Almost the End of March

Here are some of the things I want to remember about the past week:

Our weather was way to warm for March.  We were up in the 80s most of the week. Trees were blossoming everywhere, like the one shown above.  

Our 18-year-old granddaughter, Hailey got her mission call! Our daughter hosted a gathering at her home Tuesday night to celebrate this happy news.  About 40-50 friends and family members came, and Charly and I were there.  In our church, 18-year-olds can choose to serve an 18-month to two year mission - preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and serving others in the place where they are called.  We believe that the place they serve is inspired by God.  It is always a surprise, not a personal choice of where they would like to go. Our granddaughter found out last week that she will be serving in Oslo, Norway. She will be learning the language and will serve there 18 months. - teaching others the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The whole family is grateful, pleased and excited about her call. She will graduate from high school in May and then leave on her mission in August.  Other members of our family who have served missions include my husband Charly who served in Colorado (that's how we met) and my son Joshua who served two years in Mexico about ten years ago.  Our son-in-law (Hailey's dad) also served a mission in Brazil before he married our daughter. 

We were excited to see all of our daughter's children.  The youngest, Hattie, just lost her two front teeth and she was showing off her new toothless smile! 

Last Wednesday, my completed retirement application went in the mail!  I have received confirmation from the school district where I teach that May 29 is my last day of employment and then I will be officially retired.  I am now down to less than 40 school days left in my teaching career.  I couldn't be more excited!

I put a number of different things on Facebook Marketplace during the past week, and we ended up selling seven things - including both Josh and my old iPhones.  Josh wanted to get a new iPhone and I decided to get a new phone too - before I retire.  Because we did not trade in our phones, we decided to sell them on Facebook Marketplace and both phones sold quickly and for our full asking prices.  I also sold an IKEA bookshelf we no longer need, two gaming chairs left over from when our boys were little and played video games, a plant that has grown way to big for the space I have for it, and two microwave ovens.  Wow, we were busy responding to Facebook Marketplace messages and meeting up with buyers from Friday night to Saturday night, but it sure felt good to get so many things out of the house before we move! 

Saturday we met up with Josh for lunch at this all-you-can eat place we like.  It is always  nice to sit and visit and catch up over good food. 

Later, Charly and I went to our favorite used bookstore in the area and turned in four boxes of books for credit.    The bookstore was having a buy-on-get-one sale so we did come home with four books - two for Charly and two for me, but we exchanged four boxes of books for four books, so that seems like a win as we pare down our book collections!

Sunday we attended Psalm Sunday services.  You can see from the picture that the service was well attended. There were more congregants sitting behind the area where I was and they are not shown in the picture.  I was asked to give the invocation of the service and I did.  This was probably our last Sunday in this congregation as we will start staying over on Saturday night in our new home and attending church in our new community.  

After church and lunch, we went back to our new house.  I worked on getting books unpacked and put on bookshelves. You can see that I still have several boxes of books to unpack.  Yes, both Charly and I have a lot of books.

I made up the day bed in my sewing/craft/book room at our new home. This cute little day bed is also a trundle bed so two grandchildren could stay in this room together.   You can see my Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys book collections there in the bookcase at the side of the day bed. 

I also put sheets on our bed up in the master bedroom. Hopefully we will remember to bring our pillows down when we stay here, but I didn't have them today. 

Josh came over while we were at the new house.  He had some clothes that he didn't want any more, so those will be donated to the thrift store next week.   We are making lots of donation trips to the thrift store as we all get rid of things we don't need or that no longer serve us.  I think this is a healthy process - especially since we are moving. 

Our Sunday dinner was deep dish pizza (take-n-bake, not homemade) and green salad.  At this point in the moving process, my meal prep is all about quick and easy. 

Sunday evening, I took a walk. The weather was mild - perfect for an evening walk around our current neighborhood. 

I haven't been feeling great this weekend.  I have a scratchy, sore throat, stuffed up sinuses, and watery eyes.  I can't tell if it is cold or allergies to the of the blossoms that came out early and are now blowing off the trees and are in the air and on the ground everywhere. Basically, I'm just not feeling great, so I've been pushing vitamin C and elderberry immune gummies, and taking Dimetapp when nothing else seems to work.  I am taking Monday off sick, and hope to sleep in and get some rest, although we will be going to the new house.  Sleeping in a bit and not getting up with the 5 a.m. alarm is always a good thing.

