A Run-Around Day!

Today was one of those days when I didn't get anything done here at home - I had errands to run and I ran around ALL DAY!! This morning I went to Bible Reading Time. We had wonderful discussions today - we're only in the 6th chapter of Mark. We don't get through but about 10 verses at the most each Monday. Next time we'll be talking about the beheading of John the Baptist that Mark inserted in the middle of Jesus' sending the disciples out into the world to preach the Gospel.

After BRT, I went to WalMart - a big mistake...my knee hurt really badly after that shopping experience. My printer quit yesterday, and my electric toothbrush hasn't been working but sporadically for the last week. Those were the reasons for my shopping trip. I got a new printer/scanner/copier for $49 - and it's an HP! I hope it lasts as long as my last one did!! My toothbrush was $79!! Weird, huh??!

I was able to come home for about 30 minutes, slam down a light lunch, and leave again for my appointment with Dr. Hill in Fairfield. I sure missed Sudi & Howard! If they hadn't left for parts South, I could have had lunch with them!! I got home about 4:15 and had to get my knee straightened out for a while. Then the doorbell rang with our little neighbor boys trick-or-treating!! Travis, who's 3, said trick or treat. I asked him what that meant and he said, "It means you're supposed to give us some candy!" Dave didn't get home until about 7:15, but he got to see the next 3 little goblins. We only had 5 this year!

Tomorrow I have to make a bunch of phone calls and try to get caught up on some paperwork - yuck! More later...

Great Sunday

I was wrong...today was not Stewardship Sunday, so we didn't hear about money...that's next Sunday!! Today was Reformation Sunday, so we heard about Martin Luther and his efforts to reform the church. We need to change in order to stay vibrant and to attract new members, or we'll become like the OLD churches...still beautiful church buildings but only about 10-15 people attending!

This afternoon, Juliene and I went to Fairfield for a 10-10-10 party (make 10 cards, 10 minutes each, for $10). First of all, let me tell you that it took us more than 10 minutes per card!! The party started at 2:00 and we left there at 6:00, AND we neither one cut out the flowers that were to go on one card!! They are really cool cards, however, so we're glad we went!!

Tomorrow's another busy day. I have Bible Reading Time in the morning and an appointment with Dr. Hill in the afternoon. Sometime in between or after or something, I need to buy some Halloween candy for the little ghosts and goblins tomorrow night. We never have many, but we do have some little kids in the 'hood now, so I'd better be prepared! I also need to go to WalMart, but I doubt I'll get that done tomorrow.

We're planning to go to Ames for the ballgame this weekend, so I need to get tickets and rooms! I've got to get off this computer and get some things done!! More later...

Woohoo!!!

I sure liked the way the Cyclone-Texas Tech game came out!! Tech didn't act like a top 20 team tonight! I'd say we dominated!! It was really fun to be able to watch it - thanks FSN for broadcasting it!!

I enjoyed my day today. I didn't do much because my knee was really hurting. I turned down a chance to go to Libertyville to see Allison in the Halloween parade. Dave told me he was coming home after lunch. He thought he'd just work until noon - he didn't! He worked Habitat all day Thursday, Friday and, as it ended up, today. So I watched football. I love it when there are Big 12 games on TV! I had to turn from the OU game, though. I don't like Bobby Stoops' yelling at everyone! He practically undressed one of his players for making a mistake and causing a penalty! Geez, Coach, he's only human!! I mean, he was screaming at this kid! I don't like that!

This evening I helped Dave by typing up PM&I sheets for his display board for church tomorrow. Tomorrow is Stewardship Sunday, which means we're going to be hearing about money! I missed choir Wednesday night so I can't even remember what we're singing. I'll go early and refresh my memory. Dave and I are also doing the "visual" lesson at church tomorrow, which involves speaking a few lines and pounding nails into a door...

More later...

Is this Friday or Saturday??

I'm so confused on what day of the week it is! Dave has taken Thursday and Friday off to work on the Habitat house. The kids from Wartburg are here working, so he wanted to be there with them telling them what jobs to do. So, since Dave works Habitat on Saturday only...I've had 2 Saturdays this week!!

