Separation can be good

The couch, red chair and I have become quite close these last few months. So much so it is hard to part ways when it is time for bed. They cuddle me close in pillowy softness make it easy to watch endless amounts of TV, play on my laptop and read a book. The TV is winning. It is time we separated just for a bit each day, I am not cutting them off completely but I need to reacquaint myself with long lost friends fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.

In my family we have, as my sister prescribed, chicken lung syndrome, it gives us a decent excuse (ok to us) for not really extending our selves when working out. I go in spurts when I am really good and get out there and then couch and red chair beckon my body to sit and enjoy. I am determined to learn how to properly run and get over my breathing issue so yesterday I started this program. I am writing this only to hold my self accountable.

Last night the couch beckoned again, I sat for a while, ate dinner and then the couch convinced me to stay just a little longer. But I broke free, said goodbye and went for my first training exercise. I am glad I did and I will keep it up. There are a lot of hills in my neighborhood very few flat stretches of road which make it more difficult and exhilarating when done.

Maybe in the end I will run a 5K and work up to a half-marathon. Something to look forward to. I have admired my little sister who has gotten over the chicken lung syndrome by practicing this and completed a few, so now it is my turn. Maybe we will run one together.

For now I separate myself from couch and red chair, I will miss them but sometimes it is for the best.

Chris & Masha are Geniuses

Seriously they are! 

A few weeks back during another heat wave The Green was so unbearable to be in.  I was spending a late night at Chris and Masha's after they baited me with homemade tortilla chips. They know me so well. I asked how they were surviving. 

They told me the best thing they found was the old fashioned box fan. I was sceptical but the next day mentioned it to my co-worker while at Target. She said she had one lying around at home and she would bring it in for me to try. 

For 3 weeks it has been sitting in my trunk. Then yesterday another heat wave came. The Green turns into a furnace. Most of the windows face west, with an asphalt driveway right out side them, it can get up to 95 degrees and at one time was around 120 indoors. And it simply refuses to cool down when the temperature outside does so.

I decided to pull out the fan yesterday afternoon. Now you must understand we have several fans running in the house. Some are expensive, but none have done what this simple box fan has. My room immediately cooled down by about 15 degrees. It was unreal. The rest of the Green was baking. I made A-Gril walk into my room and try it out.

At 8 pm we were off to Target to buy a couple more.  With a slight detour and seeing something that we probably didn't want to on Martin Luther King Blvd, the house cooled down and to a reasonable temperature for sleeping well.

What I can't believe is that I have spent 3 miserable summers in The Green and the solution was only $17.

As I type this sitting in my very cool room I am thinking of and thanking Chris and Masha for an amazing suggestion. They really are awesome neighbors and friends!

Amused

I realized today when I placed my Primary bag on the passenger seat of my car that it is the weight of a child... The seat belt light continued to flash as if I needed to buckle it in.

No wonder why my arms hurt when I get home from Church. And I thought today was a light day.

Ridiculous

I have been looking for a full slip for over a year now. They are hard to find these days. I have a couple of dresses that need that extra layer so that I don't show the world the parts of my body that I don't want to show.  After searching long and hard I finally found one on Nordstrom.com. In the stores all I could find were the garments that squeeze this part and enhance another. Not that there is anything wrong with those types of "slips", but I do prefer to breathe.

When the slip arrived I had forgotten that I ordered it. So I wondered what I was receiving in a box so large.

In this day and age when "Green" is the buzz word you would have thought that a smaller box would be eco-conscience and cheaper to ship (that is the part I am more concerned about). 

It was quite comical when I opened the box and it was pretty much empty. The slip itself was packaged in a way that it would have fit just fine in a Fed Ex or UPS envelope.

Regardless A-Gril and I enjoyed our chuckle about the shipping of a slip.

Forty-Two Today

It snowed on May 11, 1967 and the Bride's breakfast did not stay down, two signs that usually don't bode well for a wedding. 2 years of on and off courtship and they finally committed to one another. He coming from a large brood and she an only child. Two different perspectives on life yet they merged and made a great pair. The Bride and Groom were dashing.

They love each other more and more everyday. Their marriage is what I want. Something real and strong. Maybe that is why I am holding out. They showed us by example that marriage and family were important, two things not to take lightly or throw away when times get tough. They loved each other and made sure that we knew.

They filled our many homes with laughter, a sense of order, unconditional and adoring love. They were places that not only we wanted to be but friends also.

I love to watch my Dad look at my Mom and when he tells me that he can't believe how much he adores and loves her grinning from ear to ear.

Thank you both for sticking it out for 42 years and making a solid foundation for our family.

Happy Anniversary!

My Mother

I am so grateful she is mine! I wouldn't be who I am with out her.

Fabulous Find

I love costume jewelry! I believe the love affair started at a very young age. My Grandmother Catherine had a lot of very beautiful pieces and after she passed on my mother let my sister Stephanie and I have at it. Unfortunately we were quite young at the time and not one of the pieces survived. We did however look fantastic in our dress-up clothes as we imagined in the basement. Sometimes I regret that we destroyed it all but at the same time I am fond of the memories. It was a link to a Grandmother that was taken from us a little to early.

I now prefer costume jewelry over anything expensive. I will not spend more than $40.00 for a piece and even then I flinch.  So when I saw this piece at Target, yes I said Target I drooled. I put off getting it for a couple of weeks, I don't know why, so when I decided to add it to my collection it was gone. Sometimes I wonder why I wait. Fortunately while in SLC visiting family I saw it at the local Target and happily snatched it up.

I love wearing it and am so glad I was offered a second chance to own it. I hope one day I have a granddaughter who to will love it as much as I do and I can pass it down. 

Changing subject a bit, but because of above mentioned  necklace I am wearing a pair of blue shoes more and more. I bought these shoes for my sister Emily's wedding when her colors were brown and blue (eventually changed to green). I love these shoes. They are not the comfortable sort by any means but they make my legs look great and I am so tall in them, bonus. Besides they are a very pretty shade of blue and I get many a compliment on them.