Dear ones
As you no doubt know by now, if it’s the first Thursday of the month, it’s time for Sentence a Day. Sentence a Day, 07.2018, to be exact. The link-up where we capture a glimpse of our lives in a single (often run-on) sentence a day. Here’s how my June looked. I don’t know about you, but I blinked and June was gone! July seemed to hang around a little longer. Have a look at what I’ve been up to over the past 31 days.
Sentence a Day, 07.2018
Gone and done it again. Starting my sentences for the new month several days late. Oh, booger.
Making Time for Wellness Goals
- The last day in June and the first day in July made for a very pleasant weekend; today we walked in the canyon, bought new tennies when both of us realized as we walked we had holes in ours, floated on air mattresses in the pool, watched an enthralling episode of “90 Day Fiancé” (spoiler alert: big fight is coming!). 07.01.2018
- Had such high hopes for accomplishing much this Monday but got bogged down with a bone density test and commissary shopping this afternoon, skipped the gym this evening, watched “The Bachelorette” (spoiler alert: a big fight’s coming). 07.02.2018
More Pool Woes and a Birthday
- Finally able to pick up our file from the lawyer formerly representing us in our lawsuit against the pool builder and there was nothing in it…just copies in triplicate of forms we had seen, nothing done on the lawyer’s part for our $2,500; cleaned bathrooms, did laundry, listened to my book on Audible during my morning walk, potted new succulents and a couple of plants outdoors, gym and Subway sandwiches for din-din. 07.03.2018
- Happy birthday, America…celebrated with a quick gym workout, splashing in the pool, grilled hamburgers, fireworks on Biggs Army Airfield. 07.04.2018
- House cleaning for upcoming company, planted new succulents in all my old, empty pots. 07.05.2018
Another Wellness Goal Met and a Whirlwind Visit
- Went to the doctor for a referral to a dermatologist for a skin scan but wound up with a referral for a mammogram and colonoscopy but forgot to remind her about the the dermatologist; cleaned house, ran to Old Navy to pick up a tee for my sister that reads “Not all heroes wear capes” as she is my hero. 07.06.2018
- Enjoyed the day with the kids at the park, in the pool and walking around the outlet mall, supper at Souper Salad, Lucia singing to “Let it Go” all the way home in the car, bedtime bath, story and coloring with my fav 2 year-old and her mommy. 07.07.2018
- Doughnuts for breakfast with my girls, a little pool time before Lauren, Lucia and Francisco had to leave for home, my Prince and I were lazy the rest of the day, splashing in the pool for a bit, eating sandwiches for dinner and watching “90 Day Fiancé”. 07.08.2018
Sister Mischief
- You say goodbye, I say hello…my Prince left for a work trip to Warren, Michigan…what’s in Warren, Michigan? and my sister arrived for our five days of sister mischief…starting with Mexican for lunch, pedis in bright red, a bike ride, hot tub time, wine, bleu cheese drizzled with honey (no, it’s really good) and scrapbooking! 07.09.2018
- Busy day of over 12k steps and lots of laughs…big announcement from Lauren this morning (stay tuned), outlet mall, Hobby Lobby, Souper Salad, Michael’s, quick walk downtown to find buttons for scrapping, chicken salad and hot tub soak, bike ride, scrapbooking…oh, and a fender bender – not my fault, rear-ended. 07.10.2018
- Started our day with a hike to Aztec Cave, so uncharacteristically humid that I was really struggling to get up the mountain, lunch at St. Claire vineyard and bistro, green chile Alfredo and French onion soup; stopped at The Stamp Act for scrapbook paper, home to soak in the hot tub, eat dinner, scrapbook and watch Live PD. 07.11.2018
- Ten years ago today, my Prince and I took a leap of faith and said “I do” and “I do, too!”, and I am so glad we did; missing him this week and reaching for him at night. 07.11.2018
- Nerve-racking day as the pool builder and his attorney came out to inspect our issues with the pool; so thankful my sister was here because poor PC’s plane home was delayed and I would have otherwise been alone…now we wait to see what they might be willing to do to fix our pool…Chihuahua’s game with Valerie and the hubs, home by 9:30 as we were all worn out. 07.12.2018
My Honey is Home
- Got PC off to work, said goodbye to my sissy this morning, sure enjoyed her visit; mowed the yard, changed the bedding, folded clothes, mopped, dusted, vacuumed, cleaned bathrooms, put away 4th of July decorations, fixed pork chops for dinner, watched Reds game on TV tonight and a storm building in the southwestern skies. 07.13.2018
- Woke up to learn PC’s ball game was canceled due to rains at the ball park, we gymed and went to a movie at our newly refurbished AMC 16 with it’s deluxe, heated, reclining seats, Panda Express for dinner, blog writing and Live PD watching til bedtime. 07.14.2018
