IvyVine

Sweet Arwen

I love her when she's sleeping.

 

I love her when she's awake.

 

I love her when she's nosy.

 

But that face just takes the cake.

 

Happy Saturday!

Delish!

 

So I went to the farmer's market about 40 miles from my house early this morning.  Packed the baby up and rolled.  I love Dekalb Farmer's Market.  When you walk in it's amazing.  Every type of fruit, vegetable, bread, tea, oil, wine, any and everything you can think of.  It was quite the trek, but unfortunately there is not one near me (catch up D'ville).  At any rate, it was worth the trip. 

I bought all the ingredients above to create a fab fruit salad and it was wonderful.  We gobbled it up.  I also got tons of vegetables, many of them organic.  I even bought leeks. Ina is always using leeks, and she is amazing so I thought, why not?  I'm also gonna try his Leek and Potato soup but with lighter ingredients.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  Happy Saturday Night!!  

Starting Anew

 

I'm sitting here looking out the window of my den trying to gear up for my stress test.  For those of you not familiar with a stress test, it's when you go to your heart doctor and get on a treadmill and walk and walk and walk and then hopefully run and run some more.  This is probably my 5th stress test since February 9, 2004.   I was 33 then.  I'm 38 now.  I have heart doctors.

It's been 5 years without a blip on the radar.  And then Sunday, a blip.  I had a heart attack 5 years ago.  I can't believe it.  I was 33 and healthy, or so I thought.  I use healthy in the way I think most people do:  I exercised regularly, I wasn't overweight, I didn't have high blood pressure and...I was only 33.  But apparently there is more to health than the obvious.  You take a family history of both parents with heart issues and add that to a stressful job, relationship, you fill in the blank, and it can be a recipe for disaster. 

One thing I did know about myself, that I've known since I was 16, is that I am HIGHLY anemic.  I remember going to my mother's doctor and her telling my mom, "I'm surprised she can even walk around during the day based on how anemic she is."  Wow.  I didn't take it too seriously then.  I was very active.  I was a cheerleader, on the track team and had a job at McDonald's after school (when I wasn't cheering or running).  Unfortunately, I continued to not take it seriously for the rest of my life.  I tried iron pills and they made me sick, so I stopped taking them.  One thing I didn't know about myself until the heart attack is that my cholesterol was through the roof.  Another thing I didn't get.  I love a good hamburger as much as the next girl, but it wasn't a lifestyle.  None of that mattered.  I was one of those poor blokes that was gonna get what I was gonna get because of heredity.  Plain and simple.  Well that sucks.

On Sunday I was sitting down on the couch watching the tube when my chest felt really heavy...again.  My left arm started hurting....again.  I got clammy....again.  Oh no.  Damnit. 

Fast forward after the ambulance and the nitro under my tongue and those thingy's stuck to my chest.....it wasn't a heart attack.  My anemia was in full force and I was really stressed.  Anxiety.  My doctor's advice....change your life.  You see, unfortunately for me, I've got to change EVERYTHING about my life.  Because I am predisposed to this heart stuff, I've got to take it to the extreme.  I have no choice if I want to see my daughter start kindergarten in 3 years or watch my son graduate from high school in 4 years.  I.have.no.choice.

So, I'm starting anew, kinda like that flowering bush up there.  Spring has sprung and hopefully, so will I.  A complete diet change and new exercise regimen. I guess exercising 5 days a week as it is isn't good enough.  I think I've got to exercise smarter, not just more.  Oh boy, I'm kinda scared.  Wish me luck.

 

Naughty Baby

This is a story about a very cute baby girl.  We'll call her Arwen.

     

And her Mommy's jar of Eucerin Aquaphor.

    

It's also about various degreasing agents like Dawn and Ajax.  But there's no time for that here.  Let's have the pictures tell the rest of the story shall we?

 

 

 

 

Now that wasn't so bad Mommy....was it???

 

I'm sorry.

Happy Sunday all.

Be of Service

Happy (a bit belated) New Year!

