Day Dreaming

Some days it's just hard getting out of bed when you know you have a challenging day ahead.

Most of my days consist of getting up to greet my energy bouncy grandson (somedays he reminds me of Tigger on "Winnie The Pooh" ) when Kimberly drops him off in the mornings before she goes to work.
   I, like most people have a list of "To Do's" that we'd like finished before the
end of the day...and sometimes you have the UNEXPECTED happen that set's
you off your course.

We'll my story is about my dad who had a total knee revision done last week.
He had both of his knee's replace around 10 years ago. 
  Lately he has had alot of knee pain which eventually the doctor told him
that his left knee had worn out and would need the plastic replaced with a chance that if he had something unexpected come up he might have to do a total knee revision again.   Which did happen.  The bone never grew to the new knee hardware (which might explain why it wore out so fast and why he was in so much pain), so the doctor took the old one out and replaced it with a new
shiny one. 
  He had a few small episodes with his sugar level being low while in there
but seemed to have it under control.  They transferred him to a skilled
nursing facility which was really nice.  It was like staying in a 5 star hotel.
We soon discovered that the only care he got was from us or unless it was
in rehab or when we called for something.  We were told that a skilled nursing facility was for people that was pretty well on their own but needed therapy
or a touch of care. 
My dad needed an acute nursing facility, where they monitor your care continuiously.
Well my brother and sister-in-law went in on Sunday to visit and check up on my dad when he wasn't in his room....figuring that he was in therapy.  A few minutes later a young lady brought my dad in the room in his wheelchair when
she said she found him down the hall wondering around.  My brother became furious to think he had gotten out of bed on his own and had made it to the wheelchair and was pushing himself around the facility.  He had almost fallen twice when someone was close by to catch him on both occasion.
He had called my sister to vent...which in turn she quickly drove in to see him. While they both were there they had determined that the infection in the knee had grown worse that it would be best to take him to the ER to make sure it hadn't grown into gangreen.   They we're in the ER 9 hrs before he was transfered back to the original hospital.  They called people in to staff the hospital just for my dad because the doctor wanted him back there to keep an
eye on him.
  We'll for a few days the infection didn't seem to get much better after being on strong antibotic's, so they determined it was best to go back in and make sure the infection hadn't made it to the knee itself.  They cleaned it all out and treated it with antibotic's. 
  He was in excursiating pain afterwards.
Today he done so much better, so hopefully he will be on the road to recovery
very soon.  We still have to send him to a rehad facility before going home but
maybe next week at this time he will be going home or soon afterwards.

There was so much more to the story but this is a touch of our experience with
our dad. 
My advice to those who might be in the same situation someday.  Talk with the nurses and caseworker to determine what kind of rehab facility they will be going to.  There is acute, transitional and skilled nursing facilities.  My dad needed an acute facility and was sent to a skilled nursing facility.

Thank you Todd and Susan for your many hours of caring for dad.

Sometimes I'll find myself daydreaming of sitting on a sandy beach, watching the sunset into the ocean, with a cool breeze with the smell of the ocean blowing on my face, taking all my cares and worries away..... 

And now I am preparing for the next chapter in my book.......

Scott's back surgery in 2 days.

Macey's shopping trip

So I haven't been on for awhile. It just seems that I've

been so busy that I hurry and get on the computer for a

few minutes and then get off.

But since I finally got a new computer maybe I'll try

to start posting again.

So today I went to Macey's and got a few things

before the sale went off tonight. I found meat

that had been marked down.

Idaho Spuds .99 cents - .55 coupon = .45 cents

Better Oats .99 cents

93% hamburger reduced to $2.99 lb = $4.73 savings

country sausage reduced

Jennie-O breakfast turkey sausage reduced $1.00

Jennie-O Sweet Italian sausage reduced $1.00

Johnsonville Italian sausage reduced $2.00

Pork roast reduced (can't remember how much)

Between all items purchased (some not pictured) I saved $48.00

This was last weeks shopping trip.

Carefree liners: .94 cents Walmart - $1.00 coupon = .06 money maker

White Cloud tissue free w/puchase of White Cloud toliet paper which I

used $1.00 coupon on the toliet paper also.

