Happy New Year 2019

Hi there everyone. Well.....it's the last day of 2018, my goodness 2018 went by fast, a sure sign of OLD AGE!!!! I suspect 2019 will do the same thing.

I like the way this picture is showing 2018 washing away (like our sins) and now 2019 shows itself. Wonder what this new year will hold for us all? Do you remember 2000 and the y2k craze and how we were running all over to collect water, food and supplies in case everything shut down including computers!!! Gosh, that was 19 years ago, and we are still here and the computers are still causing us headaches...lol!

I am glad I am not going anywhere tonight. It is snowing outside and a predicted 3-5 inches is falling to the ground. People are already shoveling the snow. JP will most likely wait till tomorrow to shovel when all reports say "no more snow." The snow is very pretty though.

We had to have a plumber come and rescue us from a big leak under the kitchen sink today. Guess it was leaking for awhile, maybe over a week or so. I was doing dishes and noticed water on the floor, dripping down. First, I thought it was water dripping from the top of the sink.....but nope, it was coming from down under!!! I called the plumber on Thursday (last week) and he said he could not come till next Wednesday (of this week).....I said okay....just won't do so many dishes at a time. I really don't know how we get so many, there is just the two of us and a doggie. Sometimes I wish I had a dishwasher....would be nice.

Anyways the plumber called at 7am, this morning, saying he had some time today and could he come out. YES, I said. When he came, he checked things out and found where the leak was coming from. He then said the pipes were plugged, he said it was nothing I was doing wrong....it's just part of the process and sometimes the pipes need to be cleaned. Nice guy....now I just have to wait for the bill.  Gosh, I hope this is not a sign of what the new year will bring.....guess I will just have to wait and see.

I am making sloppy Joe's, french fries and salad for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow, steak, mushrooms, baked potato and broccoli. A man at church gave us some money to buy a few steaks for the New Year. Was neat how God answered my little prayer....I wanted something special to cook, like a steak, but had no money for it. And God used this man to bless us...God sure works in mysterious ways.

So tomorrow, I will definitely be watching the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins playing at the Notre Dame Stadium NHL Winter Classic. Of course I will be rooting for the Hawks, but I do enjoy a few of the Boston Bruin players, like Marchard and Chara…..will enjoy this game and hoping the Hawks win. 

Well, I shall close this post for now, till next year. Happy New Year to all of you that read my ramblings and look at my cards. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Snow, Snow, Snow - April 13-16 - Yep, it's SPRING!!

Hi there everyone....how was YOUR weekend??? This was ours. Snow, snow, snow! I have never seen so much snow fall in one weekend. This was the 3rd worse snow storm in 130 years, 29inches is the record an we had about 22 inches not including the snowdrifts. I have never seen our car completely covered....unbelievable!!! This shot is from the back door.

The picture below is our car, picture was taken from out the kitchen window....where are the tires??

Our backyard from the kitchen window.....that's a lot of snow, guess I won't be working in the backyard this week!!

A shot of the street to the right of us. The city has been working to put in new water pipes....so there is quite the mess on Durkee St.

A shot of the street to the left of us. Towards Drew St.

A shot of our neighbor's truck from the front porch, covered with snow. He is in Florida enjoying the warm weather. I think he left at a good time!!! Except he usually does the drive way with his snow blower. Not this time. Yeah, we have a snow blower too....but it doesn't work. Why are we holding on to it????

Here is the neighbor's truck from the back door. The truck may be sitting there till the snow melts.

Another view of the snow from the back door......look at those drifts!!! JP had to dig out a spot for Kylie to do her business.

NO SITTING ON THIS!!! You will get a cold seat!!

Last but not least.......THIS is what things are supposed to look like.....might be awhile for this lovely view!!!

So there you have it.....Winter in Appleton, Wisconsin. April 13-16th....with more coming on Wednesday. BUT, it will be in the 50's this weekend!!! I really should be out there helping with the snow, but JP says no, it is heavy and could make my back worse. So I stay in the house and worry that the snow won't get shoveled for him to get out of the driveway. Maybe tomorrow. He is not going to make it to work today. I hope his supervisor understands.