- Finally slept well several nights in a row, what a difference it makes…quick walk up McKelligon Canyon without my Fit Gear so didn’t get to count those steps, arm weight workout at the gym afterward, had planned to swim but a big storm came up – yay; after the rain, ventured out to take pictures at ‘golden hour’, which wasn’t at all golden followed by Menchies, which was pretty darn golden. 07.15.2018
New Morning Routines
- Long Monday back to being by myself, quiet time, trying Morning Pages where you write 3 handwritten pages each morning to spark creativity and encourage productivity, cleaned the pool, folded laundry, ironed, fixed dinner and watched “The Bachelorette”. 07.16.2018
- Really nice day…I think my meds are working…enjoyed Morning Pages, my quiet time, even ironing!; had a little swim and the water was perfection, listened to a funny book, The Rosie Project, tried a new dinner recipe, worked on my lightbox, had a good gym workout. 07.17.2018
- Spent the entire day trying to get people to correct their mistakes…totaling over a dozen phone calls, meeting with 2 people, writing emails, replying to emails…so frustrating; also interviewed for an interesting job which would allow me to make a little extra money without having to work 8 hour days, weekends or nights, swam a mile and ran one, too. 07.18.2018
A Mama’s Work is Never Done
- Difficult day for my oldest baby and my mama heart, so hard to see your baby struggle and not be able to do anything to make things better; had a dental cleaning and broken filling replaced, bought the metal cactuses I had been coveting for a week, scrapbooked and Skyped with my sister, took a mini-nap, fixed spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, lazy evening. 07.19.2018
Working Girl
- Guess who is now employed? You are right, it’s me…I got the job interviewed for on Wednesday, and I start on Monday, 8-12, so still time to read, write, clean, iron, cook, swim, walk, and all the other things I like to do. 07.20.2018
- What a fun day! (And that sentence doesn’t count, neither does this one) Attended my sweet friend Martha’s Hobbies for the Cure in memory of her sister’s battle with cancer, took a glorious nap with my Prince, splashed in the pool, went on our anniversary date hop to Dead Beach Brewery and Anson 11, giggles and good conversation. 07.21.2018
- Quiet Sunday, rode bikes to the gym for a workout, swam with masks so we could check the pool plaster for cracks, grilled steak for dinner, excited to start work tomorrow. 07.22.2018
- Woo hoo, started my shiny new part-time job today…a little nervous as I am learning to input items into the eBay seller’s database but it is kind of like entering a new book into the online catalog, ironed, fixed chicken mushroom soup for dinner, “The Bachelorette” for dessert! 07.23.2018
- Second day on the job…need to be more careful and get more confident on inputting merchandise into the eBay database…so many pretty clothes, power nap on the couch, hard work out at the gym, Subway sammies for dinner, caught up on blog reading tonight. 07.24.2018
- Think I am getting the hang of this work business, still slow at it, though, took a walk on my break, and again before bed, worked on my mosaic and memoir and cooked dinner. 07.25.2018
- Just when it seems I have the hang of this job, I find out there’s still much to learn but enjoying it; hard to get up this morning so skipped my quiet time, instead of the gym, I ran on the treadmill at home, left overs for dinner, lazy me. 07.26.2018
Life is Peachy and 3 Birthdays
- Kind of fun having a Fri-YAY, knowing I don’t work tomorrow, cleaned house, brushed the pool, picked peaches galore from our tree, need to make peach cobbler; had planned to go to White Sands for the full moon tonight but early evenings rain discouraged us, thinking we wouldn’t be able to see the moon for the clouds. 07.27.2018
- Four+ hours watching baseball in over 100* sunshine with absolutely no shade is hard on a body even when the third baseman is my PC; came home exhausted, power nap helped recharge me enough to go out to eat Mexican for dinner! Happy birthday to my adorable angel granddaughter Cadence. 07.28.2018
- Still dragging today but dragged my butt via bicycle up to the gym for a workout, popcorn for dinner while watching Mission Impossible…at least the popcorn was good. 07.29.2018
- Back to work I went…feeling a little more confident, a little more confident about what I am doing. Happy birthday to my darling daughter Brennyn. 07.30.2018
- Day off to take care of me…mammogram, bloodwork for the thyroid doc, hair cut and color and grocery shopping, both of us were too tired to go to the gym. Happy birthday to my precious daughter Lauren. 07.31.2018
At the end of June, I wrote that I hoped July would be a calmer month allowing me to get back into a normal daily routine. I love routine. But with my two rounds of company and then starting a new job, my routine has been anything but. However, I am getting up at 5:30 am in order to have my quiet time, figure out dinner, get my chores started for the day before I head off to work. Putting a new routine in place.
