Saturday, February 28, 2009

Captivity ~ Day Six

Today things went back a little bit to normal. Jim came back home. He still needs to stay away from me for extended periods of time until Monday when they let me know how much radiation is still in my system.

My mom and Lisa went shopping...without me :0(

I was sad...I love shopping. They didn't do fun shopping though because they only went to JC Penneys and Winco, two stores that I really don't like.

Other than that I worked on a few posts. I watched the Will Smith movie, Seven Pounds. Loved It! It's really a deep movie that keeps you guessing and makes you think for hours after the movie as you all of a sudden realize "Oh...that's why he did that" or "Oh...thats why he said that". I highly recommend it.

I'm about 1/6th of the way through the last of the Twilight books, Breaking Dawn and I really have enjoyed the books. So since I only have tomorrow and monday to finish this huge book, I guess I'll go off to read.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Captivity ~ Day Five

Well it's Friday. The last day of my vacation so to speak. Today did get a little bit boring. I did my dishes, cleaned up around the house a little bit. Decided to do my Modge Podge Plate project and realized I didn't have a brush. So I watched Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood.

I have always loved Clint Eastwood. He is the coolest man God ever made. And this movie was no exception. Even though they made him wear old man pants pulled up to his nipples like Erckle/Irkcle? he still looked like the man I would must trust in the whole world if I had to get out of a deadly situation alive. I love his droll sense of humor. Watch it...it's good.

So then my son went to the 99cent store and bought me some sponge brushes and I started on my project! Yipee! I took pictures, but I'm not going to post them until the whole thing is complete. I hope it turns out well. I made them several years ago. I made one for each of my sister in laws, Connie and Norma and one for my sister Lisa and I never ever saw them displayed anywhere! So now I'm making two for me. One with a grape design for my kitchen since I'm trying to do grapes in there and you can't find a grape decorator plate anywhere, and another one with butterflies and flowers that I want to hang in my room, but it may look better in the bathroom.

I actually went outside today and got some more sun....it was great. Being in an office without a window all day is really something I am not looking forward to returning to next week. :0(

I even got to see my mom for about 10 seconds while she dropped off a gallon of milk and some Migas. And my sister came by for another 10 seconds and picked up some movies. So it was a good day, but I'm going a little stir crazy and while I don't want to go back to work, I sure do miss the stores!

And mom...the Migas were great!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Captivity ~ Day Four

Weirdest thing is that yesterday and again today when I woke up I have this raspy, 6 pack of cigarettes a day voice...and I don't smoke! I think it's because when I lay down all the radioactive iodine lodges itself in my throat and chest and I don't even realize it til that first phone call of the day which today was my sister because there's no one here when I wake up so I don't talk until the phone rings. Tonight I'm going to try sleeping sitting up on pillows like I did for about a month after my surgery.

I swear I had so many plans with what I was going to do during this week of being home and tomorrow is my last real day because the weekend is just a normal weekend and I always have Saturday and Sunday off and Monday I have to go back to the doctor for the full body scan and the Geiger check and then hopefully Tuesday it's back to work.

Here's a list of what I wanted to get done:
1. Clean my flower beds (hula-ho them)
2. Modge Podge Plate Craft
3. Finish blue and gold afghan I've been crocheting since my daughter was a freshman in high school...she's now 27.
4. Crochet the little beer caps I've been saving for my crocheted grape project.
5. Wash my kitchen and bathroom curtains
6. Iron my new green blouse and black striped pants
7. Sew the binding back around my favorite tv-watching blanket.

