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

1. Monday Wizard and I went to a running shoe store to buy shoes. It costs a tad more, but we found it worth it. Ordering stuff online is convenient and all, but sometimes, in-person is the better option. We both bought some shoes.
2. The coffee table saga goes on. They brought the new one Wednesday and it was warped worse than the one we have. The delivery guys noticed it first and they called to tell the office they’re returning it. Customer Service called me, and they are delivering a new one a week from today. The customer service person swears they will check it at the warehouse first. I just keep telling myself people deal with real problems every day and this is not one of those real problems. This is just an annoyance that will get sorted out. But man I’m tired of endless phone calls, emails, texts and four hour windows for deliveries — I just want this done.
3. In the Success! column, Wizard and I hung a TV in our what we humorously called our “Media Room.”  It’s a spare bedroom we use for everything — working out, wrapping presents, doing little projects, chilling out by ourselves with YouTube or Movies or read, just all kinds of things. The hardest part of that was finding the right TV bracket for our older TV. The rest went fairly easy and now the TV appears to be securely on the wall and doing what we want it to do. We are super happy about it. There’s more to be done in that room, but the house is a process that we enjoy and do as we can afford it.
4. We took some Manicotti over to my sister and her husband’s yesterday (we just wanted them to know we are thinking of them as the deal with losing a family member). We visited for a while, then Wizard got antsy and was ready to leave. I wanted to stay longer but traffic sucks so we went home. On the way, Oldest called, and while I was on the phone to him and distracted — Wizard got off the freeway and started winding into the hills where we’ve never been. I told oldest this and said that he might be the last person to talk to me, and that this was my last known location. He’s like, “Cool, Mom, this is how all the best mysteries start.” Frankly, he sounded more amused than worried. It’s like he trusts his dad or something
5. We saw Baby Girl yesterday. She’s delightful, super chatty and engaged. She turns five months old on the 9th! When I see her now, I barely remember that tiny helpless newborn. It sure is hard to leave when she’s mastered the art of being adorable, full of smiles and babbling.

This weekend, we have a family birthday party Saturday afternoon. Sunday Wizard is torn between racing and the Superbowl, and I’ve got a list of things I could do so we’ll see. That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours!

TGIF!! How did Friday get here so fast? Sheesh! And before we jump into sharing five random things about our week, I just want to say I’m saddened by the crash of the passenger plane and helicopter at Reagan National Airport. My heart goes out to all the victims, their families and friends. It’s all just tragic and there are no words to make it better.

Okay let’s jump into sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. In the coffee table sage — a new table will arrive on Wednesday. The company has been fine about it. The process is a little slow and cumbersome, but any business that is scaled up has these systems and procedures so I have been patient. We’re all proud of me. I did tell off a door banger, so my temper is in working order
2. Maggie wanted me to tell you that, according to my app, she walked over 17 miles last week (it tracks Sunday to Sunday). She has requested additional food and treats and has assured me you all will agree with her on this.
3. I made sourdough bread this week. Not sure anyone cares about this, but I now have this down to a pretty easy process. I just need to be home or close to home for a day to feed the starter, wait for it to rise, make the dough then babysit the dough for a few hours. Then I put in the fridge overnight  to bulk ferment before I shape it the next day and then bake it. It feels much simpler for me, and the dough is easier to handle.
4. It’s quiet lately, and that’s good. I think Wizard and I just tired of running around so much and needed a break. My energy is a little lower than I’d like, but I suspect that’s normal aging, and the fact that I get up early.
5. Today I’m meeting Biker Witch for lunch. That’ll be fun. This weekend, we might try to see a grandkid, plus Wizard is going racing and I have a few things to shop for (if I talk myself into doing it!).

That’s my five, not it’s your turn to share yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend.

