Silvergirl's Journal

Is anybody there?

2010-07-21T10:28:00.001-04:00

I haven't written for at least 6 months. I have been having more fun on FB, and enjoy listening to Youtube. I've been busy with other things as well.

Being Erica

2010-01-20T03:14:00.002-05:00

I just watched a CBC show called "Being Erica" and I love it.

I've been busy lately. I had to ask to be released from a calling, because I had 2 callings. I could not do both well, because they take up a lot of my time. I found out from my DH that anyone who took on the first calling was not supposed to take on a second one. It was another case of one hand not knowing what the other hand was doing. All I can say is "Whew!" I'm glad to be down to one.

I've been reading "The Sociopath Next Door" and it is very interesting. I am supposed to be reading the book for tomorrow's book club, but I am so enthralled with the first book. The book club is reading "Jacob and the Prodigal", which is very bible scholarly, and takes some intense concentration on my part to read.

Oh, and I belong to 2 book clubs. The other club is reading a book I read a while ago.

Delivering Christmas

2009-12-21T22:42:00.002-05:00

I was given an assignment to deliver 5 bags of Christmas goodies. My "boss", if I could call her that, came over last evening to bring the bags, so I could take them to the Primary workers who live near me. I am the Primary Secretary, and my "boss" is the Primary President. We work at teaching the kids from ages 18 months to age twelve.

So today I had DH drive me to other people's houses. But first he needed to go to the church building and do some shoveling. The people in charge had asked him to come at 7 PM tonight, but he was afraid there would be a freeze over, and it would be too hard to remove the snow. We do have quite a few members who own snow blowers, but for some reason, they didn't think of using those. There is one in the church's shed, but they aren't sure where the key is.

So, DH drives past there earlier this morning to see what needs to be done, and some wonderful soul had already been there, and used a snow blower to clean off most of the walkways. DH took DD back to the building and they shovelled a little bit to make sure it was clear.

DH has been shovelling and blowing snow for the past 2 days. He could not take his snow blower to church because he uses an electric blower. That way, he doesn't have to worry about gas, but he would need an outside electric outlet to use it at church, or open up a window inside the building, with the cord hanging out. It's not the best way to clear up the snow.

We went to our first stop, and dropped off a bag to a young woman named Anna, who is 6 months pregnant. Her dogs were all excited, but I did not venture into her house. She said thanks a couple of times, and we left. Next stop - another duplex a few doors up from Anna's place. I knew the person, a widow named Sue, would most likely still be at work. Sue is a widow. I knocked, and heard more doggie excitement, but no Sue. I left the bag's handle draped over the door knob, with her Christmas card tucked into the door frame.

The next stop: Matt and Sue Ellen's apartment. Sue Ellen is one of the counselors working in Primary, and I had to drop off the Primary class rolls for this coming Sunday, as we will be traveling up to Cashtown for a family Christmas dinner. We visited with Matt, and Sue Ellen was still at work, because she works from 11AM until 7PM.

Then we drove over to a married couple's home to deliver 2 bags of goodies, because they both work in Primary. I knocked on the door, and there was no answer. However, the door swung open on it's own, and I left the bags and card right there next to the door. I think the wife was home, and she was probably occupied someplace in the house where she could not hear us knock.

So, the last place was a street close to home. When we arrived, we could see that the driveway had not been cleared off yet. I wondered if they were home. Well, they actually have 2 driveways, and neither one was clear. Then we saw Brenda in her neighbors driveway. I gave her the gift bag and card, and DH decided to help her clear one of her driveways. I have a bad shoulder, so I sat it out inside, while they cleared off the driveway.

DH is such a helper!

Anyway, my MIL called tonight to thank us for the candy we sent her. We always buy some candy from Rhebs, and we know the family likes it. We love it, too, and always have a box at Christmas.

Soooo...

2009-12-20T00:07:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty happy right now. DH is home for the rest of the year, there is major snow on the ground, I'm ready for Christmas (almost), I'm feeling okay. What more could you ask for?

Last week I would have liked a little slower pace, because I have two callings at church. Both were keeping me very busy. I also have to do housewife stuff, so housework suffered.

I've been watching HGTV a lot lately, and drooling over the kitchens and bathrooms. The house we are in right now has a small kitchen, and a small bathroom. I like the kitchen window, which is good for growing herbs. I will be planting seeds there soon. I only have one lonely lemon verbena plant there now.

I don't like the fact that there is no window in our bathroom. We actually have 2 bathrooms, and neither one has a window. I know we will have to rectify that when we build our retirement home. DH said to make a list, so windows in the kitchen and bathroom are on my list. Also, a much bigger kitchen, and a master bathroom.

Merry Christmas!

Almost ready!

2009-12-02T13:44:00.002-05:00

For Christmas, that is. It's been a month since my last post. Time sure does fly by so quickly these days. I've had some amazing things happen this month. I signed onto a family search program that my church has, and I am adding to my family tree. It's so much fun, and I've done some of the temple work for my family. My parents have been gone since 2002, and 2007, so I've started them off one November 20th by doing their baptisms and confirmations. It just so happens that November is both of their birthdays, so happy birthday, Mom and Dad.

I also started the work for one ancestor who had her work done previously by someone who erroneously did the work as though she was a man. I know she was a female, because I've been to her grave. She is buried next to her husband on the Evergreen Cemetery on the Gettysburg Battlefield in PA. I've been there several times. I need to get those pictures of graves together in one place in a scrapbook.

I also had a great Thanksgiving with a lot of the family in attendance over in Harpers Ferry, WV. It was good to see all of the youngsters.

I also got a new laptop computer, and a new 7" television to set next to the computer. I originally thought the television would make a good kitchen tv, but it does not pick up the on air channels very well, so it's hooked up to cable, and gets quite a few channels. I can also detach it from the cable and play videos though a USB port or using a SD card.

Post Halloween

2009-11-03T12:48:00.004-05:00

There is still too much candy in the house, and my resistance is low. Eeek!

I am looking forward to seeing family at Thursday's wedding in the DC Temple. Then afterward we are going to the Cheesecake Factory for linner (that's the meal between lunch and dinner). I haven't been to the CF since my Baltimore days, so it's been about 10 years ago, at least. The one at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore is usually hopping with so many people, but since we will be dining (or is it linnering) at the White Flint Mall location in the middle of the day, it should not be too crowded. The reviewers at Yelp say that service can be bad at that location.

DD had fun on Friday at a church single's barn dance. She dressed up like a rocker, took the guitar hero guitar as a prop, and did her hair and makeup. She doesn't usually wear makeup. She looked really pretty, as you can see in the photo.

Spring Vacation planning

2009-10-30T07:46:00.002-04:00

Well, I've been looking at places to stay in Orem/Provo Utah this Spring, and now that I have the dates for DD's spring break (March 29th - April 4th), I guess we can start making reservations. I have a few places that are quite reasonable, and they are not actually hotel or motel rooms. They are apartment style rooms with full kitchens in a house. One place is right in Provo, where MIL lives, and the other is in Orem, which is right next to Provo. We are going out there to celebrate MIL's 90th birthday. Her birthday is actually on the 8th of April, but school is very important to DD, so I'm sure family will understand.

Now we also should figure out which classes DD will be taking, as that will impact our travel plans. This past semester, she to spread out her classes over the week, so she doesn't get into a crunch time with papers and projects all due on the same day. It has worked out well for her, and she's getting good grades. We will start the registration process this weekend, so we can be sure she has the classes she needs, and that we can choose our travel times according to her classes.

Books

2009-10-23T19:20:00.001-04:00

I've been reading Moss Hart's Act One. It's the rags to riches story of his journey to becoming one of Broadway's top playwrights. It's a good read, but I wish there was more. He died not long after writing it.

I've also read Kitty Carlisle's memoirs, Kitty. She was Moss Hart's wife. I saw quite a bit of her on television. I did not know that she sang, because I never saw her sing anything. She was on a popular game show.

In the Dark

2009-10-23T10:58:00.006-04:00

For Tummy, I present a picture of a Wooly Bully.

The "In the Dark" title refers to us yesterday, and we didn't have tv or internet for a while, either. It just helped realize how much we depend on electricity. I think our next house will be solar, with maybe a windmill assist, if it all works out.

There are so many things you cannot do without electric power. Like get some decent sleep, because you rely on a CPAP machine, or vacuum you house, or turn on a fan, or the stove. You get the picture.

I'm glad it's back on now.

First post of October

2009-10-22T16:51:00.002-04:00

Because Tummy said so!

I've been kind of busy or tired or a bit of both. I'm doing okay most days, but the right knee joint and the left arm rotator cuff make me scream out sometimes. I've been asked to be a secretary for the kids group at church, so that is taking up my time as well. Not paid work, but I do enjoy data and reports.

The big problem came up my second Sunday on the job. My church has had a lot of families move into the area, and I don't know the kids' names. It's been frustrating. Some families are easy, because either the kids look like their parents, or all of the kids look somewhat alike, or sometimes both.

Made my doctor's appointment, and tried to switch from my ho-hum doctor to a nurse practioner, who seems to care more, but the lady at the desk said I could not do that. DH reminded me that I could, because he did it. I think the NP is busy, but the doctor is probably losing patients because of her table side manner. Oh, well, I'll need to get a referral for an endocrinologist and another for the joint problems anyway. I may shop around for some other doctor's office after the first of the year.

DD is doing great art work in her 2 art related classes, just like I knew she would. She's still nervous and anxious, though.

Lucky Corner Vietnamese

2009-09-13T02:53:00.002-04:00

Well, we finally found a restaurant that we really can rave about here in Frederick. It's called the Lucky Corner Vietnamese.

Since restaurant.com was having a sale on certificates at 90 percent off, I used the opportunity to buy 16 certificates, and the Lucky Corner was one of them. It is in downtown Frederick, about a 5 mile drive from where we live.

We started with shrimp spring rolls, which were both hot an delicious. We shared the 2, but I could have devoured 2 all by myself. It was 2 PM, and we were both hungry.

DH ordered the shrimp curry, and I had the chef's special chicken, which was supposed to be fashioned after General Tso's chicken. I've eaten in quite few chinese places in this town, but this was the absolute best I have ever tried. My chicken dish was very good, with lots of different veggies. I'm really into veggies, and it looked a lot healthier than any of the offerings of General Tso's chicken I've experienced in other restaurants anywhere. I ate about 2/3 of it, and only half of the white rice, so I took the rest home in a box. I deliberately saved some room for dessert, though the serving size was generous. It was spicy, and included broccoli, baby corn, cauliflower, red bell pepper, bok choy, and maybe a few other things I can't recall at the moment.

DH's curry shrimp was tremendous as well. He had quite a few shrimp in his dish, and they were in the 26 to a pound variety. He grabbed for the water frequently. His vegetable was green beans, and his dish was a little spicier than mine. I think I liked my dish better, but I do want to try new dishes each time I return here.

So we ordered dessert, and at first I was going to try the fried bananas, but I asked the waitress before she left what the chocolate truffle was like, and I changed my order to that. DH had ordered the pineapple sorbet. When it arrived, it was contained in a half of a baby pineapple shell. It was so cute, and dang it, I forgot my camera. I usually take pictures of every meal we eat, so I can remember our food.

Anyway, the chocolate truffle was more like a chocolate ice cream with vanilla center, coated with cocoa and small pieces of nut, accompanied by whipped cream and a cherry, which was placed on the flat dish that was holding the parfait dish containing the truffle. I enjoyed it immensely, and even let DH have a couple of bites. I tried his sorbet, and it was like a pina colada sorbet. You could taste the pineapple and coconut.

We ordered some chicken curry for DD, who decided to opt out and stay home. She missed out on dessert though. Her loss.

I went back to Restaurant.com for more certificates while their 90 percent sale is still going on. They were out of stock for the $25 Lucky Corner certificates, but they still had the $10 certificates, so I ordered 4 of them to use during the coming year. You can use one per month, and you have a year to use them up.

The prices for thier food was also reasonable. Our total bill came to just under $35, with tip included and the certificate amount subtracted. We've paid at least 3 times that much for meals we didn't care for at premium restaurants. The atmosphere was just okay, but they made up for it with their friendliness.

Sweet Note

2009-08-03T08:54:00.002-04:00

When DH was rummaging around last week, he found a note from "Mom". He thought it was from his mother, but when I saw the handwriting, I knew right away it was from my own mother, written 3 days after my DD was born, back in 1990.

It is yellowed with age, written on the back of an envelope, and it gave me the warm fuzzies. Here it is:

"Hi There, 3-13-90

This is something I thought you might like to put with the baby's prints. I found it about a week before I went into the hospital and meant to give it to you when you were here.

Anyway, Love Mom

I can see both of you in the baby's picture."

Yep, that was my mother. She and I did not get along sometimes, but I really appreciate this note, now even more because mom passed away in 2007. The item she was referring to in the note was the black footprint they took when I was born. So all this time I've been passing for white, hahaha!

Speaking of White, we went to the annual White family reunion. The family is still growing, and the parking lot (a weedy lawn) was filled to capacity. We got there just a little late because of getting lost. We were driving down an unknown road, but thought we were going in the right direction. We stopped and asked a man how to get to Mummasburg road, and he chuckled.

Man: "You're on Mummasburg Road!"

Me: "Oh good! Thanks!" *blush*

More later, because I really need to get to the gym.

My latest interests

2009-07-22T16:00:00.002-04:00

I've decided to make homemade soap again. I have some lye, and I've borrowed a book from the library. I also have some recipes on a paper that use beef fat. The book uses mostly oils of various sorts - olive, jojoba, coconut, etc. I will be making a couple of small batches of soap to try it out.

There is the cold process, which involves stirring the stuff together, and letting it saponify, or the hot process. I can use one of my slow cookers for the hot process.

At the same time, I am looking to buy some citric acid. So far, the only place I can buy it is online, but I have not yet looked at A.C. Moore. I want to make bath bombs. These will be used by me initially, but I also want to make some for gifts.

While searching online, I found out about soap nuts. Soap nuts are a natural soap that actually grows on trees. You can use them as laundry soap, and for other things. I am interested in the laundry soap because it is more natural than the commercial kinds, and you don't need fabric softeners. I have been using vinegar in my rinse water instead of fabric softener sheets, anyway, because it's not full of undesirable chemicals.

Random stuff

2009-05-23T02:56:00.005-04:00

Teaching DD how to drive is a learning experience for me. I'd forgotten that you have to learn how to back up, by turning your steering wheel in the opposite direction of where you what to go. That, pulling into a parking space in a parking lot can be tricky, if you've never done it before.

I went shopping for a cast iron frying pan to cook eggs in. So far, it is not seasoned well enough to be truly non-stick. I went looking for an 8 inch pan, figuring I could experiment with it before buying a larger heavier cast iron pan. They are relatively low cost. I guess I should cook bacon in the new pan a few times to really grease it up.

I have ants in my kitchen, and don't know how to get rid of the rascals. DH has tried to find the source, as they usually trail up the side of the house, but he has put ant poison on the outside of the house. They are still coming, even though he has gotten rid of some of them. I'll bet they have a nest somewhere underneath our siding.

We only have 2 window air conditioners installed right now. We need the bigger one in the living room put in, but DH is not feeling well right now. He has a bit of work to do this weekend, and took Friday off, but he's not doing much besides mowing the grass.

I can't seem to get everything done lately. I guess I just have to face the fact that I can't do it all. Having to sleep with a mask on, and take insulin, plus the pills, plus trying to learn new ways to cook better food, have all taken some of my time.

I am switching from credit card to debit card, and it's made the budget a little tight. I will be glad when June comes around, and money should not be so tight.

I had a Nathan's hot dog at the Get Go, and it wasn't all that great. I guess I had so many good dogs off the grill last week, that it paled in comparison.

I really want to go to The Tree of Life spa out in Patagonia, Arizona, so I can get off insulin, but I don't have the money. I don't know how much it costs, but I would like to try it.

I have a nice life, but the physicality of being too fat is a problem I need to deal with right now.

April Rain in May

2009-05-06T23:18:00.002-04:00

It's been raining hard here most of the day, and it has been for the past few days. It makes it okay to go shopping for food, but getting in and out of the store is kind of tricky.

I've developed a yen for people watching from my Ford Escape. I decided to watch to see whether someone is fit or fat - most of the people are the former, not the latter. It was a good exercise in seeing how others might see me. I am definitely not fit, but would really like to be. I plan on buckling down any day soon, lol.

Really, my doctor's appointment went pretty well Friday, except for the fact that she sent my prescriptions to the pharmacy, only to have me call and ask about them, to find out they were not there. I was miffed, because I had not expected that. Because it was after office hours when I found out they had not been received, I could not call the doctor to have her resubmit.

I called Saturday, but the office doesn't answer their phone then, either. Then I decided to wait until Monday, because I thought the after hours person on the doctors line would have straightened it out for me by then, but nooo.

I really didn't need that stress, but after all was said and done, I got my thyroid meds in time, and received an invitation to mystery shop for the pharmacy. I like that idea, as long as they reward me. I guess all is well that ends well, except for the unnecessary wear and tear on my nerves. I hope I never have to resort to nerve pills, like my poor mother.

Anyway, I did better overall with cholesterol, blood sugar, and thyroid function. I am happy to hear that. I could do so much better though, so I will try harder to stick to a better diet, and exercise plan.

2009-02-17T19:38:00.004-05:00

Waiting for some books from Amazon to arrive. Yesterday was President's day, and there was no mail, but I did receive a package from The Woman Within.

I had ordered 3 tops and 4 dresses. DH was home, and I gave him a little fashion show. Two of the dresses are really nice enough to wear to church. The other 2 are more like house dresses - or ones that I would wear because they are comfortable.

All of the clothing is knit, and I like that material. The picture of the purple dress is one of the nicer dresses, though it is in a beautiful blue green color. I like it very much, and I've ordered a lacy crocheted sweater that will look good over it.

We used a Restaurant.com certificate yesterday to go to the Bombay Grill on Market St. in Frederick. We took DD along, and we all enjoyed the lunch buffet. It was great, and the little walk down Market St was enjoyable, too. The parking at the meters is free on Federal Holidays.

We went past a couple of restaurants that have piqued my interest. One is a vegetarian restaurant, but it has other foods as well. It's called the Orchard. The other is across the street from The Orchard, and it's called the Tasting Room. Both have menus posted outside, so it gave DH a chance to see what they offer.

Another cold

2009-02-06T22:57:00.003-05:00

Well, at least I haven't had a cold for almost 2 years before this one hit me, but I really don't like being infected with something that cuts my sleep short. Then one night, I could not wear the CPAP mask because my sinuses were totally blocked.

Well, I am almost well enough to be considered normal - almost. I can't wait until I stop having coughing fits or sneezing.

Today I went shopping at the Common Market, and on the way home, I decided to shop at the Dollar tree. The Common Market's prices are high on a lot of things, but the value for the meats is not too bad. For example, the ham steak is priced $3 more per pound, but it is boneless, and seems like much more meat than the regular kind. This brand is also nitrate free, so I know it is better for my family. I love the taste of it, too.

I also bought some organically raised chicken, and it was so tender and tasty the last time I cooked it, I totally felt it was worth the extra money.

The dollar store had quite a supplyof frozen strawberries, frozen peppers and onions for stir fry, and frozen meals that I buy for DD to cook for lunch. I think I am stretching a dollar there, but I am paying the extra dollars at the Common Market. I am hoping it will all balance out.

So I am ready to do a little experiment

2009-01-12T02:34:00.002-05:00

I'm setting up a hydroponic system in my kitchen. I have a sunny windowsill, so I thought it would be a good idea, instead of buying an expensive aerogarden (which I think are really cool looking, though), I have devised a plan to build my own.

I am planning on using a baby wipe container, which doesn't hold much, and a couple of 2 inch net pots, with pieces of rockwool to start the seeds. I have a very small aquarium pump, with a small bubbler to start off with. It came with a one gallon aquarium that I am not using right now.

Now all I need to do is cut out holes in the container and figure out what kind of nutrient to use. I was thinking of using Miracle Grow, but I still need a definitive recipe. I feel like this is just a little experiment, and if I fail, I will at least learn something from it.

I also planted wheatgrass in a windowbox inside my kitchen window. It grew! I am so excited. I soaked some wheat kernels from my food storage wheat, and planted them in some dirt. They have grown about 3 inches and are looking fine.

I ordered a wheat grass juicer and a yogurt maker. I plan on saving some money making my own yogurt, because I buy the plain kind anyway, and I add my own fruit.

I'll have to report back and take pictures of my results.

stomach gurgles

2008-12-27T18:40:00.002-05:00

*coping with the stomach flu*

Hope you all are well! Happy Holidays!

Visit to Baltimore

2008-12-23T04:44:00.002-05:00

We had a nice day, going into Baltimore to buy some candy at Rheb's. While there, we saw our former neighbor who works in the store. The store is located in our old neighborhood, and we used to walk 1/2 a city block to get there. The candy is really good, and there were lots of people buying their candy today. They are always busy this time of year.

The little candy factory is in the basement of a townhouse on Wilkens Avenue, and the candy is sold in a converted garage made into a store behind the candy factory. One year, they bought out free samples for people who were waiting in line. The samples were quite edible, just not "perfect" enough to make it into a Rheb's candy box.

The factory hires seasonal help to make all their Christmas candy, and the factory is kept busy almost day and night during the days before Christmas.

So, I told our former neighbor we were going down the street to visit her aunt. That small neighborhood houses a lot of their relatives, which is nice.

We dropped in on Sandy, and she was surprised. Of course, she said her house was a mess, but really it was like ours, so we felt at home. She is a bit older than we are, and has 2 grown kids in their 40's. Her mother lives with her, and her husband was off driving a truck. They have a farm in Delmar, Delaware with 50 acres, and an old farm house, where they hope to retire someday, but with the economy being the way it is, they just don't know how long it will be before John can quit his job, and move to Delaware.

They bought the farm back in the 80's, when the price was just $120K. Now it's worth much more than that, because there are people who want to buy a farm with horse stables in that area, and there aren't that many of them available.

John and Sandy are planning to build a new home, and tear down the old one.

Anyway, it was nice to see someone from the old Baltimore days. As neighbors, we shared so many memories.

Then we went to Wendy's to eat. There was a Santa Claus there, but we were the only customers in the place. The real action was across the highway at the new Super Walmart, with a lot of other eateries available. I wonder if this Wendy's can stay in business.

We went over to Walmart, and found it to be busy, but bigger than the either of the 2 Walmarts we have in Frederick. It was nicely laid out, to display all of their pots and pans, and kitchen stuff. I only wish I had a bit more browsing time.

We went from there to my parent's old house, where my brother and sister still live. It had changed, and fortunely, they had taken up the old smelly carpet, and gotten rid of the 2 cats who weren't using the litter box. They did clean up some stuff since I'd seen it last.

My brother was the only one home when we got there, and we had a nice talk. I didn't bring up the will yet, because I needed to feel him out, and find out how his health is, and what's going on between him and my sister. He opened up to us more than he ever had before, and I was grateful he was talkative. It is hard for him, because he suffered a stroke about 5 years ago, and has trouble enunciating his words.

Joe has been paying the utility bills, and keeping Wendy afloat, while she waited for a judgement on a SSI case. She is going to receive a settlement soon, which will help her get back on her feet. She has gained at least 50 pounds, and looks very tired. She is bi-polar, and on about 11 different medications.

Compared to their lives, my life looks like a piece of cake. It did me good to see them, and they were happy to see me. It might have been the box of candy I'd bought for each of them. :D

Just kidding. I know they really love me, but sometimes it's hard to stay connected to your siblings, when life takes you here and there. I found out through Joe that Wendy still has the same boyfriend, the boyfriend who stole money from my father when my father was dying. The boyfriend who is a drug addict.

Well, at least Joe doesn't do hard drugs anymore. I think he just smokes a little weed. He knows better, but only because of that stroke that almost took his life. He told me he does go to the doctors every 3 months, which is good. His right side is numb, so he can't drive, but I think he has a small motorized bike of some kind.

I had a nice talk with my niece Carrie who has taken up residence in the living room as her place to sleep, compute, and watch television. She is looking for her own place, and is working at the aforementioned Walmart.

I told her to look into the Lansdowne Apartments where I used to live. She said they had a 2 year waiting list. That was the same thing they had told me back in the 70's when I phoned to inquire about an apartment. Then, I had decided to go into the rental office there, and ask if I could put in my application.

Well, I was floored when the manager told me there was an apartment available within a month's time. I was happy, though, and the apartment was nice.

I told Carrie to just go visit the office. Maybe she could get an apartment sooner than she thinks.

Church parties

2008-12-22T02:58:00.002-05:00

We had an international dinner Friday night, and I bought Hungarian stuffed cabbage with barbecued ribs on top of it. It was delicious, if I say so myself. The barbecued pork ribs were gone before I knew it.

We had all kinds of Asian, European, Hispanic, African, and more I can't even remember, dishes. I sampled a lot of different things, so I basically had small bites of a large variety of foods. I loved it, especially when I scored a piece of chocolate cake that was really moist, the way a good chocolate cake should be.

The next day, I had leftover stuffed cabbage, and if there's anything better than stuffed cabbage, it's leftover stuffed cabbage. I remembered that it was that way when my mother made it when I was growing up. I did not exactly use her recipe, but threw one together with a general guideline of an online recipe. I used cooked brown rice, ground turkey, and ground pork in mine. I filled up a roasting pan with cabbage rolls filled with the meat mixture, added a can of sauerkraut, topped it with a can of tomato paste, topped that with the pork ribs, and cooked it for 2 hours in a 350 oven. It was nice and done when I took it out, and I put some homemade barbecue sauce on it for the last 15 minutes. The ribs looked a lot better wearing the sauce.

Then we had a little gathering after church today, and I brought some pigs in a blanket that were from the frozen section of the dollar store. I had cooked them on the indoor grill last night, and then heated them up to serve at this little after church party. They went quickly. Most of the finger food was sweets, at least when I got to the tables, but there were some grapes, and some cheese and crackers.

DH asked me if the "pig" in the blanket was sausage. I told him I thought they were hotdogs, but really did not know, because I had not made them from scratch. He was surprised to learn they were from the dollar store. I did bring 2 packages, so it only cost me $2 to look like a good cook. Well, at least to some people at the party, lol. I did not even try them. I'd had them before and really did not think they were all that great. People at our church parties will eat just about anything, though.

As I put the plate of food on the table, I turned, and an acquaintance of mine was spilling her plate, so I helped her get it upright. She coldly said, "Thank you.", and then turned to her son who is 15 years old, and weighs about 300 pounds. She was asking him what the food I had brought out was. He had already scarfed one down, and was grabbing some more. He told her they were sausages.

I mention this here, because this woman has been difficult for me to deal with for the past few years. I thought we were okay, but recently she's been complaining about something that happened 2 years ago, when I could no longer help her family in a driving situation.

Well, just to get it off my chest, I've done a lot of favors for this person, and she still did not appreciate it, and still doesn't understand why I had to stop doing this almost daily driving favor. I have sleep apnea, and it is severe enough that I've had to curtail my driving for my own personal needs, like going across town to shop. I stay closer to home now, and I only drive when I'm rested enough. I can't take a chance on getting into an accident.

I really can't help it, but the whole thing just makes me sad. I thought the problems we had were water under the bridge, but I think she takes joy in holding grudges against me. Well, I have my own life and all that. The weird thing is that my family has helped hers and taken them all out to dinner since that time. You would think I would have been forgiven, but apparently not.

Family Christmas Photo

2008-12-15T01:52:00.005-05:00

Well, here it is - my family in a Christmas photo. That's me on the left, DD in the middle holding Dusty Sneakers, and DH. This was taken after Church in our backyard, where we figured the light would be better.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Blogger is driving me crazy!

2008-12-14T05:25:00.001-05:00

That last post was supposed to be separated into paragraphs. Blogger kept taking out my blank lines, so it doesn't look as 'readable' as I would like it to be.

I Scored at Linens and Things

2008-12-14T04:41:00.017-05:00

The only thing that bothers me about buying from them is they don't accept returns, but the price on a Super set = a comforter with bedskirt, 2 regular shams, 2 European shams, 2 decorator pillows was too low for me to resist, and I love the look of the set. I really want to dress up the bedroom. I also bought 2 tablecloths - again, too cheap to pass up. The whole order with shipping was $49 and some change. I can't beat that with a stick.

The tablecloths are laser cut with holly leafs around the edges, and I bought two different sizes because of the leaf in the table changing the table size. I only wish they had it in red, but alas, it was only in green. Buy one, get the second one for 50 percent off the already low price of $3.24. Wow!

Another bargain I got recently was a pair of prescription glasses for only $1 plus shipping. They look like reading glasses, but I bought them in my nearsighted single vision prescription. They are really cute, too! I only paid $5.95 total, and I got a hard case with them, too.

I bought another pair at an optical place, and using our insurance, I paid $118 for them. I think they are just okay, nothing too great. I was a little too quick in deciding on them. I thought they were cool because they came with magnetic polaroid shades that are easy to put on and take off.

When I came to pick them up, they told me to pick out a soft cloth case - which is totally worthless, IMHO. If I wanted a hard case, they would charge me an addition $7.50. No wonder their store has so few customers when I've been there.

I've since told DH to cancel my optical insurance because I have to go to an eye specialist anyway, because of my diabetes. They eye specialist gives me my prescription on a laminated card, and I can use it to order glasses online.

My next pair will be rimless with progressive lens and transition (the darkening out in the sun). These will cost me approximately $80 on the web. Also, I don't like that the insurance only covers new frames every 2 years. I want new ones every year, and I can easily afford them at the online prices, without paying for the stupid insurance.

I'm coming out of a depressed mood. I'm struggling to get things done, for health reasons. I'm suddenly realizing how high maintenance my life has become. I have to inject myself with insulin every day. I have to wear a sleep mask for my sleep apnea. I have to take prescription medications.

I think I'm feeling better now, though.

Oh, and I found 2 hard eyeglass cases in new condition for $1 each at Salvation Army last night, so I am all set.

Change is good, sales are even better

2008-11-05T00:01:00.004-05:00

Barack Obama is to be our next President. He is giving his first speech as President Elect as I am typing this.

I am proud of him. I wanted him to win. I believe in him. This is the first election that I have felt this way about any candidate. I hope he is up to the challenge in taking on this job.

Barack's kids are getting a new puppy! Woo Hoo!

Earlier today I went shopping for a pair of Naturalizer shoes. I had preselected them last week, and had to wait until today to purchase them, because my credit card cycle begins today. I was a little concerned that they might not be there in my size, but not only were they still there, but there was a "Senior Sale" I had to ask at what age do they consider someone to be a senior. Happily, the lady behind the cash register said age 55, so I told her I was 56. Then she asked to see my driver's license. Woo Hoo. I don't look my age.

Anyway, I got 15 percent off, so I saved $7.50. That was a nice reward for waiting to buy my shoes. The only problem is, I want to go back tomorrow to see if there is anything else at the Bonton I would like to buy on the Senior Sale. The sale is on for today and tomorrow only.

I took my DD to vote for the very first time. She and I are both elated because Barack Obama won. Yayyyy!

Get out and vote!

2008-10-30T13:56:00.002-04:00

I don't care which party you vote for, just be sure and vote. It will be DD's first vote, and she is excited.

I think Obama did a good 30 minute ad last night. He's ready for the POTUS position, IMHO.

Meanwhile, DH says he is voting secret ballot, so he won't tell us who he is voting for. Tee hee - I know it's Obama.

New Speakers

2008-10-08T14:30:00.001-04:00

I just received new speakers for my laptop. I'm excited, as now I have better quality and louder sound. Now I can listen to some great tunes, and movies. Yay!

Beautiful Fall

2008-10-07T11:36:00.000-04:00

Love the music and the scenery.

Started a Facebook account

2008-09-19T16:57:00.003-04:00

I wanted to find a way to stay in touch with my sister who doesn't have a phone. I guess I will be writing her and my brother letters instead, giving them my information. We really need to talk about that will.

In the meantime, I have good days and bad days. Yesterday I tried exercising on the rowing machine. It took me 15 minutes to figure out how to get down on it. I have pain in my knees and this was not easy, though I think my knee pain diminished afterward, so I will use it again today.

DD has a cold, so she didn't go to her morning class, and we haven't gotten her learner's permit. I guess that can wait until Monday, because tomorrow is going to be busy. DH and I are going to the DC Temple, and having lunch at the Hong Kong restaurant down in Kensington. I enjoy Chinese food, but I really wish they served it with brown rice. I wonder if there is a place that does that? Maybe in California, but probably not in MD.

I usually order something with shrimp in it. I think the Hong Kong has better food than most of the Frederick restaurants.

I still have a store trip to make to buy orange juice, chicken noodle soup, and english muffins. DD had a fever of 102 last night, so that's when I knew she was really ill. I just hope I don't catch it.

