Coffee Day and a Fruitful weekend

Remember the coffee grinders at the check out stands?

*261*

  I am off the diuretic. Thursday night was it for me. I am laying in bed, watching tv, and my heart starts racing for no reason. It stopped thankfully. I did not take the pill yesterday and I called the Dr office. They told me to stop taking it too. I felt so much better yesterday. I mean, I still feel like donkey shit but not big heaping piles of it that I have to dig out of. Big difference. So I will find out what is what at my appt next month.  I need to keep on the trend of not eating as much as I was before. I was eating my meals but no snacks. Plus, I have been eating less because there are other people to feed in the house.
  I made a nice big pot of coffee this morning and drank two cups in honor of National Coffee Day. This should be a solemn occasion with parades and fan fare. But spending it at home with my favorite mug is good enough.
  This weekend is the last of September and I am going to enjoy my time of not feeling shitty. I am up to my armpits in family packs of chicken. Chicken legs were 77c a lb and whole breasts were $1.49 a lb. Now, I hate chicken legs with a white hot passion but at 77c a lb, I cannot ignore. Hubby wants me to make Chicken Cacciatore for him and his friend for Sunday football watching. I went out and got an extra pack of legs for them so they can eat like kings. I never liked it growing up as a kid. I am pretty sure it tasted amazing but I do not like dark meat chicken. But I will learn to deal with it because it is cheap and cheap is good!
 A friend of ours helped us out with some stuff around here and part of his payment besides cash was I am going to make him some jam. He wanted habenero jelly but I am not burning my eyeballs off for that! So I compromised and I am making Strawberry Jalapeno jam. It is basically the same recipe for standard strawberry jam but you are adding a cup of processed jalapenos in there.
And I will attempt the Rosedale. Busy weekend ahead for me but I sit here on my ass. Oh well.

Okay..I am going to do the chicken now...Going.....Going.....Going.....Poof!

Love/Hate relationship with....

*I have no clue*

A  PILL!!!

 Okay, this diuretic is good and bad at the same time. I want to keep taking it because it sort of helps me. Maybe as the weeks go on, it will get better. I am still having major issues with super loud noises but the pill isnt being taken for those.
 My ass is melting away which I am totally for! I love it. I hate that my scale needs a strange battery that I have to go to Home Depot to get (Friday) but I digress. My clothes are hanging off me more. I am happy about that.  But my appetite is in the dumpster. Which is also good but partly bad. I have to like remember to eat. Ditto with the drinking of water. This is a diuretic so you have to drink plenty of water or end up dehydrated and in the hospital.  I hate that the pill makes me feel loopy because it has worn off and I cannot take it until lunch time because the Crestor and the Diuretic do not mix. Sounds strange, I know. I just feel really crappy most of the time. Worse then usual. I do not know if that is the pill OR the other thing in my head. I have times during the day when I feel good. Makes me think that the pill really is working for the Meniere`s. The ringing quiets down a bit. I notice it and it is nice. But then the other thing shows it is boss.  I was stopped at light and a big fucking moving truck pulled up next to me. The vibrating noise of the engine and gears made my head feel funny so I quickly closed the window. Then I was fine.
Jesus, I do not want that surgery! I dont! It is scary! I have always felt crappy but ever since the weird incident that sent me the ear dr, I have not been the same. This is a new kind of crappy that I want to go away...NOW!
 The computer is still being a piece of shit. I am working on getting rid of whatever virus is still in here. It never left from the last time. I can feel it.
I have been trying to work on the dollhouse but my head is still too fuzzy sometimes. I am not abandoning it, I am just slow going with it.  I made that batch of strawberry jam. Looks good. I need to make some more soon but I have to buy supplies. Life goes on as planned around here.

So yeah..I am losing the weight. Makes me smile. I need to smile more often.

Eat your Spam!

*243* <-----It is definitely broken now.

This afternoon I made Fred and I scrambled eggs with shallots, chives from the garden and fried Spam. I loved it. Reminds me of my childhood. My parents were brought up during the Great Depression and my Mom still served Spam later on even when they didn't have to. It was given to the troops during WW2 because it traveled well. I love the shit. It is full of sodium so I have to be careful and I found out that the brand sells a less sodium version that I will hunt down. Check out their website....Spam.
 Now before you go Ewwww! Gross!! Never!..Try to be open minded. It is a ham product. Millions of Hawaiians eat it every day in all sorts of ways. I am going to try my hand at making Spam Sushi (Musubi) one day soon. We have to be more creative in our cooking and feeding our families. Now in light of the news today that there is going to be a worldwide shortage of pork and bacon, I am going to stock up on those for the freezer. Then I am going to buy cans of Spam and Underwood deviled ham and maybe Vienna sausage (which I fucking hate!) to stock in the cabinet.

  I have noticed today that I have lost a bit of weight. It is water weight and I think poundage also. I have been eating less because the diuretic kills my appetite and I have been eating less because there are five mouths to feed. You have to think of others in your household when money is tight and everyone is hungry. Now I am NOT saying I am dirt poor or anything. I just know it is smarter in the long run to eat less for my health and to make the food budget stretch. I have been eating more leftovers too. If I make pasta for dinner, I make extra. Then Rainbow and I eat it for lunch or dinner the next day. But yeah. Fred said I have those indents on the sides of my stomach that I have not had in a millennium, LOL I guess I will lose this damn fat after all. Didnt think it would be for these reasons and ways but I will take it!

Just some food for thought about the Spam. If you have never had it, buy one of the smaller cans. Fry it up and see what you think. You can also marinate it in seasonings too.

Jam and bloody fingers

*262*

  I am working on the Rosedale this morning (after two cups of coffee) and I already punctured my damn finger. It is okay. Not bleeding anymore but that is the hazard of this hobby. Burns and boo boos. I have not done a house in over a year so I am do for some pain. There is this second floor piece that will not fit no matter what I do. I think I screwed up the staircase assembly and it is making for a too tight fit. So I am slowly cutting the space bigger. I do not have proper tools so it is gonna take awhile. I want to get that piece up so that I can continue. And it has to be on there proper or the third floor wont go on correctly. Grrrr!
 It is the first day of Autumn today. I am thinking I need to start working on my jam for the winter. I have bags of frozen strawberries downstairs. I can make a shit load of jam. I also have blackberries but not as much as the strawberries. I also have some more pickling cukes to make pickles with. I am not going to over do it today because I am starting in the midst of a Fibro flare but I want to do the strawberry. We do not have anymore in the cabinet for eating so this is the perfect time to do it.
 Don't you think?

  So let us hope I get this piece fabricated to my liking without losing any fingers so that I can move onto strawberry jam. I am even going to go down in the freezer and get them. Once defrosted, I have to use them!
 I hope you have a nice first day of Fall.

Poor pitiful me. Not really

Happy Birthday Mr. King

*263*

 I knew it was going to be a tight week. I just hate when I have to face it. I have been paying bills off so that one point I will be all caught up. So this week, I had a few to pay at once and well, you know how it goes. I cancelled the gym memberships yesterday. That will save us $41 a month! Not a whole hell of alot but it is not going to a gym that we do not use. If we want to rejoin, it is no big deal. They always have specials to sign up. I have money for gas for midweek and food in the house. We will be fine. I just hate it. BUT all the good stuff on sale will be next week also. So I guess it is okay. (i am trying to convince myself.)

 So this will be a week of cooking from scratch and complaining cause I am tired and feel like shit. Normal everyday routine. I have a ton of dishes to do but I am not in the mood. I think my Autumn Fibro flare is kicking in. No biggie. It comes and then in a week or two it will be gone. I have to say that this water pill has done one good thing. All my clothes fit better. It got rid of all the bloat. I do not have as much of a stomach pooch. I love it! So with all this crap going on, I can feel good that my clothes feel a smidgen bigger on me then before.
   I am going to try to do the damn dishes plus work on the front yard some more. It is slow going but I almost have a bag filled of cuttings. My friend A told me I should plants some ornamental grass. I was thinking I could do that. I have never had it in the yard before. Plant it in the front. One on each side of the large bed then perennials in between. Less work for me! That will have to wait till next year. No extra for plants.

Wow, this is sounding sad sacky and I did not intend it. Please do not think I walk around with a hound dog look on my face. I just write about what is going on. If it is too sad, I understand if you do not to read. I have lost other people cause they do not want to hear it. I understand.
I am in a good mood except for not having any spending money this week. I have a dollhouse to build!
If I can find my xacto knives!!

