Why don't I like Oprah like everyone else?

I just can't figure it out.......

Oprah is a very successful woman.....I find myself admiring her success and power, while at the same time I just instinctively can't make myself a fan.  The only real thing she's done that I found a bit too much was her book club.  For quite a while, it seemed no one I knew read anything other than books on her list, as though they have no idea what to read and have to be told.  It rankled.  If you were an author she enjoyed, you could reap the benefits.  If not, you had to wait for someone like me to find your book, and hopefully, there would be enough of us rebels to hoist your tome to the top of the lists.    And basically that's the only real issue for me.  I admire her philanthropy, her ability to remain her own woman without getting married, and the fact that she just never gives up trying to lose weight even though I think we're all tired of that one.  It's a mystery to me.  

Just recently there's been talk about her running for president.  She denies she would ever consider it....do we believe her?  Would you consider voting for Oprah?  I would immediately say no, but look what happened last year.  "My button is bigger than your button" indeed. 

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Classes begin next week ~ well, on Monday.  Although my Monday & Wednesday class won't start until Wednesday, the instructor already sent us a 17 page (single-spaced with a teeny tiny font) essay to read on "wilderness".   Sure, it's interesting.  (William Cronin's essay can be accessed here if you want to bother)  I suppose it never fails to amaze me how much I don't know.  I had never heard of this essay ~ no reason why I should except for being at the university.  Anyway, it's really already started, and in truth I feel grateful he didn't email us with the reading on Monday morning.  I've been slowly reading it for three days. I really hope this isn't indicative of what we'll be reading for the next 16 weeks.  The other class is online, and I can access it on the holiday.  That's the downside to online classes ~ holidays don't matter that much, although we won't have quizzes or exams on them.
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Have a great week ahead!
Love, 365

What I learned from Mom.........

A photo taken during the Great Depression

To be fair, my Mom was only 5 during the last year of the depression.......but really, I'm sure the effects lasted beyond 1939 in the hearts and minds of those who went through it.  My Grandparents had 8 children, and Mom was the second to last.  Times were tough.  She recalls getting an orange for Christmas one year ~ probably had a few other things as well, but she does remember that orange.

But, as tough as the depression era was, it passed along some valuable habits to many who survived it.  My Mom hated waste.  She reused everything she could.  We didn't get clothes very often ~ the one time we had more than two or so new outfits would have been right before school started, and Christmas/birthdays.  Shoes?  I suppose I had two pairs plus a pair of athletic shoes....when we called all of them tennis shoes, haha.  

And from here, I planned to list a few things I learned from Mom until I realized that I do them without paying attention, so my list was rather small.  Like washing your gym shoes (which I do with a load of towels so they don't bang around) and then air drying them.  One of our infrequent racquetball players commented on how clean our shoes were, and I mentioned that they can be washed and she seemed startled at the idea.  And here I though everyone did that......

I do appreciate the mind set that my Mom made a habit for me.  I'm not a big fan of wastefulness either.....I remember one of my coworkers watching me cut a tube of hand lotion in half with amazement.  I guess not many people bother, but you can still get 5 to 10 more uses if you do......

Do you have any clever tips?  Please share!

Love, 365

Wheeeeeeeee!

Unexpected day off......(Bing images)

It is likely that most dental offices were slammed during the holidays.....the kids and teachers are on holiday break, and Sandia Labs employees are off for a week between Christmas and New Years.  We were certainly busy, with people trying to use the last of their benefits and FSA cards.  We like busy days (as long as we manage it well.....sometimes there's chaos which isn't so fun) ~ the doctors are happy to be busy, and the day flies by.  But, as soon as the holiday is over, the patient load drops off, and on top of that, we have cancellations due to all the flu, colds, etc going on.  

To be fair, there are folks who were waiting for the new year to start dental work because they had used all their benefits during 2017, so next week looks almost as slammed at the week after Christmas.  

Now, on to the unexpected......the bad news is my boss has the flu.  Poor man, his wife had been sick, and she shared ~ isn't it nice when the spouse shares?  So, he didn't come in yesterday and wasn't planning on coming in today.  Since our hygienist is out, we were gifted an unexpected day off.  It's not with pay, but since we're at the first of the year, I have lots of PTO (paid time off), and I'll be using it.  

The first thing I did was text my racquetball peeps that I would be able to play today.....but I have other things I need to take care of as well, including the dreaded mammogram.  I am not excited about it, but plan to get it done.  Ugh.  

In a week, I'm taking another painting class.......you know, where you paint and drink?  I probably won't drink much, but I'm excited for the subject.

Sure, it's kind of crude, but I think that adds to the charm. Should be fun ~ a beer and appetizer are included!  

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One of the goals for 2018 is cutting back on my e-mails.....wow, I had no idea I had signed up for so many notifications!  I started this at the end of December, and I've had at least one unsubscribe every day.  Now I receive 3-5 instead of 15-25.  I'm still working on it, and unsubscribed to two this morning.  Definitely a work in progress.  Simplify....I suppose that's one of the goals I have for this year.

Have a wonderful day........

Love, 365

Midnight partier.........

The culprit....

The instigator........

Romeo and I don't stay up until midnight anymore.  Neither of us is a "partier", we've ~ this is absolutely true ~ never gone to a new year's eve party.  Never.  Romeo doesn't drink at all, I limit myself to 2 beers (or 3 every now and then).  We don't like crowds or rowdy, drunk people, probably due to each of us having an alcoholic parent.  Even when we DID stay up, it was at home watching the "ball drop" in New York City.  In our pajamas.  

But, here in Albuquerque (& probably any good ol' American city) any excuse to shoot off fireworks is met with glee.  So, we were sound asleep when the dog heard some fireworks and decided she needed to roam the house and bark at it.  You know, because barking at it might frighten the folks that are out to have a little fun, and they'll stop.  Once she gets going, there's no stopping her.  Romeo finally got out of bed & went to the spare room where she is allowed to get on the bed ~ only then would she shut up.  For the love of Pete.....

It's a good thing I'm off today, as I wasn't able to fall back asleep for at least an hour, and even then I tossed and turned.  I know Romeo didn't sleep well ~ he was in bed with the dog :-)

Love, 365  

The goal & the hurdle.....

The Goal for 2018  (Bing images)

This is it.  This is the year I want to graduate.  It will require a sacrifice of my free time, because I must take two classes for two semesters this year in order to meet it.  I have tried to take 2 classes a semester before, and dropped one when I discovered I couldn't handle the load.  To be fair, the second class I attempted last year was a short semester class where the professor promised to cram 16 weeks of class into 8, which is when I knew I was in trouble.  I do have 2 classes for the spring semester, but since they are both 16 week classes I'm hoping I can do it.  Because if I can't do it well, I won't.  

So, here's to 2018 ~ may we make peace with the past and have hope for the future ~ don't forget to be part of the solution....

Love, 365

Oh, the joy......

(Bing images)

I jumped the gun.  I spent likely an hour unsubscribing from various e-mails last night.  

I've already seen the benefits this morning....only had about 10 e-mails between 9pm and 7am.  Still too many.

Truthfully, there were a few where I hesitated.  "What if I miss something?"  Soldiering on, I hit the unsubscribe button.  I think this process might take awhile.  Romeo mentioned that he still receives e-mail from organizations he unsubscribed from.  No matter, I will continue to unsub until they go away.  I'm not sure what I'll do if they ignore it.  Some of the e-mails didn't have an unsub button or link, so I replied with "STOP!", although I doubt that will work.  There's probably some poor schlub that deletes all of those..in a dark closet with a cold cup of coffee.

Romeo and I are driving up to Santa Fe today for lunch and a bit of sidewalk shopping.  It has been wonderfully warm here this winter.  Normally by this time there have been several snowstorms, with the cold air to go with it, but we are supposed to have temps in the 60's today.  In December!!  I don't mind it being warm, but it is also terribly dry.  We haven't had any measurable moisture for over 2 months.  It's going to be an ugly spring if we don't get much snow.  

To all of you who have read this blog over the past year(s), and bothered to 

comment or give encouragement or tell me I'm crazy or whatever.....

It is truly appreciated....I love this blogging community!

