It's Tuesday - I'm Heading to the Pool

It's a Tuesday, and I'm back to the swimming pool today. I'm wearing the skin suit that's most stretched out and I really wanted to order a new replacement. But, there aren't any sales going on, and I simply can't afford the full-price of the suit. I don't know how much longer I can wear this one, however. Right now it would easily fit someone 20 pounds heavier than I am, which means it's VERY baggy. Baggy for a skin suit really doesn't work well. But, I'm tight on funds. 

I really like Slipins divesuits. I wear them 
for my pool days. The one I'm wearing right 
now, however, has stretched to the point where 
I'm not happy wearing it. I checked their website 
today, but just missed out on their latest sale. I 
might be down to two skinsuits. *sigh*

DH spent the day in the warehouse yesterday, assembling a shelving unit for photographs. We finally got the last screws into it after I had locked up and ended the day on the sales floor. It looks good, he did a good job. They're a total bear to put together with a single person, but he managed. 

DH got one of these assembled yesterday. It was 
a serious CHORE. It stands either 80" or 95" 
tall (I don't recall which), and the shelves are 
the heavier weight - the industrial instead of 
the commercial. It took him ALL day working 
solo to get this together. 

I've got a couple of household bills in front of me, I suppose I should get those paid this morning since I'm running slightly ahead of schedule. It'll be one less thing to have hanging over me, right? I also should try to get back to the lawyer I contacted last week. I might have a chance to give him a call later today. 

I have too many things on my "To Do" list. I suspect 
that many of you are in the same situation. LOL

Well, that's about all I'm inspired about this morning. Not all blogs at 3:45 am will be pithy and great fun, but that's also life itself. I hope you have an excellent day, I'm wrapping this up and heading for the swimming pool. Slava Ukraini. 

Finally Back to the Pool and the Olympics, Of Course

So, a quick post before dashing to the pool. Yesterday I skipped the gym, texting a friend that I was too exhausted from the Olympic Curling mixed doubles finals to be able to swim. They might not understand my love for curling, but I'm quite sure a lot of them are catching whatever they can of the broadcasts. 

The majority of the USA Curling team are from the Duluth 
Curling Club, which is HUGE. We're busy watching the 
men's curling now. 

Last night was figure skating - Ice Dancing. I actually had caught most of that during the afternoon while I was cooking, but it was nice to watch without having to dash back to the stove or pull something out of the oven. I didn't get everything I needed cooked yesterday. I'll still have to pull off my stuffed peppers either tonight or tomorrow night. There was a lot that needed cooking, and my baked fruit was more important than a dinner was. I'm now stocked for another 14-16 days of fruit, so the time was well worth it. 

Chock and Bates pulled out the Silver Medal last 
night in an almost flawless performance. Well 
Done!!!

Do any of you use or work with Facebook Ads? I've never bothered, but apparently it's a very important part of my liquidator's contact weapons. I thought I had given him all of the information needed, but he's still having problems. But ... I'm sure we'll figure it all out. I've never used Facebook for advertising, and I'm not fond of my friends getting notifications like that, but it won't be for a long time and then I can pull back from the ads part of the software and go back to the friends part only. 

I don't really do much with Facebook at all, and have 
never received any Facebook ads to the best of my 
recollection. I can't say they'll be a major splash, but you 
never know. 

But, now I'm going to wrap this up and get to the pool. Missing it yesterday was a good decision- I really needed that extra bit of sleep - but I don't like feeling like a slug in the mornings. Have an excellent Thursday, and enjoy the Olympics if that's your thing. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

No Time!

Sorry guys! I'm completely out of time today to post. I'll be back tomorrow with, hopefully, a bit more time to chat. Have an excellent Tuesday. 

Slava Ukraini. 

It's a VERY Busy Day Today and a Wellness Check

Today is VERY busy, and fortunately the roads seem like they'll be good. I have to get up to the clinic in the Northern part of the Cities for my semi-annual infusion, and then I can actually go grocery shopping. I also have to get a few things at the local Target if I can squeeze in the time between doctor and cooking. 

I get a subcutaneous injection twice a year to help 
keep my bones intact. Today is the day for this six 
month period. 

