Magnolia Sun

Recovering

2011-12-09T19:40:00.002-06:00

Surgery went well, had more damage than MRI showed. I'm adjusting to using one hand which has been frustrating. I went back to work on Monday for a few hours and Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday it was time to rest! I'll try again next week. The office will be closed the week before and after Christmas which will force me to rest, I'm not a very good patient and don't have much patience. I got my (12 very tightly sewn) stitches out yesterday and drove myself, I felt so free to be able to drive again. I go back to the doctor in two weeks and hope to start physical therapy then. I have to wear an arm brace with my arm bent at all times except for taking a shower.

Some of my one arm accomplishments: changing the sheets on the bed (I still can't believe I did it), mopping, sweeping, putting on mascara (no eye liner though), folding clothes, washing dishes although I have Shane do this chore most of the time, hooking my own bra-I was very proud of this, and wrapping Christmas presents.

Surgery date

2011-11-12T15:31:00.002-06:00

I'm having surgery on my elbow on November 23 (my choice). I'd rather be miserable on Thanksgiving than Christmas! The surgeon couldn't believe I didn't injure my elbow in a fall or something. I have thought that maybe while walking Laila and there have been many times she would see a rabbit and try to take off after it that my arm was jerked but who knows. Since the last steroid injection I got on this elbow felt different he said that could have been part of the problem but not to the extent my elbow is in, the bone is even chipped. So strange but makes sense why I have so much pain.

He's not sure how he will treat it until he opens it up to see the extent of the damage. I'll go in for outpatient surgery and be in a splint or cast for two weeks. After that time I will be in a brace which I got yesterday and have been wearing it to help stabilize my elbow. I will have to be in the brace for another 4 weeks, I won't be able to use my arm at all which is going to suck so bad. I had thought I'd be able to go back to work after the two weeks but since I can't use my fingers to type not sure what I'd do, our office usually closes the week before and after Christmas so it would only be 3 weeks of work time I'd miss. After that time I will start intensive physical therapy. I'm trying to get my mind set for this long process but it's hard to do when I can still use my arm. The doctor said the complete healing process will take 6 months.

On the positve side I'll get a really long vacation and it will be during the holidays. I'm trying to get a jump on my holiday shopping so I can actually wrap the gifts.

My poor elbow...

2011-10-28T21:18:00.002-05:00

I've been dealing with elbow pain for about a year and a half, actually both elbows. I was told I had tennis elbow and golfer's elbow and started a series of steroid injections over the past year. My left elbow seems to be doing ok but my right one has gotten progressively worse. The last injections was in May and the pain didn't go away in my right one. So I gave it time, did the stretching exercises I was told to do and the pain actually started getting worse. I finally had had enough of the pain so I made an appointment with my regular doctor. After looking at my elbow he ordered an MRI he said I could have torn something because of the swelling and inside pain. I'm thinking how did I tear something, I haven't done anything and wouldn't I know if I tore something immediately. So many questions. I had the MRI last week and my doctor called for me to come in for the results. I thought well something really is wrong if I have to go in for results. When he walked in the door he said you have a really sick elbow, I have three torn ligaments! I'm sure I'm looking at him with the deer in the headlights look, huh??? How did that happen? So now I'm waiting to see the surgeon who after my doctor talked to him is so excited to do surgery on me! So glad I made the surgeon's day.

So according to the MRI report I have a significant high signal at the bony attachment of the common extensor tendon, consistent with a high grade tear, a tear of the radial collateral ligament and a tear of the lateral ulnar collateral ligament. When I googled all of these they all relate to athletes mainly baseball players. I really can't figure how this happened.

I'll feel better when I talk to the surgeon to find out how all this gets done, what the recoup time is, rehab, etc. I hope I can get the surgery done sooner rather than later. Husband's going to have to learn to do a lot of stuff!

Bloggy Meet Up 2011 - part 1

2011-10-23T20:47:00.008-05:00

I'm finally getting around to blogging about our blog meet up two weeks ago. We had such a good time hanging out in a beautiful home in the mountains (thanks Kristie). The views were stunning and we lucked out being there at the peak time to see the leaves changing colors. We laughed, crafted (yes I crafted with help), talked, had the best "original" smores, had some great food and wine, and saw some amazing things. First up is this cute little guy at Grandfather Mountain, he didn't seem to mind having his picture made, I think there were 4 or 5 bears.
beautiful view

This was looking out on top of Grandfather Mountain.

This was looking out from the balcony of the house.

I'll be back with more pictures.

Remembering 9-11-01

2011-09-11T10:01:00.000-05:00

World Trade Center Memorial - I will never forget!

My summer...

2011-08-21T13:28:00.003-05:00

I can't believe the "official summer" is almost over, it's really no where near over in Florida. Thought I'd catch up with what's been going on around here the past couple of months. No pictures today, I have to get them off my phone and I'm too lazy to do it today!

June - not too much went on after Shane graduated - that was enough excitement for one month.

July - We went on vacation to Key West during the 4th week - it was so hot and humid, I thought our weather was humid but they have us beat. We drove down (we will NEVER do that again) no idea what I was thinking, this vacation was my idea. Husband says he picking the next vacation! We had a good time once we got their. Going down we had great weather and no traffic, we stopped right before we hit the keys, total time 13 hours. I have to say I was a bit disappointed in the Keys. I guess when you live in a place like we do with beautiful white sand beaches and beautiful water it's hard to compare to anywhere else. Although the reason we go on vacation it see something different. I would really compare the atmosphere to a small New Orleans, all the shops along Duval Street and the nightlife and the fact you walk everywhere. The sunsets were truly the most beautiful I've ever seen. We went on a snorkeling adventure on a party sailboat. We went out 7 miles and snorkeled for about an hour. I have never done anything like this, husband dives so he knew what to expect. I was really proud of myself because I can be somewhat of a chicken even though I love the water I can usually see the shore when I'm out in it. As we were swimming around I looked down and a shark was swimming right underneath me. I don't think I have ever swam so fast as I did and immediately got back on the boat. My husband coaxed me back into the water but I didn't really enjoy it as much knowing Mr. Shark was close by. On the way back the boat turned into a party boat with drinks flowing. All in all it was fun and I'm glad I did it. The next few days we went to the lighthouse which I loved and walked around. The water was beautiful the beaches not so much, too many rocks. We really liked the Cuban sandwiches, the bread was wonderful. I tried the chocolate dipped key lime pie, it was okay but I enjoyed the giant chocolate chip cookies the bakeries had, almost the size of a small pizza. The local pizza places where also very good. We decided to drive all the home in one day because the next day we were driving over to Biloxi to Poison and Motley Crue - drive to Biloxi is 1.5 hours. The drive home was not as fun, lots of traffic and tons of rain and wrecks on the interstate, it took about 15 hours to get home. We were so tired and so ready for our own bed that night.

Three weeks later we went to a friends military retirement in Augusta, GA (7 hours). It was a lot of fun seeing our friends. On the way we stopped in Atlanta to stock up at Trader Joe's. I didn't realize how big Augusta was, lots of good shopping. When we lived in Boston I would go to The Christmas Tree Shop and I was so excited to find one in Augusta. On the way home we stopped again at Trader Joe's just to be sure we got everything. You should have seen our car - we were loaded down but it was a lot of fun.

August - We went over to New Orleans last weekend to watch a Saints game. This is the first professional game other than the Pro Bowl I've ever been to. We had great seats almost on the field, next time I'm sure we will be in the nosebleed section with the price of tickets. Shane also went with us this trip, he had never been to N.O. so he enjoyed taking lots of pictures of everything. On the way home we stopped by an outlet mall, I'm so glad my husband likes to shop as much as I do.

I guess we've had a busy summer and we had a lot fun. Tomorrow Shane starts college. He also has gotten a part time job, he started last week and is getting use to working - now he knows how we feel.

I think I've found a crafting hobby I can do and actually enjoy working on. I've been making cards, they are still very simple but I've been checking out websites for ideas and have been using scrap booking material I already had. I did buy a few stamps at hobby lobby the other day, I'm trying not to spend too much because I know how I am with hobbies. I'll post some pictures of what I've done so far, again too lazy to do it today!

Shane Graduates!

2011-06-15T20:15:00.007-05:00

Random pictures of Shane's graduation (you can't move photos around as easily as you use to could so I gave up). Shane graduated last week so proud of my baby that's not my baby anymore! The cake, his first grade picture and of course his senior picture - so cute.
Accepting his diploma. The family with the exception of Cole who was enroute to the graduation. Husbands mom and dad on the left, my mom next to Shane and my dad on the far right, sister in next to my dad. My brother and his family weren't able to make it because the graduation was on Tuesday night.

Shane at graduation.

Proud parents.
Shane.

Catching up again....

2011-05-30T14:46:00.005-05:00

Seems like I'm always catching up on blogging, everything is pretty calm and nothing really going on equals nothing to blog about!

My parents are settled into their new home and are really enjoying it. Now I know I get my organizational skills from my mom. They were completely moved in, I'm taking everything unboxed, even stuff put in the attic in about one week and one or two days! My mom is 70 and my dad is 75!

We are on the count down to Shane's graduation, 7 more days. He finished school last week so he just has to wait another week to get his diploma. He is going to stay home and go to a local college this fall, I'm so glad he's staying home!

I can't remember if said anything about my back in previous posts but I have three bulging discs, one is pressing on a nerve which makes my arms feel like they are asleep most of the time. I started physical therapy and have been twice, the first time I was put in traction, not fun and very painful for several days afterward. When I went this past week I said I would pass on the traction. The therapist gave me exercises to do at home which I've been doing unfortunately it doesn't seem to work. The doctor said if this doesn't work he would send me to pain management for steroid injections (my husband gets these injections in his lower back). I really hope the exercises work, not thrilled about having injections in my neck!!

