My Weblog

A few words about nothing

I read somewhere that to write an interesting blog it is necessary to "do" something.  Well, cleaning the sink and doing laundry and scrapping is about all I "do" most days.  So, I suppose this blog gets pretty boring, but, til I "do" something really interesting I'll have to ask you to bear with me.

I had intended to do a little update yesterday, but Typepad was down.  No one who uses Typepad for their blog was doing much updating yesterday!

Well, yesterday, our house guest went home.  Erica arrived last week to spend some time with her Dad.  Of course, with him at work, I think she spent far more time with me than she did with him.  I don't mind having her around.  She's a good kid.  But, I love my alone time.  I haven't been on the treadmill for a week--I just hate doing that sort of thing with an audience, though maybe it would have done her good to see me climb on there.  She watches me constantly.  I was putting on makeup the other day and she just stared at me the whole time.  That is unnerving!  But, I know that I am very different from her mother (thank God), and so, maybe watching me is a good thing for her to do. 

We did do one interesting thing while she was here.  We went to the Titanic exhibit at the Tropicana.  It was expensive, $75 for the three of us, but fascinating.  Unfortunately, they say that everything in the exhibit is copyrighted, so they won't let you take pictures of anything.  I got one photo--of the big poster that hangs outside the exhibit.  There is so much to read about the Titanic on the internet.  And, much of it conflicts with other things written.  But it is interesting reading--reading about the Titanic's sinking itself, about the lives of those who survived and about the lives of those who didn't.  At the exhibit, there was a fair amount of information about how the ship was built, but since that information was on large placards mounted on the wall, it didn't give the detail I was able to find on the internet.  They had a large placard on which the names of all the passengers and crew were listed as well as whether they were steerage, middle, or upper class passengers or what their jobs were as crew members.  Most of what we saw was stuff salvaged from the wreckage.  For having been at the bottom of the sea for so many years, it was in surprisingly good condition.  I was surprised to see several leather items in good shape--seems the tanning process used made the leather more or less impervious to the sea water.  We saw a good bit of china and ceramic stuff--from the china on which dinner was served to small pieces of ceramic various passengers had brought with them.  It was interesting to see little covered ceramic bowls that contained tooth paste.  The theory was that these items were given out to all passengers on the Titanic.  They had a replica of what a room in steerage looked like.  There was also a replica of what a bedroom would have looked like in the upper class rooms.  I somehow doubt it was as fully furnished as the originals might have been.  And, it was normal for those classes to have a 3 or 4 room suite, not just a bedroom, but the bedroom was all we got to see.  All in all, it was interesting and I think educational for Erica.  I'm quite sure it was an activity her mother would not have chosen to expose her to, so it was a good thing. 

We also ate at the Tropicana buffet for dinner that night.  I'm amazed at how the prices of the buffets here in town have risen.  In the "old" days in Vegas, food was almost given away, the theory being that if one treated the guests well, they would stay in the hotel and gamble.  With corporate ownership now, there is more concern about "profit centers" so the thought is that money should be made on every separate activity/facility the hotel/casino provides.  Our dinners were $17.99 plus tip, of course.  But, then, there was unlimited food, as much as your little tummy could hold.  I've been very carefully back on a high protein/low carb diet for a little while, but I wasn't tempted to go off of it.  I ate expensive--prime rib, leg of lamb, fried shrimp, and seafood salad.  And, I availed myself of the great sugar-free deserts they offer.  I chose pie and carefully scraped the sugar free filling from the crust and enjoyed it!  I DID mooch one bite of whole wheat roll with butter from Erica, but with the array of food available, that little cheat was really hardly worth mentioning.

I was sad to see Erica making some very bad food choices again, and, truthfully, I was sadder to see her father enabling her, even suggesting wrong things for her to eat.  I have no idea what she weighs now, but two years ago, at the ripe old age of 12, she weighed 225 and had blood pressure that was way higher than her doctor wanted.  She was put on a low carb diet and was working out at her local Curves, but seems to have abandoned both the diet and the workouts and, I'd guess, now weighs more than ever.  She is on the high school's volleyball team, and the volleyball coach is giving them quite a workout at practices.  But, transportation to practices is a problem and she is very inactive on all the other days of the week.  It's so hard to watch her, at her age, eating mashed potatoes and sugary sweets and bread when I know it's so bad for her.  But, leave it up to Joe, he'll come home with a sandwich, fries, and dessert for lunch! 

So far, in about a week, I'm down 2-2.5 pounds.  It's not much, but I look for greater losses now that I don't have an "audience" to my workout, provided I do it during the day.  And, so far, with prayer, my ability to NOT eat the junk I see my husband eating is holding out.  I need every bit of willpower God can give me as I have to sit here and watch my 40-pounds-overweight husband eat ice cream and bread and mashed potatoes at most every meal, right in front of my face!

I got a call from Jennifer yesterday afternoon asking if I'd be interested in watching the boys for the next 3 or 4 months on Monday nights.  Seems she's been given the opportunity to teach a class.  Well, I love being with the little guys, so of course my answer was "yes".  The details haven't been worked out yet.  I'm afraid this may entail my driving to the University to pick up Atticus from Day Care.  I don't look forward to that, but if she needs me to do it, then I'll do it.   I really believe that at this stage of her life, it is my job to support her however I can.   She'll pay me a little something for my time and that will give me a bit of pocket money for odds and ends like haircuts or nails.  And, she'll get extra money from the University for teaching the class.  It's all good.

Joe's business is really off.  At this point he has a couple of deals on hold, but we have no direct prospect of any commission income in July.  I am not worrying about it, though it is, of course, a matter of prayer.  I was praying about it the other day when the thought crossed my mind that the God who could give me a trip to Hawaii could also pay the mortgage.  So, I'll just keep praising Him for the miracle I know is coming.

One final item.  The annual Holy Spirit conference is coming up starting Saturday night.  Joe is "ushing" every evening service but Saturday as well as ushing in the Sunday morning service.  Our speakers again this year will be Heidi Baker, Bill Johnson, and Randy Clark.  I am particularly looking forward to Heidi Baker and Bill Johnson as I've learned a lot from both of them in the past.  Clicking on this link will take you to some "blow you out of your seat" sermons:  http://stream.iclvmedia.com/hsc.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email_html&utm_campaign=07072401

Well, I have to make some egg salad for lunches.  I've got 14 eggs hard boiled and waiting for me in the kitchen.  So, I'm off to get that taken care of and I already have the major  part of dinner marinating in the fridge.  Of course, there's the laundry I haven't started, and beds to be made, and so on......  Here are some pages.

This little cutie is the younger sister of one of DGS's softball team members. She is so full of energy and personality and beautiful to boot. I used Deb Fisher's Classic Baby Girl kit for this. Deb recently lost her husband and is now left to raise their 7 children alone. Deb is a talented designer who sells at Pickleberry Pop.

I love Atticus's interpretation of a kiss. Not quite on target, but darned cute. I scrapped this using Faith True's Cool Linen kit. The journaling strips are from the Poptart mega kit at Elemental Scraps.

We found this beautiful Bird of Paradise plant on the grounds of Mission San Diego de Alcala. This started out as part of last week's Lift with a Twist, but, obviously, I didn't get it posted in time.The green bg paper is from Deb F's That's my Hope kit. The swirl is by Ronna Penner, used as a clipping mask for a purple paper from Deb's That's My Hope. The button is from the same kit. The orange paper is from Deb's Breakaway kit. The crumpled orange gingham ribbon is by Amanda Heimann, her A Little Wrinkled element kit at PDW. The orange flower in the upper left is from Theresa Hernandez's Floral Fusion kit, available at NDISB. The white notebook paper is from Deb Fisher's Go Tos kit. The cardboard is by Windgefluester. All of Deb's products are available at PBP. Deb recently lost her husband and is now left to raise their 7 children alone. Deb is a talented designer who sells at Pickleberry Pop.

Just some photos of DGS at bat in a recent ball game. He has been hanging his head in total defeat every time he struck out, but Grandpa has been coaching him and he hit base hits twice in 4 times at bat. We're really proud of him because his attitude is so much better now that he understands that he doesn't have to hit the ball every time! I used Deb Fisher's Not Just Dirt kit for this simple page. Deb recently lost her husband and is now left to raise their 7 children alone. Deb is a talented designer who sells at Pickleberry Pop.

I came across a website (www.robertpence.com)that features photos of Johnstown, PA--my parents' hometown, a place I visited every summer growing up. A trip to pick up Coney Island Hot Dogs was mandatory at least once every year. I remember them as being particularly yummy. I used Amanda Rockwell's Chocolate Blush for this page. I also used a swirl from Ronna Penner as a clipping mask for the papers from the kit.

I came across a website (www.robertpence.com) that features photos of Johnstown, PA--my parents' hometown, a place I visited every summer growing up. Loved this photo--the contrast in textures between the cold hard metal of the bridge and the warmth of the fall trees in the bg. Had to scrap it very simply since I think it's a fantastic photo all by itself. I used the orange from Deb Fisher's Breakaway kit for this to pick up the color of the fall foilage. Deb recently lost her husband and is now left to raise their 7 children alone. Deb is a talented designer who sells at Pickleberry Pop.

Will really doesn't like playing in the outfield. He begs to play elsewhere but gets sent to the outfield most of the time. I did this page with one of Deb Fisher's landscape templates. The kit I used is called Retro Funk and is by LaWanna Desjardin, available at O Scraps. Deb recently lost her husband and is now left to raise their 7 children alone. Deb Fisher is a talented designer who sells at Pickleberry Pop.

All's Quiet on the Western Front

Well, there isn't much going on here.  In some ways, that's a good thing.  But, it does leave me at a bit of a loss as to what to blog about. 

There's really only one piece of news of any import.  I think I may have mentioned here that Joe has taken over as President of his group of Gideons.  He claims he really didn't want it, but the guys pressured him into it.  I don't like it much.  It means he is supposed to be at a meeting every Saturday morning.  So, getting him out of town for anything will be even more difficult.  And, I really think he's busy enough without taking on additional responsibilities.  But, it's done now--set in stone for the next 3 years.  Every year it is the duty of the President (and his wife) to represent the local group at a national conference.  The conference for 2007 was in San Bernardino--really exciting, right?  I don't know any more about San Bernardino than you can learn from driving through on the Freeway, but it doesn't rate high on my list of places I'd like to visit.  And, to tell the truth, driving 4 hours to San Bernardino would stretch our current budget!  Well, hold onto your hats--the conference for 2008 is in Hawaii!  Well, truth be told, there is no way we can afford a trip to Hawaii or much of anyplace else.  But, here's the deal--The local group has voted to pay for our airfare to Hawaii.  We'd still have to pay for our own housing and food, but I can eat a lot of McDonald's if I have to.  I even have some extra fat I could live off of if need be.  And, tentatively, Joe has agreed we may be able to stay a few extra days--I have no idea where, a flophouse most likely.  It is probably the only time in our lifetime that we'll be able to go to Hawaii unless the Lord dumps a bundle of money on us from some place unknown.  So, it all seems pretty exciting to me at the moment.

The bad news for the day is that has had 3 referrals for loans today and all three were turndowns.  FICO scores in the dirt, bills so high their current mortgage payments are over 50% of their current income but are looking to borrow more, etc.  And, we've found out that the escrow officer who replaced April is committing "notary adultery".  She's using a number of other signers, so we are not getting much signing income.......

Well, Joe has arrived home a half hour early.  The dogs got so excited they ran full speed for the kitchen door, knocking over the fan in the process, and eliciting lots of loud hollering from Joe.  My peace and quiet for today is finished.   I'll post some layouts here and move on.

Snapped this photo of DH over breakfast at "our" restaurant in San Diego. I used Theresa Hernandez's new kit, Morning Unplugged, for everything. The "plume" is by Anna Aspnes, used as a clipping mask for papers from the kit. You can find Theresa's kit at NDISB.

A rare photo of me, posing with a beautiful bougainvilla bush while we were in California. I was copying a professional photographer who was using this as a background for her photos of a wedding party. I used Amanda Rockwell's Strawberry Patch kit for this. The white paper is from Amanda's The Basics--White. Amanda's products are available at amandarockwell.com.

This photo of wildflowers blooming along an Oregon trail was taken by a family friend. I used Katie the Scrapbook Lady's Fresh Fabric Paper for this layout. You can find Katie's Fresh Fabric Kit at The Digishoppe.

DH has spent several hours lately working with Will on his hitting and catching. He is now Will's hero and mine! DD took this photo in their backyard. It's easier there because they don't own a Retriever who is convinced it is HIS job to retrieve the ball! I used Amanda Rockwell's Twinkle Twinkle kit for this page. You can find Amanda's products exclusively at amandarockwell.com.

Little Atticus has this expression on his face a lot--he looks as though he's trying to figure out the workings of the world, really concentrating. DD claims this expression is one he's learned from his father. I used Katie the Scrapbook Lady's kit called Katey Bugs. Katey Bugs is available at The Digi Shoppe. I also used a fold template by Karah Fredricks.

Couldn't resist scrapping these photos of Atticus in this funky little hat. This started as a scraplift of Kellie P for the scraplift challenge at The Digi Shoppe, but it kinda took on a life of it's own. The kraft paper is by Theresa Hernandez. Red paper by Trish Jones. All flowers are by Jen Wilson. The ribbon is by Amanda Rockwell and the alpha for "silly" is Genevieve Sass's Candy Alpha. You can see Kellie's original layout here: http://www.thedigiboutique.com/studi...p;name=KellieP

Months ago, I was checking out photos on Stock Exchange and ran across this photo of the marquise outside the Flamingo Hilton. For decades I've looked at this from the road, but never up close like this. Thought it was fun to "see" it up close and downloaded the photo. Loved it with Amanda Rockwell's new kit, Into the Light. The border is from Gina Miller. You can find Amanda's designs at amandarockwell.com.

Woohoo! The cat's away!

Joe has his monthly Gideon meeting tonight.  So, Praise God, he's gone for the evening.  That means apart from occasional dog barking, I'll have a quiet evening.  I am always invited to these dinner meetings, but I decline. 

Life around here plods along with very little happening.  Business is still down on all fronts so August looks like one of those months I hate--a month when we have to resort to the credit lines just to pay bills. 

Our "excitement" for the day/week consisted of taking Toby and Punkin to the vet.  Toby chews on himself and licks himself all the time.  Last time we talked to the vet about it, we were told to give him benedryl.  Well, we've been doing that and it doesn't seem to help at all.  He has a spot on his left front leg about the sice of a silver dollar that is so bad right now it's even gotten infected.  I tried putting some neosporin on it and bandaging it, but he had the bandage off in under 5 minutes!  He has another spot, about dime sized, on his left front paw.  And, the last time we'd had him at the vet's we'd asked them to clip his toenails, but they didn't.  And, the vet had sent us a reminder that Punkin was due for shots.  So, the task of the day was to get them both to the vet.  I'd planned on taking them myself.  I'm SO glad Joe came home to help.  Just getting a leash on Punkin is a challenge.  Then there's getting her to the van.  She pulls like crazy as soon as the leash is on her.  Once she's in the van, she sits like a statue, ears down, and waits hoping to get outta there any second.  Toby, on the other hand LOVES riding in the car.  But, we put Punkin in the van first and there was barely any room for Toby because Punkin parked herself in the middle of the seat and, of course, wouldn't move!  We got them to the vet's office.  I had Toby on a leash and Joe had Punky.  Joe is not a lightweight, but Punky pulls him around like he's a pull toy.  It borders on hilarious and is SO hard not to laugh.  I've been worried about Toby on another front--He's all bones.  We feed him well, but he never seems to gain weight.  In fact, I think he's down about 8 pounds from previous vet trips.  The vet seems to think it might be parasites.  Whatever it is, we need to fix it.  However, he wants a stool sample.  Now, with three dogs, it just might be a challenge to figure out which stool to sample!  Anyway, Toby got two vaccines, steroids for the itching, antibiotics for the infection, and more tranquilizers for the next thunderstorm.  Punky needed vaccinations. 

