Weeks 44, 45 & 46 : Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties – Quarantine Edition

Wow, thanks to COVID-19 the world is a different place than it was a few short weeks ago. I hope you and those you love are all safe and healthy and taking precautions to stay that way. (ie social distancing and wearing masks/gloves if you go out) We were home briefly, but decided to return to Florida once businesses were shut down in Michigan. So after Mike tended to some important details with his staff and practice, we headed out. Mike and key team members are able to do virtual appointments so thankfully they can stay in touch with patients and address needs as they arise. We did not fly, we drove down. We drove straight through and packed our own food with minimal stops for gasoline, using a glove or plastic bag when pumping gas and wearing a glove on one hand if we had to use the restroom. Some gas stations had placed out of order signs on their restrooms. I am assuming they were reserving it for employees and to minimize transmission to those cleaning the facilities. Thankfully, we were able to reliably find bathrooms in the rest stops. The day we arrived in Florida, the governor here finally issued a stay home order. Here at The Place, all amenities are shut down including the gym, pickle ball courts, pool and the take out they had recently instituted at the restaurant, which is fine as we are planning to cook at home anyway.

My goals for myself before turning 60 seem trivial in comparison to what we now face, however on the plus side, it has given me something to focus on other than the horrible state we all find ourselves in and something positive to do other than watch compulsively for updates and take our poor dog on yet another walk. With that said, here’s what’s been going on with the bucket list.

Here is the link to my original list. I am keeping up with my French classes virtually. They have actually switched all classes to virtual, but for now, I am still doing private lessons as my current level doesn’t seem to match with anyone else’s right now. I am continuing with Duolingo and am at day #960 today. I am still getting pleasure from learning French, however I’m ’bout to have a throw down with the French subjunctive. It’s a concept that is still a work in progress for me. I have also watched a movie in French (with subtitles) on Netflix, Un + Une and would recommend it.

Some of what I had deemed a goal will be undoable now given the world’s current situation. For instance, try a new restaurant every month has been suspended. And life has intervened with # 5, Do a 5K. While new health circumstances would require that I walk it instead, it is unlikely anyone will be holding any 5Ks soon. Also, no fun gathering for the ladies in the family, but at least we can do so virtually, though we may have to include the guys for this one too now.

However it has also given me time to tackle a few things that I was neglecting, such as organizing the basement storage room. It was long overdue! Also staying in contact with friends and family has been converted to virtual happy hours via Zoom. We are probably talking more now than we ever used to and it’s been awesome. Another positive, I’ve had more time to work on tricks with our dog Kobe which I will share on a later post.

Before, so you can see just how messy it had gotten!

After, maybe not perfect, but a lot less messy!

As far as my weight loss journey, it’s a hard fought battle. I am using Noom but certainly not to the best of my ability. I, like probably most of you, have been snacking more than normal. I am in the process of getting back on track. In the “unfortunate” column, I was recently diagnosed with arthritis and bone spurs in my hips and I have some stiffness in my lower extremeties which limits my flexibility so my doctor has instructed me to eliminate high impact exercises. While in Florida, I plan to walk, bike, swim and do yoga. All of which are all less stressful on the joints. I did manage to use my NordicTrack a few more times when we were home. I discovered a new workout series. It is lead by an Egyptian Archeologist who brings you on walking tours of several Egyptian pyramids. I also managed to do a warm up and a cultural walk set in front of Niagara Falls and some flexibility yoga in Kauai, Hawaii, making a grand total of 72 NordicTrack work-outs. My original goal was 50. I also plan to take advantage of the video workouts our awesome bootcamp trainer is posting with modifications.

Walking the pyramids of Egypt with an Egyptian archeologist.

I am guessing my reading will pick up a bit more. I am currently on book # 21 of my 75 book goal. I am reading the last book in a Nora Rogers trilogy, The Perfect Hope. It’s escapism at it’s finest. Since I last posted about my reading goal on February 26, I have read In A Dark, Dark Wood, The Turn of the Key, Evvie Drake Starts Over, Olive Again, The Giver of Stars, Turbulence, The Last Boyfriend, and The Chocolate Thief .

I also tackled # 15: Learn the alphabet in sign language. Here is the poster for the hand motions.

And here I am, signing the alphabet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjsEHqdjul0

I also completed another Masterclass(#30) while driving down to Florida. It featured David Sidaris on writing. It was highly entertaining even if you aren’t a writer. I am working on learning Silent Night on the piano(#34). Let me just say it’s harder than I thought it would be and now I am in Florida with no access to a keyboard, so this particular goal may be carried over into my 61st year.

My birthday is mid-May and as there isn’t much left on my list to accomplish, I will be posting just once more at this project’s conclusion. I thank you if you’ve stuck with me throughout the year and look forward to summarizing all that I was and was not able to accomplish.

Remember to embrace the things you love that you are still able to do and enjoy keeping socially close while physically distant. I hope you all stay safe and healthy and that my next post finds us all in a much better place. ((hugs))

Weeks 42 & 43: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties – The Disneyland/Corona Virus Edition

It’s been another busy two weeks and we are currently prepping to close up our Florida house, at least for a couple of weeks, as we are also eagerly planning our return. I can’t say I’ve been super productive when it comes to my bucket list except for a few categories. I’ve continued my French classes through Facetime as well as kept up my Duolingo streak (day #937). I’ve decorated our Florida house as well as entertained friends and family here. So onward and upward, let’s take a peek at the last two weeks.

My husband is here for our last week and last weekend my youngest daughter Sammi flew in. She arrived late Friday evening and departed late Sunday evening. She had expressed that she wanted a low key visit, with time for hanging out with family, relaxing and working out and I would say mission accomplished. We barbecued one evening and on Saturday we headed to Celebration Park. It’s located in Naples and is a collection of really great food trucks. It is located right off the water and has a outdoor bar at the end of the row. They offer live music. It’s usually open from 11am until 10pm. It was pretty crowded when we were there but we managed to snag a table after loitering around a bit. Mike and I ordered something off of the Cousins Maine Lobster truck. This truck was also featured on a Shark Tank episode. They also had trucks with gyros, tacos, ice cream, and an assortment of other options. We all chose something from a different truck. I would say it’s a perfect casual spot to grab food when you’re with a group with varying tastes. This was located directly across from the dock where we took our tiki cruise over our family New Year’s vacation. It would make a fun combo activity you had a little more time to spend.

Cousins Maine Lobster food truck at Celebration Park

There were quite a few picnic tables and standing tables to accommodate diners and a bar at the end of the row.

Since my last post, I’ve also attended a barre class (OUCH) and a yoga class here at the fitness center. The barre class was effective, my daughters loved it, but working until your muscles shake uncontrollably is not my idea of fun. I did enjoy the yoga class though. We’ve continued walking the dogs to the dog park here, which amounts to about 3 miles a day as well as using the workout facilities, primarily for weight lifting.

