Contacts ....

I am 61 years old and trying contacts for the first time

and even though I am going through an

adjustment period......meaning I can't see very well

I LOVE them!!

My glasses were for reading and distance

over the years my distance vision has improved

So we are trying just one contact, in my left eye

and seeing if my eyes will adjust

The first day I couldn't see very well at all, mostly a blur

each day was better and better

They said it usually takes 7 to 10 days

on the 10th day it was pretty good except for one little blur 

I could see and I couldn't see my laptop too clearly

So they ordered a new contact for me

he told me this is probably the only thing left that might work for me
I've had them for a couple of weeks now and though my 
vision is not perfect, I can see and I have no more
trouble seeing my laptop. 
so time will tell if I can keep wearing contacts
I sure hope so, love them!!

I also ordered new glasses to have in case I have a day or so

that I cannot wear my contacts

these are not like any style I have ever worn 
and I love them!

and now since I do not have to wear prescription sunglasses
I get to buy fun, cheap sunglasses!!!
these were my 4th of July glasses
I want to find some bright orange ones for the beach

that's the deal on this old lady wearing contacts....haha
hoping it will all work out!

later....

We the people .....

I've been blogging for a very long time

I don't think I have ever put up a political post

but I just feel I want to document my thoughts on this day

January 20, 2017 when our 45th president will be sworn in

Isn't it amazing to think that this awesome day, this event in our

great country has only been done 45 times!

I will start this with something interesting.......I told Johnny

about 20 years ago that either Warren Buffet or Donald Trump

needs to be president of our country.

at the time, they both were democrats

I just believed politicians were no longer working for the people 

of the country and that we needed a businessman to run it.

And if he picked the right people for his cabinet, we would be

ok with foreign affairs. 

So now look at us, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in today

as the 45th president of the United States.

I have supported him from the beginning.

and not only because he is a smart businessman but because I

felt like he was doing this for his children and grandchildren.

I truly believe that he would not put his family through this

campaigning disaster if he didn't feel like he could make our

country better for the future. 

Is he the best choice, probably not, is he crass at times, oh yes

I can't even tell you how many times I cringed when he tweeted, debated,

interviewed......but it still did not sway me. I still do believe that he is there

to work for the American people. That is our problem, we have had

politicians and they do not work for us. They don't.....the do in the beginning

but then politics come in to play and things change.

I will say, I have voted Republican and Democrat in the past

I have tried to vote for the person and what their goals were

for the country. And really, none of them have lived up to my expectations

I do believe that Bill Clinton did pretty good his first 4 years

after that, no. And I believe Ronald Reagan did a good job.

There was no way I could have voted for Hillary. In my heart, I just

don't believe most of what she says. And I think the icing on the cake

turning me against her was Benghazi. I just don't know how as 

a woman, as a mother she could care less about our service men that

were killed. And the fact that she lied about it to the mothers

of those 4 men, that takes a cold heart. 

I thought about maybe I could vote for Rubio but then again, that would

have been 4 years of politicians kissing each others ass and getting

nothing done. So I decided that I needed to support a non-politician

People keep saying he needs to be more "presidential" and he needs 

to stop tweeting. I don't believe that, I think he is an American

who truly loves this country and wants to make it better and

safer for our future. I have grown children and 6 grandchildren so

that matters to me. He doesn't trust the media, he has 1,000

reasons not to trust them. I no longer trust them as they showed 

how they tried to control our thinking.

so President Trump, tweet away!!

I will be honest, I did not support Obama and I never really 

cared for him. I could say a lot of things but I'll only mention the one

thing that really bothered me about him. He promised to get our troops

out of Iraq. That was one of his big platforms

and his supporters were focused on that and preached it

to everyone who would listen. And even though it was Bush

who had signed the agreement to have the troops out by 2011 (?)

he failed to negotitate to keep enough troops in place. I felt like all

he wanted was to be able to say "I fulfilled my promise to get the troops out"

but at what cost......it enabled ISIS to then go in

(who was just forming)

and I'm sure everyone knows had we kept a strong presence over

there, ISIS would not have grown as they have

So I blame Bush and Obama for not protecting our country.

because truth be told, it is not safe

and we need someone to make it safe

Is it Donald Trump....I don't know but at least give someone

else a shot at it. Because as we know, Hillary would not have 

done it.... she would not have grown our military and she would not have protected our military. And if you do not have a strong military force, you don't have a lot of power to protect your country.