Today I got to go to stamp club. We worked on stencils today, which is something I've only done once...and I found out I did that all wrong!! So now, I'll try stenciling again - now that I know what I'm doing. There's just so much you can do with these stemcils. Today we not only added dimension to them by adding a gesso-type material, we also added glitter AND just pigment color to them, using a piece of fabric screen to add dimension. Very interesting techniques. I must say that our three projects are really nice. I'm anxious to make them into cards. When I get that done, I'll get them scanned so you can see them!

This evening, I went with Dave to have dinner with the group from Wartburg. Our friend, Larry, made his famous cream-can dinner! The kids seemed to really like it. This year, we had biology majors, education majors, an art major, and a couple of bio-chem majors. One of the biology majors is from Nigeria and the rest of the students were from Iowa. Fun evening!!

More later...

Love fall!

I really love fall! I like the crisp air and the beauty of the trees. We've really been blessed this year...the trees are still pretty here and it's almost November! Usually by now we've had those cold fall rains and winds that make the leaves drop quickly. There are some advantages to drought!

Today I just took it easy. I put things away in my studio. After a stamp camp, it takes me a day or two to get everything sorted out and put away. I also finished up a medallion card. I had to have a little help on how to construct these medallions, but once I was told, it was easy...and logical! Tomorrow morning is the PMS stamp club at the church. We're going to work on using stencils so I'm really looking forward to learning a new technique. There are loads of supplies on the supply list, though. I feel like I loaded up my entire studio...and kitchen!!

Tonight Dave and I went to Sudi's for a '66 reunion wrap-up meeting. It was fun to see some classmates again. We're looking forward to our 50th reunion in 2016!!

More later...

Change in the weather!

Yesterday it was 80 degrees and today we were lucky if we got to 56!! Big difference in temps. The oak leaves are beautiful - we always think the maple leaves are the prettiest, but not this year. The oak leaves around the cemetery are the most beautiful orange, with brown around the edges! Pictures don't begin to do them justice!

Today was a Stampin' Up kind of day! After an early start to my day - the UPS guy called at 7:40 this morning!! - I got up and got my shower taken so that he could deliver my new laptop! Then the rest of the day was devoted to SU! Juliene and I met to determine what we would do at our next stamp camp on November 17th. We decided on the cards and then we decided what all we needed to order. Then the hardest part of all - we worked on the financial part of the business. I got the orders done about 8:30 tonight. I even stayed home from choir and worked on all the paperwork. I'm trying to put together a worksheet (or spreadsheet) of what all I've spent and what is supplies for classes, etc. I am not very confident at these things so it takes me a while to do anything like this.

I talked to Dr. F's office this morning. My surgery is actually scheduled for November 16th, not the 15th. I'll see him at the Clinic on the 15th, then get fixed up the next day.

Dave's playing with my new laptop and I'm in here playing with this computer!! More later...

Long, long day!

It's been a really long day. I had to be in Fairfield at 7:30 this morning for an MRI on my knee. Thank goodness it was my knee, because that MRI tube is really small around! I almost got claustrophobic even with my head and shoulders out of it. Anyway, I got that done and then I just had to wait for the results...so we came back to O-town. Loren's funeral was at 10:00. What a beautiful service...it's so nice when the officiant (in this case their minister) actually knows the deceased. She really did a great job "remembering" Loren! It was obvious that she knew him well! Today was his Loren's birthday...he would have been 85. Dave and I both went to the funeral and then I dropped Dave off so he could go to work while I went to the cemetery and to the luncheon. I'm glad I went to both. Craig and Sue were both very appreciative, but understood Dave's need to be at work.

About 4:00 this afternoon I called the Dr's office again (I'd called about 2:00 and they didn't have the results of my MRI yet). This time Dr. Hill's nurse told me there was no fracture, just arthritis and fluid buildup in the joint. I was pretty much shocked. I hung up and within a minute or two the phone rang. It was his nurse again...she told me that she had given me results of the xray, the MRI results weren't there yet. In the meantime, she had called for the results of the MRI and found out that I have a partial tear of the medial meniscus. When Dave found out, he called Dr. Steve and my surgery is scheduled for Nov. 15th. I guess we won't be going to Florida on Nov. 10th after all! I've got to call his office in the morning and get all the details worked out as far as time, etc. We'll go to Storm Lake on the 14th and stay with Steve then surgery the next day...hopefully very early in the morning. He may make us stay overnight on the 15th and then home on the 16th. I wish he was going to be in Iowa sooner, but he just left for Texas and the 15th is the earliest he can do the surgery. I guess I should have done this 2 months ago...I'd be healed by now! Hindsight is 20-20!!!

