My Weblog

Lunch time

I've worked up an appetite.  I don't feel as though I've accomplished that much, but I sure was hungry.  But, the bathroom floor has been washed, on my hands and knees no less.  And because sometimes my brain does not engage on a timely basis, I had the bucket on the counter.  So, up and down 7 times before I finished.  I'm sure I used muscles that needed a workout, right? 

I've done a bit of filing and purging of paper on the desk and I've folded some laundry.  Next up will be starting a load of laundry.  But, before that, I'm getting on the treadmill.  I just took my blood pressure and it is down where I wish it would stay without meds, so this is the perfect time to climb on there.  I wanted to do it earlier, but decided if I didn't get something finished up in that bathroom something dreadful would happen. 

Lunch was cottage cheese and cantalope.  Yes, lots of potassium in cantalope.  Good for me and sweet as can be.  Actually was grateful for the cottage cheese to cut a bit of the sweet.  I'm still hungry so I may be getting some more cottage cheese before I get on the treadmill. 

Anyway, that's your noon update.  I've got to keep moving.  Remember, I'm short about 3.5 hours today.

Stinkin' Rotten Lousy Night

Well, you can tell I'm in a good mood, right?  I went to bed around 10:30PM and at midnight I was still awake.  Fell asleep and woke around 1 with the crazy foot pain.  Couldn't go back to sleep so sat out here unzipping files for a couple of hours.  Took a muscle relaxer and went back to bed between 3:30AM and 4.  And woke up with foot pain at 8:30.  I'm gonna have a good day today!

And, I'm torqued at AOL.  Of course, I use firefox for most internet browsing.  There are two exceptions.  First there is a CT forum I have in my favorites at AOL so I just click on my favorites and away I go.  And, second, I can't get to 4 shared through firefox so I copy and paste the 4shared addy into my browser at AOL and get there that way.  EXCEPT for two days I haven't been able to go anywhere on the internet through AOL.  And, yes, I've closed and restarted AOL an infinite number of times.  You probably remember I scrapped a page for my CT the other day and I'm trying to get it posted in the forum so it can be used in the newsletter, but I can't get there.  So frustrating!

I finally gave in and asked on FB in the CT group for the web addy for the forum.  One kind soul from the team helped me out.  So, I finally got my layout posted and collected the templates I was supposed to use for this week's page.  Darn!  Now, where to store that web address so this doesn't happen again.........

Well, I thought I had brought everything up-to-date that we were behind on when Joe died.  Not so.  I got a bill from the sewer district the other day.  Opened it yesterday to pay it, only to discover we were multiple payments behind.  There went $210.  Ugh!  I kind of wish I had kept a tally of all the arrearages I've paid off in the last months.  I think it would shock me!

On the good news side, my sales at ACOT for this month are the second highest ever now.  This has to be God.  My Creative Team barely creates.  I have two ladies who are faithful, two more who show up fairly often and the rest..........nothing.  It's a small team so anytime anyone doesn't post a layout or doesn't post a layout timely, I feel it.  I have finally decided there is no alternative but to leave it in God's hands and He's doing a good job.  So, I'm going to be grateful for what I get from the Creative Team and a LOT more grateful for what God is doing. 

Well, what shall we do today?

Design

I am still working on ellies for this kit.  At the moment, my bad mood isn't doing a thing for my creativity.  I'll have to snap out of it if I want to be productive! 

Real Life

I have decided I may have to see if I can qualify for Medicaid.  This foot pain thing and other related symptoms are just not doing a thing for my lifestyle.  I do not have a budget item for medical care.  I do not have a budget item for trips to Mexico for low-cost medical care.  Surely if all the illegal aliens can qualify for Medicaid, I can, right?  Or, does my being a citizen make me automatically ineligible? Actually what will probably make me ineligible is my firm belief in honesty.  No matter how much I think I need it, I am not going to lie to get it.  We shall see.

