11-15-10

I spent 90% of yesterday in bed sleeping.
I still don't feel the greatest today either.
Still feeling weak and feel like
I have jelly fish legs when walking around.
My biggest worry at the moment is
that Thanksgiving is 10 days away.
I have Thanksgiving at my house.
My house looks like hell, I feel like crap,
I'm sure there is stuff I need to get
from the store. I'm already into 2- 2.5 days
of feeling like crap from the stomach virus and whose to say
when I will start feeling better.
I can say I do feel better today than yesterday.
I have a doctor's appointment in 8 days to
check up on my toe. I'm supposed to have a
follow up visit with my doctor in 2-3 days
for my illness now. I'll just wait since
I already have an appointment set up with him.

Then we're supposed to pick up our car
either today or tomorrow.
We've only had it home one day since
we bought it and it's been getting fixed since.
But like I said I'm all for the car lot
fixing it free for us! But I sure wish
they would step it up a notch.
I realize they had to send the part
out to be fixed and it's not their fault
it's taking a little longer to get it back.

I can't wait to get this hospital bill.
I'm sure it will be stupid.
We do have insurance. The last visit to the
ER back in February for diarrhea and dehydration
set me back around $600 or so.
So can't imagine what this one will be
with an ambulance ride and a cat scan.
Tony's putting our blue Trans Am
on Craigslist so hoping to get a little
money from that.

10:15am

I'm trying my best to tidy up the house
and do some laundry. I don't have much
energy but more than what I had yesterday.
No one has felt good the past couple of weeks
so everything's been piling up.

All I have eaten in the last couple
of days is 2 small pieces of cake,
a deviled egg and some doritos.
At least I was able to keep it down.
Not much to fuel the body with.
The hospital said I shouldn't eat
for 24 hours and only drink fluids.
Then for the next 24 hours eat a bland diet
like crackers and toast then resume a
normal diet after 2 days.

I did get a bunch of freezer meals
packed up and put in the freezer today.
I had them all made but they have been sitting
in the fridge and I didn't want them
to go to waste or forgotten about.

I ended up with 6 meals.
-Stuffed Pasta Shells
-Crockpot Chicken
-BBQ Pork Ribs
-Pork Ribs with Apples
-Broccoli & Rice Casserole
-Chicken Noodle Soup
.This way if we have any more mishaps
and I can't cook then hubby can pull these
from the freezer and warm up!

-------------------------------------

3:45pm

One of the neighbors just called me.
It was the grandma to one of the kids
that my children plays with who lives about 4 houses down.
She said her grandson came running in to tell
her that there was an ambulance at our house yesterday
and she saw me taken away in the ambulance.

8:48pm

This evening I tried to eat some supper.
I managed to keep it down but my stomach
went queasy real quick. I put one of my
meds under my tongue to prevent nausea
and it seemed to work.

Tonight I took it easy.
I sat on the floor and hemmed up
6 pairs of the boys pants.
I figured I was good being as close
to the floor as possible if I got any
more dizzy spells, lol.

--------------------------------------

I saw this cute idea for empty
Folger coffee cans.
Wish they'd make printable labels
like this for many reusable bowls
or cans. This would be great
to put baked goods in at Christmas
time and give as gifts.

Design Your Very Own Folger's Coffee Canister

--------------------------------

I just was able to start browsing some sales
ads today. I saw a really good deal for those looking
to get dad's, grandpa's or any man on your Christmas list.
I know mine wants one.

Pep Boys

Peak 300A Amp Jump Starter with air compressor.
Regular $44.99
Sale price this week $32.49
PLUS $10 mail in rebate
makes it $22.47 HALF PRICE!



That's pretty darn good
because a couple
years back the cheapest one I could find for my step dad was $50 and that was after shopping
around at many stores!

