Sunday Stealing -- Bragger??

This week's meme is inspired by Bragger, a blogger who enjoyed memes "so I don't have to think" about a topic for her posts. She stole this one from Tense Teacher, sadly, who took her blog down.

Cheers to all of us thieves!

When You Can't Think of Anything to Blog About ...

1) Describe your typical weekend, and tell us how this weekend has been different. My work week is Sunday through Thursday. Since I've been back in school, my Fridays usually include a lot of homework. I usually order groceries to be delivered. Most weekends, we have at least one outing planned with friends. I wash our sheets and remake the bed. I do my work laundry (I do it separately from the other regular laundry). I ride my stationary bike. Our Sundays include church and Sunday School and work for me. How is this weekend different? I took my final on Thursday night. It was five essay questions and the time limit was five hours!!! I was finished around the three hours and fifteen minutes mark. She hasn't graded the finals yet, and I'll be honest. I'm not sure I turned in A work. I headed into the final with a strong A . . .we shall see. The professor also hasn't graded a video presentation, so there are two big assignments hanging. Guess what that meant? Friday was a free day!! I still washed our sheets, but I went for a pedicure. Heaven. I am writing this on Saturday morning (early) while Mark is still asleep. Today, I will go to my regular WW (Weight Watchers) meeting. I forgot to include that in my typical weekend description. I will leave the meeting and drive about 20 minutes where I will be getting a one hour massage. I have two weeks before Fall A semester begins. I told Mark last night that I would not mind going to the Summit (outdoor shopping mall) or the Outlet Mall this afternoon. We might go to a restaurant for dinner. Sunday will still be a work day, but I am in charge of the hospitality workshop. I have worked on my Powerpoint, but I'm not sure it is good enough. I am having self-doubts. On Sunday night, we will eat dinner with friends. We are meeting at The Pita Stop Express and I love middle Eastern food. I usually order shrimp kebabs over a big salad. Are y'all eating salads again? I'm still not sure about eating one.

2) What food hits your bliss spot? French fries are one of my very favorite foods but I don't allow myself to eat real ones (actually fried, not air fried) very often. I also love a good steak that melts in my mouth! A couple of weeks ago, I baked some loaves of bread using bread dough from the grocery store. I must admit that a bite of warm bread with real butter hits my bliss spot, too!

3) Where did you stay on your last vacation (hotel, Airbnb/Vrbo, friends/family)? When we went to the beach in June, we stayed in a four bedroom condo rented through Vacasa. We recently stayed one night with our daughter's in-laws, which wasn't a vacation. Last fall, our vacation was on a small cruise ship plus a hotel room in Amsterdam. When we go to England and Ireland this fall, we will stay in hotel rooms.

4) If you had a personality eraser, what part of yours would you erase? I would erase the part of me that can be quite snarky and snappy at times. I would like to erase the selfish parts of me, please. I would also erase my lack of self-confidence.

5) Think of your friends. Tell us about the first one who popped into your head. One of my closest friends is Phella. I actually used her as the basis for my Relationship Timeline project in my Communications class this semester! We met when our babies were teeny tiny. Laura and Glenn were six weeks old. Phella's son, Chris, was maybe two and she was pregnant with her middle child when we met. She is my "ride or die." She knows my deepest darkest secrets haha! We have been blessed with several good friends and I can't imagine doing life without them.

Thank you for plaing! Please join us again next week!

Calling Part A . . .Part B . . . what else do I need??

Oh my goodness! I assumed signing up for Medicare would be straightforward. After all, I'm reasonably organized, I make lists, and I generally like knowing exactly what I'm supposed to do.

When I turned 65, I signed up for Medicare Part A. Signing up for Part A wasn't difficult nor very time consuming. Since I am still working full-time, I didn't sign up for Part B. I continued on my employer's plan - a major plan plus a gap insurance.

Let me just say this from the very beginning. I realize I am spoiled when it comes to health insurance. When I was young and worked for a very large international corporation, I had excellent insurance. When Laura and Glenn were born six weeks early, there were two of every specialist in the delivery room. We arrived at the hospital in the wee hours of Tuesday morning and stayed until Sunday afternoon - all three of us! The bill was large, but all we had to pay for was the TV and telephone. That was it! (also, how funny - no cell phones! We had to pay for an in-room phone!)

When I became a SAHM, all three of us were on Mark's insurance. He had a hefty monthly payment to cover all of us but the three of us stayed on his policy. When Glenn got married and was gainfully employed with benefits, he came off the policy. When Laura had good insurance through the state (school teacher), she came off Mark's policy. At that point, I came off and went on the church's insurance. Over all of these years, our coverage has been great except for one year - I think Mark's company changed to United for a year. Thank goodness that only lasted a year! It was not great!

