Grateful November 2

Today I am grateful to live in a climate of changing seasons..

5 on Friday

the whirlwind weekend was followed by a like-minded week! whew this weekend looks to be more of the same. So today's 5 is going to be a Friday Phone Dump post full of gratefull-ness.



1. PROVIDER APPRECIATION DAY: Last Friday was provider appreciation day & I have some of the best parents. Only one that knew it was that day. here's what she sent w/her little guy!! For future reference, its always the Friday before Mother's Day. Grateful for the people who think of the little things that mean so much!!

2.  ANNIVERSARY: With a photo shoot the next morning, I had a cousin do french tips on my nails. Love them!!  too bad I am so rough on my nails that they are already chipped & nasty looking!  Then I knew which shirt I was wearing as I had bought this purple & white one just for the occassion, next I had shoes & jewelry to decide on.  Here are the photos & questions I sent to my (much younger) fashionistas in a mini-panic Saturday morning:  a) with the belt or without? 

b)  short & chunky or long & sparkley? (necklaces)

Grateful for a wonderful husband of 15 years as well as enough means to have to decide on jewelry.

Flowers for our anniversary (5/3) -the reason for the photo shoot.  He really rocks the fresh flowers lately!!  these he took the time & energy to pick out blue & purple so they were our wedding colors *swoon*  Grateful for his thoughtfulness!

3. ENGAGEMENT: I already blogged a bit  about it on Monday when it was fresh in my heart, but to recap: I was blessed to do an engagement shoot on Saturday evening with friends that refreshed my love for the camera.  Grateful for great friends who did more for my heart than they realize.

 4.  TROPHIES: remember the hog hunt we went on back in February in Oklahoma? hmmmm maybe I haven't blogged it yet since I can't find a post... note to self: blog hog hunt. Anyyyyy wayyyyyy the trophies were done Wednesday so Tim buzzed up & picked them up from the taxidermist.  Pretty cool that we got 2 trophies (plus meat) from one kill.  The head went right on the wall by the antler rack & the skull (european mount) went on my display shelf at the top of the stairs, which in turn meant it was time to switch up the decor there!  I had threaded this empty frame w/twine one evening last week w/o a plan of where to use it.   When the skull went on the shelf I immediately clicked into knowing the photos needed to be displayed on the frame w/the skull! Grateful for the means to get to take trips & share in his love of a sport.

5. CHANGING SEASONS: the back yard is coming alive! I love watching theings change year to year & see what blooms & when  here is a pic of one of the yucca plants getting ready to bloom.

the warmer temps & more sunshine means we are spending more & more time out in the yard.  here is a super cute shot I caught on Wednesday.  Grateful that every day is different!

WHAT IS ON YOUR GRATEFUL LIST FOR THE WEEK??

5 on Friday

someone on Facebook the other day mentioned that "its nice to appreciate the warm things again" & that really rings true this week!!  Tho I am not ready for the cold of winter, fall I will take. 5 warm things I am enjoying or soon will:

1. coffee/hot tea/hot cocoa-ok hot drinks in general I love!!
2. layered clothes - long sleeved tshirts, hoodies, jeans, socks & shoes
3. oatmeal for breakfast, supper or bedtime snack
4. hot comfort foods- mashed potatoes, soups, grilled cheese/tomato soup combo, roast & veggies in the crockpot
5. the warm bedroom from our heated ceiling fan-even if the living room window is still open :)

short & sweet today.

shift

this year's shift from summer to fall, summer routine to school routine, camping weekends to home weekends, this past few weeks has been a bit tougher on me than normal.  a few business things didn't go as planned, causing some other personal plans to fall through as well, when things don't go as planned, I tend to 'hibernate'.  I hide, I sleep alot, I quit blogging, texting, posting on facebook, etc.  I put on the happy face for work & when we have to go out in public; grocery shopping, working for Scrap Pink right now, Tuesday night dart league & now my part time job, but when I am home in the evenings I just sit & disconnect. 

after this past weekend's many reminders of 10 years ago,  I have kind of 'pulled myself up by my bootstraps' & decided to 'get back to it'. It=life. many people have not or can not, from that day, I can, should & will. things don't always go as planned, or as we like yet we need to move on, make the best of what we have been given & be thankful we have another day.

