On Eagle's Wings

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T13:30:00.000-05:00

Today is a new day to another new year....2012! This year will be a year that I embark on a lot of new memories.....and hoping that a lot of those memories will involve this little girl:

I am so grateful that I am finally getting a chance to spend some time with my granddaughter again! She truly is a blessing to me!

2012 will also include some milestones.....for one, I'll be turning the BIG 5-0 this year! I'm still not sure how I feel about that number yet. But I'm determined to continue on my weight loss journey & lose at least 50 pounds by the time I hit 50! I figure I have a little over 9 months to do it & it's an attainable goal. After all the food/jello shots/pudding shots I had last night at our party, it made me realize that I need to change....and I need to change starting TODAY!

2012 is also going to be the year that I get more organized & that is going to start today! Our basement is a complete mess ever since we put up the Christmas decorations, so today & tomorrow is "decoration take-down day"....that is, after the Lions football game is over :)

Speaking of the Lions.....Jim & I had an absolutely FANTASTIC time at the casino/hotel & the game on Christmas Eve....his words summed it up perfectly: "it was the BEST anniversary present ever!" And now I think he has me completely addicted to watching the Lions...ssshhh.....don't tell him, though :)

Hats off to 2011 & bring on 2012! Happy New Year!!

Benita

22 Years Of Wedded Bliss

2011-12-24T01:00:00.001-05:00

(note: I wrote this earlier & set it up to post on the 24th)

Today, Christmas Eve, Jim & I are off celebrating our 22nd anniversary at Greektown Casino & Hotel in Detroit & then we're going to the Detroit Lions vs. San Diego Chargers game. Finally.....after 22 years of wedded bliss, we are actually doing something together on our anniversary! :)

We reserved the hotel for Friday night instead of Saturday so we could be home with our kids on Christmas Eve after the game. On Christmas Day, we will wake up & watch our kids open their presents, go see our granddaughter & watch her open the presents we got for her, then come home & make dinner & afterwards, we're going to some friends to play cards. It's going to be a very LONG, but fun Christmas weekend :)

Wishing you all the best for this wonderful holiday season!
May you & your families have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Love,
Benita

What A WONDERFUL Night!

2011-12-18T23:00:00.000-05:00

And this beautiful, little girl is why it was a WONDERFUL night! After not being able to see this gorgeous granddaughter of mine for over 2 years (Thanksgiving 2009 was the last time I got to see her), I couldn't have asked for a better early Christmas gift!

I am so thankful that God brought this little girl into my life!

Although she isn't very little anymore.....she has gotten SO tall! Definitely takes after her Daddy there!

I have been having dreams about this night for the past week & right now, I am on cloud 9 :)

And if everything goes as planned, I will hopefully be able to see her again on Christmas Day :) And this time, I will definitely make sure my memory card is in my camera (hence the fuzzy cellphone pictures :( )!!!

Blessings,
Benita

Miss You Mom!

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Remembering my Mom, today & always!
12-28-32 ~ 12-7-09

And missing her more than ever!

6 Months

2011-06-23T13:30:00.004-04:00

I can't believe that 6 months ago today, we closed on our new home! Wow, how time flies when you're having fun.....or should I say, doing repairs, painting, gardening, replacing fixtures, etc., etc., etc. The never-ending joys of home ownership! But every single day, I am thankful for owning this home......every single day! We looked for MONTHS until we found the perfect home for us.....and luckily, we had an amazing realtor that never gave up on us! She was there for us all the way & we've now become close friends. The above picture was taken the day we looked at the home & put our offer in on it. Notice where the for sale sign is.....we have since planted a Magnolia tree in it's place as a way to 'mark' where our sign was :)

And here is what our home sweet home looks like now (after a rainstorm). We've taken out the two bushes along the garage near the front sidewalk as well as the little pine bush, currently working on bringing the grass back to life (we've been told that the previous owners never watered it last year), added a bunch of angel figurines, hanging baskets, some rose bushes, fixed the fountain, installed a storm door, replaced 3 light fixtures (front porch & by the garage), resurfaced the blacktop driveway & put our rocking chairs on the front porch.....and that's just what we've done to the outside! The inside is a whole nother story (see previous post about all the painting we've been doing)! And in case you're wondering, yes, Jim & I do use the rocking chairs quite often in the evening, sitting out there relaxing, listening to the birds, frogs & crickets & just enjoying our new home :) I can honestly say that with the 3 homes we've owned in the last 20 years, this one is by far my favorite of the three! We both absolutely love our home & our neighborhood & realize just how blessed we are to be here! It truly is our Home Sweet Home! And I told Jim that he's going to have to bury me in the backyard cause I'm NOT moving again :)

Truly feeling blessed,
Benita

Buh-Bye Boring White Walls!

2011-05-25T15:00:00.000-04:00

After living in our new home for the past 5 months, we finally added some color to it! I just couldn't take the white walls any longer.....the kitchen was white, the family room was white, the entryway was white.....everywhere you looked, white, white, WHITE! I felt like I was living in an apartment! But I gotta say, I am glad that the bank had the walls painted before we bought the house because from what we've heard, it was almost all blue.....navy blue! They also replaced all of the carpeting, which was also blue & there was wallpaper in the kitchen (see first before picture), which they removed, thank goodness! We had the kitchen painted first & here is what it looked like before (pictures were taken before we purchased the house):

And what it looks like now.....color is called Hazy Sage & I really like it, although now, we need new countertops cause the greyish/blue now looks too blue, but that's gonna be a while until we replace them:

Next was the 2 story entryway which took 2 days to get it all done along with the hallway upstairs & the entry area to the garage & laundry room. Here is the before of the entryway:

And the after.....this color is called Mushroom Bisque & I absolutely LOVE IT! Sometimes I just stand in the entryway & stare at it :) It matches really good with the carpet & my 2 Thomas Kinkade pictures:

You can see the hallway that leads out to the garage in this picture which I had painted the same color.

I was so scared when Woody (our friend that did all the painting for us & at a VERY reasonable price, I might add) did the part around the steps. He had a 2X12 board going from the steps to a ladder then an extension ladder on the board. Rose, his wife, and I had to leave & went garage sale shopping so we wouldn't have to watch! Luckily, Jim was here to help him out that day.

And lastly (for now), the family room. Here is the before (picture taken before we purchased the house):

And the after.....this color is called Fortune Cookie.....cute name, huh? :)

Woody just did this room yesterday & I truly love it! Before, the fireplace got almost lost in the white walls....now, it just pops out! And the color is almost an exact match to my curtains. Last night, Jim, Shawn & I went to the Tigers game, so we had to leave the room completely torn apart to let the paint dry, but when we got home, Shawn & I put everything back in order because I just couldn't go to bed until it was done. I have been looking all over for this ceiling fan as Rose & Woody have one exactly like it & I've always loved it, so one day, I was searching craigslist & stumbled upon it for.....$50.00! This fan retails for $250, so I'm very happy with that price :)

Next up.....the master bedroom, hopefully next week. This gives you a hint of what the color(s) will be :)

Until then, have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend & stay safe! Jim & I are heading up north for a one-night getaway.....he deserves it after all the hard work & long hours he's been working!

Benita

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T01:00:00.000-04:00

Hope you have a wonderful & happy Easter!

Benita

I'm Still Here.....

2011-04-12T23:45:00.001-04:00

.....are you? Although it's been over 3 months since I last blogged (where DOES time go???), I am still here & I am still reading all of my favorite blogs. The question is.....are any of my blog readers still here? I have been debating just deleting my blog since I don't tend to update it that much anymore. But then where would I write about what's going on in my life? Where would I go to vent (besides facebook)? Where would I share my thoughts, my dreams, my passions, my mistakes, etc., etc., etc. So here I am, blogging again. But are you still here reading?

I'll admit, I really have no excuses as to why I haven't blogged in so long......okay, well maybe one excuse.....I've been busy setting up my home.....still! We've been in the house almost 4 months now & I'm still not done doing everything I want to do. But then again, are we ever done??? I haven't even taken very many pictures of the inside yet because all of the walls are still white! Can you believe it.....me.....living with all white walls??? I can't! And now that I look around the house after hanging up all the pictures, curtains, valances, blinds, etc., I realize I have to take all that stuff back down to paint! ARGH! Anyone wanna help? Maybe I'll start with something small.....like the trim around the side garage door, or the front door.....something to put me in the mood to paint. Yeah, right.....it's not often I get moods like that :)

Anyway, here are a few pictures that I've taken recently of the exterior:

My first flowers of Spring :) It's exciting seeing what flowers I have coming up as I have no clue what the previous owners planted, so it's all going to be a surprise to me.

My front flower bed. The other day, Shawn & I redid all of the stones going around the bed & now we need to mulch it. Unfortunately, I found out that none of my outdoor lights are working so I'm either going to replace all of the batteries in them or just buy new lights. The problem is, replacing rechargeable solar batteries are almost as expensive as replacing the lights!

Another view of the flower bed. Today I picked up a pump & some hose to get the fountain working only to find out that it leaks around the bottom :( I'm hoping I can find something to repair it with. Plus there's a few pieces of stone that are broken off of it that I need to try to fix......or I may just have to replace the whole thing, but I love it. Not sure if you can tell, but it's an angel fountain & goes perfectly with my yard angels (most of which are currently on my porch until I figure out how I want to put them in the yard). And yes, the grass currently looks like crap! We're going to fertilize it & hope to try to revive it....wish us luck!

The one thing that is taking some getting used to is listening to all the crickets, frogs & other bugs at night. Right off to the side of our house is a pond/swamp area (not really sure what you would call it) & ever since Sunday, when the temps got into the 80's, they've been chirping away every night. I feel like I'm living in the country. It sounds really cool, except for when you're trying to sleep with the windows open. Like I said, I need to get used to it, I guess. I remember loving that sound when I was a teenager & used to sleep outside.....those where the days!

That's all I have for now.....hopefully I'll take some inside pictures soon & post them, white walls & all :) So stay tuned.....that is, if you're still with me.

Benita

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-01T16:00:00.001-05:00

It's official......it's ours, ours, ours, ours, OURS!! Okay, we'll it's ours & the banks for the next 30 years ;) We closed on the house December 23rd & have been going NON STOP ever since! We rented a Uhaul truck for 5 days to move all the big stuff & it's slowly starting to become our home. It will probably take months until we have everything unpacked, but I don't care! We finally have a home, sweet home again :)

We have hit a few snags along the way.....it seems that after our inspection, they re-winterized the house, but we don't think it was done properly as we've had some problems with some water lines, etc. Right now, we have a leak in the master shower that we hope is just coming from the caulking. The house is only 9 years old & when we had it inspected, the inspector said it was in excellent shape. When we found out about the plumbing problems the day of our walk through (also our closing day), we almost didn't close! It was either close on the house, or be out our deposit, inspection & appraisal costs. Since the house was a foreclosure, we were buying it 'as is'. I just pray that we didn't buy the Money Pit (like the movie!).

On December 27th, Jim, Shawn & I took a much-needed break from moving & went to see Jeff Dunham in Saginaw. O-M-G!!! He was so hilarious! We laughed non-stop! It was exactly what the doctor ordered! If you ever have the chance to see him, I HIGHLY recommend it! You will NOT be disappointed! Trust me!

Last night, for New Year's Eve, we went to a friend's house & played cards, ate, drank, ate, played more cards & ate lots & lots of jello shots that I made. We had a blast & we were already told that next year, the party is at our house. I can't wait!

Once I get the house more organized, I'll be sure to take & post lots of pics of the inside.....stay tuned :)

I hope you have a fabulous 2011! So far, ours is off to a pretty good start.....let's just hope it stays that way!

Benita

2010-12-21T13:30:00.001-05:00

S*T*R*E*S*S!!!

That word doesn't even begin to describe what I'm going through right now! We are supposed to close on the house this Thursday......Thursday, the 23rd of December! But right now, nothing is even 100% guaranteed yet! We're supposed to get the final approval sometime today & then we just have to pray that nothing else comes up between now & Thursday. I have the reservation for the moving truck to be picked up Thursday afternoon, I've been packing as much as I possibly can to be able to still continue to live, but I haven't even begun to wrap any Christmas presents yet. Then to top it all off, I went down into the basement at the house we're renting to do some laundry today & saw that the water heater is leaking! JUST FREAKIN' GREAT!!! What the heck else can go wrong??? DON'T answer that! Cause at this point, I don't wanna know! All I want right now is some time to relax.....to be able to enjoy the holiday season.....to take a nice, LONG bath! Which is exactly what I plan on doing just as soon as we are settled in this:
:)

If I don't get a chance to post again for a few weeks, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas & a wonderful & safe New Year!

Love to all,
Benita

Hard To Believe...

2010-12-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

....that it was a year ago today that I lost my Mom! How could that be??? Where did this past year go? One year already?? I don't get it! It still hasn't even completely sunk in that she's gone! And now she's been gone a year? Maybe I still don't want to accept it. Maybe I don't want to believe it. Maybe I'm still in shock. It's been a very difficult year for me, I know that. Right after she passed away, I ended up with the swine flu (or H1N1 as they now call it), so it was like the whole month of December just flashed before my eyes last year! And now here I am, a year later, and still not dealing with losing my Mom.

It really hit me last night, as I was attempting to decorate our Christmas tree. I found this Mother ornament that I purchased last year & that's all it took for the tears to start flowing! When does it get better? People say it takes time.....sometimes I think they're wrong!

When I went to Pennsylvania this past August, I found these angel statues called The Reunion Heart. I purchased a large one for in my garden & then a smaller version that sits on my desk. I just love the poem & wanted to share it:

The Reunion Heart

Since Heaven has become your home
I sometimes feel I'm so alone;
and though we now are far apart
you hold a big piece of my heart.

I never knew how much I'd grieve
when it was time for you to leave,
or just how much my heart would ache
from that one fragment you would take.

God lets this tender hole remain
reminding me we'll meet again,
and one day all the pain will cease
when He restores the missing piece.

For Jesus heals each tiny part
that holds your memory in my heart.
This tearful heart reminds me of
when He'll unite us in His love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And with that beautiful poem, I will end this post here.

Benita

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T14:30:00.002-05:00

Today is Thanksgiving.....a day to be thankful. And this year, I have a LOT to be thankful for! I have a wonderful husband who is not only kind, loving, considerate & compassionate (except for when he gives me his cold!), but also a pretty good cook as he is doing almost all of the cooking today :) I'm thankful for my 2 great kids & even though they drive me up a wall sometimes, I'm glad that they're mine! I'm thankful for my family back in Pennsylvania & although I can't be home with them today, I know we are all thinking about each other & we love each other! I'm thankful for my Lord Jesus! And lastly, I'm thankful for having a wonderful realtor who has been there for us as we searched & searched & SEARCHED for a home until we finally found this one:
It is everything we've been looking for & more! 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, HUGE eat-in kitchen & even bigger pantry (okay, so I'm exaggerating a little, but the pantry is BIG!), fireplace in the family room, 2 car garage, a partially started finished walkout basement, hardwood floors in the kitchen & entryway PLUS brand new carpeting throughout the whole house! It does need some things (all appliances since it's a foreclosure & they took them all out including the garbage disposal!), a deck, garage door opener & the landscaping could use some work next Spring, but we are so happy to have finally found a home! If all goes as planned, we should be closing right before Christmas :) And now the fun begins.....packing!!! ARGH! Any volunteers to help? :)

Today is also a bittersweet Thanksgiving for me since 1 year ago today was the last time I spoke to my Mom on the phone before she passed away :( I remember our conversation like it was just yesterday! She was in a good mood & glad to hear my voice. When she told me that she loved me, I cried because I wish I would have gone home to spend Thanksgiving with her! And if I would have known that it would have been her last Thanksgiving, I would have been there! But you just never know! So hug your parents, spouses, children & family members tight and be thankful for each & every day you spend with them!

Hope you & your family have a safe & blessed Thanksgiving!
Benita

OOPS!

2010-11-21T15:00:00.002-05:00

So much for another challenge! Seems I suck at doing challenges & never stick with them! Ah well.....I do have a LOT to be grateful for this month, even though I forgot to post about them all. Guess one of my New Year's Resolutions will be to not do any challenges, lol. I have been taking pictures of things I'm grateful for, just not everyday. So here are a few more:

I'm grateful for my right to vote, which I did on November 2nd :)

I'm grateful for my job.....which is one of the reasons why I haven't been able to keep up with this challenge! Right after Halloween, I was super busy doing the changeover to take down Halloween cards & put up Thanksgiving & Christmas cards. Having to do 5 stores has it's own challenges sometimes, but I do like my job.

I'm grateful for Facebook & all the friends I have found from my past & present :) I've connected with some old friends from high school & friends from when we lived in Virginia.
I'm grateful for this cute smiley mug. I sent this mug with some flowers in it to my Mom a few years ago & when she passed away, I got the mug back. It now sits on top of my computer & I look at it every single day & smile back at it, knowing that my Mom is smiling down on me :)
I'm grateful for Chocolate Chip Cookies! LOL This was actually a new recipe that I tried adding pudding to the dough.......they were YUMMY!!!
I'm grateful for my pets.....this is one of our mutts, Reeses.
I'll be grateful when Jim makes Pumpkin Pies out of this Pumpkin for Thanksgiving :)
Speaking of Jim, I'm grateful for having such an awesome man that knows how to Bar-B-Q! Yes, he even does it in the dark!
I'm grateful for my new Pink Ribbon Sketchers Shape-Ups Shoes. Yes, I realize they may be ugly, but they are the most comfortable shoes to wear when I'm standing on my feet at work!

As Thanksgiving approaches this week, I'm sure I'll have a LOT more to be grateful for! What are some things you're grateful for in your life?

Until next time,
Benita (the one that sucks at doing challenges!)

