Sentence a Day 03.2023

Welcome dear ones to Sentence a Day 03.2023 – my monthly review of life in one run-on sentence a day. Today I am bringing you my sentences from March.  The good, the bad and the ugly. We’ve continued to have some hiccups in my hopes for a gentle 2023 but we’re still standing.

Sentence a Day 03.2023

 

This month was peppered with a lot of anxious moments and a lot of waiting for test results which has spilled into our April as well.

Surprise Snow

• Welcome March!!  Ready for spring that comes toward the end of this month; was supposed to have had jury duty today but it was canceled; enjoyed my whole day doing things I like to do; I wrote, Bible journaled, did my quiet time, read, scrapbooked and made 2 – count ’em, 2 green chili chicken lasagnas – 1 for us, 1 for Lauren and fam; ironed the last few items; took pictures and posted things on Poshmark and sold a skirt right away, “The Chosen” before bed.  03.01.2023  OGT:  jury duty was canceled
• Snow was in the forecast for the hour between 6 and 7:00 am and it snowed!!; beautiful, fluffy flakes as I crossed the mountain to help with the girls; took both babies to school, played ‘Babies’ with Cami; ran by Target and bought bathing suits for the girls’ Easter baskets; picked up Walmart order; bought gas; unpacked groceries and watched the trial; PC came home for a few hours in exchange for working late tonight; made minestrone soup for supper; scrapbooked with Valerie; case was turned over to the jury and a verdict was reached 2 hours later…Alex Murdaugh guilty; our neighbor was taken by ambulance to the hospital after falling 4 times; tornadoes in Ft. Worth.  03.02.2023  OGT:  beautiful *S*N*O*W*

Some Joy

• Struggled all day to get warm; sat on the balcony off our bedroom and read in the sun and that helped, it’s just my fingers and feet are so frosty even on days that aren’t that cold outside; got my hair trimmed and eyebrows threaded; mailed my Poshmark sell; ran the vacuum downstairs knowing the kids would be over for PC’s birthday tomorrow; put out my Easter/spring decorations; leftover lasagna for dinner; “The Chosen” before bed.  03.03.2023  OGT:  feeling freshened up after a little self-love
• Busy day of distraction from worrying about PC’s upcoming biopsy; he left for baseball and I baked his birthday cake, packed sandwiches for a picnic with the grands, then headed across the mountain to pick up the girls; we went to the ball park and fed the ducks green peas, ate our sandwiches on duck island; came home to discover the pool wasn’t running so the girls weren’t able to soak in the hot tub; we painted rocks and went to the park on their scooters; met Lauren and Francisco at Olive Garden for Paul’s birthday; ate cake and sang ‘happy birthday’ here at home; the girls made it special.  03.04.2023  OGT:  the joy the grandbabies all 4 bring to life

Handyman

• Discovered a bald spot on our roof yesterday from the terrible winds we have had so headed to Lowe’s first thing for supplies so PC could patch it – I wanted to go up with him but only made it to the roof of the first story and held my breath for him the whole time he was up there; we changed and rinsed the pool filters and the pool started working again; Paul replaced a sprinkler head but one of the stations is still not working; ate leftover Olive Garden for lunch and leftover minestrone for dinner; I took a nap mid-afternoon trying to get warm; early to bed. 03.05.2023  OGT:  PC is a jack of all trades

Trying Times

• Happy birthday, Roby, my sister’s husband.  Glad you were born!! Up before dawn for PC to prepare for the biopsy; arrived at the doctor’s office before 8:00 am; biopsy was quick but painful; Paul’s prostate has doubled in size, ugh; results from the biopsy should be in by mid-week next week…oh, the waiting; McD’s sandwiches for breakfast then home for a nap; we took a very short walk in the sun but PC didn’t feel like doing much; I ran on the treadmill and did my Supernatural; Simmie is worse again; called for estimates on our roof; will try to take Sim to another vet tomorrow; someone is also coming for an estimate on the deck; worked on elephant cross-stitch; grilled a steak and made these jalapeño poppers, so good; appreciate the messages and prayers for Paul.  03.06.2023  OGT:  medical procedures to protect our health
• We took it fairly easy today so PC could recuperate from the biopsy; quiet time in bed; met with a roofer about getting our roof replaced; met with the deck/concrete guy about repairing our pool deck – it won’t be perfect but it will look better than it does; took Simmie to a new vet who prescribed a liquid antibiotic for her respiratory issues, but no one seems too concerned about how chubby she looks; got the laundry started; made a crockpot of jalapeño popper soup; did my Supernatural workout before bed.  03.07.2023  OGT:  quiet day

Wonderful Wednesday

• I think I have a UTI – visions of my mother and all the UTI troubles she had for so many years; called the doctor but can’t be seen for days, can do a teleconference on Monday; finished laundry; put together the cute little foot stool for my loveseat in my loft; ran on the treadmill; took a walk in the sunshine listening to my book The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington; did some writing and listened to Joyce Maynard on Creative Live; scrapbooked with Valerie; folded clothes and put them up; made KFC bowls for dinner; put together a small Walmart order for pick up and one for PC’s mom for delivery in Ohio; Supernatural workout; Facetimed Declan in the tub; blog reading before bed.  03.08.2023  OGT:  absolutely beautiful day

Oy vey…

 

it has been 8 days since I last wrote a sentence.  So much has happened.  And then my blog wouldn’t ‘save’ or ‘publish’ which makes writing a post an exercise in futility.  Let me see if I can remember what all has been going on.