View Pep Boys Ad

11-14-10

11:15am

Yesterday starting around 5:30pm
the stomach virus hit me like a ton
of bricks. The stomach virus has been going around
the school. I spent the next 5 1/2 hours
in the bathroom throwing up and having
diarrhea. I'd try to lay down in bed.
I was sooooo thirsty!! But every time I would
even sip warm bottled water I had to run
to the bathroom with throwing up and diarrhea.
Then came the chills. I didn't feel like I had a temperature
but I was shivering so bad.
Then it got to the point that when I had to get up
from bed and run to the bathroom
that once using the bathroom I started sweating
so bad. I would get sweat pouring off me
and would use a cold towel to cool down.
It would drain me so bad I would end up laying
down on the bathroom floor. Then that would pass
and I'd get the chills again and was able to get up
and go back to bed. It got to the point that every time
I had to get up to run to the bathroom, and we're talking
about every 10 minutes for 5 1/2 hours,
I was getting really bad dizzy spells and felt like
I was about to black out every time I got up.
Now mind you Tony wasn't home for a couple
hours due to birthday shopping and didn't realize
how severe I had gotten. They had gotten the stomach virus
and threw up a few times and that was it!
And figured I had the same and it would pass
as quickly as it did in them. I had the kids call
him and tell him to come home.
He came home and knew something was wrong
and called my mom. Mom was out of town near
Toledo attending a family wedding.
She wanted him to take me to the ER right away
for fear of dehydration. You just don't know how
thirsty one gets when dehydrated!! That's all I
wanted was water to drink! But knew if I drank
it, it wouldn't stay down.
So we decided that he would get the kids ready
and go to the ER. I got out of bed and damn neart
blacked out in the hallway. I lost all energy
and pretty much fell to the floor and laid there.
It felt like someone had kicked my legs out
from under me and I just dropped.
I started sweating really bad
and vomiting once again in the hall.
I said I am to the point I can't even stand up and walk
to the truck to go to the hospital.
So Tony ended up calling 911. Which was a big
fiasco because we live right between the township
and city fire department. They never know who
to dispatch out! I had this problem before when a kid
in the neighborhood got hit by a car.
Anyway he'd call 911 and whoever answered must of
transferred his call to someone else.
And that someone else did not pick up the phone.
He kept calling back trying to explain this
to them. It's ridiculous trying to call 911!!
Anyway somehow he got through and
they sent an ambulance out from station 24.
It's about 11:30pm and I was thankful they
didn't have blaring sirens coming down our street,
just lights. By that time I was on the couch when they
came in. They came in asked questions and took vitals.
I kept hearing them say my heartbeat wasn't right
and asking if I had heart problems which scared
the crap outta me! They got me into the ambulance
and starting an immediate IV which they had dripping into
me so fast that it made my body cold and shivering.
Then they hooked me up to a heart monitor.
I don't know anything about numbers with reading
the heart beats but they kept saying it was 150
and it was really high. They had put an oxygen
thing up my nose also. And put some kind
of medicine in my IV for nausea.
I remember the guy riding in the back of the ambulance
asking me things and then he asked my birthday.
I said I'll be 40 tomorrow and he said something
about it just turned midnight so happy birthday.

I ended up with about 3-4 IV bags to replenish my fluids
due to bad dehydration.
I had a cat scan, blood work, different meds. They gave me some potassium saying it was low. They wanted my heartbeat
to get down to a normal rate and stay there before
releasing me. It was down to around 115 to 120 before I left.

What had happened was that I did get the stomach
virus like everyone else BUT mine was more severe
because I was already dealing with an infection in
my toe and taking antibiotics for it.

It's killing me to lay around when I have so much to do.
My house is wiped out but it'll have to wait.
I did do some laundry earlier this week
so are hoping to have enough for everyone to get by
on for the next couple of days.
It's just weird how fast this crap hit when earlier
yesterday I didn't feel too bad to help clean up the yard
and work on some freezer meals. It was when I was making
supper for the boys that it hit suddenly
and went downhill from there.

Well I have to go lay back down.
I feel like someone has sucked the energy
out of me! I try to get up and move around but
within about 5 minutes I'm drained.

Tony should be home soon.
He went to Kroger to get me 4 prescription medicines.
And I still have my medicine to take for the
infection in my foot.
It's now 1:40. That should tell you something
since it has taken me this long, on and off,
of trying to write this (2 hours 25 mins).

I wanted to write this before everyone
wanted to call or come over wishing
me a happy birthday. Just treat it like another
day because I really don't feel well enough
to talk on the phone long or have visitors
or do much of anything else!!

11-13-10

7:45am

Got a house full of sickies.
3 of the 4 of us got sick yesterday,
I'm not one of them, I've got enough going
on with myself.
The kids school said there was
a stomach virus going around.
I am so ready for this to be over with!
Time to Lysol the crap outta this place!
You know what comes with each birthday?
Getting your tags renewed, ahhh.
Gotta go do that today and get a 30 day tag
for the car. Then head to Kroger because
I am about out of ibuprofen and tylenol
for the kids.

11:00am

back from Kroger and the bmv.

Kids and dad must of had a spurt of
energy because they are out back
shooting bb guns at targets.
I did tell them I didn't want any of
their friends over today
and they had to stay in their own yard.

....As for myself I immediately started
working on freezer meals.
I got 10 pounds of chicken done up
in the crocks yesterday.
.Today I reused the broth from both
pots to start working on some chicken noodle
soup.
Got a couple stalks of celery and a
pound of carrots chopped up.
Now have a blister on my finger
thanks to the carrots.
Now for the celery I use a pair
of kitchen shears to cut them up.
.I put the chicken broth in a pot
and put in the fridge overnight.
This brings all the fat to the surface
where it will harden and you can
scrape it off.
I added the celery and carrots to the
pot and have them simmering on the stove.
The broth also has French onion soup in it.

2 pounds chicken .53 cents ($2.69 for 10 pounds!)
1 pound bag of carrots .78 cents
2 stalks of celery .30 cents
2 cans french onion soup $1.00
2 eggs for homemade noodles .08 cents
flour for homemade noodles .14 cents

TOTAL COST FOR ABOUT 4 MEALS $2.83
@ .70 cents a meal
.Kinda taking a break at the moment.
Then will work on making homemade noodles
which could take awhile.
That's ok because I want the
carrots and celery to get tender
while waiting.

Also have to get the rest of chicken I won't
be using today bagged up and put in the freezer.

Oh yeah and I also have my two crocks
going yet again today.
One has bbq pork ribs in it
and will serve with mashed potatoes.
The other has pork ribs with
apple pie filling. Which will then
be mixed with a box of stuffing once done.
Pork Ribs $5.84
BBQ sauce $1.40
can of Apple Pie Filling $1.70
stuffing mix $1.00
Mashed Potatoes $1.00

TOTAL COST FOR about 4 meals: $10.94
@ $2.73 a meal
.
12:25pm

Got my pasta noodles made.
Check out my cart I rigged up to make
the noodles.
I added a top to attach my pasta
maker to and then hung the pasta
off the racks on the bottom.
Told ya these carts would come
in handy and do many things for me, lol.
.
1:15pm

Soups on! Nothing like a homemade
pot of chicken noodle soup to fight those sickies!
We hardly put a dent in this pot
so I'm sure it makes more than 4 meals!
.
Didn't want you to feel left out
so I made a bowl for ya, LOL!

It's 66 degrees out. Think I'm
gonna go around and open up some
windows for a few and air out the house.

2:50pm

Spent part of the afternoon
cleaning up the fallen leaves and the yard.
There are still a ton of leaves on our tree!
....
5:45pm

Well energy is gone and I have
gotten the queasy feeling in my stomach.
Great! I knew it was a matter of time
considering 3 others in this house
got this stomach bug.

11-12-10

7:00AM

Kept hearing a ton of sirens this morning.

When Tony went to work we saw a
black smoke cloud not far from here.
There was a fire somewhere on Ferris between
Cleveland Ave & Westerville Rd.
Channel 10's helicopter was hovering above
so will have to watch the noon news
to see what happened.

The pic below shows the smoke
traveling right to left.
That is not a cloud!


8:40AM

Kept Jonathan home from school again
today. He now has diarrhea
and stomach cramps from it.
Another kid didn't go to school
today from our bus stop that was
also sick. The school had told
me something was going around.
I'm thinking, thanks for sharing it!

Today I'm gonna throw 10 pounds
of chicken in a couple crock pots
and get that cooked and
bagged up for the freezer.


I'm wanting to get some meals made up in advance
to put in the freezer. This really helps
especially when you're sick and don't feel
well enough to cook or can't stand on your feet.
Have your other half pull out a freezer meal and put in the oven to bake.

No deer this year so will have the space in the
freezer to put these meals.


1. Add chicken to broccoli rice
casserole I made the other day.
This way it stretches out leftover into another meal.

2. Make chicken noodle soup
with homemade noodles.

3. Make up 2 casserole dishes
of stuffed pasta shells.
Wish I had a 3rd small crock to put
the ground meat in to cook it throughout the day
rather than standing on my feet to make it.

4. Fried cabbage, potatoes & Italian sausage.

5. Corned beef & potato cabbage cups.
Use leftover cabbage.

When making something with cabbage
you want to cook/bake it first then
freeze.

6. BBQ pork ribs & mashed potatoes.
Found a large 4.35 pound package at
Kroger yesterday when picking up
Tony's meds.
Was $10.83 marked down to $5.13
Sometime this weekend would
like to throw these in the crock with
bbq sauce then package for the freezer.

--------------------------------------------

Tonight we're gonna go check on our car.
We took it in Monday so the guy could
replace the gauge cluster.
Tuesday when there he said that didn't fix
the problem so he would send the cluster
out to get repaired. Said it should take
2-3 days. Today is day 3. I'm hoping
to have it back today or tomorrow at the latest.

The cluster gauge cluster is a very common problem
with this year of car. It has a faulty module
on the computer board. A dealership will
will charge you $1500 to $2000 to
replace the cluster (did my research). BUT it does not
fix the problem because the new cluster
will have the same defect.
The only way to fix it is to have someone
replace something on the computer board.
This is what the car lot is doing for us
by sending it out to be repaired.
If they hadn't of done that then I read where
people on Ebay will repair them for you.
I'm being patient with the whole thing
because hey, if they are fixing it for
free, I'm all for it!

--------------------------------------

10:15am

Got 10lbs. chicken in the crocks.
Also made up some of what I'll call
S'Mores Petit Fours.

While making them I came up with the idea
that they should make a chocolate
pop, call it Cocoa-Cola.
I've had chocolate beer and that
was awful!!

----------------------------------

11:45am

It's been fun around here.
Jonathan has diarrhea with stomach cramps
and now throwing up.
Oh goodie.
Will have a bunch of laundry to do this weekend.
Make sure to tell your kids not to fart
when they have diarrhea!!
Not good!


12:00pm

Well time to take my meds and
me and Jonathan are going to lay
down for a nap and get some rest.

-------------------------------------------

5:45pm

Good news, the infections didn't
go into the bone of my toe
and my toe isn't broken.
The bacterial test came back
to say I had staph and strep in
my infected toe.
Doc said to stop taking one of my meds
but continue with the other one
for another 7 days.
My toe is still very sore but seeing
a little improvement with the skin.

6:30pm

Went to check on the car.
Won't be til Monday or even Tuesday.
The guy thinks there was a delay
with it due to the Veteran's holiday
where some companies closed for the day.

Looks like I'm gonna have a jolly
happy birthday. No sooner got
back home and Christopher
threw up out in the gravel drive way.

Was supposed to go out to eat at either
Golden Coral or Hometown tomorrow
for my birthday
and we canceled that til another date.
Was supposed
to have a birthday dinner at mom's
Sunday and we canceled that also.
I still don't feel well.
Have congestion and cough.
I hate this time of year!!!!
Nothing is going right at the moment.

11-11-10

7:50am

I hate this time of year.
Everyone here is sick with a cold,
congestion, coughs and a little
bit of sore throats.

I did find another convenience about
having the bus stop out front of our house,
if I have a sick child not attending school
I don't have to drag them out of the house
while I take the other one to the bus stop.

Today is Jonathan's turn to stay home
from school sick. Runny nose, sore throat
& cough.
And myself, I am still wobbling around.
I try to rest my foot when I can.
But it is very hard to stay off my feet
when I have so much to do like
laundry, dishes, care for sick kids.
And I too have the cold. Getting better
but now have the cough which sucks
because coughing too much causes
your ribs and chest to hurt.

-------------------------------

10:50am

Here is my newest recipe for Pop Tarts.

Petit Fours

...

Here is what an actual Petit Four
looks like but they are usually made
with cake.

-------------------------------------------------

.


Glade has printables for Christmas that
you can print out and put together.

They have these items to print with designs on them:
2 placemats
name tags
wrapping paper
6 3-d ornaments
napkin ring
2 cards
& different shaped cut outs.

