Daily Ponderings

I don't know what got me started back into wearing my silver rings, but I have had them on every day for the past few weeks. The original rings I've been wearing are the big butterfly, the one with the little blue stone, and the Alice in Wonderland ring on my middle right hand finger. The ring with the big aqua stone is a new purchase! I have become at Etsy addict, I browse the site every day. I like to see what people make, and let me tell you, there is a HUGE variety of items that can be found on Etsy! Well, I thought of searching for rings a couple weeks ago, and I found a seller with beautiful handmade rings, for pretty good prices. I did purchase a different ring, and got it in the mail on Inauguration day. Although I thought it was really pretty, it didn't quite fit, and it was taller than any rings I've worn before. Most of my rings are flatter! So, I sent a message to the seller, to see if I could exchange the ring for my first choice, which happens to be the aq...

*Woke up to snow around 9:30am. *Fed Mittens, washed my face, got dressed *Ate breakfast, read news, checked email *Snow still falling at 12pm *Mom called to see if I could change my dentist appt to another day, or ask for a later appt so she could take me. I did, the girl told me she'll switch it, but because I insist on only having the one dental hygienist, I can't get in til June. Ah well! lol *Made sugar cookie dough *Ate lunch around 2pm while dough chilled. Still snowing! *At 3pm, I made the cookies. Recipe said Yield 48, I ended up with 61. LOL *Around 4pm, I finished making the cookies, washed the dishes and cleaned the counter, but was beyond exhausted to frost the cookies, so I took almost an hour nap! *Made dinner, ate it, watched some tv. Still snowing!! By that point, we had around 7 inches, maybe a bit more. *At 8pm, I started hosting chat, and checking email again and stuff *Around 9pm, I started frosting cookies. Took me a long time, but they are done!! *Now it...

My weekend went by quickly, but it was ok. Eve came over Saturday with Olive Garden and a movie, but we really spent the time talking about stuff. The food was good, the company even better, and when she left around 8:3o to meet Erin for drinks at The Brickyard (it was way too cold for me to join them, or else I would have been there!!), I took a bath and just relaxed. Sunday was laundry day, and I don't remember doing much else. Oh wait, I made jewelry while watching What About Bob? I just love that movie! And after that, I watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That one cracks me up! I really listened to the movies more than I watched, since I was making a necklace. And of course, I was quoting half the Monty Python movie! lol Monday and today I exercised, and did pretty well with it. Yesterday I finished folding laundry, and did a few random things. Today I hosted chat, which was pretty busy, and nice! Then I made a banana cake. I ate a piece tonight, it turned out yummy. I ad...

I was over at Mandy's for a little while yesterday as part of my day of escape. The temperature was near 30 (heat wave for us lately!), and I actually went to pulmonary rehab for the first time this year! Everyone was happy to see me, it just really made me happy to be a part of the group I workout with. After a pretty good workout, I stopped at Wegmans for some sushi and a banana. Weird combination, I know. I regretted it later when I kept burping up sushi! I think it was the banana's fault. Anyway, I went to Mandy's after that. Mandy showed me some glass pieces she had tried making, and they are so beautiful! They are plates, they can be used for something (like maybe to hold rings), or they can be just displayed. I also saw part of a windchime that she's working on. I really can't wait to see what that will look like when it's finished! She's got so many ideas on what she'd like to make, and so many different designs of things she's already comple...

I have been glued to the tv since 10:30am EST. I had been looking forward to the Inauguration for awhile now, and I can't even begin to describe how emotional I've been on and off all day. The immense crowds on the National Mall were just overwhelming. They are estimating possibly 2 million people were there for the ceremonies. I believe it! Every time they panned the crowd, I felt a rush of wanting to cry. The actual Inauguration was very moving, as was President Obama's speech. His speech made a LOT of sense, and he brought back the reasons why our forefathers created the United States of America in the first place. I am sure that the excitement of the crowd could not be portrayed as well on tv as actually being there in person. But, just looking at the pictures, I can only imagine that the in-person experience will never be forgotten! I almost feel as if I've wasted my day, but I am proud to be witnessing a day of history. I didn't watch the last 2 Inaugurations....

I decided Friday that my happy bit of news for today was going to be about the Miracle on the Hudson. Someone asked me why I would want to use a plane crash as my choice. It's not the crash itself that has amazed me, as I'm sure it has everyone else. For a passenger jet to land in a river is something no one has seen before! It's what happened before and after the crash that is the real story. *A skilled pilot who had to make a split-second decision to land that plane in the water, and who became an instant hero for the way he landed without the plane breaking up *The relatively calm demeanor of the passengers in the plane, who worked together to escape and help each other get out of the plane alive *The fast arrival of the boats who rescued the people off the plane, and were there are the right time *The very few serious injuries to the passengers, and no deaths to speak of afterward I think Dateline NBC did an excellent job on Friday in covering much of this story. If y...

Ok, so maybe brrrrrrrrr is an understatement! It's downright frigid here, and has been for the last few days. I've been hibernating since last Saturday. A friend asked me the other night if I was going stir crazy, and honestly, I haven't because I know that I just can't go out there!! The sun is seriously deceiving out there today. It's only a handful of degrees, but that sun can make you think otherwise! In a bit, I'm going to get the spare room ready for "the little guy." I haven't babysat him since before Halloween. He was sort of starting to walk then. I don't even want to know what he's doing now!! I will be finding out in a couple hours! Last night, Diane came down to exchange our "winter gifts." She had not opened my gift to her for Christmas, because that was a really hard time for her. She was finally ready to now, which was fine with me! She gave me a really pretty fleece with a cat face on it. She also bought me diffe...

I didn't go to rehab today, the weather wasn't great earlier. Well, it's still not great, but whatever. I did, however, walk on the treadmill today. For 25 minutes. Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaa!! Not sure what's wrong with me today, but I never walk that long! I guess it was a combination of things that I just don't get, but whatever. I got my walk on!! I know it won't happen again this week, but still, I am pretty proud of myself!

I think I will be hibernating this week. We are supposed to get some of the coldest temps of the season, and I certainly don't want to be out in it!! I am so relieved that I got groceries over the weekend. I can't even imagine trying to get out there to get them this week, even if I did have help, or got dropped off at the door to go in and then get picked up. Windchills in the negative degree range?? No thank you!!! I did random things around the house today, like sweeping, using the Kone, "vacuuming" the hallway rug (I use an old brush of Mittens to get the fur up, because the vacuum doesn't always get it on that rug. And besides, the vacuum is broke :(....), putting away the dishes, and folding the laundry from last week. I also wrapped the gifts I got for Lisa's baby shower this coming weekend. And then I took a nap! I don't know what else I'll do the rest of this week, but it's not like I don't have anything to do around here. Of course, ...

I decided this week to write about the idea for phriends I had that was inspired by a dearly departed phriend, TaraJ. Tara was a lively person, despite living with Lupus and PH. She went through many periods of just plain not feeling well at all, yet she was always thinking of others no matter how she was doing. Tara and I used to send messages to each other over Myspace, and often we talked about beads! She had a slight addiction to them as well. Maybe not as bad as my addiction, but nevertheless, she loved to oogle at the sparkly beads on a wide variety of websites. We even talked about maybe buying beads together to get a discount! Sadly, that never happened, but it was a nice idea at the time! Over a year ago, Tara sent me a box of stuff. She used to make soaps and other pretty smelling things, and she sent me a few items she was trying to get rid of because she was moving with her husband to a new house. Inside the box also contained 24 tiny little cats and dogs, figurines that sh...

As much as I truly truly truly didn't want to get groceries this weekend, I knew that I had to do it because: A) I seriously had no veggies to really eat! B) I seriously had no fruit to eat! C) It's going to be seriously colder than it has been in a few days, and I definitely would NOT go out in that!! That's a lot of seriousness!! So, my mom picked me up around 2ish, and off we went to Aldi's. Then we had a side trip to KayBee toy store, which is closing for good in the very immediate future. I bought some gifts, my niece is covered for her birthday, and it isn't until June! Whoo hooo! After that, we went to Wegmans. We spent a lot of time in there, but I am now stocked up on a bunch of stuff that will hopefully last a couple weeks, if not a bit longer! When we left the store, it was snowing out, and as we traveled home, we realized it was not really the best traveling weather! But, we got back home safely, my mom lugged in all my purchased food items and toys (ha...

After resting for almost the entire afternoon, taking about an hour nap, and another Tylenol, I finally felt decent enough around 4pm to almost finish a triple illusion necklace set! I heated dinner, watched the news and a couple other shows, finished the necklace set and made another necklace (on my brand new board!!), and have been chilling on the couch for the last couple hours tutoring, chatting, and listening to music. I am hoping tomorrow I'll feel even better! I'll be spending another day indoors because of possible ice, rain, snow, and whatever else decides to fall from the sky. The oxygen guy is supposed to be coming with more tanks, and I also need to get laundry done. Hopefully it'll be a more productive day than today was! I'm just glad I got to do a couple things instead of nothing at all!

Yesterday, I had quite the busy day. I had to get bloodwork done in the morning, and after spending the usual hour there (because my blood is "special," special procedures need to be done for me, and it takes longer!), I left to go to the credit union. I took out money, put in a little money, chatted with Joanie, and left for home. I called my mom a bit before 3pm, to see if she still wanted to go out to some stores. She said yes, and picked me up about 15 minutes later, and we were off to shop! And shop we did! Walmart was the first stop, where I had to get my monthly list of stuff that I needed. I tried to return a gift basket that I had gotten as a gift, but the tag wasn't on it, and there wasn't any left to even try exchanging with. Oh well, when I got home, I ended up splitting some of the stuff with Diane! Anyway, we spent awhile in Walmart, then went to Joann Fabrics, where I got a new beading board because mine was too furry and I had spilled orange juice on ...

I've decided to start a new feature in my blog, and hopefully, when I remember to do it, it will occur on Sundays. I'd like to start off the new week every Sunday with a Happy Bit of News. This happy news will vary on whatever topic I happen to find happy or inspiring! It may sometimes be personal, but for now, I will search high and low on the internet for something I find uplifting, rather than all the dismal news going on in the world today! So today's first Happy Bit of News winner is: Sesame Street is 40 this year!!! Ok, you're thinking I am nuts, right?? Why in the world would a children's program turning 40 years old be a happy and inspiring bit of news?? Are you kidding me?? A children's program that has lasted FORTY YEARS is inspiring, for one thing!! A program that has educated millions of children in a bunch of countries and languages for all that time IS happy news in my book!! I was 7 years old when Sesame Street first started on the air, and I am g...

Ten years ago today, on a cold wintery day, after many weeks of packing up my belongings in my bedroom at my parents' house, my family helped move me down the street into my own apartment in a house my parents' had bought. It's really hard to believe that I have been on my own for ten years! So much has happened in my life in that time span. I went from living with the bare essentials, to having so much more stuff to move if I should ever leave this place. I have learned how fiercely independent I can be, and how independent I can't be in some situations. I had to quit my job a little more than a year after I moved in. I finished grad school after that. I've had a few parties with my sistores here, and a few sleepovers. I got my first cat, an animal I never thought I'd be able to have, and didn't imagine I could keep up with, but I love him tremendously! I've had five different upstairs neighbors since I've been here, and currently, I am hoping the o...

Well, 2008 is gone, and 2009 has had an ok beginning so far. I rang in the New Year last night with a phriend, a friend, and many texts to other friends. It was bitter cold all day yesterday, so I just didn't go outside. By the time the ball dropped, the windchill was about -10 here!! I was nice and warm in my fleece pjs and bathrobe, and I toasted the new year to myself with my sparkly grape juice! It was a nice evening, but it sure didn't feel like we just began a new year! I have no resolutions for 2009. I don't really make them. I know many times I can't keep them. For example, exercising. I could say that I resolve to make sure I'm exercising as much as possible, but I know myself. I usually won't do it after awhile. I'm thinking it might be different this year, because I am going to the gym twice a week. But I still don't walk enough at home like I said I would. I can make definite efforts, but to make a definite resolution to exercise more....well...

Myspace Comments , New Year Comments at WishAFriend.com` My best wishes to everyone I know for a Happy and HEALTHY New Year!!! May 2009 be a great year for all!!