My Morning Playlist

I know I have mentioned it before in this blog but I really do love music and have a true love affair with Spotify for bringing so much music to me with little effort on my part. TheHub and I probably own 700 CD's (Yes we are ancient. Don't even ask about old vinyls) that I have neatly organized in binders by genres. But listening to them requires work of sorts on my part. I have to open the binder, flip through the pages (I guess you call those flexible plastic cd holders pages) find what I want to listen to, stick it in the cd player and press the button to start.

Or I can just open Spotify on my laptop, pull up a playlist of whatever I plan on listening to and ask Alexa to connect to bluetooth, adjust the volume and start listening. You can bet your sweet fanny I choose the path of least resistance and rely on Alexa every time. I have 51 separate playlists because you never know when you want to do a little head banging. Or maybe you just want to hear arias from your favorite operas, then listen to a little cowboy music. I have just about anything I could ever want to listen to covered in these playlists, but I have one I listen to each morning while I have coffee.  It is just called Daily because I listen to it every day.

I thought I would share my morning list with y'all and certainly invite you to start one of your very own.
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands  Nina Simone
Be Thou My Vision Fernando Ortega
The Lord's Prayer Duke Ellington
The 23rd Psalm Bobby McFerrin
What A Wonderful World Louis Armstrong
Accentuate The Positive Perry Como or Dr. John (depending on my mood)
On The Sunny Side Of The Street Willie Nelson, Billie Holliday or Louis Armstrong (mood thing)
Don't Rain On My Parade Glee Cast
A Summer Song Chad and Jeremy (seasonal option)
Summer In The City The Lovin' Spoonful (seasonal option)
Hot Fun In The Summertime Sly and the Family Stone (seasonal option)
I Cain't Say No Ali Stroker (new)
You Never Even Call Me By My Name David Allen Coe (because I love this song)

For me personally I like to begin with some sacred, then segue into some basic positive music, followed by seasonally appropriate tunes and ending with a couple that just make me smile

Though this looks like a lot of music, it is roughly 40 minutes of tunes. Just enough for a couple of cups of coffee with time to tidy the kitchen, empty the dishwasher and sweep. It amazes me how something this simple can set the course for my day. It forces me to start in an upbeat mood. If I go without this morning ritual it is easy for me to listen to my inner voice that suggests I might need to be disgruntled. And like I said earlier, join me and find your own morning happy place.

Oh!  If you need any recommendations for bizarre music sub groups just ask. Gypsy music? French jazz? Classical? Madrigal? Gregorian Chants? . . . ? No Problem!

Peace!

So Good You Will Never Know It's Low Carb

I was reading Frugal Housefrau the other day and  saw this recipe for an instapot chili mac meal. I am not generally a huge fan of any chili mac dish, but this one was made with taco seasonings rather than a traditional heavy chili flavor. Though I do have an instapot (which I have yet to use) I knew I was going to have to ketofy the dish and of course cauliflower would be taking place of most of the pasta, so I just opted for a stovetop version. The end results were so good, not just to me, but DIL2 and Son2 raved about it and TheHub asked if we could put this in our regular rotation. If the term keto puts you off, just substitute low carb. I mean, with the exception of my uber thin mother, who can't benefit from a dish with lower carbs? (This week Mom's doc actually told her to eat ice cream, cake and cookies. I can guarantee you, no doc has ever, or will ever say the same to me )

                                                         Macless Chili  and Cheese

           (Sorry for the bad photo, This was literally my dinner bowl, it was hot and I was hungry)

1 pound (or more, your choice) ground sirloin, lean
1 onion chopped
1 yellow sweet pepper (chopped or in strips, your choice)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small head cauliflower in small pieces (think shooter marble size)
1 1/2 cup chopped zucchini (it is a great use for 3/4 of a big ass zucchini)
1 1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
3/4 teaspoon  cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 ish teaspoon salt
1 can crushed tomatoes (I used the 28 ounce size, but I love tomatoes)
sharp grated cheddar cheese
sour cream

In a large saute pan, brown the beef until almost brown, then toss in the onions and peppers. Cook until they begin to wilt. Add the garlic powder and salt and stir to make sure these first components of the dish are seasoned. Add the olive oil then the  cauliflower and zucchini and let them cook a minute of two, add the remaining spices (yes include the additional garlic powder and salt) and stir well. Pour the tomatoes over the mix and let it cook (medium/medium low heat) for about 20 minutes. The liquid from the tomatoes will reduce greatly and you will be left with this wonderful moist stew. Serve in bowls and top with grated sharp cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Next time I will add some guacamole to top it, but I had no avocados.

