I'm Digging the Deals at the DI

I am digging the great deals at the Deseret Industries found recently. This $24.99 Under Armour workout top was only $3. The stores are selling it for much more, so I took my first selfie to prove it. When my kids were younger we had a code name for the DI. Diane's sounded so much classier. It doesn't matter now, because I know where to go for finding just about anything and everything. Pfaltzgraff china, Coldwater Creek, Nordstrom, Tommy Hilfiger, Lands End, handbags, swimsuits, you name it, they have it. I get coats, hats and boots for charity at Christmas. I turn right around and send my castoffs there for others to enjoy. The best thing about Deseret Industries is that they hire the disadvantaged, new immigrants and train them to get jobs for future success. They are in the business for making people find happiness. I really like how they color coordinate their clothing. It's so easy to find what you are looking for. No more high prices and endless searching. Yes, I admit it. I'm a closet DI shopper. Thank you, Deseret Industries for being the best store for me, most of the time. If you say to me, "Hey, I see you've been shopping at Diane's!" I know what you'll mean next time we meet.

Bragging With a Bunch BHS Buds

For the past several years a bunch of BHS gals have met for lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. We call ourselves friends, because we have known each other since grade school. Each time a few new people show up we haven't seen since our walk on graduation night from the gymnasium. In reality you start out in first grade as friends, playing with everyone and not discriminating. By junior high school the personalities begin to develop causing you to choose to spend your time with a select few. As high school rolls up, there are some girls you don't even talk to any more or want to be seen with.

After many decades of no contact with many school chums, you wonder if you will even recognize them. So you go just to see who has the youngest features, best body, most outgoing, interesting life and so forth. We learned this year that tiny four foot six inch Shauna, is a trucker. Sheri had officially retired from doing hair, the Friday before we met. Last year, Earline came all the way from Reno just to have lunch with us. That's how important our little get-together's have become. We aren't getting any younger and who cares who did what in high school.

Losing the Arm Wrestle

Standing at a public bathroom mirror recently, in horror, I noticed that my forearms are flabby. That's right, "flabby", wobbly as a baby beginning to walk. All this time I focused on those jello-jiggling underarms. Krank classes don't focus on forearms, just bi and tri-ceps, which I have diligently worked on, water aerobics, been there doing that,too. When did that happen? Where did all the muscle go from packing grandbabies around, gardening, laundry, dishes and such. Okay, so I don't do as much as I used to.

It doesn't do much good to just have weights. I guess you have to use them. I'll have to add five minutes of weights to my full morning routine of walking 2-3 miles, scripture reading, journal writing and such. Maybe just holding the weights while walking will help. Biting them off would be quicker.

Oh, the joy of getting old. First the body goes, then the mind. What an arm wrestle?

I'm Over Uniforms

When our office manager quit, many of her jobs were assigned to me, such as collections, ordering office supplies and servicing our uniforms. It was necessary to change our uniform vendor, to match the corporate preferred one. I've met with the sales rep, Danny, to discuss the new contract. As many times as we've talked, you would think he could get my simple name of Colleen, spelled correctly. In the memo below, he really butchered it 'choline'? 'Local general managers are required some sort of written agreement to have these orders placed. I have spoke with choline about getting Salt Lake City's lab coats in the third week of June.' Maybe he was thinking of the chlorine they use to launder our lab coats. Perhaps he had just read about a cholera breakout in Africa or had bok choi for dinner the night before. Wikipedia gives it this definition: Choline is a water-soluble essential nutrient It is usually grouped within the B-complex vitamins. Choline generally refers to the various quaternary ammonium salts ... I can see Colene or some variation of it. Granted names are spelled in the oddest ways, be it phonetically or not. Perhaps he's just spelling challenged. I must provide leeway for it. Oh, no matter, Duhannie. It is just part of contracts and acquisitions, I guess.

Attitude Adjustment on Asparagus

As a child growing up on a farm, the ditch banks where I lived were abundant with asparagus that grew wild. Everyday from May thru early July, all my mother had to do was mention asparagus and I was out the door with a small knife in hand. I considered myself one of the best pickers on the flats (flat farmlands west of Salt Lake Valley). I became a great huntress spotting the green feathery bush along the roadside and field edges with its young sprouts ready for picking in all sizes and maturity. We took everything. If the bush was ravished (already picked), we knew others had beat us to it. This made us even more vigilant going out every few days, to bring home the green goods for dinner. Funny thing is, I didn't like to eat asparagus. I just loved picking it. Eventually I matured and became a lover of the now nonexistent wild, premium vegetable. Years later driving to my daughters elementary school, I spied an asparagus bush, pulled over and picked all the shoots for my own dinner. Now I must be satisfied with the grocery store thick stock variety, that will never hold a candle to finding it in the wild and eating it fresh for dinner the same day.

Runtastic is Fantastic

Jory, my son, introduced me to Runtastic when he downloaded it to my phone. In the beginning it was too easy to forget about the program, until the session was over then realize, it was still off. It feels so good to see three miles and 100+ to 200+ calories burned. Yes!! Okay, so I didn't like the ap it at first, especially when it started asking all those personal questions, such as birthday, weight etc. Since that is all behind us, the daily walks/jogs etc are great to monitor. The best part is keeping a record, then being able to go back and see how much and far I have gone.

The map showing your route and making comments makes it even better. Time, temperature, calories burned and mph is so informative. Everyday it is my partner in getting out of bed and staying physically fit. Did I mention you can do dozens of different activities, too. Thank you Runtastic. You are fantastic.

A Stinky Smart One

I share a small refrigerator with a few other ladies at work. The lunchroom fridge is just too far away and inconvenient. This has worked wonderfully until it started to stink a few weeks ago. There was a frozen boxed meal that had been sitting in it for months. I suspected it was the culprit and kept thinking, when is Trudy going to eat that TV dinner. Yesterday she said to me, "I think the fridge is going out. The freezer has something in it that is beginning to smell." "It may be that the Chicken Parmesan meal," I said, "and was wondering when you were going to eat it." "Well I thought it was yours," she told me. "No, it isn't mine, is it Pam's?" We determined no one owned it. Well, I opened the door and brought out the meal, which leaked all the way down the hallway. Because it wasn't frozen, it was probably spoiled or bad by now. We tossed it in the outside trash can. Now our refrigerator doesn't smell at all. Thanks to a little communication between the interested parties. Our salads, sandwiches and sumptuous foods can rest in peace.