Hi again,
Sorry for the absense again. Today I want to share a poem that I love. I hope you like it as much as I do. It was read at my cousin's funeral who died at a very young age. This always reminds me how short life is and to live the best I can with the time I have here. thanks and enjoy.
The '-' Dash
Words by Linda Ellis
I read of a Reverend who stood to speak,
At the funeral of his friend,
He referred to the dates on (his) tombstone
From the beginning ... to the end.
He noted that first came the date of (his) birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
That (he) spent alive on earth
and now only those who loved (him)
know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend out the dash.
So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
(You could be at "dash mid-range").
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more,
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So when your Eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash ...
Would you be pleased with the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Talking Green: When do I transplant?
Hi again,
Transplanting. I consider this different from pricking out because this is something you do either when the plant has gotten too big for the cell or it is time to put the plant into pots or the ground. You don't need to transplant really until the plants have outgrown their current home but you can transplant sooner than that. I like to wait until the plants have grown at least a few inches tall or they need more room for their roots because each time I transplant, it seems to shock the plant a little and they have to get used to their new home so I try to avoid it if I don't need to. I need to mention here that it is incredibly important to give a plant sufficient room for their roots to grow. Otherwise a plant will become stunted when it runs out of room for it's roots. When this happens it is generally called root bound and you can tell by looking at the roots and they are running in circles around the edge of the pot. With young plants though, it can be difficult and sometimes next to impossible to pull them out of the cell to check the root system. So the best way to know is to watch for roots poking through the bottom of the cells or if it seems that the plant has sort of stopped growing. These are both indications the plant is starting to run out of room. A plant can have roots poking through the bottom of the cell and not be root bound because they send roots straight down first but if roots have reached the bottom, chances are the roots will start to circle around the pot soon. It is best to transplant before a plant gets root bound. Giving a plant sufficient room for roots can really affect the size of the plant. I did a little experiment last year to see how much it would affect the plants and I left some marigolds a little longer in the cells and transplanted others and within a couple of weeks, the plants that were transplanted were nearly double the size. This is in no way a scientific experiment and just something for fun but it shows that giving a plant enough room is very important.
Also depending on where you are planning to transplant to can make a difference when to transplant. If you are planning to transplant in to your flower bed then the bigger the plant, the better I think. The more mature an annual is, the tougher it is. Also it is important to wait until it is warm enough that it isn't freezing over night any longer and the plants have been hardened off. I will talk about hardening off in the next post. Have fun!
Transplanting. I consider this different from pricking out because this is something you do either when the plant has gotten too big for the cell or it is time to put the plant into pots or the ground. You don't need to transplant really until the plants have outgrown their current home but you can transplant sooner than that. I like to wait until the plants have grown at least a few inches tall or they need more room for their roots because each time I transplant, it seems to shock the plant a little and they have to get used to their new home so I try to avoid it if I don't need to. I need to mention here that it is incredibly important to give a plant sufficient room for their roots to grow. Otherwise a plant will become stunted when it runs out of room for it's roots. When this happens it is generally called root bound and you can tell by looking at the roots and they are running in circles around the edge of the pot. With young plants though, it can be difficult and sometimes next to impossible to pull them out of the cell to check the root system. So the best way to know is to watch for roots poking through the bottom of the cells or if it seems that the plant has sort of stopped growing. These are both indications the plant is starting to run out of room. A plant can have roots poking through the bottom of the cell and not be root bound because they send roots straight down first but if roots have reached the bottom, chances are the roots will start to circle around the pot soon. It is best to transplant before a plant gets root bound. Giving a plant sufficient room for roots can really affect the size of the plant. I did a little experiment last year to see how much it would affect the plants and I left some marigolds a little longer in the cells and transplanted others and within a couple of weeks, the plants that were transplanted were nearly double the size. This is in no way a scientific experiment and just something for fun but it shows that giving a plant enough room is very important.
Also depending on where you are planning to transplant to can make a difference when to transplant. If you are planning to transplant in to your flower bed then the bigger the plant, the better I think. The more mature an annual is, the tougher it is. Also it is important to wait until it is warm enough that it isn't freezing over night any longer and the plants have been hardened off. I will talk about hardening off in the next post. Have fun!
Talking Green: Pricking Out
Now I would like to talk about Pricking Out. Once your seeds have germinated and they have grown enough that you can handle them (usually over 1cm tall) you need to seperate them so that they don't compete for light as they grow larger. Seed packages suggest just pulling out the extras and leaving the strongest seedling but for me I can't do it. I feel bad killing plants. So for those of us who don't want to just keep the strongest plant but rather all the plants-pricking out is for us. lol I have actually read books that tell you to grow seeds this way that you sprinkle quite a few into a try and then use the pricking out method to put them in individual cells. Anyways enough about that-here is how you do it. lol For me, I just take something I have on hand which is usually a popsicle stick or the end of a plastic spoon or knife-something with a small end on it. Then I take it and insert it in beside the plant I want to remove and gently push it up. In terms of how deep to go down, I usually insert the popsicle stick about half way down the cell or about an inch or so. Depending on how many seeds are growing, sometimes more than one comes up which is fine. When more than one seedling comes up, just gently pull them apart while being careful with the little roots. It is ok if some of the roots break so don't worry about that. Just be careful to not detach all the roots from the stem! I have read in books that you should hold a seedling by the leaves so you don't bruise the stem but personally I have little luck with that because often the leaves break off the stem quite easily. Just be gentle and everything should be ok. This is another reason it is good to have extras because despite our best intentions, sometimes a seedling breaks and dies. Once you have pricked out the seedlings you want to move to different cells then it is time to plant them.
Planting the seedlings is interesting sometimes with the tiny seedlings like lobelia. For the tiny seedlings I tend to fill each cell full of dirt and make a small hole to insert the seedling so I don't lose it and I don't have to try hold it up while putting dirt around it. For the bigger seedlings, it is not so hard to hold them up so you can usually fill the cell partially full and then put it in and fill up the cell the rest of of the way. Have fun!
Planting the seedlings is interesting sometimes with the tiny seedlings like lobelia. For the tiny seedlings I tend to fill each cell full of dirt and make a small hole to insert the seedling so I don't lose it and I don't have to try hold it up while putting dirt around it. For the bigger seedlings, it is not so hard to hold them up so you can usually fill the cell partially full and then put it in and fill up the cell the rest of of the way. Have fun!
Talking green: Where's the seed?
Today I want to talk about seed sizes for a moment. Seeds come in a wide range of sizes and the smallest I have seen are Lobelia seeds which are incredibly tiny. I would say the size of a grain of sand possibly. The reason I titled this what I did is because I showed the Lobelia seeds to my dad when I was planting them and that was his response. One of the questions I got from my sister was how to plant seeds like this because it is almost next to impossible to control where the seed falls first of all and second to know how much has dropped on to the soil is tough to know. You can count them if you are really willing to spend that much time and effort but if you are like me then you will not have the patience for it. lol So my rule of thumb for the really tiny seeds is to sprinkle a few onto the soil and place a very fine layer of soil over top and then once they are big enough I do what is called pricking out (which I will talk about in another post). With seeds this tiny it is very important to use a spray bottle to water them until they are bigger as to not wash away the seed. Also in my experience the smaller the seed, the longer they seem to take to grow. I could be wrong about this but it seems to be the case. Lobelia take a very long time to grow and I usually start them quite a bit before the other seeds to give them time to grow.
Next I want to touch on the seeds in between the tiny seeds and the big seeds. I like to plant more seeds than what I plan on needing just in case every seed doesn't sprout. Also if they all come up then I have some extras and you can never have too many! If you have limited room, the extra plants make great gifts. Anyways for the seeds that I can see fairly easily like Marigold or cosmos seeds, I will plant two to a cell. This is my own personal choice of course and if you prefer to just plant one-that is perfectly fine. I am not an expert and I am just sharing how I do things and how it works for me. One thing to keep in mind when planting is the age of the seed also. The older the seed is, the less likely it will be to sprout. Depending on how well seed is cared for, it can last many years or as little as a year. I have read that it is a good idea to keep seed in a cool dry place like a fridge and I would love to do this but there just isn't room in the fridge! So I try to keep them in a cupboard that stays cool. Some seeds seem to last longer than others also. So just keep that in mind. When the seeds sprout, if I need to, I prick out the extras and put in other cells.
