Saturday, October 20, 2007

Not Much Going On

Well Happy Sweetest Day!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I went to Weight Watchers and we will see what happens. I need to work on my motivation. I have been trying to get ready for the big challenges and the long journey I will be making with weight loss but I have been down on myself because it is going to be a long journey. It's depressing to think about how much I have to lose.

My x-rays results of my left foot came in and I have not one but two bone spurs all be it one is tiny per the doctor. Size does not matter though...it is causing a lot of pain. Now she is sending me to the podiatrist. I will probably have to have x-rays taken of my right foot as I have been having pain in both. The doctor only ordered the x-rays on my left foot because she figured it hurt worse so we could see the problems and then she would send me to the podiatrist if it was spurs. Well now I need to find a doctor and hopefully one who is close to home. My doctor is about 1/2 hour away from our house. Not bad but there are doctors closer. I really miss my old doctor...she moved on to working in a hospital so she was no longer taking patients obviously.

I haven't worked on any of the quilt tops I made. I have been thinking about my quilt room and I am hoping my husband and I can work in there sometime this weekend or next weekend. With Mark working on Saturdays that leaves us Sundays and that's not a lot of time. I know tomorrow part of the day he is going to spend with his brother working out in our garage...I will be watching the kids. I was going to clean the house while Eric (Mark's brother) was here but now I will be watching the kids in the morning.

I just bought the book The Secret...it was suggested by the leaders of my WW group. They suggested it because I have been down for a while about my weight and they think it will help me form a more positive attitude about it (weight loss). Has anyone read it and do they have any suggestions? Also I am trying to figure out some rewards for weight loss...so far I have come up with a manicure, a pedicure, a massage, a book, a dvd, a cd, okay I need help from there. Any ideas.

Sorry this is off topic but just needed to aske some questions and to vent a little. Well I am going to try putting my feet up and see if that helps with the pain...yikes I didn't know this would get so bad.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Four...Getting to Know Each Other

Here are the Fours.....
Job's I've Had:
1. Word Processing Clerk Typist II
2. Corporate Recruiter
3. Human Resources Generalist
4. Dietary Aide

Movies I Could Watch Over & Over
1. Gone in 60 Seconds
2. Steel Magnolias
3. Better Off Dead
4. Any Harry Potter Movie
5. Contact
6. Tomb Raider (Laura Croft)

TV Shows I Watch: (I rarely watch TV but if I do here are the one or two I watch)
1. Gray's Anatomy
2. NFL Football...specifically the Packers


Places I've Lived:
1. West Allis, WI
2. Milwaukee, WI
3. Menomonee Falls, WI
4. Waukesha, WI

Favorite Foods:
1. Spaghetti and my dad's homemade meatballs and sauce
2. Lasagna
3. Chocolate Ice Cream
4. My friend Mary's Portegese Bean Soup or Chicken Enchiladas

Favorite Colors:
1. Green
2. Blue
3. Purple
4. Burgandy

Places I'd Love to Be Now:
1. Hawaii
2. Asleep in my bed
3. My perfectly set up quilt room (okay in my dreams)
4. With my husband doing something fun
5. San Diego, California
6. Visiting Mary and John in Florida

Names I like but would not use for my children:
1. Jasmine
2. Ethan
3. Benjamin
4. Kathleen

I'm tagging:
Whoever is left

Sunday, October 14, 2007

4 Day Quilting Retreat

Wow it has been a while since I posted but four of those days I was in Elkhorn, WI at Lutherdale at a Quilting Retreat. I did not make either of the projects but brought about 15 projects and completed 10!!!!

I was called a prolific quilter by some of the ladies in our group at the quilting retreat. There were 41 of us and I was in the group on the lower level. Obviously there was a group on the main level. Well the first night I made Kristie (one of my roommates and quilting friends from before going on the retreat) a runaround bag and wonder wallet. Prior to this and a while after I arrived I met my other roommate and quilting friend from before the retreat - Kathy and she introduced me to Carol. We three of us went out to dinner and had Chicken pot pies. I should say we had pot pies which the chickens ran through to give it flavor and very little chicken...but what was there was good.

Friday morning I lost my mind and decided to try paper piecing again. I did it once or twice before but this time it was a much harder project and I think I have paper pieced myself out for the rest of my life ... or until I forget the pain I was in when I was paper piecing ... whichever comes first. Okay I made a wall hanging with two pumpkins and a cat wearing a mask...it is adorable but there are millions (okay a tiny exaggeration) of pieces. I told Kathy and Kristie that they could smack me upside the head if I ever get it in my mind that I am going to paper pieces again. When that painful experience was over I then worked on an Origami bag. This did not take long and all the ladies on our floor loved it and wanted the pattern. Many of the ladies made the bag and it was the hit of the retreat. I was told that next year I need to bring another easy project. Several of the ladies told me I should be teaching quilting and projects as they thought I was quite good at it. Ohh my me teach!!!!! I don't know about that but I took it as the compliment it was meant to be. Linda heads the retreat and last night (Saturday) I mentioned the comments that were made and she said that she thinks I should be teaching as well. Wow how is that for a compliment!!!!!

Okay the bag doesn't take too long and that was with reading the directions and making it for the first time. I then worked on some two table runners....before you know it - well it was late and time for bed - Late is somewhere between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. Okay before I went to bed I tried to make an easy project...a pillowcase...somehow this is just not the project for me. I sewed it according to the directions and Kristie told me it didn't look right and suggested I rip out all the work I did ... well I hemmed and hawed and finally ripped it all out...fixed it and proceed to sew the seams...somehow I broke two needles and one of them was titanium. Kathy tried it on her machine and it was fine....I just think I was too tired but who knows.

Suddenly I wake up and it's Saturday...well after breakfast I decide to work on making a top for a table runner I have wanted and just never gotten around to. Well I run into a snag because well I forgot it uses triangle paper. Okay well lucky for me we are going shopping later so I cut out all I can and then it's time to go. We went to Backyard quilts where I check out how to make my flannel and chenille quilt that suddenly I just couldn't remember which is supposed to be the binding (blue with snowflake), inner border (white) and outer border (fabric with words in blue). Okay this is also a reminder for when I decide to finish the quilt because you know I will forget by then. Well anyways I wander the store and end up buying a book and a bunch of fabric that is used on the samples in the book. I decide that I have fabric at home that I will make a tree skirt someday for my mom which is in the book. Then we stop at Sammy's Pub and I have Italian beef (which Carol and Kathy tell me is delicious and ohh were they right)! After that we head over to Milton to Loose Threads. There I buy more of the delicious fabric that I started to buy at Backyard Quilts. Ohh I am a fabric junkie. I think when we got back I laid down for an hour or two because I was fighting a migraine all the long weekend. Then I finished the table runner and was ready for show and tell. Ohh the first night I finished the hand binding on my mother-in-law's quilt and early on Friday I finished the First BOM Block for Wendy's group. Ohh is it beautiful. After show and tell I started cutting the chenille and flannel. Ohh was that a pain and I asked Linda for some suggestions as to how to cut some of it and square it up. This morning I finished cutting the fabric into squares so that later on I can finish this quilt! So needless to say I was quite busy. When I got home I dumped all my stuff in the living room and here it still sits. I left Lutherdale at about 10 AM and arrived home about 11 AM. Emma was very happy to see me and is now laying on my hip to tell me it is bed time...so I better finish this post.

When I got home I talked to Mark and then slept because my migraine medication was kicking in. When I woke up an hour and a half later it was time to get up and I ate a hot pretzel...not much for lunch but I wasn't feeling too good still. I laid down with ice on my temple because my headache was revving up and well I just didn't want to end up in the ER this weekend so it was nap time again. Then when I woke up Mark took me to the Machine Shed. I have been soooo lazy today and I can't believe it is almost 10 PM. Ohh well it is off to bed for me and I hope you all had a great weekend. I know I did. I made several new friends and one of the ladies Frannie and I talked for an hour and a half or so one night ... I got up at 2:30 AM to go to the bathroom and just checked to see if anyone was sewing and she was so I sat and chatted with her. What a great time I had but I did miss Mark and Emma and was glad to be home as well. I did miss seeing Michelle and her group when they came and visited Jen and Cindy and I did miss the Wendy's BOM group that meets at Frank's Sewing Center.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Ohh Today did not go as I planned

I had the day all planned out. I would go to Weight Watchers and then the post office. Then Jen called and invited me to go to Ben Franklin in Oconomowoc and I decided to go to the post office first and then to Weight Watchers. Well I got out to my car and then next thing you know my car won't start. Okay wait a minute or two and try again ...again nothing. So I go inside to call Jen and tell her I won't be able to go because the car won't start.

My neighbor comes over and needs a tool from our garage so I go outside and when happens the lock spins and spins and the door won't open...ohh no how am I going to get in. I try the handle and wiggle it and turn the lock...give it one last try and amazing it opens. Now I am embarrassed because the garage is such a mess. So I say I am sorry and open the garage door so we can go in that way.

Next I decide to vacuum the kitchen, living room and bathroom. I vacuum up a metal tool so I have to take the vacuum apart...so I start to vacuum and now I have a clothes pin that is now somewhere in the vacuum so I have to take it apart a second time. By now I am figuring I should just give up. I continue and finish without any other problems with the vacuum that is.

Now my husband comes home and the car starts up for him...just like that. Why...I had so much I wanted to do. I also wanted to get a couple of outfits for work and I wanted to get some mums and asters for the front yard and perhaps a scarecrow from Joanne's to decorate the yard. I had hoped my husband and I would be able to rip the carpeting out...well of course that isn't happening. He is still outside helping his brother with his car. I want to do a load of laundry as I won't be home but as Amelia is falling asleep on my couch I just can't start my washer which is falling apart and loud. Amelia is five and the washer is three. It should not sound like it is going to take off but it does so so much for that idea.

There was other stuff on my agenda but I just didn't get to it either. I wanted to get stuff ready for tomorrow and going to Frank's Sewing Center for a sewing day but again it didn't happen. I was going to do the dishes and go to the grocery store but again it just didn't happen. I am going to get up off this couch as soon as I post this and pick up the crayons and coloring books I used with the kids.

Hopefully it will be bedtime for me in about half an hour. Hope you are all having a better weekend than I am. :-)

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Allergies Strike Again

Okay I am home early today because my allergies have struck again. This time I have the start of hives all over me. I itch everyplace...my scalp, my eyelids, my mouth, my hands and feet...you get the idea. I called the doctor's office because Clarinex D had been working for me but I only had samples and well they had run out...my insurance company denied my doctor's request to make an exception...well now the doctor has to write a letter to the national board stating that I am miserable and how today has been just well MISERABLE!!!!

I took Claritin D which the insurance company says should work but well obviously it doesn't. They also suggested Alavert which does not have a decongestant and is the same as Claritin...don't they get it - IT DOES NOT WORK!!! Okay I am sorry to complain but I really need to vent about this. I pay for my insurance and now they can override a doctor and say I can't have Clarinex D but Claritin D should work. I just am furious that here I sit itching everyplace and the medication that works well they won't cover it and it's $90 a month...well that's about 9 yards of fabric there and well my doctor has tried everything else. I am at the bottom of the barrel of allergy medications. When this doesn't work anymore he doesn't know what we are going to do. I just am so mad at the insurance company.

Well I am starting to get sleepy...when I was at the doctor's office they said I could take a Clarinex D but that the combination of that and Claritin D would make me VERY sleepy. Okay I should stop ranting now and take a nap. Hope everyone is doing well!