New Rule..all retreats must be at the Hyatt....

So Friday night thru Saturday morning we had a Staff/Leadership retreat for church. We went to a local "camp" and spent the night. We had worship time, prayer time, and several sessions discussing aspects of church life, leadership, outreach, etc...the content and the company were good. I'm glad we went. Darrel and I were both suppsoed to be there too so it was nice that we got to go together. We all met at the mexican restaurant for dinner to start things off Friday night. Darrel and I were about 15 min. late because I had a little trouble getting away from work which for some reason seems to be the rule on a Friday night. What is up with that? It turned out to be a perk! Ha. Because we were late, the main table had filled up so we ended up at a table on the side with just us. Now I am not saying I don't love and adore the rest of you, but it was fun to still kind of have our "date night" dinner together.

After dinner we headed to the camp. For a camp it wasn't bad at all. The buildings were well maintained and the "Joshua" lodge that we were in had lots of bedrooms, all with a double bed and a top bunk single and then some with another bunk or single. There were 4 bathrooms, 2 kitchen areas and 2 meeting/gathering kind of areas. We had our evening worship and sessions and then had a little fellowship and game time.

Several people played Mexian Train Dominoes... I had never heard of this, but they all seemed to learn quickly and liked it. I was a spectator... not so much of a game girl...

OK so all that being said.. I am so NOT a camp kind of girl... when it was time for bed, we headed for our room and by this time it was about midnight. We needed to be up by 7ish so we planned on getting to sleep. Well a 4 star bed this was not. The bunks were OK but the mattress part was basically a foam pad with a vinyl cover. I could not get comfortable... I tried to sleep and laid there like 1/2 hour and was not even close. I pulled out my phone and got on the Internet for a bit and checked my e-mail, looked around a bit, tried to sleep again... um people it was after 3 AM before I must have fell asleep from exhaustion... ha! The alarm went off at 6:45... that is less than 4 hours of sleep if you are counting... I so do NOT function well on no sleep.... but I dragged myself out of bed and got ready. Also when I don't sleep well or much, I wake up feeling sick.... and I sure am not ready for conversation.. .I have talked to other non morning people and this seems to be a common trait... we DO NOT like to speak or have a conversation until after like what.. 10 Am? Well not the polite thing to do when you are at a retreat so yes, I made an effort. One of the guys cooked us a nice breakfast, but part of it was like sausage gravy, biscuits, sausage patties... Um there would be like a day's worth of points there and I knew we had Quiznos coming for lunch. So I took some scrambled eggs, a plain bagel and had a fiber one bar I had brought with me. Love those bars. Breakfast helped some and we started our morning session. I enjoyed it and think I came away with a lot but was also fighting sleep much of the time too. So here is my thinking... all future retreats should be at the Hyatt. Do I hear a second? You get your own room, your own bathroom, a nice comfy bed... maybe even a little fridge.. You can set your own temperature and they even have nice meeting rooms and little gift shops that have water, diet pepsi... sounds perfect don't you think? I bet they would even have some wi fi there....

So after a nice lunch (quiznos... it was good!) we headed right home because Darrel still needed to go into work for a few hours. I was dragging by this point but thought I should try to get my walking in before crashing.... so I checked e-mails and then drug out the treadmill. Be VERY impressed that I put in 45 minutes on the treadmill, showered and cleaned up and then got comfy in my recliner and passed out for a bit... I took an hour and a half nap and could have gone right on sleeping but by that time Darrel was back home for dinner.

I can't figure out what triggered it, but I am definitely feeling in a Valentines Day kind of mood. LOVE Valentine's day! When I was a little girl, I remember my Dad giving my mom gifts for Valentines, or I remember Mom telling me about how when she was a kid, a boy had given her a big heart shaped box of valentines candy that it took both her arms around it to carry... I was and am a sucker for stories like that and always wanted someone like that for me... I definitely was blessed on that request. I remember our first Valentines day together. Darrel was going to college at Chicago Circle in downtown Chicago. I drove up to see him and we spent the day shopping and stuff. He gave me red sweetheart roses, fannie may mint meltaways and the best card that had a little bear on it all the way around the border and it said "i love you" by every bear and then the main part said "I love you. A sentiment that "bears" repeating." Too cute huh? I still have it in a scrapbook. Yes, I even scrapbooked way back then in the dark ages with construction paper pages and scotch tape! Ha. I came across a few Valetnine's gift ideas today... should I share?

We got a flyer in the mail this week from a jewlery store in town with some gift ideas. Now this is NOT something I would normally pick out but I LOVE this bracelet. I love what it says and I love the chunky chain. And look honey- free 2 day shipping... you don't even have to ride to town! Ha. Then on QVC today they were doing Valentine's gift ideas. They had this (J01213)heart charm bracelet. Isn't that pretty? Love all the hearts. I am normally not a silver person, but am liking it more than I used to. Yellow Gold is still my fav though. Now you can't think about Valentine's and not think about chocolate... well OK I can't... Look at this Godiva... I have been craving more Godiva since we had it on vacation. Is there any better chocolate out there? I am thinking a big no on that one. I am also still loving these pink earrings from QVC. I linked those at Christmas time too. Another all time favorite treat that would be a good gift are these pecan carmel apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory. They are the best! YUM... Wonder how many points in one of those? OK... I was going to show you this pink top on CJ Banks that I want for spring... It's just a knit pink top that had shoes and purses on it... so cute! Um can someone tell me why it is now missing from the web site? It was there on Friday. I hope its not gone! I need that shirt. I was waiting till spring or for a sale... which ever came first. Last year for Valentine's Darrel gave me a Vera Bradley Cargo sling in the raspberry fizz. I'm thinking this time around the new cupcakes pink fabric in the new Lisa B purse would be good. I also think I like the new mailbag style but I'd like to see it in person to see the size. At the leadership retreat one of the ladies had a vera make up bag and organizer thing. Loved that. Um is anyone taking notes? Birthday week is only like what 6 mos. away? I love this little patchwork tote too... I think that was limited edition. I should order one before it goes away forever...

In other random news, the banner kits for the "always kiss me goodnight banner" are up on the shabby pink site! Please go check them out!!