You all have a great week, I have been working on some really neat cards, using the colorful foils...when I am done, I will put them up in my blog in a couple of days. Talk to you later and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

A Snowy Monday, Cards From Friends and Risotto

Hi there everyone....hope you are still enjoying this lovely season and last few days of 2015. Yesterday we had a foot of snow fall (12.2 inches). JP got stuck in the snow and the car doors froze up at work, so he did not make it home. I guess lots of people got stuck in snow around this area, at least he was stuck in the building and was warm.

Around the country people were experiencing lots of rain and hail, floods, tornados and earthquakes....My goodness what is going on??? If it is not the ISIS Muslims terrorizing us, the weather is also. I guess this is just a sign of the end times, just as the Bible has said. Better days are coming.

So for tonight's dinner I made a beef stew with green peppers and onions and stuck it in the slow cooker. Along with that was my Blue Apron (here's their site) meal "Spinach, Parmesan & Parsnip Risotto with Crispy Parsnip Chips and Sage" Oh my goodness....was this ever a good dish. Never cooked with a parsnip before and this was really good. Half the parsnip was grated and added to the Arboio Rice, onion, garlic and water. While the rice cooked, the other half of the parsnip was shaved and fried in the oil and browned. After the rice was cooked, spinach, sage and Parmesan cheese was added. I have to say that shaved and fried parsnip was a special touch to this dish. Will most definitely make this again.

Thought I would post the homemade cards that I received this Christmas. The top card is by Shirley. A very intricate card that probably took a long time to make...I always enjoy her cards. She is very artistic in her card making.

This ornament card is by Betty. She always has new ideas rolling around in her head. I enjoy going to her house to see here new creations.

This card was made by Sue. I really like this stamp, very simple yet elegant. Sue makes some nice cards too.

This card is by Tina. I go to her blog everyday to see what she is up to. I always know it is her card....her trademark is the stitching around the squirrel. She does a lot of origami cards, an art I have not yet accomplished.

This card is by Joan.....lot's of work went into this one too. I don't throw these cards out....but most likely these cards will end up in my Hospice card collection for next year. Always recycle.

I didn't take any pictures of all the snow we got yesterday, maybe the next snowfall. After awhile you can have just so many pictures of snow. I was out shoveling a little. The front porch and steps and part of the sidewalk....yep...that was enough for me.

Pretty soon I will be working on Valentine Cards.....can you believe that??? Right now I am reorganizing my stamping area....putting all the Christmas stuff away and cleaning and moving things. Guess that will be my Winter project, going through all the stuff and maybe unloading a few things at the thrift store or save for a garage sale in the summer. Yep....always something to keep me busy.

Well time to close this post for tonight. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Froggie, Froggie, a Froggie Planter

Hi there everyone.....how is your Wednesday going so far??? Well, we woke up to snow on the ground at 7am this morning...oh yuk...enough!!! It was pretty, but Spring needs to show it's face around here, soon and very soon. As of now, it is melted on the streets and sidewalks.

Don't you just love this happy frog???? I really want one of these in my backyard!!! I saw her on Facebook and just had to save her to my files. I am presently looking for old tires!!! I think if I had seen this idea years ago when we had our 20 acres, I would have had frogs all over the place....hahaha! My husband, at that time, collected old tires, (he thought he could sell them for the oil that is in them) so we had a pile of them in the woods.....darn, if I had only known back then that those tires could make this cute planter. See the flowers growing behind her??? Such a great idea.

Note: JP never sold a tire...he had an offer, but it was not what he wanted.....AND the guy would have hauled them all away....but no...not enough $$$$. I bet if we had turned them into "FROGS" they would have sold for a hefty price...don't you think??? Gosh at least $50 bucks a frog....we must have had over 100 tires or more. We just calculated....$1000. HA that was more then what that guy offered. IF ONLY WE HAD KNOWN!!!!

After "Rebuilding Together" has their work day here and cleans up and spruces my backyard....I think this happy frog will be in my landscape.....someplace.

Nothing much going on today, will write a few bills and pay our house taxes (or at least part of it) today. "So many bills, so little money" oh well, such is life. What is life without a little stress???

But maybe looking out the back yard and seeing this happy frog smiling back at me will make life smile back when things go wrong!!! Yeah....I need a frog in my future.

Well, time to close, keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise

PS. I typed in "How to make a tire Frog" and got the directions to make "Frieda La Frog" above. So if you are interested in making "Frieda" for your own backyard...the directions are on the internet.

Two Feet of Snow

Hi there everyone. How's your night going? Guess we are getting 2-4 feet of snow tonight. But maybe 2 feet would be enough if they are this big!!! HAHA!!

Well, as you know I am just joking here about two feet of snow. Not sure where I got this picture but just had to save it to my files and use it someday. Guess today was that day.

Rebuilding Together called today....we have an appointment on Monday. I guess they are going to fix our ceiling this spring. PTL!!! I hope the guys that fixed our roof in October will be the same ones to fix the ceiling. They did a wonderful job. No leaks yet.

This is going to be a short blog for tonight. Need to go downstairs and ride my bike and make a few Valentine Cards. Hospice meeting is on the 23rd so I need to get a little inventory going before the meeting plus have some cards to send out to a few people.

Have a great evening and stay warm...it's pretty chilly out there. Keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Birthday Update.....

Hi there everyone....how did your day go??? Today I was totally surprised by a gift in the mail from Amazon!!!! A Hamilton Beach Blender sent to me by a blogger friend. My blender was starting to sound like a cement mixer (that's what JP said). I think I shall really like this blender. I make smoothies every morning, plus I shall be able to do many other things, like crush ice, make salsa, grind, grate, whip, puree, stir, dice, chop among other things. I may also get the food chopper attachment that goes along with this blender....maybe for Christmas.

I am wondering how she knew I needed a blender, I don't remember ever mentioning it in any of my posts....but then, maybe I did. But what ever the reason....it sure was nice of her to think of me...."Thank you Beth that was very sweet of you."

Lots of snow tonight 4-7 inches..........I still don't think those politicians know what they are talking about...."Global Warming" is some one's fantasy dream. Does not look like things will be warming up till at least March!!!!

Our car was ready to be picked up, a new serpentine belt and pulley was put in. It seems that this is a common thing to go out for this year and model car. Well, better it happened Sunday when there was no snow on the ground. We had a towing bill of $138, hopefully our Ins. Company will cover part of that. Not sure what the total bill will be. I guess that will be another "UPDATE". JP will pick the car up after he shovels out. Uge.....winter.

Well time to close this blog for today....I need to get downstairs to make up some cards. You take care and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Hope You Are Feeling Well Today

Hi everyone.......thought you could use a few laughs today, I know I needed it. We woke up to 2-3 inches of snow today, oh uge!!! A song came to mind when I saw the snow...."It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." Well, hopefully Spring is still coming.

My dog was not feeling well today, nor was I for that matter. Woke up with a dull headache. We had breakfast, eggs and bacon and toast. I still was dealing with the headache and about 12:30, felt sleepy and took a nap. Woke up and JP said Kylie threw up on the bed....oh geez, why does she do that, I don't know. Well, I tore the bed apart and have yet to wash the blankets. Because, I got sick and threw up my breakfast....guess there is some kind of bug going around this house. JP seems to be okay...we'll see when he gets home.

So after he left for work at 4:15....around 5 o'clock I laid down and fell asleep again till almost 7....woke up and felt much better. I have not eaten anything yet, but not sure I want to eat, might try some yogurt in a little bit.

So here are a few "Happy Pictures" to pick up your spirits!!!! Found this man on another blog and could not resist his laughing....wonder what was so funny?????

Don't you just love this little girl with the birdie on her head....funny birdie, it must have scared her!!! I think the lady in this next picture is just squinting, that's me a lot of times....I need new glasses.

So Good News.....Friday, April 25th marks the start of my 7 years of blogging. To celebrate I will be giving a "give away gift set of cards." I have been writing your names down for this drawing since March 31st. Be sure to watch for my blog on Saturday the 26th which will reveal the winners.

All you need to do is either comment and/or add your name to the list of followers to the right. I will add your name to a bowl. The more times you comment, the more times your name will be entered. That means more chances to win. I may do 2nd, and 3rd place winners also. So stop by all you want. I love your comments, it's always fun to hear from blogging sisters.

Well, I guess it is time to close here, I need to go get a load done, so I can make the bed for tonight. You all have a good night. Keep looking up. Tomorrow  "Rebuilding Together" is coming to look at our roof and ceiling....sometimes these preliminaries make me nervous. Hope your day is good!!! Cheers ~ Louise

A Few Cards, Computers and Crocheting

Hi everyone, how are you all doing??? Hope the weather is treating you well, where ever you are. We are still digging out from the storm yesterday and the weatherman said there is a major storm coming on Thursday. Yikes. I shoveled a bit today and there is no place to put all the snow. The mounds of snow are as tall as I am and I am 5'3". Pretty tall mounds!!! Where oh where will all this snow go, when it starts to melt?????

Well, I tried getting this blog up last night, but my computer was not cooperating with me. I still have Windows XP, and XP is going to be discontinued April 8th. Booooo!!! Guess I will be looking for a new computer in the next month or so. I think the "higher ups and powers that be" have this all planned out. So, if we get a refund from the Government, guess that money will have to be spent on either a upgrade for $100-$200 or a new computer for $500, more or less.....depending on what I want and what I can spend. Oh and then there is the learning curve of going into Windows 8 and who knows, by the time I learn Windows 8........Windows 9 will be right around the corner!!! Man....someone knows how to make money and it ain't me!!!!

Been working on some new cards. This may be my new line....using vintage looking stamps and stamping on pages of old hymnals and newspapers. This card was stamped with my new chandilier stamp that I got 50% off at Archivers...(sob, which just closed Saturday). The pretty lady, lace and flowers embellish the card. I think this could be an everyday card....depending on what you need it for.

This is the Valentine card I made for JP. He liked it very much. Thinking I shall make a few more of these for next Valentine's Day. Maybe even as a birthday or thinking of you.

Started doing a bit of crocheting. I love using knitted and crocheted dish rags for washing dishes. Thought it was time to start making my own, might just sell a few in my Etsy store also....once I get the hang of it and find a pattern I like....who knows, maybe a crocheted card of some sort is in the future. Maybe using the crocheted flowers in the below picture.

I found a blog that made crocheted flowers, something I had been looking for, for quite awhile. Then going to "youtube" I found out how to make leaves....so if you are looking to make these two items, check out the many tutorials there. As you can see there are two different kinds of flowers...just have to decide which one comes together easier. Practice makes perfect and no....have not found perfection in my dish rags or flowers. Someday maybe.

Well, time to close here and go do a bit of excercise and make some lental soup. So you all have a great evening and keep looking up, Spring is a coming around the corner!!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Tooo Much Snow and a Etsy Sale!

Hi everyone, how is it going??? As someone said to me the other day, "Life is full of changes, and they come without notice". Sometimes it would be nice to have a memo once in a while, but then again, if there was a memo, maybe I wouldn't want to see a change come!!!!

Today we had another change.....or challange.....or maybe it's an inconvenience???? JP and I had to go to the UPS store in Neenah (which is 10 miles away) and return the at&t DVR that stopped working. At&t sent a new DVR on Tuesday, the old one had to be back in their hands in 10 days...or else we would get charged $150!!!! Yikes!!! So needless to say we wanted to get the DVR back asap. We got back to Appleton, went to the Post Office to mail the Etsy order. Dropped JP off at home and I took off again to go pay the Electric/gas bill and to the grocery store. Here is where life changes.....I get back in the car and...gosh the brakes are feeling kind of strange??? So each stop I came to, I found the brake peddle becoming more squishy. Suddenly the brake light comes on........oh, oh, I better go home, will I make it home??? Dozens of questions filled my mind!!!

