thoughts – Thoughts From The Passenger Seat

2026, life, thoughts

Being Short

Posted on April 9, 2026 by nancyb422

I am short. I hit my full 4’11” in sixth grade after a 4” growth spurt and it was all down hill from there. I blame my twin. If there weren’t two of us, I might have been taller. She disagrees with me.

Inside my body I don’t feel short and when I see pictures I don’t always feel short. But when I see short people next to average sized people in real life, I think, “holy crap! Is that what I look like?” Like do people think to themselves, “that is one short person!”

A plus to it is, I think anyway, that people think I’m younger than I actually am. People usually subtract 10 years when they say, “I thought you were _____”. The minus, I usually act younger than I actually am. And emotionally? Well, I think it’s around 12 or 13! But that’s a story for another day.

The worst part, the worst!, of being short is that pants are always too long. And I can’t buy them in stores because if they make petite or short, they are online.

Petite. Ha! Petite for 5’2” and under. Yet online they will say “the model wearing these is 5’10” and wearing a size 4 petite. Huh??

It’s not all doom and gloom though. There are some good brands that make “petite short” and “regular short” for those not-quite-petite short people. I’ll put myself in that category depending on the brand. I have managed to find them over the years and hang onto every pair for dear life!

But there’s the thing. After spending almost a lifetime wearing pants that are just “thismuch” too long, when I wear a pair that is the proper recommended length, I feel like my pants are too short because I’m overweight.

If you’re a shorty, you know what I mean. Or maybe I’m just crazy.

*Me and my twin maybe 7 or 8 at Mystic Seaport. I’m on the right*

2026, life, thoughts

DST Update

Posted on March 9, 2026March 9, 2026 by nancyb422

I didn’t realize I missed my early morning stars until I saw them this morning because of the time change!

I suffered a little yesterday from losing the hour of sleep. We always say we’re going to stay in bed on the weekend, but never do. We were up at 6am, which was really 5am. It was especially tough for me because we went out to dinner on Saturday night so I went to bed about an hour later than normal! That made 2 hours of lost sleep. No wonder why I felt off balance, figuratively and literally!

I went to bed last night at my usual time, heading upstairs around 9:15, read a bit, and had my light out by 9:40. I woke up refreshed and ready to go.

So it looks like I survived the time change and I’m actually happy to step out into the dark.

2026, life, thoughts

Daylight Saving(s) Time

Posted on March 8, 2026March 8, 2026 by nancyb422

It’s 8:43 am. But it’s really 7:43 am!

Honestly, turning the clock forward doesn’t affect me as much as the turning it back in the fall.

We went out to dinner last night with friends and although I knew it wouldn’t be a late night, I KNEW with moving the clock forward, it was going to be tough to get to church for 7:30 in the morning.

Thankfully, between the three churches in our parish, there is a 4:00 pm mass on Saturdays! It was at my old church, Holy Trinity, the one I grew up attending and it was built in 1887 and is one of those big, beautiful, old churches with spires and the most beautiful stained glass windows.

My current church, Resurrection, was built in the 1960s and is very modern looking. I’m sure it was ridiculed when it was built but whereas Holy Trinity is on a main road in town, Resurrection was built in an area that is bordering residential so it has a low profile. Oddly, I’ve come to enjoy the atmosphere of this church more than the traditional one.

So, church was attended for the weekend, not “gotten out of the way”, as my husband said, and I was able to sleep in this morning. Win-Win!

What are your thoughts on Daylight Saving(s) time?

2026, life, thoughts

I Tried It and I Didn’t Like It

Posted on February 6, 2026February 6, 2026 by nancyb422

I cancelled Sirius XM in my car this past December. I don’t miss it because I have Spotify, purchased music from the old Apple iTunes (how I miss that!), and the radio.

I went through the channels and added some stations to Favorites. A little Rock, some R&B, a local Christian station, and a local conservative station.

I have been fixated on this conservative station because I honestly want to understand it. In the morning, I would hear Glen Beck; in the afternoon, it was Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, and at the end of the day, Sean Hannity.

