Saturday, May 25, 2013

BURP…!!!!

Hey Y’all!

Sorry for not updating more this week, but I have been in a battle with my insurance company, which led to some health issues, so now I am just bouncing back!

As many of y’all know, I have had Crohn’s Disease for over 20 years now. There are lots of not so fun things that go with that, but one of the worst things for me is that I have Crohn’s in my esophagus. Which leads to horrible acid reflux, which over the years has turned into GERD. If I do not take Nexium daily, I will ulcerate all the way down my esophagus and this is quite painful and I can not eat. Now this month has been a wee bit of a struggle for me. Because of me not feeling so hot for most of this year, I have had to hire someone to do my yard. I have several medical bills that I am trying to pay off. To top that off, my house loan was sold and my payment went up without notice. Bank of America notified me that my loan was being sold, just not about the $80 that my house payment was going up! Normally, I can budget for these things, but without notice it is hard. So. I may have been a few days late getting my Nexium filled. Some months are like that. You do what you have to do! So, on Sunday I used my Walgreens app to refill my Nexium. Which is when the insanity began.

I have been on Nexium daily and sometimes twice daily for 15 years. It works for me. Occasionally, my insurance company will give me a hard time about it. But this week, they refused the refill. And that left me with $229 to pay for a medication that I desperately needed. And. I did not have the $229. So on Monday I called Walgreens to see what the issue was and what I could do to hurry things along. At this point, my reflux was pretty bad and I could not lay down to sleep. They suggested that I call the insurance company. So I did. I had to get a form to fax to my doctor so that I could get the medication. Easy enough. I did that and faxed the form to my primary care physician. Long story short, it took until WEDNESDAY, daily phone calls from me and a very IRATE phone call from my doc to get this taken care of. By Wednesday it was really too late. My ulcers were back and I was throwing up acid. Fun times. I picked up my medicine on Wednesday and it has been a slow road back. The Nexium has finally started to kick in today and I am able to eat. I did some research and found out that Apple Cider Vinegar works wonders for reflux. So I have been putting two teaspoons in a glass of water three times a day. That has helped the most. I am hoping by tomorrow I will be back to normal. Because LAWD, this has been a long week. And. I haven’t felt well at all! Today I got a letter from my insurance company telling me that I would not have to worry about refills on my Nexium until 2039. WORD. I love my primary care physician!!!

I haven’t felt well enough to craft a lot, but since we have a three day weekend, and today was really too cool to go to the beach, I did get some crafting in! I am still working on my crochet skills. Take a peek at my first crochet flower!

my first flower

I decided to make two more to top a hat I am working on for one of Mom’s coworkers.

hat w crochet flower

I also worked on a hat and bootie set for another one of Mom’s coworkers. I knit both of these.

hat and bootay set

Then today I played around with crocheting a bootie. I found a video on You Tube and just went from there.

crochet Bootay

I like crochet because I am able to make embellishments quickly. Things like flowers are so fast with crochet!

Not to be left out of all of the fun… Pitty Pat decided that 6:45 was an appropriate wake up call this morning. I just went with it. I mean, how can you deny this face?

Early Morning Wake up call

Y’all have a good night! We are off for a walk!

Tootles!

JKP

Monday, May 20, 2013

Currently for May 2013

Hey Y’all!

I am only a few days late… ha, ha 20 or so! Here is this month’s Currently! Enjoy!

May Currently 2013

Tootles!

JKP

Sunday, May 19, 2013

A Peach Cobbler That Will Make You Holler….

 

Hey Y’all!

I hope you enjoyed your Saturday. I did not end up going to the beach. I stayed around the house, spent some time with a neglected Pitty Pat (his words, people, NOT mine!),  crocheted a little, ran to the grocery store and then I actually ended up doing some COOKING! Now, it wasn’t a big deal. I did put some spaghetti sauce in the crockpot to eat on later on this week and I put some Forget About It Chicken in the oven too. To go along with supper last night, I found an EASY peach cobbler recipe that hit the spot! So, you know I have to share!

I am a big fan of cobbler. The fruit, the crunchy-ness of the edges! Oh yum! I found this cobbler recipe off of the Margaret Holmes website. If you are not familiar with Margaret Holmes, it is a canning company that makes divine canned veggies. And. I don’t eat canned veggies. But I will eat canned veggies from Margaret Holmes! One of my favorite summer meals is to warm up her squash with Vidalia onion, the seasoned black eyed peas and seasoned butterbeans. Serve with a side of fresh sliced tomato and iced tea…. WHAM. Out of the park supper! Throw in a little cornbread. OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Anyhoo. Back to the recipe. I have a ton of cobbler recipes, but I really wanted peach and peaches are not quite in season. And. After making this last night, I am going to have a hard time ever making the fresh version again. If you can open a can, then you can make this recipe.

To make Peach Cobbler That Will Make You Holler you will need:

to make cobbler

2 cups of sugar

2 cups of SELF RISING FLOUR

2 eggs

2 sticks of butter

1 LARGE can of Margaret Holmes Peaches.  DRAINED. (I accidentally bought whole peaches. I just sliced them up and they were fine. See… I am 40 and NEED glasses! )

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Drain the peaches and put them in a baking dish. Mix together sugar and flour. Mix the egg and then add them to the flour sugar mixture. Use a fork and mix. Your mixture will be crumbly. When you are done mixing the crumble ingredients, melt the two sticks of butter. I used the microwave. Spread the crumbly mixture over the peaches.

sliced peaches

 

cobbler with crumbles

Then drizzle the melted butter over the peaches/crumble mixture. Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes. Let cool and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

cobbler oh yummy

You can not go wrong with this cobbler! Do you like my fancy ramekins? One Christmas about 15 years ago, Mom gave me a HUGE basket full of dishes and ramekins for each season. I just pulled out my “stars” for the summer. I love having these cute “seasonal” touches. She stalked Williams and Sonoma for a year to make that gift for me! How awesome is that?

Well, let me run folks. The laundry is NOT going to do itself today, no matter how much I would like that!

Tootles!

JKP

Saturday, May 18, 2013

How We Nap in This House.

This is how we nap on a Saturday afternoon in our house. Happy zzzz's!

FMS Photo a Day May - Day 18 A Need

Today we had to take a picture of a need. I need to win the Powerball tonight!

Summer Saturday!

Hey Y’all!

Well, we are winding down the school year. As of Monday I have 13 days left with this year’s class. I don’t know who is more ready for the summer, me or my kiddies!This week was better than last week. I think it has kind of sunk in that Aunt Alice is no longer with us. Last weekend was rough and very sad.

Y’all know that one of the things that I have been working on is learning to crochet. Aunt Alice could crochet and knit and I kind of wanted to make sure that someone in the family carried on that tradition. I have wanted to learn to crochet for a few years, but every time I tried to learn, my brain did not want to cooperate. The interesting thing is, my hands and fingers know exactly what to do with crochet. But my brain gets in the way. Finally after watching several videos on YouTube and Creative Bug, crochet clicked with  me. Last night I crocheted up a quick dishcloth.

first crochetWhich I promptly frogged this morning when I looked at it. Here is take two, which I did in about 40 minutes this morning.

finshed crochet 

I have started on a second dishcloth using double crochet. It is turning out great! I have to keep reminding myself that I didn’t learn to knit over night. So I am trying to pace myself. What I love about crochet is that it is so stinking fast! I have found a baby blanket pattern that I want to crochet up for Pitty Pat. I knitted Zorro a blanket, so I think Pitty Pat needs his own too! I also have a friend who expecting a baby girl in September. When she had her first child, a boy, I knitted him a teddy bear hat for his newborn photo. Well, another teddy bear hat is needed, but the one my friend likes is crochet. So that kind of encouraged me to step up my game too! If you are interested in learning to crochet, check out  YouTube. There are several videos that are very helpful. And, start with a dishcloth as your first project. It works up in a flash!

I have also been spending some time at my favorite place. This was a photo I snapped last weekend. I thought about heading there today, but we are in the middle of a biker weekend here at the beach and I am not quite sure I want to fight the traffic. I think I may just hang at home on the back patio today. Ahh…. and next weekend is a three day weekend. Plenty of time for beach and sun!

pretty beach

On the way to school yesterday, I saw another cross in the sky. I stopped and took a picture of it. I am not sure why I am seeing all of these things in the sky. But, I try to take pictures of them as I see them!

cross

Alrighty. I am off to eat some lunch and hang with Pitty Pat. Then I have to go and buy a Powerball ticket. A girl’s gotta dream!

I hope y’all are having a great weekend!

Tootles!

JKP

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Taking a Breath....

Hey Y'all!

Well. This past week kinda has been a doozy. Since we lost Aunt Alice last Sunday, this week has been non stop. I had PTA Tuesday night where our second graders performed and then on Wednesday we had Aunt Alice's funeral. Since then, I have kinda been hanging on by my toenails. Trying to balance the change in our family while the real world keeps on going. I think I just needed a few days to decompress and just cope. Our family has been changed forever and it is kind of scary and very unsettling. These past few days I haven't even kept up with my FMS Photo a Day for May.. I plan on catching up tomorrow. I just needed a few days to reboot I guess. Today I spent a few hours on the beach reading a book and it helped a lot. Tonight I finally cleaned my house after a few weeks of heavy neglect. So slowly, but surely I am getting back into the swing of things. Also, when you add the mix of the prednisone that I am on and then the not sleeping that goes with it, that explains a lot too. I just felt that I needed a few days of quiet.

