Girls weekend

I am heading up North for the weekend for a girls only weekend with my best friend from college. We started this last year. We just pack all our SB stuff and set up tables and just scrapbook all weekend long. I need to start packing for it tomorrow. I have not done something for personal reasons in soooo long. Sure I do my monthly AC kits but I consider that business work. I am going to take all my pictures and hope that I make a dent!

Then my October is all about Maddy Moo. I have 4 parties booked. One for 10-3-06, 10-7-06, 10-23-06, 10-28-06. And I have a lady that is booking off the 23rd party. So I know I will have one more for sure. My goal is to get two bookings off each party. I want to keep busy up until Thanksgiving and then I take a couple of months off of all my side businesses. Just keep cleaning teeth. But that is it. It's family time.

Well, better get some stuff done around the house so I can spend the day tomorrow packing my stuff! I am hoping this will get me organized at the same time. I have stuff shoved in all different spots so it will be hard to find it all. But once I do, I will get it organized and keep it that way! LOL (hey, it looks good in print)

Busy Day

What a day. Our plumbing line to our main water supply broke today. We have been without water for about 6 hours. The boys don't care. They love that they can pee outside! LOL But I have just held it all day.

What a great topic, eh?!

Well I have been very busy working on projects. I got an frog album done, two envelope albums for the swap with KKG, and one for personal use. I got the pictures from last weekends wedding done and turned them over. Fixed our broken water line, well, ok....I held the flashlight and swept up the mess. And helped put the sink/cabinet back in place. Went to a SU! party. Found the cutest purse stamps!! I will be adding them into my Maddy Moo business.
Printed off the MM catalog.

Wow...and it's only 6:30pm.

Went on the school field trip on friday to Sauder's Village. Rained off & on but still had a nice time. One of the boys that was in our group said to his mom, "Mrs. Stiverson is yelling at me more than you, Mom." FUNNY!
Well, if the kid would not run off or go places that were off limits...not to mention...I waited for the mother to correct him and she didn't so I did! Geesh...How hard can it be to tell your child not to walk on the train tracks? The sign clearly said, DANGER! No One Past this point. Train is active.

Um...yeah....then don't let your 8 yo go running down the tracks. DUH!

Anyways...

Off to pick up the house. Looks like a Toys R Us store right now!

Happy Birthday Zander! #8

7:41am....he is now officially 8! WOW....When, how did this happen? I only blinked. I promise.

We started the day off with a 2 hour delay because of fog. It's also picture day.

It's sure to a crazy day at school because of that. We got the cupcakes there with no major problems. Picked up the cake. Now I need to go clean the house to get ready for company tonight.

I am up to my eyes with Baby shower favors and scrapbooking stuff. I was working on a project and didn't get it done so it is all piled on my dining room table. Oh how I love digital scrapbooking! LOL No mess. Just save and close my laptop!

More later...

September 11th

I can't believe it has been 5 years since the world was changed forever. I was not affected directly by that event but I have been to NYC to see ground zero. It is a sobering experience. I can't even explain the feelings that rushed over me as I stood there looking out over this huge pit in the middle of a city filled with people. I turned around at one point to look at what was around me and I could see in my head that cloud of smoke and debris coming up the street and the images of people running away. I wondered for a split second what it must have felt like to have lived thru such an event. I am thankful to the core that I can only wonder. I pray I never have such an event brush into my life. I still have that same feeling come over me every time I see the photos from that trip. I transport myself back to that time and I can just feel the goosebumps on my arms starting rise. I am so lucky that I could visit this area first hand. It really helped me to understand the magnitude of the buildings, the surface area, and how many people where really affected directly by that act. As I stood there behind the fence looking up all the other buildings around there I had to remind myself that the height of the world trade center was still taller than any other building in the area. Being a country girl, it was so hard for me to understand the greatness of those structures. The height of them was more than I could imagine. I still can't believe it has happened in my life time.

I did take a moment today to pray for those affected and to really think about how lucky I am to live in a country where we are allowed so many freedoms. I am happy to have my life and thankful for my family and friends. I am truly blessed.

God Bless Us All...and for that we thank YOU.

