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!

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

1. The weeks are a blur this year. Seriously, both Wizard and I are trying to keep up lately! We’ve been trying to get to landscaping the front year without success. All that said, I have been feeling better this week with a bit more energy — however I tend to overspend that energy because I am not wise, LOL.
2. We are keeping Amazon busy this week by ordering randomly weird stuff. My two biggest thrill was a counter top organizer for my sponges, soaps etc., and a bread sling (from moving sourdough in and out of the Dutch oven. I didn’t even know I needed a bread sling until I learned I did — on YouTube Where I learn most of the important and live-changing things these days.
3. We hit Costco yesterday for our every month or two stock up, and we also hit the highest amount spent in one shopping. We were out of a lot of stuff! It was all boring stuff too, except we did pick up some wine.
4. This morning we’re going to the endocrinologist doctor for my followup. We are very glad to get this appointment, BUT…we have to be there at 8:20 and which means we’ll need to leave by 6:20 am because California traffic is just that miserable. That’s inconvenient but not too big a deal. What stresses me out is making sure Maggie gets a walk first — in the early morning dark and striving to not getting attacked by a coyote or any other creature who has been displaced by the fire. Seriously I have a path planned that should keep us safe, but Maggie really needs a walk because we’ll be gone a good portion of the day…
5. …Because after the appointment, we plan to go see our Granddaughter and her mom!!  That we’re excited about! There will some jostling and possible elbow jabs as we, um, negotiate who gets to hold her when and for how long    Then in the evening we’re going to dinner with Youngest and his wife to celebrate her birthday. We’re late celebrating because I had surgery and then she was gone on a vacation and then both our houses almost burned down…so yeah, late. Also our houses didn’t actually almost burn down, but the threat was very real (any time one can see the flames from their house, the threat is heart-poundingly real!).

And that’s my week, now I’d love to hear yours!!! I hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

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

1. It’s brutal hot. It was 111 degrees and humid here yesterday. Today is supposed to be the same and last through the weekend. Thankfully we have A/C and I’m grateful for that.
2. No baby yet as I write this about 8pm on Friday. My daughter-in-law saw her doctor and they tried to nudge things along. First babies are stubborn! But all that really matters is that everyone is healthy and when baby girl arrives — mom and baby are in good shape. Well, dad too, but you know what I mean
3. Today (Thursday) totally got away from me and became exhausting. I had my day planned to manage all the tasks I hoped to do while still recovering — but the heat, Maggie having another episode of bladder accidents for a few hours (these episode come and go in serious weirdness but her vet is trying to help her), and a dead car battery ended up crowding the day and making us both tired. Probably I shouldn’t have tried making sourdough just yet…but…well…I did So I shall take a bit of blame. I wasn’t lifting anything heavy though!
4. In an upside to yesterday, I ran over to Youngest’s house to pick up an extra watermelon they had, and to go over instructions to pop in a couple times over the weekend to play with my grand dog and give the dog sitter a break. (She’s way more than a dog sitter, she’s a family friend, but dog sitter describes the situation. And yet I feel bad calling her a dog sitter and I had to add a parenthetical to point that out….maybe I’m really tired!) This quick visit on my part should have taken five minutes but Youngest and I got to talking and we lost an hour and a half! As I was driving home, Wizard called and said, “Did you lose track of time?” Um…yeah? But it was a great break to a long day! Also Wizard finds me losing track of time hilarious because it’s so rare.
5. Today is my follow up with my surgeon. I hope she has the biopsy results to give us the best information. But we have had no reason to expect anything other than good news. As for the rest of the day and the weekend — it’s baby watch and checking in on my grand dog when needed. And resting a bit more than I have this last day or two

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend filled with all the things that bring you joy!

TGIF!! And it’s a long weekend since Labor Day is Monday and many will get the day off work in the states. Let’s get right into sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine.

1. As I’m writing this early afternoon yesterday — no baby yet! I talked to my DIL on the phone, she’s doing fine. They’re just waiting with no idea when baby girl will arrive. Could be anytime or another week or 10 days. Babies arrive when they are ready
2. I have a surprise doctor appointment with my primary doctor today. When I tell you all my surgeon and the entire staff are efficient, I’m not kidding. I got an email two days ago informing me of this appointment with my primary doctor. I think it’s so he can refer me to an endocrinologist (they specialize in endocrine system, and will help balance my hormones now that I don’t have a thyroid). Plus I know my regular doc and surgeon talked by phone about me because my surgeon told me that before the surgery. I’m just stunned in a good way at the level of care I’ve been getting after lack of care from a previous provider.
3. I’m bored, eating, restless and crabby. So, yep, recovery is going as it should Wednesday was a bright spot as my youngest daughter in law’s mom brought Wizard and I lunch. That was so nice!! We loved and appreciated the food (plus a plant and a bottle of wine for when I’m better!), and for me, it was more just seeing her that helped break up the days for me.
4. I took Maggie for a walk yesterday morning — it’s on my approved list of things I can do as long as I don’t pick Maggie up. I’ve been doing well walking a little farther each day. But yesterday there was a dog loose. I was not up to tangling with a big dog, and headed back into my track. Normally I’d have tried to do something, but yesterday was not that day. I don’t even know how many layers of stitches are in my throat, and I didn’t want to find out the hard way
5. I imagine we’ll be sticking close to home this weekend. But then again, maybe our new granddaughter will arrive. Who knows what surprises the long weekend will bring!

I don’t have much this week But I’d love to year your five!!! I hope everyone has a great weekend!