Have a little rice with your poison!

*263*

  After decades of research, the FDA says that there are high levels of arsenic in rice.  I found this out yesterday as I was eating basmati rice with my dinner. I did not stop eating it because I was hungry and I feel this is some more bogus bullshit. People have been eating rice forever. If the arsenic levels from pesticides are so high, why are more people not kicking it left and right? I may sound dumb to some of you but for some reason, this rubs me the wrong way. Now all of a sudden, the government may want us to stop eating rice..a major staple in many families diets. What is next? Bubonic baked potatoes? I have decided that I will eat rice once a week or less as usual. And I will watch and wait. That rice was damn good last night too!


  I think the water pill is helping. I have to wait a couple hours between taking my cholestrol pill and the water pill. I start to notice that I feel sick as the morning wears on. Once I take the pill I am good. My ears are still full and ringing but that can be coming from the hole thingy I talked about before. I had another incident here at the house. It was very brief but enough to call the Dr. Garbage truck went by and it makes that scraping sound. I had a vision shift side to side but it was like for a split second. Very weird. I also was standing up in the livingroom, talking to one of the kids, and suddenly I felt taller then usual. You know that feeling you get when you wear new glasses? I had that without glasses. It was weird and cool at the same time. It went away once I sat down. My appointment in October will include a Cat scan early in the morning in New haven. He wants to see if I have the hole and at this point, so do I.
 The symptoms have been ramping up ever since that first time. I am never this sick like this (dizzy and nauseated) all the time. Never. Occasionally yes but all day, every day? No.

  I wanted to share a new recipe that I tried this week that was a hit. It is called Crispy Black Bean Fritters with creamy cilantro dipping sauce. I made small ones like fritters as part of our dinner and then I made larger ones for Chelsea to have on a bun like burgers. Really fucking good! The dip was really good too. We all fought over it. Make the dip ahead and let it sit in the fridge. Give it a try!

 I do not know what the heck I am going to do today. It is colder out this morning then it has been in awhile. I should put on some long sleeves and do some yard work in the front of the house. I need to cut down and bag up. But I also have a fridge to clean. Which should I do? Which should I do? Logically I should do the fridge but that is the yuckier of the two options. LOL

I will drink some more coffee and think about it.

Arrggghhhh!

*263*<----all fixed! and I lost some water weight.

I found out my true Pirate name today! I think it is a good one.

Your pirate name is:

Captain Bess Roberts

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Two things complete your pirate persona: style and swagger. Maybe a little too much swagger sometimes -- but who really cares? Arr! 

 

You can find out YOUR pirate name too at Piratequiz.com.

I picked at the garden today and got some nice eggplants, peppers, and green tomatoes. I also had some basil that needed to be harvested. The end of the season is coming so I have no problem picking up the green tomatoes now because they can turn red here at the house.

 I am being summoned by my oldest to take her to the store to buy new shoes. I am staying in the car! I am not interested in going to the store today. 

Wish me luck! Arggghhh!

I lost one but gained a ton!

*the scale died!!!* <----needs new battery. Not conventional battery. Pffffft!!

Welcome to all of you that started reading here since yesterday. I appreciate the support. I learned I truly do have some great friends out there. :)
 I am told it is chilly out there today (ummmm. 66 deg f)  but I am warm. Not hot flashes or anything but just warm. I know the humidity/dew point is non existent but I feel like I could break out in a sweat if I did anything. Is that the hormones? The water pill? Or do I have a broken thermostat? hehehe All I know is that I love it. This is my time of year! I am hoping Hubs takes the AC out of the living room window today. I want the cross breeze again before I have to seal up all the windows.
  Today I am going to work on the dollhouse and I am going to pickle the cucumbers. I was planning on doing it this past weekend but I decided against it with me being woozy and all. Hot jars of hot liquid and feeling shitty do not mix. Today I feel okay so I am going to get that shit done.  I found a jar of Ball Kosher Dill Pickle Mix. I bought it because I was curious. I do not usually use pre made stuff like that for canning. You can get all the salt and spices you need and do it yourself. But I saw it, it cost half what it cost on that link and I said What the hell? I will let you know. Lets hope it was not a colossal mistake. 
That is about it for today. I have to try to get the second floor onto this dollhouse. It is a pain that you have to twist and bend to get it to fit into this contortion. I screwed it up yesterday so I had to reglue everything. I am hoping I do it better today.
Wish me luck!

