Checking in...

I know, I know...I haven't been around much this month. Sorry about that. Here's a summary of what's been going on with me, both good and bad:

• I'm getting a new PC soon! I'm really excited...it's being built for me now by the same local company that built my current PC. My current PC is five years old and it still works great, but I needed to upgrade. I decided it would be better to get a new PC and pass my current one over to my sister (who really needs a reliable home PC) than to basically rebuild my current one. One thing I want to do is get all of the family home movies transferred to DVD. They were transferred from film to videotape a few years ago. I don't currently have a DVD burner, and I will need more power and disk space to do this as well. Anyway, I've been working on backing everything up on a couple of pocket drives I have (with additional backups on CDs and Zip disks). After I get everything moved to the new PC, I will reformat the old one, reinstall Windows XP fresh and set it up for my sister.

• I've been trying to train my dog Betty and get her to be less wild and more obedient. When we first got her, she was very obedient. But now, she's like a teenager trying to test her boundaries. I've been taking her to training classes once a week. The 'possum she killed last week was the last straw, so I got a very large crate for her to stay in on evenings when she is not staying in the house. The crate is on the screened-in back porch. This is to keep her from digging and getting into other kinds of mischief. We also keep her in it when we leave the house. (We don't think she should be left alone in the house. There's no telling what she'd do.) Aside from the mischief she gets into, she is a sweet and lovable dog. She just needs some training -- I don't think she ever had any.
• The soapmaking hobby has really been fun and encouraging. The church craft fair sold seven of the bars I donated for $5 each. (I didn't price them, the ladies running the craft fair did. I was very flattered by the price.) I have given bars to family, friends and coworkers as gifts. My sister also gave some as gifts. I have gotten a lot of unsolicited complements on the soap and so has my sister. I will post sometime soon about the different types of soap I've made in addition to the holiday soaps. My next project for January: Bubble bath bars similar to the kind Lush makes. I found a recipe online on how to make them -- I just need to order the supplies.
• I've mentioned that I feel like crap all the time. Well, the reason for that is that I've been in a lot of pain lately. Mainly it's in my lower back, hips and legs (especially the knees). And I have a bad knee to begin with. The doctor wants me to get an x-ray done on my spine. Strangely enough, I have actually felt better the past couple of days. I was actually able to get out of bed without using a cane the past couple of mornings. I've started to take glucosamine again, but I didn't think it worked that fast. In spite of the pain I've been in, I've been trying to be more active...like taking my dog for walks (I'm trying to train her to walk on a leash properly).
• I decided to "start all over" with Weight Watchers. I asked them if I could get a new card and just start again, with the 10% goal and all. I feel that would be more encouraging than looking at it like I'm trying to re-lose weight I've gained back. They are allowing me to do that, so that's great. I don't think I'll make any real progress until after the holidays, though.

So, that's what's been going on. Posting may be sporadic for a while, especially with my switching to a new PC.