Birthday Wishes

Today is my sister's birthday.  I wish her a wonderful day.  I texted with her early this morning.  She drove back from AZ yesterday and we had several hilarious conversations to help keep her awake.  She is a great sister and I am lucky we are friends.
Christmas was wonderful!  We celebrated the weekend before in TX with kids and grand kids.  Then we celebrated at home with more kids and grand kids.  Lots of family, food, and fun.  Thank you to all our kids and grand kids for all that you did for us.  I enjoyed each of you.
The Christmas decorations are down and I got back to Weight Watchers (WW) after a two week absence and found that I put on 1.6 pounds.  I would like to say it was all my family's fault, but I am in control and I put it in my mouth!  I need to stop putting it in my mouth.  I am getting back on track.

Quilting

Close-up of the materials.

Ken and I got the grocery shopping done and he had to go replace a door jam. I have almost got a quilt quilted.  I really like this quilt.  It was fun to design, sew, and now I am enjoying quilting it.

Austin and Nichole are moving into their new house today.  It is a beautiful house and I am so excited for them.  They will get to sleep in their new house tonight if they can find the sheets!  LOL!  I know they will be so happily tired at the end of today!
My break is up.  I must get the quilt finished!  Have a great day sis, I love you.

Christmas Break Starts!

Close up of my door this month.

I am still around.  I have been very busy with several Christmas functions, school, and family duties.  Today was the last day of school and I am TIRED!  It was also party day with an impromptu visit from Santa.  That is exciting, but it sure throws everything off when we have been watching the reindeer's live cam feed and he says the reindeer are visiting the horses at St. Gregory.  Then we go to a program and they have a black Santa.  Well, one of my little girls didn't mince words she stood up and said in a nice loud clear voice "That is not Santa because he is black".

Luca speaking at sorority.

We had a busy weekend.  Saturday morning I hosted sorority at our house for 20.  After we ate we played dirty Santa with ornaments and one lady left and let Luca do her choosing.  Then Luca went to a swim party with another dirty Santa game.  Then Saturday evening we hosted the management people of the mall and played dirty Santa again.  Luca couldn't believe he played dirty Santa 3 times in 1 day.  Well, little did he know, but he was going to get to play again on Sunday evening when we went to the mall employees party.  This included dinner and you guessed it dirty Santa!
I plan to get up tomorrow and go work out and enjoy getting some last minute shopping, wrapping, and sewing done, but not in that order.
I have a couple more things done in the sewing room, but I still need to figure out 1 more storage area.  There is another shelf that Ken has to finish and a picture Kayla got me to hang, a thread storage I want built, and a shelf that needs to be put in the cabinet Haley gave me.  I will be reminded of both of you girls when I am in my room sewing!
I have been trying to contact the doctor's office for two weeks.  I only think about it after it is to late or to early.  Maybe tomorrow...  She changed my meds and now I am actually sleeping, but I feel more tired, and my mouth is dry as the dessert. 

Denim Dress

Good News!  Back in the early to mid 90's I had this denim jumper.  I enjoyed wearing it often, until it shrunk around the middle.  Just on a whim today I thought I would try it on.  I was able to wear it.  I will admit it is a bit snug.  I could tell because when I had to go to the bathroom it seemed to grab my underwear and I almost got a wedgie trying to get my dress up.  You laugh, but then when I pulled it back down I was lucky my underwear didn;t go down to my knees!  Never a dull moment.
When I last tried to post I couldn't get pictures to upload, but it worked today  November 2012.

Items at the auction.

Grandpa and Ms. Dixon. So cute!

These pictures were taken at the auction.  The quilt hanging on the wall is what I donated to the auction.

Merry Christmas!

Special order blanket.

 The picture didn't do the pink quilt much justice.  It is very cute.I really thought it turned out cute. 

Ken, Luca, Rusty, and I went out to the mall to take pictures.  Some where better than others..  There wer so many things to smell and see out at the mall. 

Rusty had had enough!

Ken and Rusty Claus

The living room tree is up.

