Been a while

I knew it had been a while since I was here but I didn't realize how long.

Things are crazy busy right now with the regular routine starting again. The oldest is working pretty regular, the youngest is practicing his driving, and I'm back to school. Any time I see an ad for help, I drag the youngest there it put an application in. Jobs are far and few between around here, but if he could just get SOMETHING I would be thrilled.

The lady I'm currently taking care if is officially done next week. I'm sad because it was a really, really great case and close to home. I' don't get much close to my home. All I do know is I really, really don't want to work to far because I still remember what a nightmare driving in the snow storms was last year. There is a possibility that I will be working Sunday afternoons into Monday mornings. It's a double shift, but the more I think about it the more I think it might work. I only have to work one day and get all the hours in I need. Not to bad, won't interfere with my Tuesday afternoon thing and Wednesday and Thursday night things, and won't interfere with Church. I usually don't do anything on Sunday afternoons anyway. Now, I just have to figure out how to get through 16 hours...........

The oldest is just getting over a really nasty cold and now the youngest has it. And I think maybe it's getting me. I tried so hard not to get infected, but my throat is sore and it's hard to swallow. We'll see what tomorrow brings. The rest of the week is going to busy and I have no time to be sick, lol!

24.6 lbs gone!!!!

You would think my body would take pitty on me and give me those few extra ounces to make it an even 25 lbs, but no, I have to wait until next week, lol. Oh well.

This past week has been rather cool and dreary. A lot of clouds but not a lot of rain, just brief showers. I wish it would rain, just a nice steady rain for a few days. Some of my neighbors who have well water are having problems with them because of the lack of rain. There is a waterfall I pass by on my way into town. Normally, it's running nicely, but lately there's hardly any water to go over the waterfall. Weatherman says Friday at the earliest we should get some significant rain. I want the rain, but that's the day we are coming back from seeing my parents, so I hope the rain holds off until we are close to home or comes a day or two earlier. It's still early for a Friday prediction though.

With the cooler air the back pains have come back. Big time! I don't think there's one spot on my back that isn't hurting. I've been begging hubby for a back rub because there's no way I can drive for seven hours with this pain. I'm only good for a bout 30 minutes. I know it's not the car seat. Speaking of cars, we went and bought a new car, well new to us, on Friday. It's a 2009 Hyundai Accent. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. At first hubby didn't want it because it's small and only has 2 doors. It's rare that we all 4 go anyplace together anymore and if we really need a 4 door car we have the other one. Then he tells me he wants 4 wheel or all wheel, so this past week we have spent looking at different places at different cars. I don't know why but he changed his mind, after we went back to look at it 3 times and then finally decided to buy it. I get to pick it up on Monday. This means we leave on Tuesday and we are taking the new car. That part I don't mind because the other one I still haven't gotten to the mechanic to see why every now and again it doesn't want to start. That will be hubby's car since I just don't have time to sit sometimes and wait for it to decide to start.

This week has been a mad rush to get all the veggies out of the garden and frozen. Tomorrow is the last day and now that we have an extra day, hubby's going out in the garden tomorrow and getting what he can get for me to freeze before we leave.

I took today to dig out some cool weather clothes, ended up reorganizing my whole closet. I also got all my shoes organized and started the packing and did all the dirty laundry. The oldest also did all his. Tomorrow we have to do the sheets and Monday towels as well as cleaning the house. And I wonder why my back hurts, lol.

busy day

Today was another "hit the ground running" day. Spent most of yesterday out shopping and looking for a new car. My car doesn't want to start some days, but it's becoming weekly now. I was out on Friday shopping with the youngest and we sat in the parking lot for an hour and a half before the car decided to start. I had called hubby and he was actually on the way to get me by the time it finally started. Usually, when it won't start, I have to let it sit for about 10 minutes and then it starts right up. Not that day. When we were out on Sunday, for any short trips we left a kid in the car instead of turning it off. My thinking is I just don't want to sit for who knows how long. After the Friday ordeal I took it to a mechanic who checked it with his computer and he told me nothing is showing up as being wrong. His best guess was about four different things it could be, but not really sure. He told me my options are to slowly replace those things, wait until a check engine light or service light comes on, or wait until the car finally won't start anymore. Not options I wanted to hear, but at least he was being honest. Maybe, or maybe he just didn't know. Either way, it didn't cost me anything. Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can get it in to a GMC dealer this week and see what they have to say about it. I know it's a long shot, but maybe I can get it fixed, really fixed, this week. I'm tired of sitting.

