All things EARTH...

[Anita Latte]

There's a book called "Style Statement." It is basically a big huge DIY workbook of open ended questions segmented into 8? different areas of life. Things like home, fashion, fitness, recreation, rest, etc. The book makes you think about things...questions in each area are divided into "what works for me" and "what doesn't work for me." Once you answer all the questions, then there is analysis where you go through your answers looking for common themes. The goal is to get a two word Style Statement.

 

At this point, I can't quite remember the deal with the two words...but collectively they represent your style. And you can apply this idea of style to all aspects of life and decision making. Everything from clothing choices to furniture and house decorating to how you spend your time and what you do that truly resonates with the "real you."

 

The book includes many, many examples of people and what their style statement is and how that is reflected in their life.

 

I can't even remember who first brought up the book now. Margaret and Debbie are the only two that have managed to do the book and get a statement. Mom and I have struggled with it for various reasons. I think I am over analyzing everything, you're shocked right? And making it way more complicated than it has to be, I think.

 

Linda is back from Alaska. Mousey and Kim are soon off on their adventures on July 18; mousey on her 3-day cruise and Kim to Africa. Mom is going on a TA that leaves September 1; then she spends time in Barcelona and then Paris and then a bit with when she flies back to Atlanta from Paris. I cruise to the Bahamas on September 13. Those are the immediate travel plans.

[aoknkentucky]

Anita, I agree with your earlier statement that it's easier to think with hands on the keyboard while you write. I didn't want to answer directly in the Style Statement book, so I wrote everything on a legal pad. It would SO work to open a Word document and let your fingers fly. That would also make it easier to compare if you want to do the exercises some time in the future. I think I'll transfer my notes to a Word document so it's where I can locate it when you and Pam have completed it and we can all discuss our results.

[mousey]

Where do you buy this "Style Statement" book? Can you buy it at a bookstore such as Barnes and Noble? Sounds interesting to me.

 

Here's wishing all of you a HAPPY 4th of JULY!:D

 

Hope Hurricane Arthur is not adversely affecting any of you!

[aoknkentucky]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316067164/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1404409785&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

 

Mousey,

If I managed it correctly, this should be the link to purchase Style Statement from Amazon. --Debbie

[Anita Latte]

In the interest of sharing information...random information that may or may not be helpful in your lifetime...here's one way to help a cat drink water that isn't drinking water. Ice. Think of how a some ill people need to "drink" from ice chips. Well...Toby wasn't drinking water. He would hover over that water dish for up to 15 minutes...licking at the air. Long story short...after about a 30 minute "lesson" of me rubbing ice cubes on his face at his whiskers and above his mouth so that Toby could get that ice yielded water...Toby got down to business and went to town licking away at the ice in a bowl.

 

Just to share... I'm thinking that this is how Toby can "sip" water since he's been having a hard time and needs to get accustomed to having anything in his stomach again. We're going to gradually increase the water/ice ratio in the hopes that we can get him back to drinking water like normal. Meanwhile, we have been taking him to the vet to have a saline water injected under his skin that he absorbs to get him hydrated again.

 

So that's that.

 

Meanwhile...today I went out to lunch with some friends. Wow, it feels awesome to type that. It's nice to have a "go to" outfit. I have a print skirt that is a not too full, not quite maxi skirt. I have several solid knits tees that go well with it. It looks nice. I wore a scarf that I have to looked okay with it...but I know that I would prefer to bring out this other color in the skirt. I'm thinking about gathering ideas such as this...I wish I had a (insert here) to wear right now...and working on getting them added to my wardrobe.

 

So today. I wish that I had either a solid cream colored or solid copper/bronze colored scarf, would prefer an infinity kind of scarf in a gauze kind of material...light and airy. Really any sheer fabric would do. This skirt needs that solid...that scarf would go with any of the shirts that I normally wear with this skirt. I don't think this would be so difficult to make.

 

I find that I am more attracted to patterned scarfs...but what I really need for certain outfits is a solid accent...so I need to overcome my obsession with pretty patterned fabric!

[laurspag]

Anita, may I suggest Sam Moon? They have tons of solid colored scarves. They will probably be about $8 each which is a great price. I happen to like lightweight scarves all year because they seem easier to style without the bulk.

