Random Tid Bits

1. In late 2017 and early 2018 I had so many things happen all at once. I had nose surgery, started on weekly allergy shots (3 at a time), an Ibuprofen desensitization, got glasses (good vision, but have a astigmatism in one eye. My eyes fight in how they see), and a cyst removed from my forehead.

The cyst wasn't cancerous. I didn't think it would be. I tried many thing to get rid of it before I had the surgery, and nothing worked because it was behind a muscle. The doctor literally had to move the muscle to remove the cyst. It hurt way worse than I thought it would. My head throbbed for a good 3 days.

I got charged from the lab to test if it was cancerous, or not. I think it was a Pilar Cyst. A hard round ball of a cyst. I never got charged from the Plastic Surgeon. My younger sister said, "You should really call them. Your bill will be sent to collections. BUT I know my address was right because I did get a bill from the lab. I never called the Surgeon's office. Who calls to ask for a bill? Well I have done that once with utilities because I knew they'd never let me off the hook. If it's gone to collections I still don't know about it. We've been approved for things, so our credit must me good.

2. Now I have yet another freaking cyst. They pop up like a pimple. One day I woke up, and poof there's a giant thing coming out of my head. This time it's on the back of my head, close to my neck.

It's a genetic thing. My Grandpa, my Mom, my sister and a cousin all get them. My Mom just lets them go. I'm relentless about getting rid of them.

I contently am putting Apple Cider Vinegar with The Mother on a q-tip to raise it to the surface. After much burning pain, it will come out. I want the dang thing gone!

3. My work went from not wanting me to recycle because it takes too much time, to wanting me to recycle everything.

A few years ago I had to state my case, for recycling. Boss Man said it would take way too much company time, and that I had to use my own time to do it. I was highly annoyed.

Now he's not paying for a dumpster service over the summer, so he's all about me recycling everything.

Last week I walked into not one, but five big trash bags full of shredded paper, piled on top of the green boxes I got for the school. There's no way I'm going to take five big trash bags in my little Civic home to recycle. Here everything has to fit in the recycle box to recycle it. My coworker agreed with me to help me toss them into the unused dumpster. It was chained up because the repurpose store next door uses it, if theirs is full. We squeezed them in. Boss Man's probably wondering why I didn't take them. He won't ask though. He'll just stew over it.

This week I walk into this...a common site.

I've been watching a lot of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and I swear I could say some awkward things about this situation, but I'm biting my tongue. It's kind of like someone that won't change the paper roll ever! If you open a box, you should take care of that box: Tape and all. Under it was a styrofoam plate. Styrofoam isn't even recyclable here.

4. I got offered to teach a few classes at Iowa Western College. I work here full time. As much as I'd love to take them, I just think I'd need to move into a full time position somewhere. Not just a class, or two. I asked my boss about it, to see if it would be a conflict of interest. He thinks it would be, but loved that I brought it up to him.

I actually like my job better than ever before. There's two people that made my life pretty miserable before. They are gone. We have a new head Recruiting Rep, and I love her. The other guy gave me the creeps. 

5. All the sudden Mica's like, "I don't really want to play my trumpet anymore." Some of me is like, Well he gave it a shot. The Mom part of me is like, "We paid for it, you are playing it! What do you get into? Your choices in school are Art/Chorus, Band, or Strings. You chose Band. You need to put more into it!"

I know kids change their minds. In this case: Would you push him to practice? Would you pay for outside lessons? His teacher is just too passive. Mica needs a push to get better. Would you see if he could change to Art/Chorus in school? He doesn't seem to like Art either though. He was good at Art when he was little. I think Mica sees himself as not good enough at things, and gives up. He compares himself to others. Having a family full of artists, it's not good to compare. What would you say to him? He's really only interested in brainy things like Quiz Bowl, reading and getting good grades. He's not even interested in building up friendships. He's happy and content with a book in his hands. 

