Truth about my vacation

The truth about my vacation (started on Friday) was that I woke up sick on Friday! I had a little sore throat on Thursday, but I kept thinking "oh no, it can't be, I'll be fine." Not to mention my son was sick with bronchitis and laryngitis all last week. And not to mention that most of the patients on my hall were sick and I got them all taking antibiotics before I went on vacation. (to make sure they would be well when I got back to work) I washed my hands diligently all week, more than usual, and used hand sanitizer until my hands were dry and cracking! But.... I woke up Friday morning, feeling like this:
I managed to piddle around the house and get a few things done on Friday. Saturday morning, I felt like I had been run over by a truck, but got into my closet and cleaned anyway! This is what I had most been looking forward to about my days off. I probably didn't do as good a job as I would if I had felt better and had more energy. You know, it was one of those days that your arms feel as if they weight 50 pounds each.... back aching.... sore throat.... stuffy nose.... etc. To top it all off, I have two adorable little dogs that I just love and I love to make them happy. (not my dogs in photo) My little dachshund is a BIG chewer and the vet told us to only buy Nylabone toys for her, as they are much tougher and "safer" for her. (she ate future daughter in law's shoe this summer, along with a few other inedible things, causing a trip to the vet) Last night after church, we stopped by Wal Mart and I bought her and little brother two big bones... made by Nylabone, so they had to be good! ($5 for two bones) They were huge so I thought they would last a day or two, and I could get some good rest while they chewed on their bones. Chew bones make them so happy! Let's see... I think the little girl had hers eaten in 15 minutes and then stole what was left of brother's bone, making a pig out of herself. I ended up taking brother's from her and throwing it away.
You guessed it. She has thrown up undigested Nylabone chew bone all night long. On my comforter and on my couch! Not only am I feeling poorly, but I now have to clean up dog vomit!
Did I tell you how much I LOVE my Bissell carpet cleaner? It has an upholstery attachment that did a wonderful job on the couch last night! I've used it again this morning on the other couch, as that bone is still being returned to me. My throat hurts, I can't breathe, my eyes are watery, and I'm miserable. I love being on vacation!

Discovering myself

I found out a few things about myself today while cleaning out our bedroom closet. Number one: I am a pack rat!

2. I hide things from myself, causing myself to buy things in duplicate, because I am so unorganized. However, I do like surprises when I find these hidden things!

3. I hate to throw away Home Decorating magazines. Even today, I put two large stacks back into the closet, that I just could not yet part with.

4. I hang on to things just because I like them, not because I'll ever use them again.

5. I have more projects to do "one day" than I'll ever live long enough to see completed. I buy way more than I need.

6. I have way more time on my hands now days than I did when my kids were little and growing up. However, I accomplished a whole lot more back then. I found the little quilt posted above while cleaning out today. It is a miniature bow tie quilt, sewn all by hand, that I remember putting together while the kids were little.

7. I need to go on a fabric diet, pattern diet, project diet. However, I'm sure those diets are just like food diets.... impossible. The temptation is great!

8. Last, but not least, I hate cleaning out closets. I only did the "stuff" today. I still need to go back through the clothes and shoes!

Diet Time

Okay, it's January... who is on a diet? I need to be and have very good intentions, but can't seem to get motivated. Not that I'm eating absolutely poorly right now, but I could be doing better. So, I brought out the George Foreman grill the other night, marinated some chicken breasts, and cooked them up in ten minutes for supper. They were very good and very easy. The bad thing is ..... cleaning that George Foreman grill. I hate cleaning that thing! I think I would use it more if I didn't hate cleaning it afterwards. Can anyone else relate?

Bag holder

Okay, here's another dorky post, but everyone NEEDS one of these! I bought this plastic bag holder at the same consignment shop where I bought the rolling pin below. It looks like a dish towel that has been sewn to make a tube. It has a drawstring top and elastic bottom. I have it filled with all my plastic shopping bags (that usually get stuffed here and there in my laundry room ) for easy storage and easy dispensing! It was only $3 and probably could be made for less that that. I'm one step closer to getting my house organized, which is my goal for January. (I'm taking next week off from work to accomplish this goal!) Just thought you would like to know. :o)

I love Monday!

I love Monday... well, every other Monday, that is! After I work my required "every other" weekend, I'm off work on Monday and Tuesday. I love that Monday morning feeling after a 36 hour weekend of working! I get to wake up when I feel like it, I can lounge around in my gown, drink my coffee, catch up on everyone's blog, read all my email, and think about the long "free" day I have ahead of me! Yay! for every other Monday! Okay, while you are here, let me show you this pretty little rolling pin I bought at a local consignment shop last week. Isn't it wonderful? I only paid $5 for it, which I thought was a good buy. I hope to find a hanger for it to use near my green china cabinet.
This is a hand beater that I was blessed to receive after my grandfather died. It belonged to him and my grandmother and I am happy to own it now. When the kids were little, they enjoyed beating their eggs with it from time to time. I am thankful for electric mixers, but this is really fun to use sometimes. Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

Sigh..... Christmas is over...