Back To School

I am 35 y.o. and still dread the night before school. I don't know why. I can never sleep well. His love of school is such a relief. I had always wondered if my love of knowledge would pass on to my children and so far it has. I get such a warm feeling in my heart when I see him with his face buried in a book. I remember how I was at that age. I would lay in bed at night with a little flashlight under the covers so I could continue with that Great Book of the moment.

I signed up to take a photoshop class on Monday nights. It's just 5 weeks. It's a second course. I just hope that this time around I learn something useful. Last time the teacher was not so good and the students were even worse. If you can't "right Click" you don't belong in a photoshop class. I was going to hit the lady next to me so many times. She wanted to know how to "right click" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? There were a couple of aged people in there shouldn't have been. I have nothing against seniors learning computers but take the basics first. Not a photoshop class. Zoink...

I have the lunch sack packed and the backpack is ready. Clothes are picked out. Bathes are done. Both, err I mean, all three, KIDS are in bed! LOL I am just sitting here reflecting on what is to come and what we have completed. I wrote a tiny card out to Zander for his lunch sack. I hope he doesn't find it until lunch tomorrow. I just told him how proud I was of him and how fast he is growing up. I will surely miss him something terrible. I feel like a lose a small piece of him every new school year. I wonder if he will still always feel like my little boy. I hope he does. I pray he always knows...

Back to school...

Labor Day

I really don't think Labor Day means that you labor over house work all day. But that is how I plan to spend it. Just need to get some Hard Core Cleaning done. Gotta get ready for Fall.

Off to clean...probably won't be on here the rest of the weekend.

Empty Nest Tonight

Well, we won't have any children at home tonight. My SIL is taking both the boys to spend the night with her tonight. Then all of them are going to Sauders Villiage on thursday. It's a Step Back in Time type of place. You can churn butter and the like.

So what am I to do without my boys? It will seem weird, yet quiet! I may just sit on the couch and watch MY tv programs. Which are what???? I haven't a clue. If it is not on Nick or Cartoon Network, I don't know what else is out there. Channel surfing...here I come!

I may have DH take me out to dinner. hmmm....where to go.

Well, off to get the boys hairs cut. Yes, I said Hairs. It's been a joke with our family for a long time. We don't just one hair...we cut them all.

Just like we eat at the Old Country BUFF ETT Not BUFF A. And any time you see an building/structure going up...it's a Dentist Office. "Look!!! It's a Dentist Office going in right there!!" And a single tree out in the field is called a "poop tree". It's where the farmers go to use the bathroom while working the fields. They need a place to hide behind! That story came from my grandfather. I remember when I was a little little girl he told me that is what they were and I have never forgotten it.

There is a glimps into my crazy life. We have so many "had to be there" sayings. It's so fun to have those silly things that we as a family only know about. It makes us smile when we see it or say it.

Recipe Swap

I was just sent an email for taking part in a recipe swap. I don't normally do these because I just don't have the time. But I did it!
Here is my recipe I submitted: Oklahoma Caviar
2 cans of Black eyed peas drained
2 large tomotos cubed
1 or 2 hot peppers chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 can white hominy drained
1 green pepper chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
4 green onions chopped tops & all

Mix and cover with 8 oz. of Italian Dressing {reg or fat free} Let stand in frig for 4 hours or longer. Serve with tortilla chips. Keeps well in frig for a long time.

This is a my DH Grandma's recipe. She would bring to all family functions. It was so good. I never knew how easy it was to make until I got the recipe from her. It tastes better the older it gets. I like to make mine atleast 24 hrs before I need it.

I kinda like this idea...I may post more recipes in the future!

Tut Tut, looks like rain

Well, we haven't had rain in awhile and the one day I need it to be nice, it's raining. I have a wedding to shoot today and would love to get some outdoor shots. NOPE...don't think so. Dang! They said 60% chance. So at some point today it should stop, right! The wedding isn't until 5:30 so maybe it will have passed by then. And its about 3 hours away from me. I just hope the time passes quickly. I only know the bride because she was in a wedding that I did last summer. She saw my work and asked me to do hers. I really thought I would enjoy it when my photography "took off" but I just don't have the energy right now. I don't know if it is because I worked all week long or what? It's not like me to not get excited at taking pictures. Hmmm.....