I’ve been working on finishing up a few items in regard to decorating. All the remaining curtains and valances are in. I ordered 2 paintings for the den. They complete the room nicely. I also ordered a large metal hanging for the back guest room, a painting for each guest bathroom and a silver dipped feather piece of art in a shadow box for my dining room. (I know, it sounds weird but I love it!) I still need to find artwork for the long living room wall and the two hallways.

*Really loved this piece of art which hangs over the bed in the rear guest room.*

My daughter Jenna has been wanting to show us the new Star Wars ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios so on Monday, we headed out. We boarded our 3 dogs at Country Pet Ranch, which has a lovely facility nestled in a wooded area. The dogs all loved it! We decided to stay at a medium level resort for the night and had a reservation at Port Orleans-Riverside. We had stayed there with the kids 20 years ago when it was called Dixie Landings. The room was fine for the night and the grounds were nicely appointed. On Monday, we walked around the property then took a boat ride over to Disney Springs. We had lunch at Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy! This is his only fast food restaurant and it was delicious. They have a limited menu but offer over 20 different signature sauces. The place was packed. We returned to the hotel and had fun walking around the grounds before heading back to Disney Springs for dinner.

For dinner we hit Morimoto Asia. My daughter follows Disney bloggers religiously and this one was recommended as a favorite. It didn’t disappoint. My daughter and I each ordered Orange Chicken and miso soup. Beware, serving sizes are large and I wish we’d have shared the entree. After dinner we headed back to the room by boat then on to the Polynesian Resort to Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto. This was a fun experience. The bar is small and doesn’t accommodate a lot of people at once. We sat on the patio and had a drink before being called inside after about a 20 minute wait. Many of the pricier drinks make “funny things” happen. You might get sprayed with water, or a part of the bar area may light up. Limited appetizers are available and if you are looking for something fun to do, order a less expensive drink and sit back and watch the fun. Then, here’s something Jenna discovered, we could watch the fireworks from the beach at the Polynesian. They simulcast the soundtrack. While you miss out on a few of the holographic displays on the castle, you enjoy the fireworks in a far less crowded setting. Get there early and snag a beach chair! We were back in the room by 10:00pm.

At Trader Sam’s Grotto. We met a nice couple who shared their table with us. Great conversation!

The next day we made it to the park forty-five minutes prior to opening. Jenna had planned our day, having obtained fast pass reservations for Slinky Dog Dash, Tower of Terror and Rock and Rollercoaster. Our goal was to make it to the newest ride, Minnie and Mickey’s Runaway Railway. New rides don’t offer fast passes. We were there at “rope drop” and waited maybe 45 minutes once the park opened. The success here was the first 45 minutes of waiting were done before the park even opened. That was by far the longest wait of the day. This ride was very unique, nothing scary about it and perfect for families looking for a fun and innovative ride. I don’t want to give any spoilers but this trackless ride is one of the most unique rides that the Imagineers have come up with so far.

Super fun ride! Jenna channeling Mini Mouse:-)

With Mike’s achilles still healing, he brought his knee scooter and, sanctioned by his physician, we stopped by guest services for a disability pass which allows you to bypass standing in line. Instead you are given a return time and go up the fast pass line. It worked out nicely as Mike didn’t have to stand on his feet too long. In fact, for many of the rides, his knee scooter could go all the way up to embarkation and a worker would have it waiting at the conclusion of the ride for him. Here’s tip from my daughter for getting fast passes for the rides you want:Get your passes the minute you are able to (60 days prior if you are staying on property and 30 days prior if you have your tickets and you are not staying on property). Literally, get online ASAP for the greatest chance of getting good rides and times.

The other new Star Wars ride, Rise of The Resistance, does not allow fast passes, you must virtually sign in with the Disney app and you are given a group number with a two hour window to report for the ride. There are guest services representatives available to assist those less tech inclined. There is no guarantee you will even be assigned a time, so again, do this as soon as permitted. For us it was 8am. Some people may be assigned super late times or not be able to be assigned a time at all. She signed on and we were given group #40 as our assigned group. It ended up being called around 1pm. This was another awesome experience. I would say if you have a child that frightens easily, parts of the experience could be a little scary but otherwise, I highly recommend it. Another job well done by Disney. We successfully concluded our day at 3pm, having done everything we set out to do, record time for us! We headed out for the 3 hour ride home back to Estero.

For those wondering about the impact of the Corona virus on Disney, there were still a lot of people there on a Tuesday. We asked a few workers if they were seeing a reduction in attendance because of the Corona Virus (COVID-19), they said they didn’t think so. There were several hand sanitizing stations and we used them every time we passed one. I wouldn’t say they were in abundance but I heard that they placed more in the park today. I only saw one middle aged Asian couple wearing a mask during the whole day, which I wouldn’t even say is an increase, as on previous visits we’ve encountered people wearing masks (maybe immunocompromised folks?). So on 3/11/20 there really was no observable difference in our park experience. Obviously this may change if the virus continues to spread. By contrast, my daughter Sammi did have several people wearing masks on her flight back to Michigan.

We are closing up the house this week but are planing to return for a long weekend in April and again in May. We are looking forward to discovering more fun things to do in and around Estero. The weather here has been amazing. We’ve watched the houses next to us go from shells to finally getting their landscaping. It was a fast and efficient process. They look ready for occupancy any day. Since we weren’t around to watch our own house go up, it’s been fun watching the progress on similar models. It would have been nice to meet our new neighbors but the properties haven’t closed yet. All this time spent with my daughter has been wonderful but I do miss my Michigan friends and family and it’s time to head home. “Snowbirding” has been a fantastic experience and Estero does finally also feel like “home.” As my bucket list is whittling down, I am going to keep up the biweekly blog posts as opposed to weekly. We will be heading back by car on Saturday, dog in tow. We are planning to stop in Chattanooga Tennessee for the night. Stay safe, and have a great week. See you soon from the mitten state! Now go wash your hands…

Weeks 40 & 41: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties – The Family Edition

It’s been a fun and busy two weeks! Most of my activities have centered on bucket list item #20 (Entertain friends and family in Florida house.) Here’s quick reference back to the original bucket list for anyone interested. With both Mike and my parents in town and my daughter Jenna staying with us here for a month with her two pups, we had a full house. We were missing my daughter Sammi and Jenna’s husband Kristianth but they will be coming down very soon. I was very happy with the way our home lives. Even with a full house, it never felt crowded. Now onto a few of our activities in and around Estero.

Mom and Dad arrived this past Wednesday evening. Our home is a scant 15 minutes from the airport, so after a quick pick up, I gave them a tour of the house and community and we headed to The Barefoot Grille which is the restaurant on property. We had a low key evening in preparation for a busy Thursday.

