thoughts – Page 2 – Thoughts From The Passenger Seat

2025, Healthy Living, life

Beginning is easy, Continuing is Hard

Posted on December 26, 2025December 26, 2025 by nancyb422

That is a Japanese Proverb and it is oh, so true. For me, at times, even the Beginning is hard.

I told my husband this morning that this week will be a week of working on new habits and re-starting habits that fell by the wayside over the year. I’ll determine what works, what I like, and what I don’t and carry that in to the new year.

Some of those habits include:

Reading my daily bible plan entry in the Bible app
Writing a morning journal entry from the Ordinary and Happy website
Morning time management. I don’t have to get to the office at 9am, but I like to because then I can focus on organizational tasks instead of routine tasks
Schedule at least one day off each week
When we get a text for a bike ride – do it! Even if it’s a Monday (payroll can be done up until 8pm EST)
Plan breakfast, lunch, and my workout the night before
Wind down for the night after dinner so when the 9pm alarm goes off to take my magnesium pill, I’m ready to head upstairs. I love time to read in bed!

Is that too much? There at times, especially at night when I’m watching a show, I’m like an obstinate child. the alarm goes off, I turn it off, continue watching, and forget to take my pill altogether!

Wish my luck and we’ll see what sticks!

2025, family, life

Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2025 by nancyb422

*My sweet mini Christmas tree and the morning sunrise*

Christmas Day, re-birth, a new beginning. Like a precursor to the new year. I’ll spend the week, contemplating the past year and the year ahead.

My husband and I have opened our presents, all purchased by me this past Saturday. Various candies we enjoy, a book, puzzle, and gift cards. Gone are the days of agonizing over what to buy because we spent so little on ourselves through the year, it felt like we “needed” everything. Now, we need nothing, want nothing.

Our son and daughter-in-love will come over mid-morning for a late breakfast and to exchange presents. I’m grateful they live a few miles away, and more grateful that they want to be with us in the morning.

After they leave, I’ll break open my new puzzle – White Mountain brand, Saturday Cartoons – and we’ll watch Arthur Christmas, which was recommended on my “Ordinary and Happy” December 25th Daily Planner. I was not successful completing any of the suggested items but Today is always a great day to start.

I hope your day is a blessed one where ever and how ever you spend it.

2025, life

Another Tuesday Funeral

Posted on December 17, 2025December 17, 2025 by nancyb422

Yesterday, like last Tuesday, I went to a funeral. This was a much different one. This man was 17 days shy of his 89th birthday when he passed away, and he was surrounded by family who loved him and caregivers who had grown to love him over the time they’ve been with him and his wife in their home.

He was my sister’s father-in-law, and because my sister and her husband started dating in high school, fifty years ago, we have all known each other a very long time. The family has always included my family and me as part of their family.

His name was Marty, but he was also known as Lefty, and with the seven grandchildren, he was Pop. He enlisted in the Navy at 17 (he lied and said he was 18), met his future wife, married, and had three children. He was an embalmer for the family funeral home, owned a gas station at one point, and eventually settled on owning a boarding kennel in 1975, shortly after my sister and her husband started dating.

We would spend Sundays at the pool on the kennel property during summers in college, and again when our son was young. He would walk up from the house or the kennel to see what was going on. Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day were spent there with him and his wife, their kids, and grandkids. My dad was always included in the picnics and Sunday afternoons.

In the winter, they lived in Florida, and for the summer, they traveled to Connecticut. Several years ago, they started slowing down, so the condo was sold, and they moved north full-time.

Over the past few months, he declined quickly, and he passed away on Wednesday, December 10th.

There were calling hours and a service at the family funeral home where he worked, and he was interred with military honors at the cemetery in the family plot. His son-in-law and two granddaughters gave eulogies, and as they spoke, I remembered the man he was. He always had a smile on his face, was quick with a joke, loved to push people in the pool, and was happy to talk to you. He lived a long and full life. ❤️

2025, life

Death and the Holidays

Posted on December 15, 2025December 14, 2025 by nancyb422

I started this to talk about funerals and I still might but I know have to ask first, What is it about the holidays and death?

I attended a funeral last Tuesday for a former classmate. His death was not unexpected, it was just a matter of when because of life choices.

Wednesday evening, while at our group Christmas dinner and cookie swap, my sister received a phone call from her husband, that his father passed away. This was also not unexpected due to health issues and age. The service will be Tuesday.

Friday, while scrolling through Facebook, an obituary popped up for an elderly woman whom our company completed many remodeling projects for her and her daughter’s family. The wake is today.

All 2 to 3 weeks before Christmas. It feels so cruel, or is it so they will never be forgotten? My mother died two weeks before Easter when I was turning 27. My father died 23 years later on Palm Sunday and we buried him the day before Good Friday. Something I’ve never forgotten.

Now about funerals. A lot of people will only go to the wake but not the funeral. Even if the church is a straight mile down the road. Me? I attend the funeral. I see it as helping to send them home. I realize their soul has already departed, and maybe it’s more for me than for them. But I find comfort in the service.

What are your thoughts on death during the holidays and funerals?

