Day 4 - New Year's Eve

I really like Arbor Mist, so while David was at the store he saw this "special" Arbor Mist called "Winter Berry" Merlot. VEEEEERY GOOD!

Day 3 - Cleaning Dining Room

This was my day to put away all the Christmas decorations in the family room and dining room, plus clean both rooms. Mission accomplished!

Day 2 - New Sheets

I bought new flannel sheets at Kohl's at the "1/2 Off Sale". Nice and cozy!

Day 1 - Project 365

Well, officially "Project 365" starts on Thursday, the 1st of January, but I wanted to start mine at the beginning of the week so I'm going with the 28th, Sunday. I will run my weeks as they are on the calendar, Sunday thru Saturday. The idea is to take a picture every single day for a year so I will have a type of journal of my year 2009. The kits were a HUGE sellout on the Creating Keepsakes website and it's still unclear when or if it will be arriving at my house. Either way, I will still do this.....even if I have to use another format.

PROJECT 365

well, it starts tomorrow. The idea is to take a picture every day for a year and put them in a kit that Creating Keepsake made. I can't wait to get started. The kit will go on sale on January 1st and they have set up a site just for this kit.

365 here I come.....

WOOOHOOO!

I've been waiting for this for awhile. They mailed out the fliers sometime before tickets went on sale, so I already knew we would be going, it was just a matter of when.

Did I say "favorite Shakespeare play of all time"? And my darling husband (even though he's not really into it) knows this, too. And who wouldn't love spending time on the grounds at the Ewing Castle. (my cousins used to live across the street when I was growing up and we used to sneak into the back of the grounds and play on a statue they had there)

Got off work in the am and it was down pouring harder than I had seen it in a long time. Since this is an outside theatre, there was a good chance the play would be cancelled. We played it by ear....and by everything turned out beautifully! Great cool weather, great seats, nice breeze, beautiful grounds and the actors were on in top form. Turned out to be a fantastic night and David even had a good time. He was especially happy about the fact that I had told him "if you take me to this one, it will be the last one you will have to go to". All in all a magical night!

Somebody's birthday is....

tomorrow! David will be 44 and we went to his parent's house today for cake and ice cream. They don't usually do this now that the kids are grown, but there was a special purpose to this one. Allen had found a college picture of the Metamora 2007 Football Championship game, Mindy had won some free framing and he had gotten it for Mary & Dave to give David for Christmas.........but they couldn't wait that long. Thus the cake and ice cream disguise.

It was nice because Allen, Mindy and the boys all were there. We had a good time and enjoyed spending the day with them.

But on the way over, there was an "eggs Benedict" breakfast in Goodfield!

It's been a few weeks.

I found this and couldn't resist passing on some wise information:

12 Rules to Live By - Robert Louis Stevenson


Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things.

Make the best of circumstances. No one has everything and everyone has something of sorrow.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Don’t let criticism worry you. You can’t please everybody.

Don’t let your neighbors set your standards; be yourself.

Do things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt.

Don’t borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than actual ones.

Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities and grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.

Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about places.

Don’t hold post-mortems or spend time brooding over sorrows and mistakes.

Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.

Keep busy at something. A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.

I just found soooooo much truth in these words by a great poet.

Be back later with updated posts about life in the last few weeks.

My Page Swap Day

(Joan, Kathleen, Karin & Wendy(her legs)
(Karin, Danette & Deb)
This month the page swap theme for food was "summer salads & desserts". We went to Karin's house and I took Broccoli-Raisin Salad. All the food was great and we had a wonderful time. I ended up with Kathleen's pages and Carrie got mine. The theme for the pages was "travel or vacation". We could do a 2-page spread or make some kind of travel journal. The item that Cynthia made was fantastic. Danette ended up with it, but it got passed around several time. She let me bring it home so I could copy it! How very nice of her.It's made with shopping bags.....how neat this would be for a "shopping" vacation to save all those and put this album together. I LOVE it!

Turned out to be a fantastic day weather wise also. When we were done eating and swapping, Chris and I sat out on the deck for about an hour, played with Karin's dog and just talked. Very relaxing.

searching for coffee, huh?

Well, that's kinda where I'm at right now.....searching. But until I finish the antibiotic I'm on (Cipro), I won't be having any caffeine. The paper states "caffeine may have a stronger effect on you while taking this medicine". And within the 1st hour of taking it, I have to sit down because I feel dizzy (well, David says dizzier than normal?). HaHa! So my coffee pot is feeling a little lonely right now.

