Just a Sampling

Scrapbook RetrEAT!!!!

So this is how the weekend went:

Unloaded my stuff at 4pm on Friday. Started Scrapbooking at5pm. Ate dinner 6:30. Scrapbooked until 10pm. Ate homemade cookies. Scrapbooked. Went to bed at 11:30 (Look, I had to travel 4 1/2 hours to get there, I was sleepy!!). Woke up 7:15am. Chatted with my roomies. Put on fuzzy pink slippers at 8am and Scrapbooked. Ate breakfast at 8:30am. Scrapbooked. Got a shower (oh, I did brush my teeth before b'fast). Ate a snack 11am. Scrapbooked. Ate lunch 12:30. Scrapbooked. Ate a snack 4pm (this one put me right over the edge. Thank goodness J had a tums or I would have DIED!!! And to tell you how desperate I was to feel better, it was an ORANGE flavored tums which brings back horrible memories of baby aspirin and makes my gag reflex act up even as I am typing this, but I HAD to have it!!!) Continued to scrapbook. At 5pm we counted our pages: J had 59, I had 29 & W had 28. Scrapbooked. Ate dinner 7pm. Scrapbooked. Ate dessert 10pm. Scrapbooked. Went to bed 12:30am. Talked until who knows when. Slept. Woke up 8:36 am. Got a shower (brushed teeth). Scrapbooked. Ate breakfast 10am. Packed up. Came home.

The whole weekend was a BLAST!! I got so much done. J ended up with 91 pages completed (I hate her, JK!!!), W had 48 and I had 39. (I had to take advantage of cricut cartridges that I didn't have to cut things before I left today. My Sex and the City page is going to be sooo cute!!)

I can't wait until I get to go again. October can't come soon enough!!

The Weekend is Almost Here!!

I am almost packed and ready to go!! It was a little touch and go about whether or not I was even going to be able to go... But everything is worked out and I am SO READY!!!! The boys are going up with me b/c McSweetie has to work all weekend. They are excited to see friends and grandparents.


So I hope everyone has a great weekend!! I hope to get so much done!!! If not at least to get inspired to get alot done!! Or just be excited to be around my friends from home for the weekend.

"'In Your hand is power and might.'" 1Chronicles 29:12 Good to know that You are there kindly protecting me, my family, friends... And all I need to do is rely on YOUR strength and not my own.

Just Another Day...

It just hit me that we have lived here for 2 years now!! Wow!! Time sure does move quickly. Last year I sent out an email about our first year here. I won't do that this year, but we have had alot happen in the last year.

I tell everyone how much we love it here. The pace is so different from home. Would I go back home? I guess so! Would I go somewhere else? Well, the apron strings were cut 2 years ago so I think I could go anywhere. I think it would have to be a "fun" place that would be enticing for all my friends to want to visit. And I do love having all our friends down to visit. They don't always make it this way, but if they are vacationing they always let us know and if it works we drive over, if not we know there is always next time. We don't always get to see them when we head north.

But the best gift I received when we moved here was a plaque that hangs in my kitchen: "Good friends are like stars, you don't always see them but you know they are always there!!" And we know all of you are!! We have been blessed with such great friends throughout our lives. I think of my 20 year reunion coming up. I am not sure if we will be going (nothing like waiting until the last minute to decide) but I think of them often even though I have lost touch with most of them. I remember little things that happened and it brings a smile to my face. Or sometimes I think oops, I really should have handled that better. Oh well, I am not perfect nor have I ever claimed to be that way!! And thank goodness I don't have to be perfect; Someone has already handled the perfect part for me!! (Thank you Jesus!!)

esterday was just another ordinary day for us... I played a little tennis. We were so close to a victory. It feels good to make the great shot; I just need to be consistent with the great shot!! Came home after running some errands, made pasta for lunch so the boys could "carb up" for the swim meet, played Monopoly with the boys. R gave up and wanted to divide up his stuff. I just suggested that he put it all under Free Parking. Well, you know S had to object but he finally conceded and low and behold who rolled a 5 on his very next turn to land on Free Parking??!! The very person who didn't want it to go there in the first place. well, he changed his tune. Needless to say I got beat (I'm feeling a trend here). But I still had fun. Then we got ready for the meet.

