2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS....MAY YOUR NEW YEAR BE FILLED WITH MANY BLESSINGS AND HEALTH AND HAPPINESS...

Today is my aching day with this type of chemo...every joint in my body hurts and it is bothering me more today than it has in the past and I think it is because of laying on that bed for the scan for 50 minutes with my hands raised over my head for that long..So today has been a lazy day....I think it is also because of the stress that I am dealing with for the results...I didn't realize I would be so tense in waiting for the results...UGH...But I am trying to keep my mind off it all...

This coming new year Russ and I have decided to be dilegent on saving $$$'s...In what I mean by that because of our past in how we deal with things, if something goes wrong with something we would just toss it away and buy new things...My vacuum cleaner has been taken apart quite a few times and each time it is taken apart the suckion works better...Well the gasket part that you open to dump out the dirt the hinge has been broken and each time I duck tape it closed..So I told Russ that I need a new vacuum or I need us to look and see if we can purchase the part...Well guess what??? We found the part for $11.06....Now why the .06 cents I have no clue...But we got it for $11.06 plus shipping..So altogether with shipping it is costing $16.76...And I won't have to battle with the hinge anymore...And I don't have to buy a new vacuum...I felt pretty good in saving money...So it has me on a roll with how much we can save by really being diligent in year 2012 with repairing and fixing things..

One thing I love is Yankee candle....Last year I had a yankee candle calendar...I love the pictures... Every year I get a FREE calendar from our car insurance company...I didn't get a new Yankee Calendar because of the fact I forgot to put it on my list... So I decided to do something pretty frugal...And it has come out so good.. I took all the calendars from the FREE one and then adhered it on top of the 2011 calendars on the yankee calendar one...Now the free one wasn't as large as the Yankee calendar so I positioned it off to the side, so I took some white copier paper and placed it on one side for notes...The new used calendar came out so cool and it is customed made for me...I am tickled silly with the whole thing...And the tape I used came from the dollar tree so the whole thing cost me $1 to make... Again I saved money and felt pretty good...

I love this feeling of saving money and I have been so bad at it lately...I use to be so good but over the past few years I have been concentrating on saving money with groceries and utility bills....So this year I will be concentrating on the groceries and utility bills as well but also how I can save more money on repairing things and re-purposing things...One thing I would like to do this year is taking all my brass light fixtures because I DON'T like brass fixtures and I am going to spray paint them wrought iron...Of course that is when the weather is cooler...In the mean time I will put some money away just in case it doesn't work...But I would love to try and make it work.. If it works then I will have saved some money for something else to re-purpose for something that needs replacing...We saved $690 on the plumbing that my son repaired instead of the plumber charging us $700...The part for $10 is working perfect...

So these are some of the things that have been running through my mind today as I rest from my achy joints... And I had fun creating my own personal pretty calendar for the New Year for New Beginnings...


Again HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

THANK-YOU!!!

The scan went well for me...it was like a MRI...I was in the tube and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...

I want to thank you all for praying..I felt the prayers....I know God is in control and what ever the outcome is I know God will be carrying me all the way...

As I was in the tube I thought about all the things I want to accomplish this New Year...

My first New Years Resolution is not staying up till midnight..we will be staying up till the ball drops in New York City and then we will go to bed and start the First Day of the New Year in church in the morning.. Then for New Years dinner we will be having some kind of dinner...Haven't decided... No I don't have black eye peas... The year we had black eye peas was the year my husband was layed off and have never had them again...So they aren't in our life anymore and it's been 15 years since we had them..

Tonight or tomorrow morning I will be figuring out our menu for the next two weeks..This year I would like to make a 2 week plan at a time...It will be a healthy diet....low in carbs and high in veggies and proteins...We will be walking the mall that is near by and getting our exercising there...Apparently the treadmill and stationary bike we have never gets used....We might as well window shop and enjoy our walk and get ideas to make things instead of buying things...Our main goal is to save money this year...So no buying while walking....

We are watching the ISU Bowl Game right now....ISU isn't doing well...We will see how the other Iowa team plays tonight... It has been fun watching the game with Tim and Jessi and Kim and Russ...Hopefully the Hawkeyes do better...

There is alot of positives that I see this coming New Year and I am looking forward to the New Year...

Again I am sending Hugs to all that have prayed for me...You are wonderful...
I hope you have a wonderful night bringing in the New Year on New Years Eve...Be safe and happy and hope your New Year is filled with many many Blessings....

Scan....

Tomorrow which is friday... please pray that the scan shows nothing....and please pray that I remain calm while in the tube...I will be entering that stupid tube around 10 am central standard time...
Thanks everyone for praying...

chemo day

Went to my weekly chemo day....I dropped 4 pounds this week...Haven't a clue as to why because I ate alot of things I shouldn't...maybe it is from chasing to wild kittens...All I know is if I keep dropping some pounds I will be happy.. Another blessing about this whole cancer thing...

Found out I will know some answers after this whole body scan on friday.. In a way I am scared to find out and then again if I am cancer free it will be the best New Year ever...I know God is in control and this weekend will be a LONG weekend till the next chemo treatment when I find out the answers...Patience is a virtue...I think...:)

As I was having chemo things came to my mind about things I want to do.. I bought a rug weaving thing that has been sitting in the sewing room still in the box.. I bought it at a yard sale for $5.00 and it sits...Come January I would like to work on it....I think it will be fun to weave some place mats and I really don't know how big it is..maybe some small throw rugs...

At Chemo today I gave my chemo nurses their scarves.. They were not ready last week like I would have like to have done...Only 3 of the nurses were there...I have the one and will give it to her next week or when she comes back...I am hoping she will be back. She is a sweetie..One of the nurses said she will be out for a while...So I am praying for her.. These nurses really put their lives on the line dealing with the chemo drugs...even tho they suit up when they give it to you they still are exposed...They have hearts of gold.. They were tickled silly with their scarves...I will be making more but will not have to rush...I would like to make one for my lab nurse and then the nurse to Dr. Begum and then I would love to give a scarf to Dr. Begum...I know she would love it...She is that kind of Doctor... earthy doctor and she is saving lives...I can't say enough for the doctors and nurses that God provided for me..

I am starting to get the side affects from the chemo...My feet tingle like crazy...I have a hard time going to bed...and the end of my fingers are starting the tingling..Not to happy with that... And hot flashes like crazy...Only on the day I have chemo...Fans on and everything...

Tomorrow which is Thursday is a free day for Russ and I... Probably stay at home..We are finally winterizing our home.. We are late but of course there is no snow for a while and I am very happy about that...Yes snow is pretty...our grass is finally turning the winter brown...it has been green all winter long thus far... With it turning brown I feel that we will be getting snow soon...They say saturday it is suppose to be near 50 on saturday..That is so unreal...windows my be opened on the sunny side if it is sunny...let the fresh air in...

The kittens are growing like weeds...they are getting the run of the upstairs... They love it and don't like their play pen...but the play pen is for eating and sleeping and we have cat litter in there to...they know play pen is for bed time...we put them in there a couple of times a day to take naps... They play so hard and we laugh like crazy...We are thrilled to have them in our life...Yes they keep us very busy...but a happy busy...Sophia is not to happy... she lets me know she isn't to happy with us...But yet she watches them and I think she wants to join in with them but won't admit it...Sophia knows my bed time is cuddle time with her and she is happy about that...She doesn't chase them like my sons cat...she wanted to attack that cat..She didn't like her right from the start and he found a home for her...which I was happy about...

Well I should turn in and try and get some sleep and start a fresh start to my Thursday....

Have a great Thursday...

Tuesday

I slepted in two days in a row till 8am...That's a miracle for me...I never sleep in... I felt guilty for a few moments and then felt great that I slepted in..

This morning Russ and I went to PetSmart to get dog and cat food for the animals...We are set for a while...It's nice to have a gift card and Russ bought more fish for his tank...He had bought a scratch off lottery ticket and won $27 and so he wanted to get some fish...So that was really nice walking out of a pet store without spending money we had in the bank...The pets are set for a few weeks...

This week I need to sit down and plan out a budget for the month of January...and also a menu plan... Kim will be heading back to college in a couple of weeks and we need to sit down and help her pay for it...We have been spending more than we should on everthing from Christmas to food and now it is time to buckle down and tighten the belt big time to make up for what we have spent.. Cancelling somethings that won't make us miss things...just tightening things..Working on a healthy menu plan... My friend Penny gave me a 18 pound turkey she won and didn't want...So it is in the freezer and we will be having that after Kim goes back to college because she is not a turkey eater...So I will be roasting that and making that stretch...We are now working on a ham this week...We are taking a break from it tonight and having chili and corn bread... it is a cold and windy day and chili sounds great and I am making extra for Kim to have or we will freeze it for a later day...

I have been so bad at wasting food and that is stopping..I bought myself a food processor for christmas...Actually this Christmas we bought things that would help out with our goals for 2012...we didn't buy "stuff"...We bought things that made sense to us... I must stretch things big time for the next few months because with chemo treatments at $50 a week with a co- payment and starting my deductible all over again with meds and medical bills and helping Kim with her car payments...I again need to pull the belt even tighter...and making foods stretch as far as I can..

Russ and I are thinking of doing somethings this coming year to bring in some extra $$$'s...Tim and Jessie surprised Russ with a 6 gallon air compressor... Russ was not expecting that at all... We can do many things with it with wood working projects..We are setting $$$'s aside for fun things...Like auctions and we want to re-do things and sell them on Craigs list and on Russ's companies buy and sell thingy they have at work...I have alot of things I can work on during the winter months... I also want to make my sewing machine profitable.. I want to work on some projects to make and sell.. We have been thinking of this for a long time now but never made it work.. Now that I see things differently since I have had cancer I want to make things work out with our dreams...So that is one of our goals for 2012...I am so looking forward to buying things at bargain prices and re-doing them and probably keeping somethings and selling some...

Another goal of ours is to get a new roof for the house and pay it with cash...We have been stretching the roof of ours...Maybe at the end of summer we can get a new roof and not worry about that for years to come....

Another goal is the garden... Depending on my health we are planning a smaller garden..And more fruit trees... Last years garden was a bust...I gave up when I found out that I had cancer....And my heart wasn't into gardening at the beginning of the gardening seasoning either and I realized my body was trying to tell me things and I wasn't listening...This year I am listening...If I don't feel like it I will support the local farmers and just grow tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers... then buy everything else from the local farmers markets.. And this new year I want to buy grass fed meat and chickens... Things are changing little by little in our home..I always wanted to change to organic or natural things without hormones and antibiotics but my family wasn't on board and friends would snicker like I was crazy...instead of listening to my heart I would listen to others and now that I have had cancer I just don't give a hoot what others think...I am doing things like I have wanted all these years...My life has changed this past year and now it is time to listen to my heart.... So that is what will be happening in 2012.... A New Year and a True New Beginning in my life..And this time I have my husband on board with me...And that is all that counts...

Well off to make the chili.....Have a wonderful day....

Days are going fast...

The days are going fast for Russ's vacation...Geez..It's already Monday and Christmas is already past...

We had a wonderful Christmas with the kids...They were all here at 8 am... It was nice...We opened presents and I didn't even get out my camera...I wanted to savor the moments...After opening presents I fixed a nice big breakfast. French toast, scrambled eggs and bacon and sausage.. It was great.. Then Tim and Jessie had to leave and go to her mom's house...Dave and Dan stay a little while and wanted to go back to their places and take naps...I wanted to take a nap so bad...I foget sometimes I have cancer and the energy just isn't there..After Dan and Dave left I took a nice long nap...Got up and relaxed and then Dan and Dave came back for Christmas dinner...Ham and Homemade mac and cheese and asparagus and corn bread...Pies for dessert..Sent home ham and mac and mac and cheese with the guys.. I collasape after dinner and fell into a deep sleep the whole night..It was great..

Today we took down Christmas for another year...With two kittens and they have been confined since we brought them home...They had the hallway and one bedroom to play in...Now they have the house...One time we let them roam to see what would happen and straight toward the tree they went...So they were happy campers today...We hold the kittens all the time and they love it,,..They are so funny and we are enjoying them so much..

The nicest part of the weekend for me was going to Christmas eve Service... My son Dave joined us with his girlfriend...It was so nice to have him in church once a again... I needed church...I have missed it so and plan on going...I am tired of staying away from things...I want to go at least every other week...But I am starting the New Year off with going to church...It was so nice listening to scripture and singing songs..It just melted my heart...

