After seeing Anne Wojcicki on Shark Tank, I decided I liked her, and one day I might even use 23 and Me DNA testing in order to find some of my ancestors. In December of 2019, I went ahead and sent in some of my salivae to be tested. Once that was completed, I sealed it up in a postage-paid envelope. I think Target had a sale on them as a potential Christmas gift, and I bought it for slightly less than the $99 price. (Maybe $69?) If you are interested, I would be watching for a sale on 23 and Me soon, or if you can’t wait until then, order the kit online at 23andme.com. I can’t guarantee they will ever go on sale again.
If you can afford it, I think it would be a great Christmas gift for your parents and/or siblings.
Checking off another state in the United States, we went to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, in April of 2022. We went with three other couples (relatives), two of them were in trailers, like us. The other stayed at a hotel nearby. Our main focus was National Parks. I will say that this was not a fun way to travel. When we go by ourselves, I plan out our agenda. Going with others means we go with other people’s plans. We did try to get off by ourselves and visit a few places I had on my list.
We were traveling in our trailer, so we ended up camping in one spot in Santa Fe. The Trailer Ranch RV Resort, 3471 Cerrillos Rd, in Santa Fe, doesn’t really look like much from the exterior, but it was a great place to stay. It was quiet, and the staff was very pleasant and helpful.
I am maintaining my weight but currently not losing any. I need to get more serious about losing weight. No progress in June, July, or August
Goal: Ancestry: Contact at least two cousins. I have reached out to 2 cousins but have not heard from them. I tried someone else. Most of these cousins are a lot younger than me, and I think that may be why they are not responding since I’m old. A great excuse, isn’t it? No progress in June, July or August.
Complete: Read 30 books. I have read 32 books. I read 3 books in August. This goal is complete, but I’m not stopping reading.
Goal: Get through at least my second and third drafts of the book I wrote in 2021 and finish the first draft of my second book. I have joined a group that will help me with this. And I have a writing coach now, so that should help. She and I talked on the 31st of January, and I’m excited I have been going through the third draft and making changes. On June 11, I started a class that will be helpful in writing my first draft of the second book. I have created an outline for that one.
The goal for book number one is 55,000 words, and then we will discuss the next step. I plan to be working on my 3rd draft until I hit that word count. Currently, I have 1,103 words to go. Great news – I have found two people to be Beta readers. I joined a group of fellow writers who are working on their memoirs (like my second book,) so I have been making progress on that. I currently have 4,590 words done on my first draft.
Goal: Visit three states that I have not visited before. We are going to New Mexico, Wyoming, and North Dakota this year. We traveled to New Mexico trip in April. I need to plan the other trip to Wyoming and North Dakota. However, I am thinking about changing that trip to North and South Carolina. No progress in June, July, or August.
Progressing well: Complete 2 quilts. I plan to finish a quilt for my son-in-law and one for my daughter-in-law. I pushed it and worked 3 days in a row, 8 or more hours a day, on the quilts. It was exhausting. On August 30th, I brought them to the quilter to be quilted. They should be done in early November. Then I will pick them up and put the binding on. At this point, this should be easy to complete this goal.
Goal: Walk 1000 miles. I have attempted this for 4 years and never reached it. I need to be really serious about this year. The fifth attempt must work. So far this year, I have walked only 405.5 miles. If I did this evenly each month, I’m about 261 miles behind, which is an increase, once again, not the decrease I had hoped for. I’m getting further behind each month, which isn’t good. I did walk a lot more in August, but these 100+ degree days aren’t helping my situation.
August was good for my reading, writing, and especially my quilt goals. I finished the book goal, and I am very close to finishing the quilts. Now that the quilts are done I should be working harder on the writing.
How are you doing on your goals? Let me know below. Keep working toward your goals. We can do this.
My sister-in-law called me to suggest I visit the “Standin’ on the Corner in Winslow, Arizona” tribute since we should be driving close to it soon. She had already passed it and wanted someone to go there on our trip. My husband wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but he went along with it.
The corner is dedicated to the song “Take it Easy” by the Eagles.
When a Dollar Tree was coming to my small city, Facebook lit up. The comments were mainly made by people that didn’t want it coming to their city. They wanted something more exciting, like a new restaurant or another gym.
And then the teachers saw the post. They were excited that after school, they didn’t have to drive 15 -20 minutes away to buy supplies for their classroom. In the end, Dollar Tree was already in process, planning to open soon. No amount of positive or negative reaction on Facebook, at that point, would change their plans. And I think now that they have been in town several years, people have recognized their value.
