Daughter's Grocery Shopping

On Saturday, daughter went grocery shopping, again, at the 99Cents Only store, where most things are $.9999!  LOL.

She called me from the store to ask about the butter - I have never heard of the brand (Farmbest), but, looked it up and apparently it is made by the same company that makes Challenge butter, so I told her to go ahead and buy it to try.

She sent me a picture and a list of what she bought:

Daughter's Groceries

Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chicken Strips and Sweet Potato Fries - $1.00

Oscar Mayer Mini Sausage Rolls (12 ct) - $1.00

Farmbest Creamery Butter (x2) - $2.99 ea

Plentils Moroccan Spice Lentil Chips - $1.00

Odwalla Mocha Latte Almond Milk Shake (x2) - $1.05 ea

Blueberries (6 oz) (x2) - $1.00 ea

Oscar Mayer Carving Board Buffalo Style Grilled Chicken Breast Strips (x2) - $1.00 ea

Nissin Chow Mein Premium Pad Thai Flavor - $1.00

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas (8 ct) - $1.00

Mangoes (x2) - $1.00 ea

Plaintains (x2) - $0.50 ea

Green Cabbage - $1.00

Total = $20.08

She said she will need to buy some half and half ($1.69) and a dozen eggs (on sale for $1.79 this week, which is a good price for them at Berkeley) from Trader Joe's midweek, but that is all she really needs.  She budgets $30/week for groceries, but she thinks she'll be able to keep it to under $25 this week.

I think she did well with her grocery shopping this week, don't you?

Saturday at Home

Today, I slept in and caught up on my sleep!  Then, I spent the rest of the morning and the afternoon relaxing, watching TV, and blogging!  

In between, I cleaned the living room, dusting the shelving and furniture, wiping the collectibles, and rearranging some of them as I tried to decide if I should declutter some of them and, if so, which ones.  

 

I also called Aunt C and spoke with both her and her daughter, my cousin C, who answered the phone; apparently, aunt is still having a cough and is on a different medication prescribed by the doctor.

 

I had thought of going grocery shopping, today, but didn't.  Instead, I pulled out more items from the freezer for my lunch: curried meatballs, green beans, and lentils.  I had to make more gravy for the meatballs, but that wasn't a problem, and I had leftover rice in the fridge.

 

Lunch

 

There are more leftover meatball curry and lentils for another meal (and more green beans in the freezer).

I also pulled out a package of leftover roast chicken that I had frozen and made a pot of soup with it for dinner.  I added onions, celery, tomatoes, asparagus (very few as that was all I had in the freezer), and carrots to the soup:

 

Dinner: Chicken Soup

  

There's enough soup for several more bowls, during the week.

I made some sauted apples for dessert, but I didn't take a picture of that.

I also washed the dishes and wiped down the kitchen counters.  I was able to keep the kitchen counters relatively clear all week, which was a big achievement for me!  I still have too many things out on my counters, and I am working on it, but certain items will always be on my counters, I suppose - the toaster, the microwave, the rice cooker, daughter's coffee maker, the stone mortar and pestle, for example.  But, there are some other items that need to find a home in the cabinets, eventually, when I've decluttered the cabinets!    

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to sleep in on a Saturday morning

- A sunny and warm day (84F)

- Being able to stay home and relax

- Being able to do some deep cleaning in the living room

- Being able to make lunch and dinner with items on hand.

How was your Saturday?  What have you planned for Sunday?

February Balanced Life Goals

When I do my monthly balanced life goals, I picture a wheel with several spokes, each spoke representing an aspect of my life that is important to me.  Ideally, each spoke is of equal length and the arcs drawn between the spokes are equally rounded to make a perfectly circular rim around the wheel, without any bump-outs or indents.  A well-balanced wheel results in a smoother ride; a wonky wheel results in a bumpy ride.

Some areas are on the list because I want them there.  A lot of them are areas in which I tend to do rather well, such as Spiritual, Daughter, Financial, etc.  I could leave them out and still do well, because those areas are tended to almost automatically, but then, that wouldn't give a proper picture of my life and I want to be able to see that I did touch upon those rather important areas of my life. 

At the same time, there are other areas that I want on the list, which are important to me but don't get quite as much attention as I would like to give them!   Unfortunately, as one of my good friends pointed out to me, privately, they tend to be in the Self Care category and include Health and Leisure!  I have been trying to make them more of a priority, especially after she pointed it out to me!  It might mean that I need to spend less time and energy doing certain other things, but, I am struggling to figure out what those might be!  

Others are there because I think I should have them there!  Environment-House, for example!  LOL.  I don't necessarily want to do a lot of house cleaning, but, I like having a relatively clean, tidy, and organized house.  It's not quite there yet, so I keep it on the list and that helps me to keep at it.

Taken together, I like to think they make a rounded, well-balanced life.  Some areas get minimal attention because that's all I want to do!   Other areas tend to get minimal attention because that's all I can manage   Ideally, they all get equal attention and everything is nicely plumped out.  Until then, I will wobble along.

Having said all that, here are my February Goals for a Balanced Life:

Spiritual:  The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive

- Take time for meditation

- Cultivate non-attachment  - declutter 3 items/day in February, too, for a total of 84 items.

- Attend the monthly prayer gathering, if possible (don't know when it will be held, who will host, how I will feel after surgery, etc.)

- Visit the temple and give a donation of alms in memory of my mother

Environment:  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house and a well-maintained garden.

House: 

- Focus on decluttering and maintaining cleaned areas

Garden:
- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed)

- Prepare a planting bed & scatter some flower seeds

 

Daughter:  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her.

- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting

- Be supportive of her career plans by continuing to be a sounding board

- Look forward to her coming to be with me during my surgery

Family & Friends:  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.

- Call, email, etc.  (have already exchanged several emails with one cousin; called aunt C, this morning)

- Wish cousin and nephew on their birthdays - wished cousin, already; nephew's birthday is next week

- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at the monthly prayer gathering, if attending

- Weekly calls with neighbor T

Community:  The goal is to become more involved in my community

- Continue to participate in the blogging community

Career:  The goal is to continue to do work which I enjoy (for the most part) and which enables me to support myself.

- Continue to do my assignments in a timely manner 

 

Finances:  The goal is financial security.

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - anticipated large expenses this month will include the second installment of my property tax

Health & Well Being:  The goal is good health.

- Schedule surgery 

- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors - 2 scheduled so far, there might be a 3rd.

- Continue to go for additional screening tests, as needed - 1 blood test scheduled

- Continue to monitor blood pressure, sugar levels, and weight

- Continue to focus on a healthier diet (more vegetables!), drinking enough water (8x 8oz), exercising regularly (walk for 30 minutes), and getting sufficient sleep (11:30 p.m. bed time during the work week!)

- Focus on accomplishments and staying positive

Time Management:  The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!

- Procrastinate less

- Implement routines and schedules

 

One of the areas I am struggling with the most!   

 
Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time:  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.

- Set aside 30 minutes a day to do something relaxing, such as reading books, or doing a craft, that is not blogging!  LOL!  I can easily spend the entire evening reading blogs and writing up a blog post! 

I have reworded this goal in an attempt to make it easier to achieve!  Is that cheating?

So, those are my goals for February!  Is anyone else making monthly goals? 

January Balanced Goals - Update

Spiritual:  The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive - I have been praying daily and trying to be positive. 

- Take time for meditation - I have been meditating during walks, while waiting at the doctor's office, when I say my prayers, etc.

- Cultivate non-attachment  - declutter 3 items/day - Did so during the month and decluttered 100 items.

- Attend the monthly prayer gathering, if possible - Did so on 1/13
- Also, attended a special service at the temple, during which 1,000 candles were lit in an offering of light, followed by the chanting of blessings, etc.

Environment:  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house and a well-maintained garden.

House: 

- Focus on decluttering and maintaining cleaned areas - I was able to get the house cleaned to a certain degree and the cleaned areas have been maintained for the most part.  I decluttered 100 items, plus daughter decluttered two huge bags of items from her closet and dresser drawers.

Garden:
- Maintain
 - succulents cuttings were planted

 - 2 grape vines were planted

Daughter:  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her.

- Continue to enjoy her visit during the first week of January - Had a wonderful visit with her

- Daily texts, phone calls, emails , and video chatting when she goes back - Have been doing so and she has been sharing her weeks in drawing with me which I have posted. 

Family & Friends:  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.

- Call, email, and send belated New Year greeting cards to family and friends - Did so, although I didn't send as many cards as I had planned to.

- Call and wish cousin and aunt on their birthdays - Wished cousin and aunt

- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at the monthly prayer gathering - Did so

- Get together with friend R for tea -Had tea with her on 1/2

- Weekly calls with neighbor T - Spoke with her on 1/1, 1/7, and 1/14; called to check on her on 1/16 as well since she is recovering from stomach flu, and on 1/28

Community:  The goal is to become more involved in my community

- Finish knitting the hats for newborns for the Heart Association - I made what I could for this year; I will be making more for next year.

- Visit neighbor S- Visited her on 1/7 and had lunch with her and her daughters and exchanged gifts

- Continue to participate in the blogging community - On-going

Career:  The goal is to continue to do work which I enjoy (for the most part) and which enables me to support myself.

- Continue to do my assignments in a timely manner - I think I am doing well with this. 

Finances:  The goal is financial security.

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - prepare a new budget for January - Did so; budgeting and spending mindfully is on-going; came under budget on the grocery budget.

Health & Well Being:  The goal is good health. 

- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors - Saw primary care PA on 1/16; saw the doctor on 1/29 for pre-ops; did the chest x-ray on 1/31

- Continue to go for additional screening tests, as needed - did so - blood tests, EKG, chest x-ray

- Continue to monitor blood pressure, sugar levels, and weight - On-going; blood pressure has been under control with medications; blood sugar levels have been under control and my medication levels have been reduced in half; my weight has been fluctuating (I lost 40 lbs. during my treatment but have regained some of it with the return of my appetite), but I am hoping it will eventually settle at a weight that will be both healthy and sustainable.

- Continue to focus on a healthier diet (more vegetables!), drinking enough water, exercising regularly, and getting sufficient sleep - In progress; have been trying to eat better and drink my water; but still not getting sufficient sleep!

- Focus on accomplishments - FOCUSING

Time Management:  The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!

- Procrastinate less - Ha!  Easier said than done!

- Implement routines and schedules - A work in progress!

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time:  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.

- Finish knitting the hats for the Heart Association - I finished as many as I was able to. 

- Knit my grey sweater - I need to get back to knitting it.

- Finish my Mountain Climbing quilt! - Work in progress!

- Finish reading my library book - I realized I had already read it!

That is my January goals update.  I think, all in all, it was a good month when it came to goals. 

Granny

Granny

Her name was Anna.  Anna Beatrice.  She was born on February 1, 1888.  She was the oldest of 14 children, 7 girls and 7 boys.  Her brothers and sisters addressed her as Sister.  Her 9 children called her Mummy.  Her 50+ nieces and nephews, all called her Big Aunty, often strung together as one word "Bigaunty"!  Her 17 grandchildren called her Granny.

She was my mother's mother.  She wore dresses with three quarter length sleeves, not the saris her daughters would eventually wear and not the full long skirts her husband's sister wore.   She might have married a Sinhalese, but Granny was Burgher and wore dresses! 

She was left-handed.  She sewed, embroidered, and did filet crochet using fine cotton thread and tiny steel crochet hooks.  She crocheted a bedspread/table cloth for each of her married children and the one granddaughter who was married before she died.  Apparently, she also crocheted a table cloth for one of my mother's friends, because, that lady sent the table cloth to my mother, many years later.  I have a bed sheet she embroidered (by hand) for my mother and the two table cloths, although, the one she made for my mother's friend is torn.

I don't have many pictures of my grandmother.  The one above is from the prayer card at her funeral.  The one below is from a copy of a picture taken at my grandparent's 25th wedding anniversay:

Granny

There was one other picture of me as a baby, with Granny and my mother, but I couldn't find it. 

