Stormmie's World

Thrift Store Find

2012-02-08T20:14:00.002-05:00

Found this quilt rack at Thrift Store for $15. Yay!!!!

Looks good with Butterfly Quilt work in progress.

Over half of quilting done. Hopefully should be finished in another month.

Stuff

2012-01-08T09:58:00.001-05:00

Went to see Muppet Movie yesterday. I thought it was great. Hubby and I laughed through the whole movie. My 12yo didn't care for it but he doesn't care about anything but friends right now. lol Crazy how pricey movies are. No wonder we don't go often.

Stopped in a few Thrift Stores. Got a few more books. C got rollerblades. Hubby picked up a few things for his Ebay store. His store is doing well.

Found this at Goodwill store. It's a fondue pot but at our house it will be a candy dish. Isn't it cute?

Goodwill store was strange. It was a huge store. About 2/3 of it was clothes. They were on long racks divided by mens, womens, etc then by color. WTH? I'm not looking through 900 green shirts to see if they might have one in my size. I want to go to my size and look. That was crazy. Nope didn't buy any clothes lol

I keep all my pic on Flickr. I can check and see what pics were looked at. People can also save your pics under their Favorites. The other day someone faved one of my pony pics. I went to their Faves to see what other pics they had. Ewwwwww! It was all pics showing horse penises. Ewwwwww. The pic of mine was 2 horse butts. Creepy.

So today someone whose name was ILikeHorsePee faved the same pony butt pic. Yes I admit it. I went to his page. And yes all his pics are of horses peeing. Oh and there was some dogs peeing too. Ewwwwww

OK now on to less creepy stuff. I need a new pot/pan set. Mine is just wore out. I hate glass lids. The set I have now has metal lids but the big frying pan has a really heavy glass lid. It it so hard to drain grease off ground beef etc cause it's so heavy. I wanted a set with metal lids. Everywhere I have looked they all have glass lids. Grrrr Guess I will be getting a set with glass lids. Haven't decided which set yet. Still thinking about it.

I have been looking everywhere for a bacon press. I was going to order one from Amazon but I didn't get to it yet. Found one in Target with the cast iron pans. Yay!!! I've wanted one for a while. Hope it works.

Started reading one of my new-to-me books. Felt really strange holding a book. Having to manually turn my pages. Having to use a bookmark so I don't lose my page. Didn't take long to get spoiled by my E-Reader. lol

Tea cup is empty so it's time to get off my puter and start my day. Have a great one!

Zoo and Stuff

2011-11-19T10:11:00.001-05:00

Finally made it to the Zoo. A little chilly but sunny so it wasn't too bad. We donned our hats and gloves and ventured out. Love the Zoo when it's not crowded. They have new Otters. They are from NY and their exhibit got flooded so they are staying at our Zoo until theirs is rebuilt. They said probably at least a year.

Otters are one of my faves. A few years ago I finally got to see one in the wild. I was thrilled. Our Zoo used to have them. Then their exhibit closed. Was finally rebuilt. We saw them a few times then exhibit was empty again. Been empty for a long time. Nice to see otters playing in exhibit again.

There are 3. One came right up to the window and was checking us out. I could watch them for hours. They always look like they are having lots of fun.

Lots of stuff was out and moving around. Snow Leopard baby was out playing. He is getting big but still so adorable. Couldn't get any good pics of him. He was running around and my camera is slow. This pic is of him playing with a ball.

After we walked the loop we stopped by to see him again. This time Mom was playing with him.

Lion was out pacing waiting for Keeper to get done with Cheetahs. When he came over he played with him through the fence. It was so adorable. Lion just flopped over to get his belly scratched. I never saw anyone interact with him before. Pic isn't that good cause sun was in my eyes and I couldn't see where I was taking the pic. LOL

C decided he wanted to make Thanksgiving this year. Usually we go to MIL's. So she is coming to our house this year. Since C never cooked by himself I guess I will be cooking and he will be assisting. Of course we haven't bought anything yet. Guess we should get our butts in gear and go food shopping. We still need to spend $50 to get our free turkey so I guess we will be making 2 trips to store.

I need a new pot/pan set. Mine is getting very worn out. Looked at them in Kmart. Didn't like any of those. Will look in Walmart next time we go. What kind do you have? What do you love or hate about them?

I have Wearever. Non stick. Fairly heavy. Got them when C was little. He's 12 almost 13 now. Guess it's time for a new set. lol

I also have a copper bottom set I hate. Not quite as old as my other set but probably at least 10 years old. Thought I'd like them but I don't. I never learned to cook with them. Takes forever to get hot then takes forever to cool off. Wind up overcooking stuff cause they stay so hot. I just use them on the few occasions (like Thanksgiving) when I need more pans.

Finished my tea. Time to start my day. Have a great weekend!

Quilt Progress

2011-11-12T09:38:00.001-05:00

Been busy working on Butterfly Quilt. Got all the 9 Patch squares done. 35 of them. Handsewn.

Then cut them up for Tossed 9 Patch squares. This is how it will look after they are sewn back together. Used kitchen table just to see if I was gonna like it.

This is final layout. Yea we need a bigger living room or maybe we could put our furniture in storage when I'm working on a quilt. lol Not sure if I'm gonna do a border. Will wait and see how it looks when it is sewed. I'm really liking handsewing. Very relaxing. Why can't I try new stuff on a baby size quilt? LOL Gonna take me a year to handsew and quilt but I'm not in any hurry.

At Cape May Point Yesterday

2011-10-12T09:03:00.002-04:00

A cute baby.

Very calm ocean despite the fact it was very windy

My Week

2011-09-26T09:50:00.000-04:00

I started working on my quilt. I guess I'll call it Butterfly Quilt since 2 fabrics have butterflies on them. Of course 4 have flowers but not the same type flowers so I'll just stick with Butterfly Quilt. What would you call it? Any suggestions?

I really need to work on my cutting. I thought I did so much better this time until I sewed the pieces together and they aren't lining up. Ugh. I decided to try hand sewing the entire quilt instead of just the quilting part. So here is the 1st step of my 1st quilt block.

I am trying a Tossed 9 Patch. Once the 9 Patch blocks are done then you cut them in quarters. Then rearrange and sew together. The ones I looked at online looked neat. I'll post updates as I go along.

Tons of Fall flowers blooming at the trail. Saw a few Buckeye and Monarch Butterflies. So that means very soon the Monarch Migration will be here. It is so awesome to see so many butterflies.

This week the grocery store had my beloved Jazz apples. Yay!!! They were out last time. They also had Honey Crisp which my friend, Dawn raves about every year and I had never seen before. So I bought 2 Honey Crisp. Just ate one. They are very yummy. Now I know why she raves about them. They won't replace my Jazz but I would buy them again.

Soccer is keeping us busy. Poor C. His team really stinks. Sat. morning game was a shut out. The game before ended early too. I feel so bad for the kids.

Soccer parents are horrible. There was a Dad next to us videoing his kid. Not the whole game just pieces here and there. Yelling at his kid the whole time to go after the ball, stay in his area, etc. So the kid comes back to his position and dad starts telling him how he needs to get after the ball. The kid looks at him and says "I just scored a goal". Dad felt so stupid. He never even saw the kid score. He says "Oh I didn't see that". What a Butthead!!! He moved away from us after that so I don't know if he kept yelling at the kid or not. You just want to yell at the parents that it's just a game and they should be having fun not getting yelled at. Ugh.

I'm getting used to FB newest changes. My only peeve is that I'm still getting game updates (Farmville etc). I set everyone to not get them. I also hope I'm getting everyones updates. My friends have been quiet so I'm not sure if they are just being quiet or I'm missing posts.

Have a great week!

Weekend

2011-09-19T09:01:00.000-04:00

Anniversary flowers from my hubby.

Pretty clouds at Sat soccer game. Brrrrr

Dark cloudy day at Cape May Lighthouse

Have a great week!

Yesterday

2011-09-13T09:16:00.000-04:00

Didn't do anything wildly exciting over the weekend. C had his 1st soccer game. They lost. He is having fun. His team reminds me of the Bad News Bears. lol This is his uniform.

At his last practice the Coach handed out snack/drink schedules. This is his 1st team sport so we are new to all this. Why do they need a snack? Games are only 1 hour. Drinks I can understand. But snacks just seem silly.
Under schedule was a note saying 9-12 Monday game was cancelled but they would have practice that day with Asst Coach. After 1st game on Sat. they got soccer pics taken. Coach came over and made sure we knew Mon. game was cancelled but they had practice.
So Mon. we take him to practice. Guess what? We're late because there's a game. Supposed to be at games 1/2 hour early. WTF? Why is there a game? Should just be practice. Grrrrrr. He didn't have his uniform. He had to switch shirts with goalie whose shirt was already sweaty. Ewwww. Grrrrrrr. Well at least he didn't get stressed out worrying about the game since we didn't know the game was back on. lol
Took him to Yogo Factory. One opened near us. C has been there many times. They had tons of free coupons when they 1st opened so he took every one he could find. I think he lived there for their 1st week of opening. It's diff flavors of frozen yogurt. You serve yourself then they have all diff types of toppings, syrups, fruit you can add. They weigh it at checkout. I wanted to try a few flavors so I think my bowl is the fullest. And yep I ate it all (evil laugh).

It was very good. I had chocolate, very berry + strawberry. Berry was really very berry. Strawberry wasn't as strong. Chocolate was yummy. It was all very good. I didn't like how store was set up. Diff toppings were on both sides of register so you had to walk around to both sides to see what they had. There wasn't a lot of room for check out line. We had to keep moving so people could get by. I couldn't imagine being there when it's crowded. I'm sure we will go back since it's close to us and it was yummy.
Have a great day!

Done

2011-09-06T19:51:00.000-04:00

Yay!!!!! Hubby's Nautical Quilt is done. Washed, dried and on the bed.

Updates

2011-09-02T09:44:00.004-04:00

I'm really loving my Cruz E-reader. Except when it died the other day but luckily huubby got it working again. Yay! I've been reading 2-4 library books a week. So much cheaper than buying books. Wonder how often the library adds to the e-book selection? Only downfall is that you can't read outside. It doesn't have the same kind of screen as Kindle. I was hoping I could take it to soccer practice but I can't read it in sun. Maybe I'll take a trip to Thrift Store to buy a few cheapie books for soccer.

Evacuation was not fun. We stayed in Lancaster, PA. Our reg motel was booked so we stayed in a different one. Ended up getting a suite. The only room they had left. It was really nice but I didn't sleep well there. We had a family above us that never slept. Their floor was so creaky. You could tell they weren't stomping just normal walking but it was so loud. And they were up most of the night every night.

Then the hurricane passed through. Lots of rain and wind. Drip. Drip. Drip. Sliding doors got a leak. Tried calling front desk. Phone didn't work. We were in Villas which was separate from main building so we got soaked walking over. Maintenance showed up. We knew he couldn't fix the leak while it was pouring so he gave us a bucket. We had to empty it every a few hours. Then more drips appeared. Ugh! I didn't get any sleep hearing all the drip sounds all night until the rain stopped the next morning.

