A Grateful Update: Grandkids, Gardens, and Giggles!

 

Fake, Fake, Japanese Container Pond

A Grateful Update: Grandkids, Gardens, and Giggles!

Hey there, fantastic TTOT team! It's time for another dose of gratitude and giggles from tmy simple life. Seriously, folks, my grandkids are like mini comedians on steroids, my garden is growing like weeds :)and my husband... well, let's just say he's still just so funny he does not have to say much.

1. Grandkids - The Little Geniuses of Giggles: I swear, my grandkids are on a mission to make every day of their lives I can manage to borrow seem like a laugh-a-thon. They have these ideas of acting or overacting and make the most mundane task of going to the carwash like a horror comedic movie. I couldn't be more grateful for the constant stream of belly laughs.

2. Garden Adventures - Weeds, Wisdom, and Wonder: Oh, the garden. It's like a wild kingdom where the plants have a secret society. My tomatoes are bearing fruits. Is the kind that is big and pretty, the heirloom kind. Tomorrow we can get 3 fewer tomatoes from the farmer's market because of our bountiful harvest this week. But in all seriousness, tending to my garden has taught me more about patience and persistence than any life coach ever could. It's a wild ride of ups and downs, and I'm taking every minute of it as a success (especially when I triumph over those pesky weeds)!

3. Husband's Hilarious Humor - The Husband Joke Extraordinaire: Ah, my dear husband. He's like a one-man comedy show that never ends. His jokes, eye-rolling, and Miley-Cirus-tongue-showing in pictures are funny from the day I forced him to watch Barbie with me to when he finally agreed to go.

5. Barbie Movie. It was funny.

6. The Maturing Youngs - Daughters, Sons, and Furry Friends: Our kids are growing up faster than weeds in my garden, and it's a beautiful thing to witness. The way they handle life's challenges with grace and humor is nothing short of awe-inspiring. They've turned into these incredible beings who are navigating the adult world while still finding time to send us hilarious pet videos. The two girls are successful in taking care of numerous houseplants. Not too long ago, they could not pick up a broom.

So, there you have it – a snapshot of the hilariously gratifying moments that make up our simple life.

August Thankfuls

It is August first. It is my mother's birthday. We would have been celebrating in Las Vegas today and having a reunion but because of the current circumstances of doing our part to keep each other healthy, we canceled the get-together. We celebrated in spirit and togetherness via Messenger video. 

Here's my gratitude list.

• A visit from my son in my new home. He stayed a bit and we talked and ate together. Just the two of us.
• My reservation in a nearby city went through however last-minute. It will be nice to get away but not have to fly to a new area. It has been months since I did something for fun away from home. I will be doing short hikes with Paul. The patio picture is a little glimpse of the place.
• A picture from 2018 with my mother in Vegas. We went swimming. It was a good day on her birthday week.
• My grandkids greeting their great-grandma with a video.

• This week's humble harvest and the near future's.

• Support from Lettuce Grow where I got my planter. I don't think my plants are growing fast enough. They gave me some tips. One more grow light. I don't see a lot of difference so far from weeks 1 to 3.
• A new hobby that makes me smile--miniature garden. It is a sort of fairy garden without the fairy. I want to use little animals instead.
• 8 days off from work. 
• My daughter and daughter in law helping me do my last boxes of packing.
• My family in the Philippines for making my mother happy on her colorful birthday.

Indoors

Hello. Another week has passed, and another opportunity has come for me to reflect on things to be grateful for. But looking at 3 years ago, I am reminded of a riveting experience but is so amazing for me--a live show. My favorite is the performance by Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. I first saw this group in Denver. I am drawn to their story and acts as they gracefully move from swing to swing, suspended in the air most of the time, or "acrobatting" in big productions platforms, sinking ships, or whatever their plot is as I hold my breath most times hoping they keep themselves safe. Their performance is flawless. I am glad I got to see their shows twice. 

This week is supposed to be my family's reunion in Las Vegas for my mother's birthday. She cannot fly overseas because of restrictions. We want to keep her healthy. I am grateful enough for her health and that no one in our family is severely affected by it healthwise.

As we take things kinda slow and mostly indoors, here's the rest of my "thankfuls:"

• I am thankful for indoor plants that do not only add color in the house but clean air.
• Have you heard that it is good to have a minimum of 1 plant to every 100 square feet of your home for air purification? Whether that is a myth or a fact, my hydroponic tower alone has 36. With my other plants, I have at least 51 for a 2,400 square feet home. I am thankful for the probable-cleaner-air in the house.
• I am thankful that many of my indoor plants are hardy and low maintenance. Watering once a week is very doable.

• My hydroponic planter and seedlings are doing well. The left is about two weeks old, the right is one week old. 
• I harvested two tomatoes. They are perfect. 
• I have more eggplants, cucumbers, and peppers coming.
• The potato plants I grew from old store potatoes are doing well. I added more soil to mountain them. (My $17 potato seeds I bought has not produced seedlings yet).
• Yummy shakes delivery to our door.
• Mealtime app to guide me on what meals to prepare with free grocery service. I just have to pick up the groceries while waiting in the parking lot. The veggie burrito bowl was so delish!
• Pick up service for donating items we do not use anymore.
• Good pup app dog training service. Wally, my border collie improved so much and not barking on every living thing passing on the street. I like the app so much, I will gift a subscription to my son who just got a puppy.

That is all for now until next week.

Grin and Greens

Hello. It's been another busy week. I am so thankful for a smooth week, except for a toothache that is now better. I am waiting for a second specialist to call me back. But at least I am no longer in great pain.

Here's my gratitude list.

• I am thankful I finally filed my taxes, on time! I can still smile after :)
• My seedlings have arrived from the mail. 5 out of 36 were so limped. They are getting replaced free of charge. Look at these baby seedlings. Most are them are for a salad--kale, tomato, cucumber, and lettuce.

• I visited my grandson. Look at him trying to massage himself like grandma.
• He still likes "reading" books as much as he likes his electronic high-tech toys.

• My outdoor patio garden is doing well.
• Look at my eggplant and tomatoes!
• My scare owl is doing its job. :)

Till next week!

Amazon Fresh Review

Join us in ABC Wednesday in its new home.

The letter of the week from ABC Wednesday is the letter A. For the lack of ideas, I am writing about the new (to me) grocery delivery service through  Amazon called Amazon Fresh. I promise I am not getting paid by Amazon for writing this post.

How timely is that that I have just received my first grocery today with Amazon Fresh. What did I order? See the picture below including five grocery items not included.

Here is a review based on my first try with Amazon Fresh Grocery Delivery by Amazon in Denver, Colorado.

Pros:

1. One advantage of using the service is the convenience. I ordered online without having to walk the isles of the store and standing in line waiting for the cashier. The groceries are delivered right to my front door--kinda like the Uber or Lyft for my groceries. This service can attract home-bound adults, busy folks, or some people with transportation issues, like, maybe college students who do not have a car. I am thinking I can do this to friends who are sick or old who may have trouble getting to and from the store.
2. They have enough choices of brands to choose from.
3. I can choose to shop local from the "local" tab. This is especially useful for me when shopping for produce as I like being able to eat locally grown foods when I can if the price is right.
4. I don't have to live with the guilt of not tipping. Compared to Instacart app, another service I used in the past (with buttons for 10-20% tips), there is no tipping option when you finalize and pay for your order. I really don't have much room for tipping in my budget in addition to member fee.
5. It has a sales tab where I can buy the deals for the day. This makes their food more affordable to me.
6. The groceries are well-packed and came in great condition. The frozen foods remained frozen and the refrigerated items stayed cold. Frozen spinach frozen? Check. Juice cold? Check.

Cons:

1. I have to choose thru delivery time that does not necessarily fall the same day I ordered. I had to schedule for the next day six to eight a.m. My first choice was 6-8 pm the same day I ordered. I am hoping this will improve when the service gets more popular in my area and they hire more helpers to deliver.
2. If I choose to extend my service for another month after the trial, I have to pay $14.99 a month for membership. Also, if the total of my order is less than $40, I get charged the delivery fee of $9.99. Keep in mind, the service is for Prime members that I already pay an annual fee for. Anyway, I love Prime and use it more than once a month so I cannot complain about that.
3. The groceries are well-packed with one-way packaging, alright, but maybe with too much packaging. I think some items can be combined in one bag, for example. Imagine, each bag is paper-bagged, metallic-insulated bagged, masked-taped, cardboard-lined, and packed with ice packs or with additional dry ice. I am not sure if the metallic insulated bags are recyclable in my area here in Colorado. I am guessing not. And, I can only use so much ice packs. Perhaps my donation station would take them. 

Conclusion: So after all these cons, would I buy from Amazon Fresh again? You betcha. The pros still outnumber the cons. I am sure I'd use the service for a month during the free trial. After that, maybe so. I already just ordered the Amazon Dash Wand that goes with Fresh so I can scan items at home that I want to buy again or vocalize my order through the wand that automatically lists to the virtual Amazon cart. It costs $20 and I heard that I will get $30 credit for it. Plus it comes with Alexa (another "a").

What did I do with the extra time instead of grocery shopping today?  I went to a nursery instead to get the plants below--annuals, perennials, ground cover plants, aloe vera, rosemary, lavender, squash, bell peppers, and hot peppers! I love the extra free time!

Green and Red Friday

Can you guess which bunch is given and which flowers are bought?

The Green that Makes Me Grin

My contribution picture to OGIF orange group and Friday Greens.

I think this qualifies for the orange or green group My dog snowball's picture, the mean one but cute He positioned himself under the giraffe this one day Like something for comfort or warmth, I can't say I was moody that morning but yet I had to smile Upon seeing him so cute I could not just deny
If attention, he wanted, he got it alright As he helped me turn a dark day from gloomy to bright