The next day, Mike landed at 9 am and soon after we headed to Bonita Springs to Everglades Wonder Gardens. This was a nice attraction recommended by a neighbor who has been a year round resident here for a few years. It’s been a local attraction since 1936 and is reasonably priced at $12 for adults, $10 for Seniors and kids 3-12 $7. Children under 3 are free. You can see the native flora along with the animals who reside in Florida. You can feed the alligators through a fence, though they must be pretty well fed as they weren’t interested in our Alligator cookies. Unlike the gators, the flamingos were very interested in the flamingo food, and Jenna was happy to oblige. Another cool thing was the lorikeet experience. They would come and land on you and drink nectar from the shot-glass looking cup we held. The unfortunate group before us had the “what goes in must come out” experience, which was one that I was happy to have missed. There was all sorts of wildlife to observe, including a butterfly house which wasn’t particularly well occupied, though there were a string of chrysalises, so there may be quite a few more in the near future. We headed to Naples for a bite to eat, landing at Barbatella’s on the patio. We enjoyed a leisurely meal before heading home to relax a bit before ending the day with a spaghetti dinner at home. All in all it was a fun day.

Jenna feeding the flamingos with Mike trying to catch the shot.

Friday was a low key day. We relaxed a bit, explored the model homes here in our subdivision then the ladies went shopping and the guys just hung out. We had 5 pm reservations at DeRoma’s which is normally fantastic. Unfortunately the majority of their seating is outdoors and it was the coldest it’s been since we’ve been down here, about 58- 60 degrees. No one wanted to eat outside! We waited 45 minutes in the hopes of an inside table but were led to an outdoor table. We declined the first one because it was unprotected in the wind, with no space heater. We were then led to a second table which was a little better. The manager was helpful in locating us a table side heater which turned out to make it warm enough. At least everyone’s meals were yummy.

Saturday, we went out to breakfast at Skillets (would recommend) followed by a trip to Tin City. Tin City is a cute little collection of boutiques in tin buildings right along the water. We strolled around the shops and marina and then we drove on to Sanibel and Captiva Islands. This was recommended by my daughter’s boyfriend’s mom, Kathy and her sister-in-law. It was a little over an hour away. We headed to the Mucky Duck which is an English type pub and popular as a sunset destination because the view is amazing. We were there initially for a drink on the beach, as they have indoor and outdoor bars with outdoor picnic tables. We decided instead to do a late lunch/early dinner. Everyone’s food was good and it was really nice to see another part of Florida. The island was beautiful with a lot of really lovely homes. It had a low key, relaxing vibe. I definitely want to head there for sunset one evening. If you plan to go, plan ahead and pack your patience as the traffic on the island seems to be confined to one lane roads with a speed of 25 mph. Also make sure you have the $6 causeway toll. You pay only on the way in.

Mom and Dad outside of The Mucky Duck on Captiva Island

Sunday we relaxed. Mike made us a yummy breakfast and we had a casual late lunch of hamburgers, hotdogs, and side dishes before driving my parents to the airport. Mike’s flight was a couple hours later. All in all, it was a successful visit. We had beautiful weather all but one day. I very much hope my parents will be returning in the future.

In other bucket list items, I am continuing with French and am making progress. My teacher is so encouraging and fun to talk to. Face-timing has added a whole new dimension and being the only student definitely ramps up the involvement in class. My Duolingo streak is at day 923. I haven’t missed a single day, knock on wood!

The home decorating is coming along. I love Z Gallerie and have purchased quite a few things through them. Everything has been delivered and I am waiting for Mike’s return so we can hang the remaining items. I bought a bowl and floral arrangement for our bedroom dresser as well as paintings for our bedroom. I went to the store to exchange a pillow that I had ordered online that was sticking out of the box when it arrived. It had a bit of grease on the corner. Of course, I saw a few more things I “needed” while there: a vase for the bath with stems of flowers, a glass ball for the bathroom counter, and some lavender colored potpourri for the amethyst bowl I had ordered for my dresser. I still have a few more pieces to decide on. But I am going to take my time and enjoy the process. It is all coming together.

Still awaiting the art work for over the tub. I did get this vase and flowers though!

Latest additions to our bedroom, the bowl with potpourri and the faux floral arrangement. (Doesn’t faux sound better than fake?! haha)

Noom was suspended during my parents’ visit but I am back at it. I did manage to get my steps in as we walked the dogs twice a day, 1.5 miles each time. I average at least 15,000 steps daily here, going as high as 20,000. Jenna and I have been using the gym though we’ve not taken any classes yet, but we hope to this week. We’ve also been enjoying bike rides in the afternoon or early evening. My meditation slipped while we had company but I am doing it again. Dan Harris’ book “10% Happier” was interesting and it did motivate me, I need to re-skim it a bit though.

Morning dog walk. this was the chilly morning.

In case anyone is wondering, the 3 dogs are all getting along great! Here’s two of the triple trouble trio.

I am currently reading Nora Roberts “The Next Always” which is good so far. I am a little less than 1/3 of the way through. My next book is Ruth Ware’s “In A Dark, Dark Wood,” which has finally come up in my Overdrive app. My reading has been slipping down here as well. I expected it to be the exact opposite! I am on book #13 of my 80 book goal, which only puts me one book ahead of schedule. I need to get a buffer zone here!

I will leave it here for now. I hope everyone has plenty to keep them happily busy this week and I hope to have more to share with you next week. Friends and family, if you’re ever down this way, be sure to stop by for a cocktail! We’d love to see you!

Week 39: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties

Sometimes I really do have to pinch myself to see if I’m dreaming. The weather has been fabulous all week here in Florida and the weeks go by so quickly. My days have been filled with appointments for the house, visits from friends and dinners out. It’s been a wonderful whirlwind that shows no signs of slowing down. It seems Wednesday has become my preferred blogging day down here. So if you happen to be following me, look for Wednesday posts from now on.

So let me dive right into my bucket list. Item # 20 (Entertain friends and family in our Florida retirement home.) We had a fabulous time with our friends from Michigan. They were staying with our friends Dave and Kim but we were able to spend a lot of time together. We had lots of delicious dinners out, fun girls’ shopping day and relaxing by the pool. We were sad to see them go. I also was blessed to have Sammi’s boyfriend Andrew’s parents over for a visit during their stay on Sanibel. It was great to meet their sister and brother–in-law and I had fun showing them around. I also had a visit from another Belleville family who is in the process of building a home in Florida so they popped in with Dave and Kim to check out our house and pool. I really enjoyed everyone’s visit. My daughter Jenna and her husband Kristianth are driving down and arriving on Friday evening. Kristianth will be flying back and Jenna will stay behind for a month with her two dogs. She works from home and she is about to “work from pool.” And bonus: Kobe will be so happy to have friends to hang out with. Mike returns next week and my parents will be coming for a long weekend as well. It has been so nice seeing everyone and I was happy to discover that I really love the way the house lives. The big kitchen island is nice for putting out appetizers and the large doorwall really makes the lanai part of the living space.

#16 (Decorating our Florida home.) Kim and I have done a lot of shopping in search of the perfect home accessories. I think we’ve canvassed most of southwest Florida! It’s been fun but I still have a lot of artwork to select. I did manage to find a nice vase for the front bedroom dresser and some cute desk accessories. I also ordered a digital photo frame online. Digital frames have sure come a long way. It has it’s own email address and friends and family can send photos that you can include in your frame. It can play music, tell you the date and the weather as well as showcase your photos. I plan to fill this frame with photos of friends and family that visit us here so it will be a rotating gallery of memories made in our Florida home.

