Things of Interest to Me

1. Just when I start feeling better from my surgery, I get sick.  But even that is getting better. 

2.  We are getting closer to owning our first home.  We have done all we can and now it is up to the appraiser and the bank people.  We hope all goes well. 

3.  Sorry my posts are few and far between.  Still have no internet at home. Hopefully that will change after we get into our new house (if we get it).

4.  I just realized today that Thanksgiving is next week.  WOW!  I am not even remotely prepared. That is all for now folks.

Thanks for your support and hope you have a wonderful holiday.
Blessed be.

My Frankenstein Scar

Here are some pictures from after my surgery.  In the hospital, after getting home, and after having the steri strips removed.

Update

Just wanted to post an update saying that my surgery went well.  I have been pretty swollen and stiff and in a pretty good amount of pain.  And I have been tired a lot!  But I am slowly getting better.  I was hoping to be able to work on making hats while recuperating, but that seems to be a little far fetched still.  Maybe I can pick back up soon.  At least I have lots of interest for them!! 

Sorry it took so long for the update.  I really have been drained just focusing on getting better.  Thanks for any and all prayers and happy thoughts sent my way.  I am eternally grateful.

Have a blessed day!

Operation and Other News

Well, my operation is scheduled for Oct. 1st.  I was fine with the idea but now I feel kind of worried about it.  I really hope things will be fine.  If you would, please send happy wonderful thoughts my way.  I could use all the positive energy I could get.

House hunting is still going slow.  Not sure I even want to keep looking.  Really would like to find something soon.  I would like to move before the weather gets bad. 

And, I was making good progress on hats and coffee cozies, but there have been so many other things coming up, that I am not getting very far at the moment.  I hope that will get better soon too.  I pray that everything gets on track soon.

May we all be blessed

The Master Plan, A Little Rant

Well, my husband and I had decided to give the master plan another try this year.  For one reason or another it hasn't even been possible but this year things were looking up.  We got approved for financing and started looking for a house.  This was six months ago.  At first it seemed as if it would be a little bit of a challenge but nothing major and we had high hopes of finding something in a timely manner.  We figured it may be a month or three but not only did we not expect it to take this long, but it has been ridiculously difficult.  Pretty much impossible. 

The only loan we qualify for is a USDA loan which covers 100% of the costs so that we don't have to have a down payment.  That seems great until you realize that they have gotten to a point where they nit-pick every damn detail to the point that nothing will pass their standards unless it is in perfect condition and move in ready.  It can't even need a coat of paint!!  Which would be fine except that 1. I will repaint anyways and we can fix small repairs fairly cheaply and 2. All of the properties that meet their standards, don't meet our needs and if it meets our needs, it doesn't seem to meet their standards.  *sigh*

It has gotten to be such a difficult prospect that we are verging on giving up.  I mean really!!  With our price range (which isn't much) we should still be able to get what we need out of a property.  But we can't seem to in this area!!  This place is not only a slum (very few people take care of their houses) but they have too high of an opinion of themselves and their properties!!!  At best it is sad and pathetic.  At worst it will make you go crazy. 

If you don't have the cash to buy straight up or for a sizable down payment for a conventional loan then no one cares.  You would think that if they really wanted to sell their house they would bother with making it presentable and fixing it up a little to make it available to more types of buyers.  Especially since we are not the only ones in the area who are in the same price range with the same type of loan.  But no, they don't and won't.

So in the end, something that should be a great experience and joy has turned into nothing but pain and misery.  And I have enough of that in my life already with my body.  It makes getting through my day rather difficult and it slows down my productivity.  Which upsets me enough as it is that when the house thing is added to it, I just really want to scream!!

Ok.  Sorry for the rant.  Hope y'all are having a better day and year.  Blessed be.

Not Good News But Not Bad News Either

So I just recently found out that I have two tumors in my neck.  One on each side, just under my jaw.  It is called a Bilateral Carotid Body Tumor.  Basically that means there is one on each side and they are located on the carotid artery where it splits as it comes up mu neck to my brain.  The most common form of treatment is surgery because this type of tumor tends to be very resistant to radiation.  We don't know if it is cancerous (but it is a very slim chance of it) but it really doesn't matter since it needs to come out no matter what.  The unfortunate part is that they are only going to remove one right now since it can be seen and we will keep an eye on the other to see if it gets bigger. 

Usually this happens spontaneously in people older than me (60's and 70's) but sometimes it is genetic, which os the case here.  My father also has this and they only removed one and will watch the others progress.  So although it means surgery, which is never much fun, there really isn't anything to worry about.  The doctor that will ne doing the surgery has lots of experience with this so it all should be fine.  I will be glad to have it gone though because it bothers me that it is there and makes me look funny.  Well, funnier.  LOL.

On a happier note, I am keeping myself busy making hats and cozies and various other projects.  I am enjoying myself and making progress.  Now if I could just get to a point to bring in money, and find a house, that would be amazing!