I always think I have this swim thing figured out here. (It is so different from home) But alas, I had volunteered to help the first part of the meet knowing that relays would be last and dadgum if they weren't first!! At the midway point I had no problem saying my tour of duty was up and that someone else needed to take my place. All during the meet, I was craving a pizza. So I called up Papa John's (haven't had one of those since we moved here b/c they are up the road from us) and ordered a wheat crust veggie pizza and a regular pepperoni for the boys. WOW!! It hit the spot!!

So now it is Wednesday... R has practice and I am going to "hobble" around the neighborhood while he swims ( I'm so sore from Monday's walk) then I think we will head to the pool for a little swim time.

"'Both riches and honor come from You'" 1Chronicles 29:12

Words I love to hear...

I woke up this am @ 8:05 to be exact to a dog that needed to go out. So I drag myself out of bed and head to the kitchen where I hear the words, "You're not supposed to be up yet." To which I replied, "Then will you let Annie out? And I will go back to bed." Which I did. Grabbed my book and enjoyed some reading. Next I hear a knock at my door asking if we have anymore eggs. No, how many do you need? Just one more is the answer. I say it should be ok... What are you making? A surprise. Gotta love that. When will it be ready? In about an hour. In the meanwhile he has made some cinnamon toast. So I go out to the patio to eat my toast and play soccer ball with Annie! I am NOT allowed in the kitchen. I notice that my junior league cookbook is out. Hmmm a new recipe. I love it. I also notice that the grape jelly is out. Is that for the recipe I ask. He says it calls for raspberry jam or any other type. I think to myself that grape doesn't sound very appealing so I suggest a cherry preserve that I have in the pantry. Well, now it is time to get R to swim practice (he is so joyful about it). I decide that I am going to walk while he is practicing. Which I do for an hour and a half. When we get home, the Cherry Crumb coffee Cake is ready and the house smells wonderful. And the coffee cake is so yummy!!!

Thanks S for a wonderful surprise. I will go back to bed any morning if it means a home cooked meal!!

Home Sweet Home

The gang is all back!! Boy, did R look exhausted when he got off the bus!! All he wanted to do was get home and see his Annie girl. And boy was she glad to see him. She gets lonely when everyone is gone.

We had R's end of the year baseball party to go to. He really didn't want to go. "TIRED, Mom!!," he said. I told him we needed to go b/c we had RSVP'd. So he went, half-heartedly. Didn't even wear his swimsuit (but it was in the car just in case).

Once McSweetie got there, he threw R in the pool and he perked up after that. The boys got another trophy for being champs in their division. That was a pleasant surprise. The food was so yummy!! And the cake was HUGE!!!!! And homemade ice cream too!!

I am posting pics of the party and of my task of "organizing" my srapbooking stuff. You will be surprised how concise my packing is. And I got an email from winkflash saying my prints shipped today. So I should definately have them for the crop!! I am ready to get started on my album!! My goal is to have all of 2008 in the book. I'll let you know how I do!!

Not so quiet anymore...

Well, my week of almost solitude has come to an end. S returned home from camp today around 12:45. I had a friend call me from chick fil a and told me that S was there. I said yes I knew that they were home from camp and she replied that she wanted to be the first to let me know that the peace and quiet was OVER!! I just love her!!

Before picking the kiddos up from camp, my friend K and I headed to the pool for our last bit of relaxation. We had several other friends show up. One girlfriend has 2 boys 31/2 & 2 and she saw me alone with a book and asked would she ever get to that point. I said yes and it will go too quickly. Oh, did I mention she has another boy on the way!! The cutest pregnant friend I know!! Our other friend L showed up with her son that is R & B's age. He kept wanting his mom to get in and play. Next week all the boys will be back together to hang out.

