Niece's 1st Birthday!

We celebrated my niece's 1st birthday on Saturday. I can't believe how fast time has gone! She's already walking and molding into her own personality. I had a great time hanging out with her and watching her cruise around. Here's some more cutie pictures:

Okay, that's enough cuteness for one post!

Your Partner is Waiting

Dear letter R,

I am your new partner, letter L. True, I am naked and need a little work, but I do think I will be a suitable partner for you as well. We shall meet soon.

Sincerely, letter L

New Friend

I have a new friend at my house. He might be coming to your house. Check this out to find out who he is and what he's doing!

It's an Obsession

Obsession? I like to think of it more as a collection. As you can see - I LOVE the new 7gypsies stamps. They are the coolest things since sliced bread. I just got the ovals today from Scraploft. These are great for a little addition to a page or for putting the date or other information about a layout. My favorite part? The self-inking. I love stamps. I hate dealing with the ink. Plus - they're coming out with brown and red inks to replace the black. How cool is that?!? Yes, there are more of these, but I'm happy with my collection for now. Until they come out with another one......Hehehehe!!

Check it out!

I found this new website from the people who do Overheard at the Office - it's CelebrityWit.com. They take the stupid and funny things celebrities say and put them all on one site. It's pretty funny!

Nancy - ANTM is on Wednesdays at 7pm on the new CW. That's channel 23 for me, but I don't know what it would be for you.

Baron Darvel

Baron has a very small head and a large neck. We have to make his collar too big so that it won't choke him. So this means that his collar is very susceptible to coming off. When this happens, he loves to run around with his collar in his mouth like it's a toy. I've even seen the dogs fight over it! I always tell him he's naked and to get some clothes on! The other night, he got his collar off. I just had to take a picture....
How can you be mad at that face?

ANTM Review - This one's for you, Nancy!

Okay, I'm cheating on part of this. Some of this will be from TV.com. I'll fill in my own details. J. Alexander (Miss J) coaches the girls on how to work the runway and puts their skills to the test when they participate in a prom-themed fashion show. One of my favorites, Brittney, ends up winning the challenge. Renee, the mother I spoke about in my last post, does really crappy, but thinks she's awesome again. Later, the models struggle during a high school themed photo shoot, but one girl rocks it (Jaslene) and the praise that she receives makes another model jealous (Renee). Jaslene and Renee both think they are the greatest. It's really annoying. They are doing a good job, but they are so annoyingly stuck-up. Natasha is a mail-order bride from Russia that has no idea what's she's doing. She was in the bottom two and they ended up keeping her! I can't believe it! She didn't know what anti-fur was and she didn't know what a teacher's pet was this week! They told her she was worse than Anne of Cycle 3 who was beautiful but didn't take great pictures, and she took it as a complement! I hope she goes home soon. Samantha went home. She wasn't mature enough for the competition. Not a big shocker there. Even though Natasha should have gone home first!!

Next week - MAKEOVERS! My favorite part! Someone always bitches about their new look and ends up crying. It's amazing though how most of the girls go from looking normal to looking like models. Even if you don't watch the show, this is an episode not to miss! They're rerunning the episodes on Sunday night too, so if Wednesdays don't work, check it out then!

Ooh! I almost forgot! VH1 is playing Australia's Next Top Model on Monday nights at 9:00pm!! They're a little hard to understand some times, but just as great to watch!

Peaceful Excitement

I'm so excited! My peace lily, which I've had for 9+ years, is blooming again!! I got this plant (and most of my plants) from my Godmom while I was in college. I'm proud to say, I think I've only killed one of her plants that she gave me. It was a ficus tree that was really prone to bugs and I could never get a handle on it. Anyways, the peace lily. One of the best plants to have - it actually takes toxins out of the air and purifies the air! This peace lily has moved from two different places in Duluth, to my parent's house, and now here. I think it's only bloomed 5 or so times. Once it had two blooms. I think it gets pissed at me for not watering it, moving it around, the house being too cold, not dusting it off like I should, and other various things. Finally, I must be doing something right! I guess I really shouldn't count my eggs before they hatch, or in this case, my flowers before they bloom, but I was so excited that it's actually doing something!! Hopefully I won't make it change it's mind. Once, it got to about this point, and then the bloom died. I was not happy about that! Keep your fingers crossed!

Craft for a Cure

This Saturday is the ALS Crop & Craft in Bloomington, MN. All proceeds will benefit the ALS Therapy Development Foundation. The family pictured in the brochure is Scott, Kirsten, and Eva Stafne. I went to high school with Kirsten. Scott is currently living with ALS. My grandma (whom I posted about here) is also living with ALS. She has no function in her left arm and is steadly losing function in her right. She is lucky - she's only had this for 4 years and is currently 95. Scott was diagnosed in 2004 at 32, a more typical story of someone with ALS. It's a terrible disease with no known cure. This event is a great way to get involved and have fun at the same time! If you are unable to attend, you can still donate. Go to Stafnes.com for more information about Scott, ALS, and donating.

