Domestic Goddess in Training

The other night felt like I needed to be productive so cleaned out and organized my pots and pans cupboard. The shelf had fallen and was laying on top of some mystery pans. Had been ignoring it for months so figured it was as good a time as any to fix it.

Fixed the shelf, organized the pans, cleaned, and put everything back together.  One item out of hundreds checked off the to do list!

Obtained a ton of groceries so this morning separated the meat packages into me only Ziplock bags. Kind of grossed me out manhandling all that raw meat, especially the chicken, and couldn't wait to wash my hands.

Last night watched Lion with Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman. Such a great movie and based on a true story.

Posted on Facebook that I'm no longer at my previous job. So heartwarming to see the sweet comments from former co-workers regarding my departure.  ❤

No Carbs Paying Off 😆

Happy to say I'm down about 12 pounds due to my low carb eating plan.  Sure, there have been a few cheats (hello DQ soft serve and the occasional red beer) but for the most part have laid off the sugar and starch. Feeling pretty good as well despite all the stress I've been under.

When Offensive is Served for Lunch

Sam took his dear old mom to lunch today at a local Mexican restaurant. We were in the middle of our meal when I glanced out the booth window, which faced the parking lot. There was a mom changing her child's diaper in full view of all the customers. Not just a pee-pee diaper but a fully loaded Pampers that required multiple wipes. GROSS!

People, think before you change your kids diaper and use a little decorum!!

Tanning and Top Chef

Continued my cleaning jag this morning by loading the dishwasher then tackling the stovetop with the Norwek cloth and cleaning paste sample I received.  Did an awesome job, although just cleaning it to begin with made a difference.

After cleaning packed up and headed to the river. Didn't take Stubbs as figured he would be running all over and I didn't want to spend my time chasing him. Good thing too as there were some little yippy dogs that I'm sure would have raised Stubb's ire.

Swam, laid out, swam, laid out in the hot, hot sun. Watched people jump off a rope swing and others cliff jump into the water. Left after two hours because figured my white skin may rebel if left out to braise any longer.

100 degrees!

If you look closely, there is a guy getting ready to jump.

Nothing makes me feel better than swimming and enjoying the dog days of summer!!

Once home, made some blueberry compote with berries Arlene gave me from her garden. Was going to make it sugar free but sometimes that can leave a weird aftertaste so used regular sugar. Turned out great but since I've laid off sugar it seemed really sweet to me. Ladeled the compote into two pint jars and will give them to the boys or Steve to enjoy.

Watching Top Chef New York tonight, which I've seen numerous times. Have several seasons but searched all over via Amazon, Craigslist, Ebay, and Goodwill but can't find additional DVDs.  Arrrgggg!! If anyone finds seasons 1 or 2, let me know!!!

Clogged Drains Be Damned!

My hair is now officially shoulder length. Hasn't been this long in years and years. Going to keep it growing until it's on my back.

While longer hair is fun, there are a few drawbacks. Significantly more hair in the shower drain which leads to a clogging problem. Hair falling over my face when I'm trying to sleep. Much warmer during these hot summer days. But I'll bear out the bad with the good to return to long hair, which I haven't seen since 6th grade when I begged sister Luna to cut my hair short.  Was not a good decision.

I'm at No. 5 now 😊

Last night wrote out a list of chores to complete while I'm off work. Things like clean the garage, paint one of the bedrooms, and get the garage door fixed. I have an older neighbor behind me that is up every morning working in her yard. This morning she was already up scrubbing her back fence and weedeating, all the time jamming out to Willie Nelson slow tunes.  The woman puts me to shame so have got to get my butt in gear to at least meet her stamina.

Speaking of chores, after the Norwek party yesterday at Susans, I returned home with some sample cloths. One you got wet, rang out then washed your windows - wet rag only with no cleaner. The next one was a dry window polishing cloth. So inspired last night I washed my sliding glass door along with my front windows then used the polishing cloth on them - not an easy task since the cloths were sample size about 5 inches big. But boy did it work well! Clear, glistening, shiny glass!

