June Journeys - 2020 Stream of Consciousness Saturday - Nail

I thought I had this blogging stuff nailed when I took John's advice and used IFTTT (If This Then That) to simulcast my blog posts from Blogger to WordPress.  Things seemed to be working so well until the other day when I wrote a post on Blogger as usual and then checked WordPress to make sure it was there.  

It wasn't so I checked IFTTT to see if the applet was running properly.  It said it was but I accidentally turned it off and then turned it back on again.  Back on WordPress, there was still no post from June 10.  However, there was a notice that said I had reached my maximum storage and it shows that I have almost 2000 posts.  

I didn't catch on right away but then when I looked closer I realized that IFTTT had resent ALL the posts from Blogger to WP going back to 2015!!  Looking at the number of posts for each month showed me that November 2016 for example had 79 posts!  Even during the A to Z my max number of posts is one a day and not even the whole 30 days!  That means that some of those posts have triplicates!

It is going to be an exhausting task to try and fix this.  As if that's not bad enough, on Blogger I notice that a lot of my pictures are not showing up in some posts.  Can't figure that one out either because that same picture will show up in a different post.  I'd say I'm tearing my nails off but I've never been one to do that.  I like my nails. 

At this point I'm wondering if I should just nail the barn door shut and start all over again.  (Using the #SoCS prompt of "nail" from the lovely Linda.) 

Anybody ever have this problem?  Got any quick fixes?  Would you come find me if I started all over?  I'm using this as a test post in a way.  If it doesn't convert to WP then I may just give up on Blogger and only post on WP since that's where my 198 followers are.  I hope my 27 Blogger friends will forgive me.   

  

March Madness - 2020 - #SoCS Welcome - PSA

Linda's Stream of Consciousness today is "Welcome."  Who knew when I started blogging this month that March Madness would be so apropos?

Since we all seem to be forced to be at home for a while, what about taking an online course?  Can't say you have no time (or you can but we know you'd be fibbing).  I am an affiliate with CreativeLive and they have a lot of different classes to try, some even for free.  It is not all about creating either, some have to do with finances and even health and wellness.

CreativeLive.com


Click the link to see what there is that you might like.  I've taken a few of the classes and they have been helpful for me. 

You're welcome :)

March Madness - #SoCS - Go Figure

Well, Linda has given us the prompt of "Figure" and told us to use it any way we like and have fun.  There are lots of figures in my world these days.  Tuesday will be my birthday and the figure I'll see is 65!  That's right.  Medicare eligible!  In fact, I used Medicare for the first time yesterday when I had some blood tests done.  My last set of blood tests were done in September and since then I was able to stop taking my diabetes medicine completely.  I have also lost another 20 pounds and the figures reflect that.  My Hemoglobin A1C, which is the test for diabetes, is the same at 5.8 - in 2015 it was 8.1.  Normal is less than 5.6.  A year ago it was 7.3.

The figures I was wondering about were the cholesterol and triglyceride numbers because when eating keto-centered meals you are allowed to have fats and since Weight Watchers and Hungry Girl are all about low fat foods I was concerned that those figures would be higher.  Interestingly, this is what I saw:

 

This tells me that my cholesterols (good and bad) were normal when I started "Keto" and around September when I had lost almost 40 pounds, the levels were still normal but higher.  At that time I decided to try and modify the plan to limit the fat intake, my weight reduction speed has been slower but my blood levels have gotten better.  I'm okay with that. 


Speaking of figures, mine has changed a bit since last March:

March 2019 to March 2020

 Looks like I cleaned the mirror since last year too - LOL.

March 2019 to March 2020

I still have some hips and arms to deal with, but I have another 20 pounds to lose so I figure while I'm doing that I'll do some strengthening exercises.  My son is letting me borrow some 5 pound weights that I'm using at night for the arms and I'm doing some leg lifts too.  Maybe I'll get some ankle weights for when I walk Benny.  Do you figure that will help? 

This post was not exactly "stream of consciousness" because I did some research and planning but at least I used the prompt, right?  Have a most wonderful weekend all.  Gearing up for the A to Z - sign ups are happening - I'm #22 on the list which was over 100 the last time I checked.  Come play along this year!

 

Fabulous February --2020 - SoCS Choices

Here we are at February.  Linda's Stream of Consciousness prompt for us today is "Choices" and she tells us to talk about the subject of small, uneventful choices.

Just so happens I finished reading "Pride and Prejudice" last night and so today I have the small, uneventful choice of picking my next book.  I did get to scratch off one of the books on my chart with P & P so I was happy about that. 

I have a lot choices for the next book to read going through the PopSugar Challenge and looking at others to scratch off.  I went with:

My husband got this for me for Christmas.  I'm using it to fill the category of "a book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement," since one of the really identifiable things about Elton is his glasses.  It's not on the scratch off chart but if I choose a book that is on one or the other, I'll be satisfied. 

Just Jot January - 2020 - Last Call

Linda has given us the prompt of Last Call for today's #JusJoJan and #SoCS combo.  I had a call this morning from the Social Security Department.  Since I am going to be on Medicare starting in March, this might have been a legitimate call but of course it wasn't as the recorded message went on to say that there had been "illegal activity" with my Social Security number and it was going to be suspended.  Of course I hung up.

We have also gotten calls from "Apple" telling us that there is a problem with our "Cloud" account and from "Windows" telling us that our computer has a virus.  Really?  Wonder if we should get a flu shot? 

All of this reminds me of Lily Tomlin's Ernestine character and I have to share:

Do you remember Ernestine?  I had to stop listening or I'd have been sitting in front of the computer all day.  Happy Saturday all. 

Just Jot January - 2020 - Stream of Consciousness Edition

We have an unusual task today from Lovely Linda:  The prompt is "Movie Title" and we are to take the title of the last movie we saw and use it in the post.  Not the plot of the story, just the title. 

It has been really cold here lately and I have been staying inside rather than going to the studio at night, even though I got a cool new heater for Christmas.  It takes a while to warm the space up and then it's late so after dinner I've been watching some movies with the hubs.  Last night it was "Triple Frontier" via Netflix. 

I am so ready for baseball it's not funny.  I know our team (the SF Giants) has just gone into a new frontier with being the first team in MLB to hire a female assistant coach, Alyssa Nakken.  While she probably won't be in uniform on the field (they are limited to 7 coaches) her role, as I understand it, will be more of a "make the clubhouse a happy place" kind of thing.  That, at least, is my interpretation of her position. 

Gabe Kapler (our new manager) said part of her role is to help "build a winning culture in the clubhouse" and to "focus on fostering a clubhouse culture that promotes high performance through...a deep sense of collaboration and team."  We have been on a several year losing streak after winning three World Series rings in five years and there are a lot of other big changes this year (manager Bruce Bochy retired and we lost our Madison Bumgarner - I may have to root for the Arizona Diamondbacks once in a while).   I was reading some of the info on her and she was just awarded the 2019 "Sprinkles of Love" award for her ethics, professionalism and humanitarianism.  Anyone who gets "sprinkles" is worth a try in my book.

"Friends" night.  Giants players and their wives recreated the opening from the "Friends" show.  It was really cute.

However, the cynic in me has some reservations about this.  There have been a few instances recently in the Giants organization that have been questionable.  Mr. Kapler was involved in a controversial incident when he was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization regarding coverup of an assault allegation.  Larry Baer (CEO) was suspended and had to undergo some counseling regarding an altercation between he and his wife.  I wonder if this might be a way the Giants are trying to get people to focus on the new rather than the old. 

From the last game managed by Bruce Bochy

We had a feeling this would be Madison's last at bat as a Giant.

On the other hand, the Giants charted a new frontier in 1994 by being the first professional sports franchise to play an AIDS/HIV awareness game and, while not as socially noteworthy, were the first team to have three brothers play together in the outfield (Felipe, Matty and Jesus Alou in 1963) so maybe it's just the Giants being innovative.  I think if Ms. Nakken can inspire the guys to get a few more triples, it will be worth it.  Let's go Giants!   

My favorite, Brandon Crawford

Me with the trophies.  I am actually not standing between them, this is a reflection off the glass.  Pretty cool huh?

And that's your #SoCS and #JusJoJan for today.  Are you ready for baseball? 

Just Jot January - 2020 - Stream of Consciousness Edition

Linda says: 

Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “the first 3 words of the first full sentence.” Okay, follow me here. This is what I want you to do: 1. Grab the closest book to you when you sit down to write your post. 2. Open it to a random page. 3. Locate the first complete sentence on that page. 4. Use the first three words of that sentence to start your post, then take it from there–write whatever comes to mind. That’s it! Have fun!


Additionally, over time, it gets easier and easier to follow a routine.  It is the beginning that is the hardest.  They say it takes 21 days to start a new habit or to break a bad one but I'm not so sure about that.  I have also read that after the 21 days you continue it for another 90.  That is more like 111 days which makes more sense.

