Queen & Co is Going Green

Take a look at what Queen & Co. has come up with for this year. They now have coordinated bulk embellishments in a single container. They come in different themes, so just pick your theme and off you go. I think that might revolutionize packaging for some of these companies that have more package than product. It's a great idea.

I Survived

Since my last post (you know when I told you about getting pneumonia?) I have had a survival experience. Because of my inactivity during the pneumonia and some hormones I was taking, I developed pulmonary embolisms in both lungs. Those are blood clots. They are life threatening. I had no idea they were there. All I know is that it was hurting more and more to breathe and my doctor told me the day before that if it got worse to go to the emergency room. It got worse.

When DH got home from work on Thursday he took one look at me and the grimace of pain I had trying to move or breathe and he said let's go. They did x-rays and a CT scan and discovered, what one doctor later described, impressive blood clots. I asked him if he was surprised then that I was able to walk into the ER, he said we get about six cases a year like yours and half of them don't walk out. Praise God for miracles!

So I went into the hospital on Thursday evening and got home yesterday afternoon. I'm on blood thinners now for the next six months. This morning I even gave myself an injection. That's only for a few days, but the home health care nurse came by to help get started. One came last night and gave me the injection, but I figured it would be easier on everyone if I could just do it myself.

Some of you knew what was going on and I want to send a special thank you to each of you lovely friends who have been praying for me. Your prayers are being answered and I am most grateful, as are my husband and sons. I will happily pray for your special needs any time you need, also. Although I do pray for my friends regularly anyway.

What's Been Up?

Six weeks. A lot has happened since Thanksgiving. Here's a rundown:

• My truck was broken into and my external hard drive was stolen, which had all my pictures from the last five years on it.
• We had 19 people for Thanksgiving dinner at my brother and SIL's home, including DH's family from Pittsburgh. My niece and nephew (not related to each other) got to meet for the first time.
• Our church choir's Christmas Cantata was absolutely beautiful and we had the help of our choir director's high school choir and orchestra students to really make it spectacular.
• We had Christmas day at home with just the four of us for the first time. It was the first time in the 27 years we've been married that we didn't have someplace to be on Christmas day.
• New Year's Eve was totally uneventful, except for the fireworks being exploded on the street behind our house despite the total ban on fireworks in the city and county due to drought.
• Jan 2 I was diagnosed with pneumonia, so I spent a whole week in bed. I'm still recovering from that.
• Jericho, one of the cats, got out and got into a fight, which of course resulted in an abscess, which necessitated putting the Elizabethan collar on him, which resulted in him laying on me all week. Normally he'll lay next to me, but I guess that was his way of protesting the collar.
  
• I went back to work yesterday and when I got home I was totally exhausted. And Jericho slept on me last night.

I have been trying to get photos to rebuild my library, but every once in a while, I'll see something and remember that I had a similar photo that is now lost. I'll leave you with pictures of my precious niece and nephew from Thanksgiving.

I'm a Marilyn

I saw this quiz on Ginni's blog and took it on a whim. I was bit surprised at the results. Who are you most like?

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Be direct and clear
• * Listen to me carefully
• * Don't judge me for my anxiety
• * Work things through with me
• * Reassure me that everything is OK between us
• * Laugh and make jokes with me
• * Gently push me toward new experiences
• * Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn

• * being committed and faithful to family and friends
• * being responsible and hardworking
• * being compassionate toward others
• * having intellect and wit
• * being a nonconformist
• * confronting danger bravely
• * being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn

• * the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
• * procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
• * fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
• * exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
• * wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
• * being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often

• * are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
• * are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
• * form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
• * look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
• * are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

• * are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
• * are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
• * worry more than most that their children will get hurt
• * sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

The Top 100 Songs of 1980

I saw this on Cori's blog and thought that this would be a really cool one to do. Thanks, Cori!

Since Blogger doesn't have strikethrough, anything that's not bolded I either don't like or don't care about. You can be sure that most of the disco-style music from 1980 would be on the "I really hate that song" list.

The Rules:

A.) Go to Music Outfitters.

B.) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year (the top link).

C.) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you REALLY hate.

