Diabetes Walk Update

Just wanted to give everyone an update because I am soooooooo excited. We are at 58% of our goal. Our goal right now is $500 and we have made $269 so far. We still have 2 1/2 months to go. I would really like to blow this goal out of the water. As my blog from July 28 stated, I have bracelets for sale for the cause. And anyone who buys a bracelet or makes a donation to our team website (http://main.diabetes.org/goto/RebelswithaCause) will be eligable for a drawing to take place on September 1. You can see what you will be able to win on the other July 28 blog. I want to thank everyone for their continued support. You guys are the greatest.

Water Exercise

This is the pool.

Yesterday, Hut and I went to our first water exercise class. There were only 3 of us there. Besides me and Hut, there was another City of Winter Haven employee, Rachelle. We all 3 got in the pool and waited for others to show up and the instructor. Well no one else showed up, not even the instructor!!!! The lifeguards didn't even know about it. Rachelle had taken some water classes before and she said she would put us through some of the exercises she remembered if we wanted to. So why not, we went to work out. Boy let me tell you what, that was some work out. The class is supposed to be 45 minutes long, but we only worked out for like 20 minutes. My arms and legs are sooooo sore. We couldn't do a full workout because we had waited for people to show up and then there was lightening in the area and we had to get out of the pool. All in all it was fun with just the 3 of us. Rachelle wants to do it again on Thursday, but it's our day to go to the bank. I didn't even get a chance to take any good pictures, but I'll share what I have. Hopefully next Tuesday the instructor will remember she has a class.

Hut carrying our noodles to the class.

Hut heading into the pool. The water was great!

Hut in the pool. This is the shallow end. 4'9". I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do it, since I'm only 5'2". I managed, LOL.

RAK (sort of)

I just wanted to get into the fun of giving something away. However, mine has a catch to it. I recently purchased a gift basket at this wonderful shop in town called O'Keefe's. When I mentioned to the owner that I was going to raffle it off at a local event to raise money for my walk, she gave me a smaller gift package. I thought that was wonderful of her. It is a cute little coffee cup with butterflies on it and it has some goodies wrapped up in it. It looks like flavored coffees and hot chocolate, some candy and a small notebook. I would like to give this away to someone who either purchases a bracelet or makes a donation to my team's website for the American Diabetes Association. From now until August 31, everyone who purchases a bracelet or makes a donation will have their name entered to win ( yes, even those who have already donated prior to this will be included). I will pick the winner the morning of September 1. Please see the blog below for info on the bracelets. Thanks once again for all your support.

Support Diabetes Research

Between doctor's appointments today, I stopped at the house to check the mailbox and take the dogs out. In the mailbox was an order of bracelets to support the American Diabetes Association. I am selling these as part of the fundraising for my walk in October. They are red and sayCURE-CARE-COMMITMENT on one side and American Diabetes Association on the other. These bracelets are made of silicone. I have both adult and youth sizes. If you are interested in helping a great cause, you can order them by emailing me at bonniebeebadd@yahoo.com. Please put "Bracelet" in the subject line. I would like $3 each for these but any donation would be appreciated. Make checks or money orders out to The American Diabetes Association or I am also able to do credit cards. This is a tax deduction and I will make sure you get a reciept for tax purposes. Please share this blog with family and friends and not only help me reach my goal for my walk, but to help find a cure for Diabetes. Thanks again for all your support.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Today my Mom would have been 78. She passed away in 2003. I still miss her very much. She raised 6 kids pretty much by herself, since my Dad worked 3 jobs so Mom could stay home with us. I would have liked to have shared some photos of her with you, but my computer wasn't cooperating. Happy Birthday, Mom. You are loved and missed.

Trip to Ocala

My cousin, Yvette, is from Massachusetts. She just recently bought a mobile home in the Ocala National Forest, in a small town called Salt Springs. Ironically, she only lives 3 miles from my ex in-laws, whom my husband and I get along with and visit. Well today she wanted to meet at a flea market in Belleview, call the Market of Marion (for Marion County). Hut and I went and met Yvette, her husband Dick, his brother Billy and their neighbors Cheryl and Jack. It was so hot that we didn't stay maybe 30 minutes. Then we went out to eat so we could get in some air conditioning and visit. We ate a place called Pasta Faire. It was pretty good. Everyone got some kind of pasta plate except me and Hut. He got a hamberger and I got a salad. I should have taken pictures of the food, but felt kinda funny doing it so I didn't. Everyone enjoyed what they had. Yvette and her brother in law Billy will be driving back to Massachusetts tomorrow. She is planning a surprise party for her husband who is retiring after 40 years with the railroad. Dick won't be flying home until Thursday, so Yvette will have time to finish planning the party. We had a really good visit with them and can't wait for them to come back down. It's nice having family to visit with.

A plant of many generations

These are the flowers on my Night Blooming Cereus.

I have a plant that belonged to my mom. Before that it belonged to my grandmother and possibly her mother before that. It's called a Night Blooming Cereus (pronounced series). I am surprised it has lasted as long as it has and I sometimes wonder who will get it next. I was looking at it yesterday and it had 11 blossoms on it. Two blooms I had already missed, but I saw that 2 more were going to bloom last night. They only bloom at night, so if your not a night owl you usually miss the flowers. Well I kept checking on it until about 10pm and no flowers. But I get up at 5 am, so I figured I might get lucky. I did. This morning when I went out, there were 2 flowers. They are so pretty and unusual. They only bloom for me, like twice a year.

This is a shot of the blooms.
This is a closer shot of some of the blooms. You can see the 2 flowers that had bloomed the night before.

Doctor's Visit

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." -- Maria Robinson



What a great saying. And it's so true for me right now. You all know I'm diabetic. And I'm a lousy one. I haven't been to a doctor in almost 2 years. I finally decided I really needed to take control. I have been trying to diet to get some weight off. It's been tough. And I recently went to the doctor, who put me on new meds for my diabetes. The meds are working really good for me. They are helping my sugar to stay in range. Since I haven't been to a doctor in awhile, I have to play catch up on all my tests. Today I went for a mammogram. It's a must for me because I had two aunts that had breast cancer. One on each side of the family. That is the reason I support saving the "tatas". Monday I go for other female checkups that are overdue. After that it is up to me to stay on track. I am watching what I eat. Exercise is a different story. I seem to have no desire to exercise. And I can think up a million and one excuses not to. However, I recently found something that my husband and I can do together. It's called Aqua strength and cardio. It's a workout in a pool. That will be a blog for another day as they only have the classes on Tuesdays. My husband has agreed to try it with me. I'm excited. I used to box and I really enjoyed that, I just need to make myself go again. And I absolutely love to walk, but haven't been in quite awhile. That's enough whining. I wanted to share a picture of this coolest motorcycle we saw. We actually saw this July 3rd at Andi's Igloo. I wanted to take a picture then, but there were too many people around it. Well today when I got to the doctors office, there it was. The man who owns it was one of the doctors. So I got a couple of pictures with no one around. The motorcycle is a Can-Am. It has 2 wheels in the front and one in the back. It's very unusual looking.

This is Hut standing next to the bike. The front is to the right. Pretty cool, huh.

This is a shot of the front of the bike. I just wonder how hard it is to drive.

PS. I just found out this motorcycle belongs to the cousin of a man I work with. How cool is that?

Nothing to blog about

Hey ya'll. I haven't been 100% the past couple of days (think it's my diabetes meds and my body trying to get used to them), so I really don't have anything to blog about. I've pretty much just stayed home with my nose stuck in a book. I just finished reading Lisa Gardner's Hot Blooded. She is a really good author if you like murder mysteries and most of her books take place in New Orleans. Now that I'm thinking about it, it might have been Lisa Jackson. She also writes murder mysteries. I share my books with the guys at work, so I can't even look at it to tell which author is was,LOL. I just finished mowing the grass, so you know I'm feeling better. Hopefully something exciting will happen the next couple of days and I will have something interesting to blog about. Have a great night.

Butterflies

This butterfly is feeding on the sign.

Wade & Christina came to visit again and we went to Cypress Gardens. We bought everyone passes and Wade and Christina are making sure we get our money's worth. We went to the water park for a couple of hours and then meandered through the shops. No one ever wants to go through the butterfly emporium but today I made them. I'm glad I did because there were quite a few butterflies in there today. I got some pretty good shots, too.