More later...

Beautiful Monday!

We had another beautiful day in SE Iowa! About 3:00 it was 73 degrees and 74 in Clearwater, Florida! Not bad for the end of October!! The forecast calls for one more day of this!!

I had a very, very busy day today. I had 5 ladies here this morning for a stamp camp. It was scheduled for 2 hours, but it lasted for 3.5!! It was a ton of fun, though! The ladies seemed to really like the cards and everyone enjoyed themselves!! I was tired though, because I stood up the whole time...plus I went upstairs at least 5 times during the 3 hours for things I'd forgotten!!

After class, I took off for Fairfield! Lunch with Sudi and then, an appointment with Dr. Hill! He ordered an x-ray of my knee, which is required before I can have an MRI on my knee. So, I had an xray before I left Fairfield. I have my MRI tomorrow morning at 7:30 in Fairfield!! That means I've got to get up waaaaaayyy early! As it turns out, Dave is going with me. We have to be at Loren's funeral at 10:00 back in O-town. I hope we're not late! His visitation tonight was crowded. We stood in line for about 45-50 minutes before getting to Craig & Sue.

I watched DWTS tonight. I feel sorry for Hope and Max. I feel like the judges are really picking on her and it kind of made Max angry...well, not "kind of" but really made him angry. I think the judges could be a little diplomatic sometimes. I also think they judge Max's and Derek's partners a little harder than the rest. Tomorrow Chaz should exit the ballroom. He just can't possibly compete with the rest...it's either him or Nancy Grace, although she did pretty well tonight.

More later...

Gorgeous Sunday

We had such a beautiful day today! We had the doors and windows wide open on October 23rd - that's unheard of! I think it was 73 or so...and tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful too! We went to church this morning, as usual. Our choir sang a song called Elijah Rock a capella. I thought the alto part was really hard. We hit our notes every time in practice and then when we had to sing it for real, we missed our G! I couldn't believe that we were so far off. The congregation seemed to really like the song, though...you could see it on their faces. David's sermon was about Elijah...he's been doing a series on him for a while. Today's text was from I Kings 20, the last 5-7 verses. Very interesting series!

After lunch, Dave took his nap while I watched the Nascar race. I thought it was a boring race - I am not a fan of restrictor plate races! There was one horrific wreck - I just knew that guy would be hurt, but he wasn't...he walked away! After Dave woke up, he helped me clean up the house and then we went to Carl Willhoit's visitation. Carl fell getting out of the combine (he was 86 I think) and didn't recover from the head trauma. He was such a nice man. We waited in line almost an hour to see the family.

Tomorrow I have a stamp class here at my house at 9:00 AM...what was I thinking??? I am not a morning person, but I'll need to be tomorrow. Then at 2:00 I have an appointment with Dr. Hill about my knee. Then at 5:00 we will go to Loren's visitation. Loren's funeral is Tuesday morning, so we'll be back at Reese's for that. That's another sad one! He was burning off some waterways and was either overcome by smoke or had a heart attack. We heard today that Loren and Carl were in high school together. They'll both be missed!

More later...

Super Saturday!

This was a gorgeous day to sit outside and watch a beautiful, talented, 21-year-old great niece play soccer! This is her being introduced at the start of the game. What you can't see is that her family and friends were holding up signs that said happy birthday and happy 21st birthday...plus we had birthday hats on!! She was a wee bit embarrassed...her teammates also enjoyed her birthday as you can tell!

The Wartburg Knights beat the Coe Kohawks 2-0. We had about 30 shots on goal to their 4 so the 2-0 score was not indicative of how the game went. This game was starting to look like a full-tackle football game for a while. The Coe girls (especially #21) were pretty rough. It was fun though. Kaylee actually had a shot on goal today - she plays Forward and she's back far enough that she doesn't get to do much shooting, but she had a shot on goal that I thought might go in today. Unfortunately the goalie caught it!

After the game, she was subjected to ever more humiliation! She had to hold brightly colored balloons and wear her birthday hat!! Poor girl, she couldn't even go out for her big birthday. They have a game again tomorrow, and there's no way she is going to take a chance on getting caught drinking the night before a game. She said she can wait until soccer's over!

