Shopping at the Aunt's

Both my aunt and I were born on the same day. Or should I really say that my Mom picked my Aunt Marilyn's birthday to have me. (I was cesarean, she did have a choice.)

So this weekend Marilyn decided that she was going to throw herself a 70th birthday party at a swanky new Peruvian restaurant. Great food, by the way.

At some point during the night she sat down next to me and told me that she wanted me to go shopping in her earring drawers in her jewelry box. I can have any pair, other than the pair currently in her ears.

OK. Twist my arm.

The first pair she shows me are this pair of one inch square earrings encrusted with black and white diamonds. Umm...really? You want me to take expensive of a pair?

Apparently yes, because the next few pairs she shows me are also encrusted in diamonds. Like I said...twist my arm.

I can't imagine picking a pair encrusted with diamonds so the first one I really pick up and try on are these...sterling and sapphire.

And then this other pair catches my eye. I now have one of each in each ear. I tell Marilyn that I can't decide which one I want.

Her response. "No problem. Take both."

So I also now own a pair of earrings with 32 crystal clear, full cut diamonds on each (can you see the diamonds?), along with the 4 sapphires. (I think the fact that these have an "S" on them made them tough to pass up.)

Some nice birthday present, huh?

WOW! She has always been my favorite aunt!

Oh, and to top it all off...she says "And I want you to wear these as every day earrings. Wear them with jeans"

Well, they are her directions...

The sterling ones will be easy, but those diamond ones, will be tough to put on with jeans.


But I'll do it!!


Thank you Aunt Marilyn!!! I love you!!!

No happy medium.

OK, when I first started this blog I wanted to write about my creative process while trying to deal with 2 middle school boys. Then...all of a sudden, what I thought was just a freak injury turned out to be a chronic disease. It is much easier to speak to people about having a bad back than telling them you have an auto-immune disease. Let alone telling them that you actually have two.

I have had a really bad week this week. Sunday, though having beautiful weather, my loving hubby didn't think I should go for a walk because he could tell I was in pain. Some days I wish he wasn't a PT. I don't want to have to put my life on hold because of that. So we went for our 2 mile walk on an Indian summer afternoon. It was really nice. Come Monday afternoon I was in pain all over my body, on both arms and legs, joints, muscles and skin. I was worthless that night. Tuesday morning I was is a very weepy mood and I had an appointment with my rheumatologist.  I walk into the office and my Remicade (poison) nurse is standing there. She says, "Oh you have an appointment with her before your appointment with me?"  Umm...I guess so. It's a good thing she happened to be standing at reception! And because of my stupidity I have yet another weepy day. Then Wednesday, I am trying to get my weepiness under control by looking for an online guided meditation. After I turn off 3 because I have decided that I don't like them...the phone rings. It's from my hair dresser. I forgot my appointment with her today. Now this is something this almost totally grey 44 year old cannot miss. Since I'm usually quite prompt for appontments she calls me and says she'll wait for me. I do not have to reschedule. Thank you Sue! I guess it pays to stay with the same person for 21 years. And of course because of my stupidity once again, I have another bad day. Then I have to finish this lease I promised to have done by afternoon. OK. I can do this! I finished it before dinner.

Today...

I just lost it when I was taking a shower. I kept crying and had problems stopping.

Damn it! My eyes are starting to tear up again!

I would love to talk to people on a regular basis without them thinking I'm complaining or whining about "a little pain", "everyone has pain", or having people tell me that I am taking the wrong course of action to tackle my health issues. Or the other extreme...some people look like they feel sorry for me. I am not looking for pity...just for a place to blow off some steam. Some days I just need to talk for a couple of minutes about my bad health and then I would love to hear about your life...good and bad.

I don't think there are too many people in my life that I can do that with. Any takers?

I think my one buddy has got to be getting really tired of hearing me talk some days. She's a real sport, and I want to thank her. (She knows who she is. I love ya!)

I will get past this. I have to.

Finally!

NO MORE FRIZZ!

I have found the perfect product!


Suave® Professionals Captivating Curls spray gel


 
I have been using this with damp hair for the last few weeks. Even with the drizzly, rainy days lately...and no frizz.

I love this stuff! I have been searching for a large portion of my (almost) 45 years and have never found a product that does this well. And...It is actually the cheap version of a Redken® product. I can even have a good hair day the day after I wash my hair. It's amazing!