Since we are going away soon, I've finally looked at the calendar and the date is registering. This week we have to work on getting everything out of the garden and my job is to do something with all the produce. Hubby reminded me today not to shop for food this week and to make sure all the produce is gone by the time we are ready to go.

We have to take the cat with us so we bought her a new pet taxi. Fun, fun. She hates the thing, crys and claws at it like crazy. We put her in it a few times yesterday and finally by the end of the day she just went in and laid down. But that pitiful meow she has just breaks my heart. Now that she seems to be adjusting, I have to start taking her on short rides in the car. And I wonder why I'm not looking forward to this trip??

Got up earlier than I needed to today but glad I did, got a lot accompolished. Had a headache for most of the day, and my eyes have been burning all day. All I want to do is close them, but just to much on today's list, so I'm going to bed early tonight.

The boys got two buckets of tomatoes from the garden along with tons and tons of green beans. Quite a lot of hot peppers to, gave some to my friend who stopped by this morning as well as some zucchini, corn, and tomatoes. We don't have corn in the garden but hubby doesn't eat it and neither do I anymore. I just learned that corn creates acid in your stomach, that's the last thing I need, so no more for me. I froze some of the hot peppers and also put some in vinegar and salt for hubby to use to. Tomorrow I have to freeze the green beans and tomatoes. Wednesday or Thursday I'll make zucchini bread. Promised I would take the youngest shoe shopping on Wednesday. He has other stops to make to, but I don't think that's happening. Just to much to do in the few hours until hubby has to go to work.

Pics

These are the tomatoes in the veggie garden. Lots of green ones, but not many red ones, yet.
Everything else but tomatoes, lol. Broccoli, cauliflower, which we haven't gotten any of yet, hot peppers, onions, and zucchini. There is also spinach hiding under the leaves of the broccoli.
Hubby's okra.
My dragon wings plant. It's an annual but I brought it inside last winter and it survived, lol!
This is the plant that has literly taken over the garden. It's similar to our zucchini we have here, but it grows super long and is thin like a cucumber. Hubby doesn't know the name in English for it.


That's some of the pics. The rest I'll do later. It's just me and the cat home and we are enjoying our time away from the males in the house, lol. I'm just enjoying the empty house myself, lol.

Pics

Not a whole lot going on except I'm melting in the heat, mid to upper 90's for the rest of the week, whew!!

This was supposed to have garden pics but they are floating out in cyber space somewhere, so I'll try another time. Just don't have the patience to go through all that again.

It looks like we might actually get to visit my parents in the next few weeks. There is finally a third person working at hubbys station, after a month with only two! Hubby doesn't want to stay a full week though, he wants to stay only two days. It's a seven hour drive each way, we would spend one night and have to leave the next day. I told him the next time he goes to India he can only stay three days. I think he started to understand after I said that.

Little does he know we are taking the cat with us because she just doesn't eat if we go away. I'm not sure who's going to be the worst in the car, hubby or the cat, lol!!

Last day of freedom

School starts back for me tomorrow. In a way I'm excited, but also not. Lots of time hitting the books and researching for papers. The boys don't start for another two weeks yet. They will go for one day and then we are away to see my parents. School starting is a sure sign of cooler weather and I'm all for that! It's so stinkin hot here today. The weatherman is talking a 5 day heat wave, sure hope he's wrong on that one, I was getting used to the comfortable temps and no ac. It was nice outside most of the day because there was a decent breeze blowing, but the house was so hot I caved and put the air on. Supposed to go into the 60's I think tonight so sleeping will be good.

Saturday morning I got on the scale like I always do and the number came up the exact same as last week. Ok, so I moved the scale to a different spot and still the same number. Put the scale back into time out and went and had breakfast. Just because the scale is going down for me doesn't mean we've become friends, lol. I was thinking during breakfast that maybe the scale wasn't working properly or maybe it needs a new battery so I decided to weigh myself after breakfast. Now, you would think on a full stomach the number would be higher, right? Hopped on the scale and I'm down a pound. After breakfast! Well, at least the scales working, I think. Decided not to use that days weight and use this mornings. This morning I'm down 1.6, my normal loss. One things for sure, I lost at least 1 pound this week.

Hubby and the oldest attacked the garden yesterday. When I saw how much they picked I was sorry I asked them to go in. Tons and tons of green beans, lots of jalapeno peppers, tons of tomatoes, a few cucumbers and few zucchini. And they never made it to the kale and cauliflower. The zucchini and cucumbers I just put in the fridge because we can just eat them. I really want to make zucchini bread with some because I haven't made any zucchini bread this year yet. The tomatoes I'll freeze tomorrow after work as well as the green beans. Hubby told me I could freeze the jalapeno peppers as is to use over the winter so I'll do them to. Easy stuff, maybe the tomatoes I'll freeze on Tuesday after work because they will take some time to do. The cherry tomatoes I'll make a little salsa out of. It's almost impossible to take the skin off cherry tomatoes.

Have pics of the garden in its overgrown state, but just haven't uploaded them yet.

Unmotivated day

The weather here lately has been quite cool, but rainy for the past 3 days. I'm not minding the cooler temps, makes me feel like Fall is coming, but I know its just a tease. The weatherman is predicting temps in the upper 80's for the weekend and 90 on Monday. UGH!! Back to the stinkin heat and humidity. And reality I guess, but the break was nice.

Yesterday was the oldest birthday. He's now 20! I can't believe it. Boy do I feel old :( Decided to make him a birthday cake. Had the youngest bake the cake while I was at work and when I got home I decided to put icing on it. Well, for some reason, the cake refused to cooperate, lol. I had the cake all together, since we made a layer cake, but when I got to this one side, the whole side just fell off when I put icing on it. I don't understand why either. The cake was cooled and the icing was room temperature. The cake came out of the pans with no chunks missing. I don't know what went wrong. Maybe it was me, I don't know. Anyway, the boys liked it. I had just the frozen yogurt I had bought, no cake, not one crumb! I'm so proud of myself, because before I would have had at least a small taste.

I really think now my mindset is totally different. And I do think at this point if I did eat to much of it I would probably get nauseous from it. A while ago I was having a serious chocolate craving and I had 2 small peppermint patties. I had such an upset stomach from it, I couldn't believe it. That was the very last time, it's been over a month since.

For the most part the cravings are gone. Just occasionally, but I do eat frozen yogurt and have ice cream in the house since this med interferes with my calcium, I'm hoping if the up the calcium intake it won't be to bad. Broccoli and yogurt are becoming a daily thing in my diet since I'm not a big milk drinker, that's the reason for ice cream instead. As long as I keep losing a pound or two a week it's all good.

Since today was the first day we haven't been drenched in rain I took a walk outside. The garden has become a jungle, so have the weeds in the flower beds, lol. But I have 2 roses blooming. I'll have to take new pics later of the garden. I think the zucchini is just about done, but the cauliflower is finally starting to get ready. The kale has gone crazy I have to pick that and freeze it. The green beans are ready. Hubby and I picked a whole bunch of beans before all the rain and I froze them. Hubby's only getting a handful at a time of the okra, but the hot peppers are hanging full, as well as the tomatoes. Hubby pulled up two onions but they really aren't ready yet. I knew we planted two cantaloupe plants, one has a small green cantaloupe on it. Haven't found the other plant yet. Hubby planted something, don't remember what he calls it, in the squash family and it's a climber. Hubby didn't' set up anything for the plant to climb on so it's taken over half the garden. It does have small green things starting on it. From the looks of it we are going to have an awful lot of that vegetable once it really gets going. Told hubby next year he has to place it at the end of the garden and make something for it to climb up on. This thing has spread out of the fence of the garden and is starting to climb up the side of the shed, which is next to the garden, lol.