Today is forecast to be 99 degrees. Do I perform chores, visit the river, or lounge around basking in the air conditioned goodness of my home?  Such choices!!

I Don't Care

This weekend I watched "Shop Around the Corner" with Jimmy Stewart followed up by "In the Good Old Summertime" with Judy Garland. Same story with different actors. May top it off today with "You've Got Mail", the most recent incarnation of the story.

My favorite Judy Garland sang "I Don't Care" in her version. I think that's become my motto!

I Don't Care

They say I'm crazy 
Got no sense 
But I don't care 
They may or may not mean offense 
But I don't care 

You see, I'm sort of independent 
I am my own superintendent 
And my star is on the ascendent 
That's why I don't care 

I don't care, I don't care 
What they may think of me 
I'm happy-go-lucky, they say that I'm plucky 
Content and carefree 
I don't care 
Don't care if I do get a mean and stony stare 
If I'm not successful it won't be distressful 
Cause I don't care 

A girl should know her etiquette 
Alas, alack 
Propriety demands we walk a narrow track 
When fellas used to blink at me 
I'd freeze 'em and they'd shrink at me 
But now when fellas wink at me 
I wink at them right back! 

I don't care 
I don't care if people frown on me 
Perhaps it's the lone way 
But I go my own way 
That's my philosophy 
I don't care 
I don't care if he's clerk or just a millionaire 
There's no doubt about it, I'll sing and I'll shout it 
Cause I don't care 

Oh, I don't care, I don't care 
When it comes to happiness, I want my share 
Don't try to rearrange me 
There's nothing can change me 'cause I don't care

1. 

Saturday Made For A Swim

Saturday was a glorious, heat-filled day!  Steve came to visit and we hit the Toutle River with Stubbs in tow.  Steve stayed in the shade while my desire was to swim and soak up the sun. Little Stubbs even hit the water with me to enjoy a soak before paddling back to shore. The river had very few people which made it even more enjoyable.

After the river we returned home where Steve watched The Revenant while I cleaned the crab he brought me. Watched the bear scene while snacking on butter soaked crab - yum!

Revenant over, we put in Urban Cowboy, which we briefly paused to grab dinner at Nipps. Couldn't even finish the movie because we were so beat, especially Stubbs.

Today I'll be attending a Norwalk party at friend Susan's house. No obligation to buy thankfully so just fulfilling my duty as a friend. What is Norwalk?  I haven't a clue!

Coffee and Crafting

Drank coffee last evening so of course was up late crafting. Made several word rocks - enough to add to a basket and plenty of smaller ones to place on a metal candelabra hanging in the back porch.

Open House and Oyster Shells

This week has been pretty laid back. Been browsing a few on-line job sites out of curiosity to see what's out there. Will definitely no longer commute - 20 minutes tops.

Last night I attended Arlenes open house to show off her new sun room. Lots of people, lots of food and drink, and was a relaxing time.

Today my craft side came out. Created a driftwood, pebble, and oyster shell piece, all with items from my recent beach trip.

Forms & Free Time

Filed my first unemployment claim yesterday via my phone. So many questions to answer, boxes to check, and proofreading to ensure all was correct before hitting the Submit button.

Still working through the emotions that come from my departure from work. Frustration, anger, disappointment, anxiety, uncertainty, and anticipation of what will come next. Been so nice enjoying free time to do my own thing before tackling the search for a new job.

Solar Eclipse Extravaganza

The big eclipse day arrived yesterday with huge fanfare. Sam stopped by and whipped up an eclipse box, which worked but was rather underwhelming.  Tried to take pictures using the selfie screen on my phone and that didn't work so well.  The best part was experiencing the darkening of the sky and the immediate coolness of temperature.  Neat experience but perhaps not worthy of the hoopla surrounding it.

I'm Over It!!! 😎

Sleepytime

I'm Your Huckleberry 🍇🍇🍇

Late this morning we drove into Nehalem to pick huckleberries. First we cruised toward Nehalem Bay and scouted out the bushes on the side of the road. When we spotted ones hanging heavy with berries, we hopped out to pick. Steve has two old berry pickers we used, which are metal canisters with tines at the end.  You sweep the branches with the tines and the berries fall into the canisters. These tools were miracle workers! No finger picking required!  No purple residue dyed onto our hands!

