amy d ...randomly me

thankful.

2011-11-23T23:24:00.001-06:00

i'm not even sure where to start with this post...i have so many things that i am thankful for and so many events that have left me feeling very blessed this year.

but instead of listing all of them, i am going to tell you about one person that i am most thankful for this thanksgiving day.

she is a very close friend of mine...
we have known each other since we were 3, we grew up together on the same block and went all through our school years together.

she is very special to me.
she is kind, caring, & compassionate.
she is creative and artistic.
she will make you laugh.
she is super, duper smart.
she is beautiful, inside and out.
she has awesome hair :)
she is a amazing mom to 3 of the cutest curly headed boys you have ever seen.
she loves her family and God more than anything.

AND... she just BEAT cancer!
what could've been a very bad cancer if she hadn't noticed something wasn't right.

...and i am so thankful that she is going to be alright. i can't imagine the alternative. EVER!
thankful for her strength, thankful to everyone who prayed for her, thankful for her amazing doctor who with the help of God and many a hospital staff, worked miracles.

God healed her...he showed us a true miracle.
...and that is what i am most THANKFUL for.

love ya my friend!

parks family.

2011-10-18T00:09:00.000-05:00

a good friend of mine asked if i would take some photos of their family.
i said yes right away...but then later got a little freaked out.
yes, i like to take photos...but i never had done a family before...
luckily i think they came out pretty good...my friend LOVED them, and that is all that matters.

...and it doesn't hurt that they are all beautiful.
their girls are super adorable!

miss bristol was so good the whole time!

don't you just love all that hair? ...and those chubby cheeks?

3 months old and she already has pigtails! such a CUTIE!!!

miss skyler may grow up to be a model..she loved getting her picture taken.

i learned a lot that day...
shooting people is so different than shooting objects and places.
i definitely had a lot of fun though.

thanks jake and kelli....it was a BLAST!

it has it's perks.

2011-10-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

sometimes being married to a cop has it's advantages...

not always, but sometimes.

last night definitely was an advantage.
i got to meet county superstar martina mcbride...who is originally from a tiny little town in kansas.

(yes, i was this close to her!!)

she is on a cross country train tour with amtrak to promote her new album "Eleven" which was released just yesterday and she is also spreading the word about breast cancer awareness.

she arrived with her entourage on her own decked out pink train.

my hubby craig was part of her security while in town.
when he told me she was coming i said "i am going with you!"

she was only here for about an hour and spent most of the time inside our train station meeting with the media and other groups.
i got to be in the train station the whole time!
i got to meet her and have my picture taken with her.

the other girl with me is braidyn, who is a HUGE fan of martina.
she just happen to text me at the right time and i was able to smuggle her in :)
she is singing 2 of martina's songs at an upcoming national talent show in indiana.
needless to say, she was freaking out in excitement.
the only thing that bugs me about this picture is my "deer in the headlights look" and the fact that i didn't put eye liner on that day... :) oh well! hey it could've been worse!

while martina was there, she met with a group from BIG BROTHERS. BIG SISTERS and also several cancer survivors.

she also did live radio and television interviews inside the station.

they had set up a mini stage for her just outside the train station doors.
when she took the stage she talked about her new album release and also breast cancer awareness.
she said she was so happy she was able to stop into her home state while on her train tour.
we were happy she chose our little town!
she didn't do any songs, which i would of loved, but the fact that i got to meet her was fun enough!

she is the tiniest little thing!
even though she was being hurried through the crowd outside, she still listened to people's stories and signed autographs for her fans.
she seemed genuinely sweet.

here is her taking some photos with the crowd.

this is the family that owns our town's train station.
they asked if i would take their photo with her.
um, hello? of course i will!

i have no idea how many people showed up, but from where i stood it was a lot!

so remember when i said the martina and me picture could be worse??
well... i actually had 2 photos taken with her.
her photographer took my camera to take our picture and obviously didn't look at how it came out.
when i saw it i was like "seriously!!!" that is the photo i'm gonna have the rest of my life with martina mcbride? i begged him to take another one and later he did. phew!!!
if he hadn't, me and braidyn would've been stuck with this picture for the rest of our lives!

a awesome picture with martina's peerly whites! HA!

thank goodness for second chances...
...and nice husbands that will take you with them on security detail!

happenings and winner.

2011-10-10T11:55:00.000-05:00

it was another packed weekend for us.
weekends really should be 3 days instead of just 2.
i would happily go with a 8 day week, as long as 3 of those were considered weekend days.

craig and i walked down to our town's annual food festival...
you know you had a good time if you waddle all the way home in misery from all the yummy food and desserts.

1. cast iron cobbler 2. mr. jost, cobbler cooker extraordinaire. 3. finally made it to the front of the line.
4. what we were waiting on...BEST PORK CHOPS EVER!! 5. flame master pat. 6. creepiness. 7. best seat in the house. 8. good music. 9. PIE! 'nuff said. 10. peppernuts (ick!) 11-13. suz's curly head cuties.
14. packed house. 15. seconds on the cobbler :)

miley's friend twig came to stay for the week...

1. trying to thief the m & m's. 2. super close-up. 3. waiting for those elusive squirrels. 4. twig 5. chasing squirrels can lead to getting stuck in the compost bin. 6. waiting for treats. 7. miley

a local church hosts a "blessing of the animals" ceremony every year.
we have had almost all of our animals blessed over the years.
this was miley and twigs first time.

1. waiting patiently 2. listening to the message. 3. getting to know everyone. 4. miley being blessed with holy water. 5. wondering why she can't just drink the holy water. 6. she heard the word "treat" 7. twig being blessed. 8. the dogs just kept coming. 9 miley and kelly. 10. being blessed tuckers you out.

and now for the winner of the birdie plaque...

congratulations to...

kristinsaid...: uh, please. and i want to shop your leftovers too.; October 8, 2011 7:47 AM

kristin, please email me so i can get this little birdie to his new home.

thanks to all of those who entered!

giveaway day!

2011-10-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

*********GIVEAWAY CLOSED***************

if you weren't able to attend the barn sale last weekend, don't fret!
i decided to give you, the readers a chance to win something fun and fabulous too!

i am giving away this cute little birdie hello sign....it's just waiting to be hung by someone's front door!

to enter, just leave me a comment about anything!
or just say hello!
that's it!
easy smeasy!

giveaway closes on sunday oct 9th at midnight central time.
i will announce the winner on monday around noon.
good luck peeps!

*********GIVEAWAY CLOSED***************

fall barn sale 2011

2011-10-04T00:19:00.000-05:00

i think i have finally recovered from the barn sale over the weekend.
it is a lot of work getting ready for it, but it is always worth it.
this is what my booth looked like.

you can't miss it, it's pretty colorful....i just need to figure out how to get my tent canvas turquoise or red or something fun like that. can you spray paint those things?? hmm, maybe i could dye it. :)

the countdown chalkboards were pretty popular.

i love the "my friends" saying...it is so true!

i had such a good time meeting new people, seeing familiar faces, and friends i haven't seen in years!

initial estimates are that there were between 1100 and 1200 people that came out for the sale!
it was definitely a busy day!
...and once again, i couldn't have done it without my awesome neighbor amy j. she has helped me from the beginning and i really appreciate her help!!! THANKS AMY!!
i was very pleased with the turnout and how much i sold...which made getting up at 5 am totally worth it.
i was surprised at how many people came from far away!
everyone i talked to loved it, they said it just felt so warm and homey, and they thought it was neat how it was just smack dab in the middle of the country.
country folk are just so dang friendly!

everywhere you looked, there were moms,dads, kids, grandparents, and even a couple sweet hounds.
everyone was smiling and just out enjoying the beautiful weather that God provided.

2 men and a baby. :)

those mennonite girls baked up some wonderful, yummy food.

this little guy wanted that car so bad...he kept saying "me get vroom, vroom?" so cute!

take a look around at some of the other booths...
(i wish i had gotten pictures of every booth, but i got so busy that i didn't get them all.)

my friend crys with her booth.

she had the most amazing antiques and the cutest hand painted eggs.

the super hero cape booth is always popular with the littles.

nicole came to shop at the spring barn sale and we talked her into having a booth at the fall one!

loved her necklaces!

i love plane jane's booth...it's very colorful like mine.
we decided next sale, we need to be next to each other because we were shopping back and forth at each others booth all day. :)

i always find something at this booth.

i saw lots of shoppers with those wire baskets.

at this booth, you picked out what buttons you wanted to have made into a ring.

i loved that argyle wreath! i wish i would of bought it for my kitchen door.

miss beki's booth.

thank you josh and beki, for all your HARD work to make this sale possible!
i don't know where you get all that energy!
if you figure out a way to bottle it and sell it, let me know!!

...fyi, i have a few things left over if anyone is interested.
you can leave me a comment or email me to see if i have something your wanting.
if you comment, just make sure you leave a email so i can get back to you.

oh, and CONGRATULATIONS to amy wade & leeah baker for winning our booth giveaways.
and just so you readers don't feel left out, i will be having a giveaway for you this week!
stay tuned.

busy, busy, busy.

2011-09-26T12:36:00.000-05:00

i have been super busy getting things done for the barn sale this saturday.
the condition of my house proves it. it. is. a. disaster.

wanna see what i have been (still am) working on?

Christmasy goods.

i am running out of room to store things...craig's back office has been overtaken by crafty goodness.

i love these old looking signs i made.

fall & halloween.

once again, lots of turquoise. but really, who doesn't love turquoise??

i hope you can make it...if you come, you will love it! PROMISE!!
...and be sure and stop by and say hi! i would love to see you!
AND i will be having a giveaway at my booth.

see you saturday!

9-11

2011-09-11T12:23:00.000-05:00

not just another day.

2011-09-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

today is the day...the day my bestie can no longer say she is younger than me!

i wish i could be there to celebrate with her...she does it in style.
she celebrates the whole month!
i wonder if sean knew that when they got married?

now she is as close to 40 as i am...teehee!

i hope you have a supercalafragalisticexpealidotious day. (ya, i'm pretty sure i spelled that wrong!)

love ya sister from another mother!

insta-friday.

2011-09-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

i love pink ladies...i wished they lasted longer.

picked up some old buoy's in maine.

found this too..i managed to stuff it in my suitcase.

they failed...miserably!

this cutie made me a great aunt.

miley had to have a mass removed...

made for a rough week for both of us.

funny stuff.

best seller?

fabulousness from a box.

on sale lovely's from socal

i will be there...and you should be too!

wedding hair practice.

pretty picture.

enjoy your long weekend.

for the love of maine.

2011-08-28T23:28:00.000-05:00

i ~~think~~ know that this was one of my most favorite vacations ever.
my hubby & miley
my best friend.
3 whole weeks.
the lake
the ocean
good friends
lobstah
antiquing
crafting
picnics
frozen mojitos
and much more.

i have so many pictures...SO MANY!!
it's hard to choose, and i want to look back at this post someday and remember it all.
don't worry, i promise not to show you all 2100 + photos today...
just about 65 of them
or so. :)
in no particular order...

love the sound of the water hitting the rocks!

lifeguard duke.

grey squirrels make it a little harder for miley to ~~ambush~~ spot.

tonya and sean's flower girl...love her smile.

brave souls...

if you got tossed...you got a commemorative t-shirt for surviving.

never did see one...

what to do when it rains.

coming in for a landing.

waiting for a fish.

fun place to eat fresh caught seafood.

lake rescue.

miley loved to go on boat rides!

"should we help him?"

scary wall cloud. (and don't worry, the guy in the background isn't peeing, he's pumping the water out of the dock floats!)

the eagle that lives on the lake island.

swooping in for some supper.

regular bowling...

and candlepin bowling

a little friskiness at the bowling alley. :)

lake cruising.

rainbow!

dock & lake loungers.

the water was like glass.

roller disco. :)

craig heading back to the airport via the bus... :(

my bestie! love her!

silly miley.

watching the chippy channel.

they were right...best lobster rolls ever!!

sail boats.

i miss hearing the loons everyday.

i miss the beautiful sunsets too!
i love how the reflection off the lake onto the trees looks like a heart.

phew! that was a lot of pictures...hope you enjoyed them.

...and with that, you would think that would be the last of the maine posts.
ya, it's not. :)
stay tuned.

insta-friday...socal love.

2011-08-26T00:01:00.002-05:00

laguna beach..love this crazy beach and all the crazy people.

my belly was oh so happy.

got to meet sweet mr. shane.

totally weird, yet yummy soda.

beach stalker.

bumper to bumper as usual.

missed your yumminess, and your mac & cheese.

the best icee ever can be found on balboa island.

you would of thought i bought this in maine, not socal. my sofa loves it. (and me too!)

happy weekend.

lobsters and lake fun.

2011-08-23T16:01:00.000-05:00

this is the sign that welcomes you to sean & tonya's lake house.
i blurred out the address for obvious reasons. :)
this was the sight for a majority of the fun we had while in maine.

...like cooking up all those yummy lobsters we brought back from our lobstering expedition.

do you think they know they are dinner?
i try not to think about it, actually.

he was trying not to think about it too!

miley was quite intrigued with them.
she liked to tease them, but didn't like it when they teased back.

steam bath time...

the lower pot contains water and beer while the top pot the lobsters go in is empty, so they steam cook them instead of boiling them.
we cooked them both ways while i was there...it didn't matter to me, they taste yummy either way.

all 12 lobsters fit into the pot, but you have to hold the lid on for a while... or they... well, you know.

20 minutes later...all done.

when they are bright red, they are ready for a plate.

and ready to be devoured!

i loved being able to eat outside all the time...over looking the beautiful lake that looked like glass most of the time.

it just doesn't get any better.

on our way back from lobstering we stopped for a photo op with a ginormous lobster.

out of 5 pictures, this is the only one without the boys making goofball faces.

we also stopped at this great outdoor market stand that has locally grown and homemade goodies.

i bought a jug of maine maple syrup. :)-

i love places like these...the people are super friendly and helpful.

...ok, back to the lake
miley love, love, loved hanging out on the dock.

she would even stay on it, without her leash.
well...most of the time.
there may have been a couple chipmunks that talked her into chasing them.
she always had to greet everyone who showed up.

cousin duke showed her how to be a lazy camp dog.

he also helped her out of some sticky situations.

miley's favorite was hanging out with auntie tonya on the daybed and being silly.

she also had fun swimming in the lake, and then back to lounging on the dock.

one of sean's friends brought over his old school jet ski for people to ride.
duke had to check it out.

this is one that you stand on, or sit on your knees.
no comfy seat.
you have to work HARD to keep it balanced and going.
that is, if you can get it going!

craig and that jet ski, just didn't get along...
tonya finally got up.

duke even took a little ride.

i happened to get up on my very first try...
i may or may not have been called some bad names by everyone who had previously failed to get up.
tehehehe...

-until next post peeps!

earlier this summer...

2011-08-21T15:50:00.000-05:00

*********** (super long blog post disclaimer!!!)*******

with miss miley in tow, we packed our bags and headed to the airport.
24 + hours later we made it to maine.

what was supposed to be a 6 hour trip, turned into the worst flight experience EVER!
late flight, fog, closed airport, flight crew timing out, no plane...
our airline had every excuse in the book.

wichita to atlanta to portland. that was supposed to be it.
instead...
wichita to atlanta to portland (never landed) to boston back to portland (never landed) to baltimore to boston and then took a bus from boston to portland.
phew!!!
miley was a trooper, never once whined or barked. she had way more patience that i did.
i hate being at the airlines mercy. HATE IT!
miley loved the bus ride though...the biggest windows in the world to look out of.

...and she got to add a couple more states to her list.

when we finally made it to tonya & sean's house, i totally broke down...
i was a big crying mess.
i had already had one meltdown on the last flight, but this one was completely different.
so happy and relieved to finally be there. i was so physically and emotionally drained, but so happy to finally see my bestie and this wonderful place she gets to call home 6 months out of the year.

we dropped our bags and jumped right in.
red snappers for dinner...

and a fire for smores.

when my head hit the pillow that night, i was out!
bright and early the next morning we loaded everyone up ( four of tonya's texas friends were also visiting)
and headed for the ocean to go catch some lobster.

we met up with captain robert and headed out.

each of us got to clean out and bait the traps and toss them back in.

the bait was totally gross and stinky!

if i had breathed through my nose, i would of totally hurled.

we would find more than just lobster.

i could say something about tamera and crabs here, but i won't :)

for as ugly and creepy as lobsters are...they sure do taste good.
i love to eat fresh lobster.
at some point i will show you how we cooked them...but this post is already gonna be long.

you have to hold them just right, or they could totally latch onto you.
i did hold one, but the minute he reached his claws back i would panic.

the ones we caught were too small, so we had to throw them back.
we ended up buying some off another boat to eat for dinner that night.

...and we forgot a cooler so we improvised with some newspaper and the car trunk. :)

while we were out on the boat, we got to take in the beauty of the atlantic ocean.
some breathtaking scenery.

amazing lighthouses.

this one is the second tallest in maine.

the island it sits on is protected, so you can't get out and explore...bummer.

as we were pulling away, the fog started to set in, making for a pretty picture.

i may just have to make this one into a canvas.

this is a much smaller one, that is now someones vacation home.
can you imagine?? lucky peeps!

we also saw a lot of puffin.
they are the funniest birds...they sort of look like a cross between a duck and a penguin.
they were all over the lighthouse island.

their beaks were very colorful and their orange webbed feet were comical.
especially when they would take off from the water.

lift off!

there was a beautiful bald eagle too.

everywhere you turned...new england beauty.

...and all of that, was just in the first 2 days.
more to come.

hipstamatic/insta-friday...maine style

2011-08-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

miss loungy loungerson on the day bed

my bestie, who i totally miss seeing every. single. day.

lake fun

lobster pizza...ooh la la.

nocturnum bar...super fun hang out.

lake girl.

cosmic candlepin bowling.

stephen king's casa

sunset cruises

ate here twice

ate lobster rolls twice. YUM to the YUM!

wall o' lobster buoy's
decisions, decisions!

Have a fabtastic weekend!

planking.

2011-08-16T11:22:00.000-05:00

it's been a while...
i know.
computer's back.
pictures back.
vacations over. BOO!

i guess maybe it's time to show you what i've been up to the last couple of months.

let's start with something totally brainless and goofy...just because.

Planking

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Look up planking in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Planking may refer to:

Plank (exercise), an exercise involving holding a position
Planking (fad), also known as the "Lying down game", which involves lying face down with arms to the sides in unusual public spaces

while in maine, one of tonya's texas friends told us we should "plank" on our antiquing trip.
we had never heard of it, so we looked it up.
we both thought it was pretty funny, and we weren't about to back down from a challenge.
soooo....

check out more pictures from our planking adventure over at tonya's blog.
if they're not there, they will be soon!
happy planking!

forty five and two.

2011-08-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

today my bestie and her hubby are celebrating their 2nd wedding anniversary!

i am so happy that they found each other...

they are perfect together.

friday, my parents celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary.

we took them to olive garden and surprised them with a group of their friends.

i'm pretty sure they had a good time catching up with everybody.

congratulations to both of you!

waiting...

2011-07-26T11:01:00.000-05:00

while in maine...my laptop started acting up.
apparently it wanted a little vacay too.
so no pictures or blogging about maine for a while...
it is fried...and then died.

my cousin in trying to work his magic on it at the moment...so we shall see.
i have my fingers crossed that it will come back good as new.

until then, here's a little funny for ya.

1001 things i've done in maine.

2011-07-11T20:18:00.000-05:00

....in pictures, literally. :)

i obviously have taken way too many pictures.
at some point i promise to break them all down.
but for now enjoy the wickedly obnoxious collage.
toodles from maine.

hanging out here for a while...

2011-07-03T10:47:00.000-05:00

sitting around talking and laughing with friends....unwinding my mind, my body, my soul.
it's so good.

it's so beautiful here.
miley likes it too.
..it may have something to do with a never ending supply of chipmunks.

good times, and it's just the beginning.

empty nest...

2011-06-09T23:36:00.000-05:00

my 3 little baby robins flew off today.
momma & daddy did their jobs.

for weeks i have watched these amazing events.
from momma picking out just the right location in my hanging basket.
laying her eggs, keeping them warm, hatching, feeding them...letting them fly off on their own.
i am gonna miss walking out there every day to see 3 little heads bobbing up and down and chirping up a storm.

momma never dive-bombed me...
and i never gave her reason to.
she would always let me get my picture & water the basket.
it's almost as if she knew i wasn't a threat...and i think she liked me talking all sweet to her and telling her how pretty her babies were, even though quite honestly they were pretty ugly from the start. :)

it's amazing to me how quickly they change...

momma must be named martha, cause she had some serious nest weaving skills.

she was never far away...always keeping watch.

like a good momma would.

she even posed for a few shots now and then.

of the three, one seemed to be the leader.
he was always the first one up.

or maybe he was just the hungriest?

his poofy hair cracked me up...he reminded me of grandpa munster with that hair.

they didn't seem to mind the tight quarters.

i hope they all make it...

i know she does too.

the dog who blogs: my birthday party!

2011-06-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

miley mae douglass

i am 1/2 italian greyhound &
1/2 wiener dog, so i am fast.
i have the bestest family
and the bestest friends.
every once in a while, momma
lets me give this blogging thing
a whirl!

this week i had a birthday!
the way i see it, you only turn four once.
so i made the most of it and partied like a rock star by throwing a big birthday bash at the local dog bar.
all my favorite peeps showed up.
...and i'm pretty sure we set a new record attendance at the dog bar.

peeps and pooches were everywhere.

these are some of my dog friends that came.

my ol' bud bacon.

an old co-worker of mine, tigger.

my neighbor and fence friend marley

my beauty shop buddy, sadie.

my bar buddy, skeeter.

and a random bar fly named buddy.

poor cousin duke couldn't catch a flight back to kansas, so he promises that when i come to visit him

in maine this summer, we will party it up on the new boat!

turns out one of my gifts was a new life jacket!

no party would be complete without a birthday cake.

hopefully you can't see me drooling.

since i was four, i ate it in four bites!

i am smart like that.

i made sure i licked the plate clean.

next i got to open presents.

who doesn't love presents that smell like beef?

why do humans think it is so funny to plop a bow on your head?

not cool!

check out my stash...

momma made me sit down and write thank you cards for all my stuff.

i hope they can read my writing...she wouldn't let my type it.

i think everyone had a good time...i know i did!

PIG EARS!!! 'nough said!

all the humans got sugar cookies...

i couldn't figure out why nobody would share.

thanks to all my friends for celebrating with me...

silly jojo...

are you sure your smiling sophie?

i was happy marley brought all her family.

bacon's mom and dad, keith & doris.

my friend todd, who totally needs to get a dog.

my good friend kathy...(sorry it's blurry, momma's still learning on that camera of hers)

my girls...allyssa, katie and kelby. (crys was hiding out)

tiggers family, mark & cindy.

skeeters mom kela...what happened to larry?

susie...i wished she still lived in the hood!

sadie, brad and maggie...sadie, we need to get together soon!

by the end of the night, i was one tuckered out pup.

it's a good thing i'm not working anymore..i can sleep the whole rest of the week.

....after of course i have a few dog biscuits and a couple pig ears.

later tators!

MILEY

favorite {new} things.

2011-06-02T23:58:00.000-05:00

i finally found this at the store.

LOVE IT!
one little squirt into my bobble and it turns plain ol' water into yummy, fruity water.

the best part, you can keep one in your purse and use it at a restaurant, or wherever.

this was part of my birthday present from my mom and dad.
a happy cupcake tea towel.

they had me at red velvet.

but when they say petite, they aren't kidding.
i may have eaten 2/3 of the box in one night.

my bestie busted out her creative side and made this for me for my birthday.

i love everything about it...
especially that she made it.
for me.
thanks T

somebody pinch me.
hubby got me this for my birthday.

is it weird to be in love with an electronic?
don't worry honey, i still love you more than the camera.

i am having so much fun getting to know this camera.
i can't believe when i'm holding it, that it is mine. mine.
this is the first picture i took on auto.

...and this is the first picture i took in manual. (you may need to put on your sunglasses)

HAHA!!

i'm getting much better...
i am trying to just shoot in manual so that it starts to come natural to me.
still lots to learn.
but it's fun learning.

moving day.

2011-05-29T15:58:00.000-05:00

on friday we took on the dreaded task of cleaning out our big backyard fishpond.
in all the years we have had it (13) we have never had to clean out the entire thing.
and i hope i never have to again.
since last summer it had gotten so cloudy, that you couldn't even see the fish anymore...which is the whole point.

we had to empty all the water into giant stock tanks.
we borrowed most of them from friends. (thanks joan & alden, and van!)
we also ended up buying one with another friend who also has to clean out his fish pond.

sorry if you lived in our neighborhood and smelled that nasty stench on friday...
pumping all that water out smelled disgusting!

we then transferred the fish one by one into the stock tanks while we dug out all the muck and silt from the bottom.

once it was all scrubbed, shop vac'd and hosed down, it looked much better.

my neighbor kids, sophie and lawson came to see what it looked like.
they even touched the fish that were in the tanks.

craig told lawson he may not let him out since he was wearing a KU shirt. ...i think for a minute, lawson believed him.

we let all the muck from the tank water settle to the bottom and them pumped off the top stuff to put back in the pond, mixed in with some city water.
you have to have around 3/4 of the original water, or the fish can't survive. it contains good bacteria that they need.
the guy helping is our friend ...my surrogate teenagers dad.
he has two giant fish ponds too, which means we get to help him when he does the same thing.

once the water got high enough, we were ready to put the fish back in.
sophie and lawson wanted to come back to watch, and amy was nice enough to take pictures for me since i was catching fish and was covered in muck. THANKS AMY!!

i should probably warn you that these aren't just little gold fish. they are obnoxiously huge koi with a few large goldfish.
a lot of people always ask if we know how big they are, so while we were moving them back, we took the time to measure them.
i wouldn't let them weigh them though...i didn't want to hurt them. (yes corey, i am aware they are tough!)
no one else seemed to be brave enough to hop in with them, so i go the job.

yes, i am standing in a 6 ft tank with 18 huge fish swimming into my legs.
i really tried not to think about it.
i would corral them over to the boys with the net and then they would measure them.

some of them didn't even care.
this picture was taken right after one of them decided he didn't want to have anything to do with being caught.

he splashed that filthy water right up into our faces...into my mouth. NASTY!!!!!!!!!!!!

lawson thought it was great, but gretchen wasn't too impressed.

i love the kids' faces in the background of this pic. :)

most of the fish measured between 20 and 24 inches. some were a little more than that.
the biggest one, which we call beluga, measured in at 31 inches long and 9 inches wide. CRAZY!!!

are you creeped out that i am holding those fish. amy j was. :)

the fish busted a couple of the nets, because they were so heavy.
you had to carry them from the bottom.

it pretty much took all day to get it done.
i 'm glad it's over...i think the fish are too.

now, you can finally see all the fish, and all the way to the bottom.
it looks so much better.
and so did i after a much needed shower.

miley thanked lawson for his help with kisses.

later that evening when the fish pond was all back together, i checked on momma birdie and her 3 eggs.
they had all hatched!

have a awesome memorial day!

my beautiful niece's.

2011-05-24T22:58:00.000-05:00

one is about to become a momma,, and the other just graduated from 8th grade.

kylee...6 mo along.

sierra.

they are sisters....on my brothers side.

aren't they just gorgeous?
i think so.

kylee lives in arizona now, but came home for a baby shower.

she is having a girl...

i can't wait to meet her...i bet she will have her momma's beautiful smile and dimples.

i drove to my brothers house, through the crazy storms to fix sierra's hair for her graduation party.

my nephew wasn't too thrilled about pictures.

not even the lure of 20 bucks could get him to crack a smile.

sierra and her mom.

i loved her dress.

ahhh...middle school.

congratulations to both of you!
i love being your aunt amy!
i'm just not sure about becoming, GREAT aunt amy.
that just sounds so old.

waiting....

2011-05-22T18:55:00.000-05:00

this momma robin is so very patient...
she even lets me water the flowers while she is still in the basket.
i just have to talk really sweet to her. :)

hopefully baby pictures to come.

38.

2011-05-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

in honor of my 38th (really???) birthday...

here are thirty eight random things, thoughts, whatevers about me.

#1 why is it that 38 sounds so much older than 37?

#2 it was time to retire my most favorite jean shorts yesterday....they (used) to velcro shut.

but every time i bend over they open up. no bueno! adios old navy faithfuls!

#3 i seriously could eat totinos canadian bacon pizza every day.

#4 my flowers i planted almost 2 weeks ago are looking awesome. my water bill, not so much!

#5 i graduated 20 years ago this month from high school...wait? that has got to be a typo!!!!

#6 my favorite magazine is coastal living...imagine that.

#7 why am i not on some coast right now for my birthday???

#8 me and miley share a birthday month...her's is on the 31st. even in dog years, she won't be as old as i am.

#9 i love seafood. (fresh seafood)

#10 per my husband, i just ordered a new canon (big girl) camera for my birthday. YES!!!!!

#11 i love baseball and football...basketball...not so much. (sorry coach fox!)

#12 of all my blog posts, the number one most viewed is jan's potato burritos

#13 i heart polka-dots.

#14 i think i have the greatest neighborhood and neighbors ever! REALLY!!!

#15 my favorite (adult) drink right now is a frozen mojito...followed closely by the summer beer at sadies dog bar.

#16 i only crack eggs one handed.

#17 thirty-eight things is a lot, this is going to take forever!

#18 it's all your fault danielle, you suggested i do this! remember?

#19 i used to clean houses in high school.

#20 i also was a waitress, cook and worked at k-mart.

#21 when i went to renew my drivers license, i had to change my weight. (she asked! the nerve!) UGH!

#22 she at least let me pick a good picture.

#23 hubby is taking me to a new restaurant in town tomorrow for lunch, then sadies for dinner.

#24 i am going to be a great-aunt. that really makes me sound old!

#25 my sweet surrogate teenager gave me a big bouquet of balloons and a necklace and earring set for my birthday/mothers day. :)

#26 i had to clean house yesterday, so i broke my cardinal rule of turning the a/c on until july. it was 100*!!!!

#27 if coffee tasted like it smelled, i might consider actually drinking it.

#28 i can't wait for our trip to see my bestie this summer in maine! lobstah every day!!!!

#29 my favorite flavor of cake is red velvet...just say'n :)

#30 i wish i could get braces again...the invisible kind though.

#31 i think at some point in my life, i have had every color of hair imaginable. the ronald mcdonald red was by far the worst!

#32 when i cross my eyes...they start bouncing back and forth really fast. people say it's creepy.

#33 i used to be a gymnast and cheerleader.

#34 my first car was a 1981 powder blue, 4 door hatchback chevy chevette. (we called it the S#@! vette...or the wheat-vette...long story!)

#35 i still have the pair of guess overalls my grandma bought me in 8th grade. i think i got every penny of the $99 she spent on them.

#36 i said i still have them...not that i can still wear them. because i can't. BOO!

#37 i love stormy weather. the color of the sky, the smell, sounds of thunder. good thing, cause that's the forecast for today.

#38 who cares if i'm 38....i would rather have a birthday, than not have one!

spring barn sale.

2011-05-09T21:49:00.000-05:00

as much fun as the barn sale was on saturday....i am relieved it's over.
it's a lot of hard, but definitely worth it, fun work.
...but i am exhausted.
which is why i am just now getting this posted.

i loved seeing so many new and familiar faces.

i met lots of other blogger girls too.
it's weird, but yet fun to me, when someone i don't know tells me they read my blog.
i met a blogger who drove 4 hours just for the barn sale.
it was awesome to meet you nicole

i couldn't have done all this without my neighbor amy j ...seriously! she was a HUGE help.
THANK YOU AMY!!!!!

this was our..."i can't believe we are here by 7:30 am" smiles.
if you know me in real life, then you know i don't see the sun come up very often.

i'm pretty sure i dominated the turquoise market with my booth. :)

estimates that around 500 people shopped the barn sale. WOW!
have a look at some of the other great booths...

i loved all the great color everywhere...it made the flat kansas land look very festive.

i bought the turquoise keep calm pendant...love it.

it was a great atmosphere...families, girlfriends, dogs, even a few horses and husbands. :)

thank you miss beki (& josh), for all your hard work to make this sale possible.
your farm is awesome!
i can't wait to do it again in the fall!
...and thanks for all the wonderful shoppers who came out and supported me!
YOU GUYS ROCK!!

some 411.

2011-05-04T22:58:00.000-05:00

i feel like this year i have been so inconsistent with this blog.
i guess i am valuing my sleep more than i used to.
anyway, here's the 411 on what's been going on lately.

last week our downtown hosted a art and music festival.

i walked down with my neighbor jenn and little miss london.
after many nights of cool, damp weather, that night was near perfect.

most of the downtown stores were open and had a local artist and a local music act in each store.

my friend susan's mom had her art at the clayworks gallery, so we stopped in to say hi.

london got to help create a mural that is now on display in the thrift shop front windows.

it was super colorful and anyone could add to it.

jenn's hubby russ joined us for the rest of the night.

i'm sure it was just so he could see the creepy elvis guy sing.

i picked up this adorable guy for my friend who lost her grandma.

you couldn't help but smile when you looked at him.
losing grandma's is heartbreaking, so i hope that this little squirrel can help out with that.

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i finally got to play in the dirt.

my compost bin was full of rich soil this year...let's hope my flowers appreciate it.
the only day that was warm and that i had time to plant, turned out to be the windiest day all year.
ridiculous wind gusts up to 60 mph.
it exhausted me.
but it is now done.
which make me happy every time i look out my windows and see all that color.

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my camera or picasa (not sure which one) ate my Easter photos.
i know they have to be here somewhere.
i'll probably find them next Easter. :(

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i am finishing up all the little details for the barn sale on saturday.
i am a little nervous to tell you the truth.
i have never done anything like this before.
but my neighbor amy j will be with me, helping out, so i will have fun either way.
i really hope it goes well...even if i sell one thing i will be happy.
i just think no matter what, it's gonna be a fun day.
AND, it's supposed to be 83 degrees!!!
thanks for all the good weather prayers!

in case you missed the hours and directions from one of my other posts...

hope to see you there!

some randomness for your wednesday.

2011-04-27T12:59:00.000-05:00

can i just say how in love i am with the smell of lilacs...
they have been blooming all last week and this week.
by far the longest they have EVER bloomed.
i brought some inside, cause i just can't get enough of that sweet fragrance.

mine are miniature lilac bushes.
my bestie tonya found one at our local garden center called a bloomerang. it's supposed to bloom again in june.
i must get me one of those!
lilacs in june! yes. please!

tonya and hubby sean came for Easter weekend.
friday night we went out with them and our other friends mark and susan to eat.
i love getting together with my two favorite girls from high school.
we laugh. a lot!
like a doofus, i forgot my camera. :(

later that night we took the poochies to the dog bar.
yes, we have a dog bar, and it is soo much fun.
duke and miley loved it.
again, no camera.
hopefully tonya will share some pictures since she remembered her camera.

last week this little guy came for a play date with miley.

miley will tell you all about it .
yes, she said she is going to start blogging again.
she's working on her facebook page right now.

these still haven't made it into pots.

somehow our lovely spring has been kidnapped.
it has been cold, gloomy and damp.
no beuno!!!!!

some of you asked about this little guy from the Easter post.

i found him on the driveway sat morning.
he is a chubby baby cardinal.
i didn't even zoom in with the pictures, i was laying on the driveway with the camera 2 inches from his beak.
he didn't care.
one reader said he looked like he had a little too much Easter candy. :)
i am happy to report that i saved him and that chubby little body was able to somehow take flight.

i am not a fan of doing prom hair.
but....it has to do with those glossed up pageant looking up-do's that all look the same.
i don't like that. i like natural looking, non-helmet prom hair.
so i was happy when the next american idol wanted big sweeping curls.

some day you will see her on idol. you will!
she has an amazing voice for a 16 year old.
i've done her hair since she was born, and i lover her to pieces.

a very unfocused photo of me being goofy.

thankfully, i have been super focused lately.
i have gotten so much made for the big barn sale!!!
the condition of my house is another story!

here is a flyer...SPREAD THE WORD!!!

there will be little red barn signs to tell you where to go.
...and if you could say a little prayer for good weather?
i would appreciate it :)

EASTER SUNDAY.

2011-04-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

cleaning up and clearing out.

2011-04-20T22:51:00.000-05:00

we have giant trees.
which in turn, means lots and lots of leaves.
just when you think you got them all, more appear.

i finally got them all raked up and cleaned out around the pond and the back of the house.

it looks so much better, ready for some fresh mulch and some color.

20 bags of mulch later...

harri had to come check it out...

then she promptly rolled in it.
maybe it's full of catnip, cause she was a little crazy the rest of the day.

you may have noticed the nets are still on the pond...
i am waiting for all the elm seeds and helicopters to stop falling.
they clog the pump and filter and it turns into a lot more work.
i did get the water fall going again though.
i just love that sound.

i bought flowers for all my empty containers, but nothing has been planted yet.
i have to keep dragging them into the garage because it still is getting really cold at night.

i can't wait to get all of these

into these.

spring sort of disappeared, it has been chilly and gloomy.
i can't wait for a nice sunny day so i can get out and get these beauties planted.

my ferns seem to be loving this damp, cool weather.
they are really sprouting up.

along with my perennial beds.

i still need to mulch those.

at least my lilacs started to bloom.

i wish someone could bottle that smell, and not the fakey, fake lilac smell, the REAL smell.
it is by far my favorite smell in the garden.
i just wish it could last all summer.
someone needs to work on that too!

barn sale sneaky peeky.

2011-04-17T23:19:00.000-05:00

so last week i promised you a sneak peek at what i'll be selling in my booth at the
hesston barn sale
they have a new blog...go check it out.
and...go "LIKE" them on facebook

i should warn you...my booth will have lots of different stuff.
i can't just have one or two main things...i like a variety...and that's what it is.
but these pictures are just a drop in the bucket.

(ignore the vacuum cord in the background...i am ignoring the vacuum)

i have been re-purposing a lot of old furniture and bringing it back to a happy life.
i like to find new uses for old things...and make new things out of old things...does that make sense?

lots of cute word art and vintage accessories.

lots of bright, happy color and some burlap.

love how this turned out...i need to make one in every color :)

hopefully you will come out and see me and all the other vendors on:

SATURDAY MAY 7TH, 9am to 3.

you won't be dissapointed...PROMISE!

one more thing...i need a name for this funky little booth of mine...
i've narrowed it down to 2 possibilities ...now i need you to tell me which one you like.

i like them both equally, so in no particular order:
#1 creative junkie
#2 amy d ...creatively me

PLEASE tell me which one you like. or suggest a new one.
i need to make a sign in the next week....or i'll just be known as the girl with no booth name.
"i got it at the booth over there...from that one girl, who's booth doesn't have a name"
and we wouldn't want that to happen.

gentle giants.

2011-04-10T21:56:00.000-05:00

over the weekend the budweiser clydesdales were in town.

there were so many people there, you would've thought they were giving out freebies or something.
i don't think i've ever seen so many people come out for an event like this. EVER!
it was a HOT sunny day....which resulted in a horrid sunburn. it is still april right?

there were 8 horses all together.

to be considered, they have to be at least 6 ft tall at the shoulders and weigh 2000 pounds!

they are HUGE!
they unloaded them one at a time while they put all the halters and reins on.

check out those feet!

they seem to be very used to photo sessions...they were hamming it up for the crowd.

hitchin them up to the wagon.

they had a question and answer session then they paraded them down main street with a police escort.

eeegads! i just noticed in the background of the picture that gas is up to $3.52 a gallon! maybe i should get a horse.

that dalmation has a pretty cush job.

you could almost hear the dog saying "yep, i have totally have it made!"

the wagon even played the budweiser jingle as it drove past us.

see the little bows around their braided and bunned tales? that made me laugh.

this was the first time i had ever seen the clydesdales...i'm glad we went.
they are beautiful!
and they really are gentle giants.
they are on a tour...you should check to see if they're coming to a town near you. it's totally worth it.

so so so behind.

2011-04-08T11:18:00.000-05:00

you know it's been too long since you last blogged when:
you start getting emails from people wondering if your still alive...
a random stranger comes up to you at a store and asks when your gonna start blogging again... (freaked me out, but was kinda cool at the same time...i guess you really never know who is reading your blog after all.)
i knew it had been a while...but sometimes life and a good nights sleep get priority.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
i sat down last night to start this post and the wind came outta of nowhere and poof, just like that, no electricity.
i walked to the back door with the flashlight only to see the neighbors sand box cover flying over the fence towards our house...
it didn't rain...just wind.
for like 5 minutes and then it was gone.
but the electricity was still off and so i called it a night.
it really is amazing what you can't do with out power. hardly anything.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

if you fill it....they will come.
one...

two...

three:

three and a wanna be...

four...

they even starting forming a line.

there may have been some hinkiness going on while waiting...

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

i knocked out some serious spray painting over the weekend.
i used a whole lot of this.

i'm pretty sure i have been red flagged at both the hardware store and wally world for purchasing so much
spray paint.

this is the old black bucket from above

lots and lots of old frames.

soon to be mirrors.

above is part of a light fixture i picked up on one of my trips to the canton flea market.

miley decided to help.

i spray painted a bunch of old hardware too.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

do you know about this?

IT IS GONNA BE AWESOME!!!!
...and i'm gonna have a booth!
that is part of the reason why i have been spray painting everything i can get my paws on.
and why i am so behind on blogging.
mark you calenders people!! MAY 7TH!
i will give you more details and sneak peek at my wares later this week.
wanna see pictures from last time?
go here!

now i'm off to tackle the crazy amount of leaves around the fish pond so i can take the nets off and
get the waterfall going again.

finally...SPRING!

loaded potato soup.

2011-03-27T22:23:00.000-05:00

since it decided to snow today...
i figured it was the perfect time to post the loaded potato soup recipe i promised you last week.
this came from one of my salon customers a few years back and it is a cold weather favorite around here.
here's what you'll need:

5 lbs potatoes
3/4 box chicken broth (the family size)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
salt & pepper (as much or as little as you like)
small diced onion (mr.douglass despises onions so i just sneak in some onion salt)
1/2 block of velveeta
block of cream cheese softened
cooked bacon, diced up (i cheat and buy the fresh bacon bits, MUCH EASIER!)

peel and chunk potatoes

i use my apple corer without the end to make quick work of peeling the potatoes.

throw them in your slow cooker on low.
then add in:
chicken broth
cream of chicken soup
salt & pepper
onion (or some version of an onion)

simmer on low all day, or bump up to high to speed things along.
30 min before you are ready to serve it add in:
velveeta diced up
cream cheese diced up
and your bacon bits.

give it a few stirs and that's it!
it is a thick and hearty, warm your bones up soup.

it makes a ridiculous amount, so spoon some into a big bowl and take it to your neighbors house.
(especially if she brings you yummy food all the time!)
ENJOY!

a quick run down.

2011-03-20T22:53:00.000-05:00

it seems i have turned into a once a week blogger...
totally not my intention.
i have kept myself plenty busy...i promise.
i have 13 shows on the dvr that haven't been watched yet.
i have come down with spring cleaning fever...
and when you got it, you gotta keep going.
no stopping.

other than cleaning and purging this house, this is what i've been up to lately.

a friends wedding.
it was simple & perfect.

the bride is a pilot, so the reception was at our airport in a hangar.
very cool idea.

she flew them away when it was all finished.
the brides grandma, turned out to be my elementary school music teacher.

she really hasn't changed.
i went over and introduced myself...she remembered me.
that. never. happens.
(i also ran into my elementary school principal this week while getting my hair cut.)

(i realized afterwords my camera was on a setting i had never used before...which i'm guessing is why all the pictures are so grainy)

this is what i made for the bride & groom.

i think it turned out pretty cool...yes, i'm bragging on my silhouette again.

the next day a group of friends and i headed to the sticks to beki's house for a free photography workshop.
by the look of the wedding photos, it wasn't a moment too soon.
i learned a lot.

i also learned i don't know how to spell aperture. (i do now though!)
me and my little fuji were outnumbered by canons and nikons.

someday soon maybe i will bite the bullet and get a REAL camera.
i asked beki to send a note home with me telling my husband that i need a canon.
he said...then go get one.
but in the next breath he said...but i think you take really good pictures with the one you have.
reverse psychology maybe???

when we were leaving it started raining frozen sleet balls.

people were sliding off the highway left and right.
today it was absolutely stunning outside...75, sunny, barely a breeze...divine!
hopefully kansas has gotten all the crankiness out of it's system for good.

i made myself a yummy chicken salad sandwich for lunch.

i never really cared for chicken salad until i tried a friends.
she makes it with a rotisserie chicken from the store. already cooked and seasoned.
it totally makes all the difference.
(thanks joan!)

when it was still cold i made a batch of loaded potato soup in the crockpot.

recipe coming soon.

miley has been stalking this icky varmint all week.

possums totally creep me out.
especially when they are lurking in the tree above my head.

when the weather started turning nice, instead of being outside, i felt the urge to purge the inside.
i cleaned out closets and now have a bunch of stuff to take to the thrift store.

that's just the tip of the iceberg people.
i moved all the winter stuff into the closet in our bedroom...i use it for off season clothing.
why not use the master closet?
well...i am short, but both master closets are kid sized in height.

cute yes, practical no. (ack, the graininess is back!)
how the clothes rod has not busted yet is beyond me.
it is OLD!

notice the little piece of wallpaper border?
it is there so that all the shoulders don't get a white plaster mark on them.
someday i will take the time to paint the closets, but it's not really high on my priority list right now.

once again wal-mart sucked me in and made me divert from my list for this.

who couldn't resist a green & white polka-dotted bath mat?
me, that's who.
this is the rest of my little bathroom.
in case you were curious.
if your not, then just skip the next couple of pictures :)

i made the stained glass windows years ago...
it's been a while since i have done anything that big.
someday i will refinish the tub and get new flooring...but for now it's fine with me.
i don't think i could live without my clawfoot tub, it is my favorite and most used thing in this house.

i turned those trays i was spray painting a few weeks back into little chalk boards.

they are part of something bigger...that i will tell you about another day.

so there's my quick rundown of the happenings around here.
tomorrow i start a small painting job in a little town near ours.
(every so often i take on one of these...i like painting so it's fun for me.)
it does require painting popcorn ceilings though...ugh!
i already made a chiropractic appointment for friday...
i will need it.

peace out peeps.

last weekend...

2011-03-12T19:58:00.000-06:00

last weekend miley and i hit the road for texas.
it just so happens my bestie is a cpa and so she graciously does our taxes every year.
THANK YOU TONYA!!
it wouldn't be so bad if i didn't have the beauty shop, that's what complicates everything.
i don't have any pictures from the actual process, cause that would bore you to death.
but i do have pictures from the flea market we always go to.
first monday trade days in canton, texas.

i have to say this time was kind of a bust.

yes, there was plenty of good stuff.

just out of my price range or i knew i really didn't need it.

i didn't come home with much.
but i gathered lots of ideas...and sometimes that can be better!

i think craig was shocked when he opened the back of my car and found nothing since last time
he didn't even have to open the car to see it was packed full.

this is only the second time miley has made the trip down to texas.
last time craig came too, so it made it a little easier.

her and duke semi-played with each other.

mostly they just tease each other.

miley loves to look out windows...it's her thing.

always gotta know what's going on around her.

miley even managed to teach duke a cool new trick.

turns out a dog can fit into the window sill for a much better view of the birds and squirrels.
of course there was some much needed sunning action as well.

before i left we hit this place.

it is the first time i have had mexican food since the last time i was in texas and nearly died from food poisoning.
the fact that there were lots of people eating in there, made me feel better about it.

and the fact, that it wasn't a trailer/shack on the side of the road helped a bit also.

one last picture of me and t before miley and i jetted back to kanas.

thanks for a fun and awesome weekend tonya, sean & duke!

sean....you know what i think of you and your dirty little trick!
(i'm never leaving you in charge of miley again!)
:)

i feel like hal.

2011-03-11T10:17:00.000-06:00

those weather guys say 70 today.
for their sake they better be right.
i am at my wits end with old man winter.

random week of consumption.

2011-03-03T22:36:00.000-06:00

most of last week and some of this week i have had the flu.
it wasn't too terrible, but i can't stand how it just drains every living bit of energy from my body.
ya, the fever, chills and body aches totally suck, but the fatigue has got to be the worst.
it's amazing the things you consume while sick.
the same things, over and over and over.
for instance..

kleenex.

4 whole boxes consumed...not to mention the 3 more randomly placed around the house at this moment.
...and it MUST be the good stuff with lotion.
i am still blowing my nose every 15 minutes..SERIOUSLY!!!! WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?????

meds.

every day, 3 times a day. ..ugh.
i had to make a paper schedule because i am so bad about remembering if i took it or not.
and seriously, why can't those people at robitussin make their cough syrup taste like delsylm's grape flavor??
it is the best!
at least sudafed is tiny..i am NOT a pill swallower...i choke and gag most pills back up.
if it's bigger than an advil, i'm in trouble.

water.

tonya got me one of these filtered water bottles for Christmas and i use it so much i bought myself another one. (http://www.waterbobble.com/) or JCPenney.
i fill it up at least 8 times a day... i think i am officially a H20 girl now
i did cheat with a sprite one day, because let's face it....when your throat is that sore, you just need that burning, tingleing, stinging feeling on the back of your throat. (you know what i'm talking about!)

my fav lip balm.

my lips crave this stuff.
there is one in practically every room in our house, not to mention my purse and the car.
LOVE IT!

cheap pizza.

for some reason, no matter how sick i am, totinos makes it better.
i could really live on this pizza, especially when they were on sale for 95 cents.
the freezer is packed full!

good reading.

at least i have time to dream about living in these places while i'm plastered to the couch.
lots of brain consumption.

evil in disguise.

there's nothing like being crashed on the couch, feeling lousy, when the doorbell rings and a cute little scout drops off colorful boxes of sugar to help you feel better.
yes i know, girl scouts aren't evil...just their cookies.

i am feeling a hundred times better now, thanks to all these miracle workers.
each one played a part in helping me feel better.
more than some i'm sure.

i accomplished more today, then i have in the last 7 days.
it felt so good to wake up and feel human again.
thank goodness since me and miley are off to texas tomorrow to see tonya, sean and duke.
...and to shop my favorite flea market :)

i got some new shoes for the occasion, or at least that's what i'm telling myself.

have a good weekend...
i'll be back next week.

last week.

2011-02-26T18:04:00.000-06:00

since it's been awhile since my last post i thought i would catch you up on what i've been doing all week.

we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary by attending a valentines dance.

it was a fundraiser for the heart 2 heart child advocacy center in our town.
craig's job puts him in direct contact with lots of children that NEED this center.
it's always a good time with great music, food & dancing.

we also spent the day watching the daytona 500, because yes, WE LIKE NASCAR!

i hit up the local thrift store for their 1/2 off sale.

scored a cute vintage apron for 10 cents and a $5 dresser that i plan on re-purposing.

i also stocked up on some clothing to make more ruffled pillows.
i made this one last night when craig got called out to a robbery. (sorry taco tico)

my kitchen needed some new fabulous looking drink ware.

my nephew was selling them to raise money for his ball team.
i wasn't home when he came by, so craig picked some out. ...hence the sports theme.

the weather has been nice one day and crappy the next ALL WEEK.
translation: the groundhog is bi-polar.
on the nice days i did some spray painting.
i stayed away from the train cars and overpasses and just sprayed some old trays for a later project.

i used my 18 bags of leaves we still have for a table.

i also did a little painting indoors for some craft projects.
i love how this one came out.

i did it using my beloved silhouette machine.
i also made this one for my surrogate teenager for valentines day.

she can never find anything with her name on it because of the extra N at the end.
...which is my fault since i suggested it to her family when they were naming her :)
she's 15 and just started her first official job this week at braums. (ice-cream & burger joint)
we went shopping for uniform shirts and non-slip shoes...
some shoe designer needs to help cute'n those styles up for sure!
we ended up buying another pair of cute shoes for her, to counter act the ugly ones.
and i got a matching pair :)
we also shopped at hobby lobby & michaels for some craft supplies.
we ended the evening eating at genghis grill...MY FAV!!!!

of course there was real work last week too.
a few cuts and colors. (not nearly as fun as shopping, dancing, & crafting)
i did one color with a flashlight since the power decided to go out multiple times one day.

all i know is i am ready for some nice (say 75 degrees?) consistent weather.
no more snow, no more freezing drizzle, no more winter!
BRING ON SOME

pretty please??

snow shovel to flip flops.

2011-02-17T10:00:00.000-06:00

kansas weather is perplexing to me....
7 days ago the temp was -17 degrees. MINUS!
...and we were buried in this.

today the high is nearing 80. say what???
maybe that groundhog isn't so lame after all?

2011-02-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

butter, brown sugar & flour.

2011-02-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

that's all you need to make the most wonderful shortbread cookies EVER!
yep, 3 measly ingredients to wow your families taste buds.

craig's mom made these for his birthday, and ever since i've been just a tad addicted to them.

here are the amounts you will need:
1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened. you must use butter, no butter imitators allowed!
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour

preheat that lovely oven of yours to 300 degrees.

cream butter and brown sugar in mixing bowl.

slowly start adding in your flour.
when your mixer starts walking across the counter, finish mixing by hand.

it will be flaky.
if it is too flaky add a tad of water to the dough.
now the important part.
lay out some flour on you dough mat or counter and knead the heck out of the dough til it isn't flaky any more.
like for 5 to 8 minutes.
beat it, punch it, take out all your stress on it.
(like the fact that there is already 18 inches of snow on the ground and it is still snowing!)
have i mentioned i dislike winter?

then roll it out to about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.

(i prefer 1/4 inch)

then take your pizza cutter and cut strips about 1 inch wide.

then cut the opposite direction so you end up with 1 inch by 3 inch pieces.

if some of the pieces have crazy edges, throw them aside and roll them all back out and cut until you have used all the dough.
place on a ungreased cookie sheet.

then prick with a fork about 4 times going down the cookie.

bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes or until bottom of cookie begins to brown.
let cool.

now this is the most important IMPORTANT part.
empty the entire cookie sheet into a bowl, grab a giant mug of hot cocoa, walk into the living room
and cozy onto the couch under a big comfy quilt, ignore the 18 + inches of blowing snow outside,
turn the TV to lifetime movie network and relax!
you just baked...you deserve it!

groundhogs are lame.

2011-02-08T12:44:00.001-06:00

i feel like i am sitting in a giant snow globe

when i look outside all i see is giant flakes of snow falling, and falling and falling...

the wind chill is -10.

someone refuses to go outside and do her business.

sounds like the perfect time to heat up the oven and make something yummy...

recipe tomorrow :)

jealousy?

2011-02-03T18:47:00.000-06:00

...it must be, cause i don't think she was just flossing!

****************************************************************

those lovely people at silhouette america must have dogs.

one quick phone call and the awesome girl on the other end

said a new power cord would be in the mail tomorrow!

at no charge even!!

this is the second time i have talked to someone at silhouette

(once was a techy question)

both times they have been super friendly and oh so helpful!

you just don't find customer service like that anymore!

THANK YOU SILHOUETTE!

(miley says thank you too!!!)

50 feet to craft utopia.

2011-02-01T18:03:00.000-06:00

some girls drove 30 min.
some girls drove hundreds of miles.
some girls even flew thousands of miles.
me? i walked 50 feet across the street.
for what you ask?

for this.

i am still on a crazy high from all the amazing women i got to
craft with.

laugh with.

(we were laughing with you waffle, not at you)

catch up with.

eat with.

antique with.

& chat with.

all of these girls are bloggers, minus two of them....but that might change (right jana & cindy?)
to some people i know it sounds a little sketchy to be hanging out with people you meet on the internet,
but they were all awesome...like we had known each other for years.

my neighbor meg hosted all of us for a three-day crafting extravaganza.
it was a giant slumber party...
funny stories, crafting in PJ's, eating all the wrong (but delish) stuff, staying up super late, sleeping in.
this needs to be my job. :)

we made 3 different crafts...
julie taught us how to make these awesome flower necklaces.

i ended up making 2 because i was instantly addicted.
a rainbow one...

and a goes with anything (gray) one.

craft # 2 was taught by ashleyann.
they were these uber cute artsy embroidery hoops.
this was mine.

usually when i start a craft project i have a vision of what it's going to look like.
not this time...i probably sat for 30 minutes just staring at all the fabrics and felt.
i felt very overwhelmed, which is SO not me.
i finally just kept throwing stuff together til i liked it.
for once i felt a little out of my comfort zone of crafting...which turned out to be good for me.
i love how everyone's came out completely different.

craft project #3 was ruffled pillows, taught by heather.

we were buried in ruffles.
this is the one i made.

i felt very at ease with this project...i love sewing.
i was lucky enough to have a mom who taught me when i was super little. thanks mom!
jess gave everyone ruffled pillow envy when we saw hers.
it was so full and so soft.

believe it or not, these were all made with a men's button down shirt (the back) and t-shirts cut into strips and ruffled
(meg's blog has links to all the tutorials)
i have a feeling i will be adding ruffles to everything around here.
i'm sure craig will just love that. :)

we even took a field trip to a great antiques store that even has a huge barn full of goodness.

the little lady working there was all dressed up for "kansas day" (the day we officially became a state)
she was so stink'n adorable in her dress and bonnet.
i just wanted to make sure you out of staters didn't think that's how us kansas folk dress everyday. :)
everyone found lots of goodies to take home.
how could you not? look at all this stuff.

little baby cole may be pre-disposed to crafting and antiques (or silverware hoarding) after spending all weekend with us.

meg's dinning ~~room~~ hall, was turned into craft central.

it looked like meg was running a sweat shop. haha.

faster julie, faster!!!

waffle didn't seem to mind being surrounded by girls.

or being denied the use of the glue guns.