I haven't been reading as much lately, would love some recommendations. I like easy reads, nothing too deep where I have to really think!!

This is a pic of me and my "boys" at my nephews graduation a couple of weeks ago.

My family home

2011-05-02T20:16:00.005-05:00

I went home this past weekend to tell our family home good-bye. My parents have lived in this house for 47 years - my whole life! They decided to sell a couple of months although I don't think either one thought it would sell or they would get what they were asking for it. My brother had built a patio home 4 years ago and hasn't been able to sell it so he started talking to my parents about maybe buying it from him. The house is 5 minutes (literally I timed it the other night) from my brother and is in a really nice new area. After three weeks on the market they had two offers, hard to believe in this housing market. The house has been updated, kitchen and bathrooms in the past couple of years and they have always taken such good care of it. Anyway I'm getting off track. The point is the house sold and they are moving and the weekend was so emotional I can't believe it. Mom had a yard sale on Saturday and she asked if I could come help her and of course I did. I ended up with a trunk full of "memories" and both of grandmother's china. On Saturday afternoon as I was leaving to come back to my house I went into each room thinking about all the firsts that has happened during my life. I know it's just a house and the memories will always be inside me and even now as I type this I have a lump in my throat. I can't believe how much that house has meant to all of us through the years. I'm sure when my mom and dad close the door for good on Friday they will feel overwhelmed with emotions. My house.
One last picture of my room (they had already taken everything off the walls). I took my little rocking chair (you can barely see it in the picture behind me) home with me now it's in my "crafting" room. Hopefully one day I'll have a grand child who will enjoy it.

20th Anniversary Recap

2011-04-17T18:07:00.004-05:00

We celebrated our 20th anniversary at the Margaritaville Beach Hotel. Husband surprised me with the trip, I had given him a hint that it would be fun to stay there, the hotel was completed last year and we drove by every weekend when we went to the beach. It was fun to finally see it completed and even more so to get to stay. We had a beautiful suite which had a wrap around balcony so we could see the gulf, pool, and the sound. The hotel reminded me of a big beach cottage. When we arrived to our room we had champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries waiting for us - both very good. My favorite was the view. Here are a few pictures. Obviously the first is of the bed which was very comfy. This is the view from the bed - so pretty.

The huge bathtub the shower was just as big.

The is looking out of the bathroom window down to the pool.

Another view from the balcony, the fishing pier. We enjoyed sitting on the beach on Saturday and sitting by the pool on Sunday.

This is actually a wedding, I was taking pics with my phone so I couldn't zoom. The bride wore a beautiful gown, not sure why it was so fancy for the beach but whatever.

We had such a good time, I forgot to take pictures of our breakfast in bed - it was so much food and it was really good too.

Yummy!!

2011-04-01T16:12:00.005-05:00

Breakfast! Lunch!

Mmmm what could be for dinner?

Can't seem to fall asleep

2011-03-31T23:22:00.009-05:00

I'm usually in bed around 9:30 and asleep soon afterwards but tonight I just can't seem to go to sleep. I got tired of laying in bed staring at the ceiling so I got up played around with my blog design, mainly listing the books I've read this year. Tomorrow I'm going to the ortho doctor to hopefully find out what's wrong with my elbows. I've had a nerve conduction test and MRI. The nerve test didn't show any nerve damage so he ordered an MRI. The doctor thinks it's my ulnar nerve even though the nerve test didn't show it. The ulnar nerve starts in your upper back and goes through your arms to your fingers. I just hope the MRI shows the reason for the pain and the doctor will have a cure for me! This has been going on for about a year. I had a couple different injections in each elbow without any relief. This is probably why I can't sleep tonight just anxious to hopefully find something out.

On a happier note I'm picking up Shane's graduation announcements, can't believe he will be graduating in about two months. I'm thrilled he wants to stay at home and go to one of our local colleges. Now if I can stop him from getting older. Have a happy Friday!

Love it!

2011-03-29T20:37:00.009-05:00

I finally saw Sandy this past weekend and she gave me this pin cushion which she had ordered from Kristie and I love it. It's sitting on my grandmother's old sewing machine and that is my sewing machine in the background, maybe one day I'll actually learn to sew. I love all the colors and different patterns. Since I haven't been updating on the things I wanted to accomplish weekly I've been doing pretty good. My neighbor and I have started walking in the mornings again. For me getting it over with first thing in the morning works best. It's been tough getting up earlier but each day is getting better. It also helps to have a partner that you know is going to be waiting on you - good motivation to get out of the bed and of course I feel better during the day. We walk about 2 1/2 miles each day and I'm very proud of myself for getting back to it. I guess going to the beach the past few weekends gave me much needed motivation. We had a little scare this afternoon, when I pulled in the driveway the gate was standing wide open - not good. I ran to the back to see if Jasmine was outside and I didn't see her so I ran in the house to ask Shane if she was inside and he said no. About the same time husband was getting home so he took off one way I took off the other. She has wandered out of the yard before but hadn't gotten far before we realized it. I really started to panic when we couldn't find her. I talked with my neighbor and her daughter saw her at our park in the neighborhood but didn't know it was our dog. Shane started looking again and finally found her, one of our neighbors had taken her in their house. I was getting ready to go door to door at this point. No she didn't have her collar with my phone number on. From now on she will always have it on. I'm so thankful to our neighbors for picking her up and taking good care of her. I know she won't live forever but I just can't imagine not having her, she will be 12 this summer. Anyway a wonderful ending to the story.

I wasn't expecting you so soon....

2011-03-26T18:01:00.003-05:00

This was on our back patio the other night, it looks bigger in this picture than is actually was but it was a snake and where there are babies there is probably a mom and more babies close by! Hopefully they will stay off the patio.

Fab Friday

2011-02-25T20:14:00.003-06:00

We had an absolutely gorgeous day today, I can't believe it was 80 degrees in February, I'm not complaining. Husband and I sat out on the patio trying to soak up some sun, we got a couple of new colorful chairs for the patio so we had to try them out. Husband is having more work done around the house, this time it's the sprinkler system, the guys have been working for two days and hopefully tomorrow they will be finished. In about two weeks we are getting a different type of grass for the front yard then I think we will be finished for a while. Husband finally painted the french door leading to the backyard today (we had the door put in last year). He painted it cranberry, can't wait to see how it looks tomorrow after it's dried and with the new chairs, I'll take pictures.

Sunday we will have Shane's 18th birthday get together, he will also have another party at my parents next weekend. Can't believe how fast they grow up. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Yuk!!

2011-02-23T19:54:00.002-06:00

Dear cold, sinus, allergies, stuffy nose, scratching throat, or whatever you are: I've really had enough with all this sneezing, watery eyes, headache, and most of all the stuffy nose. I think 5 days is enough and you really should find somewhere else to live other than my head!

Other than that the week is going good, at least tomorrow is my Friday. I'm hoping to make it to Zumba tomorrow night and hoping I feel much better so I can enjoy the upcoming weekend.

No goals no nothing!!

2011-02-20T19:16:00.002-06:00

So much for my weekly goals and update! I haven't been doing very good with any of them for the past two weeks, no exercise, no eating right, better on drinking water though. I guess 1 out of 3 isn't a total loss. The weather has been great except in the mornings we have had so much fog you couldn't see 20 feet in front of you. Well that's my story for not walking and I'm sticking to it. We have been so lucky to have the beautiful, warm weather we've been having and apparently it's going to stay that way for a little while longer.

We had a really quiet weekend. Friday I ran my usual errands. Saturday husband and Shane cleared some more out of our backyard and I sat on the deck reading and watching them. Saturday afternoon husband and I took the bike out, usually we head to the beach but we figured everybody else would be doing the same so we went north of where we live. It was so nice riding down country roads which has a beauty all it's own. After we got back we put some chicken on the grill and finally used our chimnea, we have it about 4 years and never used it. Husband had cleared an area in the backyard and put some chairs around the chimnea (don't know if I'm spelling that right). We sat around the fire and roasted marshmellows. It really was a very nice ending to a beautiful day.

I've been thinking about trying Zumba, does anyone do that? If so, how much coordination do you really need to succeed? A friend has been doing it once a week for a while and she keeps telling me to come try it out. I don't want to make a fool out of myself but I kind of want to try it.

So my goals for the week are very small so maybe I will do them. 1) drink more water, 2) exercise at least 3 times. Surely I can handle just those two things - I guess we shall see!

No more trees!

2011-02-12T20:57:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we had 11 pine trees cut down. Husband really hated them and we both would have really hated them had they fell on the house. Look at the guy in the tree, this is when they first started. He was really high and he only had the spikes on his shoes to get up there. Crazy job!
This is before the trees came down. Some of those on the far right are our neighbors.

The other side of the house before they came down. This side has the most drastic difference.

There gone.

They are definitely gone!

Husband and Shane worked in the back today. The back of our yard hasn't been cleared and we don't want to completely clear it but the pine trees had to go.

Jazz is back to normal, she slept soundly last night, and is eating good. I'm dying to see what her teeth look like but I'm sure she is still a little sore so I'll wait a few more days.

