Week 52 : Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties – Wrap-Up Edition

This last year has quickly passed and, like everyone else, it wasn’t the year I expected. Since Covid-19, I think we’ve all had more time for reflection. In thinking about my bucket list experience, there has been so much positive that has come from it. First of all, I have always been drawn to self-improvement projects that span over the course of a few months or a year. For instance, I’ve done Simple Abundance and I re-do it every few years and I am alway surprised at the different perspective a few years can bring. I’ve also embraced The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I’ve done P90X to get in shape, which is a workout program which spans 90 days. I’ve done Gretchen Rubin’s Happier at Home and the Happiness Project with time spans ranging from 9 months to a year. There is something intriguing about taking a chunk of time and using it to re-shape yourself. I also feel, as an obliger, publicly acknowledging a goal makes me more accountable. So the year has come to an end and now it’s time for the reckoning. Let’s go back to the year’s beginning and I will try to do a quick summary of my successes and failures.

Here are my results:

Create a blog to document my year. Obviously, mission accomplished on this one. For the first 31 weeks, I posted weekly. As my list dwindled, my post frequency lessened as there was less to write about. So I give this one a big checkmark!
Go skydiving. Checkmark here as well. (week 15) What an experience. To be honest, I didn’t do it to conquer a fear, I’m not afraid of heights. I did it for the adrenaline rush. I especially loved sharing the experience with my daughter. Now quite a few years back, I faced a fear by scuba diving. That for me, was a much scarier experience!
Do 50 random acts of kindness throughout the year for family, friends and/or strangers. Check mark here. I did not share each act of kindness because I am a believer in keeping the nice things one does a little more private.
Finish modernizing our house. Checkmark. We modernized our lower level and remodeled the bath. We still need to redo our wood floors on the main floor. That was waylaid by Covid. Hopefully we’ll be able to do it soon.
Do a 5k. No check mark here for two very good reasons. One is I waited too long and Covid canceled the runs. The second reason is I was recently diagnosed with arthritis in my hips and my doctor recommends no running or high impact exercises. As it hurts when I run, I will be following that advice.
Keep up my Duolingo streak. Well I’m not sure what magic allowed this to happen but on my birthday, May 13th, I have a 1,000 day streak on Duolingo! I have completed the whole program but go on it every day to refresh my skills.
Lose 10 pounds- hahahaha. Ok, Covid, I see you. I was VERY close to reaching this goal and then….Covid. Damn you! I am back to watching my weight with Noom, but I am not sure I am going to continue with it. I am committed however, to getting the weight back off!
Complete 50 workouts on my Nordic Track treadmill. Gold star here! I have completed 76 workouts on my NordicTrack. The last few were very interesting. One was a walk through Salt Lake City Utah with a couple of comedians. They weren’t hilarious, but made they did make interesting guides. The other was a meditation walk through southern Utah’s Scout Cave Trail with Dr. Shauna Shapiro. I did enjoy being able to walk and meditate and check off two of my daily line items in one fell swoop.
See Stonehenge. This was done early on, week 3. What a wonderful trip for so many reasons!
Keep attending French Class at the Alliance de Francais, Detroit. Well I’m giving myself a checkmark here. When I traveled to our Florida home over the winter, I switched to private FaceTime classes with my instructor David. And of course, all classes are online still with Covid. I definitely enjoy one on one classes though they are a little more expensive, they are worth it. I’m able to converse with and ask my questions of my instructor, a native French speaker. I think this is one of the things that I enjoyed the most this year. It definitely took me out of my comfort zone!
Try one “new to us” restaurant a month. Well, check, until Covid reared it’s ugly head.
Organize our storage room. Proud to say that Mike and I worked together to get this done! (Weeks 44, 45&46)
Meditate daily. Check but I have to be transparent and say that I may have missed a day here and there. I am enjoying it though and plan to carry it forward. I use Headspace and also meditate on my own.
Create my own signature cocktail. Yep. See Week 18 for the recipe for “The Tropical Bae.”
Learn the alphabet in sign language. Done! Here it is.
Decorate our Florida retirement home. This was such a joy to do! It is spread over several different posts. I am still working on selecting a few paintings and decorative items. Week 19, Week 30 and Week 37
Go hiking. See week 13 for this one. We hiked to the Au Sable Pointe Lighthouse and the Pictured Rocks area.
Read 50 books in 2019. I read 72 books. I’ve set my new goal for 2020 to 75 books. I am currently 5 books ahead of schedule. I am currently reading “Love and Ruin” by Paula McLain. It is a fictional account of the relationship between Ernest Hemingway and journalist Martha Gelhorn. I’ve always been intrigued by Ernest Hemingway and have visited his home in Key West. I enjoyed reading The Paris Wife also by this author which imagines the relationship between Hemingway and his first wife Hadley.
Build a capsule wardrobe for Florida. Done, though I won’t say I’m entirely finished. I’ve enjoyed adding a few more pieces into the mix. If you want to see what I selected, check out week 22.
Entertain friends and family in said Florida retirement home. Check! We enjoyed visits from our kids, our new neighbors, my parents and our old friends. It’s been amazing! Weeks 40 & 41.