Motel was nice. Had lots of outdoor activities. Basketball, ping pong, pool, putting green, pirate ship fort, shuffleboard + bocce. We had no idea how to play bocce or shuffleboard. I did play pool for a bit. My arm is sprained again from moving heavy quilt around sewing it so I would have loved to do more but couldn't. Playing pool hurt too but I was bored. Wish we had room for a pool table.

They have an indoor pool, outdoor pool + a Splash Zone that has fountains and sprinklers. Al and Chad went in pool a few times.

Luckily Hurricane Irene had lost most of her power by the time it got to us. We just had the normal branches all over the yard. No damage. Phew!!!

I'm almost done hubby's quilt. Binding is sewn on one side. Now I'm handsewing it to the other side then it's done. We're gonna have to take it to laundermat to wash it. Too big and heavy for our washer. I'll post pics when it's done. Then I'm taking a break so my arm can heal before I start next project.

Hubby's last day of work was Tues. He works overnights. He had to go to ER from work at 1am. I felt so helpless not knowing what was going on. We only have 1 car and it was at his work. Nobody was answering their phones that could give me a ride. He texted me to keep me posted but his phone was dying so we didn't text much. Ugh that was a long night. He's ok. He got released in the morning. Work got him from hospital and took him to our car.

Chad's soccer games start next week. We thought soccer would be good since hubby would be finished work for the season and we only have one car. Now they might be giving him an extension. Not sure how we're gonna work that out. Guess we'll just take it one week at a time.

Got an email from coach that she'll be passing out snack/drink schedules at next practice. This is Chad's 1st time playing any sports so this is all new to us. We watch reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond all the time. They had a really funny episode dealing with snacks at kids games. When we got the email that was the 1st thing we both thought of. lol

Have a great day!

Random Stuff

2011-08-23T10:08:00.003-04:00

C started soccer practice last night. I wasn't sure how he was going to do since he doesn't go to school and has never played before. Most of the kids have played for years. But he did ok. He wasn't the worst player so that's a good thing. lol

Practice is twice a week. So we get to sit in our camp chairs in a field and watch. We aren't soccer fans so not so much fun for us. lol This was taken with my new phone. Not a good pic cause we were far away.

We celebrated hubby's Bday on Sunday even though it was Monday. MIL + BIL came down and we did pizza, presents and cake. I took pics but they are still in my camera. lol

I am still loving my e-reader. It's a Cruz. I've been reading library books which is awesome cause they're free. And you don't have to return them if you don't want to. They just expire. I've been returning mine so if there is a waiting list (which there usually is) the next person can check it out.

We finally got a family phone plan. We all had the buy minutes phones and it was costing us a lot. Now we all have iPhones. Yay! I just realized I never took a pic of it. If I remember I'll do that later today.

Hubby's Nautical Quilt is almost done. I'm hand quilting the border. Then it gets trimmed and binding put on. Then it's finished. It is so big + heavy that I re-injured my sprained/torn muscle in my arm pulling + moving it around to sew it. Ouch!

My next quilting project was put on hold until that person buys fabric. So Joanne's was having a sale so we went + I picked out some fabric for a quilt for me. Not sure what I'm doing with it yet. I'm not starting it until nautical quilt is done. Here's what I picked out. I hope everything will look good together. I'm still new at this.

Have a great week!

My New Toy

2011-08-02T19:32:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking about getting E Reader. Looked at them a while ago but never really looked into them. MIL got a Nook. She loves it. So I looked at them again. We went to Borders on their 1st day of their going out of business sale. I want a color one. They have a Kobo reader. Over $200 for color. Only 10%off. Can't return it if I hate it. So figured I'd wait until their % off went lower then maybe get theirs.

So I looked at them again on Saturday. Staples had a color one on sale $119. I read all the reviews. All the bad ones were that internet was slow (well it's not a laptop duh lol), you have to touch the touch screen hard (awww poor baby lol), and it was too hard cause they couldn't figure out how to work it. The ones that figured it out loved it. So Saturday was the last day of sale. Hubby said to get it. Got it today. Wow super fast delivery.

So far I love it. Still need to figure out a few things but what I've used so far I really like it. Now I need to pick out a few books to read.

Dinoshore

2011-07-29T19:25:00.007-04:00

Saw a billboard with Dinoshore at Showboat when we went to AC Aquarium. Googled it + it looked neat. So today we went up to see it.
Parking at Showboat was $15. Tickets were 15.50/adult + 10.50/child. A bit pricey.
When you entered you were greeted by a huge animatronic T-Rex eating a giant Triceratops. A really loud T-Rex. He roared the whole time. They had lots of skeletons + displays. It was really nice. Of course if you don't like dinos you wouldn't like it. lol

Lots of stuff crammed in the room. It was a lot smaller than we thought it was gonna be especially for the price. It was nice but I don't think we'd go again. It was a nice pricey daytrip. We had a good time.
Here are a few pics. More are in a folder on Multiply + Flickr.

Here's us in front of a huge turtle skeleton.

RIP

2011-07-24T09:41:00.003-04:00

Hot Hot Hot last few days. Felt like over 100. On Friday I heard on the radio it was 98 but felt like 122. That's crazy. lol Today should be the last day of this heatwave. Tomorrow only a high of 86. When is Fall?

Chrysalis Update:

Green one hatched. Emerged. Whatever you call it. Didn't see it.

Brown one formed a day later. Hard to believe they are the same caterpillar. Look so different. So I kept peeking out the door. Friday it was moving. Of course we were headed to Mall so I figured I'd miss it again but no. Saturday morning I look out. Looks the same, Go out a bit later to get the mail + I see it's empty. Then I see the butterfly is spread out in a flower pot underneath chrysalis. Yay! I got to see it.

Figured it was drying its wings. Didn't want to touch it so just took pics then left it alone. Checked later + still there, Strange. I read it only takes a few hours to dry wings + with it being so hot it shouldn't take so long. So I got out + look closer. Not moving. Dead. I wonder if it was too hot for it. The sun is brutal on that side of the house. Picked it up. It was a perfect dried butterfly. I was bummed.

I want to buy a butterfly cage. Maybe next year I can raise the caterpillars in the house + get to see them evolve. I've never seen the whole process. I know...I don't get out much LOL

RIP Black Swallowtail Butterfly.

Stuff

2011-07-19T09:35:00.004-04:00

Feeling better every day. Coughing less but still a slight cough.

One of my caterpillar chrsalis is empty. I'm hoping I get to see one of them before they fly away. I read they stick around for a few hours to dry their wings + they emerge in the morning. I have 2 left. 2 days apart so I'm hoping I can see one. Amazing how different they look. One is green in my lettuce + the other is brown on my wooden railing.

Not much going on. Been working on hubby's quilt. Too hot to do much. Staying in the AC.

Have a great day!

My Weekend

2011-07-18T10:06:00.004-04:00

Finally am feeling better. This cold is brutal. Me and hubs still have a cough. Haven't really left the house due to one of us being sick. Now time to get back to daily blogging-accountability.

We took a drive to Atlantic City Aquarium on Friday. We had never been there. It was a lot smaller than we thought. It was nice. You can see everything in a hour so not big enough for a day trip. But we still had a good time.

Yesterday we went to MIL's house. Went to Target.

I've been wanting a pair of low hiking boots. I guess you wouldn't call them boots but you know what I mean. lol Stores never have my size. So I found a pair. Tried them on. Super comfy. Best part....on clearance $15. I was a happy camper until I got to the register + saw they had a big stain on them. I left them there. Stain might have come out but didn't want to take that chance.

I've been wanting a drawstring backpack. I think one would be perfect for trips like the aquarium. I have a huge purse + my arm gets sore carrying it +it slides off my shoulder so I think one of these would work out great. Found a blue one. Can't wait for our next day trip to try it.

When we do day trips I always bring drinks in our reusable bottles with us and pack bottles in a cooler for cold drinks on the way home. We use a little hard sided cooler. A little bigger than a 6 pack cooler. None of our reusable bottles fit except the small lunch box size ones which don't hold enough. So I've been wanting to get an inbetween size that will fit in our cooler. Found them at Target too. Only $1.25 on clearance. Don't know if we'll use the freezer sticks but they fit nice in our cooler. Aren't they cute?

Now if only we had a Target near us. I love Target.

Went to McDonalds. Tried a frozen strawberry lemonade with my double cheeseburger + fries. Been wanting to try one. Looks yummy on tv. I love lemonade. It was tart but just tasted strange. Of course I drank it. Can't waste money. LOL But didn't care for it so won't be getting it again.

Then out for ice cream. I got a Gelati. Vanilla soft serve with cherry water ice. Yum!!!!!!! Haven't had one in a few years. It was soooo good. I forgot to take a pic until I was almost done so you'll just have to picture its yummy creamy goodness. LOL

Have a great day!

Random Thoughts

2011-07-08T16:25:00.000-04:00

OK I've finally made the switch from margarine to butter. I had bought Speadable Land O Lakes Butter a while back + gave it a bad review. Since then I've discovered if I leave it out for a minute it does spread easily. So I bought some more.

Also bought Whipped Butter. I read it's better since there is more air in it so not as many calories but you still have butter taste. I'll keep you posted on how we like it.

I still have margarine sticks to bake with. I've heard butter bakes differently. Haven't made that change yet but It's too hot in the summer to bake. Maybe in the Fall I'll try baking with butter.

I lost one of my reusable produce bags. I guess it must have fell out of bigger bag. Grrrr!

Food shopping at the Shore after 4th of July is a nightmare. Sooooo crowded.

We are trying to get on a every 2 week schedule for groceries. Hubby gets paid every 2 weeks so it's easier. I think I'm gonna have to buy more reusable canvas bags. The 10 we have aren't enough for 2 weeks worth of food.

My caterpillars are big. They are getting ready to leave me. Mom butterfly was laying more eggs the other day so hopefully there will be more. If I had something to put them in I'd bring them inside so we could watch them change.

Got rid of all our VHS + Dvds. Gave them to Thrift Store. Don't know why we had so many. We'd only watch them once. Now we have Netflix so I know I'll never watch them.

Still got my Cold From Hell. I'm starting to cough now. Got that tickle way down. Ugh! Hubby still has a little cough. He's never sick more than a day. Mine will probably last all summer. lol

Haven't worked on quilt since before 4th. Wanted to give my sore fingertips a rest. Now it will have to wait until I'm feeling better.

Why is Wrestling on SyFy channel?

Bought seedless watermelon. Got some last trip too. I love it but hate any other type of melon. Strange huh?

Can you tell we just went food shopping? lol

Well I've rambled on enough. Have a great weekend!

Cold Day 2

2011-07-05T09:07:00.005-04:00

Cold Day 2

Still sick. So far I don't have the chills that I had yesterday. That was fun. lol

Homemade orange pineapple popsicle was good. Felt good on my sore throat.

Had a bowl of homemade choc choc chip ice cream too. A few more tweaks and the recipe will be perfect. Need to cut back on sugar a little bit more. What?!? Did I just say that? Something was too sweet? lol Also need to figure out how to get choc chips to not sink to the bottom. Maybe freezing them would help. Will try that on next batch.