-to all the fabulous women who were there... jess, kimberlee, heather, julie, meg, amy, ashleyann, cindy, & jana.

thank you for the fun weekend.

it is something i will never forget.

i feel as though i have been blessed by meeting each and everyone of you.

you were all awesome,

and you are all so wonderfully creative & kind.

thanks to all of you, i am officially addicted to crafting retreats & enrolling in space camp.

..so when's the next one?

right now.

2011-01-30T23:47:00.000-06:00

i just got back from an amazing weekend.
meeting new friends.
hanging with local girlfriends.
sewing.
glueing.
laughing.
eating.
creative-ness out the wazoo!

i will tell you all about it really soon,
but first i need to catch up on some sleep and tackle my neglected house before i lose my mind.

before & after {den/office}

2011-01-13T00:00:00.000-06:00

it's almost been a whole year since we started the backroom/den/office re-do.
it has actually been done for awhile...(well almost done)
i just keep forgetting to blog it.

let me warn you, the "before" is awful, horrible and so disgusting i can't believe i am actually going to show you.
this poor room was the catch all, junk, computer room.
but before i show you those pics, you should know this room has had 6 different paint colors since we moved in.
my decorating styles have changed dramatically over the years
when we first moved in 13 years ago we used it as a tv room.
i was going for the "patriotic country look"
unfortunately, i think i nailed it.

this was the only room that had carpet in the whole house.

blue carpet.
mini blinds.
popcorn ceiling.
border.
country plaid.
oh please make it stop!

we abandoned the tv room once we had the living room painted and the tv room just digressed from there.
it just became known as the backroom.
"what do you want me to do with this?"
"throw it in the backroom"
you get the drift.
so here's the before pics...don't judge.

southeast wall

southwest wall

northeast wall

i told you it was bad!!!!!

northwest wall. that door leads into the dining room.
the other doorway to the far right of the photo leads into a bathroom.
part of this room was an addition that previous owners had done in the 70's.
the hardwood floor area is part of the original house and the plywood is the addition.

this is during the construction process.
one of the best things we did was to make the door leading into the dining room into a pocket door.
which meant i got to do some demo :)

my husband does not like the demolition process.
i think he thinks it will never go back the right way.
oh ye of little faith.

those are the cabinets we had built to go on the southwest wall.

the box between the cabinets was originally a window seat with storage inside, but then i decided it was wasted space. so it got tore out and a desk was built into that space.

the biggest change happened to this room when i did this.

i painted all the woodwork white.
it made a dark little room, seem big, bright and open.
we also replaced the super inefficient drafty windows.

ready for the after?
it is quite a change i must say.
i wish my pictures really did it justice.
but you'll get the idea.

the closet's hold all of craig's work clothes and all the computer stuff like the printer and such.

i love my new pocket door...i want one in every room.
i used vintage crystal knobs and handles on the cabinets.

the cabinets and computer are on the southwest wall.

this is on the northwest wall, directly across from the cabinets.
the door leads into a bathroom.

this area with my laptop desk is on the south wall.
the door leading to the bathroom is directly across from this desk.

to the left is the north wall....the sofa sits on the east wall.

the floor is a vinyl tile that you glue down.
it is made by adura luxery flooring.
the color is "seaside boardwalk"
it is super easy to clean and hides dirt like you wouldn't believe.
we bought enough to eventually carry it into the bathroom and the beauty salon.

it's hard to tell the wall color in the photos...
it's a very light beachy turquoise.

i am so happy with the way it turned out.
i spend a lot of time in that room...because it is so bright and cheery.
it is my beach house room in cold snowy kansas.
...and it has made me want to go on a white woodwork rampage through the rest of my house.
and i never thought i would say that.

:)

nothing really.

2011-01-07T16:23:00.000-06:00

so far, 2011 has been pretty uneventful for me.
which is ok.
january usually is a blah month anyway...
the holidays are over.
it's cold and gloomy outside.
you realize what you really spent on Christmas.
your neighbors elliptical is begging you to come back and show it some love.

honestly i have nothing exciting to really blog about...
so i guess i'll blog about me,
it has occurred to me that i really haven't given you the 411 on our little family.
so here are 25 things about me that will probably bore you...or not. :)

i live in the same small town i was born in...

i have been married for almost 18 years to my super-cop craig who is 6 years

older than me.

i am a lover of animals... sometimes even more than some people.

i have been a hairdresser for nearly 19 years and

run a small salon out of my house.

i'm still waiting for that "dream job" ...whatever that is.

(but i will tell you, it has nothing to do with hair!)

#6

we currently have 2 animals...miley the dog & harri the cat.

...at one point we had 3 cats and 3 dogs all at the same time.

i love DIY projects...i will tackle just about anything.

i am a control freak and a perfectionist....i ~~blame~~ love my dad for that.

i can cook, i just don't really like too.

i have to be in the right mood and really be hungry.

#10

i still sew on my sewing machine, standing up.

my mom taught me when i was so little that i had to stand to reach the machine.

my home-ec teachers failed to turn me.

even the really evil one.

#11

i am only 5 ft tall....

i'm ok with that. sometimes it has it's advantages.

#12

i love all things "creative" ..sometimes my mind is so clogged with ideas swirling in my head i can't concentrate.

is that A.D.D?

#13

i heart flea markets, garage sales, thrift shops and antique stores.

i love a good bargain!

#14

i have one brother that is 6 1/2 years older than me.

#15

40, is getting ever so close.  eeeks.

#16

i love working in the flower garden and on my fish pond.

#17

i DISLIKE WINTER (period, exclamation point, period)

#18

i love my 100 year old house and all it's quirks.

#19

i am no longer frightened of painting furniture or woodwork white.

that doesn't mean i won't wince at the first brushstroke though. :)

#20

i have owned 2 convertibles, both green.

#21

my favorite place to visit is? ( fill in the blank )

#22

i own a disgusting amount of boots and flip flops.

#23

i currently have a nasty sinus infection that may kill me this weekend.

(ok, so maybe that was a little dramatic)

#24

i never go anywhere without my water bottle & lip balm.

#25

i live in the best little neighborhood EVER!

any questions?

Christmas wrap up.

2010-12-30T23:41:00.000-06:00

opening gifts with my side of the family.

my parents.

he scored on the under armour.

miley was having a great time with her new cousin izzy.

what's Christmas without a snuggie?

i think everyone who wears them, looks like monks.

a quick family photo of my brothers brood before we took off for our next destination.

it would've been nice if i had noticed the childs head growing out of my brothers before i took the picture...

***********************************************************************************
we spent the next few days with craigs family.

our ring bearer...now a college man.

miley is grandpa's designated kitchen helper.
aka..the pre-rinser

we had brunch at a B & B just outside of town.

the food was wonderful, but the best part were these guys.

lewis the 6 month old miniature donkey.

some very furry cows...

lewis looked just like donkey from shrek! he loved to chase the sheep and show off his bucking skills.

a red chippy barn...
it would look really nice in my back yard.

we had a very good Christmas...lot's of food, family and fun.
and now i'm looking forward to an even better 2011.

one that hopefully includes the chiefs in the superbowl.

-amy

Merry CHRISTmas.

2010-12-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

"For unto us a child is born, 

unto us a son is given: 

and the government  shall be upon his shoulder: 

and his name shall be called 

Wonderful, 

Counsellor, 

The mighty God, 

The everlasting Father, 

The Prince of  Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

at this moment i am....

2010-12-23T22:32:00.000-06:00

watching: miracle on 34th st. (the original)

eating: red velvet cookies.

drinking : hot cocoa.

wearing : pink snowflake pajama pants, a fuzzy shirt and slippers.

feeling : relaxed and cozy.

weather : freezing rain falling from the sky.

wanting : more evenings like this, minus the freezing rain.

needing : to be asleep.

thinking : i have a million things to do tomorrow.

enjoying : snuggling with my miley dog.

wondering: if my house could some how clean itself!

around the house.

2010-12-18T22:45:00.000-06:00

thrift store things.

jeweled things..

sparkly things.

shiny things.

sentimental things.

yummy things.

favorite things.

homemade things. (from place mats at target)

sleepy things.

cute things.