The Eyes Have It - Gallbladder Surgery Coming My Way

Once again I didn't get much off my list today. Daylight savings is not my favorite American past time. 

As you can see by the picture at the top, my eyes are turning yellow. Several tests later, they all came back normal. Good news is that it isn't liver or pancreatic cancer! So, the only other thing that turns you yellow is hepatitis which it isn't so it has to be gallbladder!

I met with the surgeon today and we discussed the symptoms of Gallbladder Disease and I had every one. I told him that I didn't know if it was due to hereditary as my sister, mother, daughter, niece, cousin etc have all had theirs out or if it is a symptoms of the weird parasite that I have been diagnosed with but either way, it needs to come out. 

He sent in a student first and I have to share that I am really frustrated with the hospital and offices as they always have students. I spend about 45 minutes with the student for them to go out and tell the Dr. what the issue is and then about 15 minutes later, due to their conversation, they Dr. comes in and I get to retell the issues to the Dr.  

I am all for learning and students following but when it takes hours out of my day, I don't understand why the Dr. can't come in with the student and I tell the things I am dealing with once and have it over in 15 minutes. 

It was funny however when the surgeon came in and said, "We can't find any documentation on the parasite you have been diagnosed with." Well, if he had come in for the "telling" he would have known that before he spent time looking. ha ha. 

Truly it wasn't that bad but since I have been dealing with hospitals all year with my mother, then Princess Five's accident and then my own health stuff along with getting Princess Four's medical needs taken care of before her mission, you can imagine how many hours of my time has gone to telling PA's, students, medical assistants etc the needs for the day only to get to repeat it later. I think I am just done with Dr's and hospitals for the year. 

However, I will be getting my gallbladder out almost four years nearly to the day that Princess Two had hers taken out. You wonder how I know this for truth, because we were in doing medical prescreens on the day of the election four years ago! She had her gallbladder out Thanksgiving weekend and I am having mine taken out the Monday after Thanksgiving. 

I could have had it taken out Monday but Princess Four leaves for her mission on Thursday and I couldn't do that to her on her last few days so I opted to postpone it. 

I struggled all week being super tired and my stomach being upset and I haven't gotten anything done on the house for winter such as cleaning out the gutters, trimming back the trees that are filling the gutters and cutting down the decorative grass and shrubs in the front as well as winterizing the sprinklers. 

Just to make myself feel like I had done something great today, I transplanted the peach tree that volunteered in my garden area to the front yard where I took out the dying nectarine tree. I need to water it for a few day and then I can get the sprinklers turned off after fertilizing the grass for winter etc. 

Truly, I need a few weeks to get this stuff done before surgery anyway. I don't want to have to stress all winter that those things didn't get done so it is good I am waiting until after she goes and things calm down some. 

She wanted to go and vote today. I also wanted to vote but hated knowing that either way, I wouldn't be happy with the outcome. I liked that she was super excited to get an "I voted" sticker though and it is always fun voting in a small town as we always run into friends and get to visit. Truly though, I am really going to miss this beautiful woman! Isn't she the funniest making the "I voted" stickers into Mickey's ears! She just LOVES Disney!

50's Dance Will Rock and Roll

Princess Five is going to a fifties dance coming up that is girls choice. 

She wanted to ask someone and go because the school hasn't ever done a "sock hop" type dance before. She has been asking them to do it for sometime and was super excited when they chose to do that for their theme. 

Princess Five thought that since it was a 50's theme she wanted to ask her date in a fun way that related to the theme. She thought on it some and came up with a really cute idea. 

She made a poster and put rocks on it and bought a sushi roll and said, "Lets Rock and Roll at TWIRP" and delivered it. She knew he liked sushi and wanted a "Rock and Roll" theme so I thought she was really creative. 

She was really happy with his reply. He brought a boulder to our front yard and put it there with a note and a sushi roll. It said, "I'll see your sushi and raise you a rock and yes to twirp."

