Cooking with the Hubs

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Oh my goodness! How about our Tropical cool front? Is it cold where you are? It was 53 degrees outside this morning. So I bumped the heater in the house to take off the chill. What is it about just a degree or so that seems to take the sharp nip off? After giving the heater a moment and a few sips of coffee later, I was able to adjust the heater such that it would turn off.

On my way to our grocery pickup this morning, I captured the team taking down the Christmas lights in our little town. I appreciate the care put into this tree and all of the lights paired with giant size snowflakes. The lights added to this tree are quite large and they look like shooting stars against the night sky. It’s truly magical. I’ll look forward to the town lighting up again when Christmas rolls around.

The last of Christmas decor getting packed away in our sweet little town

We’ve been hooked on zoodles for the last two weekends. It’s such a simple yet delicious meal. I used to use our hand spiralizer, but now that we have the KitchenAid attachment, there is no need to go back.

Setting up and prepping vegetables

This gadget makes quick and easy work.

We snipped the strips (with kitchen sheers) every so often

We missed using our wok today. I really need to get that seasoned again so that we can get back to using it.

Added a little garlic salt and pepper

I can’t tell you how yummy this was. But we both agree that the squash and zucchini pack the best flavor. In fact, we much prefer zoodles over pasta. Our date at the kitchen table was the best.

This meal leaves us craving more

We added quite a few zucchini and squash to our grocery pickup today. I foresee another meal like this again soon.

What’s your favorite meal on cool day?

Wherever you are, may your day be blessed and your meal delicious.

Blessings – Debbie

From My Office

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Good Friday evening friends! I hope you had a great week. I just wrapped up my Friday to-do list, so I’m feeling good about going into the weekend.

Much of my week was spent at my desk. Lately, I’m working in Photoshop to create paintings for our home. The image on my screen has 8 layers of paint and is dedicated for our dining room. Once it’s finished, I intend to send this off to have it printed on a large canvas.

My work area and brand new office chair

The search for the office chair is over. I finally found a comfortable chair over the holidays that seems to have been made just for me. I love the fit that much.

Having a workspace to function properly is a big deal when a lot of us spend many hours a day on the computer. What I like about my workspace.

  • My chair – I love the way the back curves to provide the right support for my needs.
  • The arms of the chair move up and down, forward and back, and swivel in and out.
  • The footrest below is key too. I can sit as high as I like and my feet have the perfect place to rest.
  • I recently had the keyboard tray removed. This seems to be the perfect setup to bring everything up to the desk and my posture all around feels much better this way. Makes me wonder why it took so many years to figure this out.

The tool orientation for when I’m painting.

  • Wacom Tablet – on the left. I’m a lefty, this is the best spot for this tool.
  • The keyboard in the center allows me to use short commands while painting.
  • The mouse on the right. Wow! I’m grateful that I’ve always used the mouse right handed. If I ever need to grab it quick, I don’t have to put my Wacom Artist Pen down.
  • Computer glasses are kept below the computer screen. Those glasses are a work horse at the computer. I can’t imagine this kind of work without them.
The hubs hung the new curtains over the Christmas Holiday

I’m having a great time getting my new office set up. There is more to come. But that, as we all know, takes time.

My yearly calendar is one of my favorite daily visits

This calendar is my sidekick. Notes, tasks, appointments, and thoughts about everything fill the pages. The reminders prove useful, as I don’t forget the important or not so important things that ramble through my mind.

Since our needs vary, what is it that you enjoy about your office workspace that makes it comfortable for you?

Cheers to getting situated for the New Year and beyond.

Blessings – Debbie

Happy New 2022

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Hello out there! How are you this season? I struggled with a little tug on my heart when the season ended. I wasn’t ready. But we somehow got it together and finished packing up the tree over the weekend. And just yesterday, all of the seasonal things were packed up and put away.

It’s been a long while since I’ve had anything to say on the Blog. And something hit me the other day, the blog juices kicked in from seemingly out of nowhere. So here I am, wishing all of you a Happy New Year!

We wish you a Blessed and Happy New Year

Typically, when I get behind on the blog, I go into panic mode of trying to play catch up. But just for today, I’m picking up right where I am, in this moment.

In this moment, the bougainvillea by the front porch makes my heart sing. In fact, my heart has been singing for days. It’s getting a little out of control, but I haven’t the nerve to trim it now, in all of its glory.

If the color were a word, it would be joy.

A little shot up close today.

It’s the simple things that make the heart sing.

I worked on my new fun hobby of doing my own nails this morning. It’s amazing the happiness and satisfaction that comes from learning new things. This is truly satisfying.

These are the tools that make the job a breeze. I had most of the miscellaneous files and clippers on hand. But that brush in my hand, is one from the new collection of brushes ordered from amazon. I’m getting into the winter blues and mixing up the designs this season.

More on the joys of 2022 later. For now, I wanted to post a little update from today and share a little joy.

Blessings – Debbie

Invisalign Chatter

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Hey gang! How are things in your world?

If I’m being honest, I hit a bit of a bumpy road during the first few weeks of Invisalign. The hubs is the only one I spoke to about the issue during the first few weeks. Then I finally approached my orthodontist.

I developed severe burning on my tongue. It felt as tho it had been scalded. And accompanied by a strange metallic taste. I thought it could be a number of things.

  • Initially, I thought it was from the rough edges of the trays causing the pain/burning sensation.
  • Then, I thought it was from soaking my trays in mouthwash. And that the trays absorbed the strong mouthwash, causing the burning.
  • My last resort was that I must be having an allergic reaction to the trays. I couldn’t think of anything else.

At any rate, the burning was so incredibly painful, that I thought I would need to stop the Invisalign journey. It was not a pleasant thought, as I truly wanted my bite to be fixed.

When I mentioned the issue to my orthodontist, he immediately replied that I should not be experiencing an allergic reaction. So I dropped it, thinking I was off my rocker. But I knew I would have to resolve the issue myself or give up the Invisalign.

I poked around on the internet to see what could possibly be causing this awful experience. And found something called “Burning Mouth Syndrome”. I began to read up on that and found that one of the causes can be from overly brushing your tongue.

That was the lightbulb moment. I instantly knew that had to be it. I always brushed my tongue when I brush my teeth. However, I was never in the habit of brushing my teeth after every meal and snack. I figured I was brushing and scrubbing my tongue up to 5 times a day! And was literally damaging the nerves/taste buds. Who knew?

I stopped brushing my tongue immediately. And the burning pain and metallic taste completely healed in 2 days.

It’s great having that behind me and on with the program with a better experience. In just a few short days, I will have reached the 2 month mark.

I can already tell the teeth are shifting. It’s a wonderful work in progress and I’m excited to be well on my way.

Shot this image this morning and played with a filter in Photoshop, just for fun. And to share my sheer joy.

Cheers to progress!

Blessings – Debbie

Invisalign Update – Today is Day 10

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Hey peeps, I hope all is well out there with you and trust you are going into the weekend on a happy note.

I’m still kicking over here, learning how to adjust with these new Invisalign braces/trays.

The first three days were rough.

Days 4 – 6 seemed to be a lot better. And the hubs said my lisp was much improved. This is the time period that I could tell my teeth were moving. My bite had already changed. I especially notice it while eating.

Day 7 and 8 and were not so pretty. Seems I developed a bad habit while trying to adjust to these things = My tongue and jaw developed more sores.

Day 9 (yesterday) my tongue was still on the sore side. And I had to be mindful to stop fidgeting with my tongue.

Day 10 – (today) I think I’m getting the hang of it finally! I’m still mindful to relax tho.

The trays are in for this image. I love how clear they are. It’s hard to tell by looking at the picture. But if you were to zoom in, you would be able to see saliva bubbles in the trays. I’m conscious of them in public. But my mouth is less sore and much happier today.

I tried to capture both sides of my mouth while the trays were out. The below image is taken without the trays. This is showing my natural bite. I also tried to capture the four buttons that are on this side. The buttons are like dots of enamel that match the color of my teeth. I can’t even see them in this image. Yes, I washed my hands 😉

The natural bite on the other side. There, you can kinda see the four buttons in this picture.

Zoomed in – The four arrows point to the buttons. I have a total of 8 buttons. Four on each side.

The buttons allow the aligner to grip a tooth to ensure the right forces are placed in the right areas to move the teeth.

I’ve also had the issue with my lower left tray being loose. I explained in my earlier post that I put trays #2 in on my first day, due to feeling too loose. So today, just for fun, I put in tray #3 on my bottom teeth just to see if I could wiggle it with my tongue. Sure enough, I can lift the entire back side of tray #3.

So I called my orthodontist office this morning to see if this is normal. She stated, there is no concern for starting with the second set of trays. Trays #1 were pretty much starting out the same, such that patients have an easier adjustment period. So I’ll stay on tray #2 and I’m scheduled to see the Dr next Tuesday.

Cheers to getting adjusted! It’s a great adventure and I look forward to getting my bite aligned this year.

Blessings – Debbie

Getting Situated into the New Year

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There is much to be said about making lists, crossing things off, finding new things to add to the list and so on. That’s pretty much like life. New chapters form as we turn the pages and we move on to the next phase. amiright?

The saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained. In order for the adventure, there must be that very first step.

This year I branched out into the unknown, for myself. I visited an orthodontist.

While I haven’t had any major issues with my teeth to speak of = 3 fillings to date and all wisdom teeth pulled, that’s it.

That said, my bite is off and the lower jaw has to push back to get a bite. Grinding my teeth at night has been an issue for years. Thus, wearing a night guard is essential. My dentist thought I would be a perfect candidate for Invisalign. Invisalign would behave as a night guard to prevent grinding and would fill the slot for braces. I was on board.

Next stop was on to my new orthodontist. He too said that I would be the perfect candidate for Invisalign.

My scans were finished over the last two weeks and now I’m finally getting adjusted to my first trays. Today is Day #3.

It’s really hard to see in the picture, but the upper and lower teeth sport my very first set of trays. This shot was taken yesterday, Day #2.

Day #1 (Feb 19th) – Confession: I think I made a bad decision. On day #1, after I got home and settled into the first set of trays (about 3 hours in), I thought to myself – “These don’t seem to be doing anything.” That thought stayed with me a little while. Then is when I made the corporate decision to put the second set of trays in.

“How cool is this,” I thought. I reasoned that I was already 2 weeks ahead of schedule. A little pain settled in that evening, so I took a couple of Tylenol and called it a day.

Day #2 – Yikes! What was I thinking when I thought advancing past the 1st set of trays was a novel idea? It was worse than I expected. I really don’t know what to expect, as I didn’t have braces as a child to compare it to.

And then a saliva issue started. Sorry if this is gross to you. But I have to tell it like it is. Seriously, it was like opening the saliva glands and swallowing every two seconds! So not only was I dealing with the pain from my teeth, the continuous swallowing caused my tongue and sides of my gums/jaws to develop sores from the edges of the trays from all of that swallowing.

That saliva issue sent me straight to google in a panic, to get to the bottom of it. Turns out, the mouth is adjusting to a foreign object and the saliva is the natural way the body responds. WHEW! I finally relaxed knowing that that would pass one of these days.

Having said all that, I learned to follow my orthodontists instructions. Leave your trays in for 2 full weeks and cool your jets for wanting to speed up the process. While your teeth may have already adjusted to the trays in 3-5 days, you need to leave it alone to give ample time for the bones to shift.

I have enough trays to get me thru the first 8 weeks. So I’m going to simmer and keep this #2 tray in for 4 weeks. Then move on to my #3 trays. And be a good girl and stick to the letter of the 2 week law, per each set of trays.

Day #3 – Today

My goodness, the saliva has finally simmered. That was crazy folks! I thought I was going to lose it. Also, the soreness is beginning to subside. And my gums and tongue are getting used to these foreign objects. Cheers! I can finally feel myself getting situated for this great adventure. I’m so excited!

It’s hard to see the little buttons they added to my teeth. You might be able to see them in the pictures above. I have a total of 8. 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom.

In other Invisalign news.

  • I’m wearing the trays no less than 22 hours a day.
  • I take them out for 3 meals a day and put them back as soon as I finish a meal.
  • My teeth and trays are cleaned after each bite of food.
  • I clean my trays with a soft toothbrush and mouthwash.
  • While my bite is the biggest issue, some of my teeth will be straightened to form the best smile. (Grin)

Cheers to moving forward into the great unknown with Invisalign. Stay tuned for updates. I’m not sure how smooth or bumpy the journey will be, but I can already tell things are looking up after those first two days.

Blessings – Debbie

December Days

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December seemed to ramble on at record speeds. We cancelled plans for a party. Mostly because it looked like the hubs would be out-of-town on business. The date to RSVP, came when his plans were still up in the air. So mid December, we had our own little party and did it up right with a nice little date, just the two of us.

The hubs seemed to be pulled in all directions. Work needed him. He traveled, worked weekends, was on call after hours and devoted his time where he was needed most. I admire his qualities and his urgency to get the job done right. His passion, attention to detail and his ability to remain calm while juggling so much, speaks volumes.

It was also that time of the year to take a Christmas picture. “It’s a thing” as the year draws to a close. This year, with the hubs beard, I wanted to take our time and have fun in the backyard. He obliged and didn’t bat an eye when I asked if he would put on his suit. He’s the best sport!

The sun was quickly dropping and we didn’t have as much time as I thought. But we made do with the time we had.

This photo was in the running. But I thought it could use a crop if we were to use it for our Christmas photo.

Cropped ever so slightly. But still, I was not feeling it.

We had little meetings as I worked through a few pose ideas with the hubs.

Oh the fun…It gets tricky when you are shooting your own photos. A camera and tripod are the two key tools. And the bonus is having a remote in hand such that you can snap without running back and forth to the camera for each shot. However, if a pause takes too long between shots, It’s necessary to run back to the camera to refresh the focus.

Between shots, I started to fix the windblown hair. While trying to fix my hair the hubs said, quick, take another shot so we don’t have to refresh. So I mashed the remote while fixing the hair and the hubs had his own fun in mind. I love this shot in so many ways.

While the image below wasn’t perfect for the Christmas photo, I thought it had potential.

There, much better cropped. Then turned to black and white. Hmmm…we were not so sure about the black and white.

Back to the original color. Next it was time to think of a background and how to come up with the Christmas card cover.

As thoughts began to swirl, and thoughts turned to action in Photoshop, I came up with this. It seemed the perfect complement for the photo. And so our 2018 Christmas photo was born.

While trying to come up with a little something for the back of the card. I thought this would go well. I believe this to be the last shot from our photo shoot. The warm glow from the setting sun was magical.

Next, the pic was cropped to a little square for the back of the card, with a little 2018 sentiment.

What a blessing and joy to share all of my days with the man who rocks my world.

Blessings – Debbie

Happy Thanksgiving ~ Happy New Year

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Yes! The title, in that order. This makes me thankful and ever so happy this New Year.

So I went away (from the blog) just before Thanksgiving. It was on purpose.

You see, we were planning a trip to Florida for Christmas.

And there were many guys in the family (my brother, dad, nephew and more) who had the beard swagger going on. My brother has had a beard for years, but my pop was sort of doing it for me. That’s another story, not for today. But I finally got to see pop with a beard. That was really special.

I had never seen the hubs with a beard.

I like beards.

Beards are not the hubs thing.

But he decided to grow one and surprise the family for Christmas. See where this is going?

That said, back to Thanksgiving. I stopped the blog just before this post. The hubs was looking good with his beard, but didn’t want any spoilers before surprising the fam.

This was our special little selfie before we left the house for our Thanksgiving date. The hubs beard was not even a month old.

Another special selfie.

Onward to our little Thanksgiving dinner for two. We decided to try a (new to us) fancy place that we’ve heard good things about. So Vintana Wine and Dine it was.

This is a fun little vignette near the entrance.

From the menu – We Had several choices to choose from. From the first course to the dessert, our dinner was amazing.

This bread…let me tell you…or popover as they call it is something I’ve never had. This Yorkshire pudding popover was goodness I will never forget.

They are crispy on the outside, with an airy, tender and slightly chewy inside. So Yummy! And with a dollop of the sweet warm butter, made this a winner.

The hubs started with the lobster bisque, no photo of the goodness, but he enjoyed.

I started with the farmers market greens candied walnuts + blue cheese + marsala dried figs + pickled red onion + toasted walnut-champagne vinaigrette

Next up, the hubs had the diestel farms organic roast turkey buttermilk mash + cranberry apple relish + wild rice chestnut stuffing + lemon-herb root vegetables.

I went non-traditional Thanksgiving. I didn’t have turkey, shocker!  I had a craving for the macadamia and coconut crusted sea bass served with crispy sea beans + roasted pineapple salsa + mashed sweet potatoes + lime + ginger-lime beurre blanc

Delish!

For dessert, I had the pumpkin cheesecake. The perfect Thanksgiving touch. No photo to share the amazing visual of the sweet goodness.

The hubs enjoyed his key lime tart. It looks amazing! It agreed with him too.

The views were magnificent from the 3rd floor.

But this guy was the absolute best part of my day.

Our meal ended with full tummies and a happy note. Our evening was spent digesting, kicking back, watching a movie and chilling.

It truly was a Thanksgiving to remember.

This post will not be complete without a Happy New Year! Finally, now that we are home from our Christmas trip, I can start blogging without the concern of leaving the hubs out.

Cheers to getting on with the New Year!

Blessings – Debbie

Lately…

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Hey peeps, it seems I’m finally transitioning from summer to autumn. I think I had the last of my favorite summer salads, last week. I’m officially ready to put down the salad fork.

And pick up my soup spoon. I made this 15 bean soup over the weekend. I threw out the seasoning packet that was included with the beans and added my favorite spin on the soup. I also used 1/2 vegetable juice and 1/2 water for the broth. I tossed in a pound of carrots and a large diced sweet onion. This is my new favorite sort of meal this time of the year. Something warm, soft and comforting.

In other news. Well I don’t know that I should call it news, or just thoughts. Nonetheless, my thought “lately” on this old red bird house, (that came with the property) is that it does not pop enough. Like it’s missing something.

While that red color (above) is the color, the image below is something I worked on in Photoshop. I was trying to come up with something that matched my thoughts for what the color of the bird house should be. And to be honest, I love it! Now if I could only reproduce it. I think this project will have to hold a while. Just a thought for now, I guess.

And lately, the koi are down to one and only meal a day. During the spring, summer and early fall, they get between 2 and three meals a day. As the temperature drops in the pond, I will stop feeding them altogether during the cooler winter months.

Ha! I said cooler like it turns bitter cold here. It really doesn’t get too awfully cold, but the fish slow down as the temperature drops, as does their metabolism. Thus it’s not healthy for them to sit on full tummies.

My project over the last week is painting our kitchen cabinets white. The cabinets were started months ago. But I did something to my back and hip that sort of slowed me down for a while. So I got all set up to start my project, when I realized I was completely out of a much-needed item.

So I set out to the local Home Depot. And you guys, I got pulled aside by this site. So I just had to look at all the Christmas stuff out front and check out all the Christmas stuff inside. I checked out light fixtures and a whole bunch of stuff that had nothing to do with my painting project back home.

That’s how I do, it’s such fun to just let go of the focus and follow the path that tugs on our heart. This was exhilarating and didn’t take up too much time or cost a dime. Well worth the time to smell the roses along the way.

I finally made my way to the paint aisle, picked up my item, and I left all other goodies on the shelf.

My painting project is finally underway. I hope to finish up another section this week and move along to a new project next week.

And finally on my lately list. So this year, we had decided not to lug out all of our Christmas decor. I’m still a little uneasy climbing ladders while decorating our huge tree, as I still have a fear of falling. It could have something to do with recovering from my broken wrist earlier this year. While I’m feeling better, I’m not in the mood to mess up a good thing.

But the other night, literally, I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and had the thought of this little pre decorated fiber optic tree just hanging out in the closet in no box.

I ran with the thought, literally as it popped into my head and ran back to the closet (mind you, popcorn is cooking in the microwave) and had it set up before the bag finished popping. Seriously, the fastest I’ve ever set up a tree to date. This is my kind of decorating this year. And it makes me happy that we have a little something to brighten up the holidays. All is well with the world.

