostly been watching football since it came on because the baseball game and the basketball game were both blowouts.

Technically, as of this moment, the baseball game is still going on. The score is Houston 8 - 1 Washington. That means that the Series will be tied 2 -2. Game 5 is tomorrow night. I like both teams, so I'm hoping for a long series of good baseball. I'll be watching tomorrow!

The Jazz beat the Sacramento Kings 113 - 81. The Jazz played well and the Kings really didn't. With so many new guys on the Jazz team this season, it was fun to watch them gel on the court tonight. Another cool thing about tonight's game was the reappearance of the so called purple mountain jerseys that were worn back in the glory days of the late '90s with Stockton and Malone. Lots of people don't like the jerseys, but they remind me of a happy time in Jazz history.

Now I am watching Utah football. It's halftime and the Utes are up 28 - 0. All is well so far.

My remote is now getting a rest since I'm done flipping back and forth between three channels.

#2266 weekend wrap-up

I didn't have a chance to write on Friday as I'd planned because I was so knackered when I got home from Garden After Dark that I just went right to bed. So let's start with that...

Garden After Dark is a yearly event at Red Butte Garden, typically held the two weekends prior to Halloween on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I have four shifts: both Thursdays and both Fridays. On Thursday and Friday I had hand-on shifts in the Orangerie. When I say hands-on, I mean front and center interaction with guests as they played the games in that location. It was chaotic and fun both nights. Usually I have a chance to take a quick break and walk around the garden to see the decorations and the overall theme. There was no chance of that on Thursday or Friday. Hopefully next week.

Yesterday I took Osi to the vet. She was due for her vaccinations and I wanted to chat with her vet about how she is doing. A mom and dad with two little girls and a baby in a carrier came in right after me. The dad was carrying a mid-sized dog, probably a little bigger than Osi. One of the ladies who works at the vet's office, Leesa, asked me if I'd mind if they took care of the family first and I said it was okay. I overheard Leesa telling the family about the costs of cremation and the timing of getting the remains. I immediately teared up because I imagine that I will be in that same situation probably sooner than I want to be. While a room was prepared for that family, the mom looked at me, her eyes bright with tears. I whispered, "I am so sorry," to her and she nodded and smiled sadly. It just crushed me.  Osi is doing okay now but I see her slowing down and struggling hard some days just to get up when she's laying down. But she doesn't miss meals and when she figures out that I'm home she seems happy to see me.


After the vet and WW, I came home, put on my relaxing clothes and set up my reading space at the

dining room table. I spent the afternoon reading which was glorious. We got some take out food for an early dinner and I happily watched my beloved Utes demolish the Arizona State Sun Devils from the comfort of my warm, dry house. #GoUtes

Today has been mellow, too. I've only left the house to get some groceries. I've been reading, I paid some bills, and I cooked. I made two dishes tonight: taco meat (of course) and chicken alfredo roll-ups.  I haven't tried them, but I did taste the alfredo sauce and it was dang tasty. T tried the roll-ups and he said they were good.

Coming up this week...more busy times at work, Garden After Dark on Thursday and Friday, and the first game of the World Series on Tuesday! I'm not sure who to root for, the Nationals or the Astros. I am a National League fan, but I like the Astros. Such a dilemma. I'm really mostly glad neither the Yankees nor Dodgers are involved in the Fall Classic.

Have a great week!

#2257 weekend wrap-up

This weekend signaled a shift in my routine. My regular Saturday docent gig at the Garden ended last weekend, so I didn't have to rush up there after the WW meeting to record blooms and then hangout in the Courtyard. Instead, I spent the late morning at Starbucks thinking deep thoughts (lol), writing in my journal, and  jotting down my goals and tasks for the month ahead.

Later in the afternoon, MT and I went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant we like, then I did the grocery shopping. It was grey, rainy and cool most of the day. I was scheduled to volunteer for the gate at a wedding at the Garden in the evening and my plan was to go up a bit early and record blooms, but it was cold and wet, so I decided to postpone blooms until Monday since I didn't want to be outside more than necessary.

