what a weekend

Okay, it's Sunday and I'm exhausted.  We hosted Thanksgiving at our house and it was very nice.  Everyone chips in and brings a little something and that makes it so much easier and takes a lot of the pressure off the hostess.  Mom made the turkey and that was a huge help too!  I love a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, it's my favorite meal of the year!  So to the family members that read my blog:  You are all excellent cooks and it was a fantastic day with all of you!  And Jill you will have to get me the recipe for Brad's favorite sweet potato casserole that you make. 

My sister Rachele and her girls stayed with us on Wednesday night and Rachele was a huge help on Thursday.  So a big thanks to you!  Plus, those mustache tattoos went over very well!  And I am not sure what happened to the movie marathon, but maybe next time.

My sisters all packed up Thursday night to get their "shop" on, I can't do this (sorry ladies) the crowds are not worth the couple of bucks you save in my opinion.  I worked retail for a very long time and it's not my thing.  But from what I understand they scored some good deals.  I still need to finish my shopping, but I'll do it a little at a time...there's still 5 weeks to Christmas right?  Actually the hubby and I went to Target on Saturday and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

As I look back at my list of things to get done for the week, I realized that the drumline concert was not last Tuesday, but this coming Tuesday so we are still looking forward to that.  We have marked off Thanksgiving and the 4-0 birthday party.  It was fun to have everyone over and visit with people we haven't seen in a while...plans have been made for lunch and a vacation for next year, I'll keep you updated.  I am just not very good at taking the camera around and getting pictures of everyone, so I may have to steal a couple from Facebook.

Our family also went to see the Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2.  The kids and I saw it on Sunday because I didn't want anyone to ruin the "surprise twist ending" that I keep hearing about.  But the hubby was working so we went again to see it in Olathe on Friday and had dinner at the Texas Roadhouse (yummy rolls!!!)

Nutcracker is now 2 weekends away and this week is our last "normal" week before we get into the thick of it.  Starting Saturday we will have 9 straight days of crazy until the production is over.  Luckily I have a couple of days vacation to keep myself sane.  But we will have a lot of people in to watch our lovely dance so it will be a little hectic too.  Whew, I'm tired just writing about it...or it's recovering form the current weekend...but probably both!

So here's this week's to-do list and hopefully I can get a menu up too!
1. Drumline concert-yes, I promise that it is this Tuesday and that there will be pictures!  Promise!

2. Cleaning-probably something that should have been done before this last weekend, but there are only so many hours in a day! (Smiley face)

3. Christmas Crap (I mean decorations!)-Looks like it will be this coming weekend while the girl is at rehearsals, it's such a chore, but the hubby is a huge help (sometimes too much help!)  And I feel like the fall and Thanksgiving decor should stay up through Black Friday.  We would normally have put the Christmas up on Saturday, but there was a little something else going on!

4. Nutcracker-starting Saturday the 1st, we will let the crazy begin!

Well, I intend to get back on here and post more throughout the week, but you'll forgive me if it doesn't happen as often as it should.

In honor of...

I guess that I really should know my audience better!  Thanks to my little sis Jillie-Bean for the very first comment ever on my blog (Thank you and love you). 

Now this is a test:  What does Jill want or need for Christmas?  Your hubby was easy to purchase for this year, but I am stumped as to what to get for you.  What is the test you say?  It's not really a test, but I am really phishing for another comment on my blog.  (Aha!)

I will try to write more later, but for now I have a headache that I need to try and shake!  Yuck! 

In the thick of it...

So, we are deep in Nutcracker rehearsals and drumline practices, school and Thanksgiving is only 4 days away!  I feel like yesterday was Halloween (Oh wait, that's the last time I posted on the blog.)  Things have been extremely stressful lately-work, family, driving...I haven't been coping very well with it all.  But now it seems that has passed (at least I am hoping!) and on with a better attitude.  Yuck, I will stop with the whiny now.

Last night, Lauren and I went to a middle school production of Peter Panic.  The son of a very dear friend was in the play and the kids did a very good job.  Today, I went to Salina with my Mom and my (favorite and never forgotten) sister Jill (see I did mention you in the blog!).  We went to a craft fair and it was crazy hectic (I am not a crowd girl at all-I don't like people in my personal space) it was fun and we picked up a couple of really cute Christmas decorations.  Oh yeah, yesterday we went to the Junior League of Topeka's Merry Market.  I love this event and try to go every year, I didn't buy anything this year, but it was fun to look.

We have some very big events coming up as alluded to above...
1. Last drumline practice and the performance this Tuesday evening.  Caleb will be starting the Cruzline up again next semester.  He has been playing the snare drum since the 4th grade and his band teacher asked 3 8th grade drummers to help the 6th grade band and Caleb was one of the chosen (Yippee)  But Cruzline is an extracurricular activity and the drum coach is an awesome guy!  I will try for pictures, but will be taking video to post on facebook.

