AOL

AOL... yes, I have "Away on Leave" for about 3 months from blogging.  How does one have time to do it all?  I don't even have a regular job, and I don't have time to read blogs, Facebook, my email, Pinterest, and that is just being on the computer... I have to exercise, cook meals, clean house... and that is just daily stuff... you get my point.  I have soooooooo many hobbies and so many projects- quilting, sewing, reading, and seeing friends.... and that is just things I enjoy doing.  Then there are all those things I don't really like to do- yardwork, paperwork, tax work, balancing checkbooks, grocery shopping.. but they have to be done.  So here I am and alot has been happening.  I am about to welcome my second grandchild who is scheduled to be born April 2.  My mother is going to have knee surgery in May.  I am going on a trip to Montana in May.  My son is getting married in August.  My niece is getting married in October.  My 40 year class reunion is in October, and I am one of the organizers! I hope to be more of a regular in the blogging world.  I just don't know if anyone is going to be interested in what is going on with me.  I began this blog about four years ago when I wanted to inspire others to get up off their booties and move!!  I have certainly backslidden with my exercise. I previously had been a regular with P90X.  I also had worked very hard for several months training for a triathlon.  DANG- I was fit.. now... grrr.. my fitness program is very lacking!  Instead of motivating others, I am needing it myself!!  So, let me give you all some motivation.. if you are currently active in your fitness program, don't stop!!  Not only is it hard to get going physically again, but also mentally.  Keep on keeping on!!  Also as Tosca Reno of the Eat Clean Cookbooks says, " weight loss is 10% exercise, 10% genetics, and 80% diet!!"  That's right!  What I believe is you want to lost weight- work on your diet.  You want to be fit- work on your exercise! You need both!!  So I have accepted a challenge from one of my friends- for three days beginning on Tuesday, we will eat ONLY fruits and vegetables.  They can be raw or cooked.  But this means ONLY fruits and vegetables (meaning no meat, no beans, no starches, no nuts, no eggs) All of those I just mentioned are good natural foods, but for three days they will be excluded.  The other stuff.. the bad stuff, it is just a given you will not have those foods.  Do I need to mention those?  sugar which means sodas, cookies, cakes; transfats which means margarine, other baked goods, chips, crackers; dairy which means milk, cheese, yogurt(not a bad food), ice cream.  So how about it??? Ya want to join us?? Check back with me and I will let you know about my progress.

Christmas 2011

Whew!! Christmas decorating, Christmas shopping, Christmas music, Christmas wrapping, Christmas cooking, Christmas eating!!!! Sometimes I feel so bogged down in all the preparations for Christmas I feel overburdened and not celebrating what Christmas really is.. Yes, I love to give gifts (if I know what will make someone happy, not just giving something that is unwanted). I love receiving gifts that I know someone gives with love and care (not just fulfilling their duty). I love to decorate ( if my efforts are appreciated) and love being reminded of previous Christmases when seeing the ornaments. I love Christmas music. Wrapping is not that much fun. I love trying new recipes. And of course I love to eat!! But this is Christmas!! This is the time when God sent His only begotten Son to be born in simplicity- no fanfare.. no luxury, nothing to the world that looked spectacular. But this Baby was God's Son.. who left Heaven to be confined in a human body. He was born to die so He could take away our sins. How miraculous is that??? That God loved us that much!! Oh please dear Heavenly Father- renew in my heart what Christmas is all about- and if I have to give up all of the above to do it, then I give it all up!! You are my Gift!! May I be reminded everyday that I owe it all to You Lord!! Thank you Lord that I am here on this earth another Christmas Day to celebrate your birth!!

Sewing room-part 2

Somehow I left off one of my photos that shows my ironing table. I could not figure out how to go back and include it in the previous post.

