Orchid, originally uploaded by Henna73.

Things have hit the fan big time at work. They will be starting to track our internet usage and email usage. Many people have lost cell phone privileges, company cars, benefits, etc. We also downsized by almost 15%, which is a big thing for a company of 25. I was a lucky one this time, but I might not be next time. My really good co-worker/friend/partner-in-crime, was downsized today. She is just devastated.

So, the short of it is that it's time for me to move on. I will try to lurk here on LJ and on OS when possible at home, but I don't think I will be posting very much anymore. After spending hours on the computer at work, I don't sit down at the home computer very much.

All of you have been so supportive and kind to me and everyone else. Your kindness will be carried in my heart always. I can't believe the number of amazing people I have met online and in IRL due to the internet. Who would have thought!

This isn't a forever good-bye, more like a good-bye before a very long journey. I will be in contact, though sporadically. My info is still in the OS Yahoo account if anyone wants to drop me a line.

Take care of yourselves, treat yourselves right, don't take shit from ANYONE, be kind, eat good food, share nicely and laugh a lot! Life is way too short to take seriously.

Barrel, originally uploaded by Henna73.

Well we have found furniture in the attic and a nice Brownie camera, but no sewing machine.

We have also found a weather vane made from old TV antennas.

We did not find a spinning wheel or a velocipede (that would have been cool!).

We have found numerous mummified bats and tons of live bats.

We have not found any ice cream churners or butter churners or pianolas.

We have found a ton of stuff (in the three buildings, two with attics and two garages, with an attic in one). Every single inch of space was packed with something and some things we found were...
• 9 can openers (some as old as the 30's)
• 11 colanders
• About 200 different pieces of silverware
• 64 empty decorative coffee cans (like Folgers)
• A huge box of marbles
• Someone's birthday and Valentine's Day cards from 1965-1972
• 9 TVs
• 5 old refrigerators (1950's)
• 3 old stoves (1940's)
• 2 old aluminum pools
• And so much more shit - it's truly amazing the crap we have found

Our best find to-date came on Sunday morning. My brother just happened to look in the attic of the little cottage and found a ton more shit. We thought we had cleaned all the attics already, but I guess we missed this one.

In the furthest corner stood two wood barrels. When we finally pulled them out, we found they were old beer barrels from 1922. One barrel is still full of beer, but we did not drink it or even open it.

Now what's really interesting is that my great-grandfather worked at this brewery and actually died there when he fell in the vat and drowned. Talk about a weird coincidence.

I will try to post more pictures of the cabin next week. We leave early tomorrow for a road trip down to Bristol TN to see a NASCAR race.

Chocolate Covered Bacon, originally uploaded by Henna73.

So Crow guessed it right last week. D and I tried the Chocolate Covered Bacon on a Stick at the fair. I think my love of bacon can only be surpassed by my love of cheese or maybe garlic or maybe beer. I think that sounds like one heck of a recipe right there! Anyways, when I heard there would be Chocolate Covered Bacon at the fair, I knew I had to try it. D was excited to try it too because that man loves bacon even maybe a little bit more than I do, if it's possible. His favorite donut is topped with a maple glaze and pieces of bacon!

For $6 we got 2 pretty generous pieces of the choc. bacon. The bacon it self is served cold so that the chocolate is firm and not runny. In any other situation, I actually like cold bacon. However, cold bacon covered in chocolate tends to be not so crispy. Some people actually said the bacon was fatty, but it really wasn't that fatty, it just wasn't that crispy. Our final verdict? Eh, it was ok. I only had about 3 bites and then D ate the rest of both pieces. Oh well, you have try new stuff right?

And for next post, just wait until you see what we found in an attic up north. It is so very, very cool, but I forgot my camera to post the picture today. Any guesses? If anyone guesses it (100%) I will send them a little something!

Cheese, originally uploaded by Henna73.

Ah yes, the power of cheese. D and I went to the Wisconsin State Fair Wednesday night and had one heck of a dinner. I did pretty good with controlling the portions, but I bet I still gained 3 lbs. from all the goodies.

Our favorite stand of all time is the HOT WISCONSIN CHEESE. This is always our first stop. Forget any notion you have of a chewy, greasy, deep fried cheese curd. These little things are like balls of sunshine, orbs of warm love, nuggets of goodness. Ahem, sorry, I just love these things!

We also partook of as many things "on a stick" as possible, without dying from ingesting too many fats! The Reuben on a stick was very good, but I forgot to get a picture of it. We also indulge in Cherry Pie on a stick, s'mores on a stick, and a pork chop on a stick (definitely my fav after the WI cheese). There was one other really crazy thing on a stick, but I will wait until Monday for that one.

