Category: Friday Five

This week I have been trying to get settled back in at home. There has been so much to do, this being apple season, and I also decided to make some major adjustments in my life.

1. I resolved on Wednesday to give myself a year to lose all of this weight. It’s a goal I hope to achieve, because, well, quite honestly, I am very unhappy being this over weight. I returned to Weight Watchers with great determination, and confessed my sins.
   
   
   
   (At least the most recent ones!) I down loaded the Weight Watcher App and have been tracking everything that has gone into my mouth! The real trick is to stay with it and not to get sloppy and lazy with my journaling.
2. Along this same path, I decided that I would begin doing this thing, I refer to as a four letter obscene word…EXERCISE! I decided the best thing I could do was take Lili for walks. She needs it and I kill two birds with one stone. She gets her exercise while I get mine. **Groan**
3. Our first day was tricky. Lili pulled me and I feared I was not going to live long enough to lose the weight. However this morning, I got out Fritz’s old training collar, and put it on her. She responded immediately, and stopped pulling, walked by my side and when I would stop her, sit her, and stay her…well, she actually listened. Our walk was so much fun that I hope tomorrow’s forecast of rain is wrong, as I want to go again!
4. I have decided to continue to drink a large glass of water before each meal. It not only aids with digestion, but it seems to fill me up. I’m not a fan of drinking water, but I’m starting to realize as I get older, that sometimes one must do things they do not like for their health.
5. I’m planning more fish meals, which is always good. My cousin, Dave, went fishing this summer and brought me back some really beautiful Salmon! And if I watch the sales I will stock up on fish, when I can. I have also discovered another great food.  Flat Out Bread. I made myself an egg roll-up this morning and it was really good, and lunch was a tuna roll up with lettuce and tomato. I must keep things new and interesting, and not get into a rut with the foods I am eating.

So that’s what’s happening this week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and can enjoy the Autumn weather where you are, or in the case of my Aussie friends, enjoy your spring!

I’ve been thinking a lot about life recently. How good it is, how wonderful the people in my life are, and how, despite life’s difficulties, well, life is really good. So, this week’s Friday Five are the wonderful things happening in my life.

1. I am going to be a grandmother again. Yes, my daughter is safely 15 week pregnant with her second child. A BOY! She is feeling well, the baby is growing inside her and I am thrilled. Not so much for myself, as for my daughter. Those of you who have more than one child can attest that your second baby (or third, or fourth…) brings more love into your family. Baby Boy is due in March and I can hardly wait to hold this bundle of sheer joy in my arms!
2. My sweet Savannah Rose continues to amaze and delight me. I never expected, I never knew, that being a grandmother would be as wonderful as it is. Sometimes I watch Savi and my heart swells and catches in my throat. She is so amazing! And Mandy and Matt are such wonderful parents to her.

   

3. My niece Jinny and her husband Ian, welcomed their much wanted and loved daughter this past week. April is gorgeous, and sweet and adored.

   

   Jinny and Ian are wonderful parents and my sister is reveling in her job as baby/daughter nurse. She has been over each day to help Jinny, and cook and make sure that Jinny is rested. I know my sister, and I can safely say, she is the best “baby nurse” I can even think of!

4. My dogs. OK, you all stood by me when Lili was a wild child, baby pup. But she is getting to be so much better, and she is such a sweetheart! She is getting better playing with the dackels, and finally, I feel she is fitting in. The dackels, as usual, thrill me beyond words.
5. Hubby and I have been planning our trip to Ohio. We have a graduate student moving in here, and the best part is, she will actually live here while we are gone. I always hate the thought of the animals being alone, even for a moment, and our sitter works on her Doctorate online. This is a perfect arrangement!

It’s been a busy week for me. Now that my hand has healed I can once again do housework, wash dishes and cook without gloves. Oh joy! Here are five things happening in my life.

