August 31st~

Relaxation is not a luxury, but a necessity 

for a healthy mind, body, and soul...

I have said this before and I will say it again.

Relaxation is not a destination, but a continuous 
journey towards self-discovery and inner peace...

~Nadiya~

August 30th NC~

Almost everything will work again if you 

unplug it for a few minutes…Including you...   

Out of the "office."  Will be back tomorrow 😂It is very
 important to recharge our batteries to uplift our spirits and
 refresh our perspectives towards life. It is often said that the
 best way to recharge yourself is to unplug yourself from the 
daily duties for sometime.  It's what I plan to do today.

To all a good day and "see" you tomorrow or maybe

 not.  Taking a break helps you understand yourself better

 and recharges your drained battery.  Always good💙.

Give yourself permission to unplug and regroup, 

without feeling guilty ❤ . You can’t be there for
others if you don’t take care of yourself first...

~Nadiya~ 

29th Greetings From North Carolina~

 Home is a place you grow up wanting 
to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to...

Greetings from Granite Falls hometown of my mom 

and dad.  For the next few days I plan to do as little as 

possible, and hopefully pamper my parent a bit.

As far as my memory can remember, and it remembers 

way back; my mom and dad have always done everything for us.  

They sacrificed a life to ensure we had all we needed to be successful

 in ours.  Today as an adult, I always want to express my gratitude 

and love to them by doing a little each time we get together

To all a very good day.  As always it's good to 

spend time with my parents.  I never take a 

single moment with them for granted.

Don't forget to relax and take care of yourself...

~Nadiya~

August 28th~ NC Here I Come

Every road leads to a new adventure...

 Usually after coming back home from Norway I 

always go visit my parents in NC.  This year I didn't 

because we will be seeing them all in October at 

Rima and George's open house in Virginia.

Sometimes circumstances dictate our actions.  

I am going to see mom and dad and I am excited 

as always and looking forward to spending a few

 days with them, and also to see my sister 

Mala who also lives in North Carolina. 

Looking forward to some relaxing days and for a 

change not cooking.  As always when I go to NC mom 

and dad always grill.  I love BBQ's and in Florida 

we never do it.  My dad is an expert "griller"

Sniff as usual will be in the care of Gail.  To 

all a good day and for the next few days I'm 

going home to mom and dad.  Always good.

Sorry, can't come to work. I'm stuck in a road trip...

~Nadiya~

Tuesday August 27th~

 Life is a succession of lessons which

 must be lived to be understood...

Yesterday I was not in the mood to cook.  Again. 

 I figure when Arvid's around I do more than enough

 cooking, so when I don't have to, why should I😂? 

Indian food never disappoints, so that's where I 

went. The restaurant is just a 10 minute drive from us. 

 Not very big, but the food is always very good.

Aside from that I didn't do much.  I did take a walk

to the ice-cream store.  I figure if I walk to and

 back home, I will have burnt some of the calories 

I ingested.  At least it made me feel better.

Sniff and I enjoyed quiet time.  We watched TV.  We 

fell asleep, woke up and watched some more TV.  We really

enjoy TV time because we just watch one thing, and not 

change the channels all day long and miss everything😂.

Good morning and a good day to all. Don’t 

let yesterday take up too much of today.

Always go with your passions. Never 

ask yourself if it’s realistic or not...

~Nadiya~

New Week~ August 26th

Every morning brings new potential, but it's 

what we do with it that makes a difference...

 And just like that August is coming to an end. 

 I think this month really went by too fast.  I hope

 the remaining of it slows down a little.  There is 

still so much I want to do.  I need more time.

Yesterday I did get to go to Fort Myers Beach 

for lunch and just walk around a little.  I like to browse

 around and just look, and I had all the time to do so 

without being rushed.  I really enjoyed it.  It was 

very peaceful and relaxing, and I took my time.

Lunch was at Doc Ford's.  Excellent location, 

good food and good drinks.  I was lucky to have 

a table in the shade, yet close to the water.

I watched a few boats go by.  The Pirate boat is

 always cool to see because it usually has reggae 

music blasting.  Yesterday was no exception.

After a few hours I was hot and had enough

 walking around.  I decided to go to the movies

 in the evening.  I saw Deadpool and Wolverine in

 RealID 3D.  The visuals were absolutely magnificent.

The movie was pretty long so by the time I got home it was 

pretty dark.  Of course Sniff was waiting by the door.  Since I

 was out most of the day he probably thought I took off again. 

Do today what should be done.  Instead 

of worrying about what you cannot control, 

shift your energy to what you can create...

~Nadiya~

Sunday August 25th~

Fight for the things that you care about, but do 

it in a way that will lead others to join you...

I went for another walk downtown early this morning. 

It was nice and breezy, so once again I got lucky. 

 Today I stopped into Starbucks for my early 

morning pick me up.  For me it’s always regular 

coffee. None of those fancy drinks this time 😱

 Have to watch the calories, or try to.  Not easy.

It was still very quiet.  Starbucks as usual had its 

customers since my guess it’s the only place downtown 

that opens at 5:30 in the morning.  No, I did not get 

there that early.  I wait for it to get a bit brighter.

