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Five Years

I can't believe that this beautiful girl will be 18 in five years. If you are a parent, you know that five years is a drop in the bucket of life.

 

I love her energy, sense of humor and independent thinking. She is not a follower.

 

 

 

Five years. I hope it lasts F.O.R.E.V.E.R,

and that she finds a college close to home. ;)



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Swing!

Pinterest

Six days sans Facebook and I'm still going strong. I actually don't even think about it anymore. Yeah, I miss my close friends posts and ultimately that will be the thing that draws me back in time. I know this is odd but even thought I didn't post on my wall every day, I felt really "exposed" even being on there. You know, because having an online blog isn't exposure enough.  I felt like people knew too much about me. I have nothing to hide but like my privacy. Since deactivating, I feel liberated oddly enough.

You never realize how much time you spend on Facebook until you are not on it. I challenge all of you dear readers, take a week off. Notice how many times you start heading "there". It takes a good 24 hours to break that habit.

To fill my time, I have started using Pinterest more and I have brought out my crochet needles once again.

I am a huge fan of Pinterest. I have had huge success with many ideas I have come across on there however today's adventure was a bit more interesting. Let me start by saying that this summer has been awful on my hair. I may not always have the best hair days, but I am a fanatic about not having dry hair. Nothing freaks me out more than a head of hay. Hay. That's exactly what my hair feels like right now.

Off to Pinterest we go to search "Hair Repair". Out of the many pins I found, I settled on the vinegar/ baking soda/ water concoction.

First off, there wasn't enough of the recipe to completely cover my locks. Second, it fizzed up big time when I added the vinegar to the baking soda. Regardless, I poured it on, rubbed it in distributing it the best I could and attempted to wait the suggested ten minutes.

For someone who has skin allergies to certain products, this was one of those times I probably should have "spot tested" to check for a reaction. Within five minutes, my neck was erupting! I had little spots on the sides of my neck that felt like they were on fire. Ooops! lol!

I wasn't able to wait the whole ten minutes but I will say this... IT WORKED. I felt it in the shower as I rinsed my hair. Even more, I felt it when combing my wet hair. So far so good.

My next adventure... deep conditioning. I'm not sure if I should go avocado/mayo route or in a different direction all together. So many pins, so little time...

Dear Facebook, It's Over.

Yesterday the relationship between Facebook and me, ended. I deactivated my account after realizing that time after time, I left there feeling worse than when I got on. My dear hubby couldn't believe I finally did it after months and months of threats. I explained it this way - Let's say you go out to lunch with someone. During the course of the conversation you find that you sometimes disagree with things they say. Regardless, when that lunch is over, it's over. Should you never want to see that person again, so be it.

Then there is Facebook. Now you are having lunch with your 800+ "friends" and whether you like it or not, you are subject to every last whim they decide to post, EVERYTIME they get on. Blah, blah. blah.... I tried blocking out a lot of people but that left me with very few that I actually care about and they post so infrequently that it just isn't worth it to me. I actually tried unfriending someone and they refriended me seconds later! What the hell?!

So, for now I am simplifying and separating myself.

It's been twenty-four hours and it's been bliss. The funny thing is that I keep catching myself wanting to go "check facebook", but realize that I can't. I can't believe how much better I feel. Relieved actually. I've already read the paper and a magazine. Next up... will be Jackie "O".

Oh I'll be back. That's a given. I start Nursing School in March and they form "facebook groups". I may just be back for that one thing. We'll see.

Laters Baby.

A hidden gem...

I found this lovely little lady beaming up from behind the barbeque grill in a plant bed. It must have been a lonely little seed left over from a winter feeding. Finding this, totally made my day. :)

Birmingham is in Troy

But Naperville is NOWHERE near Chicago. Funny how a map can be so deceiving. After months and months of back and forth texting, facebooking and emails, I was able to make the journey. Much to Dennis' dismay, I drove. We talked train, which was an 8 hour trip, we talked flights, which actually involves leaving terra firma and finally I settled on driving. It wasn't a bad trip at all. I actually kind of enjoyed it... For the first 2.5 hours. Then I heard a song that reminded me of my mom. Waterworks. She passed away unexpectedly on Memorial day. The water works then led into one sided conversation with her about how much I miss her amongst other things.

Then I was thirsty. Beyond thirsty. Note to self: bring water for the ride home. I had the brilliant  idea that I needed a frozen strawberry lemonade from Micky D's. That was in Indiana. Guess how many rest stops there are between Indiana and Naperville. Yep. Notta one. I am thankful for the fact that the  55mph speed limit on I-80 is merely a suggestion. My doors were being blown off my people doing 90, lol. I was just so worried about getting popped by the popo because you just know, they are waiting to nail the dumbass with the out of state plates!

I arrived here at 2:15 Naperville time. What a beautiful area. I sort of felt like I was in Troy with the exception that there is no gigantic lake on the west side of the state. There is a prairie preserve nearby and you can hear the coyotes at night. Justine has an owl that hangs out in her backyard at night too although last night I was so tired, I didn't hear a thing!

