Can't believe it is a new year upon us! I must be getting pretty old!

I am very thankful for all the blessings that God gave us during 2008. I look forward to even more this new year!

Jim and I are going over to my daughters house for New Years Eve. We've done this for many years. We always have so much fun just visiting , eating ,playing silly board games and laughing until tears fill our eyes.

My son is spending the evening with my daughter in law's family and all of their friends. No one in our family drinks so I know everyone will be safe and happy.

Do you have a New Year Resolution? I usually don't. I gave up years ago because it seemed silly to keep making promises to myself that I couldn't keep such as not to snack at night until I bloat up! ha!

But now that today is officially Jim's first day of retirement it seems more of a new beginning. I think I'll just say that it is a new beginning and I am going to make the best of it. I know that Jim and I both want to spend more time in the gym and getting healthier.

I do pray that all of you take time everyday during this next year to feel the presence of God in your lives and count your blessings.

A New Season

They (whoever they are) say that our lives are just seasons we pass through. The season of youth, the season of newly weds, the season of becoming parents, the season of becoming grandparents.......
So I am beginning a new season in life. Actually WE are beginning a new season in life. Today I drove to the depot to pick up my husband from work. He walked out of that depot a different man.
After 30 years with the same employer he has retired!

I don't think it's completely set in yet. He's sitting at his computer as he usually does after a day of work, catching up on the latest news and emails. He's taken his after work shower and eaten some food and after reading on his computer he will sit in his little chair facing the TV and fall asleep as usual.
His body will be on work time for a while. He'll probably fall asleep in his chair early for a while and wake up early for a while. One can only imagine how a body would adjust from the alarm going off at 1:00am for 30 years to not going off at all!
I'm sure that soon he will be soaking up the enjoyment of knowing that he will never have to set that alarm for 1:00am again unless he WANTS to.

I'm happy for him. He has worked hard and faithfully for many, many long years. He deserves to relax and work only if he wants to where he wants to. He and I will have more time to do things together and enjoy each others company.

On this day our lives ahead of us is a mystery, an adventure waiting to be pursued. He plans to work part-time and is waiting for responses to some places which he chose to apply.
I think I'm the one who is in a state of wonder the most. I'm wondering how my routine that I've gotten comfortable in will be effected.
His life is changing and he is now in a place that he can do whatever he wants to do. My daily routines will mostly need to stay the same. I've gotten used to his work hours, his early to bed hours, my up late alone hours. So I will be the one making the most adjustments, at least that's how I see it now.

I'm sure that God is opening doors of wonder and great treasures for us. You may be hearing both some grumbling and some praises as I tell our story of our next season!

Merry Christmas

I'm going to be busy the next few days. Lots of cleaning and cooking and taking care of grand kids which means baking cookies and playing games.

I may not get much chance to be on here between now and Thursday --So I just want to write now and say MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone!

I pray that blessing are many and your hearts are full of joy and no matter how busy and stressful the next week might get don't forget the true meaning of our celebration !!

Ready

I think I'm finally ready for Christmas, well except for cleaning the house before everyone gets here.
I spent this morning wrapping the gifts I'd gotten. Whoever thought of inventing gift bags.........why didn't I think of that!

I did three loads of laundry and put chili ingredients in the crock pot. Called to see if Jim's mom wanted me to take her anywhere and she decided to stay home.

I then went to Costco. Had a couple of things that I wanted to get there so decided that while there try and finish up all the Christmas shopping needed. I got the turkey. All the turkeys seem to be small this year and Thanksgiving was slim so I also got a very small ham. Of course one of the things on my list was the Eggo waffles. That is a must have item with five grand kids. They walk in my door and straight to the toaster for waffles! I'll always remember my grandchildren as little ones asking me "can I have some wapples?"

I managed to find the last three gifts that were on my list while I was there.:)

Let me tell you those sample carts they stick on the corners of the isles really work! I was smelling something so wonderful and turned the corner and there was a cart with little pieces of this bread to sample. It was covered with cheese and garlic. Of course I then remembered I had chili in the crock pot so grabbed a box of this delicious bread. It only takes 10 minutes in the oven to brown it and waa-laa- yum!

It wasn't freezing outside but the air was pretty cool in the low 60's. The store was absolutely crowded to the max. The roads are full. Patience is a necessity.

I then came home with all my goodies and put most in the freezer/refrigerator. Wrapped up the last of the gifts and added them to a big box. I was going to put them under the tree but decided against torturing Conner and Kyle with temptation next week before Christmas. Besides, those gift bags are wonderful but too easy to sneak a peek!

Jim got home from work and we enjoyed the chili and toasted bread! Yum!

So tomorrow is Sunday. My beautiful granddaughter is performing in the church Christmas presentation so that will be fun to watch tomorrow night.

Monday I'll be taking Jim's mom out and about to finish up her shopping for the season. She seems to enjoy waiting until the last chance to get it done!

Jim is asleep in the chair watching TV with his eyes closed. He's probably dreaming of his last few days of work before retiring.
I'm going to go turn on the Christmas lights now and make myself a cup of tea!

