Porch Upgrade . . . In Process

Okay so my front porch was far from welcoming.  Actually it was down right ugly.  It still needs some paint but I moved out the large pot (which left a large stain) and painted an old chair red.  Then I updated the wreath with some cheerful pink.  But the crowning achievement is the fence (place French Horns trumpeting here) and a cute welcome sign (created by my Daughter and her Cricut).  I love it!

I think I will have to paint the concrete porch at some point - I tried bleach and baking soda and it just made it worse.   And the mailbox needs to be more understated (bought spray paint for that job).  And of course I had to take the picture when the sun was not shining.  I will update that on another day.

So do you want to make your own :)
So to create your own awesome fence you need:
1 - 4" x 4" (measure to see how long you need - I wanted ours to start on the step below)
1 - finial top with a screw bottom
1 - wedged shaped top (it goes under the finial and on top of the 4" x 4")
1 - 2" x 4" (again you are going to have to measure and then double it)
And enough fence boards to cover your area
Wood Screws
Mollies and Bolts for the wall
White wash paint and brush
Electric Drill and Electric Screw Driver
Circular Saw or Chop Saw

First you need to cut the 4" x 4" to the right height.  Then chop the back off the wedge shaped top so that when it is on the top of the 4" x 4" it mounts flush with the wall.  Then drill and screw in the finial top. Creating your 4" x 4" post.

Then cut the 2" x 4"s to match the necessary length to go from the 4 x 4 post to the wall.  Mount the 2" x 4"s to the 4" x 4".  We just eyeballed exactly where we wanted the horizontals to go on our 'fence' and drilled pre holes and then screwed it in with wood screws. 

Then we mounted it onto the wall with Mollies and bolts.  It went into the mortar in our brick wall.  We made sure that the bolts would be accessible after the fence boards were attached so that I could take it down and paint the wall (and the fence) later.

Then we put on the fence boards.  We created our own pattern.  If you really want to do this on the cheap and have a table saw then you can do what we did.  Buy the 1" x 6" x 6' redwood fence boards at your local home improvement store for about $2.00 per board and cut the board long wise in half and then cut them in half the other way.  You will end up with 4 - 3' fence boards,  2 with flat ends on both ends and 2 with a flat end and a diagonal cut end for about 50 cents each.   Hence the pattern in our 'fence'. 

I leave it to you to figure out where to mount your fence boards.  The trick is keeping them even.  And trust me it was a trick :)  And keeping the bottom edge straight.  We did have to do a bit of chopping here to make everything work.

Once everything is put together then take the fence down and white wash it.  I did it with exterior paint mixed with a lot of water.  Came out awesome.  Then remount when it is dry.

What do you think?  

Enjoy!

Keeping The Glass Population Down

Does anyone else struggle with having way to many glasses to wash by the end of the day.  Hands up here :)  I can't believe how many glasses 4 people can go through in just one day.  We have tried assigning glasses or cups to individuals but they always seem to be dirty when they want them or they hoard them and never wash them.  Ooooo Gross.  So I was thinking when I go to parties everyone has those cute rings that they put on fancy stem ware so that everyone knows what glass is theirs.  So translate that into real life.  Bingo.

Binder Mini Clips!  In Colors!  Everyone gets assigned a color and there you go.  Just make sure that you fold the clippy part down or you will stick someone in the eye.  Working wonderfully in my house.  Enjoy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Okay so I'm a Pinterest Addict.  At some point there will have to be an intervention but for the moment I am thoroughly enjoying all my new found ideas :)

I tried a recipe from Sweet Peas Kitchen.  I follow her blog.  This lady really has some wonderful recipes.  The following is a picture from her site of her amazing Chicken Tortilla Soup.  Trust me when I tell you it is wonderful.  My family just loves it :)

Unfortunately I do not have an hour plus when I get home to create such yummy goodness so I have had to do the usual 'Jan' to it and recreated something similar but not the same.  Mine is a bit spicier but I like it :)

You start with:

One Yellow Onion Chopped

1 heaping Tablespoon of minced Garlic

(I always buy it in the jar because I am too lazy to chop the cloves myself)

You put these in a large (big enough for everything else to go in) thick bottomed pot with olive oil and saute till the onions are turning clear

To this pot you add:

3 - 16 oz cans of chopped tomatoes

1 - 16 oz can of chopped tomatoes with chilis

1 small can of diced chilis

2 teaspoons of ancho chili powder

2 teaspoons of cumin

6 cups of chicken broth

1 tsp of powdered chicken soup base

1/2 tsp fresh grated pepper

1 - 16 oz bag of frozen corn

1 - 16 oz can of black beans (rinsed)

Bring everything to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.

