A Busy Day

Wow, I got a lot done today, including finishing another bag. I am pleased with it and will have Rachel model it so I can take some pics and get it listed tonight. I had lots of energy and got stuff done around the house too. We actually had quite a nice day. South Beach diet is going great. I weighed yesterday and lost another 2 pounds which puts me between 20 and 25 lb. lost. I think it is closer to 25, but whatever...I am losing, so that is what counts. Not only is the weight loss great, it feels good to be making healthier choices and we are really enjoying our meals. Steve made tacos for dinner. We had ours on a whole grain tortilla. It was really good. I actually suggested having a Juliane salad for lunch. This is very odd because I don't normally enjoy salad, but ever since I made my own 1000 Island dressing, I can't seem to get enough salad. Breakfast was two poached eggs on a slice of whole grain toast.

We have been looking at puppies. No, we are not crazy. Megan thinks we should get a puppy while Chloe is still healthy enough to help train it to scratch at the livingroom door to go out the back door. We will get something small and one that does not yip all the time. We are looking at two different ones...a Maltese mix and a schnoodle. I will keep you all posted. My mom will flip her wig...LOL :o)

Good Morning

Yes, that is right..."Good morning". I am not only blogging at 8 am, but I am showered and dressed and ready for the day. My meds are working and I am definitely feeling better. I am still coughing, but not as bad as I was. Hopefully the cough will be gone completely over the weekend. I was quite relieved that our CSE meeting at school was canceled yesterday. I was worried I would be coughing so hard that I would be disrupting the meeting. They are going to try and reschedule or next week.

I guess I had a burst of energy yesterday as I managed to finish two bags and get them listed. Check out my etsy shop if you would like to admire them..LOL I would like to get another bag done today, but I do need to vaccum and dust first, not to mention fold about 3 loads of towels..UGH.

Have I mentioned that I have given up coffee?? I did have a couple of cups one day when we went to Altons for lunch as they have the best coffee int he whole world. Other than that I have been drinking green tea with pomegranate or blueberry. I also have an herbal pomegranate tea that is so yummy. I never knew I could enjoy tea as much as I do. Steve even drinks some once in a while. :o)

Over the Hump Day

Well, we are over half way to the weekend. :o) My husband was quite bossy this morning and insisted that I call and get a Dr. appointment today. I argued that I would go if I wasn't better by Friday. Well, he won and I went. I am so glad I did. She could hear wheezing in my lungs which is what happens when I get asthmatic bronchitis. She put me on my magical combination of anti- biotic and steroid. I feel somewhat better tonight, but that could be because I know I will start feeling better from the meds. We have an important CSE meeting at school for Nick tomorrow. I really need to be there, but I am worried I will sit and cough my head off. We are trying very hard to get Nick a one-on-one aide. He really needs one and his teacher is with us on this. We will have a couple of people from Waiver there to offer support too. He had the recomendation for an aide of his own when he left the Childrens Psych hospital. We have been working to make it happen since summer. Nick is regressing and he really needs constant encouragement to stay on task. I called and requested this meeting and we are going ready to fight for this.

I almost have another purse finished. It has quite a Spring feel to it. Hopefully I will have it listed tomorrow. Yesterday was a good day as I had two sales. This was a huge improvement over the last month. :o)

Ugh..I am Sick!!

Well, my cough keeps getting worse and the wheezing is driving me crazy. If I am not better by Fri. I am going to the Dr. I am sure if I am sick of hearing myself cough, that my family is surely sick of hearing it. LOL

I have been enjoying Facebook. I have a ways to go before I understand it completely, but so far it is very cool. I sold the camo bag today as a direct result of the networking on Facebook. Business has been really slow, so it was great to make a sale. I listed two new bags tonight. One is a man's tattoo messenger bag and the other is a women's tattoo fabric and canvas bag. I am pleased with how they both turned out. Take a peek at my shop if you would like to view them.

I had a brainstorm today. I have a hard time eating salad because there really isn't a dressing I like except for Thousand Island. Today I took some mayo, low carb ketsup and some pickle relish as well as a couple of packs of splenda and made my own. I ate a salad for dinner and I enjoyed it so much. Why didn't I think of that before?? The salad went well with the spaghetti and meatballs we had for dinner. We are still doing well on South Beach and plan on continuing on it. :o)

I am on Facebook!!