Hubby got pizza for dinner. That was good too. Isn't it feed a cold? lol
There's no point in trying to eat healthy with a cold.

Have a great day!

Sniffle Sniffle

2011-07-05T09:02:00.001-04:00

Ugh!!!!! Finally got hubby's cold. He's had his for over a week. Which means I'll probably have mine for 2 weeks. lol

Hubby is one of those people that gets a cold. Is sick one day then is fine. Grrrrr. I get sick + it stays with me for a while. I like to think I'm a better host then he is.

So last night right before bed I had a sore throat. So I knew this was coming. I hate summer colds.

Last night I turned the AC off. I was freezing. This morning my sinuses are really swollen. Achy. Chills. Sore throat. Stuffy nose. Headache. Ugh!

Hubby works overnights. He finally was feeling better this morning so he stopped on his way home + got a box of donuts. He didn't know I was sick. Donuts sure sounded better than the apple I was gonna have. And they did taste better. LOL

So I'm not gonna keep track of my food until I'm over this Cold From Hell. If it made hubby that sick I can't wait to see what it does to me. I'm trying to think positive. I'm gonna rest. Drink lots of tea. Take daytime cold stuff. It should be gone on no time.

I made homemade choc ice cream + orange pineapple popsicles yesterday. They weren't ready to eat until today. They should feel good on my sore throat. Mmmm can't wait for lunch.

Have a great day! Have a safe 4th!

(forgot to post this here yesterday 7-1-11. Ooops. lol)

Peppers and Caterpillars

2011-06-30T09:52:00.004-04:00

When I was watering my container garden I found my 1st green pepper of the year.

I grow parsley just for Black Swallowtail caterpillars. I checked the other day + didn't even see any eggs. Now 3 caterpillars. Hard to believe they are the same kind just different sizes. Aren't they cute?

Have a great day!

C's Yard Sale

2011-06-25T18:35:00.005-04:00

Today was our development's Yardsale. They hold it on field in the front. We usually do it and usually do really well but this year we decided we didn't have enough crap, errrrr I mean nice stuff to sell.

C decided he wanted to do it this year. He never helps at ours. lol We helped him with pricing + setting up. He did really well. Sold most everything + what didn't sell he gave away.

Usually he buys a bunch of crap, errrr I mean nice stuff. He only bought good stuff. A bike for $10, a light for his room, alarm clock cause he doesn't have one, + a necklace he liked. And he still had lots of profit money left. So of course a trip to Walmart was a given. He bought a set with a bike lock, mirror, water bottle + horn. And still has lots of money left.

I'm so proud. My little boy is growing up. *sniff sniff* I was a little worried (he was too) about how he would do giving change. Since being unschooled he isn't that good at math. But he did fine.

Have a great weekend!

Updates

2011-05-31T09:39:00.005-04:00

Finally got the quilt pinned together. It didn't seem that big but turns out it's huge. Moved kitchen table + chairs out. Used kitchen floor to baste. Forgot to take pic so this was taken after table was moved back in. Backing is blue. White is batting. I thought it looked too busy but hubby liked it + it's for him. But I decided to do a tan + brown borders to try + tone it down.

Trying hand quilting too. Practiced on some scrap fabric + batting but Wow is it harder on an actual quilt. Especially this one cause it's so big. Right now I'm just sewing on the solid color blocks. So I think it will be a combo of hand + machine. I really suck at it but I'm sure with practice I'll get better. They look good at a distance in the pics. lol

Freezer Smoothie update: Smoothie has to thaw too much to use a straw. Makes it too runny. I like mine slushie. I even have stainless straws + they're too hard to use. So I use a spoon + think of them as ice cream treats. So it's all good. Freezer jars are the perfect size. Fit great in freezer door. I'm hoping I can find another pack of them.
Have a great day!

Smoothie Dilemma Solved

2011-05-27T09:40:00.004-04:00

I love smoothies when the weather gets warm. I don't drink them much when it's cold. So it's warm weather. Time for smoothies. Problem: Hubby is working overnight shift + sleeps during the day so I can't use the blender.

So I've been trying to think of something that I could put single smoothies in to make them ahead + keep in freezer. I like mine slushie/milkshakey so they could thaw as I was drinking them. I've never froze them before so this was just a guess. lol

Plastic containers wouldn't work cause they'd have to thaw too much to get them out of container to put in a glass. The place I get my "green" stuff from had a reusuable cup like the kind you get sodas in at fast food places. Had a lid + a straw. Perfect. I wrote them to see if they were freezer safe. Nope they said they'd crack.

I posted my smoothie dilemma on my Sparkpeople blog + got a great suggestion. Canning jars. I never thought of them. Of course I don't have any but we were headed to Wicked Walmart anyway so I was gonna pick some up.

While I was looking at them I saw a 4pk of freezer jars from Ball, same people that make canning jars. They had 4 pk 16oz for $3. So I got them instead. I would have got more but they only had 1 pkg.

Made a smoothie to try them out. Smoothie fit perfectly. Jar fit in freezer door. I'll find out today how the jars worked out.

I got an owie

2011-05-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

I was busy sewing away, working on hubby's nautical quilt. Guess I wasn't paying attention + the needle came down in my thumb. Hit bone. Yeow!! Ouch!! Dang it!! (ok that wasn't what I really yelled but this is a clean blog )

I haven't felt pain like that in years. Thought I was gonna pass out. Of course my hubby was home but he was in the shower + didn't hear me yell for him. I ran it under cold water in kitchen sink + finally got the bleeding stopped. Then I go in our other bathroom to get a bandaid + knock the box off the shelf right into the toilet. LOL

Luckily no bandaids were hurt in the incident. Just the box suffered some slight water damage. lol

So now I've got a tiny owie on the tip of my thumb. Doesn't look like much but wow is it sore. I'm guessing it will be sore for a while.
Well that was my exciting evening. Have a great day!

Mall Trip

2011-05-20T09:44:00.002-04:00

We had to go to the Mall. The closest decent one is 1 hour away. I needed to go to Joann Fabrics to get more fabric for my hubby's nautical quilt. I'm not too much of a quilt planner. lol It isn't going to be as big as I wanted so I decided to add 2 borders.

I want to try new stuff so I never did a border before. Of course this is only my 3rd quilt. lol I'm also gonna try doing a bit of hand quilting on it. I've practiced a little bit + I suck. lol Hopefully I'll get better.

Hubby made the mistake of dropping me off at Old Navy while he went to Game Stop. I found 4 shirts. One wasn't on sale but I liked it so much I bought it anyway. I'm really into stripes this year. I know fat people shouldn't wear stripes. I'm such a rebel. lol

Have a great day!

Our Walk

2011-05-06T08:46:00.006-04:00

Walked the trail at Cape May Point last night. Haven't been there in a few weeks. Saw our 1st babies of the year. A Swan couple that were far away had babies. Looked like 4 or 5.

Saw a few muskrats, geese + bunnies. On the beach there was a Horseshoe Crab.

There was a lot of clear jellyfish washed up too.

And a Seagull trying to eat a Spider Crab. It was funny to watch. Crab was almost as big as him. LOL Have a great day!

Yay! New Swinsuit Top

2011-04-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

After trying on dozens of tops I finally found one that I like + that fits. The tag called it a tankini. Yay! Isn't it cute? Looks good with the swimshorts I had already bought.

Mmmm Homemade Ice Cream

2011-04-20T12:43:00.003-04:00

Finally got some room in our freezer to freeze the canister. Hmmm is this really going to turn into ice cream?

Yep it made ice cream. Yay! Made Chocolate Ice Cream from the recipe that came with the ice cream maker. It was good. Not wonderful but still yummy. I'll try another recipe next time to see if there is a difference.

Next I made Pineapple Orange Sorbet from a recipe on Allrecipes.com. It was really yummy. Very refreshing.

Don't know what kind I'll try next. I'm thinking about Strawberry Sorbet but I'll have to get some strawberries first. lol Also need to buy a few freezer containers to put finished ice cream in.

So far I really like my new ice cream maker. Hopefully it will get lots of use this summer

Random Thoughts

2011-04-12T10:00:00.004-04:00

Beautiful day yesterday. Had all the windows open. So nice to have fresh air in the house.

Have you seen Land O Lakes spreadable butter? I keep seeing the ads. No preservatives. Only canola oil, cream + salt. So I usually use margarine only because it's spreadable. I hate all the chemicals in it. So I bought a container. NOT speadable. Ripped the bread. Grrrrrr!

Went to Joann Fabrics. Bought fabric for my next quilt. This one is for hubby. He picked it out. He wanted Nautical. Not sure how I'm doing it yet. Gonna wait for the fabric to speak to me. lol

Why are cell phones + plans so confusing?

Our summer visitors have arrived. I'm hoping they aren't staying for the whole summer. I put out welcome back ant baits. Hope they like them.

I would like a replacement for ziplock baggies. I've seen sandwich wraps + reusuable sandwich bags but you have to wrap your sandwich in wax paper so bread doesn't get stale. Well in my mind if I have to wrap it in paper everyday why do I need the bag? I saw someone had zippered insulated bags on Etsy but she wants $10 a bag + shipping. Yikes! So I want to try making one. I'll keep you posted.

Bought swimsuit shorts. Aren't they cute? They are black. Don't know why they don't look it in pic. Still need to find a top.

Bought an ice cream maker too. Been wanting one for a long time. Of course our freezer is too full right now to freeze the bowl so it will be a while before I can try it. I'll let you know how it goes.

I am addicted to Mango Pineapple Salsa from ShopRite. It's only 99 cents a jar + it is soooo yummy.

I kept hearing how good Fuji Apples are so I bought some. I'm not impressed. I'll stick with Jazz Apples.

Well I better get off here + start my day.

Have a great day!

Noisy Potholders

2011-04-06T09:01:00.003-04:00

I finally finished my potholders. I used paper piecing on some + appliques on the others.

Tons of mistakes but I'm learning. It really made me mad when I saw the brown fabric was wrong side out. Grrrr. I was so careful to follow the instructions. I'll get better with more practice. lol

I bought Insul- Bright to use as batting. It's made for potholders, coolers, etc. So I order it online since nobody here has it. When I get it I find out you need to use a layer of cotton batting with it. WTH?!? If I had knew that I would have just used 3 layers of leftover batting + saved myself some money. Don't think I'll be buying it again. lol

So I use it + it makes a crinkly sound when bent. Yuck! Very noisy. I thought it would go away after washed but nope. Now I have cute noisy potholers. lol

When I do the actual quilting I use a free motion sewing foot on sewing machine. It's clear so you would figure it would easy to see your stitches. Nope. lol So got hubby to cut off the front of the foot. Of course this was after I was finished quilting so I haven't had a chance to use it yet. But in theory my stitches should be better if I can see where they go.

Not sure what my next project will be. My next quilt will be for MIL but depending on how long it takes her to get the supplies I might start on something else. I enjoyed practicing on potholders but I don't need any more of them. lol Maybe a quilt for picnics + beach.

