Break the Cycle

After all the snow we've had this winter - snowmen have gotten old. Since it wasn't the greatest of packing snow today - we made NORM - the Snow Camel .... I'm thinking of putting a sign out and selling rides......

If you know me IRL - you know I've been battling a foot problem for nearly 2 months now. It's started with that pain in the heel ... plantars fascitus. An Xray also revealed a heel spur - Joy, Joy. After a painful shot of cortisone didn't touch the pain - it was determined that surgery was about the only option. OK - I'm fine with that. Owww - a 3 inch incision made right across the heel - the first place your foot hits the ground? But the problems began about a week after surgery - while serving dinner - something went POP. And the swelling started. And it got bigger. And bigger. DD #1 (who I THOUGHT might become a Dr. - I'm rethinking that now) - kept poking it - asking "does this hurt" & "how about here". No bedside manner there. Yes, it hurt. DO NOT POKE IT - IT may POP ! A month later - still swollen like a balloon - MRI time. If you've never had an MRI - it can be very noisy - or if your a mom of 4 wonderfully normal...

The director of the State Swim Meet mailed me all the medals and ribbons for the team - it was a long, snowy weekend, and our coach simply wanted to get home, and had forgotten all about them. Anyway - dd #2 ended up with 3rd place High Points (all the rewards pictured are hers) - I'm really, really proud of her. With that finish, she is eligible to swim on the Zone Team - but this years Zone Meet is a good 7 hours away in upstate New York. If it was held during a warmer time of the year - I'd think about going - so close to Niagara Falls - it would make a great vacation. But since it'll still be cold, I think we'll have to pass on this one. She still has the Junior Olympics coming up - and lots more years to swim - God Willing. Either way - I'm proud of you little girl !

Wow - after waiting a few hours -Biggest Loser for Wii finally went on sale at 3 p.m. - by 3:03 - it was already 50% sold. It's not going to last long. Edit - it's now 3:06 and it's over 85% gone - the next one I want does't go off until 11 p.m. - I guess I'll be setting my alarm clock ! They will also be selling a 4 remote charger, and looks like Wii Fit - and maybe Wii Active ??? Every few hours something new goes on sale - click on the link above - then at the top of the page click on gold box specials. The Biggest Loser is now sold out (3:09) so if you think you're going to want to buy an upcoming gold box special - make sure you know what time it starts !

While I love to quilt - and it really relaxes me - sometimes I have to sew for a more Necessary Reason. When I pulled in the driveway last night - I noticed that the kids need new curtains - so - my standby for that type of material - Fabric.com for $1.95 a yard - I can get drapery material - I usually get 4-6 yards - and make them matching pillows with whatever is left. Sometimes they have really neat gifts on sale as well - and right now if you use coupon code 3PLTRY9 you should get 30% off of a $50 order - plus free shipping !! For $46 I got 21 yards of fabric and 3 awesome gifts - and that includes delivery ! Of course, that blows my "I will try NOT to buy more fabric this year" - but since it'll all get used pretty quickly - that's OK !

Yep - I was out at 7 a.m. again this a.m. - only about 4-6 inches - but since there was also a very high wind last night - I had some major drifting to contend with. DD #1 was out to help within 30 minutes - and 2 hours later - we were done. It was bright and sunny all day - so instead of having a icy driveway like all our neighbors who didn't shovel - ours is bone dry, nice ! I did get the kids out to play for about an hour - but I think the snow is starting to wear on them as well - so we made valentines !! This photo is for a very good friend of mine that introduced me to card making. Now of course we do nothing compared to the works of art she sends me - but those first graders will certainly be impressed !! Oh, and I wanted to bookmark this blog post - definitely going to be trying this pie in the near future Swedish Apple Pie from Salad in a Jar.

I love snow - it's clean, it makes life slow down (as long as your not at a swim meet 70 miles from home) It took all of one hour yesterday to build our snowman - great snow for packing. Our tunnels and forts held up well - and with todays additional accumulation - we'll expand our empire - once of course, mom shovels the yellow brick road (also known as the driveway) Before I start getting emails about the dangers of snow tunnels collapsing - we did indeed discuss how heavy the snow would be - especially for the little man of the family. The kids know they cannot play outside alone in the tunnels - and mom's eye will always be watching as well. So get out there and enjoy the snow - it's great exercise - and the kids will always remember how much fun you were (very important since they choose your nursing home!) Just remember to keep your butt down when doing the army crawl !

Thanks to Judy at Patchwork Times I get inspired every Friday to try and get SOMETHING done on my sewing machine. This weekend - with over 2 feet of snow to shovel - I thought I might not have time - but in the end - it only took 3 hours of shoveling to get out to the road - and with no swim meets or swim practices to attend - I had an entire weekend at my disposal ! First - catch up on a block of the month. Not real sure why I started with the BOM, but since it only has one more month left - I'll finish it. It'll make a great last minute gift next year ! Then - my first attempt at real applique - first I traced all the pieces on "Wonder Under" - it's the first time I've used this product - this part went really easy Then match the pieces with the correct fabrics - I stopped there - need to pick up some vinyl at Joanns - unless I order it online - but Mona wants new curtains to go with her new bedding - so we'll probably hit the bricks and mortar stor...

Ahhh - the backyard - I think it'll be a few days before I heat up the ol' BBQ grill ! Adam realized he could move better on the top of the snow then trying to walk - too bad mom weighs too much to crawl across the top ! I was surprised to see the air pump managed to keep a hole in the ice - even with all that snow. I'll throw in some heating rings later to get rid of the rest of the snow/ice Adam and his sisters built a wonderful snow fort while I shoveled the driveway (with help from DD #1) Here he is taking a break ... no where do I see a pile of snowballs - of course, I made my stockpile - and have it well hidden - at the first inkling of a snowball fight - I'm ready !!! This is my "SNOWFORT" - Bessie - the wonderful Suburban ! It'll be a few days before I get her dug out - but she makes an excellent snow fort !! I think it's supposed to snow again later in the week - yipppeee !!!

Was going to go to the grocery store last night - seemed like about a million other people had the same great idea - so I put Baby Bessie in reverse and went back the way I came. Figured I'd get up at 6 a.m. this morning - and hit the store before anyone else got up (no one is EVER at the grocery store at 6 a.m. - I know, I usually go at that time!). Wrong - by 7 a.m. - there were LINES at the checkout. I was going for my weekly trip - you cannot tell me that thousands of people ALL needed 5 gallons of milk and half a dozen loaves of bread - to get through the weekend? Yes, they are calling for snow - but come on people - by Sunday the roads will be clear again. DD #2 and I witnessed 3 near miss accidents on our way out of people trying to find parking - and the lot is HUGE. Amazing. But we are home, safe and sound, with plenty of food, and plenty of warm clothes, so I'm counting my blessings ! Now - for 3 days of non-stop sewing - just because I can :)

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