My Cutie Niece

All pictures taken last month during our family trip to WI! She's a delight :) Full of expression, hamming it up, curiosity, and adventure. I wish I had video of her and a boy (probably 4) who was sitting at a table nearby flirting like crazy when we went out for Friday fish fry.

(Click image to view larger)

Pop Quiz - Where am I....

....taking these pictures? As in - What building??




Come on. Take a guess. At least guess a building the same size as a building that has this set up!

PS. If you know the answer - don't ruin the fun!

Wow. Summer is almost over.....

A little summer fun before it's gone....

What Flavor Popsicle Are You?

My results...

You Are a Cherry Flavored Popsicle

You are sweet and friendly. For you, summer is all about doing your favorite things. You are a nostalgic person. You love old fashioned things like ice cream trucks. You savor everything. Every taste of summer, the feeling of the sun, the smell of the beach... Of all the types, you love summer the most.

MMM. Popsicles. If you live near a Kroger and have yet to try their Cherry Mango Swirl or Cherry Pineapple Swirl popsicles - you are missing out! Seriously. We have both in the freezer right now.

Updates

Hopefully you've noticed I've been bloggin a bit more this summer :) That can be credited to my friend Bri changing her blog roll up a bit. Basically those who don't blog get 'called out' big time! I love it :) But didn't love being on the bottom of this list!! I know I still don't blog enough - but I'm trying to get better about that :)

Of course with my return to blogging I've had to update my site too. I know the layout is basically the same - that's not changing for now :) I did shamelessly copy Bri on the blog roll. I only show the last 10 updated blogs! So if you're name isn't showing - you're job is to blog and knock someone else off the list!! Most of my friends have totally fallen off the blog bandwagon - so I'm hoping to light a fire under you guys!!

Since people I know have stopped bloggin - I've had to start reading random people's blogs!! I'll be adding links to my favorite 'random folks' too. There are some VERY FUNNY people out there, and talented writers!

And for those of you who need some inspiration - here are some ideas to start with:
~ A vacation recap from the summer
~ What you'll miss most when summer is over
~ A MEME: 5 songs you're embarrassed to say you like.

Also I think it's best to take the pressure off about bloggin. No need to catch folks up on your entire life while you've been missing - just post a picture or two - or one funny story. Keep them short! That's going to be my motto at least :)

GET BLOGGING!

You Can Let Go

It's been a while since I've been emotional... until I heard this song just now for the first time.

You Can Let Go
Crystal Shawanda

Wind blowing on my face
Sidewalk flying beneath my bike
A five year olds first taste
Of what freedom's really like
He was running right beside me
His hand holding on the seat
I took a deep breath and hollered
As I headed for the street

"You can let go now daddy
You can let go
Oh I think I'm ready to do this on my own
It's still a little bit scary
But I want you to know
I'll be okay now daddy
You can let go"

I was standing at the altar
Between the two loves of my life
To one I've been a daughter
To one I soon would be a wife
When the preacher asked
"Who gives this woman?"
Daddy's eyes filled up with tears
He kept holding tightly to my arm
'Til I whispered in his ear:

"You can let go now daddy
You can let go
Oh I think I'm ready to do this on my own
It's still feels a little bit scary
But I want you to know
I'll be okay now daddy
You can let go"

It was killing me
To see the strongest man I ever knew
Wasting away to nothing in that hospital room
"You know he's only hanging on for you"
That's what the night nurse said
My voice and heart were breaking
As I crawled up in his bed and said:

"You can let go now daddy
You can let go
Your little girl is ready to do this on my own
Its gonna be a little bit scary
But I want you to know
I'll be okay now daddy
You can let go
You can let go"

I'm am and will always be in awe of folks who write lyrics. Music is an amazing thing :)

Hello Bagger Guy. Listen Up.

I know I am a carbon copy of my mom - and everyday I slowly become more and more like her. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes I'm not so happy with the transformation :) But tonight - I wish I could have had a little more of her in me - then I would have told the bagger guy at Kroger to "Stop f'ing throwing my peaches into the bag". Seriously. When I saw him to it my whole body cringed and I wanted to scream at him. "Do you know how much peaches cost? I like mine without bruises and soft spots!" Um it was 10pm, the store was empty, it's not like he was busy and in a rush. He wasn't 16 - more like 23 so he's old enough to know better. I'm still kinda mad at myself for not saying something.

Ah but that's just the beginning of my issues with the bagger guys. You go to Wal-Mart and they seriously put maybe three items in each plastic bag, then 'spin' to the next. I get so frustrated when I walk out with 10 bags of stuff that would certainly have fit easily into 3. Who in running their job training sessions. Obviously not someone who cares about company costs or the environment.

So now I have the (super cute) reusable bags. It's taken some training to make sure I actually have them on me when I shop, but I'm getting there :) Here we have the exact opposite problem than the one at Wal-Mart. I guess since the reusable bags are durable the bagger guys play a game of 'let's test the weight limit of the bag'. I have at least 9 bags with me usually - plenty of bags that the can pack them normally, so I can carry them, and not run out. But no - they insist on packing them as full as possible to see how few they can use. Which leaves me with bags I can barely lift - and I'm a pretty strong girl. Errrr. Again with the fruits & veggies thing - they'll back a bag full of produce making it extremely heavy and almost impossible to get home without harming the produce.

I'm done with keeping my mouth shut. From now on I'm going to be the annoying woman at the check out that tells the bagger guys how 'not' to pack my groceries. Hmmm. Maybe I should start teaching the training class.

Congrats J & J

Woohoo! You did it! What a beautiful ceremony overlooking the mtns :) Just perfect. We were so happy to share this with you guys!

Your day was full of personal touches that made all your guests feel very special and included on YOUR day :) The love you two share for each other and your friends & family was everywhere. It's been so fun to watch your love blossom over the past year and lead you to your wedding! (I remember you whispering in my ear on that bike ride last summer that you had a crush on J! As if I couldn't already tell)

I have to say in 20 years what I'm going to remember most is the moment at dinner when you told us you'd like to reenact the unity part of the ceremony in a way that much better represented you guys. Out came the milk and oil. Classic!

PS. Doesn't the hubby look good :)

Happy 6th...

...birthday BLUE. Wow. Over 105,000 miles together. Good times, not so good times (we've suppressed memories of vandalism and speeding tickets). New states and adventures. Your kick a$$ roof rack which made me fall in love with you all over again. Cramming the crate in your backseat so the 'boys' behave in the car. It's been fun. I hope you're ready for another 6 years together (or more)!

note. I don't really talk to my car :)

Rain & Hail & Lightning, oh my.

Early evening had been hinting at big storms. While I was reading in the hammock I could hear the thunder off in the distance, then light sprinkles finally sent me up to read on the porch. They didn't last long and things calmed down for a couple hours.

Triple M's made our night by arriving with coconut jelly cookies :) Yum. We were catching up around our new 'gathering' table when the thunder returned - much closer. They realized they were 10 minutes too late starting their walk home :) Then came the rain - heavy rain. And the hail. Which was pretty crazy and darn exciting to watch! I haven't seen a good hail storm since I was a kid! I couldn't get great pictures because it was pretty dark and gloomy, but you can see the amount of decent size hail we received.


The hailed died down, then the rain, and Triple M's headed down the hill. We retreated to the couch for movie watching and book reading. The storm picked back up again with steady thunder and lightning. At one point Todd startles and says 'What was that?' Of course me engrossed in my book didn't notice anything. We went and looked out the front door - it was really dark now and we couldn't see anything! Oh well - back to the couch. Right before bed I went to make sure my car was locked. I noticed a funny shadow at the bottom of the driveway and called T, 'Honey, you better come check this out.' It was apparent the sound he heard involved the tree at the bottom of the driveway.

This is the view we woke up to this morning. (It was still really hazy/foggy out - so the pictures aren't great)

Close-up you can see the culprit was lightning. The tree is burned all up the sides, not just at the spot of the split. (You can see the fence is unharmed)

The view out.

The view looking in. You can really see the gap in the shape of the tree from this view.

Here's a picture taken a week ago. You can see the tree in it's full glory in the background.

Hopefully the main part of the tree is still structurally sound, so we can just clean up the mess and be done. Our wonderful neighbor stopped by on his way to work today to drop off his chainsaw and offer to help tonight after work.

In the meantime Todd took his jeep off-roading through the yard and down the hill so we could get to work! :)

SugarBoo

ohh la la! I just discovered SugarBoo Designs - a husband and wife company in Georgia who create amazing art. At least I think so :)

"Each photobox is a unique customized piece of art. All are completely handmade and handpainted. We use real wood and painted finishes that create a warm, aged look. Choose from 18 custom color finishes and from 60 thoughtful quotes to create your one-of-a-kind piece of art!"

How special are these!! Perfect as a wedding gift, baby gift, anniversary gift, or any occasion really :)





These large (20" x 20") pieces are a little pricey at $265. But if you think about the handmade work of art - it's worth the price. They also have smaller (11" x 20"), just as special pieces, perfect for a babies room! ($99)


To personalize the piece even more you can have a quote of your own painted for an extra $100.

I'm in love :)

PS And people wonder why I still read a wedding blog - long after my wedding. For cool finds like this!! (A heartfelt Gift)