Isn’t it the little things that make our days extra special? I hope to enjoy distractions, take in the things that tug on my heart, live in the moment and still get the necessary things checked off the list.

Blessings – Debbie

Roses and Sunshine and Dinner with Nephew

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Happy Weekend Everybody! Yesterday was such a joy filled day. It was also the hubs Friday off work week. Cheers!

I started the morning with a quick zip over to the local Wal-Mart for our grocery pick- up. And back home in a flash to start the day. I had an extended visit in the garden where I was prompted to pick some roses for the weekend.

I took a few quick pix before putting them in a bud vase.

I couldn’t decide which shot I liked best, so I used all of them.

I’m enjoying the choice of polish for the week.

We received word from our nephew that he would be in town on business this week. He asked if we had Friday evening available for dinner. The answer was YES!

What a glorious evening to visit and dine outdoors.

This is “The Basket” that confirms you are at the Cheesecake Factory.

White Chicken Chili for me! This packs an amazing punch of flavor and goodness. It’s my new favorite Cheesecake Factory dish. Really tho, I haven’t had a bad meal at the Factory, ever.

Time well spent catching up.

Until next time dear nephew, take good care and enjoy the rest of your stay.

Blessings – Debbie

Pep Talk

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Who me? Have my very own pep talk? Of course. Why not? It’s a healthy way to push our minds towards our dreams.

What is my dream? One of my dreams is to have Good health, to have a good report with my blood work this month, to stay away from meds as I creep up in age, I want to be like my grandma, never taking a med in her life. Aside from a med here and there to recover from an illness, if she ever had an illness. Come to think of it, I don’t remember her ever being sick.

While I’ve focused on good health the last couple of years, I’m at the point where I’m introducing new habits that support my dreams. It was the other day when I read a quote that stuck with me.

“Try to focus on one new habit at t time. After all, you can do anything, but not everything.” David Allen

Love that quote!

The big difference from reaching our dreams or not, is our actions, what we do about it. What we are willing to do arrive at the place we want to be.

So yesterday, Halloween, I was driving to book club. And it hit me. I was having a pep talk before I was really thinking about it. And it occurred that it was deep and positive. I love keeping thoughts positive.

My thought pattern went something like. I know this is Halloween. There will be goodies at book club. But I really know what I want most out of book club. It was to be there, spend time with friends and enjoy our amazing group discussion about the book that I enjoyed so much. That’s what I wanted.

Anyone interested in the book I was reading, it was Before We were Yours by Lisa Wingate. What an incredible read, loved it!

And I drove away with the reward of being blessed by others.

Another thing that’s on my mind, is the most wonderful holiday season of the year. A time to be with family and friends. A time to adjust the thought pattern if necessary, to remind myself of the dream I’m reaching for for a lifetime. It’s my actions, my choice, my decision, with no excuse (good or not so good) that determines a lifetime of good nutrition and hopefully good health too.

Sure, I’m going to have my pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. And I’m celebrating Christmas. But what I do on a few days out of the year, outside of day to day living, I’m ok with and accept that.

It’s also good to be back on the blog. I enjoy writing things here and there about my journey. It’s another tool that helps to keep me honest with the way things are going.

Happy November People! Can you believe it’s November 1st already?

Blessings – Debbie

Fog in the Garden

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Lately, we’ve been hit with a little fog in the early mornings. It’s that sort of dull haze providing a tranquil, quite calm, just before the welcome of sunbeams. I just love this time of the day.

Shot a couple of mornings ago on the upper terrace.

While in the fog, I shot the things that called my name. Like this flower, as it prepares to shed her petals, making room for more to bloom in her wake.

The roses, oh how I love each one.

And the jade plant as it begins to show its buds for a nice winter blossom.

One of my favorite sounds in the garden, is the sound of the waterfall as it tumbles down a series of mini rocky falls, when it reaches the pond as if nothing had occurred.

And shot one of my favorite hobbies in action. I love populating succulents by snapping off leaves to create new plants. The little plants are bigger than the original leaf already!

I feel extra thankful for the little things in life that make a difference.

Blessings – Debbie

Friendships are Treasures

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When my childhood friend contacted me at the end of August, to see if I would be in town this week, I was sure to add her to the calendar at once.

The date was set for Thursday, Oct 25th and the spot was picked to visit at The Hotel Del.

There is nothing like friendship blended with toes in the sand, the beach, the beautiful Point Loma in the background, lunch on the sun deck overlooking the ocean, a nice visit and laughter on such a glorious day.

She is the sweetest most beautiful soul you will ever meet.

Toes in the sand = priceless! Hey, my toes match her pants! Love her French pedi.

Her friend was such a natural, I took some 38 photos of him with a different pose in each shot. I kept shooting, for fear I would miss something. I think I captured every single pose.

All of us together.

We enjoyed lunch at the Sun Deck Grill, a fabulous beachfront eatery at the Hotel Del.

I had the Baja Protein Bowl with red and‏ white quinoa, black beans, sweet corn, radishes, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, hard-boiled egg, lime dressing. So yummy!

My friend enjoyed this gorgeous shrimp dish.

The hubs and I made it home before sunset. Soon after, I received a text from my friend. She said “go outside and look at the moon”. I didn’t just go outside, I brought the camera with. I can’t think of a better way to end this day, than with this lovely moon rise.

What a blessing and treat it was to have the opportunity to see each other again. A treasure I will cherish for a lifetime.

Blessings – Debbie

Mothering Pups & Spooky Gifts

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Sago Pups, to be clear. Did you know sago palms produce pups? These little gems grow from the mother palm, either from the side or base of the palm.

In the last 4 or so years, I’ve had a wish to extract the pups from the palms and try to root them myself. My first year was a total failure. But I didn’t give up. While I don’t have 100% success, let me be clear, it is well worth the effort and care when one begins to show new signs of growth. This is the latest pup stretching its fronds for the first time. How exciting is that? I plan to give her a new pot this winter/spring.

This is the true mother of the pup. I don’t have any “pup” examples as this sago underwent a nice trim this week.

Since I’ve had success with 7 pups with well-developed roots and fronds, I believe I’m finished with mothering pups. Now I’m off to find exciting new places for the little palms.

This is one of my pups from a couple of years ago.

Speaking of mothering, let’s review the plumeria I mothered from a clipping. It continues to put on a display this season. What I find interesting, is how the fresh blooms are such a deep rich color. Then as the days progress, the flower lightens to soft pink with an inner yellow starburst.

Get Spooky

Wow! Ordering groceries from Wal-Mart has been life changing! No really.  I’ll refrain from getting too carried away. But check out our latest goodie bag! They are so good about exclusive goodie bags around each holiday.

New chip clips! They included two this time.

We used to use the regular binder clips for chip/cracker bags. We’re not picky, but the freebies are fun!

The contents of the little box (from the picture up above) held some fun treasures. The hubs enjoyed these little goodies. The sweet potato Good Thins and the chocolate fun size bar were a solid thumbs up. However, the cinnamon brown sugar snack was not so great, he said. He may have wrinkled his nose while eating said snack.

And from that box, I munched on the oven baked Ritz Crisp & Thins Sea Salt. Yum, so thin, flakey, crunchy and yummy. I would have a hard time sticking to one serving if I purchased a bag of these. I’ll just savor in small doses when goodie time rolls around.

But check out that little Trident Vibes Spearmint Rush piece of gum. Since I’m fresh out of my gum, it was a perfect time to add this to the new Wal-Mart shopping cart. You guys, this gum is so soft and packs a real nice Rush, living up to the name.

Not only do we enjoy our quick grocery pickup, we enjoy the little treats and how they go out of their way to service their customers. Sometimes it’s the little things that go a long way. Yay! I found my new favorite chewing gum, that’s huge!

Blessings – Debbie

Drink Water

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I’ve been working on a water plan that works for me. It’s doable and something that reminds me to keep drinking thru the day. The bonus = the countless perks.

The vision board I created as a reminder to keep on drinking.

When on the run, grab a bottle, or two, or more.

I love crushing large amounts first thing in the morning. These three 16.9 bottles were emptied before 9:30 today. Boom!

Staying positive and having a solid plan as we develop new habits, is key to moving forward. From my viewpoint, this is the best reward we can give ourselves. Let’s have that can do spirit as we make things happen.

Blessings – Debbie