Saturday I had a very light version of the flu, tho achy & feverish I was thinkful for just the sniffles to accompany. Sunday I spent recovering; throwing in the housework when I could, cleaning the kitchen-in a couple of sessions, gathering laundry from the line tht had been out since Friday-don't judge ;) - checking on the garden, always returning to the couch & whatever movie Tim was watching at the time.

I am going to try to get back to some sort of blogging routine: menu Monday,  random Tuesday, recipe Wednesday, thankful Thursday & 5 on Friday with the occassional post on the weekend. 

to try to sum this entire post up into something productive, this shift in seasons has been a lil rough on me, but I plan on getting back on the ball.  Do you have a shift in the year that is rough on you?

5 on Friday.

ok, lets see so far I have covered; summer, scrapping, running, & summer tv.... hmmmm going to go w/the seasonal shift of summer into fall.

1. Love the change in routine.  shortly after the 4th of July we are all getting ready for a new routine, new schedule, new goals.  School starts, the days get shorter, the long sleeved shirts & pants & socks w/tennis shoes come back out.
2. Love the inbetween, fluctuating temps.  shorts & tanks one day, jeans & jackets the next.  cooler early morning & evening running temps! back to sleeping w/the windows open.
3. Love the different produce.  whether at the farmer's market or home garden or grocery store, there is a noticable difference in produce availability.  canning, freezing & overal preserving & stocking for winter meals is happening.
4. Like that camping/boating weekends make way for more scrapping or race weekends & eventually, more quiet weekends at home. variation is good.
5. Love the sunshine! the curtains are open again to let the sunshine in as the heat of it isn't as strong.

I love each season for its qualities, but the changing from one to the other is also like another season all its own.  What do you look forward to this season of change?

Ready.

I am ready.
Ready for spring!

 

Ready for fresh flowers in the yard, green grass, the smell of freshly mowed grass coming thru the open windows, the curtains fluttering in the breeze around said window, tending the new garden & then eating its produce, the farmer's market, & the lack of snow gear needed by the kids. 

I am ready to not need 2 shirts on every day, to not need hot tea in my hands each morning, to not be able to see my breath when I go outside, & to not crave big hardy meals every night. 

I am ready to be able to spend the 4 hours between breakfast & lunch outside, and then the 2 hours between snack & the end of the work day back out there again. 

I am ready to pack away the ice melt & boot trays from the entry way, I am ready to not need to mop that floor several times each day, I am ready to be soaking up some stinking sunshine, man! 

I am ready for camping weekends spent on the lake & gathered round the campfire in the evenings, I am ready to be able to smell the sunshine long after its set.

Thankful Thursday

I really like this idea...
http://ellesstudio.blogspot.com/2010/10/thankful-thursdays_28.html

So today I am thankful for:

• My facebook friends & family!! wow! this week has been a rough one starting on Sunday when we thought we were going to have to put our 14 y/o dog down but he turned around & thanks to my friends & family on Facebook yesterday I had the courage to bring it all to Tim's attention & insist we wait. :)
• Super thankful that Gus is better & doesn't have to be put down this week! *whew*  now, don't get me wrong, I am all for euthenazia when is necessary, however I had a horrible sick gut feeling we were cheating him. Super Super glad we don't have to now!!
• The sun is shining today! after 2 days of grey windy-ness, I was ready for some sunshine!

What are YOU thankful for today?? link me up!

