Bye Bye Summer Flip Flops!

I had to visit a podiatrist today. My Plantar Fascitis is back. I had it in my right foot before we moved to NC. If you've never had this uncomfortable foot problem, you are lucky! When I had it in 2006, it lasted a year. This time, I am determined that will not happen. Especially since I have it in both feet - luckily one day it is in the left and the next week, it will be the right foot! The severe pain in my heel started Memorial Day weekend. By Sunday, I was using a cane to walk around the house. Icing my foot helped a lot. So today the doctor took x-rays and they showed a bone spur in each heel. He gave me exercises to do; a pair of orthodics for my shoes and a "boot" to wear when sitting. The worst part was the shots!!! He gave me a shot of Cortisone in each foot - NOT pleasant!! And if anyone knows me, they know my aversion to needles (unless I am sewing!). Hope I don't have to do that again! He recommended supportive athletic shoes - Asics or New Balance with good support (gel). I was lucky to find a good pair of Asics at a sports store today on sale. Plus they gave a discount with my doctor's prescription! Now if I can just be lucky enough to get rid of this heel pain, although I'll admit, the shots have done the trick!! And on top of that, the doctor called me at home tonight to thank me for my business and see if I was doing ok!!

It's hell to get old!! After exercising my feet tonight, I had to lay on my chiropractic pillow on the floor to stretch my neck.

Not what I expected!!

Just got this from a friend - so true!! For me, it's the wife!!

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking,but Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example,was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely ( much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?....We just call him, 'TV.' He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'

Cupcake To Die For!

The average unfrosted chocolate cupcake isn't astronomically high in calories. After all, it isn't enormous, slathered with frosting, or covered with crazy toppings. But even a single (naked) chocolate cupcake has an average of over 200 calories and fat grams in the double digits. And FYI, if you felt like splurging and ordered the Triple Chocolate Cupcake at Starbucks, you'd swallow a ridiculous 360 calories and TWENTY grams of fat (POINTS® value 8*).

But .... here's a recipe I found from Hungry Girl that is better and lower in calories and WW points and is so yummy!

Ingredients:
2 cups moist-style chocolate cake mix (half of an 18.25-oz. box)
Two 25-calorie packets diet hot cocoa mix
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
2 tbsp. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1 tsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:
Place chocolate chips and the contents of both cocoa packets in a tall glass. Add 12 ounces of boiling water, and stir until chips and cocoa mix have dissolved. Place glass in the freezer to chill for 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once cocoa has chilled, give it a stir, and mix with all other ingredients in a mixing bowl. Whip batter with a whisk or fork for 2 minutes. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray, or line it with baking cups. Evenly spoon batter (which will be thin, but don't worry, your cupcakes will puff up!) into the pan. Place pan in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Cupcakes will look shiny when done. MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 cupcake
Calories: 108
Fat: 2.5g
Sodium: 239mg
Carbs: 19g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 12g
Protein: 2g
POINTS® value 2*

ENJOY!

Shoebox Cards from Spring Fling

Wow! There were some great cards to make on Friday night. We got started about 7 pm and stamped and created cards non-stop. When I looked up at the clock, it was 12:45 a.m.!! Hating to leave all the fun behind, we knew we had to get some sleep if we wanted to be back at 8:30 the next morning. We took pictures of the 4-5 cards we didn't get to do and grabbed the packets to finish at home. Guess in reality, we didn't need that motel room - could have just stretched out in the car for a few hours!! There were a few brave souls who slept at the Senior Center where the event was being held. I've done that too many times and never seem to get any rest. Well, I didn't at the motel either - too keyed up and some little noise in the bathroom that kept me awake. Mine and Marianne's favorite card was the one done by Pat Wilkinson. She used the Pick A Petal stamp set and made a funny face card with it! So creative!!!

Enjoy the slideshow!

Sharon

Spring Fling Convention Swaps

These are the swaps I received at the wonderful Kernersville Spring Fling. It was hosted (marvelously, I will say) by Lisa Tedder, Karen Culler, and Janet Turner. These gals did a great job and I'm sure, put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into putting it all together!

I did 2 different designs that you can see in an earlier post. I'll be doing another one of the Pun Fun soon for Lisa Tedder since I ran out!!


Enjoy!
Sharon

One Layer Swaps from Spring Fling

I participated in the One-Layer swap at the Spring Fling also. It was a little challenging!! To create a card not using any extra layers is hard, but I came back with a lot of great ideas for these simple cards. Probably my favorites from this swap were from my friend who went with me, Judy and from Vicky Smith, Michele Damato, Tracy Lytton and Connie Armentrout. But, they were all great as you can see!

Enjoy.

Take Ten .... best for last!

I've been published again!! I'm so excited.

I returned home last night from Spring Fling in Kernersville (details to follow) soooo tired. We didn't get much sleep! After going out to dinner with my sister and her husband (and having a couple of beers to make me even more sleepy!), I was trying to stay awake to watch the Penguins in the Stanley Cup (they're not gonna make it! though), I was looking through the Take Ten magazine that I had recently bought. When I got to the last page - the last card was mine!! They are supposed to send a complimentary copy to you when they publish a card. That's how I found out last time that they had published one of my cards. But, no copy came to me so I was totally shocked!!

Hope you pick up a copy and enjoy the cards in it.

Sneak Preview of SU's new stampset!

I recently ordered Fresh Cuts stampset and have been having fun playing with it. This stampset will be in the 2008-09 catalog but Stampin' Up is giving you a chance to order it in advance!! I just did a simple card with it. To see this set and order it, check out the Stampin' Up website (Specials) for details. You can also order a set of notecards to go with the stamp set for $5!!

Getting everything packed to leave today for Spring Fling. I think I have all my cards done with labels on the back. If not ... too late now! I made a couple of water bottle tags today for my roomies, Marianne & Judy. Hope they enjoy! I also made an extra to take for "show and tell"! Have a wonderful weekend! It's expected to reach 90 here this weekend. Luckily, we turned on our A/C Wednesday!

Spring Fling cards

Well, I've been busy getting ready for the NC Spring Fling this weekend. It is being held in Kernersville and we will be doing a Shoebox Swap Friday night. Then Saturday, we will have a one-layer card swap and the talented ladies who are hosting the event, will be teaching us several projects. It will be a great girls outing since my neighbor and friend, Judy, will be going with me as well as my sister, Marianne. Here's a couple of the cards I will be swapping: