I Love Yoplait Yogurt...

I just love Yoplaits Light Thick and Creamy (used to be custard style) yogurt, many times I have chosen this as a snack over ice cream because it is just as creamy and smooth, but at only 100 calories and no fat, this is much better for me I am sure.

If I had to choose between this and the many other 100 calorie snacks on the market, it would be Yoplait hands down. Face it, 100 calorie packs of Oreo's are not real oreos, just flat little cracker things that just don't do as much for me as an Oreo cookie would.

The other thing I love about Yoplait, is their whipped yogurt. I bought some and put it in the freezer for the grandchildren and they loved it. So now, I can just place yogurt in the freezer and they have their very own personal snack.

I am aware I could buy a 1/2 gallon of frozen yogurt, but with the cost of that, I can purchase enough for them to have a fresh frozen snack for 4 days or more.

The other thing I love about Yoplait is that regular yogurt makes me gag, I don't know if it's the consistency or what, but I cannot eat regular yogurt, so I am very pleased that Yoplait offers me two other options to choose from and with flavors like: Cherry Pie and Cinnamon Roll, well, in my book, you just can't go wrong.

More Changes...Post Op Picture

This is the first day I have really been dressed (out of gowns, pj's & shorts) and where I actually put on some makeup and tried to look human. Actually, we are going to the county fair today, so I had to put some jeans on (they don't feel good on at all) so I won't freeze.

I was thinking the hammer and octopus would be good rides for me. HAHA, NOT!! We will eat lunch here at home and then go so we are not buying food at the rip off prices the fairs charge. I mean, for all the good many of the booths do for charity and organizations, it is fine, but still, the prices they want for just a bottle of water....

I will take the walker and lucky for me, there are plenty of places to just sit down, because I have a feeling this will be a challenge and pushing the 3 block requirement the doctor wants me to be on. I really have to loose some weight and especially the spare tires around my middle! But, can't do anything until the doc says so.

I went to Olympia yesterday, they removed every other stitch in my back, said it looks great and they were impressed by hubby doing such a great job. I go back next week for the remainder of the stitches to be removed, then an X-Ray a few weeks later and another appointment the end of August. I have a feeling, I am not going to be ready for work, but don't know how disability plays into all of this!

I received some wonderful Joyce Meyers things in the mail yesterday...100 Ways to Simplify Your Life

and a DVD on Spending Time With God, I really need to do both and Joyce is such a spirit filled counselor for women on Godliness and just plain common sense as times.

I am closing my Etsy shop down. I have had it for awile and no matter how many times, I blog it, google it, Facebook or twitter it, I am just not getting any sales and I feel it is because Etsy has just such a huge following. I will still purchase from sellers, but I am going to try Art Fire which is totally free.

I am also having my muscle relaxers changed due to the many muscle spasms I have had all of a sudden over the last few days. Sleeping has been fitful and moving impossible. Keep those prayers coming and great thoughts!

Art Fire, Have You Heard The News?

Have you heard about the website/listing site for handmade items...Art Fire? It is a really unique site at this time, allowing you to list your hand crafted items for free. No charge for the listing, no charge for adding pictures, no final fee's & best of all, no hidden fee's, it is free!

I just listed some of the things I have listed on Etsy and what I found interesting, is they showed up in a showcase type of listing for no extra charge. I have sent some of you an Email about it, however, I think I forgot to add my URL, so I get the credit if you sign up.

Please click on the following link: http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=power_up&refuid=36381

and start uploading all the wonderful handmade gifts I know you each make. I think you will be glad you did!

Free Products To Try...Bzz

Do you enjoy trying new things, but hate to waste your hard earned money to do so? Do like I have done and join the Bzz by becoming a Bzz agent and you can join campaigns to try new products on the market or low prices on high end products for your opinion and for sharing with others.

Recently, I was the Bzzagent for CoverGirls lipstain and received several $1 off coupons to share with others so they could purchase this and see how great it is for themselves. There were just to many good things I liked about the product:
-It goes on easily.
-It doesn't come off (great when you spend as much time I have in bed after surgery)
-Hubby likes it because it isn't thick and heavy like regular lipsticks
-It has a nice light Raspberry Vanilla flavor
-Fits in your purse or your pocket

I have the Bzz logo on the right sidebar, just click and sign yourself up for a Bzz Campaign. It is fun and I enjoy it and the other perk is you can receive My Points for some of your comments and there, you can save points and receive free gifts!

