I Blame Junk Mail

as i sit here with my warmed over cup of coffee from sometime this early afternoon (and it is now 9:20pm.... hmmmm), i feel my body screaming from the past three hours of activity. i took our wooden bed frame - build by "bob my builder" - apart. and he had rigged it together so i feel fortunate that i was strong enough to get it back together again, but i am jumping WAY ahead. (oohh that coffee is hot - can't drink it yet - and i wonder why i can't drink an entire cup of coffee while it is warm. the fine line between scorching and icy is so fine...) anywho, i took the bed apart and moved it down the hallway (which is partially blocked by a dresser, which is stationed right in front of a door handle....). i then put the bed together, struggling only a bit, and somehow one of the corners is all twisted... not sure if i did that or if it was already that way. (because i have been somewhat asleep and unaware of reality since 2:30)

i went to the garage and brought in a side table (that i am painting also), took off the hardware so i can clean it up. i primed the side table ( strange surfaces and i didn't want to chance it). i painted the frame a dark blue and will match the table to it. i think it will look nice. (but seriously, who puts colors together thinking they won't look good? so it may be my imagination and the entire room will just look thrown up.) i hope to get two coats on the table and one more coat on the frame (need to get the legs and other places i could not get with the roller brush..) tomorrow. then i can take out the plastic on the floor, and set up the room. i suppose i should finish the closet so i can put stuff in there soon. it takes a bit of time for the closets here to cure - not enough air movement i suppose. but i don't want to start putting things in there that will just end up peeling paint off the shelves and destroying the items.

today has been long. late nights are adding up and i just feel wiped out. not to mention the screaming in my body from hefting and moving stuff around. i keep chanting "lift with your legs" but find that i am using my back instead. and when a person is tired it is hard to be careful and alert... hehehehehe sleepy has nothing to do with alert. (i am sorry, stating the obvious here....). remember i am a bit tired. actually by now i am fully asleep with my eyes open. i am dreaming this blog.... (not really i am awake but my eyes are twitching and i feel a little draggy.)

i can see all kinds of piles around the house again. it took me a FULL day to clean and organize the living spaces. i junked up the office and our bedroom, but the other places were unmarked (you saw the pictures, right? remember how nice it looked????). it is amazing how quickly it all builds up... i blame junk mail.

in fact i blame junk mail for the fact that we have stuff sitting around everywhere. who wants to go through personal stuff when there is so much mail to sort in the evening? wears a person out is what it does. ;)

actually i keep listing all the things i am doing, trying to make it look like i am making up for not having a job. but i don't really need to do that. it is amazing what has gone on in, and out of, this house in the past six months. we bought the house on july 13th (oops four months.. hehehehehe.. common, laugh with me.... heheheheheheheeeehe, it feels good when you are tired and it energizes your life. try it with me......) and have put a lot of work into it. bob has done tons to the inside, attic, outside growth, the cars..... etc. and he has helped me with the rooms as much as he could. i have redone two rooms with paint and accessories ceilings to floor (except we still have the carpet in both rooms... but we are putting down our throw rugs ..... ) the place looks like ours. it is beginning to feel like it should.

now to just find places for all these things that are piled up in our bedroom and office area. oh and the garage (easy to forget because i am not out there often, too cold to just sit out there.... lol), i very much want to get the garage done too so bob has a space to feel at ease while working on - well - stuff. oh yeah, and the cars :).

that is perfectly enough rambling for tonight. i hope you are blessed with peace in the midst of storms, and that you see the goodness that only God can provide. He is good to us.

Tuesday Happened So Quick

alright it is that time again... you know, the time i give tidbits of today's happenings :)....

hmmm let me see - i got up, cooked sweetie some lunch (and supper - it was a BIG skillet full of stuff) (we are finally out of left over foods from thanksgiving - boy that was good stuff), started cleaning the kitchen, then on to the entry way, and finally the two bathrooms. (those are all tiled floors so i clean then mop, dusting and vacuuming is on thursday....)

touched-up the trim in the guest room (that took a while. i used a little, tiny, itty, bitty paintbrush and still had touch-ups to retouch with another color. i finally gave up the insanity and called it "good") (oh shoot, messed up the order already)

after i cleaned up the rooms, i cleaned up myself and went for a nice lunch with my neighbor. had a great time at a little diner downtown. then we went in search of fairies and elephants (gifts for her daughter and roommate) we found a picture of a fairy - looked lovely actually - and then came home. THEN i touched-up the trim... okay back on schedule.

