The wearin' of the Green.

Yes, it's St Patrick's Day as well as my daughter's birthday. And I can tell you that for the most part, I have no problem being green today ...............

Green with envy for almost everyone else not living in Atlantic Canada with your pictures of snow melting and flowers emerging from the ground.

Sunday brought another foot or so of snow and/or freezing rain; and the past few days we've been stuck in the polar vortex again.

And to make matters even worse, there are blizzard warnings out for tomorrow.

It's getting mighty hard to be positive, especially when I can't turn to my usual crutches like chocolate and cakes. Eating carrot sticks and plain yogurt -- although very delicious -- don't somehow induce on those lovely flashes of euphoria.

Oh well. 

If it can't be spring, could I at least have a snnow day tomorrow?   

Please?

I'll have a side order of stewed prunes please!

I went to my bathroom medicine cabinet the other night to get a bandaid, and as I was standing there looking for them, I became aware of something on the top shelf.  

The perfect solution when those boys "break bad"

!

• Preparation H.  

But gosh!  I was almost out of it!  So, I made a mental reminder to put it on my grocery list;  after all -- I wouldn't want to find myself in NEED and not have any.  

And then I thought:  What?  When did that become a staple in my household?

As I walked back to the bedroom and began to massage my night-time anti-wrinkle/anti-aging cream on my face and neck, I said to my jar:  "You aren't working, ya know.  You're letting me down".

Then sitting on the bed rubbing olive oil on my legs and feet to combat the cold weather dryness and itching that begins at this time of year, I internally grumbled at the "stuff" on my night table.

• Reactin --  In case I come across someone who's wearing perfume or aftershave; if I can get it early enough, I won't develop a headache. 

• Sinutab -- If the above doesn't work or the weather is damp.
• Tylenol for migraines -- If I really get a doozie of a headache.
•  Tums and Gavaston -- For the varying degrees of heartburn to acid reflux that I sometimes experience if I eat too much wheat or sugar.

 And there under the night table is the heating pad that I use for my back and shoulder pain.  

And if that doesn't work, I can go to the bin in my closet and find the Robaxasit.

Then I became afraid ................. very afraid.

"Holy Guac!"  I thought!  "How old am I?" 

"When did this all that STUFF happen?" 

This is what aging does to you.  The ailments happen little by little; and before you know it, the pharmacy aisle in your local grocery store doesn't get bypassed like it used to.  

And then .... one day ... before you know it ... you're discussing your ingrown toenails over coffee with your friends and younger people are becoming afraid to say "How are you?" after they say hello.  EEEK!

But no, I haven't gotten that bad yet.  Although we may discuss favorite brands of pain medication, we also discuss this season's hot clothing styles and our current favorite color lipstick.  I'm not ready for the glue factory yet.

Why, I'll have you know that most people think I'm 5 years younger than what my actual age is.  I've still got most of my teeth, I can manage a boogie for up to 5 minutes without putting my hip out 

AND

 
I can still fit into the earrings I used to wear in high school!

I ain't dead yet, by's; and I ain't goin' down without a fight.

Sing: "The sun'll come out ... tomorrow!"

Yesterday was the story of "Sandra and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"!  

1. The phone woke me from a lovely sleep;I'd somehow left my purse and camera at the potluck in Mahone Bay the night before
(and I couldn't even blame it on the kids as I hadn't asked them to watch it while I helped with dishes).  
2. When I went to collect it, the lady's doggie kept circling me and barking and then jumping up on me -- he was a fairly big doggie and those were clean grey sweat pants, Charlie!
3. My sore shoulders were aching; I think that addled my already-addled brain.
4. The girls and I spent an hour looking for the house where their get-together was being held.  My cell phone went dead; none of Mariana's friends were answering their text messages; no one on the (wrong) street knew of a Ms Blahblah who was hosting the get together.  We finally came home.
5. I was gonna comfort myself with Kraft Dinner.  (Is KD a comfort food in your house?)  Molly ate it before she went to work.  
6. I should never have substituted all those chocolates instead ..... but I did!
7. I lay there on the couch with a heating pad under my shoulder, feeling bloated from that 50 lb of not very good chocolate and I napped 'cause TV viewing was soooooo crappy ...... and woke sitting bolt upright with a start.  Ouch shoulder!
8. Finally, I knew what to do!  I'll make chicken nuggets and brown rice and put oodles of plum sauce over it all.  Another comfort food!  The brown rice was still chewy, the nuggets weren't crispy and there wasn't enough plum sauce for oodles!
9. I thought I'd watch a nice movie that would make me cry so I could release some of those pent up frustrations.  And finally after false starts with 2 crappy movies, I found one!  It didn't make me cry, but it did relax me and the guy got the girl and they kissed in the end and lived happily ever after! Ahhh!  (No crying, Sandy, because that isn't you!)

To bed with a prayer that tomorrow will be a better day.

It's Sunday!  That's a better start already!

And breakfast this morning WAS comfort food.  Oatmeal, hot toast with oodles of butter  (Success!) and tea. 

And the oatmeal came out perfectly.  It wasn't an amalgamated glob of oatmeal but rather every large flake oat was defined and cooked to just the right chewy consistency:  the dollop of butter and the brown sugar melted into the hot cereal and the milk/cream mixture was just right.  And look -- those are alligators in my swamp!  

When the girls were little, I cut their toast into little squares (alligators) then hid them in the swamp (oatmeal).  They loved it and ate every drop.

I'm a happy girl again!  When grown-up-girl life gets too much for you, revert to little-girl life.  Perhaps it's just a temporary reprieve, but whatever works, right!

Alligators in the swamp have changed my perspective this morning.  Now I'm off to church to see God about this shoulder!  (And I may even mention my lack of kissing and happily ever afters.)

Any company out there for my misery??

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I'm not sure how many of you have been experiencing problems with Blogger lately. I've heard a lot of people mention it, and I myself have had a number of minor glitches which lasted for anywhere from an hour to a day.

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But this weekend, something extremely odd happened.

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On my home computer, I can go to my blog's home page, but I'm unable to redirect to go to my Dashboard, My Account, etc. When I try, I get a Google 414 error message that says that the uri is too long. With my very limited computer knowledge, I've tried to fix it. With her slightly impressive knowledge, my daughter has tried to fix it. I even called my server and they have no answers for me. It's a stumper!

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But the really odd thing is that I'm able to access everything from my blog on my work computer! I came in early yesterday, so I posted from here. And today, I'm posting from work. But I can't keep coming in early and using the work computer; that's just not kosher! And if the problem isn't remedied, I'll have to give up my blog. So, I'm hoping that it's Blogger related.

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I'm looking for anyone else out there who may be having the same problem. Send me an email if you can or leave a message on this post.

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That is, as long as I can continue to access my blog on other computers!

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Head Cold

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At hand:

• 4 pillows


• Large glass of cold water


• Puffs lotion tissues


• Lipsol


• Throat Lozanges


• Remote control


• Reading glasses and my current paperback

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I am at the point where I can enjoy my poor health!

Sore Throat

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I seldom post on weekends but always like to greet my blog friends on Mondays. However, today I can barely talk due to ....
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And I have the usual sniffles and aches and sleepies!
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So, I'll rejoin the blog world in a few days.
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Stay warm and healthy!
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How to Deal with Hate Mail

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I've been very fortunate because I've never received hate mail on my blog. But I know that many of you have. I think we all agree that it's hard to understand why someone you don't know would say mean things to you. But it happens.
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Now there's a new way to deal with hate mail. The best way, I think! Spotlight the nasty, share it with other bloggers and let us help to reinforce you. (And you might possibly have a chance to laugh at the nay-sayers.)

This is a new blog called My Favorite Hate Mail: Where Mean Comments Go To Die. It was started a short time ago by Mandi from Vintage Revivals and Vivian from The V Spot.

• . If you've had enough of the nasties out there;



• If you feel that everyone is entitled to their own personal style



• If you feel that we're entitled to our own opinion (as long as it doesn't hurt others);



• And if you need a healthy way to bury the vicious barbs of negative bloggers

then I'd encourage you to not just check out this new blog but to follow them and give them the nods up!

There's just enough negative in the world already!



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Seeing Red on Rednesday Mar 30.11

