Making Progress...

Can you believe the end of September is here? I sure can't! I feel like the days are just whizzing by. I'm finally starting to feel like I am making some headway on the house. While I'm not done with all the projects, I'm whittling away at them day by day. Today I finished up laundry and cleaned out the girls' drawers while I was at it. I think I need to separate hot weather clothes from cool weather clothes so their drawers aren't quite so stuffed. This time of year though is so tough to do that. Last week we were in the 40s and rainy (some areas saw snow!) and today it's in the upper 80s. Hard to put all the warm weather clothes away just yet. *Ü*

On Sunday afternoon I cleaned up an area in the backyard that I've neglected for some time. There is a sort of walkway between the house and where the garage sits. It's about 4-5 feet wide and a dumping ground of sorts. The leaves accumulate in this "breezeway." I had some time before the Broncos game started, so I got that area all cleaned up. I felt such a good sense of satisfaction after it was done. I had to take a shower though, I got pretty dusty. LOL

I have so many areas I want to work on though, I sometimes get frozen on what to work on when. Either that or I bounce from one thing to the next and that can take longer than it needs to. Sigh. I'll just keep chipping away at it, bit by bit. I want to get to a point where I feel comfortable working on some cards or layouts. I have some organizing of my digital stash to do, too. Sigh...always something.

I have neglected my walking a bit, something I'm not real thrilled with. As I said, last week the weather was not conducive to walking outside (at least not for me). I was also pretty upset about Sarah's passing, so I gave myself a break. Yesterday, though, I walked on the treadmill for 2 miles. Today I didn't, though, I had other things going on and before I knew it, it was time to get the girls from school.

I am still working on Amy's socks...getting closer to the toes. I thought I'd show you the book I am using to learn the knitting 2 socks at a time technique and my progress on the socks. That way you have something to look at from me. I was trying to do a pair like the cover pair, but I broke the needle on that stitch. I may try again sometime as I really like how it looks. We'll see.

Here's a funny for you in the saga of mice in our house. I told you we got a second one the morning after we got the first one, right? Since then, nothing, so I thought maybe, just maybe that was it. Um, no. Every morning I check the "trap" to see if the tube is still in place. And each morning it hasn't been touched. Yesterday morning was no exception. I was reading blogs after I checked and Steve was in the other room (where the trap is set up) reading the paper. After a while he told me we got another mouse. Huh? It must have just happened since the tube was still in place. Steve said, the tube hadn't moved, but there was a mouse in the bin. Interesting! I guess the tube is optional. LOL No wait, they are just jumping into the bin now! Wow. Nah...I suspect he was trying to walk along the edge of the bin toward the tube and slipped. But I guess how it happened doesn't matter, right? Another one is gone! *Ü* Fingers crossed that HE was the last one!

Thanks for stopping by. One of these days I'll have something more interesting to share...I hope. In the meantime I appreciate your stopping by and seeing what I've been up to.

Crocheted Headband

Happy Saturday!

I hope you are ready to enjoy a nice weekend. Our weather is supposed to take a turn for the better after a week filled with clouds, rain and very cool temperatures. It's sunny out now and should be warm. Yay!

We have a birthday party to go to later this morning and I wanted to make the birthday girl a little something. I knew it had to be fairly quick and easy since I have been pretty distracted all week. Here's what I decided to create. I hope she likes it.

I actually want to make headbands for the girls since they aren't wearing ponytails these days. I thought a bunch of different styles of headbands would be a fun fashion accessory for them.

I used some Red Heart yarn I had in my stash and the pattern was a freebie one found here. It's just a single crochet stitch, so it really is quick and easy.

Speaking of handwork, I ended up pulling out Amy's socks and starting over. Sigh. I was trying to use a pattern that called for double pointed needles and adjusting it for the long circular needle and I got hopelessly messed up when I needed to pick up stitches. So, I decided I need more practice using patterns designed just for the long circular needle before I can figure out those type of adjustments. I chose a pattern that is actually an adult size, but I am adjusting the size for Amy's foot. It's actually an adult small size and the only thing I need to adjust really is the length of the foot, which is "easy peasy, lemon squeezy" as Amy is apt to say these days. *Ü* I've made it through the part that messed me up on the other pair, so I should finish relatively soon, I hope.

I know I haven't created any cards lately and for that I'm sorry. I am having some sort of block about going out into the garage to create these days. Not quite sure what it is that is preventing me from wanting to go out there, since I'm grateful to even have a great space, but there you have it. Of course, I'm also knee-deep in working on stuff inside the house, which could be all that it is. I am really motivated to get the tasks done inside the house and maybe I just don't want to be distracted from it (yesterday I cleaned the stove, dishwasher, cabinet fronts and the floor in the kitchen-I also made a master list of all the jobs needed to be done in each area of the house). I will get out there again, I promise!

I've subscribed to some neat blogs (at least I am finding them enjoyable) about being thrifty, frugal and taking care of the home. If you are interested in seeing links, let me know.

This week has been a tough one for me, as you know. I had to go pick up Sarah's remains yesterday from the vet. I had her cremated, so we could put the "urn" next to Critter's. Maybe that sounds strange to some, but it helps us. I also had them make a paw print in clay with her name imprinted in it (they did this for Critter as well). I was really, really touched at what they included with these items (thoughtfully wrapped in a gift bag). The "urn" is really pretty (I didn't take a picture because it might bother some people to see it, I think). It's a metal container, but the lid has a cat etched on it sitting in the grass with flowers. There was also a poem tucked in the bag called The Rainbow Bridge. I'd never read that poem before and it really comforted me. It talks about how your friend is restored to health and vigor at a place called the Rainbow Bridge. They play and have fun with the exception of missing their person. Then they see "you" when your time comes and you joyfully meet again and walk over the Rainbow Bridge together. I'm going to frame and hang the poem.

I was really touched that they handled everything so respectfully. It brought a comforting closure to the whole ordeal.

Thanks so much for your patience as I work through these things. Your comments and encouragement mean so much.

Laugh Out Loud Funny...

Hello there!

Well, this first photo isn't what is laugh out loud funny, but it sure is cute, isn't it? Amy grew that pumpkin this year and they just brought it in yesterday. There is a funny part to pumpkin growing (at least to us). They have planted the seeds for the past few years and get a huge vine that goes everywhere. They get several blossoms on the vine. And then only one pumpkin grows. Is it supposed to be that way? I dunno, but it's what happens in our garden. LOL This year's is a tall skinny pumpkin as you can see. Amy's thrilled and already talking about growing one next year. (Let's just hope the innards aren't moldy like last year's pumpkin).

Gotta mention the score on that jacket. Steve regularly takes the girls on bike rides, as you know. Well, this summer, as they pedaled to the park or wherever, they'd be on the look out for garage sales. (I haven't embraced the thrill of the hunt at garage sales, so prefer not to go) They found one not too long ago where Amy was over the moon because she found a rolling suitcase that was Thomas the Tank Engine themed (she's loved Thomas since she was a toddler). I guess the deal was, they could stuff this suitcase with whatever would fit and it all cost $8. The girls picked out some clothes (cute ones too), one of which is the jacket you see here. It's a Columbia jacket, which are pretty pricey, from what I understand. So...needless to say we were all thrilled with this garage sale find. Mommy about the jacket much more than the suitcase, but whatever. And you know if I had been with them, this great deal wouldn't have happened. And yes, Amy drags that suitcase thing to school each day, even though it's not a back pack. Sigh. Guess this is another funny, huh? LOL

While I haven't embraced the thrill of the hunt at garage sales, I have embraced thrift store shopping! I just picked up Jessica's Halloween costume for $4.99. It's a Barbie sort of cheerleader looking thing. I also picked up a shirt and stretch pants to wear under it, should it snow/rain (as it typically does around here) on Halloween. Amy got a Thomas the Tank engine costume last week for $4.99. I discovered the very same costume costs almost $20 at Target! I also picked up a Dr. Christiane Northrup book called Mother-Daughter Wisdom for $2.49! It was half off the regular price they were selling it for. New that book, which is hardcover, is $28.

I've just discovered this author and really like what she has to say, at least about menopause (which is coming up really soon for me as I am "officially" or "medically" perimenopausal). I'm on the hunt for The Wisdom of Menopause as I've already found Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom. I checked out The Secret Pleasures of Menopause from the library and really liked her style and perspective on this whole experience, which is what started the hunt for the other books.

Okay, so that still isn't the laugh out loud funny. I guess I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Look what arrived in the mail for me yesterday!
I actually DID laugh loud and long when I saw this card. And I thank Sharli of Sharli's Place for sending it to me. I can't say I "love" it, but I do appreciate the humor and your thinking of me. Hee, hee. Interesting that you sent me two mice images to color as the morning after we caught the first one, a second one was caught-Yay! Since then...nothing, so I am hoping that there were only two in the house this time. And the squirrel image isn't lost on me either. Thanks so very much Sharli! It felt good to laugh like that.

And on a very grateful note, I received a sympathy card from the vet (written in her own handwriting) expressing her condolences over Sarah's passing. That was really thoughtful and caring, don't you think? It's sure got to be hard on vets who have to perform difficult and heart wrenching tasks. This is why, even though the vet's office takes a bit of time to get to, we remain loyal to them. They truly care.

I've rambled on long enough, don't you think? I'll close for now with heartfelt thanks for stopping by!

Some Things Never Change...

And that's a good thing.

Thank you so much for all your kind and loving thoughts regarding Sarah. They truly help. And remind me that I need to get to scrapbooking more because you just never know...

Remembering Sarah...

She had a good life of about 20 years. A good friend who will be remembered with love. It's hard to say good-bye, but I know it's for the best. I want to remember her this way, not the way she spent her last day with me.

Good-bye Sarah, you will be dearly missed, but I know you are up in heaven with Critter now.

Caught One!

Good morning! And it IS a good morning for me, because we caught a mouse overnight! Yay! One down and hopefully no more to go, although we are keeping traps up for the time being...just in case.

I don't remember if I showed you what has been successful for us in terms of catching the wily little buggers.

I have about 7 of these traps set up around the house. They have peanut butter and an M&M in them to entice the mouse into it. These have been completely ignored this time around.

I like the idea of these because you don't see the mouse, and therefore, I don't do the icky girly dance (hopping from foot to foot going ew, ew ew) like I did when we caught our first mouse, years ago, when the girls were very young and we used the old fashioned trap. Um, yeah, that's when I coined the phrase icky girly dance, because that's exactly what I did when I saw we caught on. And I had to pick it up and throw it away. (can I get a big EWWWW) because Steve was at work and it was in the morning and he wouldn't be home til dinner time and we had two little toddlers, a dog and a cat and it was in our living room. I couldn't leave it til he got home. It was after that incident that I found these traps and they worked...for awhile.

Then Steve researched how to trap mice and he came across this "humane" trap. One wouldn't think it would work, but it does. We've gotten at least 3 or 4 mice this way.
Notice the high falutin' techno gadgets used to create the trap. A paper towel roll, flattened on one side. A bit of wax paper, with a smidge of peanut butter and an M&M on it. It's perched so it balances over a shelf or counter and you need a tall canister. The idea is that mice like tunnels. They run through the tunnel to get the peanut butter and they simply fall into the container. Granted they don't die or get hurt, but they DO get trapped!
And I take a short drive over to our local dog park (by a field) and I empty the can, pick up the trap and head back home, feeling infinitely relieved that another mouse has left our house.

Up until just an hour or so ago, I used our kitchen trash can, so we've been using plastic bags on the counter for our trash. I got the bright idea to use my wrapping paper bin instead so we could have our trash can back. Okay, I'm a little slow as it just occurred to me this morning to use the wrapping paper bin, but at least I finally thought of it!

I thought I'd share this just in case any of you who read this find yourself with a mouse in the house and want a relatively simple way to trap and get rid of them. This wasn't our idea...Steve found it on the internet.

The girls are off school today, but I'm not sure just yet what we'll be doing. I suspect cookie baking may be on the agenda and maybe making zucchini bread...Hope your Friday is a good one!

On This Day...digi layout

Hi there!

I had some time (or rather I TOOK the time) this afternoon to work on a digital layout. This was after my daily walk (another 2+ miles, but I forgot my pedometer and don't have the number of steps) and scrubbing down the bathroom floor (rather than giving it the usual lick and a promise). Boy, it sure looks like new right now. Wonder how long it will last? On Tuesday I washed down the ceiling and all the walls, including the exhaust fan/light. While we don't live in a pit, I promise, I've not really done a good and thorough cleaning in a very long time. My hope is once I get these big jobs done, I'll in effect, have a sort of clean slate and it will require more maintainance rather than being the big jobs I'm doing right now.

Anyway, since this big clean up in the bathroom is done, I treated myself to some time to create. Here's the result...

Granted, it's a rather simple layout, using a Janet Phillips template, but I still like it. I decided to look through some older photos and as you can see I took these almost 2 years ago! This was back when I was still washing dishes by hand most nights. But now I actually use the dishwasher in our kitchen. The girls take turns setting and clearing the table these days. So, them washing the dishes definitely did not become anything routine. It felt good to be a little creative.

I'm still working on Amy's socks. It's going slower than I'd like and last night I realized I made the silliest of mistakes and had to take 4 rounds out before I could move forward. At least that's done and now the heel flaps should get done more quickly. I got the needles I ordered and transferred the stitches to my new needles and can now rest easy knowing I won't break another one.

This week has been busy in addition to the household stuff. I had an informational meeting for Amy's Brownie troop on Tuesday night. Tonight we are headed to Jessica's First Grade Family Night and tomorrow night I'll be at an informational meeting for Jessica's Daisy troop. We've got swim lessons going again two days a week and this weekend Amy has a service project for Brownies and we have a birthday party to attend. It's been fairly quiet this past month activity wise, but I guess the lull is over now. LOL

That's the quick update from me for now. Thanks for stopping by and leaving such encouraging comments. I hope your week has been going well. One more day til the weekend! *Ü*

Btw, yes I DO have traps set out for that mouse, but he's not taking the bait just yet...sigh

No Art...but another Brain Dump post...

Hello there!

Yep, I'm still alive, but not being too creative in the cards/layout area. I am making Amy's socks, but there was a set back on that, too. I broke my knitting needle. Can you believe it? I wasn't too thrilled. I had said that I was trying a new pattern since I was kinda tired of just doing the knit stitch. I chose a pattern that didn't seem too difficult and in reality, it isn't, but I'm a tight knitter and doing the main part of the new stitch was tough because of the tension. And I was using a wooden needle. Sure enough, as I pulled the needle through to make the stitch, I felt the top part of the needle break. Ugh. I got on the computer and went to KnitPicks and ordered some needles that are not wooden (using birthday money I got from my dad). They are on their way. I'm trying another different pattern, but it doesn't require me trying to do a k3tog stitch (for the knitters out there) regularly. It's knitting and purling...simple and straightforward. LOL

I'm having a sort of a mental block about actually going out to the craft room right now. I'd much rather just stay in the house. Need to work on that.

Making progress with the household stuff. Yesterday I ended up cleaning up my laundry closet. I don't have a room, but a closet in our hallway, with bi-fold doors. Steve made shelves not long after we moved in and over time, a bunch of junk/stuff has accumulated on those shelves and it was one of those things that bugged me whenever I did laundry. So, I decided to take care of it. Steve and the girls were gone doing something (turns out they went to the Museum...I had been out looking for storage options for said shelves in laundry closet when they left) and it was quiet in the house. Let's just say, some stuff got put back into the garage, a bunch went to Goodwill and a huge trash bag is in the garbage can. I have a donations tub now, where I can put clothes that are no longer loved or outgrown and I can put my laundry stuff back on a shelf rather than on the dryer. I also vacuumed off and dusted the bi-fold doors. It looks much better now and I don't feel like stuff will fall on me when I open the doors. LOL

