Sunday at the Lake

Ahhhh Monday morning. This summer is going by way too fast. I think they all do. This weekend was a busy one. Yesterday we decided to go to the lake and go fishing. I don't usually fish myself, I just hang out on the boat with Kenny and enjoy the peacefulness and watch the sunset....just like this.....

But I still call it fishing. It's so nice to drive out there, it's not too long of a drive, only about 40 minutes, but by the time we get there it's like we're in a different world. And I love that. Kenny actually caught a fish, but it was teeny, so I hesitated whether to put the picture on here, and I think he would probably get upset if I did because it would "say something about him being a man" so I won't. But just know that I really wanted to!

This is my last week of summer tutoring-yay! Finally free. Not that it was a lot of time, it just means that I will really have no committments now other than fun ones. I'm sure Kenny will fill up my time...he always finds a way:)

You can take a girl out of the country....

Ahhh, Saturday morning. We slept in this morning. And it felt good. Too good. We both fell asleep on the couch after I spent the day working with Kenny. It was an awesome day, and he LOVES it when I work with him. I'm on summer vacation, so the idea of work isn't great, but if it means I get to spend the day with him versus alone, it's all good once a week or so. So anyway, we slept on the couch, which is one of the reasons we bought the overstuffed thing, because it holds 2 (rather large) people to sleep! Kenny had to go back to work this morning and he was about to get ready to leave and I was happily sipping coffee and just starting in on reading blogs at the computer when he announces that I better get dressed because one of his buddies was here. Too late. There I was in blue PJ pants and a ratty red T-shirt, my favorite jammies. And wild hair too. Can't forget about that. I went to sleep with wet hair and HELLO when you wake up!!! So I'm not looking good at all. Kenny's buddy walks up to the door and only has to talk to Kenny for 2 seconds (so he says) and asks if I can watch his kiddos in the car. I look down at myself, and promptly say NO WAY because I'm not walking out of this house into suburbia looking like this. NO WAY. His buddy asks me again, assuring me that I look fine, and I tell him that I am NOT going outside in my PJs, hair all crazy, and no bra. He finally talks me into it after a small argument, plus the kiddos are super cute. And I know why he didn't want to get them out of their carseats either....they are twins, they are two, and one just had a major surgery a month ago and they still have to be very careful with him, therefore, having them run around the yard while their dad was talking to Kenny was out of the question. So that's why I gave in. I looked both ways down my street to make sure no one was watching, and bolted for the car. I jumped in the front seat and entertained the cuties for about 5 minutes. They started asking for their dad and that was my cue to get back into the house. I got back in as fast as I could just as their dad was walking out the door. Perfect timing and NO ONE saw me. Just as Kenny's buddy is leaving, he stops and yells out "Lindsey the boys want to say bye to you!" OMG! I have to go outside AGAIN looking like this?? What is this? So, because I can't resist their sweet little faces, I go out to say goodbye to them. Just about this time the neighbor across from us yells out "Hi Lindsey and Kenny!" and then because he hears that neighbor say hi to us, the man in the house next to us (whose wife is dressed TO THE NINES EVERY DAY AND SHE'S RETIRED) says hi to us, and you can just imagine the horror on my face. When I was kid, we played in our PJs outside, because we lived on a dirt road where MAYBE 1 car a day drove by. We ran around half naked for that matter, peed in the backyard, you get the picture. In college, it was the thing to go to Meijers in the middle of the night in your PJs to get groceries, beer, what have you, so I was totally comfortable then doing that. But now, living in a suburb, where neighbors are constantly watching and judging, I'm NOT comfortable doing that. Let me rephrase...I'm totally comfortable IN THOSE CLOTHES. I'm not comfortable with other people SEEING me in those clothes. Especially not our neighbors. Because they still like us, and I want to keep it that way. So the moral of this long, drawn out story (which Kenny will read and tell me I babbles too much) is that you can take a girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of her, except if she lives in town. Then maybe you can, just a little.

This Week's Theme:

Creative

Let me explain: The top of this dresser (it was my great grandma's) is hit. And until I decide to spend the lute to get it refinished, this is what I came up with! The fabric blends nicely with the dresser and hides the bad parts, but it's still functioning!

Belated Birthday!

I missed someone's birthday. I hate it when that happens!! She kept it a secret, so I'm letting the cat out of the bag........

Happy Birthday Tasha!!

Her day was yesterday, but since we missed it, today will work!

Send her some birthday love!

Camping Trip

Before I even get into our trip, I first will say OMG I was surprised to come home and see the blog makeover!! I had no idea Lindsay was going to do it that quickly! Thanks Linds! You rock! Click here to see just how talented this woman is!!

Thank you Lindsay!!!

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We came home a day early, but WOW what an awesome trip!! I came home from teaching on Thursday and we were mostly packed, but then it started to DOWNPOUR, which Michigan desperately needs the rain, but come on!! Right when we’re packing up the truck to leave?? Sheesh. It didn’t last long though. We waited it out and packed up the truck and were off.

We stopped and picked up our friend Drew and after about 2 hours of driving he remembered this awesome lighthouse on Lake Michigan to stop and take pictures of the sunset. It was a little bit out of the way but sooooooo worth it.

Then a few hours later we found a great 2-track to find a spot to camp on. I think it was midnight when we set up our tent! Drew slept out on the ground. He really ruffs it. I’m all about that at times, but when you have a nice comfy tent and an even more comfy air mattress to sleep on, why ruff it?? This wasn’t one of those pack-the-bare-minimum trips for me. I love those too, but not this time!

Friday morning we found a little hole-in-the-wall diner for breakfast, you know those always have THE BEST breakfasts in the world. Kenny and Drew wanted to explore and I wanted the beach, so they dropped me off at the beach and I had a blast doing NOTHING. I laid in the sun, read, slept, went swimming, slept, walked on the beach. It was totally peaceful.

Then about 4 hours later they came back and played football on the beach while I pretended to be a photographer!

When we got back to our campsite my mom was there! She said she might come up, so when we got there I called her with directions and there she was.
We cooked our dinner on the fire and went back to the beach to watch the sunset at another light house. Again, it was beautiful!

Saturday morning we packed up and started driving around the coast of Michigan, stopping at any lookouts on Lake Michigan that we could.

We found a place to camp at an actual campground for our second spot, right along a river. We didn’t even try to find a place to see the sunset that night because we were so comfortable at our campsite. It was down from the circle that we drive in on and parked, but nestled right above the river. A slice of heaven!

I never slept so well camping. EVER! It was the most peaceful sound you ever heard. And this is what I saw when we woke up.

My mom took off for her next destination that morning, and Kenny and Drew and I started towards home a day earlier than we thought. Monday morning meant back to work for the boys and also a day of laundry and cleaning for me before I had to teach and play softball on Tuesday, so it was fine that we came home early.

I felt so relaxed and stress-free on this camping trip. And so did Kenny, and we both needed it so much.

What is it with this goofy guy and his pouts?? Like he's trying to get sympathy or something! He really is happy here...maybe I just need to tickle him more!

You can see all our camping pictures on Flickr over in the sidebar.

You got Splatted!

Hey Everyone...
This is Lindsay from My Splatter Painted Life & Splat Template Designs...
Lindsey whose blog this is ordered a new template from me and then went out of town...
I thought it wold be FUN to upload it for her and surprise her with the new template when she gets home!
If you see this before she does, send her a little love in her comments!
Hugs to all
~Lindsay

Gift

I've been working in the basement recently trying to unclutter and organize, two of my favorite pastimes. I found my camera last week (OMG I'm still in shock) and various other items that I didn't even realize I missed since we moved. Little things, you know the ones, a small picture, a piece of jewelry, a knick-knack that so-and-so gave you that makes you think happy thoughts. And then I came across one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever received. When I graduated from college in 2002, my mom, aunt, and grandma made me this wall hanging quilt.

I had no idea they had taken the time (and it takes a while!!) to do this for me. I'm usually the one who makes people's gifts, so receiving something like this was a big thing. These three wonderful women helped me learn to sew and have been huge creative (along with other ways) inspirations to me as long as I can remember. All their beautiful craftmanship shows in this quilt. It's made up of pictures and little messages to me as a graduate. My mom cut up small pieces of fabric and sent them along with fabric markers to several family members and friends, who wrote messages on the fabric and sent them back to my mom, and that's how this quilt was made.

The colorful pieces in it are actually crayola crayon fabric, because (duh) I was going to be a teacher. I can't even begin to tell you how much this quilt means to me. Every time I look at it, which now can be often because it finally has a place in our bedroom, I get teary-eyed. Just putting it up on the wall forced me to get the kleenex. Seriously. There are several people in the quilt who are not living anymore, so that adds to the importance of it. I think this is the reason I enjoy making gifts for people. I'm not sure if everyone appreciates the gifts as I appreciate this one, but at least they know how much they mean to me to receive a gift from the heart, like this quilt.

And as for the area in the basement that I've been working on, it's lookin' all spiffy now. Check it out!

I covered the shelving unit full of teaching stuff with fabric that was laying around.