Thank God I got home with no mishaps. I told JP what had happened and he called the service station, they said to bring the car in....when JP drove the car to the garage, there were NO BRAKES!!! When you think...how a gazillion things could have happened. Apparently the brake lines are rusted out and fluid had leaked out. We will be with out a car for the weekend. JP is at work right now....someone from the company came to pick him up and take him to work. The service station will let us charge the $400.00, which is okay....but we still have a bill with them for $600...so there you have it $1000 bill for car repairs, and a loan on a car for $4000. I am wondering, how in the world does a person ever get ahead in this world....I probably will always wonder that, till Jesus' return or the day I die!!!

So here you can see how much snow we have had already....so much snow, but there are lovely flowers growing under all that snow. Tulips, roses, crocuses, peonies, lavendar, daisies, mums and misc. perrenials......it will be lovely when things start to grow again.

The snow is almost up to the porch....gosh that is deep, I don't remember seeing the snow that deep in all the 22 years we have lived here.

Here's a picture of our backyard.....snow is up to the back of the chair....so much snow and there's still 6-7 weeks of winter to go.

Well as I said in the title of this blog, I had another Etsy sale....so happy am I. She is a return customer and hopefully she just might return again and again. I am planning on getting more cards into my store. St. Patrick's Day is coming up soon, so I need to get some "green cards" in my store also!!

Time to close this blog and get some cards made and ride my bike for some exercise. Talk to you all later and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Ceiling Problems

Hi everyone, how is your day going? Hope you're keeping warm if you live in a cold place. Hope you get the rain you need, if you are in a dry place. Hope you are keeping cool if you are in a hot place. Hope you're weather is good where ever you are. If you need a little snow we can send ya some, got lots today....(smile)

Thought you would like to see what I am dealing with and have been dealing with for the last 10+ years.....yep, it's a mess alright. I do not look forward to rain, especially heavy rains. The leaking ceiling is right in the middle of the kitchen, so needless to say, I have to dodge buckets, pots and towels when the drips start. At one point, during a real bad storm, we had to empty the bucket 4-5 times in one down-pour. It was like someone opened the faucet and the water poured down.

Right after that rain....we got the roof patched...at the cost of $1200......but it was to no avail, because after about a year, the leaks began again. Our roof never leaked for 10 years, not till after it was redone by the city. We were told to sue the guy that did the work (didn't have the $$$) and he is no longer in business. (I wonder why???) The city contracted him, after a couple of complaints he was let go, but that was after he messed up on our roof. Damage done.

In 2002 we got a loan from the city to get siding, windows, doors and the roof done plus new gutters. Repaying the loan would happen only if and when we decided to put the house up for sale. As we are not planning on moving any time soon...there is no reason to payback. Only problem is there would be a lien against the house....which I am not comfortable with. Makes it very hard to refinance, if we did that.

In this picture you can see how the ceiling is buckeling, as there are leaks in every corner of the tiles....no sense getting the ceiling fixed till we know for sure the roof is fixed and not leaking again. So there you have it, my tale of woe. You can see why I prefer snow at this time. Snow doesn't leak....for now.

Today I filled out papers for another loan from the city...won't hurt to try. See if they will help us a 2nd time....this time I want a roofer that knows what he is doing....do you blame me??? Also, we will ask for NEW gutters as we never got them the first time around. The roofer just had our old gutters re-galvinized and then they were put up backwards, which has cost alot of seepage in the basement.

Well, time to close, need to go ride my bike and make a card or two....have a good evening and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Flowers and Antique Roadshow.

