What a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!

I decided last week that since we all were going to be around most of the time on Memorial Day that I just wanted to make a push to get a couple of major projects done. The main one was to have my cabinet in place in the kitchen by Monday night. And it is here.

Here are some before and afters:

and here are the afters!

the bread drawer and flour bin are both functional and yes, I will use them!  I love it, it turned out better than my wildest dreams!

If anyone hasn't heard the story, this was my grandmother's cabinet. My uncle Kenny bought it back in the 50's and it was old then, I believe he said Grandma paid him $15 for it. When I was a little girl and stayed all night at Grandmas, she would let me eat at the right end of this cabinet. Food wasn't allowed in the living room (except for Christmas day) and she would let me sit there, open the curtains to the living room and I could see tv. It was the epitome of being spoiled! (not sitting at the table to eat).  When Uncle Junior died, he made me the executor of his estate. In the will it said I wasn't to ask for any compensation for that and I didn't. But Uncle Kenny suggested that I take the cabinet. He thought it was built in the mid-20's. I cried, my house was built in '28 and I had the vision of it, just like it is, sitting just where it is that day.

And now it is a reality. Andrew did an amazing and meticulous job!


I also finished another project this weekend. I had ordered new rockers and a new table for my porch. When they came, they were an off-white instead of white, like my swing. So, I bought the plastic paint and I got them finished Saturday.

It has been a very good weekend, topped off with even getting to see my favorite soldier and meet his girlfriend. Now on to an excited week down to the fact Andrew has to go to Springfield for 3 days and guess who else has to be there in the middle of it? Yep, I got summoned to Springfield this coming Thursday, so this time I may stay with him!


Happy, Happy Tuesday everyone!

Postscript

So the doctor's office called yesterday. I had left out in my last post that I didn't have to have blood tests for 3 months and don't have to go back and see him for 6 months. So now, he got to say I told you so a little too. My hemoglobin and my hemocrit is low. I don't really know what that means, I feel fine so I don't really think I'm worried for right now but I DO have to have another bloodtest in two weeks......here we go again.

Dr. Day

Monday May 20th, 2013, 12:20 p.m. My 3 month doctor visit. Dr. Peterson is so predictable, yesterday I posted this on fb:

Guess what he wants to do?  I even TOLD him, I posted it on fb. He laughed. The thing is, he walked in the room and asked how I was, and I said, "Fantastic" and he said he knew I would say that. Then he asked, how I REALLY was, and still I told him I was fantastic. He asked how many bowel movements a day was fantastic? I said 5, and seriously people, 5 isn't bad at all. Two before work, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and then one of an evening. I am perfectly happy with that. He asked how many good days to bad, I said 10 to 1. He said we can do better. I feel like I kid who got an A+ on the test but missed the bonus question. He did say something really cute though, he said, "you are kinda like a locomotive, you steam right through life on fire even though a lot of the time, you are pretty sick". I finally convinced him that I was fantastic though, after my physical exam he finally said, yes, you are doing really well. Told ya' so! 

I also told him I am planning on walking my first 5K a week from Saturday and next year, I plan on running the same 5K. He said that wasn't a good idea. I asked why. His answer is running is hard on your joints, cycle it's easier on you. I told him I have been fat all my life and I am not planning on running a marathon but I AM planning on running that 5K. He told me not to cry to him when I hurt myself. Oh he is something.....

I really do owe him so much though, I felt like he took the time to research things and got my life back for me.

So, back to work today, CRAZY day. I don't see it letting up anytime soon. And then the monitor comes the first week in June. Yep, crazy life, but I'm lovin' every minute of it!

Happy Tuesday!

Good Morning World!

Life is good, so very, very good. Last night found me three more lbs down. I am now at 43.8 down. Less than 2 lbs to 45! My first 5K is in 18 days, so many exciting things going on in my weight-loss life. I have a doctor's appt next Monday so I won't make it to WW so I am shooting for a goal of 46 lbs for Memorial Day.

Life is also so very, very good here at home. We are back in a routine with Andrew's new job and I absolutely love leaving my clean house of a morning, knowing I am coming home to a clean house that evening. I love him dearly but trying to have a clean house with Andrew home 24/7 was like trying to shovel snow in a blizzard. He helped out but my idea of clean and his are two seperate things. We both agree, he was meant to get up every morning and go to work at least for 20 more years we hope!

Robert has also been busy working at the farm. He has started cleaning up the scrap so he is keeping busy. He is wanting to wait until after his best friend Adam gets home, goes back and Robert goes to get his car before he seriously starts the job hunt. He really has plenty to do at the farm until then anyway so I figure he has his job at parklanes to pay his expenses so we are good.

I am starting to get back to schedules of things that need done here at the house too, I wanted to redo flower beds but we are looking really strongly into new siding and a roof so I am thinking the flowers around the house will probably take a beating if we do that. Next year may be the year for new flower beds.

