Friday Five - We Doubled Our Money!

Friday Five - We Doubled Our Money!

It was an interesting week, medically speaking. All is well, but I'm acutely aware that I am in my 60's and my physical form is aging rapidly. We also had interactions with two sets of dear friends that are struggling through cancer, another heart wrenching reminder that we are all now on the downward side of that bell curve. 

Note to self:  Life is short. Live big. Love mightily.

1.  We had fun turning $100 into $200. We attended a recent event that included a $20 Wine Pull Booth. We bought five pulls, which resulted in the following, once we got home and looked up our pulls online:

    Bottle One- $15 retail

    Bottle Two- $20 retail

    Bottle Three- $45 retail

    Bottle Four- $52 retail

    Bottle Five- $65 retail

    

Retail total for the five pulls: $197, almost exactly twice what we paid. Plus, no sales tax, an additional $15 savings. 😃

2.  Restarting HRT turned out to a good, but somewhat costly decision. After consulting with my doctor, I went back on HRT in January of this year, because once fully off, my hot flashes returned roaringly. 

I was unaware that going off HRT and subsequently restarting it was not necessarily a simple matter for the aging body, and thus was just mildly concerned when some light spotting began to occur. 

However, a little research courtesy of Mr. Google quickly confirmed this was not normal, and that I should notify my doctor asap, which I did. Well, three appointments and two minor procedures later, all is well, even as the co-pays stacked up(!).  

I have about a year left until Medicare and I'm hoping the body hangs in there until then, because my current private insurance medical co-pay threshold is quite precipitous.

3.  We are meeting friends for a picnic at the Harbor tonight.  Enjoying picnic dinners at the harbor is a summer tradition that we get to enjoy in March this year, thanks to our very unusual, currently high temps. Hooray!

Picnics at the harbor are such a lovely and relaxing way to enjoy a beautiful evening. Parking in the area where we picnic is ample and free. The grass area where we generally set up is broad and never overcrowded. And the views are lovely - we sit at a slight elevation which allows us to enjoy the many large and small watercraft that go in and out of the harbor, plus ample marine animal life - sea lions, pelicans, cormorants, Great Blue and Night herons, Great White and Snowy egrets, and the occasional, but very regal, osprey.

 

4.  More music and reading in the evenings is now occurring. We were already light TV viewers, but in that we watched exactly zero TV during our recent three week cruise vacation, we decided to experiment and see if reducing from two shows per evening to just one show might result in higher quality evenings. Interestingly, the adjustment was very easy, and we are currently enjoying ending our at-home evenings with soft jazz and books. It's been a nice change.

5.  My happiest days are always when three things occur - lots of hours spent in motion outdoors, one flavor-filled meal, and some downtime spent reading. Additional time spent with family or friends is then the icing on the proverbial cake.

Tomorrow's plan is an 8 mile walk, a shared sandwich at our favorite local deli, then books and iced coffee while sitting outside on our patio. Based on these three things, I expect it to be a good day.

I hope you make it a good day, wherever you are!

Monday Musings - The Dress Fits!

 Monday Musings - The Dress Fits!

I haven't talked about my weight loss journey in a while, so I hope you'll forgive if I take today's blog post as an opportunity to do so, in that the public accountability goes a very long way in helping me stay the course.

We had a Hawaiian themed event to attend this weekend, on what initially was looking to be an 80+ degree day. In anticipation, I had set aside a shorter sun dress with Hawaiian flowers that I felt comfortable (i.e, thin) in.

But then the weather took a slight turn, and the highs for the event dropped into the high 60's/low 70's. Aaargh - what to do?

(And yes, these type of curveballs do throw me, because I use what I'll be wearing as an incentive to stay the course, calorie wise, in the days preceding.)

I went into my closet and started looking through my longer sun dresses, and came across one that I had purchased last year while we were in the Caribbean, but never worn, because what had seemed to fit just fine while on vacation, was actually a bit to tight to wear comfortably back home in my non-vacation life.

But, of course, that was 25 pounds ago. So, when I tried it back on over the weekend I was thrilled - it didn't feel tight any longer, and I happily accessorized and wore it to our event. And because I felt good/thin, I didn’t overeat as compensation. I stayed with my food plan for the event - water, protein, and vegetables.

.

(I realize the above shoes are a bit too clunky for the dress,
however, I have an increasingly painful bunion on one foot,
and it has altered my shoe game considerably! 😄 )

The offset to being able to wear smaller clothes that I feel good in, and the somewhat unpleasant reality, is that I don't get to eat very much food. That is the honest and ongoing truth to how I lost and am now keeping the weight off - I only have a select number of calories I can eat on any given day, and when I reach the limit, I am done. Even if my brain doesn't always agree.

 

So, I'm increasingly particular (picky if you will) about what I'm willing to use those calories on. I want flavorful, high quality food vs low quality food, because I feel better overall when I eat higher quality food, and less hungry in between meals.

And that's it. I fought hard to lose the weight, and now that it's gone I plan to continue with the changed habits that got me here for the duration of my life. Because there has not been one single moment over the last year when I've looked back and wished I'd eaten something that I chose not to. Only the reverse. 

