Friday Night Photos

Holy smokes, it's been two months since my last post. Time goes by SO fast--I don't know if not blogging has something to do with that, but it feels like time is going infinitely faster over the last year or so. Anyways, while this isn't truly "Friday Night Photos", I figured I would just do a bullet-style post of random stuff, since it's been so long. (There honestly isn't much to say; I'm just trying to keep life simple right now.)

*I find myself writing posts in my head daily. I was so used to writing every day for years that it's hard not to think in terms of a blog post. If you picture a movie or TV show where someone is narrating their own life, that's kind of how it feels. Silly!

*My throat is completely healed from my thyroid surgery. The saggy skin improved a bit; it still doesn't look "normal", but I don't notice it much anymore.

*Since my surgery met my out-of-pocket max for my health insurance, I've been taking advantage of that by seeing specialists for ongoing problems. Namely, my hands and my back. I've been dealing with carpal tunnel since 2018, and the back problem is one I've had forever (literally 35-ish years).

-The hand doctor ordered an EMG and I was so glad I would finally get carpal tunnel surgery to fix it. But my EMG came back negative! There is NO WAY that the carpal tunnel symptoms are just in my head. I got more answers from the back doctor, though...

-My back pain has gotten horrible over the last year or two, and even worse in the last 4-5 months. It's always been a very specific spot in the middle of my back--not an injury, because it's been there for as long as I can remember--but doctors have never really taken it seriously because I was "too young for back pain" (and thoracic (mid) back pain is less common than neck or lower back pain).

Anyway, this spinal doctor is so refreshing! Maybe it's because I now *look* old enough to have back pain, but either way, I feel like he is going to help me. Based on my x-rays, he said that I have significant arthritis and he ordered an MRI of my neck and back (my neck because of the symptoms in my arms/hands). 

I have a follow-up appointment on Monday to go over the results, but from what I can see in my chart, my back is very screwed up. My neck, just as badly. I have arthritis all over, a couple of bulging discs, a hemangioma, and just a lot of wear and tear in general. Every disc from my mid-neck to my lower thoracic vertebrae has something going on with it. And the "carpal tunnel" symptoms could very well be caused from pinched nerves in my neck. Is there a solution? I have no idea. I'll learn more on Monday after I see the doctor. 

*I won't go on and on about this, but the state of this country has done a number on my mental health. I've never gotten political here and I still won't, but I'm just sad to live in a world with so much hate and uncertainty. November was the first time I ever voted; I'd been so worried about what was going to happen based on the results of the election, and now it's all happening. I worry so much about everything, all the time, and now politics is in there, too. I just wish my mind could take a vacation and I could forget about everything for a while.

*The kids are still living at home (for the most part; when he's not working, Noah spends most of his time at his girlfriend's house). I never thought I'd worry even more about them when they are adults, but here I am. Maybe this is why I seem to be having some sort of existential crisis--I spent their whole lives as a stay-at-home mom who had control, for the most part, and now that they are adults I just have to sit back and watch.

*Noah turned 21 last month. I have a 21-year old! Jeanie happened to be in town and she loves casinos. Jeanie, Shawn, Audrey (you may remember her from my blog at certain points), Jerry, and I took Noah to the casino in Toledo. It was fun! And Noah really enjoyed himself. I made him a mushroom-themed cake for his birthday. It turned out kind of goofy, but it was fun to make! Luke and Riley helped me.

*Funny story: We had a busy day--my uncle's 90th birthday party in the afternoon, and then the casino in the evening, with no time in between. We headed out to go to the casino, and it took about 40 minutes to get there. We arrive, take Noah's picture by the "Must be 21 to enter" sign, and head inside. Then Noah looked totally panicked and I *knew* that look--because I remember having it before. He forgot his ID!!! The guys went back to get his ID, and Jeanie, Audrey, and I got started at the casino. (I don't like to gamble, so I just watched.) Guys arrived with Noah's ID, and he was able to get in.