In keeping with the whole cleaning up theme...I discovered where Mr. Mouse has been hanging out recently (since I hadn't seen any evidence of him in the living room). Yep, the mouse is STILL in the house. Ugh. Anyway, I was cleaning up the great room (converted a long time ago two car garage). We had some stuff in there that really needed to head up to the attic, so I started gathering them up. One of the items is a rather large stuffed mouse. Oma, who cut the girls' hair, used to work for Safeway and she would bring home promotional stuff. We've inherited some of those items. This mouse is big...like bigger than Jessica, big. The girls played with it for a while and then it ended up getting hidden behind the couch. I decided it should get moved up to the attic. As I pulled it up, I saw the mouse jump out of it and run away. GREAT(lots of sarcasm in that great)! He (or more likely she) had managed to create a hole in the arm and was working on pulling the stuffing out to build a nest. That big mouse is now outside and the real mouse is still somewhere inside. Sigh...

And finally, I walked each day last week! On Thursday I walked for a little over 3 miles, or 11110 steps! Friday, it was 2.79 miles or 9830 steps. Hopefully I can keep it up and maybe do a little more. All told it was over 10 miles in 5 days. Yay, me! Although it did have a smidgen of a scare on Friday as I was on my way back home. I managed to step on a rock and started to fall in exactly the same way I fell last summer...on the same ankle even! I caught myself though and other than a slight twinge a time or two...all is fine. Whew! I've been SO careful to avoid pebbles and stuff, I'm surprised I didn't see the stone. Maybe I was too focused on getting to the house or on the song that was playing on my mp3 player...

I hope to do something creative today, even if it is just knitting. I'm also slightly hooked on those Sudoku puzzles...

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a Super Sunday!

Jessica's Socks and Cookies?

Happy Tuesday!

The girls had today off from school for a teacher inservice and I didn't necessarily want to take them somewhere like Chuck E. Cheese. And I also wanted to get a walk in, but how to do that with the girls? Hmmmm. First, we three took Buster for a walk around the neighborhood, that way the girls felt like they walked with me. Then I asked them if they would like to go to the "big park" and play while I walked on the path around the lake? They were ALL for that! Yay! So, we rode our bikes over there and I walked around the lake about 5 times and got about a mile or so logged in on my pedometer. I think it was somewhere around 6600 steps. It was a beautiful morning and there were several other walkers out as well. I didn't want to leave the girls alone too much, so I would go check on them after every lap. It worked out really well. Then we rode our bikes home. I think it maybe a little less than a mile to the park from our house. So even though I didn't get my full walk in, I sure feel good about what I did get done.

I finished Jessica's socks last night! Yay! I'll show those in a minute, but Amy's been asking me for the past few days if we could make cookies. Today seemed a perfect day to do that. We followed a recipe out of a crafts book I got Amy years ago. She pores over that thing and oftentimes wants to do an activity from it. Anyway, the recipe called for castor sugar. HUH? What the heck is THAT? A quick check on Google informed me it's a superfine sugar that dissolves almost instantly. Since we were low on sugar anyway and planning a quick trip to Walmart to get that and a couple of movies the girls wanted to buy with their own money, I figured I'd see if they carried it. Nope. But a website said you could grind regular sugar in the blender or food processor and use it for castor sugar. Okay fine. Did that.

Had to take a couple of pictures to commemorate our cookie making.

They loved wearing the aprons that Auntie Kelly got for them one Christmas. Jessica's lips are blue because she had a Blue Coconut slushie from Sonic. (I didn't buy it, one of the gals there likes the girls so much, she oftentimes gives them one, isn't that nice?)