Got my 3 words from one of the Keto books I have on my desk.  I've been using them to get inspiration for meal planning, something I've been trying to get in the habit of doing.  I've done it for a week or so at a time but then something happens and I go back to just winging it.  I notice though that when I am planning, I am losing faster.  You'd think that would be motivation!

Exercise is another thing I've not been very consistent with, except for walking Benny twice a day.  I really need to get some arm and core work in to strengthen those muscles and help lose some of the excess flab from there.  I know that I've stretched my skin with all the weight I was carrying but you'd think I'd be able to fill some of it back with muscle instead of having flopping wings.  I'll start tomorrow, maybe. 

Just Jot January - 2020 - OW

I don't know how she does it but Linda often picks the prompts that are just right for what's happening with me.  Today's "OW" is an example.

My right knee is misaligned as you can see from this X-ray.  It is a little off center and I had been having a problem with it being sore off and on for years.   

A few years ago I was going down the back steps in the dark and missed a step which caused a break in the kneecap.  The ER gave me this brace and crutches.  

I was graduated to this hinged knee brace after a while.  It was a pain in the butt.  Not being able to drive was the worst. 

My "ow" happened again the other day as I was coming out of the studio.  I was hurrying and was carrying my planner and my phone.  I stepped funny onto one of the stepping stones and fell, twisting my knee.  OW!  

I am pretty sure I didn't break my knee again because I've been putting heat on it at night and it is feeling better.  I've also been able to walk Benny and when I broke it before I couldn't have done that.  

I was almost more upset because my planner fell in the dirt and I didn't know if I could deal with a dirty planner for a year.  Fortunately I was able to clean it off enough.  My phone is a different story.  The screen protector cracked and I have to order a replacement.  Good thing we got the protection plan.  OW.  Thanks, Linda!  

December Reflections - 2019 - #SoCS Edition

Lovely Linda tells us to use the word "Year" in our posts today, any way we like.  I am going to talk about reading goals for the year.  I said a few posts ago that I am not going to make my 40 as I am on 34 with James Cudney's Haunted House Ghost, the signed book I won in his contest!  I'm okay with that and I'm keeping the goal at 40 for 2020.  I love the way Goodreads keeps tally of your reading year for you.  I have added their results to my yearly reading Pinterest board.   

I generally do the PopSugar Reading Challenge every year.  I am also going to add the Modern Mrs. Darcy's Challenge to give me some more options.

But, the most fun I'm going to have is by trying to scratch off as many of these as I can:

This is the scratch off chart I got for Christmas from my daughter.  It is 100 Essential Novels.  I have already scratched off 3, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and 1984 but that's because I just read them in the last few months.  There are others on here I have read before but I'm not going to scratch them until I read them again.  Some of them I've never heard of.  Pretty sure it's going to take me more than one year to read all these.  I know a few of them are long ones.

Pop Charts makes a lot of different scratch off posters like this.  My daughter got one for her sister that was of 100 movies.  I also saw one that I almost got for my husband that was of all the major league ballparks.  Kind of fun to track your progress that way don't you think? 

November Novelties - 2019 - #SoCS - ght

Happy Saturday all.  Time for another Stream of Consciousness hosted by the lovely Linda G. Hill.  Today she gives us the fun prompt of "ght."  Bonus points if we can use more than three different words with that combination.  Let's see where it takes us.

I've mentioned that I'm losing some weight and I say I'm following a Keto plan but truthfully all I'm doing is cutting out carbs and sugars.  I don't measure or count calories but I do try to limit the carb intake to about 15 to 20 carbs a day or less.

So far I've been pretty successful and to my delight I've lost 50 pounds since March and 64 pounds overall.  I am striving to get to my goal of 145-ish by my birthday in March.

Not sure what my weight is here but it has to be close to my highest.  Don't know why I would take such a picture in the first place or why I kept it!

 
I like this one better.  It is from September. 

Of course with losing that amount of weight, my clothes are starting to get too big.  I know I have a way to go so I don't want to buy too many things and as many overweight people can relate, there are clothes in my closet that span several sizes for that "just in case I lose" time.  However, the weather is starting to get chilly here and most of the pants I have are leggings which are made of pretty thin material.  The other day I went to Target and picked up a couple of pair of jeans to try, one in a size 16 and one in a size 14.  I was outright thrilled when the 14's fit the best.

When I went to return the 16's I decided to try a 12 on just for kicks and while I could get the zipper up, they were just a bit too tight.  As I was walking through the mall I saw that Old Navy was having a one-day sale of jeans at half off so of course I had to check that out.  I found a pretty pair in a lavender color that I loved so I brought them to the checkout.  I remembered that I had some discount points that were expiring so I figured I ought to use them.  Look what happened when I did:

Note the name of the jeans:  Pop-Color Rockstar Jeans!  

That's right, a big zero!  I paid naught for these pretty jeans! 

Looks a little more dramatic side by side doesn't it?  Now, I might have to get a new top to wear with these pants but I have two more certificates for Old Navy so maybe I can score again!

That's the kind of spending I can do without giving it a second thought!   I think I used more than three words with "ght" in them.  Waddya think?  Bonus points?  Are they good at Old Navy?

November Novelties - 2019 - Aw, Nuts

It is November now so of course I needed a new title for my blog posts.  I try to come up with something catchy each month but I don't want to duplicate so I was checking my archives to see what I had used in past Novembers:  Last year was "Noted in November."  I only posted 10 times though so in a few years maybe I'll bring that one back.  In 2017 it was "No, it Can't be November" but there was only 1 post!  In 2016 it was "A November to Remember" and I actually did pretty well with that one, posting 26 days.  When I went back to 2015 I had used "Nostalgic November" but as I scrolled down I saw that one of the posts had photos missing! 

Aw, nuts!  Looks like I have some cleaning up to do on the blog.  Maybe I'll rewrite some of them and delete the ones that have pictures missing.  Not exactly a fun undertaking since it could get very time consuming.  Still, I want to have a fully functional blog and if pictures are missing, maybe some links don't work either.



In other news, I am so honored that my author friend, James J. Cudney, IV., did a small write up about me in his newsletter this month!  He so generously linked to my Etsy site as well.  What a guy.  I've written about his wonderful mysteries and the latest one, Haunted House Ghost, came out this month.  I entered a contest to win a signed copy of the book and I DID! 


 

Doesn't the cover of the book look like a card I made recently?



Well, maybe not exactly but close.  Anyway, decided to use November Novelties as my title this year.  What do you think?  Do you clean up your blog once in a while?  Like a good mystery?  Lemme know!





Playing along with Linda's Stream of Consciousness Saturday too where the prompt is "nuts."

Rocktober Music Fest - 2019 - and other October Oddities

I, who take pictures of almost anything for almost any reason, am seriously bad at taking family photos.  I just spent the day with my two sisters, my mom and my niece and got not one.  I think the last time we have all been together was for my older sister's funeral 17 years ago!  Well, it is just an excuse for me to visit again, don't you think?   

In other news, there is a competition currently underway for the new Stream of Consciousness Saturday badge and I'm going to enter!  Here is my take on it:

Like a stream of light you know and all the twinkling stars are the miscellaneous thoughts that float through your head.  At least that's what I was thinking.  It was taken at a Phil Collins concert last year, which leads me to the Rocktober Music Fest entry for today.  (See how I did that?)



Phil Collins has made a lot of music, both with Genesis and on his own.  I recently read his book, "Not Dead Yet" which was also the name of this tour.  It is true he does have health issues and is not able to move around the stage much but he still puts on a great show.

We saw him when they had the Genesis reunion tour in 2007, although Peter Gabriel was not with them.  

On this tour he has his son with him to play drums and piano.  It was really fun to see them play together and his son is a pretty good drummer!    

Phil is on the second leg of his tour which he has called, "Still Not Dead Yet" and he was at the new Chase Center in San Francisco last night but we didn't go.  The reviews say he shows his age but can still carry the show.  It says he hinted at a Genesis reunion which would be interesting too. 

Here's "You'll Be In My Heart" from when my son and I saw him last year.

My mom doesn't read my blog or even get on a computer but I hope she knows that even though she is far away from me now, she'll always be in my heart too!

What do you think of my badge?  Have you seen Phil lately?  Share!

Rocktober Music Fest - 2019 - #SoCS Ground and other October Oddities.

The prompt from Linda for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is the word "Ground."  I've got the perfect link to the #RMF! 

A couple of years ago we saw Nickelback in concert.  They put on a great visual show. 

We went to my mom's old apartment today and took out the last of the big pieces of furniture.  There are just a few boxes left for me to get out of there.  Ground zero:

This is where the swimming pool used to be.

Here's Burn It To The Ground:

I don't want to burn the old apartment to the ground of course.  Glad I have taken some pictures there over the years!  Maybe I'll put together a scrapbook album for my mom for Christmas.  I know she just got rid of a ton of stuff that she said she didn't want anymore but she doesn't have any pictures of the places she has lived and if it is just a small album, maybe she's enjoy it and it won't take up too much space.  I'll have to think about that. 

Happy Saturday all :)