30 Days Of Gratitude

2010-11-01T21:55:00.007-04:00

I was catching up on some blog reading tonight & found this challenge on Evelyn's blog called the 30 Days of Gratitude. I guess each day we are supposed to take a picture based on different things that we are grateful for. The prompt for today is Home.
Jim & I have been looking for a home for, hmmm.....longer than I care to remember! We thought we found the perfect home a few weeks ago.....we put in an offer, they counter-offered, we counter-offered their counter-offer, they accepted, we had an inspection & found out that the roof needed to be replaced badly, so we counter-offered again, but they then decided to take the home off the market :( So not only are we out $370 for the home inspection, but now we're back to the drawing board.....yet AGAIN! But hopefully, that will all change this week as we just put an offer in on another house this past weekend. Only problem.....they have multiple offers, so we are praying that ours is the best!
These pictures are of just a few of the houses we've looked at over the last several months.
We looked at private-owned homes, short sales, foreclosures.....you name it, we looked at it!
3 bedrooms, 4 bedrooms, unfinished basements, finished basements, 2 car garage, 3 car garage....the list goes on & on!
One of my favorite ones was this one pictured above, but come to find out, we couldn't finance it due to it having an in-ground pool because of the type of financing we're doing.

But my absolute favorite one will be the one we end up buying.....whenever & wherever that one is! We WILL find it! And when we do, it'll be perfect......for us :)

Seriously....I'm Blogging???

2010-09-30T10:08:00.007-04:00

Oh poor, neglected blog.....yes, it's been 3 months since I've posted on you! I didn't forget about you.....honest. See, it's this thing called Life that has taken over.....life has gotten in the way of blogging, but I promise I still love blogging & that is why I'm writing on you today :)

Above is my newest creation that I made.....my fall wreath. I've been wanting a nice looking fall wreath to put on our front door, but the ones that look really good are so expensive! So I decided to buy the stuff & make my own. I purchased a grapevine wreath for $2.39 ($3.99 minus a 40% off coupon), a leafy vine for $7.50 (half price), a floral bush for $5.00 (also half price) & 3 floral picks that have little acorns on them for 99 cents each (yep, you guessed it.....half price on those, too). So for a grand total of around $19.00, I now proudly display this wreath on my front door :)
At the end of August, Shawn & I went to Pennsylvania to visit my family along with Karen & Jimmy's grave. God, we had such a blast while we were there! We went out every night with Barb & I found a new love.....PUDDING SHOTS!!! OMGosh are they YUMMY! Now I'm homesick & wanna go back already :( Here are Barb, Dad & I at the grave.....it's hard to believe that it's been 6 years since they left us!

The hardest part of going home was visiting my Mom's grave for the first time since she passed away :*( When she first went into the nursing home, I made a promise to myself that whenever I went home, she would be the first person I would visit & the last person I would see before I left. So now, I'm continuing that promise to her.....as soon as we arrived in Williamsport, the first thing we did was go to her grave & on the morning we left, her grave was the last place we went. When we first got there, I wasn't sure how it was going to affect me.....the first thing I did was put some new flowers on her grave, then I cleaned off the headstone & just stood there......that's when I lost it! I asked Shawn to give me some time alone with her so I could talk to her. I cried, I talked, I cried, I talked.....and right now, I'm crying as I'm typing this :( Damn, I miss my Mom!!! While we were in PA, I found this solar lighted cross & decided to buy it for her grave. I then bought some stickers to dress it up a little. I didn't get a chance to put it on her grave until the morning we left, so I didn't get to see it lit up yet. But I hope it's beautiful, just like my Mom!

Okay, enough with the downer post.....that isn't what I wanted this post to turn into! So before it gets worse, I'm going to stop here. If you're still with me, out there in blogger land, thank-you!

Benita

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T15:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers of all my blog readers & to my very own 3 special fathers in my life.....my Dad (pictured above with me), who has celebrated 57 Father's Days now as a great father & friend; my husband Jim, who is so supportive, loving, caring & has been a wonderful husband & father for over 20 years; and to my son Shawn, who continues to grow each day & gave me the most adorable little granddaughter in the world 6 years ago.

A father is a forever blessing!
Benita

Where Does Time Go???

2010-06-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

I didn't realize that it's been over a month since I blogged last.....BAD Benita! And to top it all off, I'm getting old! Proof in point....my first born son just turned 24 on June 2nd! What's up with that??? Wait a minute.....wasn't it just yesterday that I was holding his cute little body with his blond hair & blue eyes in my arms? And now....he's taller than me!!!

Jim & I took him out to dinner & then shopping on his birthday.....I never know what to buy him anymore cause his tastes are always changing, so taking him shopping works out better. He's thinking about moving back down to Florida & although I'll miss him like crazy, I know that he's happier down there & that's all I ever wanted for my kids.....for them to be happy! If they're happy, then I know they're enjoying life & I did something right.

Nothing much else to report.....my life has been pretty boring, which is why I don't blog that much anymore. But hopefully, that'll change soon.....details to follow.

Until then, I hope you'll bear with me & continue reading my blog....I miss my fellow bloggers! Let me know if you're still out there, reading or just lurking :)

Benita

Miracles DO Happen!

2010-04-25T19:30:00.002-04:00

I called Barb today to see how everything was going & got some GREAT news....she is CANCER FREE!!! Thank-you God! This is exactly the miracle we all needed! Now she goes in on June 9th to start her reconstructive surgery, so I know that's going to be a long process. But it will hopefully be the ending to her battle! She has been so strong & brave through all of this & has truly been an inspiration to me. I'm so glad she's my sister!

In other news, I'll be starting my new job tomorrow as a merchandiser for a greeting card company :) They actually hired me over a week ago, but I had to wait for them to process all the paperwork before I could start. It's going to be a very limited part-time position, but I'm okay with that.....I just wanted something to get out of the house a couple of days a week anyway.....and the little bit of extra money won't hurt, either :)

Today, the 25th of April, marks my 2 year 'anniversary' since I started my weight loss journey.....it was 2 years ago today that Jim & I joined the gym. To date, I've lost around 60 pounds & numerous inches. And although most of that weight loss was within the first year & I haven't lost much since then, I have been maintaining my weight, so I'm very proud of that! I've had quite a few struggles along the way that have also prevented me from working out over periods of time, but hopefully, I've overcome them all now & I'm getting back on track. Speaking of which, I'm off to hit the gym now :)

Later,
Benita

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter from my family to yours. I hope your Easter is filled with blessings & lots of joy.

My hubby picked up this beautiful Easter Lily for me the other day. I mentioned to him how we always used to get one for my Mom every year for Easter & he decided to continue the tradition for me. I only wish I was in Pennsylvania to put one on her grave :(

We have been having some AWESOME weather the past several days, temps in the 70's & even in the 80's which has caused some of my flowers to start blooming already. Here are my first flowers of Spring 2010.

And here is one of my Lilacs with buds on it already. Yep, I've been lovin' this weather! Sad part is, I'm afraid it won't continue.....afterall, this IS Michigan! And we've gotten that S word in April & even in May before! Hopefully that won't be the case this year, though.

Our Easter plans are pretty simple.....Church in the morning & then home to a relaxing day of laundry & cooking a ham. Sadly, I won't be seeing my granddaughter or even my son this Easter :( I'm pretty disappointed about that as this will be our first Easter that I haven't spent with either of them, not to mention my first Easter since my Mom passed away. But I'm going to do my best to enjoy the day as much as possible.....and try not to eat too much candy!

Happy Easter,
Benita

Fortune Cookie

2010-03-25T11:00:00.002-04:00

Remember that bowling tournament that I talked about in my last post? After I bowled my highest series ever that Saturday (697), Jim gave me a fortune cookie with this fortune in it. Well.....this is the pay off:

$468.00 BABY!!!
$28.00 was for our team finishing in 6th place, $40.00 was for me finishing in 2nd place for all events with handicap & $400.00 was for 1st place singles handicap :) I just got the check last night & I just keep staring at it, lol. It's gonna be hard to take it to the bank.....but not that hard! I also found out that in June, I will be invited to an award ceremony thing where I will receive a USBC jacket with my 1st place embroidered on it. Heck, now I want the jacket more than the money!

A few weeks ago, Jim & I went to Gibraltor Trade Center & I had these decals made for my car.....one for Karen & Jimmy &......

....this one for my Mom......God, I miss her! I'd be lying if I said I was fine, but truth is, I haven't been :( I've just been trying my hardest to hide my pain.....from the internet, my sisters, my husband, my kids.....even myself! I haven't been doing any scrapbooking since my Mom passed away (other than her memorial board & the window that I altered). I just can't motivate myself for some reason. I wish I could! I know that they say 'time heals all wounds', but I guess I just need more time.

In other news, Jim ended up getting another new vehicle. Remember that Journey that we just bought a year ago? Well, we were having nothing but problems with it.....occassionally when you tried to unlock it, the panic alarm would go off instead & keep going off until you unlocked the door with the key & started the engine! The last time it happened, it was 6'oclock in the morning & I don't think our neighbors liked that too much! They also had to replace a cylinder in the engine that wasn't turning right, basically having to tear almost the whole engine apart to do it. Then we were having some issues with the ABS sensor & a wheel bearing went out. So needless to say, it was time to trade it in! Luckily, our sales person gave us an awesome deal on a 2010 Dodge Nitro & they also completely paid the Journey off. Can't beat that!

And I just love the chrome package that came with it. Jim said he could have lived without it, but I think it makes it look sharp.

See.....it even has a chrome gas cap.

And although the interior doesn't have all the little hidden storage compartments that the Journey had, the seats seem to be more comfortable & I love the way it rides....may not be as smooth as the Journey since it's 4 wheel drive, but I actually missed having that 'truck-like' feel.

Just another touch of chrome.

That's all for now.....I promise it won't be another month until I update my blog again.

Benita

Bowling Tournament

2010-02-23T11:00:00.001-05:00

Before I start my post about the tournament, I wanted to post a prayer request for my Dad. He went into the hospital yesterday morning as the doctor told him he has a clogged artery in his leg. They were able to clear out the clog yesterday, but then the doctor said that when he was doing it, he found something in his stomach area, so they were going to check that out today. If you pray, could you please send up a prayer for him? As soon as I get some news, I'll update this post. I'm just so scared right now :(

UPDATE: They found an aneurysm in my Dad's stomach & are going to be doing surgery in about 2 weeks. He's going home today, but will continue to need lots & lots of prayers!

(the Black Team)
This past weekend (February 20th & 21st), I bowled in the Women's City Tournament & had SO much fun! I went in with a 179 book average (from last years league) & I'm very proud to say that I bowled over my average all 9 games! On Saturday, we bowled doubles & singles & usually I'm tired after 3 games, so I thought for sure I'd struggle doing 6 in one day. First was doubles.....my games were 182, 195 & 184 for a 561 series. Then we moved over one pair of lanes, didn't get to practice & I ended up shooting my highest series ever :) My games were 258, 257 & 182 for a 697 series! Yep, I knew I had a good shot at a 700 series & got extremely nervous, once again. But I am VERY happy with the way I bowled. I did end up winning $76.00 for my 697 series in the handicap jackpots......woohoo! Afterwards, we all went out to dinner & when I finally got home, I just relaxed on the couch & tried to watch the Olympics, but ended up falling asleep. I was pooped!

(Black & Red Teams)
Sunday was the team event & my fingers were killing me.....I could barely get them in either of my bowling balls! I started out having trouble trying to figure out the lanes, kept switching back & forth between the Zone & the Wild Ride & ended up with a 181 my 1st game & a 186 for the 2nd game. I finally called Jim after the second game & asked him what I should do. He told me that I either wasn't coming around the ball or I needed to move. Well, I don't even remember doing either of the things he suggested,lol, but I guess just talking to him helped because I ended up bowling a 248 my 3rd game for a 615 series :) I won another $24 in jackpots for my last game & then we all went out to dinner again. All in all, it was a great weekend....good times, good friends, good bowling, good food.....what more can you ask for? Oh.....cashing.....that's what else, lol. They haven't updated the standings yet & the tournament still has a few more weeks until it's over, but hopefully, I should cash in it.....keep your fingers crossed for me!

TOURNAMENT UPDATE: I just found out that I'm in 1st place for 2 things.....singles, division 1, handicap & all events handicap, division 1! Plus I'm in 8th for singles actual scratch & our team is in 5th place for handicap in our division! Now if I can just hold onto those spots for 2 more weeks!

That's all for now.....thanks in advance for the prayers for my Dad! I truly appreciate them!

Benita

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-02-04T21:30:00.001-05:00

Today, February 4th, this wonderful man in my life, my Dad, turned 82 years young! I called him tonight to wish him a Happy Birthday & he said "gee thanks.....I don't wanna get older!" LOL Then he said he was only 28 instead of 82. Gotta love him & his sense of humor :)

These pictures were taken last August when I went home. He's being silly in this one.....and as you can see, we're both HUGE Kasey Kahne fans :)

Love ya Dad.....hope you have a wonderful birthday & many, many more to come!

Benita

Altering Again

2010-01-31T00:00:00.007-05:00

I've been having so much fun, going around the house, finding things to alter. This window is a project I've been wanting to do ever since it was given to me about a year & a half ago, but just never knew what I wanted to do with it.....that is, until now. I found a very old vinyl quote that I had purchased years ago & it worked perfectly.....using one word in each window pane.

I decided to make mini scrapbook layouts using family pictures. The first one is of my Mom, her parents & her house. I did it in black & cream colors papers using lots of Primas, bling, quotes & ribbons, all things that have been in my stash for months.....heck, years!

The top middle pane is of Shawn & his daughter then the one next to that is of Karen & Jimmy. You can see the glitter Welcome sign I have hanging on the edge of the window frame.

Then I used some old family photos, the first one was the 5 of us girls with our Dad on a bridge in Niagara Falls. I think I was 2 or 3 years old in that picture. Then a more grown-up picture, again of the 5 of us with our Dad. The pane in this part of the window is cracked, but I think it just makes it look even more loved.

The bottom middle one is of Jim & I & the last one is of my Mom & I.....I LOVE this picture of her & I together. It was taken Thanksgiving of 2004, 3 months after Karen & Jimmy were killed. I actually had to tickle my Mom to get her to smile for the picture.

The very bottom of the window is unpainted & I'm not sure what I want to do to it yet.....just let it go, paint it, add some embellishments to it.....hmmm. I have the window hanging in my scrapbook room in between the 2 windows & above one of my Expedit bookcases so I can look at it everyday. I'm so pleased with the way it turned out. Thanks so much for all the compliments on my flower jars & drawers....I've been really using my Primas a whole lot more since separating them that way.

I've also altered a lot of my B's that I have in my scraproom......I'll post pictures of them in my next blog post. Until then, thanks for stopping by.

Benita

I Did It!

2010-01-08T08:30:00.002-05:00

A few months ago, after months & months of debating, I finally did it.....I sorted all my Primas by color & got rid of all those milk bottles! Yes, it was extremely hard to do, but I'm so glad I did it! (You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.)

I love the look of all the different types of glass jars. I purchased a lot of them at thrift stores, but also got some at Hobby Lobby, JoAnns & Michaels either on sale or using coupons.

I just love how much less cluttered my shelves look now, which means less to dust now, too :) I used a damask rubber stamp & black paint on my canvas boxes to dress them up a little as well (one of them is on the very top shelf & a little hard to see).

Over on the other wall are my ribbon & button jars. I picked up those penny jars, as they call them, at Target about 2-3 years ago, but I believe they still carry them.

Up on the very top shelf, I put some antiques, some of which belonged to my Mom. The wooden box has all of her school memorabilia in it & see those baby shoes.....they were my Moms! You may not be able to tell, but one of the shoes has a hole in it.....she said that he mom made her wear them until they literally fell apart! Now I just need to find the perfect baby picture of my Mom to put in the frame.

On the other side is an old milk bottle (also my Moms....we used to have a dairy not too far from our house that we always got our milk from.....boy, do I miss that milk!), an old scrapbook album along with an old camera & a Melissa Francis Bingo Card album. In the wicker basket I store my Making Memories rub-ons.

Another project that I just did this week was to 'alter' my Iris cart drawers so now you can no longer see all the 'stuff' in the drawers. All of the drawers are labeled (with the exception of a few that I need to relabel), so I know what's in them. I've been wanting to do this for a very long time, but just never got the time to do it.

The pattern papers are from The Paper Studio line sold at Hobby Lobby.....I've had them in my stash for a long time, but never wanted to use them, until now. I didn't want to use all the same papers on all the drawers, so I alternated between 2 different patterns. Since my room is mostly done in a black & white/cream damask design, I thought these papers were perfect!

I used my Xyron 900 to adhere the paper in the drawers.....I just ran it through upside down to put the adhesive on the front side of the paper. They're attached inside the drawers so they don't get messed up. I love the way they turned out & now I only wonder why it took me so long to do it!

Now.....what can I alter next? :) Hmmm (looking around my room, lol).

Have a great weekend,
Benita

My Word For 2010 - TIME!

2010-01-01T00:00:00.003-05:00

TIME! Yep, that's my word for 2010! TIME!

Too often, I tend to waste a lot of TIME, sitting on the computer when I should be doing something else.....anything else. Too often, TIME passes by me too quickly! Too often, I tend to take TIME for granted & think I still have plenty of TIME to finish something I started. Truth is, TIME is very valuable! And if we're not careful, TIME will go by in a flash before we have the chance to grasp it!

This year, I will use my TIME more wisely! I will cherish my TIME more with my loved ones, something I wish I would have done more of these past 47 years! I will make more TIME for me! I will make more TIME for family! I will make more TIME for friends! I will make more of an effort to be on TIME this year!

We cannot turn back TIME, but we can make sure to treasure the memories of the TIME we've had! And I will be doing just that.....treasuring the memories I shared with my Mom! Treasuring the memories I shared with my sister Karen! And making new memories to treasure with Jim & the rest of my family!

TIME! One little word that means so much to me! What's your word for 2010?

Have a wonderful, happy & safe New Year!

Benita

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-12-28T13:30:00.000-05:00

Today you would have been 77, but God wanted you to come home 3 weeks before your birthday. He wanted you to spend Christmas & your birthday in Heaven. How can I disagree with that??? I can't! It was God's plan for you & even though I'm missing you like crazy, I know you're where you need to be right now.....in Heaven.....out of pain.....and happy!

I miss you SO much, Mom! I don't even think that it's really hit me yet. Since I've been battling the swine flu these past few weeks, my mind hasn't even been functioning properly with all the drugs I'm on! Yes, I know that 3 weeks ago today, you went to be with the Lord. But everything just seems like one big dream.....going to PA for the funeral, the funeral itself & even Christmas.....it just wasn't the same this year, not being able to call you & talk to you. I should also be calling you today, on your birthday. But reality is, I can't :( And it's that reality that is hitting me really hard right now!