Day two is a little better

Stock photo courtesy of Greenleaf Dollhouses

I am feeling better then yesterday. I still feel loopy but not as much. Like yesterday was 100% loopy and today is like 50%..so this is a good thing. I noticed that the ringing in my ears is good but in the later evening, it comes back with a roar. I hope that is just because I started taking it. I like that it is kind of silent in my head. I am still feeling funky so that could be the inner ears or the pill or a little of both. So far, 2nd day is way better then the first.
 I have noticed that I am not very hungry. I read that loss of appetite is a side effect. I hope it is a long lasting one. I ate lunch and now i am going to eat dinner but I have had no snacks or even wanted to. Love that part of it!

 I have been working on a half scale Greenleaf Rosedale. One of my mini friends started to build one and I got the itch. Then I found out another friend is building it so I have two people to help me if I get stuck. I am at first floor and I am painting the stairs...if you have ever done and you know what I am talking about. I tried to put the 2nd floor on and that was a disaster. I hope it is better fitting tomorrow.
   Going to eat dinner and relax for the rest of the evening. Hope day three is even better.

Waves of shittiness a.k.a Day one

I feel awful! I took the pill around 11am because I slept in this morning. I thought about splitting the pill but that is a no. It is a capsule. So I stared at it for a minute and just took it. It made me pee like a race horse, that part is over. But I have this lingering fog. The fog just sits there in my head. Then I will have waves of OH GOD THAT FEELS AWFUL! I am really going to try to be positive. These are just side effects. They will go away. Good thing I nixed any plans on driving anyplace this weekend. That would have been bad. I am TRYING to work on a 1/2 scale dollhouse and I am doing okay but then the waves hit and I have only got the pieces punched out.
 I feel nauseated then I do not. I feel woozy then I dont. It is like a schizophrenic water pill! Ears are still ringing.

FUCK!!

Got the laptop at night..Oooo!

I am loved! I just thought the picture was funny.

 Kid is gone for the weekend. Trip to NYC with some friends. So the laptop is MINE...all MINE. *evil laugh*
  I cannot wait for the day when I have my very own laptop that I do not have to share with anyone else, not even hubby! Okay, I would share with him cause he is my bud and that is what buds do for each other. But nobody else.

   Shit hit the fan today for me.   After I posted this morning, I went and ran a couple errands. I came back, washed all the dishes (there were not many), emptied one section of the pantry and cleaned it (Ya! I am JUST getting to that. HA!), and I had to take Chels to get things done before she left this afternoon. We got to the pharmacy and I felt weird. Thankfully it is right down the street from the house. I thought my sugar was low cause I did take insulin but did not have sufficient breakfast. I grabbed a Hershey bar and decided I was going to stop at the house to check it before we went across the bridge. It was not my sugar. I was woozy from what I guess is whatever is wrong with my ear/s.  I told hubby, he took her across the bridge, and I went upstairs to bed.* Now I want to say that I am smart about this. I stay around town, and if I feel like crap, I go straight home. In the 10 years that I have had Meniere`s disease, it has never affected my driving. I have like a sense of balance when I am controlling the car. I even discussed that with the Dr. Like around town I am fine but highway driving messes with me. This is why I take the ativan. Do not worry! I am good. I am smart. I have been doing this for a long time. back to the story* I have never felt that way except when I had that noise induced head ache. But there was no noise or weird feelings. I changed into comfy pjs, took a nap, Nat made me grilled cheese, I laid in bed while watching a Roseanne marathon, went online with my phone, Rainbow brought me dinner, and now I am down here on the computer at almost 10pm. A whole Friday wasted. I never even got to the Farmer`s market. But it is okay. I have plenty of cukes to pickle for tomorrow.
  My friend A is worried. She feels that it was another one of those attacks that would require me to have that nasty surgery. I told her that I honestly do not know. I do not remember a loud noise and then a trigger. So maybe it is just a freaking migraine. All I know is this is bullshit.

So my weekend will consist of being in and around the house. I will take that pill and hope to God it works.
  Maybe I should try to go to bed. Hubby will be home soon.
I hope I didnt wake you. Good night!

