It's all in the details...

And they are as follows:

Madeline Marie ( I am thinking of calling her M&M for short).

7 lbs. 2 oz.

19.75" long

Born November 5, 2009 @ 4:33 p.m. AZ time

Smidgen of darker hair

I think she looks like her mom a little (and her mom's mom - I am the step-mom)

She also sort of looks like her dad but it's hard to tell from the photo.

And here is the photo:

Must give credit to her Grandma M for the photo of M&M with her dad.

We are excited to have a granddaughter. The RGH says we have a new Baby Doll which was his nickname for her mother. Now it will be his nickname for her. Life really is a circle, you know?

So now you know the details...and Claudette has her photo (luv ya', girl).

Blessings,
MaryC

Madeline is here!

Our granddaughter, Madeline just entered the world at 4:30 p.m. today. She weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. That is all I can tell you right now because the details came from the RGH. He couldn't remember how long she was. He didn't ask if she had hair or who she resembles.

Men! They just don't understand.

I am pretty well over my flu. The RGH just flew out this morning for a work hitch. I have lots of things happening in the abode department. Must prepare for the holidays.

I'll be checking in with some good stuff in a few days, so watch out.

Meanwhile, congratulate me. We finally got a granddaughter that isn't a dog. LOL!

Blessings,

MaryC

Sidelined by Swine

Today is day NINE of my bought with the flu. I am certain it is the Swine Flu for two reasons. One, I had a flu shot a month before I got this. Two, Clark County (where I live) Health Department says they estimate 99% of the flu cases in our county are H1N1. They think it is the main strain going around.

So, the regular flu vaccine - USELESS!

The RGH got sick a few days before me. He did not get the fever. He has been a lot better for days. I have not been so lucky. I spent the first five days with a fever and bronchial congestion. No nasal problems at all. Then on day 5, I got the mother of all sinus headaches. It was brutal. Nothing helped. I eventually dug up some Vicodin from my leg surgery and took that. It provided some relief. (For those that do not know me, I do not take pain meds. If I do, the pain is monstrous.) However, pain medicine keeps me from sleeping so that sucked.

The headache finally improved after two days. I am now just as sick as I ever was only I don't have a fever and the headache is really secondary. I just can't stop coughing. My sinuses are stuffed up and I kind of feel generally crappy.

This has completely sidelined my holiday crafting. I don't feel like doing anything and the mojo is nowhere to be found. As soon as I get well, I'll be in there but we may be speed crafting this year. Saddle up for the ride.

Blessings,

MaryC

Helpful and not so helpful Hints

MaryC still has the flu. Today's post is brought to you by her grumpy alter ego, ScaryC.

Have you ever read those Hints from Heloise in the newspaper? Well, SHE does, so I have to. Recently one of the 'hints' submitted by a reader caught my eye. This reader said she was constantly having to remove fingerprints from her stainless steel refrigerator. Apparently, she didn't get the memo about how difficult it is to keep stainless steel appliances clean.

Hello? (tapping microphone) Is this thing on? Can you not hear the millions of people out there, shouting to the heavens about the stainless steel fingerprint problem? It's a trade off, sister! Stainless looks cool. It's the 'IN' thing. The trade off is you see every. little. smudge.

So this genius with the hint, finds some seat belt sleeves at the car wash. You've seen them. They slide on the seat belt and keep it from rubbing your tender neck. They come in a multitude of prints and colors. Can you say pink zebra print? Seriously, find me some sunglasses. It's too much for my sensitive eyes.

The aforementioned 'hinter' took a pair of these babies home and wrapped them around the handles of her stainless steel refrigerator to protect it from fingerprints. Now correct me if I am wrong but how could two big blobs of terry cloth wrapped around the handles of her refrigerator improve it's appearance? Why not just make everyone in the house wear latex gloves? That would solve the problem. Better yet, stop using the refrigerator altogether. Just bury your perishables in dry ice in the backyard.

Forgive me, Heloise. SHE loves your hints. SHE really does. I, however will not stand for another moment of idiots ingenuity. PLEASE, send that woman a bag of microfiber cloths and a gallon of vinegar. I am begging you.