1. I had a disaster batch of Heavenly Peach Jam. I mean this stuff is so thick, it breaks your toast. At first Hubby wanted to throw it away, but I went online (from whence cometh all intrinsic answers to every problem), and discovered that if you open the jar, put the jelly into a heavy pot. Add a small amount of water and bring to a boil, the jam will become more pliable, and then put the jam in a clean jar, cover and put into the fridge. I tried this, and it worked. Still giving my cousin some, as she likes to use this as a glaze on her pork roast.
2. I went through the entire week installing all my information on Internet Explorer. I have used Firefox forever, but recently, it started to freeze up, a lot. After 5 days of using IE, I am back to Firefox. Neither one is perfect, but Firefox has most of what I need.
3. I think I have found a couple of house sitters for the dogs. One lives on our street and he will be great for the short times, like when we go to Mandy’s house for the day. The other is a graduate student, who will be good for all day and overnights, you know, the longer trips. This is so important, as I want to travel a bit more with Hubby this year!
4. I finally got the ladder in and while Hubby steadied it, climbed up and cleaned all around the skylight. It was a good thing to do, as after a while, it really needed a good scrubbing!
5. I’m babysitting for Savannah on Monday! Yay! Call me one thrilled Oma!

It’s a busy but wonderful weekend for me. I am down in Connecticut with my sister and her family. This includes her husband of over 40 years, their two sons and their wives, two teenage boys, one teenage girl, and twin 2 year old boys! And currently we are waiting for the birth of the latest addition to our family, as Mel’s daughter is expecting her first baby, a girl,  in a month. So here are 5 things on my mind.

1. Babies!  So excited for my sister and niece!
2. Love shopping for baby gear!
3. Spending time with my family is just the best.
4. The weather is perfect!
5. We had local corn! I plan to take some home!

Another week has flown by, and also another month. 2015 is racing past me. The funny thing is, as a child I recall thinking how long time was. A day seemed to last a year and a year…forever.

Now, here I am in my middle years, and I’m quite shocked at how quickly time passes us.

Okay, here is my Friday Five, on this the last day of July.

1. I learned how to make Four Bean Salad to can for later this winter. I also have frozen 4 pounds of wax beans!
2. I went in to my canning storage area, and re-arranged everything. I would really love to get shelves to store everything down in the coldest part of the basement.
3. I really think my eye is getting better. I definitely needed the antibiotics.
4. Today was sheet changing day. I love that. It’s one of those things that relaxes me. The feel of cool crisp sheets, when I crawl into bed.
5. Next year will be my 40th High School Reunion. I’ve volunteered to be on the planning committee. I think it will be a lot of fun.

My Senior picture from our yearbook. But goodness 40 years!!!

1. Here we are. The end of another week! And time is racing by. Can you believe we are heading into the last week of July, already?
2. Thursday found me playing catch-up around the house, as well as cooking up our very first summer squash in a saute. I bought a nice zucchini, some Vidalia sweet onion, and both red and green pepper and diced all those up, along with the summer squash. I sauteed it up, added a little sea salt and fresh basil from my garden. It came out fabulous!
3. I discovered how to journal my eating with the Weight Watchers App. I mean, this is so cool, and makes journaling my food, even easier!
4. Friday I go to the hand surgeon about my tricky trigger finger. It has reached the point of being pretty painful, so it’s time to open the sheath for that tendon!
5. I’m looking forward to spending some time with Savannah this weekend! Yay! Love it. I’m going to bring down my DVD of “Cinderella” from when I was a kid.

   

   It is a musical, starring Leslie Ann Warren and Stuart Damon and Celeste Holm. Oh, I loved that movie and I look forward to sharing it with Savannah!

1. Hubby and I have been working hard out in the garden. I am afraid that we will not be as prosperous this year. It makes me feel rather sad.
2. You see, I did not start my own plants this year. I bought all my plants, save the Butternut Squash. However, everything in the big garden, except the summer squash, are just not doing well.
3. I sat down with my notebook and began to plan next years garden. I will buy my own seeds early on, get good soil, and start my plants in March in the greenhouse in larger pots.
4. It is kind of funny, I have potted plants on the patio, and they are doing just great! Loads of tomotoes, eggplant, green peppers and my basil overflowith!