Your Turn
Are signs of fall turning up everywhere you look these days? I am seeing boxes of crayons and yellow school pencils for sale in big bins everywhere I look. You, too? Fall is my favorite season so I always look forward to the transition from summer to fall. But I do realize we aren’t there yet. And our weather is still super summer-like, now with over 38 days of triple digit heat this year.
If you have a Sentence a Day, 07.2018 post to link up with us, please do so below. Or in a comment, please share some of the highlights of your July.
Hoping you wind down summer spending time with those you love most, making special memories. Thank you for stopping by to be with me!
Hugs and kisses,
Gail
Impressed how you keep up with all your exercise, you have such a busy life! Peach cobbler sounds delicious. I have a plum tree but this year it only produced about 5 plums, I think the birds had nibbled all the buds off!
Andrea@WellnessNotes
Sounds like July was busy! But I’m glad that you had some fun sprinkled in! Hope August will be great!
Thank you for continuing to organize the Sentence a Day posts! It’s the only form of blogging I’ve been doing for a while now… And I love looking back at the month and reading others’ posts!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Aren’t the SaD posts fun? It is hard to believe they come around so quickly. I am most behind on my blog reading and commenting but will be visiting you today! Hope all is well with your immediate and extended family. Do you have a trip to Germany on the horizon?
Em
What a fun, busy month! Hope all your pool woes come to an end soon. Seems like ours has a pricey repair every year…but we are definitely enjoying it this summer.
Glad you had a fun week with your sister. Lots of fun celebration occasions this month. Hope Lauren’s news is cause for another!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Hey there, so behind on everything. You should see the ironing pile I am ignoring. Ugh!
Glad you enjoy time in your pool despite the necessary upkeep and repairs. We have enjoyed ours more this second summer because we are swimming in it even as it crumbles around us. Sometimes I think I need a drink before I can go out there and face it. But it is still holding water for now, so there’s that!
I was hoping I could share good news about Lauren but her good news quickly dissolved last week. Poor darling daughter has been through so much and then had a miscarriage last Wednesday, a week ago today. Would appreciate your good thoughts, sweet friend, for my Lauren. Thank you.
Laura
Those peaches from your tree look AH-MAZ-ing!! So yummy!
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
Bleu cheese drizzled with honey? I need to try that. It sounds like you and your sister know how to have fun when together and what perfect timing to have her visit while PC is traveling! I LOVE those metal cactuses you bought! Super cute!!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Carrie, try the bleu cheese with honey. So good. Then let me know what you think. Perfect to add to your charcuterie board you shared last summer, I think.
My sister and I do have such fun. You always mention that and I am so glad you can see our love and friendship.
The metal cactuses are from a little boutiquey store that sells some very unique things. I wanted to buy them when my sister was visiting but didn’t. When I heard I had been hired for my new job, I ran right over there to buy them before they were gone!
Jodie
I can’t believe all this struggle with your pool is still going on. It’s crazy.
Sending tons of hugs and prayers to your daughter.