This is fun:  Max has been limping for a while and it is painful to watch.  However, I also do not have a budget item for doggie medical care.  So yesterday I prayed most earnestly for God to heal that paw.  This morning Punkin is limping.......  I am either doing something wonderful for the Lord now (and I am not sure what that could be) or I am headed toward doing something wonderful for the Lord in the future because old Slewfoot is sure on the attack.  It is written:  "He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world."  So, I know how this comes out.  I win!

I will start today in the Master Bathroom.  I ended in the Master Bedroom yesterday.

Master Bathroom--wipe up dog hair and whatever else from the floor.

Kitchen--I have decided I can only spot clean in there til I finish this pantry thing.  Too much stuff sitting around on the floor.  So, I will spot clean and that will make me feel better.  Also need to finish off shelf #4 and start the last shelf.

Dining Room--Count sticker sheets to be donated.

Office--Dusting! 

Living room--Dusting!

Hall--in the box of "clothes" I emptied yesterday are items that need washed.  Some will be donated thereafter, but I'm not going to donate them unless they're clean.

Master Bedroom--vacuum.

It's a good thing that "vacuum" doesn't pop up high on that list as I did not go buy vacuum cleaner bags yesterday.  I have decided that if I leave early enough and drive at least part of the way on surface streets, I can do that on my way to pick up Will and the littles today.  At least that way I can combine errands.  So, 4PM is blast off time around here. 

Alrighty, that's it for now.  It's time to get my running shoes on and climb on the treadmill.  I made a deal with God last night.  I will walk til my buttock/thigh hurts or til I hit 2 miles today and everyday.  I believe this is part of the answer to the blood pressure problem.  I'll need prayer to make it past 500 feet unless there's been a miracle during the night.  I'll know soon enough.  You be blessed today!

 

 

 

 

In the cool of the night....someplace else!

It's 8:30PM and the sun has been down for almost an hour and a half.  And the temperature is down to 99 degrees.  Whoopee!  Love that cooling off effect!  (Sarcasm intended!)

Well, dinner tonight wasn't a whole lot better than lunch.  I still have a few pieces of quiche purchased at Costco in my freezer.  Unfortunately, I think I've eaten all of the broccoli quiche which was by far the better of the two in the package.  What I have left is the mushroom and, as best I can tell, the primary flavor to that is salt.  I actually melted a piece of American cheese on top of it which gave it a bit more flavor, but its primary function tonight was just to take care of hunger.

I've actually been doing some work on this kit I have in process.  Slowly, elements are being added to the preview.  This is good!  I still have a long way to go though......

I have finished all the dusting in the master bedroom.  And I emptied a box of "clothes" that's been sitting around in there forever.  Wanna guess what I found in the bottom of the box of "clothes"?  My previous copy of the parallel Bible with the Amplified translation.  Wouldn't you just know that my copy would surface just weeks after I bought another one........  Well, I guess now I'll just have one at my desk and one on my nightstand. 

I've been watching a movie directed by Robert Redford called The Conspirator.  The book that forms the basis of this movie was published MANY long years ago.  I've owned it forever.  The premise of the book is that the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was probably planned or at least blessed by certain high ranking government officials.  It examines the evidence against each of the "conspirators" and takes on the question of the constitutionality of their trial and the manner in which they were arrested and imprisoned.  It even questions whether John Wilkes Booth was ever caught.  It does not speak highly of what transpired. 

In essence, in this film, only the trial of Mary Surratt is examined.  Although the movie loses a lot of "power" versus the book by biting off just this one small piece, I think it would have been impossible to sensibly present the whole argument with regard to more than this one defendent in a movie.  Maybe in a mini-series, but not in a movie.  There is simply not enough time.  Suffice it to say, the government does not come off looking good in this movie as well it shouldn't.  They suspended habeas corpus in the case of these defendents and tried them before a military tribunal.  They were imprisoned for a full month before being granted any right to counsel, the day before the trial was set to begin.  Just a year after these defendents were executed, the Supreme Court ruled that even in time of war, civilians were entitled to trial by jury, not by military tribunal.  The book reveals a lot about Secretary of War Seward which is lightly touched on in the movie but the movie only hints at certain machinations he undertook at the time.  All in all, the movie is entertaining.  I think you'd have to read the book, which sickened me, to get the real impact of the whole thing.  Anyway, it's worth watching if you can read behind the lines or find a copy of the book to tell you the rest of the story.  You will find the talented actor, Kevin Kline, well-disguised as one character.  And, they've actually managed to make Robin Wright look unattractive.  That, in itself, is something of an accomplishment. 

