#2856 three things: a summer cold, Foo Fighters, and a little break

1. A summer cold. It seems like every summer, I catch a cold. It is usually minor and I get over fairly quickly. This year, the cold began on Sunday in the form of a sore throat when I woke up that morning. I drank orange juice and let myself rest that afternoon. On Monday, the sore throat was still there, and the sneezing started. That night I volunteered at a concert at the Garden. (Amos Lee. He was really good.) I was doing recycling, so I left the venue around 10:45 and got home around 11:15. I took some cold medicine and got to bed by midnight. I overslept the next morning by a little bit, probably because I still had the cold meds working and I didn't have enough sleep. I popped some Dayquil and headed to work. The sore throat wasn't as bad, but my head was stuffed up, and my left ear was popping all day. That night, I went to see the Foo Fighters in concert - more on that coming up next. On Wednesday I was totally spent. I was fortunate to work from home that day, so I made it through with a nap at lunchtime. Last night, which was Wednesday, I got to bed by 8:30, fully loaded with Nyquil (two capsules) and slept in the guest room very soundly, with occasional wake-ups to cough, blow my nose, or use the bathroom. This morning, I made the decision to stay home from work. Thursday is all-staff-in-the-office day, so you either go in or take a sick day or a vacation day. I took the sick day. I glugged a bunch of orange juice, loaded up on cold meds and took it easy. I wrote and drew and read and napped. I feel so much better tonight. I can breathe through my nose 90 percent of the time, I haven't coughed, and my ears aren't popping. I also feel alert and functional. I even cooked dinner. I needed that rest.

2. The Foo Fighters. MT and I really like the Foo Fighters. We had tickets to see them play last year, but sadly, their drummer, Taylor Hawkins, died. The tour was understandably cancelled. We were so excited when they announced this year's tour, and I was happy to get tickets. The show was at USANA Amphitheater, my least favorite venue in the city. The venue is nice and the parking is fine, but the entry and exit from the parking is the absolute worst. We were in line for 20 to 30 minutes to park, then sitting in the parking lot for another 30 minutes or so to exit the parking lot. I took a snoozle after the show in the truck. Another thing that sucks about USANA is the price of the beers. We had four beers, two each, and it cost over $80. Simple math: $20 per beer. WTH?

Enough about that...let's talk about the band. They were very good, and the show was lots of fun. The thing that sticks in my memory is how many men were there, like pairs and groups of men. I was sitting next to a couple of dudes, and they were sitting next to a couple of dudes. There was a group of four young dudes behind us, and a pair of dudes in front of us. The coolest thing is that all of these dudes were singing their hearts out, top of their lungs to every song. The dude three dudes down from me seemed to be having some kind of religious experience. He was a big guy with a big black beard and his hands were clasped or waving around in the air as he bellowed out all the words. It was awesome! 

See the guy with with big black beard and the black cap?!

The band played for two and half hours or so, no breaks, just all the music. Dave Grohl screams and shreds that guitar and he is a freaking legend. The new drummer is really good, and the rest of the band is tight and talented. It is just hard to take your eyes off Dave. His energy is amazing.

3. A little break. Tomorrow I get to go to southern California to visit Mama and Lizzie. I saw Lizzie last month, of course, but I haven't seem Mama since May. I am looking forward to this quick weekend trip. I've had so much going on in July and I had to suck it up and be a grown up and it was hard. I want to sit on my mom's couch and read and lounge and relax. I hope that's not too much to ask :)

Take care of yourselves! Rock on!!

#2841 weekend wrap-up

On Friday and Saturday, MT went to Idaho to visit his folks and siblings. All four of the brothers and sister were together for the first time in awhile, so I'm glad he got to spend a little time with all of them. I had self-care Saturday yesterday, and it was pretty great. I had it booked and planned for awhile, so I would have been doing things whether MT was here or not. 

On Saturday, I got my hair cut. I probably got an inch of hair chopped off. It was starting to look frizzy and bushy, so I was glad for the change. It feels good. I also had my eyebrows groomed. They were getting bushy, too, and now they look pleasant.  In between appointments, I had a nice breakfast at Beans & Brews with a good coffee and a brekkie sandwich. I read for a little while, and it was damn pleasant.

