Sunday Stealing on Monday

 Here are the Sunday Stealing questions a little late.

What book are you currently reading?

I usually read several books at once and right now I am reading two nonfiction books - Glass House by Brian Alexander, Bad Religion by Ross Douthat, and a mystery/suspense book, Cruel Intent by J.A. Jance.  I'm also listening to a nonfiction audiobook Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham 

Have you ever smoked?

I've never smoked and have never had a desire to.

What is your favorite candy?

Although I don't eat it often, I like good quality dark chocolate - Dove or Lindt chocolate is very good.  I love nuts in my chocolate candy. 

Hot dogs: yay or nay?

I'm not a huge hot dog fan, but when we are out on a road trip, a Jalapeno Cheddar Bahama Mama sausage hotdog can really hit the spot for lunch.  Note:  I just put mustard on my Bahama Mamas, not all of the toppings shown in the ad picture I found online.

Favorite movie?

I really enjoyed What's Up Doc, the old Ryan O'Neal, Barbra Streisand movie from the 70s.  I also really like Soap Dish with Sally Field and Kevin Kline.  It is one of the funniest movies ever in my book. 

What do you prefer to drink in the morning?

I always start my day with a glass of juice combined with an energy supplement drink.  Orange juice is my favorite morning drink.

What do you drink throughout the day?

I drink water in a 40 oz. stainless tumbler.  I have one of these at school and one at home.  I try to drink lots of water.

Do you do push-ups?

I have at times in my life, but not now.  I lift small weights and do some resistance band exercises to help the muscles in my arms and upper body.

What's your favorite piece of jewelry?

My wedding/eternity band.

Current worry?

I worry about our nation and society overall.  While I agree with some of the things the current president is doing, other things he is doing and wants to do are very concerning and I worry about the future.  I think that much of the craziness going on (coming both from the political left and the right) in our society does not bode well for the years ahead. 

Current annoyance?

See above.  I'm annoyed by the same things I worry about.

Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?

I don't really like satin sheets because they tend to slide off.  I prefer regular soft cotton sheets. 

Can you whistle?

Yes, a little.

That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.  See you again soon.

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

The Final Weekend of March

Here's what was going on my world this past weekend. 

Friday was not a cold day (the temps were almost up to 60) but it was another gray and cloudy day. 

Friday, I was excited to find some blossoms on the little plum tree in our backyard.  I sure hope we get some delicious fruit from this tree this year. 

I was off Friday, for which I was very glad because last week was very stressful at school.  Charly and I went grocery shopping in the morning.  

We took some time to firm up our vacation plans for the summer and the rest of the year.  We are super excited about some good road trips to fun and beautiful places.  Our vacation plans include trips to the mountains of Central California in June, to Capitol Reef National Park in Utah in July, to Las Vegas in October (Fall break), and November and December trips to St. George.  Of course, we also have a rapidly approaching spring road trip to Idaho to see Josh graduate from college and help him move back to Utah where he will look for a job.  

I started listening to this audiobook, Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham, and so far, I am finding it very interesting.  The book is well-written, researched, documented, and very eye-opening.  

Friday afternoon, I kicked back on the reclining sofa and took a little nap, then did some reading when I woke up.  I was tired because I had at least one sleepless night last week due to the work stress and drama.  

I'm reading this book, Glass House by Brian Alexander.  It's a nonfiction book about the economic policies of the 80s and 90s had on one company (Anchor Hocking Glass) and a small city in Ohio (Lancaster).  This is not just a book about business, the economy and the drug crisis that took place when good jobs and infrastructure were destroyed on purpose.  The stories of the people in the town who were impacted by what took place puts names and faces on decisions made only thinking of dollar signs.  It is a book somewhat like J. D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, (which I loved), or Beth Macy's Dope Sick.  I am enjoying reading and learning from Glass House.  I enjoy a good, well-researched nonfiction read.

Friday night, we had salmon patties and twice-baked potatoes, along with a spinach salad.  It was a good dinner! 

Saturday was yet another gray and cloudy day. 

Saturday morning, we drove to Utah County again to go to our favorite used bookstore. 