DD and I had lunch with our friend Stephanie on Wednesday. It was a little hard to pin down a restaurant as our tastes are different. We finally decided on Boston Market. The lunch was $5 specials, and I had a coupon for DD and I. I ordered the dark meat rotieserrie meal with mashed potatoes, and corn bread, no drink. I brought filtered water from home in my stainless steel cup. I left it out in the car though. DD had the chicken salad sandwich with mashed potatoes, and a drink. Stephanie had the rotiserrie chicken sandwich with a side of yams, and a drink. We had a nice little talk.

I think the next time we go, sometime next month, it will be at Wendy's maybe. I can enjoy a Mandarin chicken salad. Their dressing has changed and doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it.

I really don't believe those advertisements for hfcs. They've really got to be kidding.

The Chocolate Pearl

2008-08-27T21:27:00.002-04:00

Well, I have this ring that I bought a while ago. I purchased it from the internet, and it was an estate (read used) piece. It was 2 4mm pearls in a gold setting with 2 small diamonds. I hardly ever wore it because it was kind of boring.

Then one day I remembered the day and night pearl ring I used to have as a teenager. A BF had bought it for me. It was a going steady ring. Do kids do that anymore? Anyway, I gave it back to him when he broke up with me. He didn't ask for it back, but I just thought it was the right thing to do.

I decided it would be nice to have a day and night pearl ring again, but they are either expensive or hard to find. I took that 2 pearl ring, and colored one of the pearls with a black magic marker. Of course it looked tacky. I then decided I wanted to remove one of the pearls so I could replace one with a black pearl. I tugged at one of the pearls, but it did not budge at first. Then, in the process of wearing the ring, one of the pearls fell off. Wahla! Now I could replace one of pearls with a black one.

I then decided to look for a small black pearl online. It would have to be about the same size and round, not one of the fresh water pearls.

I did find a place that sold black pearls, but in the process of choosing a pearl, I decided I really liked the look of the chocolate colored pearls, so I ordered one to glue onto the ring. I'm not a professional jewelry maker or anything, so I'm a little apprehensive about doing this.

I ordered the chocolate pearl, but forgot to inspect the ring first. It turns out that I need a half drilled pearl, but I had ordered it not drilled at all. This would not do, so days after I had placed my order, I emailed them. My email system informed me the mail was undeliverable for some strange reason.

Much to my surprise, the company answered my email, telling me they would change the order. I am so excited. I can't wait to get my hands on my new pearl.

Community College

2008-08-22T18:44:00.002-04:00

Today DD and I went to the Community College in our area for an orientation. We have already been through placement testing (last week), paid for tuition (over $700 for 2 courses), and bought books (218 total, 155 was for an elementary math book).

It was interesting to see the staff as they informed us of what to expect. The college president is a nice lady, who has a good presence. I need to be more like that. Lately I've been lacking some self-esteem. Anyway, the presentation was valuable.

Now, here's the thing. I want to apply for a position there at the college - one that seems to be right up my alley, but I have to convince them of that. The last 2 jobs I applied for told me I did not have any "secretarial experience", even though my days as an accounting technician was mosting typing reports, answering phones, filing and such. I disagreed, but decided not to call them on it. It just felt like I wasn't supposed to get that job.

This job is in the registration and transcript department. I would be doing lots of data entry, helping people register, and so on. It is a full time job, though, and I've been wanting just a part time position of 20 hours a week. I don't know if I can hack it, and take care of my house.

Anyway, getting a job there would mean DD's tuition is absolutely free. I would love that part, but I'm her ride to school, so she would have to possibly take a bus to or from school on some days. It would not hurt her to do this. She has a class on Monday night, and one on Friday morning. The job is mostly days, but there is one night until 7 PM.

I'm a bit nervous just thinking about the interview. I haven't worked in 19 years, even though I've done some computer work for the church in the interim, and I've worked as an elections judge.

I really think a better job is out there. I would love a part time job in the library, working at the circulation desk. I've seen them posted, but the timing has not been right. Maybe I should just wait. Most of the library circulation desk jobs are 17 to 20 hours a week and that would be just fine, except for maybe having to work weekends.

We just want DD to get used to going to school, so no job for her yet. She may be able to apply for Christmas jobs in October, because there are numerous opportunities right here in our neighborhood for that kind of work.

Hair curlers

2008-08-12T02:24:00.002-04:00

Last week in the Giant Eagle grocery store, I saw 2 women wearing hair curlers with kerchiefs over their heads. I thought that look went out when people started using hot rollers, blow dryers, and flat irons. What the heck?

Granted, I grew up in the 60's, and can remember when people did wear curlers in public. It just doesn't look right. It's almost as bad as wearing your pajamas in public.

GED

2008-08-09T10:40:00.002-04:00

DD had a pretest on Tuesday, and then a practice test on Thursday. We received the results for the practice test yesterday in the mail, and they were good. I'm glad, because she has been studying the book for about 6 months now. She should know this stuff well enough to take the test.

Now all we have to do is fill out the application form, write out a check, and send it in to Baltimore before the 15th of August. They will let her take the GED the 2nd weekend in September, and we will get the results in October. By that time, she will be halfway through her first semester at Frederick Community College.

Family Reunion

2008-08-04T10:01:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the White Family Reunion in Mummasburg, PA at the Mummasburg Sportsmen's Club - which is a baseball field with a small building with bathrooms, kitchen, and a community room. The building is air conditioned, but this year we did not need it. It was so beautiful outside - perfect for the picnic.

Everyone brings something - like a potluck dinner. I usually love the fried chicken selection, but this year it was so much grease. Maybe I am not used to it anymore. I prefer skinless chicken these days anyway.

Things of note: One of my cousins has lost 120 pounds, motivated by a stroke she had. She is about 52 years old. She had always been heavy her whole life, but now is a more regular size. She almost lost her vision because of the stroke, and she loves to read, so it was a difficult situation for her.

Another thing: I started talking to cousin Nancy about my parent's estate. Dad died back in 2002, and my mother died last year in May, 2007. They had told me 14 years ago that I was the executor of their will. I don't know if that has changed at all. My brother told everyone, except me, that the house is his. It's probably just wishful thinking on his part, but I really need to know if I am supposed to be dividing up the property three ways - my sister had been living with him in the parental home, but they were not getting along the last time I heard. She always comes back there to roost when she can't manage to pay her rent or house payment. She has lost 2 homes to foreclosure through the years, and declared bankruptcy 2 times.

Anyway, neither one of them is good managing their money. My brother has had a stroke and is on disability. At least he has some income coming in. He used to be a junkie, and now he still indulges in marijuana.

My parents' old home is a mess. I would not want to live there for any amount of money, but it is a single family home that could fetch up to $150 if it was sold.

So cousin Nancy told me I must get in touch with my father's best friend and neighbor so I can find out the name of the lawyer who drew up the will. My brother has a copy of it in his safe, but we have not spoken about it. Frankly, I am a little afraid of my brother's temper, as I know he does not want to have "his home" taken away from him. Darn it all, my family could use the money. My DH is working overtime to pay for home repairs and the upcoming college tuition for DD.

98th post

2008-07-31T01:09:00.002-04:00

Well, today I cut DD's hair and frosted it lightly. It looks better. She has a lot of hair, and it's very curly, so it's not easy to cut evenly. I did manage to make it look even though.

I have a few sewing projects I need to do - like make a handbag and make my own bra. It sounds hard, but I don't think it will be that difficult for me, as I have been sewing for years. I have the handbag fabric, but need to find the right bra fabric. I'll post a picture when I get the handbag finished. I hope to get it done tomorrow.

DD and I need to get over to the community college for placement testing and registration. They have a great curriculum that sounds like it is right up her alley. She takes loads of digital pictures and videos. The AA program is called Digital Media, and they have a 20 hour certificate program for Computer Graphics that she can start with, and use the courses from that to fulfill the AA degree in Digital Media. I'm excited for her, but DH keeps putting his 2 cents in. For example, I don't think she should start off taking math the first semester, but he thinks she should get it over with, especially since it is still fresh in her mind.

OTOH, I don't want her to get all discouraged because math is her least favorite subject. I almost want to lie to him and tell him they don't have an available class for her in math. I know I should not feel this way. She is only taking 2 courses this semester, and looking for a part time job.

RIP Mr. Mystic

2008-07-25T10:04:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to acknowledge the passing of Mystic's husband. While I didn't really get to talk to him at the Niagara Peep meet, I feel somehow changed by his passing. I am frightened, I think, of sudden loss of family members.

Both of my parents have gone to the other side of the veil. I feel that they were ready for that transition. In both of their cases, they had been basically invalids for at least 5 years previous to their deaths. The quality of their lives was not very high.

Topped off with the dizzy spell I had on Friday, I decided that I need to make some changes to my habits to improve my health. I have had 2 days basically to myself. The laundry has been done on Monday. I did a favor to a friend by picking up her kids at the airport on Tuesday. I prodded DD to pack her things on Wednesday, and tried to catch up on my sleep. Yesterday I spent the day reading a book, giving myself a manicure, and just enjoying some me time.

Today is another day mostly to myself. DD is attending a Youth Conference at Mcdaniel College, which used to be Western Maryland College. It's located in Westminister, MD, which is not far from here. I hope she is enjoying her time there. She will be back tomorrow.

This week I researched on the net: Hydroponic gardening. I want to do this in my kitchen windowsill. I have a nice light source there and a shelf for it.

That research was prompted by the ad from Vitacost. They are selling the Aero Garden for $99.95, which is 50% off the normal price. I would love to have one, but I would only be willing to pay $30 at most, and I don't need the overhead light. So I looked it up on the net, and there are some systems being sold, and some people with some online instructions to make your own system. There are also lots of books for sale, both hardcopy and ebook instructions for sale. I will try to gather the supplies to make this system and try it out. I might not do it until August, though, because of the costs of buying materials. It's not a lot, really, but I have to keep the budget in line for July. The new billing period for my credit card begins August 4th, so after that I will be looking for the materials. I'm thinking I should check out the natural food stores to see if they sell any of the pots and other materials I will need.

Also researched this week: Natural hair dyes. I did not find enough consistent reviews on Naturtint to make a sound decision to buy this stuff, particularly the really blonde shade that I wanted to buy for DD. She tried to blonde her hair with Nice N Easy, and it did not do much, except to lighten her hair just a couple of shades. I told her we would put some blonde streaks in it next week with a Frost and Glow kit we already have, and that would be the best way to procede.

I also told her she could have it done professionally when she gets a job, so she could pay for the expense and upkeep herself. I don't want to buy one of the over the counter blonding kits only to have her wind up with orange hair. I know the Frost and Glow does work, because I've used it myself in the past.

I did buy some Revlon Colorsilk in an ash blonde shade for myself. I know that if I buy light brown, it will make my hair darker than I want, but ash blonde should be just right to match my roots up with the rest of my hair. I don't have that much gray yet, and my natural color is dark brown. I don't want to dye my hair dark brown, though, because it would make me look hard, like my sister looks with her too dark waist length hair. I think she really needs a good haircut. Fifty two is too old to be sporting waist length hair, IMO.

My hair color now is light brown with some blonde highlights. The last dye I used was a blonde shade and it matched my color well. The Colorsilk was on sale for $2.50, so I could not resist.

I also researched reviews for blonding products, but did not find any consistent reviews there, either.

Church Picnic

2008-07-20T00:46:00.003-04:00

I guess it was really too hot for the picnic today. DH and I had bought 200 hotdogs, because last year they only bought 100, and we went through those really fast. There were many more people there last year and the year before. Some people left sooner because of the heat, too.

It was nice, though, and somewhat nicer because Cygnus and LC joined us. DH was cooking hotdogs, sweating it out over near the grill, like he usually does, and LC, Cyg, and I were just looking for a cool place to sit. That pavillion is smaller than I remembered. We did have a nice crowd to play water balloon catch, but we just sat and watched. Usually there are all kinds of games, but I guess it wasn't as well planned this year, or maybe because so many of the members were missing. A lot of the people were there without their other halves.

Anyway, that's out of the way, because we had to shop for the hotdogs, buns, and condiments. I made some cole slaw, and chopped some onions. We have quite a bit left over, which is okay, because I'm using it for dinner tomorrow. We are having turkey burgers cooked on the indoor grill, cole slaw, and Bush's baked beans. I'll grill the onions, and I have some small sweet peppers to grill, too.

Saturday for lunch we had grilled pizza on the indoor grill. I have to break a frozen pizza in half, but it is really good, quicker than baking in the oven, and I don't have to heat my kitchen up.

Happy Sunday, everyone! Cyg and LC, I hope you sell the house quickly, but I will miss having you nearby for "peep meets".

Feeling better

2008-06-27T08:27:00.002-04:00

Getting better sleep and my blood sugar is under control. I feel better than I've felt for a long time.

I'm eating Just Corn mixed with some Just Peas, and some pumpkin seeds. It's kind of like my own little self designed trail mix.

I must work on my bras today. I am checking them for fit, and making modifications. I'm also about to rework a bathing suit top pattern to make my own bras. I'll report back when I get one made.

I went to a baby shower last night. I won some candy by being the first to answer the clues. First one: Hospital Bill, answer: 100 Grand (I got a pack of 8 small 100 grand candy bars), second clue: Hospital Accountants, answer: Nerds. I now had 2 candies, and was the envy of everyone in the room. I laid back a bit, then came up with the Snickers answer for the clue : baby giggles.

This was a double diaper shower. Both women are having girls, so being the girly shopper I am I bought them each two cute onesies. One said "I was born to be adored", and the other said "When God Made Me, He was just showing off".

Both moms have other daughters. One has a six year old who is so happy that she will have a baby sister. The other has 4 year old twins, plus a 2 year old, all girls.

The shower food was terrific, and I tried to avoid the sweets, but gave in at the last minute. Oh, well. I could have done worse.

Happy Tuesday!

2008-06-17T08:17:00.002-04:00

I feel pretty good today. The weather is nicer than ever, with temps in the 70's, so it's time to get out and do some gardening. See ya!

Fat Wallet

2008-06-16T05:20:00.002-04:00

If you order stuff online a lot, you would definitely want to check this out. FatWallet.com. It gives you rebates on online purchases for a number of merchants.

In the past week, I've earned $6.74 on just 2 orders, and I know I've got more coming from another recent order on HSN. As soon as you have $10.00 in your account, you can request your check.

It appears to be fairly simple. Just use the FatWallet website to get to the merchant, and click on the rebate or coupon, and it takes you to the merchant's site. Then you just place your order as usual.

Has anyone else ever tried this? I order from Vitacost.com, Roaman's, and The Woman Within quite frequently. As a matter of fact, I ordered a couple of jumpers and skirts for me and my DD, and the jumpers only cost $2.83 on clearance, and the skirts not much more than that. To receive a 4% rebate after that is remarkable.

The jumper is long, in a denim jacquard and it is nice, especially for the price. I threw it on over a nightshirt yesterday to go out to return a movie. It is handy.

Tongue in Cheek

2008-06-15T11:30:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I say things I don't mean literally, as kind of a habit. Last Wednesday I was helping a 10 year old girl make a skirt. It was a church project and I gladly volunteered to help by bringing in my sewing machine and helping the girl, Dimitri, a very bright child, to make her skirt.

In talking to the young woman who works with these girls every week, I said I "inherited" lots of fabric from my MIL. She asked me if MIL has passed away, and I said no. I then realized how flaky that may have sounded, but it seems I have always used that term to describe my receiving that rather large stash of material from MIL.

Perhaps I should change my habits. I hate to be misunderstood.

Applied for a job

2008-06-13T04:06:00.003-04:00

And I have low expectations, because I have not worked in 19 years. The companies I've worked for all those years ago either don't exist or have changed names. I haven't kept up with that. I did manage to find my old boss' phone number on the internet. I didn't call him and give him a heads up, though. I mailed my application in to the place downtown where they accept the job applications for Frederick County.

It's a part time 20 hour a week job with weekday daylight hours, which is what I want in a job. It pays $13.14 an hour. I guess I'll be lucky if they even consider me at all. I do have the right kind of experience, but it's old experience.

We have been able to make it on DH's salary, and I have other things I could try to make a small amount of cash, including writing stories for this one web site that pays for the traffic you bring to the site. I will be working on that tomorrow, plus I have a few things to sell on Craig's list. In the meantime, DH has been working overtime. His overtime is flexible, too, and he makes time and a half.

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone.

19 Years and a tag

2008-06-10T05:17:00.004-04:00

I've been married for 19 years to my sweetheart. If it weren't for him, I'd probably be an old maid. I'm not sure what I would be doing, but I know these past 19 years have been a change of direction for me. I have had the opportunity to become a mother. We have a wonderful kid, who really gave a great talk in church this past Sunday. I am so very proud of her. She is humble, and a really nice young lady.

The marriage has been a good one. I was not unhappy being single, most of the time, but I never knew what I was missing until I got married.

Now, on with the tag:

The rules:
a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Julia tagged me

1. My hair is naturally dark brown, but I've been dying it a few shades lighter for the past year or so. I mostly use Loreal's Excellence, but bought a different brand this past purchase. Now I'm almost afraid to use it because I chose a blonde shade. The chart says it will dye my dark brown hair a light brown like I have now, but I don't have a lot of faith in those hair color charts.

2. I just started using insulin for my diabetes this past month, and every time I tell someone, they express their sympathy. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, just a necessary inconvenience to help me manage my disease.

3. I've turned into an insomniac and I don't like it. I sleep with a CPAP machine, but my sleep schedule is off, so I tend to sleep during the day. I took a sleeping pill the night before last and was almost rested when I arose yesterday, though not quite. I still have to work at it. I didn't sleep much last night and didn't take a pill.

4. It seems like I spend my life at the grocery store lately. We always need something, and milk is used up quickly here.

5. One of the reasons for number 4 is the cookie eaters - DH and DD. They must have milk with their cookies. I might buy some extra gallons today to put in the freezer just to have it here in case I don't want to go to the store. I'm thinking 6 gallons - 3 to use, and 3 to freeze.

6. Another reason for milk usage is I've been making ice cream in our Cuisinart Ice cream maker. It's great to have homemade ice cream. I've even used Xylitol sweetener to make frozen yogurt, and DH didn't notice any difference in taste. I have made a tasty strawberry ice cream using half and half, a cherry vanilla using whole milk, a banana rum raisin using whole milk, and a banana rum yogurt, using mostly yogurt, with alittle whole milk added. It has all been good eating.

I break chain letters all the time, so I'm breaking this tag because I think I've done this same or similar meme before, and I don't want to have it come back to me again, lol.

My Singing Debut

2008-06-04T06:17:00.002-04:00

I've always been shy, so it was a little out of character for me to volunteer to sing solo. My church had a talent show Friday night, and I had decided to get up and sing two of my favorite songs. I know all the words to these songs, but I printed the words out anyway, because I knew I would be too nervous to remember them.

The first song was "Dream A Little Dream of Me", made famous by Cass Elliott. I was going to sing a solo for that one, but my DD wanted to sing with me, so we did. There were about 50 or so people out there in the gymnasium. I had decided to sing ac capella. As we started, DD had a little false start, and corrected herself, but when I looked up, I could see one of the teenage boys smirking. I know he doesn't like her, but it was still rude of him.

As we sang, our voices became stronger. Our voices are very similar. We did not try to sing in parts, though. After that song was over, we had nice applause, and then I sang "Mercedes Benz", a song that was made famous by Janis Joplin. I told the crowd this, and that I don't have a Janis Joplin voice. I felt confident singing this one, and was met with applause.

Of course, every act was met with applause. There were two 5 and 6 year olds doing ballet for us, and a teenaged girl doing her more advanced ballet. One child was terrific on the drums. It seems he is a prodigy - he picks up everything very quickly.

One of the numbers that I enjoyed was "Henry the 8th", where the audience joined in on singing the chorus. It was fun. My one friend brought her needlepoint pictures, which were very beautiful. She has had a lot of medical problems, and also a great deal of time waiting in her vehicle for her teen aged children when they went to the mall. She has had difficulty with her legs, so she would stay and needlepoint.

DD drew a picture of the three of us taking a walk. It is a cartoon character style, somewhat like anime.

At least 5 people complimented me on my singing, that night and on Sunday. I guess I did good. Now I'm thinking of looking for open mic nights at my local restaurants - there are two here in Frederick. I don't know yet if I feel brave enough for that. I want to go scope them out first to see how it works.

Healthy Foods

2008-04-17T00:58:00.002-04:00

I just ate the best applesauce I've ever tasted, plus it's organic and has no sugar or anything else added to it - it's just apples. It's from Eden foods. I didn't find it in my local grocery store - I ordered it online. I only ordered one bottle because I just wanted to try it. I had a number of other things in the order, so it came in a big box. The applesauce is packed in glass jars, but there was no breakage.

I will definitely order some more, or look for it in the local health food store.

On a somewhat related note - we have some blossoms on our apple trees this year. They were planted in 2004, and are not all that big, but we should have a few apples to harvest. I have to go read about spraying them. DH had been pruning them too much in the past, so we never had blossoms (well, just one).

We have 3 grapevines that will probably be bearing fruit this year. The year before last was the best year, last year was awful. Well, I should specify that the 2 older vines did produce fruit the year before last. The newer one was installed last year as I recall. The newer one is a green grape, the older ones are red and purple varieties, all seedless. The red ones are more edible than the purple ones, but the purple ones have a great flavor. I will use the purple ones to make grape juice this year. I stand ready with the mason jars and canning equipment. I look forward to trying this.

Also, this year I will attempt to plant strawberries in the bed on the side of the house. I will also be planting tomatoes in the other half of the same bed. I hope they can co-exist together.

I am thinking I need to buy some marigolds and impatiens for the window boxes out front. It always cheers me when I see pretty flowers outside.

We have some great looking tulips growing right now. I have to move some of them up to the mailbox flower bed. There's also the whole big rectangular bed out front that needs to be moved to the one in front of the house wall.

I need to plant some sunflowers somewhere, too. I love those, and so do the birds.

I got my hair cut today for $6, plus a $3 tip. I went over to the Frederick Beauty School. I asked for a razor cut and the girl did a decent job. Now I have to wash it again, and use some product. My hair is lighter in weight now and I'm hoping for better shape and volume.

MIL is here to visit from UT. Bonus for me - we get to take her out to eat. I really want to go to Dutch's Daughter, but DH wants me to make reservations for Monocacy Crossing. We wanted to go to Old South Mountain Inn, but it is not open for lunch on weekdays. DH is taking off on Friday.

Now I am dreaming of a crab cake lunch, no matter where we wind up eating. All of these places have great reviews. Dutch's Daughter is famous for their crab cakes.

The Dog in the Grey Flannel Pants

2008-04-08T07:05:00.005-04:00

Every once in a while I see someone in my neighborhood walking a very large dog. I do not know what kind of breed the dog is, but from the back, he or she looks like a man wearing grey flannel pants. Silly, I know, but every time I mention it to my DD she laughs, because it's so true. The dog does look like a man in grey flannel pants. We just saw the dog and it's master a few minutes ago, and the dog was doing his business.

I said "Look, the man in the grey flannel pants is pooping on someone's lawn".

DD - uncontrollable laughter.

DD: That person might think I'm laughing at them.

Me: Didn't you see them? They're too busy picking up that really big poop to notice you laughing.

Oh, well, you just had to be there. Or not. I think the dog's master must wish they had chosen a smaller dog when they have to do poop duty, or doody duty.

Me? I have an easy to maintain cat. He does like to be let out for a walk, but we don't let him outside unless we hold him, and he likes to do his doody in a box inside the house. I still want a dog, though.

Tagged by Miss Hippo

2008-04-06T00:53:00.002-04:00

The directions:

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages)

2. Turn to page 123

3. Find the 5th sentence

4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog

5. Tag 5 people

So, the nearest book to me (there were actually quite a few to choose from because I read about 5 a week) is 'A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose'. You know the one Oprah is taking classes on.

Page 123, 5th sentence:

"People unknowingly sabotage their own work when they withhold help or information from others or try to undermine them lest they become more successful or get more credit than "me"."

Hmmm, 5 people? Cygnus, Puffy, Kimmah, History Detective, and Debcapsfan

Spring break vacation

2008-04-03T14:14:00.004-04:00

Well, we got back home last Wednesday about 2:30 PM or so, and were very glad to be home again. I know I will have to convince DH not to drive so much and to settle into a place for several days and just chill. He really doesn't know how to do that. I think his memories of family trips are of driving long hours across the country to get to Utah, where his mother's relatives lived. They stayed at cheap little motels along the way, and the cars were bigger back then, and kids did not have to wear seat belts. I remember those days.

I'll start posting about the trip the next time. We went to Cleveland, OH, then to Indianapolis, IN, to Nauvoo, IL, then to St. Louis, MO, to Nashville, TN, Pigeon Forge, TN, Christiansburg, VA, and then home. All of this in 8 days time. Whew!

It was good to be home again after so many hours on the road. We missed the cat, too, and it seems he did miss us, because he asked for extra loving when we got back. We had our friend Tim come in to see how he was doing while we were gone.

Oh, and 1st the food picture on the right? Is a the big burger at Bennigan's that DH ordered. We started eating our food before I took the picture, but you get the idea. The second picture is my big burger with onion rings (one of my favs, not on the upcoming diet, though) and DD's plate is in the background. She ordered chicken miniburgers and she loved them. Bennigan's is now one of her favorite places.

Bridal Shower

2008-03-05T08:09:00.003-05:00

This took place sometime last year, and I even used my little Vistaquest (a pink keychain camera) to take them. I think this one is nice. I like seeing women together all focused on the bride-to-be. Showers game? Yeah! I don't remember what we did, though. I'll have to ask Stephanie, the lady wearing the brown top, what we did. She was a big part of planning the shower.

Last night we had a lot of downpours and wind. I guess I should be glad it wasn't a tornedo. It had warmed up a lot yesterday, so it wasn't cold enough to be snow. I'm glad it's going to be Spring soon. Spring forward this weekend, as a matter of fact.

Trip Planning

2008-03-04T22:03:00.003-05:00

Today is DH's birthday, so I'm including this picture of him. I took it back in October when we attended a class reunion with his sister. It was her 40th class reunion, and they invited all of the underclassmen, which included DH and his class. The tickets were waaay expensive - 118 each. The meal was okay, but not worth all that money. They served filet mignon, which I liked, but DH said he likes my dinners better. I think I gave him points for saying that.

The four of us could have eaten a heck of a nice meal for the price of one ticket, but then SIL would have missed seeing her friends. DH didn't see any of his friends there, unfortunately, but I had a nice time meeting people. I liked this nice Jewish couple who were sitting with us. I think that some of the people at our table may have been millionaires, but then again, they might have been putting on the dog, too. Lots of fancy dresses and boobage. I didn't know that women in their mid to late 50's would dress like prom queens, lol.

Ultimately, we had to leave because the music was uncomfortably loud. Maybe you had to be drunk to enjoy it, because it sure isn't enjoyable to us to have our eardrums blasted. It's a shame, because I did want to dance at least one dance.

We're going on a Spring vacation, so I've been making reservations at various hotels. We will start off our trip on a LDS Church history tour, beginning at the site of the first LDS temple in Kirtland, OH. The LDS Church no longer owns it, though. It now belongs to The Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are some other early Church sites there. We will go from there to a place near Indianapolis, Indiana, because it's the halfway point between Kirtland, and our next Church history stop, Nauvoo, Ill.

I visited Nauvoo back in 1983, but things have really changed since then. They've rebuilt the temple, and there have been more historical sites added to the city. I found a nice 1 bedroom Villa there for a good price. So far, the average hotel price is $50 per night, so we are doing okay.

We will go down to Memphis from Nauvoo, and stay at the Memphis Plaza Hotel and Suites - with a special room rate of less than $50. It pays to join AARP, because that's how I got such a good rate. Then we will stop in Nashville, on the way to the Smokies (Gatlinburg). From there, we will stop somewhere in SC, and then on to home. I can't wait to see it all, although road trips can be hard on the bottom.

We'll try to get some good food along the way. I've looked up Road Food and Drive-ins, Diners, and Dives. We might possibly stop at some place in Indiana. Road Food has a lot of listings for Indiana. I think we are going to stop at the Beacon Drive-in in Spartanburg, SC. I've been there, too, way back in 1982, but I think I only had the onion rings, which were piled high.

I

Too many prescriptions

2008-03-02T04:11:00.003-05:00

I'm taking Metformin, Glucotrol, Synthroid, Licinopril, and Lipitor. It's a drag because I haven't been feeling well, and don't know if the Metformin is causing my ill feelings. I've been sick with the flu, and from what I understand, the flu going around stays with you a while. I'm ready to feel better. My sinus stuffiness is abating a little bit.

I had my hair "frosted" the Saturday after Valentine's Day, and it looks good. I was a little taken aback when I first saw it, though. It's really blonde in the front, and I've always been a brunette. I don't know how I will maintain it - I guess the beauty shop will help with that one. I went to the local Beauty School, and they did a nice job. I might go there this week to have a manicure done. I deserve it. What OPI color should I choose? Hmmm.

The picture? Is just a random picture taken by DD. It's her friend Liz with her Seminary teacher, Nora.

Friday Night Date

2008-02-29T23:11:00.002-05:00

We went to The Main Cup for dinner tonight and the food was pretty good. I ordered the grilled Romaine wedges. DH ordered the Spinach salad, and then we shared an entree of crab cakes, red skinned mashed potatoes, and baby zucchini (which looked more like regular yellow squash to me.) The romaine wedge was just kind of boring and plain. The spinach salad was really good, and was large. It was a good thing we shared an entree, because there was so much food. The crab cakes were full of crab meat, not much filler, but they were dry. I used some tartar sauce with mine, and DH mixed his with the mashed potatoes. All in all, a nice meal. I had a piece of turtle cheesecake. It was delicious, but I only took 2 bites and took the rest home.

We'll go back again someday. It was a small homey place with a casual atmosphere. We enjoyed the spinach salad more than any other part of the meal. Next time I might try the quiche with fruit on the side. Menus can be found at www.TheMainCup.com. I saw the kitchen on Cable channel 10 here in Frederick. A host named Todd goes to local eateries to try the food and talk to the chef and the owners of the restaurant. Although The Main Cup is basically a coffee place, the food is good, and we look forward to dining there every now and then. I love Middletown!

Still the same

2008-02-25T23:26:00.002-05:00

Hopefully, I'll get over this cold/flu soon. I served leftover chili and rice tonight for dinner. I really need to go shopping, but haven't been feeling up to it yet.

We canceled our Dish network on February 9th, but received a bill for ongoing service today. The idiots didn't put the cancellation through and were going to charge our credit card again this month. I told them and they wanted their equipment back (everything except the dish). DH had thought those things were ours to keep because it would be like a cell phone. The phone is yours to keep after the contract is over. Well, he had sold them to his friend Phil at work, so he had to call and tell Phil we need them back. Now DH is mad at Dish. I don't understand why the person on the phone didn't tell me this during my first cancellation call. They must have problems training their people.

I got call number 3 from TV Guide tonight. Somehow I had signed up to receive their magazine, but I don't remember it. I didn't want to continue receiving it, so I told the first caller "No, I'm not interested in renewing." Well, they called again the next week, and again tonight. I told DH (who answered the phone at dinnertime) to tell them I won't take their call, but he just stood there all confused, so I took the phone, yelled, "Don't call me again." into it. Then I had to explain to DH why I would not take their calls. Maybe I'll sue.

TV guide is junk these days, anyway. They don't have full listings during the day, only prime time listings. They don't have late night listings, either. I can get free info on the net, so why subscribe?

Nora Roberts

2008-02-23T23:50:00.001-05:00

Her hotel in Boonsboro burned down this week, but the stone walls are still standing. I don't know her and haven't read her books, but I feel for the people of the town. Some people lost their homes. I might go up there this spring for a visit. I love quaint little historic towns.

I managed to make a pot of chili for dinner, even though I'm still sick. My right ear hurts, and I hope it doesn't get worse. I hate having to take antibiotics. The chili was good. I made jasmine rice, because DH and DD love to eat their chili with rice.

Resolved: Post more blog entries

2008-02-23T04:35:00.003-05:00

Yep. I'm going to try to post everyday. Right now I am trying to get over the stupid flu. I had my flu shot back in October, but I guess it was not effective. The head cold that accompanies it is making my diaphragm hurt from coughing and sneezing so hard and so much. I can't wait for it to go away. I still cook dinner every night, though I did serve pizza one night. I made some sourdough bread pizza and used up a Wolfgang Puck from the freezer downstairs. DH said he liked it. DD and I liked the sourdough pizza better, though.

Tonight I made steak with onions and brussel sprouts cooked in coconut oil, baked potatoes and green beans (DD won't eat brussel sprouts). DD was supposed to go to some church activity night where they served pizza, but it got cancelled because of the weather. We don't have snow, and the roads aren't too bad, but there is some ice. I am looking forward to spring now.

Now that we have the high speed there are so many things I have to do. I have to plan a trip, list some things on Craig's list for sale, and post my Office episode summaries on a site that will pay me for the traffic. I hope it is successful, because I would love the extra income, and don't want to go to work in an office. I'd rather do something creative.

I think I need to encourage DD to do something creative to make a living, too. She helped someone at church by illustrating a story for them, and they published it into a book for their family. It is really a cute book.

I told her I want us to do a book about our cat, Dusty Sneakers. She's excited about that, but she thinks we ought to call it "Dusty Sneakers: A Cat Tale". I'm not so sure about that title, but I haven't thought of a better one yet.

Hi Speed Internet

2008-01-30T17:37:00.000-05:00

Yes, we will be getting high speed internet on Saturday, and I can hardly wait. Will I blog more? We'll just have to see. I imagine I will get through surfing a lot faster, so I'll have more time to blog.

We are all doing okay, but I have a hole in my sleep apnea mask, so I am waiting for delivery of a new mask this week. I hope I get used to this thing after that. I really have been tired. It might take me a few weeks to really get going with it. I have high hopes as usual.

This week my back has started hurting. I go to the doctor tomorrow morning, so I will mention it to her. I have this back massager that helps me somewhat, but I could not find it until today. I used it for a few minutes and it helped.

Time sure flies by quickly

2008-01-19T01:33:00.000-05:00

I keep forgetting to blog, and to read other blogs. I've been busy - still trying to get my life in order. Well, not all of my life is a mess, just my house right now. I'm slowly getting the organization together. I went out to buy some more of the plastic boxes I have in my sewing room. They are a good size - hold 20 quarts. They seem to be only sold at Walmart, but when I got there a few weeks ago, they were sold out. I wound up at the Dollar General Store to buy 2 other sizes of clear boxes. I bought 8 files boxes, and now my patterns are looking better. I threw out the old cardboard pattern boxes. The file boxes only cost $4 each, so that wasn't so bad. I think they are more expensive at Walmart, although I bought one a few years ago for $1 at a Christmas clearance. It has red and green on the lid, but it's the same file box they usually sell for about $5 more.

Anyway, I also bought some other size boxes, sweater boxes, for $2.50 each. I bought 14 of those. When I checked out, one of the cashiers asked me if I was moving. I said, no, I'm staying. It will be easy to move stuff when we do move about 10 years from now.

I'm going shopping at Walmart tomorrow, so I will look for those 20 quart boxes, because I could use another 12 of those for the hall closets. They fit very nicely 3 across.

Happy New Year, and thanks for dropping by!!

Winner in a Pie Contest

2007-12-01T01:03:00.000-05:00

Not me. My DD won a $30 first prize for the best pie in a pie contest for her youth group at church. She looked the recipe up online. It was a peanut butter silk pie with a layer of fudge on the bottom. I gave her my easy fudge recipe so she would not have to cook the fudge.

We did work on it most of the day - shopping for the ingredients, putting them together (just her, parents were not to help as part of the rules), adding the shaved chocolate, chilling the pie, and then taking it to the activity. I think it must have been hard for the judges to just choose one pie, but they must have like chocolate and peanut butter. There were about 10 other pies such as lemon meringue, cherry, pecan, snickers, chocolate mint, and more. I think it did help her self esteem to win the first prize. Everyone else got sour gum balls as a second prize.

DH surprised me when he came home early today. His work asked him to make a delivery here in Frederick, which is something he has never done before. I was getting ready to go out shopping when he arrived home. I was surprised.

He got me back online to buy the deal of the day on Woot.com. They were selling a Panasonic DVD recorder with a 160 GB hard drive for 99.99. It includes a HDTV tuner, so we think it's worth the money. I will take back the one that we ordered from Walmart - the order was shipped to store, and I haven't picked it up yet.

I'm still short one gift for DD - the Nintendo DS. I told her I would not spend any more time on Ebay looking for and bidding on it. I've already been outbid 2 times, and they aren't selling them on Ebay express. I might visit Game Crazy or Game Stop here in town to see if they have any used systems. She doesn't want the DS Lite, just the regular DS.

I still have to send out the Christmas cards, and MIL's gift. I am still not wearing that mask every night, and I did get a new one last week. It's just a little easier in some ways, but I still wake up when I turn over and the mask gets a little loose on my darn nose. I am feeling and looking better, though.

I also wonder if the diagnosis of severe sleep apnea is "severe" because it's hard to sleep in a strange place like the hospital, although I have been tired for a very loooong time now. Some days are still better than others.

ZZZZzzzz

2007-10-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

I am still trying to get used to the new sleep apnea machine, and it hasn't been easy. I'll give it another try tonight, though I should be in bed right now.

I'd rather shop on the net, though. I'm finishing up an order for some new duds for DD and me. She is getting 2 new skirts, 2 jackets, and 3 pairs of pants. I ordered a dress, 2 jackets, one pair of pants, and 3 shirts. I also ordered some other things last night from the same place. I getting to be a real clothes hoarder. I really need to get rid of stuff in my closet that I never wear, then I can justify the new clothes.

On the diet front, I've gone back to my old bad habits, so it's back to WW tomorrow. I need to eat more fruits and veggies.

Sleep Apnea

2007-10-02T01:45:00.000-04:00

So, I've found out today I have severe sleep apnea. I think I have had it for years now, but I didn't know what to do about it until recently.

The sleep specialists doctors are so busy I was lucky to get an appointment for next Tuesday to be seen by someone who can find the right sleep apparatus for me to use at night. They have all different kinds of masks. I then get to see someone in that same office to get my new equipment, so I can actually have a real life. I have my fingers crossed.

I can't believe my last entry was so long ago. I guess I've been busy with all the visits to sleep clinics and the doctors. I've seen the eye doctor and my cardiologist. I still have to get my new glasses prescription filled, but it's not that different from my old one, so I'm not too worried. I also have an appointment to see that eye doctor again, because the pressure in my right eye is borderline.

Happy Birthday< Dusty Sneakers!

2007-08-08T16:39:00.001-04:00

Today is our cat's birthday, or I should say, his approximate birthday. He is 3 years old.

He came into our lives in late September 2004, when he hitched a ride underneath our 1995 Plymouth Voyager. Fortunately, he came out of it unscathed. We decided he needed to stay in the garage until we could take him to the vets to see if he had fleas. Well, he did, and ear mites, and worms. Not unusual for a stray. I was happy he did not test positive for FIV or Leukemia. Our dear departed Sabrina died from Aids back in 2001. She was a real sweetheart, and she only lived 5 years. We buried her in WV on the lot we were going to build our new house on.

Anyway, he's been a good boy, though he is very different from Sabrina. He is very attached to DD, so I guess if she moves out of the house in the future, she will take him with her. I don't know what will happen if she goes on a mission. No pets allowed, so I guess he will just have to get his love and care from us, and learn to like it. He occasionally cuddles next to me, but it is pretty rare. He's just not a lovey dovey as Sabrina was, and she was definitely my cat.

On another note, my FIL died 8 years ago on this day. The reported death date, though, is tomorrow, 8/9, because he died at 11:45PM, and the people who declared him dead came after 12 midnight. His official death date is 8/9/99. RIP, Ray.

Stinky ice cubes

2007-08-08T16:21:00.000-04:00

Had a fight with DH Monday night about stinky ice cubes. He was relentless, not agreeing with me and telling me I was ignoring the problem. I blew up big time. I do have a temper, even though it takes a whole lot of pushing to get me that mad. We didn't speak for the rest of the night, and didn't kiss each other goodnight for the first time I can remember. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree, and I won't be taking him so seriously in the future. He still doesn't get it.

I have thought about getting a job, because the extra money would really help, but I'm not ready yet, so I think I will re-examine my options in a few months. I wouldn't mind a temp job, but then I might find myself working on Sunday, nights, and weekends for a Christmas job. I don't want to be away from my family during those hours. I would rather have a day job. There is the Crabapples Deli downtown that is advertising for help. They don't have nights or weekends. Hmmm.

Another issue is my health. I have good days and bad days, and try to get housework, shopping for food, cooking, cleaning up, driving DD to her youth group meetings and to early morning Seminary. It all takes time and energy. I'm hoping to lose weight throught the Weight Watchers plan, and then I can start to feel better physically.

I have heard so many good things about WW from friends, both on the net, and IRL, that I decided to give it a try. I love the garden vegetable soup, and there are no points. I did bake some bread pudding, though. It's good, but I will try to not overeat.

I think I like the plan because I do enjoy crunching the numbers and working the foods I want to eat into the plan, while still keeping it healthy. It's like a whole new way of looking at eating. I just joined Saturday, so I will be including my results on this blog every week, even if I have a bad week and don't lose. So far, so good, though.

Deleting the Old Blog Post

2007-06-22T13:11:00.000-04:00

I'm going to copy the post from February with the one comment, so I can delete that old blog.

Saturday, February 24, 2007
New Blog

I can't seem to link to the old blogger account, no matter what I try, so I'm starting this new one.

It would be a shame to quit blogging.

Well, we've all had colds AGAIN. This makes the 2nd round this year. I felt so lousy Friday I told peeps at church I would not be there. I have to teach a class of 4 year olds, and I was supposed to do a sharing time for about 12 or so kids from ages 3 to 6 in Junior Primary. I was going to do a lesson about Joseph Smith's family and their farm in NY. I was thinking of giving each kid their own packet of seeds to plant in a garden. I know where I can buy some for 10 cents a package. I will probably still do that, because my sharing time has been delayed until a later time when I am feeling better.

Well, I am feeling better than Friday, but still coughing, sneezing, and congested a bit. I plan on sleeping in on Sunday. If it is icy out, they will cancel Church anyway.

I am doing okay on the diet, but not great. I have maintained the weight loss, but I've been craving sugar and potatoes. We had roast chicken, baked potatoes with butter, and asparagus for dinner. I bought a boatload of frozen vegetables, some organic tangerines, and organic red delicious apples at the Giant Eagle.

I ran into Cygnus and Lady Cub on the Giant Eagle parking lot. It was fun to talk to friends, even if we were blocking traffic, hee!

Mom2BJM said...

Woo Hoo! I'm the first commenter on your new blog! Sorry that you had to lose your old one!

TOnight I'm going to take my sewing machine to help the YM sew kapotes.. Not sure how that is spelled, but it's some sort of warm coat made out of a blanket, for them to go to some camp. Yeah.. fun tonight. I'd almost forgotten until DH reminded me at 4 pm!

February 28, 2007 3:18 PM

Beautiful Day here

2007-06-22T12:57:00.000-04:00

DH is home working on the driveway, and DD should be home this afternoon from camp. I need to get out there and do some shopping. I also need a haircut and a pedicure. I hope you're having a nice day where ever you are. The outside temp is 77 degrees Fahrenheit right now.

What is the world coming to?

2007-06-21T23:34:00.000-04:00

It seems so many bad things are happening in the country, with the missing pregnant mother, and the mom and 3 kids being found shot in their SUV. Here in Frederick we had a family that was found dead in their home, from homicide and suicide. The mother is missing, and I fear she was killed by the father before he took his life and his children's lives. So sad, to be so desperate and crazy.

Then when I was on vacation in Utah, I heard another story about a father in Frederick County killing his kids and then himself. I was mortified that our local community was again the focus of sad news.

I will continue to pray for those poor families. There are no easy answers when these kinds of things happen.

2007-06-21T11:16:00.000-04:00

One Word Survey: As Kimmah said "if you read it, you must answer it--either in comments or on your blog. even if you've already done it, dammit. play along, play along. "

1. Where is your cell phone? handbag

2. You're single/taken? taken

3. Your hair? Average

4. Your mother? dead

5. Your father? dead

6. Your favorite thing? Crabcakes!

7. Your dream last night? none

8. Your favorite drink? Diet Rite

9. Your dream car? Prelude

10. The room you're in? Living Room

11. Your ex? Nerd

12. Your fear? Cancer

13. Where were you last night? Surfing

14. what you're not? Dieting

15. Muffins? Blueberry.

16. One of your wish list items? Sunroom

17. The last thing you did? Ate

18.What are you wearing? dress.

19. Your pet or pets? Dusty Sneakers

20. Your computer? Acer

21. Your life? decent

22. Your mood? tired

23. Missing some one? DD

24. Your car? Voyager

25. Your work? Goddess.

26.Like someone? Me

27. Your favorite color? blue

28. When is the last time you laughed real hard? 6/14/2007

29. Crush's first name? Dagwood

30. Dream job? Librarian

All answers have been edited down to one word, because I din't follow directions. Sorry, Mom! I'm not tagging anyone, though.

I Have the House to Myself

2007-06-21T10:22:00.000-04:00

DD is away at girl's camp this week. She'll be home tomorrow. DH is, of course, at work, but he will take a day off tomorrow to do some work on the driveway project. I think I should go out and take pictures of before and after. I'm hoping he gets the job done this weekend.

So, what have I done with my time to myself? Mostly I've been waiting since Tuesday for someone to come and put in a new windshield. It's supposed to save me time, huh? DH said it was better than going to a shop, but I disagree. If I took it in to a shop, at least I would have taken a book, and read or had someone drop me off when it was finished.

We put in an order to Windshields to go online last week. I choose Tuesday as the installation date because I thought we could get it over with early in the week. They were supposed to send me an email confirming the order. They said they sent it, but I didn't receive it. I called them. Fortunately, I had a copy of my order.

They said they couldn't send anyone out until Wednesday. Okay, I had spent time waiting for them Tuesday. Then I waited for the call on Wednesday. The person I spoke to was from the 1-800 number that is used nation wide to make the orders. Well, a local person was to have called me between 8 and 9. I waited until 12:30PM before I called them. It turns out they did call someone with an answering machine, although it was not me - they must have called the wrong number. So, I was waiting, thinking I could not take a shower because they might call. Stupid, I guess, since I do have an answering machine, but I could not even remember what time they were supposed to come out. In these kind of situations, you sometimes get surprised like we did when the satellite television guy came out in the morning, instead of the afternoon.

So, I called, and the person at the 800 number told me he'd call me back. The local place called soon after and told me they must have called the wrong number. Bottom line: The windshield they received arrived broken, so they have to reorder it. So, no windshield for me until after noon today. DH will be happy when we finally get it done. We have to pay out of pocket, because we have a $500 deductible. The job costs $236.95.

We've decided to keep the van running for a couple of years. I guess I can survive. At least, the A/C is working.

2007-06-07T02:36:00.000-04:00

I am getting a new sewing machine tomorrow, and I'm kind of excited. It will be the first higher priced machine I've ever owned. I'm hoping for better performance. It is made b Juki, a company that manufactures industrial sewing machines, and I was only able to find one review on it. It comes with a Barbie machine, LOL. I think I will try to sell the new Barbie (retails for $29.99) on Craig's list. I will also try to sell the old Brother machine, because people are always interested in buying them used to save some money.

I also ordered a new Hoover upright. We have a canister that DH thinks is fine, but I disagree. The new upright only costs $59.99, so I'm not spending a fortune. I read good reviews on it, but I only want something I can use easily. If it doesn't work so great, I'll try returning it or save up for a Dyson.

She wanted to be a writer

2007-05-23T18:42:00.000-04:00

Most of her writing consisted of excuse notes or forms to sign for school for 4 children, doing the crossword puzzles that consumed her interest for a while, and making out grocery lists that were neatly divided into categories for Dairy, Meats, Dry goods, Frozen, Produce, and Misc. I can still see the writing in those grocery lists, with her distinct handwriting.

She may not have gotten that short story published or written a great American novel, but she was my mother. She lived, hoped, and dreamed of doing something big. Raising 4 children in a middle class family with all the stresses led her down the path of prescription drugs. One drug helped her lose weight and the other helped calm her nerves. She lived in a time when black beauties were readily prescribed as a diet aid.

The diet pills did more damage than good. She never acheived the svelte figure of her dreams. She lost her hair. Her nerves got worse and worse. She lashed out while trying to stop taking the pills. She lamented her marriage wasn't as good as she wanted it to be, all the while snapping pictures of the kids to help document the "happy family". She coped the only way she knew.

She belonged to a church that was kind of a legacy. Her parents raised her in that church, and she was going to stay, even if she didn't fully believe in it. Her attempts to fit in at church and in othe social situations often fell flat. She was inclined to fabricate or exaggerate stories to help her self esteem. She never drove the family car, something that I cannot imagine not doing myself.

She eventually fell heir to the family disease - diabetes, losing a leg and becoming bed ridden. Television became her closest companion and best friend. She died on May 6th, 2007 alone in her bed in a nursing home. She spent her last year there, because she had become unmanageable in her own home.

She may not have been a great writer, but she will not be forgotten. I can only hope she is happily resting in peace with my father and my late brother. I love you, Mom.

I love crabcakes

2007-03-26T01:45:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love crabcakes, so it was a nice birthday surprise to discover a place just a few miles up the road from me that not only have great crabcakes, but also good cream of crab soup. I have driven past this restaurant many times, on the way to the Middletown library, and never realized there was a nice place there.

Well, I drug DD there for the first taste testing on my birthday, the 22nd. She ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with sides of mashed potato and zucchini, followed by fresh homemade peanut butter pie, one of her absolute favorites. I ordered the jumbo lumb crabmeat bisque, which I have previously called "cream of crab". I followed that with a jumbo lump crabcake, with sides of cucumber salad and rotini pasta salad. It was all good.

The next day a friend invited me to lunch, and we wound up back at the same restaurant. She spent part of her childhood in Frederick, but had never noticed this place, either. We both ordered the crab saute with tricolor peppers, and the small garden greens salad. The salad included a pretty fuschia colored edible flower. I think it was an orchid. I ate mine, but my friend did not.

I then threw the diet out of the window and ordered the cheesecake. She could not enjoy it, because it probably had wheat in the crust, and she's got celiac disease. It was excellent.

On Saturday, we spent a rather long morning at the DC Temple, and then headed over to the Hong Kong restaurant on Connecticut. The food is good there, but we think we prefer the Dynasty in Wheaton, if it's still there. All in all, it was a good deal, though, because the meal included lots of nice sized shrimp.

Well, back to the grind, and then we go on vacation.

Spoiled DH

2007-03-11T23:18:00.000-04:00

I ordered some hair products and some clothes this week, because I really need to update my closet and my hair needs something new. I have not been to a salon for a professional haircut in 7 years, and that was the only visit I have made since 1994. I have been doing my hair myself. I usually get compliments, so I know I've been doing something right.

A few months ago, I let someone else who said they had salon training cut DD's hair. I was having a time with it, but I had cut it and thinned it out. I didn't think it looked bad, as far as the cut was concerned, but this woman had me convinced she could make DD's hair look better. Well, I don't like what she did, and we are letting it grow out. DD has thick wavy, curly hair that tends to frizz quite a bit. After that episode with the not so great haircut, we've decided to use a combination of hair gel and safflower oil. I buy the oil at the grocery store. It seems to tame her locks well enough, but I wanted to experiment, thus I purchased some new shampoos, conditioners, and styling products for the both of us.

I felt the need to try new things myself, so I bought some Bedhead Creative Genius, and some Nexxus Botanoil Shampoo that was recommended by some online friends. I used them the last time I shampooed, conditioned with Dove conditioner, and styled with the Bedhead CG. I like the way my hair looks, but the Bedhead product is kind of stiff. Maybe I will use less of it the next time, or I will try one of the other product lines I purchased. I spent $40,and got enough hair stuff to last us about 6 months, provided that we like it. If we don't like it, we will let DH use it, because he has very short hair, and all he wants is shampoo and conditioner.

Anyway, all these purchases come out of my monthly budget, and I can handle it. My budget is a set amount, and I very seldom go over the limit. He looked at me and said, "Happy Birthday!" I said, "Happy Birthday? This is coming out of my budget."

Well, he just better not complain. I'd go to the beauty salon and charge it up big time if I really wanted to give myself a treat, but I don't know of a good stylist that I would really trust. That last haircut in 2000 was not all that great. I could easily do it at home, that's why I haven't been back. I don't want to be like a friend who just trusts the people at the Hair Cuttery with her hair.

Online Surveys

2007-03-10T00:19:00.000-05:00

Most of them involve signing up for trial memberships, and then you have to cancel before a due date, or you will be charged. I'm thinking, no thanks, I don't need the measly amount of money they pay.

I used to belong to Pinecone Research and they paid $5 per survey, which was good, but I stopped doing their surveys regularly because I was missing a sound card, and that kept me from completing their surveys. It's a shame, because now I want to participate, but they are only taking people who respond to their banner ads, and those only show up every few months on certain websites. Oh, well.

I received all of the stuff I ordered this week, which includes 6 dresses, 4 tunic tops, denim capris, and a pant set. It all fits well, and I'm all set for the trip to Utah in April. I just need to figure out which dress I'm taking for church, and what kind of jacket to wear with it, also what shoes. It will still be cool out, especially in Utah in early April, so I have to be prepared.

I can't wait to eat out every night. Right now, I am cooking almost every night. Next Saturday, we take DD out for her birthday dinner. Tomorrow is actually her birthday, but we are celebrating next week at Chef Lin's buffet, which is not my favorite place, but the kids all like it.

On the 24th, we will attend the DC Temple, and DH will take me to the Hong Kong restaurant on Connecticut Ave in Kensington, which is really good. I love their food, so that's something to look forward to. I turn 55 on the 22nd. Yikes, I'm old!

In the Light of Day

2007-03-08T11:17:00.000-05:00

Okay, in the light of day, my kitchen looks so dirty. I have to change the curtains, wash the windows, clean the counter tops, wipe down the appliances, and wash the floor. Then I have the dining room to clean up, too. Maybe I'll tackle the kitchen first, then do the dining room tomorrow.

We didn't go to Seminary this morning, because we both weren't feeling so well. I thought schools would open later, because it was so cold out, only 2 degrees here. Oh, well, they opened the regular time.

I've been ordering lots of stuff online. I ordered clothing from Lane Bryant and Roamans, and hair stuff from Salonsavings.com. The Salon site has 99 cent full sized products from Alagio, a product line I've never heard of before, but I did find one online review that praised one of their products. I can't wait to get the orders in the mail. I also ordered a small handbag from Walmart for 6 dollars with 97 cent shipping.

The Dog of My Dreams

2007-01-30T02:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I have to refer back to an older post about 2 dreams I had in the same week about a tan German Shepherd.

I was driving down a street in our neighborhood, on my way to pick up DD from a friend's house, when I saw a woman walking 2 dogs, one a beagle, and the other was the dog I had seen in my dreams last August! I was so surprised, but drove on. Now I'm wondering how to find this woman and ask about the dog. I can't imagine walking up to her and telling her I've dreamt about the dog. She would probably think I was plum crazy. I'm so curious, though. I wonder about the dog, and why I dreamt about it. I don't know what to do next. I'm thinking of taking a walk around the neighborhood every morning at around the same time I saw the woman - 8:30 am or so. I guess I could go knocking at doors asking about the dog, but that might make me look like a weirdo, too. I just don't know what to do.

Anyway, thanks to Mom2bjm and Lasann for wishing me well on the diet. I have lost 5 pounds, but, unfortunately, fell off of the diet this weekend. I have to get back on the horse tomorrow. I wish I could say I'm feeling so much better, but the truth is, I'm not. I still have some supplements on backorder from the Vitamin Shoppe, so maybe I really need all of those supplements to feel better.

I still have to make dr's appointments for a sleep study, cardiologist, and the eye doctor. I was not able to go for a while because I had that nasty cold/flu that's going around. Lots of people I know have gotten it, and it seems to hold on for a while, with some relapses.

The Diet is Awn!

2007-01-12T02:25:00.000-05:00

I just started the Perricone weight loss diet today. It's a very strict diet, and I can't say we can afford all that organic food, but I will do as much as I can afford. Some organic foods are coming down in price, and I don't mind paying more for eggs, for example, or yogurt, which isn't that much more anyway.

I haven't eaten any salmon yet, but I have some wild Alaskan salmon fillets and some canned salmon that would fit the bill. I am not usually a salmon eater, but I guess I could learn to like it.

I found some shelled, plain brazil nuts, and I'm quite fond of them. I also bought some walnuts, which were tasty on top of my cottage cheese with apple.

I hope to feel better and look better. The feel better part is the primary motivation for this change. I'm hoping to lose 50 pounds before we go out to Utah. I still have some more reading, planning, and purchasing to do, but it's looks like I'll be doing this for the long run because I want to get off of these medications I take for various things, most of them related to weight. Hopefully, this will work, but I will have to start keeping better track of my blood sugar and blood pressure. It would be nice to have normal stats the next time I see the doctor.

Feeling Better

2007-01-10T04:46:00.000-05:00

I just can't wait until everyone is back to normal. DH has been sick for about 3 weeks. His workplace has some new rules about taking sick time, and if he takes more than 3 days off in a row, they need him to have a doctor's note saying it's okay for him to come back to work. I just hope they don't reduce his pay for the few extra days he took off, because he was on Christmas vacation when he got sick.

I finally got some antibiotics from Immediate Care, and they have helped my ear infection and my throat doesn't hurt anymore. It's now a battle with the coughing when you just want to sleep. They gave me a prescription for the coughing, and Flonaze for congestion, too.

Monday morning, the phone just kept ringing, and that is when I really felt the worst of it. I still had to wake up early to take DD to her 6 AM class, and my throat and ear were really painful. When we came home again, I just wanted to get to sleep, but one of the church mothers called (DH answered, I was going to let the answering machine take care of it) because her 17 year old son said the school bus just drove past him. I think he missed it, but she wanted me to go over to her house, and drive him to his school. That would have taken about 45 minutes in total trip time, and I was not feeling well, so I told her "no". I guess that's going to be one of my new resolutions, anyway, to just say "no".

I assume she found someone else who could do it. Anyway, DH took some of our Christmas stuff down last night. I did manage to get the laundry done, and put dinner on the table, so I guess I'm doing okay.

Is there a doctor in the house?

2007-01-06T02:00:00.000-05:00

Well, we have all been ill, and I got worse this week. We did each receive a priesthood blessing to help us recover on Wednesday night. DH has been the sickest of us all. I hope I don't get as sick as he is. I do think I am recovering, but I felt my worst this morning. Now I'm trying to be think more positive thoughts about getting better.

DD is spending the night over at her friend's house, and she was quite happy to go. Being an only child is not easy for her. She really wants to be around people more, but sometimes she won't take me up on my offers to take her somewhere.

Trying to get ahold of the doctor's office is ridiculous. They have one of those answering systems that makes you wait about 10 minutes or so before you can talk to a real person. I decided not to go in for an antibiotic, but if I do get worse, I will go.

I hope you all have had a Happy New Year, and that 2007 is very good to you.

We did have a couple of people over for dinner New Year's Eve, even though DH was quite ill. He ate with us, but went back to bed when we started playing games.

Happy and Fat

2006-12-29T19:12:00.000-05:00

Or fat and happy?

I took DH out to lunch today to Friscos, an eatery that I found out about on the internet. The people who ate there all raved about it, especially mentioning the exploded potatoes. I decided it would be worth a visit to see what the food was like.

We drove into an industrial park to find the place well marked. It was about 2 in the afternoon, and the place did have a few customers. They had outdoor tables, and since it was a nice day out, DH mentioned it was almost nice enough to eat outside, but I said, "not quite". It was in the 50's, and I had not brought a jacket, just because I don't like having to take it off and carry it around if I'm shopping.

We stood and surveyed the menu for a while before ordering, because there were so many choices. There were lots of giant sandwiches, some of them on sub rolls, and some on various breads. I chose the North Beach, which was a chicken salad sandwich with lettuce and tomato on a whole grain bread. It was a stuffed sandwich, and I took half of it home to DD, who was home because of her cough. She's been sick most of the week. I also brought home 1/2 of my exploded potatoes, which was a small cup of baked potato, with skin included mixed with bacon and served warm. It was pretty tasty, and so was the sandwich. I thought the bread was homemade fresh. DH ordered a cup of minestrone, which was not all that great, more like a tomato sauce with pasta and some spinach thrown into it, and a grilled chicken caesar salad, which was very large. He had to take most of it home. It included a tomato mixture that is one of their specialties, romaine lettuce, romano cheese, homemade croutons, and topped off with a packet of Ken's Caesar salad dressing. I'm wondering why they don't make their own dressings, but he seemed to enjoy the salad.

The other day, I had him take me to the diner for a treat, as he said he owed me one for helping him visit a family from church. I had him take me to the Mountain View diner, here on Frederick's Golden Mile, a place I relish, and he doesn't really care for, but he always eats the food without too many complaints. I think they make great soup, and they are basically an old fashioned diner, specializing in Greek food, which I have come to like a lot. I had a gyro with an accompanying salad with olives, feta cheese (which I have discovered I really like, but DH doesn't), onions (another of my likes and his dislikes), lettuce, cucumber, green pepper (which I did not eat raw, because it gives me indigestion), and tomato. I had fries on the side, and they were the typical wonderful diner fries, hot and crisp. He had split pea soup with ham, and a garden salad. He forced himself to take a handful of my fries (yeah, right!). It was a good meal, and I had to take more than half of it home with me, but I love having leftovers for the next day.

I would have loved to go to the movies today, but both DD and DH are ill with cold and a sore throat. DH went to the doctors today and got an antibiotic. I hope it clears up soon. DD doesn't want to take cough syrup, as it's yucky to her. I think I will fix up some hot honey and lemon for her.

I hope I don't come down with something. I had my flu shot 9 days ago, and I hope it does not affect me like it did last year. A week after I got it, I was extremely ill. I am keeping my spirits up, though.

I finally put some things in perspective. This past fall I volunteered to take some kids to Seminary class in the AM. This involved me getting up extra early and leaving 20 minutes early to pick up a child who does not live near me, and drive up to another child's home, who does live near me to pick her up. Each child, or I should say teenager, had my DD calling them up before we left the house, then getting out of the van to go knock on their doors to get them. It took longer than I thought it should, especially the second teen, who half the time, made us late for Seminary. I hated that, because when I took DD by herself last year, we were very seldom late. Well, one mother had been indisposed with knee surgery when I started this. I thought it was a short term thing, so when she offered me money for gas, I said no. What are friends for, right?

Well, after I drove up to her house and her truck was not there, I found out she had gone back to work. I called the person who had asked me to do this in the first place. After she talked to the mother, she found out that the mother was leaving at 5 am to beat traffic, and this is why she was not taking her own kid to that early morning class. I was fuming, but did not say anything for a few weeks, until I posted something on a message board, and the advice I got was to stop being a patsy. I decided to pull the plug on the rides because I was overwhelmed with stress, my blood sugar was up, and I was not about to have a heart attack because I was being taken advantage of. Well, the mother of the second teen is quite angry with me, but she can just stew in her own juices, as far as I'm concerned. I was upset at first, because I did bend over backward for this woman's daughter for more than 3 months, which I think is long enough, especially since she had made a nasty (unrelated to the ride situation) comment to me, and she never, ever offered to pay me for gas. The only thing I heard was a weak thank you when I brought up the topic, and a complaint that I didn't pick her kid up one morning. Well, that was because my kid misunderstood the girl over the phone, and thought she had said she wasn't coming.

This woman is a taker and not a nice person. I know for a fact she would not do the same things for me, if the shoe was one the other foot. Live and learn, though. I won't have to be doing her any favors anymore, and I have done a lot for her in the past. I'm better off without a friend who is needy and demanding.

Silvergirl's Journal

2006-11-21T08:42:00.000-05:00

Silvergirl's Journal

I just got my Christmas present yesterday - a new laptop! I am having fun learning how to use it.

Life has been busy lately, with going to the Temple all day Friday, missionary meetings on Saturday, calling people to see if they can feed the missionaries, going to a friend's house where they had someone over to have the first lesson (which was politely received, but I don't think the couple will want to know more), and so on.

The holidays will make life a little busier, but slow down my driving schedule, which is every school day. I have to get DD that learners permit soon, so she can take over the driving in the morning. She won't be able to drive her friends by herself for the first 4 or 5 months, but she will be able to thereafter.

Feeling better

2006-11-09T22:57:00.000-05:00

But still sneezing a lot. I bought some Cold Ease today, so maybe that will help me get over this cold I seem to have. I felt bad last week, but I'm feeling better.

We had a lovely vacation in mid October at Swallows Falls near Deep Creek Lake. We camped in the camper, visited Oakland, and surrounding areas, saw Swallows Falls again, took pics (have to learn how to post them here, saw the train museum (which was really more of a gift shop), and bought a turkey dinner from the Apostolic Church in our of the local communities. DH was not so impressed with the turkey dinner, as he prefers the home style dinners we have every year at my father's family's annual Christmas dinner, the White family dinner, the Sunday after Christmas. They really put out a spread, though, with both turkey and ham.

We've been busy this week, and the weekend looks like it will be busy again. Saturday morning we meet with our local Ward Missionaries to see how the missionary effort is going in our Ward - ugh, I hate getting up to be there at 8 AM. Then we will be taking DD to Scouting for food at 11:30 til 2 PM, then DH and I go to serve food at the soup kitchen 5 PM to 7 PM, and have to figure out how to get DD to a dance that is about an hour's drive away in Columbia, MD. I hope other people will be able to drive her there because the dance begins at 7 PM.

Updates

2006-11-02T23:20:00.000-05:00

Will be forthcoming. *hee*

A Lovely Island Vacation

2006-09-26T23:57:00.000-04:00

The Island is only 3.5 hours away (if you're pulling a trailer and letting your slowpoke DH drive). It was Assateague Island, MD, and we had a wonderful one day vacation there, even if we did get very tired. I think we tried to do so much in that 24 hour window that we were there, but at least we now know what it is like to camp there, and we are anxious to spend some more time there this next summer, 2007.

We arrived later than we thought on Friday, the 22nd, set up out Aliner, and DH wanted to set it up with the awning so we would have some shade. I didn't really think it was necessary, but he felt it was because there are no trees there for shade. It took him a couple extra hours to do this, though. By the time he was finished it was closing in on 8 PM, and we had originally planned on walking on the boardwalk in Ocean City. Well, I decided it would be better to go out for a nice relaxing dinner at a seafood restaurant. We asked at the camp office and someone recommended The Captains Galley II, on the Inlet in OC. There was a place closer called the Assateague Crab House or something like that, but the peeps at the camp office warned us not to go there, so it must have been bad.

So we follow the directions and found the place without too much trouble. In the process of sitting there watching other diners, I saw a man with a yummy looking crabcake on his plate, so I just had to have one. I usually order crabcakes anyway, but this crabcake looked something like the ones at GMs (Cyggie, if you're reading this, you know what I mean). DH and I both ordered the crabcake platter with one crabcake, but the next time I will definitely order two - one to eat now, and one to take home. We will be back next summer, and I'm sure the place will be crowded during the height of the season, but it is totally worth it. The meal was great, from the fresh hot yeasty rolls with butter, to the salad bar (not much of a selection, but the bleu cheese dressing was marvelous), the super yummy crabcake, the large perfectly baked potato, to the fudge cake with butter cream frosting. DD had shrimp scampi with linguine, and a peanut butter panic. She also enjoyed her meal a lot.

We came home, and I fell into bed, but DD and DH went for a moonlit walk on the beach. They said the stars looked really great over the ocean, and they collected some shells, and watched the sand crabs scurrying around. Later, DH took me out to the ocean to see the stars, but it was overcast at 2AM.

The next day we ate cheerios for breakfast, went for a drive to OC, stopped to buy some things at a Food Lion, stopped to buy some swimming trunks for DH (he left his old trunks home, but he could have used a new pair anyway, as the old ones are at least 20 years old.) By the time we got back from shopping, we had some sandwiches for lunch, took a walk on the beach, and went to the Assateague Island VIsitor Center to watch a park ranger feed the fish. She put on a good presentation, showing the kids sea animals and letting them touch them. The horseshoe crab was the biggest one she showed, but she also had Conch, which is also called a Whelk or Sea Snail.

Anyway, it was fun, and it took me a few days to catch up on my sleep because DH was always waking me up. In a few more weeks, we'll be going to Swallows Falls in the Deep Creek Lake area.

Sharitaki noodles

2006-09-13T16:00:00.001-04:00

I don't like them. They are featured in a woman's magazine this month as a way of losing weight. They look and feel like rubber worms, and I don't relish eating them. I don't care if something is supposed to help me lose weight - it better taste okay. I'll stick with fruits and veggies, lean means, whole grains, and water before I use these to lose weight.

I'm only out $2.79 for this big package of wet noodles. They smell a little funky too. It's a fishy smell, and I don't like fishy. Oh, well, I'll just have to stick to a good diet to lose this weight and start walking regularly. There is no other way to go about it.

I applied for a part time job Monday. It's working with pre-K kids in the am, 3.5 hours per school day. I am anxious to start working again, but a little scared of the interview process. Hopefully, they will call me soon.

Back to Seminary

2006-08-31T06:33:00.000-04:00

Saturday I woke up with the shakes. It was the first time since I've been diagnosed as having Diabetes type 2 that this has ever happened to me. It was dreadful. I decided then to fill my prescription for test strips. I don't like the glucose monitor I have right now. I used to have a one touch Ultra that was better, but I lost it in the house somewhere. Anyway, when I tested before dinner, it was 130, which is not low. They have these new guidelines, too, that have the normal range being lower than 110.

I have a new prescription called Metaformin that is supposed to help. I am trying to watch what I eat, but still have a hard time turning down sweets at church functions and all that. I am going to buy a Vita Mix, so I can make more nutritious soups and smoothies, but I am looking for a used one.

DD has started early morning Seminary again, and I pick up 2 of her friends along the way as well. We have to leave here at 5:45 AM. I really don't mind. One of the girls needs a ride to her high school afterward.

I am feeling okay this week. Hopefully I can get some exercise and really start to lose some of this weight.

If you are reading this, did you know that cockroaches are millions of years old?

Sore subject

2006-08-26T04:31:00.000-04:00

It's back to school time, and that's not the problem. My main concern is that I need to lose weight. I weigh too much and it's embarrassing when I meet people who haven't seen me in a while. One couple I have known for about 25 years had a hard time looking at me. I don't think they would have recognized me if I was not with my DH.

It's not just vanity. I have diabetes type 2, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. On top of that, right now I have become an insomiac. I have to stop staying up late (like right now) and get myself on a schedule. I've said it hear so I can reference it again later.

Some other goals: to obtain work, preferably at home work, but I would love a nice part time job working at the library. I love being there, and I love the Middletown library. Occasionally, they have new job postings that I could apply for, but right now the only one available is for a shelver at 6.81 per hr. I think DD should apply for it, because she could cut her teeth on her first job there. It would be a nicer place to work than McD's or the other fast food places.

Last year I thought about working at the local department stores for the holidays, but they require you to work weekends, which is out, because that is my quality time spent with DH and DD. The stores don't pay much, either - only about $7 per hour. I guess I'd be better off shelving books.

Then there is the local special needs school, which is within a mile of our house. They always need subs and TA's to work about 6 hours a day. I guess I should check that out, because I really don't mind working with kids.

I was going to work as an election judge, but I dropped out of that because of the 14 to 15 hours required to do the job. I know it is necessary for the same people to keep the books all day, but it is really too long a day for making less than $10 per hour. I think I was dead tired when I did it last year, and I felt a certain civic pride for doing it, but I want to take better care of myself this year. That, and I want to be working a regular job.

We are getting by on DH's paycheck, but it would be nice to have money to get my hair and nails done occasionally, to be able to fix some of the problems with this house - it needs new windows, it has never had a deck added off the dining room, and I really would love a sunroom on the deck. I would also like to save for a newer vehicle. The 1995 Plymouth Voyager is not going to last forever, and the windows are starting to leak a bit. I really want a camper van, an to sell the aliner, but DH wants a truck now. We can't afford one yet, though.

We have travel plans for September - to go to Assateague Island during Ocean City's sunfest. There will be kite flying and all kinds of fun. We will leave Friday, arrive about 3 to 4 hours later, walk the boardwalk, sleep over Friday night, and spend the day on Assateague's beach on Saturday.

Then in October, we will go to Swallows Falls near Deep Creek MD for their Autumn Glory days. The leaves should be in full color by then. I am looking forward to that, and we are closer to that area than we ever were when we lived in Baltimore.

Dog Dreams

2006-08-17T03:13:00.000-04:00

Well, in the past week I've had 2 dreams about a dog. One dream felt so real that I accused DH of touching me with a pillow or something. It felt like a dog was walking over me in the bed to get to the middle of the bed. The only thing I saw in the dream (and felt) was a dog's leg that looked like a small German Shepherd.

Now, this past night I had a small glimpse, in a dream, of a small German Shepherd mix - the same kind of dog from the previous dream. He (or she) was on a lease, sitting, and smiling at me, with his tongue hanging out. The eyes were soulful and sweet.

Now I'm tempted to go to the pound to see if the darned dog is there, but I'm really not ready to adopt one just yet. DH needs to fence the backyard, and we don't have any extra money for vet bills and dog supplies.

I also never imagined myself with that particular breed. I want a smaller dog, a rat terrier perhaps, or some other small breed.

Then again, these are only 2 dreams. It doesn't mean I'll wind up with this kind of dog, but it seems odd that I've seen the same dog in 2 dreams. He or she won't be sleeping with us, at any rate.

Funny Hotel Reviews

2006-08-07T03:43:00.000-04:00

I have been spending a great deal of time looking for a decent hotel room in Utah for an affordable price and I came across this gem for a Travelodge in Provo, UT:

Very friendly service, continental breakfast was excellent (JUICEBOXES!) and the room was great. Very clean and the haunted sink and screaming toilet gave the bathroom personality! Not sarcasim, I had a very enjoyable experience.

Best Feature: Bathroom
Needs Improvement: The Heater/AC

Traveler's Favorite Vacation Destination: Anywhere but Ogden

Okay, that sounds like they must have been on their honeymoon, since they were staying at a place in Provo, but lived in Ogden. What is sarcasim, anyway?

Here's a non sarcastic review of the same place:

We spent 2 nights but received no hskg service. Carpet was filthy. Drapes were torn and dirty. Faucet was broken. Plumbing was noisy, especially at night when we were trying to sleep.

Best Feature: hairdryer
Needs Improvement: Plumbing & Hskg.

I need to read the travel guides I borrowed from the library so I can call the hotel directly and get a good room rate. No, I won't be staying at the travelodge in Provo, though the plumbing sounds interesting.

PS. We aren't going to Utah until Easter 2007.

Oh, and we went to the White Family Reunion today in Mummasburg, when my Aunts and cousins, plus some friends of the family converge to share lunch on the ballfield. It was a nice day, thankfully, and not too hot. We hurried there, driving an hour to get there, set up the table with tablecloth, paper plates, cups and plasticware. Ate. Talked to people a little. Got tired and left after 2 hours of being there. Cousin Nancy stopped me to say goodbye and were there any changes in her family record sheet. I told her she spelled Laura's name wrong. Somehow it got changed to Laurie, and no one ever calls Laura that. I think it must have been a typing error.

Mermaids Can't take this heat!

2006-08-04T04:39:00.000-04:00

I'm ready to move to Alaska, even though I don't know much about that state. Maybe I should think about Canada. Some parts must be cooler right about now. Heck, it's probably cooler in Oahu, where at least they get the island breezes and the temps don't go up to the 100's.

I don't know how I will feel when I retire, but I really don't like the hot summers anymore.

NY Vacation notes

2006-07-20T14:54:00.000-04:00

Monday July 10, 2006

Here we are at Cayuga Lake State Park in the finger lakes region of New York state. We had a little mix up with the reservations, so our stay will be cut short by one day. Next time, I will call instead of setting it up on the internet. The lake is supposed to be good for swimming and boating. DH is in a cross mood.

7/11/06 What we ate on our vacation

Friday - brkfst - 3 muffins and herbal tea. D didn't stop for lunch, but we had apples and Kraft singles (I ate 2 slices). When we stopped for gas, I bought a slice of pepperoni and bacon pizza and a bag of Cape cod barbeque chips that were just too spicy, so I threw most of them away. DD had a filled sweet cream cheese pretzel and a bag of salt and vinegar chips. DH didn't want anything, but ate 1/3 of my pizza. After finally arriving at the Niagara Falls KOA in Lewiston, we made tuna sandwiches with chips. The carb counting bread was just awful, so I threw it away later.

Sat morning- we cooked on the campstove. Bratwurst sausage, omega 3 eggs, hominy, and toast for breakfast. For lunch we ate at Dora's Place, a rustic restaurant on the Canadian side. I ordered a roast beef sandwich with poutine. It was pretty good, and I took home some leftovers for later. DH ordered a sausage sub with fries and DD just ordered chili fries, which she had leftovers from for later, too.

For dinner we ate at Cafe Tu Tu Tango as part of the Niagara Falls Peep Meet. I ordered the black bean soup, and DH followed suit. We had to return it because the rice was totally raw and crunchy. DD ordered a garlic chicken caesar salad. I ordered the crunchy shrimp skewers and a crazy bananas dessert, which DD (who said she didn't want dessert) and DH (who also claimed he didn't want dessert) ate most of while I was talking to peeps. DH also ate crab and artichoke dip, which I thought was quite good, and a caesar salad to replace the soup.

Sunday brkfst: blueberry muffins, vanilla yogurt, and milk. After coming home from church that afternoon, we grilled a flank steak and some fresh pineapple slices, I pan fried some potatoes with onion in olive oil, and heated up a can of green beans. It was delish, and better than Tu Tu Tangos.

Monday - we had a cowboy breakfast of Bush's baked beans augmented with lemon juice (try it, it's really good!), leftover bratwurst, and fresh pineapple. For lunch, on the road, we ate at Roy Rogers. It was awful. It's the last time we eat there. The food has gone downhill. For dinner, we just had peanut butter and jelly with milk to drink.

Tuesday - 7/11/06 We're going to the Seneca Falls library for internet access. I miss my computer and the A/C! It's in the 80s and 50 percent humidity today. Vacations are nice, but roughing it in this tiny camper with no A/C sucks! I was up at 2 am last night, yearning for the computer. TV, I could live without. It's just not that interesting anymore. reality TV seems so scripted these days, and there's nothing new or exciting. I'd be better off spending my time writing, painting, sewing, reading, researching genealogy (fascinating stuff!), etc., etc. Life is short and there's no time to waste.

Later - went to Seneca Falls Library and found that Webby wanted me to verify my email address so he can send me an Amazon e-certificate. Wow - I wonder how much and why I am getting it. There was a thread about the peep meet, mostly about Friday, but we did get mentioned.

The church sent me an email about one of the kids in the Ward being in the hospital because his appendix ruptured. He's in Children's hospital in DC and his family needs meals and babysitting help. (By the time we get home, he's out of the hospital and doing well.)

I wouldn't mind camping if it weren't for the lack of A/C, lack of my own bathroom facilities, bugs that bite, and no internet access. Some of these things can be remedied. I want a bigger camper with a bathroom, my own laptop, and more space to sit and read in the A/C if I want to. Someday we will trade in this midget camper and get a real one! I guess I'll have to be working or we will have to have a windfall before this happens. At least this camper is paid for, and so is the van, such as it is.

Dinner was cold flank steak, cold canned corn, tomatoes, and salad. I let D and C eat the cold fried potatoes. C is sulky and can't wait to go home. I'm not too thrilled to be here, either. I will appreciate my life more after I get back to it. Oh, and I'll have to go to the local library to get my new Sailor internet account.

7/12/2006 - Raining hard and gee, I want to go home, but everything is too wet to even pack up. I don't want to get D upset by suggesting we go home extra early. We still have 2 more days of this fun, lol. I don't imagine I will grouse about lack of vacation for quite some while. It's noisy in the camper with the heavy rain. Will I ever get used to it?

Later - Visited the church sites. The best one was the printing office where they produced the first Book of Mormons. They showed us the typesetting and sheets. It was tedious work and they had to set the type upside down and backwards.

They had a piece of sheepskin used to cover the book and it was super soft. I loved learning how they did this.

The log cabin Joseph Smith and his family of 9 kids and 2 parents lived in was quite small by today's standards, but it was really cool, even if it was a reproduction of the real thing. It was quite authentic, though, as they used the foundation of the original log cabin and had men who used the same handtools the Smith family used to build the original. The wide plank floors were wonderful. I would love such a cabin myself. Of course, it would be a vacation home.

One upstairs bedroom housed 6 boys, sleeping in 2 beds. It's hard to believe they all fit there, especially since they each grew to be over 6 ft tall. Back then, I think it was fairly normal to live in such small quarters. Log cabins are so romantic, though.

We went to Auburn for lunch, and ate at a family restaurant named Ann's Restaurant. A lot of locals ate there. I foolishly ordered the crab melt, and D foolishly followed suit again. It turned out to be imitation crab (although there was plenty of it, and it didn't taste bad) on toasted english muffins with cheese melted on top, with fries. It wasn't bad, especially for less than $5, but D hated it. Next time I will ask if the crab is real. I had wanted to eat chinese or tex-mex, but was vetoed by C, who wanted breakfast. She ordered buttermilk pancakes with a side of bacon. They were big and fluffy. D and I should have ordered the special, which was a sausage sub, and it looked good.

