Sentence a Day 10.2023

Howdy, gals!!  Thanks for joining me for Sentence a Day 10.2023 – a monthly review of my October in one run-on sentence a day.  As with most months, there were ups and downs but overall, this month was not too shabby.

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.  For each of my daily entries, you will see OGT after the date for that (looooooong) sentence.  OGT = one good thing.  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.

Sentence a Day 10.2023

 

Not sure how I do this every month…start out behind one my sentence writing on the first day.  But somehow, I manage to do just that.  I forget to create a new post for the new month.  This month I am 5 – yes, FIVE – days behind from the start.  Ugh.  There is no hope for me.

Better Late than Never

• Sunday – decided to wear to church some items I was thinking of purging and they all wound up in the purge basket; new series beginning at church; sat by Denise and Dick from writing; PC and I split a  Taco Tote pack for lunch then picked up the girls for swimming; they brought their Barbies (love it!!) and set up a ‘house’ beside the ‘ocean’ – our pool; Lauren came over and sat in the hot tub for a bit; we ordered pizza, ate then the girls headed home, we watched football and then off to bed.  10.01.2023 OGT: the way the girls played

• Happy birthday, May!!  I am glad you were born, and then gave birth to my PC.  Have I mentioned (lately) how much I love Mondays?  Well, this one was a bit out off kilter because I had to take Purrcival back to the vet to have his incisions checked; but started the day getting up to work out; vet clinic and Purrcy looks ok; dropped him off at home, picked up groceries at Walmart, mums at Lowe’s, and got my eyebrows threaded; home to put everything away; finished laundry, changed sheets on the bed, washed the bedspread, folded the laundry and put it away; this sausage and cabbage recipe for dinner which we ate while Facetiming my MIL while she ate the Red Lobster birthday dinner we Ubered to her; Supernatural workout and Monday night football.  10.02.2023  OGT:  Purrcy is healing well

Moving Slow

• Couldn’t get motivated to do much today…but now that I think about it, I accomplished quite a bit:  took an early morning walk as it was refreshingly cool, then ran on the treadmill my 1.75 miles; vacuumed and mopped downstairs then put out these new kitchen rugs that are WASHABLE and come in several pretty colors and prints; worked on my Fear Not painting; ironed all of my wrinkled pieces; over the mountain for Jason’s Deli and writing group; Dick gave us a mini-lesson encouraging us to WRITE – I always leave the get-togethers feeling uplifted.  10.03.2023  OGT: upping my exercise

Play Day

• Hump Day – told myself I could play today; we did get up to do a weight workout; I transplanted my mums into larger pots for fall; put together this roasted chicken dinner which wasn’t nearly as good as Valerie’s husband’s version of the same thing; started out on another walk but felt nauseous so didn’t walk long; finished my Fear Not painting; listened to my Creative Live writing course; scrapbooked with Valerie and we set out our next layouts for pictures of Mom’s 95th birthday; watched some junk on TV before going up to read; trying to finish up my books.  10.04.2023  OGT:  the memory of Roby’s roast chicken

• Today was like a Friday because PC is off tomorrow; got PC off to work; took another walk listening to our book of the month The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams; did these post-menopausal workouts for chubby tummies; worked on my scrapbook pages while listening to the Law & Crime trial “Take Care of Maya“, this is the trailer for the documentary that outlines the case; fixed Weight Watchers taco salad; Supernatural workout; watched Thursday night football before bed; looking forward to a 4-day weekend.  10.05.2023  OGT:  quiet day

Weekend Fun

• Slept like a champ, PC’s Friday off so we headed across the mountain in hopes of getting my car washed at the dealer while we ate breakfast there (sweet bread or chilaquiles or eggs) but the car wash machine (whatever that is) was broken so they couldn’t wash it, we ate a sweet bread and then headed for a 2.5 mile walk along the Canyons at Cimarron; stopped at Walmart on the way home then I did a drop-in visit with Luna kitty and PC came home; worked in the yard then had an early supper at Casita Linda’s; put together a jigsaw puzzle and then watched the “Imprisoned Son Trial” on Law & Crime, Facetimed Bren and Declan so I could see him ‘read’ his new book.  10.06.2023  OGT: walking together

