"The Hangman's Daughter" and "The Dark Monk"

I am a Bzzagent and have been reading "The Hangman's Daughter"  and "The Dark Monk" by Oliver Pötzsch.  

I just want to say that both of these books are riveting and I can barely put them down to do the things in life that need to be done!  I can only hope that everyone will buy these two books and read them as well.

What I been up to

I have my garden going for the year now.  I have lettuce, spinach, broccoli, sweet banana peppers and zucchini in the raised bed.  (I also have a green pepper plant but the frost got it and all leaves died.  Not sure if it will make it or not, but waiting to see.)  I also have 6 tomato plants in pots.  I have 4 Cherokee Purples, 2 Pink Brandywines, 2 yellow tomato plants, 1 Mr. Stripey, and 1 Homestead.  All tomato plants are heirloom varieties as I like them best.

Last weekend I went to the local farmer's market and bought the Cherokee Purples for only .40 each as well as some sweet potatoes and a big bucket of strawberries.  I canned 10 half-pints of strawberry jam out of those strawberries.

Friday I stopped at Aldi and bought 2 big corned beef briskets.  I have canned them up am getting 4 quarts of corned beef.  No spices in the jars as I may want to make corned beef hash or something and want to be able to have that option.

Didn't make it to the farmer's market this weekend.  Oh well.  It was rainy and I didn't want the grandkids soaking wet.  Maybe next weekend...

Been a while...

Well it has been quite a long time since I lost posted on here!  I have been so busy and life has really gotten in the way of much of anything.

I was spending a lot of my time couponing and stockpiling items last year.  Not so much this year, though.  I am pretty well stocked up so I have slowed down on the stocking up of items.  Now it is just the basic items that one needs to pick up every so often.

I was in a car accident back in November that totaled our only vehicle.  We ended up having to buy another one through E-Z Way Auto Sales.  Then the end of December some bimbo let her car roll into the foundation of our house and now it looks as though we are going to have to take her to court.

I have been teaching my oldest daughter how to coupon the past couple week.  I think she will get the hang of pretty quick.  I am only trying to teach her one store at a time though so as not to overwhelm her.  After she get the gist of the grocery store, I will teach her CVS. :)

I have also started making a few YouTube videos.  So far they have only been video responses, but I am considering expanding that to what is happening in my kitchen and garden.  It would be a way to make a little extra money and if I can expand my subscribers, I could make enough to pay the mortgage each month.  Just a thought...

Oh, and I adopted a blind cat.  he gets around the house pretty well, so I don't have to worry too much about him.  I had him fixed first thing so he wouldn't spray the house!  My old cat seems to have taken to him as well as the dogs.  Well, at least by one dog.  One tolerates him, the other wants to play with him non-stop.

I am still driving school bus and hubby is still driving long-haul.  Not much has changed there.

I am in the process of learning how to knit.  I can cast-on, do the basic stitch, and cast-off.  So far I have made three scarves, one for each of the grandkids and one for my oldest daughter.  I have started one for my youngest daughter.

I am also trying to study to upgrade my Ham license from a Technician to a General.  That is going to be tough on me because I don't understand math very well.  It gets rather confusing once it gets out of basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division!  The rest is Greek to me.  LOL

Happy Vetern's Day

I want to wish all the veteran's out there a Happy Veteran's Day and thank you for all you have done for our freedom and safety.  Thank you to all who are serving right now, and a super big thanks to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.  You will never be forgotten.  I may not know you personally, nor your name, rank, etc., but I thank you.

Todays CVS haul

I went to CVS first thing this morning.  I had to wait for like 15 minutes for them to open up, but that is okay by me.  :)

I bought:

3 Stride Spark gums $1.00 each
2 Wet & Wild nailpolishes (on clearance)  .99 each
1 Irish Spring Bodywash $2.99
1 Colgate Total toothpaste $2.79
1 Sally Hansen Instant Dry nailpolish $5.49
1 Hershey's Bliss candy $5.99

Subtotal: 22.24 (I had already saved $6.17 because of sale prices at this point by using my store card)

Coupons used:

$5 ECB
$4 ECB
$1/1 Hershey's Bliss
$1/1 CVS coupon for Irish Spring
$1/1 CVS coupon for Colgate
$1/1 Colgate
30% off CVS coupon
$1/3 Stride gum

New Subtotal: $5.83
Total OOP: $6.67
Total savings after coupons and sale: $22.58