Taught a swim lesson and now am home still getting my scrapbook stuff organized. I am trying to be very methodical in my packing. I don't want to forget anything but I also don't even want to attempt to bring it all!! Hope my pictures will arrive from winkflash in time. If not, I do have a plan B. That is to finish the Disney book from T'giving.

Forgot to mention our evening last night. Went to clinic and then hung out at the club with all our buddies. Even McSweetie took a break from work to enjoy the food, fun and fellowship. I love the convenience of having food cooked for me after playing some tennis. The gumbo was pretty good, but I hear that Kraver's is better. Will have to check it out!!

Happy Friday!!
"His mercies are very great;" 1Chronicles 21:13 Great! Everlasting!! Wonderful comfort for us all!

Still quiet!

Alright, it is Thursday and all the quietness is almost getting old. I have talked to Number 1 son several times and he is having a BLAST!! They went snorkeling yesterday and he loved it. I can't wait to see Number 2 son and hear all about his trip.

Yesterday I took my lesson, came home ate lunch, got clean, started a new book, Baby Proof, talked with W, rode to Hobby Lobby to get supplies for next weekend, came home, changed clothes, got gas and went to the tennis social at the club. It was alot of fun. Met some really nice people then stayed for dinner with my buddy D. I felt bad for her, b/c her dinner wasn't very good. Mine was... How can you go wrong with a good ol' fashion cheese burger!! Should've gotten the gumbo. I will next week!!

Today I had a tennis match, lost (what else is new) then went to my favorite scrapbooking store for more "supplies".

Now I am home. McSweetie is working late he tells me, so I am going to drag out the ol' scrapbooking stuff and get organized and then go to clinic tonight.

I am attaching a link to smugmug. My friend D took pictures at our tennis match the other day. We have a player on our team who is due to deliver her 4th baby in about 4 weeks. And she is still out on the courts playing like it is no big deal!! (I think she is wearing pink in the pictures)

http://www.daphnejerkins.smugmug.com/

Happy Thursday!!

Quiet

The house is soooo quiet. Everybody is gone!! I played a little tennis today, (My girlfriends showed up with Mimosa's for us; God bless them and then they stayed for our entire match!! What friends, I love you both!!) then cooled off at the pool. Came home and have been cleaning the house, BORING!!! But I have really been able to clean stuff out. Hopefully nobody will miss anything.

Nothing major on the agenda for tomorrow. I am going to take a private lesson in the am and then go to the tennis social tomorrow night. Will let you know how that goes... I know you will be waiting with baited breath!!

I still need to get my scrapbooking stuff organized for next weekend. I promise I will get to it on Thursday/Friday!! Can't wait to see my scrapbooking gals!!

Happy Day!!

Empty Nest!!

I can't believe it!! Everyone is now off to camp. Whew!! It was tough going with trying to track down blue forms etc. but they are on their way!! The church had to rent a van to get all the kids to RYM. I wish I had gotten a picture of their youth director driving the minivan. I'll have to get it when they get back. The boys were leaving within 30 minutes of each other so I had to drop off number 1 and hustle to get R to his destination. Then it was off to lunch with K so we could kick off our week of solitude!!!

Hope all you guys have a great week!! I know I will!!!

Happy Father's Day!!

Well, I hope McSweetie had a happy day!! The weekend has been a little out of sorts, long story. Father's... the sole provider for the family, head of the household, spiritual leader, commanded to love their wives as Christ loves the church... AWESOME responsibilities!!! They need more than a day to be honored!!