High Tech

So I'm a baby boomer and grew up with Barbie dolls and watching The Wonderful World of Disney shows. My most fasinating thing growing up was trying to figure out how Tinker Bell held all that pixey dust as she was flying around.

This day of technology is mind boggling to me. Yet I've become spoiled to using my laptop. Email is a way for me to keep in touch with those I don't have the time to visit personally or live too far away to visit. It's a way to be able to keep in touch with my relatives that live in other states and I love that.
So when the little pop up window suddenly appears in my face telling me that my email server is not responding I want to yell and throw a tantrum!
How dare it not work!
How dare it tell me that my emails cannot be sent! How will I know what is going on in every one's life! What will I do with myself tonight while I wait for my TV shows to start!
Do I need a new laptop with all the new fancy bells and whistles? Do I need more whatever it is that is needed to create more space inside this thing?
Or do I need to call up the cable company that I get my email account through and yell at them personally?
Why is my laptop making a humming noise right now? Is it going to explode?!!!

I think that they purposely make these addictive wonderful gadgets to only last a short couple of years.
Whoever is smart enough to make these things is certainly smart enough to know that we will become addicted to them and that if they make them to only last a short time that we will certainly go buy another one that is much more high tech and much more expensive. They have made it that way also......that there are no other choice but to buy the "new and improved" model. That is why these people are billionaires!
Yet we who sit here hour after hour fascinated with all the wonderful things our new gadget does lives paycheck to paycheck as we fry our brains trying to figure out how to use it!

Crazy Emotional Wet Day

Goodness what a day.

My fabulous oldest sister turned 75 years young today. She is full of life and beautiful and I wish she lived closer. She emailed me today telling me of the great friends she has close by and that they came over to her house to share gifts, snacks, coffee and friendship. Then the house behind hers suddenly caught on fire and blew up! She and her friends had to run out of the house and far enough away to be out of danger. It seems that there was an elderly man living behind her that not only smoked but was on oxygen! He died in the fire. I'm thankful that my sister and her friends are all safe and her home was not damaged.

Then I received an email about a distant relative of mine that I never knew and never wished to know because he did great harm to a close relative of mine who I love dearly. This evil person died a couple of days ago after being ill for quite a while. He was evil and the harm he did changed my loved one's life. The only blessing is that this person has died and has already been to see his maker and has been judged. I trust he was given the judgement he deserved. I can only now pray for the hurt left behind to be healed.

So it is only fitting that we are now being flooded with rain after a very long hot dry year and that our roof is leaking in at least two places as I type!

SURVEY > $

I've been doing these surveys for several years now. I've added a link on the right sidebar >>>>>>

This is the only survey I've joined because they actually pay you! It isn't going to make you rich but a little here and there never hurts!
All you have to do it sign up for it and they send you emails with a link to a survey. You can choose to do the survey or not do the survey. It's your choice. You get points for each survey and they add up quicker than you might think. You can then choose to use those points for cash or prizes. I've always chosen cash and I've received checks in the mail.

So if anyone is interested the link is on the sidebar and it's the one that says SURVEY >>>>>>>> $$$$$ >>>>>>> :)

RAIN

It is pouring outside. Suppose to get up to 4 inches of rain by Thursday. High of 54* and wind is blowing. Have some chicken tortilla soup in the crock pot.
I drove around in this this morning getting some Christmas shopping done while I had the chance. Saw two car accidents while out.
I'm just thankful we don't have fires and we don't have that ice storm. I pray for those people with no electricity!

Chilly!

I know it's not snowing or freezing like so many places but for us here in southern California it's COLD!

The highs for the week's forecast is in the 50's. Snow in the mountians just miles from us.

Dare I say it's actually feeling like Christmas season!!!!!!

Yes! I actually baked sugar cookies with my grandson. Watched my granddaughter today in her gymnastics Christmas recital. I helped my mother-in-law put up her Christmas tree. Tonight I watched the Billy Graham Christmas Special on TV and it really felt like being at home with my mom & dad again. I remember growing up we never missed one of his shows. And now the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" is on TV.

Ho Ho Blah

I'm having trouble getting into a Christmas mood.

Maybe it's the full moon we are having now.

Maybe it's that I'm tired and haven't had the time or money to go shopping for gifts.

Maybe I've been stressed and depressed with daily life.

Maybe it's that it is just now getting cool enough outside to feel like winter time.

Maybe I need to just bake all day and sing songs of the season.

Maybe I need to go to the mall and sit on Santa's lap.

Maybe I need to stand in the mall and get trampled by the hundreds of shoppers.

Or maybe I just need to sit and hear the spirit of the season speak to me. The true reason for the season. Just sit still and know that HE is here. To know that it's not the gifts or the tree or the rush or the stores.

I need to turn off the depressing news stations and instead get my good book and read the word of God. Yes, I think that is what I will do.

old & achy

I've had a muscle in the left back side of my neck that has been hurting for days. Amazing how something like that can make a person become so cranky.
Jim keeps looking at me saying "are you ok?" NO I'm not ok! and why do you keep asking me when I told you already my neck hurts! ( I didn't actually say that but does thinking it count?)