In the afternoon, I played with the dogs outside. It was sunny though a little chilly. I haven't been taking the dogs for walks because Stella freaks out and barks the whole time. She would rather play frisbee in the yard than go for a walk. I'd like to take Mac and Harley walking, but it's hard to leave Stella behind, even though she doesn't really want to go. I think she gets FOMO (fear of missing out.) Instead of walking, we play in the back yard. Sometimes Mac will play with a ball, but mostly Mac and Harley "hunt" for kibbles. I toss kibbles out in the grass, kinda like chicken feed, and the girls sniff out the kibbles and gobble them up. Meanwhile, Stella runs after the frisbee. She could care less about the kibbles. I threw one to her; it hit her between the eyes and bounced off her face. She didn't even bat an eye, just kept looking at me and her frisbee. It's not an ideal situation, but it is where we are right now. MT still takes the dogs for a walk in the morning. Sometimes he will leave Stella at home because she's a brat. He told me the other day that she slipped right out of her collar. She kept walking along with them, but they turned around and came home early. 

When I got tired of throwing the frisbee, I sat on the deck. We got a different toy for Stella to fetch. Mac and Harley chased each other around and wrestled on the grass. It felt so good to get a little sunshine on my face! Stella liked it, too. 

Most of the day, I read and puttered around the house. I napped, too. All good.

Today, Sunday, is T's 25th birthday. I think he has had a good day. He got some groovy gifts, and we had a dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant called Carmine's. 

Jordyn and T

birthday dinner!

Here's a couple of art things I did this week. Jill must be in a bird mood, because both prompts involved birds. The first one was to draw an owl. Here's mine; I think he is cute and fluffy-looking.

The prompt we had for today was to draw a bird with the non-dominant hand. I opted for an easy design, which I also painted with my left hand.

The  funny thing about it is that I don't think this bird would look that different if I drew and painted him with my right hand. hahahaha  Naïve art, indeed.

Have a wonderful week!

#2830 weekend roundup

I did a couple of things that were kind of unusual for me these past few days. 

On Thursday, I volunteered at a charter school's book fair. The librarian there is a member of my book club. I think I may have met her once in person, but now I know a bit more about her. During our book club meeting on Wednesday, she mentioned that volunteers - usually parents - were not signing up to help, so I offered to give her a bit of my time. Mostly, I chatted with her (Kathy is her name) about being a school librarian. I straightened up some books and reached the higher ones for the little kids. It was no big deal, and I think Kathy was happy that I showed up when I said I would. 

Yesterday was Saturday. I had an appointment at the spa to get a manicure, a pedicure, and have my eyebrows tamed. All of that was fine, except the eyebrow waxing was a little aggressive and I might be missing a bit of skin in some places along with eyebrow hair. The brows look good, and so does the skin, but yesterday, the skin looked raw and pink. My scary eye area didn't stop me from going over to Old Navy and to Barnes and Noble. People did look at me funny, come to think of it. 

After shopping a little, I decided that since I was at Jordan Landing, I would go to a movie. I had time for lunch first, so I went to Chipotle and had some tacos while I read a book. The movie I saw was Women Talking. It is nominated for Best Picture. I do not see a victory in that category. The women talk. They talk a lot. The premise is that these women live in a colony, like a religious colony. Some of the men drug the women and rape them. The women vote to decide whether to stay, to stay and fight, or to leave. The vote is tied between staying and fighting, and leaving. The women of three of the predominant families (I guess) have to make the final decision on behalf of all the other women. This movie is sort of based on a true story. Men in a colony did rape women, but did the women really talk it out like this? I don't know about that. 

I actually snoozed a bit during the first 15 minutes or so. I was full tacos and guacamole, after all, and those loungers they have the movie places now are really comfortable! I kind of missed the set up. I spent the whole movie wondering where all the men were. I had to read a synopsis after the fact. Some (most) of the men had gone to the town to bail out the rapists, I guess. I actually don't really care because I didn't really care for the movie. 

