Still Cleaning

Well, the kitchen is just about done, and we're getting ready to start on the living room. We were able to get rid of the litter box we were using for the kitten, because she's big enough for the big ones now, so that helps a bit. I'm trying to figure out a different place to put them, so that when we rearrange in here it isn't an issue. I'd like top put one in the bathroom & maybe one in the room that will become my office, eventually. I know I'll have to move them one at a time so they don't get confused, but it needs to be done.

All I really have left to do in the kitchen is the area on & around the table, the entryway & the floor. It'll be good to have it done, I've spent so long on it already & it looks so much better, even now. I've been good about keeping the areas that are done clean, too & plan to keep it up, because I don't want to have to do this again. I'd love to be able to just do a quick cleaning every day & get it done fast & maybe do a major one every weekend, but not major like I'm having to do now!!

More Weight Stuff

I seem to be doing okay with the way I'm eating these days, although I have days where I don't do great. I figure I'd have those days even if I was actually dieting or taking something like Leptovox, too. I'm human, after all. I think I do much better when I know I can eat whatever I want & I actually take the time to think about my food and realize when I'm full. I don't end up with heartburn that way, at any rate.

I got up this morning & started spaghetti sauce in my crock pot for dinner tonight. Usually, I just go in & make it about 3 hours before dinner & just let it simmer on the stove, but I decided to take advantage of the smallest crock on my pot (mine has 3 different sized crocks) and do it early. That way, I can heat up a can of sauce for Erin at dinner time without any meat in it & everyone gets to eat.

Rhi moved across town yesterday. She couldn't pay the rent in their trailer & was getting tired of one of her room-mates not working & pitching in with anything. She moved in with a guy named Dustin and her best friend, Ryan, in a 4-bedroom for almost $200/month cheaper, so they should be okay now.

Weight a Minute

I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I plan to do about my weight over the past several months. I considered WLS, weight loss pills, liquid diets, pre-packaged diet food and have, at times, wished I was anorexic (not seriously). I've decided that I'm just going to try to eat more healthy foods and control my portion sizes better. There are a lot of things that don't even sound good to me anymore, so I just don't eat them. I don't likebreakfast foods, so I eat fruit and nuts for breakfast. I don't like lunchmeat anymore, so I don't eat it, even though I still like sandwiches (I eat veggie & cheese sandwiches now). I love salads, but hate most creamy dressings & avoid them if at all possible.

I only eat if I'm hungry & I try very hard to stop eating when I feel full, which helps quite a bit, since I really hate feeling sick from eating too much. We went out to eat last night & I ended up bringing most of my meal home, so I'll have it tonight, or what I can eat of it anyway. So, how about you? Do you have weight or food issues? If so, how are you dealing with them? Is it working?

Beautiful Clothing for Beautiful Women

My Renne-friend, Michelle, runs a wonderful booth called "Damsel in this Dress." She sells gorgeous clothing that she & her husband create together. She makes bodices that make every woman look beautiful, no matter what body type they have. I have made many bodices in my career as a re-creationist, from my early days in the SCA to later years at the Renaissance faire, but nothing made me look like Michelle's beautiful creations do.

Many people see what she makes & look at the price & think they can make the same thing at home. The fact is, you just can't. She's a professional. She owns quality, industrial equipment for every part of the process, and she makes her own patterns in styles you'll never be able to match anywhere. She uses rich, beautiful fabrics, that are very expensive to buy on your own, imported European steel boning & two-piece grommets.

Every bodice or corset that she designs & makes is creating to lengthen the body line & nothing ever ends at the natural waist. The result? Every woman who leaves her booth wearing a new bodice or corset looks at least 10 pounds thinner & taller, too. That's not even mentioning what they do for your womanly assets. Ever wished you were "perkier" looking than you are? These will definitely do the trick, trust me. They are beautiful items of clothing, they're made to be worn & worn again. You can wear them to a renaissance faire, an SCA event, with a skirt or with your jeans. I've never seen any of Michelle's pieces look bad no matter what they were worn with.

Another cool thing is that she makes other things, like skirts & blouses to go with the bodices & corsets. She has a blog, an Etsy store & an Ebay store, so if you love beautiful clothing that makes you feel beautiful, too, check her out.

Wonderful Weekend & Wednesday, Too

We had a really good time camping this past weekend. The weather was beautiful, cool, but not cold, a light breeze. We didn't get rained on, which was the concern. Rhi ended up coming home Saturday evening, which was fine, because we had forgotten our cast iron skillet & would have had to come back for it anyway. Tiny escaped from the tent trailer in the middle of the first night, scaring us both to death. All we could think of was her tangling with a bear & being gone forever, especially when she didn't come when we called. She did eventually come to the door and come in. We're pretty sure she needed to go to the bathroom, slipped out, did her business & couldn't get back in, so she went to sleep out there. The next night (and the rest of that one) Troy put the leash on her & put it on his arm so she couldn't get out.

It was really nice to get away & forget about time, schedules and everything else for a couple of days, I wish we had done it a few more times this summer, but there's always next year.

I'm in the middle of cleaning my kitchen & took a little break to brew some coffee, have a couple of cups & post in here. I seem to lose track of time pretty quickly anymore (especially since I'm not living by anyone's schedule but Troy's these days), I think I need to get myself a watch, since I don't always have my cell phone with me & when I do, we don't always have service (like when we're on the mountain). Speaking of watches, did you know that they now make "talking watches," that say the time for you? I think they're awesome for people who have problems with their vision & may get one for my mom for Christmas so she doesn't have to dig out her glasses every time she wants to know what time it is.

Well, time for another cup of coffee & some more ibuprofen, I think.

Almost Ready

We went & bought all of our groceries for the camping trip & some really nice camping supplies, too. Nothing was on sale yet, but they were pretty inexpensively priced to begin with. We got a nice grill top for a camp fire, an organizer stand, a comforter set, a ground blanket & some camp forks for cooking hot dogs & marshmallows. We also grabbed a hammock for Troy, since he loves them so much. I'm really looking forward to this little getaway, it's been about a year since we went & things were kind of chaotic on that trip. I'm hoping for a better one this time.

Dawn probably isn't coming with us, but Rhi is, so that's a good thing. Tiny will enjoy spending time with her & her puppy, Ember. I have a housewarming barbecue to go to this afternoon & a birthday party for my friend Eric tonight, so it's shaping up to be a pretty busy weekend!

Trying to Keep Busy

My dad is having his first radiation treatment for his cancer right now, so I'm trying to keep my mind as busy as possible. I can't seem to stop worrying about him & this whole course of treatment, so I'm hoping that if I keep my mind so full of trivial things then I won't have time to worry. We'll see how well that works out for me.

It's already been a fairly trying week, first off Dawn's room-mates didn't put any money away to pay their half of the rent (and it doesn't help that the only one working can't seem to make it through a whole week without "getting sick") & she had to sell her kids school clothes gift cards to come up with enough to keep them from getting evicted and then my god-daughter got arrested again, then my grandma took a turn for the worse & died the next day, and now my dad's cancer has progressed & he's started treatment.

We're getting away for the weekend, just camping, but we really find that to be more relaxing and rejuvenating than any other vacation we could ever take. It's probably because we aren't racing around trying to get anything done, we're just concentrating on relaxing, talking & being together. Dawn plans to go with us, I don't know if Rhi or Erin are, yet, I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet.

I'm saving up to buy us a 32" flat screen TV & I'm trying to decide whether we want to get a stand for it, or a TV wall mount, instead. I'm kind of leaning towards the stand, because we really don't have a lot of wall space in an area where we could actually watch TV, although I'm thinking of moving the furniture around in here & seeing what looks best, so we'll see.