*No more drama with the pets, thankfully. I was worried about Joey because he had a large lump on his side, but the vet did a needle biopsy and it's just a lipoma (benign fatty tumor). It's hard to believe he's 12-ish years old; he acts much younger. The kittens are staying out of trouble, and Estelle is still grouchy old Estelle. (I believe she is 16)

*I've still been sewing quite a bit, but not as much as last summer. I really like to quilt, so I have an ongoing project that I work on a little each day. Once in a while, I make a smaller project that I can finish in a few days just to keep from getting bored. I recently made this bag for Jerry and he was thrilled. I love how it turned out!

*This summer has sucked horribly because of the humidity. I don't ever remember a summer that has been so hot/humid as this one has been. Jerry and I got our bikes tuned up a couple of months ago so we could start riding on the weekends and it's just been too humid. I really hope that fall will be nice!

*My weight is back up. I hate that this is a forever-battle. I'm at about 170 right now, having gained almost 10 pounds since my last post. I'm still trying. Always.

*I got a whopping 50 pounds of peaches from The Peach Truck this year. I feel like I ate nothing but peaches for about two weeks, not including the salsa, preserves, and pies I made. I also gave away several pounds. By getting the "early bird special" on the peaches, they came with two bags of pecans. My squirrels were thrilled, haha.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I'm going to try and take more pictures so that I might remember things to write about! I rarely take photos anymore.

'Til next time! xo

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Bullets

Right now, I feel like everything is so chaotic that I can't even think straight. So, I figured writing some bullets would be the easiest way to write today. 

* Joey came home last night! If you missed it, my sister kept Joey for a while (maybe six weeks?) for a dog "vacation" with her basset hound. He had a BLAST, and I'll write a post about his adventures once I get some more details from Jeanie. Yesterday, Jerry drove home from Wisconsin after visiting a friend and he stopped at Jeanie's house to pick up Joey on his way home.

* Joey got used to going for two-mile walks at 4:00 in the morning, so I took him for a walk first thing this morning (it was definitely not at 4:00 AM, but still...). After that, he was still so drained from his vacation that he slept all day long.

* No news on my bedroom/bathroom issue yet. Brian isn't going to be able to help me until early next week, so I'm going to have to live with it like it is now. If there is one thing I cannot stand, it's having clutter all over the house. My house is never completely clutter-free, but when I have no furniture in my bedroom, the stuff has to go somewhere. So the house just looks way too full of stuff everywhere.

* Jerry decided to eat vegan for a month! I didn't suggest it or bring it up at all, and I've never pushed him to go vegan. He asked to watch the Dominion documentary with me (which is the one that made me go vegan) because he wanted to know why it had such a huge impact on me. We only made it a quarter of the way through when he was just too stunned and horrified to keep watching. After that, he started choosing vegan options more and more, and he even ordered a vegan burger in Milwaukee! He wants to try it--full vegan--for all of August. I'm excited :)

* I still haven't had much of an appetite, which is weird for me. But I've been feeling depressed lately and I think that has something to do with not having an appetite. Now that Jerry wants to eat vegan for a month, I'm going to try to make new recipes frequently so that he can see that vegan food tastes good!

* I haven't been reading any books lately and I really want to get into a series. I liked the Delirium trilogy (the third book wasn't as good, though, and it took me a while to get through it). So, I'm in the mood for another young adult dystopian series; unfortunately, I feel like I've read all the well-known ones. I really should start reading some of the books on my Kindle that I've not read yet. I get a free one from Amazon every month, but I rarely read them.

* Tomorrow is the day that I'm supposed to pick up my peaches from The Peach Truck! I can't believe it's been a year already since the last batch. This time, I only ordered one box (25 pounds) because I don't plan to make jam or salsa or anything. Noah and I will attempt to eat 25 pounds of peaches before they go bad, hahaha. (Jerry and Eli don't like them, but Noah and I LOVE them.) Brian has a freeze dryer, so if there are any left, I'll just freeze dry them for "astronaut peaches" ;)

* I've gotten really far behind on email (again) so I apologize if you're waiting for a response. Like I said, things are chaotic here. Also, this depressed mood I've been in has me in a funk.

*Well, I've got a date with my super comfy sleeping bag and a Lifetime movie (not sure which one, but I haven't watched on in such a long time. I used to love Lifetime movies! When Lifetime used to show a new movie every Monday night, I would watch it in the bedroom while Jerry watched Monday Night Raw wrestling in the living room. It was just a thing we did on Mondays, and even though we were in separate rooms watching separate shows, it was something we both remember with good feelings.

* Don't forget that tomorrow is Transformation Tuesday! So please send me a before picture and an after picture of a transformation--no matter how small or uninteresting you think it is--along with your name and a description of your transformation to: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Thanks!

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Saturday Night Bullets

I love bullets. When I don't have anything major to write about, I just take a bunch of little notable things and put them into one post in no particular order. They're fun to write!

📍 Today, Laura (Jerry's sister) came to pick up the shelves I made for her. I finished with them a couple of weeks ago but then the guys went up north and she wasn't able to pick them up right away. Anyway, I love how they turned out and thankfully, so did Laura!

She sent me a photo of the shelves when she got home and set up in her room.

📍 Laura brought my niece Shelby with her, too! Shelby is now 11 months old--it's crazy how fast time goes by when you think of kids growing up. Shelby was all smiles and SO cute. Babies usually cry around me (I've never had that magic touch around babies, unfortunately) but today she let me hold her and she was fascinated watching me chew ice. She kept laughing every time I put another piece of ice in my mouth, haha.

📍I always feel really sorry for Phoebe, but I have been especially sad for her since we got the kittens. They chase her and want to play with her but she doesn't want anything to do with them so she's always trying to get away from them. She paces the house from door to door, wanting desperately to go outside.

Phoebe is totally an outdoor cat at heart, but I'm terrified of something happening to her and I keep her strictly indoors. She sneaks out on occasion and I have to chase her down. All she does is eat some grass and then throw it up when I bring her in the house *eyeroll*. I think she's been kind of depressed since we brought the kittens home.

Today, I was feeling especially bad for her, so I thought it might help if she went outside. I have a cat leash that I got from a Purina summit and I strapped that onto her. Eli sat outside with her and let Phoebe do her own thing--sit and eat grass, walk around a little in the yard, and then throw up the grass. Thankfully she threw it up before she came back in the house! But she spent about 15 minutes out there rolling in the grass and she was clearly happy about it. I'm going to try to do that with her at least a few times a week so she can get her fix.

📍Today, I knocked another item off of my November "to do" list: clean out the pantry. Of course I forgot to take a before photo, but just picture it to be a total mess with no organization. Along the top shelves were random things we just tossed up there because we didn't know where else to put it. But now it's nice and neat:

If you're wondering, yes--Noah loves Ramen noodles and I buy them by the case! Also, Creamette pasta is on sale at Kroger this week (Creamette is my favorite brand) for $0.49 a box if you buy 10 or more. So, I bought 10 boxes of various shapes. 

📍I saw something on Amazon a few days ago that I just HAD to buy... it was perfect for Jerry and me to spend some quality time together. A Friends trivia game!

At first, I wasn't sure if I should bother, because Jerry and I have seen Friends so many times that I thought it would be too easy for us. However, the questions are HARD. You have to be a hardcore Friends fan to even come close to answering the questions. But Jerry and I are fans, of course, and we could get about half of each card correct. (Here is a link to the game on Amazon--it's an affiliate link, which just means that if you purchase it through the link I may get a small commission.) I have to say, the cards are very high quality--I was impressed.

Jerry did better than I did. He's AMAZING when it comes to random trivia. I always said that if I was on the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? he would be my "phone a friend" lifeline. He knows the most random stuff!

Have a great Sunday! :)

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A Few Weekend "Staycation" Photos

Jerry was up north in Petoskey, Michigan very early Friday through Sunday evening, so I had a long weekend without him. I had all these plans of being super productive--deep cleaning, making a couple of nightstands for our bedroom, etc--but I honestly didn't get anything done.

Other than walking Joey each morning, I'm a little ashamed to admit that I spent the weekend watching Lifetime movies, playing Best Fiends, getting take-out on Saturday night, and only doing the bare minimum of housework. I did a load of laundry and a load of dishes. I also finished up the shelves for Jerry's sister by putting contact paper on them.

