Sunday, September 9th, 2007

Kitty

1999 - 2007

(Soo many things have been going on with me lately that I just can't seem to get focused on blogging. )

My dad's mother passed away two weeks ago. She lived to be 96 years young! She worked every day of her life. The only reason that she went to the hospital in the first place was that she told one of her co-workers that she was feeling tired. So, her co-worker took her to the hospital to see what was wrong. She had had heart problems for a long time and we were wondering if it might be the issue. She ended up having pneumonia, and a few other minor things. But all of the minor things really brought her down. When she didn't end up getting any better she ended up having cancer all of these years and we didn't know it. She lived in a the same house for about 50 years. Her streets were made of bricks! So, anytime a car went by it sounded like horse hooves going by! We sure squished about 100.00 worth of coins on the railroad tracks behind her house. That was the silly fun we had - placing the coins on the track, walking back home, listening for the train whistle and letting out a squeal of glee as we all raced to the tracks to search for our squished prize! Simple pleasures! She sure led a full life and everyone was there to send her on her way. She was buried near my mom and she had her funeral in the same chapel. She was soo beautiful. She was a crafter like my mom and they shared sooo many crafts. I figure that there will be a little more crafting in heaven with those two paired together again!!

The Life in the Yard...

Our Orange plant is really making us oranges! Who knew! We had to spread a little Seven dust and put some chimes near them to keep the critters away!

Our Tried-n-True Gerber Daisey! Never fails to bloom and bring color to the dead yard!

And even though it never bloomed this year due to a late frost, our hydrangea never looked heartier!

And who would have thought that our gardenia bush will STILL be making the backyard smell so good?

And my personal favorite - the hibiscus! It has the most beautiful samony/red HUGE blooms on it! And they just keep coming!!

For some reason I sure get a lot of happiness from our yard. I'm not sure why...I just love to mow it, water it, and then enjoy it... its that simple!

It's getting hard to type because the baby kitty has moved to my arms (like a baby) and I only have one hand now...

So, enjoy your family. Celebrate them here and now and when they are gone, think about the fun things they have ahead of them and who they will have fun with...Enjoy the simple things like a yard, a flower, a little baby kitty trusting you in your arms...Enjoy your family, no matter where they are, how furry they might be...

Sunday Part 2

Logan's Request

So, Logan wanted to make sure that you saw her pool pictures. They were all making up cheers and stunts in the pool so she wanted for everyone to see them. Well, here are the girls...playing in the pool...
Funny girls...


Again, enjoy the silliness while you can....




Logan

Savannah

Crystal

Sunday August 19, 2007

High School Musical 2
Sleepover!



I just can't remember being sooo excited for a movie to come out on TV! In my day you couldn't wait for a movie to come out at the THEATRE!!!
Well, I guess that things have changed and the Disney Channel has as well! Logan planned a little sleepover for her friends to enjoy the movie. We moved the coffee table out of the way and put up the blow up mattresses and Wa-La a slumber party pad! We taped the movie as it was playing so they could watch it all night long if they wanted. The nice thing about them being downstairs is that we were UPSTAIRS! They had all night long to be silly and loud. I think that they crashed about midnight and the TV was still going on at 6am when I got up. We made pancakes and bacon and the girls spent the rest of the next day in the pool! A really nice time was had by everyone. The girls are so nice, polite and they play really great together, too. You really can't ask for a better party as a parent than that, right? Only one time did one of the girls get their feelings hurt, but after I heard all about it and made everyone hug and say they were sorry, I was back out of the picture and they were back on to playing in the pool together!

So, enjoy these times when they are young and let them have some fun. You never know what 'parties' will be like when they are 16...

Monday, August 6, 2007

Tough times in the neighborhood...

When we first moved into this house we met all of our neighbors. We had a nice elderly couple behind us - Sarah and Mr. Bob. We chatted with them frequently over the fence - admiring their yard, chatting about the weather, etc. We found out about their family in Texas...The neighbors to the left of them had a black lab that we would always feed treats to. Occasionally the dog, J.J., would make her way to our front yard (found a sneaky path through the houses) and we would call her 'dad' and she'd call her and she'd come running back...A really nice neighborhood. Well, we hadn't seen them much this summer. We just thought that maybe it was too hot or too hard from them to get out. We saw their neighbor and they told us that Sarah was in the hospital. Then, she didn't pull through. So, Mr. Bob went home to Texas with his kids and now the house is up for sale...wow...

