FINALLY Feeling Better!

WOW -- this has been AWFUL!  I've never experienced something like this before.....and I hope I don't again!!

I DID go to my doctor's, and he said that I had some kind of mild food poisoning (this was MILD???), and that the bacteria gets into the small intestine and wreaks havoc there!  It takes a loooong time for the body to fight it and get rid of it, weeks sometimes, and that's in a healthy body!!  He said that's why I still feel weak, especially after I eat -- because digestion takes the most energy of anything our bodies have to do, and it's already using most of it's energy fighting this bacteria.  As long as I'm not getting worse, or getting dehydrated, there's nothing to do except wait.  He actually said that he was surprised I wasn't more sick.....what?  I could have been worse??  YIKES!

So there's your biology lesson for today! :-D

I am almost completely better.....although I notice yesterday and today that I feel a little worse than I did over the weekend -- I bet it's because Brian is at work!! LOL  I really DO feel better when he is home! :-D

On to more fun stuff!!!.....

Hello, my name is Lisa, and I am a wool-coat-aholic!
It's TRUE!!  I have become addicted to buying wool suit coats from the thrift store and then picking them apart and felting the wool!  I've done it here and there, but this weekend we went to the thrift store to find Brian some shorts, and right next to where he was looking were the coats.....how is a girl supposed to resist??  And the worst part was, every coat color I liked was ON SALE!  I couldn't put any back because the most expensive was $3.50, and that was only one -- all the others were either $1.25 or 87 CENTS!!!!  That's about what a candy bar costs now!

So here is my booty :-D......

These have turned into this.....

And then we went back (Brian had to exchange a pair of shorts that didn't fit - hee hee hee!), and I grabbed these.....

You can't really see in the photo, but these are a nice tan/brown, and again, those color tags were 50% off!!!  Brian couldn't say no! :-D

But WAIT....there's MORE!!
I also got the brilliant idea (while looking for a dress for myself) that I should try to find linen and cotton clothes to recycle and use as backings for penny rugs or whatever, and I found these.....

The dress is a nice heavy cotton, with a loooong skirt that would touch the floor if I tried it on (which means it's probably NOT that long! LOL).....it's pretty, but not at all my style!  But it was 87 cents, too!  The men's shirts were all on sale too -- the blue tags were 50% off and the orange tags were 75% off!!!  All four of the shirts are a linen/cotton blend, perfect for crafting! :-D

So a quick calculation of ALL the clothes I got, and it was less than $18!!!  That's for everything I've shown here!!  VERY exciting! :-D

Now while I've been couch-bound, I've had something to do -- that's where that huge pile of felted wool came from in that picture!  A normal person might want to simply CUT around the seams, to save time and annoyance.....but NOT ME!!!!  There is something in me that just cannot waste any of the wool! LOL  So silly, but I can't help it.  Plus, I really enjoy using my seam ripper to pull apart all the pieces -- there is something very satisfying to me about doing that! (yeah, I'm a weirdo!)

BUT, during my seam ripping fun, my trusty old tool BROKE, and I had to get a new one.....so I picked this one.....

It's ergonomic!!! :-D
That means it doesn't cramp my hand when I use it for a long time!! (which I do!)

So, I've got a nice large pile of felted wool.....I think it's time to make something, right??? LOL

The other thing I've been totally obsessed with is Pinterest.....isn't EVERYONE addicted to Pinterest?  Yeah, I thought so!  Sometimes I want to cry because there is just too much to see and be inspired by on there!! LOL  I am trying to be very discerning about what I pin -- I love so many things, it's easy to get carried away on there!  So I make it a point to only pin things that REALLY move me.  My boards are titled different things that "inspire" me, and to me that means things that I want to make or do!  I'm going to try to find a way to put a link to my Pinterest page on here, but if you want to check it out, here's the link...... http://pinterest.com/lisadiane2005/

Being careful about what I eat, and not feeling good eating has done something to me that I'm NOT used to at all -- I'm hungry all the time!!  Especially at night, I feel hungry like I used to when I was pregnant! LOL  So I can't stop thinking about food.....have you seen the food on Pinterest???  I've been tormenting myself looking at all the food! Haha!!  So today, I'm going to make this......

