Tidbits Episode 5

WOW! It has been a LONG time since I did a tidbits episode. I have so much to tell you!

~ My daughter is back home again (sort of).  She'll be moving out again in a month, but for the last couple of months she's been living in our camper out back with her fiance while they save for an apartment. It's a long story, but it's been nice having her around again. I love my little bugszilla <3

~ The dieting thing, oh lord, do we really need to talk about it? The best I have EVER done on a diet is when I started cutting things out a little at a time. I ended up dropping 18 lbs and then started eating all of the crap again (bad, bad, bad) So I've started over (yet again) with that. This week is no soda, and I'm doing great. Dropping one thing at a time is way easier for me than going cold turkey on anything. I'm determined never to give up.

~ My boys recently moved out (huge post on that coming soon). And I'm feeling the empty nest syndrome.

~ I recently made my first trip to a big city. Hubby had to go to Atlanta on a business trip and I tagged along. I have to say I wasn't impressed. It was really pretty, but I'm a rural girl y'all. I come from a small town and I've always lived in the backwoods. I live the closest to town right now I have in my entire life. And I'm about a 10 minute drive from the nearest small town. I've never been closer than an hour away from a big(ish) city, and I have always been curious about them. So when I had the opportunity to ride along I jumped on it. I was not impressed.  As far back as I can remember I've known that when you meet someone on the street you smile, make eye contact, nod, and issue a polite greeting. "Morning." or "Hi, how are you?" Which, if eye contact is made, will usually elicit a smile, nod, and a reply. If the other person doesn't make eye contact you just nod, smile, and move on. And they do the same. I walked every where I went in Atlanta for three days, and I greeted every person I met. With the exception of one person everyone simply looked away when I made eye contact and smiled. The one lady made my day. She was probably 70-80 years old and when she smiled back I said, "Morning!" "Morning! It's a beautiful day isn't it." "Yes ma'am it is!" I was so happy that someone was finally being polite, you have no idea. It wasn't just that they were not making eye contact or nodding or whatever, it was the general air of rudeness that surrounded everyone. At any rate I've decided big cities are not for me. I'll stay right here in my little corner of the world where there really are smiling faces and beautiful places :) However it was nice to finally be "traveling" even if it wasn't too far away.

~ For the past 8 years I've been babysitting my nephews. I don't mind doing it, it helps my sister and they are a hoot. (really funny for you non-southerners) But I have finally decided that I'm ready to be free. My kids are moving out, I want the freedom to do what I want when I want to do it. Started in August I'll only be watching them a few days a week after school. This works well for me because I would miss them terribly if I didn't keep them at all.

Tidbits Episode 4

I know I know, you're probably thinking, really? A tidbits? Didn't we just do one of those? Well yeah, we did.  But then I took a super long break to mope a bit and feel sorry for myself. And to rest and relax and get my brain working again and so now I'm back and will hopefully be posting regularly again (cross your fingers, and heck your toes too!).

~ So I finally finished the challenge during my time away and it went bad.  I did end up finishing fairly strong. I avoided soda and junk food at the end. But I did it for about a week and a half instead of 20 days. And I am currently not craving soda.  Or junk food really but I still find myself reaching for it entirely too much. 

~ I've recently purchased a pair of decent shoes so I'm trying to start walking every day. I'm failing, but I'm trying. At this point I am walk/running about a mile and a half a week. Which I usually do all in one day..  Yeah, I gotta work on that. And with it getting dark earlier I'll have less time to get out and walk. So I gotta stop making excuses and sitting on my butt and start moving.  

~I've gotten used to my daughter being out of the house and I'm doing better with only seeing her once in a while. I miss her like freaking crazy.  But I think we're better now than we ever have been.  I actually got to see her for a few minutes today and that was nice.  

That face lol <3 

~ With winter around the corner I'm finally starting on some of the outside jobs I've been wanting to do around here forever. I HATE snakes. I mean I loathe them. And we have a building in the back yard that is overflowing with junk. And I mean that literally.  I have put off cleaning it out because I'm afraid of what I'm going to find digging through all of that mess. It started out all nice and organized. And then more and more stuff was added and eventually mess started falling over and pretty soon we didn't even care lol. So this winter my goal is to get that mess out of here. I don't care where it goes but it can't stay here. I want my building back!  

~ We will also be doing some odd jobs in and around the house which I'm sure I'll take pics of and update you all with ;)  But those will be done as money and time allows so don't expect anything too soon or quickly.

~ In an effort to get back into the swing of blogging I'm declaring November "Challenge Month".  My goal is to do a challenge every November, starting this year since, well  ya know, I'm out of practice.  :)  

Tidbits - Episode 3

~ The challenge: Well it's going, and that's about all I can say about that. I've screwed up entirely too many times. And I can't decide whether to be disgusted with myself or proud of the fact that I'm still trying to stick to it. I absolutely hate this. I hate craving sugar. It sucks. And it seems like the minute I make it off-limits I feel like I could commit murder for something sweet. I've done this before. I once gave up soda and sweets for 2 weeks. The first week was torture, but after that it was a lot easier, and I felt better. Now I swear it seems like I can't drive by a store without feeling an insane urge to stop and get something. And it seems like the very minute I try and do better my kids decide they gotta have something sweet.  Really?  Sometimes I feel like this is it. I'll never be smaller than I am right now. May as well get used to being a fat woman...