While everything is simmering cut up 3 large pre-cooked chicken breasts.

I cut them in large hunks and then shred them with my hands into bite sized pieces.

and then you need a 1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro

This is then added to the pot and you continue to simmer for another 20 minutes.

We serve it on a bed of tortilla chips (chips in first then the soup on top) and top with grated Mexican mix cheese and green onions.

Enjoy!

Closing Remarks on my Cancer and Lymphedema

I was pondering my title for this last blog and wished that everyone who had cancer had a chance to put in closing remarks on their cancer but that is just not the nature of this disease.  I lost 2 friends just this last year to cancer (brain tumor and colon cancer) and had 2 other friends (both with lymphoma) beat it and are still with me.  You just never know. 

The statistics were against me (and still are) but so far it has been 5 years.  Still alive.  Still grateful to have a new morning to wake up to each and every day. 

Thank you, God.

So for my final blog I thought I'd share a bit about the repercussions of my cancer:

1.  It took months to recover from the chemo and the depression.  I still get winded when working in the yard or hiking with my husband.  For our 33 wedding anniversary we decided to hike Half Dome at Yosemite.  4,000 feet increase in altitude over 7 miles.  We made it half way up the sub dome before I bombed out - altitude sickness - even after months and months of preparation.  I realized on that hike how much damage the cancer had done to my lungs as I struggled up the mountain.  You just never really get it all back.  My kids say that I look much older than I am.  Sad.

2.  The cost.  I had great insurance but there are still financial repercussions from having cancer.  Whether it's co-pays, prescriptions, special food or just gasoline to treatments.  It all adds up.  We had to sell my Husband's fancy 1950's pickup truck to pay for all the extras :(  Fortunately we had a fancy 1950's pickup truck to sell, some aren't so lucky.

3.  The on going issues.  First, is the medication that I have to take for the rest of my life.  Arimidex, which is an anti tumor medication for women who are in menopause, is the drug of choice.  At first it was $400 per month but now they have a generic version that my Oncologist says works just fine.  Thank goodness. Second, is the possibility of never getting health insurance again if I leave my job (or if my job goes away).  No one will take me.  So if that ever happens I will live my life at the county hospitals until I reach Medicare age - if they still have it.  This is a constant fear.  Much as I hate President Obama's health care (since I would have been in the 'no' category for any treatments) I still think that everyone should be able to get health insurance - reasonably priced health insurance.

4.  Finally, Lymphedema.  This is the condition that my Surgeon was afraid that she was condemning me to because of my lack of lymph nodes there would be issues with drainage of my arm.  I did pretty well for almost 3 1/2 years after surgery.  My arm looked fine and then one day -

Yup, that's what it looks like.  Stinks.  I was having dinner with my family (including my Brother) when my Brother said 'Sis, why does one of your arms look bigger than the other'.  And I just knew.  Rats. 

So I contacted my Oncologist who referred me to a Physical Therapist.  At first it was just my arm and then after a month my hand abandoned me and decided to go over to the other side and now it's pretty much my whole left side.  So I get to wear a custom sleeve with a big compression pad in it and this pretty glove.  Actually this was my first glove, my later ones were my skin toned.  Although I do like the dark one since it shows dirt less.  Still looking for ways to bling it up a bit :)

I have to be candid with you as much as I do not enjoy having Lymphedema - I would hate having cancer more.  This is so something that I can live with and hey, I still have my arm.  Wooohooo for me :)

Truly - Wooohoo for anyone that has beaten cancer or is battling cancer or is a caregiver for someone who has cancer or well you get my drift. 

Thanks for reading - if you have any questions of me or just need someone to talk to about cancer, I would love to hear from you.

Enjoy!