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Color me disappointed........

When I inherited the little Keurig from my mother, I quickly bought a container to use when I wanted to use my own coffee instead of K-cups. I also bought a special filter. Out of curiosity, I just finally tried both and neither work in this machine. I am very sad about that. I think this version of the Keurig is older and the newer versions allow for use of these items while the older ones do not.

I am quickly becoming convinced that I can't spend close to $40 a month for coffee. That must be for rich folks. I'm not one of those yet.........

So, I guess I am going back to the French Press. I bought one of these years ago and just kinda used it now and then with no idea of how it SHOULD be used. Then Joe moved in and brought a larger French Press with him. There's never been a question: the French Press makes an outstanding cup of coffee. However, it takes longer because first you must boil the water, then pour into the French Press and let it steep, probably a 10-12 minute process.

Well, tonight I broke down and went on YouTube and watched several videos on the "proper" way to make coffee in a French Press. Here's what I learned:

1) The coffee needs to be ground to a particular size. You should be using a "coarse" grind.

2) You need a "uniform" grind. All the bits of coffee grounds should be the same size.

3) Apparently the coffee grinder we all know and love is not so good for creating a "uniform" grind. You get stuff ground to dust and bigger pieces as well.

4) That same coffee grinder doesn't really allow you to determine the size to which your coffee will be ground. About all you know is that if you whirrrrrrr it a little longer, it'll be finer.

5) The recommended type of grinder is a "burr grinder". I checked on Amazon and these are available in prices ranging from around $27 to $449. Obviously, I am looking at the lower price range!!!!!!! Some are manual, some electric. But the objective here is to grind just a bit of coffee, not a mountain. So who needs electric? I can just think of it as exercise.

6) When making coffee in the French Press, the first step is to boil water. Yes, all the way to boiling. Then you let it cool slightly so that the temperature is between 195-205 (as opposed to 212 which is the boiling point for water).

7) Opinions vary, but it makes sense to me that you stir the coffee just a bit after you add the water to your French Press. The objective is simply to make sure all the grounds get wet. When all the grounds are wet, stop stirring; don't beat it to death!

8) Apparently the "correct" amount of coffee is 2 TBS (that's two tablespoons, or 7 grams) per cup of coffee.

9) Once the water is added and all the grounds are wet, you want to let the coffee steep for 3-5 minutes. Just cover the French Press with a saucer. Do not insert the plunger yet.

10) At the end of the steeping time, some foodies use a cupping spoon to remove the "crust" of coffee that forms on top of your brew. Under the "crust" you'll find foam. The foam is also removed. Removing the grounds makes the use of the plunger much easier and I'm betting it makes cleanup much easier as well.

There are some new innovations/items of interest here. Burr grinders come with metal blades or ceramic grinding stones. The foodies recommend the ceramic. Apparently the metal blades can make a slight change in the flavor of the coffee. I do think you'd have to be a connoisseur (and awake, LOL) to notice, but I can attest to the fact that ceramic doesn't dull nearly as fast as metal blades which might be a consideration. Here's an "old fashioned" manual grinder I'm considering:

The other new thing, and this one also intrigues me, is that you can now buy thermal French Press coffee makers. This seems to me to be an excellent idea. I can also testify that coffee left in a French Press cools very quickly. Unless you can swallow scalding coffee in one swallow, when you come back to the French Press for your second cup, the coffee will be cold if you don't have the thermal version. For budgetary reasons, I will be giving new consideration to storing my fresh-brewed coffee in one of the thermal carafes I already own......... I will use a little of my boiled water to warm up the carafe and then pour my next cup of coffee in there to keep warm. But, if you want to spring for a thermal French Press, I like this one:

Just another personal note. I think I will be using the "cupping" idea of removing the grounds at the end of the steeping time. Otherwise, with just pushing down the plunger, any left over coffee (your second cup) sits exposed to those grounds and it does tend to alter the taste of the coffee and not for the better. Also, I find that when I push the plunger down with all the grounds still in there, it is somewhat of a task to dump all the grounds out for cleanup. They seem to want to stay just where they are, perfectly molded to the inside of the pot.

I also think I'll be buying a burr grinder next month. That will be cheaper than buying another stash of K-cups.

I would never give up on the Keurig except for the cost. I may even buy K-cups at Costco with their house brand coffee. I have been buying 50 K-cups for about $35 on Amazon. I saw K-cups at Costco last night, 100 K-cups with a good variety of roasts in their Kirkland brand, for $38. That would be more reasonably priced and would still allow me to enjoy the convenience of the Keurig from time to time. I've used their house brand coffees in the past and enjoyed them. Having a nicely brewed cup of coffee in 2-3 minutes IS a luxury I enjoy! Particularly since I allow myself no more than 2 cups per day..... I guess I will need to think up tasks that can be performed in the time it takes to boil the water and steep the coffee if I'm going back to the French Press. Otherwise, I'll stand there impatiently waiting for a watched pot to boil.

Okay, that's my thing today on coffee making.

 

Related articles

Tips On How To Grind Coffee

Reading blogs.......

I guess it depends on my mood. Sometimes I read blogs and I'm all "I can do that!". Other times I just want to bang my head on the desk. Today, I found a new blog I really enjoy, but it's more an "I can't do that" experience.

I find that most of the bloggers I enjoy have a few things in common. 1) They have husbands who are involved. 2) They have husbands who are "handy". 3) They have husbands who obviously earn good money. 4) They are very creative. 5) They have no steady "job", not even a self-employed-from-home job. 6) They have energy galore and their worst health problem is a cold or a case of the flu.