Now here's what I did get done off that list:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ummmm, none of it :0(

But I did:
1. Write a post everyday on my blog
2. Read all of 2009 and 2008 posts on my new fav blog dooce.com
3. Clean top of Fridge
4. Sort through bowls and put some in the yard sale pile
5. Finish books 1 thru 3 of the Twilight Saga
6. Watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (loved it! and love Brad, *sigh*)
7. Watched Paul Blart - Mall Cop (no *sigh*, just watched it out of love for Kevin James)
8. Sat outside in the sun Today and Tuesday
9. Took several naps
10. Cleaned out my Yahoo inbox

So there you go. I have accomplished some things.
and...
I still have tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Captivity ~ Day Three

Well I made it! I lived through the night and now Day Three is almost over. I will admit it was a rough night. The lump in my throat grew a little more and then around 2am I went to the bathroom and noticed I was having a hard time breathing and that there was some bubbling and rumbling in my chest when I did breathe. It kinda scared me, but I took an Aleve and went back to bed cause that's how I roll...I don't sweat it and stay up all night worrying...I had dreams to catch up on.

So this morning I woke up and it's really sore and swollen and all red like I have sunburn on my throat and collarbone and the area right underneath. So I had some eggs and coffee. Food seems to be my answer to everything lately! Then of course I called my sister who told me to call my doctor. I called my mom, who told me to call my doctor. So I called my doctor and apparently all this is quite normal and I need to quit my whining and take an Aleve for the pain and drink more water.

So that's what I did today. I just laid around and sat around reading and playing computer games. I tried to go sit outside again today like I did yesterday but even though the sun was out there was a really cool breeze so I had to come back inside. Now I'm just killing time posting this til American Idol comes on because for some reason this week it's on Wednesday and Thursday instead of Tuesday and Wednesday.

I also wanted to share with you how wonderful my brother Fred is. I will admit, there have been many, many, many, MANY! times in my life that I have wanted to kill him. But Fred has always been there to help me or my kids. He's the one the insisted on coming to my surgery because as he put it, "Sometimes you don't wake up from surgery."Comforting, no?

Well he called me a bit ago to see how I was feeling and I whined cause really what else can I do? And who deserves the right to whine more than someone who has cancer? I know, me huh? So he told me that he had bought me some Pixy Stix and Sweetarts and he would bring them by my house and hang them on the mailbox and run for the hills before I nuked him :0)

And he did. And the greatest thing is that he knows what my favorite candies are. He actually somewhere along the way stored that little tidbit about me in his sweet little head. And...he also threw in a bag of California Gourmet all natural macadamia nuts! I love macadamia nuts! I'm debating saving them to bake at a later date into cookies that I can share with my dear little brother, or I could just open the bag and toss a bunch into a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

Want to make bets on which one I'm going to do?
Thank you Fred, You're the Best!

Iwanna Wednesday

Since I've been home during my radioactive iodine treatment I find myself trying to find a comfy place I can curl up with a blanket and read. So what Iwanna today is this...

Isn't she beautiful? I'm not gung-ho on the color. But it probably would blend in my living room and give it a pop of color since everything I have is neutral colors.

I wouldn't even mind having the big wall in my living room that color. Hmmm, there's a thought. Lisa? Are you up for painting again?

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Captivity ~ Day Two

Today started out pretty good, but it's not ending up so great.

I got up fairly early and decided I would do a super duper job of cleaning my house so that I could enjoy being in it the rest of the week. I had Frosted Flakes and Bananas and toast for breakfast. I had really been craving cereal mostly because it dairy products were on my list of foods I couldn't eat prior to the radioactive iodine treatment. It was yummy!

So then I proceeded to put towels in to wash. I sorted through my bowls and put a ton of them in the yard sale pile and just kept the ones I really use or really love. I have a thing about bowls you see. I did dishes and cleaned the top of my fridge which was icky and where does that stuff come from? I don't find it anywhere in my whole kitchen, only on top of the fridge. It's sticky and greasy and brown and yucky! I sprayed it with Windex while I did the dishes and it came right off slicker than snot!

So I swept and mopped my kitchen and dusted my living room and knick knacks and then went to go vacuum but my vacuum cleaner bag was full and I threw it away because I knew I had another one, but alas, I didn't! I called my sister to see if she would go out into the real world. The real world that I am banished from, during her lunch hour and see if she could get me a Size U Eureka bag. She told me that she just sticks her hand in the little hole and dumps out all the stuff inside and pulls it out with her hands (and then she wonders why she has allergies?). And I'm thinking how disgusting and cheap. I mean between her and her husband they easily make over $230,000,000 per year...Lisa, you can afford a vacuum cleaner bag! (Well maybe not now because she bought them for me, so there goes $1/2 a mil!)

So since I didn't have a vacuum cleaner I Sharked my house. Then I prepared myself a lovely lunch of a Tuna Fish Sandwich with tuna, lettuce (cut up like my brother Fred cuts it), Chopped jalapenos, sweet pickle relish, mayo, Lawry's Seasoning Salt and Black pepper. Mmmmm, it was so delish. And I took it out onto my patio because the sun was shining and bluebirds were building nests in my tree and bees were buzzing and I had my New Moon by Stephenie Meyer book to read and it was sooooooooo wonderful. My first thought when I sat down and felt the sun warm my skin was, "Life is Good, when you have Cancer". Weird I know, but every cloud has a silver lining right? Otherwise, how do we get through the day?

Well so far your probably wondering how a day this wonderful could end badly. Well after lunch and after doing another load of towels, I started getting really cold and tried to take a nap on the couch but it wasn't warm enough so I turned on the electric blanket in my bed and lied down to read and I took a brief nap. Well when I woke up my throat really HURT. Not inside, like a normal sore throat, but outside, under my ears and chin, like someone had tried to choke me while I was napping. And my throat was a little swollen right under my chin.

So I got up and sucked on a lemon, thinking that maybe the radioactive iodine wasn't supposed to be there and sucking on a lemon activates your salivary glands and I was hoping that would help. It didn't, so I ate a banana and watch tv. And about an hour ago I checked my neck again and now there's like this lump the size of a goiter at the base of my throat right above the section where your collar bone meets.

So I WebMD'd and googled and I guess it's normal, but now I'm scared its going to stay that way forever (although I know it's not) and I'm sucking lemons like a crazy person and drinking so much water I may as well sleep on the toilet and well I took an Aleve and ate another tuna sandwich and sat down to post this and if you don't hear from me tomorrow it will be because the lump kept growing and eventually blocked off my breathing tube and I died. Ok, so that's not really going to happen, but now you have to come back tomorrow just to see if I lived right?

Monday, February 23, 2009

Day One in Captivity

This does not bode well for me. It's only day one...and not even a full day because I got home at 4pm and it's only 6:35. So it's day one and already I'm fantasizing and writing about men I love! But then who doesn't love Matt? I mean really!

Anyway...why captivity? What the heck am I talking about? Well today was day one of the I-131 Ablation Radioactive Iodine Treatment for my Thyroid Cancer. About June of 2008 during a routine breast exam my doctor noticed a lump in my throat...it turned into a whole ordeal and you can read about it here and here and here and also right here. There's gory details, pictures and fun for all! Yipee!

So part of the treatment for Thyroid Cancer, besides ripping the thyroid right out of you is this radioactive iodine treatment. And that's what I had done today.

Leading up to today, I've been off of the medication, Synthyroid (a pill I will have to take every single day for the rest of my life) for about 6 weeks. They take you off of it and then have to wait for it all to be out of your system and for something called a TSH level to be at 30. So that means that every day that your off your pill you get sicker and sicker and sicker...ain't thyroid cancer grand?

I was actually kind of lucky in that I didn't get very sick, but then again my TSH level didn't get as high as they wanted as quickly as they wanted. The first blood test I took put my TSH level at 19.2, then 2 weeks later it was at 22.4. About this time they were looking to other options, such as two injections that would make me really sick, really fast and raise my TSH level to where it needed to be...luckily this wasn't necessary as the 3rd time was the charm and the 3rd blood test showed my level to be at 37.77. I took that blood test on Thursday, last week and on Friday I had an appointment with my Endocrinologist, Dr. Catania.

Dr. Catania was thrilled that my level was where it was and said we need to get this done A-SAP, how bout Monday? Wow, I wasn't ready for that...but then again I was because on of the side effects that I did experience in getting sicker and sicker was an intense itching all over and in different areas of my body. Like say my wrist would itch, it would just itch like the biggest mosquito in the world had bitten me and I would scratch it. The second I scratch these little welts and bumps show up and then it itches even more and I scratch or rub or dab Cortaid on it and then it just stops...and starts all over again...someplace else, Arghhhhhhhhhh!

So that's what I was up to today. I went to a Radiologist who took some readings of my body with a Geiger counter. I think that was just in case I was born radioactive they would know how high the radioactiveness I normally am would be measured before they nuked me some more. They then took me into this little lead lined room, about the size of a small walk in closet and there's a little item that looks like a Size D battery and the top comes off and the little pill is inside and no one but you can touch it! They just turn the little holder that is aptly named Lil Piglet over and the radioactive capsule about the size of a Contac cold capsule comes out and they give you a glass of water and you suck it down. I tried to locate a photo of a Lil Piglet or Lil Pig and you can google radioactive iodine holder and see a photo of it but when you click on it...it mysteriously says Webpage cannot be found, hmmmm.

I even went so far as to type in Nuclear Supplies and was unable to open any of those websites either, but I expect the FBI or the CIA or the FTC or some lettered agency to break my door down any minute and arrest me! So I best hurry to finish this post.

Anyway, they send my radioactive ass merrily on it's way telling me not to dilly dally in the waiting room, huh? what? huh? Dilly dally? in the waiting room? I've never done that even when I wasn't radioactive.

So I drive home and for the next 7 days...I have to remain locked up here. Dismissed, unwanted and unloved by all humanity :0(

So I'm gonna have lots and lots and lots and did I mention LOTS of time to blog...lucky you, my faithful readers. That means you April and Lisa!

Stay tuned....

Who I Love

You know who I love?
I love Matt Lauer.
Absolutely love the man!
I love that he's so down to earth and normal and seems like a genuinely nice guy.

I've watched him almost every single morning since he replaced Bryant Gumbel on the Today Show and he's always the same. A bit more handsome perhaps, but still always professional, friendly, polite and genuine.

I've watched several interviews he has done. Serious ones, funny ones, surprising ones and they are always interesting. I love his "Where in the World is Matt Lauer" segments, they're inspiring, uplifting, educational and at times leaves me with tears in my eyes and hope for the world.

I love Matt Lauer!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Iwanna Wednesday

So last week Iwanna wanted a porch swing. This week, Iwanna wants a yard to look at while she sits in that very porch swing. My yard is pretty nice, but it's not very private as you can see from these pictures.


What Iwanna is something more like this...
Can you imagine that swing sitting where those red chairs are?
And if you didn't feel like swinging, we could walk across the yard to this lovely sitting area, where I would place the two red chairs from the previous picture so we could sit and chat.
And I have to have a rose garden, so I can stand at my french doors and smell the scent of roses on a lazy summer day.And Iwanna water feature, like this one; so as I sit in my swing and read I can relax and be lulled into a nap by the sound of running water. *sigh*
And if I'm going to have a garden with that much maintenance, then I definitely Iwanna one of these...It's so nice to be Iwanna!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

An American Hero ~ John McCain

I just finished reading Faith of my Fathers by John McCain. It was tough reading it for two reasons. One, it was a bit dry and boring at times, but I'm sure that's only because I'm not into military strategy and history. It's not my thing. Two, it was hard reading what he went through and realizing the extent of hostility and evilness in human beings. I'm passing the book on to my brother Jaime who I'm sure will appreciate it much more than I did, as far as the military/history angle. But I do appreciate the man, John McCain, what he went through and his love of country.

I want to share a few excerpts that were particularly moving to me.

John McCain, writing about his father John McCain Sr. and how he handled his son being a prisoner of War in Vietnam:

I receive a letter once from a retired Army colonel who had been a Cobra helicopter platoon commander in Vietnam. He recounted for me a New Year's Day he had spent unhappily at Quang Tri, having flown a fire team north to guard against violations of the holiday cease-fire. As he ate his lunch and waited miserably for nightfall, a Navy helicopter unexpectedly landed near his Cobra. An officer stepped out of the helicopter, walked to the end of the strip, and remain there for a while.
"One of his pilots came over to us to look at our ships and visit, and one of my warrants remarked, 'Who's that?'-- referring to the officer about fifty yards from us. The Navy pilot said, 'That's Admiral McCain. He has a son up north and this is as close as he can get to him.'"


John McCain writing about another POW that was a hero to him:

Mike was a Navy bombardier-navigator who had been shot down in 1967, about six months before I arrived. He had grown up near Selma, Alabama. His family was poor. He had not worn shoes until he was thirteen years old. Character was their wealth. They were good, righteous people, and they raised Mike to be hardworking and loyal. He was seventeen when he enlisted in the Navy. As a young sailor, he showed promise as a leader and impressed his superiors enough to be offered a commission.
What packages we were allow to receive from our families often contained handkerchiefs, scarves, and other clothing items. For some time, Mike had been taking little scraps of red and white cloth, and with a needle he had fashioned from a piece of bamboo he laboriously sewed an American flag onto the inside of his blue prisoner's shirt. Every afternoon, before we ate our soup, we would hang Mike's flag on the wall of our cell and together recite the Pledge of Allegiance. No other event of the day had as much meaning to us.
The guards discovered Mike's flag one afternoon during a routine inspection and confiscated it. They returned that evening and took Mike outside. For our benefit as much as Mike's, they beat him severely, just outside our cell, puncturing his eardrum and breaking several of his ribs. When they had finished, they dragged him bleeding and nearly senseless back into our cell, and we helped him crawl to his place on the sleeping platform. After things quieted down, we all lay down to go to sleep. Before drifting off, I happened to look toward a corner of the room, where one of the four naked light bulbs that were always illuminated in our cell cast a dim light on Mike Christian. He had crawled there quietly when he thought the rest of us were sleeping. With his eyes nearly swollen shut from the beating, he had quietly picked up his needle and thread an begun sewing a new flag.
I witnessed many acts of heroism in prison, but none braver than that. As I watched him, I felt a surge of pride at serving with him, and an equal measure of humility for lacking that extra ration of courage that distinguished Mike Christian from other men.


There are many more interesting and heart wrenching parts in this book and I would recommend it highly. John McCain is a true American hero and his story deserves to be known.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Salsa Dancing - Older Woman

I love dancing! I've even gotten pretty good through the years at cumbias and rancheras, but Salsa dancing was something that I could never get the hang of. My body just doesn't move that way, or that fast. Which is why I am so amazed by this video. This lady is amazing. Watch her move and you will forget that she is 87 years old, you would swear she was 18 or so and a professional dancer. Well I'm sure she probably has been a professional dancer her whole life. Watch the whole thing, she is just awesome!


Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentines Day!

Did you know there is a museum online for high heel shoes? Yes, you heard me right. It's the High Heel Shoe Museum Online, visit it here. I stumbled upon the website and isn't this the most beautiful shoe of all time? I love it and it's perfect for Valentine's Day! (They also make a black patent hi-gloss version!)

Friday, February 13, 2009

Wordle this

One of my favorite blogs to read on a daily basis is The Bloggess. I just love how her mind works, but I must warn you, she's a little bit adult rated, ok, a lot adult rated. Hmm, maybe plain ole crazy, "loco en la cabeza" rated, but she's super funny and I love reading her.


On her blog she wrote about a program called Wordle, where you can type in the URL of your blog and you get an artistic rendering of what your blog is all about. If you dare...go see her artistic rendering. Kind of wild huh?


This is what mine looks like. Pretty tame compared to hers, but I like the message in mine, don't you? Please click on it to see full size.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Iwanna Wednesday

Hey all! It's Iwanna Wednesday...and yes, there are still things that Iwanna out there. Today it's porch swings. The weather is bound to get better soon and I would love to have a porch swing that I could sit in and read and just enjoy the outdoors in. I have a hammock, but you have to lie down in it and it's not really comfortable for reading.

So I went online shopping, which is my fav thing to do, next to real shopping that is and I found lots of swings that would make Iwanna happy.

First off, this one is not the most comfortable of swings, (and I am looking for comfort) but the artist that designs these is just wonderful, you can find more information about the artist and his designs here.


This one is super dreamy comfortable! I can imagine never wanting to leave this one. The only problem is it looks as though it has to be suspended on the beams of the patio and my patio is aluminum, so I don't think it would work, but maybe one of you guys would like this?

This one was just so unique, I had to share it. I also love how happy the kitty-cat looks. It's beautiful and artistic, but not what I'm looking for, so lets move on shall we?

Ok, this is getting a bit closer. It's self-sustained, so I don't have to mount it to the patio or anything. It provides shade and can be moved. It has a little table for my beverage and book...hmmm, this one might be a contender.



But then again...there's this one. But is it just me or do you all think it would be super difficult to get our butts out of this swing? Especially if you have short little legs like mine.



Ok, this is it...here's the one. Comfy, comfy, comfy! Ah yes, let me run grab a beer and my book and I'll meet ya'll back here in a minute!


Sunday, February 8, 2009

It was a great weekend!

I've really been having a lot of fun the last two weekends thrift shopping with my mom on Sundays. Eddie Ross and Rhoda at Southern Hospitality have really gotten me in the mood. And even more so since Eddie is coming to California for a shopping excursion at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. I'm trying to get a little group together of me, my daughter April, my sister Lisa and my co-worker Angelica, so we can all go and meet him and shop with him. It should be so much fun I'm really hoping we can all pull it together and go!

But til then, let me show you some treasures I found the last few weeks. This isn't everything, but it's just some of my favs and the ones I can show you since I don't plan to give them as gifts. These are MINE Baby!

First off is the lovely watercolor picture by the artist Laurie Korsgaden. This photo doesn't do it justice, the colors are so vibrant and yet soft. I love it! I hung it in my bedroom to make me happy first thing when I wake up!

I also found this beautiful Candle holder, another item with beautiful, rich, vibrant colors. I love it! Even without a candle it looks to me like a work of art!

See the beautiful detailing on the bottom... and oh yes, I did crochet the doily/thingy it's sitting on. See...I am a Jack of All Trades. Thanks to my wonderful mother who taught me so well and patiently how to crochet.

and here's a close up view of the top.

Well, these are all the ones I can show you that I took pictures of. But I also bought two books that I love. One is "Napkin Folds ~ Beautifully Styled Napkins for Even Occasion" by Bridget Jones and Madeleine Brehaut and the other is "Decorative Murals" with Donna Dewberry. I just love the whole napkin folding thing even though I have never used cloth napkins. They just display so great when doing a tablescape. Speaking of tablescapes, remember my first post about them?

Well I wasn't really thrilled with the way my first one came out but today my daughter came over and saw it. She thought it looked a little bare and she was on her way to Kmart and told me she would see if she could find somethings to jazz it up a bit. Well she did, bless her lil ol heart! See...

Thank you April, just what I needed, a little pop of color. Now I love it! And, Welcome Home!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Iwanna Wednesday

Welcome to another installment of Iwanna Wednesday. Today's item that Iwanna is apparently an item that Ineeda also? Huh, what, huh? Let me explain. In my living room, I have no clock because usually I have my cell phone near me, or I'm on the computer and have a clock at the bottom right. But when my sis or my mom come visit me, it drives them crazy that I have no clock in my living room!

So, therefore, my Iwanna item today is also an Ineeda one. So I'm on the lookout for clocks and I don't really want a huge one as I want it to go above a door in my living room where you can see it from the hallway, the kitchen and when you come in.

Here's what I found at Target.com

This one caught my eye because it's unexpected, the numbers all haphazard and all.
The one of course is in a shade of my favorite color, green, but it kinda looks very antique and weathered and I know that's all the rage right now, but I'm a new and shiny kinda person.

You gotta love this one! The Dallas Cowboy clock. Adore it, want it! But is it really practical in my home where I'm not a big sports nut and really only watch football at Super Bowl Time?
This one of course, goes with my love of cats, although I don't have a real one. I think though that his tail would probably make that clicking sound that grandfather clocks make and I really don't like clicking sounds.

Ok, this one I really think is a contender, but it is HUGE! It's 27 inches in diameter and I was really only looking for something 10 to 12 inches in diameter. This would have to be like a whole wall display, but I do really love it.
I love the simplicity of this one, don't you? It's clean and crisp and no nonsense.

Ok, I know, this is childish, but I LOVE IT! I love pink and it's so pretty. I know it goes with nothing in my living room. This is a true IWANNA object, cause I just Iwanna it but don't need it at all!

So there you go, those are the ones I've come up with. What do you guys think?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Interview time - What would your answers be?

How would you answer the following questions?

1) You’ve just won a ridiculous amount of money on the lottery. You and your family (including your sister!) will never have to worry about money ever again. You can live anywhere you want in the world. Where would you live and why?

I would buy a huge piece of land right here outside of Shafter or maybe outside of Tehachapi so my sister can breathe and then I would build a huge home for me, one for each of my kids, one for my parents with a little piece of land that my dad could farm, big enough so he could have a tractor but not so big that he would have to hire someone. I would build homes for my sister, brothers and their families so that we could all live together. Each home would be at least two miles from everyone else's homes so we could still have privacy. As crazy as my family has driven me over the past 50 years, it still wouldn't be paradise if I couldn't throw a rock outside my window and hit one of them! That is what "Just a stone's throw away" means, right?

2) An all-powerful being has approached you and offered to grant you any super power of your choosing. What do you choose and why?

I would choose effortless strength and energy so that I could have the strength and energy to do everything I want to do and so that I could help my parents with all those things they are too tired and old to do anymore. You don't realize what a gift youth is until you don't have it. The young have a super power of effortless strength and energy and they waste it, at least I know I did. But that's what I would ask for, so I could have the strength and energy to sit here and keep blogging til infinity and still be able to get up to go to work tomorrow!

3) What is your most guilty pleasure?

It would have to be shopping! I don't know why I love it so much, but I do. I would love to be able to buy everything and anything I wanted for myself and everyone I love because I would never tire of it. I drive up to Ross or TJ Maxx or Marshalls or even Goodwill and my tummy tingles like when a little kids parents drive up to Disneyland! And the funny thing is that it has to be a bargain, thats why I didn't list JC Penney's or Macy's. Sure you can find beautiful things that are expensive there, but I love buying beautiful things that look and feel expensive but aren't!

So...how would you answer these questions? Leave me a comment and let me hear ya!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Why won't the world let us have our heros?

I'm sick and disheartened of the news today about Michael Phelps being photographed smoking marijuana from a bong. I was so impressed with him and with how level headed and genuine he seemed to be. To make an error like this? Why Michael? Didn't you know that people looked up to you? That children wanted to grow up to be you? That you gave us faith in a world with decent, responsible young people? Why?

And then to blame it on your youth? "I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps said. "I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

Michael, there are a lot of young kids out there that exhibit their youth in genuine, honest, responsible ways. You weren't being youthful, you were being dumb. It really saddens me to know that you're not the hero that I thought you were. I know a lot of people will say that you didn't ask to be in the limelight, you didn't ask to be my hero, you didn't ask to be a role model. But tough nuggets, you are, you were.

The only thing I can leave you with Michael is this. "Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching." ~ Jim Stovall

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Napolean Hill, one of America's earliest Motivational Writers says, "The jack-of-all-trades seldom is good at any. Concentrate all of your efforts on one definite chief aim."

That's me. Jack of all trades, master of none. I like saying I know a little bit about a lot of things but not a lot about just one thing. Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?

It might be a good thing to concentrate all your efforts on one definite aim in your career or business, but not in your personal life and hobbies and interests. While it may be good to be an expert knitter or sewer, wouldn't it be better to be just a so-so knitter and so-so sewer and so-so cook and so-so painter and...well you get my point. Try lots of new things and have fun with them, rather than getting all intense and stressed out about trying to be perfect at just one of them. What do you think?

I like being just so-so about a lot of things. That being said, I have a new interest. Blogger hosts a Blogs of Note award that it gives out daily to a blog they think is worthy. I try to check out the blog of note each day and some of them are great and some of them are things I'm not interested in at all, but it's always fun to check.

The other day, I checked out a blog of note about Tablescaping! What is tablescaping you ask? Good question, I'd never heard of it either. So I clicked on the link and Tablescaping is simply setting a beautiful, interesting, unique, special table for either a special event, or as this blogger does, just for everyday use. Go check out this blog and look at all the great tablescapes and see if you don't get some idea of your own. I know I did. Let me share.

I decided to try my hand at a Valentine's Day table, see what you think. I first got the idea because I have the Corelle Pink Heart dishes like these...


I've had these dishes probably since 1990 or so. And I love them and use them as my everyday dishes. But then I remembered some dishes I bought about 8 years ago while shopping at a Goodwill with my mom.

They have beautiful flowers and a butterfly which I love, so I thought I would try these instead, since they aren't my everyday dishes.


I didn't have a pretty tablecloth or runner I could use, so I stuck with the crocheted tablecloth thingy I've been using on my table, since the color is neutral and it's kind of romantic.

I then looked around my kitchen to see what else I had that would work and be valentiny. Remember the post I did about the champagne flutes my daughter gave me? I mentioned some amber colored glasses, they are really more rose colored, although they do photograph a bit more orangy.

And see the pink napkin above? On Friday I went to the American Cancer Society Discovery Store (a nice way to say thrift store). It's an awesome and wonderful store and I went there again today. I'm hooked! It's so well decorated and the displays are made with such attention to detail, I love it. Anyway, I bought four pink napkins, just cause I like pink, I had no plans at that time to do a tablescape using them, but they sure came in handy!

And here's the whole table. The angel blowing a kiss in the middle was the centerpiece for my niece Sarena's quincinera in August of 2005. I have two of them and I just love placing them in different places around my house. The other one is in my bedroom right now, on a nightstand, blowing me kisses before I go to bed :-) I think I still would like a different centerpiece and I will show you what I did differently at the end. The pink candles I've had forever and had never used them. I have some lilac ones exactly the same, and the hearts strewn about are candies.

Here's a closeup of the napkins and the silverware, I didn't put any knives on it. I don't know why, maybe whatever I plan to serve for Valentine's day won't need cutting?

The napkins look rather plain don't you think? So i found this wonderful website that teaches you lots of different ways to fold them. I did the one below because it was the simplest and also the only one that I saw that didn't require an iron and starch, (I just don't do irons and starch)!

So here is the finished table. Except the angel still doesn't seem right. I think I need to add some pink flowers to her, or maybe something totally different???

How about this? This was my purchase today at the American Cancer Society Discovery Store. I saw it Friday and secretly coveted it. It was $18.00 and that seemed pricey to me, but remember what happened last time I saw something I wanted and I didn't buy it? Well I took a chance again with this item. When I was there on Friday I saw a sign that said that on Super Bowl Sunday they would have everything in the store 25% off. So I figured I would wait til Super Bowl Sunday and if it was there it was meant to be...and it was there!! Yippee!!!!

So here's the final table, sorry about the lighting but it's late in the evening. It still seems kind of bare to me. I think I'll email the Tablescaping lady and have her take a look at it and give me some ideas. I'm thinking maybe if I take the cover off the cake stand and put pillar candles in shades of pink and white in varying heights it might help. What do you think?