Just taking a little “paws” from my usual postings this weekend. Much too beautiful a day to be inside at the computer. Needed a bit of a break. I’ll be outside alongside the cat dreaming of the flowers soon to be blooming on the front porch.
I’ll catch up with comments on Monday as well.
day 90/365
I’ve got nothing tonight. Big time writing block. Just posting to stay on track with the Blog 365. Not even an April Fool’s Joke. Here are a couple photos from April 2017 that were probably on my old blog (still sad that so many of those photos are likely lost when I transferred things to the free site.)
Day 89/365
It makes sense that not every day is going to be a full and exciting post if we do this for a full year. Today is one of those days.
Not too much to share. Slow start to my Friday. And didn’t accomplish too much today. Just one task really. I took J to the DMV to renew his expired learner’s permit. And we almost bought a lottery ticket afterward.
We were, not kidding, in and out of there in under 10 minutes! Only 2 numbers behind when we got our ticket. Called up quickly, handed over our documentation and money, and out with a renewed learner’s permit. Not sure where the department of motor vehicles functions in your area but around here, fast is not usually in the vocabulary if going there is in the conversation. And on the last day of the month no less!
Not much else happening around here today. Debating pizza for dinner. Washing the bedding. Slowly changing out the March decorations for Easter.
Ending this one by sharing a couple random photos I took on my phone the past 2 days. One is the end of what was probably a more beautiful sunrise than I captured (missed the best colors). And the other a cardinal that surprised me by poking its head out of the boxwoods yesterday.
Day 88/365
Last week, Daniella over at Dana Handmade posted her answers to this Proust questionnaire. I really enjoyed reading them and thought it would be so fun to play along!
The questions seemed a bit more serious than the ones you typically see in the about me questions (I love reading all types of those, no matter the questions!). Here are my attempts to answer these. The hard thing, I think, is I have more than one answer to many of these.
1. My main trait – hopefully, kindness though I’m sure I don’t always succeed
2. The quality I want to meet in a man –already met one, ha. answer is honesty.
3. The quality I prefer in a woman – authenticity
4. What I value most in my friends –Do I have to say just one for these? honesty, authenticity, sense of humor, goes for the above 2 answers as well.
5. My main flaw –too many to narrow to one, struggle with criticism, not good at following rules, don’t like being told what to do, procrastination, I could go on…
6. My occupation favorite –I love my job, conversations, smiles, and hugs from 3-6 year olds are worth more than the highest salary of any corporate CEO
7. The happiness I dream of – Find it best to be happy with what I have where I am though I don’t always succeed
8. What would be my greatest misfortune –my family not knowing I love them
9. The place where I would like to live – I’m happy with where I live though I might not say no to a different part of the city or a slightly larger home.
10. My favorite color – GREEN especially that of growing things. 
11. The flower I like – I love all flowers, my favorites are lily-of-the-valley not planted in my garden because they’re poisonous to little cats.
12. The bird my favorite – I love most all the little outdoor birds but am partial to the chickadees and my hummingbirds. 
13. My favorite prose writers –so many, depends on the genre really. This could be a separate post, stay tuned. Also, how about a confession? I’ve never read anything by Proust. Any suggestions?
14. My favorite poets –Maya Angelou, Robert Frost, not a huge poetry person
15. My favorite literary heroes –The Pevensies, Meg from A Wrinkle In Time, mind is a bit blank here
16. My favorite literary heroines –see above
17. My favorite composers – Mozart, Debussy, and Leroy Anderson among others. I am also partial to Blake Neely (he composes a lot of scores for television shows such as You, The Flash, Riverdale, etc.) And of course, I grew up listening to Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. Also, just for fun I am sharing a new (to me) piece I heard on the classical station just yesterday: Arthropod Suite by Jonathan Peters.
18. My favorite painters – I had a couple framed Picasso prints on my walls, Bouquet of Flowers and Dove of Peace when I lived alone, so still love those. Van Gogh, of course. And Monet. Not very good at this category…
19. My favorite heroes in real life –as Mr. Rogers would say “the helpers”
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”―
20. What I hate the most –not a lot of hate but a long list of little annoyances, try not to dwell on them too much. Put your shopping cart away, be nice, personal space, don’t tailgate me, judge not lest you be judged!, and so on..
