Catching up part 4: Bloggy bling!!!

So, at the beginning of this month, there were a couple awards that were given out that I need to get posted and say thanks for. The first one came out of Queenie Jeannie's entry Some New Awards. So far I've only received it the once, but I sure hope I get it again. It's such a cool award. Jeannie? Back atcha hun! Now you've gotten it twice! Im going to take a page from her book, if you follow here or at least read my entries AND I've been to your blog to leave bloggy love, then Im a fan of your blog. Go ahead and grab this for yourself.

This next award came from iggy in his Brand New Award entry. I was really surprised that I got this award as Im very careful and generally dont post pictures of my feet. Why? Well because I have Fred Flintstone feet and thaty're really rather ugly. Anyhow, in his entry I was reminded that I had posted this photo in a much earlier entry :

Who knew a moment of silliness on my part would win me that award??

Now, for another brand new award. I'd like to thank those who have endeavored to put a smile on my recently gloomy face. Please take this award as a token of my thanks.

Winners of this award are:

intenseguy : There is no way in hell I can narrow down how this dude makes me smile. Between the OCHA entries, that new pet of his, and the silly stories he comes up with...you never know what you're going to find on his site. He also gets this for dropping the occasional link in some of our email inboxes that sparks ummmm some unusual, twisted conversations.

Chicagolady: I'd like to thank her for a couple of her entries that really made me LMAO. Yeah, I know I instigated a little bit the topics of For Your Reading Pleasure and Tough Choice but she was the one who put it all together. Definitely some tear-jerking (from laughter), side-splitting moments there.

Queenie Jeannie: For that beautiful card I mentioned in the last entry. Ok, ok...I'll stop about it now. It's just that I cannot believe the care that went into this card! Right now her blog is rather card centric but that is what's most important to her (well that and Thomas & Bella) these days.

MarmiteToasty: For the box of scrummies. Chocolate cures just about everything... especially a case of the blues. Im so jealous that you have such a variety of Cadbury items!! If you havent visited her blog, you may wanna pop in from time to time. She's an experience and a half.

Yaya: Most especially her Friday Fragments/Focus Friday entries. So friggin random and so much fun to read. You never know what's going to be in that entry. Ok, so you have an idea of topics as many carry over from week to week, but just not what exactly will be said. It's like a week's worth of Twitters in a convenient condensed newsletter form. Awesome.

Tori: For her Furkids Friday entries that have taken on a decidedly funny twist as her darling Westie, Kero, has tweaked her JAWS program to translate his barks to English. Once he got that tweak working, he started taking over writing the Friday entries. Very funny. It always brings a smile to my face.

And

..Pooba..: Her's is another of those blogs you want to make sure you're not eating or drinking while reading....fair warning. I am constantly having to wipe my monitor or keyboard because of some off the wall comment she makes in her entries.

For the rest, if I recently left a *snortle*, *giggle*, *chortle* or anything close to that in a comment on an entry on your page (Punkn, RedPen, babyrocasmama, and MsHLP this would mean you ladies) ...please take this award and feel free to post it on your site. No rules to it, just a thank you for my friends who continually find ways to put a smile on my face. Feel free to pass it along to those that make you smile.

Catchin up part3: more smiles via the snail mail

So, as I was saying, alotta smiles showed up at the same time. There was an envelope with a beautiful Easter card in it made with me in mind! You should have heard hubby trying to pronounce the last name *giggles*. The back of the envelope had a beautiful embossing on it and a sticker saying this was GOOD mail. Thank goodness. No one likes the bad stuff!

Seriously people, the pictures...no matter HOW good they are...simply do NOT do her cards justice at all. Even with all the details in the pictures, they just do NOT show the craftswomanship (and the love) that goes into these beauties.

I also got a padded envelope from Michabella Creations. Thanks to a giveaway over at blueviolet's blog (which doesnt seem to be up anymore...oh noes!), I was introduced to Michabella's Creations. Part of blueviolet's give away was to visit the MC site and mention something that you liked from the site. You got extra entries if you actually bought something from the MC site as well. After an email with a question about their products got answered how I hoped it would be, I ended up buying one of their necklaces.

I love how they neatly wrapped it like it was a special gift for me. Oh wait, it was...from ME to ME!

I'd seen the piece and it reminded me of a link someone sent me. They'd said they saw the site and the wallpaper or banner on it reminded them of me. I figured after a comment like that and then seeing this piece that maybe I should just out and out buy it for myself. No sense dropping hints, it'd never show up if I did that. The good thing is that I saved some money with the code that blueviolet had had on her site AND free shipping so the item came to under $20 total.

Like Jeannie's cards, pictures simply do not do the piece justice at all! It's made out of bronze with no added metals so it shouldnt tarnish or leave green marks on my skin. And the ribbon the pendant is on? Is actually metal... and so soft. I always have problems with chains because they snarl up in the shorter hairs on the back of my neck. This chain didnt do that at all. There were some earrings to match but since I've allowed the holes in my lobes to close up, I didnt bother getting them.

Catchin Up part2: Smiles via snailmail

So on the 10th of April, some smiles showed up on my doorstep. I was expecting them, but the timing was just wonderful because I really needed something to smile about. I can't believe how much came with this one.

