Hodgepodge - just for fun

This is my first time joining in on the Wednesday hodgepodge but I thought it looked like fun so why not?  Clicking on the link above will take you to the original post and you can join in if you'd like.  

1. It's that most wonderful time of the year...tax season! Do you complete your own returns or farm that job out to the professionals?

We do our own taxes, and by "we" I mean not me.  Scott does the taxes because he's a numbers man and did taxes on the side up until a couple years ago.  I'm not sure he'd say it was "fun" but I don't think he minds it.  I like to help by making plans for our refund $$ - if we get some.  

2.  Which do you think has changed you more-love or pain?  

Hmm, that's a good question.  I would have to say pain.  Loving comes pretty easily for me but dealing with pain is tough stuff (as it is for everybody, I know).  That's not always a bad thing though.   My faith was strengthened (and continues to do so) during the trying times, I've gained a lot of empathy for people by going through things myself, I'm less judgmental of others, and I've gotten tougher in areas where I needed to.  The flip side is that because of love, the pain has changed me.  So there's a pretty thin line there.  

3.  Tangerine Tango has been named color of the year for 2012. Your thoughts? Would I find this color anywhere in your house? How about in your closet? If not, will you be adding this color to your life in someway in 2012? If you're not sure what tangerine tango looks like click here.

Well, I'll be, I didn't even know there was a color of the year.  My thoughts...Why is there a "color of the year"?  You won't believe this, but I actually DO have that color in my house...

My daughter's bedroom is about as orange as they come, so I'd have to say that's Tangerine Tango.  She's 22 now and it's been this color since she was a teenager so I know a room-painting project is on our horizon but since she's hardly ever home these days, it's pretty low on the list.  We let her pick the color and I had visions of how many cute things we could do with it but not much came of that.  Not long after we painted, my mom gave me a magazine article that talked about how people who liked orange were happy people, so I felt better about the whole thing, and she is a happy girl, but wowza, I'm much more boring than that.  Oh, and the other orange (I mean Tangerine Tango) thing I have...

...my purse for the Fall.  

4.  Are you a collector? What do you collect and does it get admired, used, and/or dusted regularly?

This is a yes/no answer because I don't consider myself a collector.  However, I've become an accidental cookbook collector over the years and I used to collect Precious Moments.  Remember when those were popular?  Wait, are they still popular?  I don't know, but I don't collect them anymore.  They're all together in my curio cabinet.  I like any kind of cookbook and try and get one from anyplace special where we go, and if it's new or different (or very old) then all the better.  Yes, they get used all the time.  Now that I think about it, I also collect very old books - on any topic.  I might have to do a post about those sometime.  They do get dusted regularly, but not used too often.  I'd like to start a $20 bill collection, so if anyone would like to send me one (or more) I'd love to add them to my collection ~ US currency only, please. :D

5. February is National Heart Month...besides a green salad what is one heart healthy dish you like to prepare?

I have to admit, I don't know which foods specifically are heart healthy.  If salmon is, then I'd have to say that.  Scott does a great sauce for salmon with wasabi and soy sauce and brown sugar - SO good.  That might take away it's healthiness though, I don't know.  I eat a lot of oatmeal with walnuts and blueberries, so maybe that counts!  

6.  When was the last time you had car trouble?

I think the last time I had car trouble was over the summer.  It was going to cost more to fix our minivan than it was worth so we ended up getting a new car (I was ready to be out of the minivan stage of my life).  I'm not a car person and am happy if I can get from point A to point B, so "shopping" for a car didn't interest me.  I think I used the term "torture" somewhere along the line.  I told Scott I'd go find something while he was at work and we'd pick it up after he got off.  I got a "no" there, so then I told him to just go pick something out and I'll follow him up later and we can pick it up.  Again with the "no".  Apparently he doesn't realize the amount of trust I have in him regarding boring things like cars.  It all worked out and so far, so good with the new one.

7.  Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Is that a good trend?

I've been less demanding on myself lately and that is NOT a good trend for me.  I'm playing Words With Friends way too much and not getting other things around the house finished.  Starting now (or maybe later) I'm going to be a bit more demanding of myself so that I do some unfinished projects around here and get some more blog posts posted.  

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

It's been a very mild winter here in the Midwest and I'm actually missing some good old snow.  I don't mean "slide all over the road ice/sleet" kind of stuff, but the pretty snowfalls that just make you sigh and enjoy the beauty of it.  

Free at last!

While I know I've been out of the blogging world for a day, a week, several months, I also know that I've missed it like crazy.  If Blogger comes up with a "brain blog", you're all invited because I've got at least a dozen posts ready to go in my head ~ and I've got pictures on my little disc thing to go along with them, so you'd be set.  All you'd have to do is figure out which pictures go with which of my brain blogs.  Sort of like Su-do-ku, but not really.


