Sentence a Day 04.2024

 

Good morning, good evening, good night, my friends.  Thanks for joining me for Sentence a Day 04.2024 – a monthly review of my April in one run-on sentence a day. ❄️ I tell ya, it’s going to snow…2 blog posts from me in one month? ❄️ Pull out those galoshes, girls. 🌨️ Grab those parkas. 🌨️ A blizzard is a-comin’!! ❄️

Sentence a Day & OGT

 

If I don’t blog any more than just my Sentence a Day post, I hope to at least continue to do these posts to help me keep track of LIFE.  And when I do manage to get an SaD post together, I am hoping to make the What’s Been on Your Calendar? link-up with Deb at Deb’s World, Sue who blogs at Women Living Well After 50, Donna from Retirement Reflections and Jo who can be found at And Anyways, which opens on the last Friday of each month.  We’ll see how things go.

You might remember – or not – that I started sharing OGT – one good thing at the end of each of my run-on sentences.  I also use a gratitude journal at night and am in the market for a new one.  If you have one you love, please share in a comment below.  I will never forget that sweet Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom sent me my first gratitude journal after I read about hers on her blog.  I’ve been ending my days with a gratitude journal ever since.  Thank you, Carrie.

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.

And you can find where I link-up on this page.

Sentence a Day 04.2024 & OGT

 

My birthday month has been pretty kind to me.  Turning 66-years-old didn’t even hurt much.  Looking forward to my brother’s wedding in June, South Padre Island in July and PC’s retirement on 07.31.2024.  Here’s how April looked.

My Birthday Month Begins

• Trying this again!!  April Fool’s Day…I was reminded of pranks my father pulled on my mom; Brennyn was a prankster this year and made me laugh; woke to gray skies that opened up to rain and a chilly wind; over the mountain to Lauren’s then out to lunch together at Jason’s Deli before doing some hard core shopping at Versona and Loft; we picked up the girls from school/daycare on our way home; ran into Old Navy to pick up my order – this cute striped blouse; picked up a prescription at Walgreens; thank goodness for fish sticks and shrimp paired with leftover Easter baked beans and jalapeno poppers for supper; began my 30 Days of Scribbling for Camp NaNoWriMo; exciting Reds game on TV followed by episodes of “Call the Midwife.”  04.01.2024  OGT:  facetiming with Brennyn and catching up with her; leisurely lunch with Lauren and catching up with her; bday clothes Buffy treated me to

Never a Dull Moment

• Got PC out the door and began working on finishing the laundry when Paul called to say his surgery for tomorrow had been canceled because the pocket of fluid (seroma? lymphocele?) that has been identified in his pelvic has greatly diminished in size; hallelujah, I hope – but I have no faith in this doctor as this prostate cancer journey has been a comedy of errors; the hospital had not received orders for the surgery which is curious, too; worrisome; tidied up downstairs, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen, put away Easter decorations; Paul came home at lunch, we did a Hazfit weight workout and Supernatural, I ordered groceries for my MIL May; met with 2 upcoming Rover pets; dinner at Jason’s Deli; at writing group shared I Love You the Purplest by Barbara Joose and the beginning of my memoir writing for 30 Days.  04.02.2024  OGT: no surgery for PC, praying the issues have resolved
• Up early for quiet time followed by a 7-minute standing ab workout on YouTube; packed PC’s lunch, fixed his breakfast and then over the mountain to take the girls to school; we played a rousing game of “Babies” in the car; ran into Target for kitty food then donated whole blood at Vitalant; ran to Uptown Cheapskate for 2 pairs of the teapot earrings like I bought myself last week, seeing straw bags everywhere; took Paul’s favorite silver chain to be repaired; traffic was atrocious and it took an hour to get home; fixed lunch then lounged while watching a YouTube trial; fixed the HelloFresh kit Lauren gave us for dinner – Buffalo chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots; Supernatural workout; writing and watching the Reds game on TV.  04.03.2024  OGT:  getting up early