Have a great day!

My Weekend

2011-03-07T09:55:00.005-05:00

Tried out my new KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Made choc chip cookies. I'm so used to making cookies by hand that it will take a while to get used to using a mixer. I think I'm gonna like it a lot once I get used to it.

Tried some new quilting stuff. Paper Piecing: Took a few times for me to understand which way to put fabric. I only have 1 printed fabric so I wrote Right on one side so I could figure it out. They aren't perfect but I'm getting the hang of it.

Then tried Appliques. Used leftover quilt squares from Camo Quilt to practice on. Really need to go to Fabric Store + buy a bunch of different color fabrics so I have a stash. Only fabric I have is Camo Quilt leftovers. lol After I practice a few more times + get some fabric I'm gonna try these techniques on some pot holders. I figured since I need new potholders + they are small they should be good practice projects.

Well that was my wildly exciting weekend. LOL

Have a great week!

My New Toy

2011-03-04T08:38:00.003-05:00

Well I finally did it! Bought myself something I've always wanted. A KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Been wanting one forever but it was never in our budget. I'm not sure where it's going in my kitchen yet. It's too heavy for me to move around a lot. Can't wait to try it!

Oh + my son's Camo Quilt is done. Washed + on his bed. Tons of mistakes + lessons learned. I'm very proud of my 2nd quilt especially since I never sewed before making the 1st quilt. He loves it + that's all that matters.

Have a great weekend!

Sewed Shut

2011-03-01T09:31:00.002-05:00

Went to Mall yesterday. Went to Target + tried on the cutest capri pants. They looked really nice. Then I discovered the front pockets were sewed shut. WTH?!?! There were nice normal pockets but where you put your hand was sewed shut. Couldn't believe it. Thought I had a defective pair but they were all like that. Couldn't decide if that was a deal breaker so I carried them around store. In the end decided not to get them. I was afraid if I took out the stitches that they would leave holes + ruin the pants so I put them back.

I did get a cute new bag. Isn't it cute?

Quilt is almost done. Binding is pinned + needs to be sewed.

Have a great day!

Quilt Progress

2011-02-24T10:13:00.002-05:00

Learned a lesson about batting. I don't like fusable. It has glue in it + I didn't like it. I bought cotton batting. Threw out the fusable + moved on.

I'm trying free motion quilting on the top. 1st time doing this. I got almost half of the top quilted.

2nd Quilt WIP

2011-02-09T15:11:00.001-05:00

Been working on 2nd quilt. It's for C. He wanted a camo-hunting colored quilt. Finally got the top done. Still lots more to do on it but it's getting there.

Thoughts

2010-10-19T10:49:00.004-04:00

Just some random thoughts.....

Watching Magic on AMC FearFest. Has a super young Anthony Hopkins in it.

FearFest has a nice mix of old + new movies this year. More channels should do the same thing around Halloween. They used to. Now it's usually just on Halloween.

Got another package in the mail. My sewing machine accessories order from Clotilde came in. Everything fits on my old Kenmore. Yay!!! This is my fave so far.....an adjustable seam guide. I'm just worried the plastic screw won't hold up. Why couldn't they have used a metal screw? Next trip to hardware store I'll bring it + see what they have.

I also got a walking foot + an embroidery foot. I'll work more with them when I start my quilt project.

C decided he wanted a camo quilt. Walmart by the mall has a sewing section so we went there first. They didn't have Army camo print like he wanted but they had a nice hunting/fall colors print that he liked so we got that.

I'm still waiting on 1 more package.....another quilting book. I'm hoping this book will have lots of tips I can use so I'm waiting to get it before I start C's quilt.

We're gonna have to light our heater this week. We've been putting it off but I think it's time. We've had a few chilly days.

Hubs has off today. Cloudy + looks like rain. Maybe we can sneak in a hike when it's not raining.

I want to go to the Zoo soon. I'm not sure how long they will have the snow leopard cubs. They were soooo cute when we saw them before.

Hmmmm what to make for dinner?

Have a great day!

Shopaholic

2010-10-14T08:55:00.007-04:00

I usually only online shop a few times a year. Mostly for used books I want. Mostly on EBay. This week I went crazy. I ordered 2 used quilting books from Ebay. Ordered some accessories for sewing machine (hope they work). And placed an order with Reuseit.com. Bad I know.

Yesterday one of the books came in the mail. It was listed as in good condition. Turned out looking brand new. Doesn't even look like it ever was opened. It's called Your First Quilt Book by Carol Doak. Covers the basics which is what I need.

In the afternoon UPS brought my Reuseit.com order....

4pk of stainless steel straws. I love them. Kinda a strange feeling using them. They are really cold + hard but after a few sips it was fine. I know 1 straw is missing in pic...it was being used.

Okra by Mastrad Potato Keepsack. This looked interesting. I hope it works. I throw away lots of taters. Drawstring at both ends. Black inside to keep out light. Now I have to figure out how + where to put it.

Camelbak 24oz Reusable Water Bottles. They had 3 colors so I got 1 of each- pink, black + blue. I love our reusable bottles but they leak if tipped. These are leak-proof. These are a bit larger than our bottles so I don't think they will fit in car cup holder but haven't tried them yet. These aren't gonna be our everyday bottles. More for keeping in cooler for trips. They also have a strange cap called a bite valve. You bite it + the water come up through it like magic. You don't need to tip it to drink. Bite valve folds down when not in use. So I got everybody one. Colors don't show up very well.

Also got Camelbak Neoprene Sleeves for them. Only 2 colors- black + blue so I got 2 black + 1 blue. We have sleeves for our other bottles but these bottles are larger + I wasn't sure they would fit so these were made for those bottles. They were really hard to put on. Then I filled with cold water + tried again. Sometimes the weight of liquid helps to get sleeves on. The condensation on the bottle let them slip right on. Who knew? lol Has a strap on side to hook on belt, purse etc.

Cryopak reusable heat-ice pack. Thought it would stay soft in freezer like another brand I have but it didn't. Oh well. Can always use another ice pack for cooler.

Cryopak Flexable Ice Mats. Pack of 2. I thought these were neat. One large + 1 small. Thought they would stay soft in freezer too but they don't. But they do fold so you can wrap them around stuff in cooler. They're folded in pic. They should be very useful since we use our cooler all the time.

I still have 2 more orders to get. It's just like Christmas this week. lol Have a great day!

Quilt Done

2010-10-04T08:38:00.002-04:00

Quilt is done. Washed + dried too. And it didn't fall apart. lol A tribute to my Mom for the quilt she had started. A huge learning experience. I don't recommend a project this big for your 1st sewing project. I wanted blue or gray for borders but couldn't find enough of 1 color so I went with black. I'm very proud of my myself for finishing. Now I need to decide what kind of quilt for my next project. Yep I said next. I'm gonna try this again. Have a great day!

Thoughts

2010-09-28T11:10:00.004-04:00

My son has found another food he loves, Nutella. He tried a sample at the grocery store. I had never had it but had always heard that it was really good for you. So we bought him a jar. Not cheap either. So I try it. It's good, different from peanut butter. So I look at ingredients...1st one is Sugar now I now why he loved it. LOL I look at our PB...1st one is peanuts. He won't be getting Nutella every week. LOL

Went to DMV to sign mom's car title over to my sister. Called + cancelled mom's car insurance. That should be the last big thing I need to do with her estate.

Finished the 1st quilt strip. I'm having a really hard time trying to sew straight. My stitches look like I was drunk. LOL It's not so easy to sew with all that bulk. I guess I should have picked something easier for my 1st ever sewing project. 3 more strips to sew then the edge binding then it will be done.

Phil has been helping with the quilt.

I'm really loving Netflix. I'm almost done watching Nip/Tuck. Not sure what series I'll watch next.

Really loving my Flip + Tumble Produce Bags. They hold so much.

Since it's September, my 7 ft tall tomato plants decided to finally give me a couple tomatoes. They were yummy.

Sloppy Joes for dinner tonight. Yum.

Have a great week!

My Nemesis

2010-09-20T09:04:00.003-04:00

Meet my nemesis.

I have never sewed. In school I had to take 1 semester of sewing + my mom finished my project so I wouldn't fail. lol My mom sewed a lot. She made a quilt for my sister. She had no idea what she was doing + it took her forever to finish it. She always promised she would make me one. It was a running joke in our family....Still waiting on that quilt.......is my quilt going to be done this century......

So a few years ago she had saw this wolf material at Walmart. I've always like wolves so she bought it to make my quilt. She never got any further than cutting out a few squares + pinning them. After she died I decided I was going to finish my quilt. I had no idea how much she had done. To my surprise she hardly had anything done. So I've watched videos + read tutorials online. Got a stack of books from library. And I'm more confused than ever. lol Who knew there were so many ways to quilt?

I made a list + we headed to a fabric store. We had to buy batting + backing material. It was very interesting. The 3 of us + a new employee. It was an adventure. I decided on a flannel for the back. According to the book I would need 11 yds. I was gonna get 13 just in case. Took me forever to pick it out but found just what I wanted. There was only 9 yds so I bougt it anyway. New employee assured me I could add a border to make up for the difference.

So I've been busy working on my quilt. The wolf squares are bordered by branches. I was having a hard time getting squares cut evenly. After cutting 4 I discovered all the squares are different. Some branches are straight + on others different branches are crooked. It was driving me crazy (I know...not far to go LOL) until I discovered it wasn't me but the branches. So we went to Lowes + got a piece of plexiglass + I used that as a template. Worked great. So some squares look crooked but they aren't. The white marks are chalk lines. Hopefully they wash out.

Only 2 squares left to go. Then I need to decide how I'm joining them together. Me + the sewing machine have good days + bad days. Not sure yet if I'll want to try another quilt. I'll decide if + when I ever get this one done.

So the quilt has been keeping me busy....well that + Netflix. Have a great week!

Monarch Migration + Phil's 1st Roadtrip

2010-09-16T09:09:00.005-04:00

The Monarchs have invaded Cape May. Every year thousands stop by on their way to Mexico. It is really neat to watch.They are only here for a short time. Last year we missed them. I took video too but it isn't uploading. I'll try again later.

Yesterday was Phil's 1st roadtrip. He had a great time.

Love Freecycle

2010-09-08T15:39:00.001-04:00

I just love Freecycle. Picked up a bag of clothes for C yesterday. 22 shirts. All in great shape. Yay!

Our Newest Family Member

2010-09-07T08:02:00.003-04:00

Meet Phil.

Phil has been causing lots of trouble at our house. You just never know where he will turn up or what he'll be doing. You could walk in the bathroom + Phil could be on the toilet. Or kicking back in your fave chair watching tv. Or sleeping in your bed. He's even been known to send emails + texts.

Yesterday we bought a new X-Box. We come home from running an errand + Phil is playing it. We never knew he was a gamer. Have a great day!

Look What Came In The Mail

2010-07-29T19:03:00.003-04:00

Got my package in the mail today. It was only 1 item out of the 2 I had ordered. But that's ok...one is better than none. I got a great deal. They were a closeout. Usually $24. On sale for $5. It's by Olive Smart. Rainforest colors. 3 half sacks in a drawstring bag. Made of nylon + machine washable.