5. This year we will simply make daily runs to the local farm stand for fresh vegetables. It will be good for the local economy.

Here we are, at the end of the second week of July. I can recall, oh so clearly, on New Years when I was freezing and had a couple of feet of snow in our back yard.

Anyway, I was sitting here thinking about things and decided to number them up and viola! They become my Friday Five!

1. Today I take Lili to the Vet for all of her shots. Most normal dogs will be quiet and sleepy afterward. I sure hope that is the case with Lili. Both Hubby and I can use the time off.



2. Thursday found me being incredibly productive. I got the house vacuumed, (not easy with the ever shedding LIli around), shelves washed and cleared, and my plastic container storage area, cleaned and organized, finding two tops to two containers as I did!
3. This weekend is going to be a quiet one. I would like to get the air conditioner into the office. Currently that room is just plain stuffy.
4. I was in said office for a while today, backing up documents on our desktop computer. It was hot, but I got a lot done backing up our files and income tax records. I’m sure if we were asked to provide documentation from previous Income Taxes, that would be the very moment that computer would chose to die.
5. I’m playing Words With Friends with several different people. I love it! Best of all, as I play I think I am getting better at it. What a great workout for the brain!

Have a wonderful summer weekend, everyone!!!

This was a big week for me this week. Here are 5 things that kept my attention during the week.

1. I’ve been learning to use the camera in the Smart Phone. This proved to be a good thing, because my small Canon camera sort of bit the dust. The lens does not retract properly and so it gives me an error message.
2. Anyway, the new phone takes great pictures. Here are a few of my willing fur models!



Anneliese



Lili



Greta



Arnie

3. We ventured out to the grocery store. The first time since Motorcycle Week ended. The cupboards were bare, so it was a big shopping day!
4. I have figured out how to use the new phone totally hands free in the Toyota. It’s nice to be able to plug it into the speakers and not have to use a headset.
5. My back is doing very well. I did not have to use the brace at all today. Tonight it feels pretty good.

Five New Presents

1. My new cell phone. Hubby realized that I really did need a Smart Phone, so we both researched it, with the help of my online friends, and Consumer Reports, and decided that the Galaxy S5 was the right one for me. Immediately I loved it! I also bought an Otterbox Case to protect it, as I am always dropping things! Bright pink! Perfect for me!!!

   

   Then three days after the purchase, they “upgraded my operating system to Lollipop and two of my apps stopped working. I spent most of yesterday looking up the problems on the Internet and then…I found my answers and fixed them both! Now I feel Smart!

2. My daughter recently gave me a wonderful mini book of Savannah pictures. There are also pictures of my daughter Mandy with Savi.

   

   I love it! It fits right inside my pocketbook, and as always, I am the doting Oma, and show anyone who asks (or even if they don’t) my beautiful girls.

3. My sister heard that I have a rather weird neighbor who walks slowly to his car if I am out early with Lili.

   

   So she went out and found the cutest summer bathrobe for me. It is light weight cotton, and so pretty!

4. I bought myself a prezzie too! My old clog slippers finally died. They were a pair of Merrell Clogs I wore when I first was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis. (8 and a half years ago) After I got my inserts, I used these well worn and well loved clogs for slippers, as I could run out with the dogs and had good rubber soles. But all good things eventually come to an end. The soles literally peeled off!  I searched and searched and I found the same model, but in dove gray.

   

   Not my first choice, but pretty none the less, and best of all, cheap at $29.89. They arrived on Wednesday and I love them!!!

5. I also bought myself another prezzie. A new night gown.

   

   Do you ever fold your clothes after laundering them, and realize you haven’t had a new night gown in like 5 years? Or more? Mine are all in rags, and so now that I have the new bathrobe, I bought a new night gown. It’s pretty and pink!

So there you have it. Five new things that I am extremely thankful for. The pictures of Savi and Mandy being the most loved, and the new Smart Phone being the most desired! A banner week for sure!