#3005 pdin 24 what are you thankful for today?

 Since it is Thanksgiving week here in the USA, I guess my little prompt list decided to get into the spirit with today's prompt: what are you thankful for today? I confess that I often interchangeably use thankful and grateful, but a quick google search informed me that although similar, thankful and grateful are a bit different. Thankful is an immediate expression of appreciation. Grateful is a deeper, internalized appreciation. With this knowledge in mind, here are some things I am thankful for today.

• a "good morning" phone call from my husband
• the friendly barista at Starbucks who knows my name 
• my co-workers in general
• the co-worker who will take my place is a quick learner and asks intelligent questions
• the gift of beef (The construction team gave our department a box of beef for the holidays. My box had three lbs of ground beef, two packages of hamburger patties and a steak)
• the seat warmer in my car
• finishing another book that I enjoyed 
• the library
• dogs that are so happy to see me when I get home
• moving up a level in French in Duolingo
• not having to cook dinner when I'm not all that hungry and just indulging in some chips, dip, and a beer
• fleece relaxing pants and a soft t-shirt
• time to draw, paint, and write
• a basket full of clean clothes

Here's hoping you take a minute or two to recognize the little things you are thankful for today.

See you tomorrow!

#2474 thankful that it's done!

30 days, 30 posts! 

I enjoyed writing here every day, and I liked having a theme to go to daily. Being thankful and feeling gratitude has been so helpful to me, especially in this weird year. Mindset is so tremendously important. There have been times this year when I have felt really down and when I feel sad or angry, I take a second to think about something I am thankful for. I read somewhere this year that finding something to be thankful for is usually right in front of you, so whether it is the warm sockies on my feet, or the sound of my kid having fun with his video game, or my dog making me smile, all that "little" stuff is what makes everything all right.

I hope that each of you will continue to find something to be grateful/thankful for every day. I know that I will!

I'm not sure what my writing schedule will be like in December. I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back to every other day or just write here two or three days a week. For sure I'll take tomorrow off, and figure out what to do. I am more consistent if I have a schedule. :)

Peace!

#2468 thankful for hot tea and a good book before bed

During the Time of Covid, I learned to drink herbal tea. I think the moment came during a WW workshop (via Zoom) when the coach talked about drinking herbal tea. I have often thought that drinking tea was just like drinking dirty water. It didn't have a good flavor. I've tried herbal teas before, but I didn't care for it. One day, maybe in April or May, I tried again, and I did like it. 

Now I have several flavors of tea in my cupboard. I started out with iced tea. I really like the Tazo passion tea. Sometimes in the summer, if I was feeling really sassy, I would mix it with a little lemonade, just like at Starbucks. I am also a fan of the Tazo lemon loaf flavor. It's crazy delicious. A simple green tea with chamomile is also good. In the evening, I found a blend at Trader Joe's that called Well Rested tea. It has several different flavors and maybe it's the power of suggestion, but it really does calm me down and get me ready for sleepy time. 

I do put some sweetener in my tea. My favorite sweetener is Truvia.

Tonight after dinner, I put some water on to boil while I did the dishes. I poured the hot water over the bag of Well Rested tea and let it steep while I finished wiping down the counters. After that, I took my cup of hot tea to the couch and curled up in a blanket to read and drink my comforting beverage. 

Dang. I'm getting old, aren't I? 

It's okay. It feels great. 

#2459 thankful for a bright moment

It has been overcast and gray here all day. I don't think I ever saw the sun come out. MT and I took Mac for a walk at the park this morning, and since then, I have been in the house. I actually watched another movie. It is called My Octopus Teacher. I heard about it when the filmmaker gave an interview on Fresh Air on NPR. It's actually a documentary about this man (the filmmaker) and an octopus that befriends him. It sounds kinda strange, but it was fascinating and weirdly moving. The photography was exceptional. I'm glad I took the time to watch it.

I took Mac out for a walk in the neighborhood around 5:00. Like I said, it has been gray and drab all day, so imagine my delight when I opened the front door and saw this:

That orange sky was thrilling. And brief. By the time I admired it, took a photo, and put my phone away, the orange sky was gone. Only the grey clouds remained. 

I'm thankful that I happened to walk out the door at just the right moment so I could see this beautiful sight. 

Hope y'all had a good weekend. Be safe!

#2457 thankful for a movie night

I don't often sit down with the express intent to watch a movie. I like movies, but sometimes I get antsy, I guess. I feel guilty about sitting and looking at the TV rather than reading or sleeping or doing something else. I don't know. It's my own weird hang-up. 

Tonight when MT got home, he turned on the TV and Star Trek Into Darkness was on. I like the new Star Trek movies with Chris Pine as Captain Kirk. This movie has Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan, and it's a good one. I watched the end of that movie, then The Martian came on. Do you know that movie? Matt Damon stars in it and there are lots of good movie stars in it too. The book was excellent, and I really like the movie, too. I appeased my weird hang-up by making a grocery shopping list and planning what meals to fix next week. Then I got cold and wrapped myself up in a blanket and just watched the last 40 minutes of the movie quietly. I thought I might fall asleep once I got in the blanket, but I stayed upright and the movie, especially that last half hour, is so intense that I was able to stay awake. 

Want to know something else? The movies were on FX, so there were commercials, and I didn't even mind. The commercials gave me a chance to take a bio break, get a glass of water, look at my phone, etc. We usually watch movies on Netflix or HBO and there are no commercials. Strangely, having the commercials made me feel more free, like I wasn't tied to the TV so much to get through the movie. 

I got so relaxed after watching a movie and a half that I was upstairs getting ready to go to bed when I remembered that I wanted to write here tonight! 

Good night! Have a good weekend. Be careful out there. Stay home if you can.

#2449 grateful or thankful?

 One of my co-workers made a lunch run to a local restaurant and was kind enough to ask if I wanted anything. Since I hadn't planned to be in the office very long today, I hadn't packed a lunch and I was happy to take her up on the offer. As I was eating the french fries covered in cheese and carne asada and pico de gall0 (might have been eating my anxieties there), I thought about how grateful I was that she brought me some food. Or was I thankful? Is there a difference?

I've always thought the words "thankful" and "grateful" were interchangeable - synonyms. My curiosity got the better of me and I had to GTS (google that shit). 

The dictionary defines "grateful" as feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness or benefits received. For example, my co-worker brought me lunch, which was kind, and I was grateful to her.

"Thankful" is defined as being pleased or glad because of something. I guess I could be thankful for the french fries that filled up my tummy and were dang good.

I think it is worth noting that even the dictionary lists thankful as a synonym for grateful and vice versa.

Over the past ten minutes or so, I have looked at several websites that try to explain the difference between these two words. For me, this article sums it up the best. This is how I will remember the difference:

...being thankful is a feeling, and being grateful is an action.

I thankful that Mac was unharmed after her escape. I'll be grateful to MT when he fixes the fence.

I can be thankful that music calms me and grateful to T for cajoling me into getting Apple Music. 

Basically I think it comes down to gratitude involving a person and something that they do for us. 

I'm thankful we have the internet to provide answers to burning questions.

Either way, I know that it makes me feel good to think of things to be thankful or grateful for. 

#2210 WW Wednesday: gratitude

We talk a lot about gratitude in WW. I might even say it is a core philosophy in the program. Last Saturday, gratitude was the topic of the workshop.

In my humble estimation, I think you get to choose whether to be happy, sad, bored, angry, etc. Sure, things can happen during the day to tip you into another mood, but when you wake up, you get to choose how to look at the day, so why not choose happy as a good place to start?

One way to get to happy is to think about something that you are grateful for. I tend to think of things I'm thankful for at the end of the day. You might notice that over on the right hand side there is a little box that always starts with the words "Today I am grateful for..." Sometimes it can be a deep, profound thought and other times, frankly, I am thankful for bacon or Trader Joe's or Red Butte Garden or a pile of books waiting to be read. It doesn't so much matter what "it" is as long as "it" gives you a bit of joy and your thankful for "it".

