Labor Day Camping

John and I got a last-minute mini-vacation in at the very end of summer. We went camping at Clifty Falls State Park in Indiana. Had a wonderful time, enjoyed excellent weather and some hiking. The area was filled with butterflies and we enjoyed watching them, then coming home and trying to identify them on the computer!! Next time I'll take my butterfly book from 5th grade.

Dealing with Diabetes

Well I received bad news at the doctor's on Tuesday, my blood glucose levels are increasing. If this continues I'll have to go on insulin. So I have re-doubled my efforts to exercise more consistently and count carbs....I have two months to show some improvement.
I was very discouraged at first, and then angry at having this dumb disease...now finally I am just getting down to business. I went to the store to stock up on "allowed" foods, so I'll have things I can eat handy. I got my meter set up to record the carbs at each meal and the amount of exercise each day, along with my now required 3 blood sugar checks per day (ouch)
So I'll keep you all posted on how I'm doing and you can encourage me along the way. My goal is to lose 2# per week or 15 # by my next appointment in 2 months.

Thursday update

Well, no updates for Tues or Weds, because it poured rain all day. I did get some seedlings transplanted and a few inside jobs accomplished. But yesterday was great, hot, humid but no rain. I weeded and cleaned out the strawberry bed, mulched with fresh straw, and got the bird net in place over it. We already have several red strawberries and tons of green ones. Hopefully it will be a good crop!

Weeded, weeded, weeded. Worked on the garlic bed. John took down some big branches that were shading part of the garden. He added fresh soil to all the beds. He also got some of the new chicken wire up inside the fence. Doesn't sound like alot, but it took us all day and we could hardly move when we stopped.

Chance of rain today, but we're heading out anyway and hoping for the best. Maybe we'll get the blueberry bed done and one side of the path. Lots of chipping to do!

Staycation Monday Report

Dentist Appt. for nightguard fitting. Bank Run to put in NCCC's Sunday Deposit. Spend the rest of the day outside in beautiful weather. Got lots of weeding/bed cleaning done. Trimmed around the apple tree. John tried to fix the mower, but no luck. So he took it to the shop. Came back and did some trimming and dirt moving. We worked late because rain was predicted for today - sure enough, it rained most of the night and morning. Weather report for the week doesn't look too promising. We are switching to some inside jobs for today. And I can always do transplanting of my seedlings on the back porch. It is what it is!

Staycation

Off work at NCCC until May 17th (will still need to do some work for DMI) but mainly going to work on the yard and garden next week. John has the week off also - except he has to work tomorrow, but will have next Saturday off. I have lots of work planned for him though - not a REAL vacation, but we'll be together, so that's good! Planning to take down 5 dead pine trees and build a path around the garden...plus time to plant most things here in Cincy...so will do that also. Stay tuned for pictures and updates!

I was told to post

It was brought to my attention that I haven't posted in quite awhile. Well, my boss is taking a 3 month sabbatical this summer and so our budget process was pushed up. Plus it's garden time and I am outside most of the time. The good thing about all the work on the budget is that it is mostly done now and will be alot easier to get prepared for our fiscal year (Sept - Aug)over the summer, instead of trying to quickly get it all done at the beginning of September.

Garden Update: The peas are about 20 inches tall and getting ready to blossom. All the potato plants are in. Next week is the BIG PLANTING week. John and I are both taking next week off. So we will be putting most of the plants and seeds in then. The rhubarb is ready to cut...and the strawberry patch is loaded with blossoms and small green berries. Time to get the bird net up! We will also be taking down 5 dead pine trees and completing a path around the garden. Everyone pray for good weather for us. I do have several "in the house" projects ready just in case.

I'll try to update the blog at least once a week. For now I'll leave you with a look at Spring on Bluebird Drive

Spring Preparation

Well the temps are in the 60's this week and everyone is getting spring fever. Of course there is usually at least one more snow coming. I started my inventory of leftover seeds, drawing up my garden plans and figuring out my crop rotations. Found a great online resource www.plangarden.com It offers a 45 day trial of its online garden planning software and it is GREAT! I only wish I could save it locally instead of online, but it does let me print. After the 45 days you can get a year's subscription for $20. I'm at least going to try it out, much easier than drawing out my garden beds with pencil and paper. Here is a link to my garden, still in process
My Garden Design

It also has personal blogs...so I may move my Garden Journal over there.