I did do the wedding. The staff put up a tent, so I was protected from the rain, and boy, did it rain! There was even some thunder and lightning on occasion. Fortunately, it wasn't windy, so the rain just came straight down. I was wearing lots of layers of clothing: an undershirt, a long sleeve waffle-knit shirt, a t-shirt, yoga pants under my jeans, heavy socks and of course shoes. I also had a fleece jacket, a heavy sweater with a wind-breaker barrier, a scarf, a hat, gloves and my long coat with a hood. By the end of the night I was wearing everything I'd brought. The temperature was around 47 degrees. Because there was no wind, I felt okay, although I did crank up the heat when I got in my car at the end of the shift around 10:30.

Utah had a football game that night. I downloaded an app called Simple Radio and I was able to find the local station that had the game. I put in one ear pod and happily listened to the game the whole time. It worked out well for me and Utah won the game! #GoUtes

Today I slept in until almost 11. I did wake up early because Osi doesn't understand weekends and always wants her food at the same time every day. After I fed and medicated her, I climbed right back in bed. I had to put on an extra blanket last night and it was so cozy and warm under all the blankets!

There were five things on my to-do list today: laundry, pay the bills, cook, read, and watch football. I'm sorry to say that I did not complete this simple and concise task list. I didn't get to the bills. I blame Harry Potter.

'Tis the season for the Harry Potter movies to be on at random times and I get sucked in every single time. The Harry Potter movies are ones that I will watch no matter what time of day, what time of year, or where the movie is - start, middle or end. I'm in. I love them. Today we watched the end of Order of the Phoenix and all of Half-Blood Prince. Yes, we have all the movies on DVD, but here's the thing: if I take the time to find the movie and put it in the player, I feel like I must sit and watch without disturbance. When the movies are on TV and there are commercials, I feel free to move around and do other stuff like cook, do laundry, and even read. I know the movies so well that I can just pick up the story from wherever it is.

I think the channel that had the movies was going to continue with the Deathly Hallows, so I had to get up and leave before it got started. MT is binge-watching a show downstairs and I am watching the Cowboys and the Saints upstairs and reading and doing other stuff, like writing here (it's half-time).

Want to know what I cooked? I made a pasta dish with mild Italian sausage and a tasty marinara sauce from the store to which I added mushrooms, onions, and garlic. I topped the penne pasta with the sauce and freshly grated mozzarella cheese. It was good! Something about a bowl of pasta on a cold, rainy day that is comforting. I also made these cookies and this meatloaf. I added green peppers and garlic to the meatloaf, plus I sauteed those veggies with the onion for a little extra flavor. The sweet chili topping was way tasty. Even T liked it. I'd been craving meatloaf for some reason and it hit the spot.

I haven't been outside today except to throw out garbage. It's been rainy and chilly today, and I have enjoyed being inside. I had a bunch of laundry to do. Still working on it, in fact. My plan now is to go to my room, read my book club selection, finish the laundry and get to bed on time. I've got a busy week ahead of me.

Since October is an even-numbered month, I will be writing on even-numbered days, so I'll chat with you here on Tuesday the second. Hope you had a great weekend!

#2252 weekend wrap-up

This morning when I woke up I was sure it was Monday, so you better believe I was totally stoked when I realized it was Sunday!

I might have mentioned I got off work a bit early on Friday afternoon. What a treat! I came home and flopped on my bed, did some reading, played with my phone and looked at my planner. I was thinking about what Lizzie might be doing, then my phone rang and guess who? It was Lizzie! We talked for a little while about this and that. She had some fun plans with friends in San Diego on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday afternoon at work I listened to the local program on NPR called RadioWest. The subject of the show was a book written by Jeff Sharlet about the Family, a Christian group that is influential in U.S. politics. Netflix made a docuseries from the book and on Friday night I watched the first episode of the series, which is called The Family. There's not a lot of action, but it is interesting to see how far-reaching this group's influence is. I watched one episode on Friday and two more on Saturday. There are just five episodes, so I'll probably watch the last two just to finish it. I had no idea there were groups like this in existence, but that's mostly just because I am naive. Almost nothing is as straightforward as you would want it to be, especially politics.