My friend Rosemary has been MIA from the pool. That's concerning because she's as regular as clockwork. I knew she was spending her after-Christmas with the extended family - her three sons and their families come in from out of town/state and everyone rents a large house together for a week. Well, that's her three sons, their wives, and their assorted kids. A LOT of people. It's a tradition and she looks forward to it every year, but she often will catch whatever flu or cold has been going around because kids are germ machines. 

If you ever want to get sick for any reason, hang out with a 
bunch of kids. They're germ machines! 

That's what happened this time also, we found out. She's been MIA from the pool, and she NEVER misses except when she's with the family for this get-together. But the family thing ended last week, and she hasn't returned to the pool. We've been worried. My Gate Gargoyle, Sabrina, determined that she would phone Rosemary yesterday and I gave her the information for her to access the e-chart for contact information. She contacted Rosemary's son yesterday and found out that, indeed, she's been down for the count with a case of the flu, or just a cold. Whatever, she's been sick. Perhaps she'll be at the pool today, or not, but at least we know why she's been MIA. 

Rosemary is a regular - five days a week in the pool, rain 
or shine, every week of the year except right after 
Christmas, when she gets together with the family for a 
family celebration of one week in the Frozen 
Northlands. 

Yes, that's the kind of people we are here in the Frozen Northlands. We look out after each other. Rosemary is older and lives alone. She'a also at the pool every day during the week without fail. For her to be missing for something other than the family get-together (which she reminded us was happening so that we wouldn't worry about her) ... well, if she's missing, we'll do a wellness check on her every time. 

Since Rosemary lives alone, we're always super worried 
about her when she's MIA. Hopefully she's feeling better 
today and can return to her daily swimming routine. 

So, I'm out of here. It's a trash and a recycling day, I also have to drive WAY OUT to Coon Rapids for my semi-annual infusion injection, and I need to do grocery shopping and some cooking as well as my usual three loads of laundry for a Wednesday. Whew! I'm exhausted already just reading about my schedule. LOL Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Mixed Up Days and Time

It's hard to be running behind at 4:00 am, but I'm succeeding in that difficult task - LOL. It's the first of my three swimming days today, and I need to be in the car, heading for the gym, in less than 30 minutes. I do have a little bit of fudge room if needed, but I like to be early, not late. I've always joked that I must have been an eight-month baby because I always want to be early. Was I in real life? Who knows? 

I always joke that I must have been a premature 
birth because I despise being late for anything. 

Are you like me in this? Do you like to be early for appointments and events rather than on time or (heaven forbid) late? Were you the one waiting for the bus as the first person on the corner? Or were you the person running for it to catch it quickly before it left for the next stop? If I have my preferences, I'll always be early. I can always sit and read a book or do a quick puzzle on my phone. I'm usually on a rather strict time schedule and don'e have a lit of wiggle room available. To get my swimming in before the next group of people start arriving to share lanes ... it's important. 

Of course, if you're catching a bus, train or plane, you 
always want to be early. They're scheduled, but they 
also run late or, sometimes, early. 

I have Wednesday in my head today. Have you ever had that feeling when you think of the day as one day but it's actually another one? I don't get those often (that's lucky since my days are crowded at best). When I get them, it messes everything up. Last week was messed up. I put the garbage and recycling out, but it wasn't a recycling day. The calendar provided by the service is less than readable. So, I had to leave the recycling until tomorrow which means my bin is EXTREMELY full and I'm stashing some recycling until after the bin has been emptied tomorrow. 

Sometimes I need a signpost like this to keep the days 
straight. Holiday times, especially, mix the days up - 
holidays in mid-week, days off other than Sunday. 

So, I'm going to get this moving and head to the swimming pool. I hope you have a fabulous and a bit less mixed up day. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini! 

Still No Success - My Certificates Just Aren't Here Any More

Yesterday's swim was more normal. The roads, although typical winter, weren't skating rink icy, and the usual group of swimmers showed up. (I rather missed my "private pool" - LOL). It was good to see my friends again though, and to share my lane with Jolene. Even Meg showed up, her Hubby having once again dropped her off in her wheelchair. I'm sure she's getting closer and closer to being able to put that wheelchair behind her, but it was a serious lower leg break that she experienced at the dog park, and she did say it would be a minimum of eight weeks before she'd be able to walk on it again. I think it's been longer than that by now, so her doctor must be erring on the side of caution. With a weight-bearing fracture like that, caution is a very good thing. 