#6 (Keep my Duolingo streak intact.) #10 (Keep attending classes at the Alliance de Francais.) I thought I would have a lot more time to devote to French here but it has proven to be the exact opposite. I have managed to keep my Duolingo streak intact though. I am on day # 909. My treat for making it to day #900 was watching a French film. I watched Sarah’s Key on Netflix, which was a combination of French and English. It is based on a book I read a few years ago by the same name. It was good but the book was better. Isn’t that usually the way of it? My FaceTime French classes continue weekly and I am enjoying conversing, however limited my abilities. What an awesome opportunity to have a native French speaker be able to answer my questions. The French that is taught and written isn’t exactly the French that you will find spoken if you are lucky enough to go to France. One funny thing I learned this week is the French term for a six-pack (the abs version) is le tablet du chocolat. I would much prefer a bar of chocolate to a six pack of beer, so I embrace and salute that terminology!

#13 Meditate daily #18 Read 50 books in 2019. I am combining these two because I have been having trouble getting my meditation in and I am reading “10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works.” That is one heck of a long title. It’s by news anchor Dan Harris. He relates how he had an on-air melt-down and how he subsequently found inner peace, despite his initial skepticism. I am half way through and enjoying it tremendously. I am hoping it will re-motivate me to get my daily meditation sessions in as I definitely feel more focused and productive when I do. That alone doesn’t seem to be motivation enough though so I am hoping this little book will work some magic for me. This is book # 11 of my 80 book goal for 2020 putting me 2 books ahead of schedule.

#7 (Lose 10 pounds) I am sticking with Noom and am STILL 1 pound over that goal. I’ve been walking a lot, regularly exceeding my daily goal. I also squeezed in a work out at the clubhouse. I hope to do a lot more working out when Jenna comes down.

I promised to update you on the landscaping. It’s done! It was done in a day and a half. Here are a few photos of the job “in progress” and a few “after” photos. I added a couple of potted plants which I will plant outside once we close up for the season. The red plants on the side between the houses is Red Tie. It is native to Florida and will grow to be tall enough to provide us with some privacy on our lanai. We also will be adding lanai lights to finish off the space and make it more usable in the evening.

I posted this last week, but thought I’d repost for anyone who didn’t happen to see it.

I am going to wrap it up here because I have a little online shopping to do! One of my favorite home accessory stores, ZGallerie, is having an online sale. I hope to find a few things to share in a future blog. Have a great and productive week.

Week 38: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties

I don’t have a lot to share this week. I am enjoying Florida and the weather has been fabulous. I have been busy because there are still errands to be run, items to get for our home and workmen coming and going. One of my errands was picking up some storage containers so I could spend some time organizing my pantry and bathroom cupboards. Today, the hurricane shutter company came. The shutters are partially up. Nick, our installer, will be coming back in the morning with a new screen as the one that he had was made wrong. Hopefully the job will be finished tomorrow. We also had workers here fixing our sprinkler system, which looks like it was damaged during excavation. The county electrical inspector was here today as well to look at the pool electrical. The landscape company is also supposed to be coming tomorrow to re-landscape and sod our backyard as the pool installation removed much of the backyard landscaping. I will snap a few “befores” and show you the “afters” once the job is complete. We were told this could be accomplished in a day. I am excited to see the finished product! In between all this coming and going I also managed to squeeze in my FaceTime French class.

The back of the lanai. Pardon the cushions stacked up in the corner. Nick, the hurricane shutter installer, advised they be moved away from his work area as drilling into cement generates a lot of dust.

Speaking of French, I am on day # 902 of Duolingo. I have completed all the new content and am now just systematically reviewing each category. I am saving my “reward” for hitting day 900 for this evening. My reward is watching a movie in French. I’m afraid I still need to use subtitles to catch it all though. My FaceTime classes are going well. Today we listened to native French speakers, speaking on the radio. They talk very fast and I definitely needed to listen to it a couple times to pick up most of what was being said. I am grateful that my instructor David is kind, patient and encouraging.

I am still using Noom, but my weight loss has stalled. I really need to re-commit. Mike has been back in Michigan for the last three days. Despite eating Lean Cuisine and salads at home for the entire three days, my weight has remained unchanged, hovering 1 1/2 pounds over goal. Frustrating! I managed to take Kobe for a walk twice a day. My steps are always well about 12,000 a day, but it’s the evening snacking that I think is getting in the way. Skinny pop I’m looking at you. My daughter Jenna is coming to stay for a month next week. Maybe I can get her to whip me into shape! I am determined to accomplish this goal so it’s just a matter of time!

We are looking forward to a visit from our Michigan friends this weekend. They will be staying with our mutual friends Dave and Kim but I am sure we will all be spending a lot of time together. We also recently scheduled my parents for a visit in two weeks so I have been asking a few long time Floridians for suggestions of fun things to do in this area. I look forward to seeing everyone and to sharing our outings in the future.

We still have a long way to go on decor and artwork. I did pick up a few books (of course!) which are great for decor and which I also look forward to reading. I’ve been looking for artwork and hope to find a few local art galleries. I did look at Z Gallerie and didn’t have much luck, but I am going to re-visit soon. Our home is very neutral and I’d like to add bit of color with artwork and decorative items. Suggestions are welcome. I don’t want to “overdecorate.” I do feel better in a “lighter” less cluttered environment.

Small vase and books in the back guest room.

Looking for artwork for left wall and not sure what to add to the credenza and the coffee table. Suggestions are welcome.

Have been unsuccessfully looking for a centerpiece for our table. Not sure if I want candlesticks, floral or something else. Stay tuned.

Kobe is thoroughly enjoying being a Florida dog. I thought he would dislike having to be let out on a leash. Electric fences aren’t really a thing here when you are near the water because in Florida, where there’s water, there’s gators. But he loves going out on a leash. He also usually gets two 1 1/2 mile walks a day and spends some time at the neighborhood dog park. The only thing that has me slightly peeved is that Kobe is slimming down quicker than I am. (haha) He will be a “streamlined” dog.

I am on book # 10 of my 80 book goal for 2020. I finished Cottage By The Sea and am currently reading The Finishing School by Joanna Goodman. I am about 1/2 way through and enjoying it so far. She is also the author of one of my previous reads, Home For Unwanted Girls. I am surprised I’ve not been reading as much as I’d hoped. I really anticipate that when the errands slow down there will be a lot more time for reading poolside. Today was actually the first day I was able to spend a little time doing just that!

I will leave it here for now. I look forward to sharing our finished hurricane shutter and hopefully our new landscaping next week. Mike is due back in for the weekend this evening at midnight. I understand Michigan is expecting some snow this evening. You have my sympathies. Now where did I put my sunscreen? **Ducking and running now!** Until next week.

Week 37: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties- Snowbirding

O.K. I know I usually post on Mondays and today is Wednesday. In my defense, Wednesday seems a lot like Monday when you are on Florida time. Actually, to be more accurate, every day feels more like a weekend. Anyway, my apologies for the late post. We’ve been so busy getting things accomplished while we are here that I really haven’t even had much time for my bucket list! Snowbirding is busy business! And, yes, I know Snowbirding isn’t actually a verb, I verbalized it though. I know what you’re thinking but yes, I used verbalize correctly here, it’s actually a thing. I looked it up: to turn a word, especially a noun, into a verb.

Onward and upward. I’ll start with French. Despite all the busyness, I haven’t lost my streak in Duolingo. I am currently on Day #895. I’ll have to have a little celebration when I reach day #900! I personally feel like that’s part of enjoying life, celebrating milestones, big and little. I have had two private lessons, one via telephone and one Facetiming. I will be having another one later this afternoon. I am glad I decided to continue pursuing my French while in Florida because I fear I might have other wise lost a lot of ground.

I am currently reading book #9 of 2020. I’m giving Debbie Mcomber a try. She’s a favorite of my mom’s. I am reading Cottage By The Sea. Based on the title, I thought it would be a nice little “beach read” and a break from heavy WWII subject matter. I laugh because the book starts out with the young character’s whole family being wiped out by a landslide. So much for light reading. However, I am 1/4 of the way through and enjoying it very much. I am 3 books ahead of schedule based on my goal of 80 books for 2020. As always, I am ever on the look out for a good book, so feel free to send recommendations my way.

What has been occupying most of my time is working on finishing touches. When we arrived, our pool and hot tub were basically done. Job #1 was finding furniture for the lanai. After asking about patio furniture in our neighborhood Facebook group, we landed on Zing, a frequently mentioned store with two locations near us, one in Fort Myers and another in Naples. I was headed to the pet store to get a kennel for our dog Kobe, and the closest Petco was in Fort Myers so to minimize driving, that is where I headed. Mike and I had looked at another store when we were here last time and it was hard to find everything we wanted that would coordinate. It didn’t have to be from the same manufacturer, as long as it “blended well.” We didn’t have much luck there but Zing had everything with lots to pick from. Mike really wanted something in stock rather than special ordering anything so we could start enjoying our outdoors immediately. It wasn’t difficult. My salesperson Andrew was very helpful. I found 2 basic chaises, on special along with a beautiful dining table and chairs plus 4 club chairs and a firepit. Even though it’s hot here, in the winter the evenings are very cool, so it’s nice to sit out back around the fire. I also had an appointment to select drape fabrics and my friend Kim came along to help out. With the help of our awesome salesperson/designer Janet, I was able to find some great options. The drapes will take about a month to be made and installed, so I should still be here. While Kim and I were out we popped in to the Naples Zing as she might be in the market for a couple more things. That store had a much wider selection and really carries some beautiful and stylish stuff. I don’t know if I would’ve made a different choice if I had gone there first or not, as much of it needs to be ordered and takes a while. I am happy with our choice and ready to start enjoying it all. I have already gotten some cute plastic dinner ware, plastic glasses and stemless wine glasses for the back patio.

As far as entertaining, we’ve had our friends and neighbors Dave and Kim over for cocktails around the fire pit and we are in the process of organizing a trip down for my parents. Mike’s mom and stepdad are due to stop by this week as well and our daughter Jenna will be coming for a month in a couple weeks.

Mike enjoying the evening as we wait for our friends’ arrival.

There are lights in the pool and various settings to change colors. Pool can switch colors in a program from our phones. Red, orange, green, blue, purple and pink. There’s a setting called “Party” and one called “Romance.” Once I memorize the setting colors, I’ll know exactly what’s on Mike’s mind. Lol.

Perfect place to relax with a good book and a cold drink.

My husband, Mike has been managing to get around quite well despite his casted leg. He mostly uses the knee scooter with a little help from his blinged out crutches. He has an appointment when he gets back to have the cast changed. I think he is really longing for the day when he can swim in the pool and enjoy the hot tub. Maybe he’ll even play a little pickle ball, thought next time I hope he’ll be more aware that he’s not 18 anymore and take it a little easier.

I have been trying to keep up with Noom, though I have not been stellar. I’ve gotten a lot of walks in and have taken Kobe to the dog park several times. I’ve easily exceeded my 10,000 step goal every day. The seafood here is plentiful and delicious so I have been taking advantage of that. I am not back to my goal weight, still about 1 1/2 pound over. But I am working on it. I have made it to the gym once this week, and want to step up attendance there. There have just been so many appointments and workers (pool people, electricians, landscapers). Now that the pool is in, we need our landscaping re-done, so Mike’s been working on getting that scheduled. I’ve spent some time getting drawer and pantry organizers and figuring out where is the best place to store everything. There is still a bit to do as far as decorating. We have no artwork on the walls, and almost no decorative items. Looking forward to taking my time here and enjoying the process.

And with that, I will leave you as I’ve yet more errands to run. The sun is shining and life is good and I wish the same for you, my friends.

Week 36: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties- The Achilles Incident

My bucket list quest has been a bit side-stepped this week in order to help care for my husband post-operatively. Here is the link to my original bucket list for anyone interested. For those that have been following the saga of my husband Mike’s ruptured Achilles tendon, he had a successful surgery on Tuesday afternoon. He does indeed have a non-weight-bearing cast and it looks like he will be hobbling about in it for quite some time. He has a scooter, crutches and a “peg leg” that allow him several options for getting around. The peg leg was loaned from a friend who had the same surgery a while back. Mike likes the scooter and the peg leg as it gives him use of his arms. He finds the crutches to be a bit cumbersome and restricting. I will say he has some of the fanciest crutches around though as one of our artistic team members decorated them with the office logo and colors. He relies on them usually if we are going out to a restaurant because he can sit without worrying about the scooter or taking off any equipment. He will have to have his cast changed periodically, as they progressively take the foot from slightly pointed to flat to avoid putting too much pressure on the tendon. Despite the fact that he is an excellent patient, taking care of Mike has occupied a lot of my time early in the week. But now that his wound is healing and he is off of pain meds, he doesn’t really relish being fussed over. As the week has progressed, he’s become increasingly independent and things are getting back to our new normal. He’ll still let me run grab something from another room for him as a matter of convenience, but other than that he is like a two year old, “Me do it myself.”

Mike and the Peg leg. I will say this thing sounds a little scary when Mike comes thumping along. It reminds me of Poe’s Tell-tale Heart. Thump-thump, thump thump!