Hardly yours,

ScaryC

Get It Scrapped Questions Answered

A challenge on the Get It Scrapped Forums is to answer some questions about ourselves on our blog. We aren't supposed to see what others wrote until we answer them ourselves.

So if you are from Get it Scrapped Forums, stop reading now and go answer them on your blog first and then come back here to read on...

What is your favorite word? FORGIVE
What is your least favorite word? REGRET
What turns you on? ONLY HER RGH KNOWS FOR SURE...
What turns you off? BAD TEETH
What sound or noise do you love? LAUGHTER
What sound or noise do you hate? THE BACK UP BEEP ON THAT DUMP TRUCK WORKING OUTSIDE.
What is your favorite curse word? CRAP
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? WEDDING PLANNER
What profession would you not like to do? GARDENER
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? WELCOME HOME

Blessings,

MaryC

A Flu by any other name is still the Flu

I got my flu shot in September. The RGH got his a couple of weeks after me because he had a cold and couldn't get the shot.

I didn't catch his cold since I am ever diligent with the hand sanitizer and the Lysol.

Several days ago, when the RGH woke me up coughing, I figured he was catching another cold. Within a few hours, it was obvious the illness was more than a common cold. He had aches and sniffles but no fever. As the Y chromosome in this family, he was quite dramatic about how sick he was. Why is it when a male gets sick, no one on the planet has ever been sicker but when a woman gets sick, she still has to make dinner?

I tried my best not to catch his disease. I begged him to cough into a napkin. I used hand sanitizer. I set him up in the guest room with all the comforts. I fed him soup. I washed my hands so often, they feel like sand paper. And yet, yesterday morning I woke up with the tight bronchial feeling. I used my inhaler and took a Dayquil.

After a few hours, I developed a fever, chills, aches and I got the intestinal bonus. Lucky me! I do not have the runny nose or sore throat. I had the seasonal flu shot so I am convinced that this must be the dreaded H1N1 or Swine Flu that everyone is talking about.

I feel crappy. Yesterday, all I did was watch TV. I have lots of magazines and a book I am reading but I just couldn't muster up the energy to even hold up a book. Ibuprofen is keeping the fever down. A little cough syrup and my inhaler are keeping my bronchi clear.

I am drinking lots of tea and broth and Sprite. For the intestinal issues, I stuck to the BRATT diet. That symptom appears to be gone. In defense of my RGH, he really tried to take care of me in spite of still being sick himself. I am the type that doesn't like being fawned over when I am ill. I just want to be left alone. The RGH is the opposite. So when both of us are sick, it gets interesting around here.

I will be well in a few days and then I will be back with some crafty solutions to your gift giving dilemmas. I promise. I have a list. But after all this typing, I think I need a nap.

I hope you don't get the flu, any kind because no matter what they call it, it still sucks.

Be Well,

MaryC

It's Alive!!!

Me, I mean. Sorry to be so absent. The RGH has been home a lot. A LOT. Usually, I blog and craft and read when he is working. So, I haven't been doing any of those things lately.

I just recently got Scrap Central unpacked and sort of put together. I still have a few things that need to be hung on the wall and the TV is up but I haven't connected the cable yet. But I am in there now, working away at this post.

The only crafting that is happening in here is the numerous attempts at designing a Christmas card using stamps I already own. I'd like to have one fancy card and one cute card to mass produce for Christmas. Then I can let the Blue Santa (Hey, Mr. Postman!) deliver them for the RGH and me. So far I have had mixed results.

Really, most of the time in here has been spent looking at other people's cards online. Plus, perusing the ridiculously large collection of card idea books in my collection. So far, my mojo is still hiding. If you see it, please send it back to me.

Surely something entertaining has happened since I last blogged...but I sure can't think of anything. I just didn't want you all to think I had abandoned you. (All two of you). Once I get my plan going for the holidays, I'll give you the scoop on what kind of cheap-o goodies I come up with.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

MaryC

Gramma is flying to the Baby Shower

I am not a superstitious person. Really. I am not.

BUT, flying anywhere on September 11th kind of gives me the creeps. I can't help it. In fact, if it weren't our girl T's Baby Shower, I wouldn't go.

But all the Grandma's need to be there. I am one of them. For the record, I am Gramma - two m's, no d. It started with J. He called me Dramma and eventually Gramma. So, this is who I am forever more. We have some NaNa's, a Nannah and who knows what else we'll get but I am Gramma.

Anyway, I am heading to Tucson for the Baby Shower on September 11th. I pray that the plane does only what the plane is meant to do. I pray that the shower is joyful and fun. I pray that I fly home the same uneventful way I arrived and that the RGH is there to meet me.

Then, I hope to drink a few glasses of wine at home with the RGH and the cat.

Wish me luck.

Blessings,

MaryC

Divorcing Doctors and Feelin' Groovy

Update: I was divorced from my doctor. In Elaine of Seinfeld form, my doctor put me on the black ball list and told me to find someone else.

Like I was ever going back there anyway.

I found a doctor and I LOVE him! He spent at least 45 minutes with me (he came in early to work me in) and he told me that as long as it wasn't going to harm me, he would treat my menopause however I wanted him to. YAY!!

So I am back on track and feeling like a million bucks. Thank you Dr. Z! You are the man...well besides the RGH that is.

We spent a few days visiting our daughter, T and her husband J, and Judy the wonder dog. Soon we will have our little granddaughter , M to visit too. She is due the end of October.

Once home, we have been doing some home improvement projects. We installed knobs on the kitchen cabinets and the guest bath. I have to pick some more for our bath and bedroom. The RGH is currently putting my TV on the wall in my studio. Once that is done, I will be able to move all my stuff around and start using my room.

We are off to the dentist so I must sign off.

Blessings,

MaryC

A little Whine Wednesday...

***Warning*** Some may view this post as a TMI. Also, Menopause is frequently mentioned for those with the Y chromosome.

I had a partial hysterectomy in 2004. For the record, it was on my 45th birthday. I got to keep one ovary and a nub. Lucky me. I had a lot of problems that were eliminated when they removed my womb. I was happy.

My doctor told me he was leaving my ovaries (the nub is another story) because I had a long way to go before Menopause. However, it was possible that my ovaries may decide early that without the mother womb, they were no longer needed. This was said in passing as he exited my hospital room.

Well, two years later I was power surging like there was no tomorrow. I was losing my waistline faster than you could say Twinkies. I couldn't remember my middle name or what I had for breakfast and (incoming TMI) I was dryer than the Sahara 'down there'.

I went to the doctor and they started me on Bio-Identical Hormone injections. Once they got me dialed in, I was a new woman. Happy, cool, not dry and smart again. The waist returned. Life was good. UNTIL we moved to a new city.

Try to find a doctor that does Bio-Identical Hormones in a city that specializes in Showgirls and Exotic dancers. Ha! When I finally found one, she insisted that she do blood work BEFORE she could give me hormones. She doesn't do injections. It's creams and pills. It takes three weeks for the test results. They didn't call.

So I called them. Guess what? My levels were normal and she won't give me hormones. Sister, three weeks ago they may have been normal. I was on hormones, after all. Today, I am sweating like a pig in a Southern Summer, crying because my milk isn't cold enough and forgetting to put on my glasses. My waist is expanding like a sponge in water and I don't even want to talk about how dry my skin is getting.

Frankly, I lost it on the phone with the 'nurse' who told me this. She put me on hold because she didn't like my tone and never came back. B****!

Now, I am taking some 'Menopause' vitamins and I have a good supply of Progesterone pills from before. They are not synthetic. I read up on my symptoms and discovered some new information. Listen up, Ladies! Someday you may need to know this.

When you begin the process of Menopause, the hormone that disappears is PROGESTERONE. Your body makes that in preparation for the egg. Although ESTROGEN production goes down, it never completely stops. So many of the symptoms are from an imbalance of the two hormones. So, many symptoms, like hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain and facial hair (did I forget to mention that one?) are related to a lack of PROGESTERONE, not estrogen.

So I am laughing in the face of the person who said I was normal and I am popping my Progesterone pills. I will let you know if it works. Meanwhile, I continue to look for a doctor in this town that can help me to stop being a grumpy old lady. After all, I am only 50. Isn't 50 the new thirty?

God, I hope so.

Blessings,

MaryC