I'll be there this Saturday - anyone want to join me?

Still at work

Yes, I'm still at work. I'm not very happy about it. They even closed our Service Department, but Sales is still going strong. Nevermind that almost every school is closed today because of the weather - we're still open. Oh yeah, the owners are in Puerto Rico. Sucks to be me right now. All my co-workers with more seniority have left too. I think there is 5 of us working right now. I'm bitching because I can. So there!

This one's for Alli

Alli - I know how much you're missing the snow, so I thought I'd share some pictures of the storm.

Here's the dogs running outside. Remember, their legs are about 2 feet tall, and the snow is hitting their chests! Don't they kinda look like deer?

Here's Orion in the snow. The flash went off on my camera, so that's why you get the reflection of the snow falling. Yes, we'll probably have around 3 feet when this is all done. And yes, I'll probably have to go to work tomorrow. Damn family owned business! Don't you miss it, Alli??

You wanna be on top?

Not like that!! You sicko! That's the first line from the theme song for America's Next Top Model, or ANTM. I'm so excited it's on again!! This is one of my favorite shows. I've seen all 7 previous cycles (that's what they call their "seasons") and have loved every minute of it! I don't know what it is about that show - it just rocks! I think it's because I always dreamed about being a model and thought that would be so fun and cool. I watched a lot of fashion oriented TV shows (House of Style and the like) when I was young and just idolized that whole lifestyle. And now look! I work at a bus company! :) I think one of the best parts of the show is that the judges do the eliminating. I'm not too hip on American Idol or anything where America votes. I think it's because a lot of people vote because someone is hot or they're from their hometown, not because they're good. Anyways, this season already looks to be great. There's a girl who is married and has a kid who thinks her shit doesn't stink, a girl that was sad she won the first competition because she didn't want everyone to hate her, and two "plus" size models. They're probably an 8 or 10, but considered plus size. The one goofy girl with hair about 2 feet tall who didn't know what anti-fur was (they did a photo shoot about different political views) was eliminated tonight.

Watch out for the killer snow tonight. The way the news people have been reporting this one, you'd think it was the end of the world.

Snow, Snow, Snow!

Friday:

Sunday:

What a difference a weekend makes!

This is outside our front door before DH snowblowed the driveway. Our poor bushes!!

Randomness

We've been super busy at work lately. I'm worried. This time last year, I was begging for more work. It's usually a dead time of year. If summer is our busy time, what is it going to be like this year? Maybe I'll have to look into Mt Dew I.V.'s to keep me going.

Baron decided he wasn't getting attention last night, so he pulled the stuffing out of the comforter in our extra bedroom. Boy, did he get attention after that!! Never let an attention-starved weimaraner out of your site!

I just picked up chinese food for dinner tonight. They forgot my cream cheese wontons. I love cream cheese wontons. I don't need them, but I wanted them!! I'm going back tomorrow to get my credit!

You know, I understand that no one likes to be wrong, let alone admit it, but could someone at work please just try for once?!?! Stop arguing for hours, demanding you're right, almost bullying everyone to shut up and just go along with you, and then, it turns out, you're WRONG! Eating crow sucks, but take it like a woman!

Dh leaves tomorrow for the weekend. We're going to get up to 12 inches of snow. He's going to have fun snowblowing when he gets home.

I can't wait until The Office and Grey's tonight!!!

The day everything changed...

One year ago on February 19, 2006, my best friend's fiance went hiking as he did so often. Karl and Karin had just gotten engaged that fall and were planning for their future. Would they get married in Norway, where Karl was from, or would it be here, where Karin was from? Where would they live? So many questions and such a promising future together. Karl went hiking that day, and never came back. Karin got a phone call the next day from Norway saying that Karl was missing. Her life was a whirlwind from that moment on. It came to be that Karl died on that hike that day. After three days of searching, his body was found. The days between when he was reported missing and when he was found were gut wrenching ones. Karin didn't know whether or not to go to Norway to search or to stay here. I wanted to stop everything and go help Karin, but it wasn't possible. I remember getting that phone call that Wednesday night late. Karl had been found, but he was gone. How do you comfort your best friend on something like that? It wasn't the normal, oh, he'll call you or don't worry about that fight, it was he was gone forever. I still to this day can't believe how strong she was and is. She was on phone with the Norwegian authorities while he was missing, she flew to Norway by herself to be with his family, all these things while grieving over the man she loves. I was here, not able to do anything. It was hard on everyone. This was also the time on Grey's Anatomy when Izzy lost Denny. I know, it's only a TV show, but watching her grieve over him made me think about Karin. The pain she was in was the same my best friend was in. Those episodes were so hard to watch. I could see the characters trying help Izzy just like we were trying to help Karin, but nothing would change the fact that he was gone.

I hope this makes some sort of sense to you. This has been really hard for me to write and I know I'm probably missing a lot or mixing things up. The point is, it is so hard to see someone you love go through so much pain. You feel helpless and are unable to really change anything. I hope that Karin knows how much I love her and how much I would love to take some of the pain for her. Sometimes, I almost felt guilty being with DH knowing that she would never be with Karl again. And I know that she would never want me to suffer just because she was. I was so happy for her. Karl was such a great guy - even DH liked him! I imagined us all getting together for dinner and great conversation, our kids playing together, and being great friends for life. All of that will still happen, just with one of the pieces missing.

Karl, we all miss you. I miss you. I know you're looking over Karin and are so proud of her. I am too. I hope you're hiking, inventing, debating with God, and still trying to out smart everyone up in heaven.

A blog was set up for Karl. If you are interested in reading it, go here.

Make new friends, but keep the old...

Sometimes we're lucky enough to get a second chance at a friendship. Thanks for giving me that second chance, Tana. Looking forward to tons of great new memories.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone is having a good day today. I was happy to at least have lunch with DH today. Since Valentine's day falls during the week and he works nights, we don't really get to celebrate. I know, I know - we could celebrate on the weekend, but then it's over and not really the same. So I have a date with the dogs and the washing machine today. Such a hot date!

Here's a picture of me and my Valentine two years ago when we were in Cancun. Yes, I'm burnt in the picture. I have the age spots to prove it! Damn the Mexican sun being so strong!

Tagged again!

Bonnie has now tagged me. I'm on free base for a couple of days after this one. No more tagging.

Here are the questions:
1. Valentines Day. Celebrate or Not? We’ll do lunch this year because DH works nights.
2. Most Romantic Gift Received? Scrapbook GC and 5 spots at crop for me and my friends! DH usually only gets me what I ask for – this was a nice surprise!
3. Worst Date? He never called me again! :(
4. If you could tell your significant other what you would really like for Valentines Day, what would you tell him/her? I’d like to replace my Circle of Life necklace that I lost
5. Complete this sentence. "Love means never having to say ________________" I love you. Actions speak louder than words. But it’s still nice to hear it!
6. Best chocolate? Hot fudge!
7. Dream Valentines' Menu? Having DH cook the same meal we had for our first date.
8. Most Romantic Movie? Sliding Doors
9. If you had a Conversation Heart that said how you were feeling right now, it would say ___________. Bored. I’m at work answering this!
10. Pink or Red? Red

Tagged!

My friend Beth recently tagged me. Since I've already done this one (see this post) I thought my dog Baron could answer this one.



A= Available? No, I already have an owner.

B= Best Friend? My brother Orion

C= Cake or pie? Whatever I can get my paws on!

D= Drink of choice - Water

E= Essential item you use everyday - my good looks

F= Favorite color: Blue

G= Girlie girl: Yes

H= Hometown - North Branch, MN

I= Indulgences - Getting belly rubs every chance I can! Hording toys from my brother.

J= January or February - Either - as long as there is snow, I love eating snow!

K= Kids and Names - No. I'm fixed.

L= Life is incomplete without...Belly rubs!!

M= Marriage date - I'm only 5!! I can't get married!

N= Number of siblings- One, my older brother Orion

O= Oranges or apples - Apples.

P= Phobias or Fears - Where to start! Thunder, Being left alone, not being included, thinking my brother is getting attention or a belly rub and I'm not, baths, getting my nails clipped, going on trips, not getting my way, when my brother has my toys, getting trapped where I can't get out, being away from my Mom, the water, swimming

Q= Favorite Quote - A dog wags his tail with his heart!

R= Reason to smile - Belly rubs!

S= Season - Winter - I love eating snow!

T= Toy - my Man! It's the toy I'm holding in my picture.

U= Unknown fact about me: I had to have a skin tag taken off of my leg a couple of years ago.

W= Worst habit - Wanting belly rubs or attention!

X= X-rays - No.

Y= Your favorite food - peanut butter!

Z= Zodiac Sign - Taurus

You May Kiss the Bride?

Every day when I go and get the mail for work, I listen to FM107. Kevyn Burger is on and she usually has entertaining and interesting discussions. Today the discussion was about the internet and questionable material being readily available for kids. This woman called in about how she and her kids had googled their names for fun and a lot of adult websites had come up. Then, the shocker came up. I assumed her kids were between the ages of 8 and 12. No, they were 17 and 19!! Doesn't that seem a little old to have so much supervision on the computer? Especially the 19 year old. Then the woman went on to say that her 17 year old daughter had an article coming out in a magazine about how she's saving herself for marriage - including KISSING! I've heard of purity, but this seems a little extreme. I was always taught to wait until marriage to have sex, not kissing. Kevyn went on to ask about this stance and the idea behind it. The mother said that it was her daughter's idea, but I'm sure that the parent's had some influence on it. She said that they had reinforced not giving yourself physically until you are married. I guess technically that would include kissing. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't end up in some of the situations they have been in if it didn't start with a kiss. And why do we draw the line at sex? Why not kissing? I'm not regretful about anyone that I kissed and kissing only got me in trouble once. The woman's point is that men's hormones are so strong that it is hard for them to stop at kissing. Wouldn't kissing before marriage then help you with restraint and reinforce that kissing doesn't always lead to sex? Can you imagine that every morning when you gave your husband a kiss when you left for work that it would mean you had to have sex? And are men such animals that they can't control themselves? I just thought this was an interesting subject and I'm not really sure how I feel about it. If my Grandma gives me a kiss, are we going to get it on? I mean, come on! On the one hand, I'd like to give guys more credit, on the other hand, well, they're guys! Good luck to those of you raising teenagers, I don't envy you having to deal with issues like this.

