More travel...

I mentioned in my previous post that we visited with my Mother In Law's sisters family. Each Christmas they come to Corry, PA to visit with their Mom, Naomi (my MIL's sister) and always seem to stop by while we are up for our Christmas with Frank's family, which we love!

Chip and Cheryl live in Connecticut with their son Roddy. Their two daughters are grown and living in New York City (Cassie) and Los Angeles (Tammy). Both girls are well traveled and shared many stories with us about all the places they've been in the past year! Both girls have been in Europe for extended stays this summer, one visiting her boyfriend's family in England for almost a month and the other went on a two week trip with her boyfriend to Spain and France!

Cassie, who went to England, enjoyed her visit and did a lot of traveling throughout the UK. She didn't have to stay in any hotels in London since his family lives there, but she traveled to Birmingham and recommended a couple of hotels in Birmingham if we ever plan to go there. She also told us all about visiting The Lowry and the Manchester Art Gallery in Manchester. She loved it there, so of course she gave recommended hotels in Manchester as well!

Tammie kept us laughing with stories of how her boyfriend had to do a lot of translating for her while they were in Paris because she only took one year of French, but he spoke fluent French. Both trips sounded like they were a lot of fun....

Someday we'll travel to Europe!

Our 3rd Christmas!

We spent the weekend at my inlaws celebrating our 3rd Christmas for the year! We had a great weekend. We headed out on Friday afternoon and after stopping to eat a little dinner, we arrived by 8:00 p.m. We were up bright and early Saturday morning helping Mom S. wrap the final presents, then spent some time visiting with her sister's family who were all visiting for the weekend as well. I'll post more on that later...

We headed over to Frank's brother's house in the afternoon and enjoyed a day of visiting and eating, then eating some more! We Schweigert's do a really good job of eating! lol! We exchanged our gifts and did some more visiting.

I love spending time with Frank's family! His sister and his brother's wife are good friends, besides being my sisters! The kids had a good time too, and Jillian even put on a little performance for us, re-enacting one of her MS Arts monologue's that she had to do. She truly is a great little actress!

Sunday morning was spent at early church, then out to brunch (to eat again!) with the folks. We all had breakfast and it was delicious! We headed home in the afternoon after Frank helped Dad figure out how to add pictures to the Digital Photo Frame we got mom. I think he has it figured out ;)

We'll head back up next month for another visit! As always, I'm looking forward to it....

The Schweigert's

Here we are! We got our family portraits done on Sunday. This is the four of us... Bev, Becca, Jillian and Frank.


And here's the whole Kunkle gang! Becca was so excited because she got to hold Hunter!

Kunkle Christmas...

Yesterday was my family's Christmas at my house. What a great time we had! The highlight of the day of course, was when Hunter finally got there! lol! The girls didn't think he'd ever come! They just love their little cousin!


We ate a great dinner (if I do say so myself! lol!), then opened gifts. The kids were excited to get quite a few gift cards and can't wait to go shopping and spend it! lol! Hunter had more gifts than anyone! Can you see the "tools" that we got him! I couldn't resist the little plush tool box that had his name on it! I have a feeling that little guy is going to be a bit spoiled! lol!

Today is Christmas Eve. Becca and I are both working, but we'll go to church tonight for Christmas Even services, then home to get ready for bed! I'm very anxious for the girls to see what we got them this year... and I have a special surprise for Frank too! It's going to be a great day tomorrow!

Have a very, Merry Christmas everyone! And remember, Jesus is the reason for the season!

A very close call...

Read Caption on 1st photo then look at second photo

Look at the picture above and you can see where this guy broke through the guardrail, right side where the people are standing on the road (pointing). The pick-up was traveling from right to left when it crashed through the guardrail. It flipped end-over-end, across the culvert outlet, and landed right side up on the left side of the culvert, facing the opposite direction from which he was traveling.

Now look at the 2nd picture below....

If this guy didn't believe in God before, do you suppose he believes now?

Party Mice

These would make fantastic party favors! Aren’t they adorable?

I was looking up recipe ideas for peanut butter balls made out of melted chocolate and found these mice. Super easy to make.

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Almond Bark Chocolate Flavored Coating
1 Jar pitted Maraschino Cherries with Stems(1 cherry per mouse)
Chocolate Kisses (1 per mouse)
Sliced Almonds (2 per mouse)
1 tube Cake decorating gel (for eyes)

Melt Almond Bark according to package directions. Holding cherry by stem, dip into melted chocolate (stem becomes mouse’s tail), lay sideways on waxed paper so that bottom of cherry is not touching paper. Immediately place flat side of Chocolate kiss to bottom of cherry. Place 2 almond slices as “ears” between chocolate kiss and cherry, hold until set. When dry, use decorating gel to “dot” eyes on top of chocolate kiss. Enjoy!

Doing a little dreaming...

If you could go anywhere in the world that you wanted to, where would you go? An online friend of mine just returned from a trip to Europe that she won courtesy of her home based direct sales business. What a great opportunity!

I honestly am not sure where I could go if money was no option... Jillian was in a phase for a while where she wanted to go to Spain and marry a bull fighter! Okay, seeing a bullfight is not exactly on my list of activities I'd do while in Spain! lol! Check out these hotels in Spain if you're ever planning to go there. If that doesn't interest you, maybe instead you could check out the hotels in Barcelona and take a Cable Car that would run from Barceloneta Beach over to Montjuic. I think that's something we'd all enjoy, however I've been told that if you are afraid of heights, this might not be for you!

When Becca went to Quebec with her French class last summer, they visited several very large cathedrals, so she may be more interested visiting Palma de Mallorca where they have an amazing Gothic Cathedral from the XIII century and lovely gardens. She could take some gorgeous pictures of all the flowers by going there! Or, perhaps she'd rather stay in one of the hotels in Malaga and visit the Picasso Museum where there is a collection of thousands of his works!

Whatever we would visit, I'm sure it would be a vacation of a lifetime.... guess I can always keep dreaming!

Get out of the car!!!

This just cracked me up and I had to share it!!!! lol!

Choosing the right lamp....

We finally got new carpet in the living room!!! I am soooo excited! I was dreading putting up the Christmas decorations because the carpet looked so bad. The new carpet is blue with a little bit of gray and white. We're hoping that will help hide the white dog hairs! lol! Unfortunately, the new carpet makes the rest of the furniture look even worse than before! lol!

So, now I'm on the search for just the right lamp for beside my chair. I found a site called Farrey's.com that has a huge selection of lamps that include floor lamps as well as table lamps, reading lamps and even piano lamps! I'm pretty impressed with their large selection and pricing.

The floor lamp that I like best is brushed nickel and has two lights. That way, I can use the lamp when I'm reading, and the other can be turned toward Frank's chair. If I wanted to go a bit fancier, they have a big selection of Tiffany lamps as well.

I also have been looking at their desk lamps. I have my computer in the Dining Room and the ceiling light sometimes is just not bright enough. I need one that will clip onto the top of my desk and they have several to choose from. I have a birthday coming up in March.... this might be a good birthday present idea! lol!

Now, how about those drapes..... that's another post at a later date! lol!

Dinner Theatre!

Once again, the kids have put on a fantastic show!!! The annual Dinner Theatre production was held both Friday and Saturday evenings by the middle and high school students.

The theme was Disney and they sang a variety of Disney classics and danced through the whole thing! They went from one song to the next, and just kept singing and dancing! What a show!!!!

And, my heart was bursting with pride when Jillian sang one of the preshow solos :) She sang "Once Upon a December" from the movie Anastasia. She did a fantastic job!!!!

Here she is singing! I'm so proud of her!!!!

Neologisms!

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to it's yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3 . Abdicate (v..), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies
up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Secret Sister Swap!

I'm participating in my very first ever online Secret Sister swap! I was a little leery about doing a secret sister with someone I don't know, but since it was with someone from wahm.com, my favorite website, I figured I couldn't go too wrong!

So, my package came yesterday! Woo Hoo! Was I excited! I opened it up and it was filled with stuff! I got a snowman dishtowel and pot holder, some honey almond shower gel and body cream, It's a Mom Thing book, angel notecards, grocery list with magnet on the back, a little bowl with magnets and Christmas decorations, Sudoku book, some warm fuzzy socks, and a bunch more!!! Can you believe it!!!

I had my box almost ready to go, but now I feel like I need to add some more to it... I'm going to stop at Walmart tomorrow after work and see what I can find.... I hope she likes it!

It's here!

Yep, winter has arrived.... I know, we shouldn't complain, it is December after all! But I'm just not ready for it yet.

Yesterday morning when we got up, it was pouring down rain. So much so that Jillian had to take an umbrella to the bus stop! By the time I left for work 45 minutes later, there was snow on the ground. Not a lot, but a covering. All day yesterday it snowed off and on.

Becca wanted to go shopping last night in Greensburg for a dress for the JSP (Junior Senior Party, as we used to call it when I was in school!) which is in less than two weeks. The next two weeks are going to be crazy, so last night was our only chance to go. So off we head to the mall!

The roads were slick, but not too bad as long as we went slowly. We took Becca's friend Andrea with us. The girls found quite a few dresses to try on. Becca found hers, but Andrea didn't have any luck. Becca's is a silver halter top dress. She looks gorgeous in it! She wants either black or silver shoes. I'm trying to talk her into black because the silver ones won't be worn very much. After we were done shopping, we stopped at Denny's for some desert.... yummmm.

This morning when we woke up, we had a couple inches of snow on the ground, and it was a bit slick under the snow. The kids were disappointed that there wasn't a school delay... lol! I guess winter is officially here!

TGIF!!!

Thank goodness it's Friday! It's been a long week! I think it just seems long because I only had to work 3 days last week since it was Thanksgiving and had to work a full 5 days this week.

Anyway, it's Friday. Jillian had Dinner Theatre practice till 5:00, and Becca got to babysit my new nephew Hunter tonight! Lisa and Ray took my mom out for her birthday (which is next Tuesday) and they asked Becca to come up to babysit while they were gone. Becca was so excited! He slept most of the time she was there, but she just enjoyed watching him and holding him! He's gained about 2 pounds since he was born and he's now 5 weeks old! Wow, it's going fast!

Frank and I ran to Indiana to pick up some wood for some projects he's working on for Christmas gifts. When he gets them finished, I'll post some pictures on my easycrafts4fun site. I dropped him off at home, then headed to Blairsville to see the Fabulous Firs at the community center. Area businesses and groups decorate trees then raffle them off to the highest bidder. They also have a bunch of chinese auction items such as gift baskets and gift certificate that you buy chances for. I hope I win something! The trees were gorgeous! They all did a wonderful job.

Tomorrow Jillian is going to the Aviary in Pittsburgh with her Girl Scout troop then shopping at Pittsburgh Mills. I'm helping out with Angel Food orders, and Becca has to work from 9-1 at the pharmacy. Then I plan to get out all the Christmas decorations and get started decorating!

It should be a fun weekend! Hope you enjoy yours!

Christmas Shopping...

I am actually doing very, very well with my Christmas shopping this year! I'm usually one of those people that waits till the week before Christmas to even start shopping! But this year, I decided to do quite a bit of online ordering and have even purchased a few items at the local store too.

Let's see, I have all the nieces and nephews done except for one.... I have quite a few gifts for the girls purchased and only have one or two more things to get for Becca. I even have a big gift for Frank already! Hee hee!

I think this honestly has to be a record! The hardest part is keeping it quiet as to what I got everyone! Anyone else have that problem?

Thanksgiving joy!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had this year! As usual, we traveled to my inlaws in Corry on Thursday, but we didn't have our big meal until Saturday, since several family members had to work. So, on Thursday, we just relaxed and spent time visiting with my inlaws.

Friday, we got up and did a little Black Friday shopping. We didn't get a whole lot because we were still waiting on Christmas lists from the niece and nephews. Friday evening, I traveled to Warren to visit with my friends from my K-68 Koinonia weekend. We had a great time! It was wonderful to see the girls again! DeColores!

Saturday the gang all came over the our big Thanksgiving dinner! Boy did we eat!!! Beth outdid herself, as usual, and had tons of food! Everything was delicious! Then we headed to the local bowling alley for Denton's birthday. Beth, Frank and I took the kids. We had a great time and even we bowled a few rounds... now I remember why I don't bowl on a league any more! lol!

Then it was back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for some cake and birthday presents. The whole day was very enjoyable. I hate that we live so far away from everyone, but it really is nice to get together with everyone each time we go to visit.

Please keep the whole family in your prayers as several family members are going through some rough health times... Luv ya guys!!!

Saying Hi!

God's way of saying "Have a Nice Day!" with a smile!

The Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, 'My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all..

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence,empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.'

The grand son thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: 'Which wolf wins?'

The old Cherokee simply replied, 'The one you feed.'

Hunter is here!

My new baby nephew is here!!! He's a little early, but both mommy and baby are doing well....
Hunter Timothy Lee Kunkle was born October 24, 2007 a little after 5 a.m.. He weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and is 18 inches long.

My sister in law Lisa has been in the hospital for over two weeks with pre-eclampsia and is still having some problems with her blood pressure but they hope to move her back to her own room later today. She was on some pretty heavy duty meds yesterday...

We all got to hold him last night and the girls were ecstatic! They can't wait till he's home and they get to visit whenever they want! lol!

Lots going on...

Busy, busy, busy.... Jillian's coat drive is this weekend and she's already collected quite a few bags of coats from family and friends!

Both girls have been busy with Dinner Theatre practice 3 days a week... the show is the first weekend in December and we can't wait to see it.

Jillian was picked to be in County Chorus! Woo Hoo! We're so proud of her! Our little songbird just loves to perform! That show will be mid November in Saltsburg. At least we don't have to travel far. A couple of her friends are in it too, so that makes it even more special and fun.

Becca and I went to visit Edinboro College last Friday. She is even more excited about going there for college next year. She turned in her application and has to have her high school transcripts and recommendations sent in, then we should know if she is accepted in 3-4 weeks. She's very anxious to hear if she makes it! She goes for her SAT's the first weekend in November for the second time, hoping to improve her scores....