Winter up here in the Frozen Northlands can be beautiful, 
but we all know to dress appropriately, and have the proper 
boots for walking on ice and through snow. I really feel 
sorry for our ancestors who didn't have down coats, internal 
self-heating vests, or good snow boots. 

I'm still looking for my "certificates" from DH for this past Christmas, but I'm almost ready to give up the hunt and admit to him that I have lost them. It's totally tearing at my heart. The certificates are my absolute favorite gift that he gives to me. Losing/misplacing/throwing them away (all possibilities) just makes me sick to my stomach. But, there's nothing much I can do about it. It's rather like a lost sock in the washing machine. You know you put in a pair, but there's only a single one when you remove the load. It's rare, but it does happen. In this instance, I had a brain glitch and I have NO idea what I did with the certificates. *sigh*

Sometimes my brain glitch really stops me short, and losing 
my certificates was a brain glitch. I've totally run out of 
places to look, however, so it's time to tell DH about my 
stupidity. *sigh*

I did, however, get a LOT done in the kitchen yesterday. I did my "Ogre Juice", I did a new batch of baked fruit for my breakfasts, and I did at least two different things for my dinners. My empty shelving on my side of the refrigerator are once again filled. What a relief! 

I squeezed in a quick run of baked fruit in my kitchen 
work yesterday (I don't do the crumbles that this photo 
has, but the general fruit mix is pretty close). I adore my 
baked fruit for my breakfast, along with a couple of 
pieces of toast and a nice, hot, cup of tea. 

So today I'm off for my final swimming time of the week. I listen to audio books while I'm swimming, and my current book's characters are in the middle of a hidden city inside a glacier - very cold and icy. Highly appropriate for a Minnesota winter's day - LOL. I'll be back tomorrow, so have an excellent Thursday. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Going To Be a Busy Day and Lost Items!

It's a trash day and a recycling day, a "home" day and a shopping day, a kitchen day and a laundry day, and let's just start the whole thing out by swimming. I'm going crazy - I'm not finding the certificates that DH wrote out for this past holiday season. Every year he gives me handwritten certificates - something as simple as a bottle of my favorite rum, or something more complex like a night out. It's something I look forward to every year, and I know this year was/is no exception. EXCEPT ... I can't find them. I had them organized, and for some reason or other, I didn't put them in the usual place. Now I need one for this weekend (a new set of running shoes from FootLocker - desperately needed), and I can't find them at all. I'm practically in tears, looking everywhere, and I'll continue the hunt between errands, laundry, trash, recycling, etc today. But I'm simply not finding them. ARGH doesn't even come close. 

It's going to be a very busy day today. If I make myself some 
soup or stew, that'll be easy and I won't have to spend a lot 
of time in the kitchen. 

I have my first load of laundry in the wash (yes, I checked all pockets before putting things into the wash). I'm hoping that the roads are a bit less icy today. Yesterday's drive to the YMCA was dicey - it was very slippery out. A road that I'm normally doing 55-60 on at 4:30 am, I was creeping along at 35. Walking into and out of the YMCA was also a slippery experience. And the pool was just me and the lifeguard for the first half hour. Rosemary is off on her annual get-away with her family, I knew Meg wouldn't be there since she's still in her wheelchair, but I've never been solo - LOL. By the time I ended, Mary was in the lane to my right, and an unknown swimmer was in the lane to my left, so it wasn't just me any more, but since there weren't any others, I actually swam 10 minutes longer than I usually would have. That was a very good thing since I'm trying to drop my holiday weight down by about 10 pounds. 

The scale is not really my friend just now. It's the end 
of the holiday season, and I need to drop a couple of 
pounds back down to where I want to be. Getting back 
to the pool is a real plus. I don't lose weight as well 
if I'm just on the treadmill. 

Today is grocery shopping and cooking. My cupboards are bare (relatively speaking). I have food to eat, but nothing cooked that I can just grab and reheat. Maybe I'll make a stew if I can find decent, inexpensive stew meat for one. I'll also continue my hunt for my certificates. It's really driving me up the wall. They're SUPER important for me, and I never lose them ... except maybe I have done so this time. I went through all of the trash last night before bagging it and putting it into the bin. They weren't in any of the trash containers. That gives me hope that I put them someplace "safe", or forgot them in my robe or something silly. I'll be looking today. 