In other things, what do you call it when you are always ornery on the inside, but not necessarily on the outside? I feel like I should join "Bad Mood Anonymous" lately, but I seem to be fairly cheery with everyone except in my head. It's just my brain is saying all sorts of swears and mean little jabs- ha! Ah yes, inner turmoil maybe? Gotta love our demented little brains.

The weather has finally been hot around here. I don't love it, but it's nice that it finally feels the way it should. I think we are going up north again this weekend. Lots of beer and swimming in my future!

Sorry for crappy photos. I brought my little P&S because it's easier to carry.

My nephew will be three next week. I would really like to do some sort of DIY gift for him now that he is old enough not to eat my crafts!

- Do 3 year old boys play the game MEMORY? I would like to make him a custom set with trucks, cars, etc.
- What about a dress up box for him? Can I use feathers for indians or is that too taboo? My mom would make headbands and feathers from paper bags and let us paint our chests and run around in our undies and be indians, but I really don't know if this ok nowadays.

Any other easy DIY dress up items? He plays with his sisters stuff now and she hates it (she's 5). So I thought a box geared towards him mike work. I have a Blue's Brothers hat and sunglasses for him from our Rt66 trip and some suspenders with a German hat.
- Any other suggestions at all?

He will also get some money in his edu fund from me, but I want to make it a tradition to make them things on their birthdays. My niece got a whole set of felt food from me for her b-day this year.

Stream on Bearskin, originally uploaded by Henna73.

I have most of my work for the week done already. It's going to be a long Thursday and Friday. Some highlights of last weekend…

- Ran my first ever 5k (I only ran about half and it took about 46 minutes) but it's a start. I would love to run the whole thing next year.
- I got to run with an Italian, a Polish, a wiener, a brat and a chorizo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sausage_Race
- I had a huge turtle sundae at 10 am on Saturday for my breakfast.
- I went to the local county fair with my brothers and the kids.
- I took my niece on the Tilt-a-Whirl for the first time. She loved it and I realized I still do too! I thought maybe being older it would make me sick, but it didn't.
- I fed a camel for the first time in my life. They have such sweet eyelashes. I wish I would have brought my camera.
- I ended up eating ice cream THREE times on Saturday (I know plaidy is jealous).
- We finally get rain (over 3 weeks with none) and get drenched at the fair, oh well!
- Found out a TON of people are pregnant in RL and on OS.
- It's really seeming to bother me right now and that hasn't happened for awhile.
- Of course I also get the worst period I have had in about 15 years this week.
- We are going up north for the weekend and I can't wait.
- This picture was taken on the bike trail that we rode last time we were up north.
- I really need to get some of my photos printed and hung AND I need to start taking some more!
- I want some chocolate!

Bung, originally uploaded by Henna73.

Did you know that the hole in the side of a quarter barrel is called a "bunghole"? Don't believe me? Look it up! Actually, they don't make quarter barrels like this anymore, but it's still funny. I thought we could all use a good Friday laugh!

D and I stopped at the Steven's Point Brewery on the way up north a few weeks ago. We had so much fun and hope to visit ALL the breweries in our state some day.

Work has been SLOW, but I am trying my hardest to look busy. I think everyone is too. Yikes, it's getting scary me thinks.

Start posting more people, I need something to do!

Shoes, originally uploaded by Henna73.

I had a fun pair of red shoes back in the day. I just decided that I need to have a pair again, like right now.

These are my two top choices.

Which do you like better?

Barn Fire, originally uploaded by Henna73.

So you know how I just loved my parents barn? And how I hate that it was falling down? And I wanted to take some of the wood and make some things with it?

I guess I am out of luck. It started on fire last week (accidental) and is now gone. ALL the wood is charred and most likely won't be usable.

It makes me sad, but I am very thankful that my parents are ok and that their home is still standing. They will lose quite a few trees in teh end. And there was some minor damage to their shutters and siding on the house, but everything else is ok.

Can I just say the second half of 2009 seriously has to be better.

Going up north tonight. See you guys next week.

Ah, yes, where were we in the saga of Henna's crappy body?

I finally got the results of my GI ultrasound this morning. There are no gallstones, no gallbladder inflammation, no gallbladder enlargement, no spleen issues, no appendix issues. There were a few small fatty deposits on my liver, but it is not considered "fatty liver" yet. These deposits can cause some pain, but it should not have been as painful as it was. My doctor does not think these caused my major discomfort and pain last week. However, nothing is conclusive (don't you just hate that word?).

Now for the freaky news. They could not find my right kidney. I have NO right kidney! Did I know this? NO. Could it be affecting my blood pressure that I have been having a problem with for the last three years? YES. Does it freak me the hell out? YES. I am getting a CT scan tomorrow to make sure I didn't HAVE a right kidney and something bad has happened to it. Well, let's sure hope not. Just being born without one seems weird to me, but I guess it happens to one in 750 people and usually it's men.

See, it's always something funky with me. I can't just have gallstones and be done with it. I guess I am a freak of nature. I would love, love, love for one whole year to have NOTHING wrong, great BP, get preggers, no Thyroid issues, no surgeries, no pain, no anxiety, no way in hell.

I will update on Thursday when I get my results. Send me just a little smidgen of luck that it's something totally normal. I did find 9 pennies this weekend so I figure I should be covered!

Oh man, I am so not feeling well. I got a ridiculous stomach ache after lunch yesterday. I thought my soup was bad because I made it over a week and a half ago, even though it was only veggies. I felt a little better last night. However, I am hurting worse today. After doing some research online, it's a very distinct possibility that I am having a gall bladder attack or that I have stones or something like that. My grandpa, mother and both aunts have all had their gall bladders removed. Ick...

I haven't called the doctor yet because we all know that I am one big procrastinator, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the doctor. I also have pain pills left from my surgery in June so that's making it a bit more bearable right now.

Can I just say that I am SICK of my body??? I am eating healthy and working out and it just bites me in the ass. I am looking good and feeling good and I want to keep working on it. I also don't want any more surgeries or procedures or tests or medications. I have been poked and prodded and cut open and have had more things shoved IN ME than I care to recall. I really, really don't want this to be a surgery type thing.

Any thoughts? Has anyone else had their gall bladder removed?

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. My dad's surgery went well (6 bypass). He was sent home today which is good because I was afraid he was just going to walk out soon. He is, of course, ornery and my poor mother has a long road ahead of her with taking care of his crabby ass. His nurses were so great and I am thankful for their support and laughter.

So, now my health overhaul has been kicked in the butt even more. I am working really hard to lose the weight and kick my smoking habit. Yikes, I should be a bundle of joy for the next few months! Speaking of exercise. I decided to bring out my exercise ball last night to do my sit-ups. In the process, I fell off and tried to stop myself with my elbow, which resulted in a HUGE rug burn. Man, it's been a lot of years since I had rug burn, and back in the day, those didn't come from that kind of exercise, if you know what I mean.

My uber healthy brother got me to agree to do a 5k with him at the end of July. I am going to try to run 1 mile, walk 1 mile and run the last 1.2 miles. I am so not a runner, so we will see how it goes. I have been running on the treadmill at home, but I am afraid to do it on the streets. People will lock their doors and secure their shutters! I need to invest in some true running shoes too, per my brother. He said they will help save my poor old knees.

At the moment, I am inspired by mamichan,crowjoy and  aquestrian  with their cute outfits. I need some serious updating, but I don't want to buy too much because I will be thinner damn it! Still, any creative "in between sizes" tips would be appreciated. I like jewelry and scarves, but no belts please.

I am so ready for the nice weather to stay awhile. March was like a crazy roller coaster. Record highs, record lows, snow, sleet, rain, wind. I have had enough and everyone else has had it too. My spirits need a lift and the sun always helps. It's almost here, it's almost here, it's almost here...

(I also feel weird not posting with a picture, but I really don't have anything new!)

Scarf, originally uploaded by Henna73.

Don't mind me and my two chins and my really old TAB t-shirt.

I made this "scrap buster" scarf a couple of weeks ago. It's a bit wonky, but there really wasn't much of a pattern. The next thing I sew, I will be using a pattern. I want to advance my skills a bit. I wanted to take a quilt class, but they are all about hearts and flowers and that's just not me. Maybe this fall I can find a class that's up my alley.

The weather has been glorious the last three days. Yesterday it was 75°! That was a record for us. I know it isn't going to last, but just being outside a little has improved my spirits. I have walked 9.5 miles in the last three days OUTSIDE. I even wore JUST a t-shirt yesterday.

Had my yearly physical last week. Things are going pretty well except for the Thyroid. It's a bit out of whack again. They upped my meds so hopefully it will get back under control.

As for TTC, I guess we have come to the point of IVF. I need to go see a specialist and see if it's even feasible for us. I vow to do that before my birthday in June. I just keep thinking, oh maybe it will just somehow happen this month. It only takes one little egg and one little sperm. Come on body, just once...