When I came home, we had some dinner, then I was feeling really tired, so I went to bed. It was 8pm. I was out by 8:30. I did wake up a couple of times during the night to use the potty, then I went right back to sleep. This morning I got up around 6am to feed the dogs, then got back in bed. I decided I was done being in bed, so I went down to the couch, covered up in my weighted blanket, and read for awhile. Then I fell asleep and finally woke up for real at 9:30am. Was it the women and all their talking that wore me out? The incredible foot massage? The loss of eyebrow hair and skin? Who knows, but I was tuckered out!

Today has been pretty normal. I've paid the bills and cleaned the bathroom. I've got a load of laundry going. I'm getting ready to watch the Grammy awards. The prompt for the art group I'm in was self-portrait. This is the photo I drew from:

I had it on my beloved iPhone and turned it upside down...

...and started drawing. Here's what it looked like (turned right side up)

I accept the imperfections of my drawings. This one I'm showing you is actually my fourth try! The first two tries were scary as hell because I drew teeth. (Not good.) The third one was fine until I couldn't stop with the paint. Not knowing when to stop and leave it alone is something I'm working on. With this fourth effort, stopped and accepted it as it is, imperfections and all.

I'm off to watch the Grammys! Talk to you on Wednesday!

#2827 Saturday with Sandy

My day started with some much-needed self care. I got up early, around 6:00, to feed the dogs and let them run around outside for a few minutes, then we all got back in bed and slept until nearly 9:00. It felt so good! I then took a shower, washed and conditioned the hair, shaved, then slathered on moisturizer, and gave myself a facial mask. All my skin felt happy, hydrated, and smooth. My hair is soft and shiny.  I also put some thick, rich coconut  body butter on my freshly pumiced feet. So smooth. I am terrible at moisturizing. I have boatloads of lotions, but I rush past putting the lotion on, except for my face. I am developing a habit, a ritual maybe, of putting on lip balm and hand lotion before I get in bed every night. It’s a start.

After all of that activity, I made a pot of coffee and settled in with a book. There was lots of toy throwing for Stella, but it was still quality quiet time. 

Pretty soon, it was time to take T to work. I put on a pair of jeans and layered tops. I dropped T off, then went to Red Butte Garden for my monthly winter walk. It was like I had the place to myself, even though I know there were other people up there. It was cold, but I was dressed appropriately, and it was a beautiful walk. Here are some photos:

I like the different colors of the trees.

It’s me. Hi!

Snowy!

Those two birds are blue jays. (Trust me.)

Obligatory waterfall photo.

I love that the path is cleared.

Trees in winter.

I walked around for about 40 minutes, then my butt was getting cold, so it was time to leave. Thankful for heated seats in the car! When I got home, I took the doggos for a walk in the neighborhood, then we had some outside play time in the back yard so they could run around and chase each other and the toys. When I got cold, we came inside for quiet time. 

MT and I went out for dinner at La Hacienda. When we got home, MT fell asleep on the couch and I changed the sheets on the bed. I love having clean sheets!  I know everyone does, it’s not just a me thing. I change my sheets every other week, but I really think I would like to change them weekly. Maybe I’ll see if I can get into the habit. I only have two sets of sheets. I think I want another set. 

Now it’s nearly time to pick T up from work, then I’m going to bed. I’ve got a few things on tomorrow’s to-do list, and that includes sitting on the couch to read and listen to/watch football. 

I hope you made the most of your Saturday, even if that meant staying home and taking care of yourself, or seemingly doing nothing. It is totally allowed. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

#2760 weekend wrap-up

It's been a busy weekend, after quite a busy week. I think things are going to slow down a bit from here, though, and I'm okay with that.

On Friday night, MT and I went to Sundance Mountain Resort for a Bluebird Cafe show. I skipped the hike and took the shuttle bus. Unknown to me, there are actually two shuttles required to get to the amphitheater. The first is an actual little bus that takes you past the various shops and the bar to the bottom of one of the ski lifts. You then get on a trailer with benches. The trailer is pulled up the hill by a big pick-up truck. None of it takes much time, but you are squished in with a lot of people. 

Once we reached the venue itself, it's a quick walk up the hill to the seating area. We were sitting in the bring-your-own-seats section, and we were a little late, so we were up at the top and couldn't see anything. It's okay, though. It was three people sitting on a stage with their guitars. We could hear perfectly well. The bad thing was that the walk up the hill left me completely breathless. I recovered, but gosh, it's really an unpleasant experience not to be able to catch your breath. 