Complete the complicated puzzle that my husband Mike bought me at Christmas that sits untouched. Week 22 saw the completion of this puzzle. If only I had waited it would have made an excellent corona virus activity.
Bake a loaf of bread from scratch. I completed this on week 25. I’ve made a couple loaves since then. It’s a lovely skill to have acquired! (Thanks Deana!)
Try a new recipe at least 1-2x a month. I’m giving this one a provisional check. I was rocking it all the way until Corona virus hit. I feel like I am blaming this miserable virus for quite a bit but it complicated my methods. I usually select my menu for the week and then go shopping. Well, with shopping being hit or miss, I am having to come up with menus around what is available. I still enjoy trying new recipes though and will continue to do so.
Find and attend a French Meet-up event. Again, enter Corona Virus. I saved this for my return from Florida and meet-ups are currently out of the question. I did attend a virtual Zoom Happy Hour with some of my classmates though, so I’ll give myself credit after all.
During our annual family trek to the Les Cheneaux islands, take a day trip to somewhere we’ve not been before. Check! See week 13.
Organize and catalog all of the photos sitting in a jumble in the storage room. A great big project that I was happy to wrap up! See week 28.
Re-enact the Beatles walking on Abbey Road. Done! See week 2. I was so tickled to be able to check this one off on our awesome trip to London.
Reach out to a friend or extended family member in person or online at least once a week. This has been even more so since Covid. We are zooming with family and friends probably at least as often, if not more so than usual.
Daily Visualization. Done!
Finish a course in the Masterclass online teaching series. I have finished several Masterclass courses and have enjoyed them all! My most recent was an interior design class by Kelly Werstler. I also did a Storytelling and Humor class by David Sidaris and am looking forward to taking a gardening class and a Mixology class. Perhaps I’ll come up with another new signature cocktail!
Teach our dog Kobe a new trick. Check and here it is! His new trick is playing dead.
Ride my bike from the Lower Huron Metro Park to Lake Erie and back (about 40 miles). Done, see week 14.
Host a fun event for all of the ladies in my family. Well this one did not get done, sadly. Again with the Covid thing. But I am really looking forward to doing this at some future point. I am envisioning a Hallmark movie night sometime before Christmas, with cookies and cocktails!
Learn to play a simple song on the piano. OK. Here’s the thing. I did make a HUGE discovery. I haven’t any talent or ability here. I also have no desire to try to acquire any. I am happily crossing this off my bucket-list and placing it in the “don’t ever do this” list.
Learn how to use the Overdrive app to borrow books from the library. I have been enjoying the heck out of Overdrive/Libby. I use it almost exclusively, unless there is a book I am dying to read and the wait time is too long. I’ve also showed my mom how to do it and hope to help Mike’s mom with it as well. It’s a money saver and really allows me to indulge my reading without feeling guilty about spending the money on yet more books.
See Buckingham Palace. Again, this was done early on when we made the trip to London. Week 3
Work on our Family Tree through Ancestry.com. Done! Well, I’m not actually done with the family tree. It’s still a work in progress. But the interesting thing is extended family I’ve not met in person on both sides of my family have reached out asking to be in touch. I’ve been emailing back and forth with a couple of them. Such an unexpected benefit!
Try the restaurant The Woods on our annual family trip to Mackinac Island. We were happily able to do this on our family trip to Mackinac Island. Week 9
Take our kayaks on a romantic paddle leading to a picnic in the park. Yes! I discussed this one on week 15.
Keep an herb garden and use it in cooking. This was done over the summer. What is surprising is the chives that I planted wintered over and I have a full crop already. I didn’t realize they were perennials. Week 6
Try something new I’ve never done before. My spontaneous thing was asking my mom to pick a destination for her birthday for her and I to travel to. We had an awesome time in Williamsburg. (See week 17)
Actually take out the jet-ski instead of letting it sit in the hoist un-used. Nope. This did not get done. I did take it out once. But we didn’t end up bringing it up north and I usually preferred a boat ride over the jet ski. I am hoping to get some use out of it this summer.
Plan a sunrise breakfast on the pontoon. Done on week 8. Mike and I often enjoy spontaneous last minute boat rides. Having our boat at the dock, uncovered except for the canopy on the hoist makes it easy!
Take our dog Kobe on a walk through a nearby park. Kobe was delighted with this one. He also enjoyed a whole lot of walks when we were in Florida as there is a dog park in our community located about 3/4 mile from our house. (See week 12)
Watch a movie in French. Done. In fact, I’ve watched several and through the course of the year, my comprehension has definitely improved, though I still use the subtitles as I don’t pick up every word.
Discover a new favorite wine. I was happy to have been gifted this wine aptly called Shady Lane. Alas, it was a limited edition from a private vineyard. I will stay on the look out for more wines of this varietal from their Shady Lane vineyard. Week 11
Do a high-ropes course. So fun! If you remember it took two attempts due to inclement weather. But if you are thinking of doing it, I highly recommend Treerunner. It was fun for our whole family. (See weeks 17 & 20)
See Liverpool. Again, I tackled this early on during our memorable trip to England. Week 2
Go sight-seeing in Boston. We loved Boston and I discussed our trip during week 10.
Do yoga at least once a week. I may have missed a week or two in here but especially now with arthritis, I am planning to practice it even more regularly.