I have stupendous news to share - my daughter (20), who was very sick this fall with some bizarre germ thing, has (as of Monday of this week) been released and given a clean bill of health from both her Infectious Disease doctor (yeah, I know, ick), AND her ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) doctor!  That poor girl was put through the wringer and she's now good as new and raring to go.

Pre-hospitalization with her two nurses, Frosty and Annabelle...

It started on a Sunday in October with a severe headache (her, not me, although I may have had a headache that day, who knows, I probably did).  Our only thought was a migraine because she's had them before.  By Monday, nothing was helping it and she would just hold her head and cry.  Needless to say, we were sent to the ER.  By now she was running a slight fever to go along with the pain, so there was a bit of urgency on everyone's part because they were, at this point, suspecting meningitis. 

EEK - Nobody could go in or out of her room without a mask.  A bit disconcerting considering Scott and I were sitting there maskless.  I was mature though, and didn't ask for a gown and mask, even though I wanted to.

They did a CT scan of her head, a lumbar puncture, multiple blood tests and they were stumped.  Since they got the pain and fever down, they sent her home.  The condensed version: we were up all night, the horrible pain came back, and she was sick as a dog. 

The next day, we headed back to the ER and by now she was dehydrated and a bit disoriented.  OK, let me tell you, when they say to drink plenty of liquids when you're sick - DO IT.  Mama mia, was that scary.  Her eyes were also getting slightly puffy which we all agreed was a bit odd.  After another long day, they finally admitted her and did a CT scan of her sinuses.  I have to tell you at this point, she didn't have a cold or sinus infection - maybe just a runny nose, no big symptoms of anything sinus-ish.

Every doctor that came in to see her kept saying, "She is one sick girl," but they just couldn't pin-point it.  She had a couple IVs going and by now I could've used a caffeinated IV but no one offered.  Rude.  Once they got her hydrated again, she was a bit more lucid but still had no appetite and her eyes that were a little puffy, were now MORE puffy and looked like they were starting to bruise.  She was put on an all-liquid diet, which didn't matter since she wasn't hungry anyway.  

Mmmm...come and get it!

This was my liquid diet... first floor, by the cafeteria...

The next day, Wednesday, glorious Wednesday, an ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist) came in her room at 1:15, introduced himself (I think his name was Dr. Save-the-Day), and by 2:00 was doing surgery on Sara - she still had a 102.7 fever.  He read the sinus CT scan and she had a big infection, something called Ocular (or Orbital) Cellulitis, found more often in younger kids.  You can Google it, but don't if you don't have to - it's pretty gross.  It's serious and the infection had to come out, fever or no fever.  We were THRILLED at this point - somebody finally knew what was going on and could help!!  Oh happy day!  I'm pretty sure Scott and I high-fived.  

Later, when we were talking to the ENT, he said surgery went well but they were going to send an Infectious Disease Doctor to see Sara because (as our luck would have it) she now had such-and-such (??) which is blood poisoning (layman's terms) from the infection.  And also, he wanted an opthamologist to take a look at her to make sure there were no lasting effects on her eyes because the infection had settled behind them.  WHAT!?  When they said she was sick, they weren't just whistlin' Dixie!

Turns out they had to send her bloodwork off to the Mayo Clinic to identify the germ that caused this to get bad so quickly.  It was unreal how fast she started feeling better after surgery and when she got on the big-gun antibiotics.  It was like night and day. 

This cracked me up - when she felt better enough to eat, they sent in a "waiter"...

After 5 days in that hospital, it was time to go home.  However, she needed to be on IV antibiotics for another 3-1/2 weeks.  Boo.  But yay that she got to go home!  

Getting ready to get the PICC line in (and hospital IVs out)...

Fast forward 3-1/2 weeks later - getting the PICC line OUT!  Home health nurses came twice a week to clean her arm and check out her vitals, etc.  

She got the IV meds twice a day and we were all taught how to hook her up to the little machine (she even did it herself a couple times).  In between times, she'd just wrap the IV site, put a cut-off sock over it and work and go to school and live her regular life.  We're so happy to have her back to normal - even when she's sassy.  ;)  She had one final surgery last month to fix something in her sinuses but she's all fine and dandy now.

I knew she was feeling better when I'd get my camera out and she'd look at whoever it was and say, "I'm sorry my mom is so weird."  It's so nice to have her back and FREE AT LAST!

The new neighbors are here...