Well, my girls set me up an account on Facebook. I am really excited about connecting with everyone. I am sure it will take me a while to get the hang of it, but I am looking forward to this new adventure.

Megan and Scott are unexpectedly still here. They started home a little before 6 pm and by the time they reached Holland, they only had one high beam headlight and no place to get any, so they had to turn around and stay another night. They are hoping to be able to get it fixed in the morning and be on their way.

Looking forward to my darling boys going back to school tomorrow morning. :o)

Company!!

Megan and Scott arrived around 12:30 pm along with London and Jag, their dogs. We have had a very nice day. Steve made his homemade cheesy clam chowder that Megan requested for dinner. Rachel baked a cheesecake using light cream cheese and Splenda. She chopped fresh strawberries and added some Splenda, which she put over top of the cheesecake pieces. It was really yummy.

I have a feeling I am heading for Bronchitis. I am really not feeling well and I am coughing alot. The most annoying thing is hearing myself wheezing. I just used my Advair inhaler so I am hoping that will help. Steve is getting up with the kids in the morning...yippee. Bradly was really aweful this morning, and he was even worse before he went to bed. I guess having company does not agree with him . Anyway, he has frayed my nerves, and I am just so glad I do not have to deal with him in the morning. :o)

Thursday, Feb. 19th

Another bright, sunshiny morning. It sure lifts my spirits to see the sun and think about the lovely Spring days that will soon be here. I am writing now, because I intend to have a very productive day. I have been working on a purse using my new pink skull fabric and a black and white polka dot fabric. I am hoping to finish it today and list it in my shop tonight.

Hopefully my hubby will take care of everything in the one part of our basement so he can set up my exercise equipment. I really need to put forth more exercise as well as the diet. I seem to be stuck and not losing even though I am eating the way I should (well, I am eating the right things, but possibly more than I should eat), but I am certain if I do a bit of exercise every day that should get the scales moving downward again. I have a plan that since the exercise equipment would be in the room next to my studio, that I could do a bit of exercising before I start working in my studio each day. :o)

A Good Day

We had our first great day with the boys since they have been off from school. Hopefully we are on to a new groove. Brad is on the other computer taking care of his "Webkinz" He behaved well and earned an extra 15 minutes of computer, so he is happy. Nick is very snuggly and loving which I love...it sure beats grouchy..LOL

Nick was sick over the weekend and had a really bad cough. It is amazing how well the Vicks Vaporub, rubbed on the bottom of his feet works. The cough goes almost completely away for like 10 hours. We found out yesterday that it also is great for ezema. Steve put some on his knuckles last night and he is amazed how much better they are already today. Who knew there we so many uses for the stuff.

We are all anxiously awaiting the weekend. Megan and Scott are coming on Sat. and we have not seen them since right after Christmas. Rachel will be here too. Megan has requested her Dad's homemade New England Cheesy Clam Chowder so we are having that on Sat. We are still sticking to the South Beach diet and feeling so much better. Can't wait till it becomes noticable that we are losing weight. I can wear my smaller shirts again which is nice. :o)

Tues. Morning

Well, the sun is shining here. We sure are not having a heat wave, but it is nice to see the sun shine. The boys are off school all week, so it has been a bit stressful. We have seen some regression with Nick's behavior. The only change has been the addition of two 4th grade boys to his 8-1-1 classroom. According to the teacher, this has effected all 4 of the original children. Nick's fuse is really short again and he gets so angry about the tiniest things. Brad's most difficult time is in the mornings. He has had only one good morning in almost a week. I can not even describe how discouraging it is to see this regression. We are hoping and praying we can get it turned around. The one boy may be leaving Nick's class and we have put in a request for him to have a one-on-one aide. We will have a CSE meeting next week. The teacher is all for it too, so we shall see what happens. I do know that the school district can not refuse a child a service they need just because of the budget.

