When it rains...

It pours. My family's had some rough times lately. My momma had her last eye surgery on Friday, and thankfully, after all four, we don't think she's lost any of her vision. I think she's just being stubborn and trying to do things too quickly (like reading blogs :) ) and then gets a nasty headache. I put a lot of thanks on our blog friends. I know your prayers did good!

We found out on Friday that my biological dad had a massive heart attack. He's in critical but stable condition in the hospital, and I don't think he's going anywhere soon. There are a lot of machines and medicines keeping him going now. The MD basically kicked everyone out for the rest of the week so that he can rest and get his heart rate stable before they try taking him off of his balloon pump (helping relieve some of the pressure on every other heart beat). He had 4 stents placed in his aortic valve, and if they work when they take out the pump then they just have to monitor his stents. If he isn't doing ok when they take it out, they'll need to do a valve replacement. Anyways, we'll see what happens.

I haven't had the greatest relationship with him the last 10 years of my life. He left my momma and brothers and me when I was a Freshman in highschool and he was in and out (mostly out if I'm honest with myself) for most of these last 10 years. To be even more honest with myself, I had finally decided that my life was full and happy and I was loved by so many people that I wan't going to allow myself to be hurt by him anymore 6 months before my wedding. That didn't mean, however, that I forgot how much I loved and missed the man he was my whole childhood. Maybe (and I'm trying to not get my hopes up) if he makes it through this it will be a turning point in our lives. We'll see.

Now, for something fun... I don't remember if I ever introduced you guys to this project.
This is what I started with. Pretty place mats from World Market and Caron Simply Soft Yarn...
An here's where I am now...

It's going to be a table runner for my dining room table. The pattern is from a Japanese crochet book I bought awhile back ISBN#978-4-415-10365-5. The charts are really easy to follow and the patterns are so pretty. I really love how it's turning out. I think I'll back it with some red felt maybe? Whattcha guys think?

So Yummy and Healthy, Too!

Hubby's in heaven. He says he can eat what I made for dinner tonight every night for the rest of his life and live happy. I've always known that he loves fish tacos, but I still haven't mastered cooking fish, and usually by the time I've cooked it I'm tired of smelling it and don't want to eat it. So, I had the brilliant idea of trying fish sticks. I know it sounds Okie, but I guess I am a little Okie, and I promise you, these are soooo yummy! Plus, if you have kidlets, they can have fish sticks with mac and cheese while the adults enjoy these.

Here's the recipe:

Boxed Fish Sticks of your choice (I used Van De Camps Crispy and Healthy Fish Fillets cause they're like 1/4 of the fat and calories of regular fish sticks)
Shredded Cabbage
Cilantro
Limes
Salsa of your choice (I love the trader joes one in the pic, spicy!)
Sour Cream
Tortillas (I like corn, but hubby likes flour)

Bake the fish sticks according to the package directions. In a small bowl mix 1/2 sour cream with 1/2 cup salsa. When the fish sticks are done, make your tacos/burritos. Add a coupla fish sticks, some cabbage and cilantro, a bit of the salsa sour cream and lime juice to your tortilla, roll and enjoy! I add more salsa, but that's up to you.

Oh, have you seen these?

I'm really not a sucker. Momma bought them first. See my perfectly crispy, green cabbage and cilantro in the first picture? Those have been in those green bags for 2 weeks and they look BRAND NEW. These are so worth the $10 bucks to me. I usually buy cilantro and it goes bad in 3-4 days, and this stuff has been sitting pretty in my fridge for 4 times that long! So cool!

Sneak Peek

I had to have a root canal on Tuesday. My teeth like to forget that they are only 24 years old. It's only June and my dental insurance (double coverage!)is depleted. Hubby and I had to pay $1800 out of pocket and now need to pray that I don't need anything else done until January when both of our policies start over. So, Momma and I decided to work together again. I'm crocheting the above cupcake pincushions to sell in her etsy shop. The beautiful roses on top are hand made by Momma. They're soooo pretty. You can go to her blog for more pictures. More coming soon!

Quick Update

Momma's doing pretty good. She says it hurts like a mofo, but she can still read. We played a few rounds of Apples to Apples (which if you've never played before, you seriously need to go to good old Target and pick the game up, soooo fun) and had a good time. She laughed so hard at some of her cards, I thought she might pee herself :) All's well in our home tonight. I think your prayers are working!

And for a pic, here's progress on the Little Bro Scarf...

Stupid computers

have kept me from you sweet, sweet people. For those of you that read my blog, but not my mom's you can visit her (click on the link on my sidebar) and find out what's going on. She's a diabetic and for a few years when my dad left we had no insurance, so she went without medicine to pay the bills and buy food for my 2 brother's and me. That took an awful toll on her eyes. She had laser surgery last week which she said was NOT fun and hurt like a MoFo, and she has to go through that atleast 2 more times, maybe 3. She may or may not lose her peripheral vision, but we are feeling hopeful as her right eye (the one she had done last Friday) is doing fine, if not better than before the procedure. Her next appointment is tomorrow, and then my whole fam is coming over on Saturday for a bbq so she doesn't have to worry about feeding her possee (or however you spell that) that includes my step-daddy, granny and two bros. I'll update my blog that night (even if I have to use hubby's comp) to let you all know how she's doing.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the kind words, thoughts and prayers you've sent my family's way. It means the world to us.

Miss Paula at Cathering of Friends~Miss Paula in Stitches made a tag for my mom to put up on our blogs. Isn't it pretty? I still can't get over the love sent our way by strangers. Thank you again!