Scrapbook Page of my Granddaughter (Ms. Bathing Beauty)

My funny little granddaughter. I love this kid.

Conner's Page

This is a scrapbook page I did of my grandson, Conner. I'm not sure how this will be received. I suppose some people will feel uncomfortable, some people may feel sad, still others may think it odd that I did a scrapbook of Conner at all. But, unfortunately, pictures are all we have of him because Conner died the very day he was born. He was a beautiful little baby whose soul was just too perfect for this world. The caption on this page reads:

Some people dream of angels. I've held one in my arms.

That's his father, my oldest son, cradling him one last time before he was laid to rest. This is one of the few precious photographs we have of Conner. But I'm so grateful that he was born, I'm grateful I got to hold him when he arrived and I'm grateful that we have the tender memories created during his very short stay here on earth. I did the scrapbook to celebrate his being. I share this picture because he is and always will be a huge part of my life.

Scrapbook Page for Randey

This is my honey-bun. The writing is hard to read unless you click on the picture, but it says:

Randey, you are
Always with me.
No one touches me as you do,
Deep in my heart,
Every moment of every day...
You are why I breathe.

(I do so love this guy.)

Scrapbook Pages of My Kids When They Were Babies

Nick, Des, Kaleb and Jacob...my contribution to the future!

(At least 3 of these layouts were "lifted" from various magazines - I'm a true-blue copycat, what can I say?)

Somewhere, Over the Rainbow

We have been inundated with rain the past month or so. It sometimes seems like it's rained every single hour of every single day (I'm so prone to exaggeration - always have been!). Just when I start thinking my whole world is nothing but one giant rain cloud (there's that exaggeration thing again), Jake brings me pictures of this, a beautiful rainbow that appeared over our house last night. It's a shame that the solar screens on our windows make the house look so forbidding when such a wonder of nature is showing off in the sky above. It's hard to curse the rain, though, when you get something like this in return (besides, a bit earlier in my blog, I vowed to stop cursing the rain - it curses back much better than I do!)

Decorating Sacrifices I Have to Make for Randey :)

I don't know if you can tell what they are, but see those colorful things on top of that shelf above the 3 mirrors (top picture)? Those are "classic cars". More specifically, they are Jim Beam collectible decanters shaped like '57 Chevys and Corvettes. These are not mine. Don't get confused and think I love them. These cars belong to my husband. They were a gift to him from my father. I love my father, don't get me wrong. I think he's a great guy. But I sure wish he wouldn't have given these things to my husband. Randey loves them, of course. Heck yeah, these are just the most wonderful things going, as far as he's concerned. I so don't get it. I really don't. All I know is, it was a big sacrifice for Dad to give them up and it was a huge thrill for Randey to receive them. So. There you have it. Since both parties involved seem to put so much stock in these things, I feel somewhat obligated to incorporate them into my decor. Which is not as easy as you might think. They used to have a home on the bookshelves, but I had to evict them from those digs. Too many books, not enough space. Here's our solution. Randey and I put this shelf up this morning, after which he spent an inordinate amount of time getting his cars placed "just so". I won't even get into how precisely he placed the miniature chocks he made to go in front of the tires (wouldn't want those puppies rolling off - especially since they're still full of Jim Beam Whiskey. Eeewwww!). You know, it's not that I'm against liquor (although whiskey would be among the bottom choices on my gotta-have-a-drink-of-this list). That's not why I don't like them. It's because these decanters are shaped like cars. It feels so...I don't know, like maybe something you'd see in a pre-teen boys room (certainly sans the whiskey, of course). The trains, however. Now that's a different story. I like the trains (see second picture). Each piece of each train is also a Jim Beam Whiskey decanter. I think they look great - way up high on the wall - one going one direction, the other going the opposite. I just think they're gorgeous. These were another gift from my dad. He gave one train to me, the other to my sister. She never did pick hers up so when we moved, her train moved with us. We'll have to get it to her one of these days. But not until we move from this house. There's nothing else I could put on a shelf that high up (I think the ceiling in the living room is 12 feet) so the train has to stay for now. But look at the trains. Now look at the cars. Come on. You can see what I'm talking about, right? The cars are...ehhh...a little "cheesy". But the trains. Now that's fine decorating! :)

The Funky Table (and no, it's not mine!)