I served it with just a side of angel hair slaw and thick slices of buttered warm French bread  to make it a complete meal. (For everyone but me. I really wanted some of that bread too but it is not even a little bit keto)

I added this to my list of tried and true meals to satisfy my way of eating that are equally appealing to those who can eat whatever the heck they want and not gain an ounce. I am pretty sure they are all the spawn of Satan put on Earth to torment me!

What I Watch Every Single Day

I watch this every single day. What a set of pipes Ali Stroker has! Hope you enjoy it too.

What really happened

As I do weekly now, this I what I had planned as our meals for the week:

1.Ziti with tossed salad
2. Spaghetti or zoodles with meat sauce, salad, french bread or not,
3. Crack chicken, coleslaw, rice or cauli rice, sliced tomatoes
4. Steak, salad, green beans
5. Pork chops, caulitato salad or potato salad
6. Huge salad of some sort (TBD)
7. Grilled chicken, mashed potatoes or cauli mash, cuke onion and tomato salad

I had forgotten TheHub had a business meeting Wednesday night and we decided to go to the lake kind of as a spur of the moment deal, so I went off rails there. But honestly I was hardly riding the rails anyway so this is what actually happened:

Monday: I had made a ton of spaghetti sauce for when the band was here. I made it as a back up just in case they wanted/needed food late at night. It is not hard to warm sauce and cook some noodles, but they decided they had rather have hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts for late night snacks each night. I was surprised that only our son and one other had ever experienced a hot just made KK. I am pretty sure the word nirvana was invented after someone ate one of those toasty warm melt in your mouth rounds of deliciousness.  After 3 dozen each night they were pretty well sated. For the record, the vegetarian was most delighted he is not a vegan so he could freely eat 5 or so hot doughnuts each time. Needless to say I had a boatload of spaghetti sauce left over, most of which is now frozen.
Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, toasted leftover hamburger buns

Tuesday: I had also bought several boneless skinless chicken breasts to have on hand as a just in case thing. They needed to be cooked PDQ so I grabbed my biggest crock pot and made Crack Chicken. We had enough for dinner and I now have 3 bags frozen for whenever time is tight.
Crack chicken over rice or cauli rice, cucumber, tomato and onion salad

Wednesday:  TheHub was out at a business dinner and I could have cooked something, but why?
Shredded cabbage with pickles and mayo

Thursday: I was reading blogs Thursday morning and saw a recipe for chili cheese mac. It sounded really good, but we all know pasta is not keto approved. So I dug around for some substitutions. I have cauliflower around all the time, and someone at TheHub's office had given him one big ass zucchini, so that became the "pasta" in this dish
Mac-less chili cheese casserole, angel hair slaw with either John's Famous Coleslaw dressing or stupid keto approved mayo.

Friday: TheHub and I opted to go to the lake. I grabbed some of the leftover ziti out of the freezer, threw a very few food items in a cooler bag and we were off.
Leftover ziti or not, some frozen ultra low carb "enchilada" and a Japanese cucumber salad, French bread or not. Weird combo but it worked since it was easy and edible.

Saturday: We were still at the lake, storms happened and we were late eating. I found some frozen ground sirloin in the fridge along with a bag of riced cauliflower/broccoli.
Grilled patties with onions, cauliflower broccoli parmesan souffle, tossed salad, french bread or not

Sunday: We left the lake very early to get back home in time for Sunday School and Church. Afterward we had a fairly lazy day, then all of a sudden it was late and nothing was thawed or cooked except for 2 pounds of bacon I had cooked to freeze for  meals over the next couple of weeks I scoured the veggie crisper for anything that needed to be used, found half an onion, a handful of squash and half of that big ass zucchini I used on Thursday, along with one slightly soft bell pepper. What we wanted? Nope, but we ate it anyway.
Pan sautéed veggies over rice, or not with crumbled bacon on top.