I signed up for a sub. (using probably the last of my Christmas money) with Scarlet Lime. I love their kits and they stinking sell out the minute they post them! ha. I decided to do one of their 6 mos. subs as my last Christmas gift. Cannot wait to see Feb. kit full reveal tomorrow! It is supposed to be full of new CHA goodies.

The ice and snow started melting today. I opened the door to let the dog out at one point and it seriously sounded like it was raining.. It was odd.. so much ice was dripping and dropping off the trees and house, it really sounded like rain!

I have a possible opportunity to attend CKU in Nashville in May.... trying to decide if I can go or not and am praying about this... Anyone been to CKU? It sounds like it would be pretty fabulous.

Did you know a new season of Survivor and Amazing Race starts soon? Darrel and I love to watch those 2 shows together. I cannot wait!! Have you been watching the new season of LOST? Love Lost too and we always watch that together.

I get to be an "Advance Reader" for a new Robin Lee Hatcher book called "A Vote of Confidence." Several months back, in Robin Lee's e-mail newsletter they had put a call out for people who would like to get an advance copy of the book and then they would agree to read it right away and then post a review to their blog and amazon, CBD, etc. I had done this one other time so I responded immediately and didn't know I had gotten accepted till the book showed up in the mail the other day. It's cool because it says "advance reader copy" printed right on the artwork on the cover and on the back it says pub date may 2009. Cool huh? Free book and I get to read it first from a favorite author. I started the book today and its already enjoyable and easy to get into. I'd recommend any of Robin Lee's Christian Fiction. I think The Shepherd's Voice has probably been my favorite.

I guess the Super Bowl is tomorrow. We are having a scarpbook crop during the game. I have not even begun to figure out what food to take nor do I have a clue what I need to pack/take for the crop.... I am thinking that will get figured out tomorrow afternoon which is telling me the food will not be fancy...

Hope you are having a great weekend.

Snow Day

So this is what we woke up to today. Made it to work yesterday even though we had received about 4'" of snow overnight. Throughout the day it rained off and on and then around 3 PM it started sleeting. I left the office about 4:30 and it took me about twice as long as normal to get home. I did OK though and even got up our driveway which can be an adventure when its snowy and icy. Well when Darrel got home... after 2 tries... which means backing out and going back to town and taking a running start to get up the drive... well after 2 tries, this is where the truck spent the night.













Our drive is on a hill and the truck refused to get up the hill since it was completely glazed over with ice. We had freezing rain for the rest of the evening and then overnight several more inches of snow. So I was pretty sure I wasn't going to venture out to work today. I am normally at home on Thursday so I just figured I'd switch for Wednesday this week. Darrel was up and out there at 6:30 and was going to try it, but it was snowing heavy and now the truck wasn't just parked at the bottom it was pretty well stuck and the roads were not clear at all.... so he stayed home as well. They declared a county state of emergency by noonish so he did the right thing. I was glad. We had tried to check the weather when we were first awake, but the dish was iced and snow covered so um no signal... Once Darrel got that working again we found out several areas were without power and that all schools and the college and even some buisinesses were closing so again, figured it wasn't a good idea for him to make the 1/2 hour drive to work.













Here is the view towards the back yard looking from our back porch. Kind of pretty huh? Darrel was pretty much outside all afternoon shoveling and trying to get his truck unstuck and up the driveway. I was inside and dusted, vac, did what 5 loads of laundry, made homemade mostaciolli for dinner, did some other cleaning and then collapsed... 2 of the local TV stations are still out this evening and the next biggest town, Evansville is still reporting 70,000 without power this evening. We are very blessed to have power and shelter and to be home safe today. They have already cancelled school again for tomorrow but I am thinking we will both make it to the office now.

Here is what our guest room looks like at the moment. Now that Darrel has the drywall down, the insulation is drying out and then we have some spots of mold to clean up. It's scary how much was able to form so quickly even with the heat and dehumidifier running full steam. The insulation needs replaced because of it. Wow what a big job it all turned into. It's really gone Ok though for how bad it could be.

Hope everyone is surviving the weather Ok. Have a great rest of the week. Blessings.

Um That Pink Thing.... I've Got It Bad....

OK, first, here is the new hair color and the new glasses.... what do we think? I like them both, so only answers in the affirmative are allowed ok? Or do you love it unlike me when someone says to you "why did you do that to your hair..." Like they are asking did you take leave of your senses that day or something rather than considering that perhaps since its your head, you like your hair.... Has this happened to anyone else? Annoying! Anyway, like I had said the other day, the hair is only a slight difference and I doubt most people can even tell. I'm good with that. Plus, still loving the new glasses.

So I am at my desk today and I happen to look down at the desk in front of me and this is what i see just at random.













So let's count shall we? Pink camera case, paper weight, eye glass cloth, calendar, and pen... ok 5 pink things right in front of me. So I look around me and since I seem to think in blog entries somedays I start noticing how many pink things are surrounding me... Such as:













My pink desk fan, plus a peek there of a frame I made that has some pink on it. Then there was my pink page up paper holder and eye glasses case.














Love those page up things. Do you have one? I highly recommend them. I bought myself one in Evansville one day and had been using it in my office when Pastor Mark comes in and picks it up and holds it under my nose and says rather intensely "where did you get this...." And I explained and asked if he wanted one which of course he did... so now he has a blue one.. His favorite color. I used to only be able to find them in Evansville. This most recent one was in Vincennes! Cool huh? Anyway... next pink thing was my new frame we picked up at Target just this past Friday night. Look how cute.













The frame is cute too huh? Ha. Ha. Ha... I have this picture right next to my computer now. Love it. I like how we just ended up noticing later that we had been holding hands in the picture. We hadn't planned it or noticed it at the time and it was one of the reasons we decided this was our favorite picture.












Then there is my pink and white candy dish. I love this thing too. I painted it/designed it at fired up which is one of those paint your own pottery kind of places. We need to go there again.











Next I spot my pink angel which was a birthday gift from a friend. Isn't it sweet? Then I look down and guess what I'm wearing today... um pink....

















Yep, pink sweater Darrel gave me for Christmas. He picked it out! Isn't he good? So then I look down and you have to see that I was wearing my favorite fuschia pink crocs... and there is my new pretty pink striped purse sitting by my feet....














So yeah, um the pink thing? I guess I have it pretty bad... I love it! Whatever the reason, it makes me smile and I think its a good thing to surround yourself with things that make you smile and that are just "you." Love that!

So at the end of the day, a lady came in to pick up something they had left at church and when she was leaving she came back in and said there was some kind of animal running around the building outside. She thought it was a beaver! Pastor Mark and I went out take a look and this is what we saw.

We had no idea what it was. We were pretty sure it wasn't a ground hog and we thought the tail was not right for a beaver... and um speaking of the tail. EWWWWW it totally grosses me out. Well turns out it is a muskrat. YUCK. I told Pastor Mark I thought it looked like a cross between a beaver and a possum.... Not to far off don't you think? I have no idea why a muskrat was hanging out by the building. Aren't they supposed to live near water too? It was not interested in being our friend. When I left work Pastor Mark was muskrat hunting with a snow shovel, a blue rubbermaid kind of bin and was talking to the thing... it was hilarious... Now, with the men's wild game feed coming up.... I am thinking I do not want to know what he was going to do with it if he caught it....

Speaking of church events, another cool thing we have coming up in February is a Couple's Retreat. It's just one evening but there is going to be a catered dinner, the movie Fireproof is going to be shown and each couple goes home with a gift. Cool huh? Darrel and I saw the movie at the theatre but it was excellent and we are looking forward to seeing it again.

Well I am sitting here listening to the sleet outside. The weather report says we could have 2-4" of sleet and snow by morning, another possible 2-4" of snow during the day tomorrow and then 1-3" of snow tomorrow night. I'll believe it when I see it I guess. Usually they predict all this doom and gloom and we get nothing... Now if we do get that much I am thinking that may call for a trip home early tomorrow. We shall see. Stay safe and warm everyone. Blessings!

25 Random Things

Darrel hung up my banner in our room tonight. It matches perfectly. Can you see it? Love, love, love it there and the fact that I will see it every night. I also love love the fact that my husband is OK with having pink stuff in his room. He says you just have to be man enough to overcome the pinkness..... ha ha ha...

Had a pretty good day. We were on Praise Team at church this morning so got to do some singing. Always love that. Had a good service and then after church went to a new Mexican restaurant in town. It was yummy even though they messed up my order twice. See if you order your dinner without sour cream and gucamole and then they bring you the wrong dinner so you send it back, then when they re-make your dinner, they forget to look at the ticket were it said um no sour cream and gucamole.... They corrected it finally though so crisis averted. I do not like sour cream and gucamole and it is so not scrape offable... is that a word?

After lunch we made an exciting trip to office max to get a new filing cabinet for my office. I took advantage of having my husband's help to haul it back to church and get it in my office. Worked out very nicely and now I will have some space to fit my hand in my files! Came home and walked the treadmill since it was snowing outside. Spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing mostly. Darrel had to spend a little time out in our guest room tearing down the rest of the drywall so things can continue to dry out.

Working on the contents poriton of our insurance claim from the flood and have discovered that my sewing machine was in the water. I am not a big sewing machine user, but do of course need one on occasion. I was thinking of replacing it with one of those Janome Sew Mini's. Have you heard of those? Seems on the scrap boards I had heard about either that one or a Kenmore version and both came in pink (which would look very cute in my scrap room). Problem is I no longer find it online. Anyone know why? Did they stop making them? Maybe I should check ebay. Figures now that I could get one, I can't find one.

Was just over on facebook and seems the trend is to do 25 random things and tag others. I was tagged several times so I finally did one for myself... figured I'd share my 25 fascinating and exciting thoughts here with you to close for tonight.... Enjoy... (of course if you are a blog follower... you've probably already learned these things about me.)

1. I wasn't going to do this... so why did I change my mind?

2. I love to read. When I was in like the 1st grade I used to see the kids who got to be in special accelerated reading and I wanted to get to do that too and I did! Have been an avid reader from then on..

3. I like to keep a blog and never post an entry without a picture.

4. I am a church secretary and I love my job.

5. I am a Christian and asked Jesus into my heart when I was approx 7-8 years old.

6. I have lost over 65 lbs in the past 11 mos.

7. I am in love with the color pink and if I am out shopping and spot anything pink, I must stop and check it out because um I might need one you know?

8. My favorite ice cream is baskin robbins chocolate mousse royale

9. Scrapbooking is my favorite hobby and I have had layouts published in 4 books/magazines.

10. We have a cat named Gracie that just showed up on our doorstep and adopted us and I love her.

11. I love to sing although it used to terrify me. Now, thanks to answered prayer, I love it and enjoy it and would sing every sunday if they'd let me! ha.

12. I am listening to American Idol and um... some of these people cannot sing.

13. I have been extremely happily married for over 21 years and I have known my husband since we were children. We grew up in church youth group together.

14. I want a pink lapop. I have a silver laptop. I do not need a pink laptop.

15. My favorite dessert ever is Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake from the Cheesecake Factory.. um are you seeing a chocolate theme here?

16. I love Vera Bradley purses.

17. I've always wanted to go to Hawaii

18. We live in a home that used to belong to my grandparents. I love it, although I wish we had the time/funds to complete all the ongoing remodeling.

19. I walk 3+ miles just about every day.

20. Every year on my birthday we celebrate birthday week. The last 2 years, my husband gave me a pink present every day for a week. He is the best.

21. My favorite thing to drink is diet pepsi.

22. My husband and I went to see the movie "The Natural" on our first date.

23. I love vintagey antique things.

24. I have the coolest pink velvet curtains in my bedroom.

25. I am so happy to finally have my new reading glasses and... to be finished with my 25 things.

Goodnight and blessings! Have a great week!

Date Night

So Friday night, date night! I love, love Friday nights with my husband. We always do our best to set aside Friday nights for time together. We usually end up going out to dinner, but depending on funds, sometimes we eat in and watch a movie. Doesn't matter really just so we are doing something together. Well last night we headed to town. Even though it doesn't sound like a very "date like" thing, we wanted to hit the eye glasses place to see about getting my new reading glasses. We had planned on doing it last Friday, but then Darrel came home to the flood and that was the end of those plans. So this week, we headed to town. We got to the eye glass place in time (eyemart), and set out to pick out some frames. As I mentioned before, I still found myself looking for a pair like this pair I saw last summer. I ended up getting the very first pair I spotted and tried on. I liked them the best and they were very close to the ones I had been looking for. I tried on 92 other pairs of course because don't you always convince yourself that you shouldn't settle on that first thing because there might be something you like better! Ha. But - I ended up with these. They are the same bronzey color I mentioned and shiny. They don't have the bling on the outer corners of the frame, but they do have pretty amber colored jewels on the temple. Very me. They were able to take our insurance and had them made and ready to go in an hour! Cool. You don't get to see me in the glasses cause um no hair and make up today... don't want to scare you on the blog here! Ha.

The not good thing about the eye glass place was the glasses were going to be ready in an hour, and they were also going to close in about an hour so it wasn't enough time to like go have dinner or do a whole lot of anything while we waited. This limited what we had time for the rest of the evening before everything closed. We looked at frames for a while for Darrel. He needs glasses next. Can I just say my husband... 21 -1/2 years of marriage later.... can still make me go weak in the knees.... He is pretty cute and man in some of those glasses... Hubba Hubba. Are you blushing yet honey? I'm not alone in my thinking. Just a month or so ago someone asked me if I knew my husband was "drop dead gorgeous." Um yes... I am quite aware thank you very much and proud of it. And yes, I loved it when she told me that. It was very cute and made me smile. This same person told me people had asked her who he was and she had told them he was "very taken." Very true and good advice! Ha. Glad it shows!


















So after drooling over my husband for a bit and getting my glasses, we headed to dinner for some yummy chinese food. We had a really nice dinner and some really good conversation. I love those times just feeling close and talking about anything and everything. Just wanted to hold his hand and smile at him. We headed to Michaels from there cause I had a coupon and some left over Christmas money! Ha. I had heard on the good old Internet that M's had a couple new lines from Making Memories. Boy did they! Check out this picture. I head over to the scrapbook section (while Darrel is down at Best Buy checking out the games..) and spot this! Look! It's all pink and black! It had my name on it I swear! Ha. I picked out a few things and then walked to the other side to see this:



















MM Chole's closet. Isn't it pretty! From both lines I got the speciality papers, the mini alpha stickers and the journaling books. LOVE MM journaling books. I had also heard they had a new line called Friendly Forest that people are saying reminded them of the Sassafrass Lass stuff. I can see why. It's very cute. I only bought this pack of little die cut papers though.














Aren't they cool? Love die cut papers. Then I headed over to look at the Martha stuff. I am not a huge Martha fan, but I do like some of her stuff. I think part of it is that thing I have about the packaging. Her packaging always gets my attention. Really enjoyed the glitter I used on my banner so I was thinking of getting some of that. Well how happy was I to see they had a little valentines set of red, pink and gold/silver glitter. So cute! I bought a second pack later at Walmart (for $1 cheaper... grrrr) in bronzes and fall like colors. I also got a new bone folder. Mine is kind of yucky and old...














This is what I ended up with. I also grabbed that pack of MM letter stickers in the shimmer. Now to find some time to play! Now, I had to share this... Do you know how cool it is to be walking thru a store, like M's and see this book...


















501 Great Scrapbook Page ideas... You are probably saying that book is several years old. What is the big deal? The deal is this...













That is my LO! There is just something so cool about seeing a book in the store that you can flip thru and see your name and art work. It just makes me smile. My husband took the photo used on that LO. Isn't it awesome? Did I mention I like my husband? After M's we hit Target for a bit. I bought some hair color and some fiber one bars since Hungry Girl keeps saying they are so yummy and low points. The hair color is because I am beginning to notice many more gray hairs peeking out at me and my hair color just seems kind of dull to me lately. I bought a roasted chestnut, dark warm brown. This is one of those non perm. hair colors that is supposed to wash out gradually. I was hoping I'd notice less roots that way and that it would go away more quickly if I hated it. I put it on today and it pretty much did what I wanted. Looks about the same, but with a slight hint of a reddish tone. Made it look healthier and shinier too. I think I am happy with it. See if I had make up on... you might have gotten a hair color/eye glass picture combo! Ha.














Had this package come in the mail yesterday. Have you purchased any Catslife Press stamps? LOVE their samps. They are great quality and such cool images/designs. The little "thinking of you" one was a freebie. Wasn't that nice? I am loving the little "I made this" one. Too cute.

In other news, the church super bowl crop is just a week away! yay. Looking forward to that. Plus, just got my confirmation e-mail for the end of Feb. crop for the cure! That is a huge 12 hour crop. I am thinking it will be fun especially since 2 scrapping friends are going with! yay!!

In flooding news... Darrel tore down a bunch of dry wall today. VERY good thing he did. We were concerned it could be wet inside the walls because the water came down from the attic. What we found was wet insulation and some mold starting to form already. ugh. There is mold on much of the insulation and the whole back wall of this room, including the bathroom is going to have to be re-drywalled and mostly re-insulated. We were realizing today we still need to go take a look at the outside wall and see if the siding there is buckled or damaged. So many details to remember! We still have to go thru some of the contents and figure out the rest of that damage list too.

Just finished typing up instructions and putting together some materials for the banner kits. Lisa is working on it from her end as well so those will be available for you soon. Keep watch over at the Shabby Pink site!

Hope you are having a fab weekend! Blessings!

Always Kiss Me Goodnight....

So if I tell you I was just straightening my T-shirt and glitter went flying everywhere does that tell you that I have been working away on my banner? I am officially in love with my banner. Can you love a craft project? Scrapbooking is like that don't you think? Any other scrapbookers out there want to back me up on that? This is going to be a new kit for Shabby Pink Designs. (click on the picture for a larger photo) Lisa had the great idea to make banners using some exclusive Shabby Pink flash cards that she made on her computer. She also had some vintage seam binding, vintage glass beads, and some great trims for me to use. The flowers are beautiful handmade paper flowers from Etsy. Here is a closer look.













I die cut the folk stars from chipboard using my sizzix and then glittered those as well.

When Lisa and I were sorting thru her fabulous stash of supplies picking things for this kit, I spotted these little maya road chipboard people... oh my gosh I knew they had to be on my banner. I mean a romantic banner needs a little boy and girl together don't you think?












Here is a look at the pretty glass beads.









Here is another beautiful handmade paper flower that will also be in your kit. Aren't they cool?

I just finished this sample this evening so Lisa and I will be working fast and furious now to get these kits ready and up on the web site for you. They will be available for purchase soon! Keep watching.













I have not been able to get outside for my walk for over a week now so it felt great to go walk today on a beautiful, sunny 48 degree + day. Although it was warm, it was the first warm day so the recent snows were just in the process of melting. So while I was walking over at the park, I still encountered several snow/ice covered roads. As I was heading thru the camground, this hill that I have to climb was a little slippery, but I made it to the top at a decent speed. When I got to the top I stopped for a second and grabbed my phone (always walk with my phone and my new pretty pink pepper spray...) and took a picture. Why? Cause it struck me that um until this past year - I was not so much and outdoor girl. A year ago, snowy roads would have kept me inside. I would have told myself oh I can't walk today.. I might slip and fall, my feet might get cold...... Now? Nope. I think oh it might rain, I might get cold, it might be slippery and I think oh I'll be fine. I want to go anyway. God has changed me so much. So I went today and walked my hiney off... (um lets hope literally) and loved it! I had my best time per mile!! yay me! I put in about 3.5 miles in 63 minutes. Not too bad for a girl that couldn't walk 1/2 mile a year ago huh? PLUS... I have finally reached 65 lbs! 65.2 lbs to be exact is how much I have lost to this point. YAY! Do I hear an amen?

Now in other thoughts on walking... remember my mention of the canadian geese over at the park and the lovely (NOT) mess they leave in the road? Well usually you can dodge the mess... Well after today, I am thinking you should see how their little presents are after they have been sitting in the road snow covered and wet. YUCK.... And it's not like you can just decide not to look at it... You HAVE to look at it so you can dodge it.... Do you think God is having a good laugh watching me squinting in the bright sun/snow trying to spot and dodge what the geese left behind? I am sure it was quite a sight.

Hopefully tomorrow we are heading to town to find me some new frames for some new reading glasses. Did you know that even your glasses can get loose and big when you lose weight? News to me although I shouldn't be surprised because it amazes me at how many places you lose weight. Shoes fit different, necklaces fit different, why not glasses? We've held off on the glasses due to the "spending freeze" we've been on even though I have a new prescription. I could still see out of the old ones, just having some trouble with tiny detail. Other problem is that I can't find frames I like. See when Lisa and I were at CHA this past summer, the Scenic Route rep. had on the coolest frames. I loved them. They were kind of a bronzey brown color and they had bling on the corners and I loved the shape. So now of course when I have been looking at frames, I find myself looking for that pair and comparing everything I see with that pair. Of course I have found nothing even close... So tomorrow I shall have to settle on something. Maybe I'll get lucky huh?

Hope you have a great Friday and great weekend! We are home this weekend! yay!! I refuse to commit to or make any plans other than with my husband. Seems every weekend past and those coming are busy so we have staked out this one for us! Ha. Blessings!

Semi Sneak Peek

This is why everyone should want to go and play at Lisa's house.... LOOK at all the cool toys she has! Aren't I lucky that she likes me? I mean she is very good at sharing cause she sent me home with all these wonderful goodies today. I wanted to show you a little peek at some of the items I am going to be using to create a new Shabby Pink Layout kit, a banner and a clock kit! Cool huh? You might spot things here from Webster's Pages, Heidi Swapp, Prima, Jenni Bowlin, Chatterbox and even some handmade stuff from Etsy. How unhappy was I that I needed to work this evening? Might get some time to play late tomorrow night (since I am a night owl) or Thursday. I have tons of ideas and pictures in my head (thats normal... not mental illness or anything honest.. ask any scrapbooker) for that banner and cannot wait to put it together. It will have some cool vintage beads and seam bindings not to mention some very cool SP original flash cards.... Stay tuned for the full reveal soon. Lisa is also designing a banner so if I were you, I'd be stalking the Shabby Pink site as well!












Here is a picture of the aftermath of the flood... Lovely huh? Seems damage is going to be worse than we expected. The drywall is soft at the seams and we will be replacing a wall. The ceiling as you can see is also now damaged and stained. There are 2 vanities (for a sink) that are damaged and will need replaced, the carpet will have to be replaced, not to mention a computer, printer, nightstand, and some other items that cannot be salvaged. Darrel has been working on all the Insurance details and trying not to miss anything. Not a fun process... Thankful though that we have good insurance and a low deductible. Just praying now for the time to get this all repaired and still being able to make progress on our house which we are renovating. Still feeling peaceful and reminding myself that God will provide for us and is already taking care of all the details.

OK, regarding my previous ranting about laundry labels... check THIS out. Can you seriously believe it? My sister sent me a link to this site. I need my little smilie guy that rolls around on the floor laughing here because that was me when I saw this! So now I am needing what.. cliff's notes? A cheat sheet to do the laundry? Are they serious? Exactly why am I suppsoed to be able to figure out that a triangle with lines in it means use non-cholorine bleach only? Does like everyone know this but me? I understand that maybe everyone can't read english, or can't see little print, or maybe just plain can't read... that's fine... I still want the words put back on the labels and not little tiny pictures that make me now need to find study time to um do the laundry... Seriously... I don't even like the laundry that much..... Bwa ha ha ha ha ha.

On that happy note, I bid you good night. Lots to do at work tomorrow and I need to hit the bed! Hope you are having a great week! Blessings!

Happy Birthday Ethan

Yesterday afternoon we got to celebrate Ethan's birthday. How fun are these candles? He did not get them out all in one shot but he got the job done. Now here is a little boy on his birthday with probably his favorite gift....













He was too shy to sit on it so we could take his picture so I'll be happy with this shot. He was like stunned and speechless when he first saw it. Very cute huh?

It was a busy weekend. On Saturday we had a big meeting at church and the car had to be taken for new tires. We were also still dealing with the great flood of 2009.... Darrel is out there now taking more pictures and um I think cutting holes in our walls. Since the water started in the attic and came down, we have to find out how badly damaged the insulation in the walls is. The insurance company told us to cut some spots in the drywall to find out because we have to estimate how much drywall, and insulation will be needed for the repair. I am waiting to hear the verdict on that one. Then Sunday morning we had church and we were on praise team and special music. Darrel and I sang our 3rd public duet... How fun. I love singing with my husband. Unfortunately we didn't record this one. I am wishing we had. Might have to correct that situation since I have a friend who is wanting a recording. We sang Sing Alleulia. Love that song. I think you can hear the original here on Rhapsody. Very cool song. I cannot stand still while singing it. It just makes me happy. Mom and Dad got to come to church with us and then afterwards we had a nice lunch together before heading for Ethan's birthday party. So now today after a full work day, getting my walk in and dinner... I am tired. I am fighting a little bit of a cold too which is not helping matters.

Ok - new topic - was doing the laundry the other day and had a new shirt being washed for the first time. So of course, what do you do, you read the tag right to see what the washing instructions are. Now first gripe, when did we start this new trend of putting two tags in the shirt? Do they enjoy toying with me as I flip over the label in the collar just to have it tell me to see another tag for the washing instructions which I then have to locate before I can read the stinking thing.... GRRR Now.... hopefully it does have WORDS which will tell me how to wash and dry... Which brings me to my second problem. When did we decide to not put words but little pictures to show me how to wash or not wash my shirt? Was there a national vote on this? Did I miss it? Further.... if I am supposed to understand what the tiny stinking little pictures mean is there like a universal code key somewhere to clue me in? I swear I spend more time trying to determine what the dumb picture means than it would have taken me to read the tag like um 10 times... I mean if some people prefer the pictures or need the pictures... would it be so much trouble to just print the words right there with it? I mean all I wanted to do was wash my new shirt and not have it come out some whole other color or 2 sizes smaller you know? So now in order to do this I have to know what little triangles and squares with circles in them mean...not to mention the little glass looking symbol with the waves... I can read people. I want words on the label... This trend is not only true in my laundry room.. trying to rehearse our song the other night and do you think my CD player could like say um play, stop, reverse.... of course not. Again we need squares, triangles... dashes... I swear its a whole other language...It even follows me to work. Comes time to change the toner on the copier and you can spend a 1/2 hour trying to decipher the little pictures rather than just having the thing tell you step one, step two.... I hate having to change the stinking toner in the first place. Do they have to torture me and my lack of patience on top of that by making me do picture puzzles first? Ok.... I feel better now... If you stumble across that universal code key for all these symbols, let me know would you? I'll study up. (do you think I got the word "stinking" in that paragraph enough times? I have a quota you know.....)

I just signed up for a crop coming up in February! Woo hoo! I hate when people say woo hoo.... I used to work with a girl who did it constantly.... got on my last nerve. Now here I am typing it. Anyway back to the crop. Evansville is having a Crop for The Cure Feb 28th. Lisa and I are going and our friend Lori too! yay! Hi Lori! We hope to get in for the 28th. If not, there is another on March 14th we will try for. Then on Super Bowl Sunday I am hoping the girls at church are going to crop with me during the game when we have our Super Bowl Party. Lisa told me she also heard of a crop coming up in Terre Haute in April and then I think one of my fav. stores is having one on National Scrapbook Day in May (5/2) ! Yay - lots of cropping fun for the late winter/spring. Cool huh? Well if you are a scrapbooker it is anyway..

Well lots to do at work this week so better head to bed. Lots to do at home for that matter now that we are adding another project to the endless remodeling phase with making water damage repairs... It will all work out right? Blessings..

The Flood...

Yes, there has been a flood. But - let's start with happier stuff first. Look at my new goodies! I love my 3" scallop circle punch. I use it all the time. When I was at CHA this past summer, Lisa and I got to do the Make-n-take at the Pink Paislee booth. The girl there used the other sizes of the scallop circle punches and mentioned how much she loved them and how often she used them. I've wanted the other sizes since then. They can be so hard to find in the store. At least stores by me anyway. I've never even seen a couple of these at Hobby Lobby and only hit or miss at Michaels. Lisa ordered these online for me and I got a great deal too. Happy about that! Can't' wait to try them out. Lisa also had some of the distress stickles and she was sweet to give me a couple of bottles to try out. She said they are chunkier than the regular stickles and I had heard that online before too. She also gave me a new Glitz roller doodles stamp! It has cute little crowns all the way around it. Isn't she the best? The large packet is a prima kit that I got from The Doodlebug. It has the cool cardboard die cuts and corrugated stuff. They are Donna Salazar/Prima kits like here. I love her style and would like to play with the texture and paints and things like she does.

OK, on to the flood.... we have a nice guest room and bath attached to our garage. When our home was my Mamaw's house, it was always a nice place to stay where you could have your own bathroom, own temperature, some privacy, etc. Since we live here now, we've used it as our guest room/spare room, for storage and I've been walking on the treadmill in here. Well was pretty cold here the last few days. We had the heat on low in this room/area to keep the pipes from freezing....good plan right? Sometime between when I left for work and when Darrel got home yesterday a pipe fitting froze and burst... When he found it, there was water all the way outside and it had started on the back wall. There was about 1/2" of water on the floor. We also now have a wet wall and ceiling. We are concerned about the ceiling because you can see the support beams thru the drywall. It is that wet. The broken fitting is in the attic so it was spraying out sideways and then had run down the wall and then across the floor. So we got stuff moved out and Darrel got the water out and then worked on getting the water out of the carpet. We headed to town and got a dehumidifier to try and do all we can to dry things out so we can hopefully avoid having to replace the ceiling, carpet, wall.... goodness. We also don't want to run into a mold situation. Stuff wise, we don't think we lost too much. There was a computer stored on the floor where the water was the worst. It may be a loss. There was a rug that might be trash now. I guess we just aren't sure yet. We are praying it will dry OK and we will just need to clean up and put stuff back. Worse case scenario we have carpet and a ceiling to replace and will have to do some painting. It could have been worse though so I feel thankful. My wedding dress was in a cardboard box on the floor where the water was. The outside of the box was wet, but it hadn't made it to the inside yet. My borrowed treadmill would have been in the middle of the flood, but we had just moved it into the house the day before. The water didn't make it under the bed, and we had all kinds of stuff under the bed that would have been a loss. As far as the attic goes, we had not put our Christmas stuff back up there yet or it would have most likely been wet and damaged too. I guess overall I feel like it will work out OK and am glad to just feel peaceful about it and not all upset. God always takes care of us and provides for us and He will take care of this too.

