Prissy's Allergies

Today I hit Shopko - ordered new glasses (very excited!) Then rushed out and picked up Prissy from school.
I don't know which one of us was more nervous, her or me.

The majority of her allergies I already knew or could have guessed only one really surprised me.
She is allergic to dogs.

Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow my girl goes in for her first allergy scratch test.

         This is a huge thing - a painful thing

                         I have been putting this off for a long time

                                           A very long time - like since she was two

                                                              Now, that she is allergic to lidocaine-injection

                                                                                   She also needs dental work

                                                                                                  Badly.

Tomorrow is not going to be a day I am looking forward too

watching what I know will happen

because it's happened to me

I, unlike my daughter, choose not to go back and get the rest of the testing done.

Instead I choose to pay close attention to all the small signs and avoid things that cause problems - without official diagnosis.

My daughter does not get that luxury

her allergies are worse then mine.

 Also without medical records stating what she is allergic too - she can't get the help she needs.

I am not looking forward to tomorrow

Renewal and is Pinterest for you?

For those new to my blog if you want the full story please read the links under - The Path to Me - page on the page bar of my blog.

Why? Well because that is where the story starts for me. I went into deep depression and then it became a habit. Not thinking, feeling, focusing or caring is a very dangerous apathetic habit.
Only with the help of depression meds (that all sorts of studies say don't work, I say after six years of trying to pull my self up - Oh Hell Yes they do!) was I able to start to wake my brain back up. To fully sleep at night, and truly awake in the morning.

At first the task is daunting. I am so behind in everything. The whole house must be cleaned, organized, sorted and redone. Things that have been long put off are finally caught up on - many times I want to return to numbness as the ever growing list of things to do, and people who are watching, continue to grow.
The pressure I am sure would crush many, for me it only serves to make me angry.
For me though, that's a good thing - I clean better when I am angry.

For six months I battle before I even feel like I am finally getting ahead of things! Its a very long slow process.
Being awake again, has brought new things to my attention and has again sparked my creative side!
I started making and fixing more things at home (darning, repairing, reusing & Home Made products) and then I joined pinterest.

Where I found a new organizing tip! Instead of shelving your sheets like grandma did, you fold the whole set top, fitted & extra's INSIDE the matching pillow case!
Brilliant! I only wish I had done this when the kids were younger! Night time bed changes would have been so much easier!
No digging or searching just add them into piles - boys, girls, king, queen & twin. Voila!

Also going through my linen closet I was able to determine which sheets were loners - extras - leftovers.

Instead of throwing these away 

I'm going to start a scrap quilt.

Now a scrap quilt is much different then the beautiful quilts you see with patterns.

However, I will save all of that for another post ;).

Also I made our family a chore chart - I keep getting in trouble for NOT being a mind reader! I do a ton of work but because it's NOT what HE wanted done - he's not happy. I know, I feel his pain too - boo hoo!
Now he can write down one thing and I can write down one thing! Brilliant!

Now on to Pinterest and if it's for you!
First off many wonder what pinterest is and if its for them.
Here are the basic questions I have to help you.

1. Do you often find recipes, blogs, tips, hints & good ideas and say - That Rocks!
2. Do you do, How to - Do-It-Yourself or crafting projects?
3. Do you like gardening? cooking? scrapbooking? -------- fill in any hobby right here!
4. Do you like to keep up on certain products or items?
5. Have ever found something (online) that makes you say OMG! That is amazing! 

If you have answered a loud yes to more than 3 of the 5 questions and you don't have a pinterest YOU NEED IT. If you answered with a mild yes to 3 or more, you would like pinterest and get on every few weeks as needed.
If you only said yes to one or two - pinterest may or may not be for you - you should give it a try and decide then.
If you shook your head No, or didn't even understand half the questions -Pinterest is not for you - most possibly neither is the internet.