• Winter baseball has commenced and PC joined a pick-up game at Grandview Park with our writing friend Dick, I had just begun scrapbooking with Valerie when he called saying he needed me to bring $5 for the umpire so I jumped in the car and met him at the park; on the way home I did my drop-in visit with Luna kitty; then returned to scrapbooking with my sister – we took a lot of time on the pages for Mom’s birthday and I love the way they turned out; ran 1.75 miles and did this post-menopause abs workout and 5 minute arm workout for the second time this week; we so enjoyed putting together the puzzle yesterday that Paul suggested we order a puzzle desk and go to Hobby Lobby to buy more puzzles – after we ate dinner at Jason’s Deli; when we got home, PC accidentally stepped on Purrcy right front paw and broke open the stitches, I was nervous the rest of the evening worrying that his foot was broken.  10.06.2023  OGT:  puzzling together

Poor Kitty

• Purrcy is still hobbling but appears better; we had some family time in bed before getting ready for church;  I wore my new maroon fall sweatshirt and pleated animal print skirt, felt much more like ME than last week; encouraging message, sat by Dick and Denise; Whataburger for brunch – salad for me, burger for PC; walked around the outlet mall then drove by Morehead Middle School which has been purchased from the school district to use for housing immigrants; drove by San Jacinto Plaza where immigrants who haven’t turned themselves in are camping out; Lowe’s and Leslie’s Pools and home; football all afternoon and a visit to Luna; charcuterie board and wine in the hot tub for supper; football before bed, tired tonight.  10.07.2023  OGT:  soaking in the hot tub listening to a new book together, “Such Kindness” by Andre Dubus III

New Week

• Slept soundly, chilly when we woke up; did a little reading, then quiet time and then fixed breakfast; PC was home for Indigenous People’s Day; he worked on our squeaky garage door and watered and trimmed the trees; I did laundry, set out fall decorations in the front yard; had grilled cheese for lunch; washed the kitties; worked on one of our new puzzles – a combination of kitties and books; spaghetti for dinner; Supernatural workout, Monday night football and I won!!  10.09.2023  OGT:  Monday
• With the holiday recognizing Indigenous People yesterday, I was afraid I would fall behind on all the things I want to do this week, but I managed to get a lot done today, with plenty of time for play; quiet time and breakfast; then my sister asked if I wanted to paint our foam pumpkins and the answer was YES!!; we started work on them, took a break so she could have lunch and I could fold laundry, put it away and get my ironing done; then we put the finishing touches on our pumpkins; I listened to my Creative Live writing course; cleaned off the pool deck; made these pork chops – delicious, please try them; took a very short walk, did a FitBit weight workout, and after dinner PC and worked on our puzzle; watched “The Voice” and did a Supernatural workout…yay, me!!  10.10.2023  OGT: painting

Feeling Pudgy

• Good day…got PC out the door, did quiet time; brushed the pool, watered the mums, made a chicken noodle soup with the scraps from the roasted chicken; ran on the treadmill and did my rowing machine; set up my Dia de los Muertos altar on the dining room buffet; drew the pumpkin and mums onto the canvas for my next painting project; tried on all of my jeans – yuck; I really need to lose about 8 pounds; our puzzle board arrived so transferred the puzzle onto it and moved the whole kit and caboodle onto the kitchen table; ate dinner then worked on the puzzle; Supernatural before bed.  10.11.2023  OGT:  work and play
• Thursday – cleaning day, the first of two cleaning days; struggled to get my Where Bloggers Live blog post published; scrubbed the bathroom, dusted, vacuumed, mopped upstairs; rearranged some things in the garage, and put PC’s microwave and fridge in my car so he can take them to work tomorrow; took my purged clothing and shoes to Uptown Cheapskate; ran into Walmart to get a pumpkin to paint for my BFF Sharon; cleaned the litter boxes and the vacuum canisters; leftover pork chops and soup for supper; tired tonight but got my steps.  10.12.2023  OGT: clean upstairs

Pumpkin Painting

• Happy Fri-YAY!!  Downstairs cleaning day; vacuumed, dusted, mopped, cleaned kitchen and bathroom, front porch; met with Valerie at 1:30 to paint our second pumpkins which was downright relaxing; took a short walk in the splendid cooler fall air; PC picked up Red Lobster for dinner; we worked on our puzzle and made good progress; Supernatural workout gave me enough steps to win this 6 week StepBet; watched “The Greatest Race” on TV before climbing into bed late for us.  10.13.2023  OGT:  Paul cooked