Now let's see how close I stay or how far I veer off this weeks plans!
1. Braised pork tenderloin, broccoli, rice (or not), French bread (or not)
2. Crack chicken over sliced French bread or caulirice, tossed salad
3. Grilled Pork chops Hotlanta slaw, baked potatoes or baked radishes (grrr keto)
4. White bbq chicken, caulitato salad, baked beans or not, sliced tomatoes
5. Veggie night, corn on the cob (or not), lady peas (or not), green beans, fried green tomatoes, okra
6. Cedar planked salmon, grilled romaine salad, asparagus, mashed potatoes or cauli mash
7. Hamburgers, fries (or not), coleslaw

And now the new week begins. Right now I am guessing maybe 4 nights will be what I planned. I don't think we have anything planned at meal times, but you never know what might pop up. Will see since each day is a possible adventure!

Survivor!

Whew! The mass invasion is over, the houseguests/band members were lovely, the linens are washed, and hopefully after today all will be back to normal. Did I mention my butt is dragging? I don't think I slept more than 4 hours a day the entire time they were here, ran the dishwasher a minimum of twice a day, did copious amounts of laundry (beach and bath towels)  and cooked 3 meals a day for young men between 21 and 25. They can wolf down some food.

I am not even going to begin recounting the meals that were prepared for the week. I cooked for omnivores, vegetarians and one strict vegan, so most meals required at least 2 entirely different menus. Instead I will just say lots of grilled and smoked meats happened along with a lot of grains and beans and fake cheese plus tons of veggies and salads.

Now the routine returns to normal and I am planning our meals. I had planned on incorporating leftovers (I now realize that is laughable) but the only leftovers were from an unplanned takeout meal. I had smoked some pork butts and planned on having bbq sandwiches and vegan baked beans. I  cooked enough for them plus us, but had to make an emergency run to Mom's and when we got back every morsel of food was wiped out so TheHub and I had to make a takeout run so we would have something to eat. Ziti leftovers are on the menu now.

This is what I have planned. What will happen? Who knows?

1. Ziti with tossed salad
2. Spaghetti or zoodles with meat sauce, salad, french bread or not,
3. Crack chicken, coleslaw, rice or cauli rice, sliced tomatoes
4. Steak, salad, green beans
5. Pork chops, caulitato salad or potato salad
6. Huge salad of some sort (TBD)
7. Grilled chicken, mashed potatoes or cauli mash, cuke onion and tomato salad

Now it is time to take all the linens back upstairs and remake the beds. It looks like we will be guest free until the first week in July and then more company rolls in.

Can You Feel A Brand New Day__I Mean Week

This was my plan for they week's meals. As per usual we did not eat according to my plan. My houseguests (Son3, DIL3, band and road manager) are arriving a day earlier than they originally planned. In fact they anticipated arriving in Huntsville on Thursday afternoon and just staying there until after the show. Birmingham is just a tad over an hour and a half from there so they planned on driving here late Thursday night. Now they are planning on being here midday Wednesday, which is a day and a half earlier than I planned. This has required some skillful reorganizing each room to give each person as much privacy as possible, and now I have to be completely finished about noon Wednesday.

Needless to say, I have been busting my butt to try and be ready timely. Today I finally finished the upstairs including making a slipcover for the music room sofa. I was not planning on that but judging form the looks of it and the fact that I found 6 or so drumsticks on said sofa, it looks like someone (not naming names) had been drumming on the plether sofa. When I walked in the room I saw the leather like covering was coming apart form the fabric backside. Not a happy camper! (This will teach me to do some inspecting when a certain individual (still nameless person) leaves. The same person also left a window cracked. I vacuumed appx. 1,00,000 stinkbugs from around the window. Not a happy camper, again.

The result of all of this unnecessary chores, coupled with the needed rearranging and the updated schedule has left me chasing my tail, with little time to eat, much less cook. This week I have no plan, except for bbq butt and ribs which are smoking as I type this. everything else is going to be fly by the seat of the pants cooking.

1. Scallops, asparagus, new potatoes, salad

2. BBQ chicken thighs, caulitato salad, baked beans (or not)

3. Chicken with char grilled vegetables

4. Steak, mashed potatoes (or caulimash), salad

5. Summer salad meal, rolls (or keto rolls)

6. Grilled fish, grilled romaine salad, grilled asparagus

7. Meal after a memorial service

Monday: Sometimes I plan and it works, and sometimes The Universe decides what my plan will be. Evidently either late, late Sunday night or sometime early Monday morning the freezer above the laundry room fridge was left open. Occasionally if you shut the refrigerator door too hard it opens the freezer door (just a hair, but it is still open). I imagine that is what happened this time. Nevertheless I had some scallops near the door and they thawed. I had not necessarily planned on having them on the menu this week much less on Monday, but after finding them partially thawed it was a necessity.

Grilled scallops, asparagus, sautéed mushrooms, new potatoes (or not)

Tuesday: When it came time to cook dinner I did not feel like traditional bbq chicken, but it was hot and I was still going to cook chicken on the grill. I changed it up a little, booted the baked beans, made TheHub a pasta salad and called it a day.
grilled chili lime chicken, macaroni salad (0r not) cauliflower “potato” salad, green beans, sautéed zucchini 

Wednesday: I probably should have cleaned out the freezer before I made my weekly menu. I am having 9 houseguests for 5 days and want to get as much food made ahead of time and frozen so that meals will be a simple thaw and heat process rather than having to bother with the time and mess of cooking while they are here. I found several things I could have for meals this week which cleared up some much needed freezer space. Tonight was one of those "use it up" meals.
Frozen carnitas atop tortilla chips (or not) and lettuce topped with tomatoes, marinated radish slices, jalapenos, and sliced cukes

Thursday: Son 3 and the band will arrive here sometime Wednesday so I am rearranging  the rooms upstairs to acommofate them with as much privacy as possible. I cleaned, moved  furniture and placed mattresses and bedding we snagged from the lake place to create little sleeping niches upstairs.  
Crack Chicken, rice or cauli rice, asparagus, sliced tomatoes

Friday:  We did a takeout meal. I honestly don't remember where or what

Saturday: TheHub worked at his office while I worked in the house getting rooms ready for guests. We ate lunch late (around 4) so if you want to count that as our dinner that is fine with me. Especially since we were not hungry at night and had nothing. (I actually think TheHub had an ice cream cone and I had a  bowl of strawberries)
Pimento cheese sandwiches  and chips or a glob of pimento cheese with pickled okra and tomato slices.

Sunday: My Uncle Norman died about a month and a half ago. He was a special needs adult who had lived with my aunt since my grandmother died in the mid 90's. He was a sweet, sweet man who had a soft, unassuming, almost elfin speaking voice, but had a singing voice like Jim Nabors. To see and hear him speaking normally vs. seeing him singing was quite a dichotomy. Though he loved all music, he was a threat to break out in a Gomeresque "How Great Thou Art". 
His memorial service was held Sunday at his church, and was probably the sweetest service I have ever attended. Afterwards member of the church had prepared a feast for the family. How sad that we have gotten to a point when we only see each other for funerals, but it was great seeing my aunts and cousins,
Everything known to man that could be made for consumption after a memorial service! Btw I did remain ketofied. I had roast beef, green beans, turnip greens and salad. (It was hard to ignore one table that was almost groaning with the weight of so many desserts. Andre sat next to me and only had a salad for dinner, then he took a platter and loaded it with 5 desserts. I wanted to smack him.)

And now I am just sitting here for a few minutes then I am off to clean the laundry room!
I know I will enjoy them when they get here, but this prep work is daunting. Anyone want to come next week? The house is clean and after I do the laundry I will be ready for a whole other round of guests.

p.s. I am here and reading your posts, but will probably not be commenting until this rush is over.

Chili Lime Grilled Chicken

Recently I bought some boneless skinless chicken thighs, put them in the refrigerator and promptly forgot about them for a couple of days. When I finally remembered they were here I had to do something with them (meaning cook them) that day. I put half of them in the crock pot to make crack chicken, but it was beautiful and I wanted to cook the remaining outside. I had planned on having bbq chicken but it did not sound good, so I made a quick marinade, dunked the chicken in it and let it lollygag in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator until right before dinner time.

Chili Lime Marinade

4 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 2 limes
zest of 1 lime
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar or sugar substitute (I used swerve)
6 medium boneless chicken thighs. I like mine skinless but that is a personal choice.


Mix everything but the chicken well. My personal theory is since this is going to hang out in a zip lock bag anyway just mix everything in the bag. I pour it all in, zip it and squish everything around until it is all mixed well, toss the chicken on top of it, get the air out of the bag, make sure the zipper is tight and stick it in the meat drawer until showtime.
Heat the grill, remove the chicken from the marinade and pop the thighs on the grill. Cook until about halfway done, flip those puppies over and finish cooking. They are so good.

I am sorry I did not take a picture but Son2 and DIL2 ate with us and all the evidence was eaten before a pic could be taken.