We had the privilege of honoring 4 Dad's today. We grilled burgers for lunch and the gang was all here! After lunch the kids went next door to swim. Then after everyone left, McSweetie cut the grass. I would feel bad about that but I recall a Mother's Day back home that I cut the grass and I DIDN'T have a RIDING lawn mower!!

I packed R's bag to go to camp!! Both boys leave tomorrow am for their respective camps for the week!! WAHOO!! Whatever will I do??!!

"THE" time

At the meet today, SB swam the 200 IM, 50 Fly and 100 Free. He pretty much swam his time in the IM, on the 50 Fly he swam the exact cutoff time for SE's, 37.99!!! And on the 100 Free he dropped 5 seconds!! It was a LOOOOOOONG day. The rain delays are a killer. We didn't have any but the am session did!! It looked like a monsoon had gone through. Glad to be home!! Can't wait until tomorrow so we can just relax and have some family time!!

Happy Half Birthday!!!!

Yes, I said half birthday!! It's a Nana and Grandadday thing. Number 1 son has a Dec. birthday so they implemented the half birthday. Let me just say, I have a January birthday and I have never had a half birthday. But whatever!!

Anyway, we had to go to the GPAC meet and on the way over there I was on the phone back and forth with different Dr.'s offices to get Number 2 sons forms ready for camp on MONDAY!!! The office back home cannot find his forms. Well, it is what it is. Hopefully they will find it and fax it or I can get a copy of blue form from school. It will be fine, no worries. Mom aka Nana had the pleasure of taking him to his Dr.'s appt. And then to Wendy's for lunch. Came home and had been locked out of the house by our agent. Someone was showing the house and my friend came over and put Annie out and had locked them out of the house. So they killed time at Wal-Mart and came home with Karate Kid 1,2, & 3. Guess what we are doing tonight!!??

Getting to the meet was fun!! HUGE thunderstorms all around. Of course that means meet delays. So after arriving at 11:45, we got in the water at 1pm and began the events at 2pm. On a more positive note, he made 1 more cut for Southeasterns, 100 breast. Tomorrow he swims 100 free, 50 fly & 200 IM. We are skipping out on Sunday so we can have a Father's Day get together. WHEW!!!

Once we all got home (miraculously it was all at the same time), we headed to get pizza, pitcher of beer and my favorite low fat spinach lasagna!! YUMMY!!

Now home and had "birthday" celebration, the traditional donuts with candle. And we must not forget the gift opening. Then we compared how tall said son is. He is sooo much taller than me!! I couldn't believe it so I had Dad take a picture, (posted)!!

Hope everyone had a happy Friday. And let me tell you, it was definately a Friday the 13th around here!! CRAZY!!!!! Glad tomorrow is almost here!!

Enjoy the pictures!!

"Let the earth be glad;" 1Chronicles 16:31 Palm trees swaying with a smile...

ps I woke up this am to the sound of dominos (not pizza) in the kitchen!! How fun is that!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, off at 7am to take Number 1 son to swim practice. Then to the grocery store for food to feed my family. I put a roast and some potatoes, carrots, onions in the crock pot all day b/c I knew we would be gone until late tonight. Boy, every time we came in the house, it smelled so good!!

We saw Prince Caspian today. Great movie. Even grandaddy stayed awake for the whole thing. (He has been known in the past to take a little snooze at the theater.) Came home, changed clothes and headed to the pool for the swim meet. The weather seemed a little iffy but it held. The boys swam really well. And I was glad that Nana and Grandaddy got to see them compete. It had been 2 years since they had seen Number 1 swim and the improvement was VERY noticeable. Mom really complimented his Coach and he had good things to say about him.

Now we are home, eating the roast, McSweetie just got finished working out and now we are resting for the rest of the night.

Tomorrow we are off to the GPAC meet. Hopefully SB will qualify for a few more events for N'ville in July.

Good job guys!! And thanks Nana & Grandaddy for a fun day!!

Let's see...