The main tree is up and a few decorations around, but still a lot to go up.  I did a bit more and now the dining room tree is also up.  

but still lots to go.e the re rest of the stuff

Thanksgiving

We have been busy.  We just finished 13 weeks of school.  20 of my 22 students know all of the uppercase and lowercase letters!  I am so excited about that.  I had the cutest little ducks that were dressed like scarecrows, turkeys, Indians, and pilgrims. 
Then we had a big Thanksgiving dinner at the Abel Reunion.  Ken cooked turkey, dressing, and gravy. There was so much food, no one could of left hungry.  We really had a good turn out this year.
With Thanksgiving over it means it is time to decorate for Christmas.  Ken got the wire  situation in the living room taken care of.  So we have started, but we have a lot to go.  I have a few pictures to include in this text, but I am having a difficult time getting them to upload.
I went to the doctor about a pain in the hip.  She decided it was a muscle spasm.  She gave me valium.  Good stuff!  I could sure sleep good.  I am working on getting a box off to Luca's family for Christmas.  Still have gifts to wrap a few ledt to buy, but all is going well!

I Have a Cool Flashlight

Yeah, it is Friday!  We went on a field trip today.  We went to a pumpkin patch.  The kids did great and everyone had a great day. After we got back I finished up getting things ready for the next week or two .  I am really excited about a few of the activities we are going to do. 
While Janet and I were together she downloaded a flashlight on my phone.  I have actually used it a couple of times.  I was filling the soap dispenser on the sink and it seemed like it was holding way to much soap.  I looked under the sink and couldn't see much around the disposal except the water lines coming out .  So I got my phone, turned on the flashlight, and got down and twisted around until I could finally see that the dispenser was connected.  Good news!  I found it before I passed out!  Woohoo!  It is really dark at 6:50 when I leave for school, so a couple of times I have used the flashlight to get me safely to the car.  Thank you Janet.
Life seems to be getting busier.  Luca has a swim meet tomorrow.  I have to have him at the school by 8:10ish.  We went to get snacks for tomorrow.  We went out to eat so he could carb up.  I will be going to watch him. 

Celebrating Halloween

We have had a good week and a busy weekend.  My week at school was great.  My goal is that all my children learn the uppercase and lowercase letters by the time I have taught all 26 letters.  So, I have been teaching 2 letters a week and will finish thirteen weeks of intensive letter learning.  We have worked very hard on letter formation, handwriting, letter recognition, and letter sounds.  All but 5 students know all the uppercase letters and all but 7 students know all the lowercase letters.  I have a mentor, an aide, and the reading teacher helping these students learn those letters.  I ordered the cutest Thanksgiving and scarecrow ducks for the knowing the letters prize.

Our group at the Halloween Party!

These shoes were at each place. So cute!

The sorority girls and I were hosted Friday night at a Halloween Party by another chapter.  It was so much fun and so elaborate.  We were treated like royalty.  The food was so good, the games were entertaining, and the prizes were very nice.  We enjoyed the evening.
Last night, we went with Jane to another Halloween Party out near Norman.  Now these people started the evening with a cookout and then we progressed to the highlight of the evening.  Trick or treating through their property.  They had so many scenes set up and each one was better than the last!   Some of the scenes were a guillotine, electric chair, coffin, pirate ship, hanging bloody dolls, and a robot.  It was great and so was the bonfire.  Luca enjoyed the extent of the Halloween scenes and all the candy.
Today, took me back quite a few years to when Kevin was in high school.  He had to do a report about making  something.  I took pictures and he put them on a poster board.  Well, times have changed and now he is putting the pictures into a power point for his presentation.  

Beautiful trees in AR @ War Eagle

It has been cold the last couple of days - FIREPLACE WEATHER!  Woohoo!  I am so happy, I enjoy having a fire.  I got my machines back on Saturday and finished up an order that I have been trying to get done.  I need to get an order done for my sister and then I can do some sewing for Christmas.  

Conferences

My machine being worked on.

I spent Saturday at the sewing shop.  It took quite a bit of time, but finally my machine started chewing up the thread and skipping stitches.  Sadly, I was so excited that it was messing up.  Since I have been taking my machine in on a semi-regular basis and it never messed up for my friendly technician, John, I wanted it to so he would see how frustrating it is.  It ended up being a problem in my presser foot.  He also gave me a few tips that I needed and taught me a new way of looking at the use and waste in using stabilizer.  So, he checked it all out and sent me on my way.  Later he called and they will order a new motherboard so I will stop having these issues.  Yeah!  Some days are great!

The drawers go in those 2 holes.

Ken got done with the job in Harrah yesterday.  He got the walls in my room finished, so I was able to finish painting them.  The ceiling has a few places where it still needs texture and paint.  He got the 2 drawers made for the tall shelves.  I got one coat of paint on them, but they will need more paint.  Ken also got the wheel that was broken on the cutting island fixed.  Yeah!  Progress! 

