A Barn

Took this picture in Iowa a few weeks ago. I love it. Well, I'd love it more without the flag on the side, but it's still pretty cool.

A New Adventure

My latest adventure is that I got a job at DSW. Let the shoe love-fest begin!

I worked my first day this weekend and it went well. Have to get used to being on my feet for hours at a time again, but I could use the exercise so that's ok!

This past weekend my sisters and 3 of my cousins met up in Folsom, CA at my cousin Angela's house. This is our 6th annual Cousin's Weekend, but this was the first time we met up in California. And let me tell ya....it was a BLAST! We only had 4 days, but we sure packed a lot into those days and we just has a really great time. So much laughter and reminiscing ...I'm still smiling 2 days later!


Here I am, belting out Sister Christian with my sister Betsy. Mind you, I may have had a few cocktails before I agreed to do this!


Here's the cousins! Angela, Betsy, Sarah, Terry, Kate (me), Steph and Claire

We had to get Brian in a group photo...he was such a helpful pool boy all weekend!

Alcatraz: I really wanted to take a tour, but Sarah and Terry had no interest, and really we didn't have enough time for it.

Skyline shot of San Francisco:

Jordan:

Jordan, Claire and Collin taking a lunch break:

Miss Claire, looking as adorable as ever:

This was a really cute store in Old Folsom called Melange. My sister Sarah found a replica of a picture our grandma had hanging in her house for as long as we could remember. I felt like it was a sign that we happened upon that picture, and Sarah bought it! It was only $24, so the price was right and it was a fun memento from our trip. I seriously LOVED this store though...so inspiring and just plain cute!

Well it LOOKED good...

For the past 2 years I have been following the blog of Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman (see link to the right). She has a cooking section where she posts recipes, and she beautifully and meticulously photographs each step in the process of her recipe. And every recipe I've tried has been magnificent. From time to time she will have her friend Pastor Ryan share some recipes. I've tried a couple and they were great, so last week when he shared a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala, I was intrigued.

Indian Food is something new to me...I've never tried it and I can't even say that I've been wanting to try it. But there was the recipe, step by step and it looked easy and it really looked darn good! Off to the store I went in search of the 'vital' ingredient...Garam Masala spice. Yeah, try looking for that in my po-dunk town - ha! So I ventured the 16 miles to the next city and found some -- after searching the spice section for no less than 10 minutes -- whoohoo!

Well I followed the directions to a 'T', and it sucked. And I realized the reason why is that Garam Masala has a significant amount of cloves in it. And those cloves were all I could taste. I even added more rice to drown the clove taste but no luck. Jason was so kind...he ate almost the whole bowl...until I threw mine down and refused to eat anymore. I promptly went upstairs and threw in a frozen pizza...and everything was right with the world once again.

I tried to expand our horizons a bit but I guess I have to realize we are pretty simple people. Fancy is definitely not a requirement in this household. And I'm ok with that!

Spring Clean-Up, FINISHED!

Well this is the finished product of my backyard project. I pretty much doubled my garden size. Mom and I split my daylilies and spread them out a bit, added some other perennials she had at home, and I also added some moss roses I bought over Memorial Day weekend.

Jason and I had brought home some rocks from the north shore last summer, so I spaced them out a bit for accents. Finally they have a purpose! We do need to get more mulch down, but Mom and Dad gave us 6 bags they had leftover, so I spread those out so I could get an idea of how much more I needed. Those 6 bags covered more than I thought they would, that's for sure!

Anyway, I'm happy with the finished product. Now I just need to keep up with the weed control so it will stay looking this nice!

Spring Clean-Up

This past weekend was landscape renovation time. It's not quite done yet, but with the help of my husband it will get done. It was a project that I came up with on my own, and thought I could finish on my own, but I was so very very wrong. Silly me did not realize how difficult it would be to take up a few yards of sod -- on.my.own. I started out Saturday morning all gung-ho and ready to spend the day digging up sod, but in reality I lasted an hour. And then I took a 2 hour break before going back out for another hour. And all I got accomplished was digging a hole for the fire pit!

Jason helped me out yesterday and we got a lot more done. It's about 1/2 way done, but in the coming week we'll get it finished and it will look really nice. I think.

I really hate that this circle isn't perfectly round, but I was too tired to keep fussing with it. It will have to do!

A Dog & Her Ball

Dogs Do Smile!

This picture just makes me smile every time I look at it. Probably because SHE is smiling. She's such a good dog!

I hope Gypsy put a smile on your face too!

Sugarleaf Retreat

This past weekend was my (3rd) annual scrapbooking retreat in Cross Lake, MN. I brought along my friend & coworker Theresa. This was her first scrapbooking event of any kind, and her excitement was contagious.




On Friday afternoon we took advantage of the gorgeous sunshine and we took a little nature walk. We came upon this draft horse all alone in a pasture...we didn't want to trespass and barge right up to say hello, so we kept our distance and appreciated his beauty from afar. Honestly I do think he liked the attention...he seemed so lonely and bored. And this picture does not do him justice...he was HUGE and BEAUTIFUL!



An old plow thingy I thought was cool...



Theresa:

Me:

Most of these pictures were taken with Theresa's new Nikon point-&-shoot camera. She had forgotten her SD card, so I loaned her mine and we used her camera for the majority of the weekend.

DadandDog

The title is a bit of an inside joke. Dad often will sign his emails 'DadandDog'. He and Gretchen are very much connected to eachother. They both need the other, and hate being apart from one another. Probably Gretchen more-so than Dad, but you get the idea.

As of late, Gretchen seems to be aging at a rapid pace. She moves much slower than she used to. It's difficult for her to get up on the couch, or in the truck. It even takes her longer to get up off the floor, and it breaks my heart. She's been SUCH a good dog, and it is hard to see her go from a springy pup to a creaky old dog seemingly overnight.

I just love the relationship these 2 have. They know eachother SO well. I swear they can read eachother's minds. It's cool and creepy at the same time. I love that they have eachother though. We all call Gretchen 'our' dog, but really she is Dad's, no doubt about it.

Love you both so much!

Easter Trampoline Session

Had an impromptu trampoline photo shoot yesterday while we were at Kelly & John's for Easter dinner. The kids had a blast. Josie was having fun as long as Jason wasn't jumping, as he 'made her nervous'. Can't wait to doctor these up a bit once I learn PhotoShop.

Jodi Tuns 40

Jason's cousin Jodi turned 40 last week, so on Sunday we had a get-together to celebrate the big day. A few of us met at Aunt Barb's beforehand for cocktails, and then we met the rest of the group at Mama Maria's in Hudson. Boy, that food was GOOD! If you've never been there, you must go. Soon!

I wasn't going to bring my camera, but at the last minute I decided I'd bring it just in case. Well wouldn't ya know, once I took it out I couldn't put it down. I'm so predictable that way. Got some nice pictures though!

The birthday girl and her sweetie, Rob:


Uncle Bob (Jodi's dad) and Aunt Barbara:


Jodi and Amy -- they both hit the big 4-0 this year


My favorite of the whole evening:

Amy

Mark, Denise and Jodi (siblings):

Group photo:

The (elder) sisters:

Amy, Mark, Denise, Aunt Mary, and Jordan:

Happy Birthday to Jodi!

I Learned My Lesson

Last fall, a coworker of mine approached me and asked if I would be willing to paint her house for her. She has a very open floorplan, much like my house. I'd been to her house once, about 8 years ago. So I had an idea of how much of a job this would be. She casually said something along the lines of "we'll pay you a couple hundred or so". And we left it at that, because she told me to think about it and get back to her. I responded within a few days and told her I would be willing to help her out.

More and more time went by that she didn't come back and mention anything about it, and I think I was secretly hoping they had changed their minds. I wondered if perhaps the poor economy had helped changed their minds...I dunno. No such luck though -- she came back to me about 6 weeks ago and asked if I was still interested. I wasn't really, but I was conflicted. The money would be helpful, especially since I was losing my job at Z Gallerie. So I told her I was still interested, but over the next few days that "a couple hundred or so" stuck in my head. I just knew the job was going to be huge, and I was not going to settle for a mere $200. I went back and said that yes I was still willing to do the job, but I couldn't do it for a mere $200. I gave her a price I was content with, she checked with her husband, and they gave me a thumbs up.

D-day arrived 2 days ago. I got to her house at 9:30 and started in her kitchen area. That took me 7 hours to complete. I still had some energy left, and it was only 4:30, so I figured I'd take advantage of the time and start doing the trim work in the living room. Stayed until 7pm and then headed home. Went back the following morning (yesterday) at 9:30. The living room took much longer than anticipated -- I didn't finish that until about 1:30. Then it was time to start on the hardest part -- her entryway with the 15 ft ceilings. They have a Little Giant Ladder, and I had it set perfectly where it had a good slant and reached ALL the way up to the ceiling, but as soon as I got about 1/2 way up the ladder I started shaking and my heart started racing and I had to get down. I tried to psych myself up for it a good 3 or 4 more times and gave it a couple more tries, but I just couldn't do it. I don't mind heights one bit, but if I am on a shaky foundation you can forget it! I painted all the trim and reached up as high as I could get but it was already 6pm and I was FRIED. My back hurt, my legs hurt and her kids were driving me insane -- running all around me, touching the walls repeatedly....after being told repeatedly "don't touch the walls!" I'd had enough so I got outta there before I strangled one of them (and I'm only 1/2 joking when I say that!)

