Lasting Impressions from the heART!

A Long week has passed, now for next week.

2012-01-29T15:23:00.006-06:00

I really am pretty proud of myself,,I know it's been a week and a day since I have posted but I am still keeping up with blogging, when I have the time. Last week was long and busy. Monday morning I had to have my stepbrother at Hospital in Nashville by 9:30 a.m. He had to have an arteriogram of his heart. He had a bad heart attack 20 years ago and had to have several by passes done. Then 4 years later, he had two more stints put in his heart. Heart disease runs in his family. His Mother passed away with a Massive Heart Attack when she was 40 years old. They found out Monday the two stints were partially blocked again. So we had to go back to hospital on Friday to have them replaced. On Wednesday, my daughter had to go to OB doctor in Nashville for a Gestational Diabetes test. She had to drink a very sweet drink and then have her blood drawn an hour later. Next day we found out she does have Gestational Diabetes. But it is fairly common in alot of women. She has to go tomorrow morning to see a nutrionist and then back on Wednesday for two more Doctor's appointments. And my brother had to stay in the Hospital after the stints were put in Friday, hoping he will be able to come home today. So I am rather sick of Doctors and Hospitals after last week. Never have been too fond of either places.
My daughter should be okay as long as she watches her carbs and gets some excercise. This is a girl who has never ever liked vegetables or fruit, every since she was a baby,,a very picky eater. But now she is going to have to make some changes because she knows if she doesn't she is risking her health and her baby's health. She has gained ALOT of weight with this Pregnancy and I am pretty worried about how things will go. I am glad that she is living with me and I can keep an eye on her. She only has 10 more weeks till she is due but with this new development, she may have to have a c-section before the due date. I will find out more next week. So this has been my wonderful past week,,lol. I did scan a few more pics of some of my recent art so I will post them for something a little more pleasant than Doctors and Hospitals. I hope you had a better week than I did and hope you have a great week ahead. XOXO

A Fun Time with Mom and Rosemary!!

2012-01-21T11:44:00.000-06:00

Well good grief,,I have been slacking a wee bit this past week as far as posting on my blog. But I was busy trying to get my Website up for my Hair bows and Headbands. I am still working on it and it isn't published yet but when I do publish I will post a link on my blog of course.
We sure have been having some crazy weather. Really warm one day and then cold the next. I haven't been out much lately either. But last week Rosemary and I started texting and we were wanting to take a class at one of the new Scrapbook stores that is new to our area. We found a class at Archivers. They just opened this past November. So we found a class to make Valentines Day Cards. I signed up Mom and I and we hooked up with Rosemary at the class. It was a really fun class and we had a really fun time. Any time I am with Rosemary I have a blast. That Girl can make you laugh and smile all the time. Love her so MUCH!!! So here are some of the pictures from yesterday.

This was Barbie, our really Sweet Instructor,,and Mom hard at work making her cards.

The cute cards that we made! We used stamps and embossing and also quilling.

This was the quilling card. They are suppose to be Lady bugs in Love.

But my quilling skills are not the best. I just never have been able to master

that talent. I think my fingers are just too large to be successful at it.

I thought this card was really cute!

And on this card we put the little pleated material on the bottom.

This is another one that I really enjoyed making too.

And here is Mom,,don't she look so good? And still going strong. After such a rough year last year

I have been trying to get her out and about and she really enjoyed going to this class! I had to help her some with her cards as her hands are a little shaky now days. But she will be 83 next month and I am so Thankful that she is still with me and still able to get out and enjoy fun times together. We are going to the Casinos in Tunica next month for her Birthday,,she loves to play the slots!

The pictures above were some really cute Ideas that they were displaying at Archivers.

Mom is working away on her cards!

And Last,,but certainly not Least,,,is my VERY WONDERFUL AND DEAR FRIEND

Rosemary!!! We just had a blast,,but I always do when I am with her!!! Love You, Ro!!!

I tell you,,I am glad I was broke yesterday because I could have easily spent quite a bit of $ in that

Store. I am really glad that it is in Nashville now and planning on taking more fun classes there.

I hope every one had a great past week and hope you have a wonderful Week-end too. I will be watching the NFL Play Offs tomorrow. Love Play Off time! And ready for the Superbowl!!

Hugs to all!

Pictures and Workshop

2012-01-10T10:27:00.000-06:00

Hello,,I am so excited today! I found a free Workshop that is being taught by Traci Bautista. It is being sponsered by Strathmore which makes quite a bit of Artist Supplies. I love all of their Paper and brushes! It's pretty much do at your own pace and no pressure to rush. She has videos posted and also you can download the instructions too. I Love her Art,,it's really colorful!

Here is a link to the Work Shop if your interested. They actually have 3 free workshops they are offering. The other two are "watercolor sketching"This begins in March. (which I plan to do too as I Love working with watercolors) and "Force Drawing" which begins in May. I am going to try to do it also. Hey,,I Love any thing that is free!

I have been working on several things right now. That's the way I am,,I can't have just one project at a time,,I have to have several going at once,,lol. This is a peek at one of the projects.

I have been painting on my gourds. Every summer I plant several rows of birdhouse gourds. I let them dry outside on my deck during the winter. By spring I start the prep work on them. I will go into that more when I start working on the newest batch. I Leave some of them Natural and varnish and place in all the trees around my house. But others I paint with White Gesso and start designing with my Fantasy Flowers that I love to create and paint. After they are painted the are varnished, but they don't go outside. I have one hanging in my greenhouse and I have given a few a way. (of course I didn't make pictures of those,,,kicking myself,,got to get better on that aspect) I will try to get a picture of the one in my greenhouse that is complete. I Love to design and create on different surfaces.

I did my Senior Photography session Friday afternoon. Here are a few pictures of that session.

Mandy is a very beautiful and sweet young lady. Her Mom is a close friend of mine too. It has been giving me a lot of practice and helping me decide if I really want to go Professional with my Photography. Right now, I don't think I will be able to as I will have my Sweet Granddaughter here by April. Her Mommy and Daddy are living with us right now and she will be staying here too. But you know I will be getting alot of baby photography practice in when she makes her arrival. So excited!!!!

Well, I am off to work in some art and then going out to eat with daughter and her hubby. Hope every one has a Great Day!

First Post for the New Year!

2012-01-06T10:44:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! Yes,,it's a wee bit late, but at least it's still January.
The weather has been so awesome so far this Winter. We have had a few flurries but it was back in early December. The rest of the winter has been fairly mild. Today's high is going to be 64. Loving it!!
Even though I had a rough ending to last year with my Stepdad's illness and then his death, I started a new adventure in being creative. First, I have been more proactive in working on my Photography skills. A close friend and neighbor, asked me to taking some Fall pictures of her 3 kids. It was really great practice for me. Some turned out really good, but I know I have a long ways to go before I could consider myself "Professional". Below are some of the pictures I took.

Unfortunately, I took these pictures during mid day and the sun was harsh on some of them. I Love the last two that was made with them laying down in the leaves. I also played around in Photoshop Elements with some of them too. I really Love the results.

They are really great Kids and we had a blast taking Pics that day. The oldest one will be a Senior next year and Mom has asked me to do his Senior Pictures. Excited about that too.
Today, I am going to be doing Senior Pictures for another close friend's daughter. I have so many ideas on what I want to do with her too. She will not arrive till later in the afternoon after school so the lighting should be much better for hers. Also going to do some inside too.
At least I am getting a lot of practice.
I also took some pictures this summer of my daughter's friend's children. They are younger and it was a bit more challenging. You got to Love the dirty little faces,,so precious.

I am so Thankful that I am able to get a lot of practice with photographing children. I know I will be taking so many pics of my Sweet Granddaughter when she arrives in April. I have many plans for that little Sweetie.
Another one of the venues I have been working on this past fall and presently is making Infant and children's Headbands, Bows, and hats. Mom helped me with the hats. I am trying to get a website up and going to try to sell some. I have a facebook page with them too. I also want to do some craft shows this spring. Here are some pics of just a few. I will post more in the next few days.

So you can see I have been fairly busy. But I am enjoying not having to work any more. I just want to make some extra money so I can buy some more fun toys to play with,,like more photography equipment.
I hope every one has a Great Week-end!!!

2011-12-30T11:36:00.000-06:00

Wow,,almost the last day of the New Year. And what year it has been. I lost my Stepfather right after Thanksgiving. It was so tough, and only my Stepbrother and I were in the room with him when he passed away. But he had no quality of life for almost a year. Just was very sad to have to loose him during the Holiday Season

Virgial W. Storey

September 13, 1932- November 29th 2011

But with one life leaving another will be beginning soon. I found out in August that I am going to have my First Grandbaby. She is due to arrive on April 15th 2012. Her name will be Larriyah Kay Greer. This was so totally unexpected. My daughter has PCOS which is a disease that causes Cyst on your Ovaries. She was told she might never be able to have children. So Larriyah is a true gift from God. Here are a few ultrasound pics of her.

Larriyah's little feet.

Larriyah sticking her tongue out at her

Mom,Dad, and Me.

The last picture was the latest ultrasound from yesterday. She is a real rascal already. Very non-cooperative when it comes to doing what the Ultrasound techs. want her to do. LOL. I am already so much in Love with her. I can't wait till she arrives. Her Mom and Dad are living with us for a while until they can get on their feet a little better. So Larriyah will be coming to my house to live when she is born. I can't wait.

But these 2 events are the most important ones of the year 2011 in my life. I am going to try to post more on my blog too. We shall see. Happy New Year to every one!!!

Well Hello,,,Remember me? Probably not as it's been SO LONG!!!

2011-06-20T08:46:00.000-05:00

So,,yes, I am really posting. And all I can say is,,yes,,,it has been a few since I have posted. I don't know. I just felt like I really didn't have a lot to post about,,lol. And I guess I just got a little tired of blogging. But I am going to give it another shot. I hope I remember how as it has been so long and my brain has a lot of Senior moments. Ha Ha!
And here we are in the Sweet Summertime. I sure have enjoyed having summer back again. It was a LONG and VERY COLD WINTER. And wow,,I don't even want to talk about what a horribly destructive Spring that we had here in the South. It was one of the scariest ones that I have been in since 1974. I was very lucky that none of my family in Alabama were effective by the devastation there.
Yep,,,I am enjoying the summer!

You know I have the pool set back again. I sure do Love to hang in it. Probably hang there a little too much. But whew,,the two weeks after Memorial day were so HOT & DRY! It stayed in the mid 90s and the humidity made it even worse. And by dry I mean we had no rain. But last week we finally started getting some rain again. Much nicer!

And of course,,,I have been working in the yard and have a garden again.. This year the garden is smaller. It's more easier to have a smaller garden when your the only person who can tend to it. Last year mine didn't do so great. My parents and brother were going to the Farmers Market and buy produce to can and freeze. So this year I only have tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and zucchini. I really only care about the tomatoes and cucumbers as far as what I will can this year. If the squash produces well I will freeze that too.
Here are a few of my flowers,,haven't took pics of the garden as I had to replant it when some hungry bunnies decided to feast on it.

These pics above were taken a few weeks ago. Need to get out there and take some more as every thing is really looking so lovely right now. I was so hesitant to put out all of my figurines in the yard yet because we are going to be getting a new roof soon. The first bad storm that we had here in April damaged the roof to the house and to our detached Garage/shop with straight line winds. That was a scary storm. But, the Hub and the Contractors that have been to give us estimates have said they will be very careful of my flowers and my yard art. (whew).
And last, but not least,,,I have been doing some Art off and on. I have so enjoyed doing a lot of drawing and using my pens, markers and watercolors.

Yes,,they are kind of strange,,it's a blend of Zentangles and Fantasy flowers. But it's so relaxing to do these.
I am in the process of revamping my Art Studio too. I have purged a lot of the materials that I haven't been using for a while. In fact, I think I am going to try to set up a E-bay account and start trying to sell some mixed media materials that I no longer use. Just got to figure out how to do that.
My Mom is doing really good right now. Stepdad is stable. He has really had a very rough time this past year. He now hows a permanent Cathe as his bladder was damaged so they made a incision into his bladder. It's better to do it that way as less chance of infection. I don't go far away from them now days. My stepbrother is still living with them too. But I try to do all I can for Mom by taking her to all her doctor's appointments and to her sister's house and to her weekly hair appointment. I also planted her flowers this year and take care of them too. Sweet Mom's pic below from this spring!

Yes,,as you can see,,I truly did not disappear, well maybe from blogger world. But I am back and going to try a lot harder to post much more often. And try to catch up with every one else. I have missed you all and you have all been in my thoughts. Now I am off to visit as many as I can. Then have to do some grass cutting and then you will find me where I am in the picture below. :-) See you soon.

It's only been a couple of months!

2010-12-06T00:24:00.000-06:00

Wow,,,I am now an Official terrible blogger. I can't believe how long it has been since I posted. Well,,all I can say is that I have had a really fun Fall this year. I so enjoyed being off during the Fall. I have worked every Fall for 25 years. So,,yes,,that's my excuse. So, I am not going to post a big long post tonight because actually it is today as it's 12:14 a.m. Ha Ha!
Now that I am retired I can stay up as late as I want too. But I still don't sleep late,,it's the old age thing,,you just don't need as much sleep when your older. That's what Mom says any ways. I hope all of you have been doing good. I have checked in with some of you during my absence so I know most all are ok. So,,here are just a few pictures for you and I will write more this week.

Lots of XOXO's to all of you! I have missed everyone!

A wonderfully Fallish Day!!!

2010-10-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

The other day my friend and I set out in the late afternoon to practice or photography skills. We both take the same photography class and we are determined to sharpen and master our Art of photography. So I am making this a visual post. We were close to our favorite river were we took our kids to swim when they were growing up. There is also an old cemetary close by so the headstones that you will see where from there. They were very intriguing. We also share a love for old houses and dabbled sunlight on trees, and old roads too. Hope you enjoy!
xoxoxo

Been a while.

2010-09-26T18:46:00.000-05:00

Yes,,it's been a while. But that's pretty normal for me now isn't it? I don't know why I just can't get back into blogging. I guess because it's a little more complicated now days. I mean it's hard for me to get use to the way blogger is now. But I am going to keep on trying to master it.
So, wow,,I have still been busy,,being retired doesn't mean you sit around and do nothing. At least it hasn't meant that for me.
I have been dappling in some Art, some jewelry, and learning to use my new camera. I have also gone to another Football game and a concert downtown. And this week I have been sick with first bronchitis again, and that turned into a horrible cold which is what I have now. Ugh! The weather has been bad here too,, above normal temps and no rain. So the ragweed is horrible right now and everyone's allergies are going crazy. We did have a front that came in this afternoon, no rain, but cooler temps,,and I am so ready for that.
The picture above is one I took in my front flower bed last week. I played with it in Photoshop today while I have been lazing around sick. The next one is the same butterfly but I used a new Action in Photoshop to make it look like I took it through a window like it was raining outside. Maybe I was hoping it was raining. But it's a really cool Action that I found for free online.

On Wednesday night of this week, my brother and his wife, came up and we went downtown to see

Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at the Ryman Auditorium. It's one of my favorite venues in Nashville. And it's where I always Love to go see some of my favorite artists.
First, we went to Rippy's which is a great Barbque bar and grill on Broadway. This is where we usually go before concerts because it has a great outside eating area and you look at skyline and drink some nice cold Beer. Below is my Bubs and I at Rippys, and my SIL and I too.

We really had a great time and Lyle put on a excellent concert!

And a few week's ago, my son and I went to see the Titan's play the Oakland Raiders. And we beat them. It was really hot in the stadium that day.

It was really awesome at the game because it was on Sept. 12th. They had several of our local Military from Ft. Campbell bring out a hugh American Flag that was Flown in Iraq when we were in War there. They unrolled it in the field while Trace Adkins sang the Star Spangled Banner. I got goosebumps big time.

So, like I was saying earlier in my blog, I have been doing some creating. I haven't actually gotten every thing scanned or photograph either. But speaking of creating,,a couple of weeks ago, my Dawlink friend, Rosie came over to spend the day. We had a blast! We have both been playing around with Precious Metal Clay, so she brought her's over and we made a few pieces to fire with a propane torch. It's really cool how it starts out looking like clay and then when you put a torch on it for a few minutes, it turns to pure Silver.On the plate below you can see the bottom two pieces are still in clay form and the other's are after we torched them.

And here's a pic of Rosemary going at them with the torch! It was fun!

And below is one of the necklaces I have made with one of the charms so far.

I also made a Zentangle necklace for my one of my friend's birthday.

I have several more pieces that I am working on too. I am doing a large painting for a friend of mine's new bathroom. Their basement flooded back when we had the floods in May. They had to refinish the whole basement and I am working on a picture for her bathroom. Below are a few of the other pieces that I have done recently.

My Art has taken a little bit of a different style now days. I am doing more drawing and less collaging. I really enjoy this form of Art. I can really let my imagination go wild. Well it has taken me most of the day to write this blog but I do believe I am getting a little better or it's getting a little easier for me now.
I sure hope all of my friends are doing well and I will be stopping in to visit you this week.
Lots of Hugs to you all!
XOXOXO

Happy Labor Day Week-end!

2010-09-05T19:22:00.000-05:00

It's been a week since I posted, and I thought that being retired I would have plenty of spare time that I could post every day,, wrong. Seems like every day last week I was busy. I have been working on some jewelry and some art. I need to scan some of my art and take pics of jewelry,,hopefully one day this coming week. I joined a photography class and have been practicing taking some pics. It's on Thursday nights, but this past Thursday night I went to my favorite NFL teams pre-season game. I actually have tickets to all the home games this year. I bought them from a friend who was going to through a rough time and couldn't' afford them. So my daughter and I went to see them play the Super Bowl Champs, the New Orleans Saints. And I am proud to say that the Tennessee Titans beat them.

Me and my Sweet Daughter! Titan's stadium in background.

Wearing my Titan's shirt with stadium in the background.
We walked to the game on a really cool old bridge that was made into a walking bridge. It's lit up at night time too.
Also the General Jackson Riverboat was floating in the river too!

It's so awesome to look across the river from the stadium at night and see the Nashville skyline all lit up!

We had a great time that night! I have a busy week ahead of me too, but will try to post more as soon as I can. I hope all is well with all of my dear friends. Please have a great Labor Day tomorrow too!
XOXOXOXOXO

It's official,,,I am now a Retiree!

2010-08-28T08:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, as of Friday, I am now Retired. Woot Woot! It was an emotional week for me too. I came in Thursday to find my office decorated with "Retiring decorations. It was so cool. My dear friend that I work with had decorated after I left for the day on Wednesday.

When she got to work she started decorating even more. There was cupcakes and another little cake for me with the cutest little red car on it that looked a little like mine. The cake said "Go Beth".

She also bought me the cutest sunglasses to wear. They are Martina Glasses.

She really fixed the office up to look so cute!

She also modified our Word Wall in the office.

And soon I started having company come to visit. All of my Co-workers came in during their free time to visit and have a cupcake and give me hugs and tell me how lucky I am getting to retire as such a young age.

This is my Principal that is standing with me. He has been a wonderful leader and I have really enjoyed working for him. He really didn't want me to leave.

This gentleman was such a dear friend. We always joked and just have fun times together, even when our jobs were stressful.

Another wonderful friend. He brought me a big vase of Roses and Daisys on friday. I cried!

Above is the wonderful person whom I work with. She is like my sister. We have shared so much together in the past 4 years that we have worked together. She also organized all of this. I am going to miss her more than any thing.
I am so Thankful to all my wonderful friends at work. They all took up money and put in a card for me. It was so special to me and they made my retirement alot easier. As I left yesterday,,with my car packed up with all my belongings from work. I had to cry again. It was just a real emotional week. But now I start a new chapter of my life.

Just 2 more!

2010-08-25T09:58:00.000-05:00

Today as I was walking into my office this mornng, I thought to myself,,"wow,,I only have to walk in here two more mornings." I kind of got choked up,,but just for a second. I always thought others were kind of looney for being so sentimental when they retired, but now I can truly understand why they were like that. It's really a bittersweet feeling. Yes,,,I am glad I don't have to drive 37 miles into work every morning in rush hour traffic. Yes, I am excited to be able to enjoy the activities that I love to do, such as Art, photography, sleeping late(biggie) getting to spend more time with my family(espiecally Hubby, Mom and kids). Spending more time with my wonderful friends(and that means you, Rosie). Hopefuly doing some traveling, lots of reading and gardening too. It's just going to be wonderful. But,,,,I am going to miss my friends from work. And feeling semi- important when someone depends on me to help them out. It's just a really wierd feeling.
I guess if I was alot older I would wonder what is the next phase after retiring? Growing elderly and then leaving this life one day? But since I am fairly young I feel like I can accomplish a few more things and check off some items on my Bucket list. I also plan on coming and helping out at the Adult program and visiting my friends at work. I firmly believe that Adult Education is very much needed now days. People are finally figuring out that even McDonalds will not hire you unless you have a High School Diploma or GED.
So now I will quit yakking and leave you with some more pictures. These are some pictures of the time I spent in Riverside. I will post more as I have time,,which I should have a little more of soon. I hope every one is enjoying some cooler temps. like we are for a change.
XOXOXO

Beautiful Mobile Bay at Sunset.

A Egret at Pensacola Park on the Bay!

Rosemary and Mr. A.(the teen)

Mr A. and I at Bahama Bobs for lunch. On Gulf Shores beach.

I Love the Sea oats and this fence,,made for a great shot!

A little bit of refreshments at Lulu Buffetts(Jimmy's sister).
And No,,I wasn't tipsy,,my eyes do that is pictures sometimes, lol.

My delish Barb-que Shrimp at Felix's Fish Camp. Yummy!

Yet again!

2010-08-23T12:17:00.001-05:00

So I guess I really didn't keep up my comitment that I made almost 2 weeks ago. But I really did try. I am still having some issues with my pictures. But I have been trying to do it at work on a computer that is older than dirt. It gets kind of fustrating. I try to move my pictures in the blog and some how I leave parts of them and then blogger says "Nope,,won't work" or something like that. So, until I am off work for good, which by the way is this friday, I am just going to try to upload one pic a day. My pic today is a skeleton of a Cicada that was a model for me one night when I was playing with my new camera. I am going to get better with my picture taking as I am going to be taking a Basic Photography class every Thursday night for the next 10 weeks. I want to learn how to master, aperture, and shutter speeds, and various other wonderful tasks that my new Rebel Camera can do. I actually talked a good friend in to taking it with me so it should be fun.
I hope every one is doing well ! After some pretty nasty, hot temps the past few weeks, we are starting to cool down a little. I will take low 90's with lower humidity over upper 90's and 100% humidity any day.
I am going to try to post one more picture at the end of my post. I hope it works. Another shot that I took late one evening when some thunderhead clouds were coming in.

Wow,,,I actually did it,,I have post 2 pictures, and I am at work. I will master this picture issue soon. I am sure it's all operator error now. Love to all my friends! xoxoxoxoxo

2010-08-12T16:27:00.000-05:00

Oh Wow! I can't believe it. I went to my blog today at work just to see if by chance the Picture issues I had been having were finally fixed. And Lo and Behold,,,they were!!! I am so happy! I just wasn't getting use to Word Press. It was easier with the pictures but the composing and placements of pictures were not that easy. Today must be my day too because I came home from work and found a VERY LARGE BOX on my deck. It was from my Dear Friend, Jilly! And it was full of some wonderful goodies!
Earlier this year, Jill and I decided to do a cuff bracelet swap. Well, it took me forever to send Jill's to her and she was pretty much the same way. We just couldn't really decide how we wanted to make them and it just took a few to decide. But we are good friends(she's a Bama girl like me),,we have even got together and had a artfully good time, so we weren't stressing about the swap. We both work,,(yes,,I went back to work this week,,just for a little while) and we knew we would both enjoy whatever the other made for our swap. Below is what was in my WONDERFUL box!

She Altered a Jewelry box for me and it is way cool. I LOVE IT, JILLY! I am going to keep it in my Art Room and store some of my favorite beads and findings in it. And some cute little shells and whatever I treasure. It is going to be my treasure box cause I do so treasure it. Jill is an amazing Artist and I have always treasured any pieces of Art that I get from her.