Saturday was pretty mellow. First WW, then to RBG to record blooms and then to hang out in the Courtyard. It was a lovely day: warm but not too hot. The Garden wasn't too busy in the afternoon. There was a Utah football game happening just down the hill. The Utes were playing my alma mater, Idaho State University. It really isn't a fair fight. ISU is several divisions below a Power 5 conference team and they were beaten soundly, 31 -0. Why would a program like Idaho State play a program like Utah? It's all about the Benjamins - $$$. ISU gets a big fat check from Utah that will finance their football program for a two to three years. For Utah, it is basically a preseason game, a warm-up to the PAC12 conference games that start next weekend.

I got home in time to watch the entire second half of the game, but it wasn't much fun to watch, to be honest. I flipped back and forth between the Utah game and the BYU game. I know it's hard to believe, that I would willingly watch BYU, but they were playing USC, Utah's opponent next week. I had to see what would happen. BYU wound up beating USC in overtime. It was pretty spectacular, actually.

Today's big thing was that I went to the spa to get my eyebrows tamed and a pedicure. A new lady that I didn't know did the work. She was nice and did a good job. She was very good at the massage part. I love to get a pedicure.

Yesterday I finished two books. They were both good. One was a YA book called First & Then. The other was a book Lizzie recommended called The Music Shop. I finished that book while I was at RBG. It made my eyes leak and caused me to have a big goofy smile on my face. Good thing there weren't many people around. I'll be writing about them on the Reading page soon, but probably not tonight.

Other than the spa visit, today I have been doing chores at home. I made zucchini bread. (It's delicious!)  I started reading a new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. It has been in my To Be Read (TBR) pile for several years, so I decided to read it. I'm also reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X. I bought the ebook earlier in the year after #EkpesBookClub read it while we were on vacation in Thailand. I didn't participate in the discussions, but I read some of the tweets and decided to get it. Nothing light and fluffy for me the next couple of weeks!

Next week is busy. I've got a volunteer gig on Tuesday night. I think it is some corporate event thing. It's supposed to rain on Tuesday, so that might be kind of awful. On Thursday night I have my last concert of the season at the Garden, Jason Isbell. I will be doing clean up, so I bought a ticket for MT to come to the show. Neither of us know his music, but Lizzie said he's good, so I'm looking forward to hearing someone new. Friday is the Utah/USC game. Saturday during the day will be business as usual, then T and I will fly out to southern California to spend a few days with Mom and Lizzie. I'm looking forward to that!

#2165 Saturday with Sandy

Last night my in-laws came down from Idaho. Jake and Linda got here first and we went out for dinner. A couple of hours later Kevin and Janet arrived. You're wondering why they were all here, aren't you? The four of them are going on vacation together to Cape Canaveral, Florida. They parked their cars here and MT took them to the airport this morning. It was nice to have them here.

I started the day with a car shuffle as we figured out where to park all the cars. I think we got it all worked out. Then I went to WW. I gained and I was annoyed about it. I planned and tracked and stayed in my points and I gained. GRRR. Overall for the month I did have a loss (-0.2 whoop de doo although any loss is a good loss) and I am cranky. I was hoping to go on vacation down at least a couple of lbs, but it was not meant to be. Oh well. When I get back from vacation, I am recommitting myself to WW and to reaching my goals.

The WW workshop today was a bit different because it was an open house so people could come for free to find out about the program and to see what a meeting, um, workshop, is like. Have I mentioned before how much I like my WW coach Lana and the 10:00 group? I think maybe I have. :)

After the workshop I went over to Starbucks. I like to go over there at the start of the month with my planner and my journal. I put in my airpods, listen to music, think and write. It's good for me. I usually spend about an hour or so there. I look forward to it.