Eclipse: BOGO w/ coupons from Coupons.com =.48 cents each

Allegra allergy pills: $12.63 - $7.00 coupon = $6.63

Colgate: .94 Walmart (bin) - .75 coupon = .18 cents

Snickers easter eggs: $1.00 walmart - $1.50/2 parade coupon = .25 cents

M&M's: $1.00 walmart - $1.00/2 = .50 cents

Beneful dog treats: $3.84 Walmart - BOGO = $1.92 each

Nexcare: $1.50 Walmart - .55 coupon = .95 cents

Every penny counts

This week I did alittle more grocery shopping

to catch a few more savings before the coupons

expire before the end of the month and the sales

of the grocery stores end for the end of the week.

I purchased $290.14 worth of groceries and

spent $116.45. That is a savings of $173.69.

This was just some of the finds I got.

UP2U $1.28 (walmart)- $1.00 SS 1-1-12 = .28 cents

Zone Bars (Albertsons) $1.00 - .55 cent, add the special to

double up to $1.00 SS 1-22-12 = Free

Huggie Wipes $4.19 (Albertsons) - $.50 dbled to

$1.00 = $3.19 for a 3 pack = $1.06 a pack

Bic pens (walmart) .97 - $1.00 SS 1-8-12 = .03 moneymaker
Hormel Chili (Smiths) .45 - .55/2 SS 1-15-12 = .17 cents each

Crave cat treats (Walmart) $1.47 - BOGO (coupons.com) = .73 each

Wisk (Albertsons) $4.99 - $1.00 SS 1-15-12 = $3.99 not pictured

Ragu (Albertsons-price matched Wal) .99 - .50 RP 1-29-12 = .49 cents

AquaFresh (Albertsons-priced match Wal) .99 - $1.00= .01 MM

Oral B Floss (Walmart) .97 - $1.00 P&G = .03 MM

Mission Tortillas (Albertsons) $2.00 - .55 peelie dbled

to $1.00 = $1.00 not pictured

Rachel Ray's dog food sample received in the mail

I purchased multiple items that I didn't show.

Chili - 34 cans

Oral B floss - 9

Mission tortillas 3

Wisk 9

Crave 4

Huggie 3 - 3pks

Bic 4

plus other one item specials I didn't show.

The last grocery post the Resolve, Bic pens, Schick

razors came out of Smart Source 1-8-12.

I am trying to make every penny count now days.

I'll try to post some of my finds before the sales end

so you can take advantage of them also.

My winter kitchen decor

This week I took down my winter decor I had up in my

kitchen. I put it up with the Christmas decorations and

left them up because it was so pretty I wanted to enjoy it

alittle bit longer.

They were on top of my kitchen cabinets. It was a

beautiful swag that was flocked with glitter on it. I got

it at Tai Pan last year on clearance, so I was eager to

put it up so I could enjoy it. There were two white flocked

pine cones that I purchased in October in Walmart when

they started putting out their Christmas decorations. I

put them in the middle of the swag to add more of a

center piece to it.

I put some batting underneath the swag to

give it the look of snow. I then put my lantern

that I have up there year round beside it.

I did have some red/white poinsetta's on each

end of the cabinets to finish it off. (I had already

took them out when I hurried and took a picture)

Once in awhile when decorating your house,

some arrangement or picture comes out better

than you imagined. This was one of those times

that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also enjoyed my

christmas village all lit up on the other cabinet

(picture in previous blog).

But ready to find

something new to put up there to enjoy. I haven't

figured that out yet but that is the nice thing about

having a clear slate, you can use your imagination.

A few savings this last week

So I haven't been blogging for awhile, it just seems

that everyday has a few less hours to get things done

lately. Between Dr. appt.s for me and Scott, birthdays,

and just everyday stuff going on, it just seems I go to bed

with a list longer than the day before. Hopefully it will

calm down pretty soon.

I haven't done much couponing lately but I did get a few

things last week. I did hurry and get a picture of them,

just forgive me because I didn't write down the inserts I

got them out of.

All $3.49 - $1.00 (Smart source)= $2.49

Colgate .97 cents - $1.00 = .03 money maker

KY Jelly $2.84(walmart) - $3.00 (SS) = .16 money maker

Schick razor $1.97 (walmart) - $2.00 (SS) = .03 money maker

Sausages $1.00 (Family Dollar) - 1.50/2, 1.00/1= .50 cents,25 cents

Uncle Bens Rice $1.00 (Albertsons) - $1.00/2 = .50 cents

Old Spice Deordant .99 (Smiths) - 1.00/2(P&G)= .50 cents

Old Spice Body Wash $2.49 (Smiths) - $2.00(P&G)=. 49 cents

Colgate Toothbrushes/paste .94 (walmart) - $1.00 (SS) =.06 moneymaker

UP2U $1.28 (walmart) - $1.00 (SS) =.28 cents

Reach dental floss .97 (walmart) $1.00 (coupons.com) = .03 MM

Shick Razors $1.97 (walmart) - $2.00 (SS) = .03 MM

Bic Pens .99 (walmart sale) - $1.00 (SS) = .01 MM

Herbal Essences $1.79 (Smiths) - $1.00 (P&G) = .79 cents

One cat food $7.62 (walmart) - $5.00 (SS) = $2.62

Hopefully this year I can save more this year than last year,

I do want to thank those bloggers I do follow in a quick moment.

I'll try to list them when it isn't so late.

If you want to see what circular the items were in, look at

Hot Coupon World.com and then click on the Coupon

Data Base. That is where I go to look up coupons.

What happened after Thanksgiving?

After Thanksgiving it seemed like time was a blurr. Shortly after Thanksgiving I got the stomach flu for a few days, where nothing seemed like it would settle on my stomach. During that time we were able to put

up our Christmas tree and each day I would decorate alittle more in the house.

Reindeer and pinecone decoration on

my kitchen counter. I bought the reindeer

at Home Goods and the pinecone at Walmart.

Christmas Village displayed on top of my

kitchen cabinet. I don't have any place to

put a Christmas Village so this is the next

best thing, which I really like. It makes it

feel warm and cozy. Scott put them on a

timer for me, then I don't have to get a chair

each night to plug/unplug them in.

Christmas ornaments on my tree

I decided on the outdoor theme (which I have had in previous yrs) this year. It just seemed appropriate since we spent alot of our summer time enjoying our place in Idaho, which we talk alot about still to this day.

The Christmas tree was filled with fishing ornaments, log bird houses,

pinecones and ornaments from our snowmobiling trips to Yellowstone.

I put up my little stuffed black bear hugging a pine tree.

After the week of the stomach flu, the next week I got the flu. Where you get the hot/cold chills, muscle aches etc. That lasted quite a few days also. I had been sick that I hadn't even been christmas shopping and the days till Christmas was approaching fast. I figured I'd just hit it hard one day and get it done, which that is exactly what I did 5 or 6 days later. I couldn't believe I got everyone done except my daughter ...which I finished the next day.

THEN.....

The third week I got the sore throat, croup cough head cold. I couldn't believe it!!! For 3 weeks I had been sick with various cold symptoms. I usually get sick once maybe twice during the whole winter seasons.

I still have been sick this week.

You know when your a mom/wife life goes on even if you are sick.

It is just a fact of life.

Then add the fact that it is Christmas, you certainly can't take a break. You need to clean the house, prepare Christmas (eve) dinner in our case, wrap presents, deliver Christmas presents to family and friends. I just kept plugging along..thinking to myself..when it's all over with you can sleep for days if need be.

Scott helped me clean house and prepare the dinner. Kimberly also helped the night before helping me cut vegetables for the stuffing and potato salad which helped a bunch.

Christmas dinner turned out so good. Everything tasted amazing. We had a small turkey with stuffing, a honey glazed ham which was to die for, frog eyed and potato salad, which was one of the best I had made. We sat at my new dining room table that we had just refinished. We put in the leaf and was able to sit 6 people just right, which I could've never done at my old table.

It was a picture perfect Christmas dinner.

So considering the month of December I was sick for most of it. I still thoroughly enjoyed Christmas. I have so much to be blessed for. A healthy family, a warm cozy home to enjoy the holidays, food on the table,

and most of all "The love and blessing from our heavenly father"

I hope you enjoyed your Christmas also.

Thanksgiving project

So I've been wanting a new dining room table and chairs

for quite sometime but other needs or pleasures have come

before purchasing table and chairs.

Then one day while reading Paula Deen's magazine, I

came across a table and chairs of hers that I fell madly

in love with. She had them out on her porch, which looked

amazing with a buffet, chair and table, all in white. So I

thought I would like to copy that picture perfect porch and

make over our back porch which needs some TLC. We

haven't sat out there for a few years. We do alot of barbequing

during the summer and I thought if we loved the porch we'd

sit out and enjoy the evenings more.

Then unexpectedly one day I stopped in at the Restore to

drop off some items we no longer wanted. Restore is a store

open to the public that takes/sells household items to help

build Habit of Humanity homes. There I found 4 off-white

chairs similar to the Paula Deen chairs I had seen in the

magazine. I purchased them for $60.00. They sat on my

back porch waiting for my TLC for a few months, due

to Labor Day vacation, canning peach jam, other commentments

that kept coming up. Also I had the problem of .....if I paint them

and then come across a table, would I have to paint the table to

match them or repaint the chairs to match the table.

This whole time I had this table and chairs picture in my head

for the back porch. Then it hit me like a light bulb moment,

why don't I fix them for our dining room in our house. It only

made more sense to have a nice table and chairs for the house

before the back porch. . . . duhhh!!

You see our dining room table was purchased in 1978

before me and Scott got married. It was always a nice

table so why replace it...right???

The chairs that we purchased with the table, we replaced

in 1982, with the ones we still used till this day. We paid a

pretty penny for them because they were on wheels and tilted

back for comfort at the mere price of $500.00 a piece back then.

Which seems outragious now but we were both working and making

pretty good wages, plus it was just the 2 of us then.

Scott went out of town with my son-in-law Jon to go elk hunting.

Scott doesn't like to hunt but he went to help Jon in case he got one.

So my plan was to get a few projects done while he was gone, one

of them was to paint the chairs and get them done. The other one

was to place my daughters dresser in her old room on KSL to get

rid of it and clean out her room. It had become my bottomless pit,

it had started to look like I needed to join hoarders anomyous...lol.

Within 20 minutes of placing the ad, I had sold it. I couldn't believe

it, I sold it for $60.00.

Then the next day while brousing our local classified ads KSL

(like Craig's List) I found the table I'd been looking for.

The table had 4 legs, not a pedestal with legs to catch our

feet on. It had chunky big legs not thin legs, I wanted some

thing that stood out and have some character to them. They

only wanted $50.00 for it.. I just knew with that price it would

go fast if it hadn't already been sold. I called a few times with

no answer, I finally left a message stating that I had been looking

for a table just like what they had for sale. It was later that day

when the gentlemen called me back stating if I wanted it I could

have it. I was so over joyed and thanked him several times for it.

So I pictured having this table and chairs done by the time Scott

got home from hunting. That gave me a week to do it all, that

should be no problem right????

I started with the table legs. I sprayed painted them outside

which the weather was pretty good still considering it was the

first week in November.

LEGS

The before and after picture

Landon helping me put the legs on the table. (3 weeks
later) I'll explain later in the story.



Finished leg on the table





Don't you think the chunky legs make


the table?


TABLE

Finished look of the table

Finished side look of table

So during the week Scott was gone, I watched Landon

while Kimberly was at work. Then Friday night I took

off and went to dinner and a movie Footloose. See the

previous story on my fantastic night. So it was just hard

trying to stay focused on getting it done.

The table was to heavy to lift so I knew I'd have to wait

for Scott to come home and help me lift it. So when he

got home we took it outside to spray paint it. When I

started to paint it ...it started to bubble, crack and peel.

UUHHHHH!! So we dragged it in the basement to let

it dry to strip it the next day.