Now to the other side of the scale in terms of size of seed. The really big seeds are seeds like some sunflower seeds, Nasturtium, Sweet Peas, 4 o'clocks etc. With big seeds I tend to plant one seed per cell because they take up a fair bit of room and for extra seeds I just plant more cells. I find the big seeds sprout pretty fast and you should see them popping up fairly quickly. Also the bigger the seed, the deeper you should plant it. I usually follow the instructions on the package and if I don't have a package then I just plant the seed about the depth of the seed size. I hope this information is useful!
Next I want to touch on the seeds in between the tiny seeds and the big seeds. I like to plant more seeds than what I plan on needing just in case every seed doesn't sprout. Also if they all come up then I have some extras and you can never have too many! If you have limited room, the extra plants make great gifts. Anyways for the seeds that I can see fairly easily like Marigold or cosmos seeds, I will plant two to a cell. This is my own personal choice of course and if you prefer to just plant one-that is perfectly fine. I am not an expert and I am just sharing how I do things and how it works for me. One thing to keep in mind when planting is the age of the seed also. The older the seed is, the less likely it will be to sprout. Depending on how well seed is cared for, it can last many years or as little as a year. I have read that it is a good idea to keep seed in a cool dry place like a fridge and I would love to do this but there just isn't room in the fridge! So I try to keep them in a cupboard that stays cool. Some seeds seem to last longer than others also. So just keep that in mind. When the seeds sprout, if I need to, I prick out the extras and put in other cells.
Now to the other side of the scale in terms of size of seed. The really big seeds are seeds like some sunflower seeds, Nasturtium, Sweet Peas, 4 o'clocks etc. With big seeds I tend to plant one seed per cell because they take up a fair bit of room and for extra seeds I just plant more cells. I find the big seeds sprout pretty fast and you should see them popping up fairly quickly. Also the bigger the seed, the deeper you should plant it. I usually follow the instructions on the package and if I don't have a package then I just plant the seed about the depth of the seed size. I hope this information is useful!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Talking Green:Let's start at the very beginning
Hi again,
I realize it is too late to start seeds indoors for this season but for some seeds it isn't too late to plant directly outdoors so I will start at the very beginning. I also realize some of this information may be something you already know but for some it may be new information.
Of course to grow seeds you need seeds, soil, tray(s), water and if you are starting them early- a window to put them beside or a greenhouse.
Seeds come in all sizes and as a rule of thumb for me is if there are no definite directions on the package as to how deep they go then I plant them about the depth of the seed themselves. But there are some seeds that need light to germinate and there are seeds that need to be in complete dark to germinate. I can try to come up with a list at some point which need what but right now I will stick to the basics. Most seeds do not need to be in the dark (as in covered with something to not let any light in) and most just need to be planted in the soil. Seeds I know of right away that need light to germinate are snap dragons and alyssum and these you do not cover with anything and just spread them on top of the soil. Anyways some seeds do require some extra attention to grow.
Now on to the soil. Not all soil is created equal. I have learned that the best soil to use is not soil at all. Some people call it a soiless mixture but often it is called potting soil in the store I think. I am trying to think about everything in the mix but I might miss one but the main stuff in the mix is peat, perlite (the little white things that look like rocks) vermicilite, and sometimes a wetting agent depending on the type of mix you buy. Different brands will be different. To tell you the truth I always thought perlite and vermicilite did the same thing and I only recently learned otherwise. Perlite is added to improve drainage in the soil which is sometimes very important for certain plants where vermicilite is added to absorb moisture and retain moisture. I personally buy vermicilite to add extra to the soil mix and that is just something I do and to me it seems to help. As for the wetting agent, it is something that some soil mixes have added to help the mix absorb water. If you have tried different potting soils you may have noticed that some seem to repell water almost where others are not so bad. This is because of the wetting agent which apparently helps the water to get absorbed easier. The reason the water doesn't soak in good is the peat moss in the mix. Even without a wetting agent it is still possible to make the soil wet but it just a little more difficult but not incredibly hard. But sometimes paying a little extra for a better soil can really make a difference in how well the plants grow.
Last but not least-the water and sunlight. When you first plant the seeds it is important to use a spray bottle to water the seeds so you do not wash away the seeds. Once they have sprouted and grown a little bit then it is safe to move to a watering can if you like. Make sure to keep the soil moist but not wet because you can over water and it causes seeds to rot or go mouldy. To be honest I often worry the seeds will not have enough water and I am tempted to add more water thinking I am doing something good but I have to restrain myself because too much will be bad. As for sunlight, it is important to have them by a window or greenhouse if you are starting them indoors. Also as the seeds sprout, make sure to keep an eye on them if they seem to lean towards the window or not. I like to turn the trays when this happens if I start them in a window so they don't get too lopsided. Idealy it would be good to have a window that lets in enough light that they don't reach but it isn't always possible. I know I have only briefly touched on stuff in this post but I hope to get into more detail in the posts to follow about specific stuff. Thanks for reading!
I realize it is too late to start seeds indoors for this season but for some seeds it isn't too late to plant directly outdoors so I will start at the very beginning. I also realize some of this information may be something you already know but for some it may be new information.
Of course to grow seeds you need seeds, soil, tray(s), water and if you are starting them early- a window to put them beside or a greenhouse.
Seeds come in all sizes and as a rule of thumb for me is if there are no definite directions on the package as to how deep they go then I plant them about the depth of the seed themselves. But there are some seeds that need light to germinate and there are seeds that need to be in complete dark to germinate. I can try to come up with a list at some point which need what but right now I will stick to the basics. Most seeds do not need to be in the dark (as in covered with something to not let any light in) and most just need to be planted in the soil. Seeds I know of right away that need light to germinate are snap dragons and alyssum and these you do not cover with anything and just spread them on top of the soil. Anyways some seeds do require some extra attention to grow.
Now on to the soil. Not all soil is created equal. I have learned that the best soil to use is not soil at all. Some people call it a soiless mixture but often it is called potting soil in the store I think. I am trying to think about everything in the mix but I might miss one but the main stuff in the mix is peat, perlite (the little white things that look like rocks) vermicilite, and sometimes a wetting agent depending on the type of mix you buy. Different brands will be different. To tell you the truth I always thought perlite and vermicilite did the same thing and I only recently learned otherwise. Perlite is added to improve drainage in the soil which is sometimes very important for certain plants where vermicilite is added to absorb moisture and retain moisture. I personally buy vermicilite to add extra to the soil mix and that is just something I do and to me it seems to help. As for the wetting agent, it is something that some soil mixes have added to help the mix absorb water. If you have tried different potting soils you may have noticed that some seem to repell water almost where others are not so bad. This is because of the wetting agent which apparently helps the water to get absorbed easier. The reason the water doesn't soak in good is the peat moss in the mix. Even without a wetting agent it is still possible to make the soil wet but it just a little more difficult but not incredibly hard. But sometimes paying a little extra for a better soil can really make a difference in how well the plants grow.
Last but not least-the water and sunlight. When you first plant the seeds it is important to use a spray bottle to water the seeds so you do not wash away the seeds. Once they have sprouted and grown a little bit then it is safe to move to a watering can if you like. Make sure to keep the soil moist but not wet because you can over water and it causes seeds to rot or go mouldy. To be honest I often worry the seeds will not have enough water and I am tempted to add more water thinking I am doing something good but I have to restrain myself because too much will be bad. As for sunlight, it is important to have them by a window or greenhouse if you are starting them indoors. Also as the seeds sprout, make sure to keep an eye on them if they seem to lean towards the window or not. I like to turn the trays when this happens if I start them in a window so they don't get too lopsided. Idealy it would be good to have a window that lets in enough light that they don't reach but it isn't always possible. I know I have only briefly touched on stuff in this post but I hope to get into more detail in the posts to follow about specific stuff. Thanks for reading!
