Good Thursday, chick-a-dees!
Here we are again! First Thursday of the month which means it is time for Sentence a Day, 04.2018. If not for this post to remind me, the first days of April would be a blurred memory. It’s always fun to see all that has happened, to remember the special moments and to celebrate the little milestones and triumphs. And always glad to have you join me for this and all other posts!!
Sentence a Day, 04.2018
Throw Kindness Like Confetti
- Here we are again, the beginning of a new month, and I have forgotten to write my sentences (that one doesn’t count for today and neither does this one!). Happy Easter spent with my brother-in-law’s extended family eating lunch and cracking cascarones over one another’s heads followed by a leisurely 4 mile walk with my sister. 04.01.2018
- Last year this time, I went to school with my sister just as I did today only last year, I cried because I was so sad to be retired…this year, I more or less rejoiced that I am retired…came home having walked 12,000 steps and shelving close to that many books; delicious dinner at home with Val and Roby, and we Skyped with Cady. 04.02.2018
- Up early for the drive to Ft. Worth, surprised Cady for lunch then met up with Brennyn for lunch at Jason’s Deli, and to accompany her for the fitting of her wedding dress…so beautiful…Valerie and I drove to Dallas, checked into our hotel and started walking to the convention center to pick up our registration packets for the conference but encountered a number of issues along our way, finally called the Holiday Inn shuttle to pick us up and we returned to the hotel. 04.03.2018
TLA Time
- Great day at TLA (Texas Library Association annual conference), several interesting sessions, lots of walking, Valerie presented about our fav, kid-friendly research database, PebbleGo, appetizers and Margaritas at a publisher-sponsored mixer, home to scrapbook. 04.04.2018
- Back at the conference before sunrise for the Capstone breakfast, Valerie received a tiara and magic wand for her presentation on Wednesday, big hub-bub over the TENs muscle stimulators we purchased yesterday, only to discover we had been taken and when we tried to return them, the vendor was nowhere to be found (long story short, we did get them returned and price refunded – we hope), another publisher-sponsored appetizer and wine event, then scrapbooking before bed. 04.05.2018
Another Trip Around the Sun
- My happy birthday to me (that’s not my sentence). Made one last trip down to the convention center, talking to my brother Kevin and his girlfriend LeeAnn then Lauren and Lucia on the way, opened gifts from my sister Valerie, drove to Ft. Worth where we shopped for tomorrow’s bridal shower, had Mexican for lunch and Japanese for dinner complete with fried ice cream for dessert with Cady, Brennyn and Mustafa, Facebook chatted with PC, quiet evening in the same hotel where Brennyn is living until her new house is finished. 04.06.2018
Celebrations
- Two-sentence day. Back to winter with a blustery, cold, gray day and at one point, sleet stinging our faces as we dashed from the car to the stores in search of something warmer than what we packed to wear to the bridal shower, wound up going with the dresses we brought from home, and the heater set to high in the car. Enjoyed an afternoon and evening with Mustafa’s family for the bridal shower and dinner following, played games, danced to Afghani music and ate too much savory Afghani food; had much fun. 04.07.2018
- What’s with this weather – more cold, watery gray skies as we said goodbye to Mimi Val, organized Brennyn’s rental storage unit, picked up around her extended stay studio hotel room, then drove back to Dallas for my uneventful flight home where I was greeted by 40 mph winds and 92* sunshine, and my 2 sweet kitties. 04.08.2018
Home, Sweet Home
- Wiped out after my week of travel…spring cleaning and working out took a backseat to being lazy. 04.09.2018
- Beautiful day…feeling much more energized, spent time outside, hit the gym, picked up groceries through Walmart’s shopping service, put away laundry, talked to all the family on the phone, prepared a healthy lunch and dinner for myself. 04.10.2018
A Mother’s Job is Never Done
- Tough mommy day (requires several sentences). Torn between being with Lauren for an important doctor’s appointment that will hopefully identify her health issues and provide a direction for treatment or hoping her husband (an anesthesiologist who might get called for an emergency) is able to accompany her. Would hate for Lauren to be by herself as the probable diagnosis is potentially life-changing and threatening so made the trip to Albuquerque. Loved hugging my baby, her baby, my son-in-law and their kitty. Just hate to overstep, if I am. 04.11.2018
- Another tough mommy day as I accompanied Lauren and Francisco to her appointment where it was almost decisively determined she has microscopic polyangiitis, a very rare, autoimmune disease, now to beat this disease and maintain quality of life, my darling sweet daughter. 04.12.2018
- Went with Lauren to take Lucia to school – how hard it is to say goodbye to my little one – then to take her kitty Doughnut to the vet to have his renal values checked, home to make a crock pot chicken pot pie for the kids to eat for dinner and then the drive back to El Paso in 60 mph winds. U.S. has begun air strikes on Syria. Praying my Prince gets home safely tomorrow. 04.13.2018
My Prince is Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig
- Cleaned house and picked up groceries using the Walmart grocery service for the 2nd time this month, had a delicious cat nap mid-afternoon, worked on getting the pool in shape after all the winds, then it was finally time to pick up my PC at the airport. 04.14.2018