We spent yesterday making dinner and hitting the local fruit market which I loved! Aside from seeing things I have never seen before, they have apple pie from The Elegant Farmer! On the bottom left of the home page there is a link to watch Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Trust me when I tell you the pie is THAT GOOD!

Today we are going to the movies to see Hope Springs. Laters baby!

Bat Wings...

Yesterday at work I told a coworker that I feel flacid. The look on her 25 y/o face and the laugh that followed was priceless. Then I explained to her that since I turned ahem... 39 again, I feel really old. My muscles feel like they are getting flacid at break neck speed. My joints stiffen up after sitting for a nano second, etc. 

Where do I start? Jumping jacks? Push ups?? Seconds after bringing it up, our fearless leader walks up and says, "I'd like to start doing Yoga". Yoga... Why didn't I think of that? I used to do yoga all the time. So with that I went online and found a class this morning. Yoga in the Park. What could be better than that! 

Unfortunately I never made it. Bad pizza had me and the chitlins up all night. At least my abdomen doesn't feel so flacid now. ;)

Whoops!

Nothing like finding a link to your blog on someone else's blog! Time to make the donuts!

Creativity

Being on a VERY tight budget has its charms. For one, it is forcing us to be "creative" with our cooking. On Monday, Dennis said, "We really need to go to the grocery store." to which I replied, "No we don't. Look in the pantry. We just need to be creative." With that, I made Paula Deen's Potato Soup. I think the whole meal cost $7 and it fed 4 people with leftovers.

Then I remembered my friend telling me her son is a fabulous cook and makes a lot of Williams Sonoma recipes. It completely escaped me that Williams Sonoma had recipes! Last week while in Williams Sonoma, I saw the cookbooks amongst other things and God knows I love their products. Including this $400 hammered metal pot I am now coveting. The photo here does it ZERO justice. When I saw it in the store on the shelf, I swear I heard angels singing. I LOVE this pot so much I don't even know if I could use it. It would just sit on my stove where I can admire it.

After remembering the part about the recipes, I started looking at their cookbooks online. Then I started trying to find them cheaper... online. Then I checked with our local library. It was shortly after that I found the recipes link on their own website. I never knew the link existed!

Tonight I am making the split chicken breasts that I got on sale, using the recipe that I have this post linked to. I know you all probably cook this way all the time, but for me this is great because it is forcing me to teach myself, how to cook. There is a whole line of fabulous cooks in my family, however that gene seems to have skipped me completely. Should anyone want to send me that beautiful pot, comment and I'll send you my address. ;)



The Worst Part

Hearing life-altering news about a patient before they hear it. Knowing this is going to devistate them. Wondering if they will choose treatment or to let nature take its course. My heart breaks for them and their family. Definitely the worst part.

Like mother, like son.

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Fuznuts baby.

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Fuznut chilling under the pines

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How I spent my day...

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What's your Fantasy?

First full day without children and here we are. Side by side, laptops in full effect. Dennis has his fantasy football pics this evening with the guys from work. This is his third year of Fantasy football and I must say, it's pretty cool. We used to think the tool next door was such a dork when he would talk about his "team", but then after they moved Dennis was asked to play and on a whim, he did. It is so much fun, he's been doing it ever since and this year is on two leagues.

The interesting thing about it is watching football games to which you really have no loyalty to either team. However I have discovered that I am really into The Patriots.

Everyone is saying that this could be the year for the Lions. I'm not going to hold my breath.

You talkin' da me?

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Time Changes Everything

Of all the places on earth to live, I absolutely LOVE living in Michigan. We experience a complete change with every change of season. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in the south where it is fall, but everything is still green. Or it is Christmas, and it's 70 degrees. There is nothing more beautiful than walking my children to school on a brisk fall morning and the sound of crisp fallen leaves under foot. The only drawback is a gusty day that wipes the beautiful colors from all the trees.

Time changes everything. This year, I will only be walking one child to school. Emily, will be heading to Junior High on a bus. Our traditional "first day of school" photo on the corner, will be minus one. How did we get here so fast?

I just hope time drags its feet so we can enjoy all that life has to offer.


~On a lighter note, I added a couple of new blogs to my "stalker" list. Check them out.

Forced.

Apparently there have been many students admitted into the Nursing Program that do not think they will ever touch patients. Really? So some genius at the college decided there needs to be an "Introduction to Nursing" class. I call it the, "So you want to be a nurse" class. We go once a week for 3 hours. Buehler? Buehler?

We talk about statistics. How much to nurses make, chain of command, marble floors and grand pianos in hospital lobbys. Did the patient get enough pudding and a pillow? Seriously. This is the first semester the class has been introduced and it is like watching paint dry.

After 15 years of hospital experience I can say, "YES. I know EXACTLY what I'm getting into. Let's get started." Unfortunately I am stuck there. For the next 8 weeks. Buehler? Buehler?

Housekeeping

I want to clean-up my friends list on facebook. Ever do this and were there any hard feelings from people that were removed?

Sometimes I wish I was a bit more selective about who I picked as friends. I am wondering if I should do it slowly, like just delete people that I don't normally see their posts. FYI, the followers of this blog are safe. I read your wall posts regularly and comment on them frequently. You're safe!