I strike out on ALL of those counts. Though I've been married several times, I've never had a husband who was involved. I've never had a husband who was really handy. I've always worked on a shoestring budget. My creativity around the house is limited. I am a scrapbook kit designer and I pack my kits with goodies; this means I put in a lot of time on this. I definitely do NOT have energy galore. And, after reading frequently about my crazy back, you know I have health problems that cause more down time than a cold or the flu.

I am SO envious. Today I've been reading the blog of a 30-something mom with two young boys, 8 and 5. She has a sister with two children living nearby. Her parents live near by as well. Their family is close knit, they schedule a lot of family activities.......... She is from the south. She lives near the ocean. She has a GORGEOUS home with plenty of square footage. They take trips 3 or 4 times a year to various vacation spots.

For Christmas, they had 7 (seven, yes, seven--count 'em) trees. Holy Toledo! I'd be worn out way before I got 7 trees decorated, but that's not all. There are Christmas decorations in every room of the house, even those that don't have trees. I think to myself, "My gosh, I wonder what it would cost to buy 7 trees and buy decorations for them." Yes, I'm sure she, like most of us, has accumulated that stuff over the 12 years she's been married. But still......... She buys Ethan Allen furniture. Now, yes, you can buy much more expensive stuff than Ethan Allen. She has a mother a few miles away who is extremely creative and crafty as is her sister. Is it nature or nurture? Is it in the genes? Or are the blogger and her sister just doing the things they saw their mother do when they were kids? I don't remember seeing my mother do much of that sort of thing. She DID clean a lot, even when nothing was dirty......... 

I have a hand-me-down sofa, love seat, dining room table, chairs, coffee table, and end tables. My end tables were glass topped til Parker tried jumping on one and broke the glass top. My dining room table was third hand when I got it. I loaned it to my DD who returned it with several new LARGE scratches and LARGE watermarks on it. My bookcases are pressed wood with "pictures of wood" over them. Some of my windows don't have curtains. Others have makeshift curtains. My grandchildren peeled the wallpaper off of the guestroom walls. My hall bath is minus both paint and wallpaper. My carpet isn't just dirty or worn or stained--it actually has holes in it. BIG holes. Geez........... I really do want what she has, including the energy to cope with two young children, keep them entertained, and what appears to be a very loving and supportive husband. Where do I go to apply?

Changing subjects (in an effort to redirect my attention).  In case you are wondering, at the moment, I do not seem to be suffering any ill effects from my Costco trip. I was concerned that even dragging that one bag of dogfood into my cart would exact a price, but I am no more sore than usual. I am grateful for that! I haven't accomplished a whole lot this morning, but I don't seem to rev up til 5PM most days anyway. I have dried a load of clothes, drug some dogfood in from the van, little things like that. I should be putting trash out, but it is blowing like crazy out there. To put trash out is to sentence the neighbors to picking up my trash out of their yards. No doubt, I'll be washing hard floors at 10PM. That's the way it always happens.

This crazy "washing hard floors at 10PM" thing is another reason why it's good I'm not married. Unless, of course, I could find a guy who goes to work at 9PM, LOL. Of course, he'd make good money, be handy, be helpful, be caring/loving/supportive........... Yeah, in what world? Oops, my redirect seems not to have worked...............

 

Yes, she can!

Can a woman with an iffy back find happiness at Costco? Can she find a way to get 2 55-pound bags of dogfood into her cart and manage to push it to the check stand? Yes, she can!

I finally dragged myself to the car around 5:30 last night. Yes, I guess technically that's evening, but since it was dark, I'm calling it night. Costco is an experience. I have experimented with going in the morning, going in the afternoon, the evening, night....... I have experimented with going on the weekend, Mondays, Wednesday, etc........... I have avoided going at the first of the month. No matter what I've tried, the store is ALWAYS full. I was blessed with a reasonably close parking spot.

I totally avoided all the jewelry, electronic goods, small appliance, and clothing displays/aisles. I looked over the baked goods and tried to remember not to buy any. It worked, except for bagels. (I'll freeze them individually wrapped and space them out so as not to throw too many carbs into my diet at once.) I looked over the meat really closely, but somehow their meat always seems expensive to me, so no meat.

They have really stocked up on their organic meats, but, oh my, talk about pricey. Knowing Costco, they're less expensive there than anywhere else, but WHEW! Boneless skinless chicken breasts were $5.99 a pound! That's more than double for the same stuff, not organic, at El Cheapo. 2 whole fryers were well into the double digits. No, I won't be buying those anytime soon.......

I did buy a rotisserie chicken, which cost $1 less than at El Cheapo. (I peeled off the skin and ate a leg and a thigh for dinner. I'll eat the meat and boil the carcass for broth/stock.) I hit the dairy section and found 2 gallons of 1% milk for $4.99, a bargain. I also restocked on butter. Bought some cottage cheese which I plan to use for "snacks", and an 18-count of extra large eggs. I thought the eggs were a bit pricey, but then I realized they were the extra large size as compared with the large size I usually see at El Cheapo.

I got 12 rolls of paper towels. I was disappointed they didn't have any brand name paper towels. But I don't know when I'll get there again so I bought what they had. I sure hope I like them because they'll be what I have to use for probably a year........