All shall be well and may we all be blessed

Time Has a Habit of Getting Away from Me

I find it interesting how much time has passed since my last entry.  I never meant for so much time to go by before posting again.  Life has a mind of it's own sometimes.  Lol.  But I haven't been doing nothing.  I have been working on and learning how to make so new stuff.  Some of it has been easy, others have been a major pain in the butt, but I have emerged the victor!  Let's see what you think about them.  I know I am pleased.  :-D

The man with the hammer is my husband.  The scary close up is me. I made the hats and the coffee cozies.  I talked about where I got the pattern for the hats from in a previous post.  The cozies came from a web site called www.micahmakes.com.  I got several other hate patterns from that site as well that I can't wait to try.  I suggest checking them out.

Oh, and just an FYI for anyone interested, I just found out that I may have a rare tumor called a bilateral carotid body tumor.  I will find out more when I go see the specialist on Aug. 14th and let you all know what it will really mean for me and my life.

Thank you for visiting and may you all be blessed!!!

Pictures from a Lovely Wedding

I think these speak for themselves.  Sorry about the quality.  They were taken with my phone.

It Happened Again

My oldest sister has kidnapped me again and taken me to Arkansas with her.  LOL!!!  So far it has been fun.  I got to go to a beautiful wedding for some people I don't even know but was treated as if I was a long time friend.  It was great!!  Will post some pictures later. 

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Post Holiday and Another Beginning

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend.  I know I did.  I finally bought a pattern I have been wanting for a while now.  I have been practicing on it all week and I think I have finally figured out how to properly do it.  (I have never learned how to read a crochet pattern.)  It has taken quite a bit of trial and error, ripping it all back out and starting over.  I don't have a finished project yet, but I hope to soon.  I am working on a viking hat.  I got the pattern from www.mamachee.etsy.com.  I will post a picture when I am closer to done because it is difficult to make out.  Come back and check on the progress!

Thanks!

Half Way Through

Wow!  So we are halfway through the year and it feels like it is going by too fast!  And boy, is it ever hot!   And dry!  Wonder what that will mean for the 4th?  Will see.  We are still working on the master plan and still not having much luck with it, but we are going to try a new tactic.  Wish us luck! 

Stay cool and have a great holiday!

Interwebz is down

We are having some technical difficulties and our internet connection is currently down.  It has been giving us fits for a while now and it finally died.  So we have decided to leave it off for a little while.  I will try to update from my phone when I can (like I am right now) but there are no guarantees it will work.  Please check back from time to time.  I really don't plan on this lasting long.  Thanks for understanding.

Oh, and here is the picture of my finished project.  Unframed but finished.  :-D

Without Further Ado......My First Hook-In!

(Please forgive me.  I am a little on the late side in posting this.  I got back home last Wed. but we have had lots of problems with our internet and computers.  So, to say the least, I am just now getting this done.  I had it mostly typed up and ready to go but I was planning on showing you how my piece turned out.  Unfortunately, that will have to wait as well because I can't find my camera cord and the only computer that is currently working (for now) won't take my SD card!  Grrrrrr!!!  So I will get that up just as soon as I can.  Thanks for understanding.)


So I went to my first hook-in this weekend with my sister Vicki.  There were rug hookers and wool everywhere you looked!!  It was kind of crazy but I had a great time.  My sister taught one of the four classes and I got to participate in that class.  Vicki was teaching needle felting (to be used on hooked rugs) while the rest were teaching about actual rug hooking.  Well since I don't do rug hooking, I just did my needle felting on a piece of wool fabric that isn't appropriate for rug hooking.  I love the way it turned out!!

There were three other ladies taking the class as well.  They were all so very nice to me.  They definitely made me feel very welcome and at ease.  This first picture is of me working on my project.  The second one is of I.T. (short for Itinia) working on hers.  She was so funny!  The third one is of Linda (in the pink) and Leslie (in the blue).  They were all such sweeties!

Here are the ladies with their finished projects.  Well, they were finished with the felting part anyways.  They still have to hook the rest of the rug.  Mine is still in the works at this point.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend too!  I know I did!  XD

Going on an Adventure!!

Relaxing time is over!  Tomorrow I will be going to Arkansas with my oldest sister.  There is a hook-in this weekend and I will get to learn a little bit about rug hooking and some more about needle felting.  And, it will give me some time away from home.  I am very excited!  I guess that means I should get some batteries for my camera.  Who knows what all neat stuff I will see and learn.  I just hope my husband and son can REALLY survive on their own for a week.  We will see!  You can check out some of my sisters stuff over at her blog.

Have a great week and I will see you after I get back home!

Recovering from a busy weekend

This last weekend was EXTREMELY busy.  Much busier than I expected it to be.  But it was all good.  One of my twin boys (the oldest by one minute, lol) graduated from high school, my sisters came up for the graduation and stayed at my house (the first time ever!), and we made an offer on a house to buy.  I am so very proud of my son for finishing school and getting his diploma despite all the troubles him and I have had.  He is a good kid even though he has made some bad choices.  But he is still learning.  He is only 18 after all, and although he thinks he know it all, he really doesn't.  I love him much more than he knows though.

