TWTW - the one hot off of vacation

Thursday Was mostly reading and laying around and it was awesome. I very rarely do that. When MFD returned from fishing we took the dogs to Dog Beach, then used a gift card for dinner at Jon & Patty's, rode bikes on the boardwalk, got Kohr Bros and candy from Shriver's, and ended the night at the laundromat. 

Friday Dawned damp and cold, but we didn't get the rain we were expecting from Dorian. We made an attempt at Dog Beach that lasted five minutes due to blowing sand and filled the rest of the day with lounging, reading, nails and toes (OPI Made it to the Seventh Hill! on both), and snoozing before walking to the beach to see the angry surf. We cleaned up the main house for returning weekend guests coming in Saturday-Monday instead of Friday-Sunday and tried a new Mexican restaurant, El Guacamole, a block from us. 

Saturday MFD went over to see his mom and I cleaned up, did a final walk through of upstairs, made shower spray, did a little work work to prepare for back to work on Monday, and figured out what the hell I need to do at home this week before I come back here Tuesday night. I went to the beach from 12:30-5. MFD met me down there at 3 and we checked out the classic cars.

Home to walk and feed the dogs, then off to the North End where he fished and I read and we saw a lovely sunset. Home for showers and early to bed. 

Sunday  I lolled around in bed until almost 8:30, got up and changed the sheets with MFD, then we went to Dog Beach for about a half hour.

MFD went fishing and I did some work. The green head flies were out so I bagged the beach entirely and cleaned before packing up the car and heading home with the dogs. Perfect timing traffic-wise. I dropped the dogs off, got wash going, went to Target to return cushions, then on to Redner's for some groceries. Target was a cluster due to renovations and Redner's cashier voided my order AFTER it was all rung up. Not pleased. I made it back home without being a bitch to anyone, continued with laundry, smoked my house out during food prep, changed the sheets, peeled the top of my index finger off, and called it a damn day. 

Weekly food prep: Granola with greek yogurt and a side of banana for breakfast. Scrambled eggs with broccoli and sauteed mushrooms for lunch. Snacks are carrots and nectarines. Dinners are baked chicken thighs (bone in skin on because they were half the price of boneless/skinless) and a kale salad thing. It came from a bag. 

Tomorrow is Show Us Your Books! See you back here for that. 

Thursday Thoughts - All caught up in the reverie, every word is a symphony

Phoning it in on this one because out of office

Reading a lot of library books. Show Us Your Books is Tuesday.

Getting some time in with my BFF Michelle and little girlfriend A and even a few minutes with Bob.

Enjoying an emptier town.

Spending time together, but not too much time. We're still us, just us on vacation LOL

Living my best life, basically.

Discovering tile under the gross glued down to within an inch of its life carpet in our apartment vestibule. Hallelujah and amen, I thought it was concrete and I was going to have to clean it, prep it, prime it, and paint it. Nope. I just need to use every ounce of strength and carpet adhesive dissolver to get the glue up.

Urging people to escape from the cult. If you or anyone you know needs to be deprogrammed, there are people who can help. If you find yourself unable to see any fault in someone, especially someone in a position of power like the White House occupant, please turn off Fox News, close out Breitbart, and seek help immediately. Please lord lock me away if I spend my energy worshiping a mortal man, my money on a stamper, and my spare time on shit like this, for fucking real.

What's new with you?

Linking up with Kristen

TWTW - the Labor Dayer

Friday I was out and about with my mother in law in the morning. My company shut it down at noon but I worked until about 7:30 since I wasn't working in the morning and got two key projects done before my week "off." Before I started working I had lunch and took the dogs on a long walk, and after work we did another long walk to see the sunset. Nails: China Glaze Too Yacht to Handle. I love the color but the application is streaky and requires three coats. Do not love. 

Saturday Sunrise.

I sat on the porch for a while with the dogs, then went to the library and ran other errands in town on my bike. Debbie arrived around 2 and we hit the beach for a few hours before it got too cold. Debbie picked up fried chicken and sides from Boyar's and we made the long walk to Aunt Betty's for ice cream. MFD arrived with Gus and Mae around 10. 

Sunday Sunrise was a stunner. 

It was MFD & Debbie's birthday so I gave them their gifts. MFD went to a meeting and to fish and Debbie and I people watched on the porch then hit the beach. MFD joined us later before leaving to fish elsewhere. I took the birthday crew out to dinner at Mildred's in Strathmere. The staff sang to them and I wish I got it on video but alas I did not. I think we were all passed out by 10:30. 

Monday sunrise

Coffee and reading and people watching on the porch - finished a book and started another. Debbie left around noon and we went to the North End where I was unpleasantly surprised that my new umbrella sucked so I  had to retreat and sit under the bridge like a troll. We got home and rode bikes up to meet Amanda, Frank, and Eva on the boards for some pizza, candy, and strolling. I finally got my coveted caramel apple. Straightening up and preparing for Tuesday appointments and that's about that. 

We're staycationing here this week - a little house stuff, new weekend check in Friday, and some vacation stuff. Both of us have to work a little too but hoping less than more of that. Maybe I'll blog tomorrow? I don't know. I did this weekend, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. So who knows. Thursday Thoughts are definitely happening. 

How was your long weekend?

Calling All Campers

Happy Labor Day! I hope you are not laboring today, unless it's laboring over planning your next break. We're at the shore all week, which is now a staycation for us, doing some work on the house after the end of weekly rental season and doing some vacationy type things too. A book I read recently had me thinking about camping though. I haven't been in many many years, and aside from the wall of Daddy Long Legs near the bathroom, I really liked it and I'd do it again.