When Obama was elected both times I said I would support him

and I would respect him. And I did......maybe between Johnny and I or very

close friends we made jokes but in public, I did not say ugly things and did not make fun of him. I don't think that is the proper thing to do.

 I would not do that to any president and oh my, there have been

plenty that you could! So the things that go around about Trump from

adults that I know has been horrible. Like I can't believe that mature 

adults would say some of the things they say. But that's not my job to judge.

I think the worst thing I have seen through this entire election was

last night on the news, they were live interviewing protesters

there was a child, maybe 11 or 12 years old, it was 9:30 last night

so first thing I thought was why isn't this child at home in bed, it's a school night! Then the reporter asked him why did you set that fire in the street

the child replied "because I can"

and then the reporter asked something about why he was out there

and he replied "because Trump sucks"

you know what, no matter who you support that is sad....and yes

that is the worst thing ever. That child is our future and look what we

have done. So if you choose to go out and protest, which is all of our right to do that, please keep in mind, act as an adult, don't do and say foolish things.
let us keep things civil and respectful. If I went out and acted like a fool
at a protest, I would be terrified of my own children seeing me
act like that......haha!!

All I can say now is I hope as Americans we will support our new president

because hoping he fails as president is hoping our country fails

our people fail and our children fail

Let's try to support Donald Trump and give him a chance

let's act like adults and true Americans because the one ugly

thing that I will say is......if you don't love this country, then leave.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

later.....

I bought a new car ....

Last December I bought a new car

a Ford Escape

that is only the 7th car I have bought

my first car at age 18 was a Datsun

then I saved my money and bought myself a 1976 Camaro

Next up was a Ford Bronco II

then 3 kids later.....had to go with the mini van

Ford Aerostar

I drove that mini van for 10 years.

When we had to get a new vehicle, Johnny at first wanted

another mini van. I did not

So he bought me a Ford Expedition

I called her the MacDaddy! Loved the Expedition

I could haul a whole pile of kids around

I drove that for 10 years and then bought my Pontiac

G6 GT hard top convertible.

loved it and drove it for 7 years. 

Then comes December 2015. I wanted a crossover and the

one I really wanted was the Kia Sorento. But when we went to

the dealership they were not willing to work a deal

The Sorento was fast becoming one of the top rated crossovers

so they just were not offering a lot

we stood our ground and walked out

then went to the Ford dealership and settled on the Ford Escape. 

I say "settled" only because it wasn't really what I wanted

It's a great car with some really cool features but it felt small

to me....I wanted one with more room

In August they were offering some rebates on the Kia Sorento

but I had only had the Escape 8 months. Johnny said well, all we

can do is see what they will offer. So we go, I find one I want, they

tell us the price, great price....BUT, will they give us payoff on the

Escape. At first they said no but when they realized we were willing

to walk away, they agreed to payoff.

and now I have what I really wanted.....the Kia Sorento.

we love it!

later.....

My rant on nails ....

I love getting my nails done

well, actually, I love having pretty nails

I do not enjoy sitting there getting my nails done

pedicures, that is a different story....love that.

I don't have very strong nails so getting the gel put over

them enables me to have long, pretty nails.

But my problem is these dang nail salons

I don't seem to have good luck with them

I did use the same salon for years and years

but then the owner took advantage of me being

a long time customer. Instead of treating me right, she had no 

problem taking a walk in 10 minutes before I arrived

leaving me to wait 30 minutes.


