Gramcracker

TOGETHER FOREVER

2011-10-08T07:16:00.004-04:00

My dear husband is in peace now where it is beautiful and no pain. October 6, 2011 at 6:41 am

I LOVE YOU FOREVER!

Crocheting

2011-07-24T19:34:00.002-04:00

I just finished this cute little pot holder, it was so much fun to make and it goes just great in my little red strawberry kitchen :-)

Lazy Summer

2011-07-20T06:40:00.008-04:00

Colt, DH and Gracie

Turtle

I have been very lazy so far this summer, we have been doing a lot of this, just hanging around. Our kids were here last week for a two week visit and we only got one great day to visit as we all ended up getting sick and baby Colt ended up in the hospital, now we are all on amends and the kids are back home doing well. Gramcracker is hoping to visit them in September and make of for the time lost.

No crafting going on here, trying to think of a project to get started on. I have been a very bad blogger lately, but i still lurk around and look at all the great blogs and still enjoy visiting you all very much.

Take care and hope to have a new project to post soon.

New Project

2011-03-28T06:41:00.007-04:00

I am working on a new blanket trying to use up all of my left over scrap yarn and boy this is going to be colorful, but i am lovin it so far. I have made this pattern once before and i just love the size of the blanket i got the pattern from the book BLUE-RIBBON AFGHANS.

Gracie girl has settled in to our home and we are so in love with her, she is such a joy to have around, she is like velcro and sticks to us and we love it. I have been having so much fun playing with her i have been negleting my blog. the weather is so nice here in central Florida so i have been spending a lot of time with her playing ball outside. I have been lurking around at all of your blogs, and just love them all, but have been bad bad blogger and not commenting.

We are getting ready for a new room mate soon, my brother from Indiana has been having a lot of personal problems and we have ask him to move in with us, he can help us out with things around the house that my DH can not longer do and we hope to help him get back on his feet and on to a new sober live!

STILL HERE

2011-02-24T06:36:00.004-05:00

Wow can't believe how long it has been since i have posted, i have been a very busy girl with my family things. I had my babies home for a while and loved every minute of it! Our grandbabies are grow so fast.

I have not been doing much sewing or crocheting latley, except a couple scarves, but i think it is about time to get a couple projects going, just can't decide what to do, anyone got any ideas for me?

2011 Started with a bang

2011-01-09T18:11:00.006-05:00

2011 started out with a real bang, literally. On Jan. 1, 2011 i was walking Gracie out in the back yard, she got all excited when she saw the ducks and took off pulling me down, I fell on my right shoulder and had to make a trip to the ER, after xrays they told me it was broken, gave me a pain pill, a sling and a referral to a surgeon. I had to cancel my trip to Virginia Beach to visit my kids. I went to the surgeon on Tuesday and the good news was I did not have to have surgery, it will heal on its own in about 6-12 weeks, gave me pain pills and I spent my vacation with my Hubby taking great care of me. Of course I was very upset about all of this, but I am not mad at Gracie as she was just following her instincts. I will just reschedule my trip for later and Turtle was so understanding, he gave me a kiss over SKYPE to make it better.

I am ready to go back to work tomorrow and get things back to normal and no more accidents please...I have had my share for a while.

CHRISTMAS 2010

2010-12-26T17:05:00.002-05:00

It was such a wonderful Christmas, I got everything I wanted, and that was to have my husband with me this year! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we are looking forward to a Happy New year!

Meet Gracie

2010-12-19T11:47:00.005-05:00

We adopted Gracie yesterday, she is a 16 month old Weimeraner, she is the sweetest little girl. I think she is going to be so good for my husband, he will now have a companion during the day while i am at work, and she has already helped with getting the damn Cancer off our minds. She will keep him busy during the day and she is very low keyed, so on the days he doesn't feel good she will just lounge with him. She is already house trained, which was one of my wishes, she walks on a leash really good, she is very

timid and acts like someone mistreated her at one time, i don't know how any one could do such a thing to any animal! She has already started giving us kisses! Now we just have to get our cats out of the closets and learn to get along with her, she could careless about them, but they don't like her, time i suppose. You will not believe this but her name in the foster home was Lacie and our daughters name is Lacy, so i think she was just meant to be for us.

We love her already!

linking to: http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

Christmas Past

2010-12-11T20:28:00.002-05:00

This was Christmas 1983, that is my daughter and I, Now she is married and has 2 little one's of her own. I miss those days.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

2010-12-05T18:36:00.007-05:00

I finally got all of my decorating done today. Went to Lowe's yesterday and got a real tree, this is the first real tree we have had in years, It is small, but I love it. It has a beautiful smell and makes our whole house smell wonderful. I also put up my artificial tree, i figured the more the merrier.

I love this picture of my husband and I, it was taken in 2005 when we went to Ireland, oooo how i loved that trip, Ireland is sooooo beautiful!

This picture reminds me that an Angel in heaven is walking around with Mr. Bleu in her arms watching over us.

I love the way the lights shimmer over the manger in this picture i took today. I broke Joseph a while ago and i am still looking for one to replace him, but i haven't found one that will blend in with the other figurines

We have another beautiful little angel in heaven, his name is Corgan Lowell Hamilton, he was born in 2004 and went to heaven 3 days later, this is his Christmas ornament, we miss you little one!

HoHoHo, i hope you all had a great weekend, i know I did, have a great week!

I'm linking to Kim's Boring To Better party at Savvy Southern Style

Almost Done

2010-11-28T13:30:00.003-05:00

I have finished my quilt, i have painted the bedroom and bathroom, framed the bathroom mirror and painted the cabinets, now all i have to do is put the hardware on the doors..... o what a good feeling.

I really need a new camera, well not so sure i need one, but i would like to have one.