I was looking for compact bags to keep in my purse for those "on the way home" purchases. I have one by Flip + Tumble that I love but sometimes one bag isn't enough. It also only has 1 long strap that makes it hard to bag items if you are buying a bunch of stuff. I wanted handles on the sides like regular plastic bags so they fit over bag holders at the store. Hopefully they will will be easier to load at the store. I'll let you know when I finally get to use them.

These turned out to be a great size. Bigger than plastic bags. Since they were called half sacks I thought they would be smaller so I am thrilled that aren't. I really like them.

They came from reuseit.com (formerly reusablebags.com). They have a nice selection of all kinds of green items. Have a flat fee of $4.95 shipping. And are fast shippers.

Snow Leopard Babies

2010-07-26T22:03:00.003-04:00

Braved the heat + crowds of tourists to see these adorable little guys. It was totally worth it. 2 Snow Leopard brothers were born 5-11-10. They were out + playing. They were soooo cute! These are hubby's pics.

New Shoes

2010-07-20T22:41:00.001-04:00

Had to get C a new pair of shoes. Seems every 2-3 months he needs new ones. He is so hard on them. We took him to Payless. While he was trying shoes on we had a seat on a bench. Right behind me were the cutest pair of sneakers. They were even my size, on sale + matched my outfit so of course I had to try them on + bring them home. Oh + C got 2 pair of shoes too.

My 1st Peppers

2010-07-15T18:49:00.001-04:00

Just thought you'd like to see my 1st peppers. They are so tiny. lol Wasn't sure my poor pepper plants were going to do anything. Still don't know what's eating the leaves. They are really sad looking. lol These haven't grown in a week so I guess they are done. Someone told me to pick them so plants would produce more so I did. Hope they're right lol

Thoughts

2010-07-06T09:08:00.003-04:00

Mom update: She is still in hospital. She is doing the same. Has good + bad days. Confusion comes + goes. No word on when she is being released but I would think it would be soon. Next problem is what to do with her when she gets out.

Gonna be another hot one today.

I want to go West Cape May Farmer's Market today. I've been wanting to go for years but hubby is never off when they have it. Today he is off + we're going. I hope it's nice.

Gotta go to Comcast + return their worthless equipment. Hubby made soooo many calls to them to try to get it working. We gave up + called Dish to fix ours. They were out the next day + they called later to make sure everything was ok. Comcast never called to see if we got it working + they sent us a bill. Comcast sucks!

Why is putting suntan lotion on such a hard concept for some people to understand?

Family sucks! (that's directed to someone's family who shall remain nameless)

My tomato plants have got big. No tomatoes yet but I'm hoping soon.

Something keeps eating my pepper + spinach plants.

Gardens need to be weeded again. Maybe next week we can afford a few bags of mulch so I don't have to weed as much.

I guess I don't have many thoughts this morning. Too hot I guess.

Have a great day!

Thoughts and Updates

2010-05-14T20:20:00.002-04:00

Back from mini vacation. It was nice but not long enough.

Wish the weather would make up it's mind. This morning it was dreary + chilly. Then the sun came out + it got really hot.

All the seeds I planted have sprouted except for green peppers + pansies. Still have a ton more gardens to weed + plant.

Bought a new purse while on vacation. It was a lot more than I usually spend but I really love it. It says Life is good.

I put off cleaning until this afternoon. Then it got too hot to clean. Maybe tomorrow.

I really missed my new Wii game when I was on vacation. It's called Walk It Out. I've only had it for about 2 weeks + I was doing it every day until vacation. The box makes it look like a kiddie game but it's not. You walk around an island + as you walk to music you get points to buy things for the bare island like trees, streetlights, buildings etc. I find myself walking for a hour + not realizing it. lol

My Mom is home. Her BF, Bob has been staying with her. Not sure how she's doing. For days she is really loopy + then today I talked to her + she seemed fine. She is sleeping a lot too + that doesn't seem right. Not sure when she goes back to Dr.

Hubby is done school until the Fall. Had his last class Thursday night.

Hubby is getting more hours at both jobs next week. Yay!!! Hope it stays that way.

I missed all my reality shows on Bravo this week. Chincoteague cable doesn't get Bravo or Food Network. I was having withdrawal symptoms.

Time for my snack. Maybe a fruit smoothie.

Have a great night!

Busy Shopping

2010-04-29T20:35:00.001-04:00

Went to Wicked Walmart yesterday. I want to try some plants in pots this year. We have a small garden that runs the length of our house. Window box planters will fit in it so I wanted to buy a few. $9 - $12 each. Crazy! So I only bought some seeds + a strawberry growing kit. Seeds were some herbs, lettuce, peppers + marigolds.

Went to Lowes today. Looked at their window boxes. They had some longer ones for $9 so I got 3. I wanted more but at those prices we can't afford them. Got a few bags of potting soil too. Hubby picked up some stuff for his house repair ToDo list. New outside light, new floor tiles, stuff like that.

We were in Lowes for a long time. We looked at appliances. Fridges + stoves. Also checked out showers. Would like to replace the tub/shower combo in the one bathroom with just a shower. We won't be doing any of this anytime soon. Just window shopping for future purchases.

Then we went to Sleepys to check out mattress prices. Wow they are a lot more than we had thought. Our mattress is in bad shape. So we bit the bullet + got a new mattress + boxspring. We even upgraded from a Full to Queen. We have 1 set of Queen sheets that we used to take to a vacation rental house in VA so at least we didn't have to run out + get sheets.

They don't have free delivery. $90 to deliver!!! That's crazy! We only live a few blocks away but they deliver from warehouse in Trenton so it's $90. I called Bob, who has a station wagon to see if he has a roof rack. And he did. Yay Bob!! So he came over + they made 2 trips + got our new stuff home.

New bed is much higher. Kinda have to jump up on it. Well hubby might not have to but I'm short. lol

Have a great night!

Tuesday Thoughts

2010-04-20T08:44:00.002-04:00

Why doesn't yogurt come in containers that can be recycled?

Why are the kitchen ants not going in the bait traps? The bathroom ants are.

Hubby is getting good at plumbing. Fixed a leak under the house last week. Yesterday replaced 2 faucets + a shower head.. Yay!

How many hospital bills will I get for 2 days in hospital? It's crazy!

Pollen must be bad. The last few days my eyes + sinuses are really bad.

I want to plant stuff in flower pots this year + put them in the little garden along the house. Other than parsley, oregano, tomato + peppers I'm not sure what I want to try.

Gotta buy some potting soil, plants, + seeds. Maybe on Thursday when hubby is off.

Need to buy some salad fixings.

Had a strawberry-banana smoothie last night. It was yummy. Gotta buy more bananas to freeze so I can make more.

Never did get to make cookies or cake. Gotta wait for the ant invasion to ease up.

Pic is of us at Tom's Cove Visitor's Center on vacation at Chincoteague, VA. I have a bunch more vacation pics to load but haven't gotten around to sorting them out.

Have a great day!

Thursday

2010-04-16T08:47:00.002-04:00

We've had a leak in our one bathroom under our house. Last year hubby fixed it, A few months ago it started leaking again. He tried a bunch of different things + it still leaked. Recently it started leaking bad. Yesterday he tried fixing it again. 4 trips to Lowes. On the last trip a Plumber was in there + showed him what to buy + how to fix it. Yay!!! Much more helpful than the Lowes guy. Hubby put a bucket under it to make sure it wasn't still dripping. As of last night we had a dry bucket. Hopefully this morning it will still be dry. Thank you Plumber that was in Lowes buying stuff!!!

One last trip to Lowes to return unneeded supplies + hubby returned with roses. What a sweetie!

Have a great day!

Morning Thoughts

2010-04-14T09:27:00.001-04:00

Watching the new episode of Deadliest Catch last night was strange. Capt Phil was in it. RIP Captain Phil.

Hot tea this morning isn't warming me up. Might have to let the heat cycle on + take the chill off.

Why won't this bathroom pipe stop leaking? Hubby has tried everything to stop it.

Hopefully Mom will stay out of the hospital. It's costing me lots of money eating out. I'm not eating good food, well ok it's good but not good for me. I'm too tired to exercise when I get home. And I'm tired of being stressed out.

I'm going for a walk with hubby today.

Wore my Skechers Shape Ups on vacation. The longest walk I had taken in them was 2 miles. On vacation we walked the big loop, over 3 miles, then another trail over a mile. Feet didn't hurt at all. They are so comfy.

I can't really give a review on my Shape Ups. I'll get on a walking routine then Mom would go back in hospital. She'd get out then I'd start walking again then she'd go back in. Haven't gotten to walk in them consistantly for any long period of time. But I can say they are cushiony.

On vacation we always go to Famous Pizza. It's a small sandwich/pizza place. Sandwiches are really good but we've never gotten pizza there. This trip we did. Blech! Yuck!! Next trip only getting sandwiches from there. lol

Ant season is starting off bad. Well if you're an ant then it would be good. The kitchen ants are ignoring the baits. Bathroom ants are loving the bait. Not sure what the problem is.

Pic is the house I grew up in. Old owners abandoned it. It was so grown up around it that you couldn't see the 1st floor. Must have taken them a long time just to clean up the yard. Good to see the new owners are working on it. Wonder if they're house flippers? It was foreclosed on + bank owned so they bought it for a steal.

Gonna go start my day. Have a great one!

Tuesday Thoughts

2010-04-06T09:04:00.002-04:00

Mom Update: She went to see her reg Dr yesterday. He changed one of her meds. He says she doesn't have pneumonia (sp?). She seems to be doing ok. So hopefully it continues.

Electric went out during the night. Must have been off for a while. Have to reset answering machine. We never have to do that.

Suitcases + big cooler are sitting here ready to be filled. Probably won't pack until Wed night.

Had a nice time on Easter visiting with some of his family. They rented a beach house. 1 house away from beach. Kids dyed eggs, played badminton + wiffleball on beach. We got to see our fave dog, Daisy. Really we go to see the dog not the family. lol It was a nice time.

I'm looking forward to this Chincoteague, VA mini vacation. We leave Thurs morning. Come back late Sunday.

My hair needs to be cut.

Never got the other bathroom cleaned. Got company. Getting company today too. Well it's not like the dirt is going anywhere. lol

Where do you buy borax? I don't even know what it is. I keep hearing it works great on ants when you mix it with maple syrup or honey.

Thinking of making some rice to go with leftover chicken for dinner.

Need to get some ear buds that fit. Do they make them in different sizes? The ones I have hurt cause they are too big so I wear my headphones but then they mess up my hair.

Gonna go start my day. Have a great day!

Fun Friday

2010-04-03T09:46:00.000-04:00

This is one huge vent. This blog is for me. It's very stress releasing to write it down so if it doesn't make sense that's why.

Friday was my day to spend as Mom's helper. Visiting nurse was coming for house visit to take vitals + see how she's doing in afternoon.

