Empty Nest? What do we do now?

daughter's dorm

As I have shared before, our daughter is away for her first year of college. She won't be home until Thanksgiving. Her dad and I can't wait for her to come home. I'm sure the cats and dog will be happy to see her too. We miss her very much. We have been to see her twice. I'm working on my husband to go first see her again before Thanksgiving. It probably won't work. She had done a good job texting and calling. I bet that means she misses us as well. She also misses the food at home.

She is our only child so we have an empty nest. So it is just the 2 of us and the dog occupy our time. We are no longer running her back and forth to school and band events. That has left us with a lot of free time. What to do?

Top Empty Nester Activities 

1. Go places that your child didn't like.

2. Dinner and a movie ( we go to the movies on week days in the afternoon since we are both home).

3. Try new restaurants 

4. Go to the zoo and museums in Cleveland

5. Sent care packages to child

6. Cook fancy meals together

7. Take day trips (we haven't done this yet but plan to)

8. Go out of town just the 2 of you

9. Get coffee or lunch and go to the park or beach (we live on lake Eerie)

10. Go on those fall dates

I still do things by myself including running or walking, meeting my friends, and going to Lake County Ladies from meetup.com.  I saw some writing groups and a wordpress group I'm interested in as well. I have friends with empty nests and friends with little ones. There are a few with college kids and little ones. Enjoy your time with your children. It goes supper fast!

Rescue a pet

Shadow - Flan and Shadow are litter mates

As October is adopt a pet from a shelter month, lets talk about our pets. We have 3 cats - 1 from a shelter and 2 from a friend's yard. We had Lily the pug for about 10 years. She came to us when she was 6 from Ohio Pug Rescue.

Lily

Now we have Abbey the miniature schnauzer. She is 3 years old. We adopted her on July 21st. We found her using petfinder.com. We drove 3 hours away to pick her up at My young and old fur babies in Woodsfield, Ohio. Our dog came from a breeder and Abbey was a non-producer of puppies along with another mini schnauzer. They were both terrified and huddled together. We had to pick one. It was so hard to leave the other one behind. She was adopted a few days later so I felt better.

Flanagan 

Abbey has been a wonderful new addition to our home. She was scared of everything. We took her to our vet and she shook the entire time. Abbey had ear infections in both ears and hookworms. She started to warm up more after she started feeling better. She is still scared but doing a lot better.

Abbey the day after she came home

Just last week she started going in the kitchen and dining room. Before she would only go in the living room and bathroom. We feed her in the bathroom. She had never had an accident in the house. She loves going for walks (4-5) a day. We live in a condo development and don't have a fenced in yard.

I decided to take her to obedience training. Not because she was behaving badly but I wanted to have her trust us more. We are going to Foundations 1 at Digging Dogs in Mentor, OH. She has learned some of the things but is often scared and refuses to walk. The was scared of the cones, the far wall, and the teacher. She is not as scared of the teacher anymore. The class was for 6 weeks. Tonight is actually the last class. She is not ready for Foundations 2 so I will work with her and try to get her ready for it. We will skip the next session that begins next week.

Abbey now

We have had a great experience adopting our pets. The dogs have both been wonderful! Cats are cats and have their moments but they are great too. So if you need a new pet in your home, make sure to adopt. There are plenty of rescues and shelters around. You can visit your local vet, Petsmart and shelters. Good luck!

Crockpot Fall Favorites

I love to use my crockpot. It's a great feeling to have dinner started in the morning. There is also no excuse to go out to dinner because you have dinner ready. My crockpot has been busy lately. I already made 2 soups, chili and apple sauce. I am planning for a few more this week and next week. This week we are making Split pea soup. What crockpot meals are your favorite? What have you made this week in  your crockpot?

Fall Crockpot Favorites 

1. Apple sauce, apple butter, apple cider (I didn't make apple butter yet. It takes 12 hours in the crockpot.) 
2. Chili (I make 2 point weight watchers chile recipe. I often use ground turkey instead of ground beef. This is a great recipe.)
3. Italian Beef (A midwestern dish served on rolls.)
   