Now if i could just get into the Christmas spirit and get my decorations out, i will try to tackle next weekend.

I had a great thanksgiving and i am so thankful to still have my husband with me!

Brotherly Love

2010-11-03T07:01:00.003-04:00

Just look at those faces, I just want to squeeze both of them!

SEWING AND QUILTING

2010-10-28T19:47:00.006-04:00

This is a window topper i made out of some scrap material i found in the bargain bin.

my quilt is almost done, i just have to finish putting the binding on, i plan to hand sew it on the back, so who knows when that will get done, i am not much on sewing by hand.

i am very happy with the way it has turned out, of course it is not perfect, but not too bad for the first one. i used the pattern "life is like a box of chocolates" sweet Jane pattern. i love this pattern easy for me as a beginner.

I have been busy lately, got the walls in the bathroom painted, now this weekend i will start on the bedroom, then after that i plan to paint my cabinets in the bathroom black and frame my large ugly mirror, i can't wait to see how it turns out and of course i will share. If i ruin the cabinets darn i guess we will have to get new ones, right?

I just booked another flight to go see my kids in Virginia for early January, Southwest has a great special going on so i got a great deal, so excited to see my babies again!

QUILTING

2010-10-20T09:15:00.006-04:00

I now have all of my blocks made and now i have to piece them together, trying to figure out which pieces to put where, i am so happy with the way this is turning out, even though it is a little busy. I am starting out small, now to finish the top and then quilt that will be interesting indeed. O and i did start on the bathroom but that is as I have gotten, just a start.

Have a wonderful day!

FAMILY TIME+MINI VACATION=LOVE

2010-10-13T06:31:00.004-04:00

Back from my mini vacation and had a wonderful time! Missin them already!

Now I am going to start a couple of projects, going to tackle painting bathroom and bedroom and the bathroom cabinets, that should be interesting, o and i am going to start my first quilt.

Mini Vacation

2010-09-30T06:51:00.002-04:00

I am so excited, i am going to see Turtle and Colt next Friday. I whipped up these jammies and bib to take along, and hope to get a few more things whipped up before I leave. Turtles loves these type of jammies, he is so picky, heheheh, i miss them so much just cant wait to hug and kiss them all!

I also whipped up this pillow case, turtle loves orange!

This is the finished basket i put together for the baby shower last week, the new mommy loved it all.

The shower was very nice, momma got a lot of much needed things and Tanner Logan will be making his entrance in about 3 weeks now.

I WON! I WON!

2010-09-13T18:22:00.006-04:00

I'm going to a baby shower Sunday, a friend's daughter is expecting her first little boy so i made this little cowpoke blanket and bib, still gotta finish burp cloth and binky holder, i am just hoping she likes it, i think it turned out great. My grandson Colt has a couple of these blankets that i made for him and my daughter loves them.

(love the little purple dress)

I got this sweet package in the mail today from http://www.beansiebabbles.blogspot.com/, and I love it, the goodies all have a home in my kitchen now. The dish clothes and pot holder has now put me in the mood to decorate for fall, I just haven't been in the mood because it is so stinkin hot here!

BACK AT IT!

2010-08-29T11:03:00.003-04:00

I have been busy lately getting back to sewing and crocheting, i
i have been make booties, i got the pattern from the June, 2010 CROCHET WORLD issue, it is so easy to follow and i have been playing with different yarn.

Then i decided to get back to the sewing, made a couple burp cloths, a receiving blanket and a large quilted blanket. I used the tuturial from sew4home.com it is a awsome site. I was suprised that my elbow allowed me to get this done! woot woot

Last night i decided to make some yeast donuts, found this recipe on Pioneer woman's web site, Yummy! but boy look at all of those donuts for 2 people, my DH took a few to the neighbors, he is so sweet!

Have a great Sunday!

BOOTIES

2010-08-26T05:53:00.003-04:00

Back in the saddle of crocheting, made these little booties for Colt, firt time i have ever tried booties, i used sock yarn and they turned out really cute, i love the stretchy sock yarn and very soft. Now i have to just get back to the sewing machine. It feels great to finally start getting things back to normal.

BITTERSWEET DAY

2010-08-17T12:18:00.005-04:00

Colt is due to come home today! He is already getting fat cheeks, don't you just want to squeeze them! His poor little hand has a wound from his IV, mommy has to learn to dress this for him. We can't wait to hold him.

This is Mr. Bleu, he has been very sick and he went to heaven today, he is a very special guy, so loving, i truely think he thought he was human just like us. He will be sadly missed. He was my baby boy.

Finally Getting Back on Track

2010-08-12T17:40:00.007-04:00

I have been MIA for sometime now and let me just give you a little run down of what has been going on in my life lately. My DD and Turtle have been here all summer as i have reported and starting about the middle of July is when all the action started. My DD was admitted in the hospital for pre-term labor and 2 days later my husband was admitted for an open wound on his leg that was terrible it would not heal and come to find out he contracted a couple different staff infection and because he has been on chemo for his cancer he could not shake it, had to do IV antibiotics in hospital for several days. On Tuesday i was on my cell phone with him walking to my car talking to him on my cell phone to see if he was getting released from the hospital and i suddenly feel to the ground, dropped my cell phone and was screaming help me, i do believe I had a guardian angle because one of my co-workers happened to be sitting under the shade tree and heard me calling for help, in the mean time my husband thought I was in a car accident and he was scared to death. The next thing i knew i heard siren's and i was put in the back of an ambulance and arrived at the local emergency room, they did x-rays and i had a broken middle finger on my right hand, sprained my left ankle, a large bump with black eye and i crushed my elbow! omg i was in so much pain, the only thing they could do was put it in a splint gave good pain meds and sent me home with an appt to see a surgeon the next day. In the mean time my daughter was released from hospital and came to my rescue and then went to get her dad at the hospital as he demanded to be release to so he could come be with me. That following Tuesday I had surgery on my elbow and I now have a titanium steal plate and 6 screws to hold me together in the mean time my daughter was admitted to the hospital and had our new grandson Colt on 8/5/10, she was only 33 weeks so he is still in the NICU, but he is doing great and now learning to suck his bottle. So needless to say as you can see we have had some issues lately, but with lots of prayers and good friends and family we are all getting back to normal. My husband is a great care giver and has been wonderful! I went back to work Monday, taking it slow, but only 2 weeks after surgery and i already have my splint off and i am able to exercise, still tender but getting there, the doctor doesn't think i will have to have therapy i am praying for that! The bad thing is I can't crochet or sew yet :( i want to get started on baby things. but in time. I have been peeking in on all of your blogs when i can and will be getting caught up soon on comments.

