Sentence a Day 03.2022

Welcome dear chums to Sentence a Day 03.2022 – my monthly review of life in one run-on sentence a day. Today I am bringing you my sentences for March, as long-winded as always.  Each month I tell myself to try to do just a couple of words for each day.  But I wind up writing a novela instead.  Please accept my apologies.

As always, want to give a big thanks to Rebecca Jo at Knit by God’s Hand for hosting this series.  Please run by to check out her post and the posts of some of the others linking up with us below.

Just a reminder:  Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links which are usually italicized.  If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link provided I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you.  Thank you for your support.

Sentence a Day 03.2022

 

And we’re off…like a herd of turtles.

Dr. Seuss Week

• Woke up at 6 am to the alarm only to have PC shut it off, call into work that he would be late and return to bed; slept until 10 am!!; got laundry done; enjoy a pleasant walk in the sun while talking to Mom; dazzled by Lucia’s Cindy Lou Who ‘do; chicken pot pie for dinner; State of the Union address.  03.01.2022

• Up early for quiet time and a mini weight workout; picked up around the house, put clothes away; fixed a shrimp gumbo but PC brought home Taco Bell so we saved the gumbo for tomorrow; did a virtual reality workout; ran on the treadmill; have more Rover.com jobs in the future.  03.02.2022
• Called early to sub but turned it down to go across the mountain to help Lauren with the babies; she had a meeting at 8:00 and had to get both girls ready school and dropped off before hand; Cami had the cutest hat on for Dr. Seuss week Hat Day; ran to Hobby Lobby for scrapbook adhesive; Target hoping to get kitty food – no luck; bought all 3 little girls bathing suits, a bouncer for Declan; took PC’s sunglasses to be repaired; filled up the car for $60.00; went through all of my hanging clothes hoping to purge some but really just better organized them, continued with clothes in my dresser; warmed up our gumbo for dinner.  03.03.2022

Let it Flow

• I say it all the time but my days, never go as planned…with a big list of to-dos, I wound up taking care of baby Cami who was home sick from daycare; Lauren had meetings and a crazy day with work so I brought baby girl to our house; we played, ate lunch, did a Zoom conference with Lucia’s class and read a Dr. Seuss book to them, taught them how to draw the cat in the hat; snuggled Cami in bed; played outside and then took her home; homemade pizza for dinner; had to keep the TV off today – the situation in the Ukraine is heartbreaking.  03.04.2022

• Lazy Saturday morning for a couple hours, then we got busy…used the equipment in our mini-gym in the garage, did a virtual reality (VR) workout; showered and I fixed a WW-friendly breakfast; went to see “Belfast” and the tickets were $1.99 – felt like we had gone back in time!!; the movie was interesting; walked through the shops at the Fountains at Farrah; home to blog read; leftovers for supper; played VR mini golf, needed a day where I wasn’t in front of the news.  03.05.2022
• Yay, we finally made it to church and what a fabulous message, the first on a series about relationships; I will miss at least one of the future messages but maybe I can watch online; lunch at Taco Tote – we are WW tracking and need to be good; quick spin around the outlet mall; Paul dropped me off to play with Cami and Cia while he had ball practice; we played Barbies; picked up McD’s – which I really did NOT want to do – for dinner; up to bed early to read.  03.06.2022

Blessed Quiet

• Quiet Monday morning. enjoyed my devotional time, got laundry done and folded; took a walk, did a quick VR workout, some weight training; ran to mail the pants I sold on Poshmark; picked up library books, a baby blankie and bibs for Declan; good convo with Mom; fixed a delicious chicken sausage and ravioli HelloFresh; Lauren called so sad, struggling with her very full plate; chance of snow in Ft. Worth and here on Friday might delay Brennyn’s flight.  03.07.2022
• Thankful that Lauren talked with Francisco and her boss and is able to take a few weeks off to just rest and decide where she wants and needs to go from here; put away all of my Valentine’s decor and put out spring and Easter; ran on the treadmill, did a little weight training and my Supernatural workout; fixed another HelloFresh meal for dinner; watched the second part of a 2-night “Bachelor”.  03.08.2022
• Spent most of the day hopping up and down the stairs cleaning the house; didn’t tackle it in a very organized way so felt like I was all over the place; PC worked from home all day so I would work upstairs for a bit, then come downstairs to work and be closer to him; this WW Doritos taco salad for dinner; ironing and a Supernatural workout after dinner.  03.09.2022