Lisa has a cool new Valentine's Banner up over at Shabby Pink Designs. Check it out here. Isn't that cool? I love it! Don't tell anyone.... but I hear there are 2 more garland kits coming. One designed by me and one designed by Lisa. We thought it would be fun to both have the same products to work with and see what we come up with. Keep checking back for a peek! Lisa also has some cool page kits and a mini book kit (designed by me) on sale here! Don't miss out on a great deal.

I am fighting a little bit of a cold and Darrel and I are supposed to sing tomorrow. Going to go rehearse a bit and see how my throat is doing. I think it will be OK. We are also going to celebrate our nephew's birthday tomorrow so it will be a full day. Hope you have a great weekend. Blessings!

Now it looks like me....

Well OK, it doesn't look like me just yet.... too plain. Except, if you count the pink I guess, then it looks like me. Last year after I bought my 2008 planner, it was too plain and I just had to decorate it a bit. You can take a peek here. So this year when I was searching for the perfect planner, the first criteria was that it had to be PINK. Then I wanted both monthly calendars and then 2 page per week format. I was also hoping for spiral. Well I of course couldn't find the perfect planner, but was pretty happy with this one when I spotted it at Barnes and Noble. But, again - to plain. It needed some tabs to satisfy the organizational person in me plus something pretty on the cover. So last night I headed to my scrap room to work on finishing my December album. Instead I ended up doing this.













It came out cute didn't it? I used a hambly rub on (LOVE hambly rub ons.. they are the best) and a Kaiser rhinestone flower in the lower right corner. Added a Heidi sticker to the top left. Then a Daisy D label sticker and Doodlebug loopy letter stickers under the year. For the tabs I had some regular old office supply clear tabs. I dug thru my scraps and found the papers for inside which I topped with a Dymo label. Did you know you can get pink tape?! I believe the tape is from around the block. I am feeling like it might need a little more lime green somewhere but haven't figured out what or where or if I am at that point where I should stop before I mess it up. Here is a closer look at the tabs.













So now... it feels like me. And back up for a minute... did you know Dymo has come up with a new labeler called a caption maker? Check it out here. I need one of these. I mean its pink, it has 3 wheels (upper, lower and script!) and I love my regular dymo so how much fun would this one be?

So how was your Monday? Mine was good. I had all these big plans for work today and got thru about 1/2 of the plan. Lets hope for a more productive day tomorrow. Came home and walked on the treadmill. Did you see the QVC TSV Treadmill yesterday? It's item F06262 if the page doesn't come up right. I thought of it for about 2 seconds because there is no way we could afford it or should be spending that kind of money right now. Looks like a cool one though. The treadmill I am currently using is on loan from a very kind friend. She has been a great support to my weight loss efforts and I so appreciate it. I keep thinking at some point we will get our own. I'll just leave that one with God. Now you might want to sit down for this one but you'll never guess what other thought has crossed my mind lately... .joining the gym down the street... Are you OK? Have you recovered from the shock? Ha!! Yep, I've thought of it a couple times lately. I've toyed with the idea of stopping in just to see how much it costs and what kinds of plans they offer as far as how often you go in. Not sure I could work in the time to go with the time I am already taking to walk and I am definitely NOT giving that up. Not sure we could afford it right now either. So, maybe just thoughts and dreams, but I did go to the gym years ago and I liked the machines and I thought maybe it would help the weight loss progress.

Ok, if there are any men reading, you can be excused for a moment. Are they gone? Honey you are still here aren't you.... you already know this story. You can be excused too. Ok, girls, lets talk about sports bras. Do you have or have you worn a sports bra? I hadn't until today. Let's just say I am not lacking in the area that needs the sports bra OK? But of course as you loose weight, that size changes as well. A year ago it was difficult to find a regular bra in the right size OK let alone a sports bra. Well now I am able to get one that fits. My new sports bra came today and guess what? It's pink! That was the color it came in....honest! Well I thought I'd try her out. Felt pretty good as I was getting my work out clothes on. Out I go to the treadmill.... get on, get my speed going, I'm walking pretty good and um you know what? It was difficult to breath............ Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ... How funny is that. Finally having a good work out in a good work out bra and the girl can't breath! Well I hung in there and by 42 minutes later it had gotten better. When I was looking at it after my walk um its no wonder. That puppy is made out of some pretty strong support stuff... I told Darrel I'm thinking we could use it to tow a car with.... he found that quite amusing. The whole thing made me remember the first time my Mom bought me a good Bali bra. I had been wearing cheapy bras with not so good support and man the first time you put on a good one that fits right and puts things where they go and um I remember feeling then like I couldn't breath... OK, bra segment is over now. Men, you can uncover your eyes....

I was watching PM style on QVC for a bit tonight. They had a $148 handmade purse... it was handmade out of candy wrappers! Have you seen this? It's item A88502. It's on QVC.com. I tried to link it but that doesn't always work with the QVC site. I don't think I even like the look of the purse, let alone $148...the black and white one sold out and they kept talking about how cute it was. I don't think Stacy and Clinton would approve. (do you watch them? love Stacy and Clinton) I really liked this suede jacket. (a61625) But, I figure I should wait till I get to goal before buying stuff like that. They also had this "Hollywood tape" stuff. (A66434) Have you heard of it? Used it? Seemed like it might be a good thing to have on hand for blouses that gap, or for quick hems or to keep things in place. Jen have you tried it? As long as we are on QVC check out these earrings (J13623). How pretty are those? Um my birthday is in July should anyone want to write that down for an idea..... Hmmm I wonder how many days until Birthday week..... Ha ha ha ha ha Kidding. Honey? Valentines day is next month....