Granny died in January 1972, aged 83, just 3 weeks before her 84th birthday.  Today was the 130th anniversary of her birth!  Happy birthday, Granny!

Daughter's Week 3

Daughter sent me her pictures for last week, earlier in the week, but I didn't get around to posting them till now:

Monday

Tuesday

  

Wednesday: she watched anime

Thursday: Guess who couldn't fall asleep!

Friday: Skyped with her friend in Michigan

Saturday: at the dollar store

 

Sunday: she woke up early!

X-Ray on Wednesday

More dreams, last night, of my mother and almsgivings.  I suppose it is because the 12 year  anniversary of her death is coming up.  Ideally, I should hold an almsgiving to observe her death anniversary.  Instead, I will make a donation to the temple in her memory. 

The doctor's office had called and left a message, yesterday, but it was too late to return their call when I got home and received the message, yesterday.  So, this morning, I called them and I was informed that they have received the authorization for the chest x-ray.  I was given the name, address, and phone number of the location and I was told that they had already faxed the authorization to the facility.  I had only to go there when it was convenient to me as they didn't require an appointment.  So, I called the facility and was told to come anytime, they were open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and there were no appointments needed!  I decided to go there in the morning, itself.  I emailed my supervisor to let her know (I had already warned her that I was waiting to be scheduled for the chest x-ray).   And I called the surgeon's office to let them know that I've been scheduled for the x-ray.

Then, I drove myself to the facility and there was probably a 15 minutes wait, which wasn't too bad.  I was told the results would be sent to the doctor and it usually takes about two days.  So, hopefully, the results will get to the doctor by Friday and he might be able to let the surgeon's office know of the results by Monday or so.  In any case, I will call the doctor's office on Monday to see if he had the results, and then, call the surgeon's office.  Most likely, I will be scheduled for the surgery either towards the end of next week or the beginning of the following week.  Actually, the beginning of the following week would work best for me, I think, because that will give daughter enough time to book a flight home - she wants to be here for the surgery and to spend a few days with me, at least until the surgeon authorizes me to drive, again (probably after the stitches have been removed - which is what happened the last time). 

I got to the office just before noon, updated my supervisor about possible surgery dates, and had a fairly productive afternoon.  I went for another walk around 2:00 p.m., but didn't attempt the incline, again.  My hips were hurting, today, so I walked on the fairly flat areas.  I will try the incline, again, tomorrow.  I bought myself a packet of potato chips on my way back, so that probably negated all the benefits of the walk!  LOL.

I took it fairly easy after I came home from work.  I watered the back yard by turning on the sprinklers, I cleaned the bathroom and did the litter box, and I finished my decluttering for the month.  The goal was to declutter 3 items a day.  Some days, I did well; other days, I struggled.  Occasionally, I skipped a day and had to go back and catch up!  But, I managed to declutter 100 items for the month.  I am probably going to continue in February, too.  I should be at a point where I am fairly decluttered, but I continue to find stuff! 

Breakfast was a banana; lunch was leftover rice, shrimp, beans, and lentils from last night's dinner, along with half a tangerine;  potato chips for a snack.  Dinner was macaroni and cheese.  Leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

Friend R called me in the evening and we had a nice chat.  Later, daughter and I video chatted.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to get the chest x-ray done without much delay
- Free parking at the x-ray facility
- Time off from work to attend to medical appointments
- Another nice walk in the afternoon
- Being able to declutter another 100 items in January

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Go to the office - DONE
- Call the doctor's office - DONE
- Call the surgeon's office - DONE
- Go for the x-ray - DONE
- Water the back garden - DONE
- Clean the bathroom - DONE

Thursday's To Do List:
- Go to the office
- Go to the bank
- Walk up the incline, again
- Water the front garden
- Declutter 3 items


I will post my January monthly goals review, tomorrow.   It is already past midnight and I need to get ready for bed! 

How was your Wednesday?  Did you have a good ending to your January?