March 2017

NewOR2015

"When March winds blow
the winter away,
They get the world ready
for April and May."

It's March, and we need to get ourselves ready for April and May...and June, July, August, etc.

1skholloway

I pray today is better than yesterday. The day afternoon got worse. Satan was on the attack this morning and I had to get prayed up this morning!

Thankfully, my workout at the gym was terrific! I had a few personal bests! I am scared to jog on the treadmill and I actually jogged a little. In my workout with the trainer he has us jump up on the blocks in the circuit room. I have never been able to do this before. They are 6" high. I was actually able to jump up on a block a few times. I was unsteady so I didn't try it much. I will try it again and get better with practice! Funny thing is that Monday night I was in that room lifting weights with a friend and some college aged women were jumping up on the blocks pretty easily. I looked at my friend and told her "We hate them." It's only taken me a year of working out to get to this point. Maybe in another year of working out I will be able to easily jump up on the blocks. Some of the people in the class had to jump over the blocks. Oh my word! The blocks are probably 18-24" wide. So that's my ultimate goal. That and to be able to swing my arms while jogging on the treadmill instead of holding on to it for dear life.

Here's praying for the best for all of us today!

NewOR2015

Beautiful day today. No problems at work. My daughter and I raked all the leaves from the front yard. That was a good workout. And now a quiet evening. I'll take more of today, please.

1skholloway

Amen to that @NewOR2015 ! I happy for you that you had such a great day!

I had a pretty good day. I totally vegged out when I got off work. I watched a movie and fell asleep while watching a 2nd one.

I need to get up and start moving but I'm slow to get started today.

SweetPeasMom55

It is freezing here like if I didn't have to go to work this morning I would have stayed snuggled in bed til noon. I have been doing well with exercising every day. I like having early days where I get to get out of work early. Now working the 3 hours this morning now that was just a pain with it being so cold outside. I think I mentally changed my outfit 6 or 7 times. Then I got up to snow OMG when will this end.

NewOR2015

It's been an uneventful weekend. I thought I'd post a note today before I get into the busy week. I've been doing well with my walking, and I hope to keep that going. I'm thinking of buying a bicycle this year. I wonder if my knees would be okay with that.

1skholloway

Hey y'all! Today I cooked a lot. I started out grilling catfish and red onion on the grill. Man, those onions were fabulous! I then made a big pot of soup. I put several servings of it in the freezer to eat later. I also made a meatloaf. I tried a new recipe and I modified it a bit. The meatloaf didn't stick together. I will mix the meat with green beans and enjoy it anyway. I have several servings of it also. I will have some meals in the freezer to grab in the morning to take for lunch. It's been a productive day. Now if I can just get to sleep very soon.

NewOR2015

@1skholloway You sure did cook a lot! It's always great to be able to grab something from the freezer that you know is good. Now, I feel like eating catfish.

1skholloway

@NewOR2015 sorry I hung the catfish craving on you! I really cook very little usually. I bought an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker at Christmas and am trying to learn to use it. I cooked the soup and meat loaf in it. When I do cook, I like to cook a large quantity at of meat and put several portions in the freezer to grab and go for lunch. I usually don't take the time in the morning to prepare a good lunch and I can't afford to eat out all the time.

@2020pinktogo I hope you get some warmer weather and the snow melts.

I am located in the region that is supposed to get severe weather today. We are predicted to get severe thunderstorms this morning. The weather channel website also showed to weather alerts for us. The 2nd one was a pollen alert. I found that humorous in light of the morning's weather but our cars will probably be yellow by night fall. When I got in my car at 4:30 yesterday my car was covered in leaves from the winds and little bit of rain we had already received. The rain held off long enough for me to go home and walk outdoors. The wind was nice. When I got home I was actually quite sweaty, probably from the humidity.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

SweetPeasMom55

High winds trees ,trucks even a train blew off the tracks. Both neighbors across the street are losing their shingles on their roof. My parents have had no power since noon. Not looking good.

NewOR2015

Oh, my! I hope everyone is okay.

1skholloway

Oh no @2020pinktogo ! That is some seriously bad weather! Praying for y'all. Please update to let us know how you are.

SweetPeasMom55

Mom and dad finally got power but there are still pockets where people don't have power. Overall I can't complain the damage around us Is minimal. Lots to clean up I will put it on my list lol. Not today we got snow. Driving in to the branch was brutal this morning I followed a trucks tail lights till he turned all I kept thinking was I am a sap why did I offer to take another person's shift. Oy because she was so sick and the mom in me came out. I am a sap. Lol

1skholloway

@2020pinktogo I'm so thankful y'all are ok. You aren't a sap! You are a very good person, employee, and co-worker! I'm praying y'all will get some quick relief. We had bad flooding this time last year.

Yesterday, for a few minutes I shoveled dirt to help the guys in my family fill in a ditch they had dug at my parents house to fix some project Dad had going. I also got to play with 3 great nephews who are ages 3-11. It was a good thing I got in some exercise because I needed it after binge eating sweets TWICE Friday.

My parents' microwave went out while using it to cook lunch. It ran but it didn't cook. I had Dad pick out another one and I drove to town and picked it up for them. It's a built-in model. I'm so glad Dad let the guys help him install it. It took the 3 of them a couple of hours to take out the old one and install the new one.

Dad is having bad back pain and can't find a doctor that is able to help him. Mom is also having bad back pain, plus, this week she found out she has had a stress fracture in one of her hips for at least a month. She can't put weight on that leg until it heals which will be 6 weeks - 3 months. It will more than likely be 3 months because the orthopedic doctor says the medicine she is on for osteoporosis contributed to the fracture. Her rheumatologist had just changed her osteoporosis medicine to a shot she takes every 6 months and she had received the shot in Feb. so the shot will probably slow the healing. Mom is using a wheelchair as much as she can, a walker some, and standing some without putting weight on the leg with the hip fracture. She isn't letting the hip fracture slow her down much. She is still doing many tasks from the wheelchair or standing balanced on one leg.

Dad and Mom have a house full of company in and out this weekend but everyone is pitching in to help where they can. They have enjoyed having the great grandchildren around. i spent a good part of the day there yesterday but I came home to peace and quiet last night. I'm going back out for lunch today for time to visit with more relatives.

I need to find an electric blanket. Mine quit working and it was less than 2 years old. According to what the websites show, I'm going to have to order one online and have it delivered because it appears as those the local stores are out of them until next winter. I have to go to WalMart to pick up a few groceries today. I'm going to look for one while I"m there. I hope I can find one there.

I need to bake a cake today and more sweets in the morning to replace the ones that spilled in my car Friday morning. I have to do better baking and putting the sweets on a tray that I did on Friday. I don't need to lick the bowl and taste so often.

Happy Sunday y'all!

SweetPeasMom55

I went grocery shopping yesterday . I also went through my daughter's dresses and decided that even though they fit. We have completely different styles. So I offered them to one of the girls at work. She laughed and said I was a very conservative dresser. Kendall referred to me as June Cleaver .Lol I would rather not show anything than be bending over and giving a show. I ordered some new spanx in my size. It's easier to buy and find them than a slip. When I was younger I loved tap pants you know the silky boxers I wore those under my short skirts. I know these girls look at me like I am crazy but I like to feel covered and not exposed. We bend down a lot to get into things no one needs to know what color underwear I am wearing. I try to only buy lined skirts and dresses but I am amazed how many are not.

@1skholloway you got a lot accomplished. This morning I am just chilling and trying to stay warm. I should get dressed that would help. Rather than lounge in my jammies. Right now I am deciding if I should make lunch or what. Time change always puts me off kilter. Have a great day.

NewOR2015

I've been enjoying my spring break...pretty much doing nothing, although I did mow the grass on Monday. The weather was very nice yesterday. We expect another nice day today. With all the spring breakers out of town, traffic is not bad at all. I could get used to this.

SweetPeasMom55

We still have snow I am tired of it. Yesterday was order stuff day. Ink to medicine I had a list and I literally went down the list. I don't have time to run from store to store. So I do it all online when I have a free shipping code. Let it all come to my door. Lol Plus I had an upset stomach so I wasn't going to leave the house and needed to accomplish more than just laundry.

Today I got a goofy bday card for my sister and took mom out to the veggie man. Today I got cucumbers, black berries and bananas. Mom got more goodies than fruit and vegetables. Lol it's going out and not far from home so I don't mind. Plus I dropped off my car and am borrowing my dad's for work. My dad likes to feel important so I let him deal with the garage guy. Plus with my new work schedule it would be close to impossible to do without the help of my parents. I like this guy but he doesn't work weekends or nights.

So I am quite shocked what people write on money. It is a learning experience. Lol.

1skholloway

@NewOR2015 I hope you had a nice, relaxing spring break! @2020pinktogo don't you just love to order things online and not have to leave the house! Amazon Prime has spoiled me so much. I know online ordering is bad for brick and mortar stores but it's the way things work now. I don't order many clothes online. I don't like to make returns, even if they are free.

I went to Old Navy yesterday to buy 1 $10 dress. Well the $10 dresses must have been in the girls department because I never saw them in the adult section. The dress I wanted was $15. It shows my knees and I don't know if I have the confidence to go bare legged in a dress. I have very white legs and oddly shaped knees. I bought the dress anyway, plus much more. They had such a good sale! I had a coupon. I wasn't going to spend $40 when I could get 2 more tee shirts and end up spending less. Of course one of the things I picked out was on clearance and not covered by the coupon so I had to get more tee shirts to be eligible to use the coupon. I couldn't decide what was best to do so I bought the stuff thinking I could always return things later if I decide to. I usually decide to keep everything. I went to get a soda at the Sonic and remembered they had summer weight coats on sale and I could use my coupon and get 2 of them for a good price. I can wear the coats to work. I went back.

Today I planned on cooking several dishes to put in the freezer. Without thinking I poured a cup of water in my electic pressure cooker without the liner pot in place. Big no no!!!! I realized what I had done shortly after I did it. The water ran out the bottom. I have read online of others doing the same thing. It should be ok but I have to let it dry out for 24 hours. Now everything that I was going to cook quickly in the pressure cooker has to be cooked on or in the stove.

I cooked spaghetti squash for the first time. It's um interesting. I hope when I get some spaghetti sauce on it I will like it better. I'm also going to make some faux alfredo sauce using cauliflower to serve over the spaghetti squash. I have a feeling I will only try it once. I also want to make riced cauliflower. I think some spicy red beans on that should make it good. I do like mashed cauliflower. I doubt I will get it all cooked today but I have great plans.

I'm also washing laundry while I cook. I didn't get to sleep until after 1 this morning so I really wanted a nap but just let myself sit and rest for a few minutes. I tried to sleep in a little but I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.

Ok, break is over. Back to cooking.

NewOR2015

I had a wonderful and restful spring break. It was very hard having to go back to work today, but I did it.
I am not an online shopper (yet) because I think I would get addicted. It seems like it's so fun and easy to do.
Pressure cooking without the liner pot? I like to hear about other people's oops moments. My most common one is logging into my laptop and forgetting what it was I was going to do. It seems I am always doing that. Also, running upstairs to grab something and then going back downstairs without the item I went upstairs for. Good exercise though.

SweetPeasMom55

Well hubby has yet to replace the microwave. I guess I will be doing it this week. I am eating more of his cooking which is not helping my weight. He has a hot meal made I just have gone with the flow. But my stomach has been acting up so it's time to just get the microwave and eat my own tummy friendly food. Yesterday I got my raise I am now making more than I did at my old job. I knew it would turn out ok but taking that first step and a pay cut was scary. At my old job they are still working without a contract. My mom goes last night you know I wasn't sure about the job move. I wanted to say I know you made me feel very guilty about it. She goes it was one of the best moves you could have made. Wow. Just blew me away.

Yeah definitely have to buy a microwave I am tired of feeling sick. Have a great day everyone!!

1skholloway

@2020pinktogo congratulations on your raise! I'm so happy for you that your job change turned out for the best for you! I think you should celebrate your raise by replacing the microwave.

I hope your microwave isn't a built-in model. I wrote about my parents replacing theirs a few weekends ago. I had no idea it was such an ordeal! Of course, if you know what you are doing, it probably isn't an ordeal! Two of the men doing the work have degrees in construction and one of them is also an electrician so I would think they have pretty good knowledge of things like that.

@NewOR2015 I have oops moments all too often in my opinion! I am too young to have so many! I used to blame it on Gabapentin but I take only 1200 mg a day and I have been taking it long enough that my body should be used to it by now. I guess I'm just scatter brained and try to multi-task too much.

I do have to be careful and not buy too much stuff online. I have my favorite sites and I can't look at them too often. I can find things to buy on them every time I look at them. I usually delete advertisement emails without reading them. I try to shop only when I need something.

I am still tired from the time change or something. I am tired of running out energy by mid-afternoon. I am working out in the evenings some. I need energy!!!!

NewOR2015

@1skholloway Food and exercise are supposed to give you energy. Maybe you need a change. I have more energy on beautiful, sunny days like today. On gloomy, winter days I tend to drag through the day.

1skholloway

Ok @NewOR2015 you like uh oh stories. Here's one for you. I have been considering getting my nose pierced. I got a magnetic stud and was wearing it. I liked it. Problem came when I sneezed and the magnetic in my nose flew out and I lost it. I ended up getting my nose pierced so I won't have to worry about keeping up with those little pieces.

1skholloway

@NewOR2015 I saw the doctor today for headaches and found that my blood pressure was low. The doctor said that could be causing me to be tired. I have also been feeling light headed for a few weeks. He adjusted my meds and I have to check in with him in a week. Thank goodness I went! I hope I feel better soon!

NewOR2015

I enjoyed your nose story. Yes, it is a good thing you went to the doctor instead of continuing to wonder why you are so tired. Here's wishing you an energetic week!

1skholloway

It's so hard to be discreet when you are in public and you lose the magnet to your nose stud after you sneeze. Thankfully I was in a meeting and standing in the back of the room so no one knew what was going on but me.