Talking Green
Hello again,
Sorry for the absence first of all. I have been relatively busy when I am able to be and otherwise I have been dealing with my back which continues to cause problems. Anyways that is not the reason for my post today so I will get to the point. Over the winter I convinced my sister to try to grow her own flowers from seed which I do every year. The reason she needed convincing is because she has always considered herself to have a not green thumb-what ever color it would be otherwise is what she felt she had. I convinced her that it was worth a try and could be fun. Plus it would help me out because then I would not need to grow the seeds for her too which would be difficult because of stuff going on right now. Anyways she showed me something through this experience. That I have something to share-well knowledge to share actually. Knowledge that I actually assumed everyone knew because I knew it. But in the process of helping my sister, I realized that I know stuff that could help other people possibly grow better plants. I am not trying to claim I am an expert or anything close to an expert but I know stuff that may help other people out. So when ever I post about this topic I will title it Talking Green and then what ever the title is so that it is easy to find the posts about this. I hope to share something to help someone grow better plants. I will also share about my trials and errors as I learn too which can be funny sometimes. I have my sister to thank for showing me that I have something to share with other people which is important to me. So let's start growing! lol
Sorry for the absence first of all. I have been relatively busy when I am able to be and otherwise I have been dealing with my back which continues to cause problems. Anyways that is not the reason for my post today so I will get to the point. Over the winter I convinced my sister to try to grow her own flowers from seed which I do every year. The reason she needed convincing is because she has always considered herself to have a not green thumb-what ever color it would be otherwise is what she felt she had. I convinced her that it was worth a try and could be fun. Plus it would help me out because then I would not need to grow the seeds for her too which would be difficult because of stuff going on right now. Anyways she showed me something through this experience. That I have something to share-well knowledge to share actually. Knowledge that I actually assumed everyone knew because I knew it. But in the process of helping my sister, I realized that I know stuff that could help other people possibly grow better plants. I am not trying to claim I am an expert or anything close to an expert but I know stuff that may help other people out. So when ever I post about this topic I will title it Talking Green and then what ever the title is so that it is easy to find the posts about this. I hope to share something to help someone grow better plants. I will also share about my trials and errors as I learn too which can be funny sometimes. I have my sister to thank for showing me that I have something to share with other people which is important to me. So let's start growing! lol
Sunday, April 25, 2010
A NEW TOY!!!!!
Hi again,
I would like to begin by apologizing for my absense but I have not really had alot to blog about in the last while. I have been dealing with alot of extra pain and unable to spend very much time on the computer. But today I have something I am so very excited about and I have to share!!!! We got a new toy and I am sooooo excited about it!!!!! Let me tell you about it! We got a Mastercraft Maximum Scroll Saw with digital read out! But that is not all! It has a variable speed of 400-1600 spm which is way more than our little 2 speed scroll saw! The variable speed is a nice knob that you can turn while it is on to change the speed. It has a 16in throat capacity where our old saw only has 10in! One of my favorite features on this saw though other than the digital feature is the tool free blade change!!! Oh I am so excited about that! Our old saw was a pain to change the blade! This new saw also has a 2in thickness cutting capacity which is also better I believe than our old saw. But do you think the instructions were read before it was turned on? lol nope. We do read the instructions but it isn't fun. Today the instructions were tossed around to people to read them but no one wanted to read them. It was on sale for 99.00 and save 130.00 so it is regularly priced at 230.00!!!! My mom said happy belated birthday. lol I had my birthday about a month ago but I could not think of anything for gifts that I needed. I can not tell you how extremely excited I am about this new saw!!! It is going to be so much fun!!! I am not one to want alot but every so often I see something that is just something amazing! I hope to use this to make some money for myself if I can find something that I can sell. So it isn't just for pleasure purposes but I am sure going to enjoy using it!!! Here are a couple of pictures of our new toy!!!
Brand Spanking New right out of the box!!!
PS-I know it is Mastercraft and a Canadian Tire (aka to most as Crappy Tire) brand but it is the Mastercraft maximum and we have had good luck with stuff in the maximum line mostly. For the price we paid-you can't go wrong really. Here's hoping it doesn't break and we have to deal with Crappy Tire's customer service which is less than pleasent. lol
I would like to begin by apologizing for my absense but I have not really had alot to blog about in the last while. I have been dealing with alot of extra pain and unable to spend very much time on the computer. But today I have something I am so very excited about and I have to share!!!! We got a new toy and I am sooooo excited about it!!!!! Let me tell you about it! We got a Mastercraft Maximum Scroll Saw with digital read out! But that is not all! It has a variable speed of 400-1600 spm which is way more than our little 2 speed scroll saw! The variable speed is a nice knob that you can turn while it is on to change the speed. It has a 16in throat capacity where our old saw only has 10in! One of my favorite features on this saw though other than the digital feature is the tool free blade change!!! Oh I am so excited about that! Our old saw was a pain to change the blade! This new saw also has a 2in thickness cutting capacity which is also better I believe than our old saw. But do you think the instructions were read before it was turned on? lol nope. We do read the instructions but it isn't fun. Today the instructions were tossed around to people to read them but no one wanted to read them. It was on sale for 99.00 and save 130.00 so it is regularly priced at 230.00!!!! My mom said happy belated birthday. lol I had my birthday about a month ago but I could not think of anything for gifts that I needed. I can not tell you how extremely excited I am about this new saw!!! It is going to be so much fun!!! I am not one to want alot but every so often I see something that is just something amazing! I hope to use this to make some money for myself if I can find something that I can sell. So it isn't just for pleasure purposes but I am sure going to enjoy using it!!! Here are a couple of pictures of our new toy!!!
Brand Spanking New right out of the box!!!
PS-I know it is Mastercraft and a Canadian Tire (aka to most as Crappy Tire) brand but it is the Mastercraft maximum and we have had good luck with stuff in the maximum line mostly. For the price we paid-you can't go wrong really. Here's hoping it doesn't break and we have to deal with Crappy Tire's customer service which is less than pleasent. lol
Thursday, April 8, 2010
2012 the movie
Hi again,
Well I feel world destruction movies are just one of those movies a person just has to see. lol Either to mock it and laugh at it or to enjoy it. To see what is new in terms of how the world is destroyed and what not. lol I have to say this one was better than The Day After Tomorrow but I am not saying it was great. I feel it went on way too long and it sort of got kind of boring after a bit. The first half was good but after that it felt dragged out and just stuff being destroyed. Also I found that it was a little bit funny and unrealistic how the main characters always had luck to get through stuff just in the nick of time where everyone else parished. Something else that bothered me was how religions were shown in the movie such as Christianity, Catholisism and Budhism but the movie gave the impression that God didn't exist and that all the religions were fake really. The impression I got was the world was falling apart and there was no god to save anyone and everyone was on their own. Not a very pleasent feeling. I suppose this movie was actually unique in the sense it included religion in some ways in the movie where usually other destruction movies leave religion out of it for the most part. So because of the length of the movie and the whole religion thing, I have to say I was not too impressed with it. But it was funny and the action was good though it got a little boring after awhile.
Well I feel world destruction movies are just one of those movies a person just has to see. lol Either to mock it and laugh at it or to enjoy it. To see what is new in terms of how the world is destroyed and what not. lol I have to say this one was better than The Day After Tomorrow but I am not saying it was great. I feel it went on way too long and it sort of got kind of boring after a bit. The first half was good but after that it felt dragged out and just stuff being destroyed. Also I found that it was a little bit funny and unrealistic how the main characters always had luck to get through stuff just in the nick of time where everyone else parished. Something else that bothered me was how religions were shown in the movie such as Christianity, Catholisism and Budhism but the movie gave the impression that God didn't exist and that all the religions were fake really. The impression I got was the world was falling apart and there was no god to save anyone and everyone was on their own. Not a very pleasent feeling. I suppose this movie was actually unique in the sense it included religion in some ways in the movie where usually other destruction movies leave religion out of it for the most part. So because of the length of the movie and the whole religion thing, I have to say I was not too impressed with it. But it was funny and the action was good though it got a little boring after awhile.
What I've been up to.