This summer, it was time to sign up for the next part of Medicare. My quest to change started mid-June. I tried to register online . . . but my information would never load. I finally mailed actual pieces of paper to Medicare. It took forever for them to receive it and to process it. 

Finally, about a week ago I was able to have a very long phone appointment with our insurance broker. She gave me three options and I chose one. I received a new insurance card today. Woo hoo! 

Navigating the Medicare road was time consuming and it was not easy. I hope I made the right choice. Was this process easy for those of you who are now on Medicare?

August Hodgepodge

 

Joyce writes the questions and we answer and link up at From This Side of the Pond. Come and join us or feel free to answer in the comments!

1. What's something on your August calendar you're looking forward to? Or dreading if that's easier to answer. We are going to eat a couple of meals with friends which is always fun. Mark has a birthday this month (I need to plan something!). We will pay our last fall tuition payment (and then we will have to pay for just one more semester!). It is almost time to get out the fall decorations! I love fall decorations.

2. August 5th is National Oyster Day...do you partake? How do you feel about pearls? I am not fond of oysters. I have eaten one raw oyster in my life just so I could say I had! Mark loves them but the last few times he has eaten them . . . he has not felt well after. On the other hand, I LOVE pearls - I have several different types of pearl earrings and several different pearl necklaces.

3. Tell us about a time when you felt like 'the world was your oyster'. I am not sure I've ever felt that way. Surely I did when I was young?? Actually . . . maybe I'm living it right now.

4. Trip Advisor lists seven islands in the US that require no passport (for US citizens). If you're answering today from outside the US you'll still need to produce yours. An-y-way, have you been to any of the seven? Let's pretend you get an all expense paid trip to one this month...which one do you choose and why? 

Catalina Island California~Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts~Mackinac Island Michigan~Key West Florida~South Padre Island Texas~or Kauai Hawaii

I've never been to any of those islands! I've been to Hawaii, but not to Kauai.

5. Sylvia Plath is credited with the following- 

"August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time."

Agree or disagree? In other words, how do you feel about this month? 

When I arise at 5:00 a.m., it is still dark outside. I much prefer the length of the days in early to mid-June. Sylvia's words are a little depressing for some reason. I guess there is truth to her statement. The kids are all gearing up for back-to-school. I want to sneak a couple of pool days in this month if it will ever stop raining on the weekends and that will make it feel a little more like summer. I am rambling at this point so I'm going to stop typing!

6. Insert your own random thought here. I found some more quotes about August. I'll use this one as my random thought:

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, lke the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone.” — Natalie Babbitt

Weekend in Review

 I'm actually embarrassed to write about our weekend because we did so little!

On Thursday night, we met our out-to-eat supper club at Curry Corner, which is a new restaurant to us! I took one photo of my messy plate! I ordered Shrimp Masala and it was yummy! Mark ordered something really spicy! Not me! We also shared some Naan bread. This is our summer group and we've enjoyed it so much that we are going to meet again in August so we may have crossover with our fall group.

 I had a hair appointment at 9:00 a.m. on Friday and Mark left early that morning for the farm. Before I left home, I stripped our bed and had the sheets in the washer. On the way home from my haircut, I stopped at Costco and bought a lot of stuff! We are going to have a hotdog bar for the young adults on Tuesday night and I bought "dinner franks," canned baked beans, organic tortilla chips, queso, hotdog buns, plus two graphic tees for me. I also bought a watermelon, blueberries, and strawberries, a huge container of kraut, pre-cooked shrimp, and a big container of Grillos pickle spears. I also placed a Target order for delivery and a Walmart order for delivery. Good grief!

I also wrote two papers and a presentation for school. Whew.

The other thing I did on Friday was spend two hours on the phone with the insurance broker, Gin. She was helping me figure out which insurance I need for my new medicare. Boo! How can I be old enough? Our insurance at work changed this year and I decided this was the time to bite the bullet with Medicare part B. I am going with Blue Advantage Premier. Blue Cross of Alabama is good - I understand some other states aren't so lucky.

I wrote way into the night . . .

and then fell asleep.

On Saturday morning, guess what I did? More writing! I also worked on my Sunday School lesson. 

Every day I rode my stationary bike. 

On Saturday I also ironed my clothes for this week.

After Mark arrived home from the farm, we made a Trader Joe's stir fry vegetable pack and added shrimp. Fancy dinner, right? haha!

On Sunday morning, I headed to work. My boss posted this photo from his drone. Our church takes up one full block and then to the left of this photo, we have a parking lot that is a block wide/long (which isn't enough parking, but we are landlocked). There are houses all around us plus another church - a big Baptist church is next door.

At 9:45 I ran up to the third floor to teach our adult Sunday School class. We talked about being good neighbors and how God calls us to love our neighbors. It was actually a fun lesson to teach with some interaction from the class.

