Thought Connection

At Last!!

2011-04-21T20:26:00.001-04:00

At last I got the mojo flowing and got my LO done! I still find it so odd that you can stare at a LO for so long and nothing happens. Then all of a sudden it gets off dead center.

Here it the first LO of when Gloria came to visit. It was such a good time. This is when Nancy and her family was able to meet up with us at Cracker Barrel.

It was great getting to see her and Larry after twenty plus years! It had only been about nineteen or twenty years for Nancy because Gloria and she worked together, also.

I was pleased at how it finally turned out.

Click on image for larger view

I am going to start on another one. I could kick myself for not taking more pictures and also for not getting better background. Oh well. Live and learn. I will overcome it somehow!! LOL

Nothing big going on around here. Just been pottsing around doing this and that which has amounted to not much. I really don't know where all the time goes; it just does.

It is so nice to see the flowers starting to bloom. I know that you northerners don't think we have seasons here in Florida, but we sure do. Everyone is into planting and WATERING. With not rain in sight for a while, we sure have to dump the water on the new plantings. We do have a rainy season, but not until June.

I told Jim the other day it was not wonder that we couldn't grow flowers very well when we worked. We will leave in the morning to go do a little something and by the time we get back shortly after noon, the marigolds are all wilted already. Well, by the time we would have gotten home from work, the poor little things would have been beyond help. At least we can revive them now!! And they look beautiful.

My plumerias, you know, the ones that they make leis out of , are slow to take off this year. However, there is one with blossoms coming and the poor thing only has one leaf on it. These are the plants that loose all their leaves each year and only look like a stick in the ground until in the spring when they get their leaves and then the beautiful blossoms. I think I will try to go out and get a picture of one of them. You will see how ugly they are. When we first moved here we wondered what in the heck people had sticks planted in their yards. We soon found out why they put up with all the ugliness. Because they are beautiful when they bloom, and they bloom longer then they are barren.

Here is a picture of what they look like when they loose all their leaves.

But then they get these beautiful and very fragrant flowers. It is worth having a bare stick in your yard for a while!!

Guess that is about it for this writing. Hope you all have a great evening and thanks for stopping by.

Oh, we had to go out for a while in between writing this and on the way home the thermometer down the street said it was...95!!!!!!! Can you believe??? It is only April!!! Just had to add that. I thought it was just way too hot!!

Basking In the Sun

2011-04-15T18:37:00.001-04:00

Temps in the high eighties!!! Don't like to complain about those, except did it have to get into the 80's so fast??? Feels good, but it went as usual, from winter to summer. No time to get used to the rising temps.

But, I know you won't believe this but it is 79 in the house and I am sitting with a down filled throw over me!!! Don't know why. Took a chill and can not get warm. Just now got feeling in my feet so thought I would blog and say hi!!!

Just watched the news and while the temps are great I am afraid only the northern Spring breakers will be brave enough to go in the water...which is a good thing because a local would never brave the beaches at Spring break! The water temp in Clearwater is only 78. Oh hush. I can hear you all now. While that has to sound beautiful to most of you, we are used to about 93!!!! Wowser!! That's cold. The weatherman said you probably would acclimate after you got in!!! LOL

Da Da!! Now I can tell you!! GLORIA and LARRY, our old friends from Ohio were here!!! Oh my! It was fantastic!!! We had not seen each other in probably twenty-five years or so. It was so awesome. It was like we never skipped a beat. And get this...they look the same. Go figure!!! I felt like a grandma standing next to Gloria. Ever notice how some people never age?? Well, she does wear glasses now...but other than that...golly...she looks the same!!!

I don't have any LO's yet of our reunion. I am in stall mode. I want them to be perfect and I can't get with them. I have changed the color of the one I have started it seems like a million times. I will get it, but I won't stop until I get it just where I want it.

For taking as many pictures that we did we really took a lot of the same pose. I won't let that happen the next time!!

I was so happy that our daughter Nancy and her family were able to meet up with us at Cracker Barrel. I was looking at the picture that a wonderful customer took of all of us, and if I am thinking right, Nancy's middle child, Siana, is the age that Nancy was when they last saw each other!!! Mind boggling!!

More on the dog dodo slinger. I was sitting in my infamous chair looking out my wonderful patio door the other morning, and what now do I see? A NEIGHBOR...walking their dog. OK. But, doggy decided to go dodo...and he LEAVES it and walks away!!! Now I have to think...which is worse? The lady that at least picked it up and put it in a nice bag...or one that leaves it there for you to step in? None of this is what I would hope a dog owner would do. Oh well. I can't change the world.

You know, the Internet is great. We have been so hungry for a dish that TGI Friday served over twenty years ago when we moved down here. Santa Fe Pasta. Oh, my. It just really hit the spot for us. Restaurant owners should be scarred if Jim and I like a dish. It is always the kiss of death for it!!

So the other day a neighbor gave us a big bunch of Cilantro, which was a main ingredient in the dish, so I decided to search the Internet for the recipe

I had searched for over a half hour, changing my search terms, and thought I would check one more page...and I FOUND IT!! Oh my. I made it the other day and I think I could have just laid my head in it and breathed for a while. Have you ever wanted something like that and thought you would probably never taste it again?? So I am sure I will be making it again...and soon!!! Needless to say, not the healthiest, but isn't that always the way it goes???

Hum. Due to the fact I can't satisfy myself with my scrap page, I only have two LO's that I haven't posted. At least I don't think they have been posted.

This is one of Brian when he was on this Mediterranean working tour and decided to get his scuba certification while he was there.

And this is my date and nut bread recipe LO! I only make it at Christmas as was the family tradition, but I would just love to have a nice thick slice with cream cheese on it right now!! LOL I go through these food desires about twice a year LOL Every sale that came on TV today, I had to tell Jim what a great deal that was. Well, come on. You don't get calories just dreaming!!! LOL

I love that Santa. He was at a mall in the area last year!!! One of the few that I have liked out of his traditional red suite.

Hey! I am finally warm. I am going to go turn the air back on!!! I am beginning to glow! That is what one of our ministers used to say. Men sweat. Women glow!!! I thought that was sweet of him!

Take care. Have a great night. And enjoy!!!

So Many Things I Never Knew!!!

2011-04-07T10:11:00.002-04:00

The longer I live the more I realize I am so uninformed about things, which doesn't bother me, but still makes me wonder what I do know!! LOL

We were watching either the History or Discover channel the other night and they were talking about the center or inside of the earth. I was reading at the time so I was only catching bits and pieces of the show. But I did catch this part.

There are holes or caverns into the earth and this particular one was the size of the Empire State Building. Well now, that was exciting enough but not the clincher for me. What really got to me was...that people parachute into the silly thing!! They only have, if I recall, twelve seconds to pull the cord or they will not land OK. Then after they land at the bottom of this they are hauled back up to the surface with a harness and metal cable. Positively does not sound like fun to me, but to each his own, I guess!!!

They did not elaborate on what happens if you don't pull the cord soon enough and crash land. Maybe, I hope, it has never happened! I would think that you certainly would remember if your life was depending on those twelve seconds!!!

Anyway, all these things that I don't know. And then when I watch more TV and see people talking about all these astronomy things, all the weather details, all that is known about plants and medicines...just to name a few...makes you know that you really don't know much at all!!! Life is fascinating.

Haven't been doing much of anything. Just watching the bad weather roll in and out. Had company in, two different sets of people, both which we haven't seen in about twenty-five years!! It was unbelievable!! We had so much fun but it was just too short. More about both of those in a later blog!!

I have decided to do a quote scrapbook album. There is a friend that is doing one for each of her grandchildren using pictures of them for it, but I thought I would use random pictures. I am a quote nut and love them so much. They say so much in such few words.

I am probably going to use this one to start: "There is never enough time to do all the nothin' you want", Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbs!! I saw it on a LO of another friend, Laura, on Designer Digitals last week. I love it and thought it would be a good place to start. I just need to find the pic that I want to use. Take a look at it. Laura is a great scrapper and I think it is a beautiful LO!

I have been scrapping, scrapping, scrapping. It feels so good when it all "happens" for you. Let me see what I have to post.

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These are my flamingos. I don't know why but I love to scrap them. Guess it is the color. No matter how many times I go to Busch, I always come home with more pics of them. So you will always see more and more pages of my flamingos.

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Of course there are the lions. I love them, too. Guess maybe I just love the animals!! LOL They never put on an act. They are just being themselves, and I love that. I hate fakiness, and animals don't do that!

And the last one is of one of the beaches by us. We only live about twelve minutes away from the beach and just love them. The entire side of the coast of Florida where we live is just one beach after another. They are all different. Some have boardwalks you have to use to get to them, others you can get to just from street side. Just get out of your car and there you are. Jim and I promised each other never to get used to the peaceful beauty of the 'oce'...short for ocean as we call the Gulf of Mexico!!!...the fine white sand beaches and the palm trees. We often go there just to unwind for a while...or watch the sun set.

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That is about it for today. Have a few things to do and then I think I am going to read. I haven't been reading much and have missed it.

As always, thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!!

Boy! I just don't know what I feel...

2011-04-03T12:33:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I was sitting in my rocking chair at the patio door in our living room watching the world go by. Oh the joys of retirement!!! LOL

I heard some dogs barking so I turned a little and saw a young lady about in her late thirties with two beautiful, very large dogs across the street at the side yard of our neighbors.

She is making them stand still as she pulls of a doggy bag to pick up their deposit in the yard. I thought, well that is nice, she is cleaning up after her dogs, which is not only what the park says you will do if you want a dog, but what is the nice thing to do!! No one should have to have their yard used as the potty for YOUR dog!

So, I turn back around and watch her go past the side yard, past the neighbor's and get to the side yard of the neighbor diagonally across from us. Then...picture this. She takes that rather large blue dogie potty bag, swings it around two times and heaves it into the side yard right next to the neighbor's car!! Can you even believe?

If I could have gotten to her fast enough I would have screamed at her!!! I guess because she had a double leash in one hand and her water bottle in the other, the doggy bag was just not what she wanted to carry. After all...she did at least put it in a bag for them. Unbelievable. To make it even a little worse, this man, who I think lives alone, is partially disabled. I need to go over and pick that up today. Sometimes he is not out for days at a time.

I had thought that the guy I worked with was bad. He would walk his dog. Clean up after her and them put it in someone's garbage can as he went by. You see, he always walked the dog with a beer in one hand and the dog leash in the other. He didn't have a free hand to carry the filled bag!! Yuk!! But at least he put it in the garbage; but I still don't approve of that move either!!

People. I just will never understand them!

Well. My gripe for today. That just really made an impression on me.

I have been scrapping. It feels good, but I am getting way low on pics to scrap. I do have a few of friends that came to visit so I think those will be the next.

This is the one I finished last night. I took these when I still worked. Joe and Buck had wanted gas money and they had brought me the money box. I guess they were in a hurry. They grabbed the box and off they went. The journaling tells the story. I laughed so hard at them. They were always doing things like this!

Click to read journaling

This is not one of my favorites but it is OK. It is of the kangaroos at Busch Gardens, Tampa. They were so cute. Then I found a quote by Erma Bombeck that I just loved and decided I should pair them together.

Click to view larger image

And the last for today is My Home. It is a bird that I saw at Busch Gardens that I loved. He looked so happy and like he was very much at home where he was.

Click to read journaling

Don't really know what else is on tap for today. We have had a very wonderful week with friends visiting from Ohio. Haven't felt the best yesterday and today so I think we will probably just hang around. I have not been reading...I know...really strange for me...so I think it is time to revisit my Kindle.

Uh...might I just say...it is supposed to be 89 today and tomorrow!!! Wowser!!! It is about time!!!!!!! I know that is way too hot for Serene, but for us Floridians it feels soooo good! Maybe my bones will decide to start moving again without a groan from me!!!

Savor the rest of the day. Back to the grind stone tomorrow. But that isn't so bad. Everyone needs to be needed!!! Someone is counting on you.

Thanks for stopping by.

What A Day!!!

2011-03-31T15:28:00.003-04:00

I will try to control myself so that this blog doesn't get so long but what a day we have had already!!!

We had bad weather yesterday and they warned us that we would have more today. But usually, once you have one bad day, the next day is not AS bad. WRONG! The weather people were really surprised, too!!!

It started this morning when the weather radio went off at six o'clock!! Do you all have weather radios? We never did when we lived up north but you sure do need one in Florida. Bad, really bad weather is able to strike up the band at anytime, and you need to be made aware of it!! So we all have radios that go off when weather gets bad!!

Now. Six A.M. I am always up by then but do I really need to think about tornadic weather heading straight at out daughter's and my son-in-law being chased down by it on his way to work?

I do need to add, too, that we get BAD weather all the time here and the weather people don't make a big deal of it. They are just keeping an eye on it for you. But when they sit there and go "Oh my! Oh, my! This is really very bad!! You soon perk up and watch. On our radar here is shows spirals wherever there is a possibility of a tornado forming.

What it amounted to was really BAD, BAD weather with many tornadoes embedded in it!! Starting up north by our daughter's and then us then south below us. In fact it is three in the afternoon and we are still under tornado watch. And we really don't get many tornadoes. And when we do they are very short lived, but these were on the ground moving across the state until 1:30!! I stopped watching continually so I am not sure if they have made it all the way across yet or not! So rare!

Daughter and son-in-law were safe, thank God. But, then it was our turn at 11:30. With our great weather forecasting we knew for about a half hour that a tornado was headed directly for us. Anxiety does build, that is for sure.

As it worked out, it didn't go directly over us but rather a block to the south of us. I did hear the freight train sound but I said to myself...aw...that's just thunder! LOL As it turned out, there were towers down, houses destroyed, buildings destroyed, roofs off...the whole bit. Thank God, we, ourselves, were unscathed.

We live a couple miles from the Clearwater/St. Pete International airport and they had power poles down, buildings destroyed and planes tipped over. There was also a Sun 'n' Fun air show at an airport in Tampa and tents were down, planes turned over...all that nasty stuff. And it is reported a plane hanger somewhere...I forget where...was damaged and people were trapped in there.

Not a great day...but thank God, I have not heard of anyone being hurt.

With that, I am going to shut off the blog because I could go on and on. So many things being damaged. If you want to see some pics go here. There is a link to see photos.

I have done some LO's since I posted last. I will post a couple.

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This is the last one I did of Brian in Egypt. I need to get some more done!!

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Ugh!! Raining hard again. We have gotten more rain in the last two days than we get in the normal month of March. From dry to squishy!!

Need to get going. Have some laundry Jim wants to get done. Have to go to the Clubhouse since our washer rusted out!! LOL So it goes on, and on and on....

Later all my dear taters!!!

Just Stopping By

2011-03-01T19:46:00.002-05:00

Just a quick hello for today. Have not done a silly thing today except went out to get a bite for lunch.

Watched a whole lot of TV, but I haven't even really read!! Just one of those "I can't get into it" days!!! LOL

I did see one think off my Facebook that I really liked. It was this sotry about a Kitty and a Crow. It is so cute so I wanted to post it here, too.

It just goes to show you, that all of us really can get along together and care about each other if we really wanted to, and no one told us we shouldn't!!!

See if you like it!! It is a little slow in spots but I still think it is worth it! I hope it works. I am not good at these kinds of copies!!

So here is the story that I am calling: Kitty & Crow

Hope it works and hope you enjoy it.

Now take note, I said this would be short and I really meant it. Enjoy the rest of your night and will be back again, very soon!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

He asked us...

2011-02-27T08:10:00.004-05:00

is that a PIG????

Please!!! We were walking our lovely puppy...well 14 year old puppy!!!

I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. LOL But as I looked at Zoe I had to admit, with her weight, being coal black and walking with her head down and a strange gait because of her bad hips, she could possibly look like one of those black pigs that they keep as pets now. And the older guy was a distance away leaning on his car in his driveway!!! LOL

Here is a LO I did of our pretty baby from a while back.

Click on image to enlarge

This is when Jim used to take her every Sunday to get her own egg McMuffin!! We didn't get anything, this was for HER!! Well, maybe she had one too many muffins!!! But, she doesn't go anymore because her hips are too bad and she can't jump into the car. Poor baby. It isn't fun to get OLD! But I will have to tell him next time that she prefers to be called Porker!!!

He was a nice man. We had never met before and spent a few minutes getting to know each other. He is from New York, testified by his accent. What surprised me was that he asked us where we were from because HE detected an accent. I had never had anyone tell me I had an accent before, but Jim says people tell him that all the time. So I guess Ohioans have accents, too!!

Spent yesterday doing a LO. I hope I get on a roll. I miss scrapping, but have not been motivated. And when that happens...nothing happens!!

This is a quote I found of Charlotte Bronte while reading The Apothecary's Daughter, by Julie Klassen. While not a book, I thought, with a great plot, it was one that made you think about the underlying things the book was saying about relationships. In that respect a very good book. An easy read with a surprising ending.

Loved my little seals that I saw while at Sea World, Orlando!! They are my favorites...but oh, are they ever noisy!!!

Well, my breakfast has been served, so I had better go get it while the getting is good. Isn't Jim a sweetie??!!!

Have a great Sunday; for most, it is back to the grist mill in a very short time.

Thanks for taking time to stop by.

Pig graphic courtesy of Designed To a T.

I was told something

2011-02-25T19:34:00.004-05:00

that I have known for a long time!! LOL Terry told me I am weird!!! LOL

You see, our washer went kibbutz the other day and so today we went to the club house to do some laundry! I was telling her how I, personally, would rather do the laundry at a laundromat or whatever. You can start the loads, 1, 2, 3. Take them out to dry, 1, 2, 3 and fold them or hang them as they come out, 1...2...3!! All done in just a couple hours rather than an all day affair!! And hey, you can hang out at the pool while you wait. Is that really cool or what?!!

But I said I really can't stop and think about everybody else using the washers and shoving their dirty laundry in them. I know they get washed, but the idea that dirty clothes go in there bothers me!!! LOL LOL

That's when she told me I was weird. Now really. Tell me something I don't already know!!!

Anyway that is the bit of insight into me tonight and all you are going to get!!!

Just in from walking/riding the dog time. Man. I love the night walk on Fridays and Saturdays. As you drive past the homes you can smell all the clean laundry. All the pretty detergents and fabric softeners everyone uses. It smells so good!! I know. Add that to the list of weird things about me.

I guess some of you wonder how that can be, because you haven't lived in Florida in a mobile home park. In that case, I need to explain that most people have their washer and dryer on their patios, outside utility rooms or carports because it gives more room inside and all that heat isn't inside that you have to cool.

So as you go by on the weekends you hear the washers and dryers running and the wonderful sweet smells of all the detergents and softeners. I happen to like it. It smells good and makes the area smell really homey!! Now. Are you convinced? Terry really does know me!! LOL (Weird!)

Well now. I do have a few more LO's to post. Let me see what they are.

This one you northerners ought to relate to. Golly. I am setting myself up here. This may also place me in the weird category! When I lived in Ohio I always HATED the snow after it got all schmucked up and dirty. I never really knew what to call it. Then one day I was watching Regis and Kelly and heard Kelly talk about this. Then she said the word. I fell in love with it and is my word for the year. From what I have heard it has been around for a while, but being slow and usually out of the loop I had never heard it. So I decided to make a LO about it. Here it is. Hope you like it!!

Bahahahaha!! It is call snirt!! Isn't that funny? A combination of snow and dirt!! Oh well. I liked it!! LOL Thanks to my Designer Digitals friend and photographer, sweet Anke, that sent me this wonderful picture.

Oh, BTW. Just so you know what you can do with digital scrapping. In that picture, there was a bright red stop sign right between the two bushes and smack dab in the center of that white car. It really stuck out badly!! So. I did what they called cloning and made the stop sign disappear. It took about 10 minutes but so worth it!!

This is our son Brian when he was on the Mediterranean tour and went to Egypt. If you click the LO it should enlarge so you can read the journaling. It was a funny story.

And the last one is still in Egypt. At the pyramids.

That is about it for today. Working on another LO tonight but I am a slow go so it might be a couple days. Aw. At least I am having fun. That's what life is about.

So...HAVE FUN!!!

It has been brought to my attention....

2011-02-24T15:01:00.003-05:00

that I have not blogged in a very long time. Yeh. That's right. I have been in a lag. Not doing much of anything really. Yet, wondering if I really want to blog at all.

One does not want to think too long about the Internet, you know. That once you post something...it is there eternally. Do I really want that? Not sure. I guess being retired has given me much time to pause. That can be a good thing. That can be a bad thing.

Anyway, here I am, so for now, I presume it is a go!!

However, I must admit, not much has been going on here. Same ole, same ole, but I really do like it that way.

I have not even been scrapping much. But I have done a few and will post here.

I can say the weather has improved here. Yesterday it was 85 and purely delightful. However, I am not sure I need it to warm this quickly, as when I ride my bike in the morning, I was building up a head of steam, which I am not quite ready for yet! LOL But by the evening ride, the air had cooled and it was so wonderful to ride and greet friends in the park.

In the mornings, it is just Jim, Zoe, the dog and me because kids have taken off for school and parents are long gone to work. So that is our alone time which is really special. You can smell the aftermath of breakfasts having been cooked, the sounds of dogs saying hi, the birds starting to sing and an occasional shout of a mom to her still at home little one to do something they are not wanting to do!!! LOL I think this is my favorite of the two rides! I have always loved mornings. Guess that is why I am still up no later than 5 even though I have no reason to get up that early.

I have become such a book worm. Right now I would rather read than anything else. I even take my Kindle when we go in the car because we usually have to stop at a store and Jim just runs in for something. It is so easy to flip on the Kindle and continue reading. Oh well, I guess it is good to keep your mind active!! LOL

So, here are the LO's I have been doing. I hope I remember which ones I have posted and don't double post.

This one is of Jim on one of the first 80 degree days we had when he decided to take in some sun!!

This is of our son Brian and his group that toured the Mediterranean for three months on the Vistafjord.

And this one is when he was doing a production called New Moon.

I didn't know I had done so many that I had not posted. I have some more but will save them for later.

Till then, thanks for stopping by. Leave me a note and let me know you were here!!

To Tase or Not to Tase!!

2011-01-19T12:05:00.001-05:00

I saw something on TV yesterday that made me think about Tasers again. I had thought about this before but until yesterday hadn't thought about it recently.

There had been a news article on TV a while back here where we live, that was talking about Tasers.

As just a little background, Tasers are electroshock weapons that use electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Per Wikipedia, "Taser International call the effects neuromuscluar incapacitation". Woo sounds bad.

I totally believe we need to use these. Da Da!! I watch Cops!!! LOL It seems as if sometimes that is their only choice, and it is better than shooting someone. Whether or not to use them really is not in question here.

My question is this. Did you know that in most police situations, at least from the information I saw on TV, which is all I have to base my knowledge on, is that in order for a police officer to be allowed to USE a Taser gun, he has to submit to having it used on him/herself?

First of all, while the Taser is not SUPPOSED to permanently harm, it has, as I have read, in some cases, caused permanent damage and even death. Unfortunate, but there are risks.

I just find it odd, that with the fact that the Taser carries risks, that you have to submit to the use of it on yourself before you are given consent to use it on someone else. After all, you don't have to have to be shot in order to use a gun.

I realize they want you to know what kind of pain you are dealing with, but you sure are not having to feel the pain of a bullet to know what kind of pain you are dealing with. Are you with me here?

Anyway, at this point, that is my stand. If anyone can explain why you have to have the Taser used on yourself before you can use it on someone else, let me know. I am still open minded about this; I just don't understand the reasoning. Someone clue me in.

OK. That had been on my mind and I guess I have finally come to that decision about it unless someone else can elucidate for me. Not that what I feel changes anything, but I just like to get things settled in my mind about where I stand on some things.

Nothing going on here for sure. Just moseying along having a great time. Weather has improved somewhat. I think a little about the Ohio visitors loving this weather and I am saying I am COLD!! But good ole Jim reminds me that if I was coming from zero or below freezing temps I would be loving this, too. He's right as always!!!

Just finished a good book called The Justice Game, by Randy Singer. Excellent book about gun the control debate. He wrote the book because of a situation at the school his wife taught at and his children attended which had what could have been another Columbine. One lady had been killed and he had represented her family in the lawsuit against the gun store. This book was written seven years later.

He presented both sides of whether or not there should be gun control, all in a mystery type novel. He then put an online video showing the fictional case at the heart of this book and portions of the closing arguments for both lawyers. He asked viewers to watch the video and render a verdict. The verdict of the story reflected the verdict of the majority of the viewers.

A thriller of a book and a real eye opener. I thought I knew my feelings about gun control until I read this marvelous book. My views...while I won't say what they are...have change.

This is a great read and a real thought provoker. I highly recommend it!!

Well, I really have written a lot of feelings today. Guess that happens sometimes. Let me know your feelings on that Taser. I am in a need to know how you feel mood!!

Haven't scrapped, so nothing new on that front. Need to get busy and find some pictures!

Life is good. It's a great day. Enjoy!!

Back with my taters later.

And Then the Rain Came Down!!!

2011-01-17T11:08:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness!!! Raining so hard. Has been since I got up and Jim says it is to rain for thirty-six hours!! We so need it, though. But we don't need gully washers like this. It is just going to roll off!!

I really do love rainy days. They eye doctor said it is probably because my eyes are sun sensitive. I don't know, everything always seems so clean and new when it rains and I love to hear the rain on our house. We have a metal roof and it is really loud but it sounds so pretty. You just have to crank up the TV if you really want to hear it clearly!! LOL Or maybe it is just us in our hearing getting worse. Nah. Can't be that!! LOL

I am so excited. My son, Brian, is a licenced massage therapist and he is trying to find a Reiki Master for me. This is a type of massage, I guess your would list it with that although it isn't massage. It is about realigning your body energy. It is supposed to help so many things in your health because it removes blockages because of stress. I hope I am explaining it right. But the guy he found to do it, he wants no other than a master, no longer is in Florida. But he is still trying to locate one. I am really excited about it. The hospitals are using it in the area and are having great help with it for cancer. I am hoping it will help with my MG and fibromyalgia!!

I want you to know I did yet another LO!! Yeah!!! Two in two days!! I am hoping I am getting back in the groove.

This is Morgan, Gloria's grand daughter. She has been dancing since she was in first grade. This is her performance in The Nutcracker with the Ashland (Ohio) Ballet Company last year. She is adorable!!! I am so proud of her even though I have never met her!! LOL I have done so many LO's of the kids of Gloria's kids, which I do know, that I feel like I even know THEIR kids!! OK. So I am a bubble or two off. I am comfortable there!

Click for larger image.

Not much going on today that I know of with all this rain. The morning is speeding by for some reason and we were up early.

Looking forward to my scrapper friend, Lynnie, coming down to Florida in a couple weeks. We met on Designer Digitals. She, too, lives in Ohio and I can't wait to see her and her husband, Dick. This time since we are not working we are going to spend some time together. This is the LO I did when she was down last year.

I have no sense!! Who would ever put a picture of themselves up like that without running it through Photoshop? LOL LOL I guess I am just over that stuff. I am who I am. I earned those wrinkles so I guess I am going to claim them!! Besides, I don't look that bad for seventy-one. Right?

LOL I always add a few years. Well, until recently when I inadvertently forgot to do it! LOL Ah, old age, a wonderful thing...can't remember anything. But I really did used to do that. That way everyone thought I looked great for my age rather than saying, "Wow! Those kids have been HARD on her!!!" Made good sense to me. LOL

Well, lucky for you The Price is Right is on. Time to enjoy some TV with Jim. We have a simple life but boy do we enjoy it!!

It has been fun and will be back again. Enjoy your day. Smile. It makes life easier. Impossible to grump when you are smiling. I used to do that when I would get cantankerous customers on the phone at work. Never could be harsh as long as I smiled. Try it!

Take care all my taters.

More Time Equals Less Time

2011-01-15T17:21:00.001-05:00

Seriously. Now that I am retired everyone thinks I have so much time. It is just not true. I have less time!! Honestly.

And it is all because I have more time to do all those fun things that I had to put off before. I still don't do more of the mundane things like clean...what fun would retirement be to do that? But now I have time to actually watch TV...and lots of it!! I am a talk show, game show and oldie but goodies freak!! Bewitched, Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy, Daniel Boone...plus my very favorite that I didn't watch when it was current...MONK!!! Oh my goodness!! I have never been a star follower person, but I really would adore being able to meet Tony Shalhoub. I know that in his role on Monk he plays a compulsive person, but I have seen him in other roles and this man is the finest actor I have ever seen. He plays roles to perfection, without a doubt!!

I have time to do my stitching like counted cross stitch, read book after book on my Kindle that I got from Brian for Christmas, play computer and Kindle games and run around with Jim at a moment's notice. So see...having more time is actually having less time.

All my different playing around has also cut into my scrapping time. To top it off, I had lost some of the mojo at the same time. Here is a LO I just did about it!

Click on image for larger view

This is the only thing I have scrapped since Christmas or before, I think. Hopefully I am back at it again!!

I have to tell you, though, how much I adore my Kindle. What a wonderful thing!! Not only can I read on it but I can surf the net, too. And it is so comfy to hold and you can even read it in the blaring sun which will be great for at the pool this summer. Print too small? You can enlarge it!! As Brian said, "Great for old people!!" I think he meant us!! He got his dad one, too!! LOL

I can't believe how fast it will download books. I downloaded a complete Bible on it in less than thirty seconds!! How I love having my Bible on it. I can highlight and make notes on it without a pen and highlighter in hand. Also Jim and I are synced together, so that we can both read the same books and can see each others notes or highlights about them. It is just too, too cool. I LOVE it!!!

I do feel compelled to complain about the weather, though! COLD. Freeze warnings!! Today is the warmest it has been in weeks and it is 67. It should warm up but is still called to bounce around some more before it is all over!!

In true Ohio fashion, we have a ceramic goose in our flower bed. At the time, she has no adorable outfit on. They have all sun-bleached out. Just as a funny, I need to tell you the neighbor told Jim this morning that he had the flowers covered with sheets to keep them warm but left the goose without anything!! Jim said it was OK. She said she was just ducky!! LOL Oh well, I thought it was funny!

Just one more thing I HAVE to share. I just had my birthday. I got one of the best birthday presents evah!!! I was sitting in my recliner, no doubt watching TV, on my birthday and the phone rang and it said (someone's name which I won't say here of course!) was calling. I could not believe my eyes. It was my best friend Gloria from Ohio!!! We had not talked in well over 20 years!!! Remember, I told you we had been friends forever in Ohio and somehow had drifted apart, but reconnected this past year?? That was about the greatest surprise I have ever had!!! And it was if there never had been a break in the time. We just picked up where we left off. Her voice was exactly the same!!! Her giggle and everything. It was just super! So I just had to share that. Talk about birthday joy!!

I had planned on calling HER on Christmas eve and for some reason every time I thought about doing it, I never could pick up the phone and do it. Now I know, God was saying not to call and spoil her surprise. How great was that?

OK. I am out of here for this time. Closing I am posting a LO of our beautiful grand daughter, Siana. It was her thirteenth birthday last year and I wanted to put it down on paper.

Love each of you for stopping by. Till later, my taters...

Unbelievable!!!

2010-12-16T19:04:00.001-05:00

We went out today!! Out to the stores, that is. Oh my goodness. What a mess!! We decided to stop in Jo-ann's to look for some Christmas stamps. Nothing. Not surprised being it is so close to Christmas. But haven't been in a scrap store for over a year and was really surprised. Jo-ann's, where I usually shopped, had virtually nothing. They had scrap things, just not much. They always had so much. And my goodness...was it ever expensive!!! And of course everything was 40-60% off as usual so that you couldn't use coupons on them.

So we went on down the the street a couple of blocks to Michaels. Wow! They used to be the ones that didn't have much and they had quite a bit. Their prices were up a bit from last I was in but they were still more reasonable. But still no stamps.

It was fun to look around again, though. I can't say I would ever go back to hands on. Just not there anymore. And I would hate having to go hunt for everything I need again. Now I sit and browse and when I find it, it is very inexpensive.

Anyway, back to my point. The stores, the craft stores at this point, were PACKED. People were not friendly, clerks or customers, so you could tell the holiday was pressing in on everyone.

After going to Michaels we decided to stop at the mall next door and grab some Chick-fil-A in the food court. PACKED. Everyone there was growling, too.

Really. If this is what the Christmas celebration is...I say we either need to change our ways or give it up. I am wondering what God is thinking as He is seeing all this kind of attitude in honor or the birth of His son, our Saviour. Makes me sad.

We ate and started for home. Traffic was horrendous. We were probably six miles away from home at the farthest point...a straight line up the street to our house. Took forty-five minutes. First traffic was just slow. Then it came to a standstill. As it was...an accident. Got past that and as we were in the last couple blocks from our house we could see flashers at the intersection where we had to turn left to our place. We thought the street was open, but as we approached...road closed...accident. Did a "huey" as we call them here and went around the block and came in from the other way. Traffic at a standstill again. So on and henceforth. We finally got home safe and sound, forty-five minutes later, thank the Lord!!

I think I will be staying home as much as possible.

Got a couple more LO's done, though. One is a collage of Gloria's stampers group's Christmas party. I like the way it turned out. Oh, BTW, I do need to say that the "liquid" that was being consumed out of the bottles was none less than Sparkling Grape Juice. You can't see the labels in the small pictures, but I can assure you it was indeed!! They were all laughing...but that was strictly from all the fun they were having!! LOL

Click for larger image

The last one I just finished today is one of where I worked. I was going through pictures and saw them and thought I need to do a retirement LO. So I did. I like this one, too. It is starting to scare me that I am liking my LO's. Perhaps I have finally found the style I like. That would be nice. It has only taken me about three years!! LOL

That is about it for today. Think I am about to curl up in the chair for a night of TV. Have recorded a bunch of Monk and they make me laugh. Jim says it is because we are so much alike!! You know, I did find myself straightening the apples in a display at the grocery the other day so all the stems were in the same place!! No kidding. (I just like stuff to be organized. OK???) Jim got a good laugh out of that one. I didn't even realize I was doing it. I was just by the apples waiting on Jim or something so I started straightening them. Duh!

Again, you have made my day stopping by to read my ramble, but I do have to say, I can ramble well!! LOL (Quiet, Terry! I just give the facts!!) Thanks and hope to see you back here again.

A Yukky Day`

2010-12-12T13:59:00.005-05:00

It is cold, dreary and raining, and neither Jim nor I feel like doing much. So I have been sitting at this computer most of the day giving myself a gigantic backache! Guess I can't complain about it then, can I?

I am seriously considering going and putting on my Eeyore slippers. I am that cold. It is about 77 in the house but it is damp and I still feel cold. I had wanted to go out on the screened porch and look at some things in my hands on stash but it is too cold. I will wait till tomorrow. Yowser, though, Tuesday we are supposed to have a high of 48. I might reconsider that thought and go out in a few minutes.

Did one LO this morning...actually really early this morning. Woke up thinking about it at 3 this morning, so I got up and worked on it till 4:15. Went back to bed and finished it when I got up this morning. I love to scrap about 3 in the morning. I don't know why, I just seem to do my best thinking then. I have to watch, though. When I do that, I keep going for several hours and if I do it too many days in a row, I want to reverse my days and nights like little babies do. That is not fun to try to get over. So I try to keep it under control and only do it once or twice a week.

Started another LO. Have the pictures in place but no idea what paper or anything I am going to use. I am leaning towards browns but one is never sure until you start looking at what you have!!

I had such a nice thing happen the other day right outside my own door. I was going out the door and standing at the car at the end of the driveway waiting for Jim to come out of the house when the cutest little girl about 8 or so came walking by. She lives about four houses away and has just recently moved in.

She was smiling so big and had a book opened in her hands. She couldn't wait to talk to me. She beamed as she closed her book and held it against her chest. She said, "I finally got the book I had been wanting!!" She was really honestly thrilled. She said, holding the book out away from her and looking at it, "I have to keep my cat away from it so it doesn't hurt it. It is a library book and I wouldn't want anything to happen to it!!!"

She was the most precious thing. I have not seen a child so excited about a book or so conscientious about taking care of one...or anything for that matter, in a very long time. We chatted until Jim came out and she said her goodbyes and was on her way. I need to see her again. She made my day and I have to find out if she enjoyed her book. She seemed happy, too, that someone was interested in her new "find". My hope is renewed. I was beginning to think kids were not reading anymore and that is a tragedy!! Sounds like teachers are teaching somewhere around here!!!

The tree decorating is proceeding. The tree is up and lights are on. Need to take another picture. I love having stages in pictures because I love each stage. So I need to do that as soon as I am done.

I have a few LO's to post this time. Going to the remainder of them just to get caught up.

Click on image for larger view

This is our son, Russ' daughter, Mariah. Pretty, pretty girl!!

This is another Gloria album page. They went to Cedar Point in Ohio, but only took a family picture. So I contacted Cedar Point and they were sweet enough to let me grab pictures off their web site. Would you believe they have seventeen roller coasters there? But many thanks to Cedar Point!!

This is Russ' youngest daughter, another beauty, Tabitha. She is the youngest.

And this one is of Nancy's daughter, Siana. I love this...seeing how her looks have changed through the years!!

Hang on, only two more!!!

And this little guy is Braisen, Nancy's youngest. I love the look on his face as if he can't remember what word he is supposed to say!!!!!

And last but not least...another of my favorites. Man Ideas. This one is of Buck, at work, when we were invaded by bees and he thought he would get rid of them after the bug man chased them from above the drop ceiling in the office. The bees waited outside the building for their scout to come back and tell them where to go. Buck, though, was afraid they would come back into the building. So he made his move. It never entered his mind that the bees would be faster than him. You know. After he sucked them up in the vac, I never asked what he did with them. Some things are just better not knowing.

Now I think I am about caught up. I have one hidden away, yet and one I am working on...that is it. I do need to take some new pictures.

So I am off and running. I don't know to where, but I am on my way.

Hope you have a great night and stay peaceful as the holidays get closer. Remember the reason for the season.

Blessings.

Floridians Don't Need It!!

2010-12-08T12:45:00.004-05:00

I thought that Mother Nature knew this, but obviously she doesn't or perhaps it has slipped her mind.

Floridians DO NOT need cold temperatures to get into the Christmas spirit! We are quite content to experience a somewhat cooler climate than usual, but there is no need to get crazy about it! One cool snap, I repeat, cool snap, and we are good to go for the Christmas season!

We are the ones that really appreciate shopping in stores for Christmas presents, without sweating from wearing our coats inside where the management keeps the heat up because it is regulated from a state up north where it is below zero and they think all stores are experiencing the same deep freeze, or lugging it around with everything else while trying to look through all sorts of racks and shelves.

We are the ones that like to drive around looking a Christmas lights with the top or windows down, not freezing or trying to see out steamed up windows!! Better yet, we LOVE to take walks up and down the streets, being able to talk to everyone as we see the beautiful displays and hear the music they are playing to make their display even more meaningful!!

We don't need snow. We don't need slush. We don't need the wind blowing. We don't need a below zero wind chill. We don't need the winter coats. We don't need boots. And we sure don't need dead batteries!!

So she is on official notice. We have already had enough. We are in the Christmas spirit. Now you can move on. We get it. We remember what the holiday up north was like. Thank you for the reminder. Now scram!

Next week, we are to have a high of 48!! Come on. We don't have coats...at least most of us don't. We have a high transient population, especially in winter, that come here because they can not live outside up north. What are they to do? Freeze is the word. I feel bad about that. We have some shelters, but not nearly enough. It is very serious. And so many fires burn down homes and kill occupants because they are trying to stay warm with heaters and even candles. I don't think most people realize how hard it is here when the temps get so cold. So I ask for your prayers for the homeless and families not fortunate enough to have heat in their houses. Many, many homes have no heating system here.

With that being said and feeling very blessed, it has been a good week. Busy. Had to start getting ready to renew my driver's license. Have you done that yet? Oh brother!!! What a winner that is.

There is so much you have to take with you now to prove that you are not a terrorist. You only have to do it once unless something changes about you like your name or something, so it reads in the info.

I had to send to my birth county and get a certified birth certificate. $22. I had to locate my marriage license because my name had changed from my birth name. If it is not original, you have to get a certified copy. Get my original social security card. Still have mine so that was no problem. Get two proofs of residence. Home loan, credit card statement, bank statement...you get that one. I think that covers it for me. You are given a few options. No biggie if you plan early enough. It takes about a month to get a certified copy of anything...so beware.

Then we have an eye test. Needed to get new glasses. So did that Tuesday. Will get them soon.

Then had to go online and set an appointment. If you don't you can wait three hours in line. Three of the places near me were already booked for all of December. My license expires the first couple days of January. So I finally found a place and got an appointment.

Then would you believe...I had a two page form to fill out to take with me unless I wanted to do it when I got there. My idea of a good day is to get in there and out. So I filled it out and printed it off. It is ready to go now, too.

So everything is underway. Now I can go back to having fun again!! LOL Don't like being forced into time slots again. I gave that up when I retired. But I guess you can't get away from it all.

I have scrapped since my last blog. Let's see. Wow. I have done more than I thought. OK. I will just post a couple right now.

The first one is Gloria's album cover. I think it turned out pretty warm and homey feeling which is what you always feel at her house.

Click for larger view

The other one is of a bird and it's trainer that we saw at Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay. It was so cute to see how this cute bird reacted with the trainer. You knew for sure they had a love for each other.

So that is it for now. Going to get some things done. We are starting to put the tree up but we do it in stages. It is a bear to do. It is so old, as I have stated before, the same one we had for all the kids and Russ is 44. All the color is worn off the ends of the branches that tell you the order and there are 250 branches. But I just can't get rid of it! LOL

Hope you have a wonderful day. Thanks for sharing part of your day with me. I love each of you!!!

OH. Forgot that I haven't written about meeting with Serene. Had a blast!!!!! Will tell you more next time!!

DRESSING: That Love/Hate Relationship!!!

2010-11-25T13:52:00.002-05:00

Did that get your attention? Hello!!? What is she going to drop on our willing ears now...right??? This one is something else!!!

First of all...I am still sitting in my Mu Mu as I type this. I love, Love...LOVE being in my loose fitting Mu Mu! I hate being dressed...like dressed in shorts and top. And from what I have gathered in reading blogs and forums, with the exception of one person, who will remain nameless...all us girls love hanging in out PJ's or Mu Mu's or sweat pants or whatever rather than bound up in all those "tight " clothes. Sorry guys...know you would love for us to look like women off the pages of Vogue for you, but get over it! It ain't gonna happen!!! Well, there are a few hubbies that just want us happy not matter what and we thank God for them. (Like they look like they are out of Esquire!! :))

I always blessed Joe where I worked. He told his darling wife to be herself. Forget the makeup, dress like what you want. I love you no matter what, and remember, I know what you look like. I wake up with you every morning and love you to pieces!! Pretty good, right? This is not to say we run around in disarray!! Heaven forbid, NO. Just a comfy...er...disarray!! LOL Aw come on, you know what I mean!! LOL

So that, my friends is my I Hate Dressing!! Get it!!! LOL LOL Come on. Just humor me for once! OK?

Now. Here is the part that most of you will positively will not understand. I LOVE dressing. What, you say? After what I just wrote. But, yeah, I LOVE dressing.

I thought that this was a normal thing, but then even when I mentioned this to Nancy last night, I realized that most people don't have a clue what dressing is!