I hope everyone out there is doing ok too!
Tootles!
:) JKP

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

FMS Photo a Day May.. Day 8.. A Shape

Hey Y'all!
Here is today's picture.. a shape. This is a knitted baby hat with yellow flowers. I needed some happy today.
Tootles
JKP

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

FMS Photo a Day May - Day 7 something With F..

Today we had to post something with a "F"... These are the beautiful flowers that a sweet student gave me after our second grade PTA performance tonight!

Tootles!
JKP

Monday, May 6, 2013

FMS Photo a Day May - Day 6 Broken

Hey Y'all...
Todays picture is something that is broken. This is how Paddington destroys his toys. Cheeky Monkey!
I haven't posted more of an update because yesterday my 99 year old Great Aunt Alice passed away. The funeral is on Wednesday. She taught me how to knit. So I am off to knit in her honor tonight

Tootles,
JKP

Sunday, May 5, 2013

FMS Photo a Day May - Day 5 Paper

Hey Y'all!
Todays's photo had to have something to do with paper. These are family recipes written out by my 99 year old Great Aunt Alice.  These pieces of paper are family treasures to me!
Tootles!
JKP

Saturday, May 4, 2013

FMS Photo a Day May - Day 4 Something in My Cup

Hey Y'all!
Today we celebrated my Granddady's 90th birthday. Today's picture had to be something in your cup. Mine is a champagne toast to my Granddaddy. We had such a fun day! I will be back with an actual post tomorrow!
Tootles!
JKP

Friday, May 3, 2013

FMS Photo a Day.. Day 3 Something Good!

Hey Y'all!
Today's picture is of something good! I just joined the online community of Creativebug. It is online crafty classes for folks on the go. This is by subscription. But, you can find promo codes for $10 off.  You can join for a month, three months or six months at a time. This is how I am going to learn how to crochet!
Tootles!
JKP

Thursday, May 2, 2013

FMS May Photo a Day- Day 2 Morning Ritual

Hey Y'all!
Today's task for Photo a Day was your morning ritual.  Mine is, of course, sharing my morning toast with the Pitty Padster. YUM!
TOOTLES!
JKP

FMS May Photo a Day.. Day 1 Something You Bought

Hey Y'all!
Yesterday was day 1 in the Fat Mum Slim May Photo a Day. You had to post something that you bought. Yesterday I picked up this precious notebook in the dollar bin at Michaels. It is perfect for knitting notes! I think the sheep are just adorable!
Tootles!
JKP

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Happy, Happy May Y’all!

 

Hey Y’all!

It is May 1st, and I couldn’t be happier. I am 25 days away from summer vacation and I can’t stand it. Not that I am going to have much of a vacation this year because I am taking 3 graduate classes! But, I am more than ready for a change in pace. Sleeping late. Afternoons on the beach. Visiting friends and quick road trips. Oh yes. I AM READY!

This past Monday I had to travel to Charleston to check in with my GI Doc. He decided it was best if I did a round of the Evil Prednisone and one other medicine I do not like. Today was day one of the Evil Prednisone round. I have about 30 or so more days to go. I know in the long run it will help me tremendously and I will feel much better this summer. But one of the evil things that Prednisone does to me it make me literally ache from head to toe. Every joint, muscle and bone just hurts. It hurts to walk and move. The worst part is my back. It actually takes my breath away at times. Also, I can’t sleep when I am on a steroid, so I am not looking forward to that either. But, I keep telling myself it will be worth it when I am feeling like my old self this summer!

While I was in Charleston on Monday, I had to snap some pics with Instagram. Oh how I love Instagram! I am pittypat269 if you want to follow me. Really the only thing I post is pictures of Pitty Pat, my knitting and the occasion sky pic. I really love it!

Here’s a pic of the Ravenel Bridge from the Mount Pleasant side. Pretty clouds!

ravenel

I also quickly finished up knitting a hat yesterday. Mom has a few people she works with who are expecting babies soon. So I whipped up this cute stripey “paper bag” hat for her.

pink purple bag hat

stripey hat

ALSO…. to go along with my love of taking pictures lately, I am participating in the Photo A Day May 2013! Here’s the list for each day….

MAY-PHOTO-A-DAY 2013

I want to do a separate post for each, so I will be back in a few with today’s picture… I BOUGHT THIS! Hee, hee! I think this is going to be fun! And, I figure this will help the Prednisone doldrums!

Anyhoo… Happy May Y’all!

Tootles!

JKP