Updates on me, my business, beaded banners, my kids, my missing gallbladder....
I haven’t blogged in a while so thought I should catch up! Actually a lot has happened since I blogged yet….nothing exciting really……..but between trying to go back to work and trying to keep up with orders and still not feeling 100%, I didn’t have time to blog. So here goes………..LOL!
Regarding my recovery from my 9/29 gallbladder removal, I am getting there. In fact this afternoon I have my follow up with the surgeon. Poor hubby has to take off work to take me because I have no clue how to get to Shadyside! I’ve been there twice…..once to visit someone and the other time the morning my of my surgery when it was 5:30 a.m. and I wasn’t thinking about WHERE we were going but WHAT was going to be happening to me! So yeah, poor hubby has to take off work early to take me.
I am anxious to hear what the doc has to say about my pain. In the area where my gallbladder used to be still hurts some. I really think it is because they had to cut so many adhesions away and it takes longer to heal inside than outside, but I want to hear that from the surgeon and not just assume that is the case. Food-wise I am eating most things. I still have to stay away from really fatty things or I have problems, but it has only been 3 weeks since my surgery and already “things” have adjusted and I am able to eat almost anything. For that I am truly grateful! I still want bacon and a greasy cheeseburger from McDonalds, but that might happen this week because we went to the Penguins game on Saturday night and because of that we won a free Big Mac because of one of the power play goals! Just gotta make sure a bathroom is close by when I eat it, that’s all. Okay, enough of that………TMI! LOL My energy level is still down, but the surgeon told me I would be tired for 4-5 weeks due to surgery and the general anesthesia. I’m inpatient though and want to feel better NOW. I worked 2 or 3 hours a day starting a week after my surgery and then 6 hours a day last week. This week I am planning on a full 8 after today. I would rather be part time because of all my orders and requests for pattern designs, but don’t think that will happen because I hear my boss doesn’t want me to do that, even though I don’t have much to do at work.
My business is going well. I have been selling quite a bit on Ebay………not TONS, but consistent. I am still selling quite a few beaded banner rods and end caps, but as far as I know there is only one other place beaders can purchase those. I started posting pony beads online and they have been taking off so I am building up my stock and have many more to post. I still need to post my own pattern designs on Ebay but I have had people that have been finding me through www.bannersbybonnie.com and emailing me and ordering through me so that works for now. I also posted some other non-craft things on Ebay (both new and used) and those have been selling. I have boxes of stuff to post and more crafts and my mom’s crafts and my mother-in-law’s crafts and well I need time! I so wish that first week after surgery when I was home 24/7 I had felt like being on the laptop 24/7 like I had planned! Oh well, like they say, the best laid plans of mice and men………!!!!
So one of my favorite shows is Extreme Home Makeover. I love it and have NEVER once watched it without getting teary eyed……….and I don’t cry very easily! They are in town this week. GO FIGURE! If I had not just had surgery and had to miss so much work, trust me I would be there volunteering at least one shift! I am hoping that we can drive by at least once, just to say I was there. I am VERY tempted to take Friday afternoon off so I can yell “BUSDRIVER, MOVE THAT BUS” and watch the family when they come home! But at least the news is keeping us updated regularly and that helps…………a little.
The election……….ARGH. I hate it…………I hate all the commercials……….I hate all the signs everywhere littering the scenery. And I have no clue who to vote for because, well no one is a very good candidate in my humble opinion. I heard a good one on the radio the other day and if you are from Pittsburgh you will truly understand this. They said forget the election………..just be a STEELERS FAN! HAHAHAHA
Our kids……….let’s see. My daughter Stacey and her friend Denise have settled in quite well here in the Pittsburgh area after moving here from Tennessee mid-September. We haven’t been over since they got all settled, mainly because of my surgery. Last time I was there things were starting to look good and from what Stacey says they are all settled in. Stacey loves her job as a paralegal at Edgar Snyder’s office. She says everyone is really nice and she and her boss get along good. She takes the bus from right outside her apartment to about 4 blocks from her building. When the weather gets bad she can drive a short distance to a park and ride and then take the T (subway/trolley thing) in and get off at the basement of her building. We can’t email like we used to, but she generally text messages with me on the bus on the way to and from work so that is good. Thank goodness for 21st century technology, huh? LOL Denise transferred to a Sears here in the area and is happy there. She has a little drive to work but not too bad………I think they said 6 miles. We don’t see them often because they are probably about 45 minutes away and across the river(s) but it’s nice to know they are close by. Stacey has made a couple trips to Erie for geneology stuff and to help my Mom with cleaning and Denise has been working some long hours and weekends, so that’s one reason……..but again, my surgery has prevented seeing them, too. We have some places we want to show them and things we want to do together and that will happen soon. Denise isn’t liking the cold weather too much I don’t think since she spent a good portion of her life in the south, but at least Pittsburgh doesn’t get as much snow as Erie does! I told her to not go by all the winter horror stories she has heard from Stacey because Pittsburgh is so much more mild in the winters than Erie was and that’s all that Stacey knows is Erie winters! LOL
My son Craig and his wife Mary took their vacation in California to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. I can’t believe it was a year ago today they got married! CONGRATULATIONS CRAIG AND MARY! I have heard a couple things about their trip but can’t wait to see pictures. They were going to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego and have visited the Walk of Fame and Beverly Hills as well as many other places. I am so happy they were able to get away and see California and they are having a good time.
Doug’s son Travis is working at an insulation place and busy with his friends and his new (used but new to him) vehicle. We don’t see him much, but he is happy so that’s all that matters!
After not doing much for a few weeks it was nice to get out Saturday. We went to the Pittsburgh Good Eats Food Expo. It was incredible! We didn’t stay as long as we would have liked because I didn’t want to get too tired because of our plans that night, but talk about FOOD! The admission price was $15 per person and we had $3 off coupons so we spent $12 to get in. Not only did we have more samples of great food to eat while we were there, we took home lots of samples and tons of coupons! If we had eaten ALL the samples offered while we were there, it would have been enough for two meals! I was a little nervous eating some of the things because I hadn’t tried those items since my surgery, but I figured might as well and I really didn’t have too much trouble because of it. Had to run to the bathroom once after we got home but that’s it.
We went home and rested for a few hours and then headed to Mellon Arena to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins BEAT the Toronto Maple Leafs! It was awesome. We spent a little more and parked right by the Arena so I wouldn’t have to walk as much. We won the tickets on Ebay in the last few minutes of an auction Friday afternoon and the seats were tremendous and the best thing is we basically got both for about the price of one ticket! I will be posting pictures in the next couple days hopefully. (I am behind on posting pictures as well as behind on blogging!) I was tired when it was over but I spent all day yesterday at home on the couch working on paperwork and organizing more for my business while watching the Pittsburgh Steelers BEAT the Cincinnati Bengals and other football games all day.
So I think all my paperwork is finally organized enough that I can keep posting away on Ebay and start updating my site. I have a lot of banner patterns I need to design for customers and I think I may be feeling good enough that I can be creative again so need to start on that this week. So the plans this week are designing and posting. I have some beaded banner orders but the customers are out of town for a couple weeks so those can wait a little, except for one smaller one I need to get done.
Okay so this is what happens when I don’t blog for a while………..I have to write a book! LOL No one probably reads these anyway so what am I worried about? HAHAHAHA
Have a good one. I’m off to see the surgeon soon!
