Days of my Life - Window to My World: Daily Life

Showing posts with label Daily Life. Show all posts

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Spring Favorites and Gratitude

We had a gorgeous first few days of spring here in Utah, and the change of seasons brings much to be grateful for, so I am joining once again with Susanne and friends over at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five.

😊 After a cold and snowy winter, I am grateful that spring brought sunshine and warmer temperatures this past week. We have been in the upper 60s around here, although cooler temps, rain and snow are supposed to be coming this weekend. It is after all, springtime.

😊 The little plum tree, that I transplanted last summer from a big planter I had it growing in on the patio of our condo, has new leaf buds and appears to have survived the winter. It's a nice little tree, and I'm grateful that it made it through all the cold and snow. I am hoping for a few plums this coming summer.

😊 With all of the nice weather and warmer temperatures, I am grateful that I have windows in my classroom that I can open up to some fresh air during the day.

😊 Our church had a dinner just for the women. I am grateful for a nice evening chatting and sharing experiences with the other women of our congregation.

😊 Charly and I went out to lunch earlier this week while we were out running errands. I am always grateful for time with my sweet husband.

😊 I am doing another free Hillsdale College online class - this one is about the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament. I find the Hillsdale College lecture based non-credit classes interesting and thought-provoking. I have already completed 30 of these classes and my goal now is to finish one a month. I am always grateful for the opportunities like this to continue being a lifelong learner.

There's always more to be grateful for, but I will stop here for now. Thanks for stopping by. Have a good weekend.

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life."

~ Melody Beattie

Sunday, March 12, 2023

A Nice March Weekend

Friday was gray and blustery, and of course the winds made it feel much colder than the actual temperature. In the evening, we had rain in the valleys and more snow in the mountains. I don't think winter is finished just yet.

You can see the my windsock and wind chimes dancing in the wind Friday afternoon. Because of all the wind, we decided not to walk outside, so I put some laundry in the washing machine, then relaxed on the couch and napped just a bit when I got home.

School went OK on Friday, and during my prep hour, I was able to finish all the online requirements to renew my teaching license, which expires this year. My new license is good until 2028, so I expect this will the last time I have to renew my license. The process was surprisingly quick and easy once I figured out how to log in to the new Utah education system information website. I am grateful to have this process finished and I am also grateful that I will retire before I have to do it again!

Friday night's dinner was left-over spaghetti from Thursday night. I made some leftover hot dog buns into garlic bread and had baby spring mix salad on the side. After dinner, I did my second workout of the day downstairs, and also went through some more keepsakes and mementos, threw some things away, and packed another box.

Saturday was a beautiful, blue-skied day, which at least during the middle of the day, was warmer than we had seen for a while. Charly and I had some errands to run and shopping to do at several different stores, then I met up with my cousin for lunch. We always enjoy getting together for a good chat.

Some of the shopping we had to do on Saturday was birthday shopping for two grandchildren who have birthdays coming up later in March. Our soon-to-be 15-year-old granddaughter likes soft fluffy blankets for her bed and buying her clothes at Old Navy, so we are giving her a soft fluffy blanket and an Old Navy gift card. We are also going to be taking her to breakfast at her choice of restaurants so we are excited about that and hope she is too.

We also have a grandson in Virginia who is turning 13-years-old soon. I need to get his present of books and a game in the mail this coming week.

Late Saturday afternoon, when Charly and I went for a walk, the clouds had moved back in and a breeze was lowering temperatures. We had leftovers for dinner, then watched a little TV - a very interesting show about Helen Keller on PBS.

Sunday morning we woke up to gray overcast skies and rain. I did my usual Sunday morning routine - scripture reading and study, basement workout while listening to a scripture study podcast, then off to church.

After church and lunch, we got to have a long chatty phone call with our daughter Tiffany and her family (shown above in a picture taken last August). We talked to our daughter and all of our grandchildren and got caught up on everything that is going on with them. We will be seeing them again in a couple of weeks, so we are looking forward to that.

I had something else planned for Sunday dinner, but as is often the case, I just didn't feel like fixing and eating what I had planned, so instead, I opted for breakfast for dinner. We had pancakes, bacon, hash browns and scrambled eggs and fresh berries with just a touch of whipped cream for dessert.

When I took the garbage out after dinner, I found that it was sunny and quite mild temperature-wise. The morning rains had moved out, leaving blue skies and sunshine, although there were still some clouds. Since it was still light (thanks Daylight Savings Time) we decided to take an evening walk, which was quite delightful. It was the perfect ending to a very nice weekend.

Weekend gratitude:

Great conversation with Josh one evening. He doesn't usually have a lot of time for casual conversations with his mom, but one evening he called while he was waiting for his laundry to finish in the dryer, and we had a nice chat. He had a good week and all is going well with him.
Lunch with my cousin, who is also one of my oldest and dearest friends.
Nice text conversation with another dear friend.
Phone conversations with my daughter and all of my Utah grandchildren. They just make my heart sing and swell with pride.
Getting my teaching license renewed without the hassle I expected.
Rain instead of snow this morning.