Went to see Dr. Vales on Monday morning at 8:15am. He said sometimes when there is a stone in the kidney (my left), it can cause an infection. Possibly this is what caused my problems. And the stone could dislodge tomorrow and start moving or it could wait 10 years to move.....only time can tell and the pain that comes with a moving stone! Something to look forward to! HaHa!So I'm okay to go back to work on Monday night. It sure doesn't seem like I've been off a whole week. But I guess since I slept all of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and mostly Wednesday, it's no wonder.

So thrilled to be feeling back to myself today. Planted more pots of flowers, David got the beet seeds in today and we sat on the deck for over an hour enjoying the good weather. Going to go see his dad tomorrow for Father's Day.

Where to start?

Guess we'll go with the beginning of the weekend. Picked up the beloved Trina after work on Saturday. Kendra & Bill's living room and entry porch look fantastic. The paint job was just what it needed. Once the carpet gets laid, it will be complete. Looks great!

Here's my new toy that my inlaws helped buy for my birthday (know the picture isn't that great):

And here is my helpful granddaughter teaching grandma how to get started downloading music because she has no clue! (and I'm the one who first showed HER how to use a computer playing a Winnie the Pooh game!):

She spent the rest of the day scrapbooking. And I might add that she scraps well beyond her years....her style is that of an adult and not a young girl. Her pages are very mature and though out. And of course that makes me very proud!

The next day we went to the movies (and once again it isn't a very good picture because I took from a picture I found online):but even though MY picture isn't that good, it is absolutely NO reflection on the movie. Jack Black was at his best! Very funny! Great graphics! Kept you interested! LOVED IT!

And then comes the rest of my time up to now......I only ate about a 1/4 of my popcorn at the movies (which for anyone who knows me is NOT like me). Just wasn't feeling right. Took Trina to meet up with the Bradford bunch and got to see my other 2 lovely girls. On the way home, David asked if I wanted to go out to eat. Well, once again anyone who know me.....I'd never say no. But I did. I just wanted to go home and go to bed. Thought I was just tired. Woke up later feeling awful. Had a fever of 101 and was achy. Later the fever was 102 and felt worse. Finally at 4:30 am we arrived at the ER because I couldn't stand it any longer. Ran tests, small kidney stone in the kidney (but that wasn't causing the current condition), thought maybe bladder infection or kidney infection but those turned out fairly normal. But there was definitely some kind of infection.....the IV solution and the antibiotic drip helped. Got back home by 8am........David got meds for me, ate and went back to bed. By noon the fever was back and so were the aches and pains. Fever kept going up and down and by the time David got up for work the fever was 102 again and I was right back where I started. I asked him to call the hospital and ask them what they thought. When the nurse mentioned that I should keep taking Tylenol with my antibiotic for the fever, we realized that the doctor had not told us that. Once I took it, within an hour the fever was going down and by 2 hours it was completely gone.

So here we are 3 days later and I'm finally able to sit at the computer for more than a minute. I slept all Sunday, Sunday night, came home and slept Monday, Monday night, Tuesday, Tuesday night.......WOW, ready to go back to work tonight because I'm just so excited to be feeling better. Hope that's the last of that for awhile.

Warm again today....

Yesterday they said it was supposed to be 90 degrees! It's only June and this needs to SSSSSTOP!

Here's the new furniture and notice there are now 2 chairs instead of just one. But now it's took freaking hot to go outside and sit and enjoy.

We also planted 2 Dwarf Japanese Lilic bushes....I have been wanting some lilacs for sometime but haven't wanted to put something that gets that big in the yard. When I read about these smaller versions, I knew I had found what I was looking for. And they seem to be even more fragrant than the bigger bushes. The should look nice from the deck when they get a little bigger.

And anyone who really knows me will know what this means:

Any guesses? Need a clue? I don't eat them! David doesn't eat them! These mean TRINA is coming to spend the night with Grandma!!!!!WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!

Slept our day away....

well almost. Stopped off at Menards on the way home this morning after work to look at their patio furniture. We wanted a small table and a couple of chairs. I knew I didn't want a table with a glass (or plastic) top like the last one because it's too hard to keep clean and looks dirty all the time. Plus we didn't want chairs with cushions. You either can't sit on them when they get wet or you have to take them off every time you are done sitting outside. Then comes the question of where to put them. That means purchasing a storage unit for the cushions. So this is what we ended up getting. We even went with a smaller table than we had originally planned. We actually didn't think they would have one this small, but I love it. It's big enough for what we need. David assembled the chair (notice that is singular) but there wasn't bolts for the 2nd chair. I called Menards immediately and they said they would have the bolts waiting for me tomorrow when I go back into town. These chairs are extremely comfortable and am looking forward to using them.

These were the wonderful beverages we had with our anniversary meal. He had the beer and I had the Strawberry Margaretta. Our meal consisted of the same thing we had for my birthday (we were both thinking of trying something different, but the last time it was so good we couldn't NOT get it). He did have the french onion soup instead of a salad but said the salad was better. Now we're back home and I'm ready for bed already. Tomorrow is my birthday/anniversary.....it will be 18 years for David and myself and I'll be 56! Where did those 56 years go? Any one have a clue?

Not a lot going on....

unless you count that I spent most of the time at work last night trying to pass a kidney stone! It must have been fairly small, as David did not have to take me to the emergency room and have them pump me full of morphine! That was definitely a plus. I was in the bathroom about 20-30 times, though (and that is NOT an exaggeration). I'm not sure if it's passed or just stopped moving. I guess the next couple of days will tell. Feeling okay now, but that could be because it isn't traveling at the moment.

Anyway, that's my excitement for now. We are thinking of going back to Lexington on Saturday evening for our anniversary dinner. We really enjoyed the Fireside Inn a lot.

David is out mowing and I'm heading off to bed. Didn't get much sleep yesterday and I'm pretty sure it was because I wasn't feeling well. But tomorrow is another day and it has to be better.....right???

And I always like to post some kind of picture, so here's the plant I have hanging outside my kitchen window

Today is the 25th again....

Today picture taking will be totally different from last month. We are to take pictures of an inanimate object from different angles, in different lights and arranged with other objects. Plus we will still take the consistent shots:
+ clock when I wake (done)
+ each meal
+ view from front window
+ self-portrait
+ clock when I go to sleep

Well, off I go to get my first meal and shot! (it's 5:32am)

This is how we spent our Saturday

and we loved every minute of it!

David washed his new baby...

I planted my flowers (well some of them anyway)...

and Susie watched from the front door!
After David washed the Torrent, he decided to drive to E.Peoria and show his parents. They didn't even know we had gotten it yet and his dad (especially) is a big car lover. Was a beautiful day for a drive for him.
I stayed home and planted more flowers. I did some on the deck and am going shopping for more tomorrow. A great day outside, felt more like a Sunday.
The kids are off camping at Clinton Lake....had a very rainy Friday, but yesterday should have been great. Kendra called me at one point on Friday to have me check the weather radar to see if it was going to clear up (plus she was bored). Glad they are going to have some good weather, as it's supposed to be in the low 80's tomorrow.

Oh, YEAH....

a 3 day weekend! Gotta love that! We ran back into Jackson's this morning (during all that rain) and bought some flowers for the front of the house. Still need to get some hostas and some more planters, but this will do for now. Hopefully I can get stuff in tomorrow. Also bought a gorgeous basket to hang outside the kitchen window, but need to get a picture of that yet.

Went here for my birthday dinner:
It's the first time we have been here (it's in Lexington) but it won't be the last. David got the prime rib "special" for only $17 and it was more than worth the money. He also had the twice-backed potato, carrots, salad and homemade bread with iced tea. I had the strip steak for $18, backed potato, carrots, creamy chicken vegetable soup and homemade bread with a strawberry daiquiri. We got the "sampler platter" appetizer with cheese sticks, onion rings, fried mushrooms, potato skins and jalapeno poppers. Our total bill was $53 (so without the appetizer and fancy drink we would have only spent $40, which was a great bargain for such wonderful food). And you don't have to deal with any stop lights or traffic to get there from our house. A definite hit on our list of restaurants. Great day off for me!

More pics

of our new baby.....

We are really enjoying it. We've already gotten our first diagnostic report from OnStar. It checks -engine & transmission -emissions system -air bags -antilock braking -the OnStar system -remaining oil life is 95% -mileage is 99miles -tire pressure on each tire is 33 ............so how very cool is that?

Bought these pork steaks at Schnucks yesterday. There were six of them and we broke them down into 3 packages because they were so big. Took the pic of David thru the screen.


We both laughed at this that we received in the mail today. Guess I did marry a child after all! But now I can go send him to some fun things during the summer!

New family member....

well kinda!
It's a 2008 Pontiac Torrent. We are now a 1 car family......we want to give it a try and see how it works for us. Working the same hours and having the same days off, we are thinking this might work. We'll see.....

We went grocery shopping this morning and ended up with $30.70 in coupons! That made me happy. The back end of the Torrent is smaller than the Rendezvous was, but the groceries still fit. The nice thing is the backseat is larger, and I'd rather have the extra room there anyway. It is equipped with OnStar (for when you lock keys in your car....you can call them and they can remotely open the doors because is has GPS tracking). Plus there is a car phone installed that is hands-free. Got a lot of features that we have to figure out yet. Rides nice......

Plus we have a 3-day weekend coming up! I had forgotten all about the holiday and David and I both got it off. We are going to buy flowers Friday and hopefully I can get them all planted this weekend.
Friday evening we are going out to eat for my birthday, maybe in Lexington at the Fireside Inn. Then Sunday it's the 4th Indiana Jones movie at the new theatre. A full weekend of fun!!!!!

What a beautiful sky today.....

I'm in Normal heading to Menards to meet up with the kids and see this gorgeous sky and of course had to take a picture. How wonderful is this?!!

Then I see the kids picking out flooring for their living room and front porch:
I gave them Autumn's birthday presents from David and I. I went to Gordman's and bought a couple of WebKins (a rhino and the beagle), plus a purse to carry some of them in, a pair of purple sunglasses for her with sparkles on them. Then it was off to Target to buy her clothes. Got 3 tank tops in purple stripes, pink stripes and turquoise stripes, shorts to match each, then 3 t-shirts in those colors plus a pair of dark blue and black shorts also. They will be camping during her birthday on Tuesday, so wanted her to have her gifts.....after all a 5 year old needs presents!
Came home and David cooked brats outside, plus we spent time watching our 3 bunnies in the back yard playing tag. They are just too cute.

Mid-week

and not a lot is going on. Got a lovely e-message from the granddaughter yesterday telling me she loves me. Ahhhhh, isn't that sweet. She's the best!

It was a good mail day today:

My May/June 2008 issue of Organize magazine. Am not sure if I'm going to keep up the subscription.....needs to get a little better for me to keep going. Also got my June2008 issue of CK, which I'm paid up until March of 2009 and will definitely be renewing that. I really like this magazine, but am not very happy with the new format they introduced this year. The pages are not as sturdy and the format just isn't appealing. But I love the content.
Then there was the arrival of my 2" square punch....finally. I had been putting off getting this, even though I wanted to use it for my Library of Memories class (and beyond) but when I went and ordered it, they were out of stock. But it came in within a few days and it has arrived. Now I have no excuse to do my cold storage photos. Need to get busy on that.

We left work early again today....5am this time. Stopped by Schnucks, picked up some grub and now it's still only 6:19am and I wouldn't normally be off work yet. Gotta love that.

Well, the gossip at work is Andy and Janice are moving in together. He's leaving his wife of a whole 10 months and was only faithful to her for 2 months of his marriage (if that). What a heel.....now how am I supposed to look the two of them in the face? What is wrong with people? Why did he go ahead and marry Ildi in the first place? Arghhhhhhhhh!!!!!


Okay, I blew right through this 2nd in the "twilight" series. Great book and now:

I'm about 1/2 way through the 3rd book. "Breaking Dawn", the 4th book in the series, is supposed to be out in August this year and wrap things up. Glad I didn't start reading these sooner so I wouldn't have to wait sooooo long for the last book. Great books and love the vampire theme. Always been a draw for me.

Happy Mother's Day

This was waiting for me at the PO when we stopped Saturday morning. From LeRoy? Hum, wonder what and who it is from? NOT! Must be something to do with Mother's Day from my girls. Called them after I opened it in the car to thank them. Kendra said when she was here for the garage sale, she looked around my scrapbook room and saw I had black picture frames and thought this would be perfect. And since my room is black and pink, I took the most perfect "pink" picture of Autumn and got Kendra's "pink" pictures of Trina's prom.....so guess what's going in the frame. The candle is Vanilla Honey and smells great.


Just got off the phone with them and the Bradfords are painting the living room ceiling today. Yesterday they spent the day painting the room a light grey. Can't wait to see the end results.

We went to Mary & Dave's yesterday for Mother's Day. Stopped by Jackson's and bought Mary some flowers for outside, a shepard's hook to hang them on and some tomatoes to go with lunch.

We also took Kentucky Fried Chicken, some potato salad David had made (was great) and I made pound cake and took strawberries and Redi-Whip. Strawberry shortcake is Mary's favorite. Everything was a big hit and we had a wonderful day.

And you know me and animals of any kind.......
From one extreme to another:s1600-h/05-10-2008+My+Babies+2.JPG">

David and I went to see Iron Man today at the Wehrenberg Theatre and this was his first time. He LOVED it just as much as I had. We will definitely be going there again. Hopefully for the new Indiana Jones movie on the 25th of this month.