Well it's officially dead

my ear that is. LOL!

I've been sick for months. Been in and out of the doctors office with ear pain, sinus infection, swollen glands, ect. I've been on more meds in the past two months then I've taken in the last 5 years. Finally I was referred to a specialist.

I go into the office and explain my ear hurts. I had infections and tubes as a child. When I was a teenager I went through a year of the most awful dizzy spells anyone could imagine which was at that time chaulked up to massive scar tissue causing equilibrium problems. Since then I have experienced significant hearing loss in one ear. Pain in the one that was causing me problems now.

So the new doctor asks when was the last time I had my hearing checked. Well back when I was a teenager I suppose since they don't check our hearing as adults I replied. He proceeded to poke and prod for a few minutes. Then he told me I had an infected saliva gland that was causing my ear pain. He seemed quite certain that was my issue and gave me a presciption which I so hope helps me feel ship shape by Christmas. And before I left, he insisted on testing my hearing. Fine and dandy.

Soon after the test I find myself back in a patient room where doctor comes in and tells me that he is amazed. (Before I finish, know that although I didn't have statistics, I really knew in my heart it was this bad. Nothing he said shocked me.) He said at first he didn't believe me when I said I had significant hearing loss in one ear because of my age and that I cover it well. Then he showed me my test and said that the good news is great - I have full hearing in the other ear. The bad news is that I have 0% hearing in the bad ear. 0%. He went on to explain that when I had dizzy spells as a teenager something in the inner ear (he used the medical term) was detatching and essentially leaving me with a dead ear. He seemed quite fascinated with the whole situation because of course this isn't something that usually happens to people.

Anywho- back to the ear pain- I just hope and pray this was a step in the right direction of feeling better soon. I'm so sick of being sick at this point.

Beyond my story above, we are ready for Christmas for the most part. We kept it small this year within the family and chose instead to focus on helping others in need. We donated to the food bank and helped distribute food. We also bought some gifts for kids in need. I'm thankful we were able to do this. It's a great reminder of what the season is really about.

Today the kids have bowling and then we are going to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. When we get home I plan on finishing the hand-made gifts and stamping the Christmas cards to mail on Monday.

Tomorrow I need to help the kids pack for their trip over Christmas break. So I guess that means no rest for the weary this weekend. But we'll have fun! :)

I hope you all are well and enjoying the season. Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope all my friends are well and enjoying a lovely long weekend with good food, family, and some fun! We are enjoying our tremendously.

In the past few weeks we've been busy busy busy again. To boot I've been sick. Went into the doctor who told me I had fluid in an ear but it wasn't infected so I'd be fine. He put me on a prescription decongestant to help dry out my ear. Two weeks later I was still feeling crummy and had fever and chills, headaches and ear pain - so I went back in. This time he said I had an infection (DUH!) and gave me an antibiotic. Thank goodness it was earlier in the week - I was feeling better by Thursday. Whew!

Took the kids to see Mr. McGorium's last weekend and that was cute. I know it gets really wish-washy reviews but the kids and I give it a thumbs up. Now we only have Enchanted left on our list. (Who can resist McDreamy on the big screen! Right?)

The kids are doing better each week at bowling. Darling daughter bowls up in the eldest bracket because they wanted to keep her and her brother together in league. Instead of that being intimidating to her, she's really rose to the challenge. She now set new high scores for herself several times. Last week she earn a patch for her inmprovement and got and invitation to the Western Regionals sponsered by Pepsi. You go girl! :)

Well, there's the highs and lows from my last post. Today dear hubby and I are heading out to see the kids bowl. When we get home we plan on putting up the baseboards in our dining room. That's the last thing to do to complete the new flooring project. Well that and maybe some new curtains in there too. We shall see. ;)

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you all have an awesome holiday run this season! Take care and enjoy!

Would you believe

I was abducted by aliens?

No?

Okay.

It's really just been a very busy past 5 weeks since posting on my blog. I cannot believe it's November.

Would you like to know what we've been up to? Well, we've celebrated 3 birthdays in that time and consumed entirely way to much cake to even think about.

Everyone is well. The kids are still enjoying their bowling a great deal. Things are going well for the kids at school this year. And I really love my job duties this year too.

The end.

Hahaha

The things I've posted above are all true. -Life is good.

