Celebrate The Small Things -- March 31

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of Viklit, Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

Today I'm celebrating...

• I recently found a discontinued nail polish that I have been in search of for more than a year now. I was beyond excited to stumble across it in my local Walgreens. It really is the little things that make me happy. (Edit to add: if anyone has this polish, Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, and it's collecting dust in your house, I will happily take it off your hands!)

• Last week my husband asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. There is a Pilgrim Virgin statue of Fatima that has been making its way around the U.S. Last week it was visiting my diocese, so for my birthday my husband took me to the next county over to attend mass at the parish that was hosting it for the night. It was a Korean Catholic parish, and the entire mass was said in Korean. But the cool thing about Catholic mass (yes, I just described mass as cool) is that it's the same no matter where you are, or what language it's in. So while we didn't understand a word that was spoken, we were able to follow along. It really was an amazing experience! For more information on the Pilgrim statue click here.

• My puppy and best friend, Emmie. I just love her to pieces. Last week we celebrated her 2nd "Gotcha Day" with us. March, with it's temperature swings, has been rough on my body. Emmie keeps me company on my bad flare up days, and always manages to put a smile on my face to cheer me up.

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit her awesome co-hosts:   LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker @Kidbits Blog

I have an instagram! If anyone is looking for more pictures of Emmie, head on over there and give me a follow @thecyborgmom

Celebrate The Small Things -- Dec 9

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of Viklit, Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

Today I'm celebrating...

• I started using a new medicine last week, in hopes of controlling the nerve pain from my occipital neuralgia (click here for more information on what this is and why I have it). I'm happy to say, so far, so good! I still have pain, but the medicine puts a good dent in it.

• I made my first body butter in two years! My aging skin (boo...hiss...) had started to really dry out a few years ago, so I started making my own soaps, in hopes of healing and moisturizing my skin (click here to see some cool soaps I made). I also started on the path of lotions and body butters. As soon as I started getting into the swing of things, I had a very bad arthritis flare up in my thumb (click here to see my very helpful thumb brace) and had to stop my new diy adventures for a while. I lost momentum and here we are two years later. But I am happy to report that my comeback body butter is great! I've been slathering it on after I get out of the shower, and periodically on my hands during the day. It's good! 

• my awesome brother. It seems like I mention how great my brother is every few months, but he really is! This is what he sent me in the mail last week:

• my children's humor. My son got glasses a couple of weeks ago, and here is what he did the other day to Emmie...

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit her wonderful co-hosts:   LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker @Kidbits Blog

I got an instagram! If anyone is looking for more pictures of Emmie, head on over there and give me a follow @thecyborgmom

Celebrate The Small Things -- August 19

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of Viklit, Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

Today I'm celebrating...

• my baby girl turned Sweet Sixteen! I can't believe how grown up she is already...seems like just yesterday that she was so itty bitty and fit perfectly in my arms.

• my husband and kids! Having the party last weekend took a lot out of me, even thought I purposely tried to take it easy! I guess I did more than my body could handle, and I ended up pretty achy on Sunday and Monday. If it wasn't for my hubby and kids, things wouldn't have gotten done. They all helped with set up, clean up, food prep, taking care of Emmie (our dog and my bestie), and more stuff that I'm sure I just can't remember. That's one nice thing about having older kiddos...they can help!

• acupuncture... Having an acupuncture treatment on Tuesday really helped my body recover from the weekend. I really love acupuncture...a lot. I've blogged about it many, many times. For anyone interested in reading more about my acupuncture adventures, just type 'acupuncture' in the search bar on the right.

• Jim Gaffigan...When I'm not feeling well, I like to watch funny stuff on tv to help myself feel better. Gaffigan is, by far, my favorite comedian, and Netflix now has another two specials of his available to watch. If you are in need of a good laugh, check him out! For anyone who doesn't have Netflix, I will link his website here.

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit her wonderful co-hosts:   LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker @Kidbits Blog

I got an instagram! If anyone is looking for more pictures of Emmie, head on over there and give me a follow @thecyborgmom

Celebrate The Small Things 5/20/2016

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of Viklit, Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

Today I'm celebrating having a very good Thursday. After having a very relaxing acupuncture session in the morning, I treated myself to a Starbucks Mocha Latte and some vanilla bean scones...yummy! On my way home from my treats, my husband texted me that he wanted some Red Robin for dinner. A very out of the blue request, but that meant that I didn't have to cook or figure out dinner...score! So after some phone calls, we met with my in-laws and my bff and his boys for dinner. Spending time with people I love and care about...that's just the best.

Also, yesterday was the only day the sun decided to come out and stay...it was a pretty nice day!

Sidenote:  I got an instagram! If anyone is looking for more pictures of Emmie, head on over there and give me a follow @thecyborgmom

I'm hoping to work on my facet joint shots update this weekend...it should be posted next week. Thanks to all for the kind words, good vibes, and prayers!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit her wonderful co-hosts:   LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker @Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things -- Jan 16

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.  I am thrilled to co-host this wonderful blog!

This week I'm celebrating my new scooter! I'll be writing a more in depth post on it tomorrow, but the short story is that I ordered a seated scooter to help out after my foot surgery next week. I'm glad that it came in time and that I can fit on it! I'm a mini-person...at 4'9”...and was worried that my feet may not reach the floor! Luckily, I can reach, and it seems like this will be helpful in getting around the house a bit.

I'm also celebrating the fact that I can stay on all my prescription medications as part of my pre and post-surgery routine (click here to read about my pre-op medicine routine for my last surgery). One of the hardest things about my past two surgeries was having to come off my anti-inflammatory Celebrex a week before surgery, and wasn't able to take it again until about 6 weeks post op. Yowza! I hurt to even think about it!! So glad I don't have to go through that again.

I will probably be skipping next Friday's Celebrations, as I'm having surgery the 22^nd and will most likely be too drugged up to write anything that makes sense :) Hoping to be back the week after!

What are you celebrating? 

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, and Katie @ TheCyborgMom
 

The old linky will be retired, please sign up at the new linky below: 

Celebrate The Small Things -- Sept 19

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating not getting to second base with the TSA on my flight home!  It's a miracle!  The nice thing about flying out of (or into) bigger airports is that they have those x-ray machines.  The x-ray machine means less of a chance that I get intimate with the TSA, but it does mean that they get to see me naked in the machine LOL.

I'm also celebrating my bed.  After sleeping on an air mattress for a week it was really nice to sleep in my own bed last night.

And last, but not least, I'm celebrating my husband and kiddos.  I've missed them so much!  It's good to be home :)

Happy Weekend!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things -- Sept 5

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating:

• the kids going back to school...giving me more free time to myself
• my boy turned 11 this week! 

Ever wonder what the perfect gift for an 11 year old boy is?  Well, wonder no more...

Happy Weekend!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things -- August 22

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating surprise schedule changes.  Next month I fly to Nebraska to help my sister-in-law out with my niece and nephew because my brother has to go on a business trip...great excuse to visit with the chicklets :)  So in the original plan, I wouldn't have seen my little bro, just his family.  Well, my brother called just a few days ago to tell me that his trip will actually be shorter than expected, so I'll get to see him for 2 days.  I'll take it!


Happy Weekend!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things - 8/15 - My New Cyborg Part!

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating my new tooth!  I had my tooth pulled about a year and a half ago and I've been living with just an implant with a cap on it until now.  I would have had a new tooth sooner, but it cost me almost $1800!  And with my two ankle surgeries last year, I just couldn't afford the tooth.  But now it's here...and it's wonderful!

Just another cyborg part :)

I was even allowed to take home my teeth molds, which I was very excited about.  My husband thinks it's weird that I wanted them.  I wasn't even going to tell him...I had considered just putting them on the bookshelf in the family room and waiting for him to notice.  But I couldn't hold in my excitement and I told him over lunch.  My dentist even put my cap in my mold for me so I could keep that too.

It really doesn't take much to make me happy sometimes! LOL

Happy Weekend!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things -- August 8

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating boxed brownie mix.  I've made brownies from scratch before, and although the brownies were delicious, it was a lot of work.  With a boxed brownie mix, all I have to do is add an egg, and some water and oil...and BAM!  Deliciousness!  I love quick and easy...especially when it's combined with chocolate yumminess :)  And a touch of extra chocolate chips made the brownies even better...hey, you can never have too much chocolate!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things -- August 1

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating our local library.  Just a few years ago our library was renovated and among the new improvements was a teen center.  They have video games, board games, and books of course!  My daughter has been biking (or sometimes I'll just drive her) to the library to meet her friends and "hang out", making use of all the cool stuff the library has to offer.  It's great for her, and I think my son appreciates having the house mostly to himself :)  

I'm also celebrating my new Doctor Who themed ring tone for my new cell phone!  I was very excited when I got my first phone call the other day and heard my Doctor music :)  I wish I could make my house phone do the same thing!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things -- July 25

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

Apologies to everyone for being MIA this past week.  I was away last weekend and I've been having a hard time with my arthritis all week, so my blog has not been on my mind.  I plan on catching up with my blog reading this weekend. 

Anyway...on with the celebrations...

This week I'm celebrating my new smartphone!  Yes, I've moved into the 21st century.  I still have a pay-as-you-go plan because I'm a total cheapskate... but now, in public, I'll look a little less ghetto :)  Thank goodness for my teenage daughter who helped activate and set it up.  Both the phone, and my daughter, are smarter than me!

For the nosy peeps like me...here's the phone I got:  LG Optimus Dynamic II (here is a review on it).  I call it Optimus Prime (from Transformers fame) because I can't remember anything after the optimus part...I'm bad with names!  And I switched over to Tracfone because my brother was raving about his new service with them.  Actually, he's the one who convinced me to get an android phone...he has one and thought I should be as cool as him.  I'm not quite sure that goal was achieved ;)

Also, I purchased my smartphone from ebay and saved a bit of money.  Because I had such a great transaction I figure I'll give the seller I bought if from a little recognition...his username is:  shopcelldeals...and I received Optimus Prime the day after I ordered it...best shipping experience ever!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things 7/18 and Kids Update

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating that both my kiddos are on the mend!  My daughter's sprained shoulder is almost completely healed since hurting it a few weeks ago.  Her acupuncture treatment last week allowed her to play in her softball tournament last weekend...and according to the other softball moms (I couldn't make the games), she played well and didn't seem at all injured.  Thank God!

And my son, while he still has a bit of a sore throat today (it's Thursday afternoon as I write this), he is currently at his friend's house playing.  His spirits are much improved and he has had no fever for two days now.  I'll continue to have him take the Chinese herbs until his throat is completely healed.

I'm also celebrating rainbow cookies.  These are my favorite cookies and I finally found a recipe that is very close to the Italian pastry shop in Brooklyn that my grandparents used to get them from. When I was in high school, my grandparents would visit us every Monday because my grandpa's doctor was close to where we lived.  And every week they'd bring Italian pastry cookies for us, with a load of rainbow cookies for me.  I love you grandma and grandpa!  I hope they have cookies in heaven that are just as delicious as in Brooklyn!

 

For the rainbow cookie recipe, click here.  Changes I made to the original recipe:  I omitted the raspberry jam and substituted almond pie filling for almond paste.  Then I made a ganache out of the chocolate so it wouldn't crack when I cut the cookies.

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things -- July 11

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

So remember how last week I thought I had some fraudulent charges to my checking account?  Yeah, turns out that I was in the wrong.  When I sat down to reconcile my checkbook at the end of June, I saw two charges that were charged from Paypal.  So I went to my Paypal account and checked there, and no charges were to be found...which is why I originally thought that I had been hacked.  Well, anyone who has a Paypal account can clearly see that they have been upgrading their website over the past few weeks, and I guess there were some glitches...like not showing charges that had been made!  When I look at my account this week, the charges are there.

Sooo...long story short (too late!)...I'm celebrating that I wasn't hacked!  I've just lost my mind and not remembered stuff.  And Paypal needs to get their shit together with this website upgrade!  Oy....

I'd also like to celebrate my children this week...for being open minded little people.  I brought my daughter in for acupuncture to help heal her sprained shoulder (for pictures and video click here).  My son let me take him in a few months ago for a treatment as well.  I'm glad that they are open minded about alternative forms of medicine.  Hey, let's attribute it to great parenting ;) :)

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Celebrate The Small Things -- July 4

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating that even though I found two fraudulent charges on my checking account, they only totaled around $200.  This is the first time that this has happened to me and I realize how lucky I am that it wasn't thousands of dollars that were charged in error.  I know how scary identity fraud and credit card fraud is and that others have had it way worse than me.  Let's hope this never happens again!

I will have to close my checking account because the charges were made by stealing my account number, but this has given my husband and I a kick in the pants to do what we've been talking about for the past year or so...open an account at a local bank.  Goodbye big corporate government fed bank!  Hello to supporting local businesses!

I even got a free pen and lollipop when I opened my new account :)  Let's celebrate those too!

Happy 4th of July!

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse