It's been awhile.

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. At the encouragement of a friend of mine, I'm going to try to get back into my blogging. We'll see how it goes. Life is busy, busy, busy!

Tablescapes

I've been feeling a little convicted the last few months about my lack of homemaking the last....well, for awhile. I've let my house go, done little decorating, appallingly little cleaning and next to no cooking. It's embarrassing, really. My poor hubby.

So I've been working hard lately, trying to catch up, and get back in the swing of things. One of my favorite blogs to read is Between Naps on the Porch. I love her tablescapes and I've been trying to set the table in our breakfast nook in a cute and creative way lately. It's so fun! Now my table doesn't look anything like the ones she puts together...but still...I have had several compliments on how nice it looks.

It's fun to browse through Ross or Marshalls housewares, or pick up clearance items at Walmart. I'm SO wanting some beautiful pink-flowered plates I saw recently at TJ Maxx, when we were visiting Bend, OR, and still kicking myself for not buying the leaf-shaped salad plates that I saw at Walmart for $2!

Turkey Trot

Number one grandson, Josiah, won the 3rd grade boys division of the Turkey Trot at his elementary school last week... procuring a 16 lb. turkey for his family in the process! Between he and his sister they have 3 wins in the last 3 years! I was amazed at how much he looked like his uncle while he was running. If I didn't look too close I would have sworn it was his Uncle D out there!

Way to go Josiah!

Cisco

Lovin' this baby face! Cisco, my youngest
grandbaby, fell asleep in my car yesterday while running errands.

At six months old he now weighs 25 lbs. and
wears a size 18 or 24 months clothes.

He's sitting up and rolling over and the happiest
(and chubbiest!) baby on the block!

snow?!

I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping. Just a few things left! and maybe just in time...
seems there's snow in the forecast for next week...YES!!

babies

Grandma's still got it! Both babies down for a nap at the same time...
am I good, or what?

bread pudding!

What to do with leftover rolls? Make bread pudding, of course! My hubby's favorite dessert!

Cruisin'!

Look where we went! The hubby and I were able to get away recently on a much-needed vacation. We booked a 5-day, 4-night cruise at the last minute at an amazingly-cheap price. It sailed out of San Diego to Catalina, Ensenada and back to San Diego. We also spent an extra 3 days in San Diego, pretty much doing nothing. It was the most relaxing vacation I think I've ever had!

Be Still

My daughter, Jenny, saw this and told me watch it. So glad I did. I hope you will, too.






(ht) http://buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com/

and so it begins!

Soccer season, that is!

U-10 Thunder

Record so far 4-0
Goals scored so far:
team: Thunder: 38+/- (we tend to lose count)
Opponents: 2
Josiah: 7

One of my favorite times of the year!

blessed

I sat this morning, head in my hands, and cried. Long, hard tears for a life that I thought I would have, that hasn't turned out quite the way I planned. I thought to myself, this isn't what I thought my life would be about. It isn't what I wanted. And then I realized, yes, it is! It's about my family and my children...and isn't that just exactly what I've always wanted my life to be about? God in his infinite wisdom, has allowed me to have just what I've always wanted...just changed the details to meet his will, not my own. and I realized just how blessed I am.

Amazing how quickly life can change. My daughter was in a serious horse-back riding accident and had to be airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Time and patience will heal her. Her pelvis is broken in 3 places and has 3 screws holding it all back together. She also has a broken vertebrae in her back. She requires 24 hour care, of which I am providing 12 hours. There is no time for blogging or anything else.

This blog has served it's purpose and maybe someday will be started up again. For now and who knows how long, it is on hiatus.

What a beautiful day!

My day so far:

Went to the gym and worked out.

Watched my grandson win his division in the Forest Festival kids fun run.

Manicure/pedicure.

Lunch from Miako Teriyaki.

The sun is shining and it's beautiful outside!

All in all, not a bad first half to the day. Even if our water isn't working, the cat is sick, and the hubby is off to another track meet.

Laundry, laundry!

It's laundry, tag-team style!

My daughter starts four loads and heads for work.

I switch them to the dryers, then fold them when I get the time.

She picks them up and the kids put them away.

One of the many benefits of working at a laundromat!

The Pavilion

Want to know the best thing about owning a banquet/catering facility?

A free venue for your daughter's wedding? hmm, that's good, but not it...

A huge big-screen tv and surround sound with lots of room for your friends to watch the super bowl? not bad, but nope, not that either...

Use of matching dishes, glasses and chargers for Christmas dinner at your house...
nice, but nope...

The BEST thing...leftovers from catered dinners!

Prime rib two nights in a row...oh yea!!

Europe

The hubby and I are planning a trip to Europe in 3 years. Our hope is to attend the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where, hopefully, two of the athletes he coached in high school will be running. We are hoping to be gone for about a month, visiting various other locations, also. (Thinking Paris, Spain, Germany...)

How are we funding this trip? Airline miles and hotel rooms garnered by use of our credit card...we have over 300,000 points waiting to be used. The hubby uses the credit card for EVERYTHING, then pays it off every month. If we could just get the county to let us pay our property taxes with it!

Spending money? lol...believe it or not I find approximately $1.00 in change at the laundromat every day I work. Money in dryer vents...washing machine drains...over the course of the four years that we will have been planning this trip, I figure I will be able to save approximately $1,000. I clean all the change out of my pockets and wallet every night and throw it in a jar. Amazing how much money people leave in their clothes!

Happy Mother's Day!!

This is for you Jen...one of the best mamas I know:

p.s. I haven't stopped laughing since I first saw this!

Whass up!

What I've been up to lately:

Took one of the granddaughters with me and went to Oregon to visit "Big" Grandma and Grandpa for a couple days. Thoroughly enjoyed my time with her. Crafts with Big Grandma, new shoes and a pedicure! How fun! :)

My beloved pink laptop broke. Major bummer. The screen cracked while granddaughter was watching a movie on the way home from our trip to Oregon. The good news is it looks like it's going to be replaced by the manufacturer. Yea!

Finished cleaning the "grandkids room". (Not that they EVER sleep in there!) What a chore that was! Now onto the guest room. I've sorted and washed almost EVERY article of clothing my son owns that are stored in the closet in that room. All that's left is to repack them, then give the room a thorough dusting and vacuuming. I'm hoping to sew a quilt for that bed, but have to get my sewing machine fixed first. In the meantime, the old comforter that's on the bed will do. Funny how my daughter's hand-me-down bedding always seems to last me for years!

I started cleaning out MY closet a couple months ago, but never finished. Once the guest room is done, it's next on my list. Then onto the formal living room, which is actually being used as my craft and sewing room. It's also a work-in-progress. I cleaned out my desk...deposited everything onto the floor...and there it sits. What a disaster!

My hopes of planting a garden this year are fading fast. The greenhouse, which has never been used for anything other than storage, but which I had big plans for this year, collapsed under the weight of all the snow we had this winter. Work is demanding a lot of my time, and there isn't much left for any other projects except the ones listed above.

My lilacs are blooming away, which I'm pretty surprised about. We did a major pruning on them last fall and I didn't expect to get many flowers this year. We actually have more than usual! Guess that pruning did them good!

Happy Mother's Day to my dear, sweet mom. Love you tons!

Now it makes more sense!

Catch up!

Am I the only person in North America who still has Christmas gift wrap sitting out, waiting to be put away? How did I fall so far behind?

Today I managed to repair a pair of jeans for one of my granddaughters. Hope they still fit her!

This working thing takes up so much time! But wait, aren't I the boss? Don't I make the schedule? Tomorrow I get a day off...yay! Time to catch up. Who'd have ever thought I'd be happy to be able to do laundry and housework!