Hope you have a great week. One of these days this week I will get my December book done and show you how it all turned out. I'd also love to get in some layouts! Shabby Pink has some plans in the works for some more new cool stuff coming your way so stay tuned!

Blessings!

A Big Step

Ok, I know, it just looks like 3 bags right? Well it's 3 bags of clothes. THREE bags from my closet. Clothes that don't fit any more. BUT not because they are too small which has been the problem like my whole life..... NO... these are three bags of clothes that are now too big. Weight issues have been my struggle my whole life. It's easily been since like 5th grade? I'm 42 now. This is the first time in my life I have actually given up clothes that are now too big. I've lost weight before, but never this amount, and never this consistently. The most I remember losing in the past at one time (before turning around and going back up of course) was 36 lbs. I gained that back plus some. Now however I am at 63 lbs gone.... That is a major accomplishment for me and as I keep telling you - all the glory to God on that one. So for Christmas this year, I received I think like 5 new tops in my new size. So I began to feel convicted about keeping my old/too big clothes. They were just hanging in the closet and I had NO desire to wear them anymore. When I put them on I just felt like they made me look big again. But for some reason, actually giving them up was NOT an easy decision. It's scary for some reason. I guess because there has never been a time in my life where I have not gone back up. This time is different. I do NOT have to go back up. I have no desire to go back to my old ways. I want this new life and I want to move forward and make progress and have these new clothes from Christmas also become too big as I head for my goal. For the first time EVER I can actually see that happening. I believe it will happen. In God's strength, I will get there. So I realized, I don't need the old clothes anymore. When I began to think about giving them up, I was trying to think if I knew anyone that could use them. A person came to mind that I totally feel was a God thing because I don't know this person very well, and I don't think I would have thought of them on my own. Turns out this person needs clothes and was happy to have them. So tonight, I took a picture for my weight loss journal and I let them go. And you know what? It felt good! I feel zero regret or worry. I know I did the right thing and I know I am moving forward. I am NOT going to leave my life set up in a way that would support going back in the other direction. I am only going to take steps that keep me moving forward. Who is with me?














Um it's what, Jan. 8th? Know what this is? Of course you do. This is a Christmas Tree laying in my dining room... Since we were on vacation last week, we put off the work of taking down the decoratins. So this week, we have been trying to get the house back to normal. Problem is it was also grocery week and Bible Study and choir tonight so just been doing what we can slowly. We about have it, just need to get the tree out the door and a couple of boxes too. Of course once we got the decorations down, we had to move the furniture since we had to move it to make room for the tree. Can someone explain to me why it can be so stinking hard to arrange the furniture? Is it just us this happens to? We have a small house. Our living room and dinning room are open to each other almost like one big room so there are limited full walls in the living room. It can make furniture arranging a challenge. Plus, I am NOT capable of just putting it somewhere and living with it. It has to be right, I have to be happy/comfortable with it or it will make me NUTS. We thought we had figured out a quick easy way to do it. Of course as soon as we got the furniture in that arrangement, we quickly discovered we had not allowed for how far away from the walls recliners have to be, and how much room the coffee table takes up in front of the couch... GRRRR So then the challenge to figure out what to do. We were hoping to avoid the whole moving the TV thing so we didn't have to take the time to deal with wires. Now, I am sure we are weird.... but my husband and I (and yes, him just as much as me... .maybe more... honest!!) like to have our chairs where we end up sitting together. So here is what we finally came up with.












The funny thing is we actually ended up with our chairs on separate walls, but turns out closer together! ha! It was nice this evening not to be trying to look around the lamp as I was talking to him. I think I could *gasp* actually reach out and touch him from here? Can you guess which is mine? And nope, not the one with my purse in it. So now the furniture is in place, but still need to vac, dust, and put back all the pictures and stuff I took out to make room for Christmas stuff. That is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Sunday morning we attended church with my brother's family so we could see our nephew Ethan be baptized. This is about the best picture I ended up with with the goofy microphone in the way. GRRR... Still happy to have the pics I got though. He was very sweet and didn't seem nervous at all. You should have seen him when he was done. He came walking back into the sanctuary with his wet messy hair, with his wet clothes in a bag slung over his back like Santa Claus and walked right across the front of the sanctuary like that, right in front of the Pastor. He had a big grin on his face the whole time too. It was hilarious... After church my Dad took us all to lunch at Ponderosa.














This is my "little" sister. I thought she looked cute sitting there with her little plate full of cookies... Chocolate chip are her fav. I know, we don't look a thing a like... I swear she isn't adopted... I remember Mom bringing her home from the hospital! Ha. Ha. ha. ha. She's like tall and thin and beautiful.... I'm like un-tall and working on thin and never too sure about the beautiful part even though my husband says so.


















This is my "little" brother who is taller than me. Well ok, they are both taller than me... well ok, who isn't? He doesn't look much like me either, but he looks just like my Dad and I remember Mom brining him home from the hospital too. When we lived at home we got on each others nerves and fought a lot. Once we grew up and didn't have to live together anymore we found out we actually liked each other! Ha. Who knew you could like a little brother? No one told me. He looks pretty cute in his suit doesn't he? He's lost like 55 lbs I think?

This is Cole and Lauryn. Cole I think is either concentrating on his apple pie, chocolate chip cookie dessert combo there or he is trying to avoid his Aunt Deanna taking his picture. Cole belongs to Jen. Lauryn is at least looking at me trying to be cute. How could she not be cute? And excuse me but who can believe how grown up these two are? They are making me feel old. Seriously!

Take a minute and check out the Nov/December newsletter for Todd Braschler Ministries here. Our church is featured since Todd was with us in November. There are some of the pics of me and the girls plus an awesome video clip of Pastor Mark and Todd and some friends and family singing a great rendition of I Sing The Might Power of God. It is awesome!

Remember my LO from the last blog post? The one I did about my weight loss last year? Well I posted that in my gallery on scapbook.com. Since posting it (last I checked) I have received 53 comments! 53! The cool thing is that most of them are so supportive and excited about the weight loss. I get this big grin on my face just going over and reading them. How cool is that? Thanks everyone for the support!

I am going to sneak in a wee bit of scrapping before bed and then tomorrow is cleaning day. Hope you are having an awesome week! Blessings!!