Katie's Car!

Katie will be starting school Thursday and I am going to have to find a job SOON. Which was leading us to a transportation issue. We solved that today by finding a car for Katie! She will be driving this 1996 Pontiac Grand Am. Hopefully she will get her drivers' license this week too.
But, first we will be traveling to Georgia tomorrow to see some friends we've dearly missed. I'm so excited. I'm off to pack.
See you when I get back!
Blessings~

Monday Madness

Well, it's not really madness. It's just Monday. I started out my day with quite the to-do list- most of which was making calls. I have spent most of the day on the phone. I had to schedule and reschedule... you know those days. We had our phone switched to a new provider last week... they didn't get our phone number "ported" over, so we've had a temporary number now for the last week. Annoying. I've been trying to get that straightened out. I hope I didn't miss many calls. I still have the same cell if you need to reach me.
We got new furniture last week and it's wonderful. Except one of the recliners doesn't work. Had to set up an appointment to get that fixed. Here's a pic of the living room set.

The couch and loveseat both have built-in recliners. Kevin and I are really enjoying putting our feet up in the evenings to watch TV. In 24 years, we've never had a recliner. Now we have 5!
I had to reschedule a dentist appointment. Katie and I are taking a very short road trip. We are going to Georgia for a couple of days next week to visit some dear friends of ours there. I can't wait to see them.
Katie starts back to school next week. We're still looking for a car for her. She's getting pretty good at driving, but she says they make you parallel park to get your license here and she'll need to work on that.
I'm really getting my miles in.

Feels good. And I am drinking lots of water, keeping my calorie intake under 1400. I WILL get some weight off. (I hope.)
If you've read this, leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!
Blessings~

A Quick Hello

Just poppin in to say hello.
Katie was in the kitchen this last weekend and Kevin and I were on the deck talking. She snapped a couple of pics of us. I thought I'd share one.We've got the cable/phone guy coming today. We're switching our phone service to the local cable company. I hope that solves the problems we are always having with the line. Half the time we'd pick up the phone, there would be no dial tone. It was so frustrating. Now we'll be saving money too. Gotta love that!
We found some new furniture at Value City that we liked. It's being delivered tomorrow, so I'll hopefully post some pics of it soon. Our current furniture was so uncomfortable.. especially for Kevin. I hope he'll be able to relax now when he gets home from work.
I've been walking like crazy. I started the WAlk at Home "Walk Club" for one month free. I also joined in on one of the monthly challenges and hope to walk 100 miles this month! Sixteen down 84 to go!

Have a great day!

Happy Anniversary Jake and Megan!

Today is Jake and Megan's 2nd wedding anniversary. I am so very proud of my son and daughter-in-law. We all know that marriage isn't easy, but these 2 make it look like it is.
Congratulations, Jake and Megan!

What's New....

Not much.
The summer is really flying by.
Katie will soon be starting college.
We are looking for a car for her.
It's the season for animals. I've been doing my bird watching. One of our favorite thing to do on the weekend is to try and spot a bird we've never seen before. We usually do. It's fun to watch the baby birdies at the feeder. The mommy or daddy bird stuffing food in their beaks while their wings are shaking. So cute. Here is a pic of a daddy cardinal feeding his baby. The juvenile cardinals do not have the orange beak yet.

We've seen lots of hummingbirds this season. They'll come up to the picture window and look in at eye level before going up to the feeder. Funny little birds. We did have 2 feeders for them, but one morning we work up and the one in the tree was missing. A hungry raccoon I assume. Kevin found one of the plastic pieces out in the woods near our yard. I doubt we'll replace that one.

We've also had lots of deer in the backyard and even some in the middle of the day. There are even babies with lots of spots. We put a coffee can of corn out every night. They are used to Kevin now and when he goes out to smoke they usually stay out there eating the corn.
We did go visit Peggy and family a couple of weeks ago... a last minute trip since Kevin was on leave and it was Peggy's birthday. It just made sense to go see them and take advantage of living within a day's drive. We were able to go to Busch Gardens thanks to the "Salute to Heroes" program. We got in FREE and had lots of fun. However, we rode the rides, got wet and then the sun went away and it started sprinkling. Go figure.
Our living room furniture is horribly uncomfortable and Kevin has gotten to the point of not being able to stand sitting on it to watch TV at night. It hurts his back so much. So, I think we are planning on looking for furniture this weekend.
Next weekend I'll have a booth at the community yard sale downtown. I hope to sell a lot of my unwanted craft supplies and stamps. Wish me luck.
Have a fabulous weekend and enjoy what's left of your summer. I hope to get back to blogging one of these days!
Blessings!
(Pictures being added as I have time.)

A Month of Catch Up (LONG POST...LOTS OF PICS)

It's been a while. Unbelievably to me it has been over a month since my last post. I won't go into why, but I decided today would be the day that I would post on both of my blogs! AND try to update them at least weekly. So, here I am. A lot has happened since my last posts. Our sweet daughter (our BABY) graduated. We had a house full of company! And we survived. A good friend loaned me her camper and we set it up in front of the house for more sleeping space. Even though it didn't have A/C, we were able to run an extension cord out to it for lights and fans. I think it stayed cool enough for comfortable sleeping for my parents and my brother and his wife. I wish I had taken a picture.
But, here are a few of the pics from graduation.

Peggy, Zach and the twins with Katie. Brandon and Faith were not exactly cooperative.

Katie with Jake and Megan.

Katie and her Godmother, my Aunt Anna. We missed Dale.

The graduate with my mom and dad- her Grandma and Grandpa Johnson.

Kevin and I with our baby.

At the graduation, Faith wanted to walk and amazingly she even took my dad's hand.

Peggy and I at the graduation- friends since Katie was 2- the twins' age!

My brother, Rob and his wife Kylie were able to make the trip.

Kevin with his mom who flew in from Iowa. We were happy to see her.

Everyone was gone by Sunday. Even Katie who went back to Kansas with her brother and sister-in-law. I picked her up from the airport almost 2 weeks later. Surprisingly, she had changed her "look"- dyed her hair and cut it. I like it though.

As of July 1st, I am no longer on the Our Daily Bread Designs design team. I really miss it. But, I had to start focusing on finding a job. I have sent out a few resumes, but so far nothing. We are going up to Northern Virginia to visit Peg this weekend for her birthday. We are all going to Busch Gardens on the way home. Our summer vacation. LOL
When we get back I am REALLY going to get busy on finding a job.
Employment offices even. Yuck.
I have been stamping and crafting and walking and piddling around. And I am getting ready for a big sale this weekend where I will hopefully unload hundreds of unwanted stamp supplies!
That is about the extent of my summer thus far. I'll show you a couple of pics from yesterday and send you on your way. AND hopefully be back before the week is out to chat some more!

Beautiful Jewelry

My daughter-in-law makes the most beautiful jewelry. Megan has been beading for over 11 years and her experience and creativity combines to make the most exquisite pieces.
Megan has recently started her own business- Wild[e] Designs. You'll find her at craft shows throughout the Midwest, but also at her etsy shop online- Wild[e] Designs.
Here are a few of her pieces.

She still has several necklaces, bracelets and earrings left in her inventory to photograph and post. So, if there is something you're looking for in particular, let her know!
I am sure she would love the challenge of a custom assignment too!