Hello again on this blustery snowy day. My goodness it isn't pretty but snowstorms never are. Snow falling can be pretty but storms are not. This one is a bit ugly. During the news they reported that an area of Alberta already had three seperate car pile ups that contained about 30-40 vehicles each. The roads are really bad. I hope everyone is ok despite the accidents.
Ok so I have been absent for a fair bit and I apologize. It is largely due to my back and alot of pain I have been experiencing sadly. It has kept me away from sitting at the computer alot. But I have managed to do some stuff that I would still like to blog about despite it being a bit late. So here is what I have been up to the past few weeks.
I guess the first thing that I would like to blog about is the farthest back and that would be my birthday! On March 28th. I have mixed feelings about birthdays now and this year was better than my last but still a bit painful. lol My brother in law called it my quarter life crisis last year and I suppose that is a good name for it. I am sadly nearing 30yrs old and my plans that I had for my life have not happened and quite often that is very depressing to me but I try to remind myself that my life just took a different turn (or many) than I had planned on and I just have to deal with it and move on. I can't feel my life is over because I am getting close to 30 and I haven't gotten married or started a family or even gotten my own place. I have been through alot and I suppose I can be proud of myself for making it through what I have. In the grand scheme of things my life is what I have lived and sometimes it isn't what I planned and it doesn't mean that my life was put on hold or my life is passing by. I can't say why or for what reason I have gone through the stuff I have and some say God allows the stuff to make us stronger but I don't know. All I do know is that I need to make the most of what I have because this is my life and if I do not then I will regret it. It isn't to say that I live the best I can all the time and I do get depressed sometimes but I try not to. Anyways back to my birthday. I had a good time with my family and we went to Tony Romas where I got a free meal for my birthday and then we went to Movie Gallery and got a free movie for my birthday also! Birthday freebies make a birthday more worth going through don't you think? lol We rented 2012. lol What can I say? It is just one of those movies you have to see to either mock and laugh at or enjoy. I would like to blog about this movie further so I will leave it at that for now. I also got a chocolate cake which was yummy. It HAS to be chocolate. lol
My Birthday cake
My birthday cake redone. lol We couldn't leave it looking like an Easter cake could we? lol
I suppose the next thing I would like to talk about is my trip to London Drugs. lol I made another trip there on March 31 to use up coupons expiring on March 31. So I paid 6.00 and used 17.00 in coupons and it would have been even better but the Flameless Luminaire candles were out of stock sadly. I could have gotten it free which was 18.00 in coupons but sometimes sad things happen to good coupons. lol
Next up is Easter! I made a card for my family, I decorated an egg using Ukranian decorating methods for my family and we went to a church in town. The Ukranian egg took quite awhile because I can't sit up for very long periods at a time but I managed to get it done before Easter! Pictures are at the bottom of this post. I would like to talk about the church for a moment. I don't mean to be mean but the people seemed to be half asleep. I mean it is Easter and the songs were about Christ rising from the dead and us being saved and everything and it is so amazing and people just didn't seem to have any excitement. Is it odd to think that people would be excited about it? But this is probably the way that the people in this church worship and everyone has their own way of worshiping so I shouldn't be rude about it. The sermon was ok but I found myself questioning a bit of what he said. I suppose it is good to question what is said? I don't mean to be offensive but it all bothered me. I don't want to sound judgemental either-I don't know these people so I probably should stop at this. On a lighter note, I also made an Easter bunny cake and it is a bit of a tradition in our house and I will post a pic of it. It was chocolate of course. lol
Lastly, I had another appointment with my specialist on Monday. It went fairly well but I have to get another brace and that is not what I hoped to hear. Though I also knew that I have been dealing with alot of extra pain lately and that something wasn't quite right. I also got to see my nephew and my sister and broter in law and they are all doing well and my nephew is growing soooo much!!! He is almost 4 months old and he will stand on our lap and we just have to support him. He loves to look at things and examine them and I think he is very smart! lol Maybe I am biased. lol The sad part is that because of Sunday and Monday, my back got in terrible shape and by Monday night I was in a ton of pain and was getting multiple spasms in my back at the same time and was very unpleasent. I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday laying down trying to gain back my energy and get my back to calm down. In some ways it is funny because on Tuesday I was moving more like a 80yr old because I was in so much pain and so stiff. The stiffness of course is helped by moving around which I tried to do without causing too many spasms. Ok so I think I am basically caught up now! lol I also learned that the RCMP have now closed the highway. You know the weather is bad when the roads get closed. Well thanks for reading!
The Easter Bunny Cake we make each year-I like to get creative a bit with it. lol
I also decorated an egg using Ukranian decorating methods. I am not really great at it but I enjoy it.
Ok so I have been absent for a fair bit and I apologize. It is largely due to my back and alot of pain I have been experiencing sadly. It has kept me away from sitting at the computer alot. But I have managed to do some stuff that I would still like to blog about despite it being a bit late. So here is what I have been up to the past few weeks.
I guess the first thing that I would like to blog about is the farthest back and that would be my birthday! On March 28th. I have mixed feelings about birthdays now and this year was better than my last but still a bit painful. lol My brother in law called it my quarter life crisis last year and I suppose that is a good name for it. I am sadly nearing 30yrs old and my plans that I had for my life have not happened and quite often that is very depressing to me but I try to remind myself that my life just took a different turn (or many) than I had planned on and I just have to deal with it and move on. I can't feel my life is over because I am getting close to 30 and I haven't gotten married or started a family or even gotten my own place. I have been through alot and I suppose I can be proud of myself for making it through what I have. In the grand scheme of things my life is what I have lived and sometimes it isn't what I planned and it doesn't mean that my life was put on hold or my life is passing by. I can't say why or for what reason I have gone through the stuff I have and some say God allows the stuff to make us stronger but I don't know. All I do know is that I need to make the most of what I have because this is my life and if I do not then I will regret it. It isn't to say that I live the best I can all the time and I do get depressed sometimes but I try not to. Anyways back to my birthday. I had a good time with my family and we went to Tony Romas where I got a free meal for my birthday and then we went to Movie Gallery and got a free movie for my birthday also! Birthday freebies make a birthday more worth going through don't you think? lol We rented 2012. lol What can I say? It is just one of those movies you have to see to either mock and laugh at or enjoy. I would like to blog about this movie further so I will leave it at that for now. I also got a chocolate cake which was yummy. It HAS to be chocolate. lol
My Birthday cake
My birthday cake redone. lol We couldn't leave it looking like an Easter cake could we? lol
I suppose the next thing I would like to talk about is my trip to London Drugs. lol I made another trip there on March 31 to use up coupons expiring on March 31. So I paid 6.00 and used 17.00 in coupons and it would have been even better but the Flameless Luminaire candles were out of stock sadly. I could have gotten it free which was 18.00 in coupons but sometimes sad things happen to good coupons. lol
Next up is Easter! I made a card for my family, I decorated an egg using Ukranian decorating methods for my family and we went to a church in town. The Ukranian egg took quite awhile because I can't sit up for very long periods at a time but I managed to get it done before Easter! Pictures are at the bottom of this post. I would like to talk about the church for a moment. I don't mean to be mean but the people seemed to be half asleep. I mean it is Easter and the songs were about Christ rising from the dead and us being saved and everything and it is so amazing and people just didn't seem to have any excitement. Is it odd to think that people would be excited about it? But this is probably the way that the people in this church worship and everyone has their own way of worshiping so I shouldn't be rude about it. The sermon was ok but I found myself questioning a bit of what he said. I suppose it is good to question what is said? I don't mean to be offensive but it all bothered me. I don't want to sound judgemental either-I don't know these people so I probably should stop at this. On a lighter note, I also made an Easter bunny cake and it is a bit of a tradition in our house and I will post a pic of it. It was chocolate of course. lol
Lastly, I had another appointment with my specialist on Monday. It went fairly well but I have to get another brace and that is not what I hoped to hear. Though I also knew that I have been dealing with alot of extra pain lately and that something wasn't quite right. I also got to see my nephew and my sister and broter in law and they are all doing well and my nephew is growing soooo much!!! He is almost 4 months old and he will stand on our lap and we just have to support him. He loves to look at things and examine them and I think he is very smart! lol Maybe I am biased. lol The sad part is that because of Sunday and Monday, my back got in terrible shape and by Monday night I was in a ton of pain and was getting multiple spasms in my back at the same time and was very unpleasent. I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday laying down trying to gain back my energy and get my back to calm down. In some ways it is funny because on Tuesday I was moving more like a 80yr old because I was in so much pain and so stiff. The stiffness of course is helped by moving around which I tried to do without causing too many spasms. Ok so I think I am basically caught up now! lol I also learned that the RCMP have now closed the highway. You know the weather is bad when the roads get closed. Well thanks for reading!
