YITL #3

I know I'm out of order on this, but somehow last week just slipped past. I didn't get last week's word done, but I will. The picture a week I posted was really lame (a monogram stamp I created), especially compared to the baby pictures from Bonny that showed up the next day. Oh well. I did get this week's word done.

I've been working on wedding invitations for some friends who mean a lot to me. Justin and I have been singing together in the choir for many years now and we sing in the praise band together. We were even in a "real" band, for about a year, called 104:33. It's in Psalms. "I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live." Anyway, Ehron came back to church after getting her master's degree and I just knew that they should get together. He needed a girl and she needed a guy. They ended up dating and they tell me it's all my fault. Now they're getting married and I'm handcrafting their invitations (for the most part). The colors of their wedding are spring Texas wildflowers. The background picture they chose was bluebonnets. They wanted paper that would go with the bluebonnets, so I chose the paper my word this week is on. I also used a bit of the ribbon on their invitations.

The Holiday I Dislike the Most

From Suzanne's Blog Challenge, Blog challenge # 3
Rant and rave! What holiday drives you nuts? Think of a holiday people fuss over. Write about loving and/or disliking that holiday.

What holiday drives me nuts? Any of the ones that causes merchandise for that holiday to be put out two months in advance of said holiday. Valentine's Day, Halloween, even Christmas. I love Christmas, but I despise the fact that you can find Christmas decorations before the Halloween stuff is even off the floor, much less before Thanksgiving is over. And speaking of Halloween, what happened to kids getting dressed up to snag candy from the neighbors? Now it's all about adults (kids who haven't grown up) having an excuse to be someone else, get drunk, and act like fools because they're a different persona. And Valentine's day. It's ONE FREAKIN' DAY! Why is the candy (which makes us fat) and the hearts and the jewelry all out by January 1st? And why does the price of roses go up 5 times normal? Just because the greedy corporate people can and the rest of the suckers, I mean people, are too stupid to just tell their sweetheart they love them. I personally don't need flowers or cards or candy from my husband to know that he cares. The fact that he works, helps pay the bills, helps raise our sons, and treats me with respect is proof enough!

That's probably enough ranting for now.

I would like to let everyone know that Snickers is back home and re-adjusting to being home. I don't remember if I told you that we had taken him to DB and SIL's home in Austin while we were in Las Vegas. We got back on Sunday and weren't able to get up there right away to get him. On Wednesday, SIL called and said Snickers hadn't been there all day and she just wanted to let us know if we were coming that day to get him. DS#1 went the next day in hopes that he would be back because he apparently wandered away a couple of times while we were gone, but always came back. He wasn't there, so I e-mailed photos of the dog to SIL and she and DS#1 put up signs all over the neighborhood, the store, the local vets, etc. We didn't hear anything until Sunday, someone called SIL and said they thought they had Snickers. Since DS was starting back to school and had baseball stuff in the afternoon, he coudn't go. DH had to work. It was a slow day for me, so I told her that I'd be up as soon as I got off work or earlier if I could get away. My co-workers overheard me telling her and my husband my plans and they said to go ahead and leave. "If it were my dog, I'd be on the way already." So I left at 3:30 for the two hour drive in a borrowed Ford Econoline van (another story). When I was about 20 minutes away, SIL calls and says the people want them to pick him up now, so I didn't get to see where he was.

It turns out that he wasn't that far from home. He was in an RV park with a family that had several children and they were all living in a travel trailer. SIL said none of them had a full set of teeth and all the adults had cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. They wanted to keep him, but they figured they didn't have enough room for him, so they called. It was so funny because they had left to pick up the dog just minutes before I arrived and I really needed to relieve myself. While I was in the bathroom, my niece came running through the house, "Aunt Karen! Aunt Karen! Snickers is home! Snickers is home!" When I came around the corner calling his name, he looked bewildered, but happy to see me.

Anyway, he's home now, getting back to his normal routine. He's been turning his nose up at the kibble because he was getting eggs and pancakes at the hillbilly's place, but he'll be back to normal soon. DS is planning to take him to get a harness, since the pin-head dog slips his regular collar, and get him microchipped so that we have a better chance at recovery next time.

Tomorrow I'll tell you all about the Excursion. That's another long post in itself. Have a great day!

YITL #1

Okay, I'm going to try to keep up with Suzanne and her "Year In The Life" challenge. The first word of the year is "resolve." I made a small card to reflect what I would like to work on this year.



As part of the monthly challenges at 123-scrap, I altered an acrylic box to put my cards in. I think it turned out really cute.




It's not too late if you want to come play along with us!

What Does Morning Look Like?

Today's entry is from Suzanne's weekly blog challenge. I intend to go back and do the first one at some point, but when I get home, I forget about the blogosphere sometimes. Anyway, the challenge this week is:

Focus on JUST the first half hour of your waking day. Write a blog entry describing it in depth. Include details such as what time you wake up and what your mood is generally. Are you usually well rested? Do you use an alarm clock to wake? If so, is it set to music or buzzing? Use lots of descriptive words!

My alarm goes off at 5:45 in the morning. Actually three alarms go off at 5:45. On DH's side of the bed is the buzzer and his clock is always a few minutes fast. Then the Bose radio alarm comes on followed closely by my phone/PDA on my side of the bed. The radio is more apt to be on time since I set it it and check it periodically. I'll lay there for a couple of minutes and exchange morning greetings with DH.

"Morning."
"Morning."
"How're you?"
"Okay, I guess. How're you?"
"Okay."
"Did you sleep well?"

Here continues a discussion of how each of us slept through the night. After that, I'm up to put the dog outside and check to see if someone started a load of laundry during the night. Delayed start is great because they can wash while we sleep and dry while we get ready for the day. Then it's off to the bathroom for my morning ritual. Potty, shower, brush teeth, dry hair, and if I'm feeling particularly ahead of schedule, perhaps some makeup. Then it's off to hunt down clothes to wear. That usually covers the first 30 minutes of my day.

Ever Had One of These Days?

If the music on my blog-music player is coming through your speakers, scroll down and pause it before starting this video. It's got music which makes the whole thing just a riot.

glumbert - Bad Day at the Office

Spark People

I learned about Spark People from Cindy's blog and joined up. I'm still getting my mindset for losing weight, but I wanted to share about it here. You'll find a button like this:



on the right side of my blog if you ever need or want it. I'm trying to get comfortable in my clothes again. I've seen pictures of myself and reflections lately that show just how bad off I am. So I know that I need to do something. This is my first step.

Hello Blog Fans!

We just returned home from taking the newly 21-year-old son to Las Vegas for his birthday. No more Chuck E. Cheese! His little brother made the mistake of telling the sound guy at church about the birthday party and now everyone at Cowboys, where they both work, know all about it and rag him about it. Big brother wasn't too happy.

Any way, I discovered that I haven't lost anything in Las Vegas (except a lot of money) and it's not a fun place to be anymore. It's expensive and it's not family friendly anymore. The place is a lot more upscale than it used to be, but it's sleazier than ever, if could get that way. Every show (or so it seems) has topless women, there are adult emporiums (emporia?) all over the place. And the flyers for the "girl" places show topless women now.
And the people that hand them out are just gross!

DS#1 had a great time, though. He got to gamble, playing blackjack and keno. He learned about how hard it is to push away from the table when you're ahead. I know that the whole time we were there, I just was not comfortable like I used to be. Perhaps it's because I'm not in that place anymore in mind and spirit.

This was a sight I was happy to see.