My Ups and Downs of Everyday Life

starting over with new journal

2008-10-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

I am trying to figure out how to add my new link for my new journal. If anyone can help I would appreciate it.

http://myupsanddownsofeverydaylife.blogspot.com/

Well, my daughter knows more than I do on the computer. thanks sweetie

Bone Tired but Happy

2008-09-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

My computer seems to be working fine now. I am glad that I didn't have to take it back. I guess all I needed to do was completely install the AT&T Yahoo installer and I was able to get on line. All those hours, yes I said hours of talking to all the different techs in India. I thought I was going to lose it but I was determined to get back on line. I am doing the happy dance.

I am also very happy because we had my hubby's 50th birthday party. It was so much fun but I am glad it is over. It started at 2pm Saturday and just ended around 7 pm Sunday. I had family sleep over and then we watched the Bears game which they lost in overtime. I think about 50 friends and family showed up.

I will have to download the pictures when I am not so tired. I am so ready to hit the sheets early tonight. Well, I have so much to say about the party but I can't seem to concentrate right now. Have a great evening.

Back On, but not for long

2008-09-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I am happy to be back on line but I have to return my tower because my Internet Explorer is not working. I was able to get on yesterday and today using my AT&T Yahoo installer. I would have to reinstall it every day in order to get on so I don't want to do that. I was talking to Compaq for 3 hours, can you believe that. It took 3 hours and nothing was resolved but to return my tower. They offered to send a box so I could send it back but I told them I would just return it to where I bought it and get a new one. I might be able to do it tomorrow but we are having a big birthday party for my hubby on Saturday and I am not sure I will have time this week.

I hope to be making tons of entries once I am completely back on. I hope you week is going better than mine.

Take Care

I am missing all of your journals

2008-05-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

I am sitting at the library and we only get an hour to use the computer so I am going to try and read some of your journals. I hope you all are having a wonderful spring. Love to all

computer broke

2008-05-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, I am at the library putting in this entry because my computer is completely fried. I am not sure what I am going to do yet. I cancelled my aol account. I only have it until the 15th of this month. I am going to miss reading all of your journals. I hope you all have a great summer and I hope to be back on within the next few months. Take Care.

Spring Time in Illinois

2008-03-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks Missie for the beautiful spring tag.

These are the 2 dresses we bought for my daughter. The first one she is going to wear for class night and the second one is for graduation.

The pictures don't do them justice. They are so beautiful. When we got to the mall we went to Sears first. We didn't really see anything but long prom dresses. The next store we went to was JC Penney's. We didn't see anything there. My daughter had to call her friend to see which store they went to the other day that had the dress she wanted. We went over to Carson's and found these. I was so happy with here choices. She tried them on and looked like a princess. We didn't get shoes or purse yet. The dresses cost enough for now.

My daughter is spending the night at her friend's house. She went to a skating park with her today. I am thinking of getting into my pj's and just relaxing for the rest of the night.

I finished planting all of my herb, vegetable and flower seeds in pots. I can't wait to plant them in the garden. Here is a picture of our empty garden.

My husband build a pond on the other side of our garage. I am not sure if I showed the picture last year. He is still going to be working on it this year because we have a leak somewhere and he can't find it.

Well, I am missing my program Big Brother so you all have a wonderful evening.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Easter. My hubby had to work until 2:30. We had a nice quiet dinner at 5:30. I made a roast with mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, broccoli, mushrooms and biscuits. I am so ready for bed now but I am going to wait because if I go to bed this early I will be up 4 am.

My daughter and I are going shopping for 2 dresses. One for class night and one for graduation. I can't believe she is graduating 8th grade. Time sure does fly. I am probably going to have her 14th birthday party and graduation party together. She graduates May 22nd and her birthday is June 1st. We are probably going to have the party at my sister-in-laws trailer park. They have 2 big pools and horseback riding. We may even have a sleepover in tents. It sounds like fun.

I have been feeling a lot better lately. I am still pretty down about my weight but I know eventually I will get my mind back into it.

Well, I have a big day tomorrow at the mall and to finish planting all my vegetable and flower seeds indoors. I already have my chili peppers sprouting up so I thought I would try to start a lot of my plants from seed.

Feeling Down

2008-01-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to get out of this funk/depression. I don't know what it is. I don't want to go anywhere and I don't want to talk to anyone. I am thinking of making an appointment to go see my doctor. A few weeks ago I stayed in bed for about a week. I got up to get my daughter off to school but I went right back to bed. I put on my happy face when I have to but other than that I just can't seem to pull it together.

I have been cooking and baking a lot. I seem to get enjoyment out of that but in the process I am eating way to much. I was losing weight for awhile but totally gave up and have been on the road to destruction.

It has been very cold here. It is in the single digits and with the wind chill some days -35 degrees. You can't even go outside and do anything.

Well, enough of my complaining. Hopefully my next entry won't be so negative. Thanks for letting me vent.

Beautiful Day

2008-01-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

It has been a beautiful day today. I can't believe the other day it was 14 below and today it is 59 degrees. It is making me think of spring. I had a few windows and doors open today. I know it will be short lived. I keep thinking about my garden. Counting down the days. LOL

This week I was having a hard time staying on plan but I did lose 4 lbs. I am not making anymore cookies. A few hours ago someone came to the door and my hubby answer it, it was the girl scout that my hubby ordered cookies from. I couldn't believe it. He ordered 3 boxes. I am staying upstairs and not going near them.

The other day I was cleaning out my pantry and I had some barley and lentils so I went on line and found this wonderful soup. It tastes so good. I still have tons left because no one else in the house will eat it. I may freeze some since I just got through making chicken breasts in the crockpot with my spicy tomato sauce with vegetables. I put it over brown rice. That is what I had for dinner.

My daughter and I did the 1 mile walk away the lbs tape. I thought I was going to die halfway through. We probably could have gone outside and walked since it was so beautiful but we decide to do the tape instead. I pulled my pro form machine from out of the walk in closet. I am going to start slow on that machine because it is hard.

My daughter goes back to school tomorrow. It is going to be a very busy week. Her volleyball games start tomorrow. On Tuesday we are both suppose to volunteer for market day at her school but she has a game so it will probably be me and hubby doing that since we have to miss her game. Market day is mandatory this year. She is graduating 8th grade in May so we have to put in volunteer hours.

Well, I think I am going to go start my new book that hubby bought for me.

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks Missie for this tag. Missie's Magical CreationsI want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. My night was uneventful. I just watched tv because hubby had to work at 6am and he was sound asleep. My daughter had a sleepover and I called her at midnight and she was outside yelling and making snow angels.

I woke up this morning and it was -14 below with the wind chill.

We have another night of cold weather and then they are talking about it getting into the 50's on Saturday. This is some crazy Illinois weather but I am used to it by now. I have only left my house a few times and that was to let my neighbors 2 dogs out and to play with the 7 cats. They are vacationing in Florida. I wish.

My daughter was at the library over the summer with her friend and someone stole my digital camera out of her friends purse. They found the purse in the boys bathroom. We decided to buy her a digital camera for Christmas. I just downloaded some Christmas decorations of the outside of our house. They are a little blurry but I am going to try to put them in the journal.

I am back to trying to get healthy this year. I didn't make any resolutions because every year I seem to break them. I have noticed a lot of journals this one especially Body of Evidence (I hope you don't mind Erica that I gave you a shout out)mentioning getting healthy and I know they will help me with my struggle. I just have to get myself motivated to move. I know that is a big part of it.

Here is one of the pictures.

Well, I am going to read some email and pick up my daughter from her girlfriends house in a few minutes.

This month sucks

2007-12-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

I don't think this is going to be such a good Christmas for us this year. My sister in law/ just found out that she has breast cancer. She has ductal carcinoma. She seems to be handling it pretty well. She seen her surgeon yesterday and today she is seeing another doctor. Hopefully we will know more about what is going on after she sees this doctor. Please keep her in your prayers. Thank you.

Cooking and Baking All Day

2007-12-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

I have been a real busy bee today. I woke up about 5am and tossed and turned. I got on the computer and read some emails and about 6:15 went back to bed for 45 minutes. I got my daughter up for school and gave her breakfast. I then started my northern bean and ham soup. I wanted to soak the beans before I drove my daughter to school.

I also was in a baking mood so I made my hubby some carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and some peanut butter cookies. He loved them. My daughter wants me to make rice krispy treats and lemon bars tomorrow. She has an early release from school so I told her to bring her friend over and they can make some vanilla cupcakes with french vanilla frosting. I am not sure if I am going to want to do more baking tomorrow.

They are calling for a snow storm to start in about an hour. I heard the weather man say between 3 to 6 inches.

I really don't think that is much of a snow storm. I don't mind the snow as long as I don't have to drive in it. My hubby did all the driving the other day when we had the rain/sleet/snow storm. I couldn't even walk out on my back deck.

If the roads aren't to bad in the morning I will probably go get some movies from Blockbuster. I want to see the new Pirates movies and my daughter wants SuperBad and Nanny Diaries. She is downstairs right now watching a Lindsay Lohan movie. I watched a movie called Waitress yesterday. It was ok.

Well I am starting to get hungry. I had my ham and bean soup for lunch. I am not sure what I have a taste for.

Everyone have a lovely evening.

Happy Holidays

2007-12-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

I sure have missed everyone and since I am not working anymore I will have more time to dedicate to my j-land friends. LOL

I have finally finished our Christmas decorations. It only took us 8 days. I always put up tons of lights through out the whole house and outside. I was the only one who put the ornaments on the tree today. My hubby was working and when I picked my daughter up from her sleepover she said she was sick. She took a long nap this afternoon and she took some medicine at 8 pm and I am hoping she can make it to school tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am going to go finish my Christmas shopping. We are only shopping for our daughter this year. I told my hubby not to get me anything. It is going to be tight this year since I lost my job about 5 weeks ago. I have been filing out job applications but it seems this time of year nobody is hiring. I will keep trying.

Our garden this year turned out great. We always plant way too much. I just finished using the last 25 plum tomatoes. I have been roasting them with onions and mushrooms. I made my own basil vinegarette from my basil plant and I dizzle it over the vegetables and either eat them that way or put them over whole wheat pasta or brown rice. I must admit that I am getting sick of tomatoes. I say this every year but next year only 1 plant of tomatoes. I think I am going to plant more flowers.

Well, I was going to write a longer entry but I am getting very sleepy and I have to be up at 6 am.

just testing

2007-11-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

Just doing a test since I haven't been here for 7 months. LOL Thanks Missie for the beautiful sidebar tag. I may snag more. I will be doing an entry soon. Hugs

Missing My Journal

2007-04-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't done an entry in almost 7 weeks. I have been pretty busy with the new job. On Friday the girl I worked with quit. I don't think he is going to hire anyone else right now. I work with this guy and we agreed we would split the 67 hour work week. I don't mind because I did want it to be full time.

I have been doing great on my change of life eating habits. I have lost a total of 32 lbs since Jan. 1st. I am feeling wonderful. I think my job has a lot to do with it. I am on my feet a lot and walking back and forth. I have so much energy right now.

Well, I have to make this short. I just wanted to check in with everyone and say hi. I can't keep my eyes opened any longer.

I hope to catch up on everyone's journals very soon.

Checking In

2007-02-28T06:17:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to check in and say hi. I haven't done an entry since the 15th.

Everything is going great here. I lost another 2 lbs which brings my total to 23 lbs lost so far. I just started reading The Best Life Diet book by Bob Greene. I just read a few pages and it seems to make a lot of sense to me. I am going to try and follow it.

My birthday was Saturday and we had a nice time. I opened my presents and then we went out to dinner. When we left the restaurant our car was covered in ice. We had a ice/snow/rain and everything in between storm. It was crazy.

I have a pretty short week on the work front. I only worked 11:30 to 3 today and yesterday. Tomorrow it is from 10:30 to 4. I have off on Friday and Monday which is good because my daughter is off of school and we want to spend some time together at the mall and maybe go to the show.

Well, I am off. Sorry no graphics and I have catching up to do with journals and some housework. Take Care Everyone.

Hugs, Detje Bea

Quick Entry

2007-02-15T06:57:00.000-08:00

Just a quick entry to say that I am doing great. I have lost 20 lbs. so far this year. I am feeling good but very sore from standing on my feet at the new job. Today I am working at both stores. The first store from 11:30 to 3:00 and then I get to drive home to pack up my dinner and start at the other store at 4:00 and get off at about 8:30. He fired one girl and another girl quit to go back to school, so he has been keeping me very busy. I don't mind though.

I maybe shutting off my alerts for awhile. I have been having a hard time trying to find time to read them and to comment. The only time I can get on is in the morning and when I get home from work but I have been letting some of the household duties suffer. My daughter has been really good at washing the bedrooms and doing the floors on her hands and knees.

Yesterday for Valentine's Day my daughter wrote me a beautiful letter and made a pillow shaped like a heart with a little pillow shaped like a heart on top of it. She used her girlfriend's sewing machine. She also wrote her dad a beautiful letter and made him a small scrapbook. She is the cutiest little thing. We love her so much.

I hope everyone has a great day. See you soon. I hope. LOL

Working Girl

2007-02-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to come in and make a quick entry. I was interviewed for a job on Wednesday and they called me yesterday at about 4:30 and asked if I could come in now. I hopped in my car and started working at 5. I got home at about 8:45. I was on my feet for about 3 1/2 hours. I am not used to that and my feet were killing me. Oh before I forget I am working at a video store. It is only about 10 minutes away and they have 2 stores. I thought I was going to be working at the store they interviewed me in but they decided to have me work at their other store. I don't mind because they are both the same amount of distance.

When I was driving home from my interview and heading into town I noticed a sign that said Bank of Elwood, call so and so if you are interested. I figured if I didn't get the job I was going to call. I still might call because that is the field I have worked for most of my life. I worked at Harris Bank for almost 10 years and a few other banks in between. They haven't built the Bank of Elwood yet. Our small town is really building up. Our town consists of 2 bars, a small grocery store, laundry mat and that is about it. It is like Mayberry town. LOL We just love it.

Well, I am off to doing things around the house. I don't start working until 4 and get off at about 9:30. I haven't worked in 10 years so I know it is going to take time for me to adjust.

Wish me luck.

TGIF

2007-01-19T04:55:00.000-08:00

I woke up early and I am in such a good mood. I don't have much going on today except a few things on my to do list.

Yesterday I went to the grocery store to get a few things because I wanted to make my hubby and neighbor some cole slaw. I also made hubby some raspberry cheese cake bars. I only had a small one but those are dangerous. I better pass some out to the neighbors before I get my hands on them. I already had my Kashi cereal with a banana. I seem to have so much more energy since I started eating right. I still have a little problem at night when I start feeling hungry. I think once I start with scanning all of my pictures on cd's and scrapbooking it will keep my mind off of eating. Let's hope. LOL

This is the entertainment center one of our friends gave us. He and his wife just went out and bought a big screen TV and didn't need the entertainment center anymore. It is brand new. They didn't want any money for it. We just love it.

My computer has been really slow. I only have dial up but it still seems to take a long time for everything. I am ready for a new one. I think I have had this one for about 5 or 6 years now. I love the flat screen from Dell. I might just get the same one and give this one to my daughter.

I am off to get my first cup of coffee. Everyone in the house is still asleep and I have to wake up my daughter in about 5 minutes and also make her lunch. Have a great weekend.

Keeping Busy

2007-01-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how busy I have been. I haven't done an entry in 2 weeks. I have been cooking so much and using my new Food Saver I got for Christmas. The last 2 weeks I have made tons of meatballs and sauce, 10 hamburgers with green peppers and onions in them, sloppy joes, salmon, orange roughy. I also made about 3 dozen breakfast burritos. They really aren't the size of burritos because I use corn tortillas and fill them with scrambled eggs,

crumbled bacon, peppers and onions. I freeze 2 in a bag and pop them in the microwave. I forgot to say they I have been trying to eat .

