I was doing my usual browsing around on Facebook ( I don't call it being nosy) and seen this on a friend's wall and thought it was cool. It was called, "25 Random things about me." So I had to come up with one for myself. The only problem with mine is, I'm an open~book, so most people already know my "randoms." But it gave me something to write about..so here they are. :) 25 Random Things About me: 1. I have a deep~rooted, Baptist upbringing... although I don't go to church like I "should". I love the Lord and nothing could ever sway me from that. 2. As with most people, my family is my life. 3. I have a phobia of cotton balls...just the FEEL of it. eckkk!! I'll go out of my way NOT to touch them. 4. I have 3 "besties", each one totally different and unique and can't imagine my life without them. 5. I am an animal lover...except snakes and frogs but I respect their usefulness in the world. Although I wasn't feelin' too much respect for the snake we found under our couch a few years ago. 6. My fave foods are pizza and potato chips...yummy! 7. Hate anything that's good for me, broccoli, brussel sprouts, peas, asparagus... the list is just way too long to continue. 8. I'm a tad bit OCD...not a lot but it IS there. I hate stuff on the sinks in the bathroom. Guest towels have to be so~so and plate mats are the death of me because they get moved off their "mark" and I'm constantly straightening them up, which is why I finally threw'em away...life is much simpler without plate mats! 9. I never go bare~footed, I keep my shoes on until I go to bed. It never fails, if I don't have my shoes on...I'm gonna stump a toe, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. 10. Hate violence of any kind but unfortunately sometimes it's needed?? 11. In home decor, I love vintage, rusty stuff but also love the ultra~modern sleek look..love it all, so I'm not TOO picky. 12. LOVE to read anything I can get my hands on...love to learn. 13. my FAVE reads are Harlequin books with cowboys and ranchers...sighhhhhhhhhhh 14. I hate clutter (I've gotten better at TRYING to keep things clean, as I get older) which is why I hate my bedroom full of Christmas decorations. 15. I hate being touched on the face...so don't EVEN think~about~it!! 16. I like having things organized but not all things ARE organized...I keep Hubby's sock and underwear drawers and t~shirt drawers, all neat and organized, all items folded a certain way...but mine?? I just cram'em in there however they'll fit and get my daily exercise from trying to get the over~crowded drawers to shut. 17. Love karaoke and find it quite funny that some days I think I could rival any country star but most days it's more like Tiny Tim. 18. love photography...whether it's taking pics or looking at other people's photos 19. I have a strong dislike for cooking. I get so tired of that dang smoke alarm! Which is why I'm so thankful Hubby loves to cook. (just wish Pizza on the menu more often) 20. I am a list~maker...I'm one of those people who have a list of their lists and a desk full of notebooks for all those lists :) 21. I save all those lil bread ties that come from a loaf of bread. I know it's crazy but I really DO use'em, especially at Christmas time when I need wire for my decorations, like wreaths and stuff. I keep them in a lil soup can that I decorated with scrap~book paper, it sits on my bookshelf. Oh and same for those plastic bags you bring home your groceries in from Walmart. I have a bag....of...u know..bags. 22. My heroes are/were..my grandparents, my mom, my brother, Princess Di, Mother Theresa, my ex~in laws...this list could go on forever. 23. Dislike being around racist or closed~minded people. However, I DO respect that everyone has their own opinions and beliefs. 24. I'd make a good diplomat...I can honestly see "both sides" of a story or situation. 25. And for my last bit of randomness, I wanted something that was so deep and profound that it could possibly change the world from the course that it's now on.... the toilet paper HAS to roll OVER the top of the roll...NOT under :) Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my "randoms" and silliness with ya! Woke up to a beautiful, foggy Tuesday morning here in Kentucky. Looks like it's gonna be another beautiful day! Hope your day is a good one! Be good and be pretty and as always.... ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ God Bless ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ My mom and I made some some of these a few years ago around Christmas and I thought they were so cute. She put them in her living room and they looked so pretty mingled in with all of her other Christmas decorations that I didn't have the heart to take mine home, so I left the 2 I had made and thought I'd get them next year. But when "next year" arrived, we couldn't find where she had stored them. She found them while cleaning out her garage a few days ago. A little dusty.... a few cobwebs...the artificial pine branches were a tad bit smashed but nothing a little "makeover" couldn't cure. So I brought them home and today I re~did one of them. It turned out ok I guess, not spectacular but good enough for me. :) I REALLY had my heart set on using white feathers for the angel wings but didn't have any and Hubby had told me, "you are NOT tearing up all the pillows in this house just to get FEATHERS" Men!! But he knows me so well though. Our pillows have "stuffing" and NOT feathers. It's a good thing I reckon or we'd be sleeping with no pillows tonight. A little sacrificing never hurt anyone, right??! The rustic~ look isn't everyone's taste of course but I LOVE it. For the Angel I made today, I used things I already had in my craft supplies. I'm saving my other spindle angel for when I can get some feathers. :) What I Used: 1) old wooden spindle chair leg for the angel's body... ( bracket still attached to help it stand up) 2) wooden heart cut~out... you can use anything you want, such as wire and I also love those cute swirly wooden decals they use on furniture, you can get them at Lowe's, Hobby Lobby or Home Depot) 3) strands of pearl beads 4) gold piping for the halo 5) gold twigs I found in the flower section at Hobby Lobby (not shown in the pic below but they're on the wings in the "after" pic. 6) glue gun 7) band~aid and burn cream from USING the glue gun! First I glued on the wooden heart as the "wings" and held it in place for a few minutes to make sure it was going to stay glued, then I started wrapping one side of the heart with the strand of pearls, hot gluing each "line" of pearls. ** helpful hint when using a hot glue gun, I use a pair of old scissors to guide the pearls into place to minimize touching the hot glue. And my Spindle Angel is complete!
