The Saga Continues

I just wanted to pop in and say that I haven't dropped off the face the earth. I haven't had much to say.

Just when I thought I had beat this virus, I'm back with a sore throat and my nose is getting stuffy again! But, I can't let this stop me anymore so I'm trudging along and taking care of my business.

On Monday, I dusted off my sewing machine and learned how to sew an apron. My friend's mother was anxious and willing to teach us how to make one and we both jumped at the chance. I was surprised that I was able to complete one in approximately three hours. And it actually looks like an apron! Of course things are a little crooked, the stitches are not straight, there are frayed edges, but who cares! I'm not too embarrassed to wear it. I will have some pictures to share, but not tonight. I tried to get some decent shots, but my batteries need to be recharged.

Oh yea, got my pink yarn untangled and am pretty much finished with the scarf. I just have to put the edging on it in a different color. I'll have Emily pose with it and post a picture.

Yesterday for Ash Wednesday, I went to the service at my kids school. The older students had a Mass, but I didn't attend that one. For the younger ones, there was a service with just the
liturgical readings of the day, then the distribution of ashes. The little ones were just so sweet. Father would ask them questions, and they were all just so eager to answer.

Today I took Kathryn to her dentist appointment. She has two loose molars. These are her last baby teeth - and she's only 11 years old! She had her first loose tooth when she was four years old and they've been falling out regularly since then. I'll be glad to see those last two go. She's always been very sensitive to the feeling of her teeth being loose and has refused to wiggle them out. She couldn't stand any of us to touch them (to pull them out). So they've been extracted. That's weird how she would rather have the dentist extract them, than wiggle them and get them out herself.

That's how my week has been. This weekend we will enjoy some time with my SIL/BIL who are visiting from Texas.

I hope to get pictures of my latest creative endeavors posted tomorrow.

Cough! Cough!

Well, this cold or whatever it is, is a whopper. It started out normal enough, but my stuffiness has lasted for about four days now, which is unusual. For two day now, I haven't been able to smell or taste. It's not fun to eat now. But one thing I've discovered is that snacking is not appealing when you can't taste! So many times I've wanted to munch on some chips or candy (my favorite Sweet Tarts - Valentine edition) but I've turned away as I remembered I wouldn't be able to taste them anyway.

I'm also coughing a lot now. Poor Steve, he has to hear me hacking upon sleeping and waking. I can't wait for this to all be over.

I've been able to get a lot of crocheting done. I'm working on a scarf for Emily. It's an easy pattern and would be going quickly but I was unlucky enough to find a huge tangle in the middle of the skein. What a mess! I was debating whether to attempt to untangle it or just buy a new one, but for some reason, I felt like I had to win the battle and I've persisted in trying to untangle it. So I untangle some, crochet a little, untangle some more, and so on. I'll have to take some pictures of my progress.

Emily had her Valentine's Day party at preschool today. She was so excited to get cards and candy from her classmates. She showed me everything she got and told me about all the food she ate. She's hoping when she goes to Kindergarten that it will be just as fun. I assured her that it would. Ryan and Kathryn have their class parties on Friday. Steve and I don't usually do anything for Valentine's Day, other than exchange cards and I'm so late with getting that. I know it's going to be slim pickings among the available cards, but you never know.

I think I'd better end now. I'm coughing too much and I need to rub some Vicks on my chest for the night. I think tomorrow will be a better day!

What a week it's been! The Santa Ana winds started again and with it came allergies. Or so I thought. My eyes started itching, then I started sneezing, then the stuffy nose came. I think now that I had a cold. I can't really tell. I was taking some allergy medicine but that didn't seem to help. For two days, my head was so congested. My eyes looked so beady. Now my nose is clearing up but the cough is starting. Sounds like the cycle of a cold to me. Whatever. I'm feeling much better now.

Emily and Kathryn both had colds too. Emily missed two days of preschool.

I'm so excited! We finally got our hardwood floors refinished. Our entryway was hardwood but in terrible shape. Our dining room had carpeting and as you can guess the carpet was so yucky. It got so bad that not even professional cleaners could get it to look good anymore. So we took out the carpeting and refinished the hardwood floors underneath. The wood looks beautiful! We did the same with the hallway carpeting.

We have lots more home repairs to do, more flooring, painting, counter tops, practically everything. As finances allow, we will do what we can.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Just Popping In

Just a quick post to say Hi! Don't get too close or you might catch what I got. Yep, I caught the flu. Whaaaaaa! Yesterday, I was feeling like I might be coming under the weather, so I did all the laundry and cleaned up the kitchen a little. That way, if I got sick, that stuff would be taken care of. (What an optimist I am, right?) No, just want to be prepared so I'm not having to think about all that stuff when I'm miserable in bed!