And the Cuff bracelets are so awesome! She made me two! I only made her one,,I owe you, Jill! I Love both of them and can't wait to wear them and show them off.

The details in the bracelets are so cool. They are very Vintage looking and I do Love any thing Vintage! She also made me a necklace that is awesome too! I can't wait to wear it too!

Love the red bead on it. And also the wire wrapped turquoise beads! And she had alot of goodies in the sack that the necklace is laying on it the picture.

She also had it packed with some great tissue paper that I am keeping to do some collaging and make some great backgrounds for Journaling. And I was so excited that I tore into the package and didn't take a picture of it. But it was wrapped in the neatest dragronfly paper. Yup,,I am keeping that too for some art projects.

This absolutely made my day. It was a rough day because I came down with a good case of Bronchitis yesterday. I went back to work on Tuesday. By Tuesday night I was feeling really bad and coughing and having chills. Went to the doctor yesterday. I got a nice shot of Antibiotics/cortisone and some antibiotics to take by mouth. I went back to work today but I sure didn't feel like it.
Yes,,,I said I was retiring,,,and I still am. I just felt like I should go back and help with the beginning of school as it's hard to start out with a new person that doesn't know what to do. I Love the Lady I work with and didn't want to leave her in a bind. She is a good friend. I am going to have a bone spur taken out of the top of my foot at the end of this month and then I am retiring for good.
So other than being sick today,,the rest of the day was wonderful. I can blog happily again, and I recieved a wonderful box of some great Art from a Precious Friend! Thanks again, Jilly!
And I am going to try to finish up the rest of my trip to Riverside with my Darling Friend Rosie this week-end.
I am back and I truly intend to stay current as I have alot of catching up to do!
Hugs to you All!

I have changed to another blog site!

2010-07-26T11:44:00.000-05:00

Due to my problems with posting pictures here at blogspot. I have now moved to Word Press. I am still
Lasting Impressions from the Heart. Please stop by and visit me there! I have missed you all.

Sweet Summer time!

2010-06-07T04:33:00.002-05:00

It sure has been a while since I last posted. And this new layout and adding images is quite confusing. Not sure I like it but maybe I just have to get use to it. The picture above is of one of our sunsets last week. Love the colors.
Last Thursday was my last day of work. Before I left my principal came in and gave me this trophy from the School Board. I have worked there 25 years!

I am rather proud of it too! Some of you may know from my posts at Facebook, that I am contemplating taking a early retirement from the Nashville School system. I am tired of the drive in and back home every day as since I have moved its a 35 mile drive in rush hour traffic. Also, the school system has changed so much and the Support Employees are not being treated very fair any more. But, in order to do a early retirement I have trying to refinance my home. It's been a very long and tedious process and many ups and downs. It's looking promising right now but please keep your fingers crossed for me.
I have been working in my flower beds and in my garden alot. The garden is looking great and so are my flowers.

The Corn is really growing fast and I have Birdhouse Gourds planted. I am hoping to get several nice Gourds to make some Blue Bird houses. Maybe doing some artsy creations with them too.

And I have some herbs that are growing great as well!

I Love Lavender!

And of course I got to have some Oregano, I love the smell of it too!

The garden really gives me a good work out. I think I have lost about 8 lbs. since I have been off work. It's amazing what a work out the garden gives you. And of course I must have my faithful Garden buddy as you can see below. She Loves to be in the garden with me.

I have also been creating some Art. I am trying to at least do some form of Art every day. Right now I am doing alot of Zendoodling. It's Zentangles and Doodling combined.

I really enjoy making the Zendoodles! It's a relaxing form of art and I can also include flowers in with the doodles. I recently did a cuff bracelet swap with my dear friend Jill. I forgot to take pictures of the bracelet that I made her. I also made a necklace to match and a Zendoodle card for her. She received them last week and seemed really pleased with them all. She posted about them on her blog yesterday. If you would like to see them please click on her name and visit her blog.
I hope to try to blog quite a bit more frequently. Also, I am now celebrating being a blog for 4 years now. I am going to do a Blogaversary give away in the next couple of weeks. So stay tuned.
I hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful Summer Season and I will be visiting everyone alot more.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

More on our Disaster in Tennessee!

2010-05-06T10:11:00.000-05:00

Thanks every one for all the kind comments on our disaster here in Tennessee. We are a strong State and we are also called the "Volunteer State". There are so many people helping others here this week. We have a long road ahead of us but we will make it back! I just wanted to share this great Video of Kenny Chesney showing CNN's Anderson Cooper, what Nashville looks like and what his house looked like when he got home. So many musicians live here in Nashville and were affected by all this too. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
xoxoxoxoxoxooxxo
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010/05/06/ac.kenny.chesney.intv.cnn

Our Flooded part of the Country!

2010-05-04T07:42:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems like here lately all I have been posting about is some bad events in my life. First my Aunt, and now this. I am sure most of you have heard about our horrible Flood that we had here in Middle Tennessee this past week-end. Some of our parts had 15 inches of rain within 48 hours. It has caused major devastation all over.
The picture above is of the Grand Old Opry house in Nashville. It sits right next to the Cumberland River which is now 12 ft over flood stage. It has flooded so many of our major landmarks in Nashville and other areas around us. The next pictures are of Opryland Hotel! Very, very, heartbreaking.

The most saddest part is that we have lost 18 lives in our area from this horrific Act of Nature. Entire subdivision with beautiful homes are sitting under water now. Our football stadium where my beloved Titan's play has water in it up to the first row of seats. Major landmarks in Downtown Nashville, Wild Horse Saloon, Hard Rock Cafe, Country Music Hall of Fame, and our new Symphony Hall, they are all damaged by the flood water.
Nashville is now down to one Water Plant that is operational and its in danger too. I have never in my life seen this degree of flooding in my whole 48 years, except when I saw the coverage of Katrina. And this does compare to it in my mind.
I live 30 miles west of Nashville but I work there. Our county was hit hard but not where I live. We did have water in our yard but never in the house. Just about every county in the middle Tennessee area suffered some type of flood issues from the top of the state to the bottom. Below are some more pictures.

I could keep on and on, showing these heart breaking images. The River finally crested last night and is suppose to start receding today. Next will come alot of clean up for our Area, and good-byes to the ones we lost. Please keep us all here in Middle Tennessee in your thoughts and prayers. We are going to need them.

Much Love to you all!

Rest in Peace, Sweet Aunt Addie!

2010-04-23T11:36:00.000-05:00

My Sweet, Favorite Aunt passed away last night. She was 90 years old. She was like my 2nd Mother.
Her Health had deteorated the past 2 years. She was living in Assisted living, almost completely blind, and suffering from Dementia. Three weeks ago she lost the ability to swallow and was very firm that she didn't want a feeding tube. She was tired and ready to leave the bondage of her worn out body. She has been in Hospice and was kept very comfortable and her passing was in her sleep.
I am gong to miss her so much. My mother is very upset but had prepared herself the best she could.
But we all know she is now free but that we will always feel her Love and hear her laughter.
Miss You So much, Aunt Addie!

Mellow Monday!

2010-03-29T08:53:00.013-05:00

Monday's are usually pretty mellow for me. Now that spring has arrived I am spending most of my time working out in the yard on the week-ends. So, even though I am back at work on Mondays and busy too, its more mental than physical work.
I took the picture above of sweet Karlita the Kitty, enjoying the sun on Saturday. She is getting older and enjoys sun sitting and looking for critters. On Saturday morning we had to take her and Lady Brat to get their yearly shots and they both were pretty laid back the rest of the day.
When we first moved into our house a little over two years ago, several neighbors told us about a lake that was a short walk away from the house. I have been trying to walk every day now and on friday afternoon after work I decided to walk down to the lake.
Our road dead ends into the road that goes down to the lake. We live in a neighborhood but as you go down Black road it starts turning into a beautiful country side stroll. The forsythia is so pretty right now and the redbud trees too.

I Love the old house in the picture above. Its abandoned now but there is a old couch and chair that are still sitting on the front porch. I always wonder when I walk by about the people who use to sit out there. I imagine them to have been a elderly husband and wife, just good country folk, sitting there enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. The barn is behind their house too so I am sure they owned a good bit of the land around the house. I Love all the buttercups planted around the house too.

Right past the house you look over to left and this is what you see.
Yep, its the interstate. This road is right next to Instate 40. Its noisy but still pretty. And then when you get to the end of the road it turns into a gravel road that leads to the lake.
The lake is on private property but the people who own it don't mind if you walk down to the lake. I am sure they try to keep people from hunting on the land and I am not sure if they care if you fish or not.

There is a boat dock on the lake too. My neighbor told me that several people would bring their boats there, but once some teen-agers wrecked on the lake and it killed one of the boys, so they roped off the boat ramp now. They built a gazebo off of the dock that is really pretty.

I was really excited to find this wonderful spot. I plan on walking down here alot this spring and summer. I can't wait till the trees start turning greener too. And I am sure in the early mornings there will be alot of deEr down here too and other wildlife. It will make my walk so much more enjoyable knowing that this quiet refuge is here. Even though the interstate is close by, you don't seem to hear it as much down by the lake.
Well, I just had to share my fun walk this past week-end. I hope every one is doing ok and that you all had a great week-end. Have a wonderful Monday!
XOXOXOXO

Yes,,finally another post!

2010-03-24T11:55:00.004-05:00

I know, I didn't do what I said I would do when I was off last week for spring break. But unfortnately nothing went as planned. My Mom got sick with a cold and didn't feel like doing much at all and I spent my break taking care of her. Yes, I was pretty bummed out. I didn't get to see my BFF-Rosemary, didn't get to do our fun outting, just didn't get to do much of any thing.
But thats my Mom and she is 81 years old and I won't have her around that many more years and she is my top BFF.(Best Favorite Friend).
My mood was pretty low last week but I put my big girl pants on and got over it. Plus, I did have 2 spring like days weather wise. I got to play in the flower beds, lots of bulbs coming up.
I did take pictures but haven't downloaded them into PC yet. So the flower above is a old one!
Today its Sunny and going to be 72 degrees. So when I get off work I will be outside till dusk.

I got a really important e-mail today! My Luck has changed! I found out that I won a wonderful prize in Sweet Pea's Corner blogiversary! I am so excited. Its been forever since I have won any thing. I won the most precious Bunny Teapot and the cups to match!

Are they not CUTE or what? It made my day! Its her 4 year Blogiversary! Thanks again, Pea! I Love them and will treasure them so much. They are going to go with my other Bunny collection and I will post a picture of them all together when my gift arrives.
So, I got to thinking about when my Blogiversary day will be here. So I went back and looked and it is coming up, May 30th! And it will also be my 4th one too. So,,,of course I am going to have to have a giveaway, but of course. And,,I will be off of work by then too!
I have been doing several more different types of jewelry pieces. During my spare time which isn't too often. But, I am hoping if we can work every thing out, that maybe I won't have to go back to work this fall. If this happens then I will start creating more jewelry and try to start selling some pieces. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.
I am going to be pretty busy the next couple of months. I will be planting and working on my Flower beds and Mom's too. I also am having my garden tilled up next week too. Can't wait to start playing in it and getting some good Veggie crops growing!
But I will be popping in to visit every one and will post here too.
Lots of Hugs to my Blogger Buds! Hope you all are having a nice week!
XOXOXOXO

Spring Break!

2010-03-14T17:41:00.005-05:00

Yes, its that wonderful time of year! I am off next week for spring break. Although its not feeling to springy this week-end. Its been rainy, gloomy and cool most of the week-end. Hopefully that will change next week. If not, then I am just glad to be off of work.
I am hanging with my Mom this week as my stepbrother and stepdad went to Oklahoma. So I am just keeping Mom company. Probably do some spring cleaning on her house and some on mine the next couple of days. But on Wednesday, we are going to hook up with my dear friend, Rosemary. I can't wait to see her! We are going to go to a fun place on Wednesday night and then Mom and I are going to spend the night with her. I am going to keep it secret and that way I will have something fun to blog about later in the week.

