Prayers Please

I will catch up tomorrow but for now, I just found out that Linda's husband (Huhoney)had a stroke Saturday morning. I don't know much of the details as I have not spoken to her yet. For now, please keep Linda and Bob in your prayers!

My windmill

I bought this cute solar lighted windmill from Walmart a few years ago. It collects the sun all day and at night, the windows light up. When I first bought it, the colors were a little darker but not much and I've always had the intention of paining it but with the eastern exposure, what little color it had, faded away.

Finally, I painted it. What do you think?

It's Here

It's finally here. My new sewing machine has arrived. Actually, I picked it up last week Monday but I've been so busy training a new employee and at month end to boot, that I've not had time to post about it. This maching, although it's smaller and looks like a toy compared to my other machines, is all inclusive. I can use it like a regulare sewing machine plus it has pretty much the same decorative and stretch stitches and button hole stitches as my dead Baby Lock but this one also Embroiders and free hand quilting. Now, I just have to learn how to use it. Thank goodness, they give you 6 free classes with this machine. The don't start until June 7th and there are 4 sewing classes and 2 embroidery classes. That's a whole month away for the regular sewing classes and two months away for the embroidery classes. I just may have to try to figure it out on my own. The sewing, I can do but the embroidery, that's a whole new game for me. I did find one thing that I do not like about this machine is the foot pedal. It's so hard to press down. I hope it will loosen up with time.

Baby, It's cold outside

So here we go again. It's starting to snow and it's April 22nd! I am sure it's not the snow that will cover the ground but it's still snow and I am tired of the cold. I ended up bringing in my tomatoe plants that I just bought the other day. I don't want them to freeze.
Yesterday, this is what I saw when I went out to get my mail:



I just wish mother nature would make up her mind.

Yard Work

Today is the first day that I've had the chance to do any yard work. Either the weather was crappy (it snowed here last Monday) or I've been swamped with doll clothes orders. But today, I hedged all the shrubs and got the flower beds ready for some new roommates. (Brent mowed the lawn...gotta give credit where credit is due.)

I ordered a bunch of flowers from QVC, all perennials. I am tired of buying new flowers year after year so this year, I invested in perennials. The stores around here never carry a big variety of them and those they do carry are just so... blah. I happen to be a QVC shopaholic, or at least I used to be. When there is nothing on TV and I am settling down for the evening, I will turn on QVC just to see what they are selling. Last weekend they had a bunch of gardening shows and I think I ordered nearly every item they offered in that block.

This is my house: I may have a knack for designing and making doll clothes but I have no talent for designing and landscaping a yard. In front of the bay window, there used to be an "island" with a lamp post and a small piney type tree and some flowers but the lamp post rusted and broke at the bottom and the dwarf pine tree was so ugly that I decided to pull that all out and let the grass grow over it. We also used to have a willow type tree that was on the left front yard but that split right down the middle when we got a heavy spring snowfall. My hope is to have Brent help me dig up some of the grass in front of that big white fence and along side the neighbor's chainlink fence so I can have a nice pretty place filled with flowers and trees. I even have a bird bath that I bought a couple years ago that I want to put there.

This is the north side of my house. These concrete things are called "hold a hills". Normally, the only things that will grow here are petunias but we are planning on takeing these out because they are sagging. We will replace this with another type of retention wall. Brent wants rocks, I want a decorative brick. Notice at the corner of the house? That's my lilac bush. That thing has been growing there for at least 5 years, maybe even 8. You can see that spring still has not sprung here in Sandy UT. There's not a bud on there.

The only thing that has sprung is the crocus but they are already gone. So are most of the mini daffodils. My tulips are almost ready to bloom though. I just have to remember to take pictures of them this year when they do. Here they are still waiting to bloom. Monday, I am going to call around to get some prices on curbing. Brent wants me to wait until he can determine where all he wants it but we've been talking about it for more than 10 years and I am still looking at these ugly landscape railroad ties. I figure that if I call someone to come measure, they can tell me what will look nice and where. I'm tired of waiting on Brent.

A bit of Nostalgia

I'm sure that you've seen this email floating around but since I don't have anything else on my mind and I haven't posted all week, Her's just a little nostalgia to think about.


All the girls had ugly gym uniforms? These ones were actually cute compared to the ones that I had to wear. This style went out the year I entered Jr High. Mine was still one piece but was made from polyester double knit, light blue on the bottom and blue and white stripe on top with a zipper front. Oh, these things were hidious.



When a quarter was a decent allowance?


You'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny?


Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces?


You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time? And you didn't pay for air? And, you got trading stamps to boot?


Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box?



They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed. . and they did it!



No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?

Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home?

. .as well as summers filled with bike rides, Hula Hoops, and visits to the pool, and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar.
Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, 'Yeah, I remember that'?

Do You Remember a Time When..
Decisions were made by going 'eeny-meeny-miney-moe'?
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, 'Do Over!'?
'Race issue' meant arguing about who ran the fastest?
It wasn't odd to have two or three 'Best Friends'?
Having a Weapon in School meant being caught with a Slingshot?
Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures?
'Oly-oly-oxen-free' made perfect sense?

Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles?

The Worst Embarrassment was being picked last for a team?

War was a card game?
How's This For Nostalgia?

All the girls had ugly gym uniforms?


It took three minutes for the TV to warm up?



Nobody owned a purebred dog?


When a quarter was a decent allowance?


You'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny?


Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces?


You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time? And you didn't pay for air? And, you got trading stamps to boot?


Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box?


It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents?


They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed. . and they did it!


When a 57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise, peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races, and people went steady?


No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?


Lying on your back in the grass with your friends?
and saying things like, 'That cloud looks like a... '?

Playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game?


Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?


And with all our progress, don't you just wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace, and share it with the children of today.


When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home?

Basically we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was greater than the threat.

. .as well as summers filled with bike rides, Hula Hoops, and visits to the pool, and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar.
Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, 'Yeah, I remember that'?


I am sharing this with you today because it ended with a Double Dog Dare to pass it on. To remember what a Double Dog Dare is, read on. And remember that the perfect age is somewhere between old enough to know better and too young to care.

Send this on to someone who can still remember Howdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery, the Lone Ranger, The Shadow knows, Nellie Bell , Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk.


How Many Of These Do You Remember?
Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside.
Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles.
Coffee shops with Table Side Jukeboxes.
Blackjack, Clove and Teaberry chewing gum.
Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers.
Newsreels before the movie.
Telephone numbers with a word prefix...( Yukon 2-601). Party lines.
Peashooters.
Howdy Doody.
Hi-Fi's & 45 RPM records.
AM radio
78 RPM records!
Green Stamps.

Do You Remember a Time When..
Decisions were made by going 'eeny-meeny-miney-moe'?
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, 'Do Over!'?
'Race issue' meant arguing about who ran the fastest?
Catching The Fireflies Could Happily Occupy An Entire Evening?
It wasn't odd to have two or three 'Best Friends'?
Having a Weapon in School meant being caught with a Slingshot?
Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures?
'Oly-oly-oxen-free' made perfect sense?
Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles?
The Worst Embarrassment was being picked last for a team?
Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle?
Taking drugs meant orange - flavored chewable aspirin?
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon?

Bye Bye Baby (Lock)

I don't think I mentioned this but my BabyLock sewing machine died. I purchased this machine about 8 years ago for $1200. Yes, it was a lot of money but it was a compromise because it had the necessary stitches I needed and several decorative stitches I wanted. I really wanted a sewing machine that also did embroidery but I could not afford it. Well, for the most part, it sat there for 7 years not getting used much. Then when I started my little doll clothes business, it got used about 5-6 hours a day. Two weeks ago, I took it into the repair shop but I had a suspicion that it would cost at least $200-$300 to fix so I told them to call me before they made any expensive repairs. So I told Brent about the problem and he told me to still get it fixed because maybe one of our girls would want it. I didn't tell Brent that after I dropped that machine off, I ran some errands and as fate would have it, I ended up right next to a sewing machine store. I just had to go in. (I should mention here that I had previously looked at machines at the fabric store I frequent and had one in mind that cost only $699 and did both general sewing and embroidery). I was talking to the manager about what I was looking for and that I wanted to keep it under $1000. She showed me a Brother machine that was normally $999 on sale for $699. It was everything I was looking for. Utility stitches and embroidery. The basic functions on this machine far outweighed the Singer machine I had previously checked out. Needless to say, I bought it. Bad news though, they didn't have any in their store so the manager called their other stores. None of them had one. She checked on ordering and found they had already ordered more and expected them in the following Tuesday. Well, I had not heard from the store for over a week so I called. I was then told that they were on back order and they didn't know when they would be in. That was last Wednesday. Friday afternoon, I got a call from the store manager. She told me that the manufacturer had over sold those machines and were in the process of replacing them with another model. The only difference between this new model and the old was that the new one has a USB port to plug your machine into the computer to download embroidery designs nstead of having to buy little design cards. The manager told me that they would give this one to me for the same price though. More problems, they do not know when this new model will come in but if I didn't want to wait, I could have their floor model and a $50 gift card. No thanks, I think I will wait! I am currently using my old Kenmore sewing machine that my dad gave me when I was 15 or 16. It doesn't do any fancy stitches and even the bobbin winder broke off so I had to go buy one of those new nifty portable bobbin winders. Today, I've been trying to make a new swim suit for the doll and the machine is having problems. The bobbin thread is bunching up and for the last several days, it is skipping stitches. Now what to do?

So, back to my Baby Lock machine, the reason I even considered buying a new machine. I got a call from the repair shop. They told me that they couldn't quite tell what the problem was. It was either the motor that would cost $500 to replace or it could be the electronic board which would cost $600 to replace and then it needed additional repairs/maintenance totalling another $200 or so. I told them not to do anything on it. Sorry girls, no one gets that machine now. It's worthless.

So hopefully, I won't get in an order for doll clothes for a while. I took my ad off of the local online classifieds so it's not too likely that I will get many orders for the time being.

A new me

I've survived the three weeks on the HCG diet. I've lost a total of 19.3 pounds. 4.23 from my hips, 4.5 from my waist and 2.5 on each of the other key spots.So, you'd think I'd be ecstatic, right? Well, I was until I went shopping for new pants today. Just before my diet, I bought a new pair of pants and obviously, those ended up being too big so me, being thrifty, I took them in. Well, I took them in just a tad too much and because I surged the seams, then now cannot be let back out and, stupid me, took them in after I had worn them a few times and stretched the denim out...then I washed them and now are not so comfortable. I went to 5 stores today. Hot one had a size that fit me. I'm a little bummed.

On another note, it's been about a year since I did my makeover online at www.instyle.com and gave myself the Reese Witherspoon look. I did another one and honesly didn't recognize the name or the face of the actress I selected but I chose her hair because it's most similar to mine. I won't show you the before but it's amazing what false eyelashes and concealer (to eliminate the bags and wrinkles under my eyes)will do. You wouldn't believe this is a 50 year old woman, would you?


Too bad concealers really don't work these miracles.

Just another day at work

Aren't my kids cute? While I am at the computer all day long, I am never alone. I always have all my kids near me.

HCG diet update

As of today, I have lost a total of 16 pounds. I have until Friday for my drops then I stay on the diet for three more days. Then three weeks of maintenance and after that I can gradually re-introduce regular foods into my diet. The last two days have only been about 1/2 pound loss per day and if I stop losing before Friday, I just may end my diet early so that I can have some sort of Easter dinner. I gotta check to see if I can have ham. Love ham.

Job posting

I am looking to hire someone to work with the company that I am with. This job is full time, Monday thru Friday, 8am to 5pm in whatever time zone you live in. You may check out our company at www.sitecheck.net. In a nutshell, we work with insurance companies, mainly the underwriters and hire individuals to perform what are called Site Reviews or Site Inspections for the underwriting on business insurance policies. We need someone to handle multiple jobs making phone calls usning our inspector database and outside sources to assign the inspections, follow up to make sure it is being done and getting the report and photos prepared for quality review. You WILL be on the phone most of the day. It doesn't matter where you live. You have to have a computer and high speed connection and router. We will provide you with the phone to plug into your router for a voip connection. I will be the one to train you as well. Please send your resume to terrie@sitecheck.net if you are interested.

BLONDE and days 5, 6 & 7

LoL! I wondered when someone was going to catch me on that photo of me with blonde hair. Yes, that is me, NO, that is not my hair. I WISH! That's Reese Witherspoon's hair. There is a website that you can go to and give yourself a make over using famous people's hair styles and various make up products. It's kind of an addicting site. I posted about this site a while back. The picture of me on my header is pretty much how I still look. My hair is a little shorter and I have bangs. One day, I will update my header and another day I will take a photo of myself to post on here.

Diet days
Day 5 Lost 0.4 lbs. This was, I am sure a direct result of me not sticking to the diet. I was out and about for much of the day and while at the mall, (and starving by now) I had to eat something so I ordered a plain hamburger patty with a slice of tomatoe. This is something I would normally eat on my diet except the patty at the mall was no where as lean as it should have been.

Day 6: lost 1.3 lbs
Day 7: lost 1.9 lbs

Day 4 & 5

Day 4, lost 3.2 lbs
Day 5, lost 1.5 lbs
To date, I've lost 7.7 lbs and 10.75 inches with 3 inches of that in my hips and 1 in my waist. This is encouraging so I think I will keep it up.

Day 3

They say the first day is the biggest loss day. Today I am down another 1.7 pounds. I don't expect to lose that much in a day very often. It's supposed to be about a pound a day from here on out. Instead of shots, they have now come out with drops you put under your tongue. It's about $80 for a treatment of 20 days, I think. Jenny got this for us and we split an order so we'll see how long it ggoes for. There are websites you can order from but unless you know someone personally that has gone through one of the sites, I don't recommend it because you never know what you are getting. So far, so good.

Day 2

Down 3.1 pounds. Not hungry at all. Of course I see food and think I'd love to have it but I am sticking to this. I did cheat a little though. I put lotion on my hands. They were catching on the fabric I was sewing on this morning and I can't handle that. I checked the ingredients and there were no obvious oils or waxes in there so I put on just a little.

As far as projected weight gain once you are done with this diet, that's not supposed to happen. The protocol says that if you gain more than two pounds after your ending weight from the last treatment, then you eat a specific diet for one day and you should lose those two pounds easily. Of course you have to weigh yourself everyday to know this but the whole purpose of this diet and the HCG chemical is to force your metabolism to work the way it should again. I know a few people that did only one treatment, lost 20 pounds and are back to eating whatever they want and have not gained any back. I know that I do need to eat healthier and watch the sugars and carbs (which is my problem)but I think that this will help. If I stay away from them for the duration of this first treatment, it may be easier to stay away from them altogether.

Jenny, my daughter is on this as well. She's been on it a few days longer than I and has lost 7 pounds on her 7 days so far. She will only need one treatment since she only has 15-20 to lose but she's keeping me on track.