I didn't get home from CR until about 6:30 and after sitting outside in the sun all day, I was starting to get a bit tired driving. I was glad I got home when I did!

More later...

Bad News/Good News

Today was one of those days when we got both good news and bad news. For the good news - Wendy had her surgery on Wednesday. The hole in her heart is repaired - everything went well and she should be home tomorrow. As for the bad news - Craig's dad passed away today. They don't know for sure what happened and didn't have any arrangements made at this time. Our sympathy goes out to Craig & Sue and their family.

We didn't find out about Craig's dad until about 8:00 tonight. We had gone to the Club for Bob's Bloody Marys and one of the guys Dave works with called to tell Dave. When we got home we had a message from Sue.

As for the rest of today - it was a beautiful fall day. I uncovered my plants outside and got some card samples made. I also called my Doctor to get an appointment for him to check out my knee. I see him Monday afternoon at 2:00. I hope I don't have to cancel it...I was really lucky to get into him that quickly. It's usually 2 weeks or so before you can get in to see him. I'm also having a group of ladies over at 9 on Monday to stamp, and I'm supposed to give blood at 2:45 Monday. Don't think I'm going to get everything done, do you?

That's it for tonight. I've got to be at Bob's at 9 in the morning to head to Cedar Rapids. More later...

Laid Back Thursday!

Today was sure a lovely day! The sun was shining beautifully, although it was a little chilly yet. The next few days it's supposed to be in the 70's and then back to the 50's. It's getting closer to being winter, isn't it? Tonight, however, we have a freeze warning. Dave and I just went outside and covered up my plants. We can surely enjoy them a few more days any way!

I worked on some card ideas today. I will work on some more tomorrow. I'm putting off going to Cantril for another week or so. I should get my SU order tomorrow, so I've got to put things together and get them delivered. Plus, I need to pick up Dave's shirts and finish the laundry that we started tonight.

More later...

Wacky Wednesday!

A high temperature of 47 with 25 mph NW winds - yep, I'm definitely ready to go south!!! I didn't like this temperature today, but at least there weren't any of those little white flakes in the air yet! Someone at choir tonight said they had snow flakes in the air in the Waterloo area! It's a little early for snow, but then what do I know!!

This was one of those days that I enjoy. I slept a little later than usual and was a little slow getting around this morning. Then I played most of the day. I worked in my studio getting things ready for Monday's stamping group. This is a 2nd session of the cards we made on the 13th and it's at our house, which means that I also need to vacuum and dust sometime before 9:00 AM Monday! I sure wish I still had my cleaning lady!

Choir practice wasn't so good tonight. Wendy (our accompanist) is in Chicago getting ready (hopefully) for heart surgery tomorrow. It's hard to practice effectively without an accompanist. We're actually singing several songs a cappella but we don't know them very well, so tonight's practice was very frustrating.

Tomorrow or Friday, I'm thinking I should go to Cantril and stock up on popcorn for Florida. Then I think I'm going to go to Cedar Rapids on Saturday to watch Kaylee play soccer. More later...

Terrific Tuesday

I got up at 7:15 this morning - only because that's what time I told Dave to set my alarm. Did you know it's still dark at 7:15 AM? I had a friend coming over at 9:00 (or so I thought) so I wanted to be sure and get my breakfast and the newspaper out of the way before I took my shower and got ready for her visit. At 9:00 I'm sitting here waiting for her. I look down at my calendar and she's not supposed to be here until 9:30! I guess I could have slept another 15 minutes or so - maybe then it would have been light out!

After she left, I got my lunch and then at 1:15 I went for a massage! Oh my - massages are heavenly!! They hurt so good!!

Tonight we had our sorority fall social. Nine ladies from another chapter in O-town joined us at one of our member's home for soup. We had a great time conversing and reminiscing about Halloween memories! Lots of fun! We were ready to come home at 8:50 and decided to stay and watch the end of DWTS! Yay, Carson got eliminated tonight - he is really entertaining, but he's a terrible dancer! He should have been the first one to go home as far as I am concerned.

More later...

Chilly Monday

It's starting to be a little chilly around here - I really miss that 80 degree weather that we were having! Today is the first day I've worn long pants and let me tell you, they felt mighty good! I even have on socks!! I had lots of errands to run, so I thought I'd better dress appropriately.

After I did my errands this morning, I came back to eat lunch before I left to give blood. I had an appointment at 1:45 to give blood. I almost cancelled because it was starting to rain and Dave washed my car on Saturday night - it looked so nice I didn't want to mess it up. But I didn't cancel, I went. I got there and they didn't have an appointment listed for me...strange. I always come right home and put my appointment on my calendar. Well, it seems that I've given steadily for the past several months, so I've given too much and my red cells won't recover until at least Wednesday. I can't believe I got my car dirty for nothing - grrrrrrrr!! Now I have an appointment for a week from today.

Dave worked today and then had appointments and meetings this even, so he didn't get home until about 8:30. I was watching Dancing With The Stars. That J.R. Martinez is really good. I hope he or Hope win it this year. I like Derek and Ricki, but they're just steady, not great! JR is really, really good and so is Hope!

Tomorrow's another busy day. A friend is coming over to talk about ordering some SU product and to get a card of hers fixed (I don't know what that means exactly) and then in the afternoon, I've got an appointment to have a massage. Can't wait for that!!

More later...

Lovely day!

I really enjoyed my day today. We went to church this morning, where the youth did the service. We have some very talented youth! Our choir sang 3 songs this morning...one was in combination with the youth and the kids, accompanied by the Praise Band. You should have seen the little kids when they first heard their voices broadcast over the microphones!! It was hilarious. They just got louder and louder!! They started out in a semicircle and ended up in a complete circle around the mic - everyone wanted their voice heard, I guess!! Lots of fun!!

We went to dinner with the Bunch for Lunch group - to Happy Joe's for their buffet. It was the first time I've been there for a long time and I may never go back...too much chaos! Plus, I didn't like the food today...I certainly didn't get my money's worth, but Dave did! Then this afternoon Dave went to clean the 2 miles of highway that First Pres. has adopted. The 18 people picked up 36 bags of trash!! While Dave was gone, I worked on my SU order and tried to get my desk cleaned off! I think next year my resolution will be to handle papers only once - take care of the mail the minute I get it out of the box! I'm sure some of you do this consistently, but to me the mail is a lot like my job was - dealing with paperwork - yuck!!

Tomorrow I've got to give blood and I've got about 10 errands to run! More later...

Bad Day!

Today was just a bad day! First of all, Dave decided he should work all day! That makes it a boring Saturday for me. Although, I was anxious to listen to the Cyclone football game and to watch some football games. Well, the Cyclones were absolutely AWFUL today! I quit listening when it was 52-10...it ended up 52-17 - whoop, whoop!! Then I was watching the OSU-Texas game and Texas got beat...bummer! Now I'm watching NASCAR and Jeff is in about 13th place with 90 laps to go...and he's doing the best of all the Hendricks' cars. Kyle Busch is in first and I can't stand him, so I'm not liking this either!!

I guess I'll just go to bed! Tomorrow is a big church day - we sing 3 songs! Practice at 8:45 and we're not to be late because we have to practice with the Praise Band, PraiSing, and the little kids!! So I guess I'll go up, lay down, and try to stay awake for the rest of the race!

More later...

Wasted Day!

I was so tired today that I didn't get much of anything accomplished! I did get some things put away in my studio, and then I realized that I didn't want to take those things out of their bags...we'll be doing these same cards on the 24th! So I've got to get them back out. I've attached some pictures of samples of the cards we did last night. Some were different colors - like this first one. This one is done in Rich Razzleberry, whereas the one I demo'd last night was done in Real Red. It is basically the same idea, however. Everything on this card is from Stampin' Up.

Same goes with this card. The stamp is from the Out On A Limb stamp set (which is really a Halloween stamp set). The sentiment is from Come to Bethlehem. I really like this card. It's so serene looking. I used Soft Suede for the card base, Early Expresso ink and Pool Party for the snow. The ribbon is also Soft Suede. Love that color...and this card!!

This is the Halloween card I made with the Out on a Limb stamp set. Everything here is SU except for the ribbon and the designer paper (which were some I had laying around the studio). Last night we demo'd this card with SU paper and ribbon, of course! I can't get over this tree looking so different in these 2 cards!

This is a card that Juliene's daughter, Kathy, gave her as an idea. It's really a cute card and can be made up with Christmas papers as it is here OR as a birthday card with different designer papers. I'm going to make one with 6 packages in the shape of a Christmas tree when I get around to it!!