I have read the following Reddit thread many times since reaching my goal weight. It's full of thoughts and advice that I have found to be extremely helpful in changing my mental stance on eating: Cal Poly Study: Successful Weight Loss Habits. If any of you are on a similar journey, I hope you find it to be of some help as well.

Friday Five - Feel The Heat

 Friday Five - Feel The Heat

We are experiencing an unusual heat event here this past and upcoming week, so I've had to put my brain temporarily into summer mode.  So odd in the middle of March, but I'm trying to roll with it.

1.  We're needing to shift our walks to the morning. One of my great joys in retirement is not waking up to an alarm (even as I often wake up on my own before 6am, LOL). But this week, all my planned walks are happening several hours earlier than normal in order to beat the heat. Yes, even as close to the beach as we are, it's been extremely warm. Right at the shoreline is still comfortably cool, but every walking route we take eventually veers away and hits pavement, at which point temperatures rise. All to say I'm temporarily setting my alarm clock until this seasonally-unusual heat dome passes.  

2.  I caved and turned on the A/C last night. We rely on the strong afternoon coastal breeze to cool the house in warmer weather, but if/when that breeze dies out, such as currently, the house can definitely get stuffy. So, I broke and turned on the A/C last night, trying hard not to see dollar bills flying by overhead as it kicked on. Our already-high electrical fees here in California recently went up again, so I'm definitely not looking forward to our next bill!

3.  We're going to San Juan, Puerto Rico for our Christmas Holiday family vacation. Our daughters are so excited with the plan they came up with, which in turn makes my spouse and I very happy. We'll be staying in adjacent apartments in UNESCO-designated Old Town San Juan between Christmas and New Years, tagging along with whatever activities the girls and their families come up with. It should make for a wonderful end to 2026 and start to 2027 to be all together. I read a reference to gifting money in this manner as 'Giving with a warm hand'. Enjoy gifting now, in a manner that can be experienced and enjoyed while we are alive, rather than waiting till we're, well, not. 

4.  I'm almost on auto-pilot with regard to my daily eating plan, after losing 25 pounds last year. Even after a full year of working to modify my eating habits, first to effect weight loss, then to maintain it, there are still days that I struggle. One thing I do, that is proving to be very helpful, is to make up the day's eating plan each morning while I sip my coffee. I go through my day, identify any calorie splurges, such as tonight, when I'll be having a 150 calorie, 6 oz glass of wine at our Club, and schedule out my remaining daily calories. This allows me to pleasantly anticipate and look forward to various caloric events, while still maintaining control over the rest of my day.

5.  We finalized our Easter Sunday plans.  Not religious over here - the ocean is my church - but others in my family are, so I do work to honor their beliefs even if not sharing them. Thus, this year's Easter plans will begin on Holy Saturday with taking my mom and my husband's sister to dinner and sunset viewing at our Club. This will be followed by all but me attending services on Easter Sunday morning, during which I'll pick up a freshly baked quiche from a French bakery in town, and take it, along with champagne and an array of fresh fruit, to my mother's home, where we'll all meet up for Easter brunch. Afterward my mom wants to take us along the creek trail that runs near her home, which I'm very much looking forward to. 

Monday Musings - I Think I'm Going To Buy The Business Class Seats!

 

Monday Musings - I Think I'm Going To Buy The Business Class Seats!

After much encouragement from our older daughter, some of the comments left here, and most importantly, my husband(!), I am thiiiis close to pulling the trigger on Business Class tickets for our September long haul flight to London Heathrow, a first time event. Not on the return, though, which I'll explain more below, but yes, pretty sure I'm going to book the outgoing flights at Business Club level.

In doing my research, the difference was initially shocking - First Class one way at $13,000 a ticket!!! - but when I scrolled down to Business Class, it was significantly less, about 3x the cost of Economy, but just a fraction of the First Class price displayed.

Our outgoing trip will be a red eye, as the majority of flights to Europe from the USA are. We depart at approximately 4PM our time, making for a nice, leisurely morning at home before heading out. Arrival into London after the ten hour flight is in the late morning, perfect as well for a nice partial day spent on the move before heading to bed, to eventually sleep. Flights that go West to East result in it being hard for us to get to sleep, then hard to wake up, so I plan our time for the first few days accordingly - late evening events work fine, early morning events do not!

We'd also get expedited security line check thru, access to airline's lounge, early boarding, onboard luggage, seat assignments, elevated food, and premium liquor. Oh, and most important of all - larger, more cushioned seats, and seats that, oh my, lay flat. I can't imagine what it will be like to sleep on a plane laying flat, but I am excited to try!

On the return flight home out of Scotland, there are no direct flights into Los Angeles, so we'll fly to New York first, then New York to Los Angeles, each leg about five hours flying. In that any attempt at sleep will be broken up by the NYC transfer, I'm fine with economy for the trip home.

Now back home, I spent the bulk of my morning yesterday clearing out emails, plus booking event after event. I deferred all event emails until back in the correct time zone - trying to figure out how to place an event onto my Google calendar when in a different time zone is beyond my skill level! 

Otherwise, the rest of the weekend was spent unpacking, doing laundry, menu planning, and grocery shopping. We also walked a good number of miles, and met up with friends and family. Today, I have a dental appointment first thing, which while not looking forward to, am also not dreading - it's 'just' a re-filling of an old cavity, a piece of cake compared to some of the other dental procedures I've endured over pretty much my entire adult-teeth life. So, the rest of Monday will be great by default once that's done.

In looking ahead to 2027, because I always do future trip planning when on or newly returned from a trip, I have my eye on a tour of Australia that includes the Outback and the Great Barrier Reef, followed by a quick flight over to New Zealand to continue the tour. We traveled to Sydney some years back, enjoying a few days there before getting on a cruise ship headed to New Zealand. It will be interesting to return to both countries and see them by land this time, rather than by sea. The tour I'm eyeing in particular ends in Auckland, New Zealand, where we'll spend time on our own post-tour before heading for home.

The week ahead is filled with my usual activities of volunteering, walks and lunch with girlfriends, ukulele practice, a long hike & lunch with my spouse, our annual termite inspection (fingers crossed!), beers out with my spouse for St. Patrick's Day, and a stop by my favorite shoe store to use a $15 reward on a pair of black wedge sandals for summer.

Oh, and a trip report regarding how my weight held on our recent cruise. It held! While I did not lose those last three pounds as hoped (I blame the delicious breakfast granola, and the outdoor pizza station where I ate lunch on each sea day), I also did not gain any, and returned home considerably stronger after consistently walking four or five miles each sea day around the deck, and climbing hundreds of flights of stairs over the course of our journey - other than the day we disembarked the ship with our luggage in tow, we did not use the elevators one single time, yeah us!

So, great news overall, in that I read the average cruiser gains six pounds. Oof!

Friday Five - Cruise Vacation Version

 Friday Five - Cruise Vacation Version

It’s been a great trip, but we return home today to a full weekend of activities, so I’m leaving our ship with great memories, but no sadness - our at-home lives are very enjoyable as well.

1.  Walking the cruise ship deck track was wonderful. We walked about five miles around the deck on each sea day, and what a privilege it was - fresh breezes, wide open blue ocean, sea birds, and if lucky, marine mammal sightings. It was a joy, and left us both deeply relaxed just in time for our afternoon sea day plans of, generally, simply reading out on our balcony. 

Off-ship trip highlights were transiting the Panama Canal,  a full day affair, seeing sloth, parrots, and toucan up close, eating just-picked tropical fruits and freshly caught seafood, and sipping ice cold local beer on hot and humid touring days.

2.  We enjoyed listening to live music each night. Listening to a variety of live musical entertainment around the ship after dinner each night was lovely, and something I plan to incorporate more of into our weekday lives (vs our already active weekend lives) when we return. We do have ample opportunities to hear live music pretty much nightly, but in that it’s doubtful our energies could keep up that pace, at the very least we can play music while preparing, eating, and cleaning up from our weekday dinners.

3.  Cruising seems to have gotten ‘heavier’. The level of obesity that we observed on this particular cruise was shocking. We have never encountered it on any other cruise to the degree that we did on this cruise, and are sincerely wondering what may have changed societally since our last cruise to lead to what we observed. 

4.  Continue to struggle with the morality of cruising. The question I ask myself, and am unable to conclusively answer, is are we helping or exploiting our cruise ship room stewards, wait staff, back-of-the- kitchen staff, and other unseen crew, many if not most from predominantly poorer countries than those we guests are from? I just don’t know.

5.  Enjoyed our brief interactions with the locals. We very much enjoyed the small interactions we had with the local residents at our port stops in Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Most of whom were graciously tolerant of my halting Spanish. 

We are so ridiculously fortunate to be able to travel and see what life is like outside of our United States ‘bubble’.

We arrive back home later today, and will be happy to get there. The joys of travel are many, but so are the joys of returning home after time away.

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We called our daughters at one point during our cruise, gave them a budget number, and told them they were free to plan a Christmas vacation for the entire family in the warm weather location of their choosing, subject to the budget we’d set. My early guess is that they will land on either Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, or one of the Caribbean islands. Excited to hear what destination they come up with once they decide.

February Mini Goals - How I Did

February Mini Goals - How I Did

In hindsight, this is a good monthly exercise in getting me to stop procrastinating on things I know need getting done. And although I didn't hit 100% completion, I'm confident that I completed more than I would have otherwise. Public facing accountability is a real motivator for me!

1.  Cook a new Hot Air Fryer recipe.  ✅

Done! After hearing from many people about how well salmon turns out when placed in an air fryer, I finally gave it a try. And, well, I am now completely converted! It was easy (I simply marinated my salmon for a couple of hours in a teriyaki marinade), quick (Seven minutes in the air fryer), and absolutely delicious - moist on the inside, slightly crisped on the outside.

This is the general recipe I followed, though I did take a big shortcut by using bottled teriyaki marinade: Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon. I also added sesame seeds and chopped chives as in the photo below before serving.

2.  Run a mile in less than eleven minutes. ☑

In Progress. I am up to running a mile along the street, and I am up to running 1/4 of a mile at a 10 minute and change pace on the treadmill. I'll slowly start to put the two together, and thus will carry this goal over into my upcoming March goals.

3.  Organize my tee shirt drawers. ✖

No, not done. I think subconsciously I'm waiting to lose the last few pounds I'm currently working on before I get this done. Then I can make a list of what style, colors and exact/correct sizes I need to replace before heading into summer.

4.  Talk to neighbors about trimming their trees.  ☑

In Progress. I spoke to three of the four neighbors I need to speak with. One went better than expected, one went as expected, one went worse than expected . . . asking someone to trim back their vegetation is never going to be an easy conversation to have.

I'll deal with the last neighbor once I return from my trip. The good news is that once my part is done - of simply making and documenting that I've made a request - I can then turn it over to the HOA.

5.  Lose 5 pounds.  ☑

In progress. I did lose the two pounds I gained in January, and time will tell if I succeed in losing the last three of my recently revised weight loss goal (from 108 to 105) while on our cruise.

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How about you??? Any progress on February goals you care to share?

March Mini Goals

 March Mini Goals

To repeat what I wrote last month - I enjoy the fresh start that each new month presents - I may have stumbled the month prior, but the start of a new month is an invitation to try, try again. 

My mini goals for the month of March are:

1.  Make a music and dinner date with a couple we met recently at our social club. We had our first 'Let's get together!' moment with a darling older couple at our social club that we'd been casually chatting with over some weeks. So the next time we see them, we'll look to put an actual date on our respective calendars in order to go hear some live music at a very, very casual venue in our area, a good environment for a first get together.

2.  Continue to work on running a mile in less than eleven minutes. This is a carry over from February. So far I am able to run a mile outdoors at an approximately 12 minute per mile pace, and 1/4 of a mile on the treadmill at a sub-11 minute per mile pace. So my goal is to continue work on both until I'm able to do an entire mile, either outdoors or on the treadmill, in under 11 minutes.

3.  Organize my tee shirt drawers. This is also a carry over from February, in that I think I wanted to lose those last three vanity pounds before going through my shirts, assessing, trying on, and committing to any needed tee shirt replacements. 

4.  Go to an Irish Pub on St. Patrick's Day. My husband is close to 100% Irish, so this is pretty much a national holiday in our household. Neither one of us is a big fan of Irish food, however, so we'll be content to enjoy some some Irish beer in what will likely be very lively pub surroundings, LOL.

5.  Get through the training process for my new role as Treasurer in one of my volunteer organizations. Initially I felt overwhelmed when I scanned through the report the current Treasurer provides. But, after going through it again, I am confident I can replicate it once I identify where each of the data points is being pulled from. And though the initial effort to build the report may be a bit time consuming, already I can see it will become pretty much a piece of cake in ensuing months. Thus working very well with and easily around our later-in-the-year travel plans.

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How about you??? Any new goals for February you care to share?

Fun in Fort Lauderdale

Fun In Fort Lauderdale

Why this city has flown under my radar is beyond me, but it has. We've always stayed in Miami when departing by cruise ship from S. Florida, such as we did last year (2025 pre-cruise stay in Miami detailed in this post).

But I am here now to proclaim that Fort Lauderdale is fabulous! Cold and windy during our stay, but still sunny, gorgeous and fabulous. We went on a downtown Fort Lauderdale Paddleboat cruise, and a Segway land tour. Had two fabulous dining experiences - Casa Sensai and The Wilder. Walked about 12 miles, including along the stunning Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk. Visited several historical sights. And enjoyed watching bridges over the New River swing up and down to accommodate large vessels.

Today we are excited to board our cruise ship, but Fort Lauderdale will remain in our thoughts for a good long while.

Friday Five - I Am Excited About Our Upcoming Trip!

 Friday Five - I Am Excited About Our Upcoming Trip!

After a run of rain, wind, and gray skies, I am very much looking forward to getting on a plane this weekend and heading to Fort Lauderdale, where sunny skies await.

Plus, I've planned out a really fun few days there prior to boarding our cruise ship next week. I've booked a harbor cruise, a Segway tour, made reservations to visit two museums, and identified a few very lovely sounding restaurants to walk to each evening for Happy Hour cocktails and small bites.

Otherwise-

1.  I am excited to sail away next week! We have a mini suite booked, in that it was the same price as a balcony room at the relatively late point that we booked the cruise, our first time in one. A bigger balcony and a bigger sofa in the room are the two things in the suite I'm the most excited about. I spend lots of private time on both reading and gazing at the ocean if not running around the ship doing other things.