What made me just decide to write about this particular product was the fact that I had a hat on for about an hour. I came out of it with hat head. Of course!

Then...I scrunched my curls a few times and...

VIOLÁ! No more hat head after a little while!

YAY!

(Can you tell just how excited this curly haired girl is? I just can't stop raving about this product!)

On the right track

It is offically a month into school and I can honestly say that I have made it to the gym, 3 times a week for the last month.


Yay! I guess I really am on the right track!


I was determined to do it and I have. At least I've got one thing headed in the right direction.


And I think it is definitely healping me. I empltied the dishwasher the other day and I didn't hurt like I normally do. I guess I am getting stronger. It's just a pity I'm not getting smaller like I had hoped. 


Darn!

Oh well..I guess I can't have everything, right?


Something similar to this machine, is my favorite.






I love it! I'm not sure why... but I feel great when I'm done with it. I've actually been feeling great when I walk out the door to the gym. 




I'm hoping it will continue to get even better.


Like I said...I'm on the right track!

Not "Do SomeTHING"

Sorry, Carrie!

I just wasn't "into" it this time.

I don't know why. But I'm going to work hard at work (getting paid for, work) and taking pictures for my destash shop and working on making yoga bags for my regular shop...I'm almost out of simple ones.

Gotta, gotta!


I think I need help to get motivated.

Shame usually works well.

Do SomeTHING: day 23

My collage of the last 20 years with my hubby is not quite done but this is how it looked last night when I decorated last night's dinner table with it...

Do SomeTHING: day 22

Well...this project is supposed to be done by now...

This is the only the first coat of mod pod.

And believe it or not...It looks like I ran out of pictures. Oh well. I don't have it in me to look for more...nor do I have the time for it either!

I hope he likes what I put together!

I will post a picture of it when it is totally done (without the distracting newspaper behind it).

Do SomeTHING: day 21

On with my anniversary project...

First, I had to paint the empty canvas...just in case I have hole in between the pictures of my collage.

Next, I will have to set up the pre-trimmed pictures (I did them last week) to be placed onto the canvas. I found tons of great pictures that represent the my relationship with my hubby, Peter.

And...this is the picture of my very impatient sickie's foot. Today is D's second day home. He will probably have another day or 2 off from school due to the fever that keeps spiking at night. During the day he is totally fine. Completely energetic and only wanting to do things that involve a screen.

Totally annoying!

Anyway...on to the sorting and arranging.

Do SomeTHING: day 16

I've skipped a whole week of this. I know...Bad girl!





Right now I am headed down in the basement to get a new project started to give to my hubby on our 20th wedding anniversary which is on the 22...Thursday...i know. I have waited waaay too long to get started.

That's me. The procrastinator. Gee...I guess that is where my son get's it from...

Anyway...

Basically, I will be trying to chronicle our (25 total) years together in one special gift. And, no...It's not a scrapbook. But it does include pictures.

I'll post a picture of it when it is done.

Do SomeTHING: day 8.5

Well...

My dinner actually came out and I got compliments all around!

I didn't think to take any pics.

But, I started with leftover grilled chicken that had been marinated in a mix of lemon vinaigrette and basil pesto.

To that I added (mind you, thrown together without looking in a cookbook):

*Cauliflower (frozen) lightly cooked and doctored up with garlic lemon, olive oil and Italian seasoning (the seasonings actually made the frozen veggies taste great)
*White rice (yes white, D won't eat brown) cooked in chicken broth
*Onions caramelized in olive oil with a touch of butter salt and pepper
*and finally red, yellow and orange peppers sauteed in olive oil.

*...each of those to be combined to however the eater preferred.

I think Pete said to me twice..."This is a really good dinner!"

Hooray! I can't remember when that happened last.

Oh...and the topper...I only used two pots! It's the first time I've made a nice dinner and Pete did not complain about how many pots I used!

Do SomeTHING: day 8

Today's someTHING was going to be cooking...only it ended up being a big cleaning project instead.

Really? Ugg!

Instead...

I had to dump the onion skins out of the crisper. Then I had to look to see if there was dust/crumbs on the floor of the fridge. Instead, I found a hard, stuck on mess on the back of the fridge. It must have been  a really old spill that either nobody noticed or thought that it just needed a little bit of wiping up on a higher shelf. I couldn't just leave it could I? Of course not!

First, I tried some "409". Then I thought that the "Mr Clean Eraser" was going to be my best friend...NOPE!

OK...will it scrape off?

Yes, thank you!

It all started out because I just wanted to start some onions caramelizing to try to make some leftover chicken a little more interesting.

Now...a half hour later, I finally have two clean crisper drawers, a clean shelf (thank goodness they are glass or the mess would have been even worse) and the back wall and floor of the refrigerator are sparkling clean. But still no caramelized onions!

I guess I better get to chopping some onions!

Do SomeTHING: day 7

Well, since yesterday was the first day of school for my 2 boys, 7th and 9th grade, I haven't gotten a chance to do "someTHING" in particular to note. I've been just trying to catch up a little.

It was the first time in 3 weeks since I hit the gym, for one thing. Then I pushed myself too hard that I ended up needing to veg for a bit and then get dinner started, bathrooms cleaned, etc. Everything very mundane and not much to speak of by itself.

Today, I have organized...once again. (I'm hoping that I don't have too much of that left to do...besides my sewing supplies.

This morning, however...

I decided that I was going to hit the 7th grader's room looking for things to toss. Not only did I find things to toss but I also found things to recycle and things to reuse.

And I certainly hope that he doesn't see this particular blog post. He won't miss any of his old stuff if he doesn't know that I made it disappear. If you read this AND know D...Please do not tell him!

Recycle

The "Recycles" are obvious but maybe a bit confusing. D thought he was going to make something with these pieces of cardboard. I think it is time for me to give up hope on that thought for these particular pieces. They were full of cobwebs! Yuck! And I did actually touch them after I searched to make sure that the critter who produced them was nowhere in sight.

Re-use

Now the "Re-use " pile...

I have decided to add these to the goodies that I have found around the house to have kids choose from on Halloween night. I will still give out some candy but I gave out some "prizes" last year that have been found around the house. They were all left over from old goody bags...extras that never made it into the bags to begin with. The little ones loved it!

So I decided that instead of tossing out D's old stuff (that has been hanging around for eons), I'd let the little cuties pick their own again. This time however...I will be turning over the goodies that D had received in many bags from years ago and has not looked at in those same many years. Now some new children can enjoy them for a few days just like D did once, long ago.

I have to tell you...

Before, there were many things spread out under his bed. All that was not in the  storage boxes were collecting cobwebs.

Now, there are only the 2 boxes, a roll of posters and his RC plane under there. Not only did I clean up under the bed but I managed to get some things from under his stool and his desk into the under-bed storage boxes as well. I think that even D can't complain about this clean-up session. I think it should turn out to be a win-win!

I hope!


Oh, and I almost forgot!

I found D's boy scout fishing merit badge blue card. He's been looking for it for two months. This house-cleaning was definitely a win-win!


Do SomeTHING is a month long of creativity, project finishing, exploration, and imagination.  What was your THING for today?  Leave your link in the comments for us all to see.

Do SomeTHING: day 4.5

I'm not sure if I'll have time to do someTHING else today.

Update on yesterday...

I did end up gluing the cover shut. It's not as well constructed as I had hoped I would be able to do. I was planning on putting a drawstring on the top but I figured it wasn't worth the trouble (since I was sans a sewing machine).

Pete asked me where it was going to go. I think he was afraid of where I was going to stick it. He did end up talking me out of storing it in the basement where it might get mildewed...something I hadn't thought about. So...it ended up behind the door (and obviously the mirror) in the study. If you can't find it...it's the white thing behind the mirror.

And the best part of the new hiding place...It is in one of the rooms that I am likely to be using it. So it's even better  Thanks Pete!


Do SomeTHING is a month long of creativity, project finishing, exploration, and imagination.  What was your THING for today?  Leave your link in the comments for us all to see.

Do SomeTHING: day 4

Today's THING is to both sew and organize (being done with the same item). My home-made collapsible photo box. Do you see the big white thing with all of the tabs? There are five pieces and they need to be contained and protected.

Before (Donna, this is for you)

This box has been sitting in my study (computer/sewing room)...forever. I have been trying to get my whole house organized. Sewing a cover for this thing, will allow me to store it in my basement, along a wall, away from all harm and out of everyone's way. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway)...it'll make Pete very happy to see it gone.

I have a very large piece of white fabric, that is just going to sit around with nothing else to do, so this will be perfect for this project. I know, not the best color for storing in a basement but I don't care what happens to the cover, as long as it protects my box.

Two hours later...

I have the fabric all cut and pinned.

...and the sewing machine is not working right! I tried changing the bobbin tension. I tried changing the top thread tension. I just can't get this to work!

I hope that this is not the beginning of the end. This is how my last machine died...

UGG!


Well...at least I have the project ready to sew...I did something.

Hopefully, I will get the machine ready to use before my next blog post.

I just thought of something...maybe I can glue it?


Do SomeTHING is a month long of creativity, project finishing, exploration, and imagination.  What was your THING for today?  Leave your link in the comments for us all to see.

Do SomeTHING: day 3

Today's idea was D's. He wanted matzo brei for breakfast.


I'm going to cheat a little in today's post. I found a fabulous set of instructions on the Gothamist.com. These instructions have great pictures. Click on Gothamist to see them.

I make mine a little differently. I break up the matzos first (before moistening them) and I don't use pepper .


D loved It. We eat it with just plain granulated sugar...and it's delish!


P.S. D helped my write up this blog today...including all of the images and links.


Thanks D!



Do SomeTHING is a month long of creativity, project finishing, exploration, and imagination.  What was your THING for today?  Leave your link in the comments for us all to see.

Do SomeTHING: day 2

Today...I planned.


My 14 year old son has one of these kinds of pillows (only a cylinder)...




..only it has seen much better days. 


I have decided to dig though the fabulous fabrics my sister-in-law gave to me after she cleaned out her craft area. I probably shouldn't have taken them. I don't really have any room...but I couldn't resist. There are some great simple prints. I found a piece of a fat quarter that would fit around the dead pillow perfectly.


I have planned to make a pillow for my living room. I will actually have a printed pillow in there. Yay!


I wonder what Pete'll say when he sees it? He doesn't seem to like many prints. Tough! It's my living room too and it's only a tiny pillow.


Once the fabric comes out of the laundry I will whip up the pillow. It should be pretty simple. Then you will get to see it...sitting on my couch.



Do SomeTHING is a month long of creativity, project finishing, exploration, and imagination.  What was your THING for today?  Leave your link in the comments for us all to see.

Do SomeTHING: day 1

I am going to "Do SomeTHING" every day this month. My friend Carrie started it on her blog. In February we did something inspired by "Thing a Day" on Posterous.com. We did call it "Thing a Day". 


Here's mine if you want to see what kind of things I did before. Not everything was creative. I was having some health problems that month, apparently.


 I would love for you to join us on your blog and spread the word or if you do not have your own blog just comment on mine with your task. Both of us got so much creative "stuff" done that she decided to do it again, to help inspire (and to force ourselves to get our shops filled for Christmas).









So...I started by organizing my linen closet. (My sewing supply stash may be next.) You can tell that everything is now lined up and small things are in boxes. Everything is easy to see and easy to find. Sorry for the bad picture. There is no light in the closet...thus the camping lantern. 

I have also found out that my kids have enough shower gel to last them 2 years.

 My husband has enough shower gel to last him about 3 years.

And I have enough deodorant to last me 5.

Oh well...better too much than running out, right?

Do SomeTHING is a month long of creativity, project finishing, exploration, and imagination.  What was your THING for today?  Leave your link in the comments for us all to see.

Peaches

What do you do with over-ripe peaches? On a cool summer morning?

Make peach cobbler!

Of course I didn't have enough peaches so...I threw in a nectarine and a few plums.

I just need to put the crumb topping on.

Then...YUM!

Bugs...the VW kind

 

Yellow One!



Silver one! With a really cool rocket coming out of the back of it!

Last summer when my family and my sister's family went on vacation, my sister and her daughters were doing the Punch Buggie game. But instead of punching they would just yell it out, including the color, of course.

D loved it and kept doing it when we got home.

Now I even do it without D in the car. It makes me think of him and (sometimes my sis and nieces) when I wouldn't ordinarily. I like it.

I did it when only A was in the car...he thought I was nuts.

I was having fun!

Next stage

  

The next stage is picking a color and painting.  That is our shower curtain that we found online. I think we will be using that color towards the bottom of the picture.

Then tiles...plumbing...and finally, electricity.

Then we get to have our bathroom back to ourselves!

New Everything

Not only do we have a new floor...We have new walls too. And for some strange reason, the floor is grey.

 

And the walls are green. (Even though the contractor says they are blue. I don't know...I think he's color blind.)

Yay! They are almost done! It will have taken almost 2 weeks...and the bathroom is still empty.