I can't believe I forgot to post this. This totally cool table was in one of the stores in Granbury that we visited on the 4th of July. What I wouldn't give to have a table like this. (Susan, if you're reading this, stop shaking your head and saying I've lost my mind.) I think this is awesome. Can't you just picture it in my house? Boy, I sure can!

The New Bed

This is our new bed frame (same old bedding). Randey picked it out. You could probably tell that because it's LEATHER. I NEVER would have chosen leather. Not a big fan of the leather, I must say. And I just saw a beautifully decorated bedroom on another blog and I'm green with envy. Leather. What the heck was I thinking? Ah well, at least I've finally gotten that sleigh bed I've always wanted. But jeez. Leather?

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! Jacob, Randey and I decided to go to Granbury today to see what they had happening. (Kaleb had to work). As it turns out, they had A LOT happening! A big ol' 4th of July Festival was going on - complete with arts and crafts, over-priced funnel cakes and too-sweet lemonade and, later on, a spectacular fireworks display. We had a blast. Yes, Jake had fun , even if it doesn't look it in the pictures. All those wonderful stores around historic downtown Granbury were open, of course. That's where I had the most fun! We were there for about 3 hours when we decided it was time to eat some real food. We discovered a little Mexican restaurant right off the square and it was pretty darn good, I don't mind telling you. After we finished eating, the three of us felt that we'd probably had just about all the fun we could stand for one day and since the fireworks were still at least 3 hours (and probably more like 4 hours) away, we headed on home. Missed the whole display. I'm sure it was great, though. Granbury really knows how to put on a show. We missed their Christmas parade and festival last year, but after seeing how great they do for the 4th of July, I'm thinking we're going to make a bigger effort to get there when December rolls around again. Personally, I've had a wonderful holiday today and I hope all of you had a great one, too.

Sherri! Take a look at these pictures!

These are pictures of one of the little quilt supply shops in Granbury. Isn't it beautiful? I don't quilt (I don't even sew. Period), but even I think this place is gorgeous. They have stacks and stacks of pre-coordinated fabrics and rows upon rows of bolts of fabrics and even some completed quilts hanging from the ceiling...it's just a great store to walk around in. I've been in it twice and both times I've been tempted to buy stuff. I have to keep reminding myself that I don't know how to sew or I probably would have bought enough stuff to make a dozen quilts by now. It's that tempting!

Have you ever spotted something and just fallen in love with it? For no reason at all? See, I'm not really a cat person, but only because I'm allergic to them. If I didn't get all blotchy and start sneezing every time a cat hair touched my face, I'd probably have a cat or two hanging around the house. But those annoying allergies have prevented that from happening. Up until now, that is. Look at what I found! Check out these cats. Aren't they just...well, hell, they're just plain cool. Yeah, I know. They're not alive so they don't really count but still...I think they're awesome. And they're going to look great somewhere in this house.

How about this bag? Pretty darn cute, huh? I found it today when we were out shopping. I decided that the fantastic red leather purse that my mom bought me while she was here, while fashionable to the max, simply was not large enough for good shopping in a crowded place. Between trying to shove my sunglasses down into a side pocket and looking for my debit card and ID and then trying to get my camera out and put it back in...I was getting aggravated with the whole thing. Just when I'd reached my limit, I saw this beauty. Actually, I saw a lot of these beauties - in a whole rainbow of colors. I chose this one because I liked these colors and I loved the bow. It's not the perfect bag for everyday (that honor still remains with the red leather baby), but it's wonderful for a day of junk shopping.

The Three Amigos

Check out these three goobers. Yeah. Derri (who is my step-sister's son) and my boys, Jacob and Kaleb. Funny guys. They usually get to spend a bit of time together in Oklahoma during the summer. This year, Derri also came here to spend a week or so. (And Derri, unlike my 2 ungrateful boys, liked the mocha's I made him when I first started using my espresso machine. He earned big points for that!) They make quite a team. I didn't say they made a good team, just quite a team. lol

No reason for this post. I just loved the picture. Took it today after the rain.

Congratulations! It's a BOY!