2025, Books, Memories

Cheaper By The Dozen

Posted on December 4, 2025December 3, 2025 by nancyb422

One of my favorite books growing up was “Cheaper by the Dozen”. It was a memoir published in 1948 by the children of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth of New Jersey and takes place from the early 1900s through 1924.

Frank and Lillian were Time and Motion Study and Efficiency experts and they worked with companies to show how employees could be more efficient in their jobs. They had 12 children (actually 11 because one daughter died from diphtheria when she was 5).

The book shares stories of growing up in such a large family with a larger than life father in Frank.

I remembered this book when I was in the shower this morning – isn’t that where we all do our best thinking? One of the scenes in the book is Frank the father, showing his children, and then a larger audience, how to efficiently take a bath! He sits in a tub, or on the floor and describes as he goes through the motion of moving the soap from one side to the other, up the arms, down the legs and everywhere in between. His children were horrified!

The title of the book came from the times they would be driving down the road in the large, custom car they had to fit all the kids (this was the 1910s-20s), and someone would yell out, “Hey mister, how come you got all those kids?” He’d reply “Because they’re Cheaper by the Dozen!”.

The book was turned into a movie two years later and starred Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, and a sequel called, “Belles on their Toes” was published which talks of the families life after Frank dies and Lillian continues the time and motion study company.

You might only know of the 2003 remake that stars Steve Martin. I’ve never watched it and likely never will! I think I will add the two books to my “Read again” list for some pleasant reading because my heavy books.

Have you ever read either book or seen either movie?

2025, life

Letting Go

Posted on December 2, 2025December 2, 2025 by nancyb422

I currently have 197 open tabs on my IPhone. I feel like that says something about me. Will I miss one of it’s gone? Will I even notice?

My IPad and laptop are not that bad. By the way, my IPad and phone are not synced. Not since I had a faulty password app and nearly lost ALL my passwords.

Anyway, my life has always been a little like that too. Keep stuff gathered around so I don’t forget them. Projects, papers, files…

If I put it away, if I close the tab, I might want it later and won’t be able to find it again. Sort of like that jacket you never wear so you give it to Goodwill and then you buy a pair of pants and realize the jacket would have been perfect for it!

Maybe December is the time to close those tabs, put those files and papers away and make a note of where they are. It’s time to tidy up for the new year.

2025, Dreams

Second Sleep

Posted on November 22, 2025November 22, 2025 by nancyb422

Do you ever wake up early on the weekends, decide it’s too early to get up and you’ll “get up in 15 minutes”, and find yourself falling back to sleep for another 2 hours?

I do! It usually happens on Saturday, like this morning. I was wide awake at 5 am – 45 minutes earlier than my weekday morning time and thought I’ll lay here until 5:30, then get up. Then I fell asleep and woke up again at 7am.

These second sleeps are usually filled with crazy dreams about people I haven’t seen in years, and I’m usually traveling somewhere. This morning I was at a baby shower for a friend’s daughter and they live in California. I live in Connecticut so I don’t know where we were, but I drove somewhere, and then had to come back home for a baby stroller. I remember popping the truck of my car. Weird. But at the baby shower, I was there early, like I was one of the hostesses, but then I ended up in one of the bedrooms, and during the shower. I kept hearing a machine-like noise, and finally turned around to see a woman vacuuming in the bedroom.

Later, I was in a room with my husband, sister, and niece and someone I didn’t recognize. I couldn’t hear my niece’s conversation but she was implying she didn’t have any money for food. Then we were driving to a store for my husband and I to pick up food, but she was flying, so I offered her the bottle of MIO I had in my pocketbook, and, for what it’s worth, I did have a bottle of MIO in my pocketbook the other day to bring to my office!

When I wake up from these sleeps, I’m usually so groggy, I would like to just fall back to sleep and capture the thread of the dream. When I was in my teens and 20s, I usually would just wake and sleep until Noon! Ah, those were the days!

If you’ve read this far, thanks for hanging in with this stream of consciousness post. I looked it up, it’s a thing, and I’m here for it.

Have you ever experienced this second sleep and what do you think about it?

2025, Healthy Living, life

Goals Are Good…

Posted on November 19, 2025November 19, 2025 by nancyb422

Unless you are obsessive like I can be about things like goals.

I downloaded an app called Streak because it was recommended by a (real life) friend whom I admire. I decided to try it because I want to focus on keeping myself mentally and physically active.

With Streak, you create goals and select how often they need to be completed. Multiple times a day, every day, a few times a week, and so on.

My goals were 5 20 oz water a day, 7,000 steps a day, write blog post every day, take vitamins every day, leave for the office by 9am, and post a picture to Facebook every day. Some are simple like the water and vitamins, and the Facebook post. Getting my steps in is a little more difficult because I work in a very small office. I incorporated walking around our complex during my lunchtime for a half hour. However, I still have to get additional steps in during the day to hit that 7,000. Leaving for work by 9 is a struggle! Writing every day is a struggle!

After a week, I changed the office time to getting there by 9:30, because honestly, I like my morning time at home and, since I’m the boss, I guess it’s ok to set my own hours. I changed the writing to 3 times a week because I needed time to research and write for my family blog.

I guess that represents growth within me that instead of saying “this isn’t going to work!”, I make some simple adjustments.

Here’s to continuing my Streak!

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?