So I have to go back next weekend and finish. I really really REALLY wanted to have it completed in one weekend, but those darn ceilings threw me off. My dear, sweet husband was so good to me. I called him to ask advice about getting up to the ceiling and he was patient and gave me his recommendations. And now that I have to go back, he's offered to go WITH ME and help me get set up. So for all the reasons why he may drive me nuts, it's times like these were I have to give credit where credit is due....so thanks, Jake for helping me out on this one!

Anyway, I've learned a few things from this recent experience:
1) I would never EVER desire to be a professional painter
2) Next time (if there is one) I will definitely go see the space in person to give an adequate estimate, because....
3) I really wish I would have asked for more money!
4) Someone always has a messier house than you do
5) Hirschfields has really nice paint
6) I want to paint my living room even more than I did before. Bu-bye yellow walls!


PS: Congrats to my hubby for winning the poker game on Saturday night. Sorry I missed it.

A Marriage Milestone

Lastnight we celebrated John & Kelley's 25th Wedding Anniversary. We met for dinner at Obb's and had a great time reminiscing while we looked at their wedding album. I of course was not around for their wedding because it was like, SO long ago! I will say however that I was around when their youngest daughter Bailey was just a baby, and that WAS a long time ago.

Congratulations John & Kelley!

The happy couple with Kelley's parents, Barb & Rick:

Julia, Shelby, Rick, Janey (hiding), Whitney, and Bailey:



Scott, Kelley, Amy (with her new cute haircut), and John:




Again, the happy couple:



One thing I was not aware of until lastnight, is that these 2 lovebirds have been dating since they were in 9th grade! I thought that was pretty amazing...

The End Is Near

My 2+ years of service at Z Gallerie will soon be coming to an end, and I'm a little sad about it. Just over 2 weeks ago we got an announcement that 25 stores, including ours, would be closing within a month. Eeek!

The past 2 weeks have been quite a whirlwind. The store is CRAZY busy. I can't believe the attitudes of some customers. They have no respect for the product or the staff -- they bark at us and are very demanding, and then they just throw stuff down wherever they want. Before, people used to be respectful -- they would try to put things back where they found them, they talked to us politely. It's interesting how people's attitudes can change so drastically just because we are going out of business.

Coincidentally, us girls from the store had a dinner and night out planned for a few weeks, and it was set for last week (March 1st). Melanie and Erika weren't able to join us, but we had dinner and drinks and were able to sit together and talk about things and have a few laughs at the same time. I will miss these girls. I started working there for what I thought was a 5 or 6 month gig, but it turned out to be a job I enjoyed. I had such lousy sales month after month, but they kept me around, and I am glad for it.

Not sure what lies ahead. I will possibly look for something else, but jobs are hard to come by these days. Might just take a break and see if Jason can pick up the slack for a while! I would love to devote some time to my photograpy...take some classes, sit down and force myself to learn PhotoShop. We shall see...

In the meantime I've got 6 shifts left. I'm working a TON of shifts this week and next, and while it stresses me out to be working so much, I am enjoying being around on a more regular basis. We are all angry and sad and stressed, and it's nice to be around everyone since they are feeling the same things I am. Well actually, probably not...I'm the only one who has another job to fall back on. They are all having to file for unemployment while they look for another job. Poor things. I am counting my blessings, and saying a prayer that each of them can find a new job.

Is It Summer Yet?

I found these photos in my computer today, and it made me a little depressed. Because right now, outside it is 32 degrees, and it is wet. And gloomy. So very very gloomy. I am very anxious for the days of summer to return. I know soon enough it will come, but for now I will have to look at these pictures and pretend this is what it looks like outside....

Scrap Crazy

My favorite scrapbooking website, TwoPeasInABucket had a promotion going for the month of January, where you could upload 20 layouts and receive $20 credit in their store. Cool! Only problem was, I didn't have 20 layouts ready to go. We had to link our layouts with current product in their store, and most of my layouts are pretty out-dated. So...last week I was a scrappin' fool, putting together a few layouts for my freebies. This is just one that I did -- it was from Thanksgiving. Just a random but fun picture.

I Love Her

Jillian Michaels, oh how I love you. You have made parts of my body hurt that I never knew existed. I thought I was in pretty decent shape. After all, I do go to the gym and hop the elliptical machine and the treadmill quite a bit. And weights! Yes, I lift weights all the time. Surely my body was ready for your 30 Day Shred. Twenty minutes a day? Heck yeah, I'm ready to go....

No. Sadly, I wasn't ready. You thorougly kicked my arse in a mere 20 minutes.....and I love you for it!