And how fun with your new job!! It can be such a blessing!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
So pleased to have this little part-time job to give me a better sense of routine. The pool stuff appears to be never-ending. I just shake my head. So very sad that something we thought would bring us relaxation and happiness has been such an incredible frustration and disaster.
Thank you for the prayers for my daughter. The issues she is facing are work related. It continues as of today so all prayers are appreciated.
Juhli
Your energy level is amazing! Sounds like mostly a good month with lots of variety. Hope things are looking up for your eldest and the pool.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Juhli, thank you for asking about my daughter. Things continue to be troublesome for her regarding an issue at work. Good thoughts and prayers welcome!
The pool will probably never be fully resolved. We are just so disappointed with everything – the pool builder who promised to build us a paradise, the city inspectors who looked the other way over and over, the lawyer we hired to represent us who did everything but. Breaks our heart.
ShootingStarsMag
Definitely a busy month for you, but it sounds like it was mostly good things, which is great. Glad you had a nice visit with your sister. And congrats again on the new job – you’re getting the hang of it! 🙂 I really need to get back into scrapbooking again. I love it!
-Lauren
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Anytime you want to write a scrapbooking post, holler. Not sure how that would look but I love doing it and sharing my enthusiasm with others.
July was an overall good month. Loved being with my sister and I know you are close to your sister as well. Hope she is finally feeling better and you guys are able to do some fun things together again.
Sarah @ Foxy's Domestic Side
Wow, you do so much in a day! Sorry you are STILL dealing with this pool thing, awful! Why can’t people just do a good job?! And then stand behind their product. Yay for a new job, you just don’t know how to relax or actually retire do you?! hehe.. Happy weekend!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I really have hated retirement. I guess that isn’t fair but I need some routine in my life. This job is allowing me time to do things I need to do and have some fun, and then go to work and make a little bitty bit of extra money, too.
I say it all the time that no one does their best any more. I know you and Curtis do. I know PC and I do. There are some of us still trying but so many people do the crummiest, fastest, easiest job they can do. No sense of pride. I don’t think our pool will ever be fully resolved. So sad.
Rebecca Jo
I need to take more time in the morning to adjust to the day myself. But I already get up at 5:15 & REALLLLY dont want to have to get up at 4:30 – ugh!!!!
Glad you treated yourself to that cactus. Some things just call out to you.
over 12K steps? That’s awesome
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Girl, if you are getting up at 5:15, you don’t need to get up any earlier!! Just see if you can figure out a few minutes for you at the start of your day. Reading, or writing, or praying or meditating. I am sure you have a routine for devotional time. But maybe sometimes it takes trying something new or just have a single day where you do something just for yourself.
I love my cactuses. They made me happy when I saw them and worked to be a perfect ‘reward’ for getting my new job.
Daenel T.
Not that I advocate eating babies, but that little Lucia!!! Oh my word! I’d never stop nomming that chin. She is the cutest!!!
It looks like you had a busy July. I cannot believe you’re still dealing with pool issues. I’m grumbling for you. I hope that gets fixed soon.
Debs
Hope next month brings good news on the pool issues. Sounds like you and your sister had fun together and lots of birthdays to celebrate! Love that photo of you reflected in PC’s sunglasses.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Debs. I am still hoping to get a few more scavenger hunt photos taken before you share them again. Made a graphic to help me remember the prompts but need to tape it to my forehead. Nah, that wouldn’t work either!!
Mother of 3
Happy anniversary and it sounds like you had a nice visit with your sister.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Joanne. I so enjoyed being with my sister. We weren’t always this close but over the years we have grown closer and I would call her one of my dearest friends. Do you have a sister to pal around with?
Natalie
Looks like you had full and fun-filled July, Leslie. Well done with your fitness activities! I hope things are looking up for your eldest daughter and the pool.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I am so thankful for Wellness Wednesdays. Can I just send you a big hug for coming up with that idea? You have really inspired me to get after the fitness business in every aspect of my life. Thank you so much!
Jamie Moore
Man, I’m so late! I JUST NOW got my July Sentence a Day up!
http://nodelusionsofgrandeur.com/2018/08/21/july-sentence-a-day/