Busy Week

I can't believe it's Thursday already, the week has
just flown by for me! I've been a busy girl it seems.

I've accomplished quite a lot this week, the yard work,
cleaned the house, crocheted 68 scrunchies, started
listing items in my online store, and went
grocery shopping today.

I LOVE the fact that Hubby has his new computer!!
It sure makes being alone easier since I can
actually see him now via our webcams. I always
get a little pick me up when I talk to him, but
there's just something about being able to LOOK
at him that makes it even better. Isn't that
silly?? And Jaylan thinks it's great that she can
see her Papaw. Aaahhhh.... the wonders of
modern technology!

I had some surprise visitors yesterday evening.
Mike's oldest sister Annie and her Hubby came
by for a little while. They were just out riding
around and decided to come by here. She didn't
even know Mike was in Colorado, I didn't
realize that though. Anyway, we had a nice
little visit. We haven't seen her since last
Thanksgiving. I realized something
yesterday too... the older Annie gets, the more
like Jane she looks.

I have an overnight visitor at the moment,
she's eating cheez-its and watching cartoons while
sitting in the middle of my bed. Jaylan is here
for a visit. I enjoy her being here so much, at
times it's such a disappointment when she has
to go back home. Other days, I almost want to
push her out the door before her parents get
out of the car! LOL Oh well, ya gotta love 'em!!

Ok... gotta go find me some dinner. I have a tv
dinner in the microwave that's half done, I had
to abandon it when Mike called. Yes! Of course!!
I'll pick Hubby over dinner any day!! :)

Another Weekend Bites The Dust

I got a sweet little birthday card from Aunt Ronda
yesterday, she always remembers me!! She always
sends these little surprises in her cards and letters.
Yesterday she sent this darling little packet of
glycerine hand therapy, it has 3 applications in it.
Of course I had to use an application last night
before going to bed.... ooohhhh laaaa laaaa! It
felt wonderful and this morning when I got up my
hands and elbows felt like they belonged to a
complete stranger. They sure didn't feel like mine.
I LOVE getting these little surprises from
Aunt Ronda!! Thank You Auntie Dear!!!

I got to see one of my favorite people in the whole
wide world today. Mike!!! We got the MSN
messenger downloaded tonight on his lap top,
we turned on our web cams and actually got
to look at each other. It gave me a warm
fuzzy feeling. I sure do miss him, at times it's
worse than others. Jaylan will be so excited
when she finds out she can see Papaw on the
computer.

I was digging around a few days ago and found
a tote bag with a bunch of that fun fur and
confetti yarn in it. I'd kinda forgotten that I
even had it. Sooo... I dug out the elastic pony
tail holders and started crocheting around them.
I thought I'd just use up the yarn and get it
over with before I drag the sewing machine
back out. This type of scrunchie sells really
good at craft shows, especially in the summer.
It's a cheap item, plus people buy them because
they don't have anything on hand to put their
hair up with. And believe me, it gets hotter
than all get out at the outdoor craft shows.

Well, today was a crazy day around here. If
it could go wrong, it did! I got up this morning
and Baby was gone. He still hadn't come home
by noon so I went hunting him. I figured he'd
gone visiting the Great Pyrenees dogs in the
field behind my house. Sure enough, that's
exactly where I found him. I brought him
home and low and behold, Barkley was gone!
I went to his girlfriend's house and there he
was, just like I knew he'd be.

Some friends of ours have the cutest little
Sheltie dog. Her name is Dolly and she is
so sweet. For some reason she and Barkley
have become friends. If he's missing, he's
normally visiting Dolly and if she comes up
missing, she's usually here in the yard with
him. It's so cute the way they play together.

This was just the beginning! lol It just gets
worse from here. By 6 this evening I
was so hot and aggravated that I just came
in the house, closed the front door behind
me and soaked in the bath tub for a while.
The lawn mower wouldn't start, I found
Lucky Red dead in the dog pen, someone
kiped all the blackberries in my honey holes.
Someone took the biggest blackberries
from the vines up my driveway, I ran over
a big ole black snake while riding the
four wheeler, I noticed a bunch more mole
tunnels in the yard, and the list goes on! lol
I deserved a good long soak in the tub,
don't ya think?? :)

I hope everyone has a good week! I'm
off to crochet more scrunchies! TTFN!

