Notta Normal Mom

Fall Happenings

2009-10-23T22:52:00.007-04:00

A few weeks ago, Joe & I took Jonah to find his pumpkin at a local pumpkin farm. Lark Ranch is geared toward families of all ages. This was our first trip there and we're looking forward to going again next year. They have a maze that you can walk though, which includes both a small and large section. There is a map for those that may need it.

We took the last hayride of the day to the pumpkin field. Of course Jonah wanted to run... He was reigned in and the serious job of finding just the right one began. He tole Papaw that he wanted a big pumpkin. Finally after much looking, and with the hayride ready to take us back, we found "the one".

I have survived nursing school :)

2009-07-20T09:17:00.001-04:00

It's been quite awhile since I've blogged anything and with good reason. The spring semester and the 8 week summer session of nursing class took pretty much all of my attention. My poor husband hasn't had a good homecooked meal for awhile now. If he hadn't done his own laundry, he might have been arrested for indecent exposure lol. That didn't happen though, which is a good thing :)

The first week following graduation was filled with sleeping as late as I could in the morning, and pretty much doing nothing :) This week, however, will be filled with studying for the boards and some shop hopping. Last year was the first year of the Shop Hop with 8 stores participating. This year it has been expanded to 10 stores. I've visited two of the stores so far with plans on visiting 3 more today. I'll post pics of the make-n-takes from each of the stores later this evening. They are really cute!

I'm finally able to dust off my scrapbbok supplies and get some projects done. With classes keeping me pretty busy, I had to put scrapping on the back burner. My hubby turns 50 on July 27 and we're planning a sneaky surprise get together for him the following weekend. I'll have just enough time to put a small album together. It won't be much, but it'll be a little something :)

Off to the Shop Hop!

The New Year

2009-01-08T13:21:00.000-05:00

With this new year we'll experience many changes in our family. Graduation will be here before I know it. Mine is in July and Bret's will be in December. Joe will hit a milestone with the "big 50". He'll get 2 1/2 years experience before I join him there and will ease me into that transition I'm sure :) Jonah is growing my leaps and bounds. And the kids aren't kids anymore. They've grown into responsible (did I just say that?) young adults and actually have a life outside of my arms reach. When and how did that happen? They've gained their independence from us, which in my opinion is both sweet and sour all rolled into one. I miss having them close and spending time with them, knowing that they did indeed need me. Now they don't need mom quite so much, but I'm sure that they know we're here to help them if need be. At times it's heart wrenching and at other times realizing the fine adults they've become makes my heart about burst with happiness. I used to laugh and think it silly when my mom would tell the kids she was going to put a brick on their heads to stop them from growing up on her so fast. Now that they have grown up, I understand just how she was feeling. I feel the same way about Jonah. Not that my mom or I would ever really put a brick on any of their heads! Like that would really work anyway :)

I think I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The first semester of school has been completed successfully with the second one starting on Monday. It's going to be getting very busy and hectic at our household until July I'm afraid. Clinical 3 x's a week and classes full days the other two. Not to mention that I'm still working 4 days. Whew! Hold on because the ride is about to get a little bumpy lol. It can be done with a little more organization. If anyone has any ideas to help us keep our sanity, please pass them along. I'm going to try and make some big meals and casseroles to freeze in small containers so my hubby doesn't go hungry. I'm thinking that after a full day of school I won't want to walk in and fix dinner right away. Crock pot meals are going to be a regular too.

I thought about the New Year resolutions many of us make, and then not keep and decided not to do that this year. Instead, I'm making a "to do" list this year. That way I won't feel locked in to something and then disappointed when I've fallen off of the resultion wagon. Instead, I'll try to do my best with the list I have and can amend it throughout the year. Some things on there are ongoing while others may be goals that I've set for myself. I think this way I'll be more successful.

Here we go...

Jennie's To Do List 2009
1. Study hard and do well in my classes
2. To look stunning for LPN pinning and graduation in July
3. Take time for myself each day to clear my mind of all the clutter and to reflect
4. Make more time for my family.
5. Make more time for Joe & I as a couple. The kidsare adults now :)
6. Finish my 1st quilt that I started several years ago and admire it on my bed.
7. Turn off the tv and the music on more.
8. Get up and move!
9. Take a small trip after graduation. We all deserve it.
10. Reconnect with family & friends. With each day that passes by, there are memories to be made and moments to share with someone special in your life.

What goals and plans have you made for yourself this year>

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-05T20:10:00.000-05:00

Locked behind the cemetery gate!

2008-11-03T18:34:00.000-05:00

This post serves two purposes today. It's an answer to todays Two Peas Blogger challenge.
Share your favorite fall activity...
*I really enjoy walking when the leaves are falling and the air is crisp and cool. Cemeteries are a fav place to walk for me. They're so peaceful :)

I've got two stories today that gave my daughter a bit of a chuckle earlier.
Story #1...
I've not been on here to blog much since school got into full swing. Each week is pretty hectic between med-surg, pharmacology and fundamentals classes, discussion plus clinical. When things start to stress me out, I like to go walking, especially in cemeteries. Yeah, I know that sounds creepy. I've enjoyed working on genealogy for a few years and sometimes people that live out of state will ask for one of their ancestors headstone pics in a nearby cemetery. Walking through a cemetery that I've gotten a request from often serves a dual purpose.

Well... last night was one of those stressful evenings. We have three tests this week.. Mon, Wed & Fri. and I needed a short break. I thought I'd stop at the Sunset cemetery on the edge of town and see if I could locate the requests for someone. You have to drive down a side street which has a few houses and then come to the gate. The sign on the gate stated it would be closed from 7pm - 7am. No problem there I thought. It was open and I knew I had plenty of time to find what I needed. After going through the gate, it's approxately 1/10 mile up the road to the cemetery. After walking the cemetery and finding 8 out of the 9 requested stones, I thought I'd head on home and have some dinner. I went back up the road and in the distance I could see that the gate was across the road. Oh boy!

Following a few phone calls, one of which went to central dispatch (Sheriff's dept), help had arrived! Yippee! No... they didn't have a key. The town cop looked at the padlocked chain and said he couldn't get it and he'd have to locate someone with the required key. Off he goes to the first guys house... he's not at home and his neighbor said he was probably at the Eagles. Great! He goes to another guys house who soon gets there to rescue me. Our sons went to school together so I wondered just how long it'd be before the story got out *grins* With a smile on his face, Greg lifts the chain up and over the wooden post that it was "padlocked and chained" to. Oh wonderful!! I could have left on my own free will 30 minutes ago! Now I feel really idiotic lol.

Moral of the story is ya don't always have to have a man rescue you. I was just happy to be out from behind the cemetery gate. Not quite ready to join those inside :)

Story #2...

My hubby has to be at work at 6am EST, so he leaves a little after 5am. You remember how the time changed this weekend :)Well... I guess he didn't change his alarm clock on his side of the bed. I changed mine as I worked Sunday morning and wanted that extra hour of sleep. The ringing of my cell phone woke me up about 5am this morning. It was hubby asking me if I had turned my clock back. I told him that I had and then as I was waking up, realized that he hadn't. I started giggling and he asked if I was laughing at him and I confirmed that I was. In my defense, I was half asleep and stressed already about the test at 8am that morning. I bet he won't forget to switch the clock next time :)

Most of Indiana used to leave their clocks alone and that's a sore issue with alot of people. They should have left the time change issue alone in my opinion as it had worked for years. The Gov that was most recently elected to office (Not my man Mitch!) rallied for daylight savings time to be observed. It has caused so much discussion. It's all for progress I suppose.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow for the candidate of your choice. If you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain :)
Have a great day!

