Me on Monday

So! I'm at the beach with my girlfriends for the next week. 6 of us from 72 to nearly 78. We've seen and done it all--mostly together!! So far, this is what's happened:

*Someone fell on the way to the rental car. She's fine--two skinned up knees, it was the heavy Coca Cola cake she was carrying that knocked her off balance. Luckily, the cake is okay!!

*I am determined that I am not going to be in charge.

*I'm just going to go along with everyone.

*But then, something so simple as going over the grocery list becomes a big mess--everyone talking at the same time, asking questions, not understanding the spread sheet Pam made. I just had to take over and go about it in an organized manner. So much for not being in charge.

*Still we managed to miss a few things on the grocery list.

*I am the boss of the tv because no one else can work it.

*Someone has a nightmare--I gently woke her. 

 

*One person "toots" whenever she makes a move.

*Another "toots" in bed! Guess who gets to sleep with her?

*3 of us went to the beach, 3 of us didn't--way too hot.

*Turns out a couple of us grabbed chairs from the wrong storage unit--but they did return them.

*Someone had to go for more sour cream because somehow we messed up the quantity. 

*Some people are hooked on a puzzle.

*Some of us are watching some interesting Peacock show about Doctor Death.

*Many of us are having either gin & tonics or vodka tonics. That definitely makes for a "happy" happy hour!!

*We all enjoyed a beautiful sunset--at least those of us who could actually see it!

*One of us falls asleep at any movie. And snores!

*One person lost her Ray Bans. She's really "bummed"!

I guess that's about it for the first two days! More to come!!

Scrapbook Saturday

These are AYM layouts from a couple weeks ago. Our theme this year is all about house.

This first layout was an extra from Susan.

Friday Funnies

Happy 55th anniversary to us!! Here we are--just babes in 1971!

Me 19, he 20! It's been a great ride! And now, we're the seniors in all the funnies below!

Ten Things Thursday

I love pretty entries. This first one is my favorite. That curved doorway is gorgeous. I've never seen anything like it. In fact, all the woodwork is stunning. I also like the windows framing the oversized door. 

 

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

I break many of these rules, regularly!

Tuesday Thoughts

Me on Monday

I am an “Ice Climber!” Who knew? 

It’s not what you think. Here’s the story:

Jordan, Robbie, Morgan and Olly went hiking in Yosemite a couple years ago. I’m planning to scrapbook those pictures and requested that they send me some journaling about the trip. Jordan replied and there was something in her story that rang true for me:

"The distance up one of the mountains was relatively short, around 2 miles, but it felt much farther when you're hiking uphill the entire time… the hike down was not much better, as the ground was slick with many slippery rocks. After I nearly fell a couple of times. We utilized what we call, "the ice climbers protocol," where we held hands to increase balance going down. The ice climbers are video game characters from Nintendo's Super Smash Brothers video game."

Little did I know that I’ve been using this protocol when walking with family anywhere! I hold an arm to keep my balance! Somehow referring to myself as an “ice climber” seems way cooler than saying I’m old and need to hold on to keep from falling!

Something for Sunday

No One Tells You..

That playing sports as a child during your formative years can have an adverse affect on your long term health. Here’s the story:

I was having some intermittent pain in my right shoulder muscle. I went to the orthopedist to get checked out. After x-rays, the doctor told me that they looked “good.” Not sure what that meant other than I didn’t have any serious damage. The diagnosis---is that I have muscle and rotator cuff tendonitis. He recommended physical therapy. 

When I went to my first therapy session, Emily asked me dozens of questions. I was pretty sure that my problem is caused by how I sleep—on my side with my right arm tucked up under my head. Instead, Emily felt it could be that---but definitely it had something to do with my sports history! What?? That was 60 years ago. Yeah, when my body was still growing! 

I played softball for 11 years—third base to be exact. The first year I played, it was shortstop. But after that, once it was determined that I could launch that ball from third to first, that was my position from then on. Emily felt that the evidence was clear that my range of motion is what it is today due to what I did back then. Makes sense—especially when you add that my dad threw the ball in the backyard with us kids nearly every day—which included a game called “burn-out” where you fired that ball as hard as you could. It was fun. 

Even knowing what I do today, I wouldn’t have changed anything. Softball was my life. When you grow up in a large family, middle class, in the country, there’s not a lot to do. We played every day besides our team practices and games. It's just what we did! I loved it--even if it's caused me a little pain right now. 

I have exercises to do. We'll see if that works.

Scrapbook Saturday

All the way back in February, when my sister-in-law, Janet suddenly passed away, her granddaughters asked me if I would make scrapbooks for them. I asked them if they would like to do it themselves. They were excited about it. 

Evie and Josie sent me their stories and the pictures to go with them. I planned out both albums. We set a weekend when their parents could bring them down to Nashville. The girls spent the weekend with me while their parents hung out with Stephanie, Nicky, Mindy and Justin. We all had a good time. The weather wasn't great, so it was a perfect time to stay inside and scrapbook.

I'm sharing their layouts here. For the most part, their layouts are the same with different pictures and stories. The pages are 8x8.

I kept the layouts pretty simple and easy for them to do. Janet would be proud!