This week Russ and I are going to get somethings done but mainly we are just going to relax and try and not spend anything..Ha...I said try... :)

Anyways another Christmas has past and it is time to look forward to another new year and hopefully this year coming up will be a healthy one for everyone...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas....

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones..May your day be filled with many many Blessings..

This is the first year I am all caught up... All presents wrapped and all baking is done.. It is the first year I decided I was not going to stress about things..

I am so looking forward to being with all my kids on Christmas morning..I want to laugh and enjoy it from now on... To many years it has been so stressful and I couldn't wait till it was all over...This year is so different..

Again may your have a very Merry Christmas...You all are so wonderful and I am so thankful for many friends I have made through blogging and my friends I have through church and my wonderful family... Merry Christmas!!!!

Thursday....

I keep thinking it is Friday...Russ had a half day of work... He is now off from today till the New Year...It will be nice to have him home.. We are going to take a break ...I will have chemo and then the Pet Scan on friday the 30th...Those are the only two things on our agenda next week..

My Son Tim came over to check the truck out.. It was the vacuum hose like I thought.. This is the 3rd time it has had happened in the 10 years we have had this truck...The first 2 times we had it towed... This time Tim had researched online to see if it was the vacuum hose...When he opened the hood it was laying there..It was the top vaccum hose..very easy to fix...he decided to buy another hose which cost $13.... sweet..Tim is such a handyman with everything...He fixed Kim's shower faucet and now the truck and he also fixed Kim's lap top this week and also fixed our lap tops hinge...The hinge has broken on this lap top twice now...Our lap top is pretty old...Like 7 years old...So it's time to put some money away for a new one..We rarely use the desk top anymore... I use to use it all the time and didn't like the lap top that much...How I have changed with that..Other things come before getting a new lap top...

Today I did some baking...not as much as I had hoped to...I am not stressed...I refused to get stressed over things like this anymore...What gets done gets done...So far I have make chocolate peanut butter cups...After making them it is much easier and cheaper to buy the Reese cups... Won't be making them again.. I did make brownies, and I have chex mix already made... Kim is making puppy chow... Maybe I might get time to make cookies...If not so be it...The good thing is I have no desire to eat the treats...I don't like how I feel after eating all the sweets...

Tomorrow I wrap the few things I have left to wrap....

Everyone is coming christmas morning at 8am and then we will have breakfast after opening presents....On the agenda for breakfast will be bacon and eggs and french toast.... my kids love french toast and the bacon and eggs... And who ever wants to stay or come back dinner will be spiral ham and homemade macroni and cheese and asparagus and salad and then pie for dessert...


Well thats it for now...

Another week...

I can only do one picture at a time...Happy Hannukka to everyone who celebrate it..My Husband does... I do to...It's all part of the Bible.. If you don't read the Old Testament your missing something..I never read it that much till I married Russ..It's all part of the Bible...I know Hannukka started last night..We usually have a special dinner and this year we did not.. Don't know the reason..I think I will have the special night this year the last night of Hannukka...Just do something different..We had soft pretzels last night...

This morning was another round of Chemo... I am half way done with my set of 12...I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel..Man oh man I was listening to other conservations and I don't have it as bad as they do..Goodness.. I feel so Blessed and prayed for each one today as I was coming home.. I thought I had the worse cancer..Of course when your hit with cancer you do think it is worse..I feel so Blessed to have what I have..As I have told many people that having cancer has brought many blessings than the bad parts of it..The good out weight the bad....Yes mine can appear anywhere...But where I have it now I will deal with it and praise God for the blessings that have come out of it..God has been good to me...


When I went to get into the truck to go to Chemo with Kim I turned the key to the truck and aloud bang. went off and the truck died...It smelled like it was burning something..I really didn't want to leave it in the garage...UGH..I tried it again and it turned over but died.. The bang scared the tar out of Kim and I.. So she drove...I love my daughter dearly...but her driving I do not like...She tail gates and has road rage...She admits to road rage... She doesn't do anything about it but yell at other drivers...I use to be like that I have to admit...so she got it from me...Bad mom... She tail gates like my brother...Scares me silly that's why I was going to drive... Well I guess the Lord had other plans...Didn't like them Lord but endured it... Back to the truck...It has done this before and it was the vacuum hose coming disconnected...We have to have it towed..because it won't stay on.. The towing cost more than having the hose connected... We are taking it elsewhere..I know my older son wants to take a look at it and I know a friend wants to take a look at it first..to see if they can help us out...We will let them look... We are waiting till next week to deal with it...In the meantime IF and I mean IF I have to go somewhere Kim can take me...Or I can send her to go and get it... Russ is also home next week so it's no big deal...but my older son will have to deal with going to work other ways..


The kittens are hilarious and we are so enjoying them..They do cry for their momma...Especially the male one...He must have been a momma's boy... The female just loves to cuddle...

Hope you have a wonderful night...

New additions...

Good morning... I was suppose to bake yesterday... Ha that didn't happen... Instead my daughter Kim and my daughter in law Jessi and I went cat shopping... We had so much fun...I was going to adopted an older cat... Every cat I chose to see was mean as all.. One tried to bite my hand off twice and he went after the girls face who was showing me the cat. At first he was a sweet heart warming up to us and cuddling and then he turned on me..I knew he would not be perfect for my sweetie cat Sophia..I had to keep her in mind at all times.. So we decided to go with a Kitten knowing Sophia would warm up to one...The first place I went to was Earl Mays which is a garden place that has cats and kittens for sale...That is where I got Sophia... So I fell in love with a little female kitten.. I left there to check out the Cedar Rapids Animal Control...I just couldn't connect with any cat.. So back to Earl May we went... Russ in the mean time called me and I told him about the kittens...There was a male and female that Kim fell in love with the male and I had already fallen in love with the female... So I told Russ about them and jokingly said can I have both..He said it was up to me...My jaw dropped to the floor and Kim and Jessi saw my face and they both started jumping up and down.. It was hilarous... 3 grown women were so excited like a child.. So needless to say brother and sister have come home... They are sweet hearts and the dogs have already accepted. Now Sophia is hissing but that is typical of someone else loving her mommy...She has been sitting on the arm of the couch and watches while I hold the kitten...

I have to tell you the names of said kittens...My daughter picked out the names and anyone who knows my daughter will understand this...She has always had a crush on Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburg Penguins Hockey team....So male cats name is Crosby and female cats name is Sidney....In the picture the male is the orange tabby and of course the other one is the famale...

We have a cats play pen that my daughter in law had...They will stay in that while we are gone to chemo and at night.. They love to watch TV... My daughter has them in her room at night...

I wasn't going to get another cat for a while and Russ goes that is all we do is wait for an outcome of something...Lets live life to the fullest...So that is why I decided to get another addition...but it's two additions now...Our house is pretty full... But that's okay...We are very excited...

Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday...

Trying again

Good Monday Morning...

I posted twice yesterday and both times it did not post...I had downloaded pictures and I don't know if that was the reason...so no pictures with this post and I will see when I go to click the Publish Post if it works or not..

I had a nice weekend...It was very nice going out...

Saturday I watched my beautiful daughter graduate from college... It was so nice seeing her walk the stage...I am so proud of her...She worked very hard.. She has ber BA in accounting now and she will be going back to study for her CPA.. She has a job lined up for her in May..Contract all signed and everything.. For now she will be relaxing and enjoying her free time with no studying...After graduatiing we took Kim and her best friend who came to see her walk the stage out to lunch.. We went to Apple Bee's...They were all prepared for the influx of graduates and families...So it was great...

Friday my daughter in law Jessi asked if I wanted to go to Hobby Lobby... I said sure... I hadn't been in such a long time.. I really haven't been anywhere since August...If I did go out it was dash in and dash out.. Friday I browsed and bought a couple of things... Not much..Stickers to make my own gift tags.. A mini muffin tin to make my own chocolate peanut butter cups... and then I bought a cookie cutter that was in the shape of a dogs bone...Before going to Hobby Lobby we went to this place called Woofies... They make healhty dog treats...So I bought a few treats for my spoiled dogs.. Then saw the dog bone cookie cutter and decided it would be fun makeing some treats for the dogs... After going to Hobby Lobby we went to Pier One Imports...Jessi had a gift card to use and I browsed and did not buy a thing...No sales and stuff was high priced...Loved looking but that was it.. Then I took Jessi out to lunch to Red Lobster.. Both of us love seafood...We had a nice lunch and then came home...I enjoyed it so much and needed that for some reason...

Sunday I was exhauseted from climbing so many stairs at my daughters graduation...We went into the wrong building..We were pretty upset with the college as they do 2 graduations a year and this was so unorganized....NO SIGNS anywhere... When the college graduates walked in they had the ones who earned their Masters and Doctric degrees walk in 2 by 2...very orderly... Then when the ones who earned their BA's... they walked in like cattle...No one could find their college graduate...I knew my daughters colored tassle... So I knew the area but since they walked in like cattle you couldn't tell who was who..Everyone that was around us were in shock... Then they went to call there names and they were doing two different programs at the same time...So you didn't Hear college of business accounting and they would call names...It was just horrible...Kim was more upset that they placed the Professors in front of the students..Most Colleges place the Professors behind the students.. After seeing my son graduated at ISU 2 years ago and how beautiful it was I was expecting the same with my daughters college...Kim said when she walked she almost kepted going out the door because of the unorganized mess... Also they didn't even have a guest speaker for the grads...They had s student the professors pick to speak... and he was horrible..So we were diasppointed in that after 4 years of hard work and all that money spent it should have been so much better..Sorry to vent like that...But it is over and she now has a BA Degree in Accouting..

My body still aches alittle with all the walking and stair climbing but it is much better this morning...So I plan on baking...

I am all caught up with my shopping and wrapping and now this week I can play in the kitchen and bake...

Things I plan on baking...

1) Making chocolate peanut butter cups
2) Sugar Cookies
3) Chocolate chip Cookies.
4) Puppy chow
5) Chex mix
6) Snicker cookies
7) Peanut butter cookies with Hershey Kisses in the middle
8) Toffee Cashew Crunch bars....

And dog biscuits for my spoiled dogs... :)

Have a great Monday....

Thursday

Good morning...

Yesterday I went for Chemo...It went well. Better than the others...I crocheted the whole time...The chemo nurses that I have they kept commenting on the colors...They don't know one of them are getting the one I was working on.....I have one done and one almost done... I have two more to go...When I go to Kim's graduation while we are waiting to start my hands will be crocheting..I can make a scarf in 2 days...Then I started thinking shoot I have Dr. Begums nurse that is a sweet heart and then the lab nurse who is a sweetie...then the receptionist...ARGH...I am concentrating on the chemo nurses first...one at a time and see what happens...4 first and then see what happens...

I saw Dr. Begum yesterday and she wants me to have a Pet scan...it is a scan of the whole body..A 3 hour scan..I asked if I could have it after Christmas..She wants to know if there is any other cancer...The cancer I have can appear anywhere... So we shall see...I did manage to get the scan done before the year ends and the insurance will cover 100% of it..Yeah... My deductible startss over January 1st... So I am relieved with that...I am calm and nervous at the same time... I am not going to let it get me down for Christmas....I have been so organized this christmas...

I am planning some baking this weekend after my precious daughter oomes home from college...I want to bake with her...of course she is not a cook but I want to teach her this christmas with baking.. She only makes certain things...It's about time she learns a few things.. She has never been interested in cooking...Now my 3 boys love baking and cooking...

I have a few more things that should be coming for christmas...most of it is here...I put a stop to anymore spending... Now is time to sit back and enjoy the holidays...

Can you say a little prayer for a women that I saw at Chemo.... She has gone through chemo and is finished...They removed her port and after it was removed it became infected...the antibiotics she is taking isn't working.... I don't know her name but God does... She is in her 30's....

Now back to crocheting....Have a wonderful day.....

Tuesday night...

Hope your Tuesday was a good one....

We are suppose to get alot of rain tonight and tomorrow...I am okay with that...don't want snow...Even tho a covering of snow would be fine...Our grass is still green..Hasn't turned brown like it usually does in the winter..For December it sure is mild...

Didn't do much today.. I planned out our budget and paid bills...

Picked up Dan for work and talked with him for a few moments...Love talking with him... Went back and picked him up after his shift...brought two bags of food for him.. He is paying his bills and rent and leaves very little for groceries....I hate seeing my kids struggle...He is always thankful when I give him a few days worth of food..

Last night I picked up more things for baking...Next week I will be baking alot of things.. I can't wait...if I bake now I will eat it...Today I had double stuffed oreos and man oh man I was miserable after eating them..I have cut way back on sugar and when I have it, it really makes me miserable now..

