Category Archives: Me stuff

Thursday Thunks

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I forgot to play last week-may have to grab those questions too!

1. The last flight of stairs you walked up/down – were the carpeted? Uncarpeted-my basement stairs!

2. Green or purple grapes?
Doesn’t really matter-I think green skins aren’t as thick maybe?

3. Do you like Peeps?
I like they once in a while. There seems to be Peeps available year round-Santa Peeps, Heart Peeps, and maybe Shamrock Peeps?

4. The smell of Vicks – like it?
Yes-it reminds me of my childhood-but wait, I was usually sick when I was smeared with it! I still use a touch of it in the winter (on the bottom of my neck in front) to keep my head open. It usually works!

5. Do you put decorative cling-ons on your windows for different holidays? I use to when my son was little. They fall off a lot! I have a few fairy ones still on my bedroom windows which are cute, but faded.

6. Finish the sentence – I spent too much money on ________ .
art collage materials.
7. Which celebrity should be flown into outer space or placed on a desert island? Paris Hilton

8. Would you support schools changing the “open” time? Such as 10am – 5pm, for example? Not having a school age child, it really doesn’t matter. I think 5 pm is too late as half the year it’s dark by then.

9. Do you go fishing? No, not really interested. It would be neat to catch lobsters though.
10. What question should we ask next week? It’s springtime-do you spend more time outdoors?

Last week’s questions:
1. You are walking down the road and you look down. There is a bug. Do you step on it? The operative part of this question-walking down the road-no I wouldn’t step on it, just walk away from it quickly!
2. What is one fantasy that you want to come true more than any other? Living in a land of rainbows and unicorns-gee-I think having a living environment under the sea or in space would be cool.
3. Someone knocks on your door. Do you look out the window to see who it is before you open it? Do you open it regardless of who it is? If I was expecting someone, I open the door. If not, I look and most times speak out the window to the person.
4. Have you ever eaten Play Doh?
Many moons ago-very salty-probably spit it out!
5. What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon as a child and why?
Bug Bunny and Looney Tunes-love Marc Anthony the Bulldog and his little friend Pussyfoot.
6. Are you a “people watcher”?
I think I am, especially if I’m playing ‘the waiting game’ waiting for someone who is in a store at the mall.
7. I have a bowl of fruit. There are apples, oranges & pears. You help yourself to one – which one do you choose?
I like all three, but I don’t eat a lot of pears, so I’d pick one if it wasn’t too hard-I’d pick the apple if this was so.
8. What is your biggest pet peeve in the blogging world?
SPAM!!!
9. What is one religion that you could just never see yourself joining?
I respect most religions-I don’t think I could be a Moonie.
10. What word do you use far too often?
What?
11. How long do you spend in the shower?
About 10 minutes
12. If you were to write a personal ad about yourself, what would it say?
Domestic goddess with many skills such as cooking, baking, photography, blogging, art collaging and gardening. Can figure out many problems without blowing a fuse. Reliable.
13. Your favorite flavor of soup is….?
I eat a lot of chicken noodle out of the can, but prefer the homemade variety.
14. You are sitting on a bench in the park and a bug walks in front of your feet…. do you squash him? See #1-though if he came close to climbing up one of my legs, it’s days may be over.
What to play?
too?

A quick wave

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That one hour of sleep I got last night didn’t quite cut the mustard, so I’m heading to bed early tonight. I had tummy issues and mom and Brian insisted I go to the doctor. About 8:15 am, after a night of tummy ‘rumbas’, I finally took something that usually helps my IBS (over the counter Equalactin-that stuff is magic and they better keep making it) and within a few hours, everything was calm, except for my brain. When I can’t sleep, I can’t turn off the mind box. And I was so sad to hear about Natasha Richardson and didn’t know the extent of her now fatal injuries until later today. Was thinking about how fragile life can be.
Bri went with me as my van is still at my brother’s house (it’s inspected and fixed). We waited 45 minutes for the doctor to say, I think you have IBS! I made him check my neck as I thought I had a swollen right gland-didn’t and had him look at my the left ‘girl’ scar as it’s developed a bump-he said it was ok. He still thinks I should go to the GI doc (a new one that I originally wanted to see). Everything he mentioned I said I had had already- an ultrasound in the fall of 2006 (the first GI checked off a special blood test and I brought the paper to show this doc before I get the blood work-this one mentioned an ultrasound) and I continued to get cholesterol and liver enzyme blood work yearly and he thumbed through my papers and found the results for that stuff. So that was a wasted $30 in my book. I learn more off google search. I definitely think we need to get a new GP.
Off for my van tomorrow and hopefully I can pick up a few gifts for Brian’s birthday soon!