Neat poem on the Lord's Prayer

I read about this poem by an unknown author in John MacArthur's book on prayer "Alone with God" and found it thought-provoking:
I cannot say “our” if I live only for myself in a spiritual, water-tight compartment.
I cannot say “Father” if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child.
I cannot say “who art in heaven” if I am laying up no treasure there.
I cannot say “hallowed be Thy name” if I am not striving for holiness.
I cannot say “Thy kingdom come” if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful day.
I cannot say “Thy will be done” if I am disobedient to His Word.
I cannot say “on earth as it is in heaven” if I will not serve Him here and now.
I cannot say “give us…our daily bread” if I am dishonest or an “under-the-counter” shopper.
I cannot say “forgive us our debts” if I harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say “lead us not into temptation” if I deliberately place myself in its path.
I cannot say “deliver us from evil” if I do not put on the whole armor of God.
I cannot say “Thine is the kingdom” if I do not give to the King the loyalty due Him as a faithful subject.
I cannot say “the power” if I fear what men may do.
I cannot say “the glory” if I am seeking honor only for myself.
I cannot say “forever” if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by the things of time.

Still snowing in Cincy!

Well we have broken the record....so far over 21 inches during February, setting a record - they haven't had this much snow since 1914!!

Since I grew up in Michigan City, Indiana and then later moved to Buffalo, New York, I'm not too impressed with 21 inches...but I am enjoying it. So much nicer to look at then dead, brown grass!

Just praying for enough of a break this coming weekend for me to get to Hamburg, New York. My sister is having surgery this Wednesday and I'm going up next week to help out.

Of course I'm trying to get all the end of the month stuff done ahead of time for work - but made great progress today.. so I think I'll be ready. I'm also starting my seeds under lights...so I have my garden in mind...really spring isn't that far away!

Jury Duty

Well, just when I thought January was coming along pretty smoothly....JURY DUTY! I really thought I'd call on Friday and find out that I had been passed over. But I have to report at 8:30 Monday morning at the county courthouse (45 minutes away from home)!
I will go through orientation and then be interviewed. So there is still a chance that I won't have to serve, but I will probably be tied up all Monday. So I went into work today to work ahead and plan to do the deposit right after church tomorrow.
Looks like it's going to be an even busier week than I thought. Hopefully I'll be done by Thursday morning, or I'll need to get a sub for my class.

Oh January!

Still in the midst of my busiest week of my busiest month! But God is graciously providing me with strength, health and little by little my tasks are getting done. Had a wonderful bible study today at church...it's our first day back since Dec 3rd!!! It was great to hear how everyone's holidays were and what God has been teaching them. As usual, God has been quite busy in everyone's lives and there were great testimonies shared around the table today! Our "Knowing God" chapter this week was 13 - The Grace of God. What a wonderful study to start 2010! Let me leave you with this verse from Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." How amazing that our Judge has become our Savior!

Busy Friday

Good news: I kept the bipap mask on all night...not sure yet if I slept more or not. I woke alot having to make adjustments to the mask. Hopefully my special pillow will arrive soon and help cut down on the # of times I need to adjust the mask.

I am getting ready to print out all the contribution statements for the church today. Monie got all the envelopes ready for me yesterday....so we should be able to get them out soon. Still waiting for our Treasurer to sign the cover letter.

Have a great weekend!

The bipap has arrived

And the home health aide trained me on using it....we'll see if it helps tonight! I am hoping for deeper sleep and more energy. Good day, tried a new whole grain bread recipe and it turned out great in the new breadmaker! Also worked on re-organizing my bible study notebook and read several great articles online about quiet times. Next I'm planning to finish my study guide for the Knowing God Bible study which starts up again next week.

We had a great class last night on "Understanding Poverty" Here is a passage from Isaiah that really struck me: "if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday." Is 58:10

Notice that it says "spend" ... which really speaks to a sacrifice of time. We talked about the importance of building relationships with the poor and not just throwing money at the problem. Building relationships can be messy and time consuming....but it doesn't say we are to "dabble" on behalf of the poor....but SPEND YOURSELVES. Quite convicting.