Well Hello Fall!

you've come on like gang busters in these parts!  I could not believe there was frost on the cars this morning!  I know its October & all but dang, it still seems too early for frost.  I love the change of seasons & know I would never be happy living anywhere there wasn't such a thing.   I am hoping w/the new month, new season & new attitude I will be able to get back to blogging regularly. to start off this roll of hopeful productivity, I will post the weekend recap:

Friday night I had a chiro consult appt w/a new chiro.  So he did xrays, scan & showed me the screen. WOW my spine is jacked up!! even asked when I broke my back... have a fractured vert in my upper back EEK. I LIKE HIM! He is a big fan of prevention & believing that everything is controlled by a vert or 2 :) Might even get him talked into renewing his acupuncture license for Iowa (has it for KS) So I got 4 adjustments on my back, one on my neck & both feet done, from there I came home & took the dogs for a walk while Tim mowed @ the other property, caught up w/neighbors then we went out for Mexican for supper :)


Saturday: got to the fun run way early :)  Glad I did, I was able to burn alot of nervous energy chatting w/a classmate from high school about possibly moving her 4y/o to my child care & generally catching up w/her. Then the race was on. I felt great minus running into the wind on all of the turn-arounds. couldn't believe how let down I felt when I found out @ the take off that it was untimed, then AFTERWARD that it wasn't an actual 5k (so I came home & mapped it). Almost asked 'what's the point?' oh well, its done & I got a t-shirt LOL From there I went to the farmer's market: scored 4 turks turban squash(decoration for now, edible veggie later), lettuce, 4 -1/2 pts pumpkin butter (pumpkin pie in a jar-heavenly), fresh soft pretzels, 2 -1/2 pts wild plum jam, a spagetti squash(wish me luck, its my first), 2 green peppers, & tasted some scrumptious green tomato raspberry jam OMG-hope she makes more! Then dropped off some scrap goods, paid for my boy scout wreath, & headed home starving! Tim was headed home from returning the mower so we went from here to the bank & then grocery shopping. I made a homemade pizza for lunch & cleaned the kitchen upstairs so I could justify going w/Mom to Creston to the scrap store :) Halloween is officially the next book I work on! I have enough supplies for a while (tho I only spent $10)  Then we picked up my shirt @ the YMCA from that run 2 weeks ago & came home to watch Crank 2 & gorge on junk food all night :(

Sunday I slept in :) slowly got around, happy to report NO post-race-soreness this time!! :D watched The back up Plan & a Dexter episode while resisting the urge to be a brat since I was facing some resistance in attending the Farm Crawl. Had it just been resistance w/some free reign, I'd have found someone to go w/me or go it alone, but it was resistance coupled w/some guilt trip for being gone every weekend lately, so I bummed around home all day. Pulled all my plants from the deck, rehoming them to the bathtub, kitchen & bath sinks for nice warm drinks & will find winter homes for them around the house today-some are going to NEW homes as one person really doesn't need 5 pots of the same plant :) Tim mowed this yard & put cheese burger soup on the crockpot YUMM while he worked on his new work truck w/the neighbor we bought it from (LOL) I made cornbread to go w/it & started the laundry for today. We walked the dogs, watched The Losers then I moved the lil tv back to my room & sorted thru piles of scrap supplies while I watched DH & B&S. I am no longer allowed to buy christmas or camping/boating paper for A LONG LONG LONG TIME!!! I have a pizza box full of each! (thanks Jo!)

Over all, a good weekend even if I 'didn't get my way' :) he did promise to go willingly to a pumpkin patch next weekend that's near the shooting range he needs to sight his gun in on. hmmmmm makes total sence to me :P   again, no pictures from the weekend! wow.

Today there is no school or preschool here in town, so we have a nice mix of ages here.  I love that my bigs love to play school, bus & field trip w/the littles & the itty bitties entertain themselves! I just might get to spray paint that wreath I bought a few weeks ago! 

Let the Craziness begin!!!

