Morning glories!
Beinvenidos a Sentence a Day, 02.2019. This year our Sentence a Day posts have moved to the first Tuesday of the month. So they come up pretty quickly in the new month. You will find this hard to believe, but I have been adding photos to my SaD posts as I write my sentences! Novel idea! Then the posts are almost ready to go when that first Tuesday rolls around. I really treasure this series because so much can and does happen over the month, and these recaps serve as reminders how far we have come. Glad to have discovered Rebecca Jo at Knit by God’s Hand and this series.
Here’s how my January looked, in one run-on sentence a day.
Sentence a Day, 01.2019
First of the Month Highs
- Quiet New Year’s Eve, in bed before midnight, glad we have meds on board for our respiratory infections, feeling some better but not enough to venture out or do much more than sit on the couch and take some quick pics for the Ageless Style post I am thrilled to have been invited to co-host – only to discover there was no SD card in the camera and we had to start all over again. 01.01.2019
- Rolled around all night, hard to sleep when a certain Prince is watching TV til 1:00 am, not mentioning any names here, though; happily off to work but stuck in a traffic jam for 30 minutes so very late, posting came back to me immediately – was afraid I would have forgotten how in the almost 4 weeks since I have been gone; came home to a clean house, laundry done, smelled like the cleaning had been here but it instead it was my sweet Prince. 01.02.2019
- Asked to be off today, tomorrow and Monday to help Lauren with Lucia when they come to visit but Lucia woke up sick in the night with fever of 104.5, Francisco took her to the doctor and it’s croup, again; they cannot get a break, not sure they will come this weekend now but so thrilled to have Brennyn and Cady here, arrived at 8:00, we were shopping for treats at Walmart before 9:00, early matinee of “Mary Poppins”, spaghetti dinner, hot tub…so very proud of the wonderful mother Brennyn is. So patient with Cady, who is a delight, talks with her not to her, they have a special bond. 01.03.2019
- What a wonderful day! Worthy of more than one sentence. Now three. Now four. Slept gloriously well, woke up at 9 am, fixed a hearty breakfast for my girls, my PC and me, the headed to Ruidodo, New Mexico for a day of shopping, eating, wine sampling, and playing in the snow…scored a darling, cozy cocoon of a sweater and a free tee and candle, Bren bought me a bottle of wine, cheese and a candle, new homemade soap to enjoy in my morning shower, Panda Express for dinner, quiet night with blog reading and Live PD. 01.04.2019
- P.S. Lauren and Francisco are now so sick, they can’t drive down here and I am scared to go up to ABQ with Bren and Cady for fear of all of us catching what they have; my heart hurts for my baby girl. 01.04.2019
- Somehow we didn’t get to bed until almost 2 am and then I was up at 6 am but stayed in bed til 7:30, fixed my loves a good breakfast, walked for an hour at the reservoir, quick trip to the outlet mall where I didn’t buy a thing…not one thing!…dinner at Taco Tote, Cowboys playoff game and hot tub soak with 2 of my favorite girls. 01.05.2019
- Can’t sleep again…infuriating…my mind races and then I give up and get up, exhausted…doughnut run first thing this morning, played dolls with Cady, took her to the Peter Piper Pizza arcade, late lunch at Chico’s Tacos, another local place Bren loves, football in the afternoon and hot tub in the evening, bedtime story for my Cadence Ellie. 01.06.2019
- Sad goodbye to my girls this morning as I dropped them at the airport, had fun running into Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree for the first time in many moons, decorated a tree of love in the front yard, put up Valentine’s decorations around the house, steak on the grill, baked jalapeño poppers (recipe here), and salad for dinner and The Bachelor for dessert…going on the record…I like Cassie. 01.07.2019
- Nice to be back to routine, even though I struggled to get up this morning; posted some ‘interesting’ men’s pink and purple sherpa vests that I was sure were for women, car didn’t want to start this morning (after some sweet talking it did, however) so time for a new battery, pizza soup for supper, quiet night of blog writing and reading. 01.08.2019
- Can’t seem to lick a lingering shakiness now that I am finished with my antibiotic, things at work were crazy when I tried to unplug a surge protector and add some of the computers and space heaters to a second power strip…all the lights went out and the Internet went down, managed to iron a little this afternoon while watching “The Amazing Mrs. Maisel”, pulled pork burritos for dinner after our first gym workout of the year. 01.09.2019
- Still shaky today but have decided it must be related to the Nyquil and cough syrup I have been taking…no more for me…work was a little crazy again today, posted 5 Hugo Boss blazers worth $595.00 a piece and some top quality bags, too, home to read blogs and be lazy, ordering pizza for dinner. 01.10.2019