Let me add to that--- old, achy and grouchy!

I've taken my Motrin, rubbed Icy Heat on it, and now I'm going to bed !

Christmas or Santa Claus?

I was watching a show on TV and the announcer said something about Christmas and then stopped himself and said "oh, am I still allowed to call it that?".

There is a great number of people who are trying to take away the very meaning of how our country was founded. For instance "In GOD We Trust" is still on money but I wonder how long it will be before they protest to take it off.

It's CHRISTmas time. There is a battle going on that says we are not suppose to call it that anymore. Winter Break is now what schools call it. Holiday is on store signs now.

Those who do not believe in the word Christmas would rather teach their children to believe in Santa Claus. Somehow it's easier for them to believe that there is a fat man dressed in red who magically sneaks into homes while we are sleeping. Scary actually if you really think about it.

Ok, go ahead , believe in Santa Claus... I do. In fact I've searched the history of Santa Claus.

Funny, those who do not believe in Christ and don't think it should be a part of the season may not be aware that Santa Claus............ya know, that guy they also call St. Nick..............SAINT Nicholas was actually a man who was actually declared a saint. That's right, a saint. That was his original name. He was a man who helped people in need.

Now I don't know of many who are declared a saint unless they belong to a church. Church. Ya know, the ones who believe in God. The ones who believe in Christ. ............OH, did I say Christ?

Gee, do you think that maybe Santa Claus/St. Nick also calls it Christmas? They do have something in common now don't they?

Here is a copy of something I got off a website:

Santa Claus and St. Nichola

Everybody loves Santa Claus. He embodies holiday cheer, happiness, fun, and gifts—warm happy aspects of the Christmas season.

How do Santa Claus and St. Nicholas differ?

Santa Claus belongs to childhood;

St. Nicholas models for all of life.

Santa Claus, as we know him, developed to boost Christmas sales—the commercial Christmas message;

St. Nicholas told the story of Christ and peace, goodwill toward all—the hope-filled Christmas message.

Santa Claus encourages consumption;

St. Nicholas encourages compassion.

Santa Claus appears each year to be seen and heard for a short time;

St. Nicholas is part of the communion of

saints, surrounding us always with prayer and example.

Santa Claus flies through the air—from the North Pole;

St. Nicholas walked the earth—caring for those in need.

Santa Claus, for some, replaces the Babe of Bethlehem;

St. Nicholas, for all, points to the Babe of Bethlehem.

Santa Claus isn't bad;

St. Nicholas is just better.

—J. Rosenthal & C. Myers

Busy Potty Day

It was an unusually busy day because today Conner wore pull-ups!! NO diapers!!

I decided to try it because yesterday at preschool class he told me he had to go pee twice during class! That was quite trying because I had only diapers with me and had to get them on and off while he stood in the bathroom.
So today before Nathan got here I popped in a movie called "Potty Power" he watched it and then he agreed to put on the pull-ups...........well, I had to call them diaper underpants before he'd agree. He kept saying he wanted diapers and I said "but these are diaper underpants" and then he agreed to put them on!

oh! it just occurred to me that I should of taken a photo of him in his pull-ups but I was so busy I didn't have a chance to think of it.

so anyway, he put them on by himself..........because he refused to allow me to help him until his two legs got stuck in the same leg hole.
He wore them the rest of the day and I just asked him from time to time if he needed to go and he'd say yes or no. He kept them dry and peed AND pooped in the potty chair the rest of the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Each time refusing to let me help him put the pants back on until he'd get stuck! lol!

I had told Vanessa this morning that I was going to try it and that if it worked today I'd give her a bag of pull-ups to take home and that she needed to go along with the idea throughout the weekend. I knew she hadn't bought any yet and I had a large box of them here that I had bought on sale several weeks ago. She agreed.
So I'm hoping that she does keep up with it and that by the time he comes here on Tuesday he'll still be using the toilet and that I don't have to start all over again! Figured if we started on a Friday it would work out better because then Vanessa would have three days off work to follow through easier at home.

He was so proud each time that he'd yell out to whoever was here " NATHAN!" or "PAPA!" so that they could come and look at his accomplishments! They would come to the bathroom and oohhh , ahhh and clap for him!

So now the potty chair is soaking in disinfectant and I'm going to drink my small glass of Merlot wine and watch a movie!

Toothless!

One thing I do that the kids think is so special at my house is let them eat while on the couch. There is a cushion in the middle that folds down and turns into a table top and they think it is just so great to sit there and eat while watching a show and not have to always sit at the table.

So tonight Conner and Kyle sat there eating their noodles, chicken and beans while watching a recording of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Pepper of course is keeping guard.

Suddenly Kyle yells "a wash cloth please!". I turn around to look and he's holding up one hand trying to show me something and the other hand is covering his mouth. He lost his second tooth! The tooth is so small that I can't even see it in his hand but his mouth is bleeding where the tooth used to be. I find a small container to put his tooth in and give him a wash cloth.