2. Thanksgiving-We are having family over to our house to eat early and then if anyone needs to leave and go on to the next, they can or they can hang with us and have leftovers and I am threatening an Avengers movie marathon.  Obviously pictures will be posted.

3. The hubby's birthday-We have a big birthday this month as my husband turns 40.  We are again having friends and family over for light snacks and cupcakes.  No surprise party-he has been warned!

4. Nutcracker-This is still 3 weekends away, but the weekend before is just as crazy as the week of and finally the weekend of the ballet.  So after December 9th, I will have free time and weekends available again. Whew. At least I have some vacation time to take right then.

5. Then there is always Christmas and all the shopping, baking and getting Christmas cards out...I have started getting a few gifts here and there but I am no where near being completed.  We are hosting Christmas as well.  I know what you are thinking but I really don't mind having everyone over---I actually love it.  I think the part that I love best is that I don't have to travel anywhere! (Yes, I'm lazy!)

So, there you have it, the crazy that is my life.  But I wouldn't change it, and I am very excited for the upcoming events!  I apologize for this crazy mixed up post, but it goes along with my week.

Happy Halloween!

Yes, it's that time of year...costumes, candy-tricks and treats.  Our office dressed up as the No-No list this year.  I work for an Orthodontist and the No-No list consists of sticky-chewies and things that will break your braces.  We had stickers that said "Bad to the Braces" (instead of "Bad to the Bone") and t-shirts with Big Red, Sweet Tarts, Snickers, Runts, Orange Crush, Peanut M&M's, Whatchamacallit, Butterfinger and the doctor went as Dr Pepper.  Well, we thought it was cute.  Every year we go "Trick or Treating" to referring dentists offices and it's a blast!  One office took the picture below (Thanks Dr Julie!)

So, safe Tricks and Treats to all tonight, and if you want to get rid of that candy tomorrow check with local dental offices there are tons of Candy Buy Back promotions going on.  (Our office sends the candy to the National Guard and they send it overseas to the troops, what a great treat!)

Another Weekend...

So, it's been another weekend and it has been busy, busy, busy.  Friday noght was the last home football game.  Topeka High ended the season 8-1 and with a bang (fireworks donated by a local credit union.)

 

The hubs and son went to an overnight Youth Rally on Saturday night and I spent the night cleaning for the baby shower, getting the Halloween out (don't judge, at leastit got out this year at all!)...

 

, curling hair for Nutcracker pictures and running to said pictures.  We are down to 6 weeks before the performance.  Wow, time flies!

Yes, that face says it all!

And, today we hosted a baby shower in my home for a dear Church friend.  Welcome to baby Norman! (And thanks to all my co-hosts and his mommy for sharing him with us today!)

 

 

So, I really am trying to get better at posting more than once a week.  But I figure that it's better to write at least once than not at all.

 

 

PS-The mantel is 3 $2.50 pumpkins from the Dollar spot at Target and I painted the letters for FALL onto scrapbook paper then taped them to wooden squares from the craft store.  Then I tied some scraps of fabric onto a sring and hung them up.  Yay for simple (and inexpensive!)

 



Crazy...

What have I been doing?  Well, I was going to Dallas last weekend...mom and I left on Thursday afternoon and made it all the way to Blackwell(I know we were 20 miles past the Kansas border), Oklahoma and had to turn around and go back due to a wind storm causing pretty crazy accidents on I-35.  This is the 3rd trip out of the state that I have had to cancel or not go on and I am very sad...but for some reason I am not to go on a vacation this year.  Huh.  Well, the dust storm was very crazy and there are some pictures on Instagram but I'll post them here too.

This is the sun trying to get through the clouds of dust.

 

 

So, when we turned around, we headed to Olathe to see my sister and nieces.  It's a small trip, and only took us 7 hours to arrive.  Well, Mom and I spent the day taking my nieces to Garage Sales (they were out of school for Parent/Teacher conferences.)  After GS's, we went to a favorite breakfast place- First Watch.  It was the girls first time eating there and we may have created a couple of monsters.  Just kidding.

 

I think this silverware wrapper is the funniest thing ever. 

We love breakfast anytime of the day, but First Watch is only open til early afternoon (2pm  maybe).

 

The only other thing going on is Nutcracker rehearsals and there are only 6 more weekends until performances.  So we are spending a lot of time at the dance studio and I get bored and take a couple of pictures...

 

My girl is the one in green. 

 

I guess that we have been doing some home improvements too...we painted the family room and kitchen that were a stark white (I'll post pictures when I get them taken.)  I am trying to get ready for a baby shower this weekend and the last home football game is this Friday.  (Again pictures to follow).  Some how in the process of painting I did this to my toe:

Yes, I need a pedicure, but I honestly don't know how this happened.  I just found it when I woke up.  Gross, huh?  And no, I did not try to stick my foot into my daughters point shoe! 

