Another Day Out With BFF

BFF Jill and I had another day out today. It was a lot of fun.

We went to Chuy's for lunch. We had shrimp bajo tacos. They were so good, even if I did have to enter every calorie into my Nutrition Assistant.

After lunch we went to Kohl's because I needed new jeans. I had coupons for BFF J and myself. I found four pair of jeans. BFF got a couple of nice tops, a pair of jeans, and some jewelry.

We then headed for Dillard's so that I could purchase a wedding gift for her son and daughter-in-law off the bridal registry. I bought them a couple of serving dishes, salt and pepper shakers, and a pot holder. While checking out I saw some green dishes that were 50% off and then another 40% off. I impulsively bought 2 boxes (place settings for 8).

The sales lady was very nice. She made sure I knew there was a copper band around the dishes before purchasing them because she got on quickly that I liked things to be pretty plain. Once I got into the car to leave I was pretty blown away that I had made such an impulse purchase.

The last stop was Half Price Books because I had a coupon that ran out today. I found a book I had been looking at online and we were headed home with a quick stop for BFF to get coffee and generously purchase an iced tea for me.

Once we got home I put the dishes in the dishwasher and the jeans in the washing machine and we sat down to listen my brother's new cd he had just mailed me, and play games. BFF thought she would beat me tonight, but I won a game of Quirkle and two games of Split. BFF had enough after that and went home. (Actually, she was really tired.)

After Jill left, I emptied the dishwasher and realized that I now want another set of the dishes. I really like them, and I am used to having 12 place settings. They come out to $20 for four place settings, so I really can't beat it. I may have to stop by there on Monday and see if they have any left.

No More Frozen Meals

I have been trying to find a frozen meal that I can stand, and so far no luck.

My youngest is such a picky eater that there is only one meal that we can share, which means I end up having to cook just for myself every night. I don't enjoy that, so I end up eating a lot of unhealthy meals. So for the last couple of weeks I have been making an effort to try different frozen meals, such as rice and veggies. I just do not like them.

Most of these meals come with some kind of strange sauce. I don't like sauces. Today's meal was in a steamer basket so I didn't have to use the sauce, but the sauce was still on some of it and it was too saucy. I find myself trying to chew the food and swallow it without it really touching my tongue. Very unsatisfactory.

I am going to have to find a solution, but I'm not sure what that will be. I have never been big on leftovers except for pasta. There is only so much peanut butter I can eat, and cereal every night gets very boring.

One thing is for sure, I am done wasting my money on those frozen meals.

Kindle2 or Not Savings Pot Update

The Kindle2 or Not savings pot is growing. L unexpectedly paid for my dinner last night (Thanks L!), so I put the money I had set aside for dinner in my Kindle2 savings pot, along with some reimbursement money from work that I had forgotten I had coming, and some spare change I found laying around (okay a dime of it was under the youngest's desk, but he should be more careful) bringing the total amount up to: $88.28. YEAH!!!!

Best Game of Quirkle to Date

Best Quirkle Game Ever!!!
(I won with my highest score ever, 420 points)

I Need Vitamin D!

I need Vitamin D!

I had a blood test this week in preparation for my annual physical. Today the doctor's office called me back to tell me that my Vitamin D level read as 11 and it should be in the 50's. They gave me the name of the type of Vitamin D they want me to take.

I don't know if this is something I have been deficient in for a while and they just now tested for it (seems to be something they are just now starting to test for upon the discovery to its importance), or if this is new. I will find out in April.

I used to be outside every day soaking up a little sun while I worked in the yard, but Raymond's doctor used to warn me all the time about the sun and skin cancer and I have become wary of being in the sun too much. I do try to sit outside several times a week for a little while in my swing with a mesh canopy.

Tomorrow I will go out and get my vitamin D and hopefully my body will start storing up this important vitamin.

Why Is It?

Why is it that my oldest can usually solve everyone else's technical problems but mine?

Why is it that no matter what time of day I tell my youngest about either something he needs to do, a school project, an appointment, etc., his reason for forgetting is because I told him at the wrong time of day?

Kindle2 or Not

Sunday afternoon while I was cleaning out some shelves I found a container of change that I had started a while back but had not labeled for a purpose. I decided to make it a Kindle2 or Not project. Since I am still not sure the Kindle2 would be the best purchase for me, I thought that it would be good to save for one and then decide. I counted up the money in the container, threw in some money from a recent rebate, and my youngest threw in some "just because" money, for a total of $66.72.

My boys are behind my project 100%. In fact the youngest looked around outside his school today and found sixteen cents to add to the container.

I think it is good for the boys to see me save up for something I want that is expensive. It shows them that you don't have to run out and buy something just because you want it.

Some people have told me it is silly to save up money this way, and say I will never get $359.00 just by throwing some change in a jar. Evidently they have never saved up for something this way before, but I have done this many times. There is something about saving up every little penny to make a purchase that makes the item much more valuable once you have it in your hands.

The problem comes in trying to decide what money goes into the container. Since junk food often calls my name, I have decided that any time I am able to put off the urge to buy something like chips, candy, etc. then the money I would have spent on the junk food will go into the container. Found money will also go into the container. (I know that a lot of people do not pick up the pennies on the ground, but I do.)

In the meantime I will be researching and deciding if I really will get my money back through the purchase of a Kindle2.

Thought Post

Since I have decided to dedicate more time to quilting, I haven't had a lot of time to write, even though writing on this blog really helps my mind, so I decided to do a thought post.

So glad that the doctor has said the youngest is healing. We finish the meds and have some topical medication to put on any lasting lesions. While we were at the doctor's office we got the meningitis vaccine to get ready to go away to school.

Oldest has been really stressed with school. I am hoping he will get caught up with his projects and be able to get a little rest.

I keep asking myself why I cannot get over the hump when it comes to mourning Raymond.

TAXES!!!!! I have to get everything together this weekend. I hate all the paperwork even though I am pretty organized. I want to get it all in before Spring Break so I can enjoy the boys and not have all that in the back of my mind.

M had surgery on her other hand today. It went well, but I hate that she has to go through that, and deal with the recovery.

BFF Jill has a new daughter-in-law and grand-daughter. I did not get to meet the daughter-in-law yet, but if she is anything like that little girl, then she is a beautiful person. I wish the newly weds the very best.

I have been trying to find a way to lower my monthly bills. I have several ideas, but they are going to take some research. Trying to decide whether or not I should get rid of my land line, or change my internet to go with my land line. Of course, I could get rid of my land line and get internet phone service. I was working on ideas so I could have a little more money each month, but then today I got a notice that the health insurance for the boys was going up just about the same amount I calculated I could save. Not going to complain though because I have it better than a lot of people.

Need to drink more water. Usually get quite a bit done, but I have been slacking off the last couple of days.

Sometimes I feel like I am really letting Raymond down because I am not moving on like he requested.

Read "The Shack." It was good, but I liked "Ghostwriter" better.

I have to fast until after 10 a.m. tomorrow for a blood test. I am already thinking about what I can get to eat before I go back to work.

I have been craving spinach, tuna, and pickled beets lately. I don't eat them all together.

Back to quilting.

The Wait is Over, and We are Happy, Happy

My youngest received his acceptance letter from the school he wants to go to next year. HURRAY, HURRAY!!!!!

We are all so happy here. He has already had some experiences in that type of environment and he just thrived.

(Oh, yeah, besides being happy, I am very proud.)

It's Here, It's Here, Well Not Really

The "Kindle 2" is about to be released. I am so excited.

I don't know why I am excited. I cannot afford one, and most of my books come from the library or Half Price Books, but I can dream.

Dream I do. I dream of having a "Kindle" and having enough money to buy all the books I want, which really wouldn't take an enormous amount of money, but still...

I dream of being able to increase the size of the print on the book I am reading to suit my needs.

I dream of finding a book at Amazon that I just must have and being able to download that book immediately.

Oh, well, you get the picture. I dream of owning a "Kindle."

Of course if you read my previous post you know that I don't dream of a "Kindle" in my sleep.

No Wonder I am Exhausted When I Wake Up

I really do not understand why people do drugs for recreational use.

I have never taken any drugs that have not been prescribed to me. I have been known not even to take the ones prescribed to me because they made me feel funny or see funny things in my dreams. My dreams are strange enough without taking drugs.

Last night's dream involved me living with two gay men, in my current house, on my current piece of property; however the whole back wall of the house was glass and overlooked an ocean with an island that had castles that were shopping centers (which at one point in the dream started falling into the ocean - economy anxiety?). We were selling the house; only the guys sold it to the first couple that looked at it, for cash, without looking at the terms, or even seeing if the money was real. One of the terms was that I had to drive their annoying daughter and them around to find their new furniture. There was snow and ice all over the roads, Raymond was sitting in the car telling them that I wasn't a very good driver, and I was screaming at their annoying daughter to shut up. (She had a very high pitched voice, very spoiled, and a senior in high school.) We went first to look at washer and dryers, nothing pleased them. I then realized we were in the crumbling castles.

