Summer Solstice

Hello friends -- well, once again, I'm behind in updating -- but that's ok. As I always say, better late than never!

A quick update to get me closer to the current date! :) We celebrated Easter with family (at Philip's) and I did another Saran Wrap game -- this time the spring edition. It was loads of fun!

I also made a Martha Stewart quiche that was extremely tasty. But, tell me this, how does Martha get so much accomplished?? However, my quiche almost looked like a pizza -- didn't taste like pizza though. Working at Von Maur continues to be fun and gets me out of the house about 4 days a week. Of course, that means I'm not getting a ton accompished at home, but que sera sera right!

Maddie is BUSY finishing up her Radiologic Technology program. She'll finish up at the end of July and I promise to post more about that when it's closer. We did get some grad photos done recently. More to follow later!

March Update - Spring Break

Hello Friends!! OOOPS -- I missed my March update deadline that I imposed on myself, so guess it's ok that I'm a little late. Better late than never!

Anyway, so during the middle of January and an incredible way below below-zero temp time and mucho snow, Maddie and I decided we needed to make a plan to get out of town!! And go to the beach! You know where we usually go . . . Disney! Well, this time we went to Tampa Bay. We needed a beach and Tampa sounded right and close to some beaches though we had never been there before! It was a very quick trip - I think we stayed 3 nights. Connor joined us from Jacksonville and was our driver extraordinaire! The traffic there is kind of nightmarish-especially for a chicken driver like me!

We hung out at the hotel some, went to the downtown river walk (that may be what it's called) and went to Clearwater Beach! Oh my word!! The BEACH!!!!! I had been longing for some feet in the sand for a while and the sand there is so smooth and soft -- not crunchy or rough at all. LOVED IT!!!

While there, we went on a river tug boat to see the dolphins! Amazing that we beat the usual spring break crowd, so our tugboat - Little Toot -- had only about 20 people on it instead of the usual crammed-in 50 people! The dolphins were so amazing. They followed the boat and came alongside it and gave us a show over and over. It was really a highlight of the trip. I'd post a video, but am clueless as to how to do that, so just take my word for it!

That's the pirate ship above -- we should have gone on that one too!

The weather was warm enough for the beach for Maddie and so I was able to get a few photos. She said she's always wanted photos at the beach and we got a few! It was a more relaxing trip than Disney where we run, run run. We still love Disney though, but a change was good. After such a fun trip, the rest of March seems like a blur.

Maybe it's a bit of a blur because I got a new job! I'm working in the Children's and Gift department at Von Maur. Von Maur is where Maddie and I usually do our Christmas gift-wrap jobs. I felt like I needed a little job, so am working 4 days a week and around 25 hours a week. It's been fun and such a nice place to work. Very calm and everyone is super nice. I will admit it is a bit tiring. Usually I have two 9-hour shifts a week and those can be killers on my old lady legs and feet. But, it's working out well for now.

As always, I will try to post more regularly - but we will see about that, won't we! Take care and stay tuned!

February 2024 Update

Ooops -- I missed doing my February update! So, here's the lowdown on the highlights of February! We finally celebrated Christmas with the littles! They had been sick at Christmas, so it got postponed - a couple times. Kind of nice to have it in February. We had a brunch and I made the MOST DELICIOUS quiche -- had carmelized onions, bacon and gruyere cheese. It was a big hit with everyone! In fact, it was gobbled up fast and my usual ham and cheese quiche was mostly untouched!

Whoever heard of blind baking the crust?? I had no idea - but now I know! Interesting!

I had prepared that fun Saran wrap game for Christmas and had totally forgotten what all I wrapped up. We had so much fun passing that around and seeing what would come up! I think Jane called it Pass the Parcel (maybe its called that on the Bluey show???). Anyway, everone had a blast and lucky Dorothy got the very last prize! It was a little gift card container with a $5 bill and 5 $1 dollar bills! She was so excited. A few photos follow! We will definitely be playing that again!

