Category: Friday Five

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but today I finally feel like there is light at the end of this tunnel. In fact, as I write, I am actually smiling. So here is my Friday Five!

1. I met a fabulous Neurosurgeon today. He was bright and calming, and made me feel totally at ease.
2. He spoke with me (not at me) and discussed the various options that I had available to me.
3. In the end we agreed that surgery is the best option. A frontal option, which sounds awful, but in fact is better and safer to do it this way.
4. He has an opening next week and tomorrow I will get my date and time.
5. I can almost feel the pain getting better!

The week is drawing to a close and what a wonderful week it has been. Without further ado, here is this weeks Friday Five.

1. It was my 57th birthday this week. I was very happy about this. I feel good about myself, and my place in life. I love my amazing family and friends, and in turn, I am loved!
2. I was given two beautiful bouquets of flowers for my birthday!  I love flowers and they have really perked up my house!
3. My eyelid surgery is over, and is a complete success! Aside from a feeling of having eyelashes in my eye, I am doing well!

1. My new mattress comes tomorrow! I can hardly wait!
2. This past week Lili has learned about going out to do her business alone and coming right back when she is done. This is a big step! In many ways Lili is finally growing up!

It’s been a busy week, but as we come to the end, here are the top 5 things I am thinking about.

1. This morning Anneliese was chewing on her belly. Upon examination, I saw that she was having some of the dry skin issues that she has had in the past. So,  I got out her moisture rich medicated shampoo and gave her a good soapy bath. While I was up to my elbows in bubbles, I bathed Arnie and Greta too. Grouchy old Greta was not amused!
2. I had some great pork ribs to cook, so this afternoon I slow cooked them and then finished them off in the rotisserie oven. I will not torment you telling you how fabulous they were, but oh my goodness!!!!
3. I ordered a jumbo size box of Twinings English Breakfast tea from Amazon. I love this tea, (bags individually wrapped) but when I buy it in the grocery store it is quite literally the most expensive tea there. I got a huge break on Amazon and I am thrilled!
4. I saw the cutest Vera Bradley pocketbook on Tuesday. Now I am trying to track it down to a discounted price. I hate to pay full price for anything!
5. I went shopping for a new mattress. I found one I love made by Sealy. Made in the USA. I have to tell you, I must have gotten on top of at least a hundred mattresses. I actually felt like the Princess, in the story, The Princess and the Pea. There are so many really bad mattresses out there!

It’s the end of another week. It’s been a busy one, but here are the top five things I am thinking about.

1. I got the Prevnar 13 vaccine for pneumonia. Since my diagnosis with inflammatory arthritis, we’re taking every precaution to keep me well. Including the vaccines I need.
2. The shot didn’t hurt at all when I got it, but in an hour the arm hurt like crazy!
3. I’ve been living on baked apples!

   

   Well, not really, living on them, but I have been making them every night for dessert! It’s the benefit of having all these apple trees in our yard!

4. The air conditioners are all out of the windows for another season. Boy, am I going to miss the low hum of that machine. I sleep so well when the air conditioner is humming along!
5. I cannot believe that Thanksgiving it just a few weeks away, then Christmas, and then the New Year! This year has just flown by!

Well Thursday turned out to be the busiest day I have had in a very long time. It didn’t start that way, but somehow, as the hours passed things popped up!

1. I was in for my yearly physical. Everything is good, and really, I wish I could share my low blood pressure with everyone. I am so grateful for that, as I know many people who are fighting, trying to bring their blood pressure down. I got my flu shot, and found out that last year when I had my tetanus shot it was actually a combo tetanus/whooping cough shot, so I am all safe for all the babies in my life!
2. While I was out shopping, I got a call from Hubby. Could I get everything I need to make the Cabbage Soup that he loves? Well, yeah, except I needed to go to another grocery store for zucchini and celery because the shop I was in the produce was terrible!
3. So off I went to another grocery store and I got the needed produce, and a few other things. $45.00 later, I was out loading the car with all those bags.
4. I came home, made my lunch and then started peeling, chopping and preparing the vegetables for the soup. Trust me, it take a while when you make a triple batch!
5. Lastly I had to feed the dogs and prepare our dinner. Their dinner was easy, and try as I might to keep our dinner easy, I feel like I failed. On a positive note…I did not eat anything that I should not have. And for that I am grateful!

It’s now nearly 8:30 on Thursday night, and I still must put the soup in containers for storage in both the fridge and the freezer. Then I think bed will be on my list. I am tired, but this is a good tired, as I got so many things done!

By the time you read this, I will be down at my sister’s house in Connecticut. I’ve left Hubby home to care for the doggies, and I’m off on my own. Before I went I thought I would write down a few things that I have been thinking about this week.

1. Do you remember a musician named Harry Nilsson? I loved his music, back in the day, and I found this great video of him playing a cute little diddy, that seems easily played on the piano at the start, but ends with quite a flourish. Hubby asked, “So what’s he doing now?” I looked it up and discovered he had died in 1996 of heart failure. Drugs and alcohol lead up to this, and another life ended far to soon. He was only 52.
   

   Take a minute and enjoy this piece. It wasn’t famous, like his song from Midnight Cowboy, “Everybody’s Talking At Me”, but I love it.

2. Thursday found Lili being tormented by a bunch of rotten squirrels and chipmunks! During our walk, it seemed they were all out and the poor girl was being driven crazy. So was I, as Lili is 77 pounds and it is all muscle!
3. I’ve been making baked apples about two or three times a week. Oh they are so good. I use a little bit of light whipped topping and it’s basically a points free dessert!
4. I also made a “Curried Squash Soup” that is points free and out of this world!
5. My new find for the diet is “Flatout Bread”.
   

   

   It is as thin as a tortilla, but it hold together well. It also has 9 grams of protein, and is loaded with fiber. Points Count? 2!!!

So you can see that I am trying to really work the program and make next Wednesday’s weigh in a good one. Onward and upward! Or should I say downward, as I lose this weight!

This week I have been trying to get settled back in at home. There has been so much to do, this being apple season, and I also decided to make some major adjustments in my life.

1. I resolved on Wednesday to give myself a year to lose all of this weight. It’s a goal I hope to achieve, because, well, quite honestly, I am very unhappy being this over weight. I returned to Weight Watchers with great determination, and confessed my sins.
   
   
   
   (At least the most recent ones!) I down loaded the Weight Watcher App and have been tracking everything that has gone into my mouth! The real trick is to stay with it and not to get sloppy and lazy with my journaling.
2. Along this same path, I decided that I would begin doing this thing, I refer to as a four letter obscene word…EXERCISE! I decided the best thing I could do was take Lili for walks. She needs it and I kill two birds with one stone. She gets her exercise while I get mine. **Groan**
3. Our first day was tricky. Lili pulled me and I feared I was not going to live long enough to lose the weight. However this morning, I got out Fritz’s old training collar, and put it on her. She responded immediately, and stopped pulling, walked by my side and when I would stop her, sit her, and stay her…well, she actually listened. Our walk was so much fun that I hope tomorrow’s forecast of rain is wrong, as I want to go again!
4. I have decided to continue to drink a large glass of water before each meal. It not only aids with digestion, but it seems to fill me up. I’m not a fan of drinking water, but I’m starting to realize as I get older, that sometimes one must do things they do not like for their health.
5. I’m planning more fish meals, which is always good. My cousin, Dave, went fishing this summer and brought me back some really beautiful Salmon! And if I watch the sales I will stock up on fish, when I can. I have also discovered another great food.  Flat Out Bread. I made myself an egg roll-up this morning and it was really good, and lunch was a tuna roll up with lettuce and tomato. I must keep things new and interesting, and not get into a rut with the foods I am eating.

So that’s what’s happening this week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and can enjoy the Autumn weather where you are, or in the case of my Aussie friends, enjoy your spring!

I’ve been thinking a lot about life recently. How good it is, how wonderful the people in my life are, and how, despite life’s difficulties, well, life is really good. So, this week’s Friday Five are the wonderful things happening in my life.

1. I am going to be a grandmother again. Yes, my daughter is safely 15 week pregnant with her second child. A BOY! She is feeling well, the baby is growing inside her and I am thrilled. Not so much for myself, as for my daughter. Those of you who have more than one child can attest that your second baby (or third, or fourth…) brings more love into your family. Baby Boy is due in March and I can hardly wait to hold this bundle of sheer joy in my arms!
2. My sweet Savannah Rose continues to amaze and delight me. I never expected, I never knew, that being a grandmother would be as wonderful as it is. Sometimes I watch Savi and my heart swells and catches in my throat. She is so amazing! And Mandy and Matt are such wonderful parents to her.

   

3. My niece Jinny and her husband Ian, welcomed their much wanted and loved daughter this past week. April is gorgeous, and sweet and adored.

   

   Jinny and Ian are wonderful parents and my sister is reveling in her job as baby/daughter nurse. She has been over each day to help Jinny, and cook and make sure that Jinny is rested. I know my sister, and I can safely say, she is the best “baby nurse” I can even think of!

4. My dogs. OK, you all stood by me when Lili was a wild child, baby pup. But she is getting to be so much better, and she is such a sweetheart! She is getting better playing with the dackels, and finally, I feel she is fitting in. The dackels, as usual, thrill me beyond words.
5. Hubby and I have been planning our trip to Ohio. We have a graduate student moving in here, and the best part is, she will actually live here while we are gone. I always hate the thought of the animals being alone, even for a moment, and our sitter works on her Doctorate online. This is a perfect arrangement!

It’s been a busy week for me. Now that my hand has healed I can once again do housework, wash dishes and cook without gloves. Oh joy! Here are five things happening in my life.

1. I had a disaster batch of Heavenly Peach Jam. I mean this stuff is so thick, it breaks your toast. At first Hubby wanted to throw it away, but I went online (from whence cometh all intrinsic answers to every problem), and discovered that if you open the jar, put the jelly into a heavy pot. Add a small amount of water and bring to a boil, the jam will become more pliable, and then put the jam in a clean jar, cover and put into the fridge. I tried this, and it worked. Still giving my cousin some, as she likes to use this as a glaze on her pork roast.
2. I went through the entire week installing all my information on Internet Explorer. I have used Firefox forever, but recently, it started to freeze up, a lot. After 5 days of using IE, I am back to Firefox. Neither one is perfect, but Firefox has most of what I need.
3. I think I have found a couple of house sitters for the dogs. One lives on our street and he will be great for the short times, like when we go to Mandy’s house for the day. The other is a graduate student, who will be good for all day and overnights, you know, the longer trips. This is so important, as I want to travel a bit more with Hubby this year!
4. I finally got the ladder in and while Hubby steadied it, climbed up and cleaned all around the skylight. It was a good thing to do, as after a while, it really needed a good scrubbing!
5. I’m babysitting for Savannah on Monday! Yay! Call me one thrilled Oma!