St. Paddy’s Day

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Being married to a man with an Irish first and last name and naming our son Sean Matthew, you know we like to at least eat corned beef and cabbage today! Sean just called and didn’t even wear anything green today! Shame on him! I have this cutest green tam that I haven’t posed in yet-neither would the guys!

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(Had to take my own photo!)

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Missed posting yesterday as I had to go down to my hometown and drop my van off so my brother Ken, the mechanic could inspect it. There are a few things I asked him to check out. It’s 13 yrs old and I don’t trust other places with it. Sean’s car was just inspected down the road from here and he said it was giving him a little trouble starting. He tried it this morning and it turned over right away. He needs to make sure it’s fine as he is driving 3 hours to the Pittsburgh airport on Sunday to go to Las Vegas with his Geography group for a conference.

My sister-in-law did my hair yesterday and then I went to my mom’s. My second brother is getting ready to move in and he and my other brother’s family were cleaning out rooms over the weekend. They had quite a task and I wish my basement looked like mom’s-they did a good job. Of course she is complaining about not being able to find things that she hasn’t been interested in for years.

All that made me want to do a little dusting and straightening up tchotchkes here and I’ll work on doing more of that since I can’t go anywhere. I’ve had some muscle spasms in my tummy that have come and gone for years-not sure why it does that, but usually a Tylenol will calm it down. But it usually spasms around 6 in the morning, so I’m wondering if I’m just hungry? I looked it up and seems it may be associated with IBS. I remember it happening way back in 1997! The doctor was no help-I saw I posted about it back in 2006. I’m not in pain, it just moves by itself like a baby kicking-I call it alien gut. My one friend said it could be scar tissue from my 6″ long gallbladder scar rubbing on the muscles. Wonder if a tummy tuck would help? : )

I’m going to toss the corned beef in the pot shortly and add cabbage too! Have a great day.

Mainly chillin’

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Since Sean is home and probably won’t be home again for a month, I have been on vacation myself. : ) Well, I want to spend time with him. We both are still tired from the very full day Sunday. I haven’t uploaded all my flower show photos yet, but will be finished soon.
I woke up with a ‘helium’ head and had to take a nap in the afternoon. Our temps here keep going from the 60s to the 40s to the 60s-not good for me. I really think I need to get outside now, move more and get fresh air. I’ll be going to Longwood Gardens a few times in the next few weeks to see their orchid display and attend their orchid sale.
The guys went over to see Bri’s dad tonight. I worked on a few art card swaps. We were going to get some favorite hoagies for dinner (I take a break from cooking too) and they were all out of rolls! What! So I had to order from another place which isn’t as good.
Sean ran the vacuum around for me earlier which is nice. Guys are good at vacuuming because of their strong arms.
My mom is over my uncle’s house for a few days-with the puppy. My uncle is use to peace and quiet and isn’t enjoying having Kelsey around. Mom went over to food shop and cook for him. His neighbor was sick, so he couldn’t help my uncle out this week.
My cross stitched pieces are framed at JoAnn’s, so we’ll go down there on Thursday to retrieve them-so excited! I just finished ‘Herb Garden’ a small piece by Shepherd’s Bush I did on linen. I figure I started it at least 4 yrs ago. I did the best I could do with the satin stitch:
herbgLet me know if you’d like the chart.

So that’s all I’ve been doing! Hope all is well.