2.  For the first time in umpteen cruises, I booked all our shore excursions through the cruise ship. I just want this cruise to be stress free, something I do find I struggle with increasingly as I'm aging. All the tours we booked have a historical component included, and both my spouse and I are looking forward to learning something about every Port in and amongst the otherwise fun we'll have - I can't recall each and every excursion we selected at this point, but I do recall that sloth chasing in Costa Rica, an IMAX film about the building of the newest (third) canal lane in Panama, and wine tasting and tequila tasting in Mexico are involved.  🙂

3.  I've been reviewing these Roadscholar Grandparent/Grandchild trips online. My husband and I are hoping to take turns with each granddaughter beginning next summer. Our idea is that one granddaughter selects a trip of her choice, and we gift the staying-at-home granddaughter with the Day Camp of her choice, so no one feels left out. (This summer we're taking our granddaughters and their parents to Alaska on a cruise - both granddaughters are equally excited, LOL.)

4.  Looking forward to packing for our trip, because for the first time in pretty much my entire adult life, everything in my closet fits!!!

5.  Enjoying waking up to a warm house. Growing up, my dad pretty much never, ever ran the heater (or air conditioner) in our California home, so waking up to a warm home feels like the ultimate in luxury, even still.

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Walk five miles, pack for trip (warm weather clothes, yeah!), swing by supermarket to pick up a few loss leaders, wash my husband's white sneakers to bring them back to blindingly clean for our trip (😄), change our flight and hotel plans in order to extend our Seattle stay this upcoming summer by one additional night, enjoy our usual Friday night outing at our water facing social club.

A Day In My Retirement Life At Year Fifteen

Sam over at Sam Squared put up a lovely post yesterday, where in she detailed a day in her retirement life. 

I thought it was a great idea and exercise, so I'm 'borrowing' it to do here. This is how yesterday went, with no thought about putting it into a post, so this is pretty much a typical midweek day. Versus a weekend day, when I generally don't volunteer, and when we generally have out of the house evening plans.

A Day In My Retirement Life At Year Fifteen

Woke up at 4:30 AM when my spouse arose, but managed to fall back asleep until 6:15 AM. That does not happen very often, in that I generally get up when my spouse does, so I was positively thrilled.

Tossed my pajamas on the bathroom counter and weighed myself, always the first thing I do each morning in order to make any necessary meal adjustments as the day unfolds.

Joined my spouse downstairs for coffee, some Kindle scrolling, and a little chatting, before both of us went upstairs to get dressed and depart, he for Ash Wednesday services, me to meet a girlfriend for breakfast prior to working a shift together at one of the charitable organizations our joint women's club supports. 

My girlfriend had an ahi bowl for breakfast, and I had simply coffee as I just don't 'do' breakfast. We had an amazing chat, getting into some pretty heavy stuff that we both immediately 'got' as each of us took turns talking. It's great when I meet someone and we immediately get each other, which is how I felt with her the first time we got together seperate from our women's club. She is just marvelous.

From there I drove the short distance to the charity office for two hours of work, sorting and packaging items that were going to needy individuals in our community.

After my volunteer shift was over, I met my husband for a five mile walk along the coast, including a walk through a recently flooded out beach campground, which happens every time we have significant rain such as we have this week. What I've learned since moving to the coast here, is that people are loath to give up their beach campsite reservations even when flooded, and we have witnessed some amazing ingenuity over the years as people attempt to salvage their plans and work around the standing water.

Because our walk took place on a Wednesday, the campground was fairly empty, so only vacant flooded sites to view, not handy workarounds.

Finished our walk at just before 3:00 PM, at which point I realized I was HUNGRY, having eaten just a protein bar in the AM.

At home I made myself a sandwich, and some yogurt & berries, which I ate while I read. I'm just starting a new book, Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini, set in England during WWI. I like it already, so fingers crossed it remains as engrossing as it's begun.

Went outside to do some quick trimming in the HOA area surrounding our hardscaped yard. Primarily, I did a trim back of ivy in order to keep a 12" clearance between the HOA vegetation and our perimeter yard fencing.

Finished my outside work by re-securing our patio furniture covers in preparation for an incoming rain storm, the last in a series of three coming through our state this week.

Dinner for spouse was easy - Chile Verde leftovers from freezer, sans pork, since Ash Wednesday is meatless for my husband. I'll save the pork for quesadillas at a later date.

I had a Trader Joe's bean and rice burrito, which rings in at 240 calories, bringing my daily total to 925 calories, the threshold I choose to remain at during the week before heading into our generally quite active, social, and restaurant-oriented weekends. I relax over the weekends and tighten up again over each ensuing week. So far it's keeping my weight steady, so I seem to have hit on the right combination of relaxed vs rigid.

Ended the day streaming one episode of the very old Murder She Wrote mystery series with Angela Lansbury, and one episode of the more recent Matlock with Kathleen Bates.

I expect to sleep well after a good, active day.

Monday Musings - Bathing Suit Shopping, Sigh

 

Monday Musings - Bathing Suit Shopping, Sigh

It was a diverse and interesting week. And as usual, lessons were learned and goals set.