I over think things. This was evidenced by my thought "what do you wear to a tattoo parlor?" when I decided to get my nose pierced. Well let me tell you, I think it's like WalMart and it wouldn't have matter what I wore in there. I considered wearing my church clothes. That would have been awkward and I would have been majorly over dressed. I thought about wearing that just to show this was so out of my zone but I already have a small tat and I think it was kind of obvious I was out of my zone. At least, I felt that way. Apparently tattoo parlors are family friendly. One couple brought their 3 children ages 5-10. This place had skulls and creepy decor everywhere. Although it's not where I would think of taking a child, other than the decor, everything was suitable for a child. I didn't hear any bad language. Is this the family activity of choice that I'm not aware of since I don't have kids? "Hey kids, let's go watch Mommy get a tattoo. You can start thinking about what tattoo you want to get when you turn 18." I guess schools will soon start taking classes on field trips to tattoo parlors. Oh wait, I guess that won't work in our area because they don't open before 2 p.m. I'm such an old fogey!

I was in T J Maxx shopping Saturday and I picked up a gray tee shirt that had small whole all over the front. It looked moth eaten. When did that become fashion? I guess someone thought the homeless look is in. I hope I would have never followed that trend. Yep, I'm an old fogey. I make no apologies for it either.

The older I get, the more modest I get. I wear my leggings kind of lose. My workout leggings are more lose because I have lost weight since I bought them. When I take classes at the gym I wear running shorts over my leggings and a tank top tucked in my pants under my tee shirt. I don't want to look like one of those women wearing too tight pants at the gym. Sometimes my shirt rides up during floor exercises. I don't want anyone ever to see my stomach. The class is co-ed and led by a man, plus we are out in the open where anyone can see us. I am probably overly modest at the gym but I would rather be that way than showing off all my business.

If I'm this much of an old fogey at 48, I can't imagine what I will be like at 68. It's probably a good thing I don't have kids. I would be such an embarrassment to them!

NewOR2015

Well, you are much younger and more hip than I am. No tattoos or piercings here. Not even leggings. I have, however, been in a tattoo parlor and was also surprised how "family friendly" it was. I wear pants and a top to church, work, wherever. It's like a uniform (for life). Boring is what my daughter would call my look. To me, it's comfortable and it's me.

SweetPeasMom55

No tattoos here either and just my ears pierced and only 1 hole not a zillion holes in each ear. I can still remember getting them done. I was 10 and we went to Hens & Kelly's which was a big thing back then. I pretty much passed out on the woman. Lol

I am getting more comfortable in my skin and I was always more comfortable in a skirt or dress. When weather permits I wear them. I just wish I could find super comfy dress shoes.

1skholloway

@NewOr2015 I think boring can be good considering all the drama some people create in their lives. Give me a break!!!!

I think people with no tats and no or only ear piercings are becoming noticed for not following the trend. I think that's good. My tat is very small and on the inside of my left ankle so it's usually covered by pants.

I am starting to wear dresses some. I have worn leggings or tights under them all winter. It's getting warm enough to not wear them now. I think my knees are ugly so I am hesitant to show them and most dresses these days show knees. Also, my legs are so white I look like a ghost. Black people have even commented on how white I am. I hate to blind everyone when I show my legs.

I'm going to a dinner Saturday night and I have been strongly encouraged to wear a dress as it's semi formal and men are supposed to wear a coat and tie. The woman who invited me mentioned using Jergens self tanning lotion before the event. I have never had a tan in my life. I don't think my legs are capable of tanning. I have used the Jergens tanning lotion in the past and wasn't pleased with it but... I decided to try it again. I think my displeasure was due more to my poor skin tone than the lotion. I hope I don't regret my decision. I can always bathe and exfoliate a lot beforehand if I'm splotchy. I will probably still wear hose because I think I will still look so pale and I think hose make a person look more dressed up. I will probably be the only person at the event who thinks that.

I am blessed that I just happened to buy a dress on clearance for $15 last Saturday at TJ Maxx that will be appropriate for the dinner. I also bought Bandolino brand nude patent leather pumps to wear with it. The shoes cost $30 but were worth it. I have been admiring a co-worker's nude pumps for months. They look good with everything. I just read an article from a year ago saying they are no longer stylish. That's about how my fashion sense is! I like 'em and I'll be wearing those babies! Maybe in a year or so I'll buy some shooties, when they are out of style.

SweetPeasMom55

I am super pale too. Let me know how the lotion works and I will try it too.

1skholloway

I'm using it on the part of my legs that will show in a dress. I used it last night and this morning. I could see tonight that I was a little darker. There is a 3 day formula. The cost was the same but there was only about half as much product in the tube. I went with the moisturizing lotion instead.