Jake got his hair cut! (That annoying sniffling sound you hear is me crying about it - I loved the curls!) I had to post these because Megen hasn't seen pictures of his new 'do. And while I think he's just as handsome with the short hair, I really hated to see the long hair go. Randey's happy as can be about it. Figures.

Harry Potter's Doppelganger

Kaleb got up this morning (or afternoon, actually) and came into the Star Wars room to watch TV with me. I turned around and my first thought was "Well Good Morning, Harry Potter!" lol Is it just me or does he kind of look like Harry when he's got his specs on?

The Drunken Elephant Awaits the Arrival of his Fine Feathered Friends

This drunken elephant stands guard in sleet or snow or rain or...well, you get the idea. This first picture was taken in January '07 - we got a pretty cool snowfall and the birdbath froze over. The second picture was taken a week or so ago. It was raining, as usual, and the water looks like it was dancing around in there.

Latte Obsession

I am obsessed with this espresso/latte maker. Despite popular belief, this was not an impulse buy either. Randey and I had looked at this machine one day while we were at StarBucks. We checked it out for awhile, debated if it was really any good and if it was worth the price. We couldn't reach a decision, but we talked about it for most of that day. I sure did want a good espresso maker. We'd bought several of the "Mr. Coffee Cheap Home Versions". They weren't that great. The first one we bought was okay, I guess, but I think it was actually the novelty of having homemade latte that made it seem better than it was. Randey and I had agreed that we were done with buying the cheesy ones. But anybody who knows me knows how cheap I am when it comes to shelling out money. This was a tough decision for me. Well, Randey goes TDY for a few days and I found myself thinking about this machine again. I got online and did a little research. Turns out, this machine actually got great reviews. And what's just as important, StarBucks got rave reviews for their level of customer service for those who had questions about this machine. So there I sat. Randey out of town. The internet telling me what a great machine this was. My debit card screaming "I'm here for you, babe". I did the only thing I could do. I went and bought it. And I am so glad I did! This thing is so easy to use, makes fabulous espresso, foams milk like nobody's business and is sitting right there on my kitchen counter so I can make myself a latte anytime, day or night! How great is that? I kept the box it came in. At first, I kept it just in case I needed to return it. Now I keep it because anytime I go out of town for more than 2 days, I'm bringing my machine with me. It's become one of those things I don't want to be without. It's, well....., an obsession for me now.

It's Monday and I have a dentist appointment...

The day has arrived. My appointment with the executioner...er, dentist..is at 1:00. I already know how this is going to play out.

"Ms. Kari? When's the last time you visited the dentist?"

THE dentist or any dentist?, I will be tempted to ask.

"Looks like you've got a pretty bad cavity on your upper left side".

Ya think???

"Hmmmmm. Some of these molars feel a little soft. Have you had trouble chewing?"

Well, duh. I have a giant whole on the upper left side. Chewing isn't much of an option over there.

"We're going to get some x-rays and let the dentist take a look. Why don't you just give me all your credit cards right now and I'll get started on maxing those out for you. In addition to needing your credit cards, we'll be running a complete credit check on you so that we can get the paperwork started on the 2nd mortgage you'll need to pay your account in full. Oh yes, and one more thing...the broken cap on your front tooth that's giving you that whole Nanny McPhee vibe? We're going to fix that last. The girls and I have discussed this in the back room and we feel that if we do that one first, we'll never see you again and let's face it...the boss isn't the only one who has car payments to make. And I personally have had my eye on a brand new jet ski that I could ride to work until the floods recede and I'm thinking your bill will just about enable me to buy it outright. Now here, open wide, let me shove this painful and awkward bite-wing in your mouth...that's it...now bite down...there we go. Alrighty then, just sit here and the dentist will be with you sometime within the next hour or so."

Yep. Let the games begin.

My Place

This is my scrapbook room. A place where I can create and play. It can be a little intimidating, though. All this inventory, all this space, all these gadgets...sometimes I feel like I'd better produce something extra special...or else. Sometimes I think I'm just pretending to be someone creative. Sometimes I'm pretty sure I don't know what I'm doing. And sometimes I think I should chill out, quit worrying about perfection and just PLAY!

Star Wars Rules!

