Updates

I'm doing very well on my July Spending Diet. I've successfully ignored all the email offers of drastic discounts. And I've shopped at Target for essentials without looking at what's on sale or clearance. Plus, to further get a handle on expenses, I've started using EveryDollar and think I've finally found a way to simply and easily track my budget.

We're still expecting granddaughter's arrival on Thursday, July 14. The c-section is scheduled for 1:15 P.M. However, I won't be surprised if DIL's water breaks before then. The baby dropped Sunday night and she's doing a lot of moving :)

Over the weekend I read The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Denise Hazime. John Goodman recently visited his and my hometown, St. Louis. After seeing pictures, I was curious to learn about the diet he used to lose, and keep off, 100+ pounds. Since I've been primarily eating fresh for roughly 15 months, I learned it would take only a few adjustments to adopt the mediterranean diet, which has been proven to greatly improve overall health.

The biggest adjustment would be eating fish twice a week. I am not a fan of seafood, so I'm starting with simple recipes. Fortunately Hazime's cookbook included several. So far I've successfully prepared her Pan-Seared Cod With Cherry Tomatoes.

Another adjustment is to use more spices, making vegetable and low fat dishes much more appetizing. Yesterday I prepared the book's Chicken Quinoa Pilaf and shared it with my son, DIL, and their roommate. Thumbs up all around! And today I prepared Hazime's Greek Salad (minus the yucky olives) for my lunch. I can hardly wait to eat it, again, tomorrow.

It feels really good to enjoy cooking again. I'd been in a slump for several months, cooking the same 5-6 boring recipes over and over. But now I'm loving using so many of my spices with such good results. I'm getting my cooking mojo back!

I've also been reading again. I read a lot last summer, but stopped when I got busy with the holidays and started cross-stitching again. Now I'm back at it with four library books on my nightstand.

But the last thing I do at night is watch TV shows and YouTube on my iPad. After finishing Orange Is the New Black, Veep, Mrs. Biggs, and Suspects I was having trouble finding another series. Then last night I decided to try Six Feet Under. Wow! I had forgotten how good that show was. Now I'm set for another few weeks.

So, in addition to researching a fall trip to the Seattle, WA area, that's how I've been keeping myself busy while eagerly waiting to meet my granddaughter. Just two more days – yay!

Movie Reviews

Today I saw The BFG with my daughter and grandsons. Last week we saw Finding Dory. I much preferred The BFG and, apparently, so did the audience. No one clapped after Finding Dory, but most of the audience did after The BFG.

The BFG is a sweet movie about a little girl and good and bad giants. It's Melissa Mathison's last project before her passing in 2015. And I rank it on the same level as Mathison's most famous screenplay, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The ending of both movies brought tears to my eyes. Mathison was a true talent with a special gift for relating to children and touching people's hearts.

My recommendation is to forget Finding Dory and rewatch Finding Nemo, which is much better, and add The BFG to your must-see list.

Spending Diet

I've decided to challenge myself to not spend more than $5 for any nonessential item during the month of July. I'm calling it a Spending Diet.

In the last couple of weeks, I've been bombarded with emails offering a variety of items at deep discounts. In other words, the end-of-season clearance is in full swing. But, truth is, I don't need a thing. Besides, I'm itching to do another whole-house purge, so adding to the clutter is not at all appealing.

One exception to the nonessential rule might be plane tickets for a fall trip we're considering to Washington state. But beyond that, I'm feeling good about this challenge. Let the games begin!

C-Section Scheduled!

Granddaughter is currently head up. Last week she tried to move, but failed and returned to her comfortable upright position. So, today, the doctor scheduled a c-section for July 14. That's just three weeks away!

Also today the new parents saw granddaughter's face during the in-office ultrasound. My son said she was sleeping and appeared very content and comfortable. She also looked Asian. If you don't know, my daughter-in-law is 100% Korean, so the odds of an Asian-looking sweet baby are very good.

Given today's information, I'm even more excited about the arrival of our third grandchild. And I'm amping up my prayers for a healthy baby and safe delivery while also requesting a grandchild with no colic or acid reflux. (Grandson #1 had severe colic for nearly six months; grandson #2 suffered for many months with acid reflux.) That might be a lot to hope for, but it never hurts to ask.

Let the countdown begin!