A dilemma of sorts?

Okay. I need to lose some weight. Big surprise. Not really. BUT there are a few things to be considered here.

Firstly, all of the clothes in my closet fit. Yes, they fit. And I love my clothes. If I lose very much weight, they will be too baggy and I will not be able to wear them. Well, I will be able to wear them but their bagginess will make me look bigger than I really am, IF I should happen to lose the weight. And who wants to wear baggy clothes after you've lost weight? No,you want to wear clothes that show your weight-lossedness!

Secondly, I don't have alot of wrinkles in my face. Even my aunts and cousins (on my mom's side) commented on how few wrinkles my sister Bev and I have because the women on my mom's side of the family tends to have alot of wrinkles as they age and asked how we managed to have so few. I don't know. I don't do anything special.

But here's my take on it: Who needs botox and collagen? I have fat. I'm serious! My sister, Bev, and I swear by this!! We do!! *smile*

You see, the fat keeps the wrinkles plumped out and filled in AND also keeps our skin from sagging as much as it would if we were, well, less plump than we are! *grin*
Soooooo, do you see where I'm at here? If I stay at the weight I am presently holding, well, I may be fat but I'm virtually wrinkle-free. But if I lose the weight that I need to, well......you never know what the end result might be......

Making friends with his bumbo chair

My friend, Theresa, posted here about getting her little granddaughter a bumbo chair and I thought it would be great for little Jaylon, too, so we headed out to Walmart and purchased one BUT he DID NOT like it. The first three times we tried to sit him in it, he screamed and I felt so badly because he REALLY cried!!! Sooooo, we were contemplating taking it back because it was kinda pricey and I couldn't see keeping it if he wasn't going to sit in it. BUT THEN yesterday, he was in such a good mood and I endeavored putting him in it ONE MORE TIME just to see....and he loved it! And here he is today sitting in the den with Grandpa, playing with his little toys! Doesn't he look sooo cute?

Bits of helpful info!

I am not sure where I gathered some of this info but it has been so helpful to me that I thought I would share it with you!
First of all, I love celery. BUT, it was difficult to keep it fresh in the fridge for very long. I happened to read SOMEWHERE that it will keep indefinitely if you wrap it in aluminum foil and it WORKS!! I have celery in my fridge right now that I know I have had for a month at least and it is still fresh and crisp!

Also, I like to keep lettuce on hand but you know how quickly it goes bad. Well, when I get it home, I immediately core it.....leaving the core in will cause the lettuce to take on a bitter taste in time. So after coring the head of lettuce, I put it in a food storage bag, as is, leaving the storage bag open. I wash the lettuce as I use it because I think putting the wet head of cabbage in the bag will cause it to go bad more quickly. The important thing here is to leave the bag OPEN because some kind of gas builds up if you seal the bag tightly which causes the lettuce to go bad.

And lastly.....cottage cheese will keep fresh for a loooooonnnggg time IF you store it in the fridge by turning the carton upside down! I read this somewhere a long time ago and it really does work! You just have to be careful to invert the carton, let it set for a minute or so, before opening, so you don't end up with a mess when you open the carton.

That's all of the food hints......for now.....I'll share more as I remember them or get them. *smile*

One really handy outside tip that Ed and I learned by trial and error was to use mild bleach water in our garden sprayer to get rid of black mildew and green mold that might appear on the siding on your house, garage or out-buildings. Ed said that he puts about 1 1/2 cups of bleach in a tank of water. I believe our garden sprayer tank holds 2 gallons. Just spray the bleach water on and watch the mildew and algae disappear. He then sprays the siding down with clear water. No scrubbing or buying expensive cleaners!
That is all for now!! :-)