4. Split Pea Soup (I love this soup. I have a great recipe from one of my friends.)
5. French Dip (A favorite of my daughter)
6. Beef Stew (We often make a Guinness Beef Stew. Need biscuits with this meal.)
7. Pulled pork (Also needs rolls)
8. Pork chops and apples or apple cider (Use for those apples you picked.)
9. AuGratin Potatoes (My daughter like this with ham. Another one of her favorites.)
10. Pumpkin Dump Cake (There are many crockpot dump cakes. They are quick, easy and taste great.)
11. Bread Pudding (I am going to try a pumpkin pecan bread pudding this year.)
12. Mac & Cheese (There are lots of varieties of this dish.)
13. Stuffed Pepper soup (A favorite of mine)
    
14. Meatball and Pasta Sauce (A favorite in many homes including mine.)
15. Beef Stroganoff (Sour cream goes in at the end. Also, this dish needs egg noddles.)
16. Turkey Breast (We are going to be trying this for Thanksgiving this year.)
17. Pasta y fagioli (I use a Olive Garden copycat recipe.
18. Pot roast (A fall and winter favorite. I put potatoes, carrots and onions in this.)

Have fun with your crockpot. Share with me your crockpot fall favorites. You might give me more ideas. 

Fall Dates Changed Up

Everyone had things they love to do in the fall or any season. My husband and I need to change up what we can do for fall dates do to his multiple sclerosis. We can still do a lot of the fun activities.

Top Fall Dates

1. Apple picking - We go to Patterson Fruit Farm in Chesterland, Ohio. We try to go during the week when less people will be there so its less crowded then on the weekend. They have a cute little store that we get to shop in. We get homemade apple cider donuts. They are great and often warm. Then we check out the apples which we can taste. The have signs that tell you what the apple are good for - eating, sauce, pie. We usually buy a seconds bag which we then spend the next week making apple stuff. This year I made applesauce and apple cider in the crock pot. I also made an apple crisp and froze some apple pie filling.
   
2. Leaf peeking - We usually drive to the wineries in the Geneva, Ohio area. Ferrante Winery is my favorite but there are many others. We will drive out and check out the leaves. Then we have lunch and buy some wine. 
3.  Roast Marshmallows/Smores - We have a fire pit and can do this in our back yard. We live in a condo development and can't have a bonfire and this is easier to control and more romantic. I love campfires!
   
4. Pumpkin picking - We get our pumpkin(s) at Mulberries Pumpkin Patch in Chesterland, Ohio. Its a cute little place where they have pumpkins of all sizes in the front yard. We can "pick" our pumpkin(s). They also have gourds, apple cider and more. 
5.  Halloween movie-athon - We have netflix and hulu as well as cable so we have our pick of halloween movies scary or not. We make popcorn and other fall type treats. Hard cider would go well with activity too.
6. Football game - We used to go to all the home football games and as many band competitions  as we could but our daughter is no longer in high school or the band. We like to watch college football on Saturdays. We watch North Carolina as the quarterback is local boy. He is doing great things! Instead of tailgating, we can host or attend a football party at our home or a friend's home with all the tailgating food and fun.
    
7. Pumpkin Coffee - This is one of my favorite things about fall. I like lots of pumpkin things especially coffee and muffins. Dunkin Donuts has really good  pumpkin muffins although I would like them better without the icing. I love the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. Starbucks also has a pumpkin scone (I love scones) but it has way to much icing on it. It would be perfect if it was plain or just had the little bit of the darker icing
   
8. Thanksgiving  - My favorite thing this fall will be driving to pick up our daughter from college for thanksgiving at our home with my in-laws!

I hope that everyone has fun this fall! I now have to go to Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte and DD for a pumpkin muffin.  (By the way - no one paid me for what I wrote above.)

October, Already?!

I can't believe it is October already! I have been busy with my daughter at college. We have been there 3 times. Its been crazy. I have also been to BloggyCon16. I learned a lot there. I also learned that I have a lot to learn. I will tell you all about BloggyCon next Tuesday. For today, I will share what I have planned for the month.

Goals:

1. I will keep working on my couch to 5k and walking. I am motivation myself using virtual runs. I already have one metal and am working on the next one. I am signing up with my running friends for the Run Santa Run race. It was the first race I ran last year. 
2. I will continue working on my blog, transfer to wordpress and learn more about blogging. I have a lot to learn.
3. Making and freezing chili, soups and pasta sauce. I already make turkey and rice soup and pasta e fagioli (Italian pasta and bean soup). This week I plan to make chili (weight watchers 2 pt turkey chili). Let me know if anyone wants me to share the recipes. I have been using my crock pot for these recipes.

Books: I plan to read at least 2 non-fiction books and 3 fiction books. The non-fiction books that I chose to read are The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and How to Blog for Profit Without Selling You Soul by Ruth Soukup (which I received at BloggyCon). The fiction books haven't been picked yet but I want to finish Where She Went by Gayle Forman.

At the end of the month/ beginning of the new month, I will share how I have done on my goals and my goals for the next month. Do you have any goals for this month? Can you share any in the comments? There will be more on Thursday about fall, my favorite season. 

Camping at Mohican

One of my favorite things about summer is camping. Last year we only went camping for one night. Liz was super busy with marching band and there was a ton of rain. Its not much fun to camp when it rains the entire time. We had scheduled 2 camping trips that we cancelled do to the weather. One was when our daughter was at Buckeye Girls State at Mt. Union College. we were going to camp while she was there for 2 nights at Salt Fork. We canceled due the weather. Good thing we did. There were tornado warnings near where our daughter was and other places. At Mt. Union, they had to go in the basement of the building they were in which was the gym. There were classrooms for them to hang out in.

Camping At Wally World 2014

This summer there is no marching band which was most of July and August (she graduated from high school).  The weather has been hot and dry so far. We will be able to camp in the early fall since we won't have weekends tied up with football games and band competitions.  We can also camp during the week because our daughter will be away at college.

Our first camping trip this year was with friends. We went with 2 couples. The women are my running buddies. They were running in the Shawshank Hustle in Mansfield. That race was a 7K. I am not ready to go beyond the 5K so I didn't run. We camped at Mohican Reservation campground. We arranged to get 2 sites next to each other. The sites were very deep and were waterfront. The sites were $35 a nigh plus $10 for any people over 2. It was beautiful. We had 2 pop up campers, a tent and a screen room type canopy. The sites around us had campers and bunches of tents. They partied all night. We were there from Friday to Sunday.

St. Patrick's Day 5K 2015

As usual, it took us longer to then we planned. We left at the time we were planning to arrive. That was about 2 hours late. Our friends with the pop up had arrived just a little before us and the other couple arrived a little after us. The race was on Saturday. They finished the 7K in 51 minutes. That's about how long it takes me to finish a 5K. When they returned, we went tubing on the Mohican River. It was the first time I had ever done that. It was fun but I would like to have a kayak next time. I think that would be better.

We have camped in the Mohican area before but not at this campground. Last time we camped at Wally World (picture above). It would be hard to choice which to stay at next time. The sites were nicer at Mohican Reservation but the bathrooms were great at Wally World. The bathrooms were only ok at Mohican Reservation.

I can't wait to go camping again. I also would love to camp with our friends again. I'll tell you about camping as we continue to camp. My running buddies and I have a 5K planned for July 3 at the Lake County Captains ballpark. This will be the first one I will get a finishers metal. I will post pictures.

Summer of Changes

Summer is a wonderful time of year. The flowers are blooming and veggies are growing. The county I live in northeast Ohio has several different farmer's markets on different days. People spend lots of time outside and cooking on their grills. There are so many things to do and see outside.

Summer is bringing lots of changes in our home. The first change was the easiest. We had our landscaping around the house redone. It looks wonderful. That was finished during the week before Memorial day. On Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, our daughter graduated from high school. I am going to brag for a minute. She graduated magna cum laude and with an honors diploma. Not only is she a smart kid, she s a great person.  Her class was about 650 students and their graduation was too big for the high school as usual. Graduation was held at Cleveland State University.

On Sunday, we had a graduation party at our house. We had it right away because my parents and brother were here from New Jersey for graduation. My in-laws were also her from Illinois. We wanted to have it while they were all visiting rather than make them come back. We ordered food from Manhattan Deli. They did a great job. The party was great. It was nice spending time with our neighbors and friends. Most of them had never been to our house before. On Monday, we finished cleaning up from the party and got ready to pack.

On Tuesday, we left home for our daughter's orientation at Miami University. It's quite a drive - 4 1/2 hours away. We stopped at her favorite restaurant in Columbus (Pho). I admit they have very good pad tai. Not so good for weight watchers. Orientation was busy for us and her. We had stuff to go to as well and I felt they were repeating the same things over and over. By the time we left on Thursday afternoon, she already had her student ID and registered for her classes. So much happened in that short period.

In a little less than 2 months, we will be leaving our one and only child at college. She has decided to be a biology/neuroscience major and to join the marching band.  She is going to be super busy especially since she has to take into to bio and intro to chem her first semester. My husband and I will be empty nesters and have much less to do. No more running her to band practices, football games, performances and everything else she does. She already knows what she will be busy doing but we have to figure out how we are going to keep busy. It gives me more time for this blog and my novel. Any suggestions?

Until that day comes, we will spend time with friends, cooking out, shopping for college and camping. We also have a wedding to attend. Let me know what the best thing is that you or you child took to college with you. Next time, I will tell you all about our first camping trip of this summer!

Snowy Weather and Comfort Foods

Hi. It's February. February makes me think about groundhogs day, Valentine's day, and snowy, cold weather. I love groundhogs day. I even have a friend from Punxsutawney, Pa. When we went to visit her, she took us to the library to see Phil and where he lives. You can see him from outside as well as inside. So I saw the groundhog with Gobbler's Knob behind me. I was more excited than my daughter who was under 10 at that point.


Valentine's Day was this past weekend. That makes me think of $$$$ - expensive flowers, gifts and meals. This year we went to visit a friend and took her to lunch. She had just lost her husband earlier in the week. It was so nice to visit with her. We haven't seen her in a while. My husband, daughter and I had Chinese (which is her favorite) for dinner. Next year, our daughter will be away at college on Valentine's Day so I was glad to have dinner with her.

My house February 2015

February always brings lots of snow to Northeast Ohio. We had a mild November and December. Mid January winter decided to appear. Snow makes me think of cozy fires but I don't have a fireplace. Do you? It also makes me think of comfort food. I like to make my comfort food in my crockpot. I have 3. I know some of my friends like to use their crockpots (Carey, Christina, Mandy). Who else like to cook with a crockpot?

My favorite crockpot meals:

1. Italian Wedding Soup
2. Pasta Fagioli
3. Italian Beef
4. Beef Stew
5. Chili (I use a weight watcher recipe - 2 points a cup)

There are many others I make. The last thing I made in my crockpot was sausage and peppers (Italian style). What's the last thing you make in your crockpot? What are your favorite comfort meals to make in a crockpot? Let me know if you want the recipes I use!

Goals: Write my book

Hi. As I wrote in my post about growing my blog, I love to write. I also started this blog to get me writing more.  I wrote my first book in 4th grade as part of a young authors program. It was a children's book with pictures. My brother, Jimmy, was in Kindergarten and was my illustrator. He still draws very well. I will share pictures at a later time. Then we went to a conference. So began my love of writing.

Fairport Harbor in July (My picture)

I have a book started called Temporary Home. It is a mystery. I started writing it the summer my daughter participated in Spirit of America, a boating class. It was at the Fairport Harbor beach. I sat there while she took her class and wrote in a notebook. I remember that is was still cool and I wrapped myself in a my beach towel. When that was over, I set it aside.


Then I took a class at Lakeland Community College taught by a local author, Deanna Adams, called how to write a book. That was a great class. For that class, I typed up the first chapter and an outline for my book. She gave input on both. When the class was over, I put it aside again because I was busy at work writing IEP's (Individual Intervention Plans).


Then I went to the Spring Writer's Conference at Lakeland Community College that is run by Deana Adams. I learned a lot from area writers. Also I met to authors who's books I read. I was so excited to meet them. I took their class on character development. I found out about a writer's group that meets in the area 1 Saturday a month at a library. I went a few times but then I wasn't writing again due to my job and stopped going.


Now that I am no longer teaching, I have plenty of time to write. I started this blog in November/December. I am writing this but not enough. I have not started working on my book again.
In order to help me start writing again, I will

1. Keep working on this blog.
2. Make a writing schedule.
3. Start going to my writer's group again.
4. Start going to the other writer's group I found that meets on Wednesday nights. 
5. WRITE!!!!!
6. Go to the Fall Writer's Conference at Lakeland.

