Friday, March 30, 2012

TGIF and Thank you Rene from Sew Many Raggedies!


Hi Friends!

TGIF to you all! 

Just a quick pop in to say hello and thank a fellow blogger for an amazing giveaway!

Thank You Rene from


for this wonderful Pillow and Shamrocks!  

They are 10 times better in person than in the picture! I wish I could have a St. Patrick’s day do over so I could display them now!

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I didn’t have any Prim St. Patrick's decorations so these will be much loved for years to come!

If you don’t already know Rene please head over to her blog and say hello!


Until Next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

~ Weigh in Wednesday ~

Hi Peeps!

Happy Wednesday to ya! Hope you are all having a great day!

As you all know I have been working really hard on my weight loss and I finally hit my first goal on Monday. I weighed in at 135 and hit my 10% goal! Woohoo!

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This is a big deal because I had been stuck for 3 weeks. And my amazing husband knew it was a big deal. So when I came home from Zumba Monday night I found a present just for me with this note.

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All together now…. Awwwwwwwww.

And here is what he got me.

A beautiful Treenware box. I love boxes!

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And the cutest little treenware scoop. ♥♥

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Good man!

Ok… now… lets get to where I am today…

Scale

Starting Weight: 150

Last weeks Weight: 136

This weeks weight: 132.4

What????? That’s right.

Down 18 Pounds!

I have been super stuck for 3 weeks… and now all the sudden it’s falling off. I didn’t even believe it. 

I weighed myself 4 times to be sure. And hubby double checked it too!

I have been super careful about what I’m eating this week and that is clearly paying off.

Now I’m hoping that number sticks. I am going to be super careful with my food the rest of this week and Zumba everyday.

I want 132 on Monday weigh in!!!!!

Because if it sticks… that means I am more than half way to my goal! Woohoo! Fingers crossed!

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

~ Thank you Carol from Buttermilk Creek Farm ~

Hi Peeps!

I need to send a HUGE shout out to my friend Carol at 



I have been blessed that over the past month we have done 2 swaps. The first time she sent me amazing pumpkins that I am completely in love with! But this time... she outdid herself. She sent me one of her amazing mice. 

I can not lie when I tell you I squealed with delight when I opened that box and saw her sweet little face. 

Carol is a most talented artisan! 

Look at this beautiful mouse she sent me. ♥♥



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Tell me those whiskers aren't the most adorable! 

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The detail. Stunning! 

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The accents... Perfect. 

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I just can not stop staring her her cute little face!! 

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And the most adorable little tail you have ever seen! 

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Carol, sweet friend... thank you for blessing me with one of your beautiful mousers. I will give her a wonderful home and treasure her always. ♥ 


If you don't know Carol yet... you are missing out! 

Head on over to her blog at 


and say hello! 



Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats

Monday, March 26, 2012

Monday again already?

Hi Peeps!

Monday Schmunday to you! You all know Mondays are just NOT my thing. Nope. Not at all.

When was I last here? Wednesday? Oh how time flies!

Thursday it was a beautiful night so we hopped on the Harley and took off. Hubby got to wear his shirt I got him for Christmas. I got all the guys these with their ladies name on them. They crack me up!

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I have never fallen off the bike... and I hope I never do!



This weekend started good and then ended sad. 

Friday night I tinkered around the house and watched a bunch of The Walking Dead season 2. Love that show. Only 3 more episodes until I get to watch the season finale! 

Saturday morning up and at em' for Zumba. Great morning!!! Left some calories at the Y and decided to head over to the goodwill for some workout clothes shopping. I have officially stuck to 135 for the weekend and decided to reward myself. Found a ton. Cute stuff, new stuff, super cheap! I'm set until I lose that last 20! Woohoo! 

Check out my cute new workout clothes!


Everything was $3.29 each. 


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Love this green one!!!  Like new Champion.

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Cute T back.

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Athletic Works shirts.

