DOING WELL!!

My last post concerned the fact that I was going to have to start cooking more healthy for my hubby, Danny, which we did.  But then we decided about in August of last year we would try Weight Watchers and see if we could lose some weight (which we both needed, badly).  Danny's sister, Diane, had kept us up to date on her success with WW and she lost over 70 lbs in less than a year.

So, we started in August and have been doing fairly well.  We are losing very slowly which is a good thing.  Up 'til now Danny has lost about 45 and I have lost almost 35.  That's not a lot considering it is into our ninth month.  Sometimes, it's a little disappointing but the results have been so overwhelming in other areas of our health that it is encouraging to continue on this path.

Danny's doctor has cut his blood pressure meds down to a quarter of what they were. And said she may eventually be able to take him off one of them entirely.  My weight loss has aided my asthma condition.  I can do more and last longer when I'm exercising than I ever could before.  I am having a problem with my body temperature though.  Going to go to doctor and have my thyroid checked again.  I am taking some levothyroxine for that and I am thinking that the weight loss may have triggered a small upset in my dosage.  I can go from freezing to sweating at the drop of a hat.

We are eating healthier and exercising more.  I swim and walk and Danny uses the Nautilus equipment at the gym.( Oh, yeah. We got a membership at a gym to help out.) We bought some bicycles and Danny rides his a lot.  I am scared to death of falling so it has been hard for him to get me on mine.  But I am getting braver and I have ridden more this past few days.

One of the best things we have done so far with this is, we have gotten our daughter, Ambre on WW.  She came to visit at the end of March and went to our meeting with us, and we got her signed up.  That was on a Thursday night and on Tuesday after she went back home to NC, she attended her first meeting where she lives and in just those few days, she had lost over 5 lbs.  Since then she has lost a total of 15.4 lbs in just six weeks.  We are so proud of her.  She is going to be a real success story.

Well,  I will try to keep posting on our successes after this and maybe someday we will both be back to a weight we need to be at.  Bye for now!

KITCHEN DUTY!!

      Have I ever told you how much I really despise the kitchen?  I really, totally and absolutely despise a kitchen.  I really can't tell you why...I know why...but I can't tell you why.   Does that sound reasonable?

     Well, not long ago, my sweet hubby promised me that when we started drawing our Social Security and thing were looking up, he would take me out more often so I wouldn't have to cook.

     Today, his doctor put him on a "eat more healthy diet".  Well, I thought we were doing pretty good.  I wasn't adding salt to his food and was broiling and baking as much as possible...not frying.  But now, we have to basically change our whole way of fixing food and the foods we eat.  No more unhealthy snacks for him ( peanut butter crackers, chips, moon pies...etc).  Now I guess I will be making a lot of trips to the grocery store for fresh fruits and veggies.

Do I sound as if I'm whining?  Well, yeah you do!!  Uh oh, I'm losing it..I'm asking myself questions and then answering them.

Uurrrgggghhhh!!!  I hate the kitchen!!!!  Have I told you that?   Oh well,  I must keep my hubby around a while longer so here goes.......!

QUICK FIXES!!

I am a plus size person..".right now anyway."...said I for the last forty years!  LOL.  I hate to shop for myself.  When I was younger all the sizes for me looked like they were for women who were sixty and seventy years old.  Hey, I'm not saying anything against older womens fashions..'cause frankly, I have reached the age.

As the years have gone by and Walmart and Kmart have emerged as the biggest seller of women's affordable clothing, especially when you live on a Walmart size budget, the fashions have changed and now clothing is more stylish for women young and older.  But the one thing that really bugs me is the fact that for the last four or five years, clothing manufacturers are making almost all large women's fashions, especially blouses, with huge necklines that tend to show everything up top.

Do they not realize that some women are still modest and some don't think their necklines are all that pretty, so some prefer to wear blouses that are not so revealing.  I get so frustrated when I go shopping and can not find anything that has a normal neckline.  Even the winter blouses and pull-over sweaters are very revealing.  Do you know what it's like to try and keep warm with a blouse that is showing your babies behind.

Anyway, when I went shopping today with my "birthday bucks"....I really had one goal in mind.  I recently acquired the cutest pair of seersucker capris in baby blue and white pinstripes. I didn't have a blouse to wear with them and have been searching for weeks.  Well I found one at Beall's today that was suitable in color but you guessed it....the neck line revealed more than my babies behind. 

So being the ingenious person that I am I fixed it.  The capris were a little too long, so I shortened them and used the leftover to fix the blouse.  My before and after pics.

FINGERNAILS

As many of you know, I have chewed my fingernails for years.  Since I was a child.  There were times when I got older that I would try and grow nails but never had any luck.  The draw of nail chewing was just too much.

There was a period that I went through getting my nails done in acrylic and even went as far as getting my own nail tech license to make the "big bucks"!  What a joke that was.  Never made enough to cover the cost of all the supplies I bought.

Having your nails done in acrylic is very bad.....and I MEAN VERY BAD!!!.  It damages the nail beds, causes ripples and ridges in your natural nails and even can cause fungus's that ruin your nails forever.

I have always lamented that my nails have always been so thin and easy to break and split and even worse....peel.  My sister, Joan and my Mom, always had really hard beautiful nails but alas they got all the calcium and left me with none.....lol.

Last year, I heard about a new nail technique that did not damage your nails but made them strong so they could grow better.  About 8 years ago I quit biting my nails but still lamented they wouldn't grow out before they would break, chip, split or peel.  So I decided to try this new technique.  It's called gellac but pronounced...Shellac..  You heard me right.  It's pro-nounced just like the clear stuff they put on furniture.

Whether it is the same stuff, I could not tell you but I do know that I am extremely happy with the results.  I've had them done four times now and my nails have NEVER looked better.  I do have to warn you though...some of the techs seem to want to use the little electric grinder to take off the shellac when you go back for re-do.  DON'T LET THEM...THIS DAMAGES YOUR NATURAL NAIL.  Have them use a buffer pad.

I've included a couple of pics of my nails...this time I just left them with clear but have had color and french.  It all works well.

PAYING IT FORWARD

     At the beginning of the year, a bunch of people on Facebook decided to do the Paying it Forward gift giving thing again this year.  The whole premise was that if you signed your name under the person who wanted to partake in the PIF promise, then you had to paste the PIF promise on your page and have people sign up that you would send gifts to during the year. 

     There were a whole lot of promises made last year but then no one ever heard or said anything else about it.  Well, this year, we did it again and I decided...if you are going to sign up then you need to carry out your promise.

     So, I had a whole bunch of leftover yarn from prior projects and had recently told Danny as a joke..."you know, I'm probably gonna die and you're going to have to get rid of all that yarn, 'cause I don't have anything to do with it".  Little did I know that my PIF promise would give me an out to get rid of all that un-used yarn.

     I started crocheting a "scrappy afghan" out of the un-used yarn.  The first one turned out really good, so I decided I'd make all the rest of my sign-ups a "scrappy afghan".  Well, I've used up a lot of yarn.  So much in fact, that I've had to start buying more.  It's so funny.  I am having a blast making these afghans.  I've made a lot in my lifetime and can truthfully say that these are by far the prettiest and most colorful I have made.

    I am including a picture of my yarn holders.  The small basket on the left is basically what left of all my old yarn.  Most of what is in the other two has been bought to help finish them.

I hope everyone who receives their "scrappy afghan" enjoys it as much as I have making it.

A Handy Kitchen Helper

A long time ago when I was  a teenager, my Mom, used a kitchen device designed to keep scrap food in rather then putting in it the trash, especially if you don't have a garbage disposal under the sink.  It was a metal frame with a small trash bag that  fit over it.  The only problem was that it didn't have a cover, so after a while the flies would get to it, so you had to change the bag daily, which lead to a lot of cost, even back then.

I have come up with a solution to that by utilizing the same concept but with a Folgers coffee container.  You can dress the container up with contact paper or whatever you can come up with in your decorative colors.  My kitchen is done in red, so the red can goes well.  I only use the Folgers can because it it basically round on the inside and has small handles for better gripping.  The Maxwell House can does not work as well because the handle is separate and it's harder to get the filled bag out ( chance of tearing the bag).

Watch the video and see what I mean.

A GREEN THING

Being Green Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days." The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations." She was right -- our generation didn't have the 'green thing' in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day. Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. But too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then. We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day. Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day. Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the "green thing" back then. We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the "green thing" back then. Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the "green thing." We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint. But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then? Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart mouthed young person... We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off...especially from a tattooed, multiple pierced smart mouth who can't make change without the cash register telling them how much.

YOUR GONNA MISS THIS!!!!

I had to make a trip down to Hudson today to go to the bank. On the way back a song came on the radio...I've heard it a hundred times before, but I guess because today is Jamie's birthday, it hit me kinda hard and I almost had to pull over, I was crying so hard. It was Trace Adkins song...Your Gonna Miss This!!! It made me start thinking back to when the kids were little and life was a lot simpler. The words go something like this... You're gonna miss this You're gonna want this back You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast These are some good times So take a good look around You may not know it now But you're gonna miss this! And you know what? It is so true. I miss the smiles and tears on little grubby faces. I miss being wrestled to the floor by three little ones. I miss school mornings trying to get them to school on time. I miss blonde hair, blue eyes and buck teeth laughing so hard he can't stand up. I miss red hair, freckles and brown eyes not being still for two minutes. I miss brown hair, brown eyes screaming "my brother hit me"! I miss the look on Bo's face the first time he held Ambre. I miss the look on Jamie's face that said I don't like you..you stole my Mommy! I miss the skint knees, bruised elbows, haircuts, baths, Christmas mornings and most of all I miss the little bitty kisses that said, "I love you Mommy, your the best"! Yep..I really do miss this!!!!

A New Project

Well, I have been working on fixing up my bedroom...it's taking longer than I thought. Gonna do the painting this weekend. But this a project of a different color ( so to speak ). While shopping at the Habitat for Humanity Store in Leesburg a few weeks ago, I noticed a table top standing over in a corner. I checked it out and it was very pretty and only 5 dollars. And...it was only a table top with no base...so I didn't buy it. We went on to visit with Joan and Tony and went to their Easter presentation of the Passion. We had a great time but for some reason I just couldn't get that table top off my mind. This was on a Saturday and we went through Sunday and I just couldn't stand it anymore and I called Tony and asked him if he would mind going back out there and getting it for me. It was already 5 PM, so I told him it could wait until Tuesday. Well, he didn't get back out there until Thursday and he finally found it hidden by some rolled carpets. Yeah! I was talking to him on the phone and guiding him to it and for a few we thought it was gone. Joan called a few minutes later and said Jen, the table isn't 5 dollars, it's 25! I was fixing to say well, I don't care, buy it anyway and she said, No, I'm just joking, it's beautiful, I want it too. We went over to Leesburg the following Saturday ( cause we had to anyway to pick up some plants at Home Depot ) and picked up the table too. This is it below.

The pic on the bottom is more the true color of the wood. I can't wait to get started on the bottom. I have it designed in my mind. It's only a 30" across table, so it's kinda small, but that's OK 'cause I'm trying to downsize some things anyway. Our apartment is not very big and with all this really big stuff...well, you guessed it...it looks over stuffed. I will try to post pictures as I progress with the transformation of the table.

AN OLD WISH!!!

Since I was a young bride, I have always had a dream of owning my own home. A quaint little house on a city street with a picket fence in front and a wrap-around porch. Well, I'm almost 61 and I guess it's never going to happen to me. It would have been nice though. To be able to do the things to it, that would have made it mine.

I guess we begin to think more about things like this when we get older and feel like time is running out on us. Life goes by so fast. Everything is all in a rush, all the time. One day leads to another, mostly just the same. Until one day you realize that "hey, where has all of it gone?" It's not going to come back either. So you just take one day at a time and share it with those you love and do the best you can to live your life the way God intended...for after all...He is the great provider and he only provides what he knows you can handle........just saying!!!

MAKEOVER PART 1

I have been looking for something to do in my very small bedroom here in the apartment. My room only measures 9.5 X 9.5. I think the first thing I really need to consider is downsizing. My bed is a queen size, so I am in the market for a double size mattress and boxspring ( the thick kind with pillow top if possible). I have already decided on the colors. My base paint is seafoam green from BHG (Walmart). I love it, it is just the right shade. The I will add some blues and browns. The headboard for the bed is in the lower post. I am going to have to turn my closet into much more than a closet for clothing. It is going to have to double as storage space for a lot of other things. Looking into trading my large dresser for a smaller version and maybe getting rid of my sewing center and combining that into my closet area. The closet runs the entire width of the back wall. Here are some before pics. I want the try and document everything as I go along.
Please don't pay any attention to the Christmas quilt on the bed. It was cold here last night. I am really looking forward to getting started. So watch for my posts and keep me in your prayers for a modicum of success.

