Darly's birthday is next month and she wanted to come up with something "epic" for her party. Surprisingly she wasn't at all interested in doing any of the go somewhere else type parties. Being highly sensitive to noise I can see how having her friends at home would be more appealing.
So after googling many versions of Fabulous Birthday Party Ideas we came across ...
Murder Mystery Party! She liked that right off the bat.
But she also wanted her friends to be able to dress up as any character they wanted to...not just the characters in the mystery. So we have...
Comic-Con Murder Mystery Party! and now her friends can be anything... but how to tie this in to the storyline?
Well we had to write our own story. Hummm that seems hard. So we did some more research trying to find a murder mystery kit that would fit in with our theme... um not so much.
And then we found where someone had their guests come up with their own character for the mystery. Ah HA!
So now the guests will come up with their own character, and name (so for the party they'll be 3 people... who they really are, their costume character, AND their mystery character) bwahaha! They will each write a brief bio of themselves with how they know the victim and then an alibi.
At the party each guest will read or act out their part and then we'll vote on who we think "dun-it" The person with the most votes is our killer!
DH asks: "What if there's a tie?" - they did it together!
"What if it's a 3 way tie?" - they hired a hitman!
"What if it's a 15 way tie?" - we'll have to provide more evidence and vote again.
The invites went out today and the guests are excited...most are involved in theater, so this should be really fun with all the drama!
Due to scheduling the party isn't until May... but I'll try to have pictures.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Flakers
Okay, I really wanted to stop being so negative on my blog, but I guess that just isn't going to happen.
Unfortunately I am exposed to a lot of people who are flakers. (yeah, my spell check doesn't like that word)
A flaker is someone who says that they will do something and then later either totally forgets about doing the thing they said they were going to do or just before they were supposed to do it, says they now can't (and the reason isn't very good).
I wonder if this is just a homeschooling phenomena or if this happens with other folks too?
It seems that we either get a lot of folks who will sign up for our homeschooling classes and either forget that they've signed up or they schedule to do something else and are no longer available to come. It gets really frustrating because as homeschoolers we struggle to be seen in the community as legitimate educators for our kids and when we get someone to give of their time it is easier to get them to do that if we have a sizable group, but if we say we are bringing a group of 20 kids + their parents and then the day comes and only 10 kids and parents actually show up it looks bad. Also frequently you need to have a large group to get the discounted price.
I know that many of my homeschooling friends feel my pain. I think that I get irritated by this so much because to me flaking is like lying. Or maybe it seems as if something better came along.
I understand having to cancel if your kid gets sick...trust me, if your kid is sick I want you to stay home because there is nothing I hate worse that someone who shares cold germs.
I understand other emergencies.
What I don't understand is setting up an appointment when you've already said you would do my class.
Unfortunately I am exposed to a lot of people who are flakers. (yeah, my spell check doesn't like that word)
A flaker is someone who says that they will do something and then later either totally forgets about doing the thing they said they were going to do or just before they were supposed to do it, says they now can't (and the reason isn't very good).
I wonder if this is just a homeschooling phenomena or if this happens with other folks too?
It seems that we either get a lot of folks who will sign up for our homeschooling classes and either forget that they've signed up or they schedule to do something else and are no longer available to come. It gets really frustrating because as homeschoolers we struggle to be seen in the community as legitimate educators for our kids and when we get someone to give of their time it is easier to get them to do that if we have a sizable group, but if we say we are bringing a group of 20 kids + their parents and then the day comes and only 10 kids and parents actually show up it looks bad. Also frequently you need to have a large group to get the discounted price.
I know that many of my homeschooling friends feel my pain. I think that I get irritated by this so much because to me flaking is like lying. Or maybe it seems as if something better came along.
I understand having to cancel if your kid gets sick...trust me, if your kid is sick I want you to stay home because there is nothing I hate worse that someone who shares cold germs.
I understand other emergencies.
What I don't understand is setting up an appointment when you've already said you would do my class.
Google reader
I visit most of my friends' blogs via google reader. But this week I was notified that reader is going away. :'(
apparently I was just barely accessing all the power of google reader. I learned that I could have been using it to do much more than just blogging. but alas, seeing as they're doing away with it...no point in figuring that out now.
However, never fear, I figured out how to continue to access everyone's blog updates. blogger let me subscribe to all of my reader feeds.
now to see how long blogger stays around. I guess if they do away with blogger then I'll have no blog. That will be a bummer.
apparently I was just barely accessing all the power of google reader. I learned that I could have been using it to do much more than just blogging. but alas, seeing as they're doing away with it...no point in figuring that out now.
However, never fear, I figured out how to continue to access everyone's blog updates. blogger let me subscribe to all of my reader feeds.
now to see how long blogger stays around. I guess if they do away with blogger then I'll have no blog. That will be a bummer.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Happy? Monday
I see that it has almost been an entire month since my last post. :p
Since then well we had that dog's 12 week post op appointment. The update on Lilly is that she is still doing very well although she does limp and hop in the evenings...usually because she decided that it was worth it to "spaz out" a time or two during the day.
Darly started rehearsing for her new play. She is the Old Widow & a Maiden in Robin Hood. NO not maid Marian, but one of her back up dancers. As the Widow she has 3 children who insist on pulling her arms out during their number. Hopefully that quits soon as Darly needs her arms. ;o)
I've been busy getting costumes for the show. Turns out that our show and the other show by the same group are a week apart and both the same time period...so we are "fighting" over costumes. Robin Hood is first so I "got" first dibs on the costumes. I need to send the other show pictures of the costumes we are using so that they can use them for their show also.
I had a director's meeting for my homeschool group...it didn't go so well.
Took Lilly to the groomer. At first I was pretty upset because they were taking so long with her, but then I found out they did that because they were going easy on her leg. She still looks really good.
We had a blizzard and Church was canceled.
More CYT - costuming the kids
Ice skating with the church youth group. I fell down after the Zamboni had come through...also my skates were about as dull as they come. I've decided to shop for our own pairs again...we had some a few years ago, but of course Darly out grew her pair and mine weren't the right size. Hopefully Darly's feet have stopped growing as these will be hers for life.
Darly took a class on needle felting. She likes it. I don't know what to do with the homemade dust bunnies though. ;o)
More CYT costuming!
oh and we had that time change thing. oye!
Yesterday Darly & I met some of her friends and saw Oz the Great & Powerful or whatever it's called. It was really very good.
Since then well we had that dog's 12 week post op appointment. The update on Lilly is that she is still doing very well although she does limp and hop in the evenings...usually because she decided that it was worth it to "spaz out" a time or two during the day.
Darly started rehearsing for her new play. She is the Old Widow & a Maiden in Robin Hood. NO not maid Marian, but one of her back up dancers. As the Widow she has 3 children who insist on pulling her arms out during their number. Hopefully that quits soon as Darly needs her arms. ;o)
I've been busy getting costumes for the show. Turns out that our show and the other show by the same group are a week apart and both the same time period...so we are "fighting" over costumes. Robin Hood is first so I "got" first dibs on the costumes. I need to send the other show pictures of the costumes we are using so that they can use them for their show also.
I had a director's meeting for my homeschool group...it didn't go so well.
Took Lilly to the groomer. At first I was pretty upset because they were taking so long with her, but then I found out they did that because they were going easy on her leg. She still looks really good.
We had a blizzard and Church was canceled.
More CYT - costuming the kids
Ice skating with the church youth group. I fell down after the Zamboni had come through...also my skates were about as dull as they come. I've decided to shop for our own pairs again...we had some a few years ago, but of course Darly out grew her pair and mine weren't the right size. Hopefully Darly's feet have stopped growing as these will be hers for life.
Darly took a class on needle felting. She likes it. I don't know what to do with the homemade dust bunnies though. ;o)
More CYT costuming!
oh and we had that time change thing. oye!
Yesterday Darly & I met some of her friends and saw Oz the Great & Powerful or whatever it's called. It was really very good.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Happy Monday
Oops! It's Tuesday. LOLI got this from my friend over at Woodstone Prairie and decided to take her up on it.
Things that made me happy yesterday... hummm? Well since yesterday was a federal holiday, dh was home. Normally having dh home isn't always a good thing. He tends to get cranky when he sees how we do things when he is here. But yesterday he had a project to keep him happy...and he was.
I started a new math program with Darly and while she complained a lot about having to do it, she didn't have a hard time with it. I'm happy that I was able to find a lesson that EXPLAINED why she needed to know this. She gets so frustrated with math because it is all "Just Do It" and when she asks why the only answer is "because I said so" which of course isn't good enough for her.
But of course as soon as I got up to use the restroom she left and was gone. However, I managed to get my main goal done. So we're good...and today she can just double up. right?
That's about it for being happy yesterday.
Today is still youngish. But this morning I took Lilly to the vet for her 12 week post-op check up. This is her final check up on her ACL surgery. And the vet was very happy with her progress. she has about 1/4 of an inch of muscle mass to build back up on her leg, but has been progressing very well...so much so that I've had to start being the mean mom again. Silly dog still thinks that she can fly.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Lilly & Koda
Koda is my friend J's dog. She's a very sweet Norwegian Elkhound (I had to go look it up for spelling!) By the way, Lilly and Koda have never met as Lilly is quite freaked out by dogs larger than her. Must be from her days in obedience class with being drooled on by that Bernese Mountain Dog.
Well as Lilly approaches her 12 week post-op appointment next Tuesday... our friend Koda is going in for ACL surgery Tomorrow. Poor puppy. From her "mom's" description she may have messed up her knee a lot worse than Lilly did. They have Koda on two pain killers and she is still in pain. Where Lilly was too fine on just one painkiller. She ended up messing up her knee some more before her surgery. But the surgery replaces the entire knee...she's all bionic in there. I know Koda's vet will take good care of her. I'm a bit concerned for Koda's recovery as J is also taking care of her daughter. I wish I could take care of Koda for at least two weeks for J, but I know that Lilly would flip out at having a larger dog in the house. And Koda needs to be an only dog for her recovery.
Lilly is doing super awesome on her recovery. I've had to reduce her pain killers again as the silly pup keeps wanting to jump over the retaining wall instead of going around it. I know she feels much better but she's not supposed to do such things until she is 6 months post-op.
I need to convince hubby that we should put my vegetable garden permanently against this retaining wall so that Lilly can't be a flying dog anymore. She's 10 and a half years old now but she insists that she's still a puppy...sounds a lot like a Seinfeld loving blogger friend I know.
Well as Lilly approaches her 12 week post-op appointment next Tuesday... our friend Koda is going in for ACL surgery Tomorrow. Poor puppy. From her "mom's" description she may have messed up her knee a lot worse than Lilly did. They have Koda on two pain killers and she is still in pain. Where Lilly was too fine on just one painkiller. She ended up messing up her knee some more before her surgery. But the surgery replaces the entire knee...she's all bionic in there. I know Koda's vet will take good care of her. I'm a bit concerned for Koda's recovery as J is also taking care of her daughter. I wish I could take care of Koda for at least two weeks for J, but I know that Lilly would flip out at having a larger dog in the house. And Koda needs to be an only dog for her recovery.
