Sweet friends,
Here we are again with another post in the “Sentence a Day” series. And as I type this we are already into the last month of this crazy-fast year. I just don’t know how it’s possible that I am writing my last sentences for 2017. These days I don’t dare blink for fear of missing a entire month!
Sentence a Day, 11.2017
On the ‘down’ side, November was a whole lot like September and October. More hassles with the pool builder. They did work on buffing out the pits and stains in the plaster. And when the fitting on the suction line to our pump cracked, it only took them three days to come out and get it replaced. But we still have 30+ cracks in our brand new deck. Unacceptable. So expect some more belly-aching about that.
On the ‘up’ side, I enjoyed visits with my daughters and granddaughters this month. But rather than telling you about it here, let’s get to my sentences.
Leaving a Library
- Feliz Dia de los Muertos, el Día de los Angelitos, the day designated for remembering children who have passed; missing you Andrew. 11.01.2017
- Sad, yeah, again…have worked so hard in the Whitaker library only to hear the new librarian say she was going to be changing and undoing/redoing everything I’ve done. 11.02.2017
- Met with the admin at another elementary school where they need a substitute librarian but got a bad vibe; might just have been my body and mind telling me that I need a break; I want to be home for awhile. 11.03.2017
No Place Like Home
- My new phone arrived and has been uploading apps and charging all day…no more broken camera lens and foggy-looking photos, dinner at Texas Roadhouse and quiet evening at home. 11.04.2017
- For all our talk about getting back to an exercise routine, we have hardly moved in the last week and today was no exception, #hibernation. 11.05.2017
- Oh, hurray for a day at home…even if it was spent doing laundry, cleaning toilets and vacuuming kitty fur…I was home. 11.06.2017
- Another day home, cleaning the downstairs today after some quiet time on my back porch in the warm November sunshine. 11.07.2017
The Ohio Clingans
- Finishing touches on my clean house, Walmart run before welcoming my BIL and SIL, John and Greta respectively, to our home for a visit. 11.08.2017
- Shopping from west to east El Paso with lunch and a visit to the batting cages for the boys, in between. 11.09.2017
- Beautiful fall weather for our hike to Dripping Springs, late lunch at St. Clair Bistro and Winery followed by “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Live PD”, all with the Ohio Clingans. 11.10.2017
- Veterans Day with art in the park, final swim of the season, hamburgers on the grill and Shakespeare on the Rocks. 11.11.2017
- Our house guests headed for home this afternoon; need to get back to exercising and eating better this week. 11.12.2017
Hurray for To-do Lists
- Sluggish today; had aspirations for accomplishing much but tomorrow is another day. 11.13.2017
- So thankful to the cave woman who created the first to-do list…this girl does so much better with a to-do list to guide her. 11.14.2017
- Another good day…really helps to start the day with my Miracle Morning routine then to build in time to enjoy some kind of craft project…today it was work on my mosaic. 11.15.2017
- Yay for: painters who show up on time and do what they are supposed to do, 5K training runs on the treadmill and food truck circus dinners. 11.16.2017
- Thankful for children’s books like Wonder by R.J. Palacio that are made into equally important movies; the theater was full of families which, to me, indicated the number of kids who have read or been read to this story and have been touched by its ‘choose kind’ message. 11.17.2017
Ft. Worth on My Mind
- My 5k morning run has me hobbling but with a certain swagger tonight, the 70 minute flight to Ft. Worth afterward was followed by dinner at Sushi Tao, writing and playing Slitherio with Cady, LOTR movie watching with Bren, Mustafa and my Coo. 11.18.2017
- Snuggles and reading with Cady in bed this morning followed by several rounds of Barbies interspersed among a tour of the model home like the house the kids are building, meals, a trip to Nebraska furniture and Cowboy football. 11.19.2017
- Helped Cady work on her story – why can’t I be as enthusiastic about my own? – another round of Barbies with the condo and RV (that doll is living the life), visit to the aquarium and quiet evening at home. 11.20.2017
- Jumping and JCP followed by soup and salad at Olive Garden, then my time in Ft. Worth was over; home to my PC and the royal kitties. 11.21.2017
Albuquerque Thanksgiving
- Quick morning at home before jumping in the car for the drive to Albuquerque and into the arms of my Lauren, Lucia and Francisco. 11.22.2017