The weather was nice and cool, and the sky was full of stars. MT and I snuggled under a light blanket, sipped our beers, and enjoyed the performance. I did not hike back out after the show. I walked down the hill, skipping the open-air trailer ride, and hopped on the little shuttle bus. MT did beat me back to the truck, but I was way happier than if I had hiked.

Here's a pic of us on the mountain:

On Saturday, I wanted to sleep in, but the doggos don't know the difference between days of the week, and they wanted food at 6:30. I fed them, made some coffee, then sat outside to read and sip. It was a nice, cool morning. Around 10, I went up to Red Butte Garden to record blooms and chat with people. That day, I was asked if it was okay to eat an apple from the trees in the Children's Garden, I was asked about general volunteer information by a lady from the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, and I was asked about my knee surgeries by a couple of women from India. Quite the variety, eh?

I made it home in time for book club. We are reading What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline. She joined the discussion, so it was extra fun. The book is quite good, lots of twists and turns and a pretty big body count in the middle section. I am looking forward to finding out how the author wraps it all up. We had a cameo appearance from another author whose books we have read, Erin Craig. The topic was whether the author bases characters, especially male characters, on their significant others. This subject came about when Lisa admitted that Jason Bennett, the main character in this novel, is kind of her dream man. Erin said she had loosely based the male lead character in her last book on a basketball player she has a bit of crush on, and hinted that in her next book there is a character that is similar to Ekpe, our book club leader. LOL

After book club, I went over to the spa to have my eyebrows groomed and to get a pedicure. Eyebrows are mostly no fun, but at least it's quick. The pedicure was good. The paint on the nails is icing on the cake. The real pleasure in a pedicure is that massage action. I like the woman who takes care of me there, Jamee. She's a sweetheart. 

My next stop was a store called Pirate O's.  A couple of my co-workers have been telling me all about how great this import store is, so I decided I'd give it a look. To me, my friends oversold it. The store is good sized, and is full of imported stuff. There is a lot of candies, mostly from England and Germany, it looked like. There are some fancy meats and cheeses, and a bunch of dry goods. I thought everything was kind of expensive, and I was disappointed that there wasn't anything from Spain, except for manchego cheese. I thought for sure there might be some jamon serrano or turron, but I couldn't find any. There was a big selection of tea, and a few bags of coffee beans. The thing about the beans is that it only had the origin, but not the roast or when it was packaged. 

I did buy a couple of things: a bag of Bear Lake raspberry taffy (so freaking good), and a box of alfajores cookies. I heard about these Argentinian cookies on a podcast, and I've been wanting to try some. There is a bakery here in town, Crown Bakery, that makes them, and the cookies I bought from Pirate O's were from Crown Bakery.  The alfajores are a sandwich cookie. The outside is a tender, powdery, slightly dry and not too sweet soft cookie. The middle part is dulce de leche. They are pretty damn good. The people on the podcast I listened to had spent six weeks in Buenos Aires, and listed the alfajores as one of their favorite foods they had ever eaten on their many, many trips. I bet the cookies are amazingly delicious when they are freshly baked. I may still go find Crown Bakery one of these days just to find out. 

Here's a pic of me while I was out and about yesterday. I was reppin' Kendrick Lamar with my cute bucket hat. My hair looked pretty bad after a morning at the Garden under a big floppy hat. Plus, I really wanted to wear my Steppers at least once.

When I got home after all that, I took a long nap. I also talked to my mama for awhile that night. 

Today, I went to RBG to do the docent thing. I found out that my fellow docent, a woman called Wendy, also had Covid. I wonder if I passed it along to her. We were sick at the same time. :( We are both mostly better now. 

MT and I went out for lunch, a repeat of last week's meal at La Hacienda. We love their chili verde enchiladas. Then we picked T up from his friend's house. They camped at Payson Lakes this weekend. I like that T got out of the house and into nature with his friends. He said they had a good time. When we got home, I took a long nap. I often feel tired. I know that I do a lot of stuff, but I feel very tired very often, even when I am sitting around a lot. I think it is covid related. 

