Getting paid for Blogging!

I am so glad Laura showed us all this PayPerPost thing! I am joining the ranks along with Laura, and Marie by signing up to get paid for blogging! I am excited to be able to make a little extra money just by writing on my blog, which I do already- a lot! That extra money sure will come in handy for all out little adventures this year. We have a trip coming up to go visit all the Kansas family for Easter. Then a couple weeks after that will be our first anniversary, which we are planning a little getaway for ;-) And then there is the Hamm Bash, and who knows how many more adventures we can fit in this year?!?!? Well, at least Thanksgiving, but there are always other fun things that extra cash comes in handy for! (Possibly a surgery later this year for me as well.) But I am so excited just to be able to do a little (which I’m really not doing anything more- I’m on the computer already- so what’s a few more minutes writing an extra blog post?) to have a little extra cash on hand for those trips and extras and such.
So what are you waiting for all you bloggers? Make your blog work for you with PayPerPost!

Colorado Crud

Well, we had hoped we wouldn't catch it this year- we have been extra careful to take more vitamins, and got our flu shots, and have been trying to eat healthier; all in an attempt to avoid that little three letter word-FLU. It didn't work. G woke up yesterday morning around 1am with the yuckiness, and felt horrible all day yesterday. I had felt pretty bad on Sunday, but mostly just the achiness and tired- no urping or anything like G. (But I did fall off the "No Sugar" wagon- fell off with a THUD! Now I'm trying to get back on...) Thankfully G seemed to be over it in about 12 hours' time, but this morning he says his ribs hurt when he coughs or laughs. In the past he has urped so hard that he cracked ribs. I am praying that it's just muscle soreness, since it's not constant or affecting his breathing. We'll see how the day progresses. And I am praying like crazy that I don't have another bout with it- I have felt crudy enough the last couple of months, don't need to add urping too it...
On a lighter note- it was light around here until almost 6p last night! I am so excited for springtime and warm weather to get here!!! It's supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow and the 70's on Friday. Woo-Hoo!! :-)

Give me a freakin' break!!!

I guess my last post elicited some attention. UNWANTED attention! There was a comment posted on my last post about our FAMILY fun at a FAMILY establishment from a website that was soooo NOT FAMILY oriented. I can't believe how people can lurk and prey on others using children themes for things absolutely NOT suitable for children... Ugh! Needless to say, I deleted the comment. And sorry for the ranting, because I know that no one who this is aimed at will ever read it, just my family and friends who would be just as horrified if they got the same kind of comment on their sites... this is satan's world, isn't it?... Unfortunately.

Chuck E. Cheese Fun

I know this is a week old, but thought I'd share some of the fun we had last weekend at Chuck E. Cheese with the bugs :-)

Hi!
Doodlebug is eating real food now! MMM Pizza!
Bug-a-Boo, Taterbug & Doodlebug all riding in the jeep!
Bug-a-Boo is holding on for dear life!
Doodlebug says I can do it too!!!
Even Uncle G got in on the fun!

Overheard at work...

I overheard one side of a phone conversation at work today. This is what I heard...
" It's Friday, we can't eat meat- get out the chicken for dinner."
(other person talking)
"Well, some people say chicken is just like meat, but Grandma always said it was different..."

Oh my goodness!
I don't celebrate lent, and don't claim to know what it's all about. In my very simplistic understanding of it, it is supposed to represent the 40 days of Christ's time in the wilderness when He fasted and was then tempted by Satan. And those who celebrate lent are remembering that time, and out of Reverence to Christ and His suffering, give up something dear to them for that 40 day period before Easter known as lent. Many give up "red meat" or all meat ( which is why you can get some kind of fish special at almost every chain food place during this time of year as well- but isn't fish meat too???), soda and/or other confections. Others give up pastimes and such. But I guess the thing that stuck out the most (and has stuck out for years growing up when classmates would talk about what they couldn't have during lent) is that most people I've had contact with around lent don't even know why they are celebrating it at all. All they know is they can't have meat on Fridays...
WOW! Talk about traditions of men!!!
I hope I can always remember to hold to what is most important to Christ... and not traditions...
"You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." Mark 7:8 NASB

Small town fashion...

Last July, as I was getting ready to leave town for the Hamm Bash (G's mom's family reunion that is held 4th of July weekend every year ) I was walking to the courthouse from my work and found this going on in the streets. The firefighters (and I think there were some paramedics and police involved too) were raising money to have a community fireworks display. Check out the last picture though... I should sue...kidding... :-) just not the way I'd have chosen to be seen advertising the city, especially when I can't WAIT to get out of said city/county/area :-/... (btw- G found these pics only today while perusing the city website for concealed carry permit info-we had no clue they were on the web!!!)

Look what I found!!!

There are all kinds of old shows on the websites for NBC, & CBS! (NBC & CBS you can just watch in your open internet window- FOX & ABC make you download a "player" -which I can't do on my work computer- so just NBC & CBS for me). I found Alfred Hitchcock on NBC - they also have the A-Team, Battlestar Galactica, Emergency and others (all these shows are older than me by the way :-)
CBS has Hawaii Five-O, the original Star-Treck, Twilight Zone, MacGyver and Melrose Place!
Now I have lots of stuff to listen to while I work (I am a strange bird- I have always been able to stay more focused on my task at hand when there is something else going on in the background to tune out, even in highschool and college, I couldn't study without the tv or radio playing) I should get lots of work done now! :-)

Sigh of relief

I had a big one of those sighs at 3pm today! It took them that long to dismiss me from Jury Duty. I was one of the first thirteen seated in the jury box, went through all the questioning, got to the point where the prosecution said they were satisfied with the make-up of the jury, then finally the defense got to their exclusions and asked me to leave (I am assuming because of where I work, since that is all he asked me about in detail when he questioned me). WHEW! I am so thankful to not have been stuck there for the next four days, but am also thankful for the experience. I was also amazed at how many people can not follow simple directions, and how disrespectful, in general, the community is for people in positions which deserve our respect and attention.
Now I am home, watching the season finale of Prison Break on our DVR and waiting for my Peanut Butter Honey Bars to cool enough to cut out of the pan! :-)

Jury Duty...

I am not looking forward to tomorrow- I have jury duty. I don't want to go- mainly because the time off work, even if it's just one day is going to put me behind, and I don't like that. Not to mention, if I actually get selected for the jury, I will have to go in and work early in the mornings, and on whatever lunch break I get from jury service, just to keep myself from getting way too far behind. (But I don't think I will get picked for the jury because I think this jury is for a trial that includes social services... since I work for social services... at least that's the way my prayers are leaning...)
Anyway- I also have to go clear up the fact that I got two summons in two weeks time. One in my maiden name, and one in my married name. Now it's always been said that jury selection goes of DMV records, but I know that that can't be true. Because I got the first summons in my maiden name, which I had never registerd in this county with because I never went to the DMV to change anything until after we got our marraige license and my new social security card back. So then the question remains- what record do the courts use to track you down??? And if they tracked me down, why couldn't they figure out I was the same person when they sent the second summons out a week later??? The first trial I was supposed to show up for got cancelled last week, but I didn't luck out twice- and have to show up tomorrow morning. Sigh... I really want a cookie so badly right now...

5-Day Pouch Test - Day 2

Well, Day 2 did not go as well as day one. We were not at home today (we were getting up and around for the day when my mom called and said that my brother really wanted us to come up and go to Chuck E. Cheese's with them- so we went). Apparently, being away from home lets you (or at least me) forget how much fluid you are consuming. I did not drink nearly enough water today. Then we got to Chuck E. Cheese's, which is two hours from our house, and there was not really anything there for me eat. But G and I talked, and decided it would be okay if I just had the salad bar, and be very concious of what I put on my plate. So I ate salad and cottage cheese. But after seeing some of the soup recipes allowed for the first two days- this really did seem like an acceptable alternantive- the cottage cheese was just as "soupy" as somes soups, and lettuce is mostly water anyway... and I was very careful to have lots of protien (like eggs and diced ham) not add toppings, except sunflower seeds- so no croutons or crackers.

We got back to Pueblo and I was wanting something to eat, so we stopped at Quizno's and I got cheddar broccoli soup. It was GOOD! Then we went to church in Pueblo this evening, and then went out to eat with friends, I had a bowl of green chili. So other than the lack of forethought at lunch time, and the slacking on drinking, I tried hard to stick to it. And I resisted the 16 boxes of girl scout cookies in the car trunk all day as well!!! ( yes I know... 16, but I freeze them, and they do last quite a few months...)

Tomorrow the rules change- I can eat, but it has to be all protein, and I can't drink for 30 minutes before or after I eat. Thankfully I am off work tomorrow, and we are staying home, so hopefully I will be able to have a beter handle on things.

5-Day Pouch Test... Day One

I am doing this 5-day pouch test. You can read all the gritty details here, or just let me give you the basics. (This may get long, as I think some background info is needed.) After weight loss surgery (in my case a Rouen-Y gastric bypass on October 12, 2004) patients are to follow a STRICT diet that is mainly protein in its make-up. Right after my surgery, I was only able to consume about 2 tablespoons of food at a time (and only three times a day) so it was very important that those 2 tablespoons were the best sources of protein I could get. I ate lots of eggs, lots of pinto beans (mostly from Taco Bell- and this was encouraged from the Dr.'s) and lots of cheese. But as time went one, under the guidance of the doctors and nutritionist, I was able to add a little volume to my diet, and a year out from Surgery, I was able to eat about 1 cup of food at a meal (still only 3 times a day). This additional volume, while still needing to be high in protein, can also allow for adding in some startches and vegetables as tolerated (some patients can never eat this stuff again, their new stomachs just can't tolerate it). Or there are those, like me, who have no problem eating most anything. But this can also make it easier to slip back to old eating habbits, as it has been for me. While I still can't eat more than a cup at a time, I have found myself consuming more and more meals that have very little or no protein in them at all, as well as snacking inbetween meals, which is a big NO-NO!