I got my vacation pedicure at Soulstice Day Spa today! Mckenzie is so cute and she does a great job. I picked a hot pink color for my toes. I think it will look great on the white sandy beaches of Thailand! When my toes were done, I skibbled to over to Old Navy and bought a cute little dress that is going on vacation and a couple of tops that won't be going on vacation. For reals, every time I go to Old Navy I find something cute. I think the prices are decent and I don't mind if they only last a season or two because I definitely get my money's worth out of them.

MT and I had a late lunch/early dinner at a Mexican restaurant that we like. I was super hungry and gobbled down my smothered burrito. It was delicious.

I had to do a little shopping at Target this evening. I bought toiletries for our trip like hand sanitizer and  Pepto-Bismol and aloe vera. I really truly think I have purchased all the things that will be going on vacation.

When I got home I felt extremely tired. I went to bed pretty late and woke up pretty early. I laid down on my bed and played with my beloved iPhone. When I came down to get a glass of water, MT had the Jazz game on the TV, so I sat down to watch with him. The Jazz were playing the Houston Rockets and stayed with them well in the first quarter. I fell asleep but kept waking myself up with my snoring. I finally woke up for good at the start of the fourth quarter and by that time the Jazz were losing by 20 points, so I started writing here. Not a good night for the Jazz.

Tomorrow is Superbowl Sunday, an unofficial American holiday where we eat game day food and watch the big football game and all the commercials. The Los Angeles Rams are playing the New England Patriots. I got on a couple of Superbowl boards. It would be fun to win $100! I'll be watching the game. I can't help myself. I'd be a lot more invested if the New Orleans Saints were playing, but they are not. I hope the Rams win, not because I especially like the Rams but more because I really don't like the Patriots. I don't care for over-achievers.

That's all for today, friends. Have a great weekend!

#2159 I need a prompt

I realized that I don't have a prompt for myself for Mondays. Every day of the week I have a little something that I can fall back on if I can't think of anything else to write about. There's Travel Tuesday, WW Wednesday, Three Things Thursday, Food on Friday, Saturday with Sandy and Weekend Wrap-up, but there's nothing for Monday. I'll have to ponder that.

I wondered if I had written on January 21 last year. I did. The post is #1988, if you are interested, and is about our trip to Mazatlan.

This morning it snowed like crazy here. It seemed like it wouldn't stop. There were local news stories saying that the highway patrol was advising people not to drive if they didn't have to.  My commute to work was slow but safe. Sometime after 1:00 the snow finally did stop, then it started getting cold, which means slippery roads. We decided to send the staff home early so they could get home before the roads got icy and the sky got dark. I was glad about it.

On Saturday I wrote that I was looking forward to watching football on Sunday and that I was hoping the Saints and the Chiefs would win. I did watch both games, but the results were the opposite of what I wanted. The LA Rams beat the Saints. There was a terrible, egregious no-call late in the game that would have sealed the Saints victory, but the refs f'd that up. Really, I'm not being a bitter fan. It is well documented that the call was missed by the officials and it could have been not just one, but two penalties. The New York Times knows.

In the second game, well, I don't even know what happened to the Chiefs. You can't spot the Patriots a 14 point lead in the first half. The Chiefs battled and sent the game to overtime, but pretty much everyone knows that if you give the ball to Tom Brady on a short field, points are going to be scored. With the NFL's wonky overtime rule, that means the Chiefs didn't even have a chance to score in OT.

So the Superbowl is set. The LA Rams will face the New England Patriots. I will be rooting for the Rams, but only because I just don't like the Patriots. The Superbowl will be on February 3.

Yep, it's clear that I need a prompt for Monday. This post was all over the place. I'd probably write more random things if I wasn't tired.

Good night! Be safe! Be kind!

#2158 Saturday with Sandy

The time has absolutes flown by today. I can't believe it's already 8:00! I've been busy doing different stuff today.

First, although this doesn't really pertain to me right now, I want to mention that MT entered the lottery to have a chance to hike the John Muir Trail this summer. Hiking the JMT has been a long-time dream of MT's, and he finally feels like he is in a place in life where he can afford to take 30 days off to do the hike. I'm not exactly sure when he'll find out if he drew out a permit, but I'll keep you posted. That was the first bit of excitement today.

