thrifty thursday

I may or may not have brought home some more treasures from Vermont in my carry-on besides the Playskool tyke bike.

This picture should give you a little clue. (My cousin Paul and I went bowling. See my name?)

That's right, Pyrex! What a shocker! But I don't have any Pyrex of this type yet so I was super excited.

I think these flasks are great. I am sure I probably used Pyrex flasks & beakers in my old chemistry classes and just didn't even know it. What a shame! My cousin teased me that we could just get some of these from the local high school instead of the thrift store, but I didn't really feel like being cited for reckless behavior. (jk!)

I am going to use these for cute vases. Something like this, but just with a much shorter flower.

dear mom,

Would you put me in time out if I bought these stools & stored them for my future house?

image via overstock.com

They are perfect. And completely me. I just don't think I would be able to live in a house that didn't have these in it.

P.S. They're stackable.

thrifty thursday

I'm back in town and will be sure to post more about my trip in the next little while.

But for today, it's thrifty Thursday again.

And heaven help me, I found the best thing!

My cousin was a total champ and took me to not only one Goodwill thrift store, but two! I have never had so much fun thrifting. He was making fun of my Pyrex obsession the whole time and I couldn't stop laughing for the life of me.

I took one walk down the toy aisle and my eyes landed on this beauty.

I was so excited I thought I might explode, but then in one fleeting moment I remembered that I was in Vermont, not Utah, and how in the heck would I get this home in my carry on? I ignored logic and scooped it up in my cart.

Did you see the price? ($2.99) I know! I couldn't just leave it there!

My uncle took it apart and I packed half the pieces in my small carry-on suitcase and the other half in a bag/purse. I lovingly babysat this Playskool tyke bike the whole way home. I knew it was sure to cause some puzzled looks going through security, and I was right. The security lady was hovering over my bag on the conveyor belt for longer than normal. I told her it was just a metal bike handle & she luckily got a second opinion and didn't make me unzip the bag. (I mean, honestly, when is the last time you saw a weapon with streamers? Really now!)

I tried to do a little research to see what year this model is from. I know it's not super old or retro, I'm thinking circa 1990s, but I couldn't find any sort of picture or info. All I know is that Hasbro stopped making this tyke bike a few years ago, so I am glad I got my hot little hands on one!

It does have one sad, melted wheel. But I know my future kids will love this guy one day!

frown

Only a few more days left here in Vermont :(

Gram had a harder day today. She was more tired and more cranky. I think she is sick of having all of us boss her around instructing her to take her meds, let us take her temperature, and to eat, eat, eat. Sometimes she is a really difficult patient. Can you blame the poor girl? After all, she has all sorts of foreign chemicals in her body and annoying cancer to boot.

Today she let me lay by her after one of her naps (I have been begging for this so it was a real treat!), she is super cooperative about getting her Lovenox shot (I've been giving it to her twice a day and she just whips up her shirt for me to inject), and we got some fabric cut out for her to fringe napkins because she said she is so bored when she is awake. I personally don't know how she can possibly be bored when she has me sitting next to her blabbing away! (The napkins must be for when I'm gone).

I've been writing messages on her fridge. Earlier it said, "you're a brave girl", but then when she woke up from her nap and told me she was going to be a basket case from being so tired, I changed it to this.



I saw her crack a smile. Cancer is just about as lame as it gets, but I have never seen anyone more determined than gram!

i already failed

I made it to Vermont and it was such a relief to see my gram!

She is doing alright since she is fresh out of her latest chemo infusion (she'll probably feel yucky next week). She is still really tired but she hasn't lost her pep or her love of insulting me (she is so hilarious - for example, if I ask if she needs anything else, she'll say "just for you to get out of here." I am so glad her sense of humor is intact!).

Gram has never been one for cooperating in pictures, but she especially doesn't want to be in any now since she isn't happy with the way she looks. I don't always listen to what she says (oops), and I want to have pictures to remember all the times with her, so I have resorted to sneaking each and every one.

Want to know my secret weapon? My cell phone. I just hold it up and pretend like I'm looking at something and silently celebrate my photo victory as I take a picture. I don't know why I didn't discover this trick years ago.

Here we are at an appointment today (my mom is in on my secret and snapped this pic). Isn't she cute? She really is being so brave and I am proud of her. On the other hand, I have already failed. I cried in the car on the way home from the airport, I cried in my room, and the worst of all - I cried at her appointment. It was just the two of us chatting with her nurse and I couldn't help but get all teared up watching gram sit in the chemo chair and wishing we were shopping for fabric instead of getting a Neulasta injection (this is a shot that will help her produce white blood cells and hopefully prevent her from another hospital stay).

I don't think she saw me, which I'm glad about. Her nurse started passing me the box of Kleenex, and gram said, "oh, is my nose dripping again?" Phew! Thank heavens, I was saved and she didn't notice.

here i come, gram

Remember my post about Christmas wishes?

Two people who are near & dear to me knew how very much I wanted (and still want!) my gram to come back to SLC. They also knew how that wasn't even close to an option right now, so they brought part of my gram to me.

My cousin Annie painted gram's portrait, and I love it. I totally cried when I opened it. I feel so lucky to have an original piece of artwork and I know that Annie put a lot of time and effort into making it. She even painted the frame gram's favorite color, yellow. It is truly such a treasured piece.

My friend Wrandi is the absolute sweetest. She found this antique cabinet that holds spools of thread. She had her dad help her restore and varnish it, and then she contacted my mom to have her send pictures of me with my gram. Talk about another labor of love. I was so overwhelmed with how thoughtful it was.

I am so thankful for such wonderful friends and family who know just how to lift my spirits during hard times. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Guess what?? I get to see my gram today! Hip, hip hooray! I am so ready to get on that plane and head east to see her. I know this visit will be a little different because gram isn't feeling up for much of anything but sleeping, and that is just fine with me. I don't care what we do as long as I'm in the same room as her. I just have to put on a braver than brave face. Yesterday I drove from Salt Lake to Provo to almost Layton and back by myself, so I had a lot of time to reflect on gram and let myself cry. I definitely cannot let the tears flow when I'm with her. Maybe I should just stay dehydrated all week. (jk).

I never wanted to be a cheerleader in high school, but I am happily going to assume that role this week. Positive is my new middle name.

See you soon, gram!

Thrifty Thursday is taking a vacation with me and will be back next week.

nerd

I will freely admit that I am a total nerd when it comes to math.

It was always my favorite subject in school. I often catch myself thinking about things in terms of fractions or figuring out percentages as I add prices up. (silently, in my head of course!) Like I said, nerd alert.

Well, I went to a friend's house the other day and stopped dead in my tracks when I passed this clock on her wall. Oh man, I don't think I've seen anything better! Have you?

I have never loved a clock more before.

thrifty thursday

Happy new year! I can't believe it is already 2011. It feels like the summer just ended yesterday, but alas, we are onto a new year.

Hopefully this year will bring lots of Pyrex (among other important wishes!). I have been starving for Pyrex for the last three months. I really just haven't found anything great, which is a big bummer.

I did go to the Centerville DI this past week and happened upon some cute mugs. I was only going to buy two, but then they were so charming, I bought all five. I don't think I'll ever actually drink out of them - I am thinking of using them more along the lines of a vase or odds & ends holder.

I just thought the velocipede bicycle image was too great to pass up!

I will try to be better about posting, sorry for my absence!