This week, I have just a couple of things. I've got a dentist appointment tomorrow morning. I've got a concert at RBG on Wednesday. I'll do blooms, probably Friday after work, and the docent gig on Sunday. Pretty calm after last week's musical spectacular! 

Here's hoping y'all had a fun, relaxing weekend. Can you believe Labor Day is coming and we're going to turn another page on the monthly calendar? This year has zoomed by. Remember 2020? Every month seemed 75 days long as we were mostly staying at home. Life has definitely picked back up. 

#2726 wellness Wednesday

When I was on vacation, I took a break from the constant news cycle. Yes, I looked at Facebook and Instagram, and I was on Twitter occasionally, but not for very long.  Mostly I went on those platforms to post photos, and maybe to get a snippet of what was happening in the world. The break was a good thing for me, in lots of ways, not the least of which was a reprieve from the constant barrage of news and opinions and rhetoric.

Since coming home, I have been deliberate about what I look at and what I engage in. One day I was sitting in the office, and I realized that I felt happy. I felt present and satisfied with my life. Sadly, it had been awhile since I'd felt those feelings. As I and wont to do, I started thinking about what was driving the good vibes so I could continue riding the wave. I came up with a few things, and one of them was that I wasn't spending so much time with the news. It's not that I am unaware of what is happening, but I haven't taken the time to immerse myself in all of it. I get the gist, file it away, and move on. I'm not saying this is a good thing, but it's good for me right now.

All that being said, there was no way to avoid yesterday's news about the school shooting in Texas. 18 little kids and two teachers were murdered at school. It was just two days before the start of their summer vacation. Remember when you were in fourth grade and how awesome the end of the school year was and how you couldn't wait for summer vacation to start? I bet a bunch of those kids had fun plans with their families. I bet they were looking forward to running through the sprinklers or going to pool on a hot Texas day. Some kids were probably going to visit their grandparents or go camping, maybe even going to Disneyland or something. 

Now their moms and dads are devastated by their loss. Those moms and dads kissed those little kids yesterday morning and sent them to school, and now they will never get to kiss their babies again. I weep for those families. I wonder if there will ever again be a time in our country when these shootings don't happen regularly. 

Did  you know that today is the 145th day of 2022 and that there have been 212 acts of gun violence that have killed or injured more than four people at a time in the United States? 145 days, 212 "mass" shootings. Yes, I realize that many of these shootings are probably gang-related or domestic disputes, but 212 in 145 days? I'd like to think America is better than this, but these numbers are awful. 

I know Americans love their guns. I understand that the vast majority of gun owners in this country would not commit acts of mass violence and that other than the gun thing, they are probably reasonable, cool people. I don't own any guns. I don't think I've ever even held a gun, much less shot one. I don't have any desire whatsoever for any of that. I don't understand the allure of the gun culture. I can't understand why a person would want or need to have multiple safes full of guns, but I personally

know people who do have those things. 

I was watching the news a bit today, and I found myself crying, and I could feel myself at a tipping point of sorts, where if I didn't stop the flow of information, I might not be able to stop crying and I'd find myself in a state of depression. So...in this time of grief, sadness, and outrage, I have to protect myself a little by focusing on the good things around me, even if they are little dumb things that don't mean anything to anyone but me. Gratitude for a glass of wine while I sit on the deck in the back yard, or freshly painted toenails, or a nice cup of coffee in the morning. No, it doesn't take away the pain that I feel, and I'm not trying to minimize the bad news. I'm only trying to get through the best way I can. 

Take care of yourselves the best way you can.

 

#2687 three things: self-challenge, the chatty hygienist, and my fav new TJ item

 Totally random things...let's go!

1. The Self Challenge. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the day that marks the beginning of Lent. In the past at work, a few of us have given something up in the spirit of Lent. I stopped participating because a) why was I doing it? I don't even believe in that stuff and b) giving up something I like usually makes me grouchy by Easter. This year, several of us are participating in a "Self Challenge" where we are challenging ourselves in different ways. One woman is not going to watch TV and instead do some other things to better herself and her home. Several women are challenging themselves to drink more water or to keep track of their food intake. 