Lilly is doing super awesome on her recovery. I've had to reduce her pain killers again as the silly pup keeps wanting to jump over the retaining wall instead of going around it. I know she feels much better but she's not supposed to do such things until she is 6 months post-op.
I need to convince hubby that we should put my vegetable garden permanently against this retaining wall so that Lilly can't be a flying dog anymore. She's 10 and a half years old now but she insists that she's still a puppy...sounds a lot like a Seinfeld loving blogger friend I know.
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Lilly update
Lilly went in for her 10 week post-op check up Tuesday. And she is doing great. She is using her leg more and more and now I have to watch her even more.
The other day she ran for the retaining wall. I hollered "Don't You DARE!!!" and she looked at me as if to say "then how?" I said "Go Around." and she did. (don't tell me my dog doesn't understand!)
She's been running in the house. But still slipping on the kitchen floor. Oh well, can't have it all.
The other day she ran for the retaining wall. I hollered "Don't You DARE!!!" and she looked at me as if to say "then how?" I said "Go Around." and she did. (don't tell me my dog doesn't understand!)
She's been running in the house. But still slipping on the kitchen floor. Oh well, can't have it all.
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Not sure who's worse!
My mom is quite the nag. I've mentioned her several times here before. She makes me quite glad that I live so far away from Florida. When we go to visit, I make sure to book us at a hotel...a really nice hotel. The last time that I stayed with my mom I regretted it...that was the time I went for my grandmother's birthday and I only stayed there two nights!
Well now we get to the title of my post here... My aunt! My mom hasn't talked to her sister in at least 20 years, probably closer to 30 years now. It has always been an issue. I wish that I could say that my mom is much happier not having her sister in her life, but she isn't. Another story!
So when I go to Florida to visit, I try to schedule a visit to wee my aunt and grandmother, but sometimes that doesn't happen.
Recently my aunt signed up for Facebook. She friended me and went through all my pictures and "caught up" on my entire life. And for the most part she doesn't bug me too much...except for if it has been a month since she's been on and she goes and "LIKEs" everything that I did while she was gone. o.O
Well she saw that I was sick and decided to write on my wall that she thinks I should go see a doctor. Hummm I'm over the cold/flu (except for that cough that lingers) but she thinks I should go and get a blood test to see if I really had the flu or not. I don't think so. I don't really need to know if I REALLY had the flu, it's over...let it die! And here's where it gets like she's trying to be my mom or something...she was insisting that I go to the doctor.
Whatever! I just started ignoring her.
Well now we get to the title of my post here... My aunt! My mom hasn't talked to her sister in at least 20 years, probably closer to 30 years now. It has always been an issue. I wish that I could say that my mom is much happier not having her sister in her life, but she isn't. Another story!
So when I go to Florida to visit, I try to schedule a visit to wee my aunt and grandmother, but sometimes that doesn't happen.
Recently my aunt signed up for Facebook. She friended me and went through all my pictures and "caught up" on my entire life. And for the most part she doesn't bug me too much...except for if it has been a month since she's been on and she goes and "LIKEs" everything that I did while she was gone. o.O
Well she saw that I was sick and decided to write on my wall that she thinks I should go see a doctor. Hummm I'm over the cold/flu (except for that cough that lingers) but she thinks I should go and get a blood test to see if I really had the flu or not. I don't think so. I don't really need to know if I REALLY had the flu, it's over...let it die! And here's where it gets like she's trying to be my mom or something...she was insisting that I go to the doctor.
Whatever! I just started ignoring her.
Monday, February 04, 2013
So tired!
This past week was another wonderful CYT show. Darly & I worked our tails off for it...even though we both caught the flu (we stayed home while sick) but as soon as we were well we went to work.
I'm assuming that I'm so tired from being sick. I don't know what all is going on though. I keep waking up around 7am (that's normal) but then about an hour later I feel as if I need another 4 hours of sleep. ugh!
Well until Sunday we have nothing going on, so hopefully I can catch up again soon.
But next week we start work on another show. Yes, we're gluttons for punishment. ;o)
I'm assuming that I'm so tired from being sick. I don't know what all is going on though. I keep waking up around 7am (that's normal) but then about an hour later I feel as if I need another 4 hours of sleep. ugh!
Well until Sunday we have nothing going on, so hopefully I can catch up again soon.
But next week we start work on another show. Yes, we're gluttons for punishment. ;o)
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Deadlines mean nothing
to some people that is. o.O
Recently we had this person who signed up for her free trial on the homeschooling board that I help run. When her trial ended, I sent her an email ("pay up or we delete your account" but much nicer of course!) and didn't hear from her so I deleted the account. SEVERAL months later she emails asking why she can't get in on the board. ???
So she renews and then wants to know why she can't get into co-op. Um because the deadline was yesterday, another one will be coming up in April. :p
Then I sent out financial statements for my church yesterday. I would have done it sooner but I was having connection issues with my computer. The deadline for getting them out was today. Today I get an email that someone forgot to turn in their receipts that they want counted. :p I could be wrong but I don't think that you have to turn in the receipts to where you give something to be able to claim them. I know the IRS doesn't allow the receiver to put any value on the items. Oh well.
I would love to adopt the policy "Lack of planning on your part does not create an emergency on my part." But alas I have to be sweet and some folks consider that snarky.
Recently we had this person who signed up for her free trial on the homeschooling board that I help run. When her trial ended, I sent her an email ("pay up or we delete your account" but much nicer of course!) and didn't hear from her so I deleted the account. SEVERAL months later she emails asking why she can't get in on the board. ???
