Where has the summer gone?

I can't believe it's almost time for school to start again.
Since I last wrote anything David and I went to St. Louis. I drove and my friends, Milly and Jim, rode with us. We had fun on the road. They visited Jim's sister. David and I visited my sister, niece and brother-in-law.
We did a lot of stuff. We shopped at the resale store where a reality show is filmed. It was interesting....lots of nice things.







My niece is working at the St. Louis museum for the summer. She gave us our own tour. It was so interesting. This is one of the paintings I liked. It's done by Kandinsky.


David and I are meeting Judy and Laura in Bentonville this weekend.
We're going to the Crystal Bridges Museum. I'm so excited. I know it's going to be great. I'll tell you about next time.

Necklace

I've been making things I've seen on Pinterest. I love doing crafts.


This is a necklace I made with 2 washers from Lowes and nail polish and a bead and a charm. I like wearing it and it turned out better than I thought it would.

I'm still working on eating better. Here's a recipe for taco salad. It's so good even Rick liked it.

Taco Salad

1lb. Lean ground beef or turkey
1/2 yellow onion diced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup water
3 romaine lettuce hearts, torn into pieces
1 avocado, sliced
I can black olives, sliced
1 medium tomato, diced
Fresh cilantro
1 ( 8 oz. ) jar salsa

Heat skillet over medium- high heat. Add beef and onion. Cook until browned.

Add chili powder, garlic salt, cumin, oregano, sea salt, and water and let simmer for five minutes.

Pour over lettuce and add remaining ingredients.

If you make it let me know how you liked it.

Making changes

Here's the deal, I'm making two big changes in my life. First, I'm eating better, 90% is the Paleo way, mainly meat, veggies, and fruit. The second is I joined a gym so I'll get fit.

At my last doctor's visit he recommend that I lose 14 pounds by the middle of July. I've already lost about 7 pounds. So I'm off to a good start.

I've also set mini goals to losing 50 pounds. This is a picture of a pair of pants I can't fit into. When you see a picture of me wearing them you know I've reached my first goal.


From time to time I'll give you some Paleo recipes. I've got four Paleo cookbooks. Each week I'm going to try a few new ones. I'll let you know how that goes.

I'm excited about trying something new for a better life. I want to get off my medications and start feeling better. I'm 62 years old and I want my last years to be some of my best years. I'll need your support and encouragement.

Father's Day Weekend

We had a nice quiet day...just the way Rick liked it. He got a sound bar thing for the TV. Andrew helped him get it going. It's like surround sound, ours went out, but not exactly. We watched the basketball game with it. It's neat. Go Spurs!

David had a birthday bowling party to go to after his regular bowling. He ended up bowling 5 games and scored 150 on one of them. His left arm was worn out. It was his friend Clay's 30th birthday. Some of David's Pathfinder friends were there and he enjoyed that. They had cheese dip and cupcakes and a good time.

Saturday night we went to Stephen and Jennifer's wedding. The bride was beautiful and her gown was gorgeous. The reception was at a party room at Cajun's. I got to see a lot of Andrew's friends whom I haven't seen in years. It was nice catching up with them. Michelle and Catherine looked great with makeup and all dressed up for the occasion.





Andrew's the tall one. Doesn't he look nice?

Car show

David and Danny went to the Hot Rod Car Show Monday evening. They had a great time.











There were hundreds of vintage cars. They only saw part of them. Looked like fun.

This is the bracelet I started at bead group and finished at home.
I really like it and it was fun to make.


David and I had a joint visit to the liver doctor. That way I only have to go once and not twice. I think I'll try that again. I was fine, but David's enzymes were still slightly elevated. Dr. told both of us us to lose weight and we'd be much better. So that will be our next project. It will be challenging, but we can do it. He also said to go to a gym and lift weights....another challenge.
Anyone know a good cheap gym?

Yesterday I had a " Sharon Day ". I got pampered and it was nice. I my got my toe nails done and the massage that comes with it was great. I also got my finger nails done. That was nice too. I also got my hair done. I walked out of the salon feeling like a new woman. I recommend it to all my girlfriends.

Today I had my follow up visit to the heart doctor after I was in the hospital.
It didn't go well....to many problems to discuss here. I've got to get my medicines straighten out....I had to change some and that causes more complications. I'll just have to try other things until something works.
Dr. Collins is great...he is so sweet to me and kind and patient.

