Share Our Lives - January 2025

 

It's the second Monday of the month and that's time for Share Our Lives.  The topics for 2025 are listed below.

January's prompt is Saving Time on Chores.  I'm a paper planner girl so I'm resolved to log what needs to be done when and keep to the plan.  I've been a bit hit and miss for the last several months.  I like the room-a-day schedule, but since we have the hairy monster, Malone, I have to add a daily whiz over with the vacuum to keep the dog hair and at this time of year, the pine needles, at bay.

My favorite planner sticker Etsy shop, Bottled Honey Designs, has a great sheet of stickers to add to your planner or calendar.  It keeps you on track with what room needs attention and you get that sense of accomplishment when it's checked off!  Some others use a program like Fly Lady as their cleaning guideline.

I also find that clutter is a big time waster when it comes to chores.  A quick once over before you go to bed ensures "Everything in its place and a place for everything".  It also prevents those things like "Where are my keys?" and "Where is my wallet?" in the morning!  LOL, that's for you know who, perhaps you have one in your house!

I'll give you an update next month.

Share Our Lives - Least Favorite Activities

   

This month we're sharing our Least Favorite Activities.

1.  Cleaning the toilet and the bathroom in general - that's what you call a chore!

The link "How to Properly Clean the Toilet" was broken.  Too bad, I was really intrigued, if there's a proper way, I guess there must be an improper way, lol.

2.  Mopping the floor, any floor.

I know it has to be done, but I'm seriously considering investing in one of those i-Mop gadgets.

3.  Cooking - after 3 1/2 years apart (for any new readers, Vic and I were separated due to the needs of the Navy and COVID) and a menu of soup and sandwiches, meal planning and cooking dinner is just not fun any longer.

4.  The dentist - even though my dentist and hygienist are the kindest, gentlest people who stop frequently to check I'm ok, I still can't get over a childhood trauma at the dentist.

Doesn't the sight of those metal tools just give you the chills?

5.  Wiping muddy paws - we don't have much dirt in our backyard but wherever it is, Malone will find it.  With rainy Washington weather from fall to spring, muddy paws are a daily chore.

I have a couple of others but as you can see, I made short work of them.

6.  Ironing - I just don't do it!  I firmly believe I should support local businesses, and the dry cleaner is one of them.

7.  Gardening - I don't do this either.  We hired a gardener when Vic was away, and we just kept him on.  I envy anyone that has a beautiful garden but it's just not in my skill set.

8.  Exercising - another one I just don't do.  We did recently inherit a recumbent bike from our neighbors who are moving so maybe I will take a spin...or maybe not!

    

Join us on the 2nd Monday of each month - here are the upcoming topics.

Share Our Lives 2024 - A Day in the Life, Summer Edition

  

This month we're sharing A Day in the Life, Summer Edition.  Daily life is pretty laid back here and probably more so in the summer.

8:00am - I'm retired so I sleep late!  Malone eats at 8:00am and then runs out to raise havoc in the backyard.  I should say attempts to raise havoc because the two dogs in the yards that adjoin ours are usually not out and about this early.  So, he does a perimeter patrol (runs the entire perimeter of the yard to check things out), does his business, and then barks a little to see if there's anyone around.

8:30am - Time to start a load of laundry (I've broken it down to one load a day), put Vic's breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and turn it on, and fix myself a cup of coffee and some breakfast.  Today it's a bagel and I'll usually watch an episode of The Great British Baking Show or catch up on some You Tube videos.

10:00am - Put the laundry load in the dryer and head to the shower.  After my shower, it's computer time - blog reading, blog writing, budgeting, anything else that catches my eye (right now that's the current posts on Les Frenchies Facebook page).

11:00am - Malone goes out and then comes in to have his elevenses while I have another cup of coffee.

Looks like Elevenses is one of the seven Hobbit meals!

11:30am - Empty the dishwasher, tidy the room of the day, and whiz the vacuum around.

12:00pm - Time for lunch with more Baking Show or You Tube.

1:00pm - Fold laundry load and put it away.  Ran a few errands - post office, library, and fruit and vegetable stand.

2:00pm - Start prepping dinner.

Between 3:00pm and 4:00pm - Vic comes home so we have coffee and something sweet while watching an episode of Grey's Anatomy.  We're in Season 17 now.

5:00pm - Malone eats dinner.

6:00pm - Dinner time.  Tonight, it's whatever takes our fancy.  Hotter days, lighter meals.

Between 7:00pm and 9:00pm - Vic walks Malone once the neighborhood dogs are off the streets and then he works some more on the project of the moment (deck planning) while I tidy the kitchen.

10:00pm - Time for bed.  This is Vic's last week of work - he goes on leave this Friday for 2 1/2 months and then starts his new job. 

