Little tidbits of my life

I'm sad because...no one seems to want to sign up for my giveaway and I was so excited about it!!!

I'm happy because...my MRI was normal except for 4 spots on it that are common to migraine sufferers such as myself

I'm happy because...the union was able to negotiate and he will go back to work saturday

I'm sad because it seems dark way too soon this time of year and that tends to make me depressed

I'm happy because I had a wonderful time just praying and playing my piano last night

I'm sad because one of my best friends who just finished her treatment for breast cancer just found out her husband's melanoma has come back in 7 places, including a spot on each lung. He has already had part of his lung removed a few months ago. He is about to start chemo for 7 days every three weeks at Emory University. Please pray for him and his family.

I'm happy because God has blessed me with such wonderful in-laws and parents who help take care of me while Jamey is away.

I'm happy because Jamey is coming home for Thanksgiving and will take me to WV with him the following weekend!!!

Enter for Christmas Book Giveaway plus BONUS! DEADLINE November 23, 2008

To enter once, simply leave me a comment to this post or send me an email at teresa@stitchesbyteresa.com. To receive 4 extra chances to win the book, post this giveaway on your blog, then send me a link to your post along with your contact information.

Deadline to enter is November 23, 2008 (in honor of my 7th wedding anniversary!) I will draw one name from all entries and announce the winner November 24, 2008.

The book can be used during the Christmas season as a family devotional to explain each piece of the Nativity Scene.

The author Rev. Zachary Carden III and I attended a bible study group for most of our teenage years. He has since went on to seminary and then later to become a children's and youth pastor. I am so honored to share his book with you through my blog!

The book The King in the Corner is available on the author's storefront both by paper copy for only $12.55 or as a download for $2.50. The CD Greybobby Discovers Creation is available on the author's storefront for $6.75 and a coloring page of Greybobby is also available as a FREE download. The CD and coloring page are in the left hand column of the page.

This book will make a great Christmas gift for anyone with children trying to find the perfect way to make Jesus the Reason for the Season and to help them really understand how He ended up in that manger.

Here's a little background for the book:

A few years ago I penned the book The King in the Corner. It is a book for Christmas that I recently updated with full color illustrations. It is a self-published work. Honestly I only get a dollar from the sale of each of these books, so the main reason I'm putting it out there is because I believe it can help families focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

I originally wrote the book in response to fathers who felt awkward in leading family devotions. Let's face it, sometimes men don't know what to say nor how to communicate with their kids. If something is awkward then a man will typically not give it another try. Knowing the reality of family devotions not being the norm, I wrote this book as a narrative. It is like sitting in on another family's devotional time during the Christmas season. So it is less awkward for fathers, because the father in the story is actually teaching his children.

Another reason I wrote this book is that I was not satisfied with the Christmas stories that were out there. I felt like all they did was rehash the Christmas Story which children have heard over and over again (even in Charlie Brown). Though the story is great and been retold countless times, we all know how it turns out, right? That's when little ears begin to tune the story out or become numb to its meaning. The King in the Corner is different.

The King in the Corner starts out with a family in which, though the parents know the Lord, they have neglected teaching their children much about Him. They have tended to focus on other things during Christmas. They have a family nativity set, but it is shoved in the corner. Lamenting this fact, the father tells the stories his own father told him and he treats it like a mystery. Who is this King? What is He like?

The father in the story adds a each piece of the nativity set one at a time. He tells his children how each piece tells about the King who would come to earth. For example the stable reminds us that Jesus was a humble king, the animals remind us that he was king of Creation, Mary reminds us that he was born in the priestly line and is the Priest King, the figure of Joseph reminds us that he is born of the line of David and is the King of kings, and so on and so forth.

Quilt Challenge UPDATE REMINDER

This note is for the 9 participants of the WINTER themed quilt challenge here on the blog.

I am heading back to Georgia this weekend and will be ready to sort these out by the end of the week if we have received all the blocks by then. This means if you still need a little more time, please try to get them in the mail by tuesday or wednesday this week if possible.

SO FAR, 5 are accounted for, SO 4 folks still need to mail the blocks to Chasity. If you need me to send the mailing address to you again, please let me know.

From West Virginia to Georgia AGAIN

I want to share a bargain: Prescription eyeglasses...I purchased online for $32, shipped to my door! I can see clearly for the first time in over a year! I am so amazed at the quality! I had read a blog on homestead a few months ago that first suggested this option, but I could not find it, so I just googled the idea and I found www.eyebuydirect.com. Here are my glasses:

A neighbor moved out and sold us a used washer and dryer for a very low price! My new friend and I were both so happy because although she was glad to let me do my laundry at her house, I kept having the weak spells and twice she sent me home and had to bring our laundry over to us after it dried because I was unable to do it. SO now that it is in our apartment, there is no need to lift heavy bags or drag them several yards anymore!!! Just the night before, I had prayed God would make a way for us to get a used one somehow...I knew our budget was tight, so when I found out about the offer, I got out the calculator and started figuring...we had just enough extra over our budget to cover it! My hubby immediately said "I'll stop by the bank on the way home...tell them we'll take it"...the lady's father was there with a dolly, so he brought them over and put them in the utility room for me, too! JUST ONE BLESSING AFTER ANOTHER!!!