Much, much later in this very long dream, I was working with the FBI to help find this couple and their daughter because they were getting ready to dump bodies of people they had killed into the ocean. I was getting into the boat with them, as an undercover agent, with some animals I had freed earlier in the dream. (Really too much happened in this dream to cover every detail.) Two of the animals I had freed were these strange looking greenish-grey things that walked very close to the ground and had very strange noses. They became very attached to me and after a while I figured out they were a cross between a dolphin and an elephant. They swam in the moat in the boat and were going to help me catch the bad couple.

Then the alarm went off.

This dream seemed to last forever, I have left out a lot of the dream and the details, because it would be a very long post, and most of it was tedious stuff, like me walking through a cobble stoned downtown to meet up with the people that I was going to help catch this couple, and having to call the boys to come and get me because I was lost. At one time I was in the bathroom at Sears and had to hold the door onto the wall and I found all these secret pipes. I spent the first part of the dream rearranging the furniture in the house before we sold it so it looked better and then sitting and deciding what I was going to take with us when we moved. It was all very involved.

Almost every night is like this.

So no I do not need to do drugs that are not prescribed, I just need to figure out a way to get rich off my dreams. Oh, wait, that is another dream.

Happy Mundane

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I really enjoy reading this blog from time to time:

http://www.happymundane.com/

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Pole Dancing for AARP Members

A friend and I were talking last night and she was saying that she would like to be discovered through her blog (she doesn't have one), or YouTube (nothing on there either). I asked her if she had a talent worth discovering and she could not come up with one, she would just like to be famous.

After some discussion I came up with something she could do, franchise out, and become quite famous for in the process. Pole Dancing Clubs for AARP members. These would be clubs where all the dancers would be over 50 and members of AARP. The purpose of these clubs would be so that older (over 50 like AARP members) gentlemen could be entertained, and reminded that their peers are still "sexy."

Now, I know there are some very attractive over 50 women out there, most of my friends being in that category, however, I just don't think most men get a chance to see their peers in such a "sexy" light most of the time. They go to these clubs where there are young women dancers (some with poles) and they become anxious, or excited by these young women and then sometimes these men have chest pains or anxiety attacks, because they know these women are no longer in their "league." Just think of how nice it would be if they could see attactive women in their age ranges showing that they still have "it."

Well, whether the idea takes off or not, we got a good laugh out of it.

I Think He Showed Real Maturity

So much drama over the last couple of days in my oldest's life. He is getting a real lesson in young adult relationships.

His ex-girlfriend, they broke up two months ago, is having a very difficult time accepting that the relationship is over. Friday night she had a little "mental" breakdown to the point that officials had to be called in. When she first came to him and told him what she was planning to do he did not know what to do. He wanted to call her parents, but he does not know their number, and she wouldn't give it to him because she did not want them to know. He finally convinced her that they had to call me because he told her he was not capable of handling the situation (smart boy). They called me and once I was over the shock and the temptation to jump in the car, I was able to tell them that they needed an adult. I told them that they were not really adults and that the situation was way too big for them to handle. They agreed.

I told them that the situation was immediate, and that I could not get there in less than thirty minutes, and it may take longer in Friday night traffic. I told them to call my son's PA, and she would know what to do, but that if they could not reach her, then they needed to call campus officials for help. I told them I was giving them five minutes for one of them to call me or text me back to let me know what was going on. (I was still tempted to jump in the car.)

Five minutes later they called and said that they had gotten in touch with the PA, and that she was 20 minutes out and that she told them who to contact. I told them I had to know when an adult had arrived. About five minutes later I was texted that adults were there.

I sprouted many new grey hairs in the time this was going on. I was texted several times during the next hour that things were better.

My oldest finally came home that night around 10, bringing pizza, and very worked up. I told him he handled everything very maturely, and how happy I was that he called me when he knew he was in over his head, and I was very proud of him.

I am not thrilled with how the "officials" decided to handle the situation, but I wasn't there, and I am looking at it through a mother's point of view.

I had a long talk with my oldest about how he needs to handle things from here on out.

I would love for this to be the last drama he has to go through, but he is an adult now, living out on his own and interacting with many different people every day that he has never met before or does not know very well, so it is just the beginning. At least this one had a good ending and he knows he can stay calm and think things through instead of running around in circles and not being of any use.

(I am calling this a drama for him, but I do know it was very traumatic for his ex-g, and I am sorry for that. She is a very nice girl. She just has not been given the skills yet to handle certain types of events. I wish her the very best in life. I am honored that she trusted me enough to let the oldest call me to help them.)

This is Going to be One Long Week

This is the week. This is the week we find out if the youngest has been accepted, delayed, or rejected by the school he wants to go to next year. I can't stand the waiting. It has me on pins and needles. I know his scores were good, I know his application was strong, he was called in for an interview which is a good sign, so all indications say it should be yes. The one thing you never know is what was said in the reference letters from the teachers. Those are sent directly to the school and are not seen by the parents or students.