Lazy Days

• What a delightful day…I was borderline worthless and enjoyed every semi-lazy moment; got PC off to work then settled in to do my quiet time and some writing, answering questions from For Our Children’s Children, just as our mom did for us; put away laundry; attempted to descale our terribly gobbed up humidifier; pulled weeds; read my book club’s title of the month – The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker – while lounging on the couch; listened to The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown while using the treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical and rowing machines in the garage; did my first drop-in visit with Tink-kitty; ran to the library, postal annex and had my eyebrows threaded; made red beans, sausage and rice and a WW-friendly cheesecake; soaked in the hot tub with PC once he got home from ball practice; beautiful weather.  04.04.2024  OGT:  slow pace of the day
• PC’s Friday off and we were over the mountain before 7:00 am to help with the girls so Lauren could have an MRI and other imaging; at the same time her sister, Brennyn, was having a doctor’s appointment – I worry about my girls – all of them; Lucia and Cami were adorable, Cia ate her whole bowl of cereal, Cami made us laugh; grabbed a quick breakfast at McDs; then PC treated me to some goodies at Hobby Lobby for my various art projects – paint, scrapbook paper, canvas; we walked a bit of McKelligon Canyon for the first time in many months; home for sandwiches, a nap and a soak in the hot tub; pizza for dinner while we watched the Reds game; did our Supernatural workout before bed.  04.05.2024  OGT:  medical advancements to identify and treat our health problems

HBD

• Happy birthday to me!!  Enjoyed a lazy, stress-free day.  When I looked at my watch, it showed that I had experienced little stress all day long…what a gift; terribly windy so I didn’t attend PC’s game which was canceled after all; I wrote a little on my memoir memory; lifted weights; scrapbooked a little while visiting with my sister; enjoyed playing Roblox with Lucia; talked with Brennyn, Declan, Lauren and Cami and my brother Kevin; when PC returned home, Bren had put a bug in his ear that I would like to go to our favorite mom and pop restaurant so we did complete with fancy sopapilla for dessert; home to write for an hour together; “Call the Midwife” before bed; the wind – all 50 mph – has finally slowed.  04.06.2024  OGT:  all the well wishes and love from family and friends

• Another slowly-paced day…I could get used to this!!  Up for church and a message about the church’s vision, I stacked food boxes for the pantry before service and created little cosmetic bags of feminine hygiene products in a basket for giveaway; met the kids for brunch at Another Cracked Egg, which was tasty with quite a varied menu, I’d like to go back; the girls made me cards and Lauren and Francisco had the sweetest card and gift cards inside; home to watch the Reds game, scrapbook a little with Valerie; start this week’s laundry, pull some weeds, clean the pool; snacky supper and then several episodes of “Call the Midwife” before bed.  04.07.2024  OGT:  family

Solar Eclipse

• Solar eclipse, baby…totally messed up my plans but was so well worth it; had planned to start the spring cleaning in the kitchen today but was drawn outdoors to trim trees, bushes, pull weeds, neaten flower beds while awaiting the 80% eclipse over El Paso which did not disappoint; Lauren bought us glasses so PC watched from work while I watched from the backyard, Brennyn in Ft. Worth experienced the total eclipse and was able to go out even while working to enjoy it; did laundry, walked over for my final visit with Tink-kitty; quiet time, writing for NaNoWriMo; taco salad for dinner; Supernatural workout; Reds baseball and the NCAA championship between Purdue and UConn before bed.  04.08.2024  OGT: nature’s wonders
  

  

  

Productive

• Awoke with a crick in my neck from watching the solar eclipse and trimming the oleander’s tippy-top branches; got PC off with his breakfast and lunch; put away laundry, showered, dressed and did quiet time then attended an online prompt writing workshop for an hour; got very industrious and jumped into cleaning the pantry, pulling everything out, wiping down shelves, washing shelf lining and reorganizing the boxes, packages, cans and jars; watched my trial on YouTube; did my mile walk/run, mile on elliptical, 2 miles on the bike and my rowing; fixed cheesy chicken, rice and broccoli; watched the Reds game and more of our midwives series.  04.09.2024  OGT: feeling productive
• Brrr, cold this morning but sunny with little wind – a pleasant change to our 50 mph gusts recently; quiet time under the covers, then worked on a blog post for a bit before beginning to tackle the mound of ironing I’ve ignored for too long; watched the trial while working on the clothes; after lunch I returned to spring cleaning seven of the kitchen cabinets – they look so nice when I finished; fixed these crunchy honey garlic pork chops, with alfredo pasta and corn for dinner; hired someone from Etsy to fix the Instagram feed on my blog and he did so quickly and affordably; did a weight workout while supper cooked; Supernatural after dinner; “Call the Midwives” before bed.  04.10.2024  OGT:  Cami is feeling better after throwing up all night