after the trim detail i took kaci for her 25 - 30 min walk (working up to 45 min... twice a day, actually once a day for me - i dream of two 45 min walks per day or maybe just jogging a good clip to waste energy and get sweaty. sweetie takes her for 20 min in the a.m. and i take her for a longer walk - actually the same route, just takes me longer than sweetie (he has such long legs....) my shins start complaining within the first few blocks. i simply have to quit slapping my toes down...)

after the walk i started on my christmas cards again - hope to get them out this week....

finally i went to choir practice. this sat/sun will be the first time i get to sing with the group (it is HUGE) not sure how we are all going to fit, but that is not my job so i will relax.. hehehehehehehehe...hehehehe shew.

tonight i worked on a cover letter and resume with my m-i-l. it was nice to have her go over it with me. great insight on her part - it all looks great to me :). i will provide more info if there is anything to report... (aren't i secretive....????......)

and finally i am bushed, guess i should tuck myself into bed, or at least get comfy on the couch. i have an hour or so before hunny is home...
night all, keep warm....

Busy, Busy, Busy

we put up the icicle lights this past weekend - sweetie had to find the electric and drill a hole then re-hang the lights... looks great. he did such a nice job.
here is our faithful dog staring out the window at me. also a closeup of the gift from phil and kathy last year.
front porch - not a good pict but you can kinda see our wreath, candles, and snowman.

we also have candles in our windows facing the front of the street - none in our windows facing the back yard. hunny did such a great job. he got on a ladder and on the roof, it was amazing how he got the nails up so he could get the lights to stay in place.

i finished the trim in the guest room today. now i will move some furniture in there that needs to be painted and work on that tomorrow. also need to get the closet floor covered so i can finish painting in there. i am actually surprised that we decided to do these colors on the wall. we both like them very much - they seem calming and still energize because they are so rich. i think of the beach when i am in there. i would like to do some accents in a sand color, but i don't want to purchase anymore paint. the bed frame and side table are going to be a dark blue. we left the inside of the window frame the "sand" color that was originally in the room. the color looks neat. the colors started as a tribute to my grandmother, who passed away last july. now, it just seems like a great room for a child - colorful and calm. (i don't want to paint that room again so it is good that a child could live there.....)

i forget how much work painting can be. it does get faster with each room. and there are plenty of other rooms that will need painting in the near future. (especially if we get the stone fireplace uncovered and back in shape...) looks good to get it all done this week so i can start the fabric part of the couch next week :).

i worked on laundry also today - got a bit out of my weekly list, but there was just so much laundry i could not wait till thursday.

we are beginning our christmas shopping. i am hoping to get sat down to get some christmas cards done and out. just a few weeks left...

Camera Working...??

here are the picts i have been trying to upload - this was our thanksgiving weekend celebration

bernice sits pretty for the camera
close-up of her cute little face
here is my sweetest man with dude - crashing in front of the warm fire
bernice sitting on the couch - "when are you going to sit down so i can get on your lap?? don't you see what the guys are doing?? YEAH, like that."
here is a pict of our lit christmas tree - blurry i know.
here are some of our lit decorations
our mantle
and that wonderful "roaring" fire....

that is it for now - will post later. i am getting started on the trim in guest room.

Napping and Nothing Else

not feeling too wonderfully well here today. spent the day napping on the couch and doing as little as possible. enjoyed the lights and candles put out yesterday.

Looks Like Christmas Here

hey all. today we put up lights outside - hunny had to track down electric and then switch lights around. boy they look great!!! i put up the tree and put out the decoration inside. looks festive to me. something is wrong with the camera so i am unable to get picts up tonight.

actually that took all day to do. sweetie also changed oil in his car and filled my tires (sloooooowwww leak). he boiled the turkey carcasses - wonderful stock. can't wait till we use it....

i received my second gift yesterday (mom sent money for some clothes) - sweetie purchased a beautiful bed ensemble. (again i will get picts up when i can...) good to have this beautiful bed suite.

that is it for now. we are both tired and he has to work at a church tomorrow. good-night all.

Black Friday Activities

alright it is finally evening and it has been a rather calm day. we napped and did as much of nothing as we possibly could handle. hunny worked a wedding late this afternoon, and i painted while he was gone. started on the closet - hope to finish next week on the room. i also need to get that couch done. i think it will take me just three weeks - that is the time i have until mom and my brother are here.

i hope to get christmas lights up this weekend - think we will put some ice-cycles outside and then put the tree up early this next week.

i want to finish the trim in the bedroom and closet by wed so i can move the furniture that needs painted into the room. once that is finished i will pull the plastic off the floor, vacuum, maybe steam clean, and then set up the room. should finish by the weekend. THAT way i can have two weeks to work on the couch - hoping there will not be any snags, but trying to allow for them.

i am so pleased to have the living areas cleaned up and cleared out. now we have to find space for all the stuff that has been stacked in the other rooms. i don't think it will all fit in the guest room - not really - but i hope that a lot of it will.

also need to get the garage set up for sweetie. it is stinky that there is so much going on out there and no real place to do anything....

yesterday was wonderful. the food turned out great... we had two people join us. it was a lovely day.

An End In Sight

view from front door into living room.
view of "back" part of living room.
just beyond the living room - should be dining room, but we are using what we have (THAT IS THE COUCH!!!!)
here is my couch - it is not stapled or sewn YET, but this gives me a general idea of what it will look like.
view of the dresser and wall - not a good pict, i think i was trying to show the room better.
view into the kitchen.
our kitchen table, all set up for thanksgiving.
another view of the kitchen - our washer and dryer are in the kitchen. makes sense to me...... NOT.
view from kitchen.
another view from kitchen into living room.
okay, kathy - here you go and now you should be happy. (i will put more picts of our other rooms as we get them done. but if you just get out here you will see them up close.... )

i worked all day on vacuuming, dusting, cleaning, moving, picking stuff up, moving it into another room. and i took kaci to the vet this a.m. and for 2 - 30 min walks. (well tonight was longer because it got dark and i got lost...) i cooked two turkey breast and put - well i already said i picked up (sweetie said "wow" in a very somber tone. he then took a deep breath and was calm.) (YEAH!!!!!), so i will not bore with more of that.

i am bushed now.

here are some picts of the painting project in the guest room - oh i forgot to mention a second coat of the dk color and one coat on the other three walls with cutting in at the top and bottom. lots of work.... enjoy.

and finally - the guest room. two colors shown.
here is a view of some of the walls - same color. trim will be opposing color.
and another view of the two colors together.

good night and HAPPY THANKSGIVING tomorrow.

OOPS IT IS TOMORROW... sorry for missing the day before.

Day 2 - Only 1 Day Remains.....

alright, there is one day more of cooking until thanksgiving day. i am still not sure if it will be more than my sweetest heart and me. there will be plenty of food. tonight i made squash and sweet potatoes. oh and i also decided to make two pumpkin pies (i still don't think i like pumpkin pie....) i purchased a pumpkin spice ring-cake because i could, and because it had no frosting on it. thought it would be much easier than making some kind of spice cake. tomorrow will be the turkeys and anything else i can come up with...

today was harsh. we did not sleep well - actually hunny was up around 4.30 and never came back to bed..... his day was more harsh than mine. i slept for a few hours - thus the reason it has taken me so long to finish up today's activities.

i got the first coat of the accent wall painted. tomorrow i hope to put on another coat and get started on the other three walls. sooner or later i must move the wooden bed frame in there and start painting furniture. (i don't have a pict of that wall yet, waiting till more is done.)

well i should take kaci out, goodnight all.

Game Plan and Pre-Game Prep

k, here it is - thanksgiving is 2 days away... (wow, that can start nerves.) my menu is: turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, rolls, croissants, cranberry-pecan dressing (ty kathy for the marvelous recipe), beans with almond slivers, and dessert (still undecided - sweetums says he will make a pumpkin pie, and i think i want to pick up a spice cake, only there may be WAY too much frosting on something i pick up... CRAP, hope i don't decide i need to make desserts too...) . alright, ALRIGHT my menu is no different that thousands across the country - but it is mine... and i am a little nervous because i am doing the meal. (sweetie keeps saying he wants to help, but i don't want to have him do anything but relax, and probably help me reheat everything day of..) i have decided to do what i can before hand. there is no way i want to be doing all this stuff day of.. today i made the dressing and mashed potatoes. tomorrow will be the sweet potatoes and squash. wed will be the turkey and maybe the beans. the bread can wait till day of. if i am to do desserts i will probably put them together tomorrow - which means i need to get some more ingredients to carry it all off.