Sewing room

So it has been some time since I posted here on my blog. I guess any followers I have had have given up on me. I have been working the last couple of days getting my sewing room organized. I went to the Family Crisis Center Thrift Shop and purchased this farmhouse table. It is certainly not an antique, nor does it look all that great right now, but it was within my budget. Remember, I retired, and don't have or need to be spending money on anything frivolous. I had been using a plastic table from Academy. It had previously been left outside; therefore, making it a little swayed in the middle. I wanted to move my cutting mat to the table and have my ironing table on my other work table. So this is going to work out good. I don't like the fabric of the loveseat. It is an old Ethan Allen loveseat that I purchased in 1986- yes, the mauve does scream 80's. But I absolutely love having a comfortable place to sit and either read, be on my computer, watch TV, and/or do handwork. It is not a very deep loveseat, so it is comfortable to sit erect and easy to get up from. I have a window AC in the room which lets me get this place super super cold!! Yes... menopause will have you get excited about such things as window air conditioners!! I also still have room to do my workout with my weights and videos, and I can pull my treadmill down if I decide to walk inside. I plan to get some shelves built above the worktable that is against the wall next to my thread. I have lots of shelves to house my books, magazines, notebooks, etc. I have a small desk that has all of my cards- thank you notes, birthday, sympathy, etc. I have good lighting too. I love my sewing room!!! It is a great place to work. I included the photos because this maybe the neatest it will be in awhile. The stuff below the table is some of my fabric that will not go in the closet.

At My House

I just don't seem to have alot to blog about these days. Not that I have been doing little, but I have been doing alot... just nothing exciting. I got up very early today to put up okra. My neighbor and I picked from his garden a couple of days ago. I left the okra in the frig knowing I had better hurry up or it was going to go bad. And I had a full day today, so I got up and started in on that okra at 6:00 a.m. It took me over an hour to wash it, cut it, and get it in the seal-a-meal bags. I had 8 quarts total with enough left over to fry tonight. Speaking of that.... dh said it was the best he had ever had!! I don't know if it was because I coated it just right with the cornmeal or because it was fresh. But I have to agree- it was delish!!

Our tomatoes are finally finished. We had so many from our mere 16 plants that we were loving giving them away to friends and family. I still have a few in the frig along with some green ones for frying. Yes, I know I do not need to eat all that fried food, but I do have to say it is better than processed food.

Since I have retired from dental hygiene, I have been happy to help out with one of my dear friend's son's business. He and his wife have estate sales, and I am one of their workers. I have found some great deals at these estate sales. Like one the other day- I was able to buy two small braided rugs for $10 each. This is funny... have you ever had a job where you paid them??? I find so much to buy that I end up using up all my hours plus having to pay them. I have found some good stuff- Champion juicer, sewing machine, sewing supplies- books, fabric, thread; television, tools, paintings, prints, fans.. all things that I am recycling!! And many times you get good stuff because it is old, totally metal, made in U.S.A., and just all around better!! Tomorrow I will be there bright and early at 7:30 a.m. before the big rush at 8:00 a.m. This sale will last 3 days. It is not antiques this time, but lots of "men" stuff- tractor, four-wheeler, go-cart, lawn mowers, tools, pool table, etc. Of course there is also household stuff too like dishes, furniture and linens.

I am really trying to get back to working out harder. I have bought Zumba and also Chalean Extreme. I have done them both a few times and still doing my walking. My dh had put me on the gym membership back in January. I think I went maybe four times. I just did not like that gym. It was mainly men there, it was small, hot, and crowded. Since it was a 24 hour place, many times there was no attendant on the premises. And the clientale needed to read the book on weight lifting etiquette. They would leave those heavy heavy weights on the leg press. I could never use it because I could not lift that to get them off. And when you went to put your clothes in the locker, someone had left theirs there like it was their own private locker!! I guess I just had a bad attitude toward this place from the get-go. I mean, I have worked out in gyms all through my working out years, and this place just did not do it for me. But... I am still having a hard time MAKING myself do my weight lifting. I may be able to join a new group that will be working out at 6:00 a.m. everyday. I haven't been getting up this early, but I can do that!! I think I will try it.

So today I sent my first T shirt quilt to the quilter. I have started on the second one. Then when I get the last set of T shirts from ds, I will start on his. I have been doing a little bit more sewing lately because it is just too darn hot to be outside. This Texas heat is rough!! We did get a small shower today here at my house. I just finished doing my 3 mile walk starting at 7:00 p.m. My face was beet red, and I was dripping with sweat. Off to the shower and bed for me!!