A lot going on today

2011-02-11T19:42:00.004-06:00

We had several big things going on today. First was Jazz going to the vet to have her teeth cleaned. I dropped her off bright and early this morning as I went to my car tears were in my eyes, I've been worried about doing this all week. I was so relieved to hear from the doctor around 11:00 that everything went fine and she didn't have to have any teeth extracted and for the most part her teeth are all fine. She will just have to get use to me brushing them, the doctor said I really only need to brush the outside of the teeth and I don't have to force her mouth open. Hopefully she will cooperate! Anyway after I picked her up she was a little groggy and I got her settled at home, she seems to be doing fine now, just a little clingy, and every now and then she will let out a little cry.
(Sorry this is kind of long) The next thing was getting my new dryer to match the washing machine we got a few months ago. Back in September the washer just stopped working so we went to Lowe's and decided to get a front loader. I had been wanting one for a while and of course the pedestals that go under. Well since nothing was wrong with the dryer and this was sudden we decided to just get the washer. The day after Thanksgiving husband was shopping on line and came across the pedestals for the washer and dryer for $99 each, what a bargain the regular price is almost $300 each so he went ahead and got them. We were told when they delivered the washer that when we did get the dryer and pedestals they would put them on no problem. So getting back to this morning when the guys get here with the dryer they looked at use like we were crazy to have to move the washer and put it on the pedestal. My husband said we were told it could be done and if that's not the case you can take the dryer back. The guy complained but started doing. He did the dryer first no problem since it was new. When he started with the washer the drum slipped which means can't be fixed. Really, are you kidding me? The guy said that's why he didn't like doing it, obviously he knows what he's talking about. So he takes our washer goes back to Lowe's and gets a new one (same kind of course) and comes back and finishes the job. Now finally the finished product. I've been watching all afternoon, I must be the only person that does this. I originally had wanted to get a color and the lady at Lowe's actually talked me out it. She said what if something happens to one of them and they have discontinued the color then you will have two different colors. They will always have white. I'm glad I listened even though I had only had a few months I might have had to wait for whatever color I had chosen. Anyway I love them.
The other big thing was getting 11 pine trees cut down in our backyard. My husband was so excited and the backyard looks so different. I took before pictures but need to take after ones so I'll post those tomorrow.

My results and a new list

2011-02-06T14:30:00.004-06:00

I'm happy to say I stay focused this past week and reached several of my goals. For some reason I had in my head to was to exercise four times this week instead of three. I walked two mornings and rode the stationary bike two mornings. I really prefer to walk but the weather was so cold I ended up on the bike. I also did pretty good on my water intake, I do much better with this during the work week instead of the weekends. I completed all my work issues and my insurance issues folder is completely empty, seriously that was quite an accomplishment. I think it has really helped me to actually put on paper what I want to accomplish in the coming week. I didn't do any scrap booking or reading but that's OK. I'm going to keep the exercise and water on my list every week.

So my goals for this week are:

- Try really hard to eat only fresh food and not much processed food - okay I know I'll eat some but try to keep it much lower than the fresh fruits and veggies I plan on eating.

- Clean the blinds in the house - I have 17 and a couple of them are double. My goal is to clean at least 5 blinds (2 double).

- After I clean the blinds I plan on reading so maybe I can complete my reading list from last week.

I think that's enough for this week, the diet portion will be hard enough.

Jazz will be getting her teeth cleaned on Friday, I took her in last week so the doctor could see what kind of shape they were in and I couldn't believe he said they really weren't that bad. She is 11 years old and has never had her teeth cleaned. I know I feel so bad, her breath has gotten so bad we had to break down and do something about it. The doctor said she shouldn't have to have any extracted.

Weekly to do list

2011-01-30T19:18:00.005-06:00

I'm trying to get motivated so I thought I'd start a weekly to do lsit - let's see how long I can keep it up! Actually I got the idea from Girlville, she is following up on herself at the end of the week. Maybe if I post it before I'll be more likely to accomplish it. So here goes.

- I've got to start exercising, I really enjoyed walking with my neighbor but she stopped walking and soon after so did I. My goal this week is to walk at least 3 times. We have had great weather the past few days so no more excuses! This is really the most important thing on my list this week.

- I have to tackle a couple things at work I've been putting off so I'm going to title this insurance stuff.

- Drink at least 3 bottles of water everyday.

- Finish reading the two books on my Kindle so I can move on to something else.

- Complete at least one page of my current scrapbook.

- I can already mark this one off my list, I needed to clean the house and I did that today.

I think that's enough for my first week. I also hope this will encourage me to blog more. I always feel like I need to post pictures when I blog and so many times I don't have any pictures. Wish me luck.

My partylite/craft/household papers/seasonal clothes closet

2011-01-11T19:16:00.003-06:00

I don't know if anyone else is like me but I love containers, I know so weird. I actually love going to office depot. They had these containers on sale last week - two for one. I've already filled one up with cards and note cards, not sure what I'll use the other one for but I'll find something and I love the colors.
This is my extra closet that I organized, I wish I had some shelves built in - maybe when I figure out exactly what I want I'll have husband build me some. I'm luck to have such a big extra closet.

Some crafting supplies and household paperwork.

Photo albums and more crafting stuff.

A little cabinet I got a few weeks ago to put my overflow Partylite products, I wish you could smell it cause it smells so good with all the different fragrances.
The bottom, the cabinet with the doors closed, knitting bag, and I got the see through plastic drawer thing to keep extra sweat pants and tank tops in. I think I'll eventually use this for crafting storage.
Well that's it, any ideas to improve it would be appreciated. I really think I'd like to design more of a storage system to utilize the space better.

Thanks for the chapped lip suggestions. I've actually been using the Vaseline consistently, using more at night before bed and they have improved greatly.

Help!!!

2011-01-07T18:01:00.002-06:00

I've been dealing with extremely dry and chapped lips! I've tried everything, different kinds of lip balm and straight Vaseline with no luck. Husband tells me I just need to drink more water but in the mean time it's driving me crazy. I'm not one that uses lip balm because I never get dry tight feeling lips and I hate the way lip balm feels. Please if anyone has any good remedies I would appreciate it. The plus is my lips are a little fuller!

After the holidays

2011-01-05T19:36:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it's only Wednesday! It sure is rough going back to work after being off for two weeks. I'm not complaining though, glad to have been off. Our office was closed so I came back to lots of voice mails and even more mail which had lots of insurance checks which means lots of work for me to post the money to patient accounts. Two weeks isn't really a long time but it's amazing how fast your brain can turn to mush when you just sit around and watch TV all day!

Shane, husband, and I were all off together so that made for a nice time. Husband and Shane were extremely productive, they floored a big section of the attic. I think I was more excited than they were when finished because I could clean out the closets and put a lot of stuff in the attic. We had some really random things in our bathroom closets so it's nice to just have linens and bathroom stuff in them now.

I need to take pictures of my organized closets before the become unorganized!

Books Read in 2011

2011-01-01T20:33:00.007-06:00

A Long Palm Stands by H.A. Olsen

Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons

Hurricanes in Paradise by Densie Hildreth

Return to Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

Saving Sara by H.A. Olsen

Sliding Into Home by Kendra Wilkinson

Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe

Goodbye 2010

2010-12-31T17:59:00.000-06:00

Christmas

2010-12-27T21:07:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, we sure did. I enjoyed spending time with my family. Cole came down on Christmas Eve so we could all wake up together on Christmas morning. Let me back up a few weeks. This year we decided after looking at real trees to get a fake one. Boy did that turn into an all day affair. We started at Lowe's and went to all the stores and ended up back at Lowe's to get the first one we saw. I really love the tree this picture doesn't do it justice and it's a pre lit one which was wonderful for me since I'm the one that does the lights.
My crafting room turned into gift wrapping central, I had to hide some presents before and after I wrapped them.

Christmas morning, Cole opening and being totally surprised and happy by his gift.

Shane opening and being really happy, not really surprised about his gift.

The cover for the Kindle husband got me.

The Kindle, I love this thing.

A surprise gift.

A really big surprised gift, husband saw me looking at this purse when we were at the Coach Outlet a few weeks ago. I love it, can you tell I like red.

We had a really good weekend, I'm so fortunate to be blessed by such a wonderful family.

Thanksgiving recap

2010-11-30T19:49:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Shane and I went to my parents for the day, husband drives 150 miles a day to work so needless to say he wasn't in the mood to drive 300 more miles (he went to his parents). We got up really early so we would have longer to visit with my family. Once we got to the parents we made a quick trip to check out Cole's new house, just renting with two other guys but it's really nice and hard to believe 3 guys live there. We had a nice group for lunch, my brother and his family, aunt and uncle, and cousin and her kids with their boy/girl friend. We had the traditional meal with turkey and dressing and all the fixings. We had such a good time with everyone.

Black Friday, yes we went shopping not at 4:00 am though. We actually got some door busters at 10:00, I couldn't believe things were still in the stores at that time. Since the kids are older it's not what it use to be but it was still fun because we ended up shopping for ourselves.

We are planning to get our Christmas tree on Friday and spending the weekend decorating it and the house. I just love decorating for Christmas.

Random stuff

2010-11-12T20:02:00.004-06:00

I think this year is the year of festivals for me, seems like we've been to one every weekend for the past couple of months. The Art Festival last weekend had special meaning since one of Shane's photographs was selected by his teacher to be on display. Shane really has an eye for photography as well as Cole and they both get that from my dad. This is his photograph.
Last year one of our patients brought me a piece of her Confederate Rose plant, she said to just plant as is, it had not been rooted. I planted it probably around this time last year with not much hope of success. I assumed it would bloom in the spring but it didn't and actually most of the branch dried up. At the end of the summer I noticed this plant starting to grow, I assumed what I planted had died and was surprised to realize it was the Confederate Rose. It is such a beautiful flower and in such contrast to the mums I have on the porch. This is one of the roses.

Plans for tomorrow, another arts and craft festival.

Trick or Treat!

2010-10-31T16:41:00.000-05:00

Festivals

2010-10-17T11:06:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday we went over to Gulf Shores to the Shrimp Festival, this was my first time and it did not disappoint. They had tons of places to eat and even more arts and craft booths. I forgot my camera so no pictures. We found a few things, an Alabama and Florida yard signs made from metal, also got Cole a peace sign from same place and Shane a smaller Alabama version for his room, my sister-in-law is crazy about the NO Saints so we found a really cute necklace and earrings for her. Of course we had to try the shrimp and since I don't have a gallbladder I had to have some fried shrimp, it was good and the best part was I didn't get sick from eating it!

This weekend the Greek Festival was going on so on Friday husband I went by again my first time and I was disappointed in the number of craft booths - 3! I guess people go the festival for the food and it was really good too. I loved the sweets, reminding me of being in Turkey. Here is some of the sweet we got, I had to hurry and take a picture before it was gone.
yum!

5 year project done!

2010-10-09T19:54:00.002-05:00

Way back in 2005 before we moved to Boston I ordered a scrapbook kit from QVC thinking when we moved to Boston during the winter with it so cold out and not much to do I would complete it. I had already decided I was doing the book on our 2 years in Turkey. I had already started thinking ahead I could do a book for every place we have lived. Ha!! Fast forward to today 5 years later. I had thought about the project on and off (mostly off) over the years, once I sat down and got all the photos I would use, unfortunately we didn't take many pictures in Turkey especially the second year but I had enough to make a book. I think being off this past week and watching so much HGTV really got me in the mood to be creative and crafty. I started this morning and finished just a little while ago. I didn't have a whole lot to work with since my scrapbook skills and supplies are limited but I had so much fun working with what I did have. I might have a little scrapbooking bug, now I'm ready to go shopping for more supplies and starting another book, Hawaii. My desk this afternoon.

Pumpkins

2010-10-06T16:35:00.002-05:00

More fall decorations. Yesterday Shane and I went to pick out pumpkins, actually he drove me since I can't drive yet and carried the pumpkins for me. Last year on Halloween someone stole my pumpkins I really hope these last until Thanksgiving.
I still can't believe how well this plant is doing, I have to trim it a couple of times a month. The leaves are suppose to change with the season too, I guess it hasn't gotten cool enough.

My inside pumpkin.

Recovering

2010-10-03T17:18:00.003-05:00

My surgery went well and I'm on the road to recovery. The doctor said I had 10 gall stones about the size of quarters, one was caught in the bile duct which prevented the others from getting in my body and making me sicker. He said they had probably been there for a year. I'm just glad it's out and I don't have to deal with this anymore. I'm not very good at just sitting around but I'm trying to let my body heal. I'm also not suppose to drive until I go back to the doctor on the 11th not sure if I can hold out that long though.

Now on to a prettier picture. My boss and his wife sent these beautiful flowers on Saturday. It's such a contrast to the fall decorations in my house.

Surgery time

2010-09-30T20:56:00.003-05:00

Over the past month or so I've been dealing with gall stones and let me tell you it's not fun! So my doctor sent me to a surgeon last week and my surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. I'm just looking forward to enjoying eating again and something besides bland, boring food. I'm ready for some spicy hot anything! On a positive note my parents came down so it will be nice to see them over the weekend and another is I'll be out of work for a couple of days. I always try to see the positive in all situations.

Me being crafty

2010-09-29T15:50:00.003-05:00

I just ordered these candle holders from Partylite (remember I'm a consultant) I had no idea they were so big but I love them. They had different decorating ideas in the catalog but I thought of these all by myself! I need to trim the edges on the sticks in the middle holder to make it smoother. The top piece comes off so they can be used as a vase and of course changing the insides according to the different seasons.

I saw this in a magazine the other day and thought it was cute, something to dress up a pumpkin. I got a few small ones and put them around the house. I didn't realize how much I liked decorating for fall.

We have had some really nice weather so I guess that's what got me in the mood to decorate.

Weekend plans

2010-09-03T20:15:00.001-05:00

OMG!!!

2010-09-01T21:14:00.004-05:00

So, living in the south you know snakes are around especially in the summer but if you don't see them you kind of forget they are around until you see one. Shane said he saw a snake coming out of a tiny hole in the driveway about 5 inches from the garage door opening. I said surely it was just a frog but no he said it was a snake and he took a picture of it to prove it. For the record I told him to never do that again, what if the thing came toward him. Now that I've seen one so close to my door I'm terrified of going outside. Also this afternoon while he was in the backyard he came running in saying he saw a baby snake go under the deck. I'm a summer person but I'm really looking forward to some cooler weather so the snakes will go back under the ground! Of course I have to show you what Shane showed me. I can't believe I'm posting this picture, it's just so gross.

Rain please go away, seriously!

2010-08-29T14:27:00.003-05:00

We have had a very uneventful weekend. This rain is starting to get to me, I really need to see the sun to improve my mood! Thursday my cleaning girl came and I thought I would feel strange being in the house with someone else cleaning but surprisingly I didn't. She did a really good job, I'm so glad I didn't have to clean this weekend.

We didn't make it to the beach on Friday because of the rain that will never end. We did get lots of shopping done. My husband loves to shop, sometimes I wish he didn't love it so much. He wanted to look for some workout clothes. He ended up getting some good bargains.

Saturday our plan was the beach and of course it was still raining. We have been trying to find a small entertainment cabinet for the Florida room so our mission was to find one. We searched everywhere and finally found one from the base exchange, they had to order it and hopefully by the end of the week it will be here and we can get rid of the one that's in there now.

Of course when we got up this morning what a surprise it was still raining. We've been catching up on our dvr shows so not a bad day to be inside. After Friday and yesterday running around in the rain was the last think I wanted to do today.

Random stuff

2010-08-26T09:34:00.003-05:00

Not much going on, my boss went on vacation today for the rest of this week and all of next week. I love it when the office is closed. I go in for a few hours just to get hours. I get to wear shorts and flip flops because no one will see me. I really am lucky to have my job, I enjoy it and my boss is good to me so I feel very fortunate.

I'm super excited for this afternoon, I'm having a cleaning lady come over twice a month. I can't even imagine not having to clean up this weekend. I'm keeping my fingers crossed she does at least most things like I do. She is really sweet too which of course helps. Since this will be her first time she wanted me to be at home I guess if she has any questions. I think it's going to be very strange sitting in my house while someone else is cleaning it. I've had some help in the past but it's been a very long time ago.

Shane is getting back into the school routine, he has never really liked school but I hope he enjoys his senior year. When I look back on my senior year I had some really good times.

I'm looking forward to going to the beach tomorrow, husband is off and the weather is suppose to be nice - fingers crossed.

Friday to do list...

2010-08-20T15:07:00.002-05:00

Since I'm off on Friday's I tend to do everything in that one day. My husband works a compressed schedule so he is off every other Friday so on the Friday's he working I do all my errands so on his off Friday we can do something together. So this is my list.

- took Jazz to the groomers, her appointment was at 8:00
- dropped husband's clothes off at the cleaners - I have to be there by 9:00 so I can pick them up the same day.
- stopped by walgreens to pick up prescriptions
- came home made breakfast for Shane and myself, more homemade blueberry muffins - yum!
showered and headed out again.
- went to mall to get Shane a few more things for school
- went to bank, not just a quick trip had to open another account why I decided to go during lunch hour is beyond me.
- took husband's watch to jewelry store - downtown on the opposite side of town from where we live to have his battery replaced - again during lunch so difficulty finding a parking place and bonus it was pouring down rain.
- stopped for quick lunch
- went to grocery store only needed a few things ended up spending way too much and of course as I'm walking out the rain starts again.
- in between this Jazz was ready so thank goodness Shane was home and able to pick her up, she looks so cute I'll take a pic and post later.
- got home put up groceries.
- went back out again to Lowe's to pick up a small pot for a plant I got yesterday, no idea why I didn't stop while I was out.

I think I did pretty good since it's just 3:15, I will probably wait until tomorrow to pick up clothes from cleaners I'm tired of going for today. Now I'm ready for the weekend to relax and hopefully go to the beach.

Nothing, nothing, and more nothing!!!

2010-08-13T21:12:00.003-05:00

As you can tell by the title not much going on here. Today Shane and I finished his school shopping, this weekend is tax free so everyone was doing the same thing. It didn't dawn on me until Shane mentioned it that this would be our last school shopping trip since he is a senior. That made me a little happy and sad, our kids grow up so fast. He is really looking forward to getting out of high school and starting college.

We don't really have anything planned for the weekend, if the weather is nice we will of course go to the beach if not I really need to clean the house - I'm hoping for nice weather.

I don't know if anyone else still watches Big Brother but it has really been boring this season, not much drama or fighting between the cast. We are so addicted we watch the after dark segment on showtime. I know so sad. I'm really looking forward to my shows starting in the fall.

Enjoy the weekend.

Starfish

2010-08-08T21:04:00.002-05:00

When we were at the beach yesterday I started thinking about some ways to decorate my blue room, I had ordered several signs from Kristie to put in my room and the one above my closet really needed something else to go with it. After we left the beach we went into one of the beach shops and saw these starfish and thought it would be cute above the closet doors. Now I just have one problem there aren't any hooks or holes on the back to attach to a nail. My first thought was to put the nail in the wall then use super glue to attach the starfish to the nail. Husband doesn't think this will work so I'm trying to figure out other ways this may work because I really want to put the starfish on the wall. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.
See what I mean, it just needs something else and I really think the starfish will be cute.

New cleaning stuff

2010-08-02T21:03:00.002-05:00

I can get so excited over the strangest things. I saw this cleaning stuff at Lowe's (Lowe's is one of my favorite stores, seriously) anyway the past few times I've cleaned the cleaning solutions are so strong they almost make me sick. This is the good for the environment, good for everything stuff so I thought I'd give it a try. I was really surprised it works great, I always thought it must have bleach in it to get it clean. I'm so glad something that smells good also works good.

Thank you so much for the wonderful rain showers today, tonight while walking Jazz I didn't even sweat!

Something new

2010-07-31T09:57:00.002-05:00

We had been looking for a shelf to put in husband's room with his racing stuff. I found this at a furniture store 40% off so I ended up getting one too. The picture doesn't do it justice because it is really pretty and I think it looks so good against the blue walls. I put my old book case I was using on another wall in the room so this is what you seen when you walk in. I just love it.