Heat is on!

They got the heat back on at work around Noon. Everyone brought in space heaters and I even brought in a couple of blankets! I came home at lunch and put on a second pair of socks and some long underwear! I don't know if it's really fixed because it was only 71 in there with everyone's space heaters still going. Not too fun when it's below zero! Hopefully things will be better tomorrow!

Frozen

The heat isn't working in our office right now....Brrrrr!!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y

Saturday was such a great day. Alli, Karin, Linda and I went shopping in Buffalo. We had a blast and picked up some really cute things. Alli even found another tortoise for Rosita! Then, We met up with Jenn, Sarah, Michelle and Suzy at Rock Bottom Brewery. It was so good to see everyone, even if it was to see Alli for the last time while she's living in Minnesota. We all made her a scrapbook page and Michelle put it into a super cute album. We then went to this crazy ice cream shop! (thanks for the idea, Karin!)

I'm having a hard time writing this post because it's all about saying goodbye to Alli. Six months ago, she mentioned to me that she might be leaving. I was hoping it was a bad dream, but now she's leaving in a week. How do you say goodbye to a good friend? Yeah, we'll talk on the phone and send emails, and even go and see one another - but things will never be the same. There's no, I'll meet you on Saturday to scrap. Those days are gone. I hope that she finds cool people to scrap with (not as cool as us, but still cool!) and makes some great friends. I also hope she knows that she's always welcome back and will always be a part of our group, even when she's so far away. Thank God I was able to have this time getting to know Alli and having her as my friend. I can honestly say that she is a great person and I'm going to miss her so much!

Now I'm off to look for a new friend with a tortoise who scrapbooks.....

Wednesday Joke

I heard this today from Jeff Foxworthy:

Why are Redneck murders so hard to solve?

















Because all of the DNA is the same and there are no dental records!

Snow-Cones

The dogs have a new favorite snack - snow-cones. They bring them in from outside and fight over who gets to eat them. Luckily, it's clean snow (not yellow!) so it only makes the carpet a little wet. They won't come in until they have a chunk of snow to chew on! It's so funny!

I am dreading this weekend though because it's going to get really cold and they won't want to go outside. It's funny, they'll act like they want to go out, but as soon as the cold air hits them, they back up and won't go out. Such babies! I guess that's a problem when they don't have much hair on their bellies!

This next picture is a paper-piecing that my friend Marni did last weekend at our scrapbook retreat. She's really creative. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a part of Jolee's new line!! Such detail!

It was just too funny not to share!!

Bus Answers

Nancy_Scraps asks: "OK...how many school buses in the twin cities (what %) are sold by the Hoglund Bus Company of Monticello MN. I was behind 3 different school buses yesterday, and they were all from Hoglund!And how does one go about purchasing a school bus. Is there a showroom? A catalog? Do I get a discount for buying 10 or more at once? "

Answer: I don't know about the Cities for percentage-wise, but I do know that we have 60% market share in MN and about 30% in IA. Those are the only two states our dealership sells in. I'd say that most major school districts in the Cities purchase from us. We do very well there and in northern MN. We sold around 300 new school buses last year. That wouldn't include any trade-ins (used) that we sold.

ETA: There are only 3 manufacturers that sell school buses.

How does one go about purchasing a bus? I was surprised at this answer when I started my job. There isn't a catalog, and you can come and check out a bus, but it's not a showroom, just in the field behind our buildings. (You can see them all on 94 to the south when you drive past Monticello) When you order a bus (which is part of my job), there is an option for everything, from the size of the bus, type of motor, type of seat - 2 leg (one side bolts to the wall) or 4 leg, number of rubrails (the black stripes on the bus - MN requires 4) to anything else you can think of. Even the driver's mirror is an option, you can get 6x30 or 10x30. There are requirements, both legally and practically - i.e. tires, School Bus Yellow paint. So, what a school does is make specs for what they want, and we create a bus to their specs. After someone is a customer for awhile and continues to purchase the same type of bus, we order "stock" buses that are the way they want them. Then the next year, they say they want a bus, and we have one for them. There's a bunch of ways to purchase a bus, but I'd rather not put everyone to sleep. There's a lot more to getting your kids to school than anyone would ever know! Even me - and I work there!!

