This is one of the heats that Charlie’s PW Derby car raced in. His car is the one on the far right, “The Old Dark Tiger”. In case the video isn’t showing here is the YouTube link – The Old Dark Tiger
Charlie is already talking about his PW Derby car for next year.
Elizabeth
Charlie is out of school. I am working. Hubby has his normal blood work appointment this afternoon in preparation for chemo tomorrow. He is anemic and the oncologist is watching his iron levels closely.
If Hubby’s iron level drops below a 9 she won’t proceed with chemo unless he gets a blood transfusion. I suggested he start taking an iron supplement. The silly man said he’d just do the blood transfusion.
*SIGH*
Anyhow, I prevailed and Hubby is now taking a daily iron supplement. I’m also trying to increase the amount of iron rich vegetables he eats but that is slow going.
Tomorrow Hubby goes for his second PET scan. This one will tell us if the chemo is working and doing what is it supposed to do – stop and/or slow the growth of the cancer on his liver. It will also check to see if the cancer has spread to other organs and areas. We should have the results by Thursday.
Elizabeth
Charlie loves anything to do with vehicles – Hot Wheels, Monster trucks, NASCAR and just recently he started watching Motorcross racing. Whenever Charlie is watching a race or event he comes and give me a play by play recap of what is going on at the time. Totally annoying but I’m hoping it is a short lived phase.
Sunday Charlie watched a Motorcross race on SPEED TV. Here is one of his recaps:
Mommy, Mommy, Mooommmyyyy! oh my gosh! One of the motorcycle guys lost control of his bike and fell off. His motorcycle flew in the air and bonked another racer in the head. Well, actually it hit his helmet. He’s okay. It didn’t hurt that much.
I’m not sure how my son decided being hit in the head with a flying motorcycle didn’t hurt that much. Maybe it was because they wear helmets ? Or because the race didn’t stop?
Elizabeth
The Weird Sisters – Eleanor Brown
I was so excited to hear that BlogHer Book Club chose this book to review. I loved the blurbs about it. I mean a book about a family that believes a library card can solve all your problems? Sisters who are different and don’t get along just like me and my sister? What’s not to like?
Sadly, I just could not get into the book until towards the end. I had to make myself continue reading. It wasn’t the first person plural voice that bugged me. I actually thought that technique worked to help weave the different stories together.
Three sisters are named after characters in Shakespeare’s plays. Individually the three women certainly draw parallels to the character traits put forth by Shakespeare in his plays, Rosalind from As You Like It, Bianca from The Taming of the Shrew, and Cordelia from King Lear. All three are stuck in their childhood family roles and scared to break free from their comfortable niche.
Each sister returns home for her own personal reasons but under the guise of their mom’s illness. I do like that the sisters don’t really like each other. They keep secrets from each other, snipe at one another and behave like my sister and I do in real life. I felt like their personalities and circumstances were a little trite maybe? Too much of the stereotypical birth order and family roles?
The book was okay overall. I just couldn’t really get into it. In the spirit of honesty, I kept putting it down in lieu of other books that held my attention more. If it hadn’t been for a deadline I would have eventually finished reading The Weird Sisters but it would have taken me a lot longer.
You can see what other readers thought plus add your own thoughts or comments over on the BlogHer Book Club main page.
Elizabeth
{Disclosure - This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.}
This post comes under the Our Life Well Lived: Getting Happy section. The question is:
How do you practice self-acceptance and find unconditional love for yourself? How does practicing love first help you attract more love and happiness in your life?
I’m guessing most of you have heard the old saying “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy” before. There is a certain degree in truth to that statement. But what truly makes Mama happy and content? What brings her happiness and love? Why does Mama’s outlook affect the family so?
Lots of women have difficulty with the concept of self-acceptance and unconditional love for themselves. I certainly do. We are taught to put others first. To love other people before loving ourselves. Society has conditioned us to compare ourselves to impossible images and ideals.
Yet I know that women who love themselves and truly accept themselves for who and what they are have a certain “something”. I can think of several special women I’ve met who draw others to them, like a moth to a flame. They are loved and love. They are happy. They are content, which is not the same as happiness. They share that happiness, contentment and love with everyone they meet. I am drawn into their circle of light. They gladly share their secret if you will just ask or listen.
Let’s face it. Do we like being around people who are negative? Bitter, angry or unhappy the majority of the time? No. It does not attract or encourage relationships.
We put off doing things for ourselves, even important stuff like mammograms, dentist visits, etc. Most of the time we use the busyness of life as an excuse. We turn ourselves into martyrs and then complain how we “never have time for ourselves”. I’ve learned that making the time to put me first is OK. That I need to take care of myself; otherwise I can’t take care of my family properly or with a good attitude.
I am slowly learning that by loving myself and accepting ME for who I am, cellulite, double-chin, talkative, bossy and more, that I open up myself to be loved by others. That my family loves me exactly the way I am. God created me and loves me no matter what. That how I perceive myself affects my relationship with my husband and our son. When I accept who I am, I can accept who they are.
When I am happy and love myself, I share my happiness and love with others. They in turn share their love and happiness with me. The circle is complete.
Please join me and other women over at BlogHer – feel free to comment here or there. You can enter the Sweepstakes too!
Elizabeth
I have had my Nook Color for over a year now. I love it and carry it with me most of the time. I try to restrain myself from buying tons and tons of ebooks since we don’t have much room in the budget for books. Free Book Fridays that Barnes & Noble offers to Nook owners helps a lot. I’ve found some great reading material that way.
I am a HUGE library fan and user! All those free books, movies, magazine, and other goodies just waiting for me! In the past year our library has vastly improved their digital catalog. They now offer eBooks and even Kindles for checkout.
Two weeks ago I finally figured out how to set up eBook lending on my Nook Color. I attempted for the very first time to check out an eBook from the library. It worked! I spent the next week reading from my Nook Color. I am so thrilled that I can expand my library choices now. I downloaded another eBook just this weekend.
My friend, Karen, over at Sassymonkey Reads, calculates how much her public library saves her on a yearly basis. Granted Karen is a voracious reader but thanks to the public library she saves over $1000 a year on books. I haven’t done the math for myself but I am pretty sure that my local library has saved me over $1000 a year as well. Even with late fees!
So do yourself and your family a favor – if you don’t already have a library card, GET ONE. Then check out all your library has to offer. The library is more than just books nowadays. There are free computers, movies, classes, and super friendly staff willing to help you with just about anything.
Now back to my TBR (To Be Read) pile and my Nook Color. Happy Reading!
Elizabeth
Last week Hubby had Round 3 of chemo along with his second iron treatment.
Round 2 and 3 of chemo went pretty well. The only side effect from the chemo itself has been tingling and numbness in Hubby’s fingertips.
Hubby is scheduled for a total of 4 Iron IV sessions. Dr. C gave Hubby 1 liter of IV iron for his first session 2 weeks ago. Hubby was slightly nauseous after that much iron at one time. Last week Hubby only got a few pints of iron so he wasn’t as queasy this time.
A total of 29 chemo sessions are scheduled, ending the last week in May, barring any complications. Each session is 3 days (Tues – Thurs) every other week. At the end of February there will be another PET scan and possibly an MRI to check the liver lesion. This will show if there has been any spread of the cancer in Hubby’s liver or to other organs. It will also show if the spot on his liver has shrunk or responded to the chemo at all.
We are finding a new normal as a family. Hubby is back to work now which is helping his mental health a lot. Mine too! We are just in a holding pattern for now with the chemo and waiting to see how the cancer is responding to that.
Many thanks for your support, prayers, comments and much more!
Elizabeth
We finished Charlie’s Pinewood Derby car last night. Weigh in and inspection is tonight and tomorrow. The big race is Friday. Here is the finished car.
Elizabeth
Ruby, our dog, is a Brittany-Beagle mix. Thankfully she has the short hair of the Beagle instead of the Spaniel long hair. That means we aren’t spending tons of money on grooming. In fact, I refuse to pay to have her bathed when I can do it myself.
I actively searched for a shower head attachment that I could use to bathe her in the tub. I have tried using a cup before but that just makes a bigger mess.
I was extremely pleased and excited to see just what I was looking for at Petsmart, the Rinse* Ace 3 way Pet Shower Sprayer. While a bit pricey at $30 it had what I was looking for so I bought it.
It was super easy to install and hasn’t leaked once. The best part is the blue lever that controls the water flow. You turn on the shower but water will not come out until you flip the lever on the handle. So no getting squirted with water while you’re corralling the dog into the tub!
Included is a shower connector that is installed between your shower head and the pipe. Once the connector is installed, you just quick connect the Pet Shower Sprayer whenever you use it.
The shower sprayer has 3 settings but I have only used one. The blue lever on the sprayer head also lets you control the water output. Having an 8 foot hose means you don’t have to wrestle the dog into 1 spot in the tub. It also means you can easily reach all parts of your dog, no matter how big.
The Rinse*Ace 3 way Pet Shower Sprayer is meant for rinsing or wetting your dog only. There is no shampoo attachment. It just makes the whole home bathing and grooming process easier!
Ruby does really well with baths. She is not overly fond of them but doesn’t fight me in the tub. I like to think that this wonderful product is part of the reason. If you have a dog and want to save on grooming costs, I highly recommend this product. Even if you just use it periodically in between professional groomings, it will make your life and the job easier. Plus save you money over time.
You can find this product online or at a variety of stores.
Elizabeth
{Disclosure: Rinse*Ace and Petsmart have nothing to do with this product review. I just love that I found exactly what I wanted and that it works so well.}
The other day Charlie told me all about how a girl in his class got in trouble with the teacher.
Charlie – Today Lola said a bad word in class.
Mommy – Oh my. Did she get in trouble?
Charlie - Uh-huh. Mrs. D had to talk to her. She said a really really bad word. Lola said the S.H. (said each letter separately) word. It starts with the letter S and an H.
Mommy – Goodness. (thinking “oh crap” we say that word all the time)
Charlie – Yeah. Lola said Shut Up! That’s a really really bad word Mommy. You should never tell anyone to Shut Up.
Whew! Dodged a bullet there…..
Elizabeth
