laurspag

It's good to hear from you, Anita! I will definitely check out those videos. I do have a focus right now, I just don't have a starting point yet. We are working on that, as we get closer to at least having a room we can use for a gym. I have a lot of comfort that comes with my home, so the idea of a home gym is very exciting to me. I think it is helpful that I had a gym membership for a number of years, and it was not a chain. It was the kind of place that had something for everyone, and I was able to see what I liked and disliked. For me, that is key because I found that the things I wanted to try and do, weren't the things I ended up liking. Imagine setting up a home gym, spending a lot of money, and realizing that rowing machine bothers your back or whatever. It's funny about aging. First, I feel like I have a better and better understanding of who I am and what I like every day. Secondly, I can acknowledge that my weight isn't where I want to be, but that doesn't mean I necessarily care what others think of it. I want to feel good about what I wear. I want my clothes to make me smile and say, I really like this instead of I look good in this. I hope I make sense. I'm starting a few small exercises right now that are really basic, and just focus on getting in some movement, and giving my joints some exercise. It's baby steps, so I really want to check out those videos you have referenced. Your pictures are fabulous!!! I think all the time about having a good camera to use. I'm feeling extra sensitive lately to living in the moment, so I find that when I am enjoying something, I almost don't want to take pictures, for fear that I will miss the feelings that something evokes, especially since I am not a very good photographer. An example would be last night. I got home from work, and my daughter and grandson were at the house. He constantly wants us to play with him, and we have this little kid sized lacrosse set. He has never used it, and the concept was tough for him. I picked up some bubbles and blew them, and he promptly told me there are no bubbles in lacrosse. It was very funny, but he was so focused on learning how to catch and throw the ball well. When he finally caught the ball, he was all excited and so we celebrated by clapping and blowing bubbles. THEN is was appropriate to blow the bubbles! I wish I had pictures of it, and fortunately, my daughter was taking pictures. But I didn't want to be distracted from watching his face and seeing how focused he was. It was really sweet. Melody! Good to see a picture of you...I can see that you are healing up and doing better.

It's always so busy when we return from vacation, isn't it? We have to sort out all the laundry and souvenirs, organize pictures, etc. I am going to try on that yellow dress again soon. I've just been busy and haven't gotten back to it. We did decide on a stair runner, and based on how long it will take, I need to get moving on painting! My husband has graduation weekend next weekend, so I will probably get it done then. The hall is really the upstairs hall, the downstairs hall, and the staircase. However, when I was doing all my painting in the fall, I did the upstairs and downstairs hall, so it is only the stairway left. The reason I need to get moving though is that I want a fresh coat of white on the stair risers, and then paint the spindles and newel post. At least I won't have something half done, which is a pet peeve of mine. I kind of knew when my husband said he wanted to do a little cosmetic work first what would happen though, lol. We have the bed down from the spare room, and frame is partially dismantled. I expect to have a lot finished up by the end of next weekend. Removing the bed is for the home gym setup. We have floor mats and a set of weights now. We are very seriously looking at something called Total Gym, as it will give us some variety in exercises and not take up too much space. I have an elliptical, but I admit it isn't not as easy on my hips as the ones at the gym so I am going to have to ease into it. Hip issues abound in my family and I had to get a cortisone shot last year. I find that it feels better with activity, but I have to make sure I don't overdo it. I may need to think about a new routine, which is why Total Gym seems like a good choice. I've always loved all those machines at the gym, and this kind of combines them to a cerain degree.

Thanks, Melody. My last dress to complete out the seven nights should be the gold swing dress, but while it still fits, I've always been a bit uncomfortable in the dress as it is a little short. I have those crescent earrings with the dried flowers on them and I really want to wear them! I think I may just try on the dress with my sandals and re-evaluate. I have other options, but I really wanted to wear that outfit so we will see. As to the orange/coral dress. I really do like it. I have shapewear, I just need to try on the dress with it. One thing I'm not keen on with some shapewear is that it creates what I call the barrel effect. Maybe I'll try the dress on with a few different things and see if it makes a difference.

This outfit here is fairly set. I'm unsure about the sandals right now. I have a few that I can wear with the dress. I often look at a few features for cruising in footwear: is it versatile so that I can wear them with multiple outfits? Is it comfortable? Is it safe? We take the stairs a lot and there is nothing worse than bring worried I will slip or to feel a blister forming. So these are comfortable and safe, I just don't know how many pair I'm bringing. Once I nail down the dresses, it becomes easier. with the purple dress, im feeling more confident daily that it is going on the cruise. I was stumbling on jewelry when my same daughter reached into my jewelry and said "wear these!" I think she is right. I was looking to make statement with the earrings and these do. I couldn't get a good picture of the bracelet, but it is a nice look that goes with everything. So these are almost set. I have a dress I can wear for the other formal night. I got it before my last cruise, and it was a great deal. I tried it on recently and my husband thought it was great. I'm feeling kind of self conscious at the moment so I am not sure. it is full length. I took a picture using the mirror in our room, but since we have been sanding some.sheetrock repair in the hall, I never realized how much dust was all over. I think this may be what I bring. Thoughts? With some better shape wear? Maybe.

It's been a great week off! We've been doing odds and ends, and everything is moving along well. I wanted to share with you where I am at with my wardrobe planning for my cruise. It's funny how I can often have things figured out, and at other times, I'm totally up in the air. Here is a formal night outfit I feel certain about, including the jewelry. I'm excited about it, as I love red, and while there is a lot of sparkle in the jewelry, it feels fun. As of right now, I'm not wearing the green dress for a formal night. I will likely wear it when we go to Chops. If I change my mind and want it to be formal, this is how I will accessorize it: These are the same sandals as I am wearing with the red dress. It is a bit of a tonal outfit with the jewelry, but I like it. The sandals are called champagne. They are essentially a soft gold and very comfortable. For my rust jumpsuit, I really liked these sandals with it. I can go from stylish to frumpy pretty easily, especially with my proportions. I felt this worked well. This was my sister's necklace, and I thought it might be nice to wear a necklace because the jumpsuit has a v-neck. My daughter noticed these earrings would work. It's fun to have things already in my wardrobe. I've had the sandals for about 3 or 4 years, the jumpsuit I wore a few times last year, and I've had the earrings for ages. I am on the fence a little, as I initially had my heart set on different earrings. The earrings I had in mind would entail no necklace.

Welcome back, Margaret! It sounds like you had a fabulous time. I can't wait to hear all about it. I have never been gone longer than 8 days total (that includes flying in the day before a cruise) so 15 days seems like a long time! My husband and I are off this week. We are starting off by having some plumbing work done. No emergency or anything like that - this was planned. We are having our two outdoor spigots replaced and then getting an estimate for some other work that we may or may not do in the near future. Tomorrow, we have a 10 AM estimate, a 1:00 meeting with our financial planner, and then a 5 PM appointment for both of our dogs. We don't have a ton of stuff planned, but I am armed with a list, lol. We plan to do a little shopping for a stair runner, check out some local antique places, and there is an outlet mall trip planned for Thursday. There are a few other things I'd like to do as well. We originally discussed seeing a movie, but I'm not sure if there is anything that will interest both of us. Kung Fu Panda is something I would enjoy, we'll see what my husband says! You can tell I'm a big movie person, right? Melody, I hope your shoulder is doing well, and that Les is recovering well from his gall bladder surgery. I'm sorry that he has to have more eye surgery. I think your weather may have changed back to cold, right? I caught a little bit of the Rockies baseball game on Saturday evening, and there were flurries!

First, those are beautiful pictures of your granddaughter, Melody! And the fire pit sounds wonderful. My family has always enjoyed having a campfire in the yard, but since we have dogs now, we really haven't had any. Both of the dogs are petrified of them. Someday though, I would really like to get a propane fire pit. We could go out for a bit, and just turn it off if we were bringing the dogs out. Both of them are very attached to us, and hate having us out of sight when we are home. Oh, all these surgeries for you two! Do they know why Les is having so much trouble with his eye? I can imagine too that your shoulder will be rough for a bit. I feel so badly that you two have had so much going on. Brian and I are off next week. It is mostly about appointments and things like that. I just found out that he has to work Saturday. Not sure why yet, but they told his department it was mandatory for all of them so I guess our vacation starts a day later! He will be pretty tired tomorrow, as he is currently working at the Bruce Springsteen concert. His work days start at 7 AM.

It's been a rainy, cold weekend here. I guess what I would expect for April, but I'm looking forward to having weather that is at least dry. At the same time, with such limited snowfall over the winter, I know we need as much rain as we can get. Maybe....just maybe...we might have a deck to enjoy when the weather gets warmer. At least with cruise clothing planning and excursion planning, I can pretend it is warmer! I was tempted to start putting away certain clothing and getting out warmer weather clothing. Not so much that I can wear the items yet, but I know that there are certain wintry things I am not going to put back on, and if we get a warm day, I don't have to go digging. This also lets me think about the daytime outfits too. I've added more tank tops over the winter, as Old Navy has a certain type that I like, and they have some great colors for us earth people. I picked up two pairs of shorts from Costco last week. They were inexpensive, and the pull on styling has worked well for me lately. One of the pairs I don't really love, but the other is pretty nice. The colors are a bit odd, so I have to think about what I have to wear with them before I make a decision. I know they had some really nice solid olive green shorts should I decide to make an exchange. I don't fuss for daytime outfits, other than wearing outfits that I feel happy in. Depending on if it is a sea day, port day or beach day, I may throw in earrings or a necklace, and that makes the process fun. Do you ever think about a color you really want to add to your wardrobe? For me, I've been thinking about warm blues. It could be teal, dusty aqua, or something in that area. I don't know why, but I keep thinking about wanting that color so if I see a shirt or a pair of shorts, I may grab them.

Great picture, Margaret! It was so incredibly fascinating. I hope you are having a great time! Melody, how is Les today?

The eclipse...amazing! Our weather was not exactly ideal, as it we ended up with a fairly heavy cloud cover. That being said, certain areas of the sky lightened up, and we were able to witness this amazing event. The whole process - the way it got quiet, cooler, turned dark. It was an incredible thing to experience. I can imagine that those people in sunnier areas got quite a treat, but I am not complaining. It was a once in a lifetime event, unless I am able to line up travel with a future eclipse. I am so happy that the bank closed for a half hour so that we could all experience this. I hope Margaret had a great view! I have a vacation coming up, or I guess you can call it a staycation. We have a few appointments, some estimates, and things of the sort. We have one estimate for a deck so far, but as we research more and more, it is likely we will do this ourselves. I was avoiding that because i was worried about my husband, but Humira has been a lifesaver for him. Still, with our full time jobs, I know it will take a while to do. The savings will be worth it for us, as it will leave money for some of our other projects. We might even be able to get the deck furniture this year too. I've been thinking about Anita. She handles moving and changes so well. It must be challenging though. I continue to putter with putting outfits together for my cruise in September. I can say that I have most of the dinner outfits figured out, but not completely. Once it warms up, I will start bringing out my warm weather clothes and I can get some ideas for daytime outfits too. It was very nice today. It will be in the mid 60s for the rest of the week, I believe. It is always energizing when the weather changes. Good luck with Les' surgery tomorrow!

My daughters felt the after shocks here at the house! They thought a big truck went by, but there was nothing there. They were trying to figure out what it was. I'm glad you are all set to go!

It is so interesting that I will be right in the path of the eclipse. All the hotels motels, B&Bs are all sold out around here. They say to expect very heavy traffic. I will report back after Monday and let you all know how it all goes. A lot of businesses, including my place of employment, are making adjustments for this. We will be closed for a half hour, so that all of us can witness this. As of right now, it is supposed to be good weather-wise. Melody, how is Les doing?

Happy Easter!!! 🐇 I'm glad the weather looks okay for your son's move today, Melody. Margaret, I'm excited about your cruise. I know it is a bit of a longer one, and you indicated a mix of weather. I can imagine you probably have some pants and some sweaters mixed in.

I'm loving all your choices, Margaret. I know you said you were putting things together last minute, but it looks well thought out. When you figure out your style and you get things that work together, it becomes so much easier to put a capsule wardrobe together. I'm also very intrigued by your itinerary. I very much want to explore some different itineraries that require longer cruises. Someday!! When do you leave? I know you sail in April, I just wasn't sure what part of the month. Melody, how is everyone feeling? I hope to start putting together some outfits in a more meaningful way, and this weekend helped a lot with that.

Aaaahhh! The jewelry! 😍 that last ne place is beautiful, as well as the set you have from Peru.