Four men telling you all about what is wrong with the United States because of the “Lefties”, the “Radical Lefties”, “Tampon Tim,” and “Mayor Small Frey.” All four are ready to tell you revealing information, that “my gosh, I just realized this myself and I’ll tell you all about it right after this commercial.” The first commercial on the first day I listened was for a Byrna Launcher. A compact gun that can “protect you and your family” as it shoots chemical irritants….when the bad guy is too far away. WTF.

There have been many more WTF moments for me as I listened. Sometimes I made it all the way to work, but that’s because Glen Beck’s show starts at 9am, and there are 8 minutes of commercials before he comes on the air. Clay and Buck sound like friendly guys, and I know the least about them. Buck does like to remind his listeners that he was in the CIA, and he wrote a book called “Manufacturing Delusion: How the Left Uses Brainwashing, Indoctrination, and Propaganda Against You”. Wow; that’s the old “point a finger and four are pointing back at you” moment right there. I last about 2 minutes listening to Sean. As soon as he starts in on “nicknames”, I’ve move on.

You might be wondering what I would usually listen to. I was listening to Pod Save America, Tangled, and Raging Moderates until a few months ago but I stopped because I felt music was more soothing at work. The first is left, the second gives both sides and then his own, and the third is middle of the road(?). But nothing to the extent of this station.

So, finally today, I realized I’ve had enough. I tried, I really did. Maybe it was because I listened to Glen Beck before he turned a corner, and maybe because I already dislike Hannity, but there are no redeeming reasons to listen.

I changed the channel to our local Christian station and I heard someone reading the Bible. It was from Mark and Jesus calmed the waters while he and the apostles were out in the boat. It was followed by a song by Michael W. Smith. I felt at peace. I’ll be taking that other station out of my favorites tomorrow.

Edited this morning to add: That Christian station was not for me either. I know there is a station that plays contemporary christian music and I will continue to search until I find it. In the meantime, I guess I’ll stick to my iTunes music.

2026, thoughts

Keep It Simple

Posted on January 16, 2026January 16, 2026 by nancyb422

On my other blog, It’s All About Family, I’m once again following Amy Crow Johnson’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

I was successful with Week 1 but am already a week behind because I struggle with trying to just tell the story of the prompt. I feel like I need to fill the reader in on the backstory before I get to the topic at hand.

A beginning sentence will pop into my head as I’m doing something else and I try to keep it there until I type it but then it doesn’t sound right. So I think about it some more. I might have an entire post typed up, but then I second guess myself. In fact, I have two posts in drafts for this one subject!

My library has a Writing Guild which is starting back this month after a hiatus and it’s in my calendar. My hope is to get some guidance in my writing of those posts.

2026, thoughts, Writing

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2026January 1, 2026 by nancyb422

I started the new year off right by waking up early, enjoying my coffee, and heading off to work out. I always feel a sense of accomplishment!

On and off over the years, my husband and I would head down to the state beach about 40 minutes away. We walk and search for sea glass. Today it’s cold – my watch says 23 degrees and it’s windy. We decided we can find plenty of things to do here at home!

*Our hike to Sleeping Giant State Park last week*

Tuesday we had planned an impromptu trip to New York (well, I did and he’s my willing sidekick). I knew it was going to be cold but I thought it would be okay. Until he told me he was going to wear his lined pants and I thought, “ya know what? This is crazy”. So I decided we weren’t going to go and I think he was happy about it! We’re going in February for a concert and an overnight stay and that will be here in no time.

I’m taking down my decorations, even the tree. I would like to get over to our We-Shed (the second floor of our garage where we workout and I have my ancestry and knitting stuff, and other hobby stuff) and clean that up a little bit. Clean up my desk area and open some mail. It might sound a little routine, but I get satisfaction seeing stuff cleared out. We re-organized the basement the other day! Anywhere I’m organizing is my happy place.

I’m working on being mindful, writing down what I did this day in my planner, otherwise everything is one big blur.

I’ve got some thoughts on posts in the new year, maybe revisit some old ones and see if anything has changed. I’m looking forward to sharing them with you!

2025, life, thoughts

Grocery Shopping

Posted on December 29, 2025December 29, 2025 by nancyb422

We are blessed with a number of chain and family owned grocery stores to choose from for our groceries.

Because I handled the weekly shop for decades, I settled on our local Super Walmart. I like the way the aisles were set up and I created my shopping list to match their order. When they made changes, I made changes.