i must warn everyone - kaci is a great dog, and i am enthralled with her. so i will do my best to not report every little detail of her life here amongst us. she is just such a good dog and learns so quickly, i am learning quickly too. she had an accident - well it was deliberately done, but i messed up and missed her clue - my fault. and then later today i recognized the clues and got her outside. YEA ME!!! yea kaci. (really more yea her, but it is hard to just know what those eyes are saying to me - i think i see "feed me bad stuff" a lot and i just can't give into that...) and the cats are adjusting also. dude is still trailing but he too is coming around.i mean, look at those eyes. doesn't she look like i beat her all the time - those eyes... sheesh, the saddest pup on earth.
would you be able to say "no" to those eyes???
this is kaci's water bowl and food dish.

also on my list today was to finish the ceiling paint in the guest room and tape plastic to the floor. i added scraping and taping the trim, and will finish that part tomorrow before i paint. the ceiling looks great tho.

the area i filled in with paint between the ceiling and wall
close up view of closet
far away view of closet...
.wall with paint choices. went with two on left of screen. the blue on the right will be used on furniture i think.

so that is the total sum (okay, not really) of my day. pretty full, got lots done, and life is good. can't wait till sweetie gets home.. 2 more hours.

I Just Remembered How Much I Hate Malls

good evening - i know we have already discussed this greeting thing, however it is evening for me here so i am putting that down, not to mention i am really tired and just don't want to correct it....)

today my handyman put the couch together. this has been a great trial and error effort. we go to purchase bolts and find that they are not sold completely threaded (the ones we needed are not..). so my man buys the bolts. we get home and find that they will not fit together properly. (that was three weeks ago... and each week there was another situation with hardware and fitting it all together.) as for my part i stuck an extra 6 inches of cushion in the couch and that in itself caused quite a problem.

now that i can put the fabric on the couch i see that it is going to take some sewing. (DRAT IT!!!) i think i have already mentioned my sewing skills.. i mostly rip. it will be interesting to see if this machine i have - an antique from my grandmother - will be able to stitch some pretty hefty fabric together. AND if i can fit it all well....

also on my list for this week is - cut in the paint on the ceiling in the guest room, three walls and closet one color, fourth wall and shelves the other color, paint furniture still another color, pre-cook thanksgiving meal parts, and anything else that comes up. i better go to bed now....

kaci is doing well. reminds me of isaac with the cats (this is a phil and kathy reference). she is unsure of the cats - bernice follows her around (just like she acted with isaac... will probably start sleeping on kaci's bedding too....). dude is still hissing, but i am bringing him out into some of the rooms with us so he will at least get petted and have some interaction. he is just so unsure with kaci. he doesn't really play either. it bothers me a bit. hope he will get back to normal soon, i really hate to see him not be active. (he is purring again when petted..)

tonight we went to a charity event. this one we bought tickets to spend 2 1/2 hours in a mall shopping for discounted/sale items. what we found is that IF it is on sale it is only because they have marked the original price up so hight the store can afford to take 50% off... when my sweetest heart and i got there it was as if a pack of rabid shoppers had lined up. (there were people pressed up against the doors waiting to get in...) it was crazy. and i am glad it is over. there was nothing that i would have parted with for a dollar.... and the only dollar spent was from a friend who bought me a soda.

i think we are going to call it an evening and go read - or sleep in my case.

We Did It

this is our new pup - yes, we got a dog......


kaci after getting brushed well and bathed, so much better...
i am trying to get a great pose from her and all i got was this.... cute, but looking not so ornery.
this is the pose i wanted - only my sweet man can get them.
here is a long shot of her. not too big actually.
another great pose for "the man".

our newest member, kaci (i want to spell it kasi, but the humane society already had the name and spelling for her...) is a lab/basset mix. she is submissive and very quick to learn our rules. like a lab she gives the sad eye routine often, but we know she is just fine.

the cats are wary of her. dude takes every opportunity to hiss and growl. bernice just skulks around looking and sniffing the air. kaci seems to just ignore them for the most part. she does stay out of dude's space tho. she will go in the same room as he, but she give him space.

she did a great job on our walk today. and then spent an hour with me in the bedroom watching me paint the ceiling. (and yes she has white paint all over her. for that matter so does dude because he was watching me first - and he would want you all to know he was there first....)

dude has had a hard day. we had to get shots this a.m. the first shot he was alright with. the second he hissed. (he is getting mouthy... i have never heard so much noise from him. he mews but not the hissing and growling...) (actually my hunny says it serves him right for all the terrorizing of bernice...) so i pity him a bit, but not much. he is the middle animal - guess he will simply be forgotten and left to himself..... lol

a full day, and still more to get finished. but such a nice way to spend it. i have hung with my sweetie and it is glorious to see him.