TIRED OF THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD

Have you ever gotten so tired of the way your decor looks. I hate my bedroom. It is kinda small and has a queen size bed. I am looking for a double with a think pillow top but so far, no go. Anyway, I found a picture of a headboard on Pinterest and fell in love. I am going to do it. I bought some paint ( I know I'm not supposed to T, but I just can't take it anymore. I have got to have some color. So, therefore, I bought a can of paint (Seafoam Green) and I picked up some materials for the headboard and pillows. Found some pillows at the Thrift store $1.50. I am going to re-cover them. I am posting the picture of my future project and a pic of my materials and paint color. Tell me what you think. As I go along I will post may progress. Wish me luck.




Can't make out the color too good in the future picture, but they are beautiful together. I really love the color scheme too. Can't wait to get started.

The 7 Dangers to Human Virtue

1. Wealth without work.
2. Pleasure without conscience.
3. Knowledge without character.
4. Business without ethics.
5. Science without humanity.
6. Religion without sacrifice.
7. Politics without principle.
Ghandi

TO MY RUTHERFORD CO FB FRIENDS

Hello everyone!! I really could use some help. My daughter-in-law, Tina Hodge, found some locally made goat milk soap made by a man and sold at the Flea Market on 221 in Danieltown. She gave me some of the soap to see if I liked it and WOW, did I ever. It is the most wonderful soap I have ever used. It leaves your skin feeling squeaky clean and so soft. I use it on my face too. The folks around here keep asking me what am I using on my face.

Here's the problem. The man no longer sells at the Flea Market and someone told Tina, he was letting a person sell it in their shop but didn't know where. She has tried to no avail to find out who.

The soap comes in a variety of very light scents and doesn't bother my asthma. I am including a picture of Cherry Almond. There is also Bayberry, Honeydew Melon, an Apple scent, many many more. I am down to only two bars left and I really need to find some more.

If you know of someone who sells this soap please contact me by leaving a comment on this post or leaving a message on FB. Thanks a lot.

THIS IS WHY S&P DOWNGRADED US ON FRIDAY NIGHT

Chris Thomas says this......

Kinda brings home what a pitiful attempt has been put forth by our leaders who get raises practically every year, and have their own retirement and medical insurance that is not subject to the plans that they vote on for us and ask us to make sacrifice for after we have paid in for it.

The Debt Deal In Perspective

Purpose:

To put the debt limit debate / debt deal of the last few weeks in perspective.

2011 Federal Budget Deal

Federal Budget: $3,820,000,000,000 (3.82 Trillion)

Income: $2,170,000,000,000 (2.17 Trillion)

New Debt: $1,650,000,000,000 (1.65 Trillion)

Amount Cut: $38,500,000,000 (38.5 Billion) - about 1% of the total budget.

Harry Reid is calling this a "historic amount". The President said it is a "historic deal". John Boehner simply said, "We've come to an agreement".

Let's put this in perspective. It helps if we put the numbers in terms to which we can relate.

Let's remove NINE zeroes from those numbers and pretend this is a monthly household budget for the fictitious Jones family.

Amount of money the Jones family spent this month: $3,820

Total income for the Jones family this month: $2,170

Amount of new debt added to the Jones family credit card this month: $1,650

Outstanding balance on the Jones family credit card: $14,271 (represents our national debt).

So last week, the Jones family sat down at the kitchen table and agreed to cut $38 from their monthly budget.

A historic amount?!!!

Regards,

Bob Kralowetz

IRRITATING PRACTICES

Lately I have noticed that in my cbox (which I added to my blog for comments on my posts) has been used by other blogs or websites to advertise their sites, or invite me to join their whatever, and most of the time it is in a foreign language of which I don't understand, but I can pick out certain words like "jom join" or "jom tonton" which is "come join" in two similar languages. I understand that people want you come to their sites but with these you never know if they are virus sites or porn sites. I have already be infected by a porn site once and had to cancel my e-mail account ( which I have had forever ) and open a new account with a new provider. It just irritates me that the Internet can not be policed better and these sites closed down. I understand that everyone has the right to have their own blogs but I have always thought that use of the Internet to promote porn has been a no no. These people know exactly how to get around any one's security net no matter how tight. The devil is working overtime on this problem across the globe. I just wish there was someway to rid the Internet of these moral less people. I guess I'm just blowing off some steam this morning. Anyway, everyone have a great day.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

THE HOLY SPIRIT

Have you ever been just sitting there and all of a sudden you feel like doing something nice for someone you care for? THAT'S GOD talking to you through the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever been down and out and nobody seems to be around for you to talk to? THAT'S GOD wanting you to talk to Him.

Have you ever received something wonderful that you didn't even ask for, like money in the mail, a debt that had mysteriously been cleared, or a coupon to a department store where you had just seen some thing you needed, but couldn't afford? THAT'S GOD knowing the desires of your heart.

Have you ever been in a situation and you had no clue how it was going to get better, how the hurting could stop, how the pain would ease, but now you look back on it . THAT'S GOD passing us through tribulation to see a brighter day.

Do you think that this e-mail was accidentally sent to you?

Keep this going. You have no idea which one of Your e-mail buddies could use a little hope today

Dear God...

I know you're watching over me
And I'm feeling truly blessed
For no matter what I pray for
You always know what's best!
I have this circle of E-mail friends,
Who mean a lot to me;
Some days I 'send' and 'send,'
At other times, I let them be.

I am so blessed to have these friends,
With whom I've grown so close;
So this little poem I dictate to them,
Because to me they are the 'Most'!

When I see each name download,
And view the message they've sent;
I know they've thought of me that day,
And 'well wishes' were their intent...

So to you, my friends, I would like to say,
Thank you for being a part;
Of all my daily contacts,
This comes right from my heart..

God bless you all is my prayer today,
I'm honored to call you 'friend';
I pray God will keep you safe,
Until we write again.
IN GOD WE TRUST!!

STUPID SALESPEOPLE!!

I have carpel in both my hands and it hurts to hold onto a phone or other object for very long. My fingers go to sleep and have sharp pains in them and my palms. I needed something to help with holding the office phone in my hands. I went to Office Max to get a headset that I could plug into the handset on the office phone. I told the salesman what I needed and he helped me find it. I bought it. When I got back to the office I discovered the office phone had no connection port for the cord on the headset. I was surprised because the last phone I had at home had one.
Danny and I had to go to Wal-mart that evening so we checked while we were there and they didn't have any phones that had the connection port either. Checked at Office Max in Inverness and their display was a winged one with all their phones (about 40 or more) displayed on the wings and in the middle was a display of corded headsets. What was unbelievable was that there was not one single phone in their display that these headsets would connect to. When I asked the salesman what was the use of having this display, he said, "I guess they want you to get disgusted enough to purchase one of these." At which point he showed me the display of wireless headsets costing from $125.00 to $399.00.
Of course, I looked at him like he had lost all his marbles. I said, " if I bought one of those my boss would fire me on the spot." Don't know what I'm gonna do now. But I just don't understand the reasoning behind selling an item to someone when you know it's not going to work. Just saying!!!

The Need

I have a need to blog. My feelings have been hurt to the core. I am feeling so angry right now that I can hardly breath. What is worse is that I am the type of person that can not intentionally hurt someone and I know that if I say something I will loose control and say very hurtful things. And they will have serious repercussions. So I think that the best thing to do is keep silent and let it eat me alive. And I ask God to forgive me for the resentful need I feel to hurt back.

Lifetime Changes

Well, as some of you already know Danny and I have left his beloved mountains of NC and moved to my beloved flatlands of Florida. It was necessary for more than one reason. I lost my job back in Dec 2009 and Danny lost his in Dec 2010. Prospects had not looked good for me at all and were looking even worse for Danny. Then we got letters from the ESC of NC that stated since the unemployment rate had decreased (about 1/2 of a percent) in NC, that the Federal Gov't would not longer support the extended benefits program. I was on extended and Danny would have needed it about 6 weeks later. So seeing that we were running out of time, we had to make a life changing decision. An opportunity opened up in Inglis, FL and we applied.
So here we are back in Florida, closer to my family but further from his. It's always hard being away from the people you love, especially when, now it includes your own children and grand-children. But we are adults, and we will survive. It is also great for my asthma. I have been doing a lot better since we got here. And we are both gainfully employed ( thank you Lord).
There is a small problem with my blog though. The name says "Hodges on the Hill". Well, we're not on the hill anymore, so I guess next time you see this blog, I will be changing the name. I could use a little help though. I have thought about, "Hodges in the Flats" or Hodges on the River ( Withlacoochee River across the road). Or something like that. I just don't know, so I'm open for suggestions.
It's good to be back, I'm loving it here. It's quiet, peaceful and the work is not that hard.