Sentence a Day 07.2023

Welcome, ole pals to Sentence a Day 07.2023 – my monthly review of life in one run-on sentence a day. Today I am bringing you my sentences for the 7th month of the year, July.  Another hectic month.  Calgon, take me away!!

I really struggled this month to remember to write my sentences.  Several times, I had to go through photos on my phone to remember what had happened when.  And to try to play catch-up with SaD.  Here’s my July in a rather garbled mess.

Already Off Track

• Already behind on my sentences.  Paul went to his watch his team play baseball; I fixed Salisbury steak in the crockpot and ran to Walmart for some things I didn’t get at the commissary; warmed up pool, cleaned patio furniture; ran on the treadmill; baked brownies, fixed this delicious corn recipe; Paul got home and kids arrived; played in the pool for hours, Cia and Cami showed off all their swimming lesson tricks; PC watched the Reds game because he can’t swim yet; dinner inside; colored with Cami for a bit; rescued buggies from the pool; listened to Friday’s trial – Mistress and Child, trial of Anthony Burgo-Aviles.  07.01.2023  OGT:  being in the pool

• Sleeping so soundly – I don’t know what makes the difference; cereal for breakfast, PC didn’t sleep well so we skipped church; walked around the park; watched Reds game; watched heavy gray clouds roll in, hover overhead and then move west without a drop of rain; swam a half mile (yay); had sammies at Brown Bag Deli, saved half for tomorrow; watched a new series, “Silo” on Apple+; fireworks are going off, 2 days early, poor animals in the neighborhood get so scared.  07.02.2023  OGT:  swimming!!

Day Trip

• Got up thinking we would drive up to the cool mountain temps in Ruidoso but then realized everyone in El Paso is probably up there!!; decided to shorten the trip to Alamogordo and Las Cruces, stopping at 3 wineries and lunch at Lescombes, beautiful venue with a view of the mountains and vineyards; I had Hatch green chili pasta and PC had schnitzel; home to do kitty drop-in visits; watch the Reds; watched the 2017 movie “Thank You for Your Service,” which illustrates our country’s very sad Veteran Administration situation.  07.03.2023 OGT:  I’m an American

First Birthday of the Month

• Busy morning of cooking for the kids, Instapot ribs, marinated steak, Cracker Barrel copycat potatoes, baked beans, peanut butter cookies and watermelon; breakfast time Reds game with another win; picked up a little around the house; kids arrived with Pumpkin after 2 pm; pool time for a couple of hours before I started grilling, hate that PC can’t get in the pool yet – the water is finally WARM; ate on patriotic paper plates then went back outside to do sparklers even though it wasn’t dark; kids had to get home early and we were pooped; I began organizing my “Home Sweet Home” board on Pinterest (why??) – it is going to take hours but now I can’t stop!!  07.04.2023  OGT:  Happy birthday, America ~ I am glad you were born!!

• Slept like a champ and dreamed of many of my old teacher friends; got PC off to work, ate a bite of breakfast then continued organizing my silly Pinterest board while watching the trial and doing laundry; made phone calls to take care of some business stuff; ran to JCPenney to pick up the on-sale towels I ordered, picked up some birthday things for Cady, clothes for Dec, shorts for my EP girls; picked up photos from Walgreen’s to scrapbook this week with Valerie; finished laundry, folded clothes and put them away; Facetimed with Valerie; pretty lazy otherwise, leftovers for supper, Reds win again!! 07.05.2023  OGT:  super season the Reds are having

Ironing on Thursday

• All off schedule this week with the holiday on Tuesday, so this was ironing day when Tuesday usually is; also got in a 1.6 mile run on the treadmill…know that I use the word ‘run’ very loosely, although I do get up to 6 mph, I also start at 4.2 mph; cleaned the pool and discovered more mustard algae or what I think is mustard algae, and the pool boy didn’t show; swam a half mile – woo hoo!!; fixed a hand-me-down Hello Fresh for dinner; verdict came back GUILTY for Anthony Burgos-Aviles from the Mistress and Child murder case – so desperately sad.  07.06.2023  OGT:  swimming
• Fri-YAY but I was in a blue funk; everywhere I turn there is so much sadness, so many having health issues or battling some other challenge; got PC out the door, pool boy showed up and I told him about the algae to which he said he didn’t have the right chemicals to treat it nor the wire brush required to scrub the walls of it, GRRRR; scooped up some water into a yogurt container and headed to Leslie’s Pool Supplies to have the water tested and to buy chemicals to treat the algae…process now underway; scrapbooked with my sister – we are working our visit for Mom’s 95th birthday; made a chicken pot pie for dinner; watched the Reds lose to the Brewers; extremely hot with a heat advisory for well into next week.  07.07.2023  OGT:  creating

If You Can’t Take the Heat

• Happy to have a slower start to the day, yogurt and fruit for breakfast; PC went to watch his baseball team play; I picked up the downstairs, vacuumed and mopped; did a Supernatural workout and really enjoyed it but always do!!; added more treatment to the pool; organized my current scrapbook projects; watched the Reds win another game with Paul; did a 3-way What’s App video call with Bren and Lauren; started watching “Hijack” on AppleTV; today was our 23 consecutive day of triple digits, tied for the 1994 record – during which the highest temp was 114*.  07.08.2023 OGT:  AC
• So glad to be back at church today; the message continues to be about fear, actually Fear NOT and Pastor Cruz did a great job; had Taco Tote for brunchy-lunch; Lauren texted that she was taking the girls to the urgent care clinic for fevers and coughs, turns out they have COVID;  walked around the outlet mall – it has been awhile; scored $10 shorts at Old Navy, super comfy with pockets; home to watch the Reds and scrapbook with my sister; leftovers from lunch; to bed early.  07.09.2023  OGT:  church, church, church.

New Week

• Monday – always a favorite day except when we didn’t sleep well the night before; PC’s stomach was upset for hours so he pushed snooze 3 times, I think; made fruit smoothies, his breakfast and lunch; then got laundry started; changed sheets on our bed; gathered the 4th of July decorations to put away; went out to mow only to discover the mower was out of gas; off to Walmart for gas and Nexium – ha-ha, an oxymoron or something right there ~ gas & Nexium!!; unpacked groceries, filled mower, mowed; poor grass looks like straw; had a spoonful of peanut butter for lunch; finished laundry, ran to library; scrapbooked with Valerie; Cami and Cia are a little better but now Declan is sick; drop-in Rover.com visit with Koshka kitty; wild rice, chicken and mushroom soup for supper with bread and flavored oil; PC watched TV, I did a Supernatural and watched the clouds roll in but without bringing us rain.  07.10.2023  OGT:  girls are feeling better

Off Track Again

Oooops, got off on my sentence writing.  Now to try to remember what happened.

• Happy anniversary to us!!  Fifteen years of marriage, 20 years together.  Valerie and I set out our yeast to grow; put together a box for May, my MIL; brushed pool; did my quiet time on the patio; met up with my sister earlier than usual to scrapbook before I went to the dentist for my cleaning; hygienist was very behind schedule and spent only a few minutes with me when she finally did come in; we were planning to eat out before writing but I got home too late so grabbed a burger instead; writing was good, encouraging but Denise, the group organizer, fell going into church on Sunday and has 3 broken bones; we may not see her for a while, DQ on the way home.  07.11.2023  OGT:  making homemade bread
• Got my bread into the loaf pan to rise first thing; wrapped and boxed all of the 4th of July things to put into my bin in the garage; ran on the treadmill but only a mile; ironed the few pieces of clothing I had to do; placed an Amazon Prime Day order for birthday presents for Cady and some toys for Declan; took pictures for my Where Bloggers Live post about my favorite kitchen gadgets; bread baked well and tasted good; wrote blog post; Supernatural workout before bed.  07.12.2023 OGT:  homemade bread was edible

Sad Stat

• Thursday…PC’s Fri-YAY this week as he is off tomorrow; we decided to meet at the theater at 4 pm to see “The Sound of Freedom” and have popcorn for supper; the movie was eye-opening, especially the statistics about the numbers revolving around human trafficking and slavery; the “U.S. is among the largest consumers of child sex.” [source] – absolutely disgusts me.  07.13.2023  OGT:  the chance this movie will make a difference

Fifteen Years and Counting

• Date day and our anniversary celebration with massages at 11 am at Tranquil Haven and lunch at Salt Grass afterward;  my massage was relaxing, with emphasis on my neck and shoulders; mid-massage, I started crying, not sure why, maybe just a release of pent-up emotions??; lunch was yummy, steak for PC and for me a chili-cheese chicken, shared shrimp-stuffed jalapeño poppers, and a huge wedge of chocolate cake with icing (complimentary) for our anniversary;  mid-meal we got a phone call that a charcuterie board was being delivered at our house from our dentist!!; we asked if the delivery person would return the board to the shop and we picked it up there; DINNER!! – a selection of cheese, meats, grapes, olives, different crackers, even chocolate; watched the Reds game before bed.  07.14.2023  OGT: anniversary celebration

Off the Deep End

• I really struggled today; not sure when I have cried as much as I did while Facetiming with my sister, then taking my second shower of the day to camouflage the sound of crying and the red eyes; again with Lauren and Brennyn; whimpering with Paul; not even sure what all was making me sad other than to say everything, everything was making me sad – thoughts of Mom while scrapbooking her birthday, talking with Valerie and Kevin about her death; wishing we had something to look forward to – an escape somewhere fun; worrying about my PC; concern for what Matt may be facing; thinking of a number of friends who are struggling right now; troubles both daughters are experiencing, not sleeping well; oy vey; Paul went to watch the EP Yankees play ball, I sat down to scrapbook and fell apart; we had a late lunch at Boozy Tacos; Reds game; a brief shower and beautiful sunset when I walked Pumpkin before bed.  07.15.2023  OGT:  my sister listening to me
• Slept better but woke up some; first order of business was taking Pumpkin for a walk, which I enjoy; fed kitties; showered and dressed for church; another good message about fear; Taco Tote for lunch; walked around the outlet mall but didn’t buy a thing; ran into Walmart for kitty food and vitamins; watched the Reds lose…what happened to their mojo??; swam a half mile; grilled brats; Supernatural workout and walk with Pumpkin before bed.  07.16.2023  OGT:  swimming in delightfully warm water

Another Monday

• Monday.  So glad to be feeling better after Saturday’s frazzles; got smoothies, breakfast and lunch made, PC off to work; then walked Pumpkin but it was already miserably hot at 8:20 am; we walked about 30 minutes; yogurt and fruit on the patio for me, rawhide bone for Punk; quiet time, to-do list making; put together this pinto bean soup (added chopped ham) in the crockpot and mixed up cornbread to bake before the heat of the day; ran on the treadmill; changed sheets, did laundry; ran by the library and the new office of a counselor across the street – might be time to talk to someone about my doldrums; Facetimed with Brennyn and Dec and Cady, saw the water damage from the mystery leak in their office area; Dec is sick – these poor babies; did my drop-in visit with Koshka who was glad to see me one minute and biting and scratching me the next – 8 punctures; soup for supper, ice cream for dessert; rain delay for Reds; bedtime walk with Punk while listening to The Perfect Marriage.  07.17.2023  OGT:  soup was tasty

Struggle Bus

• Kind of a bust of a day; got PC off, then walked Pumpkin first thing, 7:20 am before it got too hot; home for breakfast – loving avocado toast with chia seeds when I don’t eat yogurt and fruit; showered, dressed and off to the doctor to have my kitty scratches and bite looked at; Dr. Franck felt of my lymph nodes and looked at the punctures then prescribed an antibiotic, then asked if anything else was going on with me, which I thought was very intuitive, and I began to weep while telling her how anxious, scared, stressed I am right now; she gave me 3 different mental health evaluations and determined I am pretty depressed and also anxious so prescribed a very low dose of Lexapro to take with my OCD meds; will see her again in a month, she gave me a huge, sweet hug; across the mountain to the Nissan dealer to have the oil changed in my Rogue – had a 1:00 pm appointment, at 3:30 they came to tell me that I need a new oil pan (in a 9 month old car??) and it would have to be ordered; in the meantime they couldn’t change the oil and I will need to take the car to the dealer once a week to have the oil levels checked until the new pan comes in; GRRRRRRRRR; PC cooked (Taco Bell); Supernatural workout; bedtime walk with Punk; I finished my story while sitting FOREVER at the dealer – yay, me.  Prayers for Lauren with Cami, and so many of my friends having health issues.  Including my PC! 07.18.2023 OGT: finishing my story

A New Day

• Quiet time on the patio with Pumpkin after our walk; fixed pork chops and scalloped potatoes early so the heat from the oven wouldn’t warm up the house during the hottest part of the day; ironed; blog writing for 2 upcoming posts; watched a watercolor video in preparation for an upcoming project; swam a quarter mile; Reds game before bed.  07.19.2023 OGT:  excited to start watercolor
• So tired of the heat; quiet time on the patio; walked Pumpkin; did some journaling; put out cactus summer decorations; took Pumpkin out back and heard a meowing coming from behind the neighbor’s shed and there was a tiny kitty; knocked on their door to see if it belonged to them, no answer: climbed over their iron gate to give the kitty water and food, then brought it home to cool off in the house; now to find its family; pool boy dumped something in the pool and it looks like its filled with milk- UGH!!; ran over the mountain to run some errands; finished a scrapbook page and listened to a new trial, “Timber Creek High School Shooting” which is in Ft. Worth; listened to “The Night She Disappeared;” Lauren has Covid in Puerto Vallarta; fixed Weight Watchers taco salad for dinner; no Reds game; Supernatural workout.  07.20.2023 OGT:  saving kitty

Another Purr

• Well, it is probably just in my head – pardon the pun – but I felt a little less anxious today with 2 doses of meds in my system; at least until just now; had a lazy day, walked Pumpkin as soon as we got Paul off to work; played with the baby kitty whom I am calling Purrsephone to go with our PURR-theme (Purrsnickitty and Purrsimmony); played with our kitties upstairs while doing quiet time; ironed my summer garland and hung it up; dropped-in on Koshka who tried to attack me again but I wore a sweatshirt!!; worked on a scrapbook page with my sister; dinner at Casita Linda’s where we was waited on by a former favorite student, Shailene; home to watch the Reds and to discover all of the blogs I follow have been erased by Feedly; had to try to think of all of them and add them back.  GRRRRR.  07.21.2023  OGT:  seeing Shailene
• Quiet day…I love it…up earlier than I like to take PC’s car to Firestone to check the suspension, he hit a curb yesterday and the car has been pulling to the right since; then we walked Punkie up to Dunkin Donuts to get breakfast which we ate on the patio; cleaned the pool filters, plucked bird-nibbled peaches off the tree to lighten the branches; took a NAP!!; watched the Reds game; did some blog reading; took Pumpkin home as the kids will be home tonight; floated in the pool just before dusk; hung signs about this kitty but no one has called about it.  07.22.2023  OGT: Paul got in the pool

Off Track Yet Again

Oh, heavens, it has been days – DAYS – since I last wrote a sentence.