My daughter and I have been going to the mall every weekend. We went to American Eagle and I bought her a shirt and pj bottoms. We also went to Aeropostale and got a spaghetti strap baby blue shirt that she likes to wear under her shirts for only $1.97. I couldn't believe it. She wanted white but they only had blue. We decided to go to TGIFridays and I got this wonderful Santa Fe Chicken Salad. It was so spicy but good. My daughter had chicken fingers and fries and said they were the best she has ever had. When we finished lunch we were going to go see Pursuit of Happiness and were standing in line and she said lets just go see it tomorrow. We didn't go today because she slept by her friend's house and I wanted to watch the Bears football game. We won. Yes!

I love my new scanner. I am having so much fun scanning pictures. Here is one of me and hubby at a wedding. Here is another one at a restaurant in our old neighborhood.

We have been having some wonderful weather up until last night. We had a little ice storm. They are calling for a few inches of snow tonight. I don't mind as long as it is a few inches of snow. I let my dog Bambi out on the back deck and he started out running and flew off the deck because it was so icy. I wish I had my camera. Dog flying. LOL

I am having such a wonderful time learning how to scrapbook. I am reading a book right now about it called Scrapbook Workshop. I think I got it about 5 years ago with a disc to download on computer. I bought a basket of stuff for my daughter with scrapbooking stuff but it looks like I am going to use it instead of her. There were 2 albums in the basket so I told her to use the small album and I will use the big one. I am not sure where I got this picture. My memory seems to be going with old age.

I am trying to eat more brain food for my memory. LOL

Well, I am going to finish watching Brothers and Sister. I love that show.

A Better Year 2007

2006-12-31T12:16:00.000-08:00

I want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year. The last couple of weeks have been a blur. Yesterday was my husband's family Christmas party. We had a great time but my MIL, SIL and niece were not there. My MIL and SIL were sick. I knew my SIL wasn't coming but I was in shock that my MIL was not there. The party was not the same with here not there. I know she had a bad cold and she got home from being on a cruise on the 18th. We really missed her. We got home about 11 pm. We were all pretty tired. My hubby had to work today. I know he is going to want to take a nap since he got up at 5 am.

We are suppose to go to my SIL house today but I don't think we are going to go. My hubby has to work tomorrow also. I would like to go just to watch the Bears game that was suppose to start at noon but was changed to 7:15 pm. I know my daughter and I can go but I really hate driving the expressway at night. I guess I will decide by 6 if we are going. My hubby's car is broke and he has been using mine. We have to have his towed on Tuesday. We still have a warranty on it but I know getting it towed is going to cost a pretty penny.

I just want to say that I am sorry I haven't really been commenting in your journals much. It has been a hard couple of months.

I sure hope 2007 is a better year for me and my family.

I think I will be joining weight watchers and there are a few journals that are having weight loss support so I know that will help me. I knew that with my insurance not letting me get the bypass surgery that I will again try to do it with eating right and walking. My knees have been giving me trouble lately and I am going to have to take it slow. Everytime I read Linda's journal I get so inspired. I know I can do it. Linda's Thotful Spot /Weight Loss Journey

It was really great seeing the 3 new babies in the family yesterday. Here is Mya: Isn't she a sweetie.

My husband and daughter were very good to me this Christmas. I got a new digital camera, a scanner so I can put all of my old pictures on cd's and a small refrigerator for the master bedroom which is on the second floor. I always drink cold water and with my knees bothering me that is why he bought it for me so I don't have to keep going up and down the stairs or sending my daughter.

My daughter and I just got through watching Little Miss Sunshine. It was a cute movie but they could have left out all the swearing and sexual content. I have a movie called All The King's Men and I will probably wait until my hubby gets home in about 25 minutes to see if he wants to watch it with me, if he can stay awake. LOL

Well, I think I am going to jump in the shower and see what hubby wants to do. Take care everyone and have a safe and happy New Year.

Sad News

2006-12-20T14:35:00.000-08:00

My Aunt Joretta died yesterday of terminal lung cancer. She was 75 years old. My father had 21 brothers and sisters and I only have an Aunt left who is 80 and an Uncle who is 78. It has been a very painful year with my brother passing away and now my aunt. Keep me in your prayers. Thank You.

Time Is Flying By

2006-12-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

My daughter just came up to me with a piece of paper and asked me to write down what I want for Christmas. I know my hubby asked her to do this so they can remember. I wrote down about 7 things. I don't want all of them but just giving them suggestions. I really want a scanner for my computer. I want to put all of my old pictures on cd's. I also put a digital camera since mine seems to have bit the dust.

I only have to get a few more things for my daughter and hubby. My hubby won't give me any ideas on what he wants.

I went and got him some music cd's and dvd's. I asked him about 10 times tell me what you want and he always says I will tell you tomorrow. Men! He is the biggest procrastinator.

My sister sent me the most beautiful card. When I found out I was denied the surgery I received her card 2 days later. The front of it says: What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. -Ralph Waldo Emerson- I love her so much. I wish we lived in the same state.

We have been having some very mild weather here. It was 54 degrees out today. We did have some rain but that was ok because it melted all the snow away. The only time I like snow is on Christmas morning.

I think I am going to finish my shopping either tomorrow or Thursday. Thanks D's Designs for the beautiful graphic. I want to be finished by the end of the week. I have been slowly mailing out my cards this year. Every year I always mail my Christmas cards the day after Thanksgiving. I don't know what my problem is this year.

I took so many pictures of the outside of the house but I haven't had them developed yet. I have 8 more pictures to take before I take it in. I wanted to put them in the journal but I probably won't get them developed until after Christmas. It must be my age because I am doing everything so much slower this year.

Denied

2006-12-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

My insurance company denied me having the gastric bypass surgery. I have never been so depressed in my life. I was on the phone with my sister in law when the other call came through and put my sil on hold and when I came back to talk to my sil I just started crying and I couldn't talk.

I hung up with her and called my sister in Tennessee. She wants me to go back to Weight Watchers and try again. I am also thinking about maybe seeing how much a personal trainer is just to get me started on the right track. I really didn't have a plan B if the insurance company denied me. Oh well, enough of the whining about that. I just tried to keep myself busy today with other things in the house.

Everything is decorated in the house.

There is only a few things that needs to be done outside but since it is freezing

here we are probably going to wait a few days. I took a few pictures with the disposable camera since my digital one is only taking blurry pictures. As soon as I am finished with the camera I will take it in and have them put my pictures on a cd so I can show them in my journal. I am so proud at how our house looks.

We got so much snow the other day. First we had a ice storm and then we got about 8 inches of snow. It is not melting at all since it is so cold out. Right now it is only 21 degrees. Brrrrrr

Well, I am going to end this since I am getting sleepy. Have a nice evening everyone and thanks for letting me rant.

I am still not through

2006-11-27T18:43:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that I haven't even started on my tree yet. I have been so busy putting lights through the whole house. I have my daughter's bedroom to do and the master bedroom's bay window. My hubby finished doing the bay window in the dining room because they are so big and I have a hard time doing them. My hubby and daughter are at Menard's right now getting some clips so he can hang all the outside lights tomorrow. I have a feeling he is getting some lawn decorations also. The one my mother in law gave us broke last year so hubby threw it out.

I wish I had a fireplace so I could hang our stocks on. I usually hang our stockings from the Christmas lights I put around our entertainment center. It looks ok but I always wanted a fireplace. I think if we move in 2 years that will be one of the things I will want in our house.

I have this beautiful wreath on the front of my inside door. It is made of walnuts and has lights through out it. My ex sister in laws father made it for my mother. I will take a picture of it when we finish decorating the whole house.

The weather here has been so beautiful. It has been in the upper 50's to lower 60's. On Thursday it is only suppose to be in the 30's. I told my hubby he only has a few more days of nice weather to put the outdoor decorations up. I think if I didn't tell him that he wouldn't have gotten his butt up off the couch to go to Menard's.

I love reading everyone's journal where they are talking about their different holiday memories. When I was a kid we used to be able to open one gift on Christmas Eve. I loved that. We would go to church Christmas morning and then come home to a great meal my mother would make.

Well, it is time for me to go because I just heard my daughter and hubby come home and I want to see what they bought.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

I took my daughter to her foot doctor to check to make sure her toe was healing. He said it was doing great and to keep on soaking it once a day. My daughter told us the last couple of days her other foot was hurting her. My hubby looked at it and thought she had a sliver in it. He is the one that always takes them out when that happens. I told him let just wait and see what the doctor says. I am happy we waited because she had a planters wart. He put some kind of medicine on it and said he would check it in 2 weeks.

When I was driving home from the doctor's I told my daughter I wish my appointment was earlier than 2:30. When I got home the phone rang about 30 minutes later and the lady I was going to see about gastric bypass asked if I could come in earlier. I was so happy. I left at 10:15 and got there at about 11. We talked for 2 hours. I will know if my insurance will cover it within a week. I can't wait. This whole process is going to take about 7 months if my insurance covers the surgery. I can't believe everything I have to do. My head was spinning but I want it bad. Keep your fingers crossed that I get approved.

My hubby went to a concert today. He went to see Pink Floyd. It is not the original. I hope he has a good time. I can't believe he was going out with all the traffic today. Right before he left I told him that one of the expressways said that it was taking something like 3 hours to get to the airport and that was the way my hubby was going. I am going to try and stay up so I can see if he had a good time.

I am thinking of going shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I have never done that before but I think I wouldn't mind this year. I noticed that a few of the stores are opening at 5am. I also start putting up my Christmas decorations so we will see if I have that much energy. LOL

It is already 8:05 here and I am getting tired. I am thinking maybe if I stay on the computer that will keep me awake until hubby gets home but I don't think it is going to work. Every day I tell myself I am going to sleep late but I keep thinking about the dog and I get up and let him out and feed him. My hubby used to do it before he left for work but told me recently that he doesn't have time in the morning. Everyone wanted the dog but all the things he needs falls on me. I have to cut his nails every 2 weeks because they get so long. Every time it rains and he goes digging in the mud I have to put him in the sink and wash off his paws. I know I need to stop whining since tomorrow is Thanksgiving and start being grateful for the people and pets that I love.

Well, I guess I am going to wrap this up and go watch some mindless TV. I thought Biggest Loser was on tonight but I guess not.

As you can see I am trying to put in all of my graphics. LOL I just love graphics and all the tags everyone has been making.

I was wondering why every time I do an entry now it goes so far over to the left. If anyone knows how I can fix that please let me know. Thanks Sorry for third correction. I mean my other left. LOL the right.

Lazy Saturday

2006-11-18T06:25:00.000-08:00

I think it is going to be a lazy day today. I don't feel like doing much except relaxing. I didn't sleep very well last night. I think it was because I took a nap yesterday. I did do a lot of running around yesterday. I went to the bank and then to the Hostess store to get about 12 loafs of bread. We have 2 deep freezer and I love stocking up on bread because we go through it like crazy. I also have 2 refrigerators. One is in the garage and we basically keep milk, juice, coffee creamer and water in that one. I also went to Sam's Club to get a few items. I love having the Gold Club membership where you can go in at 7am and shop. I got there at about 9:30 and it was already getting crazy. They were having tons of displays with all sorts of goodies. I am happy I left when I did.

I went to Blockbuster's after Sam's Club because my daughter really wanted to see John Tucker Must Die. It was a cute movie. We didn't start watching it until 7:30 pm because my daughter also took a nap which turned out to be almost 3 hours. We also watched a movie called The Groomsmen. It was pretty slow and boring but my daughter and I wanted to watch it till the end to see what happened. We have one more movie to watch today and that is Cars. That movie looks so cute. I can't wait until see gets up so we can watch it.

It is about 32 degrees right now and I am thinking of going back to bed for a hour of so. My feet are so cold. It is going to get up to about 43 degrees. The weather here hasn't been to bad. I can't complain. When it starts snowing then you will hear me complain. LOL

My hubby went back to smoking. He was smoking for 2 weeks before he told me. I didn't even smell it on him. He said he didn't tell me because he thought I would be disappointed in him. I said do you know how many times I have lost weight and gained it back. How could I be disappointed in you when I am struggling with an addiction. FOOD!

I have been putting off getting a mammogram.

I am always really good at going every year to get it done but this year I don't know what is up with me. I think it might be because of all the bills I still owe on the surgery from last year. I know that is no excuse.

Anything and Everything

2006-11-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been 9 days since I posted an entry. I have been trying to do it for days now but something always comes up. My daughter needs the computer, the phone rings or the dog needs my attention. I have been so busy lately that I missed my anniversary of Nov. 5th of when I started writing in this journal. It has been a great year and I have met so many great j-land friends. Even though I don't write in my journal that much anymore or comment a whole lot in your journals I just wanted to let you all know that I am reading them and enjoying what is going on in your lifes. You all mean the world to me.

On Monday I went to see the gastric bypass surgeon. I was only in his office for about 10 minutes. I have to go on Wednesday to be evaluated. They have this woman on staff who just fights your insurance company if you don't get approved. This is not a snap decision for me. I researched this 2 years ago and my hubby and I went to see films on the procedure and meet other patients who have had this done. My insurance at the time would not cover it. I am trying at a different hospital and we also have different insurance this time. The doctor told me it takes 6 months to a year for everything to go through.

I couldn't believe how much weight I have gained since I fell off my diet. When I got on the scale at the doctor's office, it was one of the scales that does the bmi and everything. I was in shock. My body is starting to feel the effects of all this weight. I am on 3 medications right now. 2 are for my blood pressure and the other is Pepcid for the ulcer that I had years ago but I still have to take the Pepcid becauseI bled out twice from it. The first time I thought I had the bad case of the flu but went to the emergency room and I was down 4 pints of blood. I guess I should have known something was wrong when my stools were black. (TMI) LOL

I have been doing tons of cleaning in the house the pass couple of weeks. I put my Christmas decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving. We decided we are going to my sister in law's work on Thanksgiving. She is a waitress and has to work that day. I love this idea because I don't have to cook. Everyone in the family is basically doing their own thing. I am so happy my husband's days off are Thursday and Friday or he would have to work those days. He is probably going to do the outside of the house next Friday. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

I just love all the tags and graphics that everyone has been putting in their journals and sharing. They are all so beautiful. I especially love this one because I collect snow globes/music boxes. Thanks De over at D's Designs . She makes some amazing tags.

Well, I am off to vacuum some of the bedrooms. Take Care.

Happy to be back on line

2006-11-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

I am just so happy to be back on line. I waited for almost 2 weeks before I called AOL. I don't know why I waited so long. I got on the phone with the tech and he solved the problem within 10 minutes. When I went to the library to check my email you can only go on for an hour. It wasn't to bad because I love going to the library.

I have gotten tons of things done in the house. We moved out my old dresser and computer desk. My dresser was about 25 years old and it was the dark and heavy wood. I got a nice light wood dresser for free since our good friend is a mover and people throw out some very good stuff. My neighbor also gave me his corner desk which is light wood and I love it. I also needed a corner nightstand and it came along with the dresser so it matches. I just took a picture of both so I will try to put it in the journal. They turned out a little blurry.

Well, I just wanted to put in an entry and let you all know I will be catching up on your journals real soon. I still am trying to organize my desk and put some pictures and plants on it.

Have a good day.

Article in Paper

2006-10-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

I seen this article in the Chicago Tribune Sunday paper in the Metro section and right away I thought of Melissa over at My Back Pages and I wanted to put it into my journal today.

It is called: The rhyme and reason of running

(With marathon day dawning O'er the streets of old Chi-town A runner and non-runner Both decided to sit down) The marathon was on Sunday

To talk about the meaning

Of the long and winding race

Which to the one who didn't run

Seemed like a senseless chase.

"Please tell me," said the non one

"oh please tell me why you run

That huffing and that puffling!

Oh please tell me why that's fun.

"I look at all the joggers

As they trot along the street

And all I think is man oh man

That's murder on their feet

"They're grimaching and grunting

And they're limping like lame ducks

My friend, I have to tell you

Why I think that running......"

The runner took offense then

And he cried, "How wrong you are!"

He laced his new New Balance shoes,

He munched his Balance bar.

He'd loaded up on carbos

And he'd quaffed some Gatorade

He didn't want to hear this whiner

Pout on his parade.

"I run to feel I'm flying."

said the runner: full of glee,

"It's only when I'm running

That I feel I'm really free.

"I know that when I'm jogging

I may look just like a dork.

But thanks to all this exercise

I've trimmed off pounds of pork."

The runner tapped his belly

It was lean and hard as stone

He winked at the non-runner:

"Maybe you could use some tone?"

"Oh, hush," said the non-runner,

"I am not done with my rant."

She finger'd the top button

Of her strangely shrinking pant.

"I used to run the big ones,

Oh yes, I was once like you

I thought that bliss when I was young

Lay in a Nike shoe."

She flet her heart rate rising

Tho she hadn't run an inch

It's true her waist had widened

And her jeans begun to pinch.

She went on:

"Two dozen miles and then some

With my wing-ed feet mid-air

I floated like an angel

As I ran away from care.

"With spurs that pierced my heels

Just like a thousand tiny pins

With toenails that were blackened

And with splinters in my shins.

"My knees were crushed to gravel

And my hamstrings tight as wire

Oh yes I still remember

Running's rush and thrill and fire."

A teardrop filled her eye then

Did she miss her running days?

Oh no! She must resist! She

Must resist the running craze!

She sniffed:

"Your running is not healthy, dude!

You're hooked on runner's high!

You ought to switch to yoga

It's good even for a guy."

The runner gave a chuckle

While he did a runner's stretch

He pitied the non-runner

She was such an old kvetch.

He said:

"You say that I'm addicted but

I'll tell you what I think

An overdose of milage

Is far better than a drink.

"That pounding on the pavement

Sure beats knocking back the booze

It's also a lot cheaper

Even with these pricey shoes.

"I live to run!" he carried on.

"My running keeps me sane!

So what that when I'm sixty-five

I'll hobble with a cane?"

And just like that he sprinted off

And left her in the dirt.

She watched him with a wishful gaze:

She'd miss the race-day shirt.

I hope one day to be able to run in a marathon but first I have to start walking. LOL I hope you like it Melissa.

Finally Relaxing

2006-10-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

I am finally sitting down and relaxing. I did take a few breaks to get on the computer a few times today but all in all I was busy. I did about 5 loads of laundry and made my hubby a nice lunch of pepper steak over rice. I have been going through some of my daughter's toys. We still have about 10 big rubbermaid containers in the garage but I don't think I will go through those until after the holidays. It has been very hard for me with all these toys because that means she is growing up and not into playing barbies and bratz dolls anymore. I did get a picture of her and her friend Abby playing with the polly pockets I was going through. They were like come on don't take our picture and I told them I have proof now that they still like to play with toys. LOL

I was going to go to a adult Halloween party tonight but I am just to tired and it is about an hour drive to get there. It is at my sister in law's summer trailer homes. It is always a good time. They had the kid party next week. I won't miss that one because I love sitting in the lawn chair and passing out the candy to the kids and see all the great costumes. We carve pumpkins with the kids after that and at night we put candles in them and line them up on the front deck. I will try to get pictures of them. I kind of fixed my digital camera. I just love all the Halloween graphics out there. My daughter doesn't want to dress up this year. I told her in order to go trick or treating at the trailer next week she has to wear something. She said she might go as a baby. That is fine with me. Nice and easy. I might wear my pumpkin costume while passing out the candy to the kids. We go through about 25 to 35 bags of candy. It is crazy. My sister in law always wants us to bring a few bags.

I was so surprised when I woke up this morning. My hubby left me a box of chocolates a candle and a beautiful card. I totally forgot that it was Sweetest Day. I remember when he used to forget and I would always remember. Oh well, maybe next year. lol I did make him that nice lunch though. I want to wish everyone a Happy Sweetest Day. Better late than never. lol

Trick or Treat Thru J-Land

2006-10-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

thanks Missie from Missie's Magical Creations for the great graphics

So, here's how you play:

Make a journal entry titled "Trick Or Treat Through J-Land" and copy these instructions so others can play along. Visit as many journals as you can with the "Trick or Treat Through J-Land" title and leave them your link. Hopefully all those who actively participate will get many trick or treaters and meet some new J-Land pals!

thanks d from D's Designs

It's Been Awhile

2006-10-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here cheering on the Chicago Bears and they are losing. I am hoping they will be 6-0 by tonight. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I can't believe I haven't done an entry in about 2 weeks. Time flies when you are busy. I seem to get on the computer more but I am always reading journals instead of putting in my own entries. I should be going to bed in a few minutes but I don't feel tired. I am still driving my neighbor but it is probably going to end in a few weeks because he is going to be moving closer to his work. I gave him a 2 week notice last week but told him I could wait until he finds an apartment. I want to start taking my daughter to some kind of activity after school since volleyball is over with. They received a 3rd place trophy. I am so proud of them. This is my daughter's first trophy since she started playing 3 years ago.

On Saturday we celebrated my mother in law's 73rd birthday and my great nephew Sean's 4th birthday. There had to be about 30 people there. It was so crowded. Here is a picture of me with the 3 newest babies.

I was trying to hold all 3 and I was losing them. LOL Maya is on the left, Jeffrey in the middle and Hope on the right.

I can't believe how cold it has been here. It snowed last week and left a dusting of it on my back deck. What happened to fall! lol Today it is raining and it is suppose to rain for a few days.

My sister and her family was in Hawaii for a few days. She left about 8 hours before the earthquake hit. I am so happy they made it home safe. They said they had a wonderful time. She said it was very expensive. I went to Hawaii about 25 years ago and it was expensive then. I would love to go back one day.

Well, I am going to watch a little bit more football before I go to bed.

Rain

2006-10-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday to Everyone.

I wish I could use some magic on this weather we have been having for the last few days. We have had some major storms. Power outrages, flooding and thousands of trees down all over the city and suburbs. We are suppose to get more rain tonight. Enough already.

I just love this graphic. I forgot I had it. I was going through all the graphics in photobucket and came across it.

I have been keeping busy cleaning house and putting up all of my Halloween decorations. I put some outside and decided to put the lights on the inside of the house instead of the outside. My hubby would do the outside but he has been so busy doing side jobs on his days off that he doesn't have time for it.

Here is a few pictures of my great, great nephew Tyler and my great niece Nicole. My brother finally told my great niece to send some pictures over.

I hope to one day to go to California to see him in person. He is a cutie.

Thanks to De's Design for this beautiful graphic. You are so talented.

Well it is time to get a bite to eat and take a shower. I need to be in bed within an hour.

Tired

2006-10-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

I am so tired. I am not going to cook for a long time. I have been neglecting my house because I have been cooking so much. Starting tomorrow I am going to just focus on dusting, vacuuming and washing floors. I started cooked at about 8 am this morning. I finally finished chopping all of the vegetables that I had sitting on the counter from the garden.

I didn't know what I was going to do with all of them. I decided to just make a giant pot of spicy spaghetti sauce that I am going to freeze tomorrow. I love it over wheat pasta. I also made about 15 hamburgers. My hubby likes them with green pepper and onion in them and my daughter likes them plain. I had about 2 1/2 lbs of hamburger left so I made some chili. That is it. No more. Done. Maybe I need to keep repeating that I am not cooking for awhile. LOL

I am so happy that I don't have to get up early tomorrow. I can sleep until 7 am.

My neighbor has his court date. I am not sure who is taking him. My hubby tried to call him but he is sleeping. He mentioned on Friday that he wasn't sure who was taking him. I really didn't want to do it because it is about a 2-1/2 hour drive one way. I guess I will find out either tomorrow or Tuesday.

My daughter went and helped her friend run a haunted house

yesterday.She left at noon and didn't get home until 11pm. She was so tired. She said her legs hurt but that she had a good time.

We have added 2 new additions to our family. My daughter is doing a science project with one of her friends and they decided to do mice through a maze. My daughter brought home 2 and the other girl has 4. I couldn't believe my daughter brought them home. She said she told me she might bring them home. Yeah right! Yesterday I went to Petland and bought a cage and some food. They are pretty cute. I will take a picture of them and put them on here. One is named Bear and the other Raskle. I told my hubby that I now want a bird and a cat. He just said ok. LOL We will see.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2006-09-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy couple of days. Yesterday when my husband came home from work at 2:45 he decided he wanted to put the cornstalks and hay bails on the front porch. I went out to supervisor and we moved them around until I liked how it looked. My digital camera is broke so I bought one of the disposable ones and when I take it in I have them put the pictures on a cd so I will take a picture of the porch. I seen 2 big pumpkins that I wanted. They were only $2.99 a piece. I may go get them tomorrow at Cub Foods. I want to put 1 on each hay stack. My hubby then decided he was going to cut the grass so I asked him if he wanted me to pick up all the black walnuts on the ground and he said yes. I decided to rake them and the leaves at the same time. I am so out of shape that after a few minutes I started sweating

and was out of breath. My daughter came and helped me big time. My hubby also came and helped. I was watching the football game and I kept taking a break to watch it. I go outside because I figured that we lost with only a few minutes left. My hubby goes inside and comes out and says the Bears won. I couldn't believe I missed the final play. No more racking for me. LOL

This morning after I took my daughter to school I went to get a few groceries so I could make about 7 different meals/desserts. I went to the store looking for tahini. I didn't know what it was and I know I should have looked it up on the computer but I didn't. It is an ingredient to make hummus. I just love it. I sometimes buy the store bought kind but wanted to make it myself. I didn't find it. I come home and look it up and it is sesame seed paste. Duh!. I should have maybe asked someone at the store.

I only made 4 things today because when 1pm came along I was so tired. I made a peanut butter pie, barbecue pork in slow cooker, creamy cole slaw and baked rotini with Italian sausage. I wanted to make a carrot cake and raspberry cream cheese bars but ran out of steam. As you can see I like to cook. The only reason I cook so much at once is so I don't have to cook all week. With my hubby's hours I never know when he is coming home for lunch so he doesn't mind microwaving his meals.

I keep adding to my list of things to do tomorrow. I want to run to the bank and get a roll of quarters because I want to do all the bedding and pillows at the laundramat. My next washer is going to be a big one. I want to also slice about 50 to 100 jalapenos and put them in a vinegar water solution and put them in the refrigerator. They are suppose to last a long time. We will see.

Well, 4:30 comes very fast. Have a good evening.

Testing to see if I can make graphics bigger...thanks Missie for suggestion

2006-09-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

Thank you very much Missie. It worked. You rock.

Fall

2006-09-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

I found this on line and I wanted to share it with everyone. I just love it. It says it all about Fall. I hope you enjoy it.

Autumn

The time of each year that snaps us awake.
Out of the doldrums of late summers bake.
The switch that is thrown, for trees, colors to make.
And families unite for activities sake.
The chill in the morn' being quiet refrain.
Warm afternoons have natures disdain.
The drone of the bess in its last search for nectar.
The squirrels stock their nests as winters protector.
The smell in the air of hot cider, and burnt leaves.
Makes us rejoice in the brilliance of the trees.
The tweak on your skin by a chill in the morning.
Is all you will get of a cold winters warning.
So enjoy the crips air, the colors, the feelings.
Of Autumns great show and its ex-cited dealings.
Reflect on this time, it is special and dear.
And oh so short to exist, as the best time of year.
D.McDermott

I have been sitting here looking for fall graphics and have decided to put them on some blank cd's so I will always have them.

Well, I better get back to snagging more graphics and to read the paper and the 2 books I got from the library.

Friday Nights

2006-09-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks Missie for my beautiful tag.

Go Bears. I haven't learned how to make them bigger. I went under my photobucket and resized it but it always turns out the same way. If anybody knows how to make them bigger can you please let me know. Thanks

The neighbor that I am driving talked to his lawyer and his court date is Oct. 2nd. His lawyer told him that he is looking at losing his license for 3 years. My neighbor hinted that I probably won't be around to drive him for 3 years. You got that right buddy. I can't imagine driving that far when the expressways get very icy and snowy. I want to set my mind and body into finding a full time job. I need to update my resume to my new address. I haven't done that yet. Well, enough about my neighbor and my problems.

My hubby is still not home from working at a side job. I dropped my daughter off at a sleepover birthday party. I don't have to pick her up until 11 am tomorrow. I am already getting sleepy. I guess my internal clock is telling me to go to sleep at 8. I don't want to go to sleep this early because then I will get up at 4:30.

I think this weekend I am just going to rent some movies and get the Sunday paper. I am thinking of maybe going to the library tomorrow and get a good book. I haven't picked up a book in awhile now.

Well, hubby just walked in and I want to spend a few minutes with him before he falls asleep on me. LOL

Fall Has Arrived!

2006-09-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks Missie for this beautiful tag. Here is the link to her wonderful journal. Missie's Magical Creations

The weather here has been a little chilly. This morning I woke up to 43 degrees. When I let the dog out at 4:30 this morning I couldn't believe how cold it was. I brought in my plants that were on the back deck last night. I was afraid they might die from the cold. I had my cilantro, chives, dill and spider plants on the deck.

Another beautiful tag from Missie.

I am going on my fifth week of driving my neighbor. I put the price down to $100.00 a week since he is starting to make comments about the money. I just want to claify a comment that someone left in my journal. I drive his car and he puts gas in it. It would not be worth it for me to drive my vehicle because it would cost about $50.00 every 2 days to drive him. I didn't want to use my vehicle because it is older and bigger. I think I might only be driving him for another week or so. He decided he wanted to get another roommate who could drive him to work and they could live at his place for free. I am not sure if it is going to work out but that is ok for me. I have not been able to go to any of my daughter's volleyball games and I am ready to stop driving him.

Well, I have to get going. I have to leave in about an hour to drive all the way to his work and pick him up. I have only done this twice so far. Take Care everyone.

Happy Birthday Baby

2006-09-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish my hubby a happy 48th birthday. He had to work today. He was going to take the day off but decided to take off yesterday because his brother was having a Chicago Bears party in the forest preserves. We had a wonderful time. I am just going to make a pot roast with roasted potatoes and carrots. I already made some cupcakes so we can sing happy birthday. I am probably going to wait until my daughter gets home so she can help me frost the cupcakes and hang some streamers up.

I am still driving my neighbor to his work. I am going on my 4th week. He still doesn't have a court date so I will probably keep doing it until I find a full time job or until he says he can't afford me anymore. He has been hinting about it lately. I will wait until the end of this week and maybe just ask for half of what he is giving me now.

Well, time for me to go. I will try to get caught up on everyone's journals very soon. I miss reading them.

Taking a little break

2006-08-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

Ever since I woke up this morning it has been nothing but go, go, go. I got up at 4:20 and first decided to take a shower. I went downstairs to feed the dog and get some coffee. My dog pooped all over and then stepped in it and walked around. I was washing the floor at 4:45 and thinking DOG FOR SALE.

The real reason I am doing an entry today was to say I am going to shut off my alerts for awhile because I am feeling a little overwhelmed with driving my neighbor and my daughter is starting volleyball. This garden is taking up so much of my time with all the chopping and making homemade sauces. This morning after taking my neighbor and dropping my daughter off at school I made some spaghetti sauce that I am going to freeze and some baby back ribs so when hubby comes home for lunch he can have a nice hot meal.

I have a to do list that I said I was going to start when my daughter went back to school. I just want to clean out a few of the walk in closets and get rid of things. My list seems to be growing every day.