West Side Nut Club Fall Festival

2008-10-22T03:08:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged anything. With school going on and family life, things are pretty busy for me right now. Classes are still going well and keeping me hopping daily. There isn't much time for fun stuff at this point, but we make time for it whenever we have the chance. Thursdays are always good and has become known as "Mamaw Thursday". I've been trying to pick Jonah up on Thursdays from daycare so Papaw and I can spend some time with him. This also allows his Mommy some alone time. It's a win-win situation :)

Recently we were able to get away for an evening at the annual West Side Nut Club Fall Festival. It's supposed to be the second largest street festival in the USA according to my sources :) There are over 120 food booths manned by mostly non-profit organizations selling anything from hot dogs, frog legs, brain sandwiches to a kangurrito burrito. They publish a munchie map from which you can select your chosen food and then locate the booths selling that item. The booths open up for the lunch crowds and you wouldn't believe the people that are there in the middle of the day. It's a hopping place! We went on the Saturday evening and purchased corn on the cob followed by blackberry cobbler a la mode. Hubby got some burgoo and I finished Jonah's hot dog and Bishnu tried the shrimp. I tried the deep fried cookie dough but it as way too rich for me after 2 small bites. Chanel was wanting some polish sausage and I'm not sure if she ever got any or not. I'm looking forward to going next year.

Scrappings-n-Bones

2008-09-23T16:06:00.000-04:00

**Risk for imbalanced nutrition: less than body requirements secondary to starvation related to unwillingness to eat.**

The 2peas challenge for today is: Do you have a local scrap group? If so how often do you meet and where?
*There are actually three groups that I scrap with from time to time. Each of them meet once a month. I don't get to go to them all each month and one of them I haven't been there for quite a long time due to work schedule conflicts. PC Scrappers meet in Petersburg with the date depending on availability of the building. The Oakland City group meets the first Friday night of each month. SISF (Southern Indiana Scrapbook Friends) meets the third Saturday of the month. Everyone there brings in food, snacks, drinks or dessert depending on the first letter of their last name. The food list rotates each month. I miss getting to go to the scraps and hopefully when school is all done, I'll get to relax a little and scrap again.

We've been working diligently on our skills in fundamentals lab so when the time comes, we'll be prepared to go out into the world as well trained LPN's in July. Ooohhh... shots and restraints :)

Yes, I have a pulse!

2008-09-19T13:25:00.000-04:00

School has been keeping me pretty busy, leaving very little time to do anything outside of class. No scrapping, no reading (unless it's nursing related), no photo sessions, and no fun in general lol. Three classes, 2 labs, and one day of clinical=tests, tests, quizzes, quizzes, and paperwork. It will all be worth it when graduation comes around in July. Just have to keep those grades up! We do get a day off next Friday and I'm planning on painting a little and then onto a bit of much needed organization.

I pick Jonah up on Thursdays from childcare and get some Mamaw time with him. I get to do fun things with him like exploring fish noises. Did you know that fish make noises? Well, they do! He amazed his mommy with them last night after the Historical Society meeting. She seemed really impressed :) He's talking so much more now. Seems to be avalanching lol. We were driving around the park to get to the water play area and he saw a red car which prompted a conversation.
It kind of went like this:
Jonah: "Papaws truck."
Me: "It's a car the same color of papaws truck. Papaw is at Uncle Steve's house"
Jonah: "Papaw."
"Doggie."
"Hank."
"Hank needs food."
"Hank needs food."

Kind of neat how he went from thinking about Papaw and then onto feeding Hank. He enjoys feeding Hank when he's visiting our house :)Well off to work tonight and more studying.
Have a great day!

Mums the word...

2008-09-07T00:24:00.000-04:00

Classes are in full swing right now and keeping me pretty busy as I knew they would. Things are going well so far and I hope that they continue that way. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I get through 2 semesters and a summer class for my LPN degree. I haven't had time to do much else besides reading and studying except for a few shifts at work. I've always heard that nurses have a rather strange sense of humor and I think it hit me this afternoon on my way home from work. I stopped at a roadside stand to get a couple of mums for the front of the house. The purple asters lured me in as did the red mums. As I picked up the aster, I noticed that there was some fireflies buzzing around it. Upon looking a bit more closely, it hit me. They were mating on my aster! Not just one pair, but at least 10-15 pair! Oh sheesh... can't they get a buggie room? lol. The lady who runs the stand said that they tend to gravitate toward the asters for some reason. Well, I really wanted the purple one, so in my car it went... fireflies and all.
It's a 30 minute ride home and the whole time I'm wondering how many baby fireflies I'll have next spring lol. I debated whether to take pics or not but then I thought, why not. It is a fact of nature that even bugs need to find some buggy lovin' :) I was a bit taken back though while I was snapping a few pics when I noticed there was a threesome going on. Kinky little things aren't they? lol Should I post the pic? Well, maybe another time or unless I get alot of requests for it. I don't see that happening though :) I will try, however, to snap a few pics without the fireflies adorning most of the lovely flowers. I spotted a couple of other colors that I may bring home tomorrow after work. Thanks for putting up with my silliness :)
Enjoy your day!

School has begun

2008-08-22T06:34:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to share what's blooming in my flower bed right now. The four o'clocks have been blooming profusely all summer and are the brightest pink. They are the best when it's cooler outside and their blooms are open all the way. I'm thinking I'd like to find some new colors of these for next year. I received a start of them several years ago and they just add that "umph!" to the bed. My other little pretty is the Japanese Iris. It has been blooming pretty much all spring and summer too. The delicate blooms only last for one day, but then another one soon takes it's place. My hubby got too close with the weed wacker and I thought the poor little thing was doomed. Well... she came back in all her glory :) Yippee! I think she's a great addition to the bed. I really am enjoying the geranium. A pretty white with a peek of pink in her middle. What a cutie :) My bed is small, but growing :)

School has started for me, so if you think I've gotten lost, that's why. I'm going to be reading alot over the next 3 semesters (fall/spring/summer). Then hopefully with luck and hard work, I'll have my LPN in July 2009. I'll post next week a bit more about school and the shop hop that drew to a close on the 17th. We had a great time hopping and shopping! More on that later though. I hear that school bell tolling from Vincennes and it's a 45 minute drive yet :)

Happy Friday!

Fonts

2008-08-12T08:46:00.000-04:00

I really like fonts. I've downloaded quite a few onto my computer to use either on scrapbook pages or other crafty works of art. This morning I was blog hopping and not sure how I go to where I was... but found a link to this really cute video about fonts. So just for you font freaks, you might want to check out the "Font Conference". Enjoy!

Short post today. I'm actually pulling myself away from the computer and getting some housework and Olympic watchng done before going to my paid job :)
Have a great day!

Olympics

2008-08-11T21:14:00.000-04:00

How many of you have been watching the Olympics? We've been watching them every chance we get at our house. Hubby and I watched the opening ceremony at Chanel's house. What a show! It was beautiful and so wonderful. I've been watching alot of the beach volleyball, both men's and women's. The US men's #1 team was great this morning! We've also been watching the swimming events. How great all of the athletes have been doing :) We really started watching the Olympics when I was in the hospital after having Chanel. She was born July 30th, 1984. They were just getting started while we were there. When Bret came along, he wasn't born in an Olympic year (January 22, 1987). Tanner came along on August 19, 1988 and the Olympics were just ending while we were there. So during two hospital stays, the Olympics have kept me entertained... along with some beautiful babies :) It's kind of become a tradition for our family to watch them.

The 2 peas challenge for today is: Share on your blog someone you look at for inspiration. And why you find them inspiring....
*Alot of my friends are inspiration for me without even knowing it. I can be a very indecisive person at times and some of my friends have no qualms about decision making. They consider the options and then it's a done deal. I have to think about it a few times, even the simplest of things lol. I might even change my mind even then :)
*The athletes that train for the Olympics are also an inspiration. The time and sweat that they put into training to be the very best that they can be has to be an inspiration to us all. When I really need to get out and walk off the pounds and then don't because of this reason or that one... look at what all they do each and every day. Wow!