Then, we met our next door neighbors. They are an elderly couple. Tex and JoAnn. They spent their life in the military. They lived overseas and settled here in SC. Their kids live here, not to far away and they have one grandson. They have a beautiful backyard, garden, yard. We used to laugh that Tex would get up EVERY morning and mow his yard, edge it, blow it and then take the dog for a drive...He really does have the best yard! He's not very appreciative of us walking through his yard to get to our friends yard, so we take the long way and walk down to the street and then over to our friends yard...We try to be respectful. Well, JoAnn is becoming a little forgetful - maybe Alzheimer's? She asked me the other day if I was her new neighbor...I told her that I just hadn't seen her in awhile and that my hair was different. Maybe she just didn't recognize me. She said that she had never seen me before. I didn't realize then that she really didn't know who I was. Now, every time she sees me or Lane she asks if we are new to the neighborhood and what happened to the couple that lived in the house before us...wow. Sometimes I tell her yes, just to get through her frustration AND mine...When we are all outside, she comes out to figure out who we all are. Tex comes out and calls her to come back in. I'm not sure what they would do without each other...

Lane has started a new job with MicroPrice PC. It is a very well known PC Tech business to all of the small business downtown Columbia. They just had a big promo with MicroSoft. They had the big MicroSoft bus come for a promotional event. It was really neat. I went up to help out and got to meet a lot of the business owners of Columbia. A lot of the Chamber of Commerce members, City Council, lawyers, suppliers, architects, etc. It was really interesting. I meet a lot of great people at my job, too, but not like this. This was more personal. Shelly, the wife of the owner was meeting and greeting and I was kind of her gopher. I got everyone water, helped with the prize drawings and offered a smile to the people. It was fun. I took a nice picture of them in front of the bus and had it blown up at work. It was a great memento of the event!

I'm off to working my six day work weeks. BTS is taking over the world right now and I have to help sell and clean up after all of the craziness...

Here's to enjoying the joy of the kids getting back to school, football games starting, the air starting to chill...

We enjoyed the summer - now let's enjoy looking forward to the fall...

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Craftiness...

Meet Sadie and Sam...My latest 'sockies'...I found the cutest book and am just inspired by ALL of the toys inside. These are the first two cuties that I attempted and boy did they come out cute. Sadie is supposed to be a monkey, but no tail? Her dress was a little to thick to 'smock', but she's cute.







I can't remember this dolls name. Logan came up with one (you know the same person that came up with Inga and Flocka...so, no surprise that I can't remember this one...). She is from that cute book too. Her arms are kinda kooky, and Logan thinks that her pants are ugly, so we'll revamp her outfit and then she'll earn a face! AND maybe some shoes. In the book there are all kinds of clothes patterns for her.

And here is the book, the picture on the front that inspired me and the inspirees?? You have to check out the book or just email me and I'll send you pictures. You do have to enlarge most of the patterns to 200% so as long as you have a scanner at home or like me access to a wide format machine at work, it's easy.

And finally a craft I'm constantly working on. When my mom passed away we were talking about how she always knew EVERYONE's birthday. We thought that she had some great memory or something...Well, when my dad was packing to move, he found my mom's secret trick. A little recipe box with month tabs that had an index card with every one's bday/anniversary, etc. on it!! Well, I was at Goodwill about a month ago and found this vintage box with the month tabs ALREADY in it! I bought some colorful cards from work and started the process. Then I decided that these little glass pressed flowers that I got on my last trip in Texas needed to go on the top...I'm continually going to work on the box. I'm sorry to Donny, but this is the first time that I remembered (or even knew) that it was your bday! And I sent a card and a little crafty! And as I look through the tabs, the next group isn't until September! I'm ON it!

That's about it from here...I was digging for pictures to share with my friend from high school, so as I blog today, I'm scanning in some really embarrassing pictures from long ago to share with her here...

Enjoy the day, the things you make, and the way making something makes you feel!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Blast from the Past...

So, I got an email the other day from my best friend from high school. Wow...Soooo many memories came blasting back. She and her family are living happily in Texas. She has been married for 19 years and has 4 kids...That's the life.

Ever think that there is divine intervention some how at work?? It's funny. I had been thinking that my husband has led such a diverse life - from crazy times in high school to growing up in the country with friends and homemade meals...It's not that he talks about it all of the time, but every now and again I get 'snippets' from his past life. We've only known each other for about 7 years now. I didn't know him growing up, from high school, from work...I just met him when he was going through a 'new' chapter in his life just as I was going through one, too. I was thinking that the only thing that I've done in my life is work with a little (very little) craziness thrown in for fun. When my long lost friend emailed me, it reminded me of the silly times WE had growing up. She reminded me of the days at the lake with our friends, just driving down the street playing music really loud, band practice, the blisters on our thumbs and fingers from twirling our flags, the white tape we would carry religiously to protect those blisters, the leg warmers over our jeans at band practice...and the boys of course. We were really good kids, we just had good clean fun - a little drinking here and there and some mean games of 'quarters' but we had 'silly' fun - not hurtful, mean, disrespectful fun...

I have to say that I really thank you, Sherry, for emailing me and reminding me of the fun we used to have. We learned a lot about life those years, shed a lot of tears, but I really feel proud of the Flag Corp team we were a part of - even to this day I can only think of the good things. (yes, I'm still a 'glass half FULL' thinking girl) You emailed me at a time I really needed to remember those times and you and our friendship. I don't really remember what happened to us specifically, I just know that we headed in different directions when all was said and done. I don't keep up with Nollie, Marsha, or Mary but Lisa White and I found each other a few years ago and she kept me up on the gossip with the group. I don't know what ever happened to Angie, Shannon or Eric but am really scared of that groups outcome...

So, I'll dig out some crazy photos of us during those years and shock my friends and family who keep tabs on me here...

Thanks, again, Sherry.

Enjoy your life. Enjoy your friends and family - past, present and future.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Back to Swapping...

Yes, I signed up for another swap. It's been about 2-3 months since I last swapped...I had lost my crafting mojo and have just recently found a few things to inspire me. I kinda forced myself into this one - signing up on the last day available so there wouldn't be any turning back. Not only did I sign up for this 'birdie' swap, it had 5 partners AND international!! When I tiptoe back into the swapping game, I really stomp on in with my big ole feet, huh? Well, anyway, this is my little birdie. I made five of them, but I can only get about half to actually stand. They really all have such cute personalities!! After I made these five, I got a cute little book with cute little stuffed animal patterns. One is a sock monkey (not your tipical one) and patterns for their clothes...I took the book to work and enlarged all of the patterns and they really are coming out cute!! I think that I'm getting inspired again to craft! YIPPEE!!

What are friends for?

It was bath time for Ellie - a little stinky from digging, playing, rolling, etc...So, she layed down and enjoyed the attention of us scrubbing, washing, picking at her, etc. Then, I brought her inside to help prevent her from rolling in the dirt again. Along comes her buddy to help dry her. Ellie takes the front, and Kitkat takes the back...They sleep together and sometimes you can see Ellie dragging something white and fluffy behind her - KitKat loves to pounce on Ellies tail and sometimes likes to go for a little 'drag' with her...They are really funny. So, I'd say that she is feeling just fine now. Our neighbor 'vet' said that she had had her front legs broken before, her whiskers are cut and she had a bad infection in her chest. Poor thing. She has a good home now until we find someone to take her in. She is a little tooo feisty for the other cats and I think that they see her as a nagging little sister. Funny.

Well, it's Back to School time at work and you just wouldn't believe the craziness. I didn't realize the competition for School supplies is soooo fierce. We had to move up one of our 'penny' ads just to compete with Office Depot and WalMart. We had pencils, pencil sharpeners, pencil boxes, glue, folders, etc. all for one penny!! So, if anyone needs any of those items, I promptly spent my .25 and got a few things to stow away. This week we are having a great .15 sale on paper, etc. Craziness.

We are getting plenty of rain around here now. It almost seems like time for fall because of how the sky looks. I know that my Texas family is getting drenched constantly, so I really can't complain about a few days of sprinkles and thunder! Hopefully they will dry out soon!!

