Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Random Tuesday Ramblings


  • I'm on the Lenten home stretch, folks!  Only a few days left of no chips + 10k steps a day.  I have to say, one has been harder than the other.  The steps.  Getting the steps has been harder.  But I have done it.  And while I had deep down hoped for some kind of magical weight loss that has not happened, I do believe I've accomplished my main goals with these Lenten promises:  to make myself healthier and more active, and to break the habit of snacking at night.  We'll see how the rest of the week plays out, but I'm pretty sure I can call this a success.
  • Lent seems to have flown by this year.  The year I gave up sugar and artificial sweeteners, it felt like it went on forever.  I was daydreaming of sugary treats by this stage in the game and counting down the days.  I suppose because I'm planning/hoping to implement these current Lenten promises permanently (at least, sort of), I'm not really looking at this weekend as the finishing line.  I do plan on having some chips as a treat, but otherwise, my goal is to continue with cutting out night time snacking and trying my darndest to get 10k steps a day.  Not much should change after Easter arrives!
  • I had been so hopeful that I'd escape any big water in my basement this year, and as the snow has been disappearing with only small traces of water seeping in over the past few weeks, I thought I'd made it through the worst of it.  Then on Sunday evening, we had a monsoon, and I woke to a good 3 inches of water down there.  ugh.  It's not a finished basement, but there are some important things down there - furnace, hot water tank, freezer - so I have to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get too high.  And yes, I have a sump pump, but it just couldn't keep up.  The water was coming in faster than it could get it out again.  Thankfully, Bill came and helped me last night, and he got rid of most of it, and then brought some big industrial fans to dry the basement out more quickly.  I just hate that musty smell that has started creeping upstairs due to the wet cement.  blech.
  • I'm easing my way into working full-time again.  The weather still hasn't permitted the usual "spring boom" around here yet, so I've been lucky I have the time to do this.  Last week I worked 4 days, and I will again this week and next.  (Off for Good Friday and Easter Monday).  It's nice that I can get re-adjusted slowly, and so far, it's going well.  The worst part is re-learning how fast a weekend can go by when it's only 2 days long!  I'll definitely soak up and enjoy this last 4-day weekend coming up!!
  • Last weekend was spent celebrating my mom's birthday, and it was so nice!  My sister, niece, and I and a few friends and family members took her out for tea on Saturday, as there was a fundraiser tea happening in Shawville.  Everything was delicious, and they surprised her by putting a birthday candle in a plate of squares for her.  That evening, we continued celebrating with dinner at Baton Rouge.  On Sunday we went to church and out for brunch, and then I just went home and vegged for the rest of the day - my usual of watching TV, reading, crocheting, and napping.  It was fabulous.

  • So, a few weeks ago, I shared a post on FB, one of those "Share if you remember" things - and it was about watching The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights.  And oh, how I remember.  So do a lot of people, apparently, based on the comments I got on that post!  For me, it was a highlight of my childhood.  First of all, Sunday evenings were (and probably still are) my least favourite night of the week. Not only did I dread Mondays, but it was also "steak night" in our house when I was a kid, and God, I hated steak.  (Still do.)  So it was a special treat on the odd occasion when Mom would let us eat in front of the TV if something really good was on Disney.  It made Sunday nights - and the steak - more tolerable! haha!!  Since reminiscing about that, I have started up the tradition of Disney Sunday nights again.  I own a lot of Disney movies on DVD, so a few weeks ago, I watched Dumbo, and last Sunday, Alice in Wonderland.  The only difference now (aside from my age lol) is that I make a "fun" supper to have while watching.  Pizza, or pasta, anything like that that I love.  Definitely not bringing back the steak tradition!!!
  • I finished watching The Handmaid's Tale last weekend, so I have now started into Castle Rock.  It's a show written by Stephen King and draws reference to some of his most famous material.  (The Shawshank Redemption, Cujo, and It are all references I've caught onto so far, only two episodes in.)  It also stars some of the actors from his movie adaptations from the past - notably, Sissy Spacek (who starred in Carrie), and Bill Skaarsgard (he played Pennywise in the new version of It).  I haven't really watched much "scary" since leading up to Halloween last year, when I spooked myself silly and swore off any more scary stuff for a while.  I'm in the early stages, but Castle Rock is definitely giving me the creeps.  Nothing really outright horrifying yet, but if I know Stephen King... it's coming.
  • Part  of my reason for opting for Castle Rock next was to go hand-in-hand with an anticipated trip to the movies to see the new version of Pet Sematary this Thursday.  Plans have kind of changed though, and that trip is now up in the air.  I'm really hoping it still works out, because I really want to see it!  I'd probably classify Pet Sematary as my favourite Stephen King of all-time.
  • To balance out the creepy and scary, I'm reading a total fluff book right now on the recommendation of a friend.  I spent the past few months reading all of our book club selections for the year, and that was some pretty heavy material.  Even the last book, "All We Ever Wanted" by Emily Giffin, which I anticipated as light chick lit, was a little on the heavy side.  So yes, I'm quite enjoying "Make Me Bad" by RS Grey right now.  Can you even get over that title? LOL!  It took me a while to get into it, but I've officially hit the - errrr... fun stuff ...and it's exactly what the doctor ordered!
  • Last but not least of the random today... I bought an Echo Dot a few weeks ago, but didn't get around to setting it up until this past weekend.  I now have Alexa in my house.  Honestly, I'm not sure how much use I'll get out of her. lol  I've asked her the weather a few times, and I've asked her to play music for me now and then, but that's about it.  I was a little disappointed she couldn't just drum up the podcast I wanted to listen to last night.  I guess I'll give her time to prove to me she's valuable, but so far, I'm just kind of "meh" about it.
Hope you're all having a great week so far, friends! :)

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