Visitors!

My sister in law had to have her tonsils out yesterday, so the twins are staying with us for a few days. They're 3. Here's some of the fun we've been having!

Snippets (volume 2)

As promised, it's Monday, and here's some more "snippets" of conversations I've overheard and chuckled at this past week. Have a laugh on me!

"I'm going to suggest the 3 looper"

"I'm in the hole!"

"Am I bigs or littles?"

"I see the moon and the moon sees me - maybe the moon doesn't want to see so much of you!"

"It's raining nuts in here!"

"I'm not your drink's babysitter"

Let the Fun Begin!

Oh my goodness! A whirlwind of activity (inside my brain and out!) has descended upon my abode. My daughter is getting marred in March - only 6 months away and sooooooo much to be done! It's already getting to be fun - the front room is being turned into a "storage area" for the myriads of supplies, etc., that are going to be required for programs, favors, showers, etc., etc., etc., etc.! Oh my! I count it such a privilege to get to be involved as a helper to this event. There's so much for my menopausal brain to remember - but I'm enjoying it all so far. Hopefully we won't forget anything. And, we may just have to call on some of you for some help - let me know if you're willing to assemble, address, glue, cut, paste - who knows what skills may be called upon to pull this event off! Love is in the air and it's taken a turn for the fun!

Quite a day!

Today was quite a day - and I have a specific reason for telling you about it. My day started today at 3:30 a.m. when our electricity went out. I knew our electricity went out because our carbon monoxide alarm started doing that "beep, beep, beep, beep" notification that it no longer has power. So, I grabbed my flashlight and first went to the garage to check my breakers. I guess somewhere deep down I knew they wouldn't all blow at once, but it was the first thought that came to my mind (after "did I pay the Cilco bill?" - lol!). I looked out the windows and doors to see if I could tell if everyone in the neighborhood was without lights, but that's kinda hard to tell at 3:30 a.m.! I went to the front room where I keep all my bills in a basket and dug through (still by flashlight) for the latest Cilco bill and found the number to call. I gave them all my info, and they said someone would be out. At this point I decided I'd better not go back to sleep yet because I was afraid we'd oversleep. Then about 4:00 I heard some people yelling - I thought one of the kids had gotten up and gotten disoriented and was calling for help - I don't know why I thought that, but I did. Anyway, it was the neighbors on their front porch arguing. I laid back down, fighting sleep and then heard one of my other neighbors talking to the Cilco man at about 5:00 and he said it would be at least an hour and a half. Oh my! Anyway, I tried not to sleep, yet rest - you get the idea. It was almost time to be up when I thought about that stinking new cell phone the kids got me and, lo and behold, it does have an alarm on it! Anyway, the electricity finally came on just as Tanner and I were leaving for work - yay! I went to work for one appointment, then headed over to Peoria to do chair massages at an office where I do massages each month for the employees. As I crossed the river over into Peoria, I realized I had totally left the shop without bringing one thing with me - that's right, no massage chair, no cd player, no headrest covers - nothing. I had to turn completely around and go back to the shop, get my equipment and start over. It was a very short day there, as everyone was pretty busy, so I ran some errands where I ran my car into a parking block (as if I've never driven before!). I decided to make chicken and noodles for dinner, so I stopped by the store, but forgot to buy noodles, so I decided to make homemade ones. Upon arriving home, however, I found the whole kitchen taken up with chocolate chip cookies Mal was making for Patrick's road trip this weekend - after they left I decided to just run to another store and grab a bag of noodles where a lady almost hit me when taking the parking place I was going into. What a day. Why did I tell you all this? Because if this was interactive and you could, each one of you would have a story of a day like today was for me - maybe yours didn't occur today, but I'm relatively sure you could remember a day where things didn't quite go as anticipated for you. The purpose, then, of this post, is to remind you that we all have those days - you're not in it alone. You're not singled out or being punished or treated badly - it's just life on this old earth. Here's to tomorrow being a better day! Road trip!

Fall is here!

In case you didn't know, tonight, at approximately 11:09 p.m. our time, the fall equinox will happen - if that's how you refer to it - sorry I'm not exactly politically correct on some of this stuff. But I did read that it will be another 19 years before what happens tonight will happen again - that the fall equinox (the day that signals the beginning of fall and is one of the days where the daylight and the darkness are almost equal and apparently is when the earth passes between the sun and the moon - I think I have my story straight) and the full harvest moon happen on the same night. I looked at the moon when I left work earlier and I couldn't believe how bright it was. And right now we can see Jupiter - it was really bright also. In my circle of friends we always tease about the power of the moon, orchestrating the ocean tides, etc., etc., and say that someday we should dance naked in the full moonlight. Tonight would be a good night to do that, for sure. However, being the wise women that we are, we have not attempted such an activity. The four women who were leaving work tonight together, all did a little "jig" in the parking lot in the full moonlight - none of us were naked, but we danced nonetheless. Happy Fall!

Expanding my horizons!

Expanding my jewelry horizons by adding necklaces. I've made these two so far. It's kinda fun - interesting to see how the finished product ends up.

Snippets (volume 1)

A snippet is defined as a small piece of something - for our purposes here, it will be small pieces of conversations I have overheard. Just for fun on Mondays (as best as I can remember) I'm going to share a few of these delightful "snippets" with you that I have recently overheard. You know, when you're walking through the store and overhear part of what people are saying to each other; when you're waiting in line to pay and you hear part of what the cashier and the other patron are saying; when you come upon someone on their cell phone and happen to overhear their part of the conversation; when you walk through your living room and several conversations are going on at once; when - well you get the idea. Since laughter is like a good medicine I hope these will start your Monday off with a giggle or a chuckle if not a full blown laughing session. Determine within yourself to have a great Monday today. Here we go!

"Now I know why goldfish eat their babies"

"I should have eaten my children when they were young & tender"

"When we have children can we dress them up like Yoda & Ewoks?"

"Will you take your shirt off so we can see your pants?"

"This head needs to go to our house"

Grandma's b-day!

We finally got around to having our cookout for mom's 71st birthday tonight - here's a few shots of the action - you almost feel like you were there, eh?

Oops! I took this picture through the screen door!

Mal and Apollo watching Thomas the Train!

Apollo eating a bag of Funyons before the party gets started!

Jim and Maria sharing a soda and a hug!

Patrick and Mallory...well, being Patrick and Mallory!

Grandma Nola and Maria (notice the cake isn't even cut yet but Grandma has chocolate on her shirt?????? How could that have happened?

Happy Birthday to You!

Tanner and Patrick decided to paint faces of the little ones at this party.

Only trouble is, they used some "paint by number" paint they found - will that come off easily??

Well, Apollo rubbed his all over his mom's face, so I guess it will!

All in all, we had a great time - good food and good fun. My siblings and I (both younger and male) embarked upon a challenge starting tomorrow and ending approximately 21 weeks from now, with our mom putting up the prize. Stay tuned to see how this venture goes. We had to set some ground rules, however, because one of us has been traditionally - well, how shall I say this tactfully - one of my brothers is not always honest, so we had to set some rules to keep him in check! Good luck boys, and may the best woman win!

She's engaged!

It's completely official! Mal and Patrick are engaged! He popped the question and gave her the ring at a concert he was playing at the Riverfront Friday night. My brother Jim was on hand to take a few pics for those who weren't there. On with the planning - it's going to be a very busy winter! But it will be fun, I'm sure. God has been very good to me and to my children. I am thankful.

Love

This is my cousin, Karen, and her cat, Levi. They are great buds. Contrary to what this picture tends to indicate, she and he are best friends. She talks with him and he seems to respond with his actions. He "meows" at her, and she seems to know just what he's needing. It's love, all right. Just before I snapped this picture, he had grabbed her head with both paws and was literally "rubbing" her head, causing her hair to go every which way but loose - it was hilarious!