I am baking for my kids so they can take the food home... I know they will love it... This is the first year I will be baking...I normally don't make alot of things..Rum cake I make and chex mix...but this year I want to make cookies for everyone and also chex mix and rum cake...so I have been gathering alittle at a time to have everything on hand...

Tonight Russ and I ran over to the Dollar Tree and bought gift boxes and gift bags.. and some utensils for Dan for the kitchen...The baked goods are going in the gift bags and some gift cards will go in them...I am using the gift bags as stockings this year.

Tomorrow is my chemo day.... I am becoming accustomed to it all...a norm for me... this week went better then the ones before...Only had one day that I ached...My feet bother me and I need to talk with my doctor about it...the nerves in my feet are being affected...Will work it out with the doctor...

Have a great Wednesday....

random thngs...

I hope you had a wonderful weekend...

As many know we lost one of our pets due to cancer.. The house is so quiet...I knew Molly was a very vocal cat but I didn't realize I would miss her demanding cries.. I know she is at peace and no longer in pain... Which gives me the peace I need...

My christmas shopping is about done. Just a few gift cards to get and then I am done...it feels good to have it all done...all the years before I would be down to the last minute shopping and wrapping and going crazy and I was healthy then... Ha, it took cancer to get me organized and the meaning of christmas...even tho I knew the meaning of Christmas but it just didn't mean the same as it does now...It took cancer to get my attention to open my eyes....And opening my eyes is a good thing.. Alot of the presents are wrapped and that hasn't ever happened... Ha.. I have so enjoyed wrapping and putting bows on the packages and making my own tags... I have never enjoyed this part of Christmas because I would be going crazy Christmas eve wrapping everything and not reflecting on the real meaning... Such a different Christmas and it's all because of my cancer...I am taking the time to smell the roses and enjoying the lights and sounds of Christmas... I hope all that are healthy take the time to enjoy the sounds and smells of christmas..Don't do what I have done all my life and not take the time to enjoy... There is another thing I am taking the time to do...Is watching christmas movies... I never watched them.. But I have been watching them and enjoying them most of the time... I am not a movie watcher but have become one...

I did buy something for the kitchen... I have always wanted one and never wanted to splurge for it... I love watching cooking shows and I love recipe books...A huge hobby for me is collecting cook books... It is so hard to part with them... One of the things I have wanted to do the last few years is to make my own creamy soups... and alot of recipes say use a food processor... so I bought a food processor...I can't wait to use it... But I can't till after Christmas...it is a Christmas present.. Russ said he would buy one for me and pick an ugly color....So I didn't want to take that chance...I have been slowly changing my small appliances with red ones...My big appliances are white....I love the crisp white appliances with the red smaller ones...Of course my kitchen aide mixer is white...it is pretty old...it was my moms and I learned to bake with it...It is in great shape and works great...It sits on my counter at all times... It brings back so many memories and I swear I smell her bread making...She use to make bread with the machine...they didn't have bread machines back then... So this gal for the new year is going to be start making more and more things from scratch....

I have alot of plans for the New Year... I will be talking about them at another time... A couple of months ago I wouldn't even think about the New Year...I didn't know what to expect..But I feel healed and I feel things are going to be so much better health wise for Russ and I... One thing I will never do again is NOT go to the doctors... I was stubborn and didn't want to go...Another thing is I told Russ that in January he was going to get a physical... He has put it off because of what I was going through...dentist, primary doctor, his cardiologist... I told him we will have to pay the deductible and we might as well start in January.. No more not going to the dcotor...I knew something was up at the beginning of spring that I wasn't into the garden as I once was...I didn't have the energy... I should have known something was up...I have to accept doctors are going to be part of my life...UGH...Very hard to accept for me...

Again I encourage all of you men and woman who read to check yourself... I will be reminding you all next year...Men can get breast cancer to...it is more common than you think... So please check yourselves... even tho it is christmas time and there was always a reason why I didn't go to the doctors,,, a holiday or birthday... the best gift you can give is taking care of yourself for your loved ones... Russ told me the other day which I cried, he said when I was in the hospital with the infection he told me he hated coming home from the hospital to an empty house... he said it was horrible... So he begged me to take care of myself...If something is wrong is to go to the doctor...I promised him I would..Again check your girls out....

Have a wonderful night....

Early Sunday morning...

It's been a hard couple of days for me...I am getting through them..My daughter is handling Molly's death better than I did on Friday...I was going to go into detail but won't... I am so thankful I had 13 years with Molly and how she had comforted me during the past few months..She was a very feisty cat but so lovable at times...

Russ and I are waiting to get another cat....Right now with chemo I will wait...Everyone in the family is betting that we will have one before the New Year... Sophia keeps looking for Molly...The dogs don't care because Molly didn't like dogs and would just smack them for no reason..As I said she was a very feisty cat...i do miss her cries...She was a very vocal cat...Well all our animals love to talk...And Molly did the most talking to us...So I miss her crying..

Yesterday I didn't want to be in the house and needed to get out...I hadn't been Christmas shopping at all this year...it's been on line shopping for me...So I decided to venture out...I prepared myself for long lines and lots of people... I brought my handsantizer so after each store I would use it... We went to Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Michael's, and Lowes.... I was shocked... No lines and no crowds 2 weeks before Christmas and no lines.... I know alot of people went out on Black Friday...I was just shocked that there were hardly anyone out shopping and this was around noon time...My Christmas shopping is about 95% done....It felt so good to get out and about...My daughters last day was yesterday at Kohls as she has finals and then graduates...I would ask her if they were crazy busy this time of year and she said no not really that she had been surprised how slow they have been....

