Open! Open! OPEN!

Do you remember that Mervyn's commercial with the lady standing outside the store saying "Open! Open! Open!" while she peers in the windows?
I'm that way with the coffee pot this morning LOL

Happy Tuesday!

I usually have the timer set and it's done and ready when I roll out of bed but I've been trying to sleep in until 5:00 but if I give up & get up I've got to turn off the timer & turn it on...longest 8 minutes ever LOL

Good News

Doc appointment today and he cleared me to start training for a overnight hike I want to do this summer. Yes I know with all the crap I am up and down with that it might sound like I've lost my mind but frankly, I'm not getting any younger and I've been frustrated with the way my diabetes meds have been working/notworking and this is also a chance to tackle these issues that have been seesawing my blood sugars anytime I try to up my activity levels when I am able to move around.
Along with upping my daily blood sugar checks he will be monitoring my A1-C's monthly and adjusting diabetes meds levels as needed. He said today that if I didn't have Fibro/CFS that I wouldn't have to take ANY diabetes meds until I was quite a bit older.
So...I am pretty excited about this (I'm sure I'll feel different once I'm in the middle of it LOL), it's going to be really hard but I'm looking forward to it too.

Coastal hike, starting out at Rialto Beach /Ozette Loop

I wanted to take my kids along this trail to Hole In The Wall when they were little but I had to wait they were old enough. By the time they could go, I couldn't...and now they're all grown up but still game for going so I'm stoked. Good Lord I miss being outside!

I already know this will be a MINIMUM six mile hike for me...you have to hike at least 3 miles in before you can set up camp for the night so at the very least... LOL It's not the first day that is the real test, it's the day after and the day after that. To be pill free again, that would just be a great bonus

Here's a closer pic of Hole in the Wall---you see that dark spot to the left of the opening? That's a person standing there. The opening is huge! :

OK, off to pretend to be productive, I'm just happy things finally feel like they might be moving forward for a change :)

Random quick update

Still having a pretty hard time with my legs so for now it's muscle relaxers & confined to bed or the couch. The muscle relaxers make my feet stop turning inward and pulling up but don't really do anything for the pain. I'm very thankful my kids are here right now and I'm sure glad they understand I'm frustrated & trying to be upbeat but this "unfixable" combined crap  makes finding something that lessens or stops these attacks almost impossible.

Ten years ago today...

Today marks a decade since my departure of the full time work force & entry into "involuntary early retirement". Am I better now than I was? Well it goes like a roller coaster, ups & downs & all around in a big circle. Some days you're the windshield & some days you're the bug & some times if you're feeling very zen you're both.

I left Even Start for the final time in October 2005. So strange. It's been a retrospective morning all the way around.

I lost everything but what really matters in those turbulent first years and looking back there weren't even a handful of days I was well enough to go to work outside my home...let alone a full work week. 10 years of being so ill that dressing let alone walking was/is a challenge some days. 10 years of pain and sickness...sounds really depressing doesn't it? Well here's the thing: it's really not. Looking back over these last years I realize I have persevered against so many things and people stacked against me it is amazing.

I have done things important both to me and my family and things that I only dreamed of before. It hasn't been easy and at times it's been downright horrible and facedown on the pavement depressing but in the end I am still breathing and still trying and still fighting and I still know what is most important and can still enjoy life and some people never know how blessed they truly are. I do.

Fall Launch (we'll see)

So today marked on my calendar is the latest start date for Fall/Winter listings for Etsy for me. What this means is I have determined this is my last personal deadline to start getting stuff listed on Etsy for the 2015 holiday season.

So. I've got a ton of stuff that needs to be listed. Getting myself together to create listings is the big challenge. I'm going through all the vintage inventory and since I've had no set office all the boxes are in different locations around the house and in storage and wow, it's a lot (did I mention that already? LOL) and it's in all those different places.

I will be doing this slowly...well, actually even slower than normal for me as I spent the latter half of this weekend trying to recover from processing over 70 lbs of fruit and veggies for canning and freezing. I lucked on to a major deal at a local grocery store I shop at and it coincided with a windfall of zucchini and other bumper crop donations from a couple of local gardeners I know. I am stiff and sore and my arm, back and shoulder are very tender but my freezer and pantry is full and it gives me a huge grin looking at my destroyed kitchen. I will be able to cook some wonderful meals from the veggies preserved. So many choices: soups and sauces and casseroles and oh the yummy plans of meals to come, meals that I have prepped for to make easy but amazingly tasting dishes. All the hard stuff is done, now 30 minutes or much less and dinner is in the crockpot or on the table and it will taste like I spent all day on it instead of grabbing it out of the freezer and running for the kitchen LOL

WORTH IT!

Happy Monday all, I am going for my second cup of coffee and some well deserved rest. The listing chores will start around 9 a.m. for now, it's coffee and chill. Yep, Happy Monday indeed :)

Question of the Week #73

I'm asking this week's question in a bit of a different format:

Fill in the Blank:

For me, the most challenging thing about crafting and creating is ______.

Looking forward to hearing your answers!

Please remember to submit your suggestions and questions to: spdychevy@gmail.com with Question in the subject line and we'll get your question up here soon!

Happy Monday to all :)

Short and sweet link to the PCASG Blog

Question of the Week #67

So we are at 100 members which means (maybe) our 100 member challenge is coming up quickly  (YAY!)

So there are three questions this week:

Are we doing this new 100 member challenge (our due date was suggested as Dec. 31st-Jan 1st)? The theme has been suggested as 100 Members United.

Who is considering doing our latest group challenge?

And if you are, do you have some idea for a project already or are still thinking on it?

Looking forward to hearing your answers!

Please remember to submit your suggestions and questions to: spdychevy@gmail.com with Question in the subject line and we'll get your question up here soon!

Happy Monday to all :)

Short and sweet link to the PCASG Blog