To me, dressing is what most of you call stuffing!! I couldn't believe my own daughter didn't know what I meant when I said I wanted to make some of my own dressing. She said, what?? Where was she when she was growing up? Eating stuffing I guess!! LOL

When I was watching a Thanksgiving documentary...yes I do watch the History channel as hard as that is to believe...on TV last night is what made me think of it. The first stuffing mix, the predecessor of Stove Stop, was made, it was called dressing mix. I thought, well, there we go. Someone else calls it that, too.

So after some googling I find out that the first "stuffing" was really dressing. Dressing had meat in it, as ours always did...sausage...and then because people always did their own baking there was always dried bread around and it was added, also. Isn't this fascinating? LOL But now, stuffing is the bread filling, with or without meat that goes INSIDE something, as a turkey. Dressing, with or without meat, is what is cooked outside of the turkey. So today I am having my good old dressing...WITH sausage...cooked outside of something in a casserole!!! Yay!!! And this dressing....I LOVE!!!

So now...there is the Dressing: Love/Hate Relationship. Bet you never could have guessed that one! That's OK. I didn't know where it was going myself!

My son and I eat it cold and hot. In fact, that is what I had for breakfast today! A bowl of dressing!! AND I am thinking about making more to have this next week for breakfast!! It is that good. Well, before you all gag...it is very good for you. Bread, sausage, butter onion, celery, beef broth...a pretty balanced deal. Better by far than that crappy cold cereal that is all sugar and carb. If it will make you all feel better, I will drink a glass of milk and have some OJ, too!

So, now I feel better that I have enlightened the world on dressing. I know in my heart of hearts you all will continue to eat your ole stuffing. Go ahead. It is OK. Just so you truly enjoy it!

Moving right on...I did do another LO for the Gloria album. Just random pictures of the fun day at Pleasant Hill Park. Working on more but back is acting up and can't sit at the computer too long. And you all know I am slow. But at least I can post this one. Hope you all like it.

Click on image for larger view

That is it for today. Don't have the faintest idea when we are eating. Haven't got that far, yet!! LOL

Wishing each of you the best and happiest Thanksgiving...enjoying whatever is on your agenda today.

Thanks for stopping by and if I have bored you...so sorry...just doing my thing to brighten the horizons of those crazy enough to stop by here a second time!

I will be back with some other great bit of wisdom...but please don't hold your breath!!!

I Know She Doesn't Believe Me!!

2010-11-16T10:26:00.002-05:00

Terry, that is!! Poor thing, just can't believe I don't have enough time to do all that I want or even need to do. She says all I have is time!! LOL

True, but now I have the opportunity to fill ALL THAT time with things I never had time for!! Like I have been wanting to post for two days and...just haven't had the time!!!!!!! I mean, like Mike Gallagher, the main character in the mystery I am reading, is biting at the bit to tell me who killed his partner! I can't leave him bottled up with what he has to tell me. The dog is counting on me to take her to see all her friends in the park. Starbucks is anticipating seeing me...to see how long I can keep ordering the same thing before I finally change my order just to confuse them!! My scrapper friends are looking for my comments on their posts...blogs to read............

Come on. Give me a break!! Now as she always reminds me...I AM nine years older than her!! So I have had to work nine more years to get to this point. Right??? LOL LOL And I have to say I am lovin' it more each day!

I have completed two more Gloria pages. I like both of them. Humm. Actually, three more. I have been on a roll I guess!!

Click on images for larger view

This is Larry. Gloria's other half. I was thrilled I found pictures so he could have a page for himself. Dads so often get left out.

This is a group of pictures of family having some together time, enjoying being together.

And this one is the cousins having fun at the lake. I have just loved these pictures of all this kids having fun together. A lot of families never get to experience this.

That is what I have been up to the last few days. Have also had some computer glitches again, as everyone does. I think guru Nancy cleared up the last of them this morning. Seems to be working OK now. Thank you, once again, sweetie. She is really something else. Has come to our rescue more times than we can even count!!!

I need to go and get my day totally under way. I have found I am sitting too much in this computer chair. My back is screaming continually at me!! So, I am out of here.

Have a great day. And as always, thanks a bunch for caring enough about me to stop by and read my chatter. I love you all!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!!!

2010-11-10T15:27:00.001-05:00

Now I am going to have an ear worm all the rest of the day. You know what an ear worm is, don't you?

It is when you hear a song and it gets locked in your head. No matter what, you keep hearing that song all...day...long!!! That is an ear worm. Well, now I will hear Oh What a Beautiful Morning. But that isn't a bad song to have stuck in your head.

I digress, the reason for that song is that Jim and I took the dog out this morning, me biking and the dog and him walking, and it was absolutely gorgeous!! I was very sunny and warm, yet you could feel the chill in the air. Everyone had pretty well gotten their day underway. They had left for work. The kids were all off to school except for two that seemed to be running late, coming through our park to cut through a little park that backs up against their school. Jim said he wouldn't want his little girl about third grade riding her bike through there by herself, but what could we do? She even stopped and got off her bike, took off her backpack and put her hood up and zipped up her hoodie. Didn't seem to bother her at all!!

Wow! You could still smell breakfast having been cooked, birds singing, and it was just Jim, the dog and I. Well, not Jim, the dog. But Jim, and the dog and I!!! LOL A great time!

Have a bunch of stuff that I want to do today. So lucky you, I am going to cut this short.

I finished a LO and am going to post it. It is of a lake in Ohio were everyone goes. Really a nice place. It is for Gloria's album. Got pretty homesick when I saw the pictures. It was someplace I liked to go. Oh well. I got to experience it second hand, anyway!!

Click for larger view

By the way, look at the circled area. This is a picture of the hen-eagle and her nest. So cool!!!

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by and will write again.

Where Would We Be

2010-11-09T08:45:00.004-05:00

without cell phones??

Is the day of cameras gone?? LOL It seems everyone, but me, takes their pictures with their cell phones these days.

I can take pictures with mine, I just have no idea how to get them to my computer. So if my guru sees this, maybe she can clue me in. Like, do I need a special cord to plug in the computer, or what? See. I really am clueless on this one!!

The other day I was looking at Facebook and saw that Nancy had posted some pics of Siana and herself. I LOVED them. Wanting of course to scrap them I told her to send them to me. I should have known. She said well, just grab them because that is where I would have to get them. I took them with my cell phone!!

I had no idea she took them with her cell. They were great!! Why would I think she took them with her phone when she has, I think, about three wonderful digital cameras?? I wouldn't think that because I never use my cell to take pictures!! I would love one of those phones that does everything...but I really don't NEED one, and I sure don't need the cost, either!!! Too expensive to buy. Too expensive to run! Doesn't change the fact I would love one, though.

OOO. Just thought of something I just have to add. Why oh why do kids, and I mean kids, not older teens, need these super duper cell phones? More to the point, why a cell at all? Well, I guess I would want mine to have a cell, but I think I would opt for one that only calls home and 911. Just me, but I think it is totally unnecessary. I just thought of a whole other blog so I will let this idea rest.

My whole point of this blog is to show you the LO I did of those Facebook pictures. She posted them in black and white. I was glad because I think color would have not done these justice.

These are probably my favorite pictures of the two of them. I love, love, love them. So I decided to keep it absolutely simple and totally highlight the pictures. Hope you like them as much as I do.

Click for larger view

Don't you agree? Great pictures especially off a cell.

Gloria says they look like twins. I think she is right.

That's it for this post. Time to get the day underway. I smell food. I think Jim has breakfast about ready.

Ah! Life is beautiful. Enjoy the day no matter what is on your agenda.

Back later.

Guess I Need to Get a Life!!

2010-11-08T10:07:00.000-05:00

At least that is what my younger son keeps telling me. I think he is just picking on me but one never really knows about him!!! LOL

That at least was what he was saying in his comment when he told me his plans for his Halloween costume for work this year. He said he was planning on being an Avatar. Oh. To myself I was thinking avatar like his Facebook picture. A thought I was not about to share with him!!! LOL

But then I did remember the movie that was out called Avatar and quickly fell into the scheme of things. You need to know Brian to really understand this. He is and has always been in theater and opera. So he always leans to loving the costume part of life. So I knew this was going to be a big deal. He went on at length about what he was planning and mother sat and listened even though I had no picture in my head of where he was going with all this. He knew that. He knows I have no life and had most surely not seen the movie, so it was hard to really explain what he had planned in his head.

Time went on and each week I heard more of the details. He had laid plans to the nth degree...having the costume made the way wanted...setting up a person to do the makeup early before he went to work...I knew he had every detail down.

Then came the big day. As always, everyone loved his costume; they always wait in anticipation to see what he comes up with. They love it as much as he does, it seems. I always get reports from them!!!

Then came all the pictures. All thirty so of them!! The ham just doesn't seem to diminish with age. I guess that is a good thing. Anything that makes one happy...well, is legal and doesn't hurt anyone else...you should do. It is what keeps life interesting and fun...as it should be. So go for it!!!

I usually do a LO of him and of the office. This year, no one took any of the office so I just did one of him. I do think he did a great job. I went on the net and looked at the movie trailers and from what I could tell, it looked pretty much like he nailed it!!

So that is going to be my post for today. Did a double page LO. Kept it in dark colors...because that is the feel I got from the trailer, but also because that is what he likes. And he did like what I came up with which always makes me happy!!

Here it is. Hope you enjoy seeing it.

Click on image for larger view

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day and do something creative!!!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!!!

2010-11-06T00:13:00.000-04:00

It is so wonderful!! My mojo has returned!!! Yeah!!! But what is so funny....Jim found it for me. I guess it had gotten lost!!

I have not been able to scrap for a month or more. I would open up my Photoshop and stare at the page. Well, in the scrapping world, that is called loosing your mojo!! And I had lost it real good!! I was really dead in the water as far as having any creativity!!

But, as always, Jim to the rescue!! When we were shopping at Publix, one of our grocery stores of choice, we were having some fun just being old fogies and touring the store looking at all the new and odd things we never had time to look at before. You know, there are a lot of things I never new were even made!!!

As we were moseying down the second aisle, Jim says..."Hey! I found your mojo!!!" I look up from my electric cart and he is handing me a jar of Mojo Marinade!!! What a laugh we had with that!!! I held it in my hands and said it felt good to have it back!!! LOL And of course we had to get pictures...even though we went back to get them!!!

The greatest part...I have not had a hard time scrapping since. It is like I am rejuvenated for sure!! It feels wonderful. So of course I had to scrap the event!!! Going to post it and be out of here, but wanted to post this before I called it a day!! I have more to post but I will do that later, hopefully tomorrow.

Here it is. The great Mojo LO!!! This was so much fun to do!!!

Click on image to read journaling

Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by and will write more later. It's late!!!

What Is That??

2010-11-04T22:22:00.001-04:00

That is what I said when I woke up about two this morning. I couldn't figure out what it was. Ah!! At last I remembered. It was rain on the roof!! It has been over 30 days since we have had even a drop of rain!! Now it has rained off and on all day; a nice slow soaking rain, which is good, because if it had been a downpour it would have just run off and maybe even flooded.

When we first moved into the mobile home I could not get used to hearing the rain on the roof. It was soooo loud. Now I just love it. It reminds me of when it would rain and I was in the car as a kid. I just loved that sound. So, here I am again, enjoying a sound of Mother Nature!!

Not much done of any real importance today. Just had a nice enjoyable day. Ran out to the store and had a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from Starbucks and came home. It is just plum amazing what chocolate will do to a girl's well being. Ummm. Makes you feel like a million bucks. And that Salted Caramel one...well...just beyond words. I have Jim order it extra hot and it is just out of sight!! Try it!!

Well, I am not sure you are ready for this. Are you?? Oh, I will tell you any way. I SCRAPPED yesterday. And today for that matter. In fact, today I did not one but TWO LO's!! Ta Da!!! My mojo is BACK!!!!! I found it, and I have come across a wonderful discovery that I will share with you as soon as I get the LO about it done. Till then...BIG secret. But I hope to do it tomorrow so you won't have to wait too long.

I finished a Gloria LO and really like it and so does she. I send her each one before I finish to make sure there isn't something that she would like changed or added, so I already know it is a go.

Click image for larger view

I loved the serious family portrait but there was also one just like it only everyone was having so much fun in it. I just had to be able to scrap it, too, so I decided to crop them into smaller ones so they could be a little larger and could be seen more. I think it worked good for this!!

And I love the quote I found for this. "A day without laughter is a day wasted." I really believe that. I do not think we laugh enough at all. It is proven that laughter can make people well, and keep people well. We need to laugh...so come on...give a laugh!!!

I heard on our news the other day that the classes at one school spend an allotted time each day in class just standing and laughing. Belly laughs. They have found there are less absences, better tempers and even better grades since they have started it. Isn't that amazing. I think God wants us to laugh.

Having been on the computer about all day, I am really getting tired, so I am out of here. Wanted to get this LO posted and jot a note which has become a complete blog, so out of here I go. Sleep great. Wake up with a smile and laugh when your feet hit the floor!!!

See ya.

A Job Half Done

2010-10-31T11:24:00.001-04:00

Please. I can't stand it. I would rather nothing be done than to have it done wrong.

For example...we went to the mall a couple times this last week. Window shop if you need a name. As you go into the entrance of this one store that shall remain nameless, there is a metal stand at the place where you get carts to haul your kid and stuff around. For use in their store only. This rack has a sign on it that states in so many words to take a disinfectant wipe, PROVIDED, and wipe your cart for your and your child's health safety.

Great. Seems like a great idea. Except. There were no wipes. Not only that. There was not even an empty container. This was early in the day as well, so it didn't just happen. So we grumbled about how that was not a good thing. Looked like they didn't really care at all.

On through the store we went, passing the four entrances as we went. Now let me tell you. There was not ONE of those racks that had even an empty container in it. Not one. None had even a container.

Now my point is this. If you are going to have these things and act as if you care, then have them stocked. I can fully understand an occasional empty container, even in the morning. But to have not even ONE that still had a jar!! Not acceptable. Especially since these are only a few feet from a cashier station which not one of them was busy either.

If you are going to have them, keep them stocked. If not. Take the silly little stand down so you don't look stupid. Wouldn't you think it is someone's job to see these are filled...at least at the start of the day? Even if it is the cashier? I know everyone is cutting back on personnel but a cashier could look up and see it is empty and replace it in less than 30 seconds. Come on people.

That is one of my pet peeves. I guess it came from my dad, years ago. I can still hear him telling me that he didn't care if I wiped off tables as long as I did it good. And feeling the way I did about my dad, I would always do what I did the way it was supposed to be done. I know I still make him proud, doing what I know I should do.

A very pretty sunny day here today. It is supposed to get into the 70's by Saturday. First thing Nancy said to me this morning was, "It's too cold!!" I said, "It's 66!". She said, "I don't care what it is...it's cold!!!". LOL Gotta love that. She was the one who when she lived in Ohio and called and I said I was freezing at 55 said, "Oh, poor baby!!!". Well, since she has moved to Florida, now all of a sudden 66 is COLD!! It's all in what you get used to!!! LOL

Trying to wind up loose ends this morning and want to spend the afternoon scrapping. I still haven't gotten to it. LOL I told Jim last night that I still didn't get to scrap. I just haven't had time!! He looked at me and laughed. I really haven't. I have been BUSY!!! LOL He laughed again. I really don't know where the time goes, it just goes. Guess I am spending too much time reading, running around, watching TV, reading and writing emails, taking online surveys that I get paid for, swimming, riding my bike, very little cleaning, talking to neighbors, organizing my stash, even surfing the web which I NEVER did before. Well, I should show Jim this list. He still would just laugh. He would say rearrange my priorities. I don't want to say, "You're right," to him so I think I will pass on that!! LOL But I should. I will work on it.

Going to post some of my LO's that I did a very long time ago. Don't think I posted LO's I did before I started blogging. This is one of Jim when the ATM ate our debit card just as we were getting cash and the power went out. It wouldn't give us our money OR card back. This is Jim calling the bank to see what we should do. We had to go pick the card up at the bank the next day. What a headache. We were afraid the next customer would get our card and/or our money when the power came back on. They assured us they wouldn't.

Click on image for larger view

Hoping you do what you want today. Take my hint and do it in the right priority!! LOL At the end of the day, you will be content. Think I will take my advice and get some scrapping in. Will report back on whether it worked or not! All really depends on if we leave the house or not. Once you leave the house with Jim you usually get back too late to accomplish much else. He loves doing those running things. Me...I would rather stay put!!

Back at you later. Thanks for stopping by and passing some time with me.

The Most Wonderful Time

2010-10-23T12:19:00.000-04:00

I know I have really been talking about my new retirement stage but I gotta tell you...it is a new stage for me and I didn't know there was so much new to experience and enjoy.

Yesterday as always we were at the pool. We get in the pool for about an hour and a half. I get a chance to exercise which I have not been able to do for about ever. My muscles won't take it on land but the pool does the trick. It feels awesome.

Then we get out and read for about another hour or so. We have the pool to ourselves. An occasional passing by of the park manager, pool manager or maintenance man, but really solitude at most part.

I got to a stopping spot in my book so I put it away and waited for Jim to get to a spot where he wanted to quit. I just sat there in awe. It was so beautiful. The gorgeous pool glimmering in the brilliant sunlight. the totally blue blue skies with not a cloud. I am a cloud lover but yesterday was beautifully blue. We have tons of yellow pines surrounding the pool, with about 8" pine needles of the most beautiful green on them. They looked even greener against the blue sky. There were no sounds of cars or people, only the occasional distant soft hum of the pool filter once in a while. Birds were singing. The mockingbirds were abundant. Get it? You could even hear the wind approaching from a distance.

Isn't this beautiful? Only it was even more so with the deep blue cloudless sky and brilliant sunshine!

Then it dawned on me what a blessing I was experiencing. There Jim and I sat for about an hour, not saying a word, but so being together. We were both into our books yet so enjoying the time together without saying a word.

Being able to spend this kind of block time together is something we have never got to do. There was always school, band, homework, kids, work...all those pieces of life that never would give us this kind of time.

Now I understand retirement. I believe God meant for it to be...for everyone. Even Jim, who said he wouldn't retire until he absolutely had to, now says that everyone should retire as soon as possible. It is suddenly our time. The time we have worked for. From being together as teenage "lovers"...we never dated anyone else and started dating when I was a sophomore...to young marrieds...parents...laborers like everyone else in the world.

But now it is our time. Time to do what we want. To be able to act on the spur of the moment. The time not to have to work appointments around other people's time lines. Time to linger on the computer more than we should because other things are pressing. The time to be able to say to people, no rush...whenever you have time.

What can I say to you? I can say work hard now. It is what we are all called to do. Do your best at whatever is on your plate. But when it is time to retire. Do it. Even if it means paring down the finances as most will have to do. It is what every person's system needs. Listen to me. I know in my heart I am absolutely right and you will never regret it.

This is not where this post was going but it went there so I am leaving it. Maybe someone needed to hear it. I hope so.

Humm. I still have not scrapped. Went to get it out yesterday and my pen tablet had a problem. So put it down and will conquer it today. Now I am really itching to get at it.

I think there is just one page I have done that I have not posted. It is of Gloria's family just having some great family time together playing games. So I am going to post it then get busy on some more!! I have to have something to post!!!

That is it for now. Thanks for taking time to stop by. Have a beautiful day.

A Christmas Giraffe!!!

2010-10-10T17:02:00.001-04:00

Oh my goodness!!! We were at Home Depot the other day to buy an "O" ring to fix the faucet and I can't believe it! We decided to walk through the Christmas department and there on the top shelf was a lit about 4 foot giraffe with a red scarf and Santa hat on!! Oh. For $50!!! That is really the LAST thing I need but everyone needs to really want something!!!!! Something totally unnecessary!!! LOL Now that is a giraffe I don't have!! I should have taken a picture, at least. Maybe I will have Jim take me back out and take a picture. It is soooo cute!!

Well, edited to add...here it is!! We went out so I HAD to get a picture of this cutie!!!

Now really. Don't you think I NEED this giraffe??? I love him! LOL

I have had a marvelous first week of retirement. Still trying to catch on to the fact I have no schedule. You know, after a lifetime of a must schedule, this, for some reason, it difficult for me. I bet women have more of a problem with this than men, having had to keep a household running and all. Really, it is not coming easy for me. But, trust me, I am getting in the groove!!! LOL

I think I am going to start Rosetta Stone Spanish soon. I have always wanted to speak Spanish and now seems like a good time to try it. Rather, do it!! LOL So I have put that on a priority list.

I have been stuck in a scrapping mode...or rather a non scrapping mode. I look a this LO I am doing and I can not decide what needs to be done. It just isn't happening. Think I will give it a go around today and see if I can't get it off center and moving. It just takes getting one right thing on it and it will take off. I would love to know what causes this to happen. Me and thousands of others, I suspect.

Well, Terry is off for a few days of well deserved vacation rest. Only the weekend, but I hope enough that it eases her breathing some. With her mom having broken her hip and subsequent hip surgery...seven hours from home...it has been a stressful few weeks for her. So hopefully, this will get her back into a normal groove. Travel home safe, my friend.

Oh my! Forgot to tell you. We went to the pool here in our park on Friday. Like real dummies, we forgot to put sunscreen on. We both got burned, but I especially got it bad. Sort of sore today, but I never blister for a week, so I think that is still on it's way. But what a marvelous time we had. We stayed in the pool for an hour, having it all to ourselves. I did some great exercising which the chiropractor and neurologist love for me to do in a pool, otherwise I get too energy depleted. It felt great. Then we spent another hour with three other people just sitting around enjoying the beautiful weather. As we left, Jim says, "Now THIS is retirement." That guy LOVES the sun. Me, I love the sun, hate the humid heat. But Friday was perfect for both of us. Planning to go back next week during the day because the kids are in school. So peaceful!!