New Zealand update:
Bret and Stacy, along with a couple of friends, drove to Mt. Hutt to go sledding this past weekend. The mountain is lovely with all of the snow. And thanks to Stacy, I swiped another picture from her to put on here. Thanks Stacy!

Shop Hop

2008-08-10T11:20:00.000-04:00

A few local scrapbook shops got together for a first ever S. Indiana/N. Kentucky Shop Hop. The girls at The Doodlebug in Jasper got it going and it's looking like fun. It started on Friday the 8th and runs through the 17th. The idea is to purchase a passport for $5 and visit the participating stores. Each store stamps your passport when you visit. The stores are offering a make-n-take and a drawing within their own store. If you visit all 8 stores, you are put into the drawing for the grand prize... a scrapbook weekend retreat for you and a friend at Cropical Paradise.

On Friday I visited two stores that I frequent on a regular basis. The first stop was to The Doodlebug in Jasper. Their store has really grown alot in the last few years and the staff is always so friendly. The make-n-take was a card using the zutter and perfect pearls. Melanie also made refreshments which were very yummy. I then made a trip to Evansville to Schmitt Photo. Their make-n-take was a cute little notepad holder featuring a Hawaiian penguin. I get alot of my prints made at Schmitt.

On Saturday morning, I met up with a few friends for a trip to the Bloomington and Nashville stores. Sandy and her daughter Molly, Mary and I left Washington around 8:30 for the trip. After a few turn-arounds and calling for directions, we made it to our first destination in Bloomington, Bloomin' Scrapbooks & Stamps. They carry alot of items that we can't find in our area and I tried to restrain my spending knowing that I had other stores to visit that day. But I will be back :) They gave us a kit for the make-n-take that we could do on our own time at home. Our next stop was in Nashville, IN. It's a very lovely area with lots of small shops all throughout the town. Of 4 scrapbookers, how many cameras do you think we brought? One! Sheesh. I thought about getting mine out of my car when I met up with them, but no... I was thinking that we wouldn't have time for pictures. Always, always bring your camera lol.

On to Nashville! The first stop in Nashville was to Wishful Thinking. This was a cute little store with a wide variety of stamps and other items for altered projects. The make-n-take we made was a cute little card using a transparency. I also liked this shop and will make a return visit. The next shop in Nashville was to Paper Trix. They also had alot of stamping supplies and many items for altered projects. Their make-n-take was to stamp and then use either Twinkling H2O Watercolors or Spica glitter markers. I used the Spica markers and loved them :)

I'll post pictures of the make-n-takes after I've visited all of the stores. My little digital camera has been hijacked by Chanel lol. My shop hopping continues on Tuesday!

The 2 peas challenge for today is: When you go on vacation and take lots of pics... Do you try to scrap them all or just some?
*I try to scrap some of the best pictures and cover the highlights of the vacation. One way to include alot of pictures on a lo is to use mini pictures, like in a mosiac.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-06T14:40:00.000-04:00

Words that define us

2008-08-04T11:11:00.000-04:00

The two peas challege for today is: Close your eyes, open a dictionary, and point to a word. Does your word mean anything special to you?
*Now this is really weird. I opened the Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary with my eyes closed and selected a word on the right-hand page, first column. The word that my finger was on, was..... lens. How funny! Does that mean it was a good thing that I bought a new lens last week? I'll take it as a positive sign :) The word right below that was lensman: photographer. I think most people that enjoy taking pictures could define themselves as a "lens". It's what we envsion before we even put the camera up to our eye for that shot that makes us a lens.

Have you ever thought about the words that define us? If you had to select 10 words that you feel define you as a person, what would you pick? Now I'm going to have to think about this one...
1. mother
2. giving
3. impatient
4. caring
5. loving
6. understanding
7. photographer
8. learning
9. disorganized
10. flower

Today is my day off and I have a few plans. I had "planned" on getting up by 8:30... that didn't happen. It was almost 10am when I rolled out of bed this morning. It felt really nice too. I've got plans for dishes, laundry and some general cleaning. Not too much, mind you :) It is my day off... I would like to make it to the library for a little dead people searching aka genealogy researching. Once school starts, I won't be able to do much of that.

My work schedule is finally taken care of for when school starts back up on the 18th. I may have upset someone about the new hours... well ok I know that I did. Not that I meant to or anything. This person already has a 40 hour a week job plus covers a few open shifts at the place I work and then waitresses some. The shifts she has been doing are open shifts, which means if someone wants to take them as a permanent shift and it's ok'd by the company, then they are no longer open. Three of the shifts I took were open ones plus the one I already had to make me 32 hours per week. This is plenty with my class schedule. The open ones were all on the weekend which also works better for school and studying. Now it seems I upset this person by "taking her hours", as she stated. I really didn't plan on upsetting her, but she had the opportunity to make them her permanent shifts, but she didn't want that. Why can't life be more simple? lol

Festivals

2008-08-03T13:52:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again... for the Jasper Strassenfest, that is. We spent several hours in Jasper walking around and enjoying the day. They are restoring a passenger train to make runs from Jasper to French Lick. It should be ready to travel in the spring. They did have a short ride available for Strassenfest and we took that opportunity. Joe, Chanel, Jonah and myself climbed aboard the Spirit of Jasper for a ride. They had some stringed instruments for our entertainment whic only added to the rides relaxation. Jonah seemed to really enjoy his adventure on the "choo" and I'm looking forward to when they start making full runs next spring.

Another event that was happening this weekend, which we didn't make it to, was the Zoar Mosquito Fest. This takes place at the small community of Zoar each year. They have a stationary parade where everything is standing still, the skinniest legs contest and wiffle ball tournament. The UMC church serves chicken dinners and there is usually a band for entertainment. It's a great gathering for people in the community.

The two peas challenge for today is: Do you enjoy creating layouts, altered items or cards. I would have to say layouts, but altered items and cards are fun also.

Busy Busy

2008-07-31T19:25:00.000-04:00

I had a quite a busy day today. I drove to Owensboro to a camera shop in search of some good quality film to shoot at a couple of weddings. Now, I haven't shot any weddings before, so this could get interesting. And since I haven't taken the plunge into the digital world yet, that just ups the fun factor. The camera shop I used to frequent doesn't do retail any more. He and his wife retired, but they still do camera repair. It was just an hours drive away, which is close in terms of this area. The next closest is the place I went today, and another one in totally the opposite direction. I returned home with a bag full of film and a new lens :) This little Minolta 50mm 1.7 was calling my name.

Today's two peas challenge is: 10 unfinished projects hanging over my head
1. Finish our Caribbean cruise album from 2006
2. Work on and complete Jonah's chipboard car album
3. Work on and complete Jonah's 8x8 baby album
4. Complete cleaning out and organizing the scrapbook/genealogy area
5. Scan and organize old family photos and put on cds
6. Scan and organize pictures of our family
7. Organize photos and negatives using archival materials
8. Get everything ready for a yard sale and then have it
9. Paint scrapbook/genealogy room
10. Make time to relax and enjoy one day doing nothing before school starts

Birthday Girl!

2008-07-30T11:48:00.000-04:00

24 years ago today at 4:09pm, a precious baby girl named Chanel entered the world. She's grown up alot in those years and I'm proud of the young woman that she has become. She's a beautiful, loving, thoughtful, smart, considerate, caring, adventurous person. What else could a parent ask for? I didn't really have to worry about the choices that she made throughout school. Her head is screwed on pretty well :) She was, and is, always respectful of others, her parents included. Although, she always seemed to persuade her brother into helping with cleaning up her room... with the promise of helping him when they were done with her room. I think she owes him some serious cleaning time :) When we brought home younger siblings, there wasn't any jealousy. Instead she was a little mother to them. I knew that one day she would make a great mom, which she is. If I could be like someone else, I think I would have to pick my daughter as a role model.