Seems like I am loosing my passion for a lot of things. Or just changing my passion. I still feel it but for different things now. Seems like my Maddy Moo passion is alive and well. I can't wait for sept to roll around to get busy with all my parties that are taking place.

So I guess the passion is there, just changing directions? Life is all about change, right. So go with it!

Full Time...

I have been asked to fill in for a co-worker/friend while she goes on vacation. I thought, sure, I will work for you on my days off. I could use the extra money. Oh MAN...what did I do? It's only WEDNESDAY and I am ready to call it quits. I just have to make it thru tomorrow. The office is closed on fridays...TGFF {TG for F} I never knew how much I got done on my days off. I feel so out of sorts. Nothing is getting done and I am so tired.

I just hope the money makes me smile and I forget about this feeling.
I will admit that is has been nice not to be around the computer all day. For whatever reason, I feel compelled to always check my emails during the day.

So it's 9-7 tomorrow and then friday I have to meet Bev in Jackson in the morning, then get ready for the wedding on Saturday that I have to shoot. UGH...Why do I spread myself so thin? It's two little letters, not hard. Let's try......N O followed by an, I can't.
NOTE TO SELF: Just say NO!

Full time? NO!

Nearsightedness

Glasses will fix it...Oh dear, my first born is now a member of the 4 eyes club! We went tonight for his vision test and he failed miserably. I was sitting there looking at the board and as he was reading the letters/numbers, I was like, HUH? He was saying all sorts of things that were NO WHERE on that board. That was the first line after the large E too! I knew he was moving to my side of the court at that very moment. We are friends with our eye doctor since my mother -in-law worked for him. So we are very comfortable with him. And I gave him "the look" and he gave it back...YES he needs glasses was the look!

He seem to take the news just fine. We went out into the area with the glasses and he picked out a pair and put them on. We went over to the mirror and as soon as he saw his reflection he started crying. I think it was just a shock to see him self that way. So it was just a bunch of crying after that. We finally found a pair that had magnetic clip on sunglasses. He agreed to get them. But they were blue...so I 'gently' suggested that he get them in brown to match his hair color. He agrees...shwew. The blue was just too much. That was all I could see when I looked at him...blue glasses. So the brown will be much better. He actually looked very nice in all of them.

We came home and called the family to tell them the news. He seems to be warming up to the idea now and wanted to know how he had to wait to get them! 2 weeks! Two long weeks! LOL

I will post a photo once they come in. Darn nearsightedness....

Whining child trouble

Why is it that no matter how much you love your children you can still want to ship them off to the nearest safe place. My youngest child is driving me nuts this morning. WHINER...oh my gosh...I swear he should have been a girl the way he whines. I feel like I have no control over him when he gets in his moods. I am at my wits end right now. So I just came in the room and shut the door. He is standing there whining about why can't he come in. Oh man...I need some parenting classes. I can't believe this is MY child. I wonder somedays if I am the worst mother on the face of the earth. To have these feelings, I must be a rotten person. It has to get better, doesn't it?!

Off to get the oil changed in the van. Maybe he will sleep on the way there. {please, please, please, let him sleep on the way there} If I don't post for awhile, you know I am still in the fetal position rocking back and forth!

Futons...bah hum bug

That's it...I am officially banning the word from my vocabulary. I have spent the past two nights on one at my Dad's house and think I would be better off sleeping on bricks. No joke. My back is killing me again. Grr...

Oh man, I just remembered something...I have to have one more encounter with that demon they call portable bedding/furniture. Bev & I have to share one in Indy at my Aunt's house. Crap. Hmm...spend $100 on a hotel or sore back...need to think about it.....

Family

Here is my family. I was questioned about what my DH looks like...so here you go. He weighed all of 112 lbs when we graduated HS. Guess I am a good cook?! Oh wait, maybe it's the McDonalds that went in our town! Darn golden arches...

Well, Bev & I worked the Auntie Amy's Rubber stamp show today. Let's just say they call it RUBBER STAMP SHOW for a reason. This has been the worst show we have had so far. We sold enough to cover the booth fee but still not out of the red for product value. Live and learn.

Family. It's funny how I secretly wish I could walk away sometimes but then when you are gone, you miss it. I miss my pets too. It's an amazing thing that happens between animals and humans. Love is strong.

