Sentence a Day 08.2023

Howdy, gals!!  Thanks for joining me for Sentence a Day 08.2023 – a monthly review of my August in one run-on sentence a day.  Overall, it was a pretty darn good month.  Possibly the best month yet in 2023.  Hopeful that we are going to wind up the year with 4 more good months just like it.

Sentence a Day & OGT 2023

 

Before we get started, I want to thank Rebecca Jo at Knit by God’s Hand for creating this month-in-review series.  This year, Rebecca is combining her Sentence a Day with a thankful month idea.   For every day, she will also post a daily blessing or share something for which she is especially grateful.

For each of my daily entries, you will see OGT after the date for that (looooooong) sentence.  OGT = one good thing.  And I am following Rebecca’s good lead by including one good thing I am grateful for each day.

Also, 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. It opens on the last Friday of each month.  Hoping this post will be ready to go live in time to join those gals.

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.

 

Just as I did last month, I really struggled in August to remember to write my sentences.  Several times, I had to go through photos on my phone to remember what had happened when then try to play catch-up with SaD.  I give you my August…

• New month, winding down summer; spent the day with my Ft. Worth babies; first took Cady to Uptown Cheapskate thrifting and then to eat sushi at our new Sunny’s in the northeast; so glad to have time with Cady alone – she is so grown up and has such a sweet heart; we watched Declan (who napped) and played in the pool while Brennyn and Mustafa went to see “Oppenheimer;” Bren made delicious sourdough bread and cheeseburger soup for supper; leftover birthday cake and ice cream for dessert; read one of Cady’s bday graphic novels with her before bed.  08.01.2023  OGT:  spending time with Cadence

Sad Anniversaries

• Paul and I were tossing and turning all night worrying about his PSA score; the urologist’s office finally called him about 10:30 to say the reading was 0.006 so he should be cancer-free – PTL, hallelujah, thank You, God; we will sleep better tonight I bet; Bren and fam met with her dad at Cracker Barrel for breakfast then met me at the outlet mall where we shopped for school clothes for Cady; Bren, Tafa and Dec came home and Cady and I picked up Cami and Cia to come swimming; Cam was sound asleep on her cot when we got to Kindercare, so tired; we swam about an hour then a storm kicked up wind and thunder but no rain; the kids played in the house for an hour until time to meet Lauren and Francisco at Boozy Taco; kids were great, ate well and we all took turns chasing Declan around; Buendias and Oryas said goodbye; home just before the nicest rainstorm rolled in.  08.02.2023 OGT: Mom is smiling down on us on the first anniversary of her passing

Senseless

• Fourth anniversary of the Walmart shooting in El Paso. Loooong day for everyone; the kids were up and on the road long before sunrise; before they could stop for breakfast, Declan had thrown up twice; PC and I tried to go back to bed but no luck; packed his lunch and got him off to work, then laid down for a few minutes before starting work on laundry and putting the house back together again; dusted, vacuumed, mopped, cleaned kitchen and downstairs bathroom, changed bedding, washed at least a half dozen loads of towels and clothes, put away all the baby things; will do the upstairs tomorrow; made a cheesy broccoli and chicken soup for supper; painted with Valerie; kids made it home about 2:30; Cady left the sweetest note; Cami went to the doctor over her mollescum contagiousm – these babies have the strangest things; Cia met her new teachers; watched a very long, dull Reds loss; ready for bed.  08.03.2023  OGT:  safe travels for the kids

Good Doctor’s Report

• Up early to get to PC’s doctor appointment at long last with the urologist who did his surgery; didn’t really learn much new; he explained that cribriform cells are stage 4 cancer cells that are deeper than other cancer cells – 11-20% of PC’s tumors were cribriform; discovered that some of the bladder had to be removed to ensure that all the cancer was excised; took another PSA test for which we will get the results next Friday; iHop for breakfast then picked up grocery order at Walmart; PC returned to work, I put up groceries, finished my SaD 07.2023 post; painted with my sister; made hot dogs for supper (in honor of Mom); very dizzy again; Paul did the Epley maneuver on me twice and it seems better.  08.04.2023  OGT:  all in all good news at the urologist, thankful for all the support and prayers