I did some St. Paddy's day swaps this month. I hosted a swap in one of my Art groups. It was a altered CD swap. The picture above is one that I made. I did both sides of the CD, the picture below is the back side of the CD.

I really enjoyed doing the CD. I haven't altered a CD in a few years and I also Love to do
St. Patrick's day art too. The picture below is some ATCs that I made for another swap that I am also in this month.

I got a new printer, scanner, and copier for X-mas and I still haven't learned to operate it that well so forgive the scans. I will get better at it,,promise. Well, I hope every one has had a nice week-end and I hope you have a great week ahead. Who knows,,I might just post several times this week. :-)
Hugs to you all!

I have had the Winter Blahs!

2010-03-04T11:20:00.003-06:00

The other night I was lounging in the bed with two of my faithful lounging partners, Carlita Kitty and Lady Brat(don't have her pic). I started thinking,,'WOW,,I am really being a lazy butt lately" I always get the blahs in the winter but this was a little more than that.

Long story short,,a new blood pressure medication was really making me feel pretty bad. And if that wasn't bad enough the Pharmacy filled the prescription wrong and I was taking 150 mgs. more than what I was suppose to take. After getting on the right dosage I continued to feel really bad and sluggish. So now I am taking a different one and I feel so much better.
I also think alot of my problem too was that we had so much of this stuff(picture below).

While I am a big snow lover at heart,,we just had too much of it this year and it was way too cold for this Southern girl. And we really didn't even have that much,,lol. But I think the older I get the more I feel the cold. lol.
So yes,,I turned another year older in February. But that didn't bother me too much. Two more years and I will be 50 and that doesn't even bother me.
What bothers me the most is that I have really gotten out of shape and gained some weight and that also was bugging me and getting me down. But I am proud to say that as of this week I am back on track and excercising and eating better. So,,,,,my next step is to try to get back to blogging a little more regularly.
I have also cut way back on my Facebook games,,espiecally since I know that in a few more weeks I will be outside planting flowers and getting my garden ready to be planted.
So Yes,,I am in the Spring mode now. I know we will have a few more cold spells and maybe at little bit more snow(hopefully not) but it doesn't stay around long here in March.
So my pledge now is to start posting a little more frequently. Lets see if I can do it.
I have missed you all but I have popped in and checked on you. And I will do it more and more.

Big Hugs to you all!

Actually

2010-01-14T10:29:00.002-06:00

I am posting another post before the end of the month is over. Ha, thats a miracle. Again, I apologize. My heart just hasn't been into blogging lately. And I hate that! I have met so many wonderful friends through my blog. I am not going to shut it down, as I want to keep visiting all of you and enjoy it so much!
I just basically feel like I don't really have alot to blog about right now. My life is pretty bland and boring,,lol. But thats ok, I would rather it be that way than to have alot of trauma and drama. I am doing art still, but most of the time I forget to scan it or just don't want too.
I did post the little pic that I did at work one day when I was totally bored, my computer was down. I keep this little pad with me at all times with my little box of pencils and pens.
I am still taking my digital class. Working independently for right now. I am having some dental issues and trying to not overload myself. After this week I should be back to normal.
I really do miss every one. And I hope to start back regular at blogging. I plan on participating with Lisa's OWOH giveaway too. I wouldn't miss that for the world.
I am on Facebook alot,,or should I say Crackbook,, as it is so addicting. I Love playing Farmville and Cafeworld. I think its because its kind of a mental escape. For years I harped on my son for playing video games and now I am hooked on FB games,,sad I know. But I am already getting tired of it so I don't think it will be a forever thing. I do get to chat with quite a few of my blogger friends on there too.
I hope every one has had a great beginning of 2010. Its been pretty good for me except for Dental problems. I will be by to check on all of you as much as I can! I miss you all but I will be around!
xoxoxoxoxoxo

New Year and New Art.

2010-01-03T09:59:00.003-06:00

I have really been slacking on blogging and also on creating Art, at the end of this past year. I am going to try to be better in both of these departments this year. I am so into playing with digital art right now. I have the newest version of Photoshop Elements, version 8.
One of my favorite mixed media artists, DJ Pettitt, offered a great workshop on it last month, so I signed up as a Christmas present to myself, lol. I Love her digital art as much as I Love her real paintings. I have also been playing with PSE while I have been off the past two weeks. I have gained more experience in working with and manipulating images. Thought I would post a few images that I did recently.

These are my cardinals that are hitting on my feeders right now. Its been bitterly cold here since New Years Eve and my feathered friends are living off my feeders. We may have a good chance for snow here by thursday. I hope so as I sure would love to have some more snow pictures to play with in PSE.
I hope every one is staying warm. I think two thirds of the country is in the deep freeze right now.
I go back to work on Tuesday, ugh!

Until then,
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Happy New Year to every one!!!

2010-01-01T20:19:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas to all my Friends!

2009-12-23T05:07:00.002-06:00

I know I have been missing in action lately and I am sorry. But I will be more active in the up coming New Year! I do hope every one has a Wonderful Holiday Season! Enjoy your Family and Friends, Eat lots of Goodies, and remember the Reason for the Season!
Much Love to you All!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Its getting colder and I need some snow!

2009-12-01T19:08:00.002-06:00

Just a little bit to get me in the Mood!
Love to all my blogger friends!
XOXOXXOOX

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T14:09:00.000-06:00

Getting the spirit!

2009-11-23T08:00:00.003-06:00

Yes, its just Thanksgiving week, I know. But I have been making some Christmas zentangles this past week. I haven't had alot of time to do much art lately but I have squeezed in a little zentangle time.

They are simple and fun. The last two I just used some Christmas stencils. I hope to get some more art time this week. I only have to work today and tomorrow.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers for my Aunt Addie. She did make it through the surgery. She had a plate and 2 pins put in her hip fracture. We are hoping she will make a complete recovery.
Yesterday was mine and Hubby's 9th Anniversary. I spent the night with my bestfriend on friday night. She lives a few countys east of us. We had a fun time. Then we did some shopping on saturday. I bought Hubby some blue jeans for Anniversary present and got him a card. When I got home he had bought me a beautiful mirror on a little stand that has a very loving quote on it. I also got a $50 gift card for Michaels,,,YES!!! And yesterday he bought me a Foot spa,,I have a bad bone spur in my right foot so it really helps ease the pain. That Man spoils me!
I hope every one had a great week-end! And I hope every one is ready to have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Praying for my Sweet Aunt Addie!

2009-11-19T06:13:00.002-06:00

This is my Sweet Aunt Adelaide. She is 89 years old. I have always been very close to her. She is my Mom's oldest sister. Her and my other Aunt were spending a few nights with my Mom this week. She is almost completely blind and lives in an Assisted Living apartment. Well, yesterday she turned around in my Mom's bathroom and didn't have her walker close by and she fell very hard. They rushed her to the hospital by ambulance. She has a fractured hip.
Her son came out to were we live and had her taken by ambulance to a hospital in Nashville closer to where they live and she will probably have to have surgery today.
My Mom is so worried and upset that she was at her house when it happened.
We are all praying that she will be ok but at 89 this is so risky.
Please remember us in your thoughts and prayers.
Thanks!
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Beautiful Week-end! And some completed Art Projects.

2009-11-09T07:51:00.004-06:00

It really was a beautiful Fall week-end. Actually it had a touch of Indian Summer to it. The temps were in the low 70s and the sun was shining. We really haven't had too many pretty days this Fall but this week-end made up for that. I spent most of the week-end working in the yard.
I planted tulip bulbs and pansys at both my house and Moms. I also mulched leaves with the riding mower. We have so many trees and too many leaves. But I enjoyed the week-end and felt very Thankful for it.
I am in a Christmas pennent swap in my Yahoo group. I had to to make 11 pennants with the letter C and 11 with the letter E. I finished them this week-end. I can't wait to get the completed pennants back, I know they will be so pretty. Here are my letters.

The pictures are not the greatest as I forgot to scan them so I took a picture of them with my cell phone this morning. I also made a little hostess gift for the friend who is hosting the swap. Its a paper mache ornament.
Another wonderful occasion that I am Thankful for is that my Football team, The Titans, beat the 49ers yesterday. They are coming back finally!
I hope every one had a truly wonderful week-end. And have a lovely week too!
XOXOXOXOXO

Halloween Party!

2009-11-02T07:50:00.009-06:00

We had a great Halloween Party on friday night. It rained really hard but we were in my garage and under the deck so we all stayed dry. The first picture is of Daniel and I. He was suppose to be Jack Daniels and I am a Hippy!

What a handsome couple, huh? LOL! I dressed Mom up as Maxine(the old lady in the cartoons)
Isn't she a site for sore eyes! For a lady of 80 years old, she certainly know how to have a fun time! And next is my crazy Stepbrother. He is a redneck toothfairy!
Just some more fun pictures! The next ones is of Mom and my stepdad. He was Ratman and you can see his tail hanging out of the chair.
Some of the neighbors and kids dressed up.

And the girls had to dunk for some apples.

We all had a great time and its so nice to have such great neighbors too! I hope every one had a wonderful Halloween Week-end!
xoxox

Scary Halloween deco- Image intense

2009-10-29T09:22:00.012-05:00

Lady, the Brat Terrorist, wants you to come see all of our Halloween Decorations. We are having a costume party tomorrow night for a few of our neighbors. One of my neighbor friends, Michele, let me use a lot of her decorations that they didn't put out this year. So we are looking pretty spooky at our place.

I will do some more decorating tonight and tomorrow night. I am taking a personal day off tomorrow to make some goodies for the party. And I will make a lot of pics of the costumes.
I spent yesterday afternoon just wandering around the yard making pictures. I had a lot of things on my mind. Sad for my friend Rosemary at the loss of her Sweet Mother, and some other issues that have been overloading my brain. So just walking around and taking some pictures of Nature and Decorations helped me to relax.
Here is some of the last of my roses for the season. My son gave me this Rose bush for Mother's day this year and I Love it. Its a "knock-out" Rose. Our roses don't grow that well here in the south but these type of Roses do extremely well.
Lately I have been so into playing with Photoshop Elements. So I have been trying to take pictures of things that I can use as Textures in my collages. Here are some I took yesterday.

Also I did some Macro shots of my Mums to use as textures.

Also some shots of other plants that are still lingering. I Love seed pods. My perennial hibiscuses have an tremendous amount of hugh seed pods on it. Some of the host a home to a insect colony.

And some pretty fuchsia!

I could see a little bit of blue sky trying to pop out of the clouds. I Love the look of this almost bare tree with the clouds and blue behind it. Another texture, I do believe.

And last but not least, one of my favorite Maple trees between mine and my Mom's house. Isn't it gorgeous?
Well, I probably won't post again until Saturday or Sunday and hopefully with a lot of fun pics of my party! I hope every has a great Fall day!
xoxoxoxo

Great Sadness!

2009-10-28T11:05:00.002-05:00

Its with great sadness that I have to post that my dear friend Rosemary's mother passed away yesterday! Please remember Rosie and her family in your thoughts and prayers today!
Love you Rosie,,,,very much!

More Halloweent ATCs

2009-10-27T08:57:00.006-05:00

So yes, I have some more Halloween ATCs. I forgot my flash drive at home yesterday and didn't get to post them. The ones below are by April.

Next ATCS are from Blue Wolf:

Next we have Candy's ATCs:

And next is Carole's ATCs:

Aren't these some Scary works of ART? More tomorrow!
Have a terrific Tuesday!
xoxoxoxoox

Almost Halloween

2009-10-25T12:56:00.002-05:00

I had a great time being off this past week. Can't believe its back to work tomorrow. How soon is it till I am off for Thanksgiving? LOL. I hosted a swap in my ATC group on yahoo. It was a Halloween swap and I had 15 great Artists who joined. I am going to post some of their wonderful cards every day this week. So enjoy! The cards above are mine.

Please remember our dear blogger friend Rosemary. Her Mom isn't doing very well and she had to cut her fun girls week-end short to come home and take care of her.
Have a great week Dear friends!

xoxoxox

Fall Break!

2009-10-19T12:07:00.004-05:00

Today is the first day of my Fall break this week. And the sun is shining for a change. It turned really cold here this week-end. Daniel and I had to scramble and get all of our house plants inside. We now have a jungle in our basement again. Its not bad as Dan hangs some grow lights and arranges them to where its easy for us to water them and mist them every day. We sure hope to be able to build a greenhouse before next Fall though. It would be nice to have one to start my seeds in too.
The picture above is another Digital Collage that I made this week-end. I must say that the elements that I use in my collages are some that I download off the internet. There are some amazingly generous digital artists out there. I really enjoy making the collages and I am also doing some digital scrapbooking too.
I hosted a Halloween ATC swap this month. I had 15 wonderful artists join up from my ATC group. I swapped them out and sent them out on saturday. But, I scanned them all before I mailed them off. I am going to start posting them every day between now and Halloween. They were all very GOOD!
Yesterday Mom came over to watch the Titans game. Its been a ritual for us to watch it together this year. But oh how awful they have played. Last year we didn't lose a single game this year we haven't won a single game since preseason. And so yesterday they played the New England Patriots in New England. And of course it was snowing like crazy up there. The field was covered with snow and ice. And yes, they slaughtered us. I finally stopped watching it in the second quarter when it was 24-0. And this is what Mom did.
LOL, she got sleepy and cold so I wrapped her up in an afghan and she went sound to sleep.
So the final score of our game was 59-0. It was the largest margin of victory in a NFL game since 1976. Terribly embarrassing. Most every one are saying its time for a new Coach, but I don't know if that will help us or not. Oh well, maybe next year.
I hope every one had a great week-end. And I hope you have a great week ahead.
XOXOXOXO

Friday at last!

2009-10-16T03:46:00.004-05:00

Friday is always my favorite day of the week! This one is even sweeter as I am off next week for Fall Break. The weather is looking good for next week too. This week has been miserably wet!
Last month I did an Altered Children's board book swap. Here are the pics of the book that I did. Its a small book and was really fun to work on. The pics aren't the greatest as my scanner is getting old and worn out.

I hope every one has had a good week and I hope you all have a great week-end too.
xoxoxoxo

2009-10-13T05:34:00.003-05:00

Fall is definetly in the air. I just wish we could see some sunny Fall days. The weather this season has been pretty much like it was in the summer, RAINY. Our trees are starting to turn but I worry with all the rain we are getting that they will fall off soon.
I have been in a Fall Funk this week. But I will get over it. Next week I am off for Fall break so maybe I can do some fun things. Just not having to come to work and deal with the mess here will be a relief.
Lately I have been comtemplating whether I should keep my blog open or not. I try to post as much as I can but thats not too often. So I don't know what I will do.
This past Sunday Mom and I got a special visit. My brother and sister-in-law and my niece and Great Nephew came to visit us and spent the day. Samuel, my great nephew is almost 9 months old now. He is such a sweet and Happy baby. He didn't cry one single time.
Below is a picture of him and his Great Granny.
Doesn't she look so tickled to be holding him? Then there is his proud Granddadddy holding him. My Brother is crazy about him.

And next is my beautiful Niece, Emily. She is such a great Mom to Samuel.
I wish we lived closer to all of them. He just changes so much every time we see him. He is crawling now and pulling up to things. I don't think it will be long till he is toddling every where.
Its going to be so much fun this Christmas to be able to buy him some toys. Mom and I bought him a toy and he loved it. They really make some cool baby toys now days. Plus they have buttons where you can turn the sound off it they start making you batty, lol. They didn't have that when my kids where little. You just had to wear ear plugs, lol.

Well, I hope every one is doing well. I really miss you all and I try to visit you even when I have nothing to post. Have a great Fall Week and hopefully it isn't raining where your at.
xoxoxoxoxo

Happy Columbus Day!

2009-10-12T08:18:00.000-05:00

Have a Lovely Fall Week-end!

2009-10-03T02:17:00.002-05:00

Important- Please help!

2009-09-29T09:49:00.003-05:00

Hi Every one. If you remember back in July I did a post about a site that I had discovered. Here is the post on it. Well, they are having a party now and raising more money for displaced animals. The party is going to happen tomorrow and they will have a Video with all the dogs whose owners participated in the event. The dogs will have their scarves on and modeling them in pictures. Here is more info on it too.

HOW TO JOIN THE PARTY:
-Post anything POSITIVE about pets: pics, decor, ideas-- on your blog. We need your links right away! Email links to: jhanson@kc.rr.com or leave here in the comments by Monday Sept. 28th 9 p.m. Central time. UPDATE: We have dozens of links -don't be left out!
-The party will feature the World Premier Video on what internet friends & bloggers did to help animals in need.
-You may embed the INSPIRING video and e-mail to friends.
-You can Twitter about it and post on Facebook.
-You can take the button and post it.
-Remember each link earns $3.00 from Design Gives Back and each comment $1.00 from us to help needy pets. All you have to do is COMMENT!
GIVEAWAY! $100.00 Hobby Lobby Gift Card
Metamorphosis Monday and Knock-out Knock-offs and Todays Thrifty Treasures are our links for today. This party transforms tragedy to treasure. BE A PART OF IT!

Here is the video!

Just click on Oliver's picture below to get to the website.

Thanks for joining in tomorrow to help with this great cause!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Feeling Fall at last!

2009-09-28T07:42:00.003-05:00

At last the rain has gone away and we are now feeling some nice cool temps. Fall is one of my favorite times of year. Its a time of change. A time where I feel I can start to slow down some and rest. I just Love the beautiful colors fo Fall too. I am sure most people feel this way.
I have been busy doing lots of artsy stuff. I hope to be able to share some of it this week.
I hope every one had a great week-end. And I hope you have a great week ahead!
xoxoxo

Week-end Fun and pretty sunsets.

2009-09-21T08:15:00.002-05:00

The picture above was from last night's sunset. Its not so great as I took it with my cell phone. I took some better pics with my cameras too but I am at work and can't load them from here. The sky was breathtaking. We had just had about an hours worth of storms. We have had 8 inches of rain in the past week and a half. The norm for us in September is usually 2 inches, if that. And we are suppose to have more rain this week too. Also it is very humid here and it sure doesn't feel like Fall. I am so ready for cooler temps and being able to open my windows. The heat isn't bad right now its the darn humidity that makes so uncomfortable.
But anyhoo,,,I did have a wonderful week-end, except I wasn't happy yesterday when my Football team, the Titans lost to the Texans,,not good.
On Saturday, my dear sweet friend, Rosemary, came over to play artsy stuff with Mom and I.
We had so much fun. She brought so many goodies to eat,,some yummy Mexican layered dip, and some heavenly Chex mix(very addicting). She also brought some paper mache pumpkins that we painted and then used some amazing wax that she brought to antique them with. She gave me a can of it and I played with it some yesterday morning. I promise to post some pics of our fun this week and all the fun things we made. She also brought me some charms that she had made and I LOVE them!!! Thanks Sweet Rosie! And we promised that we are getting together at least once a month from now, thats not a hard promise to make. We have to much fun when we get together!
I hope every one had a wonderful week-end and I hope you have a Great Week ahead.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Wednesday's Art

2009-09-16T16:33:00.004-05:00

Yes, I actually have been working on some Art lately. I am still trying my hand at doing some drawing. I really enjoy using markers and water color pencils and crayons. I am also working on a Altered Board book for a swap I am in too. Almost finished with it and hope to post pics of it in a few days. But here are a few pics that I have completed.

I have also been working on my Journals some too. I will try to post some of them too.
I hope every one has had a great hump day! I LOVE hump days as it means Friday is right around the corner!
xoxoxoxoxo

A tree filled week-end.

2009-09-14T07:53:00.005-05:00

Yes we had an exciting week-end in our neighborhood. My brother(above) rented a boom lift for the week-end and most all of the neighbors needed trees cut down and trimmed. It was so cool how we all joined in together, even the kids, and helped each other cut trees. It was like being back in the old days when every one came together for barn raisings. Now our street is lined with tree limbs for the city chipper truck to come and pick up for mulch. Here's a few more pics of the tree cutting adventure.
Thats my silly hub up in the lift, you know the guys had fun with this big toy!
Tree limbs trimmed in the front of my house. Now I get a little more light into the Art room too. I hope every one is doing ok and had a great week-end. I will try to post some artsy stuff sometime this week.
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Eight years ago today!

2009-09-11T12:16:00.001-05:00

We will never forget!

Fun Labor Day Holiday

2009-09-07T01:24:00.010-05:00

My fun started on Thursday afternoon. My friend, Ginny and I headed downtown to the Titan's stadium to do a little tailgating before the game. Some friends of hers bought a old school bus and really Titanized it.

This friendly guy was the greeter and would do a little jig when any one walked by the bus!

And check out the spread of food they had! Titan's fans definetly know how to Tailgate!

It was a great game too as the Titans won! It was a beautiful night with the moon being almost full too!
The next day we started out on our trip to "Land Between the Lakes". It was a beautiful day and we took the back roads all the way there. Our first stop was to check out the Bison prairie.

After that we rode around the park. Its really beautiful there and completely out in the wilderness. I will post more of my trip tomorrow or sometime this week. We went to tour a Homeplace that is a replica of how settlers lived in the 1850s. It was so neat.
I hope every one has had a wonderful Labor Day week-end!
xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxxoxo

Going to Paris!

2009-09-02T11:45:00.006-05:00

Yes, thats right. I am going to Paris on Friday! But its Paris, Tennessee! Ha!

They do have a small little Effiel tower there. And its the home of the World's Biggest Catfish fry! But I am not going to the Catfish fry. I am going with one of my bestfriends and we are spending friday night in Paris and then going up to Land Between the Lakes. Its a very pretty area in Kentucky between the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River. Lots of trials and a Buffalo and Bison farm. A old homestead that you can go see where the people are dressed like the old days and they do the chores the old way. There is a Nature Center, planetarium, and just a really nice place to visit.
I am just glad to be going some place and getting out of town even if its just 1 night and 2 days.
And its not too far from us either so not that much travel time. I plan on taking alot of pics.
And, tomorrow night my friend and I are going to see my Fave Football team, the Titans, play a pre-season game. They are playing Greenbay Packers!
So, finally I get to have a fun week-end for a change! I hope every one is having a great week so far! To my friends in Cali,,thinking about you all and hoping the fires die out soon!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

A cool August Sunday!

2009-08-30T09:07:00.009-05:00

We woke up to another delightfully cool morning in August. So I had to take a nice walk around the yard with my camera. My Moonflower trellis is beautiful now. More flowers every morning!

I am always excited to wake up in the mornings and see these beauties! The are right outside my bedroom window too.
I also have some of their cousins, Morning Glorys.
I Love to take pictures while I am on my early morning stroll.

The Gourds in the pictures above are 2 birdhouse gourds that I managed to grow in the garden this year. I plan on making birdhouses out of them.
I hope you enjoyed the stroll around my yard this morning. It is certainly feeling like Autumn here in Middle Tennessee right now. We have had such a delightful summer and I am looking forward to a beautiful Fall.
I hope every one has had a wonderful week-end!
XOXOXOXOX

2009-08-26T12:12:00.002-05:00

Hi to all my Blogger friends. I am still around. Just been so busy getting use to being back at work again. I wish I was like the woman in the picture, sitting around studying a bird, that would be sweet! Its finally slowing down some so I think I can do some more art projects and maybe get out and take a few pictures. I just didn't have to much to post about in the past few weeks so I just took a small break. I have tried to pop in to some of your blogs and keep in touch. So hopefully I can start posting several times a week now.
I hope every one is well and please know I have missed you all!
XOXOXOXOXOOX

Fun and Creative time on Tuesday!

2009-08-06T08:21:00.003-05:00

So its been a week since I have posted. I have been busy this week. Well, really I have been having fun this week. Its my last week of play before going back to work on Monday.
On Tuesday, a very Dear Friend of mine and Moms, came over to spend the day with us. She is so talented and creative. Charlotte is also Hawaiian and so pretty too! She told me what my name is in Hawaiian.
She brought some fun goodies to play with too. She brought her Color Mists sprays. They come in so many amazing colors. We all made several background pages using the Mists. Charlotte also brought some stamps that her daughter, Lotus, hand carved. Oh boy, did I have fun with them. I had bought a Speedball stamp carving kit at Mi*chaels a couple of years ago and had never used it. But now I am having a ball carving my own stamps thanks to being inspired by Lotus's stamps.
Charlotte also brought some goodies for Mom and I too. My favorite is a material that is actually made in Hawaii. Its made from bark from the trees over there and then dyed and has patterns in it. I am going to cover some books with mine. I will make a picture of it for a later post.

But I used the color mists background pages and the stamps and made some Journal pages.

I am going to make some more today and not write on them. I hate my handwriting but I wanted to remember the fun day so I went ahead and Journaled on the pages that I made.
Charlotte's name in Hawaiian is Halaki. My name, Elizabeth, is Elikapeka. I guess it is "Peka" for short.
Of course I was having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures, I hate when I do that. But I will always remember the fun we had together. Lotus still lives in California and I hope I get to meet her one day.

I hope every one is doing well and having a great week. Have a fun week-end too.

XOXOOXOXOXO

Sunshine at last! Flowers happy too!

2009-07-31T11:57:00.005-05:00

Yes, the sun was out for a short while this morning. But I guess I jinxed it because while I was writing this post the clouds have returned again. This has been the rainiest July that we have ever had. But I am not complaining too much as its kept the temps down and made the flowers grow and my garden too.(Lots of weeds grew in the garden too!)
The picture above is of my hibiscus bushes. They are finally blooming and are full of buds. One of the bushes really got beat down by the hard rain we had last night. We even had tornadoes in the area last night. Its rained every single day this week except for Tuesday but it started on Tuesday night.
I worked a couple of days this week and it was nice to be back. I think it may be a little better this year. Especially knowing I am going to be off a lot more days.
Monday night Mom came over and spent the night and we did a lot of artsy stuff. I am now trying to draw a lot more. I use to draw a lot but got out of the habit. So I drew this picture Monday night. Its a "Wood Nymph". I think it turned out okay but i have a long way to go with trying to make my eyes more even.
But I still kind of like her. I am working on another one now. I am enjoying drawing and using my watercolor pencils and inks and markers. I also love the watercolor crayons too. I am still doing zentangles on days when I don't have time to do much art. But I am trying to do some kind of art every day.
Oh Good, the sun has returned. I need to go fill up my Hummingbird feeders now. Then I have to take Mom to get an echo sound on her heart.
I hope every one has a great Friday and a wonderful week-end. To my dear friends out west, I hope the temps cool down for you all, and I will try to send some cool rain your way.
xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxo

Lazy blogger

2009-07-27T10:35:00.003-05:00

So I haven't posted in a week. But I have a few excuses. Number one I have been battling yet another sinus infection. This is like the 5th or 6th one since spring. Went to the doctor again and back on yet another round of antibiotics. If it keeps occurring then I will have to go see a Ears, Nose, and Throat Doctor. Hope this one takes care of it.
The garden is finally slowing down although I am now starting to get my green beans in and they are so good. And still getting okra and tomatoes, next thing will be butter beans.
I have been doing a few little artsy things. The pic above is a small canvas that I did this past week. And below are some tags that I am doing for a tag swap. I made them in the shape of fish. I then did some stamps and placed a vintage sunbather on them. I used Ultra thick embossing power on them so it looks like they have a resin top coat. I used a actual swivel hook and then tied ribbons and fibers and beads and shells to them. I thought they turned out pretty good. The scan really doesn't do them justice.
I have to officially start back to work on August 10th. But I am going to work Wed-Friday of this week just to get some comp time. Since I went to a 10 month position again I do not get vacation time except the 2 weeks at Christmas. I still get sick time but I thought it would be nice to have a few days that I could take off when I needed too.
I hope every one had a wonderful week-end. I am off to catch up with every one.
XOXOXOOXOXOXOXO

Wonderful Monday!

2009-07-20T09:44:00.007-05:00

Isn't this a wonderful card? My dear friend Janet sent it to me. She is a wonderful artist and such a really good friend. I think we have been blogging together for at least 3 or 4 years now and I have so enjoyed watching her Art change. Her journals are amazing and I wish I could be as dedicated as she is about working in my journal every day. Thanks Janet for making my day!
Wow, our weather has been amazing! We had a record breaking week-end with very abnormally cool temperatures. It felt like Fall here and we LOVED it. I don't ever remember being able to open our windows in the middle of July. We are usually in the mid to upper 90s and 100% humidity by this time of year. I woke up yesterday morning to hear my Mom's furnace going. Ha, they are pretty cold natured and she got really chilled and turned on the heat. Its suppose to be nice like this most of this week and some more rain coming in tomorrow night.
Mom and I started some more Party pickles yesterday. They are a 4 day process. They are so pretty as we use food coloring to make them red and green. Here are a few jars that we have already made. We have about 14 jars now but we are giving away a lot of them as Christmas presents.
They have a spicy, sweet taste to them. And even though they take 4 days to make they are not that hard to make. I also made some more Watermelon rind pickles. I think they are pretty too but they don't show up so pretty in the picture.

They are actually transparent looking in person. You also put thin lemon slices in with them too. They are really sweet and yummy. I have really enjoyed putting up veggies and pickling this summer. My kitchen floor is a mess and I am going to strip it and polish it after I have finished pickling.
I have been doing some art lately. I am in a ATC bird swap, a tag swap, and a charm swap. Below is a picture of my Bird ATCs.
I don't know why I can't scan any thing straight. My scans always come out crooked. I will post my other art projects on another day.
If you saw my post last week where I showed off where I sit and blog and play on my computer, then I have to show you what I saw while I have been sitting here blogging today.
I have a bird feeder and a silverware and beads windchimes on the big tree in front of my window. This little guy was sitting on top of the windchimes patiently waiting to get to the feeder.
I hope every one had a great week-end and hope you have a wonderful Monday too!
xoxoxoxoxoox

Garden Delights!!!

2009-07-16T06:51:00.009-05:00

Guess who decided that my garden was going to be a wonderful Breakfast Bar today?

So yes, I walked out on my deck this morning to see this visitor in the garden. And enjoying it quite well, thank you very much.
Um, please tell me that your not eating my lima bean plants? Have all the cucumbers, zuchinni, and peppers you want but stay away from the beans, please
"No, honestly its not a bean plant that is hanging out of my mouth, promise!"
So, yeah,,I let her have a few more bites and then politely told her that is was time to go check on Bambi. She was ok with that but I am wondering "how many more will she bring back with her tomorrow?"
Yesterday I spent all day working outside. I mowed the whole 2 acres and then worked in the garden the rest of the day. It was HOT and HUMID! But by late afternoon a nice big Thundershower came through and cool it all off. I actually stood in the rain for while until the lightening started popping a little too close.
So this is what I got out of the garden yesterday.

Yes, I felt a little of my Irish blood after digging the potatoes up. My fingers tips are so sore this morning. I just can't wear gloves, I have to feel the dirt in my bare hands. So yes, my nails look like crap in the summer but its worth it. I also harvested several heads of cabbage. We will make freezer slaw out of it.
Below is a corner of my kitchen where I keep some of the produce until I freeze it or can it. I picked the Patty Pan squash and the zuchinni yesterday too.
Some time today I am going to try to take a picture of all the pickles we have canned so far. There is quite a bit of jars now.
The last picture is of where I sit in the mornings this summer and blog. Its in my Art Room and I open the window for some nice cool and fresh morning air. I can look out over my front porch with the hanging ferns and see my flower beds too and all the birds and squirrels who are scampering around and singing to me. Its very relaxing.
I hope every one is having a wonderful summer week! And have a great Thursday too!
XOXOXOXOXO

Sunflowers for a sunny day!

2009-07-14T06:11:00.007-05:00

These beauties are planted around the outside of my garden! I knew when I planted my garden that I had to have these surrounding it as I just think they add more flavor to the garden. Can you see the big bees that are all over the flowers? They really didn't appreciate me getting close to their flowers. A lot of times I will have yellow and black and purple finches all over them too.

Below is some pictures of the garden. I need to spend a whole day in it doing some serious weeding. Its been a pretty rainy summer for us which is great when you don't have to water the garden. But it also makes the weeds go crazy. The first picture is tomatoes, marigolds, okra, and cucumbers.

Next, you can see the row of corn that is in front of the tomatoes. The hub decided at the last minute that he wanted some corn so it was planted a little late. I think it will produce before the first frost as our first frost usually isn't until mid October. It growing really fast too.
Next is my pole bean tepee. I am going to have quite a few of them too. I already have small pods. Last week I discovered that the pesky little Japanese beetles were totally munching down on them so I had to discourage them or my plants would be gone. They were also enjoying my Okra too much too. They also will destroy Roses, Hibiscus, and other veggies and plants.

And of course, Mr Owl is on constant duty to protect from intruders. (But he doesn't scare the Japanese Beetles). He stands by the peppers, cucumbers, and squashes.

My herbs are doing really good! I have some in the garden and some in pots by my deck so I can run out and snip some while cooking. Here are my chives and my basil.

I have been making some Pesto out of my basil from a great recipe my dear friend Jeanie sent to me last year. Its yummy and you can also freeze it for later use. I have also been drying and freezing my herbs to use all year. More pictures of that later.
On Sunday I picked some Patty Pan squash and Green tomatoes and fried them for dinner. Oh, my,,they were just way too good.

I could live off of these yummies! I have really enjoyed having a garden this summer. Its a lot of work but well worth it. I have put up Yellow Squash, Patty Pan Squash, Zucchini, Okra. And Mother and I have canned so many kinds of Pickles. Dill, Bread and Butter, Party Pickles, and on Saturday I canned some Pickled watermelon rind. That is good stuff! I will take pictures of the various canned items as they are so pretty. What I have learned about gardening? Well, to not plant so many cucumbers, banana peppers and zucchini,we have had and over abundance of them. Giving them to neighbors as we have had so many. My disappointment has been that my tomatoes have not done so good but in talking with other gardeners its been the same for them. They are full of green tomatoes but having a hard time turning red. They probably will all at the same time. I have several egg plants, and also some Lima beans that will be coming in soon. I have Irish potatoes that will be ready soon and also cabbage. Mine and my parents freezers will be full for the winter and I can't wait to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Thanks for letting me share!
Have a Terrific Tuesday!
XOXOXOXOOXOX

Monday's Art

2009-07-13T05:46:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday! I hope every one had a great week-end. I spent most of mine putting up veggies and making pickles. I even attempted pickling watermelon rind. Just sharing some of my latest art from some of my journals. The first picture is one I did on a 8x 10 canvas.

I have been trying to do some kind of art every day now since I am not working this summer. I have a pen, marker, and watercolor journal and a mixed media journal. I Love doing the mandalas and zentangles they are so relaxing.
Have a great first of the week!
xoxoxoxooxoxox

River Fun

2009-07-10T04:45:00.012-05:00

What a fun time I had at my brother and sister-in-law's house. I LOVE visiting with them and always have such a great time. I got to go out on the wonderful Tennessee River on Wednesday. It felt so good to be back on the river that I grew up on and learned to Ski on too. Too old for that any more. When I got down there on Tuesday, my niece came over and brought my cutie pie Great Nephew, Samuel. I can't believe how fast he is growing and just a sweetie and a half.

See all the plants hanging up on their patio? My sis in law has a very green thumb and there patio was like a tropical paradise. Their boxer, Andy, enjoys the coolness of it too!
On Wednesday we went out of my brother's bestfriend's cabin cruiser. The weather was perfect and so was the water. Below is a picture of Interstate 65 bridge that goes over the River.

This part of a big creek that comes off the river, Limestone Creek. There are Alligators in this creek so I had no desire to swim in it but its really pretty.
The captain and the co-pilot, they live the easy life after taking buy outs from GM a few years ago.
Next is my Bubs cooling off in the river.
And then its me and Bubs. I was kidding him and telling him to suck in the Beer Gut.
It was a wonderful little vacation and I so enjoyed visiting with them! Thanks so much Bubs and Sarah!
I hope every one else has had a awesome week. Its getting hotter and more humid here.
Have a great week-end!
xoxooxxooxoxxo

Design Gives Back

2009-07-06T09:58:00.004-05:00

Recently when I was out doing a little web surfing, I came across this site by way of another blogger. Kelee Katillac is a really neat artist and she came up with a way to help Dogs and Cats who are "lost", meaning abandoned. She designed a scarf with her dog's name on it, Oliver Wendell. You had to write her and ask her to mail you scarf and then you decorated it and made a picture of your dog in it. You then e-mailed her the picture and if she got 150 pics of dogs wearing the scarf she has a sponsor who would donate $2000 towards an association who helps with abandon animals. So of course I jumped right in and got a scarf for Lady. The deadline to have the picture sent to her was today. I got my scarf on Friday and decorated it Saturday and promptly took the Brat's picture and e-mailed it back to her. If you look at her blog she has several posts of the different dog's pictures with the scarves on. Here are some of Lady modeling the scarf!

She is going to make a video and a post after today's deadline so I will post a link here when she does. Doesn't the Brat make a cute model? It went to here head though and she walked around the rest of the day acting like a Prima Donna,,HA!
I hope every one had a great holiday week-end! I am headed to my brother's tomorrow to spend a few days and go out on his boat. I can't wait!
XOXOXOXOXOXOOX

RIP #9

2009-07-05T12:55:00.003-05:00

We had a terrible tragedy here in Nashville yesterday. Steve McNair who use to the quarterback for my beloved Titans Football Team was murdered. He played with them for many years and was a great player and the Titan's fans loved him. He went to play at Baltimore for the past 2 years but retired in April. I never met him but I know people who have and described him as a very nice person. He also had several charities for Children.
Its sad that he was killed and also a young woman was found dead with him too. So far the police seem to think that the woman shot Steve several times and then killed herself. He was married but apparently was having an affair with this young lady. He leaves behind a wife and 4 sons.
It was so senseless and every one has been putting him down. Yeah, what he was doing was wrong but he didn't deserve to die because of it. In my mind he was still one of the best Quarter backs in Titan's history. RIP #9!
I hope every one had a great Fourth of July! Ours was great except the fireworks got rained out. But still had a good time any ways other than the tragedy above that cast a sad feeling during the celebration.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Happy Fourth of July!!!

2009-07-04T09:46:00.002-05:00

Hope every one has a wonderful and safe Fourth of July!!!

xoxoxoxoxo

Friday's Flowers!

2009-07-03T09:06:00.003-05:00

Just a few of the beautys in my life! Its almost the Fourth of July! Hope every one has the day off and enjoying the family and friends!
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxo

D- Stressing

2009-07-02T05:22:00.003-05:00

Since my last post this week was about "stress" I felt I had to post one on how I am now D-stressing. Yesterday was my first day out of work and what perfect weather we had! High was only in the low 80s and absolutely no Humidity, very rare for July 1st in the south. Below is a picture the Hub took of the garden. Can you see my pretty sunflowers peeking up now?

Ok, another garden pic but this one is looking up at the driveway. Whats that blue thing that you see there?

Well, its my new pool! And look at me,,do I even look stressed out now? NOPE!!!

Its the perfect size for me and the hub. We even let a few of the neighbor kids dip in it from time to time. It feels heavenly after working in the garden and flowers. So, yeah, I am happy to be off work. Yesterday afternoon Mom came over and we cut up some white squash and battered it and froze it. Talk about yummy! And also put up several bags of yellow squash too. We now have over 3 cases of several types of pickles. Going to take some photos of them and share soon.
My okra and beans will be coming in soon and those will keep me busy too. My only gardening disappointment has been my tomatoes. They just did not produce they way I hoped they would but I think it may have been the weather, that's a good excuse isn't it? Ha! But I tell you,,I will never plant as many cucumber plants as I did this year. I think this year was the year of the Cukes!
I have WAY to many of them and I am just plain sick of them,,Ha. I am to the point that I am going to find out where the food bank is here in my little town and donate some to them. And I have had loads of zucchini too. But my brother shreds them and freezes them and he makes his famous zucchini bread that every one loves. So we have all decided that for Christmas this year we are going to give Zucchini bread and pickles as presents! Every one loves homemade goodies and we will put them in some cute wrappings.
Well, I hope every one is enjoying the summer. Its starting to be very nice for me now. Oh, I also found out yesterday that I get to stay at my same school and I will go back in August! YAY! What a relief!
More tomorrow!
XOXOXOXOOXOXOXO

Stressed

2009-06-29T09:00:00.002-05:00

Yes, that's me,,feeling kind of stressed out right now. Tomorrow is my last day in my current work position. Today I have to go interview at another school that I do not even want to work at because of gang activity in the school and also its a lot farther for me to drive every day. I desperately hope the principal doesn't offer me the position. I had to apply because the Human Resource workers kept urging me to apply for it. I felt kind of pressured into it.
I keep hoping something will happen so I can stay where I am at now, I like it here and I love the wonderful friend that I work with. But I also applied for two more positions that are as close as this school.
I keep trying to contact the HR people to find out what is going to happen if after tomorrow I have no job yet. I don't know if I can draw unemployment, or even if I will have health insurance.
I was reassured at the end of May that I would not be without a job but now I am not trusting them so much. I mean how can you treat a person who has worked for a system for 25 years, half of their lives, this way. Just leave them hanging not knowing whats going to happen. But I guess there are so many people like me now days so I try to not whine about it too much but its really getting on my nerves. Please keep me in your thoughts and send good vibes my way. Its pretty scary trying to figure out if your going to be able to pay your bills or not.

I hope every one had a great week-end. We are finally getting a break from the horrible heat and humidity this week.

Thanks to all my blogger buds!

xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxo

Good Read!

2009-06-25T09:00:00.003-05:00

This is a book that I have been reading lately. Its really awesome too. It has excercises to do in it to learn to help make your life alot happier. I figure I wouldn't mind having more happiness.
Plus the book is so wonderfully illustrated by Joan Perrin Falquet. I really LOVE her ART! So if you want a good book to read then I highly recommend this one. And check out Joan's art at her website. It also shows some of the book at her website.
Hope everyone has been having a great week!
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxo

Whats been keeping me busy these days!

2009-06-22T22:31:00.017-05:00

So now you know what I have been doing in my free time. My garden is coming in big time right now. Mom and I have been canning pickles, shredding zuchini for bread, and freezing squash.
I have alot of tomatoes but they are slowly turning red. The cucumbers are coming in hugh numbers, thus the need to make pickles. I have done a little bit of Art in my journals too but mostly I am outside. Its been so HOT here since last friday. I have to work outside in the early mornings and its nice then as the humidity isn't so unbearable. I also have to work in the late afternoons, after sun has gone down some. But even in the late afternoons the humidity will make you soaking wet. Tonight we are getting some late night thunderstorms and hopefully a little rain for the garden.
Tomorrow night we close on our house that we have been trying to sell this past year. It will be so nice to get that off our backs. And I only have 6 more days to work and then I will be off until August. I still don't know what my position will be when I go back to work at the beginning of the school year. I am trying to not worry about that right now. I am just going to enjoy being off in the summer.
I hope every one is doing well and stay cool if your weather is as hot as ours is at the present time.
I will be posting more when I am off work! Miss you all!
xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoox

Big Events in our part of the woods!

2009-06-10T08:14:00.004-05:00

So this week is a big musical event for middle Tennessee. First off, we have the annual Country Music festival. Its a biggie here in Nashville. Country music fans come from all over the world to meet and get autographs from their favorite Country music artists. Its a four day event but they are kicking it off today with a big parade in downtown Nashville(glad I don't work downtown). The days are filled with concerts and meeting their stars at booths set up in different venues. They use to call it Fan Fare but changed the name a few years ago.

Next we have Bonnaroo that will kick off tomorrow. Its a little southeast of Nashville in Manchester and what a line up they are having there. The biggie is Bruce Springsteen. But its a four day music filled event. I heard on the news this morning that 800,000 fans will be here this year. I wish I could go but my "all day concert going days" are over now. I don't mind the "sit in a comfy and cool venue" concerts. But the "standing in the hot, humid, and buggy fields" well ,uh, No Thanks.
So now you know all about our big week of music and tourists galore.
I hope every one is having a wonderful week!
xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxo

monday's musings

2009-06-08T08:59:00.005-05:00

Well its been a few days since I have posted. Its been a busy few days too. I had to work summer school registration at a different High School on Thursday and Friday. It just so happened to be the one I work at before I moved to where I am now. I enjoyed seeing a lot of my old co-workers. So far I really haven't heard much about where I am going to be. I met with a sweet HR lady on Friday afternoon. She said with my seniority that she will not have any problem finding a place for me. That's kind of reassuring but I really want to stay where I am at. Daniel would like me to stay there too and be off in the summers. Its a good possibility that I can but its not definite yet.
Good news! Looks like we may be selling our house this week. And investor has offered us cash for it. Bad part is that we will only break even and not make any thing off of it. But at least it will be off our back and less money coming out of our pocket each month. Its been on the market for a year so its time to let it go. Please keep your fingers crossed that it will all work out.
I have been doing some art lately. The picture above is one that I have done in my drawing journal. I like the way it turned out too. Usually I hate every thing I draw by free hand.
I have also discovered Zentangles. I have known about them for a while but now I am really enjoying them. They are so easy to do and it helps to keep my mind of of troubling times. Below is one I did and I also used some stencils in with it too.
These are really addicting to do too. I have my Mom to thank for getting into these. She started doing them and I had to give it whirl. I have always been a doodler and this is so therapeutic.
I have a zillion stencils too and I have been playing with them. The next picture is a combo of two different stencils.
I used water color pencils and fine point sharpies on all of the art on this post. And the good thing is that I have actually been creating some art every day, even if its just a few minutes here or a few minutes there.
I hope every one had a great week-end. And do have a wonderful week ahead!
xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxox

Changing

2009-06-04T05:45:00.014-05:00

How about a basket full of pretty Hydrangeas ? These are the beauties that I picked from my bush this past week-end. I made 2 bouquets of them and gave one to Mom.
Well, I did find out on Monday that my position at the school I am at now has been cut. But I do have some options, hopefully. I can possibly stay where I am and work under a different job title but make the same pay that I make now. I would also get summers off again but that means I would make less money since I would be off 2 months without pay. That's kind of hard when you are use to making more money. Its a lot easier to go from less to more. The other option is stay in my same position and change to another school and still work 12 months. I have applied for that one too. Not sure if I will definitely get either one but I do have 25 years of seniority. Our school system is in a big transition right now. We have 5 schools who where under performing according to the "No Child Left Behind act" that our lovely ex-prez put in place. So there fore every one in all of those schools must re-apply for their positions. That's goes from custodians, teachers, clerical, up to the principals. A lot will not be rehired. Its a way of weeding out the not so good and keeping the good. But it sounds pretty cruel. So there are a lot of people out there trying to find jobs in the system again. But that's just the way it is. Enough of this.
Here are some pictures I took of my flowers and my summer time world at home where I am at peace.

This is a pretty moth that I found on our garage door last night.

Next is my hardy summer snapdragon. Its a beautiful dark wine color and full of blooms. The picture doesn't really do it justice as it was late evening and rain clouds were moving in.
And then we have a pic of my black eye Susan which is also full of blooms.

I Love the color of this Petunia.
This is the flower bed by my deck steps where are these babies call home.
Next is where the hubby and I sit and chill at night after a hard days work.
You have to have those bug torches lit at night to keep the lovely skeeters away.
And here is our outdoor room with Daddy and the Brat.

This what you would see if you were sitting on the deck with us.

And I have a wonderful collection of Buddhas and they really make me feel so Peaceful when I look at them.
And last but not least a view of the garden. Its getting quite full. I have some beans that have not sprouted up yet as I just planted them last week-end. I do have baby squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. I am already eating on the lettuce, broccoli, and white radishes. I am going to take close ups of it all this coming week-end.
And last, but not least, is my little Carlita Kitty who is looking for some bugs to play with by the flowerbed.
And that was a little tour of my world at the beginning of summer. I mowed yesterday afternoon and the time we got ready to go to bed we had a nice steady rain move in to water and refresh the flowers. I went back out on the deck to smell the freshness of the rain. So relaxing.
Please keep your fingers crossed for me that the right place for me to work at will fall in place for me. Its very unsettling right now when I am away from my haven in a world of unknowns that has become my work.
I hope every one is having a wonderful week.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Uncertain Future

2009-06-01T07:57:00.002-05:00

This is a picture of the High School where I spend my week days. Its a beautiful old building and so nice inside too. It first opened in the 1930s.
My sad story is I am not sure if I will be here much longer or not. It seems that our School Board has voted to open 2 new Adult High Schools and we do not know what our future is here at our school. They know what they are going to do but no one will officially tell us what is going to happen. In they, I mean the people who run our schools. In fact, we had to learn from newspapers all the news that we have recieved up till this point.
I am so fustrated right now as I don't know what will happen or where I will be working or if I will EVEN be employed. Hopefully we will find out something soon.

