moved

For new photos and to read more of my daily thoughts and adventures, please visit me at my new home.

23 January 2008

Today, a dollar I had said, “To you, from me,” with a heart at the end. If it wasn’t wrong to deface money, I’d have written, “Thanks, Shug,” on it.

I know… not a clear photo.

French Manicure

Last week, I had a hangnail that hurt a lot. I had read somewhere about soaking a small cut in hydrogen peroxide to prevent infection, pain, etc., so I tried it. I soaked that fingertip (left ring finger) in hydrogen peroxide for quite a while. I used a shot glass that oldest DD had brought home from Dave & Buster’s after a visit with her dad & stepmom a couple of years ago. That little shotglass is the perfect size for things like that. And what else am I going to use that thing for besides taking medicine (also the perfect size for a little swallow of juice or water). I probably soaked my fingertip for 90 minutes all together,, 15 minute at a time, over 2 days.

It’s all better now. No more hangnail. No more pain. No problem.

Yesterday I noticed something really funny. That fingernail is whiter than the rest of my fingernails. Even now, a week later, it is completely white.

You heard it here first. Hydrogen peroxide is a cheap (and easy) way to get a (fake) french manicure. Who knew? 50 cents for a look that lasts at least a week.
Just soak your nails for a while and viola!

It reminds me of Madge the Palmolive lady. “You’re soaking in it!”

In case you’re not familiar with Madge and the Palmolive commercial, look here. Scroll down a bit. It’s on the left side.

22 January 2008

I was trying to get a photo of Sophie’s smile.  I’m still working on that.  When I lay on the floor to take photos, she and Smokey wind up on top of me.

When I looked through today’s photos, my favorite one was this one.  I like the  bookshelves in the background and the shine on the wood floor.  I liked seeing those two things for some reason.

divorce

I’ve been reading some new-to-me blogs lately. A lot of these new blogs are about stepfamilies and the problems/solutions within them. It’s been a long time since I posted about my divorce.

Here’s my short-story:

I divorced XH (final in July 2001) after he cheated with his current wife when they were both stationed overseas and I was stateside with the kids. They had a child together before our divorce was final and now have three children together. To say I was angry, hurt and felt betrayed is an understatement. I behaved badly and I’m not proud of that. I was struggling to get through it, to survive day by day, to raise the kids alone, to deal with it all. It was hard.

I am glad, though, that I got help and earned to deal with my feelings and that now I don’t feel those things and constantly live in a state of negativity. XH and I still have disagreements from time to time , but it’s nothing like before. XH’s wife and I now rarely have contact with each other. For the past few years, it’s been peaceful between us.

Visitation stopped when I quit offering to meet halfway and said that since XH was always 2 hours late getting to the meeting spot, I’d drive the kids all the way to his house if he’d drive them all the way home. They’ve not had an overnight with XH and his wife since August 2005.

XH has chosen to not be part of the kids’ daily lives. He sees them rarely and lives 5 hours away. In 2007, he saw them three times. Yes. Three. 1, 2, 3. Sad, huh? It is a source of anger, hurt, and sadness for the kids. And, since I want to protect them and believe that they deserve better, I sometimes feel those things too. I cannot understand how any parent can just walk away if it’s a few more hours to drive or requires a bit more planning to make time with the kids happen. But that’s another post for another time.

21 January 2008

Youngest DD spent some time with her cousin this weekend. I picked up DD tonight and snapped this photo.

20 January 2008

Meet Callie, Mom and Dad’s cat.

19 January 2008

This is Dobby, our 3 year old cockatiel.

He likes to whistle “Pop Goes the Weasel,” but has not learned any other songs at this point.

18 January 2008

Sophie does not like walking on a leash. Actually, we don’t know if she likes it or not. At this point, she refuses to walk. She sits down. If we come over to encourage her to walk (cheering, calling, clapping, praising her), she rolls over to have her tummy rubbed.

Sophie has rolled over. Smokey is behind DD. (red leash).

Here’s the tummy scratch she was looking for!