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you......always!

Benita

Rest In Peace, Mom

2009-12-07T06:30:00.002-05:00

Is anyone ever prepared for this day? The day you get that dreaded phone call from your sister at 4:00 am, telling you that your Mom passed away. How can you possibly prepare for that?

I not only lost my Mom this morning, but I lost my best friend as well! My rock! And a piece of my heart & soul!

She was the absolute BEST Mom in the world! I love you & miss you so much, Mom!

Rest In Peace, Mom.....you deserve it!
Mae Louise Seese
December 28, 1932 - December 7, 2009

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-10-27T22:30:00.005-04:00

The only excuse I have for not blogging for so long is that I've been extremely busy. After losing my job at The Salvation Army store, I went back to work at the gym. I actually only work one 6 hour shift, Saturday mornings from 6:00 am til noon, but I'm also picking up shifts for other people as much as I can. Yep, I get up at 4:30 am every Saturday morning, drag my tired body into the shower, eat breakfast, blowdry my hair, attempt to put some make-up on to at least make it look like I'm awake enough since I took the time to put make-up on, lol, get dressed & go to work hours before the sun even thinks about rising. Yep, I'm officially nuts! But, believe it or not, we have some truly devoted (or nuts) members that come in every-single-Saturday-morning-at-6:00-AM!
In my spare time, hehe, I've been creating new classes for The Scrapbook Zone. The one shown here is called Gratitude Wall Decor & I'll be teaching this class on Thursday, November 5th.
Last night, I taught my Pink For A Purpose class & had an absolute blast! Although only 4 people signed up for the class (plus one of the ladies bought an extra kit for her friend), we had so much fun! And today, I got the sweetest email from one of the girls, telling me how much fun she had & that she will definitely be taking more of my classes :) Just the ego booster I needed ;)
I'll be super busy this weekend as well. As of right now, we'll be picking up our granddaughter on Friday & she'll be spending the weekend with us, going trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. I can't wait! She's going to be a Ballerina :) I'll be sure to take lots & lots of pics.

Have a great & safe Halloween,
Benita

Frustrating

2009-10-08T22:30:00.002-04:00

Last week has been beyond frustrating! On Monday, the 28th, I was really excited to be starting a new job at a Salvation Army Thrift Store.....I figured I like shopping there, so I might as well work there, right? I thought everything was going fine.....I worked 8 hours on Monday, but when I woke up on Tuesday, my feet were all swelled up from my Osteoarthritis. So when I went into work on Wednesday, I talked to my boss & asked him if I could just work 5-6 hour shifts as anything beyond that would make my feet swell up too much. He seemed fine with it & even rearranged my schedule for Friday & Saturday for me. Well, about 15 minutes before I was due to get off Saturday night, he called me up to the office & told me that he was going to 'let me go' since I can't work 8 hour shifts. He proceeded to tell me that everyone has to work 8 hour shifts, which is a lie! They have one girl that only works 5 hour shifts, Monday through Friday from 9am to 2pm! I was so ticked! I loved that job! He wouldn't even give me a chance to try it or to let me work in the back pricing merchandise. He said that no one sits down back there either, which is another lie because on Thursday, I worked in the back pricing books, cds & videos & there were several workers sitting down while they were working! I am in the process of filing a complaint with the Department of Civil Rights for discrimination, but I'm not sure what good that's going to do.....we shall see.

On Friday, Shawn picked up my granddaughter & I was able to spend Saturday & Sunday night with her along with most of the day Monday (Toni let her 'skip school' so I could see her :). As you can see, she is still such a ham for the camera, lol.
Before I left the store on Saturday, I picked up this Barbie house for her for $8.00! It folds up & she absolutely loves it. See her peeking through the doorway :) She decided to keep it here so she has something to play with when she comes to visit me, plus Toni said she doesn't have room for it.

I do have another job interview tomorrow for a Potrait Studio, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is the one if it's meant to be. I tell ya.....it's frustrating looking for a job! And even more frustrating getting fired for no reason :(

Hope you have a great weekend. I've got a busy one planned....interview tomorrow & then lots of errands to run, working at the gym on Saturday morning, playing cards Saturday night with some friends, church on Sunday & possibly going to see the Lions/Steelers game if I can get tickets.

Stay warm!
Benita

What The Heck Happened???

2009-10-01T23:00:00.002-04:00

Where is the world did September go??? Seriously! Is it just me? Or did September seem non-existant? I don't know if it's the fact that I've been overly busy (which is why I've been a blog slacker) or the fact that when you get older, time just moves by so much faster! And don't even remind me that we have less than 3 months until Christmas is here. I haven't even begun to think about shopping yet! YIKES!

One thing I have been doing is creating :) I'm going to be teaching some more classes at The Scrapbook Zone this next quarter & I couldn't be more excited! For October, I'm teaching a class called Pink For A Purpose since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Here are the details:

When: Thursday, October 15 & Monday, October 26, 6pm – 8pm
Where: The Scrapbook Zone
Description: October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month & to show our support, we will be making a Pink For A Purpose album. If you or someone you love has ever been touched by Breast Cancer, then this class is the answer. Besides making a wonderful album to document Breast Cancer Awareness, I will also be donating $5.00 from each class fee collected to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure website. This class is truly close to my heart as my own sister was just diagnosed with Breast Cancer this year & is currently receiving chemo treatments. Please join us for the cure. Cost:$30.00

If I have any kits left over, I plan to sell them at the store, but I'm sure that if you're interested & don't live near the Zone, you could probably order them & have them shipped. Email me if you'd be interested in purchasing one & I can get more details.

Well, gonna make this a short update.....gotta get back to creating :)

Have a great one,

Benita

Happy Birthday Sis!

2009-09-12T11:30:00.001-04:00

Today you would have been turning 57, but you were taken away from us way too soon! These 2 weeks, in between the day of the accident (August 29th, 2004), my birthday (September 5th) & your birthday (September 12th) are the hardest weeks of my life! I remember how you always used to kid around with me about my birthday being a week before yours, but I always got you back because I was still the youngest. You were 10 years minus 1 week older than me & I know we shared a really special bond because of our birthdays being so close together. Hey, do you think Mom & Dad planned it that way? ;)

Mom told me how you used to spoil me all the time. Since I was the baby in the family & you were 10 years old when I was born (ok, 10 years minus a week, lol), she said that you used to treat me like I was your own baby. You would always want to feed me & dress me. As I got older, I remember being so sad when you moved off to Montana....you were starting a life with your own kids, but I was selfish & didn't want you to go! We always kept in touch....through phone calls & then the wonderful WWW with emails, but it was still so hard to be so far away from you!

I remember the last time I got to see you....it was when this picture, above, was taken. I came home for a visit in July of 2003 & you drove down to see me as you lived 2 hours away from Mom. I love this picture of the 2 of us together (even though I look like crap in it!). We both knew that the bond we shared was special....something only sisters share!

And today, as you celebrate your birthday, I realize just how lucky I am to have you in my life....even though you aren't here in presence anymore, I know you're here in spirit! And that's what gets me through all of this.....knowing that you're my angel & you're watching over me every minute of every day!

I love you & miss you, Karen!

Until we meet again,

Benita

09-09-09

2009-09-09T21:00:00.001-04:00

Shawn called me on my birthday to see if I was gonna be home....he said he had something for me. When he arrived, he had these gorgeous roses in his hands, along with a very, thought-provoking card. I couldn't believe it! My son not only remembered my birthday, but he got me roses! Yep, I truly believe that those 4 days in PA together has brought us closer than we've been in YEARS!

On Labor Day, Jim & I heading to 3 different Salvation Army stores to do some bargain shopping since they always have sales on holidays. I could hardly believe my eyes when I stumbled upon the item above! Long story: when I was a teenager (some 30+ years ago), my grandparents had given me one of these exactly like this one & I cherished it as it plays the song "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", one of my all-time favorite songs. Fast forward to 1987.....I had lost almost everything I owned in an apartment fire, including the above musical figurine. I was devastated! It was on the top of our waterbed headboard & when I was able to go into the apartment to salvage what I could, this figurine was all charred & broken :( So when I saw this exact same figurine at the store, tears swelled into my eyes & I clutched onto it with dear life. The best part is....it works & plays the song I love so much :) Yes, it does have a chip in the umbrella, but I don't care! It's mine! I guess the saying one person's trash is another person's treasure definitely proves true here :)

I also found this really cool box that I think I'll be using to display my shot glass collection.....or maybe for something in my scraproom? Hmmm.

I then stumbled upon these.....corn cob dishes. I got 6 of them for 99 cents each :) I've been wanting some of these for years & was so happy when I found them. Best part is.....they're made by Pfaltzgraff & they're all in excellent condition.

I also got myself 2 shirts, both brand new with tags, a Tigger polo shirt for Jim, which was also new with tags, a brand new still in box charging valet by Brookstone & these:

2 Willow Tree Angels for a buck each! And they're in perfect condition. I definitely couldn't pass them up!

Tonight was the first night back to bowling for our league & I'm pretty pleased with the way I bowled, especially since I haven't touched my bowling balls in 5 months! My games were 160, 190 & 173 for a 523 series. The first game, it was hard for me to concentrate since I'm the league Treasurer this year & had to count the money & take care of all the pay envelopes. And the first week is always hectic getting everyone started. But hopefully things will calm down a little next week & I'll be able to concentrate more.....although, that may or may not be a good thing :)

Have a great week/weekend,
Benita

9-5-62

2009-09-05T00:30:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday.....to me :) It's official. I'm another year older. And still the baby of the family, hehe. While I was in PA, my sisters & I were all discussing our ages, trying to figure out how old we each were cause trust me, when you get as old as we are, you tend to start forgetting things like that. Linda thought I was going to be 49 (gee, thanks, Linda!). I just had to remind them all that I'm still the youngest ;)

So today, as I begin to celebrate my 47th year of life, I plan on takin' it easy, reminisce about what I've accomplished (or procrastinated to accomplish, lol) over the past year & just be grateful to be alive to enjoy this day! I have so many things that I still want to do with my life, but just for today, I'll be celebrating the day of my birth: September 5, 1962 @ exactly 8:00 a.m. Thank-you Mom & Dad for bringing me into this world :)

Benita Lynn

Pics From PA

2009-09-02T11:00:00.016-04:00

Friday morning, after picking up Shawn, we headed to PA & arrived around 5:30 p.m. We actually made pretty good time & I wasn't even speeding.....that much ;) Heck, you couldn't speed in Ohio.....there were cops EVERYWHERE! I swear we saw over a dozen cops all along I-80. Thank goodness for my radar detector :)

On Saturday, Barb, Shawn, Dad, Linda, Dave & I drove up to visit the crash site & the grave. Donna didn't want to go.....again :( She claims that she hates going to graves. Well HELLO....we don't exactly like graves, either, but we do it out of respect for Karen & Jimmy! At the crash site, Barb redid the names & dates on the crosses & I added the flowers.....blue was Karen's favorite color & Jimmy liked red.

Here we are at the grave.....I love the mums that were planted. I added the blue bouquet here as well.

Love this pic that Barb took of Shawn & I.....it's not very often that him & I get our picture taken together.

Here I am with my Mom. I was so happy to see her & she smiled as soon as I walked into her room. Then she looked at Shawn & said "who's that?" She honestly didn't recognize him. In her defense, it's been probably 7-8 years since she saw him last.

Sunday, we went to the mall & then to the Legion for dinner & drinks while Barb was working & again, to visit my Mom. She was in the mood for shrimp, so I picked some up for her at Long John Silvers. Then we had to leave on Monday :( I wish we could have stayed longer! Heck, we didn't even get on the road until almost 1:00 p.m. because I didn't want to leave! Why do vacations go by so fast anyway??? Here's Barb working at the gas station sporting her new haircut. She's still not sure if she likes it, but I think it looks great on her! Speaking of Barb, today she starts her Chemo & she could really use some prayers. She just doesn't deserve any of this!

My Dad & I, right before I left to come back home. Yep, he's a Kasey fan, too :)

Dad, Barb & I.

Before we got on the road, I had to stop & see my Mom again. LOVE this picture that I took of her with Shawn.

And once again, I started crying :*( She told me to stop crying & that she was okay. I told her that I just hate seeing her in there & she replied saying that she doesn't have to do any housework, doesn't have to cut grass, doesn't have to cook & assured me that she's doing good. When I went to say goodbye to her, she said "don't say goodbye, say see you later."

Right after we got into Michigan, I was just too tired to drive any longer, so I asked Shawn if he wanted to drive. Yep, can you believe it.....I let him drive my Charger?!? Am I nuts or what? LOL NO ONE drives my Charger but me.....not even Jim! LOL Actually, Jim hates driving it, so that's why he doesn't drive it very often. Shawn, OTOH, loved driving it! He was impressed with how well it handled & liked the power ;)

We arrived in Detroit around 8:00 p.m. to drop Shawn off & then I got home right around 9:00. It's been hard adjusting to being home again. Tuesday, I was really depressed & just sat around the house most of the day :( If I could move back home, I would in a heartbeat! I hate being so far away from my family! It sucks! It really sucks!

Benita

5 Years

2009-08-29T08:00:00.003-04:00

5 years ago today, August 29, 2004, was the absolute worst day of my life! A day that I wish I could forget ever happened! A day of sadness, lots & LOTS of tears, lots of pain, lots of questions. It's so hard to believe that it's been 5 years! When I think about how my life has changed over the past 5 years, I know that I've become more aware of things, more careful, more alert to my surroundings & more scared.
Not a single day goes by that I don't think about Karen & Jimmy.....not one! And I'll admit, it's been very hard for me to go on, living my life, knowing that they aren't with us any longer. They say that grieving gets easier as time passes.....I think they're wrong! It's been 5 years ago & still feels like just yesterday! I miss them! And always will!

As you're reading this, I'm in Pennsylvania visiting my family & the grave. I'm staying at Barb's house since most of the hotels were booked for Little League World Series & the ones there weren't, were over $200 a night! I'll be posting lots of pics when I return.

Benita

Thank-you!

2009-08-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

Thank-you all so much for the prayers for my sister Barb! They worked! She made it through the surgery just fine, although she was very sore. She now has her drains out & was able to return to work yesterday, a mere 2 weeks after her surgery! She is definitely a trooper! She's not sure when she starts chemo yet, but the other day, she went to get her hair cut & donated her hair to Locks Of Love. How awesome is that!!! I'm SO proud of her & her strength!

The other day, I decided to stroll into Michaels just to see if they had anything new & I almost cried when I saw this on an endcap. And Xyron is donating 50 cents from each purchase to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. So yep, you guessed it.....I had to bring this little ribbon home :)

Isn't she adorable?!? Yeah, I already had the original Xyron X, but I just couldn't resist this one. Now, I only wish I had to money to buy the new PINK Cricut Expressions Machine! Darn, darn, DARN! I want that thing SO BAD! But I just cannot justify buying it since my Cricut isn't even a year old. WHY do they do these things after you already buy them.....WHY???

Thanks again for all the prayers.....I knew I could count on my friends!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Benita

Prayer Request

2009-07-31T00:00:00.001-04:00

My dear blog readers & friends,

Today I have a prayer request. Today, my sister Barb (pictured above with her 17 year old son Kyle) will be undergoing a double Mastectomy. Less than 2 months ago, she went in for her annual mammogram & it was then that they found some lumps. After having several biopsies done, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She is proof that Breast Cancer can happen to anyone at any time! It doesn't run in our family, no other woman in our family has ever had breast cancer before & she didn't have any warning signs at all! It just happened that fast! So please, if you don't do self exams or haven't had a mammogram, do it NOW! TODAY! Not tomorrow! Not next week! NOW!

Barb, being the comedian that she is, has been keeping her spirits up & has been trying to make us all laugh about it. I just talked to her on the phone last night & she said that she's always wanted new boobs & this time, she wants smaller ones.....she's sick of carrying those big things around (her quote, not mine). She was also joking around with Mom & told her that not only is she getting new boobs, but she'll also be getting a new stomach out of it, too. Yep, I love my sister & her sense of humor!

I, on the other hand, have been crying almost all day! I'm a nervous wreck! I just CANNOT lose another sister! I can't! So that is why I'm asking you for your prayers. Please keep Barb in your thoughts & prayers today that she makes it through this surgery without any complications & that they can get the cancer out of her completely!

Thank-you.

Benita

7-11

2009-07-11T13:00:00.000-04:00

Seems like so much has been going on in the world these last couple of weeks. We lost quite a few talented people.....Ed McMahon, Billy Mays & then both Farrah Fawcett & Michael Jackson on the same day! Unreal! I loved MJ & his music as long as I can remember.....grew up dancing to it at the local Disco back in the day ;), have almost all of his cd's & I put several of his songs on my iPod to listen to while working out. And Farrah.....she was just truly beautiful in every way! Who didn't want her hair??? I know I did, but sadly, I could never style mine that good :( Losing all these wonderful people so close together makes you realize just how short life really is! The sign above was at the Palace of Auburn Hills for about 2 days.....Motown won't be the same without MJ!
I'm way behind in posting my pics of the fireworks from the 4th. I took a BUNCH of pictures, but these 3 are my favorites. I had a hard time trying to figure out what setting to put my camera on as it was a last-minute decision to even go to the fireworks.
But I don't think they turned out too shabby.
This one is probably my absolute favorite, even though it's a little blurry. I just love all the colors!

Today when I woke up, I could barely get out of bed as my right foot was hurting & swelled up. Seems like my Osteoarthritis is flaring up.....again :( I was so hoping that the Aquamin Sea Minerals that I've been taking were helping & I wouldn't have to take the Mobic anymore. But I took one this morning as I gotta feel better by Monday because I have to work, especially since Jim won't be working the next 2 weeks & won't be getting paid, either :( They're doing a shutdown & making everyone use their vacation time for the next 2 weeks. Luckily, we did save some of his vacation pay when he got it 2 months ago, but we were hoping to keep it saved......unfortunately, now we'll have to use it to pay bills :(

That's all for now.....nothing much else to report. Don't forget to go to 7-11 today & get your free Slurpee :)

Benita

Happy Independence Day

2009-07-04T01:30:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a very happy & safe Independence Day. Whether you're enjoying the holiday by having a cook-out with family & friends, going to see fireworks or to a parade, remember why today is so important & how lucky we are to celebrate our independence.