I AM HERE

2010-08-07T17:30:00.004-04:00

COLT LOWELL SUMMITT

8/5/10

5LBS 12 OZS

17"

Still in the NICU but doing great!

LOOK GRAMCRACKER!

2010-06-28T19:17:00.003-04:00

This is Turtle making a long snake from his play dough. Take a look at the band aide on his ear, he has been spending a lot of time in the pool and has swimmers ear, so when it aches a bit he puts a band aide on it and he says all better now. So darn cute, he is smelling his pencil's they are scented.

This is his new baby boy doll, he named him colt, his mommy is hoping this will help him when his baby brother Colt arrives.

This is a new bag i put together with some scraps i had in my drawer, it is going to work great as a bag to carry my lunch and crochet projects that i take to work.

New PJ's for Turtle

2010-06-22T19:23:00.003-04:00

I got my fabric and pattern today, i am making new pj's for Turtle, i know it is hot out and they are long sleeves, but this is what he loves to wear. I got my box of fabric today from http://www.fabric.com/ and i love it, it is so soft, and easy to sew. I also love using kwik sew patterns, they are so easy to read and follow for me, since i am kinda new at this. I am also going to try to whip up some baby sleepers for Colt.
I went to the doctor with my daughter today and she had an ultrasound done, i got to see the wee little one moving around in momma's tummy, he is soooo cute, cant wait to meet him, but just not too soon.
Turtle has been staying at his MIMI's this week and we miss that little guy.

SUMMER FUN AND PLAY

2010-06-15T06:03:00.004-04:00

I finished Colt's crib blanket and i am so please with how it turned out, but now my DD has changed his colors for his room, o well i guess i will have to whip up something else.

Guess who is here for the summer or at least until his mommy delivers his brother, yes Turtle. My DD is suppose to be on strict bedrest, but as you can see she doesnt follow orders too well. I am sad that she is having problems but we love having them here.

A LITTLE SUNSHINE

2010-05-28T19:34:00.003-04:00

As always we had a great time with Turtle while he was here, pop pop buried him in the sand at the beach, he really thought that was cool.

Just look how big he is getting. We are all so proud of him, he is now potty trained and it was wow like over night he decided he was going to be a big boy and bam he did it.

Pop pop and Turtle having a great time at the beach.

This is my new fabric, i am planning to make crib sheets, i think they are going to be so cuddly and cute.

These are 2 dish cloths that i knitted, they are so soft!

TEACHING MYSELF TO KNIT

2010-05-25T14:10:00.002-04:00

I hope to have photos soon, i am teaching myself to knit, it is going very slow but i think i am going to get it. I am working on an easy dishtowel and i know how to cast on, knit stitch and increase stitch. I have wanted to learn how to do this for a long time, but i am not cordinated to hold both needles, so i learned to crochet instead. I did complete a tiny dish cloth and I must say i do believe the knit stitch is much softer than the crochet stitching.

Sorry i havent commented lately on many blogs, Turtle was here visiting and we had a blast, i will be back to bloggin soon.

FINISHED TOP

2010-05-10T08:31:00.006-04:00

I got a new duvet cover at Macy's 1/2 off and I love it, freshend up our bedroom. My DH enjoying that i moved his recliner back. hehehehe

I had a rather productive weekend, got my DD's top finished, cleaned the house, and made a low fat low sugar chocolate cream pie with whole wheat pie crust and it was very yummy! I managed to take a few dips in the pool, relaxed a bit and enjoyed this beautiful weather we are having.

HOPE YOU ALL HAD A WONDERFUL MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND!

NEW PROJECTS

2010-05-03T08:54:00.002-04:00

This is a new maternity top i am working on for Lacy, i am only 1/2 done, but i am loving it already.

I am also working on a new crib blanket for Colt, these are the colors in his nursery, i will piece these large squares together and add an edging, i just love these colors together.

We had another wonderful weekend, waiting to hear if my daughter's doctor will let her travel, if so my little turtle will be here for a visit soon, so we are very excited and hope she is able to travel.

cont....

2010-04-26T05:34:00.003-04:00

my chair that i refurbished

jasmine getting ready to pop in full bloom and smellin so yummy

hubby enjoying the cool breeze

awww life is good today!

"Life is good today"

2010-04-26T05:26:00.002-04:00

the deer come visit us everyday, i just love to watch them they are beautiful!

our new sunflower we planted.

a delicious cold drink

my little herb garden - basil, rosemary, parsley, yummy

look really close and you can see Poco our cardinal he is eating in his new bird feeder!

COLT LOWELL SUMMITT

2010-04-15T09:31:00.001-04:00

I am a boy, my due date to make my presence in the world is 9/22/10!

FLORIDA SUNSHINE

2010-04-12T09:07:00.004-04:00

We had a wonderful weekend, went to fiesta in the park at Lake Eola, got this cute bird feeder. All the flowers are in bloom and look beautiful. Our orange tree is full of blossoms and the smell is fabulous when you walk outside. This is not my house, but i thought it was so beautiful i had to post.

FAMILY MOMENTS

2010-04-10T07:34:00.005-04:00

while mommy was having surgery we made a easter welcome home banner, for mommy, daddy and baby.

we colored easter eggs, he had a blast!

we had seafood, yummy - cheeeeeeeeese for the camera

the trees were so beautiful

the top i made for Lacy fit perfect and she loved it!

I am back from my trip visiting with my daughter and her family, i had a wonderful time, my dd surgery went great, she is now on full bed rest until her due date of Sept 19th, what a long time for her, but her and the baby are doing fine. We find out today if the baby will be Colt or Delaney and of course we are hoping for Delaney, but really doesn't matter as long as baby is healthy and my dd is able to carry the baby at least until safe to deliver.

My Turtle is so darn much fun!! He is now talking like a big boy and when you ask him who's boy he is he say "I am gamcracker's boy" so darn cute he just makes my heart melt.

My husband did great while i was gone, but it was wonderful to see him upon my return!

LEAVIN ON A JET PLANE

2010-03-27T09:30:00.000-04:00

I am sitting at the airport waiting on my ride to take me to see my kids and I am so excited! My daughter is having her surgery monday and I will be taking care of her and Turtle. Pray for her and our new grandbaby she is carrying.

I should have lots of pics to post on my return!

SEW BABY

2010-03-14T18:10:00.002-04:00

Today was another lovely day here in the great state of Florida, I baked a loaf of whole wheat bread, sat outside in the sun for a while and then to the sewing room. I am making maternity tops for my daughter. I love to get fabric on clearance at www.fabric.com i have always been pleased with their fabric and service. It is just hard to sew clothes for someone that isnt here, but i will take them with me on my trip with my pins, incase i need to alter. I still have to finish this top, but i think it is going to turn out to look pretty cute. The pattern has been easy to follow so far and is sewing up very quick. Now i think i will go have a piece of that yummy bread, with some fruit spread.... yummy and healthy too.

"REMARKABLE"

2010-03-07T15:20:00.005-05:00

My husband was all geared up on Thursday to go in for his chemoembolization, we packed a suite case and was all ready for a 3 day stay, but after 20 minutes the doctor came out and said he did not need chemo at all and that he is responding remarkable to the NEXAVAR meds, that is a chemo pill he take 4 a day. We stayed for 4 hours while he re cooped from the cath. thru his artery in the groin area and then we were on our way to home sweet home. YAY!!! we were so happy and i am so relieved that he is doing so well.

My mother is getting better everyday, soon we will have the family back to one piece, god is good and he answers prayers that's for sure.

I stitched up this pillow case yesterday and added a little crochet trim to it, i love the way it turned out. I have started a baby afghan getting ready for our new little one, we don't know if boy or girl yet so i just bought some nice baby sport yarn that was on sale, i love the colors, but i am hoping i can go back and get PINK.

I will be going to Virginia at the end of this month to spend a week with my daughter, she has to have a cerclage(cervix stitched) so I will be with her to help her and take care of my dear turtle, I can't wait to see him, he called me today and sang twinkle twinkle little star to me. He is so sweet!

We are finally having that perfect Florida weather and I was able to get out and relax a bit today, but first I baked chocolate chip cookies for my husband and no I did not cheat. I am on week 9 of the diet and i have lost a total of 12.5 inches total, and 4.5 off my belly, I am so pleased with the way it is going, and I have been following my healthy eating habits so far.

Hope you all had a great week and weekend!

MOM UPDATE

2010-02-23T14:11:00.002-05:00

Thank you all for your prayers for my mother during this time. She got home from hospital last night late, she will be doing rehab at home with an in home care nurse. They have now diagnosed her with osteoporosis, diabetes and her artery in her neck is 80% blocked, so they are trying to get her well enough so that she can go back in to the hospital in about 4 weeks or so to have her artery cleaned out. After all of this it is no wonder she was falling and her bones were snapping, I am so happy she has finally (or it seems) found some doctors that have gotten to the bottom of most of her problems.. My mother is a very strong woman and it truly takes a lot to keep her down, she has a great attitude about all of this and i am sure she will do well and soon be back on the dance floor!

PRAYERS NEEDED!

2010-02-17T13:32:00.004-05:00

My mother fell again last night and mangled her right leg, so now she has a left broken ankle and a right broken foot. She is going in for surgery at 2:30 today. The doctors said they have to get to the bottom of what is going on with her, for some reason her bones seem to be just crumbling for no reason. They had to fly her to the hospital because of the weather.
The surgeon said that her lungs now sound pretty good so she can tolerate the surgery, please pray for her and our family, I feel so helpless, as she is in Indiana and I am all the way down here in Florida, thinking of flying home, but I don't want to leave my sick husband all alone, I am telling you this has been a very stressful time for our family, it seems everyone is sick or something going on.

How did this happen to my mom, she is only 71 and has always acted so young for her age and it seems, she has just gotten sick overnight and now is unable to do much at all.

HEARTS

2010-02-16T06:34:00.002-05:00

I found the pattern for this hot pad in Crochet World, this was a very easy pattern to follow. I had such a wonderful 3 day weekend with my sweatheart!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

2010-02-14T15:05:00.004-05:00

We're having a wonderful Valentine day! I just grilled out steak for my valentine and tuna steak for me, it was wonderful and I am splurging by having a couple glasses of wine (yumo) The cookie's I made for hubby turned out great! It is a wonderful day in FL very sunny and close to 60 degrees, perfect.... finally

YES IT WA SO HARD NOT TO SAMPLE, BUT I WAS GOOD

TA DA

2010-02-11T19:58:00.003-05:00

I finished the lapghan and i am very happy with the way it turned out, if i say so myself.