I have actually given my new friend one piano lesson. We had SO MUCH FUN! As I said before, we both have fibromyalgia, so we were exhausted and will just have to learn to pace ourselves. She has taken lessons before, so we are specifically working on chords. I could tell she has a good ear for music and will be a very good student. I look forward to the challenge. I am amazed at how God works through our friends. Every time one of us is having a bad day, the other calls at just the right time and we both end up feeling better. It has done wonders for both of us stresswise. My hubby has told me several times that he is so glad I met my new neighbor. I was not able to go to church with her because it was another bad day for me, but I hope to be able to soon! She says the church is really great and she thinks I will like it. She is definitely Godsent! I thank the Lord for all the friends He has given me!

SADLY, my hubby told me today that he will not get to take the week off to go home (to GA) with me next week to my doctor visits for my test results. HAPPILY, I will still be able to go...Fortunately my wonderful middle sister and mother are going to come up saturday, spend the night, and bring me home sunday...so I will not miss my appointments. I just am not sure at this point what my plans will be after that. We have discussed getting my rheumatologist's advice on scheduling the surgery with the podiatrist for my left ankle/foot (total reconstruction and put back together w/rods/pins/screws/bolts)...or if he thinks fibromyalgia too severe...BUT this is all contingent still on test results...MRI, ECHOCARDIOGRAM, holtor monitor...my cardio dr expects everything will be fine with my heart, he just thinks my BP is too low and dropping even lower at times...neurologist had ordered all the tests as a result of my visit w/him b/c of the weak spells and migraines. The meds he gave me for migraine prevention are working GREAT. I am AMAZED. It is the first time in YEARS I have gone an entire two weeks without a headache. I am so thankful he was able to help me. That should bring you up to date on medical issues for those who wanted to know. I won't know anything more till the end of next week.

The main dr visits are wed and thurs, so if you'd like to pray for me, those are the days I will be talking about all this to the drs.

All things work together for good....

As you may have noticed, I have not posted in awhile. I have been trying to get settled in West Virginia in our little apartment. I am determined not to give up and do NOTHING all day long. That being said, I told my hubby that I wanted to try to at least do our laundry while here. Since I am disabled with fibromyalgia and have a hard time doing daily tasks such as cleaning chores at our home in GA, he was hesitant to turn this chore over to me. However, when I had heard he was spending between $30 and $50 paying a laundry-mat company to clean and fold his laundry for him, I assured him I was capable. I was sure I could save us quite a bit of money by spending mere quarters per load. The laundry unit is located directly behind our apartment, so is not very far at all.

My FIRST trip was akin to a horror film, at least in my paranoid little mind...that is once I finally hauled 3 mesh sacks of laundry up the little hill to the laundry unit. There I was - alone - in this little room with 4 washers and 4 dryers - blinds all closed and one door without a lock on it. The lights were on a timer. To use the washer, I had to turn my back to the door. I nervously, but successfully filled 3 washers full of clothes, put the quarters in and proceeded to start all 3 loads as once (very nice feature, having a room full of washers!)...the joy was very shortlived as two washers started knocking very loudly and a red light came on both showing the load was unbalanced. I unsuccessfully rearranged and then finally unloaded one of the washers altogether without success of the red light going off. The second washer gave the same result. The third washer...a SUCCESS! I proceeded in drying one load and finishing up the other two loads. At this point I noticed there were muddy tracks all over the floor and I was standing in water! One of the washers had been leaking and evidently no one had reported it...so now my socks were getting soaked through my tennis shoes and I was still a nervous wreck being in here alone. I finally just left the room and went back to the apartment hoping all would go well on its own. I checked everything a bit later and then dried the clothes in order and finally was able to finish up my first official wash day at the apartments.

Back at the apartment, I put all the clothes away and then rubbed down my neck/arms/wrists w/arthritis cream and took pain meds. The rest of the day was spent doing as little as possible. I soon realized that wash day was not working out very well for me.

