REALLY BACK to BLOGGING!

This is it...do or die time on the blogging business. Ha! I don't know where the last few months have gone. Guess I just haven't had a lot to say. My sweet girl left for college and my darling boy went off to high school and life got SUPER busy.

Miss M's volleyball team finished SECOND in their conference for volleyball! We were so proud and spent many evenings traveling to games and tournaments. So much fun to be a volleyball parent. We truly love it.

Big D's so involved with our church that it feels like it might be his second home. He loves it and loves the people and that makes me so happy. He also has spent hours learning (self-teaching really) himself to play his acoustic guitar. He is such a great musician.

It is exciting to be heading into the Christmas holidays. I have the tree up and decorated, the mantle decorated and my centerpieces made for the coffee table and dining table. Gorgeous if I do say so myself.

My projects this fall have included organizing my VAST collection of books. Ugh. That has been a labor of love (and sometimes hate!), trying to pull off life as the Mama of a college girl and high school boy, attending the bestest Bible Study ever at my sweet Carole's house and trying to write. The writing is proving the hardest. I just don't think I have a lot to say right now or at least a reason to say it. My biggest project has been writing letters to my immediate family for Christmas. I'm excited about that.

Okay..that wasn't so hard. I love my blog. Truth be told, it is the pictures and loading them to it that do me in. So maybe the goal here is not so many pictures and more words.

Glad to be back!

I'm ALIVE!!

So much to say....not enough time today to say it but I feel horrible guilt over the way I let my little blog flounder and collapse. So many things have happened over the last few months..my baby has gone to college and my babiest baby is a highschool freshman. Anyway..this is just to say "I'M BACK!" elipses and all! Ha!
Can't wait to start blogging again on Sunday.

Dogs, Neck Pain, Headache

Those three words so describe my life today.
Dogs: I am having to have the carpets cleaned in my downstairs today because the house smells very doggy and my parents are coming this weekend. It looks and smells ALOT better. As a matter of fact, they just finished and it looks INCREDIBLE!!
Neck Pain: I have either slept goofy on my pillows or have a sinus infection or an inoperable brain tumor but MY HEAD IS SPLITTING and has been for the last three days. I know seasonal allergies are VERY bad right now but it feels like it's in my upper back. I don't know...it's bad.
Headache: Explained above.
I have lost the cord for my camera/computer link up and need to load the pictures of Maggie's signing on my blog and facebook. That's the next order of business today.

Spring is Here!

These were the shoes I wore for Easter. I think they are SO cute! Best yet..they were pretty comfy. I can't wait to wear them all summer long...I just think they are wonderful and I love that metallic silver. I desperately need to update my capri's and t's wardrobe. Plus I love having a few cute flowy skirts to wear in summer. Oh! I just can't wait until summer really hits.

I know spring has really sprung when I start seeing these in my garden. Peony shoots.


It won't be too long until they look like this...

It's almost always right before Memorial Day here. Even though they are always covered in ants..I always bring them in and enjoy them in bouquets. I have a system for getting rid of the ants. I drown them. Fill your kitchen sink with soapy, warm water and then submerge the peony heads for a few seconds. This kind of stuns the ants and you can shake them (or they float) right off. It takes care of all but the most stubborn little stinkers.

My kids are off school today (yahoo!) so we are going to enjoy our long weekend together with mowing and cleaning up. I will enjoy that..I'm not sure about them.

March Meals

Daniel is participating in March Meals at our church this month. He is working with the youth group team to serve this delight......spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and CUPCAKES for dessert. Oh my! I love cupcakes. They were delish. We were so very proud of him and the way he helped out. He's such a great kid.

It's almost GORGEOUS weather here in Kansas. It was in the mid-80's today and absolutely beautiful. I love having the windows open and the fans on. I can't wait to get my pots planted and have a little color on my back patio and at the front door. Some of my favorite flowers are peonies, geraniums and roses. I have quite a few rosebushes, about five peonies and I always plant pots of geraniums. I also have a lilac bush that hasn't done to well the last few years so we will see what this summer brings for it. It might be time to yank it out and start over.

The rest of the week I will be doing a little spring cleaning. I just got a NEW supply of Mrs. Meyer's products in the mail (geranium scent) and can't wait to spiff this place up.

A Little More About Nuthin'

After watching the movie, The Jane Austen Book Club, which we absolutely LOVED...I decided I'm missing out be never having read Jane Austen. So, I am starting with Sense and Sensibility and am enjoying it greatly.


I am making this DELIGHT tonight for dessert. I can't wait. I love lemon things and so I'm sure this will be divine! I'll post the recipe later although I'm just taking it off the Food Network website.

I can't WAIT for summer. I love grilling out and sitting in the sun. I love my flower garden when it is in bloom and I'm hoping I can convince Daniel to help me plant a veggie garden this year. I think it would be fun to grow some tomatoes and zucchini at least.

Cleaning Up

This is probably VERY pathetic to admit but one of my favorite days of the month is the day that The Cleaning Authority comes to clean my house. They come every other week and it is just such a blessing that I can barely stand it. It makes me love my husband immensely that he pays for it! Of course, every day there is picking up and maintenance...I still have to clean the toilets a couple times a week, wipe up and vacuum BUT I don't have to scrub the bathrooms and I barely have to dust anything. It's wonderful.

There is just one little problem. I hate being HERE when they come to clean. I feel like I distract them and it always makes me feel guilty and bad about myself. So..I used to just hang out in the laundry room and catch up on laundering and read but NOW..I almost always go and have coffee and a bagel at Panera. It's like my twice a month treat and I really love it so much! I take my Bible, whatever Bible study I'm working on at the time and spread out and spend two hours really paying attention to it. It's wonderful and the longest stretch of time I really have to devote to study.
I always feel like it's my mini-vacation. Sometimes I take a couple cookbooks and do some menu planning for the week. Coming home to a perfectly clean house is a delight that I do not take lightly!

Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

This little high jumper is my Maggie! We recently went to Crossroads National Qualifier volleyball tournament in Denver. Maggie's team came in FIRST PLACE in the Silver Select 18's division. We were SO proud and it was an awesome way to end her club volleyball career. She has two more tournaments and then we are through with this season of life which is a little bittersweet. We have had many great trips with volleyball...Omaha, Oklahoma City, Denver, Topeka, Salina, Kansas City and many little towns around Kansas. Good times. How can you not love this face? My Mags is known for her engaging personality and her enthusiasm! Do you get that from the picture below?


This sweet boy is at Training Camp. He was a naughty, wicked fellow and now there is hope. His breeder is training him in obedience and hunting. We have visited him and he is doing so well. It did about break my heart to leave him but it will be worth it to have a well behaved dog. He's just too big and strong to handle if he doesn't obey.

These days, however, seem like a distant memory. Wasn't he the cutest! I think he's so handsome now but what a little honey!


Speaking of dogs...if I had my perfect life I would be enjoying lunch at a sidewalk cafe just like this picture. The only difference would be that my dogs would be tied to the chair. If Shadow comes through his training like I think he will, it would mean that he would be lying next to the table instead of dragging it down the street! Ha!


Enough for now..

Blogging Again!

Yep. I'm back to blogging. I've been so busy lately with my daughter and college and volleyball that I haven't had a moment to think a thought of my own. That is the excuse but I also just haven't felt like saying anything. I have a lot of ambivalent thoughts about my Maggie going away to college. On one hand..it's a new adventure and I want her to experience life to the fullest. On the other hand...I'm scared for her. It's so much easier to feel confident that she's safe when she is under my roof. I love making sure she's comfortable and well fed. How will I do that when she is hundreds of miles away? She's my first born. My baby girl.

Anyway...through the last months we have visited colleges and attended alot of volleyball tournaments. We have been to Topeka for a long weekend and just recently to Denver for a four day tournament. Daniel went to a youth retreat over the weekend so we were in Denver with just Maggie. It was a really special time. We stayed two blocks from the convention center in downtown Denver and walked everywhere. We shopped, ate out at incredible restaurants, rode the tram back and forth and watched ALOT of volleyball. Maggie's team came in FIRST in the Silver Select 18's division. We were so proud of her! She's a machine. Coach Pohlman stayed to watch her and so on Friday following our return to Kansas...we headed to Dodge City to check out Dodge City Community College. We all loved it! It's the perfect place for our Maggie and so this Fall...she will be a D3 Conquistador! She's going to be playing a starting position as a Right Side Hitter and she is very excited. Now we are in the throes of picking out dorm decor and trying to figure out how to get everything she will need to Dodge. Very exciting times!

Daniel has been busy with physical therapy for his knee, church youth group and guitar lessons. He is a guitar playing wizard! He has missed Shadow (his black lab) who has been at training camp so much! Shadow has four more weeks of training before he comes home but we visited him and he is doing so well. It's amazing how much he has changed from a big brat into a well behaved boy.

I feel horribly bad about abandoning my sweet blog but life has been so overwhelming with sick me, sick kids, sick parents, my Uncle Bill's death, etc...isn't life just like that sometimes? My sweet friend, Katie, encouraged me to keep writing and I know that daily writing is the key. So here's my commitment to keeping my blog current. It's a great journal and I'm going to write more regularly.

Happy New Year 2010!

I feel like it has been forever since I've given any time to my little bloggy world and it surely HAS been. The holidays were just so busy and I can truly say that since Thanksgiving...it has been one whirlwind day after another. We had such a nice Thanksgiving celebration...just the four of us and really enjoyed time being together. We put up our tree that weekend and started the Christmas shopping. This year Jim and I both ordered a TON of stuff online and that was the most stressless shopping I've ever done! I can't say enough about shopping online!

I think my kiddos had a pretty lucrative and wonderful Christmas. Since my 45th birthday was this year on Christmas Eve..we celebrated the whole day long! Christmas Eve we prepared everything for the next day and then spent the rest of Eve opening gifts and watching Christmas Vacation on t.v. It snowed about 3 inches and we enjoyed that so much! Christmas Eve night we went to dinner at Savute's and had a wonderful birthday celebration. Maggie and I enjoyed their insanely wonderful filet mignon, Daniel had a t-bone and Jim had spaghetti and meatballs (he did say it wasn't as good as mine! Ha!).

Christmas Day we enjoyed the Hans' family. We just kicked back and enjoyed turkey and ham and all the trimmings. Between Christmas Day and New Year's we decided to have a very fun week of hanging around and enjoying one another and our house. VERY FUN and relaxing. Jim and Daniel went hunting and shot six pheasants and by New Year's Eve we were ready to cuddle up around the fire and hang out. We hosted a New Year's Eve party for about 15 of Maggie's friends. It was really sweet to know that our 18 year old and her friends were content playing Scattergories, eating pizza, drinking Martinelli's Sparkling Cider and eating Butterfinger dessert. They had a WONDERFUL time and ended it about 2 am. Not too bad for a high school party!

WE are welcoming the New Year with lots of excitement. Maggie's last semester of high school, prom, club volleyball season and Daniel's learner's permit and last semester of 8th grade and 14th birthday!

Yawn....

I'm here...I'm just too busy and tired to post anything. We were busy all weekend with Cross Country meets (in the VERY rain soaked park) and Volleyball tournaments. Then my wonderful husband wanted to go see a movie (Love Happens...very cute!) and out to dinner. Today was a major catch-up day and "pull the house back together after the weekend" day. I'm just exhausted...more later.

Monotonous Monday

I wish this post wasn't called Monotonous Monday but alas, it is. I just can't get excited today about a new week. For one thing, it is now the final two week countdown to school for the kiddos. Ugh. I like having them home and hanging out for summer. Soon we will start the whole huge year of homework and volleyball games and rushing to get to school, rushing to pick up from school, rushing to volleyball, dinners on the run, rushing home to fall in bed. My only consolation is that at least this year I won't be working and will have more time to keep everything together at home and everyone well fed and happy.

So much has changed for us this school year (Jim's new STRESSFUL job, Maggie's Senior year, Daniel's new school) that I think it will be wonderful to be at home during the day to focus on keeping our home base as stress free as possible. They all need a comfortable place to take a breath and I'm hoping home will be that this year.

Now for some random thoughts:
*I'm wondering if my hair can wait two more weeks until my peeps are back in school for color. Probably that is going to be PUSHING it.
*I want to get rid of my hideous mini blinds that are EVERYWHERE in this house. I want to replace them with matchstick blinds but it seems overwhelming. I guess I just need to jump in, measure and price them.
*If I die of the swine flu, I beg of you (my family and friends)....just call it something else. I can't imagine anything worse than forever being remembered as having died from "the SWINE flu". It's gross. Just say I died of a virus.

I'd best get to the never ending laundry pile and I also forgot to run the dishwasher last night before bed (double darn!) so need to start that up. Baked Spaghetti for dinner tonight (super easy!) and I'm still scanning in slides (more on that in another post). Here's a preview pic though. This is an old slide of me when I was about three years old at Avila Beach in California. I think my arms look freakishly short for my body. My arms aren't too short now. It's weird looking. Maybe it's just the perspective the picture is taken from but it seems strange.

NEW MUSIC!!

I love, love, love my blog and especially my music feeder. The songs on my music feeder are my FAVES especially now that I have limited "Oklahoma" which was beginning to annoy me. I thought it was a fave but upon repeated listenings OVER AND OVER it is not. It's just mildly amusing.

These two dear ladies are the Snoop Sisters. Their names were Ernesta and Gwendolyn. Ernesta is the frumpy one and Gwendolyn the more svelte and stylish one. Aren't they wonderful? Don't you just love the one on the left in the hat? That one would HAVE to be my BFF, Tia and I'm sure I'd be destined to be the frumpy one on the right. We are the modern day equivalent of these two dear souls. Snoop Sisters 2009! Whilst (I adore using whilst any chance I get because I think it's completely underused) we were driving from our fabulous lunch at Taqueria La Paisa yesterday, we came upon a huge police shakedown at the bait shop on 21st street. We decided we need a police scanner so we can keep abreast of what's going on around town. The ultimate Snoop Sister scanner. Then Tia remembered a cute old police car (although I don't think it was THIS cute)

for sale downtown. We decided we need it for our new Snoop Sister jobs if only for the siren and lights. Since we will be busy listening to the scanner...wouldn't it be awesome if we could have HER

as our chauffeur? She was the chauffeur in the original Snoop Sisters show. She might be dead...I'll have to check that out. Doesn't she just look like her name would have been Gert or Hazel or Myrtle? Some old fashioned name that NO ONE names their children anymore? She looks like she doesn't take any flak off anyone.
Then Tia thought it would be best if we had some sort of uniform...perhaps a cape.

This cape was too fabulous not to mention but might hinder our easy entrance and exit from the "scene of the crime" so we thought we would opt for something a bit less dramatic, but yet still classy like this shorter model.


I think we could use this as a ministry opportunity. Kind of unofficial chaplains. Yep...I think this is going to be our one-big-thing.