NaBloPoMo - Day 30

This is the final day of NaBloPoMo 2025 - I made it to the finish line! 

Jumping in at the last minute to participate after more than three years away from blogging was a little crazy, but I'm so glad I did it. After such a long time away, it's hard to know where to even think about getting started again. I did a few condensed catch-up posts along the way, but I mostly stuck to my current day-to-day happenings. There's still so much more to talk about.

Thank you to all my friends who came over to wish me a warm welcome back, and to those who have stuck it out with me through this month. I missed you so much during my absence, and I appreciate you more than you could know. It's made me so happy to reconnect with all of you. 

Thank you to the newcomers who have found their way here and have been following along this month. I'm so glad you are here, too.

Thank you to San, our gracious host, for all your hard work and dedication, and thanks to all the NaBloPoMo participants who have visited along the way. It's been nice getting a little peek into your lives.

How will I proceed with blogging from here? That's yet to be seen, but you're not going to get rid of me that easily. I'm planning to stick around. 

Back in my earliest days of blogging, I had a cute little graphic image on my sidebar that said I love my computer because my friends live in it. I'm certainly feeling that way again now. :) 

NaBloPoMo - Day 29

My grandbabies wore me out yesterday. This is all I've got in me for today. 

Have a great weekend! :)

NaBloPoMo - Day 28

Good morning, friends. I hope everyone had a good day yesterday, and I hope you have a long weekend to rest and recover from the festivities.

I had a really nice day. I watched the parade in the morning while messaging back and forth with my kids. We decided to get together over the weekend instead of everyone coming over at random times. 

I could hardly wait until a decent time to eat. I made little Thanksgiving sandwiches - turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce on dinner rolls, with a little gravy on the side for dipping. It wasn't a big Thanksgiving meal, but it sure hit the holiday spot.

A cold front came through in the afternoon. Perfect timing to kick off the Christmas season. I put up my little Christmas tree, wrapped some presents, watched some football, and then had a little movie marathon in the evening. It was a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving Day.

Fast forward to today. I have an unexpected surprise, I will be watching my baby girls after all. They are already on the way. At least I got one good day of rest in.

I have to run, they will be here soon. Have a great day. :)  

NaBloPoMo - Day 27

I am so thankful to be back here with all of you this Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for your friendship. Big hugs going out to all of you today!

NaBloPoMo - Day 26

 ~ Wordless Wednesday ~

NaBloPoMo - Day 25

When I took my family out for dinner on Sunday to celebrate Thanksgiving, I made it very clear that they were free to carry on with their other plans on Thanksgiving Day. I like to try to make things easier for them. I know how much of a pain it is to have to bounce from place to place on a holiday, and nobody wants to sit down to two huge meals on a holiday either. I told them to stop by if they feel up to it, but with absolutely no obligation.

I figured I would need to at least have something on hand to snack on if any of them decide to come over. I was searching recipes yesterday, thinking of doing a small appetizer buffet, but then what would I do with all that food if they don't make it over or if they are stuffed when they arrive? I sure don't want a bunch of food to go to waste either.

Then I came across this idea for a Turkuterie Board and thought it was perfect!

Photo Credit - Delish.com

It's fun, festive, not too much food, and all things that won't go to waste if I don't use them right away. Will I actually make it? Who knows. I did get everything I'll need to make it, but unless all the kids and grands wind up here at the same time, I probably won't. If they stop by separately, which is more likely, I can still just make a nice little charcuterie plate for them to snack on instead. Either way, this means no cooking at all for me - it's a win all the way around! :)

NaBloPoMo - Day 24

Good morning, friends. It's a new week and time for my Monday Daybook. If you'd like to join me, I've put the list of the prompts in the bar at the top of my blog for you to copy and paste to make things a little easier.

Outside my window... It's a very foggy morning, 67 degrees. It's forecast to be mostly sunny today and warming up into the low 80s by this afternoon. 

My weekend... On Saturday, I did a little cleaning and a bit of yard work, but mostly just relaxed, watched a movie, and caught up on blogs. On Sunday, I took a walk to the beach and then spent the afternoon with my kids and grands. We went out for a nice dinner on Sunday evening, which was probably our Thanksgiving celebration. We aren't sure yet if we'll all be able to be in the same place at the same time on Thanksgiving Day. I'm just happy we were able to spend time together as a family. The day itself doesn't really matter to me. 

This morning... I'm just having my coffee and sitting here chatting with you.