We are definitely waiting for fall before we do the 1/2 bath (which btw, needed the remodel more than this one). I want to have some sort of summer besides hanging around the house waiting for contractors to finish up.

Sharing

I like friends that share!

I can't wait for this to take root so I can plant it!

 

And this will be a new bush in the front flower bed...I think my "accountant-type" hubby will like it. I hope!

Thanks C!

What floor?

How's the bathroom remodeling going?


Umm...you tell me...
We weren't planning on pulling up the floor...BTW...there were 3 floors that needed to be pulled up. The top one wasn't too bad (only starting to rot from underneath). But the two underneath were totally rotted out.

 

What you are looking at (in the picture below) between the 2" x 4"s...is the ceiling of the downstairs (hallway...I think).

 

And this (below) is the part of the floor that cannot be ripped up (even though it really should be).

 

So...What do you think? How's the remodel going?

Flowers

It's been a really long time...

But I've been busy...

But here are some new pictures of our new flower-bed in our back yard...plus some other new flowers.

Affirmation Project: day 31

Well...It's day 31 and I'm on my 12th Affirmation...

I had a really tough time with this project this month.

I had a tough time thinking of positives. I had a tough time using positives that were suggested to me. I had a tough time thinking of what to write, even when I did think of positives. And...I had a tough time just sitting down and posting in the first place.

Here goes my last one...

My Positive: I do know my faults. They are too numerous to mention. OK...they are not really numerous but I do have a few doozies. I know that this is not the best way to end a month listing my positives but I think that I will feel much better about myself once I have managed to tame these negatives.

I have been working on "fixing" myself for about the last yr. If I actually purchased all of the books I have read to try to improve on my shortcomings my bookshelf would look like it belonged to Brigid Jones.

That said...

My Affirmation: I will work to be the best me I can be, at all times.

Affirmation Project: day 27

I know I have missed many days of my project...First I went away (without a computer) then I have been working on another project...much more important to my life...

I have been exercising and working on my job as much as possible in between the chauffeuring and appointments and getting the house and boys re-settled after being away for 5 days.


I have made the most important affirmations to these things...
(1) I will get my body to repair itself by being very diligent in keeping to a healthy diet and exercise program.
(2) I will not be distracted by unimportant things and instead keep my mind focused on my job...Get as many leases accomplished each week possible.
(3) I will be as calm as necessary while being the best Mom and wife as possible. I will keep my temper and not let it get away with me as in the past.


I have so far managed to exercise 3 times since Tuesday. I have so far finished 3 1/2 leases in the same amount of time.

It looks like I'm off to a good start.

Affirmation Project: day 13

I know I keep using this same picture all of the time but I love it. And I figure that if I do not have a picture of my own then I should use Carrie's picture.


My Positive: I have a great part time job. It's at home. In my own time. No need to punch a time clock (I'm paid per piece). And best of all it...just fell into my lap. I did not have to "hit the pavement" to find it.

I have never had to work from home before and I am finding it difficult. I have a boss that is very lenient on me and shouldn't be. She's too easy and nice to me. I'm not great at setting my own deadlines yet but I am determined to make this job work! I know I can do this. It is just something that I need to work on.

My Affirmation: I will do work before I do anything else. I will do at least one lease per day. I will create my own deadlines.

When I first started this job, my husband added up the money that I could possibly make...he would like me to shoot for 4 leases a week.


I want to No...I am determined to do even better than that.

I know I can and I want to do the best I can.

"Nothing is done until it is done right!"

Affirmation Project: day 12

My Positive: I'm a quick learner. I may need to ask questions a few times or practice while I'm learning but I'm pretty good.



I said once before that I think that people should try to learn something every day. Last night I went to a 45 minute self-defense class given by my son's tae kwon do school. When I heard about it I only debated momentarily, then quickly decided to do it. I was hoping to get a friend to do it with me but I got lazy and only asked one friend and she turned me down flat. (Huh...I think I need to speak to her about that one.) I never got around to asking anyone else. So, I went anyway. I learned some pretty cool moves. It was really fun. Even though it was uncomfortable at first it was a great thing to learn. I'm glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone to go and do this by myself. And I'm glad that I didn't let my husband talk me out of it. (He was afraid I would hurt myself.)

When I came home last night my son asked me to show him all that I had learned. We didn't have much time, of course he asked me at bedtime, so I figured I would satisfy him with the best one we learned. He was pretty impressed that his mom could do it.


My Affirmation: I will step out of my comfort zone more often. When given the chance I will go to what interests me, whether or not I may feel uncomfortable about it or not.

I think you get  even more satisfaction out of something when you do finally decide to step out of your comfort zone. Try it! It's exhilarating!

Affirmation Project: day 10

I know...I've missed some days. My parents are visiting...

My positive: I have people who care about me. I have some health issues. Whenever I see or speak to certain people they always ask how I'm feeling. Not just "how are ya doing?" it's always "how are you feeling?". It gets tiring after a while to have to keep answering that question. I would like the topic of conversation to be something other than my health problems for a change.

I have decided to live my life as if I had no issues. I do not want to not do something because it might be a problem. I want to do it. If it becomes a problem...then I'll stop. I would like to ignore the fact that I have RA and just live my life. Sometimes I can think it away...but not if everyone keeps asking about it. Once in a while it might be nice, but not all the time.




So...

My Affirmation: I will try to ignore the frequent questions about my health. I will go on as if the question has not even been asked.

I know this seems strange but i'm giving it a try.

Affirmation Project: day 6

My Positive: I like being outside...especially in the warmer weather. I like to hike, ride my bike and go for walks.

My Affirmation: I will seek to obtain as much vitamin D naturally (directly from the sun) as much as possible.

A while back I was told that I was vitamin D deficient. I feel like I'm taking way too many supplements these days. If I can get it naturally great. I'll do it. You should all join me outside! Are you getting your D?

Affirmation Project: day 5

My Positive: I'm intelligent. I know a little bit about a lot of different subjects. My son has helped expand the topics on which I can converse (he's a great learner). Years ago, my one friend told me that she was glad I was with her and her family at dinner on the day of her Harvard graduation because I can talk about almost anything to anyone. This particular Harvard Law School graduate actually told me she was a little lost in the conversation that I was having with her Dad. Really? And it was a conversation which I found very enjoyable. Hmm...

Anyway...

My Affirmation: I will continue to learn and expand my understanding of the world we live in.


I love to learn. I personally believe that everyone should learn at least something new every day of your life.

Affirmation Project: day 4

I once received a fortune cookie with this fortune in it: "You have a natural grace and great consideration for others." I think I know the word grace, but I looked it up in Dictionary.com just to be sure. It gave me a definition that I did not realize..."a pleasing or attractive quality ". I know what consideration is... "something that is or is to be kept in mind in making a decision, evaluating facts, etc." Now, I'm set to re-read the fortune.  


OK, I can honestly say that I feel that is me.  Something I never really thought about...but once I did...yup, that's me.  I do believe I have a quality about me that has me try to please others...does that count? Just kidding. 


I honestly think that I have a pleasing quality. That could be why I seem to attract some people that seek to get advice from me. I also always try to be considerate of others. One of my pet peeves is when people are inconsiderate. 


My positive: I always try to take other people's feelings into consideration when I'm doing most everything. 


My Affirmation: I will always be thoughtful of other people's feelings while doing anything that may affect others.


(BTW...I had to fix this post about 3 times...like I said, "I'm a perfectionist.")

Affirmation Project: day 3

My positive: I'm a perfectionist. Nothing is done right until it is done to the best of my ability. I will always strive to do my best. However, I will never tell anyone else that something is not done well if they have worked to their potential.

My Affirmation: I will always strive to do my best but only what is really feasible.

Being a perfectionist can be both good and bad. I will work to perfect (v. per-fekt) everything I work on.  I will not push myself past any limits to get things right. Either I can do it or I can't. I do not and will not expect anyone to do any more than their own best...most of the time.

Affirmation Project: day 2

My positive: I am a blunt person. If you want to know the truth. I will tell it to you. If the truth is not good, I will try to sugar coat it...but in the end you will get it "like it is".

My affirmation: I will always be honest with people that really want to hear it. I will not give you my honesty if you are not looking for it.



Some days I have problems keeping my thoughts to myself. If it is not asked for I will usually be more gentle in the telling. However, I will only give you what you want to hear for hereon forward.

The Affirmation Project: day 1

My positive: I'm short. I am 5'3" but since I am slim I appear to be even shorter than that. But to be politically correct...I'm vertically challenged. Growing up I was never higher than the 3rd shortest girl in my elementary school class. People today call me "petite". But I still say "I'm short."

My affirmation: I'm so happy and grateful that I can squeeze onto a couch in the little space leftover to join my friends/family easily in a conversation.

I will always be petite. I will never be any taller than this unless I feel like wearing a pair of high healed shoes. If anything...as I get older I will only get shorter as time goes by.

Weight gain (con't)

Just  went to my GYN yesterday, just for a regular check up. Haven't been there in about 2 yrs.

First thing I said, "Yes, I know I've gained weight."

She looks at  me then the numbers and goes, "Um yea, looks like it."

I then reply, "I haven't weighed this much since I was full term with D." (I was sick with Crohn's issues and only gained 16 pounds.)

Then she started to search for the real number.

Umm..."No thanks not looking forward to knowing the facts for sure.Thanks."

At the end of the appointment I asked. "Is it bad?Is it too much? [Other than the fact that you may need to buy new clothes soon] ...you're fine. We can all use to loose a few pounds. You'll be OK." (Well...she inferred the bracket part earlier.)

So I'm fine but I may be bulging out of my clothes. I can tell you this much. I haven't tucked a shirt in, in a while...

Weight gain

The only time I have weighed this much is when I was pregnant with my boys. I was very depressed yesterday. The icing on the cake of depression was that I had to buy a new, larger size bra. Some women would like this. Not me! I can't stand seeing women popping out of their bras and that's what I've been doing these days.  So now I own a "fat bra". You know...as in "fat clothes". I'm hating it! I have never owned any fat clothes before!.  I do still fit into my size 6 jeans which I have still fit into even tho I have gained 20 pounds in the last 20 years. Legitimately fit into these jeans, as in the next size is too big...you know, they can slide off of my hips. Nothing like the clothing companies who do the "vanity sizing", gotta love it!

I have this beer type belly (that goes above the waist band of my mid rise jeans). I feel like I look like those teens with the muffin tops that need to go up a size. I always think about them..."be realistic!"

I know this doesn't sound bad but I refuse to even try buy any more clothes until my size stabilizes. This extra size is coming from the no exercising allowed with my nerve damage in my arms and bursitis in my hips. For now both of them are better...I will be hitting the gym tons. I do not want to be hitting the summer this year feeling like I've deceived myself about my clothing size.

Time to really hit the gym...really cut the calories and really lose weight (or get smaller, I know muscle weighs more than fat).

I'm not brain-dead anymore!?!

I have always felt that I am an intelligent individual...but not quite so much in the last few years. I haven't really used my brain since I was a Kmart Manager, before my almost 14 year old (tomorrow) was born.

When my friend Carrie, offered me a job to help with her job doing something called abstracting...part-time (depending on how I'm feeling)...I said "I'm not sure if I'm smart enough." She then proceeded to tell me "Of course you are!"

Ummm...I beg to differ.

Legal jargon? Really? You want me to figure out what it says and summarize it on this form? Really?

OK...I'll give it a try.

It's been almost 2 months and only about 11 or 12 leases later (it took a couple of weeks to get started, and then I got sick for a week, then I was in the learning stages) and I am finally confident with doing it...I think.

She says I'm on track...I hope I am...Or I'm not as smart as anyone thought I was...

Ever heard "she's not as smart as she looks"? That could be me...

Bad Day

I guess it all started on Saturday when D slipped off of the last step onto the ceramic floor. When he took off his sock on Sunday we discovered that it was very possible that something was broken...either his toe (not too big of a deal) or his metatarsal (that could be a very big deal).  We had no idea. It is kind of hard to tell when the boy cries wolf, ya know? Every injury sounds like it's something big.

I had to drive back and forth between getting D to both the doctor (starting at 1pm) and the x-ray and A to his math class at the college and back home. I felt like a yo-yo.

I figured since we had to wait a little while for A...we'd stop across the street at Mickey D's for a shake and fries...the highlight of my day and D's too I'm sure. We both love that they put whipped cream on top of every shake now-a-days!



By the time we finally got the x-ray and results (at 4:45) we found out that nothing was broken...thank goodness. It is still very swollen. He won't be going to scouts tonight. He'll be staying home with just me. Lots of ice will be involved.

What did we do all night? Let's just say that it was not the most pleasant of nights.

Like I said not a good day...

First, all of the driving I had to do all day (and driving is bad for my body) In all, eight 10-15 minute trips in 4 hours...then the not so fun evening (that I won't even start getting into).

I'm hoping today will be a better day...

Please!