Thursday, February 21, 2008
been tagged
The tag works like this --
1.Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2.Open the book to page 123.
3.Find the fifth sentence.
4.Post the next three sentences.
5.Tag five people.
ok, um can't repeat this book, or this one - JUST KIDDING LOL!!! well, maybe
actually, the closest book to me is not one of mine. It is Double Fudge by Judy Blume
"i remember." he looked up at me. "how about you, pete? where you ever famous?"
ok, so that is four sentences, but i had to finish the quotes!! I tag - missy, jolene, mary, valeri, and jen!!
Older Layouts
i thought that i would post some of my favorite older layouts. i have many more than just this, but this is what i could get to quickly. there is a surprise in this slide show for missy!!! i have been getting my cute little punchart girls and boys from missy for a long time - all the way back to the jangle.com days lol! she is such a talented artists and i just love her paper piecings. i have purchased other paper piecings online and unfortunately never remember who they came from, but i can always tell one of missy's. now she is also making the cutest tear bears. i do have a post somewhere on this blog with pics of those that i have gotten from her. missy has an ebay shop, and if you want to visit her and get any of her gorgeous tear bear creations, here is her link http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=missymadeit
in the above slide show, there are layouts featuring a gingerbread man, a baseball player, raggedy ann - missy style and a little happy birthday dude. like i said, this is not all i have from her - i will post more as i get them ready!
also, in the news - lol - my friend mary has started a new blog which she will be reviewing some of the books that she is reading. i will also be contributing to this new blog with reviews. and since we both work in a book store, eventually, there should be a lot of reviews on this blog. mary typically reads cozy mysteries and i have been a bad influence on her and have gotten her hooked on paranormal romances - sorry mary - NOT!! lol!! she also keeps more up-to-date on author happenings and releases than i do, so if you are wondering about something - check out her blog and she may have already posted an answer. http://booksmaryfindsinteresting.blogspot.com/
Saturday, February 16, 2008
new layouts for the week

these are the layouts i did this week - the grumpy so fits dh!!!! the sarah is for my bom - book of me - i want to do a page with each of the kids. and i know the first two in this post might seem a bit odd, but they are also for my bom. in an effort to start feeling better, i have decided that whatever lifestyle changes that i can make, i will do. and since the dishes were so yummy i had to scrap them. i am trying to journal on a daily basis how i am feeling and thought that this would be a good idea to remind me that is not hard to eat healthier. i have not journaled the names and details yet, but i thought i would add the recipes to the back of the page. and yes, i did make all of those dishes myself. we have been eating a lot of whole wheat pasta and shrimp lately. and i also found that when i made the fried rice, if i serve it as shown i don't need to have anything else with it. my kids thought it was cool to eat it like a taco in the romaine leaves. hey - whatever works - cuz eventhough we love egg rools and crab ragoon - i know we don't need the extra calories and fat. the marinara on the shrimp is a recipe from tyler florence at foodtv.com and actually the fried rice is from there too. it is from robin miller's show. of course i did have to change them a bit to fit our tastes - and boy did they taste good lol! the dish on the 2nd page is a recreation of something that my dh got at the outpost health food grocery store. if anyone would like the recipes, leave me a coment and i will post them in the next week. Friday, February 15, 2008
almond blueberry cookies for valentine's day
one of the changes i made was the amount of lemon zest - i could not find my zester, and my hands were not working well enough to cut it into small enough pieces.


you can see i couldn't the lemon zest very small, lol - but dh said it did not matter.
these come out to be pretty big cookies so i only put 6 on at a time. i used the big scoop from pampered chef and it makes the perfect size cookie - about 3 1/2 inches - YUM
and here is the final product - lol - they are almost gone - only made about 18 cookies, but that is ok. i like them because they are very fresh tasting with the blueberries and lemon. the only tip that i have is to use frozen blueberries - which i did - but i think using them less thawed out would be better. when folding them in mostly thawed, your batter will turn purple and that looks kinda funny. so i put mine in still half frozen. the batter has to sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking, so they even if they do not completely thaw - your still sticking them in a hot oven. so here is the recipe the way i made it - like i said - not a huge change - only the extract, milk, and the addition of lemon juice. i also used a large scoop so i baked mine for exactly 15 minutes.
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg york
1/4 milk
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted
1 cup frozen blueberries, just slighlty thawed and drained
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Add egg and beat to incorporate. Add milk, almond extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the almonds, then the blueberries. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Dollop mix onto cookie sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
what i am reading now