Happy Birthday Chanelly Belly!
**************
The two peas challenge for today is: What is your favorite size to scrap?

I've pretty much done 12x12 los all along. I've got an album or two of 8x8 that I want to do in the near future. I like the roominess of the 12x12 and that you can fit quite abit on there. I do have a couple of 8.5x11 albums going for some people that I work with.

Random musings

2008-07-27T13:59:00.000-04:00

4th of July parade
Jonah turned 2 in May and he's growing and maturing by leaps and bounds. One of his favorite people, besides mom and dad, is Papaw. You can tell he thinks the world of him and I think the feeling is quite mutual. He's talking alot more now which is really fun :) Learning two languages slowed has him down a little bit, but just for a short time. He's catching up quickly :) He's such a sweet little boy and we wouldn't trade him for anything. He reminds you that there are good things in this world and it makes everything worthwhile.

News from down under
I've swiped a couple of pics again courtesy of Stacy. Thanks Stacy! She and Bret went to Port Hills near Christchurch. They rode the gondola up and then hiked around quite abit. The area is beautiful from what they said. Bret still hasn't sighted a kiwi yet. The animal... not the fruit :) They did encounter some sheep while hiking that day.

There is so much to see and explore down there. I hope they get the chance to experience as much of it as they can.

Just wasn't meant to be...

2008-07-23T20:33:00.000-04:00

... for me to have a good day. This first picture here is from story #2 after I picked up Bret's car. I was awaiting the knights to return with the car trailer. I think my car is stalking me. She looks kinda sad don't you think?

I just knew it was going to be "one of those days". Do you ever get that feeling in the morning and then that's exactly what happens? I was just lounging away checking e-mails and other important stuff and saw that I got my statement from my bank. I open it up and cruise through the various debit charges and there are 3 that I don't recognize. What!! What the heck is this book club for kids and skype?? I print out my statement and start checking this out. First I call the bank and talk to a very helpful guy named Nathan. He gives me a phone number for the book club which I promptly call.

***After the brief conversation and her apologizing profusely, she tells me the books have already been shipped and to just keep them when they arrive. I know some people would, but I wouldn't feel right about that so I tell her that I'll send them back when they arrive. This one was $16.80, which is small from what I've heard about these hacked charges.

***Now onto the other charges, which the hacker into my account needed two of those it seems. $18x2=$36. I found a website for this skype and after awhile find a number to call, but that's just if you bought one of their products. She was kind enough to give me the email addy for customer service. Now I don't know about you all... but if I can't resolve something while talking to an actual human being, then I'm a bit worried about what the outcome will be. So, I send along the e-mail like a good little consumer and start the waiting game with them. The bank assures me that I'll get my money back. That's one card that got cut up so they can't get the rest of my hard earned money.

And if that wasn't entertainment enough for you, the real begins! I was on my way to work, just traveling down the road singing along to the radio and the tachometer reves up pretty high. I let up from the gas and then press down lightly with the same affect. Not good. I get off of the highway and call hubby. Luckily he's with his brother who is a mechanic. After waiting about a 1/2 hour with only one truck pulling over to check on me, they arrive. We get the car back to his garage and the car doctor starts his examination. It's not looking good... sounds like transmission problems to him. Transmission problems=$$$$.

I did, however, take a few pics while relaxing in the car awaiting my knights in a shining red Ford 4x4 to arrive. My views from a stranded car...
To the left... cornfields and a highway
Straight ahead... coal mine buildings
To the right... a trailer and Case equipment
...and off she goes with hubby and his brother...aka the knights in a shining red Ford 4x4

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day :)

I haven't gotten lost :)

2008-07-21T23:40:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything and I really am still alive :) Our ds and his gf arrived safely in Christchurch, NZ but without their luggage. The flight from O'Hare was delayed 2 hours and so they barely made it to their connecting flight in LA. From there it was onto a 12 hour flight to Auckland, NZ and then another couple hours to their final destination of Christchurch. It was 5 days before Bret got his luggage and Stacy received hers a day or so before that. I'm glad that he's a boy scout and used to roughing it lol. They spent the first week or so exploring their new home for the next semester and then checked into their classes. According to Bret, mullets are on the comeback. Ugh! He said alot of people wear their clothes really tight there, tighter than he would be comfortable with. Bret enjoys being "comfy in a 21 year old kinda way" :)
They made it!
Gorgeous
Thanks to Stacy for the pics that I hijacked from her facebook page :)

While I've bee neglecting my blog, I have been traipsing through some cemeteries snapping pictures of headstones for people. I take headstone pics for people that are working on their family history and want copies for their records. One of the sites that I'm registered on is findagrave.com and the other is RAOGK (Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness). Findagrave is mainly requests for headstone pictures, while at RAOGK you search for someone that volunteers in the county in which you're researching. Click on the "making a request" and when it takes you to that page, you'll need to scroll all the way to the bottom to locate a volunteer. Each volunteer has specific things that they will research for you and many ask reimbursement for costs, such as copies and postage.

I tell ya, finding dead people can be very addicting! Actually, believe it or not... I find it to be very relaxing. Sometimes I find myself calling out to a stone that I'm looking for.
"Oh Mr. Sinclair... where are you hiding at?"
And the good thing is that he doesn't talk back to me. If he did, I'd run as fast as my chubby legs will carry me lol.
Until tomorrow :)

Scrapbook supplies

2008-07-02T09:41:00.000-04:00

The challenge at 2peas today is..
What scrapping supplies can you not live without and why?
*I don't have to have all the fancy smancy tools if it came right down to it. But I'd like to have some of them :P I guess if I really had to pick a few, it would have to be a good trimmer/cutter, adhesive, scissors, marking pencil, and some good cardstock. These are just the basics and truthfully I could get by with just them if I had to.

Our son and his gf are flying out to New Zealand today for a semester to study abroad. I'm going to try and not cry too much at the airport lol. I'm excited for them and will miss them both greatly while they're gone. It's going to be a long semester until we get to see him again. Please keep them in your thoughts as they travel.

Today...

2008-06-30T11:54:00.000-04:00

is Chanel and Bishnu's 1st wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary! Anyone that has gone through a child getting married knows the emotional roller coaster that you go through. You remember everything as it flashes by before during and after the ceremony. From the time they made their entrance into this world, all of the firsts they had, grade school, and then high school. You remember the ups and downs, good times and the not so good ones too. All the while you pray that you are doing things right and that they will become responsible, loving, and caring individuals. You want to have them little again but then you are proud of the young person they have become. I think it's especially hard for parents of the bride. I don't mean to sound sexist by any means, I think it just seems that way. I know that one day when our son gets married, it'll be emotional also. What can I say? I love my kids! It's so hard seeing yout little bird get wings and actually leave the nest. And yes... I cried! Shhh... don't tell anyone lol. That day was beautiful! We had so many people helping us and it turned out wonderful :) I'm posting a few pics from that special day. One of my favorites is of Chanel by the window.

