Gratitude

I found this terrific idea over at We are THAT Family who found it at Domestic Accident. And I like it. So I'm going to copy it, too.

Right here and now, in mostly no particular order, I am thankful for:

1. Jesus


2. My hubby & best friend


3. ClayGuy & the Comedian


4. Our new home


5. Extended family who we love and enjoy hanging out with


6. Our chubby kitty


7. Starbuck's Iced Venti Chai


8. Canon Digital Rebel


9. My craft room


10. Being a stay-at-home mom


11. Cozi


12. My girlfriends


13. Heated leather seats


14. Playing cards with my family


15. Bloggy & Twitter friends


16. Macro photography


17. Healthy family


18. Our awesome living room rug


19. Cordless phones


20. DVDs in the mail


21. Being silly with my mom and/or sister


22. Front screen door


23. Low gas prices


24. Morning sunlight


25. My Bible


26. Indoor plumbing


27. Lavender oil


28. Bathrobe and slippers


29. Laughing so hard my stomach hurts


30. My laptop


31. Playing Scrabble


32. Our church


33. Fine point pens


34. Sony DSC-N2 digital point & shoot


35. Autumn leaves


36. Homemade bread


37. Trader Joe's Dark chocolate raspberry sticks


38. Rocky Mountains


39. Contact lenses


40. The library


41. Woodwick Redwood candles


42. The internet


43. Electric blanket


44. Photoshop CS3


45. Paperback Swap


46. Digital scrapbook supplies


47. Fuzzy mittens


48. LG Dare touchscreen phone


49. Curly hair


50. Blues music

Wordless Wednesday - Lights & Leaves

Check out more WW here and here.

Randomeanderings

The newsletter is finally done! Today I an cleaning up our dining room table so we can use it once again . . . well, as a dining room table. It's been the landing space for a lot of paper, the laptop, and a printer (free with the camera - well, sort of free, we paid for it, then the entire cost gets rebated back, so eventually free).

Now it's time to get back to emptying boxes, getting rid of stuff, and putting the rest away. It seems to go in spurts - we get quite a bit accomplished and then do other things for awhile. Then it makes me crazy(er) and I dive in and tackle some more.
















Oh yeah, and time to sweep and mop. The floors look horrible around here! White tile is lovely, but it has to be cleaned very, very often.

And now someone told me it's Thanksgiving this week! Yikes. Somehow it seemed that I still had another week. Where did that go? Fortunately, our holiday is pretty low-key this year. It will be the four of us and my parents for dinner. Mom & I split the cooking duties and we'll probably play some cards after dinner. Liverpool Rummy's our game. We also have the peripheral card holder play.

On a happy Thanksgiving note, hubs is off the Friday after (doesn't happen often), and the following Monday. Wheee!! - five whole days away from work for him! I love having him home. If I could just figure out how to pay all our bills without him going to that job . . . well, it would be a good thing.

I've been participating in a Jessica Sprague online class lately, although I'm terribly behind (I'm on Day 6 and the class is at Day 14). Fortunately, it's a self- . . . HEY! The Vocabulary Goblin just flew through and stole my word!


Self-paced.

Whew!

Anyway, the class is about writing the stories of your life - whether for scrapbooking, blogging, journaling, whatever. It gives them a concrete place to live. Which is good when you have an anti-gravity, colander brain. I get some great thoughts, but they sort of float away as quickly as they arrived. The first part of the class was the printing and assembling part. Now I get to catch up with the fun, remember, and writing part. I'll be squeezing that in when I need a break from boxes.

We really should get cracking on our Christmas shopping, I suppose. I really don't like the last-minute version. And while we NEVER shop on Black Friday, we are going to ONE store this year. But it's one that shouldn't contain the insanity of most. At least we're hoping. They've got a good start, though. They don't open at o'dark thirty. They're not a big, national store. So we're going to give it a whirl. But that's the ONLY place we'll be heading. Besides home. Which is the best place to be on BF, IMHO.

Oh, on a really happy note, we got an area rug for our living room that I absolutely LOVE!! Also a screen/storm door for the front door. Amazing how a door and a rug can bring such joy!

That's all the catching up I have for now. Maybe I'll get back to some regular posting, now that the newsletter is off my plate. Blessings to you all as you prepare for Thanksgiving.

The New Camera

I wasn't trying to keep the new camera a secret or anything, I've just been rather limited as far as blog time. Well, that and new camera time. And playing with Photoshop CS3 time. And just about everything time. For one, we haven't been home much lately. And two, I'm trying to get this newsletter I'm working on done and out of here. And three, I'm still somewhat "boxed in" here at the new house.

So for those inquiring minds . . . here's my latest toy and appendage of my right hand:

Of course, I'll never give up my rockin' point & shoot - Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-N2. It's small. It lives in my purse. It's always available for my every photography whim. It's a well-used, well-loved camera that's stuck by me through thick and thin.


And because I've had a Canon 35mm Rebel already, I have a trusty lens that gets to move up to the digital SLR phase with me. It was a birthday present about 3 1/2 years ago and I just love it.

Where's WW?

If you came here for my Wordless Wednesday entry, it's over there . . . well, back there, or is it up there? Regardless, click on the highlighted words and you'll get the redirect to my sadly neglected photoblog.

Colander Head

It has been almost a week since I've posted ANYthing here! I'm just a little too scattered to focus on much of anything. My memory seems to be on somewhat of a hiatus lately. I told hubs tonight that I think my head has transmogrified into a colander. Anything that makes its way into my brain/memory promptly slips out through the holes.

Tonight I thought I should call my mom and either tell or ask her something. Since I was preparing dinner, I picked up the phone, attached the headset, and completely forgot why I wanted to call her. I still have absolutely NO idea. Yikes.

My other analogy to my husband (no, I actually hadn't lost the first one - surprise!) was that my memory is sort of like a file cabinet that someone pulled all the drawers from, shook out all the contents, and left them floating around in an anti-gravity chamber. I glimpse a piece of information that's important, but as I reach in to grasp it, it floats out of view as quickly as it had come in. In the meantime, other things come floating by, each distracting me away from my original focus.

To top it off, I finally got a a digital SLR tonight, for which I am SUPER excited!! But I can't play with it, because I have other responsibilities that need to be handled. But there's the book . . . waiting to tell me what I need to know to use my awesomely cool new camera. Next thing you know, something else flutters past in the anti-gravity colander that is my brain, and I've headed down some other bunny trail.

I'm probably making no sense at all. But what the hey? I might as well make the rest of you woozy with my scrambled and scattered life, right? And who knows? Maybe I'm not the only one suffering from AGC (anti-gravity colander) brain? Maybe we could start a support group blog. Sounds good in theory, but I suspect we wouldn't remember that we had started a group. So much for that idea.

Guess I'll go to bed instead. Nighty night!

Nothing fancy, but I felt like I ought to put something in here besides my randomly wordy scribbling. No, it's not from the new camera. Those will be arriving soon, however.

My windchimes~

My New Motto

My good friend, the Gremlin Wrangler (aka Carrie), gave me an award and had these sweet words to say:

Dianne from Bunny Trails should get this award because if there was ever a wordy scribbler it's her. She's all over the place. In a good way.

I told her she summed me up, right there, in her tribute. It should be my new motto:

A wordy scribbler who's all over the place.

I like it.

It works.

It's me.

And the button is cute.



Don't ya' think?


Thank you, Carrie!

Simple Woman's Daybook - 11/10/08

I tend not to have a lot to blog on Mondays, and I think this is a sweet meme. I've been thinking I'd give it a try one of these days, and it looks like this will be the day.

FOR TODAY ~ November 10, 2008

Outside My Window...it's cloudy, dreary, and cold.

I am thinking...I want to grab a blanket and some a cup of hot tea and curl up on the couch with a good book.

I am thankful for...a cozy home, warm clothes, a functioning furnace.

From the learning rooms...day off from school today. I can't think of one thing I've learned today.

From the kitchen...soup and ciabatta bread for lunch. Herbed chicken & rice casserole for dinner. Warm comfort food today.

I am wearing...black turtleneck with a cozy, ribbed, long-sleeve shirt, jeans, and my worn, comfy, blue Land's End boots.

I am creating...not much, but am dying to do something fun with Photoshop CS3!

I am going...to the store to get photos printed, although I really don't want to leave the house. But the Comedian has a Scout meeting, so we have to leave anyway.

I am reading...the Chronological Study Bible (NKJV) from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Very exciting - looks like an excellent study tool.

I am hoping...to wrap up the draft of the women's ministry newsletter soon.

I am hearing...BB King's Blues on the Bayou

Around the house...are boxes and boxes, but slightly less than a few days ago.

One of my favorite things...being home, hanging out with my all my guys.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Homeschool, a massage, eye doctor appointment and desperately-needed new contacts, updating the budget, paying bills, and going scrapbooking with friends.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...Autumn leaves

Go here for more Daybook entries or join in the fun.

Saturday Night

I sort of thought I was out of my unblogging rut. Apparently not so much. There's a lot rolling around in my head, but I have yet to discover or create a wi-fi connection from my brain to my laptop. That, and I get sucked into Twitterville (IM crack, according to Sprittibee). So instead of writing blog posts, or posting photos at Photo Bunny, I'm busy communicating with my special friends that live in my computer in 140 characters or less.

We're hanging out tonight watching National Treasure (the first one), after having had a late dinner of pizza and rotisserie chicken. Well, ClayGuy & I had pizza. Hubs and the Comedian had the chicken.

I kind of hit a plateau in terms of unpacking and getting settled here at the new place. We moved things in sort of backwards it seems. The furniture ended up in the garage and the boxes in the house. I've gotten through some of the stuff, but the living/dining room has still been boxed in - literally. It's hard to unpack, though, when I have no furniture in which to put the things I plan to keep.

So today, we finally made some progress ~ moved some boxes to the garage, brought some furniture in, moved some other furniture, and put some things in the crawl space, out of our way. The living room is actually beginning to look sort of living-room-ish. People could actually sit down and visit together.

(Pretend there is an updated living photo here. I'll get there. Eventually.)

The Comedian has been dealing with a bit of a cold, although it appears to be clearing up. And no one else has been infected. Praise God!

We got rolling again with homeschool a couple of weeks ago. We're still not up to full-speed, but we're making progress. I need to get everything up and running here in the next week or so. I also downloaded Homeschool Tracker (the free, Basic edition), so now I need to enter all the appropriate data and records and grades. I hope this will be a beneficial and efficient program for me. Sometimes I still prefer paper and pen, so we'll see how this goes.

Photoshop CS3 arrived yesterday! I got it installed and feel a little lost now. The Comedian keeps asking if I like it and if I've done anything. My analogy for him went something like this:

If I'd never worked with any Photoshop products, I'd feel like a kindergartner walking into a high school classroom, having no idea what I was doing. Fortunately, I've already worked with Photoshop Elements, so I have a little bit of experience. So now I feel like a 4th grader walking into that high school classroom. A bit overwhelmed with all the amazing things this program can do. I've been watching some tutorials here and there. But I haven't actually DONE anything . . . yet. Hopefully I can put some of this into action.

Voting for the annual Homeschool Blog Awards starts Monday. So don't forget to drop by, check out some awesome homeschool blogs, and vote for your favorites.

Even though things are still a bit chaotic and disorganized around here, I really love our new home. It's smaller, but not too small. It's cozy and just right for our family, yet still big enough to have people over. Now that I have furniture in my living room, I'm more motivated to finish putting that together as well. I'll be going through boxes of stuff for years a long time, but it'll get there. I'm so much better about getting rid of things these days, and that's a very good thing.

Goodness, it's past midnight, the movie's over, and hubby went to bed. Guess I'd better pack it in for the night (even though it's morning). Sweet dreams!

Epson Artisan 800 Printer

I would love, love, love to have this amazing printer! Even better would be winning it. To that end, Epson and One2One Network are graciously giving one away to a Simple Mom reader. As much as I want to win it, if I don't, it'd be pretty cool if one of my little contingent of readers won. I'd even do a happy dance for you!

From the Epson site:

The ultimate all-in-ones for your home have arrived! Artisan is a line of premium all-in-ones perfect for all your household’s printing needs, including creative projects, photo lab quality prints, and even work taken home from the office. Elegantly designed, they fit seamlessly into the living room or home office. Plus, everyone in the home can easily share one Artisan thanks to the built-in wireless and wired networking.

Go visit Simple Mom for the opportunity to read her review of this fantastic printer and enter for your chance to win.

Wordless Wednesday - Autumn Walk

As always, check out the Wordless Wednesday hub, as well as my friends, Hallie, and Gabriel for more great photos.

Excitement Abounds

If you were anywhere remotely near the state of Colorado on Saturday morning, you might've heard me. I said something along the lines of OH MY GOSH!!! Then I shook with excitement. I had a lovely quiet morning in Bible study and prayer and then turned on the laptop to discover that I won a copy of Photoshop CS3!!

Karen, my Twitter friend whose blog is Simply A Musing Blog, was ever so generous to have a giveaway for this wonderful product. She's a graphic designer as well (if you're looking for a new blog design, check out Simply Amusing Designs), and her dear hubby got her a copy of Adobe CS3 Creative Design Suite. So instead of just putting the old CS3 on a shelf, she sweetly offered it as a giveaway at the end of October. Which is a huge blessing for someone like me who's trying to decide if she can afford the new Photoshop Elements 7.0 . . . never mind full-blown PHOTOSHOP!

Now, as soon as I can make my way through some homeschooling, some boxes . . . and the program arrives . . . I'll have some awesomely cool photoshoppy things to share on my blog.

In the meantime, here's a shot from last week at the xeriscape garden.

The House, Part 2

We were under contract on a quaint and charming 1895 house. Woo hoo! Things were moving along and then the appraisal came back. $5,000 short. By now, I was so set on this house, I was willing to go to some pretty foolish lengths.

We made a tidy profit from the house we'd just sold due the incredible increases in the market, along with assuming the loan (which meant we assumed all the equity as well). We came to an agreement with the sellers where we would split the $5,000 shortage. Yep, we would pay an EXTRA $2,500 out of our proceeds. CASH.

So we made it to closing, bought our 99 year old house, moved in, and began to get settled.

Remember the "not-on-paper list?" Well, it turned out that this house didn't really match up very well with the long-forgotten list. Let's see how much of the list I can recall for you:

• Flat piece of property


• Plenty of kitchen cabinets and counters


• Something about stairs, like maybe not having many


• Seems like we wanted a couple of bathrooms


• While not on the list, somewhat child-friendly. We had a baby, after all.


• I also think that hubby wanted a garage

I'm sure there were other things on the list, but I no longer know what they were.

Let's just say that this house was the antithesis of the list. Well, we did have a garage. Built into the side of a miniature mountain hill that was being shoved over by said hill. So two months after moving into our house, we gave our realtor a call to see if we could sell it. A market analysis indicated that it wasn't doable.

So we did nothing. Except live in the house and grumble and complain. Oh yeah, and call our realtor every so often to see if we could sell it. Nope. Every time, the market analysis came back indicating that we could only sell for what we owed. No money left to move somewhere else. Phooey.

About a year later, we woke up one morning to a crash underneath the house. Hubby went down in the crawl space (emphasis on the "crawl") to unearth our mystery. Turns out there had been an old retaining wall around the furnace which collapsed due to the excessive rain we had that spring. Rain that brought our first experience with the need for a sump pump. Oh joy.

Little did we know, this was just the beginning.