I have a bunch of LO's to post. I am going to post some. Don't know if I will do all of them. Probably not. So here they are. Remember, click for a closer view. Sometimes you have to do that to be able to read the journaling if you are into that. These are of Gloria's family reunion.

Rode my bike while Jim walked the dog. Love having the time to do what we love. We get to stop along the way and meet and talk with the neighbors, too. Fun time!!

Will write again. Have more LO's to post too. Have a good Monday eve! LOL

Ages and Stages!!!!

2010-10-06T17:24:00.005-04:00

Oh yes! One of my most favorite sayings!! Ages and stages. That is what life is all about.

So now..I am at another age...another stage...called retired!! Yep. As of last Thursday. Sorry to say it didn't end on a good note at work but that is another story, one of which really doesn't make any difference. The difference is...I'M RETIRED!!!

Oh my goodness. I am not sure I am ready for this. So much time on my hands. Yet not enough time at the same time. Doesn't make sense, but you all will get to experience it sometime!! LOL

Monday Jim and I took the day and went to Busch Gardens. What a wonderful day we had. It was cooler than it has been...in the mid to upper 80's...and not crowded. Just a wonderful day. Probably the best time we have ever had there.

I don't have any reason for not posting in such a long time. I just didn't. But I certainly do hope to keep in touch more often now. Especially after a routine settles into a usual rhythm. Jim tells me it does, eventually!! But now, just as he was getting into his routine from retiring a couple months ago, here I am sort of having him make a new one with me around. LOL He says he loves it!!

Poor dog, Zoe. She didn't understand why Jim was always home with her. She got used to that and now...why am I home all the time? I try to explain but she just figures it means more food to mooch at meal time!!

So far, though, we cleaned out the pantry and four cupboards. Yesterday we clean the screened porch and got it all moved around. So nice to be able to do that stuff without a time schedule knocking at your back door to hurry up.

I have gotten some LO's done. Wow! I just checked. I got more done than I had realized. So, I think I will just post the two of Nancy's kids. Then I will post the others in due time!!

One is of our grand daughter, Siana, and the other is of her brother, Tylan. Aren't they sweet? We think so!! LOL

Siana's is one I took at her 13th birthday, and Tylan's is when his mom wanted his hair trimmed and he decided to have it all shaved of instead. She was just toooo willing to oblige!! Hope you like them.

Click for larger view.

Believe it or not, I am cold!! Not used to these cooler temps. I am going to go find my Eeyore slippers!!

Have a fun night. I will write soon!!

I Need A Weather'person's Dictionary!!

2010-09-05T18:20:00.001-04:00

I guess I just don't understand the terms a weatherman...excuse me...weatherperson uses.

For days, and that includes this morning, the weather girl said just a slim chance of a passing shower. OK. Can live with that. Unfortunately, I don't know what that means. I was under the impression that it meant maybe...only maybe, there would be a little shower that would pass in a few minutes and it would be sunny again. Not so. It was cloudy at noon when we left home to go to the mall, and at 4:30 a downpour and not a shower. It was cloudy as far as you could see in every direction. It had been raining while we were in the mall, big puddles everywhere, and continued for another hour and a half. Now it is still totally cloudy. Does someone have a definition I don't know about. Ugh!! Not pretty out at all!!

I was going to come home and clean the kitchen but now with the gray old day I have lost my enthusiasm. I know it doesn't take much, but that was enough. So think I will start to scrap and Jim wants me to show him how to organize my ACDSee and I sure am not going to turn down that request.

I am waiting for the last coat of oil to soak in on my new cutting board. BTW...What do you use to season your cutting boards? I have always used vegetable oil. Well, thanks to the Internet, I found out that is not good to use. You should use mineral oil. It does not go rancid. BUT use only the kind that is ingestible. There are two kinds. One you can ingest and one you can not. It seems that if you use olive oil or vegetable oil or an oil like that, that it can go rancid and spoil on your board. I didn't know that. So I got the mineral oil and it is working great. Giving it a really nice finish. I got my board at the dollar store at the flea market and it looks pretty darn good for cheap! BTW you find the mineral oil in the health and beauty area in the laxatives section. Yep. That is what you take it for. Also as a body lotion. Jim had never heard of it as a laxative. And I rubbed it in my hands and it makes them very soft. Maybe we have been spending to much on hand cream. Get a bottle of mineral oil. Only $1.32 at Walmart!!

I finished another Gloria page. I am having so much fun doing these. This is her grand daughter who was being so sweet and cleaned the bathroom for her!!! Pretty nice...right?? I like the way the sketch turned out. Hope you enjoy it! (BTW the shadow on her teeth is where the light picked up strangely on her braces! Don't know why but it did. It looks like a tooth missing, but it's not. She has beautiful teeth!!!!)

Click for larger view

So I am calling it a night for now. Hope you enjoy tomorrow!

Absolutely No "Scents"!!!

2010-09-01T09:21:00.004-04:00

Edited to Add: I am going to start a prayer list on my blog. But until I get it up and going I am adding them in my blogs.

Please pray for my friend Gloria's brother-in-law., Bill Miller. and his wife, Nancy. Bill is having multiple health problems and needs two surgeries, neither of which can be done before other health problems are corrected. He is uncomfortable and in pain. He and his wife both would appreciate prayer as they face this difficult time.

We have had rain. We have had rain. We have had RAIN!!!!!! A whole week of it!! Things are so green....AND soggy!! It has been just wonderful for the vegetation. Poor Jim was taking a picture of our plumeria bloom and as he was snapping it, he says, "I"M SINKING!!!" LOL His back foot was slowly sinking into the front yard!! But, really, everything is so pretty and green and the flowers are blooming in abundance!

One big problem, though. Let's see if I can say this delicately. If you have or have had a dog, you will get it! It seems that there has been soooo much rain, that when you take the dog out to go potty....she just can't seem to find the "right place" to go. You know, usually, they sniff around until they find that perfect place where they or a dear friend has been before. But now....thank you rain....there are no scents!! Now to us humans, that makes "no sense" to us. We...positively....hate to go in a bathroom that has ours or anybody else's "scents"!! But to the animal world, I guess that triggers the needed response! Maybe that is what keeps them from using the inside of our houses so I guess that is a good thing! But now that the rain has subsided somewhat, we are getting the great "scents" all over everywhere. Golly, with no scents around, it was taking forever to take the dog out. You sometimes just had to tell her...GO! Believe it or not, she always performed!! LOL

Been a nice week so far! Not nearly enough hours to do everything I would like, but still having a great time. Ready to scrap some more. Organize some more. Play computer games some more!!! Starting a new Joyce Meyer book, too. Ah. Life is good!

So I wanted to just drop a small thought on you today and post my latest Gloria page. Now that my computer is up...at least most of the way...I do really want to scrap more. I have really missed it!

Here is my latest contribution to the Ohio 2010 book!! It is of her mom who is 95 years old!!! Isn't that something? And of course Gloria, her three girls and great grandma's nine great grand children!! Whew!! That family has grown! Hope you enjoy.

Click for larger view.

Have a great day and do at least one thing that is fun!!

Came back to add this picture Jim took of the plumeria. These are the flowers that they make leis from. They are so fragrant. Each color has a different smell. They are just beautiful I will post a picture of what the tree looks like after they loose their leaves. Hideous looking sticks is all that is left. But the floweres make up for that!

O O O It's Bonomo!

2010-08-26T22:41:00.000-04:00

If that made you smile...I know how old you are. I have no idea what made me sing that tonight but it came to mind a few minutes ago and I can't get it out of my mind!! LOL For those of you who don't know, and for those of you who do know what in the world I am talking about can find out at Bonomo!!

If you scroll down there is a video that plays the old commercials for this taffy. Yep. That's what it is. Turkish Taffy And so good. It is still made and you can get it off the site. If I had the money I would get some. Love the chocolate!!! Don't know that the old teeth would like it too much any more. The commercial even shows you how to eat it. It is sold in a bar and you slam it down on the table to break it into chewable pieces!! Ah. Memories. So sweet!

You know. Thinking about old candies, I am hunting for one that I don't think is made anymore. They are called Regal Crown Sours. They were fruit drops that were sour and so good. Lemon, cherry, grape. Delicious. If anyone can find them, let me know...please! There were none like them.

It has been a terribly boring week at work. We have been busy but I have done this job for twenty years and I can zip through this stuff. We need to get busier!!I am still finding stuff I have not loaded on my computer since it crashed. I went to download the store link for Designer Digitals last night. It gives you the link of the products that you use of theirs into their store so that when you use something you can link right to it...in hopes someone will buy it!!! LOL It said would not open. I can't tell you how many time I tried to download, unzip and install it until...duh...I realized I had not reinstalled Office!! No Excel!! No wonder it wouldn't unzip and open! So I have to do that. Just not in the mood to struggle through that till the weekend. I always have trouble with installations. I also lost two forms that Jim and I use all the time. So I need Excel for that, too. Oh...the joys of reinstalling after a crash!!

Still want to do some organizing before I completely fall asleep so I am gong to post my latest LO for Gloria and get out of here for tonight! This is of her two daughters, Jodi and Cheri. They are the sweetest girls. I LOVE this picture of them.

Click for larger view

Later all my taters!!

GG in Training!!!

2010-08-21T20:37:00.002-04:00

It has been an exciting week. Isn't it always exciting when your computer crashes? If you have not had a computer crash, then thank the Lord right now. It is something no one should ever have the pleasure of experiencing. And trust the saying that it is not IF your computer crashes, but WHEN your computer crashes.... Because it will happen sooner or later and we all hope later.

I was using my computer after midnight Wednesday...well that actually would be Thursday morning. Went to bed, and got up and there was a terrible black screen with lots of printing on it that said...Back up. Hard drive failure imminent.

OK. I can do that. Wait. I can't do that because you won't let me go anywhere other than the page I am on that tells me to back up. Now what good is printing that bit of information if you can't do what it is telling you to do?

So begins the long haul. As usual the first call is to dearest Nancy, our daughter. All and all through this I remained calm for a change. I know now that she always comes through for us so it was easier to relax and just listen to what I was supposed to do.

We didn't do anything really till the weekend. I have a lap so I wasn't computerless and Jim was content...HIS computer was still humming. I didn't even snarl at him because of that!! LOL Great guy he is he said use this computer to scrap or whatever. You know that. (No, I would rather get the DT's from withdrawal just to show my addiction!!) It wasn't till I was back up and running that I realized I didn't have Photoshop on his computer so it wouldn't have worked anyway. But thanks, hon!

Friday evening Nancy had me...oh my goodness...OPEN my tower. You just don't know how afraid I am of whatever is in that tower. But, she was trying to help so how could I tell her that no way am I opening that thing?? She is having me take this out, put it back in, try this, try that. I am shaking like an idiot. Sweating for sure I am going to break something. Sweating. And repeating Oh my God, Oh my God. I just knew I would botch something. Jim is laughing. Glad I provide him with his laughs in life.

I got it all back in and feeling a bit cocky!! Like I was now somewhat of a computer genius. It helped that feeling along a good bit when I finished the last thing and she said, "Mom". I said, "Yes". You just 'built' a computer!! Yowser!! She said I had just removed and put back every part of the computer!!! Well...I was feeling my stuff now!!! LOL

After all the checking, Nancy thought perhaps it was just a windows failure, but in her heart thought the hard drive had blown. We were going up to her house Saturday to drop off the computer, she would go over it and fix whatever needed done. Well, on the way, Jim stops at Best Buy and gets a new 500 gig hard drive. He said if she thinks it is the hard drive, no doubt it is. We will just have it ready for her.

We get to her house and she opens it up and starts what I thought was just looking around while we were talking. She moved the monitor so she could see it and we moved to the living room chairs to chat. Pretty soon she said...there...and went back to the table.

Oh my goodness. She had completely installed the new hard drive and my Windows back on the computer. Ready to go. I still am in awe!! That quick, that simple. She says...well I have done it enough. They are a six computer house!! The kids are home schooled and each one does their class work on their computer. So there is always someone having a computer problem at her house!!

She said go home do all your Windows updates and start adding your programs back.

So that is what I have been doing. Not hard, but labor intense. It is working like a charm. Thank you again, sweetie!! You are such a help to us.

Oh. Did you figure out my title for this blog? GG in Training? That stands for Guru Grandma. Yep. I figure after what I have been through this time...I can charge and conquer a computer now!! I at least know what the parts are when I look inside that ridiculous intimidating thing they call a tower. I know somewhat what the parts do and feel like she can at least talk halfway intelligently with me about it at this point. So now I consider myself a GG. Bring the rest on, Nancy, I am ready to go!! LOL

So that is why I have been MIA for a week. Still getting things back in like ACDSee for scrapping supplies organizing, Photoshop, all that great stuff. Decided to start over organizing since I was unhappy with how I was doing it. Know so much more now.

I did finish another Gloria LO. I have another one going but got it stalled with having to do all this reload stuff. Here it is. It is a grandpa and grandson page. Hope you enjoy.

Click for larger view

Think I am going to see if I can get some scrapping done.

You all have a great night and thanks for stopping by.

Later my taters.

A Ball of Clay

2010-08-11T15:39:00.003-04:00

This is thought connection, you know. And basically, it is my thoughts. Duh!! Yes, I do have some!

Well, the past few days I have had my thoughts on marriage. You see, Gloria decided, and I agree, that when they come to Florida, hopefully this winter, we will celebrate our 45ths together. Larry and Gloria celebrated their's Sunday and we had ours July 17th. So that is where it all began, I guess. (And yes, my friend in Texas Terry of course, just had to remind me that we have been married just ten years under how old she is!!) I do need to remind you all that Gloria and I got married VERY young!! LOL

Anyway, I am around so many people who just don't get along with their spouses and it makes me so sad. It really does. But I think part of it is they don't understand what happens when you get married. You really are not the same person, only unto yourself anymore.

That is when I thought of the ball of clay. When Jim married someone...well, he married me, but when he married someone else...I mean...did a marriage for two other people, I guess I should say, he took two pieces or blocks of kid's clay. One that green color and one pink. I liked the green but then the pink wasn't bad, either.

He said one was the woman and one the man. In that case I should have been the pink I guess, but still, I wanted to be the green. He really didn't even ask or care!! Argh!! But I like to really get into his stories!!! Much more fun that way. It's OK. He understands me!!

He took the two and started to put them together. He would work them and work them. Everyone was watching. Looked like fun.

And as he was working them together he said something to this effect. These represent the bride and groom in a marriage. They each start out as one person. In this example, one green and one pink. Each with their own likes and dislikes, their own agendas, responsibilities only to themselves. They were basically pretty self centered. Life and it's agendas pretty much have centered around only them for a very long time.

And as they spend their lives together they start to mix all these things together. Can you see how there really is no green by itself or pink by itself? That, my friends, it what is to happen in marriage.

Look closely. He held out the ball of clay. If you look, you still see streaks of pink and streaks of green. You are both still there. You haven't given up being you...your own identity. You are still you but you are intermingled with the other forming ONE ball of a beautiful marble color. That is marriage. You are still there with your own likes and agendas, but now the two of you have formed a new color, a beautiful blend of both of you, creating new agendas, likes and dislikes together.

Isn't that wonderful? I think it is.

As we were on the way to lunch today we were talking about this and I said you know, I see it going even a little farther. Maybe that is why it is so hard when people for one reason or another have to separate. It would be pretty darn hard to separate that pink from the green. I think no matter how hard you tried you would still have bits and pieces of the other that you take away from the relationship. That could change the whole chemistry of who you are. No wonder so many people struggle so hard after a divorce. You really can't be the same person as when you went into that relationship. So all of a sudden you have to learn the new you!! Bet it is hard!!

***I came back tonight after work to add this. I was telling Jim about this blog and he said, but after many years of working the clay, after a very long time, it takes on a color of its own. One where you and your spouse do really become one with same likes, dislikes, agendas. You no longer see the green and the pink but that brand new color, where you both really tend to see things and want things exactly the same. Two people have melded into one. That is when marriage becomes really beautiful!***

Well, that is my thought for today. I really had been thinking about that and wanted to blog it.

It is still rainy here. We have that whatever they are calling it...tropical depression 5 out in the gulf so we are picking up lots of rain. Trying to send it Terry's way but not having much luck. I heard this week that you can tell if you are a Floridian if you are on a first name basis with the tropical storms and hurricanes!! LOL Like when Charley came through...LOL. But it is true. We always call them by name like they were personal friends!!

Going to see if Jim can organize my digi scraps for me tonight, I think, Not knowing how ACDSee works it might just be a bit too much...but I sure am going to give it a try. I hate doing that and it really needs to get done.

Click for larger view

Oh, I finished another LO for the Ohio album. It is of the three daughters. They are the prettiest girls. Hope you like it.

Since I blabbed on so much about a ball of clay I had better go. Just thought I would share that ball of clay story with you. Never know when you will need a good conversation starter!! LOL What? Sometimes I will grab at anything rather than sit there in that dead silence when no one has anything to say. Picture this...dead silence and you say...Did you ever think about marriage as a ball of clay?? Now I am sure that will start the conversation off FAST!! LOL

LOL Have a good night!! LOL I'm out of here.

I Feel No Need to be Needed!!

2010-08-09T15:35:00.005-04:00

Golly. I am...well, let's just say over sixty...oh what the heck...I'm 64. Oops! 63! Age doesn't matter to me and I always have to subtract to figure it out!! Why clog the memory banks with things you can figure out!

I no longer feel the need in my life to feel I am needed. But let me walk into work and kaboom. I am the most needed person around.

Where is? Can you? Did we? Can you? How long ago? Can you? Would you? Can you? Do you remember? Can you? Get the picture? Not only do they want the answer, the next is always can you.

Now if I remember long ago, and dig deep in the crevices of my mind, I think I started to work to get away from kids. Kids that were always asking questions. Kids that always needed me in some way and in reality THEY NEEDED to learn to do things for themselves. But now...I have inherited a brood of kids!! Only they aren't 4, 5 or 6 years old, they are 40, 50 and 60 years old!! I can see where the younger ones were easier to deal with. But I am at least needed, and I guess I would really miss it if I walked in and they really didn't need me. So, let them all come round beckoning for one thing or another. I guess I love it in a strange sort of way..........I don't want to think on that statement too long.

Rain. Damp and humid here. It is supposed to rain big time later tonight. We can't really say when, depends on which TV station you are watching. So I am anxiously awaiting tonight to see who is really right. But they all agree a wash out tomorrow!!

Not much going on today. But that is OK. I don't mind a quiet day here and there!!

I did get a LO done of Gloria's son-in-law. I like it. It is a little different than my usual style but I am trying to jump out of my box a little and keep my style in flux doing things a little different each time. I just feel in a rut right now so that is what I have decided to do. If that didn't make any sense when you read it don't reread it. It didn't make sense to me either. Oh well. Hope you know what I meant!

So that is about it for today. I think I will look for something to keep me busy for the next hour and a half. I think I know what it will be. I have a LO in the works so I want to look for some stuff to finish it!

Enjoy your night.

Before You Open Your Mouth!!!

2010-08-07T19:56:00.001-04:00

Nothing much has been going on around here, and that is the reason I haven't blogged. Not a good reason, I know. But do you really want to hear me just ramble? I find it interesting but not too sure about others!

You know...Jim and I are both very regimented people. We love to keep schedules and are extremely hooked into ritual...ritual like how we get up, the things you do on the way to bed, how you do this and that.

We seldom vary from those things. Like when we get home from him picking me up at work, he comes in and pets the dog and cat, I walk over and turn on our computers and turn on the TV. On and on...you know. Everyone probably does it, but we ALWAYS do it exactly the same.

We have a tight morning ritual, too. At exactly 7:10, I begin to get ready to go to work. (Even though I get up no later than 4:30!!) Usually by the time I am ready, Jim is done with his stuff, like walking the dog, and we sit on the edge of the bed and finish watching the Match Game...yes, you heard me right, the Match Game with Gene Rayburn, which I have taped. Then he takes me to work...or as before he retired, we both would go to work.

Well, now Mr. Retired seems to be getting into another mode. I think it is called...let's see, something like..What's Your Hurry Mode!!! LOL He chuckles and says he fails to see the urgency here!! LOL That guy. He is so funny!! We laugh about it about every morning! We always make it but I want to leave precisely at 7:40!! Rhythm is VERY important to your life!! As you can see by how long it takes me...I have a tight schedule. Don't get in my way and DON'T ruin my schedule!!!

We always make it, and it wouldn't make any difference if we didn't. Where I work it is not like that; we are pretty loosie goosie!!

But my point is, the other day, he was not in the house by the time allotted by me!!! LOL I am beginning to get a bit concerned that he has forgotten that one of us still works!! Mainly, ME!! I can see him somewhere in the park, shooting the breeze with some other retired person walking their dog with not another thing on their mind!! So I am sitting there watching the Match Game all by myself and beginning watch the clock with anticipation!! Where is he???

I look at the dresser, thinking I might ring him up on his cell and make sure he hasn't forgotten our plan for the morning. But, I see his cell phone there. Not a good idea. I don't want to hear the stupid thing ring while sitting on the dresser.

So just as I am thinking I would get my body up and go look out the door and see if I can see him and the dog anywhere...in they come.

And....just BEFORE I open my sweet little mouth with some comment like...gee...thought maybe you forgot I still work or something perhaps a little more agitated than that...he says:

Oh...I was trying to get pictures of the cactus that you loved so much and Zoe just didn't want to stand still. She just kept moving around and I was afraid they were blurry. So I kept snapping hoping I would get one or two good ones for you.

Oh Oh! Thank you Lord for putting your hand over my sweet little mouth!!! How sweet was that? He got in my purse...which he NEVER does, got my point and shoot and was taking pictures of this beautiful cactus that I wanted pictures of, but only blooms in the mornings. He knew I would never get them on my own. So he took them for me!! Even fought the uncooperative dog!! All for me!!

