Today I am off from work and I had decided to do nothing today. However, I have spent the morning dealing with administrative details.
Do you ever find that simple tasks end up being complicated? Like today for instance, I called the billing company for our doctor to verify that our account, Ryan and our, accounts were paid in full. So, in my first call this was verified for both accounts. Then I spoke with Ryan and he said that we were actually charged 10 dollars more. So I call back and suddenly they can not give me information about Ryan's account. Interesting that I can pay for his account but they can't give me information. Needless to say, they told me they didn't know why I was charged the extra amount and would have to call the doctor's office directly. So, this company really was useless. Things that should be simple never seem to be.
When my parents were here we did some home projects. My mom gave me an African violet about a year and half ago and it was busting out of the pot. So we divided the plant into three different plants and replanted them. I am hoping that it will survive. I bought 2 Orchids about 3 weeks ago and they are doing quite nicely. I am enjoying my indoor gardening but I am getting excited about gardening outside. In the fall we took out an overgrown tree in preparation for a vegetable garden. When my parents visited we went to my local garden center and I am looking forward to the spring time plantings. My rose garden is sleeping right now, but I am anticipating the sunny days of summer.
My mom and I also made a wreath for our doors. They turned out pretty good. It is so easy to make your own wreaths, and it is so much more cheaper. We just used a grapevine wreath and attached ivy. I put an Easter bow on mine.
I can hardly believe Easter is almost here. I am working on Easter, as I have done for the last 4 years since I started nursing. I am having a Easter dinner on the Saturday before Easter with my sister's family and my parents. My sister and her family came last year and we did the whole Easter egg hunt with the kids. This year I invited my cousins from Ann Arbor. They just adopted a 1 year old girl from China. We are all looking forward to this weekend.
Hope everyone is having a great day.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Happy Birthday to my Sister
Tomorrow, February 24th, is my sister Pam's birthday. Since I am working tomorrow I am going to post my blog in Ode of my sister tonight, so she will get it tomorrow. My sister has become my best friend since we have grown older. I appreciate her friendship more than anything. I enjoy our daily talks, our shared laughter and fond memories that we are continuing to build. Thank you for being the best sister I could ask for. Happy Birthday! And I hope that you are feeling better (she has had the flu this week). Here are a couple of quotes that I found for you, and what you mean to me. Happy Birthday from Ryan and I.
"Chance made us Sisters, hearts made us friends." Unknown
"The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend."Cali Rae Turner
Sisters
This is for my sister, best friend and other half.
She is the one who sparked the flame of creativity in me.
So close, yet so far.
Together, yet apart.
We are sisters, body and soul,
Yet we are separate and alone.
Our bodies separated by land,
But nothing separates our hearts.
Even if our eyes cannot meet
We know each other's thoughts.
Forever sisters we shall be
Connected by something stronger than blood.
Never alone will we be As long as we have each other.
by Kristi Weisgerber
"Chance made us Sisters, hearts made us friends." Unknown
"The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend."Cali Rae Turner
Sisters
This is for my sister, best friend and other half.
She is the one who sparked the flame of creativity in me.
So close, yet so far.
Together, yet apart.
We are sisters, body and soul,
Yet we are separate and alone.
Our bodies separated by land,
But nothing separates our hearts.
Even if our eyes cannot meet
We know each other's thoughts.
Forever sisters we shall be
Connected by something stronger than blood.
Never alone will we be As long as we have each other.
by Kristi Weisgerber
Sunshine on Snow
This morning the sun is shining on the snow and it looks quite pretty outside. A lot of my snow has melted, so hopefully spring is around the corner.
My parents hae been with us for the last couple of days which has been nice. We have gone shopping and got some great deals at Kohls. They have the best clearance racks -highly recommend it.
Anyways, just a quick update. Hope all is well.
My parents hae been with us for the last couple of days which has been nice. We have gone shopping and got some great deals at Kohls. They have the best clearance racks -highly recommend it.
Anyways, just a quick update. Hope all is well.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Weight loss and Paczkis! ! !
Well, yesterday was Fat Tuesday and you would think that all of our patient's family's wanted to make us fat because in came boxes of Paczkis.
Now, I had never heard of these before I moved to Michigan but holy smokes these things are the thing to get and eat on Fat Tuesday. I mean where I grew up it was Pancake Tuesday but here it is Paczki Tuesday.
Paczki (pronounced Pounch-Key) are a polish pastry that is deep fried. I understand that the Polish Immigrants brought this to the Detroit area years ago. Due to the beginning of the Lenten season, all of the goods in one's pantry is basically thrown into this pastry. They have a filling that can be many different flavors, including apple, Bavarian cream, raspberry, prune, lemon.
The amount of calories you ask? Well, seeing that Ryan and I have been eating 1500 Calories a day, this is about one third of our allotted calories per day. Unbelievable, and some people eat more than one. They say it is about the same as a Quarter pounder with Cheese. I read yesterday that it was about 580 calories.
So, you are all wondering if I had the ability to not eat a Paczki yesterday. Well here is the story. Yesterday I was looking after this sweet lady who has been in the ICU for almost 3 weeks. So was very depressed because she had been there so long and her husband had brought in two boxes of these treats. I had told them that I had my husband on this strict diet, and therefore, I myself was on a diet. Well, they insisted that I had to try one of their Paczki's. They gave me the stat's like it was a Thoroughbred Paczki, the cream of the crop, the best of the best. And then they told me that I was the best nurse that had looked after her in her entire stay. So, how could I not have a taste of these treats. So, I cut it in half and boy it was good. I must admit that I probably ate an entire Paczki by the end of the day. They were calling me from the break room. So, I ate 580 calories of sweets yesterday. But, I made up for it in our healthy whole wheat pancakes with organic maple syrup. Only 250 Calories for dinner.
Now, did Ryan turn up the opportunity to enjoy a Paczki. YES he did. He has the best determination. Since starting this diet almost 2 weeks ago, he has not strayed at all. He has stayed under 1500 Calories per day, and he has lost about 10 pounds already! Isn't that great! I am so proud of him.
Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Fat Tuesday and good luck with your Lenten journey for those who took it. I figure we have taken it because we aren't eating any sweets any more.
Now, I had never heard of these before I moved to Michigan but holy smokes these things are the thing to get and eat on Fat Tuesday. I mean where I grew up it was Pancake Tuesday but here it is Paczki Tuesday.
Paczki (pronounced Pounch-Key) are a polish pastry that is deep fried. I understand that the Polish Immigrants brought this to the Detroit area years ago. Due to the beginning of the Lenten season, all of the goods in one's pantry is basically thrown into this pastry. They have a filling that can be many different flavors, including apple, Bavarian cream, raspberry, prune, lemon.
The amount of calories you ask? Well, seeing that Ryan and I have been eating 1500 Calories a day, this is about one third of our allotted calories per day. Unbelievable, and some people eat more than one. They say it is about the same as a Quarter pounder with Cheese. I read yesterday that it was about 580 calories.
So, you are all wondering if I had the ability to not eat a Paczki yesterday. Well here is the story. Yesterday I was looking after this sweet lady who has been in the ICU for almost 3 weeks. So was very depressed because she had been there so long and her husband had brought in two boxes of these treats. I had told them that I had my husband on this strict diet, and therefore, I myself was on a diet. Well, they insisted that I had to try one of their Paczki's. They gave me the stat's like it was a Thoroughbred Paczki, the cream of the crop, the best of the best. And then they told me that I was the best nurse that had looked after her in her entire stay. So, how could I not have a taste of these treats. So, I cut it in half and boy it was good. I must admit that I probably ate an entire Paczki by the end of the day. They were calling me from the break room. So, I ate 580 calories of sweets yesterday. But, I made up for it in our healthy whole wheat pancakes with organic maple syrup. Only 250 Calories for dinner.
Now, did Ryan turn up the opportunity to enjoy a Paczki. YES he did. He has the best determination. Since starting this diet almost 2 weeks ago, he has not strayed at all. He has stayed under 1500 Calories per day, and he has lost about 10 pounds already! Isn't that great! I am so proud of him.
Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Fat Tuesday and good luck with your Lenten journey for those who took it. I figure we have taken it because we aren't eating any sweets any more.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Words to live by. . .
Anyway
Martina McBride
You can spend your whole life building something from nothing
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach
and you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway
Chorus:
God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway
This world’s gone crazy and it’s hard to believe that tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart,
for all the right reasons, and in a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway
God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway
You can pour your soul out singing a song you believe in
that tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway, sing it anyway
I sing, I dream, I love, anyway
We went and saw Martina McBride at Christmas for her Christmas concert and this was her encore. I thought it was a great song and wanted to share it with you all. Hope that everyone is enjoying their Sunday afternoon. The sun is shining so beautiful here, it looks pretty on the snow.
Martina McBride
You can spend your whole life building something from nothing
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach
and you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway
Chorus:
God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway
This world’s gone crazy and it’s hard to believe that tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart,
for all the right reasons, and in a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway
God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway
You can pour your soul out singing a song you believe in
that tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway, sing it anyway
I sing, I dream, I love, anyway
We went and saw Martina McBride at Christmas for her Christmas concert and this was her encore. I thought it was a great song and wanted to share it with you all. Hope that everyone is enjoying their Sunday afternoon. The sun is shining so beautiful here, it looks pretty on the snow.
Friday, February 16, 2007
The week in review
I didn't get a chance to write this week so here is a breakdown of a week in our home.
On Sunday, Ryan and I put together the table that we got from IKEA. You have to wonder why they can't just have the tables put together for you. It always seems like those "easy home construction projects" take a lot more time than expected. For the two of us, degree acquired people it took almost two hours! We had to take it apart a couple of times. Pretty embarrassing actually. And what is with the instructions? Some strange looking bubble man with just pictures, no words! I guess it is universal directions. Anyways, below is a picture of the table. I am really happy with how it did turn out. I am planning on going to change the decorations under the glass seasonally. Here is what I did right now, seeing that it was Valentine's Day and all.
Oh and here is a pic of our wonderful fire that roared all weekend. So nice, maybe it will come again this weekend.
On Sunday, Ryan and I put together the table that we got from IKEA. You have to wonder why they can't just have the tables put together for you. It always seems like those "easy home construction projects" take a lot more time than expected. For the two of us, degree acquired people it took almost two hours! We had to take it apart a couple of times. Pretty embarrassing actually. And what is with the instructions? Some strange looking bubble man with just pictures, no words! I guess it is universal directions. Anyways, below is a picture of the table. I am really happy with how it did turn out. I am planning on going to change the decorations under the glass seasonally. Here is what I did right now, seeing that it was Valentine's Day and all.
Oh and here is a pic of our wonderful fire that roared all weekend. So nice, maybe it will come again this weekend.
We had quite a large snow fall this week. We got about 4-6 inches of snow starting Tuesday. The snow is so pretty - we are finally having a winter.
As you all know, Valentine's Day was Wednesday. This was in the middle of a 3 day stretch of work for me. Ryan and I had decided to celebrate Valentine's Day tonight. I am sooo excited, because we are going to my most favourite restaurant - the Melting Pot http://www.meltingpot.com/ This is a fondue restaurant and it has the best atmosphere ever! We will be there for about 2.5 hours as it takes about that long to have the food. We get three courses - Cheese, Oil, and Chocolate. It is pretty romantic with intimate tables, I just love it! There is something exciting about going out on a date. Even though Ryan and I don't have any children it is still exciting when you have a planned date night. This morning I went out to Kohl's and got myself a new outfit from the clearance racks. 15 dollars for a corduroy skirt and a wool sweater. I love Kohl's clearance Racks. I picked up a gift for Ryan and I still have to wrap it. To top it all off, Ryan is getting out of work today early, so he will be home at 3. The sun is shining it is so pretty today - it is a good day! Below are the flowers that Ryan gave me on Wednesday. They were up in our bedroom when I got home from work. Isn't he great.?
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Ahhh Weekends
What a great weekend Ryan and I had. We really did nothing exciting. Ryan had to do some work from home this weekend, but all in all we had a relaxing and quiet weekend. We enjoyed our fire last night and today once we got home from church Ryan started the fire again and we have been enjoying it all day. Something about having a fire on which really warms your heart.
We are doing great on our low calorie, no cholesterol diet. We are working hard on trying new and healthy recipes. Today we had a homemade vegetable soup and tonight I made Stuffed chicken breasts with goat cheese and ricotta cheese. It sounds bad but it was only 235 calories per serving. I went to the library on Friday and picked up some low fat, low cholesterol cook books. They have been my lifesaver this weekend. Ryan has much more self control them me because I keep heading to my hidden sweet stash and he doesn't want any of it. I am so proud of him.
I am already looking forward to next weekend, hopefully it will be much of the same as this weekend.
We are doing great on our low calorie, no cholesterol diet. We are working hard on trying new and healthy recipes. Today we had a homemade vegetable soup and tonight I made Stuffed chicken breasts with goat cheese and ricotta cheese. It sounds bad but it was only 235 calories per serving. I went to the library on Friday and picked up some low fat, low cholesterol cook books. They have been my lifesaver this weekend. Ryan has much more self control them me because I keep heading to my hidden sweet stash and he doesn't want any of it. I am so proud of him.
I am already looking forward to next weekend, hopefully it will be much of the same as this weekend.
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