Our friend Cindy had her first chemo this week and they were in Sunday School. She didn't feel well but said coming to church was a non-negotiable at this point. She is trying to figure out the right amount of nausea meds to control the nausea without making her a zombie.

After teaching, I ran back down to the welcome desk to finish out the morning.

Our sweet son and daughter-in-law had invited us to drive to their house after church for Sunday lunch. Mark and I went in separate cars since I had to stay longer at the church. Our son grilled a pork tenderloin and roasted baby potatoes and carrots in the oven. He tossed the carrots in a little honey and sriracha - they were yummy. I had purchased some fresh corn and Mark brought several ears of corn and Glenn had the water boiling so we dropped them in for 8 minutes.

We played several hands of Uno and Old Maid - all five of us (10 year old granddaughter, too).

We got to meet their new cat - they call her Taco, but her name is really Penelope? She is cute.

After our daughter-in-law and granddaughter met Laura's new kitty, Milo, a couple of weeks ago . . .they decided they needed another cat. They have one cat, one dog, and nineteen chickens, plus now a kitten - a real menagerie.

Mark stayed to play Barbies and I headed home. I recorded my presentation on the Unhealthy Coping Mechanism of Emotional Eating! I don't think it is an A presentation. I'm just being honest. The final is this week and I'm ready for these summer semesters to be over. Following the end of the week final, I will have a two week break before fall semester begins. 

We both rode our exercise bikes this afternoon and I made some Pound Dropper Gingerbread muffins. I also meal prepped my lunches -- Quinoa with chicken breast, cucumbers, fresh tomatoes, feta, and a little salad dressing. I am ready to eat lettuce again . . .but I don't want "explosive . . ." - y'all know! We also had a pineapple that was ripe so I cut it up and put it in a bowl in the fridge.

We usually do more fun things on the weekend . . . 

So . . . tell me . . .did you do fun things this weekend?

Sunday Stealing - Lots of questions

 

This week's meme was stolen from blogging mom Blue Milk. Back in 2008, she stole it from an invitation-only meme. It was originally a very loooong meme, with more than 100 questions in all. Too much for me! So it's been pared back to 35. If that still seems daunting, remember all you have to do is bold the ones you've done. If you'd like to elaborate, feel free.

Bold the Ones You've Done

Have you ever ...

1. Slept under the stars
I have camped outside less than five times in my life and I was always in a tent. Camping is not my jam. I might like glamping.

2. Played in a band
Nope

3. Visited Hawaii 
Yes!

4. Visited Easter Island Nope

5. Watched a meteor shower
Nope

6. Seen the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace
Nope

7. Been to Disneyland or Disney World 
Yes!

8. Climbed a mountain 
sort of . . . 

9. Held a praying mantis Nope

10. Been to the Louvre Nope

11. Had food poisoning
Yes - it was horrible! I actually think I've had it twice in my life. Both times were horrible.

12. Eaten vegetables you grew yourself  Yes! Mark and I had a little garden the first year we were married.


13. Slept overnight on a train 
Nope

14. Built a snow fort
Nope - I live in Alabama. We've only had a few big snowfalls in my entire life!

15. Held a lamb
I have petted a lamb, but never held one.

16. Gone skinny dipping
Blushes . . .yes!

17. Been on a cruise (day cruises and dinner cruises count) Yes! I've been on an open ocean cruise, a cruise on a lovely Azamara ship around the coastlines of Turkey and Greece, a river cruise down the Rhine, a dinner cruise in Chattanooga and in Montgomery.

18. Seen Niagara Falls 
Nope

19. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors Yes!My grandmother's maiden name was Murphy and her people were from Ireland. I've been to Ireland once, and we are going again this fall.


20. Sung karaoke
Nope! 

21. Sat for a portrait Nope!

22. Walked on a beach by moonlight
Yes!

23. Been transported in an ambulance
Nope!

24. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 
Yes - snorkeling in Hawaii - hated it!

25. Kissed in the rain
Maybe??

26. Played in the mud
I'm sure I played in the mud when I was a kid!

27. Gone to a drive-in theater Yes!

28. Changed your vehicle's oil yourself Nope

29. Taken a martial arts class 
Nope

30. Visited the Vatican
Yes!

31. Volunteered at a soup kitchen or food pantry
Yes!

32. Sold Girl Scout cookies Yes! I was even the cookie mom one year!

33. Bought a used car  Yes!

34. Sat on a jury Nope! I went but was excused.

35. Ridden an elephant Nope!

Celebrate! Good Times! Hodgepodge!

 

Thanks to Joyce for the questions! What about your answers? Feel free to join us and link up at From This Side of the Pond or answer in the comments!

1. What was the last thing you celebrated? We celebrated our middle granddaughter's 7th birthday!

2 July 29th is International Day of the Tiger. Besides the wild animal itself, when you hear the word tiger what's the first  person-place-thing-whatever that comes to mind? War Eagle! Auburn Tigers!! Mark, his twin brother, our sister- in- law, both of our kids, and our daughter-in-law are all Auburn graduates.

Laura and Glenn at a game when they were 
students at Auburn

Aubie is my favorite tiger (though I think real tigers are very cool)!
Somewhere I have a photo of Aubie and me . . .I actually
have an aubie crush

3. The expression 'eye of the tiger' describes someone with intense focus, determination, and the drive to succeed. What area of your life are you currently bringing that kind of energy to?  My eye is on the goal of graduating from Samford University with my BA in Human Development and Family Science in May of 2027 . . .one month before my 69 birthday!

4. What was the last meal you cooked? I cooked for our supper club on Sunday night. We were in charge of the main course and we had Hot Chicken Salad (chicken casserole) and I made two loaves of yummy bread and Mark made a pitcher of Old Fashioneds (or is it Old Fashions? - I googled and I'm still not totally sure!). The other three couples brought the remainder of the meal.

5. Describe your July using exactly five words. 

Busy – with lots of things!

Blessed – celebrated a birthday and two new kittens (one at our daughter's house and one at our son's house)

Bruised – our granddaughter and the crazy shower incident

Hot – as hell - seriously - July in Alabama

Soaked – we have had so much rain

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It should be

Surviving an

Alabama July

Central Air Conditioning and Cold Diet Pepsi

The neighborhood pool at 9:00 a.m.

Yes! An ice cold watermelon

Wait on the 2:00 p.m. afternoon storm!

Weekend in Review

When I got off work on Thursday afternoon, I headed home and starting working on a paper on two different theories - Uncertainty Reduction Theory and Social Exchange Theory. We had to write about a relationship - real or fictional. I wrote about the relationship between Meg and Birdie in The Calamity Club. I stopped long enough to place a Target order through Shipt. I think we ate leftovers for dinner! Brandon, our regular shopper, dropped off the groceries and we put those away.

On Friday morning, I worked for a couple of hours, rode my bike for 30 minutes, and we loaded up in the car to head south. Y'all won't believe this, but we were only about 15 minutes from our house and I got pulled over by the police! Why? It was raining and my head lights weren't on. My car was in the shop recently and I guess they turned off the automatic light feature! That has happened to me twice in the last six months!! Of course, I could NOT find my insurance card. She wrote me a warning ticket about the insurance . . .and a verbal warning for the lights. Seriously?

The traffic was horrific. We went to our daughter's house and hung out with her and the granddaughters for a few hours. Then we changed our clothes and headed to downtown Montgomery. For our anniversary back in May I purchased tickets to see Leeanne Morgan at the Montgomery Performing Arts Center. She is coming to Birmingham in the fall, but we will be out of the country.

Our son-in-law told us where to park and it was perfect. We paid our $10 cash and found a great spot and walked across the street to the venue.

They had some cute merch! 

We were seated on row B - the second row from the stage!

The security guard was right in front of us and reminded us that we could NOT take photos or record, so I grabbed a photo of the preview haha!

The show was so good. I laughed so hard I literally cried!!

As soon as the show was over, we headed to the car and drove back to Birmingham.

On Saturday morning, I headed to WW and then to Trader Joe's. I needed fresh flowers and let me be the one to tell you -- Saturday morning flower shoppers at Trader Joe's are crazy.

I walked to the local pharmacy to pick up a prescription. The owners are so nice. They are all young pharmacists who graduated from Pharmacy School at Samford University (where I'm an undergrad!). 

I cooked several things, rode the bike, arranged the flowers, etc.

Sunday morning - I worked! Then on Sunday night, we had our supper club at our house.

Above is the centerpiece on the island - I decided to go with something other than florals!

The silver bud vase is on top of the wooden boards that cover my gas cooktop.

Below is the arrangement on the dining room table. I prefer a bigger, more airy arrangement, but people get annoyed if they can't see across the table haha!

I also made a small arrangement for our powder room, but I didn't take a photo!

The main course was an old recipe from Mark's mama - Hot Chicken Salad. It is basically a chicken and rice casserole. There are normally five couples and we picked a bunch of dates, but we never could find a date where everyone was available. One couple was flying back from a weeklong trip to Canada with their three kids, spouses, and grandkids.

Since I was using an "old" recipe, one couple decided to tie into "old" recipes. Back in the day, many folks used to make a ton of congealed salads. Guy did a spin on congealed salad -- he made jello shooters - they were lime tequila and they were yummy.

I didn't take a single photo after this! We had delicious food, lots of laughs, and wonderful fellowship!

What did you do this weekend?