We had a great time and quickly filled up two gallon containers with berries. Of course, we need to sort through to pick out leaves and green berries but we still ought to have a large bounty on our hands.

After picking berries, we dropped off Stubbs at the house and changed. I threw on a top and some black pants.  Normally wear the pants with a belt as they seem to slide down but figured they would be ok.

We hit the road to the mini putt putt golf course in Seaside, which has become a regular visit. Every time we play I wind up getting one or two holes-in-one. Today was no different as I scored one hole-in-one but alas still lost the game.  Next time I need a practice game to warm up.

Wandered over to the promenade to people watch. During all this wandering, my pants, sans belt, kept sliding down, tugging my underwear down as well. Seems every few feet I'm pulling and yanking up my pants or shoving my hands down my pants to pull up my underwear. Arrrrgggg!!!  It was like an obscene nervous tick all the yanking and fighting with my pants!

We grabbed a sandwich at Tsunami Sandwich Shop, which is also a regular stop when we are in Seaside. Best sandwich place ever!!

After being so preoccupied with my falling pants, I was ready to be done with Seaside. We got to the car and hit the road to Cannon Beach in search of a chocolate shop. Couldn't find the one Lynn told me about so ran into Bruce's Candy Kitchen.  Was crazy busy so skipped a chocolate indulgence, returned to the car and headed back to Arch Cape. Perhaps chocolate will be in my future tomorrow! 😉

Right now Steve is napping and I'm chilling with the dog doing absolutely nothing, which is currently my favorite place to be!!!

Tank and Paper Towels

Got up at 8 to hit the beach again with Stubbs. Weather is gorgeous with blue sky and sunshine.

Made coffee this morning, although the machine felt a little warm. Once it started brewing, coffee began pouring everwhere. Grabbed paper towels to clean up the wet mess then dumped out a good portion of the coffee from the thermos pot. Quite the mess and required half a roll of towels to wipe up the mess.  Come to find out, Steve woke at 7, started a fresh pot, then went back to bed. Oopsie....no wonder it felt so warm.

Showered to get ready for the day. The shower pressure is massive - I think I gave myself a hydro peel facial as I took that shower.

Got dressed to hit the huckleberry picking. Threw on a tank top which I never wear as my arms are chunky. You know, I tend to dress with one main goal in mind - "does this make me look thin?"  Sometimes that can be a tough goal to achieve. This morning I put that tank on and thought Screw It!  I'm going to be in the sun and so the tank is perfect, fat arms be damned! Ok, to be honest, I packed a tee to toss on later after the berry picking. Habits are hard to break!!

Hangover, Huckleberries, and Hair

Thursday Stubbs and I hit the salon to get our hair under control. My hairdresser Abbie always rocks my hair to exactly how I'm envisioning it. Both of our do's turned out great.

Thursday afternoon Stubbs, Steve and I set off for Cannon Beach. We stopped at Doogers in Warrenton for dinner then arrived at the Arch Cape house. We were up until 2am - could not sleep, which I attribute to our Dutch Brothers pit stop on our way out of town.

This morning Stubbs and I hit the beach for about 30 minutes before dragging ourselves back to the house for some aspirin. Had a bit of a hangover due to indulging Thursday night, which resulted in riding the porcelain bus. Ugh....so typical every time I tie one on.

Took a nap then got up about 12:30pm to get officially ready for the day. We drove to Nehalem in search of huckleberries. Found a ton with a mixture of ripe and red.  We were going to wait a couple more weeks to pick but have now decided to pick ripe ones Saturday morning.

On our way to Seaside, Steve spotted a wicker chair on the side of the road. "Turn around!", I bellowed!  He turned back, I jumped out, carefully crossed the road, assessed the chair, threw it over my shoulders, and ran back across the road. Nothing was wrong with the sweet mint green wicker chair, which was our score of the day!