Hi everyone....hope you are keeping warm. Going to make this a short blog. Thought I would put a few pictures of last summers garden flowers up today (I am missing my flowers)....need a little warmth to look at instead of ice and snow and cold wind.

In the above picture is my Habiscus. Apparently I cut the bloom off the bush and brought it in the house, putting it in a container of water. I don't think it lasted long though and wilted. I brought the plant in the house for the winter...seems to be doing well with little tiny blooms beginning to appear. More flowers coming in the near future.

This is my lovely white rose......a lovely plant that takes it's time to start new growth in the spring. Last spring I almost dug this bush up because it was taking so long to grow....I thought the hard winter had killed it off. So right now this lovely rose bush is sitting under 3-4 feet of snow right now.......hope it is keeping warm and will bloom again.

These flowers are my zennias....I always love to have zennias growing on the side of the house....flowers to look at as I walk into the house.

It's 2:50am. JP is eating shelled nuts, I recorded Antique Roadshow for him to watch. He does for a little while then dozes off. For some unknown reason this program makes me sleepy too, so while I am typing and listening to the program.....my eyes are getting very heavy.....so maybe I need to close this blog for tonight. So you all take care and keep looking up!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Singing in the Rain........

Hi everyone. This is going to be short and sweet today.....it's raining and guess what the kitchen ceiling is leaking...UGE!! Can't turn the kitchen light on as the water is leaking through the light fixture. Bread pans and bath towels are catching the rain water. Now there are drips of water coming down the cabinets onto the counter and into the silverware drawer. Had to take the silverware tray out because water got under the tray. Oh...I tell ya, it's a challenge. One good thing...eventually the rain will turn to snow..........sooooooooo

Hahahhahahahaha........so if I keep laughing and singing maybe the problem will go away???????

Have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws night. Cheers ~ Louise

New T-Shirts and a Challenge

Today I went to Sandi's and we made these t-shirts. The "Three Crosses" is for the Pastor.
I bought the t-shirts at Walmart for $4.00 a piece.

This t-shirt is for JP, his birthday is this month. So, yayyyyyy, this will be his birthday present. Along with a free steak at BJ Clancy's and maybe breakfast in the morning. Our BIG splurge!!!

This is my t-shirt. "Keep Calm - God's Got It" just a little reminder for us all!!! God knows, and see's everything that is going on in this world.......not to fear!!!

This one is for Mary, the Pastor's wife.

A word about the challenges: Biz is having a challenge this month. She'll be doing 100 miles, in either swimming, running, walking, riding. My challenge for May will be:
100 + miles riding my stationary bike
Walking Kylie around the block every day this month (she will be a happy doggie camper.)
One smoothie every day for May.
Hopefully I can lose a few pounds this month.
My goal; to lose 10 pounds by September.
Okay, here we goooooooooooo!!!

You all have a good day and I hope you didn't get snowed under. Keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

Wordless Wednesday

Okay.......it's time to get the lawn mowers and lawn chairs out!!!! Today is Spring!!!
Have a great day despite all this snow!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Birthday Cards and a Smoothie

I was asked to make a card for a man in Hilbert who turned 105 years old this week. Put the card on Facebook and thought I should add it here too. So what do you think??? Been having lots of fun making these cards, cause no two have been alike. I just picked up the "model T Ford" stamp at Hobby Lobby. So when I was asked to make the card, just so happened, I had the stamp.....good timing!

This is the inside of the "105 year old" card.

Here is a look at another one of my "Children's Cards" for a 9 year old. (that's a long way from being 105!!!). I can make this for a little girl also.....the ideas are endless, as long as there is a stamp, there is an idea!!! I will be putting this card up in my Etsy store in about a week or so. I think today I am putting #7 in my Etsy store today. The card will be for $3 + postage ($5 total). I should be charging much more for these cards as I put a lot of time into them. But I figure postage will cover that. I guess this is just a labor of love on my part and hopefully lot's of people will enjoy my cards and I will see a few more orders for them.

