The Birthday Final Post - So Blessed

 

I have a few more wonderful things that I wanted to share about my birthday. I have so many people that were so sweet to offer to take me to lunch. I enjoyed visiting with friends at meals and a movie. 

Princess Four sent me some chocolate covered strawberries which were SO yummy! Princess Three and her husband bought me a migraine headache hat that is made of gel that you can put in the fridge and it is weighted and cool and blocks out light so it is great for migraines. 

I got calls from all the girls and loved getting to visit with my grand-kids.  My friend Matt gave me a gift of Pokemon pass and recently there was the last make up day from the one in April. I was able to play lots of raids, and on the last raid, I got a perfect Pokemon. Perfect means that they are all the way to the top in every category. It is the most rare of Pokemon. 

I got a free cookie from a gas station rewards card, but since I am gluten free, I asked if I could get a drink, and they gave me a slushie drink. It has been probably 15 years since I had a Slurpee type drink. 

I really have had a wonderful long and drawn out birthday celebration and I loved every minute. All my girls are so sweet. I am blessed with good friends and family. My sister sent some sweet gifts and my brothers family called and sang in four part harmony a'capella.  

Have a blessed day!

I Wanted To Post About My Service Birthday

I knew months before my birthday that there was going to be a Service Project Bed Build for the area. I thought what a wonderful opportunity to be able to build beds for children for my birthday! 

I have been involved with this group for less than a year, but we have already done three build days, and given away many beds. We make around 12 to 20 beds depending on the day and products we have available.

This build was set up by a neighbor of mine. It was very well organized and they scheduled their employees ahead of time in a few hour blocks. Almost all had registered online a head of time so I didn't have much to do. 

It was really funny as one of the women who invited me to work for this organization said, "These people are so efficient, we finished so quickly." I told her, "They were engineers, so of course they finished quickly. Our last build was at a bar! Many had a drink before they started the build." She replied, "Yes, and they were much more fun to talk with!" 

I love that there are people to volunteer their time, service, and money no matter where they signed up for the opportunity to serve. We are blessed to live in a community of good people! 

Have a blessed day!

Good News From The Dermatologist

I have had some new moles showing up recently. I have several friends that have had experiences with skin cancers. 

One of my dearest friends fought it for ten years before passing due to sin cancer. Recently, one of my best friend's husbands had skin cancer on his face and nearly lost his nose. Then talking to another friend of ours, he also had almost lost his nose, and they both had a radicle surgery that took pieces of skin from the forehead and pulled it down to grow to the tip of the nose. You wouldn't even know it now. It looks great. 

I have a cousin that just had some skin cancer cut off her leg. Since everyone was so taken back by their diagnosis, I figured I should take a closer look at the moles I have been experiencing.

I made an appointment and was able to get one fairly quickly which hasn't been the case with other Dr.'s. I went this past week and had them all looked at and was very happy to hear that none of the moles were anything other than age spots. Not that I am happy to have age spots, but just that they weren't cancerous. 

So, good news! No Cancer! 

Have a blessed day! 

My First Apple Pie in a LONG Time

 

Since I have been gluten free for about 8 years now, I haven't eaten many pies, and I have never been a big apple pie person.

We have had a storm almost every day for a month. I have one apple tree that has lots of fruit on it as most of the other trees none. I noticed that the storm had knocked off lots of the fruit onto the ground. I hated to see those apples being wasted. 

I picked up all the apples that hadn't been bruised and wondered what to do with slightly green apples. I had a gluten free pie crust in the cupboard, so I decided I would make an apple pie for myself. 

I made it and used some oatmeal / sugar / and a little of the crust mixed to put on the top of the pie. I was on the phone with my friend Matt while I peeled and cut up the apples, and we joked about me celebrating my birthday for a month and so I found this little "Happy Birthday" sign in with my birthday candles, and I took a photo and sent it to him. 