Today was a long day.  First 9 weeks ended the 5th and today and tomorrow are parent teacher conferences.  I had 12 scheduled for today.  I had 7 good conferences and 5 no shows.  Three of those confirmed by notes, one confirmed verbally this morning, and one answered no notes.  Almost all of my conferences are very positive.  I love teaching!  I have a very good class of 22 great children! 
I have taken off my shoes and my feet are up.  I ate a wonderful roast beef dinner thanks to my wonderful friend Jane.  Thank you Jane!  She loves to cook (and she is good), and she often feeds us on Mondays. 

Play Was So Funny

This is a busy week.  The 9 weeks was over on Oct. 5th.  Now it is time to get the report cards done.  I have most of the screening done, so I am in good shape.  I have been on top of the screening so I am in good shape.  My kids are doing awesome.  I am offering a prize for everyone who knows all the uppercase and lowercase letters by Nov. 19th.  I think most of them will be successful!  Any ideas on what the prize could be?

Ken, Luca, and I at the play.

Last Saturday we went to the Shawnee Little Theater to see the Dixie Swim Club.  Ken and I thought it was hilarious.  Luca seemed to enjoy it too. 
Well, I am so frustrated with my embroidery machine.  I am going to take it to Moore to the store to be fixed once again.  I am going to take some projects and set up sewing so they can see all the issues that don't happen for them.  I am hopeful it will do the things it does at home. 
I am looking forward to Fall Break next week.  I will be doing conferences Monday and Tuesday evenings until 7:00.  Then I will be off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  We will be going to craft in Arkansas!  Woohoo!  I can't wait.  We always have such a good time.  I love getting together with my sister.

I'm Older

Life is grand! Since I last blogged I have had a birthday.  We had a nice quiet birthday dinner.  Ken cooked my favorite birthday dinner.  Spaghetti, garlic bread, and angel food cake for dessert.  We ate with Luca, Ken's dad, and Ken's sister.  We watched OSU on TV and then I opened presents and ate cake at half  time. 
This is an unusual week, I will be out for three days this week.  Tuesday and Wednesday I will be in OKC for encyclomedia and on Thursday I have a mapping workshop in the morning and a tech mentor meeting in the afternoon.  I wish they weren't all in the same week.  Iam looking forward to Friday when I can see my kids again.  I am going to do a patterning activity with them.  I hope they will be able to do it. 
My mom is still in the recovery center.  She sounds better.  She says she will go home on Wednesday.  I know she can't wait.
Another quilt sold at the store.  They are running low on my items.  I need to get busy.

3-2-1 Cake

I went to weigh in today and I was hoping to maintain my losses so far, but to my surprise, I lost another .8 lbs.  That is a total of 23 pounds!  Woohoo!  I am thrilled. 

Ken remade these shelves.

Getting things on the shelves.

Ken went back to Harrah to work on the job he is doing there.  I did some piddling around the house today.  I worked on the bills, balanced the check book, and worked in the sewing room.  I did some painting, sweeping, moving around furniture, and loading some things back on the new shelves in the sewing room.  The skeins of yarn are all at the top.  I have so much yarn that is rolled up, I hope it will all fit in a basket that I have.  Then the material that Lindsay got on the bolts is on the next shelves down. There will be 2 drawers where the holes are.  Right now the room is so moved around and I can't get to anything, so I can't sew.
I am having a very hot hot flash.  I feel like I am just melting from the top of my head down.  AGH! It is so hot.  But, they come and go like Oklahoma's weather.  It won't be long and I will be chilly.
I talked to my mom this evening.  She is in a care center to recover from her knee surgery.  She is finally off the pain meds and can stay awake now.  She is not getting enough ice on her knee and I don't think she is doing her exercises like she should.  But I can't do anything about that, except take a deep breath and let it go!

Cake mixes in the baggie. 3 Tbs of cake mix &

 2 of water.

After microwaving 1 minute.

It is time to have some 3-2-1 cake.  We have devil's food right now.  It is just enough to hit the spot.  I took a box of devil's food cake mix and a box of angel food cake mix and put them in a zip lock baggie.  When we want cake you take 3 tablespoons of cake mix and mix with 2 tablespoons of water.  Then cook for 1 minute in the microwave.  Hence the name 3-2-1 cake.  Just enough to make you feel like you had a treat.  Today at ww they said it was 3 points.  Pick a flavor that is strong ex devil's food instead of milk chocolate, because the angel food tones down the flavor.  Enjoy!