• Glad to be back in church although the message about NO FEAR has been the theme for the services for over a month now, it is still a good one; took our pool water to Leslie’s only to discover the chlorine was almost 4X the acceptable level – what are these pool guys doing???; Olive Garden soup and salad for lunch; Reds game; Supernatural workout; pulled bird-nibbled peaches off the tree; finished creating my summer bucket list and goals.  07.23.2023  OGT:  Olive Garden

• Up early for quiet time; wish I could make myself get up every morning, although it makes me pretty tired by late afternoon; over the mountain to see my girls and take them to school; Lauren wouldn’t let me hug her because she is still registering a faint positive Covid test; neither baby wanted to go…Cia’s tummy hurt and Cami cried; met PC at Walmart to drop off his car there for 2 new tires, alignment; picked up kitty food and litter; visited Koshka the kitty; worked on goals and bucket list post; watched the Reds; Hello Fresh (gift from Lauren) hamburgers for dinner; Supernatural.  07.24.2023  OGT:  seeing my babies

Getting Things Done

• Tuesday.  Got PC’s breakfast and lunch, fed the kitties, got Wordle in 2 guesses!!; dusted the upstairs, cleaned the bathrooms; ironed; finished my scrapbook page all by myself; took lil kitty to the vet for a wellness check and to start shots, deworm meds – she is a BOY – so not Purrsephone but Purrcival; took pictures of the cracking/missing grout around the pool and sent to the deck guy; he responded(!); will send the guys out to fix it on Friday!!; over the mountain for writing at Jason’s Deli this time; read my finished story; PC was a bit rude in my opinion, pointing out that he thinks I have too many words on a number of pages…say something nice; finished “The Night She Disappeared“ by Lisa Jewell, because I couldn’t fall asleep. 07.25.2023  OGT:  Purrcival is healthy

Tussle

• Couldn’t get out of bed after a sad night; hate when PC and I ‘tussle’ over silliness; took a water sample by Leslie’s before meeting the Hospice counselor my PCP had recommended for a counseling session, she recommended some other counselors who might be able to work with me; ran across town to have my oil checked, then picked up my earrings and tangled necklaces at the bead lady’s store; bought a Flix gift card for Buff’s birthday; had my eyebrows threaded; pedicure that was delightful with Barbie pink color on my toesies; chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes for dinner; emailed the book summaries and voting link to the book club members; fixed a big batch of jalapeño poppers for PC’s work luncheon tomorrow; Supernatural before bed.  07.26.2023 OGT: we fight but we make up
• Oh, girls, this LIFE is wearing me out…it is just one thing after another.  Nobody is dead or dying but it is 1,000 other things that have me in tears tonight.  Vacuumed and mopped the upstairs, finished dusting, did the last of the spring cleaning in the final room – the downstairs guest bedroom; made a Walmart grocery order; ran 1.75 miles; the pool repair is supposed to take place tomorrow morning and we were to drain 6″ of water from the pool but the PCV valve fitting broke and we can’t drain the water off; now they may not be able to do the repairs; I got the pool water cleaned up and sparkling only to have the pool guy come and add more chlorine shock to it(!!!!!!!!!!) and mess it all up again;  SHOOT ME!!; worked on a first watercolor painting with my sister and colored in my coloring book while listening to “The Bird Hotel” by Joyce Maynard – it is such a book – like real literature!!; leftover homemade lasagna for dinner; everything is burning up – our grass, my butterfly bush, the oleander, the peach tree, our Mexican Elder and ME.  07.27.2023  OGT:  painting and reading and coloring

Second Birthday of the Month

• Happy birthday, Cadence Ellie!!  I love you and am so glad you were born.  Up early on PC’s Friday off to meet with the guys coming to work on the pool grout and plaster at 7:00 am; I was dressed for PC’s doctor appointment but had to get in my bathing suit and into the pool to mark the cracks in the plaster; the doctor wasn’t in the office so we met with the PA again…GRRRR; biopsy results were back indicating Cribriform glands were found but we don’t know what that means and didn’t see the results until we left the office; they repeated PC’s PSA test and results will be back on Monday, if there is even a trace reading, Paul will need more treatment; we supposedly meet with the doctor next Friday (heard that before); found the pool pump fitting we needed at a pool supply store; PC worked on that, I did my drop-in visit with Koshka then picked up grocery order at Walmart; put that away, washed the kitties, Purrsimmony is not well at all-my poor baby; went to see “Oppenheimer” which was okay; home to watch the Reds.  07.28.2023  OGT:  Cady was born