If I get a chance I will try to catch up with everyone's lifes from time to time.

Many, many thanks

2006-08-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

I want to thank everyone who left a comment regarding my situation about driving my neighbor. I appreciated every single one. I went on a test drive yesterday with my other neighbor who has been taking him when he can. It went pretty good. The 3rd expressway is a killer but I don't have to take him all the way to work which eliminates the 3rd expressway. He is having one of the guys he works with take him to the 2nd expressway for me. I left this afternoon at 3 pm and we got home around 4:40. It wasn't to bad. I have to get up at 4:30 am tomorrow. I have already set the coffee pot.

My hubby gets up at around 5 am so I told him I would feed the dog and let him outside. I will probably take my shower tonight so I can sit around and drink my coffee tomorrow morning. The only thing is that I hope my daughter gets up on time. I will probably be home by 7:30. I set her alarm for 7:00 am. I try to make her a hot breakfast everyday but I told her to grab cereal or toast.

I just want to say this one last time for all of your suggestions.

Well, it is time for me to put on my pj's and watch some crazy reality tv. I just love Big Brother.

What To Do!

2006-08-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to do. My neighbor just came by and asked me if I could possibly to him a big favor. He can't drive for a month, this is my other neighbor with driving problems, not the one I took the other day, he goes to court in a month to get a hardship case. He wants me to drive him to work and back home. I would be on the road for 4 hours a day. I would leave at 5:30 am and he said I would probably make it back in time to take my daughter to school by 8:00 am. I wouldn't be there to make her breakfast in the morning. I would have to leave at 2:00 pm to pick him up and I wouldn't be home by the time she gets home from school at 3:00 pm. My hubby just came home and we talked it over and he said it was up to me. My neighbor said he would pay me 200.00 a week plus gas and I told him I should use his vehicle since I have a Plymouth Voyager van and it would eat up more gas and he agreed. I am still up in the air about it. I don't know what to do. It is a big responsiblity. My hubby also said if I was working I wouldn't be here for our daughter. I really don't like driving the expressways that much and we have to take 3.

Well, this was on my mind and I wanted to get some other options. What do you all think? I probably will end up doing it since it is such great money. My hubby said I should do it for free because that would be the neighborly* thing to do. I told him more than 4 hours out of my day I would need some kind of money. I guess I will go think about it a little bit more.

Thanks for listening.

2006-08-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Today was my daughter's first day back at school. She only went for an hour. I really wish she could have been in the other classroom because that is where most of her friends are. I know she will do just fine. She told me there are 2 new students in her class. I asked her if she said hello to them and she said yes. I am happy she did because when she started at this school 2 years ago everyone was so inviting and friendly. I just love this school.

When my daughter came home from school we talked for awhile and I went to lay down in the spare bedroom because my daughter and our puppy were in my room watching TV. A few minutes later they both come to lay down with me and within minutes all 3 of us were asleep. I woke up after about 30 minutes and took the puppy outside. My daughter is still sleeping. I will have to wake her up soon. Her sleeping habits are way out of wack. This is the first year that she has been like this. The pre-teen years. lol

I guess I will go and write out some bills. I seem to be forgetting since they direct deposit his check and I am not out running around to the bank.

2006-08-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

I took my neighbor to renew his driver's license since it was suspended for a few months. It took about 2 hours and then I asked him if he wanted to try and find insurance for his car and he said yes. He went into this insurance place but forgot to bring the title so we drove back home and then we went back to the insurance company and then to the currency exchange so he could change the title. We got home a little after noon. I am happy we got to take care of all of this because he has a job interview tomorrow. He wanted to give me 20 dollars for gas but I told him no. He kept saying well I will buy you something and I said just make me something on your grill if you insist in giving me something.

I couldn't believe when I got home that my daughter was still asleep.

I know she had a hard time going to sleep last night because I was also awake after 2. She starts school on Friday and even though it is only for an hour I know she is going to have a hard time getting up. Last year I started her going to bed early about 10 days before but this time it seems to be a little harder. It seems the older she gets the more she likes to sleep.

On Monday I became a great aunt again. Her name is Hope Hanley and she weighs 8lbs. 9ozs. Our family just keeps growing and growing.

Tomorrow my daughter and I are going to finish with some school things. She needs gym shoes and an art sketch book. Everything else I got about a month ago. I don't really feel like going to the mall but I know my daughter loves it and we get these fantastic smoothies and everytime I go I get a different one. I think I am going to have to start making them at home.

Well, this old lady is getting tired. I have to make up for the sleep I didn't get yesterday.

Putting My Feet Up

2006-08-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is enjoying there Sunday. I am finally going to put my feet up and finish the Sunday paper. All morning and most of the afternoon I have been cooking. I don't know where I found the energy because my daughter kept me up most of the night. Every time she watches a scary movie she wakes up saying her stomach hurts. I was sitting with her last night when the movie Halloween was on. I only watched it for a few minutes. I used to love watching scary movies when my niece was going through that phase in her life. I really don't like watching them anymore. I got up around 5:45 to banging and it was my hubby leaving for work and making tons of noise. I thought I would be able to go back to sleep but my daughter was talking away and I just decided to get up and have some coffee. She came downstairs and starting eating strawberry and blueberry muffins I made yesterday.

After I had a cup of coffee I decided to go back to bed with our puppy Bambi. A few minutes later my daughter came in bed with us. She fell fast asleep but I couldn't go back to sleep knowing that I had some chopping, cooking, and baking to do so I got up.

My feet our killing me right now. I put my gym shoes on but that didn't seem to help. I guess being on my feet 2 days in a row doesn't help.

I cut up a whole cabbage which gave me about 15 cups, so I decided to use it all and make more cole slaw. I have been passing it out so I really haven't had to much of it. I also made jalapeno corn muffins which I haven't tried yet. The last thing I made was lemon bars. I tried part of them and they are ok. I got the Sunday paper and Bambi was getting ready to fall asleep on my chest when my daughter said will you make me cheddar and broccoli noodles. I told her that I would but after that I was done for the day. LOL

Well, my daughter just came in my bedroom and said she would give me a pedicure so I think I will take her up on it. I know these momemts won't last forever.

Friday

2006-08-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

I am so happy my daughter is home. She has been at her friends house for 9 days. I felt like crying yesterday because I missed her so much. I was suppose to pick her up on Wednesday but she asked if she could stay until Friday. When I called her this morning she said she thought I was picking her up at 4pm. I said I don't want to hit rush hour traffic. She is 12 and I know she loves being with her friend who she only sees about twice a year. I loved that my hubby went with because I like when he drives when we have to go on the expressway.

Last night my hubby and I went to a Pizza place.

It is called Beggar's Pizza. One of our friend's said that they had great pizza. We moved here about 2 years ago and we still haven't found a good pizza. This place is the place for us. They had fantastic pizza. It is a little bit of a drive but I don't mind. I live across from a pizza place but their pizza isn't very good. We had a really nice time. We haven't been out together in a long time. I told him we need to have a date night more often. He agreed.

I am so happy that my husband's work finally had his check put into direct deposit. I don't have to go to the bank once a week now. That will save me some gas. It took them long enough.

Today some time I am going to make some fresh tomato sauce. I have been picking tomatoes like crazy. Even though some of the plants look like they were drying I am still getting plum tomatoes off some of them. I might make it pretty spicy so I can use up some of my peppers. I am also going to try and made jalapeno corn muffins.

I just bought the bag kind but I figured I could throw in some jalapenos. YUMMMMY

Well my daughter wants some lunch so I am off to do that and maybe watch a movie with her.

I forgot who mentioned in their journal about watching the Inside Man with Denzel Washington but it was really good. I enjoyed it. I have to take that movie back today also.

Yes, More About The Heat! LOL

2006-08-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

I know I used these 2 graphics before but this is how most of the J-landers seem to be feeling right now. I know I am one of them. We get some relieve tomorrow and are only going to be in the 80's. Yeah!

I took my daughter and her friend to Splash Station yesterday and we used the rainchecks that we got on the 27th. My daughter is on the right and her friend Angela is on the left. We were there for 2 hours and my daughter says she wants to leave. I was hot and not just because the heat index was 108 degrees. I wanted to stay all day. She said they went on all the slides a bunch of times and wanted to go to the show. I told her no. I said if you want to leave we are going home and I will go swimming in the neigbor's pool all day, so that is what we did.

I felt like it was a waste of those tickets even though we got them for free. I would have stayed until 6 or 7 pm.

I just got back from dropping my daughter and her friend off at her house. It is about an hour drive. When I was driving home I decided to go to Target to pick up my prescriptions and do a little shopping. I then went to Sam's Club to pick up a few things. The air conditioning in the vehicle does not seem to be working very well. I was sweating all the way home. My hubby is off tomorrow and Friday. I hope he doesn't have any side jobs because I would like to do some adults things together. I cut the back yard grass the other day. I have not even tried to do the front yard since it is so big. I am so out of shape that I would have to stop every 10 minutes and probably more like 5 minutes since it is so hot.

I got on the scale this morning and it only looks like I gained back 3 lbs. I am still down 20 lbs. It is time for me to get back on track

and stop using all these excuses of mine. You name it, I have used it. LOL

I think it is time for me to take a little nap. I was going to go swimming but my puppy Bambi is laying on the bed waiting for me to take a nap with him.

The Heat, Swimming and Vegetable Garden

2006-07-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted an entry in 5 days. I have been so busy reading everyone else's journals and leaving comments that I forget to post an entry. LOL

We have been keeping busy with swimming and the garden. Yesterday we all went to a place called Splash Station. My hubby, daughter Sara and one of her friends went. It was overcast but still humid. They went on all the slides about a zillion times. At about 3 pm the sun came out and it was hot. I asked my hubby if he was ready to leave at 4 and he said heck no but all of a sudden thunder was heard and we had to go wait in the shower room. We starting asking if we were going to get a rain check and they said we have to wait awhile. We walked outside and the tornado sirens started going off. My husband told us to get in the car and that he would get the rainchecks. The girls were screaming we don't care about the rain checks. I was hoping he would get them because it cost 12.00 a person to get in and even though we were there for 5 hours I wanted the free pass. He got all 4. The girls were so scared. We headed home and everything was ok or so I thought. When we got home the girls decide to go to her house so hubby gets in the car to take them. As soon as he left our tornado sirens started going off. I went outside and started looking around. We have an underground crawl space but I didn't go in it. I was waiting for my hubby. My neighbor came out and we were talking and I told him if he needs to come over and go into the crawl space he can. He said no that he was going to work in 30 minutes. When hubby came home he said lets go out front on the porch and watch the storm. I told him I would stay in. My hubby loves storms. Thank goodness there were no tornadoes but there was a lot of flooding in the city where we went swimming.

I was going to go swimming in my neighbor's pool today but I had so much to do in the garden. My hubby took off about 13 cucumbers. I made some with sour cream, salt and pepper. My hubby loves them like that. I am not sure if I want to make pickles with all of the cucumbers. I have been thinking about it. My mother in law gave me some mason jars so I know I don't have to buy to much to make them. I will have to think about it. I also cut down a bunch of lettuce. I have probably made about 10 to 15 salads with all the lettuce I have been cutting. Here is some of it I am drying on a towel. I need a salad spinner.

I buy a bag of spinach and add it to our lettuce.

I also decided to pull off one of our cabbages. All 4 of them look like they are done. I made some creamy cole slaw with only half of this. I also like putting raw cabbage in with my salads. My brother is suppose to come over Tuesday to get some vegetables from the garden. I also told him I would make cole slaw for him. I am thinking of making cabbage rolls. I went to the store and got all the ingredients. I remember when my mom used to make them. I never ate the cabbage, I will now because I love it. I am probably going to make the weight watchers vegetable soup. I like to make soup in the winter when it is cold out but I have all these vegetables and not sure what to do with the cabbage. I might get on line and look up some cabbage recipes or if anyone has any suggestions just let me know.

My daughter just came home from a carnival that her friend's mom took them to. She said she spent all the money. I don't mind as long as she had a good time.

My girlfriend is dropping off her daughter tomorrow morning sometime so she can spend 5 days with us. My daughter and her friend went to school together when we lived in Chicago. My friend moved to Brookfield and then we moved and every year I take her daughter and she takes mine. I don't think she is going to be taking Sara because she started working a few weeks ago. This is one friend that I have a hard time with. She is a person who is always miserable. Everything is about her. I try not to talk to her too much. I think I stay friends with her because of my daughter. There have been times though that I just wanted to endit. Sometimes you just have to put your kid first.

Well, I am getting pretty tired and they are coming over sometime tomorrow morning. Have a great weekend everyone. Oh before I forget, I took Bambi to the vet and they took an x-ray and everything looks good. She put him on steroids and an anti-biotic (sp) She said I might have to take him into Chicago to have a scope put down his throat to be able to see better. She said I would have to pay for it. When she was about to take the x-ray she said she had to call Petland to see if they would pay and I said you tell them if they don't pay I will call the Better Business Bureau and take them to small claims court. I am still going to contact the BBB and find out what my options are about this matter. My poor puppy is still coughing. Petland Sucks!!!!!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2006-07-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

It is going to be another glorious day here in Illinois. It is 73 right now and going to get up to 80.

We went to the mall yesterday. My daughter brought one of her friends. We had to exchange her birthday gift because she already had those pants from Aeropostle(sp). She got a beautiful top. After we went there we went and got some smoothies and they were great. I just love this place. Everytime we go I try a different one. The kids talked me into going to see Little Man. It was funny but I wouldn't have spent money to go see. I just don't understand why they don't want to see Pirates. I loved the first one and everyone who has seen the second one says its great. I just may have to convince them.

Sara had 2 of her friends sleepover last night. They are still in their pj's. I am not sure what they want to do today. I am just feeling a little lazy from not sleeping well last night. Whenever her friends sleepover I have a hard time going to sleep. It might be because of all the noise they were making.

I think I am going to take 3 of her friends with us on Tuesday to go to my sister in law's summer trailer park. It is called Woodsmoke and I just love it there. I take a big cooler of sandwiches and chips and we spend the day swimming. The summer is ending really fast so I want to get in as much as possible. My daughter goes back to school in about 3 weeks. Wow, where did the time go.

My daughter just came upstairs and asked if we could go see Monster House. It is suppose to be in 3D. I wouldn't mind seeing that movie. It is just so beautiful outside that I thought we would do something outside but they want me to check the times of the show.

Talk to you all later. Have a great Sunday.

2006-07-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't get the job at the Wal-mart distribution center. I received the letter from Schneider Trucking Co. saying they will keep my application on file.

I am not really to upset about it because my husband gave me an job application from his work. I would be a yard checker. I am not to sure if I am going to take the job because it is 4 days on and 3 days off. I would be working 12 hours a day. I still want to be there for my daughter regarding school and her volleyball games. I will just have to wait and see. I wanted to be up front with payroll and clerical but they are not hiring for that right now. The insurance is just wonderful. It will be local 705 insurance. That is the insurance we had before the union pulled out of the job my hubby is in now. I will be working for Burlington Northern/Santa Fe railroad. The insurance my hubby has now does not have dental or vision. I think my daughter is going to need braces soon. I will just wait and see what happens with this interview. My hubby is bringing in my application tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I have been doing rotten with my diet. The last few days have been horrible. I think I gained about 4 or 5 lbs back. Sometimes I put myself into this funk and I can't seem to pull myself out.

My husband and daughter went shopping together. He just got home and bought her a new TV/DVD player for her bedroom. He also bought some baby blue paint for her room. She has been asking us to paint her room for about 6 months now. I am happy he finallly went and got it with her. I am not sure when we are going to paint. He goes back to work tomorrow so it will probably be another week before we tackle that job.

Here is another picture of my baby Bambi. He is still coughing. I think I might take him to a vet that is not associated with Petland and then maybe I will see what is wrong with my dog. The cough medicine doesn't seem to be helping. I hate to have to dish out more money but I want him to get better. It is so frustrating.

My hubby and I did the mattresses and box springs yesterday. I vacuum them twice a year because of the dust mites. He took them off and flipped them for me. What a hard time we had. We shut off the air conditioning because it was cooler in the morning but by the afternoon the humidity was up and we had the windows open. We started sweating so bad that we both get really crabby and said lets turn the air back on. It helped a lot. I hate being hot. I love being hot when I am in a pool but that is all.

2006-07-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

It was another early morning for me. I went downstairs and fed the dog and took him out. I made some strawberry and some blueberry muffins this morning. My daughter had her girlfriend spend the night. They are still sleeping. I need to get them up soon because her mom is coming for her at about 9:30. I really wanted to sleep in today because we had a really, really busy day yesterday. It was all fun stuff. It is suppose to be a little cooler today. Yesterday it reached 100 degrees.\

We first went swimming at about 10:30. My face got really burnt. We swam for a few hours and then I got out and made roasted potatoes and mac and cheese for the girls. My hubby came home at 2:30 and we went swimming together. The girls had enough sun. I asked my hubby if he wanted to eat before he went to bed and he said yes. I got out of the pool at about 4 and went in the house and started cooking. I made one rump roast on the grill and one in the oven. They both turned out great. I also made mashed potatoes, corn and mixed vegetables with teriakyi sauce. I made a plate for my neighbor for letting us swim in his pool. The girls wanted to go see the movie Click so after cooking we headed out to the movies. I don't know where I got the energy yesterday. We got home around 10 pm. I did not like the movie. Adam Sandler is ok and some of the parts were funny. I wanted to see Pirates or Cars but they wanted Click.

Time to jump in the shower.

2006-07-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

I have been up since 5 am and now I can't go back to sleep. I am happy I got up though because hubby forgot to put the garbage and recycled out on the curb. He started work at 2 am today because he said it was just way to hot at work yesterday. The first 8 hours he gets to work in the crane with air conditioning but the last 4 hours are in a hot truck with no air conditioning.

It was 100 degrees yesterday and it is suppose to be the same today. I think we will swim in my neighbors pool today. We went in it on Saturday but I didn't want to take advantage of his pool and go in yesterday. I seen him swimming by himself and just thought I would go in today when he is at work. He gave me a key to his house and to the gate. I will probably bring his dog in the pool since it is going to be so hot today. I will see if my daughter wants to swim with me. I might tell her to call one of her friends to see if they want to come over.

I was going to go back to sleep but I figured I might as well start my day. I haven't been up this early in awhile. I typed a whole entry yesterday and I have call alert on my computer and someone called and I forgot to save my entry and answered the call. I was so mad because it was a long entry.

My hubby and I went to the job fair on Saturday. We were so happy we got there early. I was number 43 and hubby was 42. There must have been about 500 people there. My hubby was disappointed because they weren't paying what he thought they would. When I talked to one of the ladies for my interview she said they only had 6 openings for shipping clerk/clerical. I told her I am only 5 blocks away. She said I should be getting a phone call. I sure hope so. I really don't want to have to drive to work if I don't have to.

Well, it is time for me to get some coffee. I think my hubby left me about 2 cups. I set the coffee to go off at 1:30 am so he would have it for work. I noticed when I went downstairs that he left me some so I turned it back on to get hot while I fed the dog and took him outside.

Happy Thursday

2006-07-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

My husband's new days off are Thursday and Friday. I have to take my daughter to get a sports physical today at 1:30. When we are through at the doctor's office we have to run to my brother in law's house to pick up money for my sister in law. She is coming here this afternoon with her new boyfriend to pick up the money. Her car died on her so she needs to get a used car. I am happy it is working out this way because I would have been on the road for about 3 hours going back and forth. I think maybe we will barbecue when she gets here. I still have more chicken to cook. The last of it, thank goodness.

I don't have to much else going on today except I really, really need to clean this house. I have been home from vacation now for 5 days and I still haven't clean it. I have been busy cooking all the food that was defrosted. I can't seem to get motivated on the cleaning part. I already had about 4 cups of coffee but it doesn't seem to be working. I know I will get it together soon.

I am not sure if I mentioned it but I became a great, great aunt for the first time on May 27th. His name is Tyler Richard weighing in at 7lbs. 7ozs. I wish I can see him but they live in California. One day I hope to.

Just another one of those busy days

2006-07-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

I talked to my sister yesterday and her mother in law passed away. She had a bad heart. She lived with my sister for awhile but then she kept falling down and getting hurt. My sister works so they had to make the decision to put her in a nursing home. Her hubby had a hard time with that but he is an over the road truck driver and they had no one to take care of her. First she went into a hospice but they only keep them for so long. My sister told me today that her last wish was to have her ashes scattered in Hawaii. They are thinking about going in October. She was in her 80's so she lived a pretty long life. I am happy I got to meet and get to know her a little when I visited a few years back.

The scale has been wonderful for me so far. I lost another 2 lbs. Total of 22 lbs. lost. It must be because I have been on my feet all day cooking all the food from the deep freezer that defrosted. LOL I really haven't been walking or doing any kind of exercising. I know it will catch up with me sooner or later. I am hoping for later.

Here is a picture of Bambi with the new toy I bought him today. I had to go pick up his papers so I can register him on line at American Canine Association. I am thinking of studding him out so I can get some of my money back that I put into him. My vet doesn't like the idea and wants me to neuter him. I told him it was my choice. I wanted to answer a comment about his cough. He is not coughing up worms. It is a dry hacking cough. They call it kennel cough. I sure hope it goes away soon.

Here is one of the flowers my mother in law gave us. She calls them Canyons. I am not sure of that name or if there is another official name. I am pretty sure she gave us red and oranges ones but only the red one came up so far.

These are on the side of the garage. They haven't flowered yet.

I have a few pictures of my garden. Bear with me because I am a proud gardener.

These are the tomato plants. My roma tomatoes behind them don't seem to be making it. They look very droopy. I hope we can save them.

This is one of 3 lettuce plants. When I came home from vacation I hacked away at the big plant and have had 5 great salads with it. My hubby said I was just suppose to pull the leaves off but I cut the whole thing down. Oops.

I have 4 cabbage plants and they are all doing wonderful. I wanted to pull some but hubby said wait until it gets bigger. I love cabbage in my salads. I also love making cole slaw for hubby.

These are the cucumber plants. I pulled one off already. The rabbit in our yard was chewing on one of the small cucumbers. I had to chase him out.

My bell peppers are doing wonderful. I just gave my neighbor 5 big plants of bell peppers that I had in a planter because we ran out of room in our garden. We even used the side of the house for our garden, that is how crazy we went this year. Next year it will be smaller. Yeah right. Green peppers don't freeze very well. I just took some out of the freezer and roasted them in the oven and they turned out pretty good.

These is the first year for the banana peppers. They taste pretty good. They are so mild. A little hot butnot to hot for me.

The baby rabbit has gotten to all 4 of our broccoli plants. That is the one vegetable that we love eating raw the most. We need to put some kind of wire or mesh around it. I went on line and they have these deer/rabbit pellets you put in your garden and they are suppose to stay away.

Here our the green onions. I love any kind of onion. I also have 3 chive plants but I have them in planters. My hubby bunched a few of the green onion plants together. I hope they turn out.

My hubby killed all of my chocolate mint, peppermint, basil and one of my cilantro plants. He didn't water them enough. Men.

Well, enough about my garden. Sorry I bored you all. It is one of our passions.

I need to get off computer and feed the dog. Have a great evening everyone.

Downs of Everyday Life

2006-07-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one miserable day. It started off with the phone ringing at 6:30 in the morning. I wanted to go back to sleep but was worried it was important so I got up to listen to the answering machine. It was my hubby telling me he was leaving his check in his van at work and for me to come get it and put it in the bank. I got dressed and headed to his work.

I had to take the dog to the vet at 9:30 for his final shots. I was so mad because it cost us 146.00 dollars. The vet also gave me stronger cough medicine for Bambi. He has had the cough for 1 month already. The vet explained to me that a cough can last longer. Yeah right! I am sick of seeing my puppy hacking away.

When I get home from the vet I have to go to the bank and to 2 stores. I go to the Hostess store to get our bread. I got 17 loafs of bread and some sweets. My daughter and I then went to Cub Foods. I always spend way to much money. After we got home from the stores I pulled into my garage and went to put away the bread in the deep freezer and noticed everything was defrosted. I couldn't believe it. I was having a rough day. I go in the house and my husband must have come home for lunch and left a note saying the deep freezer door was left open. I know it was me who did it the night before because I went to get some fish sticks to make for my hubby and it is the kind of door you have to close and not just swing shut like I do my refrigerator door. I can't tell you how mad I was. I started cooking some of the food yesterday and today I have tons more to cook. I don't know why this upset me so but I guess it was just one of those days to cry.

Today the weather is really crappy. It is suppose to rain all day. It looks like it is night time. This might be a good thing because I have to stay in all day and cook and clean. I really don't feel like it. I do need to go mail 1 bill. They closed the road to the post office that I take so I have to drive a few miles out of my way to get to the post office.

Ok I guess I did enough whining for today. I need to get off this computer and get my butt in gear.

I hope everyone has a great day.

I'm Home

2006-07-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I got home yesterday at about 2 pm. My husband picked us up from the airport. He is such a sweetheart. After we put our luggage in the car and hugged we started driving and my hubby started crying. I don't think he will mind me putting this in. LOL I said what's wrong and he said he was so happy to see us and that he missed us so much. He made me promise to never leave again.

My daughter and I had a great time. I can't believe have tan we both got. There were some days that I stayed in the pool for 7 hours. I just love the water.

This is my niece Renay and her boyfriend Trevor swimming in the pool. We had some great volleyball matches in that pool. We even bet the youngsters 2 games out of 3.

I got on the scale this morning and I can't believe I lost 2 more lbs. My total is now 20 lbs gone. I think something is wrong with the scale because I cheated a lot at my sister's house. My sister is a wonderful cook and baker. She made 2 different peach cobblers. They were both wonderful. We were trying to use up all the peaches we bought when we went to the farmers market in Nashville. We had so much fun there. I am happy we went early because by the time we left it was getting so hot and crowded.

Well, hubby will be home from work in about 15 minutes. I wanted to type more but will save it for another day.

I have missed all of you and your journals. I turned on all my alerts so I will be reading them all later.

Have a great evening.

Happy 4th of July

2006-07-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to come on and wish everyone a Happy 4th of July. I am still in Tennessee on vacation at my sister's house. I won't be home until Saturday. Take care everyone and have a safe 4th.

I want to thank everyone who left prayers and comments on the death of my brother. They were really appreciated. I love you all.

Prayer Request

2006-06-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

My brother Wayne who was 65 years old died this morning. I really don't have anything else to say. Please send prayers.

Father's Day

2006-06-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to do an entry tonight for Father's Day since I won't be able to do it tomorrow.

I lost my father quite awhile ago. I do miss him. When you have children and your parents have both passed away you always think of what wonderful grandparents they would have been.

My husband is working tomorrow so we will probably give him his gift when he comes home for lunch or after work. My daughter and I are thinking of going out shopping tomorrow. We both got a little burnt today in the sun. We are both pretty tan and we thought that we wouldn't need any sunblock. We are both a little bronze color with a hint of red. LOL

I know my daughter wishes that her father didn't have to work tomorrow but it is not his day off. He has been working so hard so we can have this beautiful home and all the necessary things a family needs. He went swimming today with our daughter when he got home from work at 3pm. I was swimming since 11 am and by the time he came swimming I was burnt out already. I had to get out. They got to swim together and have a good time for a few hours. I am so happy for that.

Ok it is getting late and I am starting to fall asleep. I want to wish all the dad's out there a

Weigh In

2006-06-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

I weighed in this morning and I lost one more pound. My total is 18 lbs gone. In the past I would have been upset with just losing 1 lb but I am a new woman. I understand that with my age that it is going to come off slowly. I am learning from all the wonderful ladies in j-land about making small goals for myself. I know I have said this before but I want to say it again, thank you ladies for being my inspiration. When I read your journals I know I can do it. I didn't get mad at myself this morning for having half of a glazed donut last night when I got so frustrated and mad and went downstairs to find something bad to eat. I am still learning about myself and my eating habits.

We have done nothing but swim like crazy the last few days. I am in my glory. I love the water since I am a Pisces girl. lol My daughter and I are so tan already. I am going to call my neighbor in a few minutes and ask if we can go swimming again today. He said he had a party to today and it is going to be about 94 degrees so I figured he won't care. I take his dog in the pool with us to keep him company whenever we go swimming in his pool.

Well, my daughter is behind me saying she needs to use the phone. I just want to wish Melissa at Melissa's Motivation good luck with the marathon. One day I hope to be able to join you in a run.

Energy

2006-06-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

I have not had any energy for the past few days because Bambi has been sick with a cold. We went to the vet on Saturday because when you buy a animal from Petland you have to bring that animal to a vet within 4 days of buying it for the 1 year warranty to be fullfilled. When you have a puppy it is just like having a baby. I forgot about the sleepless nights. I called Petland and was going to bring Bambi back because I didn't want a sick animal. I went back and forth with the manager about it and we would lose 250.00 dollars. I told her that he has been sick since day one. Petland does cover all the vet expenses but I am just sick and tired of listening to this poor dog trying to struggle to breath. He is on medicine but he doesn't seem to be getting any better. He is eating and drinking and playing ok so I am not that worried. I have to take him back to the vet on Monday for a shot and check up on how he is doing. I was suppose to bring him back to Petland yesterday but we are already attached to Bambi and my daughter was crying when I got off the phone with this manager at Petland. It is so strange that she wanted this dog so much but I am doing all the work. I should have known. It was to good to be true. A mother work is never, ever done. LOL

I have been eating ok but I just don't have any energy to walk.

I was going to yesterday but I got busy making dips, pesto and dressings with my herbs. I made this great pesto with basil

and put it on whole wheat pasta. The recipe called for 2 cups of packed basil but I was only able to get 1 cup from my plant. It tasted pretty good. I also made this dill dip with my fresh dill. It turned out great. I changed the recipe to fat free cream cheese and reduced fat mayo. The last thing I made was lime cilantro dressing for my salads. I am going to try it today on my spinach salad. I dipped my finger in it and it tasted ok. I hope with it sitting over night that all the ingredients have blended together and it tastes better.

I have to go get our propane tanks filled today. I was using it on Sunday to make grilled vegetables with chipotle sauce. I bought Mrs. Dash Chipotle sauce because it has no salt. My vegetables were just about done when I noticed the grill went out. I always have a back up tank but forgot to fill it. The vegetables were just right and I put them on this Greek bread. I want to make more today that is why I have to run to get the tanks filled.

I am off. Talk to you all later.

2006-06-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here we go again, another short entry. lol I forgot to let everyone know that I became legal on Friday. I passed the written test and also passed the driving test. I have been out driving all over. Well, it is time to go and take care of the new baby. He is a hand full. Have a great Sunday everyone. I may post more pictures of Bambi later.

Weigh In

2006-06-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

I weigh in at my home every Saturday and I am very, very happy to say that I lost another 4 lbs bringing my total to 17 lbs lost. I can't tell you all how much better I am starting to feel. I know I have a long road ahead of me but I feel that this is my time. I am so inspired by so many ladies in j-land that you all keep me going in the right direction. I want to thank you for that. Well, this is going to be another short entry because I have to take Bambi to the vet and my good friend just dropped his Chihuahua called Tiki over so I can baby-sit for a few hours. Have a wonderful Saturday. It is rainy and dreary here today. I think I might go rent some movies.