So, if you are keeping track, I consider myself to have completed 46 of the 50 things I set out to do. Some things simply couldn’t be done thanks to Covid and others were interrupted. In the case of piano playing, I decided it really isn’t something I actually wanted to pursue. For me, this has been a worthwhile endeavor. In looking back over my 59th year, it has been filled with travel, novelty, leisure, enjoyment, learning, adventure, along with the unwelcome surprise of Covid-19. I think creating a list of desired goals and activities definitely added a richness to my year.

What have I learned from this year? I’ve learned I’m made of sterling stuff. I’m tougher than I thought. I am happy to welcome my 60th year, along with all it brings, both the joy and the challenges. We’ve got a new reality and while we are all learning how to adapt and adjust, I am going to keep reaching out to try new things. I’m going to push myself to look at things with different eyes, to challenge my body as well as my mind. I wonder what my 60’s will bring. What new challenges will be presented and what new opportunities will arise, or are they one in the same? Being diagnosed with arthritis makes me wonder about my genetic lottery, what other illnesses may yet reveal themselves? I hope my 60s are as wonderful as my 50’s have been. To tell you the truth if they are only half as good, it would still be more than I could possibly hope for. And for that I am so grateful. As my 50’s have drawn to a close, this will be my last post. Whether you tagged along for the whole trip or just popped in here and there, thanks for following me. You are appreciated. Stay well my friends. Cheers to the next decade!

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 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!

Week 24: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties

Monday again? Guess what? We closed on our Florida house! It’s been a busy week getting everything scheduled for when we head down sometime this week. We are meeting with various trades to further customize our home. Furniture delivery happens the day before we arrive, though not all furniture is in yet. They are so used to snowbirds down there, they even have a service that actually accepts delivery and sets up your furniture for you so when you arrive, your home is furnished and ready to go! So excited to see the what everything looks like all pulled together. My husband Mike and I will need to divide and conquer with him doing most of the tradespeople meetings while I am out shopping for towels, linens, dishes, kitchenware, and other essentials. I will be relying on my friend Kim’s help and expertise as she has already been through this process and has done a stellar job with her own home. I promise to post a few pics of our house in progress. Wish us luck on getting everything we’d like to accomplish done in the few days we’re there.

Progress reports on one of our last house modernization projects; the back entryway. The wallpaper is stripped and the trim is painted. As far as wallpapering, I have the wallpaper and supplies but will need some uninterrupted time to start on the task. Besides stripping the walls and painting the trim, I am working to clear out the closet of old coats, scarves, etc which I will donate. I also cleaned the grout with a product called Magic grout cleaner. It worked pretty well, though it didn’t completely lift all the staining. I would say it is 95% improved. We had ordered a bench for the back entryway from Grandin Road which arrived broken. I am happy to report customer service for Grandin Road was amazing. They sent someone to pick up the broken bench the next day and two days later the replacement was on my front porch. I will post pictures of the whole project when it is complete.

This product worked pretty well. I would recommend it. It does require letting it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing with a nylon brush.