Our plans involve going to the beach, then we invited our neighbors over for a cook-out, we'll probably play some cards, watch the Nascar race & go see the fireworks. Guess if I plan on doing any of that, I better get to bed, huh?

God Bless America!

Benita

Yes, I DO Still Blog!

2009-06-22T13:00:00.000-04:00

Even though it's been 20 days since my last blog post (but who's counting?), I do still blog.....honest. I've just had so much going on in between going to the Nascar race, going to a Tigers game, working, gardening & working out that I've badly neglected my blog.

The Nascar race was great.....the weather couldn't have been any better....perfect sunny skies & cool temps. When we found out that our neighbors were also going to the race, we decided to caravan down together. They had pit passes, so we figured we might as well go into the pits, too. And I'm so glad that I did as I was able to get 5 autographs on my shirt (the one I'm wearing above) from Kasey Kahne's pit crew :) Jim got it autographed by Kasey at work a year or so ago (on my booby, of all places, lol) so I knew I wanted to add his pit crew autographs to it.

Every year, our church takes a trip to a Tigers game & this past Saturday, we went to that. I was able to have my granddaughter for the weekend (again :) ), so we took her with us. We had an awesome time & the Tigers beat the Brewers 9-5! YAY!

I have LOTS more pictures, but don't have the time to post them all right now. I've been having some major issues with my computer lately & I'm half afraid it may be on it's last legs :( Plus I just had to replace my modem this morning......it just completely stopped working last night. So I'm praying that my computer isn't next cause we just can't afford a new one right now!

Well, I gotta start getting ready for work. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Benita

Another Birthday Baby

2009-06-02T21:30:00.004-04:00

Today, my oldest, Shawn Michael, turned 23. If I didn't feel old enough from having a 5 year old granddaughter, I definitely feel old now! Dang! It feels like just yesterday, I was 23! What the heck??? 23 years ago today, on June 2, 1986, I delivered this little boy (okay, so maybe he wasn't so little.....he weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces!). Here's a picture I took of him today with my granddaughter. I have LOTS more pics (170, to be exact, lol), but for some reason, my Paint program is messing up & it's taking me forever to resize them. ARGH.....what's up with that anyway? First, the program that loads my pictures onto my computer stopped working & now, it takes forever for Paint to open. Darn Dell!

It looks like I'm going to be able to spend another night with my granddaughter :) Shawn talked to Toni & she agreed to let him have her until tomorrow, but since today is his birthday, he wants to go out & party, so I get to keep her again :) Off to pick her up in a few, so I better end this here.

Signed: A VERY happy grandma :)

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2009-05-31T19:30:00.002-04:00

Today this beautiful granddaughter of mine turns 5 years old. Can you believe it? 5?!? Wow! Either I'm getting old.....or time is just going by way too fast! Or both! May 31, 2004 this beautiful girl was born. And she just keeps getting cuter every single day! Although I haven't seen her since Christmas :(
Which is when this picture above was taken. Shawn promised me that he's going to bring her to see me tomorrow......all I gotta say is he had better keep this promise, especially since I got someone to cover my shift at work. Once again, I didn't get invited to her birthday party today :( Seeing as she lives over an hour away, I guess Toni just had the party at her new boyfriend's house. I swear, it sucks not being able to see this little girl more often & give her hugs & kisses & take her picture 10,000 times! Which reminds me......I need to go charge my camera battery for tomorrow. So hopefully the next time I blog, I'll have some new pictures to post :)

Off to watch the hockey game.....GOOO RED WINGS! GOOO PENQUINS! ;)
Benita

I've Been A Bad Girl!

2009-05-29T00:00:00.002-04:00

The past 8 days I've neglected myself....I didn't go to the gym at all during those 8 days. Bad Benita......BAD!!! But in my defense, I still managed to get some exercising in......lots & lots & LOTS of gardening, walks, etc. But I still feel bad. So I finally got my butt back in there on Thursday night & boy, it really made me realize how much I need the gym! And how much I missed it! I guess it's official.....I'm a gym rat :)
Over Memorial Day weekend, we made a trip (actually 2 trips) to Ikea for 2 more Expedit bookcases. They had an awesome sale on them ($49.00, regularly $89.99), so I couldn't pass that up, could I? Jim & I actually drove out there Friday night after I got off work & bought 2 of them at the regular price, then we took the receipts back on Sunday to get a price adjustment......sneaky, huh? :) At least we didn't have to wait in the extremely long line to get them! Little did I know that we would end up having to go back there anyway as one of them had some damaged boards that we needed to exchange.

I'm using one of them to store all of my pattern paper & cardstock.....I just hope it can take the weight! That paper is heavy! I weighed just one of my Cropper Hopper paper holders & it weighed 10 pounds! Yeowch! The other expedit I turned on it's side & I'm using it sorta like a sofa table in between the 2 windows in my scraproom......I really like it that way. And can you see what's on top of it....in the one corner? This:
I finally found an old typewriter! Jim & I went to the Salvation Army store the other day & I couldn't believe it when I saw it, but then I saw the price.....$39.99. I really didn't want to pay that much for one, but I know they're hard to find. So I left it there & proceeded to the checkout with some other great finds (I forgot to post pics of them). While checking out, I noticed their sales were posted on a board & one of them was to pick one item of your choice for 50% off. Well....you guessed it.....back to get that typewriter! Woohoo! I got it for $20.00! And the best part is.....it works! Okay, so it needs a new ribbon to really work as the one that's in it is broken, but I may try to fix it. If not, does anyone know where you can buy ribbons for old typewriters? I checked some websites & from what I can tell, this one was made in 1951. I would loved to have an even older one, but I'm not gonna be picky :)

Well, I better get to bed as I have to work my new shift tomorrow from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Next time I blog, I'll post some pics of my flower beds & gardening that we've been doing.

Have a great weekend!
Benita

Nothing To Talk About

2009-05-20T08:30:00.002-04:00

Wow, I really am a bad blogger! I just realized that it's been 10 days since my last update. And I have no excuses.....really, I don't. I just haven't had much to talk about. Can you believe that? Me?? Nothing to talk about??? Okay, okay.....watch it.....I know what you're thinking! ;) Seriously, though.....since my last post was on Mother's Day.....which basically sucked.....both of my kids forgot about it :( Well, my 22 year old son sent me a text! A text??? What the h*ll!!! You can't even CALL me??? H-E-L-L-O! He never came to see me like he said he would, the brat! Yes, I dare call him a brat because he's my kid! Seriously.....if there are any kids out there reading this, take it from me just how important Mother's Day is & make sure you do something special for your Mom.....if not on any other day of the year, do it on Mother's Day! The one good thing that happened on Mother's Day was I got to talk to my Mom on the phone & we actually laughed & cried together. And my dh bought me a beautiful rose bush, so he got extra brownie points for that :)
I spoke to my sister Barb yesterday & she just found out that her mammogram came back abnormal :( So please keep her in your prayers for me. I'm also calling this morning to schedule mine as I admit, I've been putting it off. I know, shame on me! I definitely know better!
On the job front, Jim passed the test he took, so now we're just waiting to see if he gets an interview. I guess they don't interview everyone that passed, which makes no sense, so keep your fingers crossed that he gets one. As of right now, he's still working, but that could change at any given moment.

Both Jim & I have been struggling with our weightloss :( We're still exercising like crazy, but for some reason, the pounds just don't want to come off anymore. I've lost a few more, but then I'll gain a pound or two back & it just seems like I'm not getting anywhere. So frustrating! But I asked myself the other day if I would be happy with myself where I am now.....I'm still waiting for myself to answer me, lol. I mean, I'm down 67 pounds & 10 sizes, which is a huge accomplishment, but is that enough?? I just don't know what else to do. It seems like the closer I get to my goal, the harder it is......why is that? I also just started taking an herbal medication for my Osteoarthritis called Aquamin Sea Minerals as I've read that it's supposed to help, but now it's making me wonder if that may have something to do with this.....can it be causing me to be stuck? Probably not, but it makes me wonder. Plus I got a protein shake mix from a trainer at the gym called "Muscle Provider" that I've been drinking after my workouts, but it states right on the container "Use this product as a food supplement only. Do not use for weight reduction." So maybe it's this that's making me stuck.....or maybe I'm just battling against being peri-menopausal? ARGH!

Okay, my rant is over. See, maybe now you're glad that I haven't been blogging so much :) Ah well.....I'm off to enjoy this absolutely, gorgeous day we're having as the temps are supposed to get into the low 80's today & tomorrow! YAY!

Until next time.....whenever that is,
Benita

Happy Mommy's Day!

2009-05-10T10:30:00.002-04:00

Happy Mommy's Day to all of my blogging friends out there! I hope you get spoiled on your special day!

I know I posted this picture of my Mom & I a couple of weeks ago, but wanted to post it again as my Mom is so special to me! I just wish I could be with her today :( I hate living so far away!

In other news, Jim had to take a test on Friday in Indiana for a position that he applied for, so say some prayers that it all works out if this is the route that we're supposed to take.

I did a garage sale this weekend & I'm proud to say, I did pretty good.....$362 worth of good :) That more than made up for the money I spent at the Mega Meet on Thursday!

Well, I'm off to the gym, then I have a ton of laundry to do. Shawn may be coming by for dinner tonight, so that'll be nice to see him.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Benita

Happy NSD

2009-05-02T00:00:00.003-04:00

Today is National Scrapbook Day. YAY! Us scrapbookers now have a day made especially for us :) How cool is that!?! And since it's NSD, I decided to share a layout that I did a few weeks ago. This is for the album I'm doing for my dh of his parents wedding (click on image to enlarge). I'm using the new DCWV La Creme line for this album as well as lots of Primas, rhinestones & pearls. I have 2 more pages in progress that I'm hoping to finish up today & also start some more.....afterall, it's NSD so hopefully I'll have lots & lots of "mojo", as scrappers call it :)

I may also have to take a drive out to the Zone today as I have a 50% off coupon for NSD......gotta love those coupons! Thanks Kelley :) Now that I've started this album for Jim, I need to find an album to use for it, lol. I may just end up getting an American Crafts one & decorating it with the same papers.

Thanks for all the compliments on my last post regarding my weight loss.....you made my day :)

Have a wonderful NSD.....I'd love to know how you all celebrated it!

Till next time,

Benita

1 Year Ago Today.....

2009-04-25T23:30:00.004-04:00

.....I went from this.....................to this!

I can't believe that it's been a year since I started this journey.....one year ago today, April, 25, 2008, I joined a gym (something I thought I would never do!) & made the commitment to myself to become healthier, skinnier & most of all, happier! It hasn't been easy, by any means, but the reward has been SO worth it! I've hit a few roadblocks along the way (shoulder injury (tendonitis & bursitis), being diagnosed with bulging discs in my neck, then being diagnosed with osteoarthritis.....just to name a few, lol), but I never gave up! Even when I couldn't work out, I still stayed positive & was even more careful about what I put into my mouth. I made it through the holidays, only gaining about 4 pounds (which is good for me since I love to bake cookies & make fudge!), but I got right back on track & kept going. To date, I've lost a total of 63.8 pounds & numerous inches.....unfortunately, I didn't measure myself in the beginning, but the clothes tell the story. I've gone from a size 24 jeans down to a size 14, from 1x & 2x shirts, down to a large, from a 48D bra, down to a 42C....and even those are getting too big now ;) Yeah, it figures.....the first thing I lose are my b**bs & b*tt! LOL
So welcome to the new me. Although I still have quite a ways to go until I meet my long-term goal, I'm getting there.....slow & steady :)

Have a wonderful week!

Benita

Picture Heavy Post

2009-04-14T10:00:00.001-04:00

We left Michigan around 10:30am Friday morning & decided to go through Canada since we didn't want to deal with the road construction & closures on I-75 in Michigan. We drove non-stop to Niagara Falls until we got to the Duty Free store. From the parking lot, you could see the falls, so of course, I had to take a bunch of pictures :)
The falls always amaze me. I could literally stand there for hours, just looking at them & how beautiful they are! It's like they make you just forget about all of the troubles in the world....even if only for a minute or two!
The American Falls.
Here, you can see the rocks below the American Falls.
Me, with the falls in the background (although Jim didn't get them in the picture very good.....one of these days, I'm going to teach him how to take a picture! LOL).
Jim with the falls in the background. See, isn't this picture MUCH better? :)

When we arrived Friday evening in Pennsylvania around 7:00pm, we met my Dad at The Crippled Bear Inn for dinner. The first words out of his mouth were "Oh My God!" when he saw me! He knew that I had been working on losing weight, but he hasn't seen me since I started, so hearing those words meant so much to me! Saturday morning, we went out for breakfast with my Dad, his sister Jane (both pictured above) & my sister Donna.

After breakfast, we went out to see my Mom at the nursing home & along the way, we stopped at a flower stand to pick her up these gorgeous mums (I also got some for my Dad). They actually painted them these colors, so when the new ones bloom, they'll be white, but I thought the vibrant colors were so pretty! And they did what they were meant to do......
....they put a smile on her face :) My Mom was also very proud of me for the weight I've lost & she gave me encouragement to keep going!

On Easter Sunday, we went to my sister Barb's house for dinner. Donna (above) brought her dog Toby with her. Isn't he a cutie?

Here's the ham she made.....all 16+ pounds of it!

And here is Dad, being sneaky & snitching a piece of ham before everything else was done.

Barb & her son Kyle. I couldn't believe how tall he has gotten! Dang! He's 17 now & had one heck of a growth spurt since I saw him last!

Sunday night, we drove up to my Dads so I could see him one last time before we left to head back home. He's also lost some weight.....about 34 pounds & he looks great!

Monday morning, before hitting the road, I went to see my Mom again. She wasn't dressed yet & didn't want her picture taken in her gown, but I love this picture of us together! Right after Jim took this picture, I started crying. My Mom asked me why I was crying & I said because I miss you & hate seeing you in here! She assured me that she's okay & that they're taking good care of her. But still.....it's so hard! This is not the way she's supposed to live!

I've been home less than 24 hours & I miss my family already! It was so hard to leave this time, for some reason. I always wonder what if? What if this is the last time I see my Mom or my Dad? But I have to stay positive:

We saw this on the back of this van shortly after we got on the road in Pennsylvania (click on the picture to enlarge). Is that a sign or what???

I dreaded getting on the scale this morning, but knew I had to & yep, just as I thought.....I gained 4 pounds back :( I only got to exercise once while we were there plus I ate WAY too much. But this proved to myself just how quickly you can put the weight back on if you're not careful! And those Middleswarth Bar-b-q Potato Chips didn't help, either! Ah well....I'll be busting my butt BIG TIME this week at the gym :)

Have a wonderful week,

Benita

Doctor Update

2009-04-04T23:00:00.001-04:00

Our first glimpse of Spring.....I saw these blooming around our Maple Tree today. But with the expected snow that we're supposed to get on Monday (they're calling for 4-6 inches.....UGH!!!), I doubt they'll be around for long.

Thursday, I went back to see my Rheumatologist to get my diagnosis. After she went through all the lab work results, explaining everything in medical terms (which I didn't understand one bit!), she finally told me that I do indeed have Osteoarthritis. Finally.....an answer! Not exactly the answer I wanted to hear, but at least now I know what I have & now I can learn how to cope with it. She said that with this type of arthritis, it doesn't affect the heart, liver or any other organs, which is good news....it just affects the joints. She also said that having osteoarthritis is a better arthritis to have if you have to have one, although none of them are any fun to have!

I had a really busy week this past week, covering shifts for other people at work to get some extra hours in as we're planning to go home next weekend for Easter. I can't wait to see my Mom, Dad & sisters again.....it's been TOO long (since August of 2007!)! And I can't wait for them to see me since I've lost weight :)

I was tagged by Janet for this photo tag:

The tag how-to...
Go to the photos folder on your computer.
Go to the seventh folder of photos.
Go to the seventh photo.
Put the seventh photo on your blog along with a description.
Invite seven friends to join.

I took this picture in August, 2007 on my way home to visit my family on Interstate 80 through Pennsylvania.....this is the highest point on 80, east of the Mississippi (elevation: 2,250 feet). I thought it was pretty cool that this picture just happened to be the one that showed up since we'll be heading home in a week (although we'll probably be driving through Canada this time).

I also received this awesome award from Aimeeslee.....thanks girl :)

The rules governing this award are as follows: List 7 things about myself (I'm not sure that there's 7 things that you still don't know about me, lol). But here it goes:

1. I try to almost always buy things on sale or with a coupon....even better if it's on sale AND I have a coupon for it! Whenever I tell Jim how much I paid for something, he says "let me guess, it was on sale & you had a coupon, right?" LOL

2. Lately, I've been obsessed with buying workout clothes ;) I got some really good deals at JCPenneys today (they were on sale & I had a coupon, hehe).

3. I actually look forward to exercising & feel bad on the days I don't!

4. My highest game in bowling is a 267 & my highest series is a 694. My next goal is to bowl a 700 or higher series and/or a 300 game (I can dream, can't I?).

5. I've joined the ranks of Facebook & it's as addicting as blogging.

6. My 4 sisters & I all collect different things.....Karen used to collect Owls, Linda collects Angel, Barb collects Teddy Bears, Donna collects Wolves & I collect Koalas.

7. As hard as it is to believe, I've actually been selling off some of my Prima collection (note the emphasis on the word some, lol).

I decided to pass the tag & award on to the following people: Darcey, Cindi, Linda, Denise, Sue & anyone else that reads my blog :)

Have a great weekend.....I'll be hitting the gym HARD tomorrow since I missed the last 2 days! Bad me.....BAD!

