A Little of This... and a Little of That

Skin Biopsies-
No cancerous cells were present.  The mole on my arm was an "Atypical Mole".  These are the kind that most commonly turn to skin cancer.  All of the margins of the mole were removed, along with some "extra" just to be on the safe side.  The wounds still hurt, but I am so glad to know that there were no problems.

The Cats-
In general, the cats drive me nuts, waking me up at 5:30 in the morning, chasing hairbands up and down the hall all night, and squabbling on the bed somewhere in the middle of the night.  But then, we have a moment like THIS:

Luna (left) & Tiger (right)

Water Glass-
Daughter asked this question the other day: "Mom, why do you keep a mason jar full of water - with a lid - next to your bed?"
Me: "I keep the glass full of water next to my bed so that I can get a glass of water if I get thirsty."
Daughter: "But why do you keep the lid on the jar?"
Me: "Because I went to get a drink of water in the middle of the night and got a sip with a stink bug in it."

Reading-
Do I really read this much?  Or am I listening to books on tape?
I am actually reading every word of every book I list on here.  I am a fairly quick reader.  I have my Kindle, and I not only read books I've purchased on my Kindle, I also check out electronic books from my public library.  Getting the software up and running was a little more challenging than I was expecting to begin.  When I took my Kindle into the Library, the very helpful librarians showed me how to set up and access my account.  God I love my librarians!  They are awesome!

I know, you're asking: Do you actually understand what you're reading?
Excellent question, actually.  I do have excellent reading comprehension.  Had it tested when I was in college as a part of an Educational Testing class.  Comprehension is a crucial part of reading.  I really move fast when I'm reading fiction with a fantastic plot.

My Kindle!

Informational texts or textbooks are another story.  I've slogged my way through a factual text from work that I hope to review on here tomorrow.  It's an interesting book, and has expanded my knowledge of the field that I work in considerably.  But, as with all factual textbooks, I have to read slower so that I can make certain that I understand what I am reading, and I will go back and double check what I've read and find definitions of new terminology.  This book has had a lot of rereading and definition checking.

Social Media-
I had been a member of an online group for our community on Facebook.  I found myself getting sucked into unnecessary drama, and was sitting as an observer when someone would post something, and other people on this site would attack them, their spelling, their career, their lack of education, you name it... the insults, bigotry, and racism were just too much to bear.  If you stood up and said "Hey, you're out of line", you were the next person up in the line of people to be attacked.
When you looked at the content of what was being posted, it ranged from "What is the best nail salon in town"  (we have 16 of them) to "Best Chinese Food in Town?"  We have two establishments that serve Chinese Food.  You'd think trial and error would work... All the way down to personal insults about the way people drive.
Finally, on Saturday morning, I made the decision to drop the drama, and I left the group.  My Facebook Feed now only has posts from my friends and family, and I have no drama.  NICE!!  That was the reason I joined Facebook in the first place!

Lent Madness-
IT'S BACK!!!  If you are a Christian, Lent Madness is one of the best ways to celebrate Lent.  6 crazy weeks of face-offs between Saints.  Every day, you read the story of a Saint of the Christian church, from the early years of Christianity to the modern day.  It is a fascinating read as you read and find our more about the people who's faith has brought us to where we are - for better or for worse.  Lent begins in just 9 days... are you ready? 

 

Click on the button to go to the website.

No, the SEC does not reimburse me in any way for sending web traffic their direction.  But, I do get notifications in my news feed on Facebook each morning letting me know of the previous days' decision.  Nice of them, don't you think?

Have a fantastic week!

Disclosure Notice:  Mini-Van mom is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program.  The picture of the kindle above is a link to my Amazon Affiliates account.  Your purchase through this program will support this site.  Thank you for supporting Mini-Van Mom.

How Can Anyone Ever Tell You

Written by Libby Roderick. Shared today in a class I attended. 

Skin Check

Do you check your skin for suspicious moles?  Have you checked your skin for suspicious moles?
On your arms, your back, your face, your legs? 

Did you know:

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States.  More than 3.5 million skin cancers in over two million people are diagnosed annually.
• Each year, there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.

(Source: http://www.skincancer.org/)

Skin cancer can grow not only on the areas that you expose to sunlight, but also to areas that never see the light of day.

All of my life I've had three really big freckles.  One on each arm, and one on my behind.  I've always freckled very easily, so now I tend to stay out of the sun.  I didn't do so well with that when I was younger.  Remember the 80's?  Remember slathering yourself in baby oil to get a good tan?  Remember going out to lay out in the sun and get a really good burn to begin the season?  While I never used the baby oil, I did get several "good burns" through my teenage years.  None were intentional, but I had friends who did it on purpose every spring.

For the last 15 years, I've kept a very close eye on the freckles.  I don't get out in the sun as often as I used to, and I do apply a moisturizer that contains sunscreen daily.

I had one mole and one of the big freckles cut off five years ago.

I went back to see my dermatologist earlier this week.  She took a look, and off came the second of the big freckles, and another "thing" on my head.

Everything will be sent off to the lab for analysis, and I'll get the results later this week.

The actual removal process isn't horrible.  The doctor gives you several small shots of pain killer around the area that they will be removing.  I don't actually watch them take things out... I did see an X-acto knife.  (okay, a scalpel).  The doctor dug wide around the freckle in order to get out any cells that might be cancerous, and she dug deep, to get at the root.  She dumped it into a container to send it off to the lab.  I didn't feel a thing until after the pain killers wore off!

All in all, I'm glad that those spots are gone.  Skin Cancer is deadly, and it kills people every year.  But, if it's caught early, it is treatable. 

I'm hoping that it isn't cancer.  If it is, I'm hoping that it was caught early enough.

What I'm finding as I get older, is that staying healthy is a matter of vigilance.  I need to take my own health in my own hands, and be vigilant.  Mammograms, skin cancer screenings, colonoscopies, losing weight, eating right... it's all about vigilance.

Because we all know that we're going to die.  But what if something horrible happens and we don't die? 

I really want the quality of my last years on this earth to be as amazing as the rest of my life.

Have you checked your skin lately?

Frugal Car Trips

We are a family of 5.  Since I was a Stay At Home Mom for so long, living on a tight budget is second nature to me.  We love to go visit and explore new places.  Travel can be expensive, but we've found a way to cut down on the expenses as much as we possibly can. Since planning for spring break and summer vacation trips has just begun for many people, I thought I would share a few of the things we've learned along the way.

1) Books on tape are great.  (Play Away, CD, whatever format your car has).  We go to the library before we leave on vacation and check out several books to listen to.  Many of these books are read by some very well known actors, and they outdo themselves when reading these books.  To date, my personal favorite is Dragon Rider, written by Cornelia Funke and read by Brendan Fraser.  Our kids got into these books at a young age.  My Dad lived in Indiana at the time (a 10 hour car ride from home) and I remember them listening to these books when they were preschoolers.

2) Stop every couple of hours and run around.  KEEP A VERY CLOSE EYE ON YOUR KIDS no matter where you stop!  We still stop at rest areas, run around,  and maybe play a little catch or frisbee.  Unless if we're eating a meal, our stops run about 15 minutes.  (Longer when they were younger.)

3) Pack your own meals.  Food on the road is gross and greasy.  For our recent trip to Savannah, we packed bread, peanut butter and jelly, a fruit salad that I made before we left home, and a Quinoa Pilaf - with diced cooked chicken on the side, hummus, and corn chips.  We ate the peanut butter and jelly, along with the fruit salad for lunch.  The quinoa pilaf was for dinner - the non-vegetarians amongst us added the diced cubed chicken.  We had the hummus and corn chips for a late evening snack.  By far, the largest expense was the fruit, but it was well worth it!  (pack your own plates and utensils, too)


4) Drink only water.  We travel with our own bottles, and refill them at every stop.  When we traveled across Kansas several years ago, we took several thermoses of water with us - we were not certain how close together rest stops and gas stations would be.  Excellent forethought on our part.  They are far and few between out there.

5) Stay in a hotel that:
      a) Offers free breakfast.  (These hotels tend to keep fresh fruit out all day, so you can pick up a piece of fruit for a snack on your way in during the afternoon.)
      b) Has a club of some sort that allows you to build up points to earn free stays. 

6) Meals in a different place:
This varies from place to place.  We typically stay in hotels that include refrigerators and microwaves.  If we are going to eat out while we are adventuring somewhere, that meal will be lunch.  Many times, we will make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, and head out for our adventures of the day.  Depending upon how close we are to home, I will take dinners with us, or we will stop and pick up fixings for a meal or two on our way into town.  Since Savannah was a drive, I packed things in the cooler that would hold for a few days for dinner.  Salmon Pasta Salad is a perennial favorite in our house, and it holds well for a couple of days in the fridge.  I had also made a batch of confetti rice before we left.   Combined with the leftover diced chicken, it was a hearty meal.  The vegetarians in the family added chopped almonds and fake chicken crumbles to theirs.  I had an extra bag of chili in the freezer, so I threw that into the cooler, also.  We reheated that individually in bowls in the microwave, and that made a tasty meal one chilly evening!
*Note- if you bring paper, you don't have to wash it in the hotel sink.  I've tried washing dishes in the hotel sink.  I prefer using paper plates.  (But we travel with our own reusable wooden eating utensils.  I have to draw the line somewhere, and that's the line.  Wooden utensils.  Go figure.)