The Easter Bunny Cake we make each year-I like to get creative a bit with it. lol
I also decorated an egg using Ukranian decorating methods. I am not really great at it but I enjoy it.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Week in review. lol
Hi again,
Well I haven't been on here much this week and there was a few things I had wanted to blog about but instead I will just try to keep it short and share about a few different things.
First off, on the weekend I tried an A&W chicken grill deluxe I think it is called and I thought it would be good to blog about food too. I have never tried this burger before and I had a coupon so I thought hey why not. It was very good! It is on a whole wheat bun I believe and there is quite a big chunk of chicken that has the same seasoning as the Chubby Chicken which is tasty. Also it had light ranch sauce which was a good choice and tomato. All in all it was quite good!
On Wednesday we went to Edmonton and visited my nephew who is so adorable and sweet and strong! He is 3months old and already sitting completely on his own and will try to stand on your lap! Yesterday apparently he turned from his back to his side on his own also. I think he will be walking in no time! lol I feel bad for my sister already. lol Also we had lunch at my sister's and I asked for crackers for the soup and they were rancid but I can't smell so I put them in the soup and started eating... oh it was bad! Not my sister's fault-they were not very old. But some days I wish I had a sense of smell that I could tell if crackers are rancid or milk is sour... yeah I have had sour milk a few times too. Not fun.
I found out that you should never close the car door before making sure that your mp3 earphones are out of the way. lol They didn't fare so well against the car door. Luckily we have an extra pair so I lucked out. Ooops.
I went in yesterday for stuff that I needed to get and I managed to get almost free Tylenol! The tylenol Muscles Aches and body pain was on sale for 6.99 and I had 3 different 2.00 off coupons and because London Drugs allows stacking-I was able to get 6.00 off! so .99 for Tylenol that is normally about 10.00 I think is not bad! lol Who says you can't get good deals with coupons? Several people do actually but they don't know how to use them properly. Sorry but it is true. If you feel coupons do not save money and they are not worth your time-you have not figured out how to use them properly. I regularely get good deals on stuff so it isn't a fluke. I am just saying. I get rather annoyed when people try to tell me that coupons are bad and a waste of time and don't save money.
The last thing about this week is something I know very well but love! Warm weather happened this week! Double digit temps on Monday!!! I think the first double digit temps in quite awhile here. To sit in that warm sun was just amazing!! Then the temps tanked and we had snow on Thursday. lol Welcome to March! The weather in March (and even April) is such a rollercoaster! You can't put away your winter jacket but you have to dig out your spring jacket also so you can switch back and forth-sometimes even in the same day. But I love it! It means warmer weather is coming!
Ok that is the jyst of this week. It wasn't a busy week I suppose. My back has kept me down so much this week that I have not been able to do much. Keeps me out of trouble too I suppose. lol
Well I haven't been on here much this week and there was a few things I had wanted to blog about but instead I will just try to keep it short and share about a few different things.
First off, on the weekend I tried an A&W chicken grill deluxe I think it is called and I thought it would be good to blog about food too. I have never tried this burger before and I had a coupon so I thought hey why not. It was very good! It is on a whole wheat bun I believe and there is quite a big chunk of chicken that has the same seasoning as the Chubby Chicken which is tasty. Also it had light ranch sauce which was a good choice and tomato. All in all it was quite good!
On Wednesday we went to Edmonton and visited my nephew who is so adorable and sweet and strong! He is 3months old and already sitting completely on his own and will try to stand on your lap! Yesterday apparently he turned from his back to his side on his own also. I think he will be walking in no time! lol I feel bad for my sister already. lol Also we had lunch at my sister's and I asked for crackers for the soup and they were rancid but I can't smell so I put them in the soup and started eating... oh it was bad! Not my sister's fault-they were not very old. But some days I wish I had a sense of smell that I could tell if crackers are rancid or milk is sour... yeah I have had sour milk a few times too. Not fun.
I found out that you should never close the car door before making sure that your mp3 earphones are out of the way. lol They didn't fare so well against the car door. Luckily we have an extra pair so I lucked out. Ooops.
I went in yesterday for stuff that I needed to get and I managed to get almost free Tylenol! The tylenol Muscles Aches and body pain was on sale for 6.99 and I had 3 different 2.00 off coupons and because London Drugs allows stacking-I was able to get 6.00 off! so .99 for Tylenol that is normally about 10.00 I think is not bad! lol Who says you can't get good deals with coupons? Several people do actually but they don't know how to use them properly. Sorry but it is true. If you feel coupons do not save money and they are not worth your time-you have not figured out how to use them properly. I regularely get good deals on stuff so it isn't a fluke. I am just saying. I get rather annoyed when people try to tell me that coupons are bad and a waste of time and don't save money.
The last thing about this week is something I know very well but love! Warm weather happened this week! Double digit temps on Monday!!! I think the first double digit temps in quite awhile here. To sit in that warm sun was just amazing!! Then the temps tanked and we had snow on Thursday. lol Welcome to March! The weather in March (and even April) is such a rollercoaster! You can't put away your winter jacket but you have to dig out your spring jacket also so you can switch back and forth-sometimes even in the same day. But I love it! It means warmer weather is coming!
Ok that is the jyst of this week. It wasn't a busy week I suppose. My back has kept me down so much this week that I have not been able to do much. Keeps me out of trouble too I suppose. lol
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Pulling back a bit
Hi again,
The past few days I have been thinking about how much I share on here and whether it is too much or not. I have been trying to be open and trying to share experiences but I am wondering if I have been too open. For most of my life I have preferred to keep quiet about my personal stuff even to the point that I was afraid to ask for a prayer request when I was sick because I would have to share that I was sick and then the whole church would have known. I am not talking the flu though-I am talking about being sick that I made trips to the ER type sick. Anyways I thought I needed to change and be more open but I think I went from one extreme to the other and I have been too open. I have been feeling pretty exposed almost and I hate that feeling. One time I had opened up to someone and I trusted them and then I felt exposed and ended up wanting to run away and hide and move away to some remote island even though it was probably less than I have shared on here. I felt embarrassed and like the person could see right through me and even though that person may not have had problems with it-I did. I wanted to go back and erase all the moments where I had shared and I wanted to take it all back. I was so uncomfortable. I want to be more open and be more normal but I don't know if I know the acceptable limit is and where it becomes too much. I am learning though. I am not sure if I have shared too much here or not and if people will be happy that I am pulling back a bit but I am. lol I have even thought about erasing certain posts but I will leave them for now. I actually feel a little clueless right now on what should and should not be shared. I suppose that is what I get for keeping so much to myself for so long. Well I need to go to bed now! I am exhausted. Thanks for reading.