My hubby is sound asleep in his chair and I'm about to join him in Dreamland!! I've got lots to do tomorrow and hopefully I'll have more energy tomorrow than I did today! More later...

Good Stamp Camp

We had another Stamp Camp tonight and had 12 people in attendance. We made some really cool cards - most of which were really easy. Unfortunately, several of the ladies had some trouble with the one tree stamp. It's a very thin stamp and if you rock it at all you'll get a "shadow" where you don't want one! So they got a little frustrated.

I didn't get home until about 9:50. Dave was already sound asleep, so I checked out my email and Facebook and now I'm ready to go to bed too!

More later...

I'm Pooped!

Yesterday's long hours took a lot out of me. I'm really pooped! I very seldom take a nap during the day, but I did today and I really needed it. I'd had a really bad allergy day today - I guess the rain roiled up some allergens because I sneezed and my eyes itched most of the day. Tonight I'm much better. At 5:00 I didn't think I could possibly go to choir, but I was able to!

Choir practice was good, but there were only 2 altos at practice. Our really strong voices weren't there! There were 5 sopranos, 5 basses, 3 tenors, and us two altos. We had to really work hard to be heard!! This Sunday we sing 3 songs - should be really good. One of the songs is a combined choir - with the youth choir (6 young ladies) and the children's choir (6 little ones)!! I think even the praise band is playing! Should be a big crowd because all the children are participating!

Tomorrow evening is our next stamp camp and the supplies got here this afternoon about 5:30. Tomorrow will be a scramble! I've got most of it done, though, so hopefully it won't take me all day! More later...

Harvest Moon

When I went to work the polls this morning, the moon was absolutely breathtaking!! I really wished that I had taken my camera with me! So tonight when I got home from the polls at around 8:45 it was beautiful again. I came inside, got my camera, and went outside to take a couple of pictures. I LOVE this zoom picture! It's a true harvest moon!
Sorry I don't have much to report. I've been at the polls since 6 AM and I'm too tired to think! We had 244 voters (out of 1700) in our precinct...not a real good turnout, but about what we were expecting for this primary. It was a fun day. Saw lots of people I know and some that I didn't! Now, however, I'm going to bed! More later...

Ugggghhh!

I have to get up at 5:00 in the morning - ugh! I'm not a morning person, as you well know. Not only do I have to get up that early, I have to be hospitable too! Tomorrow we have a primary election for mayor in O-town. I'll bet we have a record turnout, don't you??? There are 3 people running for Mayor and only 2 can be on the ticket...so, we have to have a primary. Seems to me a lot of $$ will be spent for something that could be easily decided on election day in November. Why does the law in Iowa say we can only have 2 people running for an office? Strange rule if you ask me!

Today was a very busy day. I was at church most of the day and evening. Bible reading time this morning, followed by Evangelism meeting and Disciples meeting tonight. In between, I was preparing card packets!

That's it for tonight. More later...

Awesome Day

Another awesome day. It was so warm today, I actually thought briefly about turning on the A/C...but only briefly! I did turn on the ceiling fans, though! It would have been a wonderful day to sit out on the sun porch and read a book, but instead I worked in my studio getting ready for Thursday night's stamp camp.

Today was a race, so I listened to it on the radio instead of watching it. Then I did watch the last 30 laps or so. Dave came in from outside and wondered how the race was going. Since he turned on the TV, I went in to watch it with him. I was disappointed in the outcome, sort of. I cheer for Rick Hendrick's team, but I'm tired of Jimmie Johnson winning, so I was a little disappointed when he won. Jeff blew his engine with 3 laps to go - that made me sad. He said he had absolutely no oil pressure for the last 30 laps, so he was glad it didn't blow earlier.

I don't have much to say. This is going to be a very busy week for me, so I need to get mentally prepared for it! More later...

It's hard...

It's really hard not to chew ice when a football game is making you nervous! If I still smoked, I would be chain smoking, I'm sure! In my opinion, ISU is playing pretty well; however, Baylor is playing better! Man, they're good. I can't believe they're only ranked at 25...I think they're better than several teams I've watched...like Arizona State, for instance. I really want us to win this game...Phil Bennett is Baylor's defensive coordinator and he used to be at Iowa State. He's the coach who used so much negative psychology on his linebackers...they pretty much hated him. Since those were my favorite players, I'd really like his team to lose. Unfortunately his defense is playing pretty good football right now.