I the started eating it and the crust was my favorite part as I a said, I am not a huge apple pie person, but it was really good with a nice crust, so I just kept eating it and ate 1/4 or more of the pie! I haven't eaten any for a few days now so I probably should have frozen it, but even if I throw the rest out, it was fun to have a pie. 

I froze the second crust and filling for Thanksgiving. It will be easy to put together and saving some time, and then my kids can help me eat it. 

Have a blessed day!

A Huge Widow and LOTS of Jewelry

I was taking out my trash tonight when I found a HUGE black widow next to the front door. I had just picked up a UPS package left on my stoop, so I was grateful the spider was where she was! 

I get one in that same spot year after year and kill several a year there. I don't know why they love that spot so much, but it is a bit frustrating that it is by the front door as sometimes one will get into the house. 

It has been such a moist year with rain nearly daily, that we have got LOTS of spiders everywhere. I sprayed faithfully a few years back as I had them so bad the year before that, but I have not been good this year! 

I spent much of the day sorting through 7 or 8 bags of jewelry. Each bag takes between 40 and 70 minutes to video and this time I was making some "shorts" as well as the actual sorting videos. I also have been taking photos and it has taken me 7 hours or so and that is just for the sorting and videos, not for putting them in bags and cleaning up. I have sequins and beads everywhere. 

It is 6:30 a.m. and I have things this afternoon, so I want to get some sleep. 

Have a blessed day!

Finding a Deal On A Sax and Six Bags Of Jewelry

I went to a local thrift store and only had a few minutes before closing. 

One of the workers told me they had three or four new bags of jewelry. When I told her I appreciated her letting me know, she said there were a few more ready to come out. She was already off the clock, but she went and got them for me to look at.

I didn't have much time to look and see if there were much in each bag. I did see that at least three had silver in them, one has a Zelda watch still in the package as well. 

On my way out of the store, I saw that they had put an instrument in the sales case that looked nice. It was only $30 and the store was closing, so I grabbed it and looked at it until I got to the checkout and it looked great so I purchased it as I have always been able to sell my kids musical instruments fairly easily. 

I am excited to see what is in the bags as I could see gold in one. 

Have a blessed day!

Partying For A Month

We've been celebrating my birthday this month. I started celebrating with Princess Two last month as seen here. She took me to sushi and a play. Then other girls started in, and I got a lovely card from Princess Three and her husband. 

I joked with my girls that I was celebrating for a long time as I have not been eating ice cream for awhile, but I have been craving a banana with ice cream for some time, so I thought I would splurge and get some and went to the store where my sushi making friend so I could support him and buy myself some sushi. 

He used to give me free sushi during covid, but hasn't given me any for some time. He offered me a free sushi while there so I picked a fresh roll that takes the California roll and adds a bit more called a Utah Roll. I also really like the Phili Roll. 

So, I got a free sushi roll. I then got some ice cream and some bananas as I figured if I am craving it, then I must need something in it. When I was checking out, the checker said, "Oh, you've had a birthday, you get your birthday ice cream." I asked what she was talking about as I had never heard of that before. 

She told me that associated foods gives you a free container of ice cream for your birthday! I guess I have never bought ice cream around my birthday before because I have never gotten a free ice cream before and I have had a frequent shopper account with them forever! 

So, I got free ice cream and sushi and feel like I have been being really blessed lately. I decided to play some Pokemon and eat my sushi in the car and listen to some music. I LOVED it when "Another one Bites the Dust" as it is like "another Pokemons down, and another ones gone" etc. It was so nice! I texted a photo to my kids telling them the partying goes on! 

I feel so blessed to have friends who do such sweet things for me. I told my children to put the free ice cream in their phones for their birthday as it is an entire container! 

Let the Partying Continue!

Sorry I Missed Posting - Sleeping in a Chair

There once was a girl who blogged

She sat like a bump on a log

When falling asleep in a chair 

So tired she didn't care

that her blog wasn't done

until the next days sun. 

The last thing she would say,

Is "Have a blessed day!"

Test after Test after Test

I have been so frustrated with the specialists I have seen. There are no answers to what I am dealing with. 

I met with my Primary Care Physician today and we went over several situations and I appreciate him so much for listening to me and I could tell he was frustrated with us not being able to figure out certain situations, but he helped me by dealing with getting me some trials for pancreatic enzymes thinking that part of my health and digestive issues maybe pancreatic insufficiency. 

I think that makes so much sense to me as I sometimes have diabetic type feelings, but also have digestive issues as well so it can be pancreatic. I then got and EKG, and am wearing a heart monitor for 24 hours.It is frustrating, that of course, I haven't had any tonight. I will share later about what I think is causing them, but I love that he is addressing it. 

I guess they had some issues getting me scheduled for a sleep study but were working on it when I went in, and then they got me scheduled for an upper GI and a colonoscopy. I got a call scheduling those out for next month and I really felt like even if nothing changes, I am doing all that I can to try and figure out what is going on with my thyroid / weight / and health. 

I felt that my mother was near today. I saw several rainbows at a store, and while there, the song by the band Bread, came on called "Everything I own" which my mother put to a slideshow of photos of Christ which she showed to youth all over the world while traveling as a professional speaker. I then found a in the package wind sock that hold a photo, and inscribed on the top is the song my siblings and I sang at her funeral which she sang performing all over while we were growing up as she was in the Tabernacle Choir and did solos all over. This was probably one of the songs she sang the most. It is called "If I Were and Angel" and the words of the first line were embroidered in the top of the windsock! 

When I got to the hospital, there is a photo of a barn with a rainbow over it in the waiting area, and I forgot that they also have another barn with a double rainbow in the lab! 

It was like my mother was saying things will be OK and you will figure out your health! I was grateful for her being near as I struggle to figure this all out! 

Have a blessed day! 

Customer Service By Phone Verses Online

I made a call this week to a company where I purchase my vitamins. I had some issues with some vitamins I purchased recently.

I called the customer service number and was on hold for a LONG time. It was SO long, that I decided to try to contact them online as the phone kept giving a message that you could contact the customer service by text or chat online. 

So, I started up my computer and went to the website and had a hard time getting a chat to go as I was trying to find a customer service chat. I opened one and typed in the number for customer service chat, but it didn't tell you that anywhere until you click into the chat. I then typed in the number and hit enter and after about a minute waiting, the chat said, "No chat information, chat is closing." So, I tried again! 

It closed again. Finally, on the third try, I was about to get a human to chat with about my issues. I went back and forth and was a bit frustrated that the man wasn't able to look up my history based on my email. I had to give him the order numbers which didn't help and then finally had to give him the actual name and item number of the products, so I actually think the chat did take longer than if I had a person on the phone, HOWEVER, I had been on hold on the phone the entire time I was chatting! 

I never did hear a human voice while I was on hold! I was on hold almost an hour. It only took me a few minutes to get a chat going online once I figured out that I just had to hit a chat box on the order page. 

I got my situation taken care of by chat in half the time! It was just under a half hour that I chatted verses the hour on hold and not getting to speak with a human. 

I would suggest that next time you have a customer service issue, you see if going online to chat is an option! 

Have a blessed day!

Last Bag Of Jewelry This Round - Sterling Rings

For the last bag of jewelry I got a few weeks back, there were some large sterling silver rings. One was a sterling silver class ring with Blue Topaz as a stone in the middle. 

Another of the rings was a very large sterling ring but it was so shiny and had scrapes on it so I wonder if it is sterling. 

The bag also had lots of clip on earrings and I was sharing in the video about how most clip on costume jewelry isn't worth much unless it is a vintage designer like Haskell, or if they are made in West Germany. 

Right after I tell about that in the video, I find a fun pair of clip on earrings from West Germany! Looking online, many of them sell for between $20 to $50. I think I may put them online and see how much I can get for them. 