The past few days I have been thinking about how much I share on here and whether it is too much or not. I have been trying to be open and trying to share experiences but I am wondering if I have been too open. For most of my life I have preferred to keep quiet about my personal stuff even to the point that I was afraid to ask for a prayer request when I was sick because I would have to share that I was sick and then the whole church would have known. I am not talking the flu though-I am talking about being sick that I made trips to the ER type sick. Anyways I thought I needed to change and be more open but I think I went from one extreme to the other and I have been too open. I have been feeling pretty exposed almost and I hate that feeling. One time I had opened up to someone and I trusted them and then I felt exposed and ended up wanting to run away and hide and move away to some remote island even though it was probably less than I have shared on here. I felt embarrassed and like the person could see right through me and even though that person may not have had problems with it-I did. I wanted to go back and erase all the moments where I had shared and I wanted to take it all back. I was so uncomfortable. I want to be more open and be more normal but I don't know if I know the acceptable limit is and where it becomes too much. I am learning though. I am not sure if I have shared too much here or not and if people will be happy that I am pulling back a bit but I am. lol I have even thought about erasing certain posts but I will leave them for now. I actually feel a little clueless right now on what should and should not be shared. I suppose that is what I get for keeping so much to myself for so long. Well I need to go to bed now! I am exhausted. Thanks for reading.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Hello again
Hi again,
Wow it's been a rough few days! Since last Thursday I have been having more pain than usual in my back which has managed to keep me down a fair bit which in turn has kept me off of here mostly. I am not sure what is going on exactly but I have luckily been able to manage the pain on just extra strength Tylenol. I hate taking so much tylenol but some days it is all I can do to keep going. Thankfully I have alot of coupons for Tylenol and London Drugs that I can get tylenol practically free! lol Always a positve in everything right? LOL I did manage groceries today and some much needed shopping on Saturday though which was great! I paid for Saturday's trip yesterday and spent alot more time down but I got through almost an entire book and also started on the 3rd book of Twilight! If there is one thing I try to do-it is try to make the most of what ever situation I am in. Sometimes it is tough but I think I manage ok. I just can't stop living because of pain. I love to read and when I get stuck in bed it is almost nice because then I have an excuse to stay in one spot and read. lol There are no other places to be because I can't be so there are no distractions either. Just me and a great book! I have a few things I would love to blog about from the last few days but it will have to wait till my back improves a bit more that I can sit at the computer more. Thanks for reading!!!
Wow it's been a rough few days! Since last Thursday I have been having more pain than usual in my back which has managed to keep me down a fair bit which in turn has kept me off of here mostly. I am not sure what is going on exactly but I have luckily been able to manage the pain on just extra strength Tylenol. I hate taking so much tylenol but some days it is all I can do to keep going. Thankfully I have alot of coupons for Tylenol and London Drugs that I can get tylenol practically free! lol Always a positve in everything right? LOL I did manage groceries today and some much needed shopping on Saturday though which was great! I paid for Saturday's trip yesterday and spent alot more time down but I got through almost an entire book and also started on the 3rd book of Twilight! If there is one thing I try to do-it is try to make the most of what ever situation I am in. Sometimes it is tough but I think I manage ok. I just can't stop living because of pain. I love to read and when I get stuck in bed it is almost nice because then I have an excuse to stay in one spot and read. lol There are no other places to be because I can't be so there are no distractions either. Just me and a great book! I have a few things I would love to blog about from the last few days but it will have to wait till my back improves a bit more that I can sit at the computer more. Thanks for reading!!!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
My cat on the Treadmill
Hi again,
Just thought I would share a video of my kitty my mom found back again! It is really cute and kind of funny! Enjoy! Felix on the Treadmill
Just thought I would share a video of my kitty my mom found back again! It is really cute and kind of funny! Enjoy! Felix on the Treadmill
Friday, March 12, 2010
Pictures!!
Hi again,
Well here are pictures as promised of my room so far. The key word is so far! there is still alot to be done.
My desk I have had for years. was too small.
My new desk!!!! It is a desk my dad made for the office but it isn't needed there anymore and so I got it!!! YAY! I love it!
My new craft table!! where I can make my cards and scrapbooking and what not!! Yay!!! I have wanted this for so long!!! My dad made this one also-it matches the desk!
Well here are pictures as promised of my room so far. The key word is so far! there is still alot to be done.
My desk I have had for years. was too small.
My new desk!!!! It is a desk my dad made for the office but it isn't needed there anymore and so I got it!!! YAY! I love it!
My new craft table!! where I can make my cards and scrapbooking and what not!! Yay!!! I have wanted this for so long!!! My dad made this one also-it matches the desk!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
What a Day!!!
Hi again,
Well I was wondering why I woke up so early this morning-maybe it was to help me fit in all I did today? lol All the rearranging and more rearranging and then nope doesn't work so moved stuff again... then trying to figure out how to get stuff where it had to go and what to move first... lol it has certainly been a process! all in a day's work I suppose? lol I can post pics maybe still. Stuff is still so chaotic that it will take more time still but I have lots of that. lol Oddly I seem to fill up any free time I have with stuff and I can still find more that I want to do but have no time for!! lol I am in the process of trying to come up with something that I can make money on that I can start to get my independance back and have some income and getting stuff done in my room is important so I have a good space to figure that out and do what ever I decide to do. I definitely have my own desk space now to work which will make such a difference in helping me to find a way to make some money. I used to have my own business way back before I was forced to quit working and I know that it is important to have proper space and organization to accomplish everything. I was baking Natural dog biscuits before it was a popular thing and before there was really anything natural/organic for pets in the average store. It was very successful and I just sold at the farmer's market each week so I didn't have a building to pay rent on and kept costs low. Anyways when my back and a whole lot of other issues got worse, I was forced to give up my business and the full time job I was working also. I was attempting to "get ahead" despite my physical problems. I laugh now thinking back to 2004 which is the year I was the busiest-I had absolutely no life and I never watched tv and I was constantly working. I litterally had like 16hr days where I put in my 8hrs at my job and then 8hrs with my business. Then throw in back problems and some other physical stuff and I burned out big time. I felt as if I was juggling all these balls and I could not let one drop or absolutely everything would crash around me. Then one day it finally did. I vowed to myself after that happened that I would never get myself that busy again that I would go through that all over again. I think part of me was trying to get ahead to prove to myself or someone that I could be somebody and to me somebody looked like someone who was successful and I was prepared to kill myself trying I guess. Though I don't think I set out thinking I am going to do this even if it kills me... Anyways, I did learn a lesson then and I hopefully will never forget it. I have also learned that living and family is way more important and I need to balance work and family. I am itching to get working so bad though. lol just to be able to support myself again and have that independance back. Well that said, I am on my way to getting back into making money by getting myself set up. Just to be able to make money that I can look at and know that I earned it and be able to support myself. Anyways I should go. I am exhausted! I think through the past 5yrs I have actually learned better how to pace myself that I know when to stop and rest. My body is not the same as some other people's and I do have limitations and denying that is only going to make things worse. As much as I push my body to work the way I want it to-I can't make it do things that it just can not do. I think everyone knows that! lol Somedays I wish I could make it through an entire day or even 8hrs with out resting but I can't so I just have to adjust and move on. Sorry, I have just been thinking alot about all of this lately as I venture towards making money again. Thanks for reading.
Well I was wondering why I woke up so early this morning-maybe it was to help me fit in all I did today? lol All the rearranging and more rearranging and then nope doesn't work so moved stuff again... then trying to figure out how to get stuff where it had to go and what to move first... lol it has certainly been a process! all in a day's work I suppose? lol I can post pics maybe still. Stuff is still so chaotic that it will take more time still but I have lots of that. lol Oddly I seem to fill up any free time I have with stuff and I can still find more that I want to do but have no time for!! lol I am in the process of trying to come up with something that I can make money on that I can start to get my independance back and have some income and getting stuff done in my room is important so I have a good space to figure that out and do what ever I decide to do. I definitely have my own desk space now to work which will make such a difference in helping me to find a way to make some money. I used to have my own business way back before I was forced to quit working and I know that it is important to have proper space and organization to accomplish everything. I was baking Natural dog biscuits before it was a popular thing and before there was really anything natural/organic for pets in the average store. It was very successful and I just sold at the farmer's market each week so I didn't have a building to pay rent on and kept costs low. Anyways when my back and a whole lot of other issues got worse, I was forced to give up my business and the full time job I was working also. I was attempting to "get ahead" despite my physical problems. I laugh now thinking back to 2004 which is the year I was the busiest-I had absolutely no life and I never watched tv and I was constantly working. I litterally had like 16hr days where I put in my 8hrs at my job and then 8hrs with my business. Then throw in back problems and some other physical stuff and I burned out big time. I felt as if I was juggling all these balls and I could not let one drop or absolutely everything would crash around me. Then one day it finally did. I vowed to myself after that happened that I would never get myself that busy again that I would go through that all over again. I think part of me was trying to get ahead to prove to myself or someone that I could be somebody and to me somebody looked like someone who was successful and I was prepared to kill myself trying I guess. Though I don't think I set out thinking I am going to do this even if it kills me... Anyways, I did learn a lesson then and I hopefully will never forget it. I have also learned that living and family is way more important and I need to balance work and family. I am itching to get working so bad though. lol just to be able to support myself again and have that independance back. Well that said, I am on my way to getting back into making money by getting myself set up. Just to be able to make money that I can look at and know that I earned it and be able to support myself. Anyways I should go. I am exhausted! I think through the past 5yrs I have actually learned better how to pace myself that I know when to stop and rest. My body is not the same as some other people's and I do have limitations and denying that is only going to make things worse. As much as I push my body to work the way I want it to-I can't make it do things that it just can not do. I think everyone knows that! lol Somedays I wish I could make it through an entire day or even 8hrs with out resting but I can't so I just have to adjust and move on. Sorry, I have just been thinking alot about all of this lately as I venture towards making money again. Thanks for reading.