So we've been busy, busy, busy!!! How about you?

Coat Drive!

I am so proud of Jillian, my 13 yo daughter. She is in a new Girl Scout troop this year and the leader is a woman I went to high school with. Karen is a wonderful leader and really knows how to motivate the girls. Jillian is a Cadette this year, so that means they are working towards earning their Silver Award. She has the next two years to complete all the requirements to earn it.

Since her first meeting two weeks ago, she has been going through her scouting books non-stop! She has used post it pads to mark her spot on the projects she wants to complete and is using a notebook to organize all of the badges she wants to earn.

Anyway, on to the Coat Drive.... She has to do quite a few Service Projects taking the leadership position in completing these projects. Her first project is to organize a coat drive in our community. So, she made up a flyer and is planning to hand it out to all the other Girl Scout troops in the area! She contacted the local grocery store manager and asked him if she could collect the coats at his store on Oct. 20th, that way everyone can bring their gathered coats right to a central location and we'll take them to the local shelter for them to distribute all winter!

I am so proud of her!!! She honestly has done all of the work on this project. I haven't done a thing! I'm very anxious to see what kind of response she gets from the other girl scout troops and the community. I'm going to take a picture of her and a couple of her GS friends at their meeting on Monday night, holding some coats, and send it to the local newspaper. We're hoping that will really get the community to donate their coats too.

Wish us luck!

Happy Autumn

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see. This was passed on to me from another pumpkin. Now, it is your turn to pass it to a pumpkin. Happy Fall!

All clear!

Woo Hoo! We went for Becca's Bladder scan and everything was pink and beautiful!!! We were so excited to get that report! Even though she hasn't had any problems, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about this appointment.

He said he'd see her again in 6 months, then if it's all clear that time, he'll go to once a year. Becca was thrilled to hear that! lol!

So, at least we know that her bladder is good. We head back to Pittsburgh on Monday for her Endocrinologist appointment for her PCOS. She's kind of anxious to see this guy cause she's lost quite a bit of weight and wants to see what he says!

What a week....

Once again another crazy week in our household... yes, it was nice to have a long weekend over Labor Day, but it made things at work even more crazy than usual....

Becca has had a pretty crappy time of it lately healthwise.... She complained last week of having pain in her lower back, and we were afraid that it was her kidneys because she's on a pretty high does of motrin for her abdominal pain. Luckily, it wasn't that.... but it was a lower lumbar strain. Our pediatrician referred her to a massage therapist and she felt that that might help. So, we made an appointment with a woman that a friend recommended. She went on Wednesday. She spent over an hour working on her back and her head.

We gave her Becca's whole medical history (boy did that take some time!) from her daily Headaches which are going on almost 3 years now, to her abdominal pain since last October, to them finding her bladder cancer in November, to being diagnosed with PCOS in January, to the continued abdominal pain.... anyway, she tried several types of deep massage that she hopes may help her. She worked on her back, abdomen (because there are back muscles that actually can cause pain in the abdomen) and her neck and head.

She warned us that she'd feel like she got hit by a Mack truck 24-48 hours after she worked on her, and she was right.... Becca came to my office after work Thursday in tears. Her head pain was about 8 and she couldn't even think straight. She was supposed to go to work, but she called in sick and went home... she couldn't make it to school the next day either because the head pain was so bad. She also could barely move her neck. Luckily by Friday afternoon, things started to ease up and she started feeling better.

This morning, she said her head is pretty much back to normal (normal meaning pain but tolerable) but that her abdominal pain was actually a bit better and the back pain was gone! So I guess it was worth it, besides the two days of hell she went through.....

Unfortunately, her therapist had emergency gall bladder surgery Saturday morning! Can you believe it??? Not sure what we are going to do now.... We were supposed to call her Monday and let her know how things were going.

Please keep Becca in your prayers on Tuesday as we head to the Urological Oncologist for Becca's second bladder scope since her surgery. We needs lots of prayers that there is no sign of the cancer returning!!!!

Hope you all have a great week!

Angel Tomato

This was at the stand of Brenneman's Produce. Vicky Brenneman had sliced open a Tomato and this is what she found. She put it on display for all to see. I thought this was awesome, to see something simply to uplift our lives and make us smile. Photo by Dennis Ober.

Friday night football!

High school football on Friday nights is pretty big in our neck of the woods... Of course, I'm always excited for half time when our fabulous band performs!

Here's Jillian playing her flute. She's the flute player right in the middle.


Here's the whole band. We're 95 members strong this year!



Go Bobcat Marching Band!

Becca Won!

Becca enter two photos in the Fair photography competition and she got a 4th place on one!!! Woo Hoo! We are very proud of her! Here is her picture:

There were about 30 entries there and some of them were really, really good. I'm so excited that she won a ribbon! She's going to put this in her portfolio for college. She wants to go for photography and graphic design!

