A Quick Trip to Orlando

Hello hello, how are you?

I had a quick trip to Orlando last week for work. I left on Monday. My flight wasn’t until almost 2:00 pm. This wasn’t by my choice. I usually like a really early flight so that I can get to where I am going and check things out. I couldn’t get an early flight so I was stuck with the 1:50 flight. I had to fly through Atlanta where I had a layover so I didn’t get into Orlando until about 6:30. I discovered having a later flight is not that bad. I didn’t have to rush to get out of the house. I had time for breakfast and an extra cup of coffee, plenty of time to pack, I did a load of laundry and even made a pecan pie before I left. I felt so un rushed. It was great. I may have to rethink my early morning flights.

However that did get me to my hotel kind of late. I gave the driver the address to the hotel and he was not familiar with it. Turns out it was a new hotel. He asked me to put the directions into his phone in Google maps. Always an adventure. I was meeting a group of cavers for our semi annual board meeting for National Caves Association. This is the first time we have had our meeting in Orlando. For many years the winter meeting was held in St. Louis. It was always cold and sometimes travel could be tricky. We are now spoiled by the wonderful warm weather in Orlando. We stayed at the Springhill Suites on Millenia Lakes Blvd. And just across the bridge from the hotel was the Millenia Mall. Although we didn’t have a lot of free time I did manage to make it to the mall where Macy’s was having an awesome clearance sale.

The hotel was very nice and the customer service was outstanding. There was a complimentary breakfast and it was great having that every morning and not having to go out and find breakfast. I hate to say it but it rained most of the time. It was a warm rain so it wasn’t that bad.

On Tuesday night we went to a restaurant called The Capital Grille. One of my favorite things in the world is Sword Fish and of course not a lot of restaurants around me have that. I ordered the sword fish, blackened, and it was amazing.

The sauce around the edge was a mustard vinaigrette and I wasn’t too sure
about it. The waiter assured me it was on the side. But it was great!!! It totally made
the dish.

The Cheesecake Factory was right next door to the Capital Grille and we did have to pass it on the way back to the hotel so we decided to stop in for some cheesecake to go. Can you believe they put the calories on the cheesecake so you know how many calories per slice. WHAT???? If you have decided to eat cheesecake then why oh why must you know the calories? Most of us got a piece of cheesecake to take back to our rooms. I ate some of mine the next day. I did not eat the entire slice. Those slices are huge!!!

Try not to drool. I am having some wonderful flashbacks.

Of course I always have to take knitting along with me. I took a scarf and a hat to work on. I finished both of them and as I am sitting here typing this I happened to think I haven’t seen the scarf since I have been back. I will have to run upstairs and look for it. I hope I didn’t leave it behind.

This is the scarf. I love these colors.

And this is the hat. I took this picture after I returned to work on Friday. Colorful wouldn’t you say?

I had an early flight going home on Thursday and I was back in town by 2:30 pm. Because of Marks crazy work schedule Scruffy had spent a few days while I was gone with my sister-in-law. I went by to pick him up and he was so glad to see me. At least I think he was. My sister-in-law spoils him like crazy when she has him. He always loves to stay with her.

All in all a good trip. I went back to work on Friday with a lot of new ideas. I had to play catch up on some things.

Friday evening me and several of my coworkers went to a beautiful wedding of a sweet young lady who works with us, Christan. The wedding was held in a barn, which is all the rage now, it was a country setting with a huge stone fireplace, very laid back and beautiful. Instead of having a traditional wedding cake they had……Cheesecake!!! You know how I love cheesecake right?

Isn’t she a beautiful bride

It’s always nice to get away but there’s nothing like my lake and mountains. And my Molly of course, look she slipped into the picture just before I took it. Perfect timing Molly.

P.S. I found the scarf. Whew!!!!!!

Love your day your way

I Have Cabin Fever!!!!

Hello hello how are you? The sick bug has hit our little family. Mark was sick all weekend before last. I was hoping I wouldn’t catch what he had but being in such close quarters almost makes that impossible. I should have known something was going on last Tuesday when everything I did seemed to be crazy. Well crazier than normal, you know me. Have you ever felt that way? I got a late start at work and then everything just seemed to go down hill from there. It’s like everything I did was strange like I was walking through a fog. I had a weird day at work where nothing seemed to go right. I went to the Post Office and left my keys in my P.O. Box and when I got to my car I couldn’t figure out where my keys were, I went to Walmart and the self check out messed up after I had already rung everything up. I went through the drive through at Sonic and they brought me the wrong order. I totally forgot about a million things I needed to do because it seemed like I had a permanent brain fog. I should have known something was going on.