Pioneer Book is a great little used bookstore and we love going there. Their counter is made out of old books and looks really cool.  Here is Charly standing at the counter finalizing his purchases. The store was having a BOGO sale, plus Charly and I had some more books we wanted to turn in for credit.  We turned in about five or six books and only bought two - one for each of us.   We didn't stay long in Provo and were back home before noon because we were meeting up with friends for lunch. 

We met our friends for lunch and enjoyed some yummy food and good conversation. We have known these friends for 48 years (since before we were married), so we always have lots to talk about. 

We came out of the restaurant, it was raining, and colder than it had been earlier in the day. 

We were home the rest of the afternoon, which was just fine with me.  I did some laundry and some other chores, and started reading this mystery/suspense book, Cruel Intent by J.A. Jance, which I bought at Pioneer Book Saturday morning. 

Sunday morning, there was blue sky, but also some high clouds.  There is a beautiful tree near the entrance to our church that is out in bloom.  It is lovely. 

We attended the main worship service, then Sunday School.  Here is our bishop (pastor) giving the lesson.  It doesn't look like there were a lot of people there, but most of the attendees were sitting farther back, behind where I was standing to take this picture. 

Sunday was a restful and relaxing day.  I took a nap and worked on this puzzle while listening to a Christian audiobook and podcast.

Our Sunday dinner was slow cooker stew and green salad.  I also made a batch of cornbread muffins. It was a good dinner, and we really enjoyed it. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Having a three-day weekend (I took Friday off).
• Finding an excellent book by a new-to-me author at Pioneer Book.
• Meeting up with our friends for lunch on Saturday.
• Traveling safely.
• Reading some good books.
• Worshipping with those in our church family.

Coming up this week:

Tuesday - appointment after school.

Saturday - attending the play Little Women with our daughter and her family.

Praying for:

• My children and grandchildren
• Josh who needs to find a job and a good place to live after he graduates from college
• Our nation
• A friend who is having a lot of chronic pain
• Inspiration for our retirement plans

That's all for this weekend.  Have a good week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Open to me

the gates of righteousness;

I will go into them

and I will praise the Lord."

~Psalm 118:19 KJV

Gratitude Inside and Out

It's the end of another week.  I have a lot to be grateful for, as always, so I am linking up again with Susanne and friends over at Living to Tell the Story, to remember the things that put a smile to my face and gratitude in my heart during the past week. 

😊 Josh has finished his capstone research paper for his Bachelor's degree.  He now needs only to make a few corrections and he is finished with his undergrad course work. I know he has worked very hard on his paper and I am grateful that he is nearing the finish line!

😊 We had some beautiful spring-like weather this past week, with blue skies and warm temperatures up into the 70s and near 80 one day.  I am so grateful that spring is here! 

😊 One morning earlier this week, I went outside to get in the car so Charly could drive me to work.  It was about 6:45 a.m. and still dark, although the picture does not show the sky as being as dark as it really was. If you look closely, you can see the quarter moon in the bottom right fork in the tree. It was a warmer morning than we have had in a while and the air was filled with the sound of birds chirping.  It was such a pleasant sound.  I am grateful that spring is here and the birds have returned.  

😊 I'm grateful that the early spring flowers are blossoming.  I love flowers of all kinds and enjoy having as many different kinds as I can in my yard. 

😊 Tuesday was the ACT test at school, so we did not have regular classes.  I had hall duty during the test and ended up with about a four-hour block of time to read.  I am grateful that I enjoy reading and that I was able to take full advantage of this reading time and finish another book!

😊 Charly and I attended a pre-retirement meeting about Medicare and Social Security that was held at our school district office Tuesday evening. We got some good information and plan to follow up and schedule retirement planning meetings with a couple of the presenters at the meeting.  I'm grateful that we were able to attend this meeting and get some good retirement planning information. 

😊By the time the meeting was over, it was well past our usual dinner time, so we decided to stop at Arby's.  Charly wanted to stay and eat there at the restaurant, so we did.  We really enjoyed eating and talking about what we had learned in the meeting.  I am grateful that Charly and I could have an impromptu mid-week date.  

😊 As we come to the end of another month, I am also grateful for the books I was able to finish in March, the enjoyment I got from them, and the good stuff I learned.   My three favorite books from the last month were People Pleaser by Jinger Duggar Vuolo, American Madness by Ron Wallace, and Not Our Daughter by Chad Zunker. The first two are nonfiction and the last one is an excellent mystery/suspense novel that I really enjoyed. 

That's all for this week of gratitude.  Thanks for visiting. I hope you  have much to be grateful for too!  Now, relax and enjoy the weekend. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Gratitude makes sense of your past,

brings peace for today,

and creates a vision for tomorrow."

~Don Staheli

The Past Weekend

This past weekend was a pretty good one.  Here are some of the highlights. 

Friday night after dinner, Charly and I went over to our local nearby Crumbl Cookie store and got a dozen cookies to take to our granddaughter for her birthday on Saturday.  Her 17th birthday is Sunday so we wanted to take her breakfast for her birthday on Saturday. 

After we got the cookies, I got the Easter bags ready for all of our Utah County grandchildren. We also took them some paint-by-number kits because they all really enjoy artistic projects. 

Saturday morning, we got up early and went to our daughter's home.  We picked up our granddaughter and took her to a breakfast restaurant of her choice. She chose a crepe place that was very good.  Here is a picture of Charly and our granddaughter waiting for our breakfast order. 

We really enjoyed eating and visiting with our granddaughter who is growing into a very lovely young woman. 

This is the crepe that I ordered.  It had a cookie in the middle of the crepe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel all over the top.  It was good, and the most sugar I have had in quite a while.  

After we took our granddaughter home, Charly and I went to our favorite used bookstore in Utah County, Pioneer Book. I had a box of books to turn in for credit.  It is always fun to browse all the used books at this large used bookstore.  Charly found a book he wanted.  I didn't get any books there.  I got a couple at thrift store we went to later.  

After the bookstore, it was lunch time, so we stopped at our favorite kolache place for a little lunch.  

Charly enjoyed reading the book he bought while enjoying his kolache. 

Saturday was another cloudy gray day.  You can see how low the clouds were on the mountains.  When we got home in the afternoon, all of the streets were wet, so it rained at our home, but not where we were in Utah County. 

Saturday night after dinner, we finished the Netflix series American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders. We then started a new documentary Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal.  I enjoy documentaries. 

Sunday morning started off gray and cloudy.  We went to church, as usual. 

We attended our main worship service, then Charly and I went to the separate men's and women's classes. This is our woman's class. 

By the time we came out to get in the car after church, the clouds had lifted and we had sunny, blue skies.  Sunday's temperatures got up into the higher 50s, which was so nice. 

Sunday afternoon, I finished this book, Habits of Holy Men by Don Staheli and Lloyd Newell.  It wasn't a very long book, but it was chock full of good stuff.  

Our Sunday dinner was a delicious ham and cheese sandwich roll.  I got the recipe and directions over at Mari's blog, My Little Corner of the World.    Look for the recipe under Cooking Thursday.  

We had tater tots and green salad with Sandwich.  It was all delicious, and best of all, we will have leftovers for tomorrow's dinner.  I always get the best recipe ideas from Mari's blog. 

After dinner on Sunday, we watched some more of Operation Varsity Blues on Netflix.  It's an interesting and troubling documentary. 

Finally, some of you are friends with me on Facebook, and I wanted you all to know that I have deactivated my account for a while, so you won't find me there and won't be able to message me on Facebook Messenger.  The reason I deactivated my account is kind of a long story, but I hope to be back on in a couple of months. Until then, feel free to email me through the link on my blog.  

Weekend Gratitude:

• Seeing our granddaughters on Saturday.
• Taking our 17-year-old granddaughter to breakfast.
• Having an enjoyable Saturday in Utah County with Charly.
• Traveling safely.
• Worshiping at church Sunday morning. 
• Josh is making progress on his capstone paper.

Coming up this week:

Tuesday - ACT test for 11th graders at school

Tuesday - Social Security and Medicare meeting at our school district offices

Praying For:

• My children and grandchildren
• My broken foot
• Our nation
• A situation at school that is causing me a bit of an issue and is the reason I deactivated my Facebook account.

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy 

and peace in believing,

that ye may abound in hope, 

through the power of the Holy Ghost."
~ Romans 15:13