i am currently reading hunting the demon by jaci burton - awesome books - for any paranormal romance readers out there - you have got to pic up this series. you can find her books here - http://jaciburton.com/
this is book 2 in her demon hunters series and if you are a fan of sherrilyn kenyon, lora leigh, nalini singh, kelly armstrong, angela knight, shiloh walker, etc. you will enjoy burton's demon hunters. typically, she writes erotic romance for ellora's cave, which is where i first noticed her. i do read the ellora's cave books if they are a good story - just because they are paranormal does not mean i am going to read them. for those of you who do not know, ellora's cave is a company that is owned by jade black - who herself is an awesome paranormal author - and "specializes" in romantica. now don't get me wrong, there are greatly talented authors who write for her, but sometimes i want to tone/slow down the "extracirricular" activities. there are sometimes when too much is too much. i figure when the authors make it to mainstream publishing, that they won't have too much "extra"
leigh, knight and walker also write in the erotica/romantica genre but have many "mainstream" paranormal romance mass markets as well. burton has joined that group with surviving demon island - book 1 in the demon hunters series- i loved this book too - not too much "extra" but a very good story, and the "extra" that is there, is well, just hot. it has been one of the few para/suspense/romance that i did not know how it was going to end or who the bad guys/demons were - she did a wonderful job creating separate characters who added to the story - each held there place and were not there for just filler - in fact, there is no "filler" in this book - everything that happens, happens for a reason. and she continues the storyline in hunting the demon - including the same characters - for familiarity - but expanding on other characters and creating a new storyline. eventhough it is obvious that burton's plot is about hunting demons in both books, her stories flow in completely different directions, with different twists and turns that are mostly unexpected. in book 2, however, we go in knowing who the demon is that the hunters are watching, however, it twists from there - nothing is too predictable and that is one reason i will pick up anything else that she writes in this genre.

so everyone always asks, why paranormal romance - well, my answer is - why not - i need to relate at least a little bit to the story so most historicals are out for me - i can't stand most of them - although there are a few authors that i will read the historicals they pen. contemporary stories are good as long as they are from a favorite author, but i always end up feeling cheated that i never found a guy like that - who, by the way - only exists in those books lol - so in enjoying paranormal romance - i get the suspense without the scary - i get the fear without the horror - i get the romance without the "sigh" - i know that when reading about an uberly handsome and gorgeous and hot and sexy lol vampire i will never compare him to my dh lol haha - mine might bite my neck and he might be hot and sexy -(at least i think so) lol - but he his never going to walk the streets at night - be afraid of the sunlight and need blood to sustain his life - well other creatures blood lol
i do read other genres as well, but typically it is the para-romance or urban fantasy. i do love evanovich, carrington and some other mystery writers as well, and will post on them as i read their books. additionally, i really like fern michaels and debbie macomber - michaels writes a very empowering - woman can take care of themselves - type of plot - i.e, marriage game - will definately read more from her
working in the book store has afforded me the luxury of seeing all the books that come in and knowing what is hot and what's not - still on my reading list is
dream chaser - sherrilyn kenyon
a thousand splended suns - khaled hosseini
the food you crave - ellie krieger
happy for no reason - marci shimoff
hard to handle - lori foster
extreme danger - shannon mckenna
the audacity of hope - barack obama
don't bet against me - deanna favre
You Are a Strawberry |
![]() You are friendly, outgoing, and well liked by many people. You are popular, but there's nothing you ordinary or average about you. You a very interesting person, and you have many facets to your personality. Sometimes you feel very conflicted. Your different sides of your personality pull at you. You are a very sensual and passionate person. You are fiery... you can't help it. In general, you keep your passionate side under wraps. You are only wild in private. |
Friday, February 8, 2008
feeling old and sad :(


ok, so not technically old and sad, but have come to the realization that my kids are growing up toooo fast. i guess i never really noticed it with mandi because she has always been so grown up but my little sarahbear - i am not ready for that - ok, she has had boyfriends in the past but never anything that i even really thought about - they would just im each other or talk for 5 minutes on the phone - (i really lucked out, neither of my teenage girls like to be on the phone - sarah uses maybe - at the most - 20 minutes a month on her cell phone) - they never went anywhere or to each others houses. BUT tonight, we are sitting here watching jurassic park and at 8:45 p.m., my doorbell rings, and it is a BOY asking for SARAH - so i was like yeah she is here and then remembered that she was not home because she is working.
so why do i feel old, because my 14 year old baby girl is 1)working and 2)having boys come to the house for her lol. so this poor kid must think i am nuts because i was like yeah she is here and then i said she wasn't. i really thought he was asking for mandi who is 17 and i am used to people showing up asking for her. so then i looked at this almost 6 foot kids and said "who the hell are you" and then felt even older because he was like "i'm mike z. one of the twins who lives like 5 houses from you." OMG i felt stupid, i will just blame it on the fact that it is kind of rainy/snowy outside and that i was half asleep when the doorbell rang AND the fact that the last time i saw this kid he was playing basketball with jj and they were the same height and now he is probably 6 foot if not taller.
so then i asked him what he wanted with sarah this late and it was actually kinda cute lol - he wanted to know if she wanted to go bowling. ok, sarah is almost 15 but i am sooooooooooooo not ready for the whole dating thing. this is a kid that she grew up with, but never hung out with. he is a year older than her, and i know his parents and his two brothers, he does not drive and the best part - i know where he lives. sarahbear did mention that the twins were in one of her classes this semester and she thought one of them was cute - they are identical so i am not sure how she thinks only one of them is cute lol.
so how do i go from hey mike, the kid who used to play with my boys to hey mike the guy who wants to go bowling with my daughter UUURRGHHHH what would you do????
Thursday, February 7, 2008
winter storm 2008 and some other stuff

what a winter storm! we still had about 8 inches from the storm on the 1st, and we had another 16 inches dumped on us yesterday - not that i mind much - i'm not going anywhere anyway lol - and living here all my life i - thankfully - know how to drive in it if i have to. i don't like driving right now becaue i can't turn my head far enough to see the blind spots in my truck so i have limited myself to take the kids to school and go to the grocery store. so these pics were taken during the day when it was still light out - we still got another 4 or so inches after these. it was so bad that the plows did not even go by because they were too busy keeping the main roads clear. we all knew we were going to get hit hard - all the malls were closed - most places did not open. the resturant that my girls work at, called at 9 in the morning to say they were not opening. the subdivision next to ours was out of power, but thankfully ours was not, however, we did lose cable and because we have the package cable deal - that meant our internet and phones were out for a while too - no big deal -we had other things to do - napping was good lolWednesday, February 6, 2008
what flavor margarita are you
You Are an Orange Margarita |
![]() At first glance, you are very unique - but deep down you are still quite a traditionalist. A margarita may be "too fancy" for you, but you'll never turn a free one down. |
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
what year do you belong in
You Belong in 1998 |
![]() With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good! |
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
chicken and mushroom quesadillas


Friday, January 18, 2008
New Pictures
i am just sitting here with my starbucks and i thought i would update with a few new pics of the kids. i have another mri scheduled for the 25th and my next dr. appt is on 2/16 so i have nothing better to do. i have almost run our of books to read - which if you have seen the amount of books that i ahve you would never believe i would run out - i am thinking of starting the janet e series over and hopefully i will get out on 2/5 for the new releases. i had my first b12 shot on 12/21 so by the 23rd i was feeling better and had enough energy to help the girls bake some christmas cookies. mandi made chocolate covered cherry cookies, allie made a paula deen recipe of white chocolate chunk cherry cookies and sarah made designer chococate covered pretzels. we also made peanut butter cookies with and without kisses and ginger snaps
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
I have not dropped of the planet, although I feel like I have
The Chiari Malformation is considered a congenital malformation, although there have been some reported cases of an acquired form. It is characterized by a small or misshapen posterior fossa (the compartment in the back of the skull), a reduction in cerebrospinal fluid pathways and a protrusion of the cerebellar tonsils through the bottom of the skull (foramen magnum) into the spinal canal. The tonsils would normally be round but often become elongated as they protrude down the spinal canal. Diagnosis can be difficult because not all patients will have the classical sign of deeply herniated tonsils. Many people with the Chiari Malformation experience no symptoms. When symptoms are present, they usually do not appear until adolescence or early adulthood, but can occasionally be seen in young children. The majority of patients complain of severe head and neck pain. Headaches are often accentuated by coughing, sneezing or straining. Patients may complain of dizziness, vertigo, disequilibrium, muscle weakness or balance problems. Often fine motor skills and hand coordination will be affected. Vision problems can also occur. Some patients experience blurred or double vision, difficulty in tracking objects or a hypersensitivity to bright lights. Physical examination may reveal nystagmus (involuntary eye movements). Other symptoms include tinnitus (buzzing or ringing in the ear), hearing loss or vocal cord paralysis. Patients may have difficulty swallowing, frequent gagging and choking and, in some cases, sleep apnea may be present. The Chiari I Malformations may also be associated with other disorders such as hydrocephalus (build up of fluid in the ventricles of the brain) or Syringomyelia. Syringomyelia is a disorder in which cerebrospinal fluid enters the spinal cord, forming a cavity known as a syrinx. It is recommended that patients diagnosed with a Chiari Malformation have the entire spine imaged to rule out the presence of a syrinx, since it may be a consideration in treatment and prognosis.
Syringomyelia, often referred to as SM, is a chronic disorder involving the spinal cord. For reasons that are only now being understood, cerebrospinal fluid enters the spinal cord, forming a cavity known as a syrinx. (Doctors sometimes use other words such as cyst, hydromyelia or syringohydromyelia) This syrinx often expands and elongates over time, destroying the center of the spinal cord. As the nerve fibers inside the spinal cord are damaged, a wide variety of symptoms can occur, depending upon the size and location of the syrinx. There are two major types of SM. In most cases it is related to a congenital malformation involving the hindbrain (cerebellum) called a Chiari I Malformation, named after the physician who first described it. The symptoms of SM are numerous and a person may have various combinations of different symptoms. Symptoms tend to develop slowly, although sudden onset may occur with coughing and straining. Some common symptoms include: loss of sensitivity, especially to hot and cold, muscle weakness and spasticity, motor impairment, loss of bowel and bladder control, as well as osteoporosis and scoliosis. The majority of patients suffer from headaches and chronic pain.
Treatment
In cases involving a Chiari Malformation, the main goal of surgery is to provide more space for the cerebellum at the base of the skull and upper cervical spine. This often results in a flattening or disappearance of the syrinx as the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid is restored. In some cases it may be necessary to insert a shunt into the cavity, rerouting the cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal cord. A successful surgery will stabilize the condition and perhaps gain a modest improvement in symptoms, but over time surgery is not always successful and multiple surgeries may be necessary.
SO BASICALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS - ALL I DID WAS FUCKING HURT MY BACK AT WORK!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS OTHER SHIT!!!!! - ok, done yelling and swearingso now i have to wear a hard collar neck brace whenever i am up doing something - i did go back to work for about 2 weeks right after christmas but was taken out again as disabled because i can't stand for very long and with working retail - you have to stand. it is frustrating because i still have all the strength - at least in my arms - that i did before, but i have very limited fine motor skills - if you have not already noticed there are no caps in this post that i have typed or anything else that would require me to hit more than one key at a time THANK GOR FOR SHIFT LOCK AND SPELL CHECK- i also have at times lost the ability to walk for no reason - 1 minute i can walk and the next i can't but an hour later i am ok again. i don't drive much anymore because i don't know when my leg is going to give out and don't want to be somewhere that i can't get home, plus my driveway is on a hill and i can't get the emergency brake down in my truck, let alone trying to get out of the truck lol.
so what are my options - basically brain surgery - NOT GONNA HAPPEN. the doc has given me 6 months to work with the b12 shots to see if there is any significant difference that will leave me functional. he does not know how bad the nerve damage is at this time. my back still has not healed and hurts as much as the day i did it. however, the b12 shots are kinda cool lol - there are no side effects from them and they can kinda make you feel slightly buzzed - not the bad narcotic buzzed - but the enjoying a few glasses of good wine with dinner buzzed. after 6 months we can see which symptoms have subsided and determine the amount of nerve damage and go from there. if i am functional enough i will wait to have surgery until my kids are older - if i am not - well i will deal with that then
so what's going on at home with this - well the kids are frustrated cuz i have good days and bad - some days i can walk and talk and seem perfectly normal and others i need help with everything from getting in/out of the shower to simply talking on the phone. the girls have been helpful and so has justin with household things, the other 2 try but are to young to understand - the husband on the other hand - not so good. i could fall on the ground in front of him and he says - what do you want me to do - i don't know if he is as scared and frustrated about this as i am and does not know how to handle it or if he is just an ass - for those of you who know him - i'll let you decide lol - wendy if you read this - feel free to respond lol lol lol
so basically the b12 has helped somewhat with the memory loss and speech, but that is about it - but he is giving it 6 months to work and my next shot is next week. i am also scheduled for a brain mri next week to measure the exact amount of herniation. i sit on the computer, play pogo - sweet tooth 2 yeah-, read alot - running out of books lol, and watch tv - have you ever noticed some of the whacked out recipes that make it to food network lol - i can't scrapbook or crochet cuz the fine motor skills are not there yet, but that does not stop me from buying lots of scrapbook stuff. i had my first b12 shot on 12/21 and by christmas eve was able to help the girls make some cookies. we made peanut butter cookies, peanut blossoms, chocolate covered cherry cookies, white chocolate chunky cherry cookies - a paula dean recipe - ginger snaps and sarah made chocolate covered pretzels. i'll post some pics later - i'm tired and need a nap and some vicodin