So, Jennifer just called to see if I would be willing to drive Will to his guitar lesson for the next 9 weeks.  She had thought she could move his lesson from Wednesday nights to Tuesday nights by transferring him to a different teacher.  However, now she has discovered the Tuesday night classes are no long available.  And she works her second job on Wednesday nights.  So, yes, Grandma will drive Will to his lessons and Jennifer will reimburse Grandma's cost of gasoline.  I will, however, be praying for a cold front every Wednesday!

Alrighty, I need to do a bit more work before I headdown the hall.  You have a good night!

 

Lunch time........

Well, since I've made such a steady diet of potatoes, I decided I would ferret around in the freezer and see if I couldn't find something different today.  I shoulda stuck with the potatoes, but it's all my fault.  I have some frozen "orange chicken" from Costco in my freezer.  The chicken comes pre-breaded and there's a packet of "orange" sauce in there.  My first reaction is that the package instructions call for 1/4 cup of oil in which to cook the chicken.  You've got to be kidding me.  I use olive oil exclusively because I think it's the healthiest oil you can buy.  But, 1/4 cup!  My arteries are groaning at the very thought.  I figured I ought to have something to go with the chicken but I wasn't interested in the "orange" sauce this time.  I decided I'd use some barbecue sauce and add a little soy sauce which ought to make it kind of Chinese-y.  Well, I got way too much soy sauce in there and it was way too salty for me.  I did manage to use up a package of boil-in-bag brown rice I found in my pantry.  I'm finding the strangest things in there!  I would never buy boil-in-bag anything because I think the price for the "convenience" is way too high.  Generally, you can make rice from scratch in the time it takes to cook a meat dish.  And don't even get me started on things like boil-in-bag corn!  My preference is for Basmati rice.  However, the rice I found was edible and had a decent nutty flavor but for my yucky sauce concoction.  And, that's lunch.  Bah!

I've washed and dried another load of laundry and I've found homes for a number of items that are now happily residing on shelf #4 in the pantry.  A few items bit the dust.  Did some design work on the latest kit.  But we are into that heat of the day time here in the office and my back is achy so I'm going to go get horizontal for a while.  I figure after my lousy night's sleep, horizontal can't be anything but good.

Tuesday

Oh, my.  I'm gonna be a bugger today.  Slept on the up-every-hour-and-a-half schedule last night.  Foot pain came regular as clockwork.  Finally, I was up at 4:15AM for the 4th time since I went to bed at 10:15, and went back to bed and slept 4 hours.  Sure glad I didn't decide just to give up and get up or I'd have missed the only restful sleep I had.  Perhaps that last 4 hour bit will save me from total bugger-y!

Design

I have finally fallen off the fence and purchased some graphics for Halloween.  They are not exactly what I wanted but they're cute as all get out.  My only problem with them is that they appear to be baby-ish and I wanted something very similar but with children, not babies.  Oh well, I guess my mental telepathy wasn't working.  I ended up buying them at a website I've more or less sworn off of.  I used to buy from them a lot til I finally decided their terms of use were just too confusing.  It would take a Harvard lawyer with much experience in contract law to decipher those things!  However, they've added a new product line that allows me to do what I want to do without running afoul of the legalities so........  here we go! 

I need to stop unzipping folders and actually design something today!  All that unzipping is definitely necessary and for mindless work, it can't be beat.  BUT, I can't sell stuff til I work with it.  Unzipping is not sufficient!

I am happy to report that sales at ACOT this month are the third highest ever.  With all the hustle and bustle of back-to-school, I think that's pretty cool.  Many people are just too busy to scrap.  Can't wait to see what September brings!