This weekend we are going to the beach, that's the only way to stay cool is in the water. It has been extremely hot around here, we had planned to go to Six Flags this weekend but canceled the trip because of the heat. We decided to wait until next month or the next when things cool off enough to be able to enjoy being outside. Have a great weekend.

No beach weekend!

2010-07-25T20:11:00.003-05:00

I accomplished everything on my to do list except the one thing I really wanted to do which was go to the beach. Because of the tropical depression the weather just didn't cooperate. On the positive side I did get a lot of things accomplished at home. I cleaned out a lot of junk I had been putting off, at least it was productive.

Shane's pictures turned out really good, now to decided which ones I want. I can't believe how much senior pictures are, they've gone up since Cole graduated 5 years ago. You gotta get them though they are only high school seniors once.

Take a look at my plants, if you scroll down a few days you can see how much they've grown. I had no idea they would get so full and tall in such a short time. I guess my potting soil selection was a good one! I've been measuring how tall it's getting from the window, when they were planted it was well below the bar in the middle of the window.

Now that I've started blogging again I wish everyone else was too. Oh well maybe everyone will come back like I did until then I'll keep it going pretending tons of people are reading!!

Weekend to do list

2010-07-22T20:41:00.003-05:00

Since Thursday's are my Friday's I'm already getting my to do list ready for the weekend. Tomorrow Shane is getting his senior picture made, I don't know how it's possible for him to be so old. The company came to his school at the beginning of summer and of course we were on vacation. The company is coming back to the school in September but I want to be there when he has the pictures made, they are expensive and I want him to have time to get ready for them rather than having so many kids all at once at school. Unfortunately we have to go to Mobile for the pictures which is about an hour away. I'm hoping to stop at one of the malls on the way back, Shane doesn't know this yet!

I got a big picture that you put pictures in from Kirklands the other day (did that make sense?), now I need to find pictures to put in it, hopefully the pictures I have are the correct size. I already know where I want to hang it, that doesn't sound too hard or time consuming. Did I say I love Kirklands, I can always find stuff in that store and I love the way it smells and it's close to my work.

I'm looking forward to going to the beach on Saturday, we only went one day last weekend so I'm really ready to go. Hopefully the weather will be wonderful on Sunday as well. Last weekend husband got a huge flounder and yes we ate it and it was delicious and we didn't get sick so I guess it was OK (meaning not oil). We didn't see any oil on the beach or the water, only a little bit of seaweed.

Sometime between now and Monday I've got to clean my house, with the beach calling my name it's not looking to good. I would love to have someone clean my house for me. I guess that's really all I have to do. I hope everyone enjoys the weekend and try to stay cool.

I need suggestions

2010-07-19T20:39:00.003-05:00

I got a ton of blueberries and now I need something to do them. I made some wonderful blueberry muffins tonight. I would love some suggestions on what else I can make. I was surprised looking through my cookbooks how few recipes there were with blueberries. So please give me anything you got.

I've got to post the plants in the barrel on my front porch, I can't believe how big the center plants are - I think the soil must have steriods in it!

Plants and Purses

2010-07-12T19:55:00.005-05:00

When we went to the Jack Daniels Plant I really wanted to get one of these barrels. Husband got a whole barrel a few months ago, we put it in the Florida room with a glass on top to make a table. Since this would be on the porch in the shade almost the whole day I decided to put greenery rather than flowers. The center plants are suppose to change colors during different seasons, can't remember the name of them or the other stuff I just thought it would be pretty. I really hope I don't kill these!

On our way home from Daytona we stopped in St. Augustine at an outlet mall. My favorite places at outlets are always the Gap, Banana Republic, and Coach. I got such a great deal on the purse I decided to get two of them, I have never gotten two at the same time. I really wanted a black purse but loved the different colored one too. I really want to go back to the mall, a long way to go shopping but they had some really great buys. Husband and Shane made out with some bargains too.

The last of the vacation pics

2010-07-09T13:51:00.009-05:00

When we left Myrtle Beach we were going straight to the Jack Daniels Plant. We stopped in Chattanooga for the night and started looking at some brochures in the hotel and saw the Zip Stream at Ruby Falls. We had already decided to go to Lookout Mountain and after looking at the Zip Stream we couldn't resist. I was extremely proud of myself. My usual outdoor stuff includes laying by a pool or going to the beach. I can't believe how much fun and challenging this was. We are definitely ready to go try another one. Just for the record my balancing skills are way better than husband or Shane's! This a before we started, also on this day it was probably 95 degrees and with the harnesses and hat on it was extremely hot.
Husband coming out of one of the obstacles, a guy was taking all the pics while we were going through the two obstacles courses, I didn't see him taking pics.

Shane

Me.

Shane coming down the final zip line.

Me coming down, I felt like a kid and wanted to keep doing this part over and over.

Next we went to Lookout Mountain and rode the train up, this is looking out of the train.

On top of the mountain.

Finally we make it to Jack Daniels, this is all in the same sweaty day!

I got one of the half barrels you see in this picture with flowers in it. Once I get my filled I'll take a picture of it. It is going on the front porch.

The three ingredients in the whiskey

Shane and Jack.

This is the stream they use to make the whiskey, that day was so hot and this area was so cool, the water is 55 degrees. I think everyone on the tour wanted to jump in it.

We had so much fun on our vacation and were so fortunate to be able to do everything we did.

Myrtle Beach Aquarium

2010-07-08T07:44:00.005-05:00

Shane took some great pictures at the aquarium in Myrtle Beach.

We stayed in Myrtle Beach for four days then we made our way to Tennessee. I'm having a hard time moving pictures around so I'll be making different post only two more sets of pictures to go.

Continuing with Vacation Days 2 & 3

2010-06-30T20:48:00.004-05:00

After we left the winery we made our way down to Charlotte to the Nascar Hall of Fame. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it certainly wasn't this. This place is huge, I think 4 stories and it has so much stuff in. They have one area so you can change a tire, jack the car, put fuel in the car and of course we had to try it. We also did a qualifying lap, we were in our own cars but it was a simulation, that was my first simulation experience and it felt very real. I qualified, I was a little slow but I didn't wreck. We spent about 5 hours at the Hall of Fame.

This track is set up like Talladega, it is very steep.
Richard Petty's stuff.

Another view of the track.

After we left we were heading to Myrtle Beach, because I love TJ so much I had to make a stop before we left the area. I was like a kid in a candy store. Oh why do they not build one in Pensacola, I've written to the company and they responded by saying maybe one day they will make it here.

We spent the night somewhere and day 3 finished our route to Myrtle Beach. We actually stopped off at Darlington Raceway but I didn't take any pictures. The husband was very excited to see that track.

Finally we arrive in Myrtle Beach and get to our room, this was our wonderful view.

I may not finish this tour until after the weekend, we are planning to go to Daytona for the race this weekend, then I'll have more pictures to share. In case I don't get back hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend.

Vacation Days 1 & 2

2010-06-26T08:49:00.007-05:00

This is where it all started, we started watching a series called Madhouse which is about a local racetrack in Winston Salem, NC. When we started thinking about where we could go and what we could do on vacation we decided to go see one of the races. This is a local track that has been around for a long time, nothing fancy just racing. It was a lot of fun especially after watching the series and getting to know the drivers and all the drama about everyone. We left home on Saturday around 7:00 and go to the track around 6:00 pm, what a long drive!

This is one of the cars.

They didn't have too many wrecks.

This next set of pictures are backward, I couldn't move them around and didn't want to load them again it was taking too long. After the race on Saturday night we stayed at Richard Childress Winery and Sunday we did a tour and testing through the winery. It was a beautiful winery and the wine was wonderful. This is some of the barrels used during the process.

The grounds around the winery are gorgeous, just right of the picture they having an area with tables and a band set up for picnics and of course drinking wine.

The vineyards.

The beautiful sign with the vineyard in the background. If you are in the area and love wine you really should check this vineyard out.

Great time

2010-06-23T20:48:00.003-05:00

We had a great time on our vacation last week, I'm working on my pictures. We all three had our own cameras, Shane was the expert photographer so I have to go through his (his are better than mine). I have to say a huge thank you to Girlville for all the great ideas she gave me while we were staying in North and South Carolina. More to come tomorrow with lots of pictures.

Vacation

2010-06-11T18:06:00.002-05:00

I'm all ready for vacation, house clean, laundry done, Leila is in a kennel, Jazz is with Sandy, suitcase packed, next is to load the car. We are planning to leave in the morning at 5:00, I'm so excited for our little adventure to start. I'll be back next week.

The Beach

2010-06-06T17:25:00.002-05:00

We had another great weekend at the beach. Today was much better than yesterday - too many rain showers on Saturday. The area we go where husband and Shane can fish doesn't have any tar balls and we didn't see any oil. It was so many media trucks on the main beach and a reporter even came down where we were asking questions and taking pictures. Last week tar balls started washing up on our beach, it's so sad to think our beautiful white sand beaches will be dirty. I hate to think about all the fish and birds that have already been covered in oil. It was so many people on the beach today, I guess everyone is like us, trying to enjoy every second we can.

We are going on vacation next week, I'm so excited to go somewhere and do something different. We are planning on going to North and South Carolina and Tennessee. We have some specific things we are planning to do and see and rest of the time no plans just see where we end up. A must before we get home is a trip to Trader Joe's. I'm lucky to have Sandy around because she is watching Jazz for us. Leila will be going to a kennel, she is way too wild for Sandy's house.

Flip Flops

2010-06-01T19:24:00.005-05:00

I love flip flops and most of the year I wear them. I have just discovered yellow box, the flat ones are too wide but the ones with heels are perfect. These are so comfortable and you can already see my toes imprint. I love all the different colors too.
I got these yesterday. I've also never had any Reef shoes, these fit so good and even have arch support - I may never take them off!