So she renews and then wants to know why she can't get into co-op. Um because the deadline was yesterday, another one will be coming up in April. :p
Then I sent out financial statements for my church yesterday. I would have done it sooner but I was having connection issues with my computer. The deadline for getting them out was today. Today I get an email that someone forgot to turn in their receipts that they want counted. :p I could be wrong but I don't think that you have to turn in the receipts to where you give something to be able to claim them. I know the IRS doesn't allow the receiver to put any value on the items. Oh well.
I would love to adopt the policy "Lack of planning on your part does not create an emergency on my part." But alas I have to be sweet and some folks consider that snarky.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
It's the little things in life...
Day 3 of my cold/flu thing. I don't know what this thing is anymore.
But today I took a shower! w00t! LOL! Course I nearly hacked up my lungs in the shower, but I felt good for a little bit afterward.
Actually except for sounding bad, I feel pretty good...I'm getting tired now though. But for most of today I felt really good. Going a long time between coughing fits... my back and abs are thankful for that.
I didn't get to use the internet much today because my provider shut me down. I ordered a new modem and wasn't allowed to use it until 5pm. :p jwerks! But that's all up and running. or walking. I don't know why but this seems slower than what we had even though it kept konking out.
Some lady showed up at the front door. I looked through the peep hole. She resembled a politician, a petition gatherer or a social worker. Needless to say I did NOT open the door to her. I have a policy... If I don't know you're coming and you don't have cookies, then I don't open my door. I'm sick and tired of everyone and their brother coming here trying to get their hands on my money. So now I avoid them. I don't answer the phone for numbers I don't recognize either. Sucks for my friends with cell phones, but if they talk to my machine I'll answer them.
We had a cold snap today, so I cooked up a batch of turkey broth. It is cooling on the back porch before I move it to the frig. I'll finish it up tomorrow...maybe. ;o)
Oh I found the set of bedroom furniture that I want on craigslist! Since I can't pick it up until next week I have to wait and see if it is still available then. sigh and tapity tapity.
But today I took a shower! w00t! LOL! Course I nearly hacked up my lungs in the shower, but I felt good for a little bit afterward.
Actually except for sounding bad, I feel pretty good...I'm getting tired now though. But for most of today I felt really good. Going a long time between coughing fits... my back and abs are thankful for that.
I didn't get to use the internet much today because my provider shut me down. I ordered a new modem and wasn't allowed to use it until 5pm. :p jwerks! But that's all up and running. or walking. I don't know why but this seems slower than what we had even though it kept konking out.
Some lady showed up at the front door. I looked through the peep hole. She resembled a politician, a petition gatherer or a social worker. Needless to say I did NOT open the door to her. I have a policy... If I don't know you're coming and you don't have cookies, then I don't open my door. I'm sick and tired of everyone and their brother coming here trying to get their hands on my money. So now I avoid them. I don't answer the phone for numbers I don't recognize either. Sucks for my friends with cell phones, but if they talk to my machine I'll answer them.
We had a cold snap today, so I cooked up a batch of turkey broth. It is cooling on the back porch before I move it to the frig. I'll finish it up tomorrow...maybe. ;o)
Oh I found the set of bedroom furniture that I want on craigslist! Since I can't pick it up until next week I have to wait and see if it is still available then. sigh and tapity tapity.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sick, sick, sickedy sick!
Remember how I was sick for New Year's...and for my birthday?
Well I had that super nice lingering cough that hangs around after a cold since then and then Saturday... WHAMMO! I picked up the flu bug.
I woke up Sunday morning feeling pretty good, took my shower, got dressed for church, fixed my hair and then started feeling woozie. Ut oh!
Houston, we have a problem!
I started running scenarios of how to get to church without infecting everyone there (especially not the poor lady going through chemo) because I had to DO stuff at church. I'm the financial secretary and I'm also doing a fund raiser for the Mission Trips.
But as the minutes passed and I started feeling worse and worse I finally realized that church would go on without me...I was too sick to go.
So I trugged back upstairs and changed into my pajama sweats combo. I gave my husband and daughter instructions for how to take care of my jobs and plopped on the couch.
Oh and my internet decided to go down too...God's way of making me rest? Yeah, I think so.
After a while I realized that I had been shunning fluids and I was hungry. So I made myself some soup. There went the last of my chicken/turkey stock. Ah well...it was for a good cause.
Now I need a cold snap and to be bug free to make some more.
That was yesterday. Today I feel better...my entire body doesn't hurt. But that could be from the pain killers. I'm still coughing up a lung and all the fun that comes with coughing up a lung.
YAY :p
Well I had that super nice lingering cough that hangs around after a cold since then and then Saturday... WHAMMO! I picked up the flu bug.
I woke up Sunday morning feeling pretty good, took my shower, got dressed for church, fixed my hair and then started feeling woozie. Ut oh!
Houston, we have a problem!
I started running scenarios of how to get to church without infecting everyone there (especially not the poor lady going through chemo) because I had to DO stuff at church. I'm the financial secretary and I'm also doing a fund raiser for the Mission Trips.
But as the minutes passed and I started feeling worse and worse I finally realized that church would go on without me...I was too sick to go.
So I trugged back upstairs and changed into my pajama sweats combo. I gave my husband and daughter instructions for how to take care of my jobs and plopped on the couch.
Oh and my internet decided to go down too...God's way of making me rest? Yeah, I think so.
After a while I realized that I had been shunning fluids and I was hungry. So I made myself some soup. There went the last of my chicken/turkey stock. Ah well...it was for a good cause.
Now I need a cold snap and to be bug free to make some more.
That was yesterday. Today I feel better...my entire body doesn't hurt. But that could be from the pain killers. I'm still coughing up a lung and all the fun that comes with coughing up a lung.