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I also got three pairs of short workout shorts. But I need to find some biker shorts to wear under them cuz I don't want my booty hanging out! LOL! I have been looking but haven't seen them anywhere. Gotta find some!

Love the colors!






After heading home I got a text from one of my best friends that just stopped me in my tracks. Her Dad passed away. Naturally but suddenly. I stopped breathing for a moment while I processed that. I am so sad for her. They were close, like me and my Dad. And I just got lost in that moment and my heart broke for her. I have known her and her Dad for 30 years. I grew up with him too. I know we can't live forever... but you are just never ready for it. 

The rest of they day I spent wandering around trying to focus without much luck. I made a fire and poked at it for a while... and tried to finish some spring stuff up but didn't get it done. 

Sunday she called and asked me to meet her so we sat at Ruby Tuesdays for a couple of hours and just talked. 

On the way home I stopped at the goodwill and ran into Jamie and Curt, who had just called Shane to invite us to dinner. So we went out to dinner. Mexican. And I was so full from RT's I didn't even eat. Didn't even touch the chips and Salsa. Good for me, because those are my absolute weakness! 

That was it for my weekend. Weighed in this morning at 135 and I'm happy as a pea in a pod to have finally hit that number on a Monday. If you have been following along with my weight loss for 3 weeks I have hit that on a Friday and then it was gone by Monday. I held onto it this weekend! Go me! 

It's official. I have lost 10% of my body weight!


Go me! 



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Down Down Down!!!!
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Look at those numbers drop!


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Tonight is Zumba night... and I can't wait to wear one of my new tops and work it out. Yay!

Until next time...

Carmen and the Primcats

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Weight in Wednesday ~ Eye Update ~

Hi Peeps! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful first day of spring! 

It was glorious here! 80 degrees and perfect! I am so enjoying this weather. I truly hate the cold and hope someday to move somewhere warm most all year round. So this early spring has lifted me up into sun shiny happiness. I am loving it. 

I skipped the gym for the first time in 2 months yesterday and went right home so we could jump on the Harley and take off. Oh it was heaven. I lose myself every time  get on that wonderful piece of machinery. We rode up to a friends to check out a quad he was offering to Mr. Primcat for some car repair. Someone ran into his truck and his car has some rust so the Mr. (who's life is auto body and paint and customizing cars) is going to fix it for the quad. And the fun part... is the quad is for me! Woohoo! Excited! I'm such a tomboy! Bring on the quad!

My soon to be nice quad once hubby does his magic on it.

It'a a mess... but hubby will make it awesome.


And this is Mr. Primcats quad. 




After checking out the quad we headed to dinner and went to Applebee's. They have a bunch of new WW meals and they are so good. The Grilled Jalapeno Lime Shrimp is my favorite and it's only 8 points! Yum! 




And that brings us to this weeks weigh in... 


Starting Weight: 150

Last Weeks Weight: 137

This Weeks Weight: 136

Total Lost: 14 Pounds

Down another pound! Yay!!! 

I actually hit 135 last Friday but I had a little to much food and drink celebration for ol' St. Pat and lost the number by Monday. lol.

That's ok! Zumba class tonight... I'll get rid of it again! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thought I'd also give you an eye update. 

Everything is great. My vision is really good. I have very little disturbances at all anymore. I am having some dry eye that causes blurry vision but that should clear up in time too. 

The only thing that I still have that is bad is that I can't drive at night. The lights are huge star bursts so driving at night is very dangerous. I can't see because the lights blind me. I have only driven once at night and that was to Angie's and it was so scary I wasn't sure I was going to make it home. They said it could take up to a year to clear worst case. So until this clears I'm a day driver. No biggie. My man drives me where ever I need to go. :) 

Have a wonderful day everyone!!! 


Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats






Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Welcome Spring!

Hi Friends, 

Welcoming a beautiful first day of Spring here! 

Though it seems more like summer the way the weather has been! 

I'm loving it either way! 



Have a glorious day! 

Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats

Monday, March 19, 2012

Why Goodwill hisses me off!!!!


Monday Schmunday friends. 

Yep. Monday is always back to work for me. YUK! But what must be done must be done! 

Had a fun weekend this weekend. Friday night I tinkered around the house and worked on Spring decor. Saturday morning I woke up and went to Zumba Class! So much fun! Then I came home and Jamie and I decided to take a drive up to Amish Country in Berlin, Ohio. We got a very late start so we aren't there long... but I managed to pick up a few fun things at decent prices. Saw lots of things that I would never pay that much for either! Yikes. Man they like to jack things up just because it's sitting in a store in Amish Country. 

Speaking of jacking things up... I wanna complain a little this morning. 

My Goodwill expanded to double it's size a few months back. Which is great... but whenever they do that... they jack up the prices. 

And that is my complaint. 

Goodwill is NOT a retail outlet. It's a store that sells used  items. But it seems they have forgotten this lately. 

#1. They take everything of value and list it on the goodwill auction site. I refuse to shop this site. Refuse. You are a used item store and you should be selling as such. If I wanted to pay retail I would buy stuff brand new. I don't want to. And I won't. That also means that most of the good stuff never ends up in the store... and that does not make me happy at all. 

#2. If something nice does make it in to the store... they go online and find the highest listed price and price it as such. To justify this they like to put up the internet page the price came from. Like this... 

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$159.00 for 31 pieces? Um... No! 

This is bs in my world. I will not buy anything priced like this. I don't care how much replacements LTD is selling this set for... Goodwill is a used store. And they should be selling things well below what retail would be. Not for $5.13 a piece of china. 

I have also seen them use an ebay price of something that did not sell to justify a price many many times. It's out of control! 

So that's my rant for the day. Knock it off goodwill. You have gotten to big for your britches. I remember when I was looked down upon for shopping at goodwill and now that it's the "in" thing to do they think they can price gouge. It burns my britches. 

Anyway... back to my weekend. Sunday, even though we had major storms in Ohio, hubby and I took off on the bike for a few hours. We got soaked... but at least we went out! 

Zumba class tonight! Woohoo! I did my Zumba every day this weekend and twice on Saturday. Though it did not save my Friday weigh in of 135 til today. I was so stoked to hit 135. That's huge. That means I hit 15 pounds down. Woot! Woot! Hello?!?!  Of course it didn't stick til today because I was a bad girl eating this weekend (Mexican and green margarita's Saturday night may have busted my bubble. HA!) but I know it's in there. I will be good through the week this week, eating right and doing Zumba everyday and hopefully it will stick by next weekend. :) 

The point is... I hit 135 on Friday and that's awesome! Booyah! 

Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Reminder... Please remove the word verification.


Hi Friends! 

This is a repost of an old post here... 


... just a reminder! :) 

Feel free to repost my repost! 

Though a lot of the blogs I follow I see it's not there anymore and I appreciate that!!! 



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please friends... please... I am begging you to remove the "prove your not a robot" thing off your blog. I promise... you don't need it.

It is a default blogger setting so unless you have turned it off... you do have it.

Blogger changed the look of it recently... the words are longer, there are two now and they are much much much much harder to read and I am tired of not being able to read it and spending minutes trying to leave comments because I can't figure out what in the world it says. My frustration level with the new word verification is through the roof and I will soon enough just stop commenting on blogs that have it.

****Added based on comments -And just read the comments onthe origional post, I'm not the only one who won't be commenting on WV blogs.



In the three years I have been blogging a Spam Robot has never gotten through. Not to mention I have only ever gotten 5 spam and they have all been caught by blogger and dumped into my spam folder.  And I am a relitively high traffic site with my email available right there on the right for bots to steal.

You just don't need the word verification!

*****Added in response to comments - No. I don't use comment moderation either. As you post a comment ... it goes right on  my blog. I do not approve them. And STILL a spam has never made it through! :) But if you are worried about spam... just turn on your comment moderation and approve your comments. You should be the one taking the extra step here... NOT your blogging friends. :) 

Please Please Please remove this unnecessary feature from your blog and also repost this asking your fellow bloggers to remove it as well. You will lose comment's if you keep it there.

For instructions on how to remove it... plus how to remove other annoying features from your blog... go here:


or just follow these very simple steps



Go to Dashboard
Go to Settings Tab
Go to the Comment Tab
Scroll down to Word Verification
And click NO!
Click Save Settings
Make your followers happy! Yay!



Until next time...

Carmen and the Primcats

Saturday, March 17, 2012

~ Happy St. Patrick's Day ~

Hi Friends! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

I'm Irish so mo pinching me! 

My Irish luck won me this wonderful giveaway yesterday from 




Can't wait for it to get here! 

Black cats are actually lucky too! 



I hope you have something wonderfully green today! 


And get your Irish dance on! 


And find the gold at the end of your rainbow!! 




Until next time...

Carmen and the Primcats

Friday, March 16, 2012

~ Thank You Carol ~

Hi Friends! 

Happy Friday to you! Man am I glad it's Friday! It has been such a long dragging week. UGH!!! When I'm stuck in this office and the sun is shining outside it makes time stand still. lol. So Yay Friday!

Did Zumba at home last night with Jamie! Went well! I sweated like mad. That's good. Jumped on the scale this morning and it said 136. Woohoo! That's good. I've hit that 2 times now... so the question is can I hold onto it through the weekend???? Usually not... but I'm going to try! 

So what's on the agenda for this weekend? Not to much... 

Tomorrow morning bright and early going to Zumba class. Then Jamie and I are going to head out shopping. I'm not sure where we are going yet. Rolling acres is in Marion this weekend. And this is the first Springfield Antique Show weekend. North Shore Primitives is having their Spring Open house this weekend. And I want to take Jamie to the Flower Factory in Columbus at some point to look for wedding supplies. That's our options... we shall see where we land. 

Sunday we are going to jump on the Harley and hit the road if it's as nice as they say it's going to be. :) Yay! Riding! 

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I need to send a huge thank you out to the amazingly talented Carol at Buttermilk Creek Farm 

We did a swap of sorts. She had mentioned she loved my pantry cakes so I sent her some as a RAK. Surprise Surprise she sneaked back a package to me. 

She heard from a little birdie I had a liking for all things pumpkin. Wink Wink. 

How beautiful are these? 

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And they smell so good! 

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And how about this beauty! 


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And a wonderful candle!!! 

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Thank you so much Carol! You know I love everything!

If you don't know Carol already head over to 


and say hello and check out her work. 

She is an amazing artist and makes the most adorable little mice you have EVER seen! 

Until next time...

Carmen and the Primcats

Thursday, March 15, 2012

~ Thrifty Thursday ~

Hi Friends,

Happy Thursday to ya! Almost Friday… woohoo!!!

Zumba was awesome last night! I bet we burned a 1000 calories in that hour! Woohoo! I can not lie… I am now obsessed with Zumba! Completely and totally. Love it!

After Zumba… we took our first ride of the year on the Harley. Wow. Beautiful night. I just can not believe the weather we have been having. We are planning on riding Sunday too and it’s supposed to be in the 70’s.

So lets get to the goodies shall we?

Lazy Susan… which I use as a Crock lid!

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Wood hot plate… as a smaller crock lid.

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Santa Key. So cute!

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Fall flowers.

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Primitives by Kathy crackled plate.

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Bee box.

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Buzzzzzzzzzzzz.

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Small textile holder or Herb rack. Cute~


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Nice leather straps holding it together.

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Large gathering basket.

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Dried bowl fillers.

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And the piece of the week…

This beautiful footstool.

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Yep.. $3.00. Steal!
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It’s sturdy but the weave is broke in places and super prim! Love it!

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Until next time…
Carmen and the Primcats