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Tuesday, 12 January 2010

  • I Heart Freecycle

    I've been a freecycle member for over a year, and the only time I've ever actually claimed anything was a bookshelf last spring, which turned into a bookshelf, beautiful metal tree statue, and a little bike for Becca. I've tried giving things away, with little success, and I've only been able to help one person looking for something. I mostly just delete the emails I get at this point.

    Sunday afternoon, I sat down at the computer and checked my email. There were a couple new Freecycle items listed. One of them was a woman writing in with two treadmills available. I checked the time-- It was sent 10 minutes before I read it. There were probably a half dozen replies already, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?
    A few minutes later, I got a response. I was the first person to email her back. When could I pick it up? She lives a half mile from us, so I called my Dad to see if I could borrow his truck (and him), and we all went to pick it up.

    Because we were first, we got first pick. One was a smaller, portable model. It'd be easier to get home, but it didn't do much. The second one was downstairs, so we headed down to check it out. This one, a Proform, has incline, preset programs, two user profiles... It also weighed a few hundred pounds. My moving men (Mark and my dad) assured me that they could get it, so we loaded it up, and brought it home. Where they had to remove a door to bring it into the apartment. They finally got it in and set up. It's just awesome. I love it.

    The treadmill joined our home at just the right time. I am really getting serious about losing weight this year. I've given up soda (except the occasional drink, ever few weeks), and most other sugary foods. I am exercising, and really focusing on what I'm eating. I'm also drinking 10 cups of water a day, which my normally dehydrated body is really enjoying.

    One of the free Kindle books last week (btw-- April and Ange? If you're still trying to decide, I should tell you that I've downloaded enough free content-not counting the older books- to pay for the kindle twice over in the three weeks I've had it..) was a book called 'The Good Mood Diet.' It talks about how foods affect mood, what foods are best for boosting your mood while losing weight, and how exercise and sleep factor in. Most of it was a review, but the author did have a lot of good information. I'm going to give some of her suggestions a try. I've also gone back to Sparkpeople. Did you know that 3 tbsp. of peanut butter has 300 calories? Granted, it's mostly healthy, but still.. Screwed my numbers for the day all up.

    This might turn into another good intention that goes nowhere. My willpower sucks. But I'm really hoping that I can stick with it this time. I've been at it for almost a week without losing momentum. That's a great run, for me at least. I have 20 pounds to lose to hit my pre-pregnancy weight, and 30 to reach my ideal weight.

    Mark has actually gotten on board with this, too. He is more than happy to cut back on sweets (my weakness) and salty foods (his weakness). I think the fact that he has to be treated for high blood pressure at 25 was a wake-up call. He's had tests, and everything is fine, but there could be problems down the road if he doesn't switch up some eating habits. For that reason alone, we're both trying very hard to stick with it. Of course, being able to look decent in a t-shirt or (gasp) a swimsuit someday is a nice incentive, too...

Tuesday, 15 December 2009

  • Baking

    Tomorrow, I start my Christmas baking. I can't wait. I foolishly accepted an offer to build a site for someone this week (was supposed to be last week, but it was bumped back a week), so I have been staying up late getting it taken care of. It is now 95% done, and the extra money it brings in is buying my Kindle.
    Our tree is up. We went up to a local tree farm the weekend before last to pick it out. Mark was whiny about having to do the work right up until he found the tree. It's 9' tall, and 15' around. It looks amazing in the living room. Thank goodness for really high ceilings. I had to put a dining room chair on top of our coffee table, get up on there, and still had to use a set of tongs to put the angel on top, and I'm 6' tall. We then realized that the angel wasn't working. I don't care. It's up there, and it's not coming back down until the tree does.
    I'm sending out Christmas cards today, and Christmas Goodies on Saturday. Or Monday, depending on how long everything takes to make. I wait all year for gingerbread and cutouts. We're making a Gingerbread House this weekend.
    The best thing about baking this year, though, is having Becca help me. She is quite the little cook. She loves to help stir. And taste test, of course. My mom did most of her baking at night, so I never had much of an opportunity to help. I left home barely knowing how to cook. I want my children to know their way around the kitchen, and Becca's off to a great start.
    Tomorrow, I'm going to finish getting my doughs together. Thursday, I'm starting on candies. I made a batch of Peanut Butter balls a week ago, for the GLEE season finale party we had here, but I need to make more. We've eaten most of them at this point. They make the perfect 'I'm walking past the fridge anyhow' snack. Who needs to be skinny when you have home made candy laying around the house?

Sunday, 29 November 2009

  • Done. Finally.

    Thanksgiving is done.
    I have spent the past two weeks baking, making grocery lists, gathering recipes, and making sure all of the details were taken care of. Thursday, we had 11 people all sitting down to eat Thanksgiving, and there were 8 of us yesterday.
    On both days, the turkey cooked much faster than the package said it was going to. By over an hour. So, on Thursday, the turkey was done before we even started the potatoes. Yesterday, we started them a little earlier, but the turkey was still done early. Gah. It all worked out well,though.
    Now, even though the fridge is overflowing with leftovers, I am more than happy to leave Thanksgiving behind. Christmas is coming, and all that.

    Which brings me to the next thing...  A Holiday Cookie Swap.

    This, btw, was April's idea. More or less. Sometime between now and Christmas, we send out Christmas goodies to the other people who sign up. I'm making a bunch of candies, too, this year, so there will be some of them in the boxes, too. Including the minty marshmallows covered in dark chocolate, which is what got this whole thing started.

    If you're interested, let me know below, and then we can work out the details.

    April- Here's the peppermint bark recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/peppermint-bark-recipe/index.html

    I pour that over already poured (and mostly cooled) milk or dark chocolate, and then I sprinkle more peppermint pieces on top.

    Okay, I'm off to get some work started. I'll figure out more with the holiday swap once I see how many people are interested.

Saturday, 14 November 2009

  • Headaches, Movers and Cookies (Oh My!)

    I've sneaked over here a few times in the last week and a half to blog, only to get half way through a post and then delete it because it just sucks. So, I'm just going to do the snippets version.
    ********************
    Mark is still having problems with the cluster headaches. It's been an almost every day thing. Thankfully, he's going to a new doctor on Monday, who we hope will refer him to a neurologist. Then, maybe, he can get on oxygen (several minutes of pure oxygen can often stop a cluster headache) and some better medication. We would really like something to help break this cycle, so life can get back to normal for a bit.
    **********************
    We took Becca last week to see the Imagination Movers Live show up in Syracuse. I can't say enough about how amazing the show was. We were in the second row, right on the end of the row of chairs, at the center aisle. Becca was able to stand in the aisle and dance with the small group of other little girls. They were like little groupies. There was a wooded divider set up between the orchestra section (two rows of chairs up there) and where we were, and at one point Mover Rich walked right along the top of it, and was singing and dancing right above Becca. I pointed him out, but she wouldn't look. She was having too much fun dancing. So, finally, he hopped down, and knelt down right next to her. I was so happy to have my camera right there and ready.

    She then tried to follow him back to the stage, and threw a small fit when we said no. And then she was over it, because they were playing another song she liked. :)
    After the show, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese's, and we had a blast. Turns out none of us are very good with winning tickets, though. Even with everything combined, we still had fewer than 100 to turn in for Becca's prize. She just enjoyed going on the rides and having us help her with games. And then she fell asleep almost before we were out of the parking lot. It had been a very long day.
    ***************************
    I am participating in NaNoWriMo this year. National Novel Writing Month happens every November, and close to 100,000 people signed up to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I am starting to slip a bit behind (I'm at just over 18,000 words), but I hope to get caught up again next week. I'm writing a historical romance novel set in Ireland. This girl's father (the head of a clan) loses her in a card game to a man who's past three wives have died through "unfortunate accidents." She freaks, and runs away in a snow storm. Her horse gets scared, and she is thrown off, wanders a bit, and then collapses into a snow bank. Enter the hero, who rescues her, takes her home, and then decides she'd be a perfect match for his brother. It then turns out that, if she doesn't return home, her husband-to-be is going to attack her clan. So she has to return (she doesn't want to fight and risk lives) and marry this guy, after she is already falling in love with the man who rescued her. Of course, there's a happy ever after for them eventually. They (the characters) just need to quit changing around the story on me so that I can eventually get to it. Grr.
    ***********************
    In celebration of the nice weather (60 degrees yesterday. In NY. In the middle of November. Seriously.), Becca and I walked a few miles yesterday to JoAnn Fabrics. I need some Thanksgiving decorations (we're hosting two here), and I haven't been there in ages and I wanted the chance to look around a bit. All of there Halloween and Thanksgiving gear was 70% off, so I found some great buys. They also had everything Christmas on sale. I picked up a wreath, some wooden ornaments, paint and brushes (for the ornaments) and a few other things. I also got my chocolate dipping tools that I'll need for Christmas this year. I'm making truffles and other yummy things for everyone. (More on that in the next blurb) I loved getting the exercise, and Becca liked getting out of the house for a while. I'm really looking forward to painting the ornaments. We might even swing over today and pick up more. I told Mark we could decorate on the first weekend in December. He wants to decorate now. Can he at least put up lights? Please? PLEASE?! It's like having two children instead of one.
    ********************************
    Instead of buying presents for everyone on our list, I bake. Everyone gets a huge pile of cookies, fudge, candies, and whatever else. Last year I also made ornaments to go on the trays, hooked onto the tags. (I might try that again this year). This year, I am stepping it up a notch. I want to get into making artisan chocolates (just for fun), so I'm going to be adding a variety of truffles to the mix. I also do peanut butter balls, mints, a dozen different cookies, fudge, and (maybe) divinity. I also want to try making marshmallows this year. I'm thinking that I might flavor them, and then dip them in chocolate. Mint marshmallows covered in dark chocolate just sounds really, really good. I'll be making 20 trays this year, on top of what I need for the family Christmas party, visitors here, and for ourselves. That will mean starting a week from now, and not stopping baking until Christmas morning. FUN!! (I actually can't wait. This is the best time of the year.)
    *********************************
    That's really about it. There hasn't been a whole lot going on that I could go into with any real detail and make it an interesting read. I've been working a lot more than normal, trying to get ready for Christmas shopping. Mark has his eyes on a Zune. I just want some new pots and pans, a food processor, and a few other things for around the kitchen. I'm pretty exciting that way. I do, however, have the first season of GLEE shipping out to me a day or two after Christmas. *happy dancing*
    And now? Off to find breakfast.

Wednesday, 04 November 2009

  • Clustered and Flustered

    I had another title in mind, but it wasn't PG. Accurate, though. Same first word, replace the rest with another F word. That just about sums up my day so far. There are not enough chocolate bars in the world for days like this.

    Mark was diagnosed with cluster headaches just about a week ago, after we spent several hours in the ER. While we were there, he was seen by an amazing doctor who took great care of him. He was advised to make an appointment with his primary physician, given a day's worth of vicodin, and we went home.
    We called first thing the next morning to make an appointment. It would seem to me that there would be a slot or two left open every day, just in case someone really needed to get in. Nope, evidently not. An appointment was scheduled for the following day. His doctor talked to him for a moment, decided that it might not be cluster headaches (because they are rare), gave him a new prescription for a mild pain killer. The pain medication the doctor originally wanted to prescribe wasn't doing anything for him at all. So the doctor asked if Tylenol was working. Obviously not, it we had to go to the hospital because of the pain.

    I understand that doctors don't want to hand out pain killers, but there comes a point when maybe people need something a little bit stronger.

    Right now, Mark is in the bedroom. He had another attack last night. He came into bed after work and just lay there, sobbing because of the pain. He would get up, walk around, kneel and bang his head against the floor, and then just curl up there, in too much pain to move. The medication he has wasn't touching it. Meanwhile, Becca woke up, and seeing Mark like that was really upsetting her, so we went out to watch some cartoons. I'm torn between taking care of her and taking care of my husband, trying to find a way to do both. I have never felt so completely helpless.

    Cluster headaches come and go, with most people going through spells that last a few days to a month or more, and then some time more or less in remission. Mark's last bad spell like this was when we had first gotten together. It lasted almost two weeks, and he could barely get out of bed. I don't remember that one being this bad, and I'm worried that they will happen more often now. He missed work most of last week, and we're still struggling to play make up for the loss of income. And it just sucks-- really, really bad-- to see him in that much pain and not be able to do anything to help him. I realize that this is just going to be a part of our lives, but when coupled with the fibromyalgia he already deals with (and my anxiety disorder), it's easy to feel very overwhelmed. I'm trying my best to keep a positive outlook, not let this affect Becca, but it's hard. All I want to do is curl up and cry. It's not helping that I was up late last night with work, and only got a couple hours of sleep before he woke me up this morning.

    There's no one to call and discuss this with. My family is less than sympathetic to Mark's health concerns (I mentioned to my sister that Mark missed some work due to the headaches, and she told me that our other sister could work with bad headaches, so he should be able to as well.) His mom is very sympathetic to him, which is nice, but she only sees it from the perspective of someone else who deals with pain (she has fibro too). There's no one who gets what it is like to sit here, suffering silently, while your loved one is in agony. That's hard, too. And I would love it if someone thought enough to ask "So, hey, how are you holding up?" I would of course give the required response of, "I'm holding up okay," because trying to explain, and give a truthful answer of "Life sucks, and I just want this to be over with." would actually lead to me sobbing myself, and I just don't have the time or energy for that right now.

    I really needed to unload all of that. Thank you to those who managed to get through it all- it's not exactly light reading I guess.

    In more positive news, we're going tomorrow to see the Imagination Movers live in Syracuse. All I have to do is get through today, and (hopefully) tomorrow will be better. We might even try to find our way to Chuck E. Cheese's after the show for dinner.

bluewingz

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About Me

  • I am a 24 year old work-at-home mom in NY. My husband is a wonderful man, and the love of my life. My daughter is growing up too fast. She's one already. (How did that happen?) I enjoy papercrafting and wasting time on the internet, while trying to break into the freelance writing industry. I am addicted to chocolate and great books. :)

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