She thought it was a great way to get answered and she shared the roll with us and we enjoyed her sushi. 

I'll have to let you know how it goes for her. We are picking out some fun costumes.   

Refinishing a Painted Chair - Part One

My mothers estate items have been taking back seat since Princess Five's accident three months ago and also getting ready for Princess Four to leave for Japan has consumed my time. 

We had everyone come home this past weekend for Princess Four's farewell at our church where she spoke before leaving. 

With that, our house was a bit crazy and I have been moving beds around and shifting things since we took the bunk beds to Princess One's a few months back. 

I had to move all my mothers estate stuff into one of the girls rooms when the accident happened and out of sight and lots going on has made for them not getting finished.  

This weekend I was able to pull apart one of her chairs. It was actually one I remember from growing up and am glad now that I got it as it was one of the last things in her place. 


To remove the seat from most chairs, there are four screws you take off from the bottom so turn the chair over and pull out the screws. The cushion will come out. I will show how to refinish the seat in part two. 


If you are painting the chair a similar color, lightly sand the chair before painting it so the paint will stick and not chip. If you are painting it a lighter color, you may need to use a primer coat after a light sand. 


I show on the video with a little description how to do this. I would use a good quality spray paint as you will be moving and using the item. I sprayed some apples black for our Halloween decorations but used a cheap dollar store can for that as they won't be used. It is worth the money for a better paint that will last so you don't have to redo it often if it is a highly used item. 


Other than a light sand and using spray paint, you can do regular paint and brush it on and then coat it with a clear coat after but I am into fast and easy when it comes to projects so this worked best for me. 

Last suggestion, if the item is really chipped and dinged, try using the "hammered" paint that comes in either spray paint or brush on paint. I have used that on many projects and have been thrilled with the results. Here is a link to my trailer where I used it so you can see the finish. It comes in gold, silver, bronze, copper etc.      

Last Minute Mission Hair Cut and Color

Princess Four is leaving for a mission to Japan in less than two weeks. 
 
We have been discussing what she wants to do with her hair is it is super long. When she isn't looking down like she is in the picture, it goes just below the waist band of her pants top.

She finally told me this morning that she wanted about six inches off the bottom to even it up and cut off any damage. When I asked her to show me how much she wanted off, she had about 11 inches in her hand. She didn't believe me and got out a ruler and said, "ok, ten inches."  

I know how my girls are when they have super long hair. They get really emotional when it is cut by a drastic amount. I suggested that we cut off four to six inches and if she wants more, we can do that but if I cut off 10 and she doesn't like it, I can't put it back. 

I cut of just about 5 inches and then we used 1 highlighting kit rather than two and I pulled very small amounts out of the every other hole circle holes in the cap and tried to not get enough that it would make a stripe as being a missionary, they want conservative hair. 

I then didn't leave the bleach on her hair for long as she didn't want streaks but wanted to blend in the longer hair that was already highlighted so the growth she has had will blend in yet she didn't want so much highlighted this time that it would have a distinct grow out line.
 
I think the results were what she wanted but the hair is a bit longer than she asked for but I can always cut off a bit more before she goes if after a few days, she thinks it is too long. 

The picture at the top shows how great it came out on top and I think she likes the length. I am going to miss her so much but I am doing my best to help her feel ready to go.

The Proper Way To Eat Sushi - YUM

We had our family together this past weekend for the last time for the next 18 months as Princess Four is leaving for Japan to serve as a missionary in less than two weeks. 
 
I really have been so busy I can't think about it much. I have had some issues in my yard which I may or may not post about later but between those and family things and my own health things, it has been super busy. 

With all that, this past weekend was just what I needed. I got to get a grandchild fix, spend time with some of my girls I don't get to see very often, and we had Sushi THREE times last week. 

I can't lie and say I wasn't relieved when everyone left as I was EXHAUSTED for many reasons, but I am always sad to see them leave. 

I have shared some of my health issues and I stopped taking any medication of any kind including my thyroid medication and I am one tired mama! 