I had wanted to get 3 bags of dogfood. BUT, those suckers are heavy and big and I couldn't find a way to put 3 bags into my cart along with 12 rolls of paper towels. I did manage to get one bag into the cart myself. A shopper and a gentleman helped with the second bag. I didn't have the guts to ask him to help me figure out how to balance yet another bag on top of what I already had..... No guts, no glory, right?

I looked at their K-cups. I've had their house brand of ground coffee and it's good. They have 100 K-cups in several varieties for around $38. Not a bad deal. They also had Donut House and Starbucks brand names. I didn't buy any K-cups. Instead I bought some of their house brand espresso roast coffee beans. I'll grind 'em myself and figure out how to use the attachment I bought for the Keurig that lets you use your own coffee instead of the K-cups. Cheaper by far.

I was happy to see biodegradable K-cups. I've wondered about that. I love the convenience of the Keurig and I love that I can make 1 cup at a time. I don't love throwing all those little plastic cups into the trash. Good to see that someone is doing something biodegradable and that it is no more expensive than the regular plastic.

I was tempted by the coconut oil. I really wanted to buy some. But it was $22 and change. I just couldn't go the freight. Not this time, for sure. Maybe someday....... I do exclusively use olive oil and or butter when I fry, both of which I think are a much healthier alternative to most of the other stuff out there. And I think the coconut oil might be even better, particularly with the raging controversy over what's sold as "olive oil" these days. But.........

Anyway, I got some dried fruit on the way out and that about did it for me. It still cost my entire grocery budget for the month, with the membership renewal that got tacked on...... I will be buying very little other than milk for quite a few weeks.......

I also filled up the tank with gasoline. I am shocked to see that the price of gasoline is on the upsurge again. What is that about? I paid $3.34 a gallon, up from $3.16 the last time I filled up. I usually fill up when I'm down to half a tank. I wasn't there yet, but figured with prices climbing it was smarter to fill up than to wait. I have been able to hold my gasoline usage really tight this past month so that helped. If half a tank lasts me a month, I'll come in under budget. That's a big IF with trips to clients homes added into regular usage..........

I am just floored when I watch other people shop. If I filled up my cart like some of those folks do, I'd have to sit down on the floor and have a good cry before I even got to the checkstand. How do they do it? How do they pay for all that stuff? I really don't know........ Don't get me wrong, my cart was FULL, but it was full of dogfood at 44 cents a pound. I'm certain those other full carts weren't full of stuff that cost only 44 cents a pound, KWIM?

It's been a while since I went to Costco. Prices on everything are up. No surprise there, sadly. Dogfood for example is up 5.5%. (However, I've been paying $.63 a pound at El Cheapo, so it's still a bargain.) I try to be as good a steward of the money as I can be and the good Lord is gonna have to take care of the rest. Maybe one day we'll have an economic indicator which influences increases in Social Security and which includes the increases in cost of food........ Now, wouldn't that be a blessing?

I also spent some money on Amazon yesterday. I HAD to have ink for the printer. I usually arrive at the opening of tax season with 2 spare cartridges of ink in black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. I arrived this year with one spare black.......... And, almost immediately, I ran out of cyan. Now my tax program will print using black only. However, other things will not. Those "other things" use a combination of inks to create black and therein lies the problem. With no cyan ink, I can't print that stuff. So, I ordered inks from Amazon. I also shopped their New Balance running shoes and found a pair that should work in the price range I expected. So, those are ordered. Unfortunately, they will not be here for a while as they were not eligible for Amazon Prime and the best price turned out to be from a company located in the UK. I did do an $8 splurge. I bought a movie--Gone With the Wind. It's one of my favorite movies of all time. I might see if I can buy some more classic movies at that price over the next few months. My goal is to eventually eliminate Netflix from my budget. Amazon Prime is expanding their selection of stuff to view and I can probably keep myself entertained that way with their free view items and my small collection of movies I love, played on "continuous loop". I noticed they have Casablanca for the same price, $8, so maybe that will be what I order next month........

Well, that's about all I have time for. I need to get going on tax--it's mounting up around me in piles. I need to finish these up and get paid for them! Otherwise, I'll have a very unhappy March. How about some eye candy?

Karla did this darling layout. Honestly, doesn't it look like I designed this kit just for this photo? The colors are perfect and the photo is so cute. Karla used one of the word arts that are available with this kit for her title. I think it looks perfect!

My friend and Creative Team member extraordinaire, Laura, created this page. Laura is the proud owner of one very pampered and much loved golden doodle. Miss Paisley pops up often in Laura's pages and she always makes me smile. Here she is, getting ready for a snooze, on "her" ottoman. Love this with the lavender theme. Laura also used one of our word arts for her title. Wow! Lookin' good!

That's it for now. YOU be BLESSED today. I have bazillion buckets of dog food to carry in from the van. Looks like it might rain today, so I'd better get started, LOL.

 

 

 

The day I've been waiting for..........

with baited breath. The 4th Wednesday of the month. The day the SSI payment gets deposited to my account. The day my checking account balance looks better. Hi, 4th Wednesday! So glad you're here!

Every 3rd month, it ends up being 5 weeks from the previous 4th Wednesday to this one. That means the $$$ has to stretch for 35 days instead of 28. This is not such a fun game, but one I play several times a year.

I've been waiting.......... Waiting to buy much need ink for the printer. Waiting to go to Costco. Waiting to fill the van's tank. Waiting........ So glad the wait is over!

I've pretty well managed to stop being afraid during the wait. But I haven't figured out how to stop being frustrated. Take that printer ink, for example. I need it to make money. I need it to  print copies of returns for my clients. So, I have several returns done, but not printed, and therefore not paid for, because I don't want to drop $70 on printer ink. Now that there's money in the bank I can order that ink and move forward.