Great Packages

today is the "first real day" my hunny has had off. he slept in (i got up and had coffee with the neighbor. chatted with her for a while - see below), then when he got up i made a bacon and omelet breakfast for us. we drank more coffee. piddled around the house. then we went to the humane shelter and checked out dogs. went for lunch (around 3pm). stopped by a do-it-yourself shop to grab the correct hardware for the couch. ran to the big shopping place for groceries and odds and ends. finally we arrived home and unloaded the car. (how could i forget we went to another shop to grab a bed frame and another bookcase....) and i am doubly tired just typing our activities out.

i met one of my neighbors this morning. what a wonderful time i had. truthfully i have known for several weeks that i needed to get over there to meet her. as i was praying, this morning, God let me know i was disobeying Him and i needed to get over there. so i went to ask if she drank coffee and if they ground their own beans. i came back home grabbed some coffee i had brewed and the beans. i asked her if i could come in and have a cup of the coffee with her. great time together. i hope to do it again SOON.

i purchased a bunch of thanksgiving stuffs so i can get started on the "main meal". i will be cooking all this week. i am very excited about this endeavor.

we also have chosen the paint for the bedroom and i will begin that this week. lots to keep me busy.

and YES - we are looking at a dog. we checked out a husky/wolf mix. wonderfully energetic dog. and also a - well i can't remember her mix - but she was a very calm and submissive dog. both polar opposites. we got a call about the second dog. the husky mix was adopted today. (which is great - we were concerned she was pretty un-adoptable due to some things we heard about her. also a little disappointing because we were leaning heavily in her direction. since there has been prayer about it we know that we have the one we should have. God is good.) so now i am running around trying to get the cat's checked out so we can bring kaci home. but i will leave that to tomorrow.

Short and Sweet

good evening - tonight's blog promises to be short (i think anyway, because i am TIRED....)

today i did laundry and vacuumed and dusted. i have decided to assign myself "chores" everyday. it feels good to have things accomplished. and since i am spending time in the Word and praying each day, i find that the day is good.

got the chores done fairly quick today. i also worked on organizing the office more. completely cleaned off my sweetest man's desk and organized it for him. (he actually was appreciative - i thought he would be scared, unable to find anything. but i tried to keep things together so they would be easy to find. and it is clean so it will be easier to rearrange it himself.) other than organization the office is pretty much done. i think we may get a curtain up, but i am not sure if the window will be finished or not by the time the folks get here for christmas.

i put together another bookcase and arranged a large pile of our collection. we however, have a huger pile to put away and i think i am going to have to purchase another bookcase....

it seems that i worked all day - and i did - but i thought i got more done.. oh well, sure glad what is accomplished i can actually see. it does look like things are straightened and in order.

love to you all

THANKSGIVING????!!!!!

isn't this cute? my two guys.
dude searching...
just about to get into trouble..
i know it is in here somewhere..
FOUND IT!!!!!

and now the work i have done today :)


lamp that i got from mom - it is getting a makeover. hope it turns out nice....
here is the after pict for the lamp - i think it turned out alright. looks shiny new.
and finally - touch up on the red trim. tomorrow will be blue and maybe even the gold touch up. getting sooooooo close....

these are just some great pictures - wanted to share them with you.

today seems a blur. early morning for sweetiest man. i was late getting to the bible study - the cats were just so darn cute this a.m. (actually i gave in and spent some time with God, and then i got so pleasantly happy and at peace that i took a bit more time enjoying - well just enjoying whatever there was to enjoy. had coffee, enjoyed the shower longer, the cats, getting ready, walking around this great place we live in...) just seemed that everything was good and right.

today the topic was thankfulness. it is amazing when you dig and find that you are truly thankful for - whatever, big or small - that all the negative emotions and stinky situations seem to melt into the background. (a merry heart is so good for us.) we joked about having a full makeover simply by being thankful in the study. (for us ladies it softens the harsh lines in our faces and brings a glow. there is nothing as attractive as a happy person...) thankfulness is a lifestyle and a choice with every situation. when you find things to be thankful for in the hardest seasons of life - you will find the pain is still strong, yet it doesn't seem to be so harsh and the season may even pass before you know it. God really is good. everything good comes from Him.