. . I'm linking up once again this Wednesday to REDnesday at It's a Very Cherry World. Today I'm wearing one of my favorite blouses -- in red -- and with it, I'm wearing one of my new Value Village necklaces. This blouse makes me feel energized and ready to work!. Colors can affect us in many ways. There are warm and cool colors, colors that can rev you up and colors that can calm you down. Red has always been a positive, "up" color for me. . But this morning, there's something that's making me see red. And that subject is bullying. . bull ying. . . There's been a report on the local TV and radio for the past 2 days about a young 15 yr old high school girl who killed. You can read a little about it here Bullied teen's death sparks campaign - Nova Scotia - CBC .... . Jenna was being treated for depression; she had her good days and her bad days; but she was working hard to overcome this condition. She was a good student and an accomplished musician who sang and played guitar; she even taped herself and put the clips online. But for the past year or two, she has been bullied relentlessly, so much so that she had left school -- at the school's suggestion! But the bullying continued. She received countless messages from school "mates" (for lack of a better word) telling her she was a loser, that she might as well kill herself because she was no good, etc, etc. She hung herself! . Jenna and her Mom had been working with the school system. After her death, Jenna's Mom went to the school, the school board and then to the local police with computer proof of this bullying. Need I say that all her efforts to date have been fruitless; so she's decided to go public with this story to bring awareness to this growing problem.

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I understand that we've tied the hands of our teachers and school authorities when it comes to discipline. But people, this is a young girls life! Dead at 15! Come on! If Mom has the messages with the senders names clearly in print, if all her friends and probably some of her teachers know who the culprits are, surely we can do something to hold the perpetrators accountable and bring justice to this child's senseless death.

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Bullying must be stopped. We are raising a generation of children who not only have a displaced sense of entitlement, but they also have little or no fear of authority. They're smart enough to know when we mean what we say; and theoretically smacking someone's hand doesn't frighten them at all.

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My children were never the victims of bullying, at least not for long. But I know kids who have been victimized. I'm angry! I'm angry with our school system, and I'm angry with our legal system. I'm angry enough that I'm entertaining thoughts of good-ole vigilante justice being a solution when the law falls short.

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We've got to protect these innocents!

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Cough, hack, snort!

Yup! I've got all that; plus the worse cough!
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Thank God for this stuff. It's what enables me to stop coughing long enough to sleep.
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See you in a couple of days!

Come on, admit it; you know ya wanna see my feet again!

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The road to recovery is slow but quite progressive. Since I've had the cast removed, there is improvement on a daily basis -- not just in the look but in the feel.
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This is my foot last Monday:.
This is on Wednesday: .

And this is my foot today:.
Pretty good huh! I'm very encouraged!

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Still, this is what my feet look like next to each other when I swing them over the side of the bed and place them on the floor:.

You might have come a long way baby, but there's still a ways to go.

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And yes, that's new nail polish. I'm soooo bored! And I'm tired of hanging out with my sick-bed companions Betty Backache, Hetty Heating Pad and Randy Remote eating Lay's potato chips and thinking about how much I want to decorate for Christmas. Sigh!!

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God is teaching me patience, I suppose, and other things that have not yet been revealed. And I did tell him just today "Thank you, Lord, for teaching me patience."

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"Now Lord. Could we please move on to miracle walking now?"

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The Crappy Side of Gardening

Aren't these little critters bright and cheerful looking? Such a vibrant color, especially when seen against the lovely green of your lilies. They kind of look like a relative of the cute little Ladybug.
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But do not be deceived! These are monsters!!! When you think of these small, seemingly innocuous little insects, think "THE DEVIL"!!! (Note that they're red and have horns! ) I discovered them on my lilies last week and noticed that the leaves were rather moth-eaten. So, I turned to Google and found out how to deal with them.
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It's the Red Lily Beetle. They live in the soil and overwinter there (plotting evil plans & laughing behind their barbarous little pincers!). In spring they lay eggs under the leaves; the eggs hatch into larvae which, of course, eat the leaves and can apparently destroy the whole plant & even your whole garden! But that's not the worse part of these little interlopers.
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The larvae - which are fat, disgusting little orange blobs - are often not noticed because as they eat (and grow fatter) underneath the leaves, they disguise their bodies with their own excretment! Yes! They happily munch your plants, safe from birds and other preditors, wrapped in their very own black "Cloak of Crap"!
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But these little poopy pests didn't bargain on one steely preditor --- their newest and most terrifying threat --- Doris the Great!
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Armed with her Google knowledge, a large pan of hot soapy water, an old but clean rag, a determination which overcame her revulsion and previous experience in washing poop off beloved objects (namely, 3 little baby bums); Doris boldly and bravely strode forth into battle in order to save her beloved lilies.
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And Doris continues the fight! She has taken up the gauntlet of daily checks for yucky black blobs (no more so far!!) and gently shaking her lilies (sounds naughty, doesn't it) over her hand in order to catch those pretty red bugs (2 squished underfoot yesterday!)
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There are lots of healthy looking buds on my plants even if the leaves look hard-done-by! And they will bloom! I am determined to be victorious!
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This scourge shall be overcome with tenacity and hardwork

AND

perhaps the purchase of some silicone gloves!!!

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Ew!! GROSS!! Is beetle poop good for your hands??

When can I sleeppppppppppppppp......

Singing with South Shore Chorale all weekend. That means early practices, followed by rousing concerts which equal late nights. Then I have to try to get to sleep when I'm all wound up and my poor, arthritic knees ache from standing for so long. This morning I have to prepare a snack for the afternoon concert today. (And in between, I've still had to find time to do the laundry and eat!) Argh!! When can I sleep?

*

Soon! It will all be over with this afternoon at 5 pm.

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Then I will be back in the land of the blogging! See you soon!

COULD YOU ALL JUST STOP HAVING SUCH A GOOD TIME WITH YOUR FAMILIES!!

I've seen your beautiful photos of Thanksgiving with your families. I've seen small families and I've seen large ones. I've seen families sharing in the food preparation; I've seen music and after dinner walks or games; I've seen family snoozing on the sofa once the turkey takes affect. I've seen babies being cuddled and trees being decorated. And I just have one thing to say:

*

Waaaaaah!

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I have a daughter in Toronto who can't afford to come home this Christmas.

AND

I have a daughter in the city who just quit school so she could work and make minimum wage and will probably be working most of the Christmas season.

*

My brother who lives an hour away doesn't much want to see family. (He has issues.)

The rest of my wonderful family are mostly in Newfoundland - an 8 hour drive, then an 8 hour ferry ride, followed by a 3 hour drive -- all wrapped up in oddles of Canadian currency and gas money.

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Waaaaaah!

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*

On Sunday afternoon, I eagerly and cheerfully began to open the Christmas decoration boxes and put a few things around. Then it struck me! Molly isn't here, and she's the daughter that takes just as much joy in Christmas decorating as I do. Libby is working so much that I may not even get to hear her groan and make large, loud sighs over having to place a few ornaments on the tree and then make 15 trips to the bathroom! (Does decorating make you want to pee a lot?) And Amy! Oh my darling Amy! She won't even make it home for Xmas again this year.

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Enough with the stiff upper lip business! I can't stand it! I miss my girls terribly! I had to put down the wreath and lean on the freezer and cry! I'm close to tears just typing this!

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I was overwhelmed with sadness! It's not that children grow up, but they move away! And a lot of the time, they move far enough away that it's difficult to visit!

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What's a sad Mama to do? Booze and chocolate just won't cut it, people! God will comfort me, I know! But I'm still gonna feel the pain of separation! And I don't want to feel this pain!

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Well, I had my cry. And I finished carrying the boxes upstairs. And then Adriana came downstairs and wanted to help. And even though, unlike Molly, she didn't know the correct place to put the nativity scene or where we always put the Snowman cookie jar; she'd never helped decorate before, so I let her do it her way and once again opened myself to change! And she did a lovely job. Then Nadine finished her school project and came downstairs and oohhed and aahed. Then Libby came home and laughed once again this year at the amount of Xmas parapheralia we have (and the tree doesn't go up until next weekend!); but she still walked around touching familiar things.

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And this all helped and I felt encouraged that it would be another wonderful Christmas!

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And calling Molly to tell her how much I missed her that day helped as well. (I couldn't reach Amy. She's out leading her life without me! Waaaaaah!)

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And watching "Elf" on TV helped.

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And having peppermint chocolate chip ice cream with crumbled peanut butter cookies and chocolate sauce helped!

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But you know what? It would also help if you'd all stop having such a good time with your families! 'Cause misery loves company, don't ya know!

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PS - The above is based on jealousy and self-pity. This jealousy and self-pity will pass (and return periodically like a bad 70's sitcom). Please ignore my crying and keep sending me your wonderful pictures and stories. I'm a big girl and will handle it -- with prayer ------ and with more ice cream and sauce!

THE GREAT PANTY DEBATE

While viewing the blogs I missed last weekend, I came across a funny post from Joan of The Retirement Chronicles (http://myretirementchronicles.blogspot.com/2009 entitled "10 Things Not to do if You are a Woman and it's Your 50-something Birthday". Here's point 7:

7. And panties? Ok. Don't wear old lady bloomers. But for everyone else's sake, PLEASE do not wear thongs. You are gonna get back spasms from pulling out that baby from the Grand Tetons of your ass, and how are you going to explain THAT to the cute 30-something E.R. Doc?

