starting to cut my hair

yes....last night after I got out of the shower...I decided....it was time...and I cut off 15 inches of my hair.

more to follow. I will donate to LOCKS OF LOVE

After losing access to my blogs for a couple of days I am back!

There must have been some glitch with Google/Blogger as I and MANY others lost access to our blogs for a couple of days. SO tonight I am thankful for a lot of things.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

working on my Wreck This Journal.........

and more. Have not felt great the last few days so I have gravitated to working on the journal. I will post pics of all I have done on Friday.

Otherwise......here are my veggies from my garden so far. Some wonderful grape tomatoes and green peppers......and onions! I have a ton of onions and tomatoes coming on!

jumble..........

I read the latest Sookie Stackhouse book in the series...book #9 (Dead and Gone) and I was so disappointed. :(

Many things were not resolved in this book from the prior book....there was not enough action in this book until about 3/4 the way into it and then only for the last couple of chapters.....and definitely also not enough love interest or action between Sookie and Eric.....or anyone else for that matter.

I waited for many months for this book to come out. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the other books immensely.....and was so very disappointed to read this one. BUT I am anxiously awaiting the next book and hope it will be more like the standards set in the prior books.

Otherwise......I had a busy week. I cannot believe this is the second full week in May already. Summer has barely started and I am already thinking fall and realizing how quickly it will be here.

I am getting ready to go plant some vegetables in the backyard flowerbeds for this summer. Then I will be busy working feverishly inside the house getting this room hopefully completed and boxes moved to the garage for storage and rearranging a ton of things.

makes me tired thinking about it........

so off I go for a fun-filled action-packed day!

if the government can help out big financial corporations.......

when they are in a financial jam........where are they when us little guys could use some help in getting out of financial jams? What a crock......

well I am heading into week #4 of feeling sick......but I am a lot better than I was....

I just cannot get rid of this cough completely and talk about sore throat! It even makes my ears hurt..so I probably need to go back and get MORE antibiotics....something. I know this is probably all happening now from sinus drainage....as I apparently still have some yucky crap way up high that tends to apparently stay on the back of my throat like glue......(I KNOW it is even gross to me).

Anyway...that can cause your throat to feel sore and make you want to hack your head off.

I now forgo the teaspoons when taking cough syrup and just take swigs straight from the bottle sometimes having to restrain myself from chugging it...I also suck on these wonderful throat lozenges/cough drops which do soothe my throat...and I am constantly sucking down hot liquids as they feel better than anything. Now my throat is also itchy....

Besides that though....my flowerbeds are overgrown with weeds and that is one job I have NEVER liked to do outside. I LOVE to mow and trim.....do NOT like to weed. SO at this point I have let them go....and I am seriously thinking about spraying them with some sort of natural weed killer and then just turning everything over and dumping some new fresh mulch all over the place (if I can still find some around for free!) My hometown used to give away mulch for free if you came and loaded it up yourself. I used to take big 50 gallon drums and trash cans to fill up and bring back home to dump in my gardens. Hopefully I can do something similar for my small flowerbed areas. The landlord will not come and weed as he knows I basically do all that sort of thing myself around here anyway. I will also need to trim the bushes again soon.

Anyway....I have some work to do and other things around here to get to so I am off here for now!

can you type with gloves on?

I can. I feel like I am freezing quite often these days working here at my desk on the computer and keyboard so I found a pair of gloves and slid them on the other day to see if I could still type with them on. My right hand and body seems to freeze first...not sure why.....I need to discuss things with my doctor probably.

Anyway.....I CAN type and type pretty well with gloves on.....try it sometime!

I am in a pissy mood again today. I do not like being in a pissy mood cause just about anything and everything seems to piss me off even more....all pissing in the pissing pot adding to the pissiness of my mood and day. yeah....did I say PISSY enough?