YAY :p
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
lotta nuthin but gratuitus links
Well since my last post I haven't really done all that much that seemed blog worthy. But I've noticed that I get a lot more traffic on my blog if I link to other stuff...so I'm going to see how this post does. lol
On Jan 5th I went with Darly to go and see our friends from Colorado Improv do their show. Had a great time laughing which hurt my back, but it was so worth it.
On Jan 7th I had a board meeting for Common Ground Homeschoolers of which I've been a member of for over 10 years now and been on the board forever. We discussed all sorts of interesting and not so interesting things, but ended up seeing some folks from CYT while meeting at Panera. We actually got "thrown out" because we didn't realize what time they closed (we do that a lot though!)
On Jan 9th, Darly and our church's youth group met up at Village Inn for Prayer & Pie night. It's a fun social event that they do and don't let me go to. :( That's okay though as I don't really need the pie. But on this occasion I ran into an old friend that I haven't seen in a long time and while chatting I invited her to our church...so that was cool.
On the 10th Darly had her CYT class and since I didn't want to cook dinner that night I hung out and chatted with the Bye Bye Birdie costume team about the upcoming costume parade. So since I had no dinner ready I zipped over to Little Caesars.
On the 11th & 12th we did more CYT stuff (but I've linked to them numerous times above). oh but I did get lunch from King Soopers. They have a great ready made sandwich department.
On the 13th I was asked to attend a meeting before church so I had to get up early and pretty much forgo my coffee. bummer.
and then last night was my homeschool group's Teacher's Night Out that I went to at Whole Foods. While there and using the wifi I was able to freak Darly out by posting on her Facebook status. LOL that was funny when I got home. Oh and Whole Foods had to toss us out again.
If you happened to stop by because of one of the links above. Welcome! I hope that I didn't bore you too much and you swing by again sometime. And if you're one of my regulars, I'm glad you still stick with me. :D
On Jan 5th I went with Darly to go and see our friends from Colorado Improv do their show. Had a great time laughing which hurt my back, but it was so worth it.
On Jan 7th I had a board meeting for Common Ground Homeschoolers of which I've been a member of for over 10 years now and been on the board forever. We discussed all sorts of interesting and not so interesting things, but ended up seeing some folks from CYT while meeting at Panera. We actually got "thrown out" because we didn't realize what time they closed (we do that a lot though!)
On Jan 9th, Darly and our church's youth group met up at Village Inn for Prayer & Pie night. It's a fun social event that they do and don't let me go to. :( That's okay though as I don't really need the pie. But on this occasion I ran into an old friend that I haven't seen in a long time and while chatting I invited her to our church...so that was cool.
On the 10th Darly had her CYT class and since I didn't want to cook dinner that night I hung out and chatted with the Bye Bye Birdie costume team about the upcoming costume parade. So since I had no dinner ready I zipped over to Little Caesars.
On the 11th & 12th we did more CYT stuff (but I've linked to them numerous times above). oh but I did get lunch from King Soopers. They have a great ready made sandwich department.
On the 13th I was asked to attend a meeting before church so I had to get up early and pretty much forgo my coffee. bummer.
and then last night was my homeschool group's Teacher's Night Out that I went to at Whole Foods. While there and using the wifi I was able to freak Darly out by posting on her Facebook status. LOL that was funny when I got home. Oh and Whole Foods had to toss us out again.
If you happened to stop by because of one of the links above. Welcome! I hope that I didn't bore you too much and you swing by again sometime. And if you're one of my regulars, I'm glad you still stick with me. :D
Monday, January 07, 2013
What a birthday
I've had some bummer birthdays before, but this one really took the cake (btw: the cake was amazing though!)
First I was still sick...still am. bummer
Second I threw out my back while trying to pick up the dog to take her to the vet. oye! I ended up taking a muscle relaxer that night which helped a tiny bit.
Since my birthday was on a Friday night, and I was sick, and my back hurt, I decided that instead of trying to figure out where to go for dinner that we would just stay in and DH & Darly could make dinner. Darly like the idea and planned the menu.
But then Darly got the nosebleed that refused to quit so DH ended up making more of the dinner than either Darly or I thought possible. Mostly because when you try to give DH direction he QUESTIONS everything you tell him. Like he knows more about cooking than even I do? o.O
However, dinner turned out pretty good. My cake was good also but I made that myself the night before. My gifts were great...gotta try out my new comfy jammy pants!
Next year I hope to not be sick and never pull my back out again. Oh and I still have a birthday dinner out to look forward to! Now to figure out where in the world I want to go for that. :-/
First I was still sick...still am. bummer
Second I threw out my back while trying to pick up the dog to take her to the vet. oye! I ended up taking a muscle relaxer that night which helped a tiny bit.
Since my birthday was on a Friday night, and I was sick, and my back hurt, I decided that instead of trying to figure out where to go for dinner that we would just stay in and DH & Darly could make dinner. Darly like the idea and planned the menu.
But then Darly got the nosebleed that refused to quit so DH ended up making more of the dinner than either Darly or I thought possible. Mostly because when you try to give DH direction he QUESTIONS everything you tell him. Like he knows more about cooking than even I do? o.O
However, dinner turned out pretty good. My cake was good also but I made that myself the night before. My gifts were great...gotta try out my new comfy jammy pants!
Next year I hope to not be sick and never pull my back out again. Oh and I still have a birthday dinner out to look forward to! Now to figure out where in the world I want to go for that. :-/
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
"Ringing in the new year"
...sick as a dog. :p
a few days ago I started feeling this bug coming and yesterday it started making me KNOW it was coming. So I got to ring in the new year while being sick. Unfortunately that made things a bit less for the rest of my family as well.
Luckily I had a freezer full of chicken stock so I made us a nice chicken & rice soup. Since I really can't taste any difference anyway, I decided to add red pepper flakes to my soup. I think that it helped to clear up my sinuses a bit...sorta!
I spent the majority of New Year's Eve on the sofa either reading, watching a bit of TV and sleeping. (Yeah, I know how to party!) I found the two New Year's Eve celebrations on TV to be rather lacking in anything I wanted to watch...so I watched other shows while I was alert enough to care. This seemed to bother my hubby a bit, but he didn't fuss too much as he doesn't care for that garbage they were showing either.
At 11:55 I switched over to NBC and then ABC to see what they were up to. Both were still very lame, so I just kept switching back and forth. We saw the ball drop (I don't know which channel we had it on for that) and Lilly decided that something was going on (she had no idea what) but that it must require running around all excited with numerous stops at mom for reassurance. LOL! What a nut dog!
We toasted in the new year with a glass of bubbly... sparkling apple cider (yup, we live large!) and then switched the channel to some movie or something before I zonked back out again.
We are expecting more snow here soon, which will be good as the old snow is mostly a mess of black slush. :p
I'll be spending the day dosing myself with every cold remedy that we have...vitamin C, salt water gargle, etc and will probably zonk out on the couch again here soon. w00t!
Oh and I have a new nephew, born on Dec 29th and today is my "little" brother's birthday. (I used quotes because all of my brothers, while younger than me are all taller than me. That's a good thing though because really being a short man in our society isn't so good, but folks don't care if you're a short woman.)
a few days ago I started feeling this bug coming and yesterday it started making me KNOW it was coming. So I got to ring in the new year while being sick. Unfortunately that made things a bit less for the rest of my family as well.
Luckily I had a freezer full of chicken stock so I made us a nice chicken & rice soup. Since I really can't taste any difference anyway, I decided to add red pepper flakes to my soup. I think that it helped to clear up my sinuses a bit...sorta!
I spent the majority of New Year's Eve on the sofa either reading, watching a bit of TV and sleeping. (Yeah, I know how to party!) I found the two New Year's Eve celebrations on TV to be rather lacking in anything I wanted to watch...so I watched other shows while I was alert enough to care. This seemed to bother my hubby a bit, but he didn't fuss too much as he doesn't care for that garbage they were showing either.
At 11:55 I switched over to NBC and then ABC to see what they were up to. Both were still very lame, so I just kept switching back and forth. We saw the ball drop (I don't know which channel we had it on for that) and Lilly decided that something was going on (she had no idea what) but that it must require running around all excited with numerous stops at mom for reassurance. LOL! What a nut dog!
We toasted in the new year with a glass of bubbly... sparkling apple cider (yup, we live large!) and then switched the channel to some movie or something before I zonked back out again.
We are expecting more snow here soon, which will be good as the old snow is mostly a mess of black slush. :p
I'll be spending the day dosing myself with every cold remedy that we have...vitamin C, salt water gargle, etc and will probably zonk out on the couch again here soon. w00t!
Oh and I have a new nephew, born on Dec 29th and today is my "little" brother's birthday. (I used quotes because all of my brothers, while younger than me are all taller than me. That's a good thing though because really being a short man in our society isn't so good, but folks don't care if you're a short woman.)
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Social Media strikes back...with a vengeance!
Yesterday while on Facebook I learned the following...
http://www.epbot.com/2012/12/shame-on-you-redbook-magazine.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+epbot%2FfOpU+%28EPBOT%29
As you can imagine I was pretty upset...as were pretty much every follower of Jen Yates of Cake Wrecks fame and Epbot (her other blog). Jen is pretty socially connected out there and this isn't the first time that Jen fans have stepped up and used social media forces for good.
http://www.epbot.com/2010/11/geek-girls-activate.html
Soon Redbook's Facebook page was covered in comments on every status update demanding that Jen get credit for her ideas. It didn't take very long for Redbook to realize they had made a mistake and they posted that they were "looking into" the error.
finally Jen received an email from Redbook with an apology. http://www.epbot.com/2012/12/redbook-makes-it-right.html
What I love is that Jen was also fighting for the other Pintrest folks who had their ideas published in the article.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Lilly update 5 weeks post-op
At Lilly's 4 week post-op checkup the vet was really pleased with the progress that Lilly has been making. So much so that she bumped up our post-op exercises by a week even though her healing is probably closer to being 2 weeks advanced, she didn't want to over stress.
The vet did this check where she uses a plastic tool to measure how far Lilly is able to move her new joint and on the lifting her leg up Lilly scored a 25/25 meaning that's the best she could ever get as that is a regular joint movement. On extending her leg Lilly scored a 150/160 which pleased the vet.
The vet recommended weaning Lilly off her pain meds, which I had already done because we had run out. At the time I didn't really see any difference between her being on the meds or off, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I should get her some. Of course seeing as the vet charged me 3 times what I can get them for online, you can see my resistance.
Lilly has been going in for Adequan injections and has one more of those left. They are Glucosamine and some other stuff. While a bit pricey I wanted to make the investment of the surgery have the best possible chance for Lilly having normal function when we're all done. Yesterday the receptionist let me know that I can get a rebate on the shots once she has taken all of them. It's only $20 but that's better than before.
The vet also recommended that Lilly start taking glucosamine supplements. I went ahead and purchased those before Lilly had her surgery. However, I got her the supplements at the grocery store. When I told the vet this, she got a bit bent out of shape because ...well she told me that the supplements in the stores aren't regulated. However, I know that the so called made for animals medications and supplements have even less stringent regulations and figured for a supplement saving money for store bought over the 3 times mark up at the vet's office wouldn't matter. My SIL used to work for a vet and told us stories.