This would be my usual routine, but all activity is suspended this week for Wimbledon.  That means sandwiches or Vic cooks dinner and only the most necessary things are done around the house.  There will be lots of tea drinking (in the air conditioning), cucumber sandwich eating, and strawberries with lashings of cream!

    

Join us on the 2nd Monday of each month - here are the upcoming topics.

Share Our Lives - Foods to Make for Someone Else

 

This month we're sharing foods to make for someone else.  A photo-less post because a) I forgot it was Share Our Lives Monday and am putting this together in a rush, and b) I need to take more photos of the food I prepare to have them handy!

I think the number one key to making food for someone else is to make sure they don't need to return any of the dishes.  Use disposable foil pans or other storage containers that they can keep or toss.

A one-pan dish is my go-to as it can be heated up and eaten right away or frozen for later.  In these days of meal trains, you don't usually end up with a counterful of casseroles but it can happen that more than one person brings food on a given day.  So, my top five would be:

1.  Lasagna or Baked Ziti - add in a bagged salad and some bread for a complete meal.

2.  Enchiladas - add some Spanish rice and beans.

3.  Shepherd's Pie - I add the vegetables to the bottom of my dish, but you can bring them in a separate container.

4.  Any of the one-pan dishes that you can make with cream soups - my favorite is chicken in mushroom-garlic sauce - chicken thighs, one can of cream of mushroom with roasted garlic soup, and one can of cream of mushroom with herbs, Crock on low all day and then transfer to a disposable container to take to the recipient.  Add a container of cooked white rice for serving.

5.  Chili with small containers of add-ins - chopped onion, cheese, sour cream, tomato, avocado.

Two other items that are always a bit hit:

Soup and sandwiches - pick up a couple of tubs of soup from your local soup bar and put together a tray of sandwich fixings - ham, turkey, cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles along with mayo and mustard - a bit more work for you but it would be a hit with those family members who are not fans of casseroles.  Don't forget the sandwich rolls.

A gift card for a local takeaway - if you know their favorite, that's a bonus!

Join us on the 2nd Monday of each month - here are the upcoming topics.

Share Our Lives - 5 Favorite and Least Favorite Foods

This month we're sharing our five favorite and least favorite foods.

Favorites:

1.  Seafood - shrimp, scallops, lobster - prepared anyway

Shrimp Scampi Linguine

2.  Steak - medium rare

3.  Gyoza and shumai with this yummy dipping sauce

4.  Bacon sandwiches - with the closest thing I can find to English bacon

5.  English, Belgian, and Swiss chocolate - Cadbury, Godiva, Lindt

Least Favorites:

1.  Liver and any other kind of offal

2.  Okra

3.  Vegetables that have been boiled to death

4.  Doritos

5.  Tofu

Join us on the 2nd Monday of each month - here are the upcoming topics.

Share Our Lives - How I Met My Significant Other or Best Friend

This month we're sharing how we met our significant other or best friend.

Vic and I met at work - Saipan Cable TV on the tropical island of Saipan in the Western Pacific.

This was our workplace - to say that we were both horrified when we saw it is an understatement.  It was a three-bedroom house converted into office space.  In the back was a shipping container that was converted into our news studio and the production teams' work area.  Primitive?  Yes, absolutely!  That's part of the fleet parked there in front.  The roads on Saipan were mostly unpaved and full of potholes from frequent rain.  A fleet of all-wheel drive vehicles would have been better but our general manager was notoriously thrifty so it was what it was.

I was the Administrative Manager and Vic was a member of an eight-man construction crew we hired from the Philippines when we were upgrading our cable system to fiber optics.

Our first real photo as a couple
Celebrating Vic's birthday
September 1992

We met in the summer of 1992, got engaged at Christmas, and got married on February 26, 1993.

Our wedding day - I don't think Vic even owned a tie!

Did I know then that we'd be where we are today? Never in a million years. I have no idea where I thought we'd be as the years went by. A few months after we got married, we began to realize that we wouldn't be staying on Saipan too much longer - the company was in dire financial straits and we knew we had to make a back-up plan. Little did I know the military would be a part of that plan!

Vic worked as a technician after we got married and one of his responsibilities was to update the character-generated messages that were posted on one of the cable channels. It was a spot to place birthday greetings, items for sale, and community announcements. The Navy recruiter came up from Guam to give a presentation at the high school and stopped by to put an announcement on the channel with his contact information in case anyone in the community was interested in talking with him. Vic came home and said, "Let's go, we're going to meet with the Navy recruiter!". Off I waddled, being about five months pregnant at the time, and our military adventure began. We had to wait until Vic got his resident status, but less than a year later, he was off to basic training. I have to tell you that I was thrilled by the whole thing - I'd lost my ID card when I turned eighteen (my Dad was career Army) and now I was going to get it back - yippee!

We're celebrating our 31st anniversary in two weeks - we went from Saipan to Florida to Illinois to Virginia to Rhode Island and back to Virginia then to Washington and back to Virginia again before my travel with the Navy ended with the final trip back to Washington.  Vic continued on with two unaccompanied tours, one to Okinawa and then to Maryland before finally getting an assignment in Washington so we could be under the same roof again.  Now the journey is coming to an end as Vic will retire in October of this year and start a new career (TBD).  We're making Washington our final destination (unless he gets a post-Navy job in England, of course!), we have our home here, and really love the state.  It's been an adventure and we've weathered ups and downs and stayed strong together.  He is my best friend.

Join us in March for 5 Items You Can't Live Without

Share Our Lives - Jobs I've Had

I'm still finishing up my Prime Purchases post but I saw this over at Slices of Life and it looked like a lot of fun!

I'm Pamela, wife, mother, and diehard Anglophile.  My Mum was British and I grew up in England and that would be home sweet home for me if I wasn't following my Navy husband, Vic, around the country.  We're empty nesters but our daughter, Sophia, only lives a few hours away.  I love scrapbooking our family memories, England of course, and anything to do with Christmas!  I've been blogging since about 2007, off and on, and really looking forward to blogging more regularly now that I am not working.

I started working when I was in college in England.  I worked as a supermarket cashier - I can't remember my schedule but I think it was Thursday evening, Friday evening, and all day Saturday.  I loved my job!  I always tried to be friendly and polite and there were times when someone would wait in line for my register rather than going to another one just to say hello to me.  It was lovely.  After the store closed, we worked on stocking shelves and I remember that there were a few instances when the box cutter ran a little too deep across the top of a box and we ended up with a handful of nuts or pretzels.  Naughty!  I also remember that we were paid in cash, in a little glassine envelope, no idea how much it was but I'm sure not a lot.  This was 1970's England, after all.  I worked at the supermarket until I switched colleges and started a full-time course of study.  I miss the fun we used to have and the friends.

In 1978, we moved from England to California.  I left my boyfriend in England and I had to get a job to get the fiancé visa process started.  I found my first job in an extraordinary way.  My Dad was also searching for a job - he'd been in the clerical field in the Army for 26 years and applied for a position at the local cable company.  It didn't take long during his conversation with the Office Manager to determine that he was way over qualified for the position open so he asked if she would talk to me.  In I came, after about half an hour in the 100+ heat in the car, in casual clothes, and what do you know?  She hired me.  I worked for the cable company for 12 years, first as a customer service representative, then as the dispatcher, the accounting clerk, then a promotion to the General Manager's secretary, then Office Manager, and finally Marketing Manager.  I left there to go back to school but when that didn't pan out, I took a job with Guam Cable TV and jetted off with my four suitcases to a new adventure.

1979 - It was a big day when we added Showtime, our first premium service.  Prior to that, your biggest decision was whether you wanted one cable outlet or two!

1986 - celebrating my birthday at the office - wardrobe upgrade from T-shirts with slogans to silk dresses!

I worked for Guam Cable TV for a few months and then they transferred me to Saipan Cable TV (half an hour plane ride north) to run the office up there.  I was there four years during which time I met and married Vic, Sophia was born, Vic joined the Navy, and we all ended up in Florida to begin our Navy adventure.

I worked off and on as a Navy spouse - I worked at the VA Medical Center in Illinois as a Patient Services Clerk and then took a job as the secretary to the Chief of Staff.  In Virginia, I worked for a short period for a financial planning company and then in a volunteer position as the Ombudsman for Vic's ship.  After my Ombudsman term was over, I started homeschooling Sophia.

Then it was off to Rhode Island to continue homeschooling during the middle school years.  Our next assignment was back in Virginia where I spent my time volunteering with the officers' spouses' association.  We had a gift shop and I held a variety of positions, secretary and volunteer coordinator for the shop, and secretary and charity chairperson for the association.

Washington came next where I applied under the Military Spouse Priority Placement Program for a position at the naval shipyard, starting as an administrative assistant on the waterfront and then moving up to be the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director.  We headed back to Virginia after Vic's tour in Washington was over so I returned to my volunteer positions as there was a federal hiring freeze and no chance of a new job.

The waterfront was an industrial area and we had to wear a hard hat when walking from one place to another.

When Vic got orders to Okinawa, I reached out to my network at the shipyard and they found me a new job, Department Secretary for the Engineering and Planning Department and I stayed there until I retired last year.

My jobs have always been in the office management field.  I never had the desire to be a manager, I much preferred being the one to make sure that a manager had everything that he/she needed.  It spoke to my organizational skills and I really enjoyed keeping things running.

Join us next month for another Share Our Lives.