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Is it for you?

Almost anyone can camp. Except people alone. I've seen the movies and read the books and you have too. No, go alone if you're on a vision quest but like many things, there's safety in numbers and camping is safer when you’re with other people. If you have specific health requirements, you might want to skip it also. Tents aren’t the most luxurious of accommodation options and might not fit your needs. However, if you need a comfortable bed to sleep in at night and constant access to individual electrical outlets, you don't have to cross camping off your list entirely. You can always consider glamping, which is specialist camping at set sites that are more accommodating to more people. I would totally try glamping.

Where to?

The first step is deciding where you want to camp. Do you want to head to a campsite with showers and electricity? Or do you want to head a little further out into the wilderness? Wherever you decide to camp, make sure you have permission and that it isn’t somewhere dangerous. Some spots can have dangerous ground or wildlife. Always seek permission and do your research first. 

What you Need

You’ll have to invest for your first camping trip, picking up essentials like a tent, a camping mattress, and a sleeping bag. You may also want to pick up other items that will make life easier for you, like a mallet to push tent pegs in, microfiber towels that pack away lightly, tin cups to drink from, and other bits and bobs. Remember you can use all of these items tor all eternity once you have them. When we went camping the last time we borrowed a lot of stuff from more well equipped friends and that worked too. 

Packing 

Consider walking boots, a good quality waterproof coat, plenty of pairs of socks and hats. Clothes depend on the season, of course. And the basics: your toiletries, sunscreen, insect repellent and a topical antihistamine in case you get bit by something, hand sanitizer, first aid kit, toilet paper!!!

Skill Show

When you go camping, you may find yourself in situations that you don’t face on a day to day basis. That's much more challenging than sitting on the beach, and that appeals to me. You’ll need to be able to pitch a tent, cook food on a portable stove, and start and extinguish a campfire safely. You will also need basic survival knowledge, such as avoiding rivers and wearing shoes at all times in order to prevent yourself stepping on sharp matter. We've all seen Naked and Afraid, right? Shoes matter. 

As with everything, the better prepared you are, the better time you’ll have.

Happy birthday to Mark today - he was on the last camping trip I went on over 15 years ago. LOL

Are you a camper? Any tips to add? 

Financial preparedness

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Money is probably the biggest source of anxiety for the vast majority of people and that's pretty understandable given that most of us simply wouldn't be able to function without it. Even when everything in life is normal and going fine, your finances will often be a little niggling worry that sits at the back of your head most of the time. But what happens when things go wrong? What about when the worst possible things happen and you're suddenly in a position when your finances have taken a really serious blow? The best thing that you can do is to try to be prepared for the unexpected. You can't always predict when something is going to go wrong, but here are a few of the most common blows to finances and how to put yourself in a better position to weather them.

Accidents

Not only can a car accident have some serious financial ramifications, but the physical and psychological consequences can be incredibly damaging and long lasting. Many of us use our cars to get to work, pick up our kids from school, see friends, run errands, get in the weekend fun, and do just about everything else in as well. That means that if you’re in a position where you're left without a car it can cause your entire life to grind to a halt. Even worse than that is the chance that you could suffer an injury from the accident. Physical injury can stop you from working as well as making everyday tasks difficult to deal with. It's a good idea to have a lawyer in mind should you need one that you can trust to help you deal with the financial problems that can result from a car accident or injury. From the guidance in how to pursue compensation to providing personalized legal representation to injury victims, there are plenty of options for getting the compensation that you need to protect your finances after an accident. Just make sure that you do your research and ask around. 

Losing your job

Losing your job can be one of the most serious financial disasters that a person can face. Ending up without your main source of income can have extremely long lasting effects on your financial situation. If you're in a position where you have a partner who can support you, that's fantastic, but by and large it would be very disruptive to the majority of households. The best thing that you can do to protect yourself from this situation is to make sure that you're putting a portion of your income every month into a savings account. I know this isn't always possible - most people I know are paycheck to paycheck or close to it, but every little bit helps. That way, in the event that you find yourself without an income for any length of time, your financial burden will be a bit easier than if you have no savings. Of course, you won't be able to live off your savings forever but at the very least it can help you to feel a bit less anxious and rushed while you're looking for a new job.

House Problems

In an ideal world, your home is your sanctuary. It should be the place where you feel the safest and most secure. That's what makes it all the more horrible if something happens to your house to disrupt that safety and security. Whether it's a robbery, flood, fire, or anything else, a household disaster can throw your entire life into total disarray. Of course the first and most important thing that you should do to protect yourself are to make sure that you have insurance that covers you in the event of any of these things, which will help mitigate the dollars leaving your wallet if something does happen. Really know and understand what policy covers what - pick up the phone and talk to your agent.You should also make sure that you get your electrical supply, pipes, heating and appliances all checked out regularly so that you don't end up with any nasty surprises. Make sure that you have somewhere that you and your family can go while any repairs are being done on your home and after that, the best thing that you can do is to try to get life back to normal as quickly as possible. The last thing you want is to let this problem have any long term effects on you or your family's quality of life.

Life is always going to throw curve balls at you, that's just the way the world works. But if you're prepared and you know how to deal with them, you can manage to get by with just a few scrapes instead of letting them knock you down fort the count. 

Tips to add?

Happy birthday to MFD, Debbie, AJ, and Griffin today! Lots of important people in my life are March 1 babies.