It makes me want to cuss like a sailor and I don't want to turn into that .....I get angry and bitchy and .....

now I am fighting a migraine on top of everything else.....I am fighting off cravings......and I somehow like an idiot got myself hooked back on flavored creamers and DECAF coffee......what was to be an OCCASIONAL treat yeah well.....has turned into a FREAKIN' need...........a true PHYSICAL need and it is not helping me with my health goals at all.

I have my work cut out for me....and speaking of work.....I am thankful to have a job but work flow has been erratic at best and I am lucky right now to be typing part-time work load.

sigh.........breathe............now you know why I called my blog BREATHE.........

a highlight coming up I look forward to every year is Hallmark's Keepsake ornament premiere......in a couple of weekends......July 12 and 13th. You can view their dream book now at this link....



HALLMARK DREAM BOOK

note to self.......

you need to work on your responses to stress ( I just typed THERAPY--HAH!)

Yes...you need to remember you are teaching your son how to respond positive to stress in life. EVERYONE will always have stress...but it is how we deal with it that counts.

You are setting an example....avoid screwing up on this.

And besides....our little stresses are nothing compared to so many others in the world.

UPDATE ON GARAGE DOOR: Yes it is fixed. My landlord seemed overly concerned that the man he was going to send to me to fix the door was "black." He asked me if I minded if he was "black." I know my face squinched up in a puzzled look but over the phone he could not see that so I said "well of course that is more than alright why?" He proceeded to tell me that apparently it bothers SOME. HUM.......

He then proceeded to tell me how good a job this man does.....was I sure it was okay if he was black....well he was really only HALF black and he did a great job and I quote "for being half black."

WTF????? I was shaking my head now....and again stressed it was FINE the man could come out...I had no problems with him as long as he was going to do what he was here to do! NO matter the color.....etc.

He came out.....funny thing is.....he did not look black to me...or even HALF black. He looked just like any other elderly man...and I would never have even known any of this had it not been for the landlord even telling me this.

GOOD NEWS...he replaced not only the broken cable but the other side too! YEAH...I can get the door open and closed now even easier than before!

Had a nice picnic at the park yesterday afternoon with my son......the weather was absolutely gorgeous!

a little stressed......

I had a semi-stressful day Monday....guess that can be typical of most Mondays. I ended up taking Noah to the pool 14 miles away from our city.....cause it has a nice atmosphere.....but they apparently have not opened that pool and I wonder if they will this year. So we came the 14 miles back to our local pool which upon arrival a classmate of his was there so they had a good time. Had a few issues there.....left.....

ran home to grab a bite to eat and get ready to head to the hospital for a tour ...never even made it there the interstates are all so torn up.....I-75 was closed....so..we went to my sister's house to drop off the rest of her birthday present.....

left...came home....got inside and closed the garage door and the cable overhead on the one side snapped. SO now I have books due at the library today......and we cannot get the door open and up let alone get the car out to go anywhere.

I will have to call my landlord today.....wonderful.....although I am thankful that won't be something else I will have to pay for.

and on top of that....I think my forehead got sunburned......

super hot again today.......this weather is crazy......

90 degree temps for the first week in JUNE is just TOO HOT!!! I am not a big fan of the HEAT and am already anticipating fall and winter....haha

I need to mow today......hopefully I won't have a heat stroke in the process.

Picked up Tom-Kat from the vet's yesterday. He did well but carried on meowing and howling the entire way back. I guess he was letting me know he was ticked at me!

ONCE back at grandma's house he could not get out of that carrier fast enough! AND off he was to make his rounds and go check on all his female friends. I guess he had a lot of catching up to do. Good news is...he is healthy.....has his shots.....and is neutered now.

Well...he may not like that last part too well....

UPDATE ON TOM-KAT......

He tested NEGATIVE for feline aids and feline leukemia...so today he will get neutered and his vaccines.....and I will pick him up tomorrow early evening to return him to grandma's house. I bet he thinks he will never see that familiar area again.