Spin Me ‘Round

• My dizziness is bothersome; keeps me from wanting to do much of anything; we were up before 7:00 am; fed kitties, showered, cereal for breakfast then PC was off to baseball and I was over the mountain to meet the girls at gymnastics; then we all had back to school pedis; I ran into Albertsons – nice to be in a real grocery store for a change – picked up some shrimp, cheeses, fresh corn; painted with my sister for a bit while Paul watched the Reds lose – what has happened? – then we floated in the pool for an hour; ate our informal charcuterie board dinner; Supernatural and I am ready for bed.  08.05.2023 OGT:  watching the girls at gymnastics

Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick

• Sunday…we attended the second church service in order to meet Lauren at the outlet mall as soon as the stores opened; big crowd at that service, during which we got a text message saying sweet George had passed away earlier in the morning;  we finished up the service in tears; met Lauren and shopped for back-to-school clothes, suitable ones for this hot August were hard to find; had a delicious coconut shrimp lunch at Red Lobster; attended a free 2-step dance lesson at El Paso Ballroom Dance Academy – such fun, we danced together and with other partners to learn the basic 2-step and several turns; home to watch the Reds game; Supernatural; watched “Wind River” – pretty good movie.  08.06.2023 OGT:  George is finally at peace

Brand New Week

• I love Mondays!!  Up early for quiet time and a little weight training exercise; got PC off with breakfast and lunch and a fruit smoothie; checked banking, emails, read a few blogs then got laundry under way; put together my skinny cart for storing current craft project supplies; vacuumed upstairs; ran 1.75 miles on the treadmill – had quite a sudden jolt when the power surged and the treadmill shut down; made this Mexican street corn chicken casserole ready to bake when PC got home; printed out my next story to work on in writing class; watched the Reds win and a terrific wind storm move across northeast El Paso without a drop of rain.  08.07.2023 OGT: Mondays
• Over the mountain to take my Cami to school – she is in a new class for 4-year-olds, even though she is just 3 1/2 and she loves it; then headed to Charlie Clark to get my oil pan replaced – remember I went for an oil change and they said my oil pan had a crack and they had to order a new one, well, new one arrived but when they got ready to replace the oil pan they suddenly decided it didn’t need to be replaced – 4 hours the first visit + 2 hours this visit for an oil change…but I worked on my writing; picked up a library book and got a haircut on the way home; ran 1.75 miles on the treadmill in the heat of the afternoon; put away laundry and ironed; painted with my sister; back over the mountain to Jason’s Deli for dinner and writing; home with clouds building and a hope for rain that was soon dashed.  08.08.2023  OGT:  writing

Over the Rainbow Bridge

• Hard, sad day.  Took Purrsimmony to an 8:30 appointment at the vet clinic, gave her Xanax to her calm her; the vet, who had worked with my daughters years ago, said Brennyn and Lauren’s diagnosis of ascites was correct with 1 of 5 possible causes including heart failure and cancer, she explained Sim was in a lot of pain and there was no real way to heal her so I had to euthanize her; so hard to do and yet she was ready, I think, held her before, during and after, so thankful Paul left work to be with her and me; home for a nap with Purrcival and Purrsnickitty beside me; finished ironing; made BBQ pork loin in the crockpot; painted with my sister; Supernatural; worked on Pinterest and blog posting before bed.  OGT:  Purrsimmony is across the Rainbow Bridge waiting for us

• Didn’t sleep real well until just as the alarm went off; got PC on the way to work; started on my Where Bloggers Live post; took his phone to have the screen replaced after it cracked at dancing on Sunday; swam a half mile – the water was COLD; worked more on my post; met with my sister on Facetime to start a new project; leftovers for dinner; threw up again out of the clear blue, not sure why I am doing this several times a month; received my Poshmark Land’s End leopard sweater I purchased with credits; Supernatural workout; watch “The Beanie Bubble” about the stuffy creator Ty Warner’s downfall – talk about greedy.  08.10.2023  OGT:  swimming

Long Weekend

• PC’s Friday off…hopped out of bed to do yard work before the heat of the day; I mowed and he did the weed-eating, knocked all the bird-nibbled peaches and pits off the tree and raked them up; then time to head to the urologist for PC’s appointment – thankfully, his PSA was still undetectable – THANK YOU, GOD!!; had Capriotti’s sandwiches for lunch; picked up flamingo earrings for my Houston friend Tammie at Uptown Cheapskate; walked around the outlet mall where PC picked up 4 new polo shirts and some Bath and Body Works goodies; home, ordered pizza for dinner; had thought George’s visitation and funeral would be this weekend but it seems it won’t be for a few weeks; Vita is struggling, poor baby.  08.11.2023  OGT:  getting yard work done together
• Saturday – we can’t seem to sleep in but we go to bed too early, probably; decided to walk around Cielo Vista indoor mall for steps, it is tax-free weekend so the stores were happily packed, with a fashion show in the middle of the mall; ate food court Chinese – boo; stopped at Lowe’s on the way home for supplies for a Mexican Elder tree watering project PC is working on; swam my laps – .5 miles; tomato soup and cheese and crackers for supper; took down ‘found’ signs for Purrcival – he is ours; Reds game was rained out, early to bed.  08.12.2023  OGT:  nice pace of the day

• Great message at church about 5 ways to attain a righteous life and right attitude for God…LOVING everyone being one – going to try harder; iHop breakfast with double blueberry pancakes; home for a Reds double-header; I painted with my sister; was much cooler all day today and slightly overcast…a taste of fall!! 08.13.2023  OGT:  church

Another Monday

• Monday…best day of most weeks!!  Up early, 5:20, to discover it had RAINED!!; enjoyed quiet time and thought we were going to work out but PC hit snooze; got him off to work with breakfast, lunch and a smoothie; finished the laundry I started yesterday, folded, put away; changed sheets; read blog posts while clothes washed; ran 1.75 miles on treadmill; did Supernatural workout then showered and put on clean clothes; made this quick crockpot sausage-cheesy hashbrown casserole for dinner; found a list of recommended movies set in Ireland on Pinterest, watched “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” about the beginnings of the Irish Republican Army, so sad…a lot like our Civil War, brother fighting brother; tired tonight, off to bed.  08.14.2023  OGT:  getting in a lot of exercise
• Happy birthday, Francisco!!  I am glad you were born!!  More rain last night…hurray!! We had a pretty much sleepless night last – so much so, that PC called in so we could sleep for a few hours this morning; the kitties are getting better acquainted – even Purrcy with Fluff; did a couple of loads of laundry, worked on my Tell Us About blog post which was – to my surprise – a lot of fun to write; ironed; painted with my sister for a few minutes; grilled a steak for dinner with a baked potato and this squash casserole (delish); Supernatural workout and finally did my sit-ups and leg lifts…yay, me!! 08.15.2023  OGT: more rain

Errand Running

• Hectic day of errand running and grocery shopping; over the mountain to take my babies to school, everyone was in a good mood and we were happy to see each other; picked up gift cards for Francisco’s bday took them back to their house, offered to walk Pumpkin which was enjoyable; Hobby Lobby for paints, dropped off a bracelet for Nayda to repair; stopped by Target; Popeyes chicken strips in the car for lunch while making my grocery list; shopped the commissary – rather picked over; ran by the library, postal annex after that and then home to put everything away; spent a few minutes working on my latest painting project with Valerie; PC cooked – Taco Bell; really tired by bedtime; finished the club’s book of the month, The Last Life Boat by Hazel Gaynor, very good historical fiction; ran into issues with my blog in preparing for tomorrow’s 2 blog posts…GRRRRRR.  08.16.2023  OGT: good books
• More blog struggles all morning until things finally fixed themselves; scrubbed the shower in our bathroom with this stuff and it looks better again but oh, our hard water woes; dusted our room, vacuumed, ironed; Hamburger Helper for supper; sit-ups and leg lifts- that’s twice, then Supernatural workout; scanned photos into Photomyne, did some blog reading.  08.17.2023  OGT: getting my blog posts posted

Thankful for Medical Care

• We have such good intentions for getting up to exercise in the morning, but over and over, we snooze the alarm and stay in bed, today was no exception; got the kitties fed, PC’s breakfast and lunch packed and then I showered and dressed for my follow-up appointment with Dr. Franck about my anxiety drugs; I am feeling so much better, lighter, less bogged down with what-ifs and worries; I don’t want to stay on it forever but it has helped and having life slow down a little has helped, too; we agreed I will stay on it and return in 3 months for another follow-up; lots of smiles and hugs and I love yous; excited to see fall items in the Dollar Tree; picked up groceries at Walmart – just a few things, PC’s requested cookies; cleaned the kitchen, dusted, vacuumed, cleaned the downstairs bath; ran my 1.75 miles; dragged out my scrapbooking projects and worked a few minutes on it for a change; made wontons, marinated chicken and a teriyaki and pineapple salad; blog reading, Supernatural and “Lincoln Lawyer” before bed.  08.18.2023  OGT: here’s to feeling better

Season’s End

• Baseball season is officially over for the El Paso Yankees…now we can use Saturdays to do other things; Fluff was here waiting for breakfast when we got up, he looks so much better now that I have trimmed the mats from his fur again; Paul worked on a few projects in the yard while I made up the batter for my Aunt Wanda’s bran muffins, baked some and fixed eggs and sausage with them; after breakfast we cleaned around the pool; picked up my sweet angel Purrsimmony’s ashes at the vet clinic; took the pool water to Leslie’s to be tested; scrapbooked with my sister; swam and then floated in the pool; showered and headed over the mountain to babysit the girls – took them to McD’s and Bob-O’s amusements; lots of laughing and fun; took Pumpkin for a walk when we got home; play nail salon with Cami while Cia played on her Nintendo Switch; baths and then mom and dad were home. 08.20.2023  OGT:  laughing

Geocaching

• Up very early for a Sunday to attend a geocaching class at Tom Mays Park in the Franklin Mountains, very fun; there were only a few of us in the class, we used GPS trackers to find some geocaches the instructor had set about and then started exploring on our own; found one within the park, looked for about 5 more, find 2 and couldn’t find 3;  fun activity; scrapbooked with Valerie until the kitties upset all of my craft table with their mischief; Casita Linda’s for an early dinner; Yahoo fantasy football draft tonight; “Lincoln Lawyer” until we couldn’t stay awake any longer.  08.20.2023  OGT:  trying something new

New Week

• Monday, Monday…slept so well; got PC’s breakfast and lunch packed, laundry started and then did some blog reading, email checking, goofing off on the laptop for a bit; put on some green beans to cook slowly all day; changed the sheets; ran on the treadmill and did my rowing machine; ate lunch then did a Supernatural workout; made Mix and Match Mama’s meatloaf bowls – that’s a lot of Ms – we both liked them; we sat outside while watering the poor dead backyard with the sprinkler; did this Hasfit standing abs workout…so good; more “Lincoln Lawyer” and blog reading tonight. 08.21.2023  OGT: pressure-free day

 

Heavens, it has been 5 whole days since I checked in here.  Oh dear.  Now to remember what life held for me last week.

Bible Study and Painting

• First of a 3-day online Bible study and painting class offered by Christie at The Social Easel, which just so happens to echo the message at church for most of the summer so far – Fear NOT; ran on the treadmill; did the Bible study in the morning and the painting mid-afternoon; enjoyed an early morning walk in the coolness after last night’s 5 minute rain with my arm weights; created a painted cover for my new church notebook; Jason’s Deli for dinner and writing class at the same time; we drummed up new ideas and activities for the class; fabulous rain before bed.  08.22.2023  OGT: Bible study and pressure-free painting

 

Rain, Rain, Come Again Another Day

• Rained off and on all day – we needed it so badly; have been worried about Ernie the goat and what he could possibly be finding to drink, praying for rain for his sake and the sake of all the other animals – then Lauren sends this link with drone footage of Ernie (others call him Bob) soaking up the rain; Bible study in the morning where Christie talked about how the enemy tried to foil her plans for this workshop; painting in the afternoon; ironing in between; finished the fabulous The Bird Hotel by Joyce Maynard – superb descriptions, engaging story; Supernatural workout; made Italian wedding soup for dinner with crusty bread from my walk to the bakery up the street.  08.23.2023  OGT:  water for the plants and animals

 

• Paul took today off for George’s visitation and rosary; he woke up with a cold that is moving to his chest; took pool water to Leslie’s to be tested, then ran into Walmart for OTC meds for Paul and Kleenex and wipes for Lucia’s classroom – the germs abound already; we took a long nap this afternoon in hopes of warding off whatever is ailing PC; should have done the last session of the Bible study and painting workshop but will finish both in the coming week; showered and dressed for George’s visitation; the eulogies were so sweet…his brother, brother-in-law, baseball buddy Chris, grandson Noah, and 2 daughters gave the sweetest messages, heartbreaking loss for all of them; out to dinner at Casita Linda’s with all the baseball buddies and wives – don’t know when we will all be together again.  08.24.2023  OGT:  being with friends

Farewell

• Up early, fed the kitties and cleaned the litter box, then over the mountain to help get my girlsies to school, Pumpkin was especially affectionate; we were loaded down with all the Kleenex and wipes so I asked to go into school with Cia in order to take them to her class but the teacher’s assistant guarding the door wouldn’t let me – GRRRR – even though she knew me; dropped Cam at school, Facetimed with Bren and Dec in the Kindercare parking lot; home to shower and get ready for the funeral; struggled to understand a lot of what was said in the mass; joined George’s family at the cemetery; picked up apple pies for the luncheon following but we were neither one feeling well so we didn’t stay for the meal; grabbed a quick bite at Grove on the way home; I was supposed to scrap with Valerie but really didn’t feel good so took a 2 hour nap; grilled cheese, tomato soup for supper; sent out the book summaries and voting link for the book club’s September read; baseball before bed…long day.  08.25.2023  OGT:  George is finally at peace

 

Restful Weekend

• Saturday.  PC went to watch his friend Chris play in a baseball semi-final championship game; I scrapped with Valerie, worked on Declan’s first birthday; Paul got home and replaced caulking on the shower then cleaned the pool filters; did a Supernatural workout; neither one of us are feeling 100%; leftover meatloaf and soup for supper; Reds baseball game with an exciting extra innings finish.  08.26.2023  OGT:  slow day
• Family time in bed with the kitties for a few minutes before we started getting ready for church; decided to sit in the cafe area of the church lobby and drink hot cocoa and coffee while listening to the message: split a taco pack at Taco Tote for lunch; walked around the outlet, PC bought me new running shoes, I bought a brown pair of jeans at H&M; stopped by to visit Vita for a bit, she’s so lonely; home to scrapbook with Valerie and juggle kitties while doing so; KFC bowls for dinner; Supernatural workout; TV before bed; tired tonight.  08.27.2023  OGT:  visiting Vita

Last Week of the Month

• Rather unexpectedly spent the morning at the laundromat washing all of our bedding; we discovered the top of the mattress unzips and we washed it, too; picked up kitty food, bought a foam pumpkin – so many great colors – going to paint it with flowers – and some $6 fall rugs for the kitchen at Walmart; set all of the bedding out to dry in the sunshine; settled on our Air BnB for Santa Fe in January, fixed very mediocre Alfredo chicken roll-ups for dinner; throat hurts, headache, we didn’t sleep well so hope to be early to bed.  08.28.2023 OGT: fall is approaching

 

• Waiting and hoping for rain tonight, would be the second rain in a week…a real rarity; had a satisfyingly busy day with lots of exercise – a 1.80 mile run on the treadmill in my new tennies PC bought; Supernatural workout but started the day with a delightful walk in the cool, fresh air; put laundry away; ironed to beat the band; added chemicals to the pool; made Shay’s Ranch tacos – delish; stayed awake through the whole disappointing Reds baseball game and even read afterward; my book club selected its next read – Tom Lake by Ann Patchett; doing a giveaway now for copies of the book before we begin to read.  08.29.2023  OGT:  good productive day

One More Day

• This month (and thus this post) is going on forever; over the mountain after breakfast to participate in Lucia’s second grade Wellness Walk with Lauren; there are so many kids whose parents can’t attend so we wind up holding hands with, hugging, playing with a half dozen babies each; ran into Hobby Lobby for sparkly scrapbook paper; picked up my repaired Plunder bracelet at Nayda’s Gems & Stones; picked up a few groceries for pulled pork I am making tomorrow for Lauren’s family and us; bought my grandpup Pumpkin a birthday present for her birthday; made these no-bake cookies that the girls always called ‘choco-chookies;’ fish sticks, shrimp for dinner; Supernatural workout, sit-ups and leg lifts, used my yoga block for leg lift crunches…which needs to happen much more often.  08.30.2023  OGT:  seeing my second-grade friends

Adios, August

• The last week of this month was almost as long as the rest of the weeks combined; up early to put together our supper in the crockpot and to gather everything to make the same supper at Lauren’s house for them; finished Verity by Colleen Hoover as I went over the mountain, threw pork loin in their crockpot, gave her instructions for the making the BBQ and baking the beans; took the babies to school; back home to clean the pool, pay bills and check emails, then loaded Purrcival up for the vet clinic; 45 minute wait even with an appointment; 2 shots, estimate for his declawing and neutering and microchipping; home to dust our bedroom, clean our bathroom while listening to the “Scamanda” podcast (am I the last one to listen to this??); scrapbooked a minute with Valerie; dinner followed by “Password” – I like that show, Supernatural workout.  08.31.2023 OGT:  another productive day

And that, girls, is a wrap.  Adios, August.  Bring on September. Pumpkins and pumpkin spice, football and all things in shades of orange and cinnamon.  Adios, triple digits temps (except for those forecasted for 09.01, 09.04, 09.06.2023).

1 Sec Each Day

 

And then there’s the 1 Sec Each Day video compilation for the month.  If you blink, you’ll miss it!!

 

 

And the Clothes, the Clothes

 

 

Which outfit do you like best?  I’ve been trying to reach for skirts and dresses more often when going out to run errands.  Three of my tops and the black floral dress are several years old from Loft.  The sleeveless summer denim dress is from Walmart.  The black pull on ponte skirt is from Nordstrom Rack. Banana Republic Factory sage green utility pants and almond-colored satin slip skirt.  It’s felt good getting dressed up from time to time.

2023 WOTY Update:  Consistent

 

I have been pretty consistent with all the things this month.  Yay me!!

• completed a Supernatural workout 11 of the 12 times I had hoped for
• ran 1.75 miles 2 times each week
• swam twice each week of the month
• started doing ab work
• have been doing quiet time 4 times a week
• read 2 adult books and have started 4 more, plus a pile of children’s picture books
• did Monday manis, had my eyebrows threaded and my hair trimmed regularly
• working out my brain with Wordle everyday
• deleting unnecessary images from my photo galleries regularly
• cleaning my phone of junk files daily
• Cadence is doing Duolingo for extra credit in Spanish, so I am doing it again for extra credit with Cady

Hope to stay on track the rest of the year…and beyond!!

Your Turn

 

How would you rate your August?  I think I would give ours an 8 overall.  We said goodbye to a dear friend.  But we did have some fun together just the 2 of us, and with the kids, all 10 of us at the start of the month.  August meant back to school, rain – finally, and some more slowly paced days.

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

Hugs and kisses,