I have two self challenges. One is to keep a food journal at least four days each week. I got a cute and functional food journal from Etsy:

When I was doing well with weight loss, I kept track of what I was eating. A WW saying is "If you bite it, write it." I know there are apps where you can keep track of what you eat, but I like the act of actually writing it down. Instead of calories, I mark my level of hunger when I eat as I try to get a little more familiar with when I'm just randomly eating because something is there or if I'm really feeling hungry. I've been keeping the food journal through most of February, and I like it. It's a little bit of accountability. I also like those boxes on the right for my Goals for the Day, Mood, Water Intake, Exercise, and Reflections. 

My second self challenge is to get back to group exercise classes at the gym at least two times each week. I've been working on getting a handle on the eating (because I've plumped up a bit in the past few months) and I realized that when I was successful with weight loss, it wasn't only keeping track of what I was eating, it was also about breaking a sweat regularly. Covid scared me away from the gym, and now I am ready to go back. I started tonight. I went to a spin class! The last time I'd done the class was before Christmas. My goal tonight was to do the best I could and not throw up. (Note: I've never actually thrown up after a spin class, but I've been close a couple of times.) Tonight I didn't work hard enough to puke, but I was definitely sweaty and I feel a little sore, especially on my bum. That seat is hard and tiny. It kinda digs in there. 

Wish me well on my Self Challenges!

2. The chatty hygienist. I went to the dentist on Monday for a cleaning and check up. For a long time, I had the same hygienist, but she moved away and now I get a different cleaner nearly every time I go. Monday was no exception. It has been my experience that most hygienists chat through the cleaning, although it is hard to participate in the conversation, as the patient. I wiggle my eyebrows and kind of grunt to demonstrate my active listening. On Monday, the hygienist (I'll call her Tammy) was telling me all about her partner who is the father of her tween-age child and also the father of grown children, to whom he rents the basement. Tammy also pays rent at their house to her partner. She is unsatisfied with the situation and had lots and lots of words. I really felt like maybe I was hearing things she would be sorry she told some random patient.  At the end of my cleaning - which was good and my check-up was clear, no cavities! - I wished Tammy good luck. I would be surprised if I saw her in six months at my next cleaning.

While I'm on the subject of dentists, I want to throw some love to my mamacita who is having a terrible time with dentists. I hope that your situation gets resolved in March, Mama. Thank you for inspiring me to brush and floss regularly so I don't have the same issues! I really feel sad because I know how much anxiety and anguish this is causing you. 

3. My favorite new Trader Joe's item. I have often lamented my dry, dry Utah skin. The skin on my face, in particular, has suffered because I feel like the many moisturizers I have tried don't give my skin the moisture it needs. 

I went down the rabbit hole of skin care recently, and found myself overwhelmed by the seven or eight products that are recommended for your skin care routine. There's cleanser, then toner, then serum, then eye cream, then something else and something else, then hydrating gel, then moisturizer. I like to keep my skin care routine simple: I wash my face every night, then put on moisturizer. I can't see myself getting all that other stuff. I really just want a moisturizer that makes the skin on my face feel not dry! 

About a month ago or so, I was looking at something from Trader Joe's and it described a product for only $8.99 that the writer claimed was amazing and wonderful, comparable to a fine department store brand at a fraction of the cost.

Believe the hype! I have been using this product for about a month, and my skin hasn't felt or looked this good for awhile. I have been prone to breakouts that turn into dry skin patches, but not since I've been using this moisturizer. I often double up and use this product first, then a regular cream moisturizer to seal in the gel. I've also just used this product alone. It works really well for me and I love it a lot. 

That's all I've got for today!  More words here on Saturday!

#2655 self-care Saturday

I promised myself that I wouldn’t let Christmas overwhelm me, like it sometimes has in the past. Most of the gift shopping is done, which is great, even though there is always a bit of anxiety: Will my people like what I give them? Did I spend too much? Not enough? Are my people expecting more? I have worked to let those thoughts go over the past few years, but sometimes the thoughts linger anyway, don’t they?

With only a bit of buying left to do for MT and T, I decided to take this morning, the week before Christmas, to do something for myself. I woke up fairly early, took a nice shower, gave myself a much-needed facial mask, moisturized thoroughly, then dressed in warm layers for an outing.