And the peg board?? There's a ton of it in this basement. This is the section that is on the wall above the built-in workbench. Looks like I've taken it over, and it's not with tools! Kenny thinks it's cute. I think I'm lucky cause most guys probably wouldn't like that too much. Hehehe....

I Found It!!!

After 6 monthes, I finally decided to unpack the non-essential items that were stacked in boxes in our ever-crowded basement. I decided to start this large project today. Yipee. As much as I enjoy cleaning and decluttering and throwing away, it's a big project, and it's going to take a looooooong time, so it's hard to just delve into a thing like this! Anyhoo, I found a strange looking box, one that wasn't recognizable to me, and I was like, "What could be in there? I don't remember packing it. Hmmm." Kenny just happened to come downstairs to see the progress at the very moment I reached in the box and found it.........drumroll please......MY LONG LOST CAMERA!!!! Yup, it was there, in the navy blue NIKE backpack I used the day before we moved on our iceskating field trip. Everything was still in the bag, the bottled water, extra mittens, permission slips, excedrin, chapstick, girl scout cookies that were delivered to my classroom that I was bringing home for Kenny, and of course, my camera. Can you handle it?? We stared at the box that I found this stuff in, and neither of us could even place where we got this box. It was a shop vac box, probably from the early 80s, and we can't figure out where it came from. We looked through EVERY SINGLE BOX that was in the move 3 times between February and April for this backpack and camera, and never once did we see this box. Where did it come from? Where was it?? I'll never know. I wasn't that upset that I already purchased a new one because I got the new one for half the price of the lost camera, and since Kenny and I have the same camera, now we have three of them! All the same! It'll be helpful because he uses his more for work and now he has a backup....no worrying about the battery dying or anything like that. So it all works out.....

Here's the backpack I have missed with the camera in it.....

Not that it's important, but here's the box it was in.....

And here's the mess I've created in the basement. Lovely, eh?

Rrrrr.....

Today I received an email from another teacher friend. I'm sure you're all aware of the controversy of saying the pledge of allegiance in school. It's banned and there are many reasons that I could dig deeply into about that, but I won't. The bottom line is that we (teachers) aren't allowed to celebrate holidays such as Christmas, Halloween, Easter, ect, like we celebrated as kids. And let me tell you, it's hard not to see those kids' faces light up when they talk about the holidays and the excitement and tell them we can't have a "Christmas" party. But that's a whole other topic for another day. The fact is that we can't even talk about church in class, even just that someone WENT there on the weekend, without someone getting "offended." I keep ranting about this, and I just wanted to share this email....

**Teacher Applicant after being interviewed by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect said:

"Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning, and I'm supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their T-shirt messages and dress habits. You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self esteem. You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, how to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, and how to apply for a job. I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of anti-social behavior, make sure all students pass the state exams, even those who don't come to school regularly or complete any of their assignments. Plus, I am to make sure that all of the students with handicaps get an equal education regardless of the extent of their mental or physical handicap. I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter and report card. All of this I am to do with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a big smile AND on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food welfare! You want me to do all of this and then you tell me... I CAN'T PRAY?"**

Okay, so one of the lines of this email says that I am responsible for teaching patriotism.....and not teaching kids the pledge and the history of the flag is patriotism??? I'm not saying that teachers should preach or make students believe in what they believe in, but come on!!! What's wrong with talking about the DIFFERENT beliefs that many DIFFERENT people hold? Isn't that teaching diversity?? Where I work, I am completely in the minority. 100% the minority. So just between myself and my students, I HAVE to include diversity in everything I do in front of them, every piece of work I produce, every sentence I say, EVERYTHING. I feel myself getting completely off the main topic here, which is that teachers are so censored as to what we can say or teach to students. Of course there is a line that only parents should cross as far as teaching their own children many things that a teacher shouldn't be held responsible for, and I would never cross that line because I respect my students' parents and how they raise their children. I know the line of that email said PRAYERS, but that just opens up the door for so many other things, including and ESPECIALLY saying the pledge, and just because it has GOD in it, we aren't allowed to say it in school anymore.

Thirteen Things I Want To Buy

1. Manicure & Pedicure EVERY WEEK!

2. A whole new wardrobe when school starts in the fall (preferably a couple sizes smaller)

3. A stereo system for our house

4. A lifetime membership to Build-A-Bear

5. Lots of stocks that actually GO UP!

6. A bigger car

7. A DVD video camera (we still use one with mini-tapes)

8. A computerized system for Kenny's business (he would be SO happy!)

9. A sprinkler system that WORKS (our's wasn't blown out last fall before we bought the house so there's plenty of issues with it!)

10. More new sandals

11. Any shoes in general!

12. This Dooney & Bourke Bag

13.An endless supply of groceries so I never had to grocery shop again!

Hot Buy

I finally finally finally got what I wanted....

A new pair of birkenstock sandals! I guess I really shouldn't say new ones, because that makes you think I already had a pair, and I haven't had a pair since I was in high school, so I'll just say that I got the sandals! Arizona style, taupe colored!

I've been waiting so long to buy them. It's probably been 3 years that I wanted them, but never felt like paying that much moolah for sandals because, ya know, you only wear them a few months out of the year, and you know what they say about teachers...we're cheap. I think it's because we're programmed to look at cost because teachers have to buy in bulk for their classrooms...it makes sense. Anyway, I just never wanted to spend the money. But I finally did it. And you know what? I can't even take a picture of my feet in the sandals for you because they are in Kenny's truck! Arg!

We also got to see more fireworks this weekend with some friends...I think I'm officially firework-ed out....is that possible?

Memories & Stuff

A while back, one of my blogging buddies wrote a post about things that that trigger memories....like smells or sounds. That happened to me today. One of my best friends made me a mixed CD yesterday and one of the songs (Champagne Supernova) on it took me right back to a span of time when I had to sleep on the bottom bunk of my brother's room while my dad gutted and remodeled my bedroom. I was in high school at the time, still adjusting to my parents' friendly divorce (and I mean that, it really was very cordial), and mad as hell that I had to be subjected to sharing a room with my brother. I think back to falling asleep in that bottom bunk, hearing my brother snore up on the top bunk and my dad snore in the next room, and how I wish I could go back to that time for just a little while. I think about it now and how cozy and safe I was there. My brother and I spent one week with my dad, one week with my mom when they got divorced. It was a pain going back and forth, but they only lived a couple miles apart and I basically saw both parents every day. Anyway, the entire time this song was playing in my car today, I was every bit of that person back in high school. It was like I was walking around my dad's house (he doesn't live in that house anymore) and I could remember every little detail and smell, and I swear I heard the snoring too. My brother used to insist on sleeping with a CD player going, and that particular CD was a favorite of his, so I really did lay in bed listening to that song. And then the song ended and I was back on the freeway, driving out to meet a friend to go shopping today, in the present time. Crazy how that happens. I really miss that time when it was just my dad and my brother and I. Of course I miss (and have fond memories that I cherish ALWAYS) of my childhood way out in the country, but I also miss the times in my dad's first post-divorce house, just the three of us.

Then as I'm driving home yesterday after the shopping excursion (I'll share what I got at a steal in a minute) my mind kept thinking about how things used to be in high school and college, as far as me spending time with my friends. In high school, I was barely home. I was in every club and played softball and was in the marching band and so all 0f my friends were in these activities with me, so we were always together. Even on the weekends, we were always driving around being social. And it kind of carried over into college too. I lived in the dorms my freshman and sophomore years with the same roommate who actually I roomed with for all 5 years of college. We always had people in our room, and always had jam packed weekend plans, except for the occasional treck home to do free laundry and get some cash from our ever-so-willing parents. My junior, senior, and super-senior years of school were spend much the same way...I was never home at our apartment, always either in class, working, or at someone's house hanging out. There was never a down moment! And it was 5 years ago that I graduated from college, and I have not had that lifestyle for 5 years, yet I never really stopped to notice how I've changed. Rarely do I hang out with friends like that anymore, which is normal as you get older, I know. I talk on the phone and visit friends occasionally, but it's so limited. Like my friend yesterday, who is 6 months pregnant (yay!!) and we met for lunch and shopped and had an awesome time. She was my best friend from nursery school until graduation, never a moment apart, and I barely ever see her. And everyone says that happens to them, so it's normal, it just is crazy how much you can change in such a short period of time. Priorities, boyfriends-fiances-husbands, marriages, kids, jobs, all that stuff seeps in and there's so little time for the other stuff. Can you believe how much I was THINKING today? Like all this stuff was in my head. Crazy. And all because of one song! I'm not whining about not getting to see my friends often, because I talk to them and see them as often as we can get together. I just remember a time when I was with my friends as much as I'm not with them now. Scary. Kenny told me a long time ago that this is how it happens. The older you get (he's older and wiser...wink wink wink) the less friends and time for your friends there is. There may be less time and opportunities, but that doesn't mean there isn't ANY time! I just am not ready to fall into that catagory!



Oh yeah, the things I got on sale yesterday....