It's the beginning of a new year and that always makes me happy.  It's a renewal, a new start.  I like the idea of being able to wipe the slate clean and start again.  Or at least that's how I tend to look at it.  I'm going to be doing a bunch of designing and redesigning in my house this year (among other crafty/homey projects) that I plan to share here.  Hopefully I can be a bit more consistent with my posts...ahem.  Take care and be blessed.

Too Cute!

 

She's a doll, huh?

 

She's saying CHEESE!!!!!  Happy Election Day all!!!

Family Reunion

Well my high school reunion was also a family reunion too.  This is me and my 4 wonderful brothers.  From the left:

Ronald (Ronnie) - He's the oldest and a NY State Trooper and the most incredible big brother.  He's what you wish for when your a younger sister.

Steven (Stevie) - He's the middle wild child living it up in Houston.  I haven't seen him in 8 years.  We are number 3 and 4 and the closest in age (just 22 months apart).  I missed him severely and I realized why this past week.

Me - Elena (Lanie) - You know me.

Michael (Mikey) - He's the second oldest and the family class clown.  He makes me smile.

Corey - My baby brother (and also the tallest, but you can't tell in this picture).  The best human being I've ever known.

That's us.  I love them dearly and was so happy to be with them.  I realize how lucky I am to know that any of my brothers are just a phone call away.  Being with them reminded me of just how important family is.  Any of them would give me their heart (literally) if I needed it and I'd do the same.  Ronnie, Mikey, Stevie and Corey, just know that your girl loves you so much and can't wait until she comes home again.

Bye Bye for now!!!

I'm heading home to NY to see my family and go to my...ahem...20 year high school reunion.  Peace out!!!

First Day Revisted or What he does when he doesn't think I'm looking

The first day of school for my son Marc was this past Monday on the 4th (we start real early in my county of Georgia).  He was finally an 8th grader.  The top of the food chain in the middle school world.  But this is a new middle school for him. When I bought my house earlier this year, it put him in a new school district.  So let's just say, he wasn't a happy camper.

Well the day arrived.  He was the most nervous 13 year old.  "Mommy, I think I'm gonna throw up!"  "Mommy, I don't know anyone."  "Mommy, I'm scared."  I did what all "Mommies" do in this situation.  I reassured him that he would be just fine.  He was a nice kid and he would make new friends easily.  I gave him the pep talk of my life.  I went into the school with him that morning.  All kids needed to go to the cafeteria where they'd get their schedules and get taken to their home rooms.  I didn't go into the cafeteria with him.  I stood outside and watched my "baby" make his way through the sea of long tables to find a seat...on his own...in the back...alone.  My heart ached for him.  I wanted nothing more to run in and grab him.  Pick him up and take him home, but I couldn't.  He's a big boy now and I would have to leave him to navigate his own way through this new point in his life.

This is him that morning.

My baby.  An 8th grader.  I remember when he graduated from kindergarten in his little blue cap and gown and his crooked little tie.  I remember every thing about him from the time he was born until this very moment. 

I remember......wait, WHAT????  I DON'T REMEMBER THIS!!

What the?  Do you think this boy calls me "Mommy?"  Uh no, I didn't think so.  Possibly "Was-sup woman?" This picture was apparently taken on day three after school in his room when he realized that he had nothing to be afraid of.  This picture must have come after the fact that he realized he was almost the tallest boy in the 8th grade and all the little girls thought he was a cutie.  Or when they found out he was from NEW YORK!!!  Upstate ya'll, not the city....and he only lived there for the first year of his life.  Yeah, I don't remember this.  And for the record, that is NOT a real earring in his ear.  It's a magnet earring that his best friend left behind after a summer sleep over that I have since confiscated.   It seems like he needs a different "kind" of pep talk.  Maybe it should start like, "Honey, you don't need to look like a gangster to be cool...."

At any rate, it was also Arwen's first day of school too!  She started a new daycare Monday.  It's closer to my house and a like it so much.  Of course, I wish I could be a stay at home Mom, but it's not a possibility right now, but I'm working on it.

What a cutie huh?  She fared well.  I called 4 times during the day to check on her.  She was fine just as I suspected.  Arwen is a tough little cookie.  Both of them are really.  Arwen is adapting quite well and Marc has made new friends his first week and is much more relaxed.  Now if I could get him to stop looking in the mirror......