The Garden

Here is the garden! Please excuse the massive mess I made while preparing/planting. I was too tired to clean it up for days! (And some things are still out of place! LOL)


As you can see it's small, but we got some stuff in there :)







In the back corner are the watermelon, and just in front of that are the cucumbers (or "pickle plants" as my kids call them, they're excited about pickles!)



The scrawny lookin things in the front there, cauliflower... it's pitaful and probably getting pulled next weekend.

Behind that a semi-circle of tomatos, with one larger tomato plant in the center. The large bushes are blueberry :)

Back right corner - green bell peppers, in front of that, green okra.

Hidden - front right and left corners are the strawberries. Also hidden - directly in the center back, jalapeño peppers.

Here is a better shot of the okra, I know there are a few in each, which is fine. I was expecting more to die after I planted it..











So those were all from planting weekend June 13th I believe, yep. Everything went in on the 12th and pics were taken on the 13th.


And here are some pictures I took this past Saturday.












Watermelon
Cucumbers
Strawberries (these have thorns!!)





Tomatos :)
Blueberries

From the back








That's it for now! :) I'll add some close up shots of some of the flowers and fruit next time :)

About those pictures....

They're coming I swear. Perhaps I'll be able to get that done tomorrow morning. Mostly garden stuff, seasonal stuff. Nothing terribly exciting.

Picture update

At least lets hope so. I'm working on uploading over 400 pictures from my camera, it's the first time since Thanksgiving that I've been able ot even get my computer to recognize the camera. I've used hubby's puter before, but I like to be able to play around with the pictures, naming, etc.

So, stay tuned, hopefully this week I'll be adding pictures left, right and center!!!

Also, if anyone has me in their reader or on their list, please click 'follow me' so that I can better cater to my audience!!

Cesearen Awareness .... are you aware?

First of all, here is a link to the Georgia Birth Network s website, and a little information on the rally...if you wish to see the entire press release, please let me know and I'm happy to get it to you.

Now, there has been some discussion on this topic around here recently and I just have to respond to some of the comments, questions and statements that have been made. This may not be pretty...beware, I'm a little angry. For those who are not members of the birth community allow me to give you a quick run down on what a Cesarean is...


From wikipedia ... cesarean is a surgical procedure in which incisions are made through a mother's abdomen (laparotomy) and uterus (hysterotomy) to deliver one or more babies. It is usually performed when a vaginal delivery would put the baby's or mother's life or health at risk....although in recent times it has been also performed upon request for childbirths that could otherwise have been natural.

A (very) few reasons a cesarean would be necessary -
- Umbilical cord prolapse - this is when the cord comes out before the baby, if a vaginal birth can not be facilitated.
- Uterine rupture - as it sounds, when the uterus ruptures ***
- Placenta Previa - this is when the placenta covers the cervix

There are more, but like I said a very few. Now, here are some very popular reasons for having a Cesarean -
- big baby
- failed induction ***
- breech baby *
- multiples *
- post dates ***

I will address the asterisk momentarily, first I would like to address the risks that come with a surgical delivery. Both for the mother, and the child. No surgery is with out risk, but how many doctors are going to be 100% forthcoming about all of the risks. Even the wikipedia article is severely lacking in the run down of the risks.

Web MD lists -

Maternal death - in planned c-sections is about 6 in 100,000, and for emergency c-sections is about 18 in 100,000. While it is a very small risk, is it still a risk. And It should be noted that there is no way to get an accurate number for such a risk as there are far too many factors to include here. Just know that, like all surgeries, a serious risk or "complication" is death.

Infection - during any hospital say infection is a risk. This is even true with a complication free vaginal delivery. However, with the body being open, you are more susceptible to infection.

Nausea, vomiting, and severe 'spinal' headache - mostly due to the anestisa, again, this could be true for a vaginal delivery, one with an epidural or narcotic pain relief.

Heavy blood loss - I think this speaks for itself

Long term risks -

Most of the long term risks apply to subsequent pregnancies, such as placental issues.

Placenta accreta, increata, percreta - the growth of the placenta deeper into the uterine wall than normal, which can lead to severe bleeding after childbirth, sometimes requiring a hysterectomy. Sometimes the placenta can not detach from the uterine wall, as it should after the baby has been born. Also, placenta previa is a risk for subsequent pregnancies, as the placenta may not want to attach to the scar tissue, causing it to lay over the cervix.

And as I starred above, Uterine Rupture is a later risk. Again, while the risk is small, it's even smaller in an un-scarred uterus.

There are also, very little mention risks associated with the surgery, difficulty in conceiving, and carrying future children. Risks of the incision not healing and extra steps, hospital stays, medications and possibly surgeries to help push that along.

There are also a number of risks to the infant, or infants,

- prematurity - not all women follow their cycles closely, it can be very easy to miscalculate the estimated due date of the child. This is true for inductions as well.
- breathing problems
- injury from the surgery or from the infants removal from the mother


There are many more known, and no doubt unknown risks. I'd like to move on now....

"I would love to try for a vaginal birth even though my doctor immediately says that we can schedule another c-section."

Who is the doctor working for? YOU!!! Sure the doctor has their share of responsibility, but lets face it. This is your body and your child we're talking about. Who is responsible for you and said child after the birth? That's right, you are! Unless there is a medical need for a repeat c-section, you shouldn't be discussing scheduling it in the first place.

Doctors, that's to say OBs are surgeons. That's right, surgeons. They are trained to manage your labor and birth, your infant, and your immediate postpartum care. And they are trained to surgically extract the baby if they deem it necessary. That doesn't always mean they're right. If you're looking to have a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) and this is what your doctor tells you, perhaps it's time to shop around. Start by interviewing hospital midwives (if you're interested in a hospital birth), and if you want an OB, interview other OBs. Ask around, join your local ICAN and find out who they recommend! Call around to local doulas, talk to those who have experience working with moms who have had VBACs. Or look into a homebirth, some homebirth midwives will accept VBAC moms who are otherwise low risk.



"my concern is that your facts are incomplete and could scare a woman who was told she should consider a csection. You failed to mention that the majority of csections are performed on Hispanic women *followed by black women* which if your group was serious would spend their efforts trying to establish why minority women have higher csection rates or contacting the AMA to find out why csections have increased since 1996. I appreciate what you are trying to do and don't disagree with your message, my concern is that you qualify your statements so that moms, especially first timers, aren't afraid of their doctors. Ask questions, get a second opinion if you are uncomfortable, but don't reject a csection out of fear. Women have it hard enough, we should do all we can to help and encourage each other. I hope your demonstration is a success"


Now, please keep in mind, that this is simply a press release, this is not a flyer we're handing out to women across the state suggesting that they refuse the c-section. This was posted several places online, and sent to many media outlets yes. If you are looking for more information please come by the rally and ask your questions at the reception. We would love to have standing room only, so invite everyone you know!

The last thing we are suggesting is that any woman refuses a cesarean based on this press release, or out of fear of the surgery. Please, please, know that you, and you alone, are responsible for YOU. Take the responsibility and seek out a care provider that will listen to you, and answer your questions honestly, and openly. Women shouldn't be afraid of their doctors. Do your own research, try to answer your own questions and then collaborate with your care provider.

In 1996 the rate of cesarean births was around 21%, in 10 years had risen to 32%. One in three women are not broken. One in three infants are not broken. Something is broken somewhere. In 2007 the rate of cesarean birth for white women was about 30%, for Hispanic women was closer to 28% and for black women the rate was 32%. Now we could contact the AMA to see what they say about the rise in the rates, but the truth is, they can't tell us anything new. It depends on who you ask...some will tell you that it is the women. they're older, heavier, they asked for a c-section, they have twins or more, or because of their race or ethnicity. Or, it's the OB's fault..they're worried about being sued, or their group policy dictates they do surgery, they get rewarded financially for performing more surgeries, they just want to schedule the births to fit their ideal work hours. Or is it the system that is broken? Whatever your personal take on it, I think the problem lies with in the doctors, hospitals and obscene policies set forth by both parties. Women are made to give birth, and for those who take care of themselves and are responsible for their health......well, I have trouble faulting the women who are not asking for elective surgery.

As an organisation striving to better the birth climate in Georgia our goal with this rally is to simply get the word out. Once we spread the word, and get some kind of positive response we can start working toward more individualised goals. If we just jump in and try to reduce the cesarean rate for a group of women, we aren't helping women, which is our focus. Please, come out to the rally, talk to us and see what we're all about. Hopefully we can answer some questions and calm some fears.

There has been more said over the last few days, some of it I would like to address.

"I have never met a woman who had a c-section that had complications from it, including myself. I have met women who's children died, and a c-seciton might have saved them. Surgery and childbirth are not with out risk"

I'm so very glad that some women come through their surgery with healthy children and healed bodies, but not all women are so lucky. There are womenwhose wounds don't heal, that take extra medical attention and time. Which make it very difficult to bond with your new child. Some women don't realized they were harmed until later in life. Constant pain or tingling in the scar.Adhesion's, placental issues, trouble conceiving and trouble carrying to term. These are very real, and very related problems.

Surgery is inherently risky. There will always be a risk to any kind of surgery. Childbirth is not a medical event, childbirth is a biological event, something we were created for. I could go on and on about medical interventions being the problem with modern birth, and the reason behind a lot of our fears about birth. The very basic truth is that the medical interventions were invented for a reason, but they need not be used with such frequency. We should stop trying to tame, and manage birth, and just learn to 'go with the flow' and treat problems as they arise. This can be done safely. However strapping women to machines, and puttingchemicals in their bodies to induce a labor, and force a child's birth and then expecting it to go well. I'm sorry that's just not going to work how you want it to.

"I doubt doctors want to perform more c-sections. It's a risky procedure that takes up a lot of their time."

I must be honest. This is a difficult statement to form a response for. Very basically what I can say here is that doctors want to control everything they can about the birth so that there is a positive outcome of living mother and child. Hopefully healthy mother and child. And while the goal seems admirable, what they leave out here is the happiness of the woman, and her family. What they forget is that this is a major life event for the parents, and grandparents, siblings, etc. The details of the birth can make for wonderful, or difficult bonding, and healing.


Please come out to Northside Hospital on May 16th from 2-4 PM, afterwards we will be at Life University from 5 until 8 answering questions and discussing further how we can solve these problems.

"I really don't see how these are not needed. Besides what insurance company is going to happily pay for a surgery that was not justified? If this were really going on those companies would be denying claims left and right."

No one is saying cesarean sections are not needed. What we are saying is that this many of them are not necessary. Women are being cut open daily for no medical reason. They are being left scarred and in pain and expected to 'bounce back' and take care of their infants. Insurance companies seem to have no problem with this, they are willingly paying for these unnecessary surgeries. And yet they refuse, in many cases, to pay a Certified Professional Midwife, or Certified Nurse Midwife, a much MUCH smaller fee for a home birth. Tell me, would you rather pay $2000, or $3000 for an unmedicated home birth, or around $15,000 or $18,000 for an unmedicated hospital birth. Or around $25,000 for a c-section. That isn't including all of the little 'extras' the come with medicated or surgical births. That's the very basic fee.

If insurance companies would agree to pay the much smaller fee for midwives and homebirths, I think we would see a drastic reduction in our c-section rate. Better yet, if insurance companies would put out good and fact/evidence based information on pregnancy and birth, then we'd have a lot more woman making the right choice for them (no matter the choice) and we would still see the dramatic drop in surgical births. Far too many insurance companies happily pay for unnecessarycesareans every day. we have to start somewhere.

cough, cough, cough, cough....

My darling little girl developed a cough in March, very shortly after being sick for a week with the flu. It was a simple little cough, easily ignored by her and able to be left 'untreated'. After 2 weeks it got worse, and it stayed that way for about a week. Over our Spring Break I was planning to take the kids to the pool (indoor, heated) but her cough was sounding crummy, and we were starting to give her a cough suppressant at night. Our family doctor thought she sounded alright, and it was most likely allergies. We were given the thumbs up to go swimming. (Only that didn't happen and it's an entirely different story)

Another week goes by with the cough only getting worse, she was starting to gag with her coughs, not all of them but 1-3 times a day. I took her back to the doctors when I had an appointment for me, and we listened to her chest again. Decided to treat with a short round of antibiotics, hopefully that would help. It didn't knock the cough out but it did change it a little. At first I thought, for the better, but it wasn't long before she would vomit with her coughing. At least twice a day, and finally on Monday she threw up 5 times between midnight and 3 pm. The doc wanted to see her first thing in the morning and wanted to order a chest x-ray. So we got up and got ready to go and made it there hoping to get home sometime around 11.

So, she had her chest listened to, and she was prescribed a nebulizer with an albuterol inhalant, and an oral steroid. We headed out to drop off our prescriptions then went back over and had her x-ray done. She was such a big girl! I was expecting a fuss, but she powered her way through it, listened to the tech and did exactly what she was asked. Then we went back to pick up the prescriptions and came home. Around 3 the doctors office called, the x-ray results were in, and it looks like she has asthma. I'm taking her back to the doc on like May 4th for a follow up. Hopefully we can drive the cough out, and maybe get a repeat x-ray or some other test to double check on that whole asthma business.