Putting something into a "safe" place is working a bit 
too well this time. I can't find the certificates at ALL. 
What Saint is it who helps find lost items? Maybe I should 
send up some prayers. 

So, I'm off to the pool. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back for my final swim of the week tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

DAMN - Another REALLY Short Post

I've managed to misplace something very important to me and I'm posting, but I'm going right back to hunting for it for every minute I have until I leave for the swimming pool. Have a great Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow - hopefully with the lost item recovered. Slava Ukraini. 

A Bit of This and a Bit of That - It's Warmer Today! Yippee!

It's much warmer today, which will be excellent since I forgot the battery to my heated vest charging at the shop. I'll be very busy today, so I'm hoping the weather will cooperate. At this time of the year, you can never tell about that - LOL. But, being at the freezing point now instead of ten to thirty degrees colder is a definite plus. 

I love my heated vest, especially when the 
temps are sub-zero. It's warm today, though. 
Right at freezing. So the fact that I left the 
battery (and my laptop charging cable) at 
the shop isn't horrible. I'll pick them up 
this morning on my way to the co-op. 

I've got a desk full of things that require attention, and it's also the 17th of December - Christmas is less than two weeks away. I need some stuff for DH, so I'll have to make some shopping time for something other than just groceries. DH has an eye doctor appointment before he goes to the shop, so I might have to go over there to make sure everything is turned on and ready before I head to the grocery shop. I'll also drop by the shop long enough to pick up my battery and laptop cable. Then I might head to the co-op just to see if they have any fresh cranberries left. They have the best bulk cranberries from Wisconsin - they're just plumper than the raw cranberries I can usually get at my local grocery store. I think one more batch of cranberry sauce would be delightful before calling it done for the season. 

There's nothing like cranberry sauce made from fresh 
cranberries, and it's easy to make. But, I prefer the berries 
at my co-op - they're a bit larger than what I can get 
bagged up at my local grocer's. 

All of my holiday cards are in the mail. Once again, I apologize for not making hand-made cards this year - it's been a tumultuous year - LOL. But, we're working through things one day at a time. It's really the only way we can effectively live our lives, after all. 

I highly recommend Andrew Ross Sorkin's 
latest book. I know him from CNBC where he 
is a regular financial analyst. It's VERY 
readable, and extremely well researched. 

I've been reading Andrew Ross Sorkin's book "1929" and it's totally fabulous. I'm familiar with him from CNBC - the financial channel that DH has on from the time he wakes up in the morning. I've always had respect for his insight, and I've always been interested in that period of history. The stock market crash of 1929 didn't just happen in a vacuum. There were a lot of factors that built into it. I thought Mr Sorkin would do the subject justice, and I've been VERY pleased with the book so far and highly recommend it to any who would be interested in the subject, as viewed by someone whose business is finance and the stock market. Fascinating and very readable. 

Have an excellent day. I'll be busy, busy, busy - but 
that's always a lot of fun too. 

So, I'm off to the pool. My friend Meg, who broke her leg more than two months ago, was actually in the pool yesterday. She's still wheelchair bound, but Steve drove her over. She changed clothes in the handicapped locker room, and he wheeled her out to Lane 1, which she shared with Rosemary for a while. It was GREAT to see her - her smile, at being back with all of us - was beaming! So, may you have a day filled with joy. I'm going shopping, then I need to cook, and it would be nice if I could get some of DH's gifts wrapped and onto his chair. We'll see - time will be tight today. Slava Ukraini. I'll be back tomorrow. 

It's A Quick Post Today - The Pool is Calling to Me

I don't have a lot of time today to post. Because of the snow earlier this week, I pushed off my swimming schedule by one day while I dug the house and driveway out. So ... today is that make-up day. I'll be in the pool instead of on the treadmill today. That means I've got about 10 minutes to get this up before I need to get into the car. 

Sometimes it seems like my life is running around in 
circles - one after the other. But ... yesterday turned into 
a really good day after a somewhat rocky start. 