On to Seaside, where we hit Rag & Bone, an antique thrift shop, then continued to Dutch Bros. Coffee and on to Goodwill.  On the way back, stopped at Rue 21 where I scored a $5 pair of shoes.

Cruised through downtown Seaside and decided to have dinner at Bigfoot before heading home. Took a detour into Cannon Beach to see if the bunnies were out, which of course they were.

Finally home, Stubbs was excited to see us, especially when I gave him a little stuffed bear I picked up at Goodwill for him.

Surprise of the evening was when the neighbors started shooting off fireworks - not just sparkler quality but huge, 4th of July size.

Memorable day at the beach and looking forward to Saturday.

Salon and Surf

Tomorrow is salon day. Will be taking Stubbs in for grooming at 10am then I'm set for a color and trim at 11am. The following are a few ideas of what I want (for me, folks, not the dog 😉.)

After our hair is done need to get the oil changed on my car. Steve has invited me to go to their Cannon Beach house for the weekend so we will be leaving tomorrow night for that trip. Yes, just as friends. I love their beach house, which is within walking distance from the surf.  Will be good to veg and breathe in the ocean air.

Letting Go is Good for My Soul

On Sunday took Sam with me as support to clean out my office. Boy there was a ton of stuff in there. Filled up a big box plus a couple large wall puctures, which were given to Sam. Don't want to see those hanging in my home!

Spent this week so far doing cleaning, laundry, and napping. Today turned out to be blue sky and warm, which hopefully will stay so a trip to the river will be in order.

Right now I'm only focused on relaxing and recovery.  Have lots of feelings going through my head including anger, sadness, disappointment, failure, discouragement, but most of all hope and excitement to see what my future holds.

Lots of options for trips to the beach, to Tri-Cities, to Gig Harbor and to the Gorge. Gonna be good for my soul to take time off from the world.

By the way, August has been a shitty month, not just for me. Yesterday was in a drive through line and was rear ended. WTF?  Hopped out, surveyed the car to see if there was damage (there was none), gave a thumbs up to the driver behind me, and went on my way.

Looking forward to a better September!

35 and 53 Oh My

Interesting weekend to say the least. Steve came to see me Friday and took me to lunch. We had a great conversation.  Friday night went to Lynn's for beer, pizza, and more venting, crying, and reflection on the twists and turns of life.

Saturday Steve came by again and took me to lunch at the Cow Deli. He had not yet tried it and immediately regretted this decision. After eating a huge BLT.  We then hit Walmart and after that he treated me to a manicure.  Sent him home about 5pm so I could primp for my 35th class reunion.

The reunion was held close by at Lexis pizza pub on the patio.  Lots of people, including twin Todd. It was a fun gathering until the rain started and I was out of there.

I did receive a picture from friend Becky. She had posted these spray painted pictures she does on Facebook; I thought it was wonderful so she brought me one.

I wore a red skirt and black top to the reunion. Thought it looked good til I saw the pic. Gag I look huge!! With all this upcoming free time I just might hit the gym.

Toying with the idea of getting my items from work today. Blech but it has to be done.

The Magic of New Beginnings

Sometimes life throws you for a loop and you are forced to reassess your plans. That's what is happening to me at this moment. But life has also given me a chance to reflect, relax, then rebuild stronger than ever. Due to my competitive spirit, I've never shy away from a challenge and I won't in this case. Here's to remaining optimistic and rising to be better than before.

I Like Big Baubles And I Cannot Lie

Had a Sunset Boulevard kind of day yesterday at work.  Decided to wear my huge $2.99 bauble ring to work.  Tres chic!

Cheating and Chin Hairs

Received a nice compliment from a manager via text the other day, as follows:

"You need paid more for what you do!!! I don't know how the hell you are so damn good at ur job!!!! :)"

Apparently she was dealing with an employee issue which sucked the life right out of her. Just another day in the life for me!

Monday before work I took advantage of the bright sun. Sat in the parking lot and tweezed my chin!  Yes, no shame here!! Can't stand getting in the car, pulling the visor down, and seeing a sprout of whiskers on my face. Took care of that problem and no one was the wiser!

Been cheating on my new plan of eating well lately. Not big cheats just a few cave-ins. Ate a jalapeño bagel at work yesterday morning and was too full to eat lunch. Today ate some cheese then was given three Take 5 candy bars along with a box of Sixlets, which are one of my favorites. Sat right there and scarfed one Take 5 along with seven Sixlet packages. Ugh.  Gotta step away from the sugar!!

This weekend is my neighborhood's garage sale. Do I want to sell stuff? Lord knows there is a ton of crap to sell but do I really want to spend my day hawking my wares?  Methinks not!

Tonight I'm grateful that I have a backstratcher to itch my sunburned back. Much better method than a wooden spoon. 😉

Saturday Night Adventures

After the marina yesterday, I came home, changed into dry clothes and relaxed.  About 6pm my buds the Mournings called to see if I wanted to meet up at Tim's Tavern. Peeling myself from the couch, I scrambled upstairs, slapped on some makeup, curled my hair, threw on clothes, and hit the road to meet them.

Arrived before them so snuck in the back patio area to wait. Waited, waited, then finally decided that I was a grown ass woman and should be able to enter the bar alone without feeling like a cheap floozy looking to troll up a date.

Got my red beer, went back outside, and they showed up. We caught up, then their daughter Amanda arrived and joined in on the fun. Stan and Susan are just too funny - lots of stories about the tricks they've played on each other.

Later on Sam showed up to join the fun. We didn't leave til close to midnight. Lots of laughs but a late night.

Kalama and Coconut Flour

This morning I woke up bright eyed and bushy-tailed and, after coffee of course, cleaned the kitchen, put away all the items that were cluttering up the counters (like my rock projects), then vacuumed. Looks so much better.

Then, with the haze gone and the blue sky back, I pondered my options for the day - buy and fill up a cheap swimming pool or hit the Toutle River.  Went upstairs to brush my teeth and heard Jimmy, Sam, and Molly downstairs.  They were all heading to the Kalama Marina and invited me to go.  That solved my problem for the day!

Have only gone to the Kalama Marina boat launch area and never to the park.  Great spot - sat in the sun, swam in the river, played football catch, and drank a couple red beers. Sprayed 50 SPF all over as I sported my new clearance Walmart swimsuit.  At some point, you gotta forget about the extra pounds and just go for it, wear the suit, and screw anyone's opinion, starting first with our own.

On a separate note, here's a pic of coconut flour, low carb pancakes I made the other day.  Meh. Had a little bit of texture so weren't the greatest but turned out acceptable.

Furnace Heat and Faux Pho

Everyone this week is gearing toward Thursday - the day of 107 degree heat.  God bless air conditioning!  Really enjoying the blue sky.  Reminds me of being a kid in the summer, sleeping overnight on the deck, and waking up to a beautiful blue sky above which held the promise of swimming, hiking, and fishing for the day.

This morning Lynn text me about the Pho I recently tried. Ended up that's all I thought about the whole day!  Came home tonight and, after cleaning the kitchen (and why does that frigging kitchen get so dirty when it's just me??), decided to make a riff on Pho which I'm calling the Faux Pho.

Baked some chicken thighs and while they were cooking diced up a good portion of the veggies from Arlene. Zucchini, beans, and jalapeño were sauted in olive oil along with mushrooms. Lots of seasoning including garlic, red pepper, lime, sesame oil, and ginger. Then added a can of chicken broth, a can of beef broth, and a can of coconut milk. Let it cook until the chicken was done.

Added shredded cabbage mix instead of noodles to the bowl, topped it with chunks of chicken and the vegetable broth then sprinkled with fresh chopped cilantro.

It was yummy!!  Little spicy and a little creamy. Really hit the spot plus there is lots of leftovers. Nothing better than fresh veggies straight from the garden. Can't wait until the tomatoes are ready!!

Ended up splurging a little today. Was simply craving DQ ice cream so picked up a quart on my way home. Popped it in the freezer and enjoyed some after the Faux Pho. Good stuff and it hit the spot. Hey it's okay to indulge now and then. (Yes, I'm justifying my momentary trek for sugar.)