Memorial Day

I can't believe that a week has gone by since I dropped my sister off at the airport. I got her there about 3:30pm. She didn't get home until 2:00am on Tuesday. The tornados in Oklahoma caused the delay. She could have driven and gotten there quicker. While she was here we went to Garvin Gardens. I'd never been there before and I really liked it. There were so many different things to see.





David got a haircut Thursday and our friend Macy went with us. Afterwards we went to Moe's for supper. As always we ate and then did an art project. This time we colored on sandpaper and I'll iron the designs on a T-shirt. It will be one of a kind. I saw it on Pinterest. We also went to the Old Mill. I haven't been there in years. It hasn't changed much, but it's still a nice place to go.


David bowled 5 games Saturday morning. He did pretty good. I thought he'd be tired and start complaining, but he loved it and had a good time. Then we went to Hot Springs to visit Harold and Donna. They'd both been real sick, but they were so much better. We played games, Train and Skipbo. We laughed and had so much fun. Harold has not had good luck with his mailboxes. Last week his 5th one was knocked over. Poor mailbox.


I saw Fast and Furious today. It was good and full of action, if you like action movies and I do. Yesterday we watched videos. We saw Winter's Bone. I really don't know how to describe it other than dark. We also watched Ergo. It was really good.

Judy's visit

We're having a great visit, but things aren't so good for Dad and Harold.
Harold has the flu and we hope to visit him on Sunday. We saw Dad yesterday before he went to the eye clinic at the VA. While there he got a shot in his eye as he usually does, but this time something went wrong he went blind in that eye and they had to keep working on him. He was finally able to see and he went home. He had to go back today and his eye is better. We'll see him tomorrow afternoon after David bowls. The good from all this is that Judy and David and I have spent more time together. We've gone out to eat and done some shopping and had fun.

Beading project

Last weekend I came up with a project for the my whole bead group. I cut fabric and Wonder Under. I sewed and turned and ironed. I used some of my mom's left over quilt scraps. They were cut form vintage flour sack material. Flour used to come in fabric sacks and moms would make clothes for the family with them. That was way back before cars.


The only thing my bead group had to do was to sew on the button and wear it. They turned out so cool. What do you think?

Yesterday I went with some friends to see the movie Mud. It was really good. The 14 year old actors did a great job. One was from Arkansas. The movie was made in AR on the Mississippi River. If you get the chance go see it.

I'm still working on my flower bed. Today I mulched about half of it. Before I mulch I put newspapers down first. It helps to keep the weeds from coming up. It's biodegradable and will have to be done again next year. It does work.

My sister flies down tomorrow and she'll fly back on Monday. We'll spend most of the time in Hot Springs. She wants to go to Garvan Gardens and eat at McClards, which has the best hot tomales. When she flies down she'll be on one of the last non-stop flights between Little Rock and St. Louis. Starting in June you'll have to go to Dallas or somewhere else to get there. I hate that. Instead of taking a few hours it will take all day. I can drive there in a day and it would be cheaper. As I've gotten older I don't like to drive up there with David by ourselves. It's not bad if there's others in the car who can drive too if I need to take a break. Anyone want to go to St. Louis?

Mother's Day

It's been a lovely day. The weather was perfect. I even planted some blooming plants. When I've finished the flower bed I'll put a picture of it on here. My sweet David took me out to lunch after church today. Tonight the whole family went to a steak house for supper. It was so good and I ate too much. The best part was that I was with my sons. I love those boys.

It's been a quiet week. I didn't feel like doing much since I didn't go on my trip. I just kept thinking I should be in London or I should be in Paris. I'm going to start planning my next trip and of course it'll be to Paris. I really do like that city....the city of lights. My sister went on to London, but not Paris. She had a nice time visiting my niece. They did a lot of shopping. Fun.

Can you believe I got sunburned on the back of my neck while shopping for plants at Home Depot? I did. I had a hard time deciding on which plants to buy, but I didn't think I took that long, and it was about 1:00, a really hot time of day. It still seems crazy to me. I guess I'll have to plant shop at night.

Here are my other two sons. Ha.

Beading

My bead group is great. They had a French party for me today because I didn't go on my trip and wished I was in Paris. We had good food and good wine. They really cheered me up. Thanks wonderful bead group. Y'all are the best. Here is the night light they gave me. Isn't it cool? I love it.


I'm feeling better. My heart rate is getting higher which is good, but my blood pressure is still too high. I'll keep taking my medicine and see the doctor in a month. Hopefully by then it'll all be good.