• Made pumpkin cinnamon rolls for breakfast…mmmmm; PC played a pickup baseball game and I went to ‘gymnastic’ to see my baby and her babies, boy had I missed them; tried to see the solar eclipse and did notice longer shadows and a strange eeriness at 10:30 am; made plans to go to Chalk the Block with them tomorrow after church; stopped at Michael’s to get a ‘beaker’ for my altar to represent Dad and Mom’s research; watched Tennessee beat Texas A&M on TV; soaked in the hot tub and enjoyed a glass of wine and a charcuterie board with pepper jelly, crackers, shrimp, cheese, apples and a cheese spread; watching a CNBC special on the crisis in Israel, so sad.  10.14.2023  OGT:  seeing my babies

Chalk the Block

• Such a good message at church today…encouraged to do my quiet time more religiously – ha – and enthusiastically; met Lauren, Francisco and my baby girls at Chalk the Block downtown in what is being called the ‘Arts District’ where we admired the chalk art on the sidewalks, created our own, and had a bite of lunch; on the way home we stopped at the Old Glory Memorial where PC had purchased a memorial brick for me like the one I purchased for him a few years ago; our bricks were put together in the Desert Storm section of the memorial; I so appreciate being honored for my years as a military wife; home to watch football; ordered a pizza as my last hurrah before Valerie and I begin WW together tomorrow.  10.15.2023  OGT: my sweet husband and my honorary brick

• Crazy dreams had me rolling around all night; up early for QT and then a weight workout and quick walk around the block…dark and chilly out; weighed and measured myself for the health challenge Valerie and I are doing together; worked on laundry all morning; added pool chemicals; ran on the treadmill but it stopped again suddenly mid-run – can’t believe I haven’t broken my neck yet – ordered a new treadmill to replace it; started work on a pumpkin painting; fixed this meatloaf recipe with pumpkin fettucine for dinner; a number of fatal wrecks this weekend caused by smugglers headlining the news tonight – our poor city; Monday night football; blog reading, Supernatural workout before bed.  10.16.2023  OGT: trying hard to get healthier again

Call Me the Book Fairy

• Up early again – WOW!!; quiet time and then a menopause ab and arm workout; took a spin around the block with my weights after PC left for work; rode my stationary bike; watered plants; worked most of the day on my hometown blog post – written from the ❤️; the immigration situation in El Paso is out of control; finished up laundry, folded and put away clothes; headed for Jason’s Deli when PC got home so we could eat and meet with the writing group; Dick taught a quick writing lesson and Paul offered a prompt for a write to; always uplifting and encouraging.  10.18.2023  OGT:  I live in the U.S.
• Super tired tonight…without realizing it, I turned off the alarm 3 times this morning – so much for getting up early; scrambled to feed the kitties, shower, get dressed and get over the mountain to take the girls to school; I asked Cami what my real name is and she said ‘the book fairy’ – I LOVE IT!!; ran into Target after talking to Vita on the phone in the parking lot for an hour; then onto the commissary; home and slowly put all the groceries away; Facetimed with my sister and brother; PC picked up Taco Bell; ready for bed at 8:00 pm.  10.19.2023  OGT: money for groceries

Three Day Weekend

• PC’s Friday off but he had an optometry appointment first thing in the morning; I stayed home and did a Supernatural workout; Paul brought home Dunkin Doughnuts – yum, and I indulged in a pumpkin one – have been good tracking my WW points all week; went to see “Killers of the Flower Moon” which was 3.5 hours long but very good; in the middle of the movie I got a text from Lauren that she was at the pediatrician with Cia about a bald spot on baby girl’s head, they are running tests trying to figure out what’s happening; Bren sent photos of Cady in her homecoming dress – so pretty with pink high top Converse on her feet; got out a new puzzle, 1000 pieces this time; watched the first episodes of “Lessons in Chemistry” after reading the book with my book club.  10.20.2023  OGT:  good movie, good TV

• Woke up and let the kitties in, then fell back to sleep until 8:35 – delightful!!; family time in bed for a bit, talked to Brennyn and Declan on Facetime; weighed in and have lost about 3 pounds; made an omelet for breakfast and we ate on the patio; took a walk at the reservoir; picked up some things at Walmart and Lowe’s; PC put together my new treadmill and I swept out the garage and arranged the gym equipment; scrapbooked with my sister but we both struggled to do much; watched the Vols lose to Alabama; fixed charcuterie and sat in the hot tub listening to our book; PC fixed the leg on my my chaise lounge; worked on our puzzle; watched “48 Hours,” did some blog reading.  10.21.2023  OGT:  enjoying the hot tub, a pretty sunset and a good book together

Home Built on Rock

• Another uplifting church message about building your home on rock and being the light that draws others to a relationship with God; I always leave better than I arrived; we split a Taco Tote taco pack; walked around the outlet mall; PC bought me 2 new tank tops – the better to run in, my dear; picked up small bouquets for the girls (Cami’s for her gymnastic performance and Cia’s for her straight As and for being student of the week); met Lauren and fam at El Paso Gymnastics for Cami’s showcase where she did a floor routine, balance beam and parallel bars; she just amazes me with her confidence and spunk; Lucia is shyer but fully capable of doing the very same things; on the way home met my newest Rover clients – Cheezy and Prince; watched football, did my Supernatural workout.  10.22.2023  OGT:  Cami’s spankiness in her leotard

 

Slower Pace

• Knew PC was off today so didn’t set an alarm and slept until after 7 am; I did quiet time in bed while Paul goofed off on his phone; started a new StepBet; Paul mowed the grass while I started laundry; ran on our new treadmill…was somehow harder than on the old one!!!; watched “Take Care of Maya” trial, read blog posts and worked on my own upcoming ones; did a post menopause workout and Supernatural; leftovers for dinner; watched the Texas Rangers-Houston Astros game; my fantasy football team won again…I might move from second place to first!!; Cia had blood work for the hair loss.  10.23.2023  OGT: slow-paced day
• Blood work for Lucia is back and it points to an autoimmune thyroid issue – perhaps a problem similar to Lauren’s health issues; glorious rain in the night and off and on today;  PC was awake playing his game a lot of the night so I mentioned that he seems to have gone overboard with it; got the laundry done; ran on my new treadmill – a mile on it seems a whole lot further!!; ordered groceries for my MIL May; got most of the ironing done and the laundry all put away; rescued silly Purrcival who climbed the neighbor’s tree then couldn’t get down; did some blog reading; started having an ocular migraine – my second one in a 2 weeks, so stepped away from computer and watched TV for a bit; made this savory chili recipe for dinner; Supernatural before bed.  10.24.2023  OGT:  opportunities

Send Off for a Soldier

• hUmp DaY – finished ironing so stayed on track today; PC picked me up at 10:45 to attend Pvt. Victor Saco’s funeral – a Vietnam War vet who had no next of kin to attend his funeral, El Paso turned out in impressive numbers to recognize him; had Brown Bag deli after; voted for Proposition 9 that would give retired teachers their first raise in 18 years; drove through the cemetery to visit George;  stopped by to check on Prince and Cheezy, my new Rover.com charges for the week; got my Halloween costume ready for Saturday’s party; worked on my elephant cross-stitch, really enjoying that work; watched the “Eye Drop Murder Trial” on Court TV; leftover chili for dinner; worked on our puzzle until there came word on a missing child from Lucia’s school (who turned out to be hiding until just before midnight) and mass shooting in Maine – oh, this world.  10.25.2023  OGT:  Addie was found safe

• House cleaning Thursday but first across the mountain to help with the girls; took Cia then Cami to school, took a quick walk then got the housecleaning underway while watching the trial; cleaned bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed, mopped upstairs; did my drop-in visit for the kitties; made this chicken-zucchini recipe for dinner; watched football and worked on my elephant cross-stitch until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer.  10.26.2023  OGT: being with my babies

Clean House

• Fri-YAY and the beginning of a busy weekend; got the downstairs cleaned up and smelling so good; filled my Wallflowers with this fall fragrance – Moonlit Graveyard – that the girls say smells like “Gabba’s house” – which is accurate for sure now that it is in plugins all over the house; showered and dressed in my new blazer for a friend’s 75th birthday party but PC was not feeling well when he got home so we didn’t go; Supernatural workout; put together the book summaries and voting link for the book club’s November book; Declan dressed as Clark Kent went to trick or trunk at Brennyn’s hospital; watched the first game of the World Series and off to bed.  10.27.2023  OGT:  my clean house

• Slept until 8 am; never happens; did a quick ab/arms workout; fixed biscuits and turkey gravy for breakfast; showered and over the mountain to pick up the girls at gymnastics, dropped Cia off at math tutoring and took Cami to Hobby Lobby; picked up Cia, had McDonald’s and let them play in the play area; back over the mountain with the girls to do my kitty drop in visit, the girls loved the kitties and vice versa; played with slime until the water was warm enough for our hot tub soak; Lauren picked the girls up at 5:30, we dressed in costume and headed out for a costume party at one of PC’s work friend’s houses around the corner but didn’t stay long; worn out tonight; poor Lauren is having a time with Cami’s daily meltdowns. 10.28.2023  OGT:  tomorrow is a day of rest

Chilaquiles, Anyone?

• Another good night’s sleep, although we went to bed much later than we normally would; missed church; PC asked me to pick a new restaurant for breakfast – I selected The Junction Brunch Station, and enjoyed their tasty chilaquiles, Paul had a sausage, egg, potato burrito; walked around the outlet mall but didn’t buy a thing; stopped in for my visit with Cheesy and Prince – they have been so sweet, will miss them; home to scrapbook and visit with my sister, Valerie; Panda food (Panda Express) for dinner; football and Supernatural after dinner; puzzled a bit – this 1000 piece puzzle is tough!!; worried about stray kitties and puppies tonight with the low temps in the 30s.  10.29.2023  OGT:  sleeping well and late; peaceful day

Brrrrrr

• Chilly willy this morning with temps in the upper 30s, here we go!!; got PC off to work, crawled back under the covers for quiet time and bill paying; gathered laundry and got it washed; changed sheets on the bed; watched the eye drop murder trial; talked to Bren and Dec on Facetime twice – that angel is so animated and makes me laugh, my brother on the phone 3 times, Lauren and Paul once each and had a dozen telemarketer calls – grrrr; fixed red beans, sausage and rice for dinner and these delicious apple dumplings;  did my Supernatural workout and a Hasfit abs workout; fire in the fireplace tonight.  10.30.2023  OGT: a warm home, warm bed

Boooooo!

• Happy Halloween!!  What a fabulous day!!  Cold morning, bundled up and headed over the mountain to take Lucia and Cami to school and to accompany Cams on her first field trip – trick-or-treating at an assisted living community, she was positively ecstatic about everything, and Lauren later told me that both babies were so excited to have me come this morning; it was wonderful to see the faces of the sweet senior citizens (like me) passing out candy to the children; Lauren and I shopped at Annie Mo’s holiday boutique – oh, the things!!; enjoyed lunch at Jason’s Deli – such a nice time together; home to relax a bit, more laundry, fed the kitties, ran on the treadmill; back over the mountain for pizza and trick-or-treat with the kids and the girls, Cia and Cami did my ‘makeup’; PC was very agreeable and good with the girls; happy way to end a good month.  Missing my Brennyn, Cady, Dec and Tafa tonight, too.  10.31.2023  OGT:  the joy that children bring and children have

1 Sec Each Day

 

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

 

And the Clothes, the Clothes

 

This was a casual clothes month as I look back over pictures I have taken of different outfits I wore.  I usually wear a dress or skirt to church but the rest of the time, I am in jeans or yoga pants/shorts.  Now that it is cold, I will be breaking out my cords again.  So glad to see they are back in style!!

Looking over these photos, it is time for a haircut!!  Not going to list all of the pieces to these daily outfits.  But there are a couple of items I really loved wearing.  This blazer at Old Navy.  And this green pleated skirt at New York & Co.

2023 WOTY UPDATE: CONSISTENT

 

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

• completed a Supernatural workout 4X a week

• ran 1.75 miles 2 times each week except the week we were waiting for my new treadmill to arrive and had given away my old one
• swam once I think, but have subbed in riding the stationary bike instead, now that it is too cool to swim
• started doing ab work (need to up my game); doing these menopause ab workouts; never really had a tummy until now
• completed 2 Step Bets and have met my steps for the first week for a third Step Bet Challenge; have won close to $20

• have been doing quiet time 4 times a week
• read 2 adult books and have 2 more almost completed; my book club is choosing its November read tonight; need to pick up the pace as I am 2 books behind on my Goodreads Challenge (are we friends on Goodreads yet?)
• did a couple of Monday manis complete with my own gel polish, had my eyebrows threaded and my hair trimmed regularly
• working out my brain with Wordle every day, have added Connections and Spelling Bee to my brain workouts
• have been working jigsaw puzzles several evenings a week lately
• I am doing Duolingo for Spanish and have a 54-day streak going on it
• deleting unnecessary images from my photo galleries regularly
• cleaning my phone of junk files daily
• have scrapbooked and painted and cross-stitched at least once each week

I am proud of myself.  It isn’t always easy for me to be consistent because LIFE.  But I am learning work-arounds and learning to give myself a little grace when things don’t work out.

Your Turn

 

How would you rate your month?  I think I would give ours an 8 overall.  That’s 3 months that rate an 8 in a row.  What is this world coming to?

Thank you for coming by.  Hope your week is off to a great start.  I am catching up on blog reading, book reading and being Gabba to Lucia and Cami.  Find some time for you, this week!!

Hugs and kisses,