Flow, Flow, Flow

• Busy day, but I have to brag…I am getting the hang of this flow business…you know, flow as in my WOTY;  over the mountain to see my babies and take them to school, then Lauren and I were going to Party City but it wasn’t opening for an hour when we got there so we had no choice but to make a Target run – but of course; back to Party City then on to the commissary; spent 2 hours shopping; dashed home to put groceries away and met PC at a new to our area restaurant – Shack; had a salad and nachos and a Margarita, it was very loud and bustling with TVs on every flat surface, waitresses in Daisy dukes and midriff tops – most of whom had no business wearing them,, IMO; home to write a blog post; must get up early to vacuum and mop before Bren arrives.  03.10.2022

• Up early to put the finishing touches on the housecleaning before Bren’s arrival; PC vacuumed and I mopped; just as we left for the airport, it began to snow – fluffy, feathery flakes; by the time we picked up the kids, the ground was covered and our yard back home was a winter wonderland; I fixed breakfast for everyone then we all took it easy for a bit; Declan and Cady and Bren napped; Lauren and the girls came over and we all headed for McDonald’s for an early dinner; I just love watching my daughters catch up with each other and my grandchildren play together; home for some TV and ice cream before we called it an early night.  03.11.2022

All the Babies Under One Roof

• Really nice day; breakfast with Bren and Cady, PC dressed and left for his first practice baseball game of the season; we had a leisurely morning, Cade and I played Barbies, Declan watched us while we played; had lunch, Cady and I watched “I Love Lucy” while we ate; took a walk around the neighborhood, Paul, Cady and I kicked the soccer ball; walked to the little Mexican market up the street to buy salsa and chips; PC was home from his game; Lauren and fam came over with PF Changs, we ate at the dining room table and had a very nice dinner; soaked in the hot tub then brought all the kids in for snack and just to chill before the Buendias went back home across the mountain; poor Cady is feeling very left out and wanting more time with me alone, need to make that happen.  03.12.2022

Birthday Baby

• PC and I went to church while Brennyn, Cady and Declan met up with Brennyn’s dad for lunch; their relationship is very shaky so it was a stressful morning for all, and Declan picked up on the vibes and cried when he really rarely does; Lauren and fam came over; Cia and Cady had fun rescuing roly polies from the pool and making them a ‘mansion’ out of river rock from our garden; Cami played Barbies by herself; I fixed this copycat Cracker Barrel hashbrown casserole for the second time…met with rave reviews, brats, hot dogs and hamburgers; we had birthday cake, played in the hot tub; and gave the Buendia girls baths before sending them back across the mountain.  o3.13.2022

• Quiet morning; PC went to work, Bren, Cady and I just enjoyed being home until time to get ready to meet Lauren and fam at Peter Piper Pizza; we ate lunch and the girls had fun playing the arcade games and riding the rides; Cady and I ran to H&M and she tried on half the store and looked adorable in everything; we bought more than we should have but it was fun; fixed chicken salad sandwiches for dinner; showed the girls how to do Supernatural on the Oculus; watched Bachelor and Declan was just adorable…positively enthralled with it!!; he is so good natured and has fallen in love with a very hungry caterpillar toy all the grands have played with; sent it home with him; snuggled with Cady in bed.  03.14.2022

Not Goodbye Just See You Soon

• Knowing the babies were leaving today was like a cloud hanging over our house; PC went to work; I started our week’s worth of laundry; Cady and I played Barbies, then meditated and did yoga poolside; snuggled Declan and tried to get him to sleep for a nap with no luck; had lunch at Taco Tote – Bren’s fave and PC met us; took Cady to the park to hit the whiffle ball and play basketball; home to help get everything packed; rocked baby Declan for a bit; PC took us to the airport and I helped the girls get up to security; stripped the guest beds, gathered all the towels and continued laundry; leftovers for dinner; “Bachelor” finale tonight…wonder if Declan watched?  03.15.2022
• Slept so soundly; got PC off to work then did my quiet time; finished laundry, made the guest beds back up; cleaned the kitchen; returned library books and had my eyebrows threaded; packed; ironed most of the afternoon; put away Fluffy’s house – haven’t seen her in almost a week, worried; PC cooked=Taco Bell for dinner; cut out scrapbook embellishments with my Cricut; worked on a blog post all evening.  03.16.2022
• Long day…up early to go over the mountain to snuggle my girls before going to KY for a week; took Cam and Cia to school then Lauren and I had breakfast at Crave – churro waffles and green chili eggs!!; dashed home to finish packing and found the stray we care for, Fluff, at the backdoor; knew right away something was wrong…haven’t seen her in almost a week and her fur was matted and her neck looked very thin; turns out she has a very deep slash on her neck and throat from a fight, I assume; brought her in, cleaned her wound, treated it, put her in the bathroom with her bed, food, water and a litter box; PC picked me up to take me to the airport; 7 hours later I was in Kentucky; our flight had at least a dozen (undocumented) immigrants – the young man across from me was from Nicaragua – he cried when the plane landed; Val and Kevin picked me up, glad to see my sister and brother.  03.17.2022