I can't imagine them being bad letters. He is a straight "A" student. I just don't know if they were strong enough. Especially since he is applying to go one year earlier than their normal acceptance time period.

We are not supposed to get the letter until February 13th. If I remember correctly my oldest might have gotten his letter a day earlier than the projected day, but it was pretty close.

I know that this is the best move we can make for my youngest, so I hope it is a go. He will be pretty devastated if he does not get in this year. Of course, a maybe letter means he has another month to make changes to his application, also he could be put on a waiting list.

This is going to be one long week.

Big Sigh of Relief

YEA! I have about four more months to figure out what I am going to do about my vcrs.

It is no secret that I am totally addicted to my shows. I run 2 vcrs every night, and a third when necessary. I own one digital t.v., and two analogs. I signed up for the government coupons and purchased 2 converter boxes for the analog televisions.

We hooked up one of the converter boxes and then realized that we could not watch one show and tape another. I freaked.

We have been reading up on how to set up the vcrs, but in everything I have read it seems as if I will not be able to use my vcrs in the manner I have become accustomed to over the years. I have looked into getting a couple of digital tuner vcr/dvr boxes, but they are not cheap. I watched a woman last night on the news that was having the problems I will be having and they had an expert come in and fix it for her because she was elderly, but she still had to buy a digital vcr/dvr.

With the switch to digital delayed until June, maybe I will be able to find a solution. I would love to have the AT&T service that allows you to record four shows at a time, but I haven't paid for cable or satellite all these years, and in these economic times I do not think it would be a wise addition to my budget.

I sure hope I can figure this out before June, but at least I should be able to catch all the season finales of my favorite shows.

I have been watching some of the shows on the internet, but I don't like that as much because I like to use my computer while watching television.

Snappy Doo

Snappy Doo is a snapping turtle we rescued from a friend's swimming pool skimmer when he was just a tiny baby in July, 1997. He has since grown quite a bit. This summer we will release him back into the wild.

I think he is quite ugly, but he has the greatest personality. You can't help but love him. I will miss him horribly once he is gone.

What I Wouldn't Do For a Good Old-Fashioned Childhood Illness

(Warning - Rash pictures below)


I can probably count on my 10 fingers the number of times my children have had a normal childhood illness. Yes, I would have to count then together to use up 10 fingers. Some would say that is very lucky, and it is, but I would have to borrow some fingers and toes if I were to count the number of times we have been in the ER, CareNow, or the pediatrician's office with an "odd" and usually undiagnosed, yet troublesome illness, or symptom. Suspected spider bites that have lead to blood infections, allergic reaction to new shoes that made it impossible for the oldest to use his leg for a while, allergic reaction to the cold that is now a lifelong issue for oldest, hives that moved from one part of the body to another with amazing speed for the youngest, to the point that I had to call a nurse friend over to watch it happen because I thought I was losing my mind.

Last week was one of those times. Wednesday was an ice day, so no school. Fortunately, the ice was all gone around noon, which was about the time my youngest noticed a strange rash on his abdomen. OK, our doctor is not in on Wednesday, we had an important interview on Thursday, so I webcheck in with CareNow since the last odd rash turned out to be a staph infection. Less than 2 hours later we are in CareNow, the rash is worse, and the doctor is using all these big names for rashes caused by autoimmune reactions. A steroid shot and advice on antihistamines later, we are on our way home with the warning that the rash is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, and it could last 3 weeks. Oh yeah, we will probably never know how he got it.

Well, not good enough for Mom. Mom gets on computer and starts looking up rashes. After some tears and a couple of hyperventilations I decide that an internet diagnosis is not a good way to go when you have no real symptoms other than a rash.

Today the rash looks horrible. There is no fever, there is no itching, there is no symptom at all other than this horrible looking rash. Started out with different sizes of red circles, now it is the red circles with red bumps, but the red bumps are not in the circles. (Which I was told would be bad.)

I have decided that I am taking him to our regular doctor on Tues. He doesn't want to miss any school tomorrow, so Tuesday it is. I cannot take it any more. Yes, our regular doctor may tell me the same thing, but at least I will have heard it from him and it will make me feel better.

What I wouldn't do for a simple cold or something about now. That is something normal. That is something that I know about. This, well, this is just adding to my grey hair, and making for some horrible dreams at night.

Photo coming up, some of you may want to quit reading now.

It is very difficult for me to get a good photograph of this rash, but maybe my nurse friends that read this blog can relieve my mind a little.