Happy Birthday To Me...

Yeup, it's that time of year again. I'm another year
older and hopefully a bit wiser too! lol My birthday
was a bit lonely this year, with Hubby working away
from home I felt kinda left out. There was no one
here to fuss over me and make it a big deal.

My Cassie and I went out today and did our
weekly shopping.... with all three Grandmonsters
in tow. It was so hot and humid it was absolutely
miserable. The kids were a little cranky and
honestly I wasn't too far behind them. It was
a day that was meant for hibernating in the
air conditioning or flopping around in the river.

I met my sister and her hubby at the
local restaurant this evening for dinner. As
usual we had a good visit. And my Jaylan is
spending the night with me, which is always
fun.

I belong to a group called Sewing Mamas, here
on the net. Everyone in our group sews
beautifully and I've learned so much from these
ladies. Well anyway, this evening I read in one
of the threads that a member's husband is being
deployed to Iraq, I believe. This kinda put me
in a thinking mood. I can't imagine the turmoil
this Mama must be in. I can't imagine my
loved one going into such a dangerous situation.
And you know, it's not only her Hubby that is
doing the sacrificing, it's her entire family. She
will be left alone with her children, worrying
about her Hubby day and night and their
children will be missing their Daddy for several
months. I guess I never really thought about
it all. So tonight when you say your prayers,
please, don't only pray for our service men and
women, include their families also.

Have a good weekend!

The Weekend In Pictures

Brandon holding a fish the kids caught at
the pond.


Brandon holding Honey Wayne's catfish
caught from the pond.


Jaylan getting help from Papaw, baiting
her hook. Notice the tutu layered over
the swim suit. She picked out her own
clothes. lol Miss Diva!!


Cookie watching fireworks.


Jaylan playing ball....swing that bat!

Time Passes Quickly

Papaw reading a book to Jaylan and
Honey Wayne

Time passes so quickly! Mike made it home Thursday

evening and left today around noon. He just wasn't

home long enough in my opinion! lol He called a

little bit ago and let me know he'd landed

safely in Denver and was getting ready to go

on to Frisco to the motel. I'll talk to him again

tomorrow and find out how everything went for

him tonight. I probably won't see him again

until Labor Day..... two months away.

Our July 4th celebration was wonderful! Cassie

and her family spent the day with us... what a day!

The kids were so excited to see Papaw, plus all

the excitement from having to wait to do the

fireworks! It was a little crazy around here. lol

But everyone had such a good time. Our fireworks

were spectacular. Mike stopped on his way home

from the airport and picked them up for us. He

got quite a variety! And some really BIG ones!!

The kids just loved them! Everyone was so tired

that we finally called it quits around 11:30 that

night. We still have several little ones left....

we'll do them another day!

Here's our Cookie celebrating her first

Independence Day!

Here's our Jaylan using champagne poppers

for binoculars!

And our Honey Wayne trying to catch the

goodies coming out of the champagne poppers!

We had Jaylan Friday and Saturday night. She
got sick in the night on Friday, felt pretty crappy
all day Saturday, but just wouldn't give it up.
She'd sleep a while, the Tylenol would kick in and
she'd be up for a while. She was pretty sick in
the night again Saturday and then Sunday
morning she went home.

Saturday we went fishing at the pond. The kids
caught a few fish, pretty good size ones. They
were both excited about that. Mike was helping
Jaylan bring in a catfish and her little fishing pole
snapped in half! lol I have strict orders that when
I'm at Wal-Mart I'm to pick her up a new one.
She'll be needing it when Papaw comes in again.
She loves to go fishing with Mike.

Yesterday Mike and I went to Current River.....
first time I've been in the water this year. It was
soooooooo cold!!! It would literally take your
breath away if you tried to get in too quickly.
After you were in for a while and got numb, it
was okay though. lol Mike got to play a few
games of horseshoes, much to his delight. We
ended up getting home about 9 last night and
then it was a mad dash to get his laundry done
up for his return to Colorado.

Cassie and the kids came up early this morning
and we decided to go to the restaurant for
a big breakfast. Cookie had a taste of eggs,
she wasn't too sure about it at first, but
ended up eating a little. Then it was home
again to finish packing up Mike.