I am wearing... Jammie pants and a t-shirt.

I am listening to... Silence at the moment.

I am thinking... Mostly about how to try to plan for Thanksgiving without a plan.

I am feeling... Tired this morning. I didn't sleep well last night.

I am reading... I'm still just keeping up with blogs this week.

I am cooking... No cooking planned for today. I have plenty of leftovers from dinner last night. I haven't planned anything further for the week yet, other than trying to come up with something for Thanksgiving - maybe.

I am watching... Over the weekend, I watched The Last Word with Shirley MacLaine on Netflix. I think it was from back in 2017. She was great in it, but I wouldn't say the movie itself was fantastic - still good and worth a watch.

I am going... To the grocery store this afternoon. I don't know what I'm going to get yet, but I need to come up with some kind of plan before I go.

This week... Everything is still kind of up in the air at the moment. Holidays get complicated with the kids all grown up. Now there are spouses and their families to consider. I have a busy day tomorrow, and then no other definite plans beyond that. I don't even have the girls this week. My daughter-in-law is a teacher, and they are all on Thanksgiving break now. I guess I'll just wait it out to see how things play out for the rest of the week.

How's your week looking, and what are your plans for Thanksgiving this year? 

NaBloPoMo - Day 23

I'm popping in with a quick shot from my walk this morning. I have a busy day today, but I had to squeeze in my post for NaBloPoMo. I'm not going to miss a day this far into it. We're in the final stretch, only one week to go!

I'm linking up with Lisa for this week's edition of Shadow Shot Sunday. 

Have a great day! :)

NaBloPoMo - Day 22

Good afternoon and happy Saturday - Caturday works even better in this case.

My daughter sent this to me last night. It's not one of her kitties, but a photo she found somewhere along the way on social media. I have no idea who to credit for the photo, but how funny and adorable is this kitty!?

At first glance, I thought it was fake, but when I zoomed in, I could clearly see that the white O is actually a marking right at the bottom of his or her little mouth. I suppose with some excellent editing it could still be fake, but I hope it's not. 

I can only imagine the conversations I would have with a kitty who looked like this. It would be very entertaining!

NaBloPoMo - Day 21

One of the things on my list of little things that annoy me from yesterday's post was people stopping by unannounced. It reminded me of a funny video clip I saw of comedian Sebastian Maniscalco talking about the difference between the doorbell ringing 20 years ago compared to today. It's so true, although I think what he talks about was more like 40 or more years ago instead of 20. Either way, I think it's funny - enjoy. :)

NaBloPoMo - Day 20

After posting my list of the little things that bring me joy last week, I thought posting a list of the little things that annoy me could be fun too.

• Time changes
• Forgetting the one item I ran to the grocery store for to begin with
• People who wear strong perfume
• Junk mail
• Calls from numbers I don't recognize that don't leave a message 
• The smell of burnt microwave popcorn
• Being put on speaker phone
• Having that twitchy eye thing
• People who talk using wireless headphones in public places
• Grumpy cashiers
• People stopping by unannounced
• Drivers who tailgate
• Forgetting my point in the middle of a conversation
• Video calls of any kind
• Looking for my phone while I'm talking on it
• People who stand too close to me in line
• Delivery drivers who put boxes in front of my outward swinging door
• Shopping for clothing
• Passwords that won't work when I enter them exactly as I created them
• When I have to wear a bra
• Forgetting why I walked into a room
• Having a stiff neck
• People who call immediately after I send them a text
• People who talk while chewing
• Paper straws
• People who use talk-to-text who don't check for errors before sending
• Banging my toes on furniture
• When my words come out jumbled
• Having to sneeze, but it gets stuck
• Not noticing a change autocorrect made until after sending a message
• Tags sewn into the neck of clothing

What are some of the little things in life that annoy you?

NaBloPoMo - Day 19

If I were using titles for my posts during NaBloPoMo, this may have been a Wordless Wednesday - instead, you get some words, lol.

My son is in San Francisco on business this week. He sent me this fantastic shot he took of Alcatraz Island. Of course, I had to share.

Have a great day! :)

NaBloPoMo - Day 18

It's 6:32 in the morning here. I'm up, dressed, and having my coffee while trying to fully wake up and get it in high gear before my two little tornadoes arrive. They should be here within the hour.

I thought I'd better pop in now with a quick post - otherwise I won't be able to get a post up until very late this evening. I'm loving doing NaBloPoMo, but posting every single day for a month can be exhausting at times.

I got everything crossed off my list yesterday except for one thing - and that one thing is a whole post's worth that I'll share with you later this week.

On the way home, I treated myself to a delicious dinner from a new little takeout hibachi place near my house.

They serve such generous portions! It's plenty of food for me for at least three meals, and their food is so good - and only $10. Can't beat that! 

I guess I'd better run now. I still need to get the girls' Special Sharing Plate ready before they get here. You know the drill - It's tornado time until somewhere between 5-6 pm. I may not have time to make my rounds to visit you today, but I'll do my best. Either way, I'll catch up with you soon. 

Have a great day! :)

NaBloPoMo - Day 17

Good morning, friends. It's a new week and time for my Monday Daybook. If you'd like to join me today, or in the future, I've put a list of the prompts in the bar at the top of my blog for you to copy and paste to make things a little easier.

Outside my window... It's a beautiful day, blue skies and sunshine, currently 76 degrees with a high of 80 today.

My weekend... Uneventful, just the way I like it. I kept busy at home catching up on blogs, doing a little cleaning and decluttering, and I packed up a few more boxes to drop off for donation this week. I spent a lot of time on phone calls and texts trying to come up with a plan for Thanksgiving. Holidays are harder to plan these days with the kids' in-laws' plans to consider.

This morning... I just got back from the grocery store. I'm taking a short break for blogs and brunch, and then off to get started on my other errands.

I am wearing... A tunic top with capri leggings, or jeggings, actually, if that's still what they are called. 

I am listening to... Silence at the moment.

I am thinking... About how much I have to do today. I really need to get moving.

I am feeling... A little cranky about how much I have to do, and also annoyed with how long it's taking Blogger's feed reader to update. If it's anything like yesterday, you won't be seeing this until this afternoon.

I am reading... Just blogs for now, and I'm so happy about that!

I am cooking... I'm going make some scrambled eggs and maybe even sneak in a slice or two of bacon with some whole grain toast for brunch. I think I might just grab some takeout for dinner somewhere while I'm out and about, since it's going to be a busy day. I know I won't feel like cooking by the time I get home.

I am watching... Last night I watched Everybody's Fine, a 2009 movie with Robert De Niro on Netflix. It was a very good movie, but sad too. Mostly, I've just been going back and forth, turning things on and off, trying to find something worthy of watching lately - help!

I am going... Out and I don't like it, lol. I have a long to-do list and I'd rather be at home. I'm such a homebody.

This week... Obviously, a busy day of errands today. My son asked me last night if I could watch the girls on Tuesday instead of Thursday this week. Not really a big deal, but now I have to prepare for that along with all the other things I have to accomplish today. The good news is that my calendar is empty for the rest of the week after that. That makes me very happy.

That's all from me for today. How's your week looking?

NaBloPoMo - Day 16

This is a photo my son recently sent me. He's so creative and so talented. This is his actual vehicle. He did the wrap himself. If he has to drive a minivan now that he has children, it's going to be cool one way or another. Oh, and no need to be concerned about his safety - the dinosaur is fenced in.

I thought he did such a great job editing this photo, I had to come over to share it with you. I'm running very late for the party, but I'm linking up with Lisa over at Shadow Shot Sunday, too. :)

NaBloPoMo - Day 15

I'm just going to jump right in today with a very condensed catch-up post about what's been happening in my life during the three years I was missing from the blogging world before starting NaBloPoMo this year.

I've already filled you in about my two beautiful granddaughters and just how much my world has revolved around them during that time. The other side of my story isn't nearly as pleasant - it's pretty grim. 

Most of you know I stopped blogging back in 2022 when my husband unexpectedly passed away. It was obviously a very difficult year. I know my friends here would have been a great support system, but I was just... empty. 

I went from working part-time to working full-time, plus any extra hours I could get to fill my days and wear me out enough to be able to come home and sleep at night. It was just my way of dealing and letting time do its thing. 

I had to quit working in 2023 due to health issues. At the beginning of the year, my health took a huge nosedive. In between taking care of my first granddaughter, that year was filled with constant medical appointments, extensive testing, procedures, and surgeries. I ended that year at a gaunt ninety-nine pounds, but with my health back under control for the most part.

2024 was the year of hurricanes here. My area was hit by not one, or even two, but three storms. They were all bad, all caused a lot of damage. The last one, Hurricane Milton, was a direct hit and came very close to destroying my home. Let me add here, I was uninsured at the time.