That is where this 5-Day Pouch Test comes in. It's kind of like hitting the reset button. It is supposed to help me tighten my pouch and to get back to eating more protein based meals again. The first two days are liquids only and I must drink at least 64 oz of water/no calorie liquids (like crystal light) each day (I can have protein shakes and soups as much as I want- as long as they have no carbs in them - no pasta or potatoes ). I decided to do this over the weekend, where I have more distractions to keep me from wanting to "cheat" and eat something. If I get to feeling snacky- I can get on the computer, I can get up and do laundry, I can watch tv- you see what I'm getting at. The Third day I can start adding soft proteins like eggs, canned tuna or chicken, and beans back to my diet. The fourth day I can add some firmer proteins like hamburger and other ground meats. And the last day is basically any protiens I can tolerate. And by this time I should not be craving carbs anymore. (Hopefully)

So I am about halfway thorugh the first day, however I didn't plan very well (well- I wasn't very sure until this morning that I was even gonna go through with it). So I am waiting for my soup to cook in the crockpot, and have had a Slim-Fast and am looking at my Girl Scout Cookies I got yesterday, thinking to myself that I REALLY WANT ONE!!! So that is why this post is getting so long, I am trying to forget about the cookies.

I am struggling with the water part. So we'll see how it goes. I'm lucky to get 48 oz of fluid a day, and that's mostly diet soda- but after waking up this morning feeling like I might be getting another UTI- I figured I might as well go for it- it will only lead to me getting in more fluids, and since I'll be drinking more anyway- I'd be halfway through the thing anyway. I am trying not to be very negative about this (which is hard when all you want to do is eat something!), it is something I am choosing to do. I need to do something to get myself back on track with my weight loss tool that I fought so hard for four years ago. I have back-slid quite a bit, especially this last few months. And it scares me at times. I am also dealing with hypoglycemia issues, which I think I could control better if I were following closer to the program again. So here it goes!

Thanks to Laura for making me think about getting myself on track again- and check out the folks who are taking the NO SUGAR PLUNGE with her!

Frugal Friday... Sorta

I thought I'd share my Frugal Valentines' gifts now that hubby has received them all... and it is Friday now, so it works! (I spread them out over the whole day, he got some in the morning, and some at dinner, and some at bedtime.)

In the morning, I put some candies in the pockets of his coat. I found these printable wrappers to put around the candy. I also put one on the dash in his car.

Here's how I set the table for our dinner. ( I ran home on my lunch break to get it set up- it was a surprise.)One more candy, and a set of checks (twelve in) all with cute little things he can "redeem" like a massage, movie night, his choice of dinner out...etc.

We had shrimp alfredo with fresh spinach, multi-grain garlic cheese toast and sprakling grape juice for dinner. It was very delicious!

Here's what the red hots I couldn't find were for... I'm glad I finally found them, and they were heart shaped too!(I made this myself, got the pill bottle from my mom, and since the website did such a good job with the label, I just printed it right off their website! I can't believe someone would spend that much on something soooo simple to make!) I put the bottle in his drawer with the rest of his meds, and he found it at bedtime when he took his regular meds. G probably won't eat the red hots, so I'll probably make applesauce with them (which I know he will eat...)

Check out BiblicalWomanhood for more great Frugal ideas!

I can't wait!!!

Check this out! :-)


I can't wait to see it!!!

The Greatest Example...

For God so loVed the world,
that He gAve
his onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life." John 3:16

My week...

Jayme says I must blog. So here's what I've had on my mind this past week.

- I can not find Red Hot candies ANYWHERE in southeastern Colorado (nice job Kim, pick a homemade Valentine that you can't possibly finish...)

- I made G's Valentine (tried at least- couldn't find red hots :-) Am not sure about the outcome now...

- I've been struggling greatly with the feelings of isolation this week. I am about to go stir crazy! I just don't know what to do to get myself out of the slump.

- I am enjoying reading for the 888 challenge- it's funny though, because I can't read just one book at a time- I get too distracted. I'll read a chapter or two here, and then put that book down and pick up another. So even though it looks like I'm finishing nothing, I'll finish a whole bunch at once! (However, I am really getting into my study book right now-"If I really believe, why do I have these doubts?" and have been going back to that one more than the others.)

