Nine years ago I met my best friend, Uschi. It’s a day I won’t soon forget because our friendship has grown over the years and we have become sisters. Each year I celebrate this day because it was a special start to one of the most important relationships in my life.
So Happy Anniversary to my dearest Uschi!
Thank you for being my friend!
Untitled from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.
Hubby and I made a trip out today to restock the shelves, the fridge and the freezer. We first stopped BJ’s Warehouse and I stocked up on the necessities there. Tide Laundry detergent, (No I am not getting free samples, I just love that brand), and sugar free cocoa mix. That’s the only chocolate I allow myself when being strict on Weight Watchers.
Next we went to Wally World to buy things like dog food and paper towel and a new pair of old lady sunglasses. My nephew laughs at me when I wear them, but right now I simply cannot stand any bright light and must protect my eyes.
Anyway, here I was getting some canned dog food for the crew when this young couple with an 18 month old baby were standing there trying to figure out how to make a run for their Beagle. They looked at me loading my 40 cans of dog food in the basket and figured I might know something. Here is the conversation.
Them: Do you think you could help us?
Me: Sure.
Them: How do we make a dog run for our Beagle?
Me: How old is your Beagle?
Them: 8 weeks.
Me: (Groan!) Um, you really can’t put an 8 week old puppy on a run.
Them: Why not?
Me: Well it’s too young and you need to take the puppy out to teach him, to house break him.
Them: But it’s too cold!
Me: Well, you need to do that. And tell me what type of collar are you using?
Them: A regular one like this. (Points to a plain nylon collar)
Me: Well, you definitely can’t use that because the baby will slip it. You’ll need a harness. But I’m telling you, you need to walk the baby. I know I breed dachshunds and I have trained several in the winter.
Them: Well thanks.
And they walked away with the run kit! I wanted to scream at them! But I stood there with my mouth hanging open! Why, oh why do people get dogs if they aren’t prepared to take care of them properly?
We came home and I took my babies out. They’re old enough now that they appreciate a warm house and I can walk them in the yard without a leash and they perform and come in quickly. At 15 degrees, no one lingers, especially the little ones.
Hubby is off skiing today as tomorrow morning we have an early appointment with my retinal surgeon. I am hoping for good news from him.
Okay, now the best part of my day? Waking up this morning to sweet little kisses from Anneliese. She crawled up on my side and then spent a few minutes licking my face. Makes me smile every time!
Melli tagged me with this Meme. Since it has been forever since I have done one I thought I would give it a go!
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8 TV shows I like to watch:
1. NCIS
2. NCIS Los Angeles
3. House
4. Big Bang Theory
5. How I met Your Mother
6. What Not To Wear
7. Say Yes To The Dress
8. Ice Road Truckers
8 Favorite Places to Eat & drink:
1. Canoe
2. Hong Kong Buffet
3. The Weathervane
4. Harts Turkey Farm
5. The Greek Restaurant in Berlin with Uschi.
6. A little restaurant in Potsdam that has awesome Schnitzel!
7. Margarita’s Mexican
8. The Woodshed
8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Time with my family.
2. Good Vision.
3. Baby Dackels.
4. Another Cruise (Australia maybe?)
5. Spring.
6. Seeing my friends again.
7. Good health for my family, friends and myself.
8. Winning the election in the spring for Library Trustee.
8 Things that Happened Yesterday:
1. Stayed on my diet all day.
2. Had my hair and nails done!
3. Made a nice homemade beef stew for dinner (4 points!)
4. Hubby skied 8 runs at the mountain.
5. Cuddled with my dackels.
6. Had a Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee!
7. My back scrubbers arrived via USPS.
8. Heard from my daughter.
8 Things I Love About Winter:
1. Christmas
2. New Years
3. Quiet
4. Empty roads
5. Silent snowfall
6. Valentine’s day
7. Easter
8. Spring!
8 Things I Am Passionate About:
1. God
2. Love for my family
3. Love for my friends
4. Dackels
5. Chocolate
6. Appreciating others
7. Travel
8. Cruises
8 Words/Phrases I Often Use:
1. Oh yeah…
2. Who wants a cookie-bone?
3. I LOVE…!
4. WOW!
5. So…
6. No WAY!
7. Not in this lifetime…
8. I’ll pay you ten bucks to walk the dog this time!
8 Things I Learnt from the Past:
1. Love God.
2. Love your family well.
3. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
4. Smile.
5. Go forth gently into the world, but be prepared for the tough stuff.
6. Be there for those you love.
7. Live, Laugh, Love.
8. Enjoy the special little moments in life.
I’m supposed to tag people, but I won’t. If you would like to join me with this, then leave a comment and I will link your blog to this post.
Have a great day everyone!
So far Steffi has joined me!
This was a great day. I was up at the usual time, said bye to Hubby as he went off to meet friends and ski, had a nice breakfast and headed to my friend’s beauty salon for my monthly make-over! And this month, I not only needed the make-over, but the pampering that comes along with it.
I got there early and sat down drinking a cup of coffee and relishing being out again after enforced bed rest for my eye. I actually shouldn’t have been driving, but I patched my eye and went very slowly the few miles across country roads to the salon. All day yesterday I asked myself if I could do this, and this morning I got in the Jeep and away I went.
I was pampered and spoiled and Margarita gave me a cut that will be easy for me to do these next few weeks. Lots of layers so that the curls just pop out. I just love how Margarita does my hair!
My friend and manicurist, Shelly had her baby, Ella there wearing a shirt and pants set I gave her for the baby at her baby shower in October. She looks so adorable, don’t you think?
So my day was a happy one as I got out and had a chance to see my girlfriends and little Miss Ella!
I woke up knowing that today was the day I would start back on Weight Watchers. Breakfast is always easy for me, because I like yogurt and the 1 point English muffins. I add to that a one egg white omelet and life is great!
Then I showered and weighed myself.
Gasp!
After that, no matter what I put on, I felt pudgy all day. Of course this is good motivation to stay on the plan. In fact I had a leader once who said to wear those tight jeans, because they keep you honest. I think she could be right.
I wasn’t in the mood for a salad, but I made myself one anyway. I made it with tuna sprinkled over the top. Usually I love this. Today, it felt like a terrible punishment, but I persevered and ate all of it.
I know myself pretty well. There are certain things I can eat and some things that I cannot. For instance…CHOCOLATE in any shape or form sends me to Heaven! I cannot get enough. I dream of it and all I want to do is eat it all. There is no way this girl could ever live in Hershey, Pennsylvania! Yes, chocolate is my drug of choice!
My other downfall are carbs. I haven’t met a carb I didn’t like, with the exception of the breadfruit, and I’m not convinced that it is actually a carb. During the month of December, I definitely over-carbed myself. You should have seen some of the things they had on the cruise, and then when I came home I had that wonderful Marzipan Stollen Bread! Ah, the thought of it makes my stomach cry out for more!
Now it is time to pay the piper and get back on track.
Why am I doing this? Because I would hate like heck to allow myself to gain back all the weight that I lost. It is amazing how quickly it goes on, and how S.L.O.W.L.Y it goes off. So, call this a preemptive strike!
The dackels are all quite supportive although they miss the scraps. They all know that when Mama is dieting, she cleans her plate and there is nothing left for the little dogs!
Nothing much to report about my eye. I’m resting it and trying to do what the doctor advised, but it was so tough with the lopsided vision. Then Hubby got me a Captain Jack Sparrow eye patch and at least I can watch TV and read, even if I look a bit like a pirate!
Yesterday I wanted to clean up after Christmas. You know, put things away and get back to normal life. It just didn’t happen. I looked, I thought and then I stayed in my chair. Apparently, my walk had made me a little tired. So I got to enjoy the decorations for one more day.
This morning, while Hubby was out clearing the drive and patio from our 8 inch snowstorm, I got the decoration box and started putting things away. I wrapped Santa and Christmas trees and with each item packed, said good-bye to Christmas 2009.
I got just about everything packed, and once I am back to normal I will work with Hubby to get the boxes up in the attic. For now they can sit in our unused living room. (We use our family room for daily life.)
It was very cold and windy here today and I did not make it outside. Even the dackels didn’t want to go outside, but I kicked their little dackel bottoms out! LOL!
Hubby cleared the snow that had drifted from the wind, and now he is thawing in front of the fire in the hearth.
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Tomorrow morning I go back on the Weight Watcher’s diet. It’s time. I really need to get my eating back under control and lose the ten pounds that somehow found me over the holidays. I haven’t done well. Somehow that Peppermint Bark Candy found it’s way into my mouth, as well as Lindt Truffels, and German Stollen bread! On our cruise they had Marzipan Stollen for breakfast everyday and I admit I ate it every day! I also had one of my all time favorite things, Eggnog! Now there is a diet killer if there ever was one!
So on Monday morning it is back to yogurt, salads, tuna fish and chicken, until I get those ten pounds off. Anyone else kind of blow their diets during this past Christmas?
It constantly amazes me that as good as I was losing the weight, the moment I am not totally vigilant, the weight comes right back to visit!
So here is to the New Year, and the loss of that little bit of weight ,so that my jeans zip once again, without the use of pliers!