Saturday is WW weigh-in day for me. I was down a mere 0.2 lbs, but I think that any minus is a good minus when it comes to the scale. One of the ladies in the group achieved a loss of 100 lbs, so we celebrated her. I am happy for her. She is so smiley and cute. The kicker is that she works at one of the best donut shops in the city. I think it makes her all the more impressive.

As happy as I am for her, I feel jealous and underachieving. My feelings caused me to have a serious talk with myself about my future with WW. I'm still processing it. I'll probably have more to say on this subject when I write on Wednesday.

With my wobbly feelings, I headed to Kohls to look for swimsuits. Sheesh! I'm a glutton for punishment, right? I did manage to find a couple of swimsuit tops that I thought looked okay. I also bought a swim skirt. I have tops and bottoms already, but I wanted something new and I couldn't choose between the two tops. I also bought myself a cute cover-up, a couple of moisture-wicking tops for when we go to the temples and some underwear.

I spent a couple of hours at Starbucks doing a little thinking and writing, including jotting down some thoughts about WW. I find it is helpful to be in a neutral location, free of the distractions of home. I popped in my airpods, listened to music and thought about myself for awhile. So much introspection!

This evening I have been paying our bills and making sure all is right in our financial world. Seems to be.

Now I'm going to take some time to do some reading. I made the mistake of going to the library yesterday. I have little self control when it comes to books. Before the trip to the library, I was already actively reading three books. I went to the library just to pick up a book I had on hold that I am planning to read before February 7. It's a short book, so I can probably read it quickly at the end of the month. Unfortunately, I saw a book that I have been wanting to read for almost a year now and I just couldn't pass it up. I have seven, make that six days, to read the book Educated by Tara Westover. Add to that the book I'm reading for the book club, Heavy by Kiese Laymon, which we will be discussing the first 116 pages of  on Tuesda, so I've got some reading to do. The other two books don't have any time frame. One I read before I go to bed because it's on my Kindle and the other is a book I own, so there's no rush. All of the books are good, so I'm excited to read.

I'm looking forward to watching football tomorrow. I'll be rooting for the Saints and the Chiefs, if you are interested.

Hope y'all are having a nice weekend so far! Stay safe and be kind to each other.

#2140 not the result I was hoping for

I've been excited all week for Friday night. Why? Because Utah was playing in the PAC12 conference title game. A win be the first conference championship for the school and a trip to the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. That's some heady stuff! I listened to pre-game radio stuff and even left work a bit early so I could get dinner going before the game started so I wouldn't be interrupted.

The game was not beautiful. It was a defensive battle all the way. The score was tied 3-3 at halftime. The only touchdown was scored by the defense - the Washington defense. The final score was 10 - 3.

The game ended on a bad no-call for Utah. The Utah receiver was downfield and the ball was coming his way. The defended visibly bumped the receiver from behind, causing the receiver to stumble and not be able to catch the ball. That's pass interference and it should have been a penalty on the Washington defense. I'm not saying that the no call is what caused Utah to lose by any means, but the play should have been called.

So no conference championship this year. No Rose Bowl either. It was still a great season and there will be a bowl game late in December. I'll watch that game. For now, though, college football season is over, so I'll turn my attention to Utah Jazz basketball with a side eye on the NFL.

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Today is the end of November, so the last day of National Blog Posting Month. I have enjoyed finding something to write about every day. Sorry for the weird writing prompt days! In December I'll write on even number days, so my next post will be on Sunday the 2nd. Have a great weekend!

#2135 glad I stayed up

Last night, I wrote here during halftime of the Utah/BYU football. It wasn't looking good for the Utes; the score was 20 - 0 at the half.

In the second half, though, the Utes remembered who they are (PAC-12 South Champs!) and the defense got an interception that turned into a touchdown and that put everything in motion. Utah ended up winning 35 - 27.

The win makes it eight times in a row that Utah has beaten BYU.

Utah's next game will be Friday night against Washington for the PAC-12 championship.

I hope you all had a great weekend. Back to work tomorrow! (Except for you, Mom. Lucky lady!)