My international Holiday Cards went into the mail yesterday. I still need to do a bit of work on my domestic cards, so those will be sent early next week. DH has "requested" (more like ordered) me to work at the shop today, so my second "day off" of the week isn't happening. And, of course, we're working on Sundays for a few more weeks. Any "spare" time I had is quickly disappearing. But ... I'll get those cards into the mail ASAP. 

My international cards are now on their way. I'll have 
my USA cards in the mail, hopefully no later than early 
next week. I'm running late, and I apologize! 

I didn't make cards this year - time simply wasn't anywhere on my side. I went for beauty instead, and chose a card assortment of five views in each box. They're all lovely, and what you're getting from me was a totally random choice of which card came up in the pile next. I've already started receiving holiday cards from some of you, and I know that my mantle will look very festive within the next week or so. 

My Mind Matters group yesterday was a real joy to 
attend again, and with my friend Claire (Chickie Mama) 
alongside. I've made some friends in that group and I'm 
going to miss them after next week's final meeting. 

Yesterday's Mind Matters group was actually a very good back and forth of tips, techniques, and observations between all of us in the group. Sue was there again, and things are going much better for her Mom now - a really good development - but we were missing Becky. I suspect she thought it was just too difficult for her to maneuver through parking lots, etc with her walker. Next week will be the final meeting of the group and I'm finding that I'll really miss that give and take. They're really great people, every one of them. 

So, I'm out of here and heading for the swimming pool. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

We Had a Lovely Turkey Day - Turkey and a Beloved Movie to Top Things Off

 I hope all of my US readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I had a turkey in the oven for much of the day, and it turned out PERFECT! I was delighted. DH and I are looking forward to the left overs for a few more meals. He spent most of the day in the computer room playing his on-line game, which allowed me to be in the kitchen, undisturbed, playing various solitaire games on my phone while basting the bird every 20 minutes. 

The turkey turned out spectacular. I used my plant-based 
butter to melt, and added an herb mixture to it. It was really 
tasty. I also had my hand-made cranberry sauce. I skipped 
stuffing but I think DH might have made some for himself. 
One thing I did that I hadn't done before, was cut up an 
onion and put it inside the turkey while it cooked. It helped 
keep the meat really beautifully moist. 

After dinner and the dishes were done, he announced he wanted to watch "The Fellowship of the Ring" since we hadn't seen it in quite some time. What a delight, to re-enter Peter Jackson's world of Hobbits, Elves, Men and evil entities. Of course there are things I don't like about the triad, but generally, the first movie, that wonderful visit to Hobbiton, ending with grief in Lorien ... there's nothing much better. It has aged well. 

I always enjoyed the first of the Trilogy the best - 
in the books, as well as in the movies. There's just 
so much of Middle Earth to explore, and it isn't 
all battle, battle and more battle. LOL

I'm trying to get to the swimming pool today. We have the first day of our two-day inventory reduction, after Thanksgiving Day sale today. We changed things up quite a bit for this year's sale. We're not reducing the price on our seed beads at all. I'm sure we'll still sell some of them, but we're focusing on larger beads and Swarovski crystal beads instead. So, we'll see how we do. It's a BOGO, which is also a much larger sale than we've done in the past. I am hoping we'll be super busy. 

I'm not fond of sales, but we do a major sale every Black Friday 
and Small Business Saturday. We changed things up a bit 
this time - no seed beads are included (although we're happy 
to sell some - LOL). We're focusing on larger than seed beads 
for both days of the sale this year. 

DH was busy on our huge ladder yesterday, replacing light bulbs, so hopefully we've got some good lighting around the place today. I'll need to print our our Holiday Hours handouts, and I'm hoping to get some of the sparkling garland up, but if not, I'll get to that tomorrow. It's not that important. I will have to print out a copy of our customer email to remember exactly what's on sale today - LOL.  

Sol I'm off to the pool. Have an excellent Black Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Been a Huge Project at Work

My muscles are feeling better today, which is good, because today is a swimming day and I don't want to miss my pool. Last week I had to miss my Tuesday swim because of the locker room issue, but I really enjoy getting my three days a week in the pool going, even if it is horrible for my skin. The perils of growing old, my friends! Your body decides it's going to self-destruct - usually in little ways that just stack up over time. 

