‘Chelle’s college graduation
Well, I have had many happy parenting moments. Where to start? How about at the beginning.
Parenting Brings Many Happy Memories
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Category Archives: Sidetracked Sisters
There is a Difference Between Being a Friend and an Enabler
I have always prided myself on being a good friend, but unfortunately, I had a very bad experience at trying to be just that. Continue reading
How Do I Love Thee – Let Me Count The Ways…
What do I love about myself is the question of the day. It’s a challenging question to answer because people tend to focus more on the negative aspects of themselves. I’m choosing to try to be more positive, so I’m actually having a hard time picking just one thing. That will most likely sound conceited to some. Here are a few things that I’m proud of about myself.
Sandy’s 9 Tips for a Beautiful Garden
Here are some of my gardening tips:
When to Plant
Iceman Days. Do not plant annuals or vegetable plants until after “Iceman Days”. Iceman Days seem to be different every year, but when I looked it up for this year it says they are May 11, 12, and 13. It has something to do with the moon. (This is taken from the Farmer’s Almanac). If you are really interested in the history of this just go to Google as Google knows everything. Not being a farmer, just an unknowledgeable girl, this saved me quite a bit of money. It really seems true and I follow it religiously. One year I put out impatients the first week of May and it actually snowed on them. So much for pretty plants. They don’t like to be frozen!!!
Hostas
Don’t plant (most) hostas in the sun. Read the labels and make sure if they will tolerate the sun or not. They will grow, but the leaves have a tendency of burning. Unfortunately, I don’t believe burned leaves is the look you will want to achieve. (Reading the labels for all plants is essential to proper maintenance)
Mulching
I don’t mulch around annuals as this seems to stunt their growth. Mulching around other items in the garden does provide a clean appearance and helps retain moisture.
Overcrowding
Overcrowding is another way to prevent plants from thriving. Allowing space between your plants is beneficial for their growth. This is something I fail at miserably because I prefer immediate gratification and want to see full planters and gardens.
Weeding
Weeding, of course, is really important. For some of us that don’t mind weeding, if taken an area at a time, it can be rewarding. Lisa and I actually tend to weed anywhere we are; restaurants, stores, other people’s houses, wherever we are standing and notice weeds. It might be considered a mental problem by some!! (Michelle thinks we are nuts)
Fertilizing
Fertilizing is a must, even though this is something that I don’t do as often as I should. This is especially important for container planting.
Larger Pots
I used to do a lot of planting in little pots. I have now gone to fewer, but much larger planters. The flowers thrive much better. This creates less fussing over.
20-minute gardening
Don’t overdue. Don’t do it all in one day if you have a lot of gardening. By taking 20 minutes each day to do your garden maintenance you’ll enjoy the process more.
Edging
A nice crisp edge to your garden completes a finished look. Even if there are weeds in the middle, a clean edge makes your gardens look cared for both far away and close up.
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Letting Go, Decluttering and Streamlining
A magical night (in the perfect dress)
We work from the time we’re old enough to make money to buy stuff. Actually, it’s true that there’s a lot of good stuff out there like collectibles, beautiful crystal, all of the issues of Oprah Magazine from Day one, clothes, furniture, decorations, and shoes (my special weakness). This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to stuff. Then one day when we’re older, our desire to have things turns into the need and desire to purge and to work on letting go of the extras in your life.
Changes are Coming – Time to Streamline My Life!
The women in my life are facing many changes and it’s brought to mind the idea that to have the kind of life you want, you need to let go of what you don’t want in your life. So it’s time to ask myself, what kind of life do I want and what do I need to let go of in order to obtain that kind of life?
The first thing that comes to my mind is the clutter that I’ve accumulated since I moved out on my own. I tend to be a pack-rat and my basement contains so much clutter. The storage room contains toys and games from when the children were little, ceramics that Grandma Is never got around to painting, old prom dresses, etc. For whatever reason – I have a hard time letting go of the old stuff. By letting go of this clutter, I can make room for the new and simplify my home. I’ve currently been cleaning up some of the paperwork clutter. I’ve been shredded old documents that I’ve been holding onto dating back to 1986!!! (Don’t ask me why I’ve been saving documents for that long!!!) Continue reading
I Was Sooooo Cute as a Child – What a Body!
As a child, my body was an absolute bean pole, skinny that is. I actually went to the doctor as a teenager to get something to help me gain weight. He, of course, thought I was nuts, but gave me some kind of a prescription (probably just sugar pills). He said, “Someday you will wish you were this way.” Boy, was he right!
Then there is my hair. I am old, so to speak, and I can truthfully say I have yet to find a hairstyle that I feel is me. I can only keep trying. I am still waiting for my prime. I think it has come and gone, but one can only hope. Some days, I can actually say “What the hell”, and then others it frustrates me. I think that is normal for most people. Well – it is for me.
How to be a (Worst) Friend
I am well well-suited to write this post for I fulfill the top three qualifications to be the worst friend…
I’ve always loved being with friends, laughing and hanging with great women, drinking and sharing memories with others who appreciate a self-deprecating story.
50th Birthday – Setting Goals for the Year
OMG – this year will mark my 50th birthday. Thinking about this has brought to mind some things that need to change and some goals I need to achieve. I’m currently single, overweight, and will soon have no kids at home. It’ll be just me and the animals. Do I want to spend the next part of my life in the same way that I’ve been living? Continue reading
My Latest “AHA” Moment
Hhhmmm…
I sat down at my desk and opened my daily calendar. Suddenly it hit me. Today is April 4, 2019, and I am turning 70 years old. Most of the people I know, who are my age, seem to have their act together. Several friends own lovely cabins up North. People I graduated from High School with have substantial pensions and retirement funds. Others have retired and are traveling and seeing the world. I always thought I would be enjoying these things too. Instead, I was still working at the bank and as much as I enjoyed helping others reach their goals, working at the bank was no longer one of mine.
Retirement Reality
My aha moment came many weeks, months, after my retirement last year. I realized it after 56 years of working as a paralegal/legal secretary for the same firm my boss retired and the office closed. It is hard to break old habits, like cleaning at night and on weekends, never having any free time without feeling guilty, and being able to have some free time for myself. My aha moment came when one day many months later I realized, while I was on a road trip with a friend, that I didn’t have any real-time constraints other than my family needing me to come back for things such as cleaning, cooking, driving grandkids around, you know, the usual. We were driving along and I thought aha, I am on my own at this moment and don’t have to go to work. No one was expecting me to get out a will, do divorce papers, real estate documents, correspondence, and the list goes on. Continue reading
Friends – Both Old and New – I Love You All!
My BFFs
Are you the type of person that has lots of friends around you or just one or two good ones? Throughout my life, I’ve had a few different people that I considered my good friends.
