Flu-Bug

This past week I have had the Flu.

O
M
G

I certainly hope you all have had your flu shot....I missed it this year- and I am PAYING for it now.
There have been times in the past two days I seriously thought I was going to die.Three years ago i didn't get my shot and I was sick like this.....it took me almost 2 MONTHS to fully recover.

I ache all over, fever, chills, headache from hell, and that nasty flu taste in my mouth...... Not being able to hold anything but clear liquids down.........sometimes not even that for very long.
When I had the chills my back and ribs felt like they were going to snap in two.

I haven't been able to sit up for very long.
As a matter of fact, I'm about at the end of my strength right now.

Yesterday it was the same too.......Able to sit up for about 15 minutes (usually reading the blogs)while I'm having a good quarter hour- then right back to bed.

And I hope to GOD Paulius doesn't get it.

Later y'all....

Easy Peasy........

Wow....what a week!!

First of all I want to pat myself on the back ......I weighed in night before last and have lost a Grand total of 20 pounds on my diet. That's since Jan 18th. Doc said either I lose the weight and get my Type 2 diabetes under control or I would probably be on injections within a year....so here I am....finally losing it! I'm the first to admit I have absolutely NO willpower when it comes to sticking to a diet for more than a month.

I have been ill with some sort of bug for a couple days now as well....had to call in last night because I just was too weak to walk and do my job.....PLUS- a stomach bug isn't the kind of thing you want o bring in to a hospital for everyone to catch. I'm still weak today, but not nearly so much as I have been. So on the road to recovery, I am!!! Paul said he can always tell when I'm ill because my Southern Accent is VERY pronounced then....of course it is...do you have ANY idea how hard it is for a Southern Girl to NOT sound like a southerner? It takes a LOT of energy to cover that Dang Thang up!!

This weekend is my weekend off my diet.....(I'm on it 12 days- have a 2 day break from it and then go back on it for 12 days- Hey, it's the way it works! Honest!!)
So I have been craving Lemon Poppy-seed Cake with Lemon Glaze.
Now, you all know me- I'm a "from scratch" kinda baking girl....but I made a different one this time. I was in the kitchen waiting for my chicken broth to warm on the stove and started thinking bout that cake. I had a Duncan Hines Lemon Cake mix and Martha White Lemon Poppy-seed Muffin mix(small bag-like package)in the cabinet so in the five minutes it took my soup to heat up I mixed HALF the box mix and ALL the Lemon Poppy-seed muffin mix in a bowl with 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs, and a cup and a half of MILK. Stirred it up and poured it into a 9X13 pan sprayed with a bit of PAM but NOT floured.
Baked it at 375 degrees for about 25 mins-(you can tell when it's done if you stick a toothpick or knife tip in the center and it comes out clean-) while I was laying on the sofa sipping my soup and then when I went to take my bowl to the kitchen I finished up..

While it was in the last 5 minutes of baking I got out the Confectioners Sugar(Powdered sugar) and poured about half a box in a bowl and stirred in some Lemon Juice(out of a bottle) in to it a bit at a time til it was the consistency of pancake batter. Then, when I took the cake out of the oven, I poked a few holes in the top with a fork and then poured the Lemon Sugar Glaze over the top of the warm cake, put some foil over it(make sure the foil doesn't touch the cake and glaze because it will pull off the glaze when it's lifted if you don't) and let it cool.
This cake is better eaten when its cooled to lukewarm or when it sits overnight....Great for Family get togethers cause you can make it a day in advance!!

EASIEST AND BEST Lemon Poppyseed Cake I have ever eaten..... and that includes my from scratch recipe!

Granted I can't eat much of it today cause my tummy is still a bit.........finicky..... but I'll enjoy a bit of it just the same...I'll put a good bit of it in the freezer as well and I'll let ya know in a few weeks if it can be frozen without the taste being compromised.

I want to congratulate MC and Cindy on their upcoming nuptials in Vegas!!
And Saffy and Toby on their upcoming nuptials.
Anyone else decided to do the deed?
Many, Many, Many, Happy Married Years ahead for you all!!

The new Baby (CJ) is growing like a weed! Already over 8 pounds and just a month old! His mom, Kathy, is doing a GREAT job being a mommy to him!!
Julie is getting things straight in her chaotic world and Frank and Marie are doing well,too, as far as I know....I haven't seen anyone but Julie for a couple weeks now since I have been working and been ill.

Just to let them know...not this weekend, but my next weekend off I want to try and get together and do a little cookout since we all had to work on Easter and didn't get to see each other.April 11th, 12th, or 13th, That would be.....so lemme know what day would be best so we can co-ordinate it and so MARIE can actually get to COME to a family dinner this time- NO EXCUSES!!!!!

So here I sit sipping on my SPRITE ZERO and feeling all happy about life for a change.

WARNING.......RANT!!!!!!!!........