For several months, I have taken my hubby's advice and not driven a vehicle due to several issues related to my health. We live about 15-20 miles away from Walmart in GA, but here in WV, it is a mere 2 mile journey to Wallie World!!!! SO this being the case, my hubby has offered to let me attempt to drive just a little ways again. SO I decided I might feel safer going to a public laundry mat instead of the isolated apartment laundry mat. I used our GPS and found that there is one about 3 miles from the apartment. I loaded up a week after the first laundry day and headed for the public laundry mat. I never had realized how blessed I truly was to have my very own washer and dryer all these many years. Anyway, I had even more clothes on this trip than the first time because now I had both my clothes and my hubby's clothes. I tried to bring them all in at once, but it was not working and I was just hurting my shoulders. I could only imagine what onlookers might be thinking (as if I were drawing a crowd...really and truly, there were NO onlookers! lol). I finally gave up and brought in one bag in at a time, hoping against hope that no one wanted to steal a bag of dirty laundry (CRAZY now that it's in print!). I walked in and never had I seen so many washers and dryers! I noticed the extra large washers in the very back just calling for me! I found that I was able to wash all of my hubby's overalls in ONE LOAD!!! These were triple load washers...cost more, but washes alot more, too...ANYWAY, I was able to get everything done all at once and felt quite pleased with myself. I decided to sit down and read a book as I waited, just relax a bit. There was a pleasant looking lady in there doing the same and I said hi to her and she returned the pleasantries. At that moment, we both saw it...a ROACH on the side of my drink cup!!!!! We both screamed as we womenfolk sometimes do and I grabbed my cup and quickly turned on the hot water at the sink and scalded the bug and my cup, poured my soda out and immediately started wondering why I ever thought I should come to a public laundry mat!!! At this point, the lady started telling me that she thought they would have sprayed by now and then she started fighting the dryer as it had eaten her quarters. The owner came out and explained she had to SLAM the door on the dryer harder. SO this makes sense...abuse the equipment and it will work better...amazingly enough, the dryer roared to life. At this point, I saw a roach fall from the sky...okay, okay, so it was the ceiling, but it might as well have been the sky the way it just appeared like that!...I stomped it. I'm really getting creeped out at this point and I decided to keep my handbag against my side at all times so as to prevent critters from crawling into it. Finally my laundry is ready for the dryers and I grab a buggy (yes, to my surprise, I could have used a buggy and brought all my laundry in at once and stopped all that needless fretting!!!) and head for the dryers. I find that I have the same trouble as the other laundry lady. I cannot make the dryer work. She tells me to use my fist and hit it hard. I have very little strength and it hurts my hands/arms to hit things...finally she hit it for me and it roared to life! SO for the next hour or two, each time I had to stop the dryers to check for dampness, this kind little lady would gently walk over and pound on the dryer for me! By the time I saw the third roach, I had made a game out of it. I started chasing it with the buggy! I know, crazy, but I was getting bored I suppose. ANYWAY, the lady finished up her laundry and left me and I found myself alone there except for three young guys who looked to be all of 20 or so...you know the age...think they own the world, but barely old enough to keep from getting a whipping! lol...so at one point one of my dryers stopped and wouldnt ya know it...a pair of my panties are right there as if plastered on the screen! I heard "Mee-OWWW" behind me...I quickly got my clothes out and packed up and left. Unfortunately, none of the socks were dry, so when I got home, Jamey had to help me lay them out on a towel to dry...then I had to lay all the denim out to dry on the bed. All this b/c I got me-owed at! lol...I told Jamey I don't know that I had ever gotten me-owed at before that day. lol...kinda funny.

SO onto the THIRD laundry week...what to do??? Should I just give up and let Jamey pay out the big bucks for our laundry? NO b/c these places are infested w/roaches!!! SO I have no alternative but to go back to the unit behind our home. I decided I would just take one load at a time and only use the one washer that I knew worked great. SO I spot treated one of Jamey's shirts and one of mine and then headed to the laundry unit. I put the laundry detergent in, put the clothes in, got out my bag of change, put in one quarter, two quarters...that's it!!! NO MORE QUARTERS!!! I'd put all the other quarters in those horrid dryers!!!!!! What shall I do??? The spot treatment will bleach the shirts if on there for longer than say 5 or 10 minutes...I called my hubby who was at work. He suggested I go next door to the manager's office and see if he has change for dimes/nickels. SO I did this, but no one was there. I went back to the laundry unit and just stood there over the washer. I said a little prayer. At this point, a lady walked in. She asked me if I was Curtis's wife (I think that's the name she said)...I told her my hubby was Jamey...then I asked her if she had any quarters...well that was the beginning of my first friendship here in West Virginia.

I had been here for two and a half weeks and not met a single person to remember by name until I had met Peggy. From the minute I met her, I knew God had sent her in the laundry room to be my friend. Several days later, we have gotten to know each other better. I now do my laundry at her house and I have agreed to give her piano lessons. That's right! There is a piano in her apartment to my heart's delight! This is one of the things I miss from home, but no longer! Plus, she sings alto, so we enjoyed the day yesterday singing gospel songs in duets while my wash got cleaner and cleaner...she had moved in just a couple weeks ago, so God had brought us here together at the same time...and to think, I had wanted my hubby to go to a different apartment complex...AND she had almost moved into a different one, too! Now we are both quite content here!

As for driving, I have come to realize that I still should not be driving. I had the weak spells all day long yesterday, and Peggy told me that we could be shopping buddies now and she agreed that I should not drive since I'm still having these spells so frequently. She is also going to take me to church sunday as she has been visiting in the area (and we are the SAME denomination!)...Jamey was relieved to hear this news as he was upset to hear I had a spell last week while at Dollar General and the ladies there took care of me till I was able to get to my truck. Everyone was very nice, though and I was okay once the spell passed. By the way, my heart doctor does think it's my blood pressure dropping too low and causing these spells.

May God Bless you and I hope you will notice that everything you encounter happens for a reason and all things work together for good for them who love the Lord, for them who are Called according to His purpose!

Winter Quilt Challenge Update

I just wanted to send out an update on our first quilt challenge, our quilt block exchange with a WINTER theme. As you finish your blocks, please mail them to Chasity as explained in your private messages I sent out a couple weeks ago.

I am in West Virginia for the month of October visiting my hubby...SO for those of you who still have not finished the quilt blocks, this will give you a couple extra weeks to finish up. I plan to return home the first weekend of November. At that time, I will touch base with Chasity (Senior Editor) and we will then make sure everyone has sent in the blocks. At that point we will match up the blocks and send out everyone's packages!

You will still have most of November and December to work on finishing the quilting project if you hope to get it ready in time for Christmas!

As I have said before, I just want to say again, please do NOT feel pressured AT ALL with the deadlines! This is meant to be fun for all! As each participant sends me messages, I am learning that we quilters have many common characteristics, including taking on a TON of projects all at once! It does seem that folks are starting to get this project wrapped up, though...which is GREAT because I would like to continue with the same idea of themes and go with the next season in line if you folks agree! Of course we can discuss that more after this project is finished.

Giveaway!

Another day, another doctor...and a trip!!!

It seems like every post I write lately has been health related...but I wanted to give you my latest update. The neurologist had wanted me to go to a cardiologist, so I had mentioned that I had a heart procedure done by a rhythm specialist about 11 years ago. He thought I should go back to him since he is already familiar w/my health history. SO...I saw my heart doctor last monday and he does think that my weak spells (last about 30 min at a time and generally never have much energy) are related to low blood pressure. I generally have low BP anyway, so with all the meds I have to take for the fibromyalgia and related pain, it is evidently causing BP to go even lower...BUT he is still ordering echocardiogram and holtor monitor (2 wk) just to cover all scenarios.

FORTUNATELY, someone here on the blog had suggested this to me a few months ago and I have since then been taking my BP and I did have that to show him to help confirm how low it seems to be running in general these days and just after the spells.

This just reminds me AGAIN how greatful I am to my blogging friends I've met here and for your advice and support. We do all seem to have similar struggles at one time or another and can lean on each other when needed. God knew we would be like this, now did he not??? I suppose that's why He invented blogging! lol

NOW...my heart doctor encouraged me to reschedule my dr appointments and take a month off to go see my hubby...he said to just mail the holtor monitor to him when the two weeks were over and he'd call me after he got the results of everything. Is that a great doctor, or is that a great doctor??? SO I took his advice and I am going to see hubby this weekend...AND STAY A WHOLE MONTH!

I FINALLY saw my hubby this week...and prayer request

I have not written in awhile because I went to West Virginia with my In-Laws to see my hubby for 4 days. As I had mentioned before, he is currently working in WV. He is at the John Amos Power Plant. We missed him and I have not been able to stay out there because of my health problems. I cannot seem to get my doctor appointments scheduled far enough apart to give me some time to see him for even a few weeks at a time.

My MIL, FIL and I all cleaned up the little 1 bedroom apartment he just moved into that was unfurnished and so we tried to make it more like a home. It was like stepping back into the seventies when we stepped in the door of that place! LOL...EXCEPT for the MOTORCYCLE in the living room! YES, that is correct, your eyes are not deceiving you! My silly hubby and his boy toys! I was able to find a room rug on sale that was the same color as the bike, so I put it on the floor where he parks the bike! SO now it "kinda" blends into the decor! The bike is not a HUGE bike at all. It is basically a street legal dirt bike, with VERY good gas mileage, so this is definitely a big PLUS, at least until winter approaches.

My sister and BIL had GIVEN us a beautiful QUEEN sleigh bed, so that took care of the bedroom. I was amazed at her generosity. The size was perfect for the space.

Needless to say, all that cleaning put me into an awful flareup and I have not felt up to blogging until now. My MIL has been sick from the new carpet that was in the apartment. I am thankful we have new carpet there, but sad that it is making us sick b/c of the fumes that come w/new carpet!