I got these a few weeks ago and haven't worn them much, and probably won't now that I have the above pairs.

These are my go to pair although the Reef ones will probably take their place too.

Anniversary

2010-05-30T19:48:00.001-05:00

Happy 51st Anniversary Momma and Daddy!

Wooden box

2010-05-25T19:24:00.004-05:00

My father-in-law started a woodwork hobby several years ago and his work is amazing. I've been bugging him to make me something for years and he surprised me at Christmas with this box. I love the detail and the different colored stain. I use it for my pens and random junk on my desk. This is actually one the simple projects he's done. The next time I'm over at their house I'll take some pictures of the more elaborate things.

Flowers

2010-05-23T09:44:00.003-05:00

Husband gave me two hanging baskets for Mother's Day, I filled them with these flowers, no idea what they are but they are doing really good so far. I think I do better with pots versus planting them in the ground. Time will tell, I really enjoy taking care of them every afternoon and watching the progress.
The other day he brought me this little iron tricycle, I love it I think it is so cute. I put this little plant in it, it doesn't look so hot right now but hopefully it's because I just replanted it.

Enjoy the day, we are planning on going to the beach in a little while. I hope the oil somehow misses are beautiful beach.

Laila getting bigger

2010-05-17T20:29:00.003-05:00

Laila laying on the deck, you can see a little bit of Jazz behind her. She's trying to look all innocent, I'm sure she must have done something she shouldn't have!

The weekend

2010-05-11T20:22:00.002-05:00

We had a great weekend. Friday husband and I went to the beach and it was beautiful. I love he is off every other Friday it gives us a chance to do something together. The water was perfect, we found a new favorite place and hardly anyone was around. I even helped husband fish, we went out to the sand bar to throw the lines out into deeper water. It was fun but we didn't catch anything.

Saturday Shane and I went to my parents, husband stayed in town to spend it with his mom. I finally got to see my brother's finished house. It is so beautiful and I know they are so proud of it. Saturday night mom made bbq and my brother and his family came over. Of course I got to see Cole too, he even spent the night with my parents Saturday night so we could all be together. Sunday the boys, my mom, and I went out to lunch and then just hung around for the afternoon. It was a very nice day. I'm so lucky to have such a great family.

I'm looking forward to this Saturday night, we are going to see Bryan Adams - I love love love him! I've never seen him before and the place he will be performing at is a small place so it should be a lot of fun.

Hopefully next post will involve pictures, I've been bad about not taking pictures another thing I will try to improve on.

Oh my goodness!

2010-05-03T20:47:00.003-05:00

Dear Blog,
What is wrong with me? Why can't I make posts anymore? I really do love you and love reading about all my friends. I think I'm just lazy, I come home from work tired, do everything that needs to be done around the house and then I go to bed, it doesn't seem to be enough hours left for you. I always make promises to be better and then it happens all over again. Well this time I'm not going to make promises I can't keep. I'm really going to attempt to make one post a week, surely I can at least do that. I really don't want to give you up because I like looking back through the years to see what was happening in my life.

This past Saturday husband and I went over to Panama City to the Thunder Beach Bike Rally, it was a lot of fun and I'm so glad we went. We went to it back in 2001 when we lived in Panama City, it has grown so much since then. It's been a long time if ever that I've been on the bike for 12 hours, boy was I tired.

I've started walking with one of my neighbors every morning well Monday - Thursday, since Friday is my off day I'm not getting up that early. I've enjoyed getting to know her and walking with someone really makes the time go by faster. We've been meeting at 5:45 am and walking a little over 2 miles - I'm so proud of us.

Now that wasn't so hard to find something to write about I know I can do this! Hope everyone has a nice week.

Beautiful Friday

2010-04-02T20:09:00.002-05:00

Today was the last day of spring break for this area and you could tell it at the beach, lots of people. It was a nice day, still a little too windy for me but nice to be outside. I went by myself cause husband was working and Shane wasn't in the mood today (he went fishing yesterday so that was enough for him). This pic is from the top of the bridge coming onto the island.
This is a pic of leaving, lots of cars waiting to go through the toll to get to the beach.

Sandy is only a few minutes from her so I stopped by to catch up with her and see her house renovations.

After I left her house I stopped by our favorite pizza place, mellow mushroom - the pizzas are so good, love the crust. The is our usual chicken, mushroom, and tomatoes.

My new addiction!

2010-03-24T20:18:00.004-05:00

If you haven't tried these wonderful muffin tops you need to. They don't taste like a lot of low cal chocolate does, these are so yummy and healthy and only one weight watchers point. The chocolate and banana nut are favs.

Change of plans...

2010-03-21T14:34:00.006-05:00

Yesterday our plan was to go to the beach, according to the weather man it was going to be sunny and low 70's, it ended up cloudy, cool, and very windy. We attempted the beach but ended up staying maybe 15 minutes, just miserable.

My goal for today was to clean out the closet in my craft room (not sure why I call it that since I don't do any crafts) and I completed. I've had a huge container that needed to be sorted ever since we moved in and finally the container will be put in the attic empty!

This is a picture of our favorite spot, this was taken about two weeks ago.

And a couple of shots of Trouble - I mean Laila!

Hello Spring!

2010-03-20T08:47:00.002-05:00

I'm so glad to welcome spring, this winter has been way too long especially for living in Florida. Our plans for today, going to the beach it is suppose to be in the low 70's and blue skies. I love the smell of the water and the feel of cool sand on my feet.

I'm hoping Sandy's renovations will get me back to blogging since I'll have to go to her blog to check the progress. Hope everyone has a wonderful spring weekend!

I present Laila!

2010-01-20T16:26:00.001-06:00

Seriously!

2010-01-17T11:05:00.002-06:00

Two months! I really do enjoy blogging and keeping up with everyone but something always gets in the way. Now to update, yes this is very late for a holiday update but gotta start somewhere. We have a great holiday, Cole and my parents were able to come to our house this year and it was great not having to travel. I feel so blessed to be around my family.

We have been doing some major picture/art buying for the house. We were so tired of the same old things that we've had forever. Of course I'm too lazy to take pictures now to share but that will come soon. We are also going to attempt blacksplash for the kitchen - this should be interesting! We are having the sliding doors in our Florida room replaced with French doors, I'm really excited for that to happen and hopefully it will be done by the end of the week.

We have a new addition to the family, we got Shane a boxer puppy for Christmas. Her name is Laila and she is a handful, not at all like Nyla or maybe we just forgot how puppies are. Jazz is tolerating her, of course Laila wants to play and Jazz just doesn't play ever. Shane has done a really good job with attempting to potty train and teach her some tricks.

I'll be posting some pics later. Now to get ready to watch the Cowboys!

My updates

2009-11-09T19:30:00.003-06:00

I can't believe how fast time is going and how close the holidays are. So here's what's been going on in my world.

~We are waiting on the tropical storm to come on shore. I'm so thankful that it was down graded and hope it doesn't cause too much damage. They closed the schools today and tomorrow and my husband is off tomorrow. My office isn't closed, we are just waiting to see what happens. I'm hoping it's closed since rest of my family will be home.

~Halloween was very uneventful. We had a lot of trick or treaters, I love seeing the little ones, the cutest was a little boy dressed like Woody from Toy Story. Woody was one of Shane's favorite characters when he was little, I had to give him some extra candy. The next day when we were going to church I looked at the front of the house and realized someone had stolen my pumpkins. Who does that? I was so upset because they looked so cute on my little bench. I guess I got tricked!

~Work has been going alright, when my boss stresses me out I now tell me so he understands what he is doing. I feel better by being honest with him and not holding my anger and aggravation in. I did get some vacation - only a week but that's better than nothing. Next year it will increase to two weeks. I'm excited to be taking off between Christmas and New Years and actually getting paid for it.

~I'm still doing good on weight watchers, it's coming off slower this time but it's coming off, 10 pounds so far. It's nice for my fat clothes to be too big! I want to loose 10 more but have been stuck at the point for a few weeks. I know I probably just need to mix it up, I get so use to eating the same thing and knowing the points value that I'm too lazy to be more creative.

The winner is...

2009-10-20T07:18:00.002-05:00

Pam thanks everyone for stopping by. I hope to be blogging on a more regular basis than what I've been for the past several months. Pam I've got your address and it should be in the mail tomorrow. This was fun and I hope to have more giveaways in the future.

Decoration and a giveaway!

2009-10-17T20:44:00.004-05:00

The outside, the mums have done so well, I really wanted the deep orange/red ones but couldn't find them.

I have been wanting this little bench for months. Every time I go into Lowe's I look at them but think since summer is over they will put them on sale. They don't so today I finally got one before they were gone until next year. I bought the pumpkins from a local church that had a little pumpkin patch set up.

Close up of the mums.
Of course the Alabama one is mine and because I'm so nice I got my husband one too!
Not much on the inside, this is a candle holder I've had for about 10 years.
This didn't come out real clear, but it looks so cute in front of the fireplace.

One of these I won from Girlville and the other I bought from her. I had planned to put them outside in the mums but was afraid they would get messed up so I stuck them in the middle of the arrangement, I thought they looked cute here.

This was a sweet picture of Jazz not a decoration!

OK now for the giveaway, I've got these wonderful smelling candle tins (from Partylite of course). This is from the Well Being collection, which all about relaxing. All you have to do is leave a comment and you will entering into the drawing which will take place Tuesday morning around 7:00 am.

Happy Birthday!

2009-10-16T20:57:00.003-05:00

Today Cole is celebrating his 23rd birthday. He was suppose to come to our house this year but his work plans but a damper on that. So we decided to meet half way for lunch today, we found a decent Mexican restaurant and spent a couple of hours together. We are going to my parents next weekend so we will all celebrate it together again.