Punky is so funny.  It is as though she accepts that going wherever when she has her leash on is inevitable.  Therefore, the objective seems to be to get there as fast as possible.  She pulled Joe into the examining room full speed.  Then, the exam room has this little built in bench for us to sit on.  While Toby just checked out the whole place, Punky wedged herself behind our feet, between our feet and the bench.  Maybe she thought no one would see her there????  Anyway, the vet coaxed her out for a few minutes to listen to her heart and give her a shot then she just crawled back in and hid til it was time to leave. 

So that was our big excitement for the day.  We stopped at Wendy's to grab lunch and I gave Toby and Punky each a French Fry, which they love, as a reward for going to the vet's office.  Punky would have nothing to do with hers.  She was just too upset.....  So, Toby ate it!

Oh, I guess there is one other funny thing that has happened since we last blogged.  Last November, we bought a big screen TV from one of the TV shopping channels.  We really couldn't afford it, but Joe never buys anything for himself and was hanging out in front of the big screens anytime we were in a store that sold electronics.  So, this looked like an excellent deal, about 2/3's the cost in the local store.  We received the TV in December and were shocked when it wouldn't play, AT ALL.  That TV was shipped back to the manufacturer and they sent us another TV.  The second TV ate one of our CD's and we could not play the CD nor could we watch the TV.  The second TV was also sent back to the manufacturer.  We got a third one.  That one got a CD stuck in it but the TV still worked.  We called the manufacturer again and they sent out some replacement parts and a repairman.  It worked like a dream for a couple of weeks.  Since then, it won't play a CD at all.  The manufacturer claimed they were sending out another repairman on Tuesday morning between 8AM and noon.  I sat here all day waiting but the repairman never showed up.  Today we received a fourth TV.  The funny part is that the UPS guy who has to deliver these things remembers exactly how many we've had and what was wrong with each one of them.  He recited it all to Joe when he made the delivery!

Well, it looks like I will be doing some tax returns the next few days.  I have appointments both tomorrow and Saturday.  Should bring in a bit of money which will be a good thing since Joe's side of the businesses this family operates is REALLY slow.  And tomorrow night I'm babysitting.  That should be fun and I should be able to get some new photos.

That's it for now.  I've spent an hour typing this out and I'm pretty sure it won't be appreciated by some people who will read it.  I'll post a few pages and get back to trying to finish up some laundry.

Okay, excuse me. I may be a grandmother, but I'm not dead. And I can recognize a great storage solution when I see one. I have learned to LOVE going to my grandson's ball games! The black paper is from Amanda Rockwell's The Basics--Black. Stars are from Starlight, Starbright by Amanda. Felt flowers and ric rak from Amanda's Back in Black Collection, the Bright kit. Orange cardboard flower from Amanda's Big Lauren's LaLas. In fact, everything on the page is by Amanda except the frame is by Eve Recinella. You can find Amanda's goodies at amandarockwell.com and you can find me at the ballpark! Can somebody hand me my blood pressure meds?

Note:  the above layout got a big response when I posted it at the various digi sites.  Everyone thought it was hilarious.

I took this photo on the grounds of Mission San Diego de Alcala. I loved the play of different textures and colors in the photo. I used Chocolate Blush, a new kit by Amanda Rockwell, one of many she will be releasing for NSD at amandarockwell.com. The tag is by Marsha Zepeda and the brad is by Mary Fran. The ribbon element behind the photo is by Nina, from her Unique Collection 3 template, available at O Scraps and NDISB. Vintage bent frame by Nancy Comelab.

Jason really ran a half marathon. He did a great job inspite of the heat and the uphill course. I used Helena Jole's Breakthrough #2 Template. The kit is by Katie the Scrapbook Lady, her Fun Fabric kit. The bracket is by Zoe Pearn, the stitching is by Sandra Boddington and the photo corners are by Robin Carlton. Katie's kit is on sale for half price at ACOT. Helena's template is on sale for half price at NDISB.

This is another of the photos from our friend John. This was taken in Bryce Canyon, Utah. Love the contrast between the green tree and the "red" rock, which as you can see is more orange than "red". When I scrap his outdoor photos, I have a hard time doing anything other than a relatively simple layout because I think the photos deserve all the attention. I used Lynn Grieveson's new Island Blues kit for this. Island Blues will be available exclusively at Designer Digitals, just in time for the NSD sale!

While we were in San Diego, we visited the Bazaar Del Mundo. It is such a colorful place! I used Amanda Heimann's new kit, Cinco de Mayo, available at Plain Digital Wrapper. The blue paper is by Amanda Rockwell, the pink paper is by Christy Lyle and the colorful paper flowers are by Theresa Hernandez, from her Baja Vacation kit, available at ACOT. I used a template by Rina Kroes for this page.

My daughter is normally not very tall and VERY slender. A size 4 Petite..... But pregnant--she was big! It was months she couldn't see her feet.... I used Amanda Rockwell's new kit, Grape Spaz, for this page. The black is from Amanda's The Basics--Black. The green is from Amanda's kit called Sundrenched. I used swirls by Tracy Ann Robinson as a clipping mask for papers from the kit. This started as a template by Jeannie Papai but I changed it up a lot. Amanda Rockwell's kits are available at amandarockwell.com.

Just a cute photo of DGS (7) showing off his "big guns". I used the "Mandy" template by Kim Lund which was free on her blog recently. The doodle is by Anna Aspnes. The border and stickers are from the April mega kit at Elemental Scraps and are recolored to better match the colors of this kit. The papers are by Katie the Scrapbook Lady, her Funky Fabric kit, available at The Digi Shoppe.

Another scorcher

We have pretty much done nothing but hide inside for days.  Wednesday it was 114 here.  Yesterday it was 116.  Today the high is forecasted at 115.  And, of course, they take these readings in the shade!  It was 95 degrees at 8:15 this morning.  Curtains are drawn and blinds are lowered on all the west facing windows.  The A/C is pumping its little heart out.  But, by this afternoon, I will be looking for someplace other than the office to hang out as this is the warmest room in the house in the summer. 

Primarily because of the heat, we didn't go anywhere for the Fourth.  We just hid out here.  Of course, Vegas being the ultimate Neon City has a fireworks display that is magnificent.  And, the entire strip is blocked off for the event.  All the major hotels on the strip set off a display at the same time from the rooftops.  But, in my opinion, going to the strip most of the time is a pain and just unimaginable on the Fourth of July.  I can live without viewing the fireworks, honestly, I can!

We have a dog who was abandoned in the desert and stuck out there, fending for himself for a long time--long enough to lose 1/3 of his recommended body weight.  We have no idea what happened to him.  Perhaps he was frightened by fireworks.  Or, maybe he was caught outside in a thunderstorm.  Or, maybe he even experienced both.  But, when an occasion for fireworks rolls around, it is HIS and OUR worst nightmare.  He shakes, he cries, he whines, he runs from spot to spot in the house and his being so upset upsets the other dogs so they join in until this turns into a real lunatic bin.  Joe got smart this year.  He double dosed Toby with tranquilizers about an hour before nightfall.  He slept blissfully through the whole thing and the other dogs behaved very well.  Indy barked once or twice and Punkin a bit more, but all in all, it was tolerable.  Give Joe a gold star!

Toby was hung over yesterday morning.  It even made for an easier morning.  Toby is definitely Joe's dog.  Joe thinks he's just the greatest and Toby follows Joe everywhere.  Except, of course, when Joe's not here.  Then, he follows me everywhere.  (We refer to him as the hemmorhoid because he's right on our butts all the time.)  It's a real adventure for me all day long.  It is not possible to get up from your chair and just walk to another room in the house.  First, there may be one, two, or three dog bodies in your path.  And, once you are on the move, the hemmorhoid attaches himself.  And, if there is a place for him to be in the way of what you are doing, believe me, that is exactly the spot he chooses to lie down in.  For example, I don't really have a good place to hang Joe's shirts and pants when I take them out of the dryer.  So, I hang them on the frame of the doors to the extra bedrooms, directly across from the laundry area.  And, where does Toby lay?  Why, right in the middle of where I need to walk to get from the dryer to the doors.......  But, yesterday, he was still dopey.  He went off into the bedroom and laid down and slept in there for an hour or more.  Then he finally made his way out to the office where he laid down and slept some more.  I felt SO efficient as I went about getting my work done in the various rooms of the house!   If we had a vast supply of doggy tranquilizers, I'd be tempted to do that more often!

We did a most unusual thing Tuesday night.  We went to Target.  By the time we left, I realized once again why it is a "most unusual thing" in our lives.  We did not give in to a lot of impulse purchases.  We DID buy some things we needed.  For example, the throw rugs in our house were pretty worn out years ago.  But, Punky thought they were great toys and chewed on them til they were are totally ruined.  Well, who needs a throw rug?  We do!  Our carpet has several giant gaping holes in it courtesy of being 24 years old and very worn and courtesy of several dogs.  We desperately need new flooring, but it's not in the budget right now.  So, we NEED throw rugs.  It's not that they disguise the lumps and bumps in the floor where one goes from no carpet to carpet to no carpet.......  Rather, because they are a markedly different color, I hope they will keep folks from catching their foot in a frayed place in the carpet and falling.  So, we bought three throw rugs for the living room/diningroom/office area.  We bought some bathroom rugs and a toilet lid cover for the freshly painted master bath.  Joe was wearing underwear with holes where holes shouldn't be, so he needed underwear.  He had only two pairs of tube socks to wear with his running shoes.  I had tube socks but wanted some of the little tennis style socks which are cooler in the summer.  We have a rubber mat in the hall bath.  That baby is, literally, falling apart.  I know when I go to take it out of there, I will be taking it out in pieces.  We bought a new mat.  Joe's been using that bathroom since we painted the master bath and god forbid he should slip and fall getting in or out of the tub.  We also bought laundry detergent and fabric softener.  The new washer is supposed to have "high efficiency" detergent; I know better than to send Joe to the store for laundry detergent without first showing him what it is he is to buy.  I usually don't use fabric softener, but I still haven't figured how to extract clothes from the new dryer without substantial wrinkles--I thought fabric softener might help.  That's it.  That's what we bought.  Total bill:  $225.  I nearly died!  I won't be going back to Target (or any other store, for that matter) for a long, long time!