My cousin's kids, Matt and Wil - they look absolutely perfect, don't they? Love it!

Scrapbook pages

I Loves Me Some Tomatoes

This is our first year as tomato growers. We planted 2 cherry tomato plants and 2 patio tomato plants. So far, they're doing pretty good. I still don't get the stories of how someone will have 2 or 3 plants that produce so many tomatoes that they're just "giving them away" to all and sundry. Honestly, my tomatoes can't keep up with my demands, much less those of everyone around me. I guess it could be that I eat them too often and too fast, huh? Nahhhh. That can't be it......... or can it?

The Lazy Flowerbed

Now this is funny. See these Daytura flowers? Growing pretty good, huh? This is one flower bed that takes care of itself. Mainly because it's not a flower bed. Last year, when I was cleaning out the real flower beds, I got a little lazy with the clean up. Instead of bagging some stuff, I just thru it over by the fence, behind Blu's doghouse. Now we have Dayturas growing "wild" and, though you can't see them from this angle, there's also marigolds and mint growing back there, too. Sure wish the flower beds I actually planted thrived as well as this with just as little work!

The New Chair

Hey - check out the new chair. Funky, isn't it? I'm diggin' it. All I need is a martini and Dean Martin walking around and I'd feel like I was in a '60's movie. lol

Has Blu-Boy gone to the Dark Side???

I thought I'd take a quick picture of Randey with the dogs. Sydney the Wonder Dog looked so cute draped over Randey like that. And Blu-Boy! Well he looked like he was guarding Randey or something. Strangely, however, that look translated a little differently thru the eye of the camera. Blu looks like he's channeling Darth Vader. Freaky, huh? I'm not even sure if it's cool...or just plain disturbing.

The Punishment has been Determined!

I knew it. I just knew it. I knew that if I kept griping about the rain, I'd be punished. I griped all last year about the drought and the heat. It felt like we had 100 degree plus temps every day last summer. And the ground was so dry, it was cracking - HUGE cracks formed in the backyard, the earth was actually pulling away from the curbs, the grass crackled when you walked on it. Then came this spring. We got some rain. Cool. Then we got a little more rain. Even cooler. Then we got even more rain. Well, aren't we the lucky ones! We had a water bill one month last year that was over $150. Not this year. No, sir-ree. We don't have to water. We got rain. Lots of rain. Wait a minute. Did I ask for rain? Did I ask for this much rain? Was I crazy? Is the rain ever going to stop? Should we go see "Evan Almighty" and brush up on our ark building skills? Ah to heck with that. I'm just going to issue inner tubes to everybody. Anybody comes to visit, we'll be the family tied together with rope, floating down Main Street. Oh look - there I go again. Griping about the rain, making snide remarks, just begging to have more punishment heaped upon my little pointed head. You'd think I'd learn. Only yesterday, I was shown the error of my ways. Our computer, our poor innocent, happy-go-lucky computer, suffered for my folly. After a particularly vitriolic diatribe about the never ending rain we've had, the electricity started flickering a little. I griped louder. It flickered more. I cursed the rain. Then the rain cursed me. And it cursed me better than I cursed it. It caused rapid and repeated little power outages that resulted in my computer screaming in agony before slipping into a silent and tragic coma. Jeez. When the rain decides to curse you back, it doesn't fool around. So anywho, I worried, I mourned, I pouted, I screamed, I generally showed my butt like you wouldn't believe. Not so much because of what the rain did. After all, I knew I had brought that upon us with my big fat mouth. No, I acted ugly because, after the last time the computer crashed, Mr. Randey was going to make it a priority to start a back-up routine so that we wouldn't lose anymore information. That was last November. Guess what? No back-up. Still. However, this beautiful fine and soggy morning, a computer guru that Randey knows was able to resuscitate our computer with little or no loss of info. Only took him three hours, too. I can't wait for Randey to bring the little feller home (the computer, not the guru). We're having to use Kaleb's computer right now and it's just not the same. We're changed people now. Randey's going to start doing the back-ups and he's going to show the rest of us how to do it, too. And me? I'm going to work really, really hard on NOT griping about all this wonderful wet weather. And if I catch myself slipping up - I'm going to work really, really hard on getting my computer unplugged before I say something I'll come to regret!