The box showed up at my doorstep wrapped in a white paper that was lovingly hand decorated in green polka-dots. That big white section in the middle is where my addy had been printed in the same color as the dots. My husband just looked at me when he noticed the package had come from England and wasn't addressed with Tori's address nor was it addressed with another friend's addy. It was from someone I talk to regularly he doesn't know yet, my good friend Marmie. ~smiles~

So, like a kid at Christmas, I rip into the wrapping. I had to laugh because my behavior was well justified with Marmie's creative use of Christmas wrap. Oh and look how she went green and recycled an icecream shipping box! Two thumbs up for that.

When I got the box open, I saw that it was absolutely LOADED with goodies. As I didn't recognize many of the brands that were facing up, I knew I was going to be in for a treat.

Can you believe all the stuff she packed in there? Once I got the box unloaded, I just KNEW my eating modification was going to be in severe jeopardy (seriously, it went to hell)... especially with all the chocolate goods (and me, with no friggin self-control!). She even tossed in a couple of small samples of marmite items. It wouldnt be a care package from her without them ya know! Sadly, the chocolates lasted less than a week. I decided I liked the Cadbury items the best. Even the ones with the fruit flavors to them, which is rather odd because the only fruit I even tolerate with chocolate is raisins. I've put the hot cocoa mix to the side for when the weather gets cold again. The crisps, umm I don't have the guts to try to be honest, especially with some of the names on them (see picture below). I also am way too spineless to try the marmite. Sorry , darling. However, all is not lost. Hubby has agreed to be the guinea pig for those items. It'll just be a matter of time before he gets around them. The Turkish Delight was definitely a unique experience. The jelly within was pink and smelled much like flowers. I think that'll definitely be a once in a lifetime thing (now unless I can find it with a lemony center, then I may just give it another try). Now that one with the hazelnut creme filling (the one labeled Bueno)....ohhh now THAT'S another story. Yummy.

When I saw this bag of crisps, I thought of Chicagolady, iggy and punkn immediately. I dont have the heart to open them.

Thank you so very much for the scrummies, the sweet note and the lucky English penny, Marmie...and yes, I ended up stuffing myself daft with the chocolates. My poor figure and complexion! It was well worth it though!!

Just some fragments

This pic and the one below were taken on the 3rd, I think. As you can see, we had some dark skies. There was some wind but thankfully no real storms. You'd think with as dark as it was, I'd be camping out in the half bath downstairs or in "Harry's Closet", but we didnt get much more than a light rain out of it. The above shot was taken while we were coming out of the dr's office. The one below is those trees near the mall.

Even with stores going out of business around here. We still have some expansion going on. In the lot next to the Costco (and across from the mall area with the dr's office) , we've had 2 restaurants open (Chik-fil-a and Panda Express). This Walgreens looks like it's getting close to finishing up and there'll be 2 more smaller stores in the same area (one being a barber).

I saw this tree and immediately thought of The Blue Ridge Gal's post, Wildlife Hunkers Down and just had to snap it. I love how the barest red leaves just stand out against the green of the leaves behind it.

responses to comments

I figured I'd better put these in here as Im not sure how many actually go back to see if I've commented back or not. Besides my response is pretty much long enough to warrant its own entry at this point...


Thanks Chicago, Iggy, Punkn, Karla and Alice. I knew of all of my readers, you 5 would understand the most. Simply because you've seen me go through this before and know how long I've been trying (and not just with this husband...).
Tori: Me too. If I could only get him to go get his first. I don't think he's done much more than pick up the supplies needed (paperwork and specimen containers). Now I think of it, I dont see those anywhere and he aint mentioned going and doing the test. *sigh* I'd better out and out ask him.

Melissa: Thanks! Glad they're making someone happy. They make me miserable to the most part because they're EVERYWHERE around here and they aggravate my existing allergies. Snapped that shot myself a few weeks back.

Marmie: You'd think that but the chocolates (thank you again!) came after the unofficial weigh in and Im terrified of getting on the scales now because I did as you suggested (naughty naughty) and stuffed myself daft with most of the contents of the box. I dont dare try to pull those trousers on at this point, although I sure hope they still fit.
Wendy: The longer I follow your blog, the more I realize that. I don't know how you manage it with the ocd (or is it CDO? ~smilez~), I know I wouldn't be able to.

Thanks Bee and Rose & Janis. I've got a wonderful support system here. There are people I've known for several years and some not so long...others that are prayer warriors and some that just light candles and send good thoughts. I know Im loved here.

babyrocasmama: The only thing they've tried so far is Glucophage to attempt to get the body to regulate. Im not sure when you joined here so if I repeat myself forgive me. Between the dr and myself (mostly me bitching about how the drug made me feel) we decided to pull me off the medicine because my body didnt handle it well. Both ob/gyns I've been to (the one in Texas before we moved and this one here) have pretty much agreed that all testing must be done first, then the meds because there's no sense in putting me on a drug if my body isnt going to cooperate, ya know. Worse yet, no sense putting me on a drug if the husband's body wont cooperate. If his swimmers are fine AND the nasty painful test they want to do on me come back fine, then I'll be put on drugs to facilitate matters.

This week's Week~End Wordle

It's that time of week again!
It's time for Shan's Weekend Wordles.
Here's what ya do:

01) Go to Wordle.net to create your Wordle. It's lots of fun. You can tweak the colors, fonts and such. If you really want to customize your Wordle for your site you can use this color code chart .

02) Post it on your blog with a link to Shan's Week~End Wordles or Last Shreds Of Sanity.

03) Once that's done, go back to Last Shreds Of Sanity and sign the Mr Linky that she'll have up (this will help direct those who play along to your blog...we're talking new peeps reading and maybe new followers for everyone....). Dont forget to leave a comment on the sites you visit!!


This week's Wordle is courtesy of this blog: A Journey to Parenthood

Catchin up...part 1: Dealing with Blockage

So yeah, I've been having a bit of a blockage issue here. Oh no, not THAT kinda blockage. Ew. No, I mean the kinda blockage that comes from something in your life happening and bringing you to a low point which brings on a funk that is so damn hard to fight. It makes it difficult to do the most basic of things, even just jotting a few notes down in a blog entry. Those that have known me for a few years know that when I get this way, it takes a while for me to work out of the funk. They've also probably noticed that it takes longer each time to "get back to normal". These same friends could probably tell you what things are liable to trigger bouts of depression or make them worse if I'm already there.

Takin' it back a month:

Everyone who's been reading my blog know that I've been working at losing weight. I've done rather well. My last unofficial weigh-in was about 2 weeks ago and I'm down to 260, a good 38 pounds lighter than when I started. YAY! Every week up until March 20th, I'd take those smaller jeans that I'd saved from that box of clothes that had been given to me... hold them up and say "just 5 more pounds and I'm sure they'll fit!" On Friday, March 20th, I put on my knit pants and realized they were much too baggy to be wearing out in public without looking like a pathetic slob. I picked up a pair of the black jeans I'd been waiting to get small enough to wear and decided to see how close to fitting in them I was. Imagine my surprise when they pulled right over my butt comfortably AND buttoned easily! Not only was I in a pair of jeans 2 sizes smaller but I also had this going on. I had alot of hope and joy in my life.

Saturday the 21st, I took a test to see if I could confirm if that was really happening. I mean at this point it was 4 weeks late and all. Imagine the disappointment when I found out that it wasn't the answer I was hoping for. Although there's still hope the test was wrong, right? Oh no. Not for me. Sunday came along with its own confirmation that it wasn't to be. Top that, a story hit the news that night (or was it Monday) that brought me to tears. The friends I've known for several years can all pretty much tell you that a story of this type is a very big trigger for a case of depression. It's a trigger because I've tried so hard for so long and gotten nowhere. Yet some others who seemingly have no problem, throw their blessings away like so much garbage. It really hits me deep in the core and makes me cry every single time about the total unfairness of it all.

I can't tell you how timely one of my friend's entries was. She posted, right about the same time this all was happening, answering a question she'd received via an email about how she managed to stay so happy in her situation when realistically she shouldn't be. Her entry brought tears to my eyes as she expressed how she truly felt and how tiring it can be trying to be happy for people when you cannot seem to manage to have a child on her own. For me, being around pregnant people can be a real problem and even as late as afterwards and upwards into the child's toddler years. It just makes me very sad (imagine how hard to find out each time my brother and his wife find out they're pregnant, been through this twice already). Knowing that we don't have the means (unless the insurance covers it) to do everything that entails invitro or even the other option of adoption, this is pretty much it for us. If it's not natural, it simply will not be happening. So now we're into the testing phases. He'll need to go first because it's less invasive and I'm sure a whole lot less painful. Then will be me if his tests come back fine. If his come back wonky, I won't bother testing as it won't matter at that point. The hardest part is not knowing if we can or cannot. I'm hoping once the tests all come back, I might get better with this issue... even if the tests come back with answers we didn't want to hear. I may just see about a therapist at that point if the answers don't seem to quell my thoughts on it. I mean realistically, if the tests say we can't, then it's not my fault and I shouldn't be blaming myself. Then again, I know me too. In anycase, thanks for posting that sweetie. Sharing what you did really helped to know that I'm not alone with those feelings.

Well, anyhow, shortly after that entry hit... another one got posted that was really kind of cryptic. Since I was already feeling low, this one hit hard because I automatically assumed it was done because of the comment I'd left on the first one's blog. I know now that it was simply just bad timing and that it had nothing to do about my comment. However, when it happened I felt kicked in the gut. I got the same feelings that I'd get with my now ex as he had a way of making me feel so very small. I'm so glad I held off and didn't post what I was going to around then. The damage would have been excessive, I'm sure. In the end, I was mad at myself for allowing those thoughts to come to my mind and happier for the person in question. I hope you got everything sorted, dear. And remember what I told you, don't ever let anyone make you feel that small.

Once I get into a funk with a blockage like this, it becomes increasingly more difficult to write the longer I let it fester. I don't write not because I have nothing to say, but more along the lines of I don't know how to word it so I'm fully expressing myself without being offensive to anyone else (been there before, didnt like it one bit). Plus, when I look at my situation from an outsider's viewpoint...my problems are so damn small compared to what others are going through, which keeps me from dealing with my feelings and just allows them to bottleneck up. Once I get myself over it, the flood-gates open and I'm able to write again which is good because all the other entries that need writing are just piling up behind it. I think I'm close enough to being over it now so you know what that means...several entries are on the way. I've got a couple of awards that need posting and a third one I've created to give out. I've got pictures over the last few weeks to share, new items that I've bought and a couple of gifts that showed up in my mailbox in time to start putting a smile back on my face.

Gosh, I hope this all makes sense.....

I hate timing

EDITED on 04/14/09 after a discussion with mom. Edits at bottom of entry.

Go figure I'd do a Wordle from my memory blog that has the one entry on my great-gramma and end up with a phone call at 12:38pm from my Daddy with this news....

Heaven got another angel today. My mom's mom passed on earlier this morning. She was in her late 90s. Busha lived a very full life. Both her and grampa had held jobs and managed to raise 8 kids as well. My mom is the next to the youngest of the group. In the picture up top, with her is an aide from the resthome that Busha's been in for about 5-7 years or so. The lower picture has my Uncle Skeet on the left (don't remember his real name, just remember he's the shortest "kid" and that he's somewhere in the middle when it comes to age) and Uncle Fred (the oldest child of the family). Busha had been back and forth with her health for a few years now and a few times we thought we'd lose her. Somehow, she always managed to fight back. There had been quite a few emails back and forth lately (just this last week, infact), updating Busha's condition. The one I got a couple days ago talked about how the doctors had said she was headed into demise and they suspected she didnt have more than a couple months left. The same email said that the boys (meaning Uncle Skeet, Uncle Fred and Uncle Bill) suspected it was just a matter of weeks. About once a year I'd get emails like this, so there was no real shock upon receiving it. However, this time, while reading the email I was struck with the feeling it was going to be a whole lot less time than that. I hate when I'm right. The email that was received last night was filled with hope because gramma had perked up quite a bit. She still wasnt eating much, even with help, but this has been the norm for a while now. However, she still had her razor sharp wit. This morning, she's gone. She's left 7 children (one passed on already several years back due to diabetes complications), scores of grandchildren, many great grandchildren and a handful of great great grandchildren.

RIP Audrey Juanita Sugden.

edit 04/14/09 after talking with mom. Uncle Fred's the 2nd oldest.
Gramma was 93 not in her late 90's...that hateful alzheimers made her look older than she was.
Uncle Skeet's name was Lester. No wonder he chooses to go by Skeet.

It's Week~end Wordle time!

It's that time of week again!
It's time for Shan's Weekend Wordles.
Here's what ya do:

01) Go to Wordle.net to create your Wordle. It's lots of fun. You can tweak the colors, fonts and such. If you really want to customize your Wordle for your site you can use this color code chart .

02) Post it on your blog with a link to Shan's Week~End Wordles or Last Shreds Of Sanity.

03) Once that's done, go back to Last Shreds Of Sanity and sign the Mr Linky that she'll have up (this will help direct those who play along to your blog...we're talking new peeps reading and maybe new followers for everyone....). Dont forget to leave a comment on the sites you visit!!

I did the same as last week for my Wordle and simply put in the blog addy to see what came up. Yeah, I know, real original. heh

This week's Wordle is sponsored by my Memories Blog at : http://ladystyx02.blogspot.com/ . The blog is woefully neglected, unfortunately. I really need to get myself moving and put another few entries in there eventually.

It's Week~end Wordle time!

It's that time of week again!
It's time for the Weekend Wordle.
Here's what ya do:

01) Go to Wordle.net to create your Wordle. It's lots of fun. You can tweak the colors, fonts and such. If you really want to customize your Wordle for your site you can use this color code chart .

02) Post it on your blog with a link to Shan's Week~End Wordles or Last Shreds Of Sanity.

03) Once that's done, go back to Last Shreds Of Sanity and sign the Mr Linky that she'll have up (this will help direct those who play along to your blog...we're talking new peeps reading and maybe new followers for everyone....). Dont forget to leave a comment on the sites you visit!!


This week, I did something different for my Wordle. Instead of picking just one entry as has been my habit, I just put in the web address for one of the blogs on my account and let it pick and choose from all the entries in that area. Unfortunately, It looks like it ...ummm...took most of the words out of the first 2 entries *blushes* on that blog. As such, .oO(oh this is sooooo terribly embarrassing!) I had a word come up that...well....let's just say the way it shows up in the Wordle is NOT the way it was meant in the entry. Honest!!! All I can say is:

01) If there are children around you may wanna usher them out of the room before viewing (unless you WANT to be giving a lesson as to WHY you just spewed ya breakfast beverage on the monitor)

AND

02) I ~really~ hope Jeannie got to do that extra-curricular activity she mentioned on her blog.






Last chance, I DID warn ya!!! The following is DEFINITELY at LEAST PG-13!!!










The words in this Wordle were gotten from Life's a Stitch .

Ok, ok! I know! I'm expecting the comments, so go ahead and let 'em fly (once you've composed yourself)!!!

Bad Day Laughs

Things Got Ya Down? Well Then, Consider These .

In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00 am , regardless of their medical condition This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the supernatural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 am Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents. The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 am all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits. Just when the clock struc k 11:00 , Pookie Johnson, the part-time Sunday sweeper , entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.

Still Having a Bad Day????

