January In A Sentence A Day

January turned out to be a terrific, and terrifically productive month, largely due to being gone for a good chunk of the month, and due to experiencing amazingly consistent energy upon our return due to making a long-overdue decision to give up processed sugar. 

January In A Sentence A Month

1.  Started off the day watching the Rose Parade on our new 65" TV (how sad that a float broke down and prevented the last few from being seen 🙁) while enjoying a New Years day brunch of blueberry pancakes, eggs and bacon, then a lovely five mile walk along the beach before returning home and plunking ourselves down to watch movies the rest of the day . . . possibly enjoying our new TV just a bit too much!

2.  Booked a 33-day cruise around S. America(!) for early 2020, then off to our spiritual congregation's newly purchased building to assist with some move-in projects, plus lots of grocery shopping at Aldi's on the way home . . . I don't necessarily love everything Aldi's carries, but appreciate the great prices on those things I do.

So excited to visit all of these places!

3.  Morning dermatology appointment to get a squamous skin cancer lesion removed, spent the afternoon in the backyard reading and gazing out at the ocean under gloriously sunny skies, then my first time helping to bring and serve dinner to a homeless shelter in Laguna Beach that our spiritual congregation commits to one day a month - what a humbling experience.

4.  Morning workout at the gym, then home to pack and get our travel trailer hooked up and ready for our annual trip to attend the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

5.  Headed out early in order to get our travel trailer parked at the RV park in time to attend our first movie of the trip, Egypt's Yomeddin, a moving film about a leper colony, followed by set up, Happy Hour and dinner back at the RV park with our best friends, and fellow Film Festival attendees, David and Fran.

6.  Walked to our films today, @ 4 miles round trip, Austria’s The Interpreter, and Israel’s Redemption, then Chianti and pizza afterward at always-delicious Bill’s Pizza, discussing what we liked (and didn’t!) about both films with our friends.

7.  Morning hike up to the top of Lykken trail, a sack lunch in line while waiting to see Japan’s The Shoplifters (a disappointing 'eh' in my opinion, in spite of being a Best Foreign Picture nominee for this year's Oscar awards) dinner back at our travel trailer, then back in line yet again in order to see Denmark’s nail-biting thriller, The Guilty.

8.  Morning hike up Lykken trail, then off to see what turned out to be our favorite film of the festival, Lebanon's outstanding, Oscar-nominated Capernaum, followed by dinner back at our trailer, before heading out again to see Spain's charming Champions, about a group of disabled basketball players.

I know this is a long shot for an Oscar, given powerhouse Roma, also nominated,
but it is so worthy of receiving one!

9.  Took the day off from the Film Festival and headed to Sunnylands Estate for an almost-private tour (just 7 people permitted at a time) of the inside of this ah-maz-ing estate where seven U.S. Presidents have visited and stayed . . .

. . . then to Shield's Date Farm for luscious date shakes and Medjool date sampling, then topped off the day by enjoying dinner and a show at the cozy Purple Room Supper Club.

10.  Headed out by foot to see Ethiopia's beautiful movie, Fig Tree, coffee and a split sandwich afterward at our favorite Palm Springs coffee house, Koffi, a fun afternoon shopping our way through downtown Palm Springs, including a stop for yummy blackberry mimosas, a visit to the Palm Springs Art Museum, dinner at Mexican food fav Las Casuelas, then the weekly Thursday night Village Fest along Palm Canyon, whew!

The day's purchases included this hat and blouse,
both of which I couldn't wait to wear, literally!

11.  Morning hike up Lykken trail where we finally spotted a whole bunch of big horn sheep after just missing them earlier in the week,

then off to see our last films of the trip, the charming Swedish biopic Becoming Astrid (though I hated that they made the actress remove her blouse for no good reason . . . #timesup!) and the incredibly compelling Afghanistan war film, Jirga, which dealt with forgiveness in a manner most of us would never, ever have the courage to do!

12.  Headed home from Palm Springs, then spent remainder of the day cleaning our travel trailer, unpacking, doing laundry, and making a mini-grocery run, in that we leave again in just a few days.

13.  Attended first services at our spiritual congregation's new permanent home - so exciting! - then home to meet my girlfriend Mary, visiting from her temporary home in Singapore, taking her walking and shopping in San Clemente, then to dinner in always-beautiful Laguna Beach.

14.  Watched an episode of Mari Kondo on Netflix and was so inspired I finally got around to decluttering my office of an embarrassing accumulation of paperwork.

15.  Up at 4:00 am to catch out early morning flight to DC, being extra nice to TSA as we went through security (third week of no paycheck due to gov't shutdown), then a fun evening playing with our two granddaughters once we arrived.

16.  Immersed ourselves in granddaughter fun, including some very chilly outdoor snow fun!

17.  Spent time attempting to help organize a preponderance of books and toys scattered throughout the house for my daughter . . . felt a bit like the little Dutch boy that stuck his fingers in the dyke, even as the water spilled out elsewhere!

18.  At long last, enjoyed 'hotel night' with our four year old granddaughter, which she thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed . . . the first of many, many more wonderful grandparent/grandchild experiences to come we hope!

19.  Lot's of playtime fun with 'our girls' once back home to their place from hotel night - chase, hide n' go seek, tag, stickers, coloring, and book reading, phew!

20.  Attended services at the Metro DC branch of our spiritual congregation, then finally managed to find time to stop by a movie theater in order to watch Bohemian Rhapsody where I, literally never stopped moving my feet . . . loooooooooved it!

21.  Flew home from Metro DC, always sad to say goodbye to everyone, but did enjoy dinner at our oldest daughter's in Huntington Beach once we landed back at LAX . . . her boyfriend is such a wonderful cook!

22.  Goodbye sugar . . . resolved to give it one more big try, and see if I could finally cut processed sugar out of my life in order to see if other aspects of my life might improve, primarily my energy.

23.  Day One of mp sugar was hard people - an addiction to sugar is said to be akin to an addiction to cocaine - so I kept myself busy/distracted by meeting up with one of my hiking groups for a five mile hike along some early-spring-green hills above Ladera Ranch.

24.  Woke up amazed at how solid my energy was yesterday - benefits of removing the processed sugar from my life already being realized - and caught up on my book club readings (Faulkner's The Sound And The Fury, and the uber-intersting non-fiction Sapiens, before heading out to work a shift at the cultural center I volunteer for.

25.  Morning hike with hubby, home for a bit to do chores, then off to first meet friends for Happy Hour at Waterman's Harbor, then to Anaheim to meet up with our oldest daughter and her sweetie for craft beer tasting at Bottle Logic Brewing . . . my brown porter with cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper was amazing!

26.  Morning hike along the beach with my Saturday walking group on a gorgeously warm day, home to re-landscape a small planter in our front yard that just had a tree removed, then in to clean up and head out with hubby to Laguna Beach for a quick dinner at Urth Caffee, followed by seeing the play Driving Miss Daisy, starting Michael Learned.

27.  Morning services at our spiritual congregation, then home to prepare for our quarterly book club meeting to discuss The Sound And The Fury, where we started off outside in order to enjoy wine and a gorgeous sunset, then headed indoors for a southern-themed dinner and book discussion - fried chicken, baked sweet potatoes, and a shaved Brussels sprout salad, plus homemade pecan pie (but none for me!).

28.  Morning hike with hubby, Spanish class in the afternoon, then home to start our next quarterly book club read, Tolstoy's War and Peace (it's not hard, truly, just long!), plus made an amazing quinoa, chicken and roasted sweet potato casserole for dinner from new-to-me magazine Eating Well . . . both hubby and I were blown away by how delicious it was.

29.  Morning six mile hike with my Tuesday hiking group, then home to clean up and get photos taken for our Cambodia and Vietnam visas, which I then returned home and spent two full hours applying for online before finally finishing . . . the upload features for photos we needed to submit was cumbersome for both to say the least!

30.  Enjoyed a very challenging 8 mile hike with my Wednesday hiking group, which included 2,300 feet of gain in the first two miles . . . while I avoided the worst of the spills our group experienced on the way down due to how rocky and steep the trail was, I did 'take a knee,' at one point due to briefly taking my eyes off the trail.

31.  My Thursday morning hike got cancelled due to pending rain, a bit of a relief after yesterday's long hike, so I enjoyed time in my office working on some upcoming trip details, before leaving for an afternoon shift at the cultural center where I volunteer, followed by a quick dinner back at home before heading out again to attend a Mozart concert . . . the later is more hubby's thing than mine, but I do always end up enjoying the music more than I expect to.

Bonus: I finished the month with ten straight days of being processed sugar free, and feat I've never been able to accomplish up until now. The difference in my energy level, and also my appetite, has been astounding. I'm also down four pounds already, which is making me very, very happy. By removing processed sugar, I've stopped bouncing into the kitchen all afternoon for pick-me-up after pick-me-up. Instead, I'm able to wait for dinner, and then to eat sensibly once I there. Wow, just wow is about all I can say at this point, though I will do a comprehensive write up once I get a full month of sugar sobriety under my belt.

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December In A Sentence A Day

December was a wonderful month overall, most especially because we not only finished our year long outdoor remodeling project, but because we were able to spend oodles and oodles of time with family and friends, enjoying all that makes this festive month so lovely.

December In A Sentence A Month

1.  Morning walk with my Saturday group on a gorgeous, sunny morning, set up and decorated our Christmas tree below, then off to the most wonderful holiday concert, A Feast of Lights, put on by students and alumni of Saddleback College, then a quick drop-in to catch my gal pal Eileen's a capella group performance in San Clemente before heading to dinner at Pizza Port.

2.  A terrific production of The Importance of Being Earnest at UCI with our Lifelong Learning group, which included post and pre-performance discussions with the stage crew and actors, then a quick dinner of leftovers before welcoming fellow spiritual congregational members into our home for a discussion group we'll be hosting throughout 2019.

3.  Morning beach walk with hubby, then a holiday party celebrating volunteers at the cultural center I'm a new volunteer with . . . such a beautiful place!

4.  Morning hike with my Tuesday group in Aliso Woods Regional Park, an appointment with our realtor to get her updated market assessment of our home post-renovation (significantly more than what we spent, yeah!), then, bam!, the onset of intense tendinitis pain in my right leg, which rendered me pretty much useless for the remainder of the day.

5.  Insane tendinitis pain the entire day, relieved only when I remembered the leftover pain pills I'd hung onto after last February's episode with calcific tendinitis . . . this getting older stuff is not for sissies!

6.  More rain than we've seen in a good long time, plus with the pain in my leg somewhat subsided, I made a long overdue appointment with my doctor to try and figure out what in the heck is going on, then a quick training session at the cultural center in order to learn how to use the credit card machine in the gift shop, before returning home and making a super-easy oven mushroom risotto for dinner - not as good as the not-so-super-easy risotto I make when entertaining, but a more than acceptable alternative when it's just hubby and me.

7.  We passed, we passed, we passed . . . the city inspector gave the final sign off on our backyard trellis and balcony project, which we celebrated on our balcony by raising a glass . . . or two(! ). . . then off to the harbor to attend a Christmas Boat Parade celebration at the marine institute we volunteer for.

8.  A five mile soft beach sand walk, the only activity I'm currently cleared to do by my doctor, a few hours reading out on our new balcony and gazing at the ocean, then a night of holiday big band jazz at Saddleback College . . . what a show!

9.  Morning spiritual services, then off to meet our family for a fun afternoon and evening - an early dinner at the always delicious El Farlito, then CSUF's spectacular Deck The Halls concert and symphony event, a walk through our favorite holiday lit-neighborhood afterward, then dessert at the home of dear and longtime friends . . . whew!

10.  I so wanted this to be a stay at home day after our busy weekend, but not to be, as hubby and I did a five mile beach walk, enjoying lattes at Ellie's Table afterward, plus I attended Spanish class, and had my annual mammogram.

11.  Learned I have another squamous skin cancer growth (localized, no worries!) that needs removal, no big surprise after spending pretty much my entire childhood outdoors and under the sun without benefit of sunscreen.

12.  Gym workout, including, yeah, weight training, the weekly grocery shopping and errand running, then home to get pretty for a members night holiday event at seaside Casa Romantica . . .  so lovely!

The view of San Clemente pier from beautiful Casa Romantica.

13.  Early wake up to make 60 mini-corn muffins, a brief visit by our HVAC installer to show me how to change the air filter (yep, felt like a real dunce afterward!), a volunteer shift at the cultural center, then off to a holiday potluck dinner with our lifelong learning group in order to plan our monthly dine-outs for 2019.

14.  Beach walk and breakfast in San Clemente with my gal pal Sherri, included delicious avocado toast afterward at Catarina's Cafe, then home to make a raspberry custard trifle for a weekend event, plus baked a second batch of lavender shortbread cookies for yet another weekend event, plus laundry, then hubby and I agreed we were simply too exhausted to head out yet again to use already-purchased tickets to see this amazing young woman, Jackie Evancho - our bad, and lesson learned . . . too much of anything, even fun times, is not good!

15.  Morning hike with my Saturday group, then off to attend a holiday dinner and beer tasting event at my oldest daughter's, bringing along the raspberry trifle I made yesterday, and with much energy hubby and I ended up being the life of the party in spite of being the oldest ones there . . . the beer helped!

16.  So tired after last night, but sucked it up and prepped all morning for my annual Cookie Exchange event, and was so, so pleased that all my gal pals were willing to travel south to our new home in order to attend!