Thanks for stopping by! Be good and be pretty and as always.... ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ God Bless ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ Hubby and I decided to take a walk down to the creek and I thought I'd take you with me...so, go put on your boots and grab a jacket and let's go! I was kind of surprised and a little disappointed that it didn't have very much water in it, considering all the rain we had a few days before. Hubby and I SURE it would be overflowing. Still beautiful to me though. I hope I didn't tire you out TOO much from our little walk this morning! Thanks for letting me share it with you!
Be good and be pretty and as always.... ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ God Bless ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ I thought I'd share with you a family~fave cake recipe. It's a simple but delicious recipe called "Holy Cow" cake. A cousin made this a few years ago and it was such a big hit that it's often requested now as the "birthday cake" of choice whenever anyone in the family has a birthday. What you'll need: 1 chocolate cake mix 14 oz can of Eagle Brand milk 14 oz jar of caramel sauce 8 oz. container of Cool Whip / Whipped Topping 8 oz. bag of Heath milk chocolate toffee bits (you can also substitute the Heath toffee bits for a different "candy bar" option, such as Reese bits, Butterfingers, etc.) ** We made TWO cakes and divided the eagle brand milk, caramel and Heath bits between the 2 cakes. Directions: * Pre~heat oven according to the directions on the back of your cake mix box * Grease and flour a 9 x 13~inch pan * Make the chocolate cake mix according to the directions on the box. * When the cake is done, poke numerous holes in the cake using a fork or a straw. * Pour the Eagle Brand milk and the caramel over the warm cake and using a spatula, smooth the mixture into the holes. You can mix the 2 together or you can pour each separately. (We poured the milk and caramel onto the cake separately) * Allow the cake to cool 30 minutes to an hour. * After the cake has cooled, spread the Cool Whip over the cake. * Sprinkle the toffee bits over the Cool Whip... Yummy!! And now...enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by! Be good and be pretty and as always.... ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ God Bless ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ I usually write my weekly "weigh~in" on Thursdays, but we had an unexpected death in the family. so the routine was shaken up a bit. The week has been a bad one. Both emotionally and "diet~wise". All I can say about this week is good riddance! It seems like every waking moment is consumed by FOOD. I'm either eating or thinking about eating or planning what I can eat, the next time I CAN eat. I don't want my days to be controlled by food. Wanna know what else is frustrating?? A day after my weigh~in last week, I stepped on the scales and and it was already 1 pound more than the day before. I really didn't think anything about it. But within a few days I had a THREE POUND GAIN and went into a deep panic mode. What was happening??!! To gain 3 pounds, I would have had to have eaten, what??..10,500 ADDITIONAL calories?! And that just did NOT happen. I was exercising more than I had been and I was definitely eating less than before. I just couldn't understand what was happening and why. Since I didn't have a great week last week, I thought maybe THIS week, would be a GOOD one. I just couldn't wait to see what I'd weigh at this week's weigh~in. Because honestly, I was hoping for a monthly goal of at least 10 pounds. It didn't happen. After going into panic mode with the 3 pound gain, I exercised MORE and I wrote down every single thing I ate. I'm allowing myself 1500 calories and only went over that 1500 calorie limit one time during this week. I ended up eating a lil over 1600 calories one day. Which I didn't think was TOO bad. (It was still less than I HAD been eating before the diet). I set my caloric intake at 1500 so I wouldn't feel like I was STARVING when I first started the diet. I know me, and a 1200 calorie a day, would NOT have worked. I would have been off that diet after the first week. For me, 1500 calories was more "manageable". A couple of weeks ago, I decided to add in a little light jogging to my "routine" and THEN ran across the "Couch to 5k" plan last week while searching online for tips for joggers and as a result of the jogging, my right knee has swollen so much that it made even walking difficult. The swelling would seem to go down during the day but then it would come back. So I eased up the on the jogging part of my routine. I think for me right now, it's just too much weight to be putting on the knee. I'm going to TRY to lose some more weight THEN add the jogging back into my exercise. I had to go the the doctor to renew my blood pressure meds, so while I was there I talked to her about my diet and exercise AND the weight gain I had for the week. She said the same thing basically about the 3 pounds, that there was probably no way I could have eaten 10,500 additional calories. When I told her about the walking and jogging, and the knee swelling up, she said the water retention within the knee and probably OTHER areas was the "probable" cause of the weight gain. A friend had actually told me the same thing, so Brenda, you know your stuff, girl!! :) My doctor had even mentioned the "Couch to 5k" plan before I did. She's also going to start the program after she gets clearance from HER doctor, because she had broken her foot last year. I thought it was kind of cool that she was going to be doing it too. Maybe she and I can compare notes at my next Dr. visit! :) It made me FEEL better....a little bit. But I was still disappointed...depressed...aggravated...disgusted...I think I covered them all. I was able to get SOME of those extra pounds off but not all of them. Lord knows I tried because I did NOT wanna have to come and tell y'all that I GAINED. So I weighed in and this was the final number...unfortunately. I gained 1.6 pounds.
However, as with anything in life, I'm going to try to look at the positive side of things and think about the GOOD changes I've noticed this month. Here are some of the benefits I've noticed: * I can climb stairs easier than I could a month ago. Before, my knees just would not bend and I'd have to hold on the the railing as I went up or down. But now it's like "LOOK MA!! NO HANDS!!" * When I started doing the floor exercises, after I was done, I'd have to literally grab onto the coffee table to help get me get up off the floor. (SO humiliating!) But now, I'm able to get up WITHOUT my old friend, the coffee table's, help. Now, I ain't saying I can just jump right up but I CAN slowly get up without the coffee table now. It may not seem like a big deal to someone else, but I tell ya, at my age and weight, it's HARD getting up off the floor! :) * When I started the exercises, I was doing 10 of each exercise. I do the basic stuff like leg lifts, sit~ups, push ups, jumping jacks, "butt tucks", stuff like that. The first time I did them, I thought I'd die before I was done! But now, depending on which exercise it is, I'm up to 25 and 50 on each exercise. I'm slowly able to DO more. * I've noticed a HUGE difference in how I feel when I'm out walking now. Again, I was SO out of shape (and still am) that when I first started the "serious" walking, I felt like my lungs would collapse. It's not a pleasant feeling, but it IS getting better. So, while I DID have a GAIN this week I can also see and recognize the benefits that are slowly coming about with all of this. I didn't hit my "goal" of 10 pounds for the month, but it's not the end of the world. Better days WILL be ahead! And THAT is my "Light at the end of the tunnel". That there will be better days ahead. My monthly weight loss total was only 6 pounds but over a month ago I would have given ANYTHING to be able to say, "I lost 6 lbs!!". I'm in between feeling happy that I've stuck with it this long but wishing I'd lost more. This blog helps me to WANT to stay on task with it. Even if no one else is reading it, the blog helps hold me accountable and I want to do better and it helps to remind me, in my darkest moments, what I wanted to achieve when I first set out on this "grand adventure". But even I know that I'm still not giving this diet that 100% that it deserves. I need to work on that. THAT will be my "project" this week! I was proud of the fact that I helped Ma make TWO "Holy Cow" cakes yesterday and I DID NOT eat a piece, even though she offered. I DID lick the Cool Whip spoon though and...no regrets! :) (I'll post the recipe mid~week sometime) Speaking of Ma, she lost 1 pound...YAY for Ma!! That put her monthly total at 5 pounds. It's like she and I were talking, if we just keep losing 3-5 pounds a month, we'll eventually get there. I hope YOUR week was a great one and if you've started a diet or fitness plan, I wish you the best of luck! Thanks for stopping by.... Be good and be pretty and as always.... ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ God Bless ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ I was sitting at the kitchen table a few mornings ago, drinking coffee and glanced out the window and it seemed like overnight, the leaves had made such a transformation. There were just so many pops of brighter reds and yellows nestled in the trees now. I've been watching the changes for a few weeks now, but that morning Autumn was showing off her true colors. Here are just a few pics I took around the homestead that day, just trying to catch all the deeper shades of red that are out now. My absolute fave are the Dogwood trees. I LOVE the Dogwood trees in the Fall! OOhhhhh those lil red berries!! I like going out and getting huge "bouquets" of them and just filling a vase full of the branches and berries. They make the prettiest arrangement of "flowers"! The other leaves, I have no clue what they are...Ma keeps telling me the names of all this stuff (she even gave me a book but to me they all look the same after a while) but my brain just will not retain info at all. Although I think the red "viney"~ looking leaves in the 4th row of pics may be poison ivy or poison oak??..I stay away from'em anyway, just in case. :) My Hydrangeas have always bloomed around May or June. But this year, I didn't have one single bloom on either of my 3 plants. So I was very pleasantly surprised one morning when I got back home from spending a couple of days with Ma and I seen THIS!....(same flower but the pics were taken a few days apart until it reached full bloom) I also had a few more roses to bloom out again and thought I'd better enjoy'em while I can because they'll soon be gone. LOVE my roses. And of course, I saved one of my faves for last... a mushroom! To me, it looks like someone has taken a serge machine to the edges of the mushroom and hemmed around it to keep it from "raveling" out... :) I hope you're all having a wonderful Saturday and thank you for stopping by!
Be good and be pretty and as always.... ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ God Bless ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ I was online looking for tips on walking, jogging and all that good stuff when I ran across this great site called "From Couch to 5k." ( http://www.fromcouchto5k.com/articles/training/the-couch-to-5k-training-plan/ ) It gives, in detail, exactly how many minutes for walking and jogging to help get your body ready for that 5k you may have been dreaming about. I know I HAVE! I'm going to start using this plan to help me reach the goals I've set for myself and I'm so excited! But I will admit that I'll probably have to set my own minutes for each week. It's sad to say but I seriously doubt that I can keep up to "The Plan's" schedule and they do encourage you to change it up a bit to suit YOU. But it's definitely a start and I can't wait! SO....today was weigh~in day and I was NOT looking forward to it. (Do I ever??) Our family had a get~together last Saturday and I think I ate way too much stuff I shouldn't have. But, I'd do it all over again because I seen some WONDERFUL and AMAZING family members I haven't seen in YEARS, so I regret nothing :) Also, I was completely shocked and absolutely thrilled when "M" (a family member) shared with me that SHE was also thinking about doing a marathon next year! It probably sounds silly but I was kind of relieved that I wasn't the only one with "the dream" to do a 5k. She's also had an incredible weight~loss of her own and was she was just such an inspiration for me. I gave me the hope that maybe I CAN do this. I'm still struggling with my addiction to soda. I'm beginning to think I always WILL. Sometimes I even think they need a place to "dry out" soda addicts like myself BUT when I think about it, I honestly would be, and all joking aside, I'd be just like the drug addicts who get "intervened" by family members on TV who try and get them help. OH the fit I would THROW and it wouldn't be pretty! It's sad to think that I've allowed something like soda, to have such control over me. I'm trying to do better, it's a work~in~progress with me and that soda of mine. I'm still struggling with that Hubby of mine cooking up ALL this DELICIOUS stuff...gawww he's gonna be the death of me yet....If I don't wring HIS neck first. Take for instance last night, I hear him banging and clanging pots in the kitchen and immediately of course, I know he's at it again. Soooo..what does he make?? Donuts....and not just a FEW donuts either, but 2 1/2 cookie sheets FULL of BIG donuts!! Oh the pangs of a dieter!! Did I mention they were delicious??? Anyway, I weighed this morning and............ I lost 1 . 4 pounds...I'll take it :)
Those donuts didn't help any but THAT week is over and I'm starting a new one that will include the "Couch to 5k" plan. It starts tomorrow! Super excited! I hope YOUR week was a good one! Thanks for stopping by... Be good and be pretty and as always, ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ God Bless ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ |
HI! My name is Lori and I am a self~ proclaimed agoraphobic and rarely leave my home. My blog is a place for me to come and embrace my Edith Bunker tendencies and to share a few of the things I love. Stories, recipes and crafts, all with a little humor thrown in along the way! ღღ
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