Post Holiday Life List

LOOKING OUT MY WINDOW It is super sunny and clear today. It won't last long.

WHAT I'M PONDERING  Coming back to work yesterday after having 4 days off was the hardest day I've had in a long time. I pretended I was retired for a couple of days and truthfully I was able to get through the extra days off without that super anxiety I often feel when I have too much time on my hands.

WHAT I AM LEARNING I started a Bullet Journal and after a few suggestions for websites, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the ideas.

WHAT I AM CREATING Besides the bullet journal, I set up a table in my office space and my plan is to finally organize all my gazillion photos I've collected over the years. They are a mess! Initially, I'm going to simply divide them in categories and place them in envelopes.

 

WHAT I'M READING "And I Don't Want to Live This Life: A Mother's Story of Her Daughter's Murder" by Deborah Spungen

WHAT I'M WATCHING Absolutely nothing. No time.

WHAT I'M HEARING People on the right happy with their win. People on the left, not so much.

WHAT'S ON MY CAMERA:  

Shot this while on a Saturday drive with the hubby.




WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY KITCHEN Leftover turkey. I haven't been home for two days as I have been dog sitting for friends. But I know there are leftovers there and I plan to devour them tonight when I get home. Turkey tacos. Turkey Thai Fried Rice.

The Five Minute 5 Things Post

Five Things I Know Nothing About

• Computer programming
• Cats
• Kim Kardashian
• Accounting
• Being dirt poor

Five Things You May Not Know About Me

• I am adopted
• I hate being cold
• I almost always would rather be somewhere else
• I am afraid of the dark
• I type 85 words per minute

Five Things I'm Knowledgeable About

• Checking the oil in my car
• Alcoholism
• Mental illness
• Excellent customer service
• Dogs

Five Things I Believe

• Love is a religion
• People are good
• Being a good listener is a honed skill
• We should not shoot our wounded
• Everyone deserves to be heard

What are your five things?

Thanks to the nice lady over at Mama's Losin' It for this prompt.

Holiday Week Life List

LOOKING OUT MY WINDOW It's still dark. Right now as I write this, it is 39 degrees with a promise to rise to 55 today and partly cloudy. It can rain for all I care as I will be indoors pushing paper.

AS I PONDER The news from the weekend locally was not good. A local woman was kidnapped for ransom and they found her body yesterday. She was a 69 year old grandmother. Disturbing. 

WHAT I AM LEARNING To try to incorporate some happy news into my life so the bad news doesn't take over.

WHAT I AM CREATING I started a new project this week called a Bullet Journal. I bought a brand new journal for it. It's an obsessive compulsive person's dream journal. When I get a little further along with it, I'll share a photo. There is no limit to what can go in it. Google it!

WHAT I'M READING I am waiting for a new book to arrive tomorrow. In the meantime, I am reading the stacks of magazines I've saved up on my home office desk. America's Best State Parks Backpacker right now. I'm not a backpacker but there are some pretty photos in this rag and an article titled "Take Photos Like a Pro: 16 Tips on Light, Composition & More".

WHAT I'M WATCHING I didn't watch anything over the weekend. We were busy at a toddler's birthday party and then we took a long Sunday drive yesterday to Ellensburg and Yakima. No time for tv. I'm okay with that. 

WHAT I'M HEARING This morning, I'm hearing the whiz of the heater fans blowing in warm air. And, my border collie shifting places on the floor. She likes to position herself just outside my office door so she can guard me. I love hearing her move positions so that she can watch me and watch for any trouble. Comforting.

WHAT'S ON MY CAMERA:  

This is what's left of a frittata I made for my hubby this weekend.
It was inspired by the many photos my son and daughter-in-law put up
on FB of the gourmet dishes they ate in New Orleans last week.
I love making frittatas on the weekend with the leftovers in my fridge.

 

 

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY KITCHEN I made a trial run of a dessert I'm taking to work tomorrow for the Slow Cooker Contest. The best slow cooker will win $15 and bragging rights. Other than that, I'm going to stuff us with salads this week as we go into the holiday season. I've got pre-cooked items in the freezer I'll pull out and warm up. I love to prepare soups and freeze leftovers for later. 

A QUOTE I WANT TO SHARE:

When elephants fight,

it is the grass that suffers.

Ancient proverb of the Kikuyu people, a tribal group in Kenya, Africa.

 

A PEEK INTO MY WEEK:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: work. 
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday: play, eat, rest, walk the dogs, watch a movie, take some photos, have fun.

 

A FINAL THOUGHT My Aunt E died last week. She was 96 plus 2 months old. I will always remember her best as the person who was sitting at the tiny library in a little one-horse town in Oregon. She loved that library and was quite invested in it. She was a very busy person who never smoked or drank. She lived a farmer's life and I think volunteering all those years kept her healthy. She always had a smile on her face and was outspoken but never rude (to me). There is much to be learned from our elders.

love, susan

This Week's Life List

LOOKING OUT MY WINDOW The skies are blue and the wind is blowing. Most people around here hate the wind. I can stand it as long as the sun shines. When I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, I could take the below zero temps as long as the skies were blue. Same here. 

