Happy Halloween! 🎃

Mr. G and I recently spent a few days in Destin last week. It has been 22 years since we last went there with my parents and brother. I had so many great memories of my parents, who are now gone, and how they so enjoyed staying at the Jetty East. Lovely place and perfect for families to enjoy the beach and so much more. This was my fourth time staying there and it won’t be the last. Just look at that sunset from our balcony!

The weather was perfect. It was quiet and there weren’t crowds with terrible traffic this time of the year. We did some thrifting, reading and just enjoying the time off. Three hurricanes in a month will put a strain on the body.

DERMATOLOGIST APPOINTMENT – I had my yearly appointment this month to check for skin cancer, which I started doing about 20 years ago mainly because I have a lot of moles on my body. Plus, I live where I’m in the sun often and I used to lay out for hours in the sun when I was younger. If you see something changing on your skin, please have it checked.

My takeaways from all of my conversations at these appointments:

• No more bed tanning or laying out in the sun for hours.
• Not all sunscreens are made the same!
• Many beauty Influencers DO NOT know the difference between chemical sunscreens and zinc oxide. When someone says a product has SPF, that doesn’t mean it’s protecting your skin from further damage or sunburn. Do your research. Your skin (damage) depends on it!
• My dermatologists recommend EltaMD Sunscreen with zinc oxide. I use this on my face all the time. I also use the tinted version for a touch of color.

OUR YEARLY EXAM – Mr. G and I also had our yearly exam which is mainly to look at all the blood work we had done a couple of weeks ago. If you don’t know, I had some high blood sugar issues a few years back with my A1C going over 10! I immediately stopped eating flour and sugar and my glucose went back to normal. My whole diet changed after that and I now live a low-carb lifestyle. It has worked and here is the best part. My cholesterol has gone down too! I found out that high blood sugar can make your cholesterol go up. Heart disease runs in my family, so this has been a great bonus. I don’t take any meds and don’t want that to change. If I can keep healthy by working out and eating better, then that’s what I will do. But let’s be real, I do cheat. I still love my fancy coffee once a week. 😉

The picture above is 3 generations of military – My dad, my brother, my nephew.

My nephew recently graduated from boot camp and is officially an Army soldier. He is so excited about his future now. He is in school for several weeks and will head home the week of Thanksgiving for the first time since August. He lost about 40 pounds during boot camp and a total of 90 pounds over the past year. If you want to lose weight and gain a LOT of muscle, head to boot camp! 😉

Any Back to the Future fans? If so, go to the O’Reilly Auto Parts website, type 121G in the search bar, and hit enter or click search. You can thank me later! 🤣😂

EASY LAZY SKILLET LASAGNA – In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown 1 pound of Italian sausage, breaking apart, until cooked through. Mix in 5 oz. of spinach and continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes, until wilted. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in 24 oz tomato basil sauce and 25 oz frozen cheese ravioli. Cover; continue cooking for 5 to 8 minutes until ravioli is heated and bubbly. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese until melted.

Looking for something for Christmas this year? Check out what I have found in my favorites.

🦃 FUN AND INTERESTING FACTS: Only male turkeys make the well-known “gobble, gobble” sound that has come to be associated with the holiday. In fact, male turkeys are even known as “gobblers.” Females make other noises, such as purring and cackling. 🦃