Bridal Necklace

Someone very special is getting married soon, so I've been working on wedding jewelry. The bride has chosen pink and green for her colors, because her favorite color is pink and the grooms favorite color is green. Since they are getting married in August, and the birthstone for that month is peridot, she has chosen a lighter green.

A few months ago, a friend of mine (who started making jewelry sometime ago), decided she wanted to focus more on quilting. She wanted to sell all her stuff and told me about it. There were all kinds of pretties, and I bought it all. Included in her many boxes of stuff were some really nice crystal hearts. She had one big deeper pink (which is pictured above and for the bride), three smaller hearts to match, three more that were a bit lighter, and three clear hearts. She also had a lot of pink crystal beads and a few peridot colored crystal beads. I had some freshwater pearls that I've been keeping aside for an occasion like this.

Here is the bride's necklace up close.

My friend also had some round, silver, clear crystal beads in her stash that I thought went perfect.

Everything easily came together for this necklace, and I've started on the rest of the bridal party. I'm sure I will be showing them all when I get them done.

Sleep...

Before ya'll start reading this blog, I want to apologize for the mess it is in. For some reason, Blogger is being crazy, and I can't seem to make it look the way I want, so please excuse the mess. 

As I mentioned in my blog last Wednesday, I will be discussing health issues (each Wednesday). One health issue we all have is sleep, or the lack of....zzzzz....

How important is sleep?

Well, according to the Harvard Women's Health Watch, there are six reasons why we should get more sleep:

1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
3. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
4. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.
7. 
   

Wow! Doesn't that make you want to get the amount of sleep you need? So, how much sleep do you need?  Well, sleep varies as to who you are, and what you do. For example, are you a young adult or baby; do you have a stressful job, or is your lifestyle more laid back?  There are many factors which determine how much sleep one needs.

According to the National Sleep Foundation the following are the recommend amounts of  sleep one needs each night. Which does NOT mean you can get a little sleep on some days/nights and then make it up all on the weekend.

Personally, I need about eight hours each night. I can remember 

when my children were small, I needed more sleep, yet got much 

less. I call those my, "Walking Zombie Years."  As my children 

have gotten older, life has been better because I have been able to 

get my eight hours of sleep. 

I read in interesting article about how much sleep we need. It 

suggested a couple of interesting things that I do believe will work.  

To determine your personal needs, try this experiment:

If you use an alarm clock to get you up in the morning, that is a telltale sign that you are not getting enough sleep. The fact that you rely on an alarm clock to wake you up every day shows that your body is not rested enough to wake naturally.

A simple test you can use to determine if you’re getting enough sleep is to go to bed fifteen minutes earlier that you normally would. See if you still need an alarm clock to wake up. If you do, try going to bed another fifteen minutes earlier. Continue in this manner until you reach a point where you wake up naturally in the morning without an alarm clock. That’s how many hours of sleep you need each night.

And a secondary note about the amount of sleep you need:

Even if you’ve enjoyed a full night’s sleep, getting out of bed can be difficult if your alarm goes off when you’re in the middle of deep sleep. If you want to make mornings less painful—or if you know you only have a limited time for sleep—try setting a wake-up time that’s a multiple of 90 minutes, the length of the average sleep cycle. For example, if you go to bed at 10 p.m., set your alarm for 5:30 (a total of seven-and-a-half hours of sleep) instead of 6 or 6:30. You may feel more refreshed at 5:30 than with another 30 to 60 minutes of sleep because you’re getting up at the end of a sleep cycle when your body and brain are already close to wakefulness.

Something else that works for me, is exercise. I have always been 

one of those who wake up exhausted. Sleep never seemed to do 

much for me and I hated getting up. About six years ago, I started 

walking with a group of ladies. We met at 8 a.m., sometimes 

7:30, depending on the weather. It gets really hot humid 

in Louisiana. Since I have hypoglycemia, I have to eat a decent 

breakfast in the morning before I exercise, so I was getting up at 7 

so I could do so. For the last few years, I don't need an alarm clock

 to get me up. I go to sleep around 11 and wake up ready to hit the 

floor by 7.  Now, I know most of you work and have to get up at 

that time to head that way, but if you make time in your schedule to 

exercise, and then go to bed at a decent hour, I promise, you will 

not only feel better, but be more productive in your daily activities. 

You will also be healthier and happier.

Now that we talked about not getting enough sleep, I'd like to talk a 

little about getting too much sleep. This can lead to some health 

issues. According to Web Med, here are a few problems that could 

arise if you get TOO much sleep.

Diabetes. Studies have shown that sleeping too long or not enough each night can increase the risk for diabetes.

Obesity. Sleeping too much or too little could make you weigh too much, as well. One recent study showed that people who slept for nine or 10 hours every night were 21% more likely to become obese over a six-year period than were people who slept between seven and eight hours. This association between sleep and obesity remained the same even when food intake and exercise were taken into account.

Headaches. For some people prone to headaches, sleeping longer than usual on a weekend or vacation can cause head pain. Researchers believe this is due to the effect oversleeping has on certain neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin. People who sleep too much during the day and disrupt their nighttime sleep may also find themselves suffering from headaches in the morning.

Back pain. There was a time when doctors told people suffering from back pain to head straight to bed. But those days are long gone. You do need to curtail your regular exercise program when you are experiencing back pain. But doctors now realize the health benefits of maintaining a certain level of activity. And they recommend against sleeping more than usual, when possible.

Depression. Although insomnia is more commonly linked to depression than oversleeping, roughly 15% of people with depression sleep too much. This may in turn make their depression worse. That's because regular sleep habits are important to the recovery process. Need another reason not to overdo the ZZZs when you're blue? ? In certain instances, sleep deprivation can have a temporary antidepressant effect.

Heart disease. The Nurses' Health Study involved nearly 72,000 women. A careful analysis of the data from that study showed that women who slept nine to 11 hours per night were 38% more likely to have coronary heart disease than women who slept eight hours. Researchers have not yet identified a reason for the connection between oversleeping and heart disease.

Death. Multiple studies have found that people who sleep nine or more hours a night have significantly higher death rates than people sleeping seven to eight hours a night. No specific reason for this correlation has been determined. But researchers found that depression and low socioeconomic status are also associated with longer sleep. They speculate these factors could be related to the observed increase in mortality for people who sleep too much.

Oh wow, scary! Now, there are some people who 

have health issues that keep them from getting the 

sleep they need. If you are one of these people, a 

doctor's visit might be a good idea.

We all need to practice good sleep habits. Sleeping

 seven to nine hours each night, going to bed and

 getting up at the same time each day, avoiding

 caffine or alcohol close to bedtime, exercising

 regularly and making your bedroom a comfortable

 haven to sleep in will help you get the amount of 

sleep you need. 

With that being said....I need to get our room in 

shape!  Seems like when we move, our room is the

 last one to get in shape, it probably should be the 

first.

Sorry, but I have had to reset my blog and add the word verification.  Lately, I have had so much spam it isn't even funny. Anywhere from people telling me that I have the most wonderful blog in the world to people telling me I have thousands of misspelled words; neither of which is true.

I hope this does not keep anyone from commenting.  I love to hear what real people say.  Granted, those word verification are a pain in the you know what, but at least I know it is not a computer commenting, lol.

Word of Wisdom Wednesday

Lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking about health. My daughter has too, and has come to the conclusion that she needs to be Vegan. I'm not sure if that is the best answer to many of her health issues. I'm not sure it isn't either, so I am going to be doing some research and sharing what I learn each Wednesday. I might include a new recipe, an article I found about something concerning our health or exercise, or just some thoughts about what I have found that has worked for me.

Many of you already know why I have named this Word of Wisdom Wednesday, but many of you do not. So, for the first week, I will share with you why I have picked that name.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a health code called the Word of Wisdom. This code is found in Doctrine and Covenants section 89.  I hope you click on the link to read exactly what it is.

We believe that we have been blessed with a body, and that we need to take care of it. The Word of Wisdom helps us to know how to do so. Most people look at the Word of Wisdom as a bunch of don't do this and don't do that, especially when it come to what we put into our bodies. 

Personally, I have never had an issue with drugs, alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee; even before I joined the church. That's not to say I never tried any of them, just that when I did, I did not like it. I will have to say, I NEVER tried doing the drug thing. Heck, I don't even like taking ibuprofen (it knocks me out). Growing up in the South, you would have thought I was a tea drinker. I never like the stuff, and when I joined the church, the tea/coffee thing was not an issue, and I am grateful for that.

My focus will mostly be on our food. Today, we hear a lot about allergies to nuts, gluten  dairy, etc; things that when I was growing up was unheard of (mostly).  Personally....I think people are becoming allergic to these things because it is in EVERYTHING, and I mean everything. Start reading the labels. You will find gluten in your shampoos! (just one example of what I am talking about.) WHY!? One thing the Word of Wisdom points out is moderation, and there is no moderation in many of our foods.

Well, I am not going to go on any more, in hopes that you will go read about the Word of Wisdom by clicking on the link here and here. Then next week, I will hopefully have some insight to share about one particular thing in the Word of Wisdom. I would also like to hear what all of you are doing to take care of your bodies, so please share.

French Breakfast Puffs

This morning I got up and decided to make everyone's favorite for breakfast. I should have thought about blogging about it then, and take pictures and all, but, oh well....  Actually, it's a pretty easy recipe.

First you mix together 1/3 cup soft shortening, 1/2 cup sugar and one egg together (with a beater) and set aside.

Then you mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 t baking power, 1/2 t salt and 1/4 tsp nutmeg in a small bowl.

Measure 1/2 cup milk.

Alternately, stir in the milk and flour mixture a little at a time...milk, then flour, milk, flour, until all ingredients are mixed together really well. 

Fill greased muffin tins about 2/3 full and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes (until golden).

Here comes the fun part....

Just before the muffins are done, melt about 6 T or more of butter in one bowl, and in another bowl mix about 1/2 cup sugar and 1 t cinnamon.  

As soon as you take the muffins out of the oven carefully remove them from the tins. Then dredge them in the butter, then cover them with the cinnamon and sugar and serve warm.

Sometimes, I have to melt more butter and/or make more cinnamon and sugar. But let me tell you.....These things are the best!!!!!! I don't make them too often because they are go good and one could really make themselves sick by eating too many, not to mention putting on a few LB's.  But they are worth it..........every once in awhile....

Thirty-One...

Not too long ago, my sister saw these bags and fell in love. She became a consultant and told me all about them. I ordered some and have also fell in love.  See the bag on the left? Well, I ordered that exact one and have used it several times. I first took it on our cruise, and now it is my pool bag.  Let me tell you....it holds A LOT!!!!

I go to the gym everyday. Most days, before I head to the pool I have a class. Afterward, I change into my bathing suit and swim, so this thing NEEDS to hold a lot. On a typical day, after I change into my swim suite, I will have three towels, my exercise clothes, shoes, my cover up, goggles, swim gloves, a small container of coconut oil for my hair, sunscreen, AND my purse (which is pretty big).  Yes, it all fits.

For the month of May, which is almost over, there is a special that I want to get in on. If you buy $31 worth of stuff, you get half off on any thermal. I want to get this big guy. It holds A LOT. It's the Thermal Market Tote and you should see all the stuff my sister got in her's! She had two containers of half and half, milk, scallions, strawberries, lettuce, two things of feta cheese, cilantro, a bunch of cucumbers and a bunch of lunch meat. All that with quite a bit of room to spare. The handles are sturdy for this type of thing.

I am having a quick party, from now until Thursday (30 May 2013). If you are local, let me know, if not and you want to order, let me know too and I will send you the link. For non local people, it will be an extra $4 to be delivered right to your door.

By the way, all the stuff from Thirty-One is VERY durable!

I will probably be hosting another party in June because of this cool new pattern...

I am wanting the Large Utility Tote in the flip flop pattern and it will only be available in that pattern in June, and if you order $35 worth of stuff, you can get it for $10. Those large totes are great for a lot of things. I plan to use it for the back of my car so I don't have a mess of things rolling around back there, like balls, groceries, etc....

mythirtyone.com/terryjeanettecarter

Glad I Was NOT in the Caribbean!

So, lately, I've mentioned I was in the hospital. I will now share my appendectomy story....

On Sunday afternoon, 6 April, I started to have an uncomfortable feeling in my lower right side. No biggy. Not sure what I had done, but it was General Conference and I was sitting around all day watching it on TV.

The next day, Monday, I woke up with the same feeling in my side, and as the day went on it got worse. I was busy with the roofer, as we had had some issues and he was coming over to fix it. All day long my husband told me to go to the doctor. After the roofers left, my husband called (for the upteenth time) and told me to go to the doctor. I told him I would if he would come with me. I made the appointment and was on my way in the late afternoon. 

My appointment was at 3:00. They immediately got me in and started pressing on my side.  It really did not hurt much until that point, and then, BOY!!!! That HURT!!! I was sent to the hospital for a CT scan. The result, "one NASTY appendix" as the doctor put it; and it had to come out, NOW!  I looked at him and told him we were leaving on a cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary TWO WEEKS from TODAY.  He said, "Well then, let's get you on that boat!

By about 10:00 p.m. or so, I was one less organ and tucked snugly in my bed. I really don't remember much 'til the next morning when the doctor came in and told me my appendix basically ruptured. Glad I went to the doctor! The plan was that I would be heading home the next day (Wednesday). Not so! My blood count would not go down and my stomach still hurt...A LOT; more than it did before I had that bugger out. I am allergic to a lot of different antibiotics, and the stuff he had me on was not working, so he upped it a bit. He told me that I was not dying, but he was going to give me an antibiotic that they give to people who are.  I was also on morphine. I really don't like that stuff.

Thursday, nothing had changed, and my stomach REALLY hurt and I looked like I was pregnant. They upped my antibiotic, which made me sick, I went in for my second CT scan, and...fluid! So, in went drainage tubes; one in my stomach and one in my hip (about where you would get a shot).  They did not leave the one in my stomach, but the one in my rear had to stay.  The first night, I slept on my stomach. I could not move. They kept asking me, "On a scale from 1 to 10 how much pain are you in?" I was not in any pain, just uncomfortable. I finally told them, no pain, but discomfort, like about an 11 or so! So they gave me more morphine...yuck!

Friday, I was really hungry. I hadn't really eaten since before I had gone in the hospital. Nothing sounded or looked good, but I was hungry. They brought me something, I tried a few bites, and blah...!  It was hard for me to sit or lay down, so I stood up and walked around quite a bit that day. Also, I had been poked so many times, that my veins would not cooperate anymore; so the lab would just prick my finger. Now why did they not do that to begin with? They only needed a very little amount of blood. 

My original IV was not working anymore, and they tried to start one on my other arm, with zero luck. So, I had to get a picc line. Next time I have to go to the hospital, I am having a picc line! No more of this rolling veins thing!

Saturday, white count was still high, and the doctor came in to talk to me. In the past he would always say, something positive about the cruise, but not that day. He didn't even mention it. After he left, I called my mom and told her I think he just wrote off our cruise. I was not a happy camper. 

The nurses were great. They tried so hard to make me comfortable and cheer me up. That stupid tube in my rear so uncomfortable! My back started to bother me. I did NOT want any more of that morphine, so I just suffered through it. Monday, my lab work came in, and my blood count was normal. YIPEE!!! I called my mom, and told her pack your bags, we just might make that cruise! The doctor told me that if my blood count stays down, I might be able to leave the next day.

Tuesday. White blood count back up....what?! NO WAY! I was really depressed. A few hours later, the doctor came in, and....blood count was NOT up, it was normal. He told me I needed another CT scan, and that if all was normal, they were going to take that tube and picc line out and I was going home!!!! YAY!!!

All was normal, I was going home...oh....all my tubes had to come out. I was nervous. Was it going to hurt? When they put all that stuff in, I was numb. I was really scared, but excited to go home. I'm not going to lie, it did hurt to get the tube and picc line out, but boy, was it nice to be FREEEEEE! 

After eight LOOONG days in the hospital, I was ready and able to go home! Doctor's orders, though, NO lifting for a week! I could ride in a car, walk, and climb stairs. Whenever we go on vacation, I like to clean my house, REALLY WELL. Well, that was not happening. I was lucky to get packed. We left on Friday for Tennessee to pick up my mother in law, and headed to Florida on Saturday. We all made the boat on Monday, and had a wonderful time. 

Doctor said, "You better be glad this did not happen in the middle of the Caribbean, little lady!"  I agree, I am very glad that did not happen in the middle of the Caribbean.