A few random thoughts

You are not going to believe this! I can hardly believe it myself! BUT both of our thermometers say the same thing! 90 degrees!! In April!! In Ohio!! Crazzzyyyyyy!!
But beautiful! It is absolutely gorgeous because the humidity is so low and there is a pretty gusty breeze a-blowin'! I've been outside a little, sitting on the backporch enjoying the breeze and sunshine for a few minutes, but mostly I've been inside taking care of little Jaylon, doing laundry, cooking for the day and weekend ahead, etc.
Today is Daniel's Friday off so he and his brother-in-law, Brian, went golfing early this morning, so I watched The Boy for them. Jaylon just gets more adorable every day! Here he is intently watching his mobile! *smile* It amazes me how he just visually locks onto something and stares at it for so long!
Here he is examining Grandpa's finger, though I hardly know what he finds so interesting about it, except that it moves maybe? *smile*
Here is Jaylon napping with Grandpa this morning. He is sacked out! *smile*
And here is Jaylon holding his head up (sorry about the blurry image)......way high, grandma says!! Wheee!!! (you know how we have to make a big deal out of anything they do!!! *smile*)
Here is Jaylon and Daniel, after the guys got home from golfing. Jaylon was laying on the bed watching me fold clothes when they got home, so Daniel just laid down on the bed and put Jaylon on his stomach. Jaylon loves his daddy! He gets soooo excited when he sees him!

To blog or not to blog

Okay, here goes: I'm kind of having a discussion with myself publicly here,k?
I just don't seem to have the time to blog any more! And it never fails that as soon as I log onto the internet, Jaylon wakes up or starts crying or something, which I'm not complaining about at all. After all, he's a baby. But how does that happen anywayyyy? It's like he has a sixth sense or something: "She's logging onto the internet. Get ready. Take a deep breath. Okay. Now. Start crying. Fuss a little bit."
And by the time the evening comes, I'm too tired to want to get on the internet. I could start getting up earlier and do my blogging then but (said whiningly) I don't want to get up any earlier!
AND actually, in all honesty, I don't miss it THAT much. I miss reading everyone else's blogs more than blogging myself BUT blogging has become journalling for me, too.
*sighhhh* So what do you all (all two of you) think?
I will say that having high-speed internet at home would be a great help. Dial-up is horribly slow! But it doesn't look like that is going to change anytime soon at our house!

The week that was!

(This post is from this past Saturday and I don't feel like re-doing it!)

Finally.....I am sitting down to post! It is a beautiful Saturday morning as the sun comes up over the hill that is in front of our house. Yesterday was gorgeous, too, and I had the day off from watching little Jaylon because his mommy and daddy had to take him to two appointments at Children's Hospital yesterday. He is doing well from all appearances but he is still has to have a colonoscopy and upper GI endoscopy to make sure all is okay because of the complications he had at birth. *sighhhh* I just hate to see him have to go through all of this. *sighhhhh*
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Anywayyyyy, yesterday was such a wonderful day because of the sunshine and warm weather. Wow! I opened up the curtains, blinds and windows, not caring if all of the dust floating around in my house showed up garishly! *smile*

I haven't been able to REALLY clean my house good for a few years as I wasn't very mobile and was in so much pain but I have started to get this done.....very slowly. *smile*

I have been cleaning the front bathroom which we have always called Daniel's bathroom because it WAS when he was home but he's been married for three years and we have slowly gotten around to calling it the front bathroom. (ya think?) LOL

I redecorated it several years ago in a fish theme about which Daniel kind of complained because he wanted it done in Ohio State decor and why didn't I ask him first. Hmmmm.....let me see....uhhhh...it's my house? I'm doing the work? I liked the fish decor? *smile*

Anywayyyyy......so I started cleaning this bathroom from bottom to top. I know, I know, it's supposed to be "top to bottom" but, actually, I kind of started in the middle. I cleaned everything!

Welllll.....as I was taking down the little pictures and things on the wall opposite the sink, I noticed where the moisture on the walls that builds up when you are taking a shower had caused a few runs/streaks, so I commenced to just wiping them off, only to discover that the wall was reallyyyyy yucky. *sighhhhh* Not being able to reach that high without a step-stool, which Daniel and Erin had taken to their house, I decided to put that off for another day.