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

1. Winds and fires have been dominating CA, but there’s hope for some rain in the forecast around Sunday. Fingers crossed! Yesterday was warmer than any day in January has a right to be. We really need some rain, but not too much as the burn areas will have mudslide. It’s a delicate balance right now. But hey, New Orleans is dealing with snow so we all have out problems.
2. We’ve looked at more dining tables. We were ready to buy one when we asked to test putting the leaf in and out — and that was a deal breaker. Our extreme pickiness is a LOT of the problem, here. And so, the seriously unimportant table hunting saga goes on
3. But we did buy living room tables! We began with buying the side tables on Wednesday to be delivered on Saturday. We’d decided we didn’t need a coffee table. Then Wizard suddenly realized Thursday morning that he puts his coffee on the coffee table in the morning. Evidently this was a big deal So I’ve either ordered (by the time this post goes up), or will order soon, that the matching coffee table. The tables we have currently have are showing wear and tear from lots of use. And yet — I’m still repurposing those side tables into guess room nightstands.
4. I’ve been tracking calories and macros right now for fitness goals. My top goal is to get a 100 grams of protein a day without overeating calories. It’s work to do it, and it’s about as boring as it sounds, but I don’t mind right now. It’s all part of what I consider a hobby I care about right now. Building strength is important to me for my future self and making sure I don’t gain weight while doing it will keep extra pressure of my joints since I have RA. What’s weird is how defensive I feel about it, and I shouldn’t! But the anti diet culture makes me think I ‘ve suddenly developed an eating disorder for tracking. We live in a weird world when I feel defensive about improving my fitness!
5. We may go see Wizards mom today and take them some enchiladas that I made for Thursday night’s dinner. As for the weekend, we have the side tables coming Saturday and I’m not sure about the rest. We’ll see if any new and fun adventures come our way!

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

TGIF!!! It’s time to share five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. The winds have calmed! I’m very happy about that. I don’t see any rain in the forecast, but I’ll take no winds as a win.
2. This week, we had pillow drama So I buy expensive pillows on my doctor’s strong recommendation for my neck. They’ve worked well in the past. Then the new ones arrived, and frankly, they were garbage. I do think I ordered the size wrong, but I did not order crappy pillows. Think sleeping on an letter sized envelope filled with few paper shreds —  they were just terrible for us. There was a long 24 hours of me being mad at myself (because I should have known the quality had gone down?) Then it dawned on me — we can still return them. The company has a guarantee. So I contacted the company, they agreed to my returning them, and I shipped them off. I should get the refund soon. This stupid little thing stressed me out more than was reasonable.
3. We have run all over the county, and we’ve seen a lot of dining room tables. They all are starting to look the same, and my very old one is starting to look better. At this point, I just need the most amazing and perfect table in the universe to ring my doorbell, or I’m moving on to other, less exhausting projects!
4. I made a version of white chili chicken yesterday to freeze for lunches. I changed a few ingredients to use what I had on hand. Fingers crossed I like it because I have six servings batched up in the freezer and fridge I also made two loaves of sourdough bread and put one of those is in the freezer.
5. Today the plan is to go to Baby Girls for a bit. Daughter in law needs to drop her car off for a few days, so Wizard will go with her and bring her home.  If anyone’s wondering, Middle Son is working so hard right now and asked us if we could help, and we’re happy to. I’ll watch the baby while they get the car into the shop. It’ll be fun for me! But when Wizard gets back, I promise to share Baby Girl with him. That reminds me, Wizard saw a funny video a grandpa holding the grandbaby and the grandma repeatedly trying to get her from him. Wizard cracked up and made the totally shocking accusation that that grandma is me! Can you believe that? I know, it’s outrageous even if it’s probably true, LOL. This weekend, we’ve talked about trying to see Turbo but we haven’t talked to his parents yet. We both are running a bit tired, so we’ll see.

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

TGIF! I guess it’s good it’s Friday? But with storms ravaging other states, wind and fires here, it’s feeling a bit forced right now.  Quick note: Wizard and I are still far enough away from any fires to be safe. I hope all of you in the path of the cold and storms are safe as well! But let’s try to do our best with Friday Five. Here’s my five random things about my week:

1. Maggie went to the Vet Tech yesterday for some standard care and was such a good girl That’s what they tell me. Obviously, we can’t trust my opinion because I’m completely biased, LOL.
2. After the vet, I had to run to Macy’s to exchange a watch I got for Christmas that just stopped working. They are sending me a new watch and I appreciate that customer service! I’d already had the watch sized and they could have refused, so that’s a positive on the week!
3. I made pepper steak from my new cookbook this week and really loved it. I think Wizard liked it fine but wasn’t nearly as ecstatic as me. I’m pretty sure that had something to do with my enthusiastic inclusion of extra veggies But he had homemade sourdough bread with it so he was happy enough. I love cooking these days, but dang it’s tiring.
4. We have begun shopping for a dining room table. I don’t mind looking in person, but it’s hard to know if stuff we see at online stores is a true reflection of the pictures on the websites. It’s a big purchase and hard to return so we’ll probably ponder this for a long time, if we do it at all. On the upside, while out shopping in real stores, we accidently found some side tables for our living room in our price range that we’ll probably get. That’s a bonus!
5. Wednesday the plan was to go see Baby Girl while her mom did some errands. We cancelled that since the winds were too wild. Instead we are going out there tomorrow (hopefully) and will watch her while Middle Son and Daughter In Law take care of a few tasks. We are so looking forward to seeing her after our self imposed ban while Wizard was sick!