Gratitude:

• Seeing our grandchildren this past week.
• Traveling safely lots of miles to and from our new house.
• Selling a lot of things on Facebook Marketplace.
• Sending away my official retirement application.

Praying For:

• My children and grandchildren.
• Our nation.
• Our military. 

Looking Forward To:

• Taking a sick day (PTO) on Monday. 
• Seeing our grandchildren again this week. 
• Having a week off for spring break. 
• Moving the rest of our stuff into our new home. 

That's all for this post. Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week!

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; 

and lean not until thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, 

and he shall direct they paths.

Be not wise in thine own eyes, 

fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

It shall be health to thy navel, 

and marrow to they bones."

~Proverbs 3:5-8

 

Another Busy Weekend

 Here are some of the highlights of the weekend. 

Friday I had the day off, as I use up my PTO before I retire.  I had quite a bit of PTO accumulated and I am determined to use it all up, since we are not paid for unused time off. We went to our new home. This was the beautiful view from our street, with the trees out in full spring blossom and the snow capped mountains in the background.  It was a warm day - over 80 degrees.  It felt more like June than March. 

We did a little shopping for things to give our grandchildren for Easter.  I like to remember them, with fun things, but also want them to learn the true reason for the Easter season - the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  I found this Easter creche at a Christian bookstore I like and decided to get it for my daughter's family. I am seriously thinking of getting one of these for my own home too.  

I also made some little Easter bags for each grandchild that had a little Easter candy (chocolate bunnies, chocolate coins, and peeps), and cards with a gift card to Chick-Fil-A inside.  I took these to give to the grand children on Saturday. 

We had a busy day running around and getting things for our new home on Friday.  We stopped for a fast-food dinner before going to a history conference we had scheduled for evening. 

Charly and I usually really like academic kinds of conferences about subjects like history, religion, and apologetics, and we got tickets to this conference several months ago. Friday evening was the first session of the conference we went to.  The first session was not at all what I had expected and I almost felt like it was a waste of time and money. We actually liked the Saturday session we attended much better. 

Friday, I also sold another item I had listed on Facebook Marketplace.  I had used this wooden box first for family keepsakes, and then for bedding, but I don't have a good place for it at our new home, so we decided to see if anyone one else could use it. Less than 24 hours later, a very nice young couple came and picked it up, paying almost full asking price.  I am glad that someone can use it! 

Saturday, we went to another session of the history conference.  This was our favorite session where we heard one of my favorite podcasters give a presentation. I learned a lot from what he had to say.  His presentation made the entire conference worthwhile. 

A little later, we took our granddaughter out to lunch for her birthday. She will be 18 on Monday. She is graduating from high school in May and has already been accepted to her college of choice. She has decided to service an 18 month mission before going to college.  Exciting times for this sweet and beautiful young woman!

We also donated three bags and two boxes of things at a thrift store Saturday afternoon.  I think we are doing pretty good at paring down our possessions as we move.  A lot of the things we donated this afternoon were Josh's things that he didn't want any more. 

Sunday was a beautiful spring day. The morning was sunny with cloudless blue skies. We went to church and enjoyed a wonderful worship service.  

After church we went back to our new house.  We actually  made two trips there and back after church - so that was a total of 160 miles. We took a lot of kitchen items, including dishes and pot and pans.  Before we left to come back to Salt Lake City, all the boxes shown on the counter were unpacked and the contents put away in their new home in the new kitchen. 

We took some things over to Josh at his apartment before we left Utah County. This is the mountain view from the parking lot of his apartment complex. You can see that by evening, the blue skies of the morning had turned cloudy. 

We had a very busy but good weekend. We accomplished a lot and enjoyed some good family time.  Now onto another week full of good things!

Weekend Gratitude:

• Traveling safely - we put in over 300 miles this weekend!
• Taking our granddaughter to lunch for her 18th birthday.
• Visiting with our daughter and her family.
• Meeting more neighbors in our new neighborhood. 
• Worshipping and feeling God's spirit and love. 

Praying For:

• A blogging friend who is in the hospital.
• Safety for our military. 
• Help in selling our current home.
• All of our children and grandchildren.
• Our nation.

Looking Forward To:

• Spring break - coming in April!
• Getting the rest of our stuff moved to our new home. 
• Selling more items on Facebook Marketplace (hopefully).
• Retirement!

That's all for now.  See you again soon.  Have a great week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"The Lord is good to all:

and His tender mercies are over 

all his works."