Enjoy the rain, the great sales at Staples, and the thought of the kids going back to school!!

July 5th, 2007

Happy-Day-After-The-4th-and-Time-to-Clean-Up-After-the-Festivities-Day

Here we are in all of our tie-dye wonderfulness...We had a really nice day and we loved our coordinating outfits! The weather was nice and mild and the breeze was just enough to keep us cool. We enjoyed the day with the neighbors and cooked the usual hamburgers and hot dogs. We were all supposed to make food that was red, white and blue but I fell a little short in that category. Logan, Lane and I decided that we would make a cake and mix up some icing in those colors...Well, once we got started with the icing we fell a little short on the colors...

So here is our cake that is celebrating the country of IXPLADKLFN and their independence day. We celebrate ALL countries in our little Sparrow Pointe....

Logan and her patriotic self! She and the other girls were drawing flags and goodies with the all time favorite item - side walk chalk. You can never have too much of that!

You'll notice that there aren't any pictures of Ellie as she is a fradey-cat when it come to fireworks. She was decorated with plenty of ribbons during the day to be a festive part of the family, but when it was time for fireworks, she became a happy dog in the laundry room with the door closed. That is her favorite spot when there are storms and fireworks. We read up on a lot of issues with the Golden Retrievers and the experts say that they need a spot that is THEIRS that is dark and quiet so they can relax and feel safe...Well, thanks to a big laundry room that is in the middle of the house with no windows, etc. we can put a load of laundry in for a little drowning out noise and she's a happy camper!

I hope you all enjoyed your 4th. We did and we enjoyed our day with our friends!

Time to clean up the neighborhood now!

Enjoy the holiday!

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Getting ready for the 4th!

We decided to 'make/create' our 4th of July fashions this year. So, we dug out old white tshirts, found some Ritz fabric dye and went to work. We rubber banded them and used string as well and look how great they came out! We also made a ground cloth for the firework show so we can sit on the grass comfortably!!

The only thing that I'm afraid of is the red...you know how sensitive that color can be when it gets next to white in the washing machine...The directions for the dye said to add a cup of salt and a teaspoon of laundry detergent...Maybe this will help the 'setting in' process??

Introducing....KitKat....

We have added this little baby to our menagerie....She was found running around a parking lot with her family and a customer of mine was trying to do a good thing by rescuing them all. I'm not sure that she was prepared to do all of that. She was telling me the story and she had one baby that needed a good home. I told her to bring her to the store and I would take care of her. Well, she was flea ridden, someone had cut her whiskers and eyebrows and she was bone thin. We have a vet that lives right across the street from us, so she took the poor thing to work with her. She treated her for fleas, worms and everything else and now she is recuperating from an upper respiratory infection. She has been running a temperature and just has been listless, but with her shot she got she should be pouncing away at the other family members! She and Ellie have become good friends - the baby has taken over her dog bed and Ellie sleeps nearby. So, we'll keep you up to date on the little sick thing and keep you up to date on her progress.

The Flowers

I had someone email me about my last blog and the flowers that we were making in Texas. She wanted pictures...

I beaded the petals on about 3 of them, but for some reason, I really like these just like they are. I have ordered some glass beads in the shapes of butterflies and dragon flies, etc. so maybe they'll become additions to these flowers...not sure. Anyway, they are silver spoons. I drilled holes in the spoon after I flattened them with a hammer. I took just plain 24 gage wire and started looping. I experimented and came out with some of my most favorite crafts and most memorable. My dad and his tools came in handy. He helped them come to life in more ways than one!!

Okay, I think that should just about catch everyone up on the things here in SC.

Remember to enjoy what you do and who you do it with!!

Wednesday, June 7, 2007

A big HOWDY from Texas!!

I'm enjoying some time here with my family in Texas this week. My middle sister has moved down here too, so when I come to see my family I mean I come to see my FAMILY!!! My big sister lives about 15 minutes away from my dad and my middle sister lives only 2 minutes away from her!!! It works out really nice. They all have someone to watch over things if they are out of town, if they need something and the other is in town they pick it up for them....It works out really nice. They are all here to look after each other!!