My husband, who took over the shopping a few years ago, prefers the smaller grocery stores. Family owned, but still large enough. Often though, something we buy on a regular basis will be out. For the longest time, the shelves for Quaker Oats were empty.

At times like that, I’ll make a list and head over to Walmart, because, as I tell him each time, “Walmart will have it!”. I continually try to get him to shop there, and one day we are going to a cost comparison as I’m convinced the prices are lower.

Which brings me to this morning. I had to get bloodwork done at 7:10am and I had to pick up some tea and almond butter so I figured I’d go to the grocery store afterwards.

I had a choice. Go to Walmart on my way home, or go next door to the chain supermarket. For Walmart, I’d have to drive, park, shop. For the other one, I would just have to walk to the connected building. I chose the one next door.

I walk in and look up at the aisle signs as I walk to the left. Tea…..Peanut butter…..tea….peanut butter. Nope.

I find an item directory at the beginning of an isle. Tea in aisle 8, peanut butter in aisle 25. I’m in aisle 4.

I look up at the sign for aisle 8 – cookies, crackers – ok what does that have to do with tea? Wouldn’t peanut butter fit better in that aisle? I walk to the end. There’s the tea across from the coffee.

I continue my walk to the other end of the store – past the drinks, cereals, cards, paper products – and I remembered why I don’t shop in this store anymore. The peanut butter and bread is all the way at the end of the store, in the farthest location from produce and any other food products. An aisle away from the health care items and across from dairy. It didn’t make sense when I shopped there, and it doesn’t make sense now.

I found the nut butter selections and I usually buy Barney Butter. None to be found. There were two Maratha options but the almond butter was crunchy and I wanted smooth with no salt or sugar added. I ended up with a large jar of Woodstock no salt added.

I headed to the self-check out with my items. I entered my phone number, but the machine couldn’t locate my account (I think it’s still active), but at this point I didn’t care! I swiped my items, paid my money, and left.

It would have been faster for me to drive to Walmart, park my car, hustle down to the two aisles for tea and almond butter, where I would have had my choice of even more than 2 options, pay, and head home.

Do you have a favorite grocery store? Do you get aggravated when your store puts items in weird places or moves things around?

2025, thoughts

Weekend Lunches

Posted on November 16, 2025November 15, 2025 by nancyb422

I have no problem coming up with a lunch to pack Monday through Friday, but come the weekend and I’m opening and shutting cabinet doors like a hungry child.

During the week it will usually be leftovers or I will microwave Tyson oven roasted diced chicken breast and toss it in with a salad. Somehow a salad doesn’t appeal to me those 2 days, and more often than not, Friday night is “breakfast night” or an “order and bring home meal”.

It helps/doesn’t help that I have breakfast an hour, sometimes 2 hours later than a weekday. All routine is tossed out the window! So then the question is, when do I eat, or want to eat, lunch? If my husband proposes something, I might still be full from breakfast. Too late, and I won’t be hungry for dinner.

I usually resort to an apple with peanut butter which will fill my stomach, but not too much if I have it later and if I have it too early, there’s always a snack. And that’s just SATURDAY!

On Sunday, I get around a little earlier and spend most of my day at the table researching for my It’s All About Family blog. Yes, shameless plug and that link will bring you to the first post in January of 2016. So much I thought I knew back then.

Sunday lunch during the summer is usually a ride for ice cream or if we’re on the boat, we’ll have something packed.

My husband does the grocery shopping on Thursdays so, you’d think by now, we might plan for those two days of the week.

Last Sunday we decided to order in grilled cheese sandwiches from this delicious cheese shop in town. Usually, I try to stay away from sandwiches and take out on the weekends for lunch is very unusual.

Any suggestions for weekend lunches? What’s your “go to” lunch?

2025, thoughts

Struggling

Posted on August 28, 2025 by nancyb422

Do you ever have days that you just struggle to get through it? To get work done? This is me. I am there.

What is the cause? Is it all the news that just seems to get worse every day? I don’t watch news but I do subscribe to a couple of sites for daily updates. They don’t overwhelm me and anyway, I can’t put my head in the sand and say, “oh well, so sad but it’s not about me.”

When are the congresspeople who are equally angry going to speak up? Step up? Band together? Anyone?