So we got the dough mixed and then it was time to roll it out for cutting out cookie shapes. Um, what a pain in the patootie it was. We followed the recipe exactly, but I couldn't believe how sticky the dough was. We floured and rolled and cut and when I tried to lift the dough onto the cookie sheet, it would break or get misshapen. I tell you, for a so called simple kids' activity, it sure wasn't easy! LOL The girls were great sports about it and still had fun, so I call it a success even if the cookie shapes were a little funny.

And now for Jessica's socks. She was so excited to see them finished when she got up this morning, she immediately pulled them on (and I heaved an inner sigh of relief that they actually fit)! I'm also relieved to report that the laddering problem I had with my socks doesn't seem to have been repeated with this pair. Yay. I have an idea as to why...but first, take a looksee...

I can't remember if I told you about my trying another new to me technique for knitting socks. For my pair, I used two circular needles, following a book I borrowed from the library. I found a book at Joann's that shows how to do the two socks at the same time, but with ONE long circular needle! This really appealed to me because I was having trouble finding the sizes I needed (unless I ordered them online) and following this technique, I'd only have to buy one needle as opposed to two for the sizes I didn't already have. Does that make sense? Anyway...I think this technique really helped me get a better handle on pulling the yarn tightly when I needed to, and it didn't seem to pull as much when one of the socks was resting while I worked on the other.

Now I'm starting a pair for Amy, but I'm going to venture out a bit to use a pattern that has more texture than just the knit stitch I used on Jessica's. Oh I know, I'm probably setting myself up for having to make that same pair for Jessica, but I'm getting a tad bored of just doing the knit stitch, I'd like a little variety to keep it interesting.

That's it from me today. Thanks so much for stopping by. I sure hope your Tuesday has been terrific!

Happy Monday to you. Hope you've had a great day. I took the girls to the outdoor pool for a few hours as today was the last day they'll be open for the season. Thankfully, the weather cooperated! The girls had a blast and I got to work some more on Jessica's socks (I'm on the toes now...won't be long).

This picture of Buster was taken on the day hike that Steve and the girls went on on Saturday. I guess Buster was so hot after the trek, he walked straight into the water and plopped down for a while. I can just imagine him thinking...What?! It feels goooooood! It makes me smile to look at it.

As does this photo of the girls looking through one of my photo albums. They've re-discovered them and Amy takes great pride in reading my journaling. They really enjoy looking through what I've done and have also said I really need to do more pages! (Oops, guess I'd better get some of the layouts that are living on my computer printed out)
Other than the card I showed you, I've not been in my craft room this weekend. I have been pretty domestic, though. I changed sheets yesterday, did the grocery shopping and even washed both cars! I was pooped when it was all said and done, that's for sure, but it felt good to get the stuff accomplished.

I walked on Friday (can't remember if I mentioned that) and decided to go ahead and walk this morning, since Steve was home. I went 2.73 miles in just over an hour and took 9642 steps! Wow! I am pleased at that. My shins were a little sore when I started, but by the end of the walk, they were just fine, thank goodness.

Not too much else to report right now. Thanks ever so much for stopping by. Hope you have a great start to your week!

First Day, First Grade-digi layout

I decided to work on another layout this afternoon. The family came home a little earlier than I expected, but they had fun on their hike. The girls were content to relax in front of the tv for a bit, so I kept working on the layout. I tried my hand at recoloring some of the elements to better match the colors in the photos. I'm not 100% convinced I hit the mark, but I still think it looks okay.

For this layout I used this template by Linda Roos of In The Making Design. I've subscribed to her blog since I sort of got to know Linda when I was taking Jessica Sprague's classes. She has a very beautiful, clean and elegant style. Thanks for the template freebie, Linda! I also wanted a chalk type of font, but didn't have one in my stash, at least not one I could find. LOL So I did a quick google search and found this one on Fontspace. I really like how it looks on the chalkboard element and in the title and it was free! Whoo hoo!