We have had fun just being silly together. It's been an enjoyable week just chillin' and visitin'. My middle sister brought some books over and I saw a craft that I just HAD to do - they are flowers made from silver plated flatware. I know it sounds crazy, but you would have to really see them to appreciate them (but you can't see them until I get home cuz I can't download the 500 pictures that I've already taken). So, my sister had the flatware and I had the plan and my dad had the tools to complete it, and my other sister had the beads to decorate them....so it was truly a family activity! My dad has this great work room/shack that he builds all of his airplanes in. He has all of the tools you would ever need and has all the ideas in his head of how to accomplish them. I told him that he reminds me of my husband. Lane always helps me figure out how to get from point A to point B using his creative mind...my crafts are his crafts...

Today we went to see my sister's new office. She will be teaching SPED classes at Texas AM in Commerce, TX. While she was out visiting with a colleague, Pam, my dad and I decided to make her office feel like home. There was a name plate hanging outside her door. We found some labels, so we covered up the name 'price' and used a magic marker to make it read 'Dr. Harader'. We also made her a 'welcome' sign from an old dingy chart board. We dug around and found her folders, a groovy 1950's green tape dispenser, an old pink message pad and a few coffee cups/shot glasses to complete the look. We rearranged her furniture to a more 'fung shui' look and the place already felt like hers...maybe just to us...I can't even describe the funky stuff we found to put together her desk...I'll show pix next time...

Tomorrow, my sister leaves for her last ? trip to Kentucky so we said our 'goodbyes' tonight - sadness...She is a tough cookie - strong, smart, caring and soft...(Thanks for everything while I was in town. I know that you had a lot going on w/unpacking and settling in, but thanks for taking the time out! I love you!)

My big sister, dad and I are headed to the 'city' to poke around a little tomorrow. I've not been to a mall in ages and what better to do on a vacation than do crazy things like that, right??

I found a great old picture of my mom when I was at my big sisters house. There had been pictures of her 'eyeing' this big tree on the other side of a wire fence. The tree had soooo many fall leaves on it and it seemed to be the only one (or the first to recognize the season) by the picture. As you go through the pictures the very last one is of her grinning, walking towards the camera with a handful of leaves...She had managed to conquer getting to that tree and getting what she wanted. It was a great picture as she had this playful little grin on her face as she came towards my dad and the camera. Looking through all of the pictures at my sisters' there were one right after the other of her and my dad laughing. It was really nice to see and remember that silly side of her as we (I) hadn't remembered that for a long time. The last few times I saw her she was week and seemed mad about it. She wasn't able to be silly - I'm not sure if she could hear me or understand the silly stories we were telling at the kitchen table...I do know that after this week, I am able to understand/remember a lot of good things about her. I just know that she would have come up with some great ideas for Dana's office 'redecorating'...She would have been laughing with tears and we all would have been rolling...I really miss her. But, I'm glad that my sisters and I can still enjoy our time and my dad is now more a part of our time together. That has been the best part of this week. Being with my dad...

My husband and I have been communicating through the phone and texting. I really miss him, too. We are ALWAYS together and trips just aren't the same without him. We made the right decisions about him not coming this time even though it wasn't a fun decision...It's never quite the same 'telling' someone about a funny moment or a serious moment especially when you are used to having them be a part of those moments...We'll re-strategize next year!!

I got to see my niece and her fabulous kids this week, too. She is really going through some hard times and all of us want to help her. She has kinda kept to herself about everything so we aren't sure what we can/should do for her. I know that she has a best friend that she can talk to, but it's her family that can be objective and can give her the best advice as we have ALL been through it...I'm sure when she's ready she'll come around...

Well, I'm not sure what else to share. I know that I'll share pix when I get home (Friday) so you can see the things I'm talking about...

Until then, enjoy your family, miss your family and love your family. They are what make you who you really are and who you really should be...

I'll see you soon, honey!

Jill

Almost one month later...May 26, 2007

Gosh! A LOT has been going on this past month...I can't believe that it's been a month since I've actually been back to blog...Here is my past month - as told (again) in pictures...

SADNESS...

We had to drain the pool because we were having liner issues as you can see...We had to fight with the warranty company (10 year warranty on the liner - in bold print on our paperwork)...So Lane is swimming in it after three days of watching sadly as the water drips down the driveway...

A little bit of happiness...