Where Ya Been Dee?

T shirt quilt- 24 T shirts, 12 on front and 12 on back-just need to add the borders and get quilted

tomato basil jam- I think it will be good over cream cheese.

Corn salsa- use as a dip with chips.

Father's Day weekend at Galveston

Have y'all been wondering where I have been? Gosh... it has been 3 months since I have posted. I cannot believe that time is rushing by so fast. Well... I have had lots going on. You know I told you all how in January I helped my oldest ds fix his bathroom up.. then he decided to move to the Woodlands, so I helped him kinda sorta stage his house. I have a friend that is a stager and another friend that is a realtor, and they both gave me some pointers on what to do to help sell his house. Here is what I did- shampooed the carpet, painted every room except for the bathroom ( which I did) and another bedroom which I did last year; painted the kitchen cabinets; painted the deck off from the patio; painted the hardware on the kitchen cabinets; bleached the grout on the kitchen tile; had to tear down wallpaper in one bedroom before I painted it; painted the light fixture on front porch; painted the mailbox; planted impatiens in the front flower bed; pressure washed the deck before painting; pressure washed the carport and the front of the house; watered the yard continually, raked up 18 bags of pinestraw; hauled off junk, cleaned thoroughly the laundry/storage room; replaced the lights on the ceiling fan. I am sure I left something out.. but yea!!! he sold the house and did make a profit... and I will get a nice monetary gift for all my hard work!!

I have also kept my granddaughter a few times this summer. That is lots of fun, but also quite exhausting for this "Gibby". I have made it a few times to Galveston to check on my family's condo.. which is still for sale!!

I haven't done near the amount of working out, walking, zumba as what I would like. I have had some health issues, but after scheduling an appointment 6 weeks ago, I finally got to see the doctor today. I will soon have the wonderful colonoscopy along with a scope to check out my esophagus. They are gonna meet in the middle...LOL

I have done very little in my sewing room except for fixing it up so I can comfortably watch TV. I now have a window unit along with central air in this room. I put a little loveseat in here too... you come to my house, you can find me in this room. I am planning and designing a wall of some bookshelves. I have so many projects I want to do, and I seem to be doing more planning that doing... I just seem to have a hard time getting started.. so today... by gosh.. I got the spray paint out and have been painting my barstools. My dh came home and could not understand why I wanted to change things... duh... women like to change things!! So instead of buying new, I am just making things different.

I also was pretty busy a couple of weeks ago "putting up" tomatoes. I have made over 60 jars of salsa, tomato basil jam, pickles, and my newest- chili sauce. This is fantastic!! I have eaten it on refried beans, rice, eggs, and I plan to use it with enchiladas. I am so proud of this!! It is from the cookbook, You Can Can.

So, yes, I have been busy, and just not making time to blog. I hope I will start back regularly. I will include some photos of some of my projects.

Just Painting?

To some people who saw me with a paintbrush in my hands, you would think that all that was going on was that I was painting. However... there was much more going on. You see, I have been painting the interior of my oldest son's house along with his assistance. When you are in the same room painting there are times of silence, but there is also talking going on. Now let me say, that those who know me know that I am a BIG talker.. but my firstborn son is a man of few words... always has been. We used to quote the commercial... gosh.. I cannot even remember who it was for, but when they talk we listen... well, we could always say that about Brett... when Brett talks we listen because he was not a big talker. He did not tell you what he was thinking or how he felt about something. So today was a very enjoyable day for me. I loved spending time with my son... Brett talking, and Dee listening. I love him so much. He is such a sweet and extremely intelligent person. All of us in our family just do not understand how he is so smart because the rest of us are just average. If that sounds like I am bragging, I certainly don't mean it that way. There are some people that are blessed by God with beautiful looks, great athletic ability, and then super intelligence. I just continue each day to pray for him. That God will use this great talent he has given him to glorify God... not for his selfish gain which is the way of this world. So painting??? yes, we got lots of painting done, but so much more. Don't miss those opportunities that come your way... sometimes these days are just so much more than what they appear to be. Thank you Lord for this special day of painting that I had!