There hasn't been much to write about, sorry W!! McSweetie flew out to Branson, MO on Monday and is back today. My parents are in town until Monday and the boys both leave for camp on Monday. The house sure will be quiet! What is a mom to do??!!! Hmmm... maybe a day trip to NO to shop??!! Hmmm... maybe a little scrapbooking??!! Hmmm... maybe clean out the junk in their rooms??!! No, I don't like that idea. But I am sure I will find something to make the time go by.

The boys swam Tuesday night in the swim meet. Number 1 son got stung by a hornet!! OUCH!! I asked him if he yelled any expletives; he said no. Boy I sure would have let the "s" word fly!! He did throw his cap and goggles and couldn't find them. They had landed on top of some bushes!! We found them after the meet was over.

I have made an observation... There is some secret society in the tennis world down here. I don't even know how to explain it. But it seems that people don't like to take ownership of how long they have played, who their partner is, etc, etc, etc. (Maybe it's like that everywhere, I only have to go by what I have observed here.) Like I really give a rats you know what; I'm really just making conversation!! But to have someone say they really don't play together and then to go and look them up on the internet and see that they have played almost every match together since Jan. and maybe lost once or twice at the most!!! Whatever!!! I am a newbie!! I am a 2.0!!! I am just learning!!! And I will tell you straight up!!! So, I am not participating in the "secret society'!! I think it's bogus!! Oh and to come out on the court and say we are going to kick your tails, well, I just don't even know how to respond to that!! Have fun!! Enjoy!! And maybe my hiney will get a little smaller with each hiney whippin' you give me!! I do have an idea for a new t-shirt to market. So maybe this tennis thing can make me rich.

Happy Day!!!

ps

I'm not bitter. I really just think it's funny!! These people are sooooo serious!! Maybe b/c I'm not they don't like me. Oh well!! I did have fun today with the ladies I played from the other side of the bay!! A little more evenly matched!

pss
I do have other things I enjoy doing!!

TWICE... in one week!!!

Gosh it hasn't even been a whole week and I had Sex in the City again!! This time I saw it with McSweetie!! He is a closet Sex and the City aholic!! My in-laws kept the kiddos for another night, so we took complete advantage of that. We went down to PC for a little exercise. Then came home, got clean, ate a bite and went to the movie. Again it was WONDERFUL!! I noticed different things this time... Carrie's paris handbag, the poster at the restaurant (how did I miss that the first time) and the clothes, oh the clothes. The wedding dress, so dreamy!! And Big, how hot is he??!! I now call McSweetie "Big" every time he calls my cell. He likes the new name!! And oh for the day that I get my LV!!! I know in my heart of hearts that McSweetie, I mean Big, is going to knock my socks off one day with an LV box that has an LV bag in it!!

Forever thine.

Forever mine.

Forever ours!!!

Crab Claw Cotillion

Last night was a fun "PNO" (parents night out)!! McSweetie toted the kiddos down to meet the in-laws for a night of fun with the cousins. And we headed out for fun ourselves w/4 other couples plus 1. (His wife was back home visiting family and friends. Plus doing some shopping!!) It was a fundraiser for OOMM (a mardi gras society here) and we had a great time!! The food was great, the band was fun, but the converstaion as always was entertaining. And I appreciated A's dancing ability, especially her dance version of "Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me, yeah!!"

We are the CHAMPIONS!!!!

Congratulations to the ASTROS!!!

RB admires his trophy!! I think he is saying, "Oooo."

Well, in 100 degree heat index at 10:30 am, the Astros played their Championship game. We were playing the Red Sox. And the Astros DOMINATED!!! We were scheduled to play 6 innings. But, the 10 run rule was in play so... We ended the game with a score of 12-1 in the 4th inning!! I don't know how much longer the kids could have played. The poor catcher on the other team had to call, "Time" b/c he had gotten too hot!! Bless his heart!! I really felt for him!!