 

I will be following you all cruise wise with a 4 night cruise on Enchantment. It's the first week in November.

 

I should try the style statement book myself.

 

My necklace should arrive soon do I can see how it works with the green dress!!

 

Some really nasty storms just missed us. I feel fortunate. I don't think it's anything to do with Arthur though. Just standard summertime storms.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[laurspag]

I hope Toby gets better soon, Anita. Poor little guy!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[mousey]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316067164/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1404409785&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

 

Mousey,

If I managed it correctly, this should be the link to purchase Style Statement from Amazon. --Debbie

 

Thank you so much! How nice of you to share.:D

[Anita Latte]

Toby is drinking water freely and purring away like mad. So definitely having the best night/day since this whole situation started. YAY!!

 

I'll look into Sam Moon...I just caught a glimpse of the box full of scarves that I inherited from Debbie at the meet and greet. There's a kind of solid light tan colored one in there...I'm thinking that will suit...when I have a minute, I'm going to test that one. It's more string like than fabric like if you can picture that. I'm still interested in pursuing my thoughts though.

 

Headed to my SIL's for a short visit. We don't want to leave Toby alone for too long but we do want to be social. That and we are going to bring home the informal dining table that was ours and used by the family until they purchased their own furniture. Both SILs in this area have purchased houses and should close on them this month. Both houses do not have a basement so they are reducing their stuff. This means that we will also be acquiring a foose ball (spelling?) table for our basement game room until the one family can discover if they have a place for it.

[MJC]

Anita, I’m so happy to hear that Toby is doing better. You must be SO relieved. Laurie, how is your cute doggie doing after his extractions? Our kitty is only three so she is in the prime of health, knock on wood. She still loves to play and still has crazy kitty moments once in a while. We love her so much.

 

We’ve just made it through an amazing 24 hours of high winds and rain, not only from storms coming from the west but also from the hurricane to our east. Our July 4th was a washout but we are hoping to ski tomorrow if the winds die down. Sunday should be lovely, though. Our gas tank for the stove is empty and our microwave died, so we are having to be creative about cooking for a few days. Not our usual holiday weekend!

 

Last fall I wrote to LL Bean when they discontinued my favorite brown pants. Lo and behold, they’re back! I’m so happy because I wear them to work almost every day that I don’t have meetings. I think the color may be slightly different because it has a different name, but I’m trying them out anyway.

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/56777?page=perfect-fit-pants-straight-leg

 

And they also have it in a new dark red! I may have to check that color out.

 

I think I may read through my Style Statement book again, just as a reminder. I used mine as a kind of diary and wrote all over it. DH and I both have to write a lot for our jobs, and he can sit at the computer, do an outline, and write. He is very linear in his thinking. By contrast, I start with a piece of blank paper and write a thought map. I need to see the words and build synthesis and order visually. I still find it difficult to compose on a computer. I write the way I used to choreograph: bits and pieces all over that I eventually, one by one, nudge into place. So, my book might look to others like a mess, but it captured my ideas at the moment, and it will be interesting to see how it stands the test of time. I liked holding it with its paper pages, pen in hand, and thinking my thoughts.

 

We just watched Saving Mr. Banks. Emma Thompson must be an EARTH. Toward the end of the movie she briefly wears a teal dress with a gold cape and looks simply stunning.

[laurspag]

Margaret, I checked out those pants at LLBean. I love that rust red color! It's great to be able to find earth colors in pants. I grab them when I see them, overall.

 

I confess to buying a blue gray color not too long ago. To their credit, they aren't completely cool...there is a bit of warmth to them. I keep imagining how they could have made them into an earth blue!

 

Speaking of earth blue, that is a hard color for me to locate. I don't have teal on my color cards, but I really think it is a good color for me, and I know a few people here have said the same for themselves. Blue itself is a bit funny. I have seen a few dusty aqua shades, but those are few and far between. I've really been enjoying warm purple lately.

 

Anita, I'm so happy Toby is doing better. My dog just amazed me with how quickly he bounced back from having 7 teeth pulled. He was actually trying to chew on a nylabone after just a day, and he's been his old self since. He's a great sport.

 

Margaret, how is your dad doing? I'm hoping he is doing well.

