Heat, Humidity and Heart

This heat wave has been a killer!  You might think that having spent much of my youth on the boards (or stage) that I am used to the heat of the bright lights, but let me tell you, nothing can compare to the heat that we have been experiencing here in the South East!  Not for me anyway.  I don't consider myself a Southerner living in Maryland, but we are south of the Mason-Dixon line so I guess that is what we are, but true Southerners would dispute it I am sure!  But despite the fact, it is HOT and HUMID here! 

Last week it was 109 outside and when the heat index was factored in it was 124 degrees.  I don't care who you are-that's hot! 

The heat is just killing me.  Not literally mind you, but it really is doing quite a number on my physical being.  I don't like it, I can't take it, and I WANT MY MOMMY!  If this doesn't break soon, the family is going to find me curled up in a fetal position sucking on a bottle (of wine) twirling my hair and babbling incoherently.  Oh - wait a minute, I think that happened Sunday, but anyway you get the picture.  I don't like this weather.  It puts me in a constant state of 'what's next'.  The heat brings on the headaches, which in turn brings on the nausea and the vision problems, and vertigo and all that rot, now I've noticed that symptoms that I thought were under control are ba-aaack!  Visiting again are my old friends the Tremors, and we can't forget about those unhospitible guests the Myotonias, and where would I be without my old friend  Hypersomnia.  (He is the biggest pain of all because even when he leaves he's never really gone!)  Which is all to say, this month has been pretty rough on me and I've been doin' my best to get through it without whining and moaning too much but sometimes, I just need a bag to scream into and today this blog is my bag.  So there you go.

What have I been doing, for real?  Honestly, not a whole lot.  Staying inside, keeping cool.  Sleeping.  A lot.

As much as I hate to do that, I have to do that and I am miserable if I can't take a nap.  Sounds crazy doesn't it?  I am almost 50 years old, I've never been one to take naps during the day, or even sleep in for that matter and now I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat.  Next thing you know I'll be investing in Depends so I won't have to get out of bed to go to the bathroom!  Ha!  Not that it matters much anyway, I do it in my sleep from what I understand.  I must be reverting back to my infancy or something. 

Last weekend the kids had a treasure hunt for Bella and Aiden and it ended with their treasure being new Ice Cream Sundae bowls for each of them, toppings and an ice cream scoop.  Their treasure was an Ice Cream Sundae Party to celebrate National Ice Cream Day of course! 

We all joined in the fun, but I had yogurt and was called a traitor for my efforts! 

This weekend, was pretty quiet.  Sunday Michelle and Shawn took Bella and Shawn's niece Jordyn to the Princess Breakfast at the Way Off Broadway Theatre.  Here is our little Princess;

She's getting so big and grown up looking.  She went as Rapunzel.

Later on in the evening, we all went to Shawn's parents home for dinner.  His sister Courtney was home from Florida, so we got to meet her and his sister Jennifer and her husband Jason and their three children were there as well.  It was a delightful evening with good food, a very warm and welcoming atmosphere and lots of fun stories and conversation.

One other thing that has been keeping me busy as of late is another new addiction-Heartsy!  Have you heard of it?  If you know of the Etsy site then you may know about Heartsy.  Etsy is an online 'mall' where anyone who crafts things can set up a shop and sell their homemade items online.  Here is what Hearts has to say about themselves: Heastsy features exclusive private sales on handmade designer items across the internet. Our mission is to introduce you to new & talented artisans every day via amazing deals.

And let me tell you, the deals are amazing!  For instance, I bought a voucher for a shop that was worth $59 for just $20!  Then I could use that voucher like cash in that particular shop and purchase whatever I wanted to.  Pretty cool, right?!  And they also have referral rewards.  How does that work?  Well, NEW: Invite friends, and share $10 with every friend you refer.

After you buy the deal, you'll get a unique link to share. If your friend buys a deal on Heartsy, you get $10 to spend with us in the future! 
Can't beat that, right?  Look them up at Heartsy.me and browse their site and you can see some of the deals that they have featured today, and what they will be featuring tomorrow.  It doesn't cost you anything to join unless you become a VIP member.  You will get the deals sent to you inbox each day and if you are interested you just click on the link to look further and if you want to purchase, you click on it and buy it!  So simple.  I've already picked up a couple of gifts and maybe one or two things that I might not want to give away!  I Love Heartsy!  You will too!

Friday Already?

I don't know how this week has gotten away from me but it has.  Actually I am sure that I can put it into a word-migraine.  For whatever reason I was hit hard this week with a migraine that started on Tuesday.  I could feel it coming on which is not always the case with me.  I started getting 'floaters' in my eyes and feeling just slightly nauseaus, so I tried to be careful about what I ate and made sure to wear my glasses so not to strain my eyes, I was vigilant about my medication.  To no avail.  It hit hard sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, while I was sleeping.  I woke up in the middle of the night in severe pain.  Eyes burning, head crushing, dizzying, bed spinning PAIN!  If you've ever been there, then you know what I am talking about and it is an absolutely terrible way to be woken from sleep.  It is a terrible way to have to live.

 

So many people throw around the word migraine and misuse it for the word headache, but for those of us who truly suffer, the difference might be compare to having a splinter in your finger or a railroad stake driven through your hand.  There is no difference. 
The University of Md. Medical Center describes a migraine as such:

The headache from a migraine, with or without aura, has the following characteristics:

• Throbbing, pounding, or pulsating pain
• Often begins on one side of your head and may spread to both or stay localized
• Most intense pain is often concentrated around the temple(s) (side of the forehead)
• Can last from 4 - 72 hours

These symptoms may occur at the same time or before the headache:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Dizziness, lightheadedness, or even vertigo (feeling like the room is spinning)
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue
• Visual disturbances, like seeing flashing lights or zigzag lines, temporary blind spots (for example, loss of your peripheral vision), or blurred vision
• Parts of your body may feel numb, weak, or tingly
• Light, noise, and movement – especially bending over – make your head hurt worse; you want to lie down in a dark, quiet room
• Irritability

Symptoms that may linger even after the headache is gone:

• Feeling mentally dull, like your thinking is not clear or sharp
• Sleepiness
• Neck pain

To put it succinctly, it sucks.  Really and truly.  There is no escape no way out it is just a waiting game.  I am now somewhere around hour number 55 and counting.  The good new is that my vision has gotten better.  While it is still blurred, I no longer feel as though I am looking at the world through clouded lenses.  And I am no long nauseaus or vomiting.  A vast improvement from yesterday and the day before.  My head is still pounding, my eyes hurt, I'm tired and menmtally I feel incapacitated.  As for the irratibility goes, just ask the receptionist at my work who sent me an email to tell me that I had packages at the front desk.  I had to assume that my response to her was somewhat on the terse side because she emailed back to me 'ALRIGHTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!   JEESHH!"   I had to very quickly eat humble pie (via email of course) blaming it all on the headache.

So, that's my tale of woe for the week.  I tell you this so the next time that someone says they have a migraine that you will understand a little of what they are going through.  Or that if you have a headache please don't say that you have a migraine, the two are vastly different.  
And one more thing, any prayers you could send up for me would be greatly appreciated.  I think I could use any and all I can get about now.   

Celebrating our Independence

I know that I have mentioned it before, but I love a three day weekend!  It's so nice to have that extra day to relax and recover before heading back to the grind of the work week.  Jim worked on Saturday and Monday, and I have to say that I really didn't mind.  I know that you might think that sounds terrible, but hear me out.  He gets in my way.  Really.  No all the time, but you know, just when I want or need to get something done. 

Now don't get all uppity on me, saying things like 'I love having my husband/boyfriend/S/O/whatever, home with me'.  Yea, right.  We all do.  Sometimes.  But not all the time. Getting underfoot.  Making a mess when I'm trying to clean up.  Dirtying dishes after I've just finished cleaning the kitchen and not bothering to put said dishes in the dishwasher.  Yes.  I have one of those husbands.  I will admit that he is wonderful in many ways.  In keeping the house neat and picking up after himself ways, not so much.  As a matter of fact-not at all!  He's a slob.  He thinks that his shoes belong on the kitchen floor and that if I trip over them all the time then you would think that I or anyone else in the house who may trip over them would know by now that they are there.  Because he never puts them away!  Get my point?