Isn't this the case? When we were kids, it was like 
we had boundless energy. I'm quite sure we drove 
our parents and other adults a bit crazy. Now we're 
the parents and adults, and we're exhausted. LOL

We've been busy like crazy at the shop, bringing our precious metal prices up to a reasonable dollar amount with today's metal markets. It's a HUGE chore and has been taking DH the better part of the last two weeks. He's changing pricing and we're doing new price tags for everything and getting items back out for sale. We probably hadn't done this for more than a decade, and you all know that precious metals have gone through the roof! I simply can't afford to sell an item for 1.25 when it should actually be much closer to $10. Welcome to the world of commodities. 

Getting our precious metals repriced has been a 
Major Project that DH has been working on for 
more than two weeks now. 

Precious metals are one of the items that are considered a commodity - something that has value in itself, not necessarily in its' shape. Of course, a silver coin is worth more than a brass one, but a silver bead is also worth more than a brass one because the silver costs more. At least in today's world. Mankind's history is "Oooooh! Shiny" directed. Is there a silver mine over the next hill, or a gold mine across the river? Well, let's conquer them and have an easy source of trade and a foundation of wealth for the state. 

There's nothing quite like the shine of precious metals. We 
never had a lot of gold (fortunately) but we have a LOT of 
silver that needs to be repriced to current pricing. It's probably 
been more than 10-15 years since we last did more than spot 
changes. 

But, it's been a huge task and has been DH's focus for the past two weeks. We're getting to the bottom of it now, but there's still quite a lot of bins left to be priced and re-tagged. It basically comes down to facing reality - the items that we are selling should be appropriately priced for the current markets. That includes our jewelry, and our Native American-made goods. It all needs to happen, and it's all on DH to do. He feels a bit overwhelmed, and is taking it out on Chickie and me - not purposefully (most of the time), but because he needs a release and we're convenient. 

There's nothing much better than swimming my stress 
away. I couldn't treadmill yesterday, my muscles were 
too strained, but today I feel much better and I'm ready 
to tackle the water. 

So, I'm off to the swimming pool to get some of my own frustration out of the way. All in all, things are actually working out quite well, and with good luck, we should wrap this project up by the end of the week. But it's been three weeks or a bit more of steady, non-stop pricing work. A PITA, to be sure. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Hopefully Today Will Be a Bit Smoother Than Yesterday

I have a bit more breathing room today, but yesterday was a bit of a train wreck. I was very rushed for my blog (although better than Monday), and when I got to the YMCA, I found out that the showers in the women's locker room were being worked on and hadn't been available on Monday. When we entered the building on Tuesday, we were informed that they still weren't finished. Although I could have used the family room, I decided to skip my swim and get on with what would prove to be a very busy day at the shop. 

This train wreck from 1910 had 41 fatalities. In those 
days, the train was what you took to get from Point A 
to Point B. Airplanes hadn't taken off yet (sorry for the pun). 

It wasn't that we had so many customers - we did have quite a few, but they were well spaced out and we had plenty of time to deal with them. It was the inventory that we're in the middle of - getting things appropriately counted, and also appropriately labeled and put away. That kept me busy all day, I didn't even have time for lunch. Oh well, that batch of Ogre Juice needs to be remade in any case - LOL. (It's on today's agenda along with cooking a few things for dinners.) 

I need to make a new batch of "Ogre Juice" for myself. I can 
tell I haven't had a chance to actually take a lunch for a few 
days at the shop. My body is screaming for my green juice. 

I've got a collection of items sitting on my computer desk that I need to wrap and send off to Sharon for her holiday gift. I found the perfect things at the craft show last week, and just need to get them wrapped and packed and off of my desk. And tomorrow, of course, will be my weekly MCD class with Claire. I purchased what I'm calling a "comfort chicken" at the craft fair for her. It's this knit, stuffed chicken that's large enough to hug well. I simply couldn't resist getting it for her. 

The knitted chicken I purchased for Claire is quite 
similar to this one and it's wonderfully hug-able. LOL 
You never know when hugging a chicken might be the 
perfect thing to do - LOL. I'll give it to her at MCD class 
tomorrow. 

But today will be a busy day - a laundry day and household day and if I don't get some things cooked, I'll be out of meals after I finish the last of my home-made soup from last week (which is, as always, super tasty). So, I've got to get my head in the game and start today out right with a swim, even if I have to use the Family Room for my locker and changing area. I missed my swim yesterday, and might take one on Friday so that I get my three days in this week ... maybe. I haven't made up my mind, and probably won't until Friday gets here. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Time - There's Never Really Enough of It, Is There?

It's a swimming day so I'm here, dressed in my skin suit, ready to hit the pool in an hour. I always enjoy my swimming, but my skin absolutely hates it. There's a rough spot on the side of my hand that's just not healing, despite constant care. I'd bug my skin doctor about it, but I know not much can be done aside from creams I've already been prescribed. So I'll push onwards, keep with the regime, and hope that things heal up soon. At least having potential scarring won't make much difference on the side of my hand - LOL. 

It's all too easy for me to lose track of time. I have so many 
things to get done, and I just get involved and before I know 
it, I'm late for bed. It will catch up to me by the end of the week. 

I lost track of time last night and went to sleep almost 40 minutes later than usual. I'm not dragging today, but that 40 minutes will drag on me by the end of the week, I can guarantee it. But, as I keep reminding myself, we take things one day at a time right now. We do everything we can to move one step closer to our goals, and just realize that it's the only way they will be accomplished. 

I have a new phone game that I'm addicted to called 
"Arrows". I totally adore it. It's relatively quick, and 
it's challenging. It's a total winner for me, at least. 

I have a new game on my phone that I'm enjoying, called "Arrows". It can be a real challenge sometimes, but there is always a way, it's just finding it sometimes that is challenging. I'm totally addicted to it. I guess it's that sense of accomplishment when I solve a really difficult one that makes me happy. In any case, I recommend it to those of you who enjoy phone games. 

Wrapping this up for the day and looking forward to a 
good, productive day today. *hugs* to all of you! 

So I'm wrapping this up and heading to the swimming pool. I'm hoping I get a good solid workout in today, and that the rest of my day moves smoothly as well. Have an excellent day where you're at, be kind, enjoy the world and people around you, and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

At Least It's a Swimming Day - LOL

We were supposed to have a conversation with a retail expert yesterday morning, but got caught up in discussing a variety of things and ended up phoning slightly late. That was all it took for that appointment to be cancelled. However, we were able to reschedule for tomorrow, and to fill out the form for an extended conversation at the same time. So it wasn't a total loss, just a bit annoying. LOL In the main, yesterday went relatively smoothly, which isn't always the case. 

I doubt we'll actually hire him (although I think he could 
do quite well for us). But we'll both talk with him and 
see what he can offer us. Our appointment is scheduled for 
tomorrow morning and we'll try our best not to miss the 
time zone this time. 

Today I hit the swimming pool for the first time this week. I'm dressed in my swim gear and ready to hit the door running (or driving, in this instance) to the YMCA. I do enjoy my swimming days. I made sure to top off the battery of my audio book last night, so I'm good on power. I don't recall how close I am to the end of the book, but I don't think I'm super close - still a few hours left before this one is over and the last one of the series will be loaded onto my headset. 

I love my Shokz underwater headphones. They fit 
comfortably and snugly, and I can happily listen to 
my book while swimming my laps. Laps without a 
book is WAY too boring. 

I always listen to audio books in the swimming pool, and to music on the treadmill. I've found that if I listen to music in the pool, my strokes change to match the rhythm of the tune(s) I'm listening to. That really doesn't work well for me. So I listen to books in the pool. For the treadmill, however, I'm looking at scenery on the screen, and music works really well to keep me on pace. That's what works for me, at least. Everyone is different and you might approach these two types of exercise differently. 

We're getting colder up here in the "Frozen Northlands", but 
I'm not quite to parka weather yet. I'm wearing my leather 
jacket though - I'm not a total idiot. It is in the low 40's, so 
not many more degrees until we're into freezing temps. 

We're getting colder up here in the "Frozen Northlands". Today isn't too bad - mid 40's F. But it's raining, so it will be a wet wait for the gym doors to be unlocked. Still it's way better than it will be later in the season when we will be bundled in our cold weather gear and turning into icicles while waiting for Sabrina to unlock the doors. 

Boring can be good sometimes - LOL. 

So, as you can tell from above, I don't really have a lot to report today. Sometimes boring can be a very good thing, though. Have a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow for a little more hectic morning. Slava Ukraini.