Maggie, Chanel and Breanne

Chanel and her Daddy
******
The challenge at 2peas today is about what you're planning on doing the rest of the summer. Our son and his gf are flying out to New Zealand on Wednesday for a semester of study abroad. I'm so excited for him but will miss him terribly. He's not able to come home alot during the semesters he's been at Purdue, but it's only 3 1/2 hours drive away. I know that when he leaves on Wed, it'll be quite awhile before he'll be back. I'll really be experiencing the empty nest syndrome by December. On an up note, he'll have the whole month of December before classes resume at Purdue :)

Vacation spot

2008-06-26T14:52:00.000-04:00

Today's 2pea challenge is to write about our favorite vacation spot. Hubby and I went on a cruise to the Caribbean 2 years ago for our 25th anniversary. One of the ports that we visited was St. Thomas. While on our cruise, I really wanted to snorkel in the beautiful blue toned waters of the Caribbean. We had booked a snokeling excursion over on St. John. The instructor suggested against snorkeling since the water was far from calm. And since we weren't experienced snorkelers, we opted to relax on the beach and swim. It was absolutely beautiful and very peaceful there. The first picture is what we saw from the bus on the way to the beach. The second picture is a shot from down on the beach. We have talked about going back at some point. Maybe not taking a cruise, but to just fly down to one of the islands and stay a few days at each of the islands that make up the VI. You can easily forget everyday worries and relax in the beauty that is the Caribbean.

Of lemons and lemonade

2008-06-23T14:36:00.000-04:00

Challenge: Post one of your favorite warm weather recipes.

*This is a simple lemonade recipe that our family has enjoyed for years. It goes fast when we make it :) I use a wear-ever juicer that was my mom's for the oranges and lemons.

*Grandma's Lemonade*
3 oranges
3 lemons
1 C sugar (or less)

Juice the oranges and lemons and put into a 2 qt pitcher. Add sugar and water. Stir.

Yummy!

A few random pics from this weekend.

Yeah for Friday... and paychecks

2008-06-20T10:54:00.000-04:00

We get paid every other Thursday where I work and I think that you should be able to count on that little bit of satisfaction knowing that your check will be there. I walked down to the post office to get the mail yesterday... no check. What?? No check! Called this office, that office and this office again. "That" (aka regional) office was slow getting our paychecks mailed out to "this office" and in the mail to the ones that don't pick it up at "this" office, like me. After working midnight-8am this morning, I checked the mail when I pulled into town. And there it was! The little piece of paper that will allow me to put the $$$$'s of gas ($4.09/gallon) into my car so that I can use 1 gallon going to work and 1 gallon to return back home.

I took some random pics on the way home from work this morning with my poor inexpensive little Olympus digital.

These are pics of some receding water from the river near Petersburg.

wild garlic

It's not too late to participate in the WSW stamping boards over at 2Peas. I haven't made any cards the last two days, but going to try and do a few later on this evening or maybe at work tonight.

Challenge~ Do you feel that sometimes you get in over your head with things your creating?
*I know I do! lol There are times when I want to try something new and not quite sure how to do it. I tend to be a little impatient at times and then I get stuck :)

Feeling lazy

2008-06-19T10:30:00.000-04:00

I have felt pretty lazy all week. Maybe it's due to the extra hours I'm putting in at work. My mojo has been kidnapped and I want it back! lol I wasn't taking any summer classes for a reason. I wanted to spend some time doing things around the house that are way past due. No luck there it seems. People are hired but they don't stay long. It's a challenging job, not so much physically... more challenging mentally. No wonder my mind is so messed up lol. I've told them that I'm dropping the extra shifts when July comes to an end. Now whether they paid attention and listened, oh well. *grins* We'll see...

I think I like this card making thing. After buying 3 sympathy cards the other day and paying over $10 for them, I went into shock. 2Peas has been having WSW going on this week and there are some truly talented ladies over there on the stamping boards. I've been in awe at what they're able to create :) My dd and I have stamps and not sure why we haven't utilized them for cards before now is beyond me. Well, we've made a few but not on a regular basis. Times are a changing. I don't have alot to blog about today, so I'll bore you with a few cards that I posted on there.

Mushy stuff

2008-06-17T13:34:00.000-04:00

Challenge~ Lets share one of your happiest memories with your kids and school.....
*I've had alot of happy memories with my kids and hope to have many more. They were both involved in scouts all the way to the end and both received the highest rank they could, a Gold Award and Eagle Scout. Both were involved in various sports all through school. We had basketball, track, cross country and swimming covered between them. I had a saxophone player and drummer in marching band, so lots of good memories there. I'm so proud of what each of them have done in their lives and what they have yet to accomplish. I see them each going far with their dreams and making many more memories along the way.

Made another card for the WSW Challenges on 2Peas.

WSW

2008-06-16T15:17:00.000-04:00

Challenge~ Do you work better under pressure?
*Sometimes I do work better under pressure but most of the time I don't. I'm a lifelong procrastinator. I have to admit though, I already have a baby shower card completed except for the wording on the inside. Shhhh! Don't tell anyone or I'll lose my procrastinators license lol. Now the shower isn't until July 5th so I'm pretty proud of myself :) I'm participating in some of the challenges over at 2Peas. I have a few others started, but here is the card I made earlier today.

Life Lessons

2008-06-12T10:28:00.000-04:00

Challenge~ What is the greatest lesson you've learned so far in your life
*Probably one of the best things that I've learned is it's not what you have in your life but what you do with your life. I recently read a book called "A Short Guide to a Happy Life" by Anna Quindlen and I would certainly recommend it. Much of what she says in it is true. She tells the reader to "get a life". To "Turn off the cell phone. Turn off your regular phone, for that matter. Keep still. Be present." People always seem to be running around trying to get to that better place. What is that "better place" and where is it? I have to admit that I've been guilty of the same thing. I work too much and don't get to spend time with my family as much as I'd like. Things can change in the blink of an eye and we really should take stock in what we have and enjoy the time with those that we love because you never know when it will all change. "Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people that you love, and love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work." I wish that I could have one more day with those that are no longer here. Some have been taken as a result of illness while others were sudden. Even when someone has an illness and you know what the inevitable is going to be, we don't always accept what's happening and miss opportunities with them. I'm guilty of that myself. Try to change what you can, while you can. (Quotes in italics are from the book.)
Grandma Mary, Jon and I

I show up. I try to listen. I try to laugh.

This-n-That-n-Ticks

2008-06-11T13:40:00.000-04:00

Fence

Last Saturday Chanel and I went through the yard sale loop out at White Oak, which is a serene unspoiled area in our county. There was a house that we came upon, which at first sight, caught our breath. We both were a bit surprised and wished we had a camera with us. Did we?? Not a chance! So, I ventured out this morning in search of our intriguing residence. Now remember, the first glance kind of caught us off guard, but after we approached, (slowly I might add), we were surprised at the peacefulness of the area.
White Oak Riviera

I was driving back home and happened upon something pink almost hidden by the trees. I grabbed both cameras and trudged through the brush to locate this loveliness. There was a burned out house and in the back along the fencerow... a beautiful pink rosebush.
Pink Rosebush

After taking several pictures, I glanced down and saw it. A TICK! There's only one more thing besides heights that I'm afraid of and that would be TICKS! I'm glad that no one saw me because I was jumping around trying to get it off of me. YUCK! I go straight home and strip down... who cares if the neighbors across the street see me lol. Well, they're on vacation so they still have their eyesight :) I found a few more and promptly put them out of my misery. *grins* The story behind that is when I was in brownies, our service unit was having day camp at a new location, West Boggs Lake. Well anyway, that year the ticks were very bad and they hadn't sprayed the new recreation area well. Every day I would come home from camp and my mom would have me strip down on the back porch (enclosed area). She would pull tick after tick off of me. To this day I'm petrified of the boogers. I won't touch them at all lol. Real mature for someone that's 46 huh? lol.

My Japanese Iris gave me another beautiful bloom this morning.
Japanese Iris

I took these pictures one morning last week out near White Oak. The blackberry bushes and honeysuckle are blooming. I love the smell of honeysuckle and I can't wait to eat blackberries :)
Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle w/dew

Blackberry

Blackberry

Almost time for work so that's all for now. I sure hope that I don't find anymore ticks :) So far I've found 4 :(

Hot Hot Hot!