So soon as his dad walks in the door he runs up to show him " I lost my tooff !

Do you have a ghostly spirit?

We seem to have a spirit living in our house. I think it must be a friendly one. Nothing scary happening. It is a sneaky one that comes out at night and leaves us clues to let us know it lives with us.

Several times we've been woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of the timer going off on the oven. A loud buzzing noise that only comes on after you've turned the timer knob. So it must be one that likes to bake or perhaps just likes to see us jump out of bed. I know it's not that we have left the timer on because it could be several days after I had used the oven to bake and you can only set it for an hour at the most. It may go off at 2am and continues to buzzzzzzz until I get out of bed and turn it off.

Lately I've gotten up to the little lamp in the corner by my laptop turned on. Again, I had not used this lamp the night before yet there it is brightly shining for us to see that this spirit has been browsing through all the notes I leave scattered on my desk.

I suppose this is why our dog could be so crazy. Popping his head up from time to time glaring into the room like something is there moving about and Jim and I look around to see what he's so jumpy about and we see nothing or barking into thin air at sounds we do not hear.

I'm now wondering if this spirit has a bad sense of humor tinkering with our appliances and electronics. We've had to call repairmen several times over the last few months. We've had to repair the refrigerator, the oven and now our large screen TV will not work. We simply got up one morning last week and the TV would not turn on. It has a little red blinking light and that is all. We now have an appointment with the repairman to come out here on Tuesday.
I'm beginning to get a little annoyed with this spirit. It obviously has no clue how expensive these things are to repair!

I'd also like to know where it has hidden all the things that I cannot find. You know how you just know you've put something somewhere and when you look there it is no where to be found.

Do you have a spirit in your house? If so do you communicate with it? I'd like to know how so that I can ask it to please stop breaking expensive items, waking us up in the middle of the night and stop annoying our dog!

Holidays are Here!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day at my daughters house. The food was delicious and it was fun visiting with everyone. We played cards and talked. It rained the entire time so it felt more like the season.

My granddaughter wanted to come spend the night at our house so we brought her home with us. She is my only granddaughter and often spends the night. She is such a sweetheart. She is seven years old and a joy to have around.
We were all tired from the day and she went straight to her bed and watched TV for about 30 minutes then fell asleep.

The next morning I made German pancakes for the three of us, Jim, Sarah and myself.
Then I gave Sarah a manicure. Cut her nails, filed them, put nail polish on, and rubbed them with nail cream.
When her nails dried she wanted to play a game. Board games are her favorite thing to do!
I had recently taught her how to play Yahtzee and she wanted to play that. Jim came in and joined us. The three of us played and I actually got two Yahtzee's! I won!
One thing about playing games with Sarah is that you don't have to treat her like a little girl and try to let her win..........she learns quickly and learns well! She can play the games and will beat you the majority of the time! In fact she knew how to play chess when she was only six!
After the Yahtzee game I told her that when I was a little girl I used to play the card game of Solitaire often. That I didn't have anyone to play with most of the time so that was a good game to know.
She wanted to learn how to play it.
So I got out the deck of cards and sat with her and taught her the game. Within 30 minutes time she was on her own. She had it figured out and could play it by herself.
So, I got out another deck of cards and taught her how to play double Solitaire. It's the same as regular Solitaire only we both play on all the Aces. When we are both stuck with no more plays we then count to see who has the most cards on the Aces.
Well she absolutely LOVED playing it. She and I sat at the table and played double solitaire for hours!!
It was so much fun! We got out pretzels and dip and munched and played cards all day long.
My daughter arrived to pick her up and she played a Yahtzee game with us and then they went home.

Today Jim and I got out the Christmas decorations. The tree is up and decorated and my little collection of snowmen are all on display as well as the Nativity set.
Now all I need to do is go Christmas shopping!

Give Thanks

Something to be thankful for!!!! It's raining! It's suppose to rain hard
for the next couple of days. We NEED it badly here!

Happy Thanksgiving week!

We have very much to be thankful for!

I'm sending all my family and friends my love

and that I'm grateful for the blessings they

have brought to my life!

A Day Full !

So I woke up with no intentions of following any schedule or plans for the day. It's Saturday. My hubby still has one more week of vacation so he was already up and had the coffee made.

I got up and as I always do first thing in the morning, I let the dog out into the back yard and I walk to the bathroom. I sit down and feel this strange feeling as though the room had just shifted to the right! The toilet seat had broken on one side and was sliding off!

Jim was busy this morning sorting out his retirement papers and making phone calls. I wanted to run by the bank anyway so after having my morning coffee and oatmeal I made a trip to Wal-Mart and bought a toilet seat.
Jim was still on the phone by the time I returned home so I do what I usually do........I just did it myself. I took off the old toilet seat and installed the new one.

Then Jim suggested we go to the gym. Neither of us have been there for several months. We have a lifetime membership and decided that if we want to extend our lifetime we should make an effort to go. So we went to the gym and since it was basically starting all over again we didn't want to hurt ourselves we didn't even work up a sweat. Just pretty much leisurely walked on the machine and then did some sit-ups. At least we went and hope to get the habit rolling again.

My 9 year old grandson had a baseball game today. Jim wanted to go watch. I decided to stay home. So my 12 year old grandson and my 7 year old granddaughter stayed with me.
The three of us took my dog for a 30 minute walk. I took the dog home and then the three of us went to the rec hall. I live in a mobile home park and we have full use of the rec hall whenever it's open.
My 12 year old grandson Ryan, LOVES to play pool.
My husband used to play pool with my dad every year when we'd go visit. My dad enjoyed it so much and when my dad passed away I brought my dad's pool stick home with me.
Now my oldest grandson uses my dad's pool stick to play pool. Jim is teaching him how. I love it! We told him all about the pool stick and that it belonged to his Great Papa (that is what he called him). He is actually my only grandchild that remembers him and it means a lot to him to be using it.

We had so much fun playing pool today. After Ryan won a game against Sarah and I we played Ping Pong! I haven't played that in years and it was so fun!
We then came back to my home and played a Jr. Scattergories board game. Sarah loves board games.

Then Jim came home and Lisa picked up the kids. I made fruit smoothie's for Jim and I and we became couch potatoes for the evening!

The Count Down

I'm spoiled. I've become very used to MY time. Time to be browsing online. Time to type emails. Time to read books. Time to watch "chick flicks". Time to do whatever I want to do and watch whatever I want to watch on TV.
These times are not that frequent in fact they are very few and rare because they are only at night when the grand kids have gone home and my husband goes to bed and I have the living room to myself.

His job involves getting up at 1:00am driving to a depot in the dark of night and loading up a truck with various types of bread. Driving to various stores, stocking the shelves with the bread, driving back to the depot and printing out the sales of the day and ordering for the next few days.
He usually gets home around 2:00pm. A 13 hour day. He usually is in bed around 6pm. His days off of work are Weds and Sundays.
It's a job that requires a very different life style. Never spending two days in a row unless it's a Holiday. Never staying up late together to watch the late show. Eating dinner in the middle of the afternoon instead of evening like other families do.
It involves trying to talk to your husband and noticing that his eyes are beginning to roll to the back of his head due to exhaustion and you realize that everything you have said to him has vanished.

He has worked for the same company for almost 30 years. He is retiring. As of January 1st , 2009 he will be a free man!
He's very excited and should be. He is counting the days, hours and minutes left. No more alarm clock at 1am. No more lifting heavy pallets of bread racks. No more wearing knee pads in order to squat down to the bottom bread shelf.

I am happy for him. He has worked hard long hours for many years and deserves a life that has less strain on his 61 year old body and more leisure time.

I just have some adjusting to do! lol !

Dust and Snot

Well did I get your attention with that title?

We are living in the middle of a construction zone. It seems the entire city is being redone at the same time. To the South of us there is a freeway ramp being built. To the North of us they are repaving the roads. To the East of us they are also repaving roads and extending roads. AND the worst is to the West of us and RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from us they are building an entire shopping/ business center and there are bulldozers, tractors, trucks, etc. all which are shoving , digging and creating giant dust clouds!

MY nose is going crazy. Itching and sneezing. The house is covered with dust. You can see the dust on the road outside.

Then my grandson develops a fever of 101* this afternoon, coughing and runny nose. His mom picked him up and was taking him to the doctor because he has asthma.

Those rain dances I've been doing aren't working and it is just too dry around here!
I'm becoming a grumpy, itchy, dry ,sneezy blob! ..........or maybe one of the seven dwarfs?

Craft Closet

So we've lived here ...........ah, around six years I think. A very small two bedroom mobile home.

I've spent these last six years moving things around, back and forth, here and there, trying to find the right place for my hobbies and crafts. I scrapbook albums. I have tons of photos and supplies. A cart full of papers and a cart full of stickers and accessories to create each page of photos. I like to sew. I have my sewing machine, materials, supplies. I have magazines full of ideas and inspirations for these hobbies.

What I didn't have was any space to put all of this! I used the dining table to sew and scrap. The sewing machine sitting on a Tv tray next to the table. The scrapbooking carts stuck in the corner by the dining room table. The sewing supplies stuffed in various places like the hutch and any other spaces I could find.

I used the second bedroom as a room for my five grandkids to play and sleep over. The closet I had filled with their toys and the top shelves with blankets and sheets.

WELL, now the grandkids are older and mostly sit out here and watch TV! My youngest grandchildren like to grab what they want to play with out of the bedroom and bring it into whatever room I may be in such as the front room or the kitchen. SO, I have spent the last four days creating MY craft closet!

I took everything out of the room and piled it onto the floor and sorted through and bagged up THREE bags full of stuff they kids don't play with and also some clothes of mine that was in the closet I don't wear.

I then rearranged and pulled the dresser out of the closet and the one shelf that was in the closet.

I then shortened the shelf that was in the closet and now have the few toys they play with on those shelves.

I moved the big cabinet out of the closet, took out the board games that were in it and they are now in the dresser.

I then filled the big cabinet with my sewing machine and supplies and I'm able to lock it up when not using them.

THEN, I went into the garage and found the five wooden shelves that used to be on the wall and cleaned them up. Then screwed them up into the corners of the closet.

Then moved the little desk the old computer used to be on (which we don't have anymore) and put it in the middle of the closet.

WA-LA-----------------my craft closet!

I then went to the store and found some crates to fill with my materials and put them on the shelves on "the sewing side". On the other side are my scrapbooking carts and albums and supplies.

Everything is up out of reach or locked in the cabinet so the little two year old can't get into it and the other grandkids WILL know not to touch them. The rest of the room is still theirs when they are here! BUT, when they are not here I can now go into ONE AREA and find ALL of my hobby/craft supplies!!!!!! OH, I also bought a 4 foot table that folds up and it is also in the corner of the closet so I can use that to work on!

I'm still not done! I want to make new curtians for the closet and the window and a slip cover for the bed.....................NOW ALL I NEED IS TIME TO USE IT!

Tis the Season

For illnesses to start settling in....:(

My grandson is ill today with a bad cough and not feeling well enough to go to school, low fever. He told his mom it felt like a "couch day". She called me this morning to tell me she's staying home with the boys. She also doesn't feel that great and sounded as though her throat hurt.

So I'm off to the cupboard to drink my Airborne, Echinachea, Vitamin C, Green Tea and whatever else I can find to kill the little invisible buggers that may be thinking up ways to make me ill!!

My dog looks disappointed. He sits in front of the door every weekday morning anxiously awaiting for the friend of his to walk in. Funny how dogs just know. After the phone call he climbed up onto the big pillow on the couch and gave me that forlorn look and laid down.

As I said yesterday this week is confusing. Jim is off today, no kids. It's Thursday............it's Thursday..........

I could get out the sewing machine. I could get out the scrapbook. I could work on reorganizing the back room which is one of my new projects. I could read a book. I could clean house.
That couch is looking pretty comfortable.

What day is this?

Today is Wednesday..........today is Wednesday...........

I have to keep reminding myself which day it is today! I didn't have Conner or Kyle yesterday. I normally don't have them on the weekends or on Mondays, but yesterday was Veterans day and they spent the day with their Aunt and Cousins since there was no school.

Jim was off work yesterday also but he still bowled last night on his bowling team. He normally is off on Wednesdays and also bowls Weds. mornings. With the holiday yesterday he will instead be off work tomorrow and bowl tomorrow. He's also taking his mom to her doctor appointment this afternoon and another doctor appointment tomorrow morning.

Funny how one day can confuse the rest of the week. Everything feels off balanced!

It is sunny outside and a high of *76 it says. BUT forecast calls for the 90's again this weekend. I know there are those who envy our hot days here full of sun and warm winds. I on the other hand am tired of heat. I do not need the sun and warm wind to be heated anymore. I just have to breath to feel heated lately and sometimes wish the freezer was large enough that I could just walk into it to cool off! I'm tired of wearing shorts that I have to shave my legs for daily. I don't enjoy showing off the wings that have developed under my arms.
I want to cool off and wear comfy sweats with elastic waists and large loose tops!

Busy & Lazy

So this weekend was both busy and lazy.

I spent Saturday cleaning house, doing laundry, washing dishes, cooking a meal, balancing the checkbook and all that fun stuff.
I also gathered up some things I found around the house and stacked them in a large box to list on eBay.......when I get the chance to do that.

Saturday afternoon my son-in-law brought over my two oldest grandsons and Jim took them to the rec hall and they played pool and ping pong. My granddaughter came with them but she stayed with me and she and I played board games then watched iCarly. My daughter stayed home and worked. She works on computer from home and needed some uninterrupted time to catch up.

This afternoon we went over to my daughters house and we all laid around watching the football game on TV. Chargers won!

We ordered Mexican food and the guys drove to pick it up so Lisa and I didn't even need to cook! yeah!

It also rained ALL DAY TODAY! It's still raining outside. So finally some cool weather and much needed moisture.

Where did it go?

There was once a time when I'd be up late at night working on one of the items on my to-do list or on some creative project. I'd stay up late into the wee hours.

There was also a time when I'd be at the gym pumping away to build up my energy and muscles.

The funniest thing has happened. I haven't been going to the gym and now I have no energy, and muscles are finding their way to jello world.

I sit here at night telling myself how tired I am and that my brain is tired and I just want to veg out in front of the TV then go to bed. Of course before going to bed I get hungry and need to find something to eat!

Somewhere along the way I've lost my enthusiasm to be healthy and energized. Where did it go? How did I loose it? Do you suppose it was stolen? Maybe if my brain wasn't so tired I'd be able to remember where to find it!

Rain!

I can't believe it! It's actually WET outside! It's not hot! It's not dry!

Stuff

How do we accumulate so much stuff? Stuff here, stuff there. Stuff stuffed in boxes and corners and shelves.