New Material

Another week has passed.  I learned an interesting lesson today.  My popcorn sack was not in the PTA cabinet.   We didn't get popcorn.  Oopsie!  Sad lesson for my kiddos.  I have forgotten before, but the popcorn ladies have always made sure they had it.  I will have to be more aware.  Bummer!
We studied Kk & Ll this week.  We looked at ladybugs, leaves, and key rubbing.  The kids did a ladybug puzzle and it will go into their memory books.  We have a slow start on their memory books this year.
 I made up a book for my kiddos to practice writing the uc and lc letters.  I stole this from an idea to write the numbers to 100 that we used last year.  They get 2 minutes to write their numbers to 100.  They will get 3 minutes to write the uc and lc letters.  It is usually so quiet during this time maybe I should change that to 5 minutes.  HMM!
I had a little boy with horrible attendance.  I was told that the mother called and said that she was going to take him out and home school him for a year because she thought he was too immature to go to school.  To me that sounds crazy.  Well, Mom and Dad were at school getting him back in since he missed about a week solid.  Since I talked to them I think it was the grandmother who was keeping him and not sending him to school because he would cry.  He will do so much better at school.  I am excited he will be back on Monday.
My material I ordered for curtains for the sewing room arrived.  So cute!  I want to get in their and sew, but it is really torn up.  I have an order to make for a friend and I need to sew for the store.  I will be busy this weekend.
It was just in the high 50's this evening.  I had a fire in the fireplace.  We didn't have much wood in so the fire died out fairly early.  Boo Hoo!  But, I enjoyed it as long as it lasted!

Gross!

Today is a typical day in my life.  I sent a little boy out to put his binder in his backpack.  He was out in the hall a bit longer than was really necessary and I was about to go check on him.  He is easily distracted, entertained by unusual things, and always very loudly verbal.  Before I got out to the hall to check on him my friend across the hall said that she had a complaint from one of her kids that a tongue was going across their door.  My little boy was standing outside her door licking the glass.  Oh my goodness!  Gross!  So I thanked her for the information and called him over to my desk.  I proceeded to explain how many people touch that glass and how many germs there are on the glass and that he got all those germs in his mouth.  Well, he said to me that no he didn't.  I said what do you mean?  His reply was, "I didn't lick the top!"  There was just nothing more to say to that logic.
(He did get to clean the glass.)

September Is Great!

What a great week.  My class is going great!  The kiddos are getting along and I am already seeing some improvement.  Next week is planned, everything is copied, and I am ready!  I love my job.
Luca is getting along well in school and seems to be happy.  He went with Lindsay's youth group to Frontier City for the day yesterday.  he loved the diamond back roller coaster.  He has been very sore this last week from the work outs and swimming.
We got a good rain on Friday.  Saturday was very cool.  It was such a relief from the heat we have had.

The biggest pile.

New paint color-see where he is fixing the cracks.

Red room is FULL

Ken is redoing these shelves.

Update on the sewing room.  We got it painted, well most of it.  There are a few areas where he is still putting mud on the cracks in the ceiling and the walls. We got rid of the big desk, well it is out of the room.  That will give me more room.  Ken is moving the shelves and adding some drawers on the tall white shelves.  That is where I will put the bolts of material.  I found a neat storage for thread that I asked him to make.  I hope I will have enough room for all the containers with the shelves repositioned.  Everything is still not out of the sewing room, I just would paint a bit, move a bit, and paint some more.  The red room is so full, I can't put another thing in it!


 Update on the living room.  We got the new chairs in.  We got the carpet in and Ken installed it Thursday night.  I put the theater seats on Craig's List on Saturday and it sold on Sunday. We picked up the chairs on Wednesday a week ago and on Sunday 2 buttons had popped off.  Today the 3rd button came off my chair.  The buttons on Ken's chair are still on.  I have called the service dept., the fix it guy has called me, and I have returned his call.  Hopefully we will connect this week.

New Chairs!

Luca is settled.  His classes are working out and he has made the swim team.  He has had no problem making friends.  He is participating in the youth group at church and has made friends.  He seems happy and is very nice to be around.