Organized Mess?? lol
Hi again,
Well I am continuing to organize myself in my new room and it is challenging. For anyone wondering-I still have to live at home because of physical challenges and my old room was falling apart along with like half the house so my parents are doing a major reno and I am in my new room now. I am enjoying my new room-no drafts or mice running along the floor. lol Yep we had a mouse problem. My dad is amazing-he is doing all the work himself. He can build anything and does and he is smart too. Anyways back to my organized mess. lol I am supposed to get a different desk still and a craft table and so I have had to move stuff around first to get the table in here and so stuff is everywhere! But it is organized in piles despite the cat trying to sabotage my efforts! lol But now I am supposed to get my desk too... This will be fun. Anyways my room is absolutely turned upside down but the funny thing is I know where everything is still. lol So it may sound odd to have an organized mess but apparently I have it down pat. I just hate clutter and so I am ready to pull out my hair but that is another story entirely. lol Wish me luck that I keep my sanity during this time. LOL
Well I am continuing to organize myself in my new room and it is challenging. For anyone wondering-I still have to live at home because of physical challenges and my old room was falling apart along with like half the house so my parents are doing a major reno and I am in my new room now. I am enjoying my new room-no drafts or mice running along the floor. lol Yep we had a mouse problem. My dad is amazing-he is doing all the work himself. He can build anything and does and he is smart too. Anyways back to my organized mess. lol I am supposed to get a different desk still and a craft table and so I have had to move stuff around first to get the table in here and so stuff is everywhere! But it is organized in piles despite the cat trying to sabotage my efforts! lol But now I am supposed to get my desk too... This will be fun. Anyways my room is absolutely turned upside down but the funny thing is I know where everything is still. lol So it may sound odd to have an organized mess but apparently I have it down pat. I just hate clutter and so I am ready to pull out my hair but that is another story entirely. lol Wish me luck that I keep my sanity during this time. LOL
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Trust
Hi again,
Trust. This is something I struggle with immensely. I don't trust really at all and I am almost always second guessing people and their actions or words. I am trying to be open in the attempt to prove to myself that I can trust but I think being open and trusting are actually 2 different things entirely. I suppose being open I have to trust that people won't hate me when they learn more about who I am but it isn't exactly trust. The latest example of not trusting people I think would be that I am attempting to send an email to someone and apparently it is not coming through but any other emails I send asking if it came through the person says that those came through. Hmm...I think anyone would start to wonder with this one but me especially right off the bat I assumed this person was not being honest. But I don't say that because I suppose even I am not completely honest in terms of I don't want to accuse anyone unless I have some more to go on. So I just keep trying to send the message and I continue to not trust this person in terms of how honest this person is being. I do not have any clue how to fix this but I am trying. I suppose it is also a bit of paranoia also. Though I think I am getting better at trusting people enough to be more open. It is still a struggle but I am getting better at it. I actually think blogging is making it easier for me. lol At first when I first started blogging-I was terrified of being open about myself but that is why I did this to help myself as well as share about myself and the struggles and joys I go through that it may help others. It is important to face fear. Sometimes it is difficult but I think the harder it is-the more important to overcome it. Thanks for reading!
Trust. This is something I struggle with immensely. I don't trust really at all and I am almost always second guessing people and their actions or words. I am trying to be open in the attempt to prove to myself that I can trust but I think being open and trusting are actually 2 different things entirely. I suppose being open I have to trust that people won't hate me when they learn more about who I am but it isn't exactly trust. The latest example of not trusting people I think would be that I am attempting to send an email to someone and apparently it is not coming through but any other emails I send asking if it came through the person says that those came through. Hmm...I think anyone would start to wonder with this one but me especially right off the bat I assumed this person was not being honest. But I don't say that because I suppose even I am not completely honest in terms of I don't want to accuse anyone unless I have some more to go on. So I just keep trying to send the message and I continue to not trust this person in terms of how honest this person is being. I do not have any clue how to fix this but I am trying. I suppose it is also a bit of paranoia also. Though I think I am getting better at trusting people enough to be more open. It is still a struggle but I am getting better at it. I actually think blogging is making it easier for me. lol At first when I first started blogging-I was terrified of being open about myself but that is why I did this to help myself as well as share about myself and the struggles and joys I go through that it may help others. It is important to face fear. Sometimes it is difficult but I think the harder it is-the more important to overcome it. Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Making Paper-part 2!
Ok so here are the pics as promised!!!
First step in my grand venture of making paper! lol I grabbed some shredded paper from our paper shredder and stuck a bunch into a tub I found to use. I noticed on the instructions it says newsprint or flyers but I am going to try to use printer paper since we have so much of it in the shredder. wish me luck!
Paper soaking in about 4cups warm water. Hoping this is enough water!
After I soaked the paper shreds in water for close to an hour, I stuck enough in to fill the blender about half full. it instructed to only add half a cup of liquid but as I found out-you need to add a ton more than that or the blender can't get it blended together.
Thirsty anyone?? LOL a nice soupy goopy sloppy substance. lol I wonder if I did this right? lol I added blue food coloring also to the blender to make it blue.
YUMMM!! LOL anyone hungry? lol Dumped from the blender into the strainer to strain off the excess liquid. Looks like a science experiment now. lol
Now the excess liquid has been strained off I dumped it on a piece of flannel as instructed to do in the instructions. Crossing my fingers. lol
Rolling out the pulpy stuff and hoping it is going to work. lol
Newly made paper drying by the woodstove.
So that last pic was taken around 4pm or so and since then it has dried a fair bit but still wet. Thank goodnes for the woodstove though! It really got the drying process going alot quicker. I will take another picture in the morning of it and hopefully it is basically dry tomorrow. Currently it is about the thickness of cardboard so I didn't roll it out thin enough but it was starting to rip when I got to this thickness so I am not sure I can get it any thinner. I am also thinking that maybe newsprint would work better maybe so that will be my next venture. This has been alot of fun and I am wondering if anything will come of this or if it was a fun experiment that I just learned from. lol Anyways that is all for now and thanks for reading!!
First step in my grand venture of making paper! lol I grabbed some shredded paper from our paper shredder and stuck a bunch into a tub I found to use. I noticed on the instructions it says newsprint or flyers but I am going to try to use printer paper since we have so much of it in the shredder. wish me luck!
Paper soaking in about 4cups warm water. Hoping this is enough water!
After I soaked the paper shreds in water for close to an hour, I stuck enough in to fill the blender about half full. it instructed to only add half a cup of liquid but as I found out-you need to add a ton more than that or the blender can't get it blended together.
Thirsty anyone?? LOL a nice soupy goopy sloppy substance. lol I wonder if I did this right? lol I added blue food coloring also to the blender to make it blue.
YUMMM!! LOL anyone hungry? lol Dumped from the blender into the strainer to strain off the excess liquid. Looks like a science experiment now. lol
Now the excess liquid has been strained off I dumped it on a piece of flannel as instructed to do in the instructions. Crossing my fingers. lol
Rolling out the pulpy stuff and hoping it is going to work. lol
Newly made paper drying by the woodstove.