So the next day after Scott got home from work we dragged

it outside and started wire brushing it off because it had

ridges so a sander wouldn't work. We'll we finally got it off

and decided that maybe it was dirty and the paint wouldn't

adhere to it. So I started spray painting it again. The one

half painted great...then the other half started cracking and

peeling AGAIN!!!.. so in the basement it went again to dry

again!

So the next day we tried some spray paint stripper, which

seemed to get most all of it off again. I had went down earlier

that day to Home Depot and got the paint matched. I was

going to paint it on with a brush and a foam roller. I put it

in Kimberly's room on a table, where it was nice and warm

(we think the cold air is what made the reaction to the spray

paint).

It turned out beautifully!!!!



So then I started on the top.

Previously before spray painting the bottom part of the table,

we had sanded all the polyuthane off.

I applied a wood conditioner. It helps the stain look more

evenly not blotchy. I used Minwax, I used it a few years

ago when we done my daughters desk. It done a great job

so I knew it really works.

I just applied it with a lint free cloth.

First coat of minwax PolyShades.

It has the stain and polyurethane together.

I used BOMBAY MAHOGANY GLOSS.

I applied 2 coats of the stain till I got the color

I desired. I applied it and then I went back and

rubbed off the excess till I got a smooth feel

(which is more difficult with the poly in it),

I used fine steel wool to buff out any imperfections,

then I applied another coat again, then rubbing

it evenly smooth again.

I applied it wth a new lint free cloth.

I then applied 3 coats of

HELMSMAN SPAR URETHANE CLEAR GLOSS

using another clean lint free cloth. I also rubbed it

on and then rubbed off excess till even and smooth.

I also let it dry 24 hrs between coats. Then I used

fine steel wool to buff down and smooth out any

imperfections. I didn't buff the final coat.



CHAIRS

Before picture of what the chairs looked like

Chair with the seat removed

Cushion after taking the staples out of it.

Sanded down any grooves or dents.

Kylie, my dog enjoying the nice day watching

mom work hard on the chairs.

The foam on the chairs were really worn out, so I

went to JoAnn's and bought High Density foam.

Traced out outline of the old cushion onto

the new foam using a medium sharpie. I

also number the cushions with the boards to

keep them straight also.

In the process of putting on the material on the

new foam I noticed the green color underneath

showing through because of the light colored material.

So I went to Walmart and bought some Pellon to put

between the material and cushion. It worked great,

the green color didn't show through plus it added some

padding to make it a softer cushion.

I layed down my outside material on the table facing

down, then I put down the cut out pellon (previously

I put down the pellon, then the cushion, then the board,

then cut enough to bring up to the board to staple to

the bottom of the board..so the green wouldn't show

through the sides) then the green cushion, then the

board.

Then I stapled the material and pellon to the board.

Trimming any excess off. I used a Dewalt hand stapler,

with 1/4 inch staples 6 mm thick.

I cut slits in the pellon and cut out excess pellon to give

it a smoother look in the corners.

Then we screwed the cushion to the chair.

The finished look of the chairs.

Like my other project in the background....need to

finish painting the baseboard in the front room.

So the table and chairs ended up costing me $158.00

Chairs 60.00

Table 50.00

Material 30.00

Paint & Stain 65.00

Batting 13.00

Total $218.00

Subtract money from dresser I sold 60.00 =

$158.00

So I had picture getting the table and chairs done

before Scott got home. Which was unreasonable,

I didn't realize how much work it would take to

get it done. This was my first attempt at making

over furniture. I then made it a goal of getting it

done by Thanksgiving. Which it probably would've

been done by....except...

• painting and stripping the table twice




• unstapling the material to one chair to add pellon so it wouldn't show the green cushion through




• finding the staples that would staple and not have to hammer them in

I want to thank my husband for the patience and tolerance of putting up with the house a mess with chairs, foam, material, tools etc for days. Hours of helping me sand and stripping the table. Putting up with all the frustrating moments that came up. Mostly putting up with my wild ideas that make work for him, which he put aside his own projects to help me with.

In the end we had a wonderful Thanksgiving on our new dining room table. I

am blessed to have a wonderful husband, family and friends that make my life special.