Bloggy Awards

Cyndi from Journey to Alicyn Shea nominated me for two blog awards. I am a little late in posting these, but I am so honored and excited by them. I've never been nominated for anything before(blog-wise). Thanks Cyndi!
I now have the honor of bestowing these on five other bloggers, and I'll do it tomorrow because I want to think about who to nominate. I already have an idea.

My Three Thanks:
1. Lazy Sundays. I didn't do too much today. Just me and Joe, hanging around the house. I like it that way.
2. I am thankful I picked up something to help me sleep today because not being able to sleep has been brutal.
3. I am thankful for my bloggy friends.

Waiting Momma's Bracelet for Courtney

Here is the bracelet I made for Courtney. One strand says "In my Heart" and the other says "Chloe Paige". I am making myself one as I speak(type). Well, not actually as I type, but as soon as I'm done. :) The charm on one strand is a red heart, symbolizing the red thread connection, and the other charm is the Chinese symbol for "Love".

I can digital scrapbook too!

Yeah, I'm up at 11:45. Darn insomnia. It's kicking my butt.

Three Thanks

I keep forgetting about my three thanks. That's not good. It is important for me. So here they are for today:
1. It is almost October. That means Fall weather should really be on it's way. I'm ready for long sleeves. I would love to say sweaters, but realistically we can't wear sweaters her until January. Sometimes not even then.
2. I am thankful that Halloween is coming. I love Halloween. I like the whole pumpkins and candy and dressing up aspects of it more so than the spooky aspects. I have a ton of decorations and I am putting them up tomorrow. Yeah. A day before October first. So sue me. :)
3. I am thankful for three day weekends. They rock.

For Chloe Paige

Courtney from Chloe Paige ordered a "Wishes Box" and a "Waiting Momma's" bracelet from me a couple of weeks ago. Here is the completed box. She asked for something in a Gold and Red color scheme, with traditional Chinese elements. I hope this is what she had in mind.
Pictures of the Bracelet is forthcoming.
I call these "Wishing Boxes". You write hopes and wishes that you want for your child on small pieces of paper and place them in the box. When the child is old enough, you read them together and he/she can place their own wishes in. If you are interested in one of these, you can find them here: Wishing Star Designs. The cost is $10.00 per box plus shipping($3.00).

Here is the Top:

Underneath the Top

I even managed to sneak a couple of ladybugs in. That's a Momma ladybug and a baby ladybug.

The Inside

Have you ever gone into your bedroom at five o'clock in the evening to lie down for just a few minutes, only to wake up three hours later and jump out of bed frantic because it is dark out and you think it is morning and you are going to be late for work? No? Ummmmm...Yeah, me neither. I was just wondering. I think the lack of sleep at night might be getting to me. Sheesh.

Blogging. Blah.

I just haven't been in the mood to write lately. I haven't been reading(blogs) much either. I don't know why. A big part of it is the whole sitting in front of the computer all day thing, but it's more than that. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe I'm just in a funk. I have been feeling better though. Soooo much better than last Saturday and Sunday. No more trips to the ER, so that's good. The leg pain is almost completely gone and I don't have to take the Percocet or the muscle relaxant anymore. I followed up with my GP, and got a third diagnosis, completely different from the first two. It seems to me the whole medical thing is very subjective. So I guess I just choose the diagnosis I like the best. To be honest, I don't really care what caused the pain. As long as it is gone for good and it never comes back. Because Dude, that was awful. I am hoping to get a good night's sleep tonight because the whole sleeping thing has not been going well, for like three weeks now. Maybe that's part of the reason I haven't been blogging. I'm exhausted. Lucky for me, I get a three day weekend because the doctor that I work for is going to Vegas(ahem. I mean, a conference) this weekend. Three blissful days off with nothing at all planned. That's my kind of three day weekend!


My three thanks:
1. I am thankful that the pain in my legs and back is gone.
2. I am thankful I have a three day weekend.
3. I am thankful that my blog buddy Cyndi keeps nominating me for Blog awards. She has nominated me for two awards so far. I will post about them tomorrow. That is so nice of her!

11 Months

Eleven months Bay-bee. Keep em' coming! Be back later with more. I am enjoying my day off.

I am feeling much better today. I was able to get some sleep last night, with the Percoset and muscle relaxant. I won't take anything stronger than Tylenol when I am working, and I did O.K. for most of today. I did have a period of about an hour where I was having a lot of pain, but I just kept walking up and down the hall and it went away. Walking seems to help with the pain. This is fine during the day, but does not work at all for me at 2:00 in the morning when I need to sleep. The pain was constant Friday night and all day and night Saturday, so I am encouraged that I only had one or two episodes of pain today. I hope this means it will go away completely. I don't know though. I need to do some "Googling" of Sciatica to learn more about it. Apparently I have had this abnormality in my spine since I was born, and it was the trauma from exercising that caused it to move forward and pinch the nerves. The ER doc said that people with this spine abnormality suffer chronic lower back and neck pain. Both of these have been true for me for as long as I can remember. I never went to the doctor for it, because it didn't bother me that much. Until this weekend. I never want to go through something that painful again. I am so tired today that I could go to bed right now. I don't want to miss Dancing with the Stars though. I am so excited it is back!
My three thanks:
1. I am so grateful to be feeling better, with very little pain.
2. I am grateful for muscle relaxants. They are what allowed me to get some sleep last night.
3. I am grateful dinner was made when I got home tonight. Still loving those pre-made meals.

Trip to the ER, Part two.

So you know at the end of my last post where I said I was feeling better? Well that only lasted a couple of hours. By evening time yesterday I was in excruciating pain again. Pain like nothing I have ever experienced in my life. Sharp, shooting pains that started in my lower back and radiated down both legs. The pain was so severe I couldn't even lie down. I found that standing or walking slowly helped slightly. If I was not able to sit or lie, rocking back and forth, back and forth on the couch was all I could do. A hot shower helped minimally, so I was in and out of the shower at least a dozen times. This went on for six hours. By that time I was sobbing hysterically and rocking back and forth on the couch. Joe called the emergency room to see if they could offer some help, but they said they can't give advice on the phone and I would have to come back in. At this point I would have done anything to make the pain stop, so at one o'clock in the morning back into the car and off to the ER we went for the second time in a 24 hour period. Things progressed much more quickly this time, since they already had all of my info. After I got undressed and got into the bed, within five minutes the doctor came in and gave me a shot of the same pain meds I had gotten earlier. No I.V. this time. They also upped the dose. Immediately I felt better. One hundred percent better. My pain level went from a nine to almost zero within fifteen minutes. He told me after reviewing my chart(apparently if you go to the er twice in one day, you get a chart), he said he was certain that I had disc problems with my back. He acted shocked that the doctor I saw earlier hadn't taken x-rays of my back. So off to radiology I went to have x-rays taken. The whole process took about thirty minutes. The doc comes in to review them with us, and sure enough, one of my discs has moved forward slightly and is bulging, which is pressing on my nerves, causing the radiating pain I was having down both legs or, Sciatica. He said I have a congenital problem with my L4 and L5 discs. I was born that way! I have had chronic lower back pain ever since I can remember, but when I was diagnosed with kidney disease last year, it was assumed that was the cause of it. Apparently that was not the case. He did say that the exercise is what may have triggered this episode. So now I have to go for an MRI, and have physical therapy and NOT do anymore exercises that could aggravate my back. In fact, I have to see an orthopedic doctor before I can resume any type of physical activity. There goes my gym membership(for now). Darn it. Don't I have enough on my plate without having to deal with this? I find it so interesting that one can go to the same hospital, on practically the same day and get a completely different diagnosis from two different doctors. The entire time I was going through this ordeal I was saying to my husband over and over-"This can't just be pain from overexercising and dehydration. It can't be. There has to be something else wrong. This is the worst pain I have ever had." I guess you really should listen to your gut feeling about things like this. So I am home now, laying flat on my back and I have both better pain meds(the Vicodin was not helping) and a muscle relaxant. I hope this passes by tomorrow. I have to go to work. I haven't been there long enough to start calling in sick. Ugh.

Miserable

That is the only way to describe how I have been feeling for the last two days. This morning, at five a.m. I woke my bleary eyed husband sobbing, asking to be taken to the nearest emergency room. I was having severe pain and cramping of my lower extremities(buttocks, backs of my thighs and calves). The pain had been building over the last twelve hours or so, but early this morning became so excruciating I didn't know what to do. So off to the E.R. we went. I am no stranger to the ER . I have gone there no less than six times for endometriosis related pain. I hate the ER. I have nothing but unhappy memories of time spent there(who doesn't). This time, however was not so bad. I was one of only two people there, I had my own room and the nurses and doctors were so kind. So anyway, I was admitted and hooked up to an IV, given some pain medicine(thank goodness for pain meds) and had some blood work done. The results? Are you ready for this? My diagnosis was exhaustion and severe dehydration. Huh? I thought only Pop Stars and Athletes suffered from that. But No, that was in fact the diagnosis. Here is how it happened:

Thursday night I overdid it at the gym. Way overdid it.(Ummmm..Hello? Eighty pound weights on the seated leg press? Not so smart.)
That night I came down very ill, and was up most of the night in the restroom. I'll save you the details of that, but let's just say there was some intestinal distress. Away I went to work anyway(a little late), with three hours of sleep. I drank nothing while at work. I was feeling nauseous, okay? I got off of work, went to an appointment, then straight to have dinner with Joe. I noticed while I was there that my legs were hurting. I thought it was just from the gym, so I took some Tylenol and didn't think much more about it. I left Joe at 8:30 and ran to the store. By this time I am tired, and my legs hurt a little more. I got home at around 9:30 and ran a hot bath, thinking it would help with the soreness. It didn't. The pain was getting progressively worse by this time. Extremely uncomfortable. More Tylenol. No relief. I spend the next three and a half hours in and out of the hot shower. By the time Joe gets home I am hysterical(he worked the late shift). We try rubbing my legs, applying heat, then cold, and Ben Gay(don't ask me why we had an unopened package of Ben Gay in my medicine chest. I don't know. We just did). Nothing helps. I spend the rest of the night in and out of the bathtub trying to get the pain to subside. At one point I fell asleep in the tub. I have no idea for how long. Finally at five o'clock this morning we decided to go to the ER. And you know the rest of the story. The doctor said there were several factors that led to the dehydration. The stress I put my body in by overdoing it at the gym, severe diarrhea, kidneys that don't function as they should, and not drinking enough fluids. I am just now beginning to feel better, with the help of rest, Vicodin, and copious amounts of Gatorade. Never a dull moment around here, huh?

So the fair was great. We had a lot of fun. I only had one moment of sadness, when we first got there. But then it passed and I enjoyed the rest of my visit. We saw the garden exhibits, and spent a lot of time watching the people ride the rides, but didn't go on any ourselves. Dude, some of those rides are insane! We spent a great deal of time looking at the animals too. They had a whole barn full of babies. They were sooooo cute. Piglets, and lambs(just born!) and, calves. Goats, and even puppies. I could have spent all day there, watching and petting the baby animals. We didn't get through more than one of the shopping buildings(darn!), but I did pick up this:
It has this scripture on it:

He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken Ps.62:2

I also got a keychain with the Chinese symbol of "Love" on it, and this scripture:
"Let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth." I John 3:18.

I loved all of their products. If you want to check them out, go here. Although I did notice they don't have their keychains on their site yet. But I love their bracelets. I am tired and sore from the gym and will be going to bed shortly.

Three thanks:
1. Tomorrow is Friday. Woo hoo!
2. I am getting better at my job. Not so many mistakes over the last few days.
3. We had a great day at the fair. So glad to have had the day to spend with my husband.

I was so busy I forgot to post yesterday. Appparently. Or, it is the fact that now that I sit in front of a computer all day I am less inclined to want to do it when I come home. Or I'm just plain lazy. Take your pick. Anyway I am greatly enjoying my day off. I've probably never mentioned this before, but I love having Wednesdays off. What? I have mentioned it once or twice? (Or five or six, whatever). I slept in, had a leisurly cup of coffee and finished up some bracelets I have been working on. In a few minutes Joe and I are headed off the to L.A. County Fair. It is kind of bittersweet, because going to the Fair was something my Mom and I did every year for as long as I can remember. When she died I stopped going. I couldn't bear the thought of going without her. I attended other functions at that particular fairground, but never the Fair. Well, it's been eleven years(almost) that my Mom has been gone and I think I'm ready to try it. If it makes me sad, we'll leave. But I hope it doesn't. I hope it brings back good memories of the times my Mom and I had there, and I have a great time. I have a feeling that will be the case. I'll let you know. I'll be back later with my three thanks. Enjoy your "Hump Day"! It's all downhill from here.

(I hope you all know the meaning of the term "Hump Day" and don't think I am being creepy. If you have no idea what I am talking about, go here.)

Crazy Busy

That's the best way to describe today. I have been going, going, going since six fifteen a.m. It is now seven ten and I haven't even made dinner yet. I left for work early so I could stop at the store and pick up some healthy food for my lunches this week. Yup, Healthy Choice Meals, Apples, and carrots for lunches for me. After work I met Joe at the Gym. We joined a few weeks ago but they hadn't opened yet. It is a brand new, beautiful facility and I love it. We're aiming for four days a week, but I'll be happy with three. Heck, one day would be more than the amount of exercise I have been doing lately. Now we're home and dinner is in the oven. I am so hungry. I haven't eaten since lunch. I got my secret buddy package in the mail today and it was so cute. I'll have to post pictures. But not tonight. I'm tired. Work went so much better today. I didn't make one mistake. Yay me! This post was kind of all over the place.

Here are my three thanks for today:

1. I am thankful we made it to the gym. I know I am going to start feeling better if I exercise more.
2. I am thankful for my secret pal. It is so fun to come home to a surprise in the mailbox
3. I am thankful I wear scrubs to work. It is so easy to get dressed in the morning, and they are so comfy. It's like wearing your pajamas to work.

Has it been two days since I posted? Well that's because I got nothin'. I did very little this weekend. This is a good thing. I've been feeling kind of lousy. It's not anything that I can put my finger on. Just an overall feeling of lousy-ness. Wow. That was profound. Now I know why you people come here and read my blog. Because of my amazing writing. Ummmm.....Yeah. At least I'm rested and ready to start the work week. I'll be more coherent tomorrow. I hope.

My Three Thanks:
1. I am thankful for the cool weather. Fall is in the air. I can feel it!
2. I am thankful for the meals I premade last week. We have been home this weekend and it has been so nice to have something yummy to eat that didn't take very long to prepare.
3. I am thankful for Lemon Meringue Pie. My dad bought me one on Saturday and I have been eating it ever since. MMmmmmmm.
Two of my posts have to do with food. Why yes, the diet is going quite well. Why do you ask?

I am so glad it is Friday. Today was so hectic. I am stuggling a bit at my new job. There is just so much that I have to learn and remember and it is at times overwhelming. I was at my last job for fourteen years. I was the one everybody came to when they had a question. Now I'm the one asking all of the questions, sometimes the same question several times a day. I hate that I can't even answer a question on the phone without asking someone else what the answer is. I know this is due in part to my being a perfectionist. I want everything to be in order, to be right. And I get frustrated when it isn't. Especially when I am the one to blame for it not being right. I know this will get better. I will learn what needs to be learned. I will stop making stupid mistakes. I have only been there for nine days. Nine days! I think I'm doing pretty well for nine days. Anyway, today is over and Monday is a new day. And it is the weekend, so Yay for that.

My three thanks:
1. I am thankful it is Friday.
2. I am thankful for the books my husband keeps bringing home(for free!) I am in the middle of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and have a stack of four others on my nightstand waiting to be read.
3. I am thankful my hubby is home with me right now, watching a movie instead of at work.

Thankful Thursday

1. I am thankful to be feeling better today. The "episode" seems to have passed. Just in time for the weekend. Yay!
2. File this one under "Too much information", but one of the girls at work was having bad cramps because of her monthly visitor and I thought to myself how lucky I am not to have to worry about that anymore. I am so thankful that I have been pain free since my surgery.
3. My hubby has another Friday night off, so we get to spend it together instead of me spenfing it alone. We have no plans. But we'll be together. I am thankful for that.