i was a bit surprised about thanksgiving being next week (NEXT WEEK!!!! i thought i had at least 2 more weeks. - i have been saying two more weeks for a week - thinking i would be farther on my projects... lol) i called my m-i-l to get her dressing recipe. (she really has a lot of great secrets.. and i am glad to add this one to my recipe options) so this friday i will get all my ingredients and start cooking. i am kind of excited about it - i like to prepare meals. i hope to have some folks over and make it a nice day of celebrating.

my mom and brother will be here in four weeks for christmas. (it will take every weekend to get this stuff done and ready for them.) i am so excited about having them come. (i am still holding out that my in-laws will be able to come the week after this visit - tho not exactly sure how that will work out. details, details, details......) it is so cool to have a home to invite my family to visit in. it has taken many years, and this is a wonderful place. we are very fortunate.

well i hope this day has found you enjoying little pleasures, and i wish you many more smiles.

I Am In A Group

i am in a group. i use these words, because being part of a group and being in a group are so very different. tonight i am reminded of what it feels like to not be important to a group. do you know and understand what it is like to be in a group and not part of a group?

i used to have a very influential position - i was the one LEADING a group of people. i remember how it felt to know all the others in the group, i tried to help others be part of the group. (i admit that i did not make everyone feel part. i am sure that there are people that felt on the outside trying to understand the dynamics of the group so they could be part...) there was power in being part of that group. tonight i am just a number again - only i am not allowed to offer anything, it is met with resistance from others in the group. they do not know what they are doing. they do not realize the hurt that is caused. i was important once.

i know this all reads rather depressingly, i just want to ask - do you make people feel they are part of the group or just a number? there are so many hurting souls just wanting to be important to SOMEONE.. (such a dangerous place for a person....) all around me i see - in the church too - women that are in a place of desperation. wanting to be important to someone, anyone. and when we only let them be a person in the group - we actually may push them into a situation that they should never have to face. look around you everyone needs a friend..

i don't know how to be a best friend. i say stupid things to people, and i misunderstand the importance of situations, and i can sure be short with another person - so i am not saying i have this down. i can pray, "Jesus, let me be the friend You want me to be to this person." i will not always get this right, or do the best thing.
i simply know and understand what it is to be in desperation - will anyone be my friend? i have been the one not caring if others in the group are a number or part of the group. and i know what it is to know someone in that group is desperate. God help me to not let that desperate one go without being known. God, forgive me where i have failed miserably, and help me offer mercy to those who don't know that i am the desperate one in the group.... so that You may be all that is seen

Shopping and Entertainment

hey all,

today is november 12th. you can click on those words and find all kinds of great things that happened in history on this date. however - nothing i did today will fall onto a website of history, except for what i put in this blog. so hang on - we're making history :).

today, yes and today only (well i may have to repeat this event in a few days *groan*...), i went christmas decor shopping with a friend. i never knew there could be so much decoration for one holiday (and we have not even gotten through thanksgiving.... i am guessing it is because we don't want to be thankful - just want the stuff.... kinda sad, huh?) on a BUNNIE TRAIL - the day after halloween christmas stuff started showing up all over (see above comment about thankfulness). i am astonished!! and it is very difficult to not get swept up in all the hoopla. the weather is indian summerish and beautiful (75+*). it is not cold enough to be fall, much less have snow. thanksgiving is two weeks away and it seems more like picnic weather than cold enough for thanksgiving...
back to the original note - christmas decor shopping. we went to five (yes folks 5) stores and still did not exhaust the available stores sharing their "holiday season".
after that we went for mexican lunch (good stuff and only 2.99), then a movie. i arrived home some six (yes folks, 6) hours later, exhausted and slightly depressed (movie VERY sad).

i started the caulking and then my hunny walked in the door - we decided to go to another movie. (went to the dollar movies both times - i love cheep entertainment) the second movie was much better - very cute. (sad stuff in there too....)

and i believe that leads us to where i am now. home - hunny is on the phone checking a job the day after thanksgiving (a wedding) and a church gig. (he works so hard) i am looking around the office at all the places that need to be patched and wondering if i should start some more tonight, or wait for tomorrow. probably will wait for tomorrow - we have a book series to get through (you remember the one with no ending because the author died this september.... why am i rushing to finish all the books again.....) so i will say good night - because it is night time here and i will go to bed very, very, soon....

Veterans Day

today is veterans day. we celebrated by sleeping in. and i think my veteran could have slept for several more hours than he was able, given the chance. we got up and got breakfast, read our books for an hour or so. then he fixed the flue - turns out it just needed a bit of extra strength to get it to fit properly. and he started to put the couch/sleeper sofa back together - we found the bolts are too short tho. so we need longer hardware, i am hoping to get working on it this upcoming weekend.

we have agreed that the colors for the guest room are too dark. not sure what colors to go with yet, but one of the colors previously pictured on this blog will be used.

went to university church tonight again. was nice to be with my hunny.

think that is it for now.

Happy Birthday to the USMC

Dude chatting on the computer - think he is chatting with friends from n. carolina.
Dude wanting up on my lap - such a cutie pie. wow!!! check out that claw - is that IN me??!!!!!
how quickly he looses interest - wonder what has his attention now.

hey all,

here are some picts of our growing dude. he is such a character. (the reason there are only picts of dude is that bernice hates having her pict taken. and i am not going to chase her down or force her into doing something cute for the camera....) he really is turning out to be a great addition to the group. great sense of humor, nice entertainment, gets into lots of messes, but we still like having him around. (and we like his face - good looker)

today was a very slow starter for me. actually i don't know if it ever got started.... my darlingist husband went to work today and i went back to bed. (did i mention he has been sick and now i have been sick.... so i slept for a few hours - like four.... and i am STILL tired. may take the weekend to get over this stuff..) sweetie got home about 30 min after i woke up. he ate lunch and tried to crash for an hour. then we got up and went to a fund raiser banquet sacrifice for freedom.

"sacrifice for freedom" is a tribute piece honoring fallen soldiers. a wonderful ministry - click on the link above or type it into your browser to check the ministry. done by a christian man and his family. what an honor to have gone tonight. it was wonderful. very emotion filled for both of us.

today is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. it is an honor to be married to a Marine and i am proud of his service. as crummy as some of the separation was, it would be an honor to do it again. i have become a patriot and love this nation through the service of my husband. i see what it is to be honorable because of him. we are both proud of what he has done through the USMC.

now we are both quite tired and ready to crash - and very full.... so i will say good-night to you all.

thank you,

Trim Is Up

there is it - the red pinstripe. looks great. this is the east wall.
here is the north wall - looks like the other wall, but it is so nice to have done that i had to include both perspectives.... lol (the picture was painted for my b-day by my grandma - mom's mom..)


hey all,

i have a wonderful announcement (just a bit of drama) the trim is up. my wonderful handyman took a few hours today to cut and fit all the trim. he used a new table saw given to him for christmas (thank you mom..), a wonderful scroll saw (thank you phil and kathy...), nails and hammer (thank you me - i just really wanted to give him something helpful too....), and a great little miter box he made. the room looks fabulous. we are both so happy with the walls. i will patch and touch-up this next week. just so glad to get it up and mostly finished. we both are very glad it is almost done. i think hunny's part is finished in here (and the peasants rejoice...)

he also figured out the mechanical part of the couch and we bought hardware tonight. (i actually had the hardware turned inside, upside-down, or something. just was not going together and looked a bit spastic. HE FIGURED IT OUT - and i knew he could. i did however insist on him letting me show how far i DID get on it all. he said he was impressed and i am smart. what a great man....)

we crashed for about 5 minutes this afternoon and then went to the opening oru basketball game. hunny put the audio mix for the players intro video together at work last week. the mix was pretty hard to hear - quite muddy sounding. the game was good - refs had a hard time seeing, but it seems that every game i attend the refs make crummy calls. maybe i should stop going.. even tho i hardly ever go already....... i like real live games!!! and don't WANT to stop going.

last but not least we stopped for pizza and then came home. so we are stuffed, and really tired. i will call it a night (um good morning actually) and see you tomorrow.

love to you all,
me

I Have A Friend!

hey all,

today started rather quickly. - well it felt like the morning was a blur - but when you don't get up until almost 9am, well it is hard to feel like you have much of a morning.

i was sewing on the couch, and removing batting (it seems whenever i do a sewing project of any sort i find myself "ripping" something out at some point...) when i got a phone call from a gal i met at the women's meeting on wed morning (a few weds ago, but still that is where we met..). she and i chatted for about an hour. finally we just decided to do some "errand runs" together, and it turned into a late (very late) lunch. then hanging out here at my house, then her house, and finally we ended up going to church. what a great time - it has been so long since i just hung with a gal pal.

since my sweetest man is feeling sick i gave into some of his junk food desires. (shhh, don't tell him i want him to be surprised...) i bought him lucky charms. he was saying the other night that he would really like to have a bowl of that cereal (claims it is his favorite....). so i indulged. also got him some oreos. (i eat graham crackers that i dip in milk and he said that was gross and a person should dip oreo cookies if they dipped anything in milk, so i got him his stinking oreo cookies. and i will eat some of those oreo cookies too let me tell you....) (i like them too...) i hope he is able to sleep this weekend.

that brings me to a BUNNIE TRAIL - sweetie has this amazing immune system. he can get seriously ill (pneumonia, bronchitis, not sure but they may be very serious stuff...) then he sleeps for two straight days and is all better. jump out of bed like nothing ever happened. i am still dragging around 2 weeks later. (this is not technically a gripe, because i don't want to have to care for a sickie too long....) (and he doesn't like being babied...) soooooo i am hoping he will take it easy for a day... because the other day we have to put up trim..... and he is working all day sunday..... hopefully he will be done with this sinus thing. (i am trying to rest enough that i won't get a full head-on sickness)

well that is it. thank you to kathy for the tuna casserole recipe.
have a great one.

Good Day

today was a nice day. i went to ladies bible study. we are listening to lisa bevere via dvd. what a great authentic lady. she is powerful and totally about getting women set free from all the junk we run into on a daily basis. getting over what we see in the mirror and finding the beauty and strength that makes each one of us treasure. i wanna be like lisa.
after the bible study some of us go and grab lunch - well grab would be the wrong word. we sit and enjoy for long periods of time and therefore are building great friendships. man, we women are all walking around with hurts and lives ripped apart, starting from little bitty peoples all the way to the adult stage, just hurting and looking for God's goodness. only lots of us have looked in the wrong places. ugly cycle, and deadly - hard to get out of it. even simple choices leading to pain and hurt. today i sat in the church parking lot for 3 or so hours just listening and talking to a couple of ladies. fabulous women with so much hard background - you would never have known all the hurts that had taken place and are crippling them. God is good to bring us all together. and He is faithful to not leave us in hurt.
good day!!!!
until tomorrow.

Some Nail's Just Can't Be Sunk

corner trim - yes, folks it is real
doorway trim - nice pick sweetie - the contrast is nice.
the other door trim - still need the red trim in-between the gold and blue colors. but so nice to have the door trim and baseboards up.

today was a sluggy day - well it was before i finally got to the trim project my sweetie gave me. this a.m. my lovable handyman nailed in the trim that i placed around the room (he said it sure was helpful that i put the trim around and i may have even knocked a good chunk of time off the total time it would have taken to do it all at once - he is a very thankful person... i choose to be positive and know that he is a thankful and wonderful man. and i remembered that throughout the rest of the time sinking nails...) (my blog....)
then he showed me how to countersink nails - what a crummy job. after my sluggy time watching "the matrix", i came in to sink the nails (and let me tell you some nails just aren't meant to be sunk. after bending several larger nails trying to get the nails already in the trim sunk, i finally gave up and moved on.). it is stinky. i would rather have been hammering the nails - that sinking stuff, well come to my home and i will let you sink all the nails you wish and let you see what you think of it - we have a lot of trim left from moving in... and projects started but not finished before we signed on the dotted line for ownership.. now we have a few new divots in the trim, thank you becca for missing the nails.... see above.... - thank goodness for painter's caulk. which we do not have yet, but will be purchasing soon. so the next - well we have a choice really - we can put up the red trim, or do touch-up. either could take place at any time.... i will soon be going around in more circles with the caulking, drying of caulk, patching the holes and divots, painting, and touch-up on the walls. so all in all still lots to do. (actually after we put up the red chair-rail trim there will be more sinking - do i need a sign-up sheet for this one folks, don't all run here to quickly...., - caulking, painting, and touching up...) so the real question is how many times do i want to get out all the stuff for the patching, painting, and touch-up scenario?? time to start planning and working smart, not .... what is the rest of that saying..
(i am just flattened at the enormity of a simple project. put up trim - i thought all the work was done with taking it off, sanding, and painting - waiting and painting again (x3). this is crazy how many steps go into every project topic. and the amount of time it takes.... sheesh. by the time we have this home in order i will be able to look for project manager listings.)
and this time change has thrown me off too. i realize i actually "have" one hour more to each day.. or something like that.. but it is amazing how quickly the day is gone. oops - the rice......
alright i have saved the beans and rice dish i was crock potting - anyone have a recipe for tuna casserole?
well i must say good evening and get ready for choir practice. hope all are well - until next time,