Happy birthday, my darlings!

Today is a VERY special day. Annabelle and Nathaniel are two!!


Annabelle and Nathan

They are incredible babies, excuse me--toddlers. They are just so wonderfully happy and full of fun! They make us feel so special to be a part of their lives and to have them in ours.

Happy birthday, Anna and Nathan!

40 weeks to go!

Kinda sounds like a gestation period, doesn't it! Well, in a way it is. In 40 more weeks of work, I will get to retire! It's not a baby, but baby will I be happy!

I started to work on Monday of this week and I survived the whole week! It was pretty uneventful except for a small tiff with a co worker. I normally don't snipe back, but Friday I did. I get tired of stuffing my feelings and this person is "always" right about everything, so she thinks. I normally say nothing when she hurts my feelings or just is crabby toward me, but not this Friday. I surprised the other two women in the office, they didn't know what to think! *tee hee*

I got all my files cleaned out, all my binders cleared of materials from last year and all the mailboxes are in order for the school. All in all it was a pretty productive week. I even made a weekly countdown calendar to the end of the year. I'm gonna have a fun year as much as possible!

Today I woke about 6:40 a.m. and Rick wasn't in bed. I called out to him and he wasn't home, either. The man (horribly busy at work) got up and was working at 6:00 a.m. I took him some breakfast and then got busy in my sewing heaven.

I cut out the birthday outfits for the twins. I straightened (organized) some of my "stuff" and took bunch of things out to recycle and throw away. Slowly but surely things are looking better up there. It was hot, not much air movement, so I would come downstairs and relax to cool down.

When Rick came home he took a little nap so I went back upstairs and did a little more work. I can actually see some progress. I want to get it all organized, it's SO much easier to work when it's nice. Someday, when I get it all fixed up, I'll take a picture or two and post it here. Right now it would scare the bejeezers out of some folks.

Dinner at Outback and it was delicious. The weather has turned cool and it's so nice. I even had to turn the heater on low when we were driving home...just a tad chilly.

Rick is working tomorrow, too, so I'll get more done. Maybe I'll run to WalMart and pick up a few things and a shelving unit or two. That will make a huge difference.

Dear Lord, Thank You for everything. I pray You guard my family and loved ones against harm. Help me to be a good person. Please keep us safe and healthy. In the name of Your son, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Things about me that maybe you never really wanted to know!!

My daughter "tagged" me on Facebook. Since I don't know how to "tag", I'll post this here!

I'd love it if you wish to copy the quiz and post it with YOUR answers on YOUR blog. I'd love to learn more about you.

1. What time did you get up this morning? Up at 6:10 a.m.

2. How do you like your steak? Medium rare, sauteed onions on the side.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Taken

4. What is your favorite TV show? The Mentalist

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Right here where I am.

6. What did you have for breakfast? Oops, didn't have breakfast today!

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Liking Mediterranean more and more

8. What foods do you dislike? Egg whites and oysters

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Outback

10. Favorite dressing? Sweet and Sour

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Chrysler Sebring

12. What are your favorite clothes? Depends on my mood, sometimes dresses, sometimes slacks and top.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Alaska

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Usually half full

15. Where would you want to retire? Kent, Ohio

16. Favorite time of day? Evenings, after dinner

17. Where were you born? Ravenna, Ohio

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Competitive quilting

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? No clue, and since I don't know how to "tag", does it really matter???

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? See answer to #19

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Everyone

22. Bird watcher? Oh, yes

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Becoming a night person. When I was younger, I LOVED the morning. I still get most accomplished in the a.m., but when I don't have to go to work, I am loving the night time.

24. Do you have any pets? Yes, Gracie Lou Freebush and Tiger Lily.

25. Anything new or exciting you would like to share? Looking forward to retirement in June of 2010. Expecting a new grandchild in October. Life is great.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A nurse

27. What is your best childhood memory? Playing with my friends all day and into the night. We'd play dodge ball, hide and seek and play in the woods in the neighborhood with never a worry about anything.

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Yes I am. Have one of both.

29. Are you married? Oh yes, 40 years worth!

30. Always wear your seat belt? No

31. Been in a car accident? Yes

32. Any pet peeves? People on their cell phone who don't pay attention to the way they drive.

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Onions, banana peppers, sausage

34. Favorite Flower? Early early spring it's the crocus, because it's the first flower to pop through the snow. My next favorite is daffodils and tulips...the next to bloom. I love peonies, mostly because they are beautiful and their scent is absolutely fantastic. However, I think my mostest favorite is gladiolus.

35. Favorite ice cream? Coffee with chocolate fudge topping

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Arby's

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Zero. Didn't fail at all.

38. From whom did you get your last email? Lyn

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Lowe's

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Nothing comes to mind

41. Like your job? Yes

42. Like Broccoli? Yes, best when cooked

Wonderful weekend with my girls

Ahh, what a nice weekend!



I had a wonderful couple of days with my daughters and their children. It's not often that we can get together and just be. I think I would like to do it more often...it takes a while to settle into it.



I left my camera at home by mistake and I could kick myself. I would like to post some pictures, but I got ready to go in a hurry and now there are no pictures of our weekend.




Thank you girls...I love you very much

Out of town

I'm heading out of town for a couple of days to be with my daughters and my grandchildren.

Kinda sad...I hate leaving Rick...sigh...but it will be LOTS of fun with all the kids. Nathan won't know what hit him...all those women and he being the only little man!!!

S-U-P-E-R-M-I-M-I

WOW, I feel so accomplished today!

I guess it all started yesterday when I went to my sewing heaven to do a couple of blocks for my flying geese in the forest BOM that I'm waaay behind on. Well, one thing led to another and I decided I'd do a little on the organization project up there.

I don't have the AC in the window up there and I declined the offer of my dear daughter and her dear hubby to install it for me yesterday, so it is like a sweat box up there. (Yes, our comfortably-wonderful-not-too-hot summer has turned into normal northeastern Ohio summer which means hot and humid.)

So, I worked. I glowed (since ladies aren't supposed to sweat like pigs). I glowed so much the glowing compound dripped off my hair!! All in all, I got a good bit done and hauled the trash (lots of it) out to the street because today is our new trash day*.

I continued my super Mimi mode and changed the cat litter, gathered all the trash up and hauled it outside. (Now, it's 10 p.m. by this time and I've had no dinner yet.) While cleaning out the fridge I threw out the milk since it had been there a little longer than I liked and noticed I was out of yogurt. Ok, off to the store! On the way home I stopped by Burger King to grab a sandwich. I didn't realize so much closed so early on a Sunday night.

I relaxed a bit and then went to bed to read a bit before turning over and falling asleep without Rick, cause he is in PA--golfing with some buddies.

This morning I rushed off to my younger daughter's house and we did a little shopping. When we were at the produce market cabbage--huge heads of cabbage--were on sale for 19 cents a pound. It's the kind of cabbage that's great for making cabbage rolls! We grabbed up two heads and made plans to make cabbage rolls tomorrow.

Once I got home I put the cabbages into pots of water to blanch and ready the leaves for making the cabbage rolls. Once I got that done, I decided to make some chicken vegetable soup. That's cooking now! Guess that's what I'll have for dinner while I wait for Rick to come home.

We just had a BIG thunderstorm and now the sun is coming out. Guess I'll run off to the store to pick up some foil pans to freeze my cabbage rolls.




*Our new trash company has AGAIN missed my house and my trash is still sitting there. DUMMIES! Happened last week and now again. Maybe they will get tired of my calling and put me on the route!! Who knows?!

Contentment

This is Gracie.

She's a wonderful dog. She is "on duty" when we are outside and she doesn't leave anyone into the yard without my knowledge. I actually have people who think we have an electric fence, but we don't. She just knows she's to stay in our yard. She brings a lot of joy to our lives.

When our grandchildren are around she is incredibly gentle and sweet, but she misses her attention! She's a great friend.

I'm feeling less "down" today. I got

a few (10 to be exact) blocks done for my Flying Geese in the Forest quilt.

I also watched Hadley this morning while Jennifer was "craft lady" at vacation bible school. A little laundry was accomplished, a walk (pushing the stroller) was enjoyed, sewing, and I made a delicious dinner. All in all, I feel pretty efficient today.

I took a little time out of the day just for me. I went to the nail salon and treated myself to a pedicure. I love pedicures. In my opinion, it's about the best way of pampering yourself you can buy. The girl spoke hardly any English and that was kind of nice for a change...I didn't have to make conversation. I just sat back and relaxed, drank a McDonald's iced mocha and browsed Bonnie Hunter's Scraps and Shirttails book. The chair was doing it's massage on my back and it felt W - O - N - D - E - R - F - U - L.

Night night.

Yawn...

Today I made Ricky homemade French toast for breakfast. I completed five blocks for my Flying Geese In The Forest BOM quilt, organized my stablilizer stash, my embroidery software and hoops. Cris was here on Wednesday and I bought 20 more storage bins to organize my sewing area. Not a lot of progress has been made so far, but like the tortise...slow and steady. (I have a plan.)

I'm a little blue today. Not really sure why. Sigh. I have several projects "in the works" now...maybe too many and it's making me unsure what to do next. I don't like feeling like this.

Well, enough brooding about it for now. Going to get up and fold the clean laundry and put the sheets into the dryer.

More later, maybe some pics of FGITF when I get a few more done.