On to some excitement? Let's see... We took the dogs in to the vet to get their routine shots. Our sweet Riley is a little bundle of nerves away from home or around new people. So put those things together, give him a shot or two and he had a terrible reaction. Oncc home, Riley's face began to swell. And continued to do so. All to soon he could barely open his eyes. Luckily with a call to the vet we were able to get him some meds and calm him down. Oh the drama it was at the time. Poor little guy!

Dear hubby spoiled me rotten this year for my birthday and bought me the new i-pod nano. I am super excited about that. He caught me by surprise! I of course had to organize all our music and now I have it on the go. :D

A few weeks ago the kids got some new pets. They bought parakeets. Neither picked out the traditional marked parakeet but instead chose white keets. They are really pretty with some unusual markings. To date, things have gone well with being new pet owners.

Do you think my darling daughter needs medical attention? Last night she chopped up some veggies for the birds and when she was putting it into the cage she turned to me and said, "McKena has earned a skill point." That should means something to you only if you are as addicted to Sims as this young lady. LOL! We bought Sims 2 about a month ago and omgoodness does darling daughter enjoy that game! So now she'll be going about her day and make a reference here and there about herself as if she were a Sim character. Sad! ;)

I mentioned at the beginning of this post about it being November. Do you know that means it offically time to start thinking about the holiday season? Yes I am listening to Christmas music as I type. LOL! I am ready for the new season. We are going simple and small this year in gifts and such. I say that each year and each year it seems we enjoy the holiday season more. I appreciate that my kids know- giving to others, spending time together as a family, and remembering not to take things for granted is the the true spirit of Christmas.

Well on to scrappy things? I've done some lo's in my blog absence but I think I'll only post a couple.

* I guess I'll have to come back and post my images as its telling me that feature is temp. unavailable.

I'll try not to disappear again.

You all have a super fantastic week and thanks for stopping in!

Well its nice to be back here

I had been sick with the flu. Then the darling daughter was sick. Her troubles were a terrible cold that flared her asthma. It was a struggle for her and I felt so bad for my baby. The good news, she's finally on the mend. By next week she should be off all the meds and back to a regular schedule of activities.

In other news- Dear hubby is doing very well not smoking. I will say I just might have to give him away to the highest bidder if his shining personality doesn't come back soon. He seems to have lost it along with the cigarettes. :S

I rented a cottage this week for us to get away this Christmas. Last time we were there we saw the cottages with beautiful decks and hot tubs. So- my dh thinks we rented the minimally furnished cabin we stayed in last time but because he loves hot tubs I splurged and got the furnished cottage with the bbq and hot tub. He'll be so surprised come Christmas! You know Christmas is really just around the corner!

Dear son's b-day is also coming up so I was so lucky to stumble across 2 of his presents on an awesome sale. Basically I got 2 for the price of 1. Gotta love sales! We have just one present left to get and then he's done. Yippee yippee yippee!

I've worked on only a couple of lo's since last post. Here they are- TFL!





Well I gotta run. We are still trying to catch up on all darling daughter homework she missed when being absent last week. She's now calling for some help. You all have a super week!

I'm still kicking

Hello there. Things have been crazy since going back to work and kids back to school. New fall routine. I hope all is well with you all my friends!

Back to school has brought the icky cold and crud into the house. We seem to be passing it back and forth to one another. Yucky!

In other news the kids started their bowling league last weekend and did rather well. I have never seen league play before so it was really interesting to watch! The kids had a blast!

I haven't been on the computer much this past few weeks. Here are the lo's I done since last post. TFL!




Well, sorry to hit and run but soon, soon I shall be feeling a little better and have more time on the net. Have a super week!

Knock me over

with a proverbal feather. A little history here first- My dh has been a smoker all of his adult life. When we first met (8 years ago), he quit but didn't tell me until later that he'd done that. Impressive! So for the first four years we were together he was NOT a smoker. Then his mom fell ill and passed away. He started smoking again during that time and he's been smoking ever since. Well back to last night. He comes home from work and tells me and the kids that he is QUITING. We are so thrilled and very proud of him!

The rest of my post will be small potatoes to that news. ;)

I took it easy this weekend because I felt sick all weekend. Just icky and fluish. Yuck! I did scrap a little. The Amazing digi scrapping race came to and end yesterday. It was a lot of fun! My partner and I did finish the race. Our names will be put into the drawing for the grand prize. Wish us luck! :D

Before by dear hubby came home with the news of quiting smoking, the highlight of my week had been that he was bringing me home a hubcap for my car. I know that sounds silly but I had a flat like six months ago or so and lost my hubcap. We were going to buy a new one but Chevy wanted to charge us upwards of $100 bucks for a plastic cap. So my dh said to let him see if he could find one this summer at a junk yard and if not we'd order a new one when school started. Well - he found one the other day! He brought it home last night and put it on and now my car looks all nice and purty again.

Tomorrow I'm back to work. Yep... I'll be excited about it if I wake up feeling ship shape in the morning. I'm looking forward to fall and a new routine.

Well here's what I scrapped this week. Thank for looking!







Thanks for stopping in! Have a super great week!!!

The poor kids

They been poked and prodded by the dentist, doctor, and tomorrow their orthodontist. They are no longer good sports about it either. But alas they are ready for school to start back up next week. Luckily, they had no cavities, no health issues, and only had to get one booster shot each. The orthodontist appointment will be a breeze. Hehehe

This afternoon we are heading into Target to pick up the last few things the kids need as far as school supplies. And then I'm taking darling daughter over to Macy's to get her a little make-up. Gasp! It's hard to believe she's old enough to start wearing make-up. I've talked with her about doing this just before school starts but really I think it was to my benefit so that I would get used to the idea that she's growing up. *sniff sniff* What's a mother to do? This is my youngest too!

I must say, much to my relief, my dear son chose NOT to play football this year. I'm actually really glad because last year it was nothing but stressful for us both. It was a hard decision for him which he wanted me to make but I didn't. Instead, both kids are going to join a bowling program. I don't know all the details at this point but its a 33 week program where we meet every Saturday and it's tied in with some sort of scholarship program. They seem pretty excited about it. It should be interesting. And then if dear son keeps his grades up this fall he is going to give basketball a try this winter. It's all good, right? ;)

The weather has been so wacky this summer. It's been cool and rainy one day and bright and warm the next. Along with the changes in pressure we must have a high pollen count right now because my ds and I keep waking with our allergies really bothering us. All week long we've had headaches and sinus discomfort. I'll be glad when its fall and the weather isn't changing on us from day to day.

I haven't been super scrappy this week. Just busy getting the house organized and the last minute stuff done before heading back to work next week. Here's one lo of our stop at Powell's book store recently. :D



Well, I'm thinking that when we run to town we need to stop at the mall and get some new lotions at both and body works, stop into the salon and gets some new hair goods, and definately stop at heart & home to get some new yummy fall-ish smelling Yankee tarts. That should brighten a girls day - don't you think?

You all have a great rest of the week and thanks for stopping in!

I'm a bad blogger!

And with boring posts to boot! I need to try an make this blog a little more interesting. LOL!

This week I got a little email from Ms. Amanda inviting me to stay on her team. I was a guest for the month and am just pleased as punch to get an official spot on her CT. She's so sweet and her designs are fun, funky, and fab! Check her out over at TDC. There's a quick link in my sidebar. ;)

The Race is going well. Jen and I have only ONE more week. That's two challenges and then we'll be in the drawing for the grand prize. Last I heard it was over $2000. of stuff in the pot. Wowza~!

Some friends linked me to a different weight tracker place called Sparkpeople and its free. I checked it out and it is similar to the WW online but seems to have even more support and an email feature to send you cooking, exercise, inspirational tips and such. I recommend you check it out. It's pretty cool!

And here's what I've been scrappin' since my last post. TFL!







I spent all of Friday afternoon and evening deleting some old used kits and organizing and backing up newer files. Just getting things ship shape as summer is coming to an end. I alway back up to the EHD and try to back up every so ofter to DVD too. Better safe than sorry... you know? When was the last time you did? Just a friendly reminder. So many people have lost all their stuff lately with various problems. :)

Well, I need to go pick dear hubby up from work soon. So thanks so much for stopping by! Have a super Sunday!

The last few days have been a blur...

Well Sunday, we worked around the house and cleaned out the garage. In the evening we sat around the table and played games. Its so fun when we do that!

Monday dh got up and went out fishing. The kids and I sat around and played the PS2. I can't remember the last time I did that with them. In the afternoon when dh got home we laid the flooring in the main bathroom. We bought all the flooring at the beginning of summer but hadn't made the time to get it done. It turned out awesome. Then I went into town and got my haircut. I had about 3" taken off the ends and it looks so much better. :D

Tuesday. Now Tuesday we planned on going to the Zoo. We got up and drove an hour and a half to the exit to learn the parking area was full and were directed to an overflow parking lot about 10 miles away. No big deal right? It took us over an hour to drive those 10 miles. We were getting a little frustrated and hungry so I started handing out sandwiches I'd packed. When we finally made it to the overflow lot, there was another very long wait to get onto a school bus that was taking people back over to the zoo. At that point we gave up and headed off to find something else to do. So from the over flow parking lot we headed to downtown Portland where we were rear ended - twice - by the same lady. Do I need to say more? She did NOT deserve to be behind the wheel of a car! The first time it was a lighter tap. (We were in the stop and go traffic and she kept going threw the lights and was out in the intersection rather than waiting for the next green light.) She hit the ball hitch we have in to tow our boat. The second time she threw us forward a bit. My dh got out of the car and checked out our car. Now dh is so passive and such a people person but he was ticked after the second holt and he yelled at the lady to quit hitting us. She sheepishly apologized. Dh told her she had hit our tow ball and cracked the grill and bumper on her SUV so she should back off. When he got back in the car he told me there was no damage to our rig. Thank goodness for that. She followed us a couple more blocks (right on our bumper still) and then turned off. CRAZY!

We ended up going over to the Lloyd Shopping Center for a little while and doing some more back to school shopping. Then we crossed the street to play in some water fountains set up there. That was so nice because it was 95 degrees out. And then we went to this great pizza place we like to go to when in Portland and had a delicious dinner. On the way home we stopped at a park and let the kids play for a bit. It was not what we planned for the day, but we really enjoyed what the day brought!

Today dear hubby is back to work. Dear son is off spending the night at a friends house. And darling daughter and I have been being kinda lazy and watching movies. Tomorrow I shall get back into my routine. ;)

I hope you all are having a super hump day!

Saturday again?

Time flies when you're having fun! Wow!

This week the kids had dentist appointments and I'm happy to say neither had cavities. :) I have my appointment next week. I really dislike going to the dentist office... as a kid it was a bad phobia. So hopefully next week I'll be in and out with good report.

I am officially a dork. Yes its true! I had my kids doubled over in laughter in the middle of the grocery aisle this week. We were stopped at the shampoo and I was looking at some of the erbal essence that all come in flavors. There was a new one out so I picked it up and opened it to smell when it burped and shampoo came flying out all over my face and down my shirt. I swear I thought I was on candid camera!

Yesterday, we headed out to do some back to school shopping. The boy is DONE. Yippee! And I got his jeans on sale (which is a big deal since he fits best those jeans at Pac Sun). Daughter is almost done... one more trip with her and we should be able to finish up. And when we finished school shopping we picked dear hubby up from work and took the kids to Powell's. It's a bookstore of all bookstores and I had yet to take my kids there. They had a blast! It was so much fun! You know there's a lo coming of this, don't ya? ;)

Dollar days. We LOVE 'em. We love to go rent movies on dollar Mondays. And all summer long the bowling ally's been only a dollar. The kids and I can go and bowl for several hours and it doesn't cost more than $10.00. Gotta love it! This week I learned that the Portland zoo has $2 buck Tuesday. Guess where we are heading next week? LOL!

Well, today until next Wednesday, we are on family vacation. We were supposed to go camping but the lakes are SO LOW that we can't take our boat to our usual spot. :S So we are going to stick around here and do some other family activities. It's all good. So you guys have a great fantastic weekend and I'll be back to cyberspace again soon!

And here's the lo's I've been working on this week. The first was taken when we had lunch with grandma last week. The second I started back in April and it was forgotton. Glad I ran into it the other day. And the last is for the Amazing Digi Race Challenge. It's a lo of my partners pooch who passed away a few years ago. She was a cutie! - TFL!

It must be time

to go back to work soon. It's been nice having the summer off but having all this time off lets my mind get too bored. Then I start worrying about silly stuff... even thinking about it in my sleep. That can't be good for you.

And I've been a busy girl this week. I tried blogging mid week but blogger wasn't cooperating. So this post may be longer than the usual.

Let's see. We've been going strong around the house. This week we mowed the lawn again, steam cleaned the high traffic areas of the carpet, moved around some furniture and cleaned under them and the cushions, and bought the odds and ends needed to finish up the bathroom and the molding in the kitchen.