Had a smoothie this morning..........didn't exactly have THIS ONE. The above picture is one from a few weeks ago. BUT it looks pretty much the same........GREEN!!!!
Today's smoothie:
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 T Chobani yogurt (chocolate or any flavor you desire)
3-4 strawberries
handful of kale (what fits in the cup)
a few leaves of mint
a few sprigs of parsley
Mix altogether and enjoy!!

I bought a smoothie recipe book at Sam's club and found a few smoothies I want to try. There are so many recipes out there....guess it is just your preference as to what you want to drink.....they all look great. For me it is what I have in the house at the the time. Guess I will always have strawberries, blueberries, bananas, spinach and kale.....so that will be my "go to" every day.

Well, today will be a quiet day....guess I have to take my Christmas tree down.....it has Valentines on it right now.........thought about a St. Patrick's tree. Saw some Easter lights at Shopko yesterday and thought well, why not an Easter tree!?!? Don't think the husband would go for that though.

Took the taxes in yesterday.......now the wait to see if we get a refund.....hoping, hoping....please be kind Obama!!! Have to work on bills and balancing the check book today....another chore that takes awhile. There's never quite enough money to cover the bills....but it always seems to work out at the end of the month for some reason. Miracles upon miracles!!

Well, time to close here for today. Time to go make JP's lunch and get him ready to go off to work. You all have a great day and enjoy the weather that comes upon you. We are starting to get some of that snow that is hitting the midwest and 10 inches for Chicago. Guess we are getting snow-showers, better then rain-showers, ceiling doesn't leak with snow-showers.
Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh!!
Cheers ~ Louise



Can You Believe It?

I still have my Christmas tree up???  Yeppers........I like the lights and just did not want to take down my tree so I turned it into a Valentine's Day tree. I think now, I am ready to take it down any day now.....it's time I guess. I took everthing that was Christmas off the tree and made punched-out hearts with Valentine hearts at the base.....everything red. I have enjoyed my Valentine's Day tree and even thought to turn it into a St. Patrick's Day Tree...........guess that would be stretching it though.....the husband is getting tired of it though. So I may take it down on the 25th....that week maybe..............maybe..........maybe.......  :)

Here is a close up of the tree. Red bows, ornaments, garland and hearts. Sweet huh?  I wish my camera could have taken a picture showing the lights, but couldn't do that.........probably doing something wrong. 

Thought I would add a picture of the roses that JP gave me for Valentine's Day.....3 lovely roses. One already died (which is drying in the kitchen), but the other two are still doing great, even as of today they look really great.

Not much going on....it snowed last night (4-7in. in some areas). The snow mountain in our backyard is getting BIGGER and HIGHER. There is another storm coming on Monday and Tuesday.........well, maybe another month of this and then the rains will come and we will have to deal with a leaking roof....uge!!!
 So, I guess for now it's okay to deal with snow.

My next blog (or two) I will put up a few more "number cards" for children. Plus one Easter and a couple of birthday cards. I will be joining a card group that meets once a month and makes cards for Hospice patients. I have an over abundance of cards sitting in containers needing a home. A friend mentioned this group to me and asked if I would be interested in being a part of it.....I thought, yeah, why not. That would be a way of weeding through a lot of cards and donate them to people needing a bit of cheer, and maybe letting them know "God Loves You" with a stamp at the bottom of the card. The first meeting is March 1st....at 9 a.m. at Atlanta Bread Co. That is pretty early for me as I usually go to bed about 2:30 a.m. because JP gets home from work at 1 a.m. I'm usually cooking something for him to eat at 1.00. NOTE: even if I went to bed early, probably would be lying in bed....wide awake!

Well, time to close here, it's almost ready to get JP ready for work and make his lunch. He needs to leave for work at 4:00 pm and shovel the dumpsters at the buildings he works at. So you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Some day I will write a blog explaining that previous sentence and why I use it. Have a great day today and everyday, despite the chaos in this world.
Cheers ~ Louise

Snow, Smoothies and...................

