Happy New Year ~ 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

May this New Year of 2016 bring you

a closer walk with Jesus, 

good health,

financial well being

and blessings galore!!!

I have not decided if I will make any resolutions as yet...they are always so hard to keep, not even sure I kept, and was able to follow through on last years resolutions. I know I had a long list, will have to find it and see how close I came.

I am hoping I don't have a lot of medical issues this year. 2015 was pretty scary for me. I am forever grateful to God and how he brought me through the Hernia surgery and colonoscopy, ulcer, dental work and cataract surgeries. I think this new year will bring medical issues for JP though. He has an appointment already lined up in January with a neurologist....for his shakes that have gotten much worse. Maybe through this, they will find the reason for his arm pains.....that would be nice.

Well I will keep this short....who wants to read blogs on New Year's Eve night. I shall be going downstairs to make a few cards and watch the "ball drop" in New York City....my little tradition every year. 

You have a great evening and keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

The Christmas Elf......

Hi everyone.....well, just 2 more days left in 2014 and the count down begins. Do you have any plans? We stay home....I will head downstairs to watch the New Year come in on TV... I like watching the big ball drop in New York City and watch the throngs of people, then on to Chicago and LasVegas. I think this year they added one more city....Nashville??? Will have to watch and see. 

Probably will make a few snacks for us in the early evening, nothing much, cheese and crackers, bbq hot dogs, celery and carrots, pin wheels, Greek olives and whatever else I can dig up. Then JP can munch all night to his hearts content.

I re-re-decorated the tree again. The lights burned out, so I bought some new ones today at 50% off. See that little elf that Mr. Snowman is looking at????? I think the elf was the culprit....I didn't see him do it, but I think he is the reason the lights went dead....yep he was up to some mischief alright.

Doesn't he look all innocent sitting in the tree....he acts one way when I am around and then totally different when I am out of his sight....bad elf!!!! Now that the tree is redecorated in red and white.....I probably will keep it up till Valentines. I have some hearts that I can put on the little tree.....when it comes down, I will just leave the lights on and that little elf will nest there till next Christmas. I have taken down about 50% of the ornaments....that is early for me....I usually wait till around the 16th of January to take Christmas down. We'll see I just may take it all down earlier.

Well tomorrow I have an eye appointment at 11am, eyes need to be checked yearly for diabetes. I have noticed a slight difference...my right eye seems to be a bit blurry and good grief...my bifocals never work cause I still have to take my glasses off to see up close. Won't it be nice when the trumpet is sounded and Jesus takes us home....no more pain, tears and "glasses" yesssss....20-20 vision!!!

Tis' time to close this blog for tonight. I am going to try and blog one more time before the end of this year is over.....we'll see if something interesting comes up. You all take care and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

A Trip to GFS Yesterday

Hi there everyone. Whoever you are...hope you are having a wonderful day and a great weekend!!! I always look forward to Saturdays...wish everyday could be Saturday...it's a break from the routine of the week and always welcomed in my home.

Sorry I have not been blogging, for what seems like weeks, but is only 5 days...have not had much to blog about I guess. Been dealing with a few issues. My husband is bi-polar, so, sometimes his meds don't click well together and he gets depressed along with a few other problems which causes me to get bummed. Haven't been making cards lately, and that is not like me. All these issues we have been dealing with is kind of like the domino effect. One problem makes another problem...and so on down the line of domino's. I try to stay positive...but sometimes it can be hard when I deal with diabetes and weight gain...high stress points for me, trying to keep numbers down. I have noticed that being under stress causes my blood sugars to rise. Today my number was 112 compared to 143 yesterday. Not sure what the difference was, but I would be happy if I was 112 everyday.

JP has been doing a little bit better lately, mentally, sometimes I think it is the food I make for him...maybe something is not working with his meds....I don't know, I can only guess. Maybe it is something like the diabetes, it all depends on what I eat and if I exercise the night before. The "numbers game" sure can be a stress point for me.

So yesterday I made a run to GFS and bought all this. GFS has samples on Friday and Saturday. Their samples were Green fried tomatoes and marinara sauce, cheese and crackers, fried hot peppers and macaroni salad. I decided to get the fried green tomatoes....they were really good.

I really love the Pane Turano Italian bread which comes out of Berwyn, Illinois which is near Chicago Turano.com This bread makes great Sammie's on the grill, or just plain toast (um, with peanut butter on top.) Today I had an slice of bread toasted and spread some avocado (mashed and added some Bistro sauce) and a slice of tomato on top with sprinkles of cilantro ....now that was GOOD!!!

Last night I had a salad using the Spring mix along with some cucumbers from my garden and an avocado with some Ceasar salad dressing.

When JP got home from work (1am in the morning), I made him "Sunny's Black Bean Burgers" green fried tomatoes, onion rings and French fries, along with soup, salad and fruit. No, he is not starving, but has lost a lot of weight. I just have to look at all that food I make for him and I gain weight....something is very wrong here, it's just not fair. So I cook all this food and can't even enjoy what I cook.

So anyways I used the corn (from GFS) in the black bean burgers. They really turned out great and I will make them again. I got the recipe from the "Extended Stay America" site which I will give you in my next blog. I don't have the address right now. I am asking  you to vote for "Biz" mybizzykitchen.com as she made a recipe for them and has a chance to win $5,000 and a trip to New York.  Once I get all the addresses together I will let you know more, so you can vote for her recipe. We have until August 22nd to vote so there is still plenty of time. You can also vote for Biz from her blog too.

Well time to close this blog, hopefully August will be a better month for us all. Here is my wordpress site, cards4ubylouise.wordpress.com Have a great one and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Water....Falling

Hi there everyone. Hope you are enjoying this wonderful weather. Well, at least it is beautiful here in Wisconsin. All this next week it will be in the 70's, beautiful (bella), beautiful (bella) weather. Was looking at some pictures on Pinterest and saw these pictures of waterfalls.....oh I love the sound of water...falling. Guess that is why I enjoy the two little water fountains I have. One on the front porch and one in the back yard. Today I will show you these beautiful water falls. Saturday the waterfalls on the porch and the back yard.

Seljalandsfoss, Iceland

 New York

 California

Waterfall Highway, Portugal

I am making this blog very short. But stand by, I have a few ideas on the back burner. So you all have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

If you would like to read what I am doing on Wordpress....here is my address there. cards4ubylouise.wordpress.com

Happy New Year - 2011!!!!

The New Year is about to begin for us....in about 6 hours........I maybe down stairs watching all the festivities of the New Years programs and will most likely watch the ball drop in New York City. We had no plans for partying tonight, as it all depended on the weather.....as of now it is foggy out.

We did go out to dinner at the "Taste of the Windy City" JP had a gyro and I had a cheeseburger.....oh yummmmmm. I missed going to Inches A Weigh today, as my car was getting fixed, another $249 dollar bill again. Well, so far we have invested $500 into the taurus and we have had it almost 2 months. YIKES!!!! Going to keep a running tab on how much this car costs....when it hits $5000.00 we are getting a newer car. HA HA HA!

Have you made any resolutions for the new year? I haven't, can't keep them anyways. I am thinking I will try and lose a few more lbs, not sure how much, by the end of March I am quitting Inches A Weigh. It has been 2 years of going regularly and sad to announce has not been a success for me......I have felt like I have been under much stress for two years more than anything.....and that is not the way to feel. This whole experience should have been a good one and I have not found it that way. Plus, it has been very expensive and now I have a car payment plus extra upkeep. So "cherio Inches A Weigh" we are off and running in a different direction.

As for Etsy and my card making, I would like to do a little bit more, been alittle lax in this area. The merchandising has slowed down a bit, which is fine with me, maybe now I can focus on card making and get my cards out there more. I really see a few changes coming on the horizon in the next few months, I just hope I am up for all these changes, good or bad......I am not sure.

Well, see you in the new year 2011 for now this is ~Louise~ signing off for 2010.....Cheers!!!