Texas is under severe weather alerts and keeping a weather eye on Hurricane Ike, currently in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ike will more than likely make landfall sometime early Saturday morning and then move quickly north covering most of East Texas, including the Dallas area. While Ike is expected to weaken to a tropical storm as it moves across land, but Dallas can expect 4-6 inches or more of rainful, gusty winds and toranadoes may develop. We may expect sustained winds of anywhere from 30-50 mph.
Needless to say, we will be battening down the hatches and pulling in all of the patio furniture. We are receiving direction to tie down or put away anything that is not permanently attached. Right now, we are definitley experiencing the calm before the storm.
I want one of these babies so bad! Pictured are 3 of the DYMO Labelmakers and I would love to have any of the 3. There are so many uses for a label maker, it would be a valuable asset in this house.
First of all, my daughter could use a label maker for school. It would have made her life so much easier had she been able to simply print out name labels for all of her school supplies, binders and folders. And, because the state of Texas requires that all school text books have book covers on them, labeling the outside of the covers would make finding the right text book, in a locker crammed full of books, a snap.
As for using a label maker at home, the question is, what can’t you label? Living in Texas, I have to keep all of my pantry foods in airtight containers to keep the bugs out. That means all of my dry goods like pancake mix, flour, sugar and cereals are in sealed containers. It would make my life so much easier if I could just slap a label on the outside of the container so I would always know what’s inside. It would also help my husband out because he never knows what I’ve put into which container.
My husband could also use the label maker for labeling all the DVD’s and CD’s he burns. How about all those boxes stacked on shelves in the closet. Wouldn’t it be nice to have them labeled so you don’t have to take them down just to see what’s in them? What a time saver!
We used to have a label maker, but, since we relocated, we haven’t seen it. I really miss it and need a new one!
Today just really got away from me. I had such good intentions when I got up this morning, but it was so very nice out, comfortable enough to actually enjoy being outside without being IN the swimming pool. I just had to take advantage and spend some time cleaning up after our 3 straight days of wind storms. We had branches and leaves in our pool that made it look like it hadn’t been used in a very long time.
I also spent the afternoon at a lab having an MRI and CT scan done of my head, brain and sinuses. I am, along with my doctor, on a mission to find out what is behind the constant headache I have had for the last 6-8 months. Hopefully, we’ll get to the bottom of it soon. As I said to my doctor the other day, I actually don’t remember what it feels like for my head NOT to hurt.
So, I apologize for not making good on my good intentions of the day. I had big plans for things I wanted to get done with my blog, but they all too a back seat to life away from my computer. I feel fairly confident that tomorrow may see more of the same. I have a few errands to run and the weather may be too nice for me to sit inside.
One thing is for sure, I’ll be back in the morning for Four Foods on Friday! See you then.
I am so thankful that in all the places we’ve ever lived, we’ve never had a nosy neighbor like The Sproutwells do. In fact, in the neighborhood we’re in now, it’s so quiet that we rarely even see our neighbors. That’s okay, that’s the way I like it. As for the Sproutwells, I guess they just have to learn to live with it! These videos are a reminder to me to eat my fruits and veggies which is good time, now that I’m battling high cholesterol. The Sproutwells were developed by freshfunds and simply by collecting points from Chiquita and Fresh Express products, I can bid on great prizes from FreshFunds.com. The prizes change weekly, but I’m hoping they offer some Calphalon kitchen products, I’m trying to build up my pots and pans.
I said yesterday that I had received the results of my blood test and they showed my cholesterol level as being too high. I’ve since been doing a little bit of research on it and find that yes indeed, the total cholesterol level is in the High Risk area. Everything else falls in to normal levels, LDL and HDL both are okay. It’s all very strange to me because I’ve never had a problem before.
I don’t eat much fat in my diet, but, it’s possible that something I had eaten as a meal a day or two prior was in my system and through it out of whack. I am going to monitor what I eat over the next several weeks before having the test done again. I’m keeping track of total fat, saturated fats, trans fat, protiens, cholesterol and calories. I think it finally sunk in to my husband that I am concerned about this. He fixed dinner tonight and, while it was steak, it was pretty lean. We also had baked potatoes and he didn’t even get the sour cream out of the frig so that I wouldn’t be tempted!
I will make sure to have another test done in a few weeks. It’s possible that it’s genetic, my sister has the same problem.
The Olympics are almost over and then it’s time for football season! This is truly my husband’s favorite time of year. He’s been attempting to watch NFL preseason football games on television, but it’s difficult when we’re all wanting to watch the Olympics at the same time. Of course, I’m always on the computer while watching t.v., multi-tasking is what I call it. This would definitely not be a time when we would want to be without our television or internet service!
Do you have a good high speed cable or satellite service? If not, or if you’re thinking of changing providers, this is a great time to check out Charter Communications and their Back To School Deal. Order any Charter service online now and be entered automatically in the Charter Laptop-a-Day Giveaway. That’s right, Charter is giving away 30 HP Compaq Presario C770US Laptops, each one valued at over $600. Here are the computer specs:
New HP Compaq Presario C770US Notebook
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor
15.4″ WXGA Screen
2GB RAM -160GB hard drive
DVD Burner
Built in Wi-Fi and Ethernet
Plus a NEOtec Laptop Backpack!
Not only that, if you sign up online for one of Charter’s services, you will receive a $100 prepaid Shell gas card. With gas prices the way they are, who couldn’t use that?!
Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I’ve spent the last two weeks staying up until midnight or later, every single night, watching the Olympics! Even so, I find I miss things. For instance, did you hear that the women’s softball team did NOT take the gold medal? I was shocked and very disappointed that I hadn’t even seen them play a single game. Why was it not televised? Or was it and I just missed it?
Anyway, I’m glad it’s Friday and I find out I’m not the only one with the Olympics on my mind and on my television set! Valmg has also been watching and with the Olympics in mind, has come up with this weeks Four Foods on Friday theme.
This weeks questions and my answers:
#1. What do you drink to rehydrate in the heat or after working out? I typically just drink water, but sometimes will add a Propel packet to my water to give it some flavor.
#2. What do you eat to help boost or create energy? I really like to grab a piece of fruit for the natural sugars, but will also eat a cereal bar now and then.
#3. What’s the healthiest snack you eat? Fruit. No question, it’s fruit.
#4. Share a recipe or instructions for your ideal three course meal. Well, that’s certainly not easy, because the only time I would eat a 3 course meal is if I go out to eat! But, my idea of a healthy 3 course meal would start with a green salad topped with almonds and strawberries and dressed with strawberry vinagerette dressing. Then there would be a broth and noodle soup of some kind, not a cream soup, too heavy. The main course would be steak and steamed vegetables.
Okay, now I’m really hungry, but if you’d like to join in on Four Foods on Friday, head over to Fun, Crafts and Recipes to give Valmg a shout out.
I’ve enjoyed drinking wine for as long as I can remember. When my husband and I live in Southern California, we enjoyed going out to the hill country and touring the wineries while doing wine tastings. We never made it up to Northern California, the Napa Valley area, but I would still love to visit the wineries in that area. Some of our favorite wines come from California.
As we’ve moved around the country and visited other states, I’m always amazed to find small, family owned wineries just about everywhere we’ve gone. I have to say, there are some really delicious wines coming from some of these places. We’ve visited wineries in Ohio, Connecticut, North Carolina and Texas, plus many more. Of course, there were a few I wish we had passed on! In fact, here in Texas, we’ve enjoyed the wine so much that I joined a local wine club that brings us only wines from Texas wineries. I’ve been amazed at the quality and taste of these wines and it’s fun to be able to taste the variety of wines from right here in our own state.
Another very good wine club is the CA Wine Club which, just like the TX wine club, finds local, mostly family owned wineries in California and delivers those limited production wines to its members. Each month the club features a new winery and delivers to its members 2 bottles of award winning wine and their magazine publication “Uncorked”. Members also receive discounts of up to 50% on reorders, remember, their wines are typically not available in stores. The California Wine Club has been in existence for 18 years, so I have to say, they must be doing something right!
If you’ve ever considered joining a wine club, or, even if you haven’t, this is the time to do it. Join CA Wine Club now and receive your first month free, pay only the shipping charge of $13. That is a savings of $34.95, now that’s a good deal.
I have purchased a new project that I really would like to get started on. The problem is, I have other things and responsibilities to get done before I can really go into my sewing room and have fun with my new project. So, to help me get a handle on what I need to do and feel better organized, I decided to make a list.These are my 13 things I need to do before I can hide out in my sewing room to work on my new project.
Get started on the two load of laundry that need to be done today.
Submit husband’s rebate form online to Staples
Gather and mail copies of utility bills for online survey ($5)
Make my bed
Clean kitchen counters
Dust and vacuum family room
Fill out forms for junior high to turn in at Expectations Night tonight
Last week I splurged and I bought my very own Wii Fit. I was hesitant, after all, it is a video game, but I decided it might be fun even if it doesn’t help me to get fit. I’m here to tell you, after only one week of using my Wii Fit, I am not only hooked, I actually enjoy and look forward to working out!
The Wii Fit is super easy to use and this statement is coming from someone who is technically challenged. I turn the power on to the t.v., turn the power on to the Wii system and insert the Wii Fit disk. That’s it, it does the rest. The system charts your progress each day that you use it. The body test measures your BMI based on your actual age, weight and a few selected simple exercises. On the first day of use, I input my personal goal of losing 10 pounds in 3 months. The system now monitors this for me and lets me know how I’m doing. I love seeing the line on the chart take a slow downturn as I progress toward meeting my goal.
I can then choose whether or not I want to do any exercising for the day. I have chosen to exercise every day in the last 7 days except for 2. The exercises include yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance exercises. My favorites are the balance and aerobics. All of the games utilize the Wii Fit board and some also use the remote control which is very easy to operate. My daughter and I tend to do the workouts together, switching back and forth between our Wii characters, but it is not beyond me to go use it on my own. This will be a huge plus for me when she goes back to school.
Over the weekend, I was suffering from a headache that I simply could not get rid of it. I was feeling very blah, and decided to give the Wii Fit a go to see if would get my energy level up and diminish my headache. After a 30 minute workout, it worked. I felt better and my headache, although not gone completely, was much better. I’m very happy to have found a way to increase my energy level that is enjoyable.
OF course, an alternative to the Wii Fit would be sublingual B-12 which is an affordable and painless alternative to a B-12 shot. Vitamin B-12 is known to increase energy levels as well as help those fighting diabetes and dementia. So, if you need exercise, try the Wii Fit. For other diagnosis, you should try sublingual B-12 today.