Russ and I stopped at Sonics to eat lunch...It was nice...Then we came home and heard from our son Tim...He had time to fix Kim's shower faucet...I had a plumber come twice and payed them about $300 for both visits and the knob still broke...The plumber told me that we needed a new tub faucet and it would cost between $600 to $700 or more... So I told him I would think about it...Well with my cancer we just couldn't afford it...So Tim has been doing research on how to replace the faucet....We have another bathroom that backs up to Kims bathroom.. There is a small linen closet between them...In order to get behind her tub we had to go through this linen closet....So I emptied the linen closed and Tim got to work cutting a hole in the dry wall...What they had done when they built our house is they put the tubs in first and then added the linen closet..so you had all the studs in front of the plumbing...He was going to have to cut the studs in order to get to the plumbing...It was becoming a major job...and maybe to much for Tim and Russ to handle...All I kepted thinking was we were going to have to pay for a emergency visit with a plumber and have no water for a while...So Russ and Tim went to Menards to get some saw blades to cut through the studs....They decided to check in the plumbing area and see if they had knobs like Kim's...They checked and came home with blades in hand...Then Tim went into Kim's bathroom and checked the faucet out and the knob.... Turned off the water and took apart the knob thingy... Tim said Menards has this part...So back they went to get it...The plumber had put the wrong parts in it from another maker... twice the plumber did that... PLUS!!!!! Delta faucets are life time warranty and they would have sent me the correct part free from get go....The plumber never told me that delta faucets were life time warranty.. And Menards gave the telephone number to Tim and Russ to call them.... So Tim and Russ came home with the new Delta part...And it works....costing a total of $10 to repair something that the plumber was going to cost me up $700 for a new one and $300 from previous visits.. Now Kim has a working shower....She had been using the main bathroom to take her shower in when she came home from college.. Tim kepted apologizing for making a hole in the linen closet that he should have checked the knob first..Tim was going on what I had told him what the plumber said that had to happen......We had some dry wall and Tim put it back together and we will mud the area today....Will prime it and then put the linens back in place.. I was thrilled that Tim and Russ were able to fix it for $10....

Jessie and I saw so many commercials about Kentucky Fried Chicken yesterday and we were craving for it...So Jess and I went and bought KFC for Tim and Russ and of course for Jess and I... We pigged out after the plumbing was done...It was so good... We got the special that came with the double choc. cake....Oh my goodness it was so good..I had a sliver of a piece and enjoyed every morsel...Sent some home with Tim and Jess...even left over chicken to...

Russ will work on all the toilets while he is on vacation between Christmas and New Years...they all ghost flush...Wasting money...Kim's sink faucet is dripping and that will be next...Things start falling apart and everything is 15 years old in the house...

One thing at a time to get fixed...At least we can cross off that tub faucet of Kim's....

I ache this morning from the cold and running around I did yesterday....Resting today...

When I went to Michael's yesterday I bought lots of yarn to make my chemo nurses some winter scarves....I need to work everyday on them...I have 4 to make...Yup...I left them to the last moment...It will keep me busy...

Have a great Sunday...

Molly

Please keep my daughter and I in your prayers...I had to put Molly, my angel cat down today..I won't go into details but it was so very hard to do it..But the cancer won with Molly.... Kim my daughter has had this cat since she was 9... My daughter is 22... The hardest part was telling her.. And she has college finals next week...So please keep Kim in your prayers..

Animals are such a big part of our family..

Christmas Spirit is coming back to our home..

Good Morning...

Yesterday was a fantastic day.....first thing was my sister in law and her surgery and she is doing fine...Do you know she had a mastectomy and they released her the same day...we were in shock.. That is major surgery and they did the surgery as a out-patient... We talked with her last night and she was in great spirits...

Yesterday I couldn't stop cleaning and de-cluttering all the mail and news papers..Everything is cleaned..The last few weeks with chemo I haven't had the energy to do anything.. I was getting through each birthday... I was really beginning to dislike Christmas this year...I didn't have the energy and I was trying so hard to keep the spirit alive in this family...My kids aren't into Christmas either... It has nothing to do with my cancer.. It has everything to do with the economy and them struggling with expenses and also plans for next year... I didn't like the spiral we were all heading...Yes the house is decorated....The tree is up...I had only lit the tree once since putting it up a week before Christmas...Last night I lit the tree...It was so pretty... I am back, I am beginning to love this holiday season and what the season is all about....

I realized one thing and this one simple thing changed everything... Why my energy was zapped... I wasn't drinking water...My other sister in law who is a oncology nurse told me I must drink water...Well with the first set of chemo made me so sick when I drank water.. I couldn't even talk about water without gagging... So this past week I have been making myself drink more and more water...The second set of chemo doesn't make water taste bad...So when I started drinking water again I could tell my body was absorbing it and I started feeling so much better...My spirits started to sore and my energy level is back up...Water is all that it took to get me back to my old self....

Last night I got a good nights sleep...it felt good... Today I have a lot of things to work on...Budget and bills and this weekend I will be finishing up my Christmas shopping...Then I will be concentrating the next two weeks planning on baking for my kids...From Chex mix to cookies to brownies and fudge...I normally don't bake like this but I have this itch to bake this year and send them home with goodies...they all miss my home cooking...I want to bring the spirit back to our family...

I asked Russ what he wanted for Christmas dinner....He wants a spiral ham...cornbread, and other goodies...so that is what Russ will get and I will tell whoever else with our kids if they want dinner please come...It may just be Russ and I and Kim...or it can be everyone...I don't know...They are all coming in the morning for presents and breakfast...that is the big thing is a big Christmas breakfast in our home.....

Next weekend my daughter graduates from college...We are excited...But we don't have to move her back just yet...She goes for another semester for her CPA...It will be so nice to have her home for a month...Most college students have their finals next week...Praying for them...it is a stressful time for them...

Well I am off to get some things done ...We had a light dusting of snow last night and it is just so pretty with the dusting...

Have a wonderful day...

Update on my sister in law...

Thank you for all your prayers for Judy....She came through surgery and everything went well...Her lymph nodes are clear and they caught the cancer very early and she will NOT have to go through chemo or radiation...I am so thrilled to hear that. I was doing the happy dance...God is so good....

My day is brighter to hear this news...

I am running on about 3 hours of sleep... For some reason this time my reaction to the chemo is being wide awake and full of energy...At 1am I was cleaning my kitchen... Russ wanted to make sure if I was alright and he came searching for me and saw I was cleaning the kitchen....He asked me what was wrong... I said I can't sleep between him raising the roof with his snoring and I came up to sleep on the couch....well I couldn't sleep so instead of tossing and turning I decided to clean... He just shook his head....Finally around 2:30am I saw a beer in the refrig...I normally don't drink it... But shoot I wanted to try anything to get me relaxed and tired... So I drank a whole beer... Never have I ever finished one.. so I crawled back into bed...about 45 minutes later I fell asleep....alarm went off at 5:30... Fixed Russ's breakfast and lunch and thought I would fall asleep on the couch after he left...NOPE....been wide a wake since....No caffeine in this body is needed....Can't sit ...So I have been sorting and cleaning...Took Holly for a walk...Not tired.... I will probably crash tonight like a lead balloon hopefully....I feel great today...I love the energy I have...I needed this time to sort and clean..I have been sitting and resting for way to long...