Okay that’s my effort at a fairly upbeat FF. Feel free to be as happy or not as you wish to be! I look forward to hearing whatever you wish to share! Have a great weekend!

Happy New Year! This will be our first Friday sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. I missed posting a blog on New Year’s Day, sorry!! A combination of doing a bunch of stuff, and an annoyed stomach, got in my way. In good news though, early New Years Morning I took some Imodium and fully resolved my stomach problems so I could go on with my day. I really thought it was some kind of stomach virus so I lucked out!
2. New Year’s Day we had Youngest, his wife and mother in law over for an early dinner. It was a last minute plan as I had to make sure Wizard was better. He is…although the cough will come and go for a while as they do. But otherwise, he’s fully recovered and I worry too much about him, LOL.
3. For New Year’s Day dinner, I made ribs and two kinds of marinated chicken, roasted potatoes and green beans. I think people liked it? I mean they’re not going to tell me my food sucks, right? Anyway, it’s a lot of fun when people can sit at the bar while I cook. They are there to help when I need it, and also keep me company while enjoying wine, soft drinks and appetizers. My daughter in law was teasing me that it was like being at a cooking lesson. I’ve said this many times, I’m okay but not a good cook, so I thought that was funny. However I enjoy it, so its all good.
4. I tried a new recipe out of a new cookbook (I fully confess, I have a problem buying cookbooks lately!). The cookbook is “Downshiftology Healthy Meal Prep” (Downshiftology is a food blog that focuses on healthy gluten free options). I made the Chocolate Espresso Shortbread Bars, although I tweaked the ingredients to what I had on hand and what I prefer. I was really happy with the way they came out!
5. I’m happy the holidays are over, and ready to take on 2025! I don’t do resolutions, but I do like to think about goals for the year. My top is always showing up for the family I love, hanging with grandkids and this year, I’d like to really appreciate Maggie. She’s getting older, and while I expect she has many years let, there’s no guarantee and I don’t want to look back one day and think I didn’t appreciate her enough. I do have other goals, but no one wants to read that list I will say one involves a new laptop (probably a 2in1 laptop tablet) and see how I do working on that. But that’s not something I’m ready to invest in just yet.

So that’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope you all have a great first weekend of 2025 and a fantastic year ahead!

TGIF! It’s the last Friday Five of 2024! 2025 is pounding rather demandingly on the door Okay, let’s get into sharing five random things about our week:

1. We had a lovely Christmas Day. In the morning we were alone, opened gifts and had breakfast. All good. Maggie has the silly story here: Santa got her a new bed all wrapped up. Maggie knew it was a bed for her, and immediately curled up on it — while it was still wrapped! Oh Maggie…you’re priceless. Once I ripped a bit of the paper, she got into the game and unwrapped it. But she seems to love it.
2. In the afternoon, we went over to Biker Witch’s house (my sister) and had a pretty low key but totally fun dinner. I got to catch up with her step daughter whom I haven’t seen in a while. That was awesome and really made me happy. And Maggie came with us — she had a blast until she got tired, then she found a quiet spot to rest in.
3. I know this will sound crazy: But we took down the tree yesterday and got it all cleaned up. The house had gotten pretty dirty and both of us were ready. If feels good to have that done. Now I can get the house reasonably clean for the new year. I think we are both just ready to go back to our normal schedules.
4. Every year, I SWEAR I won’t bake that much again. We’ll see. For the record, I’m the problem — I want to make everything while my body laughs in my face at my delusional thinking that I can bake everything in 5 days at my age.
5. Wizard’s not feeling well. It may be a cold. Or it’s part of ongoing allergies plus another issue he’s having treated (nothing real serious as far as we know). I mean it’s good that he got through all the holiday stuff, but I hope whatever it is, he feels better soon. He could just be really tired too — it happens.

Now it’s your turn to share! I really hope you all have an amazing last weekend of 2024!