Thanks to my blog friend Leigh, I discovered that adding gelatin to Lilly's diet would also be helpful for her joints. So I started researching how to get that into Lilly's diet. At first I was just giving Lilly gelatin capsules, but those are pricey. I looked at buying gelatin powder, but wanted to check out all my options. I also looked into making gelatin from bones. I found this one blog where the woman just keeps her crock-pot going all the time cooking down her bones. I don't know if she just mixes all the bones she has or what, but that seemed a bit much if I were to have separate crocks going for each kind of bone. I thought about just making and storing the gelatin...but I would actually have stock and that takes up space that I don't currently have since I have a small freezer and don't have a pressure canner to can and put in the pantry. (maybe one day!)
In my research I found that Osteo Bi-Flex makes a combined glucosamine and gelatine powdered supplement. That seemed like the perfect answer as Lilly really didn't like eating the glucosamine pills (although coating them with peanut butter worked very well!). And my store had the powder on sale, buy one get one free. So we started Lilly on that, last night.
Exercise has been pretty difficult to do. We've been having a lot of snow and I'm allergic to the stuff. So that on top of my annoying neighbors who let their dogs run off leash has made taking Lilly for walks very difficult. The vet suggested taking Lilly someplace quiet for walks...I don't know where that place might be. Even our own back yard is surrounded by other dogs and Lilly is a spaz around them. So instead we've been walking around the house. I know, not ideal, but it puts less stress on the both of us.
The vet did this check where she uses a plastic tool to measure how far Lilly is able to move her new joint and on the lifting her leg up Lilly scored a 25/25 meaning that's the best she could ever get as that is a regular joint movement. On extending her leg Lilly scored a 150/160 which pleased the vet.
The vet recommended weaning Lilly off her pain meds, which I had already done because we had run out. At the time I didn't really see any difference between her being on the meds or off, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I should get her some. Of course seeing as the vet charged me 3 times what I can get them for online, you can see my resistance.
Lilly has been going in for Adequan injections and has one more of those left. They are Glucosamine and some other stuff. While a bit pricey I wanted to make the investment of the surgery have the best possible chance for Lilly having normal function when we're all done. Yesterday the receptionist let me know that I can get a rebate on the shots once she has taken all of them. It's only $20 but that's better than before.
The vet also recommended that Lilly start taking glucosamine supplements. I went ahead and purchased those before Lilly had her surgery. However, I got her the supplements at the grocery store. When I told the vet this, she got a bit bent out of shape because ...well she told me that the supplements in the stores aren't regulated. However, I know that the so called made for animals medications and supplements have even less stringent regulations and figured for a supplement saving money for store bought over the 3 times mark up at the vet's office wouldn't matter. My SIL used to work for a vet and told us stories.
Thanks to my blog friend Leigh, I discovered that adding gelatin to Lilly's diet would also be helpful for her joints. So I started researching how to get that into Lilly's diet. At first I was just giving Lilly gelatin capsules, but those are pricey. I looked at buying gelatin powder, but wanted to check out all my options. I also looked into making gelatin from bones. I found this one blog where the woman just keeps her crock-pot going all the time cooking down her bones. I don't know if she just mixes all the bones she has or what, but that seemed a bit much if I were to have separate crocks going for each kind of bone. I thought about just making and storing the gelatin...but I would actually have stock and that takes up space that I don't currently have since I have a small freezer and don't have a pressure canner to can and put in the pantry. (maybe one day!)
In my research I found that Osteo Bi-Flex makes a combined glucosamine and gelatine powdered supplement. That seemed like the perfect answer as Lilly really didn't like eating the glucosamine pills (although coating them with peanut butter worked very well!). And my store had the powder on sale, buy one get one free. So we started Lilly on that, last night.
Exercise has been pretty difficult to do. We've been having a lot of snow and I'm allergic to the stuff. So that on top of my annoying neighbors who let their dogs run off leash has made taking Lilly for walks very difficult. The vet suggested taking Lilly someplace quiet for walks...I don't know where that place might be. Even our own back yard is surrounded by other dogs and Lilly is a spaz around them. So instead we've been walking around the house. I know, not ideal, but it puts less stress on the both of us.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Oh SNOW!
Tonight is supposed to be our Advent Service with a cookie exchange. I say supposed because we are getting hit today with quite a bit of snow and while the weather radar shows that this should pass soon, it doesn't appear to be following the plan.
Now as you know I am highly allergic to snow. So I'm staying hunkered down inside right now and medicating with hot chocolate.
Hopefully this cloud moves on and I'll be able to shovel or sweep off the snow (that the wind is doing a really good job of taking care of at the moment) so that we can get out and not be snow bound... especially since my teenage daughter claims that there is "nothing to eat" in the house.
Oh, I should get my "nothing to eat" roast in the crock pot!
Now as you know I am highly allergic to snow. So I'm staying hunkered down inside right now and medicating with hot chocolate.
Hopefully this cloud moves on and I'll be able to shovel or sweep off the snow (that the wind is doing a really good job of taking care of at the moment) so that we can get out and not be snow bound... especially since my teenage daughter claims that there is "nothing to eat" in the house.
Christmas Ornament tutorial - Round ornament
Here is how to make the round ornament [picture of finished ornament]
Supplies you'll need:
round flat ornaments - from craft store
school glue
glitter
transparency sheets - from office supply store
permanent markers
ribbon
paint brush, scissors, pattern, funnel
Skills needed:
Actually this ornament is very easy and looks complicated. You'll amaze your friends with it.
First step- Glitterizing the back of the ornament.
Water down the glue so that it is more runny. I think ours was not quite one part water to one part glue. Using a paint brush, transfer some glue to only the back of the ornament's inside [picture of glue & putting it in] drain out excess glue - make sure to not get any glue on the front side of the ornament.
Now using a funnel pour in your glitter into the ornament and after covering the back, shake out the excess glitter. Allow to dry completely.
While your glitter is drying you can make the design sheets. Trace your design or pattern onto the transparency sheets with your permanent markers, making sure your design is just a tiny bit smaller than the diameter of your ornament. (I used 3 inch diameter ornaments, they do come bigger) {note: I tried to just print off my design using my computer's printer but I couldn't get the toner to dry on the sheets... I suppose that I could have put the design on with the printer and then just gone over it with the markers, but my way was cleaner.}
Cut out your transparency film in a circle to fit inside the ornament.
Now roll your transparency film into a tube so you can fit it into the neck of the ornament. We found that rolling so that the design was on the outside of the roll worked better for the next step.
shove your rolled up transparency into the ornament. If it doesn't pop open all the way, you can use your paint brush handle to help it and then your fingers to adjust the design so that it sits in the right direction.
almost done!
Now put the cap/wire thingy back on and add a ribbon bow to the neck of your ornament to hide that wire that holds the thing together!
Merry Christmas!
Supplies you'll need:
round flat ornaments - from craft store
school glue
glitter
transparency sheets - from office supply store
permanent markers
ribbon
paint brush, scissors, pattern, funnel
Skills needed:
Actually this ornament is very easy and looks complicated. You'll amaze your friends with it.
First step- Glitterizing the back of the ornament.
Water down the glue so that it is more runny. I think ours was not quite one part water to one part glue. Using a paint brush, transfer some glue to only the back of the ornament's inside [picture of glue & putting it in] drain out excess glue - make sure to not get any glue on the front side of the ornament.
Now using a funnel pour in your glitter into the ornament and after covering the back, shake out the excess glitter. Allow to dry completely.
Cut out your transparency film in a circle to fit inside the ornament.
Now roll your transparency film into a tube so you can fit it into the neck of the ornament. We found that rolling so that the design was on the outside of the roll worked better for the next step.
Merry Christmas!
Christmas Ornament tutorial - felt dove
Here is how to make the felt dove ornament. [picture of finished ornament]
Supplies that you'll need:
Felt - I got these 9X11 sheets of felt at my local craft store for about 30 cents each and got about 5 ornaments per sheet. You can also buy felt by the yard at fabric stores.
Pattern - I got this one from the internet.
Freezer Paper - from my grocery store
Embroidery Floss - from my craft store (I had some at home so I don't know how much it costs, but it's pretty cheap and a little goes a long way)
Polyfill stuffing - from your craft store. I already had some, but I think they're only around $2.50 for a bag that will last you a very long time. You could also use cotton balls, but they're pretty pricey.
Pen, Scissors, Iron
Skills you'll need:
Ironing
back stitching
blanket stitching
French knot for the dove's eye
First find your pattern and transfer it to the freezer paper's mat side.
Next iron the freezer paper (the glossy side) to your felt.
Now cut out your shapes. don't worry, the directions for how to do this are on the freezer paper if you get the name brand.
Note: Embroidery Floss comes in skeins that the floss is 6 threads thick. Cut off about 18 inches of floss (or shorter - too long and you get a knotted mess!) now separate your floss into individual threads. I used two threads in my design, but you can use 3 if your colors are close and you want to see your design better.
Next we'll put our design on one of the dove's sides (you'll use two dove cut outs for each ornament). I used a French Knot to make the dove's eye. Then I started back stitching the words I wanted on my dove.
Don't make your stitches too tight so that if you make a mistake you can pull out the stitches and try again.
Once your dove has the design you want you'll next want to sew the two halves together with a blanket stitch. Make sure to cut a length of Embroidery Floss to make a hanger with. Don't separate these threads, just knot it and stitch that in while you're blanket stitching.
Leave about an inch open and stuff with polyfill until your dove is as full as you want it. You don't need to make your dove too fat and you still have to close him up.
Now close up your dove and you're done!
Merry Christmas!
Supplies that you'll need:
Felt - I got these 9X11 sheets of felt at my local craft store for about 30 cents each and got about 5 ornaments per sheet. You can also buy felt by the yard at fabric stores.
Pattern - I got this one from the internet.
Freezer Paper - from my grocery store
Embroidery Floss - from my craft store (I had some at home so I don't know how much it costs, but it's pretty cheap and a little goes a long way)
Polyfill stuffing - from your craft store. I already had some, but I think they're only around $2.50 for a bag that will last you a very long time. You could also use cotton balls, but they're pretty pricey.
Pen, Scissors, Iron
Skills you'll need:
Ironing
back stitching
blanket stitching
French knot for the dove's eye
First find your pattern and transfer it to the freezer paper's mat side.
Next iron the freezer paper (the glossy side) to your felt.
Note: Embroidery Floss comes in skeins that the floss is 6 threads thick. Cut off about 18 inches of floss (or shorter - too long and you get a knotted mess!) now separate your floss into individual threads. I used two threads in my design, but you can use 3 if your colors are close and you want to see your design better.
Don't make your stitches too tight so that if you make a mistake you can pull out the stitches and try again.
Once your dove has the design you want you'll next want to sew the two halves together with a blanket stitch. Make sure to cut a length of Embroidery Floss to make a hanger with. Don't separate these threads, just knot it and stitch that in while you're blanket stitching.
Leave about an inch open and stuff with polyfill until your dove is as full as you want it. You don't need to make your dove too fat and you still have to close him up.
Merry Christmas!
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