Early one morning a few weeks ago, I let my dogs out back like every other day.  Then out of the blue, I heard a weird screech or moan or I-don't-know-what.  To me, it sounded like maybe there was an animal caught in a trap or something.  Wait, let me back up...I live in the suburbs, in a regular old neighborhood, with semi normal people around me.  We all know what a neighborhood is...house after house...all basically the same.  I lonnnng for the country and small-town living, but that hasn't happened yet so I'm blooming where I'm planted for now.  That, however, is for another post and I've gotten completely off track.  I just wanted to point out that I didn't expect a coyote or fox or something in Pa's woodshed.  Where was I?  Oh yeah, so the weird noise.  I called my daughter out and she heard it also.  I pinpointed which yard it was coming from so I set out to find the source of this disquietude .  We have a hill in our backyard and then a wooden privacy fence so I had to lift up a patio chair and drag it up there with me so I could see over the fence.  And hence, our new neighbors...

Hmmm, chickens...in a backyard...in a neighborhood...  I know what you're thinking - what's the big deal??  When I put on Facebook that my neighbor had chickens, I was met with a lot of yeah? So? I know people with chickens.  But seriously, there are NO chickens where I live - except at the grocery store.  There may as well have been an ostrich back there - I wouldn't have been more surprised.

For a country girl at heart, I have to tell you, I was pretty excited!  Of course first I called to see if we're really allowed chickens within our limits.  I wasn't going to report the person - I know we're all on a more "natural" kick, and wanting to go learn self-sufficiency (well, some of us do), but I was curious because of course I was going to want some, too.   The first lady laughed and said she'd never been asked that and connected me to the Health Dept.  They told me yes, after a lot of paperwork and board approval, etc.  Sounds good to me!  

They don't stink - and I know this because my dogs are disinterested, besides peeing on the fence to let them know just who was boss in the 'hood, and if there's a rooster, he's quiet.  When the windows are open, I hear clucking and such and I pretend I'm out in my country home, overlooking my sunflower field, listening to the sounds of nature - and my husband sneezing and snorting because he's allergic to everything nature-y.  I'm able to tune that part out pretty well.  

Also, thanks to www.backyardchickens.com I was able to find the exact coop I will use to house my feathered friends if when we decide to go forward with my our idea...

It just happens to be called My Mid-Life Crisis Coop - how's that for a silly coincidence?  Now I need to go make friends with that neighbor so I can score some fresh eggs without actually leaving my backyard.  Have a good week! 

That's a winner!

So excited to be joining Alicia at More Than Words once again for the Friday Photo Flashback.  The flashback is a way to go back to our pre-digital camera days and re-live some special memories.


I think I can remember my brother Jeff winning this bike, but maybe I just heard about it so much that I think it's my own memory.  Hmmm...  Anyway, there was a Big Boy restaurant near us (that's no longer there, sad to say) and apparently they were giving away two bicycles.  I love this picture because you can tell he's excited but not wanting to show it too much.  He's the fifth child and the third boy, so this may have been his first NEW bike.  My guess for the year would be around 1967 or so.  He looks about 7 here, doesn't he?

If you'd like to join in the flashbacks, visit Alicia's blog, sign up your link and scan away! 

Here Comes the Sun(flowers)...

Welcome to the last days of summer.  Wowza, it has been in the 90s-100s forever it seems (in St. Louis anyway) and we're just now getting a little break from it.  It'll be nice when there's something other than the weather to talk about.  I'm so ready for fall sweatshirts, changing colors, and candles all over my house.  Oh, and pumpkin spice latte from Quik Trip - holla!  


I feel like I have so much to tell you about - I blog in my head about 3 or 4 times a day.  It'd be nice if one or two of those made it to my computer, wouldn't it?  


Anyway, a couple weekends ago, my husband and I took a short drive to a conservation area about 20 minutes from our house just to see this field of sunflowers.  Those flowers are one of my favorites because they're just so bright and tough and hello, they come with a built-in snack.  What more could you ask for?


When we went there though, the ground was so parched and the flowers were just drooping like crazy.  I told them I totally understand because I'm not a summer person and that's how I pretty much feel June-August.  I think that made them feel a little better.  If I ever get my mini farm in the country, we're going to have a field of sunflowers.  They just make me so happy - even when they're droopy.  

This is how Scott will look when he's overlooking our own acres of sunflowers, only he won't be wearing that shirt.  

I call this one "The Rebel".  

Hello, tough guy... way to bloom where you're planted!

We also saw a few other fun sights while we were there...

I can't believe this place is so close to us and I never knew it was there.  I love finding hidden treasures close to home, don't you?  One of my old bosses lives in the same area we do, and he is a wealth of information.  He bike rides everywhere and is always showing beautiful and fun places that I can't wait to get to!  And my husband...he's always up for a good road trip and doesn't even make fun of me for taking pictures of strange things anymore.   Now I'm ready for the fall - and some RAIN!