At the Fence

Hey neighbors!! Take a moment to check out Candy Club!! With Valentines Day fast approaching Candy Club is for your sweethearts sweet tooth!!

Hey neighbors!! The other day I posted about my new focus on diet and exercise.  Well, least Saturday I stepped out on our back deck and slipped on the snow and went straight down on my back. Well, I got up and felt jarred, but no real pain other than where my hand caught the wall.  Sunday was a different story.  My hip hurt, my neck was sore, my hand hurt and I found I had friction burned my elbow. So I started dieting, but could not do too much as far as exercise.  Wednesday afternoon we went to the local YMCA and I got on the treadmill for a short time.  I managed a 1/4 of a mile.  That's it before my hip started hurting.  So, slow but steady.  I will continue to give updates as I continue this journey. I have been eating better.  My husband and I went out for lunch Wednesday and I had a salad while he had an Asian buffet.  The salad bar was nice, because they include large chunks of roast beef, ham and grilled chicken.  For lunch I had on Thursday I had tuna fish (mayo

Hey Neighbors! This is our second box and I am so impressed with Gramma in a Box .  Basically, Terry Chamberlain, the owner and inventor of Gramma in a box puts together a box of cookies and other supplies to make three to four fun unique treats.  She provides you with just about everything you need.  I added 2 bowls, a spoon, scissors to cut the icing bags, and we used our microwave.  Everything else was in the box. So to get on with what we received this time!! First were the New Year Sparklers.  We needed the included pretzel sticks, chocolate melts, and the pastel dots.  I used our microwave safe bowl to melt the chocolate.  Then you spoon the melted chocolate over the sticks, except where your fingers are of course.  When you are done you then sprinkle on the pastel dots. Next we made the Game Day Crunch.  This was a favorite.  You put the included popcorn, peanuts mini M and M's, and dried cranberries in your small mixing bowl.  There is a warning

Hey neighbors! Do any of you or a member of your family experience those pesky seasonal allergies?  I used to get hit spring and fall, but not as bad anymore.  My husband on the other hand has been hit real bad this fall and winter.  He has had the worst congestion and cough ever!  I am telling you, the cough from his sinuses dripping in his throat is horrible.  And yes, he has been seen and checked out and it is allergies. It started out with what he complained of as post nasal drip.  Somehow he said as soon as he can feel it in his throat he starts coughing.It keeps him at wake at night, often it wakes me.  Our daughters say they can hear him in their bedrooms when he is in the kitchen in the morning.  So, first stop the local clinic, which told him it was probably a sinus infection.  They gave him antibiotics for the infection, another medication to help reduce swelling in the nasal cavities and a  Anyway, after he completed that series of medications, which did absolutely n

Start your new year off right by earning free gift cards through Swagbucks! All throughout January you can earn large bonuses when sign up as my referral on Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a rewards site where you earn points (called SB) for things you're probably doing online already, like searching the web, watching videos, shopping, discovering deals, and taking surveys. Then you take those points and exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Target, or PayPal cash.   When you sign up through me this month, you can earn a 300 SB bonus! Here's how:   1.  Sign up using this link   2. Earn 300 SB total before January 1st, 2019. You'll get a 300 SB bonus for it!   3. That's it. It's super easy, and Swagbucks is for real. I use it myself, and I've earned thousands of Swagbucks and used them for Paypal, Amazon and other gift cards.  

Hey neighbors!! Many of you already know that I am diabetic.  I was diagnosed about 6 years ago when I went in to the emergency room due to back pain.  They took care of the pain and let me know that I was diabetic.  They placed me on Metformin and told me to start watching my carbs and to start exercising, which I did well for about three years.  Then I slowly started letting things go.  The exercise slowed down, I started allowing more little treats, CARBS, into my diet.  I had stopped Metformin after the first month and still have not gone back on it, but I notice my numbers are climbing again.  So, I am going to start eating strict again and begin walking and at least over winter doing light exercise and walking on our treadmill.  I get bored easily on the treadmill, so I am going to store a bunch of music and short video clips on my iPod and iPad, so I have something to distract me. I have already started the lower carb, and I thought I would share some of what I am doing here

In this current political climate, it's clear that you can't rely on the government for everything. It's so important to set yourself up financially for the future. Because of the government shutdown, over 800,000 government workers are without a paycheck. This directly impacts their ability to pay their bills, feed their families and more. You also don't want to look at your social security check as a plan for the future.  In order to build wealth and maintain a comfortable lifestyle as a family, consider the following tips.  1. Find ways to get discounts. While it's always cheaper to cook and eat at home, it's nice to take a break from cooking once a week. However, when a family of five goes to the local fast food restaurant, the bill can easily equal over $50. Instead, it's a good idea to find online coupons and deals that allow you and your family to enjoy a night out without paying tons of money. The key is to plan the night in advance.  2. S

Hey neighbors!! Growing up my grandparents owned a few acres and each year they raised one calf and one pig for butchering.  They also had chickens for both eggs and eating and they raised rabbits.  They had two cages with rabbits that we were allowed to name and play with, the rest were not allowed to be named.  There was a worm bed for raising worms for fishing and of course a slop bucket in the kitchen for slopping the pigs.  Of course there were the usual pets too of a dog, a couple barn cats and a pony for the grandchildren. Butchering day was always a fun day, because all the families came together, the men did the actual butchering while the women made things like the sausage, head cheese, plucked chickens, etc.  We always cooked out on the grill and had a large picnic together.  The kids played and ran errands when needed to carry a message or something.  The boys always thought it was great to claim the pigs tail and cook it over a small fire.  We played games like hid

Hey neighbors!! Well, I think I may have mentioned that our roof was leaking.  When we originally had the roof done, it was basically a ceiling for a large, covered porch with skylights.  Then we came up with the idea of enclosing the entire back and turning it into an addition to our home.  We ended up with three extra rooms by doing this.  A large bedroom, a living room and a private study for my husband. A friend did the original patio and roof, and then came back to help enclose the back patio and create new rooms.  After some discussion with him, we just enclosed the skylights in between the roof and the inside ceilings, instead of removing them.  Although this sounded like a good idea, apparently it was not.  One of the skylights cracked and began leaking when it rained.  Next  thing we knew we had several leaks in the living room, two leaks in the bedroom, plus we found out that one of the attached sheds was leaking and the Dojang we had added on to the home had a small l

Hey neighbors! We received the softest, squishiest, plushies from Moosh-Moosh .  My grandson thinks they are so much fun, and everyone who holds them can not believe how soft and squishy they are.  It is actually fun to hold them and squeeze them. Little B played with Neptune the Shark while bouncing to the song Baby Shark.  He is so adorable trying to move to the music.  He is only one.  He also had fun catching Neptune. Of course he also ended up with Itsy the Elephant. Here he is with Itsy the Elephant ! I love that these super soft, squishy animals are perfect for young and older children.  There are no buttons, or eyes or anything like that, so you do not have to worry about and small objects coming off that your child could possibly put in their mouths.  And no matter the age, everyone will enjoy the soft squishiness of the Moosh-Moosh.  You can't help squeezing them when you hold them.  Several of the Moosh-Moosh come in a large or medium size and the

Hey all! You might remember last month as part of our holiday gift guide event, we shared about an amazing coffee we were able to sample. If you missed that post, you can read it here and see why we loved it so much. The exciting news is that Mount Republic has offered a giveaway with the winner's choice of a 12 ounce bag of coffee beans or 12-pack of single serve coffee cups!! I'm very excited about this because it means one of our readers will soon be tasting what I personally think is the best coffee I've ever brewed at home! Before we get started, let me share a little about this company and their coffee with you all. " We are a small company in the greater Chicago area who specializes in specialty, roast-to-order, coffee. After years of drinking coffee, tasting new blends and roasts from all around the world, and continuously searching for new and better coffee our frustrations grew with the standard process of buying coffee. Going to the store and choosi

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