1. Call Me, Blondie
2. Another Brick In The Wall, Pink Floyd
3. Magic, Olivia Newton-John
4. Rock With You, Michael Jackson
5. Do That To Me One More Time, Captain and Tennille
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen
7. Coming Up, Paul McCartney
8. Funkytown, Lipps, Inc.
9. It's Still Rock And Roll To Me, Billy Joel
10. The Rose, Bette Midler
11. Escape (The Pina Colada Song), Rupert Holmes
12. Cars, Gary Numan
13. Cruisin', Smokey Robinson
14. Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me Girl, Spinners
15. Lost In Love, Air Supply
16. Little Jeannie, Elton John
17. Ride Like The Wind, Cristopher Cross
18. Upside Down, Diana Ross
19. Please Don't Go, K.C. and The Sunshine Band
20. Babe, Styx
21. With You I'm Born Again, Billy Preston and Syreeta
22. Shining Star, Manhattans
23. Still, Commodores
24. Yes, I'm Ready, Teri De Sario With K.C.
25. Sexy Eyes, Dr. Hook
26. Steal Away, Robbie Dupree
27. Biggest Part Of Me, Ambrosia
28. This Is It, Kenny Loggins
29. Cupid-I've Loved You For A Long Time, Spinners
30. Let's Get Serious, Jermaine Jackson
31. Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer, Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes
32. Sailing, Christopher Cross
33. Longer, Dan Fogelberg
34. Coward Of The County, Kenny Rogers
35. Ladies Night, Kool and The Gang
36. Take Your Time, S.O.S. Band
37. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough), Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer
38. Too Hot, Kool and The Gang
39. More Love, Kim Carnes
40. Pop Muzik, M
41. Brass In Pocket, Pretenders
42. Special Lady, Ray, Goodman and Brown
43. Send One Your Love, Stevie Wonder
44. The Second Time Around, Shalamar
45. We Don't Talk Anymore, Cliff Richard
46. Stomp - Brothers Johnson
47. Heartache Tonight, Eagles
48. Stomp, Brothers Johnson
49. Tired Of Toein' The Line, Rocky Burnette
50. Better Love Next Time, Dr. Hook
51. Him, Rupert Holmes
52. Against The Wind, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
53. On The Radio, Donna Summer
54. Emotional Rescue, Rolling Stones
55. Rise, Herb Alpert
56. All Out Of Love, Air Supply
57. Cool Change, Little River Band
58. You're Only Lonely, J.D. Souther
59. Desire, Andy Gibb
60. Let My Love Open The Door, Pete Townshend
61. Daydream Believer, Anne Murray
62. I Can't Tell You Why, Eagles
63. Don't Let Go, Isaac Hayes
64. Don't Do Me Like That, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
65. She's Out Of My Life, Michael Jackson
66. Fame, Irene Cara
67. Fire Lake, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
68. How Do I Make You, Linda Ronstadt
69. Into The Night, Benny Mardones
70. Let Me Love You Tonight, Pure Prairie League
71. Misunderstanding, Genesis
72. An American Dream, Dirt Band
73. One Fine Day, Carole King
74. Dim All The Lights, Donna Summer
75. You May Be Right, Billy Joel
76. Hurt So Bad, Linda Ronstadt
77. Should've Never Let You Go, Neil Sedaka and Dara Sedaka
78. Pilot Of The Airwaves, Charlie Dore
79. Off The Wall, Michael Jackson
80. I Pledge My Love, Peaches and Herb
81. The Long Run, Eagles
82. Stand By Me, Mickey Gilley
83. Heartbreaker, Pat Benatar
84. Deja Vu, Dionne Warwick
85. Drivin' My Life Away, Eddie Rabbitt
86. Take The Long Way Home, Supertramp
87. Sara, Fleetwood Mac
88. Wait For Me, Daryl Hall and John Oates
89. Jo Jo, Boz Scaggs
90. September Morn, Neil Diamond
91. Give Me The Night, George Benson
92. Broken Hearted Me, Anne Murray
93. You Decorated My Life, Kenny Rogers
94. Tusk, Fleetwood Mac
95. I Wanna Be Your Lover, Prince
96. In America, Charlie Daniels Band
97. Breakdown Dead Ahead, Boz Scaggs
98. Ships, Barry Manilow
99. All Night Long, Joe Walsh
100. Refugee, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

How Fast Can You Type?

I got this from Pam's blog:

79 words

Speedtest

And The Winner Is...

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last blog entry. There are some really great suggestions and I've already done my shopping for the stuff I'm going to use for the layout of the photo. I'll be going to a scrapbook retreat this weekend and I've already got all my stuff packed. When I return, I'll post a picture of the layout itself.

And without any further ado, let me announce who won the drawing. I took all the names from the comments (one per person), put them into a bag and had one of my trusty co-workers draw the lucky slip of paper. The winner of a handmade (by me) mini-album is...


Ginni G! Congratulations, Ginni! I'll get it right out to you when I get back from my weekend.