I'm also considering having some allergy testing done on her. We had discussed it a week or so ago, and I wanted to wait until she was older, like at least 5. But if it looks as though things are different, and I need to do the testing sooner so we can help prevent her getting bad like this again.

She had 3 treatments yesterday and did NOT start coughing until after midnight. So, there is improvement. But I'd like to sleep through the night!!!

Last Published 1 month and 2 days ago...

Geeze I suck!!!

I've been trying to get a lot done in the last month, planning a garden, and planting the seeds. Attempting to figure out just what to do about the house before my dear friend Carrie arrives. I have quite the 'to do' list. And yet, my motivation is stuck behind the thick clouds!!! seriously I think we've had 3 sunny days this month. It's really starting to piss me off! After last February (2008) I had increased the amount of fish oils I was taking this Winter from 2400mgs last year to 3600 mgs this year. Now, they aren't easy to swallow as they're BIG and if they get turned sideways, ouch!!!

But, March was half way decent, so i backed down on the fish oils. I was only taking 2400 mgs during March, and haven't really taken ANY all of April. It's making a big difference, and not a good one. I need sun. I need warm sun and a beautiful couple of days to make up for this.

Not to mention the fact that I have had to move several of our sprouts out of their little 'greenhouse' into makeshift pots because we haven't gotten the garden set up yet!! Why not, you ask? Perhaps because it's been freaking raining for the last 2 weeks. (practically) and on the sunny days, we have something else crop up that eats our time.

This week we're already 2 days behind because of more rain. Yesterday we were going to use the weed eater and leaf blower to clear the space, and then sticks from the yard to 'map' our outline. After that we were going to start 'digging' the space for the outline to be. Then we can 'build' it and start loading in the dirt. we HAVE to get that done this week or we're going to start losing sprouts. I have several that have begun to grow past their 'sprout leaves' and are a good 6 inches tall. I'm freakin out a little bit.

of course all that time on the garden takes away from time in the house to get it all cleaned up and spiffy looking. Yet, while it's raining, I severely lack the motivation to get it done. I putter around doing a little here and there. Never enough.

So, back to my slacking while I read more in my book ;) :p

Why I love where I live

These last few days have been absolutely beautiful. I wish I had taken my camera with me on my runs, and drives. I wish I could capture everything in pictures.

This morning I drove my son to school, and it was still kind of dark, it was a little cloudy, but the moon was still full and bright. Yesterday it was very clear, and the moon was huge and extremely lustrous. I was itching to run yesterday morning, which is a first.

It all brought me to remembering why I love it here so much. Which to me signifies a change coming.

Six years ago when we were starting out on our search for a home, we were hoping to live a little closer to the families. Our families are 10 minutes apart, so we looked in between them. Everything in that area was well over our base price, and we were quickly losing hope. So we decided to branch out and explore other areas. We thought we wanted to be closer to shopping and the 'main roads' so we stuck close to places like Kennesaw, Woodstock, and Cartersville. We found a few places worth checking out, but they weren't in the best shape, and others were poorly layed out. Some had wonderful homes, but the land was too small, or would have been difficult to maintain. A few were ON main roads.

I branched out my search a little more and found two very promising houses. They were priced right, and a bit off the beaten path. They're still in neighborhoods, but they were small neighborhoods.

The first house was a 8 year old ranch home on a flat lot. With it's 2 car garage and screened in back porch, with a lot of cabinet space and a good size pantry I was in love. All of the walls were white, so I had a fresh palate on which to express myself. The carpet was mostly new, one snag in the living room, but it was exactly where we would have placed our sofa. It even had a slate fireplace.

The second house was a 13 yr old ranch home. It did not have a screened in porch or a garage. The lot was not flat. Instead it had a single car carport, and a small open deck. What it had was a lot of trees, a storage shed, extra parking, and amazingly beautiful hardwood floors in the living areas and hallway.