My New Baby

2006-06-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

Here is our newest addition to the family. His name is Bambi and he was born 3-27-06. He is a Chihuahua. I know I said I would never get this breed of dog but my daughter convinced my hubby and me so here he is. Ok I just wanted to do a short entry. Have a good evening everyone.

A great day

2006-06-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to fall asleep so I thought I would write about what a really good day it was today. The weather was beautiful. My daughter and I decided to go to the mall. She had some birthday money that she was ready to spend. I think we hit every store. We went to which is my daughters favorite. We also hit American Eagle, Rave, Wet Seal and then I got to go to Foot Locker to get some gym shoes. I bought 2 pair and I can't wait to wear them tomorrow.

Before we went to the mall we stopped at this place called Petland. My daughter wanted to look at dogs. She picked out this pocket size Chihuahua dog.

He was so cute. They wanted $1,300.00 for it. My daughter fell in love with it but I told her no. He was really cute but I liked the Silky Terrier. I told her as soon as we come back from Tennessee we will seriously look for a dog, at the shelter or maybe find a breeder in the area. I told her it wouldn't be fair to get a dog 2 weeks before we leave on vacation.

We went swimming in our neighbor's pool after the mall. We had a good time.

My feet and body are sore today. I want to go for a long walk tomorrow and then maybe more swimming. My neighbor doesn't mind if we use the pool because I take his dog for walks while he is at work.

I have been jumping on the scale lately and it is looking good. I want to wait until SAturday for my official weigh in. I need a few more days to see if it goes down anymore.

Wow, it is already 12 am and it is a new day. I have been writing that I had a good day today when I should be saying yesterday. I typed into a new day. Does that mean it is 2 entries? lol

I think it is time for me to get some sleep. My daughter is at a sleepover tonight and she also had her last Girl Scout meeting which they had at Haunted Trails. I bought the leader who is also my great neighbor a Eeyore mug and picture frame because she was so great to my daughter during the earning of all her badges and outtings. She came over tonight to thank me and stayed for about an hour talking.

Well, sweet dreams everyone.

2006-06-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

I had a really good day today. I walked for 40 minutes in the morning and then another 20 minutes in the late afternoon. My feet are hurting so bad. One day I hope to be able to jog. I need new gym shoes really bad. I buy expensive gym shoes because I am so overweight and I wear them all year. Last year I wanted to save money so I bought a pair at Sam's Club. They are Nike and they were $25.00 I am thinking of going to Lady Foot Locker tomorrow. My daughter also wants to take a run to the shelter to just look at dogs. I told her when we come back from Tennessee we will get a dog. I think we might go look anyway tomorrow.

My husband hasn't had time to work on our pond yet. I think he might do it when I am in Tennessee. Today when he came home from work he put my radio/cd player under my kitchen counter. My mother in law gave it to us last year and I have been bugging him to put it up. It looks great. I know I will be listening to music when I am washing the dishes and cooking. If only I can talk him into putting a tv in the kitchen above the water cooler. Whenever I have to chop a bunch of vegetables and fruit I take the cutting board and everything into the front room so I can watch tv.

This is what I had to eat today: I had oatmeal and banana for breakfast. Snack was low fat string cheese and an apple. Lunch was spinach salad and a chicken sandwich on low fat whole wheat bread. Snack was salsa and pretzels. Dinner was chicken with tomatoes, celery and tons of herbs over brown rice. I had about 56 ozs of water today. Oh I forgot I had strawberries and blueberries with fat free cool whip after dinner.

Well, this old girl is going to bed early.

2006-06-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the beautiful tag. D's Designs

My second entry of the day. I took a nap this afternoon so now I can't go to sleep. My daughter just called me from camp and she is having a great time. I really miss her today. My hubby and I just came in from the back deck. All of our neighbors were hanging out and talking. I love those kinds of evenings. It really started to get cool and my hubby wanted a steak on the grill so we decided to go inside.

I took a few pictures of my yard and house today. A few turned out blurry. Her is my pink rose bush. Here is my red rose bush. One day mine will look like this. My hubby wants to get rid of them but I said no way. They need a little work done on them.

I am going to take a picture once a month of my garden so I can see the progress. On the left is my celery, in the middle are my tomatoes and to the left are my onions.

We have more onions on the left, in the middle is the lettuce, cabbage and broccoli. My husband mulched manure and peat moss into the soil.

I think I mentioned last year that our neighbor gave us carp bones and the head to put in our garden. He didn't go fishing this year so we are trying something different. We also used Miracle Grow.

We did plant some flowers but I haven't taken any pictures yet because they are just starting to come up. As soon as they are in bloom I will take pictures.

This is my hubby John weed wacking in front of the house. The trampoline takes up most of our front yard. It is so big. This is the front of our home. I didn't plant any flowers in front because we have these green bushes that come up every year. I like hanging my plants from the front porch. On the right side of the porch I have a plant rack with all my house plants on it. You can't really see it. I need to take a close up.

I am getting a little tired so I am off to dreamland.

Quiet Weekends

2006-06-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

It is going to be a very lazy and quiet weekend. My daughter just left for her Girl Scout campout. I just know she is going to have a good time. I think she is going to earn a few more badges this weekend. She really had a hard time getting up this morning. We had a long day yesterday. My hubby didn't have to work so we decided to go into the city early and have lunch instead of dinner. We made it to our hair appointment on time. We didn't get home until about 9:30 and I told my daughter and her friend to get ready for bed. We had to be up by 6:30 am. My daughter came in my room last night. She was sleep walking so I just put her in bed with me. She woke up this morning and said how did I get here. lol

My daughter doesn't get home until tomorrow afternoon. I miss her already. The house is so quiet. My hubby is working until either 2:30 or 6:30. I think he only wants to work until 2:30 because today and tomorrow is our community's garage sales. Every year they have it. I was going to sell some things but I am not very organized when it comes to that kind of thing. I might do it next year because my daughter has not touched her Bratz dolls or barbies in a long time. I have a Rubbermaid container of just barbies. I think there are about 30 dolls in it.

I didn't get much sleep last night so I am probably going to take it easy today. It is a beautiful day. I have all the windows open. I might go out and take of few pictures of the garden and my rose bushes and put them in my journal later. I just don't seem to have any energy today. I bought these drinks called Boost but they taste pretty nasty. I have been drinking them though because I don't want to waste them. They do seem to give me some energy so I might go drink one now.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Happy Birthday to my daughter

2006-06-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

My baby girl is 12 years old today. Where does the time go. I was going to take her and her friend swimming today at my sister in laws but it is a little cool today. We might go to the animal shelter and pick out a dog. My hubby said why did you promise her a dog for her birthday. I said because we have been wanting an animal since we moved here 21 months ago. We went to a few shelters last year but we didn't see any small dogs. My hubby does not want a big dog. I wouldn't mind because I love big dogs. My daughter would like a Lab or Golden Retreiver. I think I would get a lot more walking in if I had a dog. Tomorrow is the day we are really going to celebrate. We are going into Chicago to get our hair done and then out to a Mexican restaurant. My daughter is bringing one of her friends. They both want to get their eyebrows done. My mother in law is going with us. I can't wait. I haven't had my hair done since Jan. and I need it bad.

I am doing pretty good with my eating. The last 2 days I have been struggling. I am up 1 lb. I had way too much steak the other day and a few to many cookies the last 2 days. I am back on track today.

I just made my reservations to Tennessee. I have been undecided if I wanted to go or not. I mean I wanted to go but was thinking twice about the money. I thought I would be able to get it cheaper this Tuesday but it was the same. I talked with hubby yesterday and he said go, just go. I think he wants the house to himself for 2 weeks. Sometimes you just need a break from one another. My hubby doesn't get vacation until November I think. I am not sure what he will want to do then. My sister lives in a small town called Ashland City. I just love it there. I can't wait until June 24th. Last year was the first year that I didn't spend the 4th of July with her. I would go visit her every year around that time.

Well, it is about that time for me to get dressed. My daughter is still sleeping and I need to jump in the shower and then make her birthday cake.

Again, I want to wish my girl a . I love you so much.

Hot and Humid

2006-05-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

This is how hot it is today. The heat index says 94 degrees. I knew we weren't going to have much of a spring. It always seems to go directly to summer weather.

I just got through grilling some corn on the cob and I made a little pocket out of aluminum foil and put in portabello mushroom, onion, red pepper and garlic and sprinkled a little basil infused olive oil. I had this yesterday and it was so good that I had to make it again today. I also grilled a whole wheat pita pocket and stuffed the vegetables into it. In my last entry I had a comment left that said It is all about the food. It sure is when you are a food addict. LOL The good thing is that it is now about the RIGHT foods. I think I will rename my journal It Is All About The Food. I liked that. I want to thank Marina at I'm Losing It for that great comment and maybe my journal name change.

When I was outside by the grill I felt like this.

I can't wait until my neighbor comes home tomorrow so then maybe we can get his pool ready. He let us swim in it all last summer. We went looking at pools at the end of summer last year but they are a little pricey for the one we want to fit our backyard. Once I start working then maybe we will get one next year or the end of summer since the prices really drop then.

In a few minutes I think I will go get myself a popsicle. I know we have some in the deep freezer but they might be no good. We have had them for awhile now and nobody is eating them. I also bought some fudgsicles but don't really like them to much. I am more of a dreamsicle girl.

My daughter went swimming over at her friends house yesterday. She called me about 8:30 pm and asked if she could sleepover and I said yes and brought her the things she needed. The phone rang at 2:15 am and I didn't get it in time so I went downstairs and it was my daughter saying she didn't feel well. I woke up my hubby and asked him to go get her. We have always had this thing where if she was sick in the middle of the night and needed medicine or we had to get her from somewhere that he would do it. He always said he didn't want me driving that late at night by myself.

I am thinking of visiting my sister in Tennessee this year. I talked with my hubby about it and he said yes. The airfare is a little high right now. They have specials every Tuesday so I am probably going to see if it is lower this week. I want to go for 2 weeks. I was thinking a month but hubby said he would miss us too much. This is a picture of my sister's pool. She has 2 decks. One on top and then one around her pool. I am in that pool everyday when I visit her. We have such a good time. Last year was the first year I didn't visit her. I know she was here in Feb. for my birthday but I miss her already. I need to hit the lottery so I can have a second home in Tennessee. My sister suggested I drive but I don't know if I would want to drive 7 hours. I just love flying. The flight is only 1 hour and 15 minutes so I love it.

I think I will go for now. I need to stop rambling and go check on my daughter and her friend who are watching a scary movie.

The Weekend

2006-05-26T20:43:00.000-07:00

I don't have much going on this weekend. My husband is working. He decided to take off today so we could do some major running around. We are invited to a bbq on Sunday but my hubby doesn't get off work until 6:30 pm. We still might go for a little while.

I thought this was my daughter's last full day of school but I was wrong. She has a full day on Tuesday and half day on Wednesday. She is off on Thursday which happens to be her 12th birthday and goes for an hour on Friday. We are both going to get our hair done on that day and then go for either pizza

or mexican food. I think my daughter wants mexican. I called my mother in law and asked her to go and I am pretty sure she wants to go. I told her I would call her during the week.

Our running around today consisted of first going to the bank then to Wal-mart where I was going to get about 5 things. 50 items later we left and went to Sam's Club where we spent over 200 dollars. It gets very expensive to eat healthy. I then told my hubby that we needed to go to Cub Foods to get some spinach, salad and some fruit.

Whenever I bring my hubby we always spend more. We don't have to shop for a month.

I did really good with eating today. I got up this morning and had 2 breakfast burritos. They are more like breakfast tacos since I use 2 corn tortillas but saying burritos makes them sound bigger. When we came home from shopping I had the rest of my homemade chicken/vegetable soup. I don't know why I had that because it was so hot and humid in the house. I had a yogurt and glass of orange juice later on and then a slice of angel food cake with fresh blackberries and fat free cool whip. I got in about 48 ozs of water.

I made my daughter some veal parmesan with spaghetti when she came home from school. She always seems so hungry after school. My hubby made himself a steak on the grill with my leftover homemade cole slaw. I always ask him for a bite of his steak when he makes one. I may splurge this weekend and have a steak. I have been sticking with chicken breasts and salmon fillets. I bought some portabello mushrooms and I am thinking of grilling one and putting it on a bun with all the fixings like a hamburger. I think I will look on line for some kind of marinade for it.

Tomorrow I am going to spend a lot of time Food Savering all my chicken breasts, thighs and all the other food we bought. Ok I am sorry enough about food.

I want to wish everyone a safe and fun

2006-05-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

I was so lazy yesterday. I didn't get dressed until 2pm. Whenever my daughter is home from school and not feeling well we just hang out and watch movies and do nothing. I am going to make up for it today.

I need to clean 3 bathrooms and vacuum. I have been trying to do a load of laundry once a day so this weekend I won't do any laundry or housework.

Last night we had some major storms blow through.

The electricity went out about 10 pm and my daughter came running into my room to sleep with me. It was very warm without the fan. It didn't take to long for it to come back on. I think it was about a half an hour because I can't sleep without my fan. I know I am a baby. LOL

I just want to say that my goal with my weight loss is to lose about 140 lbs. I really just want to be healthier and have more energy.

I was looking through my on line pictures and came across this one that said to my Mom. My daughter must have did it on line and saved it to the pictures so I would come across it. She is my angel.

It is time to get my butt in gear. I didn't walk yesterday and today it looks like it is going to storm again so I better get going.

2006-05-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

They are calling for 50 percent chance of rain today and tomorrow. I know it will be great for my garden. The weekend is looking good.

Temperatures in the high 80's to 90's. Yes, pool weather.

I got on the scale this morning. I am happy to report that I lost another 3 lbs. That is a total of 11 lbs so far. I think it has to do with all the walking I have done in the past 2 days. I took my neighbors dog for a walk

on Monday and I wore my flip-flops. I should have never done that because my feet were killing me. Yesterday I wore my gym shoes. Maybe I will reach my goal of 15 lbs by the end of this month.

My daughter is home from school today. I really wanted her to try to go to school because she only has 3 full days and then 1/2 of day and 1 hour day next week left. She said her stomach and ribs hurt.

I just heard some thunder so I guess my walk can wait till later. I am still in my pj's and I think I will lay in bed with my daughter and watch some TV.

My Garden

2006-05-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

First of all I want to say that I am sick of AOL. I did an entry earlier this afternoon that took me about an hour and tried to save it and it would not let me save it. I tried about 10 times and then my computer booted me off. I guess I am going to try again.

Here is my garden that my husband built for me last year. This picture is from yesterday but he just finished putting in more plants tonight. He told me we have way too many plants so we are either going to give them to the neighbors or try to plant them in some pots. He even used the side of our house this year because we had so many. I told him that side of the house doesn't get much sun but he wants to see if they will grow.

Here is my strawberry plant.

If you look real close you can see 2 strawberries already. I think we are going to put this in a container. I have a strawberry terra cotta pot but hubby doesn't want to use it. I told him I used it for my herbs last year and the herbs turned out great. Sometimes I don't know what he is thinking. LOL

This is my chive and dill plants. I have 2 more chives in a windown container. I love using chives in my salads. I already used the dill in soup that I made on Sunday. I worked with this lady years ago who brought in a dill dip and it was fantastic. I never made it but I found the recipe the other day and I can't wait to make it. I think I will wait until my dill plant gets alittle bigger.

This is my cilantro plants. We had so many that my husband had to put a few in the ground next to some of the flowers. I use it in my homemade salsa, soups and tacos.

This is my peppermint and chocolate mint. I will probably look on line to find some recipes to use those. I know some of it I will use in tea. I am thinking of maybe chocolate chip mint cookies. Right now I am sick of making cookies because I made another 3 1/2 dozen oatmeal cookies. My husband is loving them. I only had a few. I swear.

We have no room for the carrots

and bell peppers that I started from seeds. I might go this weekend and see about what kind of containers I can use for these vegetables.