- Grateful to be with PC and the kids around the Thanksgiving table; thankful to live in America, for family, friends, good health, the animals in my life, and the many opportunities I’ve been given. 11.23.2017
- Black Friday shopped til baby Lucia dropped; thinking of my sister Valerie on this 16th anniversary of my nephew’s death. 11.24.2017
- Avoided tearful goodbyes by leaving this morning for home without seeing my baby girl…those goodbyes are so very hard…a sentiment echoed in the movie “Coco” we both enjoyed this evening. 11.25.2017
Winding up the Month
- Quiet morning blog writing and gym then discovered that the suction line to the pool equipment has come off keeping the pool filter from working…will this nightmare ever end? 11.26.2017
- Sick of painters and pool contractors but thankful for having a house that needed painting and a pool that needs repair. Kinda. 11.27.28
- Had my hairs cut – all of them – and color touched up, liked the way Connie used a flat iron on my bangs and to pouf the hair on the crown of my head so ordered one from Amazon so I can try to do it myself. #burnbabyburn 11.28.2017
- Woo hoo, good day, a payday…Miracle Morning, crafting, running on the treadmill and ironing, pizza for dinner and best of all, the painters are almost done! 11.29.2017
- So exciting to have the door bell ring several times a day as Christmas presents I’ve ordered are delivered…wonder if every time the doorbell rings an angel gets its wings? 11.30.2017
It really doesn’t look a thing like Christmas around here. But my decorating and crafts will have to wait til we return home from…yes, another trip out of town. I am writing this on Saturday, 12.02. hoping that this will surely be the last trip for the year. My gravy, we’ve been gone more than we have been home.
If you have been journaling your month in a sentence a day, won’t you link-up with us below? It really is fun to look back over your month, your life and see how many days the pool builder didn’t show up to repair your pool. Ooops, did I really say that out loud?
Join us, here:
Or you can start writing your sentences for December and join our link-up post to share those on the first Thursday of January. Mark your calendars and share in the fun!
Your Turn
So, if we were assigning a numeric value to November, on a scale of 1-10, what would you give this past month? Leave me a comment below with your rating. Overall, I would give my November a solid 8. In spite of the pool.
Thank you for putting up with my whining and complaining. I appreciate you hanging in here with me!
Hugs and kisses,
Cindi
Looks like you had a month chock full of activities! Wow!
Your family looks wonderful. You can see all the love.
I heard good things about the movie ‘Coco’.
I want to go see it! Been watching the trailers and listening to the music.
See you next month.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Cindi, for sure at least rent or get ‘Coco’ on Netflix. So good.
Thank you for recognizing the love my family shares. We are truly blessed. Just home from a quick visit with my 90 year old mama. She is one amazing lady. Every time I leave her I worry about what the future holds but she is still going strong.
Em
– Enjoyed your whirlwind month with your beautiful family.
– You hair looks SO pretty!
– Are you LOTR fans, too?! We watch all the extended versions during the Christmas “break”…and have added the three Hobbit movies to our binge watch festival.
– I love the little snowflakes on your page…but at first I was “what the heck!” Super cute.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
My daughter mentioned the extended version of LOTR to us over Thanksgiving. I think she said there are three more disks to the extended version. Thinking she might be getting that for PC for Christmas. He is a huge fan of the books and movies. I like them, too.
Thank you for the compliment on my hair. Just getting used to my flat iron. Hope I can learn to use it!
Thank you for noticing my snowflakes on the blog. Since we live in El Paso, we rarely have snow…and I LOVE LOVE LOVE snow. Last year, I found this snow app to add to the blog. Had forgotten all about it and lo and behold it started snowing again this year on my blog all by itself on December 1. Yay!!!
Natalie
A solid 8 is really great. Thanks, Leslie, for sharing your November with lovely pictures of your family. Have a fabulous December!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
An 8 is a pretty good month, huh? Hoping December will be a 10!
jodie filogomo
What a fabulous month, Leslie!! That last photo with your pool looks magnificent, but what a struggle it’s been!
And I was glad to read that you turned down that job. It’s always good to slow down a little, right??
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I am so glad I turned down that last job, too! But need to start working at least a bit after the holidays. To pay for Christmas!!
The pool is finally beginning to look the way it should have in May. Just lacking repair on the deck but have hired a lawyer to ensure that happens. Ugh!
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
It is hard to keep pushing at this time of year isn’t it Leslie! However, looking through your month you have been busy (as usual). It is lovely how you remember your nephew even though it is a sad time for you all. Those granddaughters can certainly bring a huge smile to your face can’t they? I’m looking forward to December S.A.D. we should all have lovely posts to read.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I bet the SaD posts for December will be the best of the year. Don’t our grandbabies bring the best smiles to our faces? I smile so much my face hurts. And I have my head cocked looking at them so much that I get a crick in my neck. Enjoyed Skyping with my girls and my mom so she could see the little ones in action. Mom really enjoyed it, too.
We have got to get our booties to the gym starting tomorrow. We did nothing but sit on them the week we were home. Terrible!!
curlycraftymom
You have been traveling a lot! I am sure it will be nice to be home for awhile. That last photo of your home is beautiful! I am so sorry the pool has been such a nightmare! I hope you can get it resolved and soon. Both of your daughter are so beautiful, like you! And, so are your granddaughters!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, girl, I am so glad to be home tonight! It was wonderful being with my mom, and so sad to leave her but if I could have hugged my house when we got home I would have!
Thank you for the compliment on the last picture of our freshly painted home. It does look so much better. And the pool is better, too. Just still need to get the deck repaired and have talked with a lawyer about getting his help to make that happen.
Thank you for the sweet words about my Brennyn and Lauren, and ME!!! Naturally, I think they are pretty…but I might be a bit biased. Brennyn really looks exactly like her daddy. Lauren has his coloring but looks a little bit like me. Funny how kids wind up being a combination. And both granddaughters look more like their daddies right now. But I am hopeful the older they get, we will see more of their mamas in their features.
Debs
Some great memories made in November – you certainly clocked up some miles!
Because I live in the cold old UK, it always seems strange to see people preparing for Christmas in the sunshine! That blue sky looks lovely, it’s been a while since we saw one like that here. I’m looking after a neighbour’s cat this weekend and when I went to feed her this morning and to let her out for the day she looked at me as if to say ‘Seriously? You want me to go out when there is frost on the lawn?’
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Ha! Had a chuckle about the cat you were watching not wanting to venture into the frosty grass. We just got home from a week out of town and let our kitties out for a breath of fresh (cold) air. They ran out and then ran back in the house! The temps have gone from high 70s F (20s in c) to highs in the 40s F (6c). But like you mentioned, we almost always have bright sunshine. El Paso is the Sun City for having over 300 days of sun a year.
Nikki Gwin
As I am reading, I wish I had a note pad to write down my thoughts, because by the time I reach this comment section at the bottom I have lost every single one of them! ha! But I am going to give it a shot….
1. Loving the hike scenery and the Veterans Day celebration.And I SOOOO want to see Murder on the Orient Express.
2. I add my kudos to that list writing cave woman…
3. The trip to Ft Worth warms my heart! Love the snuggles picture. And I’ve always and still do love Barbies.
4. The goodbyes… you almost made me cry just reading about them.
5. Love your hair. And if only I could fix my hair like my stylist!
6. Your house and pool are gorgeous!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Nikki, what a very thoughtful comment! When I leave comments, I find myself wishing I had a note pad to write down my thoughts, too.
Murder on the Orient Express was pretty good. Look for it on Netflix!
Barbies are the best, even though they are an anatomical impossibility. I always wished for a Ken and never had one, so my favorite Barbie dated my bald Barbie who came with lots of wigs. Just left the wigs off.
I will probably not be able to replicate the stylist’s work on my hair. But I am going to try. Thank you!
And thank you for the kind words about my home. I love it. And am happy to have the fresh paint job to brighten things.