AS I PONDER the election results last week, I feel better every day that goes by. I've been thinking non-stop about the election. I have an opinion about the whole thing but I've decided to do my best to be helpful where I can. Complaining is not going to be helpful right now. Action is my watch word today.

WHAT I AM LEARNING I just finished up a 6-week dog class where I learned to "heel" with my youngest dog. I'm learning that she requires a lot more work than the other two did and that I will get out what I put in as far as training goes. What a blast! And, oh, this week I made my own reservations for a trip I'm taking in April to Nashville with a friend. I don't fly often and never make my own plans so this was huge for me. Technology sometimes brings on a little fear but I laugh in its face.

WHAT I AM CREATING This is a tough one. I haven't been creating much of anything lately. I'm definitely happier when I am doing something creative. I'd better think about this and get busy.

WHAT I'M READING I just finished reading Leah Remini's "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology". I could hardly put it down. Soooooo interesting! I don't have another book lined up just yet so I made a deal with myself that I am going to read every inch of the most recent AARP Magazine sitting my desk. Warren Beatty is the feature story.  It will not be difficult to keep this deal with myself. Don't you just love Warren Beatty????

WHAT I'M WATCHING Please don't judge me.  I'm in the sixth season of HBO's "Californication".  It is so naughty but I am in love with the characters. Hank Moody, a writer with serious writer's block, (played by David Duchovny) is as messed up as anybody I've ever known. And, so likeable. This series has some really raw scenes that I wouldn't want to watch with my grandkids but it has heart. I recommend it for my open-minded friends. 

WHAT I'M HEARING:  People are saying we're going back 50 years.

WHAT'S ON MY CAMERA: 

Shot very early Sunday morning at sunrise near my house.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY KITCHEN: Last night I baked a big chunk of red salmon a friend gifted to us. Ever since that colonoscopy I had done last week, I've been haunted by the gory photos my doctor gave me of my colon. It is incentive enough to eat well every day.

A QUOTE I WANT TO SHARE:

This too shall pass 

A PEEK INTO MY WEEK(END): We've been invited to a one year old's birthday party on Saturday. I will be the photographer. I am hoping to go for a Sunday drive to someplace interesting with my hubby.

A FINAL THOUGHT: If you got this far, I thank you for following my blog posts and reading me. I've been processing my feelings about the election and trying to remain positive. I've also been thinking about the word "Improve".  I think it was the word I chose for my theme for 2016. I haven't done so well improving. It's not too late though.

This blog post idea came from a blogger I follow. She posts this list every Monday and I think it is such a terrific idea that I'm going to give it try. I find myself so empty lately and without enthusiasm to write.  So, a big shout out and thank you to Paula over at Smidgens Bits and Snippets for her ideas!

love, susan

Game Changers

A body in motion tends to stay in motion.

That's right.

Last May, for my birthday, my son and his lovely wife gave me a FitBit. It's one of those little bitty electronics that I can clip on myself just about anywhere and it tracks how many steps I take every day.  Game changer.

I have worn that thing nearly every single day (and night) since it arrived. It it is a reminder to me when I think about taking the elevator to go up one floor (I know, right???) that it will not count my stair steps. I have the kind of mind & body that will always take the easy route. There hasn't been a day gone by that I haven't had this little conversation in my head.

Lazy Susan: "Stairs? Nah, elavator."
FitBit Susan: "It won't count."
Lazy Susan: "You can always take the stairs later today."
FitBit Susan: "It won't count later. Take the stairs."

Game changer.

About a year ago, I was gifted with a wonderful new co-worker who is health-wise in many ways. One day I said outloud that I had a craving for a soda and she non-chalanty said, "what you really want is water, Susan".   Game changer. She said the funny thing about drinking water is that once you start drinking it, you'll want it. She is right about that. I rarely drink soda but even less now that I started drinking H2O. 

Game changer.

Yesterday, I dusted off the treadmill. It has been ignored for ... mmm ... at least 6 months. It still works.  And, so do my legs.  I logged 15,000 steps yesterday between the moving sidewalk and my work escapades. I'm pretty sure that's the most I've logged since May. YEAH ME!  

Game changer.

Hey, I also received my new Samsung Galaxy Tablet 4 yesterday. I've been wanting a tablet for a long time so I could write while traveling. I think  it will be a game changer.

There are many other game changers in my life that I don't have time to write about this instant but you can bet the farm I'll be thinking about them today and I'll get back to you on them. 

Sharing is caring. What game changers do you have?

love, susan