I don't want to be her anymore :( But do I want to put forth the effort to change? 

~ We're going camping!  Aside from our trip to the beach we haven't left the house this summer. And I am so ready to get away again. I absolutely love camping but man do I hate the work that comes with it. Packing all of the various items, cleaning stuff that has been packed away for a year. Just everything that comes with going away for any amount of time. Bleh!  But it will be so worth it when we get there! Happy, happy, happy! :)  

Our camping set up from previous years :) 

~ My naner is staying home a little bit longer.  I'm very happy about this because as much as I try to be supportive of my kids and their desire to be independent I was about to lose it y'all. I mean like put me in one of those jackets where I can hug myself all day and let me sit in a pretty white room with bouncy floor, walls, and ceiling.  Losing mama was hard. Probably the hardest thing I've ever dealt with. Then when Amanda moved out right afterward it felt like someone had jerked the rug out from under my feet. And then Shane was going too. I was trying to be up-beat about it, but I really just felt like I was starting to sink.  I'm glad I have a little more time to deal with it and prepare myself. I know my kids are going to move out. But I am going to love every minute I have them at home with me. 

This is me once the kids are all gone.. I'm telling y'all!

~ Speaking of kids moving out.. bugs.  Oh my little darlin. She's had such a rough time lately. A lot has happened, none of it really her fault, but today I stopped by to see her for a minute and she burst into tears while talking to me. I swear turning Mom-to-the-rescue mode into I'm-here-for-you mode is really freaking hard. When one of my kids is upset I really want to just put my cape on and kick some tail. And for those of you worrying, don't.  She'll be fine. It isn't anything God can't handle and she's a tough gal.  But we all have those moments of weakness. And doesn't it seem like they come most when you're with someone you know cares for you unequivocally? Besides, I still have that cape, and I'm not above using it ;)

10 Life Pro Tips...

I actually use in my day to day life.  I know you've seen them, they're everywhere.  I'm constantly barraged by tips that look so cool and amazing. And I always think, "WOW! I could totally do that!" But do I?  No. Because that would take time and effort, and who has that to spare?  So I give you 10 tips that I have found online that I actually implemented and use to this day. These are things that were cool enough for me to remember, useful enough for me to do, and worked well enough that I continued to use them more than the one trial run. In no particular order:

Need a chip clip?  I have tons of these hangers lying around and almost never used them. Then I ran across this little tip. 

Don't want to break them apart just in case you ever decide to hang pants on them again? Then how about using them to hold your cookbook while you're cooking? I keep one of these on my kitchen cabinets for just this reason.

My husband is a cord collector. If there is ever a cord he didn't want to keep I don't know what it is. And that used to drive me insane. Until I found this little tip. Now all of our cords are organized in one box.  Way easier, and when we do need one of those cords I can find it at a glance.

Every single time I vacuumed out my van my Shop-Vac would unplug several times. Then hubby taught me this little trick which saved me a lot of aggravation. Yes, I know. I should have thought of that on my own. What can I say? One track mind...

Folding fitted sheets was my nemesis.  I hated it. But this really does make it simple and fast. And I can do it all by myself :) Which, let's be honest, I'm going to be doing it by myself.  

It's a brownie. In a mug. And it takes a little over a minute. Do I really need to say anymore?

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I have tried so many tips to keep from crying when I cut onions. I've frozen the onions, had a spoon hanging out of my mouth, and even applied chest rub beneath my nose.  This works better than anything I've ever done

I often burn pictures to CD's for family members. And this keeps me from spending entirely too much money on little plastic cases which we lose or break anyways 

I love this tip. Love, love, love it! Before I found this I was forever cleaning those little slivers of soap from my soap try in the shower. And it was annoying, took forever, and wasted money. Now I simply stick it onto the new bar and voila! 

Somebody please tell me why this works? I'm astonished by it. I'll actually stand and watch my pot of boiling water wondering at the fact that it isn't boiling over. It's the simple things that make me happy ;)  

(PS. I found these images from various facebook shares, if anyone recognizes and image and knows where it came from let me know, I'd love to give proper credit where credit is due :)  ) 

Tidbits: Episode 2

Ok so I'm late, it's been a rough couple of weeks and I hope you'll understand. I say you meaning all 1 of you who actually check this thing to see if I have posted lol Too much clutter in my brain for an actual post, so without further ado, time for another episode of TIDBITS!




~ The stomach bug bit our family. The last two weeks have been vomit and poop filled in our house and we're just about sick of it.... literally.  TMI? My radar is off, forgive me

~ I've revamped my "diet" goals once again. Actually counting calories is driving me nuts. And I really want to just eat real food.  I think it would be better for my family and for me. And as an added benefit I should lose weight. Because if I cut out all of the processed foods and sugar, well that has to have some effect, right? So that's where were at now.