There were all kinds of different butterflies in the emporium today!

There are 2 butterflies in this shot....lower left and upper right corners.

Two butterflies hanging together.

This is probably one of my favorite shots. The yellow butterfly was beautiful against the pink flowers.

Good shot with the open wings.

Trees, Health Fairs & New Mailbox

Three crepe myrtles along my front fence and yes I have rugs drying on the fence, lol. I know they are hard to see, but I also have two angel wing begonis in between the trees.

Hut has been wanting a purple Crepe Myrtle tree. One of our local newspapers had a plant sale today and they had crepe myrtles. We bought 3. They were only $3.50 each. The proceeds went to Newspapers in Education, which supplies newspapers for school kids. It not only brings them current events, but helps them learn to read.

We got up at 6am to be at this sale, which was supposed to start at 7am. We got there right at 7 and it was already packed. It was well planned. All the different plants were in their own areas, very well signed. Plus the lines for checking out were kept moving and organized by alot of helpers. We were home and had our trees planted before 8am. And the dogs got to go for a ride with us. They had being left home and today they were just adamant they were going. They had a good time.

After that it was off to a health fair in Dundee, that was sponsered by State Farm. They had jumpy houses for the kids and all kinds of vendors. The Dundee Fire Dept. was there with their equipment. State Farm had about 50 great items for a silent auction. They had dentists, organ donor reps, State Farm reps, herbal specialists, day cares, you name it. There was something for everyone.

We did manage to hit a couple of yard sales. Not much out there today. We have been needing a new mail box, and we found a brand new one in the box for only $5. Believe it or not that's all we bought. We were home by 11:30 and have just goofed off the rest of the day.

One of our new crepe myrtles.

Diabetes Walk

You guys are going to get tired of seeing this and hearing me harp on it, but it's a great cause and as you know, close to my heart as I am diabetic. I have some good news in that department. I have found a wonderful doctor who specializes in treating diabetes. He has prescribed new medications to help me keep my diabetes under control. A diabetic reading for me should be between 90 and 120. Well my has been right around 250 for over a year and that is not good as it can cause some long term affects to my kidneys, eye sight and other organs. Well after just 2 days on the new meds, my sugar tonight was 155. Yesterday at the same time is was 250. This morning before breakfast it was 169. Usually the morning reading is high because you aren't doing anything to get the insulin working. Anyway, I know this is probably boring for you, but I am very excited. Now I just need to be real adamant about watching what I eat and getting exercise and that will help my sugar count go down even more and possible get me off meds.

Now, the real reason for my post. My team for a Diabetic Walk in October has a $500 goal. My team members have made some donations, plus my cousin Jimmy, who I just found out is diabetic made a donation. We are now at 47% of our goal. We are at $235. I am so excited. We still have 2 1/2 months to go. I am hoping to blow our goal out of the water. I appreciate all the support I get. I am just so excited to be as far along as we are. I honestly didn't think we'd even get this close.

Andi Brannon is a fellow blogger who also has a walk in October. Her's is for the American Heart Association. That is also a cause close to my heart as my wonderful husband had a heart attack back in 2005. So please, check out Andi's teampage for her walk.

Please Click Here to show your support for Andi's effort.

Another cause I am big on is Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. I know you all have notice the Save the Tata's logo on my blog. If you click on it, it will take you to a website that will definitely get your attention for Breast Cancer. Some people are offended by the Tata word, but I think it is a whimsical way to make people aware because it most certainly gets their attention. A percentage of the sale of items from this company goes towards awareness and research. So check it out if you dare.

Old Friends and New Friends

Make new friends, but keep the old.....one is silver and the other's gold! Remember that song. I remember singing it in Brownies. I have to tell that I don't have any girlfriends that I hang out with and do things with. And it's really hard on me sometimes, but I just never got close to anyone after I got out of school and got married(the first time). But then I married a wonderful man, who has a wonderful sister and she became my best friend. The she moved to Virginia. So I'm back to square one. But thanks to the internet, we can keep in touch with photos and blogs and emails. And because of the internet I have met up with a great "old" friend from high school and a great "new" friend from blogging. I just had a wonderful day today with these friends. My "old" friend, Mary Anne, is in New Hampshire. She actually found me on the internet and I'm glad she did. It is so great catching up with her and her 5 grandkids. And then there's my new friend, Cecile, who lives in Georgia. And in between both is Missy, who is in Virginia. I really look forward to hearing from these friends. Thank you guys for being my friend......you are truly cherished.

I know this is a little hard to see but this is my "old" friend MaryAnne with her son Danny on his wedding day.

And this is my new friend, Cecile. We met blogging and I think we just sort of clicked. Check out her blog by clicking on her name next to this blog.

Missy, I'm sorry girl, but I tried to get a photo of you twice and for some reason I couldn't. You can check out Missy's blog and see a picture of her by clicking her name next to this blog.

PS. The Bake Sale at State Farm last month made $943.10. This allowed them to send 105 boxes to our troops. Way to go!

World's Oldest Blogger, Olive Riley, passes away

Hi....just wanted everyone to know that the World's Oldest blogger has passed away. Olive Riley was 108 when she passed away on Saturday, July 12. She lived in Sydney, Australia. She started blogging 2 years ago, at the age of 106, with the help of family and friends. She took to it like a fish to water. If you would like to check out her blogs and leave a word of condolence, I am posting the addresses. http://worldsoldestblogger.blogspot.com/ and http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/.

I just checked them out quickly, but from what I read, I wished I had found her sooner. Rest in Peace, Olive.

Grandbabies

Alairah(not happy), Pop and CJ!

The miracle of all miracles happened to us last night. We finally got to see the grandbabies. Let me give a little background. My husband has a daughter, Alicia. For some reason, Alicia has nothing to do with her dad. Alicia has 2 children, Charles (CJ) and Alairah. Charles in now 7 and Alaraih is 1 1/2. We haven't seen Charles since Alairah was born and before that it had been 3 years. We've seen Alairah once since she was born and that was at her great-grandaddy's funeral. Well Susan (my husband's ex) decided it was time those children saw their Pop. The children live with her. So last night, her and her mom Sue, brought the babies over. What a thrill! Since she has the kids living with her we can now see them whenever. So plans are in the making for some overnight visits. And I have to mention that in Florida, the kids have to take an FCAT Test in certain grades. CJ scored the highest in his class. Susan is doing really good with the grandkids. I am very thrilled that my husband will be able to start spending time with them. That's all he would talk about. And I have to say that I am so glad that there is no animosity with exes in this family. We consider them all extended family. It took Susan and I awhile to get along but that was because Alicia would play us against each other. But we learned. We get along pretty good. I have always gotten along with her mom, Sue. Hut get's along with my ex for the most part, we've had some ups & downs there. But he get's along great with my ex in laws and we visit them often. I'm glad our circumstances make it possible for us to have a HUGE extended family. And that we can now spend time with our grandkids. Everyone have a wonderful day!

CJ and Pop!

Nascar Widow

Yeah I know, I'm not the only one. I'm sure there are millions of Nascar widows out there on weekends. I am a widow 7 day a week now. You all remember that Hut got a PS2 for Father's Day and he got Guitar Hero with it. Well Guitar Hero has been replaced by Nascar. And now I never see my husband. He has moved the PS2 into his bedroom. He goes in there right after he gets home from work, plays until supper and as soon as supper is done, he's off to play again. I guess I should be thankful....I used to complain about him snoring in front of the tv, but not anymore. He told me today that he was up until 12:30 this morning playing. All I can say is he's home with me (sort of) and that he definitely got a present he really liked, lol.

Hut playing Nascar after work. You can tell he is a "simple man."

And here is the "widow maker".

Monday Blog Block

Well it's one of the days that I have nothing to blog about. It rained.....again! But we need it so that's not a complaint. Now it's hot and yes that's a complaint. I did find an employee cookbook on State Farm's website (for employees only, sorry) that had some really awesome recipes. The boss was gone for the day so I had to find something to occupy my time lol. So I decided on days where I don't have anything to blog about, I'm going to share a recipe. But unlike Missy, I will not have any pictures. So here is my first Blog Block Recipe:

CHOCOLATE COVERED OREO COOKIE CAKE

Ingrediants:

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food chocolate cake mix

1 pkg. (8oz.) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups thawed Cool Whip Topping

12 Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely crushed

Chocolate cake icing

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare and bake cake mix in two (9 inch) round cake pans as directed on package. Cool in pans 5 min. Invert onto wire racks; remove pans. Cool layers completely.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the whipped topping and cookie crumbs; mix lightly. Place 1 of the cake layers, top-side down, on serving plate. Spread with the cream cheese mixture. Cover with the remaining cake layer, top side up. Spread the chocolate cake icing on top of the cake. Let stand until set. Store in refridgerator.

ENJOY!!!

Lazy Sunday

Not much going on here today. Been a very lazy day. I washed my work uniforms this morning, then mowed the grass, transplanted some plants and that's about it. Took a nap. Been feeling really tired lately for some reason. Can't seem to get enough sleep. Or maybe I'm getting too much. Of course it's also a cloudy, rainy day, so this weather always makes me want to nap. Tonight one on my favorite shows is on....Ice Road Truckers. Not a girly show, but then again, I'm not a girly girl. My dad was a trucker, 2 of my brothers drive trucks and my husband used to truck. I guess in a way it's in my blood. It's a cool show about real truckers who drive over frozen lakes and rivers way up north. This year they are driving over the frozen Arctic Ocean. If nothing else, the scenery is beautiful. Last year had alot of shots of the Northern Lights. This year mostly nature shots. Check it out....the history channel, 9pm eastern time.

Scott

You guys always hear me talk about Wade & Christina. That's because they come over all the time and we do alot of things with them. My other son, Scott, doesn't get to visit as often. And we don't get to visit with him because he is usually working. Tonight he surprised us with a visit. He didn't have to work and thought he'd come spend some time with his Mom. Scott is my "baby". He's 21. And he doesn't mind me calling him my baby. We enjoy any time we can spend with him as it is few and far between. Scott usually works 7 days a week, for 10+ hours a day. Wade & Christina usually have weekends off, which is why we see them more often. I am glad my 2 boys are so close to us.

Scott, on the computer (the real reason he comes to visit, lol).

Wade & Christina at Cypress Gardens. (In case you didn't remember what they looked like :) )

Key Lime Pie?

Last weekend we ate at a local restaurant called the Gift Mill. It's been around for years, changed owners 3 times, but the food is still great. It used to be real country store-ish. Now it's what I like to call cosmopoliton. Anyways, before I get way off track, I want to tell you about this awesome mix they were sampling. It's called Key Lime Pie Cheeseball and Dessert Mix. It is awesome. It's made by a company called Wind & Willow. They make other flavors too, like Strawberry Cheesecake, Peach Cobbler and a few more that I can't remember. They were sampling the cheeseball with graham crackers. You would have thought you were eating a real key lime pie. Even Hut liked it and he's a fussy eater. So I bought some and just made it. It's so easy, just an 8 oz package of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of softened butter and the key lime mix. After you mix it all together you put it in the refridgerator to set. Once it thickens you roll it in a topping mix that comes with the package. I don't know where else you'd be able to buy this, but it actually reminds me of something Cracker Barrel might have. I hope you guys can find this brand of mixes. They are sooooo good.

Max and Miss Piggy's new niece

Last Saturday we went to visit the Humane Society so that Wade and Christina could look for a companion for their dog, Bo. I love animals, especially dogs, so you know I wanted to take them all home. Well Christina and Wade found the perfect pet. She's 8 weeks old, she's a curr/mix and her grandmother (me) got to name her. I named her Dixie. Hut wanted to name her Daisy, to go with Bo, but we didn't want to have to get a third dog to name Luke. Anyways, Dixie wasn't available to be picked up until Tuesday. So Hut and I picked her up Tuesday and we were going to meet the kids 1/2 between Winter Haven(us) and St. Cloud(the kids). That usually means McDonald's in Poinciana. Well it was storming Tuesday afternoon and Miss Piggy hates the thunder. So we decided to take the dogs with us. They love to ride. While we were waiting for the kids, we got some hambergers and we all ate.....even Dixie. Some how while we were eating and waiting, I ended up in the back seat and Miss Piggy in the front. She wasn't giving up the front seat, so once Dixie got picked up and we headed for home, I stayed in the backseat with Max. Now tell me, how spoiled are my dogs?? The dogs were glad to go for a ride and the thunder didn't seem to bother Miss Piggy while she was riding. The highlight of the day was that Dixie got adopted and has a good home.

This is Dixie after eating her hamberger. She's got her belly full. Notice the tongue hanging out.

This is Miss Piggy on the ride home. You just know she's saying....haha I have the front seat and you don't!

This is Max getting some air conditioning on the ride home. Max is kind of skittish about riding but he is getting better. Besides that he got to sit next to his Momma (me) on the way home.

Elusive Gator

Well it finally happened. The camera shy 'gator at the walking trail has finally allowed me to take some pictures. I was so excited to see him Saturday. With the rain we are finally getting, the ponds have filled up and all the wild life is happy. Especially the 'gator since he now has water to swim in. He's only about 4 feet long.

Here's a head shot of him swimming by the dock.

Full body shot. I had to wait him out on this one. He didn't want to show his back.

He's had enough of the camera. He is swimming away.

4th of July

Well our 4th was fairly busy. I've always had to work the holidays,but the job I have now, I can enjoy holidays with my family. Hut and I went to downtown Winter Haven on Thursday night, where they did their celebration a day early. They had bouncy houses for the kids, some food and a band. The band was pretty good. Fat Frank and the Plankspankers. They shot off fireworks at 9pm but we didn't stay for those. It kept raining off and on and we are a couple of old farts, so we went home. Of course, we stopped at Andy's Igloo on the way home for ice cream (any one familiar with Winter Haven knows Andy's is the place to go for ice cream). Wade and Chrisitina came and spent Thursday night and Friday night with us. We started Friday but going to Frostproof because they were going to have this HUGE yard sale/flea market. Well it was supposed to start at 8am but by 10:30 they still didn't have anything set up. They had boat races going on too and we were going to watch them but decided not to stick around. Wade used to race boats when he was younger and had raced on Lake Clinch. Well the rest of the morning we spent eating at IHOP and hitting some yard sales. The only deal we found was a Dukes of Hazzard portable record player. Hut had to have it. After that we went home, cooled off and then headed back into the heat to Cypress Gardens. Cypress Gardens is famous for it's water ski show and for New Year's Eve and July 4th they do a nighttime one. They light up the boats and use spotlights. I worked there for 2 years and never got to see the show. It was great! Unfortunately Christina was in charge of the camera and I have no pictures. Right at the end of the ski show, they shot off the fireworks over Lake Eloise. It was beautiful. My other son Scott spent his 4th with friends at Sea World. So a good time was had by all. I hope everyone else had a safe, happy, fun-filled 4th.

Me and Hut waiting for the fireworks to start.
Wade and Christina doing the same.

Some of the crowd around us doing the same.

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy 232nd Birthday, America. Take a moment today to thank our forefathers for being brave enough to fight to make our country free. Then take another moment to say a prayer and thank those men and women who are fighting to keep our country free. If we didn't have these brave people who are giving up their families to fight for ours, do you think we'd still be free? Thank every soldier that you see and say a prayer everyday for God to keep them safe. Enjoy your family time, picnics, barbeque, time at the lakes and beaches and remember who is making this all possible. Soldiers who won't be spending time with their families, celebrating with friends. Remember them, while you are watching the fireworks because their fireworks kill. Have a safe holiday. Happy Birthday, America!

"I pledge allegiance to the FlagOf the United States of AmericaAnd to the Republic for which it stands,One Nation under God, IndivisibleWith Liberty and Justice for All."

Flip Flops Part 2

I tested my new flip flops out today at the walking trail. They were really comfortable, right up until I got a blister on my 2nd toe. The toe piece on the left one gave me a blister. I'll just get some mole skin and try it again. They are very comfortable. Great for walking. And you can feel them working on your legs. I made it a mile and 1/4 before I had to call it quits. I figure I won't wear them for a couple of days and then wear them around this weekend. I will, however, take my other flip flops for back up. I still think you all should at least go to Victoria's and try on a pair.