TGIF! Are the holidays always such a whirlwind? But you know what? Keeping busy isn’t a bad thing Anyhow, let’s get into sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. I went to the dentist on Monday and they did a full set of x-rays and cleaning and all is well. Considering the year I’ve had, it’s nice to get good news anywhere on the health front.
2. We bought two pictures over a year ago — and just this last week Wizard had them professionally frame. Because we get right on stuff like that, LOL. Wizard hung them then in the office and they add a lot of color.
3. I’ve been baking. Let’s see if I can remember what I’ve made: Cranberry orange bread with an orange glaze, double batch of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, double batch of Mocha Toffee cookies, double batch of Pistachio Cookies with brown butter icing, double batch of lemon cookies, gluten free lemon bars, gluten free oatmeal chocoate chip bars, and double batch of gluten free chocolate crinkle cookies. Have I forgotten anything? I don’t know! Oh wait, I also made peppermint bark.
4. Wednesday I ran to the store, and I paid $11.99 for 18 eggs. I was so mad. And then the bag guy wanted to bag my eggs separately and the checker stopped him. I watched in horror as she told him the put the eggs on the bottom of the bag, then added three pounds of butter, two pounds of powdered sugar then picked up a bag of lemons and told him to put those on top. OF MY EGGS THAT COST $11.99. That when I said,  “No. Those are eggs on the bottom. I’ll take the bag of lemons.” I’m being serious when I say that was me being restrained. But the bag guy was new, and trying. It was the checker I was annoyed with.
5. Tomorrow is the family party at Oldest’s house. He’s every excited for us to see his lights — he totally went Christmas Vacation (the movie) with his outside decor. I’m brining dessert, so I ordered an apple pie, and will make gluten free/dairy free cupcakes. I’ll probably make chocolate cupcakes and  sprinkle cupcakes, but I’m also considering a S’mores cupcake with Marshmallow icing. I have concerns about the Marshmallow icing melting so I may hold off on that one. These are not my best desserts, but they should be okay.

That’s my week, now it’s your turn! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

TGIF!! Okay let’s dive right into sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. Car Drama stopped by for a visit to our family. One car was damaged getting a tire patched, and other vehicle stolen. Neither things have happened before so it was jarring. It wasn’t Wizard or my cars. And while it’s upsetting, at least it wasn’t an accident and no one was hurt! Things can be fixed or replaced, but people can’t.
2. We babysat our granddaughter on Tuesday. That was amazing as always. She’s just a delight at three months old. She smiles at everyone. And of course, she’d much rather take naps on us than in her crib.
3. I made White Chicken Chili for the first time ever. It came out good (I think). A tad spicy for my taste, but some jack cheese, plain Greek yogurt and avocado on top tames that nicely. I’m pretty proud of it. Wizard isn’t interested, which means it’s all mine for quick and easy lunches. I divided it up in single servings and froze some. That was the good part. The bad part, I didn’t use gloves when I diced the jalapeno. Jalapeno Hand is a thing and it’s annoying. For any of you too smart to chop jalapeno without gloves, it essentially burns for a few hours. I did use some olive oil to break down the  oil from the pepper that causes it, and that helped. Fun fact — I had disposable gloves in the drawer directly below where I was chopping the jalapeno, I was just too pressed for time to stop and put them on. That was a very annoying miscalculation.
4. Wednesday I ran from one room to the other to get the phone when it rang and half way there I felt something funky in my right ankle. I actually said, mid-run, “Crap I felt that.” Wizard saw, and heard, this whole thing and just shook his head in despair. I rarely ever fall, or do normal things. I just sprain my ankle mid-jog and keep going   However I did get the phone in time to answer an important question from one of my sons, and then practiced some dedicated denial to clean the bathrooms after that. When I went to bed, my denial dissolved into an ache, and then when I got up in the middle of the night, I groaned enough to have Maggie run in and check on me. Seriously, it’s mild overall. No significant swelling, it feels better with shoes on, and I spent all Thursday afternoon and evening resting it. Mostly because Wizard made me, but it still counts.
5. This weekend I’ll plan and organize a little baking for next week. I’m not doing a lot, just a few things. I’ll need to do some wrapping since my ankle prevented that yesterday. I’m 92% done with Christmas shopping so that’s nice. I had one key gift go missing even though it showed delivered a week ago — then it showed up last night. That was a relief. I had just started a refund process and then was able to cancel that so all good. So this weekend is odds and ends. Oh and I’m getting the gray erased from my hair today.

That’s my five, now I’d to hear yours!

Late because I put the wrong time on scheduler. It’s been a week of random mistakes for me!

TGIF!! The first Friday in December just doesn’t seem possible, but here we are. Okay, let’s get to sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. I’m baking sourdough bread as I write this because multi-tasking is awesome.
2. Well, #1 is true unless you screw something up. I did and I feel terrible. Biker Witch and I made plans to meet on Friday, only I typed Thursday when I texted her. So I didn’t show up. I suck and still feel bad about it. She, however, we very kind and forgiving. Biker Witch is the nice sister.
3. I’ve barely been doing Yoga, but I’m lifting more weights (light weights) now that I’m feeling better. I feel bad, like I’m cheating on Yoga, LOL. Yoga has really helped me get through some hard years physically and I’m trying to find a way to add it back in to retain my flexibility and balance. Right now, I’m using Yoga to warm up but it’s just not the same thing. And I’m aware this is boring and not really a problem
4. Wizard stole my book! I had the book, “Play Nice But Win” by Michael Dell sitting on my table in the living room waiting for me after I finished Silver’s book. When I had 30 pages left of Silver’s book, Wizard randomly picked up “Play Nice And Win” and started reading it. It was war! Just kidding, I downloaded a book called “Lights Out” by Nevessa Allen on the bestseller list that I got curious about. It’s a dark romance, and funny. Not my normal thing but a fun read for me. And Larissa Ione has a new book out that I want to read too. But still, Wizard stole my book! And he’s not even sorry!
5. This weekend is my niece’s bridal shower. I think that’ll be fun. I had ordered a dress from Kohls for it, but it’s not going to arrive until the day of the shower. Everything else both Wizard and I have ordered came — except the one thing I needed. Truly, it’s not a big deal, I have a dress or two in my closet I can wear. It’s just the Universal Rule that the one thing I need will be delivered late.

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

TGIF! Are you out shopping on Black Friday (which now seems like two weeks long!)? If not and you’re here at the blog, it’s time to share five random things about your week. Here’s mine (all Thanksgiving related because I’m writing this right after everyone left and can’t remember the rest of the week!):

1. Thanksgiving went pretty well and everyone seemed to have a good time. It was semi-organized chaos, loud and messy, so it turned out right
2. One of my favorite moments: Turbo (he’s 6 1/2 now) brought one of his “baby” books to read to eleven week old Baby Girl. It was so danged cute! The baby loved the bright colors and happily let Turbo read her the whole book. It made my heart swell. It’s especially touching because in general, Turbo is a tornado of activity, but he slowed down and gentled because he wanted to read to his baby cousin and it was all his idea.
3. I stressed the first half of the turkey cooking, adjusted the temp down 25 degrees, and then…it all worked. Whew. It was the first year I made a compound butter out of ghee (clarified butter with no lactose) and covered the turkey in it. It really worked out well! And fun moment — one of my daughters in law was making gravy at the stove next to me while I was doing green beans. At one point, she reached over and added salt and pepper as I was cooking, and another time adjusted my heat. It’s rare to find someone you can cook with that well, and truthfully, she’s a better cook than me, so I happily accepted her help.
4. All the food was great, my daughters-in-law and sister all brought dishes and helped out overall. I appreciate the help so much, and it makes the meal so much more of a family effort which is a nice feeling.
5. Maggie is wiped out! But funny story — she heard Youngest’s car in the driveway and lost her mind in joy. She went and waited by the door for him, and barked impatiently when he didn’t come in fast enough. But by the end of the evening, she was in her bed in a bedroom, and away from all the commotion. She’s not as young as she used to be, LOL! It’s okay, though, because neither am I!

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours. I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and you all have a great weekend!

TGIF!! This month is sure in a hurry just zooming by. At least for me! I can’t believe it’s Thanksgiving already next week! But let’s focus on now and share five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. Tis the season and Monday I trudge to another town to hit some stores for wine glasses and decor. Surprise! I was not the only one to have that idea…it was so crowded. And then I stood in massive lines so long they wrapped around aisle an didn’t move. After 15 or so minutes of this — I heard an employee tell a customer the lines were long because they had to manually put in each and every bar code. When the lines didn’t move for five minutes–like didn’t budge at all–I left. This was a craft store and people had carts piled crazy high, and I just couldn’t stand there for an hour or two to buy a few things. I went home, ordered some stuff from Amazon and will do without have fancy Thanksgiving decorations. I’m sure my smile and sparkling wit will be enough Plus…we have wine so there’s that! If I’m super ambitious, I might even get some flowers to make the tables look prettier.
2. Tuesday we did grocery shopping. Whoa! We have had super small groceries bills lately, and this week we more than made up for it! It was shocking and the selection of produce and meat was frustratingly bad (but of course, there were plenty of cookies, chips and soda!) This store was not making me happy. Then I went to Wal Mart, and guys, it wasn’t bad at all. I found a turkey, got a few other things, all the lines were open and moving and I was out of there in record time! Color me shocked and pleased!
3. Wednesday was my Happy Day! I got to see my granddaughter! She’s delightful! Her mom went to Costco then took the dogs for a walk (normally my son walks the dogs but he was out of town on business) while I babysat and we had a blast! Right now Baby Girl likes everyone, but I choose to believe she especially likes me She’s full of smiles and babbling now. At one point I put her on her tummy on her playmat, and watched in shock as she rolled over. At ten weeks! Turns out she’s been doing that for a week or more. But the point is, she was the absolute highlight of my week. I also very much enjoy seeing my daughter in law, and she’s a huge help to me when I’m doing the holiday meals, which I so appreciate.
4. Thursday I got a small start on Christmas shopping, and trying to organize Thanksgiving on paper. I like to have a working list and any recipes organized to keep me focused.
5. Today I have a tele visit with my doctor to follow-up on my tests. It was supposed to be in office, but they called yesterday and asked if I’d do it by phone. YES!! It’s a long drive so it’s a win for me. The rest of the day is just stuff and maybe I’ll bake some cupcakes. And this weekend I think I’ll stick close to home and keep it productively boring :-).

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

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

1. I lost a day this week for sure. Aside from the holiday, we were traveling so I guess it’s understandable.
2. I did my last of the latest tests on Wednesday and I felt great about it! It’s just bloodwork, and easy to do, but it still feels good to have that battery of tests over. But of course, something will be weird in one of them because, well, it’s me, LOL!
3. Maggie likes to bring a new trick home with her from boarding — spitting out her pill from the pill pocket. Normally she takes these for me with no problem. I have no idea why she does this after boarding. But when she does that I then grind it up and put it in her food. She’s hating that. We’ll see who wins this battle of wills! Spoiler alert: I will win. Otherwise, Maggie came home her normal happy self. They take good care of her there.
4. Yesterday was awesome — we went to see our granddaughter! She was so happy, smiling and playing with us! She tries to talk now it’s so cute. She’s 9 1/2 weeks old now. Her pediatrician said she’s thriving and very strong. I’m a preening Grandma! It’s nice that I got to spend time with Turbo over the weekend and her yesterday, even if I had to share her with Grandpa Wizard
5. This weekend I need to start some deeper cleaning stuff. It’s not fun but, surprisingly, no one else has volunteered to do it. I guess that leaves me! Probably because I’m the only one who is going to care whether or not the kitchen cupboards are cleaned or the blinds dusted, LOL. And I barely care…so we’ll see if having company for Thanksgiving motivates me!

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

TGIF, and I’m an idiot…again, LOL. I deleted current blogs when I was trying to delete old blogs from years ago. Between removing my books from sale in EU countries on one site, cleaning up unused FB sites and this, it’s an endless chore. Then I get impatient, and accidentally delete stuff I wanted to keep. Sometimes I amaze myself with my own genius <insert sarcasm>.

And second aside here: We had really high winds this week and there’s horrible fires in part of So Cal (not near us). I’m praying for all of them. There’s little anyone can do to stop the fires in those strong winds. My heart breaks for those people who’ve lost homes. I’m praying no one is hurt and the firefighters are able to get control soon.

Now let’s move onto sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. Our Anniversary was Wednesday. It felt odd as we did nothing. The trip this weekend is our celebration. All that said, we’ve been married over four decades. This last year when I faced a concerning diagnoses, I realized how lucky I am to have a partner I had zero doubt would stick with me no matter which way it went. So while we both had worries and fears, ending up alone and feeling abandoned was never one on them. That’s priceless and I don’t take it for granted.
2. Wednesday I also saw my sister, Biker Witch. We went to a makeup store as I was looking for something. And while I was there, I let a salesperson demonstrate skin care stuff for me. So she took off all my makeup and put on magic elixir stuff. I spotted my sister wandering around, and asked her, “What do you think?” Her response, “I can see your freckles.” Um…thanks???? I told her “That’s why I was always Mom’s favorite.” The conversation continued with more playful sister sniping and we had the salesperson laughing. She got it — she has a sister In case anyone’s worried, no one’s feeling were hurt. If my sister had said I looked fat, then we’d have had a problem. And I do have freckles, it’s not a secret After all that, I may have gotten upsold on some magic elixir. And yet, I still woke up looking like a woman who is not in her thirties. Shocking, right?
3. You know what’s not fun? The day before travel. Just saying.
4. Yesterday, I was rushing around due to #3. I stepped into my stretched out flip flops and went outside to soak my pants (it’s going to be a warmish weekend). I turned around to put the hose away, and caught my the hose in my stretched out flip flops and flung myself forward at a scary momentum. I was fine because I caught myself, but dang it, I knew these flips flops had become dangerous for a month now. I was too cheap them out throw out because I use then around the house and back yard. After that near fall, I threw the things away and got out my newer pair I was saving…for what…to be buried in when I killed myself? My intelligence is being seriously questioned this week. Just saying…
5. We’re off to a low key trip. We’re will probably do a little side trip for ourselves Saturday, then spend the rest of the time with Oldest, Special K and Turbo. Youngest and his wife will be spending time at the house. And Maggie is off to her Spa Vacation (she’s old s0 I like to keep her on the routine she knows and understands).

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