- Woke up several times in the night just to double check that my Prince was really home and beside me in bed, enjoyed a quiet day together, saw the movie “Isle of Dogs”, fixed PC his welcome home dinner with apple pie for dessert. 04.15.2018
- Working toward settling back into my normal routine while feeling jet lagged right along side my PC. 04.16.2018
- Back to Miracle Morning, bit the bullet to buy Calm for a year (rationalizing I would spend $5 a month on things that don’t promote better health – looking at you McD’s All-American meal), stepped outside of my comfy zone to install Roku on our guest bedroom TV where I proceeded to watch the rest of “The Handmaid’s Tale” while ironing. 04.17.2018
- Lazy morning, organized the garage, readied items for garage sale on Saturday, gym, movie “The Quiet Place”, soup dinner and soak in the hot tub. 04.18.2018
- Grocery shopping…as in big commissary shopping for the first time since February, preceded by gym, batting cages, putt-putt and lots of giggles, followed by pizza for dinner. 04.19.2018
- Lazy mornings continue (is this what life would be like once PC gives up his reign?); gym, batting cages, errands, blog writing, fixed a delish (if I do say so myself) chicken-strawberry-blueberry-almond salad for dinner, soak in the hot tub. 04.20.2018
- Had planned to get up early to host a yard sale but turned off the alarm instead, enjoyed a full afternoon of baseball, PC’s second game of the season and a win, followed by dinner and Margaritas at Famous Dave’s. 04.21.2018
- Quiet Sunday, with PC recuperating from yesterday’s game, loaded up the all the yard sale stuff to donate, skinny lasagna roll-ups for dinner with homemade bread that I Skyped and made with my sister. 04.22.2018
Blessings
- Sunday nights are tough lately with worries and bad dreams, so on Mondays I tend to be sluggish and tired. showed myself some grace today, didn’t push myself…just caught up on ironing, fixed BBQ in the crockpot, hour-long workout at the gym. 04.23.2018
- Bonus sentence: Lauren have her neurological testing done today and the doctor felt that there has been little damage to her nerves to this point, GREAT NEWS! Thank You, God, for prayers answered.
- Slept SO MUCH BETTER, back to Miracle Morning, Shakeology for breakfast, bike ride, organizing crafting supplies in order to spring clean my loft tomorrow, made this chicken salad recipe to have for dinner with zero point WW taco soup, worked a little in the yard, great hour-long workout at the gym…really good day! 04.24.2018
- Good day, that’s two in a row…doctor’s appointment for my kidneys and to request testing for the same disease Lauren has, which has a genetic component; stepped out of my comfort zone to visit Pure Barre, tried Cane’s fried chicken, marked lots of to-dos as done. 04.25.2018
- Finished the spring cleaning in my loft by dusting every single thing, washing curtains, blinds and windows, ceiling fan, baseboards, vacuuming upholstery on my loveseat…the room was sparkling!, did a quick clean of the rest of the house before PC got home, then we were off to our first Chihuahuas ball game of the season. 04.26.2018
- Blinked and this Friday was gone…lazy morning at home, great hour-long gym workout, cleaned up then walked around the outlet mall, belated birthday lunch at Olive Garden and PC hit balls at the batting cages; Brennyn closed on her new house!! 04.26.2018
- Baseball Saturday in perfect El Paso spring weather, slight breeze blowing in off the lake, warm sunshine in the upper 70s followed by a little down time at home, then Barrigas Mexican for dinner and an uplifting church service at Abundant Living; home for Live PD; Brennyn, Mustafa and Cady began moving into their shiny new palace. 04.28.2018
- Quiet Sunday to wind down the long weekend, tried a new breakfast casserole that took forever to bake because my oven kept shutting off, caught up on laundry, spent over an hour at the gym, did some blog reading and writing, grilled hamburgers and baked jalapeño poppers. 04.29.2018
- Slept so well – for a Sunday night, the night when I am usually rolling around with worry – I truly believe staying faithful to my devotional time this whole week has helped me find peace at night. 04.30.2018
It’s funny. When I look back over the month it seems so long since the first days of April. And yet we are almost half-way through the year! Just crazy. Even though, I struggle at times to remember to write my sentences, it is a treat to go back and reread them, and relive the good times and celebrate having survived the tough days.
Your Turn
If you have a Sentence a Day, 04.2018 post to share, please link-up with us below.
Even if you don’t blog, you can still share your sentences in a comment. So you are cordially invited to get busy writing your sentences for May, then circle 06.07 on your calendar as that is the date for our next post.
Off to bed! The wind has howled all day, 50+ mph gusts. Makes me tired just hearing it whip around our house. Hope it will die down so we can sleep. Sweet dreams to you!
Hugs and kisses,
Debs
Love that little video! How cute! So sorry to hear of your daughter’s illness, but hoping that now she has a diagnosis she can start on the important bit of getting the right treatment for it to slow it down and maybe repair a little of the damage already done.
How did your visit to Pure Barre go?
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Debs, that Pure Barre was such a work out. Half-way through I was thinking that I would just stick to running!!! But when it was all over, I felt proud of myself. And exhausted. I am really surprised that I’m not sore!! Ha!