It's GRAPE SALAD!!!!  (It's from Paula Dean..... http://www.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view2/grape_salad/?k=1) 
I have the cream cheese softening on the counter right now! :-D  I'm not putting the shredded cheddar in it, though.  I don't like the sound of that.  But I love cream cheese and sour cream, oh yes!!!  If I had enough yogurt, I would use it in place of the sour cream, just to make the flavor yummier!  NEXT TIME!
I'll take pictures tonight when I make it, and let everyone know how it was!

It's funny, because the two things I am craving right now are yogurt and bananas -- I eat them every day!  It makes sense, too, because yogurt is good for your stomach and bananas are loaded with potassium - that's exactly what my body needs right now!  There was a banana pudding cake recipe on Pinterest that I was just drooling over the other night!!  I think that might have to be next!!
And something else that is weird.....I am not really interested in chocolate.  I'm telling you, that IS weird weird for me!  I normally LIVE for chocolate, but I just don't like the taste right now.  That alone makes me think I might be near death!! LOL
But really, it's just so interesting that my body really is leading me toward what I need right now.

Well, it's taken me half the day to get this post done.....I have GOT to get my life back in order around here.  I feel like I'm going to go crazy!!  But right now I think I'll have the rest of that yogurt....! ^-^

Not Doing Too Well Over Here....! :-P

I am not going to type a long post right now......but if I don't get on here and post something, I'm going to forget how to blog!!

I am sorry about being away like I have been: first, I was so busy helping my neighbor (who is having chemo right now) and not doing much around the house, but since before last weekend, I have felt AWFUL!  And I'm not getting better yet! :-P

It's almost like a stomach-flu, but it's NOT -- can someone explain that to me???  I'm getting very frustrated about it, because I'm really done with feeling like crap!!  At the end of last week, I had some kind of stomach problem/attack, and I was in bed for TWO DAYS.....with no fever, even!  And no one else has been sick!!  I ate the same things every one else ate that day, I even prepared it all, so I know nothing was bad or rotten.  I felt SOOOO weak, I actually had to lay on the floor at one point during the night when I was on my way to get some water -- Puppy barked, that's how Brian came to get me!  Can you picture that??  I felt so ridiculous, but couldn't do a thing about it!! 

My one consolation, as I thought, laying in bed unable to lift my arms all the next day, was that stomach "things" go away quickly, and I'd be back to myself by Monday.....right?  WRONG!!  Do you know that my arms feel like lead right now while I'm typing this???  What is going on?!?!

OH!!!  It is soooo frustrating! :-P
Needless to say, I've got nothing done around here, I'm not even cooking anything fun -- it's been all sandwiches and eggs and canned soup (which I am barely eating!).....I am almost back to normal eating amounts, though, but that seems to be the time I feel the worst, right after eating.  I feel weak enough to want to sit down, and I even get a headache and a little sweaty if I don't sit right away!  I have NO other symptoms, though, not even nausea anymore.  Just this annoying weak-feeling!!  It's worse because as I laid on the floor that time, I could see all this dust and some dirt under one of my cabinets, and I've been itching to get over there and VAC IT UP!!!  But when I tried to pull out the vacuum this morning (foolishly thinking "this is my fifth day since getting sick, I must be better by now!"), I almost had to sit on the floor again (well, last time I LAID there!) -- imagine the view of dirt and dust that would have tormented me in the daylight!!!!

So here I sit.....and sit.....and sit.....and lay......and SIT!! :-P
I feel exhausted from typing this long (although I've taken a few breaks), so I guess I'll SIT here with my arms down at my sides and press the stupid TV remote all night.....BORING!!!!

I better BE better by Friday, that's all I have to say.  Maybe I'll start counting my buttons, that will give me something different to do.....as long as I keep them in my lap.....*SIGH!!* (that's a LOUD one!)

I better GO!  Wish me luck.....you'll be able to tell what happens this weekend! Pfffttt!!

PS -- and I've been hacked/spammed/whatever it's called.....I've had about 200 "views" on one of my old posts, and had to delete about 20 "anonymous" comments with links in them!  Does that mean my blog is out there now??  Haha!  ^-^

Devastation.......

I have a post almost finished that I was typing yesterday afternoon to post last night, but so sadly, I find myself AGAIN having to pause with a broken heart at an incomprehensible act of unprovoked violence against our fellow humans -- completely innocent and unsuspecting people.  People who would probably never even dream of doing harm to the perpetrator(s) if they saw them in regular circumstances.  

Again, I am asking.....

WHY??????

What happens to people that they get such a power-trip or thrill out of destroying lives???  They are successfully destroying lives.....!  How do people change from playful, innocent children into hate-filled monsters?

My heart is so heavy.  Massachusetts is my home-state.  Although I have lived in NC for 10 years and love living here more than Mass, I still feel a strong connection with the towns and people there.  I have been to Boston tons of times, and one of my sisters LIVES in Boston.  I thank God that she wasn't in the marathon crowds yesterday, like she has been many other times.....still, it was scary when I couldn't get a hold of her on her phone yesterday after I found out what happened.  I was a few hours late in hearing about it, and I thought I probably would have heard from someone by then if anything was wrong, but still.....that sliver of uncertainty chilled me to the bone.

And knowing that others felt like I did, but had awful outcomes, not relief like me, just HURTS.
I am SO SORRY for them, for what they have lost - physically and emotionally - and the only thing I can do is pray....and pray.....and pray.....

.....again. :-(

NO Floor Yet -- BOO HOO!!!

I know that I said I didn't mind waiting for Brian to do the wood floor, but.....I changed my mind!!!

Hahaha!  We KNEW that would happen, though, didn't we!! :-D
It's worse, because I ripped up the yucky old rug two days ago (and hurt my back!)(I'm getting OLD!! :-P), so I can really picture it now!

I am going to completely swallow my pride, and show you a BEFORE picture -- at least you can see what I've been living with (and why I seem to have unlimited energy to re-do it! LOL).....

Of course, before I started moving everything around, the room looked better than THIS, but look at that hideous green rug!!!  It gives me shivers! :-P  I had started cutting it and pulling on it before taking this picture, and that stirred up a bunch of dust -- that's why it looks a little blurry in some spots - my camera flash picks up dust particles!! LOL  I guess that's the downside to upgrading my camera last year! :-D

Anyway, I knew I had a dust problem in here, but there seemed to be so much dust.....then as I rolled up the rug and the pad under it, I could see why.....

Can you see that???  I took another picture without my flash to give you a better look......

DISGUSTING!!!!  That is a thick layer of super-fine powdered dirt/dust!!!  That must be what settles under rugs after years of use (this rug is 13 yrs old)!  YUCK!!  How can you ever get that vacuumed up, without tearing up the rug???  And that's how I hurt my back -- this powdery stuff did not just suck up into the vacuum when I went over it.....Oh no!  It took me going back and forth several times over each spot to get it all (using the hose attachment!)!  When I was finished, I felt like I had spent hours bent over weeding my garden!
But look at the transformation.....

You could eat off this floor now!  Well, maybe not that, but at least Puppy can wag her tail without sending up a swirling cloud of dust!!
Puppy was SO funny while I was working -- she wouldn't get out of my way the whole time I was cutting the rug, then trying to roll it up (she laid down with a toy right where I was rolling and wouldn't move! LOL), and you can see by her wagging tail that she is trying to get in my way again, daring me to move her!! Haha!  I LOVE my Puppy!!!

I could also see watermarks on the subfloor (once the dirt/dust was gone), but thankfully none of it is damaged.  That big spot in front of my old vacuum is from me spilling the Christmas tree water 2 years ago -- I forgot I did that until I saw that spot.  The rug was soaked even more than that, so it's lucky that there is only a spot there!

Yoo-Hoo!  Brian, the floor is waiting....!!  :-D

Ok, well since I had to wait for him, and my back felt like it was broken, I decided to start some of my seeds!!!  FUN!
I mix the starter soil with water in a huge mixing bowl.....

Dirt cake, anyone??? LOL......

I pick out my seeds.....

(some of these I saved from last year's tomatoes!)
And then I plant them in rows right in the dish.....

You can't see it very well, but I put a plastic garden tag on it's side in the back of the dish so I could keep track of what I planted, where, on my list!
This is how I start my tomato seeds all the time now, because they seem to sprout best for me like this, I have NO idea why!  When I first started tomato seeds a few years ago, I used the little peat pots, but the seeds never germinated in them....they just got moldy!  So I plant them like this, and when they start to grow and get a few little leaves on them, I transfer them to larger peat pots and then to the garden when they are big enough!!

I also started some ornamental herb seeds (I used the peat pots for them!).....

Sweet Annie (look how tiny they are!!), and......

Fennel!!!

I did four of each.....

.......but I don't really know HOW many Sweet Annie seeds are actually in the dirt, because I couldn't see them! LOL  I guess I'll know when they start sprouting!!

The perfect thing about this is that the rest of the weekend and most of next week is going to be nice and sunny, with temps around 70F, so I'll be able to keep my seeds in the sun, which is what helps them sprout the quickest! :-D

So that's my excitement for now!  My back is almost all better, but only for now, because it will be killing me again once I get back into my garden!!  And I can't wait to get out into the sun -- I can tell I'm vitamin D deficient! :-D  I love feeling the sun on me in the spring, and it's been such a chilly, rainy spring that it's taken longer for me to be out there than it normally would.....I'm ready!!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Brian won't be able to resist the psychic messages I'm sending him to do the floor!!  But if it waits another week, I'll survive it! Haha!  I guess I'll just keep watering my seeds and playing on Pinterest until he's ready!!! ^-^

FINISHED!!! Now.....waiting!!

But that's ok!!  I can wait a bit! :-D
I got ALL my boards finished yesterday, and all I can say is PHEW!!!  It sure feels great to have my huge job all done, and stacked up.....

You can see I've already cut and peeled back part of the hideous (filthy!) rug.....boy, I can't wait to tear it all out!!!  Brian said we might do that this weekend! :-D  YAY!!

Oh, it is SO exciting to be tackling jobs that have been on my list (the BIG List) for years!!!  What will I do when everything is completed around here and I have no more huge projects to plan and complete....???  How about KEEPING IT CLEAN?  Hmmm.....never one of my strong points!  As a matter of fact, let me share with you one of my all-time favorite cartoons (if I can find it to post here), hang on......Found it!!  This is great! LOL......

Hahaha!  That's SO me!!! :-D
It's really not something to be proud of, though, and after I'm done with all the rooms here, and the cutting and scraping and painting, I really need to clean everything up, get the tools locked away in the barn/workshop (Not my favorite tools, though!), and become a GOOD HOUSEKEEPER!!!  My little house will deserve it by then! :-)

So today (instead of catching up on my painting projects :-P), I've been on Pinterest!  I joined Pinterest awhile ago, but I've never pinned anything.....it was too scary at first!!  There was SO MUCH that I wanted to pin all over the place, I knew I could lose control of it quick!  So I've had to think about it for awhile first, and today, I started my first boards and adding pins to them!  I started with my Country Sampler magazines -- I have so many pages tabbed, that I thought it would be fun to take pictures of my favorite, most inspiring pages and add them on a board!  So I did!! :-D

This is just a small stack!!! LOL  If you click on it, I think you can see more closely all my tabs on top, and some on the sides! :-D 

So today I took some pictures and added them to Pinterest!  I'm not sure if there will be a problem because they are of magazines, but I put the month and year and page number on each picture, along with a wordy description of what I loved about each picture (I'm always "wordy"! LOL).....hopefully that's good enough!

I also want to create boards of things I want to make or build myself -- there's SO MUCH on Pinterest that I want to make!!!!! -- and a board with techniques for creating, like aging wood or distressing paint.  I'll have to see if it's fun to do all this, or if it's too much work!  It was definitely tedious doing the magazine pictures, but I was too excited about it to mind.....so far, it's fun!! :-)

Well, tomorrow I will be starting some seeds for my tomato plants and cucumbers, and also some herbs that I want to grow (so I can dry them in the Fall!) -- I have Sweet Annie seeds and fennel, and I think one more.  I'm a little late this year, but that won't matter by mid summer!

So that should be fun for me -- I'll be sure to take pictures!! ^-^