First stop, Les Madeleines for a Kouign-amann and coffee, specifically a mocha Madelienes - a mocha made with dark chocolate; it is not as sweet and is a bit more rich than a regular mocha. Unfortunately, the cafe doesn’t offer indoor seating, and the outdoor seating has been put away for the season, so I had to get my breakfast to go. The KA is too flaky and spectacular to eat in the car when I drive, so I had to delay my gratification. Had to take a photo of it, though:

Hello gorgeous

Next stop was my beloved Red Butte Garden. One of my goals is to have breakfast at Les Madeleines and to take a walk at RBG at least once a month. I missed November for some reason, so I am recommitting myself starting today! 

We had a pretty good snowstorm on Tuesday night and the Garden had a nice, heavy white blanket of the stuff on the ground. The path was well-plowed, though, and I had no problem walking around this winter wonderland. 

Clear path 

Frozen waterfall and pond

I sure don’t want to sit here right now

Feeling happy and warm

I felt like I was the only person there. The only thing I could hear was snow falling off the branches, thankfully not on my head! I did see some people as I neared the visitor center, but overall, I had a great time walking around by myself and enjoying the peace, quiet, and beauty of this special place. 

On my way back down the hill, my coffee had cooled enough that I could enjoy the rich chocolate and coffee flavor, so that worked out nicely, too. I stopped at Trader Joe’s to pick up a couple of things. It wasn’t as crazy in the store as I thought it might be, so that was good.

I got back home in time to enjoy my delayed breakfast pastry, even though the coffee was long gone. It was delicious, of course, and then it was time for book club. We discussed the last third of the book The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, a book I recommended and that I am glad to say most everyone really liked, myself included. We have one more book to finish off the year, Sula by Toni Morrison. It is a quick read that was referenced in The Sentence. 

After all that me-time, I felt relaxed and happy and ready to face shopping at an actual store. I’m happy to say that my Christmas shopping is now complete! At least for gifts. I still have grocery shopping to do for the meal, but all of that will be included in my regular shopping, anyway, so no big deal.

Are you enjoying your weekend? Are you taking the time to take care of yourself?

#2642 Thanksgiving, my way

Today is Thanksgiving, a U.S. holiday in which we traditionally gather with our family to eat foods we might not normally have during other times of the year, like a big ol’ turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, cranberries, mashed potatoes with gravy, and assorted pies. 

I’m happy to tell you that my Thanksgiving did not play out according to this list!

Typically, we go to Idaho to spend Thanksgiving weekend, or at least a couple of nights, with MT’s family. Because of COVID, we have spent the last two years at home. The three of us, (MT, T, and I) are not really lovers traditional Thanksgiving food. I like a turkey sandwich just fine, but to have a slab of turkey along with the sides isn’t a big deal to me or the fellas. I asked T to choose what we would have this year that I could make. Our menu was lasagna and Caesar salad. I added cheesy garlic bread, and for dessert, we had brownie sundaes. It was satisfying and just what we wanted.

I’ve been wanting to take another shot at the lasagna. I wrote a week or so ago about the last lasagna I made that wasn’t up to my expectations. I did better this time. I made a lot of meaty tomato sauce and added more mozzarella cheese, so the dish was saucy and cheesy. It tasted very good to me. There is plenty for T to take home, plus some for MT and I to have another day, too. I carefully put it all away so Mac couldn’t get to it like last time.

Today has been a very pleasant day. I slept in a little, then took a great shower complete with hair washing, leg shaving, and face exfoliating. After taking a good amount of time to thoroughly moisturize my skin (it’s so freaking dry!), I gave myself a face mask. The mask was something I’d received from Ipsy, the little monthly make-up sample bag I get every other month. It was green tea something-something. It was very unappealing looking: green with little black specks. The whole thing looked and kind of smelled like baby poo,

I’m happy to say, though, that the results were worth the ick factor. My skin looks and feels better. I really needed to take the time to give myself this little mini-facial. I also thought my hair looked pretty good today.

After I washed it, I put a little product on it, including a bit of coconut oil on the ends because that is the driest part. I let it dry naturally without touching it, so it wasn’t frizzy and it got curly. I pulled the front hairs back with a clip so they wouldn’t be in the way while I was cooking.