Snow, snow everywhere.....this picture was taken from my kitchen window in the morning and we still had more snow coming all day. The drive way got shoveled and snow blown about 3 times. We got about 8 inches.....that's enough for one day!!! A big semi got stuck on our street  and could not get out, he had actually Jack-knifed, was kind of scary cause he was pretty close to the electric pole. A couple of good Samaritans came by and tried digging him out. FINALLY the city came and plowed him out and he was on his way to make his deliveries. Hope he made it.

******************

My smoothie for the day was:
3 strawberries
slice of lemon
2 tablesp. chocolate chip Chobani
1/4 avocado
water
All ingredients were enough to make 1 cup.

My review? Not bad, was going to put a banana in it to thicken it up, but did not need to as the avocado did the trick. Color of the smoothie, a lovely creamy pink.

www.atticfullofclutter.blogspot.com left me a recipe for a smoothie, which I shall have to try, not sure of the proportions, so I will just list what ingredients were:
Blueberries
broccoli
orange juice
yogurt
Sounds good, a must try for this girlie!!!

*******************

So I went to Biz's blog today, www.mybizzykitchen.com which is on my regular "things to do list" and she was talking about going back to Basics today. Journaling, calorie watching, exercise and using a diet site on her computer which she pays $$ for. She found that after one day, her calories were about 1600 for the day but when she looked at her sodium intake for one day she was amazed at how much sodium she consumed: 3700 mg of sodium............wowzers!!!! Here is my comment to her as follows:

 
Oh man Biz…..sodium is the killer for me. If we only knew how much sodium and sugars were in everything we ate…..it would probably chock a chicken. When I went to Inches A Weigh they told me I should keep my sodium intake to 1500 a day and even that was high. I know when I have taken in too much sodium my ankles swell. (water retention) When shopping I read A LOT of labels…sometimes sodium is so high, you can get your quota of sodium in one meal!!!! Yikes! I immediately put that product back in it’s place!!


In Inches A Weigh, I thought I was eating too much (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack, gosh and don’t forget the smoothies and protein bars, writing everything down, WI on Mondays and measurements once a month and riding those toning machines every day….deep down, I hated it)…then one person would tell one thing and another person would tell me something else….I would get so confused. they all had a lot of good to say. But there was so much stress not to mention the politics amongst the trainers that went along with trying to lose weight. I was glad when I left. The place is closed up now, maybe that says something about the place.

I think you are doing good, keep it up and you will make your goal. Hey, it takes us years to gain weight and it will take years to take it off and keep it off….it’s a total “lifestyle” change!!! One day at a time. LOL…..I should copy and paste this for my blog today

An added note: in the two years that I went to Inches A Weigh I lost 10 pounds and 20 some inches. Not bad, but then, not good. OH and I probably spent about $3500 ~ NOT GOOD!!!!!! There is no way at this time that I could afford those prices now as I am not working. At this point I am not really interested in trying another weight loss fad. I'll just watch Biggest loser and get some tips from them and read Biz's Blog and a few others that have lost lots of pounds......true, tried and tested!!!

French Peasant Bread

MMMM is this ever some good bread. Biz had it in one of her blogs and I followed it to the tea and was it ever delicious. I found this recipe from the http://www.recipeshoebox.blogspot.com  You will have to go to  "Top 12 Recipes of 2012" (Tues. 1/1/12). Peasant Bread will be #8. Hopefully the above address takes you to her blog, if it doesn't, just type it in, I seem to be having a problem getting addresses right. Anyways back to the recipe.

I have added flax seed flour, and this last batch, flax seed flour and graham flour, such a good bread, then I brush with butter and sprinkle parsely and sea salt. A delicious bread, toasted with a little cream cheese.........I know, I know, doesn't sound like a nutritious meal, but with a smoothie not bad!!!!

Well, I guess it is time to close this blog for today.......last blog of January 2013........See you in February and OH Valentine's Month.............YAYYYYYYY!! Take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh!!! Cheers ~ Louise