2008-06-09T11:46:00.000-04:00

Did I ever mention that I'm the Queen of Procrastination? Well, I am :) I waited too long to thin out/divide my Four O'clocks and now some of them are almost 3 feet tall. My plans were to deal with them so that I could raise that bed slightly and then work around to the side of the house with the flower bed. It looks like I'm now just adding the block edging to that section and will have to raise that area either in the fall or spring. I just have to remind myself to get wire to stake them up before they fall over. I did get some starts out of there to share with a few people before this mornings heat sent me inside. I took a few pics of a couple of blooms going on in my garden/menagerie/mess right now. I've had my clematis for several years and it's not looking too good this year. The yellow flower... well, I've forgotten what it is exactly :( If anyone recognizes this lovely, please let me know :) The Japanese Iris is one of the new additions to my bed this year. This is it's first bloom for me! As you can tell, I haven't even mulched around it yet. I'm getting there :) **Warning! Pictures taken with my inexpensive $69 Olympus FE-210 digital camera.**

Clematis

Yellow flower

Japanese Iris

I received my first order from scrapbookpictures.com the other day. I just ordered a couple of pics to see how they would be before placing a larger order. These pics I took in photo class with my Canon EOS Rebel T2 SLR and developed/printed myself. I scanned in the print and this is what I got :) The size of these prints are 8x12.

Willing models for these photos were Chanel w/Jonah and Bret in a tree at Sugar Ridge.

Challenge~ Why is creativity important?
*Creativity sometimes lets me vent :) It's also forgiving to those of us that aren't very creative. We can say something like... "I was just trying out something new to see how it looks".

The Weekend

2008-06-08T15:10:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my daughter and I went in a yard sale loop. We spent more time talking to hubbys cousins that we ran into than actually browsing lol. That wasn't a bad thing since we don't see them very often and needed to catch up. We did come across a few interesting places while out. We were in dd's car so I didn't have my camera with us. I'm feeling compelled to go back and take a pic of the unique house we came upon.

All of us went out to eat breakfast this morning before our son and his gf had to get back home. They're leaving on July 2nd to study abroad in New Zealand. I'm so excited for them :)

Challenge~ What are you scrapping plans today?
I have to work a double starting at 4pm this afternoon and ending at 8am tomorrow morning. I'll take a few pages to work on for later this evening. I won't get much done, but something is better than nothing these days. It's hard to find the time to create these days. I'm not taking any summer classes and you'd think that there would be some more time to scrapbook. I'm not real self-motivated sometimes and need that extra nudge to get things going lol.

Errand filled date afternoon

2008-06-06T21:51:00.000-04:00

I had my date day with Jonah a bit earlier than normal. We headed to Evansville for a day of errands and half way through we drove over into Henderson, KY to get gas. Gas in my neck of the woods is still $3.95 and in Evansville, IN it was $3.81. So as anyone from SW IN knows, if you cross that "money saving bridge", you most likely will get the gas even cheaper in Henderson. And sure enough! Gas was $3.73 at Swifty. Plus, if you pay cash and pump it yourself there, take off another 5 cents. Making gas $3.68 per gallon. I couldn't pass up filling my tank up. It's sad when we get so excited for a gas price of $3.68 isn't it?? Sheesh! After filling up, we stopped to get some lunch and then drove up the John James Audubon State Park. Jonah played with his tractors and watched the birds more than he ate. The temperature was hot this afternoon, but I did get him to eat a few fries. Really nutritious huh? On the way back to his house, we stopped to do a little "Big Lots" shopping. He was such a big help!

Today's Challenge is~ What are your favorite pages to work on?
*I would say that the heritage pages are my favorite to work on. I'm slowly putting together albums for my kids from some of the old photos we have. It's kind of a history of the family also.

Friends

2008-06-04T12:26:00.000-04:00

Today has been one of those lazy days. After working a double over the weekend, I'm just caught up with my sleep yet. I'm working this evening but then off all day tomorrow. You know how it is... the more that you laze around, the less likely to get up and moving. I'm going to crack out my zune and take a quick walk around town to jump start some energy :) Last year I had taken off 35 pounds but a few of them crept back on after my Curves closed abruptly. I mean, the ladies who worked there were told on a Saturday that they wouldn't be reopening on Monday. Talk about a shock! I pretty much stopped working out like I had been and a few of those very evil pounds found me again. I'm trying to remedy that with walking several times a week and getting up from the couch to get moving. I think that working in my flower beds will help also :) Hubbys class reunion is the end of the month and hoping by then I'll be back at where I was before the evil pounds came back :)

Nurse Julie getting pinned 2008

Challenge~ What is the essential core of friendship for you?
*Acceptance without judgment. The truth be known, I'm pretty shy around people unless I know them well. Alot of people that I've met as an adult wouldn't believe this and some have thought I'm loopy when I've talked about my shyness. But all through school I would avoid talking to people as much as possible. I did have friends that I hung out with, but I had known them for awhile already. I still have those times but I'm working on that. One of my best friends, Julie, is one of those people who wants you to see the positive in yourself as much as she can. She's one of the most "real" people that I know. I was really blessed when she came into my life. The pic of Julie isn't very good. We were in a dimly lit auditorium and not very close. Another of my good friends, Sandy M is one of the most wonderful people that I know. I'm also blessed to have her in my life. This lady has gone through so much in her life but you rarely hear her complain about any of it. She continues to go on and is there ready to help others as much as she can. Her life is full to the brim and then some, but she always has time for a new project for scouts, the historical society or one of the many other interests in her life. Sandy is also Jonah's day care provider.

Monday Madness

2008-06-02T11:05:00.001-04:00

I really should be outside working on the flower bed, but I just can't get motivated this morning. I think it's because I'd have to make a special trip into the next town to get dirt. And with the gas prices as they are... well, I'm thinking that on my way home from work in the morning I'll stop then and get it. So there goes my Monday plans... all shot up with holes lol. Then another plan... finish the scrap closet. Yay! No... I want to change the paint color in there since I want to paint the room itself and the color in there now isn't staying. Can we say complicated! Sheesh! Ok... I'm thinking organizing is always a good thing and maybe I'll work on a scrapbook page so that my day won't totally be unproductive :) I did finish the book "The Rescue" by Nicholas Sparks. That was my first one by him and I really enjoyed it. The next book that I'm going to be reading is a long one. "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon is alot of pages lol.

On a positive note... I won a prize from Yellow Fence! They have some really cute shirts and tote bags on their site. You should check them out. I visited a link that was on their site, scrapbookpictures.com and now patiently waiting for my order to arrive. I only ordered it on Friday. I'll post them when they arrive.

Challenge~ What is your greatest joy about scrapbooking?
*I really enjoy spending time with my friends when we get together and scrapbook. But I would say that getting out the older photographs and reliving the memories of those past times is what I enjoy the most.
Have a great monday!

Long day comes to an end

2008-05-31T23:03:00.001-04:00

It's been a long day. I pulled a double shift and then went to a graduation party for hubby's niece. The last week I've spent some time reading several of the blogs here in the challenge postings. There are more than a few writers that I think are closet comedians :) Alot have been educational and all of them are interesting. I enjoy reading them all. I tell my daughter about some of them that I think she'd like to read and she shares some with me that she finds. No, we aren't stalkers! We're blog-hoppers :) You know you read someones blog, then click on a link they have on theirs to someone else's and so on...

I did get one of the front flower beds completed yesterday. My plants seem happier already with new dirt to stretch their roots out in :) Its dimensions are about 9x2. I'll begin working with the bed on the other side of the front steps Monday morning and finish it Tuesday or maybe Wednesday, weather permitting. That section is about 20x2 and I'll probably do it over 2 mornings since the plants that need to be uprooted are more established. That will just leave the right side of the house for the following week. I'll post before and after pics when I'm done.
Dirt is good!

Potpourri

2008-05-30T12:25:00.000-04:00

I'm still working on the flower bed. I got a little distracted yesterday and only had time to get the edging. The distraction was a good one though. I stopped in to visit Chanel & family. Hubby ended up coming over and we stayed for dinner. It was nice that Bishnu was off last night too. Getting ready to go and do one side of the bed. The other side may have to wait until next week. I'm out of dirt... imagine that... and won't have enough to complete the other side. I've got some Four O'clocks that are getting a good thinning. There's a spot that I'm going to transplant some too and then take some to a friend. I'll have to try and remember to stake them as they tend to really grow and then at the first good rain, tumble over onto the ground. I'm surprised hubby hasn't complained about having to lift them up to mow underneath them lol.

It Friday and that means it's my day to pick Jonah up from daycare :) I look forward to getting my time with him.

Challenge~ Find a quotation that moves you and write it down. Why does it move you?
*I actually have two and they're both from Dr. Seuss. He was one smart cookie :) I think they both help me to keep things in check and on the path that I want to go.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.” Dr. Seuss

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss

Flower beds

2008-05-29T10:14:00.000-04:00

I've got several plans for today, one of which includes redoing the front flower bed. This means a trip to Menards for edging and dirt to raise it. Then lovingly removing the plants, adding the dirt and then replacing them back into their new home. I really haven't done much to the beds other than planting a few things over the years. This year I decided this was the year to revamp what used to be a nice flower area. A local gardening club has an annual sale of plants which are mostly perennials and I thought that would give me a good start.

Challenge~ Share with us something you collect and what got you started collecting these items...
*I collect old postcards from the town that I grew up in (Washington, IN) and the area where I live now (Winslow, IN). I have them in a box for now, but looking for a way to display them better.

Horse races in Petersburg, IN

Searching for bodies after the flood in Washington, IN

It's Wednesday, what can I say

2008-05-28T10:40:00.000-04:00

Challenge~ One thing you must accomplish today is...
*I'll be trying to organize part of my scraproom. Tomorrow I have plans on putting up the shelves in the closet for my scrap stuff :) Yay! I'm really tired today and might take a nap also... but not until I have worked on the scrap stuff for a bit and watched my "All My Children". I have 4 hours until I have to leave for work. I hope that I can do it! lol

Sunday Collage

2008-05-25T13:23:00.000-04:00

I'm doing a little catching up with this post. I did alot of running around yesterday looking for flowers for some special graves. After all of the miles I drove and stores visited... I had to make do with what was available. The place I used to get them no longer carry that type, which didn't please me at all. I thought wally-world carried everything lol. I did actually look at the challenge for Saturday, just didn't get it posted. I guess my fingers just couldn't find the "publish" button lol. Taking that opportunity now :)

Challenge~ A trip to the Art Museum makes me feel...
*Art museums make me feel inspired. On our trip to Chicago, we went to a few art museums. I felt inspired to be more creative myself. Well, as much as I am capable of :)

Chanel and family are back from Minnesota:) They had a nice visit with Bishnu's dad, stepmom and sister. She's trying to get her blog set up and when she does, I'll link her on here too. She's a picture-taker/scrapper too :) I'm sharing a couple of pics from Bishnu's graduation that took place a few weeks ago. The pic of Chanel and Jonah I had printed in b&w and not sure which I like better, b&w or color.

Bishnu is a happy graduate

Jonah and Bishnu

Chanel and Jonah

I'm working in a few hours and then tomorrow we're having a belated birthday party for Jonah. He actually turned 2 on May 5th. With everything going on... his daddy's graduation... their moving into their new home... it was hard to get time to celebrate. Tomorrow is Jonah's day though :)

Yay it's Friday :)

2008-05-23T15:52:00.000-04:00

I'm on a roll... blogging more than once a week. I'm spending today getting caught up on some small projects, one of which is organizing pics on the computer. I've picked up 10 rolls of film in the last week and now going through them to order prints. Here a are few random pics for a random Friday.

yellow flowers

Jonah and the wooly worm

fence row

Chanel

The first pic is of a field filled with those pretty yellow flowers, although I don't think farmers like them much. I stopped and shot a few frames while the goats across the road watched with curiosity. I shot them too but think they're on the last roll that I still need to develop. The next three shots are from when we went to Lincoln State Park. They were having a special weekend where more than 4300 girl and boy scouts camped for the weekend. This year is the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincolns birth. He spent several years growing up in southern Indiana. The scouts participated in activities and hike the trails. My daughter and I are both lifetime members of Girl Scouts, so we thought we'd go and hike the trails with Jonah. He had a great time! He found a wooly worm and spent 5 minutes checking it out and talking to it. Then promptly stood up.... and stomped it. Yuk! Poor little wooly worm. The last picture is of my beautiful daughter, Chanel (aka Jonah's mommy). She's such a wonderful, caring person whom I respect greatly.

Now for today's challenge.
Challenge~ Friday makes me...
*Friday makes me want to organize, not that I always do much of it. I'm a procrastinator, but I'm doing better :) I'm bad about not putting things up right away, which makes things worse. Fridays are going to be my days for trying to organize and take a stand against clutter. Wish me luck!

My hands

2008-05-22T22:17:00.000-04:00

Challenge~ Look at your hands. Why are you grateful for them?
*My hands show their age... sometimes seeming older than they really are. I'm grateful for them because they helped me to learn about things when I was young by exploring. When I got older, they helped me to play an instrument and to hold books to help expand my mind. As I became a mother, they enabled me to care for my children. Comforting them and holding their hands in mine. As my mom became more ill, they were there to help me take care of her until she left us. They now hold my grandson's little hand as he sees and learns something new every day. I'm grateful that my hands have been able to help me do such wonderful things.

2 Peas Challenge and Jonah

2008-05-21T22:21:00.000-04:00

2 Peas Wednesday Challenge:
Challenge~ Why is creativity important?
*I don't think of myself as a very artsy/creative person. Keeping that in mind... I would say that creativity is important to me as it allows me to be someone that I'm normally not. I look at the many talented artists, whatever their medium is, and am astounded by what they can create. To some people, creativity comes naturally. Then there are the rest of us that art takes a bit more thought and time. Creativity is an outlet that we can let ourselves run free and are allowed to "color outside of the lines".

Jonah is 2

Chicago Art Trip

2008-05-18T14:35:00.001-04:00

The makings of a beautiful day

2008-05-18T11:14:00.000-04:00

I have some of the new perennials in the ground that I bought on Friday. I still need to finish the front flower beds. I'll probably change their arrangements around a bit, but just wanted them to get into the soil until I can do that.

I haven't made the leap to digital except for when taking pics of headstones. I have an inexpensive camera for that. Yes, I know that sounds really strange... taking pics of headstones. I've been doing genealogy for many years and sometimes people e-mail me that don't live around here and ask for a headstone picture. So, that means by not being digital for most of my pictures, I'm slow at posting pics online.

That being said, here are a few pics of my grandson, Jonah. I'm trying to make a slide show and experiencing difficulties. When, and if, I get that figured out, I'll add some pics from Chicago :) The spot on Jonah's forehead is from him meeting the door hinge after running down the hallway in my house. It wasn't a pleasant meeting as you can tell. It took 3 stitches, which his mommy (my dd) said he took like a big boy. The small scar now is in the shape of a "y". Interesting :) It's fading nicely.

Jonah on the move!

Such a serious look :)

The Sunday Blogger challenge at twopeas is as follows...

Challenge~ If you could follow someone around for one day (unseen), who would it be and why?

*I think I would love to follow Jonah around for one day and see things through the eyes of a two year old. Being able to see everything as a toddler does would be a great experience. Imagine seeing things again for the first time and actually understanding them :)

Happy Mothers Day!

2008-05-11T09:40:00.000-04:00

Challenge for today~ Share a fond memory about your Mother in honor of Mother's DayMom and me

*My mother worked alot when I was growing up, so time together was some of the fondest memories I had. We didn't take many vacations as money was usually tight, but we'd make small day trips which to me was much more fun. She would find some of the best out of the way places to go to or sometimes it was a picnic on one of her days off. That's probably where I grew to appreciate state parks and spending time outdoors. I guess that sort of spilled over with my kids. When they were young we'd go someplace for the day and take our lunches with us.

It's a beautiful day :)

2008-05-04T08:46:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone! It's such a nice day today so far :) I probably won't be able to enjoy it much though as I have two finals due tomorrow and a graduation to go to. I should have had the finals done already but I AM the Queen of procrastination! I wear my crown proudly but would really like to give it to someone else lol. Looks like a challenge for myself to work on... becoming less of a procrastinator. I'll have to take baby steps :)

Ok... for this weeks Two Peas challenge!

Challenge for today~ Describe a favorite vacation of your married years

*We really haven't taken very many vacations and I've enjoyed each and every one. But if I could only pick one it would have to be when we went to Florida. We visted Disney and Universal while there plus St Augustine. That was hubby's and the kids first trip to the ocean. I so want to go back. The ocean is always so peaceful and I could stay there forever... well maybe :) One place that we'd like to go is Gulf Shores, AL.

Turtle Movers

2008-04-27T09:28:00.000-04:00

Our family tends to stop for turtles trying to cross the road. I'm always afraid that the little thing won't make it all of the way across and get crunched. They can't help it if our highways are in the way of their destination. So we stop and help them across :) This little fella was on the move Friday morning when I stopped to take his portrait. I still use a film camera for just about everthing, but I have an inexpensive Olympus that I use to take cemetery headstone photos. Yes, I'm one of those genealogy people lol.

It's too nice of a day to be doing homework for class, but that's where I'll be finding myself in a few moments :( Last week of school and then summer break will be here.

Challenge~ How did you meet your closest scrapbooking friend?

*That would have to be Sandy and she was my daughters Girl Scout leader after she moved up into Cadettes. They had a workshop for the girls to teach them about scrapbooking. From then on, several of us were hooked, I mean addicted lol. A few of us still get together almost monthly for a crop.

Movies and time

2008-04-20T08:26:00.000-04:00

Another week has gone by and I'm not any closer to getting things done that I'd like to. It is time, however, for a new challenge from twopeas.

Challenge~ Whats the last good movie you saw? What did ya like about it?

*We haven't really gone out or rented a movie for awhile, but there several that I'd like to see. Hopefully this summer I can get caught up on some of them. My daughter and I have been watching the HBO series on John Adams. It's a seven part mini-series concluding tonight. We both like history and this has been very interesting.

Organinzing
Spring is here and we're starting to clean out to take things to the Goodwill store. Where did all of this stuff come from! School is over in 2 weeks and then I'm really getting into the closets and drawers. My scrapbook stuff all needs to be organized and then there's my genealogy stuff too. I really need to go through all of that and get it all in order.

Everyone is still in bed and I'm thinking pancakes sound good.

Creative juices... and Purdue visit

2008-04-13T23:55:00.000-04:00

Challenge~ Do you find it easier to get the creative juices flowing when your scrapping with others or alone?

*I'm not that creative when it comes to scrapbooking, or anything for that matter. I get alot of my inspiration from looking at other peoples ideas, whether online or in magazines. Yes, I'm a scraplifter! If I'm scrapping with friends, I tend to do alot of talking and not as much scrapping. But then again, I don't like to scrap just by myself lol. Crazy isn't it? I enjoy the company of others and I think I get alot of energy and creativeness when I'm in the company of scrapping friends.

Purdue

*My hubby and I went to West Lafayette to visit our son, Bret, at Purdue. They were having their spring fest yesterday and it would have been nicer if not for the drizzly rain. It was nice spending some time with him and his girlfriend, Stacy. He's a forestry major in his Junior year and loving it. Today the FNR department at Purdue had scholarship and achievement awards. He received several which will make it better for his last year there. For the fall semester, he and Stacy are going to be studying abroad in New Zealand. I'm so excited for them! Just wish I could go. I already have scrapbook lo's running through my mind lol.

Zune, Zune, Zune!

2008-04-06T12:41:00.000-04:00

I received a nice surprise in the mail this week. You've seen them... the soda caps with the codes on them. If you enter the code, you "might" win a prize. Well, Pepsi and Amazon got together for a joint promotion (Pepsi Stuff 2008). You enter the code and they're giving away a prize a day. I had one of those caps at home so thought I'd go for it. I entered my one cap and forgot about it. This week I received a package from Amazon with a black 8 GB Zune inside! I've had some fun putting music on it and figuring it all out. This kind of leads into the next portion on this weeks blog.

Since I've seemed to be blogging on Sundays, I thought I'd start doing the 2 Peas blog challenge when I can - here's the one for today.

How is life different for your children than when you were growing up?
*When I was growing up, things were a bit easier. There weren't electronic gadgets everywhere like there is now. We didn't have ipods and mp3 players. We were lucky to have an am/fm radio or cassette player. Now you see ipod this and ipod that. Someone is making alot of money with that. What is a remote? We never heard of those back in the day. You had to actually walk across to the other side of the room to turn any of the knobs on the tv. *grins*
*We played outside alot more than kids do these days. At the end of the day you could tell it too lol. No nintendo back then meant using your imagination. Yes, imagination actually exists :) We made forts and houses from appliance boxes, cutting windows and doors out of them. Our mansions lasted until the next rain. Days of mother may I? , hide and seek, red light/green light, duck duck goose, and simon says (just to name a few) seem to be disappearing.

Alot has changed sine I was a child of the 60's (born in 1962, so not that old). And it will continue to change. Some things for the good, but not always.

It's such a nice day today... can you come out and play today? *grins* Tag you're it!

Chicago

2008-03-30T08:10:00.000-04:00

This past week I went with the art department on a trip to Chicago. We were only there for 2 days and I already want to go back. When you're with a group you have to follow their itinerary which is ok for the most part. That city is so packed with places to see that it really needs longer than the time we were allotted. I'll be ready to go back when it gets warmer. Talked to hubby about it and I think we're going to try and get up there this summer.

Upon arriving, we first visited the Oriental Institute Museum and then made our way to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Our hotel for the night was the Congress Plaza Hotel. For dinner the first night, we went to Chinatown. It was pretty good. I don't care for conch. Didn't know that before the meal. The shrimp and scallops were very good though. The next morning we had time on our own before meeting up to go to the Art Institute of Chicago. I really enjoyed this museum. We also viewed the Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer exhibits.

My assignment for photography class was to take pictures at the lake front. The first day we were there it was fairly nice weather, but we didn't have time after check in and eat dinner too. So I put it off until the next day. We did have plenty of time to shoot two rolls of film, just didn't think that it would snow and freeze us silly. Yikes! I did get some decent shots though I think. We'll see when I print them tomorrow.

Here a blog, there a blog

2008-03-23T11:09:00.000-04:00

I enjoy reading other peoples blogs so thought I'd start my own. Not sure what I'll write in here or who will actually read it, but here goes anyway. We're all getting ready to go to a family gathering and then I have to work later in the day.

What is my style of scrapbooking? I tend to lean toward things more simple. I do like embellishments on my pages but not too many. As for journaling... that's something that I need to work on. Alot of times I wait until later to journal when I really should do it right away. Looks like a goal to work on... journaling on the spot. I'm not working on any particular album at the moment. More or less flittering from subject to subject. I'm pretty much a flitterer! Is that a word? It is now!