I spent part of yesterday trying to design a budget I can make work. My goal is simple. I want to track where the money goes and stop any leaks. I want my purchases to be intentional and planned. I want to be prepared for the high cost summer months when the water bills triple and quadruple and the power bills double. I want to be rid of the momentary gut punch I feel when I see the power bill or the water bill hangin' out in my mailbox. I want to be prepared for them.  I want to see if there are places where I can tighten my belt and save a little something..........

No matter how I massage the numbers, it still seems to be costing me several hundred dollars per month to live over and above my fixed income. And the price of everything goes up. So far, electricity has gone up. Gas for heating has gone up. The cost of tax software went up 10%. And, let's not even talk about the prices at the grocery store......... And, on what I already feel is a stripped down to the core budget, I feel I must look for ways to manage spending even more closely.

Yet, there are things a person HAS to buy/pay for. I HAD to buy a new bra, and I really need to buy another one or two. I need some new unmentionables. Through the closet purge, I've found that many of my shoes can no longer be worn, and last year's running shoes need to be replaced. I've done a lot of walking, climbing, fetching and carrying in the last year and I'm certain (given the state of my back) that the shock absorption is pretty well gone. And, let's face it, when you're buying running shoes for shock absorption, you can't buy used! Light bulbs. That's another thing. You really kind of have to have some lightbulbs. I have a lot of fixtures in the house that don't have lightbulbs in them. Because of lower power bills and life expectancy, I'd like to buy LED bulbs. But those suckers round out at about $15 each. I figure, to put bulbs in every light fixture, I need about 25. Now, maybe you can go spend $375 on light bulbs, but I sure can't. So, the budget, like everything else in life, is a constant balancing act..........

If all goes well, I'd like to roll my budgeting idea back to last year to identify where money left my hand and perhaps should not have. What did I buy that I should not have? How many times did I buy some snack that I could have gone without. I don't care if it "only" cost $1.99. Enough expenditures of $1.99 can add up to something fairly sizeable.

I want historical data. I want to know how the money was distributed last year, to give me some sort of insight into where I am going to have to spend this year. And I want that historical data to roll forward. And I want that historical data to help lessen the burden of preparing my own income tax. So, yesterday, I worked my way through January's expenditures. Today, I want to work my way through December's expenditures.

It all boils down to me becoming more aware of where the nickels and dimes are going. I have to know so I can move forward as carefully and rationally as possible.

Today is clean the bathrooms day. It is most likely my least time consuming day as far as housekeeping is concerned. And, I want to work in a trip to Costco. And it has to be a very carefully planned trip to Costco. I want to buy dogfood. I need milk. I want to price those LED lightbulbs there to see if I can beat the price at Lowe's. My paper supplies (paper towels in particular) are getting low. And, of course, I'll spend my monthly budget for gasoline while I'm there........ So, that's the plan.

If I have extra time, I need to do lots of work on cleaning up this computer, backing up files, and so on. And, I'd love to be able to tackle getting that dog crate broken down and ready to store someplace.

AND, I have a kit to work on, of course. And 3 returns to print, after I make some phone calls to clarify the information I've been given........... And 1 return to assemble that will give the client a temper tantrum. And 1 return to do and one more to make one entry to (from the return I need to do) and print. Yes, I can stay busy today.........

So, here is a "fun" thing that happened yesterday. Yeah, right, "fun". I always walk my clients to their cars. Many are elderly and I guide them over the lumps and bumps in my sidewalk. But, elderly or not, I walk them out. I think it adds a personal touch to the whole experience. Well, I walked a client to his car yesterday. We were still chatting when he climbed in. I bent over slightly, leaning on his car, while we chatted. AND I COULDN'T STRAIGHTEN UP. I tried, and got hit with a mini muscle spasm. It wasn't horribly painful, but it certainly was a reminder to do it all very carefully. And, of course, the involuntary sound, kind of like a muted scream, escaped me when I tried. I did finally get myself straightened up, but it was embarrassing, to say the least, to need so much time to go from leaning 30 degrees to straight up and down. And it was infinitely obvious that it was not effortless but a very carefully choreographed physical effort. Thankfully, he's a long term client who has graduated to "friend" so he understood, but still.......

I'm getting depressed thinking about my to do list. Let's do some eye candy and move on!

Lori did this layout and I think it's just adorable. What a creative idea to extract the baby in the photo from the background and place her on the bed. Love that cluster down the side of the layout too.

Here's one by Sherry. My favorite part of this layout is the use of the cloud as a background to her sleepy baby photo. I'm not sure where we, as a society, got the idea of "sleeping on a cloud". You know, clouds are really ice crystals. I think they'd be cold and hard to sleep on, but we think of them as soft and pillowy. Beautiful layout, Sherry.

This little guy gives us the idea that this kit works great for boy pages, and it does. You can easily do a girl page with the turquoise, muted yellow, and muted lavender. However, all of the colors in this kit are muted and flexible. And there are plenty of blues to play with. Love this, Sherry!

So, because I didn't blog on Tuesday, you got an extra beautiful layout to look at today. YOU be blessed today!

 

Update..........

It's been several days since I've blogged. Weird for me, I know. Busy and trying to recover.

On Friday, I rounded out the day with a total of 2 muscle relaxers and 3 OTC ibuprofen. It made a world of difference. Woke up Saturday sore but not spasming. That lasted about 5 hours, the spasms started up again, and I laid down again. I have had an on again/off again life ever since. I could probably settle for 5 hours up and 1-2 hours down if I had to, but I would need the 5 hours up to be productive, as in, I would need to be able to walk, bend, carry stuff--you know, actually "live". I wanted to go to Costco yesterday, but I knew I'd pay for the time spent walking on those concrete floors so I crossed that off my to do list.

I was blessed to take on a new client this year. THIS is a VERY nice man. He called Friday and wanted to pick up his returns--there were 4 of them. I just couldn't fathom having to walk to the door and act all businesslike in his presence. (You should see me try to go from standing to sitting--it's quite the sight.) So I told him what was going on and put him off til Saturday. When he came by Saturday, he came bearing gifts. First, it turns out he's had his own bouts with back problems. He showed up with some muscle relaxers and 4 pain pills. And, that wasn't enough--he showed up with the biggest sub sandwich I've ever seen. Seriously, I had 4 meals out of that one sub. It was one of those "thanksgiving dinner on a roll" sandwiches, complete with turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce. It was WAY more carbs than I wanted, but considering I was in no shape to cook, a wonderful gift. I thought, for a guy, that was pretty cool.

I did get a new product in the store Saturday morning. This week the new kit-of-the-week is at DigiScrapBoutique. It's darned cute, y'all..........

Do you remember I had 2 kits going at once? Well, I finished one of them days ago. But, on Saturday, I finally finished the second one. My Creative Team is commenting that they love the color schemes on both. And yesterday, I started a new one. Got all the papers created and about 24 elements. Love when my kits go together so easily. Got to keep the production line moving. I usually start tax season with more kits in inventory than I have this year. So, I can't slack off on the designing or I'll run out of new product to put into the store. This new one is bright and cheery and all about blessings.

I also finished pulling together the files for a collaborative kit I was working on a while back. That will hit the store at A Cherry On Top next Saturday. I had thought I'd need to do some additional elements for that kit but when I got it put together, I found we had more than enough. I also did the solids and 4 alphas on Saturday. That enabled me to get it all sorted out, zipped up and sent out to the Creative Team. I got some good feedback on the kit as they opened it all up and looked it all over. That is always a confidence builder. The trouble with designing is that you know the stuff you've fought with when you were trying to get things just right. It always helps to get someone else's opinion; someone who is coming to it with "fresh eyes".

Last night I got a call from a friend whose tax return I do. She has promised to get her stuff to me by the end of the week. I frequently end up needing more or needing explanations of numbers she supplies. But most years I've been tearing my hair over that one on April 14th. The last couple of years, it's been October 14th! I truly hope she is able to get things to me earlier this year. And two arrived by mail from Florida on Saturday.

Speaking of mail from Florida, I have not received anything for my mother's return yet. It's worrisome since she seems to be of the opinion that my daughter is giving me everything I need and I've received nothing. In reality, it is my mother who should receive most of what I need, via snail mail. So, who knows what will happen with that.

Today is dusting day. Parts of the house are needing that. In particular, the living room. I am just astounded at the difference in the amount of accumulated dust in this house since the vacuum cleaner is working properly. It is so much less of a problem. My "old" vacuum was missing a part, a gasket. Apparently the guys who worked on it took the gasket out and forgot to put it back in. Anyway, I think it was just NOT able to create a proper suction. Then when folks walked across the carpet, the dust that had been left in there by the improperly functioning vacuum just got stirred up. I am thrilled that I can go a week or two without seeing dust now, after about 18 months of a new vacuum and a "fixed" older vacuum. The way my back has been, I feel blessed when I can actually use the vacuum; it's a good thing when it does some good!

So, let's take a look at the new kit, shall we?

In theory, we spend about 1/3 of our lives asleep. But sleep time or bedtime is not something we often scrap about. This kit is soft enough for layouts about sleeping babies, but has enough adult themed papers to be used to document our adult sleeping habits too. I know, for me, I never fail to thank God when I lay down at night for my bed, my feather bed, my down comforter, and my special pillow. In my life, those are all blessings straight from the hand of God and they make a big difference in my awake time.

Wanna see some layouts???

This layout was created by Laurie. I love that the softness of the muted lavender and the yellow and teal make this kit appropriate for little girls as well as boys. Nothing makes me smile like a photo of a sleeping child........ Sweet photo and I love her title work on this one!

I don't know how it is with other designers, but when I create a kit, I try to think about the kinds of layouts folks will create with the kit and then I try to create elements that will compliment that kind of layout. I expected lots of layouts with sleeping babies with this kit. Laurie really surprised me with this layout but doesn't it work well? I love the angled layout and the off-topic layout. It surely shows that this kit has some versatility to it!

Well, that's it for this morning. I've learned that however my back is feeling when I wake up is more a reflection of what happened yesterday than a forecast of what will happen today, LOL. Yesterday musta been a decent day as I feel pretty good at the moment. I want to sign off and do something in this house just in case things sour along the way.......... YOU be BLESSED today.

 

Sore but still kicking.........

I took a muscle relaxer and laid down. Of course, buth the land line and the cell phone rang. I had to shrug off the land line entirely. It only rings 4 times and then goes to voicemail. It took me 3 rings to even sit up, much less make it to the phone. By the time it rang the third time, I just gave up and laid back down........

I've been up for a while, but I'm sitting here with the heating pad baking my back. It helps with the pain as long as I'm sitting up against it, but let me get up and walk around for 3-5 minutes and I'm back where I started.