When did the kids grow up and where does time go? Even though they aren't little and "cute" anymore, they are still a joy to watch as they anticipate opening their gifts. This year it was also a lot of fun to watch them as they gave to others. To see the looks on their faces, as they eagerly gave away their gifts that they had personally picked out and bought for others, was priceless. I'm so proud of the children and what they have become. The family gatherings were wonderful and there was a feeling of love all around. It's kind of sad when things go back to normal and we don't concentrate as much on pleasing others, as we do during Christmas time. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could truly keep Christmas in our hearts year round?

When the dogs are quiet....

When the dogs are extremely quiet..... BEWARE! As I opened my shower door to get out, this is what I saw! I heard absolutely nothing... silence in the house!
Mommy, it's been a LONG time since you let us have toilet paper! Thank you, thank you, thank you.... this is FUN!
Sweet Pea! You bad girl! But Mommy, you left the toilet paper on the edge of the tub for me. Since it wasn't on the holder where it was supposed to be, we figured you left it for us!
Butterbean! You bad boy! But all Sweet Pea let me have was this cardboard roll. Am I in trouble? Do you still love me? Yes, I love you both!

Merry Christmas from Sweet Pea

Merry Christmas from Sweet Pea, my sweet little puppy! We had our Christmas celebration with our family last night. We all had a wonderful time, but we are all exhausted this morning! The kids have to visit their other families today and tomorrow, so it's a nice feeling to have ours done for this year. Husband and I are following Sweet Pea's lead and resting today. I will be working the next three days, but we will head "home" to see our parents this weekend. Here's wishing you a very blessed Merry Christmas and hope you get lots of sweet rest!

New Addition to our Family

My daughter got married today! She and my new son-in-law decided to elope during their winter break from school. They made all their own plans for this, rather than waiting for a big wedding in the spring. They went to a chapel in the mountains today and will be staying in that area to honeymoon until Sunday. Am I sad that they didn't have a big wedding? Yes and no.... I would have liked to have seen my little princess walking down the aisle with her daddy to meet her groom.... and I would have cried and it would have been beautiful. All the money would have been spent and they would be on their merry way. Both kids are still in college and decided they would rather have a simple private wedding and keep the money. This way they can continue in school without too many financial struggles to stress them. They are both quiet people and didn't really want a big hooplah centered around them. I think they made a wise decision and I pray they will live happily ever after.

It's almost here...

Okay, guys, it's a week away.... Christmas! Are you ready? I'm not quite ready, but should be by the end of the day. I got up at 5:00 am and went in to work, only to find that we were over staffed today!!!! Yay! I quickly volunteered to go home and ran to the time clock to clock out, before anyone else could beat me to it! *grin* My son and I went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel, then to several more places to help him finish up his shopping. I've just come in to drop him off, let the dogs run for a few minutes, and then it's back to town for me! Wish me luck.... I really really really want to finish my shopping today! I hope everyone is in the Christmas spirit!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Okay, so it's not a big Christmas tree , but it's better than nothing! It really looks pretty in here at night when it's dark outside. The lights on the little trees give the room a nice glow. Now, where to put all the presents? Right now, they are being stored in my bedroom. What a mess in there! The mantel is a work in progress, as I hope to find more red pieces to use on it. I saw some beautiful stemmed glass votive holders today in red, but they were $15 each. I wanted six of them, so decided to pass. Maybe I'll find something like that on sale after Christmas? Note: new fireplace screen! Yay! ( a long story!)
This is my very favorite Christmas decoration. This is a nativity set that my mother in law gave to us the first year we were married. The kids always enjoyed helping me put out the display and I am so thankful it has survived all these years. (I did have to glue Joseph's lantern back on a couple of times) Since we've lived in our current home (three years) I've never really had a place to display our nativity. This is the first year I have the new cabinet in the dining area and am very happy with how the nativity is displayed on top. The star is new this year.... Hobby Lobby! (1/2 price, of course) I hope you guys are getting along well with your decorations and preparations. My husband and I shopped today and got a LOT of our shopping done. I think I can finish up by myself in one day, if all goes well. I love the feeling of being almost ready... but I love the feeling of being completely ready a whole lot more!

I'm not a scrooge after all!

Okay, guys! I'm not going to be a scrooge after all. On my way in from church today, I snatched the scarecrow arrangement off the front door. I'm making progress! ha ! Actually, I bought two pre-lit trees that I will use on my fireplace hearth. I got these yesterday while on our three hour trip for my daughter's wedding shower. I hope to get these put up tonight and maybe I'll have pictures to share by later in the week. The wedding shower was wonderful. Daughter and her fiancee' received some great gifts. I think we all need to throw ourselves a shower every 10 years or so. Wouldn't it be fun to have all that new stuff again.... everything new at once? Of course, I have a lot of very well loved things that I could never replace. They may not be as pretty as hers are right now, but I wouldn't trade some of my worn cooking things for the world. The gifts were great, but better than that, was seeing family and friends that we have not seen in a very long time. It was almost like a big family reunion. My sis in law did a great job and was able to create another wonderful memory for us all!