I'll stop here to get ready for tomorrow and hopefully to do some reading before bedtime. Have a great week! See you again soon!

😊Deb💖

"For maximum happiness,

peace and contentment,

may we choose a positive attitude."

~Thomas S. Monson

Sunday, October 2, 2022

First Weekend of October

Here's a little about what was going on in our world during the first weekend of October.

Late Friday afternoon, Charly and I had an appointment to get our annual flu shots at our local CVS. We were both glad to get that done because now we have received both our fall Covid booster and our flu shots. Josh texted me Friday telling me that he also got a fall Covid booster, and I am glad of that. Friday afternoon, I also went through the rather tedious process of updating all of my insurance selections with my employer. This is something the school district where I teach requires all employees do every October. If the update isn't completed within a ten day window, there is a fine, so I am glad I got it finished!

I finished another batch of cards for Letters Against Isolation and mailed them to a care center in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

Friday night dinner was BLT sandwiches for the second time in the week. We had some more large beefsteak tomatoes from our garden that have were a delicious addition.

After dinner, Charly and I went for a walk. It was a beautiful fall evening. I liked how the flag looked blowing in the slight breeze.

Saturday morning after breakfast and a walk, Charly and I went over to our income property home and did some yard work. Some of the garden areas are overgrown with weeds, so we worked get the weeds out. We are planning to move back into this home next summer, and I am looking forward to getting the yard and garden areas back into shape.

Our church denomination had our semiannual General Conference this weekend, with messages from our church leaders being broadcast both Saturday and Sunday. While we worked in the yard, we listened to the uplifting and faith-filled messages using an app on my phone.

Sunday morning, Charly and I went for a walk as soon as we were up and dressed. It was a lovely, cool morning. The temperature was only 61 degrees!

When we got back from our walk, we watched and listened to the Sunday sessions of General Conference. The messages were so inspirational and they were all focused on Jesus Christ, our Savior. Anyone can watch and listen to the messages here. Because of General Conference, we did not have regular church services, so we were home all day on Sunday.

While I watched General Conference, I worked on drawing some Halloween pictures which I will be sending (along with another little surprise) to each of my grandchildren. It was fun and relaxing to draw and color these pictures. (I was asked if I traced the pictures and the answer is no, I did not. Same for the Letters Against Isolation cards I make - all my own work. I looked at pictures online and made the drawings freehand and colored them myself. I have loved drawing since I was a child, but I just forgot how much I enjoy it).

Here is this weekend's harvest from my little patio container garden - a large Beefsteak tomato and several strawberries. I had more strawberries this year than last. When I picked the tomato, I noticed several other smaller tomatoes that are still green. I hope that they ripen before we get our first frost - at least enough for me to bring them in the house. Everything home grown and garden fresh just seems to taste better than store bought produce. I am looking forward to having more garden space, hopefully next year.

Sunday dinner was French Oven Stew, a recipe I got over at Mari's blog, My Little Corner of the World. Mari posts delicious recipes every Thursday, and we have tried and loved many of them. This stew was excellent. Charly said it was "the best stew we have ever had." Thanks, Mari for another winning recipe!

Here is the recipe, which I printed off and will add to the Jones Family Cookbook.

Sunday night was a time for a little indexing and getting ready for work on Monday. Charly watched a little TV. I am sure that we will read before bed as usual.

Coming up this week:

Lots of birthdays!

Today (Sunday) is our son-in-law Joseph's birthday.
Charly and our oldest son, Alex will both celebrate their birthday on Thursday, October 6.

Weekend Gratitude:

Getting my insurance and benefit information updated before the deadline.
Getting our flu shots.
Having gorgeous autumn weather.
Getting some yard work done over at our other home.
Watching General Conference and loving the inspiring messages.
Enjoying an overall good and relaxing weekend.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by to visit. Have a good week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Favorites and Gratitude for the First Week of May

What are you grateful for this week? I am grateful for bloggers like Rebecca Jo at Knit by God's Hand and Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for hosting link-ups to share the goodness in ordinary, daily life. Let's get going and review the goodness of the week.

Teacher appreciation week - We always get fun things with little poems attached during teacher appreciation week. It is fun to go to my teacher box each day to find another interesting and creative gift. I am grateful for those who take the time to do kind things for teachers.

Kind act of service - the other day I came home from school exhausted. I was out of the juice that I drink every morning, and my sweet hubby offered to go to the store and get some for me. As you can see, he stocked up so hopefully, I won't run out for a while. I am grateful for a kind and helpful husband.

Rain - we had a cool and wet week, which I am grateful for because we need the water.

Audio books - I am grateful for two excellent, uplifting audio books that I have been listening to this past week - Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers, which I just finished, and Forgiving What You Can't Forget by Lysa Terkeurst, which I just started. I am thankful for helpful resources that have a great Christ-based message of hope and healing.

Raise approved - I have written quite a bit about all the classes I have taken over the past eleven months so I could make a salary lane change and get a raise. I completed the classes and turned in my paperwork last week and on Thursday afternoon I received the email that my raise has been approved retroactive to April 27, 2022. I grateful for a little additional money in my paycheck.

I did a few calculations and figured that I have completed a total of 37 classes - 26 classes through Hillsdale College, 6 classes through Coursera, 3 through the Utah Education Network, and 2 through our school district. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn a lot by taking all of these classes over the last year.

There is always so much to be grateful for, but I will stop here for now. Thanks for stopping by. Have a good weekend.

🙏💙Deb💛🙏

"Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness.

It's the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul."

~Amy Collette

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Weekend Trip to Idaho

Friday, I took a day of personal leave and we drove to Rexburg, Idaho, almost 250 miles north of where we live. The purpose of our trip was to take Josh to see the campus of the college he will start attending in July - BYU - Idaho. While we have been to Idaho before, and even to the town where the college is located, we have never been to the campus of BYU - Idaho. Josh has already applied and been accepted to the school, but he wanted to see the college in person.

Our drive to Rexburg went well. We arrived early Friday afternoon and immediately checked into the motel where we stayed, AmericInn by Wyndham. It was a nice place with large rooms and a great indoor pool and hot tub which Josh made use of Friday evening and Saturday morning before we left.

After checking into the motel and unpacking the car, we went over to see the apartment complex that Josh plans to live in. I didn't take a picture of the interior because management actually showed us an apartment that is occupied. I assume the the tenants receive some sort of rent discount or incentive if they allow management to show their apartment. The apartment was nice and large with all new appliances. Josh will have his own room, although there are six bedrooms in each apartment, so he will have some flat mates.

Josh had made a late afternoon appointment for a tour of the campus, so after seeing his apartment, we went over to BYU-Idaho to see the place up close.

We started the tour at the Hyrum Manwaring Center. This the place where students can gather for all kinds of fun activities. The student bookstore and food court are also in this large building.

BYU-Idaho is a Christian school run by the church we belong to, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love the reminders of faith in God throughout the campus, like this flat that reminds students that Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ, who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and strive to follow Him.

I love the focus of BYU-Idaho - Discipleship, Learning and Leadership.

We started our tour in this building, where many religion classes take place and where the main chapel on campus is located.

This is the interior of the large chapel.

I love this relief of Jesus and the children just outside of the chapel.

Our tour guide was an attractive young woman who, coincidentally, used to live in our area and attended a high school about two miles from our home, before moving to Washington and then to Texas with her family. Here are some pictures from the parts of the campus that our tour guide took us to.

This is the library.

This is the tutoring center.

This is the gym.

There is a large pool, several pickle ballcourts, and basketball courts.

This is the BYU-Idaho Center, where weekly devotionals and graduation is held. It has a seating capacity of 15,000.

There are some beautiful paintings of scenes from the Savior's life just outside of the assembly hall.

I love all of the representations of Jesus and his life all across the campus. Here are some more scenes of the beautiful BYU-Idaho campus.

The beautiful Rexburg, Idaho temple is not part of the university campus, but it is right across the street.

After a busy afternoon touring the BYU-Idaho campus, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Applebees near our hotel. I had a classic cheese burger with fries and it was delicious.

The hotel where we were staying offered breakfast. There was plenty of food and it a good way to start the day. We left Rexburg mid-morning on Saturday and got back home to Utah mid-afternoon. After unpacking, we had leftovers for dinner. Charly and I managed a walk after dinner, but then I was pretty much out of energy and exhausted after our quick trip to Idaho.

Sunday was another cool, cloudy and rainy day. All of the rain we have been getting, coupled with cooler temperatures have made everything around here lush and green.

After church, I took a nap. Last week was super busy and that coupled with the quick weekend trip to Idaho, meant I was more tired than usual. In addition, the cool, and even cold, wet weather means my arthritis has been acting up, so I didn't feel great on Sunday. A nap really helped. When I got up from my nap, I got all of the postcards we got in Idaho ready to send to our grandkids. We always send postcards to the grandkids whenever we take trips. It's one way we can try to keep in touch. 😊

I also got Mother's Day cards ready to send to my birth mom and aunt.

Sunday dinner was an easy favorite - country fried steak, mashed potatoes and country gravy, steamed broccoli and green salad.

Looking for a good audiobook to listen to while I exercised downstairs after church on Sunday, I found and checked out this book, Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers, which I have heard many good things about from other bloggers including Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story. It's an excellent book, and I am enjoying listening to and learning from it.