we stopped at a gas station on the parking lot here
to purchase illinois lottery tickets
i told bill this time to ask for the jackpot winning tickets

we then headed back to saint louis.
we decided to take a drive by the riverfront, only to find parts of it closed off
due to flooding.
we drove with out any particular agenda throughout the city,
taking in the architecture. what a lost art.
laclede's landing is a favorite place to visit.
the brick roads not so good on a full bladder though!

a chilly evening, but who could not resist the temptation to step out of the warmth of our suburban and get up close and personal to these beauties.

the last bits of the city captured while homeward bound after an evening of bright city lights.

's' is for sophie

a gift for sam's friend sophie for her birthday.
vintage ephemera, german scrap and a large flatback glass marble were used to create this
initial charm. after being artfully soldered it was dangled from a leather cord.

happy birthday sophie!

getting healthier day by day

last friday was a follow up visit to see how things are going
on the thyroid meds.
the only change i have noticed is i now
fall asleep at a near normal time
and i sleep. all night. i mean i sleep. i am usually
out within mere single digit minutes.
i have not slept like this
since before babies.

since i am now able to sleep, i feel a bit more energetic, and i am waking up on my own earlier and earlier. other than that i have not experienced profound changes that are worth writing about.

my first question for the doctor: if i have been symptomatic for 12 years, soon after the birth of my youngest who just turned 13, and my blood work has been coming back 'normal' all these years, how are we going to know i am really back to a normal. i have been sub-clinical all these years i was told.

thankfully she said she would go by how i felt first, my bloodwork second.

just got my new presciption in the mail today along with my results. i am going up from 60mg to 90. my bloodwork shows i am just in the normal limits on my free t4, well in the norm of my t3 free and my tsh is just within norms. not sure what all of these numbers mean at this moment, will research those later.

i look forward to what the next 6 -8 weeks brings with this new level of meds. i am feeling better everyday, the changes are eensy on a weekly basis, but looking back from where i was 3 months ago i am so grateful. finally.

happy earth day, happy birthday

happy earth day to all

happy 44th birthday to me

my newest creation

will be making a near twin to be sold on etsy
tomorrow.
this is a combination
of art jasper, rutilated quartz, the most beautiful grey pearls, and sterling silver wire, and sterling silver chain.

this is the first piece that i have done that is completely wire wrapped. i started on it yesterday in the morning and had it completed in just a couple of hours. just in time to wear on a test drive to my daughters doctor appointment.

one bad cookie

as a reward for my hubby who as of today is back working overtime
i thought i would bake him up a batch of my special recipe
triple chocolate chip cookies.
multi tasking
while adding the ingredients
to these scrumptious treats
i did not realize the 1/4 cup measure-r had been replaced
with a 1/2 cup. i added twice the
sugar than what is required.
the result - one bad batch of cookies.

realizing my culinary mishap, i adjusted and wah-laaaa....

i am told they taste heavenly, but having taste tested too much dough i have no desire to try them out myself.

i am off to search the kitchen for something salty to counter-act the overdose of sugar running rampant through my system.

to make these sweet treats

use the nestle toll house recipe but replace the semi-sweet chips

with a mixture of nestle chocolate chunks, ghirardelli dark chocolate chips and

ghirardelli white chocolate chips.

i use 2 1/2 - 3 cups of the chip mixture.

for some reason there is a big difference in taste in the nestle semi sweet chunks versus the chips, ghirardelli white chocolate taste so much better than nestle, and being a connoisseur

of dark chocolate, ghirardelli is one of the best.

these are a favorite of my kids, hubby, and the hubby's co-workers.