There is only one thing standing in my way: I have these cute fish decals all the way around the top of my bathroom wall. I have to take all of those down before I can wash the wall up that high. Sooooo, I'm thinking today might be the day to do this, after I get a few other things done!

Now, I've never been a big "spring-cleaning" or "fall-cleaning" person, but I am so thankful that i am able to clean more thoroughly now when I want to.

Ed and I washed my car yesterday, cleaned the inside really good, polished the windows! And I actually went barefoot outside for a little while!

Sometimes I feel like a little kid! I mean, there are so many things that I can do now...once again....now that I've recovered from the hip replacements I've had. I still have some lower back issues that lay me low occasionally but all-in-all, I have a new lease on life!

Have you ever done this???

Barbara, over at Stray Thoughts, shared the fact that she wore two different shoes to a friend's funeral!!! *smile* Now, that I really think about, Barbara, I DID wear two different colored shoes to work one time! I had pumps in blue, brown, and navy of the same color and I got them mixed up one morning as I was RUSHING to get ready for work!
This reminded me of a similar thing that happened to me many years ago when I was single.
First, let me say that I've always been a procrastinator. Always. I'm not proud of the fact but it's just a part of who I am. I've gotten to be a little less so as I've gotten older but that's beside the point! *smile*
As I was sayingggg........I was getting ready for church, had to be there early for choir practice, and I was rushing around, trying to get out of the apartment, rushing.....as I was running out to my car and then driving to church, I kept tugging at the neck of my dress. It felt like it was choking me. It was a straight, boat-neck, long-sleeved sheath style dress. You just pulled it on over your head. No zipper or buttons.
So, there I went running into the church, pulling on the neck of my dress, trying to make it feel more comfortable. Once choir practice was over (the whole time I'm pulling at the neck of my dress uncomfortably), I hurried into the bathroom, locked myself in a stall, and commenced to figuring out why this neckline felt so wrong!
I had the dress on backwards!!! Egads!!! LOL It was actually pretty easy to do considering the design of the dress but I did feel a little silly, nonetheless!
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And while I am telling of clothing mishaps.......Heaven only knows why I am baring my soul like this....I'll blame you, Barbara!!! LOL
It was a Sunday morning AND, once again, I am rushing around, trying to get out of the house, needning to be at church early. Ed and Daniel are in the car waiting on me. I am grabbing stuff as I hurry out of the house, making sure the door is locked behind me. I am walking/rushing out to the car and the air sure does feel extra-cold on my legs for some reason. I look down to see that I forgot to put my skirt on!!!! All I have on from the waist down is my black slip! I have my top and jacket, hose, shoes and everything else but I forgot to put my skirt on!!! The skirt I was going to wear was black so you can see how I could forget to put my skirt on! (couldn't you?) LOL
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Do you have any clothing mishaps that you would like to share? *smile*

Sleep, precious sleep

Most mornings, as soon as Ed and I get out of bed, after I start the morning coffee, I make our bed. Some mornings as I'm making that bed, all I can think about is how many hours it will be before I can crawl back in between those wonderful covers. *sighhhhh* That's pretty bad isn't it? *feeble grin*

Since we've started taking care of little Jaylon, I've found myself crawling into bed by 8pm. The first fews nights of doing this, I went right to sleep but then as I adjusted, I began reading for awhile, usually falling asleep after nine o'clock.

BUT what I didnt' tell you was that some evenings I would be so tired that I just watched the clock ,waiting for the time to pass, waiting for eight o'clock to get here so I could go to bed. I mean, I didn't want to go to bed before eight o'clock! That might mean that I was old and worn out, for heaven's sake!! *feeble grin*

Welllllll.....then the time change happened and eventually it was still daylight out at eight!!! Egads!!! I surely couldn't be going to bed while it was still daylight!!
Sooooooooo, I moved my bedtime to nine o'clock. *sighhhhhh*
Who would have ever thought that IIIIIII would be going to bed soooo early?!?!? Me. The one who used to have lock-ins with the young people ALL NIGHT! Me. The one who used to stay up till all hours of the night taking the young people to Mid-Winter, to King's Island, to wherever, driving the van. Me. The one who used to be able to go on just a few hours of sleep.

She's gone. Never to return again, I'm afraid. And that is okay. I've entered another season of life. And alot of it has to do with accepting that I can't do all that I used to but I can still accomplish alot. The hours have just changed a little, that's all.

I love my bed. I love to sleep. I love to snuggle under the warm covers. Just 13 more hours until we meet again.....it's a church night ;-)...... Ahhhhhhh.......I can hardly wait.....

Homemade cookies

The other evening.....Monday, I believe it was......I was in the mood for homemade snickerdoodles, so I commenced to making a double batch so I would have plenty to share with Daniel and Erin. We buy cookies now and again, but there is just nothing to compare with homemade cookies. They have a taste all of their own that you just cannot buy! Jaylon slept most of the day Monday, so I had the time to bake towards evening. I didn't have any cream of tartar so I substituted baking powder and soda. Consequently, they are not shaped as nicely as usual, but they are still just as good!! *smile* Here are the yummy results of my efforts:
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AND did we ever have the snow yesterday!! Thankfully, it didn't stick, but at times it was so heavy that we could barely see the road that runs in front of our house!

You can't just take one!

This being a grandma is everything everyone said it would be and more! *smile* And I'm finding that taking ONE picture is just not enough! I mean, if little Jaylon changes his expression just an eeeeensy bit, I just feel compelled to snap another shot! *smile* I may not see THAT particular expression again, even if it is ALMOST the same as the previous one! He has soooo much personality! He has added so much joy and love to our life!
Soooooo.....here are a few shots I got of him looking at his daddy the other evening as he was getting ready to go home!




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And here are a couple of him sleeping! He loves to sleep with his arms up over his head as you can see.

I've always wanted to get my photos all in order and in albums and I do have some of them done, but I have sooooo many that still need to be organized!! I am just going to have to take the time and do it!!

My Help - Psalm 121

I absolutely love this song and it ministers to me so powerfully each time I hear it. I don't particularly care for some of the visuals in this presentation but the singing is great by Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

April, already????

Is it just me or is time flying like never before? *whew* All I can say is "Hang on!". I just can't believe that it is April already! Not one person tried to April Fool me, though last night at church as Pastor Martin was beginning his lesson, he asked everyone to turn to Revelation chapter 23! Har...har! *grin* Okay, yes, I did hear some people turning the pages of their bibles! But he didn't get me! *smile*
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I fixed dinner for Erin and Daniel last Thursday night for Erin's birthday. She is now the ripe old age of 25! *smile* I baked her a cake and decorated it and also baked an apple pie. We had a wonderful time of eating and visiting and I sent the kids home with lots of leftovers!
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Do I need to say anything more here? *grin*
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We had a family night at church Sunday night as it was the fifth Sunday of the month and we always endeavor to do something a little different when there is a fifth Sunday.
We had pizza and snacks, played games, and had a great time of fellowship. I played Scrabble with two of the precious elderly ladies of our church. Then me, Ed, Bro. Chappelear and Pastor Martin played a rousing game of Bible Trivia! Oh my word! We had so much fun and about died laughing! Some of the questions are wild! We just have to play this again sometime! *smile* It's amazing that, even though you read and study your bible, all of the little details you can miss AND those are the questions they ask! If you haven't played Bible Trivia in a while, you need to get that game out and give it a go! It is so much fun!
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Nelsonville UPC had an afternoon service from 2-4pm with Bro. Mark Condon. I wasn't going to go....thinking I might need that afternoon nap *grin*.....but I decided to go and I'm so thankful that I did! Bro. Condon spoke some words that I needed to hear and that went straight to my heart! Thank you, Jesus! I don't know that I've ever heard Bro. Condon preach but he was sensitive to the Spirit and presence of the Lord and spoke many words of much-needed encouragement.
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Tomorrow is my favorite day of the week!! Friday!! I pray that you all have a great weekend!
I'm going to try my best to be better at posting here! There just doesn't seem to be enough minutes in the day! :-/