#2134 Saturday with Sandy

We woke up to the first snow of this winter season today. There was about an inch of snow on the deck when I let Osi outside around 6:30. She promptly plopped herself down and started licking all the snow she could reach. Then she went down on the grass and rolled around. The girl loves the snow.

The snow stopped and the sun came out, but the temperature remained low all day. The roads are clear, but there is snow on the yard.

MT has been painting. He is now down the stairs and into the front room. We decided to put carpet in our bedroom and to re-carpet the upstairs hallway and down the stairs. The hallway and the stairs have bugged me for years because they are two different colors and styles of carpet. When we moved in, we pulled up the carpet in our bedroom and put in laminate wood flooring. Osi's toenails click click click across the floor at night. I will be glad to have carpet, I think.

MT and I went to Lowe's to pick out some carpet. We also looked at some Pergo flooring for the other three upstairs rooms and tile for the bathroom. I'm hopeful that the carpeting can be laid and that MT will be able to put in new tile flooring in my bathroom while I am in Georgia. MT feels confident that it can be done.

I cooked a chuck roast this afternoon. It turned out so great. There's something satisfying about roasting meat low and slow in the oven on a cold afternoon.

Mostly I have been reading today. I finished a book tonight. I also went to the library and picked up two more books. One I had on hold and the other was on the Lucky Day rack. That means I only have seven days to read it. No renewals on the Lucky Day books. I just started reading it tonight while I am watching the Utah/BYU football game.

It has not been a good game for Utah so far, but there is still hope. The fourth quarter is about to start and the Utes are down 27 - 14.  The Cougars came out with fire in their souls. Utah...not so much it seems. It ain't over yet though.  #GoUtes

I gotta get back to the game now. Until tomorrow!

#2127 Saturday with Sandy

My goodness I like Saturdays! I allow myself to chill and rest and do as I please, for the most part.

I woke up early, around 5:30, and let Osi out, then we both returned to bed. I looked at my phone for awhile, then fell back to sleep until my alarm woke me up around 9. I got ready and headed to WW.

Last week was a bit of a challenge. Four out of the five days, there was food at work. On Monday we had a BBQ. On Wednesday I had a lunch meeting. Thursday we had breakfast during our safety meeting and I had lunch meeting that day as well. On Friday, one of the other departments made everyone breakfast burritos. Now it is true that I don't have to have any of those meals. I can bring in my own food, but I don't. I do make an effort to find out what is being served so that I can plan my WW points. I try to balance my other meals so I can enjoy eating with my friends and co-workers and not go overboard on my points budget. The gain certainly could have been much bigger.

This week will be challenging as well because of the holiday centered completely around food that is coming on Thursday. We spent a considerable amount of time during our WW workshop today talking about handling Thanksgiving meal points. The struggle is real!

After WW, I dropped some stuff off at the Deseret Industries. If you don't know what the DI is, it's like Goodwill. People drop off clothing and household items that are then cleaned up and refurbished and sold at reduced prices. I like to take stuff there because it's very convenient because it's so close to my home. I feel good about it. I hope that the things we donate will bring other people some pleasure and joy.

 Utah football had an early kick-off today at 11:30 am. I picked up some Chick-fil-A for myself and the boys, then I settled down to watch the game. The Utes were playing at Colorado and it was snowy there! There was snow on the field and there were snow flurries through the first half. The teams were tied at 7-7 at halftime, then the Utes proceeded to kick some ass in the second half and won easily, 30-7.

Right now I am watching the Arizona State/Oregon game. If Oregon wins, Utah will be the PAC-12 South champions. I've never rooted so hard for Oregon to win. Right now it's halftime and Oregon is ahead. If ASU comes back to win, Utah's hope for the title isn't over. If ASU loses to Arizona next week, Utah wins. Basically it's all up to ASU. Lose, Sun Devils, lose!

No, it doesn't have any impact on my life other than it would please me for Utah to be the PAC-12 South champs and have a chance to play for the first time in the PAC-12 Championship.

During the football game, I read. I had three books in a pile and I read from each of them (at separate times, of course). The thing I like about sports is that I enjoy watching them because I like the action and the human drama. I also like them because there is downtime and I can read. When I'm watching a movie or a TV show, I can't read because I am paying attention to the story on the screen. With sports, I can hear what's going on and I'll watch when I hear the announcer's voice get excited or ominous. Best of both worlds.

The rest of the afternoon, I continued reading. I looked through my new guidebook of Charleston and Savannah. I'm excited to go to Savannah with Mom and Lizzie next month. I had a couple of guidebooks for Savannah but I can't find them now, so I had to get new, different ones. Lizzie and I were there in May of 2017, so I still have memories of places we went, and there are places I'd like to visit again and several places we didn't get to last year that I would like to see this year. I'm really excited to be there with Mom. Savannah is such an enchanting town; I hope that she will love it, too.

I actually cooked tonight. I don't usually cook on Saturday, but I had a pasta dish marked on Pinterest that I had purchased the ingredients for. I don't think the sauce came out very well, but you can't really go wrong with pasta, chicken and smoked sausage. It was good. There's plenty left to get us through a couple of days this week, too.

That's pretty much all I've got for tonight. I know it's not very exciting, but it's a good life.

#2107 powering through

The last time I wrote I was catching a cold. Well, I caught it. You know, some years when I get a flu shot I feel fine and some years I get sick. I've been coughing and sneezing and I even lost my voice for a couple of days but I'm doing mostly okay. I've had stuff going on and I don't have time to be sick.

On Wednesday MT and I went to see Jimmy Buffett in concert. Jimmy Buffett is one of those artists that have always been in my life soundtrack. When I was in college, I had a friend named Mary who, when we were at the bar, would always sing, "Barmaid bring a pitcher". That's when I learned about Jimmy Buffett's song "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw" (which he did NOT perform here in SLC). When I was in Palm Island eating a delicious cheeseburger, I knew I was having a "Cheeseburger in Paradise". And who hasn't fantasized about singing "Margaritaville" in a karaoke competition on a cruise ship? (It didn't happen to me, but I saw it happen). Another great Jimmy Buffett memory is the couple celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and dancing to "Come Monday" on a sailboat off the coast of Cancun during a snorkeling excursion.

Seeing Jimmy in concert was everything I hoped it would be. I didn't know every song, but every song was fun and sounded good. Jimmy looked like he was having a great time. He was wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt and he was barefoot and smiley, running around and waving at the crowd and hopping up and down and bantering with the Coral Reefer band. The dude is 71 years old! He was awesome! MT and I both had a great time. Seeing Jimmy perform "Margaritaville" live was a thrill for me.

Here's a review of the concert from Salt Lake Magazine. It's not the best written piece, but I agree with what she says.

On Thursday and Friday I volunteered at Red Butte Garden for their annual Garden After Dark event. The theme this year is a magical school. The people who come up with the themes and the decorations every year are so creative and talented. I had the chance to walk through the whole thing on Thursday night and it is fun and beautiful and even kinda magical. I was stationed at the potions maze, which is the second "class" on the agenda. The guests were all into it and I had fun too.

Yes, it gets cold out there when the wind blows down out of the canyon. I wear lots of layers of clothes along with a hat, coat and gloves. I suck on cough drops. I drink warm water. When I get in my car, I crank up the heat and turn on my seat warmer. I've been okay. 

Today I made a promise to myself that after I was done with a couple of must-do tasks this morning, I would stay home and rest. I bought some Tylenol Extra Strength Cold and Flu Severe and that stuff is powerful! I took some and went to bed to read and rest. I didn't read at all. The medicine pulled me right into sleepy-land for a few hours. It was great. I'll definitely take some more of that tonight.

Right now though, I'm sitting on my couch. I'm wearing sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve shirt. I'm wearing socks. I still feel cold. MT and I are watching the USC vs Utah football game. So far Utah is looking good. Hopefully the Utes will hold on and get this win. It would be a big one.

Have a great weekend everyone!