Well, last time I posted, I was nursing a muscle spasm in my back. That faded and was immediately followed by a sinus infection. I've had so much drainage down the back of my throat I have barely been able to talk. And, throughout the week, it's seemed that everytime I've laid down to "rest", the phone has rung before I've been horizontal for 15 minutes. Thank goodness for Mexican antibiotics. I'm on day 4 of those (it's a 6-pack) and last night blew all sorts of ugly stuff out of my nose. But at least, the bulk of the drainage has stopped!
We had a busy weekend. Things on our schedule I couldn't duck in spite of feeling like caca. Joe went to his prayer breakfast Saturday morning and came back and we went back to bed. For 3 successive nights, with all that sinus problem going on, I couldn't sleep. I kept waking up in the middle of the night too congested to try to go back to sleep or having dreamed I was being choked or choking someone. So, we napped for a while. Then we hustled out of here to go to THE CALL Las Vegas. It was held at the Thomas and Mack Center. While the center was not packed, during the time we were there, more than half the seats were filled, with a huge group of people sitting on the floor in front of the stage area. And folks from all over Vegas, California, Utah, Arizona, and all sorts of other places were coming and going all day. It started at 10AM and ended 12 hours later. I have no doubt that if this would have been a 3 or 4 hour event like a basketball game or concert, the place would have been packed out with people outside waiting to get in. But many people just couldn't stay the whole day. We were there, listening to an excellent band lead worship, listening to a few speakers, and spending lots of time in prayer for Las Vegas and for our country. Funny thing: THE CALL was featured on the local TV news Saturday night. We were called "religious crime fighters". Seems the crime rate in Vegas Saturday night was down 38%! Prayer DOES change things! Joe and I are fantasizing about being able to go to THE CALL Washington DC next summer. That would be a real treat in a lot of ways not the least of which is the fact that I've never seen our nation's capital. Among other things, prayer was offered that the Holy Spirit would sweep in with a mighty wind and bring change to this city. Saturday night, about 8PM the high winds started. Trees weren't swaying, they were bent with the winds and Joe was hanging on tight to the steering wheel of the van to keep it in the proper lane on the highway. Well, we prayed for a mighty wind.......
After we left the Thomas and Mack Center, we went to Lonestar Steak house and Joe finally got some meat, after 21 days of fasting meat and coffee. He was thrilled! Then we drove to the south end of town and I got to see the Las Vegas resort for the time share company. It's VERY nice. We wanted to see what one of the "rooms" looked like, but their sales rooms were locked up for the night. We'll try that again soon. They do have 2 pools, a very nice gift shop, a deli, movie rentals, and a health club on site--all things that are always valued by guests. They're about a block away from the closest food store, also another convenience for guests. It's probably about a 15 minute ride (hard to tell with the high winds) from there to the south end of the strip and they provide transportation anytime anywhere. All in all, it looks like a great facility. One to be proud of in terms of "ownership" and one that would provide a very enjoyable vacation experience.
We came home and listened to the wind howl......mighty wind.......Then yesterday morning, while Joe went to church and did his usher thing, I had been asked to babysit the boys because Jennifer and Jason had something special going on at their house and needed the kids outta there. I picked them up around 8AM and it was well past 2PM before Jen came and got them. Jen, of course, had nursed Atticus and had fed Will a cinnamon roll, but we no more than got in the car than Will announced he was starving. So, I took them to IHOP where Will ate lots of bacon and at least part of the pancake that came with the bacon. Atticus didn't like anything we had to eat, but when I ordered a side serving of cottage cheese, he was a happy little camper. He ate all but two small bites of what was served. Jennifer had asked me to take the kids to Target--seems Will had some birthday money he couldn't wait to spend. He had permission to spend $25. His mom wanted him to buy some educational stuff for his Leap Frog, but he had other ideas. Since it was his money, I felt that I could advise, but couldn't say an outright "no". So, we came home with some transformer toys that he really liked. I picked up a couple of long-sleeved, long pants type outfits for Atticus, so I bought a movie for Will to watch in the van. We would NEVER have spent money to have a DVD player put into the van, but it was already equipped with one when we bought it. It does help to keep Will entertained. Now we are in search of some very clean, very cute, very cheap movies for him to watch. Yesterday I got him Cheaper by the Dozen which should keep him giggling and is certainly appropriate for an 8 year old boy. I also picked up some laundry detergent and some fabric softener, my big expenditure for "me". Haha Atticus took a nice long nap. I laid down with him because I didn't want to take a chance of him falling out of our bed. My biggest problem is that once I have Atticus, I lose Joe. I have no back up. And, he seems never to be able to hear me when I call him, even if I'm just in the next room! At one point I realized Atty had a VERY dirty diaper. Unfortunately I had already peeled it loose before I realized the extent of the problem--he had poop everywhere! I asked Will to get me a diaper and he reported back there weren't any. Oh my goodness! Yelling for Joe did no good. Atticus was hollering and trying to dive off the couch head first and Joe was watching football. Talk about no back up! Finally I got Will to go look again and he found a diaper and some wipes. Wow, what a clean up job that was. I really think I should have just put the kid in the bathtub! His mom changed him when he got up from his nap and said he still wasn't clean and I used 4 wipes and wiped everything in sight! That's the first time he's caught me with one of those--next time he'll be having a bath in the middle of the morning!
Jen had thought she'd be picking the boys around 11:30AM, so none of us had had any lunch. Joe went and got us something for "lunch" about 4PM. Of course, that ended up being dinner too. Then we watched the Republican debate. I decided there are 4 men I could vote for...Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, Huckabee, and McCain. Right now, I think Huckabee is my number one choice, but I believe the other three will all do the job we need them to do. I can't vote for Guiliani because of his wishy washy position on abortion and "gay" marriage. I do believe that if it's Hillary Clinton v Guiliani, I would vote for him, no question. Wishy washy is better than downright crazy, right? By the time we watched the debate (the first and only one we've been able to watch) and listened to the commentators, it was 8:30PM. We watched a couple of TV shows and called it a night. What a weekend!
Okay, I'll post some pages and then I've got to get something accomplished.
DGS1 spent a few hours with a friend of DD's Saturday. Her friend snapped this picture of Will and her daughter, Lexi. I used LaWanna Desjardin's super new kit called Hello Sunshine for this layout. This kit is available at O Scraps. I also used a template by Victoria Feemster. The alpha, slightly recolored, is by Faith True.
ust a photo of Will and his constant companion, his stuffed puppy. I used Little Miss Sunshine by Amanda Rockwell for this page. I used a photo corner by Robin Carlton, a photo prong by Faith True, and a heart by Dani Mogstad as clipping masks for papers from this kit. I also used a ribbon from a collaborative kit at ScrapdigiKreations. The alpha, recolored, is from Lynn Grieveson's Island Blues kit. You can find Little Miss Sunshine at amandarockwell.com. You can find Lynn's kits at Designer Digitals. This is probably weird, but I scraplifted a page from a calendar kit I bought last year. Sorry, I don't remember who did the calendar.
After spending the morning playing in the swimming pool, Atticus crashed in the shade of a bush for a little sleep. I used Kim Hill's new kit, Surf's Up, for this page. Kim's kit is available at ACOT. The gingham folded ribbon is by Faith True. I used On the Edge Flourishes by Katie Pertiet as a clipping mask for papers from the kit. The blue flowers are by Amanda Rockwell in an element pack called Flower Power. You can find Amanda's products at amandarockwell.com.
I decided that with photos of 4 of California's missions, I'd better get busy scrapping them before I can't tell one from the other! This is a holding tank for water built in 1829. Just behind it is a very modern Mission school. I used Nina's Grunge It Up paper pack for this. The cardboard slide mount and the paint splatter are from her Pimp Your Page #3 element pack. The photo corner (green buttons are recolored) is from her element pack called Take The Buttons. Nina's products are available at O Scraps and at NDISB.
When I dragged DH to Oxnard last year, he went only because it makes me happy to be there. And he claimed our hotel was a "little edgy". Now he wonders when we will get to go back! I used Lynn Grieveson's new kit, Splash, for this layout. Lynn's products are available exclusively at Designer Digitals.
Scrappin photos of Mission San Buenaventura. I used Nina's Grungy solids. The buckle and ribbon are from Nina's Pimp Your Page #6. The button/brad is from Nina's Prime of Life. The flower is from Nina's Josephine's Garden. The label holder is from Nina's Pimp Your Page 3. All of Nina's products are available at O Scrap and at NDISB.
The gardens at Mission San Gabriel are beautiful. I was amazed to find this teal colored flower. I've never seen anything like it before. I used Amanda Rockwell's new kit, Fly With Me for this page. You can find Fly With Me at amandarockwell.com.
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