I really shouldn't feel that way about Phil. He lost his wife at a very young age and he's had lots of difficulties in his career. OK, I guess I'll just forgive him for what he did to my boys!

Bob just called. Kaylee's team won again today, this time in overtime. I think they're 10-1-1 on the season. Hope they can keep the wins coming. They've got Loras next weekend.

I had a pretty good day today. I vacuumed all but 2 rooms and cleaned the bathroom upstairs. That's not an easy job. I may see if my cleaning lady could come back...that wouldn't be very smart right now, though. We're only here for 6-7 weeks before we go south...I guess I'll just keep on doing it a little at a time. I can't believe how dusty this house gets! Of course, with this beautiful weather I've got the windows and doors open lots. I'd rather have dust than cold weather, so I'd better stop complaining!

More later...

Busy Friday!

This morning we had PEO. We had 20 members present (which is a small group for us) and I had the program. I did the same program today as I did for sorority on Tuesday night - I talked about Stampin' Up. I booked one party and I'm pretty sure there were a couple more ladies interested in attending our Stamp Camp on the 13th! I guess I'd better get busy preparing card packets again...the 13th is less than a week away!!

I got to watch my favorite HGTV show today. I love Colour Confidential. Jane (the hostess) can come decorate my house any day! I love the way she decorates - no matter what 3 colors people choose! Today's clients chose a dark chocolate brown for the walls, a gold for the ceiling and gray for the accents...not colors I would have chosen. I couldn't even imagine how she was going to pull those 3 colors together, but she did and did it beautifully!!

Dave came home about 1:00 and we both sat in our chairs and took short naps! Haven't done that for ages! Then I had to be at N HyVee at 3:00 to collect food for the Lord's Cupboard. In our 2 hour shift, Bette and I collected 4 large grocery carts full of food along with a LOT of cash! The lady who's in charge of the Lord's Cupboard was overwhelmed. She couldn't get all the food into her car and had to call in reinforcements! Good job, O-town!

More later...

Mr. Bluebird on my......birdbath??

Look what visited me today! There were 2 pairs of bluebirds at my birdbath this afternoon. I was able to snap a couple of pictures before they left. All 4 of them were in the birdbath at the same time when a sparrow came up and "fought" with the male bluebird for bathing rights!! It was fun to watch, but the bluebird is definitely not a fighter!! He was pretty docile compared to the sparrow. We've had such gorgeous weather that I've been able to have my windows open during the day. If I happen to be at my computer, I can hear the bluebirds come in for a landing. They have a very distinct sound. I figure these 4 birds are just passing through on their way down south. The one pair that was here early in the summer hasn't been around for at least a month.

Look at the water flying! He's really splashing!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Dave just got home. He worked really, really late tonight. Bless his heart! He had a "Murphy's Law" kind of day!!

Tomorrow's PEO, so I have to get up and around in the morning! Today was a lazy day. I worked in my studio, trying to get organized for our Stamp Camp on the 13th. Other than that, I didn't do much.

More later...

More Fun!

I fiddledy-farted away this morning! I was so tired that I didn't want to get up!! I did wake up about 7:30 and by the time I'd had my breakfast and read the paper, it was about 9:00. That's what time the phone started ringing. I had 4 or 5 phone calls this morning and at 10:30 I still hadn't taken my shower!! After my shower, it seemed like it was only minutes until it was noon!! I guess I probably shouldn't get in the habit of doing that!

This afternoon I made meatloaf for tonight and then I sat down to work up our directions and supply list for card-making on the 13th, which the phone rang again. This time it was Becky S. from Fairfield wondering what there was fun to do in O-town. She, Liz, and Nancy were all in town so I invited them over! It was after 4:00 when they left. We had so much fun just sitting around gabbing - like we hadn't gabbed enough last week - lol! I was glad my house was sort of clean - if you don't count the dust bunnies hiding in corners!! Nobody ever comes to our house, so that was really fun. It was such a lovely afternoon that we sat outside and enjoyed the day!

When Dave got home, he went out to Menard's and bought insulation for our attic. I hope he doesn't think I can help him with that job...sounds to me like a father-son bonding day! Hopefully this insulation will really help with our heating bill this winter while we're gone. I'll be fun to compare with last year's bills.

I had choir practice tonight and I really wanted to skip, but I didn't. We're singing some cool songs in the next few weeks. We have this Sunday off though. I was hoping to go to Bryan's and take him out for his birthday, but his mom and sister are coming to visit him, so I guess we'll wait.

More later...

Gotta Love This Weather!

Can you believe how beautiful it was today? I love weather like this! I'd just like to sit outside and read a book. I don't have any books to read right now, though. I've got to go to the Tattered Cover and get some! Maybe tomorrow!

I cleaned off my desk today - that's ALWAYS a chore! I'm trying to get organized so that I stay organized when we go south. I'm really not sure that's possible though! I'm trying to get any and all bills put on automatic payments so I don't have to worry about anything like that while we're gone. Hopefully I'm about there with that project. There are just so many things to think of!!

Tonight I had sorority and I had to do the program. I showed them some of the cards we've been making...I hope a couple of the ladies will come to one of our stamp camps. A few of them seemed interested. I also might have an outlet for selling some cards that are already done...I don't know what I think about that. I'll have to figure it out.

DWTS was a surprise tonight. The few celebs that I thought might go home tonight were all saved. Mark & Kristin went home. I don't know her or what she does to make her a celebrity. I didn't like her dancing, but I didn't think she'd go home this early. Oh well!

More later...

Perfect Fall Day!

I had to go out relatively early this morning...I had Bible Reading at 10:30. I know, that's not really early, but for me some days it's REALLY early...if you know what I mean! Anyway, regardless, it was chilly out. I still wore my shorts, but I was beginning to wonder why I didn't put on a sweatshirt. When I came out of church about 11:45 I knew why I hadn't! It was beautiful!! I even opened the sun roof to drive home!

After lunch, I had an appointment to learn more about the computer system we use on election days. This system was developed by Cerro Gordo county and can do so much. I'm really glad I went to this meeting. I'll feel much more prepared on October 11th when I work the special election. I was the only one there from my precinct, but other precincts were represented. Mary Gaskill, our state representative was there too. Good meeting! This evening I also had a meeting at church - Personnel. Then I came home in time to watch Dancing With The Stars! Love that show!! The celebrities for the most part made HUGE strides from last week. Either Chaz or Nancy Grace should be going home tomorrow. I thought J.R. Martinez was wonderful tonight, as was Ricki Lake! The soccer player, Hope, was really good too! So was Chynna Phillips! Voting was hard tonight!

I thought I'd share a couple of fall pictures. The monarch butterflies are hatching out right now. This is one I caught a picture of in Fairfield on Friday. Beautiful!

This tree is across from Behner's Funeral Home on S Main Street in Fairfield. It was really pretty on Friday. A lot of the traditionally pretty trees' leaves are going fast this year. I guess it was just too dry!


Tomorrow I've got to deliver some Stampin' Up orders and I've also got to order some cardstock for our cards for the 13th. Then I've got the program tomorrow night at sorority. What shall I do??????

Oh, my great nephew, Kyle, got engaged today or tonight...I don't exactly know which. Looks like there might be a wedding in the family in the near future!!

More later...

What a weekend!!!

I didn't even think about posting last night - sorry! I was so tired, I just went to bed. I should have gotten up and blogged, though, because I had a terrible time going to sleep...I was just too keyed-up, had had too much caffeine, and my knee was killing me! I stayed in bed, though, and eventually went to sleep. Our class reunion weekend was loads of fun! I'm not sure but what it was the best one ever! I thought it seemed like everyone was really enjoying themselves - I know our table was having a good time!! I haven't had much free time today, so I didn't get any pictures uploaded yet...but I will soon! I took lots of pictures and even took a video of Bruce singing a parody of "Are You Lonesome Tonight"! Bruce still has a beautiful voice!

At church today we celebrated World Communion Day along with everyone else. The choir sang a song which told the story of the bread and the cup while Pastor David served communion to the servers. Very effective! Then this afternoon I had three ladies over here stamping. Tonight we went to Bob & Ann's for supper!

This week doesn't look like it's any less busy! Tomorrow I have three appointments - one at 10:30, one at 1:30 and one at 5:30. Tuesday is Beta Sigma Phi where I have the program. Wednesday is choir, Friday is PEo and then I work for 2 hours at North HyVee to help get food for the Lord's Cupboard. Whew...I'm starting out tired - this is not good!!

More later...