Originally I was going to make some healthy granola. But then I ran to Costco to buy some vitamins and a bag of frozen fruit for my oatmeal and various dishes, but then I discovered this.

I LOVE IT! I’m glad I only bought one bag. This has a lot of fat and sugar, so it’s definitely a treat that will test my very shaky self control.

FYI, Wizard declared that I’m banned from Costco for a month   Which is okay since I do the same thing to him on certain things, especially junk food, but still… I’ve been banned and has a sad. But wait! I have dark chocolate hazelnut granola in my cupboard so I will survive!

So what’s your crack this week?

Two highlights of my weekend:

1. First, of course, is playing with Turbo. He’s such a smart boy! At almost 22 months, he can repeat the entire alphabet after his mom or dad. He knows all his colors and a lot of shapes. But he’s alllll boy. That kid loves trucks, and plays with them over every surface he can find. Or he bends over, puts them on the floor and runs, pushing them across the room. So cute! Oh! And I bought a Cookie Monster cookie (from Starbucks) and Turbo loved it. Not really surprising but a super satisfying Grandma moment. Especially since his parents are very reasonable about sweets as long as he’s eating meals.
2. Second, my daughter-in-law gave me some storage containers she’s not using. Well actually, my son gave them to me when I was describing the containers I wanted and he realized they had some. My son is like that, he’ll give me anything I want, so I double-checked with my daughter-in-law because men can sometimes be oblivious, LOL! But she told me to take them with her blessing. Anyhow, they are the pop-lock ones that I’ve been coveting but I was too cheap to shell out the money for the big set I saw at Costco. So getting these few pieces totally jazzed me. And yeah, I’m easily amused. But one of my goals this year is to slowly redo some things in my kitchen to create a more organized, efficient updated workflow. This is a start–however the funny part is I’ll end up spending just as much money buying the pieces I’ll need to fill in as if I’d originally bought the big set at Costco

Otherwise, I did some running around stuff, some cleaning out stuff and even some writing stuff. The writing stuff is less than I wanted to do, but it’s writing and I refuse to be negative. Moving forward is success! I love Justice and Liza and want to give them the happily ever after they deserve.

Today, I hope to go to the gym and then write. Also, Maggie says “Hi” to you all.

So that’s my weekend, now I’d really love to hear about yours!

TGIF!! Let’s get right into sharing five random things about our week. Here are mine:

1. We did our first Costco trip, and Yikes, that was an easy way to spend $$. But, hey, now I have enough kitchen trash bags to last a year or six LOLOL! Costco is kind of fun now, but it’ll turn into just another chore soon.
2. I’ve hated shopping for most of my life. Now, I like some shopping at discount stores and I don’t know why. It’s downright weird.
3. I’m using my work calendar as a plotting-planner-motivational-thingie. This week, I used it to sketch out the plot and timeline. Wizard asked me why I don’t type it, and I told him that once I start typing, I tend to flesh things out too much and end up trying to write the book or get lost in details. Writing it in pencil bullet points that I can erase and change gives me permission to down on paper even if it’s wrong. The planner is working pretty well in that I now have a very rough outline.  That’s pretty much my accomplishment for this week–outlining plot and timeline in rough pencil strokes.  Next week is butt in chair, fingers to keyboard.
4. I’m writing goals aside from writing in my planner too. Writing goals down gives them weight and meaning, not just random wishes. This is all part of my 2020 Attitude Adjustment.
5. Today I’m getting my hair done, then meeting Biker Witch for coffee in the morning and I’ll write a little in the afternoon. Saturday, we are watching Turbo for a couple of hours again. Sunday begins my big butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard plan. I won’t be able to do it more than four hours at a time, but that’s a good start! Physically I am doing better these days!

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wizard got a swear jar for Christmas from Special K and Turbo. Okay, technically, both of us got the swear jar. It’s super cute, a basically a bubblegum machine that Special K and Turbo decorated with dinosaur stickers.  However, only one of us is better at remembering to keep our language toddler-safe than the other.

I’m not saying that it’s Wizard who forgets and says inappropriate things in front of Turbo, but IT TOTALLY IS WIZARD!!

Anyway, I have the swear jar on my bookshelf, and I think I might mentally repurpose it into the Doubt Jar. Every damned time (it’s a toddler free zone and I can swear if I want to) I think anything negative about the book or my writing, I should pay the jar.

Or maybe I’ll call it the Distraction Jar. Every time I go online to shop (I love to put things in my car then later delete them because I’m cheap), or read about the latest social media dumpster, I should pay the jar.

Or every time I do anything but WRITE THE DAMN BOOK I SHOULD PAY THE JAR!

So, yeah, it’s going well here, LOL!

How’s your Wednesday going?

Friday, I finally gave up and went on the allergy medication Claritin for a few days. The good news is the meds tamed my allergies. But my eyes are all gritty-cranky. Contacts and dry eyes from antihistamines don’t mix well! But overall that’s a minor side effect that I can handle with drops or wearing my glasses. I’m just happy my allergies are calming down.

So not much to talk about my weekend. Saturday, we had fun hanging out with Turbo! Sunday, I did some boring stuff.

Today is the gym, and then I’m officially and finally getting back to writing. No excuses! It will take me a little time to get back into the book and hit my stride, but it’s time to plant my butt in the chair and write.

That was my weekend, how was yours?

It’s the 2020 edition of Friday Five! Let’s do it!

1. We had a nice New Year’s Eve dinner. We also opened a bottle of good wine, and after half a glass, I had an allergy attack. It probably was a coincidence as it was late afternoon which is when my allergies can flare up. Or it could have been something in the wine that triggered it Either way, I’m avoiding the remainder of that particular wine. Wizard is enjoying it while feeling vaguely guilty
2. I went to the gym Monday, worked out on the elliptical for a couple of miles and some light weights. My side was fine, so today I did a little more. It took about three hours for my side to ache. Honestly I thought my body and I had a deal that we would not act our age in 2020?
3. After years and years of resisting, Wizard and I finally bought a Costco membership yesterday. This is our “test” year to see if we shop there enough to make it worth it. It was fun just walking around Costco warehouse yesterday–I could lose six months of my life in there!
4. I’m going to have to buy a new set of pots and pans. It’s not cheap, but I cook a fair amount and use them. I have a new set sitting in my online shopping cart but can’t make myself actually buy them yet.
5. I found a dermatologist on YouTube that I’ve been following lately. My skin has changing over the last year or two, and I’m reacting to products I’ve never had issues with in the past. Her advice is helping me deal with that. Her suggestions are easy, practical and helping me identify common irritants in skin care products that I hadn’t even realized could be a problem. I guess it’s pretty common to develop sensitivity to certain ingredients with prolonged use. The products she suggests are usually Target/Walmart prices which is a total win for me too.

Today we are seeing Wizard’s brother who is visiting from out of state. Saturday we’re babysitting Turbo. 2o20 did not get the memo about slowing life down a little. Anyway, that’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! Have a great weekend!