A Rough Night

After having the kind of night I had last night, I am seriously looking forward to seeing my doctor tomorrow.
I was exhausted yesterday and just felt I needed to go to bed early, so turned off the lights at 9:00 pm and by 9:27 pm, I had my first back spasm that got me writhing in pain.

I had two more large ones by 10:00. Throughout the rest of the night, I was woke up by these gripping and painful spasms. I tried to get a massage last week, however a friend of mine who is a licensed therapist told me not while I have my stitches in. So, hubby rubbed my back where I thought I felt the spasms most.

This could just be part of the healing process, but I have known others that have had this surgery and they didn't go through this pain. So, I will talk to the doc tomorrow and in the meantime, I am going to take a nap today while the kids are gone. Wish me luck!

Blessings Of Change

I have realized for the past several years, that God has me in a unique position, one in which He is in total control and leading me to open my eyes in several areas and yet, while everything fell into place for us to move from Phoenix to Aberdeen, there have been no absolutes when it comes to which direction He has for me as a career.

I have always loved quilting since I made the first quilt (a doll quilt for my granddaughter Christina and a Harley quilt for my hubby), it was like an obsession for me. I have always loved helping people where and when ever I can from the time I was in junior high, so it was a natural progression for me to make quilts for people in need such as police dispatchers.

I was so convinced that my ministry work was in my quilts for these unique people that I had set up 2 blogs to receive information, pass on information and to receive items for those in need. It just never really took off. While I received a few donations for Hurricane Katrina victims, fabric and batting donations for dispatchers during the Virginia Tech shootings and the last quilt I made I received a check for the cost of mailing the quilt and pillow cases, most people made empty promises. I finally had to stop posting to the 911 blogs I had because they weren't doing what I thought they should.

While I may have stopped here, I feel God still wants me making quilts because He has given me all this extra time to sit around and not be able to do anything except hand quilt. I am also going to take the plunge and showcase my quilts on Etsy this month.

I feel that God truly wants me stepping out in this area and I must be bold and accept the wonders that
God is going to open up to myself and my family, the blessings that He wants to pour upon us and while it may not be totally in quilting, I believe He is guiding me to do something in this area.

In the meantime I must remember that I must not be self sufficient, but have Jesus be my sufficiency!

Stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuupid People aka Parents

I don't know if this post should actually be titled the way it is, or should I put Rude or Ignorant parents? I have had it up to my eyeballs with people who just think their kids should be shuttled to my yard to run amok. They don't call and ask me, they don't come over to the house and ask, they don't speak to my husband when he is outside, they wait and then tell their kids it is okay to come to my yard? What? Who gave them that idea?

Back in July a little 10 year old girl was taken off the streets in McCleary, Washington. Little Lindsay Baum was only 10 years old and disappeared without a trace around 9:15 pm, there has been no clue where she has been taken to and my heart breaks for her parents loss and those people who lost their sense of security in a small town community.

Two days ago, as I was going to bed for the night at 9:00 pm, 2 little neighbor children (no more than 8 years old), came by and wanted to talk to my grandchildren. I just don't get it! It may still be light out or dusky, but since when is 9:00 at night okay at any time to let your children run the neighborhood?

Even when I wasn't recovering, this was not okay for our grandchildren or anyone else staying over night to be out at this time.

As you know, I have had 2 back surgeries since June 22 and I am confined to my home and mainly to bed until stitches are taken out, nerves grow back and my pain subsides & yet, parents think it is okay to let their young children come to my yard and play, even if the grandchildren are not outside.

I just had a conversation with a young man from across the road. My grandchildren were not home, so I told him, he couldn't be in my yard. He said it was okay because his dad said so. I told him I didn't care, he needed to go home until the grandchildren came outside or send his father over.

I totally get that some parents allow their children to stay out from dawn to dark due to the long gray dark winters in our area, but sending them to play in someone elses yard is just plain rude. I know parents have seen me with my walker, seen me getting guided down the walkway to the van, they have seen my huge brace and know I do not drive any longer. Many have called me, talked to me and even waved at me, so why would they think their kids should come to my yard?

For the most part, with a few exceptions, we keep the grandchildren close to home or make contact with parents. Since I cannot bend, twist, reach or drive, as soon as the kids come in from their summer school program, we have a snack, do some arts and crafts, play games, etc. , but I try to keep them from going outside until hubby gets home.