Birthday Girls

• Happy birthday, Sharonia!!  Happy birthday, precious Lucia!!  I love you both.  Kevin flew out to Las Vegas early; Valerie and I got over to Mom’s about 10 am; she seemed glad to see me but has slipped quite a bit since we were last here in December; we visited for a bit, Valerie ran to Subway to get us lunch; ate with Mom, tucked her in for a nap and Valerie and I ran to the mall to look for birthday gifts for Mom; back to take her to dinner at Jason’s Deli which she seemed to really enjoy; a quick trip through Trader Joe’s; tucked Mom in for bed, poor thing is miserable with hemorrhoids; Val and I came back to Kevin’s for wine and March Madness.  03.18. 2022

Off Track

I got off track here.  Received some very concerning news about my stepson Matt on Saturday 03.19.2022.  Just couldn’t find the interest or energy to write my sentences.  Have gone back a week later and tried to remember what happened when but blogging has taken a backseat once again to LIFE.

• Chilly and drizzly, so took Mom for a ‘roll’ around the inside of her apartment complex, she enjoyed looking at the decorations and wreaths at different doors; Val and I met Kevin’s girlfriend LeeAnn for beer and snacks and to watch Tennessee basketball; got a call from Paul saying his son has had a mental breakdown = screaming to expel his rage at 7:00 am in the courtyard of his apartment; the police were called, he was taken to ER, was sedated and transferred to a psychiatric facility; LIFE.  03.19.2022
• Struggled to sleep last night; PC learned a little more about his son but no word from him or the doctors at the facility, he was sedated most of the day; took Mom to eat at O’Charley’s for an early dinner; she has so enjoyed getting out and done so well, but her hemorrhoids are dreadful; we are getting pretty good at packing up the wheelchair and getting Mom in and out of the car; picked up more b’day gifts for her celebration tomorrow; scrapbooked in the evening with Val while watching “Inventing Anna.”  03.20.2022

Mom Turns 95

• HAPPY 95TH, MOM!!  On our way to her apartment, we ran to get a few more gifts – most importantly a denim jacket that was a huge hit – we blinged it up with brooches from Hobby Lobby; Mom had 2 birthday cakes, opened gifts; went to Olive Garden for dinner – all 3 of us in our bedazzled denim jackets; Mom ate like a P-I-G; Matt has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder – a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar; on 2 medications, having hallucinations, paranoia, drastic mood swings, not eating, bathing, sleeping.  03.21.2022

• Val took pictures of me for an upcoming blog post but truly not in the mood or frame of mind to blog; LeeAnn brought her Scottie to visit Mom; we took Mom to Longhorn for lunch; when we left her apartment in the evening, Val and I were exhausted so stopped at a bar for snacks and drinks; had hoped to scrapbook every evening but LIFE has us collapsing in bed; Valerie and Roby have bought a 100 year-old ‘homestead’ house in Tennessee and will be moving out of the Lone Star state.  Sad.  03.22.2022
• Dropped Valerie off at the airport before dawn; went back to Kevin’s for a catnap before heading to Mom’s; my sister’s plane had mechanical difficulties so she wound up taking an Uber to Mom’s apartment and is here for another day; took Mom to a yummy mom and pop restaurant called Ramsey’s for dinner; home to do a little scrapbooking.  03.23.2022

• Back to the airport with Val, she made it home this time; Mom and I had a nice morning; created some outfits for her; had lunch in her apartment then tucked her in for a nap and a goodbye; back to Kevin’s to get my suitcase; Ubered to the airport; plane delayed in Atlanta, finally home shortly before midnight.  Long week.  03.24.2022

Home

• Up at 4:00 am to take PC to the airport for his flight to Ohio, home again by 5:30 and back under the covers for a couple of hours; walked my Rover.com ‘charge’ French bulldog Lucas; took another walk while I called Mom – she sounded really good and knew who I was; indulged in tortellini for lunch; Matt was released from the psychiatric facility without further observation due to a clerical error – oy vey; over the mountain to have dinner with Lauren’s family; played with Cia and Cami in the playroom after we ate; helped with baths, then back home by 9:00 pm, in bed shortly after.  03.25.2022
• Slept like a champ in my own bed without having to awaken to a schedule; quiet day of blog reading; a walk at the reservoir; Fluff came by to eat and I was glad to see she is slowly healing from her last fight; shipped an item I sold on Poshmark; visited with Bren, Cady and Declan on Facetime and Lauren, Cia and Cami on What’s App; Cam got her ears pierced today – she was so proud; Paul seems to be getting Matt settled.  03.26.2022

Glorious Peace and Quiet

• Awoke rested and ready to go to church for the great series about relationships they have been presenting; donated boxes of diapers Lauren had given me from Cami; enjoyed the message; returned a shirt I bought recently to Target that has a split seam; Facetimed Cady while I was walking from store to store; home to fix a salad, watch March Madness and work on a blog post; Brennyn returned to work today – so thankful for the answered prayers for her health and Declan’s; Paul tried to bring his mom and Matt together over lunch but not sure how well that went; looking forward to a quiet day at home again tomorrow.  03.27.2022
• Love Mondays at home; spent much of the morning doing quiet time, journaling, reading – it was glorious; got the laundry done, took a walk in the glorious sunshine; did a very short Supernatural VR workout; phone calls with Paul and his mom, my mom, Bren, Lauren; Matt had in intake appointment with a psychiatrist but refusing to apply for Medicare, has no job, no health insurance so not sure how long he will stay medicated or go for counseling; watched an excellent movie, “CODA,” then up to bed to read some more.  03.28.2022

Thankful for Quiet Mornings

• Quiet time in bed, then showered, dressed and over the mountain to help Lauren; we moved the girls’ play house (cookie – instead of gingerbread – house) into Cami’s old room and moved Cami into the former playroom; ordered lunch from Panda Express; lots of Pumpkin snuggles; picked up the girls and they were delighted by the rearranging of rooms; terrible winds so I wanted to get home before dark; spinach salad for dinner; blog reading before bed.  03.29.2022

• Busy day and early payday…got my bills paid first thing, then got the house cleaned up – dusted, vacuumed, cleaned kitchen and bathrooms, mopped, cleaned the pool, made soup and baked cookies; ran to Walmart to get cheese for our cheeseburger soup and Easter paper plates; PC was supposed to be home by 6 pm but his plane broke down; it is now 10 pm and he is due to arrive in an hour, he will be worn out.  03.30.2022

We’ve Got a Runner

• Sweet PC didn’t crawl into bed until midnight – he was exhausted in every way; the alarm rang far too early this morning; Paul went to work for a big inspection, I walked a new pup, Mika, who is very skittish; I was trying to put the leash in the other hand and dropped it and off she ran from the park all the way home, where her owners stopped her; I wound up walking her around the park but we aren’t exactly fast friends; home to fold and put laundry away, iron, clean the pool; had lunch then PC walked int he door early from work, we took a much needed nap; walked around the shops near our home; soup for dinner, blog reading before bed.  03.31.2022

Ugh.  And that is my March is something larger than a nutshell but not quite as big a bread box.  Here’s the Reader’s Digest condensed version in video from 1 Sec Each Day.

WOTY and A Respite

 

You might remember that my word of the year (WOTY) is flow.  I have been wearing these fluorite beads every day since the end of January – thank you, Pat at Retirement Transition, for the idea. I wear them to remind me to ‘go with the flow.’  To not get so wrapped around the hub about things.  To, in the immortal words of Elsa from “Frozen” – let it go, let it go.   Easier to sing than do.

My friends, I am going to be taking a respite from blogging and social media.  Have several monthly series upcoming for which I will not be participating.  This Friday’s Where Bloggers Live and Sunday’s 10 on the 10th.  I have not done well at all about following my friends on Facebook and Instagram and have been a terrible blogging friend to the bloggers I follow.  But I just cannot manage it right now.  Hoping with some time away, I will feel like returning to it all.  Keeping up with social media and blogging can be a bit of a hamster wheel and I already feel like my life is stressful enough without trying to manage that.

Your Turn

 

Hope your April is off to a glorious start.  Hold your loved ones close and stay well.

Hugs and kisses,