I am always going to see my sisters, but they never come to see me, so I was VERY happy to have them at my house for a change, even if I didn't really have the room or proper set up to allow for company.  I hope they had a good time.  As for the house, well, we didn't get it.  The choices that we have are pretty slim but we hold out hope that something will present itself soon.  We deserve to finally have a place to call our own.  But, what will be, will be.  So I try not to be upset about it.

Things have settled down now, so I have time to get back to creating.  I have spent a lot of time over the last week or two mending lots of old jeans and shorts that I just didn't have time to get to before.  I am making good progress and I even made me a new outfit.  I will have to post a picture later as to the fact that none of the batteries in the house seem to want to work with my camera.  So I need to get new ones.  Well that is all for now.  Hope you all have a blessed day!

A little insightful info about me

Each day I am beginning to make more progress.  I see the changes I need to make and am slowly working towards them.  This make take a while, but I strongly hope to pick up more momentum as the time goes.  I am in no hurry though and I hope that with practice, things become easier to take care of.  Here are some of the things I am currently trying to change.

I have been thinking a lot about simplifying and decluttering my life and my home.  The problem I keep running into is the reasons that come up for holding on to something, are all viable reasons.  It is hard to argue with the logic of keeping something, whether it be for useful purposes or for sentimental ones.  I want to get rid of this stuff, but I don't know how to separate from the reasoning for keeping it.  I know all of the things they say you should do to help yourself get rid of stuff, but somethings are just too difficult to do that with.  Especially the sentimental stuff that bring up memories whenever you see and touch them.  That is the only real purpose they serve, but isn't that an important part of life?  I don't know about you, but my memory is full of holes most of the time and having something to help me recall those memories is a helpful tool.  (Even if I only get it out of the box when I am trying to clean up and get rid of stuff.)

And then there is all of the stuff that is useful, just not on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis.  Those things like sleeping bags that are fully functional for more than just camping, but they take up so much damn space when not in use that it drives you batty.  And they are too expensive to get rid of and then have to replace them when needed.  So what do you do with them when not is use without taking up space that could be better used.  UGH!  I just don't know what to do.

I have also been trying to eat better and exercise.  It is tough.  I have learned that I am not really addicted to anything in particular (like coffee, cigarettes, chocolate, etc.) but I am addicted to having a vice of some sort, each and every day.  Kind of weird, I know.  So how do you break a habit like that?  I have no clue but I am trying.  Without much luck so far though. 

Then, there is fear.  I have come to realize that I have been afraid of living, and everything that involves, for so long, that I am terrified of doing anything.  How do you conquer that?  My self-esteem has been so pitiful for so long, that I am truly amazed that I have survived this long.  I know that deep inside of me there is a warriors spirit, that has kept me hanging on by the skin of my teeth for 20 years, but that warrior is exhausted and depleted.  How do I get her back up and recovered enough to keep me going?  That is the big question.  Now to find the answer.  I believe that part of it has to do with my creative side and the fact that it really hasn't been used in so long that I sometimes wonder if it even exists anymore.  So how do I get the creative juices flowing again?  How do I make myself get in my craft room and MAKE something?  Which brings me back to the clutter of stuff in my craft room and house, that gets in the way when I am wanting to go create.  Dang!  Will the cycle never end?

Getting prepared

So today marks the end of the third week since I have quit working.  My personal hiatus.  I can't believe it has went by so quickly.  As I mentioned in my last post, I am making some changes in my life.  Quitting working was the first step.  I have spent my time off trying to get things in order so that I can focus on my health and my crafting.  I have been cleaning house (when I wasn't feeling like crud and doing nothing) and trying to work out a rhythm to my families daily needs and plan our meals instead of just dealing with it as it comes up.  This hasn't been easy, and I am not quite finished, but I felt that I needed to mark my progress.

I remember that I once had a plan for my life.  It was NOTHING like the life I have had and it never will be, but I have to try to get what I always wanted to get, only with a few minor differences of course.  There are just some things that will always be different.  I have spent a long time regretting, and secretly hating, how my life has turned out.  I am starting to come to terms with it.  I understand now that it is done.  I can't change the past but the future is still malleable.  The time has come to pick myself up, dust myself off, and make a change, in myself and my life, that I can be proud of.  I would like to thank you for your patience and want to let you know that I am making progress, albeit slowly, and that things are looking favorable to me being crafty and artsy again.  I expect to be more productive within a few more weeks and I plan to document my artistic tendencies on here more often.  So please check back often.

Thanks!

Birthday

So it is four days since my 38th birthday.  I have decided the time has come to make some changes in my life.  I know I have been terrible at keeping up with my blog, but I am really hoping things will get better.  If not, then I may just close it.  We will see.  Thank you for being so patient with me.  I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I believe the results will be for the better.

Henry

I have finally finished my pieces that I have been working on for the last year and a half.  I just sent out an email as well to Henry's mother to show her what I have done.  I hope very much that she likes them.  I hope you do too.  I am very happy with how they have turned out.  These are my first attempt an hand embroidery.  Not too shabby.

New year

Well it is the new year and I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Eve.  May this year be blessed for us all.  Here's hoping that I can get more crafting done this year!