Yesterday the weather was beautiful and I couldn't stay inside. I worked in the yard for a few hours and it was great to be outside. There were no mosquitos to distract me. I hate mosquitos.

I used to have many, many hostas in my back yard in the shade, but the big tree fell over and is gone. I had to move them to a shady place in the front yard. They have never done well. They were so big and beautiful, now they're just pitiful and the deer like to nibble on them. I transferred some to a pot away from where the deer come and I'll see if they do better. Hopefully by the end of summer they'll be huge.


I also like succulents. They like the hot weather.


My Knockout roses are the prettiest they've ever been. I love them. They are very hardy. They can survive anything.

Doing better

Yesterday, Thursday, I rested all day. My heart rate and blood pressure are improving a little. The changed medicine must be working. Thank goodness. Today Rick and I went running around. We ate lunch at JoJo's,
got gas and shopped at Sam's, picked up David, and got groceries at the commissary. Now I'm exhausted. I think I'll take a nap. Ha.

Wish I was in London. My sister, Judy, went ahead with that part of the trip. She's visiting Laura and will not go to Paris. On the flight over she said a women on the plane had to be given oxygen. So glad it wasn't me.

Here's a picture of Paris from the time I went before. I promised pics so here's one, even though it's not from this time. Ha. I love Paris. I'm going to get better and go again.

ER visit

Tuesday I was feeling disoriented while driving. It scared me so bad I went to the ER. They thought I'd had a stroke. My heart rate was 45. (It should be 60 or above.) My blood pressure was way to high. So I was a mess. They quickly started to run tests and take blood and put in an IV needle. I was worried it was afib again, but the EKG showed it wasn't. Then I had a CT Scan to see if there was something in the brain causing a stroke. Then an X-ray of my heart was done. After that I was admitted to the hospital and went up to the 9th floor. I wasn't there long before I was taken to have an MRI done on my brain to farther check for a stroke. The next morning I had an echocardiogram and a neck ultrasound. Before I was dismissed I had an EKG done. The doctors came by and said the tests were negative and didn't show anything, but my cardiologist was very concerned about my heart rate and BP. He decided to change my BP meds. He wasn't sure if I should go on my trip before he was sure the new meds were working. My cousin, a nurse, was concerned too. Soooo I decided to postpone my trip.
As sad as it makes me to not go I felt it was better to get all well before I undertake a big trip. Just the thought of something happening in London or Paris really stresses me and that's the last thing I needed for my BP.
Now I'm going to concentrate on getting well and healthy. Keep me in your prayers.

Bowling trophies

In February David bowled in a tournament called Pick-A-Kid. It's held in Benton every year and it's one of David's favorite things.





David racked up pretty well with trophies yesterday. He got one for coming in third in an in-house tournament a few weeks ago.


During the year his team, the Razorbacks, and another team, Gods Wrath,
have been going back and forth being number one from week to week. When the second place team was announced and it was Gods Wrath we knew the Razorbacks had made it to first place. It was so exciting. David, Clay, and Larry got the big trophies. They were so happy....first place...wow.



It was a good year of bowling. Way to go Razorbacks!

Another Friday

I've been getting ready for my trip. I'm going to London and Paris. I called the credit card company and the bank to let them know when and where I was going so they wouldn't close my accounts. I also got my medicines worked out so I would have enough for my trip. They did an override in order for me to get my prescriptions refilled before it was time. I've started packing. My suitcase is going to be stuffed. I refuse to take anything bigger than a 21 inch, because I want to carry everything on the plane. David will have to do the same thing, except he'll also have a backpack. Maybe I should get one too.

When I was digging in the dirt I ended up planting ten boxwoods. They look so good.

Look at my crazy decorative cabbages. I've never had ones that got so big.


This is my iris with raindrops on it. Beautiful.

Sunny day

It is so beautiful outside. When the sun is not so hot I'm going out and play in the dirt and plant some plants. After church David and I had lunch at Jason's Deli. He unknowingly got a wrap with hot peppers on it and he got tears in his eyes and a runny nose. That's hot. Then we went to Home Depot and we got some plants. I'm going to try to make my backyard not look so bad.

The bridal shower I helped give yesterday went well. The bride-to-be got some really nice gifts. There was one thing I may have to get for myself. It was a spaghetti cooker you put in the microwave. It is also a veggie steamer. I put peanut butter on Ritz crackers and dipped it in almond bark. They were a big hit. I also made a cream cheese and pineapple ball rolled in pecans. Another hit. Gloria and I enjoyed doing it. The bride-to-be is so sweet and I've known the groom-to-be for 25 years. We met his family when he and Andrew were 6 years old and played basketball at the boys club. They were so cute. My how time flies.

David is almost finished bowling. Next Saturday is the pizza party and trophy day. The bowlers really enjoy it. They all get a trophy and go home happy. He'll miss bowling, but Danny takes him bowling on Wednesdays. That way get gets lots of practice.

I've got to start packing for my trip. I have to make a list of all the things I need to take and do, so I don't forget anything. It's only a week and a half away. I'm so excited. London and Paris here I come.

The car race on TV has put Rick to sleep. I can't see why, cars going around and around in circles again and again is so thrilling. Ha!

It's cloudy now. I'm going to plant something.

End of the week

I got the whooping cough shot. Hope it does the trick. I'm going to be positive and not worry about it. I have too many other things to worry about.

I forgot to show you the picture of what I did to show where my guests were suppose to sit. I painted jars and cans with chalk board paint and wrote the names on it. It turned out so cute and it was fun to do.



The flowers are so pretty this time of year. Across the street is a beautiful dogwood tree. It's so full of flowers. The trees and bushes are turning green. I love the spring green colors. My cabbage plants went crazy. They bloomed all of a sudden. See for yourself.



I'm watching the standoff in Boston. I hope the guy comes out alive so he can be questioned. The fertilizer plant blowing up in West, Texas was horrible. Too many died, were injured, or lost their homes. Maybe I should just stop watching TV. Too much sadness.

Church

Church was so interesting today. There was a guest speaker who was a Christian Jew. He was outstanding. He is part of the organization called "Jews for Jesus". He travels all over the world telling others about Jesus.

Monday night I had an ADK meeting at my house. We had a good dinner, thanks to Whole Hog, Milly, and Carolyn. We also had volunteers from the Broken China Ministry which helps women from abusive homes. They brought some of their Broken China pendants to sale and so we got to do some shopping, which is always fun. Here is a picture of the two I bought.
One is white with a big black dot on it. The other one is all black, even though it looks black and gray.




The Boston Marathon explosions were so horrible. I know the people there have been in your thoughts and prayers. So sad for our country.

Tonight I saw the movie " 42 ". It was so good. It made me happy and sad,
angry and glad. Like a good movie should.

Friday and Saturday

David had a very good game at bowling. He scored 170. In that game he had six strikes and one spare. Good job, David. He worked so hard on that one game his hand was hurting when he finished.

My four days of testing ended yesterday. The kids were great and I enjoyed doing it. Then last night the gal in charge called me to let me know that one of the kids ( not in my group ) has whooping cough. So what do I do now? I'll call the doctor Monday. Bummer. :(

I finished testing in time to go to lunch and the airbase with Rick. We ate lunch at JoJo's. I was all set to order chicken and dumplings, but it wasn't written on the white board, so I thought they'd run out for the day. No, the chicken and dumplings are now out of season. I'll have to wait months before I can get them again. :(

The pollen has been so bad our cars were yellow, so we washed them. Now they're their regular color....wonder how long that will last. I guess the rain washed most of it away. There was no yellow on anything or piled up against the curb today. Maybe it's gone until next year. I hope so, but I doubt it.

Rick just noticed that I'm ADD. I asked, "you're just now noticing that after 40 years of marriage?" He said, "I've never seen you in action like today."
I was cleaning off the island, then I started clearing off my desk, then I started doing something in the dining room, then I worked on supper and as soon as we were done eating I started painting cans and jars. I still haven't completely done the above tasks. Ha ha.

Tuesday the 9th

First day of work went well. I'm giving the state benchmark test to 14 fourth graders. They were very cooperative. The hardest part for them is to sit still and be quiet until the time is up after they finish a section, but they did it. I'm so glad. Three more days to go. I'm so tired. I didn't sleep much and I left home before 7:00. Can you imagine that? ( O course I took a nap when I got home.) It's not bad. There's not much traffic and it goes smoothly.

Wednesday the 10th. Happy Birthday, Judy. I'm glad you're my sister.
I had another hard day at the office. Ha ha. Testing was even better today.
Book club is tonight. We're discussing "Low Pressure" by Sandra Brown.
It was alright. We're meeting at Fantastic China. It has the best food.
I wonder if we'll talk about the book any. Ha ha

Sunday the 7th

David bowled yesterday. His scores we 102, 145, and 127. He got a turkey which is three strikes in a row...nice. One game his buddy bowled 171 which is outstanding. David loves bowling. His team is in the number two spot in his league. They're having a good year. They might get a big trophy.
That would be great because they haven't done that in years.

Yesterday was beautiful. David and I went to see my dad in Hot Springs after bowling. He's already started on his garden. The first thing he did was put up an electric fence so the deer won't eat his crops. I need that in my yard. I can't have hostas any more because they love to eat then. Boo hoo. I love hostas. I had so many in my back yard in the shade of a big oak tree.
The tree fell down and now it's too sunny. I moved them to the front yard, but the deer discovered them. End of that story.

Who's watching "Mr. Selfridge" until "Downton Abby" comes back? We are, it's not bad. I finally finished watching all the Bible episodes. It was really good. I didn't like all the violence, but that's the way it was back then. The Roman soldiers were brutal. If you think about it the world hasn't change much...just watch the evening news, there's still terrible brutality in some countries. So sad.

How did I get so carried away? Enough ranting for today.

Wednesday the 4th

Let me catch you up on what's been going on with me. Saturday David and I drove in the rain to Hot Springs. ( He didn't have bowling.) There wasn't much traffic so it wasn't bad. We spent the afternoon playing games with Harold and Donna. We played Train, a domino game, and Skipbo; David's two favorite games. On Easter David and I went to church. The music and the sermon were wonderful. Jesus arose!

I love my bead group. We have so much fun. We tried to play an April Fool's Day trick on N.Y. She wasn't there, so I guess the trick was on us. Ha. K.M. made the best chicken salad with grapes and nuts. It was delicious. Thanks K.M. We ate and laughed; and we laughed and ate; but we didn't get much beading done. Ha. We're so crazy.
Here's the bracelet I'm working on now.


Tuesday morning I walked at Park Plaza with my walking buddy. We also did some window shopping, of course. We had coffee and then did some real shopping; always fun. The Hallmark store is moving about five stores down to a bigger place. They had 60% off Easter stuff and some non Easter stuff, 70% off some things, and even 90% off a few things. I got the cutest black and white dotted cork board, 60% off. :)

Last night we went to Conway and saw Amy Grant in concert. She was good. Did you know she's 52? She looks good. On the way we drove past Mayflower and you could smell the oil. There were police and workers even at 10:30 pm trying to clean up the mess. Today I walked and skipped Bible Study. (Our class wasn't meeting.) I had breakfast with a friend at Delicious Temptations, always good, and discussed our lesson. We're studying Jacob. He was tricky, but God still loved him. He loves us, too.

See my cute cork board.

Friday

Today was my last physical therapy session. I really liked my therapist. His name is Anguel Kehayov. (Don't ask me to pronounce it.) He's from Bulgaria. When he talks he's very enthusiastic and I like his accent. He went to Memphis Wednesday to take his citizenship test. He passed and can't wait to be a USA citizen. He came here over ten years ago to attend UCA. He loves it here. He makes you feel proud to be an American when he talks about it.

Rick and I went to lunch at JoJos BBQ place. I love their BBQ, but today I had the chicken and dumplings. They are soooo good. They're almost as good as the ones my mom used to make. They're not on the menu, they're written on the white board when they have them. If you like chicken and dumplings as much as I do, you need to check them out. Just call ahead to make sure they have them. My mom only made them on special occasions. I would request them for my birthdays. She'd boil a hen for hours and it would make the best broth to cook the dumplings in. She'd roll out the dough and cut it in strips and drop it into the boiling broth. So good! Then she'd pull the chicken off the bones and put it in the pot. They were the best!!! Since my mom is not around anymore to make them for me, I'll be getting them at JoJos. They're really good. I miss my mom. :(

Painting

Last Saturday Jennifer and I went to "Painting With a Twist" and painted this picture. It was so much fun. I still need to tweak it a little. It is like therapy, but you just have to let go and not worry about it being perfect. Let me know if you want to go sometime and we'll schedule it. There are many, many different things you can paint. I've been 3 times and just love it. You can go to the website and see what's available.





Here is another another one I did last year.

March 10, 2013

Here is a picture from Harold's birthday when Judy was here.



Here's another one.


It was at Karen's house in Hot Springs. It was so nice and the food was delicious. Thanks Karen. You're a great cook.