Benita

10 Strikes!

2009-03-26T10:30:00.004-04:00

Last night at bowling, I broke another record for myself :) I had 10 strikes in ONE game! 10!!! I had the first 6 strikes in a row, then opened in the 7th frame, leaving a 7 pin (of all things!), 4 more strikes in the 8th, 9th & 2 in the 10th frame & then I left the big 4 split (4/6/7/10) on my last ball in the 10th for a 263 game. Not my highest game (that was a 267), but I was still very happy :) Then I started thinking about maybe shooting a 700 series & well.....let's just say, I shouldn't think when I'm bowling! I finished the night with a 182 & 210 for a 655 series. I'll take that :) And yes, I beat Jim by 51 pins & Joe by 234....yep, you read that right! 234! And you can bet that I rubbed it in ;)

Not much else is new with me.....I go back to my Rheumatologist on April 2nd, so I won't have any answers until then. Just been working, exercising & trying to be a little more careful with what I'm eating. I think I finally conquered my plateau that I've been stuck in what seems like forever! Yesterday marked 11 months since I started my weight loss journey & when I weighed myself in the morning, I lost another .6 of a pound, which may not seem like much to some people, but when you've been stuck for months, any loss is a good loss! I am officially down 63.2 pounds in 11 months :) That also may not seem like much to some, but to me, it's perfect! I told myself in the beginning that this weight didn't come on overnight & it's not going to come off overnight! I have to be patient & take it one day at a time & that's exactly what I've been doing. Slow & steady wins the race.....slow & steady :)

Tomorrow, Jim & I are going to a retirement party for 3 of his co-workers.....luckily, I got someone to cover my shift at work (a new guy that will probably regret covering it for me :) Then on Saturday & Sunday, we'll be hitting the gym to drop the weight we'll probably gain from all the partying! LOL

Have a great weekend!

Benita

1st Day Of Spring :)

2009-03-20T11:00:00.003-04:00

No, my Lilacs aren't blooming yet, but I can't wait until they do so I just had to post a picture of them in hopes that it'll speed them up, lol! I am SO ready for Spring.....for flowers to bloom.....for warmer weather.....for sunnier days! What about you? Bring it on, Spring! Bring it on!

I received a phone call from the Rheumatologist on Wednesday that they had a cancellation for that day at 2:00 p.m., so I took it. After they took all my information, they took me back into a room, checked my weight, blood pressure & pulse, then I proceeded to sit there for over an hour until the doctor finally came in to see me. ARGH! I was not a happy camper at all since I had to be at bowling at 4:00 p.m. When she finally came into the room, she asked me all sorts of questions & then examined me. She then looked at the 2 MRI results that I had done back in November & December & she doesn't think I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, but possibly Osteoarthritis. She's running more blood tests.....13 in all, to hopefully pinpoint the exact problem. She also wants to see me back in 2 weeks or sooner if this flares up again. By the time I got out of the office, bowling had already started, but luckily, we were bowling against a very patient team that are also good friends & they let me catch up :)

Speaking of bowling, we had elections this week to vote for the new officers for next year & I got elected to be Treasurer :) The guy that did it this year doesn't want to do it again, so I was nominated & won. It's a big responsibility, handling all of the league payments & dealing with people when they get behind, but I've done it before (years ago on another league), so I know I can handle it.

That's all for now.....gotta do some cleaning & then work this afternoon.

Have a wonderful Spring-filled weekend :)

Benita

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2009-03-17T10:45:00.001-04:00

Just a quick post to wish everyone a very Happy St. Patty's Day! The corned beef & cabbage is cooking away in the crockpot & the windows are open to air out the smell! YUCK! LOL I personally can't stand the smell or taste of it, but once a year, I make it for Jim since he's at least 1/2 Irish. The things we do for our men ;) Luckily, it's a beautiful day out & the temps are supposed to be in the mid to upper 60's so I'm able to open the windows & send the smell towards my neighbors.

We don't have any special plans tonight.....probably just take the mutts for a walk when Jim gets home from work & then he'll eat the corned beef & cabbage & I'll make myself something else :) Then bowling tonight where I'm sure Jim will have some green beer. Me.....I wonder if they make green daquiris? :)

Have a Happy Day! And thank-you for all the encouragement/comments on my previous post.....I truly appreciate it!

Benita

Feeling Like A Failure

2009-03-12T12:00:00.005-04:00

Warning: this blog post is going to be somewhat depressing, so don't say that I didn't warn you in advance.

Right now, I feel like a total failure! Remember that job that I interviewed for & was offered? Well, after lots & LOTS of deliberation.....I didn't take it. There are so many reasons behind my decision.

For one, the pay.....$8.00 an hour. If you count my free gym membership, I make more than that an hour working at the gym!

Two.....the hours.....Mondays & Thursdays, I would have had to work 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., so basically 2 days a week, my whole day would have been spent at work. Then Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays, the hours were from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. so after my bowling league is finished this season, they told me that I wouldn't have been able to bowl in the league next year. I love that league & really can't imagine not bowling in it! I also would have had to quit working at the gym, not to mention the fact that I don't know how I would have fit exercising into my schedule. I'm not done losing all the weight yet & I'm not about to give up now, either!

Third.....the drive......25-30 miles one way. I probably could have handled the drive because I do love driving, but I also think it would have gotten old after a while. Not to mention the gas costs, the wear & tear on my car, etc.

Fourth, and probably the main reason......my health! I got the test results back from my doctor & 2 of them came back positive that I do indeed have some sort of inflammatory disease. The question still remains.....what disease is it? Is it RA? Or something else? I have an appointment on the 25th with a Rheumatologist & hopefully, I will get some answers when I see her. Until then, I never know when this is going to flare up on me. It started again last week & my doctor gave me an anti-inflammatory drug which is helping, but I just feel like I can't make any commitments until I can get this, whatever it is, under control. Luckily, my current job has been very understanding! For that, I am extremely thankful!

So while I do feel like a failure right now for not giving this opportunity a chance, I gotta keep telling myself that I did the right thing......the right thing for me.....the right thing for my family.....the right thing for my health! I did!

Benita

Catching Up

2009-03-07T23:30:00.003-05:00

Once again, I've been a bad blogger. I didn't realize how long it had been since I blogged last until I went to read some of my favorite blogs today. I hate it when I get so far behind, but I have a feeling that it's going to be the norm for a while unfortunately. I also got a little behind in my 365 Days Of Photos as well.....I'm still taking photos everyday, but I just haven't had the time to upload them everyday & then I've been forgetting what picture is from what day once I do upload them. The picture above is of a basket that my dh picked up for me at Target. I'm still debating what to put in it, but I'm pretty sure it will end up in my scraproom :) I'm just posting a few of my recent pictures here.....you can see the rest of them on the link over there ----->
Here's a photo of a beautiful Cardinal that I captured just as he started taking off.....it's a little blurry, but that's because he was in flight :)
Here is my newest toy.....a Polar F6 Heart Rate Monitor. Now I just wish I would start feeling better so I could get back to the gym to use it! Tuesday night, I started getting a headache in the back of my head.....by Wednesday after bowling, it was a LOT worse, so I called my PT to see if she could see me. Luckily, she had an opening & told me to come on in. At that point, I told her that my shoulder was doing really good, but now my neck was starting to hurt again. Thursday morning, I woke up stiff everywhere plus I started having some chills, so my first thought was.....I have the flu! Great! By this morning, I wasn't feeling any better & to top it all off, my right thumb was swelling up, my left shoulder is now hurting again, I have a sharp pain in my ribs on the right side & my right knee also hurts. So I called my family doctor & he got me in today. He ruled out the flu & ran some blood tests on me. With the pain & symptoms that I described to him, he thinks that I may have Arthritis & possibly even Rheumatoid Arthritis :( He prescribed Flexeril & Mobic, which was supposed to be Celebrex, but my insurance wouldn't cover it because I'm not over 65! Unbelievable! Maybe someone needs to tell insurance companies that arthritis knows no age! From what I've been researching about RA, it can start as early as age 30! Anyway, my doctor is also referring me to a Rheumatologist so I can hopefully get some answers to what exactly is going on with me. I'm not sure how long it will take to get in to see the Rheumatologist, but hopefully not long. I want answers & I want them NOW! I'm supposed to start my new job on Monday & right now, with the way I feel, I'm just not so sure if I'll be able to. I was having second thoughts about the job, mostly because of the long hours & long drive, but then I started getting excited about it. So now all I'm doing is praying.....praying that this isn't anything serious.....praying that I will feel better by Monday.....praying that I get some answers & quick!

Gotta go start moving all of our clocks forward an hour.....so much fun when you have over a dozen clocks in your house!

Have a great night & weekend,
Benita

On A New "Journey"

2009-02-26T23:00:00.006-05:00

Jim & I have been debating for a long time what to do with our Caliber since our lease was going to be up very soon. We thought about just buying it, but neither of us were really that happy with the car, other than the gas mileage was awesome in it! This week, we made the decision to just trade it in & tonight, we started our new "Journey" :) Dodge Journey, that is.
It's a 2009 & the only extras we added were fog lights, which the dealership had installed for us. Plus our one stipulation was, we wanted this particular color.....Deep Water Blue. When I first saw this color on another car, I immediately fell in love with it. It reminds me of my birthstone....Sapphire. But our dealership didn't have any in stock, so they had to trade with another dealer to get us one in this color.
Here's the inside.....the seats are so comfy & I love the dash when it lights up. It also has some really cool storage compartments in it. We didn't get the 3rd row seat because we'd never use it anyway & we need the space in the back more than we do another row of seats.
I was really surprised with how nice it rides.....so quiet & comfortable! Not at all like the Caliber, which you could hear every little noise & feel every litte (or big, as the case has been around here lately!) bump/pothole/crack. Now the hard part.....figuring out who drives which car, lol. I still love my Charger & always will, but whenever we buy a new car, I like being the one to 'break it in" ;)

Today I surprised myself at the gym & did the cycle/spin class for the first time. The instructor warned me that my butt would be sore the first few times I did it & boy, she wasn't kidding, either! OUCH! But I had so much fun doing it & really worked up a sweat. Now if I can just convince Jim to try it :)

I'm off to bed....have a great weekend!
Benita

Surrounded By The Scent Of Roses

2009-02-22T23:00:00.005-05:00

See, I told you I had the absolute best husband in the world :) Here are some pictures of the 25 roses that he gave to me on our 20th 'anniversary' of the day we met. Yep, he's definitely a keeper! And beside, after being together for 20 years, I don't think I could ever love anyone as much as I love him! In fact, I know I couldn't!

Yesterday, we bowled with some friends in an elimination tournament where if you lost 2 games, you were out. We won the 1st game, lost the 2nd, won the 3rd & well, by the time we bowled the 4th game, I think we were all getting a little tired (okay, so maybe it was just me that was tired) & we ended up losing :( I was really disappointed in myself the last game as I felt like I had not only let the team down, but let myself down as well. The lanes had really dried out & my ball just wasn't doing anything! I wasn't the only one struggling, though....one of the guys on our team was way under his average, too. It just sucked because I was really hoping to do good! Ah well, what can you do?

Today we went to the mall & as we were leaving, we saw this guy & his 2 kids (they were probably only around 2 or 3 years old) pounding & banging on a truck with their hands that was on display inside the mall & laughing while they were doing it! I couldn't believe it! I was looking around for a security guard, but didn't see one, so I asked a guy in one of the stores if he could call security. While I was down the hallway a little, waiting to see if the security guard was going to show up, the guy proceeded to go into the back of the truck & was then banging on the bed of the truck while the kids were running all around it, pounding it some more. While I was standing there, a security guard came out of an exit door that I was near & I told him what was going on. He went up to them just as another security guard was showing up. I then turned around & we left the mall. What the heck is wrong with people??? Do they not respect other people's property anymore? I mean, come on! This father (at least that's what I figured he was) enticed these kids to do this! And he thought it was funny! Is this really how some people are raising their kids nowadays?? I'm just so disappointed right now that anyone would have their kids do something like that! And it makes me sad just thinking about it :( What is this society/world coming to.....really?

Okay, vent over.....but ARGH!!! On that note, I think I'll go to bed.

Benita

20 Years

2009-02-18T00:00:00.003-05:00

The date: February 18, 1989. 20 years ago today, I met the man of my dreams.....my soulmate.....my life partner.....my best friend! 20 years! Dang, time flies when you're having fun :)
Don't laugh at the layout.....afterall, it is over 4 years old (gotta love those Chatterbox papers, lol). This is a 2-page layout in an album that I made for Jim for his 40th birthday present. This page reflects back on the night we met. And the picture of him is from that night, sleeping on my friend's pull-out sofa bed. He didn't even know that we took the picture until the next day ;)

Sometimes, it seems hard to believe that we've been together for 20 years. It hasn't always been easy, by any means, but somehow, we've survived. We've aged gracefully together. We've seen each other at our best......and worst! I think it's called love :) And I wouldn't change a thing!

Benita <--very happy for 20 years :)

Not-So-Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T23:30:00.005-05:00

This morning, Jim & I got up, went to the gym, worked out on the treadmill for 45 minutes & then they were having a free health screening for Valentine's Day, so we decided to stay & get that done. I'm proud to report that my blood pressure is down (even after working out) to 113/72, my blood sugar is 109 & my cholesterol is 154. Jim's BP was 121/69, his blood sugar was 104 & cholesterol is 161. We're both hoping that this means that we'll be able to get off of our BP meds when we see our doctor in the next month or two & Jim is also hoping he can get off his cholesterol medication.

After we came home & took showers, we went to look at a house for rent & while we were there, I received a phone call from my sister Donna telling me that my Aunt Betty (my Dads sister) passed away today :*( So as soon as I got home, I called my Dad to see how he was holding up. He's not doing too good.....it just happened pretty suddenly & unexpectedly & he said he was planning to go see her today. Please say a prayer for my Dad.....he was always very close to his sisters, just like I was to Karen, so I know how hard this is :(

Last night after I got off work, Jim told me that we were going to our friend's house to play cards. So we get there & he leads me out into their garage where their pro shop is & surprises me with this.....a new bowling ball for Valentine's Day! What a sweetie! It'll last so much longer than flowers, too. I haven't purchased a new bowling ball in close to 3 years & mine are pretty much dead right now, so I can't wait to try this one out! It's called the Zone Wild Ride & I love the sapphire blue color so much, that I made this my picture for the day :)

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day,

Benita

Friday The 13th

2009-02-13T09:30:00.004-05:00

40/365 - Monday: We drove out to the mall & sadly, saw that the Hallmark store was going out of business :( I picked up this older Ty Beanie Baby from 2008 for my Mom for $1.20, hoping that I didn't already buy it for her. I tend to do that quite often.....buy things & then forget I bought it & buy it again!
41/365 - Tuesday: After my PT appointment, I decided to head to JoAnn's just to look around. I usually don't buy paper slabs anymore, but when I saw this new one by DCWV, I knew it would be the perfect match for the wedding album I'm doing for Jim of his parents! The blacks & creams will go perfectly with the black & white photos! And the flocking on some of the papers is so cool!
42/365 - Wednesday: My dd bought me this beautiful rainbow angel for Christmas. The mirror came with it & says "I Love You, Mom"! Yep, I cried when I opened it! She knows I love angels & rainbows, so this gift was perfect!
43/365 - Thursday: About 10 months ago (or more), I found these frames on clearance at Michaels for $2.00 & $3.00 each, but never could decide what I wanted to put in them. Then I purchased this sisters angel portrait last summer at an art show, having no clue where to hang it. I remembered the frames & thought it would be perfect to hang a picture of my sister next to it in the other frame. So here they are....hanging right above my computer desk in my scraproom, where I spend most of my time :)

44/365 - Friday: Mother Nature just loves to tease us! With the warm temps we had earlier in the week, 98% of our snow melted....you can even see our deck, which just last week, had over a foot & a half of snow on it! Now this morning, I wake up the the reality that Winter still isn't over! Just some light flurries right now, but we're supposed to get more snow tomorrow :( Ah well....Spring will be here one day......won't it??? Please say yes!

That's all for now. I'm gonna go do some scrapbooking & then I have to work this afternoon. Hope you have a wonderful weekend & Happy Valentine's Day!

Benita

More 365 Pictures

2009-02-08T23:00:00.003-05:00

34/365 - Tuesday: Just a picture of a bunch of pine cones in our Blue Spruce tree out back.
35/365 - Wednesday: Gorgeous blue sky behind a tree just waiting for Spring to arrive.
36/365 - Thursday: I went shopping tonight & bought 2 pairs of Lee jeans in a size 16!!! WOOHOO!!!
37/365 - Friday: A gorgeous Cardinal in our tree. The picture 'pixelated' when I resized it to zoom in on the bird more :(
38/365 - Saturday: WOOHOO!!! 53 degrees! Come on Spring!!!
39/365 - Sunday: See that green stuff around the tree??? That's GRASS! Something we haven't seen in quite a long time!

On Saturday, I drove out to The Scrapbook Zone to pick up a few papers for the album I'm going to be doing for Jim of his parent's wedding. While I was there, I heard someone call out my name.....I turned around & didn't recognize this person at first (sorry about that :) until she introduced herself to me. It was Darcey :) OMGosh, it was so cool to finally meet you! And of all places, the Zone. We both live quite a distance away from the Zone, so this was truly a chance meeting. I always figured I'd run into you at Archivers or Lakeside Mall. The funny thing is, we talked like we had known each other for years :) Thank-you for the invite to the crop.....if I can get someone to take my shift at work that day, I am going to come. I really do need to start going to crops instead of always scrapping at home :)

I want to say Thank-you for all the nice comments & compliments regarding my layouts in my last blog post. That really meant so much to me to read all your kind comments! My blogging friends are the best :)

That's all for tonight.....it's been a long weekend & I'm pooped, so I'm going to head to bed.

Night all,

Benita

Rejection Hurts!

2009-02-05T10:00:00.005-05:00

Yep, rejection sucks! It hurts! No doubt about it! This past week, I've been rejected twice! First one was for a job that I applied for. I had an interview last Friday & they said they would make their decision on Monday as the person they hired would need to start work on Tuesday. Well, Monday came & went & no phone call :( Granted, I had debated whether or not I really wanted the job in the first place. It would have been full-time, so the money would have been good, but the hours would have been long.....from 9:00 a.m. till 8:00 p.m. two days a week & then till 6:00 p.m. the other three days. It would have involved a long drive (40-45 minutes one way) & I would have had to give up bowling on Wednesdays (which with the way this bowling alley has been lately, that probably would have been the easiest part to do!). I said lots of prayers, asking for guidance & if the job was meant to be. Apparently, it wasn't.