I had a routine eye doctor appointment early in the week. I've been wearing glasses for several years now because I have a lazy left eye and I'm a tad farsighted. So good news at my appointment because my left eye has improved. Doctor said that he felt all I needed this time was simple reading glasses. Wow! We picked up a pair (which I was happy to learn are so much cheaper than the ones I've been wearing) and they work wonderfully. :)

And yesterday we went into town and met my Grandmother for lunch. It was really nice to see her. For one reason or another we haven't been able to get together since Christmas-ish time. Too long! We went back to her house after lunch and played a board game and visited. It was really nice. Afterwards I took the kids bowling while we were in town. They were all smiles and actually not bickering. *Shock* lol.

Two years ago when my son was going into the 6th grade, there was a teacher he REALLY wanted. We had never requested one for him before so that year we did and he got the teacher we requested. Funny thing - during that summer we got a letter stating that that teacher was relocating and so they would be welcoming a new teacher. Okay the reason I said that was because he did have the new teacher and loved her. Now darling daughter is going into the sixth grade and requested that newer teacher that son had for the sixth grade. That was supposed to be her teacher. I'm sure you can see where this is going. We got a letter a couple of days ago stating that she had relocated over the summer and we would be welcoming another new teacher. Kinda strange that that happened to both the kids when going into the sixth grade. At least we thought so anyway.

Am I totally boring you yet?

I'll wrap it up with the lo's I worked on this week. All of these are either of products from the creative teams I'm on OR for the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race. TFL!

The hit of the summer

Cost $10.00. Yep. Want to see the happening thing in our household?



At the beginning of summer we found some freezer pop mold that was expensive and flimsy so we passed them up. But later we went into Starbucks and saw these ones on the shelf. They are sturdy, fun, so worth all the fantastic creations they have brought this summer. We've frozen, yogurt, pudding, pop, cool-aid, fruit, etc. and enjoy every single one. LOL!

I've worked on a few more lo's this week - TFL!





I'm still working on the latest HP book. Enjoying it very much so far. I've been reading it to darling daughter a little bit each night at bedtime so it's taking us a little longer to get through it. I've very much enjoyed reading it with her and having discussions about it in the evenings. :D

Tomorrow I hope to lay new flooring in the bathroom so this afternoon I need to prep it. Guess I should get on to it. Have a super weekend!

Wowsers...

The sun finally made an appearance yesterday so we went out to work outside. We washed the siding, gutters, and windows around the house. Mowed the lawn and weeded. Today we finished up and put the equipment away. That's a bunch of hard work!

I also did some cooking for dinner the last couple of nights. One was a new recipe and it was delish. It was a chicken dish that you basted in EVOO, salt, pepper, and thyme. Broiled. Then garnished with sweet salsa. I made up a pineapple and mango salsa with a touch of honey... ymmo!

Some super great news this week in the scrappy world. My partner and I are in the second week of the race and going strong! It's been so much fun! Here's my third entry which was in the theme of Once Upon a Time. The pic here was taken a few years ago on the beach. Its a depth perception shot. Darling daughter was down the beach a ways and then we both turned towards one another and dear hubby took the shot. hehe TFL!



I was also asked to join Dawn Wilson's creative team. She sells at SBB and OAKS. I'm thrilled at the wonderful opportunity. In addition, I have a guest spot for August on Amanda Heimann's CT. She sells at the digichick. How cool to get to work with such amazing designers. What surprises and I'm both grateful and thankful!

Earlier in the week I did work on one other lo. This one I scanned in for a *few* years ago. Again, TFL!



Well, a friend of mine and I are meeting this afternoon for some good ol' girly talk and pedicures. So I'm off and running. Have a great day!

It feels like another season

Perhaps late fall or early winter? It fools my senses. The humidity has dropped but the weather has otherwise not changed. Dreary, dark, damp... sigh.

So today I sit in bed under my quilts with the laptop on. I put my Pride and Prejudice dvd's in the tv to enjoy. Did I mention I was alone this weekend. How better than to spend this weekend? Other than reading Harry Potter... which I plan on picking up tomorrow when I run into town to pick up the kids. :D

The Race is going well and Jen and I finished challenge 2. It was a collab lo that required us to use doodles, flowers, red, pictures and friendshp. So here's what we came up with- TFL!



Later today I plan on clearing off the kitchen counters and recaulking them. Pretty exciting huh? ;)

I hope you all have a super Saturday!

Rain rain go away

It's been raining off and on for a week or more now. What happened to summer? It's been a wet one.

This week we've been couped up in the house for the most part staying dry. But boy has it been humid. Anyway, I wish the weather would change.

I got out some bright sunny pics to scrap and did this lo. TFL!



Today I'm working on the next lo for the Amazing Race with my partner. Fun fun fun. Then this afternoon I thinking of taking the kids bowling.

Well, that's about it for this post. You all have a fantastic Friday!

The Race is ON!

Yep we are off and running, Jen and I.

Yesterday kicked off the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race. Six weeks, twelve challenges, ONE HUGE grand prize drawing. We are off to a great start. :)

Our first challenge was to scrap some museum related and we had to use the word "amazing" in the lo. So here's my first entry-



Some friends linked me up to this newspaper clip generator site and that's how I listed the facts about the museum in the background. It was a fun trip and I enjoyed scrapping this!

For some unknown reason I am up before the crack of dawn this morning. Luckily for me, dear hubby is off the next couple of days, so I shall plan on a nap this afternoon. ;)

And for the record, I DID work on organizing my bill desk the other day. A little more time today and it should be ship shape. lol! No more procrastinating for me.

What do we have children for if nothing else than to live to amuse them. Right? That's what my darling daughter thinks anyway. I've been walking in our neighborhood and you all know I have a pom I adore. (well three actually but one is MINE and the other kinda just adopted me) Anyway, mine (Harry) is very tiny. He loves going with me and is quite the outdoorsy little mate. So yesterday I make up a swaddle of sorts so that he can come with me on my walk. My darling daughter had a GOOD LAUGH at my expence. But alas...Harry LOVED it! He's definately my little baby!

I guess I should go make some coffee up... doesn't look like I'll be going back to bed. You all have a WONDERFUL day!

Today is a good day

I haven't slept well the last few nights but none the less I woke this morning feeling like a million bucks. Yesterday I felt crummy and today I feel so much better! Yay!

Yesterday I took it easy and drank TONS of fluids. I scrapped one lo - SHE LOVES ME



It made my entire week to sign on this morning to DST and find that the lo I just posted above was chosen as a gallery standout. What an honor! I love love love looking through the gallery standouts but didn't expect to see my own there. I'm so surprised and on cloud nine at the moment.

An odd little fact about me- I'm one of those people loathe doing the dishes. I'd rather scrub the toilets then do dishes. Really! Isn't that odd? Anyway, I used to go to great leangths to avoid the kitchen but this summer I decided to make peace with the dishes and I don't mind anymore. Really! Isn't that strange? Now shall I tell you that I've apparently and irrational moved the procrastination of dishes to my bill desk. I've never minded doing the bills and I still don't. But the desk and filing system I have have seen better days. Although I know I just need to tackle that area and spend an hour or two getting it straightened up and the old stuff archived and such, I can't seem to bring myself to do it.

Today. I will do at least some of it today. I know I'll feel better once that is done. Doing it is no fun! lol!

OMGoodness... the collection department of the bank just called AGAIN while I'm posting this and this lady was mean and would not listen. Relentless! GRRRRR! When this is all said and done I very well may move my loan to another bank. This is the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER! It is a nightmare.

And now back to my happy place.... *deep breath*

Today's to do list:

1. balance checkbook
2. wash all bedding
3. organize bill desk
4. archive old bills
5. clean my bathroom
6. exercise

Well that should do it for this post. Hope you all have a SUPER SUNDAY!

No title

Thursday my darling daughter had her best friend come stay the night. She has been looking forward to their sleepover for weeks and missing her terribly since school got out. They had a great time.

Thursday we were still under our extreme weather warning and it was in the 90's. About 9:30 pm the temp. had dropped down to the low 80's and it was really comfortable outside. Earlier we'd blown up air matresses and talked about sleeping out in the tent. The kids were so excited. We were packing blankets and pillows out about 9:30 when the sky lit up with lightening. Then again and again. I nixed the tent idea and we brought our bedding back in and then the thunder started rolling. I live in the PNW. Here I've only seen lightening and heard thunder during storms. There wasn't a storm in this case to it was all very strange. It went on for all hours into the wee morning. It was really amazing.