So, Saturday he worked and I got things done without him.  I made cookies.  So, I didn't get the house cleaned like I had intended, but I made cookies.  Well, I did do some wash and ironing, made the bed, and vacuumed and general cleaning before Michelle, Bella and I ran a few errands before I began baking.  I also made my cookie dough and got it in the fridge to chill.  Then when we got home and got everything put away, I rolled out my dough and cut out my cookies.  Stars for the 4th. I thought that they would be easy to decorate and easy to work with.  I was wrong.  I am not so artistic and need a guide or something to follow.  Because once I started to decorate the cookies, I just lost all train of thought and forgot the ideas that I had had in my head previous to my baking session.  Where did they go?  Who knows but they were gone for good!  So, I mostly marbled them which I had never done before but was fairly easy and came out pretty good.  Looks way harder than it really is!  Didn't take any pictures though.

Then on Sunday we had some guests over for dinner.  Shawn, Aiden, Della, and Rex came over for chicken and ribs and fixens.  We made it fairly simple and bought the ribs and chicken at Giant Eagle and Michelle and I fixed everything else.  It was casual and very nice.  Way too hot to do too much cooking inside or out! 
Before we ate, Bella had been itching to show Aiden and experiment that she had seen at a show at the park with Jim.  She and  Jim had gotten the required ingredients, so we all went outside to watch as the kids did the experiment.  The ingredients:  Diet Coke and Mentos.  The results;

Add 2 Mentos to 2 Liters of Diet Coke

Step Back

Watch Coke Fountain

Jump for Joy!

Bella was thrilled with the results and Aiden wanted to do it again and again.  Jim thought it was a great waste of $2.00.  (Luckily the Dt. Coke was on sale for .68!)

Anyway, we had a great evening with good food and nice company. Della and Rex are Shawns parents and are so nice and we really enjoyed the chance to get to know them a little better and hope to have the opportunity to spend more time with them in the future. 

Monday Michelle and Shawn were off to the Park with the kids, Jim was at work and I was at home alone.  I cleaned the mud room, ironed, cleaned up from the night before, read a book, took a nap and generally enjoyed the day.  Jim and I had leftovers for dinner and watched a Capitol Fourth on TV and cought the fireworks there, which was a good t hing because by the time 9:00 rolled around it was pouring! 

So, it was a quiet 4th at our house.  I was in bed by 9:30!  

 I'll tell you, it's tough getting old. ha!

Happy 4th!

Just popping in quickly to say that I hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July!  Thanks to all of of service men and women for all they do to keep us safe here at home.  Our Freedom does not come without a price.  We are privelidged to live in the greatest country in the world!  God Bless the USA!

Caps Off!

     Friday Isabella and I headed out of  town for Ohio.  Just she and I and a car full of stuff.  We were going to my sisters' house to attend the graduation party of her oldest daughter, Allison.  I had been asked to make six centerpieces for the tables but had run out of time to make them, so I had decided to bring all of the stuff with me and make them when I got there.  I was going to have a lot of help as my sisters (3 of the 4 of them) were going to be in attendance.  Allison had actually graduated back in May, but the party was put off until June for various reasons and as it turns out, it is not at all unusual out there to do that.  The guest of honor had spent the previous day going to several parties and on Sunday, the day of her party, many of her guests spent the day party hopping as well. 

Allison is the oldest of my sister's two girls, and they moved to Ohio the summer before Ali started high school.  Prior to that they lived in North Carolina for several years and before that, Singapore.  Ohio was quite a culture shock for this familly! (Most of them anyway, my BIL is originally from the Buckeye state.)  The girls had never lived in a neighborhood before and now could go out their door and meet up with friends, walk or ride their bikes to school (if they were in for a bit of a hike), go to the local pool, gather at the lake, etc.  Things have been quite different for them in Avon Lake.  And they party a little differently too.  In N.C. a party meant a few lawn chairs, a BBQ grill, a picnic table and a cooler and potluck.  Boy,  how times have changed!  This is a little what the graduation party looked like from the fron of the house:

Two huge carport tents that covered the entire driveway.

Inside the garage, a 'shrine' set up to honor the graduate.

This was just the front yard, the back was just as 'wow'.  Another huge tent with six tables that they rented with chairs (these are the tables that got the centerpieces that we made), a large patio with their table and chairs, plus their neighbors borrowed table and chairs, various chairs scattered throughout the yard.  It was quite lovely.  Not to mention the fact that despite the rather rotten weather the area had been plagued by ugly weather and the day of the party the clouds parted, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day.  My one sister joked that it was like visiting Wisteria Lane.  The houses are all beautiful with beautifully manicured lawns, beautiful children, perfectly dressed, even the dogs didn't bark! 



This is Belle-Still don't know why this is sideways!

Anyway, it was a nice party with a lot of people.  Good food.  It was nice to see my sisters and their kids.  My father and bonus mom were there too, so that was nice.  Got to take Bella to see Lake Erie, they are only about a mile away from the Lake.  The kids all wanted to go over, so we went on Saturday.  After we were there for a few minutes they wanted to go back to the house and get their bathing suites on, the girls anyway.  So, I took them back to the house even though I thought they were nuts!  We got back to the lake and two of the three went in, Bella-no way.  Too cold!  She went in up to about her knees and when they started knocking together, she wanted to be wrapped up warm in a towel.  Can't say that I blame her.  Course, she wasn't too cold for ice cream.  ha!

On the bank of Lake Erie with the Cleveland skyline behind her.

Too cold for this little chickie!

We left for home early on Monday morning.  I wanted to get a jump on things and be ready for the work day on Tuesday.  What was to be an easy five hour trip turned somewhat less easy when I was on the Pa. Turnpike and found out that it was closed for quite a long stretch.  I had to take the scenic route (read:long) through Garret County that added over an hour onto my trip.  Fun.  But we made it home.  Bella is a good traveling companion.  She just sits in her car seat and talks to me, sings, reads, snuggles her baby doll, or sleeps.  She doesn't complain or ask to stop.  I had to stop more than she did!

So, that's a wrap up of our trip.  Not much else going on right now.  Don't know yet what we are doing for the 4th.  Might make some star cookies.  Mmmm!  

New cookie cutter set I saw at JoAnns or somewhere.  Want it!  That's all I'm saying.  Too cute! 

So, what's up on your planet?



Pin Up Girl

I have many interests and my interests seem to keep growing.  Some say it is due to a lack of focus, but I like to think it is because-I totally want to drive the new Focus!  Did you see the commercial on TV about the way it parralel parks itself?  I so need a car that can do that!  I hate to parralel park.  Not that I have to do it all that often, but when I do have to do it I hate it and it would be a fun feature to have on a car. -I like to think it is because I like to diversify.

Either way, the Internet has a site that has made it so easy for people like me to have fun.  To browse, window shop, and save your finds for later.  For those of you not in the know,  I am talking about Pinterest.  Pinterest is a site where you can create boards about different things that you are interested in and then 'pin' pictures to your boards.  Today's version of a bulletin board, only way cooler.  It's got lots of features that I haven't quite figured out yet, and might never figure out to be quite honest with you, 'cuz let's face it, I like he pretty pictures!

Not into reading directions.  At all.  Don't wanna hafta.  Directions and I don't get along. So I play the 'lets try it this way' game and if that doesn't work then 'hmmm, well then we'll try it this way'.  So much more my speed.  Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I can't follow directions, I can.  Very well in fact.  I just don't like to READ directions.  Mostly because the people that write directions don't know their audience and think that we all know how to read German or think in terms of a computer.  We don't.  So, I don't get along with reading directions.

But, I like making my little boards.  I can just browse pictures of my latest obsession and stick a pin in what interests me.  Like a pretty sugar cookie for example.  Have I told you that is my newest obsession?  It sorta is.  I love to look at pictures of these little beauties.  I've dabbled a little at making my own.  Twice to be exact, both for Bella's birthday parties.  Last year and again this year.  It wasn't a complete disaster. 

These are from last year's sweet shoppe party and here are the one's from this year's spa party.

Not bad, but not the best either. 

I love the idea of  the decorated sugar cookie.  The possibilities are endless and they are so much fun! 