Show & Tell

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Stenciled slates, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

I had the opportunity several years ago to earn a little pocket cash by stenciling ‘Welcome’ signs on slates. We had to base coat them with ecru acrylic paint first. Stenciling is a precise craft. I can see where the hummingbird could have been neater. I ended up doing at least 500 or more of these over the course of almost a year. The end of my stenciling career wasn’t pleasant-I mentioned this before. The lady had a meeting with all her ‘workers’ and nit picked everyone who didn’t copy the stencils perfectly. I added a few touches like foam on waves, which looked nice and made seashells a bit pinker to show up against the ecru. She didn’t like that. My former friend copied perfectly and got lots of praise. Another friend cried. Why I mention this is a few days later, the woman went out of business. Why she had to have that meeting is beyond me when she was going out of business! I thought it was pretty awful.
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Bri still doesn’t have his car. The tow truck guy mentioned that sometimes the alarm system goes fluky and causes the car not to start. Maybe Bri should mention this to the repair guy.
I feel lots better! I made a yummy Rachael Ray chili dish last night and slept well.
Cheesy Hash Brown Chili
Sometime down the road, I’ll get my back checked out. Back in September, the chiropractor thought I didn’t need an x-ray. I have been lifting and moving things since December and I’m not small in the front, so those ‘factors’ can’t be overlooked either. Plus one Tylenol seems to fix me up for a while. That is pretty good. Thanks for your concern and I will definitely take care of myself.

Thursday Thunks

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1. This cat- Link– scary or cute? I do like cats and would have to see this guy in person. He’s a bit scary looking though.
2. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes reproducing again. Good idea or don’t care?
Don’t really care. I do think Suri is a cutie, though I don’t care for her name.
3. Do you smile at strangers when you make eye contact? Usually.
4. What percentage of your sarcasm isn’t really sarcasm at all? I try not to be sarcastic-a poor personality quality. If someone has done something opposite of what I suggested I may be sarcastic because I feel like my opinion wasn’t valued enough to be considered. Don’t ask my husband if I was sarcastic about his car please. ; )
5. If you were to be a dog breed, which breed would you be?
Definitely a Sheltie
6. Go grab the closest book. Open up to page 27. Whats the 4th sentence?
Which is more dangerous in the aggregate to humans, barracudas or sharks? (Nature quiz book and had to look up aggregate which means mass)
7. When’s the last time someone put one over on you, told you a story that you totally fell for when it wasn’t anywhere near true?
My brother Ken is good at keeping a straight face. What he said, I don’t recall.
8. Ever seen Michael Jackson in person?
No
9. Do you have a gut?
Unfortunately I do and am not happy with it.
10. What is one thing in your kitchen you have too many/too much of?
I have lots of dinner plates.
11. Ever had a colon cleansing?
No, but the way mine acts, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. I heard that the prep for a colonscopy will clean you out well too and I will probably have one sooner or later.
What to play to?
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As I said last night, no car again. The tow truck came to get Bri’s car and it started up. It then started at the station. It must be an electrical problem. I woke up feeling funky about 6 am. I was hungry but felt worse as I was in a sweat. I think it’s my age for sure. Lucky me! My upper back is still sore too. My mom was saying how a sledding accident from when she was a girl showed up in a back x-ray when she was a senior citizen. Well I was in a car accident back in 1981 where my face got smashed again the windshield in a VW bug, and may be having issues. I guess I should get an x-ray sooner or later. I don’t like to talk about my health issues, but if I am MIA ever you will know what the problem is. I don’t want to be MIA, but sometimes I wonder.

Waiting for something good to happen

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We went to pick up Brian’s car last night. Today he took it to work and when he went to go somewhere at around 2 pm it wouldn’t start again. So he needs to have it towed back to the shop. I guess it wasn’t the battery! I think they just put that in as they couldn’t figure out the problem which we are thinking is electrical. Please send us some good vibes.
I’m still getting having aches and pains, tonight it was my upper back. Tylenol seems to help, but I’m not crazy about taking it too often. I’m thinking tension and stress are playing mean tricks on me. I’ll keep you posted.
Oh, I was suppose to go to the Philly Flower Show tomorrow…no car…I’m hoping maybe Sunday. We’ll see. There’s always the orchid show at Longwood Gardens which is a stones’ throw from here and I can go when I want to go. : )

Almost got through the winter

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I knew something wasn’t quite right with me. My head was hurting and after I did a little snow shoveling yesterday, it was downhill after that. Everything started to hurt, like when you have the flu. I managed to make dinner, but definitely was not myself. I used the heating pad on ‘a pull’ which helped-then the ache just moved somewhere else. Tylenol took the edge off for a few hours. Not sure where I got this bug, but I think I’m on the mend as I’m not as achy. My little fever was only 99.5 and below normal this morning. So far I don’ t have any respiratory issues, though yesterday I had tummy issues. I could only sleep with the sheet and duvet cover on me and it was cold last night in my room. Knocking wood that this is the worst of it.