 

Have a great week, if I don't get anything posted in the mean time.



 



Absent...

Sorry for the absence, after school started things just got crazy.  Having 2 kids that are involved and at two different schools has proven a little challenging.  Plus I have become super lazy.  Yep, I get to check emails and then I'm kind of done for the day.  Hopefully this will change now.

So an update as to what has been happening, nothing around the house really.  The spare room is still a mess and I have pictures, picture frames and curtains to put up.  But I also have to paint the family room and kitchen, find a curtain rod and I want to paint the doors in the house with black paint.  I'm going to make a list below of all things that need to get done (hopefully I can start checking things off the list soon.)

Well, the Nutcracker cast list has come out and Lauren has some really great parts and she is excited and I am excited for her.  She will be one of Clara's friends (party scene) and she is in the Arabian corp and she is a flower (both in Act II), she is an understudy for snowflake and she is assisting with the boy children in the party scene.  Whew, that's a lot!  So we will be spending our weekends at the dance studio.

She also has 2 football games under her belt on the dance team and 2 more to go.  The next one will be the kids clinic and they will be joined by little ones to perform a dance.  It proves to be super cute with the little ones.  However Homecoming was a week ago and I am finally posting some pictures.

 

Homecoming Parade and the Juniors had the best float!  Sorry Freshmen

Up close and in her first Homecoming parade

 

Working their way to the Homecoming Crowning ceremony

Still can't get the video to upload, but if it's on facebook.  Oh, and PS-THS is 5-0, and that is something that never happened when the hubby and I went to school there!

  While Lauren has been busy with dance, Caleb has been busy with other things.  He has been taking guitar lessons for the last year or so and has recent;y decided to quit so he can take drum line lessons with the Cruzline.  He is hoping to be in the band next year and I am hoping he makes the drum line (because after the dance team-or maybe before the dance team-they rank pretty high up there as things to watch at the THS football games.)  We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

But before the Homecoming game, Caleb and his friend got into this contraption to duke it out a bit...I don't know, but looks a little fun-they had a blast!

Loving the tailgating before the games...free hot dogs, sodas and games!  Thanks to a local magazine.

Then, one of my friends had extra tickets to a KU football game and offered them to Steve and I...and of course we don't pass up free!  We were on the 67th row and that's pretty high up there, after "huffing" it up there (the only thing that makes me feel better about the "huffing" is that there were several kids young to college age that were" huffing" it too!) But it was a fun game and the band was pretty amazing with the theme songs to the Amazing Spiderman, the Dark Knight and a montage to the Armed Forces theme songs.  You can check out the pictures on the Instagram (another thing that I LOVE!)

Okay, I've bored you enough, hopefully it wouldn't be another month before I get back on here.

Laters!

 

 

On a Whim...

I am pretty sure that the hubby doesn't like it when I have a whim.  It usually means a project and spending money.  On the last Sunday of the Olympics, I had just one of these whims.  While sitting in Church, I decided that it was time to paint the spare bedroom/craft room.  So it went from a very pale yellow that made the room look very large to this mocha color that I fell in love with.  First I have to say that I love poppies (random I know, just follow me) we found the poppy art work at World Market in February (I think).  That is the picture that I was thinking about when looking for the paint color for this room.

Started out with this pale yellow...

I always paint and "cut in the trim" first.  I don't tape to the horror of any painter out there, but I have a pretty steady hand and with a wet rag handy I can usually clean up any messes I make.  I just can't tape without the paint bleeding under, causing more headaches/work.

There's the poppy picture...I think it looks good, what do you think?  I should have said earlier that the paint was to also go with these curtains.  We brought the curtains up from the living room once we got new curtains for that space.  (There is a story there and I will try to remember to post that another time.  Now we all we need is a new duvet and pillows. 

And if I do say so myself, I think the room looks great (minus the mess...it's been a catch all the past couple weeks.)  I will post better pictures once I get this room cleaned up...And don't get excited, it will probably be a while before that happens.

Spare/Craft Room To Do list:
- hang more artwork
- CLEAN up the clutter!!!
- make a large craft table
- get a better/more comfortable chair
- better sewing desk
- new duvet/pillows
- clean out the closet

Thanks,
Renae

Friday Night Lights...

What a day!  I took the day off of work and went shopping with my Mom.  It was fun and we got a lot of really cook ideas from the stores we went to.  We also "took a tour of the country" as we visited 6 counties on our shopping spree! 

Yes!  Tonight was the football scrimmage and okay, I'll admit I wasn't paying attention to the football scrimmage.  Tonight was also the dance team's first performance, and since my girlie is on the dance team, that's where my attention was.  I can't believe we already have the scrimmage tonight and the first football game next Friday.  Time just flies by!

So I am attempting to attach a video of the first 2012 fight song performance...so here it goes...