Got there before lunch to find nurse had already been there + called her Dr. Her temp was 93 + her legs were swollen. Nurse called + said her Dr said to take her to ER + it would be easier to call an ambulance cause if I drove her we would wait in waiting room forever. Ambulance gets you directly into ER. So I got my 1st riding upfront ambulance ride. Lights + sirens too. Not sure why cause it wasn't a dire emergency.

Nobody there could understand why she was there. Apparently Dr telling you to go wasn't good enough reason. So we aren't there that long + a Dr B came in to see her. He isn't her Dr but is in the practice with her Dr + was at ER. So he ordered some meds + an ultrasound. This was around noon. A while later a nurse brought in pills + water for her.

Then we waited. And waited. And waited. Nobody came in. Then a guy on crutches stopped by + wanted to know if he could use her water cup. I was like...Ummmm it's used. He didn't care. Whoever he was there with was thirsty + he couldn't get anyone to help them. So he took her used cup. Ewwwwww! Yuck!

We left to get lunch. Be prepared in ER cause they don't feed you. While we were gone Mom had to use the bathroom. Nobody would help her. Finally a lady that works in admitting helped her. Now she's not a nurse + it's not her job. Now if the nurses were busy you could understand but when you see them all sitting around gabbing, + spinning around on their chairs....there's no excuse for that. And we had a great view of the nurse's station. watching them do nothing as we sat there.

And waited. 4:30 now. So we were really getting annoyed. One of her monitor alarms went off cause one of the leads came off. Finally a different nurse came in. (we were thankful cause the other nurse never even came back in). Told us the ER Dr was taking care of her. Ummmm no he wasn't. He had never even came in. She informed us that yes he had. Ummm no he hasn't. She only had seen Dr B + we figured we were waiting for the ultrasound to be done + getting madder cause we were still waiting.

The ER Dr came in + apologized. He thought Dr B was in charge of her. Dr B thought the ER Dr would follow through with her. Nope. There we sat all day. Nobody even questioning why we were still there. *insert blood curdling scream*

Finally got her ultrasound done. It was good so they sent her home. We got home around 8pm. Such a fun day!

I can't believe the care she has gotten at this hospital. She just got released after 3 weeks of being there + none of the Dr's talking with each other. Good to know that the ER is run the same way. Sadly it's the only hospital near us. Even more sad is that Mom worked there for 19 years + gets treated like crap.

The name of the hospital is Cape Regional Medical Center, formerly known as Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital. So if you're ever in the area + get hurt try to go somewhere else.

Wednesday Updates

2010-03-31T09:26:00.002-04:00

Mom Update: Guess who finally got sprung? Yep they finally let her out late afternoon yesterday. She had a few challenges but I think she'll be ok at home. They didn't give her any of her meds I guess cause she was being discharged so her foot was swollen. I'm hoping this morning it will be better since we gave her all her meds. Should know more later today.

Went out for Chinese Lunch Buffet while we were waiting for Mom to get out. Haven't had Chinese food for...well how old is C?.....over 11 years. Nobody here will eat it. Wow was it good! I pigged out. Wasn't a very big buffet but it was tasty. Yum! Took a few pics. One is of me + Bob, Mom's BF ( + see I even had something good for me....fruit). Came out grainy cause my camera wasn't on the right setting.

While we were waiting for Mom's prescriptions we drove out to look at our childhood house. It had been foreclosed on ( Mom sold it years ago) + had been abandoned. Really horrible seeing any house over 100 years old falling apart especially the one you grew up in. Bank owned it + it was for sale a few months ago. For sale listing disappeared so we didn't know what happened. Looks like somebody bought it + is fixing it up. So that was really good to see. Of course I didn't think to take pics. :(

I can't believe March is over. This month went by fast.

The sun just came out. Yay!! Hoping to go for a long walk if the weather stays nice. I thought it was gonna rain again. Sure is nice to see the sun.

Gotta go get my day started. Have a great day!

Sunday Morning Ramblings

2010-03-28T08:44:00.000-04:00

Mom Update:

Spent all day at hospital. Mom was going to be released yesterday. So we waited + waited. Since they put her on the right medicine for her gout she isn't in pain + has been walking a bit so we decided she didn't need Rehab Center + could go home.

So a lady from visiting nurses stopped by. They are going to go to her house a few times a week + physical therapy is going to do the same + her BF will be staying with her. Social Services stopped by to make sure everything was set up for her to go home. And we waited some more.

Finally we were told that they were keeping her. Yesterday she was fine but today she isn't. They are having trouble regulating one of her meds so they are keeping her until they get it straightened out.

Something Funny That Made Me Feel Good:

When you go visit someone at hospital here you have to stop at the desk + they look up who you're seeing + give you a pass. My sister was with me + she worked there for years so she still knows some of the workers. So the lady asks if I was her daughter. ROFLMAO Then the guy next to her asks how much of a age difference. I guess he was trying to undo the ladies mistake by thinking we were close in age. My sister says 9 years. The guy didn't know what to say. ROFLMAO Made me feel good. LOL

Misc Ramblings:

Got on Wii to do some boxing but couldn't. One of my remotes was dead. So I did some Wii Fit Plus but my heart wasn't in it. I really had some stress + wanted to box.

Going to hospital a lot is messing with my healthy eating + budget. I've eaten out so much lately since we're at hospital during mealtimes.

Still haven't taken my pics out of my camera. I don't even remember what I have pics of. Slacker I know.

I think a Reeses Peanut Butter Egg is a fair trade for a new laptop. Now to get the store to agree.

Why did I wake up so early this morning?

Less than 2 weeks until our mini vacation. The countdown begins.

Well that's enough Ramblings for this morning. Gonna go start my day. Have a great one!

Ramblings

2010-03-25T09:20:00.001-04:00

Looks like it's gonna be a nice day. Sun is shining. Doesn't look as windy as yesterday.

Made pancakes for dinner last night. Haven't had them in a long time. I cut up a banana on top of mine. Yummy!

Been wanting to try some dried fruit. Why is it so pricey + has added sugar? When at Costco last week I bought a bag that didn't have sugar. Over 2 pounds for $9. When I went to look for a pic the store had it for $18. Guess I got a great deal. 110 cals for a 1/4 cup serving. I never had dried fruit except for raisins so I wasn't sure what to expect. It has dried mediterranean apricots, california apricots, apple rings, premium elberta peaches, pitted dried plums, and bartlett pears. It was actually good. Not sure if I'd buy it a lot due to price but I would get it again.

We booked a mini vacation. We are going to Chincoteague, VA for a few days the weekend after Easter. Can't wait. Really need a vacation.

Mom might be released from hospital today or tomorrow. They have her back on medicine for her foot. Now that her foot feels better she can walk so maybe she won't need Rehab Center (aka Nursing Home). My sister is looking into whether they could do physical therapy at her house. So we are still waiting to see how she is walking when she's released.

Went to the beach yesterday + walked on the jetty. I took pics but keep forgetting to get them out of camera. I have pics from the last few weeks still in camera. I know I'm a slacker.

Bought some multi vitamins at store. We've been out of them for a long time. I keep forgetting to take them.

Broke down + bought a 6 pack of Reese PB Eggs. Yummy! They are everywhere + so far I've been ignoring them. So we all had 2 + now they're gone so they won't taunt me.

Sinuses are bothering me this morning. I was hoping the pressure would go away but it isn't so I see Excedrin Sinus in my future.

I've been trying to do 1 mile walks with hubby. Between crappy weather + being at hospital it's been hard.

Stocked up on some presents for our summer house guests. They are showing up early this year. Got the Ant Baits that they like + some unscented Ant Spray they love. And we didn't just buy the cheap Baits we got the pricey ones they like. Our guests are picky + don't like the cheap ones. We are really good hosts.

Why is it that I always am in the popular size? Doesn't matter what size I wear, stores will have lots of every size but mine.

We splurged + bought ourselves new beach (actually they're camping) chairs. Our old chairs are still ok but their bags are toast. We've duct taped them many times but they are beyond repair now. So we'll sell them at summer yard sale. And our new chairs have cup holders. Fancy Smancy I know. Hey it was our tax refund splurge.

Wonder when Ferry will call hubby back to work?

Gonna take my Excedrin Sinus + start my day. Have a great one!

Mom Update

2010-03-24T08:57:00.000-04:00

Sunday: Stopped in to see Mom on our way to visit MIL. She seemed good. Dr was concerned about her legs being swollen so he ordered an unltrasound.

Monday: Tried calling her a bunch of times + never got an answer. You never know if she's out having tests done, sleeping, in the bathroom, etc. Called my sister. Found out ultrasound was clear. No more blood clots. Yay! Good news!

Tuesday morning: Tried calling. Kept getting busy signal. Figured she was feeling better + gabbing to friends. My sister called me. Said she talked to Mom Monday night + she was all loopy again but seemed ok this morning.

I went in to take a shower + Mom called me + left a message. Called her back + got busy signal again. Finally got through + she said she would have to call me back. Then my sister called. The hospital called her + they are releasing her. WTH?!? She lives alone + can't walk. Where are they releasing her? WTH?!?

So my sister called Social Services. Our only other option was a Rehab Center (which everyone knows is just a fancy word for Nursing Home). So we met 2 Social Workers + talked with them. It seems that Mom had lied to them. Told them she was walking all around with no problems. Grrrr! So all of us decided Rehab Center would be best until she can walk.

Next was telling Mom this. I had never seen so much hatred in her eyes. She was beyond pissed off. We left for a bit then went back. She turned her back on us + wouldn't talk to us. We had to bring the 2 Social Workers in with us. Finally got her to agree to try it for a week or less if she could walk.

Now she is in limbo. They were waiting for test results. If they were good then she would be released to go to Rehab Center. Maybe we'll know more today.

One of her good friends came in while we were there yesterday. As we were all leaving Mom decided to get up + walk to the end of her bed. Kinda like a "see I can walk" which she can't cause she can't put weight on her foot. I think it was for the benefit of her friend in the hopes that when she calls her friend + tells her about Rehab that her friend would say "I saw her walk + she doesn't need to go".

Mom never mentioned Rehab so we talked with her friend after visiting hours. She agreed that would be best. Her BF agrees with us too.

On Friday another one of her friends is coming to visit. She lives in another state. She's been telling Mom that all her problems are from her meds. We have told her friend that she's not on any meds that would cause her to be loopy but she won't hear it + keeps telling her it's her meds. Now I'm worried that on Friday she will convince Mom that she doesn't need Rehab.

This venting blog was more for me so if it didn't make sense that's why. Or maybe I'm getting loopy too. LOL

Time to finish my tea + start my day. Can't wait to see what problems today brings. Always an adventure. Have a great day!

Tuesday Thoughts

2010-03-23T09:24:00.000-04:00

What happened to the 60 degree weather? Brrrrr

Finally got our tax refund. Yay!!!

I only have one pair of jeans without holes (and not holes in a fashionable way). Got 3 pr yesterday. Only 2 fit so gotta return 1.

