WORD OF THE DAY:  RESPECT

So I will start off by saying that today's "word of the day" inspiration came to me when I took my daughter to the "yellow store" (aka Dollar General) yesterday so she could see if that "thingy" was there.  This Dollar General store is a few blocks from my house so we happen to stop there very often to look for "thingy's".

Normally there is always an available parking space straight out from the door and I just choose to park there, however yesterday the delivery truck was there and about a dozen cars so I chose to park to the side of the store.  To paint a clearer picture, the distance is pretty much the same as just parking straight out from the door, it's just that normally these side parking spots are taken because there are fewer of them than parking straight out from the door... which is why I just normally park straight out from the door.  But yesterday it was park on the side and closest to the curb... first available spot at the corner.  So.. picture painted.. let me get to the point.

When I went to get out of the car I noticed on the ground right outside my door there was on the pavement of the parking lot "someones" dirty white thong or g-string.  I literally had to take a double take because I couldn't believe what I saw.  I mean normally you get out of the car in a parking lot you might see some trash like candy wrappers or soda cans, maybe a shoe someone dropped, or even leaves that have built up in a corner... which by the way all of this was present as well (except for the shoe) because I was parked in the corner spot.

Now let me say, I have no idea how it got there it could have simply fallen out of someone's car however I can tell you that this Dollar General does not sell this "type" of under garments in the store so I doubt it fell out of someones bag.  I will also say, I am not one to judge other people for their actions but I do believe in RESPECT!  

• RESPECTING yourself!
• RESPECTING others!
• RESPECTING opinions!
• RESPECTING property!
• RESPECTING everything and everyone!

RESPECT is the one thing I can say that me and my husband agree upon 100% of the time.  We taught respect consistently in our household as the older kids grew up.  Honestly, this is not that hard of a thing to do if you start with the child young.  Now with my youngest daughter who has a learning disability due to her seizure and autistic characteristics present, she can be a bit more of a struggle but we continue to do constant reminders to her so she does not forget.

But yesterdays experience to me was more about respecting yourself so others will and of course respect the property around you.  Take your dirty drawers with you or put them in the trash but don't leave them on some random parking lot where some child could get out of the car and reach down and pick them up.  I mean just GROSS!

So for those that prefer pictures - here's a quote for women out there!

With that being said ... remember that RESPECT starts at home.  So for any new mothers, mothers to be, or parents in general if you are struggling with how to teach your child respect... here are some links that might help!  I even included some quotes from Pinterest that can be used to encourage your child to respect themselves!

http://inspiremykids.com

http://www.educationworld.com

https://www.empoweringparents.com

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/respect-yourself/

RESPECT comes in many different forms and should not be taking lightly!  Remember to treats others like you would like them to treat you!

WORD OF THE DAY:  MENOPAUSE

Let me start off by saying this word/topic has definitely a lot more depth to it than I ever knew!

I will warn you now that this could be or get a little personal (for me or you) so feel free to stop reading now if you aren't up for this one!  And for any MEN out there that might be reading this, personally, while you don't have to go through this physically, if you have a wife, girlfriend, or lady friend this could really help you understand what they may be going through, go through, or been through and honestly what you may have to go through!  I can see more in this simple word than I ever have before.

After reading up on some of these symptoms and changes a woman may go through or goes through I can see why the men out there are more likely to MEN-O-PAUSE....(stop and look at us like we are crazy)!!

First off, I never really understood ALL the "things" that menopause was about until recently.  (And really... did you know there are 4 stages??... who knew!)  I have to say after being a bit intrigued because well I thought hitting 40 and all the changes that happened to me that year with my thyroid and hormones and well just changes was something, that hitting my mid 40's has been even more extreme.

I recently turned 46.  I have to say for the last year or 2 my sleeping habits have not been all that normal however I chalked a lot of that up to daily stresses in my life.  (tonight I even took some medication to help me sleep, which I am not fond of doing, and still only slept 4 hours!!  And this was the longest and most consecutive sleep I have had all week!! - UGH!!)  I won't get too in depth about the changes in my life because I could go on and on about this but I will say that I had some extreme changes in my career and personal life in the last 2 years.  Some I chose, some just chose me.

So let me share a few things I was educated about during my search for early signs of menopause.
(and let me say again - 4 stages.. who knew!)

Signs of early menopause

In early menopause estrogen levels can rapidly decline causing symptoms to appear suddenly, feel severe, and last longer. Here are some telltale signs you are in early menopause.

1.  You are between the ages of 40-45
2.  You experienced an absence of periods for a full 12 months.
3.  You may be suffering from common symptoms including hot flashes, headaches, weight gain, depression, insomnia, mood swings, fuzzy thinking or fatigue.

So I will tell you category 1 and 3 seem to be included in all my current symptoms and honestly women if we have to go through all the things that really fall into category 3 to still have to endure category 2 here just really sucks!  I mean seriously...crying at the drop of a hat or getting frustrated and screaming out for no reason at all, the headaches and lack of sleep, and to still have to endure cramps and all the 'fun' stuff that goes with your menstrual cycle just plain SUCKS!

Here are some MORE symptoms in case you didn't know - which I DEFINITELY DID NOT!

While I was "aware" of most of the common symptoms, I did not realize items like number 28(electric shocks), 31(muscle tension), 32(itchy skin), and 33(tingling extremities) existed with this!!  These 4 very odd changes that has been happening to me for about 4 months now is actually what made me look up these symptoms. Let me add here too that these 4 things can just irritate the holy crap out of you and drive you absolutely crazy!!  The constant itching of the arms and legs and electric shock feeling out of no where!  OMG!! 

I could go on and on about this topic now with all the differences that happen but I won't bore you with them.  However if you are curious and want more information here are some links that I found helpful/informational.

http://www.34-menopause-symptoms.com/
https://www.womentowomen.com
http://www.healthline.com/health/menopause
https://www.menopause.org
http://www.webmd.com/menopause
http://www.mayoclinic.org

If anyone is willing to share with me any tips on how to alleviate numbers 28, 31, and 32 please share!  And if you don't want to share on the blog, I accept emails and messages as well!  LOL

Email me at cwecker820@gmail.com or message me on Facebook if you are not comfortable posing here on the blog!!

WORD OF THE DAY:  "THINGY"

Today's word of the day is "thingy".  I won't pretend to even think that I know what the word "thingy" means to you.  Heck I don't even know what it means for me most days, however it is one of my daughters most popular words.

You see, she wants that "thingy" at the blue store.  You know the one "thingy" that is green that daddy showed her.  Oh, and if we can't find it at the blue store we can always go to the yellow store because they probably have the "thingy".

This is almost a daily conversation with my daughter.  Especially now that its getting closer and closer to Christmas and they have well all sorts of "thingy's" out there now.  My job is to now figure out first what store we are talking about before I can even guess at what the "thingy" is.

These are the facts that I have been able to determine.

1. The blue store is Toys R US
2. The yellow store is Dollar General
3. The green "thingy" is definitely not the green store and should not be mistaken for this (because she gets very very angry) which happens to be Dollar Tree
4. The brown store is Value City (where my oldest daughter is currently working)
5. The white store is JoAnns

I am hoping to get to the bottom of the "thingy" by the end of the month.  I'll keep you posted!

WORD OF THE DAY:  COFFEE

This can be one of the most important ingredients in making the perfect recipe for a delightful day!!

I really didn't start drinking coffee daily or you could say NEED it daily until around 2012.  This would be sometime between my 41st and 42nd birthday.  Not sure what it is about those 40's but so many things seem to change up in my life when I hit the 40 mark!!

Today the word COFFEE stands for "Courtney's Overwhelmed From Family's Exhausting Exams" and therefore coffee is a MUST today!!

Do you ever feel like you're on an interview or interrogation with family members?  Where did you go?  What did you do?  Who are you making that for?  When are you going to make me something?  Why did you do that?  Why did you say that?  Where are you going?  When will you be home?    What did you eat today?  What do you want to eat tonight?  Is there something on TV?  What do you want to watch?  Why do you always play that game?  Who are you talking to now?  When's the last time you talked to "them"?  .... the list goes on and on!!!

This has been my life as such lately and can get so exhausting!!  The thing is most of these questions were already answered if you are actually listening to me when I speak.   I share ideas and thoughts all day long with the people around me.  I share others thoughts and likes.  For instance, my daughters favorite color is pink and my nieces is purple.  This is well known in my family circle.  So if I am crocheting or knitting something that appears to be child size with pink or purple and I have been saying over and over again that I need to work on getting my projects done for Christmas, why ask "Now what are you making and who is that for?"  Again, if they were listening the first time when I said "I need to make the mermaid tale for the girls for Christmas because I know they would really love these", you probably wouldn't have to ask me and I wouldn't have had to say it again.  Which to be honest, I really have no problem with repeating myself IF you are actually going to listen to me but the reality is.. they will ask me the same questions in the next 2 or 3 days!!  LOL... ok rant over.

So with lack of sleep (because again turning 40 just does crazy things to you) and needing the patience to deal with daily interview, interrogation, and just life on lack of sleep... COFFEE will be a must today!  My pledge today will be to remember to accept those for who they are even if it is answering 20 million questions you answered yesterday and be grateful you have those who care in your life!

So have a cup of coffee me today and hopefully you have had more sleep than me!  

P.S.  My favorite is French Vanilla!  Whats yours?

So I was putting my daughter to bed and laying there thinking about this blog and what I really wanted to share or talk about.  While crafts are my passion and I love everything about it (because its my stress reliever) I realized there is so much more to well... LIFE!!  There are lots of things I would love to share like one of my favorite recipes or favorite quotes or just in general favorite things about LIFE and maybe even the not so favorite things.

The word LIFE can stand for many different things to each and every one of us and it can change so quickly, even in a flash, that I thought why limit what I want to talk about and post about.

My facebook groups (www.facebook.com/groups/head2urtoes/ and www.facebook.com/groups/crochetingwithcourtney/) focus on my crafts and love of them and while I may still mention them or share certain topics around them I would like to blog about some of the things that happen day to day.

So to begin with, I have updated the name of my blog to LIFE with Courtney and friends.  Note: You can find postings at lifewithcourtneyandfriends.blogspot.com.  Oops there came out the procedure writer in me!

When I look at words I tend to see acronyms and how they hold a much deeper meaning behind them.  For instance the word LIFE - today LIFE may stand for "Living In Fictional Episodes" and tomorrow it may be "Loving Intensely For Eternity"  or even "Learning Individual Formal Etiquette" or maybe "Locating Insane Family Extremists".   I have a few nuts in my family so I never know where the day may take me!

My point being is that while there are things that take up HUGE pieces of time from day to day in our lives that we don't want to start missing out on the little things because we are being slapped in the face well with LIFE!  

So for me, my goal for 2017 (these last 6 weeks in 2016 will be my practice weeks LOL) will be to take time and smell the roses or cherish the smile on a child's face when they have accomplished something and are proud.  Maybe its just taking the time to feel the cool breeze on your sweaty forehead on that hot summers day or standing back and admiring something you have accomplished by pouring your time and love into it.  Whatever it may be, lets cherish LIFE and all it stands for!  Its not always going to be happy and its not always going to be sad.  But there is no better time than now to hop on the roller coaster of LIFE and whether we will talk about it or get out there and do something new its time to hand the attendee our ticket and go for a ride!!  

Here is one of the most favorite things I made.  I graphed this out for my daughter and crocheted it in a corner 2 corner stitch.  She is on the autism spectrum and has a seizure disorder.  She loves music and being outdoors.  The butterflies were a bit of a add for me as I love butterflies!!

What's your most favorite thing to make?

Crafts are my passion!! My mother taught me to crochet when I was about 5 years old and I haven't put a hook down yet. Once I reached my teens, we decided it was time we both learned to knit. So we self taught ourselves and became avid knitters as well. This was a great reason to buy some more yarn and start more projects! I have always loved to create my own designs and patterns from Amigurumi, and handbags, and graph designs. My mother has harped and harped on me for years to write down my patterns and sell them. So for you mom, I have finally started writing them down and graphing them up and am offering them to the world. I hope you all enjoy my passion as much as I do! #head2urtoes #crochetingwithcourtney

Join me at www.facebook.com/groups/head2urtoes/ or www.facebook.com/groups/crochetingwithcourtney/


Also here is a video I created about 10 months ago on how to convert your graph to the waffle stitch.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gM65D6vj_w