Real Life

Well, first off, let me pause and take a potassium supplement.  That mini-spasm in the back of my left arm is back.......  Okay, that's done.  One of these days, the potassium will outstrip the spasms.  I'm just sure of it, LOL.

Well, since I made it to the hall yesterday, I guess I will start there today.  I have another load of laundry, mostly "special handling" stuff to deal with today. 

Master Bedroom--well, with all my goofing off with muscle spasms and no sleep and depression and blah, blah, blah, I have finally arrived back at the master bedroom which is still waiting for me to finish the dusting in there.  Geez, I'm nothing if I'm not efficient, LOL.

Master Bath--Floor still needs done.

Kitchen--The kitchen gets a little extra time while I'm waiting for things to cook, so I just need to finish restocking shelf #4.  I got a good start on it yesterday while my daily dose of potassium-rich potatoes cooked, LOL.  And, I need to do a bit more with the floor in there.

Dining Room--Time to count out another hundred pages of stickers to donate.  With all the paper scrapping stuff being donated as well as all of Joe's clothes, just wait til the IRS sees this year's tax return, LOL. 

Office--I doubt that even with great diligence I'll make it out here, but if I do, there's dusting and shredding to be done.  I had hoped not to have to type that "shredding" word again til December, but I've got about a foot of stuff to be shredded.  I want it gone, so I'll have to shred now. 

Living room--REALLY doubt I'll get there, but if I do, there's dusting to be done.  I really do think the constant vacuuming is beginning to make a difference.  It still gets dusty, but it's dusty at a more normal level.  It's not you-can-write-your-name-in-it dusty the day after I just dusted.  Thank you, LORD! 

I am sure I slept through the arrival of the trash guys.  Thank goodness I have two big trash receptacles.  Fill one up, start on the other one........  And some time today, I have to go to the vacuum cleaner store and buy bags.  I swear to you, that Dyson that specializes in pet hair is somewhere in my future.  I may have to pray it in, but it's coming.  I have loved Simplicity vacuum cleaners for 15 or more years.  But, I think my current Simplicity is just overwhelmed.  Who would ever have believed one dog could shed SO MUCH HAIR?  I know one thing--the people at the vacuum cleaner store are getting to know me way too well just because I have to troop in there way too often to buy bags.  And that's even with me cleaning stuff out of the tubes with my fingers multiple times per room after the bag fills up.

Okay, I guess that constitutes a plan.  I showed you a layout yesterday by Nancy using Attitude.  Now I'm going to show you a layout that is totally different but uses the same kit.  Karen dropped me an e-mail recently to let me know her husband's aunt had recently passed away.  She used the Attitude kit to make a memorial page.  She used the softer colors and recolored some flowers and a paper to better match the clothing in her photo.  It's a completely different twist on this kit and that's one of the reasons why I'm highlighting it here. 

That page is lovely and soft and done with a kit some have thought was incredibly bright.  I also love how this page shows off the little embossed hearts on the paper.  If you'd like to leave Karen some love for her creativity, go here.

Well, that's it from me for now.  I need to get a start on this day.  You be blessed today!

Closin on bedtime

I am NOT going to stay up past midnight tonight watching movies.  I'm NOT.  I'm NOT. 

So, I did very little actual design today.  I did, however, work on unzipping and organizing more files.  I am also busily engaged in defragging my back up drive which does tend to slow down my computer somewhat.  And, I scrapped that page.  I can't wait to post it! 

I finished the vacuuming in the living room and vacuumed the hall as well.  I used the last vacuum cleaner bag.  Darn it, there goes another $20.  I'll have to go buy more tomorrow.  I sure can't be without those for more than 12 seconds.  I'm still not sure that spot in the hall looks any better than it did before I scrubbed it.  Oh, well, I tried.  Laundry is in the dryer and will be done before I go to bed.  Shelf #4 is partially restocked in the kitchen.  And, I've been wading through mail and other accumulated paper on my desk. 

Tomorrow is trash day.  I have to try to get myself organized early in the morning so I can get the trash can out early. 

Max got a treat today.  He loves to ride in the car.  So, he and I went to the bank and then to 7-11.  He was very well behaved til I got out of the van at 7-11.  When I came out of the store, he was sitting in my seat!  A crowd was admiring him.  His spot is supposed to be on the back seat.  He managed to knock over my coffee cup but very little of it spilled, thank goodness. It's funny.  When we brought Max home, I really didn't think he was a pretty dog.  I was so used to Indiana who was gorgeous, black with tan markings.  But, I've come to realize Max really is pretty in his own right. 

It's too risky to take Parker anywhere.  He's a runner and if he gets a chance he'll be in California by morning.  And poor Punkin is scared to death of being in the van.  She shakes the whole time and doesn't relax til she's back in familiar territory.  So, Max has no competition for car rides.  I did manage to drag in a big bucket of dog food from the 52# bag in the van.  I hadn't quite used up the previous 34 pound bag, but it was getting close.  So, time to start dragging in the stuff from the van........

So the prayer request for the day is for Max's front right paw.  He has been limping on it.  I do not have a "vet" item in my budget.  God has healed dogs before with my sincere prayer and I'm counting on Him to do it again for Max's paw.

Alright, I need to go fold that laundry.  Goodnight!

Our bodies play tricks on us!

These last few days, I have been nuts for potatoes.  I've had a plateful of hashbrowns nearly every day.  I got suspicious when they looked SO good to me SO often. So, I did a little research.  A "serving" which is about 300 grams (I don't know what that is in ounces or pounds) contains 1600 mg of potassium.  So, do we think I might be craving potatoes because there's been a shortage of potassium in my system.  By the way, that 1600 mg is about 1/3 the daily recommended allowance!

Lunchtime at the old homestead

So, you'll never believe it.  I am all set to scrap a page!  I think this is my 4th scrapped page since January.  Not a very good track record, but I'm trying to improve it.  I've resigned from all but one CT because of the demands of designing.  They've been sweet enough to save me a place all this time when I've been unproductive.  It's time to make it up to them.  At least, it's time to try.  I've already picked out the photos I'm going to scrap and I've loaded the papers into my work bin in PSE.  Now I'm waiting for this week's templates to get started.  I'm actually kind of excited........

Lunch was banana bread.  Maybe there was some nutrition in there.  In any case, it was tasty. 

Well, that's it for now.  Freebie word art is down below.

Well, here we go again........

86,400 seconds to spend on something!  Sounds like a lot but goes by so quickly.  Don't forget to stop and say "Thank You" for your blessings today.  You'll still have 86,350 seconds to spare!

I found an old favorite movie on Amazon Prime last night.  I have the darn thing memorized, but do you think I could turn it off and go to bed?  No, of course not.  Despite the best intentions, I sat here til the credits played.  I had just settled down for a good sleep when the dogs started barking like crazy.  Punkin barks a LOT.  All the time.  To the point of madness, my madness of course.  Parker frequently joins her.  But when Max joins in, I take notice.  Sure enough, all 3 were barking.  I guess it was around 1:15.  I still don't know what set them off, but I got up and looked around and couldn't see anything to be concerned about so I went back to bed.  And, thankfully, didn't have any foot pain.  Slept 3 hours, got up, used the restroom, went back to bed and slept 3 hours more. 

So, the potassium "cure" is helping.  However, my eye is still twitching and right now I have a mini spasm in my left tricep.  Yep, left side again.  I don't get that part, but I keep noticing it.  So it will be another double potassium day for me.  I am hoping that this is eventually going to take care of that crazy, debilitating pain in my left buttock and leg.  By the way, folks..........I did a lot of research before I began taking a potassium supplement.  Don't try this at home without your doctor's permission.  Initially, my doctor was a bit alarmed, many years ago, when he found out I was taking extra potassium every day.  Don't give your doctor a heart attack; discuss this with him before you do it.  I have a number of factors at work simultaneously that have brought me to the conclusion I need to do this.  Chances are, you don't have all the same stuff so don't try the same cure!

So it's back to work on the kit I'm designing.  The color scheme has grown on me.  I'm liking what I see on my screen.  That's a biggie with me.  If I don't like it, I sure can't sell it!  So, it's elements and elements and elements today!  I didn't do a lot of design work over the weekend.  But I sure did unzip and organize a bunch of files.  And since I don't buy PU stuff, you might guess that I now have available for use a lot more commercial use stuff than I did on Friday.  I do try to pick my papers for a kit carefully and the same goes for elements, so it's a good thing to have a variety to work with.  Besides, I don't want my customers to think I've fallen into a rut and am just using the same stuff over and over. 

Around here.......

Living room--I still have a small sliver of the living room to vacuum.  The vacuum cleaner made a really scary noise yesterday afternoon and I haven't turned it on since.  I'll have to screw up my courage and do that, but I hope it doesn't make that noise again.  I really don't want to spend money on putting the thing in the shop.

Hall--I worked on that spot yesterday.  I'm not sure it's any better.  Maybe it's just not dry yet.  Or maybe the rest of the carpet is so bad in comparison that the contrast is scaring me.  In any case, I have a load of laundry to dry, fold, and put away.

Master Bedroom--Finish the dusting

Master Bathroom--Wash the floor

Kitchen--Restock shelf #4 of the pantry and wash the floor

Dining Room--Continue counting stickers for donation to the school at the church.  The art department is so grateful when I send them another load of paper scrapping supplies. 

I have a cute page to show you.  This is exactly what I had in mind when I created that fun kit called Attitude featured up above.  This page is called "Dresses and Dresses and Dresses......oh my!"  It was created by Nancy of my Creative Team.  Nancy's daughter and some friends went out to shop for dresses for homecoming.  They took photos and this cute page is the result!

Nancy always does such a good job on clustering.  Just look at the little makeup goodies clustered up top.  And her title work is such fun!  I just knew she'd work that redheaded girl in here somewhere 'cause she knows I make those redheads just for her, LOL.  I love this.  If you think she did a good job, please leave her some love here.

I recently signed up for a paid download spot to host freebies.  However, even more recently, they changed the site!  Of course, it was created to work with the Attitude kit!

Here's the link (I think!)  Nope, that's not working.  And, the site was supposed to send me two e-mails with the link and I haven't received either one.  I'm going to have to use 4shared and if you don't like it, please just skip the download process.  I got my feelings hurt when someone complained about 4 shared the last time I gave away a freebie.  The preview is linked.

Have a blessed day today!

 

 

I always feel so lonely

when I check the number of visitors to the blog around 5PM.  That must be the time when they reset the day's count.  Anyway, I opened up to say a few words and it said 0 for the day.  Waaaah.....where are you all?  You and my three dogs are my only company, you know?

I have been trying to watch a new movie today, Seraphim Falls.  It stars Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan.  Now that ought to make for some interesting "scenery", right?  Well, in my humble opinion, the cinematographer should be shot.  Everything is so dark, about the only part of Liam Neeson you can see is his nose.  And that's quite a nose so it would be hard to miss in any lighting.  There were any number of scenes shot by firelight with Brosnan with his shirt off.  And you can't see much of anything.  And to make matters worse, Brosnan has a beard covering up that handsome face of his.  The movie is one hour 52 minutes long and I've only been able to talk myself into watching 37 minutes of it so far, but it better get better soon.  Nobody around here gives me points for sitting through these things.  Anyway, so far, it seems to me they could have just picked ugly actors to play these parts.

I've spent substantial time today reading food blogs.  STUPID!  A friend posted a link to a recipe for peanut butter pie on FB and that started it.  I have read scrumptious recipes for Balsamic Pork Tenderloin, Bolognese Pasta Sauce, Pasta Carbonara, and deserts galore including a cake frosted with caramel frosting and a maple coffee cake.  Oh, Lord, I think I've gained weight just reading......  It's been a long time since I've made a good Bolognese sauce!  In fact, what makes this so ridiculous is that I don't cook.  I may microwave something, but other than that, I really don't cook.  I do, however, DROOL, LOL.