Blissful Busy-ness

• Busy Thursday with my El Paso grands – trip to the library, craft-buying stop at Dollar Tree; lunch in the hot tub; painting – Lucia amazed me with a gorgeous wooden butterfly she painted, and Cami has begun coloring beautifully like overnight!!; rode our scooters to the park; supper, bath and snack before Lauren and Francisco came to pick up the girls after their movie date; my blog is being most persnickety and won’t save or publish; contractor examined our pergola for an estimate to re-stain it.   03.09.2023  OGT:  happily busy

• Spent 3 hours waiting to get my Department of the Army dependent ID card renewed only to learn when I turn 65 next month, I will have to do it all over again…makes NO SENSE; back home for lunch and then we dropped off all of our paperwork to the lawyer who is drawing up our wills, POAs, and medical directives; bought tennis rackets at Dick’s Sporting Goods; dinner at Grand China buffet; Paul’s biopsy results are back and the doctor will see him on Monday morning; collapsed into bed.  03.10.2023  OGT:  sushi and sweet and sour soup

Wind-blown Weekend

• Baseball Saturday but what a wind storm they played through; walked around the lake beforehand, missed talking to my mom on the phone like I used to; hard loss for the El Paso Yankees; Mexican food for lunch; came home exhausted and wind-blown, took a nap on the couch; I’m sure we had supper but I don’t know what; UTI is bothering me and now I’m stuffy with allergies.  03.11.2023  OGT:  nap

• Turned clocks ahead so slept in a bit; i-HOP for breakfast; finally got ourselves back to church, happened to park next to Dick and Denise from writing; message about having the faith it takes to be healed from illness and health issues but we both have trouble thinking that God could but doesn’t heal people of little faith; my God doesn’t send sickness or illness to some, health to others; worked on a few things around the house but both of us are feeling pretty down and worried.  03.12.2023  OGT: being back in church

A Hint of Hope

• Didn’t sleep well for worrying about the biopsy results; got to the doctor’s office about 30 minutes early; PC has cancer in 2 quadrants in his prostate, Stage 1, Gleason Score of 6; now a PETscan to make sure he has no other areas of cancer; then probably surgery; hate that he has cancer but it could be much worse; teladoc appointment about my UTI, prescription for antibiotic; bought lots of leafy veggies, healthier snacks, even veggie burger patties but had a Wendy’s hamburger for dinner; wish my parents were here to talk to about this; lots of sweet messages and prayers from fam and friends.  03.13.2023  OGT:  it could be a lot worse
• Nickyee from Majestic Pools came out to solidify our pool repair; signed contract; can this finally be happening??; walked in the sunshine; scrapbooked a few minutes with my sister; organized the kitchen some more but still need to purge some things; dinner at Jason’s Deli and writing class after; read a journal entry about how I love Wednesdays.  03.14.2023  OGT:  looks like our pool repair is going to begin

Pool Progress

• Beware the Ides of March;  quiet time after getting PC off to work; all over the place yesterday and today with laundry, kitchen organizing; trying to exercise and do my quiet time and writing; just can’t think straight…UTI or PC’s health problems or both??; been worried about Lauren, too; enjoyed watching Declan while Valerie and I Facetimed Brennyn; tried to hook up my Selphy for printing pictures with no luck; taco salad for dinner; pool guys put pump in the pool to begin draining it.  03.15.2023  OGT:  Declan
• Up early for a follow-up on my UTI – need to get back to Weight Watchers, but my BP was good – 99/66; over the mountain to get the girls; home to play with Play-doh and slime until lunch time; hot dogs, watermelon and chips for lunch; contractors were demolishing the plaster in the pool so we had lots of entertainment in the backyard; Fluffy was scared and spent the day inside to the girls’ delight; park, returned library books, stopped to pick up a snack at Dunkin Doughnuts; the girls scrapbooked; Lauren picked them up about 5:30; PC just warmed up some Campbell’s soup for dinner…exhausted, still hurting and my allergies are a mess; Supernatural; NCAA Tennessee vs Louisiana. 03.16.2023  OGT:  work is progressing on the pool; girls were delightful

