Day 44 of 365

It's true, things do have to get worse before they get better. Yesterday was bad, today was a bit better. Not lots better, but a bit.

I took my arthritis shot last night and got worse for a while. Every time I do the shot, I get sick to my stomach and dizzy and just feel allover icky and have to go to bed early. So I had that going for me last night. I was asleep by 8:30, but probably should have been asleep by 8. (I had to watch the new episode of The Office first. Will Farrell wasn't nearly as funny as I thought he would be.) And this morning I woke up a little after 8:30. So I definitely got myself some sleep.

But I did notice something about my hands. Usually when my arthritis is about to get even worse, I notice it in my hands first. I can't tie my shoes, I can't grasp a spoon, and I can't open the orange juice container. But at lunch time today, I opened a new jar of peanut butter. And later in the afternoon, I opened a bottle of water. And without much trouble at all. It may not seem like a lot, but it's big for me. While I'm not feeling super duper, for me to be able to grasp something - and open it - is a huge milestone. Maybe these shots are working? (Oops, maybe I shouldn't say it. Don't want to jinx myself - again.)

But it gave me some hope. Hope that I can move forward and get some things done today.

I had some things listed on etsy.com to sell, but decided to pull them off. Maybe I'll relist later, but who am I kidding? I put them on as I was starting this blog as a way to try and make some extra money. Well, nothing sold (they were just pincushions and fabric memory games), and I don't want the hassle of checking every day to see if they sold. It's not like ebay where your item lists for 5 days or whatever. On etsy it was 3 or 4 months. I'd rather spend my time on other things, not checking again and again to see that no one wants my stuff.

I did finish up some of the kids quilts. I hadn't taken pictures of the newest two, so I went ahead and snapped a pic. I keep a quilting binder of all my projects, so I'll print a copy to put in there. I haven't updated that binder in a while so I'll have to put that on my to do list for another day. Especially since I have several non-quilting projects I can add to it. Maybe the quilting binder will become a sewing binder?

I especially like the pink pinwheel one on the right.

And remember, today's also the drawing day for the Dick and Jane magnets from Day 41. I'll randomly choose the winner (did you know there is a website that generates random numbers?) and post it at 5 pm Mountain time this evening. If you entered, check back right here to see if you're the winner. You'll only have until Sunday at noon to claim your prize.

And the winner is... Lisa from Sherwood, Oregon who said:
I love the magnets, especially the ones with the words. I currently only have 3 magnets on my frig..so I'm in need of more! :)

Congrats, Lisa! Please contact me at debzdays@yahoo.com before noon on Sunday to claim your prize!  Prize claimed.

Day 43 of 365

My daughter tells me all the time, "Don't jinx it, mom". Guess I should have listened to her.

Yesterday I was bragging all about how, now 40 some days later, I thought that taking a picture a day was getting me somewhere. That it gave me a reason to get up in the morning and how every night before I go to bed I run through in my mind what I want to accomplish for the next day. And that I was learning that if I kept myself focused enough on something else, I could ignore my pain for short periods of time.

Yeah, right.

Not so much today. Actually, not at all today. I went to bed last night not feeling well and not caring about today, woke up not feeling well, and spent the entire day not feeling well.

What did I get done today? I took a shower. I wiped down the counters. I fixed my husband's tie. To quote the late Chris Farley on a Saturday Night Live sketch, "Well, la di fricken da!"

What changed? I've been keeping myself busy doing something every day - maybe my body just needed a break. Last night was my chemotherapy drug night, so it could account for me not feeling so hot.  Or it could be that my daughter is right. Don't talk about things going well or you'll jinx them.

This picture of a bus at the salvage yard down the road sums up how I feel today.

Here's hoping for a better tomorrow.

Day 42 of 365

It seems as though this blog, which originally was planned just to be a picture-a-day blog, has turned into a "look what I made" picture-a-day. And today isn't any different.

When I first started writing this 40+ days ago, I knew I had to make some changes. I was just coming off of my last rotator cuff surgery, still going to physical therapy several times a week, and was getting ready to start new arthritis medicine. I was struggling with pain all day, every day, and knew that I had to change my outlook. I had looked back and realized after living in the previous year and a half I had nothing to show for it. I didn't know if taking a picture a day would get me anywhere, but now 40 some days later, I think it's starting to.

It has given me a reason to get up in the morning. Now, every night before I go to bed I run through in my mind what I want to accomplish for the next day. It's small things. Like yesterday. I wanted to get through all the old receipts for the year and get the Dick and Jane magnets done. Today I wanted to gather all the old magazines in the house into a pile and decide what to keep and what to discard. I also wanted to do something with one of the cake mixes I bought on sale the other day. I still can't keep myself working throughout the entire day. And there are some days it takes all I have just to get out of bed and write.

But as I'm writing every day, I am finding hope. I have documentation that I've already lived (and baked, and sewed, and wrote) for a month and a half. Even on my worst days, I can pull myself out of my pain. It's still there - always - but I'm learning that if I keep myself focused enough on something else, I can ignore it for short periods of time.

Baby steps. I hope that I can continue to take these small steps forward.

Speaking of baby steps, I made some baby chicks today out of a chocolate cake mix, homemade buttercream frosting, and some yellow candy coating.

They're called Cake Pops, and I got the idea from Bakerella here. She also has a book with LOTS of ideas for cake pops.

Day 41 of 365

You can win the items in today's picture of the day!

Yep, my newest creation is my next good deed for the day, my service to others, my way of paying it forward. And if you have fond memories of the Dick and Jane reading series, you'll probably like today's project. 

If you've been following my blog, you know that I use sewing, baking, and charity/donation projects to get my mind off of my pain and problems and focus on service to others. And that I take a picture every single day of what I did or saw. You also know that I get frustrated with the quality of work sometimes because I use patterns and tutorials off the internet that are incomplete or that have measurements off.

But I found a clear tutorial on how to make fabric covered magnets (here) that guided me step by step. My collection of Dick and Jane fabrics have still gone unused, other than the camera bag I made. So it was time to get back into them. So at yesterday's great Sale-A-Bration Day that I had, I picked up some button cover kits (at 50% off) and some magnets (using a 50% off coupon).

I used my Dick and Jane fabric stash to cut select pictures and words to make the magnets. I used both 1 1/8" and 1 1/2" sized buttons. It was a quick and easy project and I loved how they turned out!

So now you can love them, too. To win this set of five magnets all you have to do is comment on this post telling us why you'd like to win. Be sure to leave your name or a screen name.

The fine print:
*A winner will be chosen randomly Friday, April 15 at 5 PM Mountain Time. Since I don't collect e-mails on my comment page, you will have to come back to see if you won.
*Winner will have until Sunday at noon to claim their prize. Otherwise, a new winner will be chosen.
*Only one entry per person, please.

Good luck!

And the winner is Lisa from Sherwood, Oregon who said:
I love the magnets, especially the ones with the words. I currently only have 3 magnets on my frig..so I'm in need of more! :)

Congrats, Lisa! Please contact me at debzdays@yahoo.com before noon on Sunday to claim your prize. Prize claimed.

Day 40 of 365

I think I'm going to call today a Sale-A-Bration day.

I had to go to the fabric store to get some quilt batting for the kids quilts I'm making. I also needed several other things and was hoping they were on sale. I got my batting (40% off), new rotary cutter blades (50% off), some basting spray (50% off), sewing machine needles (50% off), some buttons you cover with fabric for another (yikes) non-quilting project (50% off), and some magnets (yikes again) for that same non-quilting project (50% off coupon). Guess I hit the store on a good sales day!

As I drove by Goodwill on the way to the grocery store, the Goodwill had "50% off red tag items" on their sign. I stopped in and found some gorgeous floral silky-type fabric that was red tagged. Grabbed that.

At the grocery store I picked up chicken (on sale), fish oil (buy one get one free plus I had a $4 off coupon), salad mix (buy one get one free), some orange juice and chocolate milk (both on sale), and walnuts (alas, not on sale but hubby needed them for his breakfast), and cakes mixes (on sale).

But my biggest haul was again at my favorite place to combine manufacturer's coupons and store coupons - Target.

My take:
Purina One Cat Food $7.49 minus a $3 coupon and a $2 Target coupon
2 tubes of Pro Pet Hairball Eliminator $6.28 minus a $2.50 coupon and a $2.50 coupon
6 trays of Whiskas Cat food $3 minus $1.50 in buy one get one free coupons
Zantac 24 count $7.59 minus $5 coupon and $2 Target coupon
2 packs Up & Up pantiliners $1.78 minus a .50 and a .50 coupon
Bic Twin Disposable Razors $2.59 minus $2 coupon
Orbit Gum .99 minus .75 Target coupon
1 M&M and 1 Snickers Easter eggs $1.98 minus $2 coupon
2 travel size packs of BandAids $1.98 minus $1.98 coupon

Before the coupons, the price was $33.68
After coupons, the price was $7.45 + $1.68 tax

Total cost of all items was $9.13

$9.13 for almost $34 worth of items. A Sale-A-Bration Day!