Love ~ for reals! ~ 365

It's biscochito season here in NM.......

Biscochito cookies......our state cookie (Bing images)

Not long after moving to New Mexico I encountered biscochito's, and love them.  Introduced by the Spanish ~ after invading Mexico ~ they have evolved to become a local favorite, especially during Christmas.  If you want to learn more about them go here.  You either love them or hate them (star anise and cinnamon).  Some are made with lard (traditional) or margarine/butter.  In my opinion, the cookies made with lard are the best.  Yes, there is a place for lard in cooking!  I've never tried my hand at making them, and I probably should, but they are everywhere during the holidays so I stick to what I know and buy them.  

If you recall, I recently filled out the paperwork for the annulment of my first marriage (not my idea, I assure you).  The only time this subject has come up is when Son #1 was married.  At both weddings,  Mike's wife became morose because apparently she attends an orthodox Catholic church that doesn't allow the taking of the sacraments (communion) unless the marriage meets all the requirements of the church ~ in other words, you must be married only once or have previous marriages annulled (unless your spouse dies as hers did).  I told Mike that I didn't have any objection to the annulment process.  I received the paperwork after Thanksgiving.......didn't even review it until the week before Christmas.  And discovered that Mike lied.  Every single reason he gave was a lie.  I was furious and sad.  I filled it out, added my own letter to the paperwork and mailed it off.  So, there is my first New Year's resolution: I will no longer communicate with Mike in any way (unless it involved the health or safety of Son #1).  One of my friends told me that the annulment may not be approved, and my sister thinks that Mike put all that down so that it would be.  But, really?  You lie to the church?  If it isn't approved that's justice.

My second resolution will be concerning e-mails.  I plan to unsubscribe to everything I routinely delete.  I am hoping this will reduce my e-mails to a minimum.  Currently, I will have 25+ every day, and typically wait until there are over 100 before I clean out the inbox.  My sister was horrified to see the number of unread e-mails on my phone :-)  She's much more organized than I am.  

On a lighter note, here's the annual tumbleweed snowman Albuquerque puts up every year.

Courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal

Cute, isn't he?  I love this tradition.  

Love, 365

Need something to do for 2 hours?

The Mayflower (PBS)

The American Experience: The Pilgrims ~ available on PBS/Amazon and probably lots of other places as well.  It is a well crafted and interestingly fair view of the story, based on the writings of one of the founders, William Bradford.  His book was lost for years, and somehow ended up in the library of a London bishop who originally refused to return it ~ it took over 100 years to have the petition to return it granted.  I found it fascinating, Romeo was a tad bored.  I had to finish watching it in my office.  If you do have Amazon, you could watch it in segments.  Two hours is a loooong time, lol.

In the meantime, it's 4:30pm Christmas day here.  We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and roast chicken, fruit salad and rice for Christmas dinner.  This hasn't been my most memorable holiday culinary adventure.  In a week and a half, I'll be getting together with a friend to make seafood gumbo.  I only wish it was happening before the 1st so we could eat it New Year's Day.  Maybe we'll have tacos.......

Once again the powers that be at UNM have listed the start date of the spring semester as January 15th, which is Martin Luther King Day.  Two years ago I made the mistake of going to class on that fateful Monday, only to discover that the spring semester start date is our first holiday of the semester.  And yet, they still do it.  Why can't they just start the semester on Tuesday?  Romeo thinks it's a money thing and he's likely right.  So, the first day of the semester is a holiday.  Stupid.  Luckily I don't need to buy any books for these two classes, but I'm willing to bet that I'll be doing a lot of printing.

Have a great week!

Love, 365

It's time.........

Just another beautiful sky in New Mexico

Here I am, finally getting a little Christmas spirit going, and I received the annulment paperwork from my ex.  How interesting it is to read his "reasons" that the annulment should be granted.  I'm just a tad bit furious.  I'm attaching my own letter to the process.  I don't know that I would have agreed to this process had I known what I was getting into.  There were questions about my childhood that I refused to answer, because it's really none of their business.  But, it's done and I'll mail it off today.  