I'm SOOOOOO TIRED!!!!!
I swear......I want to move out into the country where my closest neighbor is 2 miles away.

It seems like EVERY DAY I have to work I have neighbors who decide they want to work on their cars or motorcycles and spend the entire day revving up the engine while doing so.
Or they decide that today's the day the trees HAVE to be pruned or the Lawn HAS to be mowed.
The worst part is that most of my Neighbors are my RELATIVES who KNOW I work night shift and have to sleep during the day.
The days I have off and wouldn't MIND having all the noise it's quiet as a cemetery.
............Well, in all fairness and truth- I WOULD still mind it but I wouldn't mind it NEARLY so much as having to go to work and work 12 hours with NO sleep.

I've tried talking with them...I've tried putting a DO NOT DISTURB sign on my door-I've given them my schedule of work days...I've Toyed wih the idea of having a HUGE Red Flag and a HUGE Green Flag made and put on a pole outside so if I'm sleeping they will KNOW without having o come down and see if a sign is on the door- or without having to call me to see if this is a work day or an off day....which disturbs my sleep as well if I forget to unplug the phone before I toddle off to bed.

So far nothing works.
I realize they have lives too- but I don't go out at 4AM on MY nights off and shoot firecrackers and work on my engine and mow the lawn when I KNOW they have to work the next day.
Maybe I SHOULD to show them what I have to deal with but I know when they work and sleep and TRY NOT to disturb them.

GRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What to DO?????????



And on that note I want to wish all you guys a Happy, Fun-Filled Easter!!!

Bunny Hopping.........

Yep- Easter is almost here.
I used to love Easter.
I mean- I got a frilly new dress and lacy socks and shiny new patent shoes to wear and a new purse.

AND Chocolate!!!-All I could eat and no one to fuss at me about making myself sick eating the chocolate.

Life was GOOD then, wasn't it?

Need You Ask?

Okay, Go Ahead. Ask me why I don't like the ocean.

I haven't been in the ocean water over my ankles since JAWS came out.

The last time I went to the beach with my mom and Dad was when I was 27. Clay was almost 4 that summer, Frank was 5, and Julie was 8.

Dad had ALMOST gotten me talked into the whole JAWS thing being a bunch of hooey and that there were no sharks in the water off the South Carolina Coastline.

Then he went surf-fishing and caught a two foot long shark in the surf............not even 50 feet from our campsite.

Ummmmmm....
ME: "Dad? I thought there was no sharks in our waters?"
DAD: "This is just a baby shark. The mama is probably hundreds of miles from here."
ME (backing away from even the foam of the surf): "Ummmm......I'll just lie in the sun again today. Come on Kids, let's go to the playground and the wading pool, and afterwards I'll buy ice-cream for everyone."

Is it Just Me.........

....... or has my blog turned depressing lately?
I know there has been a few funny posts , but the general tone seems to have become a grey zone of depression.

Today probably isn't the best time for me to discuss this in depth because I've had a back tooth split in two and absolutely killing me for a couple weeks now- and it finally broke off yesterday. Broke completely in half and at an angle.
And altho it isn't giving me nearly the pain it was, NOW I have a huge sore spot on my tongue from it rubbing against the sharp edge of the broken tooth. My tongue is actually swollen meaning I can't talk nearly as much as I normally do.
*Enter Paulius with big cheesy grin on his face*

Yeah. On the upside he made me Lobster for dinner....first time I ever had it so wish me luck.

Yet Again....

Yet again, tragedy has struck in our family.
Frank and Marie have miscarried their babies.
I'm so so sorry, my loves. You have to believe there was a reason in God's grand plan..... It makes no rhyme nor reason to us now- but someday we will know why.
I love you both.

Someday.......SOON!

The BLACK one is what I'm going to buy when I lose ALL my weight!
Naughty, eh? Course, I can't wear it outside the house but it'll be great for a romantic night home with my Paulius.
My BFF Lois is sending me the RED one! Much more suitable for an evening out on the town.

I've officially lost 16 pounds now.

I still have a lot to go before reaching my goal weight.
But I'm going to talk about that part. I'm going to celebrate the loss I have achieved!

This diet isn't so bad.
I haven't once been hungry when I eat everything like I'm supposed to. And it doesn't require special foods either. Paulius and I can make one dinner and I just omit the bread and/or potatoes and/or rice or pasta. ........Starches.

No dessert or snacking between meals.
I stay on the diet for 12 days- and have a break for two days during which I can eat whatever I want.
And I DO eat whatever I want on those two days. Then I go back on the diet for 12 more days.........
I have it set up so my long weekend off work and my two days off the diet coincide. (Dang- that was a big word for a blond.)