I really wanted to work on nightstands, but the thought of going to Lowe's and picking out huge sheets of plywood was totally unappealing. It's hard to do that by myself (I'm picky about the wood, so I usually end up getting one that's 4-5 heavy sheets down; also, I have to have an employee cut it down so I can fit it in the car). Instead, I went out to the garage and stared at my current leftover materials, hoping to think of something to make out of scraps. I ended up just putting the contact paper on the shelves, and that was it!

Even though I feel a little guilty not having gotten anything "major" done, I guess I can consider it my own little staycation while Jerry was up north doing a "guys weekend" of off-roading and football.

When he got home yesterday, I nearly died when I saw what he brought home with him... he found this log up north. It looks like the perfect mannequin for a pair of boxer briefs! I posted it on Instagram, and a few people suggested that we put the underwear on it and then change them out for each season/holiday. I love that idea! It's perfect for the man cave in the garage.

Just a few other photos from the weekend...

I love walking past a particular house every morning, because occasionally they change their skeleton display for Halloween. Here are the three scenes I've seen so far (I wish the pictures were better--it's much easier to see in person!)

Skeleton raking up bones while skeleton-dog is chewing a bone, and "dad" skeleton is mowing the grass. I just make the assumption that they are a male-female couple in these scenes, but I could be wrong--kind of hard to tell with skeletons, unless you're a forensics expert ;) I picture the dog to be a hyper little Jack Russell Terrier-mutt. 

Skeleton couple and skeleton-dog sitting around the fire pit roasting marshmallows. 

Sitting next to the canal with fishing poles and their skeleton-dog. It's hard to make out in this photo, but notice the little skeleton-mermaids on the end of the fishing lines! Hahaha. 

I'm hoping they'll do at least one more scene before Halloween. The best part about walking this time of year is seeing all of the fun Halloween decorations!

This is just a photo of Joey while we walked along the shoreline of the Lake Erie. There is a small park here, so I let him off leash to walk along the shore for a few minutes. Other than when we see his dog-friends, this is his favorite part of our morning walks.

My brother-in-law, Shawn, sent me this photo and told me I should make one for my cats. It's so awesome! I love the idea and I just may actually do it. It looks very simple to make. Not much fun to have to clean under the bed (removing mattress to vacuum) but I can see the kittens loving it! (I don't know the origin of this photo, so if you know, I'd be happy to credit the person that made this awesome bed!)

Finally, I thought this was funny enough to take a screen shot today. I was replying to someone who'd posted about running in the rain for my Cookies Fall Mileage Challenge, and look at the suggested words on my iPhone. Sploot?! So random.

I had no idea what "sploot" was until recently when I posted a photo on Instagram of Duck lying on the floor and people told me it's a "thing" and it's called a sploot. It's hilarious to watch him lie down... while he's walking, he just stops moving his back legs while continuing to walk forward with his front legs, until he finally just plops down to this position. 

Joey likes to lie like that too, and I really hope I can get a photo of the two of them side-by-side one day ;)

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Saturday Night Photos

Just when I expected everything to get LESS stressful, today wound up being kind of crazy. Having teenagers is tough! For so many reasons. I don't like to write about their personal stuff here on my blog, so I'll just leave it at that. Everything is fine--it just feels like more work having teens than it did having babies!

Anyway, to make a nice, light-hearted post, I figured I'd just share some pictures--interesting or not ;) (As always, any links to Amazon in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through those links, I may get a small commission. But that is not why I post about products--honest!)

We've been getting more interested in board games lately, and Jerry and I really like this one called Codenames Duet (it's the two-person version of the original Codenames). We also bought the Codenames Deep Undercover, which is an "adult" version--but we really didn't like it. I like the original much better.

We have several board games, but most of them require a group of people:

Clearly, we love the game Guesstures (the link is to the new version, so I can't say if it's as good). I have THREE of the original versions! It's been a favorite game since the very first version came out (I remember playing it as a kid with my family on vacation). It's such a great game and I was worried it was going to die sooner or later. So I bought two more from garage sales. The one in the box was still brand new (sealed in plastic--I was curious if it was actually sealed or if someone had done it themselves).  As a family, our favorite is still Wits & Wagers.

Anyone have suggestions for more games? I'd like to have a game night soon with 4-6 more people. If you know of a great game, let me know!

This photo made me crack up. A long time ago, I used a bookshelf to create a "cat hotel"--I painted it white, put brick contact paper on the outside, carpet on the inside floors (three shelves) and I made some cutouts on the sides for the cats to look through. I did various shapes and sizes. One of them I did was a freehand cutout of a cat head. Duck's head fits perfectly!

Speaking of Duck, the kittens are getting so big! Duck was NINE POUNDS the last time I weighed him, and Chick was eight pounds. Phoebe only weighs eight pounds, and she's 11? 12? years old. The kittens are going to be BIG cats. Especially Duckling, because he is a hoover when it comes to food.

Here is Chicklet--I love the little patches of long gray hair he has behind each ear!

I was sitting on the couch, trying to write a blog post, when Chick decided it was more important for him to take a nap where my laptop was sitting. I had to move my laptop to the couch on my right and try to type sideways--so inefficient. But I couldn't bear to move him!

Same situation here with Duck. Little Duck is SUPER pesty when he wants to cuddle. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, if I stop petting him, he takes his whole head and pushes it under my hand until I start petting him again. I just give up doing what I'm doing and give in to him ;) 

And both boys, looking so grown up! Duck on the left and Chick on the right.

After going to the dentist last month, and learning I had two cavities, I freaked out about getting them filled. I HATE dental work--it's a huge fear of mine (possibly because of when I broke my jaw?). Anyway, the hygienist told me that I brush my teeth too hard and it's bad for my gums. I admit, I do tend to brush really hard. After Jerry and the kids went and learned they have cavities as well(!), the dentist suggest that we buy an electric toothbrush. 

I never really thought much about buying one--what can it really do that is so special? But I will do anything to avoid more dental work, so I found what looked like a good one on Amazon. I was shocked at how powerful it is! It has a sensor to alert you if you brush too hard, too, which is good for me. 

By the way, you have no idea how hard it was to take this picture, hahaha. 

This is the one we bought. The price wasn't too bad ($50), but then I realized I had to buy extra heads for it, which added $30 to the cost. At the very least, it should come with two! 

So far, I really like it! I actually find it kind of fun to brush my teeth. And I do feel like my teeth are cleaner. Now I'm just hoping that I can avoid any more dental work.

We've had some really great fall weather lately, and one of my favorite things to do is sit out in the garage (in this case, in my pajamas) and read a book. I open both of the large garage doors so the fall breeze comes through. I can still people watch when people run/walk/bike by. And the squirrels know when I'm out there, so they come up to the door and watch me until I give them a walnut.

I CAN'T get enough of my new sheets! I hate sounding like a walking commercial for ANY product, but when I love something so much, I can't help but talk about it. I really like the new mattress and I've been sleeping much better on it, but the sheets have a lot to do with it, too.

I'd had Brooklinen Sateen sheets for a few years and I LOVED them. With the new mattress, I decided to get new sheets as well, but this time I chose the percale fabric (because it supposedly feels like the cold side of the pillow). They feel so fantastic! I have a duvet cover and this cheap but amazing comforter on Amazon, and my comforter feels so fluffy and comfy all the time. And it doesn't make me too hot. I can even sleep with my weighted blanket over it sometimes. 

(If you are looking for new sheets and want to try them--they have free returns for 30 days!--here is a link you can use to get $25 off. And for referring you, I get 1,000 reward points worth $25 as well.) Yes, they are expensive, but as I get older, I realize how important my sleep is--and these sheets are totally worth it to me!

(I really do apologize for sounding like a commercial--I cringe in my head when I write it.)

I've been thinking about this for the longest time, and I think I'd like to build something like this for my living room wall. I won't do the shiplap, but I like the shelving. It would create much more space than we have now, and I think it would look awesome. However, the cost of lumber right now is insane, so it's something that'd have to wait for a while, anyway. It's just fun to look :)

Finally, here is my "progress photo" for today. Even though there really isn't any progress to show!

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