Happy and Fat

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

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

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

Will be forthcoming. *hee*

A Lovely Island Vacation

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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!

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

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...

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!

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

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.

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.

Goodbye, I love you

Last night my friend's husband died. I was told by DH just as I was trying to catch a few zzz's before waking up for church.

When we got to church, the Bishop made the announcement that J had passed away. I heard audible "Oh nos" from the front pews. It was not expected that he would pass this soon.

Our church service was a fast and testimony meeting where everyone has a chance to testify. I sat there thinking I didn't want to testify, but finally I had to give in. Many people before me spoke of the death and the family of the deceased. They all are just getting to know the family, and I guess in many ways, so am I, but I think I know my friend better than most of the peeps at church. The peeps at church are great when it comes to compassionate service and when I testified I told them so. I am grateful to know that when something comes up, there are people there who are willing to help. Meals, cleaning a home, whatever is needed - the people at church are very generous with their time and talents. As I walked away from the podium after bearing my testimony, my friend S and I clasped hands and she told me she loved me. I said I loved her, too.

The Bishop closed up the meeting by talking about his final words with J Saturday night. J told the Bishop "I love you" and the Bishop said, "I love you, too." It was very moving and emotional. I felt the love of the peeps in the ward was hyped up over this passing of a new member, which made it a special sacrament meeting for me.

J was baptized last Saturday, and he was the newest member of our church. His wife and 2 children were baptized last August. He sang "How Great Thou Art" in his terrific voice, vibrating the room with it's rich tones. I cried then, and we didn't know he had cancer at the time. He had been sick and lost a lot of weight, but the doctors had not found the cancer yet.

J sang again at the talent show in October. It was the same song, but this time I knew he had cancer, and I wept. I did not know he was terminal, though. DH told me about the terminal part in January and I was so dissapointed, even though it was evident at Christmas time J was very, very weak.

Well, it's over and I guess that could be good for him to be out of his misery. Now we have the task of funeral and all that goes with it.

We celebrated DH's birthday by going out to Isabella's Tavern and Tapas on Friday. It was very good. The service was good, the food was good, prices were good, and I loved the atmosphere. Isabella's has an online menu, but I'm too lazy to link it. DH ordered the asparagus fries, which I loved and will order the next time I go. There were 3 big stalks of asparagus fried in a crunchy batter with tiger sauce for dipping. He ordered some salmon, a portabello mushroom dish, and I ordered shrimp in spicy oil with caramelized onions (there were 4 pieces of garlic in with the onions), beef meatballs, and chicken breast in a sauce made with sesame and chocolate, but it didn't taste like chocolate. My favorite out of the three was definitely the spicy shrimp. The chicken was too dry and the meatballs were not anything special. I ordered a piece of raspberry cheesecake for dessert and DH helped me eat it, of course. He never orders dessert, just shares with me. That was fine with me. We will return to this place, but while we were in downtown Frederick, DH noticed the other fine restaurants in the neighborhood, so we have so many new places to try.

Well, the 3rd bedroom is now settled, except we really need to get a new mattress to make the bed more comfortable. DH and I had a furniture moving contest. I won in the end, with the best configuration. He kindly conceded that my furniture placement was the best arrangement. *Whew* On a side note, I had to move the stuff without the furniture sliders I bought because he lost them. *grumble* He can't borrow my stuff anymore.

DD and I had a few laughs Thursday morning when she described going to the bathroom at a residence with thin walls. She was making gassy sounds and was embarrassed because she knew they could hear her in the next room. She could hear the sound of chalk writing on the blackboard, so she knew they could hear her!

I'll be back with more later. Have to go out the door.

I'm getting the 2nd bedroom ready for the bedroom furniture. Currently I use my computer in this room and it has my sewing supplies in it, but we will be moving the computer to the family room by Saturday and using this room as a bedroom. I guess I should call it the 3rd bedroom, but it's the 2nd bedroom upstairs. Our 3rd bedroom is downstairs where my DD sleeps. She is happy that we bought a house with a downstairs bedroom. She has more privacy that way. She also has her very own bathroom, and the family room is right outside her bedroom. She could sneak out at night if she was ever that kind of kid, because there is a sliding glass door in the family room. The family room is also connected to the garage, but I doubt if she could sneak out that way since the garage door is right below our bedroom. Anyway, she is a good kid, and I trust her.

I need the extra bedroom to sleep in sometimes, as it gets noisy in our bedroom with my husband's snoring most nights. I sleep better when I sleep alone. I know a lot of couples who have separate bedrooms for the same reason. I love him, but the noise can be a bit too loud at times. I know I snore too, but that is because I carry around too much extra weight, which is the result of not being able to sleep. I am looking forward to snoozing blissfully soon.

