Nora Roberts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.