17.  Picked up the needlepoint project I made my oldest daughter for Christmas from the framing shop . . . I love how it turned out!

18.  It poured rain, so unusual here that it's always exciting, but also meaning that my tide pool shift was cancelled, so I stayed home to enjoy it!

19.  A busy day stopping in at lots of different grocery stores in order to take advantage of all the Christmas food sales, and came home with bulging bags, but within budget, hooray!

20.  Super tired (it's been a busy month!), so I hung out and read this book for most of the day.

21.  Lunch and shopping in Laguna Beach with my gal pal, Wendy, then Happy Hour overlooking the harbor with a group of friends that all volunteer with us at the marine institute . . . it was a wonderful day!

22.  Attended an event that will definitely become an annual holiday 'do' - met a group at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, then walked a total of five miles to and around Balboa Island to watch the boat parade (though the festively lit houses were just as awesome!), enjoying both dinner at Picante Martin's and dessert at Baking Betty's along the way.

23.  Treated ourselves to a new 65" TV, then spent the night watching movies on it, plus discovered this awesome Netflix crackling fireplace 'movie,' which sounds just like the real thing but cheaper . . . our fireplace is set up with gas and a faux set of logs, and it's pricey to use as a result!

Honestly, it looks and sounds just like the real thing,
plus in S. California we really don't need the additional heat!

24.  Our Christmas Eve plans go blown out of the water when one family member came down sick, and the other two (my oldest daughter and her sweetie) got stuck in traffic on their way home from a skiing weekend, so hubby and I enjoyed an unexpectedly quiet night at home eating dinner and watching It's A Wonderful Life together alone instead . . . not gonna lie, it was kind of nice!

25.  Merry Christmas . . . family, sun, sand and a great meal . . . our hearts are full!

26.  A glorious day of staying in my P.J.s and doing pretty much nothing, a long running day-after-Christmas tradition!

27.  Morning gym workout, a shift working in the gift shop of one of the places I volunteer for, then a night in our old neighborhood celebrating my girlfriend's 60th birthday . . . the photo below definitely captures how much fun we all had!

28.  Met my hiking group for a gorgeous seven mile hike to Aliso Hill Summit, with incredible ocean views the entire way and back, my first time hiking it, but most definitely not my last (see below!).

29.  So excited about yesterday's hike, I went right out and did it again with my husband, adding in a lunch stop afterward at a new cafe, Plumeria, that we both thoroughly enjoyed.

30.  Hosted my oldest daughter and niece, plus their sweeties and roommates, for breakfast at the house, followed by kayaking and lunch at the harbor . . . we had such a wonderful time with them all!

31.  A lovely late morning walk along the beach, then back home to clean up and enjoy a quiet but romantic New Year's Eve at home with hubby enjoying good wine, good steak, and each other's company.

November In A Sentence A Month

Greetings! Today, and each month going forward, I'm documenting how I spent my month in just one sentence per day.

November In A Sentence A Month

1. Awesome, but challenging six mile fast paced hike in Laguna with my Thursday group, plus got my teeth cleaned.

2. Did laundry and cleaned the house from top to bottom, then got a bit dressed up for Happy Hour dinner at the harbor with hubby, followed by seeing the British farce Noises Off performed by some uber-talented students at Saddleback College.

It was a gorgeous evening to be outside enjoying wine and small bites.

3. An enjoyable training session at the cultural center I will now be volunteering for, a fantastic run/walk along the beach, then off to meet up with my daughter and her SO for Bourbon barrel-aged beer tasting at The Breury, followed by a fun, fun, fun get together with my longtime running buddies for dinner.

It felt like summer!

Bourbon barrel-aged beer, you had me at 'Hello!'

Attempting to show my running buds how my face would improve with some tightening, ha!

4. Thank you time change for finally getting me back into a normal sleeping pattern, plus lunch at Houston's in Pasadena with my oldest daughter and my mother, first time seeing the later in six years (yes, there's a story there).

5. Monday hill hike with hubby, coffee at Starbucks together afterward, afternoon Spanish class, then a robust evening book club with our spiritual congregation debating the merits (or not!) of the universal base income championed in the nonfictional Give People Money by Annie Lowrey.

6. Volunteer training at the cultural center I'm newly signed up with, then a wonderful night out with my workplace bestie and her hubby at Mizu Sushi Bar in Tustin laughing, reminiscing, and excitedly discussing their plans to retire, sell their New Jersey primary home, and hit the road in early 2020.

7. A 'normal' Wednesday doing menu planning, grocery shopping, laundry, yardwork, and general household chores.

8. Early morning hike in Laguna Canyon, home for a quick clean up, then over to the harbor to do my first solo volunteer shift there as a tidepool docent . . . talking with visitors about our local tidepool critters was fabulous fun!

There are wondrous critters hidden in there!

9. A yoga and lunch date with a new friend, then an evening out with hubbie attending a Pacific Symphony Pops Concert enjoying selections from all things Oz . . .Wicked, The Wiz and The Wizard of Oz.

10. Morning beach walk with my Saturday group, then home to bake myself silly making these pecan bars for a wine tasting dinner event later in the day, where my dessert took first place honors!

So much butter!

So much yum as a result!

11. Celebrated hubby's delayed birthday gift . . . tickets to see a tribute  to Simon and Garfunkel at beautiful SOKA University, followed by dinner at, sadly, the very mediocre Avila's El Ranchito . . . sigh, take them off my list of new Mexican dining possibilities!

12. Long hike along the sand with hubby in San Clemente, then a walk back through town to try out a new lunch spot, The Bagel Shack . . . delicious!

It was scenic and fun walking under the pier, something we'd not done before.

13. Balcony glass panel brackets finally going in!

14. We snuck out onto the balcony in the PM to enjoy the sunset, even though the glass remains to be installed, meaning we felt a tad conspicuous!

Sunset, I missed you!

15. Thursday morning hike in Laguna, hoping the pain in my right leg didn't mean I was looking at more rehab in my future, oof!

16. Morning racewalk, worked a volunteer shift as a greeter at the harbor, then attended a lovely and scenic evening out at Casa Romantica in San Clemente for members night sunset viewing.

Loved the quiet ambiance at our first members night.

Views to die for out on the Casa's bluff top patio area.

17. Morning beach walk with my Saturday group, chores at home, then off to a super casual, but fun, night out in Old Town Orange with our best dining buddies enjoying fried chicken at the excellent new fast casual eatery Buttermilk Chicken, and liquid nitrogen ice cream at the also excellent A La Minute just up the street . . . we split a cup of strawberry ice cream topped with a balsamic glaze, yum!

18. Our usual Sunday routines in the AM, then packed for our trip to Texas.

19. Super smooth flight into Dallas, where we picked up our rental car and drove the 160 miles to my dad's home, arriving just in time to enjoy dinner out with him, plus a group of his friends, enjoying fried fried chicken . . . no, that wasn't a typo!

20. A two hour drive to a little rinky-dink gas station restaurant in nearby Lousiana, serving, according to my dad, the biggest piece of breakfast ham we'd ever encounter, a stop at a bayou on the way back, then a visit to cute, touristy Jefferson for 5 cent coffee (Dad) and not-5-cent coffee (me) . . . I have my limits!

It was a beautiful day to be outside!

21. A five mile hike through my dad's town along a newly opened walking path, then a first for my dad, craft beer tasting . . . in spite of himself he liked it!

22. Happy Thanksgiving to those of us in the USA!

23. Heading out for the long drive back to Dallas, easy check in at almost empty airport - the morning after Thanksgiving is, apparently, a great day to fly - followed by another nicely smooth flight back home.

24. Morning walk with my Saturday group, grocery shopping to restock the cupboards (the only reason I'd brave the crowds in the market on a weekend!), plus unpacked and did laundry.

25. Our usual Sunday morning spiritual routines, plus entertained friends for a delicious, but quick dinner of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa lemon marinated chicken and satay, rice, and a cucumber salad, before heading out together to a lecture on the wines of France, including, of course, lots of tastings to go along!

26. Enjoyed working in the yard today under sunny skies . . . I basically walk around with a paperbag and weed trowel, picking up leaves and the random weed, plus made a wonderful pot of sweet potato, pork and cumin soup for dinner.

27. Back to  our old town for his-and-her haircuts, plus a visit with my sister-in-law that remained behind when we moved . . . so far she's doing just fine on her own in her senior apartment complex, fingers crossed it remains that way!

28. Laundry, menu planning, grocery shopping, and most exciting of all, finally finished my daughter's birthday gift needlepoint project and dropped it off at Hobby Lobby for framing!

Found an off-the-shelf deep black shadow box to accommodate the fluffy pompoms, beadwork and fringe, then left it with Hobby Lobby to be stretched and matted in white. 

29. Happy Birthday to my youngest daughter, and I hope you enjoy this little add-on gift from Animal Rescue Site, understanding that your heart is enormous when it comes to our little four legged critters.

30. Rain . . . exciting because it's such a rare event here in S. California, and just the excuse we needed to spend the day reading by the fireplace.

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And so went the month of November! How did your month go? Please share your highlights (or lowlights!) below.