 

Anita, the moving process is one I absolutely detest. There always seemed to be those last few boxes that sat around that I didn't know what to do with.

 

Mousey, I've always found it hard to describe how to post pictures, but once you do it, it's an easy process. As you can see from my posts, I like big pictures. I think it makes them easy to see. (yes, I wear bifocals!)

 

The weather has been so strange here, even before Arthur came around. We had temps near 100 degrees, and two days later it was in the low 60s and I was cold! The past day or two have been great though. We ate dinner outside today. I don't have a deck (yet) but we have a plastic table and chair set that we pull out and place under a tree. It was great spending time out in the fresh air.

[mousey]

Hi Ladies,

 

Just catching up...the DS has not been feeling well lately so I'm taking him to the doctor today. I think he has a very bad case of acid reflux. He coughed up some blood on Sat. morning and it really scared him but he refused to go to urgent care or the emergency room. I was freaking out as I had 16 people coming over on Sat. for a late 4th of July party. But as the morning progressed he felt much better and so we went ahead with the party and it was awesome. We had a really great time, which we usually do when our little gang gets together. Great food and lots of it.

 

Hope everyone is doing well, glad to hear the animals are doing well...that's great news!:D Sorry to hear some of you were adversely affected by the hurricane and other storms. :(

 

Only two more weeks till we cruise. I'm getting my hair done on Wed.:D

[MJC]

The LL Bean brown pants came today. They are very similar in color to the old Dark Coffee color. I got the slim fit this time instead of straight leg, which seem to fit my new shape better. I do miss the pockets, though, and I think the fabric is a bit thinner. When fall comes I may add the red ones. Laurie, if you get them, please let us know how you like them.

 

Thank you for asking about my dad, he's about the same. Their situation is not tenable for the long term so my siblings and I are just in this limbo, waiting for the crisis that will precipitate a change in their living situation. It is terrible to wait this way. I think they feel it coming because they are being very withdrawn and secretive as a way of trying to control things. There is a lot of magical thinking going on about what their abilities are and what the future holds. It is very sad because we know they would be doing better if they had care available, and I really want them to be in assisted living at this point.

 

In other shopping news, I picked up a cute top at Old Navy, even though that is not my favorite store quality-wise. I was actually looking for workout clothes. The color is called soy latte:

 

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?vid=1&pid=968759002

 

They let me out of jury duty early today, so I went to the Coldwater Creek store to see what was left. You may remember that gold sweater that I wore to death on my last cruise. I wear it A LOT. It goes with practically everything. I was able to pick up another one to hoard for the future, and they had it in EARTH purple so I got that too. I love it! I also got a super cute purple and gold floral-watercolor-patterned long-sleeve blouse. I'll have to put that away for fall, but I can't wait to wear it out to dinner. It will look awesome with my citrines. If I can get a good picture, I'll post it.

 

Now, here is my latest dilemma. It's my own fault for impulse buying. Ok, EARTH ladies, what would you wear with this? It's a lace skirt in an ivory/butter color, hi-low from just below the knee in front to just below the calf in back. Fairly straight but not quite a pencil skirt. Not in any way "cute." This picture is not the style at all but the lace is similar to this:

 

 

My current thinking is some kind of solid color top, very simple, and a significant necklace to provide some balance. Or maybe a T and flip flops to keep it summer casual. What do you think?

[Anita Latte]

I think you need to treat this skirt in the way that you normally treat skirts and see what happens. Lace is texture but not a pattern necessarily so it could be possible to treat the skirt like a solid color, which seems to be more of your norm for skirts.

 

Looking back at your recent cruise pictures...I would try that deep colored purple/blue tank that is also a texture tone on tone texture (diamond pattern). I would also try that tank that has the orange, blue, and teal pattern on it. I think that pattern would actually go well with the kind of lace that you pictured. Okay...pretty much, every single shirt you wore with those pencil skirts on your cruise...I'd try those for starters.

 

THEN...when I went looking for ideas...I saw that ladies were often contrasting the femininity of a high low skirt with more masculine like jackets...like denim and bomber styles over tanks or simple T's. But I think that the cardigan that you love so much might work too.