Did a Costco shopping trip. Last trip we bought little cups of jello with fruit. Really yummy. We were gonna get a few more boxes of them. Nope. Didn't have anymore. We'll look again next time we're near a Costco. Wish we had one close by. And I know you can make jello with fruit at home but the different flavors + not needing to be kept in fridge until you're ready to eat them is so handy.

My Mom is doing better I guess. She is in a regular room now. She knows she's in the hospital but has no idea how long or what for. We explain it to her everyday but she isn't understanding or remembering. She has no idea what's going on medically right now. Dr's come in to see her + we ask her what they said + she has no clue. I think when the Dr's come in that she is just smiling + nodding yes + they think she is understanding them when she isn't. So we still don't really know anything.

Had some plumbing problems. Hoping hubby got it fixed. We'll keep an eye on it for a while to make sure it's not still leaking.

Where is our Maid? The fact that most of yesterday we had our water turned off is no reason to have a mound of dirty dishes.

My poor parsley came back to life 3 times this winter. The last time was right before we got 2ft+ of snow. I don't think it's coming back again. All kinds of stuff is coming up but not the parsley.

I think I'm gonna plant more herbs in pots this year. Wish I could do some veggies but our house gets too much sun. Everytime I've tried they fry in the sun.

Has anyone tried the upside down tomato plants? I'd like to try them but not sure if they really work. I love fresh tomatoes.

Finishing my tea then starting my day. Have a great one!

Sunny Saturday Thoughts

2010-03-20T09:52:00.000-04:00

I know Thoughts doesn't start with a S but I couldn't think of anything. LOL

It was a beautiful day yesterday. In 60's. Went for a walk with hubby before he went to work. Hoping to do the same today.

I am trying to log all my food but it's hard to remember what all I ate.

Went to hospital to see Mom last night. She seemed fine. But one visit she'll be fine + the next she doesn't know where she is. They were going to move her out of CCU yesterday but didn't. We don't know why. Nobody at the hospital is telling us anything. Soooo frustrating!

Not going to hospital until later tonight. Mom's BF is down so he'll go see her during the day. It is so tiring running back + forth.

Gotta do some cleaning today.

Wanna clean out the mess of cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink. Nobody looks in the back + we just buy another bottle of glass cleaner. It's a mess under there. lol

Wanna take a mini vacation. Really need to get away even if only for a few days.

Gonna finish my tea then start my day. Have a great one!

Thoughts

2010-03-18T10:19:00.001-04:00

Going back + forth everyday to hospital is very tiring.

Answering the same questions from Mom everyday is frustrating.

Physically she is doing great. They had her go for a walk + she sat in a chair a few times yesterday.

She is in CCU. No phones in rooms there. I gave her cellphone to her yesterday afternoon. Hubby put in our phone numbers. We helped her call her BF. She seemed really happy to talk with him. I think he's coming down on Friday to see her. Hopefully that will help with her mind since he can spend more time with her than we can. He'll just sit next to her reading a book. He's a sweetie.

I'm a little worried that maybe I shouldn't have given her cellphone to her. Not sure if she'll call people + tell them she is being held hostage since she doesn't believe that's she in hospital.

If you ask her where she is she will answer hospital but I think that's because everyone is telling her that. She doesn't believe it.

She is on a liquid diet. Forget what it's called. She can have soup, pudding, juice, oatmeal, stuff like that. She hasn't been eating so we brought her some pudding, + a milkshake drink she likes from home. She won't touch them. Maybe she thinks we poisoned them.

She seemed to know who I was yesterday but not my sister.

She keeps worrying about her bills. We looked around her house yesterday + didn't see where she keeps them. So I asked her. I got a really pissed off very serious response from her....At the Post Office!!!!! We didn't laugh at her but later after we left we laughed about it. So I still don't know where she keeps her bills. LOL

In between visits yesterday we went to the beach. It was soooo nice out. In 60's. We went for a walk then sat on the beach. The Beach is so good at recharging you. Nice out today too. Hoping we can stop at the beach again for a bit.

Just taking it one day at a time. Headed to hospital after lunch. I'll catch up later with everyone if I'm not too tired.

Rainy Ramblings

2010-03-15T09:43:00.000-04:00

Some random thoughts this morning:

Another dreary day. Yuck.

One bottle of yucky Fruitables juice down. One more to go + we will never buy it again. lol

I've been wearing my Skechers Shape Ups on walks for about 2 weeks straight. Hubby has been going with me. We try to go at least 5 times a week, weather permitting. 1 mile minimum. Seems like my butt is getting firmer. Yay!! I'm hoping in another week I'll notice my pants getting looser.

Haven't been on a scale for a few weeks. I doubt I've lost any weight since I'm not noticing looser clothing. But warmer weather is coming + I'll be eating salads + smoothies + Wii-ing. When it's cold I want hot food not cold salads so it's hard.

I was watching Food Network + found out decaf tea doesn't have all the antioxidents as reg tea. All this time I thought I was doing something good by drinking decaf green tea. After I finish up what I have I'm going back to reg green tea.

My Mom is going to be in the hospital for at least 4 more days. She seems to be doing better. She had some complications from a medication she was taking. Now they put her back on it + need to watch her for a few days.

Hubby is on Spring Break this week. He still has work so it's not a whole vacation. Hopefully the weather will be nice + we can do some stuff outside.

Still impatiently waiting for tax refund.

I need a vacation. I think that's the first thing we're doing with refund money.....booking a mini vacation in Chincoteague, VA.

Gonna finish my tea then start my day. Have a great day!

Rainy Ramblings

2010-03-12T09:16:00.002-05:00

Been trying to get hubby to eat more fruit. Veggies are out of the question so I've been trying fruit. We saw Fruitables Berry flavor juice at Costco so we thought we'd give it a try. It's a mix of fruit + veggies. Well it is horrible. Ewwww!! Yuck! It tastes very watered down + has an odd aftertaste. Wonder if the other fruit/veggie drinks are any better?

Raining this morning. Much better than snow.

Neighbors have flowers blooming. Spring is coming. Yay!

My mom is still in the hospital. Monday she is getting operated on. She has a lot of stuff wrong with her so I'm not really clear on what's going on. I think she only tells us part of what's going on. Not sure if it's on purpose or just forgetful. I'll let you know more after her operation.

Waiting not so patiently for our tax refund. lol

Hubby is officially on Spring Break.

I wanna go on vacation.

Well they are my thoughts this rainy morning. Have a great weekend!

Thoughts

2010-03-09T09:39:00.001-05:00

Why don't we have a Costco or BJ's near us?

Sun is shining. Looks like another nice day.

Finally got our taxes done yesterday. Now gotta wait to get our refund. Why do those 2 weeks seem like forever when you're waiting for your money?

We've been doing good with taking our walks. We walked 5 times last week. Now we just need to find more places to take our walks.

Been wearing my Skechers Shape Ups for our walks. Haven't noticed any body changes. Maybe in another week.

I see a mini vacation in our future.

We stopped in Atlantic Books with MIL on Sunday. I was looking at cookbooks. Did you know Coolio has a cookbook? He is the Ghetto Gourmet. LOL

I'm looking forward to going fossil hunting this year. It's so much fun. We haven't decided which trip we are going on yet. We'd like to go on 2. Our normal daytrip one + a weekend one but we'll have to see how far our tax refund will stretch.

Why can't glass drinking glasses be recycled?

Made Peanut Butter Cake yesterday. Mmmm.

Well those are my thoughts this morning. Have a great day!

Thoughts

2010-03-02T09:45:00.001-05:00

Some random thoughts:

Pic is from our last zoo trip. The pair of bald eagles used to live here. Zoo had lots of snow damage.

When will this Super Cold go away? I'm feeling better but still not 100%.

This weekend hubby + I started going for walks again. Between the weather, hospital trip + Super Cold we haven't been able to walk. I've been wearing my Skechers Shape Ups. So far I haven't noticed any differences except that they make me stand straighter. No sore muscles. Hoping my clothes get looser. I'll keep you posted.

Not sure if I should make a cake or cookies today.

I need a vacation. I would prefer somewhere warm but I'm not picky.

We've been trying to figure out how we could fit in + afford a trip to FL this year. The house we've rented for the last few years was sold so now we have to look around + find another one. We really loved that house. I've only started looking + the couple I've seen are pricey. Their booking calendars are empty. With the economy, people aren't taking as many vacations so you would think their rental prices would drop. We probably won't go until the end of the year. so I have lots of time to find another house.

Why do I keep finding new cobwebs in the house? Haven't seen any spiders.

Why does my son always get chips that I really like? He knows I will eat them.

That's all my thoughts this morning. Have a great day!

Home From Hospital

2010-02-02T18:35:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know, I had a massive heart attack + heart by-pass surgery 10 years ago. I really dislike Doctors so I only went to a cardiologist for aboutr a year afterwards. They had me on all kinds of meds + I hated it. My blood pressure would get really low + I'd be really dizzy but according to the Dr I needed to stay on all of the meds. So I lasted about a year. Went off the meds + stopped seeing the Dr.

Late Sunday morning I got chest pressure, pain in my left arm + jaw pain. Really scared me. So we called 911 + I took an ambulance ride to the ER. They gave me 2 nitro in the ambulance + it stopped so by the time we arrived I was feeling back to normal except for a killer headache from the nitro.

Stayed in the ER for a while. Everything was fine but they wanted to keep me overnight which I knew they would. They take a series of 3 blood enzyms (spelling?) tests. The 2nd one usually shows if you've had a heart attack. My 2nd was fine but my 3rd showed elevated enzymes. Monday a team was coming down from Philly to do catheterizations (they go in with a teeny camera through an artery in your groin + look around) + they wanted me to have one done. I had one done 10 years ago.

They decided I should go somewhere else to have it done. That way if anything was wrong they could hopefully fix it. They only do the caths at this hospital not heart surgery. So they took me by ambulance on Monday morning to a Atlantic Medical. Did the cath early afternoon.

Found out during the cath that my heart has spasms. They can have all the same symptoms as a heart attack. + nitro can help with symptoms. I don't need another by-pass + that I'm not even using the by-passed artery from 10 years ago. My original artery has blood flowing. Dr said I healed myself. lol

So they still aren't sure if I had another heart attack. They went over the data from 10 years ago + they aren't sure if I had one then either. So good news is no new operation needed. Bad news is they want me on meds. Yuck! Right now I'm dizzy cause the one med lowers my blood pressure too much. So I'm gonna do some research on heart spasms.

So I'm home now. Can't drive or lift for 2 weeks. I did lift my laptop. Didn't think about just did it. Ooops. Oh well. I'll be careful. So that was my fun last couple of days. I hope to be back to normal in a few days. Talk to everyone later.

2 Miles

2010-01-29T15:40:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was in 40's + sunny. We went and did our walk on Cape May Boardwalk. They all it a boardwalk but it's not boards. It was a nice walk along the ocean. We walked about 2 miles. Yay!!!

Wore my Shape-Ups. They were fine except I don't feel very stable on steps or on sand. There were a few sand covered steps to get up to boardwalk. A few beach access areas had sand blown across them. Other than those couple of spots the shoes were great. Starting out felt my stomach muscles again. Yay! Towards end of walk my calf muscles ached a little bit. Yay!!

Here are a few sights we saw along the way. Here is a pic of Congress Hall.

Cape May Inn

View of beach we usually go to. Pic taken from a pavilion at end of Boardwalk. Can you see the lighthouse in the distance?

Today it's too cold + windy to take a walk. We'll see what it's like tomorrow.

Have a great day!

1st Walk

2010-01-28T09:54:00.001-05:00

Told hubby I wanted to start taking walks + I wanted him to go with me. So yesterday we went on our 1st walk. Brrrr it was cold. Walked down the end of our street + back. About a mile. There is a small pond at the end of our street. Took my camera but was almost home when I remembered I wanted to take a pic. Oh well maybe on next walk.

Wore my Skechers Shape-Ups. This was the 1st time I walked in them except for a walk around Costco. I've been wearing them around the house but not really much walking around the house.

1st thing I noticed was my stomach muscles. Shape-Ups help your posture so I'm guessing they are making me pull my shoulders back which is working my stomach. On the way back to our house my calves got a tiny bit achy. So I guess Shape-Ups are doing something.

So as long as it isn't raining we are gonna take a walk today. Not sure where maybe just down the street again.

Have a great day!

Trail Closed

2010-01-27T10:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday afternoon headed down to the trail. There are 3 trails. The shortest is a 1/2 mile loop. The other 2 branch off of that trail. We walk the trail to find this sign at the end of the short loop.

Now why couldn't they put another at the beginning so we knew. We probably would have went somewhere else if we knew. But by the time we walked + found the sign we didn't have enough time to go elsewhere cause Al had to be at work at 4pm. So we walked down to the beach + looked at the ocean for a few minutes.

Gotta work on keeping my horizons straight. The ocean wasn't crooked. LOL

Hoping to start taking walks today. I'm gonna try to wrangle the family into going with me. I'm sure they could use the exercise too.

Have a great day!

Back to Wii-ing

2010-01-25T22:16:00.001-05:00

Yesterday went to Blockbuster with MIL. They had some used games. I've been wanting Wii Sports Resort + Grand Slam Tennis but they are so expensive. Blockbuster had Grand Slam Tennis used for $20. Couldn't pass that up since new is around $50.

Got home too late to try it yesterday. Tried it this morning. I love it. Felt good to be back on Wii. It's been a long time. It tells you calories burned too although I wasn't keeping track. Also did some bike riding on Wii Fit Plus.

Can't wear my Shape-Ups while Wii-ing but I did wear them when I wasn't on Wii. I'll give another Shape-Up review in about a week. I'm hoping my pants will be a little looser by then cause they're toning my butt.
Have a great night!

Skechers Shape-Ups Day 1

2010-01-24T09:04:00.001-05:00

I wore these from around 3:30 - 7:30. Instructions say 25 - 45 min for the 1st week or so then gradually increase. I wasn't on my feet the whole time. I really like the stretch you get when you lean back on your heels. Very comfy.

Did I mention they came with a DVD? Shows you 4 exercises + how to walk. Also has a 15 + 30 min workout which I didn't try cause I didn't know if I would be sore.

The verdict this morning is that I'm not sore. But like I said I wasn't on my feet the whole time.

So today we are headed to MIL's house + going to Costco. We will be sitting in the car or on her couch most of the time but I will wear them. Costco is big so I'll get to walk around a lot in there.

Monday I will try one of the workouts on the DVD + keep you posted.

Have a great day!

2010-01-23T16:55:00.001-05:00

I've been wanting to get a pair of Skechers Shape-Ups. They cost $100. So I keep looking at them + trying them on. Really comfy. I've read reviews. Watched video blogs on them. All said they were great. Only problem was coming up with the money.

Well hubby told me we'd go get them today. Yay!!! So before he went to work we went to Famous Footwear (we had a coupon). I was afraid they wouldn't have any in my size but they did. A pair of all white that looked like old time nurses shoes. Yuck! A tan pair. They were ok. A pair of gray + purple. Very loud. And a pair of black + white ones. So out of those I liked the black + white best so we bought them. Aren't they cute?

So I've been wearing them around the house for a bit. Instructions say not to wear them more than 25 -45 min until you get used to them.

So I will blog tomorrow + let you know if my legs are sore.

2010-01-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

Good morning! I'm up at the crack of 8:30 this morning. Hubby is off work today so maybe we can go do something today. Tonight he has his art class but not until 7pm. Gotta drink my tea + catch up on posts. Have a great day!

New Toy

2010-01-20T09:29:00.003-05:00

Hubby bought me something else. A new shredder. We've been needing one for a few years. Our old one died. I've been keeping a box of junk mail that needed to be shredded. Our filling cabinet was so packed. So I've been shredding. And shredding. And still have more to shred.

So far I've filled 2 huge bags. Probably about 4 more bags to go. Wouldn't be so bad but you can only do it for a few minutes then it gets too hot + turns itself off. So it's taking a while to do it all. I'm hoping to have it done by Thursday night so all these bags can go out with the trash. Isn't it strange that it gets recycled but our township, county, or whoever makes the rules wants shred in clear plastic bags?

Gotta get my day started. Have a great day!

Flowers

2010-01-19T08:44:00.002-05:00

Wonderful hubby brought me flowers yesterday. Pic isn't that good. Cloudy + dreary yesterday so I couldn't get it bright enough for a good pic even with the lights on. They are really pretty. Kinda peach color.

Have a great day!

C's 11th Birthday Party

2010-01-18T08:55:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we celebrated C's 11th Birthday. Just had family over for cake + presents. It poured all day. Our yard was a lake.

Butter cake turned out good. Wasn't dry so I got it out of oven just in time. If you read my last post I was a bit worried cause it smelled like pancakes while it was baking. lol But it turned out good. Everyone had 2 pieces.

We got him the scooter he wanted + a camera. Not the touch screen camera he wanted but a better camera than he has now. He also got money + some Halo Lego sets. I think he was disappointed that he didn't get any of the XBox games he wanted.

After cake + presents he wanted to go to Walmart to spend that Birthday money. C took off to go shopping on his own. Very independent now.

MIL + I wandered over to shoes. I've been wanting a pair of Shape Ups. I call them Butt Shoes. LOL The sneakers that work your butt + thighs while you walk around. I tried a pair on a while ago. Soooo comfy. But at $100 they will have to wait. Anyway Walmart has a cheap brand for $25 so we were gonna try them on. They only had 4 pairs + not in our size.

C bought a few Johnny Lightning cars. Then we headed over to Famous Footwear. MIL had only tried on 1 Shape Up. I was like NOOOO. You need to try them both on then try walking in them. So the menfolk headed to 5 Below + us to shoes. We tried them on. They are so unbelievably comfy. Like really thick sneaker Crocs. She fell in love with them too. Now to come up with the $ to get a pair.

Menfolk came in to get us. C had bought some Legos at 5 Below. While we were still looking around C decided to try on a pair of Men's Shape Ups. He wears a 6 1/2 - 7. He tried on a size 11. We were laughing so hard at him. He kept saying they fit. They were huge. Reminded me of Frankenstein's Monster's shoes. He did NOT want his pic taken but of course I had to take it anyway. LOL

Came home + ordered Dominoes pizza. I like to watch the Pizza Tracker online. When family is over is the only time we order from there. Not sure why. So a few minutes after we order they call. Out of deep dish. Grrr. That's my fave. So got handtossed. Not as good. So Pizza Tracker stays on Checking Order for over 15 min. C decides to hit refresh. Well that lost our Tracker. So we had no idea what was going on. Took about a hour to get our pizza.

Everyone left about 8pm. Then a thunderstorm came through. I was shocked we didn't lose power or Dish tv.

So that was our day. Have a good one!

Party today

2010-01-17T10:07:00.003-05:00

Good morning. Geez I slept late this morning. Almost 10am. Cleaning yesterday wiped me out. lol Gonna drink my tea, shower then decorate for C's birthday party today

OK I played around with my page last night. I tried the Flickr photos + YouTube gadgets (I think that's what they're called..gadgets, maybe add ons anyway..) neither worked right. One time out of 5 refreshes were my YouTube videos the other 4 were someone elses. Kinda shocking to see someone elses videos under your name. lol Flickr photos wouldn't pick up any of my pics. So I deleted both.

Tried a Flickr slideshow + that is working nicely.

For this blog tried copy + paste from FB but that didn't work. :( It was just a few sentences but would have been nice if it worked.

So still figuring stuff out here.

Gotta get my day started. Later.

1st Post Here

2010-01-16T19:43:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd give blogging here a try. I have a blog somewhere else but I'm always up for trying something new. Kinda bummed that they don't have Comic Sans, my fave font here but I'll get over it. So here goes:

Spent all day cleaning. Dusting, vacuuming, mopping. Tomorrow we have some family coming over to celebrate my son's 11th birthday. His Bday was on Thursday but not everyone could come then so we are doing it on Sunday.

My son (will be referred to as C) picked out the cake mix for his cake, Got it home + it was a butter flavored yellow cake. Never had this before. Baked it + the smell reminded me of pancakes. Bake time was 25 min so I checked it at 20 min. It was already done. Hope it's not dried out. Hope it doesn't taste like pancakes lol

Last load of laundry is done. Dinner dishes washed. I'm tired. Haven't been sleeping well the last few days. Hopefully since I worked my butt off today I'll be so tired that I'll sleep good.

I want to see how to add pics to blog so yesterday we walked a trail so pic is of a frozen lake.

Ok that worked and was easy. Now to see how my page looks + how to tweak it.
Have a great night!

Stormmie's World

Thrift Store Find

Stuff

Zoo and Stuff

Quilt Progress

At Cape May Point Yesterday

My Week

Weekend

Yesterday

Done

Updates

Random Stuff

My New Toy

Dinoshore

RIP

Stuff

My Weekend

Random Thoughts

Cold Day 2

*Sniffle Sniffle*

Peppers and Caterpillars

C's Yard Sale

Updates

Smoothie Dilemma Solved

I got an owie

Mall Trip

Our Walk

Yay! New Swinsuit Top

Mmmm Homemade Ice Cream

Random Thoughts

Noisy Potholders

My Weekend

My New Toy

Sewed Shut

Quilt Progress

2nd Quilt WIP

Thoughts

Shopaholic

Quilt Done

Thoughts

My Nemesis

Monarch Migration + Phil's 1st Roadtrip

Love Freecycle

Our Newest Family Member

Look What Came In The Mail

Snow Leopard Babies

New Shoes

My 1st Peppers

Thoughts

Thoughts and Updates

Busy Shopping

Tuesday Thoughts

Thursday

Morning Thoughts

Tuesday Thoughts

Fun Friday

Wednesday Updates

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Ramblings

Mom Update

Tuesday Thoughts

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Thoughts

Rainy Ramblings

Rainy Ramblings

Thoughts

Thoughts

Home From Hospital

2 Miles

1st Walk

Trail Closed

Back to Wii-ing

Skechers Shape-Ups Day 1

New Toy

Flowers

C's 11th Birthday Party

Party today

1st Post Here

Sniffle Sniffle