Sometimes, we just need to chill a bit till we get all the facts! I was so happy! I really wanted these pictures and he went out of his way to get them for me. Just to make me happy. I would have felt terrible if he had walked in the door and I had bitten his head off about where were you...what about me going to work...yada yada! Not that I would have done that...it's not my style...I am more subtle!!! But I know some wives that would. Don't forget, I work with all men...and I hear stories you wouldn't believe...even though they are all one sided!! LOL

Anyway...just a slice of life. That sometimes we need to cool our jets about things until we really find out what happened!! Sure made me stop and think!!

And of course, I have to show you at least one of the pictures!! Hope you like it. Maybe I will show you a couple. They are so pretty!

Aren't they beautiful? This bush was about 8 or 10 feet tall and was loaded with blooms. Just so happy he got those for me!! They REALLY make me smile now!!

Well, I need to go. We WERE just to leave to walk the dog. Jim would walk the dog, I would ride my tricycle and look b e a u t i f u l!!! LOL But, it is raining...so forget that!

Anyway, have a great Saturday night and I will blog again later. Aren't you the lucky ones??

Pedaling On!!

2010-07-31T21:33:00.002-04:00

Yep!! I am still riding my tricycle!! Rode a mile and a half today. I know it doesn't sound like much but with my muscle stuff I feel it is great. Right before I got it, we were riding our bikes, at that time is was a regular bike, eight miles every night. Ah. Those were the good old days! But who knows, I may get back there yet. It was still 90 something but it wasn't bad at all!! Zoe...the dog...loves it. She seems like she could walk forever.

You know, being an old people's state, you see the tricycles everywhere here. Even the kids love them. In fact, they are so popular that you have to lock them up for sure. We have actually seen a band of kids going from park to park casing out where they are located. They did that at my brother's park next to ours. They even caught them coming and taking one of the bikes and chased after them. Isn't that bad??

I has been a really nice day. Got up and made contact with the kidders. That is always a Saturday ritual, when Brian even calls from New Jersey. The others I talk to everyday, too. But Brian calls on Saturdays.

Jim cooked me the best bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich for breakfast. Oh my golly. These tomatoes were so red and juicy. I didn't even asked how much he had to pay for them. I didn't want to know!! The tomatoes in Florida stink. I feel like going on a one woman campaign to tell all of Florida that tomatoes ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO CRUNCH!!! Nor are they to be any shade of pink OR green!!! But these were the moan when you eat them kind. He was so sweet to get them. I haven't had any like that for 20 years, since we moved here. He really shouldn't have done it. Now I want more of them!! LOL

Then I scheduled bills that came in and a few other computer things.

Then we got ready and went down south to the flea market. It is one that is about an hour away. It used to have the best produce there so we thought we would pick up some nice veggies and fruits. Ugh! Nothing and what they did have was old and very expensive!! I refuse to pay three bucks for a medium size cauliflower. I will buy a large bag of frozen for a buck sixty-nine instead. Ugh. Life can make a person crazy!!

Then we drove on up and towards Orlando to another...well, two actually, roadside stands. They had nothing and neither did the new one across the street. $1.50 for an acorn squash that I could put my two hands around. Ugh. On to something more pleasant!! How about the traffic jam we got into on the way back? LOL Bumper to bumper standstill, for no reason. That is what gets you!! LOL Now those, I can handle. I just consider it together time for Jim and me. Sort of like a captive audience if you know what I mean. LOL LOL

Stopped at Publix to get the Dan Active. It's a must at our house and we were out, and out he comes with three bags!!! But, he got bread on sale for $.97 and really great corn on sale so we did at least get some veggies!!!

So, see, it was a nice day!!! Haven't gotten around to supper yet, but soon. LOL Last night...well...I will save that for another time!! Getting food last night was a hoot!!

Before I stop...da da...I did that other LO of my friend's grand kids. Still can not believe she has NINE!! Woowee!! Now that's a handful. Want you to see how cute they are.

Click on picture for larger view

So I am out of here for tonight. Hoping to scrap some tomorrow, but you never know.

Have a great day tomorrow and do something fun.

I Am So Excited!!

2010-07-28T10:58:00.001-04:00

I just finished a LO of my oldest...NOT in age, remember... best friend in Ohio that I have reconnected with!! It was so much fun to do.

What they did was to recreate a picture as closely as possible that they took of their grand kids seven years ago. I think that is such a great idea. They put the kids in the same places and had them doing what they had done before...well as closely as could be expected. And the picture turned out great! I love it.

Well, being a scrapper I just couldn't help but fire up the Photoshop and get busy!! I had to create a LO of this. (There is another one, too, that I am biting to get working on!! LOL)

So here it is! The unveiling of my first 2010 LO for my friend, Gloria!! Hope you like it.

Click on Picture for Larger View

Aren't these pics great? I love that idea!!

Well, considering it is time for me to leave work for lunch, I guess that is it for now. I hope to post some more later!!!

Behave and have a good one!

Let The Weekend Begin!!!

2010-07-23T09:40:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it is Friday already. I guess what my dad said is true. He always told me the older you get the faster time flies!! Dad, a very wise man. I learned so much from him.

Not much going on this week. I did have some fun though. My friend, Gloria, from Ohio, posted pictures of her family gathering this past week. What fun it was to see all of them. We had been close friends for years before moving to Florida twenty years ago, We had lost contact with each other and just recently got in touch again thanks to Facebook! What a highlight of my week to get to see how the family has grown and get to see pictures of all the girls' kids!! Unbelievable!! Can't get it through my head that they have almost grown families of their own. Well, so do our kids but that is totally different!! LOL It was great!

Also, I did a LO for Debbie Hodge at Get It Scrapped this week. It was using a new template of hers and it was so much fun! I love her templates. If you haven't been to her site you need to stop by. You will be back, for sure! Lots of stuff always going on there!

Here is the LO I did. I am so pleased that I can get pictures like this from a ten year old point and shoot. I didn't even run them through Photoshop except to use a sharpen filter. I'm pleased. Of course it was easy to do a LO about our favorite place. Disneyworld!

Click photo for larger view

And as always click on my gallery icon on the right.for credits

We have so much fun there, but honestly because we have been there so often, we have the most fun watching the people having fun!! And there are always photo ops!!

It has been so freaking hot here. I really hate to say that after we complained about the cold this past winter. But when we went home last night...103 at our park entrance. We are talking actual temp here. The heat indexes were to be around 110!! Thank you Lord for air conditioning!!!

But even with the heat I went riding my tricycle!! Yeah for me. I am really trying to get some exercise even though my neurologist has a fit. He would especially have had one last night with the heat because heat exacerbates the muscle weakness. But I did fine. I really want to stay mobile, so I need to get at it. I am sure I wasn't a pretty site on that bike, but I say hey, at least I am not veggin'! Well, I'm eatin' veggies, veggin'...but not...oh well, you know what I mean!!

That is about it for me this week. Life is great and I am thankful I have probably been treated better than I deserve. Can't ask for more than that, can I?

Have a great weekend; enjoy your loved ones...and as always, find some time to create!!

It's a Great Journey!!!

2010-07-18T12:56:00.000-04:00

Well, it is official!! Jim and I have officially been married 45 wonderful years as of yesterday!! It has been marvelous. It could not have been any better. Though we have been through so much, kids unconscious in hospitals, me with my muscle disease that they didn't know what it was for ten months and a myriad of other things along the way, I would not have changed a day of it!! I thank God for it all.

We went out to eat for our celebration and it was so nice. We went to Carabbas about 9:15 last night after the dinner crowd thinned out and it was so pleasant. Not the usual din of everyone talking and waiters and waitresses bumping and scurrying around. It was just a pleasant end to a wonderful day! And our waitress was super and made the evening even better!

I have been busy this weekend. I have scrapped, and have my navy bean soup on. We haven't had home made been soup in so long. And I am going to make Bot Pie. That is homemade noodle dough cut in squares with sliced potatoes (like for scalloped potatoes) all cooked in beef stock and chunks of the beef roast torn up in it! Super yummm! It is a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe. Actually, we now call it Pot Pie but that is not the real name.

The first scrap page I did was of my mom and dad. This picture, along with the one of my grandma and grandpa in my last blog, were always on the mantel at gram's and gramp's. I had always laid claim to them but when they all had died I never could find them. I figured that my brother had them, only he said no. I thought he just didn't know because he is blind; that his wife had stuck them away somewhere and now that she is gone he would have no way of knowing. But low and behold we found them in that wonderful box that was in Nancy's attic!! Yeah!!! So I scrapped it.

Don't they look wonderful?

The I just finished this one. Guess you could say hot off the press!!!

You can click on the pic to read the journaling. This I did for a challenge at a new site I go to. It is for pen scrappers. If you don't know what that is...instead of using a mouse you use a pen and a tablet that goes with it. (It also comes with a mouse you can interchange with it.) It has a learning curve to get used to it, but once you are used to it you will NEVER go back to a mouse. It is way less tiring than a mouse and it is so much easier on me with my muscle weakness. I am sad to say I don't have one at work but will as soon as I can get the money for one. I have the one called Bamboo and it runs about $99. There are, of course, bigger and better, but I don't see a need for it for what the "normal" person needs. Check it out here. Everyone that stays with it long enough to get the hang of it, and it takes about a month, will never go back. But you definitely need to be committed to staying with it.

By the way, if you click on the link picture at the top right of the blog you can vote for my LO! They have a contest each month!! I would appreciate it! (Is that begging? Oh well!!)

Well, time to get out of here. Getting late and I really want to get lots more done. Nothing planned in particular but so much I would have fun doing.

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday because in a few hours, for most of us...Gloria, you excluded...argh!!! have to go to work!!! UGH!

Will catch you on the next rebound. Thanks for stopping!

He's Too Funny!!

2010-07-12T00:11:00.000-04:00

I am having the time of my life watching Jim change since he has retired. I laugh so much at him!!

We needed a new skillet. He loves the Teflon coated ones...me, I don't. I like my Wearever but the handle is broken off and we never ordered a replacement. He won't use it without a handle and likes the non stick. Anywho...he went and bought a new pan. Very nice indeed.

In passing, I had asked him if there was anything on it about seasoning the pan. I know my cast iron you have to season, and since I don't use the Teflon ones I didn't know.

Now I need to tell you...this man NEVER reads directions. I guess it is just not him...all the men I work with or have had time to watch, goes at everything first and when it fails, reads the directions. Well, I need to add that Nancy, our DD is just the same. She and her dad are just alike, however, she is usually right and does not fail. I guess you might say she has that feminine mystic that can work anything out!! LOL

I mean, we are talking here about a young married man and father that puts an antenna completely together in his living room only to find he couldn't get it out the door! Get the picture? (But I did sit there and watch!)

But I digress, the evening after the new pan purchase I am at the computer and notice he is not beside me at his computer. I twirl around on my chair and find him in his relaxing chair, glasses on, reading a very long piece of cardboard. Upon questioning him as to what he was doing, he said...reading the directions for the pan.

With that remark, my office chair took off and whirled around four times and stopped before I could believe what I thought I had heard. Reading? The directions? For a pan?!!! That was as long as his arm?? What is with this?

I finally caught my breath from laughing. And then it began. Did you know........you are not to use any oil ,only olive oil or peanut oil in a non stick pan? The others get too hot.

Do not cook with a non stick pan close to pets because there can be fumes and they can make them sick.

Do not cook on the highest heat, because it can make things stick.

DO NOT use non stick sprays because it will make things stick.

If something does stick, use vinegar and water and heat to loosen. (thinking to self...thought this was a NON STICK pan, but smart enough only to think it!!)

You can get the picture. That cardboard, and I kid you not, that was as long as his arm, went on, and on and on with this kind of information that I was read in toto!!! LOL Gotta love it! I was astounded to say the least!!!

But he used the pan and loves it, so it was worth studying the manual. LOL I might also add that we stopped at Kmart to get the dog a collar to replace the one about to break and just had to pick up three (3!!) different scrubbers (they were cheap) to see which would work the best. He is loving his new found love of the kitchen. For the record, I love it, too.

Anyway, we were talking today about how we are adjusting to the new perspective life has taken. It is different. And it is a good different. It is like there is a beautiful peace. We had it before, but it is just different. I wish I could explain it. I guess you will all just have to wait and experience it. AND I hope to feel it more completely soon. Whoa. I would love that word (retired) in my life, too. LOL

Life is so much fun. It is all in how you play it!! LOL

I did scrap today. Well, all this morning. I still am not fast and have finally decided that is OK. I just love fooling around with all the elements on that page and digging for just the right one that makes me happy. So here is what I came up with today. It is of my maternal grandparents.

Time to shut down. I know I have rambled but oh well. I gotta be me.

Take care and thanks for stopping by!!

The Sun is Shining!!

2010-07-08T16:03:00.001-04:00

Finally the sun has decided to shine!! It hasn't rained in a day. Things are looking more like Florida again. Only for the rain. We are in the rainy season and usually does rain every day. About 4:00 it will cloud up and rain so hard until about the time everyone is off the roads and home from work!! Then the sun comes back out and the humidity goes up...up...up!!! But we love it!

Very cool today, too. Only 88. Not to fear. It will kick back in only too soon!!

This has been an extremely boring day at work. I probably had enough work to do in one hour, however, it was spread out over a couple. Just a hit and miss...here I need this type of thing. Then I did two proposals and came back from lunch and had to withdraw them. It seems we were not given all the prints for it so only half of the job was figured. So all the work I did before lunch was down the tubes, too. Oh well. Good practice, but who needs practice at my age??

Just am finishing my Via instant Starbucks and posted the LO that I just finished. It is a baby picture of me that my mother had colored when she worked at a photographers. I had forgotten that she did that and she also painted the faces on rubber baby dolls when she worked at Sun Rubber Company, too. She was always good with her hands.

I just got an email back from my DS Brian that said isn't it a bit egotistic to call yourself sweetness? Hope no one thinks that. But I do think that picture is a picture of sweetness. And HE doesn't know...maybe I WAS sweet!!! LOL Arg. Kids!! LOL

Don't know what is going on tonight. I think I will organize my stash some. Scrapping is coming hard to me right now. I think I need a break. And, yes, I still don't have my things organized in ACDSee yet. Part of the problem is that I organize to good. I list things in so many categories. Like the paper above would be under Paper: print, neutral, pink, green and circles. So I would have to list it in five categories. That takes a while.

Also, Sara Horton at Designer Digitals sent me information on how to correctly back up ACDSee. I have been putting that off because every time I try something on the computer I can make a mess of it. But my courage in mounting on this one. Just about ready to tackle it.

Going to get things ready to shut down here at work. Have a great night. Thanks for stopping by.

Oh NO!!!

2010-07-05T21:40:00.002-04:00

Oh no! It has come to my attention that my wonderful three day weekend is just about over!! How can that be?

Well, at least I really enjoyed the three days!! We didn't do anything but that is what is fun to me. I did a little cleaning, but not much. Mostly just played around on the computer and did a LO. Watched some movies. And would you believe that today we spent about three hours just watching Clean House on TV?

Even Jim was engrossed. These were the dirtiest houses in America!! And believe me they were. One even had 25 pounds of cat dodo in the "cat" closet where the liter box was!! And so much clutter on the floors they had to walk on it. Even lay on it to sleep at night. For two of them they had to rent empty stores...you know...like where Kmarts had been...in order to hold the garage sale to get rid of all their clutter. They donated all those proceeds to charity. And one house netted them...get this...$17,000 and some dollars!! In garage sale prices I think you can tell how much stuff was there.

My only concern is that is wasn't the clutter. It was their minds. I bet in a year at most they will be back in the same situation. It is a head problem not a clutter problem. But it was interesting to watch. Really. I feel very sorry for them because everyone thinks they are just dirty and it goes far beyond that. If it were just that, it wouldn't bother them. They want out of where they are. They just don't know how to do it. They gave them clean houses inside and out. Told Jim maybe I should dirty ours up and get a new house out of it. He said it would never work for me. I would make a mess of the house and not be chosen!!! He knows me so well!!! LOL

Nancy found a box of pictures in her attic when she sent Torrey up to search for a book, or really, journal, that my great grandfather had written. I thought my brother had it, but she thought it was in a box that she packed away when mom died.

She found it along with a bunch of other treasures! All sorts of pictures of the family, including my mom and dad and grandma and grandpa. I was thrilled. So now I am going to be busy scrapping them. Heritage pages don't come easy for me but I bet I will soon get the hang of it after all that I have to do!!

So here are the two LO's I did this week. The one of Mom is probably when she was in her late twenties I would guess. I was thrilled with these because other than recent pictures I have of her shortly before she died I only had two toddler pics of her. So these were a treasure.

The second one is one of her again and my ninth grade graduation picture. I did it because I was amazed at how much we looked alike.

Hope you enjoy.

Spoiled Again!

2010-06-30T20:57:00.001-04:00

It is just too bad that I am getting even more spoiled than I was!! Yeah. I was spoiled. Jim does such a good job of it!

This week I got my car washed and waxed. Well, it is OUR car but Jim doesn't care about a car. All he likes is that gets him from point A to point B. His dad was so particular about his car...like not even talking in the car so he could hear the motor, that Jim wants nothing to do with them. But me...I was taught to take perfect care of a car. But we always enjoyed it. So when he washes...by hand...and waxes the car it is a real labor of love for me!! And I truly appreciate it. It looks...or rather looked so great. You see...it is pouring down rain. So much for that. But I even enjoy seeing the water bubble up on the car. Crazy me!! It's the simple things in life for me. Jim always says I am a cheap keep!! LOL

But that is not really what I wanted to tell you about. The car..that was great but this is equal to it. I have been saying for about a week that I was so hungry for brownies. I LOVE brownies. Well, today I open the door and I smell brownies. I didn't say anything because...I ALWAYS smell chocolate chip cookies and brownies cooking. Call me crazy but I heard that when you smell those things that someone you loved always cooked for you, that they are especially close then. So I figure my Aunt Middy is hanging around!!

So we are both standing in the kitchen and he says, "Do you smell something?" And I said, "Yeah. I smell brownies. I didn't say anything because I always smell them." HE just smiled and pulled out a pan of fresh, homemade brownies...still slightly warm.

Oh. My. Golly!! Is that about the sweetest!!! As my mouth was still hanging open, he cut me a nice piece of brownie and we stood in the kitchen and scarfed that baby!!! Ummm. Gotta tell you. It was sooo good. I said now I know how it felt when I would bake and you would come in and smell and have a taste of something just out of the oven. Heavenly!!! (Gotta love this retirement!)

Oh. And to make me just a little crazy, we look out at the car night before last and there on the hood sat one of the baby ducks that lives in the park. I about went into cardiac arrest. MY CAR!!! We got it down off without a scratch.Then last night...the same thing. Only this time it was on the top of the car. Does anyone have a good recipe for duck. If it even puts one little scratch on that car I will act like Herod and put a decree out to perish all the baby...actually not baby, but under a year, ducks!! Humbug!!

Well, time is moving on and I need to see if I need to set up for supper. Hope you all had a great day. Back again later with other can't live without knowing stories!! Thanks for stopping by!

Great Weekend

2010-06-27T22:54:00.000-04:00

Just hoping to write a short one before settling down for the night. It has been a very quiet and wonderful weekend.

We started Saturday by going to Nancy's for Braisen's seventh birthday. We had such a great time. We haven't got to see them in what seems like a very long time. Braisen has gotten so big and has lost two teeth!! The birthday boy was so cute! He is so shy!!! But so adorable you could just squeeze the stuffing out of him. Here is a pic of him after blowing out his candles and one relighted! Kids. Nothing surprises them anymore! We said, "Oh look! You forgot one!!" He just looks at it and blows it out again!!! LOL LOL

That is his very own cake that he decorated himself. Pretty good for his first try!!

Then today we just kicked back and I did nothing...well, scrapped a bit and watched movies. Jim computed and did some tree trimming! He still has a bit to do on one tree but he is getting all the dead wood out after the bad winter we had.

I finally finished the LO of my dad. It took me a long time and I am not sure I am totally done yet. This may be one I go back and tweak but for now it is called done.

I had a wonderful dad and he has been particularly on my mind with Father's Day and his birthday the 17th of this month. So I thought I would do a LO about him.

You can read the journaling if you click on the picture. I don't need to rewrite it so you can see it!

So because I was really lazy today, I am really tired. Have you ever noticed that. If you lag around all day it makes you more tired than if you had worked all day!!! It's the pay back for being lazy I think!! LOL

So that is about it for this post. Hope you all had a great weekend, too. I see my blogger friends Serene, Lisa and Melissa have been creating and Terry, too, even while she was on vacation.

Till later...keep creating!!!

One For Our Side!!

2010-06-23T10:17:00.001-04:00

I am so thrilled. You know, I never knew someone retiring would make so many changes in a family!! LOL There are just so many little things that change...and they are all good. I just wasn't aware of them!!

But Jim said something the other day that was really nice! Since I have been sick with my muscle weakness he has done the lion share of all the household jobs. Cleaning AND cooking. but now that he has retired he does virtually all of it and is loving it. He has become a house husband!! LOL But what got me was that he said that he never realized how much women do around the house that goes unnoticed. He said never did he imagine!! You know, ladies, cleaning silverware trays, keeping fingerprints off of things, cleaning the carpet around the baseboards, cleaning the computer keyboards of gunk!! You know all of them. He said there are so many things that were always done that he never really realized someone had to have "done" them. Men just don't think that way. He said he thinks every man should be a house husband for a month!! LOL So...now there is one more on our side!! We are appreciated!!!

Oh. Gotta tell you this. Funny. He had just swept the living room floor. And Zoe, our black dog , is shedding right now. He came back from picking me up for lunch and stopped in the living room, looked at the dog and said to her, "I just swept this floor...and look at it already!!!" There were blobs of black hair already on it!! LOL I said. Gets to you. Doesn't it? LOL He just shook his head in disbelief!!! LOL Less than an hour and hair on the floor already!!!