Ok I guess I am done. Sorry, I am going on and on but we take such pride in our garden. We have wanted our own home and garden for a long time. We both were brought up in apartments and we thought that we would never have a home of our own. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with growing up in an apartment. I was loved so much by my parents and I just wish that they could have experienced having a home of their own. I guess with 8 kids they couldn't afford it. I am just happy that my dream came through.

This is my daughter and my neighbors daughter painting their fence. The girls did this last year and they had a blast. It comes off after it rains a few times.

It is almost 10 pm and I think I will get ready for bed.

2006-05-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a few days because I was terribly embarrassed by failing my drivers test. It is all my fault. I just skimmed through the book thinking that I knew it all. I was going to retake it right away but I thought I would just let my husband take me the next day. My hubby convinced me to wait a few more days and really go over the book. He said he would get off work early Wednesday or Thursday and take me. He is right. I don't want to rush into it again. You only get 3 tries and then you have to wait a year before you can try again.

On a good note, yesterday my husband an I went to the nursery and picked up all of our vegetables. We also got some strawberries. He started turning over the dirt but it was way to wet. I picked up tons of herbs which I said I wasn't going to do. I got peppermint and chocolate mint. I thought those would be great for tea. We got tons of cilantro and chives. I decided to put those in containers. They are big window boxes but I am going to keep on the back deck. We decided to try a few different things this year. Cabbage and lettuce are 2 new things. I couldn't pass up the jalapenos and got one plant of chili peppers. I really hope those grow big. We bought a bunch more vegetables but I don't want to bore you with all this garden stuff.

I lost another 2 lbs. I have lost a total of 8 lbs. It is very slow going but if I lose 8 lbs a month I will be very happy. I am going to start walking again because I have been slacking off big time. I think that is why I only lost 2 lbs in 2 weeks. I can't believe it because I have been bad the last few days. Our neighbors took us to this restaurant called The Melting Pot last night. It was outrageous. Everything was good from the appetizers, salad, main course and dessert. I have never tried fondue and this was wonderful. The main course was shrimp, lobster, chicken, 2 kinds of beef. Tons of mushrooms, broccoli and squash. I thought my daughter was going to die when she saw all of the desserts. We got 2 pots. One with smores chocolate and the other was chocolate with Bailey's Irish Cream. YUMMO. Thanks for the phrase Rachel Ray. LOL We dipped strawberries, bananas, pound cake, cheese cake, pineapple, brownies into this chocolate. We didn't get home until 11:30. We were there for 3 1/2 hours. What a wonderful experience. I hope everyone gets a change to go to this place. I didn't realize that it is a chain of restaurants.

Well, my hubby will be home from work soon and I want to get ready and see if he wants to do something. I may just wash my van since it is so dirty and the weather is perfect for it. He just came home while I was typing this and said he is going to get gas for the lawn mower so I guess we are just going to do yard work. My daughter went to a party this afternoon at a church and then she is sleeping over at a friends house. I think they may sleep in a tent outside. Isn't it great to be young.

2006-05-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

It is starting to be a great day. I woke up and the sun is shining.

Nothing makes me more happy then seeing the sunshine especially since I haven't seen it for a long time.

I have already made a pie this morning. On the list today I want to make oatmeal cookies, more breakfast burritos, (this time with bacon and spinach) tuna salad and an assortment of green salads. I made the pie so early so it will set and my husband can have it when he comes home for lunch. Sometimes he comes home as early as 10:30 for lunch.

I need to get a lot done because I am not sure if my mother in law and sister in law are coming today or tomorrow. I called my SIL yesterday but she was on her way out to dinner. I hope they give me a days notice.

I am going to go over the rules of the road book. I am hoping to go tomorrow. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me.

2006-05-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is my niece and she is also my godchild. She just turned 17 and lives in Tennessee. She was going to the prom and I think the pictures turned out wonderful. I am so proud of her. She is very smart and will be going to college. I miss her so much. I am not sure if she is coming up this year. She comes to Illinois for about 3 to 4 weeks each year to visit family. I asked my sister but she said she is not sure what she wants to do. Waiting patiently.

I forgot to mention the other day my daughter brought home a certificate telling her that her poem was selected as one of high merit and was chosen for publication for Creative Communication's Young Poets Contest. I am so proud of her. It takes about 20-24 weeks before the finished book will be ready to be shipped.

I mentioned to my husband that we need to go to the nursery and get our garden started. The weather has been miserable and he has been working a lot. I think I will ask him to take Friday off so we can go.

Let the countdown begin. lol I have 4 or maybe 5 more days until I can drive. I am pretty sure my neighbor is taking me Thursday. He said he would but he is on vacation right now and will get back late tomorrow. If he doesn't then I know I will ask my hubby to take off work so he can take me Friday. Let me tell you the 3 months went by really, really slow.

I think my mother in law and sister in law are coming over either Wednesday or Thursday. I told my hubby that if I get my license on Thursday I will be driving all day until it gets dark.

Tonight we are going grocery shopping. I ate my last salad fixings for lunch and I need more. We are also on our last bottle of water. This will be the last time my husband has to take me and I know he will be very happy about that. I know he doesn't mind because he can get the sweets that he likes.

Have a good day everyone.

Happy MOther's Day

2006-05-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

I want to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day.

My daughter is still in bed and my husband is at work. I guess I am not getting breakfast in bed. lol

It looks like the sun is trying to come out this morning. Finally. It is 45 degrees right now and going to get up to 56. They are saying 60 percent chance of rain. I say enough already. Rain, rain go away. Far, far away.

I stayed in yesterday and watched movies all day. When my husband came home from work we were watching King Kong. The first 45 minutes were slow and they it really got exciting. A neighbor stopped by so I missed about 45 minutes of it. It is a long movie.

My mouth is still bothering me a little. It was hurting me too bad because I had pizza, garlic wedges and soda the other day. That is my major weakness. I haven't been walking either. It seems like it has been raining for 10 straight days now. I know excuses, excuses. That's my middle name. LOL

Well, I guess I will have to go downstairs and get my own coffee.

Mother's Day just like any other day. lol I guess I will just put a graphic up here for me to cheer myself on.

There now I am happy. lol

2006-05-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

It wasn't a good day today. I got up to make my daughter's lunch for school and noticed that my husband was home. He said he was going to work at 8 am and that he would take our daughter to school. He didn't look good at all. He said he was just plain beat. He looked so tired. I told him to just go to work and get his check and to take off. Friday and Saturday's are his official days off. When he came home he said to call the dentist so I could have my tooth pulled. I called my original dentist and he said that I needed #17 and #20 teeth pulled. He told me this about 8 months ago but they weren't bothering me then. His nurse gave me 2 other dentists to call. I called and they couldn't get me in today. So I called the nurse back and she gave me 4 more dentists so call. The last dentist said he could see me at 3:15 today. I went back to bed and slept until 1:15 when my husband came in and woke me up. We had so much running around to do today but it was so rainy and cold today that we figured we would do it tomorrow.

I get to the dentist office and we go over everything. I wanted to be put to sleep but it would cost us anywhere between 300.00 - 400.00 extra, plus I ate some toast for breakfast and she said you can't have anything to eat for 8 hours. Well, that blew that. They ex-rayed my whole mouth. We decided to only pull the tooth that was bothering me and leave the other one for another day. We decided that I would get the laughing gas and three needles in my mouth. I didn't feel a thing. At one point the dentist said I need to breath from my nose because I was breathing through my mouth and he was getting a lot of the gas. He asked the nurse to open the door because it was that bad.

I am having a hard time sleeping because the dentist gave me a prescription for Vicodin and it always makes me a little hyper.

So that is what happened on my one year anniversary. I just kept thanking my husband for taking me and then we did a bunch of running around to the bank, a few groceries and then to Blockbuster

where we got 5 movies. My daughter has her friend sleeping over tonight so we watched Big Momma 2. It was ok. I liked the first one better. My husband picked King Kong but I don't have any interest in watching that. I also got Last Holiday, The Family Stone and Rumor Has It. Hey, what else am I going to do with it going to rain all weekend. LOL

Everyone have a great weekend. I am off to bed to watch a movie or just some TV.

2006-05-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

It has been one heck of a boring and lazy day. The weather here is miserable. Rainy, chilly and now really, really windy. We are going to have this weather for another 4 days. I guess I will be a couch potato.

Tomorrow is our one year wedding anniversary. My husband is working but he said he would get off at 2:30. I told him we didn't have to do anything special. We need to go to the bank and then I told him we could grill some steaks, baked potatoes and whatever else he wants. I told my daughter if she wants her girlfriend to sleepover she can. We can go to Blockbuster and rent some movies. Her girlfriend is over now and they are doing facials and watching Johnson Family Vacation. That is a funny movie.

We were suppose to go to my sister in law's house on Saturday to celebrate Mother's day with the family but my husband is working again. He called her today to tell her we weren't coming. She understood. We were suppose to bring the hot dogs and buns. Everyone was pitching in this year and bringing something. Last year we had it at her house and we had a great time.

I get to go for my license in 7 days.

Wow, only 1 week left. Let the countdown begin. lol I have been looking over the book just to refresh my memory on some of the signs and questions. I called the Secretary of State and talked to a lady so I could pay my reinstatment fee over the phone. I am so happy I called her because she said there was a problem with a return check in 05. I said I don't know what you are talking about because we paid the ticket by credit card. She went to look up the file and said that they made an error. I could just see me going down to the DMV and them telling me I can't get my license because of this. I am so, so happy I called again in advance.

I can't wait until 7 pm so I can watch Survivor. I am a huge fan. The finale is on Sunday. Go Terry! It is the little things that excite me.

I have been doing pretty good on my diet. Oh my gosh I said it, the four letter word. I forgot I am calling it my lifestyle change. I slipped a little yesterday and had a small piece of cake. I am going to wait and get on the scale Saturday morning.

I think I know how Heather over at Tightening the corset has been feeling when it comes to her tooth. Mine has been bothering me for a few weeks now. It really hasn't been anything major but the last fews days I can feel the difference. My husband said he would take off tomorrow so we could find a dentist. I told him no. Our dental insurance ran out the end of December. I know I shouldn't use that as an excuse. I really don't want to charge it but if worse comes to worse I will. Celebrating my one year anniversary in the dentist chair, I don't think so.

I am off to take some Tylenol before the pain gets any worse.

Keeping Busy

2006-05-09T07:09:00.000-07:00

How is everyone this beautiful morning? I have been really keeping myself busy lately. Eating healthy takes so much of your time. I never cut up so many fruits and vegetables in my life. lol

I think this morning I am going to make a nice fruit salad or some Kashi cereal. It is hard for me to eat breakfast. I have to force myself. I used to grab a cup of coffee and a Twinkie. I always had to have some kind of bad sweet with my coffee. I haven't even had a piece of cake that I made the other day. I have to admit I did lick the batter. Ok, only twice.

Yesterday in my deep freezer I found some habanero peppers from my garden last year. I put some in my salsa and in my crock pot where I had some chicken breasts with homemade tomato sauce. I have about 2 more bags of it left in my freezer and I am trying to use it up. I think I put in way too many peppers because boy was it hot. I forgot how hot they are.

I think I drank about 100 ozs. of water yesterday. I decided to start using this Big Gulp cup someone gave me and it holds 52 ozs. I sliced some lemon wedges in it. I walked around with it all day. I know now that if I eat hot stuff that I could get in my daily water. Water is my drink of choice. I guess I got that from my mother. She was always drinking water.

I hope you have a beautiful day. I am off to strip some beds and do some dusting and vacuuming. I can feel myself starting to get lazy because the weather here is very dreary and it is suppose to rain for about 4 days and the temperature is going to drop.

My Weight Loss

2006-05-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

I have been on this change of lifestyle for 1 week now and I have lost 6 lbs. I am so happy. I know the first week you always lose the most. I didn't get in as much walking as I would have liked but I know I am on the right path. I struggled last night with the eating right. I finally went downstairs and got a bowl of cereal. I really wanted some kind of meat. I seem to crave meat more than anything. I didn't want to touch the hard salami well maybe a little. LOL

My husband and I need to get to the nursery soon. I think we started our garden last year at the end of May. My cucumber plants are really getting big and I need to put them in the ground. My carrots and bell pepper are doing ok. I could only save 2 carrot plants. I don't know what the problem was.

I get to go for my license in 12 days. I can't believe it. I have been trying not to think about it so it would go by quicker. I have to give the 70.00 reinstatment 7 days before I go to take the written test.

My daughter just woke up and said that she hurts all over. The outdoor retreat yesterday had them walking all day.

Well, I told her I would make her some french toast this morning and then she wants to make a white cake with frosting. Keep me strong to not touch or eat or lick the frosting. LOL

Happy Cinco De Mayo Day

2006-05-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

I am off to a very slow start this morning. Set alarm for 6:20 to wake daughter up. She is going on a all day outdoor retreat with all of the 6th graders. She had to be a school at 7:15 and won't get back until 10:30 tonight. It is cloudy out today but they are not calling for rain.

I got my results back from the blood work yesterday. My liver is fine. My cholesterol was a little high. It was 217 and they want you under 200. My bad LDL was 147 which they want you under 100. My good HDL was 37 and they want it at over 50. I have some work to do on that.

Yesterday I made 19 breakfast burritos. I used corn tortillas and made scrambled eggs with spinach, basil, cilantro and pepper. I rolled the mixture up in the tortillas and froze them. I took out my Food Saver and saved them in the little bags they give you. Whenever I want one I can just pop them in the microwave. I do that a lot when it gets warmer outside. I make tons of pancakes and freeze them so my daughter can just get up and away she goes.

I can't seem to find my husband. I got up this morning and he was having coffee and I asked him to take our daughter to school since she had to be there early. Yesterday his work said they would call him to come in today but I didn't hear the phone ring. I went back to bed this morning because I was so tired. My husband is so sick. He came down with a bad cold. I asked him how he was feeling this morning and he said like crap. I noticed to took some Comtrex. Our garage door was wide open making me believe that he is around here somewhere. He is also scheduled to work tomorrow. I hope he hasn't decided to work his both days off.

Time to get moving. Everyone have a great Day.

Great now I am craving Mexican food.

2006-05-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

My doctor appointment went well. My blood pressure was terrible. 140/102. My doctor was upset that I haven't taken my medicine for a week. Sorry I ran out. He said that is no excuse. They did some bloodwork

to make sure my liver is ok. Taking certain high blood pressure medicine can effect your liver. He also is checking my cholesterol. The office said they would call me on Friday with the results. After my check-up my neighbor took me to Target to get my prescriptions filled. They were backed up so we decided to go to lunch. He is watching what he eats also so we decided to go to Portillos to get their salads.

I had an Oriental Chicken salad that was out of this world. I couldn't finish it all so I brought the rest home. My neighbor and I did a lot of walking yesterday. I was so sore by 8:30 last night I went to bed early.

I have a few things to do around the house

before I go for my walk. I think I might wait until hubby gets home for lunch to see if he wants to go, if not I am on my own. Feeling confident.

2 lb. Weight Loss

2006-05-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

My daughter has a half day of school today. I have a doctor appointment at 10. I made it for Friday thinking my hubby would be able to take me but he is working. He told me to take a chance and to drive. I said are you kidding. I only have 15 more days until I get my license back. It would be just my luck to drive now and get caught. I asked my neighbor yesterday if he would drive me to the doctors office if I could get an appointment for today or tomorrow and he said yes. Where would I be without my fantastic neighbors.

I got on the scale this morning and it shows that I lost 2 lbs since Saturday. I have to try and only weight myself once a week but I just wanted to see how I was doing. Giving myself a hand. LOL

I need to start getting ready for my appointment. Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday.

2006-05-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

Today we finally have sun. It feels like forever since the sun was shining.