Yesterday was supposed to be a quiet day spent 

at home, but by 5ish I started to get restless. I figured

 I may as well head out and do a bit more sampling.
Bahama Breeze. Boy they sure have delicious drinks.  

Of course I would like to try all of them, but 

I’m sorta running out of time 🤦🏻‍♀️The bartender

 recommended the coconut pineapple martini. 

I’m sure glad I listened to his suggestion.  

So delicious.  He tried to offer me other drinks, but 

I told him I was driving so one was my limit.  

You see this place is not walking distance 

from us. So since I have to drive, I will only

 have one drink.  No need to get pulled over.  

After that I felt in the mood for something

 sweet.  There are many places to choose from. 

Getting dessert is not a problem.  It’s too easy if 

you ask me and I am weak 😅 Too weak to resist.

So my knee hurts, but I just can’t seem 

to sit still for too long.  I always need to be doing 

something.  It sure might be the death of me, 

This restlessness of mine😳 will kill me.

Back home Sniff was “begging” for more

 soft foodies, but I didn’t give in.  I have to 

be strong so that he stays healthy 😉

Sunday. Definitely will be doing something. 

What not sure, but I’m thinking lunch at the beach.

  The day is warm. Blue skies, and like Arvid says to 

me all the time, “there is no place like home.”  My 

guess is someone really wants to come home 🫢

Wishing all a very good day.

If you don’t like the road you’re

 walking, start paving another one...

~Nadiya~

Saturday August 25th~

The only limits to the possibilities in your

 life tomorrow are the buts you use today...

 I don’t know exactly what or if I did anything differently

 yesterday, but by late evening I was hurting like crazy.

  Most of the day the pain was bearable helped by either 

Tylenol and or Aleve, but by late evening it was bad.

September 12 a looking like way too long to wait to

 see the orthopedic surgeon, but that’s the earliest (they say)

appointment available.  For all they care, I could die here

 at home 😂.  So I exaggerate a little bit, it’s still true.

The day was warm but dry.  Made for a good outing.  

This time I drove, no walking since I am resting the knee 

as much as I can. I was in the mood for Mexican, more 

like chips and salsa and guacamole.  I read the reviews 

of many and this one came out on top of the others.

Located near the mall so parking was no problem

 and afterwards I browsed around the mall I until 

I really started hurting, then sadly I had to leave.

The meals was delicious and the Miami Vice

 was so huge that I could not finish all of it 

 yes it was very delicious, but too big.

Sniff has to be on a diet.  The usual after a vets 

visit.  Now he can only have one wet food (Sheba) 

instead of two.  Boy is he sulking.  He loves his Sheba 

and keeps waiting on his mat for me to feed him.

The vet scared me enough about obesity and diabetes. 

 That I do not want to my Sniff  its not as if he’s starving 

either  he has dry food out all day long that may change

 as well.  Like his mama, Sniff loves his foodies.

To all a good day.  This morning I had a little 

walk downtown, just before it got hot.  Seems like

 someone else was thinking the same thing.  It's was 

and still is a beautiful morning with clear blue skies.

 If you take yourself lightly and don't take 

yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can

 find the humor in our everyday lives...

~Nadiya~

Friday August 23rd~

When it comes to luck, you make your own...

 Yesterday I took Sniff for his yearly check-up.  My 

Sniff is a healthy if not a tad bit "overweight" boy.

It took me a good 10-15 minutes to get him into the 

bathroom where I left his carrier for the last few days. 

 Another 10 minutes to actually get him in the carrier. 

 It's a workout and not an easy one, but we did it.

After that I decided to treat myself to some Cuban 

food.  It's been a while since I was there and the food

 and drinks are really good.  I had a delicious outing.

I had to give the Margarita a second chance, and I 

am happy I did.  I realized that I usually had the frozen

 Margarita, but now after having the one on the rocks, 

who knows.. maybe it's my next favorite drink.

It drizzled a little in the morning before I woke up, 

but now it's calm again.  Friday and as we all know, 

Fridays are made for cutting loose.  Happy Friday all.

Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities 

to come. Get up and make them...

~Nadiya~

Thursday August 22nd~

To fully enjoy life, all of us must find 

our own breathing space and peace of mind...

 Yesterday was a wet day mostly.  If you're Floridian 

you know that it suddenly rains really hard.  Stops and rains 

again.  This was most of the morning and early afternoon.  

I was really worried that I would not be able to get out.

Come mid afternoon the skies cleared up and I was 

able to get out and do a few things.  After my errands, 

I decided to go have lunch at  another place I have

 not been to before while living in Fort Myers. 

 I went to a Thai restaurant.  I love Thai food and this 

did not disappoint.  Everything was delicious.  I even

 tried Thai frozen coffee.  A bit strong, but delicious.

On my way home I spotted Iguana Mia (restaurant) 

 Long time ago when I lived in Fort Myers, it was

 a place we frequented a lot.  It's in the same 

location it was oh so many years ago.

  I decided to go in and check it out.  Once there I could 

not leave without having a Margarita.  I'm not crazy about 

Margaritas, but boy was it delicious.  I told the bartender 

I will be back, and I sure hope so.  It was delicious.

To all a good day.  This amigos is what happiness looks like.

If your mind is at peace, you are happy...

~Nadiya~