If you're reading this, have a great weekend!

We went to church on Sunday, and after Sacrament my DH told me a friend's husband has terminal cancer. We knew he had cancer, but held out the hope that he would recover with chemo. I sat there and cried while people walked past me on their way to Sunday school classes.

I feel for this family. My daughter likes to hang out with their daughter, who is a year older than my DD. They have so much in common because they both love video games and gameboy. It is a sad time for this family. I think the friend and her DH are only in their early 40's. They have a 17 year old daughter and a 12 year old son. My friend just got a job a few months ago working as a substitute Head Start teacher's aid. Her DH was a social worker in New York. Unfortunately, he has been sick a long time and lost a lot of weight. I don't think he was diagnosed correctly at first, thus, the cancer spread throughout his body.

At the baptism of his wife and 2 children, he sang "How Great Thou Art". I posted about this previously, I think. I will never forget the sound that resonated through that small room as he sang in his beautiful bass voice. I closed my eyes and could feel the deep vibrations. He has such a talent. He wants to be baptized into our church, also, but he is so very frail. He managed to sing at Christmas time - "O, Holy Night", but he was very, very weak. He still managed to belt out the song, starting weak, but ending strong. He had to have help while walking.

My DH told me that my friend's DH will be put into a nursing facility. I will continue to pray for him. I so hate cancer, and I hope someday we find a cure for it in all of it's horrible forms.

As for me, I am up with indigestion. That will teach me to eat chocolate and peanut butter late at night. I had a nice dinner - pork loin, red skinned potatoes, and green beans, and I definitely have my appetite back. I need to get the exercise equipment set up in the family room, so I am working on getting it cleared of other things. We thought we would have a bigger house, but wound up buying one that is smaller than the one we were going to build, so storage is still challenging. A friend of ours is giving us an exercise bike, so I need to get that set up to burn up some calories. I am so happy to be feeling better than I was last month, and I think more exercise will make me feel even better, and help with some of my health issues.

If you are reading this, what do you do for exercise? DD found out she has gained 20 pounds over the past year, so she is ready to start her exercise program.

I got the flu a few weeks ago, one week after receiving a flu shot in the doctor's office. A friend says I didn't get it from the shot, but I'm not so sure. I don't usually get the flu. I will hesitate to get a shot next year, but then maybe I should to avoid the pandemic they are predicting. Thanks to Oprah, that's been something to think about. I guess it is better to be informed, but it sounds like even wealthy Oprah won't be able to get flu vaccine if there is a pandemic. The doctor's on her show said there will be a pandemic, it's just a matter of time.

DD needs to go to the doctor, today if possible, and DH stayed home from work to fix my van. I guess I will just have to play things by ear. I was hoping to go to a spanish restaurant that has tapas (appetizers). I bought a $10 certificate for $3 at restaurant.com.

Unhappy Bride

I remember the first time I saw my parent's wedding pictures. I can't remember how old I was, maybe 7? I do recall feeling let down that my mother looked so unhappy in the pictures. Well, that, and she wasn't wearing a traditional white wedding dress. She was dressed in a blue dress with layers of ruffles on the skirt. Dad was smiling, and the wedding was just one of those little country style weddings that they could afford at the time. They were married July 10, 1948 when they were both just 20 years old, and my mother was most likely a virgin.

Six out of eight of Dad's sisters had shot gun weddings - married just months before giving birth to their first children. When my mother gave birth to my older brother after 8 months and 8 days of marriage, everyone counted on their fingers, but my mother insisted Larry was a premie. I don't doubt that he was a little early, and I don't think my parents fooled around before they got married. If they did, hey, it really won't matter much to me. Sex was one of the only things they enjoyed about each other.

I remember asking my mother why she looked so unhappy, but I don't think I got a definitive answer. After I recently thought about this, I realized that she doesn't take a good picture. I don't think she really knows how to pose well, and she's not too camera friendly. She has also been know to tear up pictures that she thinks look bad of her, which is almost all of them.

I did come across a picture that she happened to like recently, and it's not one that I like - it's really rather creepy, as a matter of fact. She is wearing a stupid black wig that is not sitting on her head right and too much makeup.

I think one of the main things is that she is not happy most of the time, so how can she take a good picture?

Well, I had the flu after taking a flu shot at the doctor's office. Next year, there is no way I am taking a flu shot. I just don't want to get that sick again. I'll take my chances on getting the flu, which almost never happens to me. That is, unless there is a new threat with something like the bird flu.