Does a water pill make you float?

*265*

   I ask this question because I am going to start taking the Diuretic tomorrow. My pharmacist said it would be a good idea to take it when I am not going anyplace. I have bills to pay this week and next week so there will be no festival going this weekend. Perfect time to take the pill. I guess it can make you dizzy. Great! Like I need to be MORE dizzy. LOL If it makes me feel mega shitty over the weekend, I am going to have to think long and hard on whether I want to take it or not. I usually follow Dr`s orders but I cannot have something that makes me feel much much worse.

 I am sorry I have been lax in the posting lately. Obviously my mind has been elsewhere and I just do stuff around the house. The job has not started yet. I go visit every week to see. Even hubby went by to see what is going on. The business is open but does not have permission to put a sign out yet, which makes it difficult for customers to know it exists. I hate this dicking around that is going on by the Planner of the town. It sucks that one motherfucker has the right to screw with you if he wants to. This has been going on since April. I figured I would be working have all my bills paid by now and be square so that I could start saving and using the little extra I was getting. I do not even know if I am going to start working end of September. It is like the dude ruined the business for some reason. All Spring and Summer are gone. Prime time to be doing his thing. Fall and Winter are approaching. It is like he wants the business to fail. I am talking about the Planner of the town. I have never seen this before. SMH Cross fingers that I can start soon. I am worried about affording home heating oil. I need the furnace cleaned too. UGH! Do not even get me started on Christmas. If I do not start working, that will be a non event in this house.

  Enough of the gloom and doom. I need to keep a positive outlook. SMILE. Maybe things will be better soon! I bought some nice pickling cukes and supplies this week. I am hoping after I go to the bank this am, that I can snag another 2 lbs of cukes from the farmer`s market to make pickles this weekend. I am not going to do bread and butter this time.I want to do straight Dill pickles. I hate sweet pickles. This year is MY year. I am not talking about jelly right now but I might. I have to make some strawberry jalapeno for a friend plus I have regular strawberry and blackberry to make. I have a 10lb bag of sugar that I bought because the other sugar bags pissed me off. The sugar makers have made the bags 1lb smaller (4lbs instead of 5lbs) and they are charging the same amount. I noticed when I picked up the bag. It was easy to lift and hold with one hand. Aint that some shit! I use alot of sugar in baking and such and that just took the cake for me.

Pumpkin, Butternut, and I have no idea. :)

  I want to share something about Squash and Sweet potatoes. Now is the perfect time to buy all your winter squashes. They do not have to go in the fridge. They can be left out on the counter or someplace where they will not get jostled. You can buy as many as you desire because now they are selling for cheap. Sweet potatoes too. Many people do not buy winter squashes so they are there for the taking. Do not cook and freeze if you can help it! I have been buying small acorn squashes lately. I will start buying butternuts now. I have a recipe for butternut squash soup that I could have sworn I posted on the blog but I do not see it. I will post it at another time because it is a really good soup. I am not a huge squash fan but this soup is rich and creamy. Perfect for winter. You can purchase small pumpkins now too. Not just for Halloween but for cooking. Soups, breads, pies, and so many other things. I am telling you this because if food gets expensive this winter, you have these old standbys to help out. You can also buy something called storage onions. They last longer I am told. I do not have a root cellar and we are prone to mice in the winter, so I do not put anything like that in the basement. Just a thought to help you out.

  Woke up early at like 6am cause my allergies were kicking my butt. I am not sick but my eyes were bothering me. So I am fully coffeed up at quarter to 8am. I need to get going. Off to get the bills paid and the pickles bought.
Have a great weekend. Since I will be homebound, I will probably post over the weekend. About what..I have no clue.

Itchy Palms? Show me the money!

I wish it was picking season

*265*

My right palm has been itching like crazy for the past for days. I hope that means some money is on the way cause my ass could surely use it. I was told to make sure to itch toward my body so that the money will come to you and not away. I love old wives tales!