I started on a new LayOut but haven't got it done. It is one of my dad and I want it to be exactly what I want. Have gathered all the pics but stumped how to get the journaling on. I am done with all the work I have so I think after lunch I will take another look at it.

Get to go celebrate Braisen's, our grandson's seventh birthday this weekend. Can't wait. I haven't seen them in so long. Hope to get some cute pictures to post. Haven't had any new pics for a long time.

Other than that, nothing really going on around here. HOT! It is hot!! Just can't please us. When it was cold, we complained. When it is hot, we complain. I guess if we wanted nice we would move to the Carolina's. Starting to get some rain, though, and that is nice. Just so we don't get the terrible storms. I see there is a storm below Florida already and it might move into the Gulf. Not good. Will have to keep an eye on it. Then on top of that, what will it do to the oil spill? Don't even want to talk about that. I am still too upset about it!!

OK. That is about it for this post. Going to go check blogs and see what is happening in the warehouse here. I am sure I can find someone to irritate. That's OK. They expect it! That's how I keep them away from my office!!! LOL You know...sort of like if you can't take the heat stay out of the kitchen.

Later my peeps.

Happy Father's Day!!!

2010-06-20T18:55:00.004-04:00

to all the fathers out there. Hope you had a very special day today. You mean a lot to so many of us and we sure do appreciate all you do for your children. God bless each of you.

It has been a quiet weekend for us. So nice. It is so great to see Jim so relaxed. I am loving him retired. And he LOVES it. He never thought he would want to retire, he had planned on working until he could no longer work, but after almost being forced to retire because of pay where he was working, he is so surprised. He absolutely loves it. He said everyone should retire just as soon as they are able. Your entire body relaxes and sorta of says Ah!!! LOL That later was my interpretation of what he had said to me!! LOL

However, some of us still have to rise and shine tomorrow and head into work. But that is OK. I love my job...most of the time. I just wish we were busier so the day didn't drag so much. I usually can scrap but didn't do that last week. Lost my mojo somewhere. But it is back. On Memory Makers forum when one of the girls there told her husband she had lost her mojo...he said well just go in your scrap room and find it!! So that sounded good to me, so I just looked around the house till I found mine. It worked really well!!

Went out today looking at colors of mobile homes. We need to paint and can't decide on the color. I guess I am going to use tone on tone and probably a sage green and a darker green with white trim. That is what we liked the best. Nothing dark, just light and fresh looking. Then went to the store to get stuff for burgers and corn on the cob for supper. Boy, where we came from in Ohio corn was 69 cents a dozen. Here it is 10 for two bucks. Not sure God would approve of that price but it is what it is. But we only use a couple ears so that isn't bad.

Well, I just finished a LO so I am going to post it then I need to post it online since it is a challenge LO at Designer Digitals. One thing about this one. Nancy and I have a problem with it.

Jim and I were cracking up when I said, oh I have just the title for this. Taming of the Crew. It is supposed to be a pun on Taming of the Shrew!!! When I sent the LO over to Nancy, as I always run them by her first, she emailed me and said...I would switch the word crew and work. I am going what??? Then there is no play on the title of the Taming of the Shrew.

So I wrote her and told her that and she said, what is the Taming of the Shrew? I couldn't believe she...or her DH didn't know The Taming of the Shrew. Talk about a generation gap!! So now, she said post it, and see. I'll bet you no one knows what your are doing. Bet they never heard of it either. So here it is. Are Jim and I the only ones who know about The Taming of the Shrew...or have Nancy and Torrey just forgotten? Here it is.

A New Work Week

2010-06-14T10:16:00.001-04:00

Here we are! Monday, June 14th. I am learning to say the day and date a lot. It seems a lot of people, namely Jim, have trouble remembering what day and date it is since the afore named has no reason to know it since he is RETIRED!!!! :( :) That's a happy face because I am thrilled about his retirement and a sad one because I am not retired!!! LOL Oh well, no rest for the weary sometimes!!

We had an absolutely great weekend. Saturday we only potsed around the house. Did a little of this a little of that. I scrapped a lot!! Then about four o'clock I felt like I was getting a cold. Well, at our house, we found that when you say I feel like I am getting a cold, if you go right then, not later because it will not work, and take an Alka Seltzer Cold Plus you can keep from getting the cold you felt like you were going to get. Don't know why it works, it just does. Even the guys at work here swear by it, too. So I went to get some and I only had one marked NIGHT. The last dumb pack we got had Night and Day ones. Didn't even know they came that way.

So we decided since we would be home, I would take it. Wouldn't be driving or anything. Let me tell you. That is just about the last I remember. I do remember frying some steak to make Salisbury steak, getting it in the oven and I even remember eating it. But that is about it. I do remember waking up Sunday morning. It knocked me to sleep but good. I now know not to take it at work, that's for sure!! LOL Oh...I did not catch the cold, though. So it worked again!!!

We went to Busch Gardens Sunday. We have the annual pass that you pay just a little a month...under $18 for the two of us together...and you can go anytime. It is really nice. Cheap entertainment, that's for sure. Did you know...of course you don't...that parking there is $12.00?? So that in itself is just about what we pay a month to get both of us in. Pretty good, huh? So we ran over there about 5:30 and walked the park. We can do it in about 2 hours because we know it so well. Came home and even missed the thunderstorm!! It was a really nice weekend. Can't believe how much the baby gorilla has grown. We have been keeping tabs on him since he was born. He is so cute. Love to see him play with mama!

Sunny here today and already 82. It has been so freaking hot!! And already there is a disturbance over by the Cape Verde Islands which may become our first tropical storm. Need not bother for us. It can stay away. We are in hurricane season from June first to November first. Boo hoo! Hate it!

Now I need to get to work. Except there isn't anything to do. I could type three work orders but my typewriter is broken. It seems the guy that was here Saturday knocked it over when he went to sweep...vacuum to some...in the south...and now it won't work. Sounds really bad...like I see dollar bills floating by when I turn it on!!

Here is the LO I did over the weekend. It is Brian S. (get used to that...that is what we call him because he always signs his name Brian S...even on OUR cards....and that way when I talk about my boss Ryan...Jim can hear which one I am saying. You know...the hearing goes at our age...EVERYTHING goes at out age!!) It is when he was touring the Mediterranean for I think three months working on a cruise ship singing classical and opera. He got to visit all these places for free (many times!) when they would dock. What a deal!! Would you believe he said they even started staying on the ship in port because they had been there so many times!!! Anyway, they were feeding the birds in Venice. Hope you enjoy.

A Big Big Smile

2010-06-13T10:10:00.000-04:00

I have a big, big smile today! I am so happy to say Jim RETIRED as of June 1st!!! It is so nice!!! This guy had worked so hard for so many years I just couldn't be happier!! He is loving every minute of it, too!!! Now for me to find a way for me to retire and life could be beautiful.

I actually knew last post that he had retired but I wanted to wait until he told his employer. He was on vacation that week and didn't go back until this past Tuesday. I know I am old fashioned but I am. We were all concerned that he would not like it because he is one that has to be busy, but he loves it and finds so much to do. He also would like to do volunteer work so that may be in the future, also. He loves the nursing homes so that may also be an option. Time will tell, but right now, we are both extremely happy campers!

Haven't really done anything worth blogging about. Just adjusting to me working and him not. But my house hasn't looked this good in a couple years. With my strength at a minimum I haven't been able to clean like I like. Jim has always said to tell him what I want done and he will do it, but I was not about to tell him I wanted floors or walls scrubbed after he had been on his feet for over eight hours. Now he does all that and I am loving that, too!! Wow. Such side benefits!!! LOL

I had this blog written and it blew away so I had to start over. If I would just listen to my friend, Serene, and copy as I go...anyway, Brian S. has been down from New Jersey this week. Yes, I said Brian "S". He ALWAYS uses the "S" in his name, for Scott. He even signs our cards Brian S. Yes, he is as strange as Jim and I. But when you excel at something...do it!! In fact, if his mail doesn't come Brian S. he throws it out. He says anything that is important will have the "S". :) Really did a great job with Brian...don't you think!!! Anyway, the point of all this was to say he was down. He is on his way to see his friend, Doug, in Fort Lauderdale and take a continuing education course for his massage therapy. He needs so many new credits every four years. He also got to stop and visit some friends on the way here and to go to two stained glass factories. He does beautiful stained glass.

He made his dad a beautiful lighted aquarium stained glass scene, about 3-1/2 feet by 3. Just beautiful!! He has done commissioned work for people. Did a complete window for someone that shipped to California. He is quite good.

So we got to celebrate his birthday. He even brought his own birthday cake. A three layer home made carrot cake. It ended up about 10 or 11 inches high!!! Oh my!! It is delicious. I say is...because we are STILL eating on it. LOL He is also an accomplished cook/baker. He even travels with his pans and often mixer etc. because everyone wants him to cook for them...and he HAS to have the right "tools" LOL LOL He is a real hoot!!!

I did finish a scrap page...LO...LOL this week, even with Brian S here. It is of Braisen Cole, Nancy's youngest. We went to the Strawberry Festival and he had to have his ice cream. He was so into this cone!! He was just eating away and enjoying watching everyone around him. He is ADORABLE!!! I love him so much. He is one of those kidders you could squeeze the stuffing out of!!

So that is it for now. Got to get some organizing done, and someone from Designer Digitals is walking me through backing up my ACDSee that I use to store my stash. So I want to try that. Then I am not sure what is going on. That is yet to be seen. So I am off and running anyway.

Hope you all have enjoyed the weekend so far and will make use of the rest of it. Till next time....

I really hate to mention it

2010-06-04T16:13:00.000-04:00

after I complained all winter about how cold it was, but the heat is awful here already!! It is only 3:30 in the afternoon and the temp is 90 with a heat index of 102! Now normally that is plenty hot, but after the oh so cold winter, it is VERY hot. The humidity is awful. I was in the warehouse making my afternoon instant Starbucks...I say this as I am bowing...and sat for a few minutes and talked to one of the guys and my clothes were stuck to me!!! Thank goodness MY office is air conditioned.

This has been a fast week with only four days. It has been a busy one so it even went faster. The bad part was that Jim was on vacation and I wasn't. In case you missed my news, quite a while ago the boss pulled back all vacation and all sick days. I guess we are to work forever without a break. But anyhow, I wished that I was home with him.

Jim planted a plumeria tree this week. These are beautiful full sunshine trees known also by the name Frangipani or Hawaiian Lei plant. They have beautiful flowers in so many colors and they flowers are what they make the Hawaiian lies out of...that was a hard one! The fragrance is beautiful. The odd part is that after they loose their leaves they look like sticks in the ground. Very odd looking. But their beauty at the other times is worth it. Let me see if I can get a picture.

Aren't they beautiful? I love them. I don't know what color we have. We bought it at the flea market. He told us but I don't remember because I don't care. Just so I have one!! LOL and each one has it's own fragrance. They all smell different!

OK. Now that the boss came in and turned the air so it is getting hot in here. Why do they do that? They set their office where they want. He comes in here from the HOT warehouse and thinks it is frigid. Hang on. Going to go reset it!

Aw. It was OK. He didn't do much if anything to it. I think I was being harassed!! LOL My turn. I do it to him all the time!! But I didn't waste the trip. I took a break, too!!

I did a LO yesterday of Nancy's doggy! It is Shiloh. I love this picture. I about laughed myself silly when I first saw it and wanted to scrap it. Not my normal scrap style but I love it. I love the eyeballs on the super spy letters!!! LOL Click on it and you probably can see them better!

My Super Spy!!! I know our animals hate it but it is so much fun to dress them up. Zoe, our dog starts to be really close to Jim at Christmas because I have a Santa hat I love on her. She hates it. I love it. So Jim tries to keep her close so I will forget about it. I try to get her Halloween costumes but never have the money at the right time. And they are expensive, especially for that chow hound!!

Well, it is getting time to wind stuff up around here. Have nothing at all planned for the weekend. It is supposed to be hot and a few showers. Will find something to do. Gotta get Jim out of the house. He gets bad cabin fever. Me, I could stay in for months.

Have a great weekend. Do something fun!!!

A Real Nice One!

2010-05-31T00:21:00.002-04:00

For Jim having to work yesterday, it has been a very nice weekend. I hate it when he pulls a Saturday!! I could go on and on why, but it wouldn't change the company's ideas so I will spare you all. But at least they let him come home when he got back to the shop. Usually, even if you have finished all they have sent you to do, you still have to sit there till 4:30. How stupid is that?? Oh well, I said I would spare you and I sure don't need to work myself up again over things that won't change.

So he got home early and we had the late afternoon to relax and then went out to do just a couple of errands. Came home and had a nice quiet evening. Now me...guess what I did most of the day? I know. Why ask. I scrapped of course. Now give me a break, I did a few other things, but...

Today, he computered and I of course scrapped. I did a page for a friend. I have all these people who want pages done and I try to work them in, but somehow I don't do that very well, I end up scrapping for myself. And then...Joe...at work who wants me to scrap his dog...when I do a LO and give it to him he greets me with..."Only one?" Really helps you want to do more, right?? It takes time to do these and he thinks I can whip them out like a guppy giving birth to newborn. Ugh! I should add that Joe and I are very good friends and pick on each other that way all the time. He was only kidding!! LOL (I hope!)

Then we got going and went to Sears to exchange some things he got, and went to a free festival in a town near Clearwater. As it turned out...a bummer. So, as payment for the disappointment we just happened to cruise past, well, not past but in, to Krispy Kreme...Jim's biggest weakness...and had donuts!!! He has SUCH a sweet tooth. Me...it's fats and salts. I could look at sweets forever and never touch them. BUT since we had not eaten...I did touch.

Thank goodness for Jim, we DO NOT have a Krispy Kreme near us!!

Then it was on to Clearwater Beach. Of course, we knew this was a big mistake but we are not too smart anyway so we went. Bad traffic. Only drove through. Seemed like hours. Note to Gloria...if you haven't seen the beach for a while, you wouldn't recognize it. I will send pics. Beautiful, not functional.

So that is about it for this weekend so far. Nothing planned for tomorrow. Same ole, same ole. Side note, that is ole as in old...not Spanish like Ole!!!! Well, I guess it COULD be ole like Spanish...however...I don't really think so. Sitting at the computer and watching TV doesn't quite qualify for an Ole!!! Know what I mean?? But...thinking on it...we are old...er older...so it might just...nah...

Going to post the two scrap pages I did yesterday and today. I don't think I am caught up from last week but I am going on from here.

Hope you all will have a great tomorrow. Spend time with your family. They're everything. Relax and have fun.

This is an Okapi, a relative of my love, giraffes, not the zebra, at the zoo in Tampa. He does have a longer neck as you can sort of see in the bottom picture. He was so cute. Could have taken this baby home with me.

This is baby Jesslyn. Isn't she adorable?? But really, they can have her. As sweet as she is, I served my term...er I mean, been there done that...er I'm past that...what I mean is...never again!!! Thank you very much. It was great while we were there, I just couldn't handle it anymore!!! LOL As my mother always said, God knew what he was doing when he gave you kids while you were young. True, mother, so, so true. I could never keep up anymore!

I keep saying "What?" to everyone...

2010-05-21T19:38:00.000-04:00

and then they point to their ear!! What is with this? Those earpieces that everyone...well, it seems like everyone...wears in their ears so they don't have to hold their cell phone up to their ears are driving me crazy!! It used to be that if someone's mouth was moving or you heard them talking to what seemed to be no one...they were the crazy one. Now...they act like I am the crazy one because I forget to check their ear before asking them what they said!!!

I think it is probably time we start ear implants so you don't have to have those things that look like a very overgrown boil or wart growing out of your ear! I do agree that they are probably safer than holding a cell phone and trying to drive, but I am not even sure about that!

I do all the driving in our family and if I get a call, Jim puts it on speaker. I find that I am not nearly as connected to driving while I am talking on the phone even though I have nothing to do but talk. And I am just doing idle chit chat. So I can only imagine what concentration loss there is on driving when salespeople and businesspeople are trying to talk about projects and so forth while driving. Just not a good thing.

I guess I just have not gotten hip yet, but oh well, I would like to think about safety first. I know all of us have had close calls or jerky drivers near us only to see their first priority was talking on the cell phone.

Wow, Feel so much better. LOL I am sure I have changed so many people's thought on this!!! By the way...forget making a law about it. Who has time or manpower to enforce it? We just need to use common sense.

It has been a fun week. Another one of Jim's cousins he had lost contact with has found us thanks to Ancestry.com. We are starting to catch up on all the things in their life. That has been really nice.

And...da da. I have met up with friends that used to be our closest friends in Ohio. In fact, we even came to Florida together with our families. It was a hoot. Four adults, six kids. We would go into restaurants and adults at one table, kids at another. We had a system. We told the waiters and waitresses to make two bills, one a "C" bill and one a "H" bill. The kids would tell them what bill they went on!!! LOL We had a great time.

So now, we, too, can get to know each other all over again. It really has been a great week.

Gloria, my old friend...well not old...as in age...oh no! She is my age...and that IS NOT old, but old as in knew a long time...asked me what LO meant. So, it is short for layout, which is a scrapbook page. I forget that others don't know that, so I will have to mention it from time to time.

I finished a "LO" LOL today so I am going to post it tonight. It is our granddaughter , our DD's middle child.

Hope you enjoy it. Remember you can click on it to enlarge it here or go to my gallery by clicking on the link at the right side of the blog. Credits are there. I don't post credits on my blog. You know how I HATE to do credits.

Have to run. Lots to do tonight. Everyone have a great weekend. Be creative and enjoy your family.

Humm. Just Wondering

2010-05-17T15:53:00.006-04:00

Just sitting here, doing my normal afternoon stare out the window while I backup, and I notice something. The girl across the street that was running and pumping her arms out in front of her is there again today. But, oddly, the girl that was doing all those climbs up the deck is missing in action!! Do you suppose...that she is in a bed somewhere so sore she is on the disabled list??? Could it be that she over did it just a tad??? We will never know but my legs hurt for her over the weekend. See...all pain and no gain for all the grunting and groaning I did for her!! LOL

I had a wonderful weekend. Saturday, did nothing. Did not even get dressed!!! Wore my lounger all day and it was so nice just to do nothing. Well, I did something! I hemmed pants, potted around at house things and listen...did FIVE LO's! I have never done five LO's...even in a week!! I think I am beginning to get the hang of this digi thing! Now I need to keep it up. To heck with the organizing!! Jim is no help! He says...you can never keep caught up on that anyway! Please, I don't need help ignoring it!!! LOL

I don't know, I must have used the tablespoon instead of teaspoon when I took my Geritol or Jim slipped me some extra in my morning coffee!! But it was a very fun weekend, except for not winning the lottery. Bummer.

Did a quick tutorial today on how to remove power lines etc. from a picture. Good thing, because I went to start a LO and sure enough, it was one outdoors, and there on both sides of the person's head...you got it...power lines!! So that really paid off. I am really surprised at how good I did. (Patting myself on the back!!) Wish I had time just to sit and do tutorials. I love doing those. I love learning. I could be a professional student.

Well, I want to wind things up around here so everything is ready when it is time to leave so I had better start by winding it up here first.

Let's see, I want to post a LO and don't know which one I want to do. Humm. Guess I will do Brian while he was shark diving. Silly boy. Don't know why he does that. He says it scares him to death but he is an adrenalin junkie!! Right. If I want an adrenalin rush I will step on the scales!! Perhaps he is missing a chip or two. But to each his own!! I would rather scrap!! So let me go find this LO and I will post it and be out of here. Hope you enjoy it!!

Later taters!

What A Beautiful Day!!!

2010-05-15T19:27:00.000-04:00

It has been a gorgeous day here today!! But, I have spent it inside all day and enjoyed it immensely. Have scrapped, talked to my kidders, hemmed pants, done a bunch of little things and watched a bunch of movies. Just finished watching Ghostbusters!! It was great to see that again! Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Annie Potts! What a cast!! So now I thought I would blog a bit before starting supper.

One of the regular visitors to this blog, Ben (He Stamps), is on his way to Florida today. Sadly, his partner's sister has leukemia and has gone home under the care of Hospice. They are coming down to spend some quality time with her. Please keep her, Eileen, and them in your prayers as they go through this difficult time. David, Ben's partner, just lost his mother this past fall, so this is really coming at a very bad time for him.

Not much else going on today. Do want to finish the LO I am on and start on one that I am itching to do. Got some great pictures of Princess, our kitty. They are so cute I am wanting to get going on them. It is not too often I have a backlog of LO's I want to do. I thought I would have to do some scanning of my old pictures this weekend, but it can wait a couple of days.

Here is the LO I finished today. It is of Oliver. Oliver is a little boy I know through Nancy. He almost drowned a year ago and they didn't know if he would even live. Well, here he is, at his 2nd birthday party! He, too needs a lot of prayer. He has come so far and is improving but the doctors are not real promising about his future. But...I am a believer in miracles and to me that holds no water. So I continue to pray for Oliver and his family.

I hope you enjoy it! It makes me smile when I see it! He is a beautiful boy!! God has blessed him and will continue to do so!

Isn't he just adorable?? I love him!!

This blog certainly has not gone where I thought it would go, but when I blog I just start typing like I would be talking, and it ended up with this...so I guess this is where it was meant to go!

As always...have a great night...and enjoy your family!! They are a blessing we too often take for granted!

Very Nice Day!!

2010-05-13T15:48:00.000-04:00

It has been a really nice day today. Couldn't have had an easier day at work. One guy and me here and the other guy left on and off and now for good!! Nothing going on and it was nice to have a day of ease for a change!! Just phones and I like them. I can talk to anyone all day!! But you would never guess I hate to talk on the phone. When I get home, I am very picky who I talk to, so you know if I talk with you...you are indeed special!!