Am I wrong here? It just seems to me to be very poor judgement on these parents parts! What happened to speaking to the other parents first?

I am ticked!

Knotted Threads With Paper Piecing...HELP!

I am currently working on an English paper pieced 1" hexagon quilt and I am getting more and more frustrated by the minute. I get no more than 3-4 stitches in and the thread frays and knots up, causing me to not only waste thread, but continually start and re-start my sewing.

HELP! If you have any idea how to stop this, please let me know. I hate to rag on companies, however this is a brand of thread WalMart sells. Would it happen if I used Signature or Sulky threads?

I am looking for comments from any of you that sew, quilt or craft. What has been your experience with different thread companies, paper piecing and what threads do you normally use?

Leave a comment here and a way to contact you and I will send you some quilting squares for your comments.

Quilt Magazine Mania

This may not look like much, but it is a huge pile of over 100 quilt magazines and patterns that I have been attempting to organize over the last year. Now that I am unable to do much, I have had the grandchildren place them on the kitchen table and we are going to work together to get these in sleeves and in binders.

As you can see, I have 2 desk drawers chock full of quilting books and more patterns. I really need to have these organized into nice neat areas where I only have to look in one place for something!

It is difficult when our home is so small, but I do believe I can accomplish this by being more diligent in keeping everything in one spot. Of course, if I was allowed to do more right now, it may get done sooner, but at least I can take my time and do a little at a time and the kids love looking through these books and magazines as much as I do.

When it comes to quilting, even the little ones get involved. Diva girl is looking for another pattern so I can make her a new quilt!

The Final ABC's...X,Y & Z

I am seriously missing going to church, but I am still not able to sit up for long periods of time without becoming exhausted, having muscle spasms and being in pain. So, I decided since I didn't complete the alphabet for women, I would finish today. We will finish the last three letters of the alphabet..X,Y & Z.

X for Extra kindness. We are all kind to strangers, kind to those we work with, kind to those we attend church with, do business with, etc.. But how many of us are as guilty as I am about being less than kind at times to those we love and live with? I remember years ago when my husband was going through alcohol counseling and trying to 'kick,' the habit, that one of his superiors called me at home and literally began to tell me how he thought my husbands alcohol problem was my fault, because he was the greatest person at work.

My reply was simply that he should consider himself blessed because they saw the good man, the kind man, the sober man, we his family saw the sadder side of his addiction & sadly to admit, I wasn't always the kindest to him when he came home. But! His problem was NOT his families fault and I am happy to say he has been sober many years and we are even more blessed because we get all his love!

Extra kindness means we must learn to give attention to those within our homes when their spirits need a lift. We need to be intuned to those we love and those we live with or those who visit our home. We should always be kind to these people, however, we should be extra kind when they need it.

In our home, we have no-no words (looser, stupid, idiot, shut-up, I hate you, etc.) so, it is a given my grandchildren come home from school at times very upset that their friends used these bad words. I take extra time with them, hugging them and trying to explain NOT everyone is taught these are bad words. When a best friend has become a non-friend or hurt their feelings, I do all I can to go that extra mile to make them feel better.

For the most part, I try to do the same to my husband, especially now that he is carrying the entire load for our finances, house cleaning, etc. on his shoulders, I should be watching out for signs he needs a spiritual lift, but last week, I missed the boat BIG time.

Hubby had come in from work and was at the bedside telling me how exhausted he was. Did I empathize with him? No, I asked him when he was going to paint the house & you can imagine, the you know what hit the fan & I was on the receiving end of his ire. Was I being attentive? NO, I was being selfish and unthougtful and John explained it to me...'Jerry had just finished saying he was tired and then you said that.' I was completely unkind at that time.

How sad that God had just placed me in the position to bless my husband with kind words, a touch or hug and I put him on the defensive. Proverbs 25:11 tells us, ' Like apples of gold in silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.' My apple at that time, had a worm in it.
God placed me in a position where I could lift up my husband and instead, I stepping on his feelings.
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Y is for YOUR HEALTH...how appropriate is this one at this time for me? I have talked about my obesity recently and how I want to loose weight and take better care of myself, not only for the improvement of my own health, but for those I love. But their is even one more important and that is my Lord and Savior Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 states: 'Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.'