Back to the Gym

Well, it took quite alot of self-talk but I finally made it back to the gym today. I do feel more energized by going, so hopefully remembering that feeling will keep me going back. I also tried out my new schedule for Tuesdays....getting up at 5 AM! So far I've really enjoyed being able to accomplish so much before the day gets away. We are having a nice sunny day....which is a treat after several weeks of clouds. We still have snow, so it's nice and sparkly out!

I'm going to get all the Christmas wraps and ribbons organized today. I have some new containers to put everything in. I love storage containers!!!! After that I need to finish my study guide for the bible study I'm teaching. It's going to be a fun day doing many of the things I love...including trying out a new bread in the breadmaker. I stopped at Whole Foods after the gym and got some different kinds of flour to make a 7 grain bread.

Well, gotta get off the computer and on to organizing!

Sunday Dinner

We had Michael's belated birthday meal today...and the Tiramisu turned out excellent!
I guess I won't have to try all 395 recipes on recipezaar to find a good one, since this one tastes just like Bravo's!

This afternoon I decided to organize all my crochet and knitting projects. I am going to use my ball winder to wind all the yarn I own - that will make them easier to store...more compact. I found out that I am in the middle of 10 different projects and I had promised to make the guys new slippers. So I've made a list of all the projects and will work to complete them before gardening weather. Of course I need to start planning the garden too. So many things to do and so little time! I've decided that I'll have to take a break from Farmville during the week and just play on weekends because it is such a time "eater".


We had the neatest "weather event" this morning. In the night we had fog and it is so cold that it made a really neat looking frost on everything. It looked like someone had sprayed flocking on all the pinetrees and bushes. At church Jean told me that it is called hoarfrost...it made everything look awesome this morning.

Goodbye Christmas Decorations!

Today's the day I'm taking down the tree. Monkey bread and banana bread are baking in the oven and the house smells so cozy! I also need to make Michael's tiramisu birthday dessert for tomorrow....we had to postpone his birthday dinner for a week because I came down with a secondary infection from my Christmas virus!!! Quite a different holiday this year.

It is lightly snowing but the sun is shining...a nice day to pack away the decorations...I shouldn't feel too sad on such a pretty day. Well, I need to get at it...Happy Saturday everyone!

Snow in Cincinnati

Well we've had two days of snow and the sun came out today - everything just sparkled! It is so beautiful! I enjoy looking at it and today driving in it wasn't bad at all.

I'm full into my January rush at work, but had a great day today. Got all of the bank accounts balanced and now I can Close December and begin to prepare all the contribution statements that need to be mailed out. I think I'll be able to get everything done on time, if I can keep having productive days like today. It really helps now that I have a private office at work - no distractions or interruptions. But it does get kind of lonesome at times! Also all of my files are in the office with me and handy to get to. They used to be in three different locations in the building.

I always wait until after Michael's birthday (January 3) and Epiphany (Jan 6) to take down the Christmas decorations, so tomorrow seems like a good day to tackle that. My indoor herb garden is growing so quickly, I already need to harvest some of the herbs! I am really enjoying my Aerogarden!

New Year

Well it's a new year and another chance to try to keep this blog up to date. With Facebook helping me keep in touch with everyone, it seems like I have even less motivation to "blog"...but FB isn't a good vehicle to express more than a snippet of a thought. Wanted to share a great quote I read today:

"It is said that for money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; knowledge, but not wisdom; glitter, but not beauty; fun, but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; leisure, but not peace. You can have the husk of everything, but not the kernel." ~Arne Garborg

A good thought to ponder at the beginning of 2010! Hopefully we will put our energies into the things that truly matter and will advance the Kingdom of God this year.
I am reading a great book called "When Helping Hurts" by Corbett & Fikkert and taking a seminar at our church on Understanding Poverty. We had our first meeting last night and a very good opening discussion. If you have an interest in helping the church help the poor help themselves ... check out www.chalmers.org or pick up this book - it will challenge you!