My favorite thing about the day was that we kept it simple and mellow. This morning after breakfast, I drank coffee and read for awhile. I wasn’t rushing around with the food prep since we had such a simple menu. It all came together easily and at the same time (yay!), clean up was easy, and as I said, we were all satisfied.

I’m not going to post a photo of my plate because, frankly, it doesn’t look pretty. I cut the lasagna when it was still hot and it kind of deconstructed on my plate. It tasted wonderful, but looked sloppy. LOL

Now it is about time to take T back to his place. He and MT are watching a movie that I wasn’t interested in. I actually took a little nap, which was great and a little strange to be napping at 8pm. 

No big plans for the rest of the weekend, but I’ll keep myself entertained. I’ll check in with you tomorrow. 

#2510 three things: snow, Mac's collar, and self-care

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1. Snow. Yesterday (Wednesday 2/17), it was super snowy in the morning. I had to be up early to go to an all-day training for work. Fortunately, the training venue is just five miles from my house - straight down the road. No turns, no fuss. It took me nearly 25 minutes to get from my house to the venue. That's actual road time, too. It snowed most of the morning, then the sun came out, the roads dried (with the help of brine solution, I'm sure), and even though it was cold, it was pretty. The mountains look amazing! My thoughts are with the folks in Texas and other parts of the country that are suffering through power outages, busted pipes, and extreme cold. I am thankful that we were not affected like that. Here a photo of my front yard yesterday afternoon when I got home.

It looks like there is a lot of snow, but there's probably just four to six inches in the main part of the yard. MT shoveled the walk, so there's a big pile right up front there. Look how blue the sky is! Crazy Utah weather.

2. Mac's collar. When I got home yesterday afternoon, I planned to take the dogs for a walk. The sidewalks were clear and though it was cold, I have a warm coat and I'm good at layering my clothing. The thing was that Mac's collar was, and still is, missing. Mac and Harley play their faces off, and sometimes Harley manages to take Mac's collar right off her neck. (I keep it kind of loose so she's comfortable.) I looked all over the house and even out in the back yard, but I couldn't find the collar anywhere. Not having a collar could not stop us from taking a walk. Both dogs have harnesses that I have used to curb their extreme pulling. I bought Mac's harness when she was little. It still fits, but definitely now looks teeny-tiny on her nearly full-grown body.

Doesn't she look a trifle annoyed at the tiny harness? Here's how it looked on her in August:

Today we used Harley's harness instead and it was much better. I didn't take a photo, but trust me when I say Mac looks like a boss in the orange harness. I'll replace her collar this weekend.

3. Giving up on being down for Lent. In the past I have given things up for Lent, things like sweets or Diet Coke. Honestly, this does not make me a better person. I actually think it makes me a worse person to be around. I'm not a religious or even a particularly spiritual person, so I'm not really sure why I even thought it was a good idea to give up something I like for 40 days. There was a bit of conversation about it with the work group through Teams. One lady said she was going to focus on self-care for 40 days, and I really like that idea. Self-care is something that I have been focusing on throughout the pandemic. Women, especially, often put themselves last when it comes to taking care of themselves over their family, and I think that is flawed. If we don't take care of ourselves, how can we take care of others?

I was thinking about all of that and I googled self-care for Lent ideas and found this nice blogpost that had some cool ideas. What I'm going to do is name one non-scale victory (NSV) each day for 40 days. A non-scale victory is a WW term for finding a win that is not related to the number on the scale. For me, I still want my NSV to still be related to the weight loss wellness journey. 

My first NSV of Lent was that I paired a couple of things that I want to turn into habits together. I want to finish my evening with a nice cup of tea after I clean up the kitchen. It's kind of a signal that the busy part of the day is over and it's time to relax and time to stop eating. I also find that I have been more successful in my weight loss when I plan what I'll eat the next day and write it down the night before (pre-track in the WW lingo). Last night, I fixed myself a wonderful, warm cup of blackberry/elderberry tea, grabbed my planner, and figured out what I would eat the next day (which is today). The bonus: I actually stuck to my meal plan today! Most of the time, when I have a plan, I will stick to it, even if it's just to prove to myself that I can. Heck, the fact that I followed my eating plan might be today's NSV!