Luca, Ken, and I

We drove to the city to pick up our new chairs.  (Thanks, Ann for giving Luca a ride home.  I am sure he enjoyed that a whole lot more than going to the furniture store.) They are much bigger than we realized.  Yikes!  They sprayed them with a protection of some sort and they are to damp to even sit in.  That is the PITTS!  When you pick out material from a 12 x 12" swatch it looks different on a big chair.  I thought the colors were much more vivid.  I hope they will look different on the new carpet.  The fabric has a tan, deep brown, rust, and a steel blue gray colors in it.  I am now on the lookout for steel blue gray material to recover some pillows and the window seat.  I also want some accent pieces in the same color.  The new carpet will pull out the colors more I hope.  Right now they just look dull.

The new chairs!

Close-up of the fabric

My classroom is put together and we have been in school for 3 and a half weeks.  All my 22 kids are jelling.  I have a pretty good group of kids.  I am doing two letters a week with lots of sounds thrown in around the letter writing.  We are also working on two sight words a week.  Then, don't forget the Saxon phonics, which adds another letter!  My hope is to cover the letter recognition, letter writing, and letter sounds in 13 weeks.  I hope we will have done so much with them that they will know all the uppercase and lowercase letters by the end of the 13 weeks.  Then we will be able to move on.  I screened the kids a couple of weeks ago, I think I will see if I can get that screened again, maybe I will see improvement.

Big News!

Big news!  Ken and I have a foreign exchange student as a guest in our house until June 2013.  We are very excited.  He arrived on Tuesday night, but his luggage went to Montana!  His name is Luca, he is 16, and he is from Germany.  We got up this morning and Bryn and Vicki had arrived.  We all went to breakfast together.  Luca is very friendly.  He speaks English, but some of our words are not known to him, so we explain some things.  Then we took Luca to the high school and got him enrolled.  He will start school tomorrow.  He is a sophmore and he is taking some hard classes.

We are studying the letters D & P this week.  We are making the cutest peacocks on Friday.  Last week we studied E & F and we made jointed frogs.  The kids just laughed at the long legs and all the positions they could put them in.

Tomorrow is old man night and we are having a big dinner with Kevin, Nichole, Bryn, Vicki, Aunt Cleo, Grandpa, and Trina's kids.  Ken has not decided what he is cooking, but it will be good!

A New Year!

I made it through the first week of school.  Yahoo!  Today we started the second week of school.  I am teaching totally different this year.  I am going to go through the alphabet in 13 weeks.  We will do two letters a week and learn both the uppercase and lowercase letters.  My hope is we will know how to recognize the letters, write the letters, and hopefully the letter sounds.  My goal is that all the students will know all the letters and sounds by the end of the first semester.  Then we will really have fun the second semester!
Ken and I are venturing on a new adventure.  We don't know anything for sure, but we think it is possible we will have a foreign exchange student before long.  We finished the last of the paperwork tonight.  Exciting!
My mom and Bob got here on Friday.  They drove down from Minnesota on their way back to Arizona.  My sister got here on Saturday about noon.  Mom and I went to the casino two times.  My mom, sister, and I went to Kohl's.  We all came out with more than we thought we were going to get when we went in!  My sister is my current inspiration.  She has lost 45 pounds.  I started going back to Weight Watchers AGAIN!  I am down 14.8 pounds.  She is sizes smaller than me and I am benefiting from her losses.  She had her knee fixed combined with the weight loss she was able to play tennis twice last week without pain.  She so loves to play tennis! So Hooray!

The contract has started!

Here it is August 6th.  First contract day.  I am soon to be headed off to meetings for the day.  We will start with a district wide meeting then finish the day with meetings at our building.  Then if you are still able you can work in your room.  By the looks of my room, I need to still be able!  Tuesday is building day and Tuesday night is orientation where the students will find out who their teacher is and bring in supplies.  That is always an eye opener! 
Mom and Bob should be leaving MN tomorrow.  They got the go ahead from the doctor last Friday that Bob can drive and travel.  They are very hopeful he will be able to play golf.  I think the doctor is happy how he healed.  So what a blessing.  They will see my aunt on the way and should roll in sometime Friday.  (I said to her make after lunch so the cleaning ladies will be done!)  My sister is going to come up on Saturday morning to see them.  So, I am excited.  It will be nice to have them both here.
Update:  The pantry should be finished and the downstairs shower is finished.  Good news there.  I even hear there is a chance my wonderful husband will start on the sewing room next week.  Things are progressing.
My sewing machine is still with Johnathon.  He found an issue that needed a part.  It was a week last Saturday.  The part must be hard to get.  I will have to drive to Moore to pick it up as soon as it is ready to finish Macie Jane's pillow for her birthday.  Lucky the birthday was delayed a week, well the party, the birthday is actually the same as before. 
I am presenting today the changes in technology for the district.  I have my hand out and I am ready as I can be.  Still, I am a little nervous.  I hope I am able to answer the questions.  I will say a prayer for guidance and composure and it will be what it is.  Here is to a good day!