This year has been spent attempting to recover from the storms. It's taken just about every penny I have, but I've had the major repairs completed. Unfortunately, my home still needs a lot of work, both inside and out. 

I've thought about selling. My home is in a fantastic location, but the market here in Florida is so horrible right now. I've been decluttering and packing things up with the hope that it will change soon, but of course, I'm not holding my breath. I'm just kind of stuck at the moment. We'll see how things go from here.  

So there you have it. It's been a very rough few years, and I'm worse for the wear, but I'm not complaining - I'm still here to talk about it, thankfully. 

Now you can understand why it has taken me so long to finally get back to blogging. Back to more positive posts tomorrow!

NaBloPoMo - Day 14

I lost my last kitty, Nugget, last year to congestive heart failure. I no longer have any of my own fur babies, but I do have lots of grand-kitties and grand-pups to share with you.

Meet Scout and Audrey. These two are my daughter's latest rescues. They are a little more than a year old. My daughter recently went out of town for a week, and I had the pleasure of having these cuties come stay with me - or what I thought was going to be a pleasure anyway. Let me tell you, these two were the naughtiest kitties I've ever seen! 

They were into everything. They pulled all kinds of stuff off of shelves, broke two of my window blinds, and knocked things off tables. They could open cabinets, and they got up to the highest places in the house they could get to. They were even contemplating trying to jump up on the ceiling fans! I actually had to close them in my guest room when I needed a break, and definitely when I left the house and when I went to bed at night. I think taking care of my two little granddaughters is actually easier than taking care of these adorable little menaces!

I think they may have a little Siamese in them, not just by their naughty streak, but something about their eyes, too. I've known people with Siamese kitties, and they seemed to be very active and a bit naughty as well. Luckily, they were as cute, sweet, and loving as could be in between all the naughtiness.

Are you a cat person? Have you ever had any naughty kitties?

I'm linking up over at Feline Friday. :)

NaBloPoMo - Day 13

I had my two little tornadoes yesterday. It was a very busy but fun day as always. Of course, I'm way behind on reading your blogs now. Today and tomorrow are quite busy as well, but I'll get all caught up with all of you by the weekend.

I want to share one of the best ideas I think I've ever had for the little ones today.

The girls call this their special sharing plate. It's just a plastic deviled egg plate I found at Dollar Tree. It even came with a cover, so I'm able to prepare any cold items, like their fruit and cheese, the night before and have it ready to go in the morning. It's perfect for making a little smorgasbord for toddlers and preschoolers. Another nice thing is being able to provide mostly healthy foods without denying them small amounts of the less healthy things they love.

When my girls arrive in the morning, the first thing they ask is if they get to have their special sharing plate. It's adorable how excited they get about it. I always use it for their breakfast, and of course, I try to plan as many of their meals and snacks using the special sharing plate as I can. 

I also have a high cabinet where I keep any kids' cereals and any other less than healthy foods, so what's on their plate is all that's available. They always raid my pantry between meals, and there's nothing in there they can't spot, somehow, no matter how well I think I have it hidden. 

It makes me feel like a pretty smart Gamma coming up with this one. Good idea, don't you think?

NaBloPoMo - Day 12

Almost Wordless Wednesday - I am this many McDonald's ago years old. Yikes!

(Photo Credit - Pinterest)

I was young, but I do remember. Who else remembers when they looked like this?

NaBloPoMo - Day 11

My family and friends bring more happiness to my life than anything else possibly could. With that said, here's a list of some of the little things in life that bring me joy.  

• A hot cup of coffee in the morning
• Falling asleep to the sound of rain
• The smell of a good barbecue
• Laughing until I cry
• Days when I have nothing I have to do
• Warm, freshly baked cookies
• Inside jokes between friends
• The sound of the waves crashing at the beach
• A really good meal
• Holding doors for people who say thank you
• A nice cool pool on a hot summer day
• The smell of popcorn at the movie theater
• Good friends that I've never even met
• When a person's laugh is funnier than the joke
• Seeing a beautiful sunrise or sunset
• Watching my grandbabies sleep 
• Long phone calls with an old friend
• The smell of fresh bread baking
• Children and teenagers with good manners
• Days I don't have to set an alarm to get up
• Songs that make me want to play air guitar
• Seeing babies laugh or smile
• Crossing the last thing off my to-do list on a busy day
• Being totally absorbed in a good book
• Walking barefoot on the beach
• Getting into bed with freshly laundered sheets

What are some of the little things in life that bring you joy?