We looked at both homes a few times. I even took my grandmother to see the first on the inside, and the second from the outside (as a family was still living in the 2nd). She agreed that both were lovely homes, which we would surely love for years. After some time and discussion we chose to put an offer in on the 2nd home. We were countered, and accepted. We moved into our home in April of 2003, and were totally in love. I painted our sons room bright blue, it had been a soft pink. We made the third bedroom an office with our computer and a small tv, and a sofa. Our living room held another sofa and the main television, coffee and side tables very nicely. We seemed to have the perfect amount of furniture to furnish our home comfortably.

We spent time outside splashing in the little baby pool with our son during the day. After dinner and a bath, we'd put our son to bed, and then spend hours sitting out on OUR back porch. Enjoying looking out on OUR land. We would watch the bats swooping around, our cat walking through the grass. Listening to the crickets and cicadias. When the lightening bugs came out we allowed our son to stay up late to watch them. And it was always quiet. Occasionally we could hear a big truck drive down the main road, but more often than not we were able to speak to each other in quiet voices.

The first few rains were amazing. The sound of the rain falling on the roof. On our roof. Of our home. There has never been a more beautiful rain. Standing in the carport and watching the rain fall on the yard, and flow down the driveway.

We watched the corn and cotton feilds grow over the summer. When the cotton bloomed I was in love. It's such a beautiful sight. After a few years I finally went out and took pictures. I will have to do it again this year and see if I can manage some worth printing and framing.

Standing outside late last night, it was almost overwhelming. I commented to my husband that we need to find a place similar to this when we move. It's going to be hard to move, and I don't know that we'll ever come close to something like this. I hope we can. Quiet, calm, peaceful neighborhood (ya know 95% of the time ;) we do have neighbors ). We can hear the cows in the nearby pasture. We can hear the crow of the rooster down the street. In the fall through early spring we can clearly hear the train whistle, and sometimes we can hear it chugging along. In the summer we see the rain clouds come in and feel the breeze. Watching it blow through the trees. The physcial feeling of peace and love when I drive down the road and see my home.

I'm going to miss it when we leave. I will not only leave behind our first family home, but i will also leave behind the birth place of my daughter. While her birth was fast and furious it was peaceful and calm in a way. Born here in the home where she was concieved, and has lived for the first 3 years of her life. Where my son has learned to ride a bike. Where my husband and I had to learn the fine art of communication. Where we loved and lost a pregnancy. Where our family grew in numbers, and in love. Where we've learned about ourselves, and what we want to accomplish with our lives, both together, and individually.

I love where I live.

Time for Spring!

Well, the new car appears to NOT have A/C oh well, at least I can put all the windows down, and cool off the car faster than the van would cool off. Not that I haven't figured out how to live with no A/C, but I was still hopeful.

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous! On Saturday we went down to see my mom and brother for a few minutes, then it was off to the in-laws. The kids were outside all day. The exception being when they went in side to eat the yummy *and HUGE* strawberries, and the juicy blueberries that my in-laws picked up. They each had 5 or 6 strawberries and 3-4 handfuls of blueberries.

I got to sit on the front porch steps with my sisters (in-law) and mom (in-law) while the kids played out back with FIL and their daddy. Swinging and sliding! They were a mess! We were there for so long we didn't have time to go to the grocery store, we came home and deposited the sleeping children in their beds. We actually went to bed early too.

Yesterday, I went for my run and a shower while the kids got to play outside, so they had about 2 hours to enjoy another beautiful day. Then we finally made it to the grocery store. I got some seeds for flowers too! I just need some more soil and a few tools and another week!! I'm excited to figure out where to plant my veggies and fruits, and of course to get started! We're about a week away from our "planting zone" and I'm itching to start priming the land!

Today I'm going to get the tag for my new car, and then probably up to Target for a little tiny shopping trip, followed by a visit to the library! How I miss the library! I have a couple things I want to look at as far as knitting, cooking and gardening books. And of course Kate is going to head straight for her favorite puzzle and be attached to it for however long we're there!!

And it's another beautiful day! I am looking forward to my errands, and cleaning my house, and then tomorrow I get to run!

Cold Weather projects

I couldn't get out of the house for almost 2 weeks to run. Between not feeling well myself, and then trying to get enough food in me for 2 days before getting back out there. I got 3 runs in, I think, before the rain came on Friday. And it started around 9:30. As it rained it got cooler. I opted out of running on Friday. Saturday I had some plans to visit a friend, and then head over to my favorite 2nd hand store and get a new pair of jeans and maybe a top or two. *just got a pair of jeans, and a nice pair of sweat pants. The sweats will be used for running, lounging and pj's, so very versatile*

On Sunday it was still raining, with a chance of snow, very windy and rapidly dropping temperatures. Today, yes it's very cold, yes, it should reach 34. No, 34 isn't bad. but the wind....sucks for running.

I have 2 projects in the works right now. I'm working on finishing a sock for the husband, and a hat for myself. And then I'll be making my Sister-in-Law another Flappy :) She loves the flappy I made her for Christmas, and has requested another. She went through my yarn stash yesterday and found some colors she would want in there, so yay! That not only thins down the stash a bit, but it also keeps me from searching forever for the right yarns! If the yarn I have doesn't work out I now have the right colors to look for! Which makes it easier :)

And, I got a new car! It's not NEW by any means, but it's MINE. Once I have the tag I'll have free reign again! I'm so happy. I can go to the grocery store by myself if I want. I can take the kids out to my grandmothers and go swimming. Or to their grandparents for visits. I can go to the consignment sale later this month, and the consignment stores when summer approaches for more summery cloths. I can take donations of old clothes and house hold items to the Goodwill trailer. (I have a LOT of clothes that I need to purge!!!)

I can consider accepting more doula clients, I can attend my friends childbirth classes. I really do want to take some more births so I can attend a CBE training and get the ball rolling there, but I need to make the money first. CBE training is expensive!! So keep your fingers crossed that I can pull that one off.


No new pictures at this time. I'll keep clicking and see if I can manage to take some worth putting up soon!

In the mean time you can all jump up and down with me! My dear friend Carrie is coming out to Atlanta in April!!!!! I'm so thrilled! She'll be here Friday afternoon-Sunday afternoon, and gets to stay here with me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I just need to get Jill and Cat, and others out here, or I need to go out there! I've never been to Texas or Oregon. Then again, I've never been to Illinois either ;) I"M SO EXCITED!!!

Writers Block?

Perhaps, or perhaps I'm just being lazy about my blog.

I don't really have many projects going on right now which puts a damper on my blogging.

Add to that, this is the first weekend where both children are healthy in 2 or 3 weeks now? sheesh.

The little bit that I am working on right now, is a pair of socks for the man. I finished one earlier in the week, and it's a near perfect fit :) They're just acrylic yarn, so that when I do make his nice socks I've got an idea of the stitch/row counts and he doesn't have to keep trying them on :) They are crochet.

I am working on a knit headband. The challenge/learning point here is cabling! Which I am rather enjoying :) I (hand) copied the pattern so that I can take it along with me when I go outside, or during the 15 min drive to the grocery store. I need to get back into having something to do instead of being glued to the dang computer.

It's also been more than a week since I was out running. It's been 10 days. I feel like I'm getting fat and flabby all over again. Well, I'll take that back. I feel like I've lost all the work I'd done in 5 weeks just by taking "10 days off" it sucks royally. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to it!

6th Photo

Cat has tagged me again!! LOL

This one is called 6th photo. Go into your 6th photos folder, and chose the 6th image. Post it!!!

SO, I hope this works!



This photo was taken at my kids 7th and 3rd birthday party. It was a simple family party. My darling K is always so cute. I'm just sad that the 6th pic wasn't one of both the kids.

I am tagging....

Shell -- who's blog appears to be down :( Hopefully I just have the wrong link saved...

My cousin Danny - He's about to go on a long mission trip. My cousin rocks!

Lisa again - I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's a family picture!

Rixa - I love getting to read about birth and her current pregnancy!

Shelia - and her adorable children!

and Arwyn again - :)

Lemonade Award

My dear friend Cat passed along an award to me, and a few other friends. I have yet to post about it because of an ongoing computer issue. I am not running on a hard drive!!! I have been running a live CD for almost 3 months. My husband is trying to figure out how to save my hd so that I don't lose over a years worth of photos. (I have the majority of my music on another computer, it's the images he's concerned about, which I appreciate of course <3)

Anyway ........



The Lemonade Award is passed to bloggers for showing great Attitude and/or Gratitude and now it's my turn to pass it to ten other blogs.

I'm not sure I HAVE 10 other blogs that were not mentioned in Cat's blog, but I'll try!

Lisa - Who is a wonderful first time mother to her beautiful daughter Briana. She is an inspiration to me because of her dedication to her daughter.

Sarah - at Snarkalicious - she frequently makes me laugh out loud

Another Sarah - at Symbiotic Stitches - she makes some beautiful garments! I have an outfit for my daughter that Sarah made and I can't wait for Spring so K can wear it more often!

Carrie - because she is another one of my best friends, and we are practically twins.

Arwyn - of Raising My Boychick - she helped me so much when I was first diagnosed as bipolar

Lori - Zoope is Good Food - yet some more amazing creations! I can not wait to buy shirts for my kids from her, she does amazing work, and never settles for quality, every thing she makes is superb!!

ManicMommy - Yet another who frequently leaves me LOL!

Jill - she's my girl! We've been friends for close to 5 years, I wish we could talk more often, I love you lady!

Mimi - of Take My Life... Already Yours. Words can not even begin to express what Mimi has been through. Mimi has a beautiful son, whom she now shares with God. Julian, aka King Julian is one of the most beautiful souls I have ever been blessed to "know" ("know" through his mothers words) Julian passed away last year. No parent should ever have to go through this horror. I think of Mimi's strength every day.

And last but not least - Dawn - of Because I Said So - I've been reading her blog for just over a year now. I have laughed, I have cried, I have cheered. She is a fantastic writer, mother to 6, and an inspiration! I can not wait to read her book!



If you have been tagged pass it along!!! Thank you all for being such wonderful writers, artists and friends.


Cat, my dear thank you for the award, please know I would tag you back, but then we start that nasty cycle of constant tagging and well, I don't know if we read that many blogs!! haha!!

oh how lovely

It's like knitting with silk!! And it's NOT the yarn! I'm using some acrylic yarn to play around with patterns and new skills for knitting. My very dear friend Cat send me several sets of knitting needles, and DPN's and one of the neatest crochet hooks I've ever seen. I can't wait to use it.

Anyway, there are 3 sets of bamboo needles, and oh my god, they're lovely! I love love love them!!! Even this acrylic yarn is just knitting beautifully! And I'm not really even making anything just a large swatch really. Oh so nice!

Thank you again my friend <3


Last weekend I picked up a few skeins of acrylic. One has turned into arm/wrist warmers, I crocheted them up quickly last Saturday/Sunday. Another skein is going to be 'practice socks' that I'm making for the hubby. Once I find the 'right' yarn for his house slipper-socks I want to have made a pair that big! LOL The 3rd skein was just a red skein, I needed it to make my little brothers hat, and I needed it on hand just in case my sister in laws pom pom comes off her hat. I had to secure the pom pom last week she wears it so much!!

And that same sister in law is coming over this weekend, and I might actually get to teach her to crochet this time :) She seemed genuinly interested in it last weekend when she was here. SO I have started a small square for her.

Anyway, not much else going on, just cleaning, and trying to run (though my knees hurt :( ) and knitting, crocheting, and kiddie care :) Such is life!

Chilly Morning

I seem to have gotten the 'itch' to write this morning.

Have you ever had someone that wouldn't leave you alone. Or take the hint? Now, I'm not the kind of person to usually put someone in their place. But, I don't think I'm all that 'unreadable' either.

Sure persistence pays off...for some. For others it just makes you a bother, annoyance, whatever your word choice is there.

I don't like hurting peoples feelings, and I'm sure this is a major downfall in my personality. Sometimes I just can't seem to make myself speak my mind. Mostly when it's concerning ME. Put me in a position to help, oh say, a baby that deserves breastmilk over formula. Or a woman deserving to know her choices for childbirth, then I can be fairly outspoken. Probably a bother, annoyance, whatever.



And now, for something completely different!!

I will be having the husband put the pics from my camera on his computer so that

1. I don't have over 200 pics on my camera.
2. the videos on there can come off.
3. I can update with some photos!!

Happy Anniversary! Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Anniversary because it is my 8 year anniversary! I can't believe we've been married that long!

Happy Birthday is for a dear friend Michelle. She is having a birthday give away on her blog, some beautiful stuff, check it out!!

Cold!

While not as cold as many of my friends, it is very cold. Yesterday, Friday, when I went out to run, it was 29*

I had on 2 pair of pants, a long sleeve turtle neck shirt, a t-shirt. Knee high socks, which are too thin to wear in my sneakers with out blistering, so I put on a pair of ankle socks too. Then my (crocheted by me) hat (which has my head phones pinned to it, so my ears stay warm and my hat stays on!) AND fleece gloves.