I decided I didn't have the patience for that anymore

so just decided to take a break from getting my nails done

again, after a break, went back to get my nails done

found a new salon and the first girl that did my nails was terrible
oh great, how do I avoid her!
when I went back for a fill in a different lady did my nails
and wow, she did great and they looked beautiful
she said "you always ask for me"
first mistake....
then it was like no one else could do my nails
when I would go in and they were busy, she wouldn't let 
me use anyone else, she always made me wait!
once I picked a color for my nails and she told me 
I was too old for that color! 
So I decided to find another salon
go in, lady does my nails, great job
and she says "you always ask for me"
ugh
and then slowly it just became the same thing
I make an appointment, before I get there she takes a
walk in, then when I get there I sit and wait. Many times
for 30 minutes. This may be the norm but 
I just don't like it.
the last time I was in there I had made a 5:45 appt 
for a pedicure and a fill in
I arrive at 5:40, I get in the pedicure chair and she tells me 
she has had nothing to eat so she is going to run in the back
and just grab something real quick. At 6:10 she finally came
back out. Pedicure going well and then some of the other technicians
are gathered around the front desk and she stops my
pedicure to chat with them for a few minutes
finally, finally.....this is done and I get my nails done
I got home at 8:00!! 
I'm over it.....going to have gel removed and just not do nails 
for a while.
rant over!

later.....

It's October!!!

I have been horrible about blogging

I just looked and I did one post in August

and one post in September! wow, this is supposed to be my

family journal and I'm not staying on top of it at all

And I faced the fact that the number one reason is....

FACEBOOK!! Haha.....I just spend so much time on it

that I have ignored my blog.

So here's what I did .....

yep, I deactivated my account!!

I spent too much time on it, the politics were driving me crazy,

the lost dogs and sad puppy pictures were so depressing

and just so many other things so I decided to go back to blogging

And it's been wonderful

I'm crocheting a blanket for the new baby instead

of wondering who was doing what or going where.....haha

Am I the only person that sometimes does crazy things

I got to work and look what was in my pocketbook.....

our house phone!!! 

And now that I have given up the life sucker that is called Facebook,

I'm reading, crocheting, working on covering a chair....just

doing things instead of staring at a screen!
I did stay on Instagram so if you want to follow me, you
can find me as nddelaney

so more post to come

later......

Staying organized ....

I'm a visual person....I have to see things

So even though our calendars are on our computers

and phones, I still need a paper one....one that

I can see the whole month and know what is going on

it helps me to not overbook, keep appointments

and I can always look back to when something happened

When the kids were young we kept a big calendar

on the fridge and oh boy....that calendar stayed jam packed

with activities and reminders.

without it, I would have been lost

but now I only have to keep up with me, Johnny and the 2 dogs

So I now carry a planner with me

and I love it!!

for this year I bought my planner at Target

it's not thick, light enough for me to keep in

my pocketbook

I purposely blurred out some things :)

later....

Aging ....

Have you ever heard that saying.......

"getting old ain't for sissies"

well, it's true!

and what I think is hard is that in your mind, you are still young

you're thinking how in the heck am I 59 years old!

I'm doing all I can to stay in great shape

I'm eating so good and exercising as much as I can

I have laid low on running right now as I do not enjoy 

running in the heat. But I'm keeping up with my Jazzercise

and I do some weights, planks and ab work on my off days

But here's what happened.......I played a whole bunch of corn hole

while we were at the bay. And you would think ok, that's a pretty

safe activity. And it is......maybe a little soreness in your throwing

arm because of the MASSIVE amount of games we played...haha.

But I made one mistake and that was when I had some good

throws, I jumped up and down. You know, like a kid........like I'm still

young enough to do that. What I forgot is that I'm not 25, I'm 59.

So my ankles did not like that.
and I ended up with a sprained ankle...yep, from 
playing corn hole!
Went to Urgent Care to get an X-ray
and wasn't all that happy to have to say how I did it

this was on July 4th that I sprained it
and now it's July 25th and I'm still limping
haven't been able to exercise, still swollen

ugh....aging ain't for sissies!!!

later.......

April ....

It's been a long time between post because I had

a bad virus on my laptop....unable to even access my blog to post!

A friend of Johnny's at work said he could fix it and fix it he did!!

thank you!

 

here's my chalk board for April, I don't think I ever posted that......

 

 

I started the month by having some minor surgery on my foot

it was a simple surgery but just a very annoying recovery because

well, it's your foot. And it's hard to do anything when you

have stiches on your foot.

