HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLY!!!

A quick post to wish CARLY a very HAPPY BIRHTDAY!!!

I'm headed out the door to a stockshow.....so, will post pics later!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Yep, you get to spend it AGAIN

at a STOCKSHOW!!!

~Mom

I ♥ Knitting....on a LOOM!

This is what we did at the retreat in our spare time.....learned to knit.

We will make prayer shawls to be used in missions!

Most of them started by making a scarf....then they can

move on to bigger stuff.....

Take a good look at this woman....this is BARBIE. See that little thing she knitted?

Well, I'll bet that is as far as she will EVER get on that thing.....because....

she was introduced to the CIRCLE LOOM! A circle loom doesn't require too much

thought process.....now, I'm not saying that she hasn't a brain.....her brain

is just ALWAYS on OVERLOAD! In one day, she pretty much had a full

scarf made!

I, too, am a knitting with needles FLUNKY!!! Does anyone want to join

our knitters anonymous group? You are not allowed to SAY YOUR NAME....you

must KNIT it...ba haaaaaa

Some of the women even looked as if they grew extra arms......

See the lady in the back?
That is LINDA....she is LEFT HANDED!
WOOHOOOOOO, I got to TEACH SOMEONE to KNIT on the loom....
We lefties have our own way of doing things......I LOVE YOU LINDA!!

LEFTY LINDA.....awwww, I like that name!
Notice you will not see anymore people I got to teach.....
sniff, sniff, there were no more lefties.....and if there were....
they stayed hidden....maybe I SKEERED them!



Melissa needed an Inspector Gadget Arm here........
the bi-focals ARE TOO CLOSE!!!

Still determined......Barbie.....poor Barbie......sort of reminded

me of the little engine that could......

Here are the QUEENS of KNITTING....

I think they might have their own group.....

and they knit CROWNS....yep, THEY ARE THE QUEENS!!!

Some even learned to make wash cloths.......

Looks like she is knitting a Wal-Mart pattern doesn't it?

She is REALLY trying to make a SOCK.....how'd it turn out

for you LAURA?

Melissa is still going at it......

A dazed stupor......

Pooooor Barbie.....still going......I think I can, I think I can.....

Yep, the LOOM....that's where it's at.....of course, I can say

all this because I am a knitting FLUNKY....remember?

I'm too ADD to knit and count...sheesh....then I couldn't

talk.....and much less....put it down to use my hands to talk.

Looks sort of like surgery, doesn't it? I wonder how many

Dr.'s knit?

There's my LEFTY LINDA!!! Notice the LEFT HAND IS WORKING!!!

It was a great retreat...and I can't wait til everyone comes back next year

with a shawl.....

We are thinking we might take up bungee jumping next year....maybe we'll

have to get up so HIGH that our cell phones will work......

NAHHHHH....it was nice w/out them!!

Thanks to all who participated.....I came home refreshed and blessed!!!

No, They are NOT Diamonds.....It Would Be Nice Though....

LOOK!

Up close and personal.....

Today's science experiment.

"Growing" Crystals

This experiment can be easily found on the internet.

We are now going to grow colored crystals.

She wants to try growing the sugar crystals and sell the suckers.

It has sparked a learning curve for her.....so, we might be

doing this for a while.

I Swear There Was No Drinking at the Retreat!

HAPPY FAT TUESDAY!

Here are some pictures of last weekend's women's retreat

with my church.

This is Mrs. Pat.....Mrs. Pat is 80 years old....I think.

She was about the spunkiest gal at the retreat.

Unfortunately, after "attending" Mardi Gras, she suffered

"GATOR TOE". That is a new ailment....I think it comes from

having to find SOMETHING to do the with props

found in the bag......

I know it looks like there was drinkin'......there was NOT!

She is drunk on the Holy Spirit.

Something I want to share about this special woman....

she never got to attend church camp as a child.

So, every chance she gets to go on a retreat, she GOES!

Why a few years ago....she was involved in the kidnapping*

of THE BELL!

We were not allowed to wear watches or to know the time...we just

knew when THE BELL rang, it was time for something.

WE GOT SICK OF THE BELL!

THE BELL had to go!

Mrs. Pat drew a very lovely picture of THE BELL.....

complete with a blindfold over his eyes!!!

I LOVE YOU MRS. PAT!!!

*No bell was harmed in the making or filming of the retreat. I won't say anything about the poor gator though.

Things I COULD be doing.....

Yes, these are things I COULD be doing.....

These are things that are going to be put on hold this weekend....because

I know they will be here when I return.

Right now, I'm going to be selfish....

I'm going to spend some one on one time with

My Lord!

I'm going to spend some bonding moments with

some friends.

I'm going to relax!

I'm NOT going to miss those STUPID BARKING DOGS

that keep me up at night!

I'm going to renew myself!

I'm going to refresh!

I'm going to remember why I enjoy my

life so much and am mighty proud of

where I've been, who I am and where I'm going!

So, try not to go through withdrawals not having me here...

I'll be back and ready to CARRY ON....

The Annual Ladies Retreat with my church

awaits me......

Woohoo.....I just need an old caddy and a hair scarf....and I'd be set....

riding off into the glorious sunset!

Have a super weekend!

Meet My Roomba!

I've had numerous inquiries about my Roomba...or aka, IROBOT.

What is a ROOMBA you ask?

The Roomba is a robotic vacuum cleaner made and sold by iRobot. The Roomba was introduced in 2002; several updates and new models have since been released. As of January 2008[update], over 2.5 million units have been sold.

This is an eye-level view.....think of it as a ROOMBA view.

I have wood floors or tile throughout the entire house.

I have various rugs but no carpet.

If any of my TWO readers out there have wood floors, then you know what I

mean when I say DUST FACTOR!

I LOVE my wood floors.....I just hate the layer of dust that seems to

NEVER go away!

(It just makes my toenails start curling back to think of all the NASTY

stuff that was embedded in my carpet in my previous home)

No wonder I had such severe allergies.

When we built this house, we decided to go with the wood floors.

I figured if my rugs got nasty, I could just toss them and get new ones....

on clearance of course.

When you put your ROOMBA to work, you must keep him confined to

ONE room or he will work himself to death and never really

accomplish much.

If you play it right, he will do his job and go back to his "home" when he

is finished so he can recharge....I like to call this a NAP!

You are looking at my ROOMBA heading back to his home.....

If you treat him right, he'll pop out of his home in the a.m. after you've left for work or wherever....do his job and be back in his home and fully charged for another cleaning.

Then, when you return, you can put him to work in another room...after you clean

the trap and filter of course.

(This means that you can SCHEDULE times for him to start cleaning...you don't have to be there)

He comes with two virtual walls...don't ask me about these....

I find just putting pillows, chairs, etc...does the same job...to keep

him in a certain area.

You just want to make sure all items that can be sucked up into the ROOMBA are picked up...such as IPOD earbuds, SOCKS, apron strings.....don't ask me how I know this.

Should ROOMBA find this type of stuff.....he will DIE ON THE SPOT!

Now, mind you, if that spot happens to be in a closet, under the clothes in the VERY BACK

dark corner.....it may take you awhile to find him.

There is NO LOCATOR...which is something I wish they would add.

That is why it is easier to make sure you secure the room before putting him

to work.

My very nervous dog doesn't seem to be bothered by ROOMBA's presence.

He does NOT eat feet either....he will lightly tap and turn. I was expecting it to

feel like the shopping cart when it clips my ankles....it does not.

I hear they even make cute costumes for this thing.

I however will not buy one because....

I'm too cheap!

Once he makes it home....he even does the CHARGE music....dat dat dat da.....CHARGE!!!

It is funny that I refer to ROOMBA as a HIM....when he has a

very feminine voice when I need to take action such as cleaning the brushes because

they have an IPOD earbud in them.....or something like that.

If I use ROOMBA faithfully.....in a room a day.....the

dust level on the wood floors has decreased DRAMATICALLY!

If you have any questions, just leave me a comment.

A ROOMBA is NOT cheap....however, mine was a handmedown...because

on carpet and with hairy dogs....he is NOT GOOD.

I did find one on www.craigslist.com for about $175.00.

21 Years of Marriage and He is Still HOT for Me!

When I was in college, I received financial aid. When one receives financial aid, one

has to take classes FULL TIME....at least that was what I had to do.

Anyone who has ever taken college courses knows how quickly classes can

fill up when you are an under class man.

This particular semester I needed one more class to fill the requirement.

There were NO CLASSES I needed for my degree.

So, I did the next logical thing.....I whipped out the course catalog and started

skimming for a class that met Tuesday and Thursday at NOON.

The ONLY class I found that was on a level I could get into and was actually NOT FULL was

MARRIAGE.

Woohoo! I thought, "HOW EASY IS THIS GOING TO BE."

I'm already married....(1 year)....so, I would prance into that

class and be the student who "helped" all the other poor pitiful

SINGLE students UNDERSTAND marriage!

EASY "A"!!!

Well, to make a long story short....I went into the final w/ a "D".....yes, you read that right....

A BIG FAT "D"!!!

During my college career, I made TWO "C's" and all

the rest of my grades were "A's" and "B's".......I even made the

PRESIDENT's HONOR ROLL.....I'm not as think as you dumb I am!

I made a "C" in marriage!!!

I thought that meant I was a total FAILURE.....not fit to be a wife....

I couldn't be married if I couldn't pass a MARRIAGE class!

I was sick about that for WEEKS!

(Just to let you know, the other "C" was a science class where the professor, who was later fired, QUOTED speakers and put it on the test w/ FILL IN THE MISSING WORD BLANKS....HELLO....for an entire semester, we were supposed to remember EXACTLY what a speaker said?)

Well, all I have to say to that Marriage professor....who was probably DIVORCED and didn't tell us.....is NEENER, NEENER....I am still very happily married!

I am still very much in love!

I even ignore the little mistakes he makes when he writes....I honestly read it

exactly as it SHOULD have been written....it was our

daughter who pointed it out....you know the one....the PICKY one.

Well, after she has made it 21 years with the same guy, I'm sure she'll

understand how beautiful a simple letter in a card truly is.

Reason #432 Why I Can't Have the Perfect Porch

Do you remember the FAR OFF PICTURE that was taken of Rascal with my rocking chair pillow?

He has now decided that it is safe to bring the pillow to my back door
and flaunt it in front of me......

I swear he is even sticking out his tongue saying....neener, neener....I WON!!!

Yes, he is chanting it as he turns circles.....like it is going to make

the SQUARE pillow ROUND!!!

No, why would he settle for the soft HAY in the barn.....

why would he settle for the fluffy grass.....

When he can have a PILLOW!!!

A pillow from MY FRONT PORCH rocking chair!

Yeah, don't let the innocent face fool you....

I listen to him every night trying to scare off the coyotes who

come so dangerously close to our house....

The howling EVERY NIGHT!!!

Threatening the coyotes.....

Yeah.....I wonder what the coyotes would do if they found out

the scary beast had a "woobie".

Maybe Rascal is defending his "woobie".....maybe he

thinks the coyotes will steal his "woobie".