Valentines Day Pampering

First off I stated by taking the kids to school - if you want a nice morning of pampering getting rid of the kids is a MUST!
Next I made my version of Lemon Sugar Scrub, substituting Lime for Lemon - you can also use a scented oil - I wouldn't I really like the acid of of the citrus it gets rid of all sorts of smells - including garlic.

I cleaned the bathtub - I know most people already have a clean tub - but if I am going in for a nice long soak I like to double check.
Made the water as hot as I could - added some bath salts, soaked, shaved, relaxed, inhaled my scentsy and just was.
After washing my hair & adding in the conditioner I emptied out the tub (I know you wondering where all this detail is going - be patient) then I grabbed my new scrub and rubbed it every where decent you can apply it.
Here's the thing. For those of you out there that like salt scrubs - they dry out your skin. The do exfoliate - but they also damage.
Using salts in your bath is a good way to prep your body to shed skin - without drying out your skin.
Sugar scrubs are just as exfoliating (I think they are a little better due to smaller granules).

Then of course I washed off under hot - then warm water. Ending the shower on a colder tone help to re-close the pores.

Also side note: another bonus to using a sugar scrub instead of a salt is if you end up accidentally liking your fingers it isn't that gross.

After then I pat dried and sat in my towel allowing the rest of the oil to soak into my skin for at least half an hour.
My skin hasn't felt this great in years - why? - because I rarely take time to take care of myself.
Take a moment figure out when you can pamper yourself for just a little bit - turn one regular part of your routine into something extra special.
This is cheap - easy and WONDERFUL!

The above recipe is normally for Hand Scrub - do not use to often on your body or you will also hurt your skin!

A Valentines Day to Remember!

Tonight my girl sat down, asked a few questions and then I was able to pray with her and lead her in a prayer of salvation!
I could not have asked for a better Valentines Day gift!

Today I will remember for the rest of my life!

The Little Joys

My girl's face is a mix of, I'm adorable, and, I love my hair, and, really mom - another photo?
 While my son struck a I'm a surfer pose.
Gotta love them!

Now I have been busy cleaning and working on my Home Made project - in the meantime, however, I have also been helping the kids with Valentines Day things and throwing together new recipes.

For a snack I made Home Made Popcorn

For dinner I made Provolone Potato Soup - Yummy!

Click either photo to go directly to the link
;)

Friday Five 2/10

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Home Made

For all those that follow this blog or my food blog - you know that over the last 8 months I have begun the road to waking up. Walking out of depression and into who I was before.
Now that I am more alert, awake, my house is relatively clean, I finally have time to start up something I have ALWAYS wanted to do.
Start making my own products at home. Everything from Laundry Soap to Ant Killer. I have done several small things already like my Home Made Bug Spray.

New Pretties, Food & Life

I have a few new wall decors that I added around my home. The upper large is over my dinning table. The tree squares next to it are on my bathroom wall. The lower large photos is above the kitchen table.
I have a lot of wall space that is blank.
The problem is I can not add thick art work or pictures due to doors, tables, people, bathroom steam and positions.
These are the perfect solution to walls that need something different then "regular" art.

Tea Patio Dreams

We all have hopes and dreams.
My simple dream for the longest time, was to have a home.
A home with a fenced yard, with space for a garden and a play area for the kids.
God rewarded our waiting with more than we had hoped for.

The Ugliest Bathroom Ever

My downstairs bathroom!

Yes its bright blue

Yes it has bright red pipes

Yes those are flames on the walls

And the shower does look like a old prison shower!

Not only that but they had raised the toilet! 

Raising it off the floor by an inch!

 

The white pedestal sink rocks!

NO

Not is SO cool!

More as in physical shaking.

You might be wondering why I bought a home with the ugliest bathroom ever to be seen...

well at the time 

(almost a year in a half since then)

we thought we would tackle it first thing.

Instead we took on other projects and locked the door on it (literally)

Now this week my hubby is off and we are ripping everything out

in preparation of painting, re-flooring and then best of all

new toilet and sink!

I can not wait for it to be finished!

I will post before and after photos and I promise you

it will not longer be dark blue & red!