Anyway, I know how this ends. I win. I'm healed. It's just the process of getting from here to there that's a problem.

I've added a few elements to one kit. Finalized the raw preview for another. And, uploaded a third for release tomorrow. At least, I'm getting something done.

I did some research online on muscle spasms. I looked at causes and treatments. My mind is on "prevention". Pretty much everything that can be done "naturally" as treatment I am doing. One suggestion was Gatorade to help restore electrolytes. Well, that could get pricey. And, the only thing I am not currently supplementing is magnesium.

According to the internet, milk is a good source of magnesium. I drink AT LEAST 2.5 cups of milk daily. Another good souce is coffee. I try not to go crazy with the coffee, but I do have several cups a day. So, I think my magnesium intake should be sufficient. Because of the milk intake, I don't supplement with calcium any more. I do supplement with B vitamins and potassium. A shortage of those was indicated with some muscle spasms. I also found that the med I take for blood pressure is supposed to have a good effect on muscle spasms. I had thought it might be exactly the opposite so I was pleasantly surprised. I am also careful to make sure I get about 60 ounces of water plus other liquids daily, so I don't think it can be dehydration, another "cause" for muscle spasms. So, I'm stumped. The Lord is gonna have to give me some additional wisdom if He wants me to do something to help with the problem. Of course, He doesn't need my "help", but I've found that sometimes He works this way..........

Anyway, as long as I am sitting against the heating pad, I don't feel too bad. However, I've been sitting about 95% of the time for the last 5 hours. I am going to try the horizontal thing again. I think it's time to take the load off the back muscles again. Thanks, everyone, for the on-going prayers.........

No weapon formed against me

shall prosper. So says the WORD of God. Today, Satan's weapon is the return of the achy back. Yes, there are muscle spasms. Yes, I am twisted. I am about to eat some lunch, take a muscle relaxer, and get horizontal in the hope of speedy relief. I would appreciate your efforts to stand with me in faith that this mess is healed.

Take it easy! Be careful!

As I was throwing together the ingredients for my morning frappuccino, I realized my back is unhappy this morning. I found myself thinking back to yesterday, trying to figure out if I had done something yesterday that brought this on. Then I realized just how very foolish that thought was.

I don't have to do anything unusual to have an achy back. It just happens. When I was 14, we were visiting my uncle. He had a daughter with whom he rough-housed all the time. No one rough-housed with me. Except him. I ended up hitting the floor on my back, something popped out of place, and a day or two later, my parents loaded me in the car, very carefully, like a little old lady, and once we reached our destination, I had my very first chiropractic visit.........

When I was 29, I was involved in a rear-ended traffic accident on the freeways of St. Louis. I walked away, but my back was injured, badly. Later I was rear-ended again here in Las Vegas. I was driving a fairly heavy car, stopped at a badly placed stoplight, and I was hit by a Ford Fiesta going WAY faster than the speed limit. My car was thrown a good 12 feet into the intersection. I walked away again. But.........

While my DD was growing up, there were nights I'd ask her to sleep with me just so she could help me turn over. I'd grab the headboard with one hand and her hand with the other and together we'd get me into a different position. I've had muscle spasms in my back for YEARS.

If it were not for my faith in God to heal, I would say this is just the way my life is and forever shall be. However, I've had muscle spasms that I couldn't get relief from that lasted up to 3 months. Now they last a day or two. And, yes, they are a pain, both physically and in view of all I need to do. But THIS is better. And I believe it will continue to get better. Not because of anything I do, but because God is at work, rebuilding and refurbishing my back.

So, it's silly for me to try to figure out why my back aches. What I might have done to aggravate it. It's really more realistic to just say it aches because I woke up.

On occasion, folks will tell me to "take it easy" or "be careful" or "don't work too hard". I know they mean well, but if they understood the nature of my existence, they wouldn't waste the words. NOTHING I can do is going to change it or make it better. Only God......... The prevailing theory around here is "if you can do it, you'd better get it done". That is based on the idea that tomorrow you just might not be able to..... and what you are able to do tomorrow will have little or no correlation to what you did today.........

I am awarding myself a bronze medal for yesterday. I did not finish the fridge clean out and I still have a box on the dining room table to dispose of though I got rid of 2. I also did not iron. I did clean mirrors, countertops, toilets and such in both bathrooms. I did carry some boxes out to the trash, and a box of donation stuff to the van. I did get on the treadmill. I did get those previews put together, uploaded and sent out.

Today will be tax day. I will be doing the 2 returns I have to go and putting the finishing touches on the 5 I've done. One client, the new guy, who will be paying me for 4 tax returns, is getting antsy. Well 3 of the 4 are done. And the 4th won't take long so I will be pulling his stuff together. He called last evening and would like to pick it up and pay me tomorrow. And, after looking at my bank balance, that sounds good to me! And, when he sees the refunds he is getting, he'll be happy too. If I have extra time or need a break from the computer, it's mop the hard floors day. And it's drag the trash to the curb day. I'm sure I can round up some empty boxes to put out if I look in the garage. And the bathroom trash needs emptied. I also have another trash can full of hangers I'm getting rid of. I can do it! I emptied the kitchen trash yesterday and disposed of some boxes that were hanging out in the dining room so getting the trash out will be pretty easy.

I do have a kit that is about 85% done and I will spend some time on that if time is available.

I totally lost a day this week. I was shocked, I tell you, shocked, when I figured out that yesterday was Wednesday. I really wanted to have the kit I still have in process finished Thursday. And I wanted to have these tax returns done by Thursday. So, figuring out it was Wednesday when I thought it was Tuesday was no fun! I had better morph into superwoman if I am to achieve my goals, LOL.......

Let me show you some eye candy. I still have some darling layouts with the Boho kit to show you........

This layout is by Laurie. She added a bokeh overlay to the solid paper in the background and I think it looks really cute. Don't you love her journaling on a path? I got a sneak peek at this early on and thought it was so cute!

Nancy did this layout. As it turns out, this kit is just perfect for pairing with the colors in her photo! Love the little strips of paper and flowers in the lower right. They are just enough, when paired with her journaling to help balance out the layout. Very nice work, Miss Nancy!

So, that's what I have for you today. At least for now. I'm going to try to get started a little early today and accomplish as much as I can. YOU be BLESSED today. I will not complain if you decide to spend a minute or two praying for the ache in my back to subside...........

 

 

Silvery glow..........

I did NOT earn a gold star yesterday. But I am once again granting myself a silver star and a pat on the back. I did put out some effort yesterday. Maybe I coulda have done more, but I am happy with what I got done.

My major achievement for the day was that I got 2 tax returns done. That doesn't sound like much, but it involved a good bit of work. One return was no big deal. The other really tried my patience, numbed my butt and just generally frustrated me. The client is an older gentleman who lost his wife in 2012. It had always been my feeling that she was the one who pulled everything together for their taxes. He didn't do too badly. I didn't find any big holes in the documentation he had for me. Of course, I had duplicates on top of duplicates. For example, he had the cash register receipts for his prescription drugs AND the print out from the drugstore. He was quite sure they had missed some when generating the printout. I think I have a better idea of how their computers are programmed than he does, and I think it unlikely they missed any. Beyond that, his income is high enough that the cutoff for medical was a good $5000 higher than the expenses he'd conjured up. There was no way the drug store missed $5000 worth of scripts; so, I ignored that mess all together.

What I couldn't ignore was his betting slips. He bets the horses. And he bets the horses A LOT. And, of course, he did not add them up. He "threatened" to add them up on a calculator while I sat there and I knew that would be a trauma I could not endure. So, I offered to add them up. I brought them all home. Well, let me tell you, me and my trusty adding machine were busy for 3 hours! By the time I got done, I wanted to strangle something. And my hand and wrist hurt! Oy! But, the return is done and ready to print. Somebody give me a high five. I have every confidence that sometime soon, my butt will be capable of feeling again..........

I cleared everything out of that corner in the dining room except the crate. It was a "cheat" but it was worth it. I actually put the boxes on the dining room table. BUT, I got that area thoroughly vacuumed for the first time in years. I started with quite the stack of boxes in that area. I'd say at least 10, maybe 12. I'm down to 2 books to put away and a box of video tapes to donate. I figured putting them on the dining room table would help make them more visible and up the "urgency" of dealing with them. I walk past that part of the dining room multiple times a day and I am still feeling like "something's missing" every time. It's a good feeling when I realize that what's missing is largely just a pile of junk! I can't imagine what it will be like when that crate is cleaned out and collapsed and put away! I will likely be disoriented. I know that crate has been in the corner for a good 10 years. What will it be like when it's not there anymore.

I vacuumed through the whole house and did a good job of it. I cleaned one shelf in the fridge--still one to go. I'm puzzled. I keep getting a whiff of something in that fridge that smells. I seriously doubt whatever it is is on the top shelf, but since I've gone through the drawers and all the other shelves and haven't found whatever it is, maybe.......... Anyway, that smell is what motivated the fridge cleanout and I'm not happy that I haven't been able to track down the smell. Maybe today?

I ironed a little silk blouse. Yes, my one piece for the day. I used to have bazillion of these little silk blouses. I shopped and shopped til I found a lot of them for cheap in various colors. They were fabulous with suits. Then I gained weight. Then I started this clean out thing when I was much heavier. I have a feeling most of those little silk blouses are now gone........ There is no way they would have fit me when I started this effort. I am now sorry I donated those, but I realize I don't have a lot of places to wear a silk blouse these days anyway. I'll get over it............

The desk got some attention as well. Not enough, but some. It was significantly helped just by the fact that I managed to get through all those betting slips and get them all stuffed into a big manila envelope that looks 9 months pregnant. But, this desk still needs help so I have to stay on it.

Two things I did not get done yesterday. Both are important. I did not get those previews made on the design side. And I did not get on the treadmill. I did do some upper body work, but it's the treadmill I need to concentrate on. Those two things will have to go on the top of the to do list today.........

So, today: I need to do those previews. I need to be sure I get on the treadmill. I need to clean out the top shelf in the fridge. I need to deal with the boxes on the dining room table and wash the blanket that's in the doggy crate. There are still 2 tax returns to do (to be replaced by 2 more, shortly, that are headed my way from clients in Florida). Want to get these 2 done before the pile grows again. Besides, I looked at my bank balance and got a little queasy. It's so thin you can see right through it........... I'm not sure what else I'll jump on. Maybe I'll head back to the bedroom closet. I still have work to do on the top shelf.