Struggling

• Off my game…couldn’t wake up; then the pool contractors showed up early and I had to scramble to get dressed; floundered around all day; it was cold and sprinkled again at daybreak – I just wanted to curl up in bed but I didn’t; made chili, picked up one last gift for Lucia’s birthday as everything I have ordered is delayed in shipping (GRRRR); picked up her cake from my former student Karla who baked and decorated it; coughing and congested – ugh, seems like we just got over this junk and now I am sick again.  03.17.2023  OGT:  chili and cornbread

Happy Birthday, Lucia

• Happy 7th birthday, Lucia Carolina.  Happy birthday to my BFF Sharon.  I am so glad you guys were born!!  Woke up shaking imaginary Parmesan cheese over my imaginary pizza in my dream – hungry??; cereal for breakfast; showered, dressed and wrapped Cia’s presents; over the mountain to the kids’ house and then on to Peter Piper Pizza for the birthday party: we had the perfect number of kids, the right amount of pizza and it was a good time; the cake was delicious, too; back to the kids’ house to open presents then home for Panda (Express) food and NCAA playoffs; Vols are still in it!!  03.18.2023  OGT:  Lucia was born 7 years ago and well celebrated today

Winter Bucket List Activities

• Overslept for church – but it turned out there was a reason we did – we drove 27 miles to a new restaurant, Black Bear Diner, for breakfast and ran into one of a favorite fella who used to play baseball with PC – it was wonderful to see him and his wife; breakfast was very good, too!!; stopped at Walmart for kitty food and litter; watched NCAA basketball all afternoon and scrapbooked with my sister for a bit; started cutting out letters for Cia’s science fair board; leftover chili for supper; won my StepBet!!  03.192.2023 OGT:  seeing Rudy and Doris
• Struggled to get up this morning; got PC off for work; started a pork loin in the crockpot and mixed up this broccoli salad as broccoli is a healthy prostate food; pool demolition continued; I worked on the rest of Lucia’s letters; quiet time; then over the mountain for an oil change appointment which took almost 3.5 hours – thank goodness, I had a book; met Lauren and the girls at Supercuts to give them the letters, both girls had fresh haircuts and looked adorable; Facetimed twice with Bren, Cady and Dec; Paul’s second PSA results are higher than the first, dear; finally has his appointment for the PET scan on Monday; bbq pork sandwiches for dinner.  03.20.2023  OGT:  finally have a PET scan appointment

Happy Birthday, Mama

• Happy heavenly birthday, Mom.  I love and miss you everyday.  We slept through the alarm this morning…what is wrong with us??; made PC a quick smoothie – trying to have one M-F mornings with flax seed mixed in and lots of leafy greens and fresh fruit; no pool work today so the backyard was quiet; got started thinking about my mama, and Paul’s health, and Declan’s ears and before I knew it I was crying up a storm – it had been awhile since I had a good, cleansing, releasing cry; wrote this blog post; walked in the sunshine and talked to both my babies; ran on the treadmill and started a new StepBet challenge; ironed and watch “Low Country” about the South Carolina Murdaughs; dinner was Brown Bag Deli (I am tracking my points again) then we watched George and Vita’s grandson play baseball for a few innings.  03.21.2023  OGT:  the love of family and all the beautiful memories we’ve made together

Caramba

I keep forgetting to write my sentences.

• Was up ready for the work on the pool deck to begin but the deck guy was a no-show and a no-call, no-text…grrrr; usually look forward to and enjoy Wednesdays but I was kind of all over the place today waiting for the deck guy to show up; finished the ironing; worked on a Walmart list…no interest in shopping myself; still feeling some kind of weird UTI-like symptoms but my urine culture was negative; Bren encouraged me to make an appointment with a GYN so will go on Monday; haven’t had a pap smear in years because I was told after my partial hysterectomy I didn’t need them – not true; Supernatural workout; dreadful salmon burger for dinner.  03.22.2023  OGT:  quiet time
• Although this was Thursday, it was my fun day; quiet time; cleaned downstairs, mopped, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen; walked in the sunshine; ran on the treadmill; spent some time writing about the signs Mom has been sending me…and she sent another in the form of a song on Google!!; no sign of the deck guy but Nickyee, the pool builder said he would be here on Monday; Declan has started new daycare and is loving it; scrapbooked with Valerie and finished my beach pages; insurance adjuster determined we do need a new roof; Hamburger Helper for dinner – PC was excited; watched Tennessee play poorly in the Sweet 16; started on a walk before bedtime but ran into Fluff who was cold and crying; took her back to our house and put her to bed and then climbed in bed ourselves.  03.23.2023  OGT:  scrapping and writing