Also on Thursday - Well to put a very very long story into a nutshell, I made a payment to a bank for a loan we have that they did not credit to my account back in April. The bank notified me in May. I provided all documentation three times to show that the payment was in fact made. This bank "IS RESEARCHING THE LOST PAYMENT". In the meantime they have turned me into collection who calls me at least once a day. They reported this to my credit and have told me so. I have no recourse other than to wait this out and when their research is done then they will clean things up. It has been so frustrating and exhausting! They called again twice on Friday and I finally got so angry I started bawling like a baby. Supposidly this will be resolved by Monday and I was to recieve no more calls per the supervisor. Well, I had two today before 9:00 am. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Last night darling daughter went off to spend the night at her friends house and dear son was invited to a birthday party. The kids at the bday party were going to have an air soft gun party. Dear son's been wanting one for a while so went drove to the mall yesterday and bought him some. I was really pleased to find that Big 5 had a package of two on sale for half off. Yay! Love sales!

I did a quick little lo of two of my little furry friends - Here's the boys.



So with being a little stressed out about the stupid bank thing and such I started getting a great big ol' cold sore on my lip this week. OUCHIE!!! Then this morning I woke and just feel kinda fluish. I plan on just taking it easy today and maybe scrapping a little in bed before the kids come home.

I hope you are all well this weekend and enjoy it!

Is it hump day already?

Sunday we went out in the boat. It was really nice and quiet... just dear hubby and I. On Monday it was a nice day and we had the kids so we went back out on the lake. This time we caught 14 (yes you read that right) 14 fish. The kids had a blast. They were reeling them in as fast as they cast out. I got sunburned that day though something good on the top of my head of all places. I still can't brush my hair all the way down to the scalp. Eeek! Always wear a hat when spending the day out in the sun on the water.

In my neck of the woods we have extreme heat warning on now. It was 100 plus yesterday and today. Hot hot hot and humid. We are doing our best to stay cool though in the house with AC.

Today darling daughter and I have been folding clothes and pairing socks while watching Season One of LOST again. We both just LOVE Sawyer. hehehe

Last night we waited until is had cooled down to a tolerable temp and then went out on a bike ride. There's a five mile loop we like to take. Can I just say... Never again that late in the evening. BATS OUT! Enough said.

Well I'm afraid this is somewhat of a boring post. I need to head off to make dinner and then I'm hoping to scrapbook and of course... with any luck... possibly download by Christina Renee order if I can access the site long enough. Hehehe. Until tomorrow my friends-

It was a nice and quiet day.

I did chores around the house in the morning. It's nice to have a chance to do this once and a while when the kids are away overnight... I feel like I can catch up on the house and even get ahead in the game. ;)

This morning was strange though. It was cool, cloudy, and very gray. After the warm streak this mornings weather felt almost fall-ish. But it slowly burned off and by mid afternoon it was bright, sunshiney and hot again.

After my housework this morning I scrapped a lo - (TFL!)



This was on the 4th. And my dear son was all to happy to show us (in his humble opinion) the advantages of having braces and eating watermelon. What a mess! hehehe.

This evening, dear hubby came home from work and we picked up some movies and Chinese. Yummo! And tomorrow we are spending the day out on the boat. You all have a super super super weekend!

The 4th

was lots of fun. We stuck around home for the most part. We had all the traditional stuff... watermelon, chips and dip, hotdogs and popcicles and such. We let off a few firework in the evening... the kids still love the sparklers. I had a few good picture opportunities and I played with some settings on my camera. Here's one lo I did of darling daughter. :)



And I have an awesome opportunity to play this summer in The Amazing Race digi style of course. This should be so much fun. Can hardly wait to play!

Today we finished watching the movies we rented the other day. We watched Nanny McPhee... now the kids had seen it before now but I had not. It was not one of my most favorite Colin Firth movies (He's Mr. Darcy to me, lol!)but I thought the story was cute and the movie was done well. I enjoyed watching it. The other movies we got really were just older favs of the kids. In the afternoon, we returned the movies and then went bowling for a couple of hours in the nice air conditioned alley. The kids and I had bowled well for us (which means we broke 100, hehehe) and just enjoyed the time out and about.

Remember the neighbors dog and that situation? Well here's an update - it improved a great deal for a few months, in fact, we wondered at times if they still had the dog since he stopped coming altogether. Well he showed up a couple of weeks ago before we went on vacation and was here for a long afternoon before one of the kids came to get him. We haven't been back long and the dog came over on Monday and has been here since. They haven't come looking for him either. I felt bad for him last night since people were lighting off fireworks but he ran and hid under our house. At least he was safe I suppose.

Well, I need to go tuck the kids in for bed. Thanks for stopping in!

Did you know that I am

the meanest mother EVER! LOL! According to the dear delusional son anyways. Yep! Today we resumed some normal summer routines which included daily chores, some educational activities, and no television before lunch time (during the week). He is certain this is a form of child abuse. Poor thing - NOT! LOL! Oh he'll get over it.

I must say - I can hardly believe it is already JULY. That seems crazy. It is so very very nice to be home now. I will enjoy each and every single moment. The end of August will undoubtly seem to come at the snap of fingers, then back to work.

My diet has been okay. I've lost 8 pounds before vacation. That was over a few months so clearly I wasn't putting my best effort into it. However, I figure I didn't put it on overnight so taking it off slowly may be healthier and permenant. I hope anyway. I do plan on getting more excercise from today on. That too should help keep me on the right track. :)

This morning we baked a cake. That should be a nice treat after dinner tonight. It's such a pretty day today. I love it like this because it's in the low 80's and I can sit out under our canopy and enjoy the birds singing as I type in this blog entry. It's perfect weather to be outside enjoying life.

Last night I started another lo and finished it up this morning. Here she is- (thanks for looking!)



Well that's about it for now. Have a Marvelous Monday!!!

okay the new blog header

reminds me of that song... the future's so bright, I have to wear shades. LOL!

Life is definately good around here. We have enjoyed a few days around home. Yesterday the rain stopped and the sun came out a bit. So we were able to unload camping things (tent, sleeping bags, tarps and such) and lay them out to dry. In the afternoon we sat outside under out canopy and played board games. Then after dinner we went to town and bought some soft serve ice cream cones. Yum!

Today we sent dh off to work and then the kids and I went bowling. That is always fun. Afterwards we returned some movies we rented and watched on Friday then went grocery shopping. They picked out a cake to bake tomorrow... just for fun. They both love to cook and every so often they ask to buy a treat like that. :)

The movies... We got ghost rider which was okay. I thought Nicolas has a poor southern accent in it to say the least, but the movie itself was okay. They boys though... they really liked it. Even watched it twice. Ha! Then there was miss potter. Now I really enjoyed this one whereas the boys were a little bored with it. Got to love a headstrong woman! So there's your big movie reviews. Not that you asked. hehe

In that past few days I've done a little scrapping too. Here are a couple I've recently finished.





Thanks for stopping by! Have a super Sunday!

We only made it 5 days

before retreating back home. We left on Sunday and set up camp in the rain. Everything got WET but we live in Washington and have webbed feet right? lol. Really, it was the first day of vacation and so we really didn't care - we were just happy to be there. We got a site with a GORGEOUS view. This one is from inside our tent on one of the gloomy days- looking out at the lake. Still it was so pretty.



And if you looked over the bank you'd see our boat in the water. This was a beautiful day.



Mon. - Wed. the weather was better during the day but somewhat stormy two of the nights. We fished, tubed, swam, played lots of board games, rode bikes, ect. A very nice time. Here's a few pics of us playing with the new tube.







Here's some pics darling daughter shot. She had the camera out to take a pic of dear son and I in the tube when these JETS were practicing manuvers overhead. Thinking quick, she got a couple of shots. Pretty cool!





And at one point I was able to get a couple of shots of the kids just enjoying life.







And so not to overload you with pics, I'll finish up this post. Thursday we woke to the rain. The sprinkles turn to buckets of rain. We thought we'd stick in out but it didn't really let up. Later in the afternoon the weather report said it was to be like this for a few days. Once again we were soaked to the bone and cold so we all agreed to pack up and head home.

Although we are home, we are going to make the best of it. We rented a couple of movies for today and if the weather improves for the weekend we are going to go hit the lake again. Its all good!

Thanks for stopping in. You all have a SUPER WEEKNEND!

And we're off

We're heading out the door to the campsite. I'll be offline while away. If the weather holds out we'll be gone for 8 or 9 days. Hope you all have a super week!

Here's a couple of LO's I did in the past couple of days. Thanks for looking!

Its done Woot woot!

The floors are finished! Yay! Here's some pics-







It still needs the trim which my dear hubby will so kindly put up after vacation. :D

I've been working my rear end off this week so that everything will be done. It feels good to have it done but its been a lot of work. My shoulders are sore. Floors done, carpets clean, laundry washed, paying bills out this evening and packing up tomorrow. Fun fun fun!

Yesterday I did a simple lo-



I must say I saw the cutest thing yesterday. The deer that hang around on our property had a baby and the fawn was out trying to stand near momma. I don't think I've seen one that young before. So adorable!

Well, I need to be off and running again. You all have a super week!