One other bit of news, bad news it seems.  We have had a lot of success as mobile notaries, primarily because of one escrow officer, April.  Joe received an e-mail from her assistant to sign a loan yesterday.  That, by itself, was unusual.  Usually we are contacted by April herself, not her assistant.  He walked into the escrow offices to find that April's work area was totally cleared.  They laid her off on Tuesday afternoon.  It is really farcical.  One of the board members for this nationwide escrow company has contacts with a local home builder.  This board member arranged for the contractor to close all of his home sales through this one particular escrow company.  And, it was a real sweetheart deal.  They were paying next to nothing for the services provided by the escrow company.  In fact, they were paying so little that we cut our fees on those deals just so there would be SOME contribution to profit when a sale closed.  The contractor insisted they wanted one escrow officer to handle ALL their deals, and April was that one escrow officer.  With the downturn in the real estate market, she has been less busy, but she closed 30 home sales last month.  And, when she took on this particular client, she was told she was to give ALL her time to them; she was not to spend any time on any other clients.  So she gave away her clients to other escrow officers and made this particular client her one and only job.  So, why, you ask, did they lay her off?  For not developing any other business all these months when she was handling this particular client exclusively.  Honestly, the corporate world stinks!  We are not sure what this means for our income.  All of our signing income has been set aside to try to pay our tax liability for 2006.  We've had to withdraw a bit of it here and there, but what we've taken out has been a very small amount.  And, we still have not accumulated enough to pay the taxes.  With Joe's business down and now this, looking at life with the natural eye is not fun.  So, we will look at life with the spiritual eye and believe that God didn't lie when He promised to supply ALL our needs.  And we'll keep praising Him until something happens. 

I do have one other praise report about which I have to be reasonably vague.  I have been living in what has been, on at least one front, a VERY unhappy relationship.  Joe and I have the ability to get on each other's nerves, but we've generally been good friends and good roommates.  For reasons unknown to me, we have not been good at being married (and I'm not going to be any more specific than that!).  It has taken a tremendous toll on me and I have been before the Lord desperately in prayer over it.  Divorce, we have agreed, is not in our vocabulary, but separation--well we've had no agreement about that.  And, it's taken everything I could muster not to find separate living quarters for the two of us.  I believe that Wednesday something happened to break whatever has been going on.  If so, things are looking up.  It can only be an answer to prayer.

Enough, already!  I am going to post some pages and get on with my day. 

We found this picture among many pictures recovered from a box of photos which had been stored in a garage for more than 30 years. It is a photo of DH's dad on the day he remarried., together with various of his family members. I used the charity kit, Pink Lemonade for this layout. This kit benefits Alex's Lemonade Stand and can be purchased here: http://www.ndisb.com/store/index.php...roducts_id=400. The doodle is by Anna Aspnes and the frame on the photo is from Gina Miller. I used embroidered circles by Becky Voburg and Totally Twisted ribbons by Bella Gypsy Designs (Tabatha Reed) available at SBB. Everything else is from the kit.

I decided it was time to scrap a page just for me, just to look at and enjoy. This very simple page features a photo of wildflowers taken by a family friend. The paper is by Amanda Rockwell, from her Back in Black 2 Collection, the Funkytown kit, available exclusively at amandarockwell.com. The ribbons are from Natalie Braxton and the word art is by Mary Ann Wise.  Amanda's products are available at amandarockwell.com.

I did this for a scraplift challenge at the Digi Shoppe. You can see the original, by Renee82, here: http://www.thedigiboutique.com/studi...p;ppuser=3 73. I used Lynn Grieveson's new kit, Somerset, for the layout. The glitter border is by Gina Miller and the x-stitches are by Lianne Carper. The brads (slightly recolored) are from a retired kit by Amanda Rockwell. Love the colors in this kit!!!!!!!!

This photo was taken by our friend, John. I used papers from Melanie Colosimo's Belle in Blue page kit. The lace heart is by Traci Sims. The velour heart is by Theresa Hernandez and available at NDISB. I used Katie the Scrapbook Lady's Fill-a-paper shaper, available at ACOT. Melanie Colosimo's products are available at Elemental Scraps.

DH took this and in the process messed with something in the camera. The photo came out VERY blue. I managed to get it somewhat straightened out and decided this would work since it was taken at twilight. I used Robin Carlton and Christy Lyle's kit, ABC Baby for this. The swirls are by Anna Aspnes, the pink flower by Mindy Terasawa, the blue lace doily by Traci Sims. The "love" metal heart is by Manda Bean.

Another photo taken by our friend, John. My daughter is SUCH a good mama......... The cardboard hearts are by Amanda Rockwell, her Color My Heart and Sparkle Love element collections, available at amandarockwell.com. Everything else is from a new kit by Nina called Springtime, available at NDISB and O Scraps.

This is such a special photo, I had to keep the layout very simple. Photo by our friend John, while hiking in Bryce Canyon--just look at the way he captured the light! I could give him lessons on indoor photography, but his outdoor stuff is super! I used Spring Attire by Victoria Feemster for the papers. The stick pin is by Ashley Olson (recolored). The flowers are by Victoria Morrissey. Fonts are Petra Script and Century Gothic.

I'm Back

Well, I have been too long absent from the old blog, but it couldn't be helped.  It turned out to be a very busy last two weeks of June.  We had a lot of signing business (we are mobile notaries and loan closers), more than Joe could handle alone.  So, I found myself running hither, thither and yon to get loan documents signed.  I even did an outside signing which pays way more than signing them at the escrow company office, but I may not get paid.  Only about half of the documents were ready.  When they completed the rest of them, it looked like the borrower was going to have to come in with $4000 which he definitely did not want to do.  So all the docs had to be redrawn and will have to be re-signed.  It will be a pain not to get paid for that one as I was pressed into service at the last minute to run across town and get that baby signed and it was very stressful. 

We made our turnaround trip to CA last week.  Left about noon on Tuesday and were back by 8PM on Wednesday.  Our hotel room was a real bust.  There are only three hotels/motels in the area where my stepdaughter lives, so Joe booked at the only one with an online site.  Sadly, we ended up with a double bed.  I seldom feel safe sleeping with him in a king size bed--many nights I've been kicked or hit in the face as he flails around in his sleep.  So sleeping in even closer quarters was not fun.  I got VERY little sleep and was really groggy the next morning.  Besides the close quarters, the mattress was REALLY hard but every movement Joe made set the whole thing moving as if it were a waterbed without a stabilizer insert.  While our bed at home has a firm mattress, it also has a featherbed on it.  My poor body really felt the difference.  In fact, my back ached pretty badly all day Wednesday. 

Joe took Erica out to breakfast on Wednesday morning while I did my best to pull myself together after my lousy night's sleep.  Then we had to drive past the high school she will be attending in the fall.  It is a 9-month school instead of year round so I'm not quite sure how that will work out as far as her visiting here.  Joe's always been able to see her for about a week every three months, so whatever comes with this change will be really different.  Then we proceeded on to her school.  I had asked her specifically where I should stand/sit to get good pictures.  Well, we sat where directed, but even with 12 x optical zoom on my camera, the first couple of photos I snapped turned out fuzzy--just too far back.  So, I ended up standing throughout the whole ceremony about 12 feet from where she was sitting.  Then, come to find out, when they were called up to receive their certificates, I was in exactly the wrong place, though exactly where she had indicated I should be.  So, I got photos of her back!  What a thrill.  I tried to snap some photos of her where she was sitting but either she moved or someone else stuck a head into the shot just about every time.  SO we won't have many photos from the graduation to scrap. 

I was uncomfortable afterwards because we had to spend time with Joe's ex and her husband who happens to be the man with whom she cheated while married to Joe.  I know Joe really didn't want to have to talk to them either, but we did and we both were polite, so I guess it was okay.  We left directly from the graduation and headed into downtown LA.  Well, not quite downtown--about 9 miles from downtown.  We toured the San Gabriel mission and were very glad we did.  It's beautiful, and unique in many ways.  All of the missions have gone through earthquakes and "secularization"--a time when they were occupied by groups other than the Catholic Church.  (For example, the mission in San Diego was used to quarter military people for a while--they built a second story, the men used the large upper windows in lieu of doors, and they stabled their horses on the first floor!)  And all of the missions except San Gabriel have actually been abandoned for some period of time in their past.  During that period of abandonment, people who were building homes or businesses in the area carried off relics, roof tiles, and timber.  San Gabriel never went through that, so there were many OLD, OLD items to see. 

All of the missions were originally built in a quadrangle design, with the mission church and housing for natives and priests.  But, during the intervening years, many of them have lost the bulk of their property one way or another.  San Gabriel's property is in tact.  So we were able to get a good idea of what the mission grounds would have been like many years ago.  All of the missions were active in farming in one way or another.  San Gabriel actually was a winery.  And, they made the bulk of soap for all 21 missions.  We saw grape "vines" with trunks as big as large trees.  And we saw these huge pits which were outdoors and held up to 2000 gallons of soap making ingredients and were fired from in-ground "furnaces".  The mission church itself is a bit different than all the others.  It has very tall green glass windows.  The sun shining in through that 225 year old glass is amazing.  San Gabriel is known for its architecture--it has flying buttresses to help support the walls and the walls are made of stone and kiln fired brick, not adobe as is usual. 

We also enjoyed running into a fellow named John in the mission museum.  John was once a seminary student there, til, as he put it, "I discovered I liked girls."  But he's been a tour guide at the mission since the 50's and was extremely knowledgeable about the items on display.  I was particularly impressed by some vestments that are able to be viewed, but are sealed behind glass to be preserved.  These vestments were actually worn by Junipero Cerra, the priest who was responsible for the founding of all the missions, in the 1770's.  I remember that the mission at Ventura had a much larger collection of vestments, but they were just hanging on hangers in an old wardrobe.  They were frayed and worn.  It was nice to see that San Gabriel had done a better job of preserving this old old garment.  It is amazing to see the huge pieces of handmade furniture, the old gates to the property which are humongous, everything hand made.  We also got to see the paintings done by the natives in the 1700's that were used for the stations of the cross.  Interesting to see their concept of what the Crucifixion was all about.  Anyway, we had a great time, learned a lot, and were totally fascinated by John and his wealth of knowledge about the place.  I loved him because, in spite of signs to the contrary, he gave me permission to take photos in the museum.  You'll see lots of photos from this trip in scrapbook pages of the future!

Jen had a rough week with the daycare two weeks ago.  One of Atticus's usual "teachers" was gone and they brought in a substitute who was a mess.  She had Atticus completely off schedule on everything and Jen was having difficulty maintaining her cool.  For the summer, Will is going to a day care at the same place and seems to be enjoying it.  And the teachers are still making many positive comments about him, unlike the teacher and assistant principal at the school he attended last year.  It looks like he will be going to a private school again next year.  Darn it, it's on the other side of town again.  I really hate that it is so far when I'm asked to pick him up for whatever reason.  But, that's the way it is.  At least the long drives give me extra time with him which I enjoy.  It looks as though I will be home schooling him one day a week next year.  That will be a challenge.  I'm already trying to think about what we will do during those days.  I'm sure, if he had his choice, he would just sit here and watch cartoons, but that is not the way it is going to go.  I think one thing we will do is spend some time on the computer, learning some history and other information about the various states.  We won't have time to cover them all, or to cover any of them in depth, but we can cover some of the ones that are close by or have a particularly rich history.  I DO have a couple of ideas for field trips in mind too.  That should be fun.

Jen has been working on teaching Atticus sign language.  Babies and toddlers can communicate simple needs and thoughts with sign language long before they can talk.  So Jen and Will are taking sign language classes.  The other day, Jen had gone over to the day care to nurse Atticus.  In the middle, he REALLY needed a diaper change.  So, she stopped nursing him and went to change his diaper.  She noticed him doing something "strange" with his hands.  She finally figured out that he was doing his version of the sign for "milk".  She got that diaper changed and he was happy to nurse some more!  I know mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, milk, chicken, and awake.  I'll have to keep trying to learn more.......it's really kind of fun.

Joe is gone this AM.  He would ordinarily be at church, ushering, but this morning he is at the airport.  His brother, George, was somewhere on the west coast for business and had a 2 hour layover scheduled for the LV airport, so he went to the airport to see George.  He'll be home soon and then any sense of peace and quiet in this house will be gone.  So, I'll post some pages and get on with making a menu and grocery list so we have something to eat this coming week.

When I think of the desert, I think of red dirt and tumbleweed. But, in the spring, the desert blooms. These photos were taken by our friend, John, on his hike in Red Rock Canyon, just outside Las Vegas. I used Nina's new kit, Happy Days, which is available at NDISB and O Scraps. The template and doodles are from Nancy Comelab.

I had this item by Anna Aspnes in my stash but had totally forgotten about it 'til I saw Mamacrina use it on her layout. (You can see her layout, Beautiful Soul, here: http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/...;ppuser= 1325 Anyway, when I sat down to scrap these pictures, I couldn't get that out of my head, so this layout is inspired by Mamacrina! Just some cute photos of Jennifer and Atticus taken in their backyard. The colors of Lynn Grieveson's new kit, Tequila Sorbet were perfect with the photos. Everything is from Lynn's kit except the tiny flowers and word strips which are by Amber Clegg, and the frame by Anna Aspnes which I used as a clipping mask for papers from the kit. Lynn Grieveson's designs are available exclusively at Designer Digitals.

Here is Will, in all his "glory", smiling for the camera ashis great Uncle John takes his picture. He is such a ham! Loved this new kit by Amanda Rockwell called Twinkle Twinkle, available ON SALE at Amanda Rockwell.com. The hearts are from her Color my Heart element pack. The button/ribbon item is by Lynn Grieveson. The ric rak is by Victoria Feemster.

A photo of my DD at age 3.5 having her first experience trying to hit a ball with a bat. I used Amanda Rockwell's NEW KIT, Little Miss, for this. Little Miss is available at Amanda Rockwell.com and is on sale for 35% off. The filmstrip is from her Funkytown kit. The gingham bow is by Ronna Penner.

As we approached the entrance to the Olivos Adobe last fall, it was apparent we were entering another world. Not only were we stepping back in time because this home was built 150 years ago, but there was a fiesta-like atmosphere for a wedding with guests in full traditionalMexican garb. Loved this shot from our vantage point, just peeking in at all the history and action. I used Nina's new kit, As Time Goes By, for this page. The tiny bows are by Misty Cato. You can find Nina's products at NDISB and at O Scraps.

Jennifer and Jason work with Will on a lot of projects. Here they spent the evening with him, dissecting an owl pellet. Yuck! Everything here is by Amanda Rockwell. I used papers from Tropical Island and Sprinkles. The doodled flower is from her new kit, Little Miss. Amanda's designs are available at Amandarockwell.com.

Jen had to supply a headshot to the University for their website so Mom got called for a photoshoot. We took a good 40 photos, most of which were really pretty good (I LOVE my new camera!). I used Nina's new kit, Prime of Life, for this page as well as her Unique 3 template which already has the beautiful wrapped ribbons on it. You can get Nina's products at O Scraps and NDISB.