The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez Oil spill in Alaska was $80,000.00. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both.

Still think you are having a Bad Day????

A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his Walkman.

Are Ya OK Now? - No?

Two animal rights defenders were protesting the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn , Germany . Suddenly, all two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence, stampeding madly. The two helpless protesters were trampled to death.

What?!? STILL having a Bad Day????

Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with 'Return to Sender' stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits.


There now, Feeling Better?


Thanks to my mom who forwarded this... it's a good reminder that things could be so much worse...

It's Week~end Wordles time !

It's that time of week again!
It's time for the Weekend Wordle.
Here's what ya do:

01) Go to Wordle.net to create your Wordle. It's lots of fun. You can tweak the colors, fonts and such. If you really want to customize your Wordle for your site you can use this color code chart .

02) Post it on your blog with a link to Shan's Week~End Wordles or Last Shreds Of Sanity.

03) Once that's done, go back to Last Shreds Of Sanity and sign the Mr Linky that she'll have up (this will help direct those who play along to your blog...we're talking new peeps reading and maybe new followers for everyone....). Dont forget to leave a comment on the sites you visit!!




This week's Week~end Wordle is courtesy of my entry called:
lil brain blurbits. As you can see, I only had one thing on my mind that day.....LOL! Yeah, so??? I'm a damn chocoholic! Well....3 outta 4 weeks a month that is.

Waffles fries, nuggets and a sweeeeeeeet tea..yummy

I hear ya'll laughing now. I suspect iggy's laughing hardest of all though because we were having a similar conversation just Saturday night!

feelin creative for the first time in a while

I see on my friend's blog, Jeannie's Happy World , that she's successfully made it over 30 days smoke free. Congrats!! I whipped up this award for her tonight and sent it via email because she'd mentioned taking a break from blogging and I wanted to make sure it didnt get lost in all the reading she'll need to do to catch up. Congrats Jeannie! Im so very proud of you!

yeah, Im breathin

Just a note to let everyone know Im still breathing. Lots to say and not really feeling like saying it. *shrugz*

While I was out reading the entries this morning I saw another of them "TAG" thingies going around. Three of the people tagged on the entry are new readers here. As a reminder to my friends (and a warning to the newer people that joined up here), Im not fond of them (points to the link in the sidebar)...so please just dont. If I feel like doing it later I will.

I do have another entry started....well actually I have the pictures loaded, I just gotta write it....sometime.

It's Week~end Wordle Time!

It's that time of week again!
It's time for the Weekend Wordle.
Here's what ya do:

01) Go to Wordle.net to create your Wordle. It's lots of fun. You can tweak the colors, fonts and such. If you really want to customize your Wordle for your site you can use this color code chart .

02) Post it on your blog with a link to Shan's Week~End Wordles or Last Shreds Of Sanity.

03) Once that's done, go back to Last Shreds Of Sanity and sign the Mr Linky that she'll have up (this will help direct those who play along to your blog...we're talking new peeps reading and maybe new followers for everyone....). Dont forget to leave a comment on the sites you visit!!

My Weekend Wordle was made with my entry entitled : Entry from April 22,2007 from the Archived Yahoo360 entries section of my site. I made sure to remove the link that was in the entry so it wont show up in the Wordle. If you'd like to visit it, it's : http://www.bostonuk.com/name_meanings.php

lil brain blurbits

I've decided that Im addicted to Blue Bunny Light Personals icecream. Each little tub has is supposed to have (*blushes*) two servings in it, but Im usually really bad and snarf eat both servings in one sitting. Considering there's only 5 grams of fat for the whole tub and 200 calories (some flavors have a bit more), Im not completely killing my diet.

They have a delightful Super Fudge Brownie flavor that is to die for. However, I found one flavor I like even more. I am seriously addicted to the Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake flavor. It's a really good thing I only buy the personal sizes (only 1 a week) and not the larger sizes as Im sure I would have eaten an entire half gallon of it tonight. Normally, I do really well on my eating modification, but tonight...well Im gonna blame this on Jeannie. If it wasnt for her entries of Jeannie's Happy World: Tastefully Simple Giveaway!! and Jeannie's Happy World: Chocolate Bliss 'n Stuff! (which shows her adorable little girl enjoying some Chocolate Bliss...), well let's just say my sweettooth couldnt handle it any longer!

Saturday night while we were headed out for supper, I noticed the first sign of spring in my yard. Unfortunately, the flash washed out the bloom...I was really hoping that the purple streaks in the flower would show up. Ah well. It'll be a matter of time before the front yard is flowering again.

We've also had some buds show up on the trees.

Here's a picture I've been meaning to post. It was taken on the evening of February 26th. We'd gotten to the traffic light at the entrance of our sub-division and the light was peeking over the trees across the road from us near the mall. It took 5 attempts to get it just right. I zoomed right in so I didnt have to crop much of the traffic out.

Over the last few days, I've gotten some more bling for my page. The first one came from Jeannie in her entry Jeannie's Happy World: A New Award!. Ok ok, she didnt exactly specify me by name but she did say it was for her readers so I took it. Pbbt!

The other comes from Yaya in her entry Just Another Weekend Of Nothing . Again, the entry doesnt specify but since I was invited to take it, I did. Any of my readers that have yet to receive these awards, please feel free to take them from my page for use on yours.

Happy St Patricks Day!!!

timing

A woman is getting ready to go out and the husband calls from the other room, " Come on, otherwise we're going to be late!"

The woman, looking over at their dog who is sulking in the chair, calls back to the husband, " I think Fred is upset that we're not taking him!"

The husband peeks in and the woman then asks the dog, " Are you upset that we're not taking you Fred?"

To which the dog is thinking," I am a little peeved, to say the least!"

I saw this in my daily reading this morning....and a certain little white English Welsh pooch came to mind....

It's Weekend Wordle Time!

I figured I'd better get this posted before I go in for my sleep cycle and since Shan's got her's up already I can pop in and sign the Mr Linky at the same time. YAY!

It's that time of week again! It's time for the Weekend Wordle.

Here's what ya do:

01) Go to Wordle.net to create your Wordle. It's lots of fun. You can tweak the colors, fonts and such. If you really want to customize your Wordle for your site you can use this color code chart .

02) Post it on your blog with a link to Shan's Week~End Wordles or Last Shreds Of Sanity.


03) Once that's done, go back to Last Shreds Of Sanity and sign the Mr Linky that she'll have up (this will help direct those who play along to your blog...we're talking new peeps reading and maybe new followers for everyone....).

Dont forget to leave a comment on the sites you visit!!

My Weekend Wordle was made with my entry entitled :
The final entry in this series brought to you by Iggy

just chattin on the weather

Someone was wondering a week or so ago (was it Alice or Karla?) if I had gotten some snow out of the storms that had been in the east. I'm happy to report that yes, I did INDEED get some snow. Not the foot or so that I would have LIKED to have gotten but a modest 3" or so. I've got the pictures posted here: http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y103/ladystyx1969/February%202009%20storm/



I've got descriptions under the pictures in the Photobucket so I won't go into too much detail here. We did get some strong winds on the 26th of February that managed to do some damage in the neighborhood. Our townhouse didnt get any damage that I know of (at least on the sections of house I can see without invading my neighbor's yard), but the one neighbor's shed had some of the siding ripped loose. I've let them know about it through their kid (dang ESLs , thank goodness the kids understand me), and showed them the picture I took of it. He climbed the fence (yeah that leaning piece of crap, Im surprised it held the husband's weight because he's very stocky) to take a peek and supposedly is going to let their landlord know (neighbors and they dont have the same landlord...wish they did because I would have just dealt with it myself).



Friday the 27th we had snow. Hubby actually had to shovel the back patio so the dog could go out to go potty (she doesnt like the snow and wont walk in it if she can help it). Like I said the pictures are on that link in Photobucket. I did post this one because I like how it turned out.

I'd noticed while taking a picture out of the bedroom window of the snow on the truck that there was a white blur in my viewer towards the bottom of the picture. I figured that maybe I'd get a shot of the snow on the ledge and see how it turned out. Sweet!

We had 70 degrees on Wednesday. It was so beautiful I was out without a jacket. By 6pm it had dropped 10 degrees and has steadily slipped in temperature over the last day and a half. It's in the low 30's right now and we're getting snow again. I've actually gotten enough cold weather this year to be amply satisfied. If this is the last of it for the next 8 months or so, I'll be content. Yeah, I'm ready for some slightly warmer temperatures now.

Holy cow!

So I skipped about half of my reads yesterday (which is better than the 4 DAYS of comic reads I hadnt gotten around to), ~maybe~ about 90 minutes worth of reading total for the blogs; and this is what I found when I pulled up my Google reader a few moments ago.

Yeah I know a good third of it is more than likely because of the 3 blogs I follow during American Idol season, but damn! In case you cant read that one number it says "All items (70)" meaning I have 70 (yes, seventy) new entries since I left Blogger last night (it aint helping matters that Blogger's not posting the entries to the readers until hours AFTER they were posted!!)! *sigh* I'll catch up, honestly...but if you were ever wondering why some of your entries get comments and others dont (especially those multi-entry peeps)....well now ya know.

There is another entry in the works, but I have a few more things to add. Maybe I should just break things down into bite-sized bits and post what I have now.....

The final entry in this series brought to you by Iggy

Intense Guy said...
I enjoyed your 25 things! We share a number of them in common.

Hmm... 2 cents for 2 questions? but a dollar for an answer and 10 dollars for the right answer? :)

1) If you could be any of the superheros (superman, batman and so on) which would you pick?

It took several days of research for this question. I got myself to a site that listed the superheroes and villains as well as all of their powers and back stories. After a couple hours my eyes started to cross, so I decided to narrow my search down to just their powers and left the back stories alone for the initial weeding. I got it narrowed down to 10 possibilities of whom I’d really like to be. I suspect there would have been more, but since I’m female I decided to keep the hero the same in gender. I did some more weeding today and successfully got my choices down to 6 (actually, it’s more like 5 because of the circumstances on the one involved). Having narrowed it down this far, I decided if I started writing the entry that maybe I’d be able to choose. However, I’m re-reading the question and although I suspect the spirit of the question is to pick ONE hero, BUT the question does not SPECIFY to choose only ONE. That means that I can put my own spin on it and write about all 6 if I choose! *neener neener neener!!*

So, in no real particular order are:

My first choice is Violet Parr, from The Incredibles. What’s not to like about this little sweetie? She can turn herself partially or wholly invisible at will, generate force shields and she’s cute as a button to boot. I suspect she’s much like a young Sue Storm (the Invisible Woman) in training. Being that she’s a young hero, I suspect that eventually her powers will develop further if they decide to “grow her up”. She takes this spot away from her mom (Helen Parr, Elastigirl) simply because she can do more power-wise (although I have to admit, being Elastigirl might make sex A LOT more interesting!). The only other one in this grouping that I’d even consider is Jack-Jack (because he’s got a hell of a lot of powers), but since I’m trying to stay within my gender he loses out too. http://www.superherodb.com/profile.php?hero=Violet

The next pick is one I didn’t know about until I did some research (although I suspect if I mentioned the name, my geeky hubby would know the name immediately). Her name is Namorita Prentiss. This hero has superhuman strength, speed, durability, and reflexes and she lives in the water! Anyone who really knows me knows that once you get me in a pool, it’s very very difficult to get me back out of it again. I just love the weightless feeling, it’s the only time I truly feel graceful. Okay, so the corrosive acid and toxins that get secreted from her hands is a bit of a turn off… especially if it’s unpredictable and not easily controlled, but you have to admit having camouflaged skin that changes colors like my eyes do would be absolutely awesome. Well, that and the fact her aging is much slower than normal (a 50 year old superhero that looks only 20 something??? Sign me up!). http://www.superherodb.com/profile.php?hero=Namorita

Tessa, aka Sage, is another one that I hadn’t heard of before that I found to be really awesome. To have spot on perfect total recall on any information and have a mind with unlimited storage is an absolute dream and a half. Think of what you could do with information like that. Not only do you have access to historical events and events in the present, but you can also piece together bits of info that you have on hand to predict the possibilities of future events. As a fanatic of American Idol, it would be fantastic to predict well in advance who the winner will be (think of the money I could win on the betting sites with info like THAT!!). With a brain like a computer, you can partition off sections of the mind and multi-task like nobody’s business. Who WOULDN’T want a power like that? http://www.superherodb.com/profile.php?hero=Sage

Ororo Munroe, better known as the X-Man Storm, would be a great one to be. I suspect if I had her powers to control the weather, I’d be in great demand among my friends. Unfortunately, her power is rather limited to the local area so I’d need to do A LOT of travelling. Hey wait! That “feeds my gypsy nature” doesn’t it Karla?? *laffz* Gypsy needs fed, helping out friends who want nice weather during the icy blasts of December and I look HOT too? Oh hell yeah!
http://www.superherodb.com/profile.php?hero=Storm

The last, but not the least, pick is yet another X-Man. She is the one I most identified with for reasons I have yet to discover. Maybe it’s the duality that existed there for awhile. Jean Grey could read minds, project thoughts/illusions into other’s minds, and “discharge mind-numbing mental bolts”. She not only could do this, but her powers of telekinesis allowed her to levitate as well. These abilities were amplified to incredible levels during her association with the Phoenix Force (who had saved her from radiation poisoning from a solar storm by placing her in a coma and setting her in a cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay, then assuming Jean’s form for a time). For months the Phoenix believed herself to actually BE Jean Grey. After dealings with an unsavory character that messed with her mentally, the Phoenix went mad and became the Dark Phoenix. There’s more on the link below if you care to read. There seems to be slightly conflicting theories on whether the Phoenix was a clone of Jean or Jean herself. In both cases, the character goes insane and ultimately dies (see second Phoenix link).
http://www.superherodb.com/profile.php?hero=Jean.Grey
http://www.superherodb.com/profile.php?hero=Phoenix
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(comics)

Trivial notes:

01) The Dark Phoenix is the character that I was thinking of when I was using it as a chat nick there for a while. Infact, that particular Phoenix pic was going to get altered to be a stream banner at one point. Hey, what can I say, I know awesome work when I see it.

02)The Phoenix (the mythological creature) is what inspired the “Padded Room” title.

2) What one name would be your most favorite name for a cat?

*Sings*:
The naming of cats is a difficult matter

It isn't just one of your holiday games

You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter

When I tell you a cat must have three different names

Who really, truly names a cat? Cats really name themselves (as I suspect dogs do too, but Im not entirely certain on that matter). A name on a cat is just a word that expresses the owner’s perception of the cat’s personality. I don’t have a specific favorite name for any of the “children” (or “grandchildren” for that matter) I’ve had. All but three of the names have been media based… originating from the comics, movies, TV, musicals or even a twist on names from PBS specials. Every single one of them has been special to me, some more than others. There is no way I could narrow this one down to just one favorite name. However, if you want, I can do a whole entry on all the cats I’ve shared my life with. Actually, with the number of cats I've had, I suspect I could make it into a series of entries.....could take WEEKS to get through them all.....

Ok y'all...down below in the comments, every answer that first question iggy had for me. Name one or several and share why you'd pick them:

If you could be any of the superheroes (superman, batman and so on) which would you pick?

cover art game

I got this one over at Wendyburd's site, Pessimistically Optimistic Meanderings....by Wendy .

If you'd like to play along this is what you do:



01) Go to "Wikipedia" and hit "Random" or click this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random . The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.



02) Go to "Random quotations" or click this link: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.



03) Go to Flickr and click on "explore the last seven days" or click this link: http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.



04) Open the picture in your paint program or whatever photo altering program you have that allows you to font your picture (I used Paint Shop Pro7) and put it all together. Here's mine:






The group name means:

Mbaba Mwana Waresa is a beloved goddess of the Zulu people of Southern Africa, primarily because she gave them the gift of beer. She is the goddess of the rainbow, rain, harvest, and agriculture.

meaning behind the name found here: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mbaba_mwana_waresa.html

That album title looks appropriate too...too appropriate.

This one was fun Wendy, thanks!

Little blurbit brought to you by Punkn

Punkn said...
1. If you could choose one job, what would it be?

I’d want to be a Domestic Goddess (oh wait, I’m this already!!) and SAHM. I’ve wanted the latter for a good long time now (like nearly a decade). I'd like any job that allows me to let the creative moose out for a good run every day. I was told at one point that I really needed to be doing the displays in stores....ya know, the big window ones. Yeah, that'd be too cool.

2. Do you like other reality TV shows or just American Idol?

Not many. When RockStar was on I loved watching that. It was like American Idol with a twist or two. It's too bad they didn’t continue with that. I also now and then get into Hell’s Kitchen and America's Next Top Model (the latter more than the former as I can handle only so much of him yelling and getting beeped out). I love to see if I can guess who's gonna get the boot. Unfortunately, ANTM is on Wednesdays opposite Idol so I end up having to catch that one via YouTube. With Hell's Kitchen, I've discovered that's one hubby will actually sit and watch with me though....and he's happy to discuss it afterwards. Now and then I’ll catch Dancing with the Stars, but it doesn’t capture me quite like the other 3 shows do.

This entry by Hula

Hula's Secret Blog said...
Good job doing stuff for YOU this past week! :)

And good job going down a WHOLE SIZE! YAY!!!!!!!!!!! Any advice on that one??

I printed that whole comment because if I answered just the question (although I don’t suspect it was an "official" question for what I’m doing on the interview), it wouldn’t make sense and since I don’t think many come back to see if I answered them, I’m going to answer it here.

What I commented back: Thanks Hula! Eating modifications (don’t dare call it a diet or else it won’t work) and 30 minutes on the exercise bike everyday (when I get to where I need to be I can cut down to 3-4 times a week for maintenance). Keep the foods high in fiber, low fat. NO SODA (not that it mattered as I don’t drink much anyhow because it upsets my belly when I over indulge) and cut down on the treats. One treat a week under 100 cals. I can eat all I want if it's a veggie (watch the corn and taters as they have tons of starch). Gosh I can go all day on this though...LOL

Expanding upon this: The dr said I can eat all I care to so long as a great deal of it is veggies. I’m allowed 6 oz meat total for the day. I have to try and have no more than 3 grams of fat in my foods (this is impossible for me so I keep the serving size to single digits for fat grams...no peanut butter as 2 tablespoons is 16 grams!!!) and shoot for over 5 grams of fiber (get the double fiber bread...it's 5 grams a SLICE so a sandwich will give you 10 grams of fiber on the bread alone!). She wants me to get at least 25 grams of fiber daily. This is really easy to do once you add in the apple I have every day (3 grams), the banana (3 grams), my sandwich (10 grams), 2 cups of soup (8+grams on those healthy soups), a Special K breakfast bar (5grams) AND for sweeteners in tea or coffee....use Splenda with fiber (1 gram per envelope). Don’t skimp on the dairy...just keep it low fat or skim. Spritzer dressings are your friend as is Parkay spritz butter. So many things you can change. I get 7+ grams of fiber a day just with one of my smoothies.

Smoothie recipe:
2/3 cup Fat free yogurt...Stick with plain or vanilla...or you can get a flavor to compliment the fruit you use (Light and Fit has only 80 calories for 6 oz)

1/2 cup skim milk

1 banana (gotta have the potassium...medium banana is 3 grams fiber, large bananas have 4-5 grams)

1.5 cups of additional fruit (I use the frozen fruits for a thicker smoothie....if you use frozen fruit you won’t need to add ice like some recipes call for) (many of the fruits are about 3.5-4 grams a fiber a serving)

2 pkts Splenda with fiber (if needed....frozen peaches you'll need it but if you use mangos, they're sweet enough all on their own)

Blend in a heavy duty blender or smoothie maker (or a food processor...but the lid doesn’t seal nicely and it can get messy with the liquid) until smooth. This recipe makes about 32-40 ounces. Don’t feel guilty! You would have eaten all that food anyhow. Oh and if it's thick enough I suspect it can be frozen for a nummy dessert!

Since October, I’ve lost a bit over 30 pounds. I’m down 2 sizes in panties (although I still wear the same size pants because a gal’s gotta be able to sit in them!), about 1-1.5 bra sizes on the band (a full size in the cup!) and about 1.5 sizes down in the shirts (the 3x used to be a bit big but comfy but now in some cuts I wear as small as a 1x). I’ve hit a bit of a plateau right now but I suspect it’s because I fell off the modifications around the beginning of February due to illness and am fighting myself to get back on them.