Well off to make some lunch....

Again thank you for praying for my sister in law...

9 more to go...

Good evening to you all... I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday and it was filled with many Blessings...

Chemo went well today... I saw another doctor and he was very nice..I am so glad I have this group of doctors that the Lord has provided for me..They all are so nice and take the time to talk to me...Not this 5 minute stuff... We talked about some side affects which are normal and he told me this is the time to take care of me and not everyone else...they all can defend for themselves because they are all adults...Yes it is in my records I have 4 grown adults... He told me to talk care of me...Listen to my body and if it says rest I am to rest... Russ heard everything and he said she will rest...

So this afternoon I got one thing accomplished...My Christmas cards....They are done and stamped and will be mailed tonight when we go and get dinner...it feels great to get this done. Last year I filled everything out and never mailed them...So they will be mailed...

Today is Dave's birthday and he stopped by and got his present and gift card and was thrilled with what I got him.. Tonight he will be celebrating with friends...

Today I received a letter in the mail from our bank that our card has been compromised....So we cancelled it and Christmas will be done in cold hard cash and no more Internet shopping from now on..Was not happy...Russ and I have decided that we will be dealing with cold hard cash for now on...If we don't have the cash on hand we won't get it....I know the debit card is not really a visa card but this is nuts...I know there are alot of hackers out there....So I have to be on alert till we get our new one...we will still be dealing with cash on hand...UGh...An eye opener for us...

My sister in law is a trooper with her second bout with breast cancer...her spirits seemed to be good...I will be talking with her tonight once again...They caught it very early...She was going to put it off but decided not to because of what I am going through..

I am deciding on what to do now....If I will have a double mastectomy or not and have a double reconstructive surgery... Alot to think about and talk with my chemo doctor...Last time I saw her she didn't think it was necessary to have both removed but now with Judy I have so many questions...I don't want to have to go through this again...I am just like that...Of course the cancer I have can appear anywhere in my body at any time..it's not hormonal cancer.. That is why Russ and I have decided to do things differently this coming new year and start doing things different now...Bringing in things that are as close to nature as possible...Organic things I can afford and making my own soy candles and making my own scents that make the house smell wonderful....instead of the chemical ones...I am going to devote one side of my house to roses and wonderful scented flowers and make my own potpourri with my own oils... or buying from bloggers that make their own healthy oils...I bought a organic cucumber the other day and it was so good...the week before I bought a regular cucumber from walmarts..Well Russ picked it out...It was nasty tasting...So things are changing...Russ and I will be going grocery shopping at Pioneer foods through the winter in Iowa city...Next year will be buying beef from a local farmer who grass feeds..We met one this past summer and we never followed through.. No more regular eggs...We will be buying organic eggs...I have been off and on...This week I bought organic eggs and my stomach is not bothering me like it does when I have regular eggs...We are going to be changing things weekly...Chemicals no longer being bought for this house...

Anyways I know I bore you with this so I will stop...

It has been rather cold...UGH..Tomorrow we might get more snow...I am glad chemo was today and not tomorrow....

Please say some prayers for Judy as she goes for surgery tomorrow....and we have other friends who are ill and God knows who they are....

Have a wonderful night and may it be filled with many blessings...

Prayer is needed...

I am coming to you to please pray for my husbands sister...her name is Judy...20 years ago she had breast cancer...She had a mastectomy and now her other breast has a tumor and it is a small one..she caught it early...She will be having a mastectomy this thursday, Please pray that it hasn't spread to her lymph nodes...and pray that she heals quickly...

Remember how important it is ladies to check your girls...she caught it early and she may not have to go through chemo if it hasn't spread...

Again I thank you for your prayers...Lisa

Tuesday....

Good morning to you....

Remembering my Mother's birthday today.. Mom as been gone since Feb. 2000. I don't think there is a day that passes by that I don't think of her... Mom taught me alot and I have so many things in my home that were hers...Paintings, curtains, quilts...So she is always in my thoughts.. Always here in spirit... Common phrases I hear often in my thoughts...I don't think I told her enough how much I loved her...So if your mom is still with you please let them know how you feel about them...

This morning I met another neighbor...As I said the other day I am going to make a point of meeting my neighbors. Ha..at 8 am this morning I had a knock on the door. It was a gentleman very well dressed... He explained to me he knocked the mail box off with his mirror...He said he put it back on but it is loose..I said okay that it is an easy fix because the garbage men have knocked it before...I thanked him for letting me know..He said he would fix it but he was leaving to go out of town and when he gets back he would get back with us...I told him okay but to please drive safely because of the roads...The roads are slick..He thanked me for saying that. You know a few years back before this whole cancer stuff I would not have been so nice...Many times I have said Cancer has changed me...How I love this change...Always let your light shine regardless of the circumstances...

Last night Russ and I did some food shopping...Oh so nice to get some food in the house..Healthy food that is...I have been so bad with eating wrong foods...It's so hard to eat something with out carbs in it and I sorta went on a binge with eating carbs...So I watched what I bought...seeds and nuts I can have and cheese I can have to...So my snacks are going to be seeds and nuts and cheese and pretzel sticks... Bread is hard for me not to have much of it...Rye bread sandwiches have less carbs so my lunches will consist of that with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers and carrots...The chips are my down fault so I didn't buy them...Russ wants to go on the diabetic diet somewhat. He says it is healthier for us.. So we did very good but then topped off dinner with chinese from HyVee...Have to admit It was good...But it is high in carbs..So I will be challenging myself in to learning to make our own chinese foods...less on the rice and lo-mein noodles and more on the veggies...

Yesterday I did some cleaning but not like I wanted....I realized yesterday that it may be my blood pressure pills causing me to be very tired..I have lost weight and I haven't cut back on the dosage...So I will be making an appointment with my cardiologist to talk about my BP pills...I am fine till I take them and then I get so tired after taking them...

Today the weather is cold...Bone cold...UGH... We have snow on the deck and the roads are slick they say...So I am staying indoors...Will be filling out my Christmas cards...Haven't done that yet...So I will put the Christmas music on an sit and enjoy doing my cards today....

Have a great day....May it be filld with many blessings......

Monday morning....

Good morning to you....I hope you had a wonderful weekend...

Does everyone have all their Christmas shopping done??? Not I..I have some more to go...

Friday I spent the afternoon planning our budget and menu for the rest of December...It was good to see numbers on paper...I have never gotten use to doing it on the computer..I like a budget planner to reach for at all times...Yes I do redo it alot of times but I don't mind...I felt I got alot accomplished with the budget...Now I just have to follow it..

Saturday Russ ran some errands...pet food and a few other things...Then Saturday afternoon we worked in the garage..Well Russ did..Since we aren't hiring anyone to remove snow...We just couldn't see it in the budget...You can't plan for snow storms or snow removal...at $40 at a time we just couldn't do it...My daughter will be home from Mid December through Jan 10 or something like that..She will be here to help...I bought tire chains for the big snow blower...we have always wanted them...So I helped Russ put them on...They were difficult but it is done...We put out some wooden Christmas yard ornaments to..They are all Penguins...A gaggle of penguins...

As I was working on the wooden ornaments out in the yard a neighbor walked across the street to talk with me...Her name is Allison.. She told me she knows someone that knows me...Allison works with Deb.. Deb told her about me and how sick I was in the hospital before.. Allison asked how I was and I told her I am making it...She told me she knows what I am going through...She had breast cancer a year ago..She is so young to have it...She has a two little girls ages 3 and 5 now...Her mom helped her the whole summer...She in remission...We talked about what she went through and what I was going through...it was so good to talk to her.. I realized that we as neighbors are so closed up and don't talk with each other...If I had known what she was going through I could have helped....My Mission is to stay in touch with the neighbors I know and want to get to know others on our end of the block....What a wake up call for me...Allison and I promised each other to stay in touch...not go through the winter without talking... What a blessing it was to talk with her...I was feeling pretty low recently because I hadn't been out to stores or anything...I have felt so closed up and alone recently... With talking to Allison and also being out in the fresh air was so good for me...My attitude has changed...

Sunday, Russ and I went for a drive....I wanted to go for a drive and it was much needed...It was so good to see God's world....it was very nice to just drive...Russ promised me if the roads are good we would be going on roads trips to see parts of Iowa...

This week is another one of my Son's birthday....Wednesday it is...Goodness my kids are getting old.. HEE HEE....Well that means I am getting old to...not good... :)

This week on my agenda is work on some projects...I had totally given up on that...Just wasn't motivated...Getting out in the yard and going on the road trip did me a world of good...Planning my budget was good for me to...On paper the budget looks good but now I just have to follow the budget...

Today I will be doing some deep cleaning and then work on some projects....I hope you have a wonderful day....

reflecting...

Good morning....Hope you have a wonderful weekend...We are suppose to get rain, sleet and maybe some snow flakes...It was snowing pretty good for a short time last night and it was so pretty...It didn't accumulate...so that was nice..

With this second set of chemo I am going through, I just don't have the energy to do what I want...UGH. I had energy with the first set and they said I should be fine with this one...wrong.. That is the only thing that is wrong with this chemo is the energy...nothing else..no nausea..My mind races with all the things I want to do..But I just can't get motivated...It has been frustrating me to know end...Then I heard the whisper that said take advantage of the down time and plan.. I thought to myself plan what?? I started to get mad because I want to do things not plan things...

So I was grumpy yesterday and was actually pretty upset with that message...I kept telling myself I want to be a doer not a planner right now..I don't want to sit and rest...Urrrrrr.. So I fell asleep once again on the couch as I have done many times since starting the second set of chemo...I did manage to vacuum the living room and I was happy it looked nice...

I woke up in a better mood and saw one of the library books that I checked out and never read and they need to be returned in 3 days...I checked out a book on Power foods...I realized that the beginning of this year my plans were going to change our foods to healthier eating and also try to bring more foods into the house that were organic or free of chemicals and hormones....We started off okay and planted our garden and it did bad because I found out I had cancer... Then everything went out the window to make things easier....Then I found out I had diabetes and the sugar free garbage crepted back into our lives...I realized yesterday I felt like this a long time ago with the sugar free stuff...I had no energy....So I am planning to eliminate the sugar free and pop once again in my life....I wrote down all the power foods and will spend some time today scanning the recipes in the book to a file on the computer...I was going to copy and print...then decided it would waste so much ink...I would copy them to my computer and then the ones I want to try and like I will print them off and put them in my favorite recipe book....Planning... Planning on eating healthier once again...

I know sometimes God makes you rest and reflect on things that needs to get done...instead of constantly cleaning...I am feeling so much better today but I am doing more planning today... God wants me to sit and plan right now... From budgeting to things that need to get done in the house..to what I need to do to heal...It's funny how angry I have been because I have had no energy and now I am enjoying the planning right now...How God changes your "tude" when I would just listen to Him....

When Russ came home from work and he asked what was up boy did he get a earful from me in what I had been experiencing...I hadn't been telling him about the energy part...I didn't want him worrying...Well he heard it last night and of course with this cancer and chemo I cry more than I ever have cried in our whole marriage...He is finally getting use to my crying...Anyways I told him that going through all this chemo that I am not going through it and not change my food...That it is a waste for me to fight the cancer if I don't change our foods that come into our home...no more sugar free stuff and that I want to change things that come into the door...Start off slow. No more foods that contain hormones and antibiotics in them...Wild fish not farm raised with hormones.. I wanted to do this a long time ago...Russ said he agreed that we need to change...That he was on board...He said he has been feeling pretty blah to and that we need to start somewhere....So our life is about to change and it is all because I needed to sit and plan things...

Today I will be planning our budget for the next 6 months...The next 6 months will be pretty tight with the money...Kim will be going another semester to get her CPA...and with my cancer and chemo treatments 10 more to go...and then surgery...We will have to start over with the $3500 deductible as of January 1st....So alot of planning...Our truck needs to go in for repairs...Kim's car needs to be checked out..it's still doing the same thing...Our Cobalt needs to go in for a recall...So there is alot of things that need to be done...Tim and Russ are going to fix our plumbing...Our toilets are ghost flushing and Kim's sink faucet is starting to drip...So we need to stop this wasteful water dripping and flushing...they are easy fixes and not to expensive...and will save us money...So it's all about planning the budget and we are so thankful for the bonus this year...it will help us with Kim's tuition and the plumbing being fixed...God is so good...

Well I have rambled alot and sorry this is boring.....Time to plan...