Then I was rejected again this week.....this time, from a Design Team application that I submitted. I thought my entries were pretty dang good (see above picture & picture below for 2 of my entries), but obviously, it wasn't what they were looking for. I guess my style wasn't 'diverse' enough for them. And yeah, it hurts! Rejection sucks! And I'll admit, I cried when I found out that I didn't make it.

But I woke up this morning & thought to myself "self, you cannot let this get you down anymore!" Then, my wonderful husband that he is, sends me a wonderful email telling me about how proud he is of me & how much I mean to him & that he knows I'm hurting right now, but he's there for me, no matter what! And last night, he said that he loves my layouts & that's all that should matter. And yep, he's right! I definitely have the BEST husband in the world!!!

So today is a new day. The sun is out (although it's -3 degrees outside right now!), Spring will arrive (one day!) & I have a lot to be thankful for! So yes, while rejection sucks, it does make you stronger. It makes you a better person. You learn from it. You overcome it & move on. Which is exactly what I'm doing today.....moving on & being proud of who I am & happy with where I am in my life right now! A wife, a mother, a scrapbooker, a bowler & proud of it!

(in this layout, I used 3 different Hambly transparencies.....I cut out the birds & owl from one & used Stickles on them, then I stickled the swirls on the other transparency & put the picture in between that one & the graph background one. This picture is of my belated sister Karen & a real owl. None of us are sure where or when she had this picture taken, but we all absolutely love it! I did the title "Owl Collector" as that was the online name she used to have.)

Benita

February 4th

2009-02-04T00:00:00.006-05:00

Today, this wonderful man that I proudly call my Dad turns 81 years young! My Dad & I didn't always see eye-to-eye, but we've grown so much closer over the past 4 years. We talk on the phone now & send each other snail mail (since he still doesn't have internet!). And we both like the same Nascar driver :) (note: the above picture is over 4 years old & before I lost any weight!)
Today would have been Jims' Dads birthday as well. He passed away about 2 years ago & Jim didn't even find out about it until 6 months afterwards. Jim & his Dad didn't have a good relationship at all! Very long story, but they parted ways before Jim & I met. I tried, once, to get them back together again, but it just wasn't meant to be. Sadly, today is also the anniversary of the death of Jims' Mom :( She passed away before I met Jim, which truly breaks my heart as I would have loved to meet her & gotten to know her! We don't have many pictures of either his Mom or Dad, but his sister did let me make copies of their wedding photos (shown above). I actually had to take pictures of the photos because the album is so old that I didn't want to risk damaging it by trying to remove the photos to scan them. Now I want to make a scrapbook album with them for Jim......just trying to decide what papers will go good with them as they're all black & white pictures. Any ideas?

I'm pretty happy with the way I bowled tonight.....for the most part. My first game, I had 7 strikes in a row from the 4th frame to the 10th frame for a 254 game :) But then my second game, I fell apart & only had a 154 game.....100 pins less than the first one....how the heck did that happen??? I ended with a 171 game for a 579 series. Now if I could just bowl that good tomorrow! I've been really struggling on Wednesdays for some reason. Ever since they got new owners, the shot has been awful! Even Jim hates bowling there anymore!

That's all,

Benita

The Money Winning Catch

2009-02-03T10:00:00.005-05:00

32/365 - Sunday: I'll admit, I didn't watch much of the Super Bowl this year.....instead, I was cleaning my scraproom & putting the stuff away from the yard sale on Saturday. But when I heard Jim yelling in the living room, I figured something exciting was going on. And I was right. He said that the Steelers needed to score for him to win some money. This catch, right here, is what gave the Steelers their 6th history making Super Bowl win! I'm so happy for the Steelers, being that they're my hometown boys :)
And this picture, above, is what won us this:
33/365 - Monday: $240 baby!!! And what's cool.....he had the same numbers in the same quarter that he won with last year :)
Last Thursday, I made an appointment with a different stylist to get a haircut on Monday since my regular stylist was out of town. All weekend, I kept debating & debating if I really wanted to get my hair cut. But the ends were just so dry & frizzy, I couldn't take it anymore. She must have cut 4-5" off the length & I felt like I lost 10 pounds! LOL As she was blow-drying it, she used a big round brush & straightened out all the curl from my left-over perm. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it.....hey, it was a BIG change for me after having curly hair for over 2 years! But it felt so good to flip my head around & have my hair move freely :) The nice thing is, if I want it curly, I still have quite a bit of perm left, except for on the top. I'll probably wear it curly most of the time since it does still frizz a little from brushing & blow-drying it. But it's nice to know that I can wear it either way now.

That's all for now.....off to get ready for my PT appointment.

Have a great day,
Benita

Catching Up

2009-02-01T10:30:00.001-05:00

28/365 - Wednesday: I was looking out my scraproom window & saw about 6 or 7 of these big, fat birds in our tree. I think they're doves of some sort, but I've never seen orange bellies on them before? And if you look closely, you can see the beginnings of buds forming on the tree :) Does that mean that Spring is just around the corner? I sure hope so because I'm really tired of this freezing cold weather we're having!

29/365 - Thursday: I took this picture of the sun peeking out from the clouds.
30/365 - Friday: After I got off work on Friday, I drove out to Scrappy Chic to drop something off & do a little bit of shopping while I was there. I just love the font on their sign out front :)
31/365 - Saturday: I did the garage sale at Scrapbook Emporium & I'm proud to say, I did pretty dang good :) The place was packed pretty much the entire time, which I wasn't really expecting with the way the economy is. But it didn't stop scrapbookers from spending! I sold all the paper that I took as well as a lot of embellishments, some Primas & a bunch of other stuff. Gina & I had a blast, too! We met at the last garage sale that we did there & for this one, we got our tables together so we could chit-chat. Hey Gina, if you're reading this, I should have had Jim take a picture of you & I together for my blog :)
I received 2 blog awards.....the first one is from Linda....thanks girl :) I'm going to pass this award onto 5 blogs that I read all the time:

1. Lorrie
2. Darcey
3. Janet
4. Cindi
5. Aimeslee

The next award was given to me by Sarah.....thanks, Sarah :) I've received this once before, but it never hurts to get awarded twice, right? :)

The Fabulous Award Rules:
You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

I think I'll pass this one on to the same people that I passed the first one on to. Enjoy your awards :)

My 5 Fabulous Addictions:

1. Scrapbooking, of course!

2. Exercising.

3. Bowling.

4. Nascar.

5. Pizza ;)

Hey, my addictions aren't too bad, right? There's a lot worse things out there to be addicted to!

Hope you have a wonderful day. Today is Super Bowl Sunday, so Jim will be glued in front of the tv & I will either be watching it with him or scrapbooking.

GO STEELERS!!!

Benita

Weekend Update

2009-01-27T21:30:00.002-05:00

23/365 - Friday: Since I'm finally able to work out again (although not at full potential yet), I decided to take a pic of my second 'home sweet home' :)
24/365 - Saturday: I did some more scrapbooking on Saturday, so my picture is of the layout I did using the new Making Memories Sabrina line from Michaels. I just love this line....black, white & pink!
25/365 - Sunday: Jim's 44th birthday :) I did a collage of photos from the day.....the Volcano from Rainforest Cafe that we couldn't finish, the sunset on the way to the restaurant, a pic of one of the aquariums, Jim relaxing while playing XBox, we went to see the movie Mall Cop (very funny movie!) & then just a happy pic of Jim :) Thank-you for all the birthday wishes you left for him......he really thought that was cool!
26/365 - Monday: This is the mess on my scraproom floor right now! I'm doing a yardsale at an LSS this Saturday & I've been going through stuff for the past couple of weeks. This picture is not even half of what I'm taking! You should see the mess now! Hey, maybe that will be today's picture :) Off to take one now.
Okay, here it is.....now why does it look like less stuff when there's actually more??? LOL Guess it's because now most of it is in bins. I'm really hoping I do good at this sale. Last time I did it, I made over $200, so wish me luck! See anything you wanna buy? ;)
27/365 - Tuesday: Okay, so here is today's real picture. We got a slight dusting of snow last night on top of the old stuff & it was so pretty with the sun shining on it this morning. You have to click on the image to enlarge it to see what I'm talking about......at least I hope enlarging it will show the sparkles in the snow.

Off to do more pricing/organizing/purging!
Have a great week!
Benita

Happy Birthday, Babe!

2009-01-25T01:30:00.001-05:00

Today, this awesome, wonderful, gorgeous man of mine turns 44! He'll quickly remind you that he's still younger than me, though. But I still love him anyway. And I'm so glad that I've spent almost 20 years of his life with him!

We don't have any real plans as of yet for his birthday. We usually go out to dinner to our favorite restaurant, but since that closed last month :( we'll have to go somewhere else. He mentioned possibly going to Plymouth for the Ice Spectacular show, but it's gonna be pretty cold today, so we're not sure if we will or not. If we don't go to bed soon, we won't be doing anything! LOL

Night,

Benita

More 365 & Some Scrappin'!

2009-01-23T10:30:00.005-05:00

19/365 - Monday: Boy, this is harder than I thought it would be.....coming up with a picture everyday! But here is Monday's picture.....more icicles. These ones are above our deck on the back of the house. For some reason, our gutters turn into ice in the winter.....I'm just waiting for the day that they fall off from all the weight of the ice!
20/365 - Tuesday: Okay, so I actually cheated a little for the above picture & took it on Wednesday instead of Tuesday on our way to bowling. But I thought it was appropriate to use as Tuesday's picture since that was the day our new President was inaugurated into office. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see an eagle on the top of the first flagpole. And yes, that's a McD's sign as well.....what's more American than McDonalds? :)
21/365 - Wednesday: Our Wednesday ritual. Just a picture of the bowling center we bowl at. Needless to say, I bowled like complete crap today! But look at that clear blue sky! Something we don't get to see much of in Michigan in the Winter!
22/365 - Thursday: Our grocery shopping trip. Okay, okay, so I know a lot of people don't like Walmart, but I DO! We buy almost all of our groceries here & I know we've saved a ton of money by shopping at Walmart! And besides, I just love the new Supercenter that they opened last year.
Now for my layouts.....I did both of these yesterday! 2 layouts in one day! I think that's a first for me :) I love the way the one above turned out. I used my Cricut Storybook cartridge to cut out the big diecut behind the photos. Everything on the page is by Making Memories except for the 2 big flowers. I used my typewriter to do the journaling because I hate my handwriting! You probably can't tell, but I also 'stickled' each little dot on the background paper :)
Most of the things I used on this layout are also from Making Memories (think I'm addicted to MM? lol). I also used some Prima flowers & leaves along with Stickles on the trees, the berry & leaves & the # 25. Everything is straight IRL.....honest :) Since I don't have a scanner right now, I take pictures of my layouts & that's not always easy, either.

My physical therapy is going pretty good. I finally got my shoulder doctor to fax over the RX for my shoulder, so now she's treating me for both my shoulder & neck & I'm there for 2 hours each time instead of just 1. Other than that, not much else is new.....been bowling like crap for some reason :( It's still Winter & although we're supposed to be in the mid to upper 30's today, it's supposed to get cold again tomorrow, only in the teens! I have to work tonight & then Jim will be meeting me so we can work-out when I get off. I was so excited to get back into the gym, but now, finding the time has been hard for some reason! It's just been a busy week, but next week, we'll be getting back on track & back on a schedule.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend,
Benita

3 More Days of 365

2009-01-19T00:00:00.003-05:00

16/365 - Friday: Icicles hanging from our front porch with the sun shining on them. But once again, don't let that sunshine fool ya.....it's freezing!
17/365 - Saturday: Saturday deserves 2 pictures :) It started snowing early Saturday morning & didn't stop until Saturday night. The first picture, above, is of our deck....we have to keep shoveling a pathway for our dogs to get outside!
Here's Jim, having fun with his snowblower & proudly wearing his Detroit Lions jacket & Detroit Lions sweatpants :)
18/365 - Sunday: Home Sweet Home! My baby is home :) Since I wasn't allowed to take her picture, I took a picture of her suitcase instead, lol.

Jim is off work tomorrow for MLK day, so we'll probably head to the gym in the morning & then run a few errands.....that is, if it's not snowing again! One of the girls I work with reassured me that Spring is only 2 months away. Could have fooled me! I honestly don't mind the snow that much.....it's these bitter cold temperatures that I hate! But we had a heatwave today....it reached 20 degrees! Ha!

Hope you have a wonderful week & stay warm! Or if you're in a warmer climate, send some of that warmth this way, okay? :)

Benita

Days 11, 12, 13 & 14

2009-01-14T23:00:00.005-05:00

11/365 - Sunday: When we first moved into this house a year & a half ago, we agreed to paint the upstairs hall bathroom since the landlords were in the process of removing the wallpaper before we moved in. Well, they never got it fully removed, meaning the backing was still on the walls, so we tried to remove it ourselves with no luck. It turned out to be an even bigger mess than it was before. Apparently, the wallpaper was the original to the house when it was built some 30+ years ago, probably installed by the builders themselves & therefore, they didn't prime the walls first. So the drywall started to get damaged & the backing to the wallpaper was just peeling everywhere! I should have taken a before picture, but completely forgot. Anyway, painting the bathroom was out of the question.....it would have looked awful! So our landlords paid for the wallpaper & we did the labor....we had to use a wallpaper that was made for damaged walls & picked a neutral color. We finally conquered the job this past weekend since our dd is out of town. NEVER AGAIN! That's all I'll say about that! LOL What a pain in the rear! But it's done & I really like the way it turned out.....just don't look too closely at the imperfections (or should I say boo-boos? Mess ups? Screw ups!?! lol).
12/365 - Monday: Today, we were supposed to pick our dd back up from being in Traverse City for the past 2 weeks. But since her friend had school, we wouldn't have been able to meet until around 8:00 p.m. & the forecast called for snow that evening, so we decided we should wait until this coming weekend as neither of us wanted to drive in the snow. Wouldn't you know it....the snow didn't even start until after midnight & then we didn't get nearly as much as they were calling for.....only about an inch or two! So Monday's picture is of her still empty room :( This is where she spends most of her time.....at her computer desk, with all her favorite nick-nacks on it. I miss my baby!!!
13/365 - Tuesday: BRRRR!!!!! THIS is what the temperature was last night on our way home from bowling! Yep, that's a minus in front of that 2! Not the best picture as it was taken with my cellphone camera & yes, I was stopped when I took it.....see the odometer at zero :)
14/365 - Wednesday: Someone posted the question on 2 Peas about what we had on our PC desktop, so I thought it would make the perfect picture for today as well. I've had this same desktop picture on my computer for a couple of years now. It's the 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept Vehicle that was at the auto show in Detroit a few years back. I used to own a Challenger a long time ago & boy, let me tell ya, I wish I still had that car today! I loved that car! And one of these days, I will own another one! I will!!! :)

I decided to start back to bowling as my teammates sister couldn't replace me afterall. So far, I'm doing okay with it.....the hardest part is having to pick up my ball with my left arm since most of the pain is still in my left shoulder. Thankfully, I'm right-handed, so bowling itself doesn't bother me.

My physical therapy is going pretty good so far.....thanks for asking about it. I've gone twice now & yesterday, she did some more massaging & stretching of my neck & shoulders, did some different exercises with me & then for 20 minutes, I had a moist heat wrap around my neck & some type of electrodes on my left shoulder. It felt like fingertips massaging my shoulder while sending pulses through me. It felt really good while I was getting it done, but then as the night progressed, it started getting stiff again. I asked the girl how often I could get that done & she said everytime, if I wanted to. Hmmm :) I go back again tomorrow & then on Saturday, so I may just take her up on that.

Till next time,
Benita

More of 365 & Other Things

2009-01-10T17:00:00.002-05:00

Before I get to my newest pictures for my 365 album, I thought I would share the Christmas gifts I made for my Mom & Dad. I made them each one of these picture frames & put a picture of Karen with a real owl. I don't know when or where Karen had this picture taken, but it's one of our favorite pictures of her. She absolutely LOVED owls! You should have seen her home.....she had owl collections everywhere! The kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, even in the bathroom!

I used gold gilding flakes around the edge of the frame & love the way it turned out! Now I hope that they like them just as much as I do. Yeah, I realize that they're late, but when I was going through the majority of my pain, I couldn't do anything with my hands, so I told them ahead of time that their gifts would be late. Jim & I went to the post office & mailed them off today. I can't wait until they get them!

Now for my pictures for Day 9 & 10. Day 9 is a picture that my dh took of me, all wrapped up in my Slanket. I absolutely love this thing! With the cold winters we have here in Michigan, it's almost a necessity to have a Slanket :)

Today was my first day for my physical therapy, so the picture for Day 10 is of HealthQuest, my therapy center. And yes, if you look closely, you can see snowflakes coming down. Right now, we're getting socked with the white stuff! My first therapy session went really good. She did a lot of testing with my arm movement & strength in my arms & then massaged & stretched my neck & shoulders. She said I was really tight throughout my neck & into my back. She showed me some exercises that I need to do at home.....one of them is working on my posture (something that I know I need a lot of work on!). I see her 3 times a week on Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, so hopefully this is the answer to my pain......finally!
As promised, here is a picture of the album I made for my 365 Project. I used an American Crafts 12x12 album & covered it with Making Memories Fifth Avenue paper, added ribbon along the top & bottom (since the paper doesn't completely cover the whole album) & used chipboard & MM metal mailbox letters for the title of the album. The tag hanging from the side just has the year on it.
Here are 2 of my pages....some days, I only have one photo, other days I have 2. I'm just using black & white cardstock for the journaling & I'm actually handwriting it all (for now, anyway). I'm using some of the My Mind's Eye photo overlays on some of the journaling spots just to add a little something.
After my physical therapy appointment this morning, I decided to take a drive out to Michaels as I haven't been in there in forever, it seems. I couldn't believe it when I saw this new line from Making Memories called Sabrina.....I immediately fell in love! And the best part, the papers were 50% off, including the journaling book one. I just wish the embellishments would have been on sale, too, but I may have to go back tonight & pick up some of those with my coupons :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend & stay warm!
Benita

365 - Days 6, 7 & 8

2009-01-08T19:30:00.007-05:00

January 6th - The valances are hung & the windows are finally finished. Now everytime I walk into our living room, I just smile :) It finally feels like home!