I honestly didn't have any faith that this diet would work when my friend K.B., at work, found it for me.
The doctor had given me a 1200 cal a day diet that gave me free rein over WHAT I ate-even sweets in very MODERATE amounts...but Karen and I are diet buddies during the Activate Upstate Weight Loss Challenge and talking with me she realized that I needed something a bit more......restrictive..... for it to work for me.
So she went on the net and browsed until she found this diet and gave it to me. I ran it past my doctor and she thought it was an even better diet for me than the one she had given me because it eliminated all starches and sweets except for the two days off. And as my doc said- that's what it's all about anyway, I have to learn to eat starches and sweets in EXTREME moderation, only occasionally indulging.
So with my doc's blessing I have been on it for about a month, more or less. And I am averaging a weight loss of about a pound every three days. Steady weight loss.

I have to admit I DID cheat once....the other morning I was craving something sweet- so I got a small oatmeal cookie bar and ate less than half of it with an allowed 8 oz of milk. I left the rest on the desk.(Sorry Pauli, sweetie.)

Only time I have cheated tho- and it doesn't seem to have hurt my weight loss any either cause I had lost another pound when I weighed last night.


I love it. I can stick with this one.

I Lied.....

I know I said i wasn't going to be posting again until Monday but I couldn't sleep so I got up and decided to write this.
Don't worry- it's gonna be short and sweet.

I overheard a conversation yesterday where it was voiced that we are surrounded by Propaganda every day. They cited Advertising as a form of Propaganda.
My question......
Is Advertising really Propaganda?
I had the idea that Propaganda is trying to change someones view or idea of something for the sake of the belief of it and Advertising is trying to change someones view or idea of something for monetary gain or profit.

Or does Profit not even factor in to the equation?

Sometimes it makes my head hurt trying to become more intelligent.
(See Paulius' Blog video for how it makes me feel sometimes.)

Til Monday........

Feeling a bit more stable today.....Thank goodness...Today, I start my long working weekend.

I won't get to see my hubby much...I'll miss him....and I definitely won't get to blog or go on the computer either...It'll be work 12 hours, then an hours drive home. Sleep for 10 hours, then drive an hour back to work and do it alllllll over again repeatedly 'til Monday Morning.

But I STILL love this schedule!

See y'all Monday!!
Have a GREAT weekend!

having a rough day

I'm having a bad afternoon.

My heart just feels like it's about to break into a thousand pieces.

My baby boy is in my thoughts and I can't work myself out of this mood.

I just keep seeing his smile, trying to remember the way his hugs felt.
All I can find in my mind tho is the accident site and his cemetary headstone.
My heart is breaking all over again.
Why did it have to be my baby that was taken?
What did I do to deserve this heartbreak/
What did HE do to deserve to leave us like this?
Nothing...
We did NOTHING to deserve this hurt.
I watch the sunsets,
I watch the sun rise......I see the days pass in a blur.

Will this hurt never end?
I need a cigarette and a drink................

Water, Water Everywhere...

But not a drop to drink.



I have to say tho- it would be so much easier to diet if I didn't have all those restaurants to pass by on my way to and from work every day.
I mean seriously...I have :
Mr D's
TWO Clock eateries
a unknown name Mexican place
Burger king
McD's
Wendy's
BoJangles
another McD's
BBQ king
Asian House
Heavenly ham
Tanners Big Orange
ANOTHER BK
Churches Chicken
Taco bell
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
ANOTHER BK
ANOTHER Wendys
Another McD's
City Range Grill
Kanpai of Tokyo
Chili's
Stax Grill
Stax Peppermill
China Buffet
Stax bakery
Steak and Shake
Monterays Mexican
Fried Green Tomatoes
Jasons Deli
Jack in the Box
Rafferty's
Backyard Burgers

One way to work.
The alternate route is even more fraught with danger.

Is it any wonder I have no willpower?
But despite my lack of it.... I lost another pound!!

And at this rate by the Turkey-day/Xmas holidays I'll be at my goal weight!!

Lil' Short-Short Today.

Nasty weather expected here today.

Glad all I have to do is sleep- but then who can sleep when you live in a double-wide and they're calling for severe thunderstorms and a possible outbreak of tornadoes? Especially when I saw our two-story barn picked up and blown away by a tornado a few years ago- and it stood not 50 yards from where we live now.
And to make matters worse- we also live about 50 yards from the RR track and every time a train goes by it sounds just LIKE a tornado roaring thru.

Tears the nerves UP during storm season, I tell ya!

Keep your fingers crossed for us! it DOES look nasty out there!
I'm off to beddie-bye now!

A Fairy Tale.....

Once upon a time in a land far, far away...................And the beautiful Princess..................but then the bad ........................however, a handsome charming Prince.................................and then her Fairy Godmother/Guardian Angel...........................and then the Prince charged into the room ......................and they lived happily-ever-after.

Sound familiar?
It's the same old story.......told to countless princes and princesses every night all over the world.
Does it ever really come true?
Absolutely!
Just look at your significant other and remember...........and live happily-ever-after in your own kingdom.