Grip Strength Trainer Review

Travis had to start Physical Therapy for his elbow. He messed it up with hauling heavy stone and working on his chair. Welcome to a Sculptor's world. One thing I noticed he's been doing is taking the boy's hand grip strengtheners that I got them for Easter a few years ago, and has been using them.

Travis' birthday is coming up. I thought I'd get him his own Grip Strength Trainer set to review. 

Types:

They sell 2 types this set, and a black, charcoal, and light grey set that look like gears. I like both sets. They sent me the other set to review, which I only reviewed on Instagram and Facebook. The other set is pretty cool looking, but the grips seem harder to do. They really are supposed to be the same.

Where to Get Them:

You can get both sets on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P9WSJ1S this set for $7.99 and the other set for $9.99. You'll find them both at the same link. 

This set reminds me of those stacking doughnuts that toddlers have. We used to step back and throw them to see if we could get them on the yellow base. 

Grips:

Each color has a different resistance.

Green is 30 lbs, Blue is 40 lbs, and Red Orange is 50 lbs.

You can work your way up.

Green is 30 lbs.

Blue is 40 lbs.

Red Orange is 50 lbs.

What's great is that these are small enough they can be taken anywhere. They work wonders for Athletes, Musicians, Truck Drivers, Artists, and people that are on the computer a lot. 

Have you ever needed Physical Therapy?

Disclaimer: I got this product to assist with this review. All opinions are my own. Please check with a doctor, as these don't fix medical problems. They only exercise the muscles.

Happy 93rd Birthday Grandpa!

My Grandpa turned 93 yesterday!

As Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm would say...

He did have a scare when we were on vacation. He lost 1/2 of his blood. It's a miracle, or he's lucky to be alive if you don't believe in miracles.

Blood transfusions kept him alive. YAY for modern technology!

He's still pretty with it. Don't get me wrong, the brain gets tired just like everything else does. Sometimes he'll forget things that happened, mix up his great grandchildren, or forget that someone passed away. BUT he still has a sense of humor, he can still vocalize what his needs are, he loves us, and is a giving man.

I made him take usies with me:

He kept making faces, and I told him to "Stop it!"

We got together at my Aunt's house for fried chicken, potato salad, bbq beans, and a Costco cake. If you haven't gotten a Costco cake, you're missing out! It's inexpensive, and good!

Here's most of the Great Grands. Minus 3. My niece lives in KC, and my nephew (her brother) didn't hear us call them to come pose with Grandpa. They are the two oldest ones in the family. Often we mix them up for grands. I have a cousin that's the same age as my niece. Emerson is heavy, and won't stand up on his own, so he's missing too. All together he has 4 daughters, 9 grands, and 15 great grands.

What's the oldest someone has lived in your family?

WW: @mallofamerica in Minnesota {Linky}

I'm a bigger shopper than my boys, but not as big as my sisters or other girls I know.

We knew if we went to Minnesota that we'd have to go to Mall of America. It's an iconic place. We didn't want to make it an all day thing though. 

Parking:

They have FREE parking. The fast train links up to it.

We spent the morning at Fort Snelling, the afternoon at Mall of America, and the evening at Minneapolis Institute of Art. A worker at MIA said we're crazy, and hardcore. Let's just say that Isaak and Mica were DONE. I had a blister on my foot that indicated I was DONE. BUT I loved all the places. I don't think I would have changed things. Possibly do Fort Snelling a different morning. My husband likes to pack all our time as full as possible. It was handy having the fast train hook up.

Eating:

We had reservations to Rainforest Cafe. We rushed to go eat. Then, for some reason we looked at the brochure only to see the map thinking it was outside of the Mall of America. I was annoyed because the boys were set on eating there. In another way happy because online people said the service wasn't great, and it was expensive. The place we ended up going to had crappy service too. It took way too much time to get our food! I wanted to eat at a place we don't have in Omaha, Nebraska. Looking back I would have gone to their food court. Lots of choices there!

Cupons:

Online they do have a coupon book. If you're a shopper, that may be something to invest in. It's $10, and full of savings. We didn't get it.

Shopping:

I didn't want to freak the boys out by going into all the stores. I said, "Ok we're only going to go into stores that we don't have in Omaha." Even after saying that we skipped a lot of stores.

L.L. Bean - I know the catalog, but have never been in the store.

 

Paper Source - Kansas City has one, but it's not in Omaha. They have fun things in there.

Chapel Hats - I know they shouldn't have tired them on (lice), but dang they had fun. They look like Elton John, only younger. 

Crayola Store - The boys had fun with their computer that did a drawing of a photograph. 

Lego Store - We've been in them in other cities. Mica drooled over $300 and up sets that I'd never buy. I do have to say that The Stranger Things set looked pretty cool. Just not $200 cool. 

 

 

 

There were some other fun stores we went in. I have to say that I'm proud that I didn't buy a whole lot. There was a bee shop that had all things to do with bees, a shop that had fun socks, a shop that had cool shirts. I do wish we found some artsy local shops in Minnesota. I found that, that's what I was longing for. There is an art district, but we ran out of time to go there.

Favorite Store Front:

Rides:

Isaak's so like me. He said, "Mica we don't have to go on rides. Mom and Dad spent enough money on us." I always thought that way. Are we cheap, or practical?

Mica's like Travis. He said, "Don't be so cheap. We should get to do some rides, and pick out whatever Lego set we want. We are on vacation." My reply, "Ummm no!"

Log Ride:

Close Up - OMG Mica's face!

They weren't too excited about the swings, but after they went on different rides, this one was just the right amount of tickets.

Are you a shop till you drop kind of person?

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review. I got no compensation, for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

Homestead National Monument of America @HomesteadNM ‏

We didn't have planned in the books that we were going to go out of town this weekend. Sometimes life and death makes plans that for you.

My husband has has 2 people in connection with the lab he works at pass away suddenly last week.

One was the owner's brother. He passed away from a heart attack.

The other was a fiancée of a girl that works at the lab. He was 31 years old. He left behind his fiancée of course and her two kids that called him, "Dad". He and his fiancée had been together for 5 years. It was one of the hardest funerals I had been to, and I didn't truly know him. I was heart broken for everyone that did.

I cry when I see other people hurting.

His death brought up a lot of discussion with the boys. We talked about depression, that everyone has low spots in their life, suicide, talking about their feelings, death, what to say to people that lost someone they love and more. To me it's so important to talk to the kids as much as we can. We don't have all the answers, but I want them to know we're there if they do need someone to talk to.

After the funeral we traveled around the country roads to go to Homestead National Monument of America. We wanted to see the land of where this wonderful guy grew up. Besides a card, money, and hug driving around to see where he grew up was our best tribute. 

We stopped by their visitor center first. It's a pretty neat-o building.

On the side of the building were states that had homestead land given to the people. It's kind of sad because Native American's lived on the land first. They didn't feel like the land was meant to be given away. They felt like the land wasn't anyones.

Nebraska was a homestead state of course.

They have a lot of indoor exhibits of course. I love all things old. It was neat to see their displays.

Outside the visitor's center was an old homestead house. We couldn't go in it, but the outside was interesting to see.

The view from the house was very pretty! They own 195 acres. Each fence post had a different barbed wire fence attached to it.

They had a few other indoor displays to see. One had a train exhibit. Inside was a sculpture/painting of a man farming.

My favorite was the one room school house:

Just inside the school house was a small toad hopping around. Travis didn't want Isaak to pick it up. After he left I let Isaak pick it up. It's not every day a city boy gets to hold a toad.  They are so cute!

Disclaimer: The Homestead was free to enter. It's the best thing to see in Beatrice, Nebraska. Homestead did not ask me to write this post.