I am now on week 5 of my diet and still doing good, one more week then i can introduce grains back to my diet and i can not wait to make some bread!! I miss bread and pies the most! I am going to make my husband shortbread cookies for Valentine's day it is going to be hard not to sneak one, but i won't I promise, that is one thing I have is will power when I set my mind to something I usually keep that mindset until i meet my goal, but isn't it funny when your on a diet all you think about is what your going to eat!

MAKING PROGRESS

2010-02-04T08:36:00.002-05:00

I am finally making progress on my latest project, but i need some advice, the pattern says to use the cranberry color on the last 3 rows of edging, but i was thinking i would use the same colors in the squares, 1 row blue, 1 row brown and the last outside row cranberry, what do you think? I am going to give this to Janice, she has been so nice about helping me with my diet and helping me stay on track, so I am hoping she likes it, it is my way of saying thank you.

APPROVED!

2010-02-03T14:45:00.002-05:00

I am still in shock, i had the phone interview with social security on Friday the 29th and they called me today and said my Husband is approved for his disability. I have never heard of the process going that fast in my life. It is so sad to think that this is good news to us.

COMPARE

2010-01-31T14:23:00.003-05:00

OK this is me, the picture on the left is before i started my diet and the other was taken yesterday, tell me the truth

can you tell the difference so far? Tomorrow i will be starting on my 4th week of dieting and i have done pretty good so far, i manage to walk on the treadmill twice a day and i have been eating very healthy and actually i love fruits and veggies a lot. Yesterday i had some yummy salmon kabobs on the grill o so good! I can truly say i have not even cheated once (yet) i was measured last week and i had lost 2 inches from my waist., the best thing is i am starting to fit in my clothes and believe it or not my shoes fit too!!! I feel much better not so bloated all the time. Now i just hope i can make my goal and stay on track...... i figure if my husband can endure his cancer treatment surely i can continue to stay on track and eat healthy.

GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-24T18:31:00.000-05:00

WE ARE SUPER BOWL BOUND!!!!!!!

Turtle Time

2010-01-18T09:25:00.005-05:00

Before turtle had to go back home we took him for a hair cut, he did so good sitting through it. Just look at this cheese ball. We had a wonderful visit while they were here and we got wonderful news, my daughter is going to have a baby, due around 9/15/10, we are very happy.

My diet is going great, what a wonderful program it is Transitions, if you haven't seen it you can visit my friend that is coaching me she is at http://www.janiceharper.com/ she has been so nice to help coach me and i have lost about 7lbs already. I just finished my detox week and this week i start on the next step which is now i can have protein, I had a poached egg with fat free cheese and sliced tomatoes this morning and i never thought an egg could taste so good! I also have been using my treadmill, I took it slow on the detox week and only walked 10 minutes a day, but now i am increasing to 15 in the morning and 15 in the evening, i certainly can tell the difference already it is amazing. I feel so much better and i know when i loose this 25-30lbs i will feel even better, looking forward to that. O and by the way i was able to drink coffee now that i am off detox and you know it didn't really taste the same, so it is true what they say about your taste buds changing. The goal that i have is to loose this weight and then continue to eat healthy and continue on the exercise program to stay fit.

CAFFIENE WHERE R U

2010-01-12T06:03:00.004-05:00

Ok so i started on this transitions diet and this is the second day and i really really miss my coffee. Right now i am drinking hot water with lemon, which is better than nothing i suppose, but it is not my delicious steaming hot coffee with creammmmmmmmmmmmmm. O well i guess it is true what they say no pain no gain.

This is what i made saturday before I started the diet and it was yummmmmy, old fashion chocolate cream pie.

WHAT FUN FAMILY TIMES

2010-01-10T11:43:00.002-05:00

What a wonderful weekend, I took off work Friday and we took Turtle to Chuckee Cheese and it was so much fun to see him play, plus it was so nice to see my husband get out of the house for a while. Turtle spent the night with us and we played,played and played some more, he did have a couple of melt downs but we managed to get through them, and it was so nice to have a snuggie bunny. We had a great visit with our daughter too, she had to catch a plane back to Virginia this morning, but turtle and his daddy will be here for another week.

My daughter will get a much needed break until the boys return home.

As you can see in the above picture turtle was not diggin this Chuckee Cheese, I think he was scared of him.

This is My daugher Lacy, Ben and Leyton (turtle)

28 DEGREES!

2010-01-10T11:40:00.005-05:00

OMG it is freezing right now. I woke up early saturday morning and there was a weird noisy going on outside and it was sleet hitting the window, then i looked out the back window and there was sleet standing on top of our pool screen, what a strange site. This winter is one for the history books for Florida that is for sure!

JUST LOOK AT THIS FACE

2010-01-06T20:12:00.004-05:00

This is my little TURTLE,(Leyton River) he is here and we are having so much fun. He is such a doll baby and smiles and laughs all the time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-12-31T15:03:00.003-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE EVERYWHERE! MY FRIENDS YOU HAVE HELPED ME MAKE IT THROUGH A TOUGH YEAR AND I LOOK FORWARD TO 2010 WITH ALL OF YOU!

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

2009-12-30T13:10:00.007-05:00

This is my new years resolution - i have to loose at least 25lbs!!!! and this is how i plan to do it, along with eating healthier too!!! I have just started having problems with my weight, i have always been the kind that can eat everything and anything and not worry about it, but wow once i started this menopausal crap, i have put on at least 30lbs and i hate it! I have always been a small size 2 and the other day i had to get size 8 jeans, this is very upsetting to me, besides i just don't feel the same either, so wish me luck i am going to wait to start all of this on 1/11/10 though, not so sure i can accomplish too much with my visitors here, because we will be going out to lunch etc... whoop whoop!!!