I also got back:
$5.99 ECB from Bliss
$2.00 ECB from Sally Hansen
$2.00 ECB from Irish Spring
$2.00 ECB from Coglate
$1.00 ECB from green bag tag usage

I will have to go back to CVS on Wednesday after the truck delivers on Tuesday to get the Schick Hydro 5 cartridge refills for BOGO because they were out and the People Style Watch and People magazines.  (They were out of Style Watch and don't give rainchecks for them, although I did get the raincheck for the cartridges just in case!).  I will get a $2 ECB when I buy both magazines.  Basically, I will be getting my refill cratridges for free thanks to the ECBs and still have some ECBs left over. :)

My Walmart Haul yesterday evening

Okay.  So I needed to go by bread and Walmart has the cheapest price on the kinds I will actually eat.  I also had some wonderful $1/1 NYC coupons (seven of them to be exact) and one $5/$10 NYC purchase.

So the breakdown of this trips is as follows:

Bread $2.88
Renuzit Crystal Refill (clearance) $2
Renuzit Crystal Refill (clearance) $2
NYC Brow liner $1.86
NYC Brow liner $1.86
NYC nailpolish $1.72
NYC nailpolish $1.72
NYC mascara $3.57
Tic Tacs $1.04
Tic Tacs $1.04

Subtotal: $19.69

Coupons used:
2  of the .75/1 Tic Tac
5 $1/$1.72 NYC purchase
$5/$10 NYC purchase
2 of the $3/1 18 oz Renuzit Crystals (making them each $1 MM toward rest of purchase)

New subtotal: $2.19
OOP: $3.55

Wow. It has been a while but I am couponing now.

Here I am.  Back again.  It has been a long time since I last posted anything on my blog!  So what I have I been up too?  Couponing.  What?  Yep.  Couponing.  My hubby and I are in a bad financial way and so couponing has become a way of life for me.

I use coupons at Bi-Lo so I can take advantage of their double coupons and fuelperks program.  I coupon at Food Lion, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Target (when I am in the town it is in), and anywhere else that takes coupons!  I am getting good at it, but I am ready to learn more.  I have entered a contest on youtube and am hoping and praying that I am one of the winners.  I would love to learn how one lady does her couponing and finds the best deals.  She was on TLC's "Extreme Couponing" and is a master couponer.

I haunt all the blogs, forums, coupon websites, store websites, etc. for the best deals and freebies.  I price match at Walmart.  I do separate transactions at CVS and Rite Aid to save money using ECBs and Up Rewards.  (No Walgreens nearby unless I drive two towns over.)  I have the local paper on Sunday delivered to the house and then walk to the "corner store" and try and buy a Charlotte Observer for even more coupons.  I have friends who save their coupons for me.  I trade coupons with my best friend.  I save coupons for my oldest daughter and another friend.  I send coupons to my mom.  I would even be willing to teach a coupon class and show others how to use coupons and get some great savings.

I look for clearance items that I can pair a coupon with for even greater savings along with stacking coupons on other sales.  I have become quite adept at stockpiling.  It is almost and addiction with me now.  I find I "need" to go that free item even if I can't use it because I know that I can donate to the school I drive bus at because there are kids there who need a leg up and need to know that someone cares enough to see that their basic needs are met when the parents can't.  I can't stockpile too much because I just don't have the room for it, but I like knowing that I don't have to go out and buy toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, toilet paper, paper towels, bodywash, etc. for a while.  I am able to save money by not buying those items for at least 6 months to a year.

Oh yeah.  And lets not forget about the first aid supplies.  Bandaids galore, a brand new first aid kit, Bayer aspirin (five for free and one which I had to .25 for), and a few other things.  I have stocked my oldest daughter up with the first aid kit and a few other things that kids always have need of!

I even have a small food stockpile.  Nothing too major, but it is enough to last me through the summer on most things, maybe even longer on others.  (Two bottles of ketchup, two bottles of mustard, and about 6 bottles of bbq sauce will last me a very long time!!)

My husband has not yet seen my stockpile as he has been out on the road for several weeks now.  He saw it before, but it has grown since then. :)  Go figure.  Of course, part of my stockpile is things my hubby has brought home that was damaged goods (even though nothing is wrong with it).  Okay, so a box got squished a little bit and a company decided they couldn't sell the toilet paper.  Well by golly, I will use it.  So the roll is a bit lopsided.  Do I look like I care?  I am going to wipe my but with it.  I don't care if it is squished or not.  Oops.  One bottle of pine cleaner broke open?  The other bottles are just fine and dandy.  Reject!  Not by me.  I will take all I can get.  After all, there is an old saying, If it is free, it's for me.  I will use it and share it.  I have no qualms with that.

Handmade Christmas next year

Hubby and I went out to my best friend's house  today so he could exchange gifts with them as he won't be home for Christmas.  (He will be driving to California with a load.)  Hubby and I will exchange gifts tomorrow as he has to go and buy mine tomorrow.  I will celebrate Christmas with my best friend's family on Christmas day.

Anyways, Karen (my best friend) and I got to talking today.  We have decided that we are going to teach both of our families the true meaning of Christmas and that it doesn't involve store bought stuff.  At all!  With  the exception of stocking stuffers that is.  Then I told her we needed to make each of the "kids", both grown and not grown, stockings and fill them with fruit and nuts just like in the "old days".  We will have to buy the fruit and nuts as my pecan trees will not produce very many pecans next year.

I think that we are going to spend at least one day a week together and sew.  It doesn't matter what we are sewing so long as it is for the "kids".  We are thinking of making purses, lounging pants, place mats, napkins, potholders, quilts, tablecloths, aprons, tops, pajamas, and stuffed animals.  I can make beaded things like ornaments, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.  I even have a basement full of old discarded wood so we could make doll houses (with the help of both of our husbands and her dad with his tools as I don't have enough of the right tools), bird houses, etc.

I have patterns for many of the items that we can sew and Karen has a ton of patterns, too.  I even have some stuff that I have bought here and there to use a patterns, such a single place mat that I found at a thrift store that was cute, and some other stuff that we can use.  Plus I can go online and find a ton of patterns for things other sewing.

The only thing I can think of that we may have to buy would be thread.  Granted, I bought a ton of thread when Hancock Fabrics went out of business here in town, but it is all funky colors.  We will end up needing the basic colors, white, black, blue, red, green.  Unless, of course, we want to just go wild with the colors! LOL

I have a huge chest-on-chest that is overflowing with fabric, bolts of fabric laying around, and even some old sheets that have thin places but loads of usable fabric still on them.  I even have three or four bags of upholstery fabric remnants out in the shed that we can use for purses or whatever we decide to make.  I got them for free on freecycle and gave away well over half of what I got and still have that much left!  Plus, I can advertise on freecycle for more craft materials of all kinds if we see we are running low on anything.

If anyone has any ideas or patterns that they can share with me and Karen, we would greatly appreciate it.  I think I will start making some more beaded bells for everyone in both families.  I enjoy making the Christmas ornaments with beads.  I think I like doing the beading better than sewing, but I still like to sew.

My weight loss so far

Well, I haven't been keep tracking of things on here too well, have I? I get so busy with life that I forget about my poor little blog.

Anyways, I am down a total of 70 pounds! I am so excited. I am over halfway to my to my goal weight! Only 64 more pounds to go. :)

I am actually ahead on all my Christmas stuff so far. I have almost everything bought (I need to buy one more gift for my best friend's husband). I have mailed out all the Christmas cards with the exception of my mother-in-law's because I have to mail her gift as well. I even have all of my gifts wrapped! They are hidden away in my closet ready for Christmas morning.

The only thing I really have to do for Christmas dinner is to make an apple pie and a peach pie to take to my best friend's house. That is pretty easy to do as I made the pie filling this summer when I was doing all my canning.

Thanksgiving was great!

I had a very  nice Thanksgiving this year. Tracy was home to enjoy it with me. We went to Karen and Wayne's for dinner. I brought the homemade apple pie and some rolls. We all ate turkey, ham, mashed potatoes (I ate the ones with the mashed rutabagas! Yummy!), green beans, stuffing, rolls, pumpkin pie, different breads, etc. We were all stuffed.

Friday, my youngest daughter and her boyfriend got into town. He is so sweet and nice. I hope this relationship is the one for her. Fingers crossed!

Anyways, they are up here for a week and we have lots to do. I  still have to drive the school bus for 2 days next week, as her sister is taking Monday and Tuesday off to spend with her, and I am taking Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to be with her. I know we have to make a trip to Concord Mills Mall so her boyfriend can go to the Bass Pro Shop.

My Avon business is slowly taking off. I have a few new customers and a few regulars now. I just wish I could get a few more. I have finally gotten a couple of my friends to actually place orders online at my website. If want to order from me, my website can be found here: www.youravon.com/mwilson5623

We have a special deal going on right on. You can buy the brand new Flip Camera for only $89!! That is an awesome deal. I am so excited by this deal. I already bought mine and I love it. It is so easy to use and I can upload the videos directly to Facebook, email, etc. I carry it with me all the time because it is so cool.

I am selling AVON now!

I have decided that I really need to make some extra money. AVON seemed the way to go. I started selling about a month ago, and so far I am doing okay. I am really trying to drum up some business for my online store. If you want to order anything from AVON, please visit www.youravon.com/mwilson5623

Right now you can get free shipping on any $30 order. There are some great deals coming up so be sure to check back often! And just remember, AVON makes great Christmas gifts!

Today was the first day of school...again...

Today was the first day of school here in Burke County. My bus route seemed to go off without a hitch. I have a bunch of kids who didn't ride this morning, so it should be interesting this afternoon. I am praying that our new assistant principal doesn't try to "shoe horn" the kids onto one load like the one we had last year!

There are still roads I can't go down, so I am just praying that the parents are too mad about their kids having to walk to the ends of streets, or home from the bus stop. The elementary bus driver was telling me about some of the "troublemakers" I will be getting, so I am preparing the first seats for them! Gotta love those "seats of shame"! :)

I normally only have trouble of the boys, but now I have three new cameras on my bus this year. No one will be able to get away with anything! Which is a good thing. I have started on my seating chart so I will be able to get to know each kid and where they sit. I have a couple of pieces of paper to hand out, and they will have to turn one in to me, and I am not really worried about the other because it should really be passed out by the teachers with the other paperwork that gets sent home on the first day. But then again, some of the info will be helpful in making my seating chart when it comes to medical problems.

I have baked lemon bars and raspberry bars this morning as well. I still have to bake some devil's food cakes tomorrow, too. Although, I might just bake these tonight so I can drop them off at the church tomorrow after WI. These will go in a bake sale at a yard sale for S.M.A.R.T. (Supplies, Materials, And Resources for Teachers) here in Burke County. All the proceeds will be used to buy school supplies for the teachers at all the schools. I only wish I could do more. I did donate three Explorer loads of stuff to the yard sale, made signs, and am doing the baking for the sale. I don't mind doing the baking, although there is a major weakness when it comes to lemon or raspberry anything!! I just keep reminding myself that the Points are just not worth it. Plus, they are just box mixes, so it isn't like I could actually rework a recipe to lower the Points.

When I get off work this evening, I have to rush over to my granddaughter's school and pick her up. My son-in-law works some crazy long hours at times being in the heating and air business and my daughter is back in school taking a phlebotomy class two days a week in the evening. In October and November, that will be a four day a week ordeal while she is taking two classes. I don't really mind though. I just hate the traffic near the local Walmart because it is always heavy between 3 pm until about 6 pm. I guess Walmart is the place to be! LOL

I am praying my granddaughter doesn't need anything extra for 1st grade other than what she took in at Open House. If she does, I guess I will be making a trip to Walmart or Staples to fill in the gaps. I bet she will have homework that I will have to make her do. It seems like that the is the first thing teachers do anymore, load the kids up with a ton of homework from day one.

Spent most of my day in the kitchen...

I spent most of my day in the kitchen today. I started first thing by canning 4 quarts of tomatoes.That meant washing the tomatoes, cutting an X in the bottom of them, cutting out the cores, dropping them in boiling water for about 30 seconds or so before putting them ice water and peeling them. Then I cut them up and put them in the jars and processed them.

Once those were done, I got started on my 3 pecks of apples I bought at the farmer's market Saturday. I had bought a peck each of Gala, Ginger Gold and Honeycrisp. I peeled and sliced enough to fill 6 quarts while making a thick sauce for them. I then added the sauce and processed them making 6 quarts of apple pie filling.

The rest of the apples went into my crockpot and a big stock pot and got cooked until they were nice and soft. I then put them in my food processor and processed them until there were only a few lumps. I managed to get 8 1/2 quarts of applesauce but I only processed 7 of them. The other 1 1/2 quarts I put in the fridge for use this week. (My hubby took the other quart from last week that I had in there out on the road with him!)
My back actually hurts from all that standing and peeling of apples. I had so many peelings and cores that I had to make 2 trips the compost bin with them all! LOL I am just glad that the grand kids were not here today because they like to be underfoot and it would have been impossible for me to get all the canning done. But I miss them at the same time. I am not sure what day they will back from their other grandma's house, but I am going to enjoy the peace and quiet while I can because school starts back next week and I will be surrounded by 80 +/- kids twice a day.

This is going to be a busy week for me anyways. Wednesday is my dentist appointment, Thursday is Weight Watchers and I also have a hair appointment right after my WW meeting. And supposedly my daughter is going to take me for a pedicure Saturday because I have lost 51.4 pounds since March. (That is when I joined Weight Watchers.) Oh yeah, and one day after my best friend gets off work, we are going to make a run to Hickory to A.C. Moore, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby to try and find goodies for her son's wedding. We are trying to help her soon-to-be daughter-in-law get everything ready. I am not sure if I will be able to attend the wedding because it is on the same day as my grandson's birthday. Everything is rather up in the air right now. I don't even have an outfit that I can wear if I do get to go to the wedding.

Wow. I think I need a vacation from my summer vacation! LOL

What a crazy day...

Today was the day I expected it to be. I was informed first thing this morning that my son-in-law was going to be at my house within 30 minutes to pick up the lawn mower so he could mow his parents yard. Needless to say, I quickly mowed my front yard so it would be done even though the grass was wet from yesterday’s rain. (I did take the mulcher out so it wouldn’t get clogged up. I was supposed to go to my best friend’s house and help her can pears and make our apple butter, but he didn’t get back in time. But he did mow the rest of my yard for me. :) For that I am thankful.

Since I wasn’t going to my best friend’s house, I ended up freezing another gallon bag of okra and canning 4 quarts of tomatoes. I guess I will work on the apples tomorrow. I will not be babysitting my grand kids, but I think I will have another friend’s kids, but they will just stay in the spare room watching movies.

Canned Okra, Corn and tomatoes

I went this morning to the farmers market and bought a bunch of okra and tomatoes. I also bought a 1/2 bushel of apples, 3 bars of homemade soap (1 lavender and 2 lilac) and a loaf of cranberry walnut bread (organic of course).

I canned 7 quarts of the okra/corn/tomato mixture. Only 1 didn’t seal and lost its liquid. I am not sure what happened to it, so I will be taking it with my tonight to my best friend’s house for our dinner since she and I are cooking. It will be a surprise for her husband! She also gets 1 of the lilac soaps.

I froze the rest of the okra in a gallon baggie for future use. I will deal with canning the rest of the tomatoes and making apple butter tomorrow. I also want to stock up on some bananas the next time they go on sale really cheap. I found a recipe for banana butter (which of course I can’t find today) on one of the frugal living type websites. I knew I should have copy and pasted that particular recipe last night but I was too tired and ready for bed. Oh well. That’s life. LOL

I will be canning the rest of my pears tonight while at my best friend’s house as well. My pantry is really starting to look good! It excites me to know that everything I canned I did all by myself. I have truly become a “country girl” in this aspect. :)

Morgan freeman solves the race problem.

Feeling tired today...

I am  not sure why I feel so tired today. Maybe it is because I went to bed at a decent hour and got up late after getting to sleep in! I have been doing a lot here lately, too.

I have cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom and been working on the kitchen. I have cleaned the oven and stove completely. Cleaned off the tiny countertop and rearranged the few items on it, cleaned the washer and dryer so they look white again. I even took the curtains down, washed them, ironed them and put them away. I put up the new curtains I bought so the kitchen has a different look. I went so far as to take down the mini-blinds over the kitchen sink (the window behind the stove and dryer doesn't have one) and soaked it in the tub with some Dawn dish detergent. Then I scrubbed the heck out of them and hung them back up to dry. They look so much better now! I still need to move the washer, dryer, stove, fridge, etc. to scrub down the walls, but they way things are hooked up, I don't dare. I will probably wait until we can afford to paint to do that.

Now I am looking around the rest of the house at all the boxes and totes sitting around thinking I really ought to go through them all and start putting things together for a yard sale. But that sounds like an overwhelming chore! I do have one tote started of yard sale stuff, but it isn't full yet, only halfway. I do relish the the thought of having a yard sale by myself. Too much work to keep up with people coming and going and to make sure I am not being ripped off. I told my hubby that S.M.A.R.T. (Supplies, Materials, And Resources for Teachers) is having their second annual yard sale next month and that I think I am just going to give them everything to sell. We can take a tax write-off because one of the local churches is who actually deals with it. They will take all the proceeds from the yard sale and and buy school supplies for teachers and kids in our county. It was a big hit last year, so I am praying that it goes as well this year. I am not sure how much work I will be able to do for them because of the grand kids, but I will do whatever little bit I can. I will deliver supplies to the school I work for, and perhaps help to separate out the supplies after they are bought and/or donated. I can't afford to go buy anything this year for them because I don't even have the money to pay my house payment. :(
It is not helping that I have to pay to be a member of Weight Watcher's right now, but since it is actually helping me to lose the weight, I think the $39.95 a month I am paying is well worth it. The $20 for the gym membership is not right now. Simply because of babysitting and the gym doesn't offer daycare during the summer months. Which is really stupid. Who needs daycare when school is in session? Like hello!! Once school starts back, I will be able to go to the gym every day if I want. And most likely will so long as it is not Thursday morning which is when my weigh-in is. And I don't want to do anything to weigh more! LOL I am losing and want to keep that trend going. After all, as of last Thursday, I had lost 44.6 pounds since April.

I can't believe how good I feel. I also can't believe how much 44 pounds is! We stopped at Sam's Club Thursday or Friday after I picked up hubby, and I needed to buy some cat litter while there. They had my brand in a 42 pound bag. I could barely pick it up! And to think I was carrying that around on my body plus 2.6 pounds! I was shocked to say the least! I know my poor body is happy to be rid of that much excess weight, but it still has a ways to go. Like about 86 more pounds, give or take.

Well, Dr. Oz is on, so I am out of here!

Okay, I am bad about keeping up with my blog, but...

I have had a ton going on. I have a small garden and grand kids to keep up with. Summer tends to keep me busy.

My poor little garden is full of tomatoes which I am hoping will produce a lot so I can them. I have been canning green beans, beets, carrots, peaches, zucchini, squash, and made peach butter.

Lets see, 6 pints of carrots, 7 pints of beets so far (I will be buying about a half bushel next Saturday to can), 9 quarts and 21 pints of green beans, 4 quarts of zucchini, 2 quarts of pattypan squash, and 2 quarts of mixed squash. Then I made 3 pints and 9 jelly jars of peach butter, canned 9 pints of peaches, and then got the bright idea to use up all my blueberries. I made 4 pints of blueberry freezer jam. I ran out of blueberries and had to substitute a cup of strawberries but it is still quite tasty!

That is not counting all the canning I have helped my best friend do. Beans, beets, carrots, zucchini, peaches and peach butter for her.

I am freezing okra for me and hubby. I won't get much out of my garden, but my best friend's husband has a bunch of plants in his! :) I also froze some corn on the cob I bought at the local farmer's market. Super sweet stuff and boy is it yummy. I froze strawberries earlier this spring and pulled out one bag for the jam and the grand kids to eat.

This is the book that I used to get my peach butter recipe from. It is so good and I substituted Splenda for the sugar in the recipe.

Got some canning done today...

Today I went to the farmer’s market again. We have had so little rain that it was rather slim pickins. I did buy all the beets again, and it was enough to can 4 pints. He is supposed to have a half bushel for me next week. I am the only one who eats beets in my family, so I will gladly can them and eat them myself! I am not a big fan of pickled beets.

I also bought two of the small round white with purple stripes eggplants. I plan to roast them for dinner one night. I also got three tomatoes for slicing, although I may roast them as well.

I have picked 4 zucchini out of my garden. I may can them, or I may steam them. I haven’t decided yet. Depends on what I am in the mood for in a day or so.

I am having to really watch the weather. It is getting somewhat rainy and I may have to figure out how to keep my pumpkins from rotting on the bottom. I have been told to use coffee cans and put the pumpkins on them, but I don’t drink a lot of coffee so I don’t have any cans. Any suggestions?

I lost some more weight!

I lost more weight this past week. I am down another 1.6 pounds for a total weight loss of 37.8 pounds. My clothes are all too big and the next smaller size is too small. My rings are turning freely on my fingers, too.

I no longer have to crawl over to the couch for support to get up off the floor. I am feeling so much better about myself. I still have along way to go though.


I wish I had more Weight Watcher's cookbook, but I am trying to take ome of my favorite recipes and redo them using www.weightwatchers.com.