I used a lined paper from It's Elementary by Dani Mogstad (SweetShoppeDesigns) and slightly recolored it. The chalkboard is from the same kit. The rest of the layout uses elements from School Rules by Kay Miller, which I got back when she was designing for SweetShoppe. The Shoppe is down at the moment, but you can find Kay's kit on her site here. I think she moved them to her own shop after she stepped down from SSD. I recolored two of the buttons and the crayon paper, but the rest of the elements are in their original form.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Thankful Heart and a Card!

Now that I've got the mouse rant done, I can move onto a much more pleasant subject...sharing goodness! Although I have to say, I sort of regret cleaning the windows and screens...since this all started AFTER I cleaned them. Sheesh, I guess I should have left well enough alone.

I got a complete day brightener in the midst of my living room clean up the other day. Kathi sent me the loveliest of presents, a basket full of goodies! I feel so special! If you follow her blog, you've most likely seen this butterfly card she posted. Well that gorgeous card is MINE...all mine! Aren't you jealous? LOL I was doing the whole giddy girly dance as I checked out all the goodness she had stashed in the basket.

And I cannot take a picture to do this piece justice at all. It's a prism with butterflies and flowers on the inside. I have NO clue how something like this gets created, but it's just gorgeous.

The girls absolutely LOVE looking at this from all angles (as do I) because the colors change depending on how you look at it. I tried to capture it here, but not sure I succeeded. I had to clean off the little girl fingerprints before I could take a picture. LOL

Part of Kathi's lovely gift was a little packet of stamped images. Oh how I love the images she shared. So much I just HAD to head out to my craft room and color one up. I also used some of the designer paper (which I think is DCWV's new Indian Summer stack) she included. I don't remember this little girl's name, but isn't she adorable?? Even though she doesn't wear glasses, this one totally makes me think of Amy.

I used my pencils and oms to color in the image, Oval and Scallop oval Nestabilities as well as a Martha Stewart border punch. The Orange Organdy ribbon is from CTMH.

Thank you SO much for all the goodies, Kathi! You sure made me feel extra special and helped extend my birthday.

I've got to take pictures of the cards I've received, I'm so blessed with wonderful friends.

Steve and the girls went on a day hike today with Dave. Buster went too and is sure to mess up his newly aquired 'do. Oh well, Steve'll have to give him a bath. I have SO many projects I want to work on, I was almost frozen with not knowing what to do first. But the card won out. We'll see what else gets done.

And finally...I got a pedometer with some birthday money one of my brothers sent me. I got one that not only measures the number of steps you take, but the distance traveled and the calories burned. I walked Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but didn't get the pedometer until Thursday morning, so I only know for sure that I walked 2.18 miles on Thursday (7700+ steps) and 2.14 miles on Friday (too bad I had to pee...I might have walked longer). I walked pretty much the same distance on Wednesday. I discovered a radio station I listen to now has a 2 hour commercial free block of music, so I am trying to time my walks during that time. That is, until I figure out how to record some of my CDs onto the mp3 player I'm using. I think that's not too bad for starters. I am usually walk for about an hour. Feels good no matter what!

That's it from me for now. Hope you have an awesome long weekend (if you are in the US-It's Labor Day on Monday for those not in the US). I may be back at some point!

They're Back...UGH!

The other night I was watching tv and working on Jessica's socks when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw "something" by the window. Nah....I thought to myself, I didn't see anything, but I kept looking over to where I thought I saw something and kept reassuring myself that nope, I didn't see anything at all. Denial is a good thing sometimes, right? It's still warm out! It's too early! Denial was dashed when I saw the something I thought I didn't see scamper across the floor. Crud. A mouse! UGH. Yes, a mouse came into the house and I'm pretty sure I saw the dang thing climb in through the window screen. Sigh...remember earlier this summer when I said we had a squirrel chew through our screens? Well, the not so bright, I don't want to deal with it, "solution" was to close the windows. Only, I really like fresh air, especially in the summer time. So, the window in the living room was kept open. I figured we are too active during the day to have anything crawl in. That theory is well and good...during the day. Not so much at night, when it's quiet and I neglected to close the windows. So, out came the traps once again.