I did get outdoors stuff for Mother's Day. Robert broke my gazing ball a couple of years ago with the mower, so he bought me a new one. Andrew bought me a weeping willow for the front yard and two new blue spruce trees to replace the one that fell a few years ago. I also bought a bird bath and bird feeders. Several things that need done outside... Hopefully I will start on that tonight.

So, bottom line, life is good. Oh AND I celebrate my 13th year with ERBA tomorrow!

Another Milestone in the Books

May10th, 2013; the day the first member of our household graduated from college. I made the statement yesterday that he finally gets the piece of paper that says he knows how to do what he has been doing since he was 5. He know has a degree in Automotive Technology. When he was 5, unbeknownst to us, he took my mom's riding mower apart. Amazingly, he put it back together and it still ran. My dad was also a mechanic and I had that really eerie feeling, that eventhough I don't believe in reincarnation, he had to have something "built in"  to make him be able to do that especially since my dad died 12 years before Robert was born.

There is a lot going on in his world. He is still working at Parklanes, on call to work at Napa and he has a trip coming up. He is flying to Seattle to bring his "brother" Adam's car home while Adam goes to Afghanistan. That should happen right around the first of June. He is also spending lots of time at the farm, trying to clean the place up and helping his Nana with her garden there. He probably is not going to get hot and heavy on looking for a mechanic's job until he gets through all of this.

Congratulations Robert, you have no idea how proud your dad and I are.

Saturday again

and what a week it has been. It seems like the only thing in this house that is constant is change. I didn't post about my WW this week and I really meant to. This week we were supposed to take pictures of our anchors--the things that keep us wanting to keep going on this journey. I took three pictures, one of my mom, one of the car I want and one of Robert's kayak.

The story of my mom and the car are in previous posts, she basically told me I would look silly in a convertible at the size I was. The one of the kayak is a new goal. Robert got a kayak for Christmas, it has a weight limit. At Christmas, I was over that limit. Now I am not. I want to lose a little more before I buy a kayak, but I am still wanting one and may buy it even before I hit that goal. After all, it would be a great form of exercise in itself.

The biggest thing that happened though is Gina, our leader, told me she knows this time is my time. I have been in and out of her meetings for years, and she knew me even before that but she has been a WW leader for 20+ years and she says she knows when the person has the right focus, and I'm there. I do believe she is right. It's not a race, it's a journey and I will take it one day at a time. I have now came to far to let it go. I can do this and I will do it and I AM doing it.

I did over 2 miles a couple of mornings this week and then I started having some minor UC problems. I don't want to go into to detail but it is one of those weeks in my life that it doesn't concern me because it will go away. I go back to the doctor two weeks from Monday. I think he will be happy with my progress but it won't surprise me if he doesn't decide to go up one more dose on the azathioprine.

So, for the changes. Robert has moved home this week, kinda odd since he never moved away but his El Camino had been at school for over a year, as his spare time project, he has redone a lot and bought a new engine but it is still not road ready, so it came home on a trailer. He brought his tool box home Thursday along with the other engine out the El Camino, which needs cleaned, tuned and sold. He is working on his finals, most of which are papers or stuff due outside of class. He graduates Friday. Between school, the two jobs, his responsibilities at church and working with Nana at the farm, I know he is very ready for some downtime.

Today he goes to work at Napa, he loves that job and is praying hard that it might turn into something permanent. When he gets home, he and I are going to study for his Sociology final and then later this evening, he took off work so he could go watch his other brother, Trygve get his Black Belt.

I don't know what Andrew's plans are for the day, he starts back to work Monday so this is probably his last Saturday off for a while, hope he makes it productive.

My day seems a little insane. We are leaving in a few minutes for breakfast at Parklanes, I have to go to CVS and pick up medicines, then be in Effingham at 10 for a hair appointment, come home and help Robert study, go tan at 3:30 (my hives this winter left me speckled, I am just tanning to try to even that out); go to Tryg's Black Belt ceremony and sometime today I need to pack and straighten up the house. Yep, gonna be a long one.

I SO want to work in my yard, but it is raining again so at least I can't feel guilty about not doing that. Maybe next week.

Tomorrow, I go to church and then meet the rest of the gang heading to Springfield at 11:15 to head that direction. Tomorrow night is the Family of Distinction dinner, my favorite night of the year. Also, Andrew has to be in Springfield at 9 on Monday morning so he is coming up and spending the night with me at the Hilton. He comes home Monday evening so it is just one night, but it will be fun to share my favorite hotel in Springfield with him. Now if I just get a good room with a view of the Capitol, I will be a happy camper--I'll be a happy camper anyway but that would just be great.

So, onward to the busy day!

Happy Saturday!