Luckily, Ryan and Emily are on the mend and doing so much better.

I hope to visit you all soon. Stay healthy and blessings to all of you!

Wednesday

I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for the well wishes. I'm still not sure whether I had a cold or flu. Sunday, I had the chills, slight fever, muscle aches, etc. But by Monday, everything was gone except for a little bit of the sniffles and a little bit of tiredness. Now I have a hacking cough. Thank God it wasn't worse than it was. I was praying that I wouldn't be too sick because we all know that mothers can't afford to get sick! Especially at this time of year when so much needs to get done. I am trying to take it easy as much as I can though so I don't get too exhausted.

We got our Christmas tree this weekend. I think we got it Saturday, but we decorated on Sunday, when I wasn't at my best. I think I put up two ornaments. Everyone else put the rest on. The little ones get so excited to see all the different ornaments and put them on the tree. If I would have been in my right mind, I would have thought to take some pictures, but I didn't. I'll try to get some pictures of the tree and post some.

Tomorrow, Ryan will be participating in the school Christmas program. It's just the Kindergarten through 3rd graders who will be performing. His class will be singing Silent Night. I can't wait to see him up there. I hope to get a good enough seat to take some pictures, but it's hard to get a good seat because we would have to get there early and that's always risky with my little Emily. Getting there too early means she won't last for the whole program. I'd be lucky if she lasted to the start of the program! Maybe I should give her more credit than that, right!?!? Well, however it goes, I'll bring my camera.

Weekend Tidbits

This will be short as I think I'm suffering from a cold, the flu, something. Yesterday, I felt a sore throat coming on, but it never got too bad. Then today, I still had a little sore throat but I almost felt like I had muscle aches, a little bit of chills, and slight temperature. For awhile, I felt bad, but not so bad like you get when you get the flu. So I don't know what I've got. Is there such a thing as touch of the flu?

I did a little bit of on-line shopping however, but I only placed items in the shopping cart before I got tired. I'm hoping to go back tomorrow and finalize my purchases. I don't like shopping lists in the back of my mind while I'm laying down not feeling too well. But I realize this shall pass eventually. I just hope the kids don't catch anything. It seems like there is always someone sick at Christmas time.

I'm trying to get the kids clothes ready for tomorrow and get their lunches together so I don't have to do any of that in the morning. I don't know how I'll be feeling then. Hopefully I'll feel good enough to go about my usual business and take the kids to school.

I missed Mass today, as I just wasn't feeling well. So, I'm off to ponder the readings that I missed.

Nutrition & Cholesterol

Yesterday I went to a class held at the local hospital about nutrition and managing cholesterol. It was very informative. When I was pregnant with Emily, about three years ago, I developed gestational diabetes. I had to meet with a nutritionist and develop a meal plan that would help in managing my blood sugar levels. I learned so much and during my pregnancy. My blood sugars stayed in the normal range and I developed healthy eating habits to last a lifetime. Well, since then, I've little by little neglected the good that I learned and replaced that with my previous bad habits.


Well, I've decided that I need to get back into the healthy lifestyle that I had with my last pregnancy. So, I enrolled in this one time class so that I could hear a lot of what I once knew with renewed motivation. Here is some of what I learned:

---There is good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL). Some ways to combat the bad cholesterol is to cut back the fat in our diets. Eat more dietary fiber, found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products. Exercise regularly.

---Keep blood pressure in check by exercising regularly. Limit sodium intake. Eat a low fat diet.


---We went over the dietary guidelines and how to choose wisely in the different food groups.


---Bad fats (saturated, trans fatty acids). Good fats (Omega 6, Omega 3, monounsaturated)

---Reading and understanding a food label will help in making healthy food choices.

---Benefits and importance of fiber.

We also received numerous charts about the different foods and their amounts of fat, cholesterol, fiber, sodium, etc. All this information is a little overwhelming for me right now so I've decided to concentrate on improving one part of this at a time.

My goal right now is to drink at least 6 glasses of water a day (working my way to 8). I also will try to increase my fiber intake. I haven't been doing too well in the fruit and vegetable area, so that is where I'll start. Increasing the fiber should be done a little at a time because if it's done too quickly, abdominal distress can result.

Hopefully, I'll be on my way to a healthier me.