I want to stop for just a minute and congratulate myself. So much of what I've done in this house isn't "visible". And there's an overwhelming amount still to do. But, I realized last night as I was vacuuming, that I've made some pretty great changes that are visible. Clients enter through the front door and walk through the living room/dining room to get to my office. So if it's in there and it's ugly, they see it. I had a corner, very close to the front door that was full of stuff. That corner is completely cleaned out and now looks neat and tidy. I fixed that bookshelf that broke and it's filled with a collection of scrapbooks that were in so many different colors it was disconcerting. Now all those scrapbooks have been covered in brown paper and aren't an ugly attention grabber. I've unpacked and sorted, organized, donated, trashed the contents of 12 or so boxes in the dining room (well, except for what's on the dining room table) and that area is now clear and clean. I hauled a bookshelf from elsewhere in the house and it's now filled with my collection of cookbooks. All in all, once I get the crate out of here and clear the dining room table, this might look like a place where a sane person lives. A poor person, but sane nonetheless! Makes me happy.....

I am a little sorry I didn't spend a little more money while at Goodwill last week. They had two fabulous fake trees for sale. I didn't even price them. Perhaps the price would have been more than I want to pay, but I sure think I should have bought at least one of them. That corner by the front door could REALLY use one............

Eyecandy and I'm outta here. It's getting late.

This cute layout is by Sherry. I love the cut outs in the green paper showing off various elements and papers on the layers below. Sherry used a frame in the kit as a clipping mask for the plaid paper and created her own plaid frame. Love the journaling!

Here is a layout by Christy S. I always love her multi-photo layouts. This is the first time I've REALLY wished the photos were larger, particularly those photos of the young lady dressed in gold. Those are photos of Christy, acting in a play, while in high school. My curiosity wants to get up close and personal with those photos, LOL. LOVE the line of embellishments along the sides of the page. Can you imagine how long it would take to place all those perfectly on a paper layout???? Digital rules! Love the page, Christy!

Okay. Time to get dressed and start clearing off that dining room table. I'm getting excited about the prospect of having a no-longer-embarrassing dining room. YOU be BLESSED today. And pray that I figure out how to collapse that crate without too much effort. It just might end up being quite the challenge!

 

 

It's always something.......

Saturday I got a phone call from a friend. She happens to be a friend with tax problems. She had received a phone call from someone from the IRS with a very thick Indian accent. According to a barely discernable phone message they left, they were threatening collection action with regard to a balance due. She has attempted to return the call several times, reaching only a voicemail. This morning she got through to a person who demanded money. This person threatened arrest, driver's license suspension, etc., all within 45 minutes if my friend didn't pay up. My friend offered $500, but that was not enough. Finally, the "IRS" person agreed to $2000 as a payment on the balance.

Well, guess what. It's fraud, a scam. Fortunately, my friend paid them nothing. However, if you google the number they left, it's out and out fraud. My friend is going to file a police report now. However, it is believed these people are operating from overseas somewhere so a police report filed with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department isn't likely to shut them down. If these people were reachable, they'd be arrested for a federal crime--impersonating a federal officer.

The phone number these cheaters left was 415-251-3754. Just go to google and input that number and look what comes up! So, my advice: if you get a collection-type phone call from someone purporting to be the IRS, google the phone number and proceed carefully. If you feel inclined to make a payment, go to the official IRS website (www.irs.gov) to get an address for an official IRS service center and mail your payment there. As always:  Make sure you annotate your money order (yes, I recommend a money order) with your social security number and the tax year to which your payment pertains.

The simple fact is that folks with an IRS tax liability have tax liens on their personal credit report. Anyone who can get a credit report can narrow down the victims list to just people who owe. Or, it's possible these are just robo-calls. Or, they may be the result of identity theft. Invest in a decent shredder and use it! But, in any case, never just make a payment because someone threatens you. Instead, look for official correspondence from the IRS and call back on the number given or go the internet route.

So, that news was fun to wake up to!

Now that the excitement has passed, what will I do with the gift of today?

Well, I still have two shelves in the fridge to clean. In the dining room, I am working towards clearing that corner where the dog crate stands. That means putting two books away, carrying at least one box to the curb, carrying another box to the van, washing the blanket that's in the crate, and then attacking the crate itself.

Today is vacuuming day. I do want to accomplish this. Particularly in the dining room where I've been moving stuff around and have found some areas that need cleaned. Seems dust has somehow found its way UNDER boxes that have been sitting there a LONG time. But, it's time for the whole house.

As always, ironing, desk, and treadmill all need to go on the to do list.

I have 4 tax returns awaiting action so I want to get on those.

On the design side, I did not make that alpha preview yesterday. I need to get that done and get stuff put together to send to my design assistant like I promised to do yesterday........ A day late. I hope I'm forgiven! And there is still design work to be done on kit #2 of the kits I was working on simultaneously. I'm close enough to done that I can smell it. So, I'll push on that.

I think we should have some eye candy. My team of layout artists has done some gorgeous layouts with this week's kit.

Deanna created this. I was surprised at how well this kit adapted to a "boy" page. Yeah! That green background does the trick. I also like the addition of the purple which ties in just great to the birthday "crown" the birthday boy is wearing. The acrylic flowers are not overly feminine so they work well on this boy page as do the round flair-type ornaments. Great job!

I got such a kick out of this page. LOVE the layered papers. The photos, though, are what got me smiling. Isn't it fun to see the little one imitating Grandma's "poses" as she is taking pictures? Just goes to show these little guys sure don't miss much. Love the lace used as an edging for the photos as well. Yeah, boy!

So that's your eye candy for today. I have more but you'll have to come back tomorrow, LOL. For now, I'm going to go get started on the mountain of work I have waiting. YOU be BLESSED today! Don't forget to look for the blessings in your day.........

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