- I am looking forward to having Monday off next week- one plus of a government job- you get all the government holidays off! (Not looking forward to Tuesday though- possible jury duty (and a whole other post about the fun of jury summons to come later...sneak-peek: I got TWO different summons in two weeks' time!!!)

- I am considering my own version of Laura's No sugar plunge. I have more issues to consider than just sugar, because of having gastric bypass surgery 3 1/2 years ago. I have gotten way off track and have been considering doing this 5-day pouch test. Not sure I'm brave enough to give up my comfort foods right now- but know I MUST do something differently, and soon.

-I am not looking forward to going shopping for jeans. The ones I have are from JC Penny, and are ripping at the pockets, and I've only had them two months.

- I cut about four inches off my hair last night, and think I may go back to get a little more cut off the back.

- I am missing family right now...

You gotta love Colorado!!!

This is what a 10% chance of snow looks like... (the snow on the ground was courtesy of yesterday's storm)

You just gotta love Colorado... :-)

What is wrong with this picture??

Prison vs. Work
Prison: You spend the majority of your time in a 10X10 cell
Work: You spend the majority of your time in an 8X8 cubicle
Prison: You get three meals a day fully paid for
Work: You get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it
Prison:You get time off for good behavior
Work: You get more work for good behavior
Prison: The guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you
Work: You must often carry a security card and open all the doors for yourself
Prison: You can watch TV and play games
Work: You could get fired for watching TV and playing games
Prison: You get your own toilet
Work: You have to share the toilet with some people who pee on the seat
Prison: They allow your family and friends to visit
Work: You aren't even supposed to speak to your family
Prison: All expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required
Work: You get to pay all your expenses to go to work, and they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners, and welfare
Prison: You spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out
Work: You spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars
Prison: You must deal with sadistic wardens
Work: They are called managers
THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!
Now get back to work. You're not getting paid to check emails (or blogs). :-)

All Hail Super Tuesday...

It is snowing here- has been since about 7p last night. There was about eight inches already accumulated this morning, and we are supposed to get up to five more before noon. All the surrounding school districts have closed, even Pueblo, who got a lot less snow than us, closed their schools. But not La Junta... no way, can't do it! It's Super Tuesday! So instead of making sure everyone stays home inside and safe, the county decides to leave everything open, schools (but not all of the busses are operating- too icy...), county offices, especially the courts!
A friend of mine got run off the road this morning trying to get to the babysitter to drop off her three-year-old daughter, so she could come to work. Some stupid person was driving way too fast for the conditions and then swerved right beside her causing her to hit her brakes and spin out. She ended up in the ditch. She's okay, just very shaken up. I would be too, especially with my child in the car. Here's what it looked like on the drive- don't know if you can make out the car that was about 75 feet ahead of us. Yuck! I wish I were at home...

Jonah

I finished reading "Jonah". It was a fictional account of Jonah's life and the lives of the two kings he prophesied to; Asshur-Dan of Ninevah, and Jeroboam of Israel. While it is fictional, it does give a lot of historical background and other "filler" information that is not contained in the few shorts chapters in the Bible. It also gives a more human look at the characters themselves, and more understanding of the timeline. Where the Bible says that Jonah got on a boat to Tarshish and there was a storm and he told the ship's master to throw him off and the storm would stop; this book gives more perspective to show that maybe Jonah was on that boat a lot more than one day (like maybe halfway to Tarshish- which was an 8-week journey) and how he struggled and coped with the fact that he was disobeying GOD, and how he struggled with the fact that he felt like he was betraying his upbringing by feeling compassion for the Ninevites, and how he fought within himself not wanting to feel compassion for them.
It made me think quite a bit. Especially about how our upbringings (at home and in the church) can cloud the way we see the world around us, and how sometimes that interferes with God's plans, and how very wrong we can be for holding to that ideal- life and death wrong!

Audio Adrenaline

This is one of my favorite songs, and right now I am feeling down, hopefully this will help me get out of my slump...

Calvary Love

If the ultimate, the hardest, cannot be asked of me; if my fellows hesitate to ask it and turn to someone else, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I covet any place on earth but the dust at the foot of the Cross, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
-Amy Carmichael, "Calvary Love," from “If”

Dear Lord, it is my prayer that I come to know Calvary love. I know I am far from a perfect Christian, and I need your help and guidance to show me how to be more like my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please use me, mold me- make me the servant you want me to be.

Finally married again!!!

:-) I finally got my wedding ring back today! I was without it for two whole weeks! I felt so naked without it, I am so glad to have it back! :-)
They were able to sauder it together more completely (without losing my inscription) and fix both rings so that they were the same size.
I am just thankful to have it back... and its so sparkly and clean... :-)

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