Tomorrow I'll be posting some pics of what little bit of fall decorations I have and a giveaway so if anyone out there is still reading be sure to stop by.

Rembering...

2009-09-11T20:13:00.003-05:00

Updates

2009-08-28T10:24:00.004-05:00

I'm actually doing nothing! I'm so excited to be able to sit and not feel like I have something else to do. On to the updates. Shane got his driver's license last Friday - yikes! I still can't believe he has them. He started school Monday and is already at home sick today, poor guy is really feeling horrible. I had planned to go to my parents today and tomorrow my mom and I were driving over to Atlanta for the day. The reason, Trader Joe's! I'm dying for some of my favs from TJ and that's the closes one to me. I know it sounds crazy to drive so far (5 hrs) to a grocery store but I plan on getting plenty of stuff when we do go.

I debated on discussing this topic on my blog but decided to go ahead. I'm back on weight watchers. A little background, three and half years ago I joined and lost 25 lbs. and became a lifetime member. Since leaving Boston I've been putting it ALL back on. I've been so frustrated with myself for slipping back into my old ways of eating so I went back to WW almost two weeks ago and have been on track since. I want to feel better in my clothes and better about myself and the WW program helped my in the past and I'm hoping to have the same success the second time around. Now I know I will always have to pay attention to everything that goes in my mouth!

On my job front - my boss has given my a week's paid vacation (about time) and I'm still working on a raise. I've decided to not complain because what good does it do except waste negative energy and just hope we can work something out with a raise.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Hhhheeeeellllllloooooo

2009-08-18T20:29:00.004-05:00

Is anybody out there? Wow where does time go, I really do miss blogging and keeping up with everyone but I don't seem to have the time or energy by the time I get home from work. Anyway I found time tonight. Not much has been going on around here. We took a mini vacation over the weekend down to Tampa to go to Busch Gardens and see a Tampa Rays game. We had a lot of fun and it was nice getting away somewhere different. Shane and I really had fun riding the roller coasters (husband is a chicken he doesn't ride rides), well he had a little more fun on some of them than I did. I really don't do loops very good and two of them were extremely loopy! I thought I was going to loose my lunch. This is a picture of my favorite, we rode it several times, it has one loop in it but the exciting part was the steep drop at the beginning.

I felt so sorry for this turtle, it was so dry and probably hot, he just didn't seem to have the energy to get out of the sun.
Shane really wanted to pet this tiger, it looks so peaceful.

The pictures from the game are on husbands camera so who knows when I get those on my computer!

While we were away Jazz stayed with Sandy, this is the first time I've left her with anyone but my parents (other than having to kennel her). It was so nice not to have to worry about her, thank you again Sandy.

Not the only one...

2009-07-19T19:51:00.002-05:00

I don't seem to be the only one that hasn't blogged in a while I'm going to blame it on facebook. It really is easier to keep up with everyone on FB and I'm usually updating with my phone, blogging is not so easy mobile. Anyway not much has been going, no pictures to share. We do our normal week day things and go to the beach on the weekends, usually just on Saturday and hang out at home on Sunday's.

I've been searching for another job, I know in today's economy I'm lucky to have the one I have and I'm grateful but I'm just getting sick of it. I think the fact that he's always late and I'm always on time is just getting to me. (Sorry Sandy I know you heard all this on Friday.) OK I'm gonna whine . I hate not having regular hours, I can't leave until his last patient leaves if it's a female and for some reason we have all "regular" female patients in the 4:30 slot now. Which means I'll probably be working late f.o.r.e.v.e.r. the other night I didn't leave until 6:30 and I start at 8:00. Another thing is I don't get a real lunch break, now it's my choice to not take an hour, I just eat at my desk whenever I can. I really feel like I can't leave in the middle of the day. The real reason I want another job is I have no benefits, if I don't work I don't get paid which was fine when I started because it was part time. now it's turned into full time. Now you know why I'm looking. I'd love to work in a big company with tons of people to talk to and become friends with, I hate working in a small private office. OK I'm done and feel so much better to have shared that so everyone send me good vibes on a new job.

Being crafty

2009-07-08T20:52:00.003-05:00

I actually have something to post about but don't seem to have the time, work is crazy busy (ha typed it before I realized what I'd said). Thanks to lots of coaching from Girlville I'm trying out painting. I have no artistic talent but thought what the heck how hard can it be, well I found out it's a lot harder than it looks. I had decided I would try something abstract thinking it would be easy to just throw some colors on the canvas and you have art. Apparently my personality is not abstract because it was way to hard, I think because I was trying to "stay in the lines" and you can't do that with abstract. So the first canvas ended up in the garbage. I went back to the store for another canvas and decided to try stenciling, they really didn't have what I thought I wanted but I got them anyway - beachy stuff which would go great in my room. After painting the canvas and stenciling it I was again disappointed. I kept this one but am too embarrassed to show it to all my crafty, talented friends. Girlville gave me some great advice on making my on patterns. I've got to make another trip to Michael's for more canvas and try to get better ideas on what I really want. I do like the painting part of it I just need to use my imagination more and ideas are welcome.

Lots of pictures

2009-07-01T06:37:00.004-05:00

I had ordered two signs for Girlville and they came in last week, one she gave me for my birthday and I love them. They bring so much color to my room.

This is the other one. Thank you so much K!

This is our new sofa table and yes I know it's not behind the sofa. It looks so small in this picture but it's really a nice size and I love being able to display our family pictures, always makes it feeling homey.

And of new sofa and double (loveseat) chair whatever they call it now days. It is so comfy and soft.

The other day one of our neighbors was selling blueberries for their Church camp so I bought some, 3 pounds of them. I've never made homemade muffins so I gave it a try and they turned out really good, I'm going to make some more this afternoon.

This and that

2009-06-24T06:58:00.002-05:00

I've been working some extra hours at work but that's all going to change this afternoon - boss is going on vacation until after the 4th! I'm so excited, I'll still go in to check the mail, messages, and make bank deposits but no patients to deal with and all my work is caught up. I think I'll do what I did last year and try to go through all his junk that he never throws away and straighten things out. I wish he was like me and actually threw things away!

We got some much needed rain yesterday afternoon, I don't think I've ever been so excited to see rain. I know I always talk about how I love the hot weather blah blah blah, well I'm here to say it's hot and I can't take it! There I said it. It was even too hot to go to the beach last weekend I'm so hoping the temps drop to the mid 90's!!!

I'm also excited about our new furniture purchase, we got a new sofa and one of those double chairs with ottoman I don't know what they're called, it's not a love seat but it's big enough for two people to sit in. We are putting our old sofa in the front room that currently has nothing in it and we are making it into a little sitting area.

Also I've started a new habit, I've been getting up every morning and walking around our neighborhood, I can't believe how much energy I have through the day. When we lived in Hawaii I walked in the mornings for years and just got out of the habit. I don't even dread getting up, husband runs every morning and when he comes in I wake up anyway. I guess I had more to say than I thought. Now that I'll have some time off I'll be able to catch up with everybody.

Nothing to blog about

2009-06-15T21:17:00.002-05:00

Nothing's going on but hot, hot, hot weather. It's not so bad when your at the beach but going in and out of places you can really feel the heat. Thanks to facebook I was reconnected with a friend of mine who was down here for the weekend. We had such a good time at the beach on Friday, I miss having a girlfriend to go to the beach with (Sandy's doesn't like to go). On Saturday I met husband and Shane at the beach. They camped out at the beach Friday night, hey were both so tired by the time we got home Saturday afternoon - I not much of a camper, at least not one without a bed!

No excuse!

2009-06-09T16:24:00.003-05:00

Once again it's been forever since I've blogged, one of the reasons is facebook and my phone. It's so easy to fb from my phone anytime and by the time I get home I don't want to get on the computer. Anyway my parents anniversary party was wonderful, I've got some pics to share but it will have to wait until tomorrow hopefully. We had a great turn out and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Not much has been going on, Shane got out of school the end of May and I'm picking up another day of work beginning next week. Now that's it's summer I wish I wouldn't have agreed to the extra day! Shane and I spent a few hours at the beach today and it was just beautiful. We also had a great beach weekend too. Here are a few pics of today. The water was so clear and calm.
I would love to stay in one of these houses all summer.

Another update

2009-05-21T06:05:00.003-05:00

I went to see Sandy last night and she was doing pretty good, still in a lot of pain though and she said the meds weren't really helping. The nurses had gotten her up yesterday morning and she said it was very painful but unfortunately she was going to have to get up again last night and I'm sure multiple times today. The doctor said she would be in the hospital at least until Saturday and maybe Sunday. As much as anyone hates being in the hospital they will be able to control her pain level much better than when she goes home. I told her y'all ask about her and she appreciated that. Keep her in your prayers for a speedy recovery.

Not much else going on, my brother called the other day to ask why I didn't post the picture of me and he said he knew he would see that one of him on my blog.

I've found something else to become addicted to, facebook! I must be the last person to actually get an account. I can't believe all the people on there, it's like once you start looking for someone then look at their friends it never ends and you can spend days looking at it!

Sandy Update

2009-05-20T07:10:00.003-05:00

Just letting everyone know Sandy's surgery went well yesterday. She is expected to be in the hospital for a little longer than planned, maybe 5 days. I'm going to see her tonight so will update when I know more.

Flashback to the 70's

2009-05-18T20:19:00.003-05:00

Sorry Joel but I just had to. My dad or brother came across this pic over the weekend, we were at a friends house and think it was either 1978 or 1979, isn't my brother just the coolest? Check out his tan lines.

Some progress

2009-05-17T12:28:00.003-05:00

My potted hydrangeas are doing pretty good, the two right by the walk way in the ground aren't doing so well. I think they must get too much sunlight. I can't believe how much these have grown in such a short time.

This one isn't doing as good, this one gets more light than the other one but at least it isn't dead - not yet anyway.

Nyla is finally back home with us, I thought this was a nice package.

Happy Birthday Sandy!

2009-05-14T07:10:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Sandy, I hope you have a wonderday. Wish I could have a slice of this cake!

My new addiction!

2009-05-12T18:13:00.003-05:00

My boys got me these beautiful roses for Mother's Day - such sweet boys.

Husband got me a new phone for Mother's Day, he has had his blackberry for several months and I've been debating getting one. I can't believe how addicted I've already become to it. It is amazing to be able to check my email, check out blogs, and the usual phone stuff no matter where I am or what I'm doing. I love it! Yes I still have the plastic on the screen.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T15:26:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's Day mom. I hope all the mom's whether it's for humans or the furry kind are having a wonderful day today. I am so blessed to be the mom to two wonderful young men and being able to spend some time with both today makes it even more special. Some things I've learned through my own mom and being a mom for 22 years.

I will always love them more than any words can describe
I will always worry about them no matter how old they get
I will protect them even when they don't want to be protected
I only want happiness and wonderful things for them
I'm learning to let go of control which I never thought I'd be able to
I always want to feed my boys - maybe this is my way of showing them how much I love them
I tell them I love them EVERY day and they tell me the same
I tell them I'm sorry when I screw up

Enjoy your day!

Beach

2009-05-09T10:44:00.004-05:00

I never did get around to posting my beach picture from the other day. It was so windy that day and the water was so rough I only stayed about 1 1/2 hours. I think I was the only idiot on the beach!
Since I left the beach early I planted more flowers, this is from about two weeks ago so the flowers are a little fuller now. Since I got these on sale they need a little extra care but so far so good. The ones I planted in the ground are doing good too.

Thank you

2009-05-08T09:47:00.002-05:00

Thank you all so much for the comments you left about Nyla. Things are starting to get back to normal, it's so hard to look out in the backyard and not see her. I think Jazz is really missing her, she just seems so sad and lonely without her. We should be getting her ashes next week, we haven't decided what we are going to do with them yet. Shane made up a shadow box of her personal things so he can see it everyday. Before we left the vet last week they made up clay paw prints for us, they were so kind to us and they made a donation in Nyla's name to the Humane Society. Maybe all the hospitals do that since this was our first experience I wasn't sure how things worked.

Now on to more happier things, my plants are doing pretty good. I don't really know anything about different plants so when I find something that's pretty I get it. My brother informed me I planted the hydrangeas way too close to each other. I didn't know they got so big, they seem to be doing good so I may be in trouble next year. I'll show you my progress tomorrow.

Goodbye Nyla

2009-05-03T14:56:00.003-05:00

Nyla crossed over the rainbow bridge on Saturday morning. Early Friday evening Shane was outside in the backyard cleaning the grill. For some reason Nyla kept trying to go in the woods in our backyard - she never did this ever. Shane kept telling her to come back and even pulled her back out once. The next time Shane looked up he could see something in Nyla's mouth and a few minutes later she came quietly out of the woods and laid down in the yard. She had some blood on her mouth and I thought she must have finally gotten one of the squirrels she was always chasing. A while later her mouth started to swell we had no idea what she got a hold of or what got her. Husband and Shane took her to the ER where they assumed she must have gotten tangled up with a snake. They started her on fluids and medicine and admitted her. The doctor gave them hope as they were leaving Friday night. Saturday morning we called in to check on her and she had taken a turn for the worse over the night. Her whole head was twice the size as normal and since it was so swollen they could see all the bites, she was bitten about 9 times and was probably a baby because the marks were so small. Once we got to the hospital and talked again with the doctor we decided to let her go in peace. She was heavily sedated so she wasn't in any pain and we were able to sit with her and tell her how much we loved her and finally to say goodbye. She was such a good girl, never any trouble and she loved to curl up on the patio chairs - I really think she thought she was a small dog.

We love you pretty girl!

It's a start

2009-04-27T08:31:00.006-05:00

I've still got a long way to go with the flower bed but at least I finally made a decision on something. I found these hydrangeas at lowes yesterday - on sale. I'm going to go back today and get more. Did I mention lowes is my new best friend, I visit him multiple times every day!
I'm going to try to find some other fillers and two pots for the front porch.

This is the game room - the end that is finished. Husband has started putting up some of his racing stuff up.

I'm off to the beach for a few hours then I'm doing more yard work. Hopefully by this evening I'll have lots more color in the yard.

2 times in one week

2009-04-25T20:33:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I'm posting twice this week! We've had a gorgeous past few days and today I had planned on being out in the yard but when I went to the store to find something to plant I came home with nothing. I'm having the hardest time trying to decide what to do with my front porch and our flower bed. Right now we just have green plants, no color so of course I wanted flowers - how hard can it be? I just can't make up my mind, hopefully I can decide while it's still planting season.

Husband picked out two very nice ceiling fans for the Florida room and got those put up today. We had our pool table delivered this past week so the Florida room is turning into a game room. I'll take a picture once we have everything on the walls. I also need to learn to play pool so I can beat Shane. Husband is still debating the paint color for "his" room, I'll be so glad we he decides so we can get all his racing stuff out of boxes and on the walls.

I've been doing really good with my birthday present from my husband, a wii fit. I love this thing, does anyone else have one? I like using this better than a regular video or watching it on TV. I also can't believe how out of shape I am or how sore I was after the first day.

Hello Blog...

2009-04-21T18:34:00.009-05:00

Again it's been so long since my last post. I've had a great past few days because it seems my birthday just keeps going. Saturday we had my parents and inlaws and SIL over for a cook out and really celebrated that day for my birthday. I really have missed being able to do normal things like this throughout all the years we've been gone. We had lots of good food and the cake was so pretty and so good.
Sunday on my actual birthday we painted the Florida room and laundry room. It's a really light color but it's better than the white that was on the walls. Eventually we will get around to painting the other rooms but it could take a while.

Today I met Sandy and Suzy for lunch - Sandy was treating me to lunch. If this looks familiar it's because it's the same place we went to last year I think for both of our birthdays. It was a beautiful day.

Sandy and Suzy.

Sandy ordered this sign for me from Girlville (thank you for a wonderful job Girlville). Sandy is always telling me to be creative in my new room. I hung it above the closet doors so when I'm at my desk I can see it. Thank you for a great afternoon.

We got this table and chairs a couple of weeks ago, we didn't have anything to go in the "eat in kitchen" portion of the kitchen. I really love it, we also changed the lighting above the table.

A lot but nothing!

2009-04-11T20:41:00.004-05:00

I can't believe how bad I've been with posting. Since husband has been home we've been busy doing house stuff. It doesn't seem like we've really been doing anything but we have stayed busy. Monday we celebrated our 18th anniversary - sometimes it feels like yesterday. Husband sent me 18 roses, they are so pretty and still smell so good.

The other weekend we were in the backyard clearing out some of the brush and I happened to look up and saw this snake. I would have had a heart attack had the thing fell on me. Thank goodness is was harmless and small.

This is my view sitting on the back porch, it is so much nicer in the spring with all the leaves on the trees. We have neighbors behind us but we can't see them now.

On Monday I'm going for a nerve conduction test for my wrists, my husband has had the surgery twice and still has carpal tunnel. I'm not looking forward to the test but I'm ready to get the surgery so my wrists and hands stop hurting - wish me luck.

Happy Easter!

In bloom

2009-03-24T19:10:00.005-05:00

The other day Shane and I stopped by Krispy Kreme for some of the best glazed donuts in the world. I think I could eat a dozen of them - I would be sick but I think it would be worth it!

Everything is in full bloom around here, I think I enjoy spring more than I thought.

The weekend

2009-03-22T19:14:00.007-05:00

We've been so lucky to have great weather these past few weeks. I just love having the windows open and bringing that fresh smell inside. I don't have a window in my kitchen (it's in the center of the house) so when I'm cooking I can look out the window, this is the view. Don't look too close to the flower bed it needs more pine straw and cleaning out.
Friday Sandy came over for a visit, we both forgot to take pictures. We just sat around and went to a little vegetable stand up the road from my house. It was so nice to have her come see me. Last weekend when I went to see her she had made these pretty cards for me. Excellent packaging.
When I got home and opened up the box I realized she had made different designs. Thanks again.
Friday night I had my mom and brother and his family over for pizza. This was the first time brother's family have seen the house. It was so nice to have them over to our place, all these years it's always us at their house. The rest of the weekend was very relaxing. Two more days for husband to come home!

Our yard

2009-03-17T16:09:00.003-05:00

I am really enjoying our new yard, love the patio and the girls are really loving their freedom. We don't have any patio furniture except for these chairs, I didn't take a picture of the deck which has our grill and fire pit on it. We will be rearranging when husband gets home - next week - for good! My MIL is getting new patio furniture so we are going to get her old stuff. I think I'm going to get some planters and put some colorful flowers in them, hopefully Nyla will leave them alone. It is so nice in the afternoons to sit outside and enjoy the wonderful weather.

This is the driveway extension which as you can see connects to the patio, husband was so proud of his idea and use of the yard.

The Swap Gift

2009-03-13T19:58:00.007-05:00

I've been having computer issues this past week, I'm hoping everything is getting back to normal. Anyway on Tuesday I received my swap gift from Random, I'm hoping to have yours in the mail tomorrow. I couldn't believe all the wonderful things she sent and all things I love. I wasn't surprised to find the box she sent it in was a shoe box!
Such great packaging.
I love everything, tea, candles, cookbooks, note cards, bubble bath stuff, magnets, hanging sign which is now in my blue room, and sugar. I made some sugar cookies today so I could use the sugar. Thank you so much for all the stuff.