Steve looked around the living room the first night and I think we saw it run along the baseboards toward our bookshelves. Didn't catch it. Then he asked where the duct tape was that he had out on the counter. Yes...he used duct tape to cover the hole! (good thinking, right...**tapping and nodding her head**) There might have even been me standing on one of the girls' chairs for a little bit. Steve said I looked ridiculous and to get down. Well, I didn't want it to run across my feet should we scare it out into the open. Sheesh, at least I didn't scream. Just cursed.

The second night, I saw it again...dang! Stupid little critter. THEN and you are not going to believe this...I didn't! I was working on those socks again (with my feet up on the couch, thank you very much) and looked up to see a mouse climbing UP THE SCREEN (on the outside, not on the inside-thank goodness)!!! That dang thing was looking for a way in. Grrrrr....I'll bet the first one announced to his little mouse buddies...I'm in! I'm in...c'mon! Looked at my traps the next morning...still nothing.

Then I looked at the duct taped hole in the screen and saw another bitty hole or two, with the piece of screen on the inside! The little sucker chewed through the screen next to the duct tape. Argghhhh! Up went another piece of duct tape (not such a bright solution after all, huh?). But we are smart now...we are closing the window at night, ha! Well, it must be a determined critter because just a bit ago I looked again and there is ANOTHER hole in the screen! Here...see for yourself. Guess what's on the honey do list for this weekend?

The big hole is courtesy of the squirrel who must have broadcast to the other critters that this house was easy pickins'. You can see to the left of that big hole the new ones from the other day (that are duct taped) and where there is no tape is the one from last night apparently. It's either change the screen or block out the light with the duct tape, I guess.

So, in light of this, I've had to do another clean up and clean out of the living room. I hadn't moved too much back onto the bookshelves thankfully, but I had a lot of yarn hanging around. So I had to box that up. Then I had to clean up all the little poopies they leave. I had to turn over the couch and the chair and vacuum out any stray crumbs and make sure they hadn't chewed holes into them. The whole time I was doing this I was yelling at it to get the &^%$ out of my house. I haven't seen evidence of it since the clean up, so I am hoping the bugger slipped back outside at some point unnoticed and thought he could just saunter back in as he pleased. Either that, or he's moved to another part of the house that I don't know about yet. Please, please, please let it be the former!

Sigh...and to add insult to this...both the dog and the cat were awake and in the living room when I saw the mouse the first time. Do you think they cared in the least? Noooooo...they just wondered why I was acting like a dork.

How To Lose 20 Lbs Without Trying...

Hello there!

First off, I would like you thank you for the warm and happy birthday wishes. They mean a great deal to me. The girls has assessments that day, so I took them to school for an hour and a half and then I took them to Chuck E. Cheese and let them play for a couple of hours. Once home again, I fielded kids (as in neighbors' and my own) and birthday phone calls the rest of the afternoon. Steve took us out to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Yum

Now about my post title...sadly this isn't a fix for humans, but for dogs, particularly our dog, Buster. He is a Lhaso Apso/Cocker Spaniel mix (we think-got him from the animal shelter) and his hair grows out, not down (much like my own hair...I feel for you buddy). Every 3 or 4 months we take him to get groomed. Every time I think I should take a picture of him before and after. I think this usually just after I drop him off at the groomer. LOL Today, my brain was working well for some reason (maybe it was the hour long brisk walk I took that got the brain cells moving) and I remembered to do a before shot and an after shot so you can see the dramatic difference it makes to have Buster groomed.

Here he is doing his best to look like a Brillo pad.

Don't you just love the Veronica Lake, hair over one eye look? Oh her it might look sexy, on him...not so much.

And here's what he looks like when all that hair is gone!

***Poof!***

20 pounds gone and he didn't have to break a sweat! Lucky dog!

You can tell he feels lighter too...look at that million dollar smile!

That face is what got me when I saw him at the shelter...who could resist??

Thanks for stopping by and again thanks for the well wishes. You all are the best and sure know how to make this 44 year old gal feel special.

*Ü*