- Woo hoo, felt less shaky today and slept like a champ, hallelujah…spent the morning reading and writing blog posts, about noon got busy cleaning house, soup and sammies for dinner, quiet night of TV and surfing Pinterest, thankful for my new work schedule. 01.11.2019
- Disappointing day; wanted to do my winter bucket list backward date but PC didn’t want to, rode our bikes to the gym, went to see “The Green Book” (excellent; review to come); but then I got texts making from Valerie and Kevin making me so sad for my mom; started crying and couldn’t stop; cried for mom, our baby Emmie, all the stray cats and dogs, abused children and animals, the state of the world, those with cancer, on and on and on; then, on cue, my daughters with their daughters both called me, my Prince snuggled me and a glass of wine calmed me. 01.12.2019
- Felt better today, good conversation with mom, ironed while PC installed our new surround sound system, received the sweetest surprise package from Carrie at Curly, Crafty Mom, green enchilada chicken soup for dinner…a winner! 01.13.2019
- Love this new work schedule that allows me to be home on Mondays and Fridays, picked up around the house, caught up on laundry, ran on the treadmill at home, quick trip to the gym, pork chops on the grill for dinner and Bachelor for dessert. 01.14.2019
- Electricity and Internet keep going out at work, put away all my Christmas decorations, gym, green enchilada chicken soup and homemade bread for dinner, talked to my girls and their girls on the phone, worked on my Valentine’s project. 01.15.2019
- Oh, boy…have forgotten to write my sentences…a little victory at work as the bosses are going to restructure the quota system, ran to Walmart for a 3rd time this week to get more yarn for my Valentine’s project, ran on treadmill using my 5K training schedule, ironed and started packing for Kentuck, hamburgs on the grill for dinner, followed by Halo ice cream for dessert, blog writing tonight. 01.16.2019
Mid-Month Woes
- Still shaky, left work early to get checked out at the urgent care clinic, supposedly I am fine but might have a vitamin D deficiency?, need to fill my vitamin dispensers and take them, tried to nap but phone rang then someone came to the door; PC and I pulled weeds before dinner, “A Million Little Things” tonight, my mom is tuning up again. 01.17.2019
- PC and I had the day off so indulged in massages, lunch at Corralitos Steak House, turning in early for bed. 01.18.2019
- Up at 4:00 for a sunrise flight to Lexington via a 2 hour layover (wanted to say hangover) in Atlanta, arrived in a rainstorm that lasted until late night when it turned to snow, found mom in good shape, enjoyed dinner with her and Bingo with her and my nephew Jacob, turned in early-ish to the hush of snowflakes falling. 01.19.2019
- Breakfast followed too closely by brunch…isn’t the idea of brunch that you skip breakfast?, which explains why I found about 5-7 pounds in Kentucky in December…worked in the old apartment with mom showing her what was left to be dealt with, early night for her but I sat outside her apartment in the hall in order to use her Internet working on blog posts til almost midnight. 01.20.2019
- PS. Received a surprise package from my dear buddy Dani at Family.Love.Inspiration that I slipped in my suitcase to open in Kentucky; she sent this delicate bracelet that brought a huge smile to my face and warmed my heart. 01.20.2019.5
- Bitter cold 5*F this morning but sunny, out at 11:00 for a CT scan of mom’s lungs, went through all of her clothes with her today, checked out her BFF Claire’s new apartment (hasn’t moved in yet), gym (YES!), Jason’s Deli for din-din and spent the night at Kevin’s where I could watch The Bachelor with wine and popcorn. 01.21.2019
- Met with mom and her psychiatrist only to discover the doctor knew nothing about her suicide attempts and stays at psychiatric units in the past 7 years; I had to be the bad guy to share all of that with the psychiatrist, which was very difficult and brought me to tears. Seems like I am crying a lot lately. 01.22.2019
- Busy all day moving all the furniture left in mom’s old apartment into one room and taking several pieces to a storage unit until we can come back for them; felt so sad seeing what is left of 67 years of marriage and 91 years of life corralled into one little area; sat on the floor crying for a long time. This has been a hard journey. 01.23.2019
- Hectic day beginning with breakfast in the dining room after a sleepless night, spent a few quiet minutes finding peace in my cross stitch, lunch with my brother’s girlfriend Leeann, took mom to pulmonologist where she had a lung X-ray; it and the CT scan on Monday indicate that she has pulmonary fibrosis, possible related to auto immune issues like Lauren has, there for 4 hours, home for dinner, then the fire alarm went off and the fire department came, phone calls, visits, text messages kept me crazy for an hour after dinner…exhausted. 01.24.2019
- Up early for yet another doctor appointment, this time with the psychiatrist who prescribed the psychiatric meds for my mom; so difficult when mom is asked why she has tried to kill herself; helped her pick out a lift chair, picked up some groceries, lunch, bridge for her and moving stuff for me, Panera soup for dinner, a glass a wine and I am ready for bed. 01.25.2019