Here's what the actual picture is that she entered. There's a lot of glare in the photo above, so it looks better here:

This is just one of the 150+ pictures she took of flowers when we went to Florida. It was so hard to decide which ones to enter but she could only enter one 3 x 5 and one 5 x 7. She made this one the 5 x 7. Isn't it gorgeous!

Band Night at the Fair!

Wow, they were awesome!!! Who, you may ask? The Blairsville Bobcat Marching Band, of course!

Our band participated in the annual Band Night at the Indiana County Fair on Tuesday night and they sounded and looked amazing! They are 95 members strong this year with my Jillian being one of about 7 flute players. And, my nephew Kenny is the Drum Major this year! I am so proud of him! He did a wonderful job!

Here he is directing...

I took tons of pictures, but by the time we played it was getting dark and they didn't turn out very well... I'll get a better one of Jilli next time...

Each band gets to perform their half time routine, one by one, and there were 12 bands in all. Then at the very end, they do two combined numbers and get all those kids onto the track and play.... They did an arrangement of Amazing Grace that gave me goosebumps! It was beautiful! Then they did American's We, a march.

I'm so proud of our band!

Creeks

These three guys where hiking in the woods when they came to a large creek.

The first guy prays "Lord give me the strangth to make it across this creek"

POOOOF!!!! God gives him huge arms and he swims across the creek.

The second guy prays "Lord give me the strangth and the tools to make it across this creek."

POOOOF!!! God gives him huge arms and a row boat. The guy rows across the creek in 30 minutes.

The third guy prays "Lord give me the strangth and the tools, and the wisdom to make it across this creek."

POOOOF!!! God turns him into a woman who reads the map, hikes 5 minutes down stream and walks across the bridge.

Baby Blues

MIA

I know, I know, I've been MIA... Missing In Action. I don't know where the time has gone! I was so faithful for about 4 months in posting here, even when we went to Florida! Then the girls and I went to the beach for a few days with my SIL Beth and her daughter, and I let everything slide....

I think it's that end of the summer thing... you know, too many things to do before school starts and not enough time in the day to get it all done. But I'm back and planning to blog up a storm! So watch out!

Let's see... we had a wonderful time at the beach! As I wrote above, Frank's sister Beth and her daughter Breanna went with us to a beach in New Jersey about a week and a half ago. Jillian took two of her friends so she'd have someone to hang around with. We had beautiful weather the entire time and got lots of beach time in, as well as toured the Barnegat Lighthouse. We all climbed the stairs to the very top! Whew, were we tired! lol! But what a beautiful view! I'll post some pictures later tonight when I get home.

After we got back in town, it was rush, rush, rush... Band camp started for Jillian and we have many events coming up. We already had a parade on Friday night for our annual Diamond Days celebration here in Blairsville, then Friday we head to Kennywood Park for a parade there. The next Tuesday is the Indiana County Fair Band Night where the kids will perform, and then the next Friday is our first football game! And mixed in there is the first day of school on Monday, the 27th.

So as you can see, we have a very busy schedule lined up over the next few weeks. I think August was much busier than any other month this summer... hope we make it! lol!

Addictions

They're Home!

The girls are home from Church camp! We went to pick them up yesterday afternoon. They slept the whole way home! lol! They keep them very, very busy while they are there. They both really love going there and can't wait till next year already!

Hubby and I had a really nice weekend at our camper in Titusville with Ray and Lisa (my brother and his wife). It is weird to be camping without the girls! We had a very relaxing weekend and didn't do a whole lot except eat! But that's pretty typical when you go camping :)

The girls and I leave on Friday for a Girls Weekend at the Beach and we can't wait!!! Frank's sister is going with us and my niece Breanna, and two of Jillian's friends, so there will be 7 of us all together. We're looking forward to days spent on the beach and relaxing evenings... I can't wait!!!!

We're going to a small campground outside of Tom's River, NJ. We want to visit the Barnegat Lighthouse while we are there, but other than that, our plans are pretty flexible!

Sooooo quiet....

It is so quiet in my house!!! The girls left for a week long church camp yesterday and I just can't believe how much I miss them already. I know, they're 13 and 17 years old and I should be enjoying my quiet time, and I do.... don't get me wrong. But I miss my girls...

I do have to say one thing, I very much enjoyed coming home from work today and the house was still clean! lol! My girls know how to clean up after themselves, but that doesn't mean they always do it! I have a whole week of only having to pick up after myself (or yeah, and maybe Frank ;) )

Wonder what they're doing right now???

Uh oh!

Link Love...

What a great morning! I've started exercising again and can't believe how much better I feel! I get so mad at myself when I let my exercising go, because if affects my whole life when I do that. When I follow a daily exercise program, and make it a habit, my whole life is better organized. I work harder and get more done at work, I keep things more organized at home, and I generally feel better. I even keep up with my blogs better!