My daughter is beginning medicine today for her disease. Praying that she will begin to feel better and that we can keep her illness under control.
Thank your for your well wishes.
Sarah @ Foxy's Domestic Side
I really love going back and reading the sentences, even when I don’t write them down the next day, sometimes a few days or a week later! You had a busy, busy month! Glad that your daughter got a diagnosis so you guys can move forward to getting her healthy! So much baseball happening at your house right now.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thanks, Sarah! Oh, we about baseball ourselves to death from February to October! Paul just LOVES it. But 8 months is a bit much for me.
Lauren started meds today. We are hopeful that they will keep her body from attacking itself, her own organs. This is a pretty serious disease so the sooner she can get some relief, the better.
Laura
I’m so glad your Prince made it home despite all the unrest across the ocean blue. You must share your jalapeño popper recipe! Of course you’re enjoying your retirement, as you should, dear friend! Great month!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, ladybug! I will get some more jalapeños and feature the recipe right here very soon. PC will be glad to have the poppers again. He has such stomach issues, I am always surprised they don’t kill him!!
Whitney @ Whitney à la mode
Sounds like a month full of family and fun! It’s so clear how much you love your family and how dedicated you are to making them feel taken care of. They are happy to have you!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
April really was a month of family and fun. May has started off much quieter which is also nice sometimes. Thank you for saying you can tell how much I love my familia! I truly do. And I am glad it shows in my actions and on my posts here.
Jodie
What an awful time with your daughter—how agonizing, but hopefully having an idea of what it is will start a better road!!
Did you do a barre class? I keep wanting to try the one by me, but every time we are there, it’s closed….
Thanks for sharing your month, Leslie!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I have been worried sick about my daughter. She starts meds today and we are hopeful that the medicine will keep her body from attacking its own organs. The doctor is particular concerned about kidneys, lungs and her nervous system, where Lauren is already seeing issues.
I did do the barre class and figured mid-way I would never walk again but hey, I did!! Not even sore today. Bought three more sessions and then will see what happens. So poor now that I am not subbing that there really isn’t any extra money for anything. Ugh.
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
How did I miss your birthday, Cuz? Happy 60th and I hope you had a wonderful day. I bet your granddaughter had a lovely surprise with your McDonalds pack and visit. Also, great for you to spend time with your sister at the convention. I’ve been trying to make some photo books of our last couple of trips but just never find the time! A great April and wishing you a Magical May!
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for the birthday wishes. My sister and I are very close, much closer now than we were in our younger years. I love being able to spend time with her. She makes me laugh til my sides hurt. Today is her birthday!!
I originally planned to scrapbook every event in my life but the events are coming to fast to keep up with. Going to have to prioritize with baby births and weddings!!
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
I will have to google microscopic polyangiitis, I have never heard of that. It’s great that you know what she has and can follow through on getting her what she needs. You are such a great mom to fly down to be with her. I love how active you are in your daughters lives and your grandkids. Happy, happy birthday again! I bet you are so glad PC is back. I always have a hard time sleeping when Brian travels for work and he has traveled a lot lately. So nice to catch up on your life!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Carrie, here’s what the Cleveland Clinic says about microscopic polyangiitis: Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) is an uncommon disease. It is the result of blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis), which can damage organ systems. The areas most commonly affected by MPA include the kidneys, lung, nerves, skin, and joints.
We knew Lauren had auto immune issues and had been diagnosed with a Lupus-like (but not Lupus) condition – but they never gave it a name. Now ten years later, we have a name. Her body is fighting itself, attacking itself. There is no cure but we can hope to slow it down. My poor baby!
Thank you so much for your sweet words about my mommying. I love my girls so much and their girls, too, and just hate that I live so far away. Mommying is a lifelong job, it just looks different the older our babies get.
Nancy Baten
I cross my fingers for your daughter, I hope the meds will do their work.
This was such fun to do Leslie, see you next month. Thank you for letting me join the group!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Nancy. We just learned she will have an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic which specializes in Lauren’s diagnosis. Thank you for your good thoughts. So glad you have joined that gang for Sentence a Day.
Gail
Tell us more about Afghani food. Not a cuisine I’m familiar with. Sounded like an idyllic romantic time when your prince returned. Heart felt wishes that your daughter’s meds work, dear friend.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Gail, for your well wishes for my baby girl. She started the first drugs on Thursday. Her doctor said we would know by Monday if it was going to help. Hopeful!
Afghani food is very flavorful. One of my favorite dishes is a chicken samosa. Chicken filled pastry, a little like an egg roll or empanada. Really good. The spices are different from what I typically eat so everything is savory and delicious. Wonderful cold salads, kebabs, salsas. So good!!
Natalie
Happy 60th, Leslie! Sounds like a full and emotional month of April for you. Hopefully the meds will help your daughter feel better and ease your worries. Thank you for organizing the link up for us as usual. Have an enjoyable May!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Natalie. Lauren began her meds on Thursday and the doctor feels we will know by MONDAY!!! whether the meds are going to help. Her health is at the top of my list of worries for May. Hoping by this time next month, I can report that she is doing much better.