21. The quality I wish I had from birth – more courage, just call me the Cowardly Lion
22. How I would like to die – while LIVING
23. The mistakes that inspire me the greatest indulgence – those from my youth perhaps? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure I understand this question properly.
24. My motto – first one is flat out stolen from my workplace, the 2 rules: be peaceful and show respect. Second one, heard somewhere and really liked it: be curious, not judgemental.
A copy of blank questions if you’d like to play along and I hope you will. I’d love to see your answers!
1. My main trait –
2. The quality I want to meet in a man –
3. The quality I prefer in a woman –
4. What I value most in my friends –
5. My main flaw –
6. My occupation favorite –
7. The happiness I dream of –
8. What would be my greatest misfortune –
9. The place where I would like to live –
10. My favorite color –
11. The flower I like –
12. The bird my favorite –
13. My favorite prose writers –
14. My favorite poets –
15. My favorite literary heroes –
16. My favorite literary heroines –
17. My favorite composers –
18. My favorite painters –
19. My favorite heroes in real life –
20. What I hate the most –
21. The quality I wish I had from birth –
22. How I would like to die –
23. The mistakes that inspire me the greatest indulgence –
24. My motto –
Day 87/365
Welcome to my 2nd Wellness Wednesday post! I’m still pretty close to 10 over the weight limit (down .5) around here. However, feeling a little more positive.
Today started a bit chaotic as I realized that my husband forgot trash day. They’ve been coming earlier than normal so I threw a sweatshirt over my pajamas and took all our recycling and trash out to the curb. And I’m glad I did as they once again came around quite early. No complaints though.
I’ve decided to start each wellness Wednesday post with my breakfast, no idea why.
Today’s shake flavor: caramel sundae flavor mixed with a cup of coffee, a tablespoon of cocoa, and a banana. It’s been my favorite flavor combo so far. I do feel like the shakes give me a fair amount of energy but that could also be the fact I’m mixing them with coffee. (Note: I’m not drinking more coffee than usual, just mixing my usual 2nd cup up in the shake.)
Next, just a couple random thoughts.
We have so many unfinished projects around this house. Sometimes it gets me a bit down as well as the fact the house seems to be in a constant state of mess. And then, I started thinking about the old broken window theory from back in the 80’s. Totally random thought.
So what does this have to do with wellness/weight loss? Our kitchen is one of the worst offenders. As you may or may not know, I’m in a constant battle to keep our kitchen table clean. Some of it is life, of course. However, there are also unfinished projects in the kitchen constantly annoying me. Plus, I know how happy I still feel when looking at the clean and organized pantry. So, I became curious.
Does a clean kitchen help with weight loss? I asked this question of Mr. Google and found a few interesting answers.
A few articles for your reading pleasure:
Keeping Your Kitchen Clean Can Help You Lose Weight
Putting Your Kitchen On A Diet
How Getting Organized Can Help You Lose Weight
How Keeping A Clean Kitchen Can Help You Lose Weight
And one more, just for fun, about kitchen colors. Not entirely sure about this as my light green kitchen doesn’t seem to impact our food choices. Still a fun read.
Can Your Kitchen Wall Color Help You Lose Weight?
Now, I’m going to jump off here and go clean my kitchen. (Actually, I’m going to go soak up some sunshine and plant some flowers because that’s also great for health and wellness.)
What do you think about the kitchen ideas listed above?
Day 86/365
I’ve been in a list making mood lately. Or list thinking mood? Today’s post is the overdue check in on my list of 23 things I want to do this year.
Coming on Thursday, a bit of a fun but slightly more serious list. I’m answering these questions from this post from Daniella over at Dana handmade if you want to join. Taking my time to consider a few of the questions.
Finally, not a post but today I’ve decided I need to just make a list of all that’s on my mind. Things to do, things I’ve been putting off, things worrying me a bit (might borrow the 20 minute worry rule from Aritha at Miracle of the Ordinary for that), and see if it settles my mind a bit.
Let’s just get to the March list update. Not much progress I’m afraid.
I always think if I made my list in March, would it be any different? A little different perhaps. Lots of room for improvement but I’m happy to see I did manage a few things so far this year even if it is mainly related to reading and watching tv.
Did you make a list of things for 2023? How is your list going?
Day 85/365
I was a bit shocked yesterday realizing this is the last week of March. However, I’m excited to see what good things April brings. Hoping it is going to bring the warm spring weather on a more consistent basis.
Today’s a busy Monday around here. I’ve already been to the grocery store, started a roast in the crock pot for dinner, and am now working on this post. In just a bit, I’ll take J for the second part of his testing. Once he’s done with that, he should be ready to graduate. Just a few small things to check on for that. Later tonight, I’ll also be taking him to his baritone lesson.
So far the rest of my week seems fairly open. Let’s join in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom to plan the week.
Trampoline? Bounce House? Warm, then cold. Rainy, then sunny. Today we get cold and sunny though it’s supposed to warm up later. Currently 34 degrees, we woke up in the 20’s though. No complaints as I know some of you have snow covering your ground. Supposed to be in the 50’s and gradually warm up the rest of the week. Chances of rain tomorrow and bigger chance on Friday.
Birds at the bird feeder out the back.
Still thinking about yesterday’s church service a bit, the sermon was on compassion. Also, thinking about our Easter plans though we have 2 weeks. We’ll have church as J plays in the 11 am service but not sure what we’ll do after. The flower and vegetable gardens….my mind is all over the place today.
The usual, just the lamp and phone charger though in the early morning hours a certain cat likes to sit on it and “talk” to me until I get my lazy self out of bed.
Probably just The Voice.
I can hear a few birds outside this morning.
No idea, J’s testing is right around lunch time
Roast is in the crock pot for dinner tonight
Every time I think it’s time for lighter spring suppers, the weather turns cold again…
MONDAY: Roast in the crockpot
TUESDAY: Grilled chicken, asparagus, maybe with fettuccine
WEDNESDAY: Korean BBQ meatballs with chive pancakes (we have chives coming up wild in the yard and I thought it might be fun to use them)
THURSDAY: Turkey sausage and zucchini skillet
FRIDAY: Pizza of some sort, salad
Just started reading Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. It’s more mystery than scary at this point and I’m okay with that. Last week I read a series of books by Rosemary Whittaker, a bunch of escape/feel good romance books. The last one was my favorite, The Feijoa Tree. While the books are presented as a series, they are all slightly different with different characters so could be read in any order, I think.
Spring cleaning, yard work, it’s our Saturday dinner out/game night with friends
I bought a new diamond art of a Tuscany Village scene but I’ve yet to start. Garden areas outside.
Spring Flowers. Dreaming of Summer flower and vegetable gardens.
As much as I love my plants, I am ready for the outside ones to go back out there, just a few more weeks. And of course, I need to clean.
I bought hot pepper suet to discourage the squirrels. Not sure but I think he’s looking for his margarita to go with the new spicy food. SIGH. Our squirrels don’t mind the hot pepper suet. 
Friends, family, strangers, the homeless, J to successfully graduate, more peace and kindness in the world.
Found this one on Pinterest.
Day 84/365
Today feels like winter again but yesterday was a glorious spring day! I know soon we’ll get more of those and fewer of these cold, winter feeling ones. A few photos from a sunny and warmer spring day. 
More quotes about spring can be found here on Bliss Quote as well as on Pinterest.
day 83/365
Added a few new spring flowers outside. Just because the sun was shining today. After many rainy and cloudy days.
Anemone
Columbine 
And of course, pansies. 
Day 82/365
It was another lazy day today. The sun did make a brief appearance though so that was nice. Other than that, today really wasn’t too exciting. Here let me tell you all about it. First, I’ll add it’s supposed to be nicer out tomorrow and I’m really hoping to get out and get some decent photos to share for upcoming posts.
Meanwhile, here’s a picture of the final amaryllis bloom.
See the tape? I accidentally knocked it when taking it outside on a nice day and the stem broke. However, a little tape fixed things enough for it to go ahead and still bloom.
(Oh my, ignore the dirty windows, please. They are on the spring cleaning list.)
Tonight’s plans are that there are no plans. Well, other than attempting the pasta dish. The recipe for Penne Rosa is here if your interested. It’s new to us but I was intrigued. I’ll be using rigatoni instead of penne because I already had some in the pantry.
What are your plans for tonight?
Day 81/365