Still no car for me. We haven’t heard from the shop about Bri’s car either.

Update-The repair station couldn’t really find anything wrong with Bri’s car, so they are replacing the battery. Seems it started up for them everytime they tried it. Hopefully we’ll get reembursed for the towing. Guess I can go with him to get it as now all my issues seem to be female-though if feeling like you had a touch of the flu is female, I’ll be darned. I’m getting there slowly.

Thursday Thunks

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1. What kind of dryer sheets do you use?
I got a huge box of Snuggles at the wholesale club-it’s lasted for at least 4 months so far. And I love that Snuggles bear! My son had one when he was little and he is still propped up on his bed while he is away at college.
Snuggle and Boo Bear
2. How many times a week do you eat out/order in?
Hmmm….I will say at least 2. I think I have to take one off until we see what happens with my husband’s job. I do love my pizza though!

3. What did you do the night of your high school graduation?
Geez…that was a long time ago…I think I just stayed in with my family and we had a party and cake.

4. So Octomom is rumored to have been offered a million bucks to do a porno. Would you do it for a million?
Heck no! I can’t believe she was offered that much, especially if her tummy is hitting her knees now.

5. If your child was born with an extra finger or toe, would you have it surgically removed?
I’d ask the doctor or would let the child decide when they are older. I wouldn’t want anyone cutting stuff off of me.

6. What was the last movie you saw?
The Secret Lives of Bees on DVD.

7. I wanna buy you a dozen roses, what color should they be? Yellow or multi-colored.

8. You are walking across the street, you are not quite half way when a speeding car comes… you have to run to get out of its way, which direction do you run? Whatever side I am closest too, so I hope across the street!

9. Tell us about a time when you were invited over somewhere and had the most awful time.
A couple that lived in the next town and us went out to dinner. She didn’t tell us another couple was going to be there. They ordered everything from soup to nuts and expected us to split the bill 3 ways when we only ordered a salad and dinner. Then to rub salt in the wound-the neighbor of the first couple had invited us over and had a huge lay-out of food that no one felt like eating. Now I’m sure the first couple knew about this. The poor woman had spent the entire day in her little kitchen.

10. You open your front door and there is a box with a puppy in it… what do you do?
I’m a cat person…I don’t know…I’d break my cat’s heart. I would call my vet to see what they would do.
What to play too?

Applebees and Oscars

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Sunday seems to be my day to get mail together, make new collage cards and hopefully have a nice dinner.

First-the newspaper company that owns Brian’s newspaper declared bankruptcy (they just talked about it again on the news as I type this). We don’t know what that means right away, but it’s not something to put in the back of one’s mind. Bri’s worked for that company for 11 years now (though they were bought by another company a few years back). I guess we’re taking it day by day. I better keep my eye open for him and me! Sean will hopefully be adding to the finances in a few months too.

We had a boring array of food in the freezer as I need to go to the store and I remembered we had a $25 gift card to eat out!  We went to Apple*bees and got the 2-$20 special. The place wasn’t crowded, it was bitter cold tonight. We got the spinach and artichoke dip appetizer which was delicious. Then we both ordered the Lime Fiesta Chicken and that was pretty good too. I even had room for a Chocolate Mousse shooter dessert. It only cost us another $11 (plus tip).

Then I settled in with my stitching and watched the 81st Oscar ceremony. Hugh Jackman was the host and he was entertaining and quirky-funny dance and singing numbers. I liked how they brought past Oscar winners out-5 each, to each talk about each of the nominees. Many of the nominated ladies were very teary-eyed and touched. I was happy that Kate Winslet finally won. Many were moved when the late Heath Ledger won and his mom, dad and sister accepted the award for his 3 yr old daughter Matilda.
oscars

We are still getting  cold weather and wind-miserable. I should go to the store today. I’m probably not going to the doctor on Friday as the bloodwork Bri had last month is still in question-we have to wait for the bill so the family doctor can resubmit it.

Wish us luck and we’ll send it back to you!

Here’s a Mona Lisa card I made for a challenge to welcome spring! Mona is embossed in gold. I forgot how much fun embossing things are.

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A small ‘I recommend’-
Shea body butter-it’s so nice to put on dry skin this time of year. I got some that was marked down and it was still fine and took away that dry skin itch.