• Yay, the kids got on their way before sunrise so I was scrambling to get everything done before they arrived; PC went to watch the EP Yankees play ball; I finished the house cleaning; wrapped birthday presents; we put up the sail over the pool; picked some peaches; the kids arrived mid-afternoon and Lauren’s fam arrived and we were in the pool shortly after; dinner at Taco Tote and fairly early to bed;  Declan came right to me with a big snuggle, and so did Cady; thankful for their safe travels and their visit.  07.29.2023  OGT:  Having my sweet Brennyn and her family home with me

Birthdays 3 & 4

• Happy birthday, Brennyn!! So glad you were born, I love you so.  Up and around for a walk with Declan before the heat of the day sets in; cinnamon rolls for breakfast – so good – on the patio ;made brownies for Bren’s birthday ‘cake,’ Cady helped me decorate the dining room for birthdays; we ran to Dollar Tree for helium balloons of which 3 wound up on our 20 foot high living room ceiling before we could get them tied to the weights  – had a great laugh over that; El Paso kids came over to swim and eat pizza; all of the kids had presents to open and they played for several hours before Lauren’s bunch went home and we all rested; met downtown at Southwest University Park stadium for a 6:30 pm Chihuahuas baseball game; had great seats in the shade; we all got give-away towels; the kids played and the grownups laughed; home and off to bed shortly after.  07.30.2023  OGT:  laughter with family

• Happy birthday, Lauren!!  I love you so and am thankful you were born.  Biscuits and turkey gravy for breakfast with fresh fruit; then off to the theater for “Barbie” – we had the place to ourselves and it was great fun!!, cute movie, excited kids and popcorn; Cia and Cami stayed with us and went swimming – the girls had such fun with Cady; Lauren went home to work; Declan had a nap; I fixed Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, corn and birthday cake for dinner; the kids played and had such a good time together; Cami and Cady, Declan and Cia then Declan and Cami, Cady and Cia; good kind of tired tonight.  07.31.2023  OGT:  family

A glimpse at our family time together.

1 Sec Each Day

And then there’s the 1 Sec Each Day video compilation for the month.

And the Clothes, the Clothes

Geez, this post just keeps on keeping on… but I want to share my other-than-activewear looks for July.

Ugh, don’t have the energy to link up the clothes.  But you probably have all the same pieces in your closet anyway!!  The jeans are mostly Banana Republic, Loft or Old Navy.  Added a new yellow Brindle Boutique top after seeing it styled by Mireille.  Versona ruffled skirt.  Amazon cowgirl boots.  There you have it.

2023 WOTY Update:  Consistent

Consistently every month, I get excited about trying to be more consistent.  Ha!!  Then LIFE steps in to kick my behind and I forget all about trying to run twice a week for 1.75 miles each time and doing sit-ups and leg lifts.  Avoiding Amazon.  Tracking Weight Watchers points.  Writing and reading and crafting regularly.  I become a real slug.

And July was no different. However, there were a few little victories:

• I did regularly play Wordle.  Until I didn’t.  I think I forgot to play 2 days and that messed up my streak of consecutive days.
• Religiously cleaned my phone of unused files each morning after playing Wordle except for those days I didn’t play Wordle.
• Once again, as in past years, I consistently spent too much money for birthdays.  But loved doing it.  And will get it all paid off.
• I have been consistently using Musely spot cream on my face every other night.
• And this cellulite massage oil and this cellulite skin tightening cream which don’t take the bumps and lumps away but makes them less noticeable.
• Have been pretty faithful to my devotional and quiet time.  And I think we might have gone to church every Sunday but one in July.

Your Turn

How would you rate your July?  I think I would give ours an 8 overall.  We still had the worries over PC’s cancer but weren’t completely consumed by them.  Not completely.  And did have some fun together just the 2 of us, and with the kids, all 10 of us.  August is back to school, hopefully back to some kind of routine.  We shall see.

Thank you for coming by.  Hope your weekend is off to a grand start!!

Hugs and kisses,