Another Answer

Anonymous asks: "What would you do if you won the lottery? "

Answer - Well, if I won a small lotto (like $10,000), I'd buy some clothes or scrapping stuff and then finish our basement. If I won a large lotto (like $250 million dollars), there's a bigger list:

1. Quit my job
2. Buy a house with some land
3. Get an apartment in the Cities (so I could have a place to crash when I scrapped with the bitches)
4. Buy all new furniture for the new house
5. Purchase a thin body
6. Get a couple more Weims
7. Buy anything I wanted for scrapping stuff
8. Make sure my loved ones were taken care of
9. Give DH a couple bucks
10. Hire a belly-rubber for the dogs (they love getting their belly rubbed!)
11. Oh, and a dog walker too
12. Go to Europe, Australia and Hawaii
13. Probably file for bankruptcy about now

Funny this question should come up today, I got my W2 from work. It really makes me wonder why I work if that's all they pay me. So sad!!

Anyone else?

More Answers....

Linda Lou asks: "Who is tracy and why are you scrapbooking with her? What about your bitches?"

Answer - Jealous much? Tracy has been my friend since the first couple of weeks of my freshman year at UMD. She actually introduced me to DH. We lived together two different times and I was even in her wedding! I will be scrapping with her because she is fun and cool. My bitches would be more than welcome to join us.

Nancy_Scraps asks: "What do you like about Weimarainers as a breed of dog?If you couldn't have a Weimarainer or a Viszla, what kind of dogs would you have. "

Answer - We originally decided on the Weimaraner because my DH wanted a pair of beagles and I said no. We checked out a couple of different breeds (German Shorthair Pointer, Viszla) and decided on the Weim. I like that they are very personable, super smart (almost to a fault!), they LOVE being with their humans, they have short hair and they hunt (which DH likes). All of my family has Labs or Springer Spaniels. When we get together at our cabin, it's a Lab-fest. So we wanted something different so we could actually tell which one was our dog. If we were to have another type of dog - that's a good question. I'd probably only get Weims from now on, but I'd probably want a GSP or Viszla. I really like the short hair.

Keep em coming!

Answers

Tracy asks: "I want to know - When are we going to scrapbook? "

Answer - Hopefully soon. Let's try for the end of February or March. Let me know what days work for you.

Bonnie asks: "here's one.... u thinking of having kids in the future? or just your puppies?"

Answer - Probably some day. Kids are a hard thing for me. I don't know if I could handle it or if I want to give up my current lifestyle. I think about it a lot, but I don't know if that's just because of my age or if I really want them. It's a complicated question with complicated answers. But we will definitely continue to have dogs. That I do know.

Keep them coming!!

Go ahead and ask me!

I was reading Cathy Zielske's blog today and thought about not having a "this is what I had for lunch" blog. That's so what I've been doing. So, I thought that I'd let you, my glorious readers, help me out. My friend Linda did this at one time, so this is not a new idea. Ask me questions. Anything. I'll answer. This will go on until there are no more questions or until I'm bored with it. Anonymously if you must. So, go ahead and ask! I'm waiting...

Really? No one? Come on!! :)

Bath and Body Works Sale!

I had to return a couple of things to Bath and Body Works today, and I ended up hitting their Up to 75% off sale! I got everything you see here for less than $30! The soaps were all $1, so I grabbed those for dollar gifts for next Christmas. The poof and small blue lotion were 2 for $5. The best deal? Pumpkin Pie Paradise! I found this last fall and LOVED it! It smells super awesome! You almost want to take a couple of bites out of your arm when you use it! This HUGE bottle was - wait for it- $4!!!! Can't beat that! The Spicy Gingerbread smelled great too, so at that price, I had to try it out too.

Just had to share my exciting purchases!

Four Things

SIL sent this to me today by email. Thought I'd post my answers on here. Anyone else want to take the challenge and answer them too?

Four Things About Me You May Not Have Known.....

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Subway Sandwich Artist
2. Menards Cashier
3. Camp Counselor
4. Case Aide for Probation Office

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Dazed and Confused
2. Mean Girls
3. Center Stage
4. Singles

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. The Office
3. America's Next Top Model
4. CSI

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Boston
2. Cancun
3. New Orleans
4. Montana

Four favorite foods:
1. Cream Cheese Wontons
2. Ice Cream
3. Sweet and Sour Chicken
4. Cherry Pie

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Scrapbooking
2. On Vacation with DH
3. With my friends
4. Somewhere warmer

That's What She Said

I love The Office. It is one of my favorite shows. The best part about it? It's not in-your-face funny, it's subtle and SO hilarious. I never got into it before this year because I had watched some of the British Office on BBC America, saw one of the first episodes of the American version, and saw that they had just ripped off jokes from the other show. Then, a couple of months ago, I posted on here about the shows I watch, and everyone was commenting on how I should watch The Office. I went to YouTube and watched all these clips one night and laughed my ASS off for about 2 hours.

If you're a fan, you should check out these MySpace pages.

Pam/Jenna

Angela

One of the Crew from The Office

Tonight's episode rocked! I can't wait until next week!!

You take the Good, you take the Bad...

Today has been a good/bad day. Good because I finally am feeling somewhat better. I think I'm beating this cold now! Also, I felt good enough to go to Target after work and get this:

iHome. Isn't is cool? Now I can play my iPod anywhere! And it matches!! You gotta love that.

Now for the bad. My Mom called me a little bit ago and told me that my Great Aunt Lillian died yesterday. She had just turned 98 on New Years Day. What a life. 98 - can you imagine? I didn't know her very well, but she was a very nice lady and my Grandma liked her very much. Here's a picture of Lillian and my Grandma at our reunion in 2004 for my Dad's family.

We all were on teams for the Olympics my parent's had planned. I told my Grandma that she and Lillian were on their own team. My Grandma said that they wouldn't be playing games - but I told her that their game was to talk and have fun. She laughed and said they could manage that. They sat in the garage for most of the afternoon just talking and talking. By the way, that's Lillian on the left and my Grandma on the right.

There's another angel in heaven now.

Let's Play Hockey!

Last night, DH, his parents and I went to a Wild Hockey Game. It was my birthday gift to him. The Wild played the Colorado Avalance. Even though they lost, it was a blast. I forgot how much I miss watching hockey live. We used to go to games at UMD all the time. I loved it. Excel is such a great arena that there isn't a bad seat in the place. I wish we could go all the time, but I think we're going to try to go a couple times a year now.

Today we cleaned the house because our families were coming over to celebrate DH's birthday. He made lasagna, which was really good. After my family went home (they had an hour drive), the rest of us played cards. It was fun. The only bad part is that I didn't get to watch Desperate Housewives yet. That's on the agenda for tomorrow night.

Oh, and Linda's party on Friday night was an F-ING BLAST! I felt like shit (I probably would have stayed home from work if I didn't have Linda's party), but it really didn't matter. We laughed so hard I almost had an asthma attack! I won Linda trivia and got some cool chipboard swirls. Alli won the Linda-isms. It's crazy how many phrases she uses!! FTF man! Now I'm think that is what I want to do for my 30th in April. If it's half as fun, it would be worth it. Oh, Linda loved the Disney Crocs I got for her. Check out the picture on Bonnie's blog with her opening her present! It's the middle one in the group of pictures.

Birthdays Galore!

Tomorrow is DH's 32nd birthday. I wish he didn't have to work tomorrow night, but we're celebrating all this weekend. Saturday we're going to a MN Wild game (my present to him) and Sunday we're having both of our families over to celebrate. I'm so lucky to have him. He's such a great hubby!

Five random things I love about him:

1. He lets me go and scrapbook as much as I want.

2. We have the same sense of humor - He's always making me laugh.

3. He gets along great with my family and my nephew just loves him!

4. He's a really hard worker and has a great work ethic.

5. He loves the dogs as much as I do (see photo below), even though he won't admit it.

Happy birthday, T! I love you!!

It is also my friend Linda's birthday tomorrow. She's having a scrap birthday party tomorrow night. Luckily, DH has to work, so I'll be there! It's an all about me theme, and she's going to have prizes and everything! I'm super pumped.

5 random things I love about Linda:

1. She has more scrapbook supplies than I do.
2. She's funny - even though she doesn't have any gall bladder jokes.
3. She loves to shop as much as I do.
4. We can discuss important shows like Biggest Loser together.
5. She gets simple saying and phrases mixed up - which is hilarious! FTF man!
6. Okay, so this is #6 - but I thought of another one - she's bitchy!!

New Year's Eve

Finally! Snow! I'm so happy about it. Everything looks so wonderful after it snows. I can't believe it's taken this long to snow! As of right now, we have 5 to 6 inches on the ground. It's still snowing like a mo-fo. The redneck neighbors are already driving up and down the street on their snowmobiles. Maybe this means a good start to the new year?

We got a new phone. I don't know if you can see it, but it's between the shredder and lava lamp. It's hard to see because it's camo. Just blends right in. Our other one bit the dust, so I let DH get this one. The rings on it is ducks, bear, elk, loon, etc. Right now we have it set on goose honking. It's pretty cool to see the dogs when it rings. Their ears perk right up. Man, I need to dust!!

DH and I are spending a quiet New Years at home. Enjoy, everyone! See ya next year!

Favorite Christmas Memories

I thought instead of re-hashing my Christmas for the 500th time, I'd share some of my favorite pictures. This is my Dad holding my niece. Isn't she darling? She's 9 months old.

This is my niece again. She crawled over to the presents, hoisted herself up, and started digging into them. Her brother wasn't too happy about it since the one she's holding is his. After I took a couple of shots of this, he took it from her and hid it.

This is my nephew, blowing out the candles from the birthday cookies for Jesus. Yes, normally it would be a cake, but my aunt decided to make cookies this year instead.


This is my whole family. SIL, brother, nephew, mom, dad, niece, me and DH. This is also the time I realized I either need a new camera or I have to get this one cleaned. Nice spot on my mom's face.

This is my cousin (who hosted Christmas) and her 8 month old daughter showing us how she can walk. Yes, it's a camo dress, but it was cute. She's got a couple of pounds on my niece (the daughter, not my cousin) and I think that's why she can walk now and my niece can't. Plus, she could sit up first too. She's got cheeks that you just have to pinch!

This is a wooden plaque made out of a picture of my Grandpa (Dad's dad) when he was bear hunting in 1952. He died when I was 5, so I never knew him very well.

The one thing I didn't get a picture of was all of my cousin's on my Dad's side. My Grandma wanted a picture of all of us. She then proceeded to tell us how much she loves us and gave us our inheritance. She knows she's not going to be around for much longer and wanted to make sure we all got it and she could see us enjoy it. It was very moving, much more so than I could ever write here. This is the same Grandma I posted about who's 95. We all bawled. I'm so glad they took the picture first!

Overall, a great Christmas. We're celebrating with DH's family on Saturday.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone! No, this isn't my house. I just thought it was cool. Tomorrow we do the big celebrating. We go to my brother's house around noon to open gifts with my immediate family, then go to church where my parent's got married, celebrate with my Mom's side, and then go to my Dad's side. That's just Christmas Eve! Christmas day we will spend at my in-laws. We're doing the gift thing with them on Saturday, my sil and her bf are in Florida with his family this weekend. Hope Santa brings everyone what they want!!

P.S. This is my 50th post! Yea me!

My Elfamorphosis

Hey, I just made a total elf of myself. Check me out by clicking the link below.http://www.elfyourself.com/?userid=71fd5c990514d0e9f7c9daaG06122118

95 years and counting....

Tomorrow is my Grandma Florence's 95th birthday. 95. I can't even imagine it. I can't fathom how much change she's seen. World War I, World War II, the Cold War, invention of the TV, Movies, Cars, Airplanes, Computers, the Internet. The list goes on and on. When I was born, she was 65, so she's always been "old" to me. I've never had an extremely close relationship with my Grandma, but I do cherish every minute I've spent with her. She's now got ALS and emphysema, but is still living in her house. She's got a life alert necklace and has someone come look after her a couple times a week, but mainly she's still living on her own. If we ever had to put her in a nursing home, she'd be done for. I really wish that I would be able to have her meet my kids, but as the years go on, it seems less and less likely. I do hope that if I get to be her age, that I have as much strength, determination, and will as she does.

Happy Birthday, Grandma. I hope you continue to have a great life! I love you!

Damn the switching back and forth!

I downloaded IE 7.0 last week. DH wasn't happy about it and said that our bank stuff wouldn't work now. I guess they had sent him an email or something about it. So, I reverted back to 6.0. Guess what? Blogger wouldn't work for me. And DH said he liked 7.0 because it was faster. DAMN the DH! So, I'm back on 7.0 and everything is okay. Thank God.

I had a good time this weekend. Finished my Christmas shopping with my friend Linda. Got groceries after a long time trying to eat everything we had left in the house. Slept about 13 hours on Saturday night. Got laundry done yesterday. Good weekend.

This is a layout I did of my friend Tex who I met over 14 years ago. It was his 30th b'day last Monday, and I didn't have enough time to put this up. Anyways, he's the guy in the upper left picture. We met at a Youth Gathering in New Orleans in 1992. We've actually kept in touch all these years! He's a great guy who's now married with a baby boy. So, happy belated birthday Tex! Here's the second page of the layout:

And, yes, that skinny girl in the red shirt in the middle of the pins is me, circa 1992.

Official 2006 Christmas Card!

Here is the official 2006 Christmas card for our family this year. I made the signs in the picture, and had a grand plan of having the dogs sit in front of the decorated fireplace looking all cute with the signs around their necks. Needless to say, I then woke up and realized that they would not be up for any of that! So, I went with plan B, waiting until they were good and tired and placing the signs in fron of them. Actually, almost every Christmas card I've sent out with them on it, they've been in some state of sleep. It's easier that way. In case you're curious, Orion is on the left and Baron is on the right.

Am I First, Bonnie?

I just got back from my friend Bonnie's Scraproom unveiling. Believe me, it was worth the trip! She's got everything so cute - she should go into scrapbook decorating! Her house was also very cute and cozy. And her hubby, Greg, was the best host with all that estrogen in there!! I didn't take my camera (stupid me!), but here's a couple of pics of the gift bag she handed out.

Thanks again, Bonnie. Everything was wonderful!

Weekend Productions

Even though it seemed like I did more talking than working, I did get a lot done this weekend.

Here are some boxes I made for my co-workers. One of them loves Elvis, so I made one especially for her. I made some Christmas trees that I got from Crafts Direct for $1.

I decorated some barrettes for my niece.

I finally finished my "C"!! Now just to hang it up in it's place of honor....

Here's some of the details on it:

From the top of the "C" - hubby and my initials.

From the side of the "C" - est. 2000 - the year we got married.

Overall, it was a great weekend. There's about an hour I could have done without, but otherwise it was a blast. I don't think I've laughed that hard EVER!!

Too Nice?

Sometimes I’m too nice. Last night, I went to Target to pick up some pictures. There was only one pack there, but I could have sworn I had two to pick up there. I asked the lady behind the counter if there was another one. She checked their computer and said that there was one on there, but she couldn’t tell if it was the order I just picked up or another one. She reprinted them for me, but they took a long time. While I was waiting, I realized that I had sent the pictures to Wal-Mart, not Target. So, instead of admitting my mistake and telling her that she was wasting her time, I just sat there waiting for my pictures. After about FIFTEEN MINUTES, I decided to just leave, so I told her I’d come back for them. I never did. Why, oh why, do I sit there and waste my time, trying to save face?!?? Maybe it’s the whole Upper-Midwest Passive Aggressive thing.

I’m going scrapping this weekend at a retreat house in WI. It’s near my hometown, so I think my Mom is going to stop by. Actually, she better, since I have stuff to give her. It’ll be fun to scrap all weekend. I have to get some things done for Christmas, so hopefully I’ll be motivated and get everything done. I’ve already ran out of Christmas Cards (I made 60 of them) so I need to make more of those. I need to come up with a better plan for next year with those. Maybe I’ll do them digitally and just have them printed out. This whole cutting and gluing thing is getting to be a bit much with so many cards.

I’m trying to make the day go faster. I just want to leave to go scrapbooking, but I can’t leave yet. Damn the used up PTO!!

Have a good weekend. I’ll probably post Sunday.

I've been Tagged!

Okay, Bonnie, Here I go!!

A - Available or single: Neither (aren’t they the same thing?)
B - Best Friend: Todd, Karin, my bitches (sorry, did it say one?)
C - Cake or Pie: Pie
D - Drink of choice: Mt. Dew
E - Essential item you use everyday: Computer. Need it for work and to update this thing.
F - Favorite color: Green
G - Gummy Bears or worms: Gummy Worms
H - Hometown: WI
I - Indulgence: Shopping and Scrapbooking
J - January or February: January – my DH was born then. Oh and Linda too.
K - Kids & Names: Orion and Baron. Furbabies count too!
L - Life is Incomplete Without? Naps and Scrapbooking
M - Marriage Date: June 24, 2000
N - Number of Siblings: One brother
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P - Phobias or Fears: the boogieman
Q - Fave Quote: Bitches! Oh wait, that’s not really a quote!
R - Reason to Smile: My niece and nephew
S - Season: All of them. I get sick of one and then another one shows up
T - Tag 3 or 4 people: Linda, Tara, Nancy
U - Unknown Fact about Me: I can’t roll my tongue
V- Vegetable You Don't Like: Green Peppers
W - Worst Habit: Nail biting
X - Xrays: Mainly have had cat scans, but some xrays too.
Y - Your Fave Food: Cream Cheese Wontons
Z - Zodiac Sign: Aries – April 4

Thank God for your Blessings

My Mom just called me here at work to tell me that my Aunt and Uncle had a fire at their house last night. Luckily, they were not hurt. The smoke detectors were working and woke them up. I guess one of their cats was killed. If it would have been last week, they would have been out of town and their house would have burned down. They think it started in the bathroom because of faulty wiring. My Aunt just had new carpet installed and had redone their kitchen (the bathroom is right off the kitchen) in the past year. At least they were okay. My other Aunt and Uncle have an apartment that is fully furnished and not being used right now that they can live in until they are able to move back in to their place, which is so lucky.

No matter how stressful your Holidays have been and will get, just remember that it’s the safety of your friends and family that truly matter. Things could always be worse.

Party!

Yesterday was the TCS Christmas party. It was really great to see everyone and celebrate the holidays. If only we could figure out a way to do the gift exchange before we get there! :) I was able to get a huge part of my Christmas cards done, so that was nice. I'm hoping to finish them up this week. I'll try and post one when I'm done.

My parent's are coming up for dinner tonight. It's really strange because they only ever come to my house for some reason - there's really not a reason for this visit. They think it's too far to my house, since I live over an hour away. I don't think they realize that it's the same distance from my house to theirs as it is from theirs to mine. I told DH that it feels like their coming over for an intervention or something, and he said that he was thinking the same thing. Hopefully it's just dinner and that's it.

Thanks for the great day today, bitches!

Well, I'm glad I got that figured out...

What Drug Are You? Your Result: Heroin You enjoy feeling light, floaty, and airy, almost saturated with happiness. You like to not give a care in the world and like to concentrate on only one thing at a time. Ideal Jobs: Artist, Musician, Counselor
LSD/'Shrooms
Marijuana
Methamphetamine
What Drug Are You? Create a Quiz