1.  Ten days of live, free TV is more than enough. My spouse really wanted to watch the Super Bowl last weekend, but we haven't had cable TV for many, many years, and I wasn't willing to give a streaming company our credit card in order to purchase short term live TV access, because my experience in the past is that companies are happy to take your payment info, but loathe to turn it off once started.

However, I've been very impressed with the ease of turning YouTube Premium streaming service on and off - they make it very, very easy to do so online - and so I signed up for a 10 day trial of their You Tube TV, which allowed us to watch the Super Bowl !ive, plus another 9 days in which to enjoy watching the Winter Olympics, both of which we did/are doing, and much enjoying. 

I cancelled our free You Tube TV Trial the moment the Super Bowl was over, but, nicely, per the email I immediately received, the service will remain active until the entire 10 day free trial period is reached later this week.

So we've been enjoying the Winter Olympics, a treat we haven't seen live in over ten years. However, after spending most of yesterday watching the Olympics in between reading and dozing, my spouse and I agreed we are fine with losing live TV access shortly, returning to our normal pattern of streaming one or two shows in the evening after dinner on the nights we are home. Our preference during the day when not otherwise occupied is to go for long walks, or to read. Not having access to live TV at the house continues to keep both things priorities in our lives, which we very much prefer.

2. Bought my first one piece bathing suit. Since entering my more senior years, I had switched from bikinis to shorts style two piece suits, but even with my recent weight loss, I've realized that having a smooth and taut tummy is probably now in my past. I needed a bathing suit for our upcoming Panama Canal cruise, as it's looking to be quite warm over the entire 16 day trip, so I bit the bullet and stopped by Target over the weekend to see what they had. 

They actually had quite a lot of swimsuit stock on the floor, and after just a couple of try-ons, below is the swim suit and swim suit wrap I decided on. I am pleased with how both the swim suit and the wrap fit and look, so hopefully I can enjoy the pool and hot tub on the cruise without feeling self conscious.

3.  Enjoyed a lovely and uncrowded Valentine's Day couples cooking class. I had to be quick on the trigger to snag one of the eight available couple's slots, but somehow I did get one, which was wonderful because both my spouse and I love the way this cooking school holds their couples cooking classes. We get three unhurried hours at the venue -  two hours in which to cook, and then one full hour to be served and to eat. We are always encouraged to bring wine, and encouraged to pour a glass immediately upon arrival, which makes for a fun group of 16 adults within a very short time.

The six course menu for the night was outstanding. We began with lobster bisque and ended with chocolate souffle (mine came home of course - still rockin' the no-sugar life. 🙂)

4.  Walked miles and miles over the weekend in anticipation of this week's anticipated series of rainstorms. Here are some of the views we enjoyed while we did so:

5.  Lost the two pounds I gained in January. I worked to get my head back in the game last week, and as a result of being successful in doing so, lost the two pounds I'd gained recently.

My home office has mirrored closet doors, which help me
see exactly how I am doing with my weight loss every time I enter it,
which I do multiple times a day.

I do still have losing three more pounds in order to reach 105 as a goal for 2026, and I'm optimistic that will happen rather 'naturally' on our upcoming cruise, as we are generally so active on them that we return home lighter than when we left.

We walk miles and miles around the deck each day, use the gym for strength training, take the stairs not the elevator, and often end the evening dancing in one of the ship lounge areas that are playing live music. That, combined with eating  'normally' on the ship, generally result in our returning home a few pounds down from when we boarded.

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How about you? Any Monday Musings you'd like to share?

Monday Musings - My New Unpaid Job

Monday Musings - A New Job (Unpaid!)

Life as an aging 60-something retiree continues to evolve. Sometimes the changes evolve a bit quicker, which is how this last week has felt.

1. I have a new, unpaid job. After years of just wanting to be a volunteer worker bee, not a hive queen, I finally caved and accepted a larger role in one of my volunteer organizations. The reason is that the role is something I'm very comfortable with - Acting Treasurer - and it can be worked around our ongoing travels.

I sincerely love the organization itself, and I very much enjoy interacting with the other folk that keep the organization running. So after 15 years of retirement, I've come out of my self-induced shell of retirement lifestyle 'protection', and taken on an official, defined role of responsibility.

2. Bought this really great new Hot Air Popcorn Maker. As I continue to work hard at keeping my lost pounds truly lost, I saw a little write up about the Dash Fresh Pop Popcorn Maker. At first I thought, oh no, I don't need another source of carbs to try and avoid, but then I did a little research and learned that popcorn is actually a good source of fiber. Which I definitely can use more of. So after looking up the calories involved, and additional low calorie ways to make the popcorn palatable, I went ahead and ordered it (it was only $20).

It makes a batch of popcorn in just a couple of minutes, leaving impressively few unpopped kernels. Three cups of popcorn with 1 tsp of olive oil and 1/2 tsp of popcorn flavoring salt comes to 125 calories total, a very reasonable amount for a mid afternoon snack.

3.  Friends and Sunsets. We have fallen into a routine of inviting friends to join us at our Social Club on Friday nights for guitar music, Happy Hour and Sunset viewing over the water. The pace is so relaxed at our club, and the wait staff and other members all so friendly, that all the couples we've taken to it so far have said they just might be interested in joining as well. So, we'll see . . . 

4.  Gorgeous long beach walks. Not to be too repetitious, but our weather has been summer-like for the last few weeks, and my spouse and I have enjoyed numerous long beach walks from or near the house. We do not take either the weather or our coastal proximity for granted. We are deeply grateful for each one.

5.  Simple, but still delicious, home dinner meals. Increasingly I want to be outside, or with people, or on the move, or busy and involved. And, also increasingly, I'm less interested in cooking elaborate meals. I don't tend to eat much at dinner, if at all, and my spouse is very appreciative of anything I serve him. With good reason, I assure - I work hard to find simple but delicious recipes, and making the ordinary fancy by way of fresh herbs, fresh nuts, good cheese, and good oils.

A recent simple, but gourmet-quality meal I made him was a grilled bacon and cheese sandwich on fresh bakery sourdough bread, one side of which I slathered with a savory fig jam. Savory and slightly sweet - my spouse loved it, and the small bite I had was absolutely delicious.

And I made this couldn't be easier pork chile verde the other day, that I fancied-up by serving it over rice,  topping with plain Greek yogurt and chopped cilantro. I served a piece of crumbly corn bread on the side - the corn bread crumbles are great in the chili verde as well.

I also added two cans of white beans to make the chili a bit less sauce-intensive.

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How about you? Any Monday Musings you'd like to share?

Thursday Thoughts - Our Weather Has Been Sublime

 Thursday Thoughts - Our S. California Weather Has Been Sublime

We have had a run of absolutely gorgeous weather, but I elected to keep that to myself last week, when so much of the country was suffering under frigid weather. This week, however, appears to be much improved across the US, so I feel comfortable sharing (exclaiming!) that our weather has been insanely fabulous, and I have done my very best to embrace and enjoy every minute of it.

Taken during the long walk my spouse and I did yesterday -

It's been pinch-me weather this week, really, and I have gotten much joy from hearing young voices having fun at the beach, and at our nearby association pool. Everything just seems better, and problems a bit smaller, when the weather is gorgeous.

My girlfriend and I kayaked earlier in the week, and, again, the beautiful weather was a topic of both conversation and enjoyment. 

Otherwise, I have been increasingly engaged with the groups I've joined since our most recent move two years ago, and today will be quite busy accordingly. I'm helping to welcome attendees to a monthly lunch with one of my groups, plus staying afterward to help clean up. From there I'll head out to do my weekly grocery shopping, then return home to do some essential trip planning (shuttle service, and summer UK Visa submission - yep, still procrastinating on that one!).

My spouse is gone this evening, so my dinner and after-dinner plans are simple - soup from a can and a Louise Penny mystery thriller book. When on my own, I am so easy to please, food wise!

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How about you? Any Thursday Thoughts you'd like to share?

February Mini Goals

 February Mini Goals

I enjoy the feeling of a fresh start that each new month presents - I may have stumbled the month prior, but the 1st of any month is an invitation to try, try again. 

My mini goals for the month are:

1.  Cook a new Hot Air Fryer recipe. Currently I'm guilty of using it for primarily two purposes only - making sweet potato fries, and reheating leftovers back to their original crispiness. So this is an effort to get out of my hot air fryer rut.

2.  Run a mile in less than eleven minutes. My best speed in my peak running years was about nine minutes and low change. But anything under 11 minutes at this point in my older life is a win. Oh, how things have changed!  😄

3.  Organize my tee shirt drawers. I have two drawers full of close fit tees in a variety of colors and styles - from white to black, spaghetti strap to full sleeve - and I know that more than a few of them should be tossed due to either overwear or now being too large for my smaller frame. Plus I want to refold them the Marie Kondo way once done, so I can see exactly what I have, as opposed to having to root through stacks.

4.  Talk to neighbors about trimming their trees. I really do not want to do this, but my plan is to approach each neighbor from a place of assumed cooperation, and also to offer to pay for the first trim if they might agree to carry forward on their own. Sigh. Maintaining our blue ocean views is both a blessing and a curse, even as they are protected via our HOA CC&R's.

5.  Lose 5 pounds. I gained two pounds in January (so currently 110), and I had losing three pounds as a general 2026 goal, so I want to focus on both now ahead of our upcoming Panama Canal cruise. I have no issues maintaining my weight when we cruise - we walk and walk and walk while on the ship, plus I love the slow, steady service in the Dining Room more than I enjoy the food itself - cruise food is never going to be memorable given how much needs to be prepared in advance for any one meal.

 

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How about you??? Any new goals for February you care to share?

Friday Five - Lots Of Sunshine

 Friday Five - Lots Of Sunshine

1.  We have embraced this week's beautiful weather here, walking and spending time outdoors each day. I feel a renewed sense of appreciation for S. California's year round temperate climate after watching last week's Arctic storm level so much snow, ice, and sub zero temperatures in Middle Tennessee, where my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters live. I am so thankful they did not lose their power at any point during the weather event.