We had dinner at Applebees and it was better than any other meal this trip. I ordered buttermilk fried shrimp, barbecued riblets, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and toasted garlic bread. D had shrimp alfredo with garlic bread, and C ordered barbecue chicken sandwich. We all had leftovers and the portions were huge.

More later....

Vacation Bites

2006-07-16T20:18:00.000-04:00

That's what I am calling the durn mosquito bites on my legs. Vacation bites. They are still itchy and I'm not sure what to put on them. Hydrocortisone cream is not helping much.

We came home on Friday, a day early, and I was glad when we finally came home. We went to the Finger Lakes drive in movies to see Pirates of the Carribean 2, and had to leave before the second feature (Cars). On the way home, I saw that there was a drive in movie near Dillsburg, a little more than an hour from here. Maybe we will visit there some weekend, just to the movie.

I'll be back later with more thoughts on the peep meet and vacation.

Misunderstandings

2006-06-28T17:02:00.000-04:00

Today I received an email that surprised me somewhat. Here it is, with the names removed for privacy's sake.

Dear Sisters…As you may or may not be aware, Sister _____ ______, a recent convert to the church, and her husband ____, participated in a “Renewal of Wedding Vows” ceremony last Saturday. This was a very special day for them. Unfortunately, members of the ward, including me, were unaware that they were invited to attend and celebrate this day with them. Because of this misunderstanding, no one from the ward was there. In an effort to give support to her we are having a surprise get-together tonight. Sister ______ ________ is hostessing and we will gather at her home at 7:00 (or whenever you can make it!) Her address is:

We had known about the wedding, but we not issued a formal invitation, which I thought was necessary for attendance. The husband discussed the invitations with another member of the church while visiting us at our home, and it was clear that we were not formally invited. Now I've received a phone call to come to this party tonight. I think the couple is okay, but they've had some problems in their marriage, and I can see a pattern of careless spending that can sabotage their relationship.

I also didn't care for the husband's handling of a few things where we were concerned. I guess I just resent it when someone is treating me like I just fell off a turnip truck. I know they spent a lot of money on this vow renewal, money they could not really afford. She bought a $1000 dress. Well, she said it was originally $4,000. I can think of so many other things that money could buy.

I'll be there, and I'll be nice. I'll even bring brownies. I just don't understand how people could not know they were invited, when the couple sent out invitations. I guess I'll find out more at the party.

Someday when DD gets married, we are having a big open house with an open invitation to everyone we know.

So, how you doin'?

Alone in the house at last

2006-06-21T17:11:00.000-04:00

No DD or DH right now, and it feels good. DH will be home in about an hour, if traffic is good.

I'm supposed to be writing a summary for the 3rd episode of Hell's Kitchen, but I'm slacking at the moment to post something about yesterday.

I took my friend C to visit teach another member of our church, who I will call S, for the first time last night. We got there around 7 PM and I was greeted at the door with S handing me the phone. It was a call from the RS President Jane, who wanted me to drive C over to church after our visit teaching appointment so C could learn how to knit. I knew about the knitting class, and had participated last time, but I've decided that I can make better hats with the knifty knitter and why waste my time trying to count stitches. I know I am not good at that kind of thing. I'd rather sew than knit, and if I knit, it will be with the knifty knitter. The hats look so nice and it only takes an hour to make one while watching the tube.

So, C, S, and I had a nice time talking. C is recently widowed, in her 40s with 2 teenagers, a boy and a girl. S, the lady we were visiting, is divorced with 3 grown children, lives in a townhouse with 2 cats and 2 dogs. Her place was nice, but had no backyard. It's one of those piggyback townhomes. It does save on heating costs, to have someone living on 3 sides of your house. We talked for almost 2 hours, and then C and I went to our favorite Chinese carryout for food. I hope Jane isn't too mad at me for not joining them in the knitting class, but we were having such a good time talking, and I really wanted to get to know S better. She and C are both single and are going to the church's single activities. C needs more friends, and it will be good for her to have a network of singles. I told them the story of how I got together with DH. Ahhh, memories!

I had a good time and the chinese food was delicious!

We're home from our camping trip.

2006-06-19T16:42:00.000-04:00

It has been 6 years since our last camping trip and 2 years since our last family vacation. It was also the maiden voyage for the Aliner, which was nice to sleep in. DH and I slept in the camper - with him on the dinette side and me on the sofa side. We didn't take a television this time and probably won't the next time, though I am tempted to take the tiny 5" black and white one just in case we are that bored. I think I am taking along some board games the next time. There is one old one called Facts in Five that is fun, but I've never taken the time to teach it to DH and DD. It's fast and really fun. I might have to look for the game Encore on Ebay. It's about music lyrics and how many you can remember. It's not available in stores anymore.

We ate all our meals in the campground. We grilled hotdogs on Friday night, with baked beans heated on the campstove. I used Bush's baked beans with some added lemon juice to tone down all that sweetness. They are really good that way. I just used juice from one of those plastic lemons. The family loves them this way.

On Saturday, we had a big breakfast of hominy, black pepper bacon, eggs (I use the Omega 3 kind), and toast. I put some of my breakfast away for Sunday morning, because we would leave early that morning, with no time for cooking.

Saturday night we had cheeseburgers cooked on the grill with carrots, chips, sodas, and tomatoes. DH asked for more baked beans, but I had only brought the one can, thinking that everyone would not want them 2 nights in a row. Next camping trip - more beans. I'll also be sure to pack a lighter to combate the resultant methane emissions.

Saturday after breakfast, we drove around the battlefield, stopping to look at the Eternal flame, which has been lit since 1938, when Roosevelt dedicated it to the civil war veterans. It is a nice monument. We basically just stayed in the vehicle the rest ot the time, and went to the National Military Cemetary. I wanted to show DD the family plot next to the Military cemetary. Some of my ancestors were buried there in the Evergreen cemetary. I haven't been there since 1988, so I was surprised to see some people had been added to the graves above my family's plots in 1992 and 93.

We heard a band playing and saw some of the museum. I bought a few post cards to send to peeps who have sent me cards. The museum included lots of artifacts from soldiers, buttons, belt buckles, bullets, letters, guns, rifles, underwear, uniforms, etc.

Life is just a bowl of cherries

2006-06-13T03:58:00.000-04:00

Right now we have 3 huge bags of freshly picked cherries in our fridge. We were invited to pick cherries at the home of a church friend. His tree is really loaded, but most of the cherries are at the top of the tree. It was fun, and we all love cherries. I think I will be freezing them, but I need one of those cherry stoners. (Not code for anything).

I really love this friend and his wife. They are in their 70's and have a nice little rancher in a quiet and pretty neighborhood. It was inexpensive when they bought the house 40 years ago, but it is really expensive now. They have 3/4 of an acre and the yard is lovely.

I'm also getting the van ready for our camping trip. Since the Aliner is so small, we are letting DD sleep in the van. DH put curtain rods up and I've come up with curtains. Tomorrow I will be installing them and checking out how they look and what I need to do to tie them up out of the way when we are driving in the van. I guess I should take pictures of the whole thing.

17 Years!

2006-06-09T11:45:00.000-04:00

So DH and I are celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary by going to Red Lobster tonight. Our actual anniversary is tomorrow, June 10th, but we have lots to do tomorrow to get ready for next weekend's camping trip, so we are going out tonight.

I am going to try to post here more often, instead of only once a month. At the same time, I will be spending more time doing some temple work. We'll see how it works out.

Free stuff and new stuff

2006-06-08T04:08:00.000-04:00

Okay, Monday morning I spied a gas grill alongside the road as I drove DD to her early morning class. I saw that it was a Weber, and DH and I have been talking about one day buying a Weber grill because Webers are made to last. I dropped DD off, then picked up the grill and put it in the van. Thank goodness I had the space because one of the seats is out of the van.

When I came home, I told DH that I got him a Weber for Father's Day. He couldn't believe that I found a free gas grill, until he looked outside. He said he could fix it up and get new parts. It might cost about $100, which is cheaper than buying a new one. Anyway, our old gas grill burns stuff, so I am looking forward to better gas grilling with this thing.

I bought DD a new camera. It was only $31 plus 5.99 shipping at the Shop at Home Network. It is a 3.2 megapixel with video mode that has sound. She had been using her old camera for video and it didn't have sound. She's a happy camper, and I will let her take most of our vacation pics. Right now, she is interviewing people from that early morning class to make a video yearbook. Their last day is Friday, so I get to sleep in starting next week. Oh, boy!!! We are looking into getting her a bigger SD card - the biggest she could use is 512, and it takes more than an hour of video.

I have made our camping reservations for the Niagara meet, as well as Father's Day weekend in PA, and the week following Niagara in the finger lakes region of NY. I can't wait! I have to fix the van for curtains because DD is sleeping in the van, while we sleep in the Aliner.

I can't believe it's been so long...

2006-05-14T02:00:00.000-04:00

Since my last post. I've been busy, some of it not so good busy, as in dental pain, but still.

We just had a nice dinner at the Cajun Crab, a new place right around the corner. It's our second visit and it was still fabulous. I had a cup of seafood gumbo, though DH and I agreed that the cream of crab soup is waaaay better. We also both got the 2 crab cake platter with mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was really good. I ordered bananas foster for dessert and didn't share - ha ha. DH and DD shared a strawberry shortcake. We had another couple with us, so he didn't gloam onto my dessert like he usually does. He did ask if that was ice cream on my plate - I said yes, and continued eating it all up. Good stuff.

Well, that was my mother's day gift, and that was fine by me. I really like that place, and by the looks of the crowd there, word is getting around. I hope they are there for years, because I love having a good place nearby that serves decent crab cakes.

Well, G&M's makes bigger ones, but they are in Linthicum, which is 50 miles away. We can't move back there now, although it would be closer to DH's job. I love Frederick too much anyway.

Happy Mother's day!!! Oh, btw, Puffy, your name came up at dinner. I won't tell you who we shared dinner with, though. You will just have to guess.

I survived a teenage slumber party!

2006-04-03T02:23:00.000-04:00

The good thing about it is that we finally cleared out the family room. I'll try to post some pics in a few days. There were 9 teenaged girls, but most of them could not sleep over. Before we served the pizza, they all sat around in the family room and, after deciding not to play Mystery at Hogwarts - it was a Harry Potter themed party - they sucked helium out of the 30 balloons and entertained each other with their funny voices. DH thought they should be playing a game, so they could all interact, not just the more verbal ones who tend to take over. I have a good game that I could have led them in, but I was icing a cake and baking pizzas. The cake turned out yummy - chocolate with mint frosting. I wrote Happy 16th Caitlin in green frosting, put 16 candles on the cake, and lit them. When the kids saw the cake, naturally they sang Happy Birthday. The pizza turned out yummy too. My secret is to add extra cheese to the Weis market self rising crust pizzas. They always taste like take out pizza. The only problem with baking pizzas is that it heats up the kitchen! I wanted some pizza after the girls had settled down in front of the TV to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and so did DH, so I broke a piece off a frozen pizza and baked it in my George Foreman roaster. It has a small baking pan that can be put on top of the regular roasting area to bake cakes, etc. It turned out good. I know this little roaster will come in handy when we are camping. It doesn't take up much space and it has a grease pan to catch the grease. I like to cook a small chicken in it. It's better than a rotisserie because you don't have to tie the chicken up in string, just sit the chicken in the pan and turn it on.

After the party was over and the 2 sleepover girls left, DH took me out to lunch at this new restaurant in our neighborhood called The Cajun Crab. It is right around the corner from our house. We each had the cream of crab, which had a lot of crab meat and was spicy. I would have preferred less spice, but I still enjoyed it. I ordered the crab cake sandwich with red beans and rice, and fresh green beans on the side. The crab cake was delicious, and I was so happy to find one that was full of meat, no filler, and was so tasty. It was not overly spiced, but the red beans were too spicy for my liking. The waitress overheard me complaining about it and brought me some cole slaw. The slaw was nice. DH ordered the caesar salad with cajun shrimp on it. He said he would have been happier if he had ordered the crab cake. The waitress was quite attentive to our needs, so I gave her better than 20 percent tip. We will probably go back for our anniversary in June for a crab cake dinner.

Can you tell I like to eat out?

High Fructose Corn Syrup in my Tomato Soup

2006-04-01T02:02:00.000-05:00

The other day a doctor on PBS was talking about high fructose corn syrup (and hydrogenated oils or trans fats) being the reason there is an epidemic of obesity in our country, so I started paying more attention to food labels. Since then I have discovered that the Campbell's tomato soup I like so much has HFCS, and it's the first ingredient in my favorite salad dressing and my favorite barbeque sauce. I have tossed out the salad dressing and the bbq sauce, but I had stocked up on the tomato soup while shopping at Sam's club a few weeks ago.

I also felt inclined to throw out a bottle of pickle relish and noticed HFCS in my pickled beets and applesauce.

I am left wondering - who thought of putting something so sweet in soup? If you were making soup from fresh tomatoes, I don't think you would grab a bottle of karo syrup and pour it in.

Also from Campbell's - chicken noodle soup with monosodium glutamate.

Soup, anyone?

I have about 20 cans of tomato soup and at least 13 cans of Chicken noodle, and 8 cans of Swanson's chicken broth that has MSG in it. I guess I'll be donating to the soup kitchen around here.

2006-03-18T01:17:00.000-05:00

My sister called me Monday, and told me my mother is in the hospital with an abcessed foot. She is a diabetic amputee, so the foot is her right foot, and she is in danger of losing it. It will be hard if she does. She stays in bed pretty much most of the time, anyway. I don't expect she will live out the next year, especially if she loses that foot.

I have been trying to set up doctor's appointments, but had to cancel my eye doctor because of this cold. Also had one today to talk about my latest blood test results, and she had to cancel because of some emergency. I have a Monday apptment for 3:30 instead. I think I will have some medication changes.

We had the funeral last Wednesday, and it was a nice funeral, if you can really say that about such an occasion. People sang beautifully, and the deceased was a talented singer, so I think he would have loved it. One of the women who sang hit such a high note, all I could do was say "Wow".

My friend was upset when they wheeled her husband's body out of the building. I went to see her Wednesday night this week to bring her some chili for dinner and some marble cake. Her house needs cleaning and she seems overwhelmed a bit, but we are going to a Women's conference tomorrow, and I'm hoping it lifts her spirits a bit. We like to go shopping for clothes together, but I haven't had the money for it lately. I already have some clothes, and have more clothes to make when I get down to sewing more. I love spring clothes. I want a chocolate brown top to go with one of my skirts. I'll have to check my fabric inventory.

Silvergirl's Journal

Is anybody there?

Being Erica

Delivering Christmas

Soooo...

Almost ready!

Post Halloween

Spring Vacation planning

Books

In the Dark

First post of October

Lucky Corner Vietnamese

Sweet Note

My latest interests

Random stuff

April Rain in May

Another cold

So I am ready to do a little experiment

*stomach gurgles*

Visit to Baltimore

Church parties

Family Christmas Photo

Blogger is driving me crazy!

I Scored at Linens and Things

Change is good, sales are even better

Get out and vote!

New Speakers

Beautiful Fall

Started a Facebook account

The Chocolate Pearl

Community College

Hair curlers

GED

Family Reunion

98th post

RIP Mr. Mystic

Church Picnic

Feeling better

Happy Tuesday!

Fat Wallet

Tongue in Cheek

Applied for a job

19 Years and a tag

My Singing Debut

Healthy Foods

The Dog in the Grey Flannel Pants

Tagged by Miss Hippo

Spring break vacation

Bridal Shower

Trip Planning

Too many prescriptions

Friday Night Date

Still the same

Nora Roberts

Resolved: Post more blog entries

Hi Speed Internet

Time sure flies by quickly

Winner in a Pie Contest

ZZZZzzzz

Sleep Apnea

Happy Birthday< Dusty Sneakers!

Stinky ice cubes

Deleting the Old Blog Post

Beautiful Day here

What is the world coming to?

I Have the House to Myself

She wanted to be a writer

I love crabcakes

Spoiled DH

Online Surveys

In the Light of Day

The Dog of My Dreams

The Diet is Awn!

Feeling Better

Is there a doctor in the house?

Happy and Fat

Silvergirl's Journal

Feeling better

Updates

A Lovely Island Vacation

stomach gurgles