~Psalm 145:9

End of the Week Gratitude

Although it has been another busy week, I have been determined to take time to look at for the things that have made me feel happy and grateful. Here are some of the things I came up with.  I am joining with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five. 

😊 Although our week started out windy and cold, but the middle of the week, our temperatures were up into the 80s! We've had a crazy winter with almost no snow, and now summer-like temperatures in March!  I went out for a walk one afternoon and saw this bush covered with little red flowers.  The flowers were lovely and made me smile. With our very warm temperatures, we are now seeing flowers everywhere!  I love flowers and I am always grateful when they come back in the spring.

😊 I'm grateful that it's now light and warm enough to enjoy evening walks almost every day after dinner.   I have found that I sleep better and can deal with daily stress much better when I take an evening walk. 

😊 That's our freezer in the back of my Honda.  It's not a huge freezer and it fits in the car, but it was too heavy for Charly and I to get up from our basement to move it to our new home.  We had three strong young men from church agree to come and help us move it out of the basement in exchange for lunch at Arby's.  It was a win-win, and both Charly and I are very grateful for their help!

😊 We have had this book shelf unit literally since we got married in 1979.  Charly's mom had it in her basement family room, and gave it to us for our first apartment. We've used it ever since, but it doesn't really fit or go with our new place, so we decided to part with it.  I put it on Facebook Marketplace, and within twenty minutes, a woman reached out and said she wanted it. She came to pick it up the next day.  I'm so grateful that we were able to "rehome" these bookshelves, to a young woman who told me she wanted them to start her own home library. 

😊 Our fourth quarter of the school year, and my last quarter, started this past week. So far, so good.  I've assigned my students a book project and some of them are actually doing it!  I am grateful that this is the final quarter of school in my career!

😊  We had a consultation with our realtor about selling our current home, shown in the picture above.  We are on-track to get this place listed by mid-April, and our realtor already has a potential buyer interested.  I am thankful for a good realtor, with whom we have a long-standing relationship.  This will be the fourth real estate deal he has helped us with.  I joke that he is my real estate therapist, because he can help calm the anxiety I experience with buying and selling properties.  

😊 As we were leaving to come back  up to Salt Lake City after delivering our freezer to our new home, I saw this sunset.  It was another stunner, and while the picture might not do it justice, I am always grateful when I see God's handiwork in gorgeous sunrises and sunsets like this one. 

That's all for this post.  Have a good and memorable weekend. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"At the end of the day

I am thankful that my blessings

are bigger than my problems."

~anon.

Currently - A Monday Update

I haven't been in blog land a lot lately. We've been very busy with moving and getting things set up at our new house. School is also busy and stressful, so my days are full to overflowing.  That's way I haven't posted for a while, but I decided it was time for a little Monday update, so here's what is currently going on in my world. 

The weather has been cool and cloudy the past couple of days.  Sunday was right down cold with a brisk breeze blowing most of the day.  The forecast is for the weather to warm back up, though and by Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we should be up in the 80s.  Crazy weather - an almost snowless winter and 80 degree temperatures in March!  This is very uncommon in Utah. 

I'm reading The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen.  I should be finished with this book by now.  It's a good book, but I am so tired by the time I get a few minutes to relax and read at the end of the day, that I am almost falling asleep before I can get through many pages.   My reading has really fallen off since we have been undertaking the move to our new home. 

We've been working on moving as much as we can to our new house. Sunday, we unpacked books and put them on shelves.

I'm enjoying outdoor walks whenever I can fit them in. 

I'm loving that we took several loads of things to donate to our favorite thrift store last weekend.   Moving is always a good time to see just how much stuff we have accumulated and pass along what we don't need to others. 

In the kitchen very little has been going on lately. This was our Sunday dinner - fast food from Arby's after unpacking boxes at our new home.  I'm not saying that this is at all the way I want to eat on an ongoing basis, but it is what it is for now.  I am looking forward to making use of my beautiful new kitchen once we are moved in once and for all. 

I'm feeling more than ready to "call it a career" and retire in just 48 more school days.  Today, I started the process of applying for my Utah State Teachers Pension.   

I'm grateful that when we spoke to a financial planner last week, he complimented us on how prepared we are financially for retirement.  It's taken a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but I feel like we are where we need to be and I am thankful for that. 

I apologize that I haven't been around to visit and comment on many blogs lately, and that will likely continue for a while. I expect that my own posting will be somewhat sporadic until I retire and our move is complete, but I will pop in to say hello when I can. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"A great attitude becomes a great day

which becomes a great month

which becomes a great year

which becomes a GREAT LIFE.

It all starts with your attitude."

~anon.

A Peek into My Week and Weekend

Here are some of the highlights of the past week. 

March came in like a lamb on Sunday, but Monday was more lion-like with pouring rain most of the day.  Salt Lake City had the wettest day in over four months. 

I had Monday off for a medical appointment.  We were the first ones in the office Monday morning, and the waiting room was mostly empty.   The appointment went well and we got some good, helpful information from our provider.

As soon as the appointment was over, we headed south to our new home because we were having furniture delivered from the great used furniture store that has great quality furniture at awesome prices.  

Here is the love seat we bought.  The wing-back chairs were purchased at a different thrift store a couple of years ago. The great thing about the love seat is that it is like new - used very little.  We think that it was possibly in a waiting room at a law firm, since we have been told that such companies often donate furniture to this thrift store when they are redecorating.  Also, the color of the love seat is very close to the color of the shelves on either side of the fireplace in this room. 

Here is a picture of the bookshelves.  You can see how similar the color is to the love seat.  

We also got these great bookcases, which are very sturdy, high-quality and like-new. Again, we think that they must have come from a law firm. We got a total of five bookcases - these three and two more that is on the opposite wall in the basement family room. 

We got the new quartz countertops and backsplash installed this week.  We are so pleased with it!

We decided to get a 60/40 culinary sink.  I've never had a sink like this before and I hope I like it.  I know I LOVE the new faucet! 

Last weekend, I posted our old dining room table for sale on Facebook Marketplace. A had some interested in it, but no one actually came to look at it until Thursday, when I got a message from a man who said he wanted to surprise his wife with it. 

He came to our house Thursday afternoon, paid us full asking price, disassembled the table, put it in the trailer and took it home. This was a good quality dining room set, and we are happy that it went to a family that will appreciate it.  

Meanwhile, we have a new dining room set at our new home, and we are eating on a card table until we move completely to the new place. 

Friday night, after dinner, we loaded the car and went back to our new house.  We traveled safely both there and back, and when we got home, we saw the new alert of this rollover crash. We missed being in the back up from this by just a few minutes, so we are grateful to God for safe travels. 

Saturday was a bright and sunny, albeit chilly day.  I went for a walk outside right after breakfast.  It was a great way to start the day, and I am looking forward to more morning walks when I retire. 

When we went to church Sunday morning, the sky was cloudy, but by the time our meetings were over, the sky was blue and sunny. 

After our main worship service, we each attended the separate men's and women's meetings.  

After church, we went to our new home.  I worked on unpacking and organizing some of my books in my basement sewing, craft and book room. 

Our Sunday dinner was crock pot chili, green salad, fruit and nine-grain bread.  It was all very good.  I love crock pot chili. 

After dinner, I went out for a walk in the neighborhood.  It was a beautiful evening.  I'm not a huge fan of losing an hour due to Daylight Savings Time in the spring, but I do love being able to walk outside in the light after dinner. 

After my walk, we watched this Bible archeology and history documentary - The Israel Dilemma. It is very interesting.  This is the last video in this series.  Charly and I have learned a lot about the Old Testament by watching it. 

I ended the weekend by making reservations for a fall getaway for Charly and I to a couple of our favorite spots in Arizona.  We are going to spend some time in Scottsdale and then go up to Sedona in the fall when the weather is cooler.  It was a pleasure not to have to schedule our trips around school holidays.  When I retire, my time will be my own, and we can travel whenever we want to!  

Weekend Gratitude:

• Having our new counter tops, sink and faucet installed. 
• Selling our old dining room set. 
• Traveling safely to and from our new home. 
• Getting a nice large bookcase to organize my books on. 
• Hearing from the former husband of our oldest daughter. 
• Having a nice visit with Joshua and hearing about how much he likes his new job, which he started last week. 
• Scheduling a nice vacation getaway to Arizona this fall.

Praying For:

• Josh to have continued success on the new job. 
• All of my children and grandchildren. 
• Continued help with our move to our new home. 
• Help in selling our current home. 

Looking Forward To:

• Continuing and finishing our move. 
• Attending a couple of retirement planning sessions this week. 
• Enjoying more beautiful spring weather.

That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by, now have a great week!

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