7) Park your car.
You are in a new location, explore it!  We've used public transportation in cities all over the United States.  It's an interesting way to get to see the new city, and a lot of hotels will provide transportation (or are within walking distance of) metro stations and points of interest.  We stayed in the city of Savannah, and walked everywhere while we were there.  The city is laid out on a grid, and it is much more friendly to pedestrian traffic than automobiles.

8) Camp
We did this more often when the kids were younger.  Camped out to Mount Rushmore, in the Black Hills, the Badlands, Devil's Tower, and home again.  Done it a few times on the beach at Assateague Island, and in several National and State Forests.  It's a great way to get away for very little.  (Meal planning when camping is crucial!  No refrigerators on site, and you're cooking over a camp stove or fire.  It's a blast, but make sure you plan ahead!)  The cost for a night in a tent at most campgrounds in National Forests runs around $20.  No television, no electronics, it's a great way to spend some family time with no distractions!

Traveling can be expensive, but if  you plan ahead, are willing to walk and forgo meals in restaurants, you really can have a great frugal vacation!

Making a Quilt a Quilt

After years of procrastinating, I finally finished piecing oldest child's quilt, pinned it with the batting and backing, and now I'm getting ready to quilt it!  Oldest child is an Eagle Scout.  With this thought in mind, I purchased the fabric for a Boy Scout Quilt online at the Fat Quarter Shop.  (No affiliate link here, I just wanted to let you know where I found the fabric!) 

The pattern included with the fabric was easy to follow.  A four square alternated with a large block.  Everything is joined together with green strips.  This begs the question - Why did I procrastinate so much?

I hand quilt what I make, so I've got to get this mounted into a quilting hoop.  My hoop is big.  I found it about 30 years ago, and I adore it!  The hoop is easy to use, and it screws tightly together to hold the fabric in place.  I've seen floor mounted hoops, but I like this one because it is portable.  I'm not tied down to one location with this hoop.

My quilting hoop.  You see that big wood block on the upper left corner?  That's got the screw and wing nut, where I tighten the hoop once I've placed it securely over the fabric.

A view of the squares.  The blanket is not yet mounted on the hoop.

In the hoop, I've tightened the wing nut to hold the fabric in place.

This is a crucial step.  I pull the fabric from the outside of the hoop.  The fabric needs to be tight so that the stitches and fabric are even and there are no fabric puckers.

Fully loaded and ready to begin!  I'll pull the loose threads off before I begin quilting.  The safety pins hold the layers of fabric together.  As I quilt, I'll remove the safety pins from the area where I am working.

I've had people ask me before how to quilt.  I'll tell you what my husband's grandmother told me when she taught me how to quilt:  You just go up and down and up and down and keep on going until you're done!

Seriously, you just make a series of small stitches.  If you've ever cross stitched or embroidered, you can quilt.

For this quilt, I'm going to outline the big squares, in the green lattice work.  Inside of each square, I'm going to quilt diamonds- much like I did with middle child's t-shirt quilt, only these are smaller squares, so there will be fewer diamonds.  I'll post pictures of the quilting itself in a couple of weeks.

I feel like I should do "something" else in the green lattice work, but I'm not certain what I'll do.  I'll have to outline a few squares first and see how I like this before I decide.

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

She made it to 85 today!  

After all of her health issues in October & November, we weren't sure we'd ever make it to this point!

We celebrated her birthday with her at her house over the weekend. A very quiet, but very joyous celebration!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Book Review - The Kingdom

Stanton, Guy S.  The Kingdom.  2014. Words of Action, United States.

I received a copy of this book as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers Program.  In exchange for an honest review of the book, I received a free PDF copy of the book.

 The Kingdom is Christian High Fantasy, based in a different world than our own.  The hero of the story, Beniah, is thrown out of his house and out into the world to live on his own after defending his mother's honor.
Beniah meets up with another man along his path who teaches him to fight, and helps him listen to the calling of God in his life.

While the action in the book is fast, sometimes I think it's a little bit too fast.  Personally, I would like to have seen more plot and character development, instead of the constant "running from danger into danger" that seems to prevail. 

For those who enjoy Christian Fantasy, this is a good read.