My WW coach, Lana, often sends us on our way at the end of the workshop with an assignment for the week. This week the assignment is to write down three things every day that we are grateful for. I'll share a few:

• my book club leader sent me our latest book.  
• we have enough money to pay all our bills and still live nicely (if you have ever not had enough money for those two things, you know what I mean)
• texting with my mom
• walking with MT

(And yes, bacon was something I was grateful for this week! We had BLTs one night and they were dang good!)

When I feel blue, I will often think of something that I am thankful for and it makes me feel better. I wish I could say I do the same thing when I feel angry, but I haven't quite got that far yet. 

I really do think that gratitude begets happiness. Maybe it's a little corny, and I'm okay with that. Check out this post from gratefulness.org. I think it's spot on. 

There are people who keep gratitude journals. Whenever I write here or in my personal journal, I always like to write something I am thankful for each time. I started doing it last year when the word I chose was, in fact, gratitude.

Just try it. :D

#2129 happy birthday!

Today is November 19, which is a pretty great day in my book. Why? Two ladies that I love and think very highly of were born on this date!

One of the ladies is my mother-in-law, Linda. MT and I have been together since 1987 (dang!) so I've known Linda since then. She has always been super-nice to me. I'm happy to say that I like my mother-in-law. She is intelligent, fun, and down-to-earth. I'm always glad to see her. We've been on vacation together a few times and she is always pleasant to be around.

Here's a photo of us from the last vacation we took together, when we went to the Outer Banks.

MT, Linda and I went out for a walk on the beach. I think it was the second day we were there and the tide was very strong. We were at the tail end of a hurricane (could have been Hurricane Maria), so we were looking at the grey sky and the angry ocean. I don't have many pictures of the three of us. I really like this one.

Happy birthday Linda! Thanks for being so cool.

The other person who I love and adore who is celebrating a birthday today is my little sister Lizzie. She is just the very coolest, smartest, funniest, bestes person I know. Spending time with her makes me happy. I'm sad that we live far apart, but it makes the days when we are together even better. We have done a good job of spending time together in recent years and I totally love it. We've gone on trips and spent time at each other's houses. It's pretty wonderful to be able to say that your sister is also your friend. I'm pretty dang lucky.

Here is a photo of us on that same trip to the Outer Banks.

About these shirts...we had gone into town (Corolla) for a big family lunch. While our table was being set up, Lizzie and I wandered into a shop near the restaurant and saw these shirts. As you can see, they are BRIGHT pink and they say "I can't remember if I'm the good Sister or the evil one."

We laughed at the saying, and we laughed extra hard at the capitalization of Sister. Is this shirt meant for a nun?

Another point about this photo is that it was taken the day after an epic bout of day drinking. Lizzie and I spent the previous day drinking all manner of adult beverages out by the pool, then we staggered down the boardwalk to the beach where Lizzie braved the currents of the Atlantic Ocean (the only one of us who did!). Then we danced our faces off on the boardwalk. In my case, I literally danced my face off because I took a drunken tumble right into the handrail of said boardwalk. If you click on the pic, you can see an owie on my lip. Also a serious case of raccoon eyes.

The point is that Lizzie was there with me the whole time, wiping the blood off my lip and dancing with crazy abandon and then helping me get to my room so I could pass out. Like I said, she's the best.

Lizzie, I can't wait to see you next month for another adventure! Happy birthday! I love you!!!

#2117 game night

I had the chance to go to the Jazz game tonight with MT with tickets from work. I am always so thankful when I am given these tickets and I do not take it for granted that I will ever get tickets again. We enjoy each time we get to go to the game and I am grateful every time.

Tonight the Jazz were playing the Dallas Mavericks. The Jazz were up big at halftime, but in the second half, the Mavs picked up their game and the Jazz seemed to be having trouble getting buckets. I'm not sure if Dallas ever got closer than 10 points, but it felt like they could break through until about midway through the fourth quarter. The Jazz went on a little run and put the game away from there. 

It's crazy to say it, but tonight was the Jazz's first home win of the season. Their record in this young season is five wins and six losses. There are still 71 games to go this season. I think they'll be okay.

Friday night the Jazz host the Boston Celtics. It will be the return to SLC of Gordon Hayward. I'm pretty sure the fans will be on fire. There may still be some feelings about the way Hayward left. I hope the Jazz will be feeling strong and superior on Friday!

Fun fact: the Jazz teamed up with Chick-fil-A for a food drive. If you brought a 16 oz. jar of peanut butter tonight, you got a gift card for a free combo meal from Chick-fil-A. I brought two jars of peanut butter, one from each of us, so two gift cards! Hooray! Extra bonus - I got an awesome deal on said peanut butter so I really feel like I got the best of everything.

MT and I feel like we are living large because we went out two nights in a row. LOL

That's all I've got tonight. Peace!

#2039 magnificent Monday

My sister had a friend who would regularly post on Facebook something that he was grateful for. She has another friend who posts a page of gratitude every week or so. At the beginning of each new year, I choose a word to be my guide, a touchstone, a mantra, for the year. This year's word is Gratitude. On the right hand side of this little blog, there is a space where I write something I am grateful for on the day I write. I think I want to expand this idea a little. Since Monday is sometimes kind of a downer, I will use today's post to list some stuff I am thankful for.

Grateful:

• for the ability to ride my bike 20 miles pretty much right off the couch and not feel sore afterward. (I can't lie: my seating area is a bit tender today!)
• that my sister has safely returned to the U.S. and that she had what seems like a great time in Scotland.
• for beautiful spring weather.
• to drive around with the windows rolled down.
• Toast. (Don't scoff; sometimes it is the only thing that sounds good.)
• that Osi hasn't had any seizures for awhile. *knocks on wood*
• that T is clean and sober.
• that MT is busy and happy.
• for a job that keeps me engaged and entertained.
• that my mamacita is doing well.
• that the family is safe and healthy.
• that I don't have to wonder about what to read next. Seriously, my to-read list is long!

Good night!

#2031 Hamilton in SLC

T and I went to see Hamilton today at the Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City. It was phenomenal and I loved every minute of it, even when I was silently weeping.

A little background: T heard about this show back in 2016 or so. A guy who was in a rap group he liked, Daveed Diggs, was in the musical on Broadway. T bought the soundtrack and listened to it. I remember him telling me about it, that it was a history story told in rap about Alexander Hamilton. I was skeptical because it sounds pretty crazy, right? I have never been an early-adopter of anything.

I began to hear more and more about this musical; how it was changing Broadway and how it was nearly impossible to get tickets. I listen to The Dan Patrick Show, a sports radio talk show that is on every morning. One day Dan was talking about how he had gone to see Hamilton on Broadway. Sometime after that, the Hamilton Mixtape came out and Twitter just about blew up. Of course T already had the Hamilton Mixtape, so I homeshared it with him and listened to it sort of obsessively. I didn't expect to be able to ever see the musical performed live, so I didn't really listen much to the cast recording of the soundtrack.

But then, in 2017, I got an email from Broadway at the Eccles saying that the travelling show of Hamilton would be coming to Salt Lake in April 2018. I asked MT to try to get tickets for me as a Christmas gift, and he said he looked into it but wasn't able to find any. I found out that the tickets to the general public went on sale in February, and I decided that I would take a chance at getting a ticket or two if I could.

On that fateful day in February, I got in the virtual waiting room promptly at 9AM. Tickets went on sale at 10AM. Being in the virtual waiting room didn't guarantee that I would get a ticket, but it guaranteed me a place in the virtual line. Finally, at close to noon, I actually had a chance to purchase tickets. I'd made a list of dates that I would like to go, then I started clicking to try to get two seats together. I finally got what I wanted on my third or fourth try. I truly believe I may have got the last pair of seats together in the whole run. Tickets sold out completely within about ten minutes after I purchased mine.

When we got to the theater this afternoon, I was all about getting my photo taken in front of the Hamilton backdrop and buying a t-shirt (I was greedy and got two). We made our way up to our seats. They were on the top row of the box section, on the second level of the theater, and just barely left of center stage. Pretty good seats. The place was packed, sold out, and there was a definite buzz in the air. When Aaron Burr comes out with the first line "How does a bastard orphan son of a whore and a Scotsman..." it apparent that the audience was all in. When Hamilton makes his first appearance, seriously, the audience kinda lost their shit. There was cheers and applause. It must be a normal thing because the actor and the orchestra paused before continuing. It was kind of magical. There was thunderous applause after nearly every number.

The thing about the show, too, is that there is no dialogue, per se. It is all sung and/or rapped. The show is beautifully choreographed. The stage doesn't change. It's simple and effective. The focus is completely on the words. The performers were all terrific with amazing voices. The costumes are lovely.

As I was watching, I found myself more and more struck by the talent of the mastermind behind it all, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The dude is amazingly talented. I can't even wrap my mind around how his mind came up with all the words and the music and all of it. AND he played Alexander Hamilton in the original Broadway show. I follow him on Twitter. He seems like an awesome person, too. I've got a little crush, I think :)

In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Hamilton this afternoon. The theater is gorgeous. The show lived up to every one of my expectations. I was telling T that Lin-Manuel is going to be performing in Hamilton in Puerto Rico in January. How cool would it be to see Lin-Manuel himself in the musical and in Puerto Rico? (His parents are Puerto Rican.) Most likely that will not happen, but I can dream!

#satisfied

#1946 it's November!

Happy November friends! November is National Blog Posting Month, or at least it has been in the past. The aim is to post on the blog every day in November. I feel up to the challenge, so that's my goal here this month. I will do my best to make checking in worth your while, and I also know that there will be days when it will be a struggle to be interesting.

I won't be starting the month off strong, I'm afraid. I'm watching Game 7 of the World Series. I don't think there are many things better in sports than Game 7 of the World Series, even if you don't really have a favorite team in the series. I am rooting for the Astros, even though I am typically a National League girl. I just don't like the Dodgers, even though I do like Clayton Kershaw. Right now it's the bottom of the fourth inning and the Astros are up 5-0. That sounds great but doesn't mean much because I've seen the Dodgers come back from deficits in this series. Still, go 'Stros!

This evening after work I took a walk around the outdoor track at the fitness center. I didn't have a chance to take a lunch break at work today, so I was glad to get outside. It was a beautiful evening here and it was very pleasant to stretch my legs and finish up my daily 10,000 steps. There probably won't be many more opportunities for outside walks in the evening since we will be turning our clocks back one hour on Saturday night. It will be dark here by 5:30 next week. The weather is getting cooler and cooler, too.

Okay, time to get back to the baseball game, but before I do, a quick follow-up to my last post about the shooting at the University of Utah. A couple of students were up at the mouth of Red Butte Canyon, over near the gate of the amphitheater from what I understand. They were sitting in their car and a bad guy wanted to carjack them. It went wrong and the bad guy shot and killed one of the students, then shot at the other student when she ran away to save herself. The bad guy must have been hiding out somewhere near the garden because that was where the majority of the search seemed to be taking place. What was scary about it is that most of the dorms are just below the gardens. The bad guy was found and arrested at the City Library the next afternoon. The man who died was an international student from China; his parent's only child. So awful.

Be safe, be kind and be thankful for all the good stuff in your life. Today I feel grateful for being able to walk a couple of miles outside, listening to music and for not feeling any pain in my knees.

Talk to you tomorrow!

#1743 smiling because it happened

I hope you will excuse the two even days (26 and 28) that I missed writing this month. I was on vacation, you see, and even though I had computer access, I was too busy enjoying time with my family to write. I spent an absolutely perfect four days and a morning with my sister and we visited our parents for a couple of days, so I didn't want to break away to write!

Usually after I go on vacation, I will write in detail about what we did and what we ate and all the minutia of the days. I'm not going to do that this time. Although I will very likely write about some specific experiences (I have to be thinking about what I'll write about next month when I write something every day, after all!) today I want to focus more about how I felt about the trip.

My sister and I have always been pretty close. There is about a five year age difference between us, but when we were kids, we always played together and we shared a room for a long time even though there was enough space for us to have our own rooms. Since she is younger than I am, she mostly did the same stuff that I did. As we got older, she was actually better at the stuff than I was. Dang kid! I like to think that I showed her stuff and she perfected it. ;)

Lizzie recently made a big life change and wound up moving into a beautiful apartment in a wonderful building in downtown San Diego. I was super excited to go see it. Lizzie had good taste and always decorates her home in a way that I really like. Her apartment is small, but she lives alone and I think the the place is just right for her. The finishes are modern and tasteful. As I expected, the place is comfortable and really captures Lizzie's spirit and style. If there is one thing missing, I would say she needs a recliner or a nice comfy couch for lounging and watching TV. I'm sure that will come in time. She just barely moved in earlier this month. Besides, for lounging now, she has access to the roof of the building which is furnished with tables, chairs and couches. We spent several hours lounging, enjoying the sun and the breeze and the incredible views on the roof.

Lizzie has said that when she gets home she feels like she is on vacation and I totally get why she thinks that way. When you leave the building, there are many bars and restaurants and cafes within walking distance. Walking through the downtown area of San Diego is dang pleasant. There are plenty of homeless people in the area, but that seems to be true of many large cities. It wasn't a big deal though. Just pay attention to where you are and what you are doing, same as anywhere.

The downtown area isn't enormous. It's a good city for walking. We walked around a lot and we probably covered a lot of it. I'm not saying we walked down every street, but we saw a lot of things and had a good time doing it. Walking around a city center is different from walking around in the suburbs. In the city you can see lots of shops and bars and people. In the 'burbs, you see houses and lawns. The walking is the same, maybe, but it feels different, too. I don't really know how to explain the difference I felt. I guess just more urban.

When I got home, I had a few minutes of feeling disappointed, I guess. I was back in my messy two-story house. It was hot and dry outside. There's no ocean. Then I sort of shook myself and looked around again. Yes, my house is messy, but it's comfortable and I can clean it. It's hot and dry, but cooler weather is coming and the change of seasons is always fun. There's no ocean, but there are beautiful mountains all around me. Plus my boys and my dog are here, I have a job that I enjoy and I really like my bed. In the end, the little get-away to San Diego was just what I needed to recharge my batteries. It gave me time to think about what I was doing and what I could do it make things better. It gave me perspective that you don't always get when you are looking at the same things all the time. You get in a rut. That's what I get out of going on vacation. Even though I'm always sad when the vacation is finished, I am always glad that I went and I try to think about what I gained from my experience.

It's like Dr. Seuss said:

#1686 a very nice day

Dad was feeling much better today. Mom was feeling well, too. Lizzie was feeling a little sore. MT was working on the fixer. T was still at Lake Powell with his friends. I spent some time cooking chili verde today and I took my parents to Red Butte Garden!

Lizzie decided to stay home and rest the hamstring, so the folks and I headed up to RBG. I was excited to show them one of my favorite places in the city. The weather today was gorgeous: a real Chamber of Commerce kind of day. The temperature was mild, the breeze was minimal, and the the skies were bright blue. It was perfect.

My favorite thing was when they walked out of the visitor center and into the courtyard. They both stopped, looked around and said, "OOOH!" I pointed out some different plants and trees and then to the wisteria arbor and Dad said that's where he wanted to go. The arbor is up a slight hill; well, slight to me but a bit steeper to a dude pushing a walker. We took our time and made it to the bench in the shade of the wisteria. It smelled so nice and there was such a pretty view of the herb garden on one side and the path on the other.

Mom wanted to see the Children's Garden and the herb gardens so I walked around with her while Dad hung out on the bench. Just about the time we were heading into the final herb garden (where Dad was) he called to let us know he was ready to go. I thought it was a really nice outing for the three of us and it was nice for Lizzie to have a little quiet time to rest also.

Tonight we ate dinner at my house. I made chili verde that I served with tortillas, chips and guacamole, rice and various fixin's. It all turned out well. As usual, I overate and feel a bit icky now. We also used tonight to celebrate my birthday since my folks and sister will already be back in CA on my actual b-day. My sister gave me an incredible book of her poems that are inspired by the family. I sort of sobbed as I looked through it. My mom and dad gave me a cute card with some cash in it - $50 of course! - and an amazing necklace. I felt spoiled and loved!! <3 p="">
To finish off the night, we watched Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. Dad and Lizzie were rooting for the Thunder; MT and I were pulling for the Warriors. I actually like both teams and would have been happy either way. I just think that the Warriors need to win the whole shebang to top off their amazing record season. You can't have the NBA record for most regular season wins and not win the title.

Now Mom and Dad are back at the hotel. Lizzie is getting ready for bed. MT is already asleep. T is on his way home and I think it's time for this girl to get up to bed, too.

#1576 2015 recap

Since this is my final post of 2015, I guess the time is right to recap the year. 2015 was a good year for me in lots of ways. First of all, everyone in my family is healthy and safe, so I'm thankful for that. I was able to go on two wonderful vacations and I had a couple of trips to California, too. I got to spend a long weekend with my sister. I read a lot. I lost a little weight. I feel pretty good mentally and physically.

Here are my highlights:

January - we bought the property we now call the fixer upper.

February - I went to southern California to visit my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary

March - T turned 17

April - T and I went to southern California to celebrate my dad's 75th birthday

May - my BFF LA came over for our "girl's weekend" and T received the Mayor's Star of Excellence award

June - 10 days in Hawaii!!

July - MT and I saw the Zac Brown Band in concert; T went to visit friends in California by himself

August - T got a job and started his senior year of high school; MT and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary

September -  T and I saw Taylor Swift in concert; I spent two glorious weeks in Barcelona with my mom and my sister!!

October - I was sick the entire month (the worst thing of the year); Lizzie came for a visit

November - Thanksgiving in Pocatello with the worst possible road conditions on the way there

December - T and I went to Southern California to celebrate my mom's birthday; Christmas in Pocatello

I've lost about 16 lbs this year. I read 53 books - let's say 54 because I'll finish the book I'm reading now by tomorrow afternoon. I've seen a bunch of movies and gone to several Jazz games.

I'm looking forward to 2016. It will be a very interesting year for me.

I wish all of you a safe and happy new year. Talk to you again soon!

#1540 simple pleasures

Yesterday I was thinking about how fast time passes and how easy it is to get all caught up in whatever is happening. You can forget to savor little moments or be grateful for small, simple comforts.  So yesterday, I decided to slow down and notice a few things.

MT was at the fixer upper and T was at work. The house was quiet. I had a bunch of things that I wanted to do, but I was moving slow since I STILL feel like crap. I've got a cold or something that has plagued me for a month. (More on that tomorrow. Today is for positive thoughts.)

Here is a list of the simple pleasures that I took a moment to savor yesterday:
A warm leisurely shower
Lovely smelling shower gel and matching lotion
Soft fluffy warm bathrobe that was a gift
The smell of roasting meat and veggies

Today I was pleased by taking a nap in the afternoon after my doctor appointment. I snuggled under the blanket, my dog cuddled up to me, I could smell the essential oil diffusing into the air and I had a good sleep for a couple of hours.

Now I'm watching one of my favorite movies, Hitch. I pretty much watch this movie whenever it is on TV. The scenes with Allegra and Albert are the best.

Take the time to appreciate the little things.  :)

#1503 22 years of marriage!

Yesterday MT and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary. The past few years we have gone out of town for the night, but this year we decided to stay home. I'm not sure why. Maybe we were just pinching our pennies a little because we had an expensive week. Tristan's car had to be repaired and new tires put on it. We weren't expecting that repair, but it had to be done. Anyway, we didn't go out of town, but we did go out for a nice dinner.

We went to Ruth's Chris Steak House in downtown SLC. We have been to the restaurant a couple of times, but it was always a work function and it's not a place we would typically go on our own, even though the food is delicious. It is quite expensive, but we received a gift card to the restaurant at Christmas and we saved it for our anniversary.

We were seated at and anniversary table for two. There were rose petals strewn on the table top. The wait staff there is superb and our service was wonderful. I had a glass of pinot grigio wine and MT had a beer. We started with crab-stuffed mushrooms. The appetizer is loaded with crabmeat, topped with cheese and everything tastes like butter and garlic. Pretty delightful. Next came the salad. MT likes the house chopped salad. It's a very nice presentation. I found this pic on the interwebs:

My salad was not as picturesque, but it was very tasty. It's called the harvest salad. It had mixed greens, Cajan pecans, dried cherries, roasted corn, crispy onions and goat cheese. It is dressed with a white balsamic vinaigrette. If  you can get a bite of all of those ingredients in one go, you've pretty much got a perfect bite: the crunch and spice of the pecans, the sweet chewiness of the cherries, the smoky flavor of the corn, the crispiness and mild flavor of the onions, the creaminess of the goat cheese and the tang of the vinaigrette on the tender greens is heavenly.

MT and I both ordered the rib eye steak, our favorite cut. It is a huge piece of meat, served on a very hot plate. The steak is sizzling and herbed butter is melting on top. I order my steak medium well; MT likes his cooked medium. We like rib eye because there tends to me a bit of fat on it and the flavor is out-of-this-world. We also had a couple of side dishes. We chose au gratin potatoes (buttery, creamy, garlicky) and asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Confession - I didn't really care for the asparagus. I like my asparagus a little crispy and the asparagus last night were floppy and soft. Not to my taste. MT liked them though. I think he likes his veggies a little softer than I usually cook them.

We were given a complimentary dessert because it was our anniversary. We chose the cheesecake, which we asked them to box up for us to bring home. We ate it today and it was darn good!

To top off our evening, we hit the Redbox and rented a movie, Insurgent. I know, I know! Not the most romantic, but Tris and Four love each other, so there! We both liked the first movie in the series, Divergent, so we were kind of excited to see this second movie in the trilogy. MT didn't like it as much as Divergent, but I noted that in all trilogies the second movie has the bad guys ramping up their bad behavior for the finale. Remember The Empire Strikes Back? I thought Insurgent was good. I might read those books.

All in all, it was a nice anniversary and I was happy to celebrate our marriage.

Hawaii 2015

#1500 three things: babies, knee and blog

It is time for three things!

New babies in the world. I know there are lots of new babies in the world, but today one of my favorite people at work, Nicole, gave birth to her twins. Two little girls, born two minutes apart. No more calling them Baby A and Baby B, now they are Paige and Quinn. I haven't been to see them, but I've seen a couple of photos and the babies are completely precious. Congrats Nicole and Austin!

It's been three years since my knee replacement surgery. On August 13, 2012, I had my right knee joint totally replaced. I have full feeling back in the knee - for a long time, the outside part of the knee was numb and felt kind of like when your fingers are asleep and they tingle. When I shaved my legs, I had to be careful in that area because I could accidentally press too hard because I couldn't really feel it and then I'd bleed. But that's all gone now and it all feels fine. It's kind of strange because I can tell that it's not natural. The nurse told me that when I have the other knee done (and I will have the other one done) that it will feel more natural because they will both be, well, unnatural. They'll match, I guess. When will I have the left knee replaced? I'm hoping that I can get it done next year. In the past few months, the left knee has really started to bother me. I'm even considering going in for a cortisone shot before the end of the month. I'm holding off, though, until I absolutely can't take the pain anymore. I can feel it coming.

I've been writing here for eight years. 1,500 posts over the past eight years. I started writing this blog on July 29, 2007. That's a long time to be telling you about the little silly things that make up my life. Many, many times I have wondered why I keep writing here and I've often thought about stopping, but truthfully, I like it and it gives me an outlet to just write. I like to write. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have this place to write. I mean, I keep a journal, but it's a lot easier to type than write long-hand :) Thanks for reading. It always surprises me when I look at the stats and see that people from all over the world have looked at something I have posted. It's even more surprising when someone posts a comment, whether it is one of my seven known readers or a total stranger. I really love it!