Stay tuned! I'll try to actually get my March post up in March!! :)

January 2024 Update

Hello Friends!! I've been meaning to update the good old blog, but have gotten a bit distracted! My goal for 2024 is at least 1 post a month. When I last posted in November, I believe I was talking about getting ready for Christmas and working in gift wrap at Von Maur! I know it sounds silly to love a part-time seasonal gift-wrapping job, but both Maddie and I love that job! We meet up with our friends from previous years there and, while it can be super busy, it is lots of fun too. And who doesn't love wrapping gifts in gorgeous paper and realizing that someone is going to be thrilled to receive the gift amd the givers are delighted to have their purchases all wrapped and ready to go!

Miss M turned 22 just before Christmas! Her classes and finals had been completed by the time of her birthday. With it being so close to Christmas, it is sometimes difficult to get together to celebrate! But we managed it this year with a birthday day dinner at one of her favorite places and we had an ice cream cake! It was delish! Connor was in town for the holiday, so that made it extra special and a very nice guy that M is dating was also able to attend. We all loved meeting him and getting to know him a little.

The weather at Christmas was very warm and it rained like crazy on Christmas Eve, so we were unable to light our luminaires. That was a first in the 30 years we've lived here! The weather this year has been pretty crazy with at least a week of very sub-zero temps! But we are supposed to hit 62 today - the last day of January with the sun shining brightly! We just got through a few weeks with those super frigid temps and 15+ inches of snow and then dreary cold temps, so we definitely are enjoying have the sun out and some warm weather.

We had planned to be with the whole family on Christmas Eve, but some of the littles were sick, so we had to delay that. We're actually celebrating this weekend - Christmas in February! Instead, Maddie and I made a quick batch of chili and invited her guy to join us for dinner! Maddie and I did a quick clean sweep of the house and all the "stuff" sitting around. It was loads of fun and I must say, I do love my chili! :)

Now that we're nearly finished with January, there is a light at the end of the long winter tunnel! Sending good wishes out into the universe for all. Stay tuned and I promise to try and update more often!

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Hi Friends!! Happy Thanksgiving week to all! We spent Saturday raking leaves! We have 14 bags plus 3 or 4 trash containers FULL of leaves! Yes, the beauty of living in an older neighborhood is the lovely trees. The downside is raking and bagging all those leaves! We haven't even started on the driveway or backyard. Now that the weather has turned colder, I'm not sure that we will get too much more done, but there could be a warm day or two coming up and we will try! WARNING- Scary photo ahead!

I had surgery on my eyes a couple weeks ago! OUCH!!! Oh. My. Word! That really hurt a lot! The surgery is called Ptosis and Blepharoplasty and it is a type of surgery that removes excess skin from the eyelids. With age, eyelids stretch, and the muscles supporting them weaken. As a result, excess skin and fat can gather above and below your eyelids making you look tired and impacting your vision. So they cut into your eyelids and shorten those muscles and remove excess skin. It can be hereditary and so far, two of my sisters have either had or will have the same procedure. I have had significant bruising (black eyes), but those are improving now at the 2-week mark. I was awake pretty much throughout the entire procedure. The doc used light sedation at the beginning, but then the surgeon woke me up so he could see my eyes open and do the surgery properly. He told me to let him know when hurt a LOT, so I cried out a few times and he put more numbing creme in. But remember that old rhyme - "stick a needle in my eye" Yep -- that's what it felt like - lots of needles in my eyes and I could feel the stitches going in. OY!! I believe it was a success, however, my eyes feel so itchy at times and I cannot itch them. I think that will improve soon. This photo is from a couple days ago - so I'm almost at 2 weeks post-surgery. I have some concealer on in the photo, but I sure wish I was better at make-up to hide these bruises! :)

We are headed to my son's house for Thanksgiving this year. Should be fun to see them and the kiddos! I'm taking my famous pumpkin pie and fudge! YUMMM! Happy Thanksgiving All!

Job Hunting

Hello Friends! How are you all doing on this Friday the 13th?? It's kind of chilly and dreary here in Nebraska. A bit afraid this is a sign of weather to come -- it is fall after all. We did have some lovely fall days and hoping for more.