 

Try on some outfits and take a picture and see what you think. My thoughts on the matter are along the lines of...treat the skirt as a "normal" skirt...even though it seems different...then let the fun new style of the skirt add something new to your typical outfit...but don't necessarily think you have to change your typical skirt outfit.

 

Just for inspiration...I searched here for "lace skirt"...none are a high low...but some ideas anyway:

 

http://chicisimo.com/discover/search/lace+skirt/page/17/

[aoknkentucky]

Thanks for the link to chicisimo, Anita. I remember you and/or Pam mentioning this previously. I need to peek around for some updated looks for myself.

[Member123]

I can spend hours and hours and hours at the chicisimo site! For example, I do a quick run through of all the looks, like the one that Anita just gathered. I do a quick "think" about whether I love, like, don't like, really don't like... and then I try to analyze "why?" for the categories. If I really like something, then I try to figure out what makes the whole outfit "work" for me.

 

And, then I get really absorbed in... where are they?... oh, LOOK, she's definitely in Bora Bora! Then, I think about where they are located and what time of year is it? Then, I think about the girls themselves and just how cute they are... and then I think I should do some work in the Style Statement book... and then it's time for lunch.

 

This statement is for Anita and anyone who has visited Key West: Look! A chicken!

 

I would spend some time on that site today, but I'm too busy weighing my clothes! Next up... underwear! LOL.

 

So, my latest dilemma in vacation planning? I've figured out my day trips in Barcelona and I've read some fantastic reviews on cruise critic from people who have pre-cruise or post-cruise stays. I just finished a review from a Canadian who did a pre-cruise/post-cruise stay in Paris, London, Barcelona... he made a statement... "the devil is in the details"... because he is an amateur chef who graduated from culinary school and he really wanted to eat at particular locations. I admired his planning, so I started delving into some planning for meals in Barcelona.

 

Stuff and bother! The Barcelona food culture is so different from what we're used to! Why is it that breakfast is so difficult when you travel?!? OK. Help me with some suggestions.

 

In our room, we really won't have anything provided that would allow me to have a DECENT cup of coffee. We will have a pot that will heat up water and they provide packets of instant coffee (gag-a-licious) and some tea bags. The dilemma is... my morning routine is to have a leisurely latte (I know; I'm spoiled by my fabulous espresso machine!), and wake up my appetite. My DH wakes up hungry and will eat almost FIRST THING... ALMOST BEFORE he brushes his teeth!... kidding....

 

Anyway, Barcelona eats a continental breakfast. Quick cup of coffee. Breakfast pastries. They then eat a substantial lunch, usually about 3 courses from around 1pm to 3pm... the heaviest lunch crowd is in the restaurant around 2pm. They eat their last meal around 10:00pm/10:30pm, and it's usually a light snack of small plates. I've researched and they don't really call them "tapas," as such. But, they don't really have the type of dinner that we're accustomed to. Everything about the day will be fine for us.... except breakfast is a real challenge. The hotel provides what they refer to as a "North American" breakfast, but they charge 26E per person... I just can't spend $70 each day for breakfast!

 

If I wait for my DH to get himself set for the day, I will be a grumpy bunny. There is NO DOUBT about that! I have to be really clever here... what should I do? As soon as he's ready, DH will want to go get something to eat. Something close to the hotel... this is fine; I've scoped out some fantastic places for those beautiful pastries. But, if I carb-load for the start of my day?... I will gain weight like nobody's business.

 

So, this is how my dilemma makes it to the Fashion Board! I won't fit into my clothes!!! LOL. Help!!!

 

Seriously. Does anyone have some advice for me?

[aoknkentucky]

Hi, Pam. I guess I was posting on the FIRE thread while you were over here. I did a quick search. Here's what I found. Entrées prepared sin azúcar served with vegetables instead of bread.

 

This may or may not help. It was posted in 2010, but I thought it might provide a little further research to see if these places still exist. It also included links to the author. That might prove interesting also.

 

http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/barcelona-eats-where-to-grab-breakfast-and-brunch.html

[mousey]

Ok, here'a an update.