More Home Improvements

• PC’s Friday off; met with Servicio Ramiro to sign a contract for a new roof; picked up grocery order at Walmart; pavers at Lowe’s so PC could expand the paved area under our trash cans; I put up groceries; then we grabbed our new tennis rackets and had a go hitting balls at a nearby park but our balls were like rocks – no bounce and the wind was pretty fierce, but we laughed a lot; primed my canvas for the Pretty in Pink Bouquet project; blog reading; Supernatural workout; tracking my Weight Watchers like a good girl.  03.24.2023 OGT:  trying to play tennis

A Day in My Life

• Nice Saturday for a Day in the Life post – started with a walk around Ascarate Lake admiring the geese and ducks, missing Mom; watched a few innings of PC’s game; met the girls, Lauren and Francisco at Jump World – always guaranteed laughs, Cami has been watching Olympic gymnasts on YouTube and is mimicking them – well!!; PC had lunch with the team and brought me his leftover enchilada suizas; painted the vase on my canvas; Supernatural workout; exciting basketball games – Go, Florida Atlantic; Facetimed with Declan and Brennyn, Lauren, Cami and Cia.  03.25.2023  OGT: painting and laughing

• Waking in the middle of the night to hear myself talking aloud in my sleep or stirring things, shaking imaginary Parmesan cheese – strange; teary-eyed through church, breakfast at iHop followed by a walk around the outlet mall – PC scored some new shirts, socks; worked on dreaded income tax which is complicated this year after Mom’s death; painted with my sister – our project, “Pretty in Pink Bouquet” is coming along nicely; watched basketball, did more taxes, and a Supernatural workout; leftover broccoli and cheese soup for supper; started the new season of “Ted Lasso.”  03.26.2023  OGT: distractions and pancakes

More Anxious Moments

• Up early for PC’s PET scan; he was in the imaging room for about 3 hours – a long time, now we pray for the best results; Jason’s Deli for an early lunch; home and kind of listless; had a GYN appointment for this UTI?/yeast infection?? – whatever – but when I arrived, they didn’t take our insurance; called 3 other GYN offices – not taking new patients, not taking patients over 60, don’t accept our insurance; finally found a doctor, have an appointment in May; went to the urologist’s office to get PC’s Decipher test results that no one seemed able to find – they found them!!; fixed KFC bowls for an easy dinner; we were both zombies by bedtime; no deck guy…grrrrrrr.  03.27.2023  OGT:  medical technology and advancements
• Hallelujah, the deck guy came…after 6 years!!; he and his crew began by powering cleaning the deck, then painted it with primer; pergola guys restained and sealed the pergola; I worked on income tax – have mercy; made this crack chicken lasagna for an early supper before we headed to writing group at Whole Foods across the mountain; everyone wrote and read their writing, I should share my piece here, somewhere; Paul’s writing is superb, and I enjoy the writing of all of the members of the group.  03.28.2023  OGT:  distractions

Thanksgiving and Praise

Praise God!!  Prayers answered.  PC’s PET scan indicated no cancer elsewhere in his precious body, thank You, God.  And thanks to those who have prayed with us and for us.

• Answered prayers as I said above; kind of a nerve-racking day…roofers working on the roof and banging to beat the band; contractors redoing the deck around the pool…but so thankful for the work, the insurance money to help pay for the repairs and the means to pay the rest; kitties were terrified today and I got in 10K steps just answering the door to the workers who needed to use the bathroom!!; made this Sicilian meatloaf for dinner, met with rave reviews; glass of wine to celebrate our wonderful news.  03.29.2023  OGT:  Paul’s PET scan results

• Fri-YAY!!  Roofing continued, with the new shingles going on mid-windstorm; I walked around the block several times just to escape the racket on the roof; worked on my pretty in pink bouquet project with my sister on Facetime, had fun making my flowers; concrete contractors built some great reinforcements around the base of the pergola and touched up the cracked stucco on the pillars on the balcony and patio; things are really coming together; Supernatural workout; leftovers for dinner.  03.30.2023  OGT: all of the housing projects are coming together

Hit the Road, March

• Adios, March…not sorry to see you go…hoping for a better month in April; finally, a quiet morning, roof is finished, deck guys finished and work on the pool will begin again next week; worked on taxes and finally have them about done; announced the winner of our April book club read, The Maid’s Diary by Loreth Anne White; put together an order for Easter pool towels and swimming masks for the girls; washed all of the patio furniture; met PC at the theater for popcorn supper and to watch “Dungeons and Dragons.”  03.31.2023  OGT: new book to read

And here’s my 1 Second Each Day video summary of the month.

 

YOUR TURN

 

Did your March merit a thumbs up or thumbs down?  Maybe somewhere in between??  How’s April working for you?  Not my favorite month yet, but we still have half the month left for things to improve.

Wishing you a warm, sunny week.  I am hoping for a quiet one.  Thank you for visiting me.

Hugs and kisses,