My Grandma made it home from the lake finally. I was really starting to miss her and I know she missed us. I can't believe we have gone almost 7 months now since we lost Papa Bill. His voice is still on the answering machine at the house. I will knowly call out there when I know Grandma is gone just to hear his voice. Part of me wishes she would change it but at the same time it is the last part of him that remains in the present. Family...Yep...It's VERY important to me.

Sometimes you don't even need to share my blood to be my family. I have so many special family members in my heart. You know who you are too. My TLC family, my Work family, and my new Maddy Moo Family. It's a great feeling to know you can turn to so many people and have the support you need, when you need it. Thank You All!

Real Rach...getting more Real...

Good Bye July

Wow. The end of the month. Hard to believe summer is half over. I had so much I wanted to get done this summer and it just has not happened. It has been so HOT here that I can't stand going outside. It's almost too hot to swim. I am afraid the boys will get fried. And me in all my whiteness! We plan on spending the day at the pool tomorrow but we will see. With a heat index of 105 and 93% humidity...hmm...not sure that will happen.

I had my first Maddy Moo Creations Tote bag party with my sister on sunday and we just figured up her totals and she ended up getting 5 bags for only $61. I am truely impressed with the hostess program they offer. That is very generous. Got two bookings off it too! Thanks Lindsey & Sarah! So I am pleased with the results. And I made $100 profit for 2 hours worth of work. And I carried my sample bags up to her apartment on one shoulder in one trip! How easy is that! No lugging heavy scrapbooking stuff up and down mulitple times.! LOL

Which reminds me...My party for tomorrow was cancelled tonight. Blessing, really. With the other expo coming up, I am beyond busy. No skin off my back.

Well...better get upstairs to bed so I watch DAYS! Gotta find out if Carrie & Austin are going to get back together and what Shaune & Belle are doing about the baby they are sharing. For all you DAYS fans, I sure hope Shaune & Phillip don't leave the show in the fall as rumored. They make the show lately. Let's hope the new writers take the show in a better direction. ok. OFF MY SOAP BOX! LOL HEE HEE

Hello August!

What a day

Well, I made it thru the expo today without Bev at my side. It was a very odd feeling. I had her downline there helping me so that was good but still not the same. I marked most of the products below retail just to move some and it still looks like we didn't move anything. I can't wait to get rid of the tagz. Those things have been a thorn in my side since we got them. I have had the same bunch since I first started with TLC. I loved them and thought they would be a great seller...NOPE. Live and learn.

One more day then it's pack up and head to my sisters for the Maddy Moo party. Then I have a TLC party on Tuesday and another expo next weekend.

Off to bed...

Polka Dot Potato

Found this neat site. www.polkadotpotato.com It has great prices on digital stuff. I need to make sure to tell Krystal Hartley. She is just so talented. I hope I can be like her when I grow up! LOL I just wish I knew how to do more digital stuff. I love using LifeTimez but I know there is soooo much more out there.

Well, back to look at the site.

Birthday Boy, Will

Here he is! The Birthday Boy! I finally figured out how to add photos! Yahoo...I am learning. However, I got two pictures on here and can't figure out how to delete one! LOL So I just made it really small. Someday I will figure out how to edit and I will remove it. But for now it will just have to have the two pictures here! Will is sitting next to me watching me type and keeps saying, "I see a W or I see an L" Funny! This picture was taken over the 4th at Houghton Lake in the garage. He was just sitting at the picnic table and I said, "WILL" and he instantly knows to look and smile. ah...a well trained child!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIAM!!! #4

Happy Birthday William

We celebrated the arrival of 8:18 am with a countdown and then sung "Happy Birthday". He is now 4. It's official. Where does the time go? I can't believe we blink once and boom...it's years later. He has some of my worst traits too. Bummer! Stubborn, sassy, & whiney. Oh brother, why didn't I listen to my mother?! LOL But at the same time he is funny, imaginative, lovey, cute, polite. Oh yeah, I almost forgot one bad trait...doesn't listen all the time. Needs to be told repeatedly to stop jumping on the bed while mommy is typing! LOL

Now what was I saying?.....

I need to go get a shower and get my van packed for the expo this weekend. Poor Bev is having a heart cath done and can't come. So I am going alone. Pray for me! LOL Or else commit me.

Real Rach