From the GAP:
1) a new bag to use for school, perfect size, burlap, cute stripes-$10
2) t-shirt-$2.99
3) sweatshirt-$5.99

From Victoria's Secret:
1) bottle of perfume-$5
2) another bottle of perfume-$6

Grand Total: $30

I was so happy! Not that it's great stuff, but it's stuff I was out of, so I guess I "needed" it. But only $30 spent at a big mall? Come on ladies, that's pretty good!!

4th of July

This is what we did for the 4th of July.....

WORKED!

Not the kind of work you get paid for, the work that makes you "feel" good at the end of the day. In other words, work on the house.

Since we updated all the landscaping recently, we ordered new shutters because the 60's look is, well, about 50 years out-of-date. They arrived via UPS on Tuesday so Kenny decided yesterday was the day to put them up. And then our front doors needed to match the shutters, so a quick trip to Home Depot to match the paint (they are open on the 4th!!) and he was ready to go! I did NONE of the work. NONE!! Usually, I'm right there digging into whatever project is going, but not this one. And it was nice, not being the one to make/clean up the mess for once. I did mundane things like laundry and the dishes....hey, it counts as work!! I'm sure you are sick of seeing pictures our house, but just so you can see the difference, here's the house when we bought it (left) and then a couple weeks ago just after we relandscaped the whole front (right):

And here it is now, completely brought up to date 50 years!

Here's a close-up of the color because from distance they look black, but it's really maroon:

So that's what we did for the holiday. Not too exciting, but productive. We did see fireworks last night and we always have our flags out on the porch, so even though there was no BBQ or sparklers, we're still patriotic:)

We won!

Every Tuesday I play softball with my coworkers. We had a rough start two months ago, like everyone GETTING TO THE GAMES on time was an issue, so the first few innings we generally sucked. But by the 4th and 5th innings, we rocked. So finally, after much hard work of getting everyone to the games on time, we have a great record and a lot of fun!! Kenny finally made it to a game tonight and took pictures and videos.....you can only imagine how thrilled (being completely sarcastic here) I was about RUNNING on video. But, I have nothing to hide, it's all out there anyway, so here's a clip. Oh yeah, the little scuffle at the end was totally random and the girl in the black shirt who I work with is the sweetest person ever....she pushed the catcher out of the way as clearly she couldn't get to the plate....this NEVER happens in this co-ed league, so of course it happens on the one video clip I share....go figure. Okay, I'll shut up, here it is:


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

We won, a lot to a little, I can't remember the score. But as usual, we came back at the end of the game and creamed 'em.

I heart softball!!

One more shot.....

Happy 4th of July!!

Tiny Adventure

We bought a canoe! It was last week actually, and we used it today for the first time. Kenny and I actually go canoeing every spring and summer with friends during camping trips, but we always rent the boats. We saw a good one for sale and bought it and it's awesome!

Funny story~we are canoeing in a nearby lake, just a small one, this evening. It's a beautiful day, cooling off, but sun still shining bright, and there are people out and about on the edge of the water fishing, talking, playing with dogs (Kenny drools at the sight of a man and his dog), you get the picture. We are paddling along totally enjoying ourselves. The lake actually turns into a river and goes under a road, and Kenny wants to go under it. So we get closer to the bridge, thinking we can just zip right under it and keep going. We get closer, and closer, and closer, and then I get this real panicky feeling, like something is telling me this isn't a good idea. I yell at Kenny to STOP steering us in that direction and turn around NOW. He's all, "Why? I want to go under there!" And I'm yelling at him to stop. "I HEAR FAST RUNNING WATER! WE ARE NOT GOING IN THERE!!" is what I yell to him. And sure enough, there's a HUGE dropoff, and we would have been completely screwed if we had kept going. Thank the big man upstairs that I heard that water when I did. Kenny kept saying (after we safely turned around) that he couldn't believe there wasn't a sign that warned boaters to turn around. We turned around in our canoe to see if there was one that we had missed, and there was, but it was teeny and hidden behind a tree, so it didn't do much good. He thinks I completely overreacted about it, and that we weren't as close as I thought to the dropoff. All I can say is BS! It was ME that was in the front of the canoe and it was ME that heard the water!! In my opinion, it was ME that saved our butts!

Rockin' Girl Blogger

I got an award!! I'm so honored since I've never received one before....thanks Lori for thinking of me!!

I know I'm supposed to nominate 5 more bloggers, but so many of you have already been nominated, so I'll just do 1!

Tee Tee from Double Duty!! She sooo000 deserves the Rockin' Girl Blogger Award! She's always got something exciting going on! It's all you girl!