So thankful that I work for a company that allows me to work

from home.....and that I did for 2 weeks. I kept my foot elevated

all that time and my reward is it healed up perfect.

Now I'm wearing a compression bandage with a very fashionable

boot....lovely. But it's the end of April and I'm almost to

the point of wearing shoes, almost.

 

 

Declan's birthday party was March 8th and these dang

balloons are still hanging around.....they have now floated their

way to the back staircase which is 2 story so they are still

there, really up high!! At times they startle me if I catch them

just out the corner of my eye. I popped them about a week ago.

 

 

 

here's my Bradford pear tree that I photograph all of the time

a few years back she lost some big branches from a big snow/ice storm

so that changed her perfect shape, but still pretty

I was stepping out to go to work and she caught my eye.....with the fog

pretty......

 

 

 

later.....

 



Wed ....

How about that for a blog post title......ha!

 

There's no denying how much I love flowers

they just make me smile

and I've been so committed to the Whole30 eating

that I treated myself to a bouquet of beautiful flowers

and I love the greenery as much as the flowers!

 

 

later.....

 

 



What I wear ....

a couple of things first.....keep in mind, I'm 57 years old
second, I can take really good pictures and I have a really, really great lens
for taking pics. I've taken classes and studied a lot on photography but I look like a total idiot taking a picture of myself. And I def cannot even get them to
turn out very good...ha!
and third, I wasn't even sure I could post this but here goes....

I think one of the harder parts of aging is the clothes you wear

personally, I'm not ready to wear my grandma's style clothing

but yet I'm a grandmother!

I love the younger styles but luckily, I'm smart enough to know

I cannot wear some of those fashions!

So I just kind of border on....the in between.

Not too young but yet not too old

And sometimes I'm just not sure but if I can look in the mirror

and think it's ok, then I go with it.

so here are my outfits over the past week

I might make this my regular "wear it Wednesday" post

but then again, regular readers know that anytime I try to

do a weekly theme posting, it usually fails....haha!!

you can let me know your opinion.....if you think they look too young

or too old, it won't bother me!

So for Thursday's outfit for work.....

I guess it could border on too young.....because you see a lot of

the younger generation wearing the leggings under dresses. But I like

when I wear a shorter dress that I don't have to worry about it flying

up or that it's just too short for my age. Plus, I like the look so I went

with it.......

 

On Friday I wore this.......

and really you just can't go wrong with capris, a simple tshirt

and a cardigan so I would vote this one age appropriate.

This is what I wore on Saturday...just going to do some
cleaning, then a friend was coming over and I was going
to keep Declan for a couple of hours

Then Saturday night, black pants, yellow blouse and black shawl
low heel shoes.....going out to dinner with Johnny

This is Sunday morning.......heading to Jazzercise!!

Then Sunday just relaxing.....

well, doesn't look like I'll have very many dressy days...ha!
this is Monday...I'm working from home today so I can
really be relaxed! At least I'm not still in my pj's
and oh good grief....could my picture be any blurrier!!

 

Then on Tuesday I wore my gray linen pants with a nice blouse.

I love wearing linen in the summer. I know the wrinkles are terrible but I

still love it. I ironed these before work and by the time I got there they

were all wrinkled up but that's ok....it's the linen look

 

 

 

On Wed I had to work from home again.....the den cabinets and shelves

are being installed. So I didn't take a picture as it was just shorts

and a tshirt. So there ya go...one weeks worth of

outfits. I'll probably do another one of these.....because I do

have some cute new clothes to wear this summer. That is if it

ever warms up enough!!

 

later....

 

Goals ...

I like to write my goals down.....always have

I've done this since I was in my early 20's...before I got married

I keep a little list with a few short term goals and then

a few long term goals

I keep it tucked in my wallet and I pull it out at least once per day

to read...you have to do this. It keeps it fresh, it keeps it in your face

and it keeps you focused.

and here's the great part, I hit those goals and then as I scratch

off the last one, I get to write a new list! That is such a great feeling. Some

goals have to carry over to the new list....the long term ones.

Believe me my new kitchen has been carried over for 10 years now!

I truly believe that the reason I reach these goals is because of

that little piece of paper that I read every day. And here's why, if you read

your goals every day then you will make decisions all day long

that are really based on those goals. You will make the right decisions to

lead you where you need to be. Of course sometimes for the fun of it I

like to put down something impossible....like win the HGTV dream home

haha......but hey, you can dream with those goals too!!

I've always tried to convince my kids to do this but none of them would. Then one day Jake tried it and it worked....he found himself making those things happen.

But then he quit doing it.....

I really wish they would all try it for one year and see....

So do you make goals....and if so, do you track them in some way?

later......

Games ...

As a kid I loved playing games

Monopoly was probably my most favorite because

it could go on and on and on.....

and in the summer time, we did have games that went on a day or so

until someone would get mad and quit!

and outdoors we played hide & seek, freeze tag, TV tag, tether ball

kickball, softball, croquet, badminton.....we just had so much fun outside.

Now I love to play corn hole

and I really love card games

Rummy, 99, LRC and POKER!!!

I love to play dealers choice poker.....

whats some of your favorite games?

later....



Jobs ....

I have had 4 jobs over my lifetime...

My very first job was working at First & Merchants Bank

I was fresh out of high school and made $100 per week....and felt

like I was rich! We lived in the suburbs so going into the city each

day, all dressed up felt exciting to me. But I soon learned it wasn't a very

glamarous job at all. I came to hate it! So I quit after only 6 months

But I had enough money saved up to cover me so all was good

Then I landed my job at the airport working for Hertz. I started

out working the counter renting cars then moved down to the office

working car control. I tracked all of our cars, their mileage and maintenance.

And I loved this job. When we had too many of our cars land in other

cities, we would work on the weekends picking them all. A bunch of us

would pile into cars, you know back then cars were big!

and then we would pick up the cars and bring them back to Richmond

It was not unusual to make a couple of trips to DC in one day.

Then the next day a couple of trips to Charlottesville.

we always had fun and we made really good money doing it!

After working there for 4 1/2 years I left to go work for

Va Tool and Equipment. Another office job but in the purchasing department. I worked with some of the best people ever. One person I have remained

friends with for 34 years! When I left there it was to have our first child.

then I started the hardest job ever....stay at home mom!!

But I loved it and did it for 14 years.

Now I work at Capital One as an administrative assistant (fancy for secretary)

I work in the Marketing and Analysis department and love it

and again work with some of the nicest people on earth!!

So there....that's my working career!

how many jobs have you had?

later....

15 Minutes of fame ...

My 15 minutes of fame occurred in 1977

I was working at the Richmond airport at Hertz rental cars

It was one of my favorite jobs because the airport

just has the best people watching ever! You saw so many interesting

people....celebrities, crazy people...all kinds.

They were filming a movie in Richmond ... "Rollercoaster"

It was about a young terrorist who was blackmailing companies

for ransom....and blowing up roller coasters. It starred George Segal, Timothy Bottoms, Susan Strasburg and Henry Fonda.

The terrorist would be renting a car from us. So Hertz agreed we could be in

the movie but they wouldn't allow the production company to change our

uniforms...you know Hertz wanted to keep their "brand".

Then they came in and gave us a lot of direction on what we were

supposed to do. I wasn't the one renting the car to Timothy Bottoms (the terrorist)  but I was to just keep busy doing work along side the girl who was.

So the day of filming comes......we get to meet Timothy Bottoms, who was super

nice and cute! They start filming over and over and over.....good grief.

and then that was that...all done.

When the movie came out, we were all excited to see ourselves on

the big screen. My 15 minutes of fame....my back was to the camera!!!

haha.....should call it my 15 seconds of fame!!

later...

Good and bad hair days ...

Right now, I probably have my most favorite haircut ever

I always loved my long hair....and really loved wearing it up

but once I went shorter, the ease in getting ready was so

worth giving up my long hair.

But that's not to say I have a good hair day every day

Some days if I leave it up in the towel too long

after my shower, it really turns out bad.

But it's always guaranteed that once the weekend comes and if

I have no where planned to go, I'll have the best hair day ever!!

Am I the only one like that?

and I really do not know how to take a self portrait.....haha!!

oh well....here's to the good and the bad hair days!!

later....