Pennsylvania Trip

I was fortunate to be able to take a week and drive to Pennsylvania with my Dad. We had an enjoyable drive there and back and got to spend some quality time with my Grandmother. The leaves were beautiful. This picture was taken in North Carolina on our way home.
One of the local treats is a steak salad. Now, you can get a steak salad here in Naples but they don't put the french fries on them. So, whenever we visit we always have to stop and get a steak salad. We met up with my Aunt who lives in East Palestine, Ohio and we went and had steak salads. Yum!

I am sure you have heard the saying "You learn something new everyday". Well, Gammy learned something new the day my Uncle brought home brussels sprouts on the stem. She didn't know brussel sprouts grew this way. (Neither did my Dad nor I knew this either!)

We had a great visit. Gammy looks great and is as busy as ever. I can only hope I am as healthy as she is when I am her age. My Uncle and Aunt were gracious hostesses, taking us to dinner and bringing food over. And spending over 40 hours in a car with my just my Dad was an enjoyable experience. I am hoping I will be able to get away in the summer and spend some more time in PA.

All About My Husband

I saw this fun meme at Tanya's blog and decided it would be fun to do (even if Dave isn't technically my hubby):

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV: what is on the screen? sports or news.
2. You’re out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Honey Mustard
3. What is one food he doesn’t like? I can't think of anything he doesn't like
4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Barcadi and Coke
5. Where did he go to high school? Benton Harbor, Michigan
6. What size shoe does he wear? 10.5
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? M & M Memorabilia
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? McDonalds Fish Sandwich
9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? ribs
10. What is his favorite cereal? Since he is lactose intolerant Dave rarely eats cereal.
11. What would he never wear? sandles of any kind
12. What is his favorite sports team? Chicago Bears
13. Who will he vote for? McCain
14. Who is his best friend? me
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? stack stuff on the floor.
16. How many states has he lived in? 2 Michigan and Florida
17. What is his heritage? I don't have any idea
18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind? either an ice cream cake or my mom's Cola Cake with peanut butter icing and mini Reese's peanut butter cups for decorations.
19. Did he play sports in high school? I don't think so, he was in the band.
20. What could he spend hours doing? bugging me!

Book of Me

I have enjoyed putting together a Book of Me based on the challenges at So Tell Me Your Story. The October Challenge was 5 Thing I Like About Me. This is a digital layout and I like the way it turned out.

Sunday Scrappin'

Sunday Scrappin' #50 October 26, 2008

This post is late this week. I got home from PA around 5 this afternoon and had phone messages, mail and eBay stuff to work on. I took my computer and my external hard drive but I only got two pages done while I was out of town. My ta-da's for the past two weeks are in a slide show. All are digital layouts.

My to-do's this week include getting some boxes of craft supplies put away and doing some paper scrapbooking. I have lots of older pictures that need to be paper scrapbooked since I don't have them on my computer.

A Difficult Week

This has been a difficult week. My older son and I are very close. He shares so much of his life with me and usually that is a good thing. The past couple of weeks have seen him making choices that are highly unusual for him. I just try to keep the communication lines open and pray for him.

Dave's mom has decided she no longer want to take dialysis. She has been in the hospital for over 5 months and her quality of life is horrible. She has had a minor heart attack, a mini stroke, and multiple infections. She is a diabetic and has very little sight left. She hasn't taken a step since she went into the hospital and the doctors have told her there is really nothing else they can do for her. When Dave went to visit her in July we honestly thought that would be the end but she has held out for three more months. She really wants to go home and we are hoping that Hospice can help with that. Dave, his brothers and Harley (her husband) are having a hard time with this and when Dave hurts, I hurt. When Dave spoke to his mom yesterday afternoon she asked about Bailey, the kids and I.

On a more pleasant note, I am leaving Sunday afternoon to visit my Grandmother in Pennsylvania. She is an amazing lady, she is 93 and lives alone (next door to my Uncle). I was the first grandchild born on her birthday so we have always been close. My dad and I are driving and returning home a week from Sunday. I will also be able to visit with other family member. I have an Aunt and cousins that I will try and connect with while I am there.

So, today I plan on running errands and getting the house ready to leave. Dave will be home with dogs and I know the phone lines will be busy while I am gone. I miss him already.

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-ins #94 October 17, 2008

1. Follow the directions, it will make life much simpler.
2. A couple of good books is something I always take with me on vacation.
3. To achieve your goals, you must have a plan.
4. I maintain my sanity by crafting is something I'd like you to know about me.
5. I have a thirst for knowledge.
6. Hope floats.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching a couple of movies, tomorrow my plans include packing for my trip and Sunday, I want to leave for Pennsylvania!

Sunday Scrappin'

Sunday Scrappin' #48 October 12, 2008

My ta-da's this week are in the form of a slide show. I completed 29 layouts this week. Only two of them were paper layouts. Seven of them were Quick Pages which are pages that are done for you all you do is drop your pictures into them. I have come to really enjoy the quickness of digital scrapbooking. I can sit in front of the tv, watch a movie or spend the evening with family and scrapbook. How cool is that? No expensive supplies and no clean up!

Another ta-da for this week is I figured out how to make my own layered digital templates. I got a couple of books from the library and watched a few YouTube videos and have created about seven of my own templates. Did I tell you yet that I am loving this digi scrappin?

My to-do's this week is to make sure I am ready to leave next Sunday for PA. I have four boxes sitting upstairs outside my craft room that need to be organizied and put away. I would also like to do some paper scrapbooking this week. I am wanting to make some mini-albums to list on eBay and Etsy.

With all the layouts I did this week you would think one would be mostly orange for the challenge. I only have two that have any orange on them and those are two Halloween layouts.

Friday Fun

Friday Fun: The All About Me Edition October 10, 2008

1. What is your idea of a perfect relaxing day? If I am alone - scrapbooking. If I am with my family - thrift stores, lunch, movies.
2. Your first real boyfriend/girlfriend,… do you look back fondly or do you get the shudders? Where are they today? I met my first boyfriend in the third grade (we would hold hands during films) and we dated during middle and high school. I have fond memories of him but I don't know where he is today.
3. What was your favorite subject in school? English
4. What is your favorite show on TV? Ugly Betty Favorite book? Recently I enjoyed The Friday Night Knitting Club Favorite song? Right now it's All Summer Long by Kid Rock.
5. My husband’s only real competion is Wentworth Miller from Prison Break. Who is your celebrity crush? I don't really have a celebrity crush.
6. Since I got my first gray hair at 16, Miss Clairol and her friends are my close, personal friends! What about you? To dye or not to dye the hair? If so, what color is your natural hair (if you remember!) and what color do you dye it? I have dyed my hair for years. I probably have more gray hair than anything. My natural color hair is brown with red undertones. I usually dye my hair a medium blonde but lately have gone strawberry blonde and I like it.

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins #93 October 10, 2008

1. One of the best concerts/plays/movies I ever saw that I really didn't think I'd like was Michael Bolton. We got free tickets to see him and I really enjoy the concert.
2. Crunchy Ranch Taters is a recipe I recently made (or meal I recently ordered) that was delicious! My mom made these for my birthday dinner last weekend and they were yummy!
3. It's time for week-end get away.
4. Honesty is quite refreshing.
5. If I never hear the word f*** again, it'll be too soon.
6. To one side of the curving road was a mountain, and on the other was a ravine.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to corned beef and cabbage, tomorrow my plans include scrapbooking and decorating for fall and Sunday, I want to go to church and then relax!

Sunday Scrappin'

Sunday Scrappin' #47 October 5, 2008

My ta-da's this week include six digital layouts that I will elaborate on below. I also got my digital scrapbooking supplies organized and put on my external hard drive. I put all my photos on the hard drive as well. I am ready to travel! I got the rest of the boxes of scrapbook and craft supplies emptied and put away. But, I still have more boxes on the truck that need to be brought home and emptied.

This is a layout for my Book of Me called My 10 Essentials.

This layout is called 20 Small Things and it was part of the Type+Writer class from Jessica Sprague.

These two layouts are from the 1 in 48 Benefit Sketch class. These are from my birthday get together last weekend. (Dave has another get together planned for today.)

And two more layouts for my Book of Me about the Women in my Life.

For my to-do's this week I really want to get back into my craft room and do some paper scrapbooking. I also need to get caught up with some classes I have been taking. I will probably get some more boxes from the truck and work on putting more stuff away.

I Have a Confession and Two Book Reviews

Ok, first the confession. I am hopelessly addicted to books! If I go into a thrift store, I can spend hours looking through their books. I love to go through boxes of books at garage sales and I always check what is on the shelves at Target and Walmart. I cannot even pass the books in the library to go the DVD room without fondling them and usually taking more than one home. So, I made this blog post about my list of books for the Fall Into Reading challenge and even mentioned on the post that I would most likely be adding books to the list since I would get books at the library. Now, I have well over 200 books at home so I really don't need to purchase any more books or check any more out at the library but that is why I am hopelessly addicted! I went to the library today (to get Brandon a book to study for his SAT) and I brought home three Janet Evanovich books! Yikes! I will never get to the books on my Fall into Reading list if I continue this!

But, since posting my list for the challenge I have finished two books (one on my list, one from the library). The first book I finished was The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. This is a woman's book. The main character is Georgia, single mom and knit shop owner. Friends and knitters decend onto the shop for a knitting club. If you have a hobby of any kind you will understand the uniqueness of a club like this. Young and old merge with a common denominator and sometimes find a friend. This was a great first novel and I am looking forward to reading other Kate Jacobs books. I read a lot of books and never have I marked a passage but I did so with two in this book.

At the beginning of Chapter 14 "Surely there comes a day when you're just resigned to it, thought Cat. When the negativity becomes so rote that you don't even notice it. But that moment kept eluding her, and she felt bruised by every cruel comment her husband doled out. By the lack of attention. By the overwhelming sensation of hate that left her imagining endless horrible deaths for him." This passage spoke volumes to me. I could have been Cat in this passage, it hit so close to home during my marriage.

And in the middle of Chapter 20 "People sometimes don't do the right thing. So then you're left deciding how you are going to react to what they offer. Because you can't make them change." Such a powerful message. If we remember that we can't change anyone, we can only change how we react to them make all the difference in relationships.

The second book I read was August Moon by Jess Lourey. This murder mystery has undertones of Stephanie Plum only not as much fun. The main character Mira has been through more and is more jaded but is very real. I enjoyed this book and will probably read the others in the series.

Now I am off to start one of the three Janet Evanovich books that I picked up today!