When Life throws you a twist.....

 Well, this week was a busy week!  I had my car battery die this week at work.  After my shift, my car would not start.  It just did a click, and I knew that I had trouble.  I was able to call my insurance and they sent someone out free of charge with my roadside assistance coverage.  That was a life send!  The next morning, I had enough of a charge to start it to get to the mechanics and replace it.  

I told the guy at the mechanic garage, I remember working at Walmart in 1995 in the automotive section and car batteries at that time were like $35.00, now they are $159.00!! Oh my goodness.  But it was free installation with purchase of battery.  It all worked out.  I also went ahead and replaced two of my tires that were showing steel tread.  I have had to stop by the air machine at least once a week to fill my tires, so I went ahead and just replaced those two as well.  

Lesson Learned is that I have now started a Maintenance Journal for my car and home.  

Since I have been using my air more often, I also opened up my a/c intake here at home for the first time since I moved in, which was 2022.  It was disgusting!!  I started realizing why my son was sneezing up to 10 times in a row.  The a/c filter was of course full of dust and the intake had so much dust and debris, I filled up a Walmart grocery bag with lint and dust from the a/c intake area alone.  Note to self, start changing the a/c filter at least once every 3 months.  I also bought a Yankee Candle scent for the a/c filter.  You hook it on to the filter and it will have a fresh scent throughout your whole home.  I love it!  The reviews do seem consistent to say that this would be more for a party, or an odor you are trying to get out of the home because it does not last very long.  Max like 1 week.  But it was fun to try out. For me, it is day two and I love it. The scent is Apple Cinnamon.  

Journals or day planners have always been fun for me to buy and try to use on a daily basis.  Recently, I did buy a Wellness Journal at Walmart and I am loving it!  Nowadays the journals come with reminders about exercise, meditation time, screen time, what is your mood like today.   Great way to stay on top of maintenance in the home and car.  And just smile when opening it up daily.  

It has a section for the week ahead planning, also a separate page for daily appointments and then a weekly recap page of everything that transpired the week 

 Here are some additional things it allows you to track on a weekly basis:

• Watered the plants 
• Washed my hair 
• Hydrated 
• Acts of Self Care
• Acts of Kindness
• Lessons Learned
• Daily Affirmations 

Fun stickers to add in the planner! 

Reminders of adding joy to each day!  

• Check out the clearance section in the garden center if you are on a limited budget and want to spruce up the yard 
• Stop by the floral section and buy a bundle of flowers for the inside of the home
• Buy a new scent for the home or car. 
• Read a good book and just relax! 

Friday Favorites!

 Friday is here!  Friday is here!  

Normally, I post Friday favorites about random items that I have found lately that just make my days a little more happy.  Today, I thought I would change it up a bit with Mothers Day approaching and post some fond memories of my mom, my favorite things or memories about my mother. 

My Top 5 memories of my Mother.   

5.    My yardsale partner.  On the weekends we would always wake up super early to catch yard sales.  She wanted to get out there early, at least by 8 before all the "good stuff" was gone. We would come home with all kinds of knick knacks.  Car slap full of finds that would soon be found collecting dust somewhere. That's ok, at the time we knew it had a place in the house somewhere.  Her favorite things to buy were jewelry, tv's, and clocks.  She used to absolutely love clocks.  

4.    She used to love taking on the task of helping us move.  If it was packing up a house, or unpacking she loved to be involved.  Now, she wasn't looking for a job at Two men and a truck so the items could not be promised to arrive all in one piece.  Picture everything being placed into one box without any bubble wrap or newspaper.  It makes me laugh now just thinking about it.   Oh, the memories.  

3.    Her Macaroni Salad.  She used to have a homemade recipe of Macaroni salad with Tuna.  That was her dish (amongst many other dishes) that she always made at holidays or large family gatherings, and it always had a spot on my plate.  

2.    Her laugh.  She would laugh so hard sometimes she would cry.  We used to have a great time hanging out on her back porch and just shooting the breeze.  A lot of times when all the family would get together it was just a great time to reminisce and get mom laughing.  

1.    Her calls.  She would call a lot or text just to say hi. I still have an abundance of voicemails on my phone.  The other day, I happened to listen to a randomly selected voicemail that she had left on my phone, and she started out with saying Hope you are having a good Monday.  And it happened to be a Monday, so that just filled all the places to let me know although she is not here in body, she will always be with me in my heart and mind.  

My mom passed away in 2021 due to Covid. My dad also lost that battle a month prior.  She was full of energy at 70 years of age, healthy and loved her kids. She did instill in me a love for God.  One of her favorite mentors was Joyce Meyer.  Every morning, she would watch her show.  My mom could be found volunteering at church pretty much anywhere they needed the help.  From answering phones to helping assemble merchandise for outreach events.  

She had a lot of people in this life who loved her.  And we truly miss her. 

Our last Christmas in 2020

She loved Crablegs!