4-Wheelin' For Our Health...

    After a frustrating day yesterday, dealing with Fibro fog and the resultant mistakes on my part, as well as the dishwasher not dispensing the cleanser AGAIN, today started out on a better track.
    Until..... I decided that I needed to buck up against the negative wind chill temperatures today (it was already 9 degrees warmer this morning than yesterday morning) to take Dakota for a much needed walk.
     We had trudged through the 6-10 inches of fresh snow nearly all the way back to the furthest corner of the cemetary before I remembered that I had planned to drive over with my truck each time we got a fair amount of snow, thus keeping a walking path cleared for the two of us.  The past 2 winters we lost a lot of walking days, especially last winter, with over 110 inches of snowfall here in Ludington!
      So off we went, 4-wheelin' together again!  I would LOVE to know what Dakota was thinking each time we do this..."But mom, we were just here... walking!  Why are we driving around and around again?"
    After I had made 3 or 4 passes through the cemetary, taking alternate routes so we would have a few different paths to walk, the county plow came down the road.  I made sure each time I approached the road that there was NO traffic coming, so I would not get stuck attempting to get out onto the road after stopping for traffic.  I lucked out and the plow did not bury the driveways more than my truck would handle.

     It has now been a few days since I originally began this post.  Problems with the 2 pellet stoves, a few days apart, are now past, and we are REALLY blessed to have them, as we have had our first BLIZZARD conditions of this winter, and the new year. 
     Three days off from school, LOTS of wind, blowing snow, and MULTIPLE MULTI-CAR (30-100+) PILE UPS on US-131 as well as I-94, have created a lot of concern, worry, and headlines this week.
     Perhaps this weekend I will take the time to post some of the photos we've taken both at home and while driving home from the store in a white-out, which came up while Wesley & I were at Meijer to pick up a few things BEFORE the storm hit.

   The photos above do NOT do it justice.  Even at speeds of 30 mph we were driving beyond our visibility, so it was a headlights on, even lower speeds, white knuckle drive home.  I would NOT have gone out if I knew it was going to get this bad so quickly!

     The photo above was taken after we had received 10-12+ inches of fresh snow.  Wesley is shoveling a path for the cats so that they can jump from the deck to their cat door which comes into the living room.  As usual, Dakota was enjoying the snow storm tremendously, and I had to call her in and dry her off with the blow drier.  If she wasn't black on top, we'd never find her during the snow storms.
     The biggest snow days were Jan 8-10th so far, and with the warm weather (36+ degrees) today, Dakota and I finally ventured back to the cemetary with the truck.  What a greasy, slippery mess it was when you'd try to turn.  I was able to make a few laps though so we have more paths, and wider ones at that for our walking....until the weather changes AGAIN. 

A lot to catch up on!

  Wow!  It's hard to believe that I haven't posted here for so many months!  But...life happened...for a long time apparently!
  I'll have to spend a fair amount of time posting layouts that I have completed since last visiting, as well as photos of life in my little world.
  Let's work our way backward, okay?  While currently working on our taxes, I once again consider whether or not to continue selling products.  Yes, it pays for MOST of my own supplies, but the physical labor, time, & expenses involved with the packing, hauling, unpacking, displaying....packing back up (although this last sale sent MUCH fewer product home with me!), hauling, & unpacking/displaying again........very low income per hour, oftentimes at a loss in fact, but the physical tole & stress have the most impact for me.  We are not getting any younger, but I DEFINATELY must get back into better shape!  Fibromyalgia does not differentiate between 'fun work' & just plain 'work'.
  Okay....back to the basics.  The past 2 weeks found us celebrating Wesley's 8th & my 48th BIRTHDAYS YEY!!!  We had a couple of neighborhood friends over for Wesley's birthday cake & ice cream.   Good times!
  I was lucky enough to (once again) celebrate my birthday with my best bud, my niece Sarah, who comes up for an overnight SCRAPBOOKING PARTE' !!!  A bonus this year was the 1st overnight stay & crafting visit by my sister-in-law, Deb (Kozak) Gleason!  We had sooo much fun that we stayed up until 3:15 Sunday morning, NOT EVEN MAKING IT TO THE CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN THIS YEAR:<   (Pics to follow haha)
  Michael & Wesley made their usual trip to Grandma Stream's for the weekend, so that we girls could have the house to ourselves.  There was one lucky male in the household though, our cat Rusty.  Otherwise it was myself, Sarah, Deb, my devoted Dakota, Smoke & our newest family member, kitten Squirrel. 
  Christmas, as usual, was FABULOUS!  After we opened our gifts we were visited by Uncle Leon (my oldest brother, who as of this week is RETIRED!!!!!!) & his wife Annetta.  They have been stopping by on Christmas Day, on their way to visit her family in Ludington.
  My favorite gift this year was my CRICUT IMAGINE! WOO HOO!  Michael said "don't you think you hinted about it enough??????" hahahahahahaha  Yes, I hinted A LOT after finding out that our local Wal-Mart had it in stock for only $187!  I did some research online for Imagine cartridges &, after receiving it, purchased a few cartridges to play with!  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use my favorite of the included cartridges, Imagine More, because it was faulty.  I also had to exchange the machine after 2-3 days & printing only a few papers because it stopped feeding in the paper.
  I can say that I have had very few problems with the machine or cartridges since exchanging the machine & receiving the replacement cartridge.  I still get frustrated with the machine shutting down frequently while using the Imagine More cartridge, especially when combined with another cartridge, but I'm trying to work through it and enjoy the capabilities of my new toy.
  Wesley's favorites were, of course, Thomas train items, plus he really likes his Cars 2 movie, Indiana Jones Lego PS2 game from Uncle Leon & Aunt Annetta, etc.
  This fall found us adopting little, FRAIL, Squirrel....a kitten who found her way to our front porch on August 10th, just before Michael's birthday.  She immediately came to me & allowed me to hold her, as if she KNEW we would love & help her.  Michael named her Squirrel after seeing how long & bushy her tail was when compared to her body.  I am afraid to say that she was the most emaciated animal I have ever seen which was still alive.....she required a lot of TLC, & ultimately, prescription food as well as medication that was added to tuna fish for several months.  I recently switched to feeding her adult cat food, which she was constantly sneaking out of the other cats' bowls, when we ran out of prescription food.  I think I might have to return to giving her medication for a while if she continued to have tummy problems.
   I have been hoping to have some of my projects appear as samples on a 3 Birds presentation, or perhaps their blog, etc.  So far, no luck, but perhaps in the future, with the reappearance of their blog or something...perhaps things will happen for me.  Either way, I enjoy the process & chance to share.  3 Birds rocks!!!!! 
   On to crafting & constantly renovating my scrap "studio"!
 

...and we all settled down for a long winter's nap (last night after fighting the blizzard)

   I went to bed to find our son Wesley cuddled up in the middle of our bed...our cat Rusty too, who moved down onto the floor among extra pillows when I got into bed.  An hour later, still awake, I realized I had another opportunity for themed pics!

Our 3 yr old Tomcat, Rusty

Dakota, guarding the stairs to our bedrooms

Smoke, in her usual spot lately

 

Awww....such a cutie!