In taking better care of ourselves, we need to know our bodies limitations and work within those parameters and we need to be sure our family knows them also. How are we taking care of our body if we work it to death in the gym all day without breaks? If we are in the sun and we do not keep ourselves hydrated? If we go out in the snow barefoot? If we are on a diet and we allow family to sabotage that diet by bringing home things that tempt us?

I know that very soon, my doctors will place me on physical therapy and while I may not be able to do everything at once, I will grow stronger. I have also ordered me a swim suit in the hopes that perhaps using a pool will help me to exercise but the water will prevent me from putting to much pressure on my back.

Knowing our limitations means taking a nap if we need one, sleeping 8 hours a day, not allowing ourselves to be bullied or pushed into doing something we cannot do due to our own limitations and yes, I know the difference between having limitations and telling ourselves we can't do something because we want to limit ourselves.

My family tells me I am strong, I don't need their help, I will figure out ways to do things, I am mentally fit & yet, my husband and close friends, know even I have a point where I break down and just sob. My strength comes from the Lord and I am thankful while my body has gone through some major turmoil, my mind remains strong!
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Z is for ZEST! Honestly, how many of us approach each day with moaning and groaning? We are told to approach each day with ZEST, to make the most of it, because when it is gone, we cannot get it back! Approach each day with zest and look for the wonderful opportunities it holds.

While I am in bed for the best part of the day, I still look forward to doing what I can. If I can sit on my front porch today for 10 minutes, I have lasted 5 minutes longer than yesterday. If I can organize my quilting patterns and magazines, I have zest for today, because I enjoy quilting.

If I can get out of my box and fear zone and do something I may have never thought possible, I have embraced today with a zest for life. My husband wanted to skydive, so one year I purchased him lessons and he did a tandum jump and he is still talking about it and wanting to go back! I on the other hand, have lived most of my life in a comfortable bubble and don't venture out of my comfort zone.

The other day I was watching a show about Hawaii & I heard very clearly a small voice tell me, your husband has wanted to bless you for years with a cruise to Hawaii, why not take him up on it? It was then I realized I was not just passing up a blessing for myself, but one for my husband.

Watermelon seed and cherry seed spitting contests. Oh yes, I love doing these with the children and the neighbors. Get a watermelon and cut it up and take a bag of cherries and sit on your front step or stoop or yard & try to spit the pit the farthest. Lady like? No, but oh so much fun!

Remember, 'This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!'

And that my dear friends and readers concludes our alphabet!

Hubby's Handiwork

I live in an old Craftsman style home that was built in 1926 & while it has its problems (no insulation, small-ugly-cramped kitchen, etc., I actually love my little house aside from the shared driveway & it is exactly what I wanted when we moved to Washington...a home with a redwood deck (check), front porch for visiting (check), exposed hard wood flooring (check), a finished & dry basement (check).

But what makes my home stand out, is the colors. It is painted a purple by Behr called Gypsy Magic, the white trim is Vanilla Custard and I can't remember the name of the blue.

But, what makes my home special is the colors look fabulous and it is the only one in our neighborhood painted purple. What is even more special is everyone loves it and complements us on the way we have transformed the way the house looks.

The shelf you see here was purchased from Michaels in Olympia and cost around $7. Hubby and the neighbor worked most of yesterday to cut out the 2 holes, fill in the cracks and spray paint it. Last evening while walking around WalMart, hubby chose these 2 blue pots which I think makes a fantastic contrast to the purple and blue. They even painted 3 smaller shelves for the girls room for their dolls!

In addition to completing the shelf and flower pot project (we will get flowers later this week), he worked hard on enclosing our carport so this winter it will be drier and hopefully more organized and efficient.

He painted the plywood you see on the wall and then hung it up.

Under that you can see the cabinet that he picked up on the sidewalk with a 'free,' sign on it. It was an ugly tan, with some pieces missing, but with his great mind, he put them together and removed a large section of top shelves bottom and now he has a place to put all of his tools that are strewn about.

This is a much better picture of the cabinet and how it looks. I think he did an awesome job. What do you think John? Doesn't look like the same two pieces of junk he hauled home last week does it?

It is important for this area to remain as dry as we can keep it, because we try to keep fire wood stacked up next to the fireplaces, but also in this area, so we always have some very dry wood when we need it. It is no fun getting wood with freezing, side blinding rain.

While he constantly reminded me when I was out of bed and needed to go back, he managed to get these 2 impressive projects done and I think he needed it this week-end. However, I am not sure he is going to be happy with the sunburn he got!