I found a few things I liked in the bag as well. I have a necklace that matches a ring I found in the bag, and I also found some earrings that match a necklace my mother gave me many years ago. It was fun finding those and I love that going through each bag is like a treasure hunt! 

It was fun going through the jewelry and finding some good things in each bag. 

Have a blessed day!

Lots Of Native American Jewelry and a Horn Belt

I shared yesterday that I found several bags of jewelry a few weeks back and that I finally was able to get to making videos of them this week. 

One of the bags was full of Native American items and I could see that there was one item that was made of deer or elk horn and leather. I could also see that there were some silver items that were decorative horse items. 

I opened the bag and found some really well done native beaded items. There was a beautiful belt buckle and my favorite was the antler and leather belt. They cut slices of the horn and then lined them up wider in the middle and then smaller towards the edges. It was really fun!

I looked online and the belt buckles are all over the place as for price. I think they sell on design and uniqueness. 

It was the first time I have gotten so much Native American jewelry together. I have gotten a few items over the years, but not together and really nice. 

It was a good bag and the best part was that I got it two for one price for $20 with the bag I shared about yesterday. 

Have a blessed day!

Lots of Gold and Silver in a Broken Jewelry Grab Bag for $20

I found a few good bags of jewelry a few weeks back. I didn't have time to go through them before going to the lake. 

I made a video and the video of this for some reason got corrupted, so there is just a follow up video showing the great finds of 10 and 14 Karat Gold and some silver as well. 

I got it in a two for one deal with some native American Jewelry that wasn't marked. I paid $20 for both. 

Going through these bags is always like a treasure hunt. 

Have a blessed day!

Three Bags of Jewelry - What a Mess

I was able to buy three bags of  jewelry last week but haven't been able to go through the three bags because I was camping with my kids. 

I made videos opening each bag and for some reason, the video didn't take of the second bag somehow. Of course, it was the bag with all the gold in it. Anyway, it takes about an hour a bag and then redid just a review video of the one that didn't take. 

Anyway, I am tired and am going to bed and didn't get a blog done due to that taking a long time. I will have to bag and clean it up after getting some sleep. 

Have a blessed day! 

Birthday Trailer - Lots Of Fun

Since we have not been with family much in the past few months, we have missed lots of birthdays. 

I was proud of myself for remembering to get all the gifts ready during such a busy time, but seeing the excitement of the birthday recipients was worth all the effort getting it ready. 

We gave each person their own time. I loved that they all seemed excited about one of their gifts. I love when I can find something that someone is looking for and they let me know.

Princess Five was looking for a game called "Code Names" that she likes, and I was able to find it brand new wrapped in the plastic for $2 at a thrift store! They were able to play it several times while camping and I could tell she was excited for the game. She also got a natural bristle brush as she just threw out her other natural bristle hair brush that we have had for years!

Princess Three got some cute small bowls she likes and a few other things she seemed excited about. 

Prince One got some fun toys, a game, a Lego mug, and some yard solar lights. 

The toy he liked most is a light up hover toy that bounces and flashes. We took it outside and played with it that night and the kids loved it!

On the flip side, my girls each did things for me for my birthday as well. I feel so blessed to have such a kind loving family! 

It was a lovely time with my kids and I feel blessed! 

Have a blessed day!

Keeping Weeds Out of a Field

I have struggled for years with the field next to my home. They mow the field weeds and don't have a bag on the mower so every time there is a wind storm, it blows all the seeds into my yard. 

I was dropping my trailer off to a friends yard and there isn't a weed in the yard. It was amazing! I asked them how they keep the yard so clear. 

They explained that they were told by someone to spread Preen over the lot with a spreader after killing off all the weeds. They used a total vegetation killer on the lot and once it was dead, they spread the Preen and then reapplied the preen to spots only if weeds are growing. 

I was very happy to hear this news as the weed seeds keep blowing into my rocks and bark landscaped areas of the yard and weeds keep growing. Now, I can just purchase a large bucket at Costco and spread it over those areas to keep weeds for taking root in the landscaping! 

I shared that information with my neighbors so maybe they can clean up the lot and help get rid of all the seeds they have been sharing for so many years. They said they would try it but they need to do something to get rid of all the weeds currently growing. 

I am glad to know that there is a solution that can take care of the nightmare lot next door and hope they decide to do something about it soon! 

Have a blessed day!

My Suburban Got A Piggy-Back Ride

I once again am exhausted and just fell asleep in the chair. I am trying a new mouth guard for my sleep apnea, and it is hurting my teeth, two in particular and it is keeping me from getting a good night sleep. 

I have been busy as well, so I just need to catch up on some sleep! I fell asleep in the chair and again and it is almost 4 a.m. 

I spent most of the day trying to figuring out why my suburban won't start. I was so happy when for the first time in years my suburban started right up for camping as I had a trickle charger on it. It did fine until after camping, we were cleaning out the trailer and I forgot to unplug it from the suburban. 

While draining the water tank etc, the battery drained on the suburban and we had to use my little battery pack to jump start it. We got to the field where were were storing it, and we were just about to pull the trailer onto wood planks for winter storage, and I turned the car off to make sure they were lined up and when I got back in, it wouldn't start. 

We tried jump starting it again using several different methods, and it wouldn't start, it would just click. I thought perhaps I damaged the battery. We had a trickle charger on it overnight and went back the next day and nothing. 

Today, I went by my mechanics and got a new battery thinking perhaps there was something wrong with the battery. I traded them out and nothing. I did notice that when I was connecting the red terminal, it was sparking each time I connected it and my mechanic told me there was something keeping it from connecting well. He thought it may be the rubber covers keeping it from connecting, so I cut those off. Still nothing, so my next guess was the starter. 

I purchased the started used, and got a few good years out of it. I hope it is a cheap and easy fix. I don't want to put much money into it as it is older than three of my girls and we use it once a year to go to the lake. 

Thank heavens for AAA. I have had it for more years than I can remember, but rarely use it. I have the RV plan, so I get 100 miles towing. I was able to have it towed to my mechanic and was grateful to the couple allowing me to store it in their field. It is so nice not having to deal with weeds, and prickers to hitch it. They visited with me as I waited for the tow truck for a few hours as they needed the big truck as my suburban is BIG. 

The problem was that it was still attached to the trailer and the trailer wasn't quite on the boards. The house owners helped me block the trailer, unhitch it, tow my suburban out of the way, then hitched up to the trailer and pulled it onto the wood planks, then sat and visited with me in the shade. They were very kind and sweet and allow me to park it on their lot for free! I covered the tires and had already winterized the pipes and it is such a relief to have that at least done. 

By the time we dropped it off, it was nearly 8. I visited with the tow truck driver and he went to school and was in percussion with Princess Three! In visiting with him, he shared that his mom had five kids and her former spouse was VERY similar to mine. This mad said he has nothing to do with his father. He said his dad stopped paying his alimony at the beginning of COVID as he knew the courts would be shut down and his mother couldn't get in anytime soon to get him to pay it and it is amazing to me that a man could give up spending time with this man as he was hard working, clean cut, respectable, an asset to the community and very kind! What a loss that father is to humanity in giving up contact with his son for money and laziness / pride / selfishness! We talked about how sad it is for him not to know his grandchildren! 

I shared with him that my oldest grandchild asked when Princess One's dad died a few years back. She just assumed since I was single, that he must be dead! So far as any of them know, he is. I can't understand some behaviors, but sometimes feel it is better to not have certain people in your life! I could see this man had sadness over his loss of a father in his world. I explained that he and his children are better off without that trauma and drama in their world, as if you let someone like that into your life, they get a hold and then you can't seem to get them out again, so it is better to draw a firm line and stick with it. 

I let Princess Three know he asked about her and said to tell her "hello" and she replied. It turned into a nice day, but it was VERY HOT and VERY LONG! I need to get some sleep. 

Have a blessed day!