--------------------------------------

I have a couple bottles of spearmint
baking oils. When refilling
my vaporizers I put a little
bit of spearmint oil in it
and the whole house instantly
smelled so good.
I don't see why you couldn't use
any fragrance of essential oils.
It relaxes you and makes you breath
deeper to smell the fragrance.

I was browsing different fragrances
(of essential oils not baking oils)
to see what was available for
the upcoming holidays.
Pine Needle
Cloves
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Balsam Fir (my favorite)

11-10-10

Yesterday while waiting in doctor's offices
and thumbing though many magazines
I had saved a recipe that sounded good
and will be making this for supper tonight.

TRISHA YEARWOOD'S BROCCOLI CASSEROLE


2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped broccoli ($1.76)

2 large eggs, beaten (.08 cents)

1 cup mayonnaise (.25 cents)

1 10-ounce can cream of mushroom soup (.50 cents)

4 tablespoons onion, grated (.05 cents)

10 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated ($2.00)

Salt and pepper

½ cup bread crumbs (free)

my added ingredients are optional

Rice (free)

can of chicken broth (.33 cents)


Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter a 9x13x2-inch casserole dish.

Cook broccoli in water, drain and set aside to cool.

In large bowl combine broccoli, eggs, mayonnaise,

soup, onion and 1 cup of cheese.

Add salt and pepper, then pour into casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove casserole from oven and

sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Top with remaining cheese.

Return to oven and bake 10 minutes.

Serves 8 to 10.

TOTAL COST TO MAKE:
$4.97
serves 10 @ .49 cents a serving

I did make some of my own changes to the recipe.
I boiled up a pot of water with
a can of chicken broth and threw in
about 2 cups rice, diced onions
and broccoli and cooked together.
Drained off any remaining water/broth
once rice was cooked.

I didn't have cream of mushroom soup.
I used cream of chicken soup.

I made my own bread crumbs from about 5-6
pieces of bread sprayed with cooking
spray then put on cookie sheet and baked
in oven til crisp. Then put in food processor
with italian seasoning to grind up into crumbs.

I used about 2 cups of bread crumbs
and added about a tablespoon or 2 of melted
butter and mixed thoroughly.
Then I stirred in 1 cup shredded cheese.
I sprinkled over top the casseroles
(I ended up with 2)
and put in oven at 350 degrees
for about 30 minutes.

I think this would also be good with
cut up chicken in it!


4:15pm

Gonna go park my stool in front of the
stove to start working on supper.
I haven't had to take any pain medication today.
Been taking my meds as scheduled and
epsom salt foot soaks and applying cream.
My foot/toe is sore but not like yesterday.
I'm trying to stay off of it as much as I can
which reduces any pressure and throbbing.
I think the most pain I have is from
where they jabbed those needles in my foot!
Oh and yes there was a recent incident
of where I just removed my foot from a soak
and and put cream on it. I got up to do something
and hit my toe on the edge of a cardboard box
causing it to bleed some.
It went a little something like this...
*^%##@&*^%)*&^)^%$@@$!!!!

------------------------------

Not long ago I had posted about Fox 28
doing a story on brake shops
scamming people out of their money
by saying they needed brake and
other repairs when it wasn't needed.
.SPECIAL REPORT: Putting Brakes on Phony Auto Shop.

-----------------------------------

11-9-10

.

Tuesday's Tip ~ Homemade Carpet Freshener

To freshen up carpets, mix baking soda with ground cinnamon or cloves. Sprinkle the mixture on the carpet, wait about 15 minutes, then vacuum. The room will be filled with a comforting and cozy aroma.

Note: test a small hidden area of the carpet for color fastness.

-----------------------------

If you get the Martha Stewart magazine
check the December issue
for a $5.00 off $5.00 or more purchase
coupon.
Last year I was able to get
some cheap smelly candle wax tarts
when these coupons came out.

--------------------------------------------

Doctor's appointment at 10:20 this morning.
Will let you know how it turns out.

-----------------------------------------------

9:30-3:00pm

I just got home!
I didn't get out of the doctor's office
til a little after 12. Then had to go over to Kroger
to get prescriptions, then a bite to eat for lunch
and lastly a visit to another office for an xray.

I have not one but two infections in my toe.
One is Impetigo and the other is Paronychia.
The doctor is also running a bacterial culture.
Can you imagine how upset and scared I was
when he told he would have to remove
my toe nail!!
That wasn't the bad part.
The worst part was being jabbed about 5 times
into my toe with needles to inject
numbing solution. That hurt like HELL!!
I was crying and you could probably
hear me in other rooms!
He put me on 2 antibiotics and a
prescription cream. I also have to soak
it in an epsom salt bath 3 times a day
then elevate it as much as possible.
Next I had to go see a radiologist on Sawmill
& 161.
The doctor should call me either Friday
or next week with the results.
To see if it is broken and the main reason
is to see if the infection has spread to the bone.
If it turns out the infection is severe enough
to have entered the bone then doctor said
there is a chance I could lose part of or
my whole toe!!
So needless to say I am sitting on pins
and needles at the moment with worry!
Who would have thought that a freakin
empty soap bucket could do this much damage
when dropped on your toe!!!
So please pray that I get to keep my toe!!
I would have never thought this in
a million years.
I have not been brave enough to remove
the bandaids from my toe to look at it.
The thought makes me queasy!
But to prove my point of the pain I have
gone through I did bring home a souvenir.
For show and tell tonight with hubby
and kids I have a freshly preserved
toe nail and cuticle skin in a jar for them to see.
I have to go back to the doctor's in two
weeks to see how my toe is doing
and to see what medicine he may have to put
me on next.
I also have a prescription for Tylenol 3's
for the pain. I haven't got them yet
and are just going to take Ibuprofen
for now for the pain unless it becomes
unbearable.
My toe is still numb at the moment
but I went ahead and took the ibuprofen
before it had a chance to wear off.

I am so gonna be ready for bed tonight.
The kids are due to get off the bus soon.
Then once Tony gets off work we have a parent
teacher conference at the kid's school.
Then will rush out of there and go
pick our Lexus up from the car lot.
They were putting in the new gauge cluster
today. And we also pick up the other
set of tires today.
Then back home to fix supper, do homework,
get kids cleaned up, kids to bed, clothes laid out.
Sometime I need to take meds, soak and elevate foot.
I'm really supposed to stay off of it as
much as I can. HA HA!
Guess the thought of possibly losing a toe
will motivate me after today.
Maybe I'll just use a stool in the kitchen
to sit on by the stove to cook meals.
Still trying to get the courage up
to look under my bandage which
is sopped in blood.

----------------------------------

4:15PM

Knock at the door and it's a Fed Ex
man delivering my Neilson Scanner.
.

You scan the barcodes from items
you purchase and it sends that information
to Neilson over the internet.
You collect point to turn in for gifts
from their book. You are also entered
into sweepstakes and you can do
even more surveys.

I also got another paper in my mail
to go pick up a package at the post office.
I'm sure it is another one of my survey sites
sending me something to try and
then giving my opinion of it.

That's about it for now.
I am starting to feel throbbing in my
toe as the numbing stuff is wearing off.
Getting difficult to move around.
I am amazed that the kids put the groceries
away from where I brought them in from
the car earlier and just plopped them by the
front door.

I showed them my bottle of goods
from the doctor's office.
You should have seen their faces.
Jonathan about threw up!

All I can say is this will be interesting
getting around tonight with the things
we need to get done. I can't wear regular
shoes or probably even socks at the moment.
Doc said to keep wearing my sandals
with the open toe.

-----------------------------------

8pm

ended up doing 2 parent teacher conferences tonight,
then picked up the tires for the car.
The car is still there and they are working
on the problem since the new gauge cluster
did not fix the problem.
Took everyone to Taco Bell for supper.
There was no way considering the time
and the pain I am in that I was fixing supper tonight.
Here recently my toe has kicked up the
pain a notch. I just got done figuring out
a medication schedule. Now I have my foot
soaking in epsom salt water. Then have to
put cream on it. Do this 3x's a day
for the next 3 days.
I have realized that walking intensifies the pain
even more even if I use the side or heel of
my foot. So after today I need to stay
off it as much as possible.
So no shopping :0(
Going to bed soon and propping it
up on a pillow because doc said
I need to elevate it as much as possible.
I am so ready for bed as this day
has not gone the way I would have liked!