Marriage 101...sign me up!

This is a picture of my Aunt Sandi and Uncle Wally. They've been married for...what? something like 38 years, around in there. Can you imagine? In this day and age?
They're both wonderful people, truly. But it takes more than being wonderful to have a great, long lasting marriage. I know plenty of wonderful people who just couldn't make a marriage work. What makes them different? How have they done it? What on earth is their secret? I have a theory about it. I think they must actually LIKE each other. Yeah, I think these two people don't just love each other, they even like to spend time with one another. I think they're partners, in every way. I think they are like yin and yang for one another. They balance each other out and keep each other whole. I think that's what makes it work for them. 'Course, that's only a theory. I could be wrong. But I'm going with it and I'm holding them up as my role model for marriage. When Randey and I have our moments when I'm snarling at him and he's clinching his jaw at me, I'm gonna let it ride. I'm gonna let it ride because getting thru the bad times as well as the good times is the only way I'm going to get to where my Aunt Sandi and Uncle Wally are. And where they are looks like a great place to be.

Gorgeous Godiva Chocolates!

Talk about a random post!
I was going thru the pictures on my computer and came across this delicious looking image. I had taken this picture for a scrapbook I'm doing about "my favorite things". Godiva chocolates definitely qualifies as that! I gripe at Randey for supporting my fat habit, but wow! Godivas! Come on - who in their right mind could say no to them? I like to think of them as "The Breakfast of Champions". Nothing like a hot cup of coffee and a couple of pieces of dark chocolate heaven to get your day started. Hmmmm, hmmmm, ummmm. My goodness. Let me break the calendar out so I can see when the next birthday or holiday or any kind of special occasion is where I can expect another box of these treasures! Looks like the 4th of July is coming up...how can I make Godiva chocolates a necessary part of Independence Day...ah heck, I'll probably have to wait until my birthday. Oh well, anticipation only makes it that much sweeter, right?

Fleeting Beauty

We had a moment of sunshine the other day - it lasted long enough for me to take a picture of our newly bloomed amaryllis. My step-mother gave us this plant a couple of months ago. I think it's a lovely flower - I just wish it hung around a little longer. Still...it was beautiful to look at while it lasted and what more can you ask from a flower?

Havin' fun with my photo programs...

A close-up of Kaleb's eyes - with a little extra blue coloring added in. I was playing around with one of the photo programs I downloaded -Jake's eyes are a little too dark to work using the same method.
I really wish they offered a photography class here at the local community college. I'm pretty sure I'd love it and it would probably save me hours of goofing off on the computer, trying to get different effects. But then what would I do with my spare time? lol

Rain, rain, go away!!!

Pictures taken in the backyard this afternoon. Figured I'd better get a record of some of the stuff before it floats away. After last years drought, I never thought I'd be asking for less rain, but here I am...wishing for a week of dry skies. The rain brings me down sometimes. Too much of a good thing maybe?

Is it really still 6 months until Christmas?????

It's started! It happens to me every year around this time. I'll see something, smell something or maybe even hear something that makes me think of Christmas! We were at Hobby Lobby yesterday and they were putting some Christmas decoration stuff out (I'm assuming for a "Christmas in July" sale). Man oh man! I love that bright shiny stuff. In the words of my very best friend, Susan, "if it ain't gaudy, then Sissy don't want it". She's such a charmer, that one. But she's right. I love the glitter and shine. I love it like nobody's business. Just seeing all the pretty ornaments and sparkly d00dads is like...well, as weird and backwards as it sounds, it's like a balm to my spirit. It makes me feel peaceful and happy and like all is well in the world. Forget the buying of gifts and the frantic list making - just give me a room full of tiny colored lights, a bunch of brightly colored ornaments, knick-knacks and thingy-ma-bobs and maybe a big mug of hot cocoa and I'm...content. I'm getting all dreamy eyed just thinking about it. So I guess I'd better stop. Randey is an extremely kind and tolerant husband, but I don't want to test the limits of that and much more Christmas talk and that tree's coming down out of the attic. I walk a fine line between Christmas lover and Christmas crazy. And, quite frankly, sometimes I find it hard to stick to the path!