My husband and I just took our walk. I can't believe I started sweating. We went for 30 minutes today and it felt good. I was walking briskly and my husband had to stop and look at this person's pond. It was beautiful. They had so many fish in there and we also seen a frog. I just stopped for a minute because I wanted to keep walking. I love going with my husband but he is always stopping and looking. I am learning to just keep going and he can catch up with me.

After our walk he came home and made some leftover tacos. I had my spinach and garbanzo bean salad and a turkey sandwich on wheat bread. I am on my third bottle of water.

I have only drank 27 ozs. so far. I love my water but I seem to be having a hard time the last few days getting it down.

For a snack this morning I had a banana with some peanut butter on it. I don't think I could ever give up peanut butter. I haven't tried the natural or low in fat peanut butter. I might give it a try.

Well, I am off to go into the backyard and start weedwacking. I wish it was the daisies that grow instead of the dandalions(sp)

Walking

2006-05-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

My husband came home for lunch at about 10:30 and we went on our walk together. It was great. We only went for 15 minutes but that is a start for me. I mentioned to him if we can walk when he gets home at 6:45 and he said yes. I have been here almost 2 years and I never really walked around the neighborhood before. It was nice. My husband and I were checking out people's landscaping and getting ideas for things we want to do to our front and backyard.

My daughter decided to go to school. She said she was feeling better but was just tired. I am happy the Tylenol helped. I really hate when she is not feeling well because I feel helpless.

I just finished cutting up some carrots and celery. I also put 3 chicken breasts and some tomatoe sauce I made last year from my garden in my crock pot. I added some celery, carrots and red pepper flakes. I love everything hot! I am probably going to throw in some spinach at the end. I told my hubby that I have to mix it up this time with the way I eat. Everytime I started eating healthy I would get into a rut and eat the same things and got bored really fast.

I can't believe that this is my second entry today. I am trying to keep busy and not think about eating so much. I guess I will go get my sheets and pillowcases out of the dryer and make all 3 beds. I have a few others things around the house I like to do on Mondays.

May Day

2006-05-01T03:32:00.000-07:00

[May Day] first day of May. Its celebration probably originated in the spring fertility
festivals of India and Egypt. The festival of the Roman goddess of spring, Flora, was celebrated from Apr. 28 to May 3. In medieval England the chief feature of the celebration of May Day was the Maypole; this was decorated with flowers and streamers, the loose ends of which were held by dancers, who encircled the pole, weaving intricate patterns as they passed each other in the dance.
These dances are still performed for exhibition purposes in England and the United States. The Second Socialist International in 1889 designated May Day as the holiday for labor, and since that time it has been the occasion for demonstrations, parades, and speeches among socialists and communists.

My daughter woke me up right before 4am and said she has a sore throat and her stomach hurts. I gave her some Tylenol and she got into bed with me. I can't seem to go back to sleep. I went downstairs and my hubby asked if I was ready for our walk. I told him I didn't want to leave our daughter alone since she is not feeling well. I got some water and came back upstairs to try to go back to sleep but I can't seem to sleep. My mind is going in all directions.

Today is the first day of the 30 challenge that I started. It seems like a lot of people in J-land are doing it. I am so happy. We have such great support out there.

I am really going to try and keep busy at night because that is the worst time for me. I had a hard time going to sleep last night because I would always eat something right before I went to sleep. It is like my comfort to have something to eat and then go to sleep. Kicking those bad habits to the curb.

I don't have to much going on today. I want to cut up a bunch of vegetables that I bought the other day. I want to make sure I have enough healthy snack food to grab and munch on. I think I might make some vegetable soup. I still have broccoli and cauliflower in my deep freezer from our garden last year. I might even roast them first with a little bit of olive oil and seasoning.

I have to get in to see my doctor sometime this week. I ran out of my high blood pressure medicine and I have been have some major headaches the last couple of days. I hate waking up with headaches. Those are the worst.

I am waiting for my husband's to take a shower and to go to work so I can take a shower and start my day. I am going to see how by daughter is feeling at 7:30 before I call the school. I hope she can make it. She only has about 4 weeks left and I really don't want her to miss. She hasn't missed all that much this year. I think maybe 5 days total.

I know sometime today I will get in my walk. I might go when my husband comes home from lunch so he can keep a eye on our daughter. We will see. I will play it by ear.

Again, I want to wish everyone a very .

I am off to get some coffee.

Thinking Positive

2006-04-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Ok today is the last day of April. April showers can now go away. lol It has been a miserable 2 days. Nothing but rain, wind and cold. The weather channel is saying 3 more days of rain. Oh, what are you going to do. I guess just enjoy all the flowers that have been blooming from all the rain. If I can go outside.

I was just looking up high fiber foods. I have already gotten in 17 grams. The last 2 days I have been eatting good. I just had a spinach salad with garbanzo beans and a turkey sandwich. I am going to have to try and give up lunchmeat. I have noticed that it has tons of sodium it in. Baby steps for me. One day at a time.

I want to thank everyone for leaving such great comments in my last entry. I need all the support and advice I can get. Thanks again.

My daughter and her friend just asked if they can have something to eat. I made meatballs and sauce yesterday and now I am going to go downstairs and make the angel hair pasta to go with it. I was going to post more but you know when kids are hungry. lol

Health Decisions

2006-04-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

My husband and I both decided tonight to start getting into shape and eating right. Every morning at 4am, (I know way to early) we are going to start walking. I told him I have to take baby steps since I haven't been in shape since I was in my 20's. After we walk tomorrow we are going to come home have some coffee, shower and head out to the grocery store. We went to the bank today but he didn't want to go grocery shopping. He had to work today so he was pretty tired. We went to Blockbuster and got 2 movies. The one I rented was called Just Friends. I think I remember Melissa over at Melissa's Motivation mentioning she saw it and it was very funny. My hubby got some shoot em up kind of movie. I was going to watch it tonight but since we are getting up so early I think I will head to bed soon. My daughter is still not home from the show so I will probably wait until she gets home.

I am feeling really good and positive about getting into shape and losing all this weight. I know it is going to take me a few years but I feel like I am ready and with my husband by my side I know I can do it. My hubby only needs to lose about 20 lbs. He is pretty fit. He always seems to gain over the winter and then get back down to his 185 lbs by summer.

You may be seeing a lot of exercising graphics so I can keep myself motivated. I also have a lot of wonderful journals out there to keep me on my toes. From Fat 2 Phat.

Linda's Thotful Spot /Weight Loss Journey, Melissa's Motivation, Tightening the corset,

My Life Change and Weight Loss Journey aka my DIET!!!. These are 5 of the most inspiring weight loss journals I have come to love and I know in the coming weeks and months they are really going to help with my journey into getting healthier. I may even read their earlier entries to see how they started out.

If there is any advice for someone who is just starting out please let me know. I need all the advice I can get.

2006-04-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

Just let me say that yesterday and last night it was freezing. It only got up to 36 but that was with the wind chill. Last night it got down to 27 degrees. I tried to put the heat on yesterday but couldn't get it started. I tried about 6 times. I could not get warm at all yesterday. Today it is up to 58 and the sun feels good. I was just outside on the back deck reading my magazine.

I am really not doing to much today. I am almost through with laundry. I did 5 loads. At one point I was doing one load a day to keep up. I have decided to let it go for awhile. I get sick of doing it every day.

I called about my license on Friday and they said I have to pay a 70 dollar reinstatement fee. They said they destroyed my old license. I also have to take the written test over. I hope I can remember everything. My husband asked me what orange meant and I said caution. I answered to fast because I know that it is construction. I better go get the book. LOL

I hope everyone is having a good day. I am off to make something to eat for my daughter who gets home from school in about an hour.

2006-04-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

I want to give thanks to D's Design for making this graphic. It is so beautiful. I tried to resize it to make it bigger but it didn't come out. I have to learn how to do that and also I tried putting in a Weather Pixie that Susan from the Strawberry Patch turned me on to but it is still stuck on the weather from last night. I guess you can't copy and paste those.

I have been a busy bee this morning and this afternoon. My husband came home for lunch and he finished off the oven fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn so now I am making chicken cacciatore. I am pretty sure my husband doesn't like it because of the tomatoes but he can eat everything else.

My husband went and picked up the pond we want to put in the backyard. My sister in law had it at her summer trailer so he went to pick it up. I wanted the big one but he decided on the smaller one. He wants to add beautiful rocks around it so it looks more manmade. We have to buy the pump and all the other equipment for it. It may take awhile for him to do it but when it is done I will take a picture. I can't wait because I just love the sound of running water on rocks.

Well, I am off to finish putting all the sheets and pillow cases back on the beds.

2006-04-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Here I sit all by myself. My hubby decided to go into work. They called him last night to start at 6 am. I heard him tell them that he was going to work until 2:30 pm. I hope he has the energy to drive me to the bank, groceries and my daughter needs new flip flops.

I went to plant the flowers yesterday and realized that they weren't tulips. I called my mother in law but she wasn't home. She called me at 8 pm and I asked her about the flowers. She told me they were Cannons. I do remember her garden and they are these big flowers so I can't plant them in my window planters. I guess I am just going to plant them in the ground. I am not sure if I am going to do it or have hubby do it. I have a hard time on my knees so we will see.

Today it is kind of cloudy and gloomy. I am just sitting her watching Oprah. I have to jump in the shower in a few minutes.

I can't believe this morning my phone rang 5 times. We used to get up at 7 am but my daughter likes to sleep until 7:30 so I sleep until then also. The first one was from my neighbor who takes my daughter to school. She said she forgot to tell me but she had a eye dr. appt. at 7:45. I told her that is no problem that my daughter would walk. We are only about 4 big blocks away. It is funny when I tell her that I walked back and forth to school everyday in rain, sleet, snow and everything in between. lol

I think I will go get another cup of coffee. I feel like I need one more to get my mojo going.

2006-04-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

I don't have much going on today. Just wrote out some bills this morning and did a load of laundry. I hope my hubby has 2 days off starting tomorrow because we have so many projects to do around the house and I need his help. I couldn't start the power washer the other day to do the fence. I always have a hard time with it because you have to have a kind of flick in your wrist when you pull it, just like the lawnmower. I can never start it.

My neighbor who is my daughters Girl Scout leader asked if I could help her with a meeting last night and I said yes. Her other leader had to quit because she is having some personal problems. I had such a great time. We couldn't get into the school where she has it so we decided to do it outside in the park. It was a beautiful night. We learned about asthma. The girls earned their asthma/health patch. My daughter also got 4 more patches. One being since she sold girl scout cookies. My daughter has so many things coming up with girl scouts. Next Saturday she is going to build a bear. That sounds like so much fun. She is a little older than the girls because she joined as an independent. They are also going a camp sleepover the first weekend in June.

My mother in law gave me all these garden and bird books a few months back and I just started to look at them and I came across this poem I would like to share with all of you.

Not Enough Of Spring

There's much too much of winter

And not enough of spring.

To see and smell and hear and touch

All the beauty that she brings.

It's true she has a 3-month lease

Like all the other seasons,

But always leaves us wanting more

For two very well-known reasons;

Winter won't move out on time;

Instead, he want to stay,

And spring is just too gentle

To send him on his way.

And summer's much too eager

to make the world her own;

Arriving soomer than she should,

She won't leave spring along.

I guess we'll have to be content

With too few lovely balmy days

And treasure all the memories

Of spring's warm and winning ways.

I just thought it is so true and beautiful.

Well, I am off to plant some tulips in my window planter. My mother in law put a bunch in a bag and I haven't look at them yet. I know one bag of them is orange.

Have a smiley day.

2006-04-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

Today is going to be a good day. I woke up this morning and have all of this energy. I am going to go crazy in the house and really clean.

I am so happy because my wonderful neighbor fixed my digital camera. He is such a smart guy. I don't know what we would do without him.

Here are the pictures of my vegetables I started from seeds.

These are my cucumbers.

These are my carrots and bell peppers.

My basil herb plant I started last spring. I think I need to make a basil pesto to start using it up. I tried to dry it but it got all moldy.

Here is the flower bush in front of my porch. It was there when we moved in.

I am off to start my cleaning.

Construction, construction and more construction

2006-04-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

Ever since I moved here the last 2 spring and summers have been nothing but construction. Yes, I know improvements to your community are great but come on already. Our police force resides in a trailer right now. They are building the new station this year. The trucks were behind our garage this morning. They are going to put grass down in half the alley and who knows what they are going to do to the rest of the alley. It is sort of an alley. Our garage is the only garage that goes through. Nobody else will use it because there is a pole at the end of the alley so you really can't drive through it unless you go onto someone elses driveway.

The weather here yesterday was so crappy. Severe storms and tornadoe warning all day. My husband and daughter went to my mother in laws house. I really wasn't in the mood.

I seen these cute graphics the other day. It reminded me of when I was a kid and your mother used to say things like this:

Those are just some of the things I learned from my mother.

Well, my daughter and her friend are hanging over me because they want to use the phone and I don't have 2 phone lines. I may have to get 2 if this keeps up.

2006-04-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

I figure by the time I am through typing this entry it will be Easter.

I was making my daughter french toast for dinner and she said since there are only 5 eggs left why don't we decorate them tomorrow. I can't keep up with my kid. One day its no and the next day it is yes. It must be a hormonal thing. lol

My husbands work just called and he is starting at 2 am. I asked him if he is going to his mothers house tomorrow and he said he did not know. They are eating at 1pm and he doesn't get off until 2:30. It is an hour drive so we probably won't be there until 4. I told him the other day I really didn't feel like going. I really should go since it is the last Easter my mother in law is doing. We are also celebrating my nieces 3rd birthday and I think my other niece is bringing the new baby.

Since my daughter didn't want an Easter basket I told her if she wanted to download some songs on her Ipod that she could. It seems strange not to have an Easter basket for her because we would always side it in the morning and she would love to look for it. Maybe I just should have bought her one.

This will be the first year with no chocolate bunnies.It least I won't split my pants from eating all the bunnies. lol I know if she goes to Grandmas house tomorrow that she will get some.

Our garage looks totally spotless. My husband moved everything around. He got a standup freezer from a moving side job and I like it alot better than the deep freezer. I have a hard time reaching all the way at the bottom so I think I will move all the food from the deep freezer into the stand up. I think we will get rid of the deep freezer or give it to a family member if they want it.

I was so tired at 10 but my girlfriend called and wanted to talk and so we talked for 45 minutes until I told her my eyes were closing so we hung up. I must have gotten my second wind since my husbands work called. My daughter is in my bed watching Roseanne. She is not sleeping with my tonight. I need a good nights sleep.

I have so many great Easter graphics that I found and that some friends have sent to me. I am trying to use all of them. LOL

My husband and I talked about going to the nursery in the next few weeks. I told him lets forget about flowers and just plant a bunch of vegetables. I think he is going to agree with me. We want to try so many different things and we are going to need more space.

Maybe if I go to the store on Monday I can get a really good deal on some jellybeans. I love those different favored ones. The ones that taste like peanut butter, jelly, pina colada. I think they are called gourmet jellybeans. Those are the best.

I only have 5 more minutes and it will officially be Easter.

I know I am rambling on and on but just trying to pass the time. lol

I just want to wish everyone in J-land a very Happy Easter.

Becoming a Woman

2006-04-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

My daughter has been complaining that her stomach has been bothering her for the past 2 nights. When she rolled out of bed at noon today she discovered that she started her period. She will be 12 in June. I was hoping that she wouldn't get it until she was 13. I am trying to keep her my baby as long as possible.

My husband had the day off today. He has been in the garage since 10 am. He is really getting rid of all the clutter. We stopped a few times to talk with the neighbors and to sit on the back deck.

I might start the grill in a few minutes and throw some hamburgers and hot dogs on.

Everyone have an enjoyable Saturday. Will probably post more later. I don't want to miss anymore of this beautiful day.