What's Happening? Hot Stuff

At the start of each week I come up with a meal plan that I very rarely follow. Some weeks I come close and some weeks, well, not so much. This week has fallen into the latter category
This was the bold ambition for what I had planned:

1. Taco salad
2. Grilled burgers with fixings
3. BBQ chicken thighs, coleslaw, tomato slices, rolls
4. Out to eat with our Mandarin class. (Chinese of course!)
5. Crack chicken over rice or cauli rice, tomato cuke and onion salad
6. Sloppy Joe's,  french fries (or not) coleslaw, tomato slices, green beans

And this is where real life beat my plans to a bloody pulp!

Monday:  I have no recall about Monday and I forgot to document anything.  Just one glance at us will let you know we are not poor underfed waifs, but for the life of me, I have no clue what happened or what I did for a meal. I know I did not go grocery shopping until Wednesday so___

Something, with something green most likely, and probably something else. It was either regrettable and needed to be forgotten but more likely it was truly uninspired and forgettable.

Tuesday: I spent a good part of the day taking care of Mom's business affairs then moved into my laundry room to begin some major cleaning . (My laundry room is both a place to do laundry, sewing room and studio space. Right this minute it looks like a large gypsy caravan moved in, set up camp, then left without packing up their stuff. Worst of all I have only myself to blame) I did not even begin to think about dinner until time to actually make it. I knew I had more than half a pack of dinner rolls and I had some ground chuck in the freezer. WHen you have to make a hamburger fit the small dinner roll, just change the narrative and pretend it is what you had planned all along It's not like TheHub reads my blog and has any clue what I meant to have anyway!
Grilled sliders with fixings, cauliflower "potato" salad

Wednesday: I had gone o the grocery store and bought 3 packs of boneless  thighs and some lovely cauliflower. I had planned on having BBQ chicken thighs but saw this recipe   at Happier Than A Pig In Mud. It looked simple and used the grill so I decided to give it a try. OMG it was delicious. I will vary the veggies and do this all summer!
Chicken with char grilled vegetables, rolls or keto rolls

Thursday: We have been taking a Mandarin class and it is a very small group. We decided to go out to eat as a class and ate in a traditional Chinese manner, according to our instructor . We sat at a round table with a large lazy susan in the middle. Everyone ordered what they wanted, but it was served family style. You just rotated the susan until whatever you wanted to try came near you.  If you are ever in Birmingham and want Chinese definitely go to The Red Pearl on West Valley. It is delicious! (Try the Basil Chicken!)
Various appetizers, entrees and sides

Friday:  TheHub and I knew we needed to run to the lake place to grab some things for our upcoming several day houseguests. (Things like 3 mattresses, 6 pillows, sheets, towels, beach towels, etc.) We decided we would just go Friday evening, spend the night, load the van and return Saturday morning. I had fully intended to take something for us to eat but I didn't. There is no place near the lake to eat so we stopped on the way.
Whopper from Burger king with (TheHub) or without(me) the bun

Saturday: When I planned this week's menu I forgot TheHub had a high school class reunion Saturday night. Punt for dinner and instead we ate there. I think he had a really good time reconnecting with his former friends and I had a blast. I moved through the crowd as a solo unit (I had told him to mix and mingle and not worry about me) and would go up to any one who looked interesting and say "Oh my goodness you look wonderful, I have not seen you in ages". (Since TheHub and I grew up in different cities I knew absolutely no one) I would watch them trying to mentally place me before I let them know they really had never seen me before.  It is a great ice breaker and led to some interesting conversations and newly found acquaintances.  
Heavy hors d'ouvers 

Sunday:  We went to church, then ran some errands and came home so we could watch Alabama's women's softball team in the NCAA World Series.  Roll Tide Roll. They won the first game which meant a double header so we settled in to watch another game. In between games, instead of cooking we rant to Arby's to grab dinner.
Arby's roast beef sandwich 

Yes, I am very aware that we had 4 of 7 meals either out or as take out. This is our life and how this past week rolled. This week should be better, but there are always surprise issues along the way, so here is my plan for the week which may or may not happen.

1. Scallops, asparagus, new potatoes, salad
2. BBQ chicken thighs, caulitato salad, baked beans (or not)
3. Chicken with char grilled vegetables
4. Steak, mashed potatoes (or caulimash), salad
5. Summer salad meal, rolls (or keto rolls)
6. Grilled fish, grilled romaine salad, grilled asparagus
7. Meal after a memorial service

And we are off and running!

So Long May

This month flew by. I have no idea where it went or if I even participated in it. This is my monthly list of things I want to do each week to make me feel a little better and to enhance life. It is not a to-do list of chores. Those appear every day on a piece of paper with check marks for things I complete  or circled items, undone and  to be moved to the next day. These are just little extras and I truly refuse to feel bad if they don't get done, but if I see it on a regular basis, I am reminded to take a little time to smell the proverbial roses. As usual I will repost this but I am adding at least one thing, omitting another and changing a third to something more appropriate for right now.


1.  Either go to or rent a movie to watch by myself

Week 1: Fail

Week 2: Fail (too much going on right now)

Week 3: Green Book

Week 4: Mary Queen of Scots

2.  Listen to a new to me album (thanks Spotify)

Week 1: Jambayla John Boutté

Week 2: Cafe Bleu The Style Council (really good btw)

Week 3: In the Basement: The Chess Recordings Sugar Pie DeSanto

Week 4: Joshua Judges Ruth Lyle Lovett

3.  Read a book

Week 1: Gone Daddy Gone by Cheryl Bradshaw

Week 2: Promposal by Sariah.  Lame book I picked up for free via Bookbub. Don't bother reading it, even if it is still free.

Week 3: Tell  No One by Barbara Taylor Sissel

Week 4: A Night at the Opera by Sir Dennis Forman

4.  FaceTime with Pip

Week 1: Done

Week 2: Done Thanks to FT I got to see a brand new first lost tooth right after it happened.

Week 3: Fail
Week 4: Done

5.  Talk to each son and/or DIL

Week 1: Done

Week 2: Done

Week 3: Done

Week 4: Done

6.  Create something

Week 1: Fail (Unless you count creating a mess as creative activity)

Week 2: Reupholstered the breakfast room chairs.  Bottoms were a piece of cake, backs__ not so easy.

Week 3: I am obviously not in the mood to create anything and instead am just trying to catch up.
Week 4: Nope

7.  Rearrange a room (Can be full furniture re-arranging or just changing a few things)
I am giving myself a somewhat on this. I moved and changed things in various degrees in several rooms but made no wholesale changes in any single room. I am having to create sleeping spaces for 9 guests (OK 7 guests, Son3 and DIL3 are not counting as guests) and am trying to give each as much privacy as possible. I am probably only going to do necessary rearranging right now.

8.  Get rid of one item each day
Goodwill received well over 30 items

9.  Meet up with a friend for coffee or a meal
Week 1. Bookclub dinner
Week 2. Nope
Week 3. Nope
Week 4.Meal with our Mandarin class

10. Have an ethnic meal

Week 1: Chinese take out

Week 2: Fail

Week 3: Fail

Week 4: Ate Chinese

11. Use the "good" stuff (china, crystal, silverware) or eat on the deck casually. 

Week 1: Fail

Week 2: Fail

Week 3: Dinner on the Deck

Week 4: Deck meal

12. Burn candles daily

Did this about half the time. Now that it is summer  and I don't think the "warm" feeling of a candle is necessaryI might boot this anyway.

13. Spa Day (really means spa hour for some self indulgent "treatment")

Halfway did this each week. 

14. Fingernail polish, wear it!.
Kept the polish on every day this Month

15: Contact someone I have recently been out of touch with either by phone, email, or text

Week 1: Fail

Week 2: Fail

Week 3: Fail

Week 4: Fail, though I did send a couple of Sympathy cards to friends I have not seen in a while who have had losses recently.

16: Take Mom somewhere just to get her out of her house. Right now even the grocery store could be considered an outing. (I might change this to having Mom up for a lunch or dinner)

Week 1: Fail (but this is not due to lack of offering)

Week 2: Ditto

Week 3: Took Mom to the doctor then to get her a milkshake.

Week 4: Fail

17: Try something different. The door is wide open on this one!

Week 1: I am filling this in the second week of May and don't remember if I tried something or not.

Week 2: Tried to learn Country Line Dancing (not a fan)

Week 3: Planted several new to me plants (They may or may not work in this climate)

Week 4: Did not even try to do anything different and don't care that I did not try.

And now May is in the books and the door has opened to June!  Here's to a great and glorious summer for all unless you are in the other hemisphere and if so, happy winter! While you are getting out your winter coats I have swimsuits drying on a rack on the deck and am dreaming of perfectly ripe tomatoes.
Have a great June!