So this week-end I spent both days working in my garden. I am sore and tanned a light brown but its a good feeling. Who knows, I may have to open my own produce truck, HA!
I will post more pictures this week of the garden. Its looking really good.
I hope every one had a great week-end!
xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxox

Journal pages

2009-05-26T05:17:00.003-05:00

Its back to work for me today. After having been off for almost a week its going to be hard to get back into the routine. Just a quick post for now. Here are recent journal pages that I have done this past month, when I would get a spare moment.

I have also started another different type of journal that I will share with every one some time this week. I hope every one had a Great Memorial Day week-end. And have a terrrific Tuesday.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXO

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T07:36:00.013-05:00

Its certainly been a nice long week-end for me. I recovered from the nasty little virus by saturday. Saturday was actually a really nice day weather wise. I got my 2 acre yard mowed and then worked over at Mom's house, cleaning off her front porch and back patio. Yesterday I cleaned my carpets which wasn't too bad as I only have 3 bedrooms with carpet. I also cleaned all the windows in the house too. And even they aren't hard to clean as they are the tilt in windows, easy peasy!
Yesterday was a good inside day as we had thundershowers off and on all day long. Every once in a while the sun would pop out and I would go outside and take pictures of some of the flowers.
Love them with the rain drops clinging to the petals.
The picture above and picture below are made on my deck. I have it fixed up the way I love in the summer time. Its a great place to hang out even in the rain.
The next picture is of the wonderful compost bin that my Sweet Hubster made me this week-end. I had been yabbering about wanting one and had sent him a website of one that someone had made so being the great carpenter that he is(you really are,DB) he made me one just like it.
I can't wait to fill that sucker up with all kinds of wonderful compostable stuff. I really want to use compost to feed the garden instead of fertilizer. He is going to set it out in the yard today.
It was really raining hard in that picture. Next shot is of my poinsetta plant. I always repot poinsettas after Christmas and put them outside in the summer. They make really pretty plants and this one has stayed red. I have some more that I put in the ground too and they make nice big green bushy plants, great fillers.
And next is my "knock-out" rose that my sweet son bought for me. He works for a plant company that supplys HD's with plants. He knew I wanted one so he bought it for me, wasn't that a sweetie?
I have a rain barrel that the Hubby put under one our drainspouts so I can use it to water my flowers and plants with the wonderful rain water. I try to go green as much as I can.
My Nastursiums are blooming like crazy in my back flower bed. Love them, I start them from seed and they are sure fire winners in my book. You can even put the flowers in salads as they are edible and have a peppery taste plus make your salads pretty too!
The next picture is some of my moonflower's that are popping up from seed. Almost every thing I am growing this year has been from seed except of course my perienals that come back every year.
And I have also started some Lemon cucumbers. I have about 10 or more regular and pickling cukes already in the garden but a friend of mine gave me these Lemon cuke seeds so I have to give them a try. She said they are delish!
So you can see that we had a nice rainy day but I sure didn't mind at all. In fact I have actually been in my Art studio alot this week-end too. I have been working on my Art Journals and also made a shadow box for Mom but forgot to take a picture of it. I will today as we are going over there this afternoon to cook out. I also made a collage for me. I really enjoyed creating some art again. And, this is where I sit in my studio when I am on my laptop, like right now. Its a great view out the 2 big windows and heavenly to smell the fresh rain too.
Thats the collage I have been working on. I still have a little more tweaking to do on it and then I will post it.
I hope every one has a wonderful Memorial Day! To me its the official start of summer time, when the living is easy!!!
XOXOOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXO

Summer time's creatures and other stuff!

2009-05-24T12:24:00.005-05:00

How about this little creature? He was visiting us yesterday when I came outside he was on a stepping stone leading out to the back yard.

And this pretty moth was right up above from him on the brick wall. He stayed around most of the morning but the little green guy went his merry little way.

I hope every one is having a great Sunday and a wonderful Memorial Day week-end!

xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxox

Still alive

2009-05-22T07:22:00.010-05:00

Wow, I sure have been gone from Bloggersville for several weeks now. There are several reasons for my missing in action. The biggest would be I have really been working in my yard and veggie garden every chance I get. Next, I have been helping out at Mom and Dads as my brother had to have a defibrillator put in his heart. And then of course its the end of the school year and that's always a busy time too. And I took some time off this week to help with brother and now I have some kind of virus or flu and feel pretty crummy. I went to the doctor yesterday and they tested me for the flu and said I didn't have that so it must be a virus. I just ache all over and very nauseated and feel bad in general. I seriously don't have time to be sick but at least I am off work any ways. I am going to try to take advantage of this and do some artsy stuff while I feel like it. I also found out my blood pressure was really high again so I am back on the blood pressure meds again. But enough blabbering,,,I will post some pics now.
First some pictures of the house and garden. I really don't have a lot of really good pics of the garden but I did snap some yesterday. I will work on getting some better ones.

We had about 3 weeks of almost non stop rain and when it did slow down some and the sun would pop out it made a tremendous amount of grass pop up in the garden. So for Mother's Day I asked for and received a mini rototiller. My sweet DH spent most of Mother's Day tilling the garden for me to try to get out all the grass.
The yard behind him is not our yard, the neighbors next to us are not very tidy and don't have their yard mowed very often and its a ugly nuisance. I did try my hand at using the little tiller too.
We also have a lot of children in our neighborhood and they like to come over and hang out with us and they are always wanting to help us. Dan put them to work picking up some rocks out of the garden.
If I start to feeling a little better I will take some more pics of the garden. Its really starting to grow. I have about 12 different tomato plants, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, white squash. I have sugar snap peas, pole beans, red potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage. We have white radishes and green onions and okra is starting to sprout. I have strawberry plants, blueberry plant, and several different herbs. I also have watermelon plants and cantaloupe. I have ornamental gourds, birdhouse gourds, and mammoth sunflowers.
So now you know where most of my free time is being spent. Next are some pictures of the flowers I have around the house.
This is my front porch. Its mostly shady most of the day and has my ferns on it. We have vinyl siding so the hub stretched the red cable across there for me to hang the ferns and the hummingbird feeder. I love to sit on the porch and look out at my flower beds.
Kitty likes to hang out there too. My inpatients have just started to grow and will be thick soon.
The next pictures are some of my plants by the deck steps.

So this is my world lately. I am going to try to do a little art today while I am taking it easy and hope to post some of it tomorrow. I did do a tag swap with my friend Jane from NY a few weeks ago. And here are some pictures of the tags I made.

I hope every one has a wonderful friday. I will post some more tomorrow!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!!!!

2009-05-03T19:44:00.010-05:00

Yes, the rain gage is showing 5 inches. I haven't emptied it and I am sure we are now up to over 6 inches. We have had rain off and on all this past week. It really started coming down heavy on Thursday night and hasn't let up since. It was nice at first because the garden needed some rain but now its starting to be way too much!
So we finally have a diagnosis on what is wrong with my Dad. He had a tick on him about a week and a half ago and my brother found it and got it off of him.
Now the doctors are telling us that he has a bacterial infection from it and its called EHRLICHIOSIS. It has made his blood platelets drop and has wrecked havoc on his nervous system. He is still in the hospital but will be transferring to a Nursing home hopefully tomorrow for Rehab. He is so weak that he cannot hardly walk.
Ticks are really bad here especially in the spring when they first hatch out.
I have always worn Deep Woods Off that has Deet in it when I work outside. I don't like wearing it but it keep ticks and Mosquito's off of you. I don't want to get any kind of disease from those pesks so its worth wearing the Off.
So far my garden has not suffered from all of this rain. I went outside yesterday in between the down pours and took some pictures of the garden. It needs weeding really bad right now but with all this rain its rather hard to do. Here are a few pictures of it so far.
I have 10 different tomato plants. Cherry tomatoes, Better Boy, Homestead, Early Girl, Bradley's, etc... They are really growing and have blooms on them too.
I have several strawberry plants in a raised bed.
And also several different kinds of herbs.
And watermelons and cantaloupes.
Turnips and greens
Cauliflower, Cabbage and Broccoli
I just looked at the weather and we have more rain predicted for the rest of this week too. I mean seriously,,we need some SUNSHINE!!!! My grass is getting really high but its too wet to mow it and the garden needs weeding. I sure hope my hard work doesn't suffer from this wet spell.
I hope every one had a great week-end. And have a great week too, please send some Sunshine my way!!!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

More bad news!

2009-04-29T08:25:00.003-05:00

I haven't been posting very much but its been a a busy month for me. Working on my garden and my flower beds and my Mom's flowers. But then we had another blow on saturday. My step-dad had to be rushed to the hospital. All of a sudden he couldn't walk and was losing control of bodily functions. They have done all kinds of tests, bloodwork and still have not really found the root of what is causing this to happen. The MRIs do not show signs of a stroke but something is going on with his blood. Plateletts are low, white count low. When the stand him up his blood pressure drops very low. They are now calling it Ataxia. I have read on the internet about it and he does have the symptoms but didn't seem like they come on that quickly.
So I don't think they know what is wrong with him. They wanted to send him to a nursing home in the town we live in but we want him to go to the rehab that he went to after his heart surgery this past summer. If we can't get him in the rehab then my brother is going to bring him home and take him to Physical Therapy. I don't know how that will work out as my stepbrother is not in the best of health either and to have Pop in this shape is going to be even harder on him. My Mom is taking it really hard too and I am pretty worried about her.
I wish I had a sister who would come and help us. Right now its just on my stepbrother and I to do it all. We have other brothers but they are busy with their own lives and can't come help us.
But we are trying to help Mom and Dad and are determined to not let them down.
I took off work yesterday and cleaned their house and took care of Mom. She was so worn out and I made her stay home and rest.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Much Love to you all!
xoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Mom and the Lady Brat!

2009-04-21T05:27:00.003-05:00

Hi and news from my Mom!

2009-04-19T18:56:00.007-05:00

Hi Everyone! My Mom wanted me to tell every one that she has been so busy working in our garden. You know that me and my Kitty Sister are keeping a eye on her while she is busy planting.

She said to tell every one Hello and that she will post again this week to tell you all about her garden and her flowers. We hope every one had a Great Week-end!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Easter Sunday and the week before.

2009-04-12T20:12:00.005-05:00

I hope every one had a wonderful Easter week-end. I really enjoyed it. It was a rough day on Good friday. We had some more tornadoes that touched down all around us. Not in our town but in some neighboring towns. It really caused alot of devastation in Murfreesboro which is a few counties east of us. A F-4 tornadoe hit several subdivisons. A 30 year old mother and her 9 week old baby daughter were killed and the father was critically injured. So very sad. Here is link to a video of one of it that someone made. We have been very lucky so far this year as it has been a stormy spring for us.
Last thursday morning on my way into work I saw a hot air balloon floating over downtown Nashville. I had to take some pictures of it as it was so serene as it was floating along.

I have been so busy trying to get my garden planted that I haven't had a chance to post or even visit any ones blogs. So tonight I am playing catch up! I hope every one has a wonderful spring week!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxox

Just some pretty spring pics!

2009-04-08T20:29:00.007-05:00

After getting up to almost 80 last sunday, we went to the upper 30s and had snow flurries on Monday and Tuesday. Below is what the sky looked like on sunday evening.

Before it got cloudy and cold I had to take some pictures of my tulips. These are micro shots.

Also Mom and I went for a sunday afternoon drive in the country and found this beautiful horse that seemed to be posing for a picture so I had to take one of him.
And last is a picture of a Apple blossom on my Apple tree.
I hope every one is having a wonderful spring week!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo