Because BooMama has made it fashionable....

....it's A LIST!!!

I have been running through all the different things I've been wanting to post throughout the day, and I just couldn't seem to pull together an entire post on any of 'em. SO....I decided to post a list a'la BooMama!

1. The kids and I listen to audiobooks when we are driving around running our errands and things because it is so hard to find time at the house to sit down and read aloud. Well, this week we've been listening to "Deliver Us From Normal". I can't remember the author's name right now, and since it's raining outside, I'm not going to go to the van to look for you. :) (Also, I will neither recommend nor discourage the reading of this book yet because I'm not far enough into it to know if it's going to be good or not. It is entertaining so far, however!) Anyway, the point of all of this was to tell you my latest favorite quote. The mom in the story, after hanging up the phone with some cranky person, says to the kids, "Some people were just born on the wrong side of the bed!" I just love that! And I know a few of those people too :)

2. Lately, I have been searching out some products to help with different issues I have around here, and I have been thrilled with a couple of them, and wanted to pass on the info.! I have a friend who came to help clean my house one time while I was in the hospital, and she yelled at me for using "Mr. Clean Magic Erasers" and never telling her about them! She loved using it at my house and told me I should be sharing when I found something that worked so well...so here it goes.

I was having issues with my hands getting really dry when I made cakes. I have to wash my hands constantly and didn't want my icing to taste like lotion, so I was waiting until I was finished with the cake to put lotion on. Then, while I was ordering my chef's coat online, I found this lotion which is made for chefs to use when cooking! It just takes a tiny bit, and though it does take a few minutes to rub it in good, it lasts through at least a couple quick hand-washings. It is also anti-microbial, so you aren't transferring any germs from one food to another and the best part? I bought a 32 oz. pump bottle for $13.00! It's going to last forever since I use so little at a time, and although it doesn't have a pretty smell, (we have to avoid perfumes in the icing, LOL!) it works great and I love it!

And secondly, here in central Texas, we have a real problem with hard water. My nice new dishwasher was having troubles lately with leaving a film on all the dishes and, of course, white spots everywhere! I use a "Jet-Dry" dishwasher cleaner once a month to clean all the build-up from inside the dishwasher, which would make it work better for one or two loads before it started to build-up again. Well, recently I found this stuff called "Lemi-Shine" in the same area as the "Jet-Dry" in my grocery store. It said that it was for hard water problems in the dishwasher. So, I read the label and it said that you add this stuff in with your dishwasher soap and it helps keep the hard water buildup off of your dishes! It also said that you could mix up a solution of the Lemi-Shine and water to make a spray to clean showers etc. It sounded good to me, so I bought it, and after I did my usual monthly "Jet-Dry" cleaner, I ran a load of dishes adding the Lemi-Shine in with the soap. I also made up the solution with water, and I added it to the little Rinse Aid compartment in my dishwasher. It worked great! I have been doing it for a week now and I still don't have that film or those annoying spots on my dishes, AND the inside of my dishwasher, which is all stainless steel, is shiny and spot free as well! And it's one of those all natural, good-for-the-environment cleaners, so it's a winner all around!

So those are my latest "can't live without" finds that I wanted to pass on to you!

3. I have the power to make it rain, oh yes ma'am I do. At the beginning of spring, the girl and I planted flowers in big pots at the front of the house. The first day I went out and watered said flowers, it rained within the hour and rained everyday for 4 or 5 days straight....in Texas, mind you. I stopped watering the flowers. Then one day I realized that it hadn't rained in awhile and the flowers were looking pretty sad, so I watered them. It rained within the hour and rained every day for 4 or 5 days straight....still in Texas mind you. This past Thursday, I realized that it hadn't rained in awhile and the flowers were looking sad. It was 95+ degrees outside, not a cloud in site, and I thought to myself, well it's definitely not going to rain today, so I watered the flowers. Within the hour, dark clouds appeared and it rained and has rained every day since....and yes, we're still in Texas...I'm just saying.

4. And now, I know some of you have been asking for a post-surgery report on the kidney front...well, at my post-op appointment this week, I learned that there was a large stone in my left kidney that they broke up and then dragged out the pieces with a little basket thingy. He also said that the kidney tissue was filled with tiny pieces of stone but there was no way to go after them without seriously damaging the kidneys. Therefore, they are still there. He said they may grow into larger, free-floating stones that will need to be removed later, or they may stay stuck there. He said it was completely possible that just having all that in the kidney tissue could be causing my symptoms. But just to cover all our bases, he wants me to see an internist to make sure that we aren't missing anything. He said he didn't just want to assume that it was all kidney related when there might be some other problem that was totally unrelated....sigh. So, I guess I'll be setting that up soon as well. I do have another kidney function test scheduled in a week that will let us know if my symptoms are at all caused by decreased kidney function. My last test showed my function at 67 (normal is 88-124). I have always hovered around 65, so 67 is okay for me. If that number starts to drop, that's when it will be a problem. I would have to drop to 10 before they would put me on dialysis. So the goal is just to keep me from losing the function I have now. It isn't great, but it isn't critical either. I can live a long time with my levels at 65 and that is the goal at this point.

5. Finally, yes, I'm feeling better these days. This past week I've had more good days than bad and yesterday, we actually did school with everyone, I baked a cake for a bridal shower today, I did ALL the dishes and cleaned the counters, AND I did 3 loads of laundry. So, I actually took care of the "Kids, Cakes, Dishes, AND Laundry" yesterday! And yes, I did it in that order! LOL!

So, today, I'm decorating the cake, doing more laundry, more dishes (cause they are never-ending you know), and hopefully, I'm cleaning out and re-arranging my bedroom to make room for a new cabinet that I got from my parents that will either house the T.V. and various electronics, movies, cds, etc. all in one convenient location, OR it will hold all of the books and various other school items that live in my bedroom on ugly plastic shelves for lack of a better place to put them! Either way, the room will be much neater when I'm done! I've been inspired by Bev and am determined to catch up on some much needed organizing and tossing of junk over the summer! I'll post pictures of the results as they happen. I may post some "in progress" pictures as well, but there will be no "before" pictures posted anywhere...I value the friendships I've made here in bloggy land, and wouldn't want to lose any of them! Hee-hee!

Oh, I almost forgot! Monday, June 18th is the big day for Little Ethan Powell so please be praying for him this weekend and on Monday. The leukemia needs to be almost non-existent in his little system in order for him to receive either a bone marrow, or a stem-cell transplant. His dad donated all the stem-cells, but I don't think they have found a bone-marrow match yet, so that is another thing to pray for. I believe the bone marrow transplant is his best shot at remission. This last round of chemo was his last chance. If it didn't work, they will be looking at "quality of life" options from here on out. PLEASE, PLEASE, pray with the family for a full recovery for baby Ethan.