10 Strikes!

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 :)

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!

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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