So that last pic was taken around 4pm or so and since then it has dried a fair bit but still wet. Thank goodnes for the woodstove though! It really got the drying process going alot quicker. I will take another picture in the morning of it and hopefully it is basically dry tomorrow. Currently it is about the thickness of cardboard so I didn't roll it out thin enough but it was starting to rip when I got to this thickness so I am not sure I can get it any thinner. I am also thinking that maybe newsprint would work better maybe so that will be my next venture. This has been alot of fun and I am wondering if anything will come of this or if it was a fun experiment that I just learned from. lol Anyways that is all for now and thanks for reading!!
Making Paper!!!
Hi again,
Well today I am trying something I have wanted to try for quite awhile but never knew how to do it and haven't found a recipe so to speak on how to do it. Well I got an email from Canadian Living and there is an article on how to make paper from paper you would normally toss-hopefully in the recycling bin. :) I just can't believe how much paper enters our home each week and it would be nice to be able to use it somehow. This is a great idea and I am hoping it works!!! Well I am taking pictures as I do each new step so I can share how I did it when it is all finished! Stay tuned!! lol
Well today I am trying something I have wanted to try for quite awhile but never knew how to do it and haven't found a recipe so to speak on how to do it. Well I got an email from Canadian Living and there is an article on how to make paper from paper you would normally toss-hopefully in the recycling bin. :) I just can't believe how much paper enters our home each week and it would be nice to be able to use it somehow. This is a great idea and I am hoping it works!!! Well I am taking pictures as I do each new step so I can share how I did it when it is all finished! Stay tuned!! lol
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Changes
Hi again,
I want to talk about something that I have continually struggled to put into words. It is about what I have dealt with physically through the surgeries I have had. Of course not everything because that would take a long time and I can explain most of it perfectly. Long story short-it hurts.lol But this one part of it has been something that has affected me so much. That part is the loss of strength that came with the surgery. Before the initial back surgery, I had alot of issues physically and could not work or really do alot of anything and was in chronic pain but I took pride in the fact that despite all of this, I had worked hard to keep my muscle strength. I was strong and I was complimented on it sometimes also. I loved it. Despite all the physical challenges I had-I could be strong still, well at least in some ways. I could lift heavy objects and I didn't need to ask for help from a strong man so to speak. lol But I never really realized (nor did it occur to me) that I would lose most of it with the surgery. But I did. I went to the hospital and went to sleep for the surgery and 9hrs later I woke up with out the strength to even lift a glass of water or pull myself up in the bed. My back of course was in a ton of pain and when it came time to walk again, it felt as if I had to relearn how. My legs didn't even have the strength I had before. Walking just to the bathroom required a nurse. lol 2 surgeries later and lots of recovery and physio, the thing that I have struggled to explain is how it felt. When I got out of the hospital-I automatically went to open the door and when I got home I would start to do a simple movement that I had done millions of times before and I would not be able to. Pain would quickly shoot through my back and body plus my muscles just didn't have any strength. But in my memory I knew I had done it before and I guess without thinking I thought I could still do it. I had a lot of hard lessons! lol I realized how to explain it this way- I feel like I was put into another body that is not mine and I still have the memories of before with the strength and ability I had but the body I have had this past while is not the same one. The limitations have been so big compared to what I dealt with before. These limitations are not permanent of course and come with the extensive surgery I went through where my muscles in my back were cut through to get to my spine. But to lose so much ability was so hard and to have to depend on other people just to change my clothes or have a shower or pour out a glass of juice when I had that strength before that I loved....it has been hard. I spent alot of time being embarrassed to ask and alot of times trying to do it on my own to avoid the embarrassment of having to admit I couldn't do something which would end in lots of pain. I have come so far and I am doing so many things again that I haven't been able to do till now but I still have stuff that I go to do that I used to do daily and pain shoots through my body reminding me that my body still isn't the same yet as it was. The interesting thing is trying to lift or pull objects that seemed so light to me before but are now seem so heavy and almost impossible to lift- in my mind I don't remember it being so heavy... lol But through all of this I have learned to accept help...well mostly. lol Which is something I have always had issues with. I have also learned so much that I can relate to others in ways I would not be able to had I not gone through this. Also having gone through this, I get this sense of joy when I can open a window now because I remember what it was like to not be able to do such a simple task. I guess it reminds me of the post I made earlier about winter and spring and how it relates to our lives. How winter helps us realize how amazing summer is. In the same way, going through this experience has taught me to not take anything for granted because I have realized what it is like to have something taken away even if only for a short time in my life. Then getting it back has given me this joy that I would not have felt otherwise. I apologize that this is so long and I wish I was more succinct and to the point but sadly I am not. lol I can be a little long winded I think the term is. lol Also I am still struggling to explain how I feel through this. I hope that maybe this may help someone in some way. I have no idea how but who knows right? lol I am just trying to be honest here with the stuff I face in my life and this is one that I face daily and have just recently realized how to put it into words. Thanks again for reading.
I want to talk about something that I have continually struggled to put into words. It is about what I have dealt with physically through the surgeries I have had. Of course not everything because that would take a long time and I can explain most of it perfectly. Long story short-it hurts.lol But this one part of it has been something that has affected me so much. That part is the loss of strength that came with the surgery. Before the initial back surgery, I had alot of issues physically and could not work or really do alot of anything and was in chronic pain but I took pride in the fact that despite all of this, I had worked hard to keep my muscle strength. I was strong and I was complimented on it sometimes also. I loved it. Despite all the physical challenges I had-I could be strong still, well at least in some ways. I could lift heavy objects and I didn't need to ask for help from a strong man so to speak. lol But I never really realized (nor did it occur to me) that I would lose most of it with the surgery. But I did. I went to the hospital and went to sleep for the surgery and 9hrs later I woke up with out the strength to even lift a glass of water or pull myself up in the bed. My back of course was in a ton of pain and when it came time to walk again, it felt as if I had to relearn how. My legs didn't even have the strength I had before. Walking just to the bathroom required a nurse. lol 2 surgeries later and lots of recovery and physio, the thing that I have struggled to explain is how it felt. When I got out of the hospital-I automatically went to open the door and when I got home I would start to do a simple movement that I had done millions of times before and I would not be able to. Pain would quickly shoot through my back and body plus my muscles just didn't have any strength. But in my memory I knew I had done it before and I guess without thinking I thought I could still do it. I had a lot of hard lessons! lol I realized how to explain it this way- I feel like I was put into another body that is not mine and I still have the memories of before with the strength and ability I had but the body I have had this past while is not the same one. The limitations have been so big compared to what I dealt with before. These limitations are not permanent of course and come with the extensive surgery I went through where my muscles in my back were cut through to get to my spine. But to lose so much ability was so hard and to have to depend on other people just to change my clothes or have a shower or pour out a glass of juice when I had that strength before that I loved....it has been hard. I spent alot of time being embarrassed to ask and alot of times trying to do it on my own to avoid the embarrassment of having to admit I couldn't do something which would end in lots of pain. I have come so far and I am doing so many things again that I haven't been able to do till now but I still have stuff that I go to do that I used to do daily and pain shoots through my body reminding me that my body still isn't the same yet as it was. The interesting thing is trying to lift or pull objects that seemed so light to me before but are now seem so heavy and almost impossible to lift- in my mind I don't remember it being so heavy... lol But through all of this I have learned to accept help...well mostly. lol Which is something I have always had issues with. I have also learned so much that I can relate to others in ways I would not be able to had I not gone through this. Also having gone through this, I get this sense of joy when I can open a window now because I remember what it was like to not be able to do such a simple task. I guess it reminds me of the post I made earlier about winter and spring and how it relates to our lives. How winter helps us realize how amazing summer is. In the same way, going through this experience has taught me to not take anything for granted because I have realized what it is like to have something taken away even if only for a short time in my life. Then getting it back has given me this joy that I would not have felt otherwise. I apologize that this is so long and I wish I was more succinct and to the point but sadly I am not. lol I can be a little long winded I think the term is. lol Also I am still struggling to explain how I feel through this. I hope that maybe this may help someone in some way. I have no idea how but who knows right? lol I am just trying to be honest here with the stuff I face in my life and this is one that I face daily and have just recently realized how to put it into words. Thanks again for reading.
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