I found a few good deals at Walmart near the apartment, so I bought a Black and Decker Toaster Oven for only $19.95!!!! I also found a cute little Bissell vacuum cleaner for $39 that is the PERFECT size for the little apartment. We did not want to clutter up the place since it is so tiny, so we just put a futon in the living room, along w/the tiny 13 inch tv that had been in my sewing room :o(...we also found some really nice floor lamps on sale at Walmart. I think my MIL and I ended up with a total of 4 floor lamps this past week! lol...only 1 of them actually made it to the apartment!!! One went to my MIL's house and two went to my house! lol. I think the best transformation was the bathroom. It was a hideous looking little bathroom. Would you believe that they actually used STAPLES to put the lineoleum together behind the toilet??? ANYWAY, my MIL and I seem to work very well together in picking out accessories and were very pleased when we put down the dark gray rugs, very modern looking shower curtain w/various sized circles of dark brownish gray/light gray and white, with a white liner...along w/dark towel and smaller white towel folded for decoration on the wall...and clear accessories on the counter that is also a really old countertop in the same colors as the shower curtain. I also loved the little shower curtain hooks I found to match, but difficult to describe. ANYWAY, I wish I'd taken some before and after shots, but now that I'm back home and have taken 2 and a half days to recooperate, I realize I never even took my camera out of its case the entire trip! OH WELL!!! We had WAY TOO MANY destractions. I used Black/White accents in the kitchen even though the kitchen appliances were primarily off-white (VERY OLD) and everything seemed to be particle board. My favorite feature of the apartment was the utility room. This room is HUGE and there are washer/dryer hook-ups, but we did not purchase additional sets at this time. SO I just purchased a utility shelf w/5 shelves and put it in there for extra storage for the kitchen. This made everything just right! NOW I have a TOTALLY NEW perspective for the apartment. I look forward to spending ALOT of time there now as soon as I see my heart rhythm specialist next week, dependent on what tests he orders, I might even get to go back up there for an ENTIRE MONTH!!!!!! That would be so nice to spend the whole month with my hubby. We really need the time together. I could really tell he is starting to get homesick. He never actually said those words, but I know him pretty well and I could just tell.

I also have some sad news. A man at the John Amos Power Plant died this week while working night shift. He was 62 years old, married with kids. He apparently had a heart attack and possibly fell from a scaffold. I'm not sure of the exact details. My hubby had left for work tuesday morning only to return an hour later because all workers were sent home for the entire day while OSHA investigated the NC man's death. Apparently there are MANY travelers working there right now during this outage. I think the paper said 3,000 folks are working the outage. The man was a pipefitter. ANYWAY, I do not have many details, just please PRAY FOR HIS FAMILY.

I was glad we were there with my hubby this particular day as we did not know yet what had caused the accident, so it was a particularly upsetting day. I KNOW my hubby's job as an industrial electrician can be dangerous as they work w/extremely high voltage and often climb VERY high. They must be safety conscious all the time...BUT hearing that someone actually has died on the same job my hubby works is a real wake up call to me as to how dangerous it can be to have to work so high up all the time. I recall before Jamey was put on high blood pressure meds, he nearly passed out while working up high and the guys had to help him down to the ground...his foreman drove him to our family doctor and b/c he knew I'd freak out, he called his mom to come get him. This was when he was first diagnosed w/high BP and he was only in his mid 20s! SO all it takes is one swoon like that! If the guys hadn't been there to catch him, I shudder to think what might have happened to my hubby that day!

We spent the day going to the New River Gorge Bridge as we had never seen it before. This is one of the tallest arched bridges in western hemisphere from what I understand. I actually slept most of the day, but I did go see the bridge. Jamey and his dad took the steps down to get a better view and once Jamey emails the pics to me, I will post them for you. My MIL and I were not able to go down the steps due to her bad knees and my bad feet! BUT we were perfectly happy enjoying the breeze and resting at the top! We enjoyed some BEAUTIFUL scenery on the drive back to Georgia and I plan to take pics on my next journey. Hopefully the leaves will be turning alot more by then! I love it when the leaves turn!

Wreath made from plastic bags!!!

Ever heard of making a wreath from plastic bags? It reminds me of the feather wreaths that were so popular last year...

I thought this was a neat project to make at home! The wreath is made from strips of plastic bags. I found this on HGTV's website through the Carol Duvall Show. Click here for instructions.

Health update

Well guys, I haven't blogged in awhile b/c I've just been too tired! I like to post funny stories and uplifting stories, but have had blog-writer's block of sorts! lol

I went to the neurologist finally today b/c of chronic migraines and the weak spells I've mentioned in the past that last about 30 min. at a time. He was a super great doctor, seemed quite thorough. After looking in my eyes for about 5 minutes, he said he is referring me to a neuro-optomologist. He also thinks the weak spells is related to a heart problem, so I have to see my heart doctor again. I had a heart procedure about 11 years ago b/c of PVCs (premature ventricular contractions) that occurred every single heart beat, but that was corrected and I thought the heart trouble was over...but at least he is sending me to the same rhythm specialist that did my procedure before, so that is good. I am sure that it is not related to the PVCs b/c that had a specific feel that is now absent. The neurologist did some bloodwork since I stay so fatigued all the time. He also ordered an MRI of my brain b/c I have never had one done before. He added two meds for migraines to my current list...topamax and Maxalt MLT.

So now you know as much as me! I will continue to update you when I get some answers.

Winter Theme Quilt Challenge deadline is near!

Sept. 26 is the deadline for the winter blocks to be finished. If you need more time, please let me know.

Amy Jo made me a birthday present...an apron!

Look what arrived in my mailbox this week for my 35th birthday! Amy Jo (gabbie427) made it for me! Isn't she so sweet???

My 35th Birthday Today

FIRST OF ALL, guess what had opened a bloom today on my birthday! YES, that same peace lily I had blogged about here: click here. This was the first time it has bloomed since I posted that blog! What a special birthday treat for me!

GUESS WHAT I DID TODAY? I threw myself a birthday party for my sisters/brothers-in-laws and parents/parents-in-laws and hubby's grandmothers. No, I do not normally throw parties for myself, but this was a special occassion indeed. As I have blogged about previously, my family heard that my rheumatologist said I need to do water aerobics to help my fibromyalgia. At the time, my hubby was laid off work (although he is working again right now), so they all pitched in and helped me to buy a nice above-ground pool!!!

SO I threw this party as thanks to them for doing something so SPECIAL for me! They turned this FM problem into something wonderful! I LOVE exercising in the pool. As a matter of fact, it is really the only time I feel VERY good. I am still exhausted when I am in the pool, so I do not do anything major, but just to be able to move my arms and legs around freely is SO WONDERFUL! I had purchased a hammock float (which I had never heard of before researching for pools) and it is PERFECT to fit all my needs in the pool!

We had BBQ pizza delivered by a local restaurant and I decorated my dining room and back deck with a tropical theme. I had purchased two games to play: pineapple bowling and ALOHA bingo, but we ended up just sitting around and eating and talking and generally enjoying each others' company.

I had originally planned on this being a pool party, but because everyones' allergies have been so bad this week, we just stayed inside in the air conditioning.

NOW, on to the PICTURES! Do you ever host something like this and take pics of the decorations before everyone gets there, and THEN forget to take a single picture while all the guests are there??? WELL that is exactly what I did today. SO the following pics are just decorations. I will explain each one as we go.

This is the back deck table centerpiece. I made the ducks, lily pads and flower out of play-doh.

This is a close-up of the centerpiece. I had made a mama duck, too, but I dried her too long and she cracked and lost a wing!!! SO I felt she was not up to a party in her condition. LOL

My dad built these steps because the ladder that came with the pool was WAY too unstable.

My sister Lavonda and her husband were the first to arrive and they brought these CUTE Tiki monkeys for me, so I added them to the dining room centerpiece

This was the punch we had. I will share the recipe below it because it was SUPER easy and VERY GOOD.

Both my parents are diabetics, so I was trying to come up with something they could drink, too. SO I bought Diet Sunkist (orange) and Bryer's NO SUGAR ADDED vanilla ice cream. We put the ice cream in the punch bowl and poured Sunkist on top of it. It tasted much like creamsicles, which we ALL LOVED. I had forgotten to refrigerate the Sunkist, so it melted the ice cream too quickly, so if you use the same recipe, be sure to refrigerate the Sunkist first!

NOW, I had also had prizes ready in case we played the games I mentioned above. They were just silly prizes, but cute. Below is a pic of the prize bag.

NOW, the bag holding the prizes was actually a beach bag I had made my mother-in-law last year for her vacation to Orange Beach. I used machine embroidery and I had purchased the embroidery design online...I think I got it at emblibrary.com, but can't remember for sure. I designed the bag myself and also put my MIL's name on the front. I thought it turned out so CUTE. I will include pic of back, and the inside pocket that is deep enough for suntan lotion on one side and shallow enough for keys, change, whatever in the other section...and it zipped. I wish I'd made me one! LOL

Quilt Book Giveaway - EXTENDED ONE MORE NIGHT

Want to try to win a quilt book? Follow this link for a quilt block giveaway from Brandi at mountainmorning blogspot. She has extended the deadline to midnight on August 23, 2008.

Brandi has asked each participant to post a pic of their favorite quilt when adding a message about her giveaway to their blog. I decided to go ahead and show several of the quilts I've made as I have not posted too many on here before. ALL are my own design.

This was for my cousin Savannah. I made the machine embroidery designs that spelled out SAVANNAH down the center and I also drew the machine embroidery designs of the vines/tiny flowers and tiny butterflies on the small yellow borders around each appliqued square. She was only about 3 years old and she said "Oh TERESA, it's SO BE-UUU-TEEE-FULLL (I spelled it the way she articulated the word! lol)

I made this quilt for her brother Cole. AGAIN, I drew the designs that spell out C O L E. The C and O is in first pic and the L and E is in the second pic.

This quilt was VERY special as it was for my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. My hubby's nana helped me quilt it in 5 days and then my hubby's Great AUNTS Polly and Grace made the binding for me (it is in the second pic...VERY PRETTY)

I hope you enjoy! My computer crashed last month, so this was all the pics I had loaded on my AOL, else I would have showed you more. I will have to gather them up soon and post more.

Podiatrist visit

At my last rheumatology visit, my rheumy suggested I see a podiatrist and a neurologist. So at my internist appointment, he agreed with this decision and set up these appointments for me. The neurologist is because I keep getting migraines almost every single day and I am STILL having the near-fainting, dizzy, weak spells that I've mentioned before...that appointment is coming up in September.

Today, I went to see the podiatrist. He was a very young doctor and seemed to really know what he was talking about. His nurse took several x-rays of both feet for him to review. I am EXTREMELY flat footed and both feet are turning inward so that I am putting ALOT of pressure on my ankle and walking on bones that were not meant to be weight baring bones. My left leg is also quite crooked from the knee down and is half inch shorter than the left leg. I have severe pain in my left foot if I walk on it at all. My right foot hurts, but is quite tolerable compared to the left foot.

SO the podiatrist said I have two options. The first is to wear an extremely bulky, sweaty, hard plastic brace that will encompass foot, ankle and most of the lower portion of the leg (for both feet). He said aesthetically it is not pretty...I informed him that since I have had to start using the little motorized carts at Walmart, I quit worrying about what people think. I had to let go of pride and settle for practical and the least painful route. HOWEVER, from what I understand this will not correct my problem in anyway, it merely gives my feet the needed support to try to alleviate some of the pain. He is not sure that this option will even work, though. The second option is twofold. One being an extremely invasive surgery involving reconstructing my entire foot and ankle, cutting where necessary and using pins and screws to hold the new position in place...he said this would be the BEST option long-term as it corrects the problem for good...the second option of surgery is to implant some type of little device in my feet that somehow helps support the arch, but is at MOST 70% effective.

My case is complicated further because of fibromyalgia. He said he would normally immediately suggest the invasive surgery as the best and most complete remedy given I am only in my mid-30s and the structural damage is already very severe. HOWEVER because I have severe fibromyalgia, he is worried about what an invasive surgery like this would do to my entire body painwise because of how fibromyalgia tends to react to major surgery.

I told him I just want to try the braces. It was an immediate response because my fibromyalgia is SO BAD already and not straightened out yet, so to have it get worse is just unthinkable. BUT since the braces might not bring enough relief, he suggested we only get one brace at first and for me to just wear my custom orthotic (I already have some that do not help much) on the right foot while I try the brace for the left leg for 6 weeks. THEN, I will have a follow-up appointment with him and if I still want to stick w/the braces, then he will send me to have the second brace made (for right ft/leg). He made this decision because the left foot hurts the worst. SO I made an appointment to have the cast made for the brace and I left.

NOW, I have talked to my hubby about this (my mom took me to the doctor) and he thinks I should go ahead and have the surgery, not prolong it since it is the most complete remedy. I discussed it further again this evening with hubby and suggested I first get my rheumy's opinion on the matter since he currently treats my fibromyalgia problems. This might give me a better picture of just what I am facing if I DO have the surgery immediately without trying the brace, first.

I KNOW in my heart I need the invasive surgery. I have lived with these bad feet my whole life and have noticed how markedly worse they have become in the past 10 years or so, but even more so in the past year. If I get the braces instead, and then hate them b/c I still have pain, then it will just prolong my trip to WV where my hubby is working. SO this is also in my mind as I ponder these decisions.

OH YEAH, and I have a bunion...who knew that little bump that is sore every now and then was a BUNION! In comparison to my other foot pain, that is a piece of cake! LOL...I was surprised at how HUGE it looked in the x-ray, though!...PLUS the doctor gave me a prescription for the excema on my toe (it is also on both thumbs) that I have NOT been able to get rid of for 5 years now!!!! He said if this med does not work, he will send me to a DIFFERENT dermatologist than my current one, and recommend a biopsy be done.

Several had asked for an update, so there is half of it. NOW in a couple weeks, I will let you know what the neurologist tells me.

Apple Butter

I received a comment on my last post from Sister Brenda asking for my apple butter recipe. IT is actually my hubby's Aunt Grace's recipe.

We have a couple apple trees and they produce kinda' small apples, but tart and good for cooking.

I pick enough apples to fill a 5 gallon bucket. This will make 2 batches of apple butter and you will need 2 crock pots if you use the entire 5 gallons of apples.

The following recipe is for only ONE batch (1 crockpot full) of apple butter:

1 tsp vanilla (I used my homemade vanilla in the last batch...YUMMY!...and I tripled the amount

Peel, core and slice apples and put the slices into crockpot till full. (I use a SmartPot Crockpot)

No need to stir...simply cook overnight (I cook for 9-10 hours in my crockpot) and then get the jars ready to can them in the morning. Either stir the apples (they will be super tender) or mix them with a blender, depending on your preference of smoothness. Leave the lid on the apple butter until you have added it to the canning jars so that it will be hot. (I leave crock pot on warm setting until I spoon it out of the crockpot)

Yields approx 4 pints (a tadbit more if you cooked 9 hours, a tadbit less if you cook over 10 hours...also will be sweeter the longer you cook it, so if you prefer it more tart, go w/9 hours)

I use half pint jars to can the apple butter because there are just two at my house, but for a larger household, you may want to use pint jars.

Canning instructions for apple butter: wash and rinse 8 half-pint jars and also boil water, then turn heat off and add 8 flaps and lids to the scalding hot water. Place jars on a dishtowel very close together and fill each jar w/the apple butter, then add a flap and tighten the lid. It will be HOT, so use an oven mit, or something to protect hand. Place another dishtowel over the jars and just leave it alone till you hear that WONDERFUL pop that shows it has sealed.

I also recommend this neat little kit that I found at Walmart in the canning section...I threw the box away, but I recall it was blue. It includes a little gadget w/a magnet on the end that picks up the flaps and lids out of the hot water to make it easier to can...plus the ladle and jar funnel (but wide, like the jar mouth) are perfect size for these little jars...and a ruler that measures up to an inch at the jar lip so you can fill to a precise measurement based on recipe instructions.

NOW PICTURES: Below is a half-full jar of apple butter along w/the neat canning kit I mentioned above. (I LOVE gadgets)

I posted this before, but since this post relates to it, here is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets:

Daybook

FOR TODAY (August 18, 2008)...

Outside My Window...my pool is finally set up and I hear the water as the pump is running AND my tomato plants are nearly bursting w/tomatoes! I planted them a little late, but in some wonderful soil from our woods, so they are just now producing! ALSO, the lantana are just blooming all over the place and butterflies and hummingbirds are loving EVERY minute of it!!!

I am thinking...that I am exhausted from a long day, but content at the moment.

I am thankful for...God providing our needs.

From the kitchen...homemade apple butter and little tea biscuits (havent felt like cooking much, so something simple!)

I am wearing...a light green soft cotton gown with pink rose buds on it.

I am creating...a numeric list of my hubby's hand-made knives (YES, he made these himself!)

I am going...to relax the rest of the evening

I am reading...a Beverly Lewis book as I am addicted and want to read everything she has written.

I am hoping...to feel good tomorrow as my house is in need of alot of work.

I am hearing...crickets chirping and a cat trying to climb up the side of a little TV!

Around the house...it is pretty quiet out in the country...serene

One of my favorite things...is when I talk to my hubby every day.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: go to the podiatrist wednesday and have a pool party w/my family for my birthday friday!!!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...I taught two of our young little relatives how to float on their backs!!!

~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Breast Cancer Awareness contest Loralie designs on the mend

Sewforless.com is having a giveaway contest for loralie designs "on the mend" machine embroidery designs in an effort to raise breast cancer awareness. Click the link below to go to their blog page to enter for the contest and leave a comment.

survey...from several other bloggers

I finally decided to fill out the survey that lots of other bloggers have already done...

1. Where is your cell phone? on charger
2. Your significant other? my hubby
3. Your hair? curly red masses
4. Your mother? sweet and retired
5. Your father? comical, retired and fulltime hobby gardener
6. Your favorite thing? family time
7. Your dream last night? dont recall
8. Your favorite drink? Diet Dr Pepper
9. Your dream/goal? to beat fibromyalgia
10. The room you’re in? sewing
11. Your church? nice
12. Your fear? try not to fear
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? wherever God decides
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you’re not? too busy
16. Muffins? YES
17. One of your wish list items? lose more weight (down 8 lbs so far)
18. Where you grew up? on several wooded acres beside a huge farm
19. The last thing you did? gave up vacuuming pool
20. What are you wearing? gown/pj pants
21. Your TV? not watching
22. Your pets? one is beside me on printer, not sure about other 2 (3 cats)
23. Your computer? what about it?
24. Your life? tired right now...praying about it
25. Your mood? melancholy
26. Missing someone? yep
27. Your car? n/a
28. Something you’re not wearing? ummm anything I dont have on???
29. Favorite store? varies...sales and discounts welcome...love music (instrument) stores
30. Your summer? seems like it's coming to an end soon (feels cooler today)
31. Like(love) someone? hubby and family
32. Your favorite color? green
33. Last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? today
35. Who will repost this? ????