By Tuesday night I started to get this little tickle in my throat and then by morning I was coughing my head off and sounded terrible. But me being the me that I am, thought I could still handle going to work so in I went. Of course everyone there looked at me like I had the plague and gave me that “why do you want to come to work and infect us” look. I don’t blame them I would have been the same way about them. I felt really bad and I left at noon and went home. I went to bed and I didn’t leave the house until Sunday morning when I decided to venture into town to get a few groceries. Mark had to work a looooong work weekend but he was on the road to recovery. I grabbed a few groceries and went home. I knew I still didn’t feel right and sure enough I had developed a sinus infection. Finally after starting a round of antibiotics yesterday I am feeling much better.

So lots of days off. How nice was that you might think. It was, except that I didn’t feel like doing anything. I laid on the couch and in my bed and read (that was nice) and knit that was nice and cuddled with my fur babies (that was really nice) and ate myself into oblivion (not so nice) and read a lot of books and watched a lot of TV (really nice) and wallowed in being sick. Sometimes I think you may need those sick days to just give yourself the time you need to recuperate and regenerate from everything that life is throwing at you. I guess that is where I am in this scenario called life. I have enjoyed it but I AM READY TO GET OUT!!!!! I HAVE CABIN FEVER!!!! I actually did go to work today. I am starting to feel normal again.

I Knitted this toboggan it really has more of a pink color than what
it looks like here.

I also started this scarf

With me being home for several days Kitty Kitty and Scruffy were right there with me trying to make me feel better and clamoring for a spot on my lap.

These are a couple of really good books I read.
Check them out.

Do you love these conversation heart candies that appear near Valentine’s Day? You either love them or you hate them. You probably noticed you haven’t seen as many of them this year and there is a reason for that. These hearts have been in production for more than a century before Necco, the company that made them, filed for bankruptcy last year.

The rights to produce the hearts was purchased by the Spangler Candy Co. in Ohio, which will return them to production after it receives permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But this could take at least a year. So only a very few were left to sell this year.

Some people find these disgusting, this includes my husband. But he knows how very much I love them. I could eat them all year long. Probably a good thing they are only around at Valentines. So when my husband discovered that they were hard to find in the stores, even Walmart, he got on line and ordered me a two pound bag to munch on. Yes it’s true folks you can get anything from Amazon. I think that’s pretty darned nice of him.

I hope you are having a wonderful week and the sick bug stays away from you.

Love your day your way!!!

An Interesting Week

Hello, happy Monday and happy February. How is your week starting out? Last week, for me, was a strange kind of week. One of those weeks filled with a lot of different things. Some highs and some lows. First of all we had some snow. Not a lot. Not enough to have a snow day at home. However, the snow was beautiful while it was hanging around. It started early Tuesday morning and for about an hour it was a winter wonderland. It was the heavy wet snow that sticks to everything, well everything except the road that is. I went out and took a few pictures and then took a few on my way into work. I did go in a bit later because according to the weather forecast we were supposed to have freezing temperatures shortly after the snow started and everything was supposed to freeze. Didn’t happen.

My driveway and clearly you can see no snow on it.

Still no snow on the road

I pass this old barn on my way into work every day.
The snow made it kind of magical.

Wednesday after the snow started melting.

I am glad that because of modern technology we can text our friends and loved ones to our hearts content. But do you ever feel frustrated that sometimes trying to get your point across is lost in translation. I had a few times like that last week and it is a very frustrating and sometimes hurtful thing. This was a low point for me and I am trying not to dwell on it. I sometimes miss the one on one communication instead of the convenience of texting and emailing. Sorry I just thought I would throw that random bit in there because it can be very frustrating thinking that you or someone you are texting may be missing the point.

I took a vacation day on Wednesday so I guess I sort of got a snow day. I stayed at home and enjoyed the warmth and my fur babies and worked at my craft table.

As you can see I have several different projects going on, you know me.

Thursday I had a meeting with an ad representative about 45 minutes away and we had a lovely lunch and then I went home.

On Saturday my niece Amy R texted and wanted me to go thrift shopping with her in nearby Maryville. I was right in the middle of cleaning my bathrooms but I reached a stopping point and we took off and had a great day. Amy has a wonderful eye for decorating and I love to be with her and hear her ideas on how she would use certain items. She makes me think of arranging things in ways I never would have dreamed of.

Made beef stew on Sunday

I am a little frustrated that I didn’t meet all of the goals I set for myself for January but you know what? I will continue to work on them and we will see where February gets me. You may remember I shared them with you in January.
1. I did try to help someone every day even if it was on a very small level. This gets me out of my own head for awhile.
2. I did not lose five pounds. I did not gain five pounds but neither did I lose.
3. I did not work out at least four days a week nor did I get my steps in. I will try harder.
4. I didn’t try a new recipe. I will for sure this month.
5. I did visit with a friend I hadn’t seen in awhile.
6. I did try something new. I made the arm knitted basket. I wasn’t too happy with the results but that is another story.
7. I did try to be present every day and enjoy the things around me. Taking lots of pictures in the snow helped me to do this.
8. I did buy a shirt because I loved it and the shop was going out of business and it was on super sale.
9. I tried every day. That is all I can expect of myself.
10. I did a devotional almost every day. I missed a few days.

So there is definitely some room for improvement but isn’t there always?

My crazy husband ordered this Duncan Yo-Yo and brought it home tonight we have had the most fun playing with it and trying to remember all the old Yo-Yo tricks like rocking the cradle and walking the dog. Kitty Kitty wants to play with it so bad she stands almost straight up and tries to bat it with her paws.

Have a wonderful week. You know we are having an early spring right?

Love you day your way!!!

Being Frugal Isn’t Always About Money

Hello friends, at the beginning of the month I decided I was going to try and be more frugal. Webster’s defines frugal as: Economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful. Economical in use OR expenditure. Yet most people automatically think when you mention trying to be frugal you are saying you are not going to spend any money or cut back on spending. But by not wasting, and using what you already have you will probably find yourself saving money. You will also find yourself being kinder to the environment.

At my attempt at being more frugal I noticed that I’ve spent less money. This comes from not wasting, more than anything else. I concentrated on using the food in my pantry and freezer instead of throwing out a ton of food that has gone bad or is out of date. It is from making more conscious decisions about what I really need to buy. I am terrible at making impulse purchases only to find that I have something exactly like it when I get home. I am making an attempt to try to find a less costly solution instead of just barreling out and spending money. I guess the thing that really hit home with me was when I cleaned out my closet at the end of the year and found several shirts with tags still on them. I had forgotten all about buying them. That my friend is ridiculous and wasteful. I don’t want my closets stuffed with clothes I don’t even know I have.

(Not my closet but it could be)

I am at a time in my life where I will not deprive myself of what I need. Last month we had a new deck put on the back of our house. The old deck was over twenty years old and quite frankly a little scary. We also replaced the doors which had gaps in them and was probably causing a lot of wasted energy. As usual it cost more than we had anticipated, just as most things do. But it was something we needed and had to be replaced and I don’t regret a penny of it.

I love to travel and visit new places. I like to be able to do this without worrying about the money I am spending for each trip. If being less wasteful in my home and life does this then that is just an added bonus. But this is me. It may not be you. You may enjoy eating out every night and shopping every weekend. And If you do then I am happy for you. Go for it. Life is short you know my motto, Love your day your way because that is what life is all about. I certainly don’t want to impose my thoughts and beliefs on you or appear hypocritical when I do indulge or splurge on things I want and need.

Here are a few things I noticed about being more “frugal” this month:
It reduces waste (both food and otherwise)

I can see everything in my pantry.

I can see everything in my refrigerator (like even way back in the back)

I feel like I have a better idea of what is in my closet. I have taken lots of items to good will and unlike past times I didn’t run out and buy things that would fill up closet again.

I discovered many things in my closet I had forgotten I had.

Every time I think about buying a new piece of clothing I go into my closet to see what I might have that I can use. This has actually been pretty exciting.

But anyway with all of that being said. I am enjoying cutting back and reducing clutter and waste in my home and life. Just a little tidbit for your Tuesday morning and man it is snowing like crazy here today. I am headed out to try and get some pictures. It is one of those nice wet snows that cling to everything. Happy Tuesday.

Love your day your way!!!