My friend Anne over at The Tall Poppy has sent me some link love and tagged me to share some with others. Thank you Anne!

Anyway, this is how it works:

1. Write a short paragraph at the beginning of your post and link back to the blog (preferably the post url like I did at the top with Anne's blog, there is a link below to her blog so the one above should be to the post to avoid redundancy) that put you on the list in the paragraph. This isn’t a suggestion. You need to break up the duplicate content. Someone took the time to add you so the least you can do is give them an extra link back.

2. Copy the list of originals below COMPLETELY and add it to your blog. If you would like a different keyword for your blog then change it when you do your post and it should pass to most blogs with that keyword.

3. Take the adds from the blog that added you and place them in the “Originals” list.

4. Add at least 1 new blog that you KNOW is using the DO FOLLOW plugin to the list in the “My Adds” section. (Add no more than 5!) Let the people you’ve added know, so that they can keep the list going!

I would like to add:



Originals:A Great Pleasure Little world of thoughts Renisphere mott’s island Kev’s Walkabout iBubbs woof Down Memory Lanes Woof & Arf Lovely Mummy Bubba Stuff Mommibee Moments in My Life Rambling Moo All about Zara & Zaria Hip n cool momma Random Thoughts of a Blur Mommy Mylittleanelqianyi Bits & Pieces De’moments chinneeq Giddy Tiger Huei Rabbit Rinnah Simple America Niceheart Ethel Sanna The Queer Chef Shoshana Leahgina> Haze GheeNeng aka Sirena Angelo Ju aka The Border aka Juana of Femjo Tina Keep the Faith jsonvlog Suncoast Scribe Blogging Kenneth My 2 Centavos Worth Manila Mom 3 Dogs, 3 Pigs and A Family Cafe Romanza Earn Global Credit Ability Macuha Flee the Cube MomReviews.net Fellow Eskimo Pajama Mommy Amanita.net WebStyle Meredith’s Weight Loss Blog Pink Blog Tricia’s Musings Ugh!!’s Greymatter Honeypot Midlife Musings Utterly Geek Whatever I Feel Like My Dandelion Patch Surviving NJ GeekySpeaky Simple Kind Of Life 3DayMom BuyMeBlog The Hockey Dad Mariuca This is a Miracle Revellian d bImBo Secret of Mind Rightly Epitomised Random Magus Disjointed Intelligence WalksFarWoman FeedGet The Process of a Miracle The Tall Poppy Man About the House One Man's Travel Blog Wits End A Modern Goddess Online Bev's Bits A Nice Place in the Sun Twisted Sister

To All Pet Owners

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats:

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not s take a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, and try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:

1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don' t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"nature.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn’t speak clearly.

Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don' t want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a "gazillion" dollars for college.

And finally,

11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

Harry Potter....

Have you read the new book yet? We did not pre-order the book for Jillian, because we knew we would be out of town camping... but first thing Saturday morning, Frank got up and took her to Walmart and she got her copy! She was just a little bit excited! lol!

Jillian was never much of a reader when she was little... she hated reading in school and never read for pleasure. When the first Harry Potter movie came out in 2001, she was only about 7 years old. She loved it! Then the second movie came out and she was finally old enough to try reading the book. By that time, she had the first movie pretty much memorized! lol!

From then on, Jillian became my bookworm... just like me :) I've always been a big book reader. Now, Jillian can always be found with a book in her hand, or in her backpack. She spends a lot of time at the library getting new books, or having me order her new ones from Amazon.com. I love buying the books used there for a few dollars....

So, have you read the latest Harry Potter book yet?

Overpopulation of Nerds

Okay, I just got a brand new lap top, so this one really strikes me as funny! lol!


This truck driver hauling a tractor-trailer load of computers stops for a beer. As he approaches the bar he sees a big sign on the door saying "Nerds Not Allowed - Enter At Your Own Risk!" He goes in and sits down. The bartender comes over to him, sniffs, says, "You smell kind of nerdy. What do you do for a living?" The truck driver says, "I drive a truck, and the smell is just from the computers I am hauling." The bartender says, "Okay, truck drivers are not nerds." and serves him a beer.

As he is sipping his beer, a skinny guy walks in with tape around his glasses, a pocket protector with twelve kinds of pens and pencils, and a belt at least a foot too long. The bartender, without saying a word, pulls out a shotgun and blows the guy away.

The truck driver said, totally shocked, "Why did you do that?" The bartender said, "Not to worry, the nerds are overpopulating Silicon Valley and are in season now. You don't even need a license."

The truck driver finishes his beer, gets back in his truck, and heads back onto the freeway. Suddenly he veers to avoid an accident, and the load shifts. The back door breaks open and computers spill out all over the freeway. He jumps out and sees a crowd already forming, grabbing up the computers. They are all engineers, accountants and programmers wearing the nerdiest clothes he has ever seen. He can't let them steal his whole load. So, remembering what happened in the bar, he pulls out his gun and starts blasting away, felling several of them instantly.

A highway patrol officer comes zooming up and jumps out of the car screaming at him to stop. The truck driver said, "What's wrong? I thought nerds were in season." "Well, sure," said the patrolman. "But you can't bait 'em."

Charms on cell phones!

Becca got an antenna ring from Trinkies.com for her cell phone and she just loves it! Isn't it adorable? Her cell phone has one of those covers on it that is black with silver stars on it, so she picked out the star antenna ring and it matches perfectly!

She gets many comments from her friends about it. It's so sparkly and cute!

Tiffany Schwartz-Weidman is the owner of Trinkies and has been in business for over 2 years now. I was amazed at the large selection of Antenna Rings, Cell Phone Charms and even Key Finders and Toe Rings that are available at Trinkies.com! If you're looking for a unique gift idea, stop in and take a look at what Tiffany has to offer!

My First Quilting Class!

I'm so excited! I'm going to be taking my very first quilting class on Tuesday! Yes, I've made several quilts before, but I've been totally self-taught and often wonder if I'm doing it "right". Well, a new little Quilt Shop opened up about 5 miles from my house and I've been meaning to stop in.... so today I did!

She has an adorable little shop with tons of fabric and lots and lots of quilts all over the place as examples. So, I picked out 3 different bolts of cloth and she's going to teach me everything, from cutting to sewing, starting Tuesday! Woo Hoo!

I really am looking forward to this. I learned totally on the internet, just going from site to site and reading everything I could find... so I'm anxious to see what I'm doing right... or wrong! lol!

Stop over at my craft site, EasyCrafts4fun to see my latest project... a baby quilt for our preacher's daughter.

Girl Scout Day Camp

This week was Girl Scout Day Camp in our area. Both of the girls went all week.

Becca has been in charge of the "Pixies" for the past couple of years. Those are the leaders' little kids (under 5) who come with their moms. She loves working with the little ones! But this year, the little ones were all very, very clingy and wouldn't leave their moms! So, they stayed with their moms and Becca got to help out with the crafts. She had a great week and enjoyed working with our friend Karen, who was in charge of the crafts.

Jillian was in the Cadette troup with quite a few of her friends. They have an overnight on Wednesday night and of course, that is the only day all week that it rained... but the girls all stayed pretty dry. They went "brook snooping" most of the day on Wednesday to learn about different plants and animals.

They learned a couple of new songs, and as usual, Jillian's voice could be heard above most of the other girls! That girl sure loves to sing! lol!

Today is the last day... so next week will return to normal. Of course, we've been running so much already this summer that luckily they haven't had a lot of time for me to hear those dreaded words, "I'm bored!"... let's hope it stays that way ;)

Spence Diamonds are gorgeous!

I'm still on the lookout for the perfect Engagement ring since I lost the diamond in mine a few years ago. I was heartbroken when I lost it as it was Frank's grandmother's diamond that was set in a ring that we picked out.

I ran across Spence Diamonds online and saw that they have a beautiful selection of engagement rings as well as bracelets, earrings and pendant necklaces. Their online selection is very large with a wide variety of choices but you can visit one of their showroom locations to view their full selection of over 4000 diamond ring designs. The pictures on their site are very clear and can be enlarged to see a lot of detail.

The Diamond Education link explains the 4 C's in diamonds... carat, clarity, color and cut. That's a big help to someone like me who is most definitely NOT an expert! lol!

I just love this beautiful Diamond Cross Necklace!

Stop by and check them out. I'm sure you'll find something you like!

Adorable Puppy!

Just look at this adorable puppy! A long-coated male chihuahua named "Heart-kun" with a heart-shaped pattern on his coat sleeps at Pucchin Dog's shop in Odate in northern Japan July 10, 2007. The one-and-a-half-month-old chihuahua was born on May 18, 2007 as one of a litter. The shop owner Emiko Sakurada said that this is the first time a puppy with these marks has been born out of a 1,000 that she has bred. She also said that she has no plans to sell the puppy.

I've Been Tagged!

I was tagged by Fiona over at Dragonfly Crafts to list 8 facts or habits about myself.... Time to get my thinking cap on!

Here are the rules:

A. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.

B. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Here are mine:

1. I HATE doing laundry. I love clean clothes, don't get me wrong, but I just HATE doing it! I procrastinate until I have way too much to do, then have loads and loads to do all at one time. I tell myself that if I just did one or two loads a day, I'd always be caught up... but somehow that just doesn't seem to happen! lol!

2. I LOVE making crafts of all kinds, especially sewing. However I have quite a few WIP (works in progress) and need to finish a few before I start anything else new.

3. I'm a middle child. I have an older sister and a younger brother. My hubby is a middle child as well, with an older brother and a younger sister.

4. We live in the country with a horse farm right behind our house. I love it here and can't imagine ever living in a city. We lived in a small city when we first got married, but soon moved out of town. Hubby is also a country boy, so it hasn't been hard deciding where to live.

5. I love to bake things... bread, cakes, muffins, pies, any kind of desserts. I like to cook nice meals too, but hate how rushed I am after work and don't enjoy it as much. I'd rather bake in the evenings after things have slowed down a little.

6. I love to sing. I sing in our church choir, and I always sing in the car (just ask my kids! lol!). I've even been known to sing along with the songs playing in stores and restaurants ;)

7. I work full time in a funeral home designing monuments for about 30 other funeral homes. I love my boss and his family and they have been wonderful about the time I've needed off since Becca's illnesses, but I would much prefer to be home... if I could find a way to work from home, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

8. And last, but not least, I am extremely close to my family and hubby's family. My brother and his wife live about 15 minutes away, my sister and her family about 8 minutes away and my mom about 2 minutes away. We do a lot of family type activities together and I love it. Hubby's family is about 3 hours north of us and we don't get to visit nearly as often as we'd like because the kids are involved in so much. But when we do visit, we all get together and always have a good time.

So, let's see... who should I tag? I'm heading over to Mommy's Helper to find a few fellow bloggers to tag ;) How about Val, Angela, Marti, Stefani, Amber, Lara, Angie, and Michelle. Whew! It's hard to come up with 8! lol! Good luck ladies!

Picture problems...

I seem to be having problems with my pictures showing up :( I'll have to upload the pictures and try again. Sometimes they show up and other times they don't.

We're still sorting through the 2,500 + pictures to figure out which ones we're going to print for an album, and which ones we're giving to grandma. It's so hard to choose cause so many of them are fantastic shots! Hopefully we'll get through it later this week so the prints can be made next week.

Becca and I are heading to Ohiopyle Friday after I get off work to join Frank and Jillian camping. They went down on Wednesday and will stay through Sunday. This is a yearly trip with a group of Frank's relatives and friends from Rochester, NY. A majority of the gang goes White Water Rafting one of the days when we are there. Through the years, we've dwindled in numbers, but this is last years group that rafted. Frank is the second one from the left.

At one point, we had over 40 people rafting! We've been going for about 16 years now. I used to raft every year, but have finally decided to just stay back at camp where it's warm and dry! lol!

So, pray for good weather this weekend!

Our Orlando Trip!

Our trip was AMAZING! This is most definitely the absolute best trip we have ever taken. We all had so much fun and wish that we cold have stayed a few more days... Becca took over 2,500 pictures! No, that isn't a typo! She had purchased a new digital camera before we left and a 2 GB disc that would hold tons of pictures. Each day, she took over 500 pictures and would return to the hotel and download them to her laptop. The hard part is going to be sorting through them all to decide which ones to print! lol!

First of all a HUGE thank you to Make A Wish for making Becca's dream come true. Her wish was to swim with the dolphins. When she asked for this wish, we thought that we'd get one or two days at the ocean and she'd just swim along beside the dolphins. But MAW sent us first to Discovery Cove in Orlando. This place is amazing! We all 4 got to swim with and feed our own personal dolphin, Tyler, and do some tricks with him.


Here are some pictures of Discovery Cove where we went on our first day. Just click on each picture and it will open in a window full size so you can see the detail... some of them won't work for some reason, but most of them do.

This place is an all inclusive resort where you have a half hour personal swim with the dolphins, then the rest of the day is yours to snorkel with the stingrays and thousands of exotic fish in the coral reefs, or just take a relaxing float along their Tropical River that goes the whole way around the area. All food was included for the day, including snacks and beverages, and it was delicious!












The gorgeous pools.












This was another group having their personal swim. The dolphins were waving bye bye!













Here's Jilli with Tyler and a great one of our whole family!

The next day, we went to Sea World. We had the VIP tour, which meant for 7 hours, we had a personal tour guide, Sarah. We got to move to the head of the line at Kraken, Journey to Atlantis and Wild Arctic rides, and had reserved seats at the Shamu and dolphin shows. We got to feed dolphins, sea lions and stingrays and enjoyed an up-close encounter with a penguin!





















Our lunch was ring side seating behind the Shamu show where we got to be right beside the three whale pools while they were awaiting to go out and put on their show! The trainers came out while we were eating and had them do a couple tricks for us and brought them right up to the side of the pool for us to get pictures! We could have reached out and touched them! That's how close they were!!!





























Our tour guide Sarah was wonderful and gave us tons of interesting facts about all the animals. It was an unforgettable experience!