Our neighbor unpacked her inflatable water slide in our time of need for a 'water' fix...This thing is HUGE...It's like one of those bouncy things that you can rent for a party...only she got this one at Wally world last year for a bargain and now her backyard turned into 'KIDland'...Logan and all of the neighbors just had a blast!! The kids have to climb up one side by putting their feet in holes and making their way up. Then at the top (about 7 feet high) they are sprayed by water as they jump/slide the whole way down. At the bottom of the slide is a spot where the water accumulates. So, as they come down, anyone nearby gets a little washing...It's really fun and the kids have a blast. It's really cool how it stays inflated. Once we got them lathered up with sun screen, they were REALLY slick and we had to put another float at the end because they kept slipping off of the end!! FUNNY!!! About 3 hours later, we were all tired. They kids from playing and the adults from laughing at the kids playing!! Good times...

A lot of happiness...

The guys finally arrived after I had a 'sit in' at the REC Warehouse (where we bought our pool)...I had the day off and we had emptied the pool like we were supposed to...I called and called and called and finally I decided to actually go see the manager...I told him that I was going to sit in his store (we knew that his regional manager was going to be there that day, so we could always use that avenue if we had too - I'm in retail so I know how the game is played - even though I NEVER need to play games - really I don't)...So, after sitting with Lane and Logan for about 45 mins. the manager came back with good news! He got a hold of the installers, upgraded our liner ( REALLY nice) and gave us 100.00 in credit to use at the store...HMMMM...he could have saved himself 100.00 if he just would have helped us out in the first place!! Anyway, here's the final pictures of happiness. The pool is filled, chemicals are in (thanks to the credit) and the sun is warming it up for us...

Future Happiness...

And now I'm counting down the days until I head to Texas!! I'll be heading out next Sunday morning!! Maybe I'll actually be able to swim before then - hopefully!! It's funny...every time I plan a vacation, there is always something big going on at work. We have a really big regional visit on Friday (the first day of my vacation). So, needless to say, I can barely think about my trip because I'm trying to stay in 'work' mode to get the place cleaned, organized, etc...I was off last Wednesday and will work all the way up until Thursday just getting things together...So, I'll be enjoying my Friday and Saturday just becoming a human again!!

This trip isn't our normal Texas trip. Logan and Lane are staying home this time. We usually make a road trip of it and laugh the whole way...This year there are just toooo many expenses and Lane doesn't have vacation time yet...GAS - 3.15 per gallon! YIKES! For me to fly round trip is less than the gas that it takes us one way! So, I'll be trying it solo this year. I already told both of them that next year will be back to normal and we all will fly so that we'll have more time to spend there and less money spent!

My sister is moving there so everyone but me and my family are officially TEXANS! One of these years we'll make it out there. We have to figure out the geography thing with Logan since she has two families and we really aren't the 'main' one that can make big decisions like that for/with/about her at this point...We'll get something figured out sooner or later. So, I'll spend the time in Texas helping everyone get settled into their new homes and leave the SC casa to Lane, Logan, Ellie, Louie, Kitty and the crazy fish. We'll see how they fare...I'm sure that I'll be calling them every day and will be sending them pictures of 'wish you were here laughing with us' moments. It'll be nice to spend some time with my dad. I figure that with about 4 different places to 'bunk' I won't be worried about a bed to sleep in while I'm there! And I'll get my dog 'fix' from my sisters, my craft 'fix' from my sisters, my cat 'fix' from my dad and my kid 'fix' from my niece!! I'll be well taken care of!!

Make sure that you ask for what you want - even if it's loudly and while sitting for 45 mins in a store...

Make sure that you find some time to get away and have fun- even if it's in a neighbors yard with the neighborhood kids...

Make sure you let your family know how much you miss them - and how much you'll miss them while your without them...TX family AND SC family

And most of all...ENJOY the times!!!!

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Signs that Summer is just around the corner...

(as told in pictures)

We sure have fun with our neighbors...all of the girls playing in the sprinklers...Maddie and Logan in the pool...the first peony...our hard work of cleaning up the 'beach' area...the neighbors in the hottub...the sun going down on a nice day at our backyard 'beach'...and finally the chance for Lane and I to put up our feet and enjoy our day together...

Enjoy your time together, too!!!