~ To ^ that end I have begun cooking real meals again. I had actually started this before, then I got super lazy and quit. But when I was cooking I enjoyed my food more and I ate a lot less. So I broke down and made a meal plan for this week, and then I did my grocery shopping according to it. I also did my best to avoid the dirty dozen when I purchased my groceries and WOW! organic food is EXPENSIVE!  Why must it cost more to eat better? ;_;  I found an Earth Fare in Greenville which is about an hours drive away from me and a farmers market in Easley which is even closer. I think between the two I should be able to do my shopping without breaking the bank and help us eat better as well. We'll see.

~ Also on the diet front I haven't been to the gym in.. a month? At least.  It isn't as if I am sitting on my hands all day. I just haven't really had the time or the inclination. Though I am not working out daily, which I do need to be doing. In about 8 weeks my family heads to the beach. I really want to drop some weight before them.

~ Summer is quickly approaching and I am SUPER excited.  I absolutely love the outdoors.  And once it warms up I'd rather be outside than in. We'll be going to the beach which I am super excited about. Add to that the numerous camping, boating, picnics, and other outdoor adventures we'll be doing this summer and I am totally psyched. Plus this will probably be our last summer together as a family.

~  I'm planting my garden within the next week or so which will help me a lot. Those things need tending ;)  So that'll be added exercise for me. And I love the fresh produce.  Plus it saves on the grocery bill so YAY!

~ We're getting ready for prom. When I say we I mean my daughter of course but anyone who knows me knows I live vicariously through my children.  And so I'm loving all of the prep for it. We've gone shopping for her dress and have set up her hair appointment.  A friend is going to do her makeup, or she will, that changes by the minute. And things are rolling. And as excited as I am, I'm also apprehensive. My baby is going to graduate in 8 weeks. My baby. Do you understand that? And she's probably the one I am closest to of my children. My boys I love dearly as well, but they're boys. I can't talk to them about menstrual cycles and breast soreness.  I can't believe they'll be gone soon. So not ready for that.

Tidbits - Episode 1

Many times I think of random bits of information that I want to share, but they aren't really enough to make a blog post.  I call these tidbits.  And so, when I've accumulated enough of my little tidbits to make a post, you'll have a Tidbits Episode ;)


~ Sometimes, when dealing with my mother's cancer, I feel completely alone. Today we went to a doctor's appointment and once again rehashed the whole stage 3/4 conversation with the doctor. And while he didn't come right out and say stage 4, he did say that is "one of my biggest concerns".  Which makes me think he's leaning more in that direction now. So I came home sort of depressed and wishing I could reach out to someone.  My husband was at work, and what could he do anyways? Couldn't call him.  My brother and sister basically deal with the situation by pretending it doesn't exist (and so do I 99% of the time). And I didn't want to start them worrying as I was. I could call up a friend, but why? They could do nothing for me, and I know how helpless it feels when you want to help someone and you can't. So I was sad about mama and feeling sorry for myself when my youngest son asked me what was wrong. I cried and told him. He gave me a big hug and said it would be ok.   You know, sometimes I close myself off and get on a pity party for no reason.  My friends may not know how to help me, and my siblings may be struggling with this too. But they're there for me. All I have to do is ask.

~ For about a month a little while back I stayed up late waiting for my husband to get home from work. During this time I would start craving a snack around 10 o'clock.  It was never anything really big. A small bowl of cereal, a cookie, sometimes fruit.  But it was always something sweet.  After a month of doing this it became a habit.  And since I've started trying to get into shape again, and I am serious this time, I am trying to kick this habit. It is really hard!  I've actually started going to bed earlier, so most of the time I'm asleep by 10. But if I am awake, you can set your watch by it. Around 10pm my body starts hinting that it would like something sweet. And I start mentally tallying what we have that I would like.  Then I have to mentally slap myself. "QUIT IT!" I say.  I'm not gonna be that person anymore. But wow, the 10 o'clock munchies are rough!

~ And on that subject, I lost 2 more pounds. Woohoo, go me!  I'm down to 272 now. Which is awesome, but seeing that I was 265 and then gained 10 and am now trying to lose again what I already lost.. well,  you get the picture. So instead of whining about where I was, I've set a new goal. 270.  I figure I'll take this thing in 10 pound increments. That way I don't get overwhelmed and I can get to them quicker.  So yeah, 2 more pounds to my first goal!

~ I want to do a blog post soon about my day. I feel like I am in a solid run from morning till night, every day.  But when I type out what I do, it seems so.. little. I keep thinking people will read that and be like, "That's it? That's what you do all day? I could wrap that up in a couple of hours"  Maybe I'll do a week instead lol.

~ Finding time to blog is also a bit of a challenge. I want to update this thing regularly, but at the same time, I don't want to neglect my house, my family, or my diet to do so.  So I get frustrated thinking about how I need to do an update, and then I get frustrated because I am spending time writing that I could be using to do something else. It's an ugly cycle.