In a Funk

I know this is supposed to be the Happy Blog now, but some days just aren't.(Happy)
I'm not feeling well. It is the nature of my type of kidney disease for me to have "episodes" where I feel lousy. I am in one of those now. It started yesterday. Headache, backache, fatigue, blood in my urine(Gross, I know. Sorry). Just an overall feeling of yuckiness. Thank goodness I have today off. I am loving having a day off in the middle of the week. These usually only last a few days, so I should start feeling better tomorrow. I did manage to get over to Super Suppers today to get some meals made. I am finding it hard to make dinner when I don't get home until five-thirty. I am used to getting off much earlier. I am tired when I get home and the last thing I want to do is cook. That's why Super Suppers is a Godsend for me. I made twelve meals, which should last us over two weeks since I don't cook when Joe is working nights(sometimes I just have a bowl of cereal for dinner on those nights) and we generally just have a frozen Pizza on Sunday nights. The best part is that Joe is home before me and will begin cooking the meals so they are either done or almost done when I get home. This will save me a lot of hassle and a lot of last minute take out when I just can't find the energy to cook. It ends up saving us money too, because I only have to go to the grocery store for fresh veggies and fruit, milk and cereal and such. And the food is soooooooo good. Tomorrow we're having pan fried ravioli w/tomato cream sauce and garlic bread. Yum!

Here are my three thanks for today:
1. I am thankful I had today off when I wasn't feeling good.
2. I am thankful that I don't have to worry about dinners for two whole weeks.
3. I am thankful for my doggie. I have been missing Tessie a lot lately and she is always so happy to see me when I come home.

Always Remember

Today was better(work wise) than yesterday. I didn't make any major mistakes. I got to feeling sad on the way home when I started thinking about all of the Moms, Dads, Daughters, Sons, Sisters, Brothers, and other family member who never came home from work on this day six years ago. Even though I was not directly affected by it, I will never forget that horrifying day. Ever. For most people enough time has gone by that this is just another day. Take a minute today and think about those people that lost their lives in that tragedy and be thankful for your families. I know I will.

Monday. Blech.

Today was not a great day. I had a stressful day at work. I still like the type of work I am doing, It's just that there is so much to remember and I keep making mistakes and having to call people back and explain to them I made a mistake and could they come on this day instead, and an hour earlier? Today was also the day the doctor decided to take me to lunch(he does this with all new hires). I was so nervous that I pretty much talked nonstop the whole time and couldn't eat anything. Who had time, with all the talking I was doing? I hope I didn't come off as too much of an idiot. Then I made a major mistake with one of the appointments. Well, someone else made it, but I was supposed to double check the schedule on Friday and I forgot. A forty-five minute appointment was made in a fifteen minute slot. Someone else made the original appointment, but it is my job to check the schedule every day to make sure the appointments match the charts.
Well, I forgot to check the charts on Friday, and that one appointment made the whole schedule behind and the doctor was none too happy. I apologized profusely and triple checked the charts for tomorrow. Yes, I checked them three times. Just to be sure. See? I learn from my mistakes. :) Tomorrow will be better, I'm sure.

Today's three thanks:
1. I am thankful for the work I did on my front porch yesterday. I love coming home to a pretty front porch with flowers on it instead of boxes and trash.
2. I am thankful for Take-Out because I just didn't have the energy to make dinner tonight.
3. I am thankful that I have one more work day until I have a day off. :)

Front Porch Before

Front Porch After

Ahhhhh...Much better. I spent most of my day cleaning up our front porch. Lugging away trash, sweeping, and planting new plants. A much more productive day than yesterday!





















My Three Thanks
1. I am thankful for flowers. They make me happy.
2. I am thankful for the nice people at Home Depot. I pestered them about four times, asking qeustions about which plants and flowers to buy, how often to water them, and basically how to keep them alive so I don't kill them. They were very patient with me. Customer service does exist! ( A gardener I am not).
3. Relaxing Sundays. Well, for me anyway. Hubby had to work, but should be home in time for dinner. I guess I should make something.......

I forgot to post my Three Thanks earlier, so here goes:


1. I am thankful for naps. :)
2. My husband received some sort of "extra" paycheck from his summer class that we weren't expecting, and now I can pay some bills that I thought I was going to have to pay late when I got paid. I am so thankful for the extra money.
3. Did I just type the words "when I get paid"? You have no idea how thankful that phrase makes me.

I did a whole lotta nothin' today. Lunch with Dad, a nap, surfing the web. Maybe tomorrow I'll be more productive. Or not.

Yesterday was so crazy busy that I didn't even have time to post. I left my house at 7:15 a.m. and didn't arrive home until after nine o'clock at night. I was tired. Anyhoo, my second day went well too. I am still enjoying it. I am busy all day long. I like that. There is always something that needs to be done. I did have to re-type one of the letters he wrote out for me three times. And don't even get me started on his handwriting. It is pretty much illegible. Seriously, it is like trying to read shorthand when you have never studied it before. My boss told me one girl actually quit because she just couldn't take the stress of trying to decipher the letters he wanted typed. I actually picked it up rather quickly. So I would say that so far the new job is a success. Yay! Hopefully things will continue to go smoothly next week when I am given even more responsibilities(gulp).

Thankful Thursday

In all of the excitement over my first day, I completely forgot about Thankful Thursday. Go on over here and list three things you are thankful for. Here are mine for today:
1.I am thankful my first day went well and that I like the job.
2. To get to my new job I have to take one of our local toll roads. It winds though some hills and the view is quite pretty. I am thankful that I no longer have to drive on the freeway and my commute is now pretty.
3. I am thankful for my heat pack. Somehow I strained my neck while sleeping(?) and it has been hurting for two days. I got home and put my heat pack on it right away and it already feels better.

What Are YOU Thankful For?

My first day went GREAT! I really like it. We were busy, busy, busy. Answering phones, making appointments, typing letters, pulling and filing charts. I like being busy. I didn't realize until I worked somewhere else how bored I was at my last job. You see, I have never had another job besides working in child care/preschool. I have done that since I was sixteen years old. I think I just got completely burnt out. Not once today did I have to say "Use your inside voice" or "We don't climb on the table like that". Now I can save all of those phrases for when we have Sophie! :) Seriously though, I truly enjoyed my day. I can't remember the last time I said that about my job. Hopefully tomorrow will go just as well. So far I am off to a great start.

First Day at my new job

I'm off in a few minutes for my first day at my new job. Thanks FUZZ and FUZZLET(commenter on last post) for the good wishes! I have to admit I'm a little nervous.......I'll let you know how it went.

How Good are You?

Stole this from someone else. Of course I only posted it because the results were "good". Heh. I think it is pretty spot on, except for the respected leader part. A leader? Me? No, not so much.

You Are 76% Good

You are a good person. You do the best you can to be ethical, fair, and moral. And as you know, being a good person means making hard decisions... and following them through. If you're confronted with an ethical dilemma, you will usually do the right thing. Of course you do slip up. No one's perfect. But you do your best to correct your missteps. You are also probably: incredibly honest, especially with yourself Right now you are on track to being: A respected leader To be a better person: Be kind to someone who is not very kind to you

How Good Are You?

Oh, and thank you all for the nice comments on my job. You all are great. What would I do without you? :)
Three Thanks
1. I am thankful to have a job(oops, did I already mention that one?)
2. I am thankful to have had today off to get ready for my first day.
3. The weather today is much, much cooler than is has been. I am thankful for that!

To post or not to post?

That has been the question running through my head for the last hour. I got some good news today, but I am hesitant to share it because of what happened the last time. But hey, you're gonna guess anyway, so I might as well spill it. Are you ready for this? I got a job! I had a job interview scheduled for today at 9:45. So I get up this morning and get all gussied up and drive over to the interview. What started out as a job interview turned into me working half a day, which ended up with them offering me the job on the spot! I knew it was going well when the office manager was with a patient and the phone was ringing and she turned to me and said "Could you get that?". So I answered it, and made an appointment for the person calling! The best part is that I had a checklist of five things I wanted out of a new job. The search has been going so abysmally that I was willing to cut it down to two or three. Well this job has four out of the five things that I wanted! I can hardly believe it. I think I am still in shock. I start on Thursday! I will be working four days a week, Mon, Tues, Thurs. and Fridays. The office is closed on Wednesdays. This works out great, as I was thinking of not working five days anyway. I am just so tired by Friday, I think due to the kindey disease, that it will be nice to have a day off in the middle of the week. That way I can also make all of my doctor's appopintments on that day and not have to miss work. That was one of concerns on the top of my list. Oh, it is an orthodontics office. I am so relieved. And happy. And relieved. Off to celebrate! And buy some scrubs.


Three thanks for today:
1. I am thankful to have a job.
2. I am thankful to have a job.
3. I am thankful to have a job!

Before and After

Scrapbook area before
















Scrapbook area After:















Scrapbook cabinet before:





















Scrapbook cabinet after.




I found this cabinet on the curb with a sign that said "Free", so I snapped it up. It was originally part of a closet organizer, but I kept only the drawer part. I painted it lavender(my new favorite color), then collaged some scrapbook paper onto the drawers. The Chinese symbols are stencils. I added new drawer handles and viola! I am happy with the way it turned out.

The Pool is Cool

And that's why we spent a good portion of the day there. It has been so HOT here. It was ninety-nine degrees at my house today. Needless to say, we have the air conditioning on. We try very hard not to use it regularly, but in this heat I need it. Even inside in the air conditioned house I felt like doing very little. So we didn't. We went to the pool for awhile, then later in the afternoon tried to finish unpacking. Still not done. I hate unpacking almost as I hated moving. Hopefully it will be done in the next couple of days. I don't think we will be moving again anytime soon! I finally got all of my scrapbooking stuff unpacked. I really need to go through and weed out the stuff that I no longer use. I'll post "after" pictures as soon as I am done. Now I just need to get scrappin!

The pool. Sorry. No pictures of me in the pool. Way too self conscious for that.













Scrapbook area before pics. After pictures coming soon.

















Three thanks
1. The pool. Thank goodness for the pool.
2. Making a little headway on the unpacking. I hope we are done soon.
3. Another day off with my husband. Well I guess technically I have an indeterminate amount of days off, but Joe has to go back to work on Tues. so I'm glad to have an extra day with him.

So last night's trip to D-Land didn't go exactly the way I planned. First of all, it was HOT. And Muggy. Ugh. I mean, the kind of hot where sweat is dripping down your face. And it was seven o' clock at night! So we only went on a couple of rides. I really wanted to ride Splash Mountain, because it had been closed for a couple of months and it had been a very long time since I had been on it. Joe didn't really want to wait thirty-five minutes, but I talked him into it. They changed the way the line goes, and they changed the seats so six people fit in each boat and you each have a seat with a back rest. I liked the old seats better, when you could lean back and snuggle with the person behind you, but whatever. The ride itself was the same. Except for the huge hill. Now this ride has always gotten you wet at the end, but I have ridden it many times and really only gotten splashed a little bit. Well I don't know what they did, but when we hit the bottom of the hill, a huge wave of water engulfed the entire boat and we were soaked! Soaked to the skin! It was like we had taken a shower or jumped into a swimming pool with our clothes on. My hair was soaked as were my shirt and pants(front and back). Even my bra and underwear were wet(I know. Too much information). Joe was none too happy. Of course it was all my fault, because I am the one who insisted we go on it. I tried looking on the bright side and said, Well at least we aren't hot anynmore! He wasn't going for it and decided we should leave. It was pretty uncomfortable walking around in soaking wet clothes, so I agreed. We stayed about two hours. We maygo back on a cooler day after all the kids are in school. That's the beauty of having an annual pass.
Today I had lunch with my Dad, then Joe and I headed out to one of my favorite restaurants, Lucille's for dinner. Miss K's mom gave me a gift card as a thank you for watching Miss K all summer, and of course it was burning a hole in my pocket. The food was great, as usual, and they had live music and we had such a good time.
Oh, here is something I have been meaning to post for awhile. Look what Sophie's Aunt Lisa got her. Isn't it adorable? I love the colors in the pants. I can't wait to see Sophie wearing it. Thanks Auntie Lisa!
































My three thanks for today:
I am thankful for my Dad. Enough said.
I am thankful for an evening out with my husband
I am thankful for good books. I just finished "The Kite Runner". I really enjoyed it, even though it made me feel a bit sad.