My Jenny Craig job ended mid-August. In case you didn't know, Jenny Craig was in the middle of a big re-do and sale that ultimately failed and the company filed for bankruptcy in June! The Jenny C I worked at was a franchise and was able to continue seeing clients and selling food until the end of August. Nutrisystem bought Jenny C and then bought up all the food so there was none to sell. If you never tried it, let me tell you, that it was very good frozen food. In fact, I gave Maddie her favorites so she had a lot in her dorm. That way, she didn't have to cook or run out to get lunch or dinner. Anyway, that was the end of my job. I hated to say goodbye to my clients, who were so kind and sweet. I've been working since I was about 15 years old, so long that it just doesn't feel normal to not work somewhere!

Sooooo, I started a job hunt! I really only wanted a part-time job, so applied for clerical jobs at our local community college, some retail jobs and so on. I had lots of interviews and even second interviews, but ultimately did not receive offers. I guess I have an inflated sense of how well I did as I thought I'd be offered every single one! Nope - didn't happen. I'm guessing that once they saw how old I am, they put a big black X through my application. :( Yes, I am having a bit of a crisis of confidence. I was definitely hoping for one of the openings at Nothing Bundt Cake, a fancy chocolate shop and cookie stores, no such luck.

But, I am working as a substitute para at one of the local Catholic elementary schools. When one of the paras needs a day off, they text me to see if I can sub for them. It's a fine job, but I have not been called on much and I really wanted something with more set weekly hours. I think I worked all of 8 hours in September. However, next week, I am subbing 3 days in a row for 4 hours each time. My responsibilities include taking the first graders out for recess, walking them to the lunchroom and grading papers for the middle school grades. Happily, there is an Answer Key, as it has been a LONG time since I've been in school.

Also looking forward to my and Maddie's seasonal jobs at Von Maur doing gift wrap. It generally starts after Thanksgiving and we both love that job and our coworkers! The 20% discount is pretty nice too! So, that's the story on my job hunt. I need to think of decluttering my house as a job so I will do more of that! Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Fall and Happy Foxes!

Happy Fall Y'all!! But seriously, how can it be time for fall to be here??? We do love fall around here - but dread what follows -- W I N T E R! But for now, we will put that season out of our minds! A few trees are just beginning to turn color here. The bigger sign of fall is all the acorns falling and the squirrels everywhere! Frannie wants to catch a squirrel, but she is not quick enough. Our sweet Scottie, Muffy, did catch one, but it screamed so loud, she let it go. Totally fine with me as I wouldn't have wanted to have to dispose of it! Ewww!

Anyway, I wanted to show you the foxes that reside in our neighborhood! I see them on walks all the time. We don't live out in the country. We are in the middle of the city. Earlier this year, Maddie and I saw the baby foxes (called kits I think) running and jumping and playing tag. Foxes don't seem to be scared of humans - they don't want you to get too close, but will engage in a staredown and then saunter away. Why is it that foxes are so adorable when so many other critters are scary and disgusting - opossums I'm talking about you! One of the neighborhood foxes did catch a little dinner last year just down the street from us!

Husker football has started around here and tomorrow is the second home game. Hoping for another win for the new coach. Go Big Red! I don't really follow football very much, but so many in Nebraska are obsessed with it. For me - home football games provide the best time to go shopping - not much traffic! :)

Did I tell you my Jenny Craig job ended?? Sad day as I loved the clients and the food, but the corporate company filed bankruptcy earlier this year. The franchise I worked at continued through August, but then Nutrisystem (who bought JC in bankruptcy) took away the ability of the franchise to continue to sell food and clients dropped off. Anyway, I've had a ton of interviews looking for a new part-time job. I am one of those optimistic people and believed I would be offered jobs after each interview I had! Silly me - no such luck. Except that I am a substitute para at a local Catholic elementary school taking over for paras who take a day off or are sick. So far, I've worked 2 mornings. I miss working. Not that I want to go back to full-time, but I like part-time and getting out of the house and chatting with coworkers!

Until next time, Happy Fall!!