MJs Blog – A bit of this and that….

Are you the Turtle or the Rabbit and can you win the Retirement Race?

Maybe we all recall the fable¹about the Tortoise (turtle) and the Hare (rabbit) and how in the end the Tortoise got there first. If not, here is the short version. The hare and tortoise got in a race. The hare was so busy running, he got ahead, and thought he had the race in the bag. Since he was ahead and now tired, he took a rest and when he awoke — he started running again but….the tortoise was ahead and beat him to the finish line.

Maybe today’s society rewards the hares, or perhaps, it encourages or even forces us to be hares or be left in the dust. When I was younger I could run and get everything done and then collapse at night. When I bought my first car, I had a car payment and then the rent went up and wow, car insurance! I had to get a part-time job — I went to work at…

White Paint Isn’t All White?!

If you have never taken an art class or even if you have, you might be surprised to find out that white paint isn’t necessarily “all white!”. It usually has some “under tones” which mean the shade of paint can change in varying light and the time of day. And if you are not careful that “shade” of paint can cause you to wish it wasn’t so. This can make it difficult to select the proper “white” paint for your home. Unless you are the one painting, painting is expensive. Even if you do it yourself, the paint can now cost quite a bit. So you end up afraid to make a decision which has happened to me, where you get trapped in …

I Moved!!

Yes, I moved to a new city in the same state with a lower cost of living! OMG! It is a lot of work but I like the new house in a quiet neighborhood. I do sometimes hear a train but it does not wake me up. It might be helpful if it did wake me up for work. I am hoping the new residence and lack of significant traffic will give me more time to write. My dog aka The Princess is much happier — although she did “save” my life.

A re-introduction!

Hi All,

As evidenced from my infrequent posts, I have been a bit uninspired for the last year or so. Therefore, I feel like I need to reintroduce myself and my blog. I am hoping to share ideas, knowledge and just some camaraderie. I do like to cook and bake — baking is really more of my thing. I will try recipes, especially some of the older (mom/grandma, favorite) recipes and share my results. Also, I am still experimenting to find a “healthy” cake recipe! I like to try new restaurants so

Beef, Wheat and Dairy Allergies?! Updates on the Princess!

No Wheat – Gluten-Free, no meat, no dairy, Allergies!! I have a friend who has an auto-immune disease, while it is not celiac, her reactions are serious and not good! And because of the serious nature, I have learned so much about which what it takes to eat Gluten-Free and it takes cooking and feeding yourself to the next level.

And, now, my dog has of all things, allergies. She has these persistent ear infections. Now I have to learn about feeding my dog to reduce the ear infections. Beef, Wheat and Dairy are the most common allergens for dogs. And my dog is very motivated by food and in addition, she expects to get some of mine! This is hard as dogs expect to eat with the pack and while they acknowledge the leader of the pack eats first. They expect the leader to share some of the food with them — a tidbit or two at least. Okay, maybe it’s just my dog that expects me to share. How did the diet go?

Easy Ravioli Lasagna!

Cook Once, Eat Twice – part 2

Well Summer is working its way to Fall – leaves are already starting to turn! Kids are going back to school and soon it will be the ol’ refrain: “What’s for dinner?!” Last post, I covered making a quick spaghetti bolognese (meat sauce). This post, I will share the secret (ok, it’s not a secret) but I will share one of my quick dinners. Easy Ravioli Lasagna! I think I first learned about this on the show “The Chew” where Mario Batali tested the recipe to see if it worked and was it any good. So, was it ….

Cook once, eat Twice

Have you ever had one of those days or months where it is hard to get motivated? I am not sure what happened because I tried to write a post for the Super Bowl (“Souper” Bowl) but then I didn’t feel like making soup! Then it was tax time! While I can do my taxes, I had a hard time pulling all of the stuff together, much less actually using the tax software to complete them. Some of this was due to the time change, I really. hate Spring forward. Not to mention, Spring hitting very hard – green pollen covering the deck, the cars, me and the dog after taking her for a walk. My allergies flared terribly and I had no idea when I started watching that there are 17 seasons of Heartland! So I apologize to my loyal followers — do I have any loyal followers – besides the spammers?? So while all those things were just distractions, I woke up this morning thinking about writing this post. It’s almost Mother’s Day so let’s think about how to make your Mom’s or your wife’s, or any special lady’s, day a little better. One of the best ways is

New Year, New Habits!

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays! I was able to travel and visit Boston — which is a new area for me. It was cold but with the right coat, some sunshine and coffee, I was able to enjoy the personal walking tour my adult son took me on. The mix of old and new is interesting.

I loved the indoor mall full of local vetted craftsmen. We walked down to the Long Wharf Pier and saw the “Boston Harbor.” Very modern now with jets taking off from Logan Airport just across the Harbor. While I am saying I enjoyed this walking tour, my body that is accustomed to the mostly desk sitting did not. So a detour for Advil was required along with a festive and hot Peppermint Mocha to warm us up. I can’t help thinking that “wow, I need to be training for old age!”

Now, with the New Year here I can’t put off that doctor’s quiet admonition, he wrote on the paper that you take up to the desk and hand them to check out, “diet and exercise.” After several knee injuries, an ankle sprain and foot fracture I may have gained a pound or 10. So, I know he is not wrong and, in the past, I have successfully achieved a healthy weight. However, in the past it may have been running (now out of the question), extreme calorie restriction (not healthy) or both — ended up sick. Therefore, I started researching to see if there was anything new and healthy to try. And there are some new schools of thought to approaching lifestyle changes but they still require will-power. I have heard that if you make something into a game, it is always more fun. While this may not become your favorite game, it may help you “up your game!” What game you say?

Bye, Summer!

Where did the summer go? Like a beautiful butterfly it flitted away …. and this year we have had a fall with lots of colorful leaves and blue skies. One thing I love about living in the North East is the seasons — well, winter is not always white but, it is usually more than cold enough for me!

Thanksgiving is only a few days away and I, along with everyone else, have been making multiple trips to the store. My church has been organizing baskets for meals for the community for those in need. This year my grown son is home visiting and helped me shop and it was so nice to have him to navigate the store with the cart! So while I am trying to finish shopping for our meal and asking my son what would he like for sides, I was trying to shop for family I know not. So I picked a lot of the same things I would for me and I wondered…. do they have a child who says “they like apple pie and pumpkin about the same so either is fine?” So which one to make….

Summertime, some other time?

Summer is vacation time for many people, especially, folks with kids! While out walking my dog, I ran into one of my younger neighbors walking her pup. We somehow started talking about vacations and my neighbor asked me these questions: How do you plan for a vacation? How do you start? How do you budget for that? While I didn’t have a ready answer then, these questions have been on my mind. Maybe, planning a vacation is an easy task for some, however, others may have a harder time. How do you know where to go or how much you can afford?