Both teams received trophies!! I think RB is really proud!! It took a team to get them there, and he is always such a team player. I'm proud he exhibits such good sportsmanship while he is out there!! You won't see any tears shed over a bad game, no blaming the umps for bad calls, he just loves the game and has fun while he is out there!! I'm proud of you buddy!!!!

Which man for you??

Do you know how much I LOVE Sex and the City??!!
Here's a quiz to take, who's your man??!!
http://www.sexandthecitymovie.com/?kwmid=5069823&kmcid=15555287012

FINALLY!!!

Tonight was the night... SEX in the city that is!! What a fun girls night out!! We all met at Wings to have cosmopolitans and dinner, then we walked to the movie. I left the theater smiling from ear to ear. It was all I had hoped it would be. I have complete closure!! And can still watch my reruns over and over again. Much to McSweetie's dismay (some nights). Here are a couple of pics from tonight!! Cheers girls, I love you all whether you are a Charlotte, Carrie, Miranda or Samantha!! May we all have a little bit of each one of them in us!!!

PS... When I got home, I was surprised to find water in the driveway. Number 1 son had COMPLETELY CLEANED MY CAR!!! Wow! What a sweetie!! Now I need to go through all the junk he pulled out of it that is now sitting on my dining room table!!! Sweet dreams!!!

Condo Fun!!

With permission, I am posting some pics of our trip down to the condo. The kids had a great time. They love the pools, and watching National Treasure 2 in the media room, playing pool, even Number 1 son and SM showed us some swing dancing steps. They played Disney Monopoly and B won. While K and I didn't do much swimming, we did enjoy reading our MANY magazines... Elle Decor, Traditional Home, Renovations, Bungalow something or other..., drinking pina colada's, eating & just waking up with nothing to do!! I did wake up early and read my book, "Wicked". I haven't picked up "The Road" yet. Saving that for tomorrow's errands. Trying to save on GAS!!! Good gravy, if I want to put the middle grade in, it is over $4 a gallon!! Sorry baby, it's regular gas for you!!

Thanks to my in-laws for letting us stay. We enjoyed visiting with you too!! Hopefully we can do it again soon!!

Championship Game... Here we come!!

Ok, so I get a call from my MIL and she tells me that the condo is open if we would like to come and stay for a few days. Of course I'm thinking we can spend Sunday and Monday night. Well, we had won our game on Saturday so that meant that we had to play tonight. So I am thinking why really come home... RB hasn't had a stellar season, let's just spend another day at the beach. But then I think we have made a commitment to play ball and we are going to see it to the end. So, we pack up from the beach at 3pm, RB is dressed in his uniform, and sleeps the whole way home. Arrive at the ballgame and the team we are playing killed us the first time we played them. We are the home team and started off really well. Well, then they come back and the score is now 5-3 their way. We come back and tie and have to go into extra innings. We make it through the first inning still tied. We hold them in the second extra inning. RB is first at bat. (Before stepping on the field I tell him this is why we came home, to win a ballgame!! So, let's do this!!) He walks. The next batter advances him to 3rd. The next batter gets a ball the catcher misses and the coach sends RB home. Well, he wasn't fast enough off the bag and he scrambles back to third. Again, bad pitch and Coach sends RB home. This time he goes all the way to slide into home. The umpire pauses and calls, "Safe!!" WE ALL GO CRAZY!!!!! What a moment for him!! Of course, I don't have a picture of him on the plate. And the picture I have of the coaches hoisting him up on their shoulders is blurry, but I have to post it!!

It's a proud parent moment!!! Game winning ball to him and the batter who moved him to 3rd!! The coach from the other team came over and wanted to talk to us. He said any other team would have given up but we had dug deep to get the win and he congratulated all of our boys. That is what being a good sport is all about!! Many coaches and dads (and some moms) out on that field could take a lesson from him!!

1Chronicles 16:9 "Talk of His wondrous works!" That is a very lengthy conversation!!