Doc Talk

• PC was off today for a consult with our PCP over his canceled surgery, CT scans and MRI images for the fluid pocket/seroma/lymphocele – whatever it is, or may ISN’T as it seems to have vanished;  Dr. Franck was pretty noncommittal but offered to try to get us in to see the urologist since he isn’t answering or returning our phone calls asking for an appointment; she also gave PC an order for a chest X-ray as he is having pain in his back and she’s worried he has another schwannoma (a benign tumor of the tissue that covers nerves); he will also see a gastroenterologist next week; picked up about a week’s worth of groceries at the neighborhood Walmart Market then we took it easy most of the afternoon until Paul left for ball practice and I did a weight and Supernatural workout; had canned tomato soup for supper and watched “Call the Midwives” til bedtime.  04.11.2024  OGT:  thorough medical care our PCP provides

Back to Blogging

• Got PC off, took a mini-walk then started work on the finishing touches of my first blog post in months, “Where Bloggers Live“; as is always the case, it took much longer than I anticipated to get the images added, proofread everything, make corrections and get the post published; ate lunch this started in on the cabinets again, finishing all of the top cabinets, on to the bottom cabinets on Monday; did my mile-mile-mile workout on the treadmill-bike-elliptical then Paul came home; warmed up Tuesday’s chicken and broccoli casserole for dinner; added more old photos to the Photomyne app; watched Reds baseball and did a 7th inning abs work out.  04.12.2024  OGT:  84* afternoon

Perfection

• Baseball Saturday and a beautiful spring day; walked around the lake before settling down to watch PC’s game and visit with my friend Marg; the sun was very warm but the wind was mild; Paul had a good hit and scored at least one run but the Sun Kings lost again; I Facetimed with my sister to catch up while PC watched the Reds game; we soaked in the hot tub, then showered and went to Texas Roadhouse on Ft. Bliss for dinner, and walked off our dinner at the Fountains at Farah where there were dozens of formally-dressed prom goers showing off their gowns and posing for pictures; after learning that Kevin and LeeAnn are planning a pink and blue wedding, I decided I needed a different dress – my new green and white nor my new peach and green dress would suit; found the perfect thing at Versona and used the remainder of my Christmas gift card from Paul to purchase it.  04.13.2024  OGT:  perfect spring Saturday
• PC didn’t sleep well so we skipped church in favor of letting him sleep in a bit; after breakfast, we did a weight and an abs workout; showered and met the girls and Lauren at the zoo; hadn’t been in several years and it was delightful – clean, attractive displays and habitats, a variety of animals; had hot dogs for lunch at the cafe where Lucia ate 2/3rds of a hot dog, thank goodness as she is struggling to eat again, got in 2 hours of walking; home to scrapbook with Valerie while Paul watched the highlights from the Reds game; quesadillas for dinner; started watching the “Franklin” mini-series on AppleTV.  04.14.2024  OGT:  the number of families, including ours, enjoying the zoo 

Monday, Monday

• Monday…often my favorite day of the week; up early for quiet time and some quick abs and arms workouts; got the laundry under way then enjoyed writing in my loft; changed the sheets, folded the laundry and put it away; ironed about 20 pieces; made this chicken gnocchi soup and bread sticks for dinner; had a small Walmart order delivered and put together an order for my MIL May; more test results came back on Lucia with more indication that she has an auto immune disorder, the pediatrician is running more tests, God bless this angel; Brennyn had to take Declan back to the children’s hospital for a croupy cough, and he was given steroids which apparently taste dreadful; watched a late Reds game, did a Supernatural workout.  04.15.2024  OGT:  being home

Getting Rich

• First of 6 days of subbing at Zach White…will I survive? up early for quiet time; PC had his gastroenterology consult at 8:15 and took the rest of the day off; I zipped across town to sub for Ms. Brunner’s second grade class; the children are well-behaved and the lessons are always thorough and well organized, it was a good first day with a field trip to the planetarium right in the middle to break things up; dropped off library books, some glassware at Goodwill; filled the car with gas; met PC at Taco Tote for a quick early dinner before heading to writing class at Dick and Denise’s lovely apartment, always uplifting and encouraging; back home at 8:30 pm for some of the Reds game before falling into bed.  04.16.2024  OGT:  writing class, friends’ prayers for our family
• Up early again for quiet time and exercise; packed lunches, fixed breakfast, fed kitties, cleaned litter boxes and then headed off to sub but went over the mountain without thinking I should have gone around the city; encountered a bad accident and backed up traffic which delayed me further; finally arrived at work just before class started; another good day, and the second grade math made more sense today, too; was able to read some blogs and do some writing while the children were at P.E. and lunch; home by 4:15, fish sticks, coconut shrimp and Brussels sprouts for dinner, Supernatural workout, a whopping 13k steps today; “Call the Midwife” before bed.  04.17.2024  OGT:  well behaved children, opportunities

Having Fun

• Thank goodness, today I went to the right way to school; up for quiet time and a short weight workout; we had fun at school today, the kids worked harder and we took a few minutes to have some fun here and there; the across the hall teacher helped me learn to use the new white board in my room which uncomplicated teaching math especially; during lunch I labeled more uploaded photos in Photomyne – a project I had worked on with fury until Christmas; after school I picked up Cami at Kindercare and she, Lucia and I played Barbies in their playroom until supper was ready; Lauren sent me home with dinner for PC; we took a quick walk to reach our daily steps; happily tired tonight and thankful tomorrow is Friday!!  04.18.2024  OGT:  Lucia is terribly thin again but did eat a little supper
• Oh, boy, TGIF!!  I am the best kind of tired, the tired that comes from having a purpose, feeling good about what you’ve done, feeling loved and appreciated…the children in 2B (and 2A) at Zach White have touched my heart this week; I prayed about subbing, and asked for strength, even had some sweet friends praying for me; and I survived, more than survived; some of the children gave me tiny rocks or little flowers they picked at recess, and I got hugs, those precious hugs; listened to music in my car on the way to and from work which is something I haven’t done in a while; worked on my NaNoWriMo writing; made cheesy tacos, chili beans and a WW cheesecake for dinner; indulged in half a beer; Supernatural workout; enjoying just sitting tonight, watching Reds.  04.19.2024  OGT:  children

Delightful Day

• What a pleasant Saturday – even if we woke up waaaaay earlier than necessary; showered and dressed in my Sun Kings tee for PC’s game but had breakfast with my former teaching friend, Benita at iHop first; Paul played well, and I enjoyed my lake walk midway through the game, always delightful; left the game in the last inning to run to the library for books to read to Declan and the girls; ate a quick spinach salad then worked on our lavender fields painting, starting with painting the gift bags first; Paul and I went to see “The Long Game” at the movies, home to walk enough to get my steps for StepBet; watched an episode of “Franklin” and one of “Call the Midwives.”  04.20.2024  OGT: everything about today

Different Feels

• Another glorious day…since my visit to Ft. Worth, I have felt differently…I am not sure anyone would notice as it feels like a difference from deep within me, a peace, maybe an acceptance or contentment, yes, I think that is the word – a contentment; I am feeling more content than I can remember feeling in a very long time, if ever; up and ready for church 15 minutes ahead of schedule; put together feminine hygiene toiletry bags and little diaper/wipes bags for the pantry, gathered the 4 boxes of food donations and set them up at the desk in the lobby; good message at church followed by iHop that was tasty; our constitutional walk around the outlet mall; home to do a quick run through the house, PC vacuumed and mopped, I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms, dusted, started the laundry; painted more lavender with my sister; we picked up Chipotle for dinner which also was especially good; watered my plants with Miracle Gro, pulled weeds; Supernatural workout; writing, watching “Call the Midwives” before bed.  04.21.2o24  OGT:  delightful weekend

• Up earlier than early to make a coffee cake for breakfast, do my quiet time and a quick weight workout; showered, dressed and across the city to sub again for the Zach White elementary second grade; the kids are dropping like flies with some kind of virus – sore throat, headache, throwing up, oh, I hope I don’t get it and bring it to Paul; those kids who were in class were talkative today, maybe we are too comfortable together now; talked to Kevin, my brother on the phone on the way home; vacuumed our bedroom, my loft and bathroom, then mopped; fixed bratwurst, scalloped potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner; watched the Reds game – a loss; standing abs and Supernatural workouts, I am tired tonight.  04.22.2024  OGT:  second to last day of subbing

Finish Line

• Woo hoo!! I made it to and through 6 days of subbing…just call me Super Woman; did a mini-quiet time session, prayed for a good day and it was fair to middlin’ as Mom would say; kids were a little wired, one boy missed his medication and was all over the place; but my co-teacher was so sweet to say the kids loved me; new Rover booking $$ – call me money bags!!; home to fix this easy KFC knock-off dinner; took a short walk; did our 7-minute abs during the Reds game 7th inning stretch and a Supernatural workout; yay me!!  04.23.2024  OGT:  I survived

No Place Like It

• Lazy day…allowed myself to do what I wanted to do most of the day; got the laundry folded and put up; some ironing done but not much otherwise; did a 30 minute weight workout; painted with Valerie on our lavender, then we did an ab workout together; fixed this French dip recipe in the crockpot for dinner – mouthwatering, if I do say so myself; 2 new Rover jobs upcoming and another sub job…ka-ching!!; Supernatural, Reds game and “Call the Midwives” before bed – becoming a little disenchanted with the series as people keep disappearing from the show and it is not always explained away well.  04.23.2024  OGT:  being home
• We woke up at 4:00 am and struggled to go back to sleep so it has been a long day; quick quiet time, got PC off to work, did some blog reading; then did my 1-1-1-rowing workout minus the rowing but will get that in tomorrow (1 mile treadmill, 1 mile bike, 1 mile elliptical); showered and off to the commissary for the first time in awhile – did $445.00 worth of damage to our grocery budget but got a lot of meat, produce, fruit; dashed home to put it all away then back out the door and over the mountain to pick up my baby girls so we could play together; played Barbies, then went out in the backyard to play, love the glee that exhibit when we are together; met PC at Jason’s Deli after his batting cage practice; sent out book summaries and voting link for Come Read with Me’s May book of the month; did a very short Supernatural workout to get my steps; off to bed but it is terribly windy which will make sleeping a struggle.  04.25.2024  OGT:  having money for groceries, having free time to play with my babies

 

Bobble-Head

• Can’t seem to think straight the last few days; sleeping well but getting up and just bobbling about not accomplishing anything really and the next thing I know its noon, or time for dinner; this morning, I read blogs, but forgot to do my quiet time; met with my dear friend Davette for lunch, and we talked so much in an effort to catch up, that we paid little attention to what we were eating, we have to get together more often so we don’t have so much to catch up on at one time; painted lavender gift tags and cards; leftover French dip for dinner; watched “Franklin” on AppleTV, back to blog reading before bed.  04.26.2024  OGT:  catching up with a dear friend
• Slept good with the windows open; PC headed for his baseball game and I stayed home to hide from the wind; did some blog reading, and writing on my NaNoWriMo memoir project; my book club is voting for our May read and all of the books on the consideration list have votes!!, does my ❤️ good; walked up to get my blazers at the dry cleaners and to pick up some tortilla chips at the little Mexican market; started a new scrapbook project while Facetiming with my sister, finished my lavender tags, too; Supernatural workout before Paul got home; we soaked in the hot tub for a bit and the wind blew my phone into the hot tub and it won’t charge or start; ABOUT DONE WITH THIS WIND; showered, dressed and went to West Texas Chop House for dinner along with a lot of high school prom goers; I had a delicious chipotle shrimp Alfredo; walked around Bassett Center Mall then home to watch a new (to us) show “Resident Alien.”  04.27.2024  OGT:  new flavors at a new restaurant

 

Unwaterproof Waterproof Phone

• Crazy dreams last night, right up until I got out of bed; got ready for church in record time; so-so message about God’s new covenant with man – just not feeling it right now, but glad to be at church; had a Senior 2x2x2 breakfast at iHop then walked around the outlet, of course; home to start laundry while PC did some sprinkler repairs, dug out a dead bush in the front yard, watered the backyard; did a little scrapbooking with Valerie; leftovers for supper; tried to finish the series “Baby Reindeer” but oh, my gravy…waaaaaaaay too risque for us; watched an episode of “Call the Midwives” while I worked on my story “Purple Dress,” phone is still dead.  04.28.2024  OGT:  writing
• Meant to get up for quiet time but forgot to tell Alexa to wake up me, got it done a little later in the day; first order of business was picking up grocery order; put everything away, finished laundry, changed sheets and then I got a wild hair!! – moved my craft desk out of my loft and into the guest room upstairs which meant moving my couch, a bench, and lots of craft supplies, a dresser, bed and nightstand, too, all by my lonesome; I loved having everything in my loft but the kitties drive me crazy when I try to scrapbook or paint; hope to get a Murphy bed or smaller bed for the room so everything isn’t so squishy; made a new-to-me tortilla soup recipe for dinner and this strawberry fluff recipe (I sub strawberry for the orange); did an abs workout, Supernatural, paid bills and worked on my story while watching the Reds, prayers for PC’s friend Jim’s family after his passing Sunday night.  04.29.2024  OGT: room to spread out
• My OCD kicked in at 3:00 am and I began ruminating about having moved my craft stuff into the guest room, it just didn’t feel ‘right’;  made the command decision about 5:15 am to move it all back to my loft and was able to fall back to sleep; worked all morning getting ready to move it all back but knew PC was going to take the afternoon off to help me repair the leg on my desk before I moved it again; he glued and screwed the leg back together; I cleaned the baseboards, wrought iron railing, dusted everything, cleaned the blinds and windows (oh, need to do the ceiling fan!!), then moved all the furniture back where it belonged in my loft and in the guest room; baked brownies and put together a charcuterie board for writing with Paul’s help; writing was uplifting, read part of my NaNoWriMo project; tired tonight, glad to be home tomorrow.  04.30.2024  OGT:  brownies, being back in my loft, writing friends

222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 – that’s from my kitty, Purrcival, whose head was resting on the …. 2.

1 Sec Each Day

 

Here is a quick video clip of much of what has happened since my last SaD post in January.  Lots of blessings.

 

2024 Word of the Year (WOTY)

 

Been away from this so long that I didn’t remember having selected a WOTY!!  So, clearly I haven’t put much thought into lighten life since I had forgotten all about it!!  Discovered that I had written this in Janaury.

I know what I hope to achieve with my word of the year but have had trouble finding exactly the right one word to describe it.  Going to go with ‘lighten’ as I like that I can apply the act of lightening to a number of areas of my life.  But most of all, learning to let it go, let it go and lighten up.  To let go and let God.  Look for the light at the end of the tunnel.  Lighten my load.  Nothing terribly profound.

Selecting the word consistent for 2023 did help me attempt to keep to a routine.  Until LIFE stepped in and kicked it to the curb.  But I began prioritizing some of the things I wanted to do over the things I thought I needed to do but could set aside for a day or two.

Thinking of this word ‘lighten’ as an extension to being consistent.  And as I shared above, I had a kind of wake up call or attitude adjustment in March when I visited Brennyn.  That feeling has continued into April and beyond, I hope.  We will see what May brings.

Your Turn

 

How would you rate your fourth month of 2024?  I think I would give ours an 8 overall.  If we could just resolve this health thing with PC once and for all, I think life would really lighten up!!  See what I did there?

We have writing tonight and I am glad to be with the sweet members of that group.  I start a new Rover job Wednesday and PC is off on Friday so we will enjoy a 3-day weekend together.  Might even go hiking as there is no baseball on Saturday.  Hope you have some fun, too!

Thank you for coming by.

Hugs and kisses,