Chairs In 8-12 Weeks

Summer is officially over.  I spent all day in a meeting for school.  I need to get ready really quickly because school is upon me.  I will say it was a very interesting meeting and very informational. 

My sister sent me the two remaining materials to finish here quilt. One morning we were messaging pictures back and forth.  This is one I sent her so she could remember the different colors she chose.
The kids left Thursday.  I got them up before the crack of dawn, put them in the car, and drove to Madill.  Kayla, the kids, and I ate breakfast and then I got back in the van and headed for school.  I met Laura and we headed to OKC to meet Charme'.  We met over lunch and discussed plans then we headed to Target and Lakeshore.  We found a sale at Lakeshore and got some good buys.  I enjoyed the time with my peeps.

Ken took off Friday and Monday, so we would have some down time together.  So we went to OKC on Friday.  We wandered into Mathis Brothers.  I have a thing for tables.  I just love all kinds of tables and I thought I would look for one.  Instead we looked at chairs.  We found one we both loved.  We have a 2 recliner connected thing that we bought during my cancer treatment that worked, but now we want something different.  Of course, the fabric on the chairs were not to our liking.  We looked at fabrics and found a rust, dk brown, tan, & steel blue paisley.  We had a picture of the fabric and checked it out with our wall color and then we went to find carpet.  So, Saturday we went back to OKC to compare the 5-6 carpet samples to the actual fabric.  Then we sucked it up and put 40% down on the custom order.
Today I took the carpet samples back and told Stan which carpet we decided on.  I decided to order it the first part of September.  Things should come together by the middle of October. 
Tomorrow, I have labs and an oncology appt.  I hope it goes okay.  It will!

My Summer Is Almost Gone!

Wow! This summer is flying by.  I have enjoyed every bit of it, but it seems like I have been gone more than I have been here.  I have done a lot of traveling to Texas.  I have been home all this week and I have enjoyed it sooo much!  I have actually been getting some things accomplished at home and at school.
My room is almost set up.  I have a bit more to place and go through.  When I go up to school I go through just a bit more each time.  I am starting to look forward to this year and I am getting a bit excited.

Table Runner

It has binding, but no eyes!

Yesterday I put the binding on the owl quilt.  Now it just needs 32 buttons for 16 pair of eyes.  I should of been collecting buttons earlier.  Dog gone it!  I got a Christmas present table runner finished except for the binding, which I picked up today. I picked up the binding for the set of place mats I am also working on.   I started on the quilt my sister asked me to make, but realized I didn't have some crucial pieces of material (the sashing).  So after many many pictures and messages back and forth with my sister, she picked out the two pieces for the sashing and is sending it Monday with Kayla.

Place mats need binding

Kayla and I are meeting on Monday so I can get the kids for a couple of days so she can go to training.  I am looking forward to the kids coming.  They love to go to school with me.  I have a few jobs for the girls to do and we will put Zachary in the kitchen cooking.  Win Win!
Updates:  The upstairs shower is still not happening.  The downstairs shower has progressed to just needing grout, I think, but still not happening.  The pantry is at a stand still. All the stuff is still all over the dining room. Then there is the sewing room, which is almost cleared out into the red room so it is really hard to find things when I need them.   The upstairs toilet ring got a crack in it.  I have been gone a lot so it hasn't been much of an issue for me.  I have been home for a stretch and now it is becoming a big issue!  When I get up from going to the bathroom it pinches the back of my leg and it hurts!  Owie!  I told Ken last night it had to be fixed that I am being very patient on a lot of things but it was going away fast! 
I went to the optometrist this week and got hair advice.  I am now using a mousse on my hair which seems to be okay.  I have tried it once.  We will see.  Clarification the dr didn't give the advice, but one of the girls fitting my glasses did.  I should get my new glasses next week. 

Two Quilts Bound!