Duolingo continues with an 801 day streak. I was delighted to hit the 800 day mark! French class is underway and I’ve purchased the second book Alter Ego A2. We have almost finished our first book and the semester ends in a few weeks. I am really enjoying the challenge of orally conversing in French. I am still working on overcoming my “stage fright” when asked a question. It’s definitely a process.

I am at 49 work outs on my Nordictrack, almost up to my 50 workout goal. A migraine slowed down this week’s progress. This week I did a studio interval workout and a walk through the Scottish Highlands with Scottish actor Graham Mctavish (The Hobbit). This was the first time that a walk was conducted by a celebrity rather than an actual trainer. I am still concentrating on walking programs rather than running. However the studio interval incorporated a slow but tolerable intermittent jog that was manageable. Noom continues, 7 pounds down 6weeks in. My clothes are more comfortable and I am trying to be patient through this process. Only 3 more pounds to goal!

A nice stroll through the Scottish highlands to see a waterfall.

Meditation, affirmation, visualization and short yoga stretches continue. I am still using the app Headspace for Meditation. I look forward to talking more about working on our family lineage through Ancestry.com. I will go more in depth with that on another post.

The new to us restaurant we went to this month is Griffin Claw Brewery in Birmingham. We were looking for a place to eat after attending the Lions game with friends. It was a special game because it was a “Crucial Catch” game, honoring cancer patients, survivors, those who have passed and caregivers. As I’ve mentioned before, my daughters are both Lions Cheerleaders and they were dancing in honor of their Grandfather Les. It was very moving for us. I know their Grandpa Les would have been so proud of them both. So, we were looking for somewhere to relax and share a meal with our daughter Jenna, her husband Kristianth, our daughter Samantha and her boyfriend Andrew, his lovely parents and his good friend Jacob. We considered a few places before settling on Griffin Claw Brewery in Birmingham. They were busy but able to accommodate our party of 9. They offer outdoor seating with heaters and a fire pit along with indoor high tops, tables for 4, and long picnic tables pushed together. We were lucky to snag a picnic table for our group. They specialize in their own beers, offering seasonal brews as well as specialty releases. I passed on the beer and ordered the Apple Harvest Salad which featured apple slices, turnips, greens, goat cheese, sugared walnuts with Balsamic dressing on the side. Our group had a variety of orders ranging from shrimp tacos, burger and fries, jambalaya, macaroni and cheese, grilled chicken sandwich, with appetizers of fried pickles and pretzels with mustard dipping sauce. I may have missed a couple in there but everyone enjoyed their meals. They all came out at roughly the same time and everything was hot on arrival. This is a very noisy, lively place and great for after a sporting event. If you are looking for a quiet place for a private conversation, this is not it. I would definitely recommend it for a fun evening and will return if the opportunity presents itself.

The girls with the sign they held up during their dedication dance in honor of their grandpa.

Sammi acting as my model in front of Griffin Claw Brewery. You can see the outdoor seating directly behind her to the right.

Item #18: Finish 50 books in 2019. I finished the book “After the Flood.” I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it. I am currently reading book # 63 “An Anonymous Girl” by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen. So far, I am really enjoying it. Here is something not on my bucket list but I feel like I need to give it a shout out. If you haven’t seen the Netflix Series The Blacklist, do yourself a favor and check it out! It has seven seasons and we are only part way through season 1 and we are riveted! If you do check it out (or are already a fan) I’d love to know what you think!

Bonjour, mes amis! That’s all for this week. I look forward to sharing more about our Florida house next week. Make it a great week and see you all next month. (YIKES! It’s almost November!)

Week 22: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties-Capsule Wardrobe Edition

Is it even fall if I haven’t pulled out the sweaters and hit up the local cider mill for warm donuts and fresh apple cider? Well, yep, I guess it is. Mother nature is in complete disregard of my personal time table as the temperature has indeed cooled and the leaves are all glorious. I’ll have to check going to the cider mill off of my fall list soon before the temperature tumbles too much for it to be enjoyable.

But in the vein of fall, I have come up with a favorite fall cocktail (#14), which I made for my husband. It’s apple cider (sadly purchased from the grocery store) mixed with two shots of Disaronno. I rimmed the glass with caramel and crystalized sugar. He gives it two thumbs up! Perfect for watching football or those cool fall evenings.

Apple Cider and Disaronnno – a perfect fall combo!

I am going to be updating a few items. You may have noticed I haven’t been reporting much on item #3, “Do fifty random acts of kindness throughout the year.” I have been doing a few things that I haven’t reported on because sometimes it’s not necessarily my business to share. Besides, it’s nice to fly under the radar and to do things without “getting credit” for them. But, as the holidays approach, I’ll ramp it up a little and do a few things that I feel comfortable sharing, just in case it might inspire someone else to do a similar act of kindness.