January 7th - Speaking of windows, a friend of ours gave us this old window a long time ago, but I couldn't decide where I wanted to hang it. Since I moved all the Target cubes out from between the 2 windows in my scraproom, I decided this would be the perfect spot for it. Right now, it's hanging on a chain that came with it, but I may add some brackets to the back of it instead. And yes, it does have a crack in one of the panes of glass, but I think that gives it more character :) Now, to figure out what I want to put in the panels or how to decorate it.....any ideas?
January 8th - today, I finally went to see the neurosurgeon. My appointment was originally schedule for Tuesday, but an hour before the appointment, they called me & said that the doctor had an emergency surgery to do, so they had to reschedule it for today. He wants me to stop taking the Percocet because he said if I keep taking it, then we'll have another problem to deal with (meaning being addicted to it). He said that I don't need surgery (thank God for that!), but he's scheduling me for physical therapy 3 times a week for at least a month & he also wants me to see a pain management doctor. I start my physical therapy on Saturday at a place right down the road from our house. I so hope that it works & is the answer to my problems! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I'm still working on my 365 Day album.....I covered the front & back of it with Making Memories 5th Avenue paper plus added some ribbon, but I still need to do a little bit more before it's done. Glad to know that a lot of you are also doing the project. I love seeing all your daily pictures as well :)

The blog challenge on 2 Peas for Thursday is: "Make a list of five ways you've changed in the last five years." I love this idea! Here are 5 ways I've changed:

1. I've lost 60 pounds :)

2. I started exercising & I love it.....something I never thought I would ever do! But I love going to the gym so much that I got a job working there :)

3. I became a grandmother to the sweetest little girl!

4. I now have curly hair (thanks to perms) since I hate my hair when it's straight (although I've been seriously thinking about going back to straight hair again)!

5. Ever since losing my sister & brother-in-law, I've learned to enjoy life more & cherish each & every day I have! They died doing what they loved & I hope to die the same way!

Off to print some pictures & then relax. Till next time,
Benita

365 - Day 3, 4 & 5

2009-01-05T21:00:00.004-05:00

Although I didn't order the Project 365 kit that Creating Keepsakes was selling (and I'm glad that I didn't with all the headaches everyone is having!), I decided to do my own version of the album. I'm using an American Crafts album with WeRMemoryKeepers 4X6 Photo Sleeve page protectors, which are basically 12X12 sheets that have slots for six 4X6 photos. I'm using my photos from my New Year's Day post as day 1 & 2 since it took 2 days to finish reorganizing my room (once again!). For day 3, I took 2 photos of our favorite restaurant, which is no longer :( Jim & I had just gone there to eat the day after Christmas for our anniversary (since they're closed on Christmas Eve, we decided to wait until the 26th to go out for dinner). We talked to the owner while we were there & he said that things were a little slow, but otherwise good. Well, we had a coupon that was due to expire, so on the 3rd, we decided to go out for dinner again, only to find the sign above & an empty building & parking lot, below:
Jim & I are both heartbroken as we just loved Kalloways! Apparently, the sheriff department closed them down, due to back taxes. We only know the owners by their first name, so we don't even have a way to get in touch with them :( They were such a nice couple & I truly hope that they can recover from this & reopen the restaurant one day!
My photo for day 4 is of my curtains. After living in this home for nearly a year & a half, we finally put our own curtains up! I'll be adding some valances to the other rods, so that will probably be my photo for day 6. I've had these curtains for a couple of years now & they've been stored in a container in the basement, so they're a little wrinkled right now.
Today, we were up near our old neighborhood, so day 5's photo is of our old house. They painted the trim & changed it to a dark greyish-green & I really like it. Looks so much better than the teal color it used to be! I was just disappointed to see that they took down the window flower boxes :( I knew I should have taken them with me!

Well, there you have it......my first 5 days of 2009. I'm going to try my hardest to stick with this project & take a photo everyday.....some of them may seem meaningless, but they'll be about my everyday life, which is what this project is all about, right? Once I start working on the album itself, I'll take some pics & post them as well. If you're doing the Project 365, I'd love to see your albums!

Have a great night.....I'm off to watch the new Bachelor :)

Benita

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T23:00:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a safe & wonderful New Year's Eve. Jim & I got a phone call from some friends yesterday afternoon inviting us up to their house last night, so that's what we ended up doing instead of going to a movie. We played cards, drank a few drinks, ate some munchies, caught up with each other's lives & shared lots of laughs. All in all, we had a really good time & it was fun ringing in the new year with friends.

Today, I was determined to get some cleaning done around the house. We took down the Christmas tree, vacuumed up all the needles, put away all the ornaments & lights, rearranged the furniture & then we even did some reorganizing of my scraproom. My paper storage cubes were on the wall in between the 2 windows, which was blocking one of the heat vents & I wanted to move them so we could get more heat in this room. It's really cold in this room due to the fact that it's on a cement slab & there's no basement under this part of the house. So I decided to move them to where my Target 3 & 4 drawer units were, which makes my paper a lot easier to access now, too.....I just turn around in my chair & it's right there at my fingertips. I then put the 3 drawer units on top of the paper cubes & put the 4 drawer ones on top of my desk:
I'm still not 100% sure if I like them on the desk or not, but I'm gonna try it like this for a few weeks to see how it works.
We also did some shopping today & went to the newest Target that just opened back in October. What makes this Target so cool is that it has a parking structure underneath it & then when you enter the store, you have to go up escalators to get into the store & it even has escalators for the shopping carts to go up. I was shocked when I found some of the Making Memories FaLaLa line there on clearance.....75% off! I got the paper pack, fabric alphabet stickers, embellishment kit & the stamp set all for around $11.00 total!

It's still hard for me to believe that it's a new year already! I'll admit, I usually get pretty emotional on New Year's Eve & often times will cry. But not this year. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I am glad to put 2008 behind me! It definitely wasn't an easy year for us by any means! But now I'm looking forward to a fresh start in '09! I'm not making any resolutions this year.....I just want to continue working on my health, continue with my weight loss, continue to improve myself & cherish my time here on earth. Janet wrote a beautiful blog entry that really got me thinking about time & just how valuable it really is! Time.....something I no longer want to take for granted!

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends! May the new year bring you good health, happiness & lots of fun times!

Benita

The Perfect Holiday!

2008-12-30T22:30:00.002-05:00

On Christmas Day, Shawn had to drive to Toledo to pick up his daughter since that's where Toni was, spending Christmas at her Moms. He didn't get here until around 8:00 p.m., but it ended up being the perfect holiday!
Here's my granddaughter opening one of her presents from her Daddy.
And here she is, opening a SpongeBob gift from us.
I just love this picture above.....wish I knew what she was thinking about here!
The very happy Gamma :)

Since I don't get to see this little girl very often, I truly cherish every minute that I do get to spend with her! She is turning into such a smart & beautiful girl & growing up way too fast!

Jim is off from work until the 5th & we took our dd to Traverse City on Saturday for 2 weeks, so we're just enjoying the time alone right now :) We don't have any plans for New Year's Eve yet.....we may just spend it alone, watch some movies or maybe even go see a movie like we did last year. There's a lot of movies out right now that we both want to see.....Marley & Me, Yes Man, 7 Pounds.....they all look really good.

Jim has to bowl tonight, but I'm taking some time off from bowling for a while until I get my health back in order. Luckily, my teammate's sister is going to fill in for me on my Tuesday league, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do about our Wednesday league yet. Jim is going to try to find someone through work to cover for me for a while, so we'll see.

Hope you have a wonderful New Year! I know I'm looking forward to a much better year & will be glad to put 2008 behind me!

Benita

Merry CHRISTmas

2008-12-25T14:45:00.003-05:00

From our home to yours. I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday! Even though I never got to finish my shopping, everyone was very happy with their gifts & our day has been wonderful so far. I'm still waiting for Shawn & hopefully my granddaughter to show up. We'll be having dinner around 5:00 and then we'll probably just spend the evening at home with some hot cocoa & movies.
Thank-you to all of my blogging friends for all of the prayers you've been saying for me while I'm going through these health problems. I got the results of the neck MRI back & I have bulging discs in my neck, which has been the cause to all of the pain throughout my whole body. I have an appointment with a neurosurgeon on January 6th, so until then, I just have to cope with the pain and keep the Percocet on hand. For the past 2 days, the pain went from my feet & is now in my right hand, making it very hard for me to even type. I've been wearing one of my old bowling braces on it as it's the only thing that's working to keep me from moving it so much & being in too much pain. Thanks again.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays,

Benita

19 Fabulous Years!

2008-12-24T11:45:00.001-05:00

19 years ago today, I married the most wonderful man in the world! We've been through better & worse, for richer & poorer, good times & bad, in sickness & in health & we will be together until death do us part! And these past few weeks, he has certainly showed me exactly how much I mean to him!

Thank-you Jim.....for marrying me 19 years ago, for sticking with me, for putting up with me, for supporting me, for being my best friend & soulmate, for being a wonderful husband & father, for being a hard worker, for being you!

Love always,

Benita

Absence

2008-12-22T09:00:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I've been able to sit down & blog. No, I haven't been on vacation. No, I haven't been busy preparing for Christmas. Heck, I haven't even finished my shopping yet nor have I wrapped any of my gifts, baked any cookies or even finished decorating our tree (see pics below). All of that has been put on the back burner due to my health problems. What started out as shoulder pain 5 weeks ago (or is it 6 weeks now?) has led to so many more problems that I don't even know where to start! Thursday, December 11th, my orthopedic surgeon had a cancellation, so I jumped on it. After he saw the pain I was in, he decided that a cortizone shot would be best for me, along with physical therapy. So I got the shot that day, hoping & praying that this was the end to my problems. On Saturday, the 13th, I spent 8 hours in the ER from Kidney Stones! The pain started Friday afternoon & by Saturday morning, I couldn't even crawl out of bed! This was my first time going to this particular hospital for anything, other than for my MRI of my shoulder & let's just say, it'll be my last, too! To put it mildly, the care sucked! Since I was also constipated (okay, I know, TMI, huh?), they decided that I just needed to have an enema before they even tried to find out why I was in so much pain! Okay, no problem.....I can handle an enema.....at that point, I just wanted out of pain! One of the nurses brought in this bag of stuff that looked like something chocolate, but it sure didn't look like something I wanted to drink! Turns out, the enema was made from milk & molasses! YUCK! And it was the most disgusting thing I think I've ever had to endure! Who the heck thinks up these things anyway??? About 3 hours later, they finally decide to take me down to get a CAT scan & after waiting another 2 hours for the results, I was told that it looked like I had already passed the kidney stones as there was blood in my urine, but they still saw one in my kidney.
So my family doctor wanted to schedule me for an ultrasound of my kidneys, which I had done on Thursday, the 18th. Jim took the day off work so he could drive me to the hospital for the ultrasound as I was still in a LOT of pain with my shoulder (so much for that cortizone shot working!). Afterwards, I had another appointment with my orthopedic surgeon to find out why the pain in my shoulder was getting worse.....at this point, I couldn't even raise my left arm. Jim even had to help me wash my hair! Well, let's just say that I'm not too happy with my orthopedic surgeon right now, either! He didn't even look at my shoulder that day.....now his attention was on my hand because when I got there, Jim noticed that my left hand was cold & swelling up. The orthopedic surgeon then mentioned something called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy & called a hand specialist. He wanted me to go to this doctor on Friday, told me to cancel all of my physical theraphy for now, which I still didn't get a chance to start because the office couldn't get me in yet & that was that....didn't even do anything else about my shoulder. Afterwards, I went back to see my family doctor as he said he wanted to see me if I still wasn't feeling any better.....plus I needed to get some more pain meds! Luckily, I have a wonderful family doctor & he got me right in, but there's only so much he can do. He's now worried that maybe there's something wrong with my neck area instead, since now the pain is going into my feet, legs, hands & arms. So he decided to order another MRI, this time of my neck.
On Friday morning, they were forecasting 6-10 inches of snow! The appointment with the hand doctor was down in Warren, a good 30-45 minutes away from us on a regular day, so I knew that there was no way we were going to even attempt to go to the appointment. Jim called the office to cancel our 8:15 a.m. appointment which the orthopedic surgeon set up for us. The lady told Jim that we didn't have an appoinment at 8:15.....instead, she said it was at 11:00 a.m.! Do you have any idea how pissed I would have been if we would have gone there, only to find out that our appointment was almost 3 hours later?!? She then said that they probably wouldn't be open anyway with the snow storm.
Saturday evening was my appointment for my MRI on my neck. She did a regular one first & then injected me with some kind of dye & did some more tests. This time, I decided to ask if they could tell me anything, but she apologized & said she can't :( So now I wait some more......I just hope & pray that they'll know something before Christmas! This past weekend the pain was the worst! Jim had to get out his crutches for me to even get around the house! My feet have been throbbing for the past 48+ hours. But let me tell you, I have the absolute BEST husband in the entire world! He's helped me take showers, wash my hair, dried me off, blow-dried my hair for me, did all the laundry, cleaned the house, shoveled the snow, made fudge, ran errands AND put up with me the whole time! All while still battling a cold himself! Yep, now I know why I'll be happily celebrating 19 years with this man on Christmas Eve!

All of the above pictures are of the snowstorm we got on Friday. Our town/area was hit the hardest with 12"! Plus we've had at least another 6" since then! I think we'll definitely be having a white Christmas. But then again, they are calling for rain on Christmas Eve! What a mess that'll make!
Here is our partially decorated Christmas Tree. The lights & ornaments are on, but I still need to add the garland & the angel.

Well, since I've turned this post into a book, I think I better stop here. And besides, it's time for another pain pill :( Something I absolutely hate having to take, but also something that I'm very thankful for right now!

Stay warm,

Benita

My Angel Tree

2008-12-08T11:30:00.003-05:00

Every year since losing Karen & Jimmy, I put up my "Angel Tree". And each year, I try to find another special ornament to add to it. I haven't even had the chance to go out & look for a new one yet this year, but then last night, Jim & my dd surprised me with this one......sparkly feather angel wings. They went shopping & had to stop at Meijer to pick up a few things & found this there. They said it was the last one, so they knew they had to get it for my tree. Well, needless to say, I lost it when they gave it to me! I couldn't hold back the tears!
It is now one of my new favorite ornaments!
And this one, above, is another favorite of mine. I bought it on ebay from a guy that made them & had one made for all of my sisters & my Mom & Dad as well. It's hard to get a good picture of it, but the glass is engraved with:
In Loving Memory Forever
Karen & Jimmy Lucas
On Eagle's Wings
August 29, 2004
This is one ornament that never gets put away. After I take down my angel tree, I hang this ornament on my bookcase cabinet door so I can see it all year long.
Here's my angel tree with blue & white lights, taken before I got all the ornaments on it. This is actually a different tree from last years green one I had. I found this one at Hobby Lobby after Christmas last year for $12.00! I just love the vintagey (is that a word?) look of it :) It reminds me of the silver Christmas tree that my Mom used to have (and I wish I had now, but it got destroyed in a flood several years ago!).

I called the Orthopedic Surgeon this morning to make my appointment, but he doesn't have anything available until the 29th, 3 weeks away! I just hope that I can put up with the pain for that long! The lady told me to call on Wednesday afternoons to see if they get any cancellations between now & then, so keep your fingers crossed for me that they do. The good thing is, after talking to several friends, this doctor comes very highly recommended, so that eases my mind quite a bit!

Well, now I gotta go finish decorating our other tree. We're doing it in gold & silver this year & so far, it's turning out really nice :)

Have a happy Monday,

Benita

The Results Are In

2008-12-06T12:45:00.002-05:00

I just got back from seeing my doctor & I have Supraspinatus Tendinitis in my shoulder along with fluid in the Subacromial Bursa. The report also says that I have "degenerative changes glenohumeral and acromioclavicular in nature with mild impingement", whatever that means. Basically, there is a reason behind me still being in pain! He's referred me to an Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in shoulders & knees, but I can't get ahold of them until Monday. He said I will need to get a cortizone shot in my shoulder, which that alone is scaring the crap out of me, as well as going through some physical therapy. He went on to say that luckily, I don't have any tears, so that's great news :) But he also said that I won't be able to use the weight machines at the gym for quite a while & that's not good news :(

Thanks again for all the prayers & positive thoughts! They truly mean a lot to me!

Off to watch the snow come down,

Benita

Still Waiting :(

2008-12-05T09:30:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, my doctor's office called & left a message on my cellphone, but since I didn't have it turned on all day, I didn't get the message until last night. I have no clue why they didn't call my home phone! ARGH! So I called them first thing this morning to see if they got the results of my MRI in & the lady said that my doctor wants me to come in so he can go over them with me, but they don't have any appointments available until tomorrow! ARGH AGAIN!!! Do they not know that I haven't been able to sleep because I hate waiting for results? Do they not know that I'm nervous as heck?? Do they not know that I'm impatient??? And now I'm scared even more because if they came back normal, wouldn't they just be able to tell me that over the phone? Why would he want to see me to "go over the results" if there wasn't anything wrong? Yeah, now I'm really scared :( They're going to call me today if they get a cancellation, but otherwise, I won't find out the results now until tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. Thank-you so much for all the prayers & please, keep them coming!

In good news, last night I tried on a pair of jeans that I haven't worn in probably over 12 years! AND THEY FIT!!! Jim couldn't believe that I even kept them that long & honestly, neither could I, but they were my all-time favorite jeans :) So I made Jim grab the camera & take a pic. As of today, I'm officially down 55.2 pounds!!! And only .6 of a pound to go till I hit my halfway mark! I honestly have no clue how I'm even still losing weight with not going to the gym that much right now (I've only worked out once in the past 2 1/2 weeks & that was a very short work-out do to the pain in my shoulder). But I'm definitely not going to complain :)

Tomorrow, I'm doing a Family-2-Family Sale at the gym & hoping that some scrapbookers belong to the gym as I've boxed up a LOT of embellishments & paper that I want to get rid of, along with some households items. Thank goodness Jim has been helping me get prepared for the sale....he has been such a big help these past few weeks since I hurt my shoulder! And he said he'll stay there & do the sale for me tomorrow when I have to leave to go to the doctor. Dang, it's no wonder why I love that man!