I am thankful to GOD for TOM being okay and generally pretty healthy. I thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers....

NOTE TO SELF...

TO AVOID having charcoal black bacon for breakfast.......never leave the stove while frying it.....

now this is something I know but I still think I will have enough time to go do something else and come back to turn it and I always get too absorbed in whatever else I go to do and then forget the bacon! Personally just thinking about bacon and smelling it can sometimes almost gag me and I only eat it when I am doing fat burn....otherwise I do NOT eat any pork.......and really am rethinking even doing bacon occasionally.....

TO AVOID exploding eggs in a saucepan on your stove.....take a timer with you to go back and check once the water has started to boil so you do not allow the water to boil dry to the point the eggs turn BLACK on one side and EXPLODE out of their shells.

I am scatter brained today.......not a good thing......

does ANYthing look a little off in this photo?

Melissa.......Day #2.........and SKYwatch Friday!

I know the quality is not the best...but I had to be discreet when snapping these.....so it was all done through my dirty windows and between the blinds or a small crack in the front door...and today there were 3 new guys.......but they all kept their shirts on......well there was one other one who took his off but he was super skinny. SO I took mostly shots of the same foreman from yesterday. Yeah....enjoy Melissa!










oh yeah....the light got better on this side later in the day...

My BIG thrill for the day.......not sure what this says about me!

I stopped at Wal*MART today horror of horrors because K-MART had ZIP for cordless phones...the one they had I wanted they were out of stock on. SO I went to Wal*Mart. I got the same phone cheap.....and then remembered I have been wanting to get a new sweeper.....vacuum.......so I checked them out. I found this SUPER NICE wide path Dirth Devil en Vision.......on sale for 54.00........12 amp.....HEPA filter.....BAGLESS........wow......I decided to give it a try. Once I got home from running errands and put the sweeper together.......all I can say is oh.....my........gosh.......

The SUCTION capability on this sweeper is amazing. Now I sweep my floors at least every other day but I only had a small sweep/broom type sweeper I originally bought once I moved here. I figured that would be good enough.

Well......after running THIS NEW sweeper across my floors I could see how wrong I have been! OH MY.....I think I could have squealed. I had no idea I was a sweeper junkie till today. I may never stop sweeping! This thing sucked up so much crap the first time round......I could not believe it. It looked like I had been drywalling with dust bunnies inside the bagless compartment.......my filters were a mess. SO I dumped it and cleaned it out......did it again and again and again! EACH time filling that puppy up with more and more dust and fuzz and hair and who knows what else!!! OH My...I cannot say enough about this sweeper and would HIGHLY recommend it to EVERYONE!!!!!!

It has a scuff-guard around the front so if you ram it into the walls or corners of the house you will NOT scuff it up. I know for some that would not matter but I am one of those who CLEANS my sweeper as much as I let it clean. It is really bothering me I am getting it so dirty this first time round but you can clean the bagless compartment AND WASH the filters!

I am so happy.....I had no idea a SWEEPER could make me feel so happy......or that sweeping could make me feel so good. This thing is like a hurricane sucking up stuff as it moves across the floor.......and I personally in the past never thought too much of Dirt Devils. This says it has 25% more SUCTION power than Hoover or Bissel....and I BELIEVE it.....

NICE LONG cord............wide path out front..........BIG brush underneath the rollers......FOOT PEDAL on/off switch. WOW......I am in awe!

I also got a Bissel steam cleaner......so I will be able to clean carpets too whenever I want.....I am paranoid yes.....but these Bissel cleaners are super nice....so portable.....only 68.00 for that! I have used them before and they do a great job.

To be honest though....my carpet looks brand new again since I swept it with the new sweeper/vacuum.

SO there you have it......my BIG THRILL for the day!

just to clarify......

I have gastroesophageal reflux not just heartburn....so I can have symptoms without eating anything as my stomach produces too much acid....all the time.....regardless of anything I do.

I will post more later..... ;)

been a little stressful recently......

and I am not going into details......but it has been stressful. Spring is on its way....trees are budding and my grass is starting to green up!

I have had 2 online friends pass away recently.....one on April 1...which everyone thought at first was just a sick joke......but it was no joke. Those things really upset me....a lot more than I thought they would. AND it is so very hard for me to believe someone is no longer there like they were before....

anyway.....I have lots to do here......and now I need to get some sleep.

Oh......do you know what they say is the best thing for heartburn and acid reflux ....a natural thing? SAUERKRAUT! yep....sauerkraut .......I could not believe it either. Wish I had some now as I have some heartburn and I take Prilosec every day.......which I plan on stopping......because did you know if you stay on it long-term it can raise your LDL or bad cholesterol level???

I have been on a proton pump inhibitor for YEARS.........every day......no matter what. I am going to try to wean off......and see how I do...

and go buy me some sauerkraut.....eeeeew

whaaaa......

It is snowing again today. The local schools were either closed or on a 2-hour delay. Noah stayed home cause he does not feel well. Neither do I. My symptoms came on rather suddenly......2 nights ago right at bedtime my throat was really hurting. I slathered VICK's all over me and the next day that felt better but my nose was all congested......sinuses were stopped up. Funny burning, tingling way up inside my nose...What a mess. Whatever this is I have fought it off quicker than normal. I never had a fever that I know of though I had incredible chills. My nose is still a bit screwy and I am blowing and blowing and sneezing and then amazing creatures get hacked up and out.......(yeah I know it is gross!)

Now it is down in my voice box and chest. My nose is still not the best but better. I keep slathering VICKs on me and drinking plenty of fluids and wishing I could lie down to rest but cannot right yet. A steamy shower helped loosen things up this morning.

So here I sit. Should be doing so much. Feeling a little puny. I sort of just wish I could crawl back to bed and sleep it off. I have gone through a box of Kleenex and have moved on to napkins and TP. I have emptied my trash twice filled with snot rags. My fingers are feeling odd because each time I get finished blowing my nose I wash my hands with that alcohol waterless soap I keep at my desk. I let the wetness smear all over my keyboard too to help disinfect it. Now I find I can barely move my fingers as I think I have dried them up and made them stiff from all the alcohol!

And now.....my voice is about gone. I started out with a much deeper voice....now it is tightening up on me and very difficult to get a peep out of me. Now instead of sounding like Suzanne Pleshette I sound like the Godfather.

I have crafts for DECK OF ME to finish.......but part of me does not really feel like working on it. I never like to get behind and now I owe 2 weeks. HAVE to finish them both before this Monday rolls around.

I had tomato soup for lunch because well....soup sounded good to me. I boiled it over and lost at least half the pan down under the burner. Another mess to clean up.

I shoveled once outside today but may have to do it again. BUT may wait till tomorrow.

later......I need to rest

Deck of Me Week 4: 3 words that describe WHO YOU ARE...

I AM TRANSFORMATION.......an ongoing process.....I am rediscovering myself!

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Image Shack offers a new feature where you can turn your photos into GLITTERY images.......so this is what that looks like:

Deck of Me catch up!

okay......here are my first 3 cards in the year-long craft challenge DECK OF ME......I am not really satisfied with the end results.....but....this is a huge accomplishment for me that I have even STARTED a project like this and I actually USED some of my scrapbooking supplies. BUT I look at these and to me some look incomplete....so maybe I will add more things on later. I am working out of supplies packed away in boxes.....so I do not even easily have access to my things which really stifles my creativity!

here is my First Week.....GOALS (I was generalized here though I DO have very specific goals for myself elsewhere....just too many and too detailed to put on a playing card.

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Week 2: A quote that is meaningful to you right now in your life

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Week 3: What area of your life needs SPICED UP?

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