Beyond that little bit of Christmas cheer, I still have a few more things to do.  I would like to bake a few more cookies, and I need to figure out the menu for Christmas day, and get all the ingredients.  I should definitely do that today as I figure the grocery stores will be crowded tomorrow.

Even though I told Romeo not to buy any gifts for me ~ he does so much for me over the course of a year, by cooking dinner, laundry, house cleaning (no he doesn't do all of these things all of the time, but he does do it 80% of the time), I suspect he purchased a few gifts.  So, I need to go out and find a few things for him, although going to the mall makes me want to curl up into a ball.  We'll see if I have a great idea while getting ready to head out....come on, brain!  Think!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love, 365

December ~ watch the money fly out of my wallet......

Two of the young women at the gym put together Santa and his reindeer out of towels...

Don't ask me why she posed like this, haha...

This is the official first week of Christmas/winter break at UNM.  I am celebrating by tossing out all of the readings, notes, and syllabus of my previous class.  I'll stick the offending paper in the recycle bin.  There are so few classes I've saved my class materials from.  Just an example of how useless so much of this stuff is.  Whatever, I'm ready for classes to begin in mid-January.  The notebooks are now ready!  One class is Stone Age Europe (looking forward to it), the second is National Parks and American Culture ~ not sure exactly what that means, but I guess I'll find out.  

But, as to my title ~ between the downpayment for the spring semester, Christmas and property taxes, my account is not experiencing a holly jolly season.  Bah humbug.

I did a fair amount of baking this weekend, with gingerbread, sugar cookies and lemon-lavender sandwich cookies (which were really yummy).  I still need to bake pumpkin bread, and I'm considering baking one more type of cookie ~ as yet to be determined.  I need to mail off a gift, return a pair of jeans, wash my vehicle and do a little ironing for the work week.  This is my first Monday off in a month.  I volunteered to work today for my co-worker so that I could increase my hours (I'm paid by the hour, no one in the office is paid a salary), but she wanted to add to her hours too, so I'm off today.  Although it would have been nice to have the extra 8 hours, I'm happy to have time to catch up on a few things.  It was nice sleeping until 7am too.....

Have a wonderful week!

Love, 365

Week wrap up.....

I meant to redo the chalkboard for the seasons, but as you see I've missed

Halloween

Thanksgiving

& now Christmas.....

It has been a rather exhausting week.  I spent most of last weekend studying for my final ~ recall that it was on Tuesday at 7:30am, ugh.  I pulled out my 35 cent blue book and went to work.....it didn't take me very long to finish the exam.  I finished, and looked at my watch which read 8:10.  No one else had turned in their exam yet, so I figured I would go over everything again.  I changed one answer ~ usually a mistake as I note that when I do that my first answer is usually the correct one, but what the heck, I changed my mind.  I added a little bit of jargon to my "short essay".  I reviewed it again, and by 8:30 I decided I didn't care if I was the first to leave, I was done.  I collected the graded essay we turned in the week before, and was surprised to see I made a 96 on it, and happily thought that the grade I needed on the final was now lower to get an A in the course ~ which I did.  So, now I move on.  

*****IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN "The Faithful" by James O'Toole, now is the time to say so.  

Please e-mail me at nmhiker56@icloud.com saying you're.....interested.   I will mail it out to you.  The book itself is not worth more than 10 or 15 bucks, just in case you're thinking it might be valuable.  The value is in the story, not the item.  If more than one person is interested, I'll do a drawing (consisting of names on a piece of paper and drawn out of a hat, haha).  See?  I'm not even requiring that you "follow" me to get your chance........

After the tournament style racquetball game yesterday ~ wow, was that exhausting! ~ I stopped into my neighborhood store and spied a small live "tree" (I think it's an Italian cypress) including a small string of lights and tiny ornaments for $18.  I snapped that up along with my baking necessities.  So, now we have a small ~ make that tiny ~ tree complete with lights and decor.  Still not sure I'm doing much decorating other than that, but it is cheerful and cute.  I still need to mail out a gift, but I need to wrap it first.  I guess I'll take my chances and mail it out on Monday.  I should have just let Amazon deliver it, but it would have been so early.  

Well, I've got a long list of to-do's!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, 365