Remember that artificial Christmas tree we bought on Black Friday? Well, it quickly went back to Home Depot! We were putting it up the other night & fluffing out the branches when I stood back to look at it & something looked funny, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. I kept looking at it & looking at it & then it dawned on me.....the lights were different colors! And they were CLEAR! The ones on the top had a yellowish tint to them. So Jim got his real tree once again :) We found a Balsam Fir at Home Depot that was about 8' tall for $26.00! And we literally bought it 'sight unseen' since it was already wrapped up & frozen with snow on it. I picked it out for the top & so far, it doesn't look too bad.....it's gonna be a few days until all the branches fall into place, though.

That's all for now. Here's hoping for good news tomorrow!

Benita

MRI

2008-12-03T00:05:00.002-05:00

First of all, thank-you for all the well wishes & prayers....I appreciate them so much. I had my MRI done this afternoon, but unfortunately, I won't know the results until Friday when they call them into my doctor. I haven't slept the past 2 nights because I guess I was worried about having it done. I had no clue what to expect.....Jim just told me that they are very noisy & to ask for ear plugs. When they were getting me ready, they handed me a set of earphones & asked me what radio station I wanted to listen to :) Jim didn't like that too well cause they didn't give him that option when he had one done. But where I messed up was I didn't have them turn the music up loud enough, so I could barely hear it from all the noise anyway.

The test itself only took about 20 minutes & I thought I would freak out a little, being so confined in such a small space, but that really didn't bother me. I probably could have fallen asleep if it wouldn't have been so loud. I did feel a lot of twingling in my arm & shoulder while they were doing the test & that kinda scared me. I asked the guy afterwards if that was normal & he said yeah because they're sending radio waves (or something like that) through you.

So, that's all I have for now.....hopefully I'll know more on Friday. I just want to figure out what's wrong so I can hopefully get it fixed! I did manage to bowl tonight (if you want to call it that!), but the pain started getting worse into the second game. Even though it's my left shoulder & arm & I'm right handed, I have to hold the ball a little bit with my left hand first & usually, I use my left arm for balance, but tonight, I just kept it down to my side. I probably looked pretty dumb, but after the way I bowled, I didn't care!

Till Friday,

A Very Exhausted Benita

Got Bit By The Bug

2008-11-30T22:00:00.005-05:00

Jim & I got up at 5:00 a.m. on Black Friday to head out & do some Christmas shopping. Our first stop was to Home Depot as we decided to get an artificial Christmas tree (okay, so I decided to get an artificial Christmas tree, hehe). They had a 7 1/2" pre-lit LED tree, regularly $200, on sale for $49. Luckily, the line wasn't too long & we were able to get in & out in no time. But then when we got out to the car, the tree wouldn't fit! We got the back door closed just enough to be able to take it home, driving with the inside light on the whole way. Thank goodness Home Depot is only about 10 minutes away!
After dropping the tree off at home, we then proceeded to head to Walmart as we needed to pick up a couple of DVD's & video games for our dd. I knew about the Cricut Expressions being on sale there for $199 & we decided if we could find one, we would get one. Otherwise, no big deal. Well, this Walmart was already sold out of them, so we left there & headed to the mall to go to JCPenneys & Macys. After the mall, I asked Jim if we could go to JoAnns to see if maybe they would match the price on the Cricut. Well, that was a nightmare from the beginning! The lady at the service desk called the manager up front & the manager proceeded to tell me that no, they couldn't match it because it wasn't the same Cricut. UMMM.....H-E-L-L-O! Yes, it was! She was trying to tell me that the one in the Walmart ad was the Baby Bug, even when I pointed out the picture to her & showed her that it wasn't. I asked them for the phone number to their corporate office & decided to call them while I was still there, at the service desk (thanks Jewls :), but of course, they were closed, so all I could do was leave a message. Just as we were getting ready to leave JoAnns, another lady came up to me & asked me if I was the one that was trying to get the price matched on the Cricut. I said yes & she said "well, my husband is a manager at Walmart & he told me that it's not the same one." I just said "okay, whatever, thanks" & turned around & left without spending a penny!
We then went home & we were going to call it a day as we were both pooped & I had to go to work in a few hours. Jim suggested that I try calling some other Walmarts & see if they had any of the Cricuts, so I did. First one I called, no luck, but the lady referred me to the Walmart in Flint. So I gave them a call & they had 2 left! 2! I asked them if there was anyway at all that they could hold one for me as we were about 45 minutes away & she asked her manager & said they couldn't hold it, but told me to call & talk to the store manager to see what they would do. So I called her & she said the same thing.....no holds, but she was so sweet & even told me that if they were both gone by the time we got there, then she would call around & try to find me another one :) We jumped in the car & headed to Walmart. I dropped Jim off at the door while I went to go park since a guy in the car in front of me was taking forever to move. I parked, got out of my car, starting walking in the door & there was Jim, coming down the aisle with the Cricut box in his hands :) I'm so pissed at myself for not getting my cellphone out & snapping a picture of him with it! It was priceless! Wonder if I should take the box back into Walmart & re-inact it? LOL Anyway, I am now the proud owner of a Big Bug :)

I debated for a few days whether or not I should even keep it & didn't even take it out of the box. Like Jim said, if we found it, we should buy it so at least we'd have it if we did decide to keep it. I like his way of thinking :) But then today, I had a surprise sale on my Etsy shop.....a lady purchased 6 of my caddies! WOOHOO! I couldn't believe it! Jim said that was my sign right there to keep the Cricut & then proceeded to tell me "Merry Christmas." What a sweetheart!

So I was trying to figure out where to put her (yes, she's a her, lol). I wanted her somewhere close to the computer in case I decide to ever get the SCAL program, but I had no space anywhere on my desk. I then told Jim that it would be neat if I could make the shelf in my cabinet that my printer sits on into a pull-out shelf. He ran to Home Depot, bought the sliders that we needed & whalaa.....my cricut is now safe inside the cabinet (see second picture) & will be easy to access by simply opening the doors & pulling the drawer out.

I've already cut out 2 cards & a few things with the Home Decor cartridge, just to make sure she worked okay because I've been reading about some people having problems with the ones from Walmart. But so far, so good. Now I need to find the spatula tool as I can see already that it'll be a must-have item.

Okay, enough about the Bug :) Our Thanksgiving was wonderful, except for the fact that I didn't get to see my granddaughter :( Shawn came over for dinner & stayed for quite a while, which really surprised me. He was a little hurt, too that he wasn't able to see his daughter.....I could just see it in his eyes! Broke my heart! Apparently, Toni took her to her father's house a few days before & then she wasn't even able to make it there for Thanksgiving (still not sure why, though). But anyway, we had a really nice time all weekend long. Jim even said to me today that he really enjoyed all of the weekend :)

On Tuesday, I'm schedule for an MRI of my shoulder as I'm still having a lot of pain in my arm & hand :( I'm scared, but at the same time, I just want to know what's going on with it, so I'm looking forward to just getting it done & hoping that they can pinpoint exactly what's wrong.

Now I'm pooped, so I'm gonna go relax with Jim & watch some tv.

Have a wonderful week!
Benita

Happy Thanksgiving.....

2008-11-27T15:15:00.006-05:00

.....from our table to yours! May you & your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with lots of memories to scrapbook & lots of food in your tummies :)
After the turkey, be sure to enjoy some Apple or.....
Pumpkin Pie :)

Shawn is expected to be here in about an hour, the turkey is cooking away in the oven, the aroma is in the air, the table is set & the house is clean :)

Today, I am thankful for:

My wonderful husband of almost 19 years!

My 2 kids......although they test me at times, I couldn't imagine my life without them!

My granddaughter.....although I don't see her very often, I know that she'll always be a part of me.

My parents, for bringing me into this world & raising me the best that they could.

My sisters, although we don't always see eye-to-eye, we know we'll always be there for each other.

My mutts, who truly are a part of our family.

Our home.

Jim's job & my job.

For losing 51.2 pounds.....and hoping I don't gain any of it back today!

My health, even though I'm still having pain in my shoulder, arm & hand, I'm hoping that they find a solution to it next week when I have the MRI done.

For food on our table, clothes on our backs & shelter over our heads.

I truly am thankful!

Tomorrow (pain pending), Jim & I are planning to go out & battle the crowds to do a little Black Friday shopping before I have to go to work. I'm not too impressed with any of the sale ads for tomorrow, but I figured we'd go anyway as it's a 'tradition' for us.

Have a very safe & Happy Thanksgiving!
Benita

Snow, Scrapping & Other Stuff

2008-11-25T11:15:00.004-05:00

This is what I woke up to this morning.......more snow & about 3-4 inches of it! I gotta agree.....it's pretty, but I guess I just wasn't ready for Winter to get here so soon. It made me realize that Christmas is only a month away! 1 MONTH! And I haven't even thought about getting the tree yet because, to be honest, we're not sure if we are going to put one up this year. I do have a couple of small artificial trees that I'll be putting up & decorating, but Jim & I have been debating for a while now if we should get a real tree this year. For one, I don't think they're worth the money & since we're living day-to-day right now, not knowing what's going to happen with his job, I can't see spending $50-75+ on a tree that will be dead in a month! But I also know that it won't be the same without one :(

Anyway, on to more snow pics:

Here's my burning bush out front with the berries covered in snow.

View from my scraproom window.

I did manage to do some scrapbooking while I was out of commission all weekend. It wasn't an easy task by any means, but I had to do something to keep from being bored & to try to take my mind off the pain!
The above layout I had all done in my mind, but I wasn't sure what picture I wanted to use with it, so I dug through all my photo boxes & found this one from April 1991 of our dd when she was only 9 months old. Boy, talk about bringing back some memories! The top of the layout is actually going to stick out from the page protector, so I'm planning on cutting some cardboard to go behind it so it doesn't get bent in the album.
This one didn't really turn out how I had planned it, but it's done. I no longer want to spend hours/days on a layout! I want to start scrapbooking faster so I can get more pages done. That's going to be one of my new year's resolutions!

The other day, Cindi gave me not one, but 2 blog awards :) Thank-you so much, Cindi!
For the first award:
1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

I'll pass this award on to the following:
1. Lorrie
2. Janet
3. Linda
4. Sarah
5. Heather

Now my list of 5 fabulous addictions:
1. Pizza :) That one pretty much goes without saying!
2. Scrapbooking.
3. Organizing & re-organizing.
4. Photography, although I still have a lot to learn.
5. Bowling.

Now for the other award. Here are the rules:
1. Write seven strange things about yourself. They interest us all!
2. Tag six other people at the end of your post.
3. Visit everyone that you have tagged and leave a comment on their blog to let them know that they have been tagged.

Seven Strange Things about Me:
1. I could eat pizza every single day of the week!
2. I have a left sock & a right sock. Jim thinks it's really weird, but as I'm putting my socks away, I'll make one pile for my right foot & one for my left foot, going by the toe area of the sock, before I put them in pairs.
3. When I put my food on my plate, I can't let one thing touch another. I know they all go in the same spot, but that just drives me nuts if they touch each other!
4. I absolutely hate going in the basement! I've had a fear of basements as long as I can remember & since our washer & dryer are in the basement, I won't do laundry unless Jim is home to go down with me ;)
5. All of my shirts in my closet are organized in rainbow color. I've had them organized this way for years & I just think it looks so much nicer. Now if I could just get Jim to keep his that way, too!
6. Although I love making cards, I'm not that good at it :( I'm hoping Toni's talent will rub off on me someday :)
7. I can't stand eating anything with nuts in it.....candy bars, cookies, brownies, etc. But I'll eat nuts by themselves.

Now I tag the following people with this award:
1. Sues
2. Toni
3. Lorrie
4. Linda
5. Janet
6. Darcey

Janet also tagged me with this fun challenge: You go to your pictures, open the 4th folder, and find the 4th picture, and share it on your blog. Then tag four of your friends to do the same thing.
Here is my 4th picture in my 4th folder.....my 2006 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T. This picture was taken right after we brought her home from the dealership. Needless to say, she's not that clean & shiny now!

I now tag the following people to do the challenge:
1. Toni
2. Jewls
3. Kim
4. Cindi

I'm still waiting for the steriods to kick in. I just pray that they do the trick so I don't have to go through physical therapy & an MRI! Thanks again for the prayers.....keep them coming!

I'll try to update again on Thanksgiving with some pics. I'm still not sure if Shawn is coming home or not nor have I heard from Toni about whether or not she plans on bringing my granddaughter by.....hopefully, she does!

Till next time,
Benita

Out Of Commission

2008-11-24T12:15:00.001-05:00

Last Monday, I apparently pulled a muscle in my back while using the weight machines at the gym. Although I didn't feel anything pop that day, over the next couple of days, the pain just kept getting worse & worse until I finally couldn't take it anymore. I went to my doctor on Friday because when I woke up, the pain was now traveling down into my left arm & hand. He said that I popped 2 ribs out of place from the swelling in the muscle. While I was there, he gave me an ultrasonic heat treatment & then prescribed me 2 different meds.....Relafin & Flexeril. I ended up having to call in sick to work because I could barely move.
By Sunday morning, the pain still hadn't gone away, so I called the doctor on call & he prescribed Hydrocodone, generic for Vicodin. I've now been on the Vicodin for over 24 hours & still nothing is working on the pain :( So I just called my doctor's office again & I have another appointment at 3:00 this afternoon. It literally feels like someone is stabbing me with a knife all along my arm & hand! Pain usually doesn't bother me.....heck, I had to babies that were both over 9 pounds! You would think I could handle any pain after that! But this pain has just been completely unbearable! Please pray for me that it's nothing more serious as I truly am scared right now!

Update: My doctor took me off all of the above medications & now I'm on Prednisone (steriod) & Skelaxin. He said that if I'm not feeling any better by Thursday, he then wants me to see a physical therapist & he'll also order an MRI at that time. Thank-you so much for the prayers & well wishes!

I hope to be able to blog more later on, but right now, it even hurts to type :(

Benita

1st Sign Of Winter!

2008-11-17T21:45:00.002-05:00

It's official.....Winter has arrived in Michigan, even though the calender says we still have a few weeks. We received our 1st snowfall of the season on Sunday & if we don't get anymore for the rest of the year, I'd be happy, lol. But alas, we got more again tonight. I know, this is Michigan, which means this is just the beginning of the white stuff to come! The good thing about the snow yesterday was I stayed inside all day & got some more layouts done:
When I saw this paper at Scrappy Chic last week, I just had to get it. I usually don't like working with 'themed' type papers like these as I always struggle to use them, but I knew I had pictures to go with these papers, so I thought I'd give them a try. And I'm pretty happy with the way these layouts turned out. In the layout above, I cut around some of the swirls in the paper & used them to overlap the photo, added some gold rick-rack as a border, some gold & purple Prima Flowers & used a Tim Holtz Grungeboard bookplate in which I stickled.
On this one, I used more Tim Holtz Grungeboard which I covered with mulberry paper, added some ribbon & rick-rack, Primas, an old Basic Grey bookplate & American Crafts Velvet Thickers for the title.

Tonight at the gym, I accomplished another first :) I got the incline on the treadmill up to 20! It about killed me, just trying to hang on, but I felt so good afterwards! And I burned 652 calories in 45 minutes! WOOHOO! Now I'm pooped, but also energized at the same time, not to mention stinky & sweating, so I need to go take a shower before bed.

Have a wonderful week,
Benita

Catching Up

2008-11-13T10:30:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, I decided to take a drive out to Scrappy Chic to pick up my prize winnings which included all of the stuff shown above.....and it's all by Making Memories, which I absolutely love :) Yeah, it's some older stuff, but I know I'll still use it all. And believe it or not, I didn't have any of those embellishments. Shocker, I know! LOL
I did manage to get 2 layouts done this past week in between working 5 days in a row. The one above is using almost all Making Memories products (except for the little alphabet stickers for the word Halloween....those are EK Success & the chipboard girl is Maya Road along with Stickles to make her glitter). Not sure if you can read the journaling that goes with the title, but it says "When Your Mom Told Me You Were Going To Be A Princess For Halloween, I Said...You Don't Have to Wear A Costume to be A Princess."
I did this layout using the pictures that my dh & dd took when they went to the Apple Orchard & driving around. I used Heidi Swapp rhinestones as a border around the biggest picture & then I used Stickles on the piece of Basic Grey paper that I cut out (close-up below):
It's also lifted off the layout a little to give it more dimension. I'm beginning to think that I'm getting a little carried away with my Stickles. Is that possible? :)
The above layout I actually did a few months ago, but don't think I ever shared it before now. Again, I used Stickles on the yellow part of the flowers on the background paper & I also stickled the one side where I used part of the Basic Grey paper from the packaging to make it stand out more.

Starting this weekend, I no longer have to work on Saturdays.....YAY! Instead, I'm now working on Mondays from 4:00-7:00, Fridays from 3:00-8:00 & then I only have 2 more Tuesdays to work 1:00-5:00 until the girl comes back that I was covering for. I'm actually going to miss working on Tuesdays, though. It was a nice shift & worked out perfect for bowling. Which, speaking of bowling, a week ago, my thumb started swelling up on the one side while I was bowling. Then a few days later, my other thumb got the same bump on it & they won't go away. I struggled with my bowling this week because I could hardly get my thumb in or out of the ball! I even had to go back to using my 14 lb. ball yesterday because the weight of my 15 lb. was hurting my thumb too much. So today, I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon to see if he can find out what's wrong. It may be arthritis.....that's the only thing I could find about it when I did a search online. Hopefully it's nothing too serious that will put a damper on my bowling!

Well, I gotta get off of this computer & go do some house cleaning. Fun, fun! I even skipped going to my Groovin' Moves dance class today so I could clean. But Jim & I will be going to the gym tonight since we don't have our weight loss meeting this week. They're having a blood drive at the church where the meetings are held, so we couldn't meet this week.

Till next time.....have a wonderful weekend,

Benita