 

 

I am hoping this works and can post more videos in the future.  But for now this is one tired mama!  Good night!

 

Bridal/Baby Shower Mints

Okay, I have to say it's harder to keep up on the blog than I thought it would be.  Life just gets a little crazy and then a week has flown by and you haven't been on the computer, let alone your blog.  (Sigh)  I have been working on a ton of projects, just haven't uploaded them...but be warned, they are coming!

We had a "Church lady" wedding mint making party last Thursday.  The Church ladies are my Church friends and I have been fortunate enough to be a part of this group of amazing women for the last 11 plus years.  When we sit down to make the mints it's also a time to keep up on each other's lives and to give out great advice.  There is no real skill involved with the mint making and even my kids have helped when we were short on ladies.  My friend Jenny makes the cream cheese "dough" a day or so in advance, I don't know her recipe, but here is one that I have used in the past and think it's pretty close:

Cream Cheese Mints
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese
1 2 pound bag of powdered sugar
10-12 drops of flavoring (your choice and to taste)
food coloring
sugar for coating

Mix ingredients in a mixer, the powdered sugar will fly so cover your mixer with a towel.  You want to make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate for a day or two before putting into molds.  If the dough is too sticky when you go to make the molds you can add more powdered sugar, they should have the consistency of play dough.

You will need the flexible/rubbery molds that will allow you to "pop" the mint out easier.  When you go to make the mints, remember that the color you make them is important...bright or dark colors aren't always pretty when they stick to the teeth.

To mold the mints: add regular sugar to the mold and pinch off a small amount of dough.  Roll the dough into a ball and roll the ball in the regular sugar then push into the mold (the more sugar you and to the outside the easier the mint will pop out of the mold.)  Once the dough is pushed into the mold, you will want to level the back of so that it's level with the mold.  Pop out onto a flat surface and let stand for an hour or two, then line an air-tight container with wax paper and stack carefully.  You can put in the fridge if your event is coming soon, or in the freezer for a few months.  (I know I'm not alone in sneaking a bit or two when there are leftovers.

If you are making mints for a big occasion you can double or triple this recipe...and keep in mind the shape/size of your mold this will determine how much dough you will need.

Thanks to my friends for letting me take this picture ;-) and a special thanks too Sue for being my hand model!

Til next time...
Renae

Wow...

Even though I was inside at work all day, I am so glad that there is a little relief from the exhausting heat we have been having.  I think the high today was mid eighties and driving home from work with the windows open was a great novelty!  And to add to that sweet relief...Yes, I have turned the AC off no windows open yet, but that could happen later, for now ceilng fans are our main source of cool.  And this is even better news because school starts in a day and the high school does not have AC (it has never had AC even in the stone ages when my husband and I went there.)

I hope everyone had a great weekend, we certainly did.  Sunday we a great Church service and then we made a trip to Home Depot for some paint and house numbers.  The address numbers that are currently on our home are too small and not in a very visable place.  We will take photos and post when get around to this project.  I have some photos from the spare room and will post when we get the room completed...right now it's a bit of a disaster.

Back to School Tip of the Day...

After our first year in kindergarten, I found that stores will put back to school items on clearance a week or two after school starts.  So watch the stores...you may be purchasing double the supplies this year but it will help next year.  I out everything into a plastic tub and store them in the basement until they are needed.  You can also buy items like pencils after the holidays to use for school or to store up for gifts at school parties.

Another way to watch spending is to watch sales ads, I know that the office stores (Office Max and Staples) have pretty good sales on certain items this time of year.  And if you are a teacher check to see if they offer a teacher's discount.  Every little bit helps!

Now that we are starting high school (yikes!) the supply list is a wait and see what classes you have first.  Of course, Caleb is still in 8th grade so the list is the same for him as it was for Lauren last year.  Hoping there are no crazy supply needs for Lauren's high school classes as we have already dropped a fortune for her dance team uniform and all of the things required to go with it (bag, shoes, poms, and now we need to get a jacket).

Of course I have been working on other projects this weekend and have taken pictures of those things, but not the supplies that we purchased.  Darn it, I didn't even think of it while were out...I just wanted to get out of the store without hearing "can I have" or "can we get" one more time.  Another great tip is to take one kid at a time and start earlier than I did this year!

;-)
Hope you had a great weekend, we did!

Renae

Odds and Ends

T-shirts, ribbons and elastic oh, my! 

Today there was work (of course) and after work, I drove across town to someones house to pick up my new Fire Fighters Rock t-shirt...I am very proud of my fire-fighter hubby!  (And I will post a picture of my new tee in a day or so.)

Well, you know the saying "pick your battles"?  Well, my freshman has the gloves on and has come out boxing!  I just think that she has underestimated her scrappy mother!  HaHaHa!  But seriously, this young lady has been pushing the bounds of every limit lately.  The hubby and I are trying to stay united and that can be tough (we have kind of been on strange schedules lately and not seen much of each other.)  I guess the point of this is to say that she's been a lazy bum this summer and I have put my foot down and told the little miss that it's time to get prepared for Nutcracker auditions.  This entails the open studio and conditioning classes.  Well her argument was that her ribbons weren't sewn onto her ponite shoes yet.  Ah-ha!  It's not my favorite thing to do and it's a little bit of a pain (in the finger)...but it must be done.  I have tried to post some pictures and will try to give  "how to" to go with the pictures.

First, you need ribbons, elastics, pointe shoes and the waxy string (and the needle to sew with).

Lauren likes to write the R and L in so she knows which shoe is which.

I don't really measure much.  When you buy the ribbons, you will cut in half and half again so the ribbon is in quarters.  Elastics will have to be cut as you are measuring and trying the shoes on. 

You will need to mark a line towards the heel of the shoe.  It's kind of hard to explain, but put the pen on the inside of the shoe at the heel, fold heel over and pull the pen across the inside of the shoe to create a diagonal line (picture #3).  Then you want to sew the elastic and ribbon together on that line.

My stitching is not the straightest (I am slightly mortified to show you this).  I try to sew a box or rectangle on the ribbon/elastic so that it's on there firmly.  Once the ribbons are on firmly, have the dancer tie their knots and then cut to the length she needs (this will prevent cutting the ribbons too short.)

Then we burn the edges to keep the ribbons from fraying, this is basically taking open flame to the edge of the ribbon.  You don't want to burn or set them on fire, but you do want to"melt" the edges so they wouldn't fray.  I also use this when I am doing a craft with a ribbon and don't want the edges to fray.

So, now it's as clear as mud right?  Most stores are helpful with better instructions or will charge a small fee to sew them on for you.  Since I can sew (even though it's not straight no one really gets that close anyway), I try to get rid of as many costs as I can...yes, I am cheap----I mean thrifty!

And yes, they end up very well loved.  This is Lauren's last pair.  When I get a picture of the new ones on her feet, I will post it.

;-)
Good night for now.
Oh, of course more Olympics, and for whatever reason, I could not sleep last night.  Hopefully there is not a repeat of that tonight.  But diving is on right now...Can't. Stop. Watching.

.

Monday...

Why is it that Mondays are so hard for all of us (okay, maybe it's just me!)  I know that this week part of my problem is that I am not going to bed before midnight so that I can watch the Olympics and then the news.  But what a weekend we have had (beyond the Olympics!)

I consider my weekends to start on Thursdays, I work on Fridays but get off work at 11 and so I don't really count them.  Well, last Thursday I officially become the mom of a high school freshman.  It doesn't seem possible, wasn't it yesterday that she was starting kindergarten?  And to top that, as we are standing in one of the many lines there are to endure, a boy starts to flirt a bit with her...Oh boy, here we go!  It's probably a good thing that Dad subs at this school quite often.  Maybe he can keep the boys away for a while.  We are on the count down til school starts (9 days for L, 10 days for C).

Thursday night my very good friends at Church provided a meal for the family.  We had pulled pork sandwiches, chips, potato salad, slaw salad, fruit salad and brownies and chocolate cookies.  YUM!  It was so wonderful to host a dinner for my family and be able to spend more time with them because no one was stuck in the kitchen cooking.  (If I was thinking, I would have taken some pictures, but this is me-missing photo ops.)


Friday we babysat for our friends' 3 and 6 year old, we swam and ate pizza and Steve and Lauren took the boys down to the park for a little baseball.  I stayed behind with Caleb because he wanted to swim a little more.  Did I mention that it is great to have friends with a pool?  Some pictures form that night...

Steve and I (not the most flattering pic-but oh well)

This is the picture that I usually get out of Lauren

Steve and Lauren and the boys (Can't seem to get a picture of Caleb!)

A sunflower that was in the back yard-beautiful

Saturday was a big day and I realize now that I have gone a little out of sequence with my postings...sorry!  Saturday was the day that we had Grandpa's memorial...my wonderful hubby was the officiant (how proud am I?  VERY!)  The service was very beautiful and all the more special because of Steve and all of the wonderful people that came to celebrate Grandpa's life!  He was a Shrine clown when we were growing up so in honor of that we took some fun pictures.

Jill, me, Steve and Robbie

Sisters (Renae, Jill, Rachele and Robbie) rockin the clown nose!

And finally, Sunday was a big day starting with breakfast at Church and a surprise party for my friend Jenny.  Breakfast was one of my favorites in biscuits and gravy (everything is better with gravy in my opinion!), sausage and fruit.  YUM!  Can you tell that food is a very big part of our lives? 

There was a hymn that we sang at Church that was pretty meaningful, I like to believe that it was a little love from Grandpa.  A verse that has been popping up over the last few weeks in Matthew 7:7-8 (Ask, Seek, Knock), this verse has become pretty important to us/me and the first hymn we sang on Sunday was based off of this verse, so like I said it was a little smile to us from Grandpa. 

Thanks Grandpa Kenny, we miss you and love you too.

Sunday afternoon and the surprise party that was very hard to keep from my best friend Jenny.  All I can say is that the thought in my head was "remember it's a surprise, don't say anything about the party, remember it's a surprise..."  Jenny, sorry if I was acting weird, it was me trying very hard to keep a secret.  PS-Steve (Jenny's Steve) did an amazing job getting this organized!  What a great guy and I think I have said this before, but he's the second most wonderful Steve I know!

Wow!  That's a lot and I will let you go for now.  Another big week for us, gotta get moving on Back to School (or from here on out B2S.)  

Til next time...

PPS- Thank goodness for Spell check and calculators!!!!



Olympics...

Ummmm.....so I have not had time to write this week, I have been watching the Olympics.  Well, actually I have been reading and watching the events when they come on.  So it's been up til at least 11 pm to watch the events (and sometimes after the news to watch the late night things as well.)  Now is when I confess that it finally caught up to me yesterday (the heat didn't help) with a giant headache.  I finally kicked it (the headache) this morning.  I really hate having headaches!

I can't tell you how much I have been looking forward to watching the Olympics this year.  I love the summer Olympics (mostly for the gymnastics, diving and swimming) and over the years the reasons I watch have changed.  As a little girl, I imagined that I was one of the winning gymnastists, and now that I am older it is more the fact that I am amazed at the athleticism and overall awesomeness of the athletes.  I am the most emotional for the gymnastists, and yes I cried for Jordyn Wieber when she didn't get into the all-around, when the "Fab Five" won gold, and again when Gabby Douglas won the gold.  I was close to crying for the swimmers as they won too, but for some reason it's always to gymnastists that get me...I think that it has to do with the fact that it is kind of a once in a lifetime thing and the swimmers can keep going (Michael Phelps is in his third Olympics, right?).

Well, I don't know what events are on next week, so posts are going to be hit and miss.

PS-Diary of a German War Bride by Trudy McFarland is a fascinating revel to the life and times of a family trying to make it in Topeka, Kansas.  I finally finished it this week and have started on another book, more on that later.

TGIF...

Thank goodness that it is Friday!  After being off work for a week and a half, it was kind of a long week.  Weekends are almost always a little crazy for us or at least there is never a weekend with nothing going on.  Tonight the hubby comes home from his week long mission trip to South Dakota.  From the texts that I have gotten he seems to have had a great time and I know he will be full of stories tonight (if he's not too tired to talk!)  Tomorrow is my niece's 10th birthday party, so we'll have dinner and then go swimming.  And Sunday we are teaching Sunday School to the little ones at Church and I feel like there is something else going on but for the life of me I can't think of what it is.

So, as I have been stalking several blogs---I have noticed that I love all of the pictures they have posted.  So I will attempt to get more pictures going on my own blog, I almost always forget to have a camera with me or for the pictures I do have I am very picky and have a hard time deciding what to post.  I promise to try a little harder at this!

Back to School

So, I work in a very busy orthodontic office, and just this week I heard people talking about how school starts in 3 weeks.  It amazes me that this summer is over, June felt like it was over way too fast and I blinked and missed July!  Enrollment is next Wednesday for my Caleb and next Thursday for my Lauren...it is another year that they will not be in the same school and we will have to work out the taking to and picking up from schedule (this is something I am not looking forward to.) 

And I am still trying to process the fact that Lauren will be a Freshman!  My how time flies! The last couple of nights I have spent a lot of time looking through photos (for pictures of Grandpa) and looking at the kids and my husband and myself, I am amazed at how fast they have grown up.  I remember thinking that if we made it to the next step life might be easier..ie sleep through the night, walking, out of diapers, start school etc.  But now my advice to any new or young parents would be don't wish the time away waiting for the next step because it will come faster than you think.  Enjoy every moment you can get because they are gone way too fast! 

PS-I'm sure someone said this to me and I just didn't listen to them---please be smarter than me!

Why Silver Paisley Lining you ask?

You may be wondering where in the world I came up with the name for my blog...well it was a bit of a process.  My original name was Grey Cloud Silver Lining, but that was taken...so we went through several variations and my coworker says to me you like paisley why don't you put that in the title.  And so Silver Paisley Lining was born.  I know that is not much of a story, but to add to it---my nickname at work is grey cloud...we have moved into our current building about 2 years ago and it's a wonderful brand new place with lots of open room.  Our old building was nice, but the x-ray room (my room) was very dark because there were no windows.  I never knew what the weather was like outside and it was a little dreary in there (hence the grey cloud).

So this is my online journal, for thoughts, feelings, crafts and DIY's...oh yes and to share my junk food love!  I tried the Pringles family faves-White Cheddar Pops flavor, and they are AWESOME!  They are kind of hard to find (I can only find them at KMart).  If you can find these, you should try them out!  YUM!

DIY Project #1

So, finally Project #1---I saw this on Pinterest and wanted to create a River Rock mat for the back door.  What you will need: a mat (the one I used was the one that's been at the back door for a couple of years), this picture shows 3 bags of River rocks and actually I needed 6 bags plus I got a bag of smaller pebbles to fill in the cracks, and some super strong craft glue (I needed 5 tubes of it).

 

                                                         
Step #1-brush off the mat (unless you are using a brand new one) make sure there is no debris on it.

Step #2-start gluing the rocks onto the mat.  They are irregular shapes and may have to fit them together before you add the glue to them.

Step #3-use the small pebbles to fill cracks.  And once the rocks are glued onto the mat, let it sit for a day or two to allow the glue to set completely. 

I have had this sitting at the back door for a couple of days...we'll see if it holds up in this extreme heat.  We have been in the 100's for weeks now and there is no end in sight!  Yuck, I really don't like the extremes (sweltering summer and blizzards every week in the winter).

I hope that this is a fun project for you, because it was for me!

PS-I should probably let you know that I am a Pinterest-aholic and you will be seeing a lot of my ideas come from Pinterest.

R.I.P. Grandpa Kenny

I received the call at 5:50 this morning that Grandpa passed.  It is a very sad day for us, but he has gone home and I know he is in a happy place. 

So, third time is a charm and tomorrow I will for sure post the pictures of my project.  Sometimes life gets away from us and other things become more important in the moment.  Well, that's my philosophy moment for the night.

This woodcraft cut-out was hanging in the Chapel at Midland Hospice.  What a wonderful place with a very caring staff.  Thank you to all of you for the care Grandpa recieved!

PS-I had some fun with the Original picture that I took with www.picmonkey.com/  If you liked Picnik, then you'll love this website! 

Wow

It's been a crazy vacation (or stay-cation) for me.  As I sit here on a Saturday night I am fascinated by all of the things I have not accomplished.

I guess a little update is in order...my family made the tough decision to put Grandpa into Hospice.  When the doctors started talking about feeding tubes and the likes we knew that was something that he just didn't want.  It has been a very long process and Grandpa is still hanging in there, but my stay-cation has allowed me the opportunity to spend some time with him and I have had a few very special moments with him.

My very extra special wonderful hubby cut his trip to his father's house short to be with me an extra night.  Now as I sit here, he has left again to go on his mission trip with several youth and leaders from northern Kansas (28 people in all).  My biggest worry for him is this heat!  I am almost 100% sure that he will waste away in this heat.  I guess we will see when he gets back.  (I miss him terribly already!)  Oh, and did I mention that he has poison ivy on his arm...yeah, that's an extra special misery for the trip.  Love you hun!

So, my daughter and I are having some girl time while dad and brother are gone.  We went to the grocery store tonight and of course being junk food queens, we ended up with more junk than good for you food (we did get some good stuff fruit, breakfast stuff and sandwich stuff...)  We also had to purchase her dance shoes today.  She needed new pointe shoes for ballet, black and tan jazz shoes and jazz tennis shoes for dance team, plus tights and all the other bits and pieces...I'll just say it's good that dad was not home to see that bill! (And even better that he doesn't read this blog!)  She is so excited for high school and all the things that go with being a Freshman.  And I just can't believe we have a freshman in high school!  Oh how time flies, enjoy it while it lasts!

The son is on his whirl-wind (is that the right wording?) tour of the Grandpa's houses.  He stayed with my father-in-law a few extra days and then was taken to my father's house.  I know that he enjoys being away from his sister and getting all of the attention for his self.  (Love you bud, and I miss you too.)

So it's Saturday night and have another big week planned.  It's summer and in an Orthodontic office that means busy, busy, busy!  Plus Lo (the daughter) has dance camp, my niece turns 10 and we have Church and a pool party tomorrow---oh and a baby shower.  Oh, my. 

I know that I promised pictures of my recent craft project, but I think that will wait until tomorrow or Monday...I know that I have talked your ear off tonight.  (PS-I am still reading the Diary of a German War Bride, it's just taking longer than I thought it would)

Good night for now.

What a day...

Well, today I spent most of the day at the hospital.  Grandpa is fighting an infection and it's taking a lot out of him.  I do have to say that the level of care he is getting at this hospital is above and beyond what he was getting at the other hospital.  And that is a real comfort to me.  Hopefully he can get better soon and get back to the nursing home he was at for just a day (if even that long).

While I was listening to Grandpa snore away ;-) I started reading a book from the library.  It's called Diary of a German War Bride by Trudy McFarland.  It's pretty fascinating so far.  Trudy has published her mother's diaries that were started when Barbara was seven years old.  What I find fascinating so far is the fact that my great-great grandmother on mom's side of the family was a German immigrant and I feel like these might be things she felt or did or had issues with.  My Grandma had told me once that her grandmother didn't want to teach her kids and grandkids German because we live and America and English is our language...and this is one of the things in Barbara McFarland's diaries.

Then I thought about all of the blogs out there and the fact that these are online diaries/journals that the Internet has allowed us to publish ourselves for everyone or no one to read and I think that's pretty cool.  There are a lot of bloggers out there and I love to read what they have to say.  Mostly for the decorating tips, fashion advice or recipes...but sometimes for the fun of seeing what other families are like. 

I guess this isn't just blogs, but facebook, Twitter and all of the others.  There is a friend on facebook that posts an online journal of the fun things her boys do and say and I love to read her daily posts.  She is a wonderful mother!

Tomorrow I promise to post the back door rock rug that was my weekend project but until then, Good night.

Sent the fam packing....

My vacation didn't work out as planned.  Grandpa took a turn for the worse yesterday and ended up back in the hospital.  After several tests, we have ruled out a stroke at this point, but he was sleeping all day today and we just don't know. 

So, I have opted out of the little family trip to visit my father-in-law and stayed home to be with my family.  It's not the vacation tha I planned but I have managed to get an appointment for a massage on Thursday and Miss Melissa is the best! 

I think that's all I can write for tonight...but I should say that it's hard to find the silver lining in all of this right now.  Hopefully I can have a better outlook on things tomorrow.

PS-(thanks for listening)

Yeah for Vacation!

An update on Grandpa, the doctors will be talking with Grandma in the morning, but he is doing better.  They took the temporary pacemaker out and they think that the meds are working for him now. I think that he will be going into a care facility for a while (or longer) tomorrow or the day after.  Now we need to worry about a more permanent solution.

I have finished my last day of work for the next 10 days.  It has been extremely rough week so the R&R is definitely in order.  I plan to try and figure out how to post pictures onto this blog and upload a couple of pictures of my current craft projects.  If I can't figure it out, my little sis can surely help me (for that matter I'm sure my 12 and 14 year olds can help too).  I also plan to work on a couple of Christmas presents (because it is never too early to stock pile these gifts).

More exciting news, we got our new chest of drawers that match each other and our bed.  Now we have a matching set (it only took 16 years of marriage to get this).  It may take a while, but we will soon get the master bedroom put together.

To do list for the Master Bedroom:
-rip out the carpet and put something different in (carpet or hard wood of some kind)
-hang the picture we bought at World Market a few months ago
-paint the room (don't know what color yet)
-get some sort of night stand (one to match my husbands or something different-don't know yet)
-a couple of smaller pictures for above hubby's dresser and wall by the window
-find a nightstand for my side of the bed
That means it's time to start shopping the sales and clearances and garage sales (although it's a little hot for the garage sales.)  One of these days I will post our Garage Sale rules the how's and why's and what not to do's.

So that's it for tonight, hopefully tonight I can't get to sleep at a decent time!

One more day...

Today was a pretty long day.  I worked mos tof the day away, but then went to the hospital to spend some time with Grandpa.  He is doing better, this evening was moved out of ICU and taken to the cardiology unit to be watched overnight.  We'll hope that tomorrow is even better! 

Speaking of tomorrow, it's my last day of work for 10 days and I can't wait for some rest and relaxation!  Woohoooooo!  Then I can start posting pictures of the projects I've been working on.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Not quite the day I expected

What a day!  It's summer and of course our office is crazy busy, almost too busy to think.  In the middle of the morning my mother called and said that they were taking my Grandpa Kenny to the hospital it was a little scary and overwhelming.  Since I had another patient before lunch and no one really available to take over my position so that I could leave, I called my wonderful husband who rushed down to be at the hospital with Mom and Grandma until I could get there.  He is a very steady guy who can be the voice of reasonwhen needed...(any time in the hospital it's definately needed!)

Just to make this quick he is in ICU with a temporary pacemaker in while they are running tests over the next couple of days to see if a regular pacemaker is needed.  When I saw him this evening he seemed to be in pretty good spirits, which is a very good thing.

On a side note: This was not in the plan as something to add to the blog, but it happened, and I thought that I should document thoughts and feelings through this too.  I promise to post some of the projects that I have been working on and some pictures from our short vacation.

More soon...

Oh my goodness...

Wow!  Okay, I have wanted to start a blog for a while now and have finally taken the plunge.  Let me just say for the record-now that I have a blog I am scared!  I follow several blogs and all of these other girls make it look sooooo easy! 

Well, this is where I plan to post a little bit of everything (food/cooking, crafts/DIY/decorating, life, family and friends).  For a while it may be one or two posts a day (I have a lot on my mind lately-hence the need for this outlet) then may be one a week.  Who knows, but I hope that I can put something out there that is useful to you.

Thanks!