2.  I spent a lovely afternoon with my brain cancer-stricken girlfriend. We sat outside in the sun for hours, first enjoying lunch, then iced coffees. She spoke about accepting that she will not likely beat the cancer this time around - it's her fourth bout, though first with it being in her brain. She seemed somewhat at peace, which is my only wish for her. That, and that she remain pain free.

We see her and her husband again tonight, for dinner at our water fronting social club where a guitarist, Happy Hour, and hopefully a beautiful sunset awaits.

3.  Speaking of which, the sunsets this week have been other-wordly in their beauty. They have literally stopped me in my tracks. And I wish to never, ever take them for granted.

4.  The Giant Birds of Paradise in the HOA area next to our home have been removed, and the opened up views have been wonderful. We're now enjoying sitting outside as often as we give thought to doing so, particularly at dusk when the homes atop the ridge begin to light up and twinkle.

During the day I'm enjoying watching the many birds fly overhead, particularly our local population of Cooper, red-tailed, and red-shouldered hawks.

5.  I am cooking up a storm for a series of entertaining events occurring this weekend. So far I've made and frozen this Old Fashioned Banana Cake with Candied Ginger & Marscapone Frosting, made the base for a sundried tomato bruschetta I'm bringing to a wine club event tomorrow, and prepped for making pumpkin and sausage chili in the morning, so it can meld a full day in the refrigerator before I serve it on Sunday.

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Walk four miles to and along the beach, file for online UK Visas for upcoming summer trip to British Isles (I am so badly procrastinating on this one, oof!), pick up this week's loss leader supermarket sale items, go through my shoe closet to remove shoes that I can no longer bear to wear due to my bunion, and also to make room for the six pair of new and comfortable boots and shoes I bought yesterday. Yes, six pair - it's how I roll! 😆

Friday Five - Happy To Pay The Weather Tax

 Friday Five - Happy To Pay The Weather Tax

1.  I had not been paying attention to the weather because, well, Southern California, and so this morning was the first I heard of Winter Storm Fern. My dad lives in one of the projected-to-be-deep-cold areas, and so I spent time this morning chatting with him about his preparations. He has been through this before, so I knew he'd have already prepared (which he had), but I still wanted him to know I was aware and concerned.

As a side note - I've been trying to talk him into returning to California in order to be closer to me as he continues to age into his 90's, and perhaps this will give some added weight to my 'push' in this area.

2.  I restarted HRT, after weaning off of it last Fall. Within weeks, the hot flashes returned, and after a couple of months, they began to affect my ability to sleep through the night, leaving me feeling increasingly exhausted. So, I threw in the towel and restarted HRT a few days ago. Nicely, already, the hot flashes are diminishing, and I am able to get through the night without waking in a sweat. I'm still waking up unreasonably earlier, however, even after hours of exercise, so looking for improvement to occur there as my body continues to adjust to the resumed hormone medication.

I'm also encouraged by the recent release of studies indicating that remaining on HRT, once begun, for pretty much the rest of a woman's life, turns out to have some benefits not previously noted. 

Link to FDA study here.

3.  So happy to have received a call from a girlfriend that is dealing with brain cancer to say she was done with treatment for the time being, thus feeling stronger and better, and would I like to get together for coffee? And also, would my spouse and I like to get together for dinner with her and her spouse? 

Yes and yes!!

I was not about to put something like this off, so she and I now have plans to meet up for coffee next week, followed by a couples get together the day after at our water-facing social club for conversation, music, sunset viewing, and dinner. What a gift to have another opportunity to enjoy her company, and the company of her spouse.

4.  Slightly annoyed that I didn't stock up on pumpkin puree when it was on sale everywhere this past Fall. I needed to hunt some down yesterday for this absolutely amazing Pioneer Woman recipe for pumpkin & sausage chili I'm making for an event next week, and it was nowhere to be found at Aldi's, so I had to resort to, horror of horrors, the regular supermarket. I found it, but at what I consider a stupid not-on-sale supermarket price of $2.99 a can (vs the $1.49 a can it was at Aldi's during the Fall season). So, lesson learned - I'll buy a few extra cans next season.

In the meantime, I really cannot exclaim enough about this rendition of Pumpkin & Sausage Chili. It's incredible, and even more so if topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of roasted pepitas and cilantro- 

5.  Looking forward to a social wine event we are attending tonight, and also looking forward to wearing a gray knit dress that I tried on last night after putting it in the back of my closet years ago when I felt it made me look thick. 

It doesn't make me look thick anymore after last year's Herculean weight loss efforts, and I'm excited to wear it after wearing it only once previously. I'm pairing it with gray suede boots and a chunky silver and pearl necklace and earrings.

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Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Walk six miles, blow patio clean, finish off pre-Panama Canal cruise plans in Fort Lauderdale (booking a Segway tour among other things - fun!), file for online UK Visas for upcoming summer trip to British Isles, pick up charcuterie board supplies from Trader Joes for an upcoming dinner event here, leave early for social wine event to help with setup.