I am not sure when I will be able to do a 5k. Right now I am struggling with hip flexor issues. I do exercises to strengthen that area (when I remember). I still hope to accomplish it, even if I end up walking most of it. It hasn’t stopped me from working out on the NordicTrack and I have completed 44 workouts of my 50 workout goal. This week was a zebra safari in South Africa, a walk through Hawaii past the Kona Ironman starting line for the run/swim and a walk through a petrified forest in Argentina. I still really enjoy doing this in addition to my 3 day a week bootcamp.

I made a couple new dishes this week but neither was share-worthy. They both came from Noom, Old World Goulash, which tasted a bit bland and apple cider glazed pork loin which sounded awesome, but disappointed in flavor. I will only share successes for recipes that Mike and I both enjoyed.

Speaking of Noom, I am still using it and though progress seems slow, I am indeed progressing. I completed 4 weeks this past Friday and am down 5 pounds. I am half way to my goal so I’m not complaining! It’s been fun reading encouraging and enlightening articles and trying new recipes and Mike’s been very supportive throughout the process. If you want to check Noom out for yourself, here is the link.

Now that we are turning to more indoor activities, I have started on item # 21, “Complete the complicated puzzle that my husband Mike bought me.” This is a wooden puzzle he purchased at a specialty shop in Denver. After working on it for 15 minutes I was left trying to decide if it was supposed to be a present or penance. The pieces are all laser cut, and made of wood. There are only a few obvious edges; points and pieces come together to make a lot of the edge instead of pieces that are flat on one side. I started it Friday. Mike has also been known to fit more than a few pieces. In fact, we’ve even made a fair amount of progress since this photo was snapped. It’s actually a fun challenge and I ultimately decided it is really an awesome present. I will report progress in the future, but this may take a while!

*Many of the pieces are shaped unusually, or like birds, people or flowers. You’d think that would make it easier. Not so much.*

I love this puzzle board I bought from Amazon. As much as I love doing puzzles, it bothers me to leave it out on the table when I am no longer working on it, like when we’re expecting company. This allows me to store it and pull it back out when I am ready to work on it without losing my progress!

I’m continuing with my French class and Duolingo. I still listen to Pimsleur French V to supplement my learning and also do Duolingo flashcards and Duolingo Stories. I try to do at least a half an hour a day, usually more. I finished the Masterclass by Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale. It was awesome. I really felt that she was enjoying imparting wisdom in whatever time remains to her. In fact, she as much as said so. I also started another course by Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief at Vogue. Her course is on creativity and leadership. So much to learn, so little time!

I am still trying to do daily meditation with the Headspace App and visualization, mostly successfully. I don’t get to the meditation every day and even when I do I sometimes suffer from a wandering mind. I shall nevertheless persevere!

The last thing I want to share is I’ve started on my Florida capsule wardrobe. I purchased a few things, but mostly shopped my closet. I still will add some dresses, shoes and accessories later. My primary neutrals will be black, navy and white.

Black cropped slacks with two short sleeve options and a dressier off the shoulder long sleeve option.

Jeans with a white tea or a floral cami. The black sweater can go with most of the clothing clusters.

White cropped dress slacks with red print cami, or navy or black sleeveless tops.

Black and white checked ankle pants with white sleeveless button front top or black sleeveless dressier top.

White jeans with blush sleeveless shirt or black and white striped cami with a navy light weight open front cardigan.

Navy capris with navy/white striped sleeveless shirt, or navy cranberry patterned shirt or white sleeveless shirt.

Optional tops for the navy, white or jean bottoms.

This wardrobe of 6 bottoms, 17 tops and 2 sweaters will provide me with 81 different outfits, not including the variations the sweaters could provide. Between the two sweaters there is a sweater option for every outfit, especially important in those air conditioned Florida restaurants and malls. Almost everything goes with everything else, with the exception of the gingham pants, and even they have several options outside of their cluster. Once I’ve added shoes and accessories and throw in a few dresses, I’ll have even more options. I’m pretty pleased with the way this all came together.

Speaking of Florida, we should be closing on our house in a few weeks. We were pleasantly surprised that we are able to do this remotely. We are having our realtors do our walk through for us to add to anything the inspector may find. Looking forward to spending a little time in the sunshine, but right now I’m off to enjoy Michigan’s beautiful fall weather. Happy Fall, y’all!