Grand-Princess One is such a cutie! She took all the throw pillows from the entire upstairs and stuck them under the dining room table making herself a fort. 

We all couldn't get enough of her cuteness and all enjoyed getting baby holding time with Grand-Princess One. The weird thing is, he weighs about what she weighs! He is so solid and Princess four kept telling me her left arm was stiff and sore and we finally figured out it was from holding him! We both had a good laugh about that but she said her arm was shaking towards the end so I explained that your muscles grow with the baby so it isn't like jumping in mid heavyweight when you have your own.
 


When they left, I would smile when I would find stuffed animals from the basement in the baby swing or a Halloween hand under the end tables etc. There are always those lingering reminders of her stay which bring smiles to those of us around when we find them.

Princess Three stayed an extra day and we got to play games and have a sushi lunch with Princess Five. The word "Sushi" means "with rice" and Princess Four is gearing up for her time in Japan by purchasing it for us a few other times this week as we all love sushi.  
 
Princess Three taught us that after your break apart your "chop sticks" you need to roll them together in your hands back and forth like you would to make a playdough worm to get any slivers or splinters of wood off them. 
 
I thought she was just making it up but wouldn't you know that when we looked on the table, there were splinters of wood and she said her Asian friends taught her that.  

There you have it, there is a proper way to eat sushi with chop sticks and that is to break them apart, roll them together getting splinters off and then enjoy it with family and friends!

Repairing Worn Fabric TOMS Shoes or Wear Spots on Pants - Jackets

I have used this trick on fabric items for years. There is a color of pen for just about any color of fabric. 
 
I thought I would show it on something other than jeans. I show how I use it on jeans in this post here and in the video that is linked in the post. 
 
These TOMS shoes are cute but a little worn so I wanted to show how easy it is to fix the worn patches and make them look nearly new again. 

Just take whatever color pen matches the closest, or a Sharpie marker or any other non-washable marker and try it on a non visible place to match the color and then just draw on the cloth going with the grain so that the area doesn't end up solid or more like a darker patch.
 
Go with the grain and fabric lines in BOTH directions so vertical and horizontal directions so that it looks like actual fabric.

You may want to try it on a clothing item you don't care about first just to see how it goes for you and if you like the results but I have used markers and pens of all colors to fill in bleach spots on clothes, worn areas, or scratches on leather boots or jackets.

It is an inexpensive way to fix clothes you may still enjoy wearing. 

Trick-or-Jewelry - New Tradition a Hit Once Again

So, I guess Princess Five changed her mind and decided not to go trick-or-treating. She went to her friends party and dressed as "Catniss" from Hunger Games. 

On the home front, it was fun having Princess Four home to help me hand out treats and get things ready. We moved the Pirate and chests into place.

I didn't remove the batteries from the candles, lanterns and light up skulls from last year and three had battery leaks which needed cleaning or scraping to repair but I was able to get them all working again for this year but learning my lesson, the batteries are now all removed for storing the items until next year.
 
Princess Four found a black fabric to put the jewelry / watches / key-chains etc on so the kids could easily see the items. 

I was running errands when the kids started arriving and Princess stuck on a crown as her costume and handed out either candy or jewelry items. There were many return visitors who were very excited to see we were giving out jewelry for our "treats" if they chose. 
 
Here is a link to last years post where I experimented with giving out jewelry instead of treats if they wanted. The bags and pile in the picture is the jewelry I had LEFT after the night was over. I need to find another way to share it with others!

I had one mom call someone and tell them we were giving out jewelry and give directions to my home. There were other comments about it being a good idea rather than candy etc.

Best treat of the night was that my sister and her kids showed up so I could take a picture of them. It won't be long before they won't be interested in Trick-or-Treating and by the time they showed up, I was done for the night having had a long weekend but I did get my hugs from the girls so that made my night!

It will be VERY weird next year when I won't have anyone around on Halloween.......