any thanksgiving dinners at my house before i went away to college. i asked my mom if we celebrated when i was a kid and she looked at me like i was crazy. so i guess it is the first sign of aging... memory loss...
so i have spent all night trying to think up stuff from my childhood. i actually had an awesome childhood, that is why i was confused when i couldn't remember celebrating thanksgiving...
so on this thanksgiving eve, i have decided to share some things i am thankful for from my childhood. and for some of you offer a stroll down memory lane - although, apparently my memory isn't what it used to be.
what was i doing again... oh yeah...
i got one of these for christmas one year and it proceeded to pee on my sister. best gift yet...
my favorite cartoon to this day. it is all i want to watch when i am home sick. they still make me laugh out loud.
i loved watching these guys on sat morning cartoons...
on vacation one year my mom got me one of these. on the way back to the beach cottage it flew out the rear window of our station wagon. you remember the seats in the way back that faced the other cars... my mom actually went back and looked for it in the dark...
an afternoon cartoon favorite...
i loved this tv show and was convinced that i would do better in school if i got to live with all of my friends... college proved me wrong.
i loved these guys...
my mom paid a fortune for mine when it first came out. at least she didn't beat anyone up for it... at least i think she didn't...
nothing is as funny as carol burnett. period.
oh the hours i wasted on this machine. now i have replaced it with the internet.
have a wonderful thanksgiving, friends!
be brave...
i can't remember...
m.i.a...
i have been totally missing in action for the past week. mel was home all last week with the stomach thing. and then we had company come in town wednesday night from sweden. it was so great to spend time with marika and magnus. now i am totally beat.
but i finally got a new cell phone. hopefully i will be able to keep this one longer than ten days before i break it. is feeds my iphone desire but is with verizon and much cheaper.
i have been working on baby quilts. i have 2 "boy" ones that are almost ready to be quilted and a "girl" one i am still piecing. i really want to get some up in my etsy shop. but, to be honest, it is scary to put stuff in there. what if no one likes it... what if it is crappy... so i am just spending time telling myself that i am not good enough to make stuff people will buy. i know, really productive...
i refuse to believe that one month from today will be christmas. i have such mixed emotions this time of year. i LOVE christmas. it is my favorite holiday and my birthday is 12/18 so it is always a good time of year... but as an accountant it means that... tax season is coming. ugh. i love doing taxes and i love all my clients. well, most of them at least. but tax season is daunting. fifteen hour days, not enough crafting, too little sleep, wearing the same clothes three days in a row... i mean... um...
so yeah, thanksgiving is in 2 days!!! woo hoo!!! we are going to my wonderful sister's house this year. that means i make 2 pies and open 2 cans of cranberry sauce (they don't like the real stuff), play video games with my nieces and nephew and i am done!! needless to say i am happy about not having to cook. although, it will be interesting with mel's stomach deal. we may be having pureed turkey... suddenly i am not so excited anymore...
happiness is...
hanging out with these two...
knowing this guy...
these outside my office window in spring...
flying kites on the beach...
a loving God...
these amazing teens...
knowing this girl...
rainbows at the beach...
games with friends...
new experiences...
being silly with your best friend.
read this book...
seriously. i finished it last night. it brings to life all the attributes of our amazing God. i love how the author paints pictures of how we are loved so intensely by God. really, go out and get it. if you want to borrow mine, let me know and i will send it to you. if you want to talk about the book, email me. whatever you do, read it!!!
be brave, friends.
it is a long story...
so if you want to know the details, keep reading. if not, then know that mel is okay and should be feeling a lot better in a few days.
mel was diagnosed with gastroparesis a few years back. it is basically where a part of your stomach is paralized. so what happens is when you eat food your stomach contracts to digest it. well part of her stomach decided it was tired of all that work and just stopped so the rest of the stomach works extra hard to get the food out and into the intestines. if you have ever had a muscle spasm that is what it feels like for mel. but there is nothing she can do to make it stop. so she gets pain in her abdomen that gets more and more intense the longer the stomach has to keep working. when she was diagnosed with this she was given medicine to help the food move through her stomach quicker and told how to eat so that the food wouldn't linger or overwhelm the stomach. that had been working like a charm. so well, in fact, that the doc said she could go off the meds about 6 months ago. it really is just an antibiotic that makes you poo, not a medicine specific for her disease but it basically did the same thing.
so monday (was that just yesterday?) she was in a lot of pain. her boss sent her home from work and she started getting more severe pain and it moved into her chest. so at that point we were concerned about her heart since heart disease runs in her family and, well, let's just say she is not longer a spring chicken. we headed to the er at 7:30 and went to the "good" one just in case it was her heart. well if you didn't go to the er monday then you just aren't cool because EVERYONE and their mother was there. so once they did an ekg and blood test that showed it in fact was not a heart attack they sent us back to the waiting room. no, you didn't miss something. we had to go back to the waiting room to be called back because, even though she was in so much pain she wanted to die, she wasn't actually actively dying. around ten we had mom call the "bad" er just to see if it was as happening as the "good" one and it was about the same so we stayed put. finally at eleven thirty we were called back to our spot in the hall. no, i am not kidding. her "room" was hall b. they actually had the spots labeled along the hallway. if only i had brought my camera... they finally gave her pain meds a little after midnight and then decided that it might be her gall bladder or appendix so more blood tests were ordered. well, apparently the lab thought we really wanted to chill at the er all night because when the doc called the lab at three thirty they said "oh, we forgot to do those..." we were finally given the diagnosis of gastroparesis flare up at four am and discharged fifteen minutes later. we were home in bed by five. moral of the story... only go to the "good" er if you are sure you are dying.
epilogue: upon arriving home and crawling into my warm bed i realized i was not tired. yeah, i know... i am a freak! so i remember my facebook status. there were so many comments i actually started crying. i am sure it was just exhaustion... thanks so much for your prayers and concern. you guys rock! and if you are still reading, you must really love me... because i am even sick of the story.
love to you all. back to my craftiness and thankfulness tomorrow...
in a pinch...
you can use a window and a sunny day as a light box...
and when you are working hard cleaning, organizing and crafting it is good to take a break and snuggle with this...
and she might even entertain you with an imitation of a bunny...
as promised, here are some pics of the quilt i finished yesterday (the colors are funny thanks to my florescent office lights). all washed and ready to go in the mail on monday. it is the one i made for the quilt giveaway winner, felicia of fluffy flowers. i can't wait until she gets it...
happy weekend, friends. we are headed to dc tomorrow for a skins v. dallas game. mel is a dallas fan and this is her christmas present. pray that the skins fans don't kill us. i will have pics next week.
and tomorrow i will be thankful if...
1. we don't get beat up
2. we don't get sick on free food.
3. we don't have to sit in the parking lot for 2 hours to exit (this is the estimate)
4. we arrive there and home safely
5. dallas scores and runs down to toss us the ball
6. we don't freeze to death
7. we don't get soaked
8. the camera doesn't break
9. we don't run out of battery in the camera
10. we don't paint our face
well, that last one might be a little fun!!
friday thankful...
so, one of my nieces was upset because i didn't put her in the picture thankfuls yesterday so today i am doing thankfuls all about my nieces and nephews...
* that petey found a husband who loves her and helps keep her sane
* that anne is one of the smartest people i know
* that jake doesn't really seem to care what people think of him
* that andrew has a great laugh
* that allie has the best hugs
* that matt has a great sense of humor
* that God brought jaso & avi into our lives
* that mia is so embarrassed by her mom already
* that noah loves to read the phone book
* that jaso dances with her daddy
* that avi is doing everything he can to aggravate his mom
* that anne and i are becoming friends as well as family
* that jake calls me just to talk
* that matt has great practical jokes - veggies
* that andrew will play video games with us for hours and still want more
* that allie wants to make crafts with me
* that i got to be there when jake was born
* that petey still calls us each week even though she lives in japan
* that andrew loves baseball so much
* that i am lucky enough to be the one that gets to be their aunt
yeah, yeah, yeah...
i know i missed blogging yesterday. you will have to muster all the grace you can and forgive me. and just know that i really was thankful...
so i have decided to give you my "list" today in photos...
yep, i love everything in those photos...
so so thankful for...
winning this, and this, tastefully simple, dogs who wiggle their butts, quilts, a cool class by this lady starting next monday, thrift stores, bike rides, waves, teenagers, this bible study, crystal light individual packs, fabric stashes, friends visiting from sweden, nieces, nephews, this drink, my nannie, people who love you unconditionally, flannel pjs.
my twenty...
today i am thankful for...
a lazy day, that my bff is feeling a little better, clean sheets, books in the mail, therma care patches, peanut m&ms, fuzzy socks, a yard full of fall leaves, having gift cards to get a new camera, heading out of town this weekend, our chihuahua who wiggles her butt whenever she sees us, challenges, remote controls, soccer, memories, watercolors, irons, finding things you never knew you lost, turkey sandwiches, butterflies in my tummy...
i am not only posting this to get more entries...
well, maybe i am. so my friend, weenie, is having a challenge. you should go to her blog and read about it. and tell her to pick me.
today was full of cleaning and quilting. more of the former, unfortunately. but it had to be done. and the house smells clean. don't you just love that smell? well, i have to give a shout out to dyson... i mean i know you dyson folks visit my blog daily, so i will have to tell you that your vacuums ROCK!! feel free to send me a new one. there's nothing wrong with the old one, but i like the new pink pretty ones. but i digress... so in all of our frantic cleaning i sucked up 3 pair of earrings that fell under my dresser. here's the part where the shout out comes in. so, my best friend and roommate were having a contest to see who had more crap under their dresser. sick, i know... but when i sucked up the earrings she claimed i was in fact the dirtiest. but then when i looked in the clear part i saw my earrings. thank you dyson. you saved my earrings. oh, and i should say i think mel is actually the dirtiest because she had an egg from easter under her dresser... real nice, huh?
so today i am grateful for...
1. a shiny clean bathroom
2. a best friend who will be the one who cleans the bathroom
3. flea medicine
4. my singer sewing machine that quilts as good as any long arm
5. seashells
6. old family photos
7. sudoku
8. ordering dinner in
9. washers and dryers
10. cozy slippers
11. rain
12. fall trees
13. baby kittens
14. memories triggered by smells
15. music
16. contact lenses
17. laughter
18. dr. seuss
19. free wifi
20. dreams
grateful...
Okay so here is my second list for today. I know it is after midnight, but since I haven't gone to sleep, in my mind it is still friday.
1. Sprite - it works wonders for an upset tummy
2. Stars
3. Swiotchfoot
4. Friends who call to see if I am coming to bible study.
5. The blackberry automatically capitalizing for me
6. Melb for challenging me to scrap 30 days of thankfulness
7. Facebook
8. Encouragement
9. Indoor plumbing
10. Fun mail
11. No more political ads
12. Jeans
13. Bath and body works
14. Chips and salsa
15. Nail clippers
16. Hello kitty
17. Uniqueness
18. Google analytics
19. Finding good stuff at yard sales
20.Painting
i really am thankful...
even if i do forget to post one day. not that i forgot yesterday... um, i just wanted to give you two posts today to make friday extra special! so here is the first installment of you friday blogging excitement...
1. veggie tales
2. a fun night last night with my bff, the burrito. thank God she didn't wear the costume
3. mexican food
4. a nice unseasonably warm day today
5. fridays
6. to do lists
7. my fancy new bike
8. that it isn't supposed to rain today so maybe i can ride my bike
9. friends who trust you with their secrets
10. donald miller
11. kristin chenoweth
12. christmas music
13. ideas
14. fabric
15. paint
16. staples
17. post its
18. cell phones
19. tivo
20. eye drops
i am grateful for...
i have joined the group of awesome inspired ladies who have committed to write 20 things we are grateful for each day. i will continue to do this through the last day of november. oh yeah, feel free to join us. but make sure i am the first on your list of what you are grateful for...
1. friends with funny blog posts
2. time to create today
3. my cat that laid on the quilt i was trying to baste on the floor. sorry felicia. :0)
4. my new baby bulldog, olive izabella
5. scoopable cat litter
6. my mom
7. pretty wrapping paper
8. the cool inspired girls who started this
9. living in a free country
10. blogging
11. meeting friends through blogging
12. the beach
13. the way sand feels on your feet
14. tickets to denver to visit my best friend
15. my amazing nieces and nephews
16. talking late into the night with my best friend
17. tv shows with families that have multiples
18. crocs
19. real simple magazine
20. hope
i have a hangover...
from watching election coverage. not that i was actually drinking... i was so excited to see how close things were - especially here in va. not only the pres race but the local ones as well. we are pretty much a fifty fifty kind of state. some of the local old fogies are still refusing to concede until every vote is counted even though the decision has been made. so i was up surfing the channels until the wee hours of the night. i have respect for each man who ran. even taking on the journey of running for president takes some chutzpah, so my hat off to each of you. actually i am not wearing a hat right now, but i guess you know what i mean. i was inspired by each man's speech and i pray that now we can come together as a nation and move forward to a better tomorrow. i think the obama girls were so cute when they came on stage last night all excited. i think they make a pretty cute first family and i hope the puppy they get is an english bulldog.
i made history today...
by voting. it has been amazing to see how this election has excited the entire country. no matter what you believe, it is a change that we are actually believing something. whatever happens i hope that our country will unite to be a better place for kids to grow up. a place where kids believe in their government and want to work to make america a place that we can be proud of.
as i stood in line for 45 minutes today talking to the other voters around me i realized a few things...
1. we are all pretty much the same - we want to believe in our country.
2. there was definitely an excitement during this election day that was not there in any other election i have voted.
3. i am going to change my last name to something that begins with one of the letters of H through O. there was no voting line for those people.
flannel and i are no longer friends...
so i made this cute, cute cutie blanket for my friend at church who is pregnant. it is all pink and white and cute. well, i got some equally pinky cuteness in flannel to back the quilt. so i started quilting and the stinking flannel shifted. and i am not just talking a smidge. it was nearly and inch and a half. so it totally messed up my super cute blanket. i tried to bind the edges and cover up the flannel's display of hatred toward me, but it didn't work. i should probably post a picture of the horror and maybe i will tomorrow. anyone have any tips? or should i just continue to despise flannel backing for the rest of eternity? on the bright side, our chihuahua now has a super cute blankie.