It's edible art, so you don't have to worry about finding a place to store the finished product.  Just finding someone to eat it.  Ha! 

So, one of my Pinterest boards is appropriately titled 'Cookies', original, huh?  What's really neat is that I can click on the site the picture came from and often get more information about it too.  Like how it was made, or by whom, the materials, etc. 

Look at these beauties!  Isn't the owl just gorgeous?!  Love it! 

And don't those drinks make you think of summer?  The colors are fabulous. 

I'd really like to get better at making cookies, maybe take a class or something.  There are so many different ways to decorate and things to decorate with.  Color mists, disco dust, shimme dust, fondants and gum paste, sprinkes, jimmies and pearls.  I know it sounds crazy, but I'd love to sit down with a good book on cookie decorating (but it must have lots of pictures.)  And cookie cutters!  Where to begin!

They are not your momma's cookie cutters anymore.  Well maybe they are, who knows.  But my momma had the little plastic variety with the impressions molded into them. Remember?  No, you don't want to use them.  Metal cookie cutters are the thing now.  Not sure why, but they are.  They do cut well.

I have only a few but I can see that a collection beginning.  I bought three last year (candy, ice cream and cupcake) three this year (sunglasses, flip flop and martini glass) they all came in sets of three.  Then while at M's one day I saw a nice star and picked that up figuring it would be usefull and also saw the grad set on clearance for $1.99 so I picked that one up too.  I was given a reindeer as a gift and a dogbone too, but that might be about it.  So, do I see a shopping trip in my future?  A day of baking and decorating?  Such cuteness I can't stand it! 

So, are you a pin up girl too? What peaks your 'Pinterest'?  Share and maybe I'll be the next one to repin or follow your board, you never know!

Karen

Birthday Palooza!

As expected, the weeked was a flurry of activity!  I was up until 11:00 on Friday night prepping for the festivities on Saturday.  Bella and I made a trip to the grocery store when I got home and when we got in the car it started to rain and within minutes, the skies opened up and it was pouring to beat the band!  We pulled into the parking lot and Bella said that she thought it was going to  hail and lo and behold, it started to hail. Golf ball    hail stones!  It was something unbelievable, but luckily we didn't seem to sustain any damage.
Anyway, I made the cupcakes, made a huge fruit salad, made the chocolate face mask-which smelled good enough to eat!  Set up the desert table ad made the table skirt, ran the dishwasher, and cleaned up a bit.  Then on Saturday morning I iced the cupcakes, and set up the rest of the decorations and put out the rest of the food and the put dinner in the oven so after the party I'd have dinner ready to go for the adults who were staying.

Here is the desert table:                                                                                                                                    

Printables courtesy of: http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/

The girls arrived and we got right to it with the facials, they were messy, but fun! 

It was quite hysterical!  When they were laughing and just having a blast!  When they were given the cucumbers, they knew just what to do with them.  They needed no coaching at all.  Then they were each given a microfiber towel  and told to go rinse off their faces with warm water and dry with the towel.  Well, they all went together and the bathroom was about under water when they were done!  The one little girl was totally soaked from head to toe and we had to give her a change of clothes until hers could dry.  But they were having fun.  Then it was on to the mani's and pedi's.  I had picked up about 6 different colors of nail polish in 'fun' girly colors and they picked what they wanted, and they all wanted a different color for their nails and toes!  Next we gave them the flip flops that I had tied with balloons for each of them.  Here they are putting their best foot (feet) forward!

I saw a pinata that went with our theme in a catalog called Birthday Express, so Michelle ordered it and filled it with some candy, but mostly fun jewlery, and hair clips, a few little tiara's and the like.  I filled an apothacary jar with little toy rings and had a sign in front of the jar that said 'dress your fingers'.  So after presents were opened, they worked on the pinata and they dazzled themselved out!

It was really a lot of fun.  Bella said it was the best birthday party EVER and that is all the praise I need!  I took individual 'Glamour' shots of each girl and printed them out an individual 5 x 7 and a group 5 x 7 and sent them home in their goody bags along with all their other stuff.  

 Bella's shirt courtesy of: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mauldinfam6?ref=pr_shop_more