I am writing my blog. The next thing I need to do is create a writing schedule for my blog and my book (as well as other writing). Does anyone else have a writing schedule or a schedule for something they love to do to make it more than a hobby? If you write, what do you like to write? If you don't write, what's your passion?

Goal - Grow My Blog

This is my blog that I started because I love to write. I started writing several fiction books but I haven't finished one yet. I write lists, notes, journals, texts, lesson plans (not anymore), and  my books. This blog is suppose to help me write more so I can finish my books. The one I want to finish first is called Temporary Home. Then I have many more ideas and some outlines already started. I write mysteries. (I also read mysteries and watch them on tv.) It has always been my dream to be an author.

I know a lot about writing but not much about blogging. I have been writing but I need to do more to my blog page. There are somethings that are missing - about page, links to my social media pages, and I don't know what else. I also need to work on the design - I'm missing a logo. I know what I want but I don't draw very well or know how to make it on the computer. So I need to learn more about blogging in order to grow my blog.

Cedar Point  - taken by my daughter

Before I started my blog, I sat down with a list of questions about blogging and my friend Christina who writes a blog called Juggling Real Food and Real Life. It is a great blog so check it out. She gave me a lot of information. She helped a lot. I didn't do everything she said. I haven't watched youtube videos about blogs or listened to podcasts. I was so anxious to get started that I rushed through setting up my blog as fast as possible. I am going to have to meet up with her again soon to see if she has anymore advice for me.

In order to grow my blog, I need to:
1. Watch youtube videos suggested by my friend
2. Listen to podcasts suggested by my friend
3. Learn how to make an editorial calendar
4. Post on the 2 days I have planned
5. Read the articles/blog posts I have saved on pintrest
6. Read more blogs in my niche - Lifestyle
7. Connect with bloggers

I have already signed up to go to Bloggy Conference which is September at Cedar Point (on my goal list for 2016). I hope it is fun and that I learn a lot. I have been working on social media. I have a Facebook page, twitter, pinterest and instagram. What other sites do I need? What else should I include? What topics do you want to hear about?

My Favorite Things at Disney

I was just at Disney in January for the Disney Marathon Weekend with my husband and daughter. I love Disney! It the happiest place on Earth. I know that I was sick but we still had a great time. We love Epcot especially the world showcase. The worst part of our trip was our delayed flight home and the cold weather that was waiting for us in Northeast Ohio. 

Every time I go to Disney, I find new favorite things that give me inklings of joy. Let me tell you about this trips favorites.

Disney Favorites January 2016

1. Contemporary Resort - That was the first time I have stayed at the Contemporary. I loved having access to the monorail. We had a great room with a great view of the Electric Parade on the water. I would love to stay there again. We had a great group rate for the room otherwise we wouldn't have stayed at a Deluxe resort. 

2. Mary Poppins - I met and had my picture taken with Mary Poppins and my daughter. I have never seen her at Disney before. We also saw Alice in Wonderland but there was a very long wait to meet her.

3. Raglan Road - This is a favorite of mine from the last trip so we had to go again. It is an Irish Pub with Irish Dancers and music as well as pub food. They have great beef stew. We didn't have dessert this time but last time we had wonderful bread pudding!

4. Rock and Roll Roller Coaster - This is in Hollywood Studios. I never rode this roller coaster before so my daughter said I should go on it. I went alone. My husband can't go on roller coasters due to his MS and my daughter said she wasn't going on it again. I went in the single rider lane and waited a long time. It was fast and fun. The biggest roller coaster I have been on. In September, I plan to ride the record breaking ones at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

5. Desserts - In France, we had to get our favorite dessert - Chocolate mousse. All three of us had it and we loved it and the break from walking around Epcot. We also had cappuccino cupcakes at a quick service restaurant. Our daughter had her own. My husband and I shared one. At the quick service restaurant at The Contemporary, there was a peanut butter tart. I love peanut butter. That was one I just had.

6. Japan - We were at Epcot on Saturday night and had dinner at the Japanese restaurant. The food there was only ok. When we left it was pouring rain, we hid out in the large store in Japan. They had fun things and candy from Japan. Our daughter brought some home.

7. France - We  had lunch at the restaurant in France. It was lovely. We enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. I will definitely want to try dinner there in the future. We also saw a movie that was an aerial view of France. It was beautiful. I never saw that before and was glad we found it.

8. Fireworks - We only saw the fireworks one night at Magic Kingdom. They were perfect as usual. Next time we want to see them from the California Grill at the Contemporary. 

 

We had a great time but there were a few things I wished we had done. We missed the fireworks at Epcot because I wasn't feeling well and wanted to go back to our room. We forgot to get the dole whip in Magic Kingdom. We didn't go on the Haunted Mansion ride because our daughter didn't want to go on it. We didn't get to go swimming. It wasn't warm enough except one day but we didn't have time that day. Well, I guess those are reasons to go back - as if I needed any reasons!

Goals: Running

Hi Everyone! Last post I wrote about my goals for the year. I want to focus more on some of the goals starting with running. I started running in the spring of 2015 using the couch to 5K app. I really liked the app and my goal was the 5k at the Disney Marathon Weekend. My cousins have been going to that for several years and supporting Muscular Dystrophy with Run for our Sons on Team Danny. Danny is the son of my college suite mate from William Paterson in NJ. I didn't complete that goal but I was able to run a 5k in December in Mentor, Ohio. (run, Santa, run). For that run I had 2 goals - to finish and not be the last one. I did accomplish both of those goals.

Run Santa Run 12-13-15 with my new running buddies!

 I have been sick and still have the cough so I haven't even run yet this year. It is also cold here in Northeast Ohio. My main running buddy, Mandy, also lives in Mentor and we have a plan for the winter and early spring. We joined Planet Fitness that opened recently at the mall in Mentor. Mandy has already started running on the treadmill there and I will join her next week. I will walk until I can run. We were also planning on upping our game to run a 10K in May. I don't know if I will make it. I downloaded a new app Zen labs fitness 10K. One of the other running buddies have this app too.  In the meantime, I have signed up to a a 5K Kiss Me I'm Irish on March 13. I also may have another 5K with my running buddies in the picture that weekend. We also have a list of other 5Ks this year that we would like to take part in.

I can't wait!


In order to keep myself motivated, I am following running related things on Facebook and Twitter. I also have pinned many things about running that I am reading. I am trying to plan a better before running stretching plan. I will keep you updated on my/our running plans. How do you stay motivated to exercise especially in the winter? What is your favorite type of workout?

New Year Changes

Hi Everyone! Sorry I have been away so long. I was away for Christmas. Then we went to the Disney Marathon weekend. I need to plan my blogging better. I will be posting on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Monday posts were not happening with my life. I will be starting a monthly newsletter at the end of each month in the spring. That's all the business I needed to cover.

In the beginning of a new year, there are always changes and resolutions. The changes for me always start with a new planner. I have 2 this year. I am behind in setting them up because I caught a cold with a bad cough, which I still have and too much traveling. This cold cost me my first goal of the year. Another change (that I am still adjusting to), Lily, my pug, died on December 30, 2015. This year my daughter is graduating from high school and going to college. She is going to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. This year will be very different for my family.


Like everyone else, I always forget my New Year's resolutions quickly. I stopped about 3 years ago making New Year' resolutions. I make goals each year instead. This was a suggestion from my husband. It is something I can work toward all year. I feel better about having goals than resolutions. They are more reachable.

My Goals for 2016

1. Run and finish the 5k at the Disney Marathon Weekend.

Santa Run 5K  Mentor OH 2015

2. Grow my blog
3. Finish writing my book that I started
4. Reach my weight loss goal
5. Continue running and entering more races
6. Reorganize and redecorate my guest room/office
7. Clean out all closets and donate old clothes
8. Go to Bloggycon at Cedar Point (in the fall)
9. More camping
10. Throw a graduation party for my daughter





Goal should be measurable. I didn't include the measurement parts for my goals here. I still need to develop them further. I will update them when I decide what they are. I was not able to complete my first goal. I caught a cold during Christmas and due to the cold and horrible cough, I was unable to run. I was very upset about it most of the time at Disney especially since all the runners were wearing their completion medals. My husband said something that made me feel better about it. He said "You have unfinished business." So we will see what happens with that goal in the future.

Do you make goals or resolution? What is your #1 goal or resolution? I can't wait to hear what they are!