Unfortunately it was still too cold, my knees were not into running. I ended up walking briskly through my neighborhood, so I managed to stay perfectly warm. However, the wind began to blow on my last stretch, and the insides of my elbows was freezing (what an odd place?!). Made me wish I liked hot tea, I would have had a cup as soon as I walked in the door.



Today is supposed to hit 40. I might go out today. Sunday is supposed to be wet, but 40 and wet. I'd rather go today and rest when it's raining. Sunday is also my measurement day. EEK!

If I don't see any improvement I will wait another 2 weeks before I measure again. I'd like to increase the difficulty of my Yoga during my running days off. So I'll be crafting a new schedule.

Running and Easy Yoga (along with a few crunches and push ups)
*add slightly more difficult yoga on the day I don't run*
Running and Easy Yoga (plus crunches and push ups)
*yoga*
Running and Easy Yoga (crunches push ups)

and so on.

We'll see what tomorrow holds. My husband said to me on Thursday that he'd been able to SEE a difference and that just thrills me. :D Gave me even more reason to keep moving. I'm dying to fit into my clothes, and I will be over the moon if I can comfortably wear my shorts this summer. Last summer they weren't as comfortable as they had been the previous summer.

And I will not be buying more clothes. I LIKE my "skinny shorts" (they're 7's and 8's, but that's my usual size) and I HATE my 'fat jeans'. I will not buy bigger shorts. (and my legs look like hell right now so that doesn't matter so much yet ;)

knitting!

well, thanks to my darling friend Cat I have managed to master the purl stitch and am off to knitting land :) Also a thanks to Carrie for helping me find a pattern for a hat done on straights (my choices in needles is much smaller compared my choices in hooks) and I did manage to knit a hat in about 4 days. I only failed to make it long enough, but it still worked out. It fits my head, but doesn't cover my ears. the decreases are good looking and it's not pointed making me look like cone head. :) I am very happy with it. I did drop a few stitches but that gives me the chance to work out how to repair a dropped stitch with out ripping the garment back (because I hate trying to pick up the stitches with knitting. too many!! I much prefer pulling back crochet, just one loop to worry about.

Once I have a proper computer back I will have tons of pictures to upload and I will try to get some taken of the hat before I add on the crocheted bottom (going ot use crochet to make it long enough) Then I'll be finding another color yarn somewhere in my stash to make the same hat again lol.

Ok, that's two blog posts for the day, and it's 9 am, time for breakfast!!!

yay! results!

on January 4th I posted about the fat. I also said I would be doing something about it. well here ya go.

I have been doing interval training. A very good friend of mine, Nichole, has been doing this as well with great results. Encouraging enough for ME to actually want to try it. It's running. I hate running. But, I have been getting out there almost every other day (almost because I had one rain day which kept me from running one day).

On the rainy day I chose to do Winsor Pilates instead. Interval Training for those who aren't googling ;) Is running for a block of time, then walking. If you google you can find a better decription. You do this every other day. I have chosen to follow my body and jog/run for as long as my body feels able, then I walk until I'm feeling rested enough to run again. I set small goals and aim for landmarks. I do my best to make it with in a few strides, and have done rather well.

On my days off from running I try to do Hatha Yoga, it's easy ground work and designed for relaxation.

As my body becomes used to the running and yoga and my weight/inches loss declines and plateaus I will be adding the Winsor Pilaties in as my 'running day off' work out' and adding the yoga to the running days before my run (I did this once last week and loved it.)

Alright, on to the results. I took my first measurements on 1/4/2009 and my second on 1/11/2009

After 8 days:

biceps - minus 1.5 inches
chest - minus 1.75 inches
waist - minus .5 inches
hips - minus 1.62 inches
thigh - minus 1.5 inches

I am just thrilled!! Hopefully this summer will still see me getting some of this done, either in the morning or just as it's getting dark, I do not handle heat well. (nor cold for that matter, but it's easier to get warm running than it is to keep from over heating) And I would love to add swimming to my routine, even if it is only for a few weeks while the pools are open.

Featured on Ravelry!!!

MY JACKET!!!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crochet-belted-jacket

Fat

I. feel. Fat. Yes, fat. So, I'm trying to do something about it. I've never been very athletic, and for no good reason. I'm just lazy. So, yes, gonna be doing something about it.

The Christmas crocheting is over, which is why I haven't been posting, so now it's on to not posting because I have nothing to post about, and will be working out.

On a positive note, I did manage to read all of the Twilight Saga over Christmas, and loved the books! Next venture is to try to see the movie.