We’re hoping that with time and lots of practice, Sophie will one day be happy to walk on a leash.

one, two, three…

four, five, SIX!  Count them –  SIX pounds lost.  From me.  Yes, me.  I’m carting around six less pounds today than I was last Tuesday.  Yippee!!

I’m now one pound above where I was when I started Weight Watchers.  I gained 7 pounds in the 6 weeks after Megan died.

I’m glad to be losing instead of gaining.

Now, on toward the goal.  I’m on my way!

17 January 2008

Today as I drove in to pick up Mom after work, I took this photo. The lighting is not great, I know. I took it with my cell phone camera and was in the car, stopped in the entrance. This was taken through the windshield (you can see the top of the dashboard at the bottom of the photo).

16 January 2008

Sophie is determined to sleep in her bed. Even if it means she’s hanging out of the bed (since Smokey got there first)!

I’ve been looking at a lot of Project 365 blogs these days. It’s such a neat idea!

diabetes in the news

I just read an article titled,

“Activists Fight to Rewrite Disability Act,” by Joseph Shapiro

at npr.org. It’s about a Wal-Mart pharmacist in Nebraska who was fired because he is diabetic. He wears an insulin pump like DD(age11) does. I’m appalled that things like this are still going on.

Discrimination because the man has diabetes and needs to eat his lunch all at one time (when his insulin bolus is at work) and not grab bites to eat between customers? Really? Is the Wal-Mart store manager(or whoever the pharmacist’s boss is) from the dark ages? Good grief.

I support the work that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) are doing to educate the public and to find a cure for Type I Diabetes. Hopefully my daughter will not ever be discriminated against like this.

Read the article here and let me know what you think.

Do you want to write a letter to a Senator or Representative to ask for support of the ADA Restoration Act? Look here for the list of Senators and Representatives by state. The ones who are in bold type are already co-sponsors of the act.

Edit: I’ve written letters to all the Senators and Representatives from Oklahoma. Would you consider writing to those from your state if you live in the United States? Thanks!

a book review

Last week, I received a book in the mail to review from Turner Publishing Company.

Historic Photos of Oklahoma City
by Larry Johnson.

I grew up in Southeastern Oklahoma, Broken Bow to be exact, and moved to the Oklahoma City area in my early 20’s. I had not seen photos of the area in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s as the city was being built. It was interesting to see what has changed and which landmarks are still standing. I enjoyed seeing the clothes that people wore in the photos and kept thinking of how hot the women must have been in humid, hot Oklahoma during the summers in their long dresses with petticoats, boots and hats.

The photos of horse carriages parked along side cars in the street of downtown Oklahoma City, the buildings and the trolley are some of my favorites. I also appreciated the photos of slogans and advertisements on storefronts.

One thing that really stood out to me were the photos of Native Americans. Seeing the photos, knowing that their land was taken, that they were driven from their homes, and that some of them are my ancestors was sobering.

Historic Photos of Oklahoma City is a beautiful book that I would recommend.

Larry Johnson will be signing copies of his book at the Full Circle Bookstore in Oklahoma City on October 25, 2007 at 6:30pm. He will also be at the Oklahoma City University Library on November 3, 2007 at 1:00pm.

If you are in the Oklahoma City area, why not stop in, say hello, and pick up a copy of the book? You’ll be glad that you did.

I’m happy to report that my scale showed a loss of 5 pounds this morning.
That’s 5 pounds I’ll not ever see again.. good bye!

Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Food	Pts.
B-2 slice of bread	2
B-1 tbsp peanut butter	2
B-1 tbsp jelly	1
S-coffee mixed with cocoa	2
S-grape tomatoes	0
S-1 slice of cheese	2
L-spaghetti squash	0
L-salad with dressing	1
L-2 meatballs	4
L-1/2 cup pasta sauce	1
S-94% FF popcorn	1
D-Red Beans and Rice (6 pts per serving)	8
S-tortilla chips with Salsa	3
Totals	27
Daily Activity Log
Coming soon…