I GOT A SUPRISE TODAY!

2009-12-28T19:16:00.004-05:00

I know i am strange, but I LOVE this thing(dyson), we have cats and my old vacuum stopped picking up things, and this thing is amazing, i have no carpet in the house just large area rugs and it does a great job on all of the floors. Now if i could just get in the mood to do the cleaning and take down all the decorations. I will just have to get moving this weekend because we are having a very special visit, my daughter and Turtle are coming to visit for a while and we are so excited and can not wait to see them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-23T13:38:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE ALL OVER THE WORLD!

THANK YOU DEAR GOD

2009-12-19T10:25:00.006-05:00

My mother just got out of surgery this morning, she had to have a lung biopsy done and we just got wonderful news it is not cancer as was first thought! We should know by next week sometime exactly what is wrong, you see the doctors thought that her breast cancer had spread to her lungs, but the good lord has blessed us and answered all of our prayers NOT CANCER. Now they just have to figure out what it is and treat it. Praise the Lord, we certainly needed this great news, as last we got bad news about my husband and his liver cancer treatment, it seems that his cancer has spread to his lymph nodes and has more lesions on his liver, so we are waiting to hear what the next step is, please add him to your prayer list. ((huggs)) to all of you.

My mother mailed me this, beautiful fabric, i was so happy to get it in the mail.

JUST LOOK AT THIS GUY

2009-12-17T12:35:00.003-05:00

This is Leyton River a/k/a Turtle, isn't he about the cutest thing you ever did see!!! We miss him dearly, as he lives in VA.

HO HO HO

2009-12-15T17:59:00.004-05:00

I finished up the pretty ribbons on the cranberry sauce, my co-workers loved these along with the tins filled with cookies and candy.

ROUND ONE- NOT SO GOOD

2009-12-13T14:14:00.004-05:00

Today started out pretty good, got some cleaning done early, so then i decided i would start on my christmas goodies, wellll not so good.

The cranberry sauce turned out great, i will decorate these little babies with ribbon and they are going to be part of the gift to my coworkers.

The first batch of this candy is in the garbage because i burned the crackers and carmel in the oven, wow i thought i was going to burn down the house, stinky, stinky, stinky.

So i tried it again and it turned out yummy. Then i tried to make pralines and i couldnt figure out why they were so runny, well i guess i didnt read the recipe, it called for 1/2 cup of evaporated milk and i used the whole can. I am normally a fairly decent cook, i guess my mind is else where.

I am a messy messy cook, i have stuff everywhere no matter how hard i try to be organized....., but i will use the excuse that my kitchen is too small, but i do love my little kitchen, it is perfect for me.

ITS BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

2009-12-12T18:02:00.002-05:00

I am hoping that i can spend tomorrow baking christmas goodies, i sure have plans to do so but you never know what tomorrow will bring.

i love my nativity scene and was so upset last year when i dropped Joseph :(

This is rhonda reindeer from hallmark, she was my daughtters when she was little and i still have to put her out she is so adorable with her apron on.

HO HO HO!

I GOT A PRESENT TODAY

2009-12-07T18:48:00.003-05:00

When i got home from work today a box was waiting for me, my DD and turtle sent me this cook book for christmas and the most lovely birthday cards, made my day!

That is Mr. Bleu he is all snuggy on the flannel sheets.

PRAYERS NEED FOR MY MOTHER

2009-12-06T19:31:00.002-05:00

My mother is a breast cancer survivor, for 3 1/2 years now, but lately she has had a terrible time breathing, at first she just thought it was a cold, but she has done several rounds of meds and nothing helps. She has been to a lung specialist and had test done, she goes back Tues. to find out what is going on. Last week she had a check up with her breast doctor and he also did several test and called her Friday and told her things don't look good, he seems to think the cancer has spread to her lungs, he apologized to her for calling her with such terrible news, but he was going out of town and wanted her to have this news to give to her lung doctor and wanted her to have his number to call him when she meets with the lung doctor. Please pray for her and hope he is wrong and it is just scar tissue from the radiation. 2009 has been a terrible year for us!!!!!!!!!!

NEW CAMERA

2009-12-05T11:57:00.003-05:00

My wonderful husband got me a new camera for my birthday, which is today, he also surprised with the vintage table cloth that i have had my eye on i love it. and he gave me a very beautiful card, he is the sweetest man ever, i love him so much.

camera

2009-12-02T18:34:00.001-05:00

ugh! my camera is broken :(

Sausage Bread- a tradition

2009-11-27T17:31:00.005-05:00

This is sausage bread, it has become a tradition that i make every year, this year i made it and took to work for a pitch in, everyone always loves it. I think I started making this in the early 80's, back then i made the bread from scratch, but now in my old age i take the easy peasy way out and buy the bread frozen and thaw.(just as good)

brown sausage and onions, drain, but in large bowl and mix in Swiss shredded cheese and mozzarella(you can use what ever cheese you like
sprinkle in parsley flakes, salt and pepper and some Tabasco sauce (to taste), stir that all up and set aside.
roll out the bread(i use 2 loaves) then spread the mixture on the top of the bread, roll up and put on non=greased cookie sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown and enjoy, it is good hot or cold. I love mine with cranberry sauce on it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2009-11-25T14:26:00.003-05:00

TO ALL, FROM THE HAMILTON FAMILY

LAZY WEEKEND

2009-11-22T15:00:00.003-05:00

This was a lazy weekend for us, i mostly lounged around in the pj's all day. Tried a little quilting, made this with scraps i had and even did a little applique and embroidery to it. I am not good at this at all, but it was fun. I get so inspired by reading and looking at other blogs, I am hoping that if I keep practicing i will get better at this.

ANOTHER GREAT WEEKEND!

2009-11-15T19:10:00.006-05:00

I am so happy my DH has had 2 good weekends in a row, we went to Mt Dora shopping and got some great candles and tart warmers, they are yummy.

Sunday i made chili and strawberry muffins and my DH managed to
eat.

I found an old pair of pj's in my pile, you know the kind that you love and have worn so often. the fabric is getting raggedy, but can't bare to part with, well i had and idea that i would take them apart and use as a pattern, this is what i came up with, worked pretty good. I am not a very good seamstress, but i manage, the next time i will have to make them a bit bigger as i have grown since i got these hehehehehe......I am also working on a new afghan using the pattern i picked up at Michael's called blushing grannies throw, but i am using my scraps, things are a little tight so i can't aford to buy yarn like i used to, but that is ok i have 2 baskets full of scraps that need to be used.

Buddy is sacked out, he had a rough day....

wrist warmers

2009-11-11T18:30:00.006-05:00

Even though it is still 80 degrees here i made these, i still have to add buttons or something to dress them up, i am sure i will get to use them once or twice this winter or better yet i can send them to someone for christmas. (dont worry lacy i won't send them to you :-)

Thankful for family

2009-11-08T19:16:00.007-05:00

My daughter and turtle left last week and it was sad to see them go, but we had a great time while they were here. It was so great to have my dd here to be with us for my husbands hospital stay. We had a wonderful visit with my brother and his family, it had been way too long.... we need to make more of an effort to get together more often! My niece has a beautiful family i am so happy that we finally met the boys, they are adorable.

We had a wonderful weekend, my husband was able to go to the local fall craft show and walk around the lake and then we went out for lunch, this is the first time he has been out able to do this since July, so it was great!!!!

LATEST PROJECT

2009-11-08T17:02:00.002-05:00

I made this afghan for my father in-law he lives up north and i thought it would keep him nice and warm on those cold winter nights.

ON THEIR WAY

2009-10-20T05:47:00.003-04:00

My kids are on their way, they left VA very early this morning, my dd is driving with turtle, please pray they have a safe trip and that turtle is on his best behavior. We are so excited to see them!!!!!!!! It will be so nice to have my dd here for my husbands next hospital stay, he goes in the 26th for his next procedure, so they will have a few days together before he is extremely sick again. I believe this will be the best medicine for him to have our family together!!!! ((hugs))

FALL IS COMING(THEY SAY)

2009-10-16T12:56:00.005-04:00

I sure hope the cold front comes down our way, i am so sick of this hot muggy weather!!!! I am hoping this weekend will be nice so i can at least open the doors and windows and let some fresh air in, i love warm weather but this has been way too hot and for too long. I am also praying that DH has a good weekend and maybe he can get out for a while.

We are getting so excited for next week, our DD and Turtle will be here for a couple of weeks and we are truely looking so forward to that! O and my brother and his family will be visiting Disney at the end of the month so we are all going to get together and we are so excited about that too!!!!!!!!!!!!

HE DID IT

2009-09-25T08:21:00.002-04:00

Just a little update this morning, my husband went to his poker game and stayed until 10:30 p.m. yeah!! he did say when he got home it wore him out, but that is understandable, i told him it will take time to get some strength, but i am so proud of him!!!!!

I got some much needed cleaning done while he was gone, i moved furniture around vacummed and now tonight after work i will mow the front yard, then sat. i will mow the back yard, you see i can only do a little at a time this old body cant take too much in this hot muggy weather, aftwards i just might take a dipp in the pool and enjoy a couple of good cold beverages(beers), then i am going to go get outback togo and hubs and i will relax and have a nice dinner. Sunday i will finish laundry and mop floors. sounds like a plan now lets just see how it works out. Hoping for a good weekend.

HI FRIENDS!

2009-09-24T08:52:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since i have visited my blog, i have been so busy taking care of my husband and working, not much time for anything else. He seems to be doing better, i am hoping he ventures out tonight for his poker game, it will do him good to get out of that bedroom for a while, i told him even if it is for 30 minutes or so he needs to go see his friends and help get his mind off of things. I will let you know how that goes.

I am in the middle of trying to complete an afghan for my FIL, he lives up north and he is 87 i figure he will really get some use out of it on those cold winter days, brrrr. I am making the kitties on a fence - using red, whte and blue yarn, so far it looks pretty good, i will post pics when i am done. :)

miss you all ((hugs))

latest project

2009-08-15T10:50:00.002-04:00

Now it all makes sense as to why i was finally able to learn to sew and crochet, it is like therapy for me now, it helps keep my mind off things. This is the latest project i am trying to finish up on I still have to attach the tabs on top so i can hang on a rod, it is a quilted Christmas card holder, it was a lot of fun making and i finally learned how to make and sew binding by hand.

MY WORLD HAS BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

2009-07-29T08:56:00.003-04:00

When i heard those words LIVER CANCER from the doctor yesterday i felt so alone, we got this news yesterday about my husband, my best friend, the father of my daughter and popop to turtle. I truly can not stop crying and i am trying to be strong for him. The doctor said our only option at this point is a possible liver transplant IF he is a candidate, they are going to do test Friday to make sure it hasn't spread and then we see the surgeon and if he is a candidate they will push him to the front of the line. i have been with my husband since i was 17 and we do everything together and i mean that truly everything, we love each other as much now as we did when we met. i know we can beat this we have gone through many many things together. i guess i am just reaching for all the prayers we can get.

cherrie berrie

2009-07-25T19:43:00.002-04:00

i finished my cherry apron to add to my collection. i actually wore one of my apron's today when i made dinner and i loved having something so close to wipe my hands on, so i will wear them now every time i cook, and this will make my DH happy that i am actually using them.

NEW APROM

2009-07-20T19:46:00.002-04:00

I just love these aprons, they are AMY'S APRONS, very easy to cut out and stitch right up, now if i could ony remember to put one on when i cook, my husband would be happy, he just doesnt understand why i make them and never wear them.

TABLE RUNNER DONE

2009-07-19T15:13:00.002-04:00

i finished my table runner this weekend

table runner

2009-07-18T14:42:00.002-04:00

this is my table runner so far, mmmmm i wonder what color and how should i trimn it?

first block

2009-07-16T19:28:00.005-04:00

i am trying my hand at quilting again, i desperately want to learn and by gally some day i will!!! i swear. here are a samle of my blocks so far, i am going to start slow and small going to make a table runner. i am terrible at cutting the squares straight, any suggestions would be greatful.

cushions

2009-07-14T05:48:00.003-04:00

I finally finished my patio cushion project and i love the way it turned out. My dh painted the chairs for me :) now i just need to find a table and a couple of plants as my dh says always something.

anniversary

2009-07-06T17:55:00.003-04:00

Our 31st wedding anniversary is Fri the 10th and we are going away for the weekend. This is where we got married 31 short years ago, well at daytona beach that is!

Hope we have good weather!

NEW PROJECT GOING ON

2009-07-02T06:45:00.003-04:00

I have started a new project, i have started making new cushion covers for my patio chairs, i have started on one and it is almost done and so far i am very happy with them.

busy gramcracker

2009-06-30T20:41:00.001-04:00

i have been busy making turtle a new bedskirt, curtain, little pillow covers and pillow case, for his room.

FUN TIMES!

2009-06-30T12:57:00.001-04:00

IIWII

2009-06-25T08:32:00.000-04:00

i am so honored

2009-06-23T05:29:00.000-04:00

thanks for thinking of me beansie

awesome place

2009-06-22T16:39:00.001-04:00

http://www.stitchingpostquilts.com/

I found this place in Indiana while i was there and it is awsome! they ship for only $5.00 check it out!

5 generations

2009-06-22T06:27:00.002-04:00

We had a wonderful visit with our family in Indiana, Turtle loved everyone!

shot the diet

2009-06-14T14:19:00.005-04:00

Well i finally shot the diet, (i did manage to loose 8lbs) but by the time i get back from vacation i am sure it will be back. I just had (made) some yummy chicken wings with potatoe skins and a mountain dew, omg it was soooooo good. why is it that all the good stuff is bad for you.

i did manage to get a lot done this weekend, all i have left to do is make sure my dh gets my laundry done tomorrow and then we will pack. we leave early Tuesday morning on our way to Indiana, we will be meeting dd, turtle and Ben at Indianapolis airport and then we will be renting a car and will have a 2 hour drive to our home town. Turtle finally gets to meet our family, he is almost 2 years old and the only person on our side of the family he has met is my mother(granny) we are all looking forward to the trip it is going to be lots of fun, after that they will be flying home with us until the 29th.

L IS FOR LACY

2009-06-06T11:56:00.004-04:00

I made this today for my dd, i used a pair of her old jeans that were hanging in the closet. it was so much fun to make, i may just to it again, i got my inspiration from beansie, thank ya

another apron

2009-06-03T20:46:00.002-04:00

i am sorta getting the hang of this sewing thing, even though it is not perfect i am sure having fun doing it!

i feel like i should be cookin

2009-06-01T19:06:00.004-04:00

This is the latest apron i made today, i feel like i should be in the kitchen baking a cherry pie or something, yum doesnt that sound good, but no can do i am still on this crappy diet, but you can bet when we go home to Indiana for a visit the ole diet will be shot!!! and i can not wait.

NITE NITE

2009-05-27T06:21:00.002-04:00

I have been working on jamies for Turtle, i love this material, it is so soft, i will make little short ones too. they are so easy and quick to make. I am sure he will love them, i just hope they fit as i had to guess on how long to make them.

market

2009-05-21T18:08:00.003-04:00

i am hoping that this month at work is a sign that the economy is turning around a bit, we have been swamped with closings this month, and the contracts are still coming in. I am doing so many closings on homes that are going thru pre-foreclosure and finally end up selling, (short sales with the bank) it is so sad to sit across the table from families and have them sign papers to loose their home, but on the other side of the table is another family able to finally purchase their first home due to the prices falling. It normally takes anywhere from 2 mos to up 6 mos for the process to finally get approved so by then the seller is so happy to just be finished.

look

2009-05-15T05:38:00.002-04:00

look what i found while on vacation isnt this just beautiful. i wasnt able to purchase but it was worth the look

what a wonderful vacation

2009-05-10T16:33:00.002-04:00

We had a wonderful vacation with my DD and Turtle. He loved seeing elmo, bigbird and friends at bush gardens, it made my heart melt to see him so happy.

I'M ON VACA

2009-05-02T08:42:00.003-04:00

I am vacation until the 11th, we leave tuesday for virginia beach to see Lacy and Turtle, we are so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have been up since 5 this morning, did a little(VERY little) house work, a little crocheting and colored my hair, Later i am going to catch some sun by the pool and chill. omg i just remembered last sat. afternoon we were hanging out by the pool and had the back slider open(the screen door was not closed) well i went in to go to the bathroom or something and when i came back my DH had shut the screen door for some reason, but i wasnt paying attention and darn if i didnt walk right thru the screen door knocked it completely out and it landed ontop of my DH i thought i was going to pee my pants laughing so hard, yes we have fun like that doing crazy things. well today i will be paying a lot more attention to the screen door and that wont happen to me again. :) i know my daughter will get a kick out of this, she knows her mom very well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am thinking we are like 2 peas in a pod.