Ken and I are back from McKinney.  I so enjoyed the kids, swimming, and our little vacation.  We brought two other grandsons home for the week.  They are 6 and 4 and very busy.  They have been very good.  I do so love VBS!  I have had some time each morning to do a few things.  They are waxing the floors at school this week so I haven't been able to take the kids to school.  Boohoo!
I have gone to bed each night ready to sleep.  Thanks to my oldest granddaughter I have been able to keep my hair appt and my lunch meeting today! 

The back is strings of lights.

Border is a holly print.

In the mornings I have been finishing up some binding on some quilts.  I am so excited about having these to quilts finished.  My next project is a garden quilt for my sister.

My days of summer are winding down.  As the number of days shorten my excitement for the beginning of school increases.  I would like to hit Lakeshore before school starts to pick up a few items.  I have a cartridge or two of ideas to print that I have pinned over the summer.  I love pinterest.

Busy Week

What a cutie pahtutie!

It has been one busy week.  I arrived last Sunday in McKinney, TX to grandmother 3 darlings of one of my darlings. Tonight it will all come to an end.  We have been active in the mornings with me walking and the 3 of them riding bikes and waiting on me to catch up when I was not in view.  Then home to read, swim, and lunch.  The afternoons have varied with movie watching and game playing.  Of course we do some more eating and top the day off with more swimming and maybe a movie.  I am enough removed from "mom" time into "grandma" time that I think the pool time qualifies as a bath.  No one smells-so all is good.

So quiet!

We ventured to the movie theater.  I think there were only 4 trips to the bathroom.  Keep in mind only 2 kiddos needed the bathroom while we were there.  Who wants to cook - not us.  So we went to Papa's favorite Fudrucker's.  The kids liked it and ate pretty much all their dinners.  Mine was so good.

We will leave here tomorrow with Kenny and Sara's boys.  I will be wishing I had the pool in the back yard next week. 

The Owl's Are Done

We went to Ted's for a Mystery Dinner Theatre Friday Night.  Oh it was wonderful.  The food was so good and the play was funny.  We got home late.  I ran around with Jane collecting things for convention, so I had a busy day.
Saturday I got the owls done.  I forgot to take a picture, but it is very cute.  Macie Jane will LOVE it.  I did a little work at school, just a couple of hours.  I got some areas organized.  I am feeling better about the coming year with each visit to school.  My tile should be waxed and I should be able to finish arranging my room.  We went to Shawnee Little Theatre's 2 one act plays.  They were so funny.  We enjoyed them and we knew some of the actors and that makes it even more fun.

Ken drove me to Madill on Sunday where Kayla met us and took me to her house.  Kayla and Steve are gone now and the 3 kids and I are having fun.  I need to start thinking about dinner.  Cooking.  The pool is wonderful.  The kids are sweet.  The day has been great.

Marigold Hotel

I had a great day yesterday.  I was very relaxed all morning.  I did some sewing and I worked successfully I might add the sudoku in the paper.  I went to get a pedicure and took my hard working husband to lunch. 
I went by the store to check my inventory and bought some blush while I was there.  My WW leader asked how it was going.Then I went home to try and finish the owls.  Unfortunately, I didn't get done, but I only have one to go!  Yeah!  I am ready to put it together, well I will be when I make a few decisions about sashing.  Today I plan to work on that a bit. 

Binding makes a nice yellow frame.

Somewhere in there I also went by and dropped off a flash drive with scrapbook pictures to be printed.  They will be ready today.  Yahoo! I am getting some stuff done, check, check, and check!  I also finished the binding on the sorority quilt for convention.
Then I went to church to help out with the VBS dinner.  We ate from 5-6, program from 6-7:30, and then inflatables from 7:30-?.  Ken came after work to help grill hot dogs.  After working out in the 100+ heat I was so hot, sweaty, and red-faced that Ken and I left when we cleaned up.  We went to one of the coolest restaurants to eat and then to the movie Marigold Hotel.  When we left the movie my face was still warm, but not as red and my hair had dried.  We really wanted to see it and our friends in the know told us Thursday would be the last day.  Since we couldn't go Thursday it had to be then.  It was very good and a cool place to cool down.

Fruit Salad for Old Man night

The bummer in the whole day was that while a book I am excited about reading was ready for me to download, I can't find my cord to transfer to the reader.  Today I will be scouring the house.  I just had it, now where did it go??