You know, as I sit at my desk, across the six lanes of highway there is a women's correctional halfway house. I sit everyday and watch these girls walk and walk and do jumping jacks. Yesterday I watched on girl step up onto a deck about a foot or foot and a half off the ground. Then she would step back down and step up starting with the other foot. She did this for I am not kidding...a good 15 mins rested about 3 mins and did it again for 15 or so mins. That is work! Especially in the 90 degree heat.

But my point...I watch them do this stuff every day and I grunt and groan with them and I have not lost an ounce. Now what is with that? If I am exerting the muscles in my head with each one they are and grunting and groaning with them, it should count for SOMETHING!!! What a bummer. Oh good grief. Now one girl is walking at a nice pace and as she walks is punching one arm then the other out in front of her. (Do they need to do this in the hottest part of the day??) I think if I were the house moms or whatever, I might be a little concerned letting them build their muscles up so good!! LOL Just kidding. LOL

Anywho...oh my golly, there is the deck stepper upper!! She is at it again. Must be some kind of addiction thing I don't know about. Don't know if I want that addiction any more than any other!!! LOL

I am going to post the LO I did last night. It is funny. It is about what is in your purse. It was a challenge on Designer Digitals that I somehow missed, but it sounded like fun so I did it anyway.

I just started a LO of a little boy of a friend of Nancy's. He had been critically injured when he fell into a pool when someone was watching him while his parents went away for a weekend. He has come so far but there are questions about his future. Please pray for little Oliver. I eventually want to document his journey to recovery, but not now. But I am doing his second birthday picture!! Not sure where it is going, but I hope to finish it tonight.

You all have a great evening and keep the home fires burning...or I guess I should say the air conditioning on!!

Back later.

It's Blogging Time

2010-05-11T19:59:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone. I am back after a time off. Have been really busy, with just fun stuff. Been scrapping a lot and working on my ancestry. I am having so much fun finding Jim and my relatives.

I have connected with a lost cousin of Jim's. That has been a lot of fun. We are finding out about both sides of our families. I felt bad. He had tried to keep family reunions on Jim's side going. Sorry to say we never responded. Out of the area and at times really not into reunions. Now I would go. But he said the last one no one came. I felt bad for him.

I ask for prayer for him and his wife. He (Bill) was to have surgery for breast cancer (he is 67) and canceled it so his wife (Sue) could get a pace maker. So they sure could use our prayers.

I have been cooking supper the past few nights giving poor Jim a break. I can't stand that long so I just keep a chair handy and work a little and the rest. I can do most anything it just takes doing it a little differently. I think he has enjoyed having some of his favorite dishes. Some he had forgotten about but he sure did renew his memory quickly!

I will be back in a second. I need to see what the last LO was I posted. Don't leave!! OK. I am going to play catch up and post my LO's up to today.

This one is Vita di Amore. Life of Love. That is what I think of when I think of my Mom and Dad. They were so in love and so committed to each other.

My favorite part of this is the bird carrying the heart to them. I think of it dropping it off on them and flying on!

This one is of Jim and his Mom. Those two were a pair. He was the only son with three sisters and was very close to his mom. I remember once when she was kneeling down to scrape dog food out of a can to feed the dog and he walked by and gently pushed her shoulder and she sat right down on her tush!! She got up and took off her wedgie shoe and chased him through the house clear out into the street where they both looked at each other an laughed!! Family fun is the best kind, isn't it?? You seem to remember them forever! Hope you enjoy this one...it was fun to do.

BTW, she was a great mother-in-law!! Never said much about how you were raising your family, but if she did, you knew you needed to listen, because she was very concerned!!

And this last one I really like. I think because of the embossed paper. I used it on the rectangle and then "clipped" it to the heart to give it texture, too. Clipping for you hands on people is like gluing paper onto something like chipboard.

So that is what I have been up to!

Now I need to get busy again and scrap. Have to organize. That has been on hold not to mention other things. I am sort of tense right now so stuff I don't like I am not doing. That is my new strategy. Well, sort of. Some things, like bills, I don't like doing but am still doing that. I guess I mean stuff that can be put off WILL be put off!! LOL

Got to go wrap up the cooking. Ummm Pork chops and rice pilaf!!

Enjoy you evening!!

Been A Fun Weekend

2010-05-02T15:50:00.002-04:00

Boy since Friday I have been having so much fun. I have been scrapping, of course. But I just found another past time that is so, so much fun for me.

I have never been a biggie on family ties, but for some reason, probably because I have seen so many heritage LO's on Designer Digitals that are fantastic, I have become interested in heritage.

So I subscribed to Ancestry.com and started tracking the family. I am telling you, to me, at least, it is so addictive. I would even go as far as to say it is about as addictive as scrapping, and I thought scrapping held a category of it's own on addiction.

I started briefly on Thursday. Then Friday everyone was gone at work and I really hit it. I am really into this and having a blast. I only had a free 14 day subscription, but DS, bless him, offered to get it for me. I am totally excited.

I have found a copy of my great grandfather's WW1 registration card AND my other grandfather's draft card. To be able to see these is awesome. Their actual signatures and all. Anyway. It is special to me. I haven't even really gotten into tracing events. I am still trying to get the family located. I have even received messages from family members. Do any of you trace your ancestry?

This is all I needed. One more thing to volley time for. My poor organizing is going to go on the burner. I can tell. Ugh. That is not a good thing!

But I did get another LO done.This is of Jim's father. We really don't have many pictures of him. I was thrilled to find these among our pics. He really was good at hiding from the camera!! I struggled with this one. Not that it was hard. But time consuming. I used a template, because I like the frame placement. But I totally redid it. Changed the print behind the pics from summer words to snapshots. Then had to recolor them all. Cut and pasted another frame so I would have seven frames.Changed all the ribbons from summer theme and colors. So it was just a lot of work. But I am happy with how it turned out. And being that this is probably the only one I will do of him, I wanted it to make me happy.

Got my car cleaned this weekend. Didn't wash it but got it all swept out and all the windows done. I have never seen a harder place to wash any kind of windows that in Florida. I guess it is because the glass is so hot the cleaner dries too fast. Then any little smear shows up so dog gone good in this sunshine. But I did pretty good if I must say so myself. I swear. The windows were so fogged inside it looked like we smoke, and we don't. What in the world causes that? The only thing I can think of is that it pulls smoke in from keeping the air on outside air and when you stop next to cars that have smokers it pulls it inside. I mean these windows were almost impossible to see out of!! So now I am back in business. I hate a dirty car. (Thanks, Dad, for that pet peeve!!)

So, it is back to the grist mill tomorrow. How much fun is THAT??!! Aw, I guess that is what makes the weekends so dang much fun!! Here is the LO. Not posting it anywhere else till Monday. You are the first this time. Hope you enjoy.

Quiet Here

2010-04-29T11:34:00.002-04:00

Quiet and somber feeling here. It is Joe's father's funeral in a couple hours and everyone has left. A sad time for us all.

I am taking this time while it is quiet to get my new LO up. It doesn't take long but it is still confusing to me if there is noise around. I do love the silence when everyone is gone!!! Wonderful.

Nice and sunny here. Only about 70 but very pleasant. No humidity at all. We are not used to that!!!

I have a couple things I need to get finished here so I guess I won't linger. I will post my LO and get out of here.

Hope you enjoy. This is the last LO of the meeting I had with my cyber friend, Lynn. She gave me some candy from London' in Ohio. It is one of two candy companies in North Canton, Ohio. Outstanding chocolate!!! Ummmm.

I love to scrap. Could do it all day!!!

Going to get busy with real work!!! LOL See you later!

Has It Been That Long??

2010-04-27T17:11:00.001-04:00

Golly! Has it really been over a week since I blogged? I can't believe it!! Didn't mean to get sidetracked.

Have had a nice but brisk day here at work today but got everything done and now it is time to play!! Yeah!!!

I don't look for a lot to go on the rest of the week. Joe's father passed on the 14th of this month and the funeral is tomorrow. So most everyone...well, everyone but me, is going to the funeral. It is hard to believe that it took till the 29th before they could get a time at the military cemetery to have the burial. I had no idea they were that busy there.

Then he will go to Michigan on the 15th of April for a memorial. That is a long time not to have closure. I feel badly for him. His mother died about a year and a half ago.

Melissa sent a blogger's award to me. Thanks Melissa. Now I have to do what I am supposed to do with it and send it on its way to others who brighten my day with their blogs!! I need to get on that!!

I have done two new LO's since Sunday. I got the mojo flowing and it does feel good!! So I don't want to stop its flow!!!

I met one of my Designer Digital friends Saturday in Tampa and we had a blast!! It is so much fun to meet the people in person that you have gotten to know over the years. It is great to put a real live face and voice with them!! And it is so cool that when you meet it is like you have known each other for years...which you really have! So I am documenting that meeting. I still have one more to do and then back to doing heritage.

Hope you enjoy the LO's. Some have seen them already on Memory Makers forum and Designer Digital's gallery.

After seeing my wonderful wrinkles in this pic I felt like running it through Photoshop!! That thing is wonderful!! But I decided against it. First of all, how would I explain all those wrinkles to the next friend I met in person!!! But I created another LO just to make me laugh at them!!

I don't know if I like this new blogger or not. I think I just have to get used to the way it works. Just a little different than I am used to. Gosh. I hate to end a sentence with a preposition...but what's a girl to do when it sound wrong any other way??? OK. I guess I could have said...Just a little different that I am used to working with...Nope that won't work either. Ahah. Just a little different than I am used to using. I think that is OK. If not...move on and forget it!!

Gotta run. We are closed and things are still open. Finally. I am getting ready to go home as soon as DH is here...and that should be momentarily!! Have a great night.

Came back to add one more thing. If you want to see the credits for any of my LO's go to my Designer Digitals gallery with the link to the right. I am tired of listing these credits everywhere. I think also, there will be a bigger view, but you should be able to click on the pic here and enlarge it. I haven't tried it since the upgrade. OK. I'm out of here!!

Happy Sunday to You!

2010-04-18T13:14:00.001-04:00

Good afternoon...golly, I didn't realize it is so late! Happy Sunday to you and yours. Hope it is sunny and nice where you are at. Here...rain, but I love rain and we need it so I guess we are all happy. And the kids finishing up spring break at the beach are totally unaware it is raining!! Can't wait for about another week when we re-inherit the beach are back again!!

I have been working a heritage LO. Thus the reason I didn't know it was so late! Time just flies when I am creating. One of the most wonderful things there is to do!! I will post it, but of course no credits because I am posting here first. So you are among the privileged...if that is how you consider it!! LOL

Need to go to the store but sure am not going out in this rain. Should break a little soon, so will duck out and get soap for laundry and probably something to grill.

Speaking of soap, have you tried the new three in one by Purex? Now DH does the laundry here and he is not one to change ANYTHING very easily. Very set in his ways kind of person. But when DD speaks he is fast to listen because she is usually right!! (side note. Why doesn't he do that with me? Point to ponder later.)

Anyway, she said to try these things; they are really great. So he did. They have the soap, fabric softener and anti-static stuff on on one sheet. You pull them out of the case. Throw it in the washer. Transfer it to the dryer with your wet clothes. They are GREAT!!! They can be kept in a nice little case but...not necessary. Give them a try. Remember, DD says they are great...so....!!

Got so much done this week. Two LO's, organizing my digi files, changed over the household files...alright...so I was a tad slow on that...big deal...put some clutter away...pretty good for me. I'm pleased.

Now I would like to hem two more pairs of my pants that I have had ready for about a month. Sounds like a good thing to do while watching a movie. Can you tell I am a tad laid back??? When I get to it...it is always there. Never once has something I needed to do gone away before I got to it.

OK. Got to run. Jim is about to take the dog out. When that happens...this is funny...as soon as the cat hears him get the leash, then the door closing, she comes a runnin'!! That is when she demands I get her brush and brush her. Is that called bonding time. Well, sometimes it ranks. It is usually when I am in "the moment" of a great scrap idea and have to stop to brush the silly little runt!!! That's OK really. She is about the only cat I have ever really loved. So what am I to do?? She loves it.

OK. Here is my latest. It is of my mom and her parents. I need to dig some more and see if I can come up with more pics of our families. I am really loving seeing these. Must have to do with age!!! Hope you enjoy.

FRIDAY!!!

2010-04-16T17:11:00.009-04:00

OK I had told you that my blogger wasn't working right and won't put the paragraphs where they belong. I have tried six time to get it to do it and it won't. So...add the paragraphs in your head today!! Boy, that bothers me!!!

It is finally here! FRIDAY! It just has been a long week. But, alas, it is over!!

Had a very quiet day at work. The guys, of course, had places they HAD to go and cleared out of here about noon. Did you know, Fridays are always a very busy day around here? Why, everyone just has appointment after appointment! Hope they sell, sell, sell, too!! LOL

But, anyway, at least I had peace and quiet. I scrapped all day and got a LO done of my dad and me. It is different for me, but I like it. Seemed to go together easily. That is novel, for sure.

Tomorrow, probably scrap and pot around the house. Like I said, Jim will be working, so I don't have any plans. I sure have enough computer organizing I could do!! I am still pouring through that. But making good headway!

I am really hungry. Ate lunch early and now I am regretting it. But I was really hungry early!! What's a girl to do? I would have a piece of peanut butter bread only I gave my bread to Joe today to make his sandwich because he forgot his bread. Jim always puts bread in my cooler. Don't know why. I think he said he likes me to have it to take my meds with. But I always forget to do it!! But my meds say to eat before I take them! Oops!

So I am going to post my LO and get ready to get out of here. Don't think it will be too long. He still had three stops left when I talked to him a bit ago. Then back to the shop then here. So...who knows!

Credits

Hope you have a nice sunny weekend. By all means have some fun!!

Friday Eve!!

2010-04-15T16:04:00.007-04:00

Great news, right. Well, sort of. Jim has to work Saturday. The weekend I hate. But, the weekend just the same.

Not much going on and I sure can handle that well. I like it smooth and easy.

It hasn't been great emotionally. DGD has been sick and it has taken them since Sunday with two visits to hospitals and a gastroenterologist to determine that she has gall stones. Poor baby. She has been in so much pain. But at last we know what is wrong and can proceed from here. Please keep prayers running for her. Her name is Siana.

I did finish another LO today. DD hates it, because it is of her, of course. Really, she hates this picture and mother loves this picture. She said if I want, go ahead. It is my LO. So I want and here it is. Really. You will LOVE it. She is beautiful, I think!

Credits

I think it is pretty cool, don't you!! Sorry Nancy. But that is fact!! LOL

I am having trouble with my blogger. It is adding big spaces between paragraphs. So if I miss finding and fixing one, you will know why.

Going to run. Got to start closing this place down.

Back again later. Have a great day!

Hello Mojo!!

2010-04-13T10:06:00.006-04:00

I laugh at this. You wouldn't. The one guy's phone here at work used to say, "Hello Moto" when it rang. This reminded me of it. I must have heard that thousands of times till he finally changed companies.

The mojo started to work again and I finished the LO of my Mom and Dad. This is the pic that I started with.

I LOVE this pic so much. It is Mom and Dad that I remember, the one I went home to every night.

This is the finished LO. I like. And that is what counts, I guess. I think they like it, too!

Larger view and credits

I love scrapping. Better yet I love digi! Thanks, Terry. You won me over and I am soooo happy!

I have to go. I need to work!! I will come back at lunch and finish!! Till then, be good!

And That's the Way It Is

2010-04-11T15:22:00.005-04:00

I would love to just sit and spend a weekend watching TV. But is seems that all I can find most of the time is infomercials. At least in the mornings when I would love to grab a cup of coffee and sit back and leisurely watch some good TV. But, no, I can only find infomercials until midday.

I just don't get it. I pay the cable company to provide me with television programs and what do I get? Infomercials. So they really get my money and the money from the infomercial companies for buying their time. And boast they do about the number of stations they have, only they are full of paid commercials. Sure is discouraging.

But, that's the way it is, so I just have to record stuff to play on Saturday and Sunday. What's a girl to do?? I doubt that it will ever change. I do wonder if anyone watches those info thingies, though. Do you? I can't stand them.

I have, though, become a real fan of the free on demand movies. Really sorta love those babies. So that helps, too. There is only so much of Andy Griffith I want to watch at one sitting!! LOL

OK. Now. What have you been up to today? I have done a sum total of zilch. Potted around on two LOs I am trying to do and getting nowhere. I know where I want to go with one...it isn't going there. The other one, I have no clue where it wants to go, so it hasn't gone anywhere, either. Every time I woke up last night...not a good night to sleep...I would ponder them...and I suspect that was part of the bad sleep.

Here is the one pic I am using. It is of my Mom and Dad. DD gave it to me last weekend and I wanted to get it scrapped. I was going to do the Designer Digitals Saturday Scraplift with it but that didn't work either.

Isn't that a great pic? My Mom and Dad were so in love. They did everything together. They were great parents, too. Miss them both so much.

So, I will see what I come up with and post it when I get it done. I have no clue, so it will certainly be a surprise to all of us. Stay tuned!!

I did manage to get my shower but I still am not fit to go out. Jim cooked wonderful bacon and eggs today and so we haven't ventured any farther, or is it further, than that. Does anyone really know which word, further or farther, to use? One is distance I think. That doesn't help me. Can't remember which one it is!!! LOL Someone fill me in.

Well, going to go stare at my LOs again and see if any mojo moves me. If not, I will hit the gallery and see what inspiration is there.

You all have a great evening and don't think about tomorrow yet. It will certainly come in due time.

Friday Eve!!

2010-04-08T19:28:00.003-04:00

My Aunt Middy told me never to wish my life away...like kids often do...wishing it was Christmas, wishing it was their birthday...and she would be proud of me. I didn't wish this week away, but I sure am glad it is Friday Eve!! I figure we have hump day, that makes it over the hump of the week, then there is Friday Eve and then Friday!! At last. Weekends are just so much more fun than weekdays. Don't you agree??

No one has given me a reason, yet, that I like, why time goes so fast over the weekends and the weekdays seem eternal. They always say something about because they are more fun. That is too easy; can't be the right answer.

My poor bother in Ohio. I talked to him yesterday and he said it was 86. Yesterday or the day before...anyway it was 86. Today it is 43. He said it was to be in the 40's over the weekend. Poor guy. He loves it hot. Would love to move back here.

We have had some really beautiful days and nights. Nice and warm during the day and cool at night. Perfect for me.

I finished a LO today. It is another one of my grinner...son #1. He was in at work and let me grab a pic of him. Those he had sent on the phone were just too hazy. So I added it to the old pics I had and came up with a LO I like pretty well. (See, I am following through getting the kids' pictures scrapped for them!!)

This was about the least amount of supplies I've used on a LO. I just grabbed a template, used it as a jump start and came up with this. I had it done, basically, and sent it off to DD who has her own web design company. She said colors are all off. Ugh. I worked at getting those colors. But I trust her keen eye, that is why I run stuff by her, so I said I would work on it while she exercised. I think I had the best end of THAT deal!!! LOL

So I basically changed all my colors out and bam...I really liked whatI got. She has never given me advise that has not satisfied my heart's desire. Sometimes I go kicking and screaming, but when I listen to her...I always love what I get. When I sent the next one...I got a thumbs up. It really is like having a teacher at my finger tips!! Love that!

So before I get longer winded, I will post and get out of here. Jim and Terry know I have to give details. It is part of my internal system. Them, they don't understand, that, to fully understand something, you need DETAILS. ALL OF THEM!!! Oh, add my DD to that group of "just the facts, ma'am". Brother. Some people just don't get it!

You can of course click here and see a larger view and credits.

That is pretty much it for tonight. Off to organize. Oh what will I do when I am done with it?? Scrap more, I guess.

What A Morning!!

2010-04-06T09:08:00.012-04:00

I had the most wonderful start to my morning!! I was watching the news and it said at 6:28 this morning you could see the International Space Station go by for about four minutes and then a few minutes after that, the shuttle would go over the same path.

So out I go, figuring that in the city with the lights I wouldn't be able to see them. Low and behold...clear as a bell. There was the first one. I looked up in the sky and watched as the huge International Space Station went by, carrying people going about their day's work! Cool beans!!! It was awesome!! Bright as could be. I watched for about five minutes.

NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org

We had been to the Space Center and seen a replicas of this as it was being built. It was fantastic to have seen what it looks like on the inside and then to see it in orbit functioning.

If you ever get to Florida, be SURE to put the Kennedy Space Center on the agenda. It is memorable.

There is one tour that we took, not as many people take that one, that part of it shows where they launched the first satellites. There was a building a short distance away from where they would set up the rocket, and one person would be a the control board and another at the window. When the flames got to a certain color, the person at the window would tell them to launch!! What a hoot. We have come so far. LOL

Not being silly, but there was a day when we didn't have a wheel or fire...yet here we are putting people in orbit and on other planets. This world is mind boggling!

Anyway, about one minute after the ISS disappeared from site, Jim says, "There it is!" Sure enough. There going the same course was the shuttle they launched on the fourth, I believe it was. I truly was like a kid. It was wonderful!!

NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org

So that has been the fun start to my day. I even took time off ALL my work because I just had to post this...I was excited!!!

Hope you have a wonderful day, too.

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T10:40:00.007-04:00

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!!

Hoping everyone has a glorious Easter day. It is absolutely beautiful here today. Already 72 and beautifully sunny. Just a perfect day for Easter. Seeing the drab of winter turn into the breathtaking sunshine...better yet Sonshine!

Jim is out cleaning out gutters. Totally clogged with all those seed pods from March winds. Now I hear the lawn...or weed...mower! It is terrible looking here right now. It seems...coming from the in-house lawn and pest control man...that, because of the dry cold days we have had, the grass of course went dormant. It has rained and warmed up, but not enough to bring the grass out of its dormancy. But, however, the weeds don't give up. They think this rain and sunshine is great and are rapidly growing...so well that they are killing the dormant grass. The sod and seed companies are smiling, while the lawn and pest people are pulling their hair out because everyone has weeds and they are supposed to be dead!! (Only after 6-8 weeks AFTER you spray them!!) So goes life, right?

But the weeds still need cut. I swear they seem to be a foot high wherever you look...and sooo green. I guess cut down they still look OK. At least they are nice and green!! LOL

I think today I will get my TV working at work. DSIL is going to hook it up for me. I have tried everything...several people have...and can not get that darn converter box to work. Torrey will get it. He seems to be able to do anything techy!! He and Nancy are the ones that totally built this computer I am using. Wish I had just a little of that talent.

Well, I just finished a LO of DS #1. I had these pics of him and while waiting to take a good pic of him when he comes to have lunch with me next week, putting up "cheerfully" with a 'nagging' mommy that wants a great pic for this LO I have in mind, I decided to use them. So that is what I have been doing. Going to post it...give credits later, if ever, and go wrap up a couple things I need to do before I forget. So here it is. Hope you enjoy.

I never remembered having these two pics. The first is at 17 months and the second at 20 months. But he always was a "laugher". To this day he will keep you in stitches.

Enjoy every minute of today...for tomorrow...back to the grindstone!!! (And you WILL love every minute of it. Ya hear!!!)

If You Don't Shoot....

2010-04-02T12:46:00.007-04:00

It is really quiet here. One guy left here and he is in his outer office. I love the quiet. It's beautiful. I am sad for those that can't stand silence. You learn so much when things are still and your soul has time to be with God. Probably why he said, "Be still, and know that I am God." Don't' you think??

I was ready to start on a LO of DS. Ended up doing the LO I posted the other day. I was waiting on a pic of him...from him...so I just started playing around with a quote I saw. Then when that got done, I had gotten the pic but remembered Designer Digitals was having a 5th Birthday Card Contest. You could win a $50 gift certificate for supplies in the store. They would draw at random. To enter you had to do a 5th birthday card. Wish them happy 5th birthday, use all Designer Digital supplies and enter by...??? "Oh no," I thought!! I had forgotten to keep track of the deadline.

Went to the forum and couldn't find it. That happens every time I am in a hurry. I can't find anything by search engines!! So I wrote Randy, "THE MAN" at DD's. He quickly replied that is is Saturday morning by 6:00 A.M. (This site is super, by the way. They really take care of their people. Answer email promptly, within minutes, usually...that kind of stuff. You gotta go there if you are digi!!)

So, I had to pull together a card really quickly! I am terrible at digi cards. I don't even do too many hands on. But I have liked the hands on I have done!! LOL But digi...BOO!!!

So I pulled one together. I needed to have an entry. For crying out loud...you might shoot and not score...but it is a sure thing...if you don't shoot you WILL NOT score!!! LOL So I had to come up with something!

So now I can start on the LO of DS who asked this morning if he got to see a sneak peak!! I will let him, I guess, once I get going on it. But he doesn't know that the LO never ends anything like it starts out. Guess it is a good time to let him find that out!!! LOL

Looking forward to this weekend. Jim has had a very long week having started a new route. So I know we will kick back most of the weekend. My week, too, has been long, but not stressful! Thank you, Lord!

Well now, I guess I need to go do the handful of filing I have to do from being so busy this morning.

Hope the weekend is great and relaxing for all of you. Blessed Holy Week to each of you.

Oh...Here is my Designer Digitals 5th Birthday Card. Keep you fingers crossed for me that the random picker is magnetized to mine!!

Credits

Above 60!! Unbelievable!!!!

2010-03-31T16:18:00.006-04:00

It is finally above 60 degrees! That is wonderful!!! There were still some chilly 40's around us last night but at least by midday I would like to see a hint of warmth!!! And at least it is sunny!! Spirits are much brighter with the sun shinning!! I am tired of people grumbling!!

Hopefully I won't be so late leaving work today. Jim got tied up on jobs yesterday and I didn't get out of here till 7:45!!! Ugh! But that is OK. He didn't like it either but...you have to do what you have to do. It doesn't happen very often.

Got all my work done. Has been a slow day, sort of, but got it all done and even had a little time to play...other than my lunch hour!! Not much, but a tiny!!!

I receive an inspirational quote everyday in my email at work and one appeared that I just loved. So while I was waiting on DS #1 to get a pic to me of himself that I wanted to do a LO with, I thought I would scrap it just for fun. As it ended up I really liked it!

It is about changing as we grow older. The quote says what I sometimes feel like. We really don't change we just become who we really were all along. We just finally mature to the point that we are no longer afraid to let our masks come off.

Credits

Haven't really been doing anything special. It has just been so ugly out everyone just has been vegging at home. As you know, that is just fine with this homebody.

Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend.

Sunday and Rainy!

2010-03-28T17:51:00.006-04:00

It is a very dismal day here today. It started out with a little bit of sunshine but it sure gave way to clouds and then rain very soon. By the time Jim had gotten home from Mickey D's getting the dog her egg mcmuffin, it was totally cloudy. In fact we opted to stay in for breakfast and grab lunch out. That turned out great, as by that time it was raining. I used to hate for it to rain on the weekends but anymore I would rather have it rain then rather than during the week so he has to work out in it.

I have gotten so much done over the weekend. Feel bad, though, because Zoe's sore hip was just starting to feel better then she went to go out a minute ago and slipped on the vinyl and pulled it again. Poor baby!! I need to get that carpet put in the kitchen. I think that is partly why she keeps injuring her leg.

I did finish another LO today. It is about Joe, one of my "cohorts" at work. He continually plays those scratch off lottery tickets. Every time I go in the warehouse, he is doing two scratch offs. Can not believe how many he does in just one day. I am always on his case about it. That is how we are. We are constantly picking on each other...it's part of how we deal with each other.

So I decided I had to do a LO of it. Here it is.

I haven't uploaded to Designer Digitals yet so you can't get the credits even if you wanted to, and I am not wasting the time listing them here.

I don't think I posted my last two LO's either. Will do that a little later. One is probably about all you can handle at a time anyway!!

Still working on organizing my digital stash. I have so many things to organize but I am making headway. I have been holding true to myself and doing some each time I sit at the computer!! Yeah for me.

Humm. Jim just said the NASCAR Grand Prix that was to be held for the second day today come rain or shine was postponed till Monday. It seems lightning was striking very near the spectator seats and drove the people off. I would think that would do it!!! Not a good thing to be sitting up high in a lightning storm.

Going to go see what is happening on the forums then start on my Bamboo pen class that I was to take a few weeks ago. It looks like it is very good, but will take quite a bit of time to work through and understand.

Till the next blog....

Just Saturday!

2010-03-20T15:26:00.005-04:00

It is just Saturday here. Jim had to work. So I just did a LO and some cleaning in the kitchen. My favorite room to clean. I love to clean, anyway. But can't do much since my muscles decided to take a bomb. But I can do some, and I love it! All a matter of learning new ways to get things accomplished.

It is 72, finally, and sunny. But the temps are to be going up and down, so who knows what it will be like tomorrow. It seems it is never what they say it is going to be. Sooner or later it will get hot...and then we will be complaining.

It was a long week for me at work. I was very busy for a change, yet the week just seemed to drag. I think because it was just so dag gone dreary all week. Even had several days of misty yuk. It was just making people sort of grouchy.

Oh, and also this past week, and this is probably what really got to me, everything...I mean just about everything...I sent to companies, got lost. I sent one thing twice to a girl and she lost both of them. It was a legal document and she said she vaguely remembered it but could I get another one signed? She just gets SO many releases!!! Duh. She is the one that wanted it; I sent a copy AND the original and she can't find either one?? I said it would be plenty of trouble. The guy works out of state and it costs him to get them notarized and mailed! Get this...she says, "Don't you keep a copy in your files?" SHE is asking me about keeping MY files???!!!! Humpf!! "Yes, I do", I told her. "But you need originals." She told me, "Oh, I will take a fax. Just fax it to me. " Stupid girl. She doesn't even know the form she needed has to be an original if they go to court. Oh well, not my problem. I faxed it. She was happy...I was happier than having to get a new one. Please. Just about the highest thing on my peeve list is incompetency. Can not deal with it. (And of course, these being companies that hire us to do things, I am not at the liberty of telling her what I really think. Peace has to rule!! It wouldn't do any good to tell most of them how you feel, anyway, they are not smart enough to know you are doing it!!)

There. I feel better.

But, I am NOT at work and that is a good thing! Waiting on Terry to get home from vacation. Must be nice. No vacation for me ever again since the boss took them all away. Work. Work. Work. I did talk to her and she is having fun. I'm more than a tad bit jealous, though.

Our sweet daughter did our taxes this week. As usual, because I don't have enough taken out, we need to pay. BUT, she sat down with me and hopefully got it straightened out so next year we will do better. We always try to hit is about even so we don't have to pay and don't get a refund. Just don't like the government using our money interest free for a year. I had it set right until Jim switched jobs and never got around to redoing it. Now it is done. Thank! You! Nancy!!

Well, Jim just called and is just about here so I am going to go and do a couple last minute things.

I am posting my newest LO that I just finished. It is for Debbie Hodge's class, of course, and is called "Mind Your L's & T's". It is designing with an "L" or "T" shape.

I am not going to list my credits anymore for my LO's. I have added a link to my Designer Digitals Gallery and if you want to know the credits you can find them there. Only, it may take a day or two before I post them on that gallery. I usually post here first.

Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful spring...it really is spring now...weekend.

Click Image to Enlarge

The Weekend!!

2010-03-13T10:38:00.005-05:00

Finally. The weekend. I am learning to really love them! Work is either a hustle bustle or dead as a nail...which was yesterday. Boring as can be. I at least can scrap some when it is down. Not a lot of people have that perk.

It is going to be sunny today. More than I can say about the last two days. Rainy and about as cloudy as it can get. But we needed the rain. And now it is past.

Doing odds and ends today. Have to get all my tax stuff ready to give to daughter who is so sweet to do Mom and Dad's taxes each year. What a blessing. Whew! I hate doing that and I am not good at it, either. Bless you, child! What a gift you give us! Then the rest of the day I plan on scrapping and 'potsing' around the house. My favorite thing to do.

I finished up Class 10 Diagonal just a few minutes ago. Oh my golly. I did not like this one at all. It took me three layouts before I got one that I was even a tad pleased with, and then I am not that fond of it, either. I doubt I will do another diagonal, one in which elements, pics, brushes and stamps lead a diagonal pattern, again, but one never knows, do one?? The "do one", by the way, is what my favorite novel character, Archie McNally, by Saunders, says. Never does one, but do one.

I had said "do one", one day, when talking to a customer on the phone, and she said, "You read the McNally books!!!!!" LOL "When you said that, I knew for sure!" So it gave us both a laugh and something in common when we talk...which is usually very often with goings on about work related business.

I am going to get busy, but of course I will post my hot off the press LO. I don't have credits posted anywhere. I will come back and add them if I really remember. If not, please feel free to check my gallery here at Designer Digitals.

This, by the way, is about making a deposit Wednesday at the bank. Our bank just merged with another bank and they are changing all the ATM's. Now they have gone to a no envelope, no deposit slip ATM. Scary to us old folk who don't take well to change and don't trust techno things much.

Would you believe you can feed up to 15 checks and bills at one time at these things? If you put cash in, a guy I work with did it, it says you deposited like 10-$20 bills, so many 5's etc. This is weird, I'm sorry. It is.

After we were done, I stood back and yelled at it, "I know you're in there!! You don't fool me!!!" LOL Bet the people going by thought I was crazy. Those who saw me and knew me thought nothing abnormal going on here!!

Hope you all enjoy this weekend and get some good R&R!

Checking In!!

2010-03-10T12:51:00.006-05:00

Nothing much to say today. Isn't that a first??!!

Trying to work on my Class 9 for Building Pages. Had a LO done last night and hated it and ditched the entire thing. That was probably the wrong thing to do. I should have finished it and then done another. Usually the one you throw out is the one everyone loves!! But I worked for about two hours and could not get it right. Out it went.

So I have another idea I am tossing in my head here at work. I will see if it goes when I get home.

They tell me I could get disability and I tell you I often wonder why I didn't do that. But I think I have to work. It just seems like at times it sounds awfully good to stay at home!!! LOL Just kidding. It is about as much fun to have to stay home as it is for me to be in my wheelchair when we go out! I will do this as long as I can.

FINALLY it is above 60 degrees. It is sunny and....get ready....are you really ready....75 degrees!!! Yeah!!! Applause. Applause!! It is beautiful today. But hold on. Tomorrow. Rain. Friday...a wash out!!!

OK. Have a super pic to show you from the Gasparilla Art Festival. This is Sarah and her pretty hat. I forgot to tell Zoe the Greek that I was going to get her one of these. I think this is just so cute!!! Check this out. Hope this works. I have never uploaded this way. So hang on a second. LOL

Wowser! It worked!! Isn't Sarah about the cutest. Her master told her to sit and she just sat!! Not only is she cute...she LISTENS!!! What a concept!

Oh. Did I tell you we renamed Zoe, our not so little anymore Schipperke/Chow mix dog, to Zoe the Greek? LOL

We quite often eat Greek food and the other night Jim had Gyro platter with oh so much meat. So he brought the left overs home to Zo.

She had a little that night when we came in and of course she loved it. We already knew that. So the next couple of mornings she got to have a small plate of the meat. Jim got some out and heated it on a paper plate for her and by the time he got it to my chair where I gave it to her...drool was just dripping from her mouth. Her head shot up as if to tell him hurry up!!! And she gulped that down in seconds. then, licking her lips, looked up asking for more!!! She was too cute!!!

Well, I have things I have to finish here at work so I am done for now. Glad I said I had nothing to say, else this would take an hour to read.

Take care till later.

It Was WONDERFUL!!!

2010-03-08T16:50:00.004-05:00

Yepper. We went to the Gasparilla Art Festival in Tampa Sunday and it was wonderful. Warm...really a little too warm in the sun after freezing temps of late and sunny, sunny, sunny. and we got to smell this!!!

Take a look at this.

Know what this is? It is decaying grass. What we have left after the dank, cold weather we have had. The sun was hitting it and and decaying it more, but I gotta tell ya, it smelled heavenly.

It reminded me of hay on the farms in Ohio. But it smelled like a warm spring day. It just added to the atmosphere of it all.

We had a great day. I need to post some pics of it. But I have a problem. Maybe some camera person can tell me. I take my pics and because I am in an area where there is so much reflection of the sun off buildings and concrete I get what I think is over exposure and those bright areas turn pink. I only have a point and shoot and I don't know what to do to compensate for that bright light. Can anyone tell me??? Please! Please! I had a great many shots ruined from yesterday because of that.

I am at work and done for the day. Just waiting on my ride. Oh goodie. This is Starbucks day and it is even better than usual because Starbucks sent me a coupon for any drink any size. Woowee. I am ready to go NOW!!!

I got another LO done for Debbie Hodge's class. Class #9 Divided. You are to divide your LO either vertically or horizontally and use that line, be it space, edges of a line of pictures, ribbon...whatever as the basis for your LO to get balance and impact on your LO.

I chose my beautiful giraffes for this and couldn't help but extract that neck so it hung out the frame! Did I ever tell you how much I LOVE giraffes? Of course I did but I am telling you again!! It is one thing you must not forget!!! (See the beautiful header my DD aka computer guru and web designer made for my blog at the top?? Love it!!!! Love it!!

Well, since I want to upload something before I go I had better shut it down for today.

Here is my LO. I love to scrap!!! And this class is just making it even more fun!

Credits

Have a great night. Will be back tomorrow.

It's a First!!!

2010-03-06T15:45:00.004-05:00

This is going to be a first today. I usually post my LO's here last for some reason. But today...the blog rates #1!! I just finished my LO for Class #8 and have it ready to post. I will have to get credits later. I always copy them from the other posts because they are a giganticus pain to me!! I hate doing that.

I need to say that. I hate listing credits. I don't know why I have to give credit to someone for using the product. Not that I am not thankful I found it, but I bought and paid for it. When I post my picture I don't say that the shirt is by Alfred Dunner and the pants by Allison Daley! If someone has an explanation I would love it. Who knows, it could change my mind. But for now, that is the correct etiquette, so I will go with it. Ugh!

We went out for breakfast today. Jim was so hungry for stuffed french toast. That is another ugh! It is french toast with peanut butter in-between and bananas in-between and on top, then whipped cream on top and on the sides. Yuk! I hate bananas first of all unless they are green. Other than that...I could handle it. And to make it worse, they ALWAYS use VERY RIPE bananas which is gross! He loves it, but today's was no prize. Not much PB or bananas. Me...I had a cheeseburger...I know...it was breakfast...I hate breakfast food. And I always have my burgers on a dinner roll where they have them. I don't know which of us has the worse tastes! Mine wasn't very good either. Guess it wasn't meant to be.

Well, I need to go get off this computer chair. I found sitting at the computer at work all day then at home is a big influence on my bad knee. So I need to go to another chair for a while.

Here it is. This class is "Banded". Arranging your photos in a strip or band and using the remaining space on the canvas for journaling and title. This was hard, hard, hard for me but I find the harder it is for me the more I need to learn the concept. And the harder it is, the more I love the LO when I finish it. Might be the conqueror instinct in me!

I am off to sit and read the next lesson. I would sorta like to finish somewhat close with everyone else. That in itself is a challenge!!!

Have fun today. The weekend is short.

I Hope Not!

2010-03-03T10:18:00.006-05:00

I hope when the warm weather of Florida finally returns we don't feel like we are in an oven!

After this long cold spell, one which is in within a couple days of becoming the longest number of consecutive days EVER under 60, I hope we moderate instead of going straight to the blazing heat of summer. Cough. Cough!!! No one but my darling husband will be happy about that. His idea of fun in 96 degrees and 96 percent humidity!! There's one in every family. We don't worry about him.

I am at work and no one will cough up the work I need from them so that I can proceed with my day. So I am at a stand still. I hate, hate, hate it when people hold others up because they can't get their act together. One of my top irritations!!

So I wait.

Starting to drizzle here again. Unbelievable. No sun, then add the rain. Bring it on. Let's get it over. I am one of the odd ones that likes rain. So see, I'm weird, too! But we all knew that, too!

I really want to get to work on my next class, but can't do it today with all that is waiting for me. I hope we get home at a decent time so I can start tonight. I think I know what to do.

Here are the last two LO's I have done. This brings me current.

This one is of our daughter's oh so cute puppy!! This is Shiloh and she really has become a little porker! But she is so sweet!

Credits

This class was about layering. How layering actually is when the embellies don't pertain to the photo and collaging is when they do pertain to your theme. They all are to add texture and interest.

This one is of our last dog, Mandy, who died in 2001. This lesson was on shelving, where you use a shelf to anchor, or set, your LO on. Depending on the heaviness, be it color or size, you decide how much of the LO will extend below the shelf...from none to a lot! I am learning a great deal and love going on to the next lesson.

Credits

Now I am current. I am posting again with some regularity. I am enjoying scrapping. Life is good.

Have a great day, and keep creating!

Another Monday

2010-03-01T21:32:00.006-05:00

I sure am glad there is only one Monday a week! Well, there is SUPPOSED to be only one. Sometimes it seems like more.

I didn't have a bad Monday, just a Monday!! It was push all day long. Everybody wanted me for something special. I hope they don't think I have a need to be wanted. That is not the case!!! I love being UNneeded! That is the ultimate!! LOL

But got home, waited for Jim to unwind from eight hours on his feet, shower and change, by then I always have unwound and don't care if I do another thing. I don't get a second wind until about 10! Then I go too long and am up till about 2!!! That is not good.

So I was going to gather pics then start to scrap but that didn't work for tonight. Guess I will try tomorrow. Wanted to try to get a couple pics in the house tonight and it was just too dreary outside. So that, too, will wait. But I wanted to stop by, post a few sentences and a couple LO's. I think I will do three so that I will only have two of them left from my classes. By then I can post one class at a time.

Credits

This class was on learning to use white space. This one was very difficult for me. I am definitely a symmetrical person! But I really loved doing this and was surprised that I really liked how it turned out, too!

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This is my boss and his dog that he dearly loved but had to get rid of. Gracie was just a real sweetie. He still misses her. This class was to learn t use a partial mat. In this case, all the strips behind the pics.

And last but never least...this beauty!!! LOL This took A LOT of courage to post, but hey...after you get to my age, everyone just laughs at...really with...you!!! LOL

Credits

Remember, you can always click on the pics in the post for larger views, or there is one if you click on the credits link.

That's about it for tonight. Time to wind things up around here.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow!

Hi Everyone!

2010-02-28T12:58:00.005-05:00

I am back after a time off. As everyone always says, I have been busy!

Trying to work on a class with Debbie Hodge and pretty much just odds and ends, only to the point that I haven't felt like posting!! Honesty is always the best policy. Just been enjoying being me.

We are busy today moving a bedroom around. Just too crowded and we had stuff moved so an electrician could do some work so it seemed like the best time to continue the mess, and a mess it is. Moving stuff from one bedroom to another and cleaning. Jim does the lion's share as always but creative support counts as working...at least in our house.

It has be rotten weather here as in most places and the tragedies in the world are enough to make one sick. Prayer support has really been active.

So I at least wanted to stop in and say Hi to everyone and post a couple LO's that I have done.

The class I am taking is Building Pages at Get It Scrapped. It shows different styles and methods for scrapping, which works both in hands on and digi. It is a great class that I highly recommend. However...it does make one a little uncomfortable doing LO's because it forces you out of you normal little box. I intend on doing it again after it is over, and again if necessary, until the different styles feel more like home to me. I think this class was probably made for me!! LOL

Here are the ones I have done so far.

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Credits

Enough for now. I need to help Jim in the moving!! Will be back again soon.

Keep the mojo flowing.