- Slept gloriously well and a little bit late, languished in bed for my quiet time, a bit of word puzzle playing, and blog reading, showered then ran by to drop off my father’s beloved JVC speakers at the storage unit we are renting, arrived at mom’s apartment complex to find the fire department and and ambulance pulled up in front of the building, my heart went to my throat and I knew it was for my mother. Took a photo then dashed inside and to mom’s apartment to learn she had fallen when the filing cabinet where she was filing papers fell over on her and knocked her to the ground. Thank goodness (yes, this is a multi-sentence day) she was ok, just going to be sore and bruised…if only I had gotten there earlier…why did I take my time getting around today? 01.26.2019
- Trying morning but better afternoon; mom began getting obsessive with going to the bathroom this morning, had to talk to her about getting fixated again, so difficult; brunch with her friends, visited Harold’s apartment to see his wife’s paintings, have always enjoyed his company at Bingo, learning about his service during World War II; packed up for the trip home tomorrow, dinner with mom’s friends, off to Kevin’s and early to bed. 01.27.2019
Putting This Month Behind Me
- Slept so deeply I was practically hibernating it was that cold in Kevin’s house, moved the last few things with my brother this morning, said goodbye to apartment 323 with a tear in my eye, then goodbye to many of the residents at Lafayette who had gathered for exercise in the living room, lots of hugs and sweet words, lunch with Kevin, back to spend some time with mom, listening to stories about her childhood, bittersweet goodbye and off to the airport then finally home and in my own bed before midnight. 01.28.2019
- Work this morning but couldn’t drag myself out of bed for quiet time beforehand, although I did get chili put together in the crock pot before dawn; glad to be back in the swing of things, enjoyed my Bachelor episode tonight, thankful for DVRs. 01.29.2019
- Pay day, baby! and I even got a little check from my part-time job; working hard to realize my Wellness Wednesday goal of paying off my bills (Amazon card, that means YOU); my 2-tier tray arrived today much to PC’s dismay (I quote: “I thought we weren’t buying any more holiday decorations!”), gym and red light therapy followed by sammies for dinner. 01.302019
- Uplifting message in my quiet time book as well as the Bible study I am listening to; slow day at work so left a little early to make a Target run, worked on my tier when I got home, blog writing after dinner, must have said a dozen times how happy I am to be home. 01.31.2019
I was happy to kiss January goodbye and so far, February has been a kinder, gentler month. Knock on wood. But I keep forgetting to write my sentences!
Your Turn
How did your January pan out? On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate it? I am thinking overall my first month of 2019 was a solid 6. Nothing to write home about as my mom would say.
If you have a SaD post to share, won’t you link it up below?
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Ha! That looks different! Hope it works.
Now to catch up on my February sentences real quick before I shower for work. Thank you for spending a bit of your day here with me. Your friendship means a lot, especially on those dark days.
Family hugs,
Debs
Oh my goodness, just reading this makes me feel exhausted on your behalf, what a month!
I really hope that February finds you at home more than last month and that you find time to relax and look after yourself after the stresses of January.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Debs. February has far surpassed January already.
Gail
Oh Leslie – so much really tough stuff to deal with! But you battle through. Don’t feel bad about not getting to your mom’s sooner when she had the accident – you needed some time to relax after these hectic weeks! It is very sad when you saw someone’s long life condensed to a small room. I had that when my Grandma was moved to a retirement home. She had a stroke when she was on vacation in Canada, and although she recovered really well, she didn’t want to stay in her big house with stairs so asked to move into a home. But it was sad to see all her lovely possessions and furniture going to charity shops.
Sure hope that February is an 8 or 9 out of 10 month for you, doll!
Hugs
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for the hugs, Gail. And for sharing the difficult time your family struggled through when you moved your grandmother to a retirement home. I know the furniture, the photos, the nick-knacks are just ‘things’ but they represented what my parents loved, and the home they built. I know you get that, too. They didn’t have expensive things by any means but they were rich in memories and well used for years. Heart-breaking. And now, I look about at my things here at home and envision my daughters sorting through all of this mess!! Oh, my.
February is a big improvement over January. So thankful to have better days.
Sarah @ Foxy’s Domestic Side
Awww, stinks that Lauren and family are sick. But glad you still got to spend time with Bren. Sorry about our mom. Glad you could be there for her. Rough month with some happy moments in it. Much love.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you so much for coming by and leaving a comment. With all the ups and downs of life lately, it has been my blogger buddies who have bolstered me up on the hardest days. Thank you for the love and support.
Laura
I love reading these recaps of your month! The photos are wonderful too! I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately, too. My mind keeps going over all I need to do. I need to relax more I think!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for the sweet words about my Sentence a Day post. What can we both do to turn our minds off and relax in order to sleep better? I have been taking melatonin and that does help unless I am really stewing over things. And making a to-do list everyday helps me remember what absolutely has to happen everyday. But there are nights where I just can’t turn my mind off.
Natalie
Wishing you a much more gentle February, Leslie, to make up for some tough moments you had in January. Big hugs!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Natalie, I am so fortunate to have blogging buds in my corner holding me up and cheering me on. February has been much kinder and gentler. Even got in a nap today!! Thank you!
Rebecca Jo
So much yuckies going around in january, huh?
I will say, I have a HUGE vitamin D deficiency as well & if you read up on it- it can cause some crazy side effects & make you feel BLAH…but I’m sure nyquil & antibiotics cause a havoc on your body too!!!!
A 5k training program? Are you doing one???? 🙂
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Hey, I have run a number of 5ks and really enjoy them. But I have gotten sick right before the last two I have signed up for. Hate losing that money and missing out on the race. I think part of my trouble really was the vitamin D deficiency. I am still pretty ‘tired’ but I am not experiencing that shakiness I was having. Would like to sign up for a spring 5k. I have a running/jogging regimen that takes you from running nothing to 5k ready in a few weeks. I am trying to get back on track with it.
Jamie Moore
What a hard month! I’m so sorry<3
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, sweet friend. I have missed you. So glad to see you have stopped by. And glad you joined us for SaD. Did you link-up? I am just now getting around to reading everyone’s sentences so heading over to read yours now. Can’t wait to see what you have been up to. December and January were just a bad dream for us but February is much better! XO
Donna
Wishing you a PEACEFUL February ahead!
You definitely deserve it!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you! February has been so much easier than December and January. Will get more of “Girl” to you this week.
Em
Maybe next year we just skip, January…okay?!
Glad you enjoyed some time with your girlies…like medicine for the soul!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Yeah, I am good with skipping January, heck, maybe even December next year unless there is some guarantee things are better than this past holiday season. My babies are the best medicine. Love the new, clean look of your blog. Heading back over now to catch up. XO
Daenel. T.
You had a long month. I hope all the sickness is fading out. Sending up prayers for a smooth Friday full of love and all the things that come with.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Enjoying the reprieve that has been February. Hope things remain on an even keel for my mom so we can all enjoy life a bit.
Debbie
What a month you’ve had Leslie, I really hope things improve for you in February. I feel for you with all the crying and emotional upsets.Take care. Debbie
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Debbie. February has been a huge improvement over January. So thankful to have my blogging buddies to bolster me during tough times.
Kellyann Rohr
What a month my friend! Glad you like your new work schedule, it sounds just perfect. Tell PC the tiered tray is not holiday decor, it is functional house decor that is needed – ha!!! I’m glad things all worked out for your mom even though I know that was a difficult trip and staying on top of all the appointments is hard – you did it though! I hope February is kinder and gentler to your sweet soul!
xo,
Kellyann
Danielle Park
You definitely had a very trying month Leslie. But I admire how you are so willing to jump in and help even when life gets difficult.
I used to struggle with getting my brain to shut off at night too. I now use eithe the free stories on the calm app or the app called mySleepButton. Very few times have I made it to the end before I have fallen asleep. It can be soo frustrating when you know you need to sleep but your brain is going a thousand different ways.
I hope February is more gentle on you and you get some time to do things just for you.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
The stories you listen to are on Calm.com? I enjoy listening to the sound of waves on the beach via Calm. And the gal who leads the meditation on Calm has such a soothing voice. I will try the stories. Reading in bed usually helps put me to sleep but I have a Kindle (my Nook died) and I am learning to use it with some reluctance and struggling. Can’t figure out how to turn it off!!