 

The DS is fine...he threw up blood because he drank to much at the frat party. Ugh! How I'm gonna live through the next 3 years remains a mystery for now. He's learned a lesson but how long it will stick with him remains to be seen. The doctor told me after his conversation with the DS (I got kicked out of the room, nicely, because the DS is 19) that in the scheme of things how much the DS had drunk was moderate and nothing off the charts and that what happened to the DS is not unusual. Yeah, like that makes me feel better. The DS doesn't even like to drink and only did it because his friends were doing it, which shows me that when it comes to maturity...he's not there yet! Dang, just when I thought he had it all together. The good news it that the doctor spent over an hour with the DS and told me he thinks the DS is a typical 19 yr.-old who is exceptionally intelligent, and very sociable. He wants the DS to work on a project that he's developing to help kids that are in trouble because he said the DS has some great ideas about how to reach kids his age. "Whatever!", said I..."He's not intelligent enough to say,"No!" when his friends are over drinking. Then the doctor asked me what I was doing when I was his age and that put things into perspective for me very quickly. Because the DS is a saint compared to me at that age!;). Anyone ever hear of Woodstock!? LOL!:D

 

Okay, so about the lace skirt...it just so happens that I have one just like it only mine is maxi length. The underskirt is mini length but I feel comfortable with it because the lace hides my 67 yr.-old legs!:eek: Actually it looks very nice on me. I've been thinking of pairing it with exactly what Anita suggested. I'll wear a solid colored tank with a very lightweight jeans jacket that I've had for years that is nicely broken in and very comfortable.

 

Gotta run, the DS just got home for his lunch break from work and I'm going to make something for him to eat. Be back later.:D

[JaneStarr]

 

So, my latest dilemma in vacation planning? I've figured out my day trips in Barcelona and I've read some fantastic reviews on cruise critic from people who have pre-cruise or post-cruise stays. I just finished a review from a Canadian who did a pre-cruise/post-cruise stay in Paris, London, Barcelona... he made a statement... "the devil is in the details"... because he is an amateur chef who graduated from culinary school and he really wanted to eat at particular locations. I admired his planning, so I started delving into some planning for meals in Barcelona.

 

Stuff and bother! The Barcelona food culture is so different from what we're used to! Why is it that breakfast is so difficult when you travel?!? OK. Help me with some suggestions.

 

In our room, we really won't have anything provided that would allow me to have a DECENT cup of coffee. We will have a pot that will heat up water and they provide packets of instant coffee (gag-a-licious) and some tea bags. The dilemma is... my morning routine is to have a leisurely latte (I know; I'm spoiled by my fabulous espresso machine!), and wake up my appetite. My DH wakes up hungry and will eat almost FIRST THING... ALMOST BEFORE he brushes his teeth!... kidding....

 

Anyway, Barcelona eats a continental breakfast. Quick cup of coffee. Breakfast pastries. They then eat a substantial lunch, usually about 3 courses from around 1pm to 3pm... the heaviest lunch crowd is in the restaurant around 2pm. They eat their last meal around 10:00pm/10:30pm, and it's usually a light snack of small plates. I've researched and they don't really call them "tapas," as such. But, they don't really have the type of dinner that we're accustomed to. Everything about the day will be fine for us.... except breakfast is a real challenge. The hotel provides what they refer to as a "North American" breakfast, but they charge 26E per person... I just can't spend $70 each day for breakfast!

 

If I wait for my DH to get himself set for the day, I will be a grumpy bunny. There is NO DOUBT about that! I have to be really clever here... what should I do? As soon as he's ready, DH will want to go get something to eat. Something close to the hotel... this is fine; I've scoped out some fantastic places for those beautiful pastries. But, if I carb-load for the start of my day?... I will gain weight like nobody's business.

 

So, this is how my dilemma makes it to the Fashion Board! I won't fit into my clothes!!! LOL. Help!!!

 

Seriously. Does anyone have some advice for me?

Sorry I've been AWOL so long, but I have great excuses! Will elaborate "later", but my oldest DD gave birth to our first Grandchild in NJ (ON her DUE DATE!) just 3 days after her younger sister's VT wedding. We literally threw a rental houseful of things into the car and raced from VT to Morristown Medical. We arrived ( w/ bride, groom and younger brother) about 1 hour after Baby Noah Robert entered the world! I am currently in NJ helping out the new family for 2 1/2 weeks. Everything is going well except for getting any nighttime sleep.

I'm exhausted but in heaven holding my sweet little grandson!

Destination Wedding weekend went off like a dream! Middle DD really "rocked her gown" and was on cloud nine almost the entire time. Only bittersweet moment was when we had to hear the Matron of Honor Speech/ Toast via video.

Best part of the crazy baby timing was that both my younger kids were able to meet and hold their new nephew, before returning for flights to Europe (honeymooners) and OKC (for my son).

 

Oops...I got carried away...meant to just suggest a coffee option much more acceptable than instant. Consider bringing some Starbucks Via packets and powdered flavored coffee creamer with you. At least it's drinkable.

Will try to post a few pics when not limited by iPad.

 

Jane

(PS Pls excuse lack of proof-reading. If I don't post now I may not get back to this for a long time!)

[mousey]

Jane Starr,

 

Congratulations on the birth of your new grandson and on your daughter's wedding. Sounds like you had an exciting adventure between the two events. Wishing the newlyweds and new parents the best of life.:D

 

As far as breakfast when traveling in Europe. Yeah, they're not really big on it was my take in all the various countries we've visited over the years. Thankfully the DH and I are both not big on eating right when we get up. We like to wait awhile...at least an hour or so before we decide what we want to eat. We're more brunch-type people. I usually only do two large meals a day. Brunch and dinner with some small snacks in between. I could probably do with a few less "snacks"...LOL!:eek:

 

Anyway, here's another thing I'm dealing with...there's always something don't ya know.:rolleyes: Okay, so I wake up Monday morning and my forearm and the back of my arm (the right one) is itching like crazy. I clear my head and look at my forearm and I have this big red, raised...what I'm assuming is some kind of insect bite! Yikes! When I look at the back of my arm in the mirror, the other bite (?) is huge! So all day I was putting some cortisone cream on it to try and stop the itching but it didn't work. By the time we went to dinner the bites (?) where getting bigger and they cover most of my arm. So, long story short, I'm headed to the doctor today to see what the heck this is and if, in fact, they are bug bites...what the heck!?:eek: What kind of creature bit me and where did it come from. The DH and I are thinking it's most likely a spider bite. But to think I got bit by a spider while I was sleeping is quite scary!!!! Though I must admit, we do get a lot of them up here in the Santa Monica Mountains this time of year. Over the years we have found a couple of Black Widow spiders...and once even a Tarantula...but in my bed!?:eek:

 

I'll continue this saga when I get back from the doctor. Maybe I'll treat myself to a stop-in at TJ Maxx and get yet another "little something, something" for the cruise! :D

i

On a more serious note; Margaret, as I've mentioned before, I too have elderly parents and as the days go by my DB and I are starting to have serious discussions about what to do when they get to the point where they can't take care of themselves or each other. It's such a bummer to have to deal with thinking about removing your parents from their home but it's something that unfortunately will have to happen at some point. My dad's leg (he needs knee surgery but won't get it done) is starting to fail him more and more. He's fallen down several times now and we are scared that it might give out on him one day when he's driving, which could obviously be deadly. He's a stubborn one and hasn't given up driving. My mom and I are a nervous wreck after any car ride with him. He won't let me drive...did I mention he's a stubborn one!? So I truly understand what you are going through. It also doesn't help that, like you, I don't live close by to be of any help. These are the struggles we have as we and our parent's age. It isn't fun by any means. But I must say, I'm so glad that I still have them in my life so I don't complain too much about it. Sigh...

Edited July 8, 2014 by mousey

[JaneStarr]

Jane Starr,

 

Congratulations on the birth of your new grandson and on your daughter's wedding. Sounds like you had an exciting adventure between the two events. Wishing the newlyweds and new parents the best of life.:D

 

As far as breakfast when traveling in Europe. Yeah, they're not really big on it was my take in all the various countries we've visited over the years. Thankfully the DH and I are both not big on eating right when we get up. We like to wait awhile...at least an hour or so before we decide what we want to eat. We're more brunch-type people. I usually only do two large meals a day. Brunch and dinner with some small snacks in between. I could probably do with a few less "snacks"...LOL!:eek:

 

Anyway, here's another thing I'm dealing with...there's always something don't ya know.:rolleyes: Okay, so I wake up Monday morning and my forearm and the back of my arm (the right one) is itching like crazy. I clear my head and look at my forearm and I have this big red, raised...what I'm assuming is some kind of insect bite! Yikes! When I look at the back of my arm in the mirror, the other bite (?) is huge! So all day I was putting some cortisone cream on it to try and stop the itching but it didn't work. By the time we went to dinner the bites (?) where getting bigger and they cover most of my arm. So, long story short, I'm headed to the doctor today to see what the heck this is and if, in fact, they are bug bites...what the heck!?:eek: What kind of creature bit me and where did it come from. The DH and I are thinking it's most likely a spider bite. But to think I got bit by a spider while I was sleeping is quite scary!!!! Those I must admit we do get a lot of them up here in the Santa Monica Mountains this time of year. But in my bed!?:eek:

 

I'll continue this saga when I get back from the doctor. Maybe I'll treat myself to a stop-in at TJ Maxx and get yet another "little something, something" for the cruise! :D

Thanks for the good wishes!

Yikes about those bites. I'm glad you are going to get them checked out by the doc. Maybe you're having an allergic rxn to those bites. Wouldn't hurt to take an antihistamine before seeing the doctor.

Keep us posted.

Jane

[JaneStarr]

Here's a picture of our newborn grandson about 1 hour after his birth. We raced from his Auntie's wedding in VT directly to the hospital.

It is HEAVEN on Earth holding him!

 

Here's a pic from today at age 14 days:

 

Here's a Pic of DH presenting DD for marriage:

 

And here's a picture of the Newlyweds:

 

Family group photo -- minus the soon-to-be new parents:

[mousey]

JaneStarr,

 

What awesome pictures. It much be a glorious time in your life right now. I can just imagine how happy you and your family are. The baby is adorable and that's one very attractive family you have there.

 

To All:

 

Well JaneStarr was right. I have had an allergic reaction to whatever bit me and it may be that the bites are infected. Erring on the side that they are, I'm now on an antibiotic (which I hate because I was just on them for my gum surgery). I'm supposed to either come in immediately during the day or head for urgent care during the evening/night/early morning if the bites get any bigger as that means that the infection (if I have one) is spreading. I need this like another hole-in-the-head as we leave on our cruise on the day I will stop taking the darn, hated, antibiotic. Oh well, such is life and this too shall pass. Others have bigger problems than me and this can be fixed when others are facing things that can't be fixed or cured. So moving right along...:p

[JaneStarr]

Yikes! Sorry for posting those pics so GIANT and making it a pain to read the

thread. I swear, I did what I usually with tinypic dot com and chose my usual "bulletin board" picture size. Wish I had had time to catch the problem while I could've still edited my post yesterday.

 

Don't think there's any way for me to fix this :(

Hope we will be back to normal layout when we get to the next page.

Maybe I will try to post a few short posts to see if I can push us past my problem page??? Any idea if that will work?

(I just previewed this post, and it appears to be "normal" width. Not sure if it started a new page or if it's because I inserted extra carriage returns.)

New mommy and 15 day old baby were up most of the night, so I'll probably take care of him for a couple of hours after next nursing so my DD can get

some sleep. Either that, or we will take him to the Short Hills Mall to get some

climate-controlled stroller time.

Gotta run. I hear baby making "squeaks" from upstairs. Will bring new mommy

her 2nd breakfast snack while she feeds the little barracuda.

Sorry for those dealing with the stress of what to do to keep elderly parents safe w/o taking away their freedom. I'm not looking forward to that at all.

Will try to catch up -- eventually. Still in NJ until probably Monday, then I need to deal with all the long weekend/wedding "stuff" that we just tossed in the car to get to NJ...plus like 3 wks worth of mail.

Not really complaining; we have been OVERWHELMED with blessings these past few weeks!

Jane

Edited July 9, 2014 by JaneStarr
PS This didn't fix the "width" issue!

[JaneStarr]

Baby Noah seems to have settled down for a moment, so I will post a few replies to see if pushing us onto the next page fixes the problem I created.

 

Belated wishing for a :

Happy Memorial Day

 

Happy Independence Day

 

And

Happy other Holidays that I've missed.

 

Jane

(Letting my signature show in order to make this

longer, hopefully)