Another thing that has bumped my bucket list off of my priority list this week is the fact that we celebrated my oldest daughter Jenna’s birthday. Her birthday is actually at the end of the month, but as we will be in Florida then, we asked to celebrate it early. We had a yummy lunch at Crispelli’s Bakery and Pizza. My daughter Sammi, her boyfriend Andrew, Jenna and her husband Kristianth were all there. We ordered 3 pizzas as well as cheese bread. Apparently cheese bread is from a “secret menu” that my daughter is familiar with as it’s not on the menu. My daughter Sammi’s boyfriend had a yummy rueben sandwich and my husband supplemented the pizza with a bowl of Minestrone. Everything was delicious and I would definitely recommend this place. We all agreed the pizza was just the way we like it, thin crust with just the right balance of sauce, toppings and cheese! We ended with ice cream cake at Jenna’s house, admiring her new office space and watching her pets play with one another. It was wonderful just being together! She will be going to Spain for a wedding and taking a side-trip to Paris this summer, not to see the Eiffel Tower but for a trip to Disneyland, Paris. Anyone that knows her knows that she is a Disneyphile! So for her birthday, we got them 2 day, 2 park Disneyland Paris tickets. One of her life-time goals is to visit every Disney park in the world so we were happy to oblige in her personal bucket-list adventure.

Workouts have slipped a bit as doctor appointments and post-op recovery interfered with bootcamp. I did discover a 20 minute NordicTrack HIT (high intensity interval) workout that I loved. This is going to be helpful on those days when I am running non-stop. Surely I can find 20 minutes somewhere! Between that and the abbreviated core yoga class, I will have a few options.

I had my first french class via telephone on Friday. It went surprisingly well. I thought it would be difficult to speak for an hour, but we just talked about what was going on in our lives. My instructor, David would correct me as necessary but both he and I were pleased with the outcome. I am really excited about this because speaking has been my weak link. I can read French and write it somewhat better than conversing and this forces the issue. I hope to go back to regular classes once I am back in Michigan. We set up another telephone conversation for next Saturday. I am still doing Duolingo. They added new content not too long ago and I just finished it and am now back to reviewing. I am on day #886. I’ve really surprised myself on my ability to keep the streak intact. I guess when you’re motivated enough, anything is possible.

As far as item #18, I am currently reading “A Dangerous Act of Kindness” and am about 1/4 way through. This is book #7 of my 80 book goal for 2020. We are heading to Florida at the end of the week, and I am looking forward to having a lot more reading time there! It is definitely my preferred way of enjoying my free time. I’m not much for TV but I will say I enjoy picking a series and watching it with Mike. Our current series are: YOU. This show is on Netflix and we are really enjoying it. Great dialogue, clever characters, though the storyline is a bit disconcerting. We binged season 1 and are currently in the middle of season 2. The other series that we’ve been watching lately is The Politician (Netflix). Our daughter recommended it and we binged our way through season 1.

Well, as I said earlier, we are driving to Florida later this week. Mike got the all-clear from his doctor as long as he’s back in time for his re-cast. I will remain in Florida with Kobe and Mike will fly back after a short stay. He plans to fly down a few times while Kobe and I are down there. My daughter Jenna and her 2 pups plan to come down for a long visit too. As she works from home, she can work from anywhere, so why not pool-side? Speaking of pools, our salt-water pool should be done and filled by the time we get down there. I feel awful for Mike though as he has really been looking forward to the pool and hot tub and since he has a cast, this is going to prove difficult for him. He’s a clever guy though, so I’m sure he’ll figure something out.

The last few things for our Florida house include finishing the paint on the newly installed trim around the foyer mirror and selecting furniture for the lanai. We are thinking we want a round dining table with 6 chairs, 2 chaises, 4 chairs as a conversational area and possibly a fire pit table. We are expecting delivery of our barstools shortly after our arrival and I have an appointment to select curtains for the bedrooms and valances for 2 of the bathrooms. We hope to do some decor shopping for artwork and accessories while we are down there too.

I am happy to report that my remaining bucket list items are dwindling but I have selected a few items to work on while I am in Florida. I hope to get a little more accomplished with my family tree(#37), to teach my dog Kobe a few more tricks(#31), to practice random acts of kindness with regularity(#3), to get better at practicing weekly yoga(#50), and daily meditation(#13) and visualization(#29). I will definitely be staying in contact with friends and family(#28) and work on my reading goal for 2020(#18). I’ll continue learning French (#6, #10) and start learning sign language(#15). I also look forward to putting some finishing touches on decorating the Florida house(#16) as well as hosting friends and family there(#20). I will work on re-capturing and maintaining my 10 pound weight-loss (#7). I will work on strengthening my left hip flexor and calf muscle in hopes of being able to do a 5K(#5). I also hope to take advantage of the pilates and yoga classes offered at our clubhouse and I am excited that Jenna has already volunteered to come along. I hope I can convince my good friend Kim to join us too! I can’t wait to explore the Naples, Fort Myers, and Bonita Springs areas. New cities, new adventures! Of course my list has a few remaining things that can only be done in Michigan, so those items will be waiting for me when I return.

Until next week, I hope you all have plenty to keep you busy and that all of your Achilles tendons remain intact. Seriously, that is a monkey wrench you really don’t want to deal with. Have a wonderful week.

Week 35: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties

Thirty five weeks into this project and almost half way through January of 2020 so I’ve been reflecting on my year and assessing my progress on last year’s New Years Resolutions. Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Did you make any this year? I have been making New Year’s Resolutions for years, but not very effectively until a few years ago when I started journaling every day on each resolution. I’ve found much greater success in accomplishing them since I started doing that. Do you have a “word for the year?” Last year’s word was “Refresh.” I focused on refreshing our home with our basement renovation as well as refreshing myself with meditation and self care. It was a successful year for the most part, though my meditation practice needs to be more consistent. This year’s word is “Streamline.” I intend to streamline my routines for visiting our Florida home, for caring for our Michigan home, as well as streamlining my exercise routine, my morning routine, my diet and myself! That’s a whole lot of streamlining! Well, on to the bucket list. As always, here’s the link to the original list.

Things have been a little topsy turvy around here as my dear husband Mike suffered a complete tear of his Achilles tendon playing pickle ball on our last Florida trip. Yes, it was a complete rupture! He is scheduled for surgery this week. He has been placed in a walking cast until surgery and will most likely be in a non weight bearing cast post operatively for 6-8 weeks. We were scheduled to go on a Bahama cruise with Mike’s team, but that ship set sail without us. We were concerned about increase risk of stroke with flying. We hope we will still be able to drive down to Florida in the near future. With this development, there hasn’t been a lot of focus on my bucket list. I still managed to maintain my Duolingo streak. I am at 879 days and am looking forward to my upcoming FaceTime lesson. I’m hoping to stay on track so I can rejoin the class in March.

Despite this unfortunate event, Mike has maintained his good sense of humor. Hobbling into the New Year like….

I ended my reading goal for 2019 with 72 books. I set 2020’s goal at 80 books. I am on book #6. I’ve read: Crazy Ladies by Michael Lee West, Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich, The Guardians by John Grisham, Nemesis by Agatha Christie, Finding Chika by Mitch Albom and I am currently reading The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Hazel Gaynor. I will say all of the books were good, and Janet Evanovich is always hilarious, but if you are highly curating your reading, from these I would recommend Mitch Albom’s book. Just be sure to have Kleenex handy!

I am still using Noom. However, despite my ability to stay within two pounds of my goal through the holidays, my weight has crept up post holiday! Nothing that can’t be remedied though. I am pulling focus and re-commiting to my goal. I did make an awesome Noom recipe last week which I will share below.

Pork and Pepper Stir Fry

2 TBSP apricot all-fruit spread

2 TBSP soy sauce

0.5 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2″ strips

4 tsp canola oil

0.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 TBSP cornstarch

6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 TBSP fresh ginger

2 large red bell peppers, cut into thin strips

2 large green peppers, cut into thin strips (I used yellow/orange/red)

1 large onion, cut into wedges

In a medium bowl, combine the all-fruit spread, 1 TBSP of the soy sauce and 1/4 tsp of the red-pepper flakes. Add the pork and toss to coat well. Cover and marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the pork mixture and cook, stirring frequently for 3 minutes, or until the pork is slightly pink in the center. Place in a bowl and keep warm. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel.

In a cup, whisk together the broth and cornstarch and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tsps oil to the same skillet and place over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and the remaining 1/4 tsp red paper flakes and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes or until the garlic is golden.

Add the bell peppers, onion and the remaining 1 TBSP soy sauce and cook, stirring for 6 minutes or until tender.

Add the pork and any accumulated juices to the pepper mixture. Stir the cornstarch and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute or until thickened.

4 servings/29 minutes/276 calories per serving

Pork and Pepper Stir Fry served with rice

I squeezed in a NordicTrack workout. This time it was an interval walk through Bolivia. It was workout #66 of my 50 workout goal. I have found myself scrolling through Tik Tok through my cool down. This app is popular among middle and high-schoolers (and my 20 something daughters). It’s a time suck and very easy to get lost in. On the positive side, I find myself doing a 20 minute cool down.

I also spent some time taking down and putting away Christmas. With a hop along hubby this was mostly a one woman job. I started cleaning out our storage room a little, but there’s a long way to go!

Here’s my before picture! It’s a work in progress! (item #12 – Organize our storage room)

Well, that is where I will leave it for now. Have a great week and I hope, if you made any New Year’s Resolutions, you are still on track! Here’s to an awesome 2020.

Week 34: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties – Welcoming 2020 from Florida

I am currently writing to you from Florida though I will be back in wintry Michigan by the time you’re reading this. We loved kicking off the New Year here in Estero! I am happy to report that I’ve checked off item #20 on my bucket list: Entertain friends and family in our Florida home. I hope this is just the beginning of many more wonderful times shared together with our family and friends here in sunny Florida. We gifted our children and their spouse/significant other with a trip down here as part of their Christmas present. They all stayed at our home in Belleville overnight so we could make a 6am flight on December 31st. That left us pretty tired for ringing in the New Year that same evening but we managed. Our clubhouse had a ticketed event with the popular theme of Roaring into the 20’s. We all dressed as flappers and gangsters. We didn’t quite make it to midnight though and ended up heading home a half hour before the clock struck 12 where we rang in the New Year in our jammies. It was a lot of fun.

Mike and I ready to ring in 2020. We were teasing Mike that he was a cross between a gangster and an Amish Orville Reddenbacher.

I will share a few of our activities in case you are ever in the Estero/Naples area. We hit the Miramar Outlet Mall which is maybe 10 minutes from our house. It is a very pleasant little outdoor mall with a lot of great shopping options, like Kate Spade, Vineyard Vines, Ann Taylor, Loft, Banana Republic and more. The next day, we did a little shopping in Naples, stopping to dine al fresco at Barbatella’s, a cute little Italian place which served the best Caesar salad I’ve ever had. Then we headed over to Naples Beach, which was crowded, but not unmanageably so. We ended the day with ice cream. We enjoyed walking around old Naples and the newer areas of Naples. We still have so much to learn and discover here and I am very much looking forward to it! The kids took a day trip to Universal Studios which was about a 3 hour drive each way. They loved the new Harry Potter ride, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, despite the long wait in line. On their arrival, the wait time for this ride was over 6 hours. They managed to get in line later when it was a “measly” 2 1/2 hour wait. They said it was worth it. While they were busy having fun, we ran errands and met our dear friends for dinner at Cirella’s Italian Bistro and Sushi Bar (IKR? Italian AND sushi!) topped off with liquor infused ice cream (say what?!) from the Tipsy Cow. This little shop had super cute branding and the ice cream was yummy. They also had a non-alcohol option. It’s something we will definitely do again!

We also enjoyed having Mike’s mom over for a nice visit. She came bringing Mike’s favorite home-made cookies, which of course were a big hit. We brought her out to lunch and the kids had fun quizzing their Grandma on what kind of child their dad was: a good one, much to their dismay.

Mike’s thoughtful team gifted us a Tiki cruise departing out of Naples. I can not recommend this enough! It was one of the most memorable parts of our trip. The limit is 6 attendees so we were a perfect group. We elected to do the sunset cruise departing at 4:30. We boated past fabulous multi-million dollar homes while enjoying a cocktail or two. It is BYOB and we brought a nice selection with us. Captain Steve was experienced and an enjoyable narrator. The highlight of the trip though was spotting a couple of dolphins just swimming around. We were able to follow them for a bit. It was relaxing and enjoyable. We followed that with dinner at Watermark Grill which was also very good!

We hooked up with another tiki bar boat to borrow some bug spray for Jenna who was the only one getting bit!

Just one of the beautiful homes we saw along the way.

In other activities, the guys got in some golfing and we ladies did some shopping. We enjoyed spending time with our long-time friends who started the ball rolling by building down here in the first place. We squeezed in a few work outs at our amenity center and Mike and the kids enjoyed laying by the pool. All in all it’s been a fabulous time. We’ll be back in wintry Michigan soon enough though.

Here is a link to my original bucket list, if you want to have a peek. As far as item # 16: decorating our Florida home, our sectional was thankfully delivered the day of our arrival, along with our den desk and side tables. We are still awaiting our barstools which will be delivered on our next trip down. Mike and I also bought table lamps for our living room and our bedroom. The last layer of decor will be fabric selections for the all of the bedroom and bathroom curtains. I have an appointment with our awesome designer, Janet set up to select fabrics on our next trip down. We will need paintings, decor, and outdoor furniture for the lanai, once the pool is complete, which will hopefully be sometime during our next visit. It seems to go quickly once they begin each phase. They laid our patio pavers in one day while we’ve been here. Next up is the cage and gunite for the pool and hot tub. I am really looking forward to utilizing the outdoor area!

Living room sectional has arrived. It is large and comfy and allowed our group of 6 to watch TV with room to spare!

The den has a pull out sofa to accommodate overflow guests.

Pavers in, awaiting phase 2 of the pool installation.

Moving on to other bucket list items, my year-end wrap up on reading for 2019 amounted to 72 books, which totaled 27,143 pages. Of the books I read, Goodreads rated the most popular at The Great Alone, which I also highly recommend. The highest rated book that I read was The Hate U Give. I exceeded my goal of 50 books by 22 books. I hope to have more time to read in 2020 so my goal will be 80 books. I am currently reading my first book of the year, The Guardian by John Grisham. I hope to finish it on the plane.

I am still on track with Duolingo. My streak is 872 days, I learned 10,301 words, completed 2,943 lessons and spent 197 hours on the app this year. I will be starting private lessons via Facebook live after the holidays through Alliance De Francais as I will be spending a lot more time in Florida and unable to regularly attend classes.

The unfortunate topper to our trip was a calf injury my husband Mike sustained while playing pickleball just hours before our scheduled departure. My son-in-law made a quick trip to CVS for crutches and with a little help from ice, an ace bandage and a wheelchair, we managed to catch our 9pm flight. I am still working on convincing him to go to the doctors but at this moment on Monday morning the man has hopped off to work with a swollen ankle and the inability to bear weight on it. I am working covertly with his amazing office manager Cathy to get him to go to Urgent Care at the very least. Not the best way to end our trip, but certainly a memorable one.

On to happier things, aside from my reading and language goals, I am still thinking over what I want to accomplish in 2020 and that is where I will leave it for now. So far my “lesson” has been to expect the unexpected! Happy New Year all! I hope the coming year brings new goals, new insights and amazing opportunities for growth and happiness to you all.

Week 31: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties

It’s been a fun and productive week! The holidays always seem to add a layer of extra busyness. My shopping is only halfway done, which is very unlike me. I am normally 99% finished by this time. On the plus side, I know what I am buying, I just need to get out there and do it. I’ve already ordered everything I intended to order from online, so all should arrive in time. It’s just the real life shopping that I’ll need to complete.

So let’s dig in. In regard to item # 7 – Lose 10 pounds, I have plateaued with about a pound to go. I have decided my best option is to try to hold steady through the holidays and resume reduction efforts after we return from Florida soon after the first of the year. I believe that will be difficult enough. I am still using the Noom app and have found it helpful. On a related note, I am slacking a little on the NordicTrack workouts. I did two this week, bringing me up to 62 workouts of the 50 work out goal. One was a stroll through Dubrovnik, Croatia and the other a stroll along the Champs Elysees in Paris. We have visited both of these cities IRL (in case you aren’t familiar, you may see this abbreviation in your kids’ texts, it means “In Real Life”). I’m probably too old to be using these abbreviations but IDC. I’m pretty sure that means “I don’t care.” And if it doesn’t, it should! The Dubrovnik one was interesting as despite having visited this city, there were still new things to learn. I didn’t know that at one point in their history a kilo of salt was as valuable as a kilo of gold. They would harvest it from the sea and use it to “pay off” their aggressors to retain their autonomy. I learn something new almost every time I hop on the treadmill!

Item #10- Keep attending classes through Alliance de Francais. This Monday’s class is the last for this year. I will be setting up private FaceTime or Skype classes after the start of the year when classes resume. I hope this will allow me to keep up while traveling and pick right up where I left off in class upon my return. My Duolingo streak is intact and I am so excited that they’ve recently added additional content which gives me some new things to learn! I am also revisiting Pimsleur French IV and V, which is an audio language learning course.

Item # 11 – Try one new to us restaurant each month. This time we were out on the western side of the state meeting friends from that area. My husband is a private pilot, so we flew and shortened what would have been at least a two hour car trip to a short 45 minute flight. We were even able to fly over the Big House in Ann Arbor. Our friends picked us up at the airport and we went to a nearby restaurant called The Four Roses Cafe, in Plainwell. It is rather unassuming from the outside. In fact, it looks a lot like someone’s home who suddenly decided to open a restaurant, but oh my goodness! What a treat. Everything is made with the freshest ingredients and menus are changed daily based on the best locally available produce. I had a grilled romaine salad for my entree which was wonderful but the best was saved for last. They make some really scrumptious home made desserts on site from scratch. Between the four of us, three deserts were ordered and they were all amazing. My husband had the Coconut Cream Pie, our friends ordered a brownie sundae type desert and another chocolate desert whose name I can’t remember but it was reportedly delicious. I just had a bite of Mike’s pie and it was worth whatever calories were in it! If you are ever in the area, I would recommend seeking this place out. We arrived at 11:40 am on a Friday and had a half hour wait, so be prepared. They will, however, take reservations for parties of six or more.

Our Florida house is coming along. The couch, desk and end tables for the den should be delivered on December 31st. As far as furniture goes, we will just be missing our barstools. Curtains for the dining room and den are hopefully to be hung sometime this week. I still have a lot of accessorizing to do, along with fabric selections for bedroom curtains, and bathroom valances. The bedrooms do have blinds in place for privacy. They have dug the pool and poured the walls. They back filled and leveled the yard. Next comes pavers, and tiling/gunnite as well as a lanai surround. I can’t wait to watch it all come together!

Walls are poured and ground is back-filled and leveled. Making headway!

I am currently reading “This Is How It Always Is” book #70 of my 50 book goal by Laurie Frankel. It is a Reese Witherspoon book club pick. It’s a little early to decide if it’s one I’ll recommend but I’ll let you know.

This book is a selection from Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. I’ve just started it, so I’ll keep you posted.

In item #26 – Organize and catalog all of the photos sitting in a jumble in the storage room, I have made great headway. There were way more photos than I originally anticipated and I keep finding more caches of them all over the house. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though and hope to complete this project before year’s end.

The large plastic container and the smaller boxes are still being sorted and filed. The smaller plastic boxes are almost all filled. Thankfully the end is in sight!

I haven’t been as good with item #13 – Daily meditation. It’s been a rather hit or miss proposition lately, primarily due to the busyness of the holidays, the extra get-togethers, cooking, shopping, baking, birthdays and events. I know they say that is when you need it the most, to calm a busy mind, so I am going to have to double down on my efforts to fit it into an already jam packed day. I think perhaps starting the day with a short bit of meditation ideally followed by a brief bit of yoga should help bring clarity that will let me tackle whatever lies ahead. Well, at least I hope so.

I have been working on my family tree a little through Ancestry.com. Recently a second cousin reached out to me via messaging and we have been exchanging helpful information for our family trees. It’s an interesting thing to have someone who’s shared a common history yet we don’t know each other and I doubt either of us had heard of the other before genetically matching on the DNA testing and determining that we shared a few relatives. I look forward to doing a deeper dive soon, perhaps after the rush of the holidays.

In item # 30 – Finish a Masterclass, I’ve finished the Anna Wintour Masterclass and have recently started one with make-up expert Bobbi Brown. I’m really enjoying it so far. She is kind of the antithesis of the Kardashians, very understated and natural. So far, I’m liking what I see. This will be the third Masterclass for this year. Before Anna Wintour, I took the Margaret Atwood Writing class. I’ve enjoyed each and every one of these courses.

Well, I believe I have a few presents to wrap and there is a glass of Moscato calling my name. I am taking the next two weeks off from the blog to revel in the holidays and enjoy spending time with my family. I will rejoin you on January 6th. Until then, I’ll leave you with my favorite holiday quote from Burton Hillis , “The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.” I hope the same will be true for you this season. Cheers!