LaDonna came here for lunch and played with
the babies for a little while. She always
enjoys seeing the little Monsters. lol

With all the company I've had for the past
few days and all the activity that's gone on
around here, it certainly is quiet tonight.
It's almost too quiet in fact.

Hope you have a good week! Take Care!

What We're Eating On Independence Day

Here's a quick and delicious recipe for your July 4th
barbeque. This is one of the dishes we'll be having
tomorrow.


Here's a close up for you to get a good look at it.


Ranch Cukes and Onions
Make 1 packet of dry Ranch Dressing as the package
instructs. Make it will real mayonaise, not Miracle
Whip or something like that. Set this aside in the
refrigerator.

Wash 5 large cucumbers. Cut off the ends and
cut the cukes in half lengthwise. Now slice them
into 1/4 inch pieces. Put them in a large bowl.

Clean 2 large onions and slice them into 1/4 inch
slices. Now break the slices up or leave them in
the rings, but seperate the rings. Add them to
the bowl with the cukes and mix them all up.

Pour the reserved Ranch Dressing on the
cukes and onions in the bowl. Stir it all real
good and make sure everything is coated well
in the dressing.

Pour into a smaller bowl and cover with a lid
or saran wrap, etc. Let set at least overnight.
Stir well before serving.

Eat, Slurp, & Enjoy!

I was thinking after I got mine all made up
that it would look prettier if I had made this
dish with the purple onions. Whatcha think?

Our local restaurant serves this dish every
Friday night on their all you can eat fish
buffet and they're a big hit, I think they're
absolutely delicious! I had to play around
with it a little, but now mine's as good
as the restaurant's. The secret was using
the real mayo.

HAPPY FIRECRACKER DAY!!!

Hubby's On His Way Home!!!

Woo Hoo!! I just talked to Mike, he's in a cab at the
moment going from the St. Louis airport to his job's
main office to pick up our car! The car has been parked
on their fenced in yard since he's been gone. Sooo...
not only do I get to see Hubby, I get to visit with my
car also! lol

After he gets the car, he still has about 3 hours to
drive to reach home. Plus, he promised Jaylan
he'd stop somewhere along the way and buy her
some fireworks, so it's still going to be a while until
he actually arrives in the driveway.

I just finished up two chocolate pies for Mike. He
adores chocolate pies! He should be set for a day or
two on dessert. The house is sparkling clean and I'm
just killing time at the computer until he gets here.

I've decided Mother Nature is bi-polar! lol She will
be in a wonderful mood and allow the sun to shine,
then someone gives her a wedgie and she gets angry
and sends in the rain! This morning the sun was
shining, but now the thunder is rumbling in the
distance and it's raining again. It sure doesn't
seem like July with all the rain we've been having.

Although, the rain has been good on the blackberry
crops. The vines along my driveway are absolutely
loaded with berries. And to my delight, a few are
starting to ripen. I LOVE blackberries, I LOVE
picking blackberries, and I LOVE eating blackberries!!
As a child I never wanted a birthday cake, I always
requested that Momma make me a blackberry
cobbler and homemade ice cream. I'd go out the
day before or the day of my birthday and pick
lots of berries and sure enough, Momma would make
me a delicious cobbler topped with ice cream. I
haven't had cobbler like that since Momma
passed away.

Oooohhh... if the berries are getting ripe, that must
mean that I have a birthday looming in the near
future! Yeup, a week from tomorrow and I'll be
forty-seven years old. I truly can't believe that
I'm that old, it seems only a week or two ago and
I was graduating from high school. Maybe a few
days ago that Cassie was born. Time has just
flown by for me. Funny how some of the
memories from our past stand out in our minds
and are so vivid, yet others are fuzzy and hard
to remember. There are parts of my life that
I don't remember too much about, I think
maybe those are selective memories. I'd rather
not remember those times so I've just kinda
blocked them out.

And the people... I wonder about people I've
known in the past. I've stayed in touch with
many, but there are a few that were very
precious to me at one time and I've now lost
track of them. I often wonder where they're
at and how they are.

Have a Happy Independence Day!