Now, I have no problem with not wearing a thong -- I tried that when they first became popular and did not enjoy the flossing effect I achieved during the experiment: so, I've never gone down that road again! (I don't imagine it was particularly attractive for anyone else to view either ..... not that there's anyone else to view that particular profile on me!)

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A few years ago after watching Britian's Auntie Gock on "How to Look Good Naked", I really took to heart when he said that any self-respecting woman needs to stay away from the granny panties, get rid of ALL our sad undies and wear something pretty. So, I immediately went to my underwear drawer and threw out all my full- waisted cotton Haines (except for 2 brand new pairs in pink and blue which I couldn't bring myself to throw out 'cause they were brand new). Then Iwent to my local WalMart and spent a lengthy 2-3 hours picking out some pretty, frilly, lacy boy cut type undies. But I took pleasure in the process because I imagined how even more beautiful I would look and how even more sexy and feminine I'd feel in these new panties!

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Ahhhhh ..... did I mention that my last child was a C-section? And .... did I mention that I have one of those smiley-face bikini scars? And .... did I mention that any extra "junk" I carry on me is not in my trunk but in my front?

I was about 10-15 lb lighter then; and I'm pleased to say, that some of those panties were somewhat successful purchases. They fit me fairly well and stayed in place. But quite a few of them just didn't work out! After a couple of hours of doing such things as WALKING or (Heaven forbid) SITTING, those pretty little babies would roll themselves down and tuck themselves under my smiling C-line of jelly-belly; and no amount of tugging them up would keep them there. (Where can I get that double sided tape that J-Lo uses? And does it comes in extra-sticky?)

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You know --- I'm a child of the 60's, raised to wear what are now called "classic" briefs -- up to your waist. I feel comfortable in those. I used to wear bikini undies, but never really felt comfortable in them. Nor did I ever feel completely comfortable in those somewhat successful undies I purchased a few years ago. (And now with the extra 10-15 lb, yeah, they just sit in my drawer and look pretty.) Haines are creeping into my underwear drawer again, ladies!

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I'm a self-respecting woman! I may be aging, but Goll-darn it! I ain't dead yet!

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And I have other underwear concerns! Remember what Mama always told us about wearing clean underwear in case of an accident? Well, I need to wear pretty underwear in case of an accident! Like --- how embarassing would it be for me to be caught by the surgical team wearing my ratty full-waist cotton Haines! Would I ever be able to live it down -- should I live from the accident? PLUS there's my industrial strength underwire bra that only comes in white or black not passionate pink or minxy mauve! Dang blast it! These things are not helping my chances in finding a husband who would keep me in the style to which I'm not accustomed!!

So I ask you -- what does a "full-figured" mature yet young-at-heart lady in the 2nd century of her life wear under her well appointed garments to both look and feel feminine, sexy AND comfortable? I know there are some of you over-50's out there who are 110 degree hot tamales! So fess up!!

Excuse Me! Wendy Whiner is speaking!!!

I still ache from overworking my body; and I go to the gymn to "help" myself feel better and I ache some more (just maybe in a slightly different part of my body that wasn't aching before I went to the gym)! A week and a half of aching is wearing me out.

I woke up yesterday with a crick in my neck (yes, that's a word here in the Maritimes), and last night I rested and used my trusty hot water bottle, but it still hurts.

No one can find the problem with my car despite my having handed over part of my savings and my 1st born child! (Well --- that last part is a lie.)

It's been raining for 4 days straight now and it drizzled 2 days before that.

I ate at MacDonald's yesterday (I said it was to support local charities but we all know that I just wanted that burger!) Then while I was checking my emails last night, I ate 6 small delicious chocolate biscuits and a row of a yummy hazelnut chocolate bar. So ask me if I think I'll lose any weight this week! Then ask me if I care.

No, I don't care!!!

(Well, I do care, but that's me having a tantrum.)

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Sometimes, I hate being a mature responsible grown-up. Sometimes, I want to handle my problems by yelling and stomping my foot and crying and acting out. Then, someone would discipline me by sending me to my room for a time out (which I'd LOVE at any time); or perhaps they would spank me (well, I actually wouldn't mind that at other times too)!! And after I got over my crying, everything would be fine again.

So, because of my childish, churlish state of mind, my post today is made up of the above belly-aching and the following great little cartoon that I stole from http://www.purple4mee.com/. It seems a logical excuse for at least part of the way I feel. (And it makes me feel a little better to steal something and know I'll get away with it. Thank you purple4mee!)

Thanks for letting me gripe today guys! I'll do the same for you some day ..... just not this week, okay!