Seriously, I remember once upon a time, Fall was the beginning of the slow down for everyone, (or so it seemed) everything slowed down to include school, studies, a few sports/school activities, & family holiday events. Nothing like what I am feeling the past 2 yrs. it seems like Fall has it's own version of busy from Summer.  Fall to me now means: Scrap Pink organizing & hosting, weekly dart league, the beginning of monthly crops to attend, gatherings of the boating crew among homes & Halloween decorating & parties.  Not that that sounds like much but we also add 6 weeks of puppy classes this year, a farm crawl I want to attend, & other various Fall-only activities, apple picking, canning & other 'putting up' of produce. I'd also like to get back to the Des Moines farmer's Market before they all pack it in for the year, as well as, get some winterizing done round the house before winter actually hits this year.

I am embarrassingly ready for crock pot meals, chili & cinnamon rolls, less grilled food, more baked goods & cinnamon, pumpkin & apple scents filling the house.  Tho I am dreading what all of those (minus the scents of course) will do to my 'get healthy' attitude I have adopted if we don't soon find someplace inside to run when the weather turns, well, Iowa-winterlike-best for hibernating weather.  I plan to use the treadmill but I can foresee it becoming a dreadmill before long. 

This past weekend I thoroughly enjoyed getting out in the fall like weather! Saturday night we attended a bonfire get together that was ideal! sweatshirt, bonfire weather ROCKS!!  then Sunday I had my first running date. We didn't really run but I got a TON of great tips & explored a trail in town, I'd never been on & plan to use! then I got to take some lil girlie pictures outside after that! ADORABLE!!! & on that note, I will attach a few samples & quit rambling so early in the morning :)

Have a GREAT DAY!!!

brrrrrrrrrr

• frosty windshields
• foggy storm door
• quick potty breaks for Gus
• larger laundry loads
• Tim's thermos of HOT food for lunch
• hats & gloves on little ones
• They are all signs I see daily that the outside temps are dropping rapidly!

Well its Thursday AND:

• I haven't been a lick of productive in the scraproom this week!
• I've only been on the treadmill once & my foot hurts from it.
• I realized yesterday I am almost done Christmas shopping.
• I am looking fwd to Tim hunting this weekend! (ME time)
• I hope he gets a deer.
• I plan to start wrapping gifts Saturday.
• I am done decorating! officially putting totes in the cubby this afternoon!
• I have a box of decorations to take to Cross Ministries. THAT feels good.

working on the December Daily in my head today to hopefully work on it for real tonight when we get back from visiting MIL for her birthday.

Hope you have a GREAT DAY!!

Hello December!

WOW you have blown in w/some coooooooold air this year! :( I am admittedly not ready for the cold winter weather. Not that I have any choice but just sayin'. I have been able to get by w/long sleeve tshirts, a couple of waffle weave shirts & occassionally a jacket type shirt over top but usually just for a few hours in the morning. Today I took their forcast to heart & started the day off in a turtleneck & fleecy shirt over top, hot chocolate while making Tim's lunch , pancakes, fried eggs & applesauce for the kids' breakfast & perking coffee now. :)

Tonight I plan to work on my December Daily page 1!!!!!! So excited to get it rolling!! :) I shared both this & last year's books @ my mom's thanksgiving & had a good response. Not that it really matters b/c non-scrappers really don't 'get it' so I was prepared for page flipping & the obligatory 'mmm that's nice Kim' but I got some really nice responses :) (not even sure why I bother showing sometimes but oh well) hopefully tomorrow I'll have page 1 & maybe 2 to share complete!!

Last night I got back on the treadmill!! I had planned on a mile but got a half in w/mostly walking. My heel is bothering me again so I think I need some stretching to do before running. I printed page one of an 8 week program over the weekend so we will see how that goes. maybe I am starting off too strong for my old out of shape body?!

I feel like I have alot on my organizational plate right now.. IAEYC, PTCO spring crop, Christmas shopping, baking, visiting & celebrating, along w/the regular house running & child care daily work. Ok now that its in print it isn't near as overwhelming as it felt in my head :) THAT is a good thing!

APPRECIATE: I appreciate having family to shop for. I appreciate having the funds to do Christmas shopping (even if it isn't as 'all out' as I'd like). I appreciate hot coffee on a blustery December Day.

Enough Rambling! Off & Running!!!

AHHHHHHHHHH

oops!!! this morning I logged on to find that I had some returned emails so upon checking them out they appeared to be virus sent type stuffs but when I did 2 complete scans there is nothing showing up.. WIERD!!! So I Sent an email in apology to all in hotmail address book to not open any attachments from me! :) that pretty much consumed my net time this morning.. we had breakfast & snack, then wen out side!! GET OUT!!!!!! comfy outside play in NOVEMBER in IOWA!??? SHEEESH amazing!! loved it :) so thats why there was no morning post.

another quick list:

• I skipped running again today :(
• I am looking fwd to the GNO/wine walk tonight!
• I am not looking fwd to the 7 hrs inside tomorrow for training
• I love when they all sleep @ the same time :D
• My eating is much better & water intake has gone back up! yay-now to get back on the treadmill!
• I only have $60 more in PC to sell to hit the goal.
• My TS party is off to a great start :)
• My gift closet is looking generous! can't wait to sort it out... Maybe Sunday!

Ok off to read other blogs.. have a great weekend!!

Happy Hump Day!!

Chilly morning out there!! Fall has definately arrived & shortly behind it is WINTER! WOW. I am NOT ready for the cold!! ready or not here it comes!

ACCOUNTABILITY: 4 f/v, 2 dairy, 80oz., ran a full mile! and remembered my vitamins! pretty good day!!

the rest of my December Daily pages. Yup.. its DONE! NOW to decide on the next project! Maybe organizing the completed pages into albums!!

21.

Simple snow documentation

22.

random thoughts/child care activity

23.

there are more coordinating stickers behind the photo mat

24.

the green block is attached w/hinges & flathead eyelets to make for more room for Christmas Eve.

25.

Christmas Day- there is a decorated file folder to put here also.

28.

probably the undecorating :)

30.

Festivities definition-either to sum up Christmas or start on New Years

29.

another snow page option

1st.

Stickers tucked behind the clock for now.

31.

clip @ top for Memorabilia

the paper on the bottom is really silver w/white swirls the scanner didn't do a good job picking that up :(

Have a Great day!! remember to APPRECIATE what we've been given!!

OH what a difference a day makes.

(click to enlarge)

here are the photos from our walk yesterday. it was a gorgeous fall day. the temps were ideal, the sun was shining & we were all in GREAT moods!! so fun!! today its wet from the down pour we received last night, dreary, & gloomy. so glad we walked yesterday!!!

Today will be about cleaning toys, baking banana bread & maybe some fall decorating... we will see how agreeable the littles are. :)

Nuff said! Have a great day!!

Good Morning!

Monday!! Fresh new week, month, season, *sigh* I almost feel refreshed this morning. Almost like I had a planned extended weekend. I guess its better than feeling behind like my first instinct was when I turned on the lights down here this morning. bedding needing washed, dishes needing washed, floor needing scrubbed, table needing wiped, trash needing pulled, toys needing picked up & sanitized! Oh the plans for the day are forming!!

Today there is no school so I am hoping for some sunshine this morning so we can take a fall walk! We'll just take it slow but the supportive brace is helping me get around TONS!! I think I could also get them to help me gather toys to sanitize/rotate out to make for less sanitizing during the cold & flu season. I feel a 'treasure hunt' coming on w/a walk as a reward & then a painting project @ the table while I fix lunch. WOW organization?? whazzzzzzzzat???? :) Feels like a great day to pull out the brown paint!

Then tomorrow will be back to our regularly scheduled days of trolleys picking up & dropping off for preschools, school kids in & out, & hopefully my little will be back from the hospital! basically planned chaos :) Looking fwd to it!

This time last year I participated in Ali's A Week in the Life project & loved it! Thinking this would be a great week to do it again! only this year I'd like to finish it before the first of November :)

I am definitely taking a break from my caffeine-free lifestyle. I am going to need it to get it all done today & maybe all week.

A weekend post?

Yep, I am feeling better! back to just the cough I started out w/ :) whohoooooooo
The sun is shining 3 CHEERS!! OH how I love the sunshine!!
The crisp Autumn air + sunshine = hopeful productivity!
Today I want to:

• take down the patio lights + dead hanging pots from the deck
• pull in the plants & pillows from the deck
• bring in & put up the fall & Halloween decorations
• pull out the winter clothes tote & pack away summer *sniff* *sniff*
• handcraft a birthday card for a dear friend's surprise party this afternoon
• stash Scrap Pink supplies safely for next year
• swap out the lemons in the fruit/punch bowl for the coveted Honey Crisps :D

oh my.. my coffee is growing my to do list faster than I can get it accomplished. I am seriously not Ready for Fall but I don't think I have a choice so I may as well Get Ready :)

I Hope you have a gorgeous wonderful Sunday in your home!!

recovered! :)

such a good word & feeling!! :) Sleeping thru the night helped!!!

I have all of the raffle prize winners notified & some delivered!
I have the van unloaded.
I have 3 tshirts left over -Med, xL & xxL if anyone's interested $15 each.
I have all of the boxes gone thru & most put away, need a tote to store for next year.
I have NOT gone thru MY scrapping stuff but its ok.
I have figured out how to change for next year to prevent the issues I dealt w/this year.
I am over it. :D

This morning I registered for The 'Local' Race for the Cure! I am wanting to raise $125 to donate a mammogram too. so if anyone is interested in donating to that fund I have paypal @ kkrj50213@yahoo.com or let me know if you need other arrangements. Also I can get you info on joining our team to participate!

I was going to participate in 0ur local Memory Walk but just found out its on Sunday instead of Saturday& I have to work the shelter this Sunday @ the same time :( but still donating.. anyone wanting to donate that can do so thru the site or contact me & I will hook you up w/someone collecting.

today I am baking! chocolate oatmeal zucchini muffins! mmmmm mmmmm gooood!!! garlic wheat beer bread!!! mmmmmmm Fall makes me feel like baking & it is definately FALL out! brrrr time to limit the windows open over night....

tonight we are playing darts & I am determined to shoot better than last week! I think I'll check w/the Eagle's for reserving the ballroom for next year's Scrap Pink Event! sorry-U probably thought I was done obsessing about it? I'll try to keep its mention to a minimum ;) hehe

Tuesday...

• one more day closer to my Scrap Pink weekend!
• dart night
• 4 phone calls to make
• laundry to finish from yesterday
• would like to make name tags for the gift bags tonight after darts
• only 2 under 2 today YAY!!! that 3rd one throws me so out of balance .. but I love em.
• first day of fall!
• its grey & chilly out again
• grilled cheese sandwiches, applesauce & milk for breakfast
• grilled cuban sandwiches for supper
• its almost soup weather
• ok off to wrap up yesterday's to do list before starting today's
• Have a good one!!

Hump Day!

list day! so far this week:

• all littles have now started preschool for the 09-10 school year
• campsites are paid for
• firewood is loaded
• 2 donations collected/another one confirmed
• 3 paid registrations received
• yesterday: 64 oz, 4 dairy, 4f/v, went for a walk w/the kids in the AM, remembered my vites!
• hot chocolate has become a close friend already!
• bigs are settled into a full day school routine
• I realize the garden is dwindling
• I realize the nights are getting longer-days shorter-fall is on its way
• I am ready for the weekend! :)

how's that for an off the wall all over the board list today? HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

ugh

• another rough night
• =another rough morning
• waiting on Suzanna & the trolley to take us away!
• not taking picnic today-coming back for lunch
• but taking photos of course
• even the frappuccino splurge this morning didn't help me much
• I did remember my vites, 3 dairy, 3 f/v & 96oz but no walk yesterday
• its finally hot here. what the heck?
• ISF first day is today! whohoo
• got another confirmation for SCRAP PINK
• sent out some more invites & registration packets this morning.
• need to get the old computer hooked to printer & get busy
• ok.. pick up time to get ready for the trolley!
• sorry so boring