Whirlwind Weekend

We had a whirlwind long weekend.  Ken took off half a day Thursday.  I worked on getting us packed, taking the big red dog to the dog hotel, and eating breakfast with the girls.  Then he got home and we were off to get my sister on the way to Houston. 

Wood ready to build

Working together

The objective was to build 16 feet of book shelves!  This is an extension of our trip in March when we put floors down in Haley's house. 

Built in sections

The first thing on the agenda was to go to the lumber yard.  There was a question about the kind of wood Haley wanted so they couldn't go to any regular lumber yard.  So off Haley, Duane, and Ken went to the ritzy lumber yards.  Two of them they compared prices and brought home a truck load of cherry wood.  It had beautiful grain in it.

Back going on one section.

Yeah!  One down!

They were working out in the garage and on the driveway.  Haley seemed to have a vision and took the lead on this building project.  Haley, always the mathmatician, measured and worked out all the details.  Ken answered questions and helped her through any rough spots, but she did the research into what she wanted and had her vision.  It was exciting to see the backs go on the pieces and have them come in the house.  It is a massive piece once it is all put together.  They will quickly fill it with books and momentoes from Haley's trips to India, Africa, and anywhere else she has been or will go.  She got the rest of the trim on after we left.

It is in.  3  sections with lights.

 In the meantime, Janet and I checked out some stores and helped Houston's economy.  We both found items to go home from Teacher's Heavin.  I found things for the classroom from the  Dollar Tree.  Then we found a good sale at Kohl's! 

Duane cooked us great meals and kept us full.  We also went to a few grocery stores hunting for popchips among other things.
What a whirlwind weekend.
We are home and have picked up the big red dog, who was very glad to see us.  I get to go quilt tomorrow and I am excited!

B

Oh What A Night!

Janet's surgery was successful.  I took her to the follow up appointment on Friday.  The PA was happy with the way everything looked.  She didn't actually get to see the surgeon.  But he cleaned and redressed her incision.

On one of the girl's doors!!

I drove home and Ken and I went home for date night.  We ate Mexican food.  Always good!  We got up early Saturday morning to run errands because we were leaving at 11:00 for Tulsa.  Several of us around 17 met at Jane's and we caravaned to Tulsa.  We went straight to wherever the play was and arrived in plenty of time to go to the bathroom, find our seats, and relax a bit before it started. Jersey Boys was a great play.  It told the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  Very interesting.  We learned the history of the song Oh What A Night.
Then we went to the Casino Hotel and checked in.  We had dinner at the buffet.  Lots of choices!  We gambled a little.  We met for breakfast and enjoyed each others company.  It seems like no one was much of a winner or loser.  Then people left from there for vacation and went on their way and we came on home.
It was Father's Day so we went by Ken's dad's house and took a gift.  Ken and I were both tired so we ordered a pizza in and tried to relax.

Baking Day!

First, we did not get any hail here, but we did get a little bit of rain last night.  Today we have had a busy day.  Janet and I got out early and went to a bakery that has macarons.  She so enjoyed them in Paris.  We got several flavors.  They were very good.  Then we went to Walmart where Janet got to drive one of the electric carts.  We picked up a few things.

Playing cards

Baking day

I got busy making an angel lemon pie, which is my grandmother's recipe, and blueberry muffins.  I was waiting for the lemon mixture to cool and getting ready to put blueberry muffins in the tin when Kayla and the kids showed up.  She brought us blueberry ice cream.  Delicious!  Thank you!  Don't forget I want the recipe.   So, I got lucky and Madison helped me get the muffins in the oven, Macie helped clean up the batter bowl, and Zach was around when the  beater needed licking from the pie.  Kayla was on a phone interviewed so she didn't know how much they helped.
  While we waited for everything to get done, Aunt Janet and the girls got a game going.

Muffin with blueberry sauce

Zach on clean up detail

We tried the muffins and they were good.  The muffins had a blueberry sauce that I cooked and added and most everyone liked the sauce except Zach.  He ate two muffins, so I guess they were good.
Janet's friend, Bunny, came over and brought lunch and Bama, her German Shepherd for Zeke to play with.  We ate lunch  from La Madeline.  My lunch was very good.  We sent Bunny home with a muffin and lemon pie. 
Janet is doing her exercises and going 6 hours instead of 4 between pain pills.  She is getting around easier today.  She is looking forward to getting the wrap off tomorrow and getting a shower!

 We got our frito chili pies for dinner and sat down to watch the Thunder.  The 3rd quarter is almost over.  They better get busy fast.