   Today I am more inclined to talk about the things I found out at my Dr appointment. He told me that one of the balance tests points to that issue I posted about in the last entry. He cannot be 100% sure until a cat scan is done. But we are going to wait. The surgery is very serious and if I have the cat scan now and they find that I do have that thing, I surely have to have it fixed. So we are going to be blissfully ignorant for now. If I have another *attack* in the next six weeks, I have to call and let the office know. If the attacks happen rarely, then surgery may not be needed at this time. If I were to have an attack like I did once every month, then I need to have it scanned, see if there truly is a hole, and have it repaired. He was up front with me and Natalie was there. I would have to have a hole drilled in my skull, the repair work is right next to the brain, and I could lose my hearing in that ear. But it would take away the dizziness and the weird sound/dizzy spell that I had before. I heard a loud sound next door, I felt extremely weird in the head, and I stood up cause i thought we were having a tiny earthquake or something. No, it was just me. So that has been weighing on my mind. Hoping the water pill he prescribed will help with my other issues. The dizziness and nausea may be helped with it and I have to cut and space out my ativan to last throughout the day. I take it for my spacial issues.

  It is a gorgeous Fall like day out there today. Makes me want to do something like bake cookies or make a roast (if i had one). I am going to do some Fall cleaning around the house, most likely bake cookies, and then hang out with hubby this evening.
I hope you all have a nice week ahead. I will check in from time to time.

I can`t hear you Sonny!

*265*

I went to the ENT today. I had hearing tested with audiology and I had a couple other tests to check my balance. Torture! Torture I tell you.
 The tests and what I told him revealed a few things. I have mild Meneire`s disease which I knew. He thinks I have some brain swelling. It may be because of vestibular migraines but he cannot be sure because the dizziness could be from other things. He gave me a diuretic for that and let`s cross fingers that it works!
Then he gave me the bad news. He said I may have something called Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome or SCDS. Here is a Wiki about it.  It is basically a hole in the bone that covers the top part of your inner ear. I have only had one instance of this weird dizzy spell that happened after I heard a loud noise. And I have been having more headaches. I see him in 6 weeks. If in that time, it happens again, I have to tell him. Then I will have a cat scan and talk of surgery. Scary surgery! Like they drill holes in your skull and push your brain back..okay I do not want to talk about that right now. I am tired. It has been a long day but I figured I would share. I am going to try to relax for a bit. My day will not be done till after dark.

Toodles

Labor Day 2012

*264*

  Hubs has spent yesterday and he will spend today with me. It feels good. We miss the money from the part timer but I am enjoying the time with him. He says that he has not lost the job, it is just slow. So when business picks up, he will get to come in for work. This is his vacation weekend at the full time so we are enjoying it. I love that man and he loves me. How did we get to be so lucky?

  If you live in the US and you have to work today...BOO! I hope you carve out some time to yourself when you get off of work so that you get to celebrate too. Since I was uber lazy all weekend, I am cooking and cleaning today. Right now as I type, I am also frying bacon for sandwiches for lunch. Then I am going to pick a room to clean and CLEAN it. The friend is coming in four days! Not alot of time to make this place lived in but non-gross.
 My list is long and I will have the kid`s help. I am even going to bake fucking cookies for the cookie jar.
  But today is cleaning the one room of my choosing (NOT the kitchen) and making Sunday Fried Chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Hubs wanted it today so that is what he is getting.
 We bought this papasan chair at a yard sale for $5. This is one new. Ruby finally figured out how to sit in it.

MINE!

I am so spaced right now. I am doing bacon. I am thinking what i have to do this week. I got the girls talking to me. And I am out of coffee. I have no idea what I am talking about! Ha!

     I read up on saving food for survival. It was really smart and it was not just about end of the world scenarios. It could be if we had a hurricane or a blizzard and the lights went out. We would have food to eat that does not require cooking. Did you know you should have 3 cases of water per person (and animal) to give you a weeks worth of water? You know when the stores have those sales on cases of water for like $3 a piece? That is when we should buy. Stack it up in the corner of the basement. After a year, if you did not use it, you can use it for cooking or watering your plants. I have been seriously thinking about it. I am all about having enough food to eat and if a situation came up, I would lose my mind if we did not have enough food. I am going to save cat food and dog food also. I assume it has the same shelf life as other things but I will check it out.

  Anyway...that is just something to think about. Not just for me but maybe for you also.

  I have re-potted a new Wandering Jew plant that a friend gave me and then my other one got knocked over on the front porch and the pot broke. The plant needs to be repotted. It is root bound. So I have to buy soil and pots for 1..2..3..4 plants. I want to get that done soon before the fall truly comes. My umbrella plant, the one I bought at the grocery store,  was not doing so great so I moved it here in the dining room. It is not dropping leaves anymore. Hopefully it will survive the re-pot.

Well, I guess I am done with all my babbling. It will be a nice busy Monday holiday but I will remain in my pajamas!

Have a great day.

I can smell it!

*264* <---Yuppers!

   It smells like Autumn! (i have the air conditioner on though)
    I am not one that considers today or this weekend the end of summer. If it is September and 80 degrees out, I am going to go swimming. We are hoping we can go this evening and get our swim on. It is going to be gorgeous all weekend long. It is the end of the summer lobster boy too. There is this cute kid (in his 20s) that sells lobsters, clams, and fish near the docks here in our city. Only on Thursdays and Fridays. I went there once in July and the lobsters were meaty, tasty, and very reasonably priced. Around here you can get them for like $5 a pound. So I decided yesterday that I was going to go. Good thing I did. He is going back to school. This weekend is the last one till next summer. See...end of summer! So I bought 3. I dispatched them last night and today I am going to make lobstah salad to go on rolls. Now, you may be thinking I just ranted about money. Yes, I did. But paying $20 for three little lobsters twice in the summer is not going to kill us. Plus, I was able to procure 4 very large whole chicken roasters for $3 a piece (this is the meat surge I was telling you about). I got hamburger, london broil, boneless chicken, local kielbasa, and the fryers for cheap cheap cheap! I only spent $30 over what I usually spend a week.
    I like to have an over abundance of food when I have extra cash because I feel safe. I found out today that labels me as a Prepper. There is actually a movement of people that are prepping because they fear there may come a time where we as the human race may have to fend for ourselves. I have been slowly catching on to this. There is a site I saw on Blogger called Prepper.org. I have not jumped completely into the site with two fists yet but I will. It is alot of information on how to prepare foods, how to survive without electricity, and etc. There are lots of sites out there like this one.  Homestead Survival is another one I like to read from time to time. I am not all into the paramilitary stuff that pops up but hubs and i have considered maybe possibly taking some classes, learning how to shoot, and buying a gun. But that is just flippant talk right now. We do not have any extra money to procure any weaponry. Take a look. The second site has some great ideas on how to repurpose things and lots of cool recipes.
  I have known about the drought and the food prices for some time. I went to the bread store yesterday and I do not know how the conversation turned to it but these four women had NO clue the reason why meat was so cheap all of a sudden. I told them and they all thanked me profusely. Yes, the bread store. All of them had closed down for quite a few years. Around the late 90s to 2000s. I grew up going with my Mom to the bread store. I know how much of a savings it is. Then last year, the Wonder bread store opened back up. It is about a 15 minute out of the way drive but I can buy all the bread for the month and they have this specialty soda we like on the cheap (Polar) and I put the bounty in the deep freezer. That bitch is packed full right now. FULL! It has not been that full in a long time. I need to actually take some time this weekend and go through it and organize it better.
    What else...Oh, the kid starts school on Tuesday. Hopefully if she applies herself like she says and the counselor told her too, she will have her diploma in June. There is too many loose ends from last year that she cannot finish in December. She was disappointed but she now knows she has to just finish so she can move on with her life. I am proud of her.  The other kid has got another job. She has two part times and she is working with kids in a program that pays her a stipend that is coming from fundraising. Still not enough to actually live out in the real world but she is taking those steps.

 That is about it. I have the lobsters to crack open and make the salad, laundry, and I am going to pick a room to clean. This week I have to clean the entire house, one room at a time with the help of Natalie. Then on Thursday we will steam clean all the carpets and the livingroom rug. All of this while I feel like donkey shit. I am taking care of that though. On Friday I go to the ENT. Hopefully he will give me something to combat the dizziness. I fear the Meneire`s is in my other ear. If it is, I will take that as it comes. But we will go to New Haven, appointment, pick up the kid`s friend, bakery, and home. When we bring him back to New Haven on Sunday for the train..we will go to Ikea (the only one in the state!) I need some more utensil hooks.

I hope you have a great and safe Labor day holiday and if you do not celebrate it, hope you have a great weekend.