I cleaned out my closet today, well part of it. Clothes that have been hanging there for more than one season without being worn once. Too small, too stained, too uncomfortable. I ended up with a huge garbage bag full of "stuff" to donate.
I still need to go through the dressers and the other closet in the spare room to get rid of more "stuff".
I've also begun to go through the file cabinet and boxes of papers that have been "stuffed" in there and are now so full that I can't "stuff" anymore "stuff" until I clean them out and shred the old "stuff".
I have some shelf's that have "stuff" on them that I need to go through also. Magazines, books, maps. Just "stuff".

I've sold "stuff" on Ebay. Now other people have my "stuff" that I didn't need.

I help take care of my mother-in-law. She will be 82 years old in two weeks. She likes to keep "stuff"....bunches and bunches of "stuff". I mean a LOT of "stuff". So much "stuff" that she has no idea what she has or where she may have "stuffed" it! Today I helped her search for her safe deposit box key which was like searching for the needle in the haystack.
Now that the weather has cooled down some and my husband is going to be on vacation for two weeks she has agreed that we need to go help her clean out and organize her "stuff".

At least I know that when I go to my Fathers house in Eternity I won't have to mess with a bunch of "stuff"!!

Boxes

I hope none of you are planning to spend much money on toys for the kids Christmas presents this year. I know how you can get them the best toys yet for FREE!

Just save up all your boxes!

I didn't take Conner to his preschool classes this week because he had a runny nose and that annoying post nasal cough. Not the best for all the other kids in the room to share his coughs and snot!

So had one of those weeks that was , well let me just say more challenging! He's a very active 2 year old and like most his age doesn't want to play independently yet.

So yesterday I gathered up several boxes of different shapes and sizes. Not too big so that he could handle them. I taped them shut and piled them on the floor.

He had the best time stacking them up over and over and over again..................but the best part of all was kicking them down!

Crazy Weather

What does 95*, butterflies, and trees with gold, yellow and green leaves all have in common?

That is what we have here!!! The weather here is so crazy we are having summer, spring and fall all at once!

Where is our winter? We NEED rain!!!!

I'm part Indian. I should know how to do a rain dance.

Burn Update

I don't know that much about burns. This is how my wrist looks a week after I burnt it. It's like a rash of tiny blisters that surfaced. The larger red spots are now brown. Today it actually feels better than it has, not so itchy and stinging is less so guess it's on the road to recovery. It's very annoying because of the location. You just never think of how often you use or touch an area until you injure it!

I can't remember the details but I think my sister Linda burnt her hand at one time? Did you? Wasn't it when you were cooking also?

Aren't we a scary pair!! Good thing we didn't get into the catering business!

Kyles creative idea

I've been sewing when ever I have time to squeeze it in. I love to sew. I've recently made little blankies with ribbon tags on them that babies love.
My 2yr old grandson can't go a day without his. I've sold others.





More recently I started making purses out of clothes that don't fit, mainly old jeans. It all started with a pair of pants I had with very large cuffs. I wanted the cuffs off and after cutting them off the idea of a little girls purse came to mind. So I made a purse for my granddaughter and she loved it. I've made others and listed them on the Etsy site for sale along with some little blankies.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6189867



My grandson, Kyle who is 7 yrs old next month, saw the purses and asked me about them. I showed him what I used to make them and said " I need to think of ideas for using pockets of old jeans". He thought about it a minute and said "how about a tooth fairy pocket?" He even explained how I should make it with a handle on the top so it could be hung from the bedroom door knob instead of being put under the pillow where his little brother might get it because sometimes they fall asleep together on the same bed!


Well, last week I pick up Kyle from school and he says to me " grandma, my bottom front teeth hurt when my top teeth touch them" I asked him if they were loose and he discovered they were. He was SO excited!!
So I went to work and made him the very first Levi Fairy Tooth Pocket just as he wanted it!

Blah Blah

I've had a very busy day. Seemed that what is usually an easy task today took longer and was more stressful. Just one of those days. It was way too hot close to 100* which drains me while I'm out running errands with the kids.
My body doesn't want to help me today either. Achy. And the burn area on my wrist is in that itchy, stinging stage and of course I'm using my wrist all day long so hard to ignore it. Oh, did I say I had a headache also?
I didn't sleep much last night so that probably doesn't help any!

OK, I've complained and got that out of my system so now going to go sit and be a couch potato. :)

Where's Pepper?

You've heard of the books Where's Waldo haven't you?
I call this "Where's Pepper?" :)

He has just recently decided these couch pillows are very comfy!

Not so bad burn

This is after two days and nights of being wrapped in burn ointment. Not so bad.

could of been a lot worse!

Keepsake Book

I read my sister's blog about her heirlooms. So I thought I'd share my idea.

I'm a scrapaholic. My daughter and I get together as often as we can (which lately hasn't been possible much) and we stay up all hours of the night to scrapbook all our precious photographs as we laugh and enjoy the company. I have albums of grand kids, my kids when they were young, the month long vacation Jim and I took across the states, and just albums for all occasions and each one of them is put together with my love of scrap booking. Each page is decorated and journaled.


When my mom and dad both passed onto the blessed world of eternity there was the duty of going through all the things left behind. Some things were given to each of us in the prior years by them but there were things left to go through. As my sisters and I were going through my mom's jewelry we realized then that there were items we had no idea where she got them or when or who from. Then a year later when dad passed on we had to go through the entire house.

My sisters are older than me and they remember more of the history of things than I did.

I ended up bringing things home with me as both my sisters and brother did.

As time passed by I kept thinking of things that I have that I wanted to pass on to my children and grandchildren . Things passed down from my parents, things passed down from my mother in law and things that I've kept since my children were born.

I kept trying to think of a way to help my children remember what each and every one of these items meant, when they were acquired and how. Things like the Indian doll that I got when I was three years old. Things like the crocheted dress my sister made for my daughter when she was a baby. Things like the compact that my mother in law gave me to hold as something old when I got married. Many of these things are in a cedar chest that my parents gave me when I graduated from high school which is yet another thing to pass on. Other items are displayed around the house or in my jewelry box.

I wanted my children to know what all these things were when they have the chore of going through them after I pass on to the Heavenly world. I wanted them to have an easy time of it and not sit and wonder "why did mom keep this!" or "which one of us wore those shoes?".

SO, it finally came to me what to do......scrapbook of course! So I went through my house and took photos of all the things I could think of that I want them to know about. I then bought a small album with the inscribed words on the front that say " Forget me Not" which I thought was fitting.

Then placed a photo on each page and journaled under the photo telling the story of the item. It's not as decorated as my other albums but it does it's purpose.

Now they can just grab that album as they go through everything when that time comes and wa-la, the story is told.

3 burns

Well isn't this a fine day!
I posted earlier about today at the eye doctor. I forgot to mention that while I'm at the doctor getting the prescription for my eye drops that burn the eyes I smell something bad and hear voices talking about a fire. There was a car on fire in the parking right in front of the office! They opened up the hood and there were flames shooting up because the motor was burning! They put it out with fire extinguisher before it got worse.
So after all that, tonight I thought I'd cook myself some yummy egg rolls. I like to cook them up in a skillet with olive oil to make them crispy. So as I go to turn them over a blast of oil shoots out and hits the underside of my left arm right under the wrists. OUCH! I immediately put an ice pack on it. Find the first aid kit and pour burn ointment all over it and wrap in gauze. I've been sitting here all night with an ice pack on it because the burn is about two inches long and painful! No blisters yet so hopefully tomorrow will be alright.

They , whoever they are, say that everything comes in threes so hopefully I'm done now! I still haven't put those drops in my eyes! Think I'll start that prescription in the morning!

The eyes

So I had my routine eye exam today.

I wear glasses so that I may see up close. Comes in handy for simple things like reading, using computer, reading the labels on clothes when I shop so not to come home with items three sizes too small, menus, etc.

It's always so fun at the eye doctor.
You get to sit in so many different chairs and stick your forehead to a numerous types of gadgets and watch all sorts of flashing, beaming, moving objects, ya know sort of like a video game.

Then they take photos of your eye so you can see all the gross looking red blotches and veins in a blown up size.
The best part is putting those drops in your eyes that numb them and turn your eyes a pretty yellow and make them feel like sandpaper.

So after two hours of thrills I get to pay them $137 for a new set of glasses-- because the my vision has "slightly" changed for the worse. Thank goodness for the insurance coverage for the balance of charges!

AND for an extra bonus I get to add another prescription to my cabinet shelf! My eyes are having trouble creating tears, which explains the VERY uncomfortable dryness I've had on top of the extremely dry weather!

So the doctor gives me this prescription for Restasis. It's an eye drop that is suppose to relieve the dryness. Hey, that should be great right?
Well, he then tells me that for the first FOUR weeks using it there is a good chance that I will have the side effect of a burning sensation when I use it.......and it needs to be used every morning and every night.........oh yeah, how fun is it going to be to have flames shooting out of my eyes twice a day!

To make it all an even more rewarding moment he tells me that chronic dry eyes is a common event as "we" get older.

I can't wait for my yearly Pap Smear!

Wallpaper Fun

So why is it so fun to play around with this background wallpaper on my blog! I've sat here in a vegetated state scrolling through all the different backgrounds to choose from for quite some time now..........in fact I've lost track of time!
So many choices! How can I choose just one!

It's not that I don't have other things to do. It is Sunday and I try not to do housework but there is planning menus, sewing, scrapbooking, reading, gathering up what I might sell on ebay next and taking photos to post on my page..the list goes on...... BUT I sit here staring at those backgrounds as though it will make a dramatic difference in my life.

Perhaps the person reading my blog will become so inspired they will redecorate their entire house. Maybe with the decorative sides my spelling and grammer will inprove. I'm sure that with this adorable blog everything I write is much more interesting to read!

So I missed my calling. I should of learned how to make these wonderful decorative backgrounds and started my own business. Then I could sit and play with them all day long and get paid!

But truth is that my grandchild will probably learn how to do all of this and more before I can figure out how to change the layout of my blog!