I was up after 9 AM on New Years morning. I woke up on the sofa. You might ask me why I was on the sofa when Hubby and I own a perfectly good king size bed. Well, apparently the dachshunds felt like stretching out and I was the one who was going to land on the floor. So, since I was awake, I came out, drank a large glass of cranberry pomegranate juice (my current favorite!) and then fell asleep on our sofa.
Our day has been rather laid back and quiet. I slept on the sofa again in the afternoon and finally kicked the eye ache. Yay for me! I’m back to cooking our meals (and unfortunately cleaning them up) and even doing the laundry. Life is going on in a normal way, and for this I am so very grateful!
Snow has been falling softly, all day long. It’s very pretty. I decided to enjoy some of the after Christmas sales and I ordered our Christmas card for next year. Usually I go out and do this, but since I cannot drive online retail therapy will have to suffice.
You know, I need to tell you all a little story. It took place shortly after I came home from the hospital. I was feeling very depressed because of the eye and I asked Hubby to bring me the mail that had come while we were gone.
I lay there opening each and every Christmas card that came and as I read them I felt the love and caring of our friends and family envelop me in a warm cocoon. It was truly magical! How lucky we are to have you all and how lucky I felt to open those cards so full of love. (Of course our tax bill from the town we live in reminded me how much our town loves…our money! LOL)
As the New Year starts I am planning to get back to Weight Watchers once I can drive, and never again take my vision for granted.
Do you have any resolutions?
I decided that I had done way too much yesterday, so today I have been just making meals and if I am up, then I will pick up something on my way to the bedroom, or the kitchen, etc. and put it away. My right eye is doing okay, although I have had a little discomfort, which is keeping me honest with my rest.
You can see my right eye looks pretty good, even if it doesn’t open all the way quite yet. In time it will and I just know I will regain my vision. I have faith!
I do wonder why I have had two retinal detachments at such a young age. I mean, I am 51 years old and have had detachments in both eyes! What’s with that?
Many years ago, we’re talking many, because I was only 14 at the time, my Dad took some pictures of me. I thought, in my adolescent vanity, that my eyes were so beautiful! In fact I always thought that my eyes were my best feature.
I was 15 here.
Of course now, I am a wee bit depressed because, my eyes no longer hold the glint of youth.
Of course, I kick myself and tell myself that I can see! That is the most important thing, right? I just need to get my priorities straight! I also need to stop having this little pity party and get on with it.
So the next few days I will just take it easy and stop being so hard on myself. We are planning to get some groceries tomorrow and if I can swing it (meaning feeling well enough), I would like to have Chinese food for our lunch.
Slowly, life is getting back to normal and soon I will be back up and running around with my doggies!
I was up today. I did a little laundry, and cooked our meals. Nothing fancy, just the basics. It felt good to be doing a few things again after all the enforced down time.
It’s been bitterly cold today with high winds (49 miles an hour!!!!) so the dogs have all wanted to keep me company. Even Hubby stayed in until he was forced to go out to get the mail and a few groceries.
Funny, this week between Christmas and New Year. Nothing really gets done, no one really wants to do anything, and this year, no one really wants to do the after Christmas shopping….no money.
I’m hoping that 2010 is a whole lot better than 2009. In fact I want to go on record and say that 2009 was a really crappy year and hopefully will not be repeated!
I got an email from Princess Cruises offering me discounted travel in the Far East this spring. Yeah, well that isn’t going to happen, much as I would like it to. Perhaps another time.
For now, I am happy to slowly be getting my vision back, and I hope that I will not need further surgery on this eye. Yes, I have high hopes for 2010, that it will be the year of healing. Not just for me, but for my cousin as well.
Come on 2010! Be a year we can all look back on and say that you were a good one!!!
I wish I’d had my camera with me today, but alas, I’d left it at home. Hubby drove me over to see Dr. C. my retinal surgeon, and it snowed all the way over and all the way back. In fact on the way home, the only reason we made it safely was because Hubby is a fantastic driver in the snow and avoided two certain car crashes. The first would have been caused by an oogler. Some jerk that wanted to look at a man who had skidded off the road. He literally stopped in the middle of the road. Hubby was able to stop in time and all was well.
The second was caused by slippery conditions at home. We were turning into our street and the car kept going straight. Fortunately, Hubby is a snow master and he hung in there and got the car to turn!
My Hero!
Once home, I did way too much. I did three loads of laundry, made dinner and did the dishes. It was then that Hubby reminded me that I was supposed to be resting, so I have now gotten in my pajamas, and I am resting in my chair and have my feet up.
We had three inches of new snow, which makes it pretty, and now the wind has picked up. Tomorrow the cold temperature will settle in and I think it will be a nice day to get the fireplace going.
It’s nice to be back writing and sharing things with you all.
Goodnight!