Rachel has been home since Fri. She was going to leave tomorrow morning in time for her 11 a.m. class, but last nights weather report said it will be a rough drive Wed. morning due to probably three inches of snow that will fall over night. She is probably going to leave tonight, which we think is a good idea. This weekend, Megan and Scott will be here for an overnight visit. We are looking forward to that. Rachel will be here too, and we are hoping Reid can get a day off so he can come too.

I got some new fabric when I shopped at Jo Ann Fabrics on Fri. I made a green skull "Essentials" pouch which I listed last night. I am working on a new purse using a new Simplicity pattern I bought Fri too. It is pleated in the front and looks really cute in the picture. We will see if it is cute when I get mine done. LOL :o)

Plane Crash

What a sad day this is as we pray for all the families who lost loved ones in the plane that crashed 5 miles from the Buffalo International Airport last night. All on board perished as well as a man who lived in the house that the plane crashed into. Reid is friends with Jill, the daughter of the man who passed away in the house. Jill and her mom managed to escape with fairly minor injuries, but Jill's dad was not so lucky. Reid is shocked by the news that it was Jill's house that was hit. He said they had actually both been at the same party this past Sat. night. She also attends SUNY Brockport. For some strange reason we never knew about the crash until this afternoon. Steve and I went on a shopping trip to Jo Ann Fabrics today and then out to lunch for Valentine's Day. On the way into the city, the dj of one of the radio stations kept making reference to the tragedy in Clarence Center and all the grieving families. He never said what had happened, so we did not find out till we got home and Rachel told us. It is always scary when these accidents occur, but it really hits harder when it is so close to home. It makes us think about all the times we have had loved ones flying in or out of this airport. Megan just flew home from Austalia in Aug. and my brother Joe and his wife Denise flew this past July for a visit. I can't imagine being someone waiting to pick someone up at the airport, only to find out they are gone.

No School

When we went to bed last night, it was windy and rainy. At some point during the night, everything froze and the winds continued. Steve had set it up so that when school is closed he gets a text message on his cell phone. Unfortunately for him, the test came in 5 minutes after he got up to get Brad up. So, he drank a cup of coffee and went back to bed. I am up now with the boys, and it is still so windy. They are watching "Kronks New Groove" and I am sipping my tea. Speaking of which, I bought this new tea yesterday and Steve and I both love it. It is green tea with pomegranate which is a great antioxidant. Best of all, it is really tasty and quite healthy. I very rarely drink coffee any more.

Yesterday we took the boys to Springville for a counseling appointment. I realized that it was the first I have been out of the house since Jan. 26th which was over 2 weeks ago. I guess I am a bit reclusive in the winter. I am really afraid of falling for one thing, and the other is that the cold air really bothers my asthma, so I am thrilled when I do not have to go out.

My order for the tattoo shop is ready to be shipped. I sent a pic of all the items he ordered and he responded that he loves them. He wondered if I could think of anything else I make that might be a good seller. I have been thinking of something to make for guys, but all I have come up with is a canvas messenger bag with maybe the flap made out of a guys tattoo fabric. Anyone got any ideas?? Let me know. :o)

A Relaxing Sunday

This has been such a nice, relaxing day. I can't say that I have accomplished too much, but that is ok. I am on my third book in a series I am reading by Brandilyn Collins. She is a Christian mystery author and she keeps you on the edge of your seat. I got the first one of her books from my best friend, Peggy. Since then, Rachel went on line and requested more through our library system. If anyone gets a chance to read her, I highly recomend her books.

Chris' first court date was Thurs. The charges were dropped to a misdemeanor and they released him until his next court date in March. He could still serve a year in county jail, but that is sure better than state prison. We hope and pray that he can get his act together.

I am excited about a new opportunity to sell my bags. The owner of a tattoo shop is purchasing some of my items made with the Alexander Henry "Inked" fabric, and he is going to sell them in his shop. If they sell as well as he thinks they will, he wants to order more. What a great opportunity for both of us.

We are doing good on "South Beach". It seems really easy now. I dropped down into a new catagory yesterday, which thrilled me. That is almost 20 lbs. off and it feels good. I try not to think about how far I have to go. I have been trying to focus on being healthy rather than being thin...if that makes sense.

We have been cooking chicken breast with the bone in all day in our crockpot with onions, garlic and green peppers. The meat is falling off the bones now, so shortly I will shred it with 2 forks and we will have chicken tacos for dinner. TOPS Market sells these wonderful, whole grain tortilla shells, and we will put some chicken, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce, plus light sour cream and taco sauce on them. I hope they turn out as good as I have planned. :o)

Wednesday, Feb. 4th

Between Steve and I, we chatted with all 7 of our children today. Chris called from jail to tell us his lawyer was there to see him and informed him that there is a 50% chance the District Attorney may drop the charges to a misdemeanor. We are praying that this is so because otherwise he may be looking at 3-5 years in prison, not the county jail. Chris isn't a bad person, he just makes stupid choices sometimes. I hate to think what he would be like after 3 years in prison. We hope he has really learned from this experience and makes some life changes. Steven has been in pain and ended up at the emergence room last night. He has a kidney infection and is on antibiotics, so hopefully he will feel better soon. Megan and Rachel are doing well. Evidently Reid got someones elbow in his face while he was out and damaged his glasses. He also fell on the ice and hurt his knee. I guess he got the glasses fixed and his knee is much better.

I have to share a new recipe I made for dinner tonight. I saw this recipe on "Spark People" and made a few small changes. This is so easy to make and we all loved it. Steve even said it made him think of his mother's lasagna recipe that she used to make him for his birthday every year before she passed away. The two things I loved besides how great it tasted, was that it only dirties one pan and it is ready in under 45 min. Here it is. Enjoy :o)

SKILLET LASAGNA

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion
minced garlic to taste
1 can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 1/4 cup water
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 teas. Italian seasoning
1 teas. salt
black pepper to taste
2 packs Splenda
2 1/2 cups broken whole wheat pasta noodles
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
dash basil and black pepper (optional)
1 egg
part skimmed shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, brown beef, onion and garlic. Drain.
Add tomatoes, water, tomato sauce, Splenda, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper.
Stir in the uncooked, broken lasagna noodles.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until pasta is tender (mine took a bit longer).
Combine cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese and egg and mix well.
Add the basil and pepper if you choose.
When the pasta is done as appears to have absorbed the liquid, drop the cheese mixture by tablespoons onto the pasta mixture.
Cover and cook another 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese and serve.

6 servings

We Made It!!

Yes! Yesterday was our last day on phase 1 of our diet. Today we started on phase 2 which means we can add some fruits and whole grains like whole grain bread, brown rice and barely. We can also have sugar free fat free yogurt now. This makes a great smoothie which we will probably have for breakfast sometimes. Today we had two poached eggs on a piece of wholegrain toast. Mmm...it was really good.:o) Last night we had Greek omelets for dinner. Now, my brother Joe is the omelet king, but these are still awesome. I use my smallest frying pan and heat a little bit of olive oil in it. In a bowl, I beat 3 eggs with a bit of cold water (a hint from Joe) and add salt and pepper to it. Then I rip up a handful of fresh spinach and stir that in. It goes into the well heated frying pan and cook as you do any omelet. When it is almost done, place some feta cheese on one half and fold it over. I slide it onto a plate and microwave about 30 seconds to be sure the egg is quite done inside. Sprinkle with
grape tomato halves and serve. It is very delicious and filling.

I was a busy beaver today. I did several loads of laundry and cleaned the laundry room and folded three loads of towels (I have put it off for a while) LOL. I just cut 2 zucchini squash into strips and have them marinating in some Chavettas Italian dressing in a zip lock bag. Steve is grilling us steak on the grill and will also grill the squash. I will be cooking the mushrooms, and will make a baked potato for the boys and a salad as they won't eat the squash.

We had the girls over the weekend, so we were pretty busy. It may be the last